ã€ŠThe Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel&#x27;s Disguiseã€‹


 -1 Authors Notes

    <h4>Chapter -1 Author¡°s Notes</h4>

    First of all wee to my new book.

    I¡¯m writing this note to make a few things clear with you guys. For instance, our Female Protagonist is actually living with the disguise of a man. Or it would be better to say that she¡¯s been raised as a man and she doesn¡¯t have any experience whatsoever in acting like a girl.

    Another peculiar thing about her is her identity. She is known to the world by different names and identities.

    But for now, all of you should know her three main identities to avoid confusion.

    1: Young Master Ru: To all of you came here from my previous book, you guys are familiar with this identity. This was how she was addressed in her family n. Although her family won¡¯t be making an entry any soon, some shbacks will be there.

    (side note: Ru means one who is like a schr)

    2: Lord Alev Knight: This is the identity which entire Europe knows her as. The Chairman of Knight Empires who is a mysterious but most powerful man in Europe.

    (side note: Alev means me in Turkish and it¡¯s a very unique name for males but for females, it¡¯s not that unique.)

    3: Xie Rong: This is the identity which she¡¯s going to use in Asia.

    P.S. Fun fact, all the names mentioned above are unisex. hehe

    The rest you¡¯ll know in the book.

    Thank You for reading this...

 Chapter 1 Lord Alev Knights Torture

    From an early age, we¡¯re taught to believe in a notion; monsters are hiding underneath your bed.

    What we are not told is the reality of life that there is no such thing as monster hiding under your bed or in the closet for that matter.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean that there are no monsters at all.

    Monsters are real...

    And these monsters hide inside our own self. We all are keeping a demon hidden in our soul.

    The only difference is; some of us fight a battle with the demon inside of us for the rest of our lives while others just lose that battle and learn to embrace that inner demon.

    The ones who lose this battle with their inner demons are called WEAK. They are said to be weak because they couldn¡¯t keep their humanity.

    We often overlook the fact that battles are not fought alone. But battles are only lost when you¡¯re left alone by the world. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re too weak to win the battle, in fact, the people around us were too ignorant to push us in this abyss of darkness.

    That is to say, the only way for our inner demons to conquer us is when we¡¯re left with no-one to hold our hand and show us the right path.

    Some demons hide within you,

    A few carry your life with you...

    Some angels tread the path for you,

    But only a demon travels with you...

    Some angels might be asleep inside you,

    But a demon is always there to haunt you...

    Some keep the angels close to feel the light,

    But what can you do to the demon that lurks deep inside?

    As Lord Alev Knight gazed at the girl tied up with chains before him, he was in a dilemma of whether the girl was the demon or an angel who lost her battle?

    Cobblestone walls were surrounding the eerie underground space as the metal chains were sprawled across the stone floor. It reeked of mold and humidity in the air but along with that, there was a scent of death and suffering lingering in the air.

    The girl was chained against the cobblestone wall with chains and hammered metal shackles. Lord Alev Knight¡¯s green-eyes assessed the slender figure chained before him. She had short ck hair and verymon features, there was nothing too peculiar about her except for the sinister look in her eyes.

    He could easily perceive that look in her eyes which said that she was going to kill him brutally. How could he not recognize the same look he has in his own all the time?

    "Adia!" His pleasant voice rang out in the silent room.

    "Yes, Sir!" A woman in her early thirties came closer to his tall figure and lowered her head respectfully while her hands were sped before her.

    "It¡¯s been two days and you¡¯re telling this lord that she has not even spoken of the reason why she attacked me?" Although the voice was deep and pleasing to hear, Adia knew better than to be fooled by that gentle tone. She was familiar with her master¡¯s disposition; the gentler his voice, the vicious he gets.

    Adia licked her dried lips and didn¡¯t dare to look at her master¡¯s eyes. "Sir! It¡¯s not that we couldn¡¯t achieve anything with our torture. It¡¯s actually that she can¡¯t talk." Adia gulped down her saliva as she felt the beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

    "Are you telling me that she¡¯s mute?" Lord Alev Knight quirked a single brow in question and he turned to look at the locked up girl again.

