The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Leila Jennings looked away.

"When I went back the year before last, there was a thirteen-year-old kid at the orphanage. Some relatives suddenly showed up and arranged for him to leave early. His situation was a bit unusual, so I left him this number. If I cancel it or have calls blocked, I’m worried he won’t be able to find me if he needs help one day."

Cherry Cole nodded and cursed, "Sean Sinclair is so damn annoying. It’s too cold out here, let’s go inside."

"Mhm." Leila Jennings agreed. As the two of them turned to leave, Sarah Lynch happened to look up and see them.

Her gaze froze.

"Leila Jennings?"

"What is it?" Julian Grant followed her gaze and looked up, but the deck above was empty.

"I think I just saw Leila Jennings. The person with her must have been the eldest daughter of the Cole family." Sarah Lynch had heard the entire third floor of the cruise ship was booked out, so she asked Julian Grant, "Do you know who booked the third floor?"

Julian Grant hadn’t asked.

But someone was bound to know.

"Daniel Lane and the others should be here. Let’s go."

The two of them entered the private room. Julian Grant’s friend, Daniel Lane, was indeed already there, along with two other friends—a man and a woman.

Sarah Lynch didn’t recognize the woman.

But she recognized the man, and he recognized her.

Caleb Dalton.

The smile on Sarah Lynch’s lips stiffened slightly.

’Of all people, why did it have to be him?’

"Counselor Grant, long time no see."

"It’s only been a few months, Mr. Lane."

Daniel Lane and Julian Grant shared a brief hug, then Daniel introduced the friends beside him.

"Caleb Dalton, a friend of mine since childhood. An unscrupulous doctor."

Caleb Dalton laughed and kicked him playfully. "Get lost."

"Hailey Forrester, the eldest daughter of the Forrester family, also a friend of mine."

Then Daniel Lane introduced Julian Grant. "The one and only, the famous Counselor Grant, Julian Grant. Our parents know each other, which makes us distant relatives in a roundabout way, but our elders’ relationship is their business, and ours is ours."

"And this is...?" Daniel Lane wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Counselor Grant, aren’t you going to introduce us?"

Julian Grant, standing beside Sarah Lynch, introduced her openly, "This is Sarah Lynch, a friend I met while on a business trip abroad."

She was even wearing his overcoat. They didn’t look like just "friends."

Daniel Lane smiled knowingly, then suddenly noticed something was off about the way the other two were looking at her.

He asked Hailey Forrester, "You know her?"

Hailey Forrester’s eyes scanned her up and down. "Not personally, but I’ve heard of her."

Caleb Dalton, propping his head up with one hand, drawled lazily, "Of course I know Ms. Lynch, too."

Daniel Lane sucked in a breath. "How does everyone know her? Am I the only one who doesn’t? Have I been gone so long that I missed something?"

Hailey Forrester’s gaze was mocking. "From Sean Sinclair."

"So subtle, Miss Forrester," Caleb Dalton said as he sat up straight. Of course, he was being even more subtle by saying nothing at all.

’Mr. Lane organized this get-together; I should give him some face.’

Daniel Lane sensed something was wrong, but he kept a smile on his face. "So what if you know each other or not? You can all get reacquainted here today."

Hailey Forrester and Caleb Dalton exchanged a look, then smiled and nodded at Sarah Lynch.

Sarah Lynch knew they didn’t welcome her.

Julian Grant also keenly sensed the tense atmosphere. He couldn’t bear to make Sarah Lynch uncomfortable, but he also couldn’t disrespect Daniel Lane.

Everyone sat down together.

Sarah Lynch was on pins and needles. She wanted to leave but was afraid of upsetting Julian Grant.

’This is so irritating. I knew I shouldn’t have come.’

’Who knew the six degrees of separation would play out like this for me?’

’Things will be fine once Cecilia Sinclair gets here.’

’I can let Cecilia Sinclair make a fool of herself, and then I can just fade into the background.’

Julian Grant hadn’t forgotten Sarah Lynch’s question and asked Daniel Lane, "What’s going on on the third floor?"

Daniel Lane did, in fact, know. "A team-building event for the Cole Group."

Hailey Forrester said, "A victory party. Speaking of which, our Forrester’s Stellaxis Technologies had some bad luck and lost to the Cole Group. It’s not like the Cole Group is a leader in this field."

