Chapter 38

After arriving at the restaurant, they were welcomed and led in by the manager. At the entrance of the dining room next to theirs, a young man seemingly from a wealthy family caught a glimpse of the two of them and whispered into his phone, “Oh sh*t! Guess who I just saw? Your ex-fiancée! Just take a look for yourself.”

By coincidence, that young man was on video call with Ye Chen, so he turned his camera around for Ye Chen to see for himself. At that moment, Ye Chen witnessed Chu Xiang smiling brightly as she conversed with Xiao Han before walking into the dining room next door.

The waning smile on Ye Chen’s face disappeared in an instant. “What the f*ck? Why are you showing me that? Anyway,  I already told you guys that I’m not going. Just go on and eat since I’m currently busy with work.”

The young man widened his eyes in disbelief. “What? You certainly aren’t working properly, right? By the way, didn’t you keep trying to call Chu Xiang after getting drunk that night? Well… she’s here now, so why don’t you come? Oh, I also heard rumors that she had suddenly turned into a strong, independent woman. Of course, I don’t believe in any of it. I even caught a glimpse of the way she and Xiao Han had been interacting with each other. They look like actual business elit- Huh? Why did he hang up?”

With that, the young man lost his interest and put his phone away to continue eating with his companions. On the other hand, Ye Chen bitterly stared at the dimmed screen of his phone.

He couldn’t understand why he felt this way. After being childhood sweethearts for over ten years, perhaps Chu Xiang’s low opinion of him made his heart feel so uncomfortable, especially now that he has seen how she acts around others.

Dejected, he opened the folder in his gallery dedicated to sweet couple photos of him and Bai Xuewei, hoping to lift his mood. It didn’t work; his heart did not beat faster at all. He tried opening the folder with the photos he took of Chu Xiang long ago.

One photo was taken when it was raining heavily. Wet from running through the rain, Ye Chen had captured her embarrassed expression and laughed at her, receiving two kicks in response.

The next picture was taken on one of Chu Xiang’s birthdays. Dressed in an elegant gown, her dazzling beauty attracted the gazes of all the eligible bachelors in attendance. During that event, Ye Chen had grabbed a handful of cream and slathered it on her face, a sin she hit him several times for. His other friends captured that exact moment and sent it to him. It was perhaps the last time they would ever have a light-hearted argument.

Looking through his gallery, Ye Chen’s heart quivered as he vividly recalled the days they were taken. Back then, Chu Xiang’s eyes shone bright with longing when she looked at him. In contrast, she now glared at him as if he were a stranger, or a particularly disgusting piece of garbage. It was finally sinking in that she really didn’t love him anymore.

Ye Chen scrubbed a hand across his face, irritated and confused at his own actions. Since he was obviously tired of Chu Xiang’s personality, wasn’t this all the best course of action for him? So why does he feel this way?

***

Sunday arrived, the day of the scheduled meeting between Dongfang Group and Xiao Group. Both Fang Qing and Xiao Han led each of their elite teams, with Chu Xiang serving as her mother’s personal assistant and head of the liaison team for this project. She sat quietly beside Fang Qing and listened carefully to the discussion, quickly jotting down the most important points in one document and the uncertain ones raised by both parties on a different document on her laptop.

Three whole hours passed before the meeting finally approached its end.

“Does anyone else have anything to add?” Fang Qing asked.

Chu Xiang turned her laptop to face the two team leaders. “Director Fang, President Xiao, I believe there are still several points that need clarification.”

Fang Qing’s gaze swept across the room before settling on Xiao Han, who acknowledged her hint with a nod. With that Chu Xiang projected the document on the large screen so the teams could discuss the unresolved matters. These finer points numbered more than a dozen, easy to overlook in meetings and yet would pose problems during project implementation.

Her definitive list made it easier for those in the room to solve each matter one after another as they seriously considered the potential issues they could result in.

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