Reassurance

Shen Shu does not see Niko for another week.

She packed some of her things and waited until the day her parents went on their trip. They have not told her the details of where they were going and for how long.

She took her stuff in her hands as she glanced at her childhood bedroom before she closed the door shut. She then went down the staircase to find her parents and Mrs. Tang waiting for her.

With her hands full, each of her parents turns to hug Shen Shun. "We love you," my mother says.

"I love you too, have fun," She replied to both of them.

She stepped outside, and she saw Niko waiting in his car.

When he sees Shen Shu, Niko climbs out of his vehicle and takes the stuff from her hands to place it in the trunk. She then climbed onto the passenger seat and fastens her belt.

Niko sits next to Shen Shu and turns on the stereo to play music at a low volume. She does not say a word, but Niko does not look inclined to speak to her. Good.

Not good.

Her parents expected them to behave like siblings once they returned. But she believed that giving each other the silent treatment and having petty arguments was enough. But her parents were different. They wanted them to act as allies. They wanted them to be the type of siblings that were best friends.

Shen Shu sighed, remembering that they had that at one point until Niko decided to ignore her for most of her adolescence, which remained the same in their adulthood.

It was not that Niko ignored her in a way where he avoided her existence. It was in a way that he'd say words to Shen Shu. He'd laugh at her jokes and her illiness around her parents. But at school, he walked past her. He'd never want to be alone with her, and he stopped coming to her room even if his nightmares chased him in his sleep.

Shen Shu thought my father had given up on that idea where she and Niko could be partners, but he did not, and she knew why.

At the end of the day, your partner should be the person you trust the most. That's how you succeed. If she and Niko worked with anyone else, the partnerships would be fragile and brittle. People become too greedy, too envious, too selfish, and then you don't find out if a person has bad intentions for you until it is too late.

But family is a bond that's not easy to break unless you've done something to hurt them. And her father did his best to have a good relationship with his children. He ensured she and Niko had no rivalry.

She thought that Niko would grow out of this phase of avoiding her as they got older. But it only got worse. When Niko moved out, the only time Shen Shu saw him was during celebratory days. So she grew bitter over the years and resented him because of his actions. Now she was supposed to try to improve their relationship?

Ugh!

Niko should be the one trying harder. Not her.

But Shen Shu asked Niko, "Are we getting takeout for dinner?" Her stomach rumbles as she says it, and Niko hears it.

"What do you have in mind?" he questions.

She thought about it for a moment even though she already knew the answer. "Fried chicken," Shen Shu mumbled.

"What?"

Bastard! She knew he heard her. "Fried Chicken," She said louder.

Niko smiled at her before his eyes turn back to the road. She gritted her teeth. Ugh! She could not even pretend to be mad because seeing Niko's smile was so rare and so contagious that her lips couldn't help but curve upward. She hated how he had that effect on her.

"We will get some on the way to the apartment," he says.

Niko continued to drive until we reached a street market, and she could smell the deep-fried food coming from the stalls.

"Wait here," he tells her as he leaves to get our orders.

Not long after, Niko returns with a paper bag full of food, and her mouth is salivating at the smell, but they wait until we get to the apartment to eat.

…

They arrive at the apartment complex.

Niko holds her things, and she has the food as they head to their apartment. Their unit was on the top floor and the only one on the entire level.

Once they step inside, Shen Shu's mouth drops at the panoramic city view the floor-to-ceiling gave.

It was dark outside, but she could see the skyline and beautiful city below. The lights on the terrace made the pool look a deep shade of blue, and she was in awe of the interior of the penthouse. She then heard Niko say behind her. "I will show you your room."

She turned to follow Niko up the stairs and found two bedrooms next to each other. He takes her into the one she'd be staying in. It had a simple design, but it had everything she needed.

Niko put her stuff on her bed as she jumped on the mattress. Shen Shu felt the bed shake beneath her, and she let out a breathless laugh. She made angels on the sheets and said, "It's so soft!"

Niko does not look at her before responding, "Come eat before the food gets cold."

Shen Shu sighed as she followed him out of my room.

They head to the dinner table, where Niko splays the food out on the table and her mouth waters again.

Shen Shu does not hesitate to scarf down the chicken, the rice, the noodles, and the side salads into her mouth.

Niko eats elegantly, whereas she stuffed her mouth like a pig. Shen Shu typically doesn't care for mannerisms when eating around someone like Nikolai Novikov. But something about his etiquette and composure makes her sit up straight and eat slower.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he says, breaking the silence.

She nods. "I believe so," She responded. "I didn't expect father to promote me. I thought I still had to prove myself to him."

"You're ready," he tells her.

"Really?" Shen Shu looked at him. She felt nothing but insecurity and doubt about the new position for the past week.

Niko meets her eyes. "Yes," he says. "No one can do it better than you, Cat. I know it."

Shen Shu could not help but feel warm by his assurance. She went back to eating, and they spent the rest of their dinner in silence.