'Why does it feel like I'm in the coldest region of Tibet?' Gu Sheng thought as he pursed his lips into a thin line.
Lingyun looked at him with lethal eyes, his eyebrows twisted in a crisp frown.
Gu Sheng bowed his head and chose to remain silent. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the steady ticking of the pendulum clock, which served as a constant reminder of the passing time.
"So the proposal was rejected by Xia Enterprise, huh?" Lingyun was holding the documents tightly and his calm timbre made Gu Sheng shake.
'So this is what they mean by calm before the storm?'
"I'm afraid to say so, but yes sir." Gu Sheng was himself surprised that he didn't stutter when he spoke.
Lingyun looked at the meticulously written annotations and his frown deepened. The level of detail and effort put into the notes impressed him, evident from the curl that formed on his upper lip.
'B-Bo-boss is smiling? Is it that bad? Will I be alive today?'
In a swift and almost illusionary manner, Lingyun's perfectly shaped lips suddenly stiffened. "Find out who the consultant was and ask Wang Minhong to meet me."
"Yes, sir." Gu Sheng hurried out of the room and brought Wang Minhong according to his boss's instructions.
Wang Minhong glanced at Gu Sheng who gave him a pitiful look and that was his sign to start praying to god if he wanted to make it out alive today.
"You were the in charge of the resort project in Q province, right?" Lingyun's voice was serene, but had a frigid edge that tyrannised people.
"Y-yes, sir?" Minhong gulped, fidgeting nervously with his finger.
"How long were you working on this project?"
"What si-sir? Oh yes, for 4 months."
"All those months you spent in research and this is the best you could have come up with?"
"Sir, I'm-"
"All those years of training and you decided to be incompetent while handling such an important project?"
"I'm sorry sir, I'll try my best to correct my mistakes. Please forgive me!" Minhong almost fell down on his knees. He knew his life was on the line and the demon king never showed mercy to anyone.
"Get out!" Lingyun snarled losing his cool. He had shown enough patience already which was pretty confounding. There was no use of begging for another chance cause he doesn't believe in second chances.
Minhong scrambled to his feet and left knowing that he had no room for argument.
"Fire him and the entire board which was responsible for this project and replace them with team B."
"Alright, young master." Gu Sheng suspired when he realized that the storm had passed. "And about today's lunch..."
"Dammit.", Lingyun brushed his hair back and quickly checked his phone to see if he had any missed calls but there were none. "I almost forgot about it. Tell her not to be mad."
"Lady Mengrui informed me that she was to waiting for you at Shangri-La. You didn't meet her last month, she was really disheartened because of it."
"Hmm. I'll meet her today."
"Then I'll take my leave."
...
Lingyun stood outside Shangri-La and lit up a cigarette. The sun was high up in the sky, almost blinding.
"I told you smoking isn't healthy."
He cast a glance at the girl who was standing beside him.
"I'm trying to quit it." He took another drag and linked his arm with her. They walked inside the hotel.
"Why didn't you come to my parents' house last week? My mother was eagerly anticipating your visit," Mengrui asked with a hesitant smile. She attempted to initiate a brief conversation as they walked together down the long corridor and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling casted a yellow glow on them.
"I was busy." Lingyun stubbed the cigar on an ashtray kept at the reception counter. "A table for two."
"Right away, sir."
An escort guided them towards the VIP section.
Lingyun pulled out a chair for Mengrui, ensuring she was comfortably seated, before taking his own seat across from her.
Mengrui's lips formed a slight pout as she expressed her disappointment. "You didn't even meet me last month. You didn't keep your promise of having a monthly dinner with me."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't cancel my schedules. I'll make it up for you, let's go to the amusement park sometime later."
Mengrui's eyes immediately lit up. He hardly ever asked her out on dates. If he was asking her to go to the amusement park with him then this was already a huge progress! "Okay, let's go there next Friday."
"Hmm, now order whatever you like."
"I'll go with Corn Shellfish broth, Scampi Risotto and soba noodles."
"Same for me."
The waiter took down the order and within 30 minutes their food was served.
"Did you hear from Xia Lihua recently?", Lingyun asked, nonchalantly.
At the mention of the name Mengrui's shoulders stiffened. Why her?
"No, I haven't." She straightened her back and smiled as sweetly as ever. "Why are you asking about her all of a sudden?"
"It's surprising cause she is now an idol singer." Lingyun clicked his tongue, his inky eyes staring at her with a piercing intensity.
I heard about it," she said, her tone tinged with a mix of concern and disappointment, pretending that she hadn't seen Lihua on Nation T.V. "Lihua didn't contact me or anyone from her family. Even her dad was worried about her."
Mengrui intentionally portrayed Lihua in a bad light. She painted her as an unfilial daughter who constantly worried her father and caused trouble.
Lingyun looked bored like his usual self, but there was a subtle change in his eyes. "What did your grandfather say?"
Mengrui bit her lips.
Why is he suddenly interested in that girl? For the past three years, he had shown no interest in Lihua, their previous engagement seemingly forgotten. Someone like Lihua wasn't fit to be Madam Yang.
Only she could truly be the rightful Madam Yang, deserving of being Lingyun's fiancée.