-EPILOGUE –

-Eighteen months later-

"The guests are waiting in the conference room, Miss Kinomoto!" Her assistant announced on the phone.

"Thank you!" Sakura hung up and turned to pick up her notebook with the current figures. She rushed out of the office and down the long, thin hallway. Pausing at Eriol's office, she blinked in surprise to see he wasn't in there. Frowning, she hurried on. The inner room cubicles were filled with workers of the Tokyo Branch of Li Investment Services. Sakura let a small smile grace her lips as she hurried past – and waved cheerfully to a few who looked up at her.

Opening the conference door, she stepped through –

And stumbled as a chorus of women's voices erupted:

"That's her! Oh, my god, she's the cutest little-!"

"He wasn't kidding! Her hair is so pretty!"

"What a little doll! I just wanna-!"

"She's way too good for Xiao Lang!"

She was suddenly surrounded by the four chattering women, each one talking over the other. They all looked identical, their figures long and willowy. One grabbed the sides of her face; her familiar amber eyes looking deep into Sakura's green.

"Hoe?" she smiled weakly. "Hi…"

"Girls, leave her alone." A deeper female voice spoke up and the women parted so Sakura could see the straight back of a very poised lady sitting at the head of the mahogany conference table. Though an older woman, she was still very beautiful. Her black hair was twisted into an elegant bun and her cream suit was crisp and perfect. She raked Sakura up and down with her critical dark eyes.

"You are Miss Kinomoto, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Li." Sakura bowed politely and one of the girls cooed quietly, "she's so cute…"

"Please, call me Yelen. My son has spoken very highly of you to the elders as well as to me. He has said many things about your accomplishments with the expansion of our company. It seems you have singlehandedly established ties throughout the major markets in Tokyo. I had the chance of looking over your marketing proposal yesterday and I must say Xiao Lang has found a truly remarkable business partner."

"T-Thank you." Sakura stumbled with the praise. "Mr. Hiiragizawa has also worked very hard to expand-"

"He has, but you have contributed much to the company. With the steady foot in the Japanese economy due to your marketing, we have reestablished Li's foundation in Hong Kong as well. I wanted to thank you personally and let you know we will be meeting with new shareholders in two months. And they are wanting to meet you as well."

"New shareholders?" Sakura's green eyes went wide.

"From the United States," Syaoran's mother said with a spark of pride.

"T-The United States? I thought that the advertisements weren't supposed to run until-"

"Xiao Lang ran them a few weeks ago."

"He didn't tell me anything…"

"Because I was going to tell her myself, mother." A dark voice came from the doorway. Sakura's green eyes flew as she pivoted on foot.

And there he was…

His chestnut hair was slightly longer, but his navy suit fit him immaculately. Her breath caught in her throat as his amber eyes grew warm and his lips fought against a smile. His briefcase, a new brown leather, was grasped in his hand and he set it gently on the ground next to the door. Behind him, Eriol's mischievous dark eyes appeared around the threshold before disappearing.

"Long time… Sakura…" He ducked his head as if shy.

"You… You're here…"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Got Eriol to give me a ride from the airport. I wanted to surprise you-"

"Oh, my god, this is the cutest thing-"

"Xiao Lang! You should have worn the other suit!"

"Oh, hush, Fuutie! The navy is perfect on him!"

"I can't believe his hair though!"

"What? It's a good look on him!"

"He has to look handsome for his girl, Xuehua!"

"He does look handsome!"

"She's cuter!"

"Ah-hem!" He cleared his throat loudly and all the women stopped as one. Sakura watched, her cheeks burning, as Yelen swiftly moved around the conference table and, with barely lifting a hand, shooed his sisters out the door.

"I'm sure you two have much to discuss. Please excuse us." Yelen shot her son a meaningful look which made him roll his eyes skyward. Sakura waited until the conference room door was shut before snorting in laughter. He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand before joining her with a small chuckle.

"That couldn't have gone worse."

"On the contrary, I wouldn't have it any other way," she giggled. Stepping forward, his arms immediately wrapped around her and she pressed him close in a tight hug. He felt wonderfully solid in her hands, his breath falling in a long sigh over the top of her head.

"You feel good. I missed you."

"The calls and video chats weren't enough?" she joked, remembering the many times he openly complained about it.

"Compared to this?" His hands held her tightly and his head bent to press his cheek on her hair.

"You've done so much here in only a year and a half."

"We have a lot more to go," she said softly, the accounting packet still clutched in her fingers. "Has your sister decided-?"

"Meiling and Huanglian have agreed to my terms formally before the elders. It's set have majority approval as long as mother continues to monitor the stocks."

"Are you sure you're not a prince, Syaoran?" She frowned up at him.

"Considering I'll be staying here from now on, not anymore." He grinned before gently holding the sides of her face and pulling her into a kiss.

Outside, through the small window to the conference door, a chorus of "AWWWWWW!" muffled through and they broke apart – Sakura flushing and Syaoran rolling his eyes again.

"We'll continue this later," Sakura said with a grin, her cheeks crimson.

"Yeah, when there isn't an audience." Syaoran shook his head with a sigh.

"How does a horse-drawn carriage ride sound?"

He laughed, his amber eyes twinkling.

"Deal."