Chapter 2: Seven Years Later
The cold winter breeze slowly became warm as they swept inside the room. Spring was coming as the flowers bloomed beautifully across the meadow, providing a spectacular view from the room. The sun was high above the crystal clear blue sky but instead of being hot, it was warm.
As the curtains slightly swayed with the wind, a woman sat beside the window with an amused smile. Her hand was propped up on the desk in front of her while the other held a document in hand.
This year was a very fruitful year for Qizhong. Sales were at the peak of the chart, which may continue on till summer. Many companies had collaboration with the company, causing investments to increase. This made Zhi Ruo happy, her plans were a complete success. By investing into potential starlets for business, this caused their revenue to skyrocket, bringing in more money that it ever did.
It could be said that Zhi Ruo had an eye for talent and potential, this was a trait that had been inherited by their family since her great great grandfather's. This was also one of the reasons why she had managed to save their family from debt and maintain a stable standing among other noble families.
Although it could be said that the Zhi family was a very noble and prominent family, they were also aloof and distant compared to the other families, only showing up to the public in important events. Thus, not many people today know of them.
Zhi Ruo let out a light laugh as she read through business proposals from other companies. Because of the family's aloofness, many companies didn't know and and wanted to scam them of their money. Fools.
"What should we do, Miss Zhi?" a man who stood dignified in his fifties stood behind her.
His face was getting old but his posture and the aura he gave off was still impeccable. Being the Zhi family's head butler for 3 decades, there was no denying his skills and experience with the dirty side of business.
Zhi Ruo no longer bothered to read the stack of proposals and curtly said, "Reject all of them. Except for the Ying family and Hua conglomerate."
The man nodded and proceeded to swiftly grab the stack, leaving out two folders and quietly left the study.
Zhi Ruo sighed. She stood up from the comfortable swivel chair and squared her shoulders. The built-up stress from working overtime made her muscles tense and bones ache. She heaved a sigh of relief as she popped her joints.
She walked towards the bay window and trailed her fingers on the large glass. Her eyes glanced outside at the large lake beside the wide meadow. Bountiful lotuses filled the entire lake which gave off a profound sense of elegance and purity.
Her mind drifted to her plants back at her small apartment. It was about time to water them. Before leaving, Zhi Ruo left a note of her absence, grabbed the two folders, and left with her bag. It became a habit of hers to always leave a note before leaving.
Zhi Ruo drove out of the large mansion with her small and unsuspecting Mini Cooper and steadily drove to her apartment. She lived in a more rural part of the city as she liked the friendly neighborhood and relaxing atmosphere. There was no coldness to be felt and the places that were being rented or sold was not uselessly large and spacious.
Parking her car to the side, Zhi Ruo went upstairs to her apartment and let out a contented sigh as she removed her shoes and changed into more comfortable clothes. After watering her plants, she grabbed a pint of ice cream from the fridge and sat down on the sofa.
Suddenly, her phone chimed. Zhi Ruo frowned as she prepared to eat a bite of her ice cream. The notification was from Xiao Tong, her best friend.
[Xiao Ruo, I'm planning to hold a reunion with our batch. It's already been more than a decade and it'll be exciting. Most of them have already confirmed and there'll be food. Zhi Mei had already told me that you'll be less busy in the coming weeks because you're passing on your position to your cousin so you have to come. It's on the 22nd. Basically tomorrow.]
Zhi Ruo scrunched up her nose. This simple but forceful approach was like her. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
[Can't. Even though cousin's coming back, I still need to supervise him till he's capable. Also, I have plans tomorrow. Maybe next time though.]
It took a while for the other to reply but it was short and curt that made Zhi Ruo smile.
[You suck.]
Zhi Ruo turned off her phone and resumed to eating her ice cream. This ice cream was specially brought by her sister. It was a non dairy ice cream that even someone like her could enjoy. She suddenly thought of her best friend.
Xiao Tong was the type of person who had many many friends. Although she claims to be unsociable and a bit cold, the number of people wanting to befriend her numbered to thousands.
Probably because she's so active on social media, partnered with her beautiful face and wide connections, she's a top socialite not many would dare to disrespect. She's also a respectable jewellery designer so that's also a bonus.
How lucky she is.
It was already nearing nightfall. The sun would soon set as its rays brightly shone through the glass door. Recalling the many sleepless nights she had to endure, she set down the ice cream on top of the coffee table and dragged her feet to the bedroom.
As she sank into the comfortable duvet, she found herself let out a yawn. It had been a long time since she last had fallen asleep without the aid of sleeping pills. She had forgotten how nice it felt to sleep so naturally. Having a mild case of insomnia was clearly not favorable for a sleepy person like her.
Because of such a rare opportunity, Zhi Ruo relaxed her body and let herself dream.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Kalopsia
Kalopsia (◍•ᴗ•◍)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone