Chapter 7: What is the definition of happiness?

  Ruan Ruan returned to G City after getting married, which was the happiest thing for Zheng Wei. In fact, her original job in S City was quite good, but for Ruan Ruan, her current family life was more important. She slowly looked for a new job, and it was clear that Dr. Wu didn't think his new wife needed to rush around for a living. Many times, after Zheng Wei finished work, she would cross half the city to have dinner at Ruan Ruan's home.

  She rarely met Dr. Wu when she went, and Ruan also said that he was really too busy. In the same department of the hospital, older doctors who were more senior than him were not energetic enough, and younger ones couldn't take charge on their own. Important surgeries were basically performed by him personally. Originally, his shift schedule was already packed, and occasionally eating at home didn't even allow for a break. A phone call would come in and he'd rush out the door again. It's precisely because of this that he needs to have a gentle and virtuous wife at home. At least after a tiring day, he can still feel a moment of warmth at home when he returns. If Ruan also worked, both people would be busy, and that would mean no family life.

  Zheng Wei sat under the flower rack on the rooftop of Ruan Ruan's home, where all the flowers and plants were still being taken care of by Ruan Ruan herself after marriage. Unbeknownst to her, the passion fruit vines had already densely covered the entire frame. She looked at Ruan Ruan who was engrossed in watering the flowers and asked, "Don't you feel bored staying at home every day?"

  Ruan Ruan said, "I have so many things to do every day, I always feel like there's not enough time, where can I find the leisure to be idle?" Dr. Wu was a cleanliness freak, the bed sheets and pillowcases in his home were all snow-white, they had to be changed and washed every day, the floor was spotless, and even when sunlight came in, no dust could be seen, he was also very particular about food. Before marriage, he hired a maid who was efficient and tidy, she would come to his house for three hours every day to clean, after Ruan Ruan moved in, in order to take better care of her daily life, he asked the reliable maid to become a nanny, working long-term at home, but less than a month later, Ruan Ruan discovered a problem. The residential area they lived in was located in the most beautiful natural scenery of the city, it was quiet and elegant, but the surrounding facilities were not complete, most residents had cars, the nearest supermarket or vegetable market needed at least 15 minutes drive. The nanny couldn't drive, and the bus stop was too far away, in order to let her buy vegetables smoothly, Ruan Ruan had to drive every day to pick her up between home and the market. Ruan Ruan felt that this was simply complicating a simple problem, she wasn't some spoiled rich girl, she thought one person should be able to handle these household chores, so after getting Dr. Wu's agreement, she paid three months' salary in advance and fired the nanny, taking care of his daily life herself. She did things thoroughly, everything at home was arranged neatly, Dr. Wu was grateful and had no worries, he threw himself into work wholeheartedly, before the age of 35, he was already a leading figure in his industry, he always said that all this was thanks to having the most perfect wife.

  Zheng Wei squinted her eyes and said, "A few days ago I was on the phone with Zhu Bei, that guy is still reading books non-stop, probably due to overstimulation, this year she took the doctoral exam again. When she mentioned you, she almost called you 'the shame of the new generation of Chinese women'. Honestly, if others knew that the person who graduated first in overall score from our university's civil engineering department had become a housewife, it would be hilarious."

  Ruan Ruan disagreed, "This is nothing, at least the professional foundation makes me easy to handle when repairing this rooftop garden."

  Zheng Wei felt a bit indignant for her, "I've come here several times, and I've never seen that famous doctor at home on weekends. He's really something, trading a ring for a full-time nanny who works during the day and keeps him company at night. Ruan Ruan, when was the last time you had dinner with him?"

  "It wasn't long ago, just three days ago."

  Zheng Wei sighed, "I've heard of things I never thought possible, and they actually happened in the Qing dynasty. He's just a surgeon, not an astronaut landing on the moon, he's already married, how can he be so busy? It's amazing you can put up with it. Do you even remember what he looks like?"

  Ruan Ruan thought for a moment and then laughed, "Foolish, men prioritizing their careers isn't necessarily a bad thing."

  "Aren't you afraid he'll be unfaithful?"

  "Derail?" Ruan Ruan smiled and shook her head, "I hope he has the leisure to do so, I guess he's developed a professional habit, seeing a woman's ** just thinking about where to put the knife."

  Zheng Wei let out a soft laugh, "It's terrifying." She casually plucked a leaf from the top of her head and hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Then... does he know about those things you did in the past?"

