Chapter 313

After hearing Steward's words, when Pei Shao returned to the private room, he started practicing Tai Chi whenever the topic of the contract was brought up. "Giselle, let's not rush things when it comes to the contract. Let's catch up first," he said, "You can count on me since we know each other, I'll surely look after you." With the conversation turning this way, Giselle couldn't keep mentioning the contract. At the dinner table, Pei Shao took the initiative to propose several toasts to Giselle. Giselle drank all of them. Her unreserved manner surprised Pei Shao a bit, Giselle was quite impressive when she held her drinks. Yu Hongsheng had been sitting and watching Giselle's actions the entire time and did not stop her from drinking. He was giving her an opportunity to navigate the situation. Experience is best gained from practice. Besides, it seemed that Pei Shao and Giselle knew each other well. If she couldn't secure a deal from a familiar face, she would have a lot to learn. After a meal, Pei Shao looked as if he hadn't had enough fun. "Giselle, shall we move on and enjoy the nightlife, what do you think?" Pei Shao now indeed was the client's father. Giselle naturally had no room for refusal, "Of course." But she also took the opportunity to put forward her own request, "Pei Shao, you can't just focus on reminiscing when we go out." At this point, the two were standing quite close. Pei Shao smiled, "Ms. Yan is giving me face, I must also reciprocate, isn't it? Bring the contract, and we can have a thorough conversation later." Giselle nodded cheerfully. Instead of backing down at once, Yu Hongsheng began to regard her with new respect. He really did not understand Giselle. Giselle was always a woman with a clear purpose. If Pei Shao was uninterested in contracts, she could lack interest too and continue reminiscing about the past with him. Besides. Did they know each other well? Where did all those memories come from? As Pei Shao and Giselle were on their way to the nightlife, Steward got Maverick moving in that direction too. Speaking of which, getting Maverick out for drinks is a real challenge these days. This fellow, all he has left in his eyes, except work, is still work. Who knows if he is using his work to fool others or numb himself? If it wasn't for Steward acting gloomy and using their brotherhood of nearly 30 years to coerce Maverick, he could not even have moved him. As for why Steward wanted Maverick to meet Giselle, there was no particular reason. He just felt that Maverick was playing with fire over the last half-year. He wasn't short of money, and the Hyland family had risen high enough. There were many things that he didn't have to do personally, yet he insisted on making trouble for himself. Steward felt that this had something to do with Giselle. After all, all of Maverick's changes came after Giselle left the imperial city. Steward and Pei Shao's private rooms were intentionally facing each other. They didn't run into each other when they arrived. But Steward had been contacting Pei Shao via his mobile phone. When Maverick entered the private room, he saw Steward continually playing with his phone. A frown formed on his brows, "Did you call me over to watch you chat with others?" Steward detected Maverick's dissatisfaction, put away his phone, and said, "Of course not. I asked you to come over for a drink." With that, he served Maverick two cups of wine. Maverick, to his credit, drank without any hesitation. After all, the night setting was a high-end KTV. It was boring for two people just to drink, so Steward ordered a few songs to liven up the atmosphere. He chose the songs at random. To his surprise, the first song that came up had an MV where the lead male with long legs and a good figure was Nolan, who had been seen with Giselle in public not long ago. First photos, then videos. Steward had seen those as well. As soon as he recognized Nolan, his first instinct was to look at Maverick. Maverick was smoking, his eyes fixed on the large screen. His eyes narrowed slightly, a subtle motion, a deep and unspoken emotion. Steward immediately switched to the next song. After the scene transitioned, he took a deep breath. By the time he turned his head again, Maverick had already picked up his glass of wine, taking it in one shot. That feeling of drowning in liquor. Steward walked over and said, "This kid, he can't compare to you, nothing to be scared of." Maverick didn’t respond. He put down his glass and started smoking. Steward sat beside him, tentatively asking, "Are you bothered by this or not?" When the cigarette burnt out, Maverick crushed it in the ashtray, and then looked at Steward, who curiously watched him. With a frown, he thought about how Giselle looked in the picture, her hand resting on Nolan's shoulder. At the end of the video, she seemingly permitted, allowed that man to get so close to her. A surge of emotions welled up within him: displeasure, depression, anger... a mixture of feelings to the extreme, which finally evolved into Maverick's disdain for his own emotions. Why can't he let it go? "Not bothered." As he indifferently spit out those three words, Maverick stood up and walked out of the private room. Take a deep breath! The name Giselle, he didn’t want anyone else to mention it ever again. He stood at a window at the end of a corridor, lighting another cigarette. One after the other, he didn’t know how long he had been chain-smoking. Sometimes, he would wonder to himself. Was he truly tired of living? He seemed to be always against himself. But it was ludicrous— Often, he couldn’t let go of this troubling habit. After he finished his cigarette, Maverick didn’t leave. Instead, he gazed out the window where the neon lights were twinkling, carriages traveled back and forth… Did the streets of Frystonia truly appear more appealing than the ones in the Imperial City? The moment this thought crossed his mind, Maverick’s eyes darkened. He snorted inwardly, turning around to head back to his private room. As he walked down the corridor and turned a corner, he abruptly halted. Giselle was equally taken aback. Only a short distance separated them, their gazes meeting. Returning to the Imperial City, she had expected to run into Maverick. However, Giselle hadn't anticipated their reunion to be this soon, and quite unprepared. She hadn't managed to present herself the way she had imagined. In all the scenarios she had conjured up in her mind, she wanted to be beautiful and charming yet appear nonchalant as she said to Maverick, "Mr. Hyland, long time no see." Ideally, in a banquet setting, standing next to her would be a man whose image and demeanor could rival Maverick's. Then, she can tilt her face up, making Maverick feel. After they divorced— She lived happily, and she was gorgeous. What a damn desire to win. Obviously, imagination and reality differ greatly. At this moment, Giselle was wearing a work shirt dress, even her shoes, were the most rigid and lusterless pure black high heels. After a brief sense of embarrassment. Yet, in the next second, she took a step forward, expressionless, without a sideways glance, passing by Maverick. She sprayed perfume on her body, mixed with the scent of alcohol, indifferently swirling around Maverick's nose. Except for a brief pause when their eyes met. Giselle was so indifferent, not even casting an extra glance. —it was as if, they never knew each other, they were only strangers. Maverick's heart felt like it's been harshly punched, his feelings are mashed. He was completely ignored by Giselle. Even if he never made his way into Giselle's heart. Even if she equates him with Liu Prestin. But-- Shouldn't she still preserve some feelings for him? Even for Liu Prestin, she's capable of harbouring a tinge of hatred and disgust. Why is it when it comes to him, she has nothing? Maverick's lips were tightly purse, his face freezing to an utmost level. But a tumultuous thought was building within him, 'even a slight sense of guilt would have been good', such a ridiculous notion.