Su Yicheng was right. At this moment, she must hold on.
After half basket of soup dumplings, Luo Xiaoxi still could not taste anything on her tongue. Noticing the porridge before her, she reached out but was stopped by Su Yicheng.
He pushed a glass of soybean milk to her and had put the straw in.
Luo Xiaoxi did not bother to talk, so she just quietly got rid of Su Yicheng’s hand and drank up the soybean milk like it was water. Wiping foam off her lips with the back of her hand, she immediately picked up the bowl of porridge like it was her mission to eat it.
It was hot, but she just paused for a second, gulped it down, and didn’t so much as to look up. Su Yicheng’s face darkened.
Finishing breakfast, Luo Xiaoxi left as if she were escaping a scourge. Su Yicheng dropped the spoon and looked dejected.
It turned out that this was what failure felt like.
Soon, Su Jianan came and carried a set of new clothes for Su Yicheng. Su Yicheng went to wash himself in a nearby hotel and then headed to the company to finish the work.
Currently, they still could not enter ICU to see Mr. Luo Mrs. Luo yet, so Su Jianan stayed, standing on the corridor with Luo Xiaoxi. At the same time, Luo Xiaoxi watched her parents lying on the sickbed in ICU, as motionless as a statue.
If anything happened to Mr. Luo and Mrs. Luo, Su Jianan had to be cautious about anything stupid that Luo Xiaoxi might do.
When it was about 11 o’clock, Qin Wei arrived.
He looked sorry. “I just saw it on the news. Xiaoxi, is there anything I can help?”
Nevertheless, Luo Xiaoxi turned to Su Jianan. “Jianan, can you get me a bottle of water?”
Su Jianan knew what Luo Xiaoxi meant, nodded, and went downstairs.
In the long corridor, only the sorrowful Qin Wei stayed with Luo Xiaoxi.
Luo Xiaoxi remained calm. “Qin Wei, I was drunk that day, so I only remembered I mentioned Su Yicheng’s company. But, what exactly did I tell you?”
“Zhang Mei told me you helped translate the document for Su Yicheng. But you didn’t say anything when I asked you about the content. You kept babbling about how awesome Su Yicheng were and how he developed Cheng An Group to this extent in only years.”
Luo Xiaoxi gradually realized. “At first, you and Zhang Mei tried to get the plan out of me so Su Yicheng would ditch me. But she didn’t expect that I still kept my mouth shut even when drunk. So she decided to give you the plan directly and framed me. Anyway, I was drunk so I wouldn’t remember a thing I’d said. That’s how you planned, right?”
After a while, Qin Wei reluctantly nodded. “Yes, we planned so. But soon, Su Yicheng found out everything.”
Luo Xiaoxi raised her lips because she wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh out loud but tears came out first.
At that time, she truly believed that she had caused great damage to Su Yicheng and she could not face the tens of thousands of employees in Cheng An. She couldn’t sleep at night and her life was a living hell.
However, after all was said and done, she was just a scapegoat.
“Don’t ever show your faces again.”
Luo Xiaoxi turned around to face the windows of the ward and let tears blurring her vision.
Now, as long as her parents could wake up, she wouldn’t want Su Yicheng, love, future, or anything like them.
…
In the next morning, the two specialists arrived.
After knowing that Su Yicheng had made a great effort to send for the two doctors, she would be lying if she said she was not touched, but she managed to suppress her feelings. Instead, she just quietly listened in their meetings and hoped that they could bring back her parents before night fell.
Nevertheless, with time passing by, it didn’t seem to turn for the better.
The sun was setting, and darkness was swallowing the lightness inch by inch. Incandescent lights went on above her head, while Luo Xiaoxi stood beside the windows. She felt that the outside darkness wanted to break the window to swallow her too.
It was after 48 hours, and though Lao Luo and Mrs. Luo were out of the critical condition, they did not wake up yet.
“Ms. Luo,” The foreign doctor tried to speak as slow as possible and told Luo Xiaoxi in a gentle but helpless tone. “Your father and mother are in a vegetative state. “But don’t give up, because many people have gotten out of this state, and a miracle might happen again.”
Luo Xiaoxi’s eyes reddened but she refused to cry. Instead, she calmed down and thanked the doctor politely. Then, she asked the further treatment arrangement and did something that shocked the doctors.
She left the hospital because she said she was going home.
It was not that she did not want to accompany her parents, but she knew that she needed to face the upcoming things in her best state.
Before her father went into a coma, the things he cared about the most must be her and the company.
Therefore, she needed to take care of not only herself but also the company affairs.
The first thing she did when she arrived home was to turn on the tap. She could use a shower.
The second she stepped into the bathtub, Luo Xiaoxi felt so hopeless that tears streamed down without a warning. She closed her eyes and sank into the water to block her tears.
After the shower, she heard a “click”.
The sound came from the other side of the door.
Luo Xiaoxi got completely guarded and was searching for a tool to protect herself, but then she heard familiar footsteps that she used to anticipate the most.
Her heart suddenly twitched, and Luo Xiaoxi gritted her teeth. When she finally looked at the tall figure, she had to snap. “Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get out of my face!”
This one sounded familiar because that was what Su Yicheng used to tell her all the time.
“Luo Enterprise’s stock price is falling.” Su Yicheng said, “Tomorrow, you need to show up in the company as the heir and the biggest stockholder. And, you can’t trust your vice president.”
