Five days had passed since Si Weimin had last seen Xu Jia Li. The longing he felt was unbearable but he had to hold back. He knew that she needed time to think, away from him. He didn't want to push his luck any further.
He missed her. God knew how much he did. However, the thing between the two of them was only known by his assistant and her manager. Even Zhen Nian didn't know.
Five days felt like five years. He spent his days working hard, exhausting himself to forget that he missed her. He would go back to his place, his physical body tired but his mind still wandered and thought about her.
Still, he tried his best. On the first day, before he went to visit their textile branch on Hangzhou, he went to Zhen Nian to ask about Xu Jia Li. He was hoping to know something about her. Later that night, he received a call from Zhen Nian, informing him that Xu Jia Li was alright.
He wasn't oblivious either about the rumors circulating in the social media sites. He was questioning his decision of being part of Sweet Memories. All he thought of that time was to get close to her.
'How wrong I was!' He blurted as he dropped to his bed.
He didn't anticipate the hate Xu Jia Li was now receiving. The first time he learned about the news demeaning her, he instantly called Wang Guo. However, he stopped himself and ended the call, on his mind, he knew that he should let Xu Jia Li do what she ought to do.
Visiting the different branches of their company, took most of his time. It was never a secret that every now and then, he still asked Wang Guo about Xu Jia Li. Wang Guo could only smile as he handed him the news.
"CEO Si, the news is still as worst."
Si Weimin would only nod as he read through it.
"What shall we do, CEO Si"
"I've spoken with Zhen Nian. I don't want to ruin Jia's plan."
He could only hope that everything would be alright. He trusted her and he had no doubt that she's capable of handling her own business.
The next morning, he flew and visited some of their branches in Guan Dong, overseeing the new branch in the southern part of the province which helped many people get jobs. Their textile products were always the leading brand in the market.
He then went to Dongguan to check their cosmetic company. The facility was one of the largest. It was modernized and equipped with high-end technology.
The target of Si International was to provide quality products for the consumers. As they were expanding, from textiles to medicine, this particular branch focused on beauty products that were eco-friendly and chemical free. The boom in the beauty products took China by storm.
It was Si Weimin who decided that their company should not only focused on textiles or medicines. So now, Si International Beauty Line was one of the famous beauty products all over China.
Their products could already rival the cosmetic lines of the most famous brands in Korea, considered as the Asia's Mecca of Beauty Products.
He directed Wang Guo to make sure that the facility would run smoothly. Later that day, he met the new manager.
"CEO Si, I'm Amanda Kane, the new manager."
Amanda Kane was a Chinese-American beautiful woman whose father was American and her mother, Chinese. She studied in France and was able to work in England as a manager in a cosmetic company. He was hired to be the new manager when Xui Ying resigned.
It was Wang Guo who hired her immediately when he saw her background.
She smiled at Si Weimin as she raised her right hand to shake his.
Si Weimin didn't even take her hand and just nodded as he scanned the facility. He noticed as Wang Guo gave Amanda Kane an apologetic smile.
He raised his brow as he glared at him. Wang Guo immediately went back in briefing him about the sales and flow of the production.
'He never changed. He's still as cold as ice.' thought Wang Guo, holding the tablet that has the reports.
"CEO Si, we will have a new product ready to release in the market." said Amanda. She wore that innocent smile as she focused her eyes on him. She was clutching some papers and reports that Si Weimin needed to sign.
Si Weimin nodded before he asked Wang Guo, "Wang Guo, has this product been tested?"
"Yes, CEO." answered Amanda Kane without waiting for Wang Guo to answer.
"Good." Si Weimin answered monosyllabically before he turned and walked directly to the laboratory.
Tailing behind were Wang Guo and Amanda Kane who couldn't help but smile awkwardly to each other.
Si Weimin examined the laboratory, making sure that they were producing only quality products. As he was walking, Wang Guo handed him his phone.
Granpa Si's name registered on the screen. He sighed. While he was there, Elder Si kept calling, asking him to visit. He told him that he was busy as he was in a business trip but the old man still called him every day, asking him to go home and see him.
He picked up the phone and answered, "Grandpa…"
"I told you, you brute! Go home immediately or you'll see me cold and dead."
"Don't be impossible, grandpa." He grunted.
"You need to come home tomorrow." Grandpa Si replied in a tone full of authority.
"I'll see what I can do," Si Weimin put his free hand on his nape, slowly massaging it, "I can't just leave when I have so much work to do."
"You don't need to do that! Just let Wang Guo do the work."
"Okay, I'll go home tomorrow."
"That's good. I'll see you tomorrow."
Si Weimin handed the phone back to Wang Guo after he ended the call, "Book the earliest flight back to Beijing tomorrow."
"Yes, CEO."
"Call Thomas and tell him to report to me once I got back."
"I'll do just that, CEO. Anything more?"
"Stay here while the new product is to be released. Make sure that everything is organized."
"Yes, CEO. By the way, the marketing department asked me about the model for the new product. They told me that Elder Si said that there's already someone perfect for that."
"Make that open for anyone who wants to audition. I'll leave the selection to you."
"B-but CEO Si. I thought you already agreed that Zhou Bingbing will be the model of the new product?"
"When did I say that?" Si Weimin said coldly.
"C-CEO, I mentioned that to you when we were in Guan Dong. It's what Elder Si wants." Wang Guo replied nervously as he wiped the sweat on his face.
"Cancel that. She's not fit for our products."