President Yue

Li Chen froze. A strange emotion flickered in his eyes as he slowly lifted his head and looked at his daughter.

"What did you call me?" He dazedly asked.

"Huh?" Qing Yue blinked, her mind turning blank.

What did she call him? Did she call him something strange?

Her brows furrowed as she went over her words.

She was certain she hadn't said anything wrong or weird other than...Ah...Dad?

Her eyes widened and she gaped.

She called him Dad...

Was that what he meant by what she'd called him? Did he not like the address?

She shivered and lowered her head again, not daring to lift her gaze lest she saw displeasure in her Dad's eyes.

"Qing Yue, what did you call me?" Li Chen's voice turned colder, his violet pupils fixed on the mane of black as he waited with great patience.

Qing Yue, sensing his burning gaze, felt her heart flutter like a baby bird. The little thing was close to exploding from the extreme pressure and anxiety placed upon it from the tense atmosphere.

'Qing Yue, calm down. It might not be as bad as you think. Maybe...maybe Dad just wants...' Nope! She had no idea what her Dad wanted. Maybe he hated the address and would severely reprimand her? Scold her?

Well, that would be a first.

Her shoulders sunk and a bitter smile appeared on her face. The cracked relationship between her and her Dad was the biggest thorn in her heart.

Li Chen's face fell. His daughter couldn't even call him Dad?

He remembered there was a time in the past, a time when she trailed behind him and cried Dad every few heartbeats.

A time when she would come running to him whenever he returned from work.

So what went wrong? What went wrong for her to stop calling him Dad?

"Forget it if it's too difficult to say." Cold aura radiating off his body, Li Chen focused back on his meal with a gloomy expression.

As he placed a piece of meat in his mouth, the food tasted bland and stale on his tongue.

Qing Yue felt puzzled. For some reason, when she heard her father's voice, her heart ached.

Did she hurt him?

"Da...Dad?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper, more meant for her own ears than his. And yet, Li Chen heard it loud and clear, as if it was a clap of thunder.

Lifting his head in astonishment, his gaze collided with the bright, hesitant eyes of his daughter.

His heart plunged.

When was the last time he looked his daughter in the eyes?

"Hmm...Yei Yi can attend. But your uncles are coming to see you, so tell her to keep her presence minimal. And in the future...you can call me Dad." Li Chen's expression was still cold, but the cold aura radiating from his body had drastically decreased.

Qing Yue on the other hand was shocked silly by her Dad's words.

He...he said I can call him...Dad?

She felt she must be hearing things and scrutinized her Dad's expressionless face.

Yep...she was now hallucinating during the day as well...

With a wretched smile on her face, she lowered her head and continued eating her Lotus Porridge.

Yei Yi huddled on her couch and looked at the two individuals eating in companionable silence with an envious expression.

Their conversation hadn't escaped her ears, and Li Chen's words made her feel lost and lonely.

Dad...?

She looked at the book in her hands in a daze.

Uncle Li allowed me to attend only when Qing Yue spoke.

My existence is as insignificant as an ant's...

A slight breeze blew through the slightly ajar window and made her shiver. Returning to her senses, Yei Yi threw off the blanket and got off the couch, heading directly back to her room.

The peaceful atmosphere was too suffocating and stifling.

Qing Yue finished her porridge and sat down her spoon. Her appetite was small but she still needed to eat more than a bowl of porridge to stay up all night and complete her work.

She lifted her gaze and saw her Dad still eating.

Since I can't leave until Dad's finished, I'll have something else.

Looking at the spread of dishes, she decided to add a fish and vegetable dish to her meal of white rice. They were the closest and looked delicious enough. She scooped the dishes on a clean tray and managing not to spill any, continued her silent meal.

After about half an hour, the jarring scrape of a chair against the marble floor rang out, and Li Chen got out of his seat. He wiped his hands and picked up his digital pen, the WebCom connection set on standby still on display.

Glancing at his daughter, looked at her half-eaten meal with a frown and turned to leave.

"Remember to sleep early. Your uncles will arrive early in the morning." The words drifted back in the dining hall just as his figure disappeared up the spiral stairs.

"Yes, Father." In the empty hall, her timid voice was the only sound.

Qing Yue sighed, her shoulders sagging in relief.

At least the meal concluded peacefully.

Pushing back her chair, Qing Yue followed her Dad's actions and wiped her hands. Then she sat the handkerchief aside and walked around the chair.

Qing Yue called into the kitchen as she passed.

"Aunt Li, we're done!"

"Thank you, dear. I'll take care of it in a bit."

Climbing the spiral stairs, she thought over tasks she had to complete.

Qing Yue entered her room and locked her door. She walked past her bed to her worktable and sat.

Her WebCom purple watch and purple shades, designed to match her eyes like her hover, were in the center of the table.

When at home she preferred to work on her WebCom shades rather than her watch. Her designs and drafts came out better when she worked in the isolated virtual dimension. She picked up the shades, powered the device with her fingerprint, and put them on.

"President Yue, welcome back." The device greeted in its usual robotic tone.

"Thank you, Li Su. Please connect me with President Tian."

"Yes, President Yue."

As the device came on, Qing Yue's surroundings disappeared and her conscious entered the virtual world of the WebCom, her designs and crafts for YueTian Group's new sale launch swirling around her illusionary figure.

