Two months had passed.
Ci Wenjun had not run into Chu Yu again, and even when she secretly kept watch downstairs at her building, she could not catch a glimpse of her.
It was as if she had vanished from her world once more.
Realizing this, Ci Wenjun instinctively pressed a hand against her dull, aching heart.
As the year drew to a close, work grew increasingly busy.
Even getting a rest became a luxury, let alone trying to manufacture a chance encounter.
After sharing some of her past with Fu Qi, Ci Wenjun felt as though she had laid down a certain weight, laying bare almost everything except the exact nature of their former relationship. After listening quietly for a long time, Fu Qi had finally looked at her with a complicated expression and patted her shoulder.
Today was no different from any other.
Finishing a long round of meetings, Ci Wenjun returned to her office and gazed out the window with exhaustion, sinking into her chair.
It was snowing in Shenzhen.
Looking out from the high-rise, towering buildings stood tall in the distance, while the lower streets and far horizons were covered in a blanket of pristine white, as though the entire world had been encased in ice.
Everything was frozen rigid by the bitter cold.
In weather like this, the healthy glow that Chu Yu had once nurtured in her quickly faded away, leaving her complexion even paler than before.
She missed Chu Yu so much. She wanted to see her; she felt as though she was reaching her absolute limit.
Was she still in Shenzhen?
Did she know that it was snowing in Shenzhen?
Was she cold right now, and how many layers of clothing was she wearing?
What should she do?
She missed Chu Yu so much.
She wanted to see her so badly. What could she do?
Why couldn’t she see Chu Yu yet?
Stealing a brief moment, she gave herself permission to let her longing run wild in her mind.
She let Chu Yu’s flawless, exquisite face occupy her entire universe.
This was Ci Wenjun’s unique and exclusive method of relaxation.
Because of Chu Yu, warmth slowly returned to Ci Wenjun’s eyes.
“President Ci, this is the schedule and application for next week’s annual meeting for your review. Also, this is an invitation from Director Chai of Vista; she invites you to be her partner this Wednesday to attend her company’s networking reception.”
Vista?
Chai Xinyu?
Ci Wenjun quickly sifted through the names in her mind.
Vista was a renowned foreign biopharmaceutical enterprise boasting top-tier biochemistry laboratories globally. Four years ago, through Ci Wenjun’s unremitting efforts and maneuvering across multiple channels, their short-term partnership with Vista had finally blossomed into a long-term collaboration.
And the project’s primary liaison was none other than this Director Chai, Chai Xinyu.
It was fair to say that without Director Chai’s appreciation, she wouldn’t even have been able to step foot inside Vista’s office building back then.
Industry appraisals of Chai Xinyu were uniformly stellar. She had parachuted into Vista seven years ago and boosted Vista’s revenue by billions within a mere two years; truly a rare anomaly.
With a razor-sharp eye, unstoppable momentum, and the keen olfactory senses of a natural merchant, she was bold enough to grant opportunities to obscure, overlooked enterprises, and the value of the returns proved that she was entirely justified in doing so.
Ci Wenjun felt profound gratitude toward Director Chai for her willingness to give Start a chance.
Thus, it was impossible for her to decline this invitation.
However, during Vista’s annual meetings over the past two years, although she had attended, Director Chai had never invited her to serve as her dance partner.
In all those years, Director Chai’s partner had always been one specific, special woman, without exception.
Had something gone wrong this time?
Ci Wenjun quieted her mind, pondering the hidden intricacies of the situation.
After a moment, Ci Wenjun tapped her fingers on the desk.
“Tan Xun, go help me ask.”
Mid-sentence, Ci Wenjun paused.
“Never mind, you don’t need to go.”
She waved her hand, as if trying to brush away her chaotic thoughts.
Massaging her temples, a subtle trace of hesitation surfaced on her calm face.
“You may head out first.”
After Tan Xun stepped out, Ci Wenjun cast her gaze back onto the report files resting on her desk.
She let out a long sigh.
Whatever happens, happens.
Chai Xinyu couldn’t possibly mean her any harm. Putting aside Chai Xinyu’s personal character, their deep business exchanges and intertwined interests with Vista nowadays meant that Start held immense value; unless Chai Xinyu had lost her mind, they had no reason to turn on each other.
Becoming Chai Xinyu’s partner would bring far more benefits than drawbacks.
Perhaps she could leverage Chai Xinyu’s influence to push Start up to an even higher tier.
Ci Wenjun stood up from her chair.
Start was simply too important to her.
Having spent six years in her hands, Start was like her own child. She had founded it, nurtured its growth, and steered it until it became a renowned domestic cosmetics brand.
She was well aware of the prejudices people held against her outside.
She knew, but she didn’t care. She remained indifferent to whatever monstrous caricatures the outside world painted her as.
As long as it didn’t impede Start’s public image, and as long as it didn’t affect her external networking and upward climb, she could look past everything else.
Fu Qi had once asked her:
“Why did you suddenly resign when things were going so well at Deya? What made you think of starting from scratch to create Start? Why must you push yourself so hard?”
Why?
Ci Wenjun smiled with a trace of self-derision.
Because she had no choice but to push forward.
She had paved her upward path at the heavy cost of Chu Yu.
She couldn’t simply let go so easily, nor could she brush it off lightly.
She had to succeed.
Otherwise, how could she ever face Chu Yu with a clear conscience?
The longer she remained separated from Chu Yu, year after year, remorse and yearning nurtured her spirit, serving as fuel to drive her relentless, absolute momentum toward the top.
Vista’s annual meeting, was it?
She hoped this year would sail smoothly.
Meanwhile, on the southern island.
Chu Yu looked at the woman standing before her.
“Miss Cheng.”
Cheng Chen looked at the exquisite woman before her, an instinctive timidity surfacing on her gentle face.
