Persistent

Chapter 19: Persistent.

Li Wei made his way down to the reception area, ready to receive Ling Yue. The employees, initially confused by their boss waiting at the reception, soon got their answer when a beautiful woman entered the building. When was the last time they saw their boss waiting for someone? ....Never. This was the first time.

Ling Yue was wearing a light blue business suit and had her hair tied into a high pony tail. This was the first time Li Wei saw her in a professional setting and she looked absolutely stunning. He remembered her being the president of Z Heights. Seems like she is in city for work. He smiled at her and went forward to greet her. He then took her into his private elevator and went to top floor leaving all the employees down shocked.

Who was that girl? She was just so gorgeous. Ahh..They wanted to see her again. Seems like their boss is soon going to throw away his single status. Hehee....All the employees in Li corps had a good impression of their boss. He was hard working and good tempered. Though he would not entertain anyone and behave cold, it was acceptable considering his work load. He never abused his power as the CEO and was not stinky with rewards and bonus.

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"I guess you didn't have your lunch yet, right? Let us have it together" he had already prepared everything.

"Huh? You don't have to worry about my lunch. I am here to get the ring." Ling Yue was direct and was not ready to waste her time on lunch. She just needed the ring back. She already felt he could have given it in the reception itself but he brought her to his office instead. Li Wei sighed at her straight forward rejection. But he still stood there and pulled a chair for her.

"I owe you a meal. And also need company. Please don't reject it. I know you are busy. You can leave after you are done with the lunch." he sincerely requested Ling Yue. Ling Yue was not tempted by his adorable expression at all, but she could tell that he wasn't going to give her the ring anytime soon. Eating peacefully was best. She simply nodded and sat in the seat. Li Wei happily went to the opposite seat to start their lunch.

"Why do you want the ring back?" actually Li Wei would be the first one to get rid of that ring. He had been having weird dreams for these past four days. Sometimes it was just two people calling each other Xenxi and Rem. Sometimes it would be a girl desperately calling someone. Sometimes it would be a man crying. Though the dreams would fade away when he woke up, he still caught the gist of it and understood the girl was Xenxi and the man was Rem. He didn't throw it away because Ling Yue said she would collect it. But he was curious. Those dreams troubled him and he wanted to know the significance of the ring. And didn't Ling Yue tell him that the ring wasn't hers. Then why is she eager to take the ring back?

"Nothing I wanted BaoBao to put the ring back in the place from where he brought it." Ling Yue's response was calm as she answered but only she knew that she was somewhat anxious and excited to take the ring back and get BaoBao to put it back. Since the day that ring left her hand she had been having weird dreams, which were more like nightmares. Her heart would feel heavy when she woke up, but she wouldn't remember what exactly she dreamt of. But sometimes the name 'Rem' would resound in her mind. Didn't she already have enough nightmares in her life that she wanted to add more.

She would just keep the ring with her for a night and if the nightmares don't stop, then she would put it back in the forest. That was not her property to begin with. Li Wei heard her explanation. Though he now understood that she wouldn't keep anything that wasn't her, she called for the ring only in the next morning and not on the same day. And he too was curious about the ring in his pocket.

"Ohh...Why? Why don't you keep it?" hearing his question Ling Yue looked at him weirdly.

"Because that's not mine" Li Wei nodded. His question was stupid.

"But you don't know the owner of the ring either. Then how does it matter if the ring is with me or in the mountains?" Yup. Li Wei didn't think of this question before. It was just a spontaneous question his brain dropped to continue the conversation.

Ling Yue looked at him again, but this time somewhat curious. She tilted her head as she asked "Do you want the ring for yourself?"

COUGH ... COUGH

Li Wei choked on his drink. That was not what Li Wei wanted to say. He absolutely didn't want that ring at all. He was more than glad to return it back.

"Ahem..No. I was just curious"

"Hmmm..." Li Wei and Ling Yue continued their lunch in silence, their thoughts consumed by their own concerns. Li Wei pondered over what to say next, while Ling Yue observed him intently. Sensing his fatigue and lack of sleep, she finally voiced her observation.

