A/N: I hope you'll take some time to read my note before continuing with the rest of the chapter.

So I haven't updated for such a long time and I'd like to apologize deeply for that. This is due to the fact that 3 years ago, I actually had one of the biggest move and transfer in my life back to my home country. Admittedly, it was not a good time as I had such difficulty adjusting. And now that I've graduated and just finished my first semester of university, I am still struggling with bad memories of me hardly passing the exams, difficulty making friends, failed personal achivements. High school did not end well for me to put it simply.

I started this story –holy crap- FOUR years ago. I was around the beginning of my adolescent years then. And now, four years later, here I am. A couple of points I'd like to make here is that I've grown. Yes, I am still that awkward and strange girl who is surviving in this world. But I am no longer the same person I was then when I was planning and writing this fanfiction. Today, when I read back, I have so much criticism of my own stories. When you read this chapter today, please remember that the author has grew and changed within that span of years. If her writing is for better or for worse- do let her know. But no matter what, I can't change it back to when it was when I started it out.

Thank you so much for your patience.

21. Action and Reaction

No one was surprised that the festive atmosphere that had just begun to sizzle immediately flickered out along with Ye Lan's dramatic exit. That woman was always known to make a grand entrance, released an unforgettable presence. Her departure had never slipped by unannounced, for actions speak louder than words. Her mere presence had already caused some crucial changes within the company in less than a day that she had stepped foot inside the office. The outcomes of these changes and its possibly pessimistic impact are already creeping up on everyone's expressions. And so the party clumsily teetered on afterwards but not for long, with everyone calling it an early night.

While everyone's minds were filled with foreboding thoughts of a new scarier boss. One was incredibly overwhelmed with too many events that had occurred on that particular day to think about some new managerial changes. To put it simply, Sakura Kinomoto felt like a fool. Lying exhausted in her bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling above her, dully picking out the black spots that exist on any dirty ceiling. With what had happened tonight, life was definitely giving her a wake-up call. She rolled over and squirmed at her epiphany. How could she have been so stupid? Talk about work ethics, she had broken so many rules. She squirmed some more at her latest revelation. Everything was fine in the beginning. Her mind had the right aims and principles, in which she was going to concentrate on focus on her work. Her heart, however, had other plans, and decided to tempt her to follow her infatuations with her own boss. Sakura was scared to think how much more of a façade her mind could fabricate if tonight's event did not occur. Of course he was engaged, or unavailable. Sakura wanted to kick herself for not thinking straight. He was rich, young and good looking. Women, her included, are swooning for him. What made her think he would be happily single?

"Ugh, what happened to me?" Sakura scolded herself.

How could she have forgotten her place so easily? She got too curious, too brave and now she is paying the price for it. This was the harsh world Touya had been excessively warning her about. She had thought her brother was being too overprotective at the time. But no, she was the foolish one. She had forgotten her place when she barely could stand firmly on the new ground of where she is now. Her teeth clenched in anger and frustration. It was embarrassing to think that she actually had a chance for someone so out of her league. She was merely someone to play with at the time when he was bored. When his fiancée is away in another country, he needed a temporary object of affection and she fell for it. And it was not one man, but two, she had let her own heart be toyed with two men. Did she not learn her lesson from Ken? And again, he is a colleague of hers. She mewled in horror as she remembered the lines of a magazine she had borrowed from Tomoyo.

"Avoid dating your office workers. It screams out unprofessionalism. Dangerous field not to go into as personal affairs are in collision with business. This situation is harmful for your career especially if you start an affair with your boss. You will face a tarnished reputation and will always be accused of 'sleeping your way to the top'."

" You have dun goofed" Sakura sighed to herself.

