CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 109: PEACH-BLOOMING YOUTHFULNESS

Maeve went around to the front desk, locked the red envelope in a drawer, and leaned in to ask, "So you really haven’t been in touch?"

"Yeah," Sienna Thornton lowered her eyes and stared at the computer, "If he doesn’t reach out to me, why should I go out of my way to find him?"

Maeve: "You two used to be so close, and he seemed quite interested. I thought it would work out, but I didn’t expect it to end like this."

Sienna Thornton gave a helpless smile and said, "People are so stubborn. It’s only when they lose something that they realize they actually want it."

Maeve patted her shoulder, said nothing, and went off to handle other tasks.

Once Maeve left, Sienna Thornton’s hand on the mouse stopped moving, her gaze fixated on the screen.

She lied. There were times when she really wanted to reach out to Simon Forrester, but ended up giving up for various reasons. In the end, her affection for him wasn’t enough to make her put aside her pride and take the initiative.

Maybe, he felt the same way.

"Sigh..." Sienna Thornton sighed, sat in a daze for a moment, then moved the mouse again.

Ten minutes before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Harrison Rowe and the representatives from the construction party had all arrived, except for Simon Forrester, who was nowhere in sight.

Sienna Thornton glanced at the entrance from time to time. As the time approached, she went beside Harrison Rowe and lowered her voice to ask, "Isn’t Director Forrester coming over?"

Harrison Rowe: "Director Forrester is still in The Northeast, he didn’t mention whether he’d come."

A representative from the construction party laughed on the side, "Mr. Forrester won’t be coming! He’s so busy!"

"Okay, I understand." Sienna Thornton smiled politely, then glanced back at the entrance.

Once she left, the representative from the construction party started talking, "This is such a small project. Your Director Forrester must be out of his mind to leave a multi-billion project in The Northeast to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony in such a remote place..."

Harrison Rowe smiled but said nothing.

He couldn’t say that when Director Forrester took on this project, he was very enthusiastic because of the partner involved. But once the project started, the two parted ways, and the outside world probably thinks their innocent Director Forrester was swindled emotionally and financially.

...

As the clock struck twelve, the ribbon-cutting ceremony officially began. Due to Simon Forrester’s absence, Sienna Thornton commissioned Harrison Rowe to cut the ribbon on behalf of the design team.

The garden was set up with white silk guest seats, with the first two rows reserved for the invited media and most of the back rows filled with Maeve’s friends and fans of Simon Forrester who came after hearing the news.

The white ribbon with the "Seaman’s Bistro" logo was cut into five segments, and the host on stage loudly announced that "Seaman’s Bistro" was officially in operation today. The media flashlights kept flashing, capturing not only the ribbon-cutting moment but also the elegant figures of Maeve and Sienna Thornton.

The two were a striking contrast, one dynamic and the other serene; one handsome and the other graceful.

The slender Maeve wore a chic black shirt and black trousers, while Sienna Thornton wore a slightly fitted white shirt and a bright red knee-length pencil skirt. With her fair skin and charming looks, coupled with the large waves she styled her long straight hair into today, her makeup was exquisite, her demeanor sharp, she truly resembled someone that could be described as "an indescribable beauty."

The journalists present all speculated if she was some influential figure’s girlfriend in the entertainment industry. Besides being beautiful and having a great figure, she had an aura that set her apart from ordinary beauties, so captivating that one couldn’t easily look away.

She carried a glass of champagne, effortlessly mingling among the guests, clearly displaying formidable social skills.

Harrison Rowe was sitting with the representative from the construction party, sipping champagne and chatting, when the representative suddenly asked mysteriously, "Is the lady in the red dress the boss’s wife?"

Harrison Rowe nodded, taking a sip of champagne.

The other lowered his voice, "I couldn’t figure out why Mr. Forrester took on such a small project and even personally subsidized millions, replacing all materials with the finest ones. Now I seem to understand something."

Harrison Rowe glanced at Sienna Thornton, who was chatting with other guests, and laughed, "Don’t go spreading rumors. If Mr. Forrester finds out you’re gossiping behind his back, he’ll definitely have you removed!"

This practically admitted that Simon Forrester once indeed had a relationship with Sienna Thornton and that Simon Forrester privately funded Sienna Thornton’s "Seaman’s Bistro" was also true.

The representative from the construction party, who loved gossip the most, chuckled and moved closer to inquire, "I heard Mr. Forrester takes on this project without charging a cent?"

Harrison Rowe smiled and took another sip of his champagne, neither confirming nor denying it.

"When your Mr. Forrester took on this project, the whole industry heard rumors early on. Everyone thought he must be desperate for money, taking on such a minor project out in the middle of nowhere," the representative from the construction party tutted, nodding towards Sienna Thornton standing not far away, his gaze oily with a smirk, "It’s fortunate to be a woman, isn’t it? Being pretty means plenty of men eager to do things for her..."

The construction workers, generally speaking, tend to be quite unsophisticated and often indulge in coarse talk. With Harrison Rowe’s temperament, he wouldn’t join their crude conversations, but he also wouldn’t stop them. However, hearing them badmouth Sienna Thornton like this, Harrison Rowe could no longer stay silent and sternly interrupted, "Hey, why do you have to speak so unpleasantly?"

Seeing the other’s surprise, he slightly eased his expression and lowered his voice, "Lawyer Thornton once helped Mr. Forrester with a very tricky case, get what I’m saying?"

The representative from the construction party chuckled and said no more, letting the matter rest.

On the other side, Maeve’s agent approached Sienna Thornton, saying that the media wanted to interview her and wanted to know the inspiration behind founding "Seaman’s Bistro." Sienna Thornton thought it was a good opportunity for publicity, so she agreed.

The small interview session was held in a corner of the garden, with Maeve busy preparing for the upcoming buffet lunch, while Sienna Thornton faced the interview alone.

She held a recorder decorated with various media logos in both hands, looking poised and smiling at the camera.

The reporter in the center first asked, "Mr. Thornton, have you considered entering the entertainment industry?"

Sienna Thornton smiled, "Not at all. I have other work, so I’ve never considered entering the entertainment industry."

Later, a reporter asked about the inspiration behind creating "Seaman’s Bistro," and Sienna Thornton said she hoped people in the north could also enjoy Southeast Asian leisure, which was the original intention and idea behind it.

Speaking of creativity, another reporter asked, "What’s the secret to having a leading figure in the architectural world, Mr. Simon Forrester, personally provide creative design for ’Seaman’s Bistro’?"

Facing the reporter’s suggestive question, Sienna Thornton maintained her composure and was about to answer "friendship support" when her gaze was caught by a tall figure at the entrance.

Simon Forrester was wearing a light blue American-style shirt, with the top two white buttons undone, the shirt hem tucked into his trousers, paired with khaki casual pants, a brown belt, and Chelsea boots of the same color as his pants.

Perhaps staying in The Northeast for more than half a year, his complexion seemed several shades paler than six months ago, exuding a youthful and appealing energy.