III. The Days After    

     Frustrated with himself, Yixing dropped his grip from the computer mouse a little too loudly, creating a noise that broke the silence filling his home studio.

The song he was working on was not coming the way he wanted it to be. No matter what he did, he still felt it was lacking something. Of what, he could not really say. Or maybe he just hit his limit for the day.

After attending a meeting and being in his office most of the day, he went straight to his studio when he came home.

For the past three days, Yixing had been everywhere. Doing everything he felt that needed to be done. Though, if he was being honest, most of the things he rushed to do could wait for a few more days. But at his current state, he had to do something. If given time to think, he might do something stupid.

As much as he tried not to, knowing Lisa was back had Yixing feeling restless and agitated.

Just like he always did, he used work as an outlet, affecting his staff as well. This morning, Ming Hao had to pull him aside to calm him down. It was a good thing he did because Yixing was starting to bark at every one of them. No matter what they did, he found something to criticize. People working with him had always known he was a perfectionist. It was what Yixing had shown them and reminded them before they start working for him. It was not that he never reprimanded his staff. There were a couple of times where he lost his temper at them. But those instances were not because of his personal problems. And he always prided himself on being able to separate personal matters from work. Ming Hao trying to calm him down meant he was on the verge of crossing some lines. Lines he knew he would regret if crossed.

Although he was able to get a lot of work done, Yixing knew he would be reviewing them once he calmed down. Hopefully, that will happen as soon as possible. He did not trust his judgments at the moment.

An incoming call startled him, breaking the daze he was in.

Xiao Nei, his assistant, was calling. Silently thanking her for giving him something else to do, he answered the phone on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Boss. The contract for the Balenciaga deal has been sent over by their team today," Xiao Nei informed him, getting right into the reason for her call. "I sent some copies to you and William Ge. It should be in your email. Cat Jei went over it already and told me everything is according to what was agreed on but if you find anything, just tell the older ones."

His own company had a legal team that oversaw all his contracts, but as a precaution, he always made sure that he understood and was aware of everything that was on his contract before he signing. This way, he knew who to blame when they run into problems and complications. Especially when they were dealing with huge deals like this one.

Wanting to expand their presence in the Asian market, Balenciaga tapped him to be their Asian Brand Ambassador. As this was an international brand, his team had been busy trying to make sure there were no loopholes and that he gets the best out of the deal.

"Thanks, Lin. When do you need them back?"

"Sunday if you can so that I can send them first thing on Monday. I already told William Ge and Cat Jei about it."

"I'll look into it. But please remind me if I haven't sent it by Friday."

Knowing his state at the moment, he probably will.

A movement took his attention away from the call to the door. There stood Jerry Yan, gesturing for him to come out after the call and walked away quietly as he came.

Yixing frowned at the door. He wasn't aware of any plans with any of his friends for the day. Though it wasn't something unusual as they usually don't tell each other when they visit each other's houses.

"Boss?"

"Yeah. I'm here."

"I have updated your calendar for the month as well. Tell me if you want me to add or adjust something. Also, I already told everyone to take the tomorrow off just like you wanted. You need me for anything else?"

Realizing how much his staff had been having a hard time because of him, he decided to give them a much-deserved day off the last minute.

"No. I think I can handle a day without you guys."

The statement earned Yixing a snort from the other side of the line. He was even sure his assistant was rolling her eyes. "I highly doubt that. Anyway, if you need anything, please don't. I'll see you Friday Boss."

Xiao Nei ended the call before he could come up with something to say. Amused, he ended the call and reached out for a pen and a sticky note, making a reminder to check the contract. After sticking the note on his to-do board, he went out to find his friend.

Yixing found Jerry in the kitchen, taking out some food from the take-out bags. The label in the bag indicated that it was from one of the seafood restaurants they frequently go to. Seeing the food had his stomach growling. Not waiting for him to finish, Yixing reached for the shrimps and started eating his first decent meal for the day.

He took a few bites before looking at his friend. Judging from Jerry's plain t-shirt and sweatpants, his friend didn't come from work.

"You came from home?"

The actor put away the bags before answering. "I dropped Abel off to his sleepover."

This took him by surprise. It wasn't often that Jerry's three-year-old son agreed to sleep in another bed beside their house without his father with him. "That's great. Was he excited?"

Jerry shook his head as he poured them a glass of water. "It was at Auntie Shing's place. One of her niece's son is visiting."

Auntie Shing was the one who helped his friend raise Abel ever since he was born. She was practically a grandmother to Abel and a mother to his friend. Very few people were trusted with the kid.