NOT QUALIFIED (2)

Xue Guangxi clapped his hands again. "Okay, people! Let's stop here for today. Our celebrity here is busy, and she's late for her next appointment. In fact, we already ruined her schedule."

Kang Sola clicked her tongue and shot him a glare at his abrasive choice of words. He responded with a look that says, 'What? Didn't you say it so yourself?'

They were close enough to be very much capable of communicating through looks and stares and nonverbal cues.

To compensate, Xue Guangxi added, "Don't worry, you'll see more of her in the coming days. You'll get tired of her presence eventually." He chuckled darkly. Her hand came flying onto his side almost automatically. "OW! Hehehe!"

One girl at the back raised her hand and asked timidly, "Miss Kang! My grandmother and I used to enjoy watching you report about the weather. It's you, right? The weather girl?"

"Huh? Ahh. Hehe. Yes, it's me. It was years ago. Th-Thanks! Hehe." She retorted reticently.

Xue Guangxi walked Kang Sola out of his office towards the parking lot. "Weather girl, huh?" He crossed his arms across his chest, amusement oozing from his face. He sat on the car's hood. "I didn't know that. Seems like there are still a few things I didn't know about you. When was it? Tell me."

"And you should not know because it's in the past anyway. Stop snooping around." She said in her matter-of-fact way.

Xue Guangxi's lips pulled into a grin.

Kang Sola drove out of the parking lot while Xue Guangxi waved his hand goodbye. He did not notice that a man had quietly sneaked behind him. It was Yang Haoran, his friend and business partner. "Your girlfriend?" He mused, arms leisurely crossed on his chest as he traced Kang Sola's track with his eyes.

"No, duh."

"What a cute, interesting, little thing. So, if she's not your girl, can I make a move on her?"

Xue Guangxi spanned around and glowered at him passionately. "Over my dead body."

Yang Haoran laughed at if he just heard the funniest joke. "Hahaha! You should have seen your face in the mirror." Turning a bit serious, he added, "I like her."

"You're not qualified." Was his friend's curt answer, and turned back towards the office.

Yang Haoran raised his brows, "Why so worked up over a girl that's not your girlfriend? Interested in her yourself, huh?" He inclined his body forward and hovered teasingly around Xue Guangxi.

"She's family. Let's leave it at that." He responded before walking back towards the office.

Xue Guangxi locked himself up in his office the entire day. His friend, Yang Haoran, got in his nerves for no reason at all.

"So what did he say?" A lady in a navy blue pencil cut and business suit approached Yang Haoran in his office while delivering some folders in her arms. Her heels clanked against the marble floor as she walked cat-like.

"He said she's not his girlfriend, but he seems perplexed when I relayed my intention of going after her." He was quite amused by his own statement. Not minding it though, he pointed at Yu Hua's arms, "What are those, Yu Hua? More work?"

"More opportunities, I would say. It's better to see a glass half-full." Yu Hua taunted as she placed the folders on his desk. "New contracts for your review. We need your assessment on the manpower if we can handle the clients' demand."

"So the boss is perplexed right now? It's not safe to go into his office?" Yu Hua jested with a slight laugh. "Will I get roasted if I go inside?"

"Try." Yang Haoran playfully challenged. "I'd like to validate it when you try." He said as he played with a baseball on his right hand. He repeatedly threw it up and caught it eventually.

Yu Hua was the Sales Director of their Marketing firm, XG Corp. She's in charge of new acquisition accounts and signing big contracts with clients, and discussing their requirements with them while Yang Haoran was the General Manager and his main responsibility is maintaining smooth day-to-day operations. It meant that he overlooks the cohesiveness of the departments in the office.

Xue Guangxi was the main owner of the company since he had the most investment. He was the one who designed the office, found its location, spearheaded meetings, and had the last say on their company's strategies. Of course, it would need a team to come up with a sound one.

The other two also trusted him and his tricks because he had ample experience as a Marketing Director and even CEO before in his younger teenage years at Xue Shipping, his family's shipping company.

That was only possible because he's the prominent Xue Family's Second Young Master, and at the time, they had thought that his older brother had been dead for years, and his older sister who had been running the company was banished from their household. Being the next in line, he succeeded temporarily and prematurely.

He gained and learned so much from that experience.

However, due to some familial rift, he was off to his own prove himself and his worth. So, for the past years, he did not seek help from the Xue Family and did it on his own.

The three of them – Xue Guangxi, Yu Hua, and Yang Haoran were school buddies in France who decided to go home in China and put up their own marketing company.

"Let's not push our luck." Yu Hua put on a smug face on her face. She referred to Yang Haoran's plan of pushing more wrong buttons and upsetting Xue Guangxi even more. "You must have done a great job of unnerving him."

"I just taunted him a bit. I didn't know that he'll for it. Hahaha! It was fun. How about I do it again? He said we'll be seeing the girl more frequently."

Yu Hua's brows arched. "Oh, is that so?" She pursed her lips, and her hands twitched infinitesimally that it was not noticeable at all. Before Yang Haoran could notice, she regained her composure, but her jaw tightened, as she curled her lips upward. "I see."

"Are you alright, though?" Yang Haoran stopped playing with his baseball and gave a closer look at Yu Hua's face. "You're pale. Are you sick? You must have been working too much. We can discuss the work assignments with Xue Guangxi."

She thought she had it under control. She grinned even bigger as she dusted her already hard-pressed business coat and skirt. "No, I'm okay. I'm just thinking about how to enter the lion's den." She winked.

Yang Haoran just laughed at that.

"I should be leaving now. More work at my desk. I'll try to go to him later. Wish me luck." Yu Hua turned towards the door. As soon as she did, her smile turned into a frown. 'Nothing more than just a threat. She's just a threat.'