“Jun, are you sure about that? Do you want to reconsider what you just said?”

  “Dad, I believe it’s about time you should stop investing in Liam’s company. There’s no need to continue this unprofitable business and waste your goodwill.”

  “Jun… Did something happen between you two? You can tell Dad. I will do my best to help you.” Setting a cup of coffee on the table, Father Lee fixed his serious gaze on Jun. The look in his eyes revealed his genuine concern for her.

  “Dad, you’ve been supporting his company because of my engagement with him… but did he treat me with the respect I deserve? Perhaps he initially did, but he has forgotten that now.”

  Surprised, Father Lee’s brow furrowed into a scowl. “What did he do to you?”

  “I’m sorry, Dad.” Jun revealed a warm smile as she patted his clenched hand. “I won’t tell you the reason just yet, but I will when the time is right. I just hope you can follow through with my request for now.”

  Father Lee didn’t understand the reason behind her sudden determination, but he respected her choice to remain silent. He sighed.

  “I will think about what you said, but once I made up my mind, don’t start regretting it when he pleads for your help, okay?”

  “I know. Rest assured, this is the best choice you’ll ever make.”

  Father Lee raised his eyebrows and chuckled. Regardless of what she says, he would always believe in her. To him, she was his precious little girl.

  Father Lee stroked Jun’s head, and he couldn’t help but notice the changes. It had been years since he had st seen his daughter in this appearance.

  Ever since Jun dyed her hair brown and started wearing contact lenses, she hardly resembled his te wife anymore. And he thought he had convinced himself that he didn’t care. But when he saw it again, he was struck by how much she looked like her mother. The beautiful set of eyes, holding the same shade of blue, made him feel a nostalgic ache in his chest.

  In the end, he couldn’t resist telling Jun, “You looked much better.”

  And Jun smiled.

  After that, they continued to enjoy their breakfast together. When Father Lee left for work, Jun returned to her room, leaving the housekeeper to do the dishes. She walked to her closet and picked out the clothes suitable for the trip today. After all, a certain someone would be seeing her and it would do her no good to look unpresentable.

  …

  At JAX Tech…

  In a meeting reviewing proposals for the next game development, Xavier quietly reached for his phone. While the executives were caught up in their conversation, they missed their boss’ distraction. It wasn’t until Xavier kept reaching out for his phone with a dazed look that they finally noticed. Eventually, all the voices died down, leaving just the steady tick of the clock.

  Once Xavier realised nobody else was talking, he lost interest in continuing the meeting anymore. He stood up and looked at the executives with a casual smile. His eyes, however, showed only boredom.

  “If there are no further discussions, let’s end today’s meeting. Thank you all for your hard work. Dismissed.”

  With that said, he immediately left, paying no heed to what the rest thought.

  Xavier entered his office, sat down, and pinched his nose bridge to relieve his tiredness. Once he felt better, he leaned back and sighed.

  Ever since that day since he offered his help to Jun, weeks have passed, and he hadn’t heard anything from her. He knew they both led busy lives, so he immersed himself in work, waiting for her reply, and yet persistent doubts kept lingering, distracting him from his thoughts.

  In the end, all he noticed was her passivity as Liam and Mei grew closer.

  Finally, a knock broke his stupor.

  Looking up, Xavier saw his friend silently rebuking him with a shake of his head.

  “What’s going on with you tely? I’ve never seen you this distracted,” Kevin said disapprovingly, but a hint of concern could still be heard in his tone. As upset as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to directly criticise him. After all, what could distract such a workaholic from his beloved job?

  Xavier stayed silent for a long time. Eventually, a look of defeat appeared on his face. “…I don’t know.”

  Seeing Xavier so listless and confused, Kevin felt genuinely shocked. It was the first time he had seen him that way. Fearing the situation was more serious than he had initially believed, he asked, “What happened, Xavier?”

  Xavier looked down. With the handkerchief in his hands, he said, “At first, I didn’t like her. In fact, I could hardly care about her. After I learnt about her circumstances, I felt guilty, and even pity. But now… I’m not sure. I don’t know when my concern for her grew so intense, but all I knew was that I wanted to know everything about her — her thoughts, her feelings and everything. And it’s driving me crazy.”

  Hearing his answer, Kevin bnked out for a moment. He had expected many things, but love troubles from Xavier were the furthest from his mind. In fact, Xavier was notoriously indifferent to others, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he ended up staying single for his entire life.

