A few days later.

A woman sat behind a newly furnished desk that was sent in a day or two ago. It was filled with little objects here and there in the drawers, but the surface contained a sole file organizer, pen holder, abstract lamp, and a computer where hands consistently flew over its keyboard. A large stack of documents was sitting a few inches away from the computer, all of which was read, circled, noted, and a few lucky ones were approved and signed by her. It had been a little over a week since she began her position here, but oddly enough, the tasks performed felt familiar. Perhaps it was because she used to frequently accompany her grandfather as a consultant, but nothing felt new. It was like she took a break off of this job and then came back a few months later.

historical

A soft knock sounded on her door and without glancing up from the screen, she said: "Come in." A pair of heels clicked upon the off-white grey tiles that were newly waxed when she had the entire place redecorated. Her grandfather liked his office to be a nice blend of vintage and modern compromise, but she enjoyed an open layout plan with subtle hints of contemporary furniture and decorations.

"President Zhao, here is the afternoon decaffeinated tea that you’ve requested." A slender hand placed down a coaster before resting the heat-insulated mug on top of it. "The young lady to whom you invited yesterday just arrived. She’s currently waiting in the lounge room. Shall we have her sent to you?"

Zhao Lifei was too immersed in her work to notice that a few hours had already passed. Her eyes strayed to the wooden block on her desk which was actually a clock and miniature calendar. It was well into the afternoon. How had she not realized this?

"That’s alright. She has already come a long way to reach here. I will go and see her." Zhao Lifei closed the laptop and placed a hand upon the small pile of files she had separated from her larger stack.

"These are the approved ones. Make sure it’s run through with the attorney for a final look over." She turned to the larger category, "These are the rejected ones. I wrote the suggestions and problems on the margins. Luckily, they have learned from their mistakes last time and didn’t make the same ones, so it’s only minor issues. Please send it to the departments, then have my personal team look at it before it’s given to the Head Attorney, then lastly, me."

Zhao Lifei stood up from her desk and walked with her secretary to the door. She had a stack of files in her hands. It was a miracle that her slender arms were able to hold so much paper without falling.

Zhao Lifei took half of the stack and walked with her to the desk outside of the office, where the secretary sat. After placing it down, she was prepared to leave before pausing. "Has my next meeting been confirmed?"

After placing her stack down as well, Su Meixiu raised her head and nodded, a bright smile on her face. "Yes, of course, President."

"Good. My guest will accompany me to today’s meeting." Zhao Lifei said before heading in the direction of the large and comfortable lounge room. A young girl was sitting on the couch, nibbling away on the cookies and tea brought out for her.

"Yunai—"

Ling Yunai didn’t wait for Zhao Lifei to finish her sentence before placing the cookies onto the plate and hopping off the couch. She dashed Zhao Lifei and nearly collided into her. "I’ve missed you!" The girl said and luckily for Zhao Lifei, her reflexes were quick enough to dodge the bear hug.

"Careful or else you’ll hurt yourself." Zhao Lifei chuckled, bending down and carefully hugging the child. "It has been a while, hasn’t it?" She added on, ruffling the child’s hair.

"Ugh, too long for my liking." Ling Yunai spoke as if she was an adult and waved her hand like one as well. "I have exciting news to tell you." She added on, her eyes bright, dancing and flickering like the stars in the nebula.

"Oh? What is it?"

"My brother had allowed me to shadow him after-school, but it won’t be until next year — when my age finally becomes double digits. Mother and father aren’t taking it seriously as always, but I will prove them wrong with my diligence." Ling Yunai was usually a quiet, but fussy and spoiled child who showed no regards to adults.

Zhao Lifei knew this much about her but was grateful that Yunai had trusted her enough to ramble without a second thought. It was very endearing and she was glad the child didn’t let the negative opinions affect her. "That’s a lovely surprise to hear."

