11 Does it taste the same?

 While Li Juan busied herself with the preparations of the journey, one week passed in a glimpse.

Their trip was arranged on the weekend before the new year holidays so that journey might not affect their work or the ceremonial holidays. 

As per the schedule, Tang Wei Sheng reached the private airport at the correct time and ardently searched for Li Juan, who had already arrived half an hour ago. 

"Boss, Miss Li informed me that she will be waiting near the check-in counter." Yang Xiong reminded his anxious boss.

Tang Wei Sheng nodded in agreement and strode towards the check-in counter.

"There she is," Yang Xiong pointed at the woman in a lonely corner of the waiting area, immersed herself in a book.

As soon as Tang Wei Sheng's eyes caught the sight of the gorgeous woman who dressed up in a style that is widely known as "an airport look", his face glowed up in happiness.

Li Juan wore a simple black bodycon dress with a beige trench coat and white sneakers. With her simple makeup and messy hair bun, she appeared effortlessly stylish. 

As he fixed his gaze on her, Tang Wei Sheng felt his heart thumping inside his ribcage, so fast and loud.

It was his first trip with Li Juan, where he had an opportunity to spend some quality time with her. While they were in school, he nearly had any chance to have a normal conversation with her.

"However, from today onwards, everything is going to change." Tang Wei Sheng repeated in his mind and confidently walked towards her.

But the moment he saw a man approaching Li Juan, he unknowingly halted his steps.

It was a man whom he could undoubtedly identify even in pitch darkness- Lee Tae Min. 

"Is he gonna tag along?" Tang Wei Sheng's mind went blank for a second.

 However, when he caught the couple being lovey-dovey right before him, the confused look on his face got replaced with fury.

Is it mere jealousy or the anger raised from possessiveness? He couldn't tell apart.

Whenever Tang Wei Sheng saw someone else, especially a man, being close to Li Juan and makes her smile, he always found himself struggling to control the raging fury inside him.

He loved to see her smile, but he hated to see someone else being the reason for her smile.

"She is mine...I should be the one who is responsible for her happiness." Tang Wei Sheng heard someone screaming inside his head. 

He was the young master of the Tang family, and there wasn't a moment of jealousy in his life.

 He had everything and was happy to share with others, but not his Sweetheart. 

Even if it is a friend, he couldn't bear to see Li Juan with another man.

"This boy and the way he looks her... it's strange.." Tang Wei Sheng mumbled as he kept scrutinizing Lee Tae Min, who stood beside Li Juan. 

When Lee Tae Min felt someone's gaze, he looked around and saw Tang Wei Sheng walking towards them. He quickly informed Li Juan, and both of them walked over with a smile. 

"It seems like Lee Tae Min is also joining us?" Tang Wei Sheng asked as soon as they exchanged greetings. 

"No. I came to drop Noona." Lee Tae Min casually replied. 

The instant his words entered Tang Wei Sheng's ears, the anxiety built up in his mind vanished without any trace. 

"Oh, it would've been nice if you joined us, researcher Lee." Tang Wei Sheng retorted even though he never wanted Lee Tae Min to tag along with them. 

"I would love to join, but professor will kick me out of the team if I close down the lab. Plus, I got some last-minute work." Lee Tae Min explained with a disappointed look.

"It's fine. I hope we will get another chance to work together." Tang Wei Sheng shared the words of comfort, hiding his joy. 

"Boss, we have to leave now." Yang Xiong looked at his watch and reminded them.

"Don't tire yourself out." Lee Tae Min reminded Li Juan as he picked up her bags. "And never miss your meals."

"Yaa, are you trying to be my mom?" Li Juan laughed at Lee Tae Min, who is treating her like a child moving out of her house for the first time. "It is not the first time I'm going for a site check."

"Call me if you need anything." He repeated without even listening to her words.

"Yeah, I will call you every morning and night. Is that fine?" She suggested to the young man who was still holding to the straps of her bag as if he was reluctant to send her off. 

"Hmm." He gave her an agreeing nod as he took a step away from her and turned to Tang Wei Sheng,

"Have a nice journey, CEO Tang."

"Tae Minah," Li Juan called his name when she suddenly recalled something and touched the seams of beige trench coat that covered her body.

