Chapter 9: How Long Do You Think You Can Keep This Up?

沈明走出苏家时,她在门口等车.她的目光首先落在了停在入口前的车辆上.烈日下,她犹豫着要不要进去.荣兆南的助理从车里走下来,手里拿着伞向她走来."沈小姐,荣先生请你上车."沈明表情严肃,快速回复了一条信息.她还没来得及回复左航的短信.一分钟后,司机打开车门走了出来,撑着伞为荣兆南挡住了阳光.两人走近,荣兆南站在她面前,挡住了强烈的阳光,在她的脸上投下了阴影."你的态度怎么样?" 他问道,声音里带着一丝恼怒.沈明不在乎回应.她太忙了,甚至没时间吃早餐.她道歉时声音很平静."对不起,荣先生,我今天早上有急事要处理.我得先去办公室看看.我很抱歉让你大老远来到这里.荣兆南抿了抿嘴唇,怒火显而易见."你真的把你的优先事项弄清楚了,"他咕哝着,转向他的助手."把她带上车."助理犹豫了一下,但还是服从了,"沈小姐,请进去.沈明瞥了他一眼,她的怨恨很明显,但她已经准备跟着他上车,这时一个熟悉的声音在她身后喊道."赵南!"她立即转过身来.荣兆南也做了同样的事情.烈日下,杜青和妈妈,还有一群助手,站在荣家门口,一副要离开的样子.沈明强忍着笑容.这真是个好笑——仅仅在这里站了一会儿,她就碰到了荣兆南和他的妈妈,还有他的一群学生.她压抑着笑声,从现在在她身边的左航手中接过了伞."看来你有事要办,荣先生.我的车已经到了,所以我现在就上路了.她撑着伞,爬上了等着她的车,车子很快就飞驰而去.远远地,杜青锐利的目光在离去的汽车上徘徊.荣兆南与她的目光相遇,眼睛微微眯起.然后,他转向了已经走近的左航."她有胆量.告诉她,如果她今天早上太忙而无法进行检查,我们会重新安排下午.如果她再次错过,她将不得不承担后果.她仍然必须生孩子,无论她喜欢与否.通话结束后,沈明忍不住开心了.什么婴儿?她想.她的助理赖音开车时显得不安.紧张是显而易见的.他瞥了她一眼,注意到她脸上淡淡的笑容."沈宗,我们现在该怎么办?您提到的投资者,我们未能达成任何交易.没有人愿意投资.面对产品危机,我们还应该去办公室吗?吴书记刚打来电话,说有人来闹事了.我们现在应该避免它吗?"避免它?我们应该躲到哪里去呢?沈明合上了她手里的平板电脑,冷冷地回应道."There hasn't been a press release yet. If troublemakers show up, the media will be the first to know. Liu Ji hasn't called yet, but I'm sure the news isn't unfounded. Call the media, and let them know where I've been these past few days."Lai Yin was stunned. She continued, "Also, contact reporter Cheng for next Sunday. Let her know I've got some information for her, and I want to sell it first."

2:00 PM

Zuo Hang's car arrived to pick her up on time. By this point, Shen Ming had been running on fumes, having skipped lunch due to back-to-back meetings with several media companies. Not even a moment's rest. Without skipping a beat, Zuo Hang took her straight to the hospital.Twenty minutes later, Zuo Hang received a call. The person on the other end was furious."Where is she?" The voice came from the other side, as angry as a storm.Zuo Hang was busy waiting in line. He turned his gaze toward Shen Ming, who was leaning against the railing, looking resigned and frustrated."On her way. She's finishing up in line, but after she gets her ice cream, she'll be here in about 20 minutes."The voice on the phone went silent for a moment."Ice cream?!" There was a beat of silence, then Rong Zhaonan's voice came back, deeper and heavier. "Is it you who's lacking brains, or is it that fool of a woman? This month's performance is getting cut in half. Get her to the hospital now."Zuo Hang was practically shaking."Mr. Rong, it was Shen Ming who said she didn't have lunch and asked me to get some ice cream for her to tide her over..."Silence fell for a second, then Rong Zhaonan's voice was laced with more anger."…"In the end, she didn't get to eat the ice cream, because Rong Zhaonan sent word that the pregnancy check-up must be done on an empty stomach.As she sat in the car, Shen Ming rested her chin in her hand, feeling a twinge of regret. Maybe she should have eaten something earlier.The car reached the hospital. Zuo Hang politely asked her to get out.After all, it wasn't lost on him that Shen Ming now held a different kind of power, carrying the future heir of Rong Zhaonan. Even he couldn't afford to speak to her harshly anymore.But Shen Ming wasn't getting out just yet. She was distracted by the message from Cheng Anyi.It was a picture of her, smiling with Jiang Shaomo, the vice president of Yidu, on a yacht. The photo, taken during a business dinner, had clearly been sent to provoke her.Shen Ming frowned and tightened her lips. Jiang Shaomo? That name stirred up old memories. He was the one who had donated to her university fund back when she was studying. She had once admired him, even held him as an idol.But now, seeing that Cheng Anyi had so easily befriended him, Shen Ming was left feeling a little bitter.After a moment of contemplation, she replied with a short, cold message:"Did you climb into Jiang Shaomo's bed?"She sent the message and then set her phone aside, not bothering to check it again. She had no idea how furious Cheng Anyi was on the other end, almost throwing her phone in rage.Her assistant watched with wide eyes. What's gotten into our boss?After a few seconds of quiet, Cheng Anyi's eyes flared with cold, ruthless fury.

Let's see how long you can stay smug, Shen Ming.