Indeed, she had. Sakura rolled over her bed and fell gently to the floor. Again, her eyes found their way to the ceiling. A soft feline cry broke the silence of the room. Kero had nuzzled himself on Sakura's shoulders, licking her cheek as though to comfort her. She may have lost her way in the middle. But perhaps, perhaps, it may not be too late. She assessed the situation again in her head. It would appear that the wheels of destiny are working faster than her. Syaoran had already been moved to another department, another office. Fate was kinder to her for now she did not have to think about how awkward it would be between them should they remain in the same working place. A new person is taking over. Yes, while it may be displeasing that her new boss is Syaoran's fiancée. This woman, Mei Lin, would become a living, breathing reminder for Sakura that it was over for her. That he belonged to someone else and the sooner she started delving on another path the faster her life would start to repair itself.

In the few hours that the announcement had been made about the replacement of Li Syaoran, an email was already sent to all staff for a general meeting tomorrow regarding a formal introduction of their new boss. Naturally, all the staff knew about it, and most are planning to arrive to work much earlier in order to leave a good impression. Bent on her newly founded resolution, Sakura had woken up an hour earlier prior to her usual time in order to prepare her work. Sakura didn't feel like eating much. So she ate little and gave the rest for Kero to munch on as his breakfast. Instead, she spent time restructuring her schedule, dividing her work into smaller parts so that Mei Lin would be able to see clearly where she was up to.

When Sakura finally arrived at the office, she was not surprised to see mostly everyone had already arrived and filled up the seats in the meeting room. No one wanted to present themselves in a bad way in front of the new boss, well not yet anyways. Sakura spotted Tomoyo and Chiharu sitting in one corner and took a seat near them. Not bad, Sakura cheered herself on; she was the third earliest out of the group. She could smell some change around here.

" Morning, Sakura dear." Tomoyo greeted her gently, as though she was cautious of Sakura's emotions.

" Sakura! Morning!... I am surprised you are one of the early ones." Chiharu intoned along with Tomoyo.

Sakura said good morning quickly before proceeding to look over her files again. Her face full of concentration, in reading her notes so she would be able to answer all the questions should Mei Lin have any queries. Sakura had made a notecard where she had jotted down her ideas and future plans only just this morning. Hopefully, it would not appear too obvious. As she mouthed her ideas again, the two ladies looked questioningly at the rare enthusiasm their auburn haired friend was showing.

"What?" Sakura asked, surprised that her friends are eyeing her with bewilderment.

"…Are you alright?" Tomoyo asked.

"What do you mean am I all right? I'm living and breathing." Sakura said, her eyes still on the notes.

"She means, with what happened yesterday. You know what with Syaoran and all-" Chiharu interjected.

"Oh, well, it sucks you know. But I'm trying to keep it together. I mean who am I kidding? I wish you guys stopped me from making a fool of myself." Sakura said, her tone was far too calm to be believable.

Before either of them could say anything though, a loud whisper told everyone to keep quiet. Sakura looked up and found that Eriol, Naoko and Rika had already arrived and taken seats near them. The room was silent save for a sound of stilettos walking about in the room. Sakura couldn't stop her eyes from staring. She was just so pretty! Aside from the enviable fact that she was rich and also leading a company this young, Mei Lin had such model-like features. While all male eyes were staring at lower regions, Sakura was admiring the bone structure of her face. She should be on the cover of Vogue, wait, perhaps she already had done so.

"Good morning, everyone. Let me formally introduce myself, My name is Li Mei Lin. I will be replacing Mr. Li Syaoran as of today." Mei Lin had finally spoken. Even her voice sounded so saccharine but firm at the same time.

There was a murmur of good morning that reverberated throughout the room before falling into that silence again. All eyes were on Mei Lin as she decided to move away from the podium and towered in front of the staff. She looked even more powerful there.

"Now, as you and I both know, my arrival and Li's departure was a little too sudden than most of us would've liked. I sincerely apologize for this sudden change. But as we all know, what Madame Li says, goes." Mei Lin started out.

This time it was a soft buzz of laughter passing through the room.

" All right, I know we have lots to do around this time of the year. So I'll just cut straight to the point. I hope we all can work together, despite it being such an odd time for a replacement to come in. I will be going through each department individually to get to know you all closer throughout the week. That will be all. So, have a good day."

