It was quite difficult to overturn the company's recent slump. She needed to at least attend and preside meetings with the teams to steer them. She needed Guangxi to do that for her.

Guangxi was extremely cooperative. He's more than willing to be his sister's puppet. After all, it's for their company anyway. During meetings he had worn an extremely tiny microphone attached to his ear. It was actually Xue Jinxu who was telling him what to say and do in the meetings. It was complicated.

Meetings after meetings were scheduled one after the other. Sometimes, a few meetings got extended, messing up the whole lineup. Twenty four hours of one day could not suffice to push for the project they had at hand. Sometimes Xue Guangxi could not keep up, since he's still attending his cla.s.ses at the university. During those times, Xue Jinxu who was at home, could not help but feel so restricted.

However, at the end of the first week, all the efforts paid off. They were able to climb to second in the rankings based on market share. It wasn't an easy feat, but the progress could be easily tracked, because the clients were almost the same. It's a matter of concluding contracts from their clients' spot [1] requirements. If Xue s.h.i.+pping successfully got the contract, it meant that the other companies didn't. It was as simple as that. Therefore, after being able to s.n.a.t.c.h back some of their previous clients, they were able to get the current second's share of the pie.

The s.h.i.+pping company that was currently dominating the market share was the Zhu s.h.i.+pping Lines. It was the company which had conflicts with the Xue Company during the MT Dragon Heart's launch almost a year ago. It was also the company of one of Xue Jinxu's persistent suitors before – Zhu Li Qiang.

They were the company to beat.

"Guangxi, for now, we should celebrate that we are able to get to the second rank. Please treat your team to something. It will boost their morale. Don't forget your people. You have to appreciate their efforts too."

Xue Jinxu advised Guangxi while they were having dinner at apartment 301. It was a Sat.u.r.day evening. Just like that one week had pa.s.sed. Another week, and her husband would have returned from his trip.

After being married for more or less half a year, Xue Jinxu had got the hang of becoming a housewife, including doing the household ch.o.r.es and cooking for their own meal. Hence, even if the husband was not there, she cooked their dinner out of habit. At first, Xue Guangxi was surprised, because usually they did take outs before.

"Yes, Sis. Understood. They were working a lot for us. Sometimes I feel bad for them."

"They deserve a treat. How about a bonus?"

Xue Jinxu smiled at her brother. "Have it approved by the management. Remember, you have to mind our finances. The bonus should have some sort of balance with the company's commitments with the banks. But I think as long as it's a reasonable amount, it could be done."

Xue Guangxi smiled back. He really wanted to do something for his employees.

"Xu-jie, your cooking is improving. Yum!" Xue Guangxi dug into the meals on the dining table. "After a week-long grueling feat, a feast at the end of the week could be something of a reward too. You've improved since you got married. I think marriage is doing you good."

"I learned from your brother-in-law. You know very well how much of a good cook he is…and I have been attending cooking cla.s.ses. That's why I'm confident in opening up my pastry shop."

She sighed. "I miss him so badly."

"Here we go again! Xu-jie, just one more week and he'll be back!" Xue Guangxi consoled her. "At least he'll be back sooner." He's thinking about Kang Sola again.

The siblings were down to their compet.i.tive sulking.

"Tomorrow is a Sunday. You can do whatever you want. Have fun or rest, up to you. On Monday, we'll resume our daily grind at the company. I wish to conquer the top spot again after this week so that I can focus all my attention to my husband again. That's the timeline."

Xue Guangxi gulped. "That's a tough task… I don't think one week will suffice…." He voiced out his honest opinion to her.

"I know." She smiled admittedly, but undefeatedly. "But we have no choice. Let's just do it. Whatever comes out of of our best efforts hopefully would be our desired output – to be the number one again."

"We have to achieve it first. Once we secure the number one spot, the next step is to remain there."

"Do you understand, COO Guangxi?"

Guangxi took a deep breath before answering with determination and newfound conviction. "Yes, Consultant Jinxu!" He saluted her.

She ruffled her little brother's hair tenderly. You're growing up fast and well. You're on the right track. Eat some more, it's good for you. Come on." She offered him some more food.

Xue Guangxi indulged readily onto the feast. He did not need more invite from his sister.

Once they were done eating their dinner and were having tea at the living room, Xue Jinxu's phone vibrated.

"Xu-jie, brother-in-law is calling!" Guangxi called her over. She was initially inside the bedroom, checking on something. She returned to the living room.

"Hubby how have you been, dear?" Xue Jinxu asked too lovingly, worriedly. She felt like crying. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

They were on video conference. Chen Linyun replied. "Yes, I have how about you?"

"We just finished dinner. We're having tea."

"That's good. I'm in Yunnan now. Tomorrow we will be heading off to Hainan. Next week around Tuesday we will be going to Fujian. I will be back Sunday next week."

"Okay. I'm patiently waiting for you~ Always be careful and take care of yourself. Eat on time, my love." Xue Jinxu nagged him amorously.

Xue Guangxi who was sitting at the couch with his sister was fed up with all the dogfood, but at the same time, he was also surprisingly getting envious. He wanted something like that for himself. He's thinking of Kang Sola again. Will there be a time when Kang Sola and himself will share tender moments such as these?

No one could tell. 'What a wishful thinking.' He thought.

[1] spot contracts are based on number of use ie one-time. It is a per-use contract of vessels compared to term contracts which are based on time intervals or periods such as quarterly or annually regardless whether the s.h.i.+ps are used or not