Seeing that Renee refused to give up, Stefan didn't try to persuade her anymore. He just turned around and left with a cold expression on his face.When he returned to the very center of the summit forum, he instantly caught everyone's attention. Stefan turned his head slightly, speaking to Elijah who was standing behind him. "Inform Wyatt Haughey to publicly announce that the summit will be blacklisting Azure Group. All companies, and I mean all companies, are banned from partnering with them!"Not only did the annual Global Technology Summit provide the top companies a platform to promote their products, the most important section within the summit was the forum. With big shots from different countries gathered in one place, they would all discuss the future development of the industry, similar to a conference meeting.As the CEO of Hunt Enterprise, Stefan's electronics company accounted for seventy-five percent of the market, so he was definitely considered the most powerful of t
The audience started clapping as soon as the emcee finished speaking.All the bosses and big shots stared at the door in anticipation, wondering who the new director of the Electronics Technology Association would be. This person would be the one guiding the industry of electronics technology for the next four years.The spotlight shone on a figure walking through the door—a professional-looking woman clad in a black power suit with her hair tied up in a high bun."What?!" Elijah exclaimed in disbelief. He was the first person to respond. Rubbing his eyes, he added, "Is there a problem with my eyes? Because I think that's Madam!"Stefan frowned slightly. He stared at Renee's graceful figure, completely caught off guard.Renee walked up to the podium with her head held high, her eyes scanning the audience below. She then introduced herself, "Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Renee Everheart, and I am the new director of the Electronics Technology Association."Renee used to eit
Renee shot up to instant fame after the summit forum despite being completely unknown prior to it. She had become the darling of the electronics technology industry. Many people came to chat with her and wanted to take photos with her, and it was almost as if everything else was forgotten.It was customary for the successful conclusion of the summit forum to be followed by a celebration banquet attended by all of the big players in the industry. Naturally, Stefan and Renee were both expected to join the banquet.The two sat down at the same round table, but there were several people seated between them. Despite having been in a very intimate relationship as husband and wife in the past, not a single word passed between them for the duration of the event. In fact, they did not even make eye contact once.Truthfully, it was Renee who did not spare Stefan a glance. Stefan, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed on Renee, giving her the legendary 'Hunt Stare' the whole time.With a gla
Like a proud emperor, Stefan sat there and haughtily glanced at the glass in Renee's hand, which was filled to the brim with orange juice."Is that how you show your sincerity towards this industry?" He sneered."Sincerity is measured by what I do," Renee retorted coldly, "not what I drink."She then turned to the top figures in the room and humbly stated, "Gentlemen, please forgive me for drinking orange juice instead of wine. I'm allergic to alcohol so unfortunately, I can't join you for a glass. Nonetheless, please know that I hold all of you in the highest regard.""Orange juice instead of wine?" Stefan scoffed. "Do you think this is child's play? The world of business is a battlefield where people fight to the death. No one here has any time to play with you. If you can't adapt to this world, you'd better just go home now and not waste anyone's time."Hearing this, the crowd immediately sensed a rivalry between them. If they did not pick the right side, their days in the fiel
"If you really are allergic to alcohol," Stefan told Renee snidely, "it's not too late to back out."His sole purpose was to make her realize the difficulty that came with her new position and give up, not to harm her in any way. But Renee kept on pretending to be a pitiful young girl and replied, "It's okay. I just want to prove my sincerity in front of everyone."What a silly and stubborn woman! Now that his patience was exhausted, Stefan held his head high and declared, "Let's begin, then."Everyone held their breath and subconsciously stepped back a little to quietly observe the game.They decided on the simplest iteration of the game. In truth, Stefan, being the serious and austere man that he was, rarely ever played the finger-guessing game. When he did, it was only for fun when he was hanging out with Christopher and Xavier. He knew that his skills in the game were nothing to write home about, but he was sure that he could defeat a naive woman like Renee with ease.To eve
