Chapter 236: Shine Bright
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She put down her purse by the coffee table and then she plopped down on the cushy sofa. Mandy heaved a soft sigh, "It's been a long day. I'm so tired."
A moment later, Axel walked out from the kitchen with a cute, pink color mug in his hands. The white cat with a red ribbon on her head was Mandy's favorite character. He sat next to his wife and passed her the mug.
She reached out her hands to receive the mug from him.
Mandy slowly touched her lips to the rim of the mug. Before her lips got the chance to taste the liquid inside, she could already smell the fragrant flower and honey smell from it.
"Ah!" She exclaimed in joy, "You are the best, darling! I am in a mood for some honey chrysanthemum tea." She looked at him and flashed him a grin, "And here you are!"
He returned her smile before slightly bending down and taking both of her ankles; he put them on his lap and started to massage her feet.
"You bought so many things today, I am actually surprised that you still complained of being tired," Axel teased her and his fingers slowly rubbed the aching spots on her muscles.
Mandy kept sipping on her tea nonchalant of her husband teasing on her.
"Darling, buying stuff is just women's second nature," She started to say, "at least I am keeping the money within the family. I don't spend it for other men," And she finished with giggles.
Axel playfully pinched her calf, "If you want to find other men, darling, make sure they are not as handsome as me, alright?"
Mandy laughed out loud; she playfully nudged her feet onto his waist to tickle him, "Shut up! You know you are the most handsome!" She snickered at him.
Axel caught her ankles and continued his massage, "But in all serious notes, what do you think she wants now? Just to sincerely catch up with you? After all these years?"
"En," Mandy turned solemn, she wrapped both palms around the mug, "I don't know. She did not contact any of us all these years, and suddenly appeared like this. I hope Daniel told Yan Yan the story now so there's no surprises in the future."
"Daniel knows what he is doing," Axel started to say, "We can leave this to him."
....
Over the next few days, Shao Yan and Li Xiqing went back to their normal schedule as usual.
For Valentine's Day, Gold Crane Publications finally decided on doing a short meet and greet for Romance authors and readers.
"How are we doing on venue setup?"
"Clear, we have secured the date and time."
"Food and beverage team?"
"Clear, we have confirmation on strawberry shortcake and eclairs."
"Goody bags?"
"Well.. uh.."
And the whole eyes in the room focused their attention on Fan jie who was stuttering.
"Well," she repeated after clearing her throat, "Our team decided on a rose stalk and Hershey's kisses chocolates."
Shao Yan tilted her head in confusion, "Okay, that's good, sticking with the classic option. So what is the issue?"
Fan jie licked her lips anxiously and then she glanced at Wenhai. Shao Yan received the signal and looked at Wenhai as well with a questioning gaze.
"Here is the thing, Shao Yan," he started to say, "Because we decided quite late, we only managed to secure 100 stalks of red roses."
Soon, murmur and gasp were circulated in the room.
Shao Yan paused as she squinted her eyes, thinking. They had prepared the events by expecting 200 guests would show up.
....
She got up from her seat and started to walk to the window. Shao Yan crossed both arms in front of her chest as her brain started to think for options and said them out loud.
"Okay, let's think of ideas. What else can we do to make those readers feel special?"
The team started to murmur with each other as they discussed the options.
"Umm, we could make 100 goody bags with red roses and 100 with white?"
"No, white is considered a bad luck color in Chinese culture, simply because it symbolizes mourning."
"Hm.. What about sunflowers?"
"But sunflowers are not for lovers!"
"How about we ordered 200 red paper roses for the guests? We will place the 100 real roses at the cashier area, to give out to the first 100 customers. How's that?"
Nods of approval started to Domino around the room as they looked at each other and agreed that this was probably the best approach.
Shao Yan stood with her back leaned on the window frame as she watched the discussion enfolded.
Once she saw that a quorum was reached, she slowly eased her body forward and walked back to her seat.
"Alright, let's go with that. Quickly ordered the paper roses. Please make sure the packaging is good to protect them from bending or any damage. Even though it is a paper rose, it is still representing our company."
Everyone started to group with their team to discuss the next steps. The meeting went on for the whole day to make sure the Valentine's Day event ran smoothly.
....
In the other part of the city, a young lady was sitting in a quaint coffee shop.
