Chapter 1

The sun was warm as it smiled down on the earth as if in a warm greeting, the beauty of it dazzling the skies and brightening up the atmosphere. There were large buildings in this part of town, and corporations and business minded people going and coming on every street.

Among several well known and well represented cities, was the infamous City A. City A was the famous city known for industrial businesses and sophisticated lifestyles, parties and anything related to the high class lifestyle.

There were other cities which were also popular and housed great, influential families but city A was the most prestigious in this aspect.

It was usually busy from Monday to Sunday, being the heart of the country and also the largest city amongst others.

On this particular Monday morning, several people in suits and formal attires went about their daily routines, no doubt searching for their daily bread and making great efforts to gather some good income to take home to their family or loved ones.

A sleek black car drove past the express road and entered the glamorous Lakefield street, driving straight ahead.

Inside this car was a man in a three piece deep blue suit, shiny black Italian shoes, black necktie and a classic Benjamin Coquito watch. Like Dior and Gucci, Benjamin Coquito was a well-known brand in Europe, known for their exclusive fashion designs in clothing, accessories and makeup. Now expanding to Asia and other continents, it was of no doubt beginning to slowly take over the fashion market and assert its own dominance with how exquisite and exceptional the Benjamin Coquito products was.

The young man sitting in the backseat had an Egyptian godlike beauty, with slanted eyes and slightly pointed nose. His eyes were dark, a stark contrast to his fair complexion and delicate looking features. He was staring at a newspaper intently and his eyes were fixed on the image of a beautiful young lady in a white suit.

He gently traced a finger on the lady's face. From the picture, she was facing another lady and the setting would immediately tell someone she was at a business meeting or some other formal function where the paparazzi had taken a picture of her.

The headline read, "The Liu heiress at it again: Acquisition of Mark and son's building industry!"

"I'm finally back home, little one. And you won't easily slip out of my grasp like you did before." The young man murmured with a distant look in his eyes, his index finger still on the lady's face. He took his hand off and dropped the newspaper beside him.

"Should I proceed and drive to the event sir?" His driver asked after opening the partition, taking in the frosty expression on his boss's face.

It was a face that was fond of scaring an average man and making the knees of some lesser men buck in fear. Even his business associates knew better than to take a step that would result in him frowning at them or displeasing him. He wasn't the grandson of one of the richest families in city A for nothing.

"No. I need to see my dad so head straight to the old mansion. When I get there, drive to Fang's school to pick her up immediately." The young, handsome man ordered. Even from the way he spoke, the way he looked out through the window with a gaze full of elegance and poise, one could already tell he was a well groomed young man from a highly prestigious family.

"Yes sir." The driver slid the partition close and drove past the street and entered back to the other side of the express before taking the turn that would lead him straight to the family's old estate.

As the driver took the turn, he couldn't help but mentally question why his boss loved passing through that long street because it was a long journey and would take them extra minutes to get back onto the express. They could go straight ahead and head to the club or the old mansion or wherever they wanted without having to drive exactly across the full long and busy street.

Their company wasn't far from the express and it was an easy drive if they intended on navigating out of the large business community, after all they'd done it many times before.

Until one day when his boss told him to always drive through that street to wherever destination they were headed, even when their destination was merelya a street away from the so called company!

The driver however, knew better than to question his moody boss on what he thought was best. The rich sometimes had a weird way of thinking but the young man's way of thinking had been fetching him money and influence for years so it would mean he knows best. With this in mind, the driver shrugged and focused his attention on driving, since that was what he was paid for in the first place.

They finally drove out of the street and headed to the old mansion.

The Lakefield street was a popular street housing four industrial buildings and a few rented shops. In one of these buildings on Lakefield street, was a sky scraper company belonging to one of the most popular families in City A.

On the top floor of the tall building- which was the exact company that was drawn on a small part of the newspaper being read by the young handsome man from earlier- was an European styled office with the lavish interior designs in a white and purple theme. The office consisted of a sofa, three office chairs, a large mahogany desk, a chair, a bookshelf, a small fridge and some other office necessities.

The wall on the right side of the office and the wall backed by the CEO chair were both shiny floor to length glass walls which gave both the owner of the office and anyone who stepped into it a beautiful view of the outside world.

One would guess that the same walls were no doubt mechanically polished twice in a day just so they could remain absolutely spotless.

In the air conditioned room, behind the large mahogany desk sat a young lady on a black leather chair. She was wearing a black short skirt and a white chiffon top and a pair of black heels rested on the left part of her legs under the table so in case the need ever arose, all she needed to do was slip her feet into them. Her soft, waist length hair was put up in a lose bun, with a lose strand falling over the left side of her face to define her beauty and delicate features.

To the world, this lady was usually referred to as the devil CEO even though men wouldn't mind making deals with he'd if it meant that they would get to see her lovely face or hear her beautiful voice for a few minutes or hours!

Liu Xinyi had her head bowed as she focused on her paperwork, her porcelain face bright under the brightness illuminating the room from the fluorescent lights and sunlight illumination.

