It was not until early morning that Mo Qingyun regained consciousness.
She moved her arm but found it a little numb.
"You're awake?" Ou Yunchen asked.
Mo Qingyun was startled. If Ou Yunchen's tired face hadn't appeared before her, she would have thought she had misheard.
Mo Qingyun looked around. She was in the hospital? She hadn't died?
That meant Ou Yunchen would know she had tried to kill herself...
Her mood was even worse now...
"Sister Hong came to see you earlier. Seeing you weren't awake, she just left the breakfast here," Ou Yunchen said.
Ou Yunchen helped Mo Qingyun sit up and then placed the breakfast Sister Hong had brought on the table.
Mo Qingyun signed, "I don't want to eat..."
"If you don't eat, where will you get the strength to try to kill yourself again? Next time you cut your wrist, there won't be as much blood," Ou Yunchen said.
Mo Qingyun's eyes immediately turned red. She burrowed into the covers and cried.
"Do you really want to see me lose my temper at you? Get up and eat!" Ou Yunchen exclaimed.
Ou Yunchen lifted the quilt. Her curled-up form looked even more pitiful. How much had she tormented herself these past few days? Her spine bones were visible through her clothes!
"Didn't you promise me you would appear before me as a better version of yourself?" Ou Yunchen asked.
Mo Qingyun continued to cry. So many failures had made her feel like she was rotten to the core. She had gradually lost confidence in herself and even her courage to face Ou Yunchen had run out...
"I have something to tell you," Ou Yunchen said.
Ou Yunchen didn't make things difficult for Mo Qingyun. He simply sat by the bedside and recounted everything that had happened at the banquet last night.
"Very few people know my true identity. You are one of them..." Ou Yunchen said.
Mo Qingyun signed, "I didn't tell Xu Shuming!"
"I know. I just wanted to say that last night I truly thought I was finished... Do you know that feeling? It's as terrifying as being stripped naked in public," Ou Yunchen said.
Mo Qingyun looked at Ou Yunchen sympathetically. She had thought he must have been radiant last night.
"At that moment, I thought, I spent so many years adapting to my new identity, and then I worked hard to make everyone believe I wasn't a bartender. I sacrificed so much, and I couldn't let it be ruined at that moment!" Ou Yunchen said.
"Look, no one has it easy. When you met me, I was only 25. Now I'm 31. Can't you see my efforts over these six years?" Ou Yunchen asked.
Mo Qingyun nodded. She had actually forgotten they had known each other for six years...
In six years, Ou Yunchen had transformed into an outstanding entrepreneur. But for Mo Qingyun, it seemed as though nothing had changed...
"It's only been a year since you wanted to address your psychological issues," Ou Yunchen said.
"Think about it yourself. You were mute for twenty years. Do you expect to learn to speak in just one year?"
"Xiao Yun, some things can't be rushed. Let's take it slow, okay?"
Mo Qingyun signed, "I can't find my brother, I lost you, and I can't speak. Even Xie Youlin, who has always treated me well, was sent to prison by you. I really don't know what the meaning of my life is..."
"You're so foolish. Look at the friends who care about you," Ou Yunchen said.
"If your colleagues didn't care about you, why would they have gone to your house to look for you and then saved you!"
"And Sister Hong. She was afraid of upsetting you, so she stayed up all night cleaning your house, just so you wouldn't see the mess when you came home..."
Mo Qingyun signed, "What about you? Do you still care about me? You have Su Ruiyi by your side again. You know I can't compare to her. I'll never be as good as such an excellent girl!"
"I'm just using her. The Su Corporation is already in my hands..." Ou Yunchen said.
Mo Qingyun signed, "Then can you make her leave?"
"Give me some more time, okay?" Ou Yunchen asked.
Mo Qingyun signed, "I'm sorry, I just feel so inadequate... No matter how hard I try, I can't be on par with Su Ruiyi..."
"Xiao Yun..." Ou Yunchen said.
At this moment, Ou Yunchen's phone started ringing incessantly.
***
— Ou Yunchen on the phone —
"Mr. Ou, please come back quickly. Several investments in AtL are in trouble," Lawyer Ma said.
— Call ends —
***
Ou Yunchen opened his email. Alert after alert flooded in. This was a bad omen. It seemed someone was attacking AtL's investments and funds.
"Xiao Yun, I have an urgent matter to attend to. I'll have Sister Hong come to take care of you, okay?" Ou Yunchen said.
Mo Qingyun hadn't even raised her hand yet, but Ou Yunchen was staring at his phone screen. He anxiously made a call and left the ward.
This made Mo Qingyun feel even more lost. Now, even a little bit of Ou Yunchen's concern had become a luxury...
***
By the time Ou Yunchen arrived at AtL, the company was in chaos again.
Lawyer Ma reported the sudden situation, leaving all the PMs bewildered. They had implemented hedging strategies, but the stocks seemed to have lost control and were continuously falling.
"The emergency fund is running low. Should we put more in?" Lawyer Ma asked.
Ou Yunchen watched the numbers dwindle, like small pebbles thrown into the ocean, unable to make even a ripple...
"It seems someone is controlling the market and wants to make AtL lose all its money," Lawyer Ma said.
Ou Yunchen immediately called Colin, and the news he received made Ou Yunchen even more flustered.
— Ou Yunchen on the phone —
"Maggie told me it's Tang Empire's doing. Michelle is in charge now. She wants you to return all the money you siphoned from the empire back then," Colin said.
"Darwin is no longer functioning, how can they continue to operate?" Ou Yunchen asked.
"It's not Darwin. Michelle seems to want to use the entire empire to restrain you. That woman has too much of a vengeful heart! No wonder Maggie dislikes her so much!"
"AtL's money is almost depleted by her. This attack was too fast, there was no chance to fight back!" Ou Yunchen said.
"It seems they have been planning this for a long time. I'll use Scion's funds to help you hold on for now. You'd better find a solution as soon as possible!" Colin said.
— Call ends —
Colin, like Ou Yunchen, was caught off guard by the sudden war. A battle without a plan was destined to be costly.
Even though Colin made an exception and continuously poured money into AtL, Tang Empire was like a super-sized vacuum cleaner running at full power. The immense suction turned AtL, which was dependent on Scion, into an empty shell. And the floodgates Colin had opened could not be closed.