"What a day!" Shen Yue dropped herself on her office chair and massaged her temples. Today had been an exhausting day for her.

"Are you alright?"

Shen Yue smiled at a lady who just came into her office and sat on a chair across her.

"Still alive, of course. What do you think, Tao Jie?" Shen Yue raised an eyebrow at her, which made the lady laughed and reached out to poke Shen Yue on her forehead.

"As witty as ever, aren't we?" Tao Jie said. Shen Yue smiled widely at the lady.

"Anyway, you did a very good job defending the plan at the conference, girl," Tao Jie laughed, "I can't forget the senior consultant's face when you turned down his suggestion in front of everyone! Even the CFO was amused!"

Shen Yue chuckled and shook her head, "What did you expect to me to do when his suggestion was so ridiculous? If I didn't turn it down, our team would have to meaninglessly work overnight only for it to be scrapped later. I don't even understand why he was hired."

"I keep asking the same question," Tao Jie snickered, "But you know what, I can always trust my talented analyst to make sure everything goes well."

Shen Yue smiled and probed her chin on her hands, "And your analyst can do so well because she has a wonderful lady as her FP&A Director and mentor." (FP&A=Financial Planning and Analysis)

Tao Jie rolled her eyes and adoringly pinched the tip of Yue's nose, "It's already 8 P.M. You already stayed up these few days to complete the financial plan. Now go home and get some rest. I want my lovely analyst to come back fresh and lively tomorrow."

"Yes, boss!" Shen Yue jokingly saluted her Director.

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Shen Yue stretched her body after dropping her purse on her bed. Her muscles were very tight from all the stress in these past weeks, so she thought she might as well have a nice relaxing bath.

As soon as her body hit the soothing warm water, Shen Yue let out a sigh of relief. She had been so busy that she hadn't had time to enjoy small things like this nice warm bath. But somehow she was thankful that this busy schedule helped take her mind off a certain thing.

Shen Yue looked up at her bathroom ceiling, as she contemplated about the past few months. It had been four months since she last saw him. It had been four months since she told him not to come find her, and well, he really did listen. She had never seen him again since that day.

Mostly, it was a good thing for her. When she returned to Shanghai that day, she was completely drowning in her sorrow and heartbreak for almost a month. Her brother then already returned to London. She could still remember the worried faces of her parents, as they helplessly watched her staying alive but without a soul. However, when she accidentally saw her father comforted her mother who was crying at night because of her, Shen Yue finally made a decision to rebuild herself back up. She was too caught up with her own pain that she didn't notice the pain she caused to others.

Moreover, if she didn't even love herself, how could she expect others to truly love her?

The first thing she did was applying for an accounting job at Shanghai Bank and moved closer to her workplace. However, she only worked in the accounting department for a month before her boss noticed her analyzing skills, which Shen Yue herself never realized she had. Because of that, Shen Yue was soon recommended to the FP&A, where she met her current boss and mentor, Tao Jie. It was at that time that Shen Yue realized 'that person' had indeed made her work beyond her accounting duties before; he even made her collect, analyze, and pitch financial plans. It might not be in his plan, but he accidentally gave her all the skills. More importantly, that particular past showed her how stupid she used to be; it taught her not to trust people too easily. Shen Yue bitterly smiled at the thought.

His disappearing from her life had made her stronger. However, a part of her still wished that he did not listen to her at that time. Her heart still silently and foolishly hoped that he would come to find her. Maybe that was the reason why she chose to remain in Shanghai.

"You're still stupid after all this time, heart," Shen Yue touched her left chest with a bitter smile, "It's about time you stop."

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Shen Yue looked up from her documents when she heard a knock on her office door, "Come in."

"Yue? Are you busy?" Tao Jie asked as she took her seat.

"Just the usual. What is it, Tao Jie?" Shen Yue smiled.

"I got an invitation for the Shanghai Charity Gala next week, and I want to invite you to go with me," Tao Jie explained and handed Yue an invitation.

"Shouldn't you invite a young man instead?" Shen Yue jokingly quirked her eyebrow, which resulted in an eye roll from Tao Jie.

"Come with me, Yue. I want to take this chance to introduce you to our business network," Tao Jie warmly smiled.

"Thank you, Tao Jie. I'll definitely go that day," Shen Yue nodded.

"I'm glad you're going with me, girl. Alright, I'll get back to work now," Tao Jie stood up, but before she left, she turned around again to say something.

"Oh, there will be many gentlemen at the Gala. Who knows? One of them may manage to catch your eyes," Tao Jie winked and went back to her office.

However, Tao Jie didn't notice that her last sentence made Shen Yue froze in her seat.

'Is he in Shanghai? Will he be there?'

