Finally updated this after...10 months. Wow. I'm going to be shot! But anyway, this time it's longer and (hopefully) there isn't any useless fluff unlike the previous chapters (I reread it and I cringed...but only slightly!) Enjoy!
VI. Syaoran
Hong Kong, China
Syaoran was exhausted. It was now midnight and he was finally out of his office and on the road home after a long day cooped up in the boardroom, battling with executives from a Saudi Arabian oil drilling company. Money, power, influence-when did megalomania become so rampant? When did the world become so absorbed in itself?
You only live once, make the most of it.
He remembered when she had said that to him. They had just met, and she commented on his cold, hard nature. It took him by surprise, to say the least. No one ever dared to tell him exactly what kind of a phlegmatic character he was, not even his closest friends, and yet here was a woman who barely knew him and had the audacity to say he was heartless. Normally, he would have returned the invective, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the comment itself, the boldness, or perhaps it was the woman who said it. Either way, Li Syaoran found himself changing his ways-to please her.
Lost in his thoughts, Syaoran didn't realize he had reached an intersection to a highway. In a trance, he blindly ignored the red traffic light and turned right. In a split-second, the shrill sound of an oncoming car's horn pierced the calm night air. Instinctively, Syaoran's reflexes kicked in and he swerved his car to the right, the tires screeching as they slid across the pavement. The nearby concrete wall loomed frighteningly close. He slammed on the brakes, prepared for a head-on impact, but the car stopped just in time, mere inches away from the wall.
"Fucking asshole!" The driver screamed out the open window, "Watch where the fuck you're going!"
Syaoran ignored him. Instead, he was staring at the concrete wall in front of him. At the faint outline of a hole in the newly whitewashed section of it where a car had viciously crashed into. His blood ran cold.
Here.
It was the highway. The one that forever changed his life two years ago. Ever since that fateful day, Syaoran had sought an alternate route home from the office in order to avoid the area. He didn't know how he ended up here-perhaps it was a wrong turn a couple miles back? Chilled to the bone, Syaoran quickly turned the car back onto the road.
He didn't want to hear her screams.
The next morning Syaoran was slaving away at his office desk when his secretary buzzed him through the intercom.
"It's Miss Li on the phone."
Syaoran sighed. What a great way to start the morning-a pile of papers on his desk, a report of a failing enterprise, and to top it all off his darling cousin on the phone ready to harass him. Ordinarily, he would have ignored it and continued on with whatever he was doing, but today was an exception.
"Put her through," he said half-heartedly as he reached for the receiver. Much as Syaoran hated to admit it, he needed Meiling's advice.
And she knew it.
"To what do I owe the great pleasure of you answering my call, cousin?" Meiling crooned when Syaoran picked up.
"I need help," Syaoran said flatly. "But before I ask, what did you want?"
"Have you gotten to page twenty in my report?"
"I'm looking at it right now."
"Oh good we're on the same page-no pun intended." She laughed. "I assume that's why you want to talk?"
"You called me, not vice versa," Syaoran snapped.
"You picking up is as good as you calling me."
"We're getting off topic!" He barked.
"Oh shut up."
Syaoran ignored her. "It says Fuyubare, Ltd. is falling in the stock market. What the hell's going on?"
"I have no idea. It's under the umbrella of one of our subsidiaries in Tokyo. I tried looking into it but of course everyone there buttered up the situation for me."
"Any hunches?"
"None. We need to go to Tokyo ourselves and threaten some of the executives in person."
"Your ideal job," Syaoran said dryly.
"Because you can't do it," Meiling retorted. "I already have everything in line. Thursday departure good?"
"The sooner the better. I have more important matters to deal with." He didn't have to elaborate, for both of them knew what he was referring to.
"I know," Meiling said, her voice suddenly gentle, "I know."
It was early Thursday morning when Meiling and Syaoran arrived in Tokyo. Already dressed in business attire, they wasted no time, going straight from the airport to the offices of their subsidiary company located in the heart of the metropolis. Meiling had grumbled about that, but of course, Syaoran won.
"Couldn't we have at least gone to the apartment?" Meiling asked, referring to the downtown penthouse the Li family owned in Tokyo.
"I already had Wei drop off the luggage there. Everything will be ready when we're done with the meeting."
And the argument ended there. Now, they were riding the elevator up to the highest floor of the building, Meiling feeling jet-lagged and looking harassed, Syaoran as cold and unperturbed as ever.
"I hope you did your homework, dear cousin," Syaoran remarked in Chinese as they stood in the elevator, surrounded by people, half of whom were escorting them to the office of the company's president.
"Tanaka Kiyoshi, somewhere in his late sixties, married with a son and a daughter, appointed head of Fuyubare by your mother. Is that good enough for you, jackass?"
"He's sixty-six."
"Go to hell."
