There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and she didn't say anything more.

After hanging up, I stood by the window.

The leaves of the parasol tree were scattered all over the ground.

At the final progress report meeting, Luke signed the papers and put down his pen.

"Project completed. Thank you for your hard work." The conference room emptied out, leaving only him and me.

He closed the folder, stood up, and walked over to me.

"Ginger."

No matter how many times I emphasized otherwise, Luke finally used the nickname I didn't want to hear.

"The only reason I signed this project was because of you. I just... I just wanted to stay with you a little longer."

"After all, you don't want to see me at all, do you?"

I picked up my bag: "Are you done?"

Luke replied: "Done."

I walked past him. He called out to me when I reached the door.

"Ginger."

I didn't look back.

"When you used to wait for me downstairs, I never knew how it felt to have someone waiting for you."

"But now I know."

"You are right there across from me; you don't look at me, you don't talk to me. So this is how painful it feels to be ignored. Why did I only realize this now?"

A spot in my heart clenched, as if aching for my past self, who had been so full of fervor.

But I didn't respond, just lifted my feet and walked out of the conference room.

As I reached the corner, I vaguely heard Luke muttering to himself.

"Is it too late to say these things now..."

Chapter 14

After walking out of the conference room, I stood at the corner for a few seconds.

Luke’s muttering felt like a thorn—not deep, but caught right in the softest part of my heart.

I took a deep breath, lifted my feet, and walked back to my desk.

The project was over, and I thought I wouldn't see him again.

But the next evening, Shen Yan invited me to dinner.

When I arrived, he was already seated, helped me pull out my chair, and pushed the menu over.

I looked down and flipped through a few pages; I ordered everything I usually loved to eat.

Shen Yan suddenly asked: "Did you often come to this kind of shop before?"

Just as I was about to speak, my peripheral vision caught someone walking in from the entrance.

Luke was wearing a white shirt, alone.

Shen Yan followed my gaze; the smile on his face instantly faded, and his eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly.

Luke walked over, his eyes landing on me before shifting to Shen Yan's face.

"What a coincidence," he said, his voice very faint.

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, picked up his water glass, and took a sip. His tone was neither cold nor warm: "Mr. Lu is alone? Would you like to sit together?"

Since Shen Yan learned about what happened between Ginger and Luke, he couldn't simply view Luke as a junior anymore.

Luke gave him a look: "No need."

He turned and headed toward a corner seat.

Shen Yan put down his water glass, looked at me, and his voice returned to its gentle tone: "Are you okay?"

I smiled: "What could be wrong with me?"

Halfway through the meal, a waiter brought over a pot of hot sake.

"Compliments of that gentleman," the waiter pointed to the corner.

Shen Yan glanced at the pot of sake and let out a soft laugh—it was faint, but carried clear mockery.

He didn't speak, pushed the pot aside, and continued eating his meal.

I didn't touch the sake either.

When Shen Yan went to pay the bill, the front desk said the gentleman in the corner had already paid, including ours.

Shen Yan stood at the front desk, silent for two seconds. Without saying thank you, he directly scanned the QR code to pay for our table.

He walked back and picked up his jacket: "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Walking out of the Japanese restaurant, the night wind blew over.

Shen Yan sent me back to my apartment. When we got downstairs, he suddenly stopped.

"I won't back down just because he's Luke."

He looked at me, his tone very serious.

"Unless you tell me yourself that you still have feelings for him."

Before I could speak, a voice came from behind me.

"Ginger."

I turned my head.

Luke stood by the flower bed, holding a takeout bag in his hand.

"Are you stalking me?"

"I live in this residential area." He held up his access card, "1802."

I lived in 1602.

Shen Yan looked at him, then at me; the expression on his face faded.

"Ginger, I'm heading out." His voice was calm, but the fingers holding the car keys were tight.

"Okay."

Shen Yan turned and walked away; his pace was much faster than usual.

Luke walked over and stood in front of me.

"When he said he wouldn't back down, you didn't answer." His voice was low, "Do you really like him?"

I looked up at him.

"That has nothing to do with you."

I turned and walked toward the unit door, swiping my card to open it.

Luke didn't follow in, his hand pressed against the glass.

"Then what about me?" His voice came through a layer of glass, "Do you still have any relation to me?"

I stood at the elevator entrance, with my back to him.

"Luke, on the day you said we were breaking up, you said you didn't care, you said you didn't lack people chasing you. You also said, once I left you, no one would give me a second glance."

I turned around, looking at him through the glass.

"I remember every single word."

The elevator doors opened, and I walked in.

As the doors were about to close, his voice came through: "Those words, they are the things I regret saying most in my life."

The elevator doors closed.

I leaned against the elevator wall and closed my eyes.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from him.

It was added out of necessity during the project, but now it had become a nuisance.

[I live in 1802, you live in 1602. You live right downstairs from me.]

I didn't reply.

The elevator reached the 16th floor, and I stepped out.

The phone vibrated again.

[Ginger, how did you survive every single day during those years you waited for me?]

I stood in the hallway, and the voice-activated light above my head went out.

The light from the phone screen reflected on my face.

[I’ve only waited for three months, and I’m already nearly going insane.]

The screen lit up again, the last message.

[You waited for me for three years back then. Now that I’ve started waiting, do you want me to wait for three years too?]

[Or is it that you will never turn back again?]

I gripped my phone tightly, didn't reply, opened the door, and went inside.

Chapter 12

At nine o'clock the next morning, I pushed open the conference room door on time.

Someone was sitting at the head of the long table.

I glanced over and caught sight of Luke's face.

He was wearing a dark shirt with silver cufflinks, and a laptop was placed in front of him.

Vice President Chen and several project team members sat beside him.

I hadn't expected to see him here.

The conference room went quiet for a moment when I walked in.

Vice President Chen stood up to introduce: "Manager Jiang, this is our Mr. Lu from the Lu Group. He will be joining us today to listen to the project report in person."

I pulled out a chair, sat down, and projected the report materials I had prepared in advance onto the large screen.

"Mr. Lu, everyone, the project is currently 40% complete. We expect to deliver the first phase by the middle of next month."

The meeting lasted for an hour and a half.

I handled the entire report, while he listened the whole time, occasionally looking down to take notes.

When he asked questions, his tone was strictly professional, and every question hit the key nodes.

During the break, the bottle of mineral water in front of Luke was still unopened. He picked it up and placed it on the corner of the table next to my hand.

"Your voice is hoarse; have a drink of water before you continue."

I glanced at the water but didn't reach for it: "No need, let's continue."

Luke’s eyes dimmed; he silently withdrew his hand and said nothing more.

Vice President Chen returned after pushing the door open, and I continued with the second half of the report.

At 11:30, all the reporting content was finished.

Vice President Chen closed his notebook and nodded with a smile: "Manager Jiang is well-prepared. We are confident in leaving this project to you."