Chapter 35 (2/2): Experiencing This for the First Time

Though Meng Chu hadn’t been around this community before, the greenery was excellent, with wide open lawns everywhere.

Along the precious Huangpu River, such lavish greenery was rare.

Truly a luxury residence.

Meng Chu didn’t dare go far, just threw the ball for Momo for a while.

After a moment, her phone rang.

A video call.

She took out her phone, and sure enough, it was Cheng Jinyu.

After answering, she squatted down so that both she and Momo could appear in the frame.

Cheng Jinyu’s face appeared on the other end.

Seeing him, Meng Chu had a sudden realization.

Because of the video call, the phone camera was close to his face, revealing his sharp features and perfectly sculpted visage.

He was ridiculously handsome.

But compared to the two of them being quiet, Momo barked excitedly when he saw the person on the screen.

“He recognizes you,” Meng Chu said, seeing Momo so excited.

Cheng Jinyu smiled softly and asked quietly, “Momo, are you being good?”

Meng Chu answered for him, “He’s very good. We played ball downstairs; no matter how far I threw it, he always found it.”

Cheng Jinyu chuckled softly.

Meng Chu remembered what had happened at home and animatedly described it.

“I just asked if we should go out to play, and he actually understood. He ran back to his room and brought his leash. Isn’t he super smart? I’ve never met such a clever dog.”

Meng Chu thought her praise was objective.

She hadn’t raised a dog since she was little.

Momo was the first dog she had frequent contact with, and he was smarter than she imagined.

“He even went to school,” Cheng Jinyu said slowly.

“Ah?” Meng Chu turned to look at Momo in surprise. “He went to school?”

“Of course, and he was top of the class,” Cheng Jinyu’s voice was calm.

But Meng Chu could hear the pride in his tone—“My dog is awesome no matter what he does.”

After chatting a bit more, Meng Chu asked, “Do you still have work? Am I disturbing you?”

Cheng Jinyu: “Not much, resting for twenty minutes.”

Meng Chu nodded.

After a while, she glanced at the time and said softly, “Should we hang up first? Your twenty minutes is probably almost up.”

They had been on the call for seventeen minutes.

“Mm,” Cheng Jinyu agreed, his tone clearly lifting.

He added, “When I get back, we’ll play with Momo together.”

After hanging up, Cheng Jinyu put his phone away and went back to work.

In the hotel conference room, everyone had just returned from outside, finished smoking, and grabbed a quick coffee.

The CEO of the investment company was whispering with the project manager: “Mr. Cheng, are you unhappy with us?”

Earlier in the meeting, Cheng Jinyu had suddenly interrupted and called for a twenty-minute break.

Such things happened sometimes during meetings.

Usually, breaks were to ease tensions during arguments or when the meeting content became unbearable.

But just now, no disputes had broken out.

So the other reason was that the content was just too difficult to listen to.

In other words, people couldn’t stand it.

“Probably not. Let’s wait for Mr. Cheng to come back,” the project manager said quietly.

The CEO nodded quickly.

When Cheng Jinyu returned, everyone secretly sized him up.

A sudden meeting interruption always left people puzzled.

Cheng Jinyu entered calmly, seemingly in a good mood.

He said quietly, “Alright, let’s continue.”

This investment was in a pharmaceutical company, Wei Ze Pharmaceuticals.

Although Yunji Capital focused heavily on internet AI, they didn’t reject any promising stocks.

As the meeting resumed, Cheng Jinyu looked down at the materials.

When Wei Ze’s CEO finished speaking, Cheng Jinyu sat at the front, silently pondering.

No one spoke.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, Cheng Jinyu slowly looked up.

“I know everyone here is tired of hearing the phrase ‘technical barriers.’ But one of Yunji’s core principles when choosing investments is precisely the company’s technological barriers.”

“Especially for Wei Ze Pharmaceuticals, a medical company, technical barriers are crucial shields protecting the enterprise. I have reviewed your R&D team; the core members are indeed top-notch, En Cai. But your patent application status seems to fall short of my expectations.”

The CEO of Wei Ze broke into a cold sweat.

It was said that Cheng Jinyu of Yunji Capital had sharp eyes and could accurately grasp industry demands.

That was why Yunji Capital could back one unicorn company after another.

Now, Cheng Jinyu had directly exposed Wei Ze’s weakness.

“But I believe technical issues can be resolved. If you lack talent, we will help you recruit without hesitation.”

The CEO of Wei Ze had thought today was a trap, but it took a sudden turn.

“After all, our goal is to help Wei Ze Pharmaceuticals push for a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.”

No one doubted Cheng Jinyu’s words.

He had the Midas touch.

Thunderous applause filled the conference room instantly.

*

With the long holiday approaching, everyone’s minds were restless.

Even Meng Chu had already bought her high-speed rail ticket to go home.

But Cheng Jinyu was still away on business.

She joked to herself not to return to Shanghai during National Day.

The next evening, she came home and sat on the sofa to rest.

She was looking at WeChat but didn’t open Moments.

She noticed a profile picture on the right side of Moments—Wu Shan’s avatar.

She must have just posted.

Meng Chu clicked in and saw Wu Shan’s latest post.

Wu Shan: Finally home! Luckily, my little cuties are still full of energy.

