Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I waited until late into the night, long after everyone else in the company had left, for the person who was supposed to pick me up.

It wasn’t Shi Wan.

A familiar car pulled up at the company entrance. The door opened, revealing Zhou Lian’s face.

She was Shi Wan’s friend.

Zhou Lian and I weren’t particularly close.

After getting into the car, I offered a soft word of thanks and leaned against the side, my hands and feet icy cold.

My head was already heavy and muddled from the biting wind.

After driving for a while, Zhou Lian suddenly spoke.

“She can’t let go.”

I looked up, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. My mind felt like it was stuck in a fog.

“Shi Wan asked me to pick you up instead of coming herself because she’s with Chu Kuo, isn’t she?”

I didn’t know how to react. Subconsciously, I tried to force a smile. “You figured it out.”

Zhou Lian let out a short laugh. “They’ve been entangled for so many years, breaking up and getting back together. If they could have ended it, they would have long ago.”

She caught my gaze in the mirror again, her red lips curving slightly.

I blinked, stunned. “Then why aren’t they together?”

“Because there’s a thorn in Chu Kuo’s heart.”

“When Shi Wan was starting her business, she offended some people, and they took their revenge out on Chu Kuo. It happened on a day when he was delayed, and because of that, he didn’t make it in time to see his mother one last time.”

“There’s a hurdle in his heart-a mix of love and hate that he can’t untangle. He can’t get past it.”

“And Shi Wan owes him. She will always feel guilty toward him.”

“So, do you understand?”

Her tone was incredibly calm.

It felt like a sharp blade, silently slicing through my skin and into my flesh.

“You will never be able to wedge yourself between them.”

I didn’t say anything, shifting my gaze away.

I watched the endless stream of cars outside and the rain tracing winding paths down the window.

My mind, however, drifted back to that day.

Shortly after I joined the company, I landed a major contract. My colleagues were clamoring for me to treat them to dinner.

Shi Wan happened to be walking by.

The office atmosphere was good, and one colleague was bold enough to ask if she wanted to join.

Shi Wan looked over at me, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.

I met her gaze.

In reality, everyone was just joking, knowing that President Shi rarely involved herself in private social gatherings.

But she looked at me, the smile on her lips like the first ripple of a spring breeze. For the first time ever, she answered, “Sure.”

My heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Shi Wan ended up paying for that meal.

When I left the table to go to the front desk to pay, I happened to run into her just as she finished settling the bill.

“I’ll transfer the money to-”

Shi Wan blocked my hand, her voice gentle.

“No need.”

“I can’t do that, President Shi. We agreed from the start that it was my treat.”

I tried to unlock my phone, but Shi Wan looked down at me, a hint of tenderness escaping into her eyes. “Then you can treat me back next time.”

I looked up in surprise, meeting her eyes. They seemed veiled behind a hazy mist.

Her gaze was clearly fixed on me, yet it felt like she wasn’t looking at me at all.

Her smile held a touch of mischief.

I froze for a moment before saying, “Okay.”

I was all too familiar with that look in Shi Wan’s eyes. She was looking through me to see someone else.

I knew.

But it didn’t matter.