Ling Yunai bobbed her head, grabbing Zhao Lifei’s hands. "He said it’s because he would like to see more women in charge in the business field and I agree with that. But it’s so strange, he said that the day after you became the President."

"Did he now?" Zhao Lifei smiled, walking with her towards the couch. Her brow raised in amusement when she realized only two cookies were remaining on the large plate. It was a wonder how a girl her size was able to gobble all of it down so quickly.

"Well, I have two surprises for you as well." Zhao Lifei adjusted Ling Yunai’s bangs and wondered if her future daughter would be as adoring as she was. "How would you like to come over to my office more often and accompany me in your spare time? We don’t have to wait until next year."

Ling Yunai let out a gasp of surprise before excitedly nodding her head. "I would like that."

"That way, you can catch your older brother off-guard and wow him with the skills acquired here. As a matter of fact, I have a meeting that’s going to start in thirty minutes. Would you like to sit and listen to me?" Seeing Ling Yunai behave this energetically was a lovely contrast to her in the hospital.

"Of course." Ling Yunai answered in a heartbeat before asking, "What is the second surprise?"

"What do you think about becoming a leading flower girl in three years?" Zhao Lifei’s question threw Ling Yunai off-guard. Her eyes briefly clouded with confusion before realization settled in.

"You’re getting married?" She asked, in awe that the most inspirational woman in her life was settling down.

"You can’t tell anyone I said this, but..." Zhao Lifei lowered her voice, "We’ve been married for a while already. It’s just, we haven’t held our ceremony yet."

"When will you hold it?" Ling Yunai excitedly asked, clasping her hands together.

"Hm, in three years when my children are capable of walking without tripping over their own two feet." Zhao Lifei answered, throwing another surprising curveball to Ling Yunai.

"Hehe, I think your children will be really pretty." Ling Yunai childishly said, finally revealing her younger side. "If you were their mother, I’m sure they would be raised well." Her eyes dropped to her hands before she sheepishly said, "You know... I don’t consider my parents to be actual parents."

Zhao Lifei’s face softened as she reached a hand out to Ling Yunai. "I was once in your shoes. My parents showed favoritism towards my younger sibling and never gave me the time of their day. Sometimes I wished they would spare me their attention, even if it’s the slightest bit."

Ling Yunai slowly nodded her head. "I wish they would properly guide me towards the path I want, instead of changing the course of my life. They want me to behave, speak, and act a certain way, but I don’t like that. It’s like they’re trying to shove a square into a hole meant for a circle."

"But you have your older brother, don’t you? He dotes on you." Zhao Lifei gently cupped Ling Yunai’s cheeks and gave them a slight squeeze. "I’m a really bad person to seek advice from, you know."

She tapped her on the nose, "But I think if your parents become overwhelmingly overbearing, it would be nice to sit down with them and have a proper conversation. If the problem snowballs, perhaps you can consider living with Ling Fulei and his significant other."

Zhao Lifei had received word a few days ago that Lu Minhong and Ling Fulei had taken their relationship to a different level and the two had moved into a large penthouse together. It was surprising news, but she took it quite well.

"Oh, I know him! Min-ge is really nice and he teaches me how to code!"

Su Meixiu walked into the lounge room with a tablet in hand. "President Zhao, the meeting will begin in ten minutes. Would you like to go there now?"

Zhao Lifei glanced at Ling Yunai whose eyes widened in excitement. "Yes, we’ll go there now." She stood up and helped Ling Yunai to her feet before whispering, "Don’t forget our promise, okay?"

"Our promise?" Ling Yunai asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, silly." Zhao Lifei chuckled, "You’re going to be the leading flower girl at my wedding, don’t you remember?"

"Wait, you were serious?" Ling Yunai happily grinned, her eyes twinkling with merit.

"Yes, of course."

"Then it’s a promise, as long as you don’t forget to invite me!" Ling Yunai stuck out her pinky.

Zhao Lifei let out a small laugh and hooked her pinky around the smaller one. "It’s a promise."