Meeting Xia Xinyuan

Since she was young, listening to the breeze while sitting on the rocks at the beach was one way Qiao Ruo loved to relax. It brought back her memories of her childhood, where she would often escape to, to avoid going insane from her aunt's nagging self. It was calm sitting on one of the rocks and listening to the sound of the waves splashing on the gigantic rocks. 

It happened that instead of returning to where she had used to live in the city, she instead booked a private taxi. She took her luggage to the beach with her. She couldn't fathom what was going on, and the beach was now her solitude. Initially, she had intended to return to the flat where she shared a room with another female tenant, but out of the blue, her landlord had returned her call and told her that she could no longer continue living there. The reason had been that someone had bought over the entire unit suddenly.

She was sharp to realize this was no pure coincidence, and she could only suspect Li Yao. Was that witch of a woman so keen on separating them?

"Cree, you have to be strong!" she yelled as loudly as she could, but the strong beat of the waves drowned out her voice.

After shouting for a dreadfully long time, she was so exhausted, and her throat hurt so badly that she just wanted to lie down and sleep. At that juncture, she felt tired of everything that was happening, and she hoped she could go to sleep and wake up finding everything was just a dream.

Surprisingly, she slept well, and in her dreams, she saw Cree walking towards her with a bouquet of red roses in his hands. 

"Cree, you're alright!" she exclaimed excitedly, rushing towards him to embrace him. He hugged her tenderly and presented her with a loving peck on the lips.

"How can I not be?" she heard his teasing voice ask. "I still have to bring you happiness, remember? And I said that I would propose to you."

She blushed shyly, and a distinct mist surrounded them as they spoke. "I love you, Cree. I can't wait."

"I can't wait, either."

"Shall we go home, then?"

Qiao Ruo nodded, and as they walked forward, the mist cleared, revealing a twisted path with thorned bushes and mud strewn all over the area. She was horrified, and as she turned to Cree, he had vanished.

She woke up screaming to find herself back on the rock, feeling lonely and desolate under the moonlight. The cold night breeze fanned her clothing and gave her the chills. She didn't recall how many hours she had been lying there without a blanket, but she was starting to feel sniffly and shivered. The night had felt so freezing to her, that she felt like an abandoned child. 

A look at her watch told her it was midnight, and there were no taxis that she could hire at the moment. Hiding under the clothes she brought out of her luggage, she closed her eyes and wished that the night would soon be over. Initially it had not felt that scary to her, but after the nightmare, she was at her wits' end. 

Cree, please be found soon, please, please, she begged in her mind.

She didn't know how she managed to get through the night, because when she woke up again hours later, the sun was shining right above her head. She dug deep into her pocket to obtain her smartphone and switched it on.

Ye An had not reported back with news on Cree. But there was a message from a number that was foreign to her. The sender declared that his name was Xia Xinyuan and that he could help her. She mustered all her strength to pull herself up and type a reply to the sender. She couldn't miss any chances that were available to her in rescuing Cree.

She arranged for a face-to-face meeting at Orchard Square downtown and called for a private taxi immediately. Whoever this Xia Xinyuan was, she hoped that he was sincere and not a scammer like the earlier messages she had received.

It took the driver twenty minutes to get to her, and she descended at the drop-off point located at a nearby mall. There, she entered one of the public restrooms and had a change of clothes in a cubicle. She had set the appointment at ten in the morning, so she still had some time to roam around. 

Everything displayed in the shops at the mall had looked so expensive to her. Her frugal lifestyle had not ended when she enrolled in a relationship with Cree. Although he had handsomely gifted her with several of his designer creations, she had not expected him to provide for her. Aside than allowances for meals and to treat her to meals, she didn't accept any gifts from him. She considered dinner treats acceptable since she perceived that it was still seen in her culture, as they believed that the man should provide for the woman. Next, she walked past a designer outlet which showcased some of Cree's autumn designs, and her thoughts and memories of him tormented her further.

She eventually arrived at the cafe called the Meatender and sat herself down on one of the seats there. Everything listed on the menu had been costly, and she could only bring herself to order a glass of orange juice while waiting for Xia Xinyuan. As she expected, the man was not punctual, and she ended up staying a total hour before he made a dramatic appearance.

The man turned out to be fair and not much older than her. She assumed him to be twenty-three. He identified her from the red lace dress she had informed him that she was wearing and took his seat beside her. They struck up a hesitant conversation, and to her surprise, he did not mention Cree initially.

He was friendly and wore a smile on his face, so she smiled back out of courtesy. He introduced himself with his name, Xia Xinyuan, and said that he knew her. Xinyuan then revealed she was about to become the next target of the Ye family.

"How do you know?" she inquired.

"Nothing my network doesn't allow me to access," he said confidently. "I also know that you are about to join Sky Publisher, am I right?"

She gave him her affirmative. He then continued, "Don't do that. Instead, join us."

"Who do you mean by 'us'?"

"We are the Xias, so our company is Xia Ke Group. We have a few businesses to start with, and they range from hotels to laundry services."

"Why do you not want me to join Sky Publisher?"

"What's Sky in Chinese?"

"Tian..." she had just pronounced the word when she realized what Xinyuan was attempting to prove to her. "So you mean... It belongs to..."

"Absolutely," the man said in an assured tone. "It was originally Cree's plan to take over Sky Publisher, but his old man found out beforehand and thwarted his plans. Thus, he ended up being in charge of Qing Tian Publisher, your old office, and Li Yao took the helm of Sky Publisher, which was acquired by Cree using stakes of his father's companies."

Her eyes bulged. "Was that why Cree tried to extend my stay at the publisher by a week?" She stopped as she realized in her excitement, that she was revealing too much to a total stranger.

"I think it could be true. Cree Ye is known to make questionable decisions."

At the mention of Cree's name, she mellowed, and asked, "Do you know what happened to him?"

"Negotiations between the Ye family and the Xu family have started," Xinyuan told her conspicuously. He picked up the newspaper lying on the opposite bench and flipped it to a particular page containing the Chinese news article between Cree and Xu Bing. "Read for yourself."

It was incredibly harrowing for her to finish the article, but she did. "When were they engaged?"

"It hasn't happened yet, but I expect it to happen in a matter of weeks. How strong is Cree, do you think?"

She shrugged and sighed deeply. "There has to be a way to get him out."

"My dear Ruo Ruo, are you so intent on destroying what he has achieved for the Ye family in the last ten years?" Xinyuan grilled her. "But also, there is another news I've heard, but I cannot for sure tell if it's true."

She almost fell off her chair when she heard him call her Ruo Ruo. It reminded her of someone back during her childhood who had called her in such a manner. But she was eager to hear what he had to say, so she asked Xinyuan about the news he had heard.

"Qing Tian requires financial investment from the Xu family," he whispered, and she turned pale.

Was that the reason why Li Yao was adamant about breaking them up and for Cree to be with Xu Bing? She felt a shiver descend her spine.