Shen Li was lying on the sofa after talking to Xiao Min on the cell phone and informing him, he couldn’t meet him. When he heard the sound of the door opening and someone barging into his home, he opened his eyes just to see Xiao Min standing in front of him, who looked disappointed seeing his senior resting in his home.
"Xiao Min?" Shen Li exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes me. You lied to me saying you are busy. Do you know how excited I was to see you and how long I waited for you?" came the anger and disappointment filled reply from the junior.
Shen Li Felt terrible and had nothing to say, seeing disappointed Xiao Min. How much he tried to send him away, in the end, Shen Li couldn’t deny that Xiao Min was someone precious to him and would always want him to be with him.
"Calm down, Xiao Min, and have a seat first," Shen Li instructed.
Xiao Min couldn’t be angry with his senior for long and obeyed him. Shen Li got up from the sofa and offered the glass of water to Xiao Min, who looked sweaty and showed he had run to come to this place.
Once Xiao Min was calm, Shen Li sat on the sofa beside Xiao Min. "You know you are going to work for Lu corporation, and what would be your job as your father has been training you for long."
"Hmm!" Xiao Min nodded.
"You also know my boss and the new president of Lu corporation has enmity between them, and I am the assistant of your future boss’s enemy."
"Hmm!" Xiao nodded again.
"So it would be better for us to not see each other after this," Shen Li concluded.
"What’s the relation?" Xiao Min asked coldly as he couldn’t believe what his senior just said.
"We can’t be friends anymore after this as we have to carry the professional responsibilities," She Li replied.
"So?" Xiao Min asked.
Seeing Xiao Min intentionally didn’t want to understand what he said, Shen Li sighed deeply.
"You know what I mean Xiao Min, and even if you don’t care, I care about my professional responsibility, and I would like you to not meet me ever again. We will only see each other as the assistants of our bosses," Shen Li declared.
"Are you serious, senior? Do you really have to do this? Do you even know why I wanted to meet you today? How can I be without seeing you....."
"I am serious, and I don’t wish to know why you wanted to meet me. From now on, you and I are strangers." Shen Li declared, feeling scared of what will Xiao Min tell him the next moment.
If it was what his father really said, Shen Li was sure that Xiao Min wished to confess his feelings, and Shen Li didn’t want it. He didn’t want to break Xiao Min’s heart.
Xiao Min stayed silent for a while and spoke. "Can you live without seeing me?"
"I can. I have a habit of always being alone, so someone’s presence or absence never mattered to me," Shen Li replied.
"Not even me?" Xiao Min asked in disbelief.
"Hmm, not even you."
"I understood. From now on, you won’t see me ever."
Saying, Xiao Min left, the anger evident in his action as he closed the door of Shen Li’s home with the bang.
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When Xiao Min came back home, feeling hurt, and went to his room, his father went to see him.
"Why are you looking so sad, Xiao Min?" Xiao Dong asked, knowing what must be the reason.
"Father, seniors broke our friendship, and from now on, we won’t be seeing each other," Xiao Min replied.
Hearing it, Xiao-Dong felt relieved and thanked Shen Li in his mind.
"What was the reason?"
Xiao Min narrated everything to his father, and he supported Shen Li’s decision.
"Xiao Min, you are yet to enter the business world, so you won’t understand it, but later you will think of it as the right thing to do because the business world has its unspoken rules that we need to follow sometimes.
"I understand, father." Came the reply from the hurt guy.
Since then, they both never talked to each other or met other than in the business meetings when Xiao Min started working with Lu Qiang.
While all those past memories flashing in front of Xiao Min’s eyes as he stared at the ceiling, he put his hand on the left side of his chest and mumbled.
"Even so many years have passed, this won’t stop beating whenever I think about you, senior."
The tears rolled down his eyes as he didn’t know what to do to stop himself from thinking about Shen Li as he questioned himself.
"Why can’t I forget you and Why can’t I be with you, senior?"
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Just like Xiao Min, assistant Li too was dealing with all those memories from the past. Crossing paths with Xiao Dong at the airport reminded him of the worst day of his life when he had to cut Xiao Min away.
Shen pulled out his wallet, and there was a tiny picture of Xiao Min and him together that was hidden in the chain pocket of the wallet.
As he caressed the picture with his thumb, Shen Li mumbled, "You are not the only one who feels in that way, but I feel the same. I am sorry for being a coward and not accepting my feelings for you. I believe staying away from you is the best thing I can do for you."
Shen Li never realized what he felt for Xiao Min until the day Xiao Dong came to his door. Once he got separated from Xiao Min and was never able to see him, Shen Li started to miss him and realize what exactly Xiao Min meant in his life and how much he wanted to be with him, but he stopped himself from acting recklessly.
Shen Li was aware of what he was thinking won’t be accepted easily by others, and he didn’t want Xiao Min’s life to get affected by it. He was an orphan, but Xiao Min had the family to expect something from you.
Wherever Shen Li saw Xiao Min standing beside President Lu, he could only feel proud of him and pray for his success.
Both got busy in their professional lives, but no one forgot each other even though so many years had passed without having a word. Now only the time will tell if they would be together or not.