Chapter 51 - Apologize

"Why are you stopping? Someone, you know?"

When Li Qin Yao heard the voice, she realized that Tang Ai Ling came along with a friend. Taking a deep breath, Li Qin Yao put on a smile and welcomed the two into the cafe. As the two girls went to their seats, Li Qin Yao brought them a menu and acted normally the way she would treat the other customers.

Once she had keyed in their orders, Li Qin Yao went back into the kitchen to check on the inventory. Almost an hour later, Han Yue Xiu appeared beside her and informed that a customer was looking for her. Li Qin Yao raised a brow before she handed the inventory list to another worker and headed back to the front.

Tang Ai Ling was waiting alone beside the counter. Li Qin Yao guessed that her friend must have left earlier.

Seeing the way Tang Ai Ling was staring at her, Li Qin Yao walked over to her with a smile. "Excuse me? You were looking for me?"

"Yes," Tang Ai Ling smiled. "Miss Li, the last time we saw each other was a month ago."

"Well, yes."

"Can we talk for a while?" Tang Ai Ling suggested.

Li Qin Yao maintained the smile on her face. She could guess that Tang Ai Ling wanted to see her for Chen Hao. She broke up with Chen Hao a month ago after her meeting with his parents. Since then, she had never seen or heard anything about him again. Li Qin Yao then followed her, and they both sat down at the corner.

"I did not know that you worked here," Tang Ai Ling said as they sat down. She glanced at the apron that Li Qin Yao was wearing, and her lips curled into a small smile.

"Miss Tang, may I know why you were looking for me?" Li Qin Yao naturally did not want to waste her time with idle chat.

The smile on Tang Ai Ling's face froze. She took a deep breath and said, "I heard that you broke up with Chen Hao."

Li Qin Yao felt her heart trembled as she heard his name. She looked at her and waited for her to continue to say what was on her mind.

"I always wanted to see you and apologize," Tang Ai Ling continued. "It was all because of me. If I did not show up and go with Auntie to that meeting, Chen Hao and you might still be together."

Li Qin Yao studied Tang Ai Ling's expression. She was baffled as to why would Tang Ai Ling said those things to her. They have only met once, and Chen Hao and her private matters naturally had nothing to do with Tang Ai Ling.

They only broke up because they both could not give what the other wanted. Li Qin Yao cannot give in to Chen Hao and tolerate the way his family treated her, while Chen Hao cannot make his family accept her.

"Miss Tang. You don't have to apologize to me," Li Qin Yao spoke softly. "Chen Hao and I broke up, but it was not because of you. After dating each other for a while, we found out that we had different goals in the relationship. Since it was that case, we choose to separate. It has nothing to do with others."

Tang Ai Ling bit her lips.

Seeing that the woman before her did not have anything else to say, Li Qin Yao stood up from her seat. "If that is all you wanted to say, then, I guess, there was nothing else for us to talk about." Li Qin Yao gave a smile before she went back to the kitchen.

"Why is your face so ugly? Who was that person?" Han Yue Xiu approached her friend silently.

"Someone that Chen Hao's mother approved of," Li Qin Yao massaged the area between her eyebrow.

"What? Why did she came and looked for you?"

Li Qin Yao sighed. "I don't know. She said she wanted to apologize for causing the breakup."

"So, she came to provoke you?" Han Yue Xiu snorted. As Li Qin Yao's friend, she had heard of what happened during the meeting between Li Qin Yao with Chen Hao's parents a month ago.

Li Qin Yao raised her shoulders. "Is there anything she can provoke me with?" she patted Han Yue Xiu on her shoulder and sighed. "I still have some work to do. I'll be in my office for a while."

Seeing her friend's downcast mood, Han Yue Xiu decided to give Li Qin Yao some space to rearrange her thoughts. Once Li Qin Yao closed the door, Han Yue Xiu turned around and saw the others' worried gaze. Han Yue Xiu shook her head and told the others to continue their tasks.

Li Qin Yao slumped down on her chair and tilted her head up to look at the ceiling. Though she had acted indifferently in front of Tang Ai Ling, Li Qin Yao felt her chest grew heavy when Tang Ai Ling mentioned her ex's name.

Although she was the one who initiated the breakup, Li Qin Yao found it hard to let go. Chen Hao was her first boyfriend, and they have dated for a year. Of course, it was not easy for her to forget him.

Tang Ai Ling's presence was poking at her heart. As her thoughts drifted away, Li Qin Yao began to wonder if Mother Chen's plan to pair up her son with Miss Tang had worked. Does it mean that Chen Hao and Tang Ai Ling was dating now?

However, since this was the path that they both had chosen, there was nothing else she could do but to look forward. She had cried all she wanted after the breakup while eating spicy hotpot. From then on, Li Qin Yao had promised herself that she was not going to cry over it anymore.

Li Qin Yao snapped out of her trance as her phone on the table began to vibrate. She glanced at the screen and took a deep breath to calm down before she swiped a finger on the screen.

"Grandfather," Li Qin Yao greeted. "I was planning to call you once I'm free."

"Then, are you free now?" Li Ren Xin spoke on the other line. Once he heard that his granddaughter was not busy, Li Ren Xin spoke again, "Yao Yao, I guess by now you must have heard the news from Liang Sheng,"

"Yes, he called to deliver the news right after his meeting with you," Li Qin Yao said.

Li Ren Xin laughed happily. "Then, you must have heard that I am planning to reveal this project to others during the shareholder meeting. Yao Yao, I want you to be there."

"I understand," Li Qin Yao spoke after a few seconds of silence. "I will come and show up at the meeting."

"Good," Li Ren Xin heaved a sigh of relief. He was worried that his granddaughter would not want to come. Although Li Qin Yao was among one of the shareholders, she had never shown up to the meeting since the accident. "I trust that you will not abandon this project since you were the one who worked on it?"

Li Qin Yao smiled. "Don't worry. Since you have enticed me to take this project, I will not abandon it without any reason. We only agree to let me manage this project. It's not like I am planning to go back to the headquarters."

Hearing that his granddaughter had no plan to give up, Li Ren Xin had a broad smile on his face. "There will be some opposition once I announce this project to the others," Li Ren Xin warned. "Although they will agree to take this project, most of them will object to having you as the manager. I want you to be prepared."