Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 356

“You know my brother-in-law, Miss Gu?”

Helen Gu smiled and gave the other woman a nod in answer to her question.

“We have known each other for years now.” She expanded on her answer as a gentle smile appeared on her face.

Turning away from the front door through which Reuben and the others had left, she focused her eyes on the couple standing next to her.

The man was tall and had broad shoulders, his black eyes had a hint of grey around the center of the irises and his nose was long and pointed.

Though it wasn’t too evident, the similarities present between the man who had stolen her heart from their college days and this man who stood before her was undeniable.

“Ohhh! So, Miss Gu and brother-in-law are friends!” The other woman who stood with her arm wrapped around the man’s waist chirped in excitement.

“Priscilla, let’s go. You need to head back to work as well.” He patted her head and coaxed her to leave with him rather than wasting time here.

‘Why does she insist on calling him that?’ The man sneered at his naive girlfriend who was trying to be respectful to someone who did not deserve it.

Priscilla Lin, the woman who had been speaking in a coquettish tone while clinging to her boyfriend pouted after hearing his words.

“But I wanna know who that woman with brother-in-law was!” She sulked and batted her eyelashes at him.

Helen Gu stood at the side and watched the interactions between the couple.

‘Senior Ming’s younger cousin is so affectionate with his girlfriend….’ She evaluated the scene unfolding right in front of her eyes.

The man, Reuben’s younger cousin, Mason Ming sighed and did not insist on taking his girlfriend, Priscilla Lin away any further.

If there was something she needed and he could provide her with it then there was no way that he would refuse her.

‘I will just treat it as though they are talking about a stranger.’ He shrugged and did not interfere any further.

Priscilla stood on her toes and reached out to kiss his cheek, a gesture he appreciated and accepted as a form of compensation.

She knew how much her boyfriend disliked and disdained his older cousin but for her, he was willing to do anything as long as she could be happy.

‘Mason will never say no to me!’ She smirked as her lips were still stuck to his cheek.

The sense of victory she had due to the power she held over him was her biggest asset, something she prided herself in obtaining over the years.

When she separated from him, she smiled at the man whose eyes were overflowing with gentle love and indulgence which was all for her and only her.

Helen Gu was once again doused with a bucket of dog food which she did not enjoy in the least bit.

Feeling Priscilla’s curious eyes on her, she adjusted her facial expressions and tried her best to smile.

“That lady next to Senior Ming was his… Girlfriend.” She whispered the last word of the sentence with great difficulty.

To admit that the man she had been in love with was now with another woman was the toughest thing she had to do.

She had long known that a man of his caliber would have many admirers and he did have too many to count.

She had prepared her heart for failure because of how perfect he was in her sight.

A perfect man deserved a woman worthy of his excellence, this was the only reason why she had never expressed her feelings for him.

However, even after all these years, the Queen of the socialites, Talia Zheng who was also his childhood friend had not succeeded in gaining his love and attention.

This made her wonder whether she could be the one who was worthy of his love.

The day she had mustered the courage to tell him how she felt was the day he brutally rejected her feelings and did not hesitate to draw that imaginary yet wide line between them.

She had not seen him in many months and when she did meet him, she met him with his girlfriend.

This was a massive blow to her heart and the bitterness was visible on her face.

Priscilla and Mason were stunned to hear this new information from her.

“Are you sure!?” Priscilla blurted out in surprise as she could not imagine that block of ice dating any girl.

The man next to her remained silent but the troubled waters visible in his eyes proved that he was also confused and stupefied after hearing this.

Helen frowned when she heard this, the doubt in Priscilla’s voice was enough to make her feel insulted.

‘I saw them act lovingly right before my eyes!’ She snarled but would not dare to speak up before the man who protected his girlfriend like a mama bear.

Thus, she put away the anger in her heart and explained the situation to them.

“I met Senior Ming when I had gone out to answer the phone call…” She began retelling the events that had taken place while she had left them alone in the room.

Helen had come over to this restaurant to discuss a business deal with this man, Reuben’s younger cousin.

Mason’s firm, ‘Monarch Holdings’ needed a new building due to its quick advancement in the business field.

The firm he owned did not produce any goods or provide any services but they owned stocks and shares of various businesses through which they earned good money.

Mason had contacted Helen to help him design a new building for their latest branch here in this city.

This was the reason why he and his girlfriend had come out to meet Helen Gu at this place, to talk about the contract over their meal.

Midway through the meal, Helen had received an urgent call and had stepped out to answer it.

She had then met Reuben on her way back to their private room.

“Senior Ming introduced that woman as his girlfriend and I don’t think that he was lying.” She concluded the entire description of the event.

Helen was unaware of the bad blood between Mason and his older cousin and hence did not hide anything that she had seen today.

‘So they have progressed much faster than I had expected…’ Mason pondered as he continued to remain silent throughout the entire conversation.

Before any of these women could have spotted Reuben, he was the first one who had caught sight of his cousin.

Not only did he know that the man walking away was his brother, but he was also aware of the woman who was next to him.

The last time he had seen his brother at the auction, he had walked away from him and towards that woman.

Mason had kept his grievances with his brother aside and approached him on that day only to be snubbed and avoided as Reuben rushed over to her side.

‘Today, he walked away from me while having her next to him.’ He gritted his teeth that this woman was gaining more importance in Reuben’s life.

If she was someone important to him then it was the younger brother’s duty to check her out once before things progressed any further.

‘Lina Yang… Looks like I have to give her a visit sometime soon.’ He smirked as he was well aware of the woman’s name and her personal information.