She was sitting next to the window. Her left hand was supporting her chin as she watched the people who were walking outside. Her beautiful wavy hair was flowing by her shoulder. Some soft strands of hair fell down her cheek; adding more charming features into her angelic face.
"Your order for cappuccino, miss," the waitress placed the cup of coffee on the table and walked away.
She heard what the waitress had said, but she did not turn around and kept her eyes to watch the scene outside. She raised up her right hand and began to play around with the necklace around her neck.
She took out the pendant from inside her blouse, and her fingers hesitated for a while to touch it.
Upon closer look, one could see that it was a solitaire diamond ring. Although the stone was small, whenever it moved, it was shining ever so brightly.
Vivian sighed as her fingertips grazed the words on the inner side of the ring. She remembered every letter and every stroke.
'Dan's Viv'
She absentmindedly traced them as she reminisced the good days in the past.
She remembered, when they got engaged, Li Xiqing had prepared a set of engagement rings for both of them.
Her ring was engraved with 'Dan's Viv' and his ring was engraved with 'Viv's Dan' symbolizing that they belonged to each other.
As she reminisced more, gradually another face appeared in her mind. Another woman was standing next to him now. And Danny was looking at her with the same doting look with how he looked at her in the past.
How much she would trade to go back to what they were before.
A rustling noise was heard when someone occupied the seat in front of her. Vivian removed her gaze from the window to look at the person in front of her; and she smiled.
"Sorry, I'm late, Vivi. Have you been waiting long?"
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She put down her purse by the coffee table and then she plopped down on the cushy sofa. Mandy heaved a soft sigh, "It's been a long day. I'm so tired."
A moment later, Axel walked out from the kitchen with a cute, pink color mug in his hands. The white cat with a red ribbon on her head was Mandy's favorite character. He sat next to his wife and passed her the mug.
She reached out her hands to receive the mug from him.
Mandy slowly touched her lips to the rim of the mug. Before her lips got the chance to taste the liquid inside, she could already smell the fragrant flower and honey smell from it.
"Ah!" She exclaimed in joy, "You are the best, darling! I am in a mood for some honey chrysanthemum tea." She looked at him and flashed him a grin, "And here you are!"
He returned her smile before slightly bending down and taking both of her ankles; he put them on his lap and started to massage her feet.
"You bought so many things today, I am actually surprised that you still complained of being tired," Axel teased her and his fingers slowly rubbed the aching spots on her muscles.
Mandy kept sipping on her tea nonchalant of her husband teasing on her.
"Darling, buying stuff is just women's second nature," She started to say, "at least I am keeping the money within the family. I don't spend it for other men," And she finished with giggles.
Axel playfully pinched her calf, "If you want to find other men, darling, make sure they are not as handsome as me, alright?"
Mandy laughed out loud; she playfully nudged her feet onto his waist to tickle him, "Shut up! You know you are the most handsome!" She snickered at him.
Axel caught her ankles and continued his massage, "But in all serious notes, what do you think she wants now? Just to sincerely catch up with you? After all these years?"
"En," Mandy turned solemn, she wrapped both palms around the mug, "I don't know. She did not contact any of us all these years, and suddenly appeared like this. I hope Daniel told Yan Yan the story now so there's no surprises in the future."
"Daniel knows what he is doing," Axel started to say, "We can leave this to him."
....
Over the next few days, Shao Yan and Li Xiqing went back to their normal schedule as usual.
For Valentine's Day, Gold Crane Publications finally decided on doing a short meet and greet for Romance authors and readers.
"How are we doing on venue setup?"
"Clear, we have secured the date and time."
"Food and beverage team?"
"Clear, we have confirmation on strawberry shortcake and eclairs."
"Goody bags?"
"Well.. uh.."
And the whole eyes in the room focused their attention on Fan jie who was stuttering.
"Well," she repeated after clearing her throat, "Our team decided on a rose stalk and Hershey's kisses chocolates."
Shao Yan tilted her head in confusion, "Okay, that's good, sticking with the classic option. So what is the issue?"
Fan jie licked her lips anxiously and then she glanced at Wenhai. Shao Yan received the signal and looked at Wenhai as well with a questioning gaze.
