Storm Off

Xia Jiannan held the bouquet of blue roses in his hand and looked at it with complex emotions.

He thought of asking such a request on a whim so he would get a general idea on what women would like. Since Di Yi was a married man, he would be much more reliable than his younger brother in the matters of wooing women.

However, Xia Jiannan could not help but think that he was the one being wooed.

Weird.

Wang Rouxi's smile widened when she saw him accepting the flowers, then she asked out of the blue: "May I ask CEO Xia out for lunch?"

Caught unprepared, Xia Jiannan's eyes snapped back at that slightly pale face as they widened by a fraction before turning back to normal.

Xia Jiannan stared deeply at Wang Rouxi for a few seconds before nodding his head, "Okay."

Looking at his bright smile, Xia Jiannan believed that Di Yi must be planning something, going as far as to invite him out for lunch.

His highly observant trait also allowed him to catch on to the subtle change of the way Di Yi had addressed him — from "Mr. Xia" to "CEO Xia".

"Shall we go now?" Wang Rouxi asked, deliberately not mentioning anything about the woman from before.

"Mmm."

The two of them walked side by side, both enjoying the comfortable silence as they got on the private elevator.

But of course, there would always be that wicked witch who would jump in to ruin this perfect moment.

"Wait!" Qin Kexin ran awkwardly in her high-heels, just barely managing to get inside before the elevator door closed. "I made it!"

She leaned against the wall and placed a hand on her chest as she tried to regain her breathing. She did not expect that Xia Jiannan would actually leave her there alone!

Xia Jiannan merely cast a glance her way and turned to Wang Rouxi who was treating Qin Kexin like air.

"Yes?" Wang Rouxi felt Xia Jiannan's stare and she could not help but ask.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh, about that." She was silent for a moment. "I took care of some matters for the company. I hope you didn't miss me too much."

Wang Rouxi winked at him and said the last part in a joking manner.

At the side, Qin Kexin seethed with anger when she realized that the two men were blatantly ignoring her presence. She clenched her fists on her sides, trying hard to regain her calm and to retain her prim and proper demeanor.

'How dare they ignore this Young Miss!' Qin Kexin hissed in her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and turned to the two men who were deep in their own conversation. Well, she bypassed Xia Jiannan and directed her attention to Wang Rouxi.

"This gentleman here, I go by the name Qin Kexin. I wonder from which family in Imperial do you belong to?"

"I may need to–" Wang Rouxi, who was in the middle of telling Xia Jiannan about her supposed "reassignment" to another employer, got cut off mid-sentence.

Her fair brows slightly furrowed and her eyes squinted, trying to hide her contempt towards the rude behavior. She didn't take a liking to this lady from the Qin Family the first time she saw her.

"So it is Ms. Qin. I've heard great things about you. This humble self is truly fortunate to be able to meet you today."

Qin Kexin puffed out her chest and raised her chin up. She was extremely pleased with the words Wang Rouxi spouted that she didn't take notice of the underlying sarcasm in Wang Rouxi's tone.

But Xia Jiannan did, and he watched the scene play out with a straight face, only his eyes showed his mirth.

"Hmph! You are truly fortunate! Not all people have the opportunity to see this Young Miss!"

Wang Rouxi turned to Xia Jiannan and saw the same derisive look in his eyes. This Qin Kexin was really something.

Nodding her head in agreement to further inflate this lady's ego, Wang Rouxi then delivered the decisive blow.

"Indeed, not many people have seen the infamous Second Young Miss of the Qin Family in these previous years. I wonder where you went after the Night of the Gala five years ago?

Being reminded of that embarrassing memory, Qin Kexin's face turned sour. She could still vividly remember how she became a laughing stock for the honored guests at the gala for falling into the swimming pool while trying to flirt with Wang Shenyun.

Seeing that the proud lady finally shut her trap, Wang Rouxi continued her conversation with Xia Jiannan as though nothing had happened.

Fortunately, the elevator ride only lasted for a little more than a minute. If it was any longer, Qin Kexin would have probably lost her mind.

"Hmph!" Qin Kexin stumped her foot before walking out the elevator. She was obviously displeased that her charm did not work on the two.

What's worse was that she heard the sounds of faint laughter as she got inside her car in a huff!

Her personal assistant yelped in surprise when her boss slammed the car door in her fit of anger.

"Let's go!"

Seeing her boss like that, the personal assistant wanted to ask what happened but she hesitated, not wanting to face her wrath. But her curiosity got the better of her and she eventually stammered: "Y-young Miss, aren't you supposed to get a ride with CEO Xia?"

Qin Kexin froze.

Right! She did ask her personal assistant to "leave" earlier so that she'll create a chance for her and Xia Jiannan to spend time together.

But in her fit of anger, she forgot about it and just stormed off. Qin Kexin really wanted to strangle herself right now. She screwed up big this time. She just told Xia Jiannan that her driver was not back yet. How would she explain this to him? Where would she put her face now?

As if that incident a few years back being unearthed was not embarrassing enough! Now, she really wanted to dig up a hole and bury herself in it.

"Bring me to my Villa."

Qin Kexin's face was not that thick to show up in front of Xia Jiannan after such humiliation without feeling ashamed. It would be best to not see him for the time being.