Jun snatched the small cactus plant from her hands and placed it on the table with a bang. He almost felt terrible for unknowingly marking things difficult for Ai when he had no issue with MissImperfectlyFine joining Sky.
But now with a cactus plant shoved at his face, a feeling welled in his chest to take revenge from her.
He took a deep breath and sneered.
"So, Miss. Zhou Ai. Now that the truth is out, how are you planning to join Sky? Do you think Sky will take you after how you lied?" He folded his arms and sexily cocked his eyebrow up. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel•fire.net
Well, partly it was my fault for hiding my identity too but that's what you get for shoving a cactus on my face!
Ai stared at him and slowly replied. "I will not be joining Sky anymore."
He froze and felt at a loss for words.
"What? You mean, you are giving up?" His gaze alarmingly turned blacker.
Technically, no company would take someone who lied and was dishonest. It was natural for Ai to think that Sky would never accept her now.
But for Jun, Ai was a strong woman. A weird woman with a strange train of thoughts which always bugged and irked him, nevertheless she was a tough woman. He had an image of Ai imprinted on his mind.
She was calm, confident and wise who was in control of her life. She knew what she was doing. Even if she had broken her own ethics for the first time, she was the person to accept her mistake and move forward to achieve her goal no matter how difficult the road might become.
But afraid of the circumstances right now, was Ai giving up?
"This isn't who you are," Jun sharply said. "Or I imagine that this isn't how you deal with stuff if it gets tough. You are not a coward to run away."
He is right. I don't like turning my head to the other side, Ai clenched her dress in her fist.
But if she worked in Sky, she would meet Jun. She would keep hearing things about him and Shui. She would see them together. Even though the relationship between them shouldn't affect her, she felt she wouldn't be able to bear these conflicting feelings if she had to watch Jun with Shui.
Ai calmly answered. "I have given it a serious thought. I am not running away. But I think it is better that I don't join Sky."
Jun narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? Then what are you planning to do? What will you do about your career?"
Ai nodded. "I have thought about it."
He smiled. "Ho~ Please let me know too."
"I will submit a new story in the upcoming Author's Summit. A lot of publishing companies and editors come to the event to scout for writers for their companies. I understand it could be next to impossible for any company to take me in given my image now. But, I will do my best."
In her past life, Ai couldn't be a part of this Summit as she fell sick right on that day. To participate in this Summit, there was a rule that the writer must be physically present with their story submission. Arrangements would be made in case the writer wished not to reveal their face. But the physical presence was mandatory. Otherwise, the story submission would be rejected.
It was a prestigious platform for any writer to make their presence known to the editors in hopes of getting into a good publishing company.
Jun too recalled that he was a part of this Summit in his past life, albeit hiding within the shadows. He wasn't present for the whole event but only for a short time. He never revealed his presence at all. Instead, Yunru did all the work of meeting new writers and the employees of different publishing companies.
He had hoped that he would be able to meet MissImperfectlyFine in this event and get a glimpse of just who this writer was. But she neither came nor participated in the Summit with any story.
Now that Jun thought about it, he remembered that he was mildly disappointed and a teensy tiny bit annoyed. She was the sole reason he even bothered to attend the Summit, but the reason herself never made any appearance.
The Summit was organized on Valentine's Day and naturally, Jun had made plans with Shui for a lovely date. But he thought why not have a glimpse at the author who troubled her for all this time?
He snapped out of his trance and tilted his head. "I see. I have a suggestion for you."
"Hold on to that thought of never joining Sky. Who knows, if Sky does take you in at the Summit?" His voice held a bit of mystery in it.
She pursed her lips and looked away. "I know that the President is your cousin and you can talk to him about this, but please don't. I don't need any favor."
She wouldn't like it if she got on through Jun's connection.
His expression turned ugly. "Who is doing you a favor here? Don't spoil my reputation! Anything can happen, so stay put," he snorted.
She furrowed her brows. "You mean you are not angry at me for lying to you?"
Jun squinted his eyes. He tapped his finger on his thigh. "No. It's shocking how I met you though now that I think about it. But I am not angry or disappointed at you."
He hid his identity as the CEO from her too, so he thought he had no right to judge her for doing the same for her own reasons.
'I was desperate to join Sky.'
Jun knew how it felt to be desperate. You would lie. You would hurt others. You would be forced to do things which you wouldn't have ever thought of doing in your life.
Desperation was dangerous.
Compared to how I was in my past life, your lie is nothing, he sadly snorted in disdain at himself.
Ai felt the burden lift off her chest. Her lie had caused a lot of trouble for Jun and to Sky through him.
Even so he stood before her, talking to her just like before.
"Thank you for understanding," Ai politely showed her gratitude.
Heh. Brace yourself for the shock of your life. Wait for the Summit, and you will know.
He could reveal his identity right here and now, but the Summit was only a few days away anyway. They had come this far playing hide and seek like a cat and mouse.
Might as well let her learn during the Summit itself just who Liu Jun is~