Chapter 431 An Awkward Dinner


    When the group of people heard what Austin said, they all smiled, showing their trust in Jack. And


    now, the silence was reced withughter.


    An olddy sitting next to Rachel looked at her. Her eyes fell on Rachel''s belly. "Are you Mr. Fu''s


    wife? I am sure he will make a wonderful father. He has been a lovely boss."


    shing thedy a faint smile, Rachel remained silent. The news about Jack had been released


    yesterday. It wouldn''t do to lie. Sooner orter, thedy would figure it out. However, she didn''t have


    the energy to exin the story. Under the situation, silence seemed like the best choice.


    Thatdy talked about the problems that her daughter-inw encountered while she was pregnant.


    Rachel paid attention to her words, hoping to learn a thing or two from it. Just then, the ce was


    ovee by an eerie silence. "Mr. Fu," uttered a man.


    With her back to the door of the room, Rachel couldn''t see him. But the people surrounding her kept


    staring at her. There was a strange expression on their faces.


    When she was about to look back, she suddenly heard a familiar voiceing from behind. "Jack,


    are all of these your employees? God! This ce is bustling with people."


    "Yeah, they are. Didn''t you say you were bored at home? I hope you will enjoy it here." Jack''s voice


    was particrly gentle, as if he was addressing someone he deeply loved.


    Bitterness crept to Rachel''s heart. In spite of these strong emotions, she tried hard to hold back her


    true feelings. Feigning a smile, she satposed. ''Rx Rachel, this is not a big deal!'' she kept


    telling herself.


    Their footsteps became clearer, informing her they were right behind. Although Rachel looked down


    at the te in front of her, she clearly felt their proximity. To her relief, they didn''t stop. They


    continued walking.


    They didn''t sit near her; instead, they sat opposite to her.


    It meant that she would have to keep her head down during the entire meal. The thought of facing


    them brought intense pain. She didn''t have it in her to raise her head.


    The lively atmosphere suddenly quieted down, and even Austin, who knew about Jack''s feelings for


    Rachel, was dumbfounded. ''What exactly is happening?'' he wondered


    After all, Jack had ordered him to pick up Rachel. If he wanted to spend time with another woman,


    why on earth did he do it? Instantly, he guessed something was brewing in his boss''s mind. But he


    couldn''t quite put his finger on it. It looked like everyone present there had several questions to ask.


    But they knew it wasn''t their ce to do so. Hence they sat silently.


    People''s eyes kept flitting from Jack to Rachel.


    After calming herself down, Rachel raised her head and tried to maintain a calm smile. "Now that


    everyone is here, don''t sit idle anymore. Pick up the chopsticks and enjoy the dinner!"


    Then Rachel too picked up a piece of roast duck meat with her chopsticks and put it in her te.


    She lowered her gaze and began to eat.


    Not paying Rachel any attention, Jack wrapped his arms around Scarlett''s shoulder and asked


    softly, "Do you like any of these dishes? If you don''t, I will be more than happy to ask the waiter to


    serve you something special."


    "No, thanks. I''m not a picky eater."


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    Scarlett was overjoyed. She had never felt this special before.


    ''I never thought a day woulde when Jack would take me to attend a dinner party with his


    employees, '' she thought, trying to hide her excitement.


    When they first entered the hall, Rachel''s presence caught her off-guard. Her heart trembled,


    worrying Jack would ditch her. But nothing of that sort happened. All his attention was bestowed


    upon her. Of course, Rachel heard the conversation between Scarlett and Jack. In fact, he was


    quite loud. Yet she pretended like she hadn''t heard it. Her focus was on the food. Even though she


    had no appetite, she forced herself to eat.


    On top of that, the employees'' gaze bore through her. It made her quite ufortable. They


    seemed to be specting about their rtionship.


    But it also made the room, which should have been lively, unusually quiet. Only the sound of


    chopsticks colliding with the te, and the sound of chewing could be heard.


    After a while, the door to the room was pushed open. A fat middle-aged man came in with a ss of


    wine in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other. He smiled and said, "Mr. Fu, I heard from the


    waiter that the MK Group employees are having a dinner here. I haven''t seen you for a long time.


    Would you mind if I join and propose a toast to you?"


    As he spoke, he walked in, stopping near Rachel. He raised the ss in his hand to Jack and


    added with a smile, "Is that Mrs. Fu sitting next to you? Lucky man! She is both young and


    beautiful!"


    Hearing this, everyone else present felt ufortable. They clearly knew Scarlett wasn''t his wife.


    Rachel''s heart sank, but she didn''t show it on her face. She still lowered her head and ate the food


    in her te. "Thank you for thepliment, " Jack answered with augh. Heartbroken, Rachel


    looked up at Jack.


    Seeing her watch him, his eyes met hers. There was a smile on his face, but she knew it wasn''t a


    genuine one. In spite of knowing him so well, she couldn''t tell the emotion he was feeling.


    It was often believed that a person''s true emotions could be deciphered from their eyes. Perhaps


    Rachel''s ability in understanding others'' wasn''t that strong.


    In the past, Rachel had thought she knew him well. But with everything he had been doing, she


    figured her judgment had been wrong.


