– Mo Qingyun’s memory –
Back then, Mo Qingyun hid in the closet, watching with wide eyes as a group of men took her brother away. She covered her mouth to keep any sound from escaping, even her sobs were muffled.
After a long while, the sound of the helicopter had faded into the distance, so far that she could hear the wind chimes on the porch, and the chirping of crickets outside drowned out her whimpers.
Mo Qingyun gathered her courage and cautiously opened the closet door, slowly climbing out. As if unwilling, she called out for her mother and brother, but there was no response from within the house.
She remembered that her mother might still be lying in the garden in front of the house. Mo Qingyun ran and shouted, but it was already dark outside. She clearly remembered what her mother had said.
“When it’s dark, children can’t leave home.”
Mo Qingyun: “Mom, where are you?”
Mo Qingyun: “Brother, I don’t want to play hide-and-seek anymore…”
Mo Qingyun cried and shouted but received no reply. She didn’t know how long she had squatted by the door before suddenly remembering what her mother had told her brother.
“If Mom is gone, go to Mom’s vanity drawer and get the phone to make a call…”
Yes, Mo Qingyun’s mother might have foreseen a tragedy. She had placed her hope in her brother, while her naive younger sister could only stand by and listen to her mother instruct her brother.
Fortunately, she liked to stick close to her brother, so she had remembered her mother’s words.
Mo Qingyun got up from the ground and ran quickly to her mother’s room.
But the vanity table was too high for her, and she couldn’t open the small drawer on top.
She ran back and forth several times, piling up her toy bear, stuffed rabbit, and many other toys until they formed a small hill.
And just like that, she succeeded!
She climbed her first ‘peak’ in life. Excitedly, she pulled open the drawer and got a broken flip phone.
“Just press the call button…”
Mo Qingyun didn’t know which button was the call button. But in her toy box, there was a pink toy phone with only red and green buttons, and a bunch of numbers.
Mo Qingyun remembered that every time she pretended to call her brother, she pressed the green button. Maybe this phone should be pressed green too!
– Beep –
The call connected, but what should she say next?
It rang for a long time before someone finally answered.
A questioning voice came from the phone, and Mo Qingyun stammered, too scared to speak. She scared herself into crying again.
Mo Qingyun: “I want to find Mom and Brother…”
The call suddenly hung up, and the beeping sound echoed again.
Mo Qingyun sat among her dolls, crying and crying… until she fell asleep from exhaustion without realizing it…
– End of Mo Qingyun’s memory –
***
Meanwhile, all the guests had arrived at the hotel. Surprisingly, the classmates who had ostracized Ou Yunchen also came to the banquet.
Classmate A: “You came too?”
Classmate B: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come?”
Classmate C: “Isn’t that Boss Ren? I heard she said she had something tonight and couldn’t attend Xie Youlin’s dinner party, but she’s here.”
Classmate A: “Alright, all our classmates are here. Look, even Principal Yun Qingyang has come…”
While they were gathered, Yang Danzhou had already approached Ou Yunchen to proactively show her goodwill.
Classmate A: “Look, CEO Yang is trying to butter him up, and she’s still flocking to Ou Yunchen. Tonight is AtL’s event. Let’s go say hello to Boss Ma.”
But before they could push their way to Lawyer Ma, Lawyer Ma raised his glass and walked onto the stage, tapping his glass against the microphone.
Lawyer Ma: “Thank you, thank you all for coming.”
The banquet hall gradually fell silent, with everyone's attention fixed on Lawyer Ma on stage.
Lawyer Ma: “Despite the heavy snow tonight, seeing my friends arrive as promised has deeply touched me.”
“As the new CEO of AtL, I want to thank everyone on behalf of every employee working for AtL for your presence and support…”
Lawyer Ma’s opening remarks began with thanking all the guests, then outlined the bright future prospects of AtL. He never introduced Ou Yunchen to everyone.
But Ou Yunchen didn’t care at all, or rather, he strongly requested that his name not be mentioned on stage, because he wanted those classmates who had ostracized him to guess and ponder slowly.
Lawyer Ma invited Cai Yadong to the stage, and Cai Yadong’s arrival was the highlight of the evening.
Cai Yadong: “First, I want to thank AtL for becoming a formal partner. I’d like to invite a good friend and someone who helped our Dexin secure the nuclear power plant project, Mr. Ou Yunchen, to join us in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project launch!”
The applause was accompanied by surprise and exclamations from many people!
None of them had expected that Ou Yunchen, having resigned as CEO, would still be able to cut the ribbon for the launch ceremony!
In fact, anyone with discerning eyes could see at a glance that Cai Yadong’s high praise for Ou Yunchen was sending a clear signal.
Ou Yunchen was still the future head of AtL, and Lawyer Ma, despite being called Boss Ma, was merely Ou Yunchen’s puppet.
Ou Yunchen was invited onto the stage. Standing at a height, he could clearly see all the classmates who were unwilling to give him an opportunity. He politely raised his glass to thank them for their presence.
Classmate A: “AtL is really playing coy. After so many twists and turns, it turns out Ou Yunchen is still in charge.”
Classmate B: “I just felt Ou Yunchen couldn’t have just taken an entertainment company. He was really hiding in the shadows!”
Classmate C: “Good thing we came. If we hadn’t, we would have been kept in the dark. The truly powerful one isn’t Xie Youlin. AtL’s connections are truly formidable.”
Classmate A: “Enough talk. Let’s go toast them.”
Just as these people were about to greet Ou Yunchen, someone whispered something in Ou Yunchen’s ear. Ou Yunchen put down his wine glass and nodded to those around him.
Ou Yunchen: “Excuse me, I must take my leave.”