"Well, yes…" I said, forcing a small smile.
Here we go again…
Mr. Shigure looked between us, his gaze lingering a little longer this time.
Then, slowly, a look of acceptance settled on his face. He let out a quiet breath, followed by a small, almost amused laugh.
"The world truly is changing…" he murmured.
The words trailed off as he fell silent.
After a moment, he straightened slightly.
"If your friend is working in this company," he gestured vaguely toward the building behind us, "I might be able to assist you."
"So… who is it?"
"It's Li Mei Xuan," Anathasia replied casually, glancing back at the building.
A brief pause.
"Or rather… the C.E.O."
The man froze.
"…Miss Mei Xuan?"
His eyes flickered between us again. This time more carefully.
Then, almost instinctively, he pulled out his phone.
His gaze darted between the screen and our faces.
"White-haired… red eyes…" he muttered under his breath.
"And a man with long black hair…"
His expression slowly drained of color.
A realization settled in.
"Abe… Anathasia…"
He swallowed.
Then, quieter this time—
"Are you two perhaps… the owners of—"
Anathasia and I exchanged a brief glance.
Then we nodded.
He didn't say anything more after that and simply led us inside the building.
At the front, the woman behind the reception desk kept her head down.
When we approached the elevator, the other employees who were about to enter paused and stepped aside, letting us go first.
I watched as the numbers on the elevator steadily climbed.
"I wonder if there's anything wrong with our faces…"
I shot Anathasia a glance.
"What do you think?"
"They're definitely wary for some reason," she said, her brows furrowing as she crossed her arms. "I wonder what Mei told everyone about us…"
After a few minutes, the elevator finally stopped at the twenty-fifth floor.
The doors slid open as Mr. Shigure led us out, still avoiding our gaze.
The moment the doors opened, a large office came into view.
No walls or dividers.
The entire twenty-fifth floor had been turned into the C.E.O.'s office, decorated with a few potted plants and certificates hanging on the walls.
"Sir, they are here…"
After saying that, Mr. Shigure immediately excused himself and turned back, leaving us with the person seated in the office chair, their back facing us.
Anathasia, as always, walked over to the couches in front of the desk and sank into one of them, staring up at the ceiling.
"A well-decorated office, I must say," she commented.
I, on the other hand, just shook my head before walking over to the other couch and taking a seat.
"All compliments are appreciated," the person in the chair replied, his voice deep and calm.
Slowly, the chair turned to face us.
A man with slicked-back hair, sharp eyes, and a noticeable build beneath his suit sat there, a faint smile on his face.
"Welcome."
"Mrs. Anathasia. Mr. Kyle."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk as he tilted his head.
"Miss Xuan has already informed me of your sudden visit."
His gaze settled on Anathasia, who was still lounging on the couch.
Then, for a brief moment, I noticed it—
His hands trembled.
The way his eyes subtly dilated, as if he were staring at something that could end his life with a single wrong move.
A bead of sweat slowly ran down his temple.
Even as he remained calm.
Or at least…
He looked calm.
Then, his eyes shifted to me, instantly softening as he let out a breath before continuing.
"With that matter in hand… may I ask why our—"
"Firstly," Anathasia cut him off, pushing herself up from the couch as she shot him a glance over her shoulder, her head slightly tilted, chin raised.
"Why's everyone wary of us anyway?" she added, her gaze turning flat.
"Almost like we're tyrants of some sort, when this is the first time we've visited the company."
She shifted on the couch, now facing him completely, a smile curving on her lips.
"Well?"
The man fell completely silent, his lips parting for a moment before snapping shut again.
A beat passed.
None of us spoke.
Until Anathasia herself broke the silence.
"But before that…" she finally sat properly on the couch. "What's your name?"
The man's eyes widened. Then he stood from his chair, walking around his desk before stopping in front of it. He lowered his head slightly, placing a hand over his chest.
"I am Otoya Nishikage, Mrs. Anathasia," he said, pausing briefly. "The current C.E.O. of Kithia Corp."
I immediately shot Anathasia a glance.
[Did you hypnotize him or something? Why's he acting like this all of a sudden?]
She slowly turned to me, shaking her head as she shrugged, just as confused.
We both watched as Mr. Otoya slowly lifted his head.
"My apologies for my late introduction…" he said, his hand still over his chest. "I was… trying to test the two of you."
"But I now understand that such a notion is just… pointless."
We both raised an eyebrow.
"Testing us?" I tilted my head slightly. "For what reason?"
He didn't answer and simply kept his head lowered.
"How dumb…" Anathasia muttered.
With a sigh, she looked straight at him, her expression flat.
"So? What's with everyone acting all weird whenever we walk by?"
"Did Mei tell you anything?"
Mr. Otoya stayed silent, letting out a quiet breath.
Another silence settled over the office. Anathasia's finger tapped lightly against the fabric of the couch as she continued staring at him.
But after a while—
"Say," I cut in. "Is that really important right now?"
The two of them turned to me.
Anathasia's expression softened slightly as she looked away, clicking her tongue. Mr. Otoya, on the other hand, clasped his hands together and inclined his head repeatedly.
Flashing him a small smile, I continued.
"That being said… a few rumors here and there aren't exactly a problem."
"We're actually here to check on the company's performance ourselves, since Mei and Hinami are currently in the Philippines."
Anathasia turned to me, resting one elbow against the armrest of the couch, her cheek propped against her hand as she watched.
"Mr. Otoya."
"Yes?" he immediately straightened.
"Regarding the statistics from the past five years," I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
"May we have both hard and soft copies? All the accounts, please. Just for reference."
He nodded profusely, walking around his desk before pulling out a thick white folder from beneath it and handing it to me.
"As for the soft copy you requested…" he hesitated. "It may take a few hours to compile the documents. Would that be alright?"
I flipped through the sheets in the folder, my eyes scanning the contents before nodding.
"That should be fine."
"Certain documents can be quite tricky to recover, especially within a company such as ours."
His face lit up at my words.
"Thank you for your understanding… sir. I will not let you down."
Mr. Otoya remained standing near the couch, watching as I continued flipping through the pages.
Meanwhile, Anathasia—
"So much paperwork…" she grumbled, even as she watched me go through everything.
"I'm still wondering about our employees' weird behavior, though…"
I glanced at her over the folder, my expression dry.
"You're still not over that…?"
"It just bothers me a bit," she said, looking away as her gaze drifted toward the city outside.
I gave a small nod.
Then I closed the folder, placing it beside me before gesturing for Mr. Otoya to return to his seat.
He did so, albeit reluctantly.
"Regarding those rumors…"
"What exactly did Mei tell you about us?"
He went quiet, his eyes settling on a stack of papers at the edge of his desk, still avoiding our gaze.
A few moments passed before he finally spoke.
"Miss Xuan continuously reminded us…" he trailed off, letting out a breath. "That the people we were working for were individuals…"
"…whom even the well-renowned Li Mingyuan greatly respected."
I leaned back against the couch as he continued.
Anathasia, on the other hand, looked visibly bored as she listened.
"That your appearances were deceiving, and that you could tear down families with a simple gesture—"
"Okay, stop," I raised a hand, my other pinching the bridge of my nose.
"She said all that?"
He stared at me, stunned.
Then nodded slowly.
"We could tear down families with a single gesture?"
"And collapse entire organizations with ease as well…" he finished.
I buried my face in my hands, letting out a deep sigh.
"Mei really loves blowing things out of proportion, doesn't she…" Anathasia muttered dryly, turning to me.
"Tell me about it…" I replied, lowering my hands. "That's completely out of proportion…"
The three of us fell into silence soon after.