Chapter 456 Five Years Later

He raised his hand and pressed his chest, which was wrapped in gauze, but the pain couldn't stop him. He took a deep breath and walked into the hall.

The receptionist recognized him as the "distinguished guest" who had come up with General Manager Hou last time, and quickly let him in with a smile.

During the thirty seconds the elevator ascended, his heart pounded as if it would burst out of his chest, and he repeatedly rehearsed the scene of their meeting in his mind.

Even if Cui Xiao scolds or hits him, it doesn't matter, as long as she's willing to see him.

But when he quickly pushed open Cui Xiao's office door, he froze.

The desk that originally belonged to Cui Xiao was now empty. The beige office chair was neatly pushed under the desk, and the desktop was spotless. Only the small succulent she had brought was placed in the corner, its leaves slightly wilted.

Zhou Mubing grabbed a passing female colleague, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly, "Where is your Vice President Cui?"

His female colleague was startled by his pale face. "Vice President Cui resigned a few days ago."

"Resigned?" Zhou Mubin staggered backward, his back slamming heavily against the cold wall, a tearing pain shooting through his wound.

He turned and ran towards President Hou's office. When he opened the door, President Hou was looking down at documents. Seeing him like this, he helplessly put down his pen and said, "Attorney Zhou, you're here."

Zhou Mubin leaned on his desk, his knuckles white, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Why did she resign? Where did she go?"

Mr. Hou stood up and handed him a glass of warm water. "When she came to resign a few days ago, her eyes were red, and she only said that it was related to you. Moreover, she knew that you would definitely come, so she asked me to pass on a message to you."

Zhou Mubin's breathing suddenly stopped, and his hand holding the water glass trembled uncontrollably.

Looking at his tense profile, President Hou slowly said, "She said you're too terrifying. You forced her to compromise by hurting yourself, which made her see your true nature. She can never accept such a crazy and obsessive man, and she hopes you will never contact her again, as if you never met her."

"Never met you before..."

Zhou Mubin repeated in a low voice, and the water glass fell to the ground with a "clatter," splashing warm water onto his trousers.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Mubin smiled. "Does she have no heart?"

President Hou felt it was a pity. Cui Xiao was the most capable person he had ever met, and he really couldn't bear to let her go like that. At the time, President Hou even tried to persuade her, but Cui Xiao's attitude was too firm.

No matter how tempting his offers were, even if he was willing to give up two percent of his shares in the deal, she refused to stay.

President Hou knew that Cui Xiao would leave no matter what.

No one could shake her resolve.

President Hou sighed, "Attorney Zhou, we can all see your feelings for Cui Xiao, but have you ever considered that this might not be what she wants?"

...

After a long while, he staggered out of the office. The employees looked at him with pity, but Zhou Mubin felt nothing. He felt as if the whole world had turned into a cold gray, and the pain in his heart was far less than the wound on his chest.

As I stepped out of the office building, a cold rain began to fall.

Zhou's mother asked the housekeeper to hold an umbrella and come forward, but he pushed her away.

He walked aimlessly in the rain when his phone vibrated; Xie Nanzhi had sent him a message.

There is currently no news about Cui Xiao, and the apartment under her name was sold three days ago; the transfer of ownership has been completed.

Zhou Mubin looked at the message, chuckled softly, and tears mixed with raindrops slid down his face, quickly swallowed by the rain.

——

The gilded chandeliers illuminated the banquet hall on the Bund in Shanghai as if it were daytime, and the melody of the jazz band, along with the sweet aroma of champagne, permeated every corner.

Cui Xiao held a glass of chilled champagne between her fingers. The condensation on the glass slid down her fingers and into the gaps of the pearl bracelet on her wrist. It was the only thing she took with her when she left Hong Kong five years ago.

She stared at the bracelet in a daze when she heard footsteps. Then, "Vice President Cui, the success of this cooperation with the Su family is entirely due to your brilliant resource integration plan."

Mr. Xue squeezed over with a wine glass in hand, his beer belly making his custom-made suit taut. “I told our boss that among the new generation in Shanghai, apart from Vice President Cui, there’s no one else who can go toe-to-toe with the old conglomerates.”

Cui Xiao smiled, her fingertips lightly touching the rim of President Xue's glass. "You flatter me. It's your company's strong execution that made my proposal possible."

Her gaze swept over the back of President Xue, where several young men and women in sophisticated suits were standing on tiptoe, looking in their direction, clutching business cards in their hands, their faces revealing their eagerness.

Just after the advertising company director, who had tried to get close to him by offering a toast, left, the assistant brought over a plate of macarons and whispered, "Vice President Cui, Mr. Li from Shengyuan is here. He says he'd like to talk to you about next year's cultural tourism projects."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in a dark gray Zhongshan suit walked over with a smile typical of business tycoons. "Vice President Cui, it's only been a few years, but your aura is getting stronger and stronger."

Cui Xiao's smile remained unchanged, but her heart skipped a beat.

Yes, it's only been five years.

She stepped aside to lead Mr. Li to the terrace, avoiding the increasingly dense crowd behind them. "Mr. Li, you are too kind. No matter how capable I am, I am not worthy of your attention."

The breeze from the terrace, carrying river mist, dispelled the noise of the banquet hall.

Looking at the Lujiazui skyline across the river, General Manager Li suddenly sighed, "Speaking of which, Vice President Cui said he used to work in Hong Kong. Which company exactly? How could his previous employer let someone as capable as Vice President Cui go?"

Cui Xiao lowered her head and took a sip of champagne. The cool liquid slid down her throat, suppressing the tension in her heart.

As she looked up, she happened to see someone in the banquet hall taking pictures with their phone, the camera lens clearly pointed at the spot where she had just been standing.

She frowned, exchanged a few pleasantries with President Li, and then said, "President Li, something has suddenly come up, I need to go over there first."

Mr. Li: "Okay."

Cui Xiao walked quickly to the person taking the photos. "I remember there were no media invited tonight. How did you sneak in?"

Cui Xiao is doing very well in Shanghai, but there have been very few reports about her in recent years. Not to mention photos, there is very little information about her even on Baidu.

The man chuckled, "Miss Cui, you're so outstanding, why are you so low-key? You should let the whole country know how excellent you are."

Cui Xiao's attitude was firm: "I don't need it, delete the photos."

The man hesitated, "Miss Cui, perhaps..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cui Xiao snatched the man's phone and smashed it on the ground.

The man's smile vanished instantly, replaced by anger. "Cui Xiao, what right did you have to smash my phone? You have to..."

Before she could finish speaking, Cui Xiao pulled out a thick wad of cash from her wallet. "You took pictures of me without my permission, so it's only right that I protect my rights. Of course, you've had it tough too, so here's ten thousand yuan, enough to buy your phone."