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PresentI walked slowly, pulling two suitcases with a small kid beside me.It felt so great to be back in the country. It has been five years since I left.“Big Yan, I need to pee,” the child beside me said. And I pointed in the direction of the washrooms.“Will you need my help?“ I asked.But the kid shook his head. “No! I am a big boy now, Big Yan. I will be fine,” he said.I sighed as I looked at him. He had really grown up. I was happy to see him able to run around like that.…In the washroomLittle Lion walked towards the sink to wash his hands. And just beside him, a young man dressed in a black suit was also washing his hands.Little Lion stopped his actions when the man brushed his hair to his side, just like he himself had done.But he realized that the man had also stopped to look at him. The little boy sighed and scratched the back of his hand, and the man did the same.A pout formed at the corner of Little Lion's lips. “Uncle, don't you think it's a little ashaming to imitate me?“ He asked, his voice very clear, and the man was shocked.The man looked at the child for a second, then he shook his head. “Do you have any misunderstandings, little one? I think it was you who imitated me,” he said.Little Lion shrugged. His mom had told him that it wasn't right to argue with older people. So he took some tissue paper to dry his hands.But after some thought, he handed one to the man beside him.The man looked at the kid and smiled. Still, he dried his hands. “Why are you here alone?“ He asked. He was sure that most kids his age wouldn't go to the washroom by themselves.Little Lion creased his brows. “You would never want anyone to escort you to the washroom, would you?“ He asked. He thought it was normal for him to be in the washroom by himself.The man chuckled. “Of course not,” he said. He found the kid funny. He was talking about him, not himself.“Goodbye, handsome man." Little Lion waved his hand and rushed out of the washroom. He didn't want to keep his mom waiting.…“Big Yan, the men here are funny,” Little Lion said while chuckling.I creased my brows. “What did the men do?“ I asked. He had been in the bathroom for only a few minutes. How could he be judging people already?However, before he spoke, I caught sight of a man walking in our direction. I froze for a second.Without thinking, I ran behind a car that was on the side to hide, forgetting that I was with a child.And I widened my eyes when I saw Little Lion smiling at the man. “Hey, you scared us to death!“ He said.“Us? Were you with someone, little kid?" I heard Xin ask. I had not expected to see him at the airport, or worse, that he would be talking to Little Lion. Wasn't he always silent?“Um… I mean, I was scared. Wait, are you following me?” Little Lion said, and I sighed in relief. It would be shameful if he exposed me from my hiding position.Xin paused and looked at Little Lion. Then he rubbed his hair. “You are too insecure, buddy. This is the exit, right?“ He asked. The funny thing was that his voice was just so calm.“Uh, that's right,” Little Lion replied. “You keep going. I will go look for my mommy.“I sighed in relief when Xin got into his car and left. I hurried towards Little Lion. “Are you okay? Why were you talking to a stranger?“ I asked.Little Lion looked at me while smiling. “Mommy? Why did you hide from him? He is not Daddy Eze,” he said.I felt a little ashamed at his words. “Listen to me, Little Lion. You still should not talk to strangers,” I said fearfully. I was back, but I did not want any interactions with people who had hurt me."But he doesn't look like a bad person,” Little Lion said. I could see confusion on his face.But I shook my head. “You still don't know him. Stay away from him in the future,” I said worriedly. I hoped that things would not be bad.…“Miss, you passed the interview. You will be the personal secretary of our president,” the man who had introduced himself as Birdie said as he handed me a contract.I was stunned. “This first?“ I asked. I had just gone for the interview the same day. They could not be so fast with their selection, right?“Um, the panel was satisfied with your qualifications. And besides, there were only the two of you. You should be grateful that you were chosen. Do you accept the job?“ he asked.I hesitated for a second before nodding my head. I knew that there were only two candidates for that job since I had hacked into their systems and cancelled the other applications.I didn't want too much competition. After all, I was here for a reason. I wanted to gather enough evidence that the owners of the company were bad people. I could never let them off for acquiring my dad's company forcefully.