[Location: Chen Family Villa | Time: 7:30 PM | Weather: Windy with Light Rain]
Chen Yao paced her bedroom, bare feet against the polished wooden floor. Her hands were clenched around her phone, screen still blank. She had sent the message two hours ago.
No response.
Her mother's voice echoed from downstairs, sharp as always. "Stop sulking! This isn't the first time he's made a fool of you. It's your fault for giving him that kind of power."
Chen Yao ignored her. The headlines had gone viral—Xu Yichen's return had shaken the city.
He didn't even have the decency to face me. Just a note. And the same papers I once threw at him.
Her thoughts spiraled, full of sharp corners. She still remembered that day. Her own voice screaming, his silence like thunder.
And yet, something had shifted now.
He wasn't the same man. He had always been calm, but now he was cold—detached, unshakeable.
Her fingers hovered over the screen again.
Why does it still matter?
A knock at the door pulled her back.
"Come in," she called.
The maid entered, placing a small parcel on the side table. "This arrived for you, Miss Chen. From Xu Corporation."
Chen Yao frowned. She hadn't expected this.
Inside the parcel: a single silver pen.
One she had once gifted him on his birthday five years ago.
A note was attached.
"This belongs to the past. Finish what you started."
She sat down heavily.
He remembered everything. Even the little things.
And yet, he chose this cold distance.
[Location: Xu Corporation HQ | Time: 8:15 PM]
Yichen sat in his office, reviewing files projected on the large wall screen. His expression didn't change, even when Yuan Fei entered carrying two sealed envelopes.
"Sir. From the legal team. And the internal audit results—three departments flagged."
"Start discreet investigations," he replied. "No official action until the press conference."
She nodded. "And about the Chen inheritance lawsuit—"
"Put it on hold," he said, voice firm.
She hesitated. "If I may, sir… isn't cutting ties with Miss Chen exactly what you want?"
He didn't look at her.
"It was never just about the Chen family," he said flatly. "It's about restoring balance."
"Understood." Yuan Fei bowed slightly and exited.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Yichen leaned back. His gaze drifted toward the locked drawer on his right.
Inside: Chen Yao's old voice messages. Dozens of them. Angry, tearful, sometimes regretful. He had kept them all. Never deleted a single one.
But he never replied.
He picked up the pen from earlier—the one she gifted him. Silver, engraved discreetly with his initials.
"Finish what you started."
The irony wasn't lost on him.
[Location: Café Lumière | Time: 9:00 PM]
Du Haoran sat at the bar, drink in hand, anger thinly veiled behind a plastic smile. Across from him sat a woman with long wine-colored nails and sharp eyeliner.
"You told me he wouldn't come back," she said coldly. "Now he's CEO again. That affects my end too."
"Relax," Du Haoran muttered. "He's arrogant. He thinks he's untouchable. But I know Yichen. He always had a soft spot for unfinished business."
"You mean Chen Yao?"
"No," he replied, swirling the glass. "The other one."
The woman leaned closer. "What if she comes back too?"
He didn't answer.
[Location: Qin Lingxi's Apartment | Time: 9:15 PM]
Lingxi closed her journal and placed it beside the stack of old medical books. Her apartment was quiet, but her mind was anything but.
She hadn't contacted him.
Not after five years.
Not even when she heard he returned.
She had walked away for a reason—a scar deeper than he ever knew.
But still, a message sat in her drafts.
Yichen. I saw the news. Congratulations. Are you… okay?
She hadn't sent it. Her thumb had hovered over the "Send" button all night.
"He deserves to forget," she whispered.
But her fingers still reached for her phone again.
And her heart still hesitated.
[Location: City A Press Lounge — The Next Day | Time: 11:00 AM]
The press conference was live.
Journalists, investors, and stakeholders filled the room. Flashes erupted as Xu Yichen entered, flanked by Yuan Fei and the new CFO.
He took the podium with ease.
"As many of you know," he began, "I have resumed my position as CEO of Xu Corporation. My return is not merely symbolic. It is strategic."
The reporters leaned in.
"In the past five years, this company grew in ways I do not regret—but not all growth is healthy. We will be returning to our core principles. Ethical business. Transparent leadership. Loyalty."
A hand shot up. "Mr. Xu, what does this mean for former acting CEO Du Haoran?"
"He has stepped down." Yichen's voice was firm. "He will not be returning."
Another question: "Sir, what about the rumors involving the Chen family inheritance dispute?"
A pause.
"Personal matters will not interfere with professional decisions. That's all."
And with that, he stepped down.
[Location: Chen Yao's Car — Watching the Livestream | Time: 11:03 AM]
The car was parked outside the Chen Corporation headquarters.
She sat motionless, staring at the phone screen as the press conference ended.
"So cold," she whispered. "As if I never existed."
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Then why did you keep that pen, Yichen?"
"Why send it back now?"
[Location: Xu Corporation HQ — After the Press Conference | Time: 12:30 PM]
Yichen returned to his office and found a bouquet on his desk.
Not flowers. A bouquet made of pens.
At the center—hers.
A note:
"You don't want messy endings? Then let me start writing mine." – C.Y.
He smirked faintly.
"So, we're playing now."
Yuan Fei entered. "Sir. Chairman Qin has requested a meeting. He claims he has something of yours."
Xu Yichen's gaze sharpened.
"Qin…?"
A name he hadn't heard aloud in years.
His voice was low. "Set the meeting."
"It's time," he muttered under his breath, "to start pulling the right strings."
[End of Chapter 4]