No words could explain Dong Xu's disappointment at seeing Yiren pull away from him hurriedly and disappear, headed towards the exit of the restaurant. She was unaware that he had followed her stealthily and witnessed how the man who caused her to stop kissing took her hand and led her out of the venue.
Who was that man, and who was he to her? The question kept replaying in his mind.
From the rear mirror of his car, Dong Xu knew Ziming was watching him while he slumped back in the passenger seat at the back of the sports car. His chauffeur for the day, Mickey did an excellent job, but the traffic which was doubling by the hour just infuriated him.
He couldn't fathom why she accepted his kisses, yet got involved with another. The feeling of being treated as a plaything, which he deemed was the case with Yiren, plagued his mind.
Even despite his melancholy, Dong Xu had the unexplainable ability to remain as cold as ever. All this while, nothing was visible from his face, but it hurt. It felt like an ice dagger pricking him by the second as he recalled the painful scenes in his mind.
Ziming knew him too well, because he started discussing unimportant things of DongTe (the shortened form of Dongtian Technologies) which he readily understood was to divert his mind away from his relationship problems. No, it wasn't a relationship at all, because obviously Feng Yiren didn't reciprocate his love.
Women were so confusing. Why return his kisses only to disappear with another?
He looked at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. He, Dong Xu, had one word to describe how he appeared now: stoic. But when he was with Feng Yiren, he was a totally different person.
She was the only person who had the power to melt his ice. He had spent all the time of his life building an ice fortress around himself, because he deemed that weak and vulnerable individuals would have their downfall. To be the master of his life and the founder and owner of DongTe, he had to be cold and emotionless.
But after meeting her, he was transforming into a different person. He was emotional and desperate for that person's attention, something he had never felt in the last decade.
"Cut it out, Ziming."
Ziming was irritating him by mentioning all the unnecessary issues that he felt Ziming could have handled easily without his involvement, since he had the power to. He wasn't in the mood to listen to all these unimportant stuff. Ziming definitely knew that he was bottling up his pain, after the number of years they spent together.
Silence ensued. When Dong Xu didn't want to say a single word, nothing could ever make him talk. Ziming allowed him. The two journeyed in silence without the need to speak.
After what seemed to be an endless road trip, the chauffeur took them to the new proposed location of the new branch of DongTe in the CBD. Most of the building was still under renovation, but Dong Xu's CEO office and the adjacent room, Ziming's office, were partially-furnished and ready for their inspection.
Dong Xu entered his room and sank into the ergonomic chair.
"Ziming definitely knows what I want," he lamented and jabbed on the quick-dial shortcut of his cell phone.
Immediately, Ziming entered the room in less than a second.
"What is bothering our Sir Xu?" Ziming tried to lighten up his mood, but he presented the man with a light punch instead.
"Guan Ziming, what's the update on the contract I've asked you to complete last week? Have you sent it to Feng Yiren yet?"
"I…"
Dong Xu didn't allow Ziming to answer. "The longer you take to get it to her, the faster I will lose her to another!"
He was stating facts calmly, instead of yelling. Dong Xu never seemed angry. Annoyed, irritated, displeased, but never sad or angry. In fact, his facial emotions were always unreadable. Ziming could only tell his state of mind from how he worded his sentences or how he didn't want to talk. Sometimes, how he treated him would give Ziming the idea of what Dong Xu was going through at the moment.
"Let me explain, Mister Dong Xu. Lin Xiao took the document the moment it was ready. He said he would deliver it personally because my car urgently needed maintenance that day. But he hasn't updated me yet on whether he has done so and how he will do it."
Dong Xu didn't bother to ask any more. Lin Xiao was just too unpredictable and even if Ziming pressed him for the answer, he would probably respond in riddles or try to mislead him. Lin Xiao had his own weird ways of doing things, but if Lin Xiao took the document, it meant he was clear what was happening. Even then, Lin Xiao was always ahead in terms of gossip. Chances were that he already knew. Nothing was a secret in Lin Xiao's eyes.
Dong Xu pretended he didn't know about Lin Xiao's spy network. Lin Xiao was very careful in keeping this knowledge base hidden, but he had known about it long ago. But whatever the reason for Lin Xiao having such intentions was, he wasn't bothered.
"You may go, Ziming."
"What are you planning to do?" Ziming stood up from his seat and observed him with a curious look on his face.
"I'm going to look for Lin Xiao."
"About the document?" Ziming probed.
Dong Xu shrugged. "It's been a long time since I last saw my best friend. We have a lot of catching up to do. Why are you so enthusiastic to know about what we talk about? Are you-" he impaled Ziming with his icy smile, "-interested in Lin Xiao?"
"No, not of the sort!"
With a frightened look, Ziming hastily departed the room. Dong Xu chuckled and stretched out his long arm to seize the high-end cell phone lying on the right side of his desk.
Unlocking his phone swiftly, he held down the shortcut denoted by the number one on his speed dial and connected to Lin Xiao. The man answered on the first ring. After all, not even Lin Xiao could deny the charming Dong Xu when he needed something.
Dong Xu set up a meeting with Lin Xiao whereby they would meet thirty minutes later, at a club located nearby the pier. Knowing Lin Xiao, this was a place he and Dong Xu would choose in terms of how they hated crowds and noise.
Just perfect, he thought with a deep smile and picking up his briefcase, left the premises.