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Ch72 - Share experience
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2025-01-16 21:00:00Lena was a little overwhelmed by the lavish dinner setup—it was brimming with a sense of ceremony. The table was adorned with exquisite dinnerware and intricately carved crystal glasses.
Elise had only learned she was coming over not long ago, yet she had prepared such a sumptuous feast. Lena knew this about Elise: though she seemed carefree on the surface, she was tender and meticulous at heart.The appetizer was a luxurious lobster salad, dressed with a tangy champagne vinaigrette and served alongside crispy French baguette slices."Here, try this," Elise said, pouring vintage champagne into Lena’s glass.The bubbles were delicate, and the aroma was layered with hints of musk and citrus, perfectly complementing the appetizer's nuanced flavors. It was easy to lose track of how much you were drinking, but since they were at Elise’s house, Lena, usually a lightweight, felt no need to restrain herself.In the open kitchen, the chef was preparing steaks to their ind
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“The speech earlier was pretty good,” Alaric said, quickly signing the document and handing it back to Lena.“Thank you.”Her tone sounded tired. Alaric fiddled with the pen in his hand, hesitating slightly before speaking. “Is it because of Keaton? If you’re uncomfortable dealing with him, I can have Linda take the lead on this project. You can work behind the scenes and avoid meeting him directly.”Lena shook her head. “No, it’s fine. He hasn’t done anything to me. It might just be a cultural difference. I’ll adjust. Besides, I always have my team with me.”For a project this important, how could she avoid showing up as CPO? She wasn’t that fragile.Despite the odd tension between her and Keaton, Lena still defended him, which unsettled Alaric. “You’re clearly not okay. Why won’t you tell me?”Lena looked up at him, her eyes calm. “I’m fine. This is my job, and I’m doing it for the company.”Her response was eerily similar to the corporate platitudes he
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Rivals to Lovers Ch76 - Love letter
Lena had a dream. She found herself back in her high school classroom, sitting by the window with her chin resting on her hand, lost in thought. It was autumn, just like now. The midday sunlight streamed through the half-open window, enveloping her in a warm glow.Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, followed by the surprised voice of a classmate. “Lena, look!”Still dazed, Lena followed the direction her classmate was pointing. Looking down from the fourth floor, she saw Alaric standing beneath the shade of a tall tree. He was wearing a deep blue sweater, one hand hanging by his side, the other casually tucked into his pocket. His posture was upright, almost regal.In front of him stood a petite girl with a braided ponytail, her face lit up with a sweet smile. She looked up at him, saying something
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After finishing dinner at Cassian’s place, it started drizzling outside, and the temperature dropped a few degrees.As soon as Lena stepped out, she rubbed her arms. She hadn’t noticed the sudden change in weather.“Wait here, I’ll grab you a coat,” Cassian said quickly.“No need… I won’t be outside for long,” she replied.But when she turned around, Cassian had already disappeared. Moments later, he reappeared, and despite her protests, Lena found herself wrapped in his oversized brown cashmere coat. He scratched his head awkwardly, “Sorry, it’s a bit big.”“It’s fine,” Lena said with a smile, shaking the sleeves that were way too long for her.After hesitating for a moment, Cassian stepped forward and carefully rolled up her sleeves into neat cuffs. “There, that’s better.”Lena didn’t notice the slight shyness in his tone. Looking at the adjusted sleeves, she beamed and said, “Now I kind of regret what I said earlier.”She smiled brightly, her teeth
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“The speech earlier was pretty good,” Alaric said, quickly signing the document and handing it back to Lena.“Thank you.”Her tone sounded tired. Alaric fiddled with the pen in his hand, hesitating slightly before speaking. “Is it because of Keaton? If you’re uncomfortable dealing with him, I can have Linda take the lead on this project. You can work behind the scenes and avoid meeting him directly.”Lena shook her head. “No, it’s fine. He hasn’t done anything to me. It might just be a cultural difference. I’ll adjust. Besides, I always have my team with me.”For a project this important, how could she avoid showing up as CPO? She wasn’t that fragile.Despite the odd tension between her and Keaton, Lena still defended him, which unsettled Alaric. “You’re clearly not okay. Why won’t you tell me?”Lena looked up at him, her eyes calm. “I’m fine. This is my job, and I’m doing it for the company.”Her response was eerily similar to the corporate platitudes he
