Watching Xie Yanchuan's expression grow more tangled, Xu Jinzhi quickly said, "I'll head back then."
"Okay." Xie Yanchuan nodded again, even seeming relieved.
As Xu Jinzhi walked out of the office, she glanced back at Xie Yanchuan standing in the doorway. She felt a bit uneasy inside.
At that moment, Xu Jinzhi missed the Xie Yanchuan who would later give her a goodbye kiss.
Xie Yanchuan stood by the door. When he saw Xu Jinzhi looking back at him, he slightly moved his lips, as if wanting to say something but not knowing what.
Xu Jinzhi didn't speak either; she just smiled, turned around, and really left.
Xie Yanchuan stood there, watching Xu Jinzhi's figure disappear from sight before he returned to the office.
The office was once again left with only Xie Yanchuan, just as it always was, except for the extra cup on the desk that proved someone had been there a moment ago.
Xie Yanchuan sat down, thinking over the conversation he had with Xu Jinzhi. He didn't know why, but Xie Yanchuan always felt something subtle.
If everything went smoothly, they would get married soon, and Xu Jinzhi would become his wife.
At that thought, Xie Yanchuan lowered his head and blinked gently.
~
Two days later.
In the Xu Group office building, a group of directors and executives sat in the conference room, with representatives from both the Xu Group and the Xie Group seated on either side of the table.
The meeting room was quiet, with only the subtle sound of pages turning, as Xie Suian and Xu Zhen signed the contract.
Signing this contract meant the Xie Family and Xu Family were now completely tied together.
With the contract successfully signed, each family kept their own copy safely.
Xie Suian stood up and extended a hand to Xu Zhen, "Mr. Xu, we're truly family now."
"Yes, a family at last." Xu Zhen replied, not forgetting to glance disdainfully at Xie Linchuan standing beside Xie Suian.
Xie Linchuan felt somewhat apologetic, having to silently bear such reproachful looks; Xie Suian said nothing either, as it was indeed the Xie Family who had been at fault initially.
After the contract signing, everyone prepared to head to the hotel. The formal partnership between the two families was a cause for celebration, and arrangements had already been made at the hotel.
With business matters settled, there was no further discussion of work.
Xu Jinzhi had a decent tolerance for alcohol, and on this occasion, she hadn't had much to drink. Midway through, she went to the restroom.
When Xu Jinzhi came out, she immediately saw Xie Linchuan standing at the end of the hallway.
Xu Jinzhi paused, rolling her eyes at the sight. If not for her past life's experiences, she would not have understood what kind of person Xie Linchuan really was.
But thanks to her past life, Xu Jinzhi clearly knew the entangled relationships between Xie Linchuan and that woman, and she fully understood how detestable Xie Linchuan's character was.
With this knowledge, Xu Jinzhi extremely despised Xie Linchuan.
Xu Jinzhi walked over, directly ignoring Xie Linchuan; yet, Xie Linchuan called out to her, "Mr. Xu."
Xu Jinzhi stopped, looking at him impatiently, "What does Mr. Xie want?"
Xie Linchuan took a couple of steps toward Xu Jinzhi and said apologetically, "About our matter, I owe you an apology."
"Our matter?" Xu Jinzhi let out a snide laugh, appearing exasperated, "Don't flatter yourself!"
"Don't act as if I love you that much. It was just something mentioned casually by both families, and now your brother is the one engaged to me! What if Xie Yanchuan misunderstands with you saying such ambiguous things?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Linchuan's expression grew complicated, "I meant..."
"I don't care!" Xu Jinzhi directly interrupted Xie Linchuan, then said indifferently, "You should go and be lovey-dovey with your girlfriend, while I naturally will be loving with Xie Yanchuan."
"It's best if we don't have any interactions apart from work matters."
After saying this, Xu Jinzhi turned and left without giving Xie Linchuan a chance to speak.
Xie Linchuan watched as Xu Jinzhi left, furrowing his brows; he still felt somewhat apologetic to both Xu Jinzhi and his brother, Xie Yanchuan.
But he couldn't help himself; he still loved that woman, unable to forget.
When Xu Jinzhi returned to the private room, people were still engaged in lively conversation. Xu Jinzhi returned to her seat, noticing Xu Zhen's flushed face from drinking, and quietly advised, "Drink less."
Xu Zhen nodded but continued to drink, as dismissive as could be.
Xu Jinzhi felt exasperated, said no more, and picked up her phone to find Xie Yanchuan on WeChat, wondering what to text him.
After hesitating for a while, Xu Jinzhi sent a message to Xie Yanchuan, "What are you doing?"
She had been too busy with the contract negotiations to contact Xie Yanchuan in the past couple of days.
After sending it, Xu Jinzhi kept her eyes on her phone, clearly waiting for Xie Yanchuan's reply, but Xie Yanchuan didn't respond, seemingly occupied with something.
By the time the meal ended, Xu Jinzhi still hadn't received any reply from Xie Yanchuan, feeling it was likely he was busy in the lab again.
However, Xu Jinzhi wasn't discouraged. She would be free tomorrow and planned to catch Xie Yanchuan then.
The next day.
At 7:30 in the morning, Xu Jinzhi came downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.
Xu Zhen was already eating. Hearing the noise, he looked up to see his daughter with a beaming face and the air of a lovestruck girl.
"What's up with you?" Xu Zhen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Xu Jinzhi replied nonchalantly, "What's up with what?"
Seeing Xu Jinzhi not directly answering, Xu Zhen didn't press further, though he gave her a couple more looks. As an old fox himself, how could he not notice there was something off about Xu Jinzhi?
Besides, who hasn't been young before?
Xu Zhen acknowledged that he was merely pretending not to see it.
After breakfast, the father and daughter headed to the company to start their workday.
There was a high-level meeting that afternoon, and when it ended, it was already past three o'clock.
Xu Jinzhi was the first to leave the conference room, rushing off toward her office, leaving Assistant Chen behind without anyone noticing anything unusual.
Xu Jinzhi soon emerged from her office, holding her bag, clearly intending to go out.
"Where are you going?" Xu Zhen casually asked as Xu Jinzhi walked by.
"Something came up," Xu Jinzhi said, not waiting for Xu Zhen to ask more before she walked away.