Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Nan Mu had been lying in bed for seven days before he was finally allowed to get up and walk. But Nurse Panpan, who was in charge of his ward, remained very cautious. Whenever she saw him get out of bed, she’d immediately rush over to supervise, reminding him to move slowly and gently to avoid straining his wound.

For his safety, Xu Yang even bought him a disabled walker, so he could lean on it while walking.

Looking at the advertisement sticker still on the walker: “Thickened and reinforced, secure and stable-a good helper for the disabled.”

Nan Mu: “…”

To prevent unnecessary strain on his abdominal wound, Nurse Panpan helped him up while teaching him how to use the walker.

“The key is to avoid movements like getting up or bending over… Even though you need to rest because of the abdominal wound, you still need a moderate amount of exercise. This will speed up blood circulation and help the wound heal. Today is your first day; we can walk a little less. Just take the walker and circle the hallway outside four or five times.”

Nan Mu slowly pushed the walker out, and Panpan ran to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Xu Yang’s voice could be heard from outside as he scolded someone over the phone. “…banquet? What banquet?… When?… Who’s attending? Is it their project manager or someone else? If you don’t know, find out!… President Nan hasn’t been feeling well lately… Find out exactly who from their company is going to the banquet! If it’s some department head, we’re not attending. Just say President Nan is out of City A and the timing’s inconvenient!”

After hanging up, Xu Yang turned around and got a fright when he saw Nan Mu standing behind him.

“What’s going on?” Nan Mu looked at his phone.

Xu Yang quickly came over to support Nan Mu’s arm and helped him stroll along the hallway. “A business partner of ours said they’re hosting a banquet on some cruise ship, inviting all their company’s partners.”

This kind of banquet was normally held by the inviting company to foster goodwill with their business partners.

Nan Huan Group primarily provided environmental protection equipment and technology to other companies. With equipment, there were always after-sales and maintenance issues. In such cases, response time and handling methods mattered a lot. Those with good relationships would naturally get priority service. Even though the company repeatedly demanded fair and equal treatment for all clients, where there were people, there was bound to be favoritism. If a relative of his called, urgently begging for something to be dealt with first, could he just ignore it?

After all, as President Nan’s assistant, a single word from him would be more effective than who knows how many follow-up calls to the maintenance department.

But these banquets usually only invited company department heads-the sales manager, maintenance manager, and so on.

They say the county magistrate is less powerful than the local clerk. This was the first time he’d seen a business banquet that had the nerve to say they wanted to invite President Nan. Then who from their side would attend? Were all the company directors planning to show up? Did they not consider how small their temple was before daring to invite the great Buddha himself?

As Xu Yang was grumbling to himself, the phone in his hand rang. He looked at it-still from the secretarial office. His face showed some impatience. What was wrong with HR? Had the new secretary they hired even undergone orientation training? Why were there so many calls every day?

He answered the call, and after listening to just a few words, his expression changed. “Are you sure? You didn’t mishear? Hold on.”

He muted the call. “President Nan, about that banquet just now-they checked, and President Huangfu will be going too…”
Xu Yang’s gaze fell on the hospital gown covering Nan Mu’s waist and abdomen. “Are we… going?”

Before he could finish, Nan Mu came to an abrupt stop.

“Who did you say would be there?”

“President Huangfu of Wisdom Biotech Company. The dinner is next Thursday, and it will still be held on a cruise ship…”

A cruise ship was humid, and it was nowhere near as stable as solid ground. If Nan Mu slipped and fell, that would be disastrous. Besides, although Wisdom Biotech Company was City A’s leading enterprise, Nan Huan Group had also been developing very well in recent years. It was no longer like the old days, when President Nan had to personally step in to discuss every collaboration.

Seeing Nan Mu fall silent, Xu Yang worked up the nerve to suggest, “Your health is more important. Why don’t I decline for you?”

“No!” Nan Mu bit out the word coldly. “We’re going.”

Xu Yang looked back at Nan Mu in surprise. He did not know if he had imagined it, but in that instant, he had clearly sensed a fierce collision between refined nobility and ruthless violence.

President Nan was known throughout the company as kind, steady, gentle, and good-tempered. How could he possibly show such a vicious expression just because he was attending a banquet?

Xu Yang shook his head with a laugh.

He must have seen wrong.

===

Nurse Panpan’s eyes widened in shock. “What did you say? You said your boss is going to attend a banquet on a cruise ship?”

“Yes. Next Thursday. Is that all right?”

Although Xu Yang asked sincerely, Panpan could not hold back her anger. She shot back, “Is it all right? You tell me, is it all right? Do you know how deep the wound on his abdomen is? Do you know how many hours we spent resuscitating him before we managed to save him? Even a pulled tendon or a broken bone takes a hundred days to recover from, and he was stabbed with a wound that big. Now you’re telling me he’s going to attend a banquet next week… Do you think that’s okay?!”

Xu Yang’s expression turned awkward. Guilty, he stood there and let her scold him. Only after Panpan had more or less vented did he cautiously test the waters. “Sigh, I’m just an employee too… If the boss says he’s going, I can’t exactly tell him he isn’t allowed, can I? How about… you help me persuade him?”

Panpan frowned.

Of course she knew Xu Yang was only an assistant, and that it was not easy for him to go against his boss’s wishes.

But this was not the same as contradicting him over work. Nan Mu’s injuries were visibly serious. In her view, even if Xu Yang tried to stop Nan Mu, Nan Mu could not possibly blame him. He would only think Xu Yang cared about him.

Yet Xu Yang, afraid of offending his boss, did not even dare to try. That made him seem somewhat cold-blooded.

But then Panpan thought about it from another angle. For Xu Yang to become assistant to the chairman of a major corporation, he must have relied on his tact and caution. In that case, it was not so strange that he would make this choice today.

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll go talk to President Nan.”

Xu Yang was so grateful he almost burst into tears.

He had followed Nan Mu for many years, and he understood Nan Mu’s temper better than anyone. Once Nan Mu decided on something, almost no one could change his mind. If Xu Yang went to persuade him himself, he definitely would not be able to stop him. That was why Xu Yang had come to find a “professional” like Panpan, hoping Nan Mu might listen to a nurse’s advice.

Still, he was also afraid Panpan might speak too harshly later and displease Nan Mu, so he explained, “It’s not like my boss is going out for fun. You know how it is for businesspeople. Some occasions are hard to turn down. This dinner was organized by Wisdom Biotech Company. You’ve heard of Wisdom Biotech Company, right? They’re the leading enterprise in City A…”

Nurse Panpan’s steps suddenly paused.

With a strange look on her face, she repeated, “Wisdom Biotech Company?”

Xu Yang was leading the way in front and did not see her expression. Hearing her, he simply gave an affirmative hum.