“These are my business, and I don’t need you to remind me.” Luo Xiaoxi looked into Su Yicheng’s eyes. “Right now, I really don’t want to see your face. Su Yicheng, don’t make me hate you.”
Su Yicheng felt that someone had punched him in the heart. “Xiaoxi…”
“You still won’t leave?” Luo Xiaoxi nodded. “Then I’ll leave!”
She galloped out the door straight in her pajamas but was stopped by Su Yicheng in the end.
Su Yicheng closed his eyes. “Have a good rest. I’ll leave right now.”
Luo Xiaoxi walked Su Yicheng outside the room. The moment he stepped out, she slammed the door close.
Then, she raised her head, because she would never cry for Su Yicheng again.
At the same time, Su Yicheng stood behind the door. After a while, he left.
It was not too spacious in Luo Xiaoxi’s apartment, but she was already used to staying with Su Yicheng every night. Now, she suddenly felt the house so empty. That kind of emptiness seized her throat and made her see Su Yicheng’s figure flashing on her mind, almost suffocating her.
Moreover, something intangible pressed against her and was welling up inside her. She did not feel sleepy at all, nor did she feel like crying.
Luo Xiaoxi got up and poured out everything inside her bag. Among her lipstick, mascara, and other stuff, she found a white pill bottle.
It contained a kind of imported sleeping pill which Su Yicheng used to take.
For a long time, Su Yicheng had been relying on sleeping pills. However, recently, he had been sleeping well at night, so she secretly took away his medicine. Then, he found them again. Though he stopped taking them, he still put them at the bedside for fear that he couldn’t fall asleep again. She saw it as a kind of abnormal mental dependence, so she directly took them away.
She never expected that she would find them useful someday.
After taking a tablet, soon, Luo Xiaoxi felt drowsy and then she couldn’t feel a thing anymore.
Before she fell asleep, Luo Xiaoxi had only one thought on her mind. If her parents really would not wake up again, then she wouldn’t either.
However, the next day, reality still ruthlessly woke her up.
She grabbed a bite and headed to the hospital first.
“Ms. Luo, Mr. Luo and Mrs. Luo are still in the same condition…”
They meant that they were not getting better or worse, so no one really knew when her parents would come back again.
Luo Xiaoxi didn’t allow herself to get upset or beaten. She simply thanked the doctor and then set off to the company.
Almost all of the staff knew this young lady, but she nearly knew no one except a few uncles on the board of the directors. When some employees greeted her, she could only smile and nod.
“Xiaoxi, you must be strong.” The vice president sighed and comforted Luo Xiaoxi. “Don’t blame yourself. It was just an accident.”
Luo Xiaoxi forced a smile and nodded. “Uncle Chen, I know. And can you tell me how the company is right now?”
“We should go to your dad’s office,” said Chen Tian.
“Sure.”
Luo Xiaoxi quietly observed Chen Tian’s behaviors. She knew nothing about business, and Su Yicheng must have his reason when he reminded her to take caution with Chen Tian.
“Everyone’s concerned about the president’s injury, but generally, the company is doing OK right now.
Luo Xiaoxi stayed silent for a few seconds and looked up. “I’m holding a board meeting, and the department heads need to show up too.”
Chen Tian’s eyes flashed. “I’ll inform them then.”
Luo Xiaoxi turned on the intercom. “Secretary He, coffee please.”
It was espresso, a small cup of black condensed liquid. Luo Xiaoxi took a look and gulped it down.
A bitterness that could seep into her tongue spread onto her lips and teeth but gave her courage and vigor somehow. She walked into the conference room with her the lawyer.
A dozen stockholders and dozens of senior executives unanimously threw a look at Lu Xiaoxi and kept their eyes fixed on her as if trying to see what she really could do.
Luo Xiaoxi felt lucky that she had stage experience, otherwise, she could not make sure she could stay under those fierce looks.
After a brief self-introduction, Luo Xiaoxi cut to the chase. “My father, the president of Luo Enterprise, is currently unable to exercise civil capacity. From today, I’ll handle the company’s affairs on behalf of my father. I’ll get my hands onto the pending projects and push forward them. “And I hope you can help me with those affairs.”
“Ms. Luo.” A director named Han interrupted Luo Xiaoxi. “I’ve seen you on Top Model. You’re excellent on stage, and I think you’re more suitable for the stage. As for the affairs in the company, I think you should leave them to the vice president. You don’t know much about business, and to be honest, we don’t feel so certain to leave them to you. What if you mishandle and cause losses? Who’ll be responsible for them?”
The lawyer was just about to speak when Luo Xiaoxi gestured for him to stop. Then, she said, “I’m THE only heir of Luo Enterprise, and I’ll run this company sooner or later.”
Director Han thumped on the table and retorted, “But you don’t have any experience. How can we not worry?”
Luo Xiaoxi did not get angry. Instead, she slowly said, “We’re in a negotiation with a UK company lately?”
“Yes, we are.” General Manager replied. “But they’re demanding too much, and our competitors have been tough. We’ve been going on for nearly half a year, and we’re still getting nowhere.”
“I’ll make them sign the contract to prove I can run the company.” Luo Xiaoxi stood up. “Thank you all for attending this meeting. Now, I declare the meeting closed.”