B5SB -Chapter 298 Giving Up

As the New Year approached, In the accounting office, Gu Yihan was busy preparing the balance of funds, profit statements, and cost reports.

Zhang Limin and Wang Guixiang were reviewing the year’s costs and general ledger.

All morning long, the sound of abacus beads clacking “pa-li-pa-la” never stopped in the office.

Hu Shan sipped her tea leisurely while reading the newspaper.

She glanced at the busy colleagues and felt a surge of relief.

Luckily, she hadn’t listened to her parents and studied accounting back then.

Otherwise, she’d be exhausted at year’s end too.

She lifted her chin slightly and said with a hint of smugness, “Good thing I didn’t study accounting. Otherwise, I’d be worn out every year at this time.”

Hearing this, Wang Guixiang closed a finished ledger, rested her eyes, and pressed her temples.

With a sigh, she said, “Our textile factory is much better than the garment factory in the provincial capital.”

“You have no idea—no matter how busy they are, they still have to attend political study twice a week without fail: reading newspapers and sharing reflections.”

“They don’t get any free time at all.”

After speaking, she felt rested enough and picked up another ledger to continue reviewing.

After that one sentence, Gu Yihan and Wang Guixiang both buried themselves in work again.

Only Hu Shan was left idle.

Feeling bored, she unconsciously doodled on paper with her pen.

When she noticed what she had written, she froze.

She hurriedly tore the paper out, crumpled it up, and threw it into the trash.

An inexplicable irritation rose in her heart.

Why had she written Secretary Chang’s name—the snobbish guy?

After lunch, On the way back to the office, Gu Yihan and Hu Shan ran into Secretary Chang.

Gu Yihan smiled and greeted him, “Secretary Chang.”

Secretary Chang paused, then smiled back.

“Comrade Gu, I heard you know Yajing?”

Gu Yihan froze for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. She glanced sideways at Hu Shan.

“Secretary Chang, do you mean Li Yajing?”

Secretary Chang nodded with a smile.

Gu Yihan was about to say she knew her when she felt pressure on her arm.

So she smiled and replied, “Secretary Chang, I haven’t met her in person, so I can’t be sure whether she’s the same person I know.”

Secretary Chang glanced out of the corner of his eye at Hu Shan beside her.

Understanding flashed in his eyes.

He smiled and said, “You’re busy. I’ll be going.”

Hu Shan noticed that Secretary Chang neither greeted her nor even looked at her before leaving.

She felt a tiny bit displeased.

She muttered to herself, “What kind of person is that? So rude, and he still wants to marry her?”

“Whoever wants to marry him can go ahead. I’m not interested anyway.”

Gu Yihan’s ears twitched slightly.

She turned to Hu Shan and asked in confusion, “Sister Shan, what did you just say?”

Hu Shan looked up at her and brushed it off casually.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Then she lowered her eyes.

Although she acted indifferent, she felt deeply disappointed.

It wasn’t that she truly liked Secretary Chang.

But hearing him ask about another woman still made her uncomfortable.

On the way back, neither of them spoke.

Gu Yihan wasn’t the type to make small talk.

She believed that fewer troubles were better than more.

So even though she noticed Hu Shan’s bad mood, she didn’t ask.

All afternoon, Hu Shan remained absent-minded.

She kept feeling that Secretary Chang’s attitude was strange.

More than a month had passed since she and Cheng Bo publicly severed ties.

Logically, if the two families planned an alliance, the marriage should already be underway.

After all, Secretary Chang wasn’t young anymore.

So why hadn’t she received any news from her parents?

Had something changed at home?

After thinking it over, she decided to take the initiative.

After work, Gu Yihan had just packed her bag when she saw Hu Shan’s hurried retreating figure.

A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.

“What’s wrong with Xiaoshan?”

“She’s been frowning and sighing all afternoon,” Wang Guixiang said curiously.

Zhang Limin rubbed her eyes, glanced at Hu Shan’s seat, and said indifferently, “Who knows?”

Gu Yihan guessed that Hu Shan had gone to look for Secretary Chang.

She sighed silently.

Hu Shan would probably be disappointed.

Because Gu Yihan could tell—

Secretary Chang had no intention of marrying her.

Meanwhile, Hu Shan was so lost in thought that she forgot to knock and pushed the door open directly.

Hearing the sudden noise, Secretary Chang frowned and looked up at her.

A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

“Comrade Hu, what do you want?”

Seeing his expressionless face, Hu Shan suddenly realized she hadn’t knocked.

Panic surged in her heart.

Would he think she was ill-mannered?

Standing in the middle of the office, she nervously twisted her clothes like a child who had done something wrong.

In a small voice, she asked, “Can I use your office phone?”

Secretary Chang stood up, walked to the sofa, and sat down.

Coldly, he said, “Go ahead.”

Hu Shan hurried to the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed her father’s office.

No one answered.

She glanced at her watch.

That shouldn’t be.

After thinking, she dialed the home number instead.

At the Hu residence in the provincial capital, Father Hu carefully helped Mother Hu sit on the sofa.

Worried, he said, “Why don’t you take some leave and rest at home?”

Mother Hu shot him a glance.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It hasn’t even been four months. If I take leave now, my colleagues will laugh at me.”

She stroked her still-flat belly and added, “I really didn’t expect to get pregnant at this age.”

Father Hu laughed.

“You’re only forty-two. Still young!”

Mother Hu spat at him playfully.

“You old rascal. If you hadn’t insisted on having a second child, I wouldn’t have…”

She stopped herself when she thought of Hu Shan.

Father Hu smiled and said nothing.

Ever since Hu Shan married Cheng Bo, he had given up on this daughter.

The Hu family had struggled for generations—

How could they let outsiders benefit for nothing?

Mother Hu began to take good care of her health and seek out traditional doctors for fertility medicine.

At last, their wish was fulfilled.

“Ring—ring—ring…”

Hearing the phone, Father Hu smiled and told Mother Hu,

“Sit and rest. Don’t move around. I’ll cook later.”

He stood up and answered the phone.

“Dad…”

When Father Hu heard Hu Shan’s voice, impatience flashed in his eyes.

He replied flatly, “What do you want?”

Hu Shan froze when she heard his tone.

Softly, she asked, “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Father Hu chuckled.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Why don’t you ask yourself what you’ve done?”

Hu Shan was confused.

“I didn’t do anything…”