“No wonder…” An Ting gave Si Si a wry smile. “I think you knew all along that you were going to win, didn’t you?”
"I think so," Sisi replied, both embarrassed and unable to suppress her pride.
“I understand,” Anting said decisively, turning to face David. “Perhaps we can schedule another time tomorrow to discuss the contract details?”
David immediately nodded in agreement.
Anting tidied up her documents, picked up her briefcase, and turned around to see Joel and Sisi passionately kissing, oblivious to everyone else. She swallowed her bitter tears, straightened her head, and nodded apologetically to David, who stood to the side.
"No need to see me off, I know the way." A budding crush thus came to an end. She forced herself to be strong and walked out.
"Brother, I think you guys are probably staying here tonight?"
Sensing he wouldn't get a reply, Philip shrugged and said, "Alright, let's head back then. Come on, David, I'm exhausted and about to lie down. I've never run so much in my life in one day!"
The two brothers, who were in the same boat, left together, muttering, "Maybe we can break the Guinness World Record!"
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Chapter Ten: "Twined threads of affection" by Yu Xin
"How's it going? Did you find them?"
Philip was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Joel? No? David? No? Damn it! What am I going to do?" He paced back and forth in front of Jasmine's table. "Help me think of something!"
“There’s really nothing I can do. The president’s cell phone is switched off, and Vice President David’s phone has no signal. They haven’t given any information about their whereabouts either. I’ve asked everywhere I can, even at the Rox’s mansion and Jay’s cell phone, but nobody knows where they are,” Molly said helplessly. “What the hell are they doing here all of a sudden?” Philip said through gritted teeth. “They didn’t even contact us, just came without a word. It’s no wonder they can’t find them, while I’m all overwhelmed and don’t know what to do!”
“This…” Jasmine hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
“Miss, it’s best to tell me the truth if there’s anything I need to know, so I don’t have to interrogate you.” Philip stared at her suspiciously. “Actually, they’ve been trying to contact me by phone, but…” Jasmine smiled bitterly, “The president refuses to listen or see me, so I have to make up all sorts of excuses. They probably got suspicious too, so they came to my door directly.”
“Damn it!” Philip cursed. “Then the two of them vanished without a trace, leaving me to clean up the mess for the boss!” Jasmine couldn’t help but laugh out loud, but when she saw Philip glaring at her with hostility, she quickly swallowed her laughter. “No, they didn’t know that President Richard Sue would be coming; it was just a coincidence.”
He raised his eyebrows and asked skeptically, "Really?"
Jasmine quickly raised her right hand. "I swear!"
“Fine, I’ll trust you this once.” Philip snorted, then slumped his shoulders in dejection. “But I still don’t know what to do!” “How long will they have to wait?”
“God knows!” He kept coughing and sighing. “They said they’d wait until Joel comes back. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to watch their faces. And even if he does, Joel will probably give us a good scolding. We’re caught in the middle.”
Jasmine chuckled to herself, "Then you'll have no choice but to..."
"Hey! You two, are you slacking off and chatting during work hours?" David swaggered out of the elevator with a cheerful air.
"Still laughing?" Philip's face darkened, and he gave him a malicious smirk. "Fine, laugh your fill now, or you'll be crying later." "Huh? Why are you angry? I just occasionally skipped work to take my wife out for a stroll, is that some heinous crime?" David patted Philip's back reassuringly. "Okay, okay, you can rest this afternoon, is that alright?"
Philip glanced strangely at Jasmine, whose face was contorted from suppressing laughter. "This is... um, the Z you mentioned." "Of course!" David, oblivious to the danger, patted his chest confidently. "I'll take full responsibility this afternoon."
“Great! You’re in charge of those two in Joel’s office now,” Philip said, hands in his pockets, whistling leisurely as he strolled toward his office. “Don’t come looking for me even if the sky falls!” “Those two in Joel’s office? Who are they?” Jasmine, her head bowed and shoulders shaking, was too preoccupied to reply. David could only shrug and go see for himself.
