My Possessive CEO: Trembling in His Arms-Chapter 201: Marked by the Passage of Time

Five years have passed, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Renee Winslow snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, pushed open the car door, got out from the driver’s seat, walked around to the passenger side, and said in as calm a voice as possible, "Mr. Yates, we’ve arrived at your chosen location."

She handed the car keys to Jack Yates.

Jack Yates didn’t take them. He leaned back against the seat, his hands resting on his legs, his eyelids drooping, looking quite exhausted.

Just then, a flash of neon light swept over, illuminating his profound and stern face.

Only now did Renee notice that his hair had greyed at the temples.

Not just grey hair, upon closer inspection, the marks that time had left at the corners of his eyes were clearly visible.

Looking at Jack Yates’s face, which showed all the signs of aging, Renee felt a sting of bitterness in her heart, a suffocating discomfort.

Back then, this was a man full of vigor, capable of shouldering the world, seemingly stripped of his pride by time.

Renee chose not to ask how Jack had been these five years; such questions were not suitable between them.

For ordinary friends who reunite, certainly, they can smile and say, "Long time no see," and ask, "How have you been these years?"

But not for them; their best outcome was to pretend to be strangers.

Those three years felt like a fleeting, glamorous dream to her, and a nightmare she dared not recall when waking in the middle of the night.

Renee tossed the car keys inside, landing on Jack Yates’s thighs.

Without speaking, she turned around and left.

After she walked away, Jack Yates lifted his eyelids, his deep, cold eyes looking into the car’s rearview mirror.

Through the mirror, he watched Renee walk further and further away until her figure completely vanished, not once did she turn back.

She walked away resolutely, just like back then.

-

Renee did not dare to stop, nor did she dare to quicken her pace, trying her best to appear calm and composed, walking forward step by step.

Having walked far enough, she stopped, leaning against a bus stop sign, gulping air.

In these five years, she never thought of returning to Northcity.

She always remembered Jack Yates’s words, that if she left she should never come back, otherwise he would kill her.

She was unsure if his words were impulsive or carried genuine hatred.

She was indifferent to argue.

She only knew she no longer wanted to return to Jack Yates, no longer wanted to live that kind of life.

As for whether Jack would indeed kill her, it would all just depend on fate.

Her phone rang; it was Sylvia Carrington calling, Renee answered, "I’ve just finished dropping off, heading back to the hotel now."

Sylvia Carrington: "I’m not rushing you, I also just dropped Mr. Donovan off at the hotel."

Renee acknowledged with a sound: "Hmm."

Sylvia Carrington asked, "Earlier, Mr. Donovan asked me something; can you guess what?"

Renee felt a lurch inside but pretended to be calm, saying, "What."

Sylvia Carrington: "Mr. Donovan asked if I knew about you and The Third Young Master Yates."

-

In high school, Renee was closest to Sanga, and only had a regular classmate relationship with Sylvia Carrington, barely hanging out privately.

After graduating high school, she never contacted Sylvia Carrington.

Until the day before her college graduation when she was preparing to go abroad, by chance she met Sylvia Carrington at The Imperial Palace, that’s when they added each other as friends.

Later, she went abroad and occasionally contacted Sylvia Carrington.

As for Sanga, after that year, Sanga never contacted her again.

There were a few times she messaged Sanga, but Sanga never responded, and she stopped sending messages afterward.

Her once best friend simply faded out quietly.

This past year back, she repeatedly saw Sanga on television.

Sanga has now become quite a famous actor, though not top tier, has managed to enter the second and third tier, often seen on popular variety shows.

Once back at the hotel, Sylvia Carrington grabbed her and asked, "What’s going on, were you involved with The Third Young Master Yates back then?"

"Yes, we were together," Renee replied flatly.

Sylvia Carrington was surprised: "Oh my, you were with such a prominent figure! How long were you together?"

Renee: "Three years."

Sylvia Carrington widened her eyes: "Oh Renee, you hid it well!"

Renee silently curled her lips: "I didn’t intentionally keep it from you; when we met at The Imperial Palace, I had already broken up with him."

Sylvia Carrington nodded: "I understand, no blame intended."

Renee: "Hmm, I’m going to freshen up."

Sylvia Carrington’s curiosity remained unsatisfied, restlessly following.

"Renee," Sylvia Carrington followed to the bathroom, curiously asked, "how did you two meet back then?"

Renee squeezed toothpaste calmly: "Our school had an event, he was invited by the school leadership as a guest. I was in charge of hospitality, then we got together."

This lie she used before, now recycled again.

Sylvia Carrington tapped her shoulder: "To be able to date someone like The Third Young Master Yates, what a life well-lived!"

Renee chuckled: "Was he some kind of deity? How is it a life well-lived?"

Sylvia Carrington laughed: "He’s no deity, but better than one!"

Renee said nothing, head lowered brushing her teeth, the buzzing of the electric toothbrush echoed in the bathroom.

Sylvia Carrington, seeing Renee wasn’t convenient to speak while brushing, went on talking.

"The aerospace military equipment we are developing requires related materials, most produced by W&J company, W&J was founded by Jack Yates six years ago, and went public last year."

"You wouldn’t know, last fall, the photo of The Third Young Master ringing the bell at The Vertex got leaked, it took less than ten minutes to hit the news headlines, crashed Weibo, and flooded various short video platforms."

"However, after half an hour, his photo vanished across the internet, luckily I saved it quickly at the time."

Sylvia Carrington opened up Jack Yates’s photo from her album, enlarged it, and handed it to Renee to see.

Renee glanced indifferently, the man was dressed in a custom handcrafted suit, hair meticulously styled, wearing an expensive watch, exuding a distinguished and aloof aura, rendering him the most noticeable and honorable even amidst wealthy executives worth billions.

Sylvia Carrington retrieved her phone, continued: "I heard from Fenton, he is still a high-ranking descendant, with military ties, quite a mighty background."

Renee finished brushing her teeth, grabbed a face towel to wipe the foam from the corner of her mouth, looked toward Sylvia Carrington: "How about after I shower, we chat in bed?"

Sylvia Carrington laughed: "Go ahead, I’ll go back to my room to shower."

Renee was about to head to the shower when her phone on the bed rang.

Her clothes halfway off, she quickly put them back on, hurriedly answering the call.

"Hello."

The sound of a lighter igniting was heard on the line, followed by Jack Yates’s deep husky voice: "This year’s persimmons have grown well, big and sweet, do you want to try them?"