"Here is the thing, Shao Yan," he started to say, "Because we decided quite late, we only managed to secure 100 stalks of red roses."
Soon, murmur and gasp were circulated in the room.
Shao Yan paused as she squinted her eyes, thinking. They had prepared the events by expecting 200 guests would show up.
....
She got up from her seat and started to walk to the window. Shao Yan crossed both arms in front of her chest as her brain started to think for options and said them out loud.
"Okay, let's think of ideas. What else can we do to make those readers feel special?"
The team started to murmur with each other as they discussed the options.
"Umm, we could make 100 goody bags with red roses and 100 with white?"
"No, white is considered a bad luck color in Chinese culture, simply because it symbolizes mourning."
"Hm.. What about sunflowers?"
"But sunflowers are not for lovers!"
"How about we ordered 200 red paper roses for the guests? We will place the 100 real roses at the cashier area, to give out to the first 100 customers. How's that?"
Nods of approval started to Domino around the room as they looked at each other and agreed that this was probably the best approach.
Shao Yan stood with her back leaned on the window frame as she watched the discussion enfolded.
Once she saw that a quorum was reached, she slowly eased her body forward and walked back to her seat.
"Alright, let's go with that. Quickly ordered the paper roses. Please make sure the packaging is good to protect them from bending or any damage. Even though it is a paper rose, it is still representing our company."
Everyone started to group with their team to discuss the next steps. The meeting went on for the whole day to make sure the Valentine's Day event ran smoothly.
....
In the other part of the city, a young lady was sitting in a quaint coffee shop.
She was sitting next to the window. Her left hand was supporting her chin as she watched the people who were walking outside. Her beautiful wavy hair was flowing by her shoulder. Some soft strands of hair fell down her cheek; adding more charming features into her angelic face.
"Your order for cappuccino, miss," the waitress placed the cup of coffee on the table and walked away.
She heard what the waitress had said, but she did not turn around and kept her eyes to watch the scene outside. She raised up her right hand and began to play around with the necklace around her neck.
She took out the pendant from inside her blouse, and her fingers hesitated for a while to touch it.
Upon closer look, one could see that it was a solitaire diamond ring. Although the stone was small, whenever it moved, it was shining ever so brightly.
Vivian sighed as her fingertips grazed the words on the inner side of the ring. She remembered every letter and every stroke.
'Dan's Viv'
She absentmindedly traced them as she reminisced the good days in the past.
She remembered, when they got engaged, Li Xiqing had prepared a set of engagement rings for both of them.
Her ring was engraved with 'Dan's Viv' and his ring was engraved with 'Viv's Dan' symbolizing that they belonged to each other.
As she reminisced more, gradually another face appeared in her mind. Another woman was standing next to him now. And Danny was looking at her with the same doting look with how he looked at her in the past.
How much she would trade to go back to what they were before.
A rustling noise was heard when someone occupied the seat in front of her. Vivian removed her gaze from the window to look at the person in front of her; and she smiled.
"Sorry, I'm late, Vivi. Have you been waiting long?"
