10 Chapter 10

The tapping of her fingertips against the keys every time she added a new word on the digital sheet was the only sound on the four walls.

Renae, he sighed as he saw the time in the bottom right corner of his computer screen. The scheduled time was 7:45 p.m., it was there since I woke up in the morning, the last days before the launch of the magazine were the most demanding of the entire month.

In the last week, the work was filled with stress all over the place, from couriers to executives. Between content reviews and meetings with executives, at the end of the day, I always ended up tired, with headaches, and irritated. Normally, it would be her best friend who would cheer her up, make hot chocolate for both of them, and watch a movie on Netflix, unfortunately, Yusei was not in the country due to her new job as a mechanic for Yamaha's team in China.

The resigned sigh escaped from his lips as quickly as the irritation traveled through his body. It was these days that I hated the most and at the same time loved, a complicated feeling.

— Is that all Renae?—. The editor briefly looked at her assistant with a smile and nodded.

— Mn, go rest, tomorrow we have the last check before the release, I need you to be here as early as you can—. Renae, he pointed to the girl in front of her.

— Okay. I still have to get to prepare dinner for my brother, I'll go through the photos you asked me on the way—. His assistant stood up and began to pick up his things.

— Okay. Rest Emilia, see you tomorrow—. He said goodbye without taking his eyes off the computer monitor. Emilia frowned a little worried.

— You know, you should also go home, you don't have to stay until late, everything is ready, you only have to do some checks and that's it — he sighed— You're pushing yourself too hard, it's not that important, you know?

— Emilia, we're going to China in a few days, I still have things to do, I have to leave everything for Cassandra. Besides, I am about to finish; I shall be able to rest a little before we go.— Renae spoke normally, turning her attention to her work. In reality, he only sent a few emails informing his departure from the magazine, as well as finished reading all the emails of some collaborators, answering invitations.

Emilia watched her for a few more seconds before she walked to the door, then turned her eyes to her friend.— Ok, but don't go that late, or Yusei will kill me if you get sick, I don't want to deal with his bad mood when he gets to China.

— Don't worry, I'll just stay ten minutes longer and then go home

— Okay, so I'm leaving, see you tomorrow—. She finally said goodbye and closed the door behind her as she left. Renae continued on his own without paying any more attention.

Minutes later, he sent out the last mail, last reviewed the articles that would carry the magazine and made sure to back up all the material for any inconvenient they might have, then proceeded to open his Instagram and check his message tray, there wasn't any that would really interest him, just waiting for Ji Syaoran's response.

Nothing.

He sighed in resignation, put the chair back to his feet, and began to pick up his things, when all his belongings were in his backpack he hung it on his shoulder; He took his keys, turned off the lights, and left the office locked.

It was 9 o 'clock at night, it had been a long day.

He walked down the semi-empty aisle, in the building, only a few employees were covering the evening shift, whose departure was until 10 PM, also the cleaning employees who started their activities on the upper floors, because these should already be empty.

— Renae!—. He greeted a boy practically his age with a smile on his face, dressed between casual and formal. Their name was Patrick, a foreign photographer who was currently working with them. The girl stopped to greet him.

— Patrick, what's the matter?

— Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to see some pictures with you —. He asked taking a portfolio out of his bag.

— Mmm... I was about to leave, but of course, if it's very necessary I can't refuse, can I?—. Patrick laughed a little. She smiled at him and they both returned down the hallway to the publisher's office.

She invited him to sit down while she turned the desk to sit in the chair she had vacated earlier. Patrick gave her a portfolio of photos to review. Once it was in their hands, the young woman examined them thoroughly.

The photographs were only for the magazine's website, in a few weeks there would be an article about Asian fashion and its influence on other countries like Latin America.

For that article, Patrick had to photograph many models with the most popular clothing among young people in Asia, including some garments worn by Asian celebrities.

Obviously, they had used Asian as well as Latin American models, this was more the decision of their superiors and Patrick himself.

The only thing they expected was not to have too many problems by not including models of large sizes.

— I base myself more on beauty standards in Asia, so... I hope I have no complaints

—I don't think so. I understand your decision. The photos seem great to me, I liked the backgrounds with jacarandas and cherry trees. It's cute.

— Thanks. So which ones will you add?

— Mmm... —. She made a thoughtful sound as he browsed through the pages with the photos. Patrick, I wait quietly.— I think I will use amendments nos 3, 5, 7, 13, 18, 23, 27, and 31.

— Okay.

— Thanks, Patrick—. He wrote down the Numbers of the photos on a postick and returned the portfolio to the photographer.

— You're welcome—. He kept the portfolio in his bag with his digital camera. Then she got up and waited for her colleague to do the same to leave the office.

Once outside, they walked to the elevator, wrapped in trivial talk. Patrick had been in the magazine for a few months, and his photos were very popular with consumers of the magazine, he was a quiet, friendly, and outgoing man. He talked so much that he used to have problems with one of the executives of the publication.

Patrick and Renae had a nice friendship since they met. Even though there were certain reservations between them to avoid problems such as rumors in the corridors. He had enough, by dealing with the rumors about his' friendly 'relationship with the sales executive.

Although it was probably due to the arrogant and womanizing reputation of the aforementioned.

