Chapter 013: Tang Yu, It’s Me
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“You think saying you don’t want to is enough?” Lin Ke’s expression darkened slightly.
“Which of your elder sisters didn’t marry someone introduced by the family, someone whose background was thoroughly known? And your elder brother married a socialite from a well-matched family. Weren’t all three of them already being arranged for as soon as they graduated?”
Tang Yu lowered her head and toyed with her fingers in silence.
How could she not know?
She had been there when her elder brother and sisters got married. But she had always felt that they had merely submitted to fate, accepting because they had no other choice. People born into wealthy families might lack nothing, but that did not mean their lives would be free of regrets.
“A-Yu, we’re not forcing you to get married right away. We’re only asking you to spend some time getting to know them. Choose whichever one you like best.” Lin Ke urged her earnestly. “We’re doing this for your own good. If you choose to marry beneath your station, you can forget about ever getting married in this lifetime.”
The Tang family absolutely would not marry anyone who was not a suitable match in status and background.
“Then I won’t get married,” Tang Yu said at once.
Love could betray everything one invested in it, but a career would not.
“You…” Lin Ke glared at her furiously. “Are the men introduced by the family somehow worse than the ones you find outside?”
Tang Yu could not raise her voice at her own mother, so she simply said bluntly, “Those are all business alliances, Mom. I don’t want a marriage of convenience!”
Lin Ke could not understand it. What was wrong with a marriage alliance?
“Your father and I were married for the sake of an alliance, weren’t we? When have we ever argued? Our relationship is better than that of plenty of couples who fell in love freely!”
At that, Tang Yu shot her mother a sidelong glance and said nothing. She took out her phone and began tapping away.
Her parents had fallen in love after getting married, so naturally their relationship was good.
But not every couple in a marriage alliance could develop feelings for each other the way they had.
“Your father, your grandfather, and your grandmother all miss you terribly. When do you have time to go back and see them?” Lin Ke continued.
Tang Yu knew exactly what her mother was doing. Once she was lured home, the entire family would join forces to pressure her until she agreed.
“I’m very busy. I don’t have time.”
With that, she pushed open the car door and got out. “I’m going back to work. Love you!”
Lin Ke sat there with a stern expression and ignored her completely.
The phone clipped into the dashboard mount displayed a notification from the bank. Lin Ke paused, then reached out and tapped it open.
—Tang Yu transferred 52,000 yuan.
Looking at the modest transfer, the expression on Lin Ke’s face softened, and the corners of her lips rose despite herself.
She worked so hard just to earn this little bit of money. What was the point?
Even so, her fingers had already forwarded the notification to the family group, proudly showing off the money Tang Yu had sent her.
In response, Tang Youde, Master Tang, and Madam Tang all posted screenshots of Tang Yu’s 52,000-yuan transfer in the group.
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Lin Ke: “…”
Hmph. Even receiving money from her was enough to make her angry!
By then, Tang Yu had returned to her desk. After thinking it over, she sent her mother a tiny red envelope worth 5.20 yuan.
A little bribe for Mom. Maybe that would cheer her up!
The landline on her desk rang.
Tang Yu picked it up. “Hello?”
Editor-in-Chief Li said, “Xiao Tang, Haicheng’s Feng Group has just exposed its own financial fraud at a press conference. Our correspondent is already following the story. Get there immediately.”
While Editor-in-Chief Li was speaking, Tang Yu had already shut down her computer. She grabbed the essentials and rushed out.
Haicheng was right next to Beicheng.
Relying on the driving skills she had honed through racing, Tang Yu safely navigated the traffic lights and sped straight toward the expressway.
The moment she entered Haicheng, torrential rain drummed against the car and soaked the vehicle. She had no choice but to slow down.
After rounding a bend, she needed to change lanes. A van behind her suddenly charged forward and slammed her Porsche Cayenne to the side.
Tang Yu remained calm in the face of danger and did everything she could to control the vehicle, but the impact was severe, and the rain had made the road slick. The car still overturned onto its side.
