The paging system was already calling the pa.s.sengers for the flight bound to Beijing.

"If there's nothing else, I'll get going Miss Yan. I have to board my flight." She ended up the call. She gathered her things – her Hermes handbag, her shawl and her sungla.s.ses.

Xue Jinxu was busy digging her hand into her bag. She cannot seem to find what she was looking for. She was nearing the boarding gate. 'I'm sure I placed it here earlier. Where is it?'

She was looking for her pa.s.sport.

'Maybe I left it at the seat.'

The boarding commenced already, but there was still ample time before the gate closes. She went back to where she stayed. It was not there.

Only a few minutes remained until the gates closes, at most around twenty minutes. She's starting to panic. She went to check the restrooms. It wasn't there either.

She headed towards the counter to report her lost pa.s.sport. The friendly staff accommodated her readily. She informed them that she was running out of time, and that she needed to take her flight in a few minutes.

The airport staff utilized the paging system. It was humiliating. She donned her sungla.s.ses, but maintained her elegant posture.

After a while there was a man who went running towards the office. He panted for a while before addressing the airport staff.

"I heard the paging system for the lost pa.s.sport of Miss Xue Jinxu. Here it is. I found it on the floor, I thought it was dropped accidentally."

"Would you mind if I just leave it here? I need to take my flight now."

"May I know your flight details sir? We will inform the plane to wait for you. Thank you so much for your help sir. This lady here is Miss Xue Jinxu, the owner of the lost pa.s.sport." The staff relayed it to the man.

The man approached Xue Jinxu. There was a layer of sweat on his forehead. He seemed to be running hard earlier. "Here's your pa.s.sport, Miss." He handed her the pa.s.sport with a warm smile.

"Many many thanks sir. May I know to who do I owe this favor?"

"Zhu Li Qiang." He extended his hand. She took it and smiled brightly. "I better get going now. I might miss my flight." Said the man. He ran again towards where he came from.

'His name is familiar.' She thought. However, she's in a hurry so she shrugged it off. She thanked the staff that helped her, and also ran towards the boarding gate. She had made it just in time.

She walked along the aisle on the plane and seated herself in the business cla.s.s section.

To her surprise, the person seated next to her was the same man who returned her pa.s.sport earlier.

"Miss Xue Jinxu, I reckon?" He addressed her, trying to remember her name.

"Yes, that's correct, Mr. Zhu Li Qiang, from earlier." She retorted pleasantly.

"Can you call it serendipity? We've encountered each other twice already today. If I'm not mistaken, are you the famous Xue Jinxu from Xue s.h.i.+pping?" Zhu Li Qiang asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, then, we're compet.i.tors. There's too much fate between us. I'm from Zhu s.h.i.+pping Lines. It's like Romeo and Juliet, don't you think?

Xue Jinxu's brows were raised. 'That's why his name sounds familiar.' She decided to ignore this person beside her.

Zhu s.h.i.+pping Lines was Xue s.h.i.+pping's closest compet.i.tor who connived with their previous Marketing Director w.a.n.g Xi Fu to sabotage the launch of their newest vessel MT Dragon Heart at the time. Zhu Li Qiang was the successor of that company.

"I would like to apologize for the recent hiccup that our companies were entangled with recently. You know, with the recent launch of our s.h.i.+p and yours." He's talking about the MT Dragon Heart incident.

She's still ignoring him, but of course, she could hear him.

"It's not how I would like our business to run. I personally value integrity. It's not really a chivalrous move at all. I know we're compet.i.tors, but I believe there should be a certain decency that should be kept between organizations both internally and externally."

"I have already castigated my employees for that. From one leader to another, I am relaying my sincerest apologies. You can have my word that it won't happen again under my watch. If in case something of the sort happens again, you can be a.s.sured that it most probably did not pa.s.s through me. You can escalate any issues straight to me."

"I hope we can be open for opportunistic collaborations in the future."

He had said a lot. Xue Jinxu did not even say a word the moment he said he's from Zhu s.h.i.+pping Lines.

"You can have my word for it. I had been away for a few years because of my studies, but I'm back now, I will be monitoring our company's operations closely. No more foul play."

Xue Jinxu could sense that indeed there was sincerity in his words, but perhaps it's too early to trust this man. It's better to be cautious.

"Alright, Mr Zhu. I'll take your word for it."

"Great. I heard you're already betrothed. I guess I don't stand a chance anymore?"

'Oh, awesome. He's. .h.i.tting on me.' She rolled her eyes.

"I'm already taken Mr Zhu."

"So I've heard. The young master of the s.h.i.+'s must be a lucky man."

She ignored the statement, because she was not talking about him, rather, she's thinking about Chen Linyun when she said she's already taken.

"I'm saying, just in case… that your betrothal did not push through, or you have cold feet whatsoever, please do consider me. I think I would be a qualified candidate too. Imagine our two s.h.i.+pping companies merge, or at the very least, work together. It will be a blast." He smiled at his proposal.

He was annoying, but he seemed to be a good person with good intentions. He appeared innocent and ideal. He seemed to be of Xue Jinxu's age, but it's as if his words were uttered by a boy of Guangxi's age, although his statements were not wrong at all. A merger would be such a good idea, under certain circ.u.mstances.

She smiled politely. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Zhu."