How Can Two People From Different Sides Ever Fall in Love? - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

◎ She thought only equals possessed the desire to win ◎

The doorway was empty, save for a single voice. Silver catapulted out of her chair in a flash, but after seeing clearly who it was, she patted her chest and spoke in a tone of a survivor: “It’s you…”

Remembering this person’s office and worried he might press further, she swallowed the following “You gave me a fright.”

Raven was a few seconds behind Silver.

He had also frozen for an instant upon hearing the voice, but after recovering, he remained unhurried. He waited for the person to appear before standing up to greet him with a smile, smoothly blocking any inquiry the man might have for Silver: “The Secretary-General is back. Your business trip must have been exhausting.”

“You all are even more exhausted. You must have been swamped these past few days.”

The Secretary-General Raven referred to Voye Auvergne stood at the door in a tailored black suit, smiling amiably.

There were no reference objects around him; his crisp, well-fitting clothes accentuated a defined waist and long legs, making him look like a tall, upright poplar tree.

The gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose highlighted his intellect. His facial features, which could only be described as decent, were forcibly elevated by his aura.

Beneath the lenses, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes revealed a personality that loved to laugh.

Knock, knock.

Voye gave two symbolic knocks on the door. After receiving an “Enter” in response, he slowly walked toward Raven. As he drew closer, the height difference became apparent.

Seeing this, Silver’s eyelid twitched. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she noticed that as Voye walked, he kept craning his neck upward.

In the span of a breath, his neck and shoulders seemed to have stiffened by several degrees.

She thought only equals possessed the desire to win.

In truth, Voye wasn’t short; it was just that Raven was so tall he effortlessly surpassed him by half a head.

If Hollis were present, the contrast would be even more brutal.

“What were you chatting about just now? It was so lively.” Voye had accompanied Verdi for many years, and he had inevitably picked up the Chairman’s habits. The moment he spoke, one couldn’t help but hallucinate that the Chairman’s double had arrived.

Against a double, Silver felt no need for fear.

Not only was she unafraid, she heartlessly pointed at the hand Voye was hiding behind his back: “Lord Secretary-General, back from your trip again—what good things did you bring to broaden our horizons?”

It had become common knowledge among colleagues that Voye occasionally brought back souvenirs from his business trips.

Seeing one of his hands empty and the other mysteriously hidden behind his back, Silver knew he had come “prepared,” so she cracked the joke without any burden.

“Oh dear, you caught me.” Voye laughed good-naturedly, a few more fine lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. “Are you sure it’s something I brought back from a trip, and not a new task assigned by the Chairman?”

Silver cooperatively played along with his performance: “Really? Did I guess wrong? Then be a saint and don’t tell the Great Chairman on me.”

Raven stood between the two, smiling as he watched their clumsy acting.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” Voye revealed the hand hidden behind his back and handed the items to Raven, who was closest to him. “I brought some souvenirs back before returning, but I didn’t see you at your original workstations. I remembered you’ve taken on the Art Week task recently, so you must have moved offices.”

In the past, Art Week was handled by the two parties in rotation. During the previous rounds when it was the People’s Rationality Party’s turn, Voye was always present, and his status was never low.

Colleagues had privately speculated that as Verdi’s hand-picked right-hand man, Voye might very well be his successor in the future.

This year, it unexpectedly turned into a cross-party cooperation, and Voye was coincidentally sent on a business trip, missing the recent cross-party consultation meeting.

Unexpectedly, upon his return, the cooked duck had flown into someone else’s arms.

Humans are not saints; it was hard to say he wouldn’t hold a grudge.

However, the adult world requires maintaining basic decency to avoid tearing off the mask in person.

“Thank you for the trouble. Not forgetting to bring us gifts after such a long trip.” Raven had no intention of sparking a dispute. He accepted them with a smile, but his expression faltered imperceptibly when he saw the quantity in his hand.

Silver continued to be heartless, curiously reaching out to rummage through Raven’s hands: “What is it, what is it? At least let me have a look!”

Voye watched the scene with a smile: “It’s chocolate. If I recall correctly, Silver seems to be allergic to some nuts. I specifically chose one without nuts; I hope you like it.”

“Whoa!” Silver’s eyes lit up, her excitement overflowing as she reached out to snatch her portion of the gift. “Thank you, Secretary-General! It’s kind of you to remember!”

Raven spread his hands, letting Silver snatch all the chocolates.

Once the gift was in hand, Silver’s reaction was the same as Raven’s, but she expressed it directly: “Three portions?”

Voye was thorough to the end: “On my way here, I heard a new colleague joined. Why don’t I see him?”

Saying this, Voye looked around everywhere, as if planning to find the “new colleague’s” hiding spot in an office that could be scanned in a single glance.

“He’s out on leave. I’ll tell him when he gets back.” Raven spoke up at the right time to avoid the Secretary-General performing a monologue.

“What a shame,” Voye said regretfully. “I thought I’d see the legendary Twin Stars united.”