She put down her purse by the coffee table and then she plopped down on the cushy sofa. Mandy heaved a soft sigh, "It's been a long day. I'm so tired."A moment later, Axel walked out from the kitchen with a cute, pink color mug in his hands. The white cat with a red ribbon on her head was Mandy's favorite character. He sat next to his wife and passed her the mug.She reached out her hands to receive the mug from him.Mandy slowly touched her lips to the rim of the mug. Before her lips got the chance to taste the liquid inside, she could already smell the fragrant flower and honey smell from it."Ah!" She exclaimed in joy, "You are the best, darling! I am in a mood for some honey chrysanthemum tea." She looked at him and flashed him a grin, "And here you are!"He returned her smile before slightly bending down and taking both of her ankles; he put them on his lap and started to massage her feet."You bought so many things today, I am actually surprised that you still complained of being tired," Axel teased her and his fingers slowly rubbed the aching spots on her muscles.Mandy kept sipping on her tea nonchalant of her husband teasing on her."Darling, buying stuff is just women's second nature," She started to say, "at least I am keeping the money within the family. I don't spend it for other men," And she finished with giggles.Axel playfully pinched her calf, "If you want to find other men, darling, make sure they are not as handsome as me, alright?"Mandy laughed out loud; she playfully nudged her feet onto his waist to tickle him, "Shut up! You know you are the most handsome!" She snickered at him.Axel caught her ankles and continued his massage, "But in all serious notes, what do you think she wants now? Just to sincerely catch up with you? After all these years?""En," Mandy turned solemn, she wrapped both palms around the mug, "I don't know. She did not contact any of us all these years, and suddenly appeared like this. I hope Daniel told Yan Yan the story now so there's no surprises in the future.""Daniel knows what he is doing," Axel started to say, "We can leave this to him."....Over the next few days, Shao Yan and Li Xiqing went back to their normal schedule as usual.For Valentine's Day, Gold Crane Publications finally decided on doing a short meet and greet for Romance authors and readers."How are we doing on venue setup?""Clear, we have secured the date and time.""Food and beverage team?""Clear, we have confirmation on strawberry shortcake and eclairs.""Goody bags?""Well.. uh.."And the whole eyes in the room focused their attention on Fan jie who was stuttering."Well," she repeated after clearing her throat, "Our team decided on a rose stalk and Hershey's kisses chocolates."Shao Yan tilted her head in confusion, "Okay, that's good, sticking with the classic option. So what is the issue?"Fan jie licked her lips anxiously and then she glanced at Wenhai. Shao Yan received the signal and looked at Wenhai as well with a questioning gaze."Here is the thing, Shao Yan," he started to say, "Because we decided quite late, we only managed to secure 100 stalks of red roses."Soon, murmur and gasp were circulated in the room.Shao Yan paused as she squinted her eyes, thinking. They had prepared the events by expecting 200 guests would show up.....She got up from her seat and started to walk to the window. Shao Yan crossed both arms in front of her chest as her brain started to think for options and said them out loud."Okay, let's think of ideas. What else can we do to make those readers feel special?"The team started to murmur with each other as they discussed the options."Umm, we could make 100 goody bags with red roses and 100 with white?""No, white is considered a bad luck color in Chinese culture, simply because it symbolizes mourning.""Hm.. What about sunflowers?""But sunflowers are not for lovers!""How about we ordered 200 red paper roses for the guests? We will place the 100 real roses at the cashier area, to give out to the first 100 customers. How's that?"Nods of approval started to Domino around the room as they looked at each other and agreed that this was probably the best approach.Shao Yan stood with her back leaned on the window frame as she watched the discussion enfolded.Once she saw that a quorum was reached, she slowly eased her body forward and walked back to her seat."Alright, let's go with that. Quickly ordered the paper roses. Please make sure the packaging is good to protect them from bending or any damage. Even though it is a paper rose, it is still representing our company."Everyone started to group with their team to discuss the next steps. The meeting went on for the whole day to make sure the Valentine's Day event ran smoothly.....In the other part of the city, a young lady was sitting in a quaint coffee shop.She was sitting next to the window. Her left hand was supporting her chin as she watched the people who were walking outside. Her beautiful wavy hair was flowing by her shoulder. Some soft strands of hair fell down her cheek; adding more charming features into her angelic face."Your order for cappuccino, miss," the waitress placed the cup of coffee on the table and walked away.She heard what the waitress had said, but she did not turn around and kept her eyes to watch the scene outside. She raised up her right hand and began to play around with the necklace around her neck.She took out the pendant from inside her blouse, and her fingers hesitated for a while to touch it.Upon closer look, one could see that it was a solitaire diamond ring. Although the stone was small, whenever it moved, it was shining ever so brightly.Vivian sighed as her fingertips grazed the words on the inner side of the ring. She remembered every letter and every stroke.'Dan's Viv'She absentmindedly traced them as she reminisced the good days in the past.She remembered, when they got engaged, Li Xiqing had prepared a set of engagement rings for both of them.Her ring was engraved with 'Dan's Viv' and his ring was engraved with 'Viv's Dan' symbolizing that they belonged to each other.As she reminisced more, gradually another face appeared in her mind. Another woman was standing next to him now. And Danny was looking at her with the same doting look with how he looked at her in the past.How much she would trade to go back to what they were before.A rustling noise was heard when someone occupied the seat in front of her. Vivian removed her gaze from the window to look at the person in front of her; and she smiled."Sorry, I'm late, Vivi. Have you been waiting long?"