  Ruan Ruan shook her head, "I don't know if he knows or not, maybe he's clear about everything in his heart, but at least he's never asked. Weiwei, listen to me, for this kind of thing, if the other person doesn't ask, you mustn't bring it up, what's past is past, the most important thing is now. He's actually very good to me, respects me a lot and is considerate, remembers my birthday, except for Qingming Festival, he sends flowers on every holiday, although he stores all these dates in his phone's memo, but still, it shows he has heart. Except that he's too busy with work, I don't know what else can be criticized."

  "Then did you feel happy?" Zheng Wei said in confusion.

  "What is the definition of happiness?"

  Finally, Ruan Ruan changed the subject, "Don't mention me, how are you and Lin Jing? You've finally met, can't you just say a simple 'hello'?"

  Zheng Wei tore at the leaves on her hand, "What else can I do? In fact, I understand many things, but my heart just can't get past that one hurdle. If he hadn't left back then, his children and I would probably all be calling you Auntie now. But he left without a word, and I met... Chen Xiao Zheng. I guess this is what people mean by fate. If Lin Jing gave me the most innocent love dream, then Chen Xiao Zheng was the one who truly enlightened me to love. He taught me how to treat someone well, how to love with all my might. I learned from him, but he also left. Even so, because of him, Lin Jing and I can never go back to what we were before. I don't know why, but every time I face Lin Jing, I'm filled with mixed emotions. He's no longer the person I wanted to marry with all my heart when I was younger."

  "Do you still keep in touch?"

  "Occasionally, except for that sentence in his text message that day, he didn't mention it again later. Sometimes we'd go out to eat and just hang out like old friends, I couldn't refuse him either. I'm really afraid that one day I won't even have any resentment towards him, what's left of the seventeen years of feelings?"

  If it weren't for Ruan Ruan, Zheng Wei would still be alone most of the time. Her best friend had always been Ruan Ruan, and in the end, only Ruan Ruan was left. Even Wei Shao Yi, who lived under the same roof every day, never got close to her. Speaking of Wei Shao Yi's bad temper, it was enough to make people suffer. Zheng Wei thought that He Yi's pursuit of Wei Shao Yi was simply inexplicable and humiliating. The more others didn't like him, the more he came on strong, using all sorts of tactics to win her over, but still ended up being rejected. Everyone behind his back said that Wei Shao Yi was ungrateful, although she had relied on connections to get into the second tier, the relative who had helped her was no longer in a leadership position, and He Yi was the precious son of the highest administrative leader of Zhong Jian, and he was also handsome. It was a rare blessing that he could look down on her, but Zheng Wei vaguely knew that He Yi was not Wei Shao Yi's type at all, and his past record of being promiscuous and flirtatious was what Wei Shao Yi hated the most.

  There are very few men who can make Wei Shaoyi blush, and Zheng Wei was lucky enough to see it once. At that time, she was eating in the cafeteria of Zhongjian Headquarters, coincidentally running into Wei Shaoyi, and they sat at the same table. Although they didn't say much, when a man accidentally walked past them, Zheng Wei noticed that Wei Shaoyi's face had an obvious blush again.

  The man was someone Zheng Wei had seen before, rumored to be the "grass" of the Design Institute, quite handsome, but with a powerful background at home, working in the institute just out of interest. For this kind of person, Zheng Wei always held the mentality of "admiring from afar, not getting too close". Last time during the Architectural System Go Tournament, she even teared up and defeated the "prince charming", personally knocking him out of the competition.

  To put it another way, the prince charming was good-looking but his go skills were not impressive. If Zheng Wei looked that handsome, she would never do something so self-destructive.

  It just so happened that soon after the handsome guy passed by, Wei Shaoyi awkwardly reflected back in Zheng Wei's slanted gaze, turned her head and coughed twice, and unexpectedly found a silver chain on the floor beside the dinner table. She picked it up and discovered that the pendant of the chain was like a sapphire, similar to teardrop-shaped earrings. Before the handsome guy passed by, the floor was empty, Wei Shaoyi didn't think much and chased after him. A few minutes later, she came back and continued eating silently. Zheng Wei couldn't hold back her curiosity, ignored her coldness, and excitedly asked, "What a great opportunity! Is there any development? Did he give you the token and propose to you?"

  Wei Shaoyi said in a bad mood, "Nonsense! He was anxious to death. As soon as I walked out with the chain, he rushed over and grabbed it from me, his eyes were even red. I told him, I'm not a thief, the chain is what I picked up to return to you, but he actually took out his wallet and wanted to give me money."

  Zheng Wei laughed loudly with a mixture of joy and misfortune, "Failure, failure, Huai Chun's dream has been shattered."

  This time, Wei Shaoyi didn't even bother to banter with her, and said with a hint of emotion, "He's so concerned about it, I guess the chain must be related to an important woman in his life."