    "Yes, Sir!" Hearing Adia¡¯s answer, a crease formed between his brows like a crinkled cloth. "And as expected, there is no record of her existence."

    He rubbed his tapering chin in a thoughtful manner. "What about that one?" He asked shifting his gaze towards another chained figure on the wooden chair.

    It was a young man with now ragged clothes or whatever was left of them and a swollen face which waspletely unrecognizable.

    "He¡¯s an assassin from Russia. And he¡¯s proving to be one hard nut to crack for now. We have even pulled all his nails out but his lips are sealed even now." Adia spoke with indignation as she red at the unconscious man on the chair.

    Lord Alev Knight lifted two fingers and ordered, "Wake him up for me!"

    Immediately, two of the men standing in the dark corner came up and threw cold water bucket on the unconscious man. With a jolt, the Russian assassin woke up and darted his eyes in the gruesome room before his eyes glued on those bright, sparkling, green eyes.

    The assassin gave a sinisterugh to challenge, "It¡¯s better to kill us, Lord Alev Knight! I won¡¯t be saying a word."

    "Ah! Was that just a challenge that I hear in his voice?" Lord Alev looked at Adia who nodded agreeing with him. "Then this lord will definitely let you take pleasure in his favorite torturing ways." His lips curved slightly upwards making all his men taking a step back in fear. "Let¡¯s see how long would you able to keep that tone with this lord." Saying this, he pulled out a dagger from his ankle boots and pointed at the chained man.

    "I¡¯ve yed with these things for more than a decade now. I¡¯m not going to be scared of a simple dagger." The assassin sneered with disdain.

    Lord Alev leaned a bit ahead and whispered, "Let this lord be honest with you. This lord¡¯s first toy was a dagger as well." At the end of his speech, he lowered the tip of the de down as he continued to talk, "My old master used to say that when youe across a stubborn prisoner, there is no need to invest so much energy into that subject." The de further lowered down the chained man¡¯s front in slow motion. "You can simply strike at the subject¡¯s weakest point which could not only hurt his body or mind but also, his hopes and dreams."

    The assassin followed the dagger with wide eyes as it reached down over his belt and between his thighs. Through the thinyer of cloth which was left on his thigh, he could feel the cold metal de sliding against his skin until it reached a certain point.

    Seeing the de so close to his manhood, the man gulped with a horrified expression. "You!" The man could only get this out before the tip of the dagger was pressed down in a smooth motion making the man howl with pain gushing into his entire body.

    "What do you have to say now?" Lord Alev Knight looked at the man before him with a slight smile lingering on his perfectly shaped slightly thin lips. He drew back the dagger.

    He winced in pain as his mind got hazy and had no energy left to talk or think. "Argh! Argh!" The tip of the de came down again to stab his manhood and this time, he fainted.

    "This is boring if you¡¯re to sleep like this," he said before passing a nce to his men. The cold water bit down on the chained man¡¯s skin again and he woke up with harsh breathing. With consciousness, the pain also came back as he stared at that green-eyed demon before him who in return waved his hand saying, "Hi! Shall we begin again?"

    Before the tip of the dagger couldnd again, the man shouted, "Stop! Please, I beg you to stop!"

    Lord Alev Knight stood straight and cleaned the dagger elegantly with his napkin. "Let¡¯s start with who sent you both to kill this lord and why?"

    "I don¡¯t know who they are." Lord Alev red at him with fury making him cower in fear. "But I know the reason why they want you dead."

    "Keep going."

    "You¡¯re the one leading the Internation Arms Dealing Traders Association. And since the time that organization is established, a lot of smugglers are not happy as they can¡¯t get their hands on most advanced weapons." After a pause, he added, "But I really don¡¯t know about who they are. I only know that they are from China."

    Lord Alev tapped his foot on the floor for a minute and shifted his gaze back towards the chained girl. "What is she?"

