Marriage Can Wait - Novelbike

The wind swept through the night, tossing her long hair.

Xiang Meilan stood quietly in front of the building. No one opened the door for her, and He Songshi hadn’t sent any message.

She gave up and turned to leave, but lacked the courage to go home. It wasn’t the coldness of the house or the silence that deterred her; it was the thought of sitting in that empty space, reminiscing about the lively times.

She headed to Nanxiang Cafe at the entrance of the community. Before Xiang Yi moved in, she was a regular there, almost dining daily.

The cafe was always bustling, never short of patrons. Xiang Meilan ordered a blueberry juice and a grilled steak, settling into a corner by the French window, quietly watching the world pass by outside.

While waiting for her meal, she idly scrolled through her phone.

First, she saw a message from Chen Ke: “Meilan-Jie, Mr. He’s phone is with me. Do you need something urgent? I can call him for you.”

Surrounded by warmth and chatter, Xiang Meilan felt much calmer and replied, “It’s nothing urgent, let him be.” Knowing he hadn’t seen the message, rather than ignoring her, eased the tension in her heart a bit.

Just as she dismissed Chen Ke’s message, a news alert popped up.

“Public Company Illegally Dismisses Employee on Maternity Leave.”

Xiang Meilan thought, “This is probably fake news, another clickbait headline. No public company would be foolish enough to do something that would so easily spark public outrage, not with their human resources, public relations, and legal teams.”

She dismissed the news and continued browsing her phone while waiting for her meal. Soon, she noticed several related trending topics on social media.

“How to Defend Your Rights After Being Dismissed During Breastfeeding?”

“Women’s Reproductive Freedom: The Best Way to End Rumors Is to Reveal the Truth!”

“Fuli Group’s Overnight PR Stunt: 50 Times Salary Compensation to Cover Up Scandal!”

This time, Xiang Meilan clicked in without hesitation. The scattered pieces of information pieced together a story, though it was hard to discern truth from fiction.

Given it involved Fuli Group, Xiang Meilan immediately imagined the scene at the stock market opening tomorrow. If these trending topics continued to ferment, several limit-downs were inevitable.

She quickly messaged Chen Ke: “Did the company really fire the deputy director of the Marketing Department who’s on maternity leave?”

Two minutes later, Chen Ke called, spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube: “The deputy director of the Marketing Department, Deputy Director Lu, you might have met her. She’s almost 40, went home last month to have a baby. Just as her maternity leave started, she heard rumors that the Human Resources Department was planning to lay her off, using a job transfer as an excuse to push her to the Logistics Department, forcing her to resign.”

Xiang Meilan was skeptical: “Sounds like a rumor.” This method of layoff was old-fashioned, dirty but effective. Transferring a deputy director from the Marketing Department to Logistics, with unchanged salary, but the income composition in the Marketing Department, where salary and commission could reach a 1 to 5 ratio, meant a significant drop. Such a huge gap wouldn’t be accepted calmly by anyone.

“It’s true, the Human Resources Department plans to do just that,” Chen Ke said. “Her position is a coveted one, with many eyeing it. That’s why she waited ten years after marriage to have a child.”

Xiang Meilan had met Deputy Director Lu a few times, knowing her to be competent and considerate, an indispensable leader in the Marketing Department.

Xiang Meilan understood the deputy director’s thinking. On one hand, she believed her years of work and irreplaceable skills would secure her position during her maternity leave. Indeed, as soon as the Human Resources Department made a move, someone tipped her off, showing her extensive network within the company. On the other hand, at her age, she couldn’t afford to delay having children any longer.

Xiang Meilan could imagine that Deputy Director Lu must have arranged everything at work before daring to go home for childbirth.

Xiang Meilan sighed, “The Human Resources Department really messed this up, caught between a rock and a hard place.” Taking advantage of someone on maternity leave to covet her position; also, internal risk control failed, leaking the plan before execution.

Chen Ke hesitated but decided to speak candidly, knowing Xiang Meilan wasn’t an outsider. “The Human Resources Department just went through a shake-up. The human resources director was transferred abroad by Mr. He, officially for further studies, but actually because he was a confidant of a director, not aligned with Mr. He.”

Xiang Meilan understood. This was He Songshi trying to adjust the high-level personnel structure, starting with the human resources director.

“Mr. He was called to a board meeting,” Chen Ke whispered. “From the layoff to the leak and media exposure, everything happened quickly. This is definitely a conspiracy. As soon as the trending topics appeared, several directors and department supervisors stormed into the company, leaving no time for us to handle PR. Without someone instigating, how could it be so coincidental?”

Sending the human resources director abroad was known as He Songshi’s victory in the power struggle, temporarily leading. And this incident with the deputy director’s layoff trending was likely a counterattack from the opposition.

High-level factional struggles, yet using a breastfeeding woman as a pawn, left Xiang Meilan feeling uneasy.

But she realized that since He Songshi was personally involved, the matter would be resolved smoothly within hours. The stock price might drop tomorrow, but it shouldn’t be a major issue, not something she needed to worry about.

