After hanging up the phone, Elena Shen touched her burning forehead and dry, feverish eyelids. She didn't need a thermometer to know—she definitely had a fever.
Fighting the dizziness, she got up from bed.
She rummaged through the medicine cabinet, found a fever-reducing pill, swallowed it with cold water, then grabbed the remote to close the curtains before lying back down.
Even while running with a fever, she felt chilled all over.
Elena wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, forcing herself to empty her mind and stop thinking, until she drifted back into a groggy sleep.
The next morning, 7 a.m.
The alarm woke her.
Turning it off, she reached up to touch her forehead.
The fever had subsided.
But her head still throbbed, with a heavy, unsteady feeling.
Elena picked up her phone, checked her class schedule, then opened her contacts and called Annie Gu, asking her to help request sick leave for the day.
Hearing that she was ill, Annie's voice grew tense with concern.
Since there was no one else in Elena's apartment, Annie feared she couldn't take care of herself and immediately offered to come over.
Elena stopped her. "No need to make a trip. The fever's gone, and I've got cold meds here. I think I just pushed myself too hard these past few days. A day of rest should do the trick."
Annie reluctantly agreed but repeatedly reminded her to rest well.
After hanging up, Elena drank a glass of warm water and went back to sleep for a while.
When she woke again, it was already afternoon.
The fever was gone, and the headache had eased significantly.
That dizzy, spinning feeling was gone, too.
Too tired to cook, she casually ordered delivery to fill her stomach.
After eating, she sat on the balcony sofa to soak up the sun and absentmindedly opened Weibo. The moment the app loaded, a glaring headline popped up at the top of the trending list.
Screen goddess Grace Su was caught visiting "Shengye" late at night—entering Adrian Jiang's exclusive private lounge.
The buzz was still growing, with even the secretly filmed video being shared over ten million times.
Elena's fingertip paused on the screen.
Staring at the viral post, she didn't even bother clicking on the video. She simply exited the app and stopped browsing.
The rumors about Adrian Jiang and Grace Su have long been a hot topic in the entertainment media. Grace showing up in Adrian's private lounge in the middle of the night naturally became a massive headline—not just on Weibo, but likely on every major social platform.
Elena no longer had the energy to look at her phone. She turned off the screen and was just about to toss it aside and close her eyes to rest when the ringtone suddenly rang.
She looked down at the screen.
When she saw the caller ID, a hint of surprise flickered in her eyes.
She slid to answer, about to ask what was going on—
But on the other end, a panicked voice—Auden Zhang, the secretary of the Shen Group who was specifically responsible for updating Elena—spoke up anxiously.
"Miss Shen, something's happened!"
Auden Zhang was a veteran of the Shen Group, known for her calm and capable demeanor. Even major issues rarely rattled her.
While other secretaries often panicked when things went wrong, Auden Zhang would already have devised countermeasures and begun implementing them with composure.
She had been handpicked years ago by Elena's father to one day assist Elena. After the deaths of Elena's parents, Auden Zhang entered Shen Group headquarters early on, familiarizing herself with key projects to prepare for supporting Elena in taking over.
For as long as Elena could remember, Auden Zhang had always been steady and reliable, never flustered.
This was the first time she had ever heard such panic and urgency in her voice.
Elena's heart skipped a beat.
"What happened? What's going on?"
Auden Zhang quickly reported, "Two major projects at HQ this quarter have run into trouble. The partners suddenly pulled funding and teamed up with competitors to pressure Shen Group. Our stock has already been affected."
"And because both projects involve substantial sums, as of today, the headquarters and overseas branches have seen their shares plummet by over 10%. If this continues, the company's cash flow will—"
Elena's face turned grave.
Hearing this, she instinctively asked:
"Have you contacted my brother?"
The Shen family had another member—Aurel Shen, Elena's adoptive brother.
He had been adopted into the Shen family at age eight and took their surname.
When Elena's parents passed away, she was only ten—too young to win the board's trust.
At just seventeen, Aurel Shen stepped into the group as an adopted son, wresting control from those covetous directors.
With the Jiang family's backing, he guided the struggling Shen Group back onto a stable path.
Though his adoptive status wasn't a secret, to ensure Elena's uncontested succession, Aurel Shen later publicly declared that she would be the sole heir to Shen Group and that he was merely managing the company in her stead until she came of age.
Once the company stabilized, he founded JINMING Group overseas and operated it in tandem with Shen Group's industries.
Elena had just turned twenty this year.
Normally, Auden Zhang and Aurel Shen handled all company matters. With such a crisis, Elena's first thought was of him.
But when she mentioned his name, Auden Zhang's voice grew even more anxious, her composure nearly unraveling.
"We can't reach President Shen. Half a month ago, he went overseas for a crucial signing event for JINMING. He planned to return afterward to visit him. But… he got into a car accident on the way back. He's still in a coma."
Elena abruptly stood up.
Her breath hitched.
"Why didn't anyone tell me something so serious?!"
Auden Zhang knew there was no hiding it anymore. At this point, she dared not conceal anything.
"President Shen didn't want you to worry. He forbade us from saying anything. But don't panic—his condition is stable now. I've been in daily contact with JINMING's assistant. The doctors say he'll wake up in a couple of days at most."
"But Shen Group can't wait any longer. To stabilize the stock, we need massive injections of capital—along with influence to suppress our rivals' attacks..."
In Huaihai City, there were only a handful of people with both the financial power and absolute influence required.
Moreover—
When a whale falls, a thousand creatures feed.
Shen Group had once stood toe-to-toe with the Jiang family. A powerhouse like them facing a crisis would only embolden their rivals, all eager to carve out a piece from the top echelons of the industry.
Auden Zhang was desperate.
More than panic, her voice carried guilt.
"Miss Shen, we can't reach President Shen, and the company has no more time. I honestly don't know what to do anymore…"
Elena forced herself to calm down.
She first reassured Auden Zhang, "Don't panic. I'll figure something out. Try calling my brother's assistant again and ask for today's update."
Elena's lips were pale.
After a night of fever and only half a day of rest, the little color that had returned to her face vanished completely after this call.
She gripped her phone tightly. The metal edges dug into her soft palm, turning it white and painful—but she didn't care.
She understood what Auden Zhang meant.
For something to jeopardize Shen Group's cash flow, the amount of capital needed to be had to be astronomical.
And that's not even counting the power required to deter their enemies.
In all of Huaihai City, only Ethan Jiang—head of Jiang Group and E.R. Corporation—had that kind of clout.
But over the past ten years, Shen Group has survived every crisis thanks to Jiang Group's support. The Shen family already owed them too much.
Without a marriage alliance, she had no face to ask Ethan for help again.
But if she agreed to the marriage...
Elena's eyes narrowed slightly. Amidst the chaos in her mind, she suddenly recalled Ethan's words from the Gu family's birthday banquet that night.
"Elena, marry me. Your life won't change in any way. But once we're married, all the resources Shen Group needs will be at your disposal—from Jiang Group, and from my personal network."
Elena's breath hitched.
Her lashes trembled slightly, and her stiff fingers loosened their grip on the phone, its fogged-up surface bearing the imprint of her grip.
She opened her contacts and found that number—one she hadn't called in ten years.
Her finger hovered... then pressed down.