Chapter Two: I Saw You Among the Crowd

Eurasia Trading, situated in the heart of the bustling city, was a multinational business conglomerate with a vast operational scope that had earned it the reputation of being an industry titan throughout Southeast Asia. Its CEO was a figure shrouded in mystery, often described as a dragon whose head was seen but whose tail remained elusive—a legend both for his extraordinary abilities and his striking appearance, each as remarkable as the other.

He was a man who frequently left the media in awe and made him the object of infatuation among countless heiresses in the business world.

At this very moment, in the executive office atop the Eurasia building, a man stood before the blue-tinted tempered glass, wearing a black Armani suit personally tailored by an Italian designer. The suit accentuated his tall, upright frame. One hand was casually tucked into his pocket as he gazed out over the city, his expression inscrutable—a silent command of authority emanating from him.

“Have you found out yet?” he asked in a voice that was rich and resonant, though it carried little warmth.

“A piece of cake—it’s all here,” replied the other man, lounging on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other. He tossed a thick dossier onto the table, raising an eyebrow with a playful smirk as he regarded the commanding figure silhouetted in the evening light. “What’s got you interested in this kind of woman?”

In Yu Wensi’s eyes, Shen Yanlie was never short of female company. When he had needs, he would simply pick someone to suit his tastes, leaving behind a bank card as compensation. Despite being surrounded by beautiful women, Shen Yanlie had never had a serious girlfriend—a fact Yu Wensi attributed, perhaps, to Xie Yunting.

But... so much time had passed, and the woman in this photo was nothing like Shen Yanlie’s usual type.

The woman in the photo was almost painfully pure. She appeared clean, innocent, wearing barely any makeup. Her eyes weren’t particularly large, but they were clear and refreshing. Her straight nose showed no sign of cosmetic alteration—surely, it was natural. This was the very picture of simplicity, utterly removed from the sultry allure Shen Yanlie was known to favor.

“Why didn’t you bring her back?” The man turned his head slightly, his refined features sharp as if carved from ice, his elegant phoenix eyes half-lowered. His face was as cold as winter frost, betraying no emotion, and his indifferent tone echoed through the vast office.

Yu Wensi lit a cigarette, clamping it between his lips. “She’s in France for an exhibition right now. Do you want me to snatch her from there?”

The man said nothing more, but a razor-sharp glint flashed through his deep-set eyes.

He walked away from the window and settled onto the leather sofa, picking up the dossier with slender fingers and flipping through it page by page—until suddenly—

A stab of pain pierced Shen Yanlie’s heart, sharp as a needle. So her pleas to him had been genuine, after all.

And that face... She was the woman from that night?

Shen Yanlie could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his chest. A memory from ten years ago flashed across his mind—

Fate began when I saw you in the crowd. Fate ended when I saw you again, lost in the crowd.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Yu Wensi seemed to have caught a fleeting change in his expression, a subconscious movement, and asked with a furrowed brow. The only response was silence.

“Are your injuries any better?” When Shen Yanlie didn’t answer, Yu Wensi took a hard drag of his cigarette, then crushed it out in the ashtray, a shadow of worry crossing his face.

“It’s not fatal,” Shen Yanlie replied coolly, pressing his fingers to his brow as if suffering a headache. He closed the dossier and tossed it back onto the table.

Yu Wensi sat quietly, watching Shen Yanlie, and was surprised to notice that the necklace the man always wore—the one that never left his neck—was suddenly gone. He did not ask about it, though. That necklace was Shen Yanlie’s Achilles’ heel, and Yu Wensi had no desire to touch the tiger’s whiskers.