Empress Of The Lost Kingdom - Chapter 172

It was 8 pm in the night and the general meeting of Lee Corporation’s A level employees was still going on. They were discussing about the possibilities of extending the corporation’s works all over the C country as their goal for next year.

Few of the employees helplessly exchanged glances, secretly complaining about how ruthless is their CEO.

The meeting was supposed to end around six in the evening, but it got extended due to their CEO’s brutal denial to every single one of their suggestions.

Since theirs was an international branch of Lee corporation’s which is originally hailed from K country, the employees at Jing city branch were having flexible work environment. However, ever since CEO Lee has shifted to Jing city branch, their lives has become stressful.

When Chen Da Meng, CEO’s assistant, witnessed the rueful situation of the employees, he subconsciously took a glance at the man who sat beside him with an austere look.

Lee Tae Yang, his boss was on a bad mood from the morning, due to continuous phone calls and messages. As far as he knew, his boss loved to work in silence and peace.

Chen Da Meng wanted to inquire, but when he saw how disappointed is Lee Tae Yang with the poorly executed presentations of various departments at the head office, he lost his voice.

CEO Lee was an extreme perfectionist unlike their previous director,

While the interior designing department were presenting their ideas, Lee Tae Yang raised his hand and stopped them,

“I don’t see any difference from designing department’s previous projects…In fact, none of you has came up with a proper plan for next year. If you are going to laze around then pack your things and be ready to get fired,” Lee Tae Yang declared in cold tone and stood up from his seat,

“Boss,” Chen Da Meng and the rest of the employees jolted from their seats, trembling in fear,

“I will give you a fortnight…” He gave a warning before leaving the room in steady steps. Chen Da Meng swept a glance at the employees who was terrified to death and quickly grabbed his things as he followed his boss.

“Assistant Chen, CEO has an appointment-” Secretary Wan who waited outside the conference room tried to inform Chen Da Meng who was running to catch up with Lee Tae Yang.

“Can’t you see?” Chen Da Meng pointed towards the Lee Tae Yang who was walking towards the escalator, “Re schedule it for tomorrow,”

“But that person is waiting for two hours-,” Secretary Wan tried to point out, but Chen Da Meng has already got into the escalator, catching it before it leaves the floor.

However as soon as he entered into the escalator, he regretted his decisions.

The air around his boss was far worse than before, Lee Tae Yang was practically glaring at his silent phone with a killing instinct.

All of sudden, the ringing tone of a cell phone heard,

After hesitating for a moment, Lee Tae Yang picked up the call,

“Grandma, I told you already. I am not interested in any birthday parties. I am no longer a child to grandly celebrate birthdays every year. It is just another day…so go and sleep already, good night,” He ended the conversation and shoved the cell phone onto his jacket.

Oh God, today is boss’s birthday, how can he forget? Chen Da Meng screamed inside. No wonder boss had so many phone calls and messages. But birthdays aren’t supposed to be jovial, then why boss is on a bad mood?

Even before Chen Da Meng could figure out it, the escalator reached the ground floor and Lee Tae Yang already stepped out.

“Boss, wait for me,” He want to say,

“Assistant Chen, there is someone who came to meet Boss,” The receptionist who was about to leave her work informed him,

“Who?”

“It is a girl, she is sitting over there for two hours,” the receptionist pointed towards the girl who was dozing off on the couch in the visitor’s lounge.

“Boss is going home, he will not see anyone -”

Even before Chen Da Meng could complete his words he saw his boss walking towards the girl.

It’s going to be stressful evening… god help me…

Chen Da Meng took a step towards the visiting lounge and he was left petrified by the sight in front of his eyes.

His boss who was known as the dark Emperor of Lee corporation, was kneeling down before a girl.

Lee Tae Yang was surprised when his gaze accidentally fell on the familiar silhouette sitting on the couch,

It was his 30th birthday and from the morning itself, he was bombarded with birthday wishes from his friends and family, except one person.

Li Juan…he was secretly hoping that she might call him and convey her greetings, however she never called.

There were only few hours left for his birthday is to end and yet there weren’t any call from her.

But he didn’t expected that Li Juan would come in person to meet him.

“Li Juan, ” He gently shook her shoulders and tried to wake the girl who was dozing off while reading a book.

Li Juan groggily opened her ink-black eyes and met with the gorgeous face of the man who was crouching before her, with an appealing smile.

“Tae Yang!!!” She said in a sleepy voice and clumsily adjusted her glasses, while trying to get up from the couch, but thanks to her awkward sleeping positions, her body was stiff and sore.

“Why are you here?” Lee Tae Yang touched the armrest of the couch and leaned forward,

“I..I came to take Tae Min’s house key,” Li Juan blurted out the excuse she has prepared with Lee Tae Min.

“House key?” One of Lee Tae Yang’s eyebrows tilted upwards as he inquired in perplexed voice.

“Tae Min said that you have the key of his apartment,” Li Juan replied as she tried to hide her fluster.

After returning from K country she has gave upon on the search for her lost memories and started the preparations to complete her research work.

Since her health was not in a favorable condition to travel to Tu valley for site study, she was asked to come to Jing city to over see the scientific tests done for the artifacts found from the Yu kingdom.

As per the schedule, Li Juan was supposed to reach Jing city by next week. However, when Lee Tae Min called and informed her about his brother’s birthday, she was left on pins and needles.

The visit to K country has changed her mind and made her more open to Lee Tae Yang, to a point where she let go of her inhibitions and decided to accept him.

He even flew to the Yun city on her birthday despite his busy schedule.

Li Juan wished to give Lee Tae Yang a surprise visit, that’s why she came to Jing city as soon as she heard about his birthday.

