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CHAPTER 418
"I'm not sure I can do this," Xie Tian breathed out and slowly draped his hand over his face. "It's too much." He was sitting on the edge of a bed in one corner, while Yi Ping sat opposite him with an expressionless look as he stared at Xie Tian intently.
"Stop staring at me like I have lost it," Xie Tian said to Yi Ping who had been doing that for quite some time now since they were alone together after their meeting with Yuwen Chao.
"I would if you stop sighing and lamenting like a man whose wife left him."
The words had fallen quickly from his mouth before his P.A. realized it.
Indeed he had been abandoned but not by his wife but by Andromeda—the girl he loved.
Slowly Yi Ping cast a side glance at Xie Tian to see how angry be was and if his death had been prepared but when he laid eyes on his Master, the young Master of the Xie family wore a gloomy expression.
He felt his heart clench at the thought.
He wasn't always like this. Indeed his fight with Liu Xueyi over Andromeda hurt him once again.
"Why does she chose him always?" Xie Tian inquired even though those words aren't directed to anyone in particular.
It was just something that came up naturally without any premeditation or intentionality behind them.
But then suddenly there are two pairs of hands holding onto both sides of his head tightly so that all he could do was stare blankly into space as tears began streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.
"She loved me! Why didn't she choose me?" His voice sounded desperate and broken.
As much as Yi Ping hated to see him act vulnerable, he could not scold him.
"You said so yourself," he began, staring at the latter. "She loved you and she did choose you but your head was somewhere else. You cannot fault her."
"I know."
That was true, he was well aware of it all but it did not help soothe the pain or ache swirling inside of him.
"I thought we were passed this?" Yi Ping asked. "You and the Young Miss Liu?" He paused for a moment before continuing with an airy tone in his voice: "You have come through worse than this and you got past those right?"
Xie Tian gave a nod, staring into Yi Ping's green eyes.
"Good. I think you should cherish who you have before you lose what you have out if greed for chasing what you cannot have."
The illustration was swift and very straight forward. He was losing the genuine love of Liu Xiao Xin for an unrequited love with Andromeda.
Yi Ping's words seemed to have struck home because Xie Tian looked at his friend intently to see if he really meant what he had just said to him.
But when he saw how sincere he was, he nodded slowly to himself while wiping away some of his tears that had fallen on his face.
"Thank you…" he whispered softly as he stared back into space.
"Don't mention it. It is my pleasure," Yi Ping replied as he smiled gently in return and took his seat beside Xie Tian.
"So why are we here?" Yi Ping continued after they both calmed down from their earlier exchange. "Why are we meeting Yuwen Chao again after the last meeting?"
"We did not finalize one of the deals with Crystal Paladin."
"But..." Xie Tian held up his hand to stop him from speaking.
"I know what you want to say. He did not like our offer. Yes, I simply need to give him something else."
His eyes dimmed slightly but then brightened immediately afterwards, looking at him expectantly, waiting for Yi Ping's response.
He was right, there was no point in arguing about this anymore since this was already decided by them long ago and it was only a matter of time before it would be done and over with.
And so all that was left now was the execution of the plan itself which could take place any moment or day or even hour or minute or second.
"I would establish a strong hold in business and contend with Liu Xueyi. Even if I do not have her, I would prove to be better than him," he said with strong conviction.
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The next morning, Xie Tian woke up early to prepare himself to meet Yuwen Chao once more to discuss another deal—a trade agreement.
While he got that sorted out, Xu Fang decided to investigate what the Sun family were up to.
It wasn't like them to remain silent and not look for a way to retaliate and get back at Liu Xueyi for ruining them.
Not that they could do much now given that they brought the trouble to the Liu family.
A big mistake on their part.
"Yes," Xu Fang spoke into the phone. "I need a full report on the Sun family from the past 3 weeks. I want to know everything about what they have been up to."
He paused as he listened carefully into what the person had just told him.
"No, I don't care how you did it, I want it done!" There was an air of urgency as well as anger behind those words.
He hung up after listening intently for some time until finally, he looked at Yixian who was sitting beside him with a frown upon her face.
"What is going on?" Xu Yi-Xian asked curiously while she sipped at her tea. She was dressed in a white silk robe with a pair of slippers that matched the color and material of the dress.
"I am not sure but I think we should be prepared in case something happens again. The Sun family are covering their tracks. I do not want to be caught off guard. I must protect my friend."
"Fine. Take it slow. Sometimes being calm you see what you may miss when you are hot headed. I am glad Liu Xueyi has you but you also need to calm down, okay, cousin?" She lifted her brow, waiting for his response to what she said.
"Fine. I'll be calm." He nodded slowly before he continued, "But if anything happen, then let me handle this one by myself, don't try to play the big cousin role on me," he added quickly.
She smiled softly at him and patted him on the shoulder gently as she replied, "I understand your concern and trust you completely and that is why you can count on me. I will only provide guidance. Besides, I do not plan on ruining our reunion."
He gave a slight nod as he stared into space.
"You know…" Xu Yi-Xian began quietly after they both sat there silently for quite sometime. "It's been so long since we have seen each other after all these years apart. Wanna go to the movies with me, like old times?"
Xu Fang looked at her with surprise for some reason because it seemed out of place or even strange coming from her lips—like it was an alien concept that she had never thought about it herself until now.
In the past it was always him dragging her out for movies. Not she bringing it up.
"Sure! Why not? It would be nice seeing an action movie together again!" His eyes lit up brightly and immediately afterwards, a smile appeared upon his face too.
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