The moment Xiao Mei leaned into Noah Steele’s arms, the atmosphere inside the operations room changed.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
But something invisible cracked.
For a long time, many of them had pretended not to notice the closeness between their chairwoman and the man who appeared beside her more and more often. She had never officially said anything. And as long as nothing was confirmed, hope—however unreasonable—had survived.
Now, that hope died quietly.
Xiao Mei had always been different.
She was beautiful, yes, but more than that, she was kind. She greeted employees by name, remembered birthdays, never delayed salaries, and treated the company like a shared home rather than a cold corporate machine. During holidays, she insisted on bonuses and celebrations. When times were g
