Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 050

Chapter 50 ☆, Fu Meng’s Choice.

Zhao Xi had never described his story with Fu Meng in grand and dramatic terms. Unexpectedly, he really did save the beauty from harm before marrying Fu Meng.

Fu Meng felt that she had never received unconditional love from her parents in her life. But she was lucky to have received love from Zhao Xi and Lin Chong’an during the best years of her life, and this love was all the more precious in the face of external obstacles.

According to Fu Meng, when Zhao Xi’s parents first met Fu Meng, “every smile line hid contempt.” This contempt was an invisible knife, slowly torturing Fu Meng’s self-esteem.

But she kept smiling, pretending to be innocent and clueless, unable to understand the veiled insults in their words.

Later, by chance, they both joined the same company. They agreed to keep their relationship a secret until the time was right.

Fu Meng suddenly asked Xin Xin, “How did you get into the company?”

“Interviews, huh?” Xin Xin’s job search went smoothly. If you had to categorize her, she’d be what people nowadays call a “small-town exam-taker.” Her mother was a teacher who had given her extra classes since she was little. Xin Xin started school early and even skipped grades, graduating just in time for the booming capital market. She had both the advantage of age and the perfect timing of the best economic period.

Fu Meng smiled slyly. “Guess how I got in?”

Xin Xin couldn’t guess.

Fu Meng said somewhat sadly, “It’s a good thing that many people don’t know about this; otherwise, it would make me seem even worse. After the interview, I felt that things might not have gone well. But it was just a coincidence that after the interview, I was washing my hands at the sink when Lin Chong’an happened to see me after his meeting.”

“You knew Lin Chong’an back then?”

“Yes, before I interview with each company, I go online and memorize the photos of their executives.”

Xin Xin was dumbfounded. She had been working for almost two years and only now recognized all the senior executives at the head office.

Fu Meng said with a hint of pride, “I recognized him in the mirror at a glance. In that instant, I was like a superb actor, and I immediately shed a few tears.”

This couldn’t even be called scheming; it was more of a performance instinct. She relied on the sympathy of others to survive since childhood.

Lin Chong’an asked her, “Why are you crying, little girl? If the interview didn’t go well, you can still get opportunities at other companies.”

Without a second thought, Fu Meng told a lie without batting an eye.

She said her boyfriend also applied to Hengyang, and she had the highest GPA in the entire college and all the accounting and finance certifications. However, her boyfriend told the interviewer that his girlfriend was also interviewing in the same room. If her boyfriend got the job, she knew she had no chance.

Fu Meng keenly noticed Lin Chong’an’s slight reluctance and stammered, “I thought I had tried hard enough, and my only dream was Hengyang. But he only thought of me as a girl and easily took away my opportunity.”

Fu Meng’s story was true, but the person she was talking about was not her.

During the same interview, she overheard a boy mentioning that his girlfriend was also interviewing with Hengyang when the interviewer asked him personal questions.

She was gambling, gambling on Lin Chong’an’s compassion.

Sure enough, Lin Chong’an asked her, “What’s your name?”

Fu Meng seized the opportunity and handed her resume to Lin Chong’an, saying, “Hello, manager, my name is Fu Meng. If you have any other job opportunities, please give me one.”

She deliberately mistook Lin Chong’an for an ordinary staff member.

Lin Chong’an didn’t say anything, but he accepted her resume.

The moment Fu Meng met Lin Chong’an, she touched his heart. Her hopeful, innocent, and poignant youthful spirit moved him.

But what happened next was something Fu Meng herself hadn’t expected.

If Lin Chong’an were an ordinary person, this would just be a cliché story of an experienced old man using his life experience to deceive female college students into loving and sleeping with him.

But Lin Chong’an was not an ordinary person; he could even be considered a good person.

Before Fu Meng, he was strict with himself, meticulous in his work and life, and had never been involved in any scandals. After Fu Meng came to be his secretary, he only did so because he felt sorry for the young girl and thought he could help her out.

Lin Chong’an transferred her to his office, intending to cultivate her talent.

But in Fu Meng’s eyes, this was an opportunity, and Lin Chong’an was also an extremely useful connection. She was grateful and couldn’t help but feel a bit of simple concern and admiration for Lin Chong’an.

The catalyst for this was Fu Meng’s good-for-nothing younger brother asking her for money.

Sometimes life wasn’t as logically consistent as a TV drama.

If this were a TV series, Fu Meng’s younger brother would probably be a villainous character who owed gambling debts, committed all sorts of evil deeds, and spoke harshly to his sister.

But the truth was that Fu Meng’s younger brother was a taciturn, somewhat dim-witted person who idolized his sister but was utterly useless.

Fu Meng said, “You know perfectly well that I can’t even afford to rent a place right now.”

Fu Meng’s younger brother, Fu Qiang, looked bewildered and confused and stammered, “Second Sister also said she has no money, and Second Sister is still in school. But Dad’s leg is broken, and Mom has now injured her back. Big Sister, what should we do?”

Looking at her younger brother’s innocent, blank expression, Fu Meng felt an urge to slap him.

But eventually, her tense shoulders relaxed, and she numbly dialed Zhao Xi’s number, “Beep beep beep…”

For a long, long time, there was no answer from the other end.

Lin Chong’an observed Fu Meng through the office glass for a long time before finally walking out as if by accident. When he saw Fu Qiang, Lin Chong’an assumed he was Fu Meng’s boyfriend, remembering her mention of the disagreements they had during the job interview, and thought he was there to cause trouble.

