Andrew automatically associated the man with the surname Jiang to Joshua.
Quick move, huh? No wonder as soon as he came back, she couldn't wait to get him to sign the divorce papers.
So it really was because of that guy named Jiang.
Inside the bright and spacious conference room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense as the morning meeting dragged on.
Andrew sat at the head of the table. His usually calm, deep eyes now seemed to burn with a cold flame. The oppressive air around him was so heavy it felt almost solid.
Several proposals had already been ruthlessly rejected by him. Files slammed down hard on the table with loud "thuds," the sound echoing through the silent room, startling everyone present.
Andrew questioned coldly, "This is what you came up with after working overtime the past few days?"
"Looks like during my two years away, your abilities have gone downhill."
The entire room fell completely silent. Department heads looked at each other, nervously exchanging glances, all wondering who had managed to get on the boss's bad side so early in the morning.
Only Assistant Ryan, standing off to the side, sighed quietly to himself while maintaining a professional expression.
He knew the real reason behind Andrew's outburst. On the surface, it looked like dissatisfaction with the proposals, but the truth was something else entirely.
It was because he had told Andrew that morning that Katherine's family was setting her up on blind dates. That was what had set him off.
But Andrew, being stubborn, insisted he didn't care. Yet here he was, fuming from the moment the day began.
Assistant Ryan glanced sympathetically at the other attendees. They were bound to be the targets today.
The meeting continued, but Andrew was irritated and had nowhere to release it.
Just then, someone casually brought up the idea of working with Joshua's company. Andrew's already dark expression changed further, his brow twitching. He couldn't stop himself from picturing that surname "Jiang" as Joshua.
Joshua, the young and capable head of Jiang Group, known in their circle as a rising star.
Suddenly, Andrew remembered that the company used to be led by Joshua's brother, Yumin. After something happened to Yumin, Joshua took over.
And he remembered—Joshua had studied medicine too.
Could it be that he and Katherine had known each other for a long time?
Andrew's face grew uglier, and jealousy twisted in his chest.
The person who suggested the partnership was still waiting for Andrew's opinion. Carefully, he asked, "President Andrew, what do you think about cooperating with Jiang Group?"
Andrew looked up and shot him a cold glare. "From today on, Xinyu Group will not collaborate with Jiang Group on any project."
"Any projects involving Jiang Group, reject them immediately."
Before the echo of his words had faded, he added, "This meeting is over. All the proposals need to be redone. I want new ones on my desk tomorrow."
With that, Andrew stood up and walked out of the meeting room.
The department heads turned to Assistant Ryan as he packed up. "Assistant Ryan, what's going on with the boss?"
"These proposals were made based on his previous revisions. Why do we have to start over again?"
Assistant Ryan gave them a polite smile. "I'm not entirely sure either. Maybe the changes didn't meet his expectations. You should all head back and see what can be improved."
Of course, he wasn't about to tell them that Andrew's reaction was because of Katherine.
"You've all worked hard. Get back to it."
Once out of the meeting room, Assistant Ryan asked the secretary to prepare a coffee for Andrew.
"Assistant Ryan, the coffee is ready. Should I bring it in?"
"No need. I'll take it with the documents."
He pushed open the office door and looked up to see Andrew sitting at his desk, still looking extremely grim.
He gently placed the coffee in front of him. "Boss, freshly made coffee."
Andrew lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. "Assistant Ryan, didn't I tell you before that Xinyu Group wouldn't work with Joshua's company?"
Assistant Ryan felt a chill. Was the boss about to blame him?
He nodded slightly. "Boss, you only mentioned acquiring that piece of land. You didn't give other instructions."
Andrew took a deep breath. "From now on, Xinyu Group must not have any business dealings with Joshua's company."
Assistant Ryan could only respond respectfully, "Understood."
…
Charlotte had been busy working all day yesterday and didn't have her phone with her, so she missed everything about Katherine.
When she woke up in the morning and finally turned on her phone, the Weibo notifications flooded her screen instantly. They were all about Katherine, with detailed posts full of photos and solid evidence. Charlotte was stunned.
Her mind was full of questions. She gripped the bed sheet unconsciously, her brows tightly furrowed. Where did Katherine get so much evidence?
Could someone be helping her?
No matter how she thought about it, Andrew's figure lingered in her mind.
Andrew, how could you help Katherine?
After a quick wash and change, Charlotte didn't even eat breakfast. She rushed straight to Andrew's office.
On the way, the sound of her high heels echoed on the shiny floor like a rapid drumbeat, just like her panicked and anxious heartbeat.
She pushed open the office door. The atmosphere inside was heavy and tense. Andrew sat behind his desk, his expression dark enough to squeeze out water.
Charlotte immediately slowed her steps, lowered her voice, and looked concerned. "Andrew, what's wrong? You don't look well. Did you not sleep last night? Did you catch a cold?"
As she spoke, she instinctively stepped closer, about to reach out to feel Andrew's forehead.
Already irritated, Andrew's frown deepened the moment he saw Charlotte. A wave of unexplained anger flared up. Through clenched teeth, he said coldly, "No."
Then he added impatiently, "Why are you here?"
Hearing his distant tone, Charlotte kept a sweet smile on her face, but deep down she was annoyed.
She thought for a moment and said, "Andrew, I saw the news on Weibo this morning. It said Katherine was framed by a colleague, and it's all over the internet. You've seen it too, right?"
Andrew responded with a vague "Hmm."
She carefully asked, "I saw online that Katherine has solid evidence. Andrew, did you help her collect it? The police are even investigating."
Andrew's hand tightened around his pen as he heard that. He looked directly at Charlotte, his voice stiff. "It wasn't me. She found it herself."
"Oh, I thought you helped her." Charlotte nodded slightly, then bit her lip like she had made a big decision. She asked softly, "Andrew, when are you planning to divorce her?"
"You said before that you'd handle it as soon as you came back. It's been a while now. Why haven't you mentioned it again?"
The air in the room suddenly froze.
Andrew's fingers clenched tighter, his knuckles turning white. The pen in his hand trembled slightly. After a long silence, he muttered, "No time. I've been too busy. I'll take care of it when I'm free."
Even though he and Katherine were already divorced, he instinctively didn't want anyone to know, not even Charlotte.
Charlotte almost lost control of her expression. It was always the same excuse. Did Andrew really not want to divorce Katherine?
"Oh… no rush. You can take care of it when you have time."
She was growing anxious. Andrew treated her well on the surface and seemed obedient, but only she knew—he had never shown her any real affection.
She wasn't willing to accept it. If she could already keep him by her side, why couldn't she win his heart too?