After seeing off another wave of guests at the Twilight Cloud Pavilion, Hua Fu and Madame Chang conversed.

"Madame Chang, it's been four days since Xiaoyan left, hasn't it?"

"Yes, indeed, it's the fourth day. I wonder if Miss is tired? Is she eating well?"

"This girl has been away for so long and hasn't even called home."

Madame Chang smiled and said, "Miss mentioned when she left that the signal at the training location wasn't good. Besides, Miss sometimes seems to know more about life than I do. Occasionally, I don't even think she behaves like a wealthy girl born into a rich family..." Madame Chang only talked about her own feelings, but Hua Fu felt a pang of guilt upon hearing "not behaving like a wealthy girl."

He cursed himself for being worse than a pig or a dog before, marrying his daughter off to Cheng Jie for the sake of the company's interests. After she was married off, he seemed to have treated her like discarded water, indifferent and indifferent, without hearing, paying no attention. She must have suffered a lot to learn how to handle oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and become strong. He wasn't worthy of being a father. In the end, he still gained her forgiveness. In his self-abasement, he deeply admired his daughter's broad-mindedness.

Suddenly noticing Hua Fu's complicated expression, Madame Chang cursed herself for being careless and hastily said, "Master, I didn't mean anything else. Miss is a kind girl. After she fell ill, she let go of the past. Since you came home, Miss's smile has never faded. Everyone makes mistakes, but it's best when they change for the better. So, Master, please don't blame yourself."

"Ah, it's actually me who's gone mad. Madame Chang, you're right. We should look forward, look forward!" Hua Fu smiled again in an instant, as if he had been injected with chicken blood, energetically introducing jade jewelry to the guests.

Soon, a somewhat pale Shangguan Ning entered the shop. Hua Fu wondered why the arbitration of the Shangguan Group had come to the Twilight Cloud Pavilion. After seeing off the last group of guests, he approached Shangguan Ning, who was sitting in the small lounge area, and asked, "Arbitrator Shangguan, what brings you to our humble shop?"

Before, Hua Fu had only seen Shangguan Ning from afar at a few banquets. Although he was the president of the company at the time, his worth and status were not comparable to Shangguan Ning's. His understanding of him was limited to the outside world's perception of him as taciturn, a business genius, with a disciplined private life, and a father who was a commander in a certain military region. The evaluations of his social connections were complex and varied.

"I want to see Hua Yan," Shangguan Ning said with a hint of alcohol on his breath. After learning about Cheng Jie's conversation with Li Meier, he drank all night. After that, he had three waves of people investigate the matter, and the results all confirmed that what he heard that day was not an illusion, nor was it fabricated by others. Cheng Yunqi had indeed plunged a sharp knife into his heart. Since then, during the day, he remained the suave and in-control Shangguan Ning, but at midnight, he licked his wounds alone. Only by continuously drinking could he feel a trace of existence.

Stolen novel; please report.

Today, he suddenly wanted to apologize to her, the calm and polite Hua Yan, who kept people at arm's length. Calming down, Shangguan Ning realized how much of a jerk he had been to her that rainy day. A man who had just confessed his love to her couldn't handle a strict warning from another woman; she must have felt uncomfortable. But she would also mock his arrogance. The awakening he experienced made him grow and gain some insight into emotional matters. So he particularly wanted to say "I'm sorry" to her.

"Oh? Xiaoyan won't be back for another half month." Hua Fu didn't know when Hua Yan had met Shangguan Ning, but regardless, whether he was a visitor or a guest, he poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you. Where did Xiaoyan go?"

"We don't know the specific location." Hua Fu smiled.

"Since Xiaoyan isn't here, I'll leave first." Shangguan Ning didn't feel too disappointed that the person he wanted to see wasn't there. When he thought about inquiring about Hua Yan's mysterious business, he realized he might not have the standing, so he silently left.

"When Xiaoyan comes back, I'll inform her." Hua Fu felt that Shangguan Ning had something on his mind. His slightly perplexed, gloomy, and sorrowful eyes reminded him of himself from a few months ago during those dark days. As someone who had been through it, he couldn't help but say, "In fact, alcohol can't dispel sorrow..."

Hua Fu's words, tinged with sorrow, caused a slight pause in Shangguan Ning's departure. His subdued voice seemed to be suppressing something as he said, "Thank you!" Back at his villa, Shangguan Ning loosened his tie, casually threw his coat on the ground, and hastily grabbed a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. As he collapsed onto the sofa and his lips touched the bottle, suddenly his throat refused to swallow, recalling Hua Fu's words. He couldn't bring himself to drink the wine.

The rich wine stirred up memories of his recent decadence: the secretary trembling every day, the worry of his elder brother and sister-in-law, occasional blankness of mind, and midnight drunkenness akin to a drunkard...

In the cold and empty room, a self-mocking voice echoed: "Others play me for a fool, and I still want to cling to it?" Shangguan Ning suddenly rose, lifted his hand holding the bottle, and slammed the wine to the ground with force. The purple-red liquid splattered everywhere, the crisp sound of shattering echoing his shattered feelings for Cheng Yunqi over the past decade.

"Cheng Yunqi, you will be just a passing figure in my life!" After saying this, Shangguan Ning didn't even glance at the spilled wine on the ground, turned around, and went upstairs to take a hot bath. He then called his elder brother to reassure him that he was fine, and there was no need to worry anymore. Hearing his elder brother's hearty laughter on the other end of the phone, he felt his heart come alive again.

Just after hanging up with his elder brother, Cheng Cheng's call came in. "Shangguan Ning, I have good news to tell you..." Pausing for a moment, Shangguan Ning wasn't curious, so Cheng Cheng continued, "Guess what? Yunqi is returning to the country tomorrow! And from what I heard from Cheng's family, she's not leaving again once she's back! Aren't you happy?"

At first, Shangguan Ning felt a slight ripple in his heart upon hearing the news, but it quickly drowned, and his friend's excited laughter only elicited a sarcastic smile from him. He had to admit that Cheng Yunqi's acting skills were impressive to fool even the astute Cheng Cheng.

"I don't need to be informed about her anymore."

"Huh? Why? Weren't you always..."

"I've been looking for a new lover all along!" Shangguan Ning interrupted Cheng Cheng, speaking earnestly. He desperately wanted to tell his friend what kind of woman Cheng Yunqi was, but he also knew that saying such things would only make him seem unable to get over it.

"Are you...?" Cheng Cheng wanted to say more, but Shangguan Ning had already hung up the phone.

As Cheng Yunqi sat on the plane, she was eager to obtain emotional satisfaction from Shangguan Ning, who had been infatuated with her. As for the seductive, hoarse-voiced man buried in her heart, she could only keep him hidden away.