As soon as Fu Meng saw Lin Chong’an, she hurriedly explained, “President Lin, I’m sorry, is there something wrong? My brother has something urgent to discuss with me.”

Lin Chong’an saw a striking resemblance between the two equally apprehensive faces.

“So what? Zhao Xi didn’t save you from your predicament, but Lin Chong’an did?” Xin Xin couldn’t help but ask.

Fu Meng nodded. “Everyone says I’ll do anything for a position. But no one knows how good Lin Chong’an was to me. He didn’t just lend me money; he asked someone to arrange hospital admissions for my parents and found the best doctors in Jin City to treat them. I didn’t know any of this until I called my brother and he told me.”

In Xin Xin’s memory, Lin Chong’an was a very refined middle-aged man and certainly not annoying.

Love would naturally blossom in the face of absolute experience and overwhelming power.

Fu Meng gave a wry smile. “Actually, at that time, I was already tempted. Zhao Xi is a good person, but he can’t give me what Lin Chong’an gave me. It’s not just money or anything else, but peace of mind. I felt at ease.”

Only in front of Lin Chong’an could Fu Meng be herself. Lin Chong’an had seen all kinds of women, and there were far too many poor but ambitious girls like Fu Meng.

But Fu Meng was different. Her ambition was clear, and she did not hide her pain and sorrow. Even her bit of badness and indifference became things that attracted Lin Chong’an.

Lin Chong’an loved the real Fu Meng; he loved her even though he was fully aware of all her flaws.

But Zhao Xi was different.

Zhao Xi loved the abstract, imagined Fu Meng; he loved a strong, simple, independent, and resilient perfect girl.

Therefore, Fu Meng felt at ease in Lin Chong’an’s love. In Zhao Xi’s love, she had to compromise and make concessions.

Xin Xin didn’t really want to stand on moral high ground to criticize Fu Meng, especially since Fu Meng had already paid the price for her immorality.

After all, Lin Chong’an’s gentleness and affection, while touching Fu Meng, were also discovered by his own wife.

For some men who were used to cheating, their wives in middle age had often gotten used to catching their fifth or sixth mistress, so much so that it might even seem boring.

But for Lin Chong’an’s wife, they were each other’s first love. Lin Chong’an had been responsible to his family for many years and loved his wife and children.

To some extent, when such a man fell in love with someone else, the blow to his wife was even more devastating.

Lin Chong’an planned to leave with nothing and divorce his wife.

Xin Xin had already heard the rumors about this story, but when Fu Meng told it, she couldn’t help but have a thought.

“If he really leaves with nothing, would you have married him?”

Fu Meng said very firmly, “Yes, I would. At that time, I truly loved him; I felt both gratitude and love.”

“And then what happened?”

How could such a steadfast love crumble?

Because of a fight.

Although Lin Chong’an’s wife kept making a fuss, the most she did was use Fu Meng’s name within the company.

Mrs. Yu made threats but never actually caused any real harm to Fu Meng. However, Lin Chong’an’s son found out about this, and he and several classmates ambushed Fu Meng at the entrance of her apartment complex.

She was very lucky. Fu Meng’s younger brother happened to be at her house those days. When he went out to buy groceries, he rescued Fu Meng, who had already fainted, and called the police.

Fu Meng’s injuries were so severe that if she pursued the matter, Lin Chong’an’s son could end up with a criminal record.

“Do you know what? Lin Chong’an’s wife, that arrogant woman, knelt in front of me, begging me not to sue. But I couldn’t hear her, because I lost hearing in my left ear because of this.”

Xin Xin was shocked to learn that there was such a hidden story behind this matter.

Fu Meng said, enunciating each word clearly, “Do you believe in true love in this world?”

If true love required both exclusivity and eternity, then Xin Xin believed there was no true love in this world.

Fu Meng thought she had found true love, but she didn’t, because Lin Chong’an had also begged her. Lin Chong’an and his wife gave Fu Meng a huge sum of cash to protect their son’s future.

Love ultimately lost to family ties.

The couple eventually formed an unbreakable alliance regarding their attitudes toward their children.

At that moment, Fu Meng decided to keep the money and lick her wounds herself. She traded her worthless love and half of her hearing for enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

The final result was known to the entire company. As the villainous mistress, she provided Lin Chong’an’s rivals with a weapon to attack him, causing indelible damage to his family.

Despite the company’s constant gossip and pointing fingers at her, Lin Chong’an remained Lin Chong’an, while she became the sole disgrace.

Whether spittle could drown a person, Fu Meng didn’t know. But at that time, she had seriously considered going home to take the exam and become a village official.

Just then, Zhao Xi said to her, “Let’s get married. Let’s forgive and forget the past and start over.”

Even later, Fu Meng herself couldn’t tell whether Zhao Xi had gradually fallen in love with Xin Xin after meeting her, which led to their marriage existing in name only, or whether his initial proposal to her was merely to protect his pride and prove that he was no less than Lin Chong’an.

Fu Meng felt that whatever the reason, it was definitely no longer because of pure love.

Perhaps Zhao Xi also regretted not answering Fu Meng’s call when she was in trouble. Fu Meng also wondered if things would have been different if Zhao Xi had answered the phone.

But there were no “what ifs” in life; every choice we made was inevitable.