Chapter 4 - Things That Might Happen Tomorrow

"President, CEO Lim Yi Sheng's ȧssistant called me awhile ago while you were in the middle of a meeting and he's telling me to clear your Friday schedule for your marriage registration and moving in your new house."

"Uhm." Xi Ana answered while still busy looking through the financial report she asked. Suddenly, she looked at her ȧssistant as if she'd realize something.

"Did you say Friday schedule?" the ȧssistant was a bit confused by the sudden reaction.

"Don't cancel all my schedule on Friday, just the afternoon and evening. You don't have to inform CEO Lim, I already talked to him when he called this morning." the ȧssistant was surprised because she knows that there are only few people who can contact the president without going through her. Well, he will soon be her husband so that might be the case.

"Yes, president." just as she was about to leave the room Xi Ana called out to her again.

"Hannah, please cancel all my remaining schedules for today. I need to do something. Also, do not call me unless its urgent." Hannah wasn't all that surprised with this because the president tend to do this once in a while.

Hannah has been working for the president ever since she started working in the company and she knows that when Xi Ana tries to finish everything ahead of schedule she will then ask for a time like this, though she doesn't have any idea about what she's atually doing.

"Understood, president." with that, she already left the room.

Xi Ana picked up her phone and dialed, after a few seconds somebody answered the phone.

"Let's meet later. Same time, same location."

"I understand." he already expected that Xi Ana will call that's why he knows what to do. It's not a matter of guessing, it's a matter of knowing. Even though there are some instances that he also doesn't know what is running through her head but for situations like this, he can easily understand it like the back of his hand.

"Also, be prepared. It's almost time." Xi Ana said in a cold and serious tone. It is indeed almost time, he thought.

"I know." the man on the other line doesn't need any more words of explanation to understand what the woman is trying to say.

Few seconds after hanging up the phone and clearing her call log, a certain young man barged in her office.

"Ana Jie! You're getting married to Lim Yi Sheng? What the hell? I've been away for only a month and this is what surprises me?!" as soon as he received a call from his grandfather regarding his sister's marriage he immediately booked a flight back home.

"Uhm." she didn't even spare her brother a glance because she's busy analyzing the report in front of her.

Xi Chen, her brother has a sister complex though he doesn't admit it, all the people who knew them knows. They grew up without a mother figure beside them so Xi Chen became too attached to his sister, and Xi Ana pampered him just how normally mothers do.

"I can't accept it! I don't want my sister to be married with him!" with this remark, his sister turned her gaze to meet his eyes.

"Then, are you willing to marry and bear a child for grandfather to spare your sister from this business marriage?"

"ANA JIE!" his sister chuckled as a response and continued typing in her computer.

"Didn't I gave you two days off so that you can enjoy your stay there before going back here, why'd you have to go back so early?" her brother slumped his back on the couch after removing his coat and loosening his tie.

"How can I stay there knowing that my sister is about to be married to someone I don't know." he said while pouting. Giving his sister to someone else has never been an option for Xi Chen. He always thought that is sister would forever be with him.

"Chen, how's your training going on?" she stood up and went to made tea for the two of them. Upon hearing her sister's tone he immediately sat down.

"What's that question for? Are you planning to retire early now that you're getting married?" he asked seriously. That might be an option, Lim Yi Sheng is a capable man and even if Xi Ana won't work for her entire life she will still be able to live a wealthy life.

"I'm just asking Chen and I'm not planning to retire yet, okay? I just want you to be prepared you know I took over the company at age of 24. Believe it or not, I was not yet ready at that time but because of what happened to grandfather even though I'm not yet prepared I have no choice. I don't want the same thing happen to you, that's why I'm preparing you as early as now." Xi Chen is only 22 years old but Xi Ana is already preparing him to take over a whole empire.

"Don't speak like you're about to die tomorrow. I can't even imagine it. About my training, it's fine you don't have anything to worry about. I was able to alleviate the situation and also provide long-term solution so that they won't go back to how they used to be." his sister sent him to their Europe main branch in Italy due to a crisis. Xi Empire is known all over the world as one of the best hotel empire there is.

This is her way of training him, sending him to different branches either branches with problem or has a poor performance over the past years. Making him solve the matters at hand will make him gain more knowledge and experience of the problems that he might encounter when he takes over the company.

If anything were to happen to her and Xi Chen is not yet ready, their company and all that belongs to the empire will be easily taken over by their greedy relatives.

"By eliminating the cause of the problem and providing a new way to enhance their performance is already a context used by people all over the world. Yes, there is no problem with this method because it is indeed an effective plan but I don't think this is how I taught you."

"Being efficient is better than being effective. That is what you taught me. Just like what you've said, I also don't think that providing them a long-term solution in the form of a mere plan is enough so what I did is give them the foundation. I gave them manpower which will also serve as an overseer of their daily performance, I also laid out a project which will enhance their capabilities to maintain their performance even though I'm not there anymore to support them." hearing her brother's explanation, she can't help but smile and be proud. This is the best form of training for him, it's like throwing a kid in the forest alone to survive.

"Why are we even talking about this anyway? I came here to talk to you about your marriage. This matter is not as important as the fact that you're about to get married."

"It is important Xi Chen, you'll never know. I might end up being dead tomorrow."