Chosen by him

Mei sat at her desk in the far corner and she was barely noticed by anyone. Her sketchpad laid open, with pencil lines that curved into a beginning of a courtyard sort of wooden beams, a pond and lanterns that would flash light across the stone tiles. This wasn't part of the company project, it was just her, this was her escape from reality, it was her therapy.

She was a team leader in the Skyline Atelier, his uncle's company. Mr Liang had raised her since his sister passed away when Mei was only 2 years old but Noone in the office or around them knew they were relatives cause she never showed it and the Liangs treated her as if she was one of them

She could clearly remember a lot of times when her aunt would always say go to your room. There are visitors today l don't want you to embarrass me with your cold attitude or tell people that it's my husband's niece she doesn't matter, don't mind her that had never bothered her she was grateful that she grew up under a roof and that she had food unlike other orphans and if they wanted they could have thrown her in an orphanage but they didn't.

“Ms Mei” a voice called her from the door. It was their manager Bai Liang /her cousin. “Mr Liang wants the revised layout of team B for the Jingling project(The Jingling project being run by the Crafts Buildings Company , the number one construction in Shanghai) now in the board room.” That meant she was not going to revise the papers as the manager, she was just going to hand them as they were, everyone was now used to that and was always prepared to do her work.

Mei nodded without a word, standing up and gathering all her papers.

Inside the conference room Mei arrived following Bai Liang, there were other designers from team A and C in the company. Mei placed the layout on the table and stepped back quiet.

This needs more edge,” Mr. Liang said, flipping through the pages. “Too soft. Too sentimental.”

Mei said nothing. She knew better than to defend her work. Bai Liang leaned over her father’s shoulder, pointing at a section Mei had spent hours refining. “I thought about this too, about going with something more angular like the Chengdu building.”

Mr. Liang nodded. “Good. Make the changes you know this is supposed to win us, the bidding.”

Mei took the papers and left.

Back at her desk, she erased the curved beams and replaced them with sharp lines. Her fingers moved automatically, but her heart wasn’t in it. She glanced at the sketchpad beside her the one with the courtyard she flipped it closed at the end of the day they could be signed Bai so she had no heart for this anymore and to her that was plagiarism that made her want to pack her stuff and never associate with these people but how was is ever going to do that yes she had been raising funds through her pay and her private social media accounts under a fake username to start a workshop but she needed some solid reasons so that the Liangs could let her go peacefully.

At the corridor outside the design wing buzzed with quiet footsteps and the hum of printers. Mei walked with her usual grace and her head down, sketchpad tucked under her arm, her presence like a whisper in the noise.

Mr. Shen spotted her from the far end. He straightened his tie, smoothed his blazer, and quickened his pace.

“Mei,” he called, voice warm, practiced. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

She paused, barely turning her head.

“I saw your draft for the Jingling project,” he continued, stepping closer. “The courtyard concept was beautiful.”

Mei’s eyes flicked to him, unreadable. “It was revised,” she said simply.

“Yes, but the original had soul. You have a gift, Mei. You shouldn’t let anyone dull it.”

She gave a polite nod, the kind that closed doors rather than opened them. “Thank you, Mr. Shen.”

He smiled, undeterred. “You know, I’ve been thinking. You and I could do something extraordinary together.Can you eat dinner with me so that we can talk ?”

Mei’s gaze lingered for a moment, then dropped. “I prefer to work quietly and we are not that close to share a meal.”

And with that, she walked past him,her footsteps soft but final.One thing Mei was sure about: she would never misjudge anyone's character.This man was up to something and she felt it in her bones.

Mr Shen stood frozen for a beat, watching her cold back disappear around the corner. His smile faded .Rejection again but this time it stung deeper.

He turned on his heel, it was now or never he couldn't let his dream go down the drain because of a stubborn woman. His father had always taught him that women were easy to bend so he was going to do that today he was going to bend her over to no return.

The day passed by in a blur. It was time to go home of course it didn't feel like home but that's where she lived, right? it was considered home regardless.

—The Woods Residence—

In one of the upscale apartments of The Woods a neighborhood which was reserved for the wealthy and well-connected Mrs Liang reclined in her massage chair, sipping wine and flipping through a glossy magazine. - Top Interior Designers of the Year. Her daughter, Bai Liang was listed under Skyline. She smiled with satisfaction at least that brat was showing some gratitude.

Mei entered quietly,greeting “Evening auntie?”

Mrs Liang barely looked up as she almost rolled her eyes”Mhmmmn”she replied .That girl always wore cheap clothes all the time. Why was she a cheap skate?

She rolled her eyes, this was embarrassing she was glad she never introduced her to anyone. She was so quiet and always so... unsettling, the body language, everything about her, something in her eyes that Mrs Liang had never liked. Something unreadable. Something that warned her something like—“am here, but not for long,continue but not for too long.”