Love Began with the First Meeting

"Charlie Long..." Allen squeezed the words out from between his clenched teeth. His eyes were filled with hatred, he was like a beast that was preparing to pounce on its prey. "Charlie..." Elsa fell into his embrace. The emotions that she had tried so hard to suppress burst out.

"I'm sorry, Little Bun." Charlie didn't even look at Allen. He kissed gently on Elsa's sweaty forehead and apologized again, "I should have been there to protect you. This is my fault."

She trembled and cried uncontrollably. Burying her head into Charlie's chest, she trembled, so afraid that she would never be able to see him again. She didn't want to leave his side, ever.

While softly patting Elsa on her back to solace her, Charlie darted a fierce glance at Allen. "You will pay for this dearly." He paused for a brief moment. "Cyan," he ordered, "make sure that this man never appears in front of Elsa again. I don't care what you do."

"Yes, Young Master!" Cyan appeared slowly from the dark, casting a cool glance at Allen. As Charlie hugged Elsa and lifted her up in his arms, Allen tried to rush towards them. But before he could reach them, Cyan blocked his path with ease and round-kicked him in the stomach. Allen collapsed, his body curling in pain.

"What is Cyan going to do with Allen?" Elsa asked, tears still streaming down her face.

"He is just making sure Allen understands that he shouldn't lay his hands on the one he shouldn't touch." The answer seemed simple. However, the truth was that both of Allen's hands were so badly injured that he was never able to use his hands anymore. He had to use all his strength from both his hands just to lift a cup of water.

After that incident, Allen's life was a complete misery. He got drunk in a bar and fought a delinquent. He was almost beaten to death. Luckily for him, Rita happened to pass by and was kind enough to save him. If it weren't for her, he would probably have died that day. That was Allen's life towards the end. At this stage, Elsa couldn't have imagined such an end for him, nor was she told about it in the future. Under Charlie's protection, Elsa was shielded from anything that could possibly hurt her.

Time elapsed quickly. Before anyone realized, months had passed and it was summer, the next year. A mild sense of sadness permeated the entire campus. It was graduation season, the time when students headed towards vastly different directions, when they embraced each other and bid farewell.

"Why are you crying?" Ann wiped her own tears and stared at Elsa who was drenched in tears. "If you don't invite me to your wedding, I will come straight to Charlie's villa and stay there with you forever."

"Me too!" Olivia was also crying non-stop. "Elsa, My Little Bun... Promise me that you will live happily with Charlie. You must be so happy that everyone should be freaking envious of you, even me. Make me jealous, girl."

"Yes, I will," Elsa replied, laughing between her sobs. She was heart-broken. The thought of parting from the three of them made her so glum.

Anna was the only one who wasn't crying. She watched her roommates sobbing and sighed, "Our transport systems are so developed, you know. We can meet anytime we want."

"Easy for you to say!" Olivia chided. "You will be doing market analysis in Dragon. There are ample opportunities for you to meet Elsa. I still haven't received the results for my job applications."

Olivia's words triggered Ann. "Anna already has a job in Dragon. Olivia, you're waiting for your interview and you will most probably be working in Dragon as well. All is good for you! But I have to go back to my father's company." Their mood turned sour again.

Abruptly, a ringtone shattered the sad atmosphere. Olivia grabbed her phone and attended the call. After she was done, she screamed in excitement, "Aaahh! Dragon's graphics department has offered me an interview! On the day after tomorrow! Holy crap!" "Wow, now I am truly alone," Ann whimpered, with a pitiful look.

Elsa sat beside her and consoled her, "No, you're not alone. We can meet when you come on your business trips. And we'll fly to your place on weekends. Anna is right. It's easy to travel around now. It's impossible for us to get separated."

Sniffing her nose, Ann replied, "Then let's make a deal. If I am busy, you must come and visit me."

And just as they had promised, time couldn't erode the relationship they had. Even though they lived hundreds of miles apart, they always met and spent time with each other through the years. The girls firmly believed that no matter how many years passed, their relationship would only get stronger with time.

[News report]: The second generation of Z-DSS, developed by Dragon, has been released. It is another great progress in the development of hand phones, after Z-DSS1.

The Z-DSS2 has not only retained all the functions of Z-DSS1, but has also made the system more user-friendly. It has also incorporated applications that will help students learn while playing games. It is estimated to rule the market for a while.

[Reporter]: Hello, everyone. I am reporter X. The phone I am holding right now is Dragon's new Z-DSS2. Our technical expert has just finished a thorough test on this. I was using a Z-DSS1 before this. After I learned about the new features of Z-DSS2, I immediately fell in love with this new model. It's a phone that you shouldn't miss. Grab yours soon!

After Dragon's Z-DSS2 model was released, it soon became a hot topic in all technological media. The model wasn't super fancy nor was it equipped with high-tech processors, yet it had successfully attracted the attention of the public. It was a success built upon the positive feedback from the first generation.

The second generation had met customer expectation. Even before it was released, it was talked about a lot. Now that it was finally in the market, the pre-sale had exceeded the estimate by 30%!

Addison was watching the update on the TV during the meeting. Turning the volume down, he turned to the Dragon Empire Group's Z-series department, which had been the leader in hand phone industry so far. "Dragon is developing really fast. If the current trend continues, within one year, they will be attending this meeting instead of you."

The members of the Z-series department looked down in shame. The department manager cautiously said, "The Z-DSS series targets the middle and lower class. Plus, the phones have the Dragon game pre-installed, so..." His voice trailed off. Perhaps, he found his excuse unconvincing.

Addison thought for a while and then ordered, "Talk to the people of Dragon.

Ask them for the right to pre-install Dragon in the Z series as well." The manager of Z-series department twitched his lips, then said, "Sir, I have already communicated with them. Mr. Charlie Long wants the rights to the processor of the Z series in exchange." "Is that so?" Addison smiled. "Do you want me to take over the communication with them?"

The manager immediately shook his head. "No, sir! I'll do it myself." He swallowed his saliva anxiously, pondering what Addison had meant by that.

After Addison gave a few more orders to those present, the revenue target for the Dragon Empire Group's next season was set. Some of them were very excited about the future prospects, while the manager of the Z-series department was at a complete loss. "Sir?" After Addison had left the meeting hall, the manager of the Z-series department walked to a young man, the deputy CEO of the Dragon Empire Group. "What do you think Mr. Addison Long meant? Does he want me to agree to their terms or not?"