The phone in Song Qingchun’s palm continued to vibrate. She pulled her gaze back from the man and lowered her head to click the message open. Su Zhinian had sent over two harmless jokes.

  Song Qingchun was prone of laughing at cheap jokes, but due to Little Sesame, she found herself unable to laugh when reading these two jokes that normally would have floored her.

  Standing not far away, Su Zhinian had been keeping an eye on her. Noticing the lack of a smile on her face, he continued to send her more jokes. His actions warmed her heart. When she read the twelfth message that he sent, a faint smile appeared on her face.

  When he saw that, he finally stopped what he was doing. Staring quietly at her lowered profile, he eventually lowered his gaze, ignoring the people around him, and sent her a message saying, "I’m sorry for my inability to be there for you when you’re sad."

  When Song Qingchun saw this message, the forced levity in her eyes slowly got replaced by a rolling mist. Regardless of how close they were in private, before the public, they had to maintain a respectable distance.

  No matter what, the public would always stand between them. They could never stand right by each other’s side like a normal couple. Even now, when she was at her lowest, but she couldn’t expect him to provide her a shoulder to lean on with the eyes of the public watching. He could only comfort her in such a surreptitious manner like sending her phone messages.

  Their love would always remain a secret……

  The anniversary began at 9:30 pm sharp. The hostess who was specially hired for this occasion stood on the lit stage and began with a welcome speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?"

  The originally rowdy hall became instantly quiet.

  "Let us welcome Song Empire’s chairperson, Mr. Song Menghwa, to the stage!" The hostess smile as she waved to welcome Song Menghwa onto the stage. Then she led the crowd by being the first to applaud.

  Amid the applause that was like a rushing wave, Song Menghwa, with the aid of his staff and the butler, walked onto the stage. Song Menghwa stood at the centre with the white spotlight around him.

  Putting both of his hands on the staff, he looked around the hall. He waited until the applause died down before clearing his throat. After the place became completely silent again, Song Menghwa said, "Good evening, honoured guests. First, I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone for putting aside a piece of their valuable time to attend Song Empire’s anniversary celebration. Standing here today, I have some very important news to announce.

  "I believe it is common knowledge that my health is deteriorating. So, the first thing I would like to announce is, from this moment onwards, I am officially stepping down from my post as Song Empire’s chairperson, and this post will be filled by……"

  Song Menghwa took a deliberate pause for the news to sink in. The hall turned their attention toward Song Qingchun, the sole remaining heir of the Song family.

  "……my estranged son, Mr. Su Zhinian of ST Empire."

  A commotion started to rise within the hall. The media reporters who were held at the door by the security started to snap their cameras. Following the sound of camera clicks, the hall was filled with blinding light.