Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the wee hours in Boston, it was freezing, and the vast night sky seemed quite still. There were a few lonely stars that looked a little cold and cheerless too.
Han Yifeng was in his pajamas as he stood by the balcony railing. There was half a cigarette that had just been lit up between his fingertips. He watched silently at his phone dimmed. After a while, he sighed and tossed his phone onto the table.
How long had it been? He seemed to have forgotten how long ago he had left that city.
A month or two? Half a year? Or was it one year?
Still, many things seemed to feel as if they just happened yesterday.
His work on this end was almost stable now. He just had to move back and forth San Francisco and Boston often. Since his son, Han Zhexuan, had grown up a bit more now, he knew how to walk and could even call him ‘Father’. His grandparents also frequently flew to San Francisco to see their grandson.
However, they were conscious about not mentioning anything about City Z in front of Han Yifeng. They provided no news about Xi Xinyi or Xi Xiaye. Han Yifeng was practically isolated from everything about City Z until last night. A friend at City Z’s Hospital T had unintentionally mentioned Xi Xiaye being hospitalized, so he then realized that perhaps he should give her a call.
After he thought about it, he made the call.
“CEO Han, have a glass of milk and get a night of good sleep. You finally managed to close this deal, so you can relax now, but it will soon get busy again.”
The person speaking was Secretary Wang. He and another assistant had flown to San Francisco with Han Yifeng back then, and right now he was still his personal assistant.
At the moment, he was walking towards Han Yifeng with a glass of milk. Both of them had been busy since past 10 p.m., and now, it was 3 a.m. They finally managed to finish organizing everything, and just had to wait till the next day for the contract to be signed before they could return to San Francisco, but he probably had to come over for work more often in the future.
When he heard Secretary Wang’s voice, Han Yifeng slowly turned his head and looked towards him. The air around him was filled with the scent of cigarettes. When Secretary Wang smelled the smoke, he coughed a little uncomfortable and quickly said, “CEO Han, you’ve been smoking quite a bit recently. You need to take care of your health. It’s best to smoke less. The Little Master can’t take the cigarette smoke too.”
Han Yifeng’s gaze darkened, but he did not say anything as he put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. He reached out to take the milk from Secretary Wang as he sat down. Then, he pointed to a spot beside him and his voice was cold as always as he said, “Sit and chat with me for a bit.”
Upon hearing that, Secretary Wang looked at Han Yifeng, his expression seeming faintly sorrowful. Nonetheless, he thought about it, then sat down.
“CEO Han, are you in a bad mood? You closed such a huge deal though,” Secretary Wang probed carefully.
Han Yifeng lowered his head to take two sips of milk, paused, then said, “Obviously, closing such a huge deal is worth being happy about.”
“CEO Han, do you miss the Little Master at home?” Secretary Wang asked softly again.
When his son was brought up, Han Yifeng did feel some pride. Under his care, Han Zhexuan had grown up to be very cute, intelligent, and looked very much like him. On top of that, he was easy to look after and did not cry much.
“He should be sleeping quite soundly right now. I’ll get to see him when I get back tomorrow.” Han Yifeng suddenly paused and turned to look at Secretary Wang. “You’ve been with me for quite a while now. The company had just shifted when we first came, so it wasn’t too stable then. I have been very busy, but we can finally catch our breaths now. You’ve been away from City Z for quite a while too. When we get back to San Francisco, you should make your way back for a visit.”
“CEO Han…” Han Yifeng’s words clearly surprised Secretary Wang who looked at him in confusion.
Han Yifeng’s expression was cold as he continued, “There are sore points that cannot be healed for me in that city. I don’t want to recall the past, but you don’t. Perhaps, you still miss that place. If you want to stay in that city, our company does have some project collaborations with quite a few companies, so I can let you stay there as an external manager. That way, you can choose to develop in City Z.”
“No, CEO Han! I’ve already decided to always stay by your side!” Secretary Wang insisted. “Don’t you feel any fondness for that city at all?” he finally asked the question that he had buried down in his heart.
Upon hearing that, Han Yifeng subconsciously frowned. He held his glass as he shrugged, then he put it on the table beside him. “That city is a nightmare that I can never erase in my lifetime. You know very well all the things that I’ve been through. What else is there for me to miss? The new beginning that I have right now makes everything much simpler and happier. This, to me, is already the greatest blessing from God.”
As he said that, he suddenly forced a smile. “Secretary Wang, tell me, why do people only learn how to appreciate things after we lose them? Why do we only always have such realizations towards the end? Sometimes, I really question the fact that maybe the regret that comes after such understanding is God’s most memorable joke on us lowly humans.”
“CEO Han, those things…”
“Those things have long past, but the scar in my heart will forever be there. Even though I’m so far away from that place, sometimes I still can’t help it…” Han Yifeng did not finish what he was saying as he stopped and fell silent for a while before he finished the milk in his glass and abruptly stood up.
“Okay, rest earlier. We still have work to do tomorrow,” he concluded before his tall figure walked past Secretary Wang and went in.
“CEO Han,” Secretary Wang suddenly called out to stop him, “How about you forgive Miss Xinyi this one time? This time, I believe that she can definitely turn over a new leaf. A while ago, Master Qi sent a document over. When he called to confirm with me, he mentioned Miss Xinyi. He said that she’s changed. She’s become much humbler and is less restless now. In fact, she’s quite capable that even Master Mu has expressed his recognition!”
“Qi Lei? Mu Yuchen? They’re in contact with Xinyi?” Han Yifeng immediately stopped and turned to look at Secretary Wang in astonishment.
Secretary Wang nodded. “CEO Han, you’ve forgotten that Miss Xinyi is now considered to be under Qi Kai. Meanwhile, Qi Kai and Glory World do have a partnership!”