    "Huh?" The tied up man couldn¡¯t understand his meaning.

    "Can you be sure that she¡¯spletely human? Or that her being mute is a coincidence?" Hearing these questions, the man fell in thought.

    "I don¡¯t know anything about her. My mission was to lead that girl to you and she was tasked with the killing part who¡¯d know that you¡¯re not that easy." He grumbled thest part but everyone around him heard it as they inhaled a sharp breath pitying with him.

    Lord Alev cast ast nce towards the girl in shackles against the wall before taking long but steady strides outside the dungeon.

    Adia followed closely behind him. "Adia!" He called her.

    "At your service, Sir!" Adia replied courteously.

    "Keep both of them alive." Adia stared wide-eyed at the broad straight back of her master.

    Opening the door of his house, Lord Alev walked inside and pulled off the ck jacket. Immediately peeling off his blood-scent clothes, he walked inside the bathroom.

    Looking at the reflection of his own body with that personalized binding around his chest, a scowl appeared on that handsome face. That binding was like a reminder. A reminder that he was indeed she who was living in the disguise of a man.

    Rubbing the reflection that stared back, he... Oh, wait! She walked in the ss shower area for a bath to remove the stench of blood off her body.

 Chapter 2 A Blunder

    Pain...

    It¡¯s a four letter word concealing a million sentiments behind. Life... Hope... Love... Tear... Hate... All of these are four letter words. They share the deepest connection.

    Life brings Hope.

    Hope brings Love.

    Love brings a Tear.

    Tear brings Hate.

    And eventually,

    Hate brings Pain.

    Each thing¡¯s culmination is the pain.

    In the murky ambiance, her bare feet touched the hard-baked ground and a jumble of rocks prickled her skin. A vigorous pain shot up in the back of her head like fire when it came in contact with something hard. She turned her head slowly to see a tall figure camouged in smog with a metal pole in his hand. The wooden stick she held, fell down on the rocky ground making a small thud.

    She raised her trembling hand to touch the back of her head. An incontroble hiss escaped from her mouth. It made her dizzy. She was reeling but she strived to keep her ground. She felt a feeling of yearning in her heart.

    "Why?" She heard her own hoarse voice stinging with a furious fire raging in her eyes. Her throat felt constricted. She felt bitter.

    The man replied. "You¡¯re a monster." She could perceive loathness and hostility. Yet her heart screamed that the voice held a tinge of ache in it. Someonended a power-packed punch straight to her abdomen. Blood spurted out of her mouth painting the ground red but she still didn¡¯t let her body fall.

    She tried to lift her eyes to see the man¡¯s expression.

    "You still have the guts to look at my man." A loud shriek made her ears ring and in the next second, someone grabbed her hairs and smashed her head against a huge boulder. The sudden attack caught her off guard. To top off her misery, she heard a gunshot. She felt something trickling down her body and lowered her face to see a hot trail of blood flowing out of her chest. Her knees buckled making her fall on her knees. To keep her body from falling further, she ced both her hands on the rocky ground.

    Her breathing was getting shallow as she tried with all her might to raise her head. The man veiled in mist held the gun that shot the bullet that now was stuck in her chest.

    The girl with a screeching voice picked up a metal pole, hitting her with full force. Each hit made her curl her body. She kept wincing in pain. She didn¡¯t know how long had passed when she heard the girl¡¯s screeching voice again. "What should we do with her body, Ge-Ge?"

    "Leave it here. It¡¯ll be a treat for the animals." There were hoots ofughter around her as her bodyid limp on the hard soiled ground. Gradually, theughter got farther and farther away from her.

    The agonizing pain was not because of her losing breaths rather it was the feeling of betrayal that she felt in her heart. "Being betrayed is one of the most valuable lesson life can teach you." An ancient voice rang in her mind making her feel mncholy.

    Soon, her blurry vision turned into darkness as she felt herself falling into oblivion.

