Chapter 420 - As It Should Be
Ji Nuan’s MN Group had fallen into a financial crisis, while far away in America, Shine Group’s collapsing stock market was rescued by Mo Jingshen’s brilliant strategy. Under Mo Jingshen’s hands, Shine Group progressed into a golden age.
Originally, Ji Nuan had nourished her body well in London. Her face had turned rosier, and her body’s health index had risen. However, toward the end of her time here, the financial crisis and various stressors caused her to lose a lot of weight.
She did not eat irregularly. In fact, her life was structured to the point where she found it fascinating.
However, she was experiencing too much stress, and she had too many things to work on. Although she took naps to recover her sleep when she was free, day after day of pressure was still pressing heavily over her head.
Bearing the weight of an international group was not as simple as bearing the weight of a small studio. A studio could be sold and declared bankrupt anytime, but a large, international corporation implicated many areas. Nothing was quite as easy.
MN Group was located in a tall office building in London. Most of their workers had been retrenched, and the originally bustling office building grew to become extra cold and quiet. Perhaps because of this, the remaining people who stayed were extra busy.
Once they were busy, they had no time to feel sad or worried about the people who had left.
Only Ji Nuan would occasionally stare at those empty seats in a daze during her meetings.
Those empty seats belonged to several heads of departments and managers who had left the company because they did not look positively at MN Group’s future.
The society was realistic. When you were successful, others who always rally by your side. But when you appear to be defeated, some would leave before the results are even announced. Their gaze would also rapidly shift away as they lose their originally earnest, bootlicking ways.
On the left side of the meeting room was a large ceiling-to-floor window. Coincidentally, it was facing the direction of China.
It was as though she could see the bright hills and flowers of Hai City far away, separated by various rivers and mountains.
Occasionally, when Ji Nuan returned to the same condo as Xiao Ba to stay, she would lean over when she saw Xiao Ba and Xia Tian exchanging videos. However, she never took the initiative to send anything.
In two years, what sort of changes occurred exactly?
A year ago, Weibo was abruptly popularized. Mobile software also increased by the day. Several of them were first developed by MN’s companies but were eventually imitated and remodeled by others, before they finally exploded in popularity.
Ji Nuan sat in her condo as she considered the time that had passed. All of a sudden, she lost her smile.
Time had truly past quickly. In a few months, WeChat would be introduced to the world.
A new age was approaching; an era was silently being replaced.
Time appeared to be gradually reuniting with the world she once lived in. Everything seemed to have returned to its original point. The only difference was the distance between ten years and two years. That, and that she was no longer the Ji Nuan who had lost everything.
But what did that count for? It was true that the Ji family did not collapse. Ji Hongwen was still living well. However, ever since she came to know of the truth behind her birth, although Ji Nuan continued maintaining the necessary relations and communications with her family, she felt restrained by a lot of boundaries she could not overstep. As of now, she did not even know where her home was.
The studio had officially returned as part of the MN Group, while Xia Tian remained as the person-in-charge. As Ji Nuan did not wish to disturb Xia Tian’s life, nor did she wish to put too much stress on Hai City’s side, most of their available funds were still focused on the studio.
She had no blood relations with the Ji family, which meant that she had no actual family. Her friends were miles away from her, and her marriage had already ended two years ago.
Everything was as Mo Jingshen said when he woke up two months after his coma in Los Angeles.
Life’s trajectory should not move in reverse; everything should return to as it should be.
—-
Xiao Ba began dating someone she met in the office. He was an exchange student, and even though he was younger than her by a year, he was mature and dependable. The two of them were loving, and within a couple of months of dating, they began cohabitating.
Ji Nuan gave them her previous condo and moved to a smaller condo near the office temporarily.
She had a villa in London. Mr. Zand had arranged the accommodation for her when she first moved over. However, it was too far from the company, and after staying there briefly, she did not return. The condo she shared with Xiao Ba previously was close to the company, and now that she had moved out, her accommodation was even closer to the office than before.
Now that Ji Nuan lived alone, she rarely went out to eat. She also rarely ordered takeaway. Instead, she frequently visited the supermarket downstairs to buy various vegetables and ingredients. The owner of the supermarket was a Chinese lady who made her feel as though she wasn’t actually abroad. Just very slightly, it made her feel as though she had returned home.
The people here were used to paying with card. Once, Ji Nuan saw a tall, broad-shouldered man holding his wife’s waist as they shopped through the store. They bought very little, yet the man had handed a black card to the shop owner. When she saw this, Ji Nuan stood in her position and was dazed for a long while.
Ever since then, Ji Nuan discovered that she would always see that loving couple shopping together. She began to intentionally avoid visiting the shop at the times when they would appear so that she wouldn’t always seem to be in a daze.
What there to be dazed about?
It was already a long time since she last heard of Mo Jingshen.
It was as though he had disappeared entirely from her world and had left no marks behind.
She finally heard about Mo Jingshen again when America’s Shine obtained another international achievement. The internet industry was growing prosperous. Shine Group had researched and brought about a new industry. All over the world, all of the corporations that had relations with the company were offering their congratulations.
Although MN Group was unrelated to Shine Group, the companies they worked with would always interact a little. As a Chinese businesswoman, or perhaps as an old friend, perhaps Ji Nuan should have offered her well-wishes too. However, she understood well that an achievement like this meant nothing to him.
In the future, Shine Group would continue amassing countless achievements. These were all gained after Mo Jingshen came to take over Shine.
Most of the time, she was able to restrain a lot of her emotions calmly. However, occasionally, when she could not avoid drinking during her business events, her thoughts would stray. She would wonder, what exactly Mo Jingshen was doing right now?
Was he growing exasperated and bored with the social climbing now that Shine Group was becoming more and more prosperous? Was his life proceeding smoothly?
It had already been two years since their divorce. He had been in America for so long. Did An Shuyan return to America with him? Did Mo Shaoze continue coming up with ways to pair them up together? Did An Shuyan manage to obtain what she wanted from him?