They said goodbye at the entrance of the building, she took public transport and Leo took a taxi. On the way, Renae sent some messages to her mother in case she needed anything, and the other messages were directed to her contact in China, informing her arrival time and day.

To tell the truth, she was a little nervous, leaving her country indefinitely filled her with nostalgia, more than anything because she would have to be away from her family and that was what weighed most on her chest.

He grew up in a big and close family they had some conflicts but they tried to resolve them as quickly and as best as possible. I would certainly miss that warmth when I moved to China.

Without further thought, he searched his phone for the playlist he always heard on the way, put on his headphones, and looked through the glass at the moving landscape of the city.

In a few minutes, he would be home.

…..

When he got to his apartment he left his backpack on the coat stand by the door, took off his shoes, and went to bed. Before going to sleep he saw the time on his phone, it was 11:30 PM so in China it must have been around 1:30 PM.

Probably Ji Syaoran would be at this time in his practice for the next competition.

Their dreams were strange, somehow it was synchronized with Syaoran's dream, even though they were in different countries and had a different schedule. Ji Syaoran had told her that he would wake up just at 3 in the morning, every night without fault, and in her, it was exactly the same, the dreams of both were strange.

He still didn't understand very well why his synchronized dreams, considering the amount of hours difference between the two countries.

It just didn't make sense, but by now, I wasn't even paying much attention to it.

He made sure the alarm was on by the next day. He settled down on the mattress; He put out the lamp next to him and closed his eyes, sleeping immediately.

….

She woke up in the same scenario as always, but she was lying on the floor, there were no people around her like the previous dreams, only her and apparently Ji Syaoran.

— All right?—. Syaoran caught his attention with that usual indulgent tone of voice. She turned around to see him face to face finding his look immediately, she kept looking at his face for the next few minutes, detailing his features in his mind, he was an attractive boy but probably what she liked most about him, were the very varied expressions in him and the way in his nose he curled up a little when he laughed.

Ji Syaoran, I await your answer in complete silence, nervous but not uncomfortable. She smiled and said:—Yes, all right. Today I had some meetings to review the result of the whole month of work, in a few days the magazine will be published so I have a little less work but a lot of pressure why I must leave everything for the next editor.

— Okay. And when do you arrive in China?

— Next week, Wednesday. I had planned to arrive earlier but I have some pending issues with my family that I must sort out.— He explained calmly.

Before leaving, he needed to make sure that his family was in the best possible condition, the house he had bought was already practically furnished, only a few things were missing so that they could occupy it, they would give him the keys these days, so he wanted to leave his mother and brothers installed in his new home so he could go more calmly.

He also had to make sure to leave his pets in the new house, and hand over the keys to the apartment he occupied, so he still had some things to do.

—I think I know who you are.— He suddenly released Ji Syaoran. The girl looked at him in amazement, even though she would probably miss Syaoran for the moment.

— Really?— Renae got up so quickly that he made his companion laugh.

— Yes, today I could remember some things from my previous dreams, I think when Harper's bazaar's charity show arrives I will know perfectly well who you are.

— That would be great! She hugged him heartily. Ji Syaoran laughed when he felt all the weight of the girl on him.

— Yeah—. Syaoran smiled, even more, when the face of the girl she had dreamed of for so long revealed itself before her eyes like a painting in an art exhibition. His brown eyes shone with the little light of the open place. Her eyebrows and thick but sharp eyelashes made her an extremely beautiful woman.

— What? What are you thinking about?

—Nothing, I just can't wait to see you.— He whispered without removing the smile on his face, at the same time sliding his fingers over the girl's cheek over him.

— I too, although it may not be such a good idea to meet in person, I can put up with your nonsense in dreams because in the end most of them I will forget when I wake up but if I know you in person I may not be able to forget what comes out of your mouth

— what? So I'm upset?

— yeah—. The boy frowned with feigned annoyance but the trail of diversion in his eyes remained in them.

— Too much

— Well, you don't stay behind, you're very upset, but I'll let it pass if you're cute

— Hey! Rude!—. She complained pretending to be offended just as he did moments before.

The two young men remained silent, sharing affectionate looks and soft smiles. Ji Syaoran was enchanted by his partner's eyes.

Time did not have a normal flow since the two had met through their dreams, it always seemed eternal when they Shared those moments in the silence of the place and the warmth of another.

Their day could be the worst, but they knew that when they found themselves in that dream world, everything improved considerably.

They hoped that feeling would last, even when they finally met in person.

— And how was your day?—. Renae asked, rising to sit next to her, Ji Syaoran followed her with his eyes still in her comfortable position.

— Well, there wasn't too much movement, although it was fun to see how Sheng-Gē and Lay-Gē had a career after the day's practice. Wang Tian was so angry that he did not kick out of the place.

— Why?

— Because we should not use the motorcycles of the exhibition for 'children's games'

— Well, I partly understand...

— Yes, I told him not to, because if they get damaged, we will have problems with the sponsors. And how was your day?

— Busy and tedious. I've told you a little bit before

— I guess

—Mm. But all right

They talked a little more before the dream ended. The girl stood up and shook her pants, Ji Syaoran sat on the floor.

This would probably be one of the last dreams they would share before they met in person and that made them quite nervous, but at the same time happy.