Chapter 1626: Chapter 1627: The Long, Cold Night and a Frosty Moon
Li Qiyi was the same, although she had not experienced the harm like Cen Nong, but for some reason, apart from you and your father, whenever other men approached, even those familiar to her, she would feel a strong sense of rejection.
Cen Nong smiled and continued, "But I don’t know if it was God having mercy on me. A few years later, at a job fair, I unexpectedly saw the man who hurt me the most back then. As an interviewer, when I saw his face clearly, I was completely stunned. Although their names were different, their appearances were almost identical!"
"Did you accept him?" At this, Li Qiyi couldn’t help but interject.
Cen Nong shook her head slightly, "No, and I rejected him on the spot."
At this point, a look appeared on Cen Nong’s beautiful face that would capture even Li Qiyi’s heart. Cen Nong had a faint smile, like a young girl in love.
"After that encounter, six months later, I saw him again. By then, he had partnered with another friend to start a venture capital company, which was my competitor in the project. Interestingly, he was frustrated by failing the interview because of my rejection, and he tried very hard to prove he was better than me. However, he ultimately failed, losing to Zhang Qiang."
Speaking of Zhang Qiang, Li Qiyi couldn’t help but think of this seemingly charming but actually decent man. Unlike other men, Zhang Qiang never showed any admiration for Li Qiyi. More often, both Li Qiyi and Cen Nong were, in Zhang Qiang’s eyes, like little sisters needing a brother’s care.
However, even so, both Cen Nong and Li Qiyi kept a slight distance from Zhang Qiang, as their vigilance and aversion towards men stemmed from deep within their hearts and souls.
"Yet, because of this business battle, Zhang Qiang and he developed a mutual understanding between men. Under Zhang Qiang’s persuasion, he joined my company." Cen Nong paused, realizing she had been holding a crystal-clear teacup; the tea inside was already cold. Still, she drank the cold tea in one gulp and sighed slightly, "At that time, I was always very resistant to him, even targeting him in various ways. Initially, he would occasionally argue with me a bit, but later he learned about my past from someone and began to approach me slowly, trying various methods to make me happy. However, I still remained hostile to him, even doing things that hurt him..."
Li Qiyi poured another cup of tea for Cen Nong. Cen Nong picked up the teacup just as a clear tear precisely fell into it.
All along, Li Qiyi thought of Cen Nong as an unyielding strong woman, graceful and sometimes as ruthless as a man, yet never did she expect to see such a vulnerable side of her today.
"Where is he now?"
Li Qiyi thought the man had left because of Cen Nong’s anger, hoping to persuade Cen Nong to muster the courage to find him.
"He’s dead."
These three words, simple yet profound, made Li Qiyi freeze for a moment.
Cen Nong gently wiped away the moisture from the corner of her eye, slowly raised her head, and looked towards the southern sky, "During an overseas mission, both of us were caught in a life-or-death situation. When the military came to rescue us, there was a shootout, and he took a bullet for me to save me..."
Towards the end, Cen Nong fell silent again.
Li Qiyi also remained silent, knowing that at this moment, no words could help.
Cen Nong, after all, was not an ordinary woman. She quickly composed herself from the grief, smiled at Li Qiyi, and said, "Sorry to let you see this."
Li Qiyi shook her head slightly, unsure of what to say as comforting words could hardly ease Cen Nong’s internal wounds.
This time, Cen Nong tossed out the cold tea in her cup, poured herself a warm cup of jasmine tea, placed it near her delicate nose, inhaled the unique fragrance of jasmine, and softly said, "It feels like God is really playing a joke on me. Years later, he appeared again. You know, I can’t even tell who is who among the three of them anymore."
Li Qiyi also found this world incredibly unbelievable. It seemed too coincidental; three men with almost identical appearances constantly appearing in Cen Nong’s emotional world. The first was her first love but hurt her the most; the second, although she disliked and rejected him, used his own body to save her life.
No wonder Cen Nong had special feelings towards this Li Jiu.
However, Li Qiyi always approached matters straightforwardly. After a moment of silence, knowing full well that what she was about to say wasn’t something Cen Nong would like to hear, she still spoke, "CEO Cen, if the first two times were coincidences, I personally think the third time must be premeditated."
Right to the point!
Cen Nong did not refute Li Qiyi. As a CEO, she had met many people; leaving aside Li Jiu’s actions and behavior, just his openly displayed abilities already surpassed everyone. Such a talented person did not stay in America to make a name on Wall Street but returned to Yuhang, entering her investment group through the talent market. No matter how one looked at it, it was all too strange.
Moreover, Cen Nong had watched Li Jiu’s interview video. He used five languages to tell a story only circulated in China, which was quite odd. Furthermore, the languages he used were so authentic that even locals felt ashamed.
It was as if Li Jiu had grown up in these five countries and excelled in each.
However, a voice in Cen Nong’s heart kept telling her—"What if it’s just a coincidence?"
Cen Nong had already missed one opportunity; she truly didn’t want to repeat the mistake.
As a 35-year-old woman, even though Cen Nong still possessed great charm and beauty, age reminded her that if she missed it, she might spend the rest of her life alone.
Every deep night, lying quietly on the large soft bed, even with air circulation turned on, even with the room temperature perfect for sleeping, even with the newest materials for warm yet breathable bedding, she still felt lonely and cold.
Long night chill, cold moon like frost.
Cen Nong was not a career-oriented woman. Although she was known throughout Eastern Sea Province and even the entire China Business World, she actually hoped to be a little woman nestled in the arms of the one she loved.
When she felt tired, she could fully relax and lean on him, thinking of nothing, doing nothing, just quietly watching him, smelling his scent, feeling his unique warmth.
It sounds like infatuation, but as a woman about to enter middle age, Cen Nong’s demands weren’t excessive at all.
A woman’s most beautiful time begins at 16 and ends after 28.
Cen Nong had missed that; she just wanted to let her last bit of beauty fully blossom.
Even if—even if this Li Jiu was just a pretense, even if he truly was a pawn placed by an opponent, these were things she didn’t want to think about now because she was already 35.
After a moment of silence, Cen Nong said to Li Qiyi, "I still want to give it a try. Since I suspect him, give him a position that seems glamorous but is actually idle. If he really is an opponent’s spy and can’t access company secrets, he’ll surely make a move; if not, we can promote him later."