He got up again and paced around. Even now, his position in the company was not as stable as he would have liked, but he didn't want to wait any longer. As the saying went, the longer the night lasts, the more dreams one would have.
It was better to have them with him as soon as possible.
As he moved around, his mind went over what the man he hired said. He knew his wife worked at AiChen Mobile. He could still remember the childish delight on her face when she got the employment notice.
He also knew that working at that company had been her dream for a long time because she viewed the chairman as her mentor. He even remembered feeling jealous of the way she held him in such high esteem.
He let out a smile in spite of his current mood. Those were such happy times.
He was happy but not surprised to hear about her promotion. She had always been very intelligent, not to mention dedicated to her work.
What puzzled him was the fact that she sold the house. Selling it had a note of finality to it, as if she wasn't planning to ever come back.
He stopped, unwilling to think about it. Maybe she needed a change of scenery. That had to be it. She probably thought she could always go back to the orphanage to stay with her mother if she wanted to visit.
That had to be the reason.
He started to think of how to locate her. AiChen Mobile, wasn't that a subsidiary of the Li Conglomerate?
He knew quite a bit about the conglomerate because excluding the fact that his wife worked there, products from the Li Conglomerate were quite widespread in City A, even back then.
But since the main company wasn't based in the Capital, the Han Corporation had had zero dealings with them, so he had not had a reason to look into them at all since he returned.
Now, he sat down and browsed for news on the company. If his wife was promoted before her transfer, perhaps she was in a high position? Maybe he could catch a glimpse of her or see a picture?
Unknowingly, his hands shook slightly, although whether it was due to excitement or fear, he couldn't tell.
In a short moment, articles upon articles about the Li Conglomerate showed up, and he began to browse slowly. Most of the articles were from over a year ago. There were hardly any recent news, except financial news about their services, products and unique management system.
Most of the popular articles were about the appointment of a new chairman and his thunderous declaration at his first press conference. Han Leifeng scrolled quickly, looking for pictures but finding only a couple.
He could already tell that this new chairman was a private person, but that was not very interesting to him at the moment. He kept scrolling through articles. There were a few about a leaked software, then again about the launching of a more superior one.
Even so hurried, Han Leifeng could not help but admire. He knew how devastating a leak of company secrets could be. The fact that this man could look so composed and bounce back so easily wasn't a small feat.
Still, he hadn't seen the person he was looking for. Maybe he was mistaken and her position wasn't that high after all?
Just as he was about to exit the webpage, he saw her.
More precisely, he saw her in the background of a picture. The picture was probably taken during a press conference and the camera was mainly on the chairman, but he could see her close behind him.
Frozen, he stared, feeling for the first time that his eyes were not sharp enough. Her face wasn't very clear, but he just knew she was the one. He drank in the sight of her greedily. Before he knew it, his eyes began to water.
Not satisfied with such a blurry picture, he searched her up online. Her name came up with the title "Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Li Conglomerate," and it was followed by a clearer picture of her from an interview she did a few years ago.
His eyes were glued to the picture. She had not changed much at all. She still looked slim and soft, just as he remembered. It was just that her eyes didn't have the familiar warmth it used to have, making her look more mature.
He spent an indeterminate amount of time just looking at the picture.
He made up his mind there and then to fly once again to City M. He had to see her in person. But he had to be discreet. If Liu Zhizhen found out, they would not be safe. His heart tightened even thinking about it.
Making up his mind, he exited the page. As he made to switch off his laptop, his eyes caught sight of a headline below the page he had just checked.
It seemed to be from some gossip tabloids, and the date put it at about six months ago.
It simply said in bold letters: "Chairman Li Allegedly in Love with his Special Assistant: Are wedding bells in the air?"
Taken aback, he scrolled through the article. It didn't say much, and other than the fact that they were always together and whatnot, there was no tangible evidence, making Han Leifeng heave a sigh of relief.
Then he saw a picture.
Like others, it seemed to have been taken during yet another press conference. But this time, it was not a close-up shot of the chairman, but a shot of the conference hall. The photographer showed particular skill in getting such a clear, ambiguous shot.
Due to the wide-angle camera shot, it could be seen that the chairman was looking at someone, and following the direction of his gaze, he found her.
She was far away and her features weren't very clear, but he could identify that slim figure anywhere.
Han Leifeng could feel his palms begin to sweat. Because the smile he could glimpse on the chairman's face was too tender— too personal— to be directed at a mere Special Assistant.
And what if the same smile was on Pei Yueran's face?
It would mean that in a room full of people, they were looking and smiling at each other as if no one else was present. As if they only had eyes for each other.
Impossible!
He got up again and resumed pacing, trying to calm down. It was just some gossip. It could not be trusted. The tabloids were just trying to scintillate the public, he was sure.
Besides, even if it was true—
No, he refused to think about it. There was no way it could be true.
No way at all.
*****