In the following days, Yu Sheng threw herself almost entirely into the affairs of the Yu Group.
Secretary Li was strictly professional but dutiful.
She first introduced Yu Sheng to several key department heads—the CFO, operations director, marketing manager. Their attitudes toward her were respectful but tinged with scrutiny.
After all, everyone knew who the Yu Group relied on to survive.
Then she was given a temporary office and a mountain of materials: company history, organizational charts, financial reports from the past three years, and ongoing major project proposals…
The process was far more difficult and painful than she had imagined.
The dense numbers and technical terms in the thick financial reports made her dizzy. Many abbreviations and concepts were completely unfamiliar. She forced herself to calm down, frantically searching for basic knowledge on her laptop while painstakingly working through the documents bit by bit.
Whenever she didn't understand something, she noted it down and asked. Secretary Li's explanations were clear and professional, but always maintained a certain distance.
Through studying financial reports and project files, Yu Sheng finally gained a clear understanding of just how severe the Yu Group's situation had been during the later stage of her father's illness: multiple major decision failures had led to disastrous investments, the capital chain had broken, and bank debts had piled up like a mountain.
It was only after her marriage to Shen Yunmian, relying on continuous capital injections from the Shen Group and the professional management team Shen Yunmian had sent, that drastic reforms were carried out, barely turning losses into profits and gradually putting the company back on track—but at the cost of growing dependence on the Shen Group.
Looking at those shocking historical loss figures, Yu Sheng's emotions were like a chaotic mix of conflicting tastes.
She had to admit that while Shen Yunmian might be as cold as a machine in relationships, in business operations and management, she possessed astonishing talent, decisiveness, and efficiency. It was Shen Yunmian who had sustained the Yu family's survival at its most difficult time with tangible benefits, even if that support came with a cold, transactional nature.
This realization filled her with even more regret.
Regret that for the past seven years she had lived like a carefully caged canary, immersed in a hopeless marriage, revolving around Shen Yunmian and the Shen family's trivial matters, never once opening her eyes to reality or thinking to learn how to protect the family legacy left by her parents.
She had handed over all hope and initiative to others, leading to her current passivity.
Having lived a second life, she had learned to let go of many things. Regret was useless—she could only try her best to change.
Yu Sheng cast aside all distractions, packed her schedule to the brim. Aside from necessary meals and rest, all her time was spent studying documents and organizing financial reports, determined to understand her family's true situation as quickly as possible.
She was so busy her feet barely touched the ground, often working late into the night, exhausted to the point of collapsing into sleep.
As for Shen Yunmian? She had long been cast out of her mind.
To her now, Shen Yunmian was more like a major creditor and business partner she needed to break away from, rather than a wife.
Meanwhile, in the top-floor office, Shen Yunmian was far less calm than she appeared.
At first, she thought Yu Sheng's actions were just a momentary impulse or another form of emotional release after being provoked. Managing a company wasn't child's play—the tedious numbers and complex processes would soon wear down her interest and courage.
She even deliberately slowed her own pace, leaving herself some "waiting" time.
Waiting for Yu Sheng to hit a wall and, as before, come back to her with confusion and dependence.
However, a week passed, and Yu Sheng never appeared before her.
Not even a single call asking for advice, not one message seeking help.
Through the internal system, she saw that Yu Sheng arrived early and left late every day.
From Secretary Li's daily reports, she heard scattered updates about Yu Sheng:
"President Yu spent the whole afternoon in the finance department, asking many questions about the group's debt structure."
"She requested all project evaluation reports from the past three years."
"She followed the project team to the site this afternoon."
These reports became increasingly detailed and pointed.
Shen Yunmian was surprised to discover that Yu Sheng wasn't aimlessly busy—she was genuinely learning in a structured, methodical way.
This realization shocked her.
At the same time, a stronger sense of being ignored began to grow.
The wife who once had eyes only for her, who revolved entirely around her, now seemed to treat her as if she didn't exist.
