114 Like fate carved upon stone
Jun stood rooted as if lightning struck him. His head ever so slowly turned to face Yunru. He felt lightheaded as the words hit his ears. His eyes rapidly blinked.
Yunru continued, practically hopping with elation. “The source of this news are two of the most beautiful women in this world – Aunt Nana and Aunt Xinyi, who saw Bro Jun buying the stunning ring for a proposal!”
The employees burst into loud cheers and clapping. “Congratulations!”
“Han Shui is so lucky!”
“He is the President’s cousin? No wonder he is so sexy! The beauty just runs in the family.”
“Aww, a proposal is so beautiful.”
Jun froze.
Mom and Aunt were there too?
He was there to cancel the order, but they misunderstood as him buying it for Shui.
Shit!
Ai continued to stand among the crowd, staring at Jun with a blank gaze. Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt upon hearing Jun and Shui’s engagement. A ring meant that he would become her fiance.
‘As for Shui and I, I will announce our breakup to my family.’
She lowered her eyes and remained still. Everybody else was cheering and clapping and laughing, but Ai couldn’t find herself doing any of that.
His words that night had put her at ease. But now, she sensed the pain and stifling coming back to her, gripping and entangling her heart like how vines clutched the trees.
Not uttering a single word and not making a single change in her countenance, Ai took slow backward steps. She turned and left Sky Publishing without getting to meet Yunru.
Her career as MissImperfectlyFine was crucial to her, but the feelings that swayed her heart into a disarray brought everything’s importance to zero.
We are nothing but acquaintances.
At this point, she began to doubt if Jun and her were even friends?
Ai looked ahead and kept walking, but her pace was getting heavier and hastier.
So, I have no reason to feel this way.
If Shui loves Jin, then why would Jun and her get back together? They have broken up already.
She knew it didn’t make any sense, and she tried to think rationally about it. But her calmness, which was her biggest strength, was slowly slipping away from her.
Rationality and emotions were at war with each other with her emotions gaining control over her decisions despite her protest.
But this is Jun’s choice. I am not anything to him. It shouldn’t matter to me what he does and what he doesn’t.
Ai put a harsh brake on her steps and let out a deep breath which shivered her with pain. She gently brushed the tip of her finger against her eyelashes and found a pearl of tear latch onto it shining under the sun.
She remembered their dance, she remembered the night they spent at the swing and now this was the news she heard.
It shouldn’t matter to me at all…
But why does this still hurt me so much?
—
Jun dragged Yunru into his office and shut the door hard. “Why did you announce it in front of the company, Yunru!?”
He frowned. “Huh? Why are you so shocked? Isn’t it such good news!?” His face brightened. “My bro is gonna get engaged! Of course, I had to announce it! Aunt Nana told me to. She and Aunt Xinyi were bubbling with such happiness haha. She told me to give a raise to everybody’s salaries with this good news.”
Jun was in disbelief.
He remembered that his surprise to propose to Shui in his past life was a surprise until the end. It was never announced to Sky’s employees.
But because the course of his fate was diverted by Nana and Xinyi seeing Jun ‘buy the ring’ instead of cancelling it, the outcome changed, and this wasn’t a surprise any longer. His visit to the jewelry shop that coincided with Nana and Xinyi’s shopping trip altered the flow of events.
Yunru grinned. “But don’t worry, Bro! I have taken all our employees in confidence! If they want the raise, then they wouldn’t leak it to Shui. Your surprise is safe~”
But there wasn’t any sign of thrill or delight from Jun’s countenance. Instead, he cursed himself.
“This is wrong, Yunru!” He banged his palm on the desk, making Yunru widen his eyes in shock.
“Huh? What is wrong?” He was confused.
“Mom and Aunt Xinyi have misunderstood it! I wasn’t there to buy the ring. I was there to cancel the order!” He gritted his teeth in a fury.
He could have cancelled the order on phone itself, but since the ring was ready, Jun felt that he owed a personal apology and talk with Mr. Shao. He could have saved all his efforts by cancelling it immediately after his rebirth, but he missed it. Jun wasn’t so harsh to just rudely wrap things up over a call when it was his own fault.
“Cancel? But why? Aren’t you going to propose to Shui?”
Jun forced himself to calm down and looked at Yunru. “No. Shui and I broke up.”
“…What?”
“Shui and I have broken up.”
Yunru gave him a blank stare because it was beyond his comprehension. “You are not Bro Jun, right? Are you some doppelganger of his!?”
His expression darkened. “I am not joking!”
“Of course you are! You expect me to believe you? Do you think ANYBODY will believe you? If you and Shui broke up, then the earth is flat!” He declared.
Jun pressed the bridge of his nose. “Yunru…”
“Bro, how can you say that? You had claimed Shui as your wife even before she was born. Don’t you remember what you used to say to Aunt Xinyi?
‘She is my future wife.’
‘I will marry her and nobody else.’
‘She is only mine.’
Hell, you even constantly annoyed Uncle Zhiyuan by addressing him as your ‘future father-in-law’, and this was when you were just four years old. Then you became her shadow the moment Shui was born. You were there wherever she was. Your whole childhood until now revolved around Shui and only Shui.
You were so impatient to make her yours that you asked her to become your girlfriend when she was sixteen. At this point, it’s already known that the Liu and Han families are going to be bound by your and Shui’s marriage one day! Your relationship is like fate carved upon stone. And NOW you say that you two broke up? YOU and SHUI broke up? I don’t believe this at all!”