Chapter 89

Departing Riyadh early in the morning.

"Juyong, the traffic from here to the airport is a bit complicated. If we don't leave now, we might be too late." Qiao Qi, sitting in the back seat, cautiously reminded Zheng Juyong, who had been standing outside the car, gazing out the window of the upstairs room. Her tone was no longer as commanding as before, but only polite and cautious. She hadn't expected him to have already made preparations to return home. She was optimistic about this, and to avoid any unexpected changes, she went along with him, just as Zheng Juyong had gone along with her in the past.

The curtains in room 1206 finally moved.

Zheng Juyong raised his head, smiled contentedly, turned around and got into the car: "Let's go."

He just left silently, under the gaze of someone who was deliberately avoiding him but couldn't help but follow him.

"Oh, Zheng Juyong, you are really something!" Guan Ying clenched her fists behind the curtains. For the first time, she felt like she was broken up, abandoned, and being played with. Damn it!

There were several knocks on the door, and standing outside was Daniel, who looked tired: "Good morning, it's time for us to leave." He saw through her and calculated the time precisely.

Guan Ying glanced back at the curtains, knowing she had been exposed. "Good morning. I thought you didn't want to see me again."

"The team still needs your assistance." Daniel found a reason that wouldn't let her refuse, but wouldn't make him seem too humble. Her "secret meeting" with Zheng Juyong was the most painful blow to him. He struggled for almost an entire night before mustering the energy to face Guan Ying.

In this respect, Daniel and Zheng Juyong were the same type of people. After suffering so much, they still chose to be patient and decent. Guan Ying sighed softly and walked with him silently.

When passing by room 1205, she suddenly felt that it was better to separate from Zheng Juyong despite the unclear relationship. After all, many things would make people hesitant if they were clarified. It would be better for everyone to just treat it as a fun event!

Daniel was beside him, maintaining a bitter smile: "Guan Ying, promise me that at least for the next few days, you won't be distracted by anyone, okay?"

She glanced at 1205, once again inadvertently burning his self-esteem.

Back in the office, Daniel buried himself in his work. When he wasn't speaking to Guan Ying, she remained quiet, either helping the team with paperwork or busying herself with her research project with Professor Wilson. She offered no further explanation about her relationship with Zheng Juyong, nor did she feel any loss at the departure of Zheng Juyong and his "lover." She truly seemed undivided.

The anti-dumping investigation against several Chinese steel companies including Huagang was soon officially put on the agenda.

Huagang prepared detailed evidence, and after several rounds of defense by a team of domestic and international lawyers led by Daniel and the investigation team, the authorities, for the first time, accepted the actual procurement costs of key raw materials by Chinese companies. However, the local Steel Union, having learned of this result in advance, launched a swift and ferocious counterattack, far exceeding expectations. Even Daniel's well-reasoned economic analysis only persuaded them halfway. The remaining half was due to the Steel Union's desire to prevent this result from becoming a future precedent, which went beyond economic considerations.

There was a change in the response work, and the final ruling result, which was originally expected to be favorable, was stuck in mid-air, hanging in the air for a long time.

Daniel, once full of confidence, suddenly found himself in a difficult position. He constantly regretted his earlier assertions to Guan Ying. Frustrated by his failures with Guan Ying, Daniel spent his days away from home, spending less and less time in the office. Consequently, CEO Li often couldn't find him, and his frustration led him to chain-smoking in the office. His habit of smoking intensified, further increasing the tension within the domestic and international legal team.

Guan Ying began the countdown to return to Seattle.

That day, the secretary came to inquire about her schedule: "Manager Guan, I heard you've already changed your flight ticket once."

Guan Ying: "Yes, I should have left half a month ago."

The secretary said embarrassedly, "Can we change your ticket again? I mean...we can rebook you first class. It's always better to be comfortable on a long journey."

Guan Ying smiled. "Thank you, but I've already missed half a month of classes, and I need to get back as soon as possible. I know what you're worried about, and believe me, Daniel won't give up halfway. He just needs time. You should trust your choice. He's the best international lawyer. And a case of this magnitude definitely won't be resolved in just two weeks. I think everyone agrees on this point."