She called the correspondent, then began freeing herself from the wreck.
Just as she pushed open the door, a large male hand reached inside.
She froze. A man stood above her with an umbrella, though plenty of rain was still blowing into the car.
After escaping the vehicle, Tang Yu stood beneath the umbrella and thanked the man before surveying the scene.
The car that had hit hers had not overturned. Its driver was still inside, making a phone call. A Honda SUV was parked farther away; it was probably the man’s vehicle.
The lower half of the man’s body was soaked through, but he remained composed.
Tang Yu was in a hurry, however, and had no choice but to say, “Hello, I’m Tang Yu, a reporter for the Beicheng Commercial News. I’m rushing to Feng Group to gather information for a report. Could I—”
“You’re Tang Yu, the financial reporter who’s been all over the news these past two days?”
The man was surprised, and even more delighted.
“Yes, that’s me!” Tang Yu nodded repeatedly. “Could I trouble you to stay here and wait for the traffic police to handle the accident? I’ll contact you as soon as I’m finished!”
“This is my car key, and this is my business card.” The man handed them to Tang Yu, then escorted her beneath the umbrella to his car. “Be careful on the road!”
Tang Yu thanked him repeatedly before driving away.
Half an hour later, she arrived at Feng Group and met up with the correspondent.
As she entered the Feng Group building, she unexpectedly came face-to-face with Yu Shuang, whom she had not seen in several days.
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Yu Shuang was wearing a new employee badge around her neck, and Tang Yu recognized it at a glance.
She now worked for World Finance Group, a company based in Beicheng and as renowned as the Beicheng Commercial News. The rivalry between the two organizations had always been fierce—a struggle in which one side had to destroy the other.
Yu Shuang approached Tang Yu with undisguised satisfaction. Looking at her bedraggled appearance, she sneered. “Looks like getting here was quite a struggle. Too bad you’re late. World Finance has already published the first-hand news!”
Whenever anything happened, Tang Yu was always the first to report it. This time, it was finally Yu Shuang’s turn.
Leaving the Beicheng Commercial News for greener pastures had clearly been the right choice.
This was the beginning of her change in fortune!
Tang Yu had never believed that being first with a story necessarily meant having the most insightful or profound interpretation. Nor did it guarantee the report would reach the widest audience.
So she paid no attention to Yu Shuang’s confident provocation. She simply walked past her with the correspondent.
Being ignored turned Yu Shuang’s face livid with anger.
She wanted to see exactly how Tang Yu planned to turn this situation around.
It was only after taking the elevator upstairs that Tang Yu finally had a moment to examine the man’s business card. She was instantly astonished.
He was a news reporter in Haicheng?
A thoughtful look flickered through her eyes. The next second, she immediately called him.
Networking and integrating available resources were among Tang Yu’s strengths.
Without much effort, she used the reporter’s connections to meet Feng Group’s highest decision-maker and obtain more precise internal information.
After the interview, Tang Yu organized the news draft at top speed, incorporating the short videos and photographs from Feng Group’s press conference collected by the correspondent. She produced a polished report.
By then, night had fully fallen.
Tang Yu sat on a borrowed little stool in a corner outside the corridor on the first floor of the Feng Group building, working so intently that she forgot to eat or sleep.
When she finally finished and stretched, she discovered that the torrential rain was still falling. She immediately remembered that the male reporter might still be waiting on the expressway.
Damn it!
She hurriedly gathered her things, held her bag over her head, and dashed outside toward her car—
She had barely rushed out when the rain drenched almost her entire body. She also collided with someone.
Tang Yu quickly stepped back and apologized. “I’m sorry! It’s dark, and the rain is so heavy that I didn’t see where I was going!”
Lou Xizhou reached out a step faster and pulled her beneath his large umbrella. At the same time, he shifted the umbrella toward her to keep her from getting any wetter, leaving the rain to soak through his own back.
Only then did he speak in a low voice.
“Tang Yu, it’s me.”