Five years into our secret relationship, I couldn't help but test Christian Thorne. "My mom keeps pushing me to go on blind dates. I told her I have a boyfriend, but she..." He leaned back against the headboard, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "Stella, I like you best when you're obedient." "I told you, if you want to leave, our relationship can end at any time." After saying that, he thoughtfully buttoned my sleeve and wiped away my tears. He knew that as soon as he brought up those words—relationship end—I would compromise, retreat, and shut up, just like I had in the past. I didn't tell him that this time was different. I made a bet with someone. I bet on whether he would be willing to marry me. And the price of losing the bet was leaving him forever. 1 On the third day of my business trip to Paris, my mom called me from across the ocean. I didn't remind her about the international roaming charges. She rambled on for a while before changing the subject. "Mom doesn't mean anything by it, but you always say how great this boyfriend of yours is. You're turning thirty in two years. If he really likes you that much, why hasn't he shown any intention of marrying you..." I always thought Paris was a romantic place. It was suitable for drinking, flirting, and talking about love. The only thing it wasn't suitable for was parting ways. Christian walked out of the bathroom, his forehead slightly damp. His bathrobe was loosely draped over his body, revealing a few red marks on his chest—remnants of our recent intimacy. He sat down beside me, the sofa sinking slightly under his weight. Seeing me staring blankly ahead, he brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek. "What did your mom say? Any trouble you can't handle?" I turned to look at him. Christian's mother was a famous beauty in Hong Kong with a quarter Portuguese blood. I had seen his father in newspapers; he was also a rare talent. So Christian had a naturally handsome face, with exquisite Western bone structure paired with perfect Eastern features, making it hard to look away. I grabbed his fingers, placed them in my palm, and tried to sound casual. "Mom wants me to go on blind dates as soon as possible. She says she knows a very nice guy." "She doesn't believe I have a boyfriend. She always says I'm fooling her. I told her it's because I'm too busy with work and haven't had time to bring you back to meet her." I wanted to find more excuses for him, but after thinking about it, I just said, "After the New Year, come back to the States with me. We..." "Stella," Christian interrupted me with a smile, getting straight to the point. "No need to test me. When have you ever seen me fall for that?" He crossed his long legs, looking at me in the dim light, his tone indifferent. "I told you, if you want to leave, our relationship can end at any time." I stared at him for a long time, surprisingly calm inside. The first time I heard this sentence, I was unwilling to accept it and would cause a huge scene. I didn't spoil him; I argued with him. "Our relationship? What relationship? Christian, have you forgotten? I accepted your pursuit fair and square. I am your girlfriend." "Don't use that tone of charity when you speak to me!" At first, he admitted his mistakes quickly and would coax me with apologies. I was so angry back then, but in the end, I would only tearfully tell him not to say such things in the future. But now, hearing this sentence, I felt no fear, no anger. Christian suddenly leaned in and pitifully wiped away my tears. "Look at you. You clearly can't bear to leave, yet you always want to test me. Crying like this... it hurts me to see it." I touched the tears that had fallen without my noticing. It turned out I was only left with sadness now. "But you once said we would get married." My tears gathered in his palm, eliciting sigh after sigh from him. I couldn't tell if these tears were a weapon to use against him or if they were genuinely flowing due to the situation. He was very direct, and also very hurtful. "Aren't we good like this now? We don't have to compromise freedom or boundaries for love. Haven't you been happy these past years?" "Since you're happy, why fuss over so much? The position beside me has never been reserved for anyone else." His words carried enough weight. He couldn't think of any reason for me to make a scene again. So, after I slowly calmed down, he returned to his lazy demeanor. "Hungry yet? You haven't had much appetite for French food these past few days. Chinese food in Paris is excellent—hot pot, Sichuan, Yunnan cuisine. What do you want?" "Don't want any of it? I'll make you some noodles. Sit tight." He stood up with a cigar in his mouth and ruffled my hair. I don't know when Christian mastered the technique of dealing with me. It was just like this—breezy, lightly ignoring everything, ignoring all my pain and sorrow. Because he knew that as long as he said those four words—relationship can end—I would panic, I would