Rina Yu, Nancy's cousin,
forced a smile at them with a stiff expression on her face.
"Hi..." she said embarrassedly.
She had never expected that the people she had run into at such a small mall would turn out to be
Jack's wife and her cousin.
They went to a nearby tea house. The waiter served them their tea and left.
There seemed to be a clear line dividing them. Jack and Rachel were seated opposite to Rina and
Nancy, while Eric was seated on a separate chair at the side of the table.
'It really is a small world. It's too bad I didn't check the lunar calendar today,' Eric thought to himself.
Perhaps the calmest one among this group of people was Jack, who passed Rachel's drink to her and
began introducing everyone.
"This is Miss Rina Yu and this is Miss Nancy Guo. They're my guests." He didn't give a detailed
introduction of the two ladies, but carefully mentioned their names to Rachel.
Then, he continued, "This is my wife, Rachel Shen, and that's her cousin, Eric Shen. I'm so sorry about
what happened today. I just heard everything from Eric, and it was all just a misunderstanding. I'm so
sorry."
"Jack, there's no need to be so serious. It doesn't matter," Rina said stiffly, though she seemed to have
some difficulty getting out those words, especially when her eyes met Rachel's.
She had called Jack here to get his sympathy and affection, thinking that the two people she had run
into were just insignificant passersby.
Now that she knew their real identity, she couldn't continue being arrogant and aloof anymore.
In fact, Rachel was the one putting on airs now.
Rina was filled with resentment in her heart, but at the same time, she had no choice but to please
Rachel.
All of a sudden, the tables were turned.
Rina lowered her beautiful eyes slightly to hide her true feelings and said, "Ms. Shen, I'm sorry. I was
being too rude just now. I was just in so much pain from twisting my ankle that I said something to
offend you. It's all my fault."
Eric, who was staring disbelievingly at Rina, felt Nancy's eyes on him. When he turned to her, he found
her glaring at him as if warning him not to fan the fire.
But he just turned away and ignored her.
Nancy's face turned blue, but she was accustomed to his indifference.
Lowering her head, she poked her drink with her straw and cursed inwardly, 'You asshole!"
Even while apologizing in this precarious situation, Rina had been sly enough to address Rachel as
"Ms. Shen" instead of "Mrs. Fu."
However, Rachel was so annoyed that she didn't notice this.
'It's all a misunderstanding? How ridiculous,' she complained to herself.
But on the outside, she smiled slightly and turned to Eric. "Eric, since it's just a misunderstanding, let's
make things clear now."
Then, caressing the edge of her glass with her long fingers, she continued,
"Miss Yu didn't seem to hear your apology. Please say it again."
Upon hearing this, the cousins sitting opposite her shifted in embarrassment. Biting her lower lip, Rina
said, "Don't be sorry. It doesn't matter."
However, Rachel firmly replied, "He was too careless and hurt you. It's really his fault. He needs to
apologize."
Eric was quick to react after getting his cue.
He was equally annoyed by the way these women had ignored him just now.
Raising his eyes with the utmost sincerity, he once again said, "Miss Yu, I'm really sorry for what I did
just now. Does your ankle still hurt?"
"No, not anymore. It's not a big deal," Rina said casually, shrugging it off.
However, Eric laughed. "I apologized to you about three or four times, it's lucky that you can finally hear
me now," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Blushing in embarrassment, Rina stole a glance at Jack, who was leaning against the sofa and playing
with his watch with disinterest.
She wondered if he was paying attention to their conversation. When she had called him here, she had
just told him that she had run into two rude and unreasonable people.
She had complained that they hadn't wanted to apologize to her even after causing trouble, which was
why Jack had come all this way to see her.
Now, Eric was obviously stirring up trouble by bringing up the fact that he had indeed apologized a few
times, it was just that she hadn't accepted it.
He was painting her as a liar in front of Jack. Nancy was so angry that she glared outright at Eric,
but Eric just stared her down as if to say, "Yes, I did it on purpose. What are you going to do about it?"
'This bastard!' Nancy cursed in her heart, gritting her teeth. There was nothing she could do in this
situation.
Seeing that Rina was at a loss for how to respond to Eric's words, Rachel smiled faintly.
