Chapter 2 — Back Before The Wedding Day

Bao Tin Group's twenty-second floor board meeting room is decorated in a chic minimalist style — long black glass table, brown leather chairs covered with silvery metal, and a glass wall that looks straight out at a panorama of the city blurred in the rain. Khanh Linh walked in with a straight back, clutching the design file in her hand, a feeling of both familiarity and strangeness arose in her heart - familiar because she had gone through this moment once, strange because this time she saw every detail with completely different eyes.

"Miss Do Khanh Linh, please sit down." A cold but authoritative voice rang out from the head of the table. Ms. Kim Chi, the group's president, sat there in a perfectly tailored navy blue suit, her hair tied in a bun without a stray strand, her sharp eyes scanning Khanh Linh as if she were valuing an item.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Khanh Linh replied, bowing her head politely but not at all shy like the naive version of herself five years ago. She sat down, placed the file neatly in front of her, her eyes discreetly observing every expression on the face of the woman she once considered in her previous life to be her future mother-in-law, before realizing that she was the person behind the entire plot to harm her.

"Your sketches are very impressive," Ms. Kim Chi said, flipping through a few pages in the file that her assistant had prepared in advance, "especially the design line inspired by traditional brocade fabric combined with modern shapes. The Board of Directors unanimously agreed to assign you the position of creative director of this year's spring collection project."

"I will try my best not to disappoint the corporation's trust," Khanh Linh replied, her voice calm but firm.

At that moment, the meeting room door opened, Vu Dang Khoa walked in in a gray suit, his hair was slightly wet from the rain, a familiar smile appeared on his lips when his eyes met Khanh Linh. This was the first time, in this life, that she saw him after being reincarnated — and her heart, despite all the pain it had experienced, still could not avoid a moment of pause.

"Sorry mom, I'm late because of traffic jam." Dang Khoa sat down next to his mother, his eyes still not leaving Khanh Linh. "This must be Ms. Khanh Linh, the person my mother praised all week?"

"Hello," Khanh Linh replied, nodding politely, trying to maintain a purely professional tone, without any lingering emotions like in her previous life - at that time, just one look from him was enough to make her blush and be confused for the whole meeting.

This time, she only saw a handsome boy with real ability in the business field, but hidden behind that was a weakness towards his mother that she had to pay with her life to realize. She reminded herself: don't rush to believe, don't rush to love, observe before deciding anything.

The meeting continued with the contract terms, the deadline for completing the collection, the allocated budget, and especially the terms on intellectual property rights for the designs - something that Khanh Linh signed in her previous life superficially, not paying attention to the loophole that later made it easy for the group to transfer the "copyright" of her sketches to someone else when necessary.

"I would like to review clause seven," Khanh Linh said, pointing to a small piece of text that surely no one would pay attention to in an exciting contract signing session like this. "I want to clarify, all original sketches were created by me directly Creation will be stored in parallel under your individual name, outside the company's internal storage system, to avoid loss or confusion during group work."

Mrs. Kim Chi frowned slightly, a moment of surprise passed through her sharp eyes before she regained her usual composure. "Quite detailed requirements for someone signing a contract for the first time," she said, her voice still gentle but filled with scrutiny.

"I just want to make sure everything is transparent from the beginning, so that in the future there won't be any misunderstandings between me and other colleagues during the cooperation process," Khanh Linh replied, looking straight at Mrs. Kim Chi, not avoiding anything.

Dang Khoa, sitting next to his mother, suddenly voiced his support. "I think Ms. Linh's suggestion is reasonable, mom. Being transparent from the beginning will be good for both sides."

Mrs. Kim Chi was silent for a moment, her fingers lightly tapping on the glass table, then finally nodded. "Okay, the secretary will add this clause to the official contract."

Khanh Linh breathed a sigh of relief inside, although on the outside she remained calm. This was just the first step in a long-term plan she had been planning since the moment she woke up this morning — protecting the ownership of her own ideas, which in her previous life had been blatantly stolen right under her nose.

