36 Clothes

The next day, Chen Kaori was taking longer to pick out clothes from her wardrobe.

Before they clocked out the day before, Bei Yang emphasized again and again that they will be meeting a huge company. He ordered them to be their best selves to impress the client.

Chen Kaori sighed as her clothes were sprawled on her bed.

She looked back in her closet and tilted her head to better look into a box which the hanged clothes previously covered. She took it out of the closet, placed on the carpet and sat before it.

She took a deep breath and had a wry smile as she took off the lid. She took the cream-colored blazer and the matching pants from the box and spread them on the carpet. Then she took out the tan knitted high-neck inner blouse it came with.

When she was still in H&B, He Zifeng sent her this set of outfit for their collaboration meeting with a perfume company overseas. However, she never had the chance to wear it as they had to come back to the office immediately for an emergency. The collaboration still happened, but it was Wang Zihan, their high school classmate and now international model, who helped He Zifeng make amends with the perfume company CEO. Wang Zihan even became the endorser for the product collaboration.

Chen Kaori sighed and stood up to check the outfit on herself in front of the mirror. Then she forced herself to smile and started to change her clothes.

Before she put on the blazer, she sat before her vanity mirror and started putting on makeup. If she needs to dress up, it is only proper to do makeup. She picked out earthy shades and her lipstick was on the nude shade. Satisfied with her look, she pulled her hair into a low bun. Then she grabbed her handbag and folders, wore closed heels and went out her door.

.

He Zifeng looked at himself in the full-body mirror in his closet. He wore a white crisply ironed shirt and a pair of dark blue pants with a brown belt with a shiny silver buckle. He rolled out the tie he picked out to wear today. He stared at the pattern and his expression turned gloomy. It was Chen Kaori's gift for his birthday the previous year. He kept his birthday a secret to almost everyone in the company and the HR was asked to keep mum about it, thus only Chen Kaori looked more gleeful than usual on his special day. Every year she would celebrate with his family. Every year, she would prepare a gift for him, and it was the first time she gave something a bit more intimate than thermal cups and soap dishes.

He Zifeng gently caressed the fabric of the tie, his fingers running along the blue gradient patterns. He remembered how Chen Kaori excitedly explained her gift that the lines look like falling stars.

'Was it her last attempt to know if I had fallen for her?' he thought.

He still could not believe that she just left him, as if she forgot all her confessions to him. He smiled bitterly. Whenever he tried to make a move on her, or tell anyone that she is his woman, people always try to hurt her.

It was hard for him to pretend to ignore her, to be cold to her. He wanted her to stay by his side, but he needed to keep a distance. Now, she truly distanced herself from him, and successfully stepped out of his world.

He Zifeng furrowed his brows and started tying the tie around his neck. He pulled down his shirt collar in place, then put on the matching dark blue suit.

He looked back into the mirror and adjusted his tie and put out his pokerface.

He will be meeting Chen Kaori today. He wondered what her reaction will be. He took deep breaths to calm himself.

He put on his brown Oxfords then went out his door.