Chapter 2040: Happy New Year Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Before he came back, he had always felt that Ye Qingqiu’s words in the car were unreasonable. What did he say? He told her not to be too greedy or pretentious. He said that she had sentenced him to death for no reason. He had said that she could forgive him even if he had lied to her once. He had said that there was no point in her living a hypocritical life. What else did he say? He said that he had to consider if he really liked Liang Xuer. He said that he might really give it a try with Liang Xuer… The image of her standing outside the car with a panicked and helpless expression appeared in her mind. A lump rose in his throat and he allowed Ye Ze to grip his collar tightly. His hands were clenched tightly and his knuckles were white. She had given him too many chances. She had even waited for him to lie to her. Seeing Li Tingshen’s shocked and pained expression, no matter how angry he was, he had to retreat from their world. He let go of him and took two steps back. He straightened his clothes and left the bedroom. Silence returned to the bedroom. Li Tingshen looked at her for a long time before slowly approaching her. “Why didn’t you say so?” Ye Qingqiu tilted her head to look at the gap left by the wardrobe. “It’s probably because she feels that it’s pretentious. Besides, it’s just an injury. It won’t change anything. Why humiliate yourself?” She repeated what he had said earlier. “Sorry.” Ye Qingqiu’s eyes flashed and she slowly turned her head to meet his gaze. “Actually, this is what I don’t want to hear the most because I really don’t want to tell you that it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt or itch. It’s true that you’re the one who made a mistake, but it can’t undo what has happened.” Li Tingshen looked at her silently, as if waiting for her to vent all the resentment in his heart. Ye Qingqiu took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she chuckled at him. “Am I being unforgiving again? No matter what I say, it makes sense. Everything you say is wrong.” As she spoke, she casually glanced at the digital clock on the table. She lowered her gaze and suppressed the emotions in her eyes. “I’m going downstairs to accompany Grandpa and Dad.” Li Tingshen stepped forward. “I’ll carry you down.” Ye Qingqiu turned her head and didn’t look at him. She sat there, waiting for him to carry her. Her posture was especially stiff. Li Tingshen bent down and his long arm crossed her legs. His deep and low voice sounded slowly. “I didn’t go to the hospital.” Ye Qingqiu wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent herself from falling. She didn’t respond. Li Tingshen carried her and walked to the door. “Because it’s a serious violation of the rules.” Ye Qingqiu’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile. She had seen it before. “Turn around on the viaduct, go against the traffic flow, cross the central divider… 12 points were deducted and he was brought to the team to pay a 200 yuan fine.” Ye Qingqiu frowned and looked at him. “What are you trying to say?” “Nothing. I just felt that I deserved it for leaving you there alone. After deducting the points, I should pay the fine.” Ye Qingqiu pursed her lips and said, “Don’t push the blame to me. I’m not the one who asked you to deduct points and fine the driver.” Li Tingshen lowered his gaze to look at her before stopping by the staircase. He bent down and placed Ye Qingqiu against the wall. Ye Qingqiu frowned and looked at him with her injured foot. “Do you think that I have no choice but to be carried down by you now that Ye Ze is gone?” Li Tingshen grabbed her waist and leaned close to her. His straight back bent slightly and pressed against her forehead. His voice sounded a little aggrieved as he reiterated, “I didn’t go to the hospital.” Ye Qingqiu’s eyelids trembled slightly. Once again, she felt that this man was too scheming. He could even do such a shameless thing. How could he act like he was wronged? “You’re sorry that you didn’t go to the hospital? I didn’t stop you from the start. You don’t have to feel aggrieved here. You won’t be able to gain anything.” Li Tingshen tightened his grip on her waist and said in a low and hoarse voice, “Do you have to play dumb with me?” Ye Qingqiu frowned even more. “Aren’t you afraid that Liang Xuer will really die if she doesn’t see you at the hospital?” The emotions in Li Tingshen’s eyes darkened. “You don’t have to say such awful things.” He lowered his breath. “Because she made herself look different. That’s