"Call JJ. I need to talk to him about the loss of this month's sale" Shi Lian tells Fang Xiao.

Nodding, she goes to her desk and calls him. Coming back to Shi Lian's office, she reports, "He says he will be here in a minute."

Shi Lian really got a shock this morning when she saw the decline in sales. The sales were in a good position how come it suddenly lose this much? Since the assessment, she hasn't talked to him.

"Chairwoman?" JJ's voice comes from the other side of the door. He came faster than expected.

"Come in!"

Opening the door, he enters inside. Shi Lian gestures him to sit on the chair opposite to hers.

"You called me in a hurry? Is everything alright?" he asks, making himself comfortable on the chair.

"Have you checked the sales today?"

"Not yet" he replies. Shi Lian passes the tabloid to him. He takes it and sees on the screen which is needed to be seen.

"You see the decline? Mind explaining how this happened?" she asks, looking at him.

He glances at her and then looks down on the screen again. "I checked the sales of May and June, it was stable. I don't know the reason for this sudden decline."

"You sure?" she presses. She finds him weird lately and also he has been hanging out with her uncle often. But every time she passes by them, the conversation they were having earlier, they will stop talking.

"You think I had to do someone with this?" he questions, suddenly on guard.

"That's not what I meant" Shi Lian explains, "What I want to say is that you manage the finance branch so eventually if the sales drop suddenly, I would be questioning you. In a sentence, you are responsible for the loss and profit."

"So you are indirectly pointing that I did something. C'mon Chairwoman, you don't have to twist your words" he says nonchalantly.

Shi Lian's nose crinkles and she can't understand why he acting like this. "JJ, I only said to explain why this sudden loss happened."

He sighs, rolling his eyes, "I don't know."

What is his problem? Why is the acting rudely? Shi Lian glances at Fang Xiao who is standing with her lips pursed together.

"Fine. You may go" she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. With her dismissal, he gets up and leaves the office.

Fang Xiao speaks up, "Miss Shi Lian, why didn't you acted sternly to him? He was rude. "

The first time Shi Lian met him, she had a good impression of him. He is like a strategist when it comes to business but these months, he hasn't done his work professionally.

"He may be having a bad day, perhaps" she tries to defend him. She will have to talk things out and know the cause of his indifference.

"No Miss Shi Lian. He is rude all the time. Every time I went, he will say things rudely" Fang Xiao says, getting annoyed just by thinking about him.

Sho Lian does not know about this. How could she? Fang Xiao never told her. "I'll look into it," she says. What else can she even say? She needs to know the root cause to say something on the topic.

"Get me the Augment file," she tells her, changing the subject.

Fang Xiao gets the hint and she goes to bring the file from where she has kept it.

**

Getting out of the office, Shi Lian as usual goes to her car but a familiar figure stops her right in front of her car. The same situation had happened once.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, making a sour face.

Taking off his sunglasses, he says, "You know why I am here to cut the chase and get in."

Shi Lian gapes, "Excuse me? Who do you think you are to come here and order me? Get out of my way" she snaps, trying to go past him but he blocks her by his arm.

"Miss Shi Lian, I request you to get in the car without any protest," Junjie says, a forced smile plaster on his face.

"Are you his chaperone? Or his Butler?" she mocks. "Or your boss is a coward?"

"Whatever you want to think, think. Nos please get in or if you want the media to get a snap of us together, then please, we could continue for a little longer" he threatens, still smiling.

Media. Fucking media. She hates this system.

"What for? We aren't on talking terms" she refuses to go. Why does she always have to do what he wants? Does he think she forgives him? She hasn't, not yet. After the incident he pulled the day before yesterday, she is mad at him but surprisingly the news didn't come out.

"Look, he only said that he wants to show you something important. That lad, I never saw him this crazy before, so I request you to come with me, leaving your anger inside your handbag."

What does he want to show her? Is he trying to trick her? Should she go? Argh, damn her pride is at stake!

"Shall we go?" he asks, growing impatient.

Fuck it. "Fine", she says and follows him inside the car. "Did your boss said what exactly is he going to show me?" she asks, trying to act uninterested.

"Nope, Missussss" he replies, stretching the last word as he starts the engine.

Shi Lian has no idea where this guy is taking her. Even after thirty minutes, they still haven't reached the destination. She texts her mother in case she starts worrying.

"Is the place in China?" she asks sarcastically, looking outside the window.

Junjie smirks, rotating the steering wheel to his left. "We have arrived."

Shi Lian looks around, trying to figure out where the hell she is. She has never been to this place. The place looks isolated. Stepping out of the car, she realizes she is in the middle of a forest. "Are you trying to scare me?" she asks him, gulping softly. What's there to show her in the middle of a fucking forest?

"Stop blabbering. Come" he offers his hand. Shi Lia looks at him, hesitant to hold his hand because she has no faith in him. She puts his palm in his, still not sure why they are here. "I do want to know what that Stoneface had made for you" he mutters, walking forward. There aren't even lights here!

They walk further and further and after five minutes, Shi Lian finds something glowing some distance further. She is curious now to see what Zichen has planned for her. "I am curious, man" Junjie grins.

Shi Lian rolls her eyes and proceeds further.

Reaching to where the lights are coming, Shi Lian's eyes go wide in surprise. Her mouth forms the shape of an O.

"Christ!" Junjie exclaims.

The view in front is exceptional. Lights are glowing all around and all the shrubs and unwanted plants are as if shaved from that area. It's as if there never was a forest. It appears so beautiful.

They walk forward, both of their jaws open. To her surprise, Zichen is standing at the center of the area. God help her, he looks breathtaking. Shi Lian's eyes are now stuck on him.

He smiles faintly and reaches to take her hand. "I am glad you are here. Do you like this?" he asks, taking her hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles.

Junjie has already let go of her hand minutes ago. She blushes and when he looks at her, she nods.

"Man, you did work hard" Junjie comments, impressed by Zichen's work.

"You may go. Your work is done" Zichen tells him more like orders him. Junjie knows there's no way he can argue so chose to leave instead. "Lovesick" he goes muttering the word.

Returning his attention to her, he smiles, "I thought you won't come."

"I wasn't going to. You should thank him for that" she says and that made Zichen laugh. "How did you even do this?" she asks looking around. She can't have enough of this already. It's like inside s themed house.

"For you, I can do anything," he says. Shi Lian cringes and makes a face. "You haven't yet seen the real thing yet. Come."

Shi Lian gets butterflies dancing inside her belly as she walks with him. Walking some distance forward, Shi Lian gets more and more curious. What could he have planned?