After an entire morning of keeping his head buried in next week’s documents, Huo Qiudong turned his attention towards his laptop where he was going to browse through this week’s meeting schedule. As requested by his boss, tomorrow will be the day they go through the interviews for many of the approved applicants.

His phone buzzed, indicating it was time for lunch, but he turned it off and ignored the urge to eat. By his standards, there was still a lot to be done. For example, finalizing the presentation slides for later on. It was already Sunday, yet he was at the office, clearly ignoring his boss’ orders to not work today.

His phone began buzzing again and thinking it was an alarm clock, he mindlessly clicked his phone without glancing at it. A few minutes passed and then a commotion could be heard outside of his office.

His left eye twitched, but he continued pressing the arrow button while reading the third presentation slide. "The projected revenue is..." He murmured to himself before a loud bang could be heard.

"Please, you can’t just trespass into the Vice President’s hallway like this--"

Another voice spoke up, "If you disturb him, the consequences will be grave!"

Huo Qiudong grounded his teeth, slamming his laptop shut and standing up. Who the hell was causing all this noise?!

His stomach grumbled and his hand itched to grab a cup of coffee. He was always frustrated whenever he was hungry. The lack of caffeine in his system was also not helping, especially the withdrawal he had been experiencing for the past four hours since he had been in the office. He was trying to lay off his reliance on coffee, but the slight headache he was experiencing made him second guess his decision.

"You can’t just have your bodyguards block us like this, even if you’re the President’s—"

"What is going on here?!" Huo Qiudong growled, slamming his office door open to reveal his employees being blocked by a barrier of men. None of these well-built men appeared to be struggling against the feeble attempts of the employees attempting to grab a stunning young woman. Her well-treated hair, healthy and shiny, was tied up today, with a few strands curled to frame her perfectly-shaped face. Feline eyes rimmed with a natural eyeshadow and liner shifted to him. He could see the shade lighten up, like the smile that broke out on her face.

"Qiuqiu!" Yang Ruqin widely smiled, hopping to him as if she didn’t create havoc in his hallways. Innocently, she skipped over to his side, her expensive little purse swinging off her delicate hands.

Any man would be overjoyed to see such a beautiful lady walking over to them, especially when she looked beyond excited at his presence.

Huo Qiudong wasn’t one of those men.

His lips tugged downwards at her spoilt behavior, his face scrunched into a scowl. He was in a foul mood since this morning after she didn’t return his calls. Being so inexperienced in relationships, he didn’t know she was playing a push-and-tug game to get him more interested in her. And little did the clutz know, he was already head-over-heels in love with her. Was it necessary to make him anxious and worry over her like this? She was simply too cruel. He swore the trait must’ve run in the Yang family.

"This behavior is unacceptable." He barked at her, his arms defiantly crossed when she came over to his side.

Yang Ruqin innocently tilted her head, her ponytail following the simple action. She widened her eyes and had the appearance of a puzzled little bunny. "What do you mean?" Batting her long lashes, her bottom lip jutted out into a small pout.

Huo Qiudong’s throat ran dry at her actions, but he was determined to stand his ground. Someone needed to discipline this rebellious rabbit and he was giving himself the honorable responsibility.

"It’s rude to storm into the office building and then create such a loud disturbance here." He reprimanded her with a rough voice whilst disregarding the way his heart skipped when her pout deepened.

"But, but... I didn’t storm into the office building." She revealed the keycard in her pale, soft hand. "Feifei gave this to me. It grants special access to the private elevator... It’s just... these employees were bullying me."

Her face turned glum and she might as well win an Oscar Award for her pitiful act. Staring at her feet as if he had wronged her, Huo Qiudong felt a twinge of guilt coarse through his veins. He felt accusing glares and raised his head to see his employees giving him pointed stares... in particular the men.

"What are you looking at? Get back to work!" He commanded. Startled that his scolding was turned to them, all of them scrambled off.

"And you, stop looking so pitiful." He pointed at Yang Ruqin who sniffled and reached out to grab the hemline of his suit, tugging at it.

"Don’t yell at me, I’m sensitive..."

Spoilt. This damn kid was spoiled rotten. Huo Qiudong began to understand why.

She went in for the kill.

Her head raised to reveal her moisten eyes that seemed to be shaking. She had the expression that the entire world had wronged her and there was no one on her side.

historical

Flustered by the unexpected display of emotions, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I-I’m not mad. Don’t cry."

Yang Ruqin dropped her head to hide her devious little smirk before lifting two arms out for him. "Hug." She demanded and he easily gave in to her, enveloping her in his arms, giving her back small pats.

’Young Miss... you’re so cruel.’ Her bodyguards thought to themselves, sharing glances. They had accompanied her since she was a child and had watched her grow up to become the sneaky little woman she was today.

"I saw that."

"S-saw what?"

He pulled back a bit from the hug and raised a hand. "The smirk." And without warning, flicked her on the forehead, earning a yell of protest.

"That hurt!" Yang Ruqin huffed, glaring daggers at him. She tried to ignore the hand that was still laying dormant on her back. She tried to ignore the rapid beating of her heart or the way his hand seemed to perfectly fit there.

"Maybe if you didn’t try to guilt-trip me, I wouldn’t have flicked you."

"W-well... I-I just wanted a hug."

"You could’ve politely asked."

"But you’d hug me tighter if I was crying."

"..." Huo Qiudong’s lips thinned at her words. Indeed, he hugged her extra tight this time because she behaved like she was on the verge of tears. "Don’t do that again."

"Do what?"

"Act like a brat."

"I am a brat." Yang Ruqin shamelessly said, smiling up at him like she did nothing wrong.

Huo Qiudong knew he was getting himself into trouble by falling helplessly in love with a woman of her status. He tried to detach himself from her, but every time he tried to do so, he would find himself with a phone in hand, smiling like a fool when she texted him out of the blue.

He raised his head and glanced at the bodyguards whose murderous glares could be felt through their tinted sunglasses. Neither of them enjoyed the flick he gave to their Young Miss. He was surprised they didn’t pull a gun on him for doing that.

Unbeknownst to Huo Qiudong, Yang Ruqin had given them orders to never do anything to him.

Not wanting so many prying eyes on them, Huo Qiudong grabbed her wrist and dragged her into his spacious office, slamming the door on their faces and then locking it before they could enter.

Yang Ruqin’s head snapped to the door when she heard the click of the lock. "What are you doing--" She swirled her head around, jumping upon realizing how close he was to her. Her heart raced, picking up more speed than it previously did.

Their faces were only inches apart. She could see the details of his piercing eyes, the sharp folds of onyx black. They were as beautiful as obsidian gemstone, clear and overwhelming. He was not pleased.

She found herself taking tiny steps backward until she felt the door on her back. He didn’t give her a chance to escape before slamming his hands on either side of her head, caging her in.

"What are we?" He demanded in a rough, commanding tone that made her anxious but excited for no apparent reason.

Yang Ruqin gulped. He looked even more handsome when he was provoked like this. The shadow overcoming his face highlighted his sharp features. When angered, his eyes turned an incredibly dark shade of black, so beautiful, she could practically see herself within them.