84 Old habits

Tang shrugged his shoulders in innocence, "I am not sure of the reason. This delegation of responsibility is a recent development."

Jia Li looked at him suspiciously while his gaze was caught by the collage of photos at the wall behind her desk. He moved closer to take a look. The photos showcased the step by step growth of the institute, starting from the breaking of ground to the recent celebration of the successful hiring of their first batch of people. Tang seemed fascinated looking at the pictures closely till he reached the one taken on the first day of construction. Jia Li and Wei stood wearing yellow hats and held shovels in their hands. Wei had his arm around her shoulders and they wore happy grins.

Looking at those images, Tang scowled darkly but didn't comment upon it. The room had fallen silent. Chu and Ethan were following his suit to look at the collage while Jia Li stood silently in the centre of the room, lost in her thoughts yet again.

"Why did Wei not tell me that Tang was going to come here? But now that he is here, I need to stay professional. He would leave soon and things would be back to normal," she consoled her racing heart.

"The pictures tell an interesting story of your hard work and love for the place," remarked Chu with a smile.

Pride shone in Jia Li's eyes, "the success of the place owes itself to the amazing effort and determination of the people involved. Honestly, when we started, there was only good intention and nothing else in our minds. But today I am glad that the project has gained recognition and created a demand for itself in the town and around."

"Ok, shall we start with a tour to the place? We could click some pictures of people in various classes right now and maybe do a couple of quick interviews?" Ethan asked her.

"You go ahead without me. Jia Li, can you give me the tax files and employment records etc?" he said neutrally.

His business like demeanour calmed her down. Ever since he had walked into the place, he had been restrained and work focussed. She was relieved.

Tang leaned back in Jia Li's chair, once everyone had left. The books were open in front of him. He looked around the room multiple times, trying to envision her in every corner of the place. With a smile, he looked at the half eaten chocolate kept tucked away under one corner of the table. Her habits hadn't changed. Normally she abhorred anything sweet except for that time of every month when her body craved something chocolaty. He recalled the first time he had seen her eat a chocolate, he had been so surprised and it had taken her multiple awkward attempts to explain to him the reason for it. At the age of thirteen, his knowledge of a woman's body was limited.

He grinned at the memory.

The phone rang that instant grabbing his attention. It took him a second to realise that it was Jia Li's phone which she seemed to have left behind at her desk. Looking at the caller screen, his good mood vanished.

"How often does he call her in day?" he wondered, while the phone ring exhausted itself after trilling multiple times.

Wei was getting antsy.

"I am sure that she is busy with Ethan and Chu. But why is there an uneasiness in my heart? Why the hell did I decide to become responsible and conscientious about work now? If it was the old me, I would have dropped everything and rushed to where my girl was right now. Growing up sucks…" he grumbled to himself.

"Who has offended you to bring such a fierce expression on your face," asked his father as he entered the cabin.

Mr. Wang was extremely glad that his son had finally decided to take active interest in the business. He had seen his son undergo this change in the past months gradually and had a suspicion that it had something to do with the female employee in Moganshan. In the past, his son had flaunted his numerous relations with the female population but this was the first time that he had kept his association with the opposite gender under wrap. Had it not been for his son's assistant, Mr. Wang wouldn't have even known of the girl's existence or importance in his son's life.

Since a long time now, both Mr. Wang and his wife had stopped keeping tabs on their son's whereabouts. But few days ago, he had tried to reach Wei's cell phone and had found it switched off.

He had rung up his son's assistant to pass on the message to him, only to be informed that Wei was in Hainan Island.