Chapter 4 — Reborn: This Hell Is Mine

Meeting Old People Again in a New Life

Diamond Hotel lit up from six o'clock in the afternoon, the wait staff dressed in black and white uniforms moved like shuttles between banquet tables, preparing for the biggest annual fundraiser of the year of the Ánh Dương Charity Foundation. Ý Vy arrived at five o'clock, standing in the middle of the main hall supervising the final stages of decoration - ivory white silk strips hanging from the ceiling, pots of phalaenopsis orchids placed along the walkway, soft yellow lights covering the space creating a warm and luxurious feeling.

In her previous life, at this time, she remembered frantically running back and forth checking every small detail because she was so nervous, that when she bumped into a tall guest entering the lobby, the decorative fabric sample board in her hand fell to the floor, small fabric samples flying everywhere. The man bent down to pick it up for her, and in the moment their eyes met for the first time, Ý Vy remembers blushing to her ears and stammering out an apology.

This time, she stood more firmly, her hands no longer shaking as she rearranged the position of the VIP banquet table according to what she had planned from the beginning - in her previous life, the Chung Nguyên Group's table area was accidentally arranged in a hidden corner near the back door, but this time, she proactively asked the event manager to change to a central position, near the main stage area, with reasonable professional reasons about lighting and visibility.

At exactly fifteen minutes past seven, Chung Bách Nguyên walked into the lobby.

Ý Vy stood not far away, adjusting a slightly askew bouquet of flowers on table number seven, but she felt a change in the atmosphere as soon as he appeared - the whispering conversations suddenly slowed down, the eyes of many female guests in the room simultaneously turned towards the main door. Bách Nguyên wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his figure was tall, he walked calmly, his face remained polite and social, but his eyes exuded the coldness and distance of a person who was too used to being watched by others without feeling any interest.

In her previous life, she used to think that was the arrogance of a young master from a rich family. Later, when she had been with him long enough to understand, she realized that it was actually the defense of someone who had suffered too much from the calculating relationships that surrounded her since childhood.

This time, Ý Vy did not come closer or try to attract attention. She continued her work with natural concentration, adjusting every small detail on the banquet table, chatting briefly with the construction team about stage lighting. She knew that, according to her previous life's schedule, around nine o'clock in the evening, the organizers would invite representatives of major sponsors to speak, and Chung Bách Nguyên, as the diamond sponsor of this year's event, would have to stand and give a short speech.

She also remembered that in his previous life, after that speech, he had a rare moment of embarrassment when the sound system malfunctioned and the microphone emitted a shrill hiss in the middle of the speech, causing a stir in the entire hall. At that time, Ý Vy herself, standing near the technical area for decoration work, quickly ran to handle the problem, pressed the temporary shutdown button and coordinated with the technician to fix it in less than a minute. That was the moment that really made Bách Nguyên pay attention to her, not the impact that caused the sample fabric to fall as she once mistakenly thought.

This time, Ý Vy proactively met with the sound engineering team early, checked the entire system, discovered a loose cable connection that was at risk of causing problems, and requested a replacement right before opening time. The previous life incident, therefore, will not happen again.

But she understood, without that incident, she might not have had the chance to leave a deep enough impression on Bách Nguyên's heart from the first evening. Thinking for a moment, she decided there was no need to create a fake situation to attract attention. If fate had arranged for them to meet, she believed that there would be another way for this relationship to develop, in a more natural, more honest way.

Sure enough, at the exchange after the main party, when the guests moved freely between tables to chat, Ms. Dieu - chairwoman of the Sunshine Foundation's management board, who worked closely with Ms. Ninh Diễm Thu during her lifetime - proactively took Bách Nguyên to meet Ý Vy to introduce and praise her design talent in decorating this year's event space.

"This is Đường Ý Vy, the designer in charge of decorating for tonight's event. She is also a former student of the Ánh Dương Foundation, grew up at Bình Minh Orphanage, and was personally raised by Mrs. Diễm Thu." Mrs. Dieu patted Ý Vy's shoulder, her voice full of pride. "Bách Nguyên is the youngest general manager in the history of Chung Nguyên Group, this year sponsoring the diamond category for our fund."

Ý Vy bowed slightly in greeting, keeping a calm, moderate smile, not too timid like her previous life, nor trying to appear too close. "Hello, Bách Nguyên. Nice to meet you."

Bách Nguyên looked at her for a moment, his eyes were a little surprised, perhaps because he was used to the fact that girls in this party world always tried to impress with excessive warmth or vice versa, fake timidity, while Ý Vy simply kept a naturally polite attitude, not trying to show anything.

"The space tonight is decorated very delicately," he said, his voice low, just as she remembered. "Especially the lighting arrangement in the stage area, creating a highlight without being too ostentatious."

"Thank you for your attention," Ý Vy replied, not hiding her genuine satisfaction at the professional compliment. "I think a good space should enhance the story of the event, not overwhelm it. Tonight the main story is the Sunshine Foundation, not the decoration."

That answer made Bách Nguyên slightly raise his eyebrows, a small expression that Ý Vy had learned in his previous life meant he was really interested in something. "She has clear views about her work."

"I think everyone in any profession should be like that," she replied, her voice gentle but firm.

The conversation lasted a few more minutes, revolving around safe topics about work, about the Sunshine Foundation, and about the brief memories she shared about Ms. Ninh Diễm Thu without going into personal details. Ý Vy was careful to keep just the right distance, not too far away to appear artificially cold, nor too close to make others — especially anyone who was paying attention to this conversation — think that she was deliberately approaching the young CEO for any purpose other than work.

When Mrs. Dieu pulled Bách Nguyên away to continue interacting with other sponsors, he turned to look at Ý Vy one last time, nodded slightly to say goodbye, his eyes lingered on her face for another moment before turning away.

Ý Vy stood there, watching his back disappear into the crowd, the feeling in her heart both familiar and strange. Familiar because this was the man she had loved and called her husband for a long time in her previous life. Strange because this time, everything happened at a completely different pace—no awkward stumbles, no panicked looks from an inexperienced young girl, just a calm, natural meeting between two adults.

She doesn't know whether this new approach will make the relationship between them develop in the direction she wants. But she believes, a relationship built from respect and a genuine impression of ability, instead of from a cute awkward moment, will be much more solid in the face of upcoming turbulence.

From afar, standing behind a pillar decorated with flowers, Ý Vy was unaware that another pair of eyes was watching her entire conversation with Bách Nguyên.

Kỷ Tuệ Nghi, in a striking wine red evening gown, stood among the crowd of young guests invited by a friend who worked in the event industry, holding a glass of champagne, her lips pursed into a faint straight line as she observed the way Bách Nguyên looked at her sister - a look she had never seen him give to any other woman during the party tonight.

Ý Vy, even though she was standing quite a distance away, still felt a cold gaze pass over the back of her neck for a moment. She turned her head, just in time to see the familiar figure of Tuệ Nghi smiling brightly, waving to her from afar, with absolutely no trace of her cold eyes just now.

"Sister! I didn't expect to see you here. My friend invited me here just for fun." Tuệ Nghi stepped closer and hugged Ý Vy intimately as usual. "You made the space so beautiful, everyone always complimented it."

"Thank you," Ý Vy replied, hugging her sister back, but this time, in that familiar warm embrace, she couldn't help but remember the cold eyes she had just encountered just a few seconds ago.

She smiled, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened, but in her heart, she understood that this fateful evening, even though it happened somewhat differently than in her previous life, was still silently sowing the first seeds for an underground war that only she, in this entire brightly lit room, could truly recognize.