Chapter 448 - Side Story 7: Li Mu Bai (2)

Li Mu Bai walked out of the residence and tilted his head up to look at the sky. A long sigh escaped him and a helpless smile curled on his lips upon recalling the conversation he had with his grandparents not too long ago.

At this time, Li Mu Bai was already in his mid-thirty and his grandparents were urging him to get married. He had to listen to the same speech and nagging from his grandmother every time he visited the residence and now he was somewhat immune to it.

He was the eldest grandchild for both Li Ren Xin and Mu Lingxi. A few of his cousins were married and had a few children, but he had stayed as a bachelor and the elders were worried.

Perhaps because there was no female figure in his house, there was no one to urge him to find a partner and settle down.

As he was getting older, naturally, his grandparents wanted him to have someone beside him, to share and accompany him in his lifetime.

It was not as if he had never thought of getting into a relationship, get married, and have kids.

It was just that... in his early life, Li Mu Bai was too focus on his study. Later, it was his work. After his mother had to stay behind the bars, and his sister passed away, Li Mu Bai had stopped thinking about having a relationship and had focused on his work as his way to forget everything that has been happening to his family.

Before he realized it, he was already this old and there were not many unmarried women around him.

However, that was not to say that he had not been paying attention to the women beside him. Ever since his sister had passed away, there was that someone who had always been looking after him. Before long, Li Mu Bai's eyes would follow the woman's movement and he began to notice her care towards him. His heart would move every time he looked at her and knew that he liked having her around.

The phone in his pocket vibrated and snapped him out of his trance. Li Mu Bai took it out and read the text message. After replying to that message, he entered his car and drove away.

…

When Li Mu Bai arrived at the Zhang's Group Hotel, his ȧssistant, Bei Ruo Xi immediately meet him at the lobby before she led him to the restaurant where a potential business partner was waiting for him. 

The business discussion went smoothly and the two parties made an appointment to meet again and discuss the details of their collaboration the next time they meet.

Li Mu Bai watched as the middle-aged man walked away to leave the restaurant before he turned to his ȧssistant.

Bei Ruo Xi was writing something in her notebook when she realized that she was being watched. She lifted her head and flinched as her gaze met with Li Mu Bai's. "President Li, are there any other instructions?"

"No," Li Mu Bai shook his head as he quickly composed himself. He let out a cough and spoke, "Come on. Let's go."

Bei Ruo Xi nodded before she stuffed her things into her bag. She followed Li Mu Bai out of the restaurant and paused when she saw that the man beside him had suddenly stopped. She turned to him and followed his gaze.

A woman stood in front of them and she was staring back at Li Mu Bai with a surprised expression on her face. Seconds later, the baby in her arms started to let out a whimper and the finally looked away from Li Mu Bai to coax her child. 

As the child quietened down, the woman turned to Li Mu Bai again and smiled. "President Li."

Li Mu Bai gave her a short nod as a form of greeting.

"It has been a long time since the last time we saw each other. Are you having your meal here?" the woman asked. She glanced at Bei Ruo Xi and flashed a polite smile.

"No. I was here for a business discussion." There was a slight frown on his face.

"Oh," the woman opened her mouth to say something but decided against it as the baby in her arms started to cry. "Excuse me. I have to go. President Li, it was nice meeting you again."

Li Mu Bai nodded politely as he watched the woman walked away. After a while, he turned to his ȧssistant and raised a brow. "Who was that?"

Bei Ruo Xi felt her lips twitched. She had thought that Li Mu Bai had recognized that woman, and that was why he had stopped as soon as he had seen the woman.

"That was Director Huang of Lin Yu Group's second daughter, Huang Yue," Bei Ruo Xi reminded him. "President Li, you have gone on a blind date with her previously."

His eyes narrowed as he recalled the last time she had seen that woman. It turned out that the woman who he had previously gone on a blind date with was now married and had a child.

Li Mu Bai turned to Bei Ruo Xi again. "How do you know that I have gone on a blind date with Director Huang's daughter? I recalled that I have not been on any blind date for years."

Last time, it was his mother who had arranged him to go on those blind dates. Back then, Bei Ruo Xi was not working under him and she was not supposed to know these things.

