Chapter 207

"It's just for fun. What's there to be afraid of?"

"You seem so invested. Don't tell me you've got a thing for Emily Smith too?"

The male colleague scoffed. "Of course I like her. With that figure and face, what man wouldn't be tempted?"

"Then why don't you ask her out?"

"Someone like me—do you really think Emily would spare me a second glance?"

Emily stood around the corner, her fingers unconsciously digging into her palms. She turned and walked toward another break room, her steps quicker than usual.

The BestTech building housed nearly two hundred employees on the first floor alone, so there were naturally multiple break rooms. She never imagined that colleagues who always smiled at her would talk about her like this behind her back.

As her workload at BestTech decreased, Emily poured more energy into her voice-acting gigs. Before she knew it, Daniel Chen had been away on his business trip for four days.

During their video call, Daniel mentioned he still had unfinished business in W City and would be delayed by two days.

"It's fine. Focus on your work—don’t worry about me," Emily said with a smile into the camera.

"Emily, I miss you," Daniel murmured from the other side of the screen, his eyes dim but filled with longing.

Emily blinked, catching what seemed like a flicker of guilt in his expression.

"We see each other every day through video calls," she said softly.

"It's not the same," Daniel replied, his voice low. "I can't touch you. I can't smell your scent."

Emily pressed her lips together and nodded. "Then come back soon. I'll be waiting."

......

On the day of Daniel’s return, Emily took half a day off to meet him at the airport.

When Daniel emerged from the arrivals gate, dragging his suitcase behind him, Emily immediately noticed how haggard he looked—dark circles shadowed his eyes.

"Daniel!"

Only when she called out did he snap out of his daze and look up. The moment he recognized her, his eyes lit up.

"Emily!"

Daniel dropped his suitcase and rushed toward her in long strides, pulling her into a tight embrace. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply as if starved for her presence.

Emily stood still, feeling the steady thud of his heartbeat against her. In that moment, she was certain—Daniel loved her.

Even if something had happened between him and Sophia Song, as long as he didn’t bring up breaking up, she was willing to forgive him this once.

"I missed you every second I was gone," Daniel whispered, his voice trembling. "Did you miss me?"

Emily lifted a hand to gently stroke his back. "I missed you too."

Not far away, a black sedan idled silently. William Johnson watched the embracing couple through the window, his gaze dark and unreadable.

"Wait," he suddenly said.

The driver hit the brakes. Sam Wilson, sitting in the passenger seat, frowned and turned around—only to see William staring intently at the pair, his expression inscrutable.

It wasn’t until Daniel led Emily into a taxi that William finally looked away, closing his eyes wearily.

"Let’s go," he said flatly.

The car rolled forward, leaving the airport behind.