Chapter 7: Dinner With Strangers

[Location: Five-Star Hotel, Private Dining Hall | Time: 7:15 PM | Weather: Clear Skies]

The wine glasses clinked with faint elegance as servers moved in coordinated silence across the grand dining hall. A long mahogany table gleamed under the golden glow of the chandelier, flanked by high-backed velvet chairs.

Chen Yao stepped into the room, dressed in a sleek black dress that shimmered like liquid ink under the light. Her mother, Madame Chen, walked beside her, radiating polished authority.

"Remember," her mother whispered, adjusting her pearl earring, "you're here as a daughter of the Chen family—not the ex-wife of Xu Yichen."

Chen Yao didn't respond.

At the far end of the table, the guest of honor had not yet arrived—but the room already buzzed with speculation. Corporate leaders, socialites, and old-money elites had gathered for a "casual" dinner that was anything but casual.

The chair beside Chen Yao remained empty.

Until it wasn't.

"Miss Chen."

The voice came low, cool, and unmistakable.

Xu Yichen took the seat beside her, perfectly tailored in a dark navy suit. His tie pin gleamed like a blade.

"Why are you here?" she asked under her breath, eyes still forward.

"I was invited. By the host. As were you."

"Coincidence?"

"Do I look like a man who leaves things to chance?"

Their conversation halted as the host arrived—Chairman Qin, Qin Lingxi's father.

He entered with quiet gravity, nodding to select individuals. His gaze briefly settled on Yichen… then passed over Chen Yao.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Tonight is not about business. It's about acknowledgment. Relationships. Legacy."

Chen Yao's fingers curled slightly under the table. She wasn't used to being in the room as anything but someone's extension. Tonight, she was being erased.

Again.

[Location: Qin Lingxi's Apartment | Time: 7:30 PM]

Lingxi turned off the TV, tossing the remote aside. She already knew where her father was tonight. What kind of event it was.

Who would be there.

"So predictable," she murmured, pulling her hair into a messy twist.

She opened her sketchbook again.

This time, she didn't draw the forest.

She drew a dinner table.

Three seats.

Only one occupied.

[Location: Five-Star Hotel — Dining Hall, Continued | Time: 8:00 PM]

Dinner progressed with guarded smiles and veiled comments.

Du Haoran raised his glass from across the table.

"To old partnerships rekindled," he said, eyes flicking toward Yichen.

Yichen raised his own glass with calculated calm.

"To mistakes corrected."

A few guests chuckled. Others tensed.

Chen Yao kept her face passive, but her heel tapped lightly under the table.

Chairman Qin smiled faintly. "Gentlemen, let's not turn a celebration into a sword fight. There will be time for battles—if necessary."

"You always did enjoy strategy over war, Chairman," Yichen said politely.

"And you always liked your enemies unprepared."

Yichen smirked.

"Still do."

The air between them chilled just enough to shift the tone of the room.

[Location: Hotel Balcony | Time: 8:45 PM]

Chen Yao stepped out for air, wine glass still in hand. She leaned against the marble railing, eyes distant.

She didn't notice Yichen following until his reflection joined hers in the glass.

"Still hate these dinners?" he asked.

"Still remember I used to?" she replied.

"I remember everything."

That silence between them cracked.

"Then remember this too," she said. "You left. You stayed gone. You let the vultures circle me for years."

"You sent me away first."

"I threw papers at you. I didn't expect you to vanish off the face of the earth."

"But you did expect me to wait," he said coldly.

She turned to face him, jaw tight.

"If she's back… just say it."

He didn't answer.

"Lingxi's name is all over your silence."

"You don't get to speak her name," he said, sharp now.

"No? But I lived with her ghost in our marriage."

"That's not fair."

"Neither was marrying someone while still loving someone else."

They stared at each other, eyes dark, past thick between them.

Then, as if called back to the battlefield, they turned and reentered the dining room.

As strangers.

[Location: Du Haoran's Private Office | Time: 10:00 PM]

Du Haoran poured himself a drink alone.

His assistant entered.

"Chairman Qin and Xu Yichen are strengthening ties. They shared a private toast before leaving."

Haoran's smile was venom.

"Of course they did. I underestimated how quickly the past can be rewritten."

"Should we respond?"

He downed the drink.

"Not yet. Let them believe they've already won."

He stared at the reflection in the glass window.

"Let them walk ahead. It'll be easier to stab them in the back."

[End of Chapter 7]