Chapter 23 – Are You Okay?
Excuse me??!!…
Since when did she agree to become his wife?!
Even though Stephanie Ruan maintained a courteous smile on the outside, she is literally fuming on the inside!
This guy is seriously on another level of being delusional, isn’t he??
In fact, she wishes to reiterate again that Javier Zhong is not her ideal type of man!
If not for the fact that she needed to use him to find out the truth behind her family’s accident, she would not even want to come close to him.
Even if he is the last person standing on this earth, she would rather die alone than marry him!
Thinking of this, Stephanie Ruan slots her hand discreetly inside his blazer and gave him a painful pinch on his lower back.
“Hiss…” Javier Zhong turned to look at her in confusion.
What??… Did he say something wrongly??
He was just merely declaring his future goal to the group of people in front of him!
“…”
Oh, and by the way, Javier Zhong has an excellent track record of getting any goal that he has set for himself!
…
When it is time to enter the banquet hall, everyone else is jealous of the people who got to sit together with Javier Zhong and Stephanie Ruan.
Given their prestige and high status, a handshake from them is almost equivalent to striking a lottery!
So could you imagine how ecstatic were those people sitting at the same table as them??
“Chairman Zhong, my company has been producing electric cars lately. I was wondering if you are interested in a collaboration…”Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.
“My company submitted a proposal to Zhong Holdings seven months ago. Chairman Zhong, if you are free, could you help me take a look at it?…”
“I heard that Chairman Zhong likes to drink Chinese tea. I have a close friend who owns a huge tea plantation. Maybe we could find a day to go together?…”
The questions came in one after another but Javier Zhong completely ignored them as he sipped and savoured his red wine while maintaining an indifferent look.
This is the reason why he hates attending such events! He really doesn’t like to entertain these ‘flies’ who could not stop pestering him.
On the other hand, Stephanie Ruan is a little more friendly as compared to the ice-cold man sitting beside her.
“Director Ruan, actually my company has been wanting to be in your business magazine, will you be able to help us pull some strings?…”
“Same for my company, Director Ruan. You know… times have been difficult for us and we have been trying to increase our publicity…”
Stephanie Ruan nodded her head repeatedly as she patiently listened to their concerns. Her body language seemed as though she is ready to help them.
Or at least this was what they have thought… until she finally responded to them.
“I hear where all of you are coming from and I fully empathise with each of you. But if our company is going down the track of publishing businesses that are not doing well, do you think anyone will still subscribe to our magazines?”
Stephanie Ruan smiled as she added, “Our business has always followed a certain set of rules which has brought us to where we are today.”
“If I were to bend the rules for everyone now… then I’m afraid when you ask me for help in the future, I wouldn’t even have the capability to do it. Don’t you guys think so?”
Her clear and direct reasoning has caused everyone at the table to become speechless. They are all smart enough to understand the hidden meaning behind her words.
Basically, she is not going to let them in from the back door!
“…”
Such a clear-headed woman who is not afraid to outrightly reject people and voice out when things are not right!
Although Javier Zhong is well known to be decisive and ruthless, rumours have it that Stephanie Ruan is not lacking in any way at all with her aggressiveness.
…
The long event has finally ended and Stephanie Ruan is completely exhausted from ‘entertaining’ everyone who is grabbing any available opportunity to chat with her.
Compared to hers, Javier Zhong’s face is still looking so fresh and she could not help but be jealous of him!
Is this the reason why he doesn’t want to interact with anyone at this event??
She really has to admit that this guy can be very smart at times!
“…”
Well… Stephanie Ruan had guessed it right!
In fact, Javier Zhong has a standard practice of returning to his office to continue working till midnight as he sees attending events as an unproductive thing to do.
So of course he has to conserve as much energy as possible!
“My driver is already waiting for us outside.” Javier Zhong spoke to Stephanie Ruan as he led her out of the restaurant.
Since he had two glasses of wine earlier during dinner, he ordered his driver to come over and pick them up at the venue instead.
In the car, Stephanie Ruan immediately went into a daze as she stared out of the window, at the moving scenery.
Knowing that she is already very drained, especially from the series of events today, Javier Zhong did not want to disturb her as well.
But out of a sudden…
A truck’s loud horn coupled with the car’s abrupt brake had startled Stephanie Ruan.
The car jerk was so rough that her body flew forward and then uncontrollably fell back to her seat.
“!!!…”
“What happened?! Can’t you drive properly?!”
Seeing Javier Zhong’s ferocious glare, a chill went down the driver’s spine as he hurriedly apologised. “I’m sorry, Chairman Zhong. This will not happen again.”
Due to the sharp turn that was ahead, it is the driver’s blind spot as they are unable to tell if any car is driving toward them.
Though the accident was swiftly avoided by their experienced driver, it caused a great shock to Stephanie Ruan and fear overwhelmed her mind.
-Sobbing sound-
Her entire body could not stop shivering as she covered her face with both of her hands.
Flashbacks of her family’s car accident could not stop flooding her mind at this point in time…
The bright headlights!… Sound of the loud horn! And the sudden jerk that had lunged her forward!…
That fear of losing her family members…
That fear of losing her own life…
This situation is far too similar to what she had experienced before and it felt as though she is forced to relive it all over again!
“??…”
Flabbergasted by Stephanie Ruan’s strong reaction, Javier Zhong hesitatingly touched her arm. “Are… are you okay?”
Seeing that she is not responding to him at all, he is honestly at a loss of what to do…
“…”
Javier Zhong then inched towards her side and awkwardly place his arm around her shoulder, with the intention of comforting her…
But…
Never did he expect her to fall directly into his arms!