This was a woman she had previously only dared to observe from afar.
She knew Chu Yu possessed a noble status, a mysterious background, and stood completely out of reach.
If she hadn’t been driven to absolute desperation, she would never have wished to deal with someone like Chu Yu.
Yet Chu Yu was the only person she knew of who could contend with that person.
It had taken an immense amount of effort for her to track down this address.
Hearing Chu Yu address her, Cheng Chen’s body shivered involuntarily.
“Chu, Miss Chu.”
She lowered her head timidly, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
Chu Yu observed the woman’s actions with her beautiful eyes, crossing her arms as a sharp glint flashed across her gaze.
“You came looking for me on purpose.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Seeing Chu Yu take the initiative to bring up the topic, Cheng Chen mustered her courage, her eyes burning with eager determination.
“Miss Chu, I didn’t mean to disturb you, but I truly have no other choice! I beg you to help me. You only need to help me escape; I know Miss Chu has connections that span the heavens, and I don’t expect you to help me fight against her.”
Cheng Chen spoke in a trembling voice, tears flashing in her eyes out of sheer panic.
She was terrified.
“Why should I? What can you offer me in return?”
Chu Yu did not issue a rejection right away; instead, she slowed her tone, a certain playful intrigue dancing in her eyes.
“Miss Cheng, we are neither kin nor acquaintances.”
A bucket of cold water was dumped over her boiling, agitated blood.
Her little face turned pale as her lips trembled.
Her money and her identification documents were completely controlled by that woman. That person kept her on a tight leash, with her people stationed everywhere. She couldn’t call the police, she couldn’t resist, and she couldn’t escape.
She even drugged her meals and publicly declared to the outside world that she was mentally unstable.
No one believed her; everyone treated her as someone who didn’t know what was good for her.
Why?
Why did it have to be her who crossed paths with that monster?
She trembled, she shuddered, she burned with bitter hatred.
“How about this, Miss Cheng? You may stay here with me for the time being, and I will help conceal your whereabouts until you can give me a reason that actually moves me.”
Acting much like someone coaxing a child, Cheng Chen conveniently glossed over the unreasonableness in Chu Yu’s terms.
Once she successfully coaxed Cheng Chen into a room, Chu Yu pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen.
“Successfully received.”
On the other side of WeChat:
“Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”
Chu Yu gave a light chuckle.
“Care to talk about it? What happened between the two of you this time?”
“Nothing worth discussing.”
“Why do I feel like Xiao Cheng’s condition is worse than before?”
“Is it?”
“You tell me.”
Silence hung over the other end for a moment.
Chu Yu shook her head.
“What about the annual meeting? Is the illustrious Director Chai planning to remain chaste for Miss Cheng’s sake this year?”
Chai Xinyu looked at Chu Yu’s teasing message, the fatigue in her eyes easing slightly as a wicked smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“Think again. I naturally have a suitable candidate in mind.”
At this, the oppressive gloom in Chai Xinyu’s heart dissipated slightly, prompting her to follow up with a question.
“Will President Chu be making an appearance at the annual meeting this year?”
Looking at the text framed within the green bubble, Chu Yu raised an eyebrow and slowly typed out a reply.
“Not going. Boring.”
“Won’t you reconsider? Ci Wenjun will be going as well.”
At the mention of Ci Wenjun, Chu Yu’s previously relaxed brow slowly knitted together.
Two months had passed since they last met, and everything was unfolding precisely according to her expectations.
Both she and Ci Wenjun would sprint toward their respective futures; she would gradually let go of her, and time would eventually wash away everything.
Yet for some reason, perhaps due to the lingering aftershocks of their reunion after all those years, she still found herself unable to maintain her usual detachment whenever anything related to Ci Wenjun arose.
“She goes every single year anyway. She isn’t a child; what is there to worry about?”
Perhaps to mask something, Chu Yu typed those words with an extra dose of irritability.
Suddenly, as if a thought had struck her:
“Are you secretly cooking up some trouble behind my back?”
“You guess?”
Leaning against the wall, Chu Yu let out a cold snort.
“You better watch yourself; your wife is still in my hands.”
The person on the other end clearly wasn’t intimidated in the least.
“No problem, your wife is in my hands too.”
Seeing Chai Xinyu’s reply, the corners of Chu Yu’s lips twitched upward instinctively before slowly drooping back down.
“Get lost.”
Ending her conversation with Chai Xinyu, Chu Yu lowered her phone, her brows and eyes dyed with a faint trace of melancholy.
In the cavernous hallway, she stood completely alone.
Ci Wenjun.
Ci Wenjun.
Ah, Ci Wenjun.
What on earth am I supposed to do with you?
The lingering impact of their reunion seemed far harder to erase than she had ever imagined.
Meanwhile, back in Shenzhen, Ci Wenjun was entirely oblivious to Chu Yu’s lingering thoughts. The closer it got to the year-end, the busier she grew, wishing she could split herself into eight pieces, each with a mind of its own.
From daylight straight through to midnight.
When she finally looked up, her surroundings were completely desolate.
The rest of the staff had long since punched out and gone home; besides her, there was not a single soul left.
It was eerily, excessively quiet, and a sudden wave of isolation welled up from the depths of her heart, wrapping tightly around her entire soul.
It was already this late.
She looked at the pile of unprocessed documents before her.
Without taking much time to deliberate, Ci Wenjun decided to spend the night at the office.
This was hardly a novelty for Ci Wenjun.
Even back at the very beginning of the company’s founding, during the most frantic and chaotic periods, she had practically lived and breathed at the office.
She genuinely treated the company like her home.
After all, nobody was waiting for her at home anyway.
As far as she was concerned, the doors to her actual home had been completely sealed shut the exact moment Chu Yu walked out of her life.