Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 178: I will join you there

Chapter 178: I will join you there

"I do," Diana looked at his dumbfounded face and continued speaking calmly, "I know him enough to understand that you are blindly directing your hatred towards him."

Alex narrowed his eyes, "Here I thought we were getting along pretty well and we have the potential to be friends. And there you go, ruining my good mood," he pushed himself to his feet and walked away.

Looking at his retreating back, Diana could tell that he was probably not as bad of a person as the rumors made him out to be nor he was as unreasonable as she had labeled him during their first encounter.

He might have a solid reason to hate Maxim too but she... did not have the heart to listen to anyone badmouthing him.

Maxim was....

Diana twirled the glass in her hand, observing the whiskey closely before she downed it.

...her bottom line.

"Wine," she told the bartender.

Try something new? What a joke.

She was loyal to her first preferences.

Diana glanced at her phone, and she hesitated for a moment before placing it on the barstool next to her.

...

It was one hour past his usual time to get off work yet Maxim was sitting in his office, flipping through the pages of a file absent-mindedly.

His phone started ringing, bringing him out of his reverie.

He picked it up almost instantly but his eyes dimmed slightly when he saw that it was not the person he expected it to be.

"Mom," he answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

There was a moment of silence on the other side before Hazel spoke up, "What happened to you?" Her tone was not naggy or domineering as usual. She sounded concerned.

Maxim leaned back on the swivel chair, "Why do you think something happened to me?"

Hazel scoffed, "You are my son. I can read your mood just by your tone. Usually, you would call me mom as if I owe you millions. Just now, your voice reminded me of your childhood days. You were born a bit sickly so your body tended to catch a cold easily," Letting out a sigh, she continued, "Whenever you were sick, you would act all soft and obedient like a doll."

"_"

Maxim did not whether to laugh or cry at the way she elaborated it. Only she would call him a doll, "Mom, what do you think of Director Qin?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Curious."

Hazel seemed to be laughing, "Forget it if you don’t want to tell me the real reason. But if I have to be honest, Director Qin has been a fatherly figure to me after your grandfather passed away. He is a good friend as well."

Initially, Maxim was intending to ask her to keep a distance from the man. He could deal with people like Alex but he did not want anyone to pick trouble with his mother.

Yet, after he heard her words, he refrained from saying so.

She could do what she wanted. He can protect her regardless of anything.

Clueless to what he was thinking, Hazel spoke up again, "Oh, I almost forgot why I called you. Have you been taking good care of little Ana?"

Maxim raised an eyebrow. The tone she was using would make people think that she was talking about her daughter-in-law.

"She is an adult," he said.

"Your point here is...?"

"That she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

Hazel sighed, "My bad. I called you because I was talking with her a few minutes ago. She seemed to be quite busy. I thought you should know about it. But hearing your words, I am quite relieved to know that you think that way."

"Where is she?" Maxim frowned.

"Haish, baby, it’s none of your concern. She is an adult, perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She is having some fun. I even heard some man’s voice nearby. Let her be~" Hazel hung up after speaking in a cheerful tone.

Maxim glanced at his phone speechlessly.

His finger hovered above Diana’s number. He intended to call her but in the end, he pushed his phone inside his pocket and walked out of the office.

"...We shouldn’t have picked on Diana..."

The mention of Diana had Maxim halting in his tracks.

He tilted his head to the side and glanced at the three women standing near the notice board.

He recognized the one in the middle as Venus... No, Valerie?

Maxim frowned, unable to recall her name.

But she was the one who poured wine on Diana. Alex’s assistant.

"Vera, look at this. Looks like we were too quick to judge her. It’s a good thing she is not around today. I am too ashamed to see her face. No matter how pretty she looks, we should have known that Dr. Warner would not keep someone useless by his side. She is more than qualified for this job...’’

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, the three of them turned around.

When they saw Maxim, the two women who were with Veronica greeted him and hurriedly left.

Veronica remained rooted to her spot as she looked at him, "Dr. Warner."

Maxim spared her a glance. He could not help but frown, "You have something against her?" For one, he had asked Director Qin to discuss this matter with Diana but knowing Diana, she probably did not take an action and this person was still here.

Even if Diana was working here temporarily, he did not want her to be wronged by anyone in any way. Long-term or short-term.

Veronica was confused. The ’her’ he was speaking of wasn’t Diana, right?

But his face said otherwise.

She panicked slightly. Was Dr. Warner aware of her confrontation with Diana yesterday? Did that woman rat her out?

Veronica lowered her head.

"When I first saw her, I thought that she resembles my sister," Veronica said after some thought. Rather than letting it bother her from the inside, she might as well come clean.

Her words caught Maxim’s attention. "What?" He had no idea what she was talking about, "Who is your sister?’’

