Song Xinya had more or less figured out what had suddenly caused Shen Chaoyang’s mental illness.
Now that she knew about Shen Chaoyang’s condition, Song Xinya had come up with a plan.
She carried the remaining twenty-four roujiamo back to the office.
Chen Siyan said, “Perfect timing. I haven’t had breakfast today, and Teacher Song came back carrying meat buns. You really are my provider.”
Song Xinya said, “Call me Mom.”
“Having another stepmother means another way out; having another little mother means another home. There’s true love everywhere in this world—if she’s a mother, I love her.”
He opened his mouth and began calling Song Xinya “Mom.”
Song Xinya picked up Natasha from the side and stuffed it into his mouth. “Go spend time with your little black son.”
Yuan Jingcheng walked past with a cup of coffee, casting a glance at Song Xinya and Chen Siyan.
The boss had arrived, so the two of them stopped fooling around and returned to their workstations to begin working.
With a warm, friendly smile, Yuan Jingcheng said, “Sharpening your ax won’t delay the cutting of wood. Chat for a while before getting to work. Go ahead and slack off—I don’t mind. Don’t worry about me; I’m just passing by.”
Chen Siyan muttered under his breath, “If we don’t slack off, how are we supposed to digest the pie our boss has drawn for us?”
Song Xinya said, “Isn’t that what work is? Work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work—work-life balance.”
Before returning to his office, Yuan Jingcheng glanced at Song Xinya.
During the week since he had taken up his new position, Song Xinya had been going out every day.
Whenever she told Chen Siyan that she had something to take care of, he let her leave.
She never submitted a leave request, nor did she report her whereabouts to him, her superior.
Yuan Jingcheng felt that Song Xinya did not take him seriously as her boss at all.
After asking around, he learned that this was simply how the company’s rules worked: employees did not need to report their leave to the general manager. As long as they informed their direct supervisor, they could leave.
How casual.
The system was far too generous to the employees.
It also did nothing to establish the authority of the general manager.
Yuan Jingcheng had an especially strong desire for control. He liked keeping power firmly in his own hands and enjoyed having other people’s fate at his mercy.
Approving employee leave might seem like a minor matter, but the sense of control that came from holding such power over an employee’s fate was unlike anything else.
After returning to his office, Yuan Jingcheng immediately drafted a document proposing reforms to the employee leave process. It stipulated that from then on, all employee leave requests would first require approval from the department head, followed by approval from him, the general manager.
Carrying the document, Yuan Jingcheng went to Qin Yuhe’s office on the thirty-eighth floor.
“President Qin, I’d like to report something to you. I think the leave policy on the eighth floor has a loophole. It isn’t conducive to company management, let alone profitability. With the company’s efficiency in mind, I suggest reforming the leave system for the eighth-floor company. From now on, every employee’s leave request should require my approval.”
Qin Yuhe lifted his head from the document before him. Holding his fountain pen horizontally between his fingers, he asked calmly, “Do you know who established the leave policy on the eighth floor?”
Yuan Jingcheng said, “With a brainless policy like that, it must have been Zhao Yinian.”
Qin Yuhe said, “I did.”
Yuan Jingcheng fell silent.
Qin Yuhe said, “Do you still think it’s brainless?”
“I don’t. I now think this policy is excellent—there’s nothing brainless about it at all.”
Qin Yuhe leaned back and folded his arms, looking at Yuan Jingcheng with leisurely amusement. “Are you still planning to reform it?”
“Of course not. Letting employees take leave whenever they need to handle personal matters is a highly democratic decision, and it’s very good for the company. If an employee is unable to take leave, they’ll keep worrying about their private affairs. Even if they’re physically at work, they won’t be able to devote their thoughts and energy to their job. It’s much better to let them take leave, deal with their personal matters properly, and then return to work with peace of mind. That way, efficiency will be higher and the results twice as good with half the effort. President Qin’s policy is truly wise.”
He was a master of changing with the wind and currying favor, embodying the phrase “a fence-sitter” to perfection.
A mocking smile tugged at the corners of Qin Yuhe’s lips.
Qin Yuhe did not know exactly what Song Xinya had been doing lately.
What he did know was that she had been going out frequently.
The previous night, he had pressed her down and kissed her—from her forehead and lips to her chest, thighs, and ankles.
When he held her slender, pale leg and tried to part it, she refused him, saying that she had to get up early the next day and could not do it that night.
Qin Yuhe asked, “You have to get up early tomorrow, not go out tonight. Why can’t we?”
Song Xinya said, “Once you start, you never stop. Every time takes forever, and you insist on doing it at least six or seven times a night. What woman could handle you?”
