"Actually there"s one more thing." Chen Linyun closed his laptop."I have a surprise for you. Get dressed. I"ll wait for you at the carpark." Chen Linyun said then went out of the front door.
A few minutes later they both boarded Chen Linyun"s car and drove off. Xue Jinxu had no idea where they were headed.
"Dear, where are we going?"
"You"ll find out soon. Just be patient." Chen Linyun refused to provide any answers enigmatically.
"What can it be?" Xue Jinxu asked excitedly, rhetorically, knowing that Chen Linyun would not tell him.
They were both smiling.
They entered an avenue that was long and winding. At the end there was a gate.
"Chen Linyun…" Xue Jinxu had guessed already.
"Yup."
They pa.s.sed through the security along the gates and traversed more streets. Finally he stopped the car.
"We"re here, my love." Chen Linyun said, alighted from the car, and opened the door for Xue Jinxu like a true gentleman. "Home sweet home." He extended his hand towards his wife. Xue Jinxu took it, her face was all smiles.
"Is this our home?" Xue Jinxu whispered, wide-eyed.
"Yes, Madame Chen. Do you like it?" Chen Linyun asked worriedly.
The house was a huge two-story building covered with gla.s.s and brick walls with a vast garden fully landscaped with flowering plants and pebbles both tiny and fist-sized. At one side there was a manmade pond and a little bridge across it.
Inside the house the living quarters were s.p.a.cious, and the ceiling was extended high up. A stylish chandelier dangled from the center of the ceiling. The grandiose wooden staircase was bordered by an ornate floor-to-ceiling lattice window. It was a four-bedroom, three bathroom house with interior paneling and cabinetry made of marble and granite.
"There were no furnis.h.i.+ngs yet, since I thought you would enjoy styling it and filling it with your hand-picked pieces." Chen Linyun explained.
"Yes! Not just like, I love it! But… This house is too big for us. We"re just a family of two." Xue Jinxu said softly, as if afraid that if she spoke too loudly, all of it would disappear.
"A family of two for now. But we both know it won"t stay like that in the coming years." He whispered in her ears. He wrapped his arms lovingly around her, while starting to sway them both slowly. Xue Jinxu followed his movements.
It was a sweet afternoon. The two of them swaying round and round the room, half-dazed, half-enchanted, and full of the hopes of a bright future. Rays of yellow light illuminated them from the lattice window along the staircase. They encircled the whole place while wrapped in their embrace.
"Are you happy?" Chen Linyun asked her.
"Couldn"t be any happier." Xue Jinxu murmured. She was rubbing her head amorously on his shoulder while they continue their musicless dance.
"Is there anything more that you want? We can afford now." Chen Linyun whispered back, still swaying them both.
"Honey. I have been thinking." Xue Jinxu whispered, for only Chen Linyun to hear. "I want to have my own business."
"You can choose from the companies I have acquired where I"m the major shareholder. Which one do you like?" He muttered.
"No, I want to start a new one. I already have an idea." Xue Jinxu explained.
"Tell me." Chen Linyun encouraged her.
"A pastry shop."
Chen Linyun halted their movements. "A pastry shop? Jinxu…" He loosened his grip on her waist and looked at her face quizzically.
"Hey!" Xue Jinxu felt insulted. "Don"t you enjoy your bentos?"
"Yes, dear, but a pastry shop?"
"I have been attending cooking cla.s.ses, haven"t I? Don"t worry! I won"t be the chef, if that"s what you"re thinking. Haha! I"m a business person, not a chef. I"ll be the concept designer and creative director, though. It has to have some art in it. Some edible cute little pieces of art. Just like your bento."
"Well, seems that you have it all figured out already." Chen Linyun started to sway them again.
"Mhmm, just a little. I won"t pursue it without your go signal. I"ll use my own savings, by the way." She said, while enjoying the warmth emanating from his chest on her face.
"You can use our savings. You don"t have to use yours. Keep it. I"ll fund you. I"ll be your benefactor." Chen Linyun recommended.
"That can work too. Or we can both fund it. I a.s.sure you, it"s a good investment." She tilted her head up, and smiled at him. "Mhmm?"
"You want me to treat it as an investment, huh?" Chen Linyun arched an eyebrow. "You have to present your business plan to me. Have you done market research? Have you checked the location of the shop? Have you identified your target customers? Your potential suppliers? How about the return of investment, have you computed already?"
"Must I? That sucks. Can you spare me, please? Mister?" Xue Jinxu pouted.
"You"re spared." He kissed her forehead. "I don"t have to check on your work. That business is all yours. I won"t meddle unless you want me to. But, I fully support you."
Xue Jinxu stopped their little dance. She grasped both Chen Linyun"s cheek and kissed him. "Hehehe. You"re the best."
"Jinxu." He called her, laced with seriousness. "Honey, there"s another thing I need to discuss with you."
"Actually, Xue Jinxu, there"s an offer." Chen Linyun came clean. "The s.h.i.+ Corporation offered me a position as a Trading Consultant."
"!!!" Xue Jinxu studied her husband"s face for a while.
"It"s a trap! It couldn"t be… possibly be… genuine, right?" Xue Jinxu shook her husband. She wanted clarification.
"It wasn"t s.h.i.+ Fan Hai but the Chairman who reached me."
"They"re one and the same! You cannot take it. I forbid you." Xue Jinxu said. "Are you telling me this because you"ve decided to take on the job already?"
"Chen Linyun!" She shook him more.
The husband grabbed her waist to stop her, and to steady her. "This is a good opportunity to scout on them."
"I dont want you to get involved. I don"t care about the Xue Family anymore! Just stay with me here, okay?"
"And Guangxi?"
"He"s protected by his family, always with his bodyguards. Don"t get involved!"
"Jinxu… Do you know what"s happening globally… Oil prices continue to plummet. This business - not only their company - but all companies related to petroleum trading are falling."
"Then that"s good enough! Why help them? They deserve it."
He sighed. "I won"t accept it if you don"t want me to."
"What a great opportunity to scout and gain intelligence. Such opportunity lost… Or not." He was having wild thoughts. "Can"t go against her wishes. There must be a workaround."
"Please…" Xue Jinxu pleaded with all her heart.
At this moment both of their mobile phones received notifications almost simultaneously. They individually checked their phones.
They received a notification of a WeChat message. It was Mo Wenbin.