I stood by Jasper while he built his fortune from the ground up, remaining by his side for ten years. Yet, once he achieved success, the first thing he did was propose to Phoebe. He said people often yearn for what they couldn’t have in their youth. He claimed his feelings for Phoebe were just unfinished business, asking me to wait a little longer. But I was out of time. Each day he spent wrapped up with Phoebe felt like a countdown to my end. … In the office, I accidentally walked in on Jasper and Phoebe during their secret rendezvous. The typically reserved CEO of Jasper’s Corporation was embracing Phoebe. His eyes turned dark, with a hint of red at the edges. My heart sank, and I stood frozen in shock, not even noticing the documents slipping from my hands. Jasper quickly covered Phoebe’s exposed back and stared at me with intensity, “Get out!” His tone was cold and harsh, as if I were some bothersome presence. Unable to bear those icy eyes any longer, I fled. The scene kept replaying in my mind, making my stomach churn. I stumbled into the bathroom, clutching the sink as I vomited. The pain in my stomach and the mental fog overwhelmed me. I didn’t know how long it took before Jasper finally came looking for me. He approached, still carrying Phoebe’s lingering scent. The smell made me nauseous again, so I distanced myself and said, “This is the ladies’ room.” Jasper paused, then locked the door. “Is this enough for you?” he said. “Adeline, stop this.” It was laughable—I hadn’t done anything, yet he came to tell me to stop. What was I doing? “You know I only did it to get back at Lydia.” “I know you like me, I…” “You’ve waited ten years already, can’t you wait a little longer?” His calm gaze fell on me, the earlier desires he showed for Lydia now completely gone. I choked. He had known all along. Ten years of hidden love, those feelings I carefully hid away, he knew them all. Yet he kept them at a distance, repeatedly playing out this tragic love drama before me. What did he see me as? A pathetic fool? Or a servant who flawlessly handled both his work and life? Thinking of him with Phoebe made my stomach ache again. The pain twisted my insides, and a metallic taste rose in my throat. Jasper frowned at my trembling form, “Adeline…” I shouted, “Get out!” I frantically grabbed his collar and pushed him out, locking the door and turning back to the sink to vomit again. When I lifted my head, my mouth was full of blood. “Miss Xue, your cancer has advanced to stage four, leading to severe gastrointestinal bleeding. It’s very dangerous,” the doctor sighed repeatedly while looking at my test results. “I recommend hospitalization.” But as I listened, my eyes were blankly fixated on my phone. The company forum’s gossip post had already skyrocketed. The front page showed Lydia in Jasper’s coat, being pulled into his office. When she emerged, her clothes were disheveled, and her lipstick smeared. The contrast between the two photos led many to imagine the worst. Especially since Lydia held a special status as Jasper’s chosen Phoebe, the one who occupied his thoughts for ten years. The comment section was buzzing. “Does this mean Jasper’s Corporation is getting a new boss lady?” “Of course. Lydia dumped him when Jasper’s Family went bankrupt, but he still couldn’t forget her. Now that he’s back on top, he chased her down again. If it wasn’t true love, who’d do that?” “Also, a friend in the secretary’s office said the CEO plans to propose. He’s already secretly preparing.” “What? Is Jasper really going to marry her? What about Manager Xue?” “Adeline? What’s she, anyway? She’s been with the CEO for ten years. If he was going to give her a title, he would have done it by now. Why drag it out and make it so embarrassing?” “I say, the CEO’s stance is clear. She’s been just a manager for all these years, obviously dispensable. Yet she clings like a shadow. I’d have left long ago.” “Staying now, waiting for the boss lady to come in and be humiliated?” Reading those comments, my heart felt pierced. Was my decade of loyalty really so worthless in others’ eyes? And Jasper… I thought again of him and Lydia in the office. Is that what he thinks too? “Miss Xue, what’s your decision?” the doctor asked again, tentatively. Maybe he felt pity for the young life before him. “If you don’t get hospitalized, your life expectancy is less than three months…” Three months. I felt dazed. I looked down, my eyes falling back on those comments. A bitter feeling rippled through me. “Alright. I’ll