"What else should I do?"As Renee looked into Stefan's bleary eyes, she was reminded of the night when he blocked her way domineeringly just as he was doing now, which led to them having sex. But after that night, he pretended that nothing ever happened, and it was precisely this kind of irresponsible behavior, like a tortoise hiding in its shell, that made her furious!"Since it's clear that I'm the winner," she said, "I'm under no obligation to be here with you as you continue to act like a madman. Don't be a sore loser, and stop wasting other people's time!"With her long suppressed anger boiling under the surface, she walked away from the man with an icy expression on her face, not even looking back once as she walked out the door.Stefan stood still in the same spot, feeling like he had just been slapped on the face. For a very long time, he just remained there with an emotionless expression, cold as ice and completely inscrutable.Inside the room, the atmosphere was very str
Elijah could hardly stifle his laughter as soon as he saw the playlist.The first song Stefan had chosen was one called "Love Is Like A Tide," while the second song was "When Our Love Was In The Past." The third song was "Love that Came Too Late,"...In short, he had selected love songs that dealt with heartbreak, failed love, and regrets that came too late.It seemed like Mrs. Hunt had really given Stefan quite a blow today.Typically, Stefan led his life solely on the basis of reason and rationality, but as soon as he got drunk, he would instantly reveal the hidden side of his personality…But the best person to cure his current ailment would be the one who had caused it in the first place, which meant that the only person who could save him from this bad habit of getting drunk and singing lovesick songs in a karaoke bar was Mrs. Hunt herself and no one else!After singing a few songs with Stefan, Elijah excused himself, saying, "You go on and sing, Mr. Hunt. I need to go to th
Under the glow of the dim lights of the private lounge, Renee didn't just see Stefan, but he was surrounded by several young, exquisitely good-looking men, each dressed in their own distinct style.And all those men were exhausting every last skill in their arsenal to impress Stefan."Ahem!" Renee coughed awkwardly, feeling as if she really was not supposed to be there at all.Stefan did not notice that Renee was there. He was too busy singing a famous song called "Ten Years Ago" with a microphone in his hand."Ten years ago…" he sang, "I did not know you, and you were not mine; we were still…"Although Renee had initially planned to leave right away, she was suddenly attracted to Stefan's voice. Despite being married to him for several years, it was actually her first time hearing him sing.She never expected a man like Stefan, who was always so serious and rigid, would ever be able to sing so passionately. Sure, he had a deep and hypnotic voice, but what was more impressive was
In the past, Jovan had always regarded Stefan as a coward. Stefan couldn't forget about Renee, but he kept pushing Renee to another man. It seemed like Justin was more responsible, considerate, and gentle. Of course, Renee would lead a very happy, steady, and comfortable life with such a man. At the very least, Jovan felt that he could not be that meticulous and considerate. He would only drive Renee mad just to get her attention. "Hmph! Are you trying to humiliate me or yourself?" Justin didn't find that a compliment. Instead, it sounded like smockery. Jovan made it sound like Justin was a nice guy, but would not be picked by Renee. Usually, people like that had to suffer and would not end up well."I'm praising you." Jovan was helpless because of his reputation as the villain. Although he had said a lot of annoying things, he did want to compliment Justin. His love was probably as deep as Justin's, but his and Stefan's ways of loving Renee were much inferior to Justin's.
"That's unnecessary." Justin stood in front of Renee, his face cold. He said firmly, "She's unwell and can't have wine." "Is she unwell? I didn't see that." Jovan sized Renee up before he sized Justin up. Then, he sneered, "And who are you to her? You can't stop her from having wine.""It's none of your business who I am to her. I said she can't have wine." Justin always kept peace with others, but at that moment, he was dominant. He didn't always want to control Renee, but she had drunk a lot of wine that day. It might have hurt her belly. Hence, he felt it better for her to abstain from wine lately. However, Jovan was unaware of that affair. He simply found Justin purposely showing his ownership over Renee, which disgusted him."Waiter, get her a glass of milk. She only wants that," Justin instructed a waiter, showing his consideration for Renee. "It's okay. I can have a little wine. Plus, I'm rather good at drinking. It's not easy for everyone to get together tonight. I do
They danced for around ten minutes. Renee danced to the song heartily. Her initial gloomy mood also improved.Renee drank some water and took a few deep breaths. Then, she sincerely praised Leia, "Alright. Your welcome ceremony is bizarre, but it helped relieve my stress. I like it very much!"She could tell that Leia had painstakingly prepared that gift for her. After all, it was not easy to ask the Zambawi people from primitive tribes to sing an English song. "I'm glad you like it. I did this because I wanted you to relax and stop taking things seriously. You need to stop being so hard on yourself and get rid of all the pressure!" Leia said honestly. The Zambawi hand-drum dance came with the charms of a primitive dance. Its goal was to set people free. Of course, it was suitable for Renee to relieve her stress."Yeah, your stress is relieved. From now on, you'll start afresh. This is for you. I'm sure it'll be one of your happy memories." Liam handed the previous Polaroid to
