Doomed love affair

Friday evening, on the way to the airport in Jing City,

Yang Xiong repeatedly looked at Tang Wei Sheng who sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. He remained curled against the seat like a cat. It was the day when the expedition team leaves to Xi city. For the last one week, Tang Wei Sheng worked hard and pushed himself to finish his work as early as possible in Tang Corporations for this expedition.

"Assistant Yang, do I look weird?" Tang Wei Sheng asked without opening his eyes.

" Ah, no. Are you okay, boss? you look tired." Yang Xiong sounded worried.

" I am going on a trip, assistant Yang." Tang Wei Sheng opened his eyes and sat properly in the seat.

"Look, I am good." He said while flashing a cheeky grin.

Upon seeing his radiant smile the concerns in Yang Xiong's mind vanished in a glimpse.

When was the last time he saw Tang Wei Sheng smiling? The recent events happened in his life, made him a tougher person day by day.

Thinking of it, everything in Tang Wei Sheng's life was smoothly going until he met Li Juan on his birthday.

"Young master, I have something-" Yang Xiong tried to start a conversation about Li Juan.

"Did you investigate the matter which I mentioned that day... about Li Juan?" Tang Wei Sheng's smile gradually faded away as he spoke.

"Yes, young master, I have searched about Miss Li's accident."

Tang Wei Sheng looked at Yang Xiong with curious eyes. He wanted to know what happened to the driver who happened to cause Li Juan's accident as it seemed so fishy.

"Miss Li got hit by a car driven by a regular offender, a thief named Cao Rui. He stole the car from a valet parking and was trying to run away with it. Miss Li just came across with him while trying to rescue a blind person. Cao Rui's wife divorced him and he got no family to request an investigation about his unnatural death. So there wasn't any further investigation."

"What about the accident happened in the school?"

"There is nothing suspicious about it." Yang Xiong glanced at Tang Wei Sheng for a moment and focused on driving. " Miss Li used to be an outcast at school and she always prefered to stay alone, even during lunch break. She used to eat her lunch in the rooftop to avoid interacting with others."

"She said that it was raining on that day and she might've slipped." Tang Wei Sheng tried to remember Li Juan's words. "But, why did she go to the rooftop if it was raining?" He couldn't help but point out.

"I checked the security camera visuals in the stairs leading to the rooftop and found nothing suspicious." Yang Xiong noticed the worry in Tang Wei Sheng's face and tried to pacify him. "I am still trying to get the security cam recordings from buildings next to the school."

"Hmm, keep looking,"

"Boss, there is something else..."Yang Xiong pointed out suddenly, " I don't know whether it is worth mentioning."

"What is it?"

"When miss Li was in the coma, she had a heart attack due to the lack of oxygen supply. Luckily some resident doctor rescued her at the right time. She might've died but instead of that, miraculously she woke up from the coma." Yang Xiong reported and looked at Tang Wei Sheng in concern before continuing.

"I am finding each and everything about her unusual. But there is no evidence to prove it." He sounded bitters as he spoke about it. It felt he was searching for answers in the darkness.

"But one thing which surprises me is Miss Li's aloof attitude towards her life.

She lost both of her parents, almost escaped from death three times, she is trying to live with the help of medicines, and yet she appears warm and nice to everyone.

If someone else was in her place, they would've ended their life."

"Do you sympathize with her brother Yang?"

Yang Xiong looked at Tang Wei Sheng, amazed. Does his boss still harbour feelings for someone who cheated him?

"I should've felt bad for her, but not after knowing what she has done to you." Yang Xiong's resentment was widely visible on his usual calm face.

"It is not her fault, Bro Yang."

" I know it is hard for you to forget her, but young master, she deceived you," Yang Xiong said it to his face.

"The Li Juan I knew is not like that." Tang Wei Sheng tried to argue back.

"People change, Wei Sheng."

"Hmm, I agree with you. But Bro Yang, she remains the same about one thing, even after all these years." Tang Wei Sheng's voice sounded dispirited as he tried to recall their last meeting.