  But now, the supposedly cold-hearted man had succumbed to a trap called ‘love’.

  After a moment of hesitation, Kevin asked, “Well, have you ever thought you might be interested in her?”

  “Like her?” Xavier immediately refuted, “No way.”

  “Then why do you care about her?”

  “…I might have let her down.”

  Kevin was in utter disbelief. Let her down? Who could ever make you do that? If anything, it should be the other way around.

  “Okay… How about this?” Kevin took a deep breath. “Why does this matter to you?”

  His question instantly left Xavier speechless. Kevin was right. Why did it matter?

  Although his initial impression of Jun was poor, he knew she was still someone deserving of love and respect. Yet through his interactions with Liam these past weeks, he noticed his indecisiveness towards both women. Liam was Jun’s fiancé, but still maintained an undeniably ambiguous retionship with Mei. And knowing Jun’s circumstances only made him question his understanding of Liam.

  Was Liam always this thoughtless? He didn’t know, but either way, he shouldn’t deny his irresponsibility for causing this situation.

  To begin with, he shouldn’t have given them the opportunity to get back together. Helping Mei to get a job at Liam’s company was a mistake on his part, but not intervening as they became closer was even more so.

  Had he been in Jun’s position, he would have reacted with uncontrolble anger. Perhaps, out of intense jealousy and possessiveness, he would have done something irreversible.

  Xavier groaned, pressing his temple.

  “Xavier,” Kevin pced his hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “Stop denying what your heart is telling you. Just admit your feelings for her. Giving up without even trying is the worst thing you can do, so why hesitate? I know you’re better than this.”

  Hearing that, Xavier didn't answer him. In the end, he let out a sigh, as if he resigned to his fate.

  Once Kevin saw Xavier's mood improved a little, he ughed. Under the guise of concern, he subtly probed, “So, who’s the lucky girl? Is it one of our people? Or is it someone from the other side?”

  “Neither.” Xavier said, “But…” she’s taken. In an instant, his faint smile faltered. What interest? In the first pce, there was never a chance between them.

  “Forget it,” Xavier said gloomily. “Let’s just get back to work.”

  This time, Kevin became confused. How did his question suddenly make his mood take a turn for the worse?

  Kevin was about to continue asking when he was interrupted. A secretary knocked on the door and came in. After greeting them, she said, “Mr Elias, Miss Lee has arrived for the appointment.”

  “Oh, she’s here already? Okay, let’s go. Lead the way, please.” Kevin’s charming smile made the secretary blush. When he looked back and noticed Xavier not following along, he beckoned him. “Come on, let’s not keep someone waiting.”

  With a long sigh, Xavier reluctantly shut his files. He pced them down on the table before he accompanied Kevin to the meeting room. Unbeknownst to him, he would encounter the very person he least expected.

  …

  In JAX’s meeting room…

  Jun sat upright with a faint smile, her eyes half-closed as the light from the floor-to-ceiling window cast a gentle glow on her face. In her hand, she held a thick file containing the proposals for today’s crucial negotiation. While the company’s potential might have been the primary reason for her choice, Xavier’s connection to this company pyed a more significant role.

  To conveniently meet Xavier without seeming too deliberate, she needed a believable excuse — and that could only happen through a colboration. Of course, it would be even better if he assumed she had no knowledge of this company being his. In this way, she could gradually make her presence known.

  After all, changing his impression had always been her primary goal. She had to keep leveraging the favourable impression she had made on him. Be it using friendship, charm or even... love.

  However, despite her confidence, she would still be cautious around such a shrewd man. If he realised her deliberate schemes, he would have understood her motives, making her pitiful pretense and carefully id pns useless.

  By then, it would be too te to rely on him to break up Liam and Mei.

  Eventually, a handsome man came in. Jun looked up to see a charming blonde man smiling at her with a roguish grin. It was none other than Kevin Elias.

  At the same time, Xavier stepped inside a room next to theirs. He sank into his plush armchair, his gaze fixed on the massive mirror on the wall, which he used for his secret observation. A glimpse through it caused him to be surprised.

  In an instant, he noticed how different Jun looked, particurly her straight bck hair and bright blue eyes. He couldn’t tell if it was her natural beauty or something else, but he found himself more drawn to her than usual. Once he realised his thoughts, he frowned and spun his pen, denying that brief, absurd idea in his mind.