not a wise thing to do.” Ye Qingqiu chuckled lightly. “The truth is probably that bad. What’s the point of living in hypocrisy?” Li Tingshen’s eyes darkened and a sharp glint flashed across them before it was replaced by a sense of oppression. “I shouldn’t have said those things to you in the car. I didn’t go to the hospital, I didn’t want to like her, and I didn’t really intend to give it a try with her. Don’t always use those words to stop me, okay? Those words were wrong. It’s my fault…” His current attitude gave Ye Qingqiu an illusion. It was meaningless to argue with him. It made her look more like a jealous woman who was petty and unforgiving. But if he said that he was wrong, could the damage caused by those words be erased? She closed her eyes and suppressed the sadness in her heart. Her slightly pursed lips were covered by his slightly cold ones as they rubbed against each other. “The countdown is about to start. Even if you don’t forgive me, can you leave this matter here? Let’s go for New Year’s Eve together, okay?” If she left this matter this year, would it be a new beginning next year? Ye Qingqiu was carried downstairs by him. The Old Master and Ye Jianyun looked a little tired. There were probably not many people who were still waiting to celebrate the new year. It was hard for the two of them to last until now. However, when they saw Ye Qingqiu, the two of them seemed to be more energetic. “Let’s go. The countdown is about to start. Let’s go out and set off fireworks.” The gala started to prepare for the countdown. Li Tingshen wrapped a blanket around Ye Qingqiu and put on a warm down jacket before carrying her out. In the courtyard, Uncle Ye had already instructed a few men to set up fireworks. All of them were ready to light them. The volume of the television in the living room was turned up to the maximum as the exciting countdown sounded. “Ten, nine, eight…” “Five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year~” At the last second, the fireworks in the courtyard were ignited. The colorful fireworks soared into the sky and exploded with dazzling light. Amidst the commotion, Ye Qingqiu seemed to hear Li Tingshen’s voice. She paused and turned to look at him in confusion. “What did you just say?” Li Tingshen looked down at her, his dark eyes reflecting the colorful fireworks in the distance. There was a faint smile on his lips and the coldness in his eyes dissipated. He stared at her deeply and lowered his head to kiss her gently. “Happy New Year.” Ye Qingqiu’s eyes flashed. There was a subtle disappointment in her heart, but it was fleeting. She looked up at the sky again and said calmly— “Happy New Year.” * Happy New Year. There was only New Year and no happiness. It was a good winter break, but Ye Qingqiu was delayed for more than 20 days because of her injury. Even so, even though they had an argument on New Year’s Day, he still sent her many emails after Li Tingshen’s holiday ended. She was determined. Ye Qingqiu was bored at home, so she read two out of ten emails. Then, she sat in a corner of the living room and played with the castle building blocks she had bought. Li Tingshen came back to check on her results a few times, but she didn’t meet the standards every time. He “reported” her to Ye Jianyun. Ye Jianyun pointed at her and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. From then on, she would personally supervise her. Even though she was sitting in a corner, Ye Jianyun had to remind Ye Qingqiu of the company’s development history and the progress of several famous projects. Ye Qingqiu, who analyzed every day, felt dizzy. As he piled up wood, he cursed Li Tingshen in his heart. A grown man actually complained. Liang Xuer was fine. There was a small problem with the results, but it didn’t affect her much. It was just a delay in his recovery. Li Tingshen still visited her occasionally and brought her to the hospital when she needed to change her dressing. Li Tingshen hired an authoritative rehabilitation specialist from overseas. The Ye family also gave their greatest support. She didn’t know if Liang Xuer had suffered some trauma, but her enthusiasm for the treatment was unbelievable. However, his recovery progress had also improved by leaps and bounds. After the New Year’s Eve, Ye Qingqiu never mentioned Liang Xuer again. Whether it was Li Tingshen visiting her at the hospital, contacting authoritative experts for her, or arranging for people to keep an eye on Liang Xuer. Sometimes, Li Tingshen wondered if he couldn’t bear to see life being too dull. He was not satisfied with