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Shen Yue could feel many eyes on her the moment she walked into the hall. She was wearing a white off-shoulder dress that reached the floor and hugged her curves delicately. She scanned around the ballroom until she saw the elegant Tao Jie heading toward her. Shen Yue smiled and confidently walked forward to meet Tao Jie half-way.

"You look amazing, my dear," Tao Jie complimented.

Shen Yue shyly smiled at her praise, "Not as amazing as you, Tao Jie."

"This girl and her sweet mouth," Tao Jie teasingly smiled, which made Yue giggled.

"Are you ready, girl?" Tao Jie asked.

Shen Yue took a deep breath, 'You can do it, Yue. Who cares if he's here? Just be your confident self.'

"I am," Shen Yue responded with a smile.

Tao Jie guided her through the hall and introduced her to many business associates. Shen Yue politely greeted and chatted with them before she exchanged her business cards with some. Tao Jie who accompanied her smiled like a proud mother, as she watched Shen Yue exchanged critical comments with the associates. She could see that many of them were amazed by this lovely young woman.

After a long while, Shen Yue excused herself to get some drink. She was taking a glass of Champaign from the server when she noticed the back part of the ballroom that led to a dimly lit outdoor swimming pool. She looked at Tao Jie's direction and saw that she was still occupied, so Shen Yue decided to head to the swimming pool alone. She sat on a pool bench and enjoyed the fresh air as well as the beautiful night sky.

However, her peacefulness was suddenly interrupted by a voice.

"Yueyue?"

Shen Yue was a bit startled at the sudden call of her name. She turned to look at the owner of the voice, and her eyes went wide.

"Is that you, Yueyue?"

Shen Yue gulped before she tried to compose herself and put a smile on her face.

"Yes, I am. Long time no sees," Shen Yue stood up and greeted the person.

The person smiled and walked closer to her, "It's really you. Yes, it's been a while. You look so beautiful I almost can't recognize you."

"Do you imply that I wasn't beautiful before?" Shen Yue jokingly raised an eyebrow. She chuckled when she saw the person was taken aback by her question.

"No, that's not what I mean."

"I know. I'm just kidding. You look handsome yourself, Guan," Shen Yue smiled.

Guan smiled at her, "I was even worried that you might not even remember me. How's life?"

Shen Yue paused at the question. How's life? She's both fine and not fine. "Life's been good."

"That's great," Guan said. He noticed how her eyes unconsciously seemed to look around behind him as if she's looking for someone. Guan smiled, 'Look like it's not hopeless after all'.

Shen Yue then noticed Xize, Jing Kang and three beautiful ladies heading toward them.

"There you are, Guan!" Jing Kang exclaimed.

"Oh, you surely have guts, bro. Sneaking out to talk with this beautiful lady when your girlfriend's here? Aren't you afraid she'll be jealous?" Xize teased. Yihan looked at Guan, and both of them shook their head, feeling amused, while Xiao Zi and Jiaqi just rolled their eyes.

"Guan is not like you, babe," Jiaqi teased.

"What do you mean, babe?" Xize pouted.

They all just shook their head with a smile, but their attention soon fell on Shen Yue when they heard her giggle. Shen Yue stopped as soon as she noticed everyone's eyes on her, "What?"

"Have we met before? You look familiar," Xize said.

"That sounds like a cheesy pickup line, Xize," Xiao Zi teased. And everyone including Yueyue laughed.

"Hey! I'm being serious here, okay? She really looks familiar!" Xize felt a bit offended.

"Xize's right. You really seem familiar. Have we met each other before?" Jing Kang said.

Shen Yue looked at the amused Guan before she smiled at the rest, "It's been a while, Xize and Jing Kang. And your girlfriends are really beautiful indeed." She turned to Xiao Zi, Yihan, and Jiaqi, "I'm glad to meet you."

Shen Yue's response made everyone except Guan felt dumbfounded. Guan laughed, while Shen Yue giggled at their reaction.

"I forgot to introduce myself," Shen Yue smiled, "My name is Shen Yue."

It took a moment of silence before a look of realization appeared everyone's faces. Xize and JingKang's eyes widened, but Jiaqi, Yihan, Xiao Zi glanced at each other with a knowing smile. Although the three of them had never met Yue before, they had heard about her and Dylan. They had been excited to meet her; however, before they could, the couple already went downhill.

"Hi, Shen Yue! We finally meet you! I'm Jiaqi, Xize's girlfriend," Jiaqi gave Shen Yue a sudden hug, which completely caught her off guard.

"Can I call you Yueyue?" Xiao Zi excitedly asked, and Shen Yue could only nod before she was engulfed in Xiao Zi's hug.

"I'm so happy to meet you! I'm Xiao Zi, Jingkang's girlfriend," Xiao Zi excitedly said.

Shen Yue braced herself for another sudden hug, but then she saw Yihan smiled amusedly at her.

"I'm sorry you must be quite surprised. They have always been energetic," Yihan explained.