Once again, Qin Yuhe was rejected for having excessively powerful kidneys.
Song Xinya said she had to get up early, and Qin Yuhe wondered just how early she could possibly get up.
When he woke the next morning, the space beside him was empty.
She had already left.
She really had gotten up early.
When he asked what she was going to do, she said she was meeting a client.
Qin Yuhe knew that, given the nature of her work, Song Xinya really did need to go out often.
Sometimes, if the two of them had been too intense the night before, she could not get up the next day.
He wanted her to sleep a little longer.
Yuan Jingcheng’s proposed leave reform would be detrimental to Song Xinya in every way, whether from a public or private standpoint.
So Qin Yuhe would never approve it.
Just as Yuan Jingcheng was preparing to leave, Qin Yuhe asked, “How is your reform of the elimination system coming along?”
Yuan Jingcheng replied, “I’ve already informed every employee of the new policy. At the end of this month, I’ll dismiss the five employees with the lowest performance rankings. At the same time, I’m preparing to bring in some fresh blood and recruit several outstanding new employees.”
After saying this, Yuan Jingcheng studied Qin Yuhe’s expression and asked, “What do you think of this plan, President Qin?”
The dirty work would not be done by Song Xinya, and the employees being dismissed would not come looking for her to make trouble.
Qin Yuhe said, “Go ahead and do it.”
The apprehension on Yuan Jingcheng’s face eased, replaced by a delighted smile.
Although President Qin had rejected his proposed leave reform, he supported the reform of the elimination system.
In summary, Qin Yuhe still supported his work—and supported him as a person, too.
Yuan Jingcheng returned to the company on the eighth floor in high spirits.
As he passed Song Xinya’s workstation, he turned his head and saw, once again, that it was empty.
“Where did Song Xinya go?” Yuan Jingcheng asked.
Chen Siyan replied, “She took leave. She told me about it.”
Yuan Jingcheng wanted to say that this was far too casual—she had simply said she was taking leave and walked out. But then he remembered that this was a rule established by Qin Yuhe, and he did not dare say a word.
What did Song Xinya go out to do every day?
At that moment, Song Xinya was sitting in a café, with Han Jingyi seated across from her.
“Brother Jingyi, do you know any specialists in mental illness?”
They had not seen each other for quite some time. Han Jingyi gazed at her face, his eyes tracing every inch of it, while restrained longing churned in their depths.
“I do.”
He asked her, “Have you been feeling mentally unwell lately?”
But she looked full of energy, her skin smooth and radiant, her entire being glowing with vitality.
Song Xinya said, “I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking on behalf of someone else.”
Han Jingyi could tell that she was not asking for Qin Yuhe, either.
A woman who was mistreated by her husband would not have that softness, charm, and happiness radiating from her every gesture and expression.
Qin Yuhe must treat her well.
Her relationship with Qin Yuhe should be fairly good.
Someone capable of giving love to others ought to be in a good state of mind himself.
Therefore, Han Jingyi deduced that Qin Yuhe’s mental state was likely fine, and that Song Xinya wasn’t asking for his sake.
Han Jingyi said, “Would it be convenient for you to tell me who you’re asking for?”
It wasn’t very convenient.
This involved Shen Chaoyang’s privacy—having been raped—as well as the secret that Sheng Tianjun had once tried to rape Song Xinya.
Song Xinya pondered how to phrase it.
Then she heard Han Jingyi say, “If it’s inconvenient to say, you don’t have to. Whoever you’re asking for, I’ll help you.”
He introduced Song Xinya to a psychiatric specialist at his own hospital.
He also pulled some strings for her, telling the specialist that whenever Song Xinya needed an appointment, he was to make room for her immediately.
After obtaining the specialist’s appointment, Song Xinya wasted no time. She was preparing to go find Shen Chaoyang and her daughter.
She rose from her seat and headed for the door.
Han Jingyi had come specifically because of her. Since she was leaving, naturally he had no reason to stay either.
The two of them walked toward the café entrance together.
Like a gentleman, Han Jingyi held the door open for Song Xinya. She walked past him.
The ground outside the café had just been mopped and was covered with a thin layer of moisture, making it slick and wet.
Han Jingyi said, “The floor is slippery. Walk slowly and be careful not to fall.”
Song Xinya answered with a soft “Mm.”
She looked up, and her gaze suddenly froze.
Qin Yuhe was walking toward them from across the street.
He glanced at Song Xinya, then at Han Jingyi beside her. “I wonder who this gentleman is. He opens the door for my wife and warns her to watch her step. You’re certainly very concerned about someone else’s wife.”