Ye Qingqiu messing with him because of Liang Xuer. Even if she didn’t argue with him now, he was still dissatisfied. He felt as though he had been set free. As long as he was around, she could tolerate him doing anything. He didn’t like this feeling. When Ye Qingqiu’s leg had almost recovered, he brought her to his side. He would personally send her to the company and let her stay in a corner where he could see her. It didn’t matter if she was bored or playing. He had also arranged for a desk to be placed beside him. The table was smaller and shorter than his. Every time he brought her to the Li Corporation, she would sit a little shorter than him. She looked obedient and adorable for no reason, and he enjoyed it. She was interested in everything except work. She had placed many small ornaments on her desk, including his. Other than the documents, everything that she disliked had been replaced by something she liked. He let her be. The construction of the wedding house was also ongoing. It was expected to be completed in two months. The wedding planner also started to discuss the details with her. Ye Qingqiu talked to the planner on the computer every day. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 Sometimes, he would ask Li Tingshen for his opinion. Li Tingshen would occasionally give some superficial opinions. After being despised by Ye Qingqiu, she didn’t ask him anymore. The venue was the largest church in Ping Cheng City. The Ye family was famous for spoiling their children. This church was funded and built by the Ye family more than ten years ago. Because her daughter had married overseas, they believed in her and built it to bless her. They chose the most luxurious hotel in Ping Cheng City. In just two locations, everyone knew that Ye Qingqiu was preparing for the wedding. Ye Qingqiu was considered a busy person now. Li Tingshen actually let her handle some unimportant matters of the Ye Corporation. Even if she didn’t want to, she more or less understood something. She was familiar with the few leaders in the company. However, staying in the Ye Corporation was troublesome, so she was more willing to come to the Li Corporation. She could slack off openly. Anyway, she didn’t have to worry about the Li Corporation. However, Li Tingshen had never avoided her. Therefore, when she heard Li Tingshen mention the development of a software project several times and that he had been preparing for it since last year, she couldn’t help but ask when she heard that he had already prepared the procedures for the bank loan. “What kind of software development requires such a huge sum of money? Which aspect? Are you confident?” Li Tingshen said calmly, “Sixty percent.” Development was one thing, but market compliance was another. If he couldn’t integrate into the market, there was only failure waiting for him. Ye Qingqiu frowned in confusion. “The Ye Corporation’s mechanical construction project has been delayed until now. You should understand that my father has been saving it for you. You don’t want this kind of project that sends money to you. Instead, you choose a new project that you’re not confident of developing. You’ve been preparing for two years and you’re only 60% confident…” “You want to prove yourself. You want to have absolute dignity and not be suppressed by the Ye family. C&P has already succeeded. You’ve managed the Ye Corporation single-handedly and the results are obvious. Who would dare to criticize you now? How many people have racked their brains to get close to the Ye family? Why are they avoiding you?” Li Tingshen’s face was solemn and his tone was low. “I didn’t avoid the Ye family. I planned to do this project from the start. Even if the Ye Corporation didn’t extend an olive branch to me, I would have done it.” Ye Qingqiu took a deep breath and said, “What if it fails? What will happen to the Li Corporation? Li Tingshen, can’t the Li Corporation rely on the Ye Corporation? The Ye Corporation will invest the money for your development project.” Li Tingshen pinched the space between his eyebrows and seemed to be a little impatient with Ye Qingqiu’s words. “No need. If I really fail, it won’t be too late for the Ye Corporation to consider taking over the Li Corporation. Moreover, there won’t be any resistance.” Wouldn’t it be easy for a shell company to take it down? “Even if the Ye Corporation really wants to take down the Li Corporation, it’s all for the sake of the Li Corporation.” Li Ting took a deep breath. “Don’t mention this again. Aren’t you busy planning the wedding? This is more important to you.”