The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 571

Brandon's gaze paused for a brief moment.

"What's up, Mr. Crawley?"

Noticing Brandon staring blankly at the hospital, Harvey Ferber furrowed his brows and asked.

"It's nothing.” With a cool reply, Brandon shifted his gaze back to Harvey Ferber, "Did Mr. Ferber just arrive in Zenitha?"

"Yes, just hit the West district," Harvey Ferber said with a smile, "The cruise ship is temporarily docked at the port, having applied for a 12-hour layover. Everything's a bit rushed, so I hope you don’t mind the short notice, Mr. Crawley."

"It's all good." Brandon's voice remained cool, "Are you here on vacation, Mr. Ferber?"

The smile on Harvey Ferber's lips slowly faded, and his eyes cooled down too.

"Not really."

His voice was also muted, dropping the polite business facade and instead carrying an air of enigmatic distance, even a touch of chilliness.

An oddly familiar chilliness.

Brandon was reminded of the time when Sophia left him and was nowhere to be found, and when Kent asked about his personal matters, he received the same treatment. He couldn’t help but take another glance at Harvey Ferber.

Harvey Ferber had already concealed the momentary display of genuine emotion, his handsome face adopting a mask-like expression once more. With a smile, he gestured towards the scenic restaurant's private room: "Mr. Crawley, right this way, please."

“Thank you." Brandon reciprocated the politeness and followed his lead to take a seat in the private room.

When the menu was presented, Harvey Ferber brought the conversation back to the dock: "How come I've never heard about Starlight Group planning to expand into maritime shipping before?"

Clearly picking up right where they had left off.

"Company confidential, not convenient to disclose publicly," Brandon replied casually, taking a sip of tea before looking at Harvey Ferber, "But what about you, Mr. Ferber? What has suddenly sparked your interest in Aurora Wharf?"

The Ferber Group's headquarters had always been abroad, with their business activities overseas too, never having plans to expand domestically. A few years back, when Brandon's grandfather was still managing the company, he had considered selling Aurora Wharf, for reasons Harvey Ferber had pointed out—it wasn’t very useful to keep and could fetch a high price. Therefore, they had approached the Ferber Group for a possible collaboration but were turned down, as they had no plans for the domestic market at the time. Surprisingly, in just a few short years, the Ferber Group's attitude suddenly took a complete turnaround.

"The company is looking to expand domestically, and Aurora Wharf is an obvious choice," Harvey Ferber replied deftly.

Brandon looked at him: "The Ferber Group has focused on overseas business for decades. Why the sudden interest in the domestic market, especially when the timing seems less than ideal for entering domestic shipping and freight?”

Harvey Ferber just smiled, "The Ferber Group has its reasons."

And it was clear he had no intention to elaborate.

But from what Brandon knew, the Ferber Group's board was strongly against the idea of expanding into the domestic market at this time, and it was Harvey Ferber alone who, against all odds, pushed for this move, with motives unknown to everyone.

Seeing that Harvey Ferber didn't want to discuss deeper, Brandon simply returned a polite smile and didn't press further, nor did he intend to dig into this matter—it wasn't that important to him.

Today's meeting with Harvey Ferber was more about sounding each other out than anything else.

Indeed, Starlight Group had plans to utilize Aurora Wharf for shipping and freight development.

The future of logistics and freight would be an important direction for Starlight Group’s future development, and with Aurora Wharf in their hands, they needed to maintain absolute control.

Harvey Ferber also let out a laugh, "That's exactly why we can't cooperate purely by taking a share. West district is the Ferber Group's first step in the domestic market, and we need to keep an absolute control over the company."

Brandon nodded with a smile, "Understood."

He leisurely took a sip of his coffee, not looking to lock horns with Harvey Ferber on this topic any longer. His gaze had already drifted out to the vast open sea.

The weather was great today, the sky clear and the sea calm.

This stretch of water connected to Zion City.

Whenever Brandon saw the sea, he couldn't help but think of Sophia.

If she had truly sunk into the sea, then in those vast and boundless waters, endless and without sight of the shore, even if she wished to return home, she would be unable to find it, wouldn’t she?

Harvey Ferber saw the look of lost pain slowly creeping over Brandon's handsome face, and the moisture and mist slowly welling in his eyes. He couldn't help but glance out at the sea stretching outside the deck, then back at him, calling out, "Mr. Crawley?”

Brandon's expression shifted slightly, forcing himself to withdraw his gaze from the sea and look at Harvey Ferber.

"What kind of conditions would Mr. Crawley need to be willing to part with it?" Harvey Ferber asked, eyes on Brandon, his fingers lightly tapping the rim of his cup intermittently.

Just then, Kent's phone rang.