Chapter 291 - Send A Message

The girls of Macaron spent all day rehearsing for their concert. The concert was designed to have 7 distinct parts: a 30-minute introduction where all 7 girls appeared on stage; a 15-minute performance featuring Mimi, Ara, and Chu; a 15-minute solo performance by the leader, Avaleigh; a 15-minute performance featuring Ray, Olivia, and Nana; another 30-minute performance by the entire group for the finale; and a 30-minute encore.

It was designed this way so the girls all had adequate rest between performances and got the chance to stand out a little more without having to fight for the limelight.

While Ray, Olivia, and Nana were rehearsing on stage, Chu greeted Avaleigh excitedly as soon as she stepped into the change room and followed her over to her chair.

Avaleigh was covered in a layer of sweat so Chu quickly handed her a towel and gently leaned against the dressing table in front of her. There was a 15-minute intermission after Ray, Olivia, and Nana got off the stage, so Avaleigh had 30 minutes to prepare for the group performance.

Chu decided to take this opportunity to gossip a little.

"So, did President Wu explain why he's still single by chance? How is such an impressive man still single?" she asked nosily.

Avaleigh wiped her face and neck with the towel and thought about the man she had seen earlier that day. That morning, when they were standing inside the empty auditorium, he had explained to her that he had never dated before because he was in love with the same person for over a decade and that person ended up marrying his brother.

That was when she remembered that he never answered her question. Did he still have feelings for that woman?

Respecting the man's privacy, Avaleigh shook her head and replied, "I guess he just hasn't found the right person."

At that moment, Mimi approached the two and handed Avaleigh a bottle of water with electrolytes. "You must be dehydrated," she said as she handed it to her group leader casually. She then walked back over to sit with Ara.

Avaleigh accepted the bottle thankfully and drank it. This was the drink they always had during their concerts because it was a good way to rehydrate and boost their energy.

When Chu saw Mimi, she leaned over and whispered in Avaleigh's ear, "Do you think Mimi might be the right person?"

Mimi had made it pretty clear that she wanted to make Emerson hers.

Avaleigh almost choked on her water when she heard this question. Acting like she didn't care, she shrugged her shoulder and leaned forward to retouch her makeup. "I don't know him that well," she replied. But, deep down, the thought of Mimi and Emerson being together made her a little uncomfortable.

Seeing that Avaleigh wasn't very interested in the conversation, Chu scrunched up her nose and walked back over to join Mimi and Ara.

But, as soon as Chu was gone, Avaleigh glanced down at her phone and scrolled to a new number she had added recently. She hesitated for a second before she clicked on the name, 'President Wu', and sent a message: "You didn't answer my question earlier. I thought we were supposed to talk after I ate."

Had he gotten over the woman he had loved all these years? And could Mimi possibly be the right person for him? 

Avaleigh held onto her phone nervously and waited for a reply.

...

Emerson was a hard worker that often stayed at the casino for 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Recently, after the mess that his mother and uncle made, it was even common to see him sleeping in his office overnight. Ever since they were arrested for money laundering, Emerson had been monitoring the place carefully to ensure that criminal activity no longer took place in his casino and all junket operations ceased. He believed gambling was a form of entertainment and he wanted it to remain that way. He did not want it to be always associated with crime and addiction so he was determined to clean up the industry. But, it wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. Thus, he worked tirelessly to make it happen.

But, that particular day, he actually left at 6pm!

Everyone was shocked when they saw the man walking out the front door. What happened? Was there an emergency at home?

Emerson walked straight over to his car and jumped into the passenger seat. The driver was just as surprised as everyone else when he heard the door open. He usually took a nap in the car around this time. Slightly fl.u.s.tered, he quickly propped his seat up and turned to his boss. "Home, President Wu?" the young man asked. This driver had been working with Emerson for the past 5 years, but he had never seen his boss finish work earlier than 8pm, at the very least.

Emerson glanced down at his phone with a slight smile and shook his head, "Take me to AsiaWorld-Expo."

The driver quickly nodded his head and remembered that Macaron's concert was on that night. "Did President Qian ask you to do something at the concert?" he guessed.

But, to his surprise, Emerson shook his head and answered, "No, I'm going there to send a message."

Send a message? The driver was confused. Why couldn't he just send an SMS or a WeChat message instead of going all the way there in person? But, even though he didn't understand, he did not dare to question his boss.

As the driver started the car and started heading over the bridge back to Hong Kong, Emerson picked up his phone and looked at the message he received a couple of hours ago. His heart began to race. Just before he received this message earlier, he was in a bit of a bad mood, but all his frustrations disappeared the moment this message arrived.

Of course, he could have easily messaged Avaleigh back and told her that he had no feelings for Halia anymore. That she was his brother's wife and he had accepted it. But, he suddenly had the urge to tell it to her in person. He wanted to say it to her face and see her reaction. Why was she so curious about a matter that didn't seem to be related to her? Did she...

...like him?