“Who uses house keys nowadays? Everyone uses electronic door locks,” Lee Tae Yang tried to explain with a chuckle.

Li Juan shut her eyes in embarrassment, HOW CAN TAE MIN FOOL HER?

Lee Tae Yang stood up from the floor and slightly bowed,

“If you haven’t eaten yet, shall we go for a dinner?”

“Is it okay if I join with you?”

Lee Tae Yang answered her question by a honest head wobble,

” Ahhhh…I should trouble you then,”

Lee Tae Yang helped Li Juan to stand up and picked up her bag like a loyal butler.

“Hey hey…you don’t have to carry this…” Li Juan grabbed her backpack, “It’s not heavy, I can,”

“You look tired,” He said with a high voltage beam and led her to the entrance leaving a puzzled Chen Ma Deng in the lobby,

“Assistant Chen, who is that woman?” The receptionist asked with dubious eyes, “It seems like she is really close to CEO Lee,”

——————–

Lee Tae Yang gazed at the woman who was sitting opposite him and silently devouring upon steak with gusto.

Is it a dream? He is having a dinner with Li Juan on his birthday.

“Why didn’t you inform me that you are coming? I would have came and pick you up at the airport.” Lee Tae Yang shared his reprimand.

“I was asked to come over without any prior notice. The samples sent from Tu valley reached earlier and Professor asked me if I would like to oversee the scientific examinations of the samples.”

“So you started working again? That’s a great news,” Lee Tae Yang smiled warmly,

“I was planning to go and visit Tu valley, but professor told me that they wrapped up the site study and asked me to come here. Everything was so sudden and I didn’t get enough time to arrange a house next to university. It was Tae Min who suggested to use his apartment and get the key from you,” She somehow made her excuse more believable,

“Well, you don’t need a key for his apartment. It has an electronic lock. Even though I tell you the password, you won’t able to stay there. It was locked for almost two months. Let me do something, I will arrange for someone to clean the apartment,” He picked up his cell phone and began to dial someone,

“No, it is fine, I can do that.”

“When will you clean up the entire apartment? It is already 9 and you look tired to death,”

“Ah then, I will get a room in hotel,”

“Huh, I thought your cousins stays here,” Lee Tae Yang stated in a surprised voice, ” Your first brother often asks me to come over-”

“Everyone is out of town now…,” Li Juan lied through her teeth, she just made an excuse to meet Lee Tae Yang. Why does he have to interrogate her like a criminal?

“Ah its for a two days, I will be able to manage,”

“How about you stay at my place for this night ?” All of sudden, Lee Tae Yang suggested, “You can shift to Tae Min’s house, after tomorrow,”

“Am I asking too much?” She touched her ears and asked in a low voice,

“I will be glad to host you,” He smiled and wiped his mouth with a tissue while glancing at the woman who remained with a frozen demeanor, however, her sparkling eyes failed to hide the rapture.

After their dinner, Lee Tae Yang took Li Juan to his apartment,

“Take a seat, I will get you something to drink,” Lee Tae Yang loosened his tie and walked into the kitchen,

However rather than sitting alone in the living room, Li Juan followed him like a puppy.

“Do you want Juice or milk?” Lee Tae Yang opened the refrigerator and asked her,

“Water,”

He gave her a sidelong glance before picking up the mineral water bottle and opened it for Li Juan,

While gulping the water, Li Juan’s eyes fell on the photos pasted on the refrigerator’s door.

Along with few of Lee Tae Yang’s childhood photos, there was a photo of a tipsy Li Juan pulling the cheeks of Lee Tae Yang,

“I must have liked you a lot,” Li Juan commented as she touched the photo,

“I was your best friend and your personal doctor,” He said in a contentment,

“Li Juan in the photograph seems different from current me. She seems extremely happy with you,”

“Everyone deserves to be happy,”

“What about you? Are you happy?” She inquired with a pair of curious eyes,

“Of course, I am happy,” His answer was simple,

“Really? The girl you loved has lost her memories and she has no idea who are you and who were you to her. Will you still love and accept her?” Li Juan wanted to ask him, but she remained silent,

“I am no longer the Li Juan you know. I can try to be like her. But, I am afraid that it won’t be the same,” Her voice had an unknown melancholy,

“I don’t feel like you have changed,” Lee Tae Yang’s deep voice softened as he gazed at the woman who stood before him with a confused look.

“You lost your memories and because of that there are some subtle changes in your behavior, but it is still you,”

Li Juan’s lips curled up into a placid smile as she heard his words,

“You can stay in that room,” Lee Tae Yang pointed towards the guest room and led her to the living room.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay here,” Li Juan said and picked up her bag, before walking into the guest room,”Good night,”

“Good night…sleep well,” Lee Tae Yang told her and moved in the direction of his room,

“Tae Yang,” Li Juan called him and handed over a small gift box which she picked up from her bag,

“Happy birthday,”

Lee Tae Yang’s eye sparkled in exhilaration. “You knew it?”

” Of course, I knew it,” Li Juan smiled and nodded, “Can I ask a favor from the birthday boy?”

“Sure, sure,” He tightened the grip over the gift box, his hands were itching to open it and take a look,

“Can I stay here?” Li Juan asked without any hesitations. “I like it here,”

“Do you want to stay here?” Lee Tae Yang asked again to confirm,

Well, his apartment was only two blocks away from Jing university. He bought this apartment, seven years ago when Li Juan joined the university.

If she wants to stay here, then he will be happy to move to another place.

“Yes, can I stay?” Her voice appeared resolute,

“Yeah sure,” He scratched his chin and tried to hide his overwhelmed face, “I will ask someone to shift my things-,”

“Tae Yang, can we stay together?”