Chapter 44 This "Reunion"...

Chapter 44

The day Xia Zhiyao returned from her business trip, Beijing had just entered winter, and the temperature plummeted. A wind picked up outside the office's floor-to-ceiling windows, and the gray-yellow sycamore leaves swirled in the air.

She got home, put her suitcase in a corner, and before she could even take off her coat, her phone vibrated.

Zheng Xiaotian's WeChat message popped up: "[The resume of the Investment Vice President is in your email]"

She swiped open the screen with one hand and casually opened her email. The candidate's name was Ding Xiao. He had a bachelor's and master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. After that, he spent five years working in M&A at a top investment bank in Asia. After returning to China, he managed several medium-sized projects in a private equity fund. He had a good sense of risk control and was exactly the kind of "stable player" that the company was currently in dire need of.

She checked quickly, her gaze lingering briefly on several core performance indicators. After confirming everything was correct, she sent Zheng Xiaotian a voice message: "Good, I see no problem here. We'll arrange the first meeting when he arrives in Beijing."

Zheng Xiaotian replied almost instantly: 【Okay, I'll handle the onboarding process. By the time you realize what's happening, he'll be sitting across from you having coffee.】

She stared at the line of text for two seconds, her lips not curving upwards, nor did she reply with any joke; she simply responded with a faint "Mm."

Ding Xiao is a qualified liaison. His arrival means that the company will officially establish a real investment department, and it also marks the stage where Tianxing is transitioning from light consulting to full-scale operation.

She did not reject this change; on the contrary, she was one of the first to push it forward. However, when the actual trading platform took shape before her eyes, she felt an indescribable emotion beyond her rationality.

She excels at dissecting complex situations and finding the optimal solution. She is adept at using precise words to strike at the opponent's weak points at the negotiating table, allowing her to control the game.

But the world of capital is a different game, with faster fluctuations and more chaotic outcomes. Victory or defeat often depends on whether you can put your money in before others reveal their cards.

She knows she can control the direction of a project, but she may not be able to reach into the torrent of funds like a real investor and avoid being swept away.

This realization didn't frustrate her; instead, it brought a sense of calm relief. She didn't have to be number one in everything, but she wanted to make sure that the person in that position was right.

Thinking of this, her gaze fell back on the resume on the table, her fingertips lingering on Ding Xiao's name for a second. This was the next step she was taking for the company, and also the step she was taking the initiative to let go.

A few days later, on Friday morning at 10 a.m., Xia Zhiyao sat in her usual seat, slightly to the left of the middle. Today was the first day of the new investment vice president's term.

She had originally thought she would see Ding Xiao, and she had even mentally rehearsed a few pleasantries: a brief welcome, a tactful handover, just like she had done countless times when welcoming new people in the past.

Suddenly, Zheng Xiaotian's loud voice came from outside the meeting room, carrying his usual smile, but this time, there seemed to be something else mixed in with his voice.

She subconsciously looked up, a seemingly casual gesture, but it felt as if fate had grabbed her chin, forcing her to stare directly at the familiar figure in the doorway.

Zhou Yue.

Tall and imposing, with a composed gait, he seemed to walk in as if stepping on an invisible axis, steady and unhurried. He wore a well-tailored dark suit that accentuated his straight and restrained figure, as if all his sharpness was hidden in the dark fabric.

He still wore those gold-rimmed glasses, which made him appear even calmer and more aloof. Behind the lenses were the eyes she had gazed into countless times. His single eyelids concealed eyes as black as the sea at night, with slightly upturned corners, naturally possessing a sharp edge. Yet, that sharpness was contained within an almost indifferent restraint.

Her black hair was slightly messy, but casually combed back, revealing a clean forehead and a neat, clear hairline. Her brow bone was high and prominent, with sharp features, like lines sculpted with great force.

That was a face she had repeatedly torn apart in countless midnight dreams, only to carefully piece it back together again, each reconstruction accompanied by pain, each attempt to forget feeling like rubbing salt into a knife.

He seemed more composed and calmer than I remembered.

That once unbridled sharpness and fervor has long since been tempered into an almost silent sense of power.

She knew that the flames had not gone out; they had simply been fastened into every button of his suit sleeve, hidden in the composed rhythm of his posture, and suppressed in every breath that was half a beat slower than others, yet deeper.

The control he exuded from within even made those around him unconsciously move less and lower their voices, as if his presence reshaped the atmosphere of the conference room.

His gaze swept from the documents, across the crowd, over the walls and screens, and finally landed slowly on her. It didn't linger or waver, but that one glance silently embedded itself in her heart, carrying a long-lost warmth.

Her breath hitched for a moment. She even forgot what she had been looking at. At that moment, she felt like she was trapped in a silent echo. All her reason and composure were still there, but her emotions were caught off guard and overwhelmed.

Zhou Yue, as if nothing had happened, calmly walked into the conference room, as if all the silence, the tearing apart, the silence and indulgence during the breakdown in the dead of night that had once been suppressed between him and her had never existed.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, he paused for an extremely brief moment, almost imperceptible. The fleeting emotion that crossed his eyes was quickly concealed, so well hidden that no one else noticed, and even his tone of voice was impeccable.

