Chapter 2

After forgetting my umbrella and being unable to go home for a while, I went to the beef shop across the road and ordered a bowl of beef soup to warm my body.

Just as I sat down, a known figure stood across from me.

It was Azalea.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

I shook my head.

“The table belongs to the beef shop. Please make yourself at home.”

She paused, then stayed silent.

Soon after, the shop owner brought over two bowls of hot beef soup.

Azalea did not pick up her utensils, but only watched me quietly.

After a long time, she slowly said, “The car crash last time was an accident. Zekeiah Stormvale just posted it on his Instagram Story and he only happened to catch you in the photo.”

“It’s fine, it’s all behind us.”

Two weeks earlier, I went to give home service to a client with mobility problems.

On the way, I was hit by a fast Mercedes-Benz, broke through the guardrail, the car flipped over and I got injured.

After being saved, I learned that the driver who caused the crash was Azalea’s husband.

That childhood sweetheart, whom Azalea cheated on me with twice at my engagement party and wedding.

Only a few days after that event, many people added me as contacts and their messages all sounded the same.

“So the pathetic hasn’t quit, he’s back again?”

It was clear that Zekeiah had spread the story, trying to drag my name through the dirt.

At that time, Azalea went on, “Don’t worry, I already warned the people who bothered you.”

“If you still care, I can give you more compensation, so you can rest longer.”

I shook my head. “No need. I will only take what belongs to me.”

“Also, the perpetrator already compensated me; it’s at least half a month of my pay.”

I blew on the beef soup with my spoon, like I was talking about something small.

Seeing that I stayed calm, she raised her voice a little.

“Zayden, weren’t you always so strong-minded? What happened to you?!”

Just then, a customer suddenly walked up to Azalea and said, “Aren’t you Azalea, the travel blogger everyone’s talking about lately? And I heard you’re also the boss of a public company, a real big shot!”

“I’m your fan, I never thought I’d see you in real life!”

“You look even prettier than in the videos! Would you mind taking a photo together?”

Azalea smiled a little awkwardly, but still agreed.

She took a photo as well and on purpose or by accident, she also caught me in it.

The customer looked at me. “Aren’t you Azalea’s old partner? I saw you at a business meeting with my boss before, but I haven’t seen you two together recently. I thought you had broken up, but it looks like you’re still getting along.”

I paused a bit, focused on eating my beef soup, then looked up with a smile. “You got the wrong person. We’re only sharing a seat.”

“Is that so? It does look that way.”

The person scratched their head and walked off. But the anger in Azalea’s eyes only grew stronger.

She pulled out a video they recorded together years earlier and showed it to me.

“Look at this, who else could it be if not you!”

But I tapped open her latest video. It showed her and Zekeiah in a close moment in Iceland. Right then, her expression changed a lot and she grabbed the phone and turned it off.

Seeing her scared look, I suddenly thought of the year when we first crossed paths.

At that time, I was already a rising star with the power to shake the business field.

At the success seminar, she kept asking me about the ways to succeed.

I slowly explained everything to her for quite a while. And in the respect she showed me, there was also another feeling hidden underneath. But I knew that at that moment, we were simply standing on different steps.

If one day she stood at the same level as me, her view of me might change.

So, I acted as if I did not notice her feelings at all.