Snow was falling that night.
The snow fell in feather-like flurries, coasting gently to settle on the car roof, floating across the windshield, and dancing in the pale yellow light of the headlights.
More snow covered the car windows like a pristine blanket, and Vivian could only faintly see the figures inside. With the roar of the car engine, the car left.
The road was dark.
Frozen with shock, Vivian stood unmoving until the snow on her hair melted and flew into her collar.
Julie had come over with an umbrella to find her. "Vivi?"
"Mom?" Vivian turned around and saw her mother. She walked to her mother and took shelter under the umbrella.
Vivian's hands and cheeks were frozen red, and her breath came out in warm, foggy puffs. "Why are you here?"
"You ran out in a hurry. I was worried about you, so I came out. It's snowing again. You might get sick walking under the snow fall without an umbrella."
Julie angled the umbrella a little towards her daughter and continued to nag. "You're going to get married soon, so you can't get sick now. Nothing is more important than your marriage with Mr. Shi."
"Mom, I'm fine," Vivian answered absentmindedly. Her mother continued to speak, but she was not listening at all. All she could think about was the sight of Henry kissing the back of Adrian's hand in the car.
Social kisses were normal in some countries, but she had never seen any man kiss the back of another man's hand.
Besides, she saw Adrian put his arm around Henry's neck and kiss him on the mouth.
The kiss only lasted for one second, but her mind couldn't process what she saw.
It was hard for her to accept a relationship between the two men.
Her mind replayed the scene over and over in her head like a video player on loop.
Her insides churning, Vivian kept walking with a frown on her face. She was not paying attention to where she was going.
"Be careful. Turn right." Julie reached out to pull her daughter's hand and gave her a sidelong glance. "What are you thinking about? You're not even looking at where you're walking. What should we do if you end up hurting yourself?"
"What?" Vivian raised her head at the sound of her mother's admonishment and saw a wall right in front of her. If she had taken two more steps forward, she would have bumped into it.
She turned right at once. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about something."
"About what?" Julie asked. "Are you missing Mr. Shi?"
Normally, Vivian's face would turn red at the teasing. Now, all she could think about was the kiss between Henry and Adrian, which made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Mom, do you know the person who Henry likes?" Vivian stopped walking to ask.
Julie also halted in her tracks "Wait, what's going on? Didn't he admit it in front of us just now? He has fallen in love with someone, but I don't know which family she is from. Of course, there's a possibility that she's a nobody.
I'm hoping that it's the latter because that would be beneficial for us since we don't need to deal with her family." Henry was thorn in Julie's side. Both she and Henry's mother were shameful mistresses, but Henry became the CEO of the Ye Group, while Vivian was left with no controlling power over the company.
Julie thought it would be great if Henry's girlfriend was just an ordinary person.
Vivian frowned, her insides burning with mixed emotions. She shook her head and said, "No. Neither an ordinary person nor a lady from a rich family."
Julie's expression turned serious. "Did you see her just now? Who is she? Did you see her clearly?"
Nothing summarized the relationship between mother and daughter as succinctly as that moment. Julie held an umbrella to block the snow, and Vivian held onto her mother's arm and gave advice. They cheered on each other to go farther.
A week passed in a blink of an eye.
The chilly winter persisted. It did not snow, but the sun was nowhere to be found. The harsh, frigid breeze buffeted the pedestrians.
Winter in Lexingport City was particularly cold this year.
As scheduled, Vivian went to FG headquarters on Saturday.
She arrived ten minutes early to her scheduled appointment.
"Miss Ye, you're here." Lisa, who was responsible for receiving Vivian, greeted her courteously. She led Vivian to a seat inside the shop and prepared a cup of coffee for her.
The shop interiors were heated, so Vivian shrugged off her light tan overcoat, revealing a well-fitting milky white sweater dress.
A pair of warm skin-toned leggings that matched her complexion and a pair of shiny black boots completed her ensemble.
Vivian handed the overcoat to Lisa and said with a smile, "Thank you."
"It's my job, Miss Ye. Please wait a moment. I'll ask someone to take the wedding dresses down from the second floor."
"There's no rush," Vivian said lightly, although the hand holding the cup of coffee was trembling. She was feeling anxious for some reason. "I want to wait until John gets here."
Lisa, who had just reached the top of the stairs, stopped and turned around. "Miss Ye, Mr. Shi has sent word that he is busy at the moment. I'm afraid he won't be joining us today."
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