At 27, Leia had settled into her career at a tech company, working diligently in her role after graduating from university. She had long buried the memories of her teenage years—of unspoken feelings, of a boy who had once unknowingly occupied her thoughts.
Until today.
"Leia, Secretary Bai is unavailable right now. Please go downstairs to greet our important client, Mr. Gu," Manager Zhang said urgently as he approached her desk.
Leia nodded professionally. "Of course, Manager Zhang. I'll head down right away. Please don't worry."
She grabbed her notebook and made her way to the lobby, preparing herself to receive the client with the utmost professionalism. However, the moment she saw a sleek black luxury sedan pull up to the entrance, she froze for a split second.
The man who stepped out was someone she never expected to see again.
Nathan Gu.
Her high school classmate. The boy she had secretly admired for years.
Leia's breath hitched slightly, but she quickly composed herself. Years had passed. She was no longer the timid girl from high school. She was a professional now, and she had a job to do.
Steadying herself, she approached him with a polite smile.
"Mr. Gu, welcome. I'm an employee at YiFeng Tech, and I'm here to receive you on behalf of our company," she said smoothly, her voice calm and professional.
Nathan's sharp eyes studied her, but his face remained unreadable.
"Mr. Gu, please follow me to our conference room. There, we can discuss your business needs and potential collaboration in detail." Leia gestured toward the building, leading him and his assistant toward the elevator.
The atmosphere inside the elevator was tense.
Nathan hadn't spoken a word since she greeted him. His expression was cold and distant, just as it had been in high school. Leia kept her posture straight, forcing herself to maintain her composure despite the awkward silence pressing down on them.
When they reached the conference room, she politely invited Nathan and his assistant to take their seats before excusing herself to return to her desk.
—
Back at her workstation, Leia sat down and tried to refocus on her work, but the chatter around her made it impossible.
"Leia! Oh my god! That Mr. Gu is so young and handsome!" one of her coworkers, Mia, gushed, practically bouncing in her chair.
Another colleague, Anna, leaned in eagerly. "Right? And did you see the way he carries himself? So confident, so charismatic… Ugh, rich and successful men really do hit different."
A third chimed in. "I heard he's the CEO of Gu Holdings. Can you believe it? He's only 27! Most people at his age are still trying to figure out life, and he's already leading major business acquisitions!"
Leia remained silent, merely forcing a small smile as she clicked around on her computer screen, pretending to be engrossed in an email.
Her mind, however, was elsewhere.
The moment she saw Nathan stepping out of that luxury sedan kept playing over and over in her head. The sharp cut of his tailored suit, the cool indifference in his eyes, the way he carried himself with effortless authority.
Had he really recognized her?
She found it hard to believe.
They had been in the same class for three years, but they had never exchanged a single word. She had spent her high school years admiring him from a distance, watching as he excelled in academics, untouchable, always focused. In her memories, he had been a figure so far removed from her world that she had convinced herself she didn't exist in his.
Sure, she had helped out at his mother's café. But she had always assumed he never knew.
So why had he looked at her like that just now?
Leia let out a slow, measured breath and shook her head. It didn't matter.
This was just another business interaction.
Nothing more.
She had moved on. It had been nearly a decade since high school. She was no longer the shy girl who sat in the back of the class, stealing glances at someone who never noticed her. She had built a life for herself, had worked hard to secure her place in this company.
Nathan Gu was just a client.
And she would treat him as such.
Leia forced herself to push the thoughts aside and return to work, keeping her mind occupied with reports and emails. But no matter how hard she tried, a strange, restless energy lingered in her chest.
She didn't know.
And she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
*****
An hour later, Leia was still at her desk, forcing herself to concentrate on her work when Manager Zhang emerged from the conference room. He approached her with a composed but hurried expression.
"Leia, please escort Mr. Gu downstairs," he instructed, barely giving her a second glance before moving on to his next task.
Leia nodded automatically, rising from her chair. She smoothed her skirt and took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. Her hands felt slightly clammy as she reached for the tablet on her desk, gripping it tighter than necessary. She had spent the past hour pretending to work, but in reality, her mind had been elsewhere—trapped in the moment she had locked eyes with Nathan after so many years.
Nathan.
The name echoed in her mind as she made her way toward the conference room. She still wasn't sure how to process the fact that he was standing in front of her again, no longer a boy but a man—polished, powerful, and completely unreadable. The Nathan she had known in high school had been reserved, always lost in his studies, always focused on something greater. But the Nathan standing in the boardroom today was different. There was a confidence in the way he carried himself, an air of authority that demanded attention without a single word.
When she reached the doorway, he was already waiting.
Nathan stood tall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit, his dark eyes watching her approach with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. He exuded effortless composure, as if their reunion meant nothing to him, as if she were just another employee assigned to escort him out.
Leia straightened her posture and forced herself to meet his gaze. "Mr. Gu, this way."
Without a word, he followed.
The walk to the lobby was silent.
Leia kept her eyes fixed forward, hyperaware of his presence beside her, the steady rhythm of his footsteps matching hers. She focused on maintaining even breaths, keeping her emotions buried beneath the surface. The last thing she needed was for her colleagues to notice the tension in the air.
And yet, despite her best efforts, she could feel it—the weight of unspoken words, of memories that neither of them had acknowledged.
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she thought she could feel his gaze flicker toward her, just for a moment, just long enough for her pulse to quicken.
By the time they reached the entrance, Nathan's assistant was already pulling the car around. Leia turned slightly, ready to offer her usual polite farewell—only for Nathan to speak first.
