Chapter 1: Run!
She woke up late. Again! This was already the n-th time this week! What was going on with her??
She quickly dressed herself and left her apartment in a hurry.
She was waiting for the elevator to arrive and since she was staying on the 13th floor, the elevator would take a while to arrive.
Suddenly her phone rang.
She quickly fumbled around her purse to look for it and picked it up.
.....
"Xiao Yan Zi~!!"
A crisp, clear voice sounded from her phone as she had to distant her phone a little bit away before she went deaf.
Qi Ling, her childhood friend continued to roar on the phone, "I hope you're already on the way? Remember!! The presentation for the Anniversary celebration is today. If you screwed it up, I will definitely come back this time and kill you myself!!"
This is Qi Ling, her best friend. And her only friend in this country. Female, 32 years old, single, 1.75m tall (5.8 ft), 50 kg (110 lbs).
She had short bob hair which she dyed light brown. "I want to look like Utada Hikaru on her glorious days, and no, don't you dare give any comment on this. I have made up my mind". That's what she said when she ambushed Shao Yan two years ago after coming back from country U.
And ever since then, it became her trademark look.
"Remember be confident!", her rant continued, "Always raise your chin by one inch when you presented the proposal, that's how you gained more height for yourself!", and then she laughed out loud.
Three blacklines appeared in Shao Yan's head and she countered, "Hey! Tiny is mighty! I am already 1.55m (5.0 ft), it is the standard height for women all around the world! Don't make fun of me!".
The elevator had arrived so she stepped inside and continued her conversation with Qi Ling, "Xiao Ling, where are you this time? And when are you coming back? What should I do with all those flowers and gift from your boyfriends?".
Qi Ling stopped laughing and sighed softly, "Singapore. I'm so tired~ Two more shows and I should be back next month. Just throw them away, or keep them, I don't care."
"And it's not my boyfriends, okay! Who told me to be this gorgeous to have this many suitors. But too bad, none of them get into this Queen's eye!".
Shao Yan could only shake her head and say helplessly, "Don't play with their hearts if you don't want anything to do with them, just tell them right away and move on."
She was now in the underground parking lot and walking to her car. When Qi Ling heard the car remote beeped, she closed the call, "Xiao Yan Yan, good luck! If you aced this promotion, I will come back bearing the gifts of your lifetime!!".
Shao Yan said a few more words of advice to remind her to eat on time and so on, before finally hanging up. She started her white Mazda3 and slowly eased out of the parking garage.
.....
Sha had been staying in country U for eight years before coming back to China two years ago after her divorce.
She met Qi Ling by accident when she was on a business trip to Paris a few months before coming back and when Qi Ling found out that Shao Yan was coming back, she offered to let her stay with her.
Qi Ling was a model, so for job purposes, she purchased a condominium in the CBD area so she could move around easily for work.
This was also a good option for Shao Yan whose new office was actually only fifteen minutes drive away.
Traffic was considered light even though it's already 8.30 in the Monday morning.
Her proposal presentation was scheduled for 9.30 and she was driving like mad now.
Shao Yan had a habit of reviewing everything before presenting her material and she had allocated 30 minutes for this time.
IF she could make it to the office by 9. She softly sighed. Why did it had to happen today of all days~
After a quick drive, a tall building with glasses showed upon her view.
This 50 floor building was where she had been working for the past 2 years. The company that she was working at, Gold Crane publication, was the most popular publishing company in the country, occupying the most top 10 floors.
She was lucky to get this job by referral from her previous boss who was having tea with an old friend. Mr. Lennar, her manager, praised her to high heaven to the point that her current boss, Mr. Wang, was sold right away and signed her on the spot.
She was not used to being late so she was so frustrated looking at the fully loaded parking area. After a while, she finally found a spot and quickly parked.
She gathered all her stuff from the backseat and sprinted to the office. She was walking really fast, while checking to make sure she had her badge and proposal inside the bag.
One hand was holding her phone and the other hand was holding her bag while shifting through it.
Along the way to the main lobby elevator, she kept bumping to people and thus kept apologizing.
She also bumped into a man holding a cup of coffee that spilled and stained his gunmetal pants.
She could only quickly turn her head around and yell, "Sorry~!! I'm rushing right now, meet me down here in 2 hours and I will buy you a new cup! I'm sorry!!" and hastily walk away.
The man was stunned for a second before his cold eyes followed her rushing figure.
He was about to turn and walk away when she suddenly turned around and shouted, "And your pants too!".
And as if she realized what she just blurted, her face turned bright tomato red before waving and ran away again to chase the elevator.
He paused and chuckled before giving a last look to her tiny figure and then walked out to the front lobby.