"A plague!" David stormed out of the office in a fit of rage, barely a moment after entering. "Jasmine! Where is Joel?" Jasmine's lips were still trembling. "I don't know! His cell phone is off, and I've asked around everywhere he might be." "Damn it! Why didn't you warn me?" David complained, looking utterly dejected.
"Then there's no show to watch!" Philip chuckled to himself from the side.
"Oh no, oh no! Joel's going to dump the company on the two of us again!" David was pacing around like a headless chicken. "What do we do? Is Sisi going to run off to Antarctica this time?"
Philip's face paled upon hearing this. Right, if they couldn't handle this, Xixi would definitely run away again, and Joel would absolutely chase after her, leaving only the two of them to manage the company alone… Good heavens, how terrifying!
Philip pondered for a moment. "I think we'd better figure out first whether or not to let them see Joel," David said seriously. "What do you think?"
Philip raised his eyebrows. "That's why I asked you!"
"What exactly are they here for?" Jasmine asked curiously.
Philip said helplessly, "I'm forcing you to get married!"
"Married?" Jasmine exclaimed in surprise. "But the president has already..." "That's right, but not many people know about it, because Charlie Sue threatened that if Joel dared to refuse the marriage and his daughter did something foolish, he would make things very difficult for the Rox family, and Helen too..." David sighed. "So we haven't dared to go public." "But..." Jasmine looked back and forth between the two of them strangely. "Things have to be resolved sooner or later, don't they? What good will dragging it out do?" "Actually, the main reason is that Joel doesn't want to embarrass Letty too much, after all, she's a rather proud girl. So he hopes that time will gradually fade this matter, and then it can be forgotten, or like with Helen, he can resolve it privately after a while, as long as it doesn't attract the attention of the media and the public."
Jasmine scoffed. "That's impossible!"
“I think so too,” David murmured, then let out a long sigh. “Alright, let’s let them avoid the wedding one more time today, and then we’ll announce it after we’ve discussed it with Joel.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Philip with one hand and Jasmine with the other.
"None of you are going to escape. Go in together and persuade those two scoundrels to leave. Let's go!"
“We will not leave unless we see President Rox!” Richard Sue said firmly. “He can’t avoid it forever. Let’s settle the marriage now and be done with it.”
Philip had no choice but to turn to Judy Sue and persuade her. “Miss Judy, he really isn’t here. Even if you wait, you don’t know how long you’ll have to wait. Why don’t you go back first? I will…”
“I really love him!” she said, her face filled with sorrow. “Why can’t you help me? I really love him so much. Maybe he can’t love me right now, but I can wait. I will never let him regret marrying me.”
David sat down in front of her with a serious expression. "You say you love him, fine, then let me ask you, how much do you really know about him? Do you know his personality, his likes and dislikes? And how much are you willing to give for him? How much are you willing to sacrifice for him?"
She hesitated noticeably. “I…I’m not sure, but he’s always been very private, and no one has ever known anything about his personal life.” “Is that so? Nothing is impossible for a willing heart, isn’t it?” David shook his head. “Now you know nothing, yet you tell me you love him?” “I do love him! There’s no contradiction here. If it’s love at first sight, what need is there for understanding?” Judy Sue retorted. David shook his head. “That’s wishful thinking on your part.”
“What makes you say that?” she retorted defiantly. “No one can tell what he’s really thinking. Maybe he doesn’t love me, but there’s at least some…” Philip interrupted her. “He doesn’t, not at all! The eldest brother is a passionate lover. He would give everything for the one he loves, even his life!” He said with feeling, “If you’ve ever seen his passionate side, you’ll be amazed by his difference. His devotion, his passion, his heartfelt devotion—all for the one he loves.”
David frowned at Morty's longing expression. Damn Philip, he'd messed things up!
“Once they get married,” Richard Sue interjected, “Judy will change him into the kind of man you’re talking about.” David sighed deeply. “Don’t you understand? We’ll know because we’ve seen his wholehearted devotion, and we’re deeply moved. Because of that, he has no love left.”