"Don't you want your coat?" She asked and began to remove the trench coat.

"Noona, you deserve an award for being the dumbest genius ever born. Seriously who forgets to wear a sweater during winter?" Lee Tae Min grabbed her arms and stopped her actions.

"No matter how stylish your outfit is, you need to think about your health." He softly chided as he moved closer.

"I have sweaters in my bag. I am going to wear them when I reach there." Li Juan made an excuse. She never thought that the air conditioning in the waiting area was high enough to make her shiver.

"But still, you might need this in the flight. Keep it." Lee Tae Min adjusted the trench coat's position and secured it with a knot in a vague effort to hide her attractive curves from other's eyes.

The black suits her well!

When Lee Tae Min heard about the incident at ElleM mall from Cheng Tao, he felt so bad that he asked his mother, who owns a cloth brand, to send a dress for Li Juan.

 Even though Li Juan prefers T-shirts and jeans over dresses, she was a woman, and every woman will have space for a dress in their closet. But to his surprise, his mother sent clothes not just for Li Juan but also for his teammates.

"Now you look pretty!" He made a random comment and tapped Li Juan shoulder with a sunny smile.

"I should be going then. Bye Noona." Lee Tae Min threw his arms over her shoulders and hugged her before parting their ways.

"Miss Li, don't treat us like air!!!" Yang Xiong wanted to remind her when he saw the bitter look on Tang Wei Sheng's face.

"A single dog is standing beside you, and it is raging with jealousy." Yang Xiong felt like laughing. He has witnessed how girls throw themselves upon Tang Wei Sheng wherever he goes. But his gentleman boss never allowed anyone to cross the limits and kept romantic feelings out of his love.

But what happened to him now?

Tang Wei Sheng, who witnessed the couple's interactions, was on the verge of break down.

While Tae Min flaunted his extra clingy relation with Li Juan, Tang Wei Sheng almost felt like kicking the other one out of her life.

"Boss, shall we leave?" Yang Xiong tried to save his boss from the awkward situation.

"Yes." Tang Wei Sheng replied and walked forward without leaving Li Juan any other option but to obey him.

When Li Juan stepped inside the private plane, her big black eyes widened in amusement.

The interior of the flight reminded her of a well-decorated lobby of a high-class hotel.

A huge C shaped lounge seating was present on the left side, and the other side had two luxurious seats to enjoy the outdoor view.

"Please have a seat." The flight attendant suggested Li Juan, who appeared frozen in bewilderment.

While Tang Wei Sheng and Yang Xiong already occupied the window seats, Li Juan sat hesitantly on the lounge sofa.

"Why is he sitting there?" Li Juan was in doubt as she glanced over to Tang Wei Sheng's side. 

However, when she saw Yang Xiong taking out his ipad and some files from his bag, she immediately understood the reason behind the odd seating positions.

How can she forget that her senior Tang is the CEO of a giant corporation and she is the one who hitch-hiking their business trip?

Li Juan let out a sigh and cursed her ill-fate.

Apart from regular hi-bye chats, Li Juan never talked to Tang Wei Sheng when they were in the school. Everything she knew about him was from

Tang Wei Lan.

She thought that she finally got an opportunity to talk to him and give new definitions to their relationship. 

But look at the situation now?

Li Juan fretted in her mind as her gaze rested on Tang Wei Sheng's irresistibly handsome profile immersed in work.

Of course, men look good when they are working!!!

As she looked at him, Cheng Tao's remarks about their new investor flashed in her memory.

Well, Tang Wei Sheng was indeed handsome than any of the actors she had ever seen.

 Li Juan's eyes roamed around his face and eventually got stuck at Tang Wei Sheng's lips.

"The pair of thin rose lips look so kissable!!!!

Who will be lucky enough to get to taste his lips?"

Li Juan unknowingly asked in her head only to realize that her thoughts had gone wilder.

"Li Juan!!! Get a grip." She cursed inside and turned her eyes away from him.

She often listened to her classmates sharing their love stories and first kisses during the drinking sessions.

Since Li Juan had never been in a relationship, they always avoided discussing her steamy flings. 

However, no one knew that Li Juan, whom they treated as an unromantic person, shared her first kiss with a senior who happened to be the heartthrob of the entire school.

