"Do we continue as a group…" Xiuying's voice dropped slightly, "…or should we just disband?!"
The room fell silent.
The girls exchanged glances, but no one spoke. For the first time, Everbloom stood at a point where words were no longer enough to fix anything. Normally, any misunderstanding or tension between them could be resolved with time, or even laughter—but this time felt different.
It felt as though something had already begun to crack in their once-solid friendship, even if none of them dared to say it out loud.
Xiuying pressed her lips together. They needed to talk this through, so she shifted her gaze toward Si Yu.
"Si Yu… what's your opinion? Do we continue as a group… or do we disband?"
Si Yu had always been outspoken, never afraid to voice her thoughts. Xiuying started with her first, hoping her words would push the rest to finally speak what they had been holding back.
Si Yu turned to Zheng Mengyao, her cat-like eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yao Yao said she liked Broth—Haoran," she began. "But we all know why it's taboo for members to like the same person. It always causes problems in a group."
Her gaze shifted back to Xiuying. "So you should be asking her that question."
Her voice, soft a moment ago, had turned sharp and provoking.
Lina, seated beside Mengyao, immediately turned to her.
"Aren't you being too much? Yao Yao already said she likes Haoran, but nothing really happened—" She paused, then added, "If you were in her position, could you really control your feelings and just stop liking someone?"
At her words, Mengyao lowered her head, hiding the shame and guilt in her eyes as her fingers slowly pressed together.
Si Yu was about to retort when Meiqi cut in.
"If the reason we're all like this is because of my breakup with Haoran… then I apologize."
All of them turned to look at her.
"I broke up with Haoran for personal reasons. It was never because of Mengyao." Her gaze briefly flicked toward her, unreadable.
"She can like him. It doesn't matter now."
Without waiting for a response, she stood and excused herself, leaving the room in heavy silence.
…
At a restaurant in the capital…
"Mr. Wang, about what you said… Why should I believe you?" the young man in a chequered polo asked, his doubtful gaze fixed on Wang Zi Rui across the table.
Though only eighteen, traces of youthful immaturity still lingered in his features, his inexperience still evident in his eyes.
Wang Zi Rui's usually stoic face curled into a mocking smirk.
"Who are you to doubt my words?" His voice was calm, yet laced with disdain. "You know so little, yet you still believe your uncle would simply hand you the presidency?"
The young man frowned. He was the young master of Greenland Corporation, one of the largest architectural firms in Province A. His father had been an honest, highly respected architect—the reason GL Holdings had maintained a long-standing partnership with them for years.
But tragedy had struck. His father passed away, and with him gone, the young man was deemed too inexperienced to take over the company. The presidency was temporarily placed in the hands of his uncle.
Wang Zi Rui gestured lightly, and Si Qi stepped forward, handing him the document.
The young man took it, his eyes trembling faintly. His grip tightened on the pages as he flipped through them, his expression growing increasingly tense.
"What is this?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Zi Rui's golden eyes darkened, and the air in the room seemed to grow colder.
"Evidence of your uncle's embezzlement—and proof the company is already on the verge of bankruptcy," he said, his tone low and rough, carrying an authority that made the young man tremble. "GL Holdings will not work with a man like that. The contract will be terminated."
At his words, a tear slipped down the young man's cheek. He let out a broken sob, shoulders trembling as his breathing turned uneven.
His uncle—the man who had raised him, cared for him since childhood—had embezzled company funds, leaving everything his father had built through years of hardship on the brink of collapse.
"Mr. Wang, please… is there anything I can do to save my father's company?" he pleaded, dropping to his knees.
Zi Rui rose from his seat, unfazed.
"I can't help you," he said coldly. "But I can give you a way out."
…
Later that night…
Song Meiqi stepped out of the company vehicle and was about to enter her apartment building when a familiar voice suddenly called out to her.
She turned, and before she could fully react, she was pulled into an embrace. A wave of warmth hit her chest, and a familiar scent filled her senses.
"Xiao Qi, I finally found you… You don't know how much I missed you," Si Haoran said softly, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
Song Meiqi trembled slightly. She hadn't expected him to come, and for a moment, she froze in his arms. Then, as everything that had happened rushed back into her mind, a sharp ache pierced her heart. The pain jolted her back to her senses, and she immediately shoved him away.
Si Haoran frowned, his gaze dropping to the wrinkled fabric where she had pushed him. Confusion flickered across his face before he looked at her again.
Meiqi's gaze swept the surroundings like a thief afraid of being seen before returning to him. "Si Haoran, why are you here?" she asked, her voice cold and sharp—strangely unfamiliar.
Haoran let out a light chuckle, as if she had said something absurd.
"I came to find you."
"Find me…?" A faint smirk touched her lips, her midnight eyes narrowing. "On what grounds are you here to find me… my ex-boyfriend?"
At the word ex, Haoran stiffened. A vein pulsed faintly at his temple as urgency crept into his expression. "Meiqi, are you still angry with me?" he said quickly.
"I was too drunk that night… it was a mistake," he said quickly. "I've already distanced myself from Yao Yao. There's nothing between us—we'll never be together." His voice tightened. "I wanted to find you earlier, but those damn reporters wouldn't leave me alone… I had to wait until now."
Meiqi simply watched him in silence, her gaze calm and detached—almost languid. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice soft and steady.
"Haoran… we already broke up." Her eyes held his without wavering. "What's the point in explaining now?"