"I see," Shen Yue chuckled.

"Hey!" Jiaqi and Xiao Zi protested.

"I've heard about you, and I've always wanted to meet you. I'm Yihan, Guan's girlfriend," Yihan smiled before she gently gave Shen Yue a hug. Shen Yue smiled; Yihan really gave off the same calm vibe as Guan.

Xize and Jing Kang were still in awe. They looked at each other before they turned to look at Shen Yue. Although they had only met her once via the video call, they remembered her as a sweet girl who seemed fragile and needed protection. However, the woman in front of them now extruded the same sweet characteristic yet gave off a very confident vibe.

"You look amazing, Yue. We really can't recognize you," Xize said.

"Right, you look different in a good way," Jing Kang said.

"Guan said the similar thing earlier," Shen Yue chuckled while Guan just shrugged, "Thank you. You guys really know how to flatter me."

As they continued to converse, Shen Yue realized that everyone was here. 'Does that mean that he's also here?'

Jiaqi noticed Shen Yue's eyes darting around, and when she glanced at Guan, she realized that Guan also noticed that. Jiaqi gave Guan a knowing smile before she suddenly asked, "By the way, is Dylan coming?"

Shen Yue could feel her body tense up at the mention of his name. She had never heard his name since four months ago. Her heart was pounding in anticipation, but it was also aching due to the painful memories that were threatening to burst out. Shen Yue realized that even though her heart was broken, she still loved him with every broken piece despite the pain.

"Oh, he's not coming," Guan peeked at Yue's reaction, "You know him. He's still working at this hour."

Shen Yue tried to control her facial expression and pretended not to hear them. However, in her mind, she was both worried and curious. 'It's already quite late. Why is he still working? Is he eating well?' She then tightened her grips, 'No, Shen Yue. Stop thinking about him. Remember what he did to you?'

Yihan noticed the tension in the air and how tensed Shen Yue became. She slowly reached out her hand to gently hold Yue's hands, which got her attention.

"We hope that you won't feel uneasy with us because of whatever happened between you and Dylan," Yihan genuinely said, "We really want to be your friends. We want you to know that you still have us."

Shen Yue looked at Yihan, contemplating about what she said. Shen Yue from four months ago would break down and cut tie with them just to avoid him. She smiled. But she's not that Shen Yue anymore. She had learned a lot in these past months. She still couldn't forgive Dylan, but that's the issue between her and him. She shouldn't be selfish and make nice friends like them suffer unnecessary consequences.

With that resolve, Shen Yue smiled at everyone and nodded.

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Dylan raised an eyebrow at Guan who suddenly barged in his home office in the Wang mansion and made himself comfortable on the sofa across his desk. He glanced at his watch. It's already midnight. Why was he here?

Guan ignored Dylan's curious eyes and laid down on Dylan's sofa to sleep. Seeing that, Dylan rolled his eyes and got back to his work.

"Guess who we met today at the Gala," Guan suddenly said while his eyes were still closed.

"Who?" Dylan mindlessly asked. His attention was still on the work in his hand.

"Shen Yue"

Guan opened one eye to peek at Dylan's reaction before he smiled and closed it back.

Dylan's hand which was writing something at that moment stopped at the mention of her name. He stayed silent. His eyes were still on the papers, but his mind was already elsewhere.

"Why are you telling me this?" Dylan finally looked at Guan. While he was still closing his eyes and laying down, Guan shrugged at Dylan's question.

After a moment passed, Dylan quietly watched Guan got up, stretched and let out a yawn.

When Guan finally made eye contact with Dylan, he said, "She's still in Shanghai. She's now working at Shanghai Bank as an FP&A analyst and lives in the nearby Lanson Resident apartment. She's amazing and has matured a lot from what I see."

Seeing Dylan still not saying anything, Guan smiled and turned around to leave.

When Guan was about to walk out of his office, Dylan suddenly said, "You told me to give her some space."

Guan paused and turned to look at Dylan, "I didn't tell you to not do anything."

Guan then turned around and said his last sentence while leaving, "I already told you what I know. Do whatever you want."

Dylan just silently watched Guan until he's gone. He put his pen down and let out a sigh, as he leaned on the back of his chair. After what seemed like forever, he slowly reached down to unlock the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a thick folder. The longer he went through the things inside, the glossier his eyes became, but his smile slowly appeared. When he could no longer take it, he stood up and went to the big window in his office. He stood with his arms crossed, his grips tightened, and his head tilted up as if trying to prevent something from falling down.

In the opened folder on top of his desk, many photos of Shen Yue in the past four months could be seen.

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A/N: When emotions become memories, they become less intense. Problems then can be resolved in a more peaceful way. However, no matter how hard you try, some feelings will stubbornly remain the same. Also, self-love is important, guys.