Chapter 109: Sitting Silently in the Corner

"Han Zhi..." Seeing the two of them leave, Qiao Yumeng was overjoyed. She reached out, intending to touch his chest...

Just as she believed she held a special place in his heart, unlike the others, the man's cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out.

"You leave as well."

A bone-chilling gaze swept over her, freezing her movements and expression instantly.

Startled, Qiao Yumeng stared at the man before her in disbelief.

Although his facial expression was subtle, his voice just now and his gaze at this moment... were cold enough to strike fear into one's heart.

Qiao Yumeng froze for a couple of seconds before forcing an embarrassed smile.

"I'll come see you next time, then..." With that, she reluctantly turned and left.

The lounge finally fell quiet.

The man, who had been sitting calmly on the sofa from start to finish, finally showed a change in expression.

He reached out, closed the laptop in front of him, and turned his gaze toward the door.

Only when the click of high heels faded into silence did he suddenly rise from the sofa and stride toward the door.

Opening the door, he found only Zhou Bei and another bodyguard standing outside.

"Where is she?" his eyes darkened as he suddenly asked.

A faint trace of urgency leaked through his deep voice.

"Who do you mean? Miss Qiao? She just left," the bodyguard replied, failing to grasp Shen Hanzhi's meaning.

Shen Hanzhi's expression instantly darkened.

"Miss Lin also just left," Zhou Bei quickly interjected. Remembering what she had said upon her arrival, he added, "She said she had something for you. She looked so happy when she arrived..." Zhou Bei sighed.

Miss Lin had been so cheerful when she arrived. Although she didn't say a word when she left, she had silently clutched the item to her chest as she walked away.

Seeing her like that had made Zhou Bei feel a pang of sympathy.

The boss's words just now must have been terribly hurtful to her, even though Zhou Bei fully understood why his boss had said them.

As Zhou Bei finished speaking, Shen Hanzhi's face fell completely grim.

He could almost picture her small face, beaming with joy when she arrived...

At the thought, his chest tightened sharply.

"Which way did she go?" he demanded of Zhou Bei.

"Likely toward the main venue," Zhou Bei replied.

...

When Lin Nanxun silently retraced her steps to the venue alone, her eyes were red. Ye Ning, the first to notice her, was taken aback.

"Nanxun, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

Lin Nanxun shook her head but remained silent. She simply withdrew to a corner, sitting quietly with her head bowed, refusing to speak or acknowledge anyone.

It was as if she had suddenly lost the ability to communicate with the world.

Seeing her in this state, Ye Ning grew increasingly worried, but with no idea what had happened, she could only fret in silence.

Just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the venue, where the press interviews had just concluded.

An angry voice rose from the midst of the crowd.

"This is exactly where we lost it. Someone must have taken it!" The speaker was Qiao Yufei's assistant.

Hearing that something valuable had gone missing, the reporters and media crew who were about to leave immediately shouldered their equipment and swarmed back.

Facing the cameras, Qiao Yufei wept sorrowfully, wiping away her tears as she spoke with a look of deep distress.

"That necklace was a birthday gift from my family. It means the world to me. If someone took it out of a momentary lapse of judgment, please return it. I promise I won't hold it against you."