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Rivals to Lovers Ch72 - Share experience
Lena was a little overwhelmed by the lavish dinner setup—it was brimming with a sense of ceremony. The table was adorned with exquisite dinnerware and intricately carved crystal glasses.Elise had only learned she was coming over not long ago, yet she had prepared such a sumptuous feast. Lena knew this about Elise: though she seemed carefree on the surface, she was tender and meticulous at heart.The appetizer was a luxurious lobster salad, dressed with a tangy champagne vinaigrette and served alongside crispy French baguette slices."Here, try this," Elise said, pouring vintage champagne into Lena’s glass.The bubbles were delicate, and the aroma was layered with hints of musk and citrus, perfectly complementing the appetizer's nuanced flavors. It was easy to lose track of how much you were drinking, but since they were at Elise’s house, Lena, usually a lightweight, felt no need to restrain herself.In the open kitchen, the chef was preparing steaks to their ind
Rivals to Lovers Ch71 - Tell me everything
“Were you just saying this one is delicious?” Lena gestured toward a small, dome-shaped cake with a blue gradient design. It was decorated with white sugar pearls of various sizes, perfectly sized for two at four inches.Cassian snapped back to attention. "Oh, right. Yeah, this one’s pretty good—and not too sweet, actually."He was a regular at the shop, often buying cakes for his younger sister. Having sampled nearly everything on the menu, his recommendations carried weight, a fact Lena had already guessed."I’ll take one of these, please," Lena told the staff.Cassian picked out his choices, too. Lena noticed he’d selected four different desserts and asked curiously, "Are these all for Tessa?" Lena knew he wasn’t fond of sweets himself."Yeah, she did well on her test, so I promised her a reward," he said, his voice dripping with affection.Another day of envying the sibling bond others had. She muttered under her breath, "So lucky."With their cakes neatly boxed, they paused outs
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Alaric's breath hitched suddenly, his heart thundering in his chest. His gaze instinctively flicked to his right hand, then followed the delicate arm upward until it landed on Lena's eyes.There was a gentle warmth in her gaze, tinged with a probing curiosity. "Why would you go this far for me?"Her directness caught Alaric off guard, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. Surprise flickered across his face before he quickly composed himself, lowering his gaze. A corner of his mouth curved into a sly, meaningful smile. "What’s this about?"He dragged out the last word, his tone playful as he slowly lifted his eyelids.Anyone could tell his question was teasing.The hand resting on the back of his remained motionless. Alaric released the mouse, flipping his hand over naturally to hold hers. He made a deliberate show of it, his broad, warm palm brushing slowly against her cool skin, sending a shiver through her.She made no move to pull away. Instead, he
Rivals to Lovers Ch69 - He worried
The elevator wasn’t too far, but still a bit of a walk. She held her breath and focused her strength on her hand.“Lena.” A man’s voice called out, slightly breathless.Lena exhaled sharply, her tense expression softening. Her hand slipped out of her bag as she turned around swiftly, ready to give someone an earful—only to be met with Alaric’s face, taut with worry.Her movements paused, and she asked in confusion, “Where did you come from? And why are you so nervous? Did something major happen at the company?”His sharp eyes scanned her from head to toe. Once satisfied she was unharmed, Alaric finally spoke, though his brows still furrowed slightly. “Your phone was unreachable.”“Huh?” Lena looked at her phone, shaking it slightly. “Not sure why, but I wasn’t getting any signal earlier. You… came all the way here just for that?”“The banquet incident wasn’t that long ago, and you’re already bold enough to wander around alone?” His tone was stern, catching he
Rivals to Lovers Ch68 - Downfall
The room fell into dead silence for a moment, followed by a sharp, loud gasp.“Five million!” Stellan’s eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. His Patek Philippe watch was worth just over a million dollars, yet the company was now losing several times more than the benefits he’d gained.Fred rapped his knuckles on the table, snapping Stellan out of his daze. “Dolphin Real Estate submitted a report on our substandard materials. Five million is just for returning the defective goods, resupplying qualified ones, and covering the costs they’ve incurred from using the unqualified materials. This doesn’t even include the cost of a full internal investigation into our quality issues, nor the expenses of finding new material suppliers. We don’t even have a final number yet.”“Why should they return everything? Only a fifth of the materials had problems!” Stellan blurted out, visibly agitated.Fred let out a heavy sigh, looking utterly exhausted. “Do you think th