    "Sir! Excuse me, Sir!" A feminine courteous voice was heard making a crease appeared between her brows. With a jolt, she opened her eyes and darted her eyes around.

    Wearing her usual ck jeans with a ck shirt and an oversized grey hoodie, she was sitting in a first-ss seat of the ne. Cold sweat was trickling down her face making her shiver. "Sir!" She heard the voice again making her turn her face to look at a young and pretty attendant standing beside her seat with an anxious look.

    "Are you feeling okay, sir?" The attendant asked with politeness as she noticed the green eyes gazing at herself. Those eyes were akin to an enchantment that seemed to have trapped her soul.

    That dark chocte brown hair with a thick angr fringe haircut perfectly fell over her forehead. With thick brows, twinkling green eyes, a pointed nose, high cheekbones that had a hollow curve nting upwards towards the ears, and a wless golden brown skin; the person sitting before the flight attendant felt like a mirage to her. He had the most perfect facial featuresplimenting his tall figure.

    After a moment of silence, the attendant heard a deep, hoarse voice, "With such a pretty youngdy beside me, how can I not be fine?" The female attendant was already drowning in the handsomeness before her but now she blushed at the remark.

    The attendant bit her bottom lip and said, "The ne is going tond. Please, fasten your seatbelt."

    With her green eyes, she looked down to see the seatbelt and looked up at the attendant for a minute before a faint smile appeared on her face. "You see, prettydy, due to sleep my muscles are a bit numb. Why don¡¯t you help me with the seatbelt?" Her charismatic voice made the attendant blush even deeper and she really believed that the handsome person before her was flirting with her.

    In reality, the green-eyed person who was dressed as a man and even talked like one was, in fact, none other than Lord Alev Knight who happened to be a girl in disguise. And she was actually feeling a tremble in hands after that nightmare which she didn¡¯t want others to see. That¡¯s why she asked for help.

    Even though it was a nightmare. She never called it a nightmare. For her, it was part of her reality. A reality that seemed far out of her reach. No matter how much courage she had to face the pain, her body still remembered every bit of pain.

    The attendant happily helped her with the seatbelt and turned to leave with reluctance.

    After the nended, she was greeted by her assistant at the security check, "Master!" He bowed respectfully. "I¡¯ve arranged everything for your stay."

    "Wu Dishi," she called her assistant¡¯s name.

    "At your service, Master," he answered.

    "The rest of them are at the flighting from Italy. Wait here for them. I¡¯m going to the Imperial Grand Hotel, for now. Meet me thereter on with everyone." Wu Dishi bowed in acknowledgment.

    She dragged her feet out of the airport and hailed a cab for herself. In the cab, she rolled down the window pane to let the fresh air hit her face. She was feeling nauseous already but the smog-filled air made her stomach churn even worse than before.

    She rolled the window pane back up and leaned into the seat. She wasn¡¯t scared of heights or anything for that matter. But still, ne rides were not her strong suit. They always left her nauseous.

    After the cab dropped her at the hotel, she felt her headache intensifying for some reason. She shook her head and rubbed her thick brows repeatedly to get rid of her blurry vision.

    At the reception of the hotel:

    "Greetings Sir! Wee to Imperial Grand Hotel. How may I help you?" The receptionist politely asked but the moment she looked at the face before her, she was lost for words.

    The handsome word really was not enough to describe the green-eyed person standing before her.

    "I have a reservation under Wu Dishi¡¯s name," she replied and it took the receptionist a moment topose her emotions.

    "Let me check, sir!" The receptionist coughed lightly and looked through theputer records. Her eyes widened after looking through the records. She stared for a moment and asked, "Sir, are you by any chance, Mr. Xie Rong?"

    "Last time I checked, that¡¯s exactly my name." ¡¯At least, one of the names.¡¯ But she left thest part unsaid. The receptionist gulped at this reply and frantically passed the room key card.

    Xie Rong didn¡¯t think much about the receptionist¡¯s odd behavior and walked towards the elevator. While she was entering the elevator, another person walked out and Xie Rong bumped into him. She heard something dropping to the floor and shattering making her already aching head to ache even more.

