An hour passed after the Hirogori family arrived, and Shen Jue quietly excused himself to the restroom. When Mimi saw him stand to leave his table, her eyes narrowed.
"I'm going to get a refill." Mimi stood up with her now an empty plate.
Just as Emilia had turned around to speak, the girl's figure was already gone. She blinked rapidly and let out a helpless sigh.
That girl's stomach needed to be examined.
...
At the table, Mimi quietly piled food on her plate and wandered around the restaurant until she was walking down a long hallway. Only when no one was in sight did she set her plate down on a table and begin looking for Shen Jue.
A few minutes passed, and she was unable to find him. Just when Mimiconsidered heading back, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Startled, she turned around to see the familiar face of Shen Jue.
"Sorry, did I startle you?" He chuckled.
Ignoring his smiles, Mimi's eyes narrowed up, a deep chilling glint flashed within them.
"What are you doing here with the Hirogori family?"
Grasping the meaning of her question, Shen Jue let out a light sigh.
"At the last minute, Henry called me to attend the event with him. It was all so sudden that I didn't have the chance to inform you."
Mimi frowned slightly as she listened to his explanation.
"Is that true?"
"Honest." He chuckled.
The corners of her mouth twitched. It was hard to believe him when the fool was smiling all the time. In the end, she believed him.
There was no reason for him to betray her at this point. Even if he did, she'd made sure he would pay for it.
Shen Jue observed Mimi's expression with dull eyes, his line of sight never leaving her.
"Do you still not trust me?"
Mimi glanced at him indifferently and mocked, "Should I?"
"In our circumstances, a little." He laughed.
Mimi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Before she could respond, her ears perked at the sound of nearby voices. One of the voices she was very familiar with.
Kenji Hirogori.
The corners of her lips curled into a cunning smile. Carefully walking around the corner, Mimi glanced over and her eyebrows raised at the sight before her. Two figures were standing beside one another in a concealed space within the restaurant.
One of the figures was Kenji Hirogori. The other was a woman. In that moment, the atmosphere around the two was stiff but oddly intense.
Standing far off behind the corner of a wall, Mimi stared at the duo with intrigued eyes.
"Oh? What's this?"
Mimi's eyes twitched. Just as she was about to turn around to shut him up, Shen Jue stopped her.
He leaned down and placed his right hand on her shoulders and used a little force to stop her movements, then whispered in her ear. "Don't cause too much commotion, or they'll hear you."
Mimi's expression immediately turned into a frown upon hearing this. With no room to refute, she could only be obedient, however, that didn't stop her from internally wailing and cursing the smiling man.
"Pay attention." Shen Jue's voice lowered as his warm breath fanned against her ear.
Mimi stiffened up, not daring to move again.
She gritted her teeth and smacked Shen Jue's hand that was on her shoulder. With rising anger, Mimi whispered, "Don't touch me."
Shen Jue let out a soft chuckle, which sent a chill down Mimi's spine. He silently nodded his head and pointed a finger to Kenji and the woman.
A twitch developed at the corner of Mimi's mouth, but she turned to look back at the two.
"Kenji, why won't you talk to me?" The young woman's voice was soft and sweet but tinged with grief.
Kenji looked down at the woman with distant eyes.
"I told you, I'm not interested in speaking to low-class people like yourself."
The young woman's face paled, seemingly stunned by his words. Her bottom lip was already red from how hard she was biting it. Her fists were already clenched so tight that her nails were digging into the flesh of her palm, while her expression was contorted into a pained mask.
"Is it your father? Did he say something to you?" She asked with a frown. "You're not like him Kenji! This isn't you! You're not a cold, ruthless monster like him. You're kind and—"
Kenji cut her off. "Shut your mouth. You know nothing about me."
Instead of cowering in fear, the young woman looked more determined and reached for Kenji's hand. At this point, her hands were trembling, but her eyes were filled with obvious affection.
Under her touch, Kenji seemed to stiffen. Rather than shaking her hand away, he stood still.
"Kenji…" She smiled sadly as she reached out to gently touch his stiff face. "This isn't what you want. Please, don't push me away."
Kenji stared deeply into the woman's eyes for a moment longer.
"No, it is what I want." He said. "It's what I'm here for. In the end, everyone starts as hollow, empty boxes. The environment around them, fulfilling the role assigned to them. I have one goal in everything I do. My desires do not matter. This means all emotional attachments must be cut."
Reaching for the soft hand on his cheek, Kenji gently held it with his own. He drew in a deep breath and raised his head awash in sadness, his bloodshot eyes looking straight at the woman as he told her something that made her body turn cold.
"My role…does not have you in it."
"Kenji…" The woman's complexion paled even further.
Ignoring her pained voice, Kenji stepped aside from her and turned to leave.
Right before he walked away, he turned to her and said: "From now on, don't contact me anymore. Move on."
With that, he disappeared down the hall. Left alone, the young woman continued to look in the direction he left in.
The woman's emotions were not easily repressed on her innocent face. Her pain was evident in the crease of her lovely brow and the down-curve of her full lips.
Nevertheless, her eyes showed her soul. They were a deep pool of restless gold, an ocean of hopeless grief.
She was heartbroken.
Watching on the side, Mimi and Shen Jue were silent. At that moment, her chest felt heavy for some reason, and she started to feel pity for the young woman. From the look in her eyes, it was clear she loved Kenji.
As for Kenji, while he still maintained his usual icy expression on his face, the look in his eyes could not be hidden.
He loved her too.
Then why was he rejecting her?
All at once, she felt a squeezing, burning sensation in her heart. Silently, Mimi turned from the scene and began walking away. Shen Jue noticed her leaving figure and raised an eyebrow.
Before following her, he looked back at the young woman with cold, emotionless eyes.
The entire scene before him was nothing but a cheap, boring display.