Chapter 4

The atmosphere of the second half of the card game could be described as very strange.

James and the younger man next to him who had been quite talkative both stopped talking.

The men and women present kept stealing glances at me, whispering amongst themselves.

The other two men at the poker table held their cards, looking at Ethan as if they wanted to say something but held back.

Ethan's expression wasn't very good. He lit cigarettes irritably, then leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing his brow.

Though his face still looked haughty as ever, for some reason I thought I detected a hint of weariness.

I felt very confused and puzzled, with a growing sense of unease.

Until this scene was interrupted by two women entering.

I recognized them.

The one wearing a cheongsam dress was called Olivia. She had long curled hair and striking features, carrying herself with grace and confidence.

The other tall, slender one was called Wendy. She had a straightforward personality and was also quite arrogant.

Like everyone else present, they both came from very good families.

In that circle, Wendy's family background was slightly inferior.

But she was very well-known in that circle and mixed well with them.

Because she was best friends with Olivia, the young lady of the Wen family. The two were inseparable.

Also because Ethan's mom really liked her and had accepted her as a goddaughter when she was young.

Because of this, she always called Ethan "brother", and their relationship was as close as real siblings.

Wendy linked arms with Olivia. They were carrying several luxury shopping bags and entered laughing and chatting.

She saw Ethan first and walked over with a big smile, calling out: "Brother, Olivia and I went to get our nails done. Otherwise we would have come earlier. Have you been here long? That nail salon was so slow, but the nails they did look pretty good..."

The gentle Olivia beside her smiled at Ethan.

But very quickly, they both stopped smiling.

Because they sensed the strange atmosphere, and because they saw me.

A woman's perception and sensitivity is always much stronger than a man's.

Wendy recognized me almost instantly.

First doubt, then certainty, finally shock and anger: "Lucy?! Why are you here?"

"Why are you here? Who brought you?! How dare you show your face in front of my brother again, have you no shame?!"

Before I could react to Wendy's outburst, she had already walked towards me, burning with rage, ready to tear me apart.

As she got close, Ethan reached out and grabbed her arm.

His eyes were dark and his voice low: "I brought her."

"Brother! Have you gone crazy?! This shameless woman, why are you still bothering with her! Hasn't she hurt you enough? Hurry up and make her leave! If she has any shame left, she should get lost now and never appear again!"

Wendy's eyes were wide with disbelief, her voice shrill with anger.

I've always been a very even-tempered person. She should know the Lucy from before was someone who didn't talk much.

But everyone has their own dignity and bottom line.

There were many onlookers, and I needed to maintain my composure, so I stood up.

I didn't look at Wendy, but turned my gaze to Ethan and said calmly: "Mr. Chi, it seems you have no intention of cooperating. I naturally don't deserve to stand before you. It's too noisy here, with dogs barking. So the deal is off. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

With that, I gave a slight nod, making sure I was polite enough, and turned to leave.

Wendy beside me was furious, looking like she was about to rush over and not let this go.

Ethan finally spoke up, stopping this farce.

He said: "Lucy, don't you want to hear it?"

I paused in my steps, frowning as I looked at him: "Hear what?"

"Sit down and listen. Our grievances aren't settled. You can't leave."

When James first said Lucy's name, their expressions changed noticeably.

I couldn't possibly ignore that.

Even though I had dumped Ethan years ago and gained some notoriety in their circle, it shouldn't warrant such a reaction.

So after some hesitation, I chose to stay.

Then I listened calmly as the angry Wendy accused me, cursing me as vicious and heartless.

I accepted it all, because I heard from her some past events that I didn't know about.

When I broke up with Ethan back then, I was afraid he wouldn't let go, so I made a clean break.

I changed my phone number, deleted all my social media apps, then bought a train ticket and went to stay in the Northeast for nearly two years.

My cousin and his wife worked there and had settled down after buying a house.

Those two years, I found a job at a small company. In my free time, I helped them take care of their child.

During the Ice Sculpture Festival, I went out with my cousin and his wife to take the kids. The child hugged my neck and called me auntie.

