CHAPTER 7:  Crossing Paths

Kris held onto his mama and papa’s hand tightly as they make their way to the daycare. Once they got to Kris’s room, the teachers welcomed him with open arms when he arrived at the daycare. Emma and Aaron talked about Kris’s morning before they went to work. The more Kris came to daycare, the more comfortable he was to be spending the day with other children and his teachers. He loves it. They gave him one big hug before making their way out.

“Have fun at daycare son.”

“Bye mommy and daddy!” 

Emma and Aaron waited for a few minutes before leaving for work. Emma checked the time on her watch once more and sighs, they were just weeks away from debuting her collection and it means that everyone working on set was starting to feel the pressure. Sensing her urgency, Aaron smiles as he intertwines their hands together. She tried to wiggle free but it was no use, he had a strong grip over hers. 

“Your forgetting that we are in your workplace.”

“Have you forgotten? I am no longer a single man.”

When the elevator came, Aaron was reluctant to go in since he knew that it only takes a few seconds to reach the lobby. He stares at the LED lights and looks back at Gui to see her looking at the content on her phone. Is it more interesting then him? He looks back at the LED lights and he looked at the buttons on the side, tempted to press one. We need more time… well, I need more time… He wasn’t so sure what possessed him to press it but he did. He presses the EMERGENCY button and the lift immediately stops. Gui’s gasps when she found herself backed up against the wall of the elevator, she met Aaron’s gaze and she was confused to what he was doing.

‘Hello, is anyone there? What is the problem?’

Gui was about to speak when he cut her off. “My heart feels like it’s about to burst, I just need some time to myself. A couple of minutes is all I need.” He responded to the distress call.

‘Would you like us to call the paramedics?’

“No, I just need time.” 

‘We will do our best to stall the lift, if it’s a couple of minutes you need, we will help you.’

-bbbbeeeeeeeeeppp-

“It feels like we haven’t gotten any time alone and by doing this, it gives us time to ourselves.” Aaron clarified as he looked at their hands. “I stopped the elevator because I wanted more time with you”

Gui chuckles as she bit back her laughter, trying not to laugh. So she wraps her arms around his neck and smiles. 

“I don’t want to let go either.” She whispers and she felt his lips on hers. He s his arm around her waist and pulls her in.

‘Hello? Can you hear me? We are going to start the elevator soon.’

Gui pulls away from the kiss and pressed her forehead with his. “Just this once, I’ll give in to you Mr. Yan.” They let each other go, straightening themselves out before seeing the elevator doors open. He glanced at the time and smiles, it was still early. He took one last look at Gui walking towards the door and he bit his lips. Gui was just meters from the doors when she felt someone took her by the hand and spun her around. “Aar─” Her lips were sealed by none other than Aaron. 

‘WHO IS THAT? IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS? ISN’T THAT AARON YAN?!’

‘AARON YAN?! WHO IS HE KISSING?’

‘HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND NOW?!’

‘DIDN’T YOU GIRLS SEE THE NEWS THIS MORNING? APPARENTLY LAST NIGHT…’

Aaron broke away and smirks while she looks at him, surprised that he was this expressive. “I love you Gui.” He whispers before forcing himself to walk away. He tried to hide his happiness but it was skyrocketing beyond his control. When he turned his back on her, he waved to her and smiles. She shakes her head in disbelief as she made her way out of the building. She gets it, they haven’t spent much time together and by doing this, it was childish but it was his way of expressing. She left with a big smile as she makes her way to work.

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.

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“He’s here! He’s here!” Alien Huang caught that playful taunt from his colleague as he looks around his team to see that EVERY girl on his team looked softer, smoother and nicer than normal. “HE’S FINALLY HERE!” She cried one more time, as if he was deaf; she tried to hide her squeal behind her smiles. He took one more look around his female colleagues and sighs, some of them even put makeup on themselves, ‘I wonder what time these guys woke up.’

His eye brow rose as he felt someone behind him, he turns around to see this muscle-chiseled man standing in front of him. He wore his leather jacket with a white shirt and jeans. His hair wasn’t over the top but he still managed to style it near perfection. Alien smirks as he turns to his assistant who hesitated for a good minute before handing him the documents. Whoever this guy was, he got all the girls on his team to stop whatever they were doing, just so that they can look at him.

