Chapter 4: When Worlds Collide

Li Jaesun stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his office on the sixty-second floor of Li Group headquarters, watching the morning bustle below. At 8:30 AM, people streamed into their office buildings like a steady river, pulling up in cars and taxis before disappearing through glass doors. From this height, they looked like tiny, purposeful creatures following invisible patterns. Li Jaesun hadn't slept a wink last night; his mind was consumed by thoughts of the lady he met at the university.

In all his years as an adult, no woman had ever caught his attention like this. He'd always viewed relationships as just one of those things, a necessary social construct that other people seemed to need, but nothing that had ever stirred anything real within him… Until yesterday.

"Sir." His assistant Chen Weiming knocked and entered, "The Starlight Legal representatives are here for the merger discussion."

Jaesun's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. He was distracted and annoyed by his lack of focus "Cancel it."

"Sir?" Chen's practised composure faltered slightly. "This is the Meridian Industries acquisition. This has been in planning for…"

"I said cancel it." Jaesun's voice was arctic, brooking no argument.

Chen hesitated for about three seconds, long enough to show his concern, short enough to avoid testing his boss's patience. As he was about to leave, Jaesun called him back.

"Chen"

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell Vice President Li MinMin to take charge of the meeting instead. She can handle the negotiations."

Chen nodded, "Of course, sir. I'll inform her immediately." Relief flickered across his features. "Will there be anything else?"

Jaesun turned back to the window, effectively dismissing both his assistant and the question. The ghost of green eyes that seemed to see straight through his carefully constructed walls haunted him still.

Ru Lan stood before the state-of-the-art surgical simulator in her specialised surgical centre, separate from the main hospital complex. Her private neurosurgery lab was reserved for only the most high-profile cases, the types that needed to be kept secret and under the radar. Her team consisted of only the best surgeons in the field, along with her trusted assistant Liu Ming.

The simulation was progressing well, displaying a complex brain tumour scenario that replicated the surgery she'd be performing tomorrow. This particular case was a favour for her father.

She should be completely focused. But instead of visualising neural pathways and tumour margins, her traitorous mind kept conjuring up the image of perfectly sculpted features and captivating brown eyes. Her virtual scalpel wavered, nicking a digital artery that began to pulse red on the screen, a surgical failure she hadn't made in years.

"Damn it," she muttered, pulling back from the simulator as her hand trembled for the third time in ten minutes.

"Dr. Ru?" Liu Ming looked up from his tablet with concern. "Are you alright? You seem distracted."

"I'm fine," she snapped, then immediately felt guilty. "Sorry. Just... pre-surgery preparation."

Liu Ming nodded, although his eyes showed confusion. Dr. Ru Lan was legendary for her composure under pressure; she never had any pre-surgery jitters like the rest of them humans.

Ru Lei sat at the head of the polished conference table, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping an irritated rhythm against the mahogany surface. When the conference room door opened and Li MinMin entered with a warm smile, Ru Lei's initial annoyance at the change in personnel began to fade.

"Ms. Ru, I'm Li MinMin, Vice President of Strategic Development," the petite woman said with genuine warmth. "I apologise for the last-minute change, but I'll be overseeing today's negotiations."

Despite her irritation that Li Jaesun had changed the arrangement without consulting her team first, Ru Lei found herself responding to Li MinMin's professionalism and charm. The meeting progressed smoothly, and by the end, they had not only closed the deal but discovered a shared frustration with Li Jaesun's high-handed methods.

"You know," Li MinMin said as they packed up their documents, "I understand your frustration with my brother. He can be... difficult."

"That's putting it mildly," Ru Lei replied with a wry smile.

"I have an idea," Li MinMin continued. "I promised to go shopping with my sister-in-law, but perhaps you'd like to join us for shopping instead? We could continue our conversation about business... and maybe discuss how impossible certain CEOs can be."

Ru Lei's eyes lit up. Finally, someone who understood. She and her sister didn't have many friends in City N, as most of the socialites were slow and boring, more concerned with their appearance than having actual intelligent conversations.

"I'd love that. And I have just the person to introduce you to, my twin sister. She's brilliant, and like us, she has little patience for arrogant men who think the world revolves around them. Plus, we planned on going shopping today… So, the more the merrier?"

Chen Weiming returned to convey Ru Lei's initial disappointment about the personnel change, though he noted that the meeting had concluded successfully with Li MinMin.

"Sir, I should mention that Ms. Li seemed to get along very well with Senior Partner Ru Lei. They're planning to meet again soon. Perhaps keeping her in charge of this project will be ideal."

Jaesun looked up sharply. "Ru Lei?"

"Yes, sir. And there's something else. I have the background information you requested."

Jaesun's attention sharpened like a blade. "Tell me."

"Ru Lan and Ru Lei are twins, sir, but according to my research, they don't share the same biological parents. The information is... limited. Ru Lan's biological father was Zhou Haiyu, a legendary neurosurgeon, but any public records tying him to Ru Lan seem to have been scrubbed. He passed away when she was young, and her mother later married Ru Zhehan."

"Go on."

"The hospital where Dr Ru Lan works belongs to their family. The legal practice where Senior Partner Ru Lei works also belongs to their family. Their mother works as a government scientist, and the family appears very close-knit. However, Sir, I could only get surface-level information. There's significant security around their background, and someone was actively blocking my deeper inquiries."

Jaesun processed this information, intrigued by the layers of mystery surrounding the Ru family.

"Sir," Chen said slowly, "whoever scrubbed those records didn't just delete, they buried. Someone wanted her origins invisible. And they have the resources to make that happen."

"As expected of the woman I've chosen. I've always loved a good mystery" A smile danced on Li Jaesun's face as he played with Ru lan's name on his tongue.

"There's one more thing, sir." Chen continued, "Miss Li mentioned she's going shopping with both Ru sisters later today."

Jaesun raised a brow, intrigued by this new development. "Is she now?"

"Yes, sir. She seemed quite excited about it."

"Then I suppose I should support my sister's new friendships," Jaesun said with dry humour.