6 THE REMINDER

On the walk from the reception to the elevator, many things floated around Xuan Tianmei's mind. She had misgivings about getting a job interview through Shen Rui. She was anxious about the interview. She would meet her half-brother.

Would he resemble herself and Xuan Tianyi? Would he turn out like that creep who wanted to give her a job in exchange for sexual favors?

Although nothing was inherently amusing about a lecherous sexual offer, Xuan Tianmei almost laughed. It would be awkward to have her half-brother hit on her.

Exiting the elevator, she made a beeline for her half-brother's secretary's table. On the table sat a woman that she might have considered attractive, but for the heavy makeup on her face. As a passionate makeup artist, the sight of it made her heart bleed.

The secretary gave Xuan Tianmei a subtle look, then asked. "Miss, can I be of any assistance to you?"

Xuan Tianmei shifted uncomfortably. The atrocity on Zhang Lin's face made it difficult to speak. Managing a sentence, she said, "Xuan Tianmei. For--Mr. Hua Zhendan."

At that, Zhang Lin's initial subtle look became a curious one. Hua Zhendan had asked her to enter the name in his schedule the previous day. As she hadn't recognized the name, she had done a background search. The name wasn't affiliated with any important company or person. And no woman unaffiliated with an important company had ever visited her boss' office. Perhaps, the visit was personal. After all, she had never seen Hua Zhendan with a woman he wasn't doing business with. Perhaps, Xuan Tianmei was that woman.

Clearing her throat, Zhang Lin muttered, "For the records, miss. May I ask your business with him?"

Xuan Tianmei nodded. "I'm here for an interview."

Zhang Lin grew all the more suspicious. Hua Zhendan never conducted interviews. It matched neither his character nor his personality. Looking at nobodies and asking them questions. Still, Xuan Tianmei's name was on the schedule. Ignoring the urge to direct Xuan Tianmei either to HR or out of the building, Zhang Lin clicked a button on her desk and spoke into it. "Sir, your 9'o clock appointment is here. May I let her in?"

Hua Zhendan's reply came through seconds later. "Please do."

Zhang Lin gave Xuan Tianmei a fake, professional smile. "President Hua will see you now."

Xuan Tianmei gave Zhang Lin a strained smile. Not because she was aware of Zhang Lin's suspicions but because her anxiety had climbed a higher degree.

As Xuan Tianmei walked towards the door, Zhang Lin's eyes followed her. She had a theory and her mind wasn't fighting it. This girl was special to Hua Zhendan. She was his girlfriend. That had to mean that the company's president type was the plain Jane with cheap clothes and no makeup on. Shaking her head, she returned to her job on her desk.

From his desk, Hua Zhendan raised his head from his laptop and glanced at Xuan Tianmei as she walked into his office. Like it did the manager of the Tanghu Modelling Agency, her beautiful, slim, long legs instantly caught his attention. When Hua Zhendan looked at them however, he didn't imagine them wrapped around his neck. Instead, he imagined them in his company, having one hell of a career. It was hard to imagine someone with such beautiful legs would choose to be a makeup artist over being a model.

With a shake of his head, Hua Zhendan pushed the thought of asking her to model for him aside. He could easily find another girl with that kind of legs anyway. If however, perhaps by a stroke of luck, Hua Zhendan saw a guy he could adequately describe as the male version of the beauty sitting across from him, he would do everything in his power to make him a star.

He pointed to the chair opposite his table and she took it with a polite murmur of appreciation.

Hua Zhendan stared at Xuan Tianmei's face and frowned slightly. His frown wasn't because she had done something to displease him, his frown was because she had reminded him of the boy he had met a month prior on the eve of Spring Festival. The one who had given him pleasure, then pain. The one whose name he didn't know.

Xuan Tianmei didn't remind him of Xuan Tianyi because she looked like him--which he would soon find out she did. She reminded him of him because, like him, her face gave him a déjà vu.

Hua Zhendan opened the portfolio she had passed him and stared at it. He was personally interviewing her because Shen Rui had pleaded with him to do so. It was fishy that his makeup artist quit her job and his mother had called him thirty minutes later to recommend someone to him, but everything Shen Rui ever did was fishy.

Flipping through the pictures in the portfolio she had handed him, Hua Zhendan was impressed. She was quite good at her job. "What's your name?" he asked her.

"Xuan Tianmei," she replied, tense.

He shut the file of the portfolio and handed it over to her. With an expressionless face that made Xuan Tianmei skeptical about her chances, Hua Zhendan said, "Welcome to Shenhua's Modeling."

As Hua Zhendan had been stoic from start to end. It surprised her that he had indeed hired her. He hadn't asked for a degree like the HR Manager like the previous day or preyed on her. Her half-brother was a cold-faced CEO character and a gentleman. The perfect lead in a romance story. Shen Rui might be an awful person but she had raised him right. While smiling, she clutched the file that held her portfolio to her chest, she then bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you."

Staring at Xuan Tianmei's somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar face, Hua Zhendan's hand lingered over the buzzer that he usually used to call the attention of his secretary.

Deciding against that, he withdrew his hand from the top of the buzzer and propped himself up from his chair. "Come with me. I'll show you to your office."

"I have an office?" Xuan Tianmei's big, bright eyes widened in surprise as she stood up to follow him. Even models didn't have offices, yet she did.

"Of course, you do," Hua Zhendan said, feeling insulted. "This job is a nine to five job. You need an office."

Xuan Tianmei nodded in understanding.

Hua Zhendan strolled along a path that led to Xuan Tianmei's new office with her walking beside him.

Hua Zhendan continued, "Actually, makeup is a whole department here. A functional department, just like Accounting, or Marketing, or Finance."

He stopped at the front of a closed door and continued, "The only difference is you're currently the only person in this department. The body, head, and tail. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Xuan Tianmei nodded, excited.

Hua Zhendan pointed to the door and said, "HR will have a plaque with your name put on the door within a week."

Xuan Tianmei nodded again.

As Hua Zhendan held the knob of the door, he hesitated and said, "There's also one more difference between your department and the others..."

Xuan Tianmei listened attentively, but Hua Zhendan had finished talking. He opened the door and stepped aside to let her into her office. Just then, his phone rang.

He removed the cellphone from his pocket and after staring at the caller ID for a while, hesitantly picked up.

"Mum?" he spoke into the phone, waved Xuan Tianmei a goodbye out of politeness, then turned to walk away.

As Hua Zhendan left, Xuan Tianmei's stomach sank. She couldn't tell if she had gotten the job because she deserved it or because of her connection to Shen Rui.

Deciding she wouldn't dwell on her misgivings about her new job, Xuan Tianmei pushed open the door and stepped into the office. Her jaw dropped to the floor in amazement. The difference between her department and the others was now obvious to her.

While those other departments had offices with wooden tables and office chairs, her office had a mirror on the east side of the wall with a counter underneath it. A black sofa sat to the north of the room, and a piece of furniture that couldn't decide if it were a chair or a bed stood to the southwest. A bright baby pink color adorned the wall, and the floor had a soft, luxurious rug on it.

In Xuan Tianmei's eyes, this was no office. It was a beauty parlor. And the start of a new beginning Xuan Tianyi and herself deserved.

It was the start of a new beginning alright. Just not the one Xuan Tianmei imagined.

 ***

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