Why did I show up here? Xu Yanwan’s face remained calm. “Didn’t I just tell you? I work here now. As for that question, I can only tell you that the Xu Family is broke, my parents are dead, and I have nothing now. I’m no longer the Young Lady of the Xu Family.”
After hearing the last part of her words, Lin Xuzheng’s smile slowly faded away from his lips as he gazed at her. It was really hard for him to digest this news, so he remained silent for a while.
“You don’t need to show me that face. I’m not sad anymore, so you don’t need to pity me because I don’t need that right now.” After saying that, Xu Yanwan straightened her back as if nothing mattered to her anymore.
A moment of silence later, Lin Xuzheng let out a huge sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect things to be like this. I didn’t mean to say those words just now. My apologies.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t know about my past and this is the way you usually speak, so I won’t blame you for it. But if you speak to me like this even after knowing about the truth, I may really be mad at you.”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment and laughed together.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner that such a huge thing happened to you?”
Truth be told, Xu Yanwan wasn’t just Han Qing’s childhood sweetheart; they also grew up together with Lin Xuzheng. The relationship that the three of them had was quite nice. However, between the families, the Han Family and the Xu Family were much closer as compared to the Lin Family.
“I don’t like to talk about it. Besides, when it all happened back then, I was in such a mess that I didn’t have the time to bother about anything else.” As she shared her tragic past, her emotions were still very dispirited and gloomy, but she easily controlled her emotions now, so she composed herself and smiled at Lin Xuzheng. “All of it has passed anyway. We don’t need to mention it again. However, from then onward, the Young Lady of the Xu Family has gone forever. Now, there is only Xu Yanwan left. It’s quite nice for me to be a small clerk here.”
“Han Qing doesn’t know about this, right?” Lin Xuzheng asked her.
She was startled for a second before she shook her head. “I didn’t tell him.”
“I see.”
Judging from their childhood relationship, if Han Qing knew that Xu Yanwan worked in the company, there was no reason for her to be a small clerk thanks to their friendship. Not only that, it didn’t make sense for her to be a small clerk based on her ability—she was a capable and smart woman. After all, she was the only daughter of her family and she would follow her father when he managed his company back then.
“I think you should tell him. You need to work your way up anyway,” Lin Xuzheng advised her.
“No need for that. The reason why I didn’t want to tell you all is because I want to work hard by myself instead of—”
Lin Xuzheng suddenly interrupted her. “I don’t think you need to prove yourself with your hard work because you’ve proven yourself a long time ago. It’s not easy to be the lady of the Xu Group. You’ve already proven yourself when you silenced those who underestimate you under your control. Now—”
“Things are different now.” Xu Yanwan tightened both her fists beside her. Then, she seemed to murmur, “The past is the past and now is the present… Back then, I have the support of the Xu Group. Do you know how many people are under my command at that time? But now… I’m alone. What can I use to prove myself?”
Ding! The elevator arrived at its destination and the door opened subsequently. Lin Xuzheng didn’t walk out of the elevator. Instead, he gazed at her. When she noticed which floor this was, she was startled for a moment before coming back to her senses. Then, she took a few steps backward and leaned her back against the wall. “You came for him, right? You can go out now.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“No.” Xu Yanwan shook her head. Han Qing now had a girlfriend, so what was the use of her seeing him? Basically, she still loved him inside. If Han Qing didn’t have a girlfriend, she could probably try to win him back, but her proud personality prevented her from doing so. She was scared that if she saw him multiple times, she would not be able to hold herself back—just like when she entered this company.
When she first submitted her resume, she clearly didn’t want to submit it to the Han Group, but when she saw the company, her hands couldn’t help but to submit it anyway. After the submission, she started to regret her actions. She felt that she was being too impulsive. I’d just had a good conversation with his little sister, but I still submitted it in the end. Then, Xu Yanwan comforted herself by saying that she was only working there without any other intentions. Even if his little sister knows about it, she can’t do much about me. Since I’m here, I need to have my full attention on my work instead of seeing him.
“You really don’t plan to see him? Although you’re a small clerk now, you should know that the friendship between the three of us is not like this—”
Lin Xuzheng wanted to continue his words, but Xu Yanwan interrupted him straight away. “I have reasons not to visit him. You should stop asking me about it. Don’t talk about it anymore. Get out.” In the end, she even reached out to pull his sleeves and dragged him out.
After Lin Xuzheng was pushed out of the elevator, the elevator door happened to be closing. Therefore, he didn’t have the chance to say anything. He stood in front of the elevator door for a few seconds before slowly turning around and leaving.
As Xu Yanwan watched the elevator descending floor by floor, her heart also sunk along with it. Suddenly, she was a little upset. Lin Xuzheng’s appearance seems to be reminding me that everyone has changed. We are no longer the same people back when the three of us were together. All of them had their own goals and happiness to achieve. We will never be the same as who we once were. Why? Why is there so much imperfection in this world?
Ding! The elevator stopped at a floor and Xu Yanwan went out to send the documents. After sending all of it, she felt dispirited, so she contacted her superior to ask for leave, saying that she wanted to go to the hospital because she was feeling uncomfortable.
When Jiang Wenwen saw Xu Yanwan’s pale face, the former permitted a half-day leave and the latter took the elevator down afterward.
Just as Xu Yanwan was about to leave the company, the receptionist saw her walking past the counter, so she quickly caught up to the former. “Hey, you. Wait for a while!”
As soon as Xu Yanwan saw the receptionist, a trace of impatience flashed through her eyes. Why does this receptionist keep on pestering me? When I saw her before, she already asked me a lot of strange questions. What does she want now? Xu Yanwan furrowed her eyebrows as she picked up her pace and even pretended that she didn’t hear the receptionist’s calls.
Seeing Xu Yanwan rushing off, the receptionist only ran along with her before stopping the former in the end. “Why did you run away when you saw me? Do you see me as a cannibalistic monster?”
Xu Yanwan scolded inside her heart, Even though you are not some cannibalistic monster, you are still annoying! “What is it? I’m in a hurry to go home.”
“Ugh, I’m just trying to ask you something. The last time you told me that you’re engaged with our President Han at a young age, is that true?”
