Chapter 47: Dignity and Bone Energy

  Affection is like a chain, hatred is like flowing water. At that moment, it was a coincidence. If it wasn't for that night, she stumbled and tripped over her own feet, perhaps they wouldn't have ended up in this bar together, drinking and listening to her troubles.

  Ye Feng sat in the slightly dimly lit bar, looking at the beautiful and capable female boss in front of him, feeling a mix of emotions in his heart. In Ye Feng's mind, even though he didn't know Wu Xianghua very well, he knew she wasn't the kind of woman who was gentle as a flower reflected in water or elegant as a weak willow swaying in the wind. She acted like the wind, often speaking boldly and beautifully, not constrained by trivial matters, and remained unyielding in adversity. Her beauty was like that of a rare flower, her character like that of a heroic man with an otherworldly charm.

  What kind of unsolvable problem could this woman have encountered that would make her so worried?

  But Wu Xinghua's first words after drinking several cups of wine in a row left Ye Feng speechless.

  "Yefeng, I want to tell you a secret first. This secret, even my best sister doesn't know about it, but today I want to tell you. If I don't tell you, then all our conversation today will be pointless. Yefeng, many people think I'm an unmarried single woman, but actually, I got married ten years ago."

  Ye Feng's expression was clearly stunned, and he had no idea how to respond.

  Wu Xianghua took another sip of wine and continued: "Ye Feng, to be honest, my marriage with him was just a facade, solely for the sake of maintaining the relationship between our two families. I didn't think much of him, and he didn't think much of me either. If it weren't for my mother's illness at the time, eagerly hoping that our two families would become connected through marriage, I wouldn't have married him in the first place. Moreover, back then I was still in college, while he had already been working and starting his own business for many years. Yes, he is ten years older than me, and our marriage was actually just a nominal one. At that time, he urgently needed my father's help to start his business, so we two people who didn't have any feelings for each other ended up together."

  "I originally thought that after a couple of years, we could quietly get a divorce, using some excuse or another - irreconcilable differences, infidelity, etc. But I didn't expect him to say he really liked me. I thought he was joking because we never lived together after getting married and whenever we were together it was just for show in front of our parents. However, his attitude was very resolute, refusing to divorce me."

  Later, he even started from my parents and relatives, taking various measures not to divorce me. Helpless, I also temporarily gave up the idea of divorce. After graduation, I did not return to my hometown in Su Province, but chose to work and start a business in Mingzhu City.

  Later on, his business grew bigger and his company went public. He became the CEO of a large conglomerate. After that, my career also took off. I started this water delivery company from a small store and gradually expanded it. However, there is one thing - after the company grew big, I gave 51% of the shares to my father and only kept 49%. I never thought this was unfair because I am his daughter, he gave me life and raised me up. What are these shares compared to that?

  Up to this point, Wu Xianghua, who had always made Ye Feng feel stronger than men, had obvious red eyes.

  She clinked her glass against Ye Feng's and downed it in one gulp, then said: "But I never thought that this thing was really wrong. I only found out yesterday that all the shares in my father's hands had been transferred to him. And as the second-largest shareholder, I was completely unaware of it. I don't know what kind of backdoor or how much **soup he used to get my father to agree to this, but I absolutely refuse to acknowledge such an obvious violation of legal procedure, even if there are only two shareholders in the company."

  But today, things finally came to a head. That night, I had a falling out with Zhao Chunnan. He had been harboring resentment all along and not only cut off my management rights but also joined forces with his partners to pressure the leaders of Xiaohui District and some departments, rendering null and void the bottled water factory and workshop that I was about to open soon, as well as a series of procedures. It's like my ambitious plans to expand the business were destroyed before they even started. I'm really not reconciled to this, but I have no choice. This matter involves my father, the decision-making power of the company's major shareholders, and many other aspects, none of which are in my favor. All I can do is watch as the career I've worked hard for over the years goes down the drain.

  "Yefeng, I don't know if you've heard of an old saying that goes like this: 'The closest and farthest are husband and wife.' There's indeed some truth to it in this world. The closest and farthest things, the deepest and shallowest streams, the brightest and clearest sun and moon, the closest and farthest are husband and wife. Between husband and wife, they can be of one mind, sworn to share life and death, but also turn against each other, irreconcilable. They can be affectionate and loving, or cold and hurtful towards each other. The subtleties of love and hate are hard to grasp for those not in it, like the Zen of Buddhism... cannot be explained, cannot be explained, once explained, it's already wrong. Moreover, he and I are originally just a fake couple without any feelings."

  "So he also made it clear to me that the reason he cooperated with Zhao Chunnan was because they had too many intertwined interests, and he also said that he didn't want to take it this far. If I agreed to be his wife in name only, he wouldn't mind returning all the shares to me. He just wanted to force me, force me to lower my pride, surrender myself to him, and be his obedient wife. But is this possible? Not to mention that I know he has several mistresses outside, even if he didn't, what he did to me, to my father, was despicable. I, Wu Xianghua, can lose everything and start over, but I will never lose the basic dignity and integrity of being human."

  At this point, Wu Xianghua couldn't say anything more. She tilted her head to one side, clearly not wanting Ye Feng to see the tears that she could no longer hold back. At this moment, the many grievances and repressions in her heart surged up, even if she was strong, even if she was bold like a man, it was hard for her to bear.

  Ye Feng finally understood Wu Xianghua's inner sorrow at this time. Her marriage was unfortunate, and she was ruthlessly played by her nominal husband, colluding with Zhao Chun to push her to the edge of the cliff. One step forward would mean losing the career she had worked hard for many years, while one step back would mean losing her precious dignity and integrity.

  Ye Feng asked himself, if he were Wu Xianghua, what would he do, and how would he make a choice?

  Almost without thinking for a long time, Ye Feng had an answer, his answer was in line with Wu Xianghua's guess.

  I'd rather die than humble myself. Even if I fail this time, I'll rise again someday and won't stoop to compromise.

  So, Ye Feng made an important decision at this time. He wanted to help Wu Xianghua, not for anything else, but because of the sentence that Wu Xianghua said last, which was particularly in line with his temperament: It's better to lose everything and start all over again than to lose the basic dignity and backbone of being a human being.

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