"How much longer are you going to pretend you don't know me, Leia?"
Leia froze.
Her breath caught in her throat, her body stiffening at the unexpected question.
Slowly, she turned her head, her wide eyes locking onto his for the first time since high school.
Nathan's expression remained calm, but there was something unmistakable in his gaze—something steady, unwavering, as if he had been waiting to say those words.
Leia's mind went blank.
For years, she had convinced herself that he had forgotten her. That she had been nothing more than another face in the classroom, another classmate who had come and gone. But now, standing here, hearing him say her name in a voice that was both familiar and foreign, she felt something stir deep inside her, something she had buried long ago.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Heat crept up her neck, and before she could stop it, warmth bloomed across her cheeks. She turned away, suddenly aware of how fast her heart was racing.
"You… remember me?" she asked, her voice quieter than she had intended.
Nathan's lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze never wavering.
"I didn't expect to see you here either," he admitted, his tone softer now, almost thoughtful.
Leia swallowed, her mind scrambling to regain control of her emotions. She had imagined this reunion before, but never like this. Never with Nathan standing so close, looking at her with a quiet intensity that made her chest tighten.
"Mr. Gu, I—" she hesitated. "Today was your first visit to our company. I only wanted to remain professional."
His jaw tightened ever so slightly at the formality in her tone, but he didn't argue. Instead, he simply studied her, as if trying to read something beneath her carefully constructed expression.
"Leia, do you have time after work?" he asked suddenly, his voice carrying a quiet authority that sent a shiver down her spine.
Leia blinked.
"…After work?"
Nathan nodded. "I want to talk to you."
Leia felt her stomach flip. The way he said it, so firm, so certain, made it sound less like an invitation and more like something inevitable. She hesitated, torn between curiosity and the instinct to create distance. But before she could decide, before she could even think, the word left her lips—
"…Alright."
For a split second, something flickered in Nathan's eyes.
Just then, his assistant pulled up in the sleek black car. Nathan glanced at her one last time before stepping inside.
"I'll pick you up after work. We can grab dinner."
And with that, the car door closed.
Leia stood motionless, watching as the vehicle disappeared into the stream of evening traffic. Her fingers trembled slightly at her sides.
Her mind raced, replaying the brief but weighty exchange. Had she really just agreed to meet him? Had Nathan really just asked to see her again?
She had spent years convincing herself that he had forgotten her. That whatever she had once felt for him was nothing more than a distant, adolescent memory.
But today, in just a few words, Nathan had shattered that belief entirely.
And for the first time in years—Leia wasn't sure what to feel.
*****
Inside the car, Nathan leaned back against the smooth leather seat, his fingers tightening slightly around the armrest as he gazed out of the window. The city lights blurred past, neon reflections flickering against the dark-tinted glass, but his mind was elsewhere—stuck in the moment he had locked eyes with Leia after so many years.
He had waited for this.
Perhaps not consciously, but somewhere deep inside him, he had always wondered what had happened to her. What she had become. If she had moved on.
And now, she was here—standing before him, wearing a fitted blazer and heels, her expression carefully neutral, her voice polished and professional. So different, yet somehow still the same. She had grown into a woman with quiet confidence, one who could stand before him without faltering, who had met his gaze without hesitation—until he had spoken her name.
Then, just for a second, he had seen it.
That flicker of emotion, the widening of her eyes, the way her breath had caught in her throat. The way her cheeks had turned pink before she quickly looked away.
She remembered him.
And yet, she had tried to act as if they were strangers.
Nathan let out a slow exhale, running a hand through his hair as a familiar ache settled in his chest. Back in high school, he had been too focused on his studies, too preoccupied with preparing for his future to pay much attention to anything else. He had kept his head down, chasing a dream of success, of something greater.
Friendships, relationships, love—those had all seemed like distractions back then. He had never allowed himself the luxury of looking too closely at anyone.
But Leia…
He had noticed her.
Even if they had never spoken, even if she had always remained in the background, he had remembered her. More than that—he had known.
He had known that she was the one who secretly helped out at his mother's café. That she had stepped in when his mother was overwhelmed, serving customers and cleaning tables with a quiet determination, never asking for anything in return.
At first, he hadn't understood why.
They had never been close. He had never spoken to her in class, had never once given her a reason to care about his family. And yet, she had been there—helping, without hesitation, without expecting gratitude.
He had found out one evening when he had come home earlier than usual from tutoring. Peeking through the café's glass door, he had seen her moving between tables, a warm smile on her face as she jotted down orders. His mother had laughed at something she said, looking more at ease than he had seen her in a long time.
It had struck him then—this quiet, unassuming girl who had never once tried to talk to him in school had been helping his mother all along.
He had watched her after that.
Not in an obvious way. Never in a way that anyone would notice. But he had found his gaze drifting toward her in class, catching the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was concentrating, the way she smiled slightly when she solved a difficult problem.
He had thought about thanking her. He had thought about talking to her, about asking why.
But high school had passed in a blur of exams and responsibilities, and before he knew it, she was gone.
He had never seen her again.
Until today.
Nathan clenched his fists, exhaling slowly as a wave of frustration settled in his chest.
He had been young back then, too caught up in his ambitions to realize what he was letting slip away. But now, after all these years, fate had placed her in front of him again.
A second chance.
And this time, he wasn't going to let her disappear.
His phone vibrated on the seat beside him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen—his assistant, sending over details of his next meeting. Business, negotiations, numbers.
For the first time in years, none of it mattered.
Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.
Leia.
And the fact that he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.