"Why would I ever go visit you?"
The elevator doors slid open and Meiling glared at her cousin. She was about to throw a retort back at him but stopped when she saw the slightest twitch of Syaoran's mouth. How long had it been since he last smiled? She couldn't remember.
Oh Sakura, where are you?
"This way, Li-san," one of the men in their party directed, nodding to both Syaoran and Meiling in order to differentiate and acknowledge the both of them. He led them to the end of the hallway where they were graciously ushered into the corner office. Upon entering, they were immediately welcomed by Tanaka, a short, stout man with a receding hairline and a loud, boisterous voice.
"Why Li-san!" Tanaka shouted as soon as Syaoran and Meiling appeared, "How are you?" Grasping Syaoran's outstretched hand, he pumped his arm up and down exuberantly, missing the slight grimace on Syaoran's face. Meiling stifled a smile, but moments later she was subjected to the same treatment when Tanaka turned to her and reached for her hand.
"Li-san, it is good to see you!" Tanaka's voice boomed, "You are as beautiful as ever! Still unattached?"
Meiling smiled. "Why would I ever need a man, Tanaka-san?"
"You'd cut his balls off," Syaoran muttered under his breath. The smile still plastered to her face, Meiling elbowed her cousin in the ribs as soon as Tanaka turned around and led them to his desk.
"What brings you both here, may I ask?" Tanaka said as he sat down in his chair, the air whooshing out of the leather seat in response. "I was just informed of your arrival in Tokyo this morning and as you can tell, I had barely any time to prepare. If you told me earlier I would have hosted a grand celebration for my bosses!" He laughed loudly, an obvious attempt to disguise his nervousness at Syaoran's and Meiling's unexpected presence.
Meiling gave a frosty smile. They had arranged an impromptu meeting to catch Tanaka off-guard. Apparently, it worked.
"The monthly reports came in last week. It seems that the value of your shares is dropping."
"Dramatically," Syaoran added, his voice flat.
Tanaka's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed hard. "Oh is that all you came here to talk about?" He asked, his voice falsely cheery. "You made a quick call to Tokyo just to discuss this? Why did you not call instead? You wasted your money on plane tickets."
"Stop whitewashing the situation Tanaka," Syaoran said coldly. "My mother may have appointed you head of Fuyubare, Ltd. but if you're not able to handle the job I will not hesitate to cut you."
"N-now, now Li-san," Tanaka said, his voice quavering slightly and an uneasy smile on his now perspiring face, "Let's not be hasty. I've been with your company for decades, a loyal employee of yours for years! I've been here since the days of your mother and father! I-"
"Sentimentality has never been his strong point," Meiling interrupted.
Tanaka was looking more and more flustered. "Li-san, with all due respect I am doing the best I can with Fuyubare and I know the recent stock index is less than satisfactory, but do you really expect shares to always climb? It's impossible! There's always a time when a drop occurs-"
"But your drop is the worst I have ever seen in my years as president of Li Corporation, Tanaka," Syaoran cut in. "Why is that?"
"I-I don't k-know, Li-san."
There was a silence as Syaoran sat in his chair, his gleaming amber eyes surveying Tanaka, whose hands were trembling.
"But since this drop in share value is extremely strange of Fuyubare and contradicts your usually consistent record, I'm not going to cut you."
A sigh of relief passed through Tanaka's lips as he jumped out of his chair and bowed in front of Syaoran. "Oh thank you Li-san," he gushed, "thank you so much. You are very kind."
Syaoran stood up, with Meiling following his example. "However, I hope I won't have to do this ever again, Tanaka. You are an old associate of the Li family and as much as my cousin begs to differ, I am quite sentimental."
"I assure you it will not happen again, Li-san. It's just that the Tokyo Stock Exchange has been fluctuating in the extremes lately and it's entirely out of our control. If you would like, I could arrange a meeting between you and one of our most prominent investment bankers to rejuvenate Li Corp stock."
Syaoran stopped at the door. "That is an idea, Tanaka. Who is it?"
"Tsumori Ranma. He's one of the best here in Tokyo and a close partner with Fuyubare. In fact, he will be at our company party next weekend and it would be an honor if you and Li-san could come."
Syaoran looked at Meiling. "What do you think?" He asked in Chinese.
She grinned. "What kind of a stupid question is that? Of course I want to party!"
His eyebrows knitted together as he frowned at Meiling's enthusiasm. "Yes," he said, turning to Tanaka, "that would be worthwhile. Li-san and I will be there."
Tanaka bowed low. "It is our pleasure. Good day Li-san, Li-san."
How weird to use Li-san for both Meiling and Syaoran. I just noticed that in my stories I always have my characters meet at some type of "company party," an obvious sign to my lack of creativity. Oh well...I've speeded up the plot and Syaoran and Sakura will finally meet within the next chapter or two!