"Anyway, we've all been delayed for a while. We're going to have some food now. Do you want to join
us?" she asked the cousins, referring to Eric and herself without getting Jack involved.
Jack was unhappy at being excluded this way, but he said calmly, "I haven't eaten either. Miss Yu and
Miss Guo, do you want to join us?"
It took Rina a long time to regain her composure. Although she felt utterly humiliated, it was not obvious
on the outside.
Fiddling with her long luscious hair, she curved her lips and said,
"We've already had lunch. Jack, you'd better eat first. An empty stomach is bad for your health. I'll carry
on shopping with my cousin."
Her voice was soft and coquettish, completely unlike the way she had spoken to Rachel and Eric
before.
"Okay, you can call me if you need anything," Jack replied.
"Okay." Rina and Nancy said goodbye to them and left.
Eric's lips twitched with disdain as he stared at their retreating figures.
However, Jack turned to Rachel as soon as he said goodbye to the two women.
She had barely talked to him since he had arrived.
'Is she still mad at me?' he wondered helplessly.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked.
Suppressing her irritation, Rachel looked at him and said, "It's up to Eric. I'm okay with anything."
Jack immediately turned to Eric and raised his eyebrows.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Why don't you go and eat with your two friends?" Eric snapped,
emphasizing the word "friends" on purpose.
Rachel touched her forehead self-consciously, embarrassed by how Eric was acting like the one who
had caught his husband flirting with other women.
Jack, on the other hand, was puzzled by Eric's sharp reaction and wondered what he had done to
offend him.
Had something happened while he was away? It seemed like both Eric and Rachel didn't like him now.
However, he pretended not to notice Eric's unkind tone and said, "There is a new restaurant not far
from here. The food there is good. Do you want to give it a try?"
"Okay." Rachel stood up and looked at Eric, hinting for him to stand as well.
Still in a bad mood, Eric lowered his head and followed the pair silently with the shopping bags in hand.
Today was a really bad day for him. He had met Nancy and Jack, both of whom he disliked.
It was noon, and when they stepped out of the mall, the sun shone brightly on them, making them feel
as if they had entered a different world.
After a moment of hesitation, Eric looked down at the things in his hand and said to Rachel, "You carry
on and have lunch. I want to go back."
Rachel was taken aback. "What's wrong?"
Eric waved his hand and said, "Nothing. I just feel a little tired and want to go back."
Seeing this, Rachel hesitated for a moment as well and then decided to say goodbye to Jack.
Before she could say anything, however, Jack grabbed her slender wrist and looked at her, fully aware
of what she was intending to do. "I just flew back from abroad this morning. I haven't even had
breakfast yet. Come and have something to eat with me."
Rachel thought for a while, and then nodded reluctantly. "Okay, see you," she told Eric.
Eric opened his mouth as if to say something important, but then he swallowed his words. Finally, he
just said, "See you."
Then, he hailed a cab and waved goodbye to them.
After watching the car drive away, Rachel turned to Jack, fanning herself under the afternoon sun.
"Get in the car first," Jack urged.
Rachel raised her eyes and saw his car in the parking lot.
Once they both got in, Jack explained, "There was an emergency that day, and I had to go abroad. I
just came back this morning."
Rachel was still in the middle of putting on her seat belt. Not knowing how to reply to this, she just
managed a light, "Oh."
Jack turned around and looked at her. After a pause, he continued, "Rina Yu is a business partner.
Today, we are taking the cooperation case upstairs."
"You don't have to explain so much," Rachel mumbled awkwardly even though she was glad to hear
this explanation.
Jack tapped the steering wheel rhythmically with his long fingers, wearing a smile on his face.
"I wanted to say goodbye to her," he continued as if he hadn't heard her words. "But she told me that
something bad happened to her, so I just came out to have a look."
He wanted to explain everything clearly to Rachel so that she didn't misunderstand him, especially
when it came to his friendships with other women.
In his eyes, the relationship between him and Rachel was already strained and wouldn't be able to bear
the crisis of trust.
Besides, Rachel was extremely reticent about her thoughts and feelings,
so he had to take the initiative to explain such things.
She was like a snail that would retreat back into her shell without saying a word as soon as the wind
blew a little.
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