CEO’s Romantic Affair

Cathryn and Helen came a bit late when everyone was already chatting, and Densche, the tailor, was sitting beside Elaine, next to them were some other men and women that Cathryn didn’t know.

Although the face was strange, several people were very enthusiastic, letting Cathryn and Helen sit down.

As soon as they saw Cathryn, everyone’s eyes went unconsciously to Ada. Ada accepted the attention with a suppressed smile.

“This is my daughter-in-law.” Helen didn’t care about their eyes and introduced herself loudly, “Meet Cathryn Riley, ladies and gents, she is from America.”

A few guests followed and repeated Cathryn’s name but did not figure out anything.

After introducing Cathryn, Helen began to introduce her poetry friends one by one.

On the way to the jewelry store, she had briefly spoken about them. And when they met in person, Helen introduced them more carefully.

For example, this guy had just won an important architectural award. This professor was involved in the editing of the history of an African country. This one had a celebrity student who was a star in a tech area, and the other was a movie star who had just come back from a film festival…

Cathryn carefully remembered the names one by one, smiled, shook hands, and hugged some of them. She showed an appropriate admiration but with enough dignity.

After the introduction, Elaine suddenly broke.

“I wonder why Miss Riley looks so similar to Miss Clinton, are they related?”

Helen and Ada were pen-pals, but in the presence of her own daughter-in-law, she wasn’t shy to show her preference. She held Cathryn’s hand and exclaimed to everyone, “It would be expropriated of me to say so, but I think my daughter-in-law is one of a kind.”

The complacent look shook Ada’s face. She managed to keep her smile as everyone laughed at Helen’s joke.

Elaine laughed and quickly said something to Helen in German. Helen did not forget to translate for Cathryn while chatting with everyone. Cathryn never felt a second of discomfort.

At the end of socializing, the poetry exchange began.

The poetry club had been studying Chinese poetry for a few months. Each meeting would have a theme, the members were assigned in groups to find a poem that should match the theme, and one person in the group would read it to everyone to appreciate it.

On larger poetry nights, they would generally study five poems, but in today’s small meeting, they only had time for two.

It is Elaine’s turn to prepare the poem today. Elaine and Ada were in a group, and the theme of this meeting was Nostalgia.

It was a common topic in ancient poems, and they had run out of famous ones. So this time, the professor and her tutor had found a rarely mentioned one.

Elaine and Ada picked “Moon-Gazing on the Fifteenth” by Wang Jian, and Ada sat in the corner of the sofa, holding the book, ready to read. Her body was slightly bent, and her feet were lazily placed back and forth. The sun shines through the window and is poured onto the carpet and her linen shoes.

Ada knew exactly how she looked and was an expert in creating her own image. She was the kind of woman that knew where her charms were even when she was just sitting at random.

Perhaps it was her own temperament or moved by the poem, Ada looked at the poem book in her hands, and the humbleness in the poem came to her head. She looked up and handed the book to Cathryn genuinely.

“Would you like to read it for us, Miss Riley, now that you have come all the way to meet us here?”

She knew it was her home turf, and she was curious to see what type of people Cathryn was.

Ada made a gesture to swing the book slightly towards her anyways, and as she was just about to take the book back, Cathryn took the corner of it. Ada’s fingers insisted a moment, then let go, somewhat surprised by Cathryn’s courage.

Cathryn took the book and smiled, “It would be my pleasure, Miss Clinton, thank you for giving me this chance to perform.”

The tension between the two was only caught by Helen. And their kind hostess Elaine was more than happy as well, as she was planning to have Cathryn read something as soon as she welcomed her attendance.

She was more than happy that Ada took the initiative, and Cathryn accepted it because Elaine would be embarrassed to bother Helen’s new friend.

“Then please do, Miss Riley,” Elaine exclaimed happily

Cathryn responded with a nodding smile and started reading.

She was an acting student, after all. The film school had taught her well about proficient speeches and reciting.

“Center court, pale ground, and crows nestling in the trees,

Cold dews quietly wet the osmanthus blooms.

Tonight’s full moon gazed at everyone, Wonder whose home was hit by the falling gloom.”

Cathryn’s voice was crisp and enchanting, full of emotions. Although it was a strange ancient poem, her sensational interpretation was enough to give everyone an unspeakable sympathy.

The club applauded and thanked her after the reading. Cathryn smiled, and then the room fell into a heated discussion about writing techniques and the interpretation of phrases.

During their discussion, Cathryn occasionally mentioned her own thoughts on Helen’s translation. Helen would always show a stunning affirmation, making Cathryn smile confidently. She perceived the gaze from her side and turned her head and caught Ada’s glance, which bowed slightly and turned away.

There was no one else she knew, Cathryn started looking around the room. A book on the table next to the sofa soon caught her eyes. On the table, next to an emerald vase, there were two ancient books with dark blue wrappers and a white cotton line. The paper inside had turned yellow, but the books, in general, were neat and clean.

Having asked Elaine, who agreed with wide shining eyes, Cathryn carefully took over the book and slowly opened it.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

These books were borrowed from Elaine’s school library. Although she had Ada teaching her, Ada couldn’t read the traditional characters either.