Walking into the en-suite private bathroom connected to Li Xiuying"s office, Li Chuntao checked her reflection in the ma.s.sive mirror and was pleased to see that she looked just fine and her appearance was enough to make everyone believe that she was her twin sister. For once her wavy hair was cooperating with her stayed straight throughout the two-hour meeting with the stockholders. Tucking a stray lock behind her ear, she let her hair cascade behind her with loose ringlets framing her heart shaped face.
After reapplying some mascara on her eyelashes, making her round brown eyes more prominent and a thin layer of lip gloss on her lips, she turned to her side to check if her dress was properly zipped up behind her.
Since she was a bit taller than Ying, Li Chuntao decided to ditch her high heels and chose a comfy pair of flats instead. She glanced in the mirror one last time before grabbing her purse and rushed out of Ying"s office and made her way to the elevator.
Su Ling appeared behind her, suddenly following her trail as soon as she stepped out of the office. They met Hou Chen, who was still organizing the confidential files Li Xiuying left before her pa.s.sing, midway.
"I"ll be meeting the Shen siblings today. If my uncle calls, let him know where he could find me. Also, bring those back home for me to review. I need to see the discrepancies on the financial reports Ying had spotted." She informed her sister"s a.s.sistant.
"Alright. Call me anytime if you need anything." Hou Chen replied before they walked briskly past the secretaries" desks to meet the Shens.
"Ying," It was Shen Zichen who greeted her as soon as she exited the tall building.
"Brother Zichen," she nodded, "Sister Yan," She greeted Shen Yuyan who stood beside him.
"Ying, I"m glad to see you today." Shen Yuyan said but there was a slight sadness in her tone, knowing that the woman in front of her wasn"t their dear Ying but Chuntao.
"Hmm… I see that the Li family isn"t allowing anyone to use the accident to pin them down." A familiar voice spoke behind the Shen twins.
"Qingqing." Shen Zichen chided his little sister but she ignored him and faced Li Chuntao instead and gave her a curt nod.
"Glad to see you back." Her deep red tank top brought out the deep brown hue of her eyes, which complement her silky black hair. Although she was considerably shorter than Li Chuntao at five foot nine, her confidence and countenance were more regal than any other woman Li Chuntao knew in the business circle.
Li Chuntao had met Shen Lingqing when she was a teenager but she rarely talked to her or Ying. This young woman was reserved and only allowed the company of her siblings. Li Chuntao even doubts that Shen Lingqing was able to make friends with anyone with her cold att.i.tude.
Not that she blamed her. She could relate to Shen Lingqing somehow. It was better to be surrounded with a few people who were honest and cared for you than to be crowded with fake friends.
"Nice to see you too, CEO Shen," she regarded her formally. "I"m glad you"re able to join us tonight."
Shen Lingqing slightly flushed and looked away. Despite being the newest CEO of SY Holdings, she still wasn"t used to being called with that t.i.tle. The only CEO Shen she knew ever since she started talking was her father.
Shen Yuyan giggled and linked her arm with Li Chuntao"s and they walked a few short blocks to where the Shens parked their car.
It was a beautiful late afternoon and the humidity that had been present was gone. The setting sun illuminated the tall building with its orange hue. A slight breeze blew on Li Chuntao"s long hair. The streets were filled with buzz as office workers who had just finished their work were out, either ready to go home or hang out with their friends.
"So… where are we going?" Li Chuntao asked as she slid into the backseat of Shen Zichen"s car with Shen Lingqing seated beside her.
"We"re going to Flair Apparel to get Qingqing"s measurement again. I can"t believe she has outgrown the dresses and gowns Mom commissioned for her last season. Also, I heard from Zi Gege that you two are going to attend a banquet together." Shen Yuyan grinned at her twin brother. "I haven"t seen Zi Gege wear a tux for the longest time! What a perfect time to get new blackmail materials."
Ah, Li Chuntao understood now. Those blackmail materials were profitable indeed. Shen Yuyan had once sold her twin brother"s half-naked photo to a publis.h.i.+ng firm after their banter which ended up being used as a cover for an erotica novel much to Shen Zichen"s chagrin.
Although only half of his face was seen, he was still appalled that his sister sold him out. Their mother had a hard time stopping herself from her incessant laughter as he covered his face in shame.
He would have bought all the copies if he could but the said novel was so popular that the publis.h.i.+ng ended up republis.h.i.+ng it to cater to the public"s demand.
"Sister Yan, don"t forget to give me a copy of the new book just in case the publis.h.i.+ng firm asked you for his photos again." Her mischievous smile was enough to irritate the man in the driver"s seat. She could see his ears turning bright red from embarra.s.sment.
It didn"t take long before the Shen siblings and Li Chuntao arrived at Flair Apparel"s main boutique. Looking through the gla.s.s part.i.tion, Li Chuntao wasn"t surprised to see the boutique was busy and filled with patrons doing their seasonal shopping.
They entered the shop using the backdoor and were greeted by Xia Yuhan who was still the main designer of the brand. Once she saw the four standing in the hallway, she left her task to her a.s.sistant and happily greeted them.
"Oh, I"m glad you"re finally here. I"ve already prepared a few sets you might like to try on," she told Shen Zichen and Shen Lingqing. Her gaze then s.h.i.+fted to Li Chuntao and she gasped when she saw her.
"Oh, my. Miss Ying, I"ve heard about what happened. I hope you are feeling well now?" she took Li Chuntao"s hand in hers and patted the back of Li Chuntao"s hand.
Li Chuntao stopped her lips from twitching. She had to remind herself that only a small number of people were aware of Ying"s pa.s.sing so she shouldn"t be surprised if they mistaken her as Li Xiuying.
"Thank you for your concern, Aunty. I"m doing well." She replied politely.
"Zichen told me you"ll be attending a celebration banquet for the film you funded so I already picked some dresses you might like. Anyway, one of the actresses from that film has also just arrived to try a few evening gowns for the occasion." Xia Yuhan informed them while Shen Yuyan dragged her younger sister to the dressing room with a few dresses to try on.
Li Chuntao raised a brow upon hearing what Xia Yuhan said. Was it Lan Jinyao? It would make sense since she was the female lead.
"Really? Who is it?" Shen Zichen was the one who voiced her question.
"I believe she"s the second female lead of the film," Xia Yuhan tapped her chin as she tried to remember the woman"s name.
"Lin Meirong…" Li Chuntao muttered to herself.