8
And that was precisely why she could so easily discern the difference between these two pairs of eyes that looked identical at first glance.
Compared to the cold, indifferent eyes before her today, Mu Qingye’s eyes had always been fervent and passionate whenever they looked at her.
Moreover, Mu Qingye was flamboyant and unrestrained by nature—he never liked wearing suits that demanded strict adherence to dress codes.
Even at serious occasions, he would do as he pleased and throw on a hoodie and jeans, even when dressing up for a formal event.
He was the genius boy from the computer science department. Even when he acted like such a scoundrel, his professor could only stomp around in frustration.
Thinking back to how Mu Qingye’s professor, upon learning that she was his girlfriend, had actually tattled to her and asked her to keep Mu Qingye in check—that exasperated yet helpless expression—Jiang Siyu couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
The crisp laughter echoed through the empty room, and the smile at the corners of Jiang Siyu’s lips slowly froze in place.
[Jiang Siyu, if I don’t see you tomorrow, you know the consequences.]
[Jiang Siyu, what do I even mean to you?]
[Ah Yu, why can’t you put me just a little further up the list? Why is everything around you more important than me?]
[Jiang Siyu…
Happy breakup.]
“Phew~” Jiang Siyu rubbed her throbbing temples, pushing down the image of the man questioning her with red-rimmed eyes, then got up and headed to the study.
After turning on her computer, she noticed a notification pop up in her email and clicked it open.
It was DY’s electronic employment documents.
The paper documents had already been mailed to the domestic branch headquarters before she returned to the country.
She pulled up the domestic branch’s information from the files, and her chaotic thoughts gradually settled as she busied herself with work.
That night, however, she wasn’t the only one kept awake by that unexpected glimpse.
“Jiang Siyu.”
“Jiang Siyu…”
“Liar.”
The man’s low, slow murmurs repeated over and over in the darkness.
As the wine glass tipped over and fell to the floor, the figure who had been sitting on the carpet with one knee bent, slumped against the sofa in dejection, slowly rose and picked up the phone that had been tossed aside.
He opened the file Song Qi had sent today and scrolled down with practiced ease until he reached the attached image at the bottom.
In the photo, a woman wearing a silver sequined strapless mermaid gown wore a bright, generous smile on her delicate, beautiful face. Her curved brows and gentle eyes were fixed warmly on the man who had bent down to listen to her speak.
DY’s newly appointed CEO, Frederick, was also the head of the Arnaud family—a great clan that had spanned two centuries.
According to foreign media reports, Frederick always had a stream of beautiful women by his side—a master at playing with people’s affections.
Bo Siye raised his hand and traced the curve at the corner of the woman’s lips in the photo, formed by her smile, then tugged at the corner of his own mouth with a self-deprecating twist:
“Jiang Siyu, are you blind? You’d touch something this filthy.”
Aside from his status and position, what about Frederick was even worthy of her notice?
Thinking back to that brief encounter today, the mist in Bo Siye’s eyes, already tinged with anger, grew even thicker.
I’ve already become the person you wanted me to be…
Mature. Calm.
Are you satisfied with what you saw of me today?
After several days of intermittent rain, Haicheng finally saw the sun on Monday, just as all the working stiffs were rushing to their desks.
As the workday approached, the atmosphere inside Mirror View—DY’s domestic branch office building—was even more tense than usual.
Everyone was hurriedly tidying their desks while whispering among themselves.
“I heard the new CEO is coming today.”
“There wasn’t a single hint of news before this. No idea who this new CEO even is—they just parachuted straight into headquarters without a whisper of information leaking out.”
“Exactly. Vice President Lin hasn’t given anyone a single good look because of this.”
“Everyone thought Vice President Lin would get the promotion this time, but the position was suddenly snatched away. Of course his face is going to be sour.”
“Hope the new CEO’s arrival goes smoothly. That cold face of Vice President Lin’s, I can’t—”
‘Ding!’
Amid the ticking of the clock and the deliberately hushed murmurs, the sudden chime made everyone pause their movements in unison.
As the doors of the executive elevator slowly slid open, everyone instinctively held their breath.
The moment they saw the woman in a white suit striding out of the elevator, gasps rippled through the crowd one after another.
She had elegantly swept her curled hair to one side and pinned it at the back of her head, yet the calm and sharpness in her gaze made people hurriedly look away the instant they met her eyes.
“President Jiang.”
An Ning, who had been waiting by the elevator for some time, quickly stepped forward.
As the secretary initially assigned to Jiang Siyu by the company, An Ning naturally learned what Jiang Siyu looked like before anyone else.
Last night, when An Ning saw the photo, she thought the new CEO was almost too beautiful. But seeing her in person today, she immediately felt the photo had actually been conservative.
An Ning kept her composure: “Your personal office is this way. Please follow me.”
Jiang Siyu nodded and began walking toward the office while giving instructions:
“Notify all project leads that they have ten minutes to bring their project materials to the office for a meeting.”
An Ning’s heart skipped a beat. She knew everyone would be walking on eggshells today—after all, a new broom sweeps clean.
“I’ll notify them right away.” With that, An Ning immediately relayed Jiang Siyu’s instructions.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the news, the project leads at Mirror View all sprang into action.
In an office not far from Jiang Siyu’s, Vice President Lin, who had also received the notice, watched the bustling crowd outside with cold eyes, remaining seated without moving.
His assistant reminded him, “President Lin, there’s only one minute left.”
“One minute is one minute.” Lin Sui toyed with his phone, completely disregarding Jiang Siyu, the newly parachuted president.
Glancing at a photo on his computer, he sneered coldly: “A woman who climbed her way up on that face is nothing to fear.”
So what if she’d been parachuted in as Mirror View’s president today? It wouldn’t be long before he’d have her crying and crawling out of Mirror View.
As the clock struck nine, in Mirror View’s largest conference room, the project leads had already taken their seats on either side of the conference table, arranged by project tier.
Excluding completed projects, Mirror View currently had over sixty projects in active development, so the conference room was nearly full.
When Jiang Siyu pushed open the door and walked in, what she saw was a row of tense, solemn faces.
She walked straight to the empty chair in the center and sat down, opening the laptop she’d brought.
“Is everyone here?” Jiang Siyu asked.
An Ning had started counting heads the moment she entered the conference room. Hearing Jiang Siyu’s question, she immediately replied:
“All project leads are present, but—”
Author’s note: Recently I’ve seen controversy saying that the male lead’s appearance hasn’t changed at all, yet the female lead can’t recognize him, calling it a plot hole. But I’ve reread it several times and still insist on writing it this way.
The male and female leads haven’t seen each other for two years. When they suddenly reunite, there’s no communication between them. What—should the female lead just walk up and ask, “Hey, are you my ex?” Confirming something requires a process of confirmation, doesn’t it?
The female lead never actually fails to recognize the male lead. In Chapter 10, when they meet for the second time, she first suspects his identity, but because his name differs from her ex’s, she forms other speculations. After brief contact, she confirms again that he is her ex-boyfriend, and the text makes this quite clear.
So where exactly does the female lead fail to recognize him as her ex?
If it’s really that hard to understand, then it just means this book isn’t a good fit for you. Feel free to quietly bow out and find something more suitable—no need to attack the female lead to get attention. Goodbye.