The Story of Us (Hiatus)

1

Wang Yibo was a well known businessman. His company, Wang Corporations, was handed to him by his father. The Wang Corporations was in a long line of the Wang bloodline. Wang Yibo was the CEO while his older brother Wang Haikuan was the Chairman of the company. Haikuan took over as chairman after his and Yibo's father passed away from lung cancer. Their mother was still in the picture but she didn't remarry as she never found anyone as loving as her late husband, the boys father. She maintained the household for the boys and made sure they were healthy and ate well.

Haikuan was twenty-five years old when he became chairman, Yibo was only twenty-one years old when he gained the CEO position. Since the brothers took over, the company was thriving like it has never before. It was the top business company in China and had several shareholders from around Europe, Australia, and North America. They even had a recent shareholder join in from South Korea and two from Japan.

Haikuan always maintained his kind but domineering personality. He had a backbone when needed, especially if it involved his mother and little brother. He was good with negotiations and investments.

Wang Yibo, was the polar opposite of him. He was kind, but ruthless. He had a cold front when he was in business meetings. Many would not dare to offend him. He was smart and charming, and he did not flirt with his employers. He hated it in fact, and anyone who dared to try, would either get transferred to a branch company or fired on the spot. Some women were even close to being charged with sexual harassment as they tried making advances that infuriated Yibo.

Haikuan was just as annoyed as Yibo. He wanted his little brother to be happy and have a partner, but he has known Yibo's secret for a long time. He was not interested in women, but he was interested in men. Though he hasn't found anyone that suited his interests. Not until one day, Yibo's eyes landed on one particular person and all he wanted was to claim him as his own. The only way to do that was to get his attention first and be patient.

This man was named Xiao Zhan. His father passed away when he was only three years old. After he passed away, he and his mother moved in with his mother's parents (Zhan's grandparents). The family was small but it was enough for Zhan. His grandparents own a local bookstore and it was a place he would spend a lot of his time at.

There he had a world of knowledge at his fingertips. He grew to be so smart, he was valedictorian and graduated with high honors from high school. He got accepted into an art school, studying Photography, journalism, and business management. Business management was just as a plan B, as he was not sure his art would ever become popular. Photography because it became a hobby from a young age, and as for journalism, he liked writing and observing. He liked learning the history behind things.

A year after he finished university, his mother and grandparents were in a car accident. The three died as the car caught fire and no one made it out of the car in time. So, he took over his grandparents bookstore and kept it alive as much as possible. Since he was good with business, he started to find ways to make more sales. He soon found a way to collaborate with Beijing University, as it was nearby, and started working with them selling textbooks and ebooks. It gave  students another place to find whatever books they needed for their studies. If they had their student identification card, they'd get twenty-five percent off on their purchases.

The bookstore even started selling the university's merchandise, such as shirts and hoodies, hats, and accessories. There were even mugs and diploma holders and frames. He even worked with the university on student employment, giving them a place to earn money while they studied. He had a few loyal employees on the side as well. He had his cousin Jiyang and Jiyang's husband Bowen. Jiyang was from his mother's side of the family. Then he had his other two cousins Xuan Lu and Zhou Cheng who were from his father's side.

Then there were his two best friends and twins from university, Ziyi and Yubin. Ziyi and Yubin were both in charge of training and helping the student employees. Xuan Lu, being the most trusted employee, was the head manager when Zhan was away.

The day at the bookstore was going well, the customers came and went as usual and it was a steady flow of people. There were some people who were studying in the lounge of the bookstore that was provided for them. Though the day was going well, it all seemed to come crashing down on Zhan really quickly especially when he didn't know the true intentions behind it.

Wang Yibo had entered his bookstore with his older brother Haikuan. The two were looking around the store but it didn't seem to be at the books but at the walls, the shelves, the decor, and everything else. Zhan grew worried as he didn't like what he was seeing.

"Hello, I am Xiao Zhan, the owner of this bookstore, can I help you two with something?" He asked politely.

"How long have you owned this store?" Haikuan asked.

"It's been in my family for five generations. So a long time. If you have plans to buy it, it's not for sale as it means a lot to me," Zhan said.

Yibo looked at Zhan, "even if it would help grow your store? We wouldn't knock it down but expand and improve on it. We own seventy percent of the shares at Beijing University, and this bookstore recently began to collaborate with it. We heard good things about this store. We have no intention of taking it away from this community," Yibo told him.

"This store has a lot of history though. A lot of the decorations are antiques from the long line of history that my family has of this place. I know this store has to be up to standards with the current building conditions, but I have been checked regularly and have had no issues," Zhan said.

"How about we leave you our business card so you can call us after thinking it over, you and your employees would still have a job here, you'd still run this store, we just want to help it grow," Haikuan said.

"Or is it that you rich people have to try to take advantage of the poor citizens and look down on us as you think we can't thrive on our own?" Zhan asked as he was getting annoyed, "I don't need to think it over. This is my family's bookstore and I refuse to give up ownership to people I do not know!"

"Zhan," a woman said, "calm down, they haven't made any definite decisions and they are only asking you to think about it."

"Xuan Lu, I cannot give this up," Zhan said, "this is also my home."

"What do you mean?" Yibo asked.

"My apartment is upstairs above the shop. It's always had a living space, and me handing over this shop is basically you people kicking me out of my own house to live on the streets," Zhan told him.

"That becomes a bit more of a problem Yibo," Haikuan said, "I know this is a good location but we should look elsewhere."

Yibo sighed and looked at Zhan, "just think it over again."

"No," Zhan said, "if that is all, I will be getting back to work."

Xiao Zhan went back to working. Xuan Lu stood there looking at the Wangs, "I apologize for him. This place is special to him. He grew up here. It had the last memories he had of his mother and grandparents before they passed away a few years back. So you have to understand this place is very valuable to him. He won't just give it up."

"We were not asking him to do that, but we can understand. This bookstore is a popular location and our company would love to help it thrive and grow," Haikuan said.

"May I make a suggestion?" Xuan Lu asked.

"Sure," Haikuan replied.

"Instead of trying to buy the place, why not just collaborate with him. As I know your company is one of the best companies out there, you are always welcome to reach out to smaller companies to help them thrive just by collaborating with them through a contract. Zhan studied business in University so you'd just have to find a way to make it work for everyone," Xuan Lu explained.

Yibo nodded, "that is something we could consider," he said, "my brother and I will head out and talk it over. In the meantime bring this idea up with the owner and then we can meet up again. This is more beneficial on his end than ours but we always like to help smaller companies out at times."

"I will," Xuan Lu said and watched the two Wang brothers leave the store. She sighed and went to talk about this with Zhan. Zhan said he'd think about that offer to collaborate but not sell his store.