NOVEL WEB Chapter 1038: You, Liu Jin
'Ren Alix has stepped down from the CEO's position.'
'After an intense showdown at the fashion stage, Ren Mui will be back to lead the Ren Designs.'
'What does this mean for Ren Design's future?'
Ai was left aghast. "What is happening here? Why would Alix step down from her position?"
Jin couldn't understand Alix's intentions either. After taking such efforts to juggle the ship on calm waters, why would she give it up and hand it back to Mui?
Her success had been in the news everywhere and Alix had become an icon and inspiration for young and ambitious women. Her victory, her creativity, her future - why was she giving it up now?
Ai saw Jin hurriedly rushing out of his office and said, "Wait!"
"I don't have the time, Zhou Ai. I have to meet Alix this time for sure!"
She stood before him and stared at him. "Will you only talk to her about her position and her company?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you visit her right now, then you have to explain Grandpa's announcement too. Her stepping down is not connected to it but it will eventually come up. Have you thought about what to say to her about that?"
He stiffened. "I…I mean the only thing to do is to apologize to her."
Ai narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you want to apologize or clarify something else too? If you apologize now, then…Alix will get a different message as opposed to what you truly feel."
Jin felt goosebumps on the back of his neck. It was the one thing he had been avoiding with all his willpower and that was to have a clear look at his own heart. He still didn't know what he was going to say to her.
"I-I will figure it out! For now, I must know what mess is going on here. I don't know what she is thinking about handing the company over to Mui again!"
Ai watched him storm out and sighed. She sat back on the couch and cuddled with Jun-kun, squishing her face against his fur.
"How long will he keep running away like this? Hmph. I really hope he is forced to confront his feelings today once and for all," she harrumphed.
—
Ren villa.
"Mrs. Ren."
Ren Cuifen, who was just about to head back to her room, was taken aback by Jin's sudden entrance.
"Liu Jin?"
Jin slightly gasped in breathlessness. "Alix…where is Alix?"
"Alix…"
Jin blinked at her, confused. "What's wrong? Alix is at home, right? Can you call her out?"
She pressed her lips. "I am sorry dear but Alix is not at home right now."
His eyes widened. "Then where is she?"
"Ho-honestly, I have no clue either. She left as soon as the news hit the television."
"But why? Why did Alix step down so suddenly? Everything is going just as she had wanted."
"We don't know either." Ren Luoyang entered the living room, staring at Jin with slightly furrowed brows.
"We only saw Alix and Mui talking privately one day and after that discussion, Alix intimated her decision to us. She wanted Mui to be back."
Jin's expression looked like a death's call. "Did Mui say anything to her? Did she try to threaten-"
"No. Mui herself has been quite shaken since the fashion show," he said somberly. "She had hardly stepped out of her room. It was Alix who had initiated the conversation with her. At first, Mui was undecided to take back the position but Alix convinced her."
Convinced? Convinced her arch enemy to become the CEO again after everything she made her go through?
"Do you have any idea where she would have gone? She must have said something."
"We really don't know and she said not to ask either…" Ren Cuifen pursed her lips. "Honestly, I am worried too. I have never seen her so strange before."
Her worry now successfully blended into Jin's expression too.
She didn't tell them where she was going?
"When will she return home?"
It was evident from their expressions that they were in the dark just like him.
"Thank you. I could have stayed for some more time but I am sorry I will have to take my leave."
"Wait," Ren Luoyang frowned, making his brow slightly pinch in stress.
"Yes?"
He took a step closer and stood before him, hands behind his back. His narrowed eyes scrutinized the anxiety in his black pupils.
"I don't know where Alix is right now or why she decided to forgive Mui and get her back in the company. But why do I feel that it has something to do with your grandfather's announcement?"
He stiffened.
"Liu Jin, was…Mr. Liu Hai really serious about what he had said?"
Jin didn't respond.
"Cuifen is right. We have noticed a strange change in her ever since the fashion show ended. She looked…"
He trembled as he slightly heaved breathlessly.
"I don't know, she looked like she was ready to leave somewhere..far away. There was a sense of distance in her eyes even more profound than before. Look, Liu Jin."
He tightened his fingers at his back while his gaze remained sharp.
"We have already…l-lost…" a lump formed in his throat, "our daughter once. You won't understand it, but just know that we have."
Tears brimmed in Ren Cuifen's eyes and she quietly wiped her lashes.
"That is why, we cannot afford to lose her once again," this time a mistiness sorrowfully formed in his eyes too. "She has already gone through a very toxic relationship that almost took her sanity away. She has lost so much of her precious time because of one bastard's viciousness. She could have become so..so much more in this time," his jaw clenched.
"Frankly speaking, Cuifen and I don't want her to get into any relationship at this time. We want her to recover, physically and emotionally. We just want her to…live for herself. Don't take me wrong. I am not comparing you to Yuze. I know you are a good man, but Alix has gone through a lot. So after everything that has happened with her, if she wants to be with you, then we won't oppose it but only if there is a very, very good reason."
He leaned slightly, his eyes demanding an answer.
"That reason must be that Alix loves you and you return her feelings too. You love her just the way she loves you. You will care for her more than she could have ever received here. I won't ask about your grandfather's announcement anymore. I will ask you. What do you feel about my daughter, Liu Jin?"