"Of course, of course. Good things take time, haha..." The secretary was a little frustrated, but she continued to push forward, saying, "Can't you stay for another half a month? Mr. Li can agree to any conditions you ask. After all, everyone feels more at ease with Manager Guan here."

Of course, the secretary's implication was not "everyone", but Daniel.

She should thank Daniel for this. When they were negotiating the terms, he hadn't deliberately dragged out the response time just to "monopolize" her. Of course, the fact that he thought half a month was enough to turn the situation around also showed that Daniel was very confident in his own abilities.

Thinking about it this way, she really ignored Daniel's feelings.

Guan Ying thought for a moment and replied, "Based on my understanding of Daniel, if I continue to stay at this time, it might only make him more upset. Please tell Mr. Li to rest assured that I will try to have a good talk with Daniel before I leave Saudi Arabia. Also, after returning to Seattle, I will continue to study this material with my mentor, Professor Wilson. Sometimes, an outsider's perspective can help us find new breakthroughs."

The secretary thought it made sense and nodded. "Alright, the atmosphere in the office has been rather depressing lately. Why don't we hold a farewell party for Manager Guan tomorrow night so everyone can relax and unwind?"

Perhaps only at Guan Ying's farewell party could Mr. Li have the chance to hold on to Daniel for a while.

......

The night before Guan Ying left, thanks to the careful preparation of General Secretary Li, the farewell party went very smoothly. After a long period of intense work, everyone finally had a brief respite and had fun until nearly midnight.

After bidding farewell to his last group of colleagues, Daniel tacitly took on the task of escorting Guan Ying back to the hotel, though he remained silent throughout the journey. The car quickly stopped at the hotel entrance, and the two of them walked through the lobby, into the elevator, and up to their room on the twelfth floor...

Until they stood in front of the door of Room 1206, Daniel was unable to say goodbye to her.

Before closing the door, Guan Ying watched him turn around and walk back across the street. She mustered up her courage and said, "Daniel, let's have a drink! I know you can find a way to buy some whiskey!"

Daniel turned around. "You want a drink? Now?"

Guan Ying laughed: "No?"

Daniel hesitated and said, "At this time... I do know a place, but it's a bit far from here, and your flight tomorrow morning..."

Guan Ying simply walked out the door: "Then we should hurry up and go!"

This seemed a bit crazy to the law-abiding Daniel. He followed her and kept confirming, "Are you serious? At this time?"

Guan Ying simply turned around and pulled him along to run: "Don't we have to be so serious about everything? You're so long-winded, are you afraid?"

Daniel, inspired by her, smiled for the first time in a long time, releasing the repressed mood of the past few days. He ran with her: "Well, you should be thankful that your [accomplice] is a sensible lawyer."

The car drove through the city and drove into a white detached mansion. The butler was an Englishman. He opened the door and lit the lamp for the two of them with sleepy eyes, and carefully brought them a black wooden barrel.

"This is Hassan's private residence, and the housekeeper here is very capable." Daniel pointed to the switch of the wooden barrel, handed a cup to Guan Ying, and then nodded to the housekeeper to express his gratitude for the interruption.

The butler smiled and retreated.

Guan Ying looked around the house, which was decorated in a Western style. Seeing that he and the housekeeper had a tacit understanding, she understood something. "Hassan never drinks. Did he prepare everything here for you?"

To break up the ice, Daniel hugged the ice bucket and shook it vigorously: "You are always so smart."

"Daniel, do you really intend to stay and serve the Hassan family?"

"What do you think?"

"If it's just for me, I'll be sad. As a friend, I don't want you to be trapped here."

Daniel picked up some ice cubes for her. Guan Ying moved the cup in her hand over to catch them. The ice cubes hit the wall of the cup, making a crisp and cold sound.

"As a friend?"

"As a friend."

As if it was the final verdict, Daniel's expression was solemn.

After a few seconds of silence, Daniel gently turned the switch on the wooden barrel, filled himself with half a cup of black liquid, and sniffed it. "You know what? If someone reports us, we will be detained for at least six months."