    Either way, it was toote. Nothing good woulde out of analyzing him. Realizing this, she


    shifted her gaze back to her food.


    Jack then waited for this man to continue. The middle-aged man was a little embarrassed. He had


    expected more from Jack.


    Another man, aged about forty, stood up at once and said with a smile, "Mr. Wang, why did you


    bring such a small bottle of wine here? You might need a lot more. Are you here to drink our wine?"


    This joke eased the atmosphere. Once again, it became lively and people began to chatter. Mr.


    Wang revived his earlier enthusiasm.


    He looked at Jack and said, "Yes, I am caught. The amount of wine I have is definitely not enough.


    Will you let me borrow some, Mr. Fu?"


    Hearing this, Jack''s face lit up. A smile, that seemed genuine, entered his face. He also raised his


    ss and clinked it with the te in front of him, making a crisp sound. Mr. Wang gulped down his


    wine. "Take all the wine you want!" Jack added.


    Mr. Wang burst outughing. He went around and began proposing toasts one after another. Soon it


    was Rachel''s turn.


    He bent down slightly. Since he had drunk too much, his body trembled. He asked, "Thisdy looks


    a bit out of ce. What should I call you, ma''am?"


    "Miss Shen." Rachel picked up the tea cup in front of her and gently clinked it with his ss. "I''m


    pregnant, so I can''t drink wine. Tea will do for me."


    "It doesn''t matter. Whatever makes you happy," he added in a charming way. Instead of going to the


    next person, he remained near Rachel. With a smile, he asked, "I wonder who is the lucky man?"


    When she heard this, Rachel subconsciously looked at Jack. But quickly, she drew back her eyes.


    Although there was a faint smile on his lips, there was also frustration underneath it.


    Putting on an indifferent face, she looked at Mr. Wang. "There isn''t a luck man. I''m divorced." "What


    a pity!" Mr. Wang sighed but this news made him quite happy. Perhaps he did what he did because


    he was drunk. Anyhow, his hand fell inside his pocket. Taking out a business card, he ced it in


    front of Rachel. He tapped two times on it with his index finger and said, "I''m divorced too. Miss


    Shen, would you like to meet sometime?"


    If this had happened an hour ago, Rachel would have refused without sparing it a thought.


    But when she thought about Jack''s behavior today, she feltpelled to do something that would


    catch him off-guard. ''He made me angry, it will only be fair if I do the same, '' she thought,


    determined. She took the business card and smiled at the man. "Thank you so much. Expect a call


    soon. It will be fun getting to know you."


    The smile on Jack''s face suddenly froze. He himself didn''t know he was clutching hardly onto the


    wine ss. Soon, it shattered, rattling everyone present there.


    Scarlett eximed and reached out to hold Jack''s hand. "What happened? Did you cut your hand?"


    "I am fine," Jack said distastefully and withdrew his hand. His mood was off now. His cold gaze bore


    into Rachel''s face but she paid him no heed. Seeing she was busy chatting with Mr. Wang, he


    mmed his hands against the table and stood up.


    Among these people, Austin was the one who knew how strongly Jack felt for Rachel. Even though


    the fact Jack brought Scarlett with him was shocking, Austin told himself his boss properly had a


    solid reason for doing so.


    At this moment, seeing Jack''s murderous eyes, Austin knew he had to do something. Standing up,


    he pulled Mr. Wang''s arm and said, "Mr. Wang, you''ve been here for a long time. Your friends must


    be waiting for you."


    Mr. Wang wasn''t in a mood to leave at all. Waving his hands, he said, "It doesn''t matter. I''ve told


    them it will be a while. Besides, I haven''t finished my toast yet."


    Since the seat next to Rachel was empty, Mr. Wang sat down and pulled his chair closer to her. One


    could tell from the way he sat that he had no intention of getting up.


    By now, Jack was wild with fury. Scarlett too was unhappy with this man''s intrusion. Everything was


    going fine until he came. She forced herself to calm down, picked up the bottle on the side and filled


    her ss with win. Smiling at Mr. Wang, she said, "Mr. Wang, since you have proposed a toast to


    Jack, I''ll drink this as a response to you. Please don''t refuse my kindness, Mr. Wang."


    Her words not only shifted people''s attention, but also hinted at the intimate rtionship she shared


    with Jack.


    Mr. Wang also looked away from Rachel and smiled. "Mrs. Fu, you''re so kind." Relieved at easing


    the atmosphere, Scarlett sighed in her head.


    Rachel, on the other hand, realized Jack wasn''t going to correct Mr. Wang. He had no intention of


    telling him Scarlett wasn''t Mrs. Fu. A surge of pain crept through her heart, yet she pretended to be


    strong.


    Seeing Jack''s ss was empty, Scarlett filled it with wine.


    Mr. Wang, on the other hand, had almost finished his drink. Now that he had drunk a full ss of


    wine, he was losing his mind. Seeing Rachel''s soft hand on the table, he couldn''t help but feel an


    urge to touch it.


    Author''s note


    G°°se fiSEQ


    Trantor: Scarlett5555