Chapter 3 The Engagement Never Counted
Xiao Yuan was completely open. He didn't look like he cared whether I would be hurt, and he didn't seem to mind taking my anger.
That was always how he treated people he didn't keep in his heart.
I knew. I had known for all these years. I just couldn't let go.
My throat ached sour. "I want this endorsement."
"Fine." Xiao Yuan was blunt. "You're the biggest name in the company. All business goes to you first. Go find Xie Kun. If the contract is fine, just sign."
"Then what about Shen Xinrui?"
I looked at his handsome face. Thick lashes. Deep-set eyes. A high nose. When he looked at people he seemed serious, and also like he didn't care at all.
A kind of innocent cruelty.
Especially toward me.
Xiao Yuan glanced at me. "I'll give her something better."
"Didn't you say I'm the biggest name, and all business goes to me first?"
"I'll subsidize her privately." Xiao Yuan shrugged. "You have a problem with that?"
"Xiao Yuan." I covered my face. My voice came out useless, thick with tears. "I'm your fiancée."
The air went quiet for a few seconds. Xiao Yuan sighed, stood, and walked to my side.
He held my wrist and took my hand away. His tone sounded like he was facing a spoiled little sister at home.
"Xu Zhiyi, you and I both know the engagement was forced through by Xiao Qishan."
He pulled out a tissue and held it in front of me. His voice was mild and cold. "It never counted. Don't throw a tantrum, okay?"
Xiao Qishan was his father. Ten years ago, he divorced Xiao Yuan's mother.
The engagement between us was something Old Master Xiao had talked about since we were little. Five years ago, Xiao Qishan set it down.
Xiao Yuan had never accepted it.
I sniffed and caught the faint wood scent that came and went on Xiao Yuan.
I had chosen this scent.
After so many years, I was already used to his smell.
He was a man who stayed long. He could use the same perfume for ten years, not to mention a person.
Ten years after breaking up with Shen Xinrui, he could still plan for her like this.
Too bad it was not me.
The faint scent was like a knife scraping bone. It scraped until my heart cramped. Once again I thought, why couldn't it be me?
I drew a deep breath. "You giving her the endorsement is slapping my face in the open. I can't swallow this."
"Young lady, that's enough." Xiao Yuan's last bit of patience looked gone. He sat back against the desk. "She entered the industry to make fast money to treat her mom. You're doing this as a hobby. Don't compare yourself with her, okay?"
Rage rushed to my head. My ears rang. "I'm not playing. I'm serious."
"Fine. You're serious." Xiao Yuan raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever endorsement you want, go pick with Xie Kun. Sign whatever you want. If we don't have it, I'll make the introduction."
The rage got doused with cold water. I looked at his eyes. Disappointment and ice closed around me like a tide.
From his tone, it seemed he really didn't care about my career at all.
He had always treated me like I was just here to have fun in the industry, a player who needed him to hand over endorsements to keep the heat.
"Xiao Yuan." My voice was hoarse. "What I wanted was never the endorsement. Just your attitude."
"You're looking at it now." He was as careless as always. "This is my attitude."
I didn't know how I got out of Xiao Yuan's office.
Not until I sat in the car did I find my hands and feet ice-cold.
My fingertips went numb. I slowly slumped over the steering wheel and waited for the shock to pass.
I was already very used to this.