That night, after finishing her work, the restless feeling in Shen Yunmian's chest rose again.
She asked her assistant as if casually, "Yu… President Yu is still working overtime?"
The assistant quickly replied, "President Shen, the lights are still on in madam's office."
For some reason, Shen Yunmian felt a slight relief, even a faint, absurd expectation she didn't consciously recognize.
Perhaps… Yu Sheng was just looking for the right moment, one that didn't seem like she was lowering her head deliberately?
Maybe she was still struggling with how to approach her?
Almost immediately, Shen Yunmian made a decision: she would also "stay late at work."
And so, for once, after finishing her tasks, President Shen didn't leave. She remained in her office, pretending to stay busy.
She flipped through documents absentmindedly.
Her gaze, however, drifted toward the door from time to time, or she strained to catch any movement outside.
Time passed minute by minute.
The office area outside gradually quieted, until only the lights in her office remained on.
Shen Yunmian even began to rehearse in her mind—when Yu Sheng came in later, how should she react?
Should she remain cold, or show a little room for communication?
"Or…maybe I could take the chance to ask if her body can handle it?"
However, when the clock hands silently passed eleven, there was still no movement.
Shen Yunmian's patience finally ran out, and that pitiful bit of expectation turned into irritation and doubt.
She stood up, pushed open the office door, and found the secretary area already empty, the lights dim.
She walked straight to the elevator and pressed the button to go down, her heart beating a little faster in the silence for no clear reason.
The elevator stopped on a lower floor, and the doors slowly opened.
Most of this floor was already dark as well; only the temporary office at the end of the corridor still had its lights on.
Shen Yunmian slowed her steps and walked over.
Through the glass window on the door, she could clearly see that the office was empty!
The computer on the desk was already shut down, the documents neatly arranged—it was obvious the person had left some time ago.
Yu Sheng had actually… already left?!
She hadn't even thought about coming upstairs to see her?!
Had she been waiting here like an idiot, expecting a "breaking the ice" scene that was never going to happen?!
A surge of anger at being toyed with, mixed with an indescribable embarrassment and irritation, rushed straight to Shen Yunmian's head, making her cheeks feel hot.
Her face turned ashen. She spun around sharply, her high heels striking the carpeted corridor with dull thuds as she strode away.
She left the building in long strides, got into her car, and with a suppressed roar of the engine, drove toward Jiuxi Bay.
Pushing open the door, she was met with darkness and silence, cold and devoid of any warmth.
She went straight upstairs, even carrying a trace of unwilling-to-admit verification in her heart, and pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
Inside, everything was neat and tidy, cold and lifeless—clearly, Yu Sheng hadn't come back at all!
She could almost be certain that Yu Sheng had gone back to the apartment at Jingshui Bay!
At that moment, Aunt Yang, who had heard the noise, came out of the guest room. Seeing Shen Yunmian's frighteningly gloomy expression, she was startled and instinctively asked, "Eldest young lady? Why did you come back? Miss said you've been busy with urgent work at the company lately and would be staying there to work overtime, so I didn't need to prepare dinner for you…"
Shen Yunmian was almost laughing from anger.
Good. Very good.
Not only had Yu Sheng stayed far away, she had even come up with an excuse for her and arranged everything perfectly!
She had even informed the aunt in advance, completely cutting off any possibility of her "unexpectedly" coming home!
Shen Yunmian cared too much about her pride to expose such an obvious lie at this moment.
She suppressed the surging anger and coldly tossed out, "Mm, I came back to get a few changes of clothes."
She walked into the walk-in closet, randomly grabbed a few outfits, stuffed them into a bag, then turned and slammed the door again as she left, driving back to the top-floor lounge at the company.
Fine, Yu Sheng. You're impressive. You want to draw a line? You want to keep things strictly professional?
Then I'll give you exactly what you want. Let's see how long you can keep this up.
—
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