The harsh ringing tone roused Han Yichen. He sleepily wondered why blood-pumping sounds of war were so close by. Was the TV on? or did war really break out in City A?
Two seconds later, he snapped into reality and looked at the offender. The mobile phone was merrily screeching away, but failing to wake its owner.
Pei Yueran was still asleep, only taking a moment to change her sleeping position. He didn't want to wake her, knowing that she didn't sleep well the night before, but a quick look at the clock showed 7:10am.
The alarm had snoozed twice already, and they would both be late if they didn't get up.
Still, he decided to let her sleep for a few more minutes while he went to brush his teeth. Before leaving his room, he took his phone from his study table and texted Grandma Zhou.
"Hello Grandma. Please call Mom. She had a nightmare again." Satisfied, he sent it out and put down his phone.
Few minutes later, he went back to Pei Yueran's room and shook her gently. " Mom, wake up, it's morning." She stirred, and then woke up.
"Good morning Xiao Chen", she greeted him as she stretched.
She paused in the act of stretching when she saw the time. She jumped out of bed screaming "oh no, we're late" even as she raced into the bathroom.
Han Yichen looked at her racing figure and shook his head. No wonder war sounds were her alarm tone. Almost every morning started out like a scene from the battlefield.
The bedsheets were left on the floor in her haste to leave the bed, and he knew that her clothes will be strewn about soon. She always cleaned and arranged the house regularly though, so it wasn't a problem.
He just wondered how she could be so serious one moment and so scattered the next.
"Xiao Chen, are you still there? won't you prepare for school?"
"Oops", he mumbled and raced away to his room.
"I guess it's like mother, like son today."
*****
By 7:55am, both of them were dressed, had eaten breakfast and ready to leave.
Han Yichen attended First International, one of the most prestigious elementary schools in City A. It was renowned for the high level of education, as well as their commitment to all-round education, including extracurricular activities. He was in the final class, graduating in less than six months.
Pei Yueran had been looking for middle schools for him since he said he wasn't going to continue at First International.
The reason he gave her was that he wanted to explore other schools and maybe get into a school that offers a full scholarship, since First International only gave half scholarships to talented students.
The real reason though, was that he was stalling until he could convince her to move to another place, preferably another city.
Even now though, he wondered if that would ever happen, as his mother loved her job and this very house that had all her memories with his father.
Pei Yueran worked for AiChen Mobile, a company specialized in the production of electronic gadgets, mainly phones. It was a subsidiary of the Li Conglomerate.
The Li Conglomerate was one of the largest in the entire country, and had its headquarters in City M. It comprised of a group of companies and had a monopoly of the domestic AI market. They also had a share in the real estate, clothing, medical, entertainment and hotel industries.
The head of the Li family, Li Qianye was a very decisive man who took risks and built up the century-old aristocratic family into the business hegemon it was today. He was someone Pei Yueran really admired, and he was the reason why wanted to work in one of the companies under the Li Conglomerate.
She had read all his books and watched every speech he had ever given. Even Han Lei used to tease her, asking who she would save if he and Chairman Li fell into the water.
Remembering those times always brought a pang of pain to her chest.
She admired Chairman Li's leadership skills and work ethics, and imbibed many of his principles. Combined with her hard work and quick mind, she rose quickly through the ranks in a short span of eleven years.
She was currently the youngest female managing director in the company, a promotion that came a mere two weeks before.
As a junior executive, she had more responsibilities, and she had been going to the office earlier to familiarize herself with her new duties and post.
"Have a nice day at school."
"Enjoy your day Mom", Han Yichen waved at her and walked into the school. He greeted the security guard, who smiled at him.
A few students could be seen hurrying into their classes, looking smart in their uniforms.