The aroma of brewed coffee lingered in the air as Li Nuxie's slender body bathed in the morning sun. Her smooth tanned skin has accentuated the immaculate cushions that decorated her sunken veranda nook. Wearing a loose white shirt that barely covered her buttocks, Li Nuxie flipped the pages of the brochure from the latest collection of Li Textile languidly.
A Chopin piece was playing in the background softly, seducing anyone to close one's eyes. She rubbed her eyes as she stifled a yawn. It has been a week since that nerve-wracking dinner with her grandma. She needed to come up with a good plan to bring the Li Textile to a new height.
She ran her fingers through her hair, squeezing her eyes shut before taking a deep breath. A good plan is easy to come by for Li Nuxie. However, the Old Madam Li will only see it as a temporary solution. Who said it was nice to be included in the register of the Li Family? Power comes with a lot of scheming and headache. The Old Madam Li has not maintained her position for so long without trampling people along the way. She smiled bitterly.
She needs to find a way to get into the inner circle of the First Young Master of the Xu Family, whoever he is. That's the only way to appease her grandma. But first, she needed to consolidate the power within the Li Textile. If Li Chao doesn't want the CEO position, then she will take it. She pressed her lips at the realization. Determination flashed in her brown eyes. Her hands grasped the pages rather tightly, crumpling it.
Li Chanying said that she was lucky she can do whatever she wanted. But the truth was there. Her freedom was an illusion. Reaching for the cup of coffee that long been forgotten, Li Nuxie took a sip. The coldness of the coffee washed thru her dried throat. But she doesn't notice that as her sight went beyond the veranda.
=0=
At the office of Ying Design Limited, Li Chanying was sitting on the floor separating different documents. A lollipop was in her mouth as she hummed lightly. A ring from the phone on the side table made her furrow her eyebrows. Who would give her a call on a Saturday morning? She raised her shoulders in a shrug as she continued what she was doing.
However, the ring incessantly disturbed the peace she was enjoying a while ago. Pulling out the lollipop from her mouth, she pressed her lips tightly as she crawled from where she was seated. She extended her hand and reached the phone.
"Ying, do me a favor."
Li Chanying cocked her head as lines appeared on her forehead. Did she hear wrong? Li Nuxie gave her a call?
"Are you doing something dirty, Li Chanying? I tell you, office is not the right place to do that. And since when did you have a boyfriend?" Li Nuxie, on the other side, twisted her mouth in annoyance. Meanwhile, Li Chanying's jaw dropped when she realized what her cousin told her.
"You! I am not doing something dirty. Your mind is so dirty," Li Chanying's hand gripped the phone tightly. A chuckled on the other line was heard. "Stop making fun of me."
"Okay, I'm not. I just need you to do something for me," Li Nuxie's voice turned serious which made Li Chanying straighten her back.
"Fire away," she said.
"How many followers does the official account of Ying Design Limited have?"
"Eh? Followers?" Li Chanying bit her lips, eyebrow raised. Since when did Li Nuxie become interested in social media?
"Yup. So? How many?"
Li Chanying closed her eyes. "Uhm, I guess around half a million?"
Li Nuxie who was raising her legs upwards while she lied down on her veranda nook knitted her eyebrows. "Only 500 thousand? How come?" She was expecting around one million and up.
"Yang Lina," Li Chanying answered curtly.
"Didn't grandma take care of it?"
"Well yeah. But the social media is not that forgiving."
Li Nuxie nodded as if her cousin was in front of her. "It doesn't matter."
Rolling her eyes, Li Chanying stretched her arms in front of her, the phone was sandwiched between her left shoulder and cheek. "But of course, the profit was not affected at all. Anyway, why are you interested?"
"Give me the names of the high-profile people who follow your website," Li Nuxie said, as if she did not hear Li Chanying's query.
"No. Reason first before favor," she insisted, pouting her lips.
Li Nuxie sighed exasperatedly. "I need to know how vast their influence is. Stop asking questions. You'll know about it eventually."
"Okay, okay. Chill," Li Chanying stood up and went in front of her computer. Browsing thru the settings, her fingers flew over the keyboard. She took a pen and paper. Her elegant handwriting slowly formed against the paper. "There are at least ten people who I think are high-profile."
"Give me three names. The rest, send it to my email," Li Nuxie said.
"Okay. Hong Chi, Song Ru, and Guan Min."
"Thanks. Keep your line open. I'll send something later," Li Nuxie ended the call. Tossing the phone randomly, her mouth curved upwards. Narrowing her eyes into slits, she lifted her chin. "Yangs, this is my move. How would you counter it?" she said loudly before standing up. As she stretched her arms upwards, her loose shirt was also pulled up revealing a black lace underwear.
She was not afraid to wear something provocative because her veranda was facing a blank lot. Also, high-rise buildings were miles away from the community, another thing that she liked about the area. Bending downward, she gathered her things before going inside.
However, Li Nuxie was wrong. Very much wrong. Somewhere in one of those high-rise buildings, a certain someone gulped his saliva when he witnessed what just happened. The man has been watching Li Nuxie when she went out of the veranda through his binoculars.
From the moment she went out of the veranda wearing only a loose shirt he wanted to strip off badly. And as she lay down in her sunken nook while reading something. Only his rugged breathing can be heard inside the room from where he was standing. He grasped the binoculars tightly, as if his life depended on it. The slender tanned legs had almost drove him to the brink of madness.
In his mind, he imagined Li Nuxie wrapping her legs around his waist. She was not tall, only 5 feet and 4 inches but Li Nuxie's legs created an illusion that she looked like a model from afar. He watched her changing expressions as she talked to someone over the phone. Is it a boyfriend? He shook his head. He knew that aside from her brother, Li Chao, no man was closed to her.
When Li Nuxie stood up and stretched up her arms, revealing a toned stomach and lacy underwear, the man's shoulders became tensed, the area below his belt tightened. He closed his eyes as he swallowed an imaginary lump in his throat. Opening his eyes, he brought the binoculars near his eyes again. He thought that was all of it. But when Li Nuxie bended downward, he groaned.
"Ah baby, stop tempting me," he whispered, his eyes went darker. It took all his self-control not to drive to Li Nuxie's house and take her right there and then.
On the other side, Li Chanying screamed as she heard the dial tone on the background. "You're so heartless, Li Nuxie!" She slumped on the chair, chewing her lips. What plan does her cousin have in mind? Her eyes sparkled as she thought about it. Li Nuxie has finally made her move. It's been a while since City S has witnessed an entertainment.