Respect the Line, Mr. Billionaire

Chapter 10: The Date (Part 2)

The conversation suddenly quieted, leaving an awkward silence. Victor Xu was the first to break it.

"Rose said you just returned from the UK?"

"Yes," Catherine nodded, forcing a stiff smile.

Victor Xu, momentarily distracted by her smile, asked, "Are you thinking of working at a newspaper or a radio station?"

Catherine quickly dropped the smile and nodded honestly. "Rose mentioned... you've been promoted to a supervisor?" She wondered if that sounded too blunt, remembering how she had once rejected his advances.

"Yeah!" Victor scratched his short hair, smiling brightly. "It's not that big of a deal. After covering the news for so long and meeting the right people, opportunities naturally come up."

He was as humble as always.

Catherine glanced at him, noticing his familiar short haircut—it hadn't changed since the past.

"I wasn't planning to move to Taipei so soon," Catherine began, but before she could finish, Victor Xu interrupted.

"How about covering economic news?"

"Huh?" Catherine's mouth hung open as she stared at him.

"I mean, if you don't mind working at our paper, how about joining my team to cover the business and economy beat?"

Seeing her again, Victor Xu realized his feelings for her hadn't changed.

"Well..." Catherine hesitated. She wanted to accept, but if he was still interested in her, taking the job might complicate things.

Victor misunderstood her hesitation. "Don't worry, I'm always professional when it comes to work. Even though you turned me down before, I’m perfectly fine with being friends now."

After all, he figured they’d have plenty of chances to interact, and he was confident Catherine would eventually see his good qualities.

"Really?" The weight on Catherine's chest suddenly lifted, and she smiled again.

"Of course." Watching her sweet smile, Victor Xu felt himself falling even deeper. "Once you decide when to start, just let me know. But I have to warn you, I'm quite strict when it comes to work!"

He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.

Catherine took the card and stared at the title. "In just a few years, you've become the editor-in-chief!?"

Victor scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "It’s not that big of a deal. I’m just working hard like everyone else. The retiring editor highly recommended me to the boss, that's all."

"You’re still as humble as before." Looking at his smile, Catherine suddenly recalled the past. "By the way, after all these years, you must have a girlfriend by now, right?" She remembered that he had always been quite popular.

Victor’s smile froze for a moment, and he sighed, glancing around.

Just then, Rose Wen returned with their breakfast trays.

"You know how it is. Being a journalist means being on call 24/7. It's not just about not having time for a girlfriend—if I had one, she'd probably get tired of it."

"Oh!" Catherine felt the tension as his words hung in the air.

"So, what were you two talking about? You seemed to be having a good time," Rose's lively voice broke the awkwardness as she rejoined them. "This is yours, and this is mine..." She thoughtfully distributed the food.

Victor Xu sipped his soy milk. "Oh, nothing much. I was just complaining to Catherine about how tough life as a journalist can be."

"Yeah, Victor is right," Rose chimed in loudly, clearly on the same page.

Looking at her breakfast, Catherine glanced from Rose to Victor Xu. "Listening to you two, it seems like I really need to think twice about entering this field."

"It’s not all bad," Rose said with a laugh, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Of course, there are challenges, but there are also rewards. Speaking of the ups and downs—" Rose was about to launch into a story when her phone rang.

Victor shook his head to indicate it wasn't his phone, and Rose, still chewing her sandwich, apologized. "Sorry, it’s mine," she admitted with a raised hand.

Fumbling to pull her phone out of her bag, Catherine lowered her voice when answering, "Hello, this is Catherine."

"Catherine!" Diana Wang's voice came from the other end.

Catherine’s brow furrowed slightly as her voice dropped even lower. Throughout the conversation, all she said was "Oh," "Okay," and "I understand," before quickly hanging up.

"Your mom?" Rose asked, still chewing.

"Yes." Catherine's smile stiffened as she put her phone away.

Rose took a long sip of her milk tea. "When are you moving to Taipei?" she asked bluntly, not minding Victor Xu’s presence.

It was obvious Diana Wang's early morning call wasn't about anything pleasant. Rose figured if she could convince Catherine to move out of that house sooner, it might actually do her some good.

"Uh..." Catherine was caught off guard by Rose's question and stared for a few seconds.

Sensing the growing tension between the two, Victor Xu, ever tactful, decided to make his exit.

He pushed his chair back and stood up. "Thanks for the breakfast, Rose. I have a meeting later, so I should get going."

Grabbing his half-finished soy milk, he turned to Catherine. "Catherine, about what I mentioned earlier—take a few days to think it over. There's no rush to give me an answer, but please know I'm sincere. I’d be happy to have you on my team." With that, he quickly turned and left.

Rose watched him until he disappeared around the corner before sighing dramatically. "What a perfect gentleman!" she half-joked.