Chapter 21

Qin Zhao walked to the front of the stage, picked up the microphone and said some polite words. Her gaze swept over the audience below, immediately locating Ye Chenxi.

Seeing his ashen face, she felt extremely delighted inside.

She blinked playfully at Ye Chenxi, full of provocation.

Ye Chenxi grabbed the armrest, clenching it tightly as if wringing Qin Zhao's neck!

"Ah!" Wang Fatty let out a low roar, unable to help but curse, "President Ye, why the hell are you grabbing me?!"

Ye Chenxi came to his senses and realized he had grabbed Wang Fatty's arm instead of the armrest. He hurriedly let go, slightly embarrassed as he apologized to Wang Fatty, "Sorry, I was too engrossed watching. I didn't notice it was you."

Wang Fatty humphed unhappily and turned his head away, cursing Ye Chenxi thoroughly in his heart.

When Ye Chenxi looked up at the stage again, he saw someone else had replaced her. He had no interest in participating in the rest of the exhibition anymore and angrily left early.

Once outside the venue, he took out his phone and dialed a number, putting the phone to his ear.

The other end was picked up quickly, "Boss?"

"It's me," said Ye Chenxi. "The plan is moved up."

The other end paused briefly before slowly saying, "Boss, now is not the best time yet. Why not wait a little longer and give me half a month? I guarantee our plan will succeed!"

Ye Chenxi said impatiently, "I said now, so now it is. Are you trying to defy me?"

The other quickly denied, "Of course not, it's just... Boss, what we're doing is illegal and against regulations. If we fail, everything will be over."

At his words, Ye Chenxi also hesitated a little. Suddenly he caught sight of a familiar figure.

Qin Zhao was chatting with someone, and upon seeing Ye Chenxi look over, she even waved at him.

Ye Chenxi was so angry his teeth itched. He enunciated clearly into the phone, "Now!"

After finishing her conversation, Qin Zhao had intended to leave but was surrounded by enthusiastic fans of Game of Rebirth. Everyone was effusively praising the two female leads of the game.

Hearing their delight, Qin Zhao was happy to linger and listen to their perspectives on the characters.

"When will the young miss and Little Yi get together? I'm dying to know!" asked a short-haired girl in a blue hoodie.

"Me too, how much longer will they roast by the fire in the wasteland?!"

"Right, that fire has been through the wringer, never extinguishing since they entered the wasteland. They've run out of life experiences to chat about.

Now they're gossiping about the entertainment industry. If they don't start a romance soon, their relationship will grow cold!"

Qin Zhao: "..."

This was the true state of affairs between women, preferring to quietly read a book together rather than discuss anything related to love, as if the first one to broach the subject would lose.

Quite realistic!

"Don't worry everyone. Once that fire goes out and darkness surrounds them, they'll pretend to be afraid and naturally end up hugging each other." Qin Zhao smiled.

At first everyone was silent, then they unanimously complained, "How much longer?!"

Qin Zhao just smiled without answering. It depended on the boss's intentions.

Shen Yixuan was a lifelong singleton, and probably couldn't stand watching others flaunt their affection. That's why she deliberately delayed the progress of the two getting together.

But that wasn't Qin Zhao's concern.

To avoid being hounded with more questions about the game, Qin Zhao used the excuse of needing the bathroom and slipped out the back door.

Out on the street, Qin Zhao strolled around, looking for good restaurants nearby, while calling Nan Yue.

The call wasn't picked up right away. Qin Zhao figured Nan Yue must be busy and decided to try again later. But before she could press to end the call, the other side answered.

Nan Yue's somewhat tired voice came over the receiver, "Zhaozhao?"

Ever since the first time Nan Yue called her that, finding it rolled off the tongue nicely, she had settled on that term of address. "Mhm, what are you doing?" Qin Zhao responded. "Want to eat together?"

Nan Yue looked at the mountainous pile of documents and had originally wanted to decline as she was busy. But she remembered they were in a romantic relationship, and not attending the Game of Rebirth exhibition could already be seen as negligent on her part as a girlfriend.

If she rejected sharing a meal now, she wouldn't have an excuse.

"Okay, send me the restaurant address and I'll head over immediately," said Nan Yue.

Qin Zhao happened to be standing in front of a Chinese restaurant. "Alright, I'll wait for you here."

She sent Nan Yue the restaurant information and then went inside.

The server came up and asked, "Do you have a reservation?"

Qin Zhao replied, "No."

"Please find a seat first then. We have a lot of customers today, so there may be a bit of a wait."

The window seats were taken, so Qin Zhao chose a private room.

Sitting alone in the private room, she browsed the menu and half an hour passed unknowingly.

The company Nan Yue worked at wasn't far from here, so she should have arrived by now.

Stuck in traffic?

As she was thinking this, Qin Zhao's phone rang.

She picked up and heard Nan Yue's voice over the receiver, "Zhaozhao, I was already outside the restaurant but something came up at the company I need to rush back to deal with. Sorry, I..."

Between the words was full of remorse. Qin Zhao interrupted her, "It's fine, go take care of the company matter first. We'll have plenty of time in the future."

Hearing Qin Zhao's understanding, Nan Yue felt somewhat reassured amidst the urgent tone of the deputy general manager.

"Thank you for understanding. Let's meet this weekend, no matter how busy I'll make time to see you."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up, Qin Zhao called the server over and ordered sweet and sour pork ribs, big plate chicken, crystal tofu, and winter melon meatball soup.