be reluctant to leave, and in the end, I would swallow all my grievances. This wasn't the first time I had tested Christian like this. But the result of every attempt was similar, yet not entirely the same. 2 The evening wind began to feel damp. It was going to rain in Paris again tonight. My relationship with Christian was exactly like the weather at this moment—damp, cold, and never seeing the light of day. In the beginning, I wanted him to go public, even at the cost of my career. I thought Christian didn't want to go public because of workplace taboos, so I didn't hesitate. "I can resign. I'll leave Kaisheng Group. That way, we won't have a superior-subordinate relationship. Can we be open and honest then?" I was too naive and crazy back then. I didn't care about anything; I just wanted to be by his side legitimately. I had studied for over twenty years, fought through countless obstacles, and bled to get into Kaisheng. My academic background was excellent, my abilities outstanding. Given time, I would surely achieve something great. Anyone whose brain wasn't broken would grit their teeth and refuse to leave Kaisheng. So when I said those words, even Christian, who was used to big scenes, couldn't help but be surprised. He comforted me and calmly advised, "Stella, your career is important. You can't be rash." Back then, I was much younger. With him, I was always a bit cautious, afraid of losing him. One sentence from him, and I backed down. "I didn't think it through. Your career is more important than mine." Christian was the heir to the Thorne family. He came to Kaisheng for experience. Hearing my words, he was stunned at first, then smiled and shook his head. "Not my career. Yours." He tried to reason with me, striving to save an ignorant girl about to lose her way. "I just think it's not easy for a girl to build a career. You shouldn't compromise your future at any time, not even for your lover." "I hope that one day when you make a name for yourself at Kaisheng, it's because of your successful career, not because of gossip with your boss." I rarely thought about how much of what he said back then was true and how much was false. In the many years that followed, whenever I secured project after project and achieved dazzling results, I was incredibly grateful that Christian had stopped the impulsive me back then. Later, my tests became secretive, like those "suitors" who appeared abruptly. I tried to see a hint of jealousy and possessiveness on Christian's face. But his wealthy background and outstanding talent gave him the right to be overly picky and critical. No matter how excellent my suitors were, he would only dismiss them lightly as fools. He wouldn't stoop to compete with fools, nor did he think I would be stupid enough to give up champagne and caviar for bread and water. From the beginning to the end of this relationship, he always stood on a high pedestal, fearless. 3 I stood on the balcony, looking down as the servants locked up and left. Actually, putting feelings aside, whether as a boyfriend or a lover, Christian wasn't stingy. I merely mentioned that I was traveling a lot for business and staying in hotels was troublesome. He casually bought this apartment in the 16th arrondissement and gave it to me, saying it was a place for me to stay during business trips. Of course, I could hesitate and refuse to let go, wandering between his good and bad points. Letting reason slowly swallow my feelings, asking no questions about the future with him. But I knew better than anyone that this was an impossible thing. My phone rang and stopped, stopped and rang again. I picked up on the third ring. The person on the other end was silent for a while before speaking: "I told you, he won't marry you." "Some walls won't make you turn back just by hitting them once. You have to hit them a few more times to give up completely." The voice on the phone continued, but I still didn't speak. I turned around and looked through the glass door. Christian was standing at the table looking at me. He had just put down the phone after taking a call from someone unknown. Seeing me looking over, he tapped the table with his finger, signaling me to come back. I gazed at him deeply for a long time, until my eyes soured. Then I whispered into the phone, "I accept the bet. I won't go back on my word. Once the procedures are done, I'll come find you." Was this bet expensive? Did it have to be fulfilled? It didn't seem entirely so. It was just... time to leave. 