Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Apology gift
Iris woke up early as usual. Her restless brain refused to let her sleep any longer as it reminded her of everything she had to do today: signing documents, three hour-long meetings, the revision of the construction site for that bridge and the presentation of the mock-ups for the new developing software.
Over the years she had learned to relegate the work to capable subordinates, but her schedule was still quite busy. Her dream right now was to cement the establishment of the company in Huisu, the biggest port in the orient, and then leave the expansion to other countries to the team she had designed for the job.
Afterwards, she would finally retain herself to the management of Seren Investment, significantly reducing her workload. She didn't worry about losing her position in the conglomerate, since Seren Investment was the major actionist in all the companies under the Seren umbrella, and she was the major actionist in Seren Investment, so her ownership over her empire was well established. If she took into account the personal shares she had in all of the firms as well, there was no one out there who would be capable of dethroning her even if she decided to retire tomorrow.
Besides, she was pretty content with her quality of life, only the passion for her job made her go to the office everyday. That, and the fact that she would die of boredom if she stayed at home.
She got out of bed and dressed up for her morning jog. While tying the laces of her sneakers she looked down on the city through the floor to ceiling windows of her apartment. The skyscrapers were partially covered by the morning mist, reflecting the first sun rays of the day in their angled architecture. Iris hummed to the music in the elevator before getting out into the building's lobby.
"Hello, Mr. Jian."
Mr. Jian was the doorman of the Emporium building. His build was robust, but his face was gentle.
"Good morning, madam. Have a nice run today as well."
"Thank you. Oh, I watched the movie you told me about yesterday. It was really good."
"I knew you would like it, madam."
"You were right. I'll make it up to you one of these days."
Mr. Jian chuckled.
"Thank you, madam."
"No, thank you. I'll be back in a while."
"Go safely, madam."
The doorman opened the door for her and she sent him a bright smile. She stepped out into the chilly autumn air, wrapping the scarf around her neck a bit tighter.
"Miss Zhou! Miss Zhou! Over here!"
The flash of a camera blinded her for a second.
"Good morning, Jim. I see you are persistent today as well."
"You know how it is, Miss Zhou. They have been pressuring us for some new information."
"Liar. You always say the same thing. I'm going for a jog now, but you can join me if you want."
Iris was sometimes surrounded by paparazzi. With her groundbreaking success in the business world and impeccable taste in fashion, she soon became quite an icon. After arriving at Huisu, everyone pestered her for information about the expansion of her company, the business partnerships they were considering, and the projects they planned to develop, but she never revealed anything that hadn't been officially posted already.
She was used to being followed around by cameras, and she had discovered that the photographers were quite nicer if you actually acknowledged their existence. They were only doing their job anyway. She knew some of them by name now, even trading jokes whenever they followed her.
By entertaining their questioning for a while, she managed to get them to stop following her for the rest of the day, and they didn't barge much into her private life since she was willing to tell them about some of it. Quite an efficient arrangement if you asked her, but this was only possible thanks to her extreme lack of care about what others thought of her. She felt it was funny how people who had never seen her wanted to know so much about her.
This, however, only made her fame soar. Iris was closer to a celebrity than a business mogul, and she had gained quite a substantial fan club with her unpretentious and down-to-earth attitude.
The photographers who had come for the first time were quite surprised at her open demeanor, but they still jogged alongside her as she began today's run.
"Miss Zhou, is it true you are participating in the government bid for the new bridge?"
"Yes. We placed the bid yesterday."
"Is this the beginning of a rivalry between Seren and Qin Industries?"
"Competition is not rivalry, and competition is necessary between companies to avoid monopolies and help the average consumer, so I don't really see it as a negative relationship."
"Miss Zhou, could you tell us what you think about the new Chenal winter collection?"
"Some of the clothes are really beautiful, but I feel they are a bit overpriced. I prefer buying from smaller brands since you get each of your pennies' worth. We should try to support independent designers."
"Miss Zhou, what do you have to say about the rumors of your relationship with Young Master Qin?"
A dark laugh came from her lips. A couple of the photographers shivered.
"Me? With him? God, are you guys running out of creativity that you need to come up with these things? Didn't you just ask me if we were rivals?"
"Then the post he uploaded about meeting you-"
"We both attended the same event, but I don't really remember talking to him."
The questions kept coming for some time until they turned around a corner and finally reached the Entrance to the Emporium building.
"I have to get to work now, so I won't answer any more questions."
"Thank you, Miss Zhou."
"No problem."
Iris glanced at some of the panting paparazzi and chuckled.
"Next time you should wear jogging sneakers."
----
Li Jun was behind the counter in the shop as usual, brewing some coffee while listening to the low murmur of the TV. It was set on the business news channel, where an excited anchor was presenting the most recent events in Huisu city.
"This morning Seren's CEO, Iris Zhou has confirmed the participation of Seren Construction in the bid for the new bridge the government has released. She also rejected the idea of a rivalry with Qin Industries, and shared with us some of Seren's goals for the upcoming months."
Iris' face answering some questions played on the screen. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and the exercise, making her look more charming than usual.
One of the customers sitting close to the television laughed as he began discussing Iris' antics with the woman sitting beside him.
"Today as well, CEO Zhou made the paparazzi run after her in order to answer their questions."
"She really is an interesting woman. No business mogul has ever shown us such a side. Many of her employees say that she is quite professional in a business setting, but at the same time she seems to be having fun making the paparazzi literally have a run for their money. "
"The photographers remarked she is very approachable once you get close to her."
"Well, I don't know if I would be able to. Have you seen her walking around by chance? She has quite a domineering aura. Even when she's smiling she's scary."
