He stood there dignified, befitting of his status as the only male heir, the prince, of the largest s.h.i.+pping company in Beijing.

The cameras clicked even more. The media was in for a great feast. For sure this news will be the hot topic and headlines tomorrow. No, it became the hot topic in the internet even minutes after the announcement.

Underlying the terrifying aura that he exude was the exterior of, although dignified, a menacing and playful handsome young heir – the type of menacing that would draw you in, but you would want to behave well because he could play with you, control you, and still crush you in the end.

"Thank you everyone for coming today. I'm Xue Guangxi, I'm the new Marketing Director of Xue s.h.i.+pping. While this is the first, I am so sure that we will be seeing more of each other soon in our future events and endeavors. I have many plans for Xue s.h.i.+pping. Dearest friends in the media, let's work together well in the future." He gave them a low bow.

It was curt and straightforward but the way he delivered it was perfect to catch the media's hearts. With some few words and his humility, he had won the media. He's now the darling of the press, the apple of their eyes, and surely in the future the media will lend a helping hand to them.

"Please don't leave yet. We prepared a simple banquet for everyone to celebrate my entry to the company. Please join us in our small celebration. It will be our pleasure." He added.

As the Marketing Director, he sure was capable. The first thing that a Marketing director should do is to have an amicable relations.h.i.+p with the media. After all, marketing, other than its core of branding and packaging company's image, is all about relations.h.i.+ps to the public, just like the PR team.

The internet was in an uproar with the Xue s.h.i.+pping's announcement. People are always interested with the world of the rich. This new introduction of another young elite to the public was treated similarly with the debut of a celebrity.

"Ahh, the Second Young Master is so cute!"

"I heard he's only sixteen, and he's already the Marketing Director! He's so responsible!"

"He's my prince charming now!"

The internet was abuzz.

With this move, Xue s.h.i.+pping has regained footing. Their stock somehow stabilized already. The stakeholders and the public were secured with the entry of the heir to the company. The peace had returned to the company.

Inside the company, news of the press conference also spread like wildfire. The employees were astounded to learn that the apprentice that was all around the place was really the Second Young Master, their soon-to-be boss, the heir of the whole business. The young apprentice before was warm to everyone in all ranks. He was charming and with all smiles to everyone. He was a people person and he was able to deal with all sorts of people. They were happy with this development.

However, when the Second Young Master finally entered the company's premises, they noticed the big difference in his behavior. He still gave them all smiles, but it was not as warm as before. It did not even reach his eyes. His eyes which were extremely expressive before had become dull and sullen. They thought it's because his status was already out in the open, that's why his whole persona had been guarded.

The truth was that the company reminded Guangxi of one certain person – Su Jingjing, his first love. Wherever he turned his head, he was reminded of their good times together. After the press conference, that was the first time that he returned to the company. He was engulfed with extreme sadness and grief.

'Huh.' He let out a sigh, closed his eyes for a moment, but pulled himself together afterwards. All of his memories with her, he had managed to lock in a certain compartment inside his head.

---

He convened all the members of his department and officially introduced himself. Then, he requested for all the doc.u.ments relevant to all their past and existing projects. He reviewed the conception date of these projects, the budget, and the projected timeline.

The more he was reviewing the doc.u.ments, the uglier his face become. It was because most of the transactions were messy, and it was not really that difficult to find loopholes here and there.

He discovered that there were a number of projects that were given a budget but did not push through. As to what happened to the budget, that was the next big question. He needed to check with Finance whether the budget intended for these non-moving projects were liquidated. These non-moving projects were even traced back to few years ago!

The Marketing department falls under the office of the COO. However, it was only one of the four or five departments which report to the COO.

Guangxi could possibly tell that his sister did not know about this. He would personally settle this issue.

He rubbed his face and took a break. He called Butler Lee.

"Butler Lee, please help me get my high school diploma. If they require me to take a comprehensive exam for that I would happily oblige. Then, please help me enroll to one of the universities in Imperial. I'd like to take up Management. Likewise, please check if I can waive some of the subjects as I'm already taking it with my tutor now. I plan to get my degree soonest possible. If I can finish the whole course in two years' time at most, the better."

"I understand, Second Young Master." Butler Lee acknowledged the instruction.

"Also.." Guangxi trailed off.

"Is there anything else, Master?" Butler Lee pushed a little.

"How's the investigation going? Is there development?" Guangxi inquired, pertaining to his abduction.

"Uhm, that…" Butler Lee was taken aback. He hesitatingly did not want to answer.

"Did they instruct you not to tell me?" Guangxi inquired.

"Yes.." Butler Lee came clean.

He sighed. "Alright. I understand. It's probably the best. I won't force you Butler Lee. That's all, then."

After ending the call, he strolled towards the floor-to-ceiling window of his office and stared at a distance. His expressive eyes were filled with the sorrow of broken dreams and promises, of tainted youth.