Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I thought that for the rest of our lives, the best we could hope for was to never see each other again until the day we died.

I never expected that three years later, the biggest contract in Haicheng’s hotel industry would land in my lap.

And the person in charge on the client side just happened to be Qi Zhaoyuan.

During our first meeting in the conference room, my boss smiled so broadly he looked like an over-bloomed chrysanthemum.

“Mr. Qi, it’s an honor, a great honor. Our Qingchuan is the most capable person on the team. If you have any requirements at all, please don’t hesitate to bring them up with her.”

Qi Zhaoyuan sat in the head seat, flipping through the proposal without even lifting his eyelids.

“My standards are very high.”

My boss nodded hurriedly. “As they should be, as they should be.”

“She can handle it.”

I sat across from him, my professional fake smile practically welded onto my face.

“Rest assured, Mr. Qi. I’m resilient.”

He finally looked up at me.

“You’d better be.”

Over the next three months, I practically wrote the words ‘ex-boyfriend’ into my workers’ comp claim.

He went out of his way to make my life difficult.

He’d send emails at two in the morning to change the proposal.

He’d have someone resend wine samples at seven in the morning.

During meetings, a single sentence like, “Manager Peng, didn’t you used to be the best at guessing what was on my mind?” could turn the entire room silent for five seconds.

I wasn’t a pushover, either.

When he nitpicked, I pushed back. When he was cold, I was colder.

We were like two people stabbing at each other with needles, neither willing to show weakness first.

And yet, whenever something actually went wrong, he was always the first one to step up.

When a client tried to force me to drink, he intercepted the glass halfway, finished it for me, and casually blacklisted the client afterward.

When my stomach hurt so badly I was breaking out in a cold sweat in the restroom, he had his secretary deliver medicine, yet he stood outside the door without offering a single word of comfort.

When I was being followed after coming home late, he drove halfway across the city to park under my building, said a single word-“Get in”-and then drove off with a sour face after dropping me off.

The most egregious time was at an industry gala.

I was wearing a backless gown. As soon as I entered, I saw him standing side-by-side with Tang Shuyi.

The whole room was talking about how well-matched they were.

My chest felt tight, but I had to keep a smile on my face.

Then, an investor who had a bit too much to drink tried to wrap his arm around my waist under the guise of offering a toast.

Before I could even dodge, Qi Zhaoyuan had already grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it back.

The man’s face went pale from the pain.

Qi Zhaoyuan’s expression remained indifferent. “She doesn’t drink with you, she doesn’t smile for you, and she certainly doesn’t exist for you to touch.”

The entire hall went silent.

Tang Shuyi stood beside him, swirled her wine glass, and added leisurely, “Mr. Li, if your hands are that restless, I suggest you go home and peel garlic.”

I almost couldn’t hold back a laugh.

After the event ended, I stood in the parking lot, letting the wind blow over me.

Qi Zhaoyuan walked over and draped his suit jacket over my shoulders.

“Dressing like this… who are you trying to provoke?”

“You.”

“Well, you succeeded.”

He stood very close-so close that when I looked up, I could see the faint exhaustion beneath his eyelashes.

My nose felt a bit stingy, and I said pointedly, “Mr. Qi is about to get engaged. Isn’t he overstepping his bounds a bit?”

He paused, his voice turning raspy.

“Whether I’m getting engaged or not doesn’t stop me from going crazy when I see you being mistreated.”

My heart constricted sharply.

But in the next second, Tang Shuyi’s car pulled up.

She rolled down the window and called out with a smile, “Zhaoyuan, are we going?”

He glanced at me, but ultimately turned and got into the car.

The headlights swept past my feet, feeling like a blade lightly scraping over an old wound.

I finally admitted it.

I hadn’t moved on at all.