Ai Publishing…
From the name itself, it was crystal clear what it meant.
'Guiying' felt it was a stroke of good luck that she accidentally heard him talking. That was enough to make her understand the context of what Yating wanted to do and enough to know what she had to do tonight.
Ai could only stare at him, not knowing what to think of what she just learned.
My name…
Yating's shoulders tensed with the sharp silence that befall. He silently glared at Guiying for bringing this up.
"Don't give me this look, Mr. Gu," 'Guiying' sneered. "It's not because of your father or the additional responsibilities that you were so down today, but because of how you had to stop this project. You wanted to build a whole company just for Ai, and I don't need to say why you decided to give up on it."
Silence.
'Guiying' glanced at him and then eyed Ai once. "As a friend, Ai wanted to know the reason too. I just told her. But well, it looks like you will strangle me any second, so let me have my drink somewhere else."
Left alone at the counter, Yating was sweating hard. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. "Oh, your fruit punch is here," he clumsily placed the glass before her.
"Ai Publishing?" Ai asked the question which he was avoiding to answer.
Yating jammed a thin slice of lemon on the glass's mouth. "It will feel more refreshing with a lemon."
"Ai Publishing?"
"Do you want some snacks? I have heard the garlic bread is tasty here."
"You are avoiding the topic."
"Of course not," he felt his heart thudding in his ears. "There is just nothing to talk about it."
Ai said with a certain weight in her voice, "I think you have a lot to say about a company you were going to name after me."
Feeling her keen and acute stare that was not giving him the luxury to hide anywhere, he could only succumb to his fate.
Yating smiled and shook his head. "It's really nothing, Ai. It's just a thought I had."
"...Since when?"
"We don't need to focus so much-"
"Since when?"
Yating sighed. "Since you didn't get the book-signing event."
Her light brown pupils watched him with disbelief.
"I was furious that you didn't get a signing event of your own. You deserved it as much as Guiying. I was hell mad at the management, I fought with them, but I could change nothing. Well, I could have if I had used my status as Gu Yating and put pressure on them, but I didn't want to. I came to Dream High to make my own career without any influence. There would have been no point if I used Dad's or my family name's connections. And I know you wouldn't have agreed with this method either. You would have wanted it on your merit."
He drank the last sip and put the glass down. "Looking at the state of the matters, I had a hunch that this would continue. They seemed focused on Guiying. They might never give you fair promotions, and I would never bear that. So, I…I decided to build my own publishing company. I wanted it to be on your name because I…" he left it unsaid and neither did Ai had to explicitly hear it.
"Now that you…" he felt a choke in his throat, "you are with Liu Jun, I couldn't continue with this plan. Ai Publishing made by Gu Yating would only embarass you, who is dating Liu Jun. I don't want to put you in an awkward position, so I scraped off this project."
Ai didn't know what to respond, but she felt her heart sharply pulsating in her chest. This didn't match with what happened in her last life.
I never had a book signing event in the past either. Does that mean…
She remembered all those times when Yating looked tired and exhausted and when he couldn't give her time in their relationship. Those canceled dates coupled with how lethargic he looked - those memories flashed in her mind. At times, she felt as if he was keeping something from her.
Was it that he was working on this company for all that time?
"...You didn't tell me," she whispered, wanting to ask the Yating of the past life.
But the Yating before her caught her question and said, "I wanted it to be a surprise. It doesn't matter now."
She stiffened and also remembered how Yating refused to meet her parents many times. He always looked awkward and hesitant whenever she brought that topic.
Was he perhaps…waiting to meet Mom and Dad after he would have successfully built the company like an accomplishment?
If he was a thoughtful boyfriend who had planned such a grand thing for her sake, she couldn't believe that he would put off meeting her parents for no reason.
Her thoughts were all jumbled up, and she could hardly make sense of it. But if this was true, then Yating's behavior had some explanation to it.
Then she also wondered how a capable man like Yating needed five years to build the company? Considering his qualifications and intellect, it shouldn't have taken him so long.
Recalling the anxiety and worry he showed a few times when they worked together, she questioned if something was holding him back?
But then if he loved her so much that he was working hard for five years to build Ai Publishing, why did he break up with her and choose Guiying? How did that love fade away so easily?
She trembled with all these questions making her feel dizzy and breathless.
What was exactly going on in the past?
—
Standing in a corner, 'Guiying' chuckled as she saw the realization and confusion hit Ai from afar. This wasn't a thing Ai could ignore.
Hit it right at the aim, 'she' thought and took out a cigarette. She exhaled a grey smoke as she enjoyed Ai's state.
Suddenly, she heard a deep voice say from behind her, "Cigarettes are not good for your health."
Startled, 'she' turned and widened her eyes as recognized Zixin standing in front of her.
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