228 Sleeping Horse

The sun's rays were falling in his eyes, making him squint in his sleep. His neck seemed to have developed a terrible crick.

Where was he? The ceiling looked unfamiliar, the bed felt cramped, he still had his shoes on.

Tang got up with a jerk as he took stock of his surroundings. He had fallen asleep at Jia Li's apartment. Grimacing at his terrible manners, he looked around for her.

The tiny apartment was empty barring a faint smell of her usual perfume in the air. He covered his face with his hands, feeling the sharpness of his stubble. Removing the blanket, he stepped off the bed. So much for his offering her the explanation for his presence at the office yesterday . He looked for his phone and found it plugged in the charger next to the bed.

"I shut off the phone's ringer so that you could sleep uninterrupted. There is a croissant in the paper bag at the table and chocolate milk in the fridge. Have it before you leave. Make sure to latch the door securely when you get out. Lastly, sending you a little souvenir from last night. Sorry, couldn't resist. Have a good day," he read Jia Li's message with growing embarrassment.

He couldn't believe it. He had been in her apartment, with her last night and he had fallen asleep in no time. It was all Zheng He's fault. Had he not taken him for early drinks and that too on empty stomach... the jet lag, the nervousness of meeting her, the alcohol, damn!!!

Wait, what did she mean by a souvenir? He clicked on the link which she had sent. The room was suddenly filled with noises coming out of his mouth and he could see his entire teeth structure at the angle in which it had been filmed. She had taken a video him while he was sleeping… no, while he was snoring!! Nooooooooo, Unbelievable.

"Great going, Tang. Keep it up. You really do know how to charm a woman," he was furious with himself.

He looked around the apartment one more time. He had to do something to make up for the last evening.

Jia Li was in the middle of a briefing being given by one of the managers when her phone indicated arrival of a message.

"I am so sorry for last night. Please allow me to take you out for dinner, to make up for it," it read.

She smiled to herself and thought of tormenting him a little more, "are you sure it wouldn't be your nap time, then?"

He sent her a "I am thoroughly embarrassed" emoticon in return.

She bit her lip from laughing out loud. The manager had been talking about introducing more ways to reduce the side effects of extraction of Rare Earth elements from other metals. She tapped her fingers impatiently, wondering what would be the comeback from "Sleeping Horse". That's what she had kept his name on her phone now.

The message came back but only consisted the details of time and place for tonight's dinner. And that a car would be waiting for her below her flat to bring her there.

"Coward", she murmured.

"Uh, did you wish to say something, Ms. Lin?" the manager's attention was snared by her voice.

"Err, no I just, I simply wanted to say that we should take into consideration the costs involved in making the process more efficient. Else, the idea wouldn't sell," she said, praying that no one had already mentioned this point, because her attention had been on her phone rather than work.

Thankfully, the manager just nodded and moved on to the next point.

In the meanwhile, Tang had been having a busy morning. By the time he finished with his efforts, it was already noon. He had several missed calls from Zheng He. He finally picked up the phone to return his cousin's call. Though had started working with him recently, Zheng He looked upto Tang for guidance in all small and big matters. He was young, and extremely passionate about doing things the right way and hence had wished to start with a 'green processing unit' from the very beginning. But lack of funds hadn't made it possible up until now.

It was already 6:30 in the evening by the time Jia Li reached home. She had tried leaving slightly earlier from work but got delayed in the boss's cabin. These days, Mr. Hui was involving her more and more into his daily work schedule. He encouraged her to explore, research and give suggestions on whichever new theme that he was working on. This was polar opposite from the early days when he used to avoid her like plague. She was absolutely loving it but it also meant that she couldn't slip away early even if she wished.

She unlocked the door and stepped in.

Wrong flat!