He was back.

"That way, Miss." The shop assistant had only pointed the way, when Qi Mingxia ran to the washroom. Reaching the washroom, Qi Mingxia vomited all she had in her stomach. A throbbing pain started in her head. Her vision was still blurry. Memories kept surfacing in her mind. A lone tear slipped out.

"Should I let you go? I don't want to." A male voice from her memory rang in her ears.

"Stop. Stop." Qi Mingxia pressed her ears and gasped for air, feeling more suffocated by the moment.

Control. Breathe. She kept reciting to herself. Breathe. Breathe.

After about two minutes of standing there, telling herself to control her emotions, her blurry vision finally receded. Qi Mingxia took in enormous breaths, finally regaining control.

"Mingxia! Mingxia! Are you alright?" Yang Junjie called out from outside. The way Qi Mingxia ran to the washroom really scared him.

"Yes!" Qi Mingxia replied with some effort. "I just have an upset stomach. I vomited but I feel fine now. I'll be back in a moment."

"I'll wait for you near the payment desk then" Yang Junjie said.

"Alright." Qi Mingxia replied. She splashed some water on her face and washed her mouth. Letting out a deep sigh, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes hardened. She thought... She thought she was ready. But, apparently not. "Weak." Qi Mingxia said to her reflection.

Wiping her face, Qi Mingxia walked out of the washroom. Yang Junjie was waiting for her near the payment desk. Hearing her footsteps, he turned around, worry evident on his face. "Are you okay?" Yang Junjie asked just as she reached him. He ran his eyes all over her face. She looked very pale.

"I'm fine. Just an upset stomach. I've been overworking lately." Qi Mingxia said, reaching for her purse to take out her card.

"No need." Yang Junjie said, stopping her. "I've already paid for it. Consider it a gift from me."

Qi Mingxia raised an eyebrow. "There was no need for it.", she said, closing her purse. Yang Junjie shook his head. "I haven't bought you a gift for so long. This was a good opportunity." He said.

"But," Yang Junjie continued, "What did I tell you about overworking? If you keep on pushing your body like this, you'll fall seriously sick. You live alone on top of that. You don't even keep maids. You'd be sick and no one would even know to help." Yang Junjie was truly worried for her. She had a very unhealthy schedule.

Qi Mingxia felt apologetic for worrying Yang Junjie. "I will be more careful. Don't worry."

Yang Junjie shook his head. "You're really..."

*****

In the parking lot of the Phoenix Mall, Yang Junjie again reminded Qi Mingxia to not overwork. "You must take care of yourself, alright?" Qi Mingxia rolled her eyes, looking at the Yang Junjie standing outside her car. Starting her car, Qi Mingxia replied, "Alright, alright. Bye."

Yang Junjie nodded. "Bye."

As Qi Mingxia drove out of the parking lot, Yang Junjie started in the direction the car went. His eyes gradually stilled. Upset stomach? She thought he didn't see, but he too got a peek at that man's back. Like Qi Mingxia, he too could tell who it was immediately.

So, the bastard was back.

It seemed Qi Mingxia still had not completely overcome her trauma and fear, from the way she reacted earlier. Turning around to leave, Yang Junjie promised himself to take better care of her this time.

*****

Next morning at Maple Corporation.

Walking into her office, Qi Mingxia took out a few files from her drawer and set them on the desk. Her eyebrows knitted together as she started thinking about the proposals in those files. These proposals had the potential to rake in huge profits for Maple. These three included a high-end housing complex construction proposal, an investment proposal for investing in a gym equipment manufacturing company, and another investment proposal for a publishing house.

Qi Mingxia had almost made her mind about the housing complex project; the gym equipment proposal, however, needed discussions. The interesting fact about this proposal was, it was sent by the Yang Group. Yang Junjie's family's business. Maple did not have any prior dealings with them. But their amazing track record made her really interested.

Yang Group has always made great business decisions, and they have been growing at an even faster rate ever since Yang Junjie's elder brother took over as President of Yang Group.

However, this also meant she had to be very careful so as to make sure Maple is not at a disadvantage against a bigger, more powerful company. There were quite a few points to be discussed in the proposal.

At this moment, Si Xi entered the office with her tablet in one hand. She looked refreshing as always. Si Xi was trained by Qi Mingxia herself, and was one of her most faithful people.

"Good morning, President." Si Xi greeted with a smile. "The Black House plan is here. The marketing department completed it." She said, with an amused undertone.

"Did they?" Qi Mingxia asked, with an one-sided, almost wicked smile on her lips.