*

On the other side, on the east of LiLong Country, in Li Industrial City stood a mansion as large and wide as the Li Mansion in Long Capital City.

The Long Mansion was similarly built out of bullet-proof, one-way glass. But where the Li Mansion was grey, the Long Mansion was black and was surrounded by black pillars that released flashes of security lights every few seconds.

Armored guards in black suits and black shades patrolled the grounds, their actions robotic and professional as they screened every visitor.

"Sire, please spread out your hands. We need to scan you before you can enter." One of the gate guards expressionlessly commanded.

"Hey, I come to see Commander Long every weekend. Is it necessary to do this every time?" A balding man with a potbelly questioned dissatisfiedly as he spread out his arms.

"Unfortunately, that's the procedure."

The guard stepped up and snapped a pair of white-steel ScannerGets on his wrists and powered the device with a black button. Immediately a holographic image of the man popped as a red flare swept over his figure from head to toe.

"No weapons found, target clear." The ScannerGets blinked twice before going silent.

"You're good to go, sire. Thank you for your patience." The guard stepped back and politely gestured for the man to enter.

The man knew the procedures of entering Long Mansion. He only wanted to vent his frustration at the tedious and long process.

Now that he received clearance to enter, why would he waste time arguing with a guard?

Hence, he proudly raised his head and threw a disdainful glance at the guard before striding towards the main gate of the mansion.

Inside the Long Mansion, maids in black uniforms went back and forth, pushing trolleys of snacks and drinks as they served and attended to Commander Long Hongwu's guests.

"Sire, here are your refreshments." A pretty maid in a black suit politely set down the trays of snacks and fruits.

"Thank you, pretty one." One of the men threw the lady a charming smile, to which the maid blushed and bowed her head.

"Brother Nan, If I were you, I wouldn't display such a behavior before Commander Long. He is very strict about discipline." Another one commented, earning a round of uproarious laughter.

"Do you think I'm mad to behave like that before the Commander?" The maid, completely thrown to the side, proceeded to the next table of guests.

On the second floor of the mansion, in a room decorated with black and blue furniture, Long Tian sat on his worktable, a pair of dark shades on his head.

The moment the connection request from President Yue came in, he accepted it without hesitation.

"President Yue, I looked through the designs you sent. Here are the modifications I made to the male wear and accessory. I believe they will sell well if we get them in all colors with matching sets of watches and brooches."

"I will go through them and send it back within the hour. As for the female accessories, I am sending the samples I altered in accordance with the suggestions you made. If everything looks good, you can finalize them."

"Sounds good. When would be a good time to set the promotion launch?"

"President Tian, you can decide the date for promotion launch. But if it were me, I would set it on the day when the foreign market is open. That way, we'll get both local and foreign customers."

"Hmm...I was thinking about setting on the inauguration of the New World Formation."

"Sounds like a good idea. How are the natural cosmetics coming along?"

Long Tian went over other topics with President Yue, their discussions lasting until late into the night. By the time they disconnected from WebCom, the guests had already left.

Long Tian took off his WebCom Shades, his eyes stinging from the sudden glare of light, as he blinked to adjust them.

The WebCom series were developed and introduced to the New World Formation by the Li Industries. Containing above a million terabytes of space, the virtual communication devices were a replacement of the previous era's laptops, computers, and tablets.

Not only did they store work files, provide access to the worldwide web, held separate spaces to conduct virtual meetings, but they also provided the user with a 3D virtual experience.

Through the WebCom Shades, an individual's consciousness enters the virtual world of their computer where they can design, craft or work on their projects like in real-life, but with greater speed and efficiency.

The WebCom Watches worked more like tablets, only in a larger screen size with greater cohesion. But without the digital pens, it was impossible to work on the WebCom watch.

Long Tian placed the shades down and clicked on a black button on his shirt sleeve.

A holographic screen of the current calendar popped up and he immediately marked the date for the YueTian Group's new sale Launch.

As he went through the new designs of President Yue, Long Tian could not help but wonder about the mysterious president's identity.

This was another trait of the WebCom Shades.

Since only the consciousness of an individual entered the virtual dimension, a physical image of the person wasn't crafted. All one saw was a fusion of transparent colors in the shape of a human body.

This made it hard to authenticate the identity of those met on the virtual social networks, but on the virtual markets, credibility was displayed through the ownership of Diamond level membership status priced at 100 million yuan.

He happened to come across a design of President Yue on the virtual markets market-wide auction and it was from there that their cooperation began.

"Young Master Long, Commander Long is requesting your presence."

At this moment, the voice of a female servant entered his ears and snapped him back to the present.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Long Tian stood up and went to the washroom. He washed his hands and wiped his face, before pulling on a black coat and heading out.

*

Qing Yue finished the rest of her work and leaned back in her chair. As her sight landed on her luxurious bed, dread coiled her stomach in knots.

Another night.

Another meeting with the nightmares.

The nightmares came with or without her permission. Even if she kept her eyes open or remained awake all night, they would still hit her and knock her unconscious when the time came.

Qing Yue smiled bitterly and pushed out of her chair.

"Since I can't avoid it, I might as well face it in a comfortable bed."