Chapter 10

"Emily, you're here! Come sit down."

Liam greeted warmly and even stood up to pull the chair for Emily.

Emily was stunned for a moment, then sat down on the chair, softly saying, "Thank you."

Liam smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "No need to thank me. Don't be so formal."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liam felt a cold and piercing gaze fixed on him.

He turned his head and met Luke's gaze, which was full of icy hostility.

Liam couldn't help but shiver, awkwardly retracting his hand and sitting back down in his seat.

Emily handed the bag she was holding to Liam. "Mr. Smith, thank you for last night."

Liam glanced at Luke from the corner of his eye, then reached out to take the bag. "What's there to thank for? As your friend, it's the right thing to do."

He stood up suddenly. "Uh, I need to go to the restroom, it’s an emergency."

Before Emily could react, Liam had already left.

The atmosphere in the private room became awkward.

Emily stood up. "Well, the jacket is delivered, I'll be leaving now..."

Before she could finish, she heard Luke's voice. "Sit down and eat."

Emily shook her head. "No need, I have something to do."

Luke said bluntly, "Is it because you have something to do, or because you don't want to see me?"

Emily lowered her eyes, silent.

Luke sighed helplessly. "Your temper hasn't changed at all. When you're angry, you just ignore people."

Emily immediately became annoyed.

"What does my temper have to do with you?"

The room became quiet.

Emily realized her mood was off, so she lowered her eyes and didn't speak.

Luke stood up and walked to Emily. "Are you still angry about me going abroad back then? I..."

Emily interrupted him. "What right do I have to be angry?"

Luke reached out to ruffle her hair gently, his tone soft. "How can you not have the right to be mad? Out of everyone in the world, you are the one with the most right to be mad."

Emily was silent.

"Alright, sit down and eat. I've ordered your favorite fish."

Emily didn't move. Instead, she sulked. "I don't like it anymore. I haven't liked it for a long time."

Luke paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

"Emily, have you been doing well over the past couple of years?"

"It’s all in the past now. I have something to do, I'm leaving."

With that, she turned and walked towards the private room door.

Five years of longing, only to find it was all a lie in the end.

She didn't know how to face Luke anymore.

In the restaurant lobby.

Jake was bored, playing on his phone. He occasionally responded to the chattering girl sitting across from him.

"Jake, I heard from your mother that you started working in your family’s company in your second year of university, is that right?"

Jake casually replied, "It was arranged by my mom, I didn't want to."

Anna fell silent.

She could tell Jake wasn't interested in her and felt a bit disappointed.

To be honest, Jake was exactly her type, both in family background and appearance.

She thought to herself, maybe she should take the initiative.

"By the way, a film was released recently. How about we go see it tomorrow?"

Jake suddenly remembered that Emily had mentioned something about going to watch a movie together.

He had gone, but with another girl, leaving Emily to wait for him in the cinema.

When he walked out of the screening room, he saw Emily quietly sitting in the cinema's ticket hall, waiting for him.

He then went straight to the hotel with the girl, even making Emily go buy condoms.

He couldn't remember exactly how Emily felt at the time.

All he knew was that she was angry.

But in the end, she still dutifully brought the condoms to him.

Clearly, Emily was very obedient. He could tell she cared about him.

But as soon as he thought about the agreement between Emily and his mother, Jake grew angry.

So, he gave Emily the silent treatment for several days.

Until half a month ago, when they had a breakup.

It had been nearly 20 days since they broke up.

This was the longest they had fought in the past three years.

Thinking of this, Jake couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

He regretted listening to his mother and going on this useless blind date.

He wasn't at all interested in Anna, so why waste time here?

Realizing this, Jake couldn't stay any longer.

He looked at the girl still talking nonstop across from him and interrupted her. "Sorry, Miss Freeman, there's a project issue at the company. I need to go back for a while."

Jake came up with a poor excuse and stood up before Anna could reply. "I'll pay for today's..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw Emily walking down from the second floor.

He thought he was seeing things.

After blinking, he realized it really was Emily.

He smirked, proudly smiling to himself.

She said she didn't care.

But here she was, looking for him.

He was ready to teach Emily a lesson.

Just as he was thinking of how to deal with her, he saw a man chasing after her.

Jake recognized the man.

It was Liam, the second son of the Smith family.

Liam seemed to have said something to Emily, then affectionately ruffled her hair.

This action enraged Jake. He immediately stood up, not caring about his date anymore, and walked briskly toward Emily.

As he got closer, he heard Liam say, "Don't be mad at me. It's Luke who insisted on coming."

‘She’s so distant with me and so intimate with another man? That's just great.

Jake was furious.

Unable to control his temper, he stood at the bottom of the stairs and sarcastically shouted at Emily.

"I was wondering why you broke up so decisively. Turns out you've hooked up with someone else?"

Emily glanced sideways.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, then she looked away and ignored Jake.

Liam glanced at Jake from above, then lazily put his arm around Emily's shoulder, saying, "Do you think Emily’s some kind of pushover Mr. Phantom?"

Jake's expression darkened as he fixed his gaze on Liam's arm around Emily's shoulder. "Liam, don't let this woman deceive you. She might just be after your money."

Liam paused, then looked at Emily with surprise. "Emily, is that true? I have plenty of money, you can definitely deceive me all you like."

The corners of Emily’s lips twitched. Was this guy a fool?

She pushed his hand away with some disdain.

Jake saw this and gritted his teeth.

This idiot, does he have a problem with his brain?

Before Jake could speak, Liam arrogantly continued, "Emily, I'm nothing like those stingy, stinky men."

After saying that, he provocatively looked at Jake.

Emily waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, yes, you're different. I have to go now, see you next time."

She didn't even look at Jake and walked straight out of the restaurant.

Jake was completely ignored in front of everyone and his face immediately turned cold.

‘Very well, she’s really got guts now.’

He shot a fierce glare at Liam before turning around and chasing after Emily.

Liam stared at Jake's receding figure, deep in thought.

Something wasn't right.

The way Jake and Emily were acting was way too unusual.