“You must be the bodyguard! I am pretty sure you want to surveillance the area so I’ll make this quick. Now to the debut date, I will like you to make sure nothing happens to my designer. She doesn’t like the idea of someone following her but just in case, I will like you to be there for her. I can’t be with her all the time since I have to make sure everything is in place, so other than that, just make sure she doesn’t get into trouble. I don’t have a problem if you want to work behind the scenes or alongside of her, it depends on you and how you want to get through this job. After all, you are the expert in this field.” Alien looks at his watch and smiles. “She’ll be here soon, her name is Emma. “ 

Seeing how his assistant gently handed his clipboard to him, it must mean that they are running into their next scheduled appointment. Alien turns back around to face the bodyguard and smiles. “Welcome to the team Mr. Hu! I’m Alien Huang, if you have any questions, feel free to call me or my assistant here. She and I will be more than happy to answer anything you have on your mind! Other than that, feel free to roam around the place. Survey the area and get familiar with it. When Emma gets here, I’ll introduce you to her.” Alien Huang nods as he got back to work, walking over to one of his crews. 

Mr. Hu surveyed most of the building he could cover. For the remainder spaces he had yet to uncover, he asked the building’s security team to provide a blueprint and map to them. He sighs as he took the maps and sees what would be the places he could use as an emergency exit. Curious, he looks up from his map to see the people around him. In this crowd, it will be easy to lose sight of someone. He did skim through research about his clients but from what he knew, his client was a female, highly respected designer that made her grand debut in Milan. Other than that, he didn’t dig further because he wanted to remain as professional and basic as he can get. He sighs, walking off to see other places in the building.

Before Emma took off her jacket, she looks over to her female colleagues and smiles. 

“What’s that smile?” She wonders as she heard giggles from them. 

“There is this new guy at work, he is soooo handsommmeee~” Emma looks around the place to see no one that matched that description. “Are you crushing on the models?!” 

“No. He’s the new bodyguard, Alien just hired him.” 

Emma takes out her phone and dialled his number. “Excuse me for a sec.” The girl’s nod as they continue to drift into daydream about this new guy who showed up for work this morning. Emma pushed the door open and waited for the call to connect, escaping into the staircases so that they could be some noise blockage and silence.

Meanwhile, as he made his way to the staircase and looks at how many floors was in this building, he noticed that there was security cameras on every floor. Which was good for him because in case something were to happen, he could look at all the footages from each floor. The staircase was silent… until he heard―

When the call connected, she exploded. “You hired a bodyguard for me?! Seriously? I thought you gave that up. Xiao Gui!” 

‘Xiao Gui?’ 

As he walked closer to whoever it was, he saw a girl standing on top of the staircase, he stops and waits for her to end the call before going past her. That way, he wouldn’t have to cut anyone off or surprise her when he walks past her. He waited, she continued to lecture the importance of not having a bodyguard to whoever it was on the phone with her, and he waited until she was finished. 

“Hey did you see Emma?” 

“She just walked out after we told her about the new hunk!” Alien eyes them mischievously. “So you ladies were the ones who told her.” 

They just laugh as they look over the fabric for the dress. “I’ll be the happiest man if I find one girl who isn’t so keen on seeing this guy.” The girls laugh harder as Alien walked out of the room to hear a voice in the staircase.

He timed her and when she finished within the two minutes he got there, he was about to walk towards her when she turned around and yelled. She was surprised that someone was behind her, he was quiet as a mouse. She closed her eyes anticipating a broken arm or leg (or both!) but when she found herself pressed against something warm and beating, her eyes slowly opened to see that she was pressed against his chest, that beating sound she heard was the sound of his beating heart. 

Still dazed, she found herself standing back on her own two feet. He was taller than she was; he wore sneakers while she wore heels. She continues to observe his outer appearance until he spoke up. 

“Next time, be careful. I’m just glad I was here to save you Miss.” 

She quickly thanked him but her brows arched. Slowly, she looks up to meet the man. Her eyebrows came together and she digs into her memory to answer the question: have I met you before?  Their eyes widen their lips curve into a smile as they point at each other. “IT’S YOU!” 

“GUI! ARE YOU OKAY? I HEARD SOMEONE YELL AND I THOUGHT THAT I WAS GOING TO CALL EMS BECAUSE IF I FIND SOMEONE COVERED IN BLOOD, I WILL PASS OUT BEFORE―OH HEY! YOU TWO MET ALREADY?! THAT’S AWESOME!” 

Alien came over and smiles happily. He stares at the two and his eyebrow knots, something was off. Gui doesn’t like bodyguards but why was she so happy to see him? Does sh