Chapter 7: His Little Secret

After Assistant Xiao Wang left the office, he stood at the door and gave an “OK” hand gesture toward the opposite side—toward Qi Youbai.

Through the large glass wall, he saw his usually cold and serious CEO actually suppressing a laugh, fingertips lightly pressed to his lips, his eyes soft and filled with amusement.

Though his smile was faint and his face partly hidden behind a stack of documents, Xiao Wang—who could see the full picture from this angle—noticed it clearly, even if the three managers inside the room hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

He sighed inwardly: Turns out men and women are the same. Once they fall in love, they all become fools.
Even his own boss—Junli’s president, blessed with sky-high IQ and EQ, outstanding background, and elite education—was no exception.

Xiao Wang’s thoughts began to wander. If his boss successfully won back the future “Madam President,” maybe he’d be in such a good mood he’d approve a longer vacation… enough time for Xiao Wang to take his girlfriend on a trip abroad.

Just as he was dreaming this up, the CEO’s office door suddenly slammed open from the inside with a loud BANG, the heavy door crashing against the wall.

Startled, Xiao Wang jumped aside and let out a short scream. But he quickly collected himself, preparing to ask the future Madam President what had happened.

That is, until he saw Sheng Xia’s ice-cold glare—and promptly gave up on that idea.

Better to stay alive. Sob sob, the future Madam President was terrifying…

Because Qi Youbai preferred silence, the tea room across the hall was built with soundproof materials. Even that thin-looking glass wall was imported at great expense. Even if an elephant were trumpeting outside, no one inside would hear a thing.

What’s more, as soon as Qi Youbai noticed the door moving, his eyes had shifted immediately back to his files, fully focused and without a flicker of distraction. He had no idea anything strange had happened.

Sheng Xia stood at the doorway, her gaze like knives slicing through the pretentious man inside. After a pause, she let out a cold snort, shot Xiao Wang a fierce glare, and turned to leave.

Xiao Wang shuddered at her angry stare.

Watching her walk away with such finality, he mumbled, “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!” and dashed toward the tea room. His foolish boss was still inside grinning smugly, putting on the act of “a man immersed in work is the most attractive.” He had to tell him—his woman was about to leave!

But just as he reached the tea room door, Sheng Xia suddenly stormed back with the same icy expression!

Frightened, Xiao Wang froze in place.

Sheng Xia had returned to get her documents.

In her fury, she’d forgotten them inside Qi Youbai’s office. Once she retrieved them and exited again, Qi Youbai finally noticed something was off.

The three managers had finished their reports and were waiting nervously for feedback, but Qi Youbai just kept staring at the documents.

Sweating nervously, they stole glances at each other, unsure what was going on.

Then came a knock on the tea room door—it was Xiao Wang.

Qi Youbai moved the documents aside and said calmly, “Come in.”

The managers breathed a sigh of relief—just in time to thank the assistant for breaking the awkward tension—only to see Xiao Wang standing there with a strange expression, signaling something was wrong outside.

Qi Youbai blinked, stood up, and instinctively looked toward his office door.

Sheng Xia stepped out just then, face dark and steps swift, immediately locking eyes with him.

She paused, then raised her right hand—and flipped him the middle finger.

She glared hard, then turned and left with the documents.

Xiao Wang and the three managers were stunned, quickly shifting their gaze to Qi Youbai’s face.

Today must have been cursed—they had actually witnessed their boss being humiliated in public! They looked, then quickly bowed their heads again. When Qi Youbai finally said, “You may leave,” they were secretly relieved. Better get out while he’s still calm.

But Qi Youbai didn’t feel embarrassed at all. His mind was full of thoughts of Sheng Xia.

The tea room door remained open. Soon, everyone had left except Xiao Wang, who stayed still, unsure what to say as he stared at his boss’s lonely silhouette. He wanted to comfort him, but it was clear the president didn’t need it—or it wouldn’t help.

Qi Youbai stood blankly in front of the sofa, staring through the glass wall in the direction Sheng Xia had gone.