"True, I don't even know how that Qin guy ever thought of posting something so ambiguous."
"You think it was on purpose?"
"Obviously! You could tell by what he wrote that he-"
The jingle of the bell interrupted the conversation as Iris Zhou herself walked into the shop in another of her glamorous coats.
"Good morning."
"Welcome."
"Oh, you were here yesterday."
Iris looked him up and down for a second, settling her gaze on his chocolate irises. He looked right back at her, without adverting his eyes.
This surprised her a bit as most people tried to avoid her even though she had never been particularly mean to anyone. She felt it was a pity since she thought of herself as quite sociable, but it seemed impossible to get rid of her status when talking to anyone. Everyone was always conscious of her, either scared or adulating.
This young man, though, didn't seem impressed, making him quite refreshing to her eyes.
"A latte as well today?"
Iris nodded.
"Could you please also add-"
"A chocolate croissant?"
"Yes, a chocolate croissant."
Li Jun felt her stinging stare on his back while he worked the coffee machine. She carefully inspected the shape of his arms underneath his woolen sweater, intrigued by the ripples of the fabric that changed positions with every movement.
The light from the window hit the side of his figure, illuminating the half of his cheek she could see from her spot, along with a peek of his dark lashes over his cheekbone. He turned towards her, revealing the rest of his jaw and nose. Iris discovered a small mole right under his lower eyelid, and that the color of his eyes looked lighter in the sun.
She hadn't even noticed when she had inched closer, and without realizing it, she was now almost right against the counter. Regaining her composure, she took a step back. Her face didn't betray anything.
Just as before, Li Jun placed the coffee on the benchtop instead of in her hand, and proceeded with the payment process. Once everything was done, she was about to turn and leave, but she couldn't help but ask:
"What is your name?"
"What?"
"Your name. I really like the coffee here, so I am thinking of coming every day, and I like knowing the names of the people around me."
He wondered whether this was a foreign custom he was unaware of.
"My name is Li Jun."
"Nice to meet you, Li Jun. I am Iris Zhou."
She stretched her perfectly manicured fingers in a handshake, with a small smile on her face.
Li Jun hesitated. His hands felt glued to the counter, and cold sweat began running down his spine. His lips parted, not knowing what to say, as he felt how the seconds painfully ticked by without any answer from him.
Noticing he was uncomfortable, Iris retracted her arm.
"Oh, that must have been rude of me. I apologize."
"No, I..."
No more words came out of his mouth. His gaze was downcast.
"Don't worry about it, it was my mistake. I am still not used to Huisu's customs, please forgive me."
Iris felt it would be best if she left.
"Please keep this as an apology gift."
After hearing the jingle from the door, Li Jun lifted his eyes from the floor. Before him, sat the paper bag with the chocolate croissant.
----
"Li Jun, are you at the hotel?"
"Yes, aunt. I'm here."
"Good. She is waiting for you at the restaurant in the first floor."
Following Feng Lan's instructions, a neatly dressed Li Jun walked past the restaurant's doors. The attendant escorted him to his table, where an elegant young lady was sitting.
"Are you Li Jun?"
"Yes."
"Hello, I am Qin Hee."
"Hello."
Qin Hee was extremely nervous. It had taken her two hours to choose this dress and she had arrived half an hour early.
She had been tasked with meeting this man by her father, with strict instructions to charm him as he would probably be her future fiancé. With the tension in the house after Seren Corp joined the bid his uncle's company was pining for, this alliance with the Li's had become crucial, because they were the only conglomerate in Huisu even slightly comparable to the Seren empire.
'Remember, the only reason you are addressed as the Qin's Second Young Lady is because I have been busting my back for this company, and my brother is extremely kind to us, but that position could change anytime. If you marry into the Li family however, our place in the Qin's would immediately solidify.'
She flashed Li Jun with her sweetest smile, feeling appreciative of her future husband's beauty. He would look quite well holding her arm at parties and events.
He sat across the table from her and ordered some entrées before finally looking back at her.
"Miss Qin, I am not sure of what your parents told you, but before there can be any misunderstandings, I want to make clear that I am by no means interested in a relationship."
His voice fell on her like a bucket of ice-cold water.
"I am only attending this dinner out of respect for my aunt, so I apologize if I have disappointed your expectations."
Qin Hee blinked a couple of times, thinking of what to answer, but she still held her smile. She had thought he would also be eager for this deal, after all, they shared the condition of being external members to the main branches of their families. His disregard for his elders' interests baffled her.
"Oh, you too? I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was actually wondering how to bring up the subject, but thank god you beat me to it."
Yes, this was the right path. He didn't have to agree to it immediately anyway. Even if he didn't see how important this was for his position in the Li family, maybe if she wooed him enough he would come to terms with the idea of marrying her. She believed she could make him fall for her, she only needed some time to become closer to him. Friendship could be a good place to start.
The rest of the dinner passed with some small talk. Qin Hee quickly learned how reserved Li Jun was. Getting private information out of him was extremely difficult, and by the end of the day he had only told her things she already knew from her parents' briefing about the man.
They walked out from the hotel, meeting the cold breeze. Qin Hee rubbed her arms. She had dressed lightly specifically for this moment.
"Ugh, it's getting colder these days."
"Yes, winter is approaching. Make sure to dress warmer when you go out next time."
Contrary to her expectations, Li Jun didn't offer his coat to her. He only called for a taxi, opening the door for her once it arrived. She sat on the backseat, looking up at him with sad eyes.
"Li Jun, I-"
"Well then, Miss Qin, it was nice meeting you. Good night."
Li Jun then shoved his hands into his pockets and briskly walked away towards the nearest bus stop. He hated the cold.
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