  Kevin walked over, giving a polite greeting as he offered a handshake to Jun. After that, he sat facing her, diving straight into the discussion. As he fired questions, it was clear that colborating with her would only be mutually beneficial, promising substantial long-term profits. In fact, Jun’s presence itself showed her sincere willingness to fully cooperate with them. Still, he couldn’t help but question what it was about the company that she found appealing.

  To be honest, his company wasn’t very well-known in the gaming industry. As of now, they were performing decently well, but their future success still depended entirely on the upcoming game release. Their next game was set to transform the gaming industry, and everything about its development was kept a secret.

  So what prompted her company to participate now? Especially during their most critical moment, where they desperately needed more financial support than ever.

  Kevin narrowed his eyes, studying Jun’s expression carefully. Sadly, he couldn’t see past her smile. Did her choice have anything to do with the founder? But only his closest associates like him knew who founded JAX. So what reason could it be?

  “Mr Elias, shall we continue?” Jun said after a long silence.

  Caught staring, Kevin coughed, hiding his embarrassment. Then he put on a serious face to regain his composure. For the next hour and so, they reviewed the contracts, responsibilities, and obligations. By the end, they nearly reached an agreement; only the contract remains unsigned.

  Kevin looked down, masking his surprise. He was consistently amazed by Jun’s precise evaluation of his company, even providing the necessary contracts he needed. Once everything was in pce, both sides would surely stand to gain.

  Kevin secretly sighed. Her business acumen was no less fearsome than his friend. He could already foresee that their colboration would certainly propel JAX to new heights of success. Knowing this, he felt a burning need to talk to Xavier immediately, his restlessness exposed under Jun’s sharp gaze.

  After Kevin excused himself, he went directly to Xavier. Before he could start persuading, Xavier had already approached him and took the contracts directly from his hand, flipping through the pages quickly. Once he was done reading, he told Kevin to sign them, giving his approval to proceed forward with Jun’s colboration.

  When Kevin left, Xavier didn’t return to his seat. Instead, he stood next to the mirror, looking at Jun intently. He found her strangely both familiar and unfamiliar, but that didn’t mean it was an unpleasant feeling. In fact, he somewhat admired her.

  Throughout the entire conversation, she revealed herself to be knowledgeable, confident, and insightful. All the proposals given by her were in line with his long-term vision for JAX, and it was neither excessive nor exploitative, giving him more reasons to prove that their colboration would be the most ideal choice.

  Xavier chuckled, his gaze showing a hint of fondness. Why hadn’t he found her so interesting and captivating before?

  Afterwards, Kevin and Jun talked at length about the colboration, eventually settling on an agreement. Under the witness of both their secretaries, they each signed their names on the contract. With a firm handshake, this matter was concluded.

  From today onwards, their companies will be in a long-term partnership.

  Just as Kevin was about to invite Jun for dinner to commemorate their partnership, a phone call prevented him from extending the invitation. Annoyed, he wanted to ignore it, but the relentless ringing didn’t stop. When his secretary informed him of the caller’s identity, he begrudgingly answered the call.

  However, there was only silence. Then the call ended.

  By the time Kevin realised something was wrong, Jun had already left. At that moment, he figured out Xavier’s pn, and he only felt like cursing.

  As Jun waited in the lobby for her secretary to retrieve the car, a bck Porsche pulled up in front of her. She briefly gnced at the car before going back to her phone. But a few seconds ter, it honked at her. Confused, she approached the car and knocked on the window, only to discover someone unexpected behind the wheel.

  “Xavier?” Jun gave a look of surprise.

  Xavier’s face broke into a smile. “What a coincidence. I was here for a discussion, and I noticed you. Do you need me to fetch you back?”

  Hearing that me excuse, Jun almost wanted to burst out ughing, but she managed to keep a doubtful look on her face. Under his hopeful gaze, she refused. “No need for your trouble. My secretary will drive me back.”

  Xavier nearly lost his smile. He was on the verge of asking her out, but he held back. In the end, his expression became gloomy, as if a sudden storm had rained on his parade.

  Seeing his obvious dejection at the refusal almost caused Jun to smile. Eventually, she gave in.

  With a slightly amused smile, Jun looked at Xavier. She said, “Actually… I don’t mind taking a ride in your car. But before that, can you drive me somewhere?”

  Xavier readily agreed, unaware of what awaited him.

  juno21