Suddenly Tang Wei Sheng turned his head, and their gazes tangled without even giving Li Juan a moment to revert her eyes from him.

"Do you need anything?" He asked monotonously.

"No." She replied in a low voice as she tried to hide that she was staring at him.

"Then you should try to get some sleep." He suggested and shifted his eyes back to the files.

"I...I have something to read." Even though she was dog tired, Li Juan came with a lame but apt excuse to stay awake.

 "How can she fall asleep when a Godly statue was sitting in front of her?

"Hmm." Tang Wei Sheng replied with a hum as he busied himself with work.

"What is wrong with him?" Li Juan wondered when she noticed his indifferent behaviour.

Tang Wei Sheng is known for his radiant behaviour - a happy soul who spreads positivity wherever he goes.

How can such a person being cold to his girl? How is that possible?

She had ten years worth of memories to share with him and all these years, she prayed for an opportunity to confess her true feelings.

To tell Tang Wei Sheng that she liked him from the very first day of their meeting.

 To tell him how she kept her crush a secret because of their differences.

To tell him how she lived happily with this unrequited feeling, even though she didn't stand a chance to stay next to him as a girlfriend.

While looking at him with a pair of glittering eyes, Li Juan's mind recited the truth which she hid deep inside her heart.

"Tang Wei Sheng, I like you."

Right at the moment, Tang Wei Sheng abruptly turned his head and gave her an agreeing smile.

What????????? Li Juan was left mortified when she saw his reaction.

Did she speak out loud? Or Does he know mind reading? While Li Juan wrecked her brain in confusion, Yang Xiong closed the documents and left his seat.

"I have to check the documents today itself," Tang Wei Sheng leaned towards her and spoke in a low voice as soon as his assistant left his vicinities. "I don't want to look at these boring things when I'm with you." He explained with a grin and an innocent twinkle in his eyes.

"Take...take...your time." Li Juan struggled to speak due to the overwhelming feeling that was surging inside her.

His explanation was enough to make her worries disappear. 

With a pleasant smile on her lips, Li Juan took out a book and reading glasses from her bag as she thought of making use of her free time.

She loosened the knot on her trenchcoat and sat comfortably on the couch.

As she partially opened the trenchcoat, a familiar fragrance swept across her olfactory senses.

"Is it cologne?" Li Juan pressed her nose into the collar of the trench coat to smell the fragrance.

 Since Lee Tae Min was sensitive to harsh smells, he always avoided colognes.

"Then how did this scent appeared on the coat?" But more than anything else, the thing which puzzled Li Juan was the familiar soothing sensation spreading over the mind.

The familiar soothing scent permeated around her, eventually evoked some blurred memories in her mind. 

It almost felt like Dejavu of someone.

A warm hug.

A caressing touch.

A soulful smile.

Even before Li Juan could recall anything else, the memory disappeared in a flash.

"Huh? What was that?" She wondered as she opened the book and buried her eyes on the pages.

However, within a few minutes, Li Juan slipped into a deep sleep due to exhaustion or perhaps due to the soothing scent.

As soon as Tang Wei Sheng wrapped his work, he enthusiastically turned towards Li Juan only to see the sleeping beauty on the couch.

"Do you want me to wake her?" Yang Xiong asked in a barely audible voice.

Tang Wei Sheng wobbled his head into a "No" and pointed to the other vacant side of the couch.

"Oh, then excuse me." Yang Xiong stood up from the seat and walked towards the lavatory.

When Tang Wei Sheng was left alone, he stood up from his seat and moved next to Li Juan.

 With his eyes glued to her sleepy face, he gently picked up the book lying open on her lap and kept it aside. 

She appeared serene, like the full moon of a silent spring night.

He raised his hand and carefully removed her thick black-rimmed glasses that rested on the tip of her nose.

Time has left beguiling changes on Li Juan and turned her into a beauty beyond any comparisons.

Her facial features have become sharp and prominent, like a perfectly sculpted statue, but for some reason, Tang Wei Sheng's gaze struggled to move away from her slightly plump lips.

She used no lip colour, yet a natural red hue glazed over Li Juan's velvety lips, just like how it was engraved in his memory seven years ago.

But does it taste the same?