“That's good! You can meet the president now. Still, you can choose to come tomorrow. But I would advise you to meet him now and talk so that things are easier for you,” Bridie said.“I will talk to him now,” I said. I wanted to see who that heartless person who was associated with my parents deaths was. It was time for my revenge.…I had a serious look as I walked into the president's office. But when the man inside lifted his head to look at me, I froze.“Um…” I turned around to look at Birdie. Was he playing a trick on me?“Is something wrong?“ Birdie asked with raised brows. Then he bowed at the man who was still looking at me. “Boss, she is your new secretary.“Xin, the man seated on the president's seat, waved his hand at Birdie, asking him to leave.My heart was beating so loudly against my chest, and so many things were going through my head. Xin owned the company?“It has been long, Isabel,” Xin said as he stood up.I felt frozen in place. I did not know why I felt scared of him for no reason.While I was abroad, I had tried thinking of the possibilities of us meeting again, but I had never thought that I would feel scared of him.“Are you thinking of hiding from me?“ He asked, bringing me back to my senses. I forced a smile and shook my head.“Why would I think of hiding? I didn't do anything wrong,” I said. I was feeling confused. I hadn't wronged him; why did I feel like hiding away from him?“Are you sure? Where have you been all these years?“ Xin asked and took a step towards me.Scared, I shook my head and hurriedly took a seat. “I came here to talk about work. I am shocked that you own the company,” I said.I realized just how bad I didn't know him in the past. All I knew was that he would leave for work. I didn't know that he was the owner of YX Corporation.Xin sighed and went back to his seat. Today, he didn't have that cold expression that he always wore in the past. But he wasn't warm
My heart was still throbbing hard against my chest, even when I was out of the office. Xin's behavior towards me left me shocked and confused.“Mommy! Mommy! We are here!“I turned around, and I was shocked to see Little Lion waving at me inside a car. I even thought that my eyes were playing a trick on me.I walked over with a fast-beating heart. “Little Lion..." I called.“Mommy, Daddy Eze came to see us! Aren't you happy?“ Little Lion said. And at the same time, a man got out of the car from the other side.“Yan,” he called with a smile, and he pulled me into his hands for a hug.I froze for a second. "Um, what are you doing here?“ I asked. I did not know that he was in the country.Eze sighed when I pushed him away. “Aren't you happy to see me? I missed the two of you and decided to pay a visit. Is something wrong with that?“I also sighed. “Let us go home. You shouldn't have come here,” I said. Even if he wanted to visit, he should not have followed me on my interview.I wanted t
Xin looked at me briefly before bending down to Little Lion's level. “Do you want me to take care of your mommy?“ He asked.“Yes!“ Little Lion almost shouted. “You look rich and powerful. You are the ideal person I have always had in mind.“Xin nodded and looked at me again. I didn't know why I felt like his look was full of ridicule. “Okay! I will do it. But can you answer one question for me?“ He asked.I felt confused. I did not understand why he wanted to ask Little Lion a question. But I hoped that it would not be anything out of reason.Little Lion nodded hurriedly. “What do you want to know? My mommy is not married. She does not have a boyfriend, either. There is only…”“Little Lion!“ I shouted and took a step forward. He would keep on embarrassing me if I let him continue talking to that man.“Your age,” Xin said, throwing me a look. “Can you tell me your birth date?“I froze in place, my heart beating so fast against my chest. How could he think of asking that question?Could
