At the sight of her, Gu Nianbin was stunned. Besides the name, the girl also looked like Xia Xiaowan.
However, she was more gentle and quiet, and spoke to him softly. In a long light orange T shirt and a tight-fitting wine red coat, she looked decent and low-key and smiled a lot. When lifting her coffee cup, her little finger rose slightly. In the soft light of wall lamps, her well-trimmed fingernails were glistening without any nail polish on them.
The girl was an accountant. Although she was very young, she already made herself a chief financial officer. Gu Nianbin talked with her about some financial affairs. If it had been someone else, she would have tried her best to show off her professional knowledge. But the girl in front of him spoke very skillfully. Her words were sincere, appropriate, and well-paced, making Gu Nianbin comfortable and at ease.
Gu Nianbin couldn"t find any fault with her, even if he wanted to. The girl was perfectly in conformity with his standards for choosing a spouse. Actually, his ideal wife was Xia Xiaowan. The girl he met today was simply a copy of Xia Xiaowan. Gu Nianbin couldn"t dislike her.
Perhaps the secretary had told her that Gu Nianbin could only spare an hour to meet her. So when the time was up, she stood up, shook hand, and said goodbye to Gu Nianbin.
Then she turned around without any hesitation or reluctance, which was different from all the other women he dated before. Gu Nianbin nodded his head slightly. Without Xia Xiaowan, she would have been a good choice. At least she was reasonable and not clingy, and also seemed smart. Such a wife would take good care of his family.
"Miss Xia," he called her. "Do you have time for dinner?"
Xia Xiaowan turned to him with a smile and a slight nod. "Of course, I would love to, if Mr. Gu hasn"t found me talkative."
"Good. It"s settled then. I"ll ask my secretary to contact you." Gu Nianbin thought for a while and said, "Or how about I drive you back?"
"No, thank you. I have my own car," Xia Xiaowan said to him politely. She walked out of the coffee shop, took out a car key and pressed it, and then the lights of a white Buick flashed. She was born into a rich family, and worked as an executive in a foreign company. A rich girl like her deserved a BMW or Audi. Gu Nianbin did not expect that she drove a Buick Regal. Her low-profile style added to his impression of her.
Xia Xiaowan got into the car, waved farewell to him, and then turned the steering wheel. The Buick Regal slowly merged into traffic.
Xiaoding opened the door, but Gu Nianbin was still standing there in a daze. He called, "Master."
Gu Nianbin recovered himself. He got into the car, leaned against the seat, and rubbed the area between his eyebrows. In the morning, he had counted how many days left in the five-year commitment between him and Xia Xiaowan. Until now, she had been gone for 3 years, 8 months and 8 days, so there were only 1 year, 3 months and 22 days left. If Xia Xiaowan didn"t come back, he would forget her completely, and marry one of the girls his family introduced to him.
He did not remember how long he had been in love with Xiaowan. Ten years? Or twenty years? It seemed that she was the only one he ever loved from his p.u.b.erty on. When he was younger, he was headstrong and persistent regardless of the worries of his parents and the advice from his friends. But now, he was too old to wait longer. He needed someone to share the heavy burden on him.