    She crouched down on the floor and tried to see what broke because of her dizziness. "Sh*t!" She couldn¡¯t help but curse when she saw what she had broken. She lifted her face to look at the man who was frozen still beside her staring intently at the antique Ming Dynasty Porcin set which was broken into pieces now.

    She had the urge to crack her own head against something. How can she make such a mistake right aftering to China?

    The frozen man finally moved and looked at Xie Rong with zing eyes, "Do you know what you just broke?" Obviously, the man thought Xie Rong was an ordinary person. Even though she was d in a very stylish ensemble but it wasn¡¯t from a top-notch brand.

    "I¡¯llpensate you for it." Xie Rong said trying to evade getting into an argument. And since it was her mistake she had topensate.

    "How are you going topensate for this? Do you even know how expensive this is?" The man roared in anger and contempt.

    Xie Rong¡¯s dizziness was wearing her down. And she wasn¡¯t the kind of person who liked arguments. But the tone of the other person got on the wrong side of her nerve. She supported her body with the wall beside her and pointed her finger at the man, "You!"

    But her sentence was cut short when she heard a mellow andpassionate voice from behind. "What¡¯s going on here?" The texture of the voice stunned her for a moment.

 Chapter 3 As A Memory

    The voice sounded familiar to Xie Rong but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on where had she heard it?

    There are certain feelings which are buried so deep in our soul that even if our mind forgets all about them, our heart still keeps it as a reminder... As a memory.

    The man who was roaring like lion a minute ago turned into an obedient cat and replied, "Mr. Xiao, I was bringing your gift down but this person came crashing down into me and it fell down."

    "I told you that I¡¯llpensate for this." Xie Rong spoke again with indignation.

    "There is no need for that." Xie Rong heard the same mellow voice. "I believe, it was a mistake on your part as well. I really can¡¯t hold you ountable for a mistake."

    She turned her face to see the person who was this understanding. Was there really people like that in the world?

    She rubbed her eyes and saw a tall man donning a well-tailored, handmade ck suit. He looked like someone who had walked right out of aic book. He had tall stature with a well-built body. He held an aura of extraordinary elegance. His ink-ck hair was short and sleek almost reflecting the lights. His glossy ink-ck eyes were like a calm stream. His whole persona was enough to scream his exquisiteness and yet his face was a bit blurry to her.

    The exquisite man didn¡¯t nce at her and turned to the man behind him, "Qin Qu, get something else for the gift." With that, he walked away taking long strides with his long legs.

    Xie Rong wanted to stop him but another wave of nausea made her turn back and enter the elevator. After reaching her Presidential Suite, she puked her guts out in the bathroom, washed herself up and donned a pair of ck jeans and shirt again.

    She came to the living room when she heard a knock at the door. She pressed a button and the door was opened. Wu Dishi walked inside with a group of people following behind him.

    The group of five people stood in a straight line and bowed in respect greeting, "At your service, Sir!"

    "Cut it!" She said while taking a seat at the sofa and wore a jacket. "Wu Dishi!" She called out.

    "Yes, Master!" Wu Dishi answered.

    "I broke someone¡¯s gift downstairs. Go, find out about that andpensate with set 4." Hearing Xie Rong mentioning set 4, Wu Dishi was taken aback.

    He knew how much effort his master had put into attaining that specific set. But knowing his master¡¯s nature, he didn¡¯t dare question and left the room to follow her orders.

    Xie Rong heaved a long sigh and leaned back on the sofa with her hands crossed before her chest and addressed, "All of you!"

    Everyone stood ramrod at her voice. "No one will call me Lord Alev here in China. The world should only know that Lord Alev Knight is still in Europe." Xie Rong took a pause and added, "Here, I¡¯ll be Xie Rong; The Chairman of Metrix Consortium. Am I clear?"

    The group of people looked at each other before saying simultaneously, "Yes, Master!"