Xiang Meilan didn’t continue chatting with Chen Ke, ate a bit, felt warmer inside, and then headed home.

Upon opening the door and changing shoes, she received a call from her assistant.

Seeing the time, almost 10 PM, Xiang Meilan felt a sense of foreboding.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Miss Xiang, do we have backup files for the Jinan project at the company?” The assistant’s voice was as sweet as ever, but the question was rather blunt.

Before a project is completed, files don’t need to be shared and can be fully controlled by the person in charge, as part of risk control to prevent leaks of important information.

This was a major project Xiang Meilan had just taken over, having only started contact with the other party two weeks ago, planning to formally engage after the New Year.

“No, there’s not much data, it’s all with me.” And there wasn’t any critical data, she couldn’t guess why the company needed it.

“Mr. Shan wants it tonight.”

That one sentence ignited a fire in Xiang Meilan’s heart. She couldn’t fathom Shan Yu’s intentions, especially with his firm stance.

But she still replied politely, “I’ll send it to Mr. Shan’s email in 20 minutes.”

If it happened just once, it could be seen as Shan Yu’s sudden whim, but over the next few days, Xiang Meilan’s projects were repeatedly requested for data, transferred to others. It was one project after another, like a slow execution.

It’s the end of the year, all project research and cooperation are paused, there’s no reason for a dozen projects to suddenly need urgent advancement.

That afternoon, Xiang Meilan received a message from Zhou Yanyin: “Find a way to stay, or you’ll be out of this industry.”

Zhou Yanyin’s cryptic message made Xiang Meilan sense something was amiss.

Ten minutes later, her assistant called: “Miss Xiang, the Investment Committee has vetoed the Changtan project. The board secretary is on vacation, the company can’t reach him. Do you have his personal number? We need to inform them of this decision.”

This project, Xiang Meilan had advanced to the final signing stage, the Investment Committee had long approved it, funds were to be allocated after the New Year, everything was ready.

“The letter of intent is signed, why suddenly veto my project?”

The assistant, caught in the middle, was also troubled: “Miss Xiang, I don’t know either, I’m just here to ask for a phone number.”

Xiang Meilan refused directly: “I have no obligation to provide a personal number.”

The assistant’s tone turned cold: “Any information you obtained while serving the company is company property.” Her words were firm but her stance weak, ultimately resorting to authority, “This is Mr. Shan’s demand.”

Xiang Meilan swallowed her anger and replied coldly, “I’ll call Mr. Shan myself.” She knew well that with her current reputation, as Zhou Yanyin said, leaving Hengxing Capital would mean she couldn’t survive in this industry. Only by staying could she hope to turn the tide.

She called Shan Yu, who seemed to be expecting her, answering quickly.

“Mr. Shan, I’ve worked on the Changtan project for a long time. From standardizing finances to reforming the operational model, I’ve been with the company’s management every step of the way,” she said earnestly. “Now the letter of intent is signed, the Investment Committee agreed to allocate funds, if not for the busy New Year banks, the money should have been transferred already.”

“Yes,” Shan Yu’s tone was calm and slow, “We just finished a meeting, the Investment Committee believes you’re an unreliable person. The company’s decision is that you’re not suitable to stay in the investment position. All projects you’ve handled, not just the ones you’re currently working on, but all past projects, will be reassigned or rechecked.”

Xiang Meilan’s heart sank, instinctively grasping the door frame beside her, waves of cold and pain surged from her feet to her heart.

For completed projects, so-called rechecks meant sending people to the invested companies for investigation, and her “unreliable” reputation would follow.

She struggled to maintain composure: “But the Changtan project is a key company project, just because it’s mine, it has to be abandoned halfway?” Internally, she accepted the chaos, but now it involved the invested company, her signed letter of intent, her promises based on the Investment Committee’s decision. Reneging now would mean Xiang Meilan was untrustworthy.

Hundreds of people in the invested company had worked hard for half a year at her request, if she failed them at the last moment, she’d have no place in this industry.

Shan Yu remained silent, and Xiang Meilan understood there was no room for negotiation.

After a long pause, Xiang Meilan squeezed out a few words: “Why is the Investment Committee doing this to me?”

Her mind was filled with the chairman of the Investment Committee’s purple sandalwood dragon-headed cane at the Japanese tea room entrance. The chairman and Zhou Yanyin had a fierce argument over whether to invest, and she had helped Zhou Yanyin. Everything probably started from there.

Shan Yu didn’t deny it: “There’s a conflict between the Investment Committee and Zhou Yanyin beyond your imagination. But this time, you indeed made a mistake first.”

They wouldn’t target Zhou Yanyin, as she was the young miss of Yinglian Trading, and the Investment Committee was cautious, not daring to act against her. But with Xiang Meilan, it was different.

The difference between her and Zhou Yanyin was that Zhou Yanyin was born in Rome, while Xiang Meilan was always weaker, never able to match Zhou Yanyin, only serving as a shield for her.

Before hanging up, Shan Yu said, “Meilan, you need to understand, this industry runs on trust. Any other mistake, I could tolerate, but this time, take care.”