Blackstone Code

Gap, rarely seen wearing an apron, was busy at the table. Up until yesterday, he had completed all the tasks at hand and achieved good results.

Neo, the CEO of Listoan, personally received him and would nominate him as a junior partner of the Listoan Group at the quarterly meeting at the end of this month and the beginning of next month.

Just being a partner, the quarterly dividends he could receive from the group exceeded his current annual salary.

In fact, he was also aware that the reason Mr. Neo and the board approved this was to silence him. During this time, he had helped the group handle many accounts and patched up many loopholes.

Most of the time, these loopholes wouldn't cause much trouble. After all, Listoan was a pillar business group in Sabin City. Even if it encountered problems, as long as it didn't shock the entire nation, Sabin City and even the state government would staunchly support Listoan Group.

But when these loopholes were linked to the EverBright Group scandal, which involved legislators and even potentially the president's cabinet, even a small issue could become a fatal dagger to the heart.

To handle these accounts, Gap had performed beyond expectations, finally allowing those accounts to pass scrutiny.

Now that his work was done, Mr. Neo personally gave him a bonus to thank him for his overtime during this period, and his job position had also been appropriately elevated.

After all these things were settled, he finally had time to address some small conflicts in the family.

During this time, he noticed changes in his wife, Vera. However, he didn't sit idly by. He hired a detective agency that had a cooperative relationship with Listoan Group to investigate whether there was any affair between Vera and Lin Qi.

To his relief, his wife had remained loyal to him. Although Lin Qi sometimes didn't seem like a good person, their interactions had always adhered to a certain bottom line.

Today, he personally prepared dinner, partly to reward himself for his hard work during this time, and partly to resolve some family conflicts.

He believed his wife could understand his difficulties. He also knew that Vera had participated in the revelry after Lin Qi's auction. Although she only attended the first half, they were all adults; they knew what was happening in that room.

She should understand that certain things couldn't be avoided, and refusing wasn't about maintaining one's purity, but expressing a different stance.

How could he, in such an important position in such an important department, stay away from others?

After adjusting the tableware and arranging the napkins into a heart shape, he nodded in satisfaction.

He also checked the gifts prepared as an apology: a diamond necklace worth over three thousand bucks and a platinum bracelet. The romantic atmosphere was so thick that it seemed to fill the air in the room with a sweet scent.

The sound of the key inserting into the lock came from outside the door. Gap quickly changed his clothes, hid the gifts—these were surprises, after all—and even turned off the lights in the dining room.

He walked to the entrance and opened the door, greeting his wife with a smile. They stood on opposite sides of the door, staring at each other for a moment across the threshold.

Soon, Gap's expression changed. As the door opened, the wind blew in, bringing not only the cool breeze of a summer night but also the smell of alcohol.

He asked, "Have you been drinking?"

With that one sentence, the calm between them was shattered. Vera walked in with the gift bag Lin Qi had given her, nodding slightly. "Had a bit during dinner."

Gap furrowed his brow. "I didn't know you were dining out."

In the Baylor Federation, dinner time was usually later but more formal.

In general, businesses and factories would finish work around six o'clock, and after factoring in the time it took for people to get home and other activities, most families would start dinner around seven o'clock.

Gap knew that Lin Qi's auction would end a little later, so he deliberately set aside time. It was still early; he couldn't help but glance at the delicate watch on his wrist. It was just past eight.

Vera's mood seemed low for some reason. Before opening the door, she had a smile on her face, a mix of regret and happiness. She felt she shouldn't have kissed Lin Qi under someone else's instigation.

But in that moment, when she saw her husband Gap's face as she opened the door, her emotions suddenly... not low, just calm, without any waves.

As she walked upstairs, she nodded. "You know now?"

"I thought you'd be back for dinner. I prepared it specially!" Gap followed up. Was this romantic dinner he had planned for so long going to end like this?

Vera hesitated for a moment, then turned to go upstairs. "What do you want me to do?"

