"Of course. I met him. It was....a very eventful meeting" Qiao Anxin said.
"So....does he remember you?" Ivan asked while sipping on his beer.
"How on earth is he supposed to remember me? My face was covered all the time when we met remember?" Qiao Anxin said.
"Anxin, you really don't have to go this far do you? I'm sure that Nikolai will be more than willing to help you as long as you say the word!" Ivan said.
Qiao Anxin frowned at the name that was mentioned.
"Don't even talk about Nikolai to me. I don't want to hear about that person!" Qiao Anxin said. The disgust was evident in her tone.
"But it's the truth though. Nikolai can help you . And it will be much more easier than having to deal with Lu Ming" Ivan said.
"It won't be easier! You know exactly what Nikolai wants!" Qiao Anxin said. Obviously, she didn't want to talk about Nikolai.
Ivan tried hard to hide his laughter. "Well, he'd just ask you to marry him for the thousandth time. No big deal. Besides, Nikolai is such a good catch. The both of you will make a perfect couple. Why don't you consider him?" Ivan asked.
Qiao Anxin glared at Ivan. "Did Nikolai pay you to convince me?" Qiao Anxin asked Ivan.
Ivan immediately waved his hand. "No, no, of course not! I won't dare to accept money from Nikolai even if he gave it to me!" Ivan immediately tried to prove his innocence.
"Stop talking about him. Besides, I cut my ties with them when I left. I already said that I won't have anything to do with that place when I left!" Qiao Anxin said.
Ivan kept quiet. He knew that this topic was a hard limit for Qiao Anxin. Since she doesn't want to talk about it, he will just drop it.
"Alright, do you already have a plan on how to deal with Lu Ming though? The man isn't an ordinary person. I'm sure that you've already known that since five years ago. It definitely won't be easy for you to use him" Ivan said.
Qiao Anxin smirked. "Who said I'm going to use him? I really do like Lu Ming" Qiao Anxin said.
Ivan choked on his beer when he heard that. He started coughing.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?! How can you choke when you're drinking beer?" Qiao Anxin said, disgusted.
Ivan tapped his chest several times before he was able to stop coughing.
"Can you please stop making such weird jokes?! You like Lu Ming? How come?" Ivan asked.
"Why can't I like him? Is Lu Ming someone that I can't like?" Qiao Anxin said stubbornly. It doesn't really matter if those feelings are genuine or if she's trying to get something from it.
The most important thing right now is that...she does actually like Lu Ming.
"It's not that you don't like Lu Ming. It's that you don't like anyone at all! If you were going to fall for someone so quickly why didn't you fall for Nikolai who has been chasing you for five years?!" Ivan questioned. He seemed...angry.
Qiao Anxin snorted. "I see that you're really on Lu Ming's side. What are you? His loyal side kick?" She asked mockingly.
"Of course I'm on Nikolai's side! I'm your biggest shipper! Seriously, you should just accept Nikolai. I'm sure that he won't force you to go back as long as you don't want to. He can even abandon the organization and come here for you! That's how much Nikolai loves you!" Ivan was doing his best to promote Nikolai to Qiao Anxin.
"Since you're such a big fan Nikolai then why don't you go look for him and work for him then? You can go back to Europe. I'm sure that he will welcome you with open hands!" Qiao Anxin said sarcastically.
"Nope. He was the one who asked me to stay here to protect you. I won't be here if it weren't for him. Can't you see how thoughtful Nikolai is?" Ivan asked cheekily.
"You...!" Qiao Anxin was exasperated. Just then, her phone rang. She sighed when she saw the caller ID.
"Who's it?" Ivan asked absentmindedly.
"The deadbeat father" Qiao Anxin said and answered the call.
"Hello?" The person on the other end of the call said something and Qiao Anxin's frown grew even deeper.
"Aren't you afraid that you'll suffer a heart attack and die if you see me?" Qiao Anxin asked. She had no intentions of leaving any face for her so called father!
The person said something again and a resigned look appeared on Qiao Anxin's face.
"Fine! But you had better not try any tricks with me! You know very well that I can take back those pitiful shares in your hand and leave you and your happy little family penniless!" Qiao Anxin said.
She was on the phone for a few more seconds and then she ended the call.
"Your father?" Ivan asked.
"Yes. I have to go back to the mansion tomorrow" Qiao Anxin replied. She was obviously irritated.
Ivan chuckled. "Well, look on the bright side. You might meet your little ex boyfriend again. Are you excited? I mean, the both of you almost got married. Will your old feelings be rekindled?"
She slammed her glass of beer on the table angrily and got up.
"Hey where are you going?" Ivan asked. He was scared that he had taken his teasing a bit too far and ended up offending Qiao Anxin in the process.
"I'm going to the restroom!" Qiao Anxin said and turned to walk away.
Ivan sighed in relief when he saw that Qiao Anxin wasn't mad. He'd definitely suffer if he makes her angry!
He felt like messing with Qiao Anxin some more so he called out, "You really should consider Nikolai! He's pitifully waiting for you in Europe!" Ivan called after her.
Qiao Anxin gave Ivan the middle finger as she walked out of his sight.