"This is your welcome ceremony. This hand-drum dance is to help eliminate bad luck." Leia held Renee's arm, satisfied with her arrangement. She said happily, "Listen to their song! It's a great song!""Is there a song?" Renee frowned; she felt that Leia was always doing bizarre things. She wondered how Leia could come up with such a preposterous welcome ceremony."Mm, listen carefully! It's English. You can understand it." At that point, Leia said to the Zambawi people, "Put on your microphone. And sing louder."The Zambawi people gave their cooperation. They used their typical Zambawi singing to sing the English song. While listening to the song, Renee found it very familiar. "The flowers will bloom in spring, and the birds are free. I'm still waiting, waiting for my love to come back. Hurry home!""Isn't that Spring Flowers by Curtis Harrett?" Renee finally recalled what song it was. It was a song with a happy beat. It could make people happy. The Zambawi people made th
"I don't know, either. All I ever remember from when I was young is that I led a very painful life. I once tried my best to make the Garcia family accept me. I did all the dirty and tiring jobs. I went out to work at an early age to get money for them. I also did all the house chores. "But my foster parents were never nice to me. They would always beat me up or scold me. My elder foster brother also saw me as an eyesore. He always tried to get me killed…" Quinton calmly described his past. He no longer seemed to be in pain. All that was left in him was numbness, as if he were talking about someone else.However, Renee was always in pain whenever she heard him talk about his past. She felt like she had returned to his past with him and experienced those painful things. It was normal for her to feel that way because they were twins. A lot of their thoughts and feelings were synchronized. "I suddenly recalled that I would inexplicably become gloomy many times when I was young. I
"I'm sorry." When Renee heard that from Quinton, she realized the conflict between him and Stefan had yet to be resolved. It was temporarily put aside because of her. She occasionally saw him and Stefan talk to each other and drink together, but they merely put on a show to ease her mind. Their hatred for each other hadn't been eliminated. Instead, it was growing secretly. If Renee were Quinton, she might never forgive the person who had snatched away her beloved and seized her identity. That person even ruined her face."Why did you say sorry to me? It's the resentment between him and me. It has nothing to do with you. Plus, I didn't know he was my brother-in-law then. If I knew, I wouldn't have fought him." When Quinton recalled those affairs, he realized that people were nothing but the sport of fate. If there had been no resentment between him and Stefan, Renee might not have broken up with Stefan. Their families might even get closer. "Stop bringing up the past. It's
During these days, Renee was under pressure because of her affairs. She had no chance to ask Quinton about it. Now, the long flight gave them a chance to have a deep conversation. They could talk about their woes and seek consolation."Me?" Quinton lowered his head and shook his head helplessly. "I'm still the same old me. Nothing is troubling me. I've been busy with Carmine Pawnshop. I have no time to think about other stuff.""You have no time?" Renee touched her chin and smiled naughtily. "Then, you must have been dwelling on other stuff. Let me guess… Is it the thing between you and Joanne?" "Stop asking so much." Quinton did not deny it but refused to talk much about that. "It looks like I made the right guess. You fell out with Joanne, didn't you?" Renee knew Quinton well. Generally, his work would not affect his mood. The only person who could affect his mood was Joanne, who shared a complicated relationship with him. Before Renee left Beach City, she had created a l
After a long while, Quinton turned around. He looked at Renee, who was across from him, and heaved a long sigh."We're about to go home soon. Why do you look this gloomy? What's wrong…? Are you reluctant to part with this place?" Quinton said. "No, I'm not." Renee poured herself a glass of orange juice and sipped it. She frowned and dwelled on it before she said, "I feel empty inside. I don't know if I made the right choice.""Empty?" Quinton asked curiously."I think I've said goodbye to a steady life since I decided to leave. Maybe I'll keep on wandering from now on," Renee said melancholically. The reason why she chose to give it a try with Justin because she was tired. She was exhausted from leading a wandering life and wanted to settle down with someone. Others could not give her the sense of security like Justin. When she saw him, she inexplicably wanted a home. At that time, she thought she could forget about everything and start a new life with him. Unexpectedly, she
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc