Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Wishing to Kneel Down
Lin Qi hesitated for a moment whether she should go in or not, and after much deliberation, she steeled herself and walked in, holding Huo Tingdong’s hand.
The private room was dimly lit, packed with people.
The crowd only saw Lin Qi holding the hand of a tall and imposing man as they entered, the man’s suit was impeccably tailored, his hair combed without a stray hair, but his face was somewhat indiscernible in the dim lighting.
The manager immediately stood up and turned on the light.
The moment the light came on, everyone was startled!
Some people couldn’t see clearly, and some couldn’t recognize him, after all, at Huace Headquarters, few people had seen Huo Tingdong in person. Their first reaction was disbelief at how young and handsome Lin Qi’s second marriage partner was, truly a standout individual!
Why would this be?
She had been divorced once and had given birth to two children for her ex-husband, how could she find such a high-quality husband for a second marriage?
However, some recognized Huo Tingdong at a glance.
They had attended the large meetings presided over by Huo Tingdong, thus they were extremely shocked: “My goodness…”
“Isn’t this… Mr. Huo…”
“What? Mr. Huo…”
“Which Mr. Huo?”
“How many Mr. Huos are there at Huace? Have you all lost your minds?”
“How is that possible…”
Those colleagues who had never seen Huo Tingdong in person were stunned when they heard that the “Mr. Huo” Lin Qi was holding hands with was indeed him.
Maeve had naturally seen Huo Tingdong before, and when she saw that it was Huo Tingdong whom Lin Qi was holding hands with as she walked in, she recognized him immediately, her eyes widened in shock, as if she’d been struck dumb.
She suddenly felt her legs cramping and weakening, barely able to stand still, subconsciously holding onto the armrest of the sofa to keep herself upright.
At that moment, her mind was muddled, a buzzing sound in her ears, and she felt as if her face was about to turn the color of a pig’s liver out of embarrassment.
So many questions plagued her mind, but in such a situation, she neither felt like she could ask nor stay silent!
Maeve looked at Lin Qi and Huo Tingdong intimately linked arm in arm, biting her red lips tightly shut, her mind still unable to process the turn of events.
What’s going on…
She and Mr. Huo…
The manager also recognized Huo Tingdong. She looked at Lin Qi and awkwardly said: “Lin Qi, didn’t you say… you would bring your husband to join us tonight…”
The more she asked, the quieter her voice became, simply because she too noticed the intimate way Lin Qi and Huo Tingdong were holding hands.
She suddenly inhaled sharply, and piecing together Qi Lichuan’s protective behavior towards Lin Qi, as well as the reactions upon hearing Lin Qi would bring her husband to the gathering, she realized everything, and was so startled that she fell to the ground trembling: “Oh my god…”
Lin Qi smiled and introduced: “Sorry for being late. Let me make a formal introduction. This is my husband, Huo Tingdong.”
Huo Tingdong nodded his head slightly as a greeting.
His polite yet cold gaze swept inch by inch over everyone, his eyes clearly filled with a threatening aura.
He wanted to see who had the audacity to bully his wife.
People were so intimidated by his look that they did not dare to move.
Everyone was staring at each other, speechless.
Nobody had expected that Lin Qi’s husband would be Mr. Huo!
How could this be…
How was this possible?
They recalled carefully, and on the day Lin Qi got her marriage certificate, Mr. Huo was also rumored to have registered for marriage. Could it be…
Was Lin Qi getting the certificate with Mr. Huo that day?
Everyone’s face suddenly changed color, and they all became visibly uneasy.
In the workplace, many colleagues looked down on Lin Qi. Apart from her being parachuted into the project team and receiving special attention from Qi Lichuan, which irked them, there was also the fact that Lin Qi was in her second marriage!
To be fair, Lin Qi was quite attractive, but no matter how excellent a woman’s qualifications were, once “divorced” appeared on her personal record, it seemed as if her value had decreased!
Who would have thought that Lin Qi’s second marriage was to the billionaire Huo Tingdong!
Han Na finally snapped out of her daze, scanned the surroundings, and saw that the atmosphere in the private room was particularly oppressive. She stood up and said to Lin Qi, “Lin Qi, have a seat.”
She, too, wanted to ask for details, but it was hard to do so in front of so many people, especially in front of Huo Tingdong.
Lin Qi, holding Huo Tingdong’s hand, walked over to the couch and was about to sit down in an open spot.
The colleagues who had been sitting on either side quickly stood up and respectfully moved to the side.
Seeing their exaggerated reactions, Lin Qi was also surprised; she hadn’t expected Huo Tingdong to have such a powerful deterrent presence, making everyone wish they could avoid him by three miles.
Turning to look at Maeve, she was standing still, looking somewhat flustered with cold sweat streaming down; it was clear she was scared out of her wits.
Following her gaze, Huo Tingdong turned to look at Maeve, his brow slightly furrowing as he seemed to see a strong sense of guilt on Maeve’s face?
Was it her?
Huo Tingdong’s eyes became even sharper.
Maeve felt she could hardly stand, especially on her high heels which wobbled constantly, as if she were about to fall at any moment.
Now it seemed that being fired directly would have been a lesser consequence.
She never anticipated that Lin Qi’s background would be Huo Tingdong. Offending her was equivalent to offending Huo Tingdong, and once he got angry, if he decided to ruthlessly pursue her, would she have any standing left in Beijing?
She feared she would be blacklisted by the entire industry!
What to do…
Maeve bit her lip. Originally, she was resentful and unwilling to lower her head and apologize to Lin Qi, but now, with Huo Tingdong sitting right in front of her, she wished she could kneel and kowtow to apologize to Lin Qi. If Lin Qi could forgive her, she would disregard all concerns for face – that would be better than offending the Huo Family!
But in the presence of Huo Tingdong, she didn’t even have the courage to admit her wrongs!
She didn’t know if Huo Tingdong was aware of the afternoon’s events, and if she knelt to apologize now, could there still be a chance for redemption?
She feared that even if she knelt and apologized, it would be of no use!
With this in mind, Maeve approached and asked weakly, “Lin Qi… what would you like to drink? And you too, Mr. Huo…”
She forced a smile more painful than tears as she looked at Huo Tingdong, “Mr. Huo, would you like anything to drink?”
Huo Tingdong replied coldly, “No need.”
His refusal seemed polite, but his tone carried a trace of anger.
Maeve’s heart skipped a beat – she roughly understood that Lin Qi must have told him about the afternoon’s events!
He must know that his wife was involved in an argument and got coffee spilled on her at the company!
With a tone close to crying, Maeve looked at Lin Qi, stretching out her hand, attempting to grab hers, her fingertips trembling: “Lin Qi… I’m really sorry about this afternoon’s incident!”
Lin Qi knitted her brows and was just about to say something when Maeve suddenly “thump” knelt down in front of her.
Lin Qi was so stunned that her mouth fell open: “What are you doing?”
Maeve kneeled in front of her, her face clouded with despair: “Lin Qi… the, the incident this afternoon… it was my fault! I should have never laid a hand on you! Can you forgive me?”