"She is still afraid of him."

"Yeah, that's why she ran away like how she ran away seven years ago. If she can't accept you just like the way you are, then you don't need her either." Yang Xiong reminded the man who began to drift into his own world again.

"Wei Sheng, just promise me that, you will forget that woman and start everything afresh. Just stay away from her, that's good for both of you, did you understand?" Yang Xiong asked in a firm tone like an elder brother.

"Hmm, I understood." Tang Wei Sheng replied in a low voice.

A new start, yes, that's what he needs now.

-------------------------

Han Guang and his team were already in the airport, waiting for Tang Wei Sheng and Ning Jing. Apart from researchers team, an excavation team of five men under the supervision of Wang Shiwei was also present there. Wang Shiwei was a famous excavation expert who worked for the national archaeological association. He was very much fond of Li Juan who always visited him for any informations that could help her research.

"Xiao Li, finally your dream of finding lost city is finally coming to true." Wang Shiwei said as he waited in the boarding area.

"It is not just my dream. It is our dream, supervisor Wang." Li Juan smilingly said. She was genuinely happy and excited for the expedition despite whatever happened in the past few days.

"Supervisor Wang, CEO Tang is here." Cheng Tao notified them.

"Oh! he is here, I'm meeting him for the first time," Wang Shiwei stood up from his seat and looked at Li Juan who sat there non-chalantly.

"Are you not coming, Xiao Li?"

"Huh, yes." Li Juan stood up and followed Wang Shiwei.

"There he is." Cheng Tao pointed to towards the entrance.

"Are you sure this boy is the renowned CEO of Tang Corporation?" Wang Shiwei exclaimed. " "If you dare to pull pranks on me, Cheng Tao," He jokingly made a fist at Cheng Tao. Wang Shiwei was known for his strict and upright behaviour. He was respected by everyone, so no one dared to joke around him. Well, Li Juan was an exception.

" Okay don't believe me, ask your Xiao Li. She is his junior from high school." Cheng Tao pouted.

"Xiao Li, is he the renowned CEO Tang of Tang corporations?"

Hearing Wang Shiwei's question, she followed his gaze towards the entrance.

"What the-" Li Juan left flabbergasted, on the view of two men walking towards them.

It was Tang Wei Sheng and Yang Xiong, but instead of CEO Tang and assistant Yang, they appeared like two brothers.

Tang Wei Sheng appeared like nerd chic with a pair of round spectacles, double-layered shirts, and a shearling collar jacket. If he had a backpack or a headphone he would've mistaken as a university student.

Whereas Yang Xiong, in his black suit appeared mature and radiated the vibe of a protective elder brother.

"Jeez, CEO Tang looks so cool and young in casuals, don't you think?" Cheng Tao nudged Li Juan who appeared lost in thoughts.

"Hmm." Li Juan replied involuntarily, this version of Tang Wei Sheng was new for her. Did he follow this style while he was a university student? Li Juan couldn't help but think for a moment. She has always seen him in formal wears or uniform, but seeing him in his cool and geek avatar felt refreshing. Especially the thin black-rimmed spectacles added innocence to his look.

"Good evening, professor Han. I hope we are not late."

"No, we are just early." Han Guang replied as he greeted. "Where is Miss Ning? I thought both of you would come together."

Even before he could complete his words,

Ning Jing joined them with her manager Mei Lin.

Since the last member has arrived, the expedition team got ready to check-in and board the flight.

"I hope you remember what I've said." Yang Xiong reminded Tang Wei Sheng one last time before leaving. "She has another man and you too an engaged man."

"Ah Bro Yang, have some trust in me. As long as I am in my conscious state, I will make sure to stay away from her." Tang Wei Sheng promised him and throw his arms over Yang Xiong as a gentle hug.

"Thank you for being with me always."

Yang Xiong smiled and patted Tang Wei Sheng's shoulder before bidding adieu.

