Lin Ruolan's face darkened, anger flaring in her heart. "Chen Yang, what's wrong with you? My husband was kind enough to offer you a job so you wouldn't starve after retiring from the Martial Guard, but you're acting like you didn't hear a word?"

What an ungrateful wretch!

Chen Yang turned his head slightly. His calm gaze rested on Lin Ruolan, and he said nothing, simply watching her.

Faced with his stare, the furious Lin Ruolan felt her heart clench, and she grew intensely uncomfortable.

"You think Yang would even care about a job from you?" Zheng Qiang said coldly.

"Zheng Qiang, shut up! This has nothing to do with you!" Lin Ruolan snapped.

Zheng Qiang retorted angrily, "Ruolan, who can't see right through you? After all these years, the first thing you want to do is step all over Yang? Are you even human?"

"A security guard? Ha! Why don't you just ask him to stoke the boilers for you? The nerve of you to even suggest it!"

"You..." Lin Ruolan glared, her teeth clenched as she stared at Zheng Qiang.

Zheng Qiang crossed his arms, meeting her glare head-on.

When he first ran into her at the Charity House, she had been insufferably smug, and now she was finding new ways to put Chen Yang down. Unbelievable!

"Qiangzi, let's get a good drink later this afternoon," Chen Yang said, ignoring Lin Ruolan completely.

Zheng Qiang nodded with a smile. "My place is nearby. Let's go there! I'll have my wife cook up some good food!"

"Great!"

Lin Ruolan pursed her lips, her expression a mask of scorn and disgust.

Yue Kang curled his lip and shook his head inwardly. People of such a low class… everything they do is so crass. What he found most amusing was that despite being so low-class, they always put on such airs. They wouldn't even seize an opportunity when it was staring them in the face. What future could people like that have, other than a lifetime of poverty?

Just then, Yang Hu, having finished his business, walked straight over.

Already tall and imposing, Yang Hu was dressed in a martial uniform today, and his appearance immediately drew stares from everyone. Even Yue Kang couldn't help but marvel at the man's powerful build.

Most importantly, the aura he projected as he walked was sharp and utterly commanding. It was so overwhelming that the director of the Charity House walking beside him was completely ignored.

"Who is that guy?"

"Probably a Martial Guard, right? That aura is terrifying."

Everyone, from Lin Ruolan and Zheng Qiang to the surrounding staff, could only stare, dumbfounded.

Until...

"Boss, everything is taken care of," Yang Hu said, standing before Chen Yang. "This is the advantage of hiring our own people to manage things. If it were those others, who knows how much they would have skimmed off the top!"

"Boss, you've arrived," the director of the Charity House, Wu Song, greeted him deferentially.

Lin Ruolan: "..."

Yue Kang: "..."

Zheng Qiang: "..."

Chen Yang nodded, then lifted Shanshan into his arms and walked away, heading toward a sunny spot nearby.

"B-Boss? What does that mean?"

"Could it be that..."

The director of the Charity House called him "Boss." The implication was obvious. They weren't idiots, and once the shock wore off, gasps of astonishment filled the air.

"He is, of course, the founder of this Charity House and the benefactor for all of its ongoing expenses," Wu Song explained calmly before hurrying after Chen Yang with Yang Hu.

Yue Kang's face instantly turned deathly pale, his palms breaking out in a cold sweat.

Lin Ruolan's eyes went wide as she sucked in a breath of cold air. How... how is this possible?

One had to know, the founder of this Charity House had established similar institutions all over the country. Not just three or five, but one or two hundred of them. What did that even mean?

"I always knew Yang would be somebody! Unlike some people who get a little money and act like they're on top of the world, trying to crush everyone beneath their feet!"

"If you're so capable, why don't you be like Yang and donate all your money to charity?"

Zheng Qiang was triumphant, sneering as he spoke. "You want a major business owner, a great philanthropist, to be a security guard at your company? To watch your door for you? What incredible nerve!"

At these words, Yue Kang's expression shifted again and again, as if he'd just swallowed a fly. It was a priceless sight.

But the person who suffered the biggest psychological blow was, without a doubt, Lin Ruolan.

She lowered her head, her hands clenched so tightly together that her knuckles were white. She tried desperately to control her trembling body, but the more she tried, the more violently she shook. It trembled so much that blood began to seep from between her fingers, yet she felt nothing.

In these twenty years, what on earth has he gone through? How did a guy who used to get into fights everywhere, a stray even dogs despised, become such an untouchable figure, so far beyond her reach? In her imagination, Chen Yang was supposed to be broke and destitute, maybe even homeless! Only then would her choices be vindicated. Only then could she feel superior, living her own glamorous life. And yet... do I just look like an ant? A pathetic, posturing clown?

"Forget that your company isn't even public. Even if it went public and its assets multiplied dozens of times over, what would that be worth in front of Yang? You arrogant snobs!"

"He's only sparing you for old times' sake. If he weren't, you bastards would have paid dearly for your disrespect by now!"

Zheng Qiang had been absolutely furious earlier, barely holding back his rage. Now, letting it all out was immensely satisfying.

Yue Kang, so proud and full of himself just moments before, could only hang his head and silently endure the tirade.

He'd really messed with the wrong person today.

The authenticity of Chen Yang's identity was undeniable. Wu Song's personal attendance and respectful attitude said it all.

Zheng Qiang stood ramrod straight and shot a cold look at Lin Ruolan. "If you hadn't caused all this trouble, and if Yang were still single, then maybe meeting today could have led to something. Just like the aunties used to say."

"Being with Yang would be ten thousand times better than being with this piece of trash, wouldn't it?"

Zheng Qiang scoffed. "Besides, you're just damaged goods now. With Chen Yang's accomplishments today, how could you ever hope to be worthy of him?"

These words struck Lin Ruolan like a physical blow, turning her face ashen with a deep, sorrowful pain.

Deep inside, she felt as if she had lost the most important thing in her life. The emptiness was suffocating.

"Zheng Qiang, stop it!" Lin Ruolan shrieked.

Then, she turned and fled from the Charity House like a madwoman.

Outside, rows of weeping willows swayed in the autumn wind.

She leaned against the wall, staring at the dipping branches, and a sudden, bitter smile touched her lips.

She remembered it all so clearly. Back then, she was mischievous and always getting into trouble, but whenever she was bullied, Chen Yang would stand up for her without a second thought. But as she grew older, she began to understand what she truly wanted. She knew that the orphans in the Charity House, without parents or backing, would struggle their whole lives to get ahead. So she worked hard to change herself, chasing her ambitions with everything she had. And in the end? The thing she was so proud of, so self-satisfied with, was nothing more than a tiny sesame seed. But in her arrogance and complacency, she had kicked the giant watermelon aside. To be more precise, it had been right there for the taking, yet it could only be admired from a distance, never touched. Pathetic? Regretful? Only she could truly understand the taste of these feelings.

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.