She felt regret over not seeing Nan Yue, but nothing a good meal couldn't fix. And if that didn't work, two meals.

She finished her lunch alone and took the leftovers home for dinner.

Things were peaceful and quiet for Qin Zhao.

Nan Yue wasn't so fortunate.

As soon as she entered the company, employees told her the financial director had been taken away for investigation under allegations of embezzlement.

Additionally, the purchasing manager had also been taken away.

The investigators said it was because he had purchased substandard raw materials, resulting in a collapsed bridge that used those materials. Though no casualties occurred on site, losses were in the tens of millions.

The construction company Nan Yue's father started had earned recognition in the industry for its quality and reputation. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would deal a devastating blow to the company!

Xu Yiyang saw the somewhat pale Nan Yue from afar and felt a stir in his heart. He quickened his pace to walk over to her.

"Miss Nan, are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Nan Yue shook her head. She didn't want to say anything right now, only walking towards her office.

Seeing her silent, Xu Yiyang added, "Miss Nan, don't worry. As long as the company employees work hard together, we'll definitely get through this crisis."

Nan Yue stopped and looked at Xu Yiyang.

Xu Yiyang also halted immediately, facing Nan Yue as he stood there, secretly hoping she would say something. But he heard Nan Yue coldly state, "Since you know we need to work hard, why are you following me?"

Xu Yiyang's body stiffened. "I..."

Nan Yue turned and continued walking. "Go do your work."

Xu Yiyang stared blankly at Nan Yue's retreating figure, only feeling utterly ashamed. He mumbled, "Does she really hate me that much?"

Nan Yue opened the door to her office and saw someone already standing inside.

In her impression, her father had always been tall and straight, giving a sense of immense pressure. Looking at him now as he stood facing the window, his figure seemed somewhat hunched.

Hearing the sound of Nan Yue closing the door, Nan Chenghui turned around.

His solemn face instantly broke into a smile.

Yet Nan Yue was unable to feel any warmth from it.

Nan Chenghui sat down in the chair and gestured for Nan Yue to sit on the sofa.

Nan Yue sat. The chair was a bit higher than the sofa, so looking at Nan Chenghui required her to lift her head, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Nan Chenghui eyed the desk, his gaze settling on an especially conspicuous photo frame.

In the picture, Qin Zhao was smiling brightly while Nan Yue stood beside her, reaching out to fix her windswept hair. Though her smile was subtle, one could see she was in good spirits.

Nan Chenghui's brows furrowed slightly and he flipped the photo frame face down on the desk.

Noticing Nan Chenghui's actions, Nan Yue felt somewhat annoyed. She opened her mouth to ask, "Dad, did you come to my office to discuss the company's matters?"

Nan Chenghui didn't answer Nan Yue's question, instead asking, "Yue'er, how old are you this year?"

Some father who doesn't even know his own daughter's age. You sure have gall asking.

Nan Yue suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and responded, "I'm 28."

Nan Chenghui smiled. "28, time to settle down and build your career."

Nan Yue nodded: "That makes sense. When the timing is right, I will propose to my girlfriend."

"Nonsense!"

Nan Chenghui suddenly raised his voice, startling Nan Yue.

"You can joke around, but getting married? Don't even think about it. You must, and can only, marry a man!" Nan Chenghui stood up and looked down condescendingly at Nan Yue.

But Nan Yue did not back down: "Dad, times have changed. Don't try to impose your outdated beliefs on me."

God knows how much courage it took her to say those words, but she had promised Qin Zhao that she would take responsibility for her, so she still spoke up.

This was the first time Nan Yue had openly defied him. Nan Chenghui clenched his fists as his body trembled slightly, as if he was repressing something.

His gaze was as fierce as a hawk's, making Nan Yue's heart fill with some fear.

She recalled that when she was young, she had disobeyed her father's orders and befriended a female classmate from a less fortunate family. Her father had locked her in her room and forbid her from going to school for a week.

After that week of confinement, she had chosen to obey and severed ties with that classmate.

From then on, she never took the initiative to befriend anyone, becoming the obedient daughter in her father's eyes, growing up lonely.

But now, after experiencing what it was like to be truly cared for, her father's treatment of her seemed so laughable.

She would not compromise with her father again.

Seeing the determination in his daughter's eyes, Nan Chenghui realized that the Nan Yue before him was no longer a puppet for him to control.

He closed his eyes, suppressed the anger in his heart, and put on the guise of a benevolent father, saying: "Let's not talk about this for now. Come home this weekend, your mother is back too, she really wants to see you."

Nan Yue's mother, Li Shuyun, was a painter who worked mainly in France. Nan Yue had not seen her mother for a long time.

There was no reason to refuse, so Nan Yue replied: "Okay."

Nan Chenghui walked over to Nan Yue and patted her shoulder before leaving the office.

When the weekend arrived, Qin Zhao remembered that Nan Yue had said she would come to see her, so she got up early, dressed up nicely, and waited for Nan Yue's call.

But from morning to noon, and again until the afternoon, she had watched half of a new Korean drama, yet her phone still did not ring.

She muttered to herself: "Could she have been held up by something? She couldn't have forgotten, right? Or maybe... I should give her a call to remind her?"

With that, she dialed Nan Yue's number.

The first time, no one picked up.

The second time, still no one picked up.

The third time, the call was rejected.

Only then did Qin Zhao realize something was wrong...