Bo Hanshi never once lifted his gaze to her. His stunningly handsome face was as impassive as a frozen pond, betraying no ripple of emotion, as if nothing in the world could stir its depths. Jiang Yuchuan, who had accompanied Bo Hanshi to the business dinner, broke the heavy silence. "Let's not dwell on unpleasant things. Since we've run into each other, Qiao Yu, why don't you sing a couple of songs for us?" Ye Chengze snapped his fingers. "I've heard that the great Miss Qiao was the belle of Didu University's broadcasting department—a beauty with a voice to match. I'm sure you could sing something to enchant us all. If you manage to please Boss Bo tonight and he signs this contract with me, then, Qiao Yu, we'll consider all our past debts settled." To his credit, Ye Chengze was a man who got straight to the point. Qiao Yu, with practiced poise, asked, "Then what would you all like to hear?" Ye Chengze said, "Boss Bo is the client tonight. Boss Bo, you choose first." "Whatever," Bo Hanshi replied, his disinterest a blatant dismissal. Jiang Yuchuan immediately stepped in to smooth things over. "I remember Qiao Yu sang an English song at a school anniversary once, 'You and I.' It was beautiful. How about that one?" *You and I*… Qiao Yu’s heart gave a painful lurch. But Ye Chengze was already impatient. "Go on, Qiao Yu. Sing!" Qiao Yu stepped onto the low dais at the side of the room. She settled the violin onto her left shoulder, and as she drew the bow across the strings, a gentle, melodic prelude filled the space like cascading moonlight. A single soft spotlight illuminated her. She wore a white, puff-sleeved dress, looking every bit the pampered young lady she had once been—poised, elegant, and seemingly untouched by the grit of the world. Bo Hanshi remembered. The first time he had met her, she had been playing the violin then, too. Except she had been sitting on the lawn of the Qiao family villa. Her father, Qiao Fan, determined to mold her into a proper socialite, had hired the best music tutors for her. For every wrong note she played, Qiao Fan would strike her hand with a ruler, his demands impossibly strict. At that time, Bo Hanshi’s adoptive father, Bo Feng, was the Qiao family's driver. Bo Feng had brought the young Bo Hanshi, who had just been accepted into Didu University, to stay temporarily at the villa. The moment he stepped inside, Bo Hanshi saw Qiao Fan scolding Qiao Yu. She was just a small girl then, only twelve years old, and she had dissolved into tears under her father's reprimand for her poor playing. Later, she was always trailing after him, calling him Brother Hanshi… But it wasn't long before Qiao Fan discovered that his daughter was growing too close to the driver's son. He threw Bo Hanshi out and forbade Qiao Yu from ever associating with "that kind of wild kid" again. Before she met Bo Hanshi, Qiao Yu had always been obedient to her father. But that one time, she hadn't listened. Bo Hanshi became the sole act of rebellion in her youth. "All of those times, You were here with me, My eyes weren’t shut, But I didn’t see, How was I blind to your touch, Your smile, your cares. All my feelings, Were just not meant to be. Now here I am, All at once, alone…" The fluent, beautiful English, carried by the elegant strains of the violin, flowed through the room. Qiao Yu’s voice wasn't the sweet, girlish type; on the contrary, it possessed a cool, polished clarity. When she sang in English, she enunciated certain words with a deliberate, rich depth, making the entire song feel like a clear, deep stream flowing silently through the dark. As she sang, she subconsciously watched Bo Hanshi from the corner of her eye. Of all the songs Jiang Yuchuan could have picked, he had chosen this one. Its meaning was far too sensitive. It was a lament of blindness and regret, of a love that seemed destined but ultimately fell apart. *“All this time, you were by my side, yet I couldn't see. How was I so blind? Your touch, your smile, your care… But it was never meant to be. And now I’m alone, wondering how we reached this bitter end… You and I, we seemed fated, yet we always hesitated. You and I, how did we end up here?”* The lyrics felt like Qiao Yu’s silent defense, and she was terrified of his anger. But as she sang on, she became lost in the music, the emotion of it washing over her, overwhelming every last shred of her self-control. A single tear shimmered in the light before falling onto the violin's string, where it shattered like a pearl. Too many memories had been stirred up—the beautiful, the heartbreaking—all replaying in her mind like scenes from a movie. "Enough!" Bo Hanshi's voice cut through the music. Qiao Yu’s eyelashes trembled, and the song stopped abruptly. The man rose to his feet, his voice as cold as ice. "I have another engagement. I won't keep you company any longer. If Boss Ye wishes to discuss the partnership with SY, you can contact Mr. Jiang directly for all further matters." With that, he turned and strode out of the private room without a backward glance. Ye Chengze seemed to know the deal was off. As the head of Huatong, a leading enterprise in Xizhou, he wasn't exactly afraid of Bo Hanshi. He rose leisurely and, watching the man’s departing back, called out with a mocking smile, "Aren't you going to take your ex-girlfriend with you, Boss Bo? Catch up on old times?" Before meeting with Bo Hanshi, he had done his research. A completely self-made man—truly impressive. But what interested him most was that Bo Hanshi’s first love was none other than his own former fiancée. Bo Hanshi’s back was to Qiao Yu. "We have no old times to catch up on," he said. "Still, Qiao Yu was my fiancée once. I won't hide it from you, Boss Bo, I'm quite interested in catching up with her myself. You… wouldn't mind, would you?" In truth, he had little interest in Qiao Yu as a person. He was, however, very interested in the woman Bo Hanshi had slept with. The implication was clear. Bo Hanshi's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Suit yourself." Just two words, delivered with the utmost cruelty. Standing on the dais, the color drained from Qiao Yu's beautiful face. She felt like an object, carelessly tossed aside to Ye Chengze. In her blurring vision, Bo Hanshi's figure receded, walking further and further away.