She left just as decisively and coldly as before, giving him no chance to explain, assuming the worst of him—just like that summer when she first left him.

Five years ago, they were in their senior year of college, nearing graduation, and it was their third year of dating.

Qi Youbai admitted—at first, their relationship was just a coincidence. When Sheng Xia confessed, he didn’t have strong feelings for her. To him, she was just a pretty, cheerful girl. As the heir of the Qi family, he’d met countless girls like her—she wasn’t the most special.

But over time, in that light, comfortable relationship, that idea faded. He had never thought about breaking up. Sheng Xia gradually became important to him.

He had planned to propose after graduation. Even if the Qi family opposed, he would find a way. After all, the only other male heir of the Qi family was in a coma and might never wake up.

He had planned everything—except for one thing: the girl who always smiled so brightly at him would break up with him, heartlessly, and without a real reason.

Just before graduation, his friends Han Zhuo and Xu Hexuan brought Qin Yu to dinner. That night, while the girls went to the restroom, Qi Youbai shared his proposal plan with the guys. He was truly happy, drinking for the first time in his life. The three of them drank and cried, reminiscing about the past and talking about the future.

His friends were genuinely happy for him. They even apologized. They used to think he wasn’t serious about Sheng Xia and had occasionally treated her without proper respect. They had assumed Qin Yu was going to be the future “sister-in-law.”

Qi Youbai, already tipsy, didn’t register those words. Xu Hexuan stopped Han Zhuo from saying too much, thinking it wasn’t a big deal—just a harmless joke Sheng Xia may have overheard.

They thought since she hadn’t made a fuss, the matter was behind them.

But a few days later, the couple broke up.

Han Zhuo and Xu Hexuan panicked. Already overseas, they booked the next flight home with dark circles under their eyes, desperate to find out what happened.

Qi Youbai said Sheng Xia didn’t give a reason. She hadn’t even broken up face-to-face. After graduation, she sent a single text—and vanished.

He went to her house and waited three sleepless nights, only to be told by a neighbor: “She’s moved. Don’t bother waiting—go to her new place.”

But where was her new home?

No one knew—not even him.

That’s when Qi Youbai realized: He was the one who had been abandoned.

He was used to abandonment—ever since he was born, people had left him. So he told himself: I’ll get used to this too.

Han Zhuo and Xu Hexuan confessed everything. But to Qi Youbai, their prank wasn’t a valid reason for Sheng Xia to leave. After three years together—didn’t she know how he treated her? Didn’t she feel it? Didn’t she have a mouth? Couldn’t she have asked?

None of it mattered anymore.

Being dumped so abruptly hurt. Qi Youbai couldn’t stay in A City. Afraid of being overwhelmed by memories, he followed his grandmother’s wishes and went abroad.

Qin Yu went too—they studied hotel management at the same university.

He’d suspected her, of course. Many times, he wanted to confront her: What did you say to Sheng Xia that night?
But Qin Yu acted too normal—never hinting at any feelings for him. She even joked, “You’re going abroad—what about Sheng Xia?”

While overseas, she dated and introduced him to her foreign boyfriend…

Qi Youbai shut his eyes in pain.

Night after night in a foreign land, he brainwashed himself: Don’t dwell on the past. She just stopped loving you. Maybe she never did. Like most people, she said ‘love’ too easily—and gave it up just as fast. Love that comes easy is cheap. That’s why theirs vanished so quickly. Too quickly.

What is love, really?

Qi Youbai thought, If love is fleeting, disloyal, and incapable of lasting sincerity, then I’d rather never know it—not in this life or the next, or for all eternity.

Abroad, he adapted fast—studying, interning, keeping himself too busy to grieve or overanalyze Sheng Xia’s final days.

He told himself: A woman who never truly loved me doesn’t deserve my pain or longing. Maybe love itself is just a lie.

He was determined to erase her from memory.

If only…
If only he hadn’t found the letter Sheng Xia left him while unpacking the night he returned to China…