The volume of the room increased once more at the staff's dismissal. Sakura and everyone slowly rose from their seats and waiting at the sides for the crowd to disperse outside the door. Sakura clutched her folder very tightly in nervousness and anxiety. A small side of her actually wanted her department to be checked among the first by Mei Lin just so she could get it over with. Her racing thoughts were then interrupted by Naoko's first words that day.

" Well, judging when she first spoke, she seems… decent." Naoko commented.

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed and silence fell again between the groups. It was no longer crowded and most of the staff had already gotten into the elevators. However there were still at least a department behind them and Sakura found herself being squished with the rest of the staff in the elevator. Tomoyo wanted to squeeze in as well, but the doors of the elevator had already been closed. Sakura had a feeling that Tomoyo really wanted to know what happened to her overnight.

Sakura took a deep breath, it would seem that her mind had already begun to wonder where and what that man was doing right now. Of course, it was only last night. She can't expect these feelings to go away so soon. I need to keep my chin up, Sakura declared silently. These small steps can be a little bit hard but at least she's already getting somewhere.

A couple of brusque knocks on the door was what finally startled Li Yelan from her computer. She raised a confused eyebrow as to why her secretary has not informed her of such a visitor. Before she could press the speaker phone button though, the door was opened in full swing and there appeared her son. Now, Yelan was no stranger to her offspring of whom she knew very well. But, rather, she was surprised at how he actually came unannounced and rather quite late. It has been at least a fortnight since Mei Lin had become editor while Syaoran was moved to the head of human resources. Before when he would come in an angry fit, she was always prepared but today she was caught off-guard, at expecting him much earlier.

" To what do I owe this rather, "angry" visit?" Yelan cut off her son.

" Mother…" He said slowly.

" It seems it took you a lot of energy to come here. I'll give you a minute to breathe." Yelan pointed out before going back to scrolling her computer.

" I don't know how many times I've tried to explain myself to you. Really, mother."

" Explain yourself? Son, I know you. I don't see why you have to be all emotional and angry at me over every decision I made for you."

" Listen to me, Mother, I refuse to be in this engagement with Mei Lin. Been doing so for a few years now. When will you accept this?"

" Well I refuse to accept your excuses. I'm tired as well of this few years of you refusing and refusing. That POOR girl, is still waiting for your spoilt bottom. Really you do not cherish what you possess!"

" It's not just Mei Lin. Now you come here unannounced, moving me to another job without consulting me? I was doing fine there."

" You tell me? I've been hearing some embarrassing "rumours" about you my dear Syaoran."

That put Syaoran's combative argument to a silent stop. Yelan clicked and clicked some more waiting for the silence to take its full effect of how she would be clearly the winner of their argument for today. When Yelan finally looked at Syaoran directly. Syaoran was unable to answer.

" It appears that you have been some around with some girl working for you." Yelan divulged her reason.

" You are a fool. Really, Syaoran, some uneducated office girl? You sure know how to pick them!" She scoffed.

Syaoran was unable to answer, no, he could not answer. This was dangerous. His mother's do not only have the family wrapped around her finger, but the company too. He didn't want to endanger his workers and staff over some rumours. He held his tongue and waited to see how much his mother knew. Hopefully, not everything.

" Now, I don't know who the hell is this girl . But, let me tell you, once I find out, and I will find out. She will wish she had never stepped foot inside this company." Yelan spat. Her eyes were daggers at her own son. It was no joke. She had meant every word she had said.

Syaoran did not reply. Instead, he merely gave a small nod and bowed his respects to her before storming out of the door. Li Yelan sank bank in her armchair in satisfaction. Perhaps she may not actually have to carry out her threat after all. If her threat was enough to make him stop seeing this vamp who can't keep her fangs off of him. Then perhaps she may be happy enough not to continue her mission in finding out who is this girl who dare to mess up her son's marriage plans. Syaoran finally let out all his breath in the elevator. His mother knew, but not everything. But really, Syaoran wondered when his mother would ever quit planting spies in his workplace. It was becoming excruciating. Even after all this years, his mother still would not accept his refusal of this "engagement" between him and Mei Lin.

