Chapter 21

"Special Assistant Pei, Chairman Li asked if you were ready to leave?"

Her PA had just gotten a call from the secretary and came in to inform her.

"Sure I am, let's go", Pei Yueran replied. It was Wednesday and time for their first lesson with the Retired Chairman.

They got into Li Chuanmo's car and his chauffeur started the ignition. It was a silvery-gray Aston Martin and it glided smoothly. Pei Yueran was briefly entranced, thinking how Han Yichen and Han Lei would love it. They loved cars.

Han Lei!

Pei Yueran started. It had just dawned on her that she hadn't thought of Han Lei even once since arriving at City M. It was a shocking and sobering thought.

Even though she chalked it up to her being busy nonstop since she arrived, she still blamed herself somewhere in her mind. How could she forget the person she loved? Guilt threatened to overwhelm her in that split moment.

Li Chuanmo noticed how rigid she had become shortly after they entered the car. He softly asked if she was okay, but got no response. He raised his voice, but still nothing. It wasn't until he gently touched her shoulder that she reacted.

She looked at him, and her eyes were filled with such deep emotion that Li Chuanmo was taken aback. What could possibly be wrong? What happened in such a short span of time?

"You don't look okay. What happened?"

Even Li Chuanmo could not understand why he cared, but he admitted that seeing her in that state troubled him somehow. What exactly happened?

Pei Yueran sniffled, opening her bag and trying to look for a handkerchief or tissue, but finding none. Li Chuanmo passed her his handkerchief. She took it gratefully and dabbed at her eyes and nose, trying to calm down. She eventually did after a few minutes.

"Want to talk about it?" Li Chuanmo asked before he could think better of it. Something kept pushing him to talk.

"I'm alright Chairman Li. I just remembered something heartbreaking for a moment. I'm much calmer now", Pei Yueran said, gathering herself together.

The conversation ended there for a few minutes, then restarted with Li Chuanmo asking a few questions relating to the press conference. The protocol team had handled things perfectly and nothing untoward had been written by the media.

Li Chuanmo knew all these, but he still asked, wanting to make her keep talking. He could not explain the feeling, but he didn't want to think about it right then.

It was later, when he was all alone in bed struggling to sleep, that he would understand and correctly interpret that feeling. It was like meeting a kindred soul, one that shared yet another characteristic with him -

Pain.

******

"Chairman Li, Special Assistant Pei, you're here. Please come in. The Retired Chairman is waiting in his study". It was Butler Nan that opened the door and brought them in.

As Pei Yueran stepped into the living room that was no longer unfamiliar, she subconsciously looked around. She didn't see Zhang Heying, but then she knew she would not be around. Zhang Heying had already texted her on WeChat that she had to go out with a friend, but would try to be back before they left.

They went straight to the study. Li Qianye was dressed formally and seated. He wore a stripped suit, looking dapper. Pei Yueran was convinced, no wonder he had won that magazine "award" five consecutive times, he deserved it!

She sneaked a peek at Li Chuanmo. He was handsome, that was for sure. He didn't look like a typical "cold" CEO, but he exuded a powerful and authoritative aura. In his charcoal gray suit, he looked amazing, but a bit stern. If only he had chosen a different tie, he would.....

"Special Assistant Pei, did you hear me?" Li Qianye asked, even though he lowered his voice slightly. He could not hide his delight. She had been staring at his son for quite a few moments. It seemed things were well underway. He couldn't wait to tell his partner in crime, *ahem* wife.

Li Chuanmo was looking at his father, but when Pei Yueran did not respond, he looked at her and noticed she was staring at him. He called her, but no response. He reached out to pat her hand slightly. She immediately came back to earth.

'Why was it that she hardly responded to calls but almost always responded to touch?' he absentmindedly wondered. He missed the delighted and sly look on his father's face.

Pei Yueran was mortified. She had just embarrassed herself in front of her role model and current boss. What was it with her and daydreaming?

"I apologize for my rudeness", she said, bowing at both of them in turn.

Li Qianye and Li Chuanmo didn't mind. They sat down and the lesson commenced. Li Qianye posed a question to them, "How would you describe my style of management?"

They delved into a long discussion. Li Chuanmo spoke, and Pei Yueran added her thoughts. In the areas that she had a different opinion, she stated it politely but firmly.

There were no arguments, but both of them had solid opposing opinions on performance pressure. Li Chuanmo was of the opinion that performance pressure was needed as a matter of course, but Pei Yueran felt it gave managers a kind of unhealthy power over the ordinary employers and make the workplace unhealthy.

After listening to them go back and forth, Li Qianye asked, "why don't you think there is a middle ground? why not think outside the box"

He then gave them an assignment, "Employee A had a great performance record before she got pregnant. Due to pregnancy related issues, she had absences for long periods of time, and her performance was greatly reduced. What effect would criticism have on her in terms of performance pressure, and how would you resolve the challenge?

"By the way, this is a real situation, so I would want both of you to work on it and present a feasible proposal by the next lesson. Here's her file", he said, handing over an office file. Pei Yueran received it.

Their next lesson was in a week.

"I want a detailed plan, as we need to revise and update that part of the company policy, so work hard", Li Qianye said.

Inwardly though, he was cackling, excited that they would spend more time together.