In the succeeding days Chen Linyun had seldom seen Xue Jinxu. The two had both been busy with their respective careers. Xue Jinxu was busy preparing for the launch of their newest oil tanker, MT Dragon Heart. It will be launched in a few days. Aside from this, her hands were tied with the day-to-day operations which needed her attention.Chen Linyun, on the other hand, had also been caught up with his own work. With his new promotion, he was bombarded with tasks and a.s.signments which were turned over to him. He was also leading a team of his own. It was almost the fourth quarter of this year, and he had just taken over the position of being the Director for Investments, yet he had also inherited the goals that the position had committed at the start of the year. Basically he only had around three to four months to achieve the company"s predetermined goals for him and his team for that year.
It would have been smooth if all his co-workers were partic.i.p.ating in his rally towards excellence. However, there were still those who were envious of his promotion, after all he was still the newcomer. The pressure was great and these people were simply trying to pull him so much lower.
Mo Wenbin was the same old goofball that he was. Although in the workplace he was a serious and diligent worker who, like Chen Linyun was trying his best to contribute to his own team, since catching-up season had begun. Mo Wenbin and Chen Linyun were from different departments, though. Their respective work a.s.signments were not nearly related.
Since both were busy, they usually only saw each other at home, when both retired for the night, and even then it was a short time too. It was no more than hi and h.e.l.lo, and even sometimes just a nod of the head.
Xue Jinxu and Xue Guangxi"s relations.h.i.+p was somehow mended when Jinxu invited the girl Su Jingjing to the picnic.
Although due to their hectic schedule, the picnic was postponed to an indefinite date.
Xue Guangxi and Su Jingjing were still warm with each other. They were trying not to show off their relations.h.i.+p while in the office. However if opportunity permitted they would steal glances at each other and send messages to each other. At night they talked and talked with each other over the phone. They talked about any topic that interested them both, and complained to each other too.
At this important epoch in his brother"s life, Xue Jinxu had chosen to keep silent. She had heeded Chen Linyun"s advice. She was simply observing at hindsight. "As long as my brother"s not hurt." That was her bottomline.
At night, Xue Jinxu could not find sleep too easily too. She had been pondering about Chen Linyun"s sudden confession that night, and her bizarre answer.
"I haven"t given my answer yet. Please give me some time."
Perhaps she was just tired and emotionally unstable, that"s why she did what she did and answered the way that she did. But she admitted that she was just being honest with herself.
Usually late at night she would stand beside the floor-to-ceiling window in her apartment with a goblet of red wine in her hand. While twirling it, she"s deep in thought. Guangxi was already deep in sleep in his room.
She"d been asking herself, "What would my answer be to the question?" Her eyes could not hide the anxiety that had been engulfing her ever since that night.
Chen Linyun had asked her, "Can"t you find it in your heart to love me too?"
The problem was that she could not decide with her heart alone. She had to decide with her mind, and with her family and company in consideration too. Being objective, she would not even have given Chen Linyun a chance, a glance. Simply because he was not cut out to be with her. He was not qualified.
However she could not simply decide like that. She seemed to have been starting to have some sort of inclination to the man – a sort of favoritism. If it"s on a whim, she did not know how to validate. But to risk on a whim is stupidity, and it"s not worth it.
Still, she decided to keep on a standstill and further wait for who knows what she was waiting for. Perhaps, a sign from the heavens how to move forward, or a clearer judgment dictated by their circ.u.mstances. She did not even know.
Although she had said many times that she does not acknowledge her betrothal, she realized that it was easier said than done. At the end, she might be forced to simply obey the wishes of the elders. After all, it would mostly benefit the whole family. Without the ghost of her twin brother, for sure, their family will be attacked from all sides, until nothing will be left for them to thrive on. It"s the winner"s world after all.
And so, she could not be selfish and only think about herself. She was not even sure with herself.
Most of the time, she was reminded of her friend Teng Man Rui"s suggestion, "If you"re already married, they won"t force you to marry anymore."
Xue Jinxu thought of Chen Linyun. She was shaking her head that night because she could not make him marry her to escape her betrothal.
He would be the perfect candidate to lead the way towards the only escape route from the marriage that her family arranged for her, although would not necessarily answer his query.
And she knew, that form of betrayal was no more than poison that could kill the innocence of a person.
After all, a hundred no"s are less agonizing than one insincere yes. [1]
[1] Chinese proverb