Chapter 11

Three days later, Zhang Man told me that Suhang had met privately with President Cai. The two of them were chatting and laughing in a Michelin three-star restaurant. Their manner was intimate, but there wasn’t any obviously inappropriate behavior.

“Do you have photos?” I asked.

Blushing, Zhang Man said, “They got deleted.”

Turned out President Cai had caught her in the act when she was secretly taking pictures. That woman, in ten-centimeter heels, walked straight over and asked why she was taking photos. Fortunately, Zhang Man reacted quickly and said she liked her dress and wanted to search for the same style online.

President Cai politely asked her to delete the photos-and even told her the brand and item number of the dress.

“Good thing I’m quick on my feet!” Zhang Man’s voice message brimmed with the giddy relief of having dodged a bullet.

I sighed helplessly. No wonder Zhang Man’s career wasn’t going anywhere; with investigative skills like this, she was clearly a rookie.

Still, she hadn’t come up completely empty-handed. She’d found out that President Cai was single-divorced two years ago. Her ex-husband was a university lecturer. As President Cai’s career took off and her income soared to more than ten times his, he was the one who initiated the divorce.

Could the person who sent that email be President Cai’s ex-husband?

I deliberately approached this university lecturer, sat in on one of his talks, and got the feeling he was a very pure, academically driven person. After class, I pretended to ask him questions. He answered patiently, without any unusual reaction to me. His gaze was kind, focused, and clear. I realized immediately: there was no way he was the kind of man who would send such filthy emails.

So had Suhang cheated with someone else?

Zhang Man was already backing down. “I’ve been following him for a month. Other than the office and home, it’s all client meetings. He doesn’t look like someone who’s having an affair!”

I, however, stubbornly clung to the belief that there had to be someone.

I had seen that message with my own eyes: he was sleeping with a married woman.

Over breakfast, Suhang suddenly volunteered that he’d met with President Cai. They’d discussed many ideas about future cooperation between the companies. Li Corporation wanted to transform Sheng Tang’s money-losing cultural-creative division into an eldercare business, completing a full corporate pivot at the lowest possible cost.

He added that President Cai wanted to treat the two of us to dinner, and that he had already agreed on our behalf.

I went to the dinner with Suhang.

We were meeting at Cloud Restaurant. The moment the elevator doors opened, the first thing I saw was the figure standing beside President Cai-tall and slender, so familiar.

Bai Zifan! I almost called out.

The man in a tailored suit overlapped and then split apart in my mind from the boy in greasy work pants at the auto shop, swearing as he worked-alike yet completely different.

“Xiao Hang,” President Cai’s red lips curved in a smile, “this is Sheng Tang’s financial director, Li Yunzhou. Manager Li flew in specially from the Imperial Capital headquarters just to meet you.”

As the man shook hands with Suhang, polished and elegant, his gaze collided with mine. His pupils contracted the tiniest fraction.

Suhang’s hand slid to the small of my back at just the right moment, the warmth of his touch jolting me back to myself.

He pulled out my chair for me, and I sat down stiffly.

Swirling the wine in her glass, President Cai introduced him with a bright smile: “Manager Li is a top graduate of Imperial Capital Renmin University and used to be an executive at a leading enterprise. We at Sheng Tang went to great lengths to poach him. He’s always, always admired your retirement community project.”

Suhang immediately raised his glass, his face wearing a fully commercial smile. “Manager Li, you’re a true elite. I’ve heard great things about you!”

Li Yunzhou lightly tapped his glass against Suhang’s, but his eyes fell on me. “Manager Su, you flatter me. With such a beautiful wife at your side and your career on the rise, you’re the real winner in life.”

Though I was trembling slightly, I did everything I could to stay composed.

Looking closely at this Li Yunzhou-sharp suit, impeccable manners, hair combed perfectly into place-he was a completely different person from the boy in my memories, the one in filthy work pants.

Could he really be Bai Zifan? Bai Zifan was a delinquent who hadn’t even finished high school. How could he possibly be the same man sitting in front of me now?