Su's mother shook her head uncooperatively. "Come on, out with it. Don't beat around the bush."
With a sheepish grin, Su Wanxia said, "It's a banquet, related to work."
Su's mother gave her a curious glance and asked, "Xiaxia, what job were you doing abroad? Mom still doesn't know."
Su Wanxia sat beside her mother, her face animated as she spoke, "After I arrived there, I specialized in architectural design for two years, and then went straight to work."
Her mother looked at Su Wanxia contentedly, "Since you were little, you've loved all sorts of architectural decorations. Now that you can pursue this field, Mom is happy for you."
Su Wanxia smiled proudly, "That's all thanks to you and dad. I was influenced by the environment." Her father's company dealt with architecture, and she had always had a fondness for exquisite buildings and diverse architectural decorations since childhood.
Seeing her daughter's vibrant spirit, Su's mother finally felt relieved. Let the matters of six years ago pass; she hoped her Xiaxia would always live such a happy life.
"Xiaxia, Mom is very happy and proud of you," she said.
"Mom, it's getting late. Let's go to the kitchen and cook, waiting for dad to get back," Su Wanxia said, smiling, but her heart recalled the tenacious journey she had faced studying in England. She really had given so much to achieve today's success.
"Hmm, okay."
As dinner was almost ready, Su's father also returned. Seeing Su Wanxia, he looked shocked, and then began to pepper her with questions – if she was doing well, had she been mistreated, was she adapting to life there, and so on.
Su Wanxia couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Dad, living abroad isn't as bad as you think."
"I made some friends there, and also had quite a few work partners. Life was pretty rich."
"That's good," Su's father said, clearly relieved.
"Now you father and daughter, come and eat," called Su's mother with a beaming smile.
"Sure thing!"
The family finally sat down together for dinner again, a scene both warm and harmonious.
Compared to the peaceful atmosphere at the Su Family's, a somber mood pervaded the upper echelons of the Mu Group.
Mu Chuyang glanced at the two people across the desk and then at the tightly closed CEO's office door, asking in a low voice, "What do you think is wrong with big brother? Since he got back, he's been frowning all the time, skipped lunch, and shut himself away. What is he doing in there?"
Mu Feng gave Mu Chuyang a disdainful look, as if to say, if you're asking me, then who should I ask?
Ji Hua turned his attention to Mu Chuyang, "Today was your turn to go with big brother to survey the market, not ours, OK?"
Momentarily, Mu Chuyang seemed to remember something and slapped the table, "Now I remember! How could I have forgotten about this."
Mu Feng and Ji Hua both turned to look at the CEO's office, then said in unison, "Keep it down."
Mu Chuyang pouted, "It must be because of that business card."
"What business card?" The two became instantly alert.
Mu Chuyang leaned in close and whispered about how they ran into Su Wanxia today, Mu Yingchen's expression when he heard Su Wanxia's name, and how he kept the business card she wanted for himself.
After finishing, he looked at their expressions, and he was instantly baffled.
Why did they have the same look on their faces too?
Turns out they both knew who Su Wanxia was, and he was the only one in the dark.
"Hey, don't look so clueless. Tell me, who is Su Wanxia?" Mu Chuyang pressed; he didn't like feeling left out when everyone else was in the know.
Ji Hua rolled his eyes and exclaimed in astonishment, "My God, Wanxia has actually come back."
Mu Feng added, "Yeah, I can hardly believe it."
Ji Hua continued, "If it weren't for big brother's reaction, I wouldn't believe it either."
Mu Feng said with a sigh, "It seems big brother still can't let go of her."
Ji Hua: "I have no idea what was going through Wanxia's mind back then, why did she suddenly decide to study abroad?"
Mu Chuyang slammed the table: "Have you two had enough? Hurry up and tell me!"
It was only then that they snapped back to reality. Ji Hua looked at Mu Chuyang: "You were abroad at the time and didn't know, but actually, Su Wanxia used to be our eldest brother's girlfriend."
"What? Why has no one ever told me about this!" Mu Chuyang was shocked.
"By the time you came back, big brother had already broken up with her, and besides, no one dared to bring it up," Ji Hua said irritably.
"So why did they break up?" This was what Mu Chuyang was most curious about.
Mu Feng took over the conversation: "Don't know, Wanxia suddenly went abroad six years ago, and then one time, our big brother accidentally spilled the truth when he was drunk. Sigh, that's when we found out they had broken up, and it was Wanxia who initiated it."
Mu Chuyang was too shocked for words: "No way!" Thinking of his big brother's status, how many women would knock their heads out trying to be his girlfriend. What was Su Wanxia thinking?
The door to the CEO's office suddenly clicked open, scaring the three of them into immediately pretending to be engrossed in the documents in their hands.
Mu Yingchen gave them a glance and walked out on his own.
Only then did the three men sigh in relief. Ji Hua stood up: "Let's tidy up and clock out."
The men then returned to their respective offices to gather their belongings and prepare to leave work.
Mu Yingchen drove towards home, stopping his car on the side of the road at the East District intersection.
Su Wanxia's home was not far away; if he turned right now, he would reach her house.
His obsidian-like eyes stared motionlessly in that direction, and after three minutes, he turned the steering wheel and drove straight away.
After taking a shower, Su Wanxia lounged on her big bed, when suddenly her phone rang.
"Hi, Jesse."
"Summer, have you seen your family?" Jesse's fluent Chinese came from the other end of the line.
Su Wanxia smiled: "I have, and I'm very happy."
"That's good, it sets my mind at ease a bit."
"Jesse, um, thank you very much for your help in England," Su Wanxia said genuinely and sincerely.
"There's no need for thanks, as long as you're happy. Also, I'll be attending tomorrow's grand dinner."
Su Wanxia exclaimed in surprise: "Really? You're coming to China?"
"Yes, am I welcome?"
"Welcome, very welcome."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow."
"Mm, see you tomorrow."
After hanging up the phone with Jesse, Su Wanxia lay on the bed, lost in thought.
Jesse was the son of her big boss in England, she was the company's creative director, and Jesse was essentially the vice-president.
When she first joined the company, most people alienated her because she was Chinese, causing problems behind her back and making things difficult for her, all of which Jesse helped her resolve.
Since Jesse was mixed-race, his father being of English descent and his mother of Chinese descent, he also had a fondness for Chinese people and culture.
After they got to know each other better, they became very good friends. Her rise to the position of creative director within two years was also largely thanks to Jesse's promotion and guidance.
Although Su Wanxia knew that Jesse had other intentions towards her, she didn't want to bring it into the open, pretending ignorance and thinking it was quite good to be just friends, right?
She sighed softly, emptying her mind and snuggled into the blankets, quickly falling into a deep sleep.