Under Gap's deliberately crafted dim, subdued lighting, her expression had a sense of indiscernible mockery, "Would you like me to have a little more?"

This sentence made Gap feel uncomfortable, but he still nodded,"I've prepared for a long time. You can taste my cooking, perhaps it will surprise you."

Vera hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, "let me go change my clothes first..."

Saying that, she continued to walk upstairs. This time, Gap didn't stop her. He could sense that his wife seemed to be compromising too, which was good.

Gap's eyes then fell on the gift bag Vera was carrying. Although he wanted to ask some questions, he ultimately chose to remain silent.

He believed that a normal, intelligent woman knew how to choose.

Was it to choose an entrepreneur who was destined to become a failure with nothing but good looks?

Or to choose someone like him, a respectable individual with a decent job and social status, who had a bright and promising future and had become a partner in a corporate group.

Having dealt with numbers for so long, Gap had confidence in this regard. Even those bitches in the office who forgot their "briefs" every day would understand how realistic people's choices could be.

Soon, Vera came down wearing a relatively casual outfit. Gap furrowed his brow slightly. "I thought you'd choose a formal dress, like the one I bought you for the Spring Festival."

The dress Gap described was a high-slit, backless, and low-cut evening gown, which not only required a good figure to pull off but also a certain level of courage.

Sometimes people in the lower class found it hard to see evening gowns elegant, because sometimes these evening gowns seemed to evoke certain primitive desires.

"I'm more comfortable like this..." Vera didn't intend to change her clothes again. After coming downstairs, she looked at Gap, who was pulling out a chair for her at the table, and then sat down.

This was supposed to be a dinner to ease the problems between them. Gap didn't want everything he had prepared to go to waste because of some insignificant matter. He didn't emphasize the issue further and began serving the dishes.

He explained each of the dishes he had prepared while sharing small stories related to them. Women always liked knowledgeable men. Perhaps young women would be fixated on a man's appearance, but women with life experience would appreciate men's talents more.

This was a good opportunity, a chance to showcase his talent. He memorized everything he had seen during the day and added his own interpretation before reciting it.

Just when he was about to pause and give Vera some time to digest the information, she said something that left him at a loss.

"Can we start eating now?"

The two locked eyes for a few seconds. Gap gritted his teeth and nodded. "Of course, I made these dishes for us to enjoy together. Do you need me to cut your steak?"

"No."

This was destined to be a not-so-warm nor romantic dinner. After just taking a bite of each dish and sipping some wine, Vera picked up her napkin. "I'm done. It was a great dinner..."

Gap was stunned for a moment. He quickly took out the gift he had prepared. "Maybe it's not the right time today. How about we go out for dinner tomorrow?"

Under the light, the diamond necklace and platinum bracelet sparkled with a charming luster, but Vera showed no interest at this moment.

"Have you also used these methods to deal with those women who were willing to kiss your ass?" She suddenly asked.

With that one sentence, all the romance shattered into fragments. Gap placed the gift box back on the table, his brow furrowing as he looked at Vera. "Those are all things of the past. If you keep fixating on this, things will never improve!"

Vera's face showed a mocking smile. "The past? Would you swear on your mother's life that since that day, you haven't touched other women?"

Gap's parents divorced when he was young, and he was placed in the care of his mother. She worked tirelessly to raise him and ensure he had the opportunity to attend college.

Single-mindedly focused on making a name for himself, Gap failed to notice that his mother had been suffering from severe depression since the divorce.

His mother, even in the summer, would wear long-sleeved clothes and pants. At that time, many traditional women dressed like this, but it wasn't for the same reasons.

She simply didn't want Gap to see the scars she left on herself in extreme depression. She didn't want her son to be distracted by her problems. Eventually, after attending Gap's college graduation ceremony, this poor woman took her own life.

This left Gap with an unresolved guilt towards his mother. Perhaps if he had noticed his mother's condition earlier, things might have turned out differently.

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