Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 089

Chapter 89 ☆, Unimaginable Dark Past.

Mary and Han Canghai’s wedding was quite conventional. When they were planning their wedding last time, Mary had shared her vision of the kind of wedding she wanted with Xin Xin.

She said she did not want a master of ceremonies and wanted to host the wedding herself so everyone could immerse themselves in a joyful and exhilarating experience of love. Most importantly, she would reveal all the background research she had meticulously conducted on Han Canghai at the wedding and finally make a heartfelt confession: “Mr. Han, you probably don’t know that behind every seemingly natural event, there was someone who had been planning it for a long time.”

This scenario did not occur.

During the wedding rehearsal, Mary rationally planned for the next day. She specifically instructed the wedding emcee not to get emotional and just to complete the ceremony.

Because it was a Western-style wedding, Xin Xin did not have many tasks; she only needed to quietly act as a mascot and present the ring when necessary. The best man arrived late, and coincidentally, it was an old acquaintance, Gao Ling.

It had been a while since she’d seen him, and Gao Ling had gained some weight. But he was still all smiles and seemed very approachable. Perhaps because his partner was not around, he was not as cold towards Xin Xin as he had been when we met at the bar last time.

“Long time no see. I heard you were transferred to Jiangcheng?”

Xin Xin smiled and replied, “Yes, and you? How are you?”

A hint of shyness flashed across Gao Ling’s face. “I’m getting married soon too.”

“That beautiful woman from last time?” Xin Xin joked.

Gao Ling nodded generously. “Yes, she’s my junior sister.”

That was their entire conversation. Xin Xin suddenly remembered what Mary had said: “Do not take a man’s deep affection too seriously.” You might worry about hurting him, but in reality, after being affectionate in front of you, he could turn around and be just as affectionate with someone else.

Xin Xin was not arrogant or conceited, believing that no one else could find true love but herself. Nor was she morally superior, habitually criticizing others from a high place. She simply disliked taking responsibility for hurting others and thus stubbornly refused to owe anyone anything.

Especially in matters of the heart. Mary, however, was completely different. She believed that no one owed her anything, so people only needed to control themselves, not others.

Mary had imagined her wedding countless times, always envisioning a unique and extraordinary ceremony. However, in reality, her wedding was just like any other wedding in the world, requiring only familiar platitudes before moving on to the vows.

“Mr. Han Canghai, are you willing to marry Ms. Zhao Ningyan?”

Han Canghai answered “yes” without the slightest hesitation.

When Mary was asked, she paused for a few seconds. Xin Xin was quite certain that during those few seconds of silence, she saw a look of fear and confusion on Mary’s face.

Then that moment was fleeting, and soon she firmly replied, “I do.”

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, and Xin Xin presented the ring as per protocol.

For most married people, a wedding left them with only exhaustion, chaos, and hunger. Few people could recall the joy, happiness, and excitement of their wedding afterward.

Xin Xin had been a bridesmaid a few times, but after starting work, everyone’s time was extremely precious. For her to spare a day or two to help with such mundane tasks already showed she was a true friend.

After accompanying the newlyweds to toast and rest, Xin Xin slumped onto the table, even losing the joy of eating.

Because of her, Zheng Zaochuan attended Mary’s wedding banquet. Seeing that she looked like she had no will to live, he just smiled and pushed a plate of food that had been reserved for her to her.

“Eat something. How many times have you been a bridesmaid?”

Xin Xin thought for a moment, “Four or five times, my high school friends and college friends. Mary will probably be the last time.”

Zheng Zaochuan laughed and said, “It’s not that you can only do it three times; otherwise, you won’t be able to get married.”

Xin Xin retorted while eating, “How could I, a dignified materialist, believe in this?”

The two were chatting idly when the newlyweds and their relatives arrived. Han Canghai’s family was from Haining, and he had many relatives. Mary’s family only sent a few close relatives; the rest of their friends would probably had to go back to entertain guests.

Xin Xin stood up and greeted them politely, but then heard someone clearly call out, “Xing Yan?”

There was a hint of uncertainty and probing in his voice.

However, Zheng Zaochuan only glanced at that person before all the color drained from his face.

Since meeting Zheng Zaochuan, Xin Xin had never seen his terrified expression.

Although she did not know what the person was talking about, she was certain that Zheng Zaochuan knew the name.

Then, after a brief moment of shock, Zheng Zaochuan pursed his lips seriously, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, and asked, “Who’s that?”

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Mary stepped in to smooth things over. “Cousin, are you sure you have not mistaken him for someone else? This is Xin Xin’s boyfriend, Zheng Zaochuan. Xin Xin, this is Han Canghai’s cousin from her aunt’s side.”

Xin Xin looked over and saw that the person was looking at them with an unusually strange, almost malicious expression.

“I made a mistake? Even though many years have passed, I’m old and my eyesight’s failing, so it’s impossible for me to mistake a murderer.”

