{I can’t help but think about her 2}

The assistant didn’t know what to do and frequently cast pleading glances toward the boss in the back seat. But it was clear that the boss himself wasn’t paying attention—he neither emphasized the importance of safety nor explicitly decided whether to let the kids play with fireworks.

“You’re still too young,” the assistant finally said, realizing it would fall to him to play the bad guy.

The president clearly had more important matters to attend to. Sure enough, Shen Qi made an international call, where the gist of the English conversation was to “cancel someone’s enrollment” and demand that the school deport that person back to the country on a later date, without providing any documents. The assistant had heard about Shen Qi’s ruthless reputation, but even he hadn’t expected him to be this cold and merciless.

There wasn’t a trace of guilt on Shen Qi’s face for expelling someone, nor any sign of emotion at all.

The assistant continued to pacify the noisy children during the drive, not daring to speak a word to Shen Qi.

…

Throughout the journey, Shen Qi kept thinking about the video from the previous night.

He didn’t know why he kept thinking about it. After all, the woman seemed perfectly capable of handling things on her own, moving with ease.

Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the words she had said to that male Ph.D. student to fend him off, nor could he suppress the immense anger welling up inside him, his mind obsessing over how to make that despicable man come crawling back.

He would not allow anyone to speak such words in front of her—

Even though he had returned to the country with the full intention of leaving her behind.

He permitted his own disgraceful behavior but didn’t want her to face the consequences of it head-on. He couldn’t allow anyone to exploit his absence to humiliate her. He wasn’t powerless; if such a person showed up, he could easily deal with him. If there were a whole group, none of them would have an easy time.

He was capable of being ruthless, but at the same time, he hoped that their shared past left her with more than just a cold, final departure. He wanted there to be at least a little something, however insignificant, that could be called “tenderness.”

At this moment, Cheng Shuangyi was practically within his grasp. He should have been fully absorbed in reclaiming what he couldn’t hold onto in his youth—

But he found that it wasn’t as easy as he’d thought.

The moment he realized that small favors and minor gifts could easily win over her cheap, grass-like heart, everything he had once desired no longer seemed so valuable. He wasn’t comforting his past self so much as treating their relationship like just another business transaction.

But what kind of pleasure could dominating Cheng Shuangyi really bring him? Shen Qi didn’t know.

–

Nighttime, Ritz-Carlton.

This floor was nearly deserted, entirely booked out by Shen Qi. The suite offered an excellent view, allowing him to survey the city’s glittering lights and spot his latest building in the CBD from up high.

Before long, a woman wearing his shirt came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him.

“Ah Qi, I missed you so much.”

“Did you think of me while you were in bed with other men?” Shen Qi’s face twisted with a hint of mockery as he raised his eyes, gazing lazily at the carefully made-up Cheng Shuangyi.

Unless he was mistaken, this Armani custom shirt was one he used to wear frequently, now tinged with a faint yellow from age.

It was clear she had put some thought into this.

The shirt was slightly sheer, revealing a suggestive glimpse underneath.

The atmosphere was charged with seduction.

Cheng Shuangyi knew exactly what Shen Qi—or any man—cared about. “How could there be any other men?” she cooed.

This was half-true. If she meant that the other man was Xu Qingyan, then yes, she couldn’t stand the sight of his face, and nothing had ever happened between them.

Her voice was like a dream, soft and sweet, teasing his heart like a cat’s purring whisper.

Shen Qi had expected some new tricks, but it turned out that the routine hadn’t changed much in three years. His mind began to drift. Even he hadn’t anticipated that in the heat of such a passionate moment, his thoughts would wander to another woman—Qian Xu.

The white dress she had worn, which he had bought for her, had been displayed for another man’s gaze in public the previous night. He realized that he couldn’t even focus on what she had said during their conversation, instead feeling inexplicably fixated on the hostile stares surrounding her. Shen Qi unconsciously clenched his fists, anger coursing through the lines of his arms.

He had already made up his mind, deciding to cut ties with her once and for all.

Yet, despite that, he couldn’t help himself—he couldn’t stop thinking about her.