This was the most nerve-wracking social event Cheng Anya had attended in months.
Having served as secretary to both Klaus and Ye Chen, Cheng Anya had become adept at handling high-level events, navigating them with ease. But tonight—tonight felt different. The very air under her nose felt too thin to breathe.
Yang Zekun and Ye Chen… they were definitely competing over something. It wasn't her imagination. She sifted through everything she knew—these two men had no prior feud.
In the business world, even if rivals fought to the death, it was always a fair game—both sides willing to gamble and accept the results.
But the tension between these two was so strange, it made her want to scream. If it weren't for the need to maintain a perfect, polished smile, she would've stormed off long ago.
She truly had no idea—what did Ye Chen even want by bringing her here?
To pour drinks?
ry artn lous v… a single bottle of this brandy cost tens of thousands, yet to these two it went down like water.
"You and Miss Cheng seem quite close," Ye Chen said, his sculpted features unreadable. His deep, sea-like eyes glanced at Cheng Anya with a smirk that was both teasing and piercing.
Cheng Anya pressed her lips together. Since when did he care who she was close to?
Yang Zekun responded with a soft smile that he reserved only for her, "Yes, it's been seven years."
Another deliberately vague reply.
Ye Chen took a sip of his drink in silence, maintaining his gentlemanly poise—so handsome and poised it could make a thousand girls scream.
Seven years, huh? Big deal. Ever heard of the seven-year itch?
o(╯□╰)o!
This was a private bar—its price tag alone served as a barrier to the average citizen. Most patrons were well-known figures, and naturally, they recognized both Ye Chen and Yang Zekun.
Seeing the two of them drink like this, their seemingly friendly competition only added a new layer of intrigue to the business war from a few months ago.
"That's too sneaky…" said Tycoon A. "So they teamed up to screw us?"
"No doubt about it," added another. "Scheming and sly—Ye Chen I expected. But Yang Zekun? A wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Cheng Anya remained silent.
Please, sir… with a face like that, no one would ever confuse my senior for pure and innocent. Maybe get your eyes checked, huh? ~ (≧▽≦)/~
The fact she could still joke inwardly under this pressure was a miracle in itself.
At one point, Cheng Anya excused herself to the restroom. And just then, the two men who had played the role of polished gentlemen all evening dropped the act.
Yang Zekun's usually warm gaze sharpened like a blade, icy and menacing. "Ye Chen, if you dare touch Anya—I'll make you regret it."
From someone like him, those words landed with deadly weight.
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
Chilling. Cutting.
Ye Chen's eyes flashed with dangerous charm as he sneered, "Still itching to challenge me? Yang Zekun, I could crush you with a single finger. Try me."
"What a loud bark," Yang Zekun shot back coldly. "I just hope you can take what you dish out."
"I hope you can stand losing."
Their powerful gazes clashed like swords, sparking a fierce tension that thickened the air with the scent of war. With Cheng Anya gone, the possessive, primal aggression of two men was laid bare.
…
By the time Cheng Anya returned, the two men were once again raising glasses, smiling faintly, and downing ry artn lous v like nothing had happened.