    "Also," she spoke again while pushing her short messy hair to one side to show theyers of her haircut. "None of you is allowed to talk about your real identities. The rest is up to you."

    "Yes, Master!" With that, all of them left the Suite leaving her alone in the huge space.

    Being alone in the room, Xie Rong closed her eyes for a moment and a distant yet mellow voice rang in her ears:

    "good god you¡¯re a gift

    a wildflower in the rain

    a wild child with stains

    sometimes imperfect

    sometimes unclean

    but so shiny underneath

    you are glistening

    are you listening

    you are a gift

    good god, you¡¯re a gift."

    ¨D SHILOW

    She promptly opened her eyes and ran her eyes around the suite to find nobody except for her own self. As always. ¡¯Another poem but the same voice... Once again came back to haunt me. Is it because the man from earlier had the same voice? Or is it because that you want me to remember that I owe you my life?¡¯ She sighed audibly and said out loud in the empty space, "Even if I owe you my life, I told you that I need to find myself first before repaying this debt of life."

    Xie Rong stood up and paced up to the French doors of the balcony. She looked into distant as she reminded herself of the reason foring back to China.

    She heard the sound of a door¡¯s opening but didn¡¯t turn to see who entered her Suite. "Master, are you feeling okay?" Xie Rong heard Adia¡¯s voice behind her.

    "What are you talking about?" Xie Rong acted as if she didn¡¯t know what Adia was talking about.

    "When you left China about 2 years ago because of a conflict with your best friend, you said that you never want to see this country ever again." Adia reminded her politely staring at the back of Xie Rong¡¯s head.

    Xie Rong sped her hands behind her back and said, "When I decided to leave this country a decade ago, I promised myself that without finding myself, I won¡¯te back here." She inhaled a sharp breath. "But I broke that promise for my best friend 2 years ago. And yes, I did say that I won¡¯te again. Today, I want to stand before my friend and ask him how can he say I was ying god in his life when I can¡¯t even be the god of my own life? Just because I didn¡¯t want toe, doesn¡¯t mean that¡¯s what life had in stores for me."

    Adia stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "Can you really stay here?"

    Xie Rong turned her body and faced Adia saying, "Haven¡¯t you heard a Chinese proverb, ¡¯Wherever you go, go with all your heart.¡¯ Since I¡¯m here already, I¡¯ll just stay."

    Meanwhile, Wu Dishi brought the set 4 from Xie Rong¡¯s collection to pay aspensation. He called the employees to gather around and asked, "Which customer¡¯s gift was broken by our hotel¡¯s employee?"

    "Mr. Wu, I didn¡¯t break it. It was a young man who intentionally bumped into me." Wu Dishi stared at the employee before him trying hard to stay calm. "That young man was not even worthy of stepping foot in our hotel with the clothes he wore. I don¡¯t know how security is working here."

    The employee had just finished talking when a crisp pnded on his face. He turned back to see a lean man in herte twenties with his western features and blond hair. "Call him ¡¯not worthy¡¯ one more time and see what I do to you." This man was the part of the group that was with Xie Rong in the suite.

    "Jake!" Wu Dishi called his name. "For now, let it go. I have to finish the task Master gave me first. We can take care of him afterward." Jake nodded and helped Wu Dishi in carrying the most expensive piece to the banquet hall of the hotel.

 Chapter 4 Ji Family Banque

    -At the Banquet Hall of Imperial Grand Hotel-

    The venue was set up to make one envy. It was the most expensive banquet hall in the whole Imperial city. Well-known media and reporters were present at the entrance which was akin to a red carpet.

    All of this publicity and exorbitant amount of money was spent on just the 75th birthday of the Old Master, Ji Rusheng. Various stars and political figures graced this party with their presence.

    Thunderous apuse sounded when the old Master, Ji Rusheng walked up on the stage. Even though Ji Rusheng was old but he still held the same sharp eyes like a hawk. His face didn¡¯t have many emotions but he looked dignified. He was exuding the aura of magnificence and intimidation. One could tell by a single nce that the man was a powerful figure who had faced the storms of life in his prime.