She had attached three photos of houseplants looking very well cared for.

Home?

Did she return to Shanghai?

Meng Chu knew Wu Shan was Cheng Jinyu’s secretary and had also traveled with him on this trip.

So if Wu Shan was back, had Cheng Jinyu returned to Shanghai as well?

Meng Chu quickly opened her chat with Cheng Jinyu.

Their messages were still from last night.

He hadn’t mentioned returning to Shanghai today.

No.

They had agreed to walk Momo together after he got back.

But then she shook her head.

Maybe he hadn’t come back yet, and Wu Shan got back first.

But she herself had an assistant.

Every business trip, Jiang Xinya went with her, leaving and returning together.

Maybe Cheng Jinyu had more important things after returning.

Besides, there was no need to inform her immediately.

Meng Chu took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

Their relationship couldn’t be held to the standard of an ordinary married couple.

Even as she comforted herself, she couldn’t shake the inexplicable gloom that lingered.

When she looked in the mirror, she stared at herself.

Meng Chu, calm down.

Don’t force your expectations onto others.

Even if he doesn’t contact you, can’t he have things to deal with?

After returning to her room, she picked up her phone from the bedside table.

The screen lit up with a familiar name.

Meng Chu’s heart jumped.

She quickly unlocked the phone.

It was a voice message from Cheng Jinyu.

When she opened it gently, she didn’t realize that all her earlier gloom and self-reassurance vanished instantly.

Cheng Jinyu: “Yao Zheng, help me cancel tomorrow’s meeting.”

Huh?

Did he send the message to the wrong person?

Meng Chu was stunned.

She was about to remind him it was sent to the wrong chat.

But before she could send a message, she listened to the voice again.

This time, she realized something was off.

Cheng Jinyu’s voice was not his usual clear and cold tone.

It was hoarse and muffled, with a heavy nasal sound—he sounded sick.

So he got sick as soon as he returned to Shanghai?

Meng Chu thought it over and decided to message him.

Meng Chu: [You accidentally sent Yao Zheng’s message to me.]

Meng Chu: [Are you sick?]

After ten minutes, no reply.

Maybe he was too out of it to hear her WeChat voice.

Meng Chu wanted to call but worried about waking him.

Yet without calling, she couldn’t confirm his condition.

Finally, she stood up from the bed.

She quickly changed into going-out clothes.

Before leaving, she decided to bring some cold medicine and fever reducers from home.

Though Cheng Jinyu should have some, just in case.

Before stepping out, she called a car on her app.

When she got to the community gate, the car was already waiting.

The drive sped along; it was past nine at night and the roads were clear.

The usual half-hour ride was shortened.

She had the apartment key card, so she smoothly went upstairs and opened the door.

When she turned on the foyer light, there were no shoes by the door, probably all put away in the shoe cabinet.

But when she walked into the living room, she saw suitcases placed there.

Sure enough, Cheng Jinyu had returned.

Having been here a few times, she knew exactly where his room was.

She turned on the hallway light and tiptoed to his door.

She wanted to knock but feared waking him.

Finally, she cautiously pushed open the bedroom door.

The room was huge—she couldn’t see the bed at once.

She walked a few steps in and finally saw the bed.

There was no light on; the room was pitch black.

She could only make out a slight bulge on the bed.

Someone seemed to be lying there.

Meng Chu hesitated but approached the bedside.

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a figure quietly lying on the bed.

Only the outline was visible, and the breathing sounded heavier than usual.

She couldn’t help but reach out to feel his forehead.

Just as her hand was about to touch him, the man who had been lying quietly suddenly seemed to sense something and opened his eyes.

He raised his hand and gripped her wrist tightly, asking sharply, “Who?”

“It’s me,” Meng Chu quickly said.

Cheng Jinyu seemed groggy and asked in a half-dreaming voice, “Meng Chu?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she said softly.

He squeezed her wrist and quietly asked, “Why did you come?”

Meng Chu said, “You sent a message to Yao Zheng by mistake and sent it to me instead. Your voice sounded off, so I came to check.”

The man on the bed didn’t say anything for a moment, then said, “Can you turn on the light for me?”

Meng Chu wanted him to loosen her wrist, but she thought better of it.

Leaning forward slightly, she reached for the switch by the bed.

Luckily, she didn’t accidentally trigger the main light.

A soft, warm light strip turned on gently.

It wasn’t the main light, but the soft light was perfect for someone just waking up.

She looked over and saw Cheng Jinyu’s eyes dark and bright, but his normally pale complexion was flushed unusually red.

He really was sick.

“Are you okay?” Meng Chu moved closer to the bed.

Cheng Jinyu’s finger lightly hooked hers, and she stumbled forward, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Sorry, I wanted you to sit down,” he said softly.

Meng Chu blinked. “It’s fine, you’ve already made me sit.”

He exhaled softly and finally released her wrist, seeming to brace himself on the bed to sit up.

Meng Chu wanted him to lie down and rest, but suddenly his body wavered.

He leaned straight toward her.

Before Meng Chu could react,

Cheng Jinyu’s head rested against her shoulder, and his burning hot body seemed to radiate heat onto her.

She could feel his scorching breath.

His forehead against her shoulder, his voice hoarse and weak: “Sorry, I just collapsed.”