Imperfect Desires

Saturdays are all about smiles and blessings. With coffee as a companion and a smile to brighten the day that's what Saturday mode was for Xiu.

But...

Things were about to change today. Usually, Xiu would only leave her bed at around noon but this week, she had to get up early.

She looked like a zombie as she roamed around the kitchen to brew some coffee for herself. It was very much needed to wake her. With a steaming hot mug of coffee, Xiu made her way towards her room when she almost bumped into Nora.

"Argh! Gosh! You scared me!" Nora gave a start and pinched Xiu. "Why are you still looking like a sleep-zombie? It's 7 o'clock already."

Xiu yawned in response in a very unladylike manner. "Can't I just skip out on this one?" Xiu's voice came out groggy.

"And why is that?" Nora lifted her brows in question.

"I want to catch up on my sleep," Xiu whined.

Nora pulled her ear. "Ow! Ow! Let me go! It's hurting!" Xiu screamed in pain while trying to swat Nora's hand away.

"Tell me, my crown queen of lame excuses, which kingdom are you going to conquer in sleep this time?" Nora's words were dripping with sarcasm. She freed Xiu's ear but didn't stop glaring at her.

"Fine. Fine! My Empress Dowager! I'm going to dress up now." Xiu rubbed her ear and hastily entered her room afraid that Nora would again start her abuse. 'Wuwuwu! Pitiful me!' Xiu thought with a crying face.

Xiu had been insomniac in her previous life and now that she found the blessing of sleep all over again, she really had a hard time leaving the comfort of a bed. It was a tiring job. She was like a starved person who finally found food. The difference would be that her food was now; sleep.

How she yearned for it, only her heart knew.

Xiu picked black colored sportswear which consisted of a half-sleeved t-shirt and shorts that reached below her knees. It was comfortable for a golf course outing. She matched it with white converse and a white jacket. Pulling up her hair in a high ponytail, she saw the abandoned cup of coffee on her headboard and sighed. "One precious cup of pure delight is just wasted like this. Tsk!" She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Picking up her purse, sunglasses, and the cellphone she walked out of the room. She found Nora waiting for her in the living room impatiently.

"Did you take sunglasses?" Nora inquired while eyeing her up and down. Xiu dangled her sunglasses right before her eyes. "Good. What about sunscreen?" Xiu rolled her eyes at her and showed the sunscreen bottle to her. "Very good. What about-"

"I have everything, mother." Xiu teased her with a look of annoyance. But Nora didn't mind at all.

Instead, Nora gave her a bear hug saying, "Take care of yourself out there. Try to socialize. They are your colleagues, not animals. I'm sure they won't bite."

"And if they did bite?" Xiu asked rhetorically.

Nora had a thoughtful look before saying, "Then you bite them ten-folds in return." Xiu had expected this type of childish reply from Nora but it still made her day.

"Okay. I will. But you'll have to bail me out if I ended up in the police station."

Nora patted her chest assuringly, "Don't you worry, my child! I'm here for you." Xiu shook her head and turned to leave but Nora's voice halted her again.

"Now what?"

Nora threw her car keys and said, "Take my car."

"The company is gonna provide us with the rides."

"You just take the car. Don't argue with me." Saying that Nora straight ahead slammed the door at Xiu's face.

Xiu dragged her body towards the lift and greeted the elevator attendant. 'Ugh! I really don't feel worky today, I just want to be comfy today. Why can't I just poof out on my bed?' Xiu whined in her head on her ride to the company where she met with her colleagues.

"Bai Xiu, you brought a car?" Manager Li asked Xiu the dumbest question, in Xiu's opinion. After all, her car was right there for everyone to see.

"Yes, I did," Xiu answered heavily with a premonition creeping up in her heart.

"That's good. Let your interns accompany you. It'd be a good bonding time for you all." Manager Li's words made Xiu grit her teeth.

'After ruining my perfect Saturday morning, you want to ruin my moment of personal space?' Xiu thought bitterly but still had to maintain a composed look as she said, "Sure."

But her words were like a thunderstorm that struck on the new interns. All their faces paled.

"Manager Li, let Ms. Bai go alone. I prefer the bus rides." One of the interns spoke up and ran towards the bus.

"I also love the bus rides." Another one followed along, leaving only Bo Jiu behind.

Manager Li was having a headache seeing how those interns ran. It was like she didn't offer them to ride with Bai Xiu but instead gave them to the Grim Reaper himself.

"You also want to join your friends, Ms. Bo?" Manager Li asked as she rubbed her forehead.

"No. I'll ride with Ms. Bai. She should have some company as well." Bo Jiu stated as she made her way to Xiu's car and settled in. Xiu was left frowning. She had treated Bo Jiu in the worst way by making her an errand runner for the whole week but still, she chose to ride with Xiu? That didn't settle well.

But Xiu didn't comment on it and alighted the car before saying goodbye to Manager Li; temporarily.

As the ride was long and they could see a long stretched black river of tarmac ahead, both Xiu and Bo Jiu were getting bored. But none bother to break the silence.

At least, not until Xiu's curiosity got the best of her. "Shouldn't you be avoiding me like a plague?"

Bo Jiu was a bit startled to know that Xiu initiated the conversation. But soon, she managed to shake her head in negation. "Why would I be?"

"If my memory serves me right, you are a top graduate from Harvard and yet you chose to come back to your city and start as an intern. But I treated you like an errand girl. You must have stabbed me to death by now in your dreams." There was nothing wrong with Xiu's statement. But it still surprised Bo Jiu that Xiu was this straightforward with words.

"It's not that I don't want to hate you. Trust me, I wanted to. But I couldn't do so." This time, Xiu was surprised. "At first, I really wanted to yell and scream at you for wasting my talent like that. But when my rationality came back to me, I couldn't bring myself to hate you."

"Oh, really? I wonder why is that?" Xiu gave a brittle smile.

"You gave me the lowest rank in our department. But it took me a whole day of blisters to realize that being at that rank allowed me to know how the Planning Department operated. In this week, I not only learned about the coffee preferences of my superiors and peers. I also learned about their working habits. And most importantly, I learned how important our Planning Department is to the whole Company." Bo Jiu's words made Xiu feel amused.

"So, I really didn't judge you wrong. You do have a passion for learning."

Bo Jiu gave a start. "It wasn't my punishment?"

"If you'd spent the whole week whining about how I treated you unfairly, then yeah! It would be your punishment." Xiu shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "But you're not one of those who blame others for their own downfall. You're a fighter who learned how to survive in that downfall. Honestly, I would say that you just learned the most important lesson of your career."

Bo Jiu couldn't find words to describe her feelings. In the end, her persistence wasn't all for naught. It was all worth it. Now, she completely believed in her cousin's words. Bai Xiu always had a motive behind her poisonous tongue. Bo Jiu's eyes sparkled with admiration as she gazed at Xiu. The woman before her was really unlike any other she had met.