"Aren't you able to sleep well?" Ling Yue asked, her curiosity piqued. Despite his energetic aura, his eyes revealed signs of tiredness. Li Wei was surprised that Ling Yue had noticed, despite his efforts to hide it with the help of Li Mei's makeup skills. Ling Yue possessed a sensitivity to emotions and auras, which allowed her to discern intentions and emotions with just a glance. Perhaps, this was one of her defence mechanism that she has developed over years, but it has always helped her out in the right times.

"Uh? ...Yeah..I guess so" Li Wei replied, uncertain about how to respond.

"Ohh...Why did you not sleep?" Ling Yue actually though of something and wanted to confirm it. So she was pushing the question again and again making Li Wei feel awkward. What could he say? That he had been hearing conversations between two lovers every night or a ghost crying? It all seemed foolish, but it was the truth.

"Ahh..Because of work.." he said a little uncertainly as he looked at Ling Yue.

"You're lying. You've been the CEO for almost two years now, and Li Corps is functioning smoothly. Workload shouldn't be the reason for your lack of sleep. There's something else. Tell me," Ling Yue's tone became domineering, with a hint of childlike curiosity. Li Wei found himself in an awkward position, as he had never been ordered like this before. He didn't expect Ling Yue to press on this matter again and again. She was exactly behaving like Li Mei now. He gave an awkward smile but didn't know how to respond.

"Tell me" Ling Yue was getting more and more persistent making Li Wei nervous.

"Ahem....I don't know. I just wasn't able to sleep properly" he finally replied, opting for a safe and evasive answer. Why was she suddenly so interested in his sleep? Shouldn't they be discussing the ring? Li Wei drank his orange juice, trying to avoid her scrutinizing gaze. However, Ling Yue wasn't ready to give up.

"Hmm..Did you perhaps dream about Xenxi and Rem?" since asking questions was reaching them no where, she thought to ask the question the directly and look for a reaction. And..bingo...She got the reaction..Li Wei choked on his drink and it took sometime to stabilize before he turned to look at Ling Yue. She was smiling ear to ear like a child who had correctly answered a question in front of the whole class. It was rare to see her smile so brightly. He had seen her smile honestly, but he had never seen her smile mischievously and this time her smile was playful. His heart skipped a beat and he gulped looking at smile.

"Ahem..How do you know?" how did she make the correct guess? It was like she already knew about his sufferings.

"Sigh.....I am happy to know that I am not the only one suffering because of those dreams. I am having these weird dreams since the ring came off my hand. I will try putting it once again. If the dream comes again, then I will just throw it away." Ling Yue explained everything clearly.

He was stunned to know that she too had those dreams. He took out the ring from his pocket and put it on the table. He recalled what Ling Yue said just now. His lips slightly curved upwards. She was happy to know that she wasn't the only one suffering? Woah...He got to see another side of her today. And seem like, unlike him Ling Yue didn't care about whether people would believe her or not. She told him about her dreaming about Xenxi and Rem as if it was everyday business.

Seems like they both should really get rid this ring. Li Wei slightly chuckled and they both stopped talking about the ring. Ling Yue's mood has gotten better and it was now easy to hold a conversation with her. Li Wei didn't ask anything personal. They had a casual talk.

"My dad mentioned that you initially declined the villa project. What made you change your mind?" Li Wei casually inquired, as his father didn't tell him the reason to him.

"Your mother is a good person, kind-hearted. I wanted to do it for her, so I accepted," Ling Yue replied, shrugging her shoulders. Li Wei understood that she didn't want to share the true reason, so he decided to wait for her to open up in her own time.

"I apologize for investigating you," Li Wei suddenly remembered Ling Yue's warning to stop investigating her on the phone. He hadn't expected to get caught, but now that he had, he needed to apologize.

"It's fine. It would be weird if you didn't investigate me. However, there's nothing useful in what you've found," Ling Yue responded, surprising Li Wei with her nonchalant attitude. Nothing useful? Doesn't she really no care if someone gets to know about her. Well, this was only what Li Wei had been thinking. As for Ling Yue, she was most worried about people knowing more about her past. People can investigate how much ever they want about her family, but investigating about her would put her in danger. She would not let anyone jeopardise her safety. What Li Wei had investigated was already a well known cooked up story.

"Do you have to go back to work later? Isn't it tiring to travel back and forth between Ji Jing and the city?" Li Wei inquired, realizing the challenging commute. The journey took at least three hours, and he wondered how she managed it.