Caleb Dalton glanced at her. "There’s no shame in losing to President Cole."

Hailey Forrester was speechless. "If he hadn’t used dirty tricks, the final outcome would have been hard to say."

Caleb Dalton said, "Well, you have to leave a trail for President Cole to catch in the first place, don’t you?"

Hailey Forrester had no retort. Her gaze fell on Sarah Lynch once again.

Sarah Lynch kept a faint smile on her face, pretending not to hear, but in reality, she was grinding her back teeth in frustration.

Julian Grant glanced at Sarah Lynch, starting to regret bringing her to this gathering.

"Mr. Lane just got back. Is it really appropriate for us to keep talking about other things?"

His eyes held a slight warning.

Hailey Forrester and Caleb Dalton weren’t particularly afraid of Julian Grant, but they knew that if they kept going, they really would be disrespecting Mr. Lane.

Everyone simply raised their glasses.

They hadn’t planned on bringing up Sarah Lynch’s messy past again, but Daniel Lane himself asked, "Looking at Ms. Lynch’s elegant bearing, are you a dancer?"

Caleb Dalton almost burst out laughing.

Hailey Forrester shot him a glare. "Can you try to be a little more composed?"

Caleb Dalton reined in his smile. "Ms. Lynch is a research scientist."

Daniel Lane was shocked.

Hailey Forrester: "Was."

Daniel Lane: "?"

"Mr. Lane, Sarah and I have something to attend to, so we have to leave now." Julian Grant felt sorry for Sarah Lynch and decided to take her away.

Sarah Lynch looked up at him and shook her head with a smile, indicating that it was nothing.

But her eyes were filled with grievance.

Hailey Forrester couldn’t help but laugh.

Daniel Lane’s expression turned cold as well. He glared at Caleb Dalton and Hailey Forrester. "Can’t you two give me some face?"

"Did I not?" The eldest daughter of the Forrester family wasn’t one to walk on eggshells for anyone. Her smile also turned cold.

"Daniel, we’ve known each other for years, so I won’t beat around the bush. The reason our Forrester’s Stellaxis Technologies lost the bid has everything to do with this Ms. Sarah Lynch. Of course, it also has everything to do with Sean Sinclair. She’s his secret mistress, and Sean Sinclair is a married man."

Caleb Dalton pressed his lips together.

’As expected, this kind of thing is best said by Miss Forrester.’

Daniel Lane was stunned. He knew that Hailey Forrester used to have a crush on Sean Sinclair years ago, but then she suddenly gave up on him.

"I’ve heard of the great Mr. Grant, of course, but I just don’t get it. You clearly know that Sarah Lynch is involved with Sean Sinclair, so why are you rushing to dote on her? If the people of the Grant Family were this stupid, how could you possibly have achieved your current status?"

Hailey Forrester wore an expression that said, ’I really don’t understand.’

"And you, Sarah Lynch, you’re quite the actress. A moment ago, you said it was nothing, so what’s with the wronged look in your eyes? The Forrester family is the real victim here! My father had to personally step in just to cover up this scandal for you two."

"Mr. Lane, you and Mr. Grant haven’t seen each other in a long time. You two continue your chat. I’m leaving."

Hailey Forrester left just like that.

Daniel Lane opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

Caleb Dalton asked, "Should I go check on her?"

Daniel Lane knew he was just looking for an excuse to leave and nodded. "Go, go."

"Let’s catch up another time." Caleb Dalton left as well.

Sarah Lynch immediately said to Julian Grant and Daniel Lane, "I’m so sorry. This is all my fault for making things unpleasant for you."

Julian Grant said, "It’s not your fault. They don’t know the whole story."

Daniel Lane: "..."

’You’ve already said that, so what am I supposed to say?’

"It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s keep eating. I just wanted to get Julian out for a catch-up, and I figured the more the merrier. I didn’t expect..."

Julian Grant explained to Daniel Lane, "Sarah was tricked by Sean Sinclair. It’s not what everyone thinks."

Daniel Lane: "....."

’Bro, I think you’re the one who’s being tricked.’

’Caleb Dalton and Miss Forrester have never really gotten along, but this is the first time they’ve ever been on the same side.’

’This Lynch woman has managed to piss everyone off.’

’Are you blind?’