Her left hand scribbled her signature on the box where the signature sign laid inside the document and she cross-checked it one last time before putting it aside and tapping her white colored laptop back to life.

Her phone started ringing and Liu Xinyi's clear grey eyes darted over to the device, blinking. The caller's name flashed on the screen but Liu Xinyi bit her lower lip as her brows slightly creased.

She contemplated on her next course of action, knowing so many things could depend on the call.

If she picked this call, her whole day could end up being distracted by whatever the person on the other line would say. The person in question was her grandmother, who probably wanted to tell Liu Xinyi something she wouldn't like to hear. She couldn't pick the call. At the same time, she couldn't not pick the call because it also would spell trouble.

'Maybe I'll return her call later.' Liu Xinyi thought.

Finally making up her mind, Liu Xinyi decided to go ahead and ignore the call with the hope that the caller would give up; even though she knew that was unlikely to happen.

She ignored the ringing of her phone and just then, there was a buzz on her intercom.

"Yes?" Her voice sounded like the freshness that accompanied spring. It was assertive and refreshing at the same time.

"The partners of Finlay Corp are here already, ma'am." Her secretary delayed.

"Send them in." She replied and put her personal phone on do not disturb so no call could come through.

Liu Xinyi opened the file of the Finlay Corp project while slipping her delicate feet into the shoes. The representatives were led in by her secretary and she walked around the table to welcome them, shaking their hands before pointing them to the chairs facing her mahogany desk.

"Please have your seats."

"Thank you." They said in unison while one of the men brought out the proposal which was identical to what was already on her table.

One of the men had blonde hair while the other had white hair and was a shade lighter. The blonde called Mark Donald was a Canadian while the dark haired man, called Jason Cho was a Chinese. They were both wearing black suits and both had light brown eyes though they had their own distinct features based off their different origins.

"Would you like to have a drink while we go over it?" Xinyi asked and they both requested for pure spring water alone which her secretary delivered.

After that, they got down to business with discussing the proposal.

An hour later, they'd reached a conclusion.

"But I have an issue with the location." Donald said smoothly.

Xinyi relaxed into her chair while observing the two men. "Okay. Tell me."

"It's in an area that's filled with companies that deals mainly with making of steel, iron and foot wears." He explained while pointing at a spot on the document.

"So? What's your issue with that?" Liu Xinyi asked.

Mark and Donald exchanged glances. "We might suffer a few losses, being the second company to open a restaurant there. Especially because it'll be a four star restaurant compared to the five-star restaurant that opened two years ago. Those restaurants have been getting good sales from the customers patronizing them and they've established stable relationships with them."

Xinyi folder her arms on the table and adjusted her glasses.

"It's very important to know the purpose of starting up a business. A businessman thinks of an idea after observing a pattern he wants to either break or join. Be it in the food industry, clothing line, household equipments, agriculture, health sector or education. One thing you must never forget is the purpose. What is on the list of every business owner's plan?"

Jason Cho frowned. "To make money and build connections. Also, to provide job opportunities for people."

"You're right about it all. But the most important which should be a businessman's priority is for him to meet the needs of the people."

"Yeah. But we're meeting the needs of the people already by putting our works out there." Mark said but Xinyi shook her head.

"We're meeting the needs of the people. What people? The supervisors and those in the higher-ups can afford going to the restaurants because of their high pay. But what about the laborers? What about those middle-class workers who are doing the real labor and would actually appreciate the pocket friendly prices you're fixing for the snacks and all?"

Mark and Jason nodded again but Mark suddenly thought about something.

"But if we make ours a four star restaurant, it means we'll get looked down on a lot. Also, it might affect the quality of what we want to offer. No high paying chef would want to work in such a four star restaurant where the customers can even get cheap meals."

"Presentation matters. You can go to a four star hotel and still enjoy their products and services despite it being ranked as four star. The decorum of the staff, the training they undergo and the stipends they'll receive asides their salary will reflect in the services they'll deliver, which will also encourage the customers to feel at ease with such a healthy environment and come another day. You're the bosses, it all depends on how you handle them. Even a three star restaurant can thrive successfully and beat some of the best restaurants. Presentation and package is all that matters. We'll adapt that for the new restaurant and watch the progress for six weeks."

"That's settled then. We'll transfer the rest of the paperwork to your PA."

"Do that." Xinyi nodded. They got up and she did the same, giving both men firm handshakes and escorting them to the door as they bade their farewell and left.

Walking back to her seat, she settled into the chair and took her phone out of the 'do not disturb' option before getting back to work. Just then, another call came in and it was the same person that'd been calling incessantly all along.

Her grandmother.

Xinyi realized she couldn't continue to ignore the caller.

She was one of the few people that still mattered most to Xinyi in this world. With a resigned sigh, Liu Xinyi slid her left thumb over the phone to pick the call.

"Hello grandma, yes, I'm fine. How are you doing?"