The tone was so malicious that Xin Xin got angry and grabbed Zheng Zaochuan’s hand without hesitation, saying, “What do you mean? There’s no need for this sarcastic tone.”

The man lifted his bangs, revealing his forehead, and Xin Xin then noticed a long and wide scar on his delicate and fair face, which snaked all the way to behind his ear.

“See this scar? It was inflicted by this man who changed his name. Speaking of which, how could such a beautiful young lady be so foolish as to be with such a dangerous person?”

This time, Han Canghai, who had been silent until now, spoke up: “I don’t care what problems you have in private; this is my wedding.”

Several of Han Canghai’s relatives came over and pulled them apart. However, Han Canghai’s cousin kept turning back to look at Xin Xin as he walked away and shouted, “Go and investigate the Xing family case in Jiangcheng. See if what I said is true.”

Zheng Zaochuan’s hands turned icy cold and trembled almost uncontrollably.

Xin Xin barely suppressed her curiosity, wanting to say something to ease the tension, but Zheng Zaochuan was the first to shake off her hand without saying a word.

He turned and left.

Mary and Xin Xin looked at each other, and Mary tugged at Han Canghai’s sleeve, “What’s going on?”

Han Canghai glanced at Xin Xin, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but did not.

Xin Xin calmly said, “Go ahead and tell me.”

Han Canghai said, “I don’t know the specifics. I only know that the injury on my cousin’s face was from a fight with a classmate when he was a child. The injury was quite serious at the time. I heard that the classmate was supposed to be expelled from school, but the matter was settled privately because the other family paid a lot of money in compensation.”

Xin Xin paused for a moment and asked, “Was that person Zheng Zaochuan?”

Han Canghai hesitated for a moment but still spoke directly, “I don’t know, but I know why they fought. I heard that the child pushed his father down the stairs, and it was ultimately ruled manslaughter. But his classmates all thought he did it on purpose, and many children at school didn’t want to play with him and called him a murderer. Children’s evil is actually very direct.”

Xin Xin suddenly felt a deathly coldness all over her body. She remembered what Xibei had said before, and that Zheng Zaochuan never mentioned his childhood.

This carefree, cheerful man, who always faced life with a smile, could be as innocent as a child, yet also as fiercely competitive as a wolf. Was he truly hiding a past she did not know about?

Mary was a little worried and handed Xin Xin a glass of water. “Don’t be afraid. Why don’t you ask Zheng Zaochuan first? He seemed to be in a bad mood when he went out.”

Xin Xin suddenly realized what was happening and chased after him, but he had already disappeared from sight.

Although Xin Xin had long been used to Zheng Zaochuan being this kind of person—appearing and disappearing suddenly, driven entirely by emotions and instincts.

But this was the first time he seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, completely disappearing from the world.

No matter how many times Xin Xin called, the phone was always switched off.

Mary herself had not anticipated such an unexpected turn of events at her wedding. Completely at a loss for words, she could only say, “Mr. Zheng’s a worldly person; nothing will happen to him because of this.”

Xin Xin was very downcast and said with a bitter smile, “You know what? I’m not worried about anything happening to him. Even if all of this is true, he’s been through far more than I imagined. But what I find terrifying is that you’re with someone, but they can just disappear like that, as if you don’t exist.”

When Han Canghai was there, even if Xin Xin and Mary were eating together, he would sit next to them and not say a word for an hour.

It was as if Mary’s friends were where Mary was, and he had no interest in them whatsoever.

But now, during Mary and Xin Xin’s conversation, he listened patiently the whole time, and when Xin Xin brought up this point, he calmly advised, “If he really is a man who has come this far from a very difficult past, then he has become accustomed to hiding all his true self. Choosing to be with him will be very difficult for you.”

Xin Xin understood this perfectly. She looked at Zheng Zaochuan as if she were looking at a bottomless pool of water. Hidden within it were the pain and despair of a world that did not belong to her, as well as countless unknown past experiences.

All of this could not be resolved or smoothed over by him taking Xin Xin back to campus and pretending that the two of them were college students.

However, whether they continued to face the difficulties together or parted ways, Xin Xin needed to find someone, but Zheng Zaochuan did not appear until that evening.

Mary and her husband dropped off a group of relatives and friends and drove Xin Xin back to Jiangcheng. The weather was not very good; it was foggy the whole time, and they could not see any stars.

That year, the night she was almost kidnapped by Zheng Zaochuan and taken to see the stars was so beautiful.

Xin Xin suddenly laughed, “Why should people fight against the fate they have to face? If I had known, I should have gotten together with him when we were young. Maybe after all this trouble, we would have broken up long ago.”

If the atmosphere had been more relaxed, Mary might had been able to reiterate her experiential theory. However, after hesitating for a while, she ultimately just silently rested her head on Xin Xin’s shoulder.