Su Xiqin stood at her position and explained her design concepts to the audience.
Her design was of a semi necklace; it was bold, elegant, and special as she used a red diamond as a highlight.
"Although this semi necklace is great, these necklaces do need to match with an appropriate outfit and occasions," said Ji Qingyang.
Su Xiqin made eye contact with him and paused a bit before she said, "Of course, since elegant things need to be unique as well."
"However, it's not unique enough."
Su Xiqin stared at her design as her eyes turned gloomy, and she spoke up after a while. "Why is it a semi necklace? Because this represents incompletion. Everyone has a dream in them, but not all dreams get fulfilled. So when the dream you looked most forward to has shattered in an instant, or when it disappeared after being fulfilled half-way through, it becomes incomplete. Maybe someone would think that we should toss away this dream, but I think that even if it's incomplete, it was still a dream, and it still has its value. So this semi necklace represents that incomplete and unfulfilled dream, telling us that life could still go on."
The room was dead silent after Su Xiqin's explanation.
"This is what I wanted to portray, and I've finished explaining."
She nodded at everyone after she finished.
"Please have a seat, Ms. Su." It was Ji Qingyang's voice.
Su Xiqin nodded again and was about to sit down when a deep voice sounded, "What is your dream?"
Su Xiqin was stunned, and her motions froze as she stared at the one who spoke; it was Bai Yansen.
————
During the meeting break, Bai Yansen returned to his office and sat down in his chair as he grabbed a cigarette out of his cigarette box. He raised his eyes at Ji Qingyang in front of him and asked, "Out of the three designs, which one do you think stands out and matches with the theme the most?"
Ji Qingyang looked at Bai Yansen and said, "I think the Mo Corporation's concept is novel, and the design is outstanding. It could be said to be the winning design out of the three."
Bai Yansen smoked in a deep breath of the freshly lit cigarette, and faint smoke rings permeated the air.
Bai Yansen stared at Ji Qingyang with his eyes; they seemed sharp like a blade, piercing through his eyes.
"You certainly have a good impression of her?"
He asked as if it wasn't a question but a confirmed statement. Ji Qingyang shivered a bit as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. It seemed that Bai Yansen cared about his meeting with Su Xiqin last time at Yun Tang, so he responded immediately.
"I'm only commenting based on the design, and there are no personal reasons behind this."
Bai Yansen blew out another mouthful of smoke and changed topics suddenly. "You can head out first."
"Yes."
Ji Qingyang quickly walked out of the CEO's office as if there was oil on his feet.
Meanwhile in the office, Bai Yansen sat in his seat quietly as his gaze fell upon the design draft. After a few seconds, he picked it up and opened it; then, he closed it after a while.
His body sunk into the couch chair as smoke slowly rose into the air from his cigarette, making it even harder to tell the emotions in his deep gaze behind the smoke.
...
Su Xiqin and Mo Xigu sat together at a dim corner in Zhuosheng's resting area, and there weren't many people there aside from those who made it to the final round, all of them keeping some distance from one another.
There was a cup of coffee in front of both of them, and Su Xiqin sat there without a sound as she stared at the floor.
Mo Xigu's depressed gaze locked onto Su Xiqin, and what she had said back in the meeting room replayed inside his head.
"Your dream is still the same?"
When Bai Yansen asked Su Xiqin what her dream was, Su Xiqin didn't answer. However, Mo Xigu remembered that she had once told him that her biggest dream was to have two children with him.
Su Xiqin raised her head and let out a light laugh. "Can't believe you still remember my dream. Do you know why I designed this semi necklace?"
"Jintian is this semi necklace."
In other words, she had fulfilled half of her dream. Jintian was that half, which represented this semi necklace.
"Su Xiqin, you told me back then that your biggest dream was to have two children with me. Yet you gave birth to someone else's child; this is your dream as well?"
She lowered her head and chuckled. "Then, what should it be? Do you still want me to dream about that impossible dream?"
"Su Xiqin, have you forgotten what you've said before? You said you will only love me for the rest of your life, yet what about now? You gave birth to another man's child, and you said that this child is your dream?"
Mo Xigu's eyes turned red by the end of his sentence, as if he wanted to rip Su Xiqin apart but was in great pain as well.
"Yes, I gave birth to another man's child, but you also didn't keep your promise. Both of us have changed." Su Xiqin sighed lightly.
"So don't try to hold onto anything. Once we get the collaboration, it will be your time to keep your promise."
Suddenly, Mo Xigu stood up from his seat and leaned over with a scary expression.
"What did I promise you?"
Mo Xigu was clearly trying to play dumb.
"Don't tell me you want to break our deal, Mo Xigu." Her tone was cold like frost.
Mo Xigu stared at her and sneered. "Su Xiqin, what did I promise you?"
"Didn't you promise me that once I have this collaboration down, you will divorce me, and I will have the child's custody," Su Xiqin roared in a low voice.
Mo Xigu squinted his eyes, and a dangerous light flashed across his face. "When did I promise you that, Su Xiqin? I only said that we'll discuss this once you get this collaboration, but did I promise you anything explicitly?"
Having heard that, a raging fire rose inside Su Xiqin's heart as she also stood up and supported her body by placing her hands over the table.
"Don't overdo this, Mo Xigu."
Mo Xigu's eyes squinted, and he reached out as he pinched Su Xiqin's chin. "I'm overdoing this? Su Xiqin, I've never promised you anything. It has always been you thinking too much." Dangerous lights flashed in his eyes as if they were about to pierce through Su Xiqin.
She didn't expect Mo Xigu's sudden change of words, and she couldn't hold back her anger at that moment as she swung her hand, causing him to let go of her.
She knew that nothing would get resolved if she confronted him face to face, so she could only hold off her rage and try to be calm. "Alright, then let's discuss this now."
Mo Xigu moved the chair out of the way and walked towards her direction.
"Go ahead!" He sounded as if he didn't care.
Su Xiqin looked at Mo Xigu who stood in front of her, and the anger in her eyes slowly faded to emptiness. Her voice was soft and faint like a ghost as she said, "Let's have a divorce."
However, her calm tone irritated Mo Xigu as his eyes turned red in an instant. "Divorce? Su Xiqin, don't ever think about leaving the Mo Family."
He clenched his teeth as veins popped out on his forehead like snakes. Those who didn't know their history would think that he loved her, based on his expression, but Su Xiqin knew crystal clear that he hated her so much that he wanted to torture her; she couldn't help but feel upset upon thinking about this.
How great would it be if he had said this out of love. But unfortunately, he just wanted to isolate her and hurt her for the rest of her life.
"You're putting down your own happiness for revenge; don't you think the price is too big?"