Veronica had no idea whether she was supposed to laugh or cry. The man she had admired and liked for so long did not seem to know anything about her, "Your ex-girlfriend..."

A faint picture clicked in Maxim’s mind. He pursed his lips, "The model one?"

Veronica always thought that her sister held a lot of importance in Maxim’s heart. He was not the kind of doctor who would have that kind of relationship with one of his patients but he made that exception for her. So, she had been a bit envious of it.

But the way Maxim phrased it now, it looked like he had no special affections for her sister, "That’s her," she answered. Her sister was a striking beauty, with blonde hair and a beautiful figure, she had looks as well as a great career, "Diana holds resemblances with her in some aspects so...."

Maxim’s expressions were slightly stiff by the time she finished speaking.

He was not ashamed of many things in his life but this was the most shameful part of his past. He was determined to take it to his grave regardless of anything. What happened in that brief relationship of two days will only ever be known to him.

"I thought Diana used that to her advantage to get the job and she is trying to use you by imitating my sister on purpose..." Veronica trailed off when Maxim’s cold gaze landed on her.

A moment ago, she almost felt like he was approachable. But now...

He did not look confused anymore and his gaze made her feel intimidated.

Veronica lowered her head, "I will take my leave..." she rushed away when he did not respond to her.

Maxim inwardly blamed himself for it. So, he was the one responsible for this.

He was about to leave when he remembered that the three women were discussing about Diana while standing in front of the notice board.

When he came to the hospital earlier this morning, there was a crowd in front of all the notice boards in the hallway.

What has it got to do with Diana....?

His thoughts trailed off when his gaze landed on the notice board.

A certificate greeted his vision and his eyes caught the highlights of it within a glimpse.

’Beijing Medical School’

’Diana Chen’

’Certificate of Achievement’

Maxim took a step back involuntarily, his eyes widening at the sight of it.

An old conversation played in his mind.

’Warner, I don’t think I will be able to continue staying here after graduating,’ Diana was particularly upset when she spoke of it.

’Why not?’ Maxim remembered asking her out of curiosity. He did not want her to leave.

’My parents want me to learn more about business so that I can help Daisy when she takes over the company.’

’What about you? What do you want to do?’

She thought about it for a few moments before asking, ’Not sure. I have been chasing the position of being the topper all this while. I never thought about what I really wanted but I can’t go against their wishes. I will study business.’

’Oh,’ Maxim did not know what to say after she told him that. Was he supposed to ask her to stay when she seemed to have made up her mind about leaving?

’I don’t want to leave. I will miss you so much,’ she had looked at him with sparkling eyes.

When he saw the sincerity in them, the words left his mouth even before his mind could register them, ’I will join you there.’

’What?!’ She looked like she was contemplating if she misheard him.

’If you can’t stay here, I can join you there. In your city.’

’Are you serious? Is that a promise?’

When he nodded, she threw herself into his arms without a care of the world, laughing and giggling as if she won a lottery or something.

....

Maxim did not know how long he stood there, looking at the certificate until he found the strength to move.

He grabbed his phone and without any hesitation, he dialed her number.

The call was answered on the first ring. He was taken aback.

"I wasn’t waiting for your call... I mean, I just had the phone in my hand. That’s why I answered your call immediately," Diana explained in a rush.

Maxim did not doubt her words. There was no way she would wait for her call or something.

The loud music in the background told him that she was not idle either, "Where are you?" He asked.

After she told him the name of the nightclub, he hung up.

Back in the nightclub, Diana glanced at her phone in a daze.

Did... he... did he just hang up on her?

Diana felt like crying. This man... Was he provoking her on purpose?

She sorrowfully downed another glass of wine. At some point in time, she had lost count of the drinks she had.

The fact that she had a good alcohol tolerance was getting on her last nerve. She had wanted to get drunk and wasted and make a scene like a main character of some romance novel.

But her damned alcohol tolerance!

Her phone started ringing again. When she checked the caller ID, her sparkling eyes dimmed, "Daisy~" she answered the call.

"You sound disoriented."

"I am disoriented," she felt like she had received some kind of internal injury which was difficult to show to someone and also challenging to keep it inside.

"Where are you?" Daisy asked without beating around the bush.

"_"

Diana glanced at her phone. Why was everyone asking where she was?

Nevertheless, she told Daisy the location of the nightclub.

"Why do you ask? Do you want to join the fun...?"

’Beep beep’

Her words were yet to finish when Daisy hung up.

"_"

First, it was Maxim’s mother who called her and chatted with her for a bit until she realized that she was not at home so she hung up hurriedly for some reason. Then, it was Maxim. And now, even her biological sister hung up on her.

What were all these people up to?

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