  "If you have the ability, go and compete with the master of the chain. Don't say I didn't tell you internal news, our union's Li Auntie said that he used to have a girlfriend, but later don't know why they broke up."

  Wei Shaoyi sneered and smiled, "I like men who are faithful to their emotions, but such men wouldn't even look at me, they just appreciate me."

  Zheng Wei rolled her eyes and suddenly shouted mischievously, "He Yi, you're here too."

  Wei Shaoyi almost spilled the soup in his hand.

  Not long after, the prince rode a motorcycle with friends in the middle of the night and crashed into the isolation belt, almost becoming a disabled youth. He also knew how to take advantage of the opportunity, humming and hawing in the hospital, claiming that Wei Shaoyi had not come to see him, and he couldn't eat anything. The general manager and his wife were furious and helpless, and Wei Shaoyi once again became the queen of gossip. The leaders of Ruitong came one by one to find her, and when Zheng Wei took flowers to visit the talented young man He Yi in the hospital, she found Wei Shaoyi sitting on the bed with a colder face than the North Ice Ocean, feeding He Yi who was laughing foolishly, but her expression made Zheng Wei feel strongly that what she was stuffing into his mouth was not rice porridge, but arsenic.

  He Yi's injury had not yet fully recovered, when a shocking event occurred within China Construction. The Sixth Branch and Ruitong Company successively experienced two serious safety accidents within one month, both of which were fatal falls of construction workers during high-altitude operations. Originally, the domestic construction industry and mining industry's safety situation was already precarious, with all major enterprises feeling threatened. There is a saying in the industry that "doing less work won't starve you to death, but a major safety accident can lead to everyone starving to death." After the personal injury accident at Sixth Branch, due to the fact that the accident was caused by malicious misoperation, China Construction's relevant leaders were already under great pressure. The accident report had just been submitted when Ruitong's scaffolding collapsed again, resulting in three people dying on the spot. This was simply a disaster for China Construction. The managers of Sixth Branch and Ruitong were immediately dismissed from their internal positions, while China Construction's first person responsible for safety, He Yi's father, faced questioning. Originally, the worst outcome would have been that Sixth Branch and Ruitong had their bidding qualifications revoked, with the general manager and deputy general manager in charge of safety receiving administrative punishment. However, as the saying goes, "when a wall collapses, everyone pushes," evidence of He General Manager's past job-related crimes was suddenly exposed overnight after he fell into trouble. Everyone knew that this was the result of internal power struggles within China Construction's high-level management. Immediately afterwards, the procuratorate intervened, and with conclusive evidence, the former glorious general manager of China Construction Group fell from power. It turned out that the Party Secretary of China Construction, who had been in charge of work that evening, took over as temporary head of overall operations during this crisis.

  When a single hair can move the whole body, how can it be that such a big storm has arisen? At that time, even Zhou Qu couldn't help but be doubly cautious in his words and actions, rushing about to try to gain an advantage in this internal power struggle within the company. Everyone was congratulating Wei Shaoyi on her good fortune, thankful that she had not been blinded by the superficial splendor of the He family and married He Yi instead. Only Zheng Wei knew that since the He family's troubles began, with Old Master being detained and Old Madame crying uncontrollably, Wei Shaoyi had spent every night by the bedside of the still-unrecovered He Yi. She didn't know whether Wei Shaoyi's actions were motivated by pity or a woman's innate kindness, but she couldn't deny that this time, the awkward and eccentric Wei Shaoyi had earned her respect.

  Zheng Wei also secretly went to the hospital to visit He Yi several times. With a sudden change, the usually chatty and radiant He Yi became quiet. Zheng Wei felt a bit uncomfortable and didn't know what to say, so she kept repeating, "Think of everything in a positive way, there's no hurdle that can't be overcome."

  When she left, Wei Shaoyi made an exception and sent her to the door. He still didn't say anything good, but just sighed, "Half a month ago, people who came to visit here had to queue up for appointments, and flower baskets were almost placed at the end of the corridor. After the accident, I didn't expect that you would be the only one in the company to come and see him. The things in this world are more wonderful than any play."

  Not long after He Yi was discharged from the hospital, he registered his marriage with Wei Shaoyi, and Zheng Wei became the only guest they entertained that night.

  The secretary of the party committee of China Construction is surnamed Ouyang, and Secretary Ouyang temporarily serves as the general manager. He grasped both party affairs and administration, and soon he carried out a major reshuffle among middle-level officials in the headquarters and various branch companies. Many heads of branch companies were replaced, and Zheng Wei was fortunate that only one person, Vice Manager Qian, who was nearly 50 years old, was asked to retire early. Zhou Qu remained stable as Mount Tai. Moreover, the headquarters seemed to favor them even more, not only approving the purchase of a large crane but also directly sending a batch of new technical personnel to Branch Two, including a newly appointed technical director and assistant manager.