"I ran into you the last time you went on a blind date with Miss Huang."

A teasing smile curled on his lips. "You have been paying attention to me for a long time?"

Bei Ruo Xi let out a chuckle. "President Li, I used to work under Yao Yao and the two of you were competing for the position of the President of QL. It was hard for me not to pay attention to you."

Li Mu Bai nodded at her explanation. But he was not sure why he was slightly disappointed by her answer. He turned to leave and paused again to his ȧssistant. "Where are you heading next? Let me give you a ride."

"It would not be necessary, I can grab a cab."

"You have to come over and work even though it was weekend," Li Mu Bai pointed out. "Let me send you."

Bei Ruo Xi hesitated for a while. Then, she nodded. "Alright, but I still have a place that I have to go first."

Li Mu Bai raised a brow.

A few minutes later, both of them stood in front of a cake display counter. Li Mu Bai crossed his arms on his ċhėst as he watched as the girl stared at the cakes with her bright eyes. It seemed that by looking at the cakes alone was able to make her happy.

"Bei Ruo Xi."

"Huh?"

"Are you not seeing anyone?"

Bei Ruo Xi stood up abruptly. She stared at her boss for a few seconds before her lips curled into a smile. "No."

A smile unconsciously appeared on his lips at her answer.

"Why not? It's not because I have given you too much workload that you don't have time to date, is it?" Li Mu Bai let out a dry cough when he realized that he was overstepping his boundaries. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She went back to look at the cakes and spoke again. "I am someone with a good job. I have a house with my name and can afford to buy anything that I wanted." She raised her head and smiled at him. "Most guys think that dating someone very capable like me can be very intimidating for them. As for those guys who were not intimidated to date me, well, let's just say that they are from a higher social circle. A relationship with them would be a waste of time. None of them would consider marrying me due to our difference in social class. Even if they wanted to marry me, their family might not agree."

Li Mu Bai stared at her with surprise. He had thought of various reasons why she was still single, but he had never thought of those reasons.

A shop ȧssistant came over after a while and Bei Ruo Xi chose a few cakes for takeaway. She walked over to the counter and took out her card to pay for those cakes.

Those cakes in Zhang's Hotel Group was slightly expensive due to its quality, but Bei Ruo Xi could still afford to buy a few of those cakes and swiped her card without worrying.

"I'm done. Let's go." Bei Ruo Xi smiled as she held the pastel pink box in her hand.

…

Li Mu Bai's parked his car as it reached a luxury apartment in the middle of the city. He tilted his head to look at the building and was able to guess at the price for each lot. Although the apartment was slightly expensive, the security around the area was very excellent. 

"President Li, thank you," Bei Ruo Xi spoke as she gathered her stuff. 

"Bei Ruo Xi."

Her hand that was about to reach the door paused and Bei Ruo Xi turned to look at her boss.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

There was a blank look on Bei Ruo Xi's face. "Huh?"

"I would not be pressured because you're capable to look after your self and I am someone who did not mind someone's family background. You know about my family. My mother no longer cares who my partners might be and my dad spends most of his time in camp. My grandparents just wanted me to settle down that they would about my partner's social class or such." A nervous smile appeared on his lips. "Don't you think we're very compatible?" 

There was a long silence as the two of them stared at each other. "Why me?"

"I like you," Li Mu Bai spoke. "And this was not something that I just thought about recently. I think I have started to like you for a while now. I might not be good at romance and stuff, but I think that if it is with you, then, I can work hard to be better in it."

The silence continued as Bei Ruo Xi thought over the man's suggestion. Her thought went towards the time they have spent together as a boss and subordinates.

In the past, she had always paid attention to Li Mu Bai as he was competing against Yao Yao. She had long noticed that he was an impressive man.

"Bei Ruo Xi, if you have even a slight feeling towards me, then I hope that you will give me a chance." Li Mu Bai broke the silence.

After a long time, Bei Ruo Xi lifted her face and met his eyes. "Alright." A smile appeared on her face when he looked at her with surprise as if he was not expecting her answer. "Coincidentally, I happen to have a slight feeling towards you. I will give this relationship a chance. If we did not try, then we will never know if it would work, right?"