This is to give both sides some buffer time and space; otherwise, asking directly would make it awkward. Yurong thought that if Hai Fu and Li Yan truly had something going on, and she knew she was married to Li Yan, she definitely wouldn’t invoke the saying "ignorance is no crime". She would feel guilty towards herself, and therefore, leave the company.

She didn’t lie; the facts she needed to disclose were both directly (about Li Yan) and indirectly (about them) already conveyed.

Hai Fu was the most difficult one. After making her call, Yurong felt so constrained and tense, she wasn’t very familiar with Li Jie and thus straightforwardly called her.

"You finally returned my call! Are you okay?" Li Jie reacted with urgency just like Hai Fu.

And Zhang Yurong also gave the same response: "Li Yan has returned home and is temporarily unavailable to take calls. He didn’t have time earlier; now I finally have time to call you back."

She was unfamiliar with Li Jie, and Li Jie was equally unfamiliar with her. She knew of ’Zhang Yurong’ but wasn’t familiar with the voice, so hearing an unfamiliar woman using Li Yan’s phone to call her and talking about things like going home, it sounded as if the woman was Li Yan’s girlfriend or wife. This made her pause for a moment in surprise and then she couldn’t help but ask: "Who are you...?"

Li Yan and Li Jie, both having the surname Li, and both having single-character names, Zhang Yurong overlooked the fact that over a billion people have the surname Li. Naturally, she felt that even if they weren’t cousins or something, they might be fellow countrymen. Furthermore, since they were not familiar with each other, she didn’t have the same reservation as with Hai Fu. Thus, she didn’t hesitate and gave a definite answer: "I am his wife, thank you for your concern. After he wakes up, I’ll have him call you back. There are other people I need to notify, I’ll hang up now..."

Wife!

The emergence of this term turned Li Jie, who was merely a bit surprised and curious, into someone as shocked as Hai Fu!

...

After dealing with the two of them, Yurong looked at the names of the other four people. She hesitated whether to send a group message or call them individually.

Thinking that things have already turned out this way, a text message wouldn’t have much effect in concealing anything. Qiao Huanxuan and Yu Xiaodi were clear about their situation, and Wen Qianyi was essentially aware as well. The remaining one, Huang Ying, should be either a friend like Wen Qianyi, or just a good colleague.

So she dialed the number of someone she wasn’t familiar with again—Huang Ying.

"You finally returned my call! Are you okay?" Huang Ying had the same attitude and said similar things. However, she added a few more sentences, "Miss Yu told me you might have had an accident, I’ve been very worried, but I trust you shouldn’t be in any danger..."

Actually, Zhang Yurong hadn’t interacted with Huang Ying, even though they might have met at the company, she didn’t have any impression of her appearance, just some impression of her name and personality because of Li Yan. But now hearing her gentle and soft words, her mind involuntarily conjured up the image of a delicate, shy, reserved girl.

"Uh... I’m not Li Yan. He has returned home and is still resting, temporarily unable to take calls. Earlier, he was unavailable, now he finally has time to call you back. Don’t worry!"

Hearing a female voice surprised Huang Ying to the point she couldn’t speak, but fortunately, she understood that Li Yan seemed fine. But hearing the end, her careful nature reconsidered: If everything was alright, would someone else need to notify? This was obviously just a comforting remark.

"May I ask who you are...?" Huang Ying asked cautiously, vaguely feeling that the voice was familiar, but couldn’t place where she’d heard it before. Quickly, though, she had a direction and guessed who it could be.

"I am his wife, thank you for your concern. After he wakes up, I’ll have him call you back..." Zhang Yurong intended to end the call with the same words.

Wife!

Since Li Yan had once hinted about having a wife, Huang Ying wasn’t as shocked as Hai Fu or Li Jie; furthermore, she had seen Shinohara Mirai, Matsushima Kui, and even Yu Xiaodi who interacted further. So it was a daunting mountain in her subconscious, yet she wasn’t panicked at the moment.

"Hello..." She greeted, but couldn’t continue with what she planned to say. Was she supposed to say "Please take care of Li Yan"? That was not her place to say, since the caller was the legitimate wife! She could only count herself as a clandestine lover.

Zhang Yurong didn’t think much of it; she had heard about Huang Ying’s polite nature, which made her favorable, not seeing her as a rival. Seeing her seem a bit uneasy, she added a few more words: "No need to be formal, I’m thankful you’re thinking about him. I’ve heard you used to be a clerk in the business department, and later Li Yan introduced you to another company. I am Zhang Yurong, you might know me..."

She revealed her identity not to pressure or frighten Huang Ying but figured since she was Li Yan’s friend, she would be her friend too, and being no longer a company subordinate, directly saying her name didn’t matter; not revealing identity might make it seem like feeling superior.

But she had no idea how much this would shock Huang Ying!

Initially, Huang Ying was prepared for Li Yan’s wife’s identity, not feeling shaken, considering it was something that was bound to happen. But she hadn’t expected the vaguely familiar voice was indeed heard before, it was the ice queen and notable female CEO of Paradise Group, Zhang Yurong!

This... this... was unimaginable! If Li Yan’s wife or girlfriend was Wen Qianyi, she wouldn’t find it odd, but Zhang Yurong was truly a stark contrast. For young employees like her, Zhang Yurong was someone to respect, admire, with a hint of fear; she could cause female employees to feel inferior or even self-doubt in various aspects. Such a pearl-like person should be matched with someone of excellent character, who built his own fortune, like the founder of a well-known IT company; at least, a famous conglomerate heir or a corporate C-level executive.

That Zhang Yurong would be Li Yan’s wife! This was explosive material capable of shaking Paradise Group.

In a flash, Huang Ying understood and realized a lot. No wonder Li Yan seemed fine no matter how he conducted himself, no wonder he constantly mentioned having a wife in the company; it was just inconvenient for him to say it outright, and everyone thought he was joking.

"President Zhang, hello..." Huang Ying never imagined she’d have a day to converse with Zhang Yurong, only the scenario wasn’t very good. Especially since... she seemed to become a third party... or perhaps a fourth?

Seeing she was a bit incoherent and seemingly startled, becoming more reserved, Zhang Yurong decided not to pressure her further. Realizing her image in the company might have left Huang Ying ’fearful’, she made a polite remark and hung up the call.

Aside from these three, the rest were easier to handle. Wen Qianyi was simply informed over the phone, since the call had already been made earlier this morning. No need for excess words anymore. As for Qiao Huanxuan, she wasn’t in S City; Yurong knew she still had feelings for Li Yan, so her concern was genuine, comforted her shortly, and invited her to visit whenever she had time.

The last person to be notified was Yu Xiaodi; given their relationship, there was no need for formalities, no need to wait for Yu Xiaodi to say ’you finally returned my call! Are you okay?’ Yurong straightforwardly said: "He has been found, had some issues. Now he’s home, you can come over directly."

Given her understanding of Yu Xiaodi, Yurong knew she was definitely the most worried, even comforting couldn’t alleviate it, just letting her come to see for herself would be best.

Yu Xiaodi, without hesitation, said: "Then, you open the door for me! The phone couldn’t get through, so I came to your place to wait. Just arrived outside, wondering if you’re here."

"..." (To be continued, for further developments, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)