11
Feeling Jiang Siyu’s gaze as if she could see right through him, cold sweat had already formed on Song Qi’s forehead.
Just as he was racking his brains to find an excuse to explain away his blunder, Bo Siye, who had been sitting there unmoving as if everything around him had nothing to do with him, suddenly raised a hand and casually touched his own bow tie.
Song Qi’s highly strung nerves had been keeping him alert to everything happening around him. Seeing his boss’s movement, he initially thought it was just a casual adjustment.
But the next second, the surname Jiang resurfaced in his mind.
Jiang?
Bow tie?
Mirror View!
His boss’s bow tie was a private custom-made piece from a brand under Mirror View, and the new executive president Mirror View had officially announced just a few days ago also bore the surname Jiang.
The full name was… Jiang, Jiang Siyu!
So!!
The boss’s cherished first love and Mirror View’s new president were actually the same person!
Song Qi’s suspended heart settled safely back down. He gave Jiang Siyu a polite smile:
“As Mirror View’s new president, Miss Jiang, this is hardly a secret in the industry.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Siyu nodded thoughtfully. “But I’ve only just arrived. I hope you’ll look after me here in Haicheng in the future.”
Hearing her say this, Song Qi couldn’t tell whether she actually believed his hastily patched-up explanation.
“Of course.” As Song Qi spoke, he suddenly realized he hadn’t yet introduced his boss’s identity to Jiang Siyu.
He straightened up and finally introduced to Jiang Siyu: “Miss Jiang, my surname is Song; this is my boss, Bo Siye.”
After he finished, seeing no reaction from Jiang Siyu, Song Qi continued: “Miss Jiang is younger than we imagined. For someone of your age to reach this position, you must be exceptionally capable. If there’s ever an opportunity for cooperation in the future…”
Song Qi’s voice continued to drone on endlessly, but Jiang Siyu didn’t hear a single word.
Bo Siye?
She furrowed her brows and stared at the face so close to hers, silent.
Identical features, yet completely different name and temperament.
Twins?
During those two years with Mu Qingye, he had hardly ever mentioned his family.
So Jiang Siyu knew nothing about Mu Qingye’s family situation. Out of respect for his privacy, she had never actively asked either.
But once, she had accidentally overheard Mu Qingye on the phone, losing control and demanding of the person on the other end:
“Since you only like him, since you had him, why did you even have me?”
At the time, Jiang Siyu knew that Mu Qingye probably had an older brother or sister at home.
Now it seemed more likely it was an older brother.
So, he was not him?
She must have been losing her mind to think he was deliberately pretending not to know her.
The parting had been abrupt after all, and no matter how stubborn she was on the surface, there was regret buried deep in her heart.
Jiang Siyu withdrew her gaze, suppressing the faint bitterness in her chest, and said to Song Qi:
“Since your company is also interested in cooperating with me, if there’s a chance, let’s set up a time. As it happens, I have a project I’d like to discuss with President Bo.”
“Ah?” Song Qi was taken aback. Wasn’t he just saying pleasantries?
“Haha,” Song Qi laughed awkwardly and shot a pleading look at Bo Siye, who was watching the show from the side. This kind of decision wasn’t his to make.
Noticing Song Qi’s look, Jiang Siyu’s delicate brows arched slightly:
“Of course, if your company isn’t interested for now, we can always arrange something another time.”
“We are.”
The moment Jiang Siyu finished speaking, another voice rang out.
It wasn’t Song Qi’s voice.
It was Bo Siye’s…
Unlike Mu Qingye’s somewhat arrogant tone, this voice was deep and steady—just the sound of it conveyed that its owner was someone disciplined and proper.
Not like that bastard Mu Qingye, all sloppy and carefree, roguish and wicked.
“I’m free tomorrow.” Bo Siye’s dark, deep eyes fixed on the momentarily dazed Jiang Siyu, the dense inkiness in his gaze as if suppressing something.
Jiang Siyu snapped back to attention and looked at him. In a daze, she saw Mu Qingye from the day of their argument—stubbornly staring at her, eyes red but refusing to let a single tear fall.
They say time is the cure for a broken heart.
But no one ever said that a wound covered by the scar of time, once reopened, tears away the newly grown flesh along with it—hurting a thousand times, ten thousand times more than the original pain.
Jiang Siyu pressed her lips together, trying her best to remain calm.
“Tomorrow is the weekend,” she reminded him.
Bo Siye hummed in acknowledgment. “Does President Jiang not want to work overtime?”
In the past, Jiang Siyu had valued work above everything else.
She would even go days without coming home, without finding time to reply to his messages.
And now she didn’t want to work overtime?
The man’s voice was light and indifferent, yet the slight dip in his tone carried a hint of something else.
Something like mockery.
Jiang Siyu’s gaze turned several degrees colder. She did want to cooperate with Fanyu, but there was no need to chase after a mutually beneficial deal.
She curved her lips politely: “My apologies, President Bo. I’ve just returned to the country, and I need to use my first weekend to take care of personal matters.”
Bo Siye didn’t press further, settling it lightly: “Then some other time.”
“…”
Jiang Siyu had thought Bo Siye was going to turn down the opportunity for cooperation altogether.
Unexpectedly, it was simply postponed.
This time, Jiang Siyu didn’t decline. After all, given Fanyu’s strength, collaborating with Fanyu would only benefit her and bring no harm.
In Jiang Siyu’s plans, Fanyu was also her first choice for a collaboration partner.
She nodded. “In that case, shall I have my assistant arrange a time with Secretary Song another day?”
Bo Siye’s secretary was Song Qi—Jiang Siyu had looked into it, though she’d never met him in person and didn’t know what he looked like.
“No need.” Bo Siye shook his head, pulling out his phone and holding it out to Jiang Siyu.
“We’re both in Haicheng, and I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to work together in the future, President Jiang. Why don’t we just add each other directly?”
Looking at the QR code before her, Jiang Siyu naturally scanned it and sent a friend request.
Although she found his sudden request to add her a bit abrupt, as he’d said, there might be many opportunities to collaborate in the future.
Adding a contact was perfectly normal.
After leaving a note for Bo Siye on WeChat, Jiang Siyu gestured for the waiter waiting nearby to come over and take their order.
“The seafood here is quite good,” Bo Siye suddenly added, as if making a casual recommendation.
Jiang Siyu’s expression stiffened uncontrollably for a moment.
She absolutely loved seafood, especially shrimp and crab, but Jiang Siyu didn’t have the patience to slowly peel them.
Whenever that happened, Mu Qingye would patiently clean and prepare the seafood on the table, feeding it to Jiang Siyu.
He’d peel while she ate.
By the end, Jiang Siyu would be stuffed to the brim, while Mu Qingye himself had barely touched his chopsticks.
Later… after she and Mu Qingye parted ways, she hadn’t really eaten seafood much since.
The waiter chimed in with a recommendation as well: “Our seafood is caught the same day it arrives at the restaurant, and our chef’s preparation is quite unique. You should give it a try.”
“No need.” Jiang Siyu shook her head. “I don’t like seafood.”
As she spoke, she flipped past the seafood page of the menu and settled on something else.
Doesn’t like seafood?
Bo Siye withdrew his gaze and looked at the steaming crab on his own table, just out of the steamer.
“Liar.”
“What?” Song Qi vaguely heard his boss mutter something but couldn’t make it out.
“Nothing. Let’s go.” Bo Siye stood up and left.
Seeing that he hadn’t even said a word of farewell to Jiang Siyu, Song Qi felt a bit awkward.
He quickly said his goodbyes to Jiang Siyu before hurrying after him.