By Ten pm, the expedition team reached Xi city. Though Tang Wei Sheng invited the expedition team to stay at his villa, Han Guang politely refused his offer and stayed at the hotel in the city. However, Ning Jing and her assistant accepted the offer and went to his villa. Since they were already engaged, nobody dared to question their decision to stay together.

Next morning itself, the excavation workers from Xi city joined the team. Since the journey is supposed to start from Monday, they had few more last-minute works to do. Professor Han gave a briefing about the journey to the newly joined workers. Since Tang Wei Sheng went to the regional office due to some emergency, he didn't join the team who stayed at the hotel.

Because of that, Li Juan appeared lively and happily interacted with the whole team, even with Ning Jing.

Though Ning Jing is a celebrity, she appeared like a down to earth person and was interacting with the team members by lending a hand in work.

Since there were only three women in the group and being the prettiest among them helped Ning Jing to gain popularity among the men in the group very quickly.

"Ning Jing is so pretty and she looks like an angel. Since she is a celebrity,I thought she will have some attitude issues, but she is so down to earth."

"I agree with you, but Miss Li looks prettier than Ning Jing. She is no lesser than the foreign model." Men in the team argued among themselves.

During the lunch break, Tang Wei Sheng paid a visit to the hotel and met the team.

The moment Tang Wei Sheng showed up, Li Juan slowly moved away from the team without anyone noticing her absence.

However, Ning Jing who was about to have a meal with the team noticed that Li Juan was missing from the table. She looked around and found Li Juan standing in front of the restaurant. She walked towards the entrance, thinking that she should invite Li Juan to join her for the meal.

Even though, Li Juan made Tang Wei Sheng's entry as an excuse to leave, she was waiting for Lee Tae Min who went to meet the medical team. It was crucial to have a last minute medical checkup for the entire team and Lee Tae Min was in charge of setting up everything.

"Miss Li, what a pleasant surprise."

Li Juan looked at the man who called her name.

It was manager Zhang Zi Zhong, Tang Corporation's Xi city regional manager.

"Good afternoon, manager Zhang," Li Juan's face lit with happiness. She clearly remembered the man who talked about treasure hunts and tomb raids like an excited child on her first visit to Xi city. "How are you?"

"I am very well, Miss Li. How are you? I came to drop CEO Tang, I didn't expect to meet you here."

"I feel the same, manager Zhang. I didn't expect that we will meet again."

"I didn't get to say goodbye when you visited last time. You returned to Jing city without any notice." Zhang Zi Zhong said with a disappointed face. "My wife wanted to invite you for a meal."

"I'm sorry for leaving without a word, manager Zhang. I had some emergencies in the capital. " Li Juan apologized to him, though it wasn't truly her mistake of leaving the city, unannounced.

"Oh, it is totally fine. I heard about it." Zhang Zi Zhong stopped for a moment and flashed "knowing-at-all" smile. "CEO Tang is getting married."

Li Juan acknowledged him with a faint smile.

Well, nothing else she can do in this situation.

"I had an intuition when CEO Tang purchased that Jade ring." Zhang Zi Zhong gaze shifted to the ring on Li Juan's finger as he spoke.

"He called me in the middle of the night and asked me to come to H town first thing in the morning. When I reached there in a hurry, he said that his girlfriend likes jade a lot and he is planning to propose her with a jade ring."

Zhang Zi Zhong smiled in content at Li Juan who appeared surprised.

"You have no idea how many designs we looked before getting this ring. I am just happy that both of you are getting married. Congratulations Miss Li."

Both of you are getting married? What is he saying? Who is getting married? Li Juan looked at him in disbelief.

"Manager Zhang, I think there is some misunderstanding. Me and CEO Tang-"

"Li Juan," Before Li Juan could finish her words, someone called her name.

Li Juan and Zhang Zi Zhong turned back and saw Ning Jing walking towards them with an angelic smile.

Did she hear what they said? A chill went down Li Juan's spine.

"Did Ning Jing heard the moving story of her doomed love affair with Tang Wei Sheng?"