    When Xiao Zhiren entered the Banquet Hall, he saw the rows of tables lined the sides, and the entire hall was decorated withnterns making it seem extremely festive.

    The housekeeper of the Ji Family was a middle-aged man with long and sharp eyes as his master, Ji Rusheng. As the housekeeper saw Xiao Zhiren entering the hall, he immediately went up to him.

    "Eldest Young Master!" The housekeeper said with a gentle smile on his aged face.

    "Housekeeper Zhang, I believe you¡¯ve been well since thest time we met?" Xiao Zhiren spoke in a respectful manner. His tone was neither servile nor conceited.

    Housekeeper Zhang¡¯s smile broadened as he saw how the young master of the Ji family grew up with exquisite manners. "It¡¯s good to see you back here, eldest young master." Housekeeper remarked as his eyes moistened up a bit.

    His behavior and words seemed odd to the crowd around him since everyone knew about the authority which housekeeper Zhang held in the Ji Family. Housekeeper Zhang was known for his authoritative and lofty behavior but to the tall dashing young man before him, housekeeper Zhang was acting as a dutiful person.

    Everyone was curious about the identity of Xiao Zhiren but he was unfazed even under the scrutinizing gazes of people around him.

    "Eldest young master,e offer your greetings to the Old master." Housekeeper Zhang suggested.

    Xiao Zhiren saw the way people were crowding around Ji Rusheng and said, "I¡¯ll offer my greetingter when grandfather¡¯s alone."

    "Thene with me and take the seat on the stage with the rest of the family," housekeeper Zhang offered another suggestion but Xiao Zhiren politely declined.

    "Housekeeper Zhang, you should take care of other people. I¡¯ll take a seat somewhere else." Before housekeeper Zhang could argue, Xiao Zhiren walked to a corner to find a seat.

    Euphonious music sounded in the hall with guests mingling with each other. But he was still sitting straight exuding his aura of elegance and exquisiteness. He had the same serenity on his strong, angr face as he did before along with his calm glossy ink-ck eyes. His masculine and prominent jawline was a striking feature of his handsome face.

    His assistant who was standing beside him suddenly received a message and he leaned ahead to say, "Sir, the substitute gift is here. I¡¯ll be right back."

    Xiao Zhiren nodded at his assistant Qin Qu and waved him off with his two fingers. Qin Qu bowed slightly and walked out of the banquet hall.

    After a while, Xiao Zhiren noticed the presence of someone beside him and he turned his face to see his younger brother grimacing. "Zhiyuan, sit down and don¡¯t create any scene here."

    Xiao Zhiyuan took a seat beside his brother and said, "I¡¯m also not interested in creating any scene here. But bro, you shouldn¡¯t have brought me to this party."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t mind the tone of his younger brother. "It¡¯s a birthday party of our grandfather. He invited us, so, we had toe."

    Xiao Zhiyuan snorted and rolled his eyes. "What grandfather? I don¡¯t have a grandfather."

    "This is also our family, Zhiyuan." Xiao Zhiren said to his brother while patting his shoulder.

    "I have only one family and that is you. Other than you bro, I have no one in my family." Xiao Zhiyuan ended the conversation there as he reclined back in his seat and crossed his arms before his chest.

    Xiao Zhiyuan had many physical simrities with Xiao Zhiren. But both brothers had the age gap of more than a decade. Maybe that¡¯s why Zhiyuan was more of a kid then brother to Xiao Zhiren.

    All of a sudden, a youngdy with bangs and a gorgeous face came up to Xiao Zhiren. She had smooth jade-like skin, almond-shaped eyes, and rosy cheeks. Her row of thick, long eyshes was absolutely charming. A smile bloomed on her pinkish lips as she said, "Zhiren Ge-Ge, why are you sitting here? Come sit with the family at the front!" She tugged at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sleeve lightly.

