"Alright, we're here," Owner Huo said, parking the black vehicle in place.
Hearing his words, Yi Fei nodded and quickly shoved all her gift cards in the side pocket of her black school bag. Her fragile hands grabbed onto the handle, and taking a deep breath, she opened the car door.
"I'm here," She whispered. Her twinkling eyes gawked at the entrance of the building. It was already so familiar, yet it still amazed her.
--
"Approach Secretary Lim for your schedule. She can probably make one for you on the spot; it's not too difficult," Owner Huo lead the way to her office. The sort of nonchalance Owner Huo exuded was thoroughly different than what Yi Fei saw last time, perhaps that one occasion when Secretary Lim got angry was a once-in-a-blue-moon moment.
Alas... upon arriving a foot before they were in the view of Secretary Lim's sight, Owner Huo suddenly faltered and stopped in his tracks. Yi Fei bumped into his broad back, slamming her nose on the hard surface.
Yi Fei anxiously looked up, wondering what was wrong. She looked at his face, then noticed an intrusive lump in his throat area. Yi Fei watched his Adam's apple deliberately bobble down then rushing up.
'Was that a gulp?' Yi Fei wondered.
Curious as always, Yi Fei glimpsed at the figurine-filled office, observing Secretary Lim hard at work with a call on hold. She exhaled gravely before rapidly shouting a line of strong curses.
"Why the f**k hasn't that damn Huo showed up?!" Secretary Lim fumed. "Is he dumb? Has all that muscle got to his brain, eating it like a f**king parasite?!"
Secretary Lim heaved heavily for quite a while before swiftly adapting a calm composure on the surface. She picked up the phone again and said with a wide smile, "CEO Huo is not available at the moment. I can set an appointment with you on a later date."
Even Yi Fei could hear the displeased old man's voice on the other end despite the speaker not being on.
"Do I have to repeat myself? I want CEO Huo! He and I were going to make a deal today on the girls! I can't reach his cell, so you, the secretary, should contact him for me!" He furiously shouted over the phone.
"What is of importance that you will be talking about with CEO Huo?" Secretary Lim managed a kind voice with a twitching face. "As a secretary, I must prioritize things in an orderly manner. So if I could know the deal you're talking about, I could potentially set an appointment at an earlier date."
"Nothing a woman like you should know! I'm a busy man, and I can't deal with your nonsense anymore. I will be expressing my complaints personally to CEO Huo, watch out! Don't beg for my forgiveness later!" The man abruptly hung up.
Secretary Lim listlessly stared into a blank space, and Owner Huo deliberated if this was the right time for him to come in. He was about to say hello when the slow movement of her opened mouth caused him to flinch. Before Yi Fei knew it, Owner Huo attentively covered his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut.
On the other hand, Yi Fei thought Secretary Lim was going to sigh again. She pitied Secretary Lim; sexism was still a thing in the modern era, and no one treated secretaries well. Yi Fei glanced at Owner Huo, who was already covering his ears. She was puzzled with his weird actions until a sudden ear-screeching yell out of extreme frustration in such a high-pitch voice bellowed out from Secretary Lim's very existence; she could be the first person to break glass with her voice. Yi Fei widened her eyes and covered her ears in such haste, but it did almost nothing as the angry woman stably kept up the pitch and volume for considerably longer than 10 seconds.
"Ha... ha... ha," Secretary Lim panted, and then threw a menacing glare near the front corner of the office. She had already caught them staring a few seconds ago. "Are you playing with me? You f**king watched as I had to endure all that because of your constant unreliability?! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
'Holy sh*t! I'm gonna die today!' Yi Fei thought, weakly falling to her knees in fright.
"YOU UNRELIABLE MOTHERF**KER, I'M GOING TO F**KING KILL THE HELL OUT OF YOU!" Secretary Lim fiercely grabbed Owner Huo's dark blue tie and started to violently drag him down the hall. What would come for him... wasn't for Yi Fei to worry out.
'I'm safe,' Yi Fei silently thanked the heavens.