It was very cold, but life was peaceful. When the ice and snow world was colorful and dazzling, I believed I could forget Ethan and live a good life.

But he couldn't forget.

When we broke up, things ended badly. He knew I was serious and panicked.

But he still held out hope, thinking that after both sides cooled down for a while, he could swallow his pride and win me back.

Until he discovered I had disappeared.

A true farewell is always silent.

This world is so big, with crowds of people. It takes so much luck for people to meet.

After melting into the sea of humanity, there is no destined fate, no one you absolutely must be with.

We are all so small, so after the pain, we need to learn to forget, learn to let go.

But Ethan couldn't learn.

He went crazy looking for me everywhere, asking everyone around me, until finally he had an emotional breakdown while driving and got into a car accident on Peace Bridge.

He was seriously injured and ended up in the TCU after emergency treatment.

Later he woke up, but became depressed and couldn't pick himself up.

He asked his mom to help find me, to get me to go back and see him one last time.

When I was in the Northeast, my cousin did receive a call from home one day. It was my aunt.

My aunt said Ethan's mother had contacted her, saying her son was in the hospital.

My cousin asked if I wanted to go back.

I thought about it and said no.

Many people would say I was cold-hearted.

But at the time, I really didn't know his car accident was so serious that he had nearly lost his life.

I thought he was just playing some trick again to lure me back.

He had used similar tactics to trick me before.

The process of giving up on someone is very painful, but I had already taken that first step. I didn't want to give up halfway.

I thought, just hold on a little longer. Hold on and he would learn to let go.

Later, he really did stop trying to contact me.

Two years later, Megan said Quinn had a good project in hand and asked me to come back to develop it.

I thought about it and realized I really didn't have many opportunities if I stayed in the Northeast, so I packed up and came back.

This city is very big. People's social circles are fixed. Megan, Quinn and I - we were the same type of people.

The most ordinary people.

Barring any accidents, the chances of Ethan and I running into each other were extremely slim.

The past was in the past. Moving forward on the path ahead was most important.

After coming back, I asked Megan once if Ethan had really been hospitalized back then.

But Megan knew very little, because Ethan later went abroad. His family was unwilling to disclose much, and basically no one in their circle dared to gossip about it.

So it wasn't until six years later, standing here today, that I learned he had once been on the verge of death.

I also learned that he later developed some kind of mood disorder, had suicidal tendencies, and went abroad for treatment for a long time.

Wendy said I was a murderer, that I had no right to appear in front of her brother.

Her brother had once liked me so much, but I wouldn't even come back to see him one last time. If I had any shame left, I should leave now and never appear again.

At that moment my face went white, my expression stunned.

I looked at Ethan in shock, meeting his pitch-black yet calm eyes.

Calm and indifferent.

My eyes burned hot. Unexpectedly, tears began to fall.

Wendy was right. I shouldn't have appeared. I shouldn't have begged him to give Brilliant Create a chance.

He didn't owe me anything.

So many people present, their gazes falling on me - some mocking, some contemptuous.

I tilted my head back to control the flood of tears, desperately trying to contain my emotions. But my voice still trembled slightly.

I said to Ethan: "I'm sorry, Mr. Chi. I won't appear in front of you again in the future. I'm truly very sorry. Please take care of yourself."

With that, I bowed deeply to him.

As I was leaving, passing by his side, Ethan stood up.

He grabbed my arm.

I looked up at him. He had a smile on his lips, tinged with some indescribable meaning.

He pushed me to sit in his chair, standing beside me tall and straight. Then he slowly adjusted his shirt cuff.

He was so gentlemanly and calm. His hand with distinct knuckles rested on my shoulder as he bent down to say to me: "Lucy, I said our grievances aren't settled yet."

His uniquely low voice carried a trace of chilling coldness.

My hands involuntarily clenched my skirt as I calculated whether I should try to call the police.

Until he straightened up, his gaze turning to Wendy, and said unhurriedly: "You still remember I liked her?"

Wendy was confused: "Brother..."

"Since you know I liked her, why did you bully her back then?"