stay.” After arranging for hospitalization, I requested leave from Jasper via phone. Lying in the hospital bed, I realized it was my first time taking leave in ten years. Jasper always joked that I was a workaholic, with a will of steel, the favorite worker of capitalists. But he didn’t know it was just for him that I endured. I lost my parents young, and Jasper’s Family supported me for ten years, helping me avoid hardships and successfully get into college. But soon after, Jasper’s Corporation went bankrupt, accumulating huge debts. Jasper’s parents couldn’t handle the pressure and jumped to their deaths. The once favored son studying abroad had to drop out and return home to clean up the mess. When I heard, I rushed to Jasper’s Family. The once-bustling household was desolate, and the boy lay among piles of debt contracts, quietly sobbing. That vulnerability struck me deeply. Naively, I thought I could save him, just as his parents had saved me. Driven by a sense of mission, I resolutely went to him, determined to pull him from the mire. The story that followed was cliché. Gradually, under my daily influence, Jasper emerged from his despair and took on his parents’ debt, rebuilding from scratch. Meanwhile, I studied and helped him with the business. In the early days, it was just the two of us, working till exhaustion, often going without sleep, ending up with four dark circles under our eyes. To share his burden, I even attended drinking parties, turning from a non-drinker to someone who could hold her liquor. We lived like that for ten years, achieving today’s success. Jasper cleared all his debts and gloriously bought back Jasper’s Corporation. I thought I had redeemed him. But he told me he had come this far only for the heartless Phoebe who abandoned him. In a daze, I got a call from Jasper. His usual cool tone, “Taking leave for hospitalization? Are you sick? Even a workaholic has days she can’t endure.” “Which hospital? Want me to visit?” His tone was casual, teasing, as if he’d long forgotten the earlier unpleasantness. He always did this, moving on as if nothing mattered besides Phoebe. If I brought up conflicts, I’d seem petty. So I usually let it slide, ignoring things again and again. But this time, I was tired, lacking the energy to follow his lead. I suddenly wondered what expression Jasper would have if he knew I was dying. So I said, “Sure. General Hospital, Building 5, North Wing, Bed 31. Come on over.” Jasper didn’t expect my response and paused. Then he chuckled lightly, “Adeline, your lie is quite detailed.” “Stop joking. I know you’re upset about what happened before. I apologize, okay?” “I shouldn’t have yelled at you in the bathroom.” “But Lydia heartlessly left me when my family went bankrupt. I can’t swallow that.” “I’ve held on for so many years, finally reaching today, just to make her suffer as I did.” “I want her to soar high and then fall hard… Adeline, I’m about to succeed.” “Adeline, help me one more time.” Almost begging, in a way. Knowing me for ten years, Jasper had me figured out. He knew I couldn’t refuse. He sent an address, asking me to help. I looked at it, feeling helpless but eventually packed my things and went. The address Jasper sent was an amusement park under Jasper’s Corporation. I’d been there multiple times during project development, but I didn’t expect it to be the venue for setting up a proposal for Phoebe. Jasper said I was meticulous and suited his needs, specifically appointing me as the general coordinator. Ha, he certainly thought highly of me. The path had to be lined with flowers, the scenery along the way had to be beautiful, and the proposal scene had to be impressive. Even the people playing NPCs had to be ones she liked… A list of demands that made my head spin. So when the park manager asked for my instructions, I waved it off, “Whatever.” This was Jasper’s revenge game, unrelated to me. Besides, was it really just a game to him? Thinking back to the redness in his eyes, I couldn’t be sure. Maybe even he couldn’t guarantee it. So my existence became even more of a joke. Haha, he really does think a lot of me. Moreover, the Path needs to be lined with flowers, the scenery along the way must be exquisite, the Proposal setting should be outstanding, and even the NPC dolls should be ones she likes… He made a slew of such requests, giving me a headache. So when the Amusement Park Manager consulted me, I just waved it off and said, “Whatever.”
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