Syaoran leaned his head back on the walls of the elevator in exhaustion. He glanced over at his watch. 3 minutes. His meeting with his mother was not quantifiably long, less than five minutes, but it was more than enough to pretty much ruin his day. Of course he loves the woman, but still, at times, she can be way too much. But, in all his life, he had always abided by her decisions. He remembered when the teachers called his mom over because he was acing all the tests in the second grade, his mom eagerly requested for Syaoran to be able to skip one or two grades whenever possible. When she wanted to send him to boarding school, he agreed with no complaint whatsoever. And then, there was his selection of universities he wanted to go to. Syaoran was fine by studying near his home country like Japan or Korea. But his mother wanted his son to live up to the family's reputation. So off he went to the States. Yes, all his life he had always obeyed by his mother's plans. He had no objections except to one. In this one and only life, he felt that he should at least be allowed to love and marry the person of his choice. He remained like that until he heard the elevator ring, announcing it had reached the ground floor. Syaoran removed himself from the wall and stood up properly, adjusting his collar. He waited patiently for the elevator door to slowly open.

" Well, that's enough drama for the day." Syaoran mused out loud. Or not.

" Mei Lin." Syaoran said in recognition of the woman that is standing near the elevator.

"Syaoran!" Mei Lin replied with the same tone of surprise. " I was just going to see your mom."

" Yeah, right, okay. I'll be seeing you." Syaoran said quickly, quickening his steps to avoid anymore conversation.

It was not an easy feat for him to escape as she decided to step in front of him.

" Listen, Syaoran, I really, need to talk to you!" His fiancée tried to stop him.

Syaoran tried to walk away, " Mei Lin, there is nothing for us to talk about…"

" Syaoran, I mean it. I need to tell you something-"

" SYAORAN!" Mei Lin yelled to get his attention.

" I'm sorry, Mei Lin, but I really, really don't have time to deal with you right now." Syaoran mumbled before walking away from her.

" He hasn't changed at all!" Mei Lin hissed to herself.

Syaoran bit his lip as he clutched the steering wheels of his car. He really should learn to hold his tongue sometimes for life can throw in more inconvenience more than he wants them to come. An encounter with his mother and Mei Lin all in a day is way too much. He needed to take some fresh air to calm his stress down. He switched lanes to enter another main road which had a park close by. As he eagerly drove to the park, his mind was still racing about what had happened earlier. Once he had arrived, he casually got out of his car while taking a slow walk in the jogging route before finally finding a free bench to sit on and let his mind wander some more.

Mei Lin was not a bad person. In fact, he actually thought of her as a strong and beautiful woman more than he'd like to admit. But all he felt for her were two kinds of feelings. The first and foremost was that he held her in high regard as a dear friend, along the lines of a cherished sister. Not only was she pretty, but her enthusiasm and ambitions in life were admirable. Mei Lin knew what she wanted and how she would get it. And she was an extremely loyal companion, if Syaoran actually reciprocated his feelings for her and they would get married. He would have no doubts that she would always stay by his side through thick and thin. That said, the second kind of feeling he felt for her was pure sympathy, on her own behalf. She was the unlucky woman whom his mother had picked out to be his fiancée. All in all, she, like everyone else should use up all her time and effort for someone who actually deserves it. So those were the women in his life that is currently plaguing him right now. No, that wouldn't be correct. There is one more being of that gender that is becoming more important by the day. Although they have not met for some time, these "feelings" did not dissipate even by a little.

And it was as though he magically wished for her as at that moment she seemed to have walked out from nowhere and is standing in front of him, wide-eyed and surprised just as he is.

"Sakura…"

TBC.

A/N: Thanks to all those readers who still kept sending me message encouraging me to continue even though it's been much more than a year. Again, I'm sorry to have kept all of you waiting. I'm really happy that my writing has kept some curious and waiting.