After the contract signing, when everyone left the meeting room one by one, Dang Khoa intentionally lingered and walked closer to Khanh Linh while she was packing up documents.

"Miss Linh," he called, his voice holding a rare hesitation in someone as confident as him, "If you don't mind, I'd like to invite you to lunch to celebrate your new position. It is also an opportunity to discuss more about the collection's direction, after all, I am in charge of the business side of this project."

Khanh Linh looked up at him, mixed emotions rising in her heart. She clearly remembers that that first lunch in her previous life was the beginning of a five-year love affair that ended in tragedy. But she also understands that avoiding it completely is not a wise solution — she needs to keep the relationship close enough to grasp information, far enough away to not repeat old mistakes.

"Thank you for your invitation," she replied, smiling just enough courtesy, "but today I have a lunch appointment with Bao Ngoc. Maybe another time, when we have more specific work to discuss."

A moment of disappointment flashed across Dang Khoa's face before he nodded, maintaining his familiar polite demeanor. "Then see you another time. Congratulations on officially joining the Bao Tin team."

Looking at his leaving back, Khanh Linh sighed softly, not because of regret, but because she realized that the road ahead would not be easy - she would have to balance keeping a safe distance from Dang Khoa, closely monitoring Bao Ngoc's every step, and silently building a protection network for herself that no one, not even the closest people, could notice.

She opened the leather-bound notebook and wrote a brief note: "Intellectual property clause — successfully added. Dang Khoa - still has feelings like in his previous life, needs to keep enough distance. Next step: observe Bao Ngoc during lunch."

Closing the notebook, she walked out of the meeting room with steady steps, determined not to let any small detail in this fateful chess game slip out of her control again.

That afternoon, Khanh Linh and Bao Ngoc sat in a small restaurant near the company, where they had often visited since they were interns. Bao Ngoc ordered a familiar dish — bun cha and a glass of iced tea — then eagerly asked about this morning's contract signing, his eyes sparkling with sincere admiration for his best friend.

"Tell me, what does the board meeting room look like? I heard that Mrs. Kim Chi is very difficult, right?" Bao Ngoc asked, his hand resting on his chin, looking curious like a child.

"It's not as bad as rumored," Khanh Linh replied, smiling slightly, trying to keep her tone as natural as possible even though she was mentally observing every smallest expression on her friend's face. "But I have a feeling that she is someone who will pay attention to every little detail, even the seemingly unimportant things."

"What are you worried about?" Bao Ngoc smiled, patting his friend's shoulder, "you're the best in the design department, everyone knows that. I just hope to work side by side with you on this project in the future, learn more from you."

That statement, in her previous life, once moved Khanh Linh deeply, trusting Bao Ngoc with almost all of the initial sketch ideas to develop together. But this time, she just smiled, nodded slightly, silently remembering: this is the starting point, where the friendship between the two is still intact, not tainted by jealousy and ambition. She didn't want to doubt her friend unfoundedly, but she also couldn't forget the valuable lesson her previous life had taught her.

"You and I will do well on this project together," Khanh Linh said, her voice sincere but purposeful, "but I think, each person should keep a separate archive of their ideas, in case there is a data loss or confusion. What do you think?"

"Yes, that's reasonable," Bao Ngoc replied, not showing any doubt or discomfort at this suggestion, "I still often forget to save the file, sometimes it's a good thing."

The conversation continued to revolve around the plans for the spring collection, the initial sketch ideas that Khanh Linh intentionally shared just enough - not completely hidden to avoid causing suspicion, but also no longer exposing everything like before. Looking at Bao Ngoc laughing and talking, completely carefree about the plans that will gradually form in her heart just a few years later, Khanh Linh cannot help but feel an indescribable sadness mixed with the iron determination that has existed since this morning.

"No matter what happens next," she thought to herself, watching her friend deliciously sip the last spoonful of dipping sauce, "this time I will try so that none of us have to go to that end again."