  The assistant manager of Zhongjian is a special position, with treatment only slightly inferior to the deputy manager. This position usually means a transition before promotion. The newly appointed second-level manager assistant, although said to be young and inexperienced, having only been on the construction site for more than seven months, everyone knows that he is likely to be the designated successor of Qian Deputy Manager, who is in charge of the second-level market and technical development.

  On the day of the assistant manager's report, Zhou Qu personally drove to the headquarters to welcome him back. His office was adjacent to the manager's office next door, and the office equipment and conditions were carefully arranged according to Zhou Qu's instructions, all in accordance with the deputy manager's treatment.

  After returning to the company, Zhou Qu will introduce the middle and senior management personnel in the conference room one by one. The young manager's assistant did not have the usual arrogance of a young and successful person, but looked like someone who was more careful with his words than his tongue, although his eyes seemed a bit distant, he had good manners, a suitable smile, and spoke little, occasionally saying a few words that were just right.

  When introducing himself to Zheng Wei, he smiled and shook hands with her just like before, "I've heard that Secretary Zheng is young and capable when I was in the organization, and is Manager Zhou's trusted assistant. In the future, I'm afraid we'll need your guidance even more."

  "Modesty aside, Assistant Chen is too kind. You're a returnee from a prestigious university, young and promising. Just the other day, Manager Zhou said that we should thank the headquarters for favoring our department. Whenever there's good talent or equipment, they think of us first, which is why they assigned you to come over. If there's anything inappropriate with the office setup or if you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to speak up."

  On the way back to the office, two young clerks from the manager's department ran over and grabbed Zheng Wei's sleeve, asking "Sister Zheng, how was it? How was it?"

  Zheng Wei weakly withdrew his hand, "What's going on?"

  "They all say the new manager's assistant is quite charming, but we haven't seen him yet."

  Zheng Wei lazily replied, "I'm stuffy, I didn't smell anything. Working here every day in the future, I'm afraid I won't even have a chance to see it."

  "That's right, by the way, Zheng Jie, your stomach isn't feeling well again, is it?"

  Zheng Wei murmured "uh-huh" and locked herself in the bathroom.

  In the evening, Zhou Qiu led the way to Hongbin Building near Erfen, where Zheng Wei had set up three tables with middle and senior management of the company to welcome Chen Assistant and several new technical personnel. Zheng Wei was busy serving dishes and barely ate anything. Just as she finally sat down, Zhou Qiu walked over to her side and whispered, "Why do you look so pale? Eat something first, and then go toast him a glass later. You'll have many chances to interact with each other at work."

  Zheng Wei nodded, hastily ate some food, picked up a small wine cup and walked towards the center of another table surrounded by people. As she approached, everyone smiled at Assistant Chen and said, "Our second beauty has arrived."

  Zheng Wei stood beside him, smiling and raising his cup with both hands, "Assistant Chen, I'd like to toast you a glass. In our future work, I'll strive to learn from you more."

  "We're all colleagues now, Secretary Zheng, no need to be too polite."

  "Call me Little Zheng, call me Little Zheng." Zheng Wei lightly pressed the rim of his cup against his and said softly, "I'll drink first as a toast."

  Chen's assistant also finished the wine in his cup. He seemed to have drunk a lot tonight, with a faint red on his face and clear eyes.

  "I heard that Assistant Chen graduated from G University with a bachelor's degree before going out, right? That means he and Secretary Zheng are alumni of the same school?" someone asked.

  He nodded, "After all, we're from the same college."

  "So you two must have met in college."

  Zheng smiled and said, "Maybe I've seen it before, but just forgot later."

  She's quite a drinker, Zhou Qu had not seen her like this for a long time. After finishing the drink, her face didn't turn red but instead turned pale.

  "Zheng Wei, do you remember what I told you before?"

  "I know, I just have a stomachache today." Zheng Wei said softly, then got up and walked towards the bathroom, where she vomited profusely.

  She walked out leaning against the wall, washed her face with cold water, and when she looked up at the mirror, she suddenly stopped moving, with water droplets rolling down her cheeks.

  Can mirrors reflect her heart?

  " Wei...... Zheng...... " He wanted to speak but hesitated again.

  She suddenly came back to her senses, turned around and smiled at the person behind her, took out a tissue to wipe away the water stains on her face, and walked towards the seat again.

  At night, the dormitory seemed even more empty after Wei Shaoyi moved out. But this was also good. At least she could sit in her own room and cry loudly without anyone coming to knock on her door. She didn't have to smile at anyone or respond to anyone.