12 THE TROUBLE HUA ZHENDAN’S IN (2/2)
Hua Zhendan pressed the buzzer and spoke into it, ”Let her in.”
Xuan Tianmei came in and took a seat on the office chair right beside Tan Yao's. ”Good morning, Hua Zong. Big Sister Qin told me you wanted to see me.”
”Good morning,” Hua Zhendan said, in reply to her greeting. ”Where's Xuan Tianyi? He was supposed to be here by 9 am.”
”I... I don't know,” Xuan Tianmei looked flustered, almost worried. ”He left the house before I did.”
”I see,” Hua Zhendan frowned.
”I... There's something I wanted to ask you,” Xuan Tianmei said, then threw a glance at Tan Yao, like she wasn't sure if she could ask in his presence.
Hua Zhendan immediately understood. Turning to Tan Yao, he said, ”Please wait outside for a bit.”
”Alright,” Tan Yao bowed a bit, then left the office.
Hua Zhendan nodded at Xuan Tianmei, letting her know it was okay to continue.
”I... I wanted to ask you not to hire Xiao Yi if that's okay.”
Although Hua Zhendan's face wore no expression, he was curious as to why she was asking something like that of him. He had always had the impression that she wasn't a manipulative person. He didn't want to judge her too quickly, but it seemed to him like she was starting to resemble his mother in more than looks.
”Well,” Xuan Tianmei continued, ”My brother... He is a bit reckless. You won't understand because you only just met him.”
Hua Zhendan frowned. He didn't know where she was going with what she was saying, but he also didn't like that she assumed he didn't know Xuan Tianyi well enough to realize he was a reckless person.
”Well, if he became a model, and he became popular, I'm just worried about him. In the future, I, he's the only family I have. I —”
”Xuan Tianmei,” Hua Zhendan called, interrupting her incoherent blabbering.
”Hua Zong,” she pouted.
”I understand where you're coming from.” He did. ”But, there are some decisions your brother should make on his own.”
Xuan Tianmei bit her lower lip. It was evident she didn't agree with him.
”Moreover, you're not his mother. You're only his sister. You don't need to burden yourself this much with your brother's life. If he has as much sense as you do, I'm sure he'll be fine.”
Xuan Tianmei's face lit up with a smile. It wasn't because Hua Zhendan had managed to convince her that Tianyi would be okay, but because Hua Zhendan had praised her. ”If you say so.”
Hua Zhendan nodded. ”If there's nothing else...”
”Yes, I'll go now.” Xuan Tianmei stood up to leave.
”Xuan Tianmei,” Hua Zhendan called her before she got to the door, causing her to halt altogether.
”Hua Zong?” she turned around.
”If you still need an assistant, tell it to Dai Li. She'll find you one before the end of the day.”
Smiling, Xuan Tianmei bowed slightly, ”Thank you, Hua Zong.”
”It's okay. Next time, if you need something, don't hesitate to ask for it.”
”Okay, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”
As she left, Tan Yao came back in, accompanied by Xuan Tianyi.
When Hua Zhendan caught a glimpse of Xuan Tianyi, his heartbeat accelerated again.
The longer he looked at Xuan Tianyi, the prettier he seemed. His lips looked redder than they looked yesterday. His lashes looked longer, and his eyes looked brighter than they did when he last saw him. Was his hair silkier? At this point, Hua Zhendan started to wonder if Xuan Tianyi was really as pretty as he thought he was or if his crush on him made him look that much pretty.
Standing beside Xuan Tianyi, even the Tan Yao whom he had waited for, for almost three hours the previous day seemed to pale in comparison.
As Hua Zhendan stared at Xuan Tianyi, he realized that what he felt for him wasn't a crush. He was in love with this idiot. In retrospect, he had fallen in love on that first night. As Hua Zhendan stared at Xuan Tianyi, he realized he was in trouble.