"Why haven't you still found that girl!? "
He Shen threw his papers that were stacked on his desk, raging at his secretary and his other bodyguards as they bowed in front of him. The papers were scattered around them, He Shen, huffing and puffing in an attempt to cool down his anger.
"Ever since she ran away from this house, we can't even get ahold of her, her papers and infos blocked—not knowing if she's even enrolled or not!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. He Shen," his secretary apologized as he gave another bow once more, "I'm trying my best to get a hold of her. However—"
"However?" He Shen interrupted, "However, what?"
He Shen slumped on his office chair, already lighting up a cigarette as one of his escapes when it comes to stress. He then got a hit of it and then exhaled, intentionally blowing it to his secretary and bodyguards.
"If only you were paying attention when you were on duty that night when she ran away… this would not have happened!"
"We're sorry, Mr. He Shen," both of his bodyguards said in unison, giving another bow as He Shen sighed, already finishing the cigarette immediately.
"You are to look for her. Do you understand?"
"Yes," the three men in front of him immediately answered, He Shen now putting and crossing his ankles on the table before him.
"You wouldn't know what would happen… if ever that Shu Xian coincidentally meets those people. You wouldn't want to go down with me, do you not?"
The three men didn't dare to answer. With He Shen's lips curling into a smirk, he spoke again as he lit another cigarette, continuing to talk to them.
"If you also did a good job 19 years ago, this would not have happened but anyway, with their child as our revenge ticket to get what they have, then there's nothing we should worry about. But until then…"
He Shen now stood up, looking at his people condescendingly as the cigarette was in between his fingers, the ashes falling on the floor and on some papers that were beneath him.
"Find Yan Ran. If we can't get ahold of her until now, then she must've met someone when she ran away. Someone powerful at that. Search the whole country if you have to. Once you have a single clue as to where she is, inform me immediately. Understood?"
"Yes, Mr. He Shen."
"Good."
With that, his bodyguards already left, the secretary still inside his office as he picked up the papers that were on the floor, and fixing them back on the table once he has sorted them well.
He Shen ignored his secretary. Instead, he walked towards the window and stared at the city lights outside, He Shen still continuing to smoke as he watched the cars below come and go, already calming down from his annoyance.
"Zheng Zi," He Shen called out, Zheng Zi, He Shen's secretary, already stopping midway his task for a while as he looked at his boss expectantly.
"Yes, Mr. Gu?"
This time, he addressed him as Mr. Gu, He Shen's family name. Gu He Shen then turned his body to look at Zheng Zi, taking another hit of his cigarette before throwing it on his office floor to litter.
"How is your investigation on my elder brother? Has he stopped investigating the issue?"
"No," Zheng Zhi immediately answered, "Until now, we are still doing our best to close our connections so as to not give him even a single clue," he added, He Shen, smirking as he nodded approvingly at his secretary.
"Good. We'll keep it this way," he said, already leaving the room to leave his secretary behind in his office. "Fix the room. And then update me with my work schedule for tomorrow. I can't stand to be my brother's stand-in."
"Mr. He Shen."
He bowed until He Shen left the room. The moment he heard the door close behind him, he raised his body as he heaved another sigh, already picking up the papers and stacked it on his table and started sorting it.
'Aaah… I always hated it when he threw tantrums on his papers. I hate sorting them after I have already sorted it.'
Zheng Zhi stopped doing his task for a while. He stared out the window, a frown slowly coming to his face as he remembered Yan Ran—now known as Shu Xian, already desperate to look for her before their boss has their heads for another failed attempt.
'I have a family to feed… Shu Xian, please… where are you?'
***
It was already morning and Shu Xian was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Wan Wan was beside her, already expectant of the food Shu Xian was cooking. She then looked at her dog, shaking her head as a grin crept her face.
"You're not going to eat human food for this morning! You have to eat the remaining dog food I gave you so my money won't get wasted!"
Wan Wan whimpered, actually knowing the word "dog food." With hearing it a lot of times from Shu Xian every time she served her her food, it sort of trained Wan Wan what is meant by the word "dog food," making her this sad once she knows what she's going to eat.
At the same time, Pan An had already arrived in the kitchen. With a small towel on top of his head as he did a quick morning shower, she greeted Shu Xian as he sat on the table, the girl already putting the eggs and bacons on the table with two pairs of toast.
"A light breakfast this morning," Shu Xian said, removing the apron then she hung it on the wall, already sitting beside Pan An. "Later at dinner, I'm thinking if we should have something unique since I saw some pasta in your cupboard. A simple spaghetti, perhaps?"
Pan An nodded, actually liking the idea.
"That's good!"
"Also, I'm thinking…" Shu Xian trailed off, already eating as she got one sunny side egg, and then two strips of bacon on top of her toast. "If you wanna have a packed lunch? I'm thinking to get packed lunch, too."
"That's also good. Of course, you'll be getting the money for it?"
"Of course!" Shu Xian grinned, giving him her wallet. "Now fatten up my wallet, and I'll go grocery shopping after duty!"
Pan An shook his head, starting to eat his toast as well.
"We go grocery shopping later. You shop once a week, next week, you'll start shopping alone."
"Alright, fair enough—since I only suggested this idea right now," Shu Xian agreed, the two of them already having a good breakfast as they prepare for their lessons in the university.