Guan Ying's expression was equally serious: "Oh! I'm afraid this is Hassan's trap to keep you here!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

The two smart people understood each other's jokes at the same time and laughed in tacit understanding.

"This is no joke."

"I'm not kidding either."

After laughing, Guan Ying took the cup and drank it in one gulp: "Ha, I knew it, this is juice! You are such a person, you can't even do the slightest wrong thing!"

Daniel smiled bitterly and shook his head, drinking the half cup in his hand: "Only you always make me lose miserably."

Guan Ying said frankly: "So, I am not suitable for you at all."

Daniel looked at her, as if he had lost all his strength: "Look, I lost again."

Guan Ying looked at the time and it was already past midnight.

"Daniel, we should say goodbye properly, not in a rush like last time."

"You're going to spend the evening saying goodbye to me?"

"Well, is that enough?"

"Haha, thank you. At least in this respect, you let me win over Mr. Zheng."

When Zheng Juyong was mentioned, Guan Ying remained silent.

Daniel said sadly, "You didn't want to say goodbye to him then, right? I understand that feeling."

Guan Ying: "Daniel, I'm sorry."

Daniel put down the cup with a smile: "Hassan and I have an agreement, just like you and I have an agreement. When the time comes, I will leave naturally. You don't have to worry or feel sad for me."

She certainly wasn't apologizing for this, and she knew it was just a euphemism for him to admit defeat.

Guan Ying seized the opportunity: "If Hassan and his family embarrass you, will you ask your family for help?"

When his family was mentioned, it was Daniel who fell silent.

Guan Ying also put down the cup in her hand: "Maybe you don't believe me, but I used to hate my family. I hated my father for only doing business outside, I hated my mother for fostering me in someone else's home, I hated my uncle and aunt for raising me so that I could marry their son, and I hated the responsibility of that dilapidated steel mill that fell on my shoulders."

Daniel silently poured her another glass of dark but very sweet date juice.

Guan Ying continued, "But a few days ago, someone suddenly came to me and told me stories about her family. Every one of those stories almost suffocated me. I couldn't hate her anymore. I suddenly understood why she became the way she was. She had never been loved well by her family, so she didn't know how to love anyone, not even herself... Daniel, we should feel lucky for ourselves. The reason we know how to love, the reason we have what we have now, the reason we are who we are, is all because of our family. It's not shameful, and it doesn't go against self and freedom, because one day, we will also grow old, and we will become more and more like them..."

Daniel: “No, I will thank them, but I won’t be them.”

Guan Ying: "I'm sorry, but you're already one of them... To keep me here, Mr. Li's secretary repeatedly suggested changing my flight, even though he knew I wouldn't agree. But you never mentioned it. You regret it, but you can't go against your strict sense of contract. That night, on the top floor of the hotel, I said those words to you, yet you still showed up at the office on time the next day. Anyone else would have walked away long ago, but your professional ethics wouldn't allow you to do that. To some extent, I took advantage of that."

Daniel waved his hand: "No, this is just basic literacy as a lawyer."

Guan Ying couldn't help laughing. "Ha, I'm afraid you're the only one who says these are basic qualities. Okay, then, since that day, when you knew he lived in room 1205 next to me, why didn't you ever ask me, but always deliberately avoided the topic? I guess you didn't want to embarrass me. Even if this is just my guess, in Dubai, downstairs of my dormitory, on the night he suddenly came back, those kisses, you should know what they meant, how did you manage to leave? You spent so much time waiting for me downstairs, and until the last moment, you didn't even go upstairs and kick the door open!"

Daniel turned around, shocked, doubtful, and regretful, and asked, "I wanted to do that!"

Guan Ying looked at him with sympathy: "But you are a true gentleman."

"I hate that."

"Like you hate your family."

Daniel sat down in pain, his hands hanging limply on the handles of the chair.

Guan Ying drank the second glass of juice he handed her, and seemed to finally taste the aftertaste of fermentation. "Admit it, Daniel. None of us can escape it. Good or bad, it's ingrained into our bones, fused with us. Your upbringing, your knowledge, your experiences—all come from it. It's innate, following you everywhere, like fate."

"You want me to accept this?"

"We are already the lucky ones."