She stood there, her shoulders ramrod straight, the lines of her lips cold and almost scathing—a partner mask she had specially crafted for this meeting.

This "reunion" is destined to be neither simple nor peaceful.

Zhou Yue walked to the front of the conference room, his tone polite and composed: "Hello everyone, I am Zhou Yue. I graduated from Beijing University with a bachelor's degree and majored in financial engineering at Columbia University with a master's degree."

He paused slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping from one end of the conference table to the other, calm and restrained.

“For the past five years, I worked at Blackcastle Capital in New York, primarily responsible for mergers and acquisitions and financing projects in the consumer and technology sectors. After returning to China, I joined Zhengyuan Guanlan, continuing to focus on mergers and acquisitions and investment. Now I'm at Tianxing, responsible for the overall operation of the investment sector, and I'm very happy to be working with everyone from now on.”

After speaking, he did not sit down immediately, but paused slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping across both sides of the long table from left to right, as if he were looking around, or as if he were trying to memorize everyone's expression and aura in the shortest amount of time.

His gaze passed over her almost without lingering, then he looked away, nodded slightly, and sat down with an upright and composed posture.

“From today onwards, I will be responsible for the overall operation of the investment platform,” Zhou Yue said, his voice steady and powerful. “All decisions involving the flow of funds will be reviewed on this side before proceeding to the project execution stage.” This implicitly established a new ironclad rule for the entire process.

Xia Zhiyao listened calmly, her hand stroking the edge of the laptop—a subtle movement that outsiders wouldn't notice, but it was how she maintained her breathing rhythm.

He closed the file, his gaze lingered briefly on the table, then he casually looked up and met her eyes again for a brief moment. That glance was as calm as if nothing had happened, yet it silently stirred up a whirlpool deep within her heart.

She just watched him quietly.

Standing under the lamplight, Zhou Yue seemed to have truly sealed those old memories within the five years and the long journey home, locking them away layer upon layer, as if she had never existed in his life.

She could see a profound silence in his flat gaze, a sense of distance stretched out by time, unspeakable, heavy as if separated by an entire ocean.

Zhou Yue had already looked away, not lingering or turning back. He acted so well that he almost believed that those memories that had intertwined, struggled, and burned in the dead of night were really just a dream.

Zheng Xiaotian was clearly the only one who knew nothing about it. He patted Zhou Yue on the shoulder and said with a smile, looking relaxed: "Come on, let me formally introduce you."

Zheng Xiaotian walked over and casually put his other hand on Xia Zhiyao's shoulder, his tone intimate and unguarded: "This is Xia Zhiyao, our partner and ace. If you're ever in doubt, just ask her."

Xia Zhiyao spoke first, nodding slightly, her voice calm and clear: "President Zhou, welcome to the company." Her tone was perfect, her expression impeccable, like a well-rehearsed opening remark.

But she knew very well that pretending to be meeting for the first time was not a long-term solution. Zheng Xiaotian was so smart that he would find out about their past sooner or later. Rather than waiting for him to break it up, it would be more natural for her to point it out herself.

She paused, her gaze falling on Zhou Yue's face, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips: "Long time no see."

Zhou Yue was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting her to speak up first, but she immediately turned her gaze to Zheng Xiaotian, as if to remind him: We should cooperate, why not go with the flow.

He understood, a slight smile playing on his lips, his voice deep and familiar: "Long time no see."

The back-and-forth exchange, seemingly calm, actually stirred up slight ripples in the air.

Zheng Xiaotian raised an eyebrow, his tone playful: "Oh? You two knew each other before?"

Xia Zhiyao didn't give him a chance to ask further questions, speaking as naturally as if it were just a casual remark: "A junior from high school, who lived in the same compound when he was a child."

She spoke casually. Zheng Xiaotian glanced at her, then at Zhou Yue, but didn't ask any further questions. He just smiled and said, "Oh, you're childhood sweethearts. What a coincidence."

Zhou Yue remained silent, gazing at her profile. His eyes subtly deepened, as if he wanted to etch her composure into his heart.

“Oh right, about the personnel change…” Zheng Xiaotian’s tone was relaxed, as if he had just remembered, “Originally, Mr. Ding had some family issues and had to take short leave, so I temporarily transferred someone from my side. Mr. Zhou was a last-minute replacement.”

He spoke casually, and even patted Zhou Yue on the shoulder: "Zhiyao, you'd better keep an eye on her."

Xia Zhiyao simply nodded slightly without saying anything, and the two finally took a step closer in front of everyone. Zheng Xiaotian stood aside, smiling mischievously: "Come on, let's get to know each other formally."

She raised her hand, her fingertips icy cold. Zhou Yue also reached out his hand, his knuckles twitching slightly. The instant his palm touched hers, memories burst forth without warning.

She felt as if she were back on that snowy street, back on that foreign night, where they embraced naked, their arguments and kisses intertwined, filled with grievances, longing, and unexpressed love.

All those fragments flooded back into my mind, as clear as if they had just happened, as painful as if they had never left.

