"Our team couldn't find Xiao Mimi. I mean, her social media accounts are not giving away anything. She's not replying to any of our emails either. I'm afraid she's not interested."
"How could you say so?"
"I had proposed to meet up with her today to discuss a contract but it looks like she's not coming. I've been waiting for an hour now."
Upon hearing what Gu Jinyang said over the phone, Yu Chen looked at his Xiaolei who was busy on her phone as well.
"I see. Leave it to me."
"What do y –"
"No need to track her down. I'll do the negotiation."
After ending the call, Yu Chen faced Luo Xiaolei.
"Xiaolei…" he called out and she lifted her face.
"Hm?"
"Are you interested in being featured in ads?"
"Now that you mention it, I have received a lot of offers but they all want me to reveal my face so I'm ignoring them. I'm not even reading the new emails I'm receiving now," she replied.
There was no way she would reveal her face just for an ad. No matter how much it paid, she couldn't possibly let the world know about her, not when she was still this small. It wasn't like she was scared, she just knew that once people found out who she was, those envious, insecure creatures would surely come at her to drag her down. She didn't have enough time for that kind of drama so she had decided that this was the best thing to do; to hide in the shadows until she was strong enough to overpower whoever it was that would go against her.
"If you don't need to show your face, would you consider it?" he asked again. Luo Xiaolei noticed the change in his tone and she knew what kind of mode he was in – business mode.
"Mr. Yu, are you trying to negotiate with me?"
"Yes. My company chose you for an ad we are doing. You don't need to remove your mask."
"R-really?"
"Mm. So, will you consider it?"
Luo Xiaolei pressed her lips tightly to hide her excitement. Well, she couldn't help it. She couldn't believe that her first ever ad would be for the biggest company in the land and here was its boss, seriously asking her if she would consider it? 'Hello, you're my almighty investor, how could I say no?!'
"Mr. Yu, are you sure your company was the one who chose me?" she narrowed her eyes as she moved her face closer to him. "Are you sure it wasn't you who did the choosing?"
"Would there a problem if I was the person who picked you?"
". . ."'I knew it, big panda!'
"Don't worry. I didn't choose Little Secret just because it's you. Little Secret's mysterious concept just happened to be in line with the ad's concept. I believe Little Secret is the perfect choice."
"… oh,"
"I know you wouldn't like it if I just thoughtlessly chose you."
"Oh…" was all Luo Xiaolei could say again.
"Do you need more time to decide?" he asked, causing Luo Xiaolei to finally beam a huge smile at him.
"Nah, why would I let such a huge opportunity slip through my hand? There's no reason for me to decline since it does not require me to show my face."
"It's settled then. I'll ask Gu Jinyang to bring the contract over to our house so all you'd need to do is sign it once we're back."
"M-Mm." Hearing the words 'our house' made Luo Xiaolei cringe. She felt her face become warm.
"Won't you tell me where we are going?" she changed the topic. She had been curious about this since that night he told her he would be bringing her somewhere.
"To the countryside."
'Hey, can you be more specific?'
Luo Xiaolei was about to ask again but Yu Chen was already looking outside the window and for a moment, she saw it again – that flash of anguish in his eyes.
She swallowed her question after seeing him like that. She couldn't help but feel deeply troubled about why he was acting like this over this again. But all she could do was convince herself to stay calm and wait for what was to come.
The next part of their trip was riding a chopper. Luo Xioalei didn't ask about their destination anymore, however, as the trip went on, the lines on her forehead just kept getting deeper.
Luo Xiaolei was starting to get suspicious. When Yu Chen said that they were going to the countryside, the first thing that came to Luo Xiaolei's head was Snowflakes Village, the place where she stayed since her stepmother, Mo Lifeng, kicked her out of the Luo Mansion. 'Could it be that we're heading to Snowflakes Village? But why? What's the connection of this place to him, to us?'
Endless questions kept popping up in her mind. Confusion and curiosity were flooding Luo Xiaolei's head. She kept on trying to convince herself that they might be heading somewhere close to that village but it seemed like they really were heading to that place.
The moment Luo Xiaolei saw that familiar, nostalgic place, her heart started beating erratically. She didn't know why. She really wanted to ask now but for some reason, she couldn't. All she did was look at Yu Chen with millions of questions in her eyes.
Upon landing, everyone got into a van that was already waiting for them.
Xiaolei and Yu Chen were sitting close enough to each other that their skin was touching, but none of them spoke. Luo Xiaolei didn't want to ask anything at this point. She sternly told herself to wait until this man was ready to speak or at least when they finally arrived at the place he was bringing her.
As the car continued speeding up the familiar road towards Snowflakes Village, Luo Xiaolei blew out a deep sigh. She didn't know how to feel as they got close to the village. She felt somewhat nostalgic as she hadn't been back here for some time. She started to reminisce about her past when suddenly, there was a sound of a high-pitch screech.
Before she could lift her head to see what was happening, Yu Chen yanked her down and covered her body with his. She knew it was him because he was sitting beside her but her mind wasn't fast enough to process what was happening.
The next second, she heard a groaning, deafening metallic thud and then everything went blank.