I froze in my seat once again. I thought that we had been done with that topic. Why was he asking about Little Lion again?“What? Aren't you going to say anything?“ Xin asked, his voice turning a little colder.I shook my head, feeling a little mad. “Who do you think you are to ask such questions? Little Lion just turned four last month. He was born on the twentieth of December,” I said.Xin was silent for a while. Then he sighed. “Did you sleep with another man after you left? Who is he?“ He asked. And I was taken aback. Why the hell was he asking those kinds of questions?I scoffed and looked at him in the eye. “President Xin, I would rather keep my personal life private. What does Little Lion's dad have to do with you?““I want to be his dad!“ Xin said it out of the blue, and I was startled.I creased my brows and looked at him to make sure that I had heard him right. “You…”Xin slowly parked the car at the side of the road and turned to look at me. “Can I? Please?“ He asked.I was
“Who else? Are you trying to deny it? Everyone saw you!“ Skye said loudly, making everyone else turn and look at me.Apart from being confused, I felt annoyed. Was she just trying to frame me so that I would look careless in front of Xin?“I saw you push it,” the girl seated next to Skye said, and I creased my brows more. It looked like I didn't have just one enemy in the office.I would have thought that I had actually knocked down the laptop unknowingly if they hadn't insisted that much.I smiled and looked at Skye. “I didn't do it,” I said. Who cared about her position in the company?“You…” Skye said, her lips quivering. “The laptop belongs to President Xin. It contains all the important information about the business deal he is supposed to close tomorrow. We are going to be dead!“.I shivered a little. I personally knew the kind of animal Xin could be. But I did not understand why they were blaming me for all that.“What's the commotion about?“ Someone spoke from the door, and we
I just realized that I had shouted at him when I heard gasps around me. Everyone was looking at me. I froze for a second, then forced a smile on my face.What was done was done. There was no way I was going to change that. Maybe I could just await the consequences.Xin, who was walking past me, stopped. I could see his eyes throwing daggers at me. He looked like he wanted to swallow me whole.“What are you up to, Isabel?“ He asked and leaned closer to me. And I shivered from his coldness. I knew that I must have pissed him so badly.I hurriedly shook my head. “Nothing. I just need your help. Is that bad?“ I asked and wore a pitiful look. Who said that I could not act pitifully?“Didn't you say that you would do everything by yourself? Are you giving up in the first ten minutes?“ He asked.I rolled my eyes at him. “Who said I was giving up? I want you to give me the passcode to your ruined laptop,” I said. Did he think that I wanted to work on the whole project with him?“My passcode?
My eyes opened wide in shock. Didn't he say that he was drunk and that he did not remember anything?Wasn't he also the person who said that I should never mention that night to him because it was a mistake? Why was he talking about it now?“Isabel, I missed you so much. Why did you leave without informing me?“ Xin asked again.And this time, I came back to my senses. I pushed him away and adjusted my clothes. Then I looked at him angrily. “Xin, have some respect for yourself, please. I don't know what you are up to, but please leave me out of it,” I said.Whom did he think he was? I was never going to trust a word that came out of his mouth.Sigh! I took a deep breath and looked away from him. Even though I was mad at him, my heart was beating so fast. It almost sounded like he cared about me.I thought that the evil boss would shut up, but he chose to be shameless. Xin took another step towards me and looked into my eyes.“Isabel, why don't you give me a chance to explain to you ev
"Am I welcome?“ Xin asked and looked up at me. His look made my intestines churn.“Mommy! Handsome Xin came over! Let him in, please,” Little Lion said, holding Xin's hand. I even became confused. Since when did the child start pleading for the sake of the man?I cleared my throat and looked up at Xin. “What do you want?“ I asked. If there was anything that he wanted to tell me, he should have done it when we were at work! There was no need for him to follow me over.“I brought dinner,” he said, waving the bags in his hands. And a frown appeared on my face.“President Xin! What is your game today? Little Lion and I can take care of ourselves,” I said angrily. It was not like we were ever going to sleep hungry.“By eating that?“ Xin asked and pointed at the bowls of noodles that I had set on the table. I felt a little embarrassed.I had come home late, and I didn't have time to prepare food. So I decided to prepare something very simple for the two of us.I swallowed hard and looked ba