Raven did not expose him.

Whenever anyone returns from a trip, the first thing they do is report the work situation to the leader.

Hollis’s leave slip not only had to pass through Raven’s hands but ultimately required the Chairman’s approval. Coming from the Chairman’s office, it was impossible for Voye not to know that Hollis was on leave.

The mastermind behind his visit today was likely Verdi.

Only Silver was blinded by the sugar-coated bullets, still cheering “The Secretary-General is so thoughtful” and even comforting him not to worry—there was still time before Art Week, and there would be plenty of opportunities to see the legendary Twin Stars unite in the future.

“I didn’t expect them to arrange for Councilor Lancelot to come over,” Voye shook his head with a smile, his gaze somewhat meaningful. “I thought it would be…”

Silver asked curiously: “Who did the Secretary-General think it would be?”

“Oh dear,” Voye looked distressed, as if blaming himself for accidentally letting his inner thoughts slip.

“It’s hard to say. In the end, it’s just my personal guess. After all, whenever there were matters between the two parties in the past, Councilor Harry was always arranged to handle the negotiations.”

Harry Montpellier, a Dawn Party councilor, was several years older than Voye, but because he switched careers midway, he ended up in the same intake as Voye, who was younger.

Hearing the name “Harry,” Raven was somewhat surprised.

As peers of the same intake, Voye now held the key position of Secretary-General, and Harry’s position was no lower than that.

Even putting aside positions after all, there are plenty of people who can’t get promoted for decades—if Harry, who was several years older than Voye, were seconded here, this “senior among seniors” might end up leading or being led in a confusing way.

For Voye to mention this name now was truly a bit abrupt.

Unless he had believed from the start that this task would be in his own grasp—and as for who the Dawn Party would send, if someone of equivalent rank and the same intake like Harry fought for it.

But were these two really on such good terms?

Good enough that now, with the matter settled and Voye sent here by order, he would say such ambiguous things—acting as if he viewed Harry as a brother in misfortune, specifically speaking out against the perceived injustice for him.

Raven’s brow furrowed and then smoothed; he stopped himself from digging further.

As long as it didn’t affect work, knowing too much wasn’t a good thing.

He let out a faint sigh, appearing oblivious to everything, and sighed with innocent wonder: “The world is fickle. Until the final moment, who knows what the outcome will be.”

Voye exchanged a few casual pleasantries and left as hurriedly as he had arrived. Raven and Silver watched his figure disappear.

Silver, who had nearly caused an office disaster earlier, had learned to be smart this time. She leaned toward Raven and whispered: “He’s gone just like that?”

Raven had already pulled out his chair to sit. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow: “Did you want to keep him for a casual meal?”

Silver first gave Raven a look of “daggers.”

Feeling a bit more refreshed, Silver picked out the piece of chocolate that suited her best, and handed the remaining two stacked together to Raven: “Take them!”

She conveniently taught Raven a lesson in returning good for evil: “Although it’s not written on the packaging, based on my excellent, police-dog-like sense of smell, it should be cinnamon flavored.”

Raven instinctively took them, but before the chocolates could even get warm, he placed them side-by-side and corner-to-corner on the desk, pushing them back to Silver as tuition for teaching the fine virtue: “Since you like them, you can have them all.”

Silver reached out to block the chocolates, rejecting Raven’s borrowed-gift courtesy: “How am I the only one who likes them? Besides, you could just give me yours; why make a decision for Mr. Lancelot?”

Raven took the opportunity to let go, the two chocolates landing in Silver’s hand: “When your Mr. Lancelot returns, you can give them to him yourself.”

Silver was so angry she blew out her non-existent mustache: “How can you be like this? What’s the harm in you giving them?”

“And what’s the harm in you giving them?”

Silver: “…”

“You’re so annoying, Raven Griffith!” Silver angrily tossed the three chocolates onto the desk, her arms crossed, her cheeks puffed up, though she wasn’t smiling.

“You two argued like that last week, and now such a perfect opportunity to break the ice has arrived, yet you don’t cherish it at all!” Silver’s good intentions were wasted. Her cheeks rounded out; she was practically a pufferfish with rage.

She said in frustration: “We are a team. Only by getting along harmoniously can we achieve twice the result with half the effort. Clearly two very good people—can’t you take this chance to get along well and become good friends in the future?”

Raven couldn’t understand why Silver was working so hard today, insisting on matching him and Hollis to become friends.

Moreover, since when had she become so close to Hollis? Throughout the morning, not only did every third sentence mention Hollis, but it was almost entirely praise. She had been so afraid before, yet today she was a completely different person.

“Thank you for the affirmation,” Raven politely thanked Silver for her praise of his character. “But I have a doubt; may I ask your advice?”

Silver tilted her chin, granting him the opportunity to ask.

“Madam, do you admire him so much to the point of referring to him as ‘Mr.’ even when talking about him privately?”

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