Inside the extravagant private compartment, since there was a married couple, Hualing stepped towards the chair next to that of Jianyu, but was interfered with.
Honghui, by habit, drew out the chair for his wife which was ditched mercilessly by Yingtai who took a seat beside Jianyu.
Judging by the situation, something was off. Hualing wittingly kept a vacant space between her and Honghui for Xiulan.
No one questioned about an empty middle seat as all of them were engaged in their own contemplation.
Unbearable hunger, Xiulan darted there as quickly as she could, pushed open the door with a bang, and yelled, "I have never seen a parking lot so packed like this. It took me forever to pack a car. Arr, my stomach is growling. I'm dying." Rubbing hard at her tummy, she failed to notice the awkward situation unfolding before. Hualing found the resemblance between the siblings. Shaiming's entrance at her welcome party was almost a copycat of this.
At last, Xiulan realized the palpable atmosphere, astounded at the encounter with her sister-in-law, she gasped. What left her petrified was the existence of the man who was peacefully sitting next to Yingtai. His eyes widened at the sight of the girl, he didn't expect to meet her so soon.
Her arrival somehow appeased a bit of a scorching sensation in Yingtai's heart, the friction of which immediately came back at the thought, 'All three of them should come together. It is unnecessary for Xiulan to leave them alone. Does she know our conflict and try to be a wingman between Honghui and her friend?'
Awkward, Xiulan sat on the empty chair. She curiously scrutinized the atmosphere which was quite weird and her mind filled with loads of inquiries.
'Why is Yingtai sitting beside him and not by Honghui Ge's side? And how did she and Jianyu know each other?'
The first one to speak was none other than Jianyu, "First time meeting you, Mr.Zhang. I am Li Jianyu. You might not know me, but I am very familiar with your dishes. Yingtai always brags about your culinary skills and whenever we have a reunion, she would drag us to your restaurant. Thanks to her, we have the chance to taste such delectable delicacy."
Honghui nodded in courtesy, but smiling was something he couldn't be forced to do.
The food was served, and all except Xiulan didn't move a bit to eat.
Jianyu opened his lips again, this time, he became more direct. "I heard what happened. I am sorry if it bothered you, Mr.Zhang."
Honghui frowned as he didn't want a stranger to know about their dispute, "It really did bother me a lot." With a stern face, he didn't even spare a glance at the other man.
"Can I ask you a question, Mr.Li?" He finally turned to look at him.
"Go ahead."
"What do you actually do for my wife to conceal the facts about you to her own husband who is me?"
An answer Xiulan wanted to get as soon as possible was asked out by her big brother, saving her energy.
"I am a broker. I do business by negotiating with my clients and compromising their needs. The real reason I don't want to reveal myself is that I am the eldest son of Tang Boqin unfortunately. I am staying out of scandals and gossiping."
Honghui twitched his mouth at his disclosure. Since he had heard this and that about Li Jianyu, he felt guilty over his childish act of forcing him to come out. Worried, he unconsciously glanced at the two seemingly clueless girls sitting beside him, thinking that he made Jianyu spill the beans unwillingly.
"It's alright. Everyone in this room knows my identity. If you have any other things you don't apprehend, let me know." Jianyu innocently beamed.
Xiulan raised one of her eyebrows, and glanced at her friend, 'Does this explain Hualing's sudden confidential disappearance?'
Being informed that he was the last man to know, annoyance sept through his chest and he asked. "When did you get to know my wife?"
Jianyu supported the side of his head with his hand and turned his head to stare at Yingtai in contemplation. "I guess it was about 10 years ago. We met through a business."
In his point of view, the man's 'burning gaze and flirtatious manner' at his wife in front of his eyes was intolerable, Honghui felt offended. Failed to maintain his temper, he raised his voice, fury was evident. "Don't bluff. She hadn't even started her business at that time. How would she meet with a broker?"
Unable to tolerate her husband's probing anymore, Yingtai came clean, "He is the first shareholder of my company which means he invested his money believing my proficiency. As of now, he got the largest percentage among the shareholders, which is why I got the CEO position, all thanks to him."
"Don't be so down to earth. If you are not competent, I won't back you, no matter how strong our friendship is." Jianyu stated.
This one, Xiulan could quietly nod in agreement. She had never witnessed Yingtai's capabilities head-on but she was well informed of Jianyu being an economic businessman who was intrigued only by the profits he would gain.
"It was…" It was at that time…
Ten years ago, which was the only point of contention in their relationship, they had a big fight.
They have known each other since they were kids. As they grew older, they became too fond of the other person's company, which led them to deeply fall in love with time.
As an overthinking girl, Yingtai was worried about their different backgrounds when Honghui only focused on doting on her.
A huge blow hit her when her father was fired by the Zhang family while she was criticized indifferently for her looks. It hurt her pride, but she made the best out of it and channeled her sadness into making an effort to achieve her dreams, simply because she couldn't bear to part with Honghui.
One day, he realized her dreams and offered to make an investment in his girlfriend. But Yingtai turned his idea down profusely which led them to quarrel. Forlorn Yingtai felt suffocated and tried to run away from the problems. She avoided him for one whole month before she was returned with an investment from an unknown man.
Young Yingtai always dreamed of being a businesswoman and tried hard in everything she encountered since she was little, resulting in her parents to chin up and be proud of her for her abundant qualifications in her school days.
Dating a young master of a prominent household in the country had incentivized and pushed her to try harder. A daughter of a middle-class family thriving on the hardships she faced was not as convenient as a rich kid. The opportunities, as well as the investment, lacked in every aspect possible when you were not from an affluent family. Still, Yingtai managed to struggle alone and broke the record one after another, making her one of the most influential businesswomen in the country, idolized by many youngsters.
Almost the same story as Yingtai was Nyla, who single-handedly built a prosperous enterprise from scrap in a world where women weren't well recognized as the icons of business in their country.
This was how the public was informed about Wu Yingtai. No one had any idea about Jianyu's involvement in her business.
"Yingtai, is it at that time?" He reluctantly asked to which his wife nodded.
"Why?" Awestruck, he failed to maintain his composure. He knitted his brow profusely but his eyes filled with bitterness.
"I am the man you are closest to. Why didn't you accept my investment, but take his money?" His tone lacked strength.
Feeling nostalgic, Yingtai trembled slightly as she held her tears back, unwilling to let them drop in front of Hualing.
Honghui kept staring at her for the answer while Yingtai didn't dare look in his eyes, firmly biting her lower lip.
Jianyu sighed. "As a big brother who has had meals for two years more than you guys, let me give you some advice."
It was just a simple request sentence but the three people sitting across from him were having their own emotional breakdowns.
The winner of the widest eyes competition was Xiulan as she was flabbergasted at his age. She was under the impression that they would be about the same age, but later she found out he was older than Weimin, and now…
Xiulan and Honghui had a five years age gap which implied Jianyu was thirty-two years old, seven years older than her. She glanced at him, agape. 'Such good skin he has!'
Jianyu surely looked young for his own age because even Honghui thought Jianyu was younger than him. However, he didn't give much thought to it.
Hualing's concentrating brow creased as she commenced calculating the age difference. 'Jianyu and Nyla are the same age, so Nyla is also 32 years old. It means Shaiming is dating a woman who is 8 years older than him!? Is that why they are keeping it secret?' Hualing peeked at Xiulan, feeling guilty that she had to hide it from her as Shaiming begged her to not divulge it to his older sister.