In reality, they simply stood there politely, her smile appropriate, and his smile appropriate, as if everything had been turned over and was not worth mentioning again.

The words I truly wanted to say, the emotions I truly wanted to ask, were all squeezed into this handful of flesh, unable to flow out, unable to be released, and could only be silently borne by my skin and bones.

After the meeting began, the partners reported on the project progress over the past few months in turn. The only sounds in the room were the turning of pages and the soft tapping of fingers on the table.

Zhou Yue sat diagonally opposite Xia Zhiyao, silently reading through the project report she had just finished presenting. After a moment's thought, he turned to the page and said, "Regarding this Series E investment arrangement," he said in a low and restrained voice, "I suggest reducing the original Pre-IPO position by three percentage points to retain some liquidity to cope with possible changes in the CFA regulatory stance in the second half of the year."

His tone was devoid of emotion, yet extremely crisp and clear, his words revealing the judgment and rhythm he had honed in his early years on Wall Street.

On the other side of the table, someone nodded slightly: "I've also noticed this trend. What President Zhou said makes sense."

All eyes turned to Xia Zhiyao, who flipped through the documents in her hand, her expression calm: "We negotiated with the other side for a quarter of a year and finally managed to get this price. If we reduce our position, it might not just be a matter of giving up some profit, but the project owner might directly change the investment bank we are working with."

She looked up at Zhou Yue, her tone calm: "Of course, if you can allocate funds from other sectors to address the liquidity issue, then I have no objection."

Zhou Yue glanced at her, but didn't rush to answer. Instead, he gently twirled the pen in his hand.

“You know which part of the risk I’m talking about. We’re not a financing channel.” He said this in a low but sharp tone, “You wouldn’t have tolerated this kind of panic buying anyway.”

In short, it sounded like both a questioning of the project's judgment and a reminder that she had changed.

Xia Zhiyao looked at him, her brows furrowing slightly, and said calmly, "Yes, I didn't expect our company to suddenly have an investment vice president." After speaking, she gently tapped her pen on the table, her voice clear and crisp, "Then we'll share the consequences together from now on."

Zhou Yue stopped talking and just nodded.

In just a few words, a breeze seemed to rise in the conference room. Zheng Xiaotian glanced at the two of them from the side and half-smiled as he tried to smooth things over: "You two will get used to working together for a while. Zhiyao is always quick, ruthless, and steady. Zhou Yue, don't try to undermine her right away."

Zhou Yue smiled, his tone indifferent: "No, I'll cooperate fully."

Xia Zhiyao did not respond. She simply turned a page of the document, lowered her head to take notes, and showed no emotion on her face. However, her fingertips pressed the paper tightly, almost crumpling the edges.

As the people in the conference room gradually dispersed, Zheng Xiaotian was still exchanging pleasantries at the front desk when Xia Zhiyao quietly got up, deftly closed her laptop, and put the documents in her hand into a folder.

She deliberately avoided looking at Zhou Yue on the other side of the conference table, and avoided looking into that gaze—a gaze so calm it was unsettling, yet filled with undisguised, direct concern.

That gaze was just like the firelight deep in my memory, only now it was cloaked in calm, so quiet it seemed to burn right through me.

She straightened her back and walked out of the conference room in her high heels, each step feeling like a nail driven into the ground. She was forcing herself not to look back, not to hesitate, not to waver.

Zheng Xiaotian slammed the file on the table, breaking the lingering silence with a light tone: "It's Friday today, don't make any plans for tonight."

He glanced around at everyone, his gaze finally settling on Xia Zhiyao and Zhou Yue. His tone was relaxed yet slightly teasing: "It wouldn't be right not to welcome our CEO Zhou back to the team on his first day back, would it?"

"And it has to be a relaxed gathering," Zheng Xiaotian slapped the table and smiled at everyone. "We mainly want to eat well and have fun. Don't give me that investment banking stuff. We're all family, so we don't have to drink."

Li Xuyang, who is in charge of the investment back-end, nodded: "We have to treat them to a meal, otherwise the clients will think we're heartless."

"Do you even need to tell me?" Zheng Xiaotian smiled and waved his hand, pointing naturally, "Zhiyao, you don't have any other plans today, do you?"

Xia Zhiyao glanced at him, a faint smile on her face: "I've pushed away what I could."

"That's more like it." Zheng Xiaotian seemed to have received a satisfactory answer, then turned to Zhou Yue, "Don't put on that standard investment banker face. Relax tonight. I'd be really sad if you didn't come."

Zhou Yue smiled slightly, his tone still polite: "I'll follow your arrangements." The end of his sentence carried a hint of warmth, neither aggressive nor entirely businesslike.

As he spoke, he raised an eyebrow at the two assistants standing at the door: "Bring your assistants with you. It's an internal meeting anyway, so don't be shy."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone got up and left the meeting room, their laughter and conversations gradually spreading into the corridor outside.

Only Xia Zhiyao and Zhou Yue stood at the edge of this bustling scene, silent for a moment, as if they had already rehearsed their reunion tonight in their minds, but no matter how much they rehearsed, they could not truly be prepared to face it.