4 Christian stood inside the room and never crossed that threshold. He just watched that figure. He knew he didn't need to walk out; she would come back on her own. Just now, his mother had rarely called from Switzerland, chatting a bit and asking about his girl. "Are you going to have a wedding? When will you let me meet her? You're always so unreliable." He smiled noncommittally. "What wedding? When did I ever say I was getting married?" The beauty complained a bit on the other end: "Don't blame Mommy for not warning you. Playing with a girl's feelings will bring karma." "When I lost to a competitor before, you warned me the same way," Christian said, garnishing the noodles with great patience. "But what happened later? My career is still booming, reaching new heights." "How can that be the same? I always tell your father, you... everything goes too smoothly for you. Even when you meet a girl who likes you so much, you should suffer a bit." Christian raised an eyebrow, not taking it to heart. "Who's going to make me suffer? Her? She wouldn't bear to." After answering casually and hanging up, he looked outside. He happened to meet her gaze as she turned back. Through such a dark night, he could see the emotions welling up in her eyes. How could she bear to leave him? 5 For the next few days, neither Christian nor I mentioned the interlude from that night. Working people don't even have the freedom to be heartbroken. Even while crying, you have to prepare materials for clients. After the business trip, I rushed back to the company without stopping. Walking all the way to the office, I gave instructions as I went. "Kelly, help me check Mr. Wen's schedule. If he's available, book a meeting with him for 3 PM tomorrow. Just say I want to sync up on the progress of the European project." "Also, ask Alex to come to my office in ten minutes." Deciding to leave was one thing, but I liked to finish what I started. Kaisheng was the first milestone in my career. The longer I stayed, the more things I had to hand over. A few days later, there was a new smart factory project in the company, and the person in charge was undecided. When the news spread like wildfire, Mr. Wen called me to the conference room. Besides me, there was another person in the room. I nodded at her. Marlene was a proud person, especially towards me. She didn't even look at me and spoke directly. "Whether it's the technical proposal or past cooperation experience, my team is undoubtedly the most suitable. It's clearly a project I've been following up on. Why should unrelated personnel be involved?" Mr. Wen looked at me. "Stella, what are your thoughts?" If it were in the past, I would have fought for it, but this time I didn't speak immediately. After a while, I stood up. Marlene pressed the document onto the table and mocked, "You really have to fight me for everything. We did a massive amount of research in the early stages of this project. You can't win against me." I looked at her, momentarily lost in thought. Actually, in the beginning, we weren't so incompatible. We were new employees hired in the same batch, the first generation of workplace colleagues. We had mutual appreciation. It was just that later, I won several key projects in a row and got promoted faster than her. When she looked at me, appreciation was replaced by vigilance and rivalry. She had to compare herself to me in everything and go against me everywhere. Just as I was about to speak, someone pushed the door open and entered the conference room. Marlene's eyes lit up, and she pushed the materials in front of him. "Mr. Thorne, for this smart factory upgrade project, our team has done detailed calculations. I am confident that my team and I can successfully secure this cooperation." Using work as an excuse, I hadn't been to Christian's place for several days. He scanned the people present in a business-like manner, looked down, opened Marlene's proposal, read a few pages, and made a decision. "Send it to my office." "Thank you, Mr. Thorne!" Christian didn't give me a second look. Actually, even if he looked at me a few more times, no one would care. Who would guess that the noble Mr. Thorne by day would be entangled with an ordinary employee like me by night? Marlene gave me a triumphant look and followed Christian out. Mr. Wen patted my shoulder, and I signaled that I was OK. Christian had always been like this. In work, he treated everyone equally. He never showed me any favoritism because of our secret relationship. He only considered the company's core interests. If I didn't do well, he would scold me just the same. At first, I was very resentful. Later I learned that he just equally looked down on everyone. Later, during the day at work, I would accept his scolding without talking back. But at night, seeing me depressed, he would patiently analyze the pros and cons for me. Even now, I couldn't see any extra cherishing in his eyes. But I had to admit, Christian back then wasn't stingy with me. Over the years, being crushed and rebuilt in his hands, I improved faster than anyone else. Before getting off work, I sat in the office for a long time until the last light went out. Only then did I click the submit button on the computer. Watching the screen display "Resignation Application Submitted," I closed the laptop. Just then, my phone rang. A message from Christian came in. "There's a banquet tomorrow night. I had someone send a dress over."
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