‘Aish!’

 He sighed sorrowfully into the thick layer of mist.

He walked towards the steps.

Suddenly, snowflakes started drifting from the sky. He paused, turned around, and looked upwards.

A cold gust of wind hit him and pierced through his bones.

A snowflake landed on his eyelashes. Before he could even wipe it away, it melted.

In the pitch-black office, he didn’t turn on the heater although it was icy cold. He found the light switch skillfully, and the office brightened up.

The spacious office was empty.

He walked towards his desk and pulled out the chair. He sat on it.

Smoking wasn’t a habit of his, and he didn’t know how to do it either. But he had a pack of cigarettes in his drawer which he needed sometimes whenever he went on business engagements.

He pulled the drawer open and the first thing he saw was a metallic cigarette box. He picked it up, then he shivered.

There was a wooden photo frame under the cigarette box. It was face-down. Unconsciously, he removed his hand from the cigarette box and picked up the frame.

The girl in the photo was wearing a red dress.

Her smile was radiant.

‘Su Yan, whatever you wanted—be it Flourish & Prosper’s shares or anything else—as long as you say the word, I’ll give it to you no matter what it cost. But how could you not like me? How could you not love me? How could you… lie to me?’

 Xin Yanting’s trembling voice rang in his head. He took a deep, shaky breath.

After staring at the photo for a while, he smiled. “I’m sorry. I wish you happiness. You deserve better.”

The person in the photo was too far away to receive his late apology. But he seemed to see her reply through her radiant smile.

He wished that she would be blissful. She would be better off.

‘Aish!’

 He sighed and placed the photo back into the drawer, face-down.

He took out the cigarette box and retrieved a cigarette. He didn’t light it. He held it in front of his nose, smelling it as he entered a reverie.

…

 One year later…

 Flourish & Splendor offered night tuition lessons. It was eight p.m. by the time it ended.

Su Yue brought Xiaojiao along to fetch Beibei. From afar, they saw him talking to a girl who was around his height. She didn’t know what they were talking about.

Su Yue stopped in her tracks. Xiaojiao looked over and peered up at Su Yue in confusion. “Mommy, who’s that girl?”

 Su Yue replied, “She’s Brother’s classmate.”

 Xiaojiao raised her eyebrows. “Brother’s girlfriend?”

 Su Yue looked at her in amusement. “Do you know what a girlfriend means?”

 “Of course I do.” Xiaojiao pouted. “She’s Brother’s wife-to-be.”

 Su Yue laughed and patted her head. “Little one, who taught you that?”

 Beibei had already walked over to them in the midst of their conversation.

“Ming Beichen, remember to attend my birthday party tomorrow. Don’t forget,” Zhao Qingluo reminded him before bowing slightly at Su Yue. “Hello, Auntie.”

 Su Yue felt helpless at seeing a girl who was almost her height greet her as ‘Auntie’. She smiled and nodded.

She watched her get onto a car and retracted her gaze. She turned to Beibei. The fellow was frowning impatiently at the leaving car.

She smiled and said, “Hey. She took the initiative to approach you and yet you’re being all haughty.”