41 PATHETIC

As fleeting as the days could be, another Monday came.

Xue Guangxi whistled while driving his car to the office. He was in a good mood, in such a good morning.

'Life is good.' He sighed contentedly. 'Life is still good despite all the ups and downs. Just being alive is already a blessing.'

'Just having the opportunity to be torn into two choices is already a great blessing. Other people don't even have a choice.'

Although the field trip was some sort of an obligatory task and he joined out of sheer duty, nevertheless, it served him the most wanted vacation he had not had for a long while. As he had gotten far away from his usual everyday routine, his body and mind were able to take a break.

Rejuvenation seeped through his tissues and muscles after the two-day relaxation. Once in a while, his lips couldn't help but stretch into a huge smile whenever he was reminded of his little mistake of sleeping beside Sola and how she had 'beaten' her up supposedly.

"Hahahaha. As if she can beat me up to death." He rolled his eyes. He wasn't even repentant. "Who cares? It was just a small mistake, like a white lie. It's harmless."

Shamelessly, he put the memory on a loop inside his head, like how people would usually experience last song syndrome (LSS), but in his case, it was a very vivid clip of memory.

It brought instant euphoria to his otherwise mundane adult life.

However, at the back of his mind, the threat of a potential rift between them lurked in the shadows. Nevertheless, he decided to shrug it off for the time being. "Nah, our friendship is strong and stable. We've already gone through a lot."

His mind selectively disregarded the subtle rejection he just experienced under the midnight sky last Saturday night.

He grumbled and ranted a bit more. "I don't feel like going to work today."

When he saw a familiar form of a woman he hated to see waiting by his office, he drove away instead of pulling into XG Corp's open parking lot.

That same woman had sent him reminder text messages last Friday night for their scheduled meet-up appointment on Saturday. He didn't respond to any of those messages. He didn't even commit to that meet-up. It was purely the woman's intent, not his. After discerning the unwanted sender, he deleted the messages without any second thoughts.

And now, she came in person just to confront him! What a way to start a Monday and the week.

Without stopping the car, he connected his phone to his car's Bluetooth then called his business partner. "Yu Hua, isn't your meeting with Mr. Lim scheduled today?"

"Where do you plan to meet?"

"At his office downtown." Boomed a female voice from the other end of the line.

"Copy. I'll join the meeting." 

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, "Oh, I thought you couldn't make it today." Yu Hua's surprised voice resonated around Xue Guangxi's car.

"I changed my mind. Be there in a few minutes." He retorted in a neutral unperturbed tone. He's the boss, okay?

"Roger. See you, then."

He hung up the phone, then stepped on the gas.

Meanwhile, Su Jingjing kept on waiting in front of XG Corp. She pressed her palms together nervously. Both palms were sweaty from sheer uneasiness.

'I know I am being too bothersome but I need to do something proactively to convince him that I don't mean any harm and I come with good intentions. I've already wasted ten years of our lives in so much hatred. I need to step up and do something about it.' She fidgeted on her feet as she rubbed her damp palms together, head bowed down and eyes glued to the cemented ground, not looking.

'If I need to do this every single day, I would.'

She was lost in her little wishful world.

Today, the sun sat high and mighty in its place surrounded by the clear blue sky and some fluffy clouds. Flocks of birds crossed the horizons in groups. The day continued without consideration with anyone.

Aside from her palms, her scalp and forehead started sweating, as was her back. The sun mercilessly blazed its powerfully scorching heat to all the humans and their earthly possessions in the land. Her skin ached from its ruthless touch, but she endured. She chose to endure.

'I have to prove that I am patient and determined with my cause. When he sees me take the effort and initiative in all seriousness and sincerity, I'm sure he'll realize I have a good side too.' She nodded. 'I'm sure he will.'

She fetched her handkerchief from her shoulder bag.

The time was around eight o'clock in the morning. 

"Miss." A uniformed guy approached her from inside the building.

Su Jingjing recognized the man. He was one of the security guards that fended her off the first time she visited. Her defense mechanism picked up instantaneously. "Please, Sir, let me wait for a few more hours. I-I'm not loitering. I'm just waiting for Mr. Xue Guangxi."

"He's not in the office, Miss, and we don't know what time he will come here."

"I… I will wait… No matter how long…" 

She heard slow clapping from behind her. "Impressive."

"Huh?" She did not understand the reason for the clapping. She couldn't have guessed. 

"Hey, Miss, what if our CEO won't be back for a week? Will you stay here that long? No matter how long, you say?" 

She was sure it wasn't the security guard who spoke. The guard stood in front of her, and she was sure the voice did not come from him. She could at least distinguish the guard's low voice from this one. 

The voice came from behind her. 

But this man's tone was laced with arrogance in it, jeering, taunting. Somehow, she felt she shouldn't turn her head to face this man.

"Why don't you ride in my car? I'll drop you off to where Xue Guangxi is. He's in an outside meeting. I bet it will drag on to until who knows how long." His voice went from jeering to an alluring, velvety one, like how a sly fox would woo its next victim. "You seem flustered by something. Is it an emergency?" He added, with much more concern now. Perhaps it was merely feigned concern, no less.

"No, it's not urgent." She answered without turning to face him, keeping her back to him.

Yang Haoran tilted his head. "I'm not sure if it's good manners not to face someone when talking to them." He shrugged. "Well, I'm just trying to help."