    Before Xiao Zhiren could answer, Xiao Zhiyuan yanked her hand away from his brother¡¯s sleeve and replied coldly, "My brother is sitting with HIS FAMILY." He emphasized on thest part.

    Ji Caihong¡¯s smile immediately fell at his words. "Zhiyuan!" She called his name softly but Xiao Zhiyuan red at her.

    "We¡¯re not on familiar terms with each other. So, don¡¯t get friendly for no reason. And you can go over there and enjoy your party with your own family. Or do you want to snatch my brother from me as well?" His words pierced Ji Caihong¡¯s heart bitterly. Her eyes stung and she bit her lips to control her emotions.

    "Zhiyuan! Stay quiet!" Xiao Zhiren reprimanded his younger brother and turned to Xiao Caihong. "Don¡¯t mind Zhiyuan¡¯s words. He¡¯s a teenager. He doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s talking about."

    Xiao Zhiyuan opened his mouth to refute but he was instantly shunned down by the warning look from his elder brother. "Ji Caihong, we are absolutely okay here. You should join your family over there." Xiao Zhiren said with a polite and gentle smile making her feel a bit better. After she left, he turned to his younger brother and said, "If you can¡¯t say something nice, don¡¯t bother opening your mouth, Zhiyuan."

    Zhiyuan stared at his brother with wide-eyes and got up from the seat. "Where are you going?" Zhiren asked.

    "I¡¯m leaving this party since I¡¯m not allowed to be honest here, there is no point in me staying any longer." With that, Zhiyuan left the party with a burning rage within him.

    Zhiren pinched his brows but didn¡¯t stop Zhiyuan from leaving.

    Qin Qu came to stand beside Xiao Zhiren and leaned to inform him, "I¡¯ve brought the gif-" His statement was interrupted when someone said,

    "Old Master Rusheng should open the gifts now!"

 Chapter 5 Han Dynasty Chess-Se

    When most of the guests had presented the gifts, Xiao Zhiren also stood up and took a few steps forward, Ji Rusheng¡¯s gaze fell on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s tall andnky build making him smile with affection.

    He bowed his head in respect saying, "Zhiren offers his blessings to grandfather." Xiao Zhiren spoke in almost a whisper. He didn¡¯t want to attract too much attention from the people around him. "I¡¯ve prepared a gift for you as well."

    On cue, Qin Qu passed an exquisite box to Xiao Zhiren who in turn offered it to the old master Ji Rusheng.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stay and walked back to his table. Behind him, Ji Rusheng slowly opened the packaging of the gift box with both of his hands. As the box opened, someone gasped at the sight.

    "Oh my! Is that the hand-carved Burmese pattern chess set?" Someone gasps at the venue attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Isn¡¯t that Han Dynasty¡¯s chess set?" Another one pointed out.

    "You mean the one hand-carved by the Emperor himself?" Someone asked with astonishment.

    "Wasn¡¯t it in the museum of Romania from the past two centuries?" A man asked with curiosity.

    Old master Ji Rusheng¡¯s eyes were wide opened. He couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes. His daze was broken when a heartyugh rang out from beside him. "Who managed to bring this chess set for you?" The person beside Ji Rusheng was his old friend, Ren Hou who personally checked to ensure that it was the real set and he was more than shocked to see it.

    Old master Ji Rusheng frowned and looked at his best friend saying, "Ren Hou, don¡¯t you dare try to think of taking my present!"

    "Aye! Such stingy friend you really are!" Old man Ren Hou spoke a bit sadly. The old master, Ji Rusheng shook his head at his best friend before he heard his friend¡¯s voice again, "Who¡¯s present is this?"

    Before Ji Rusheng could answer his friend, housekeeper Zhang spoke up, "Master Ren, this present is from Ji family¡¯s eldest young master." His tone held a bit of pride in it which wasn¡¯t concealed at all.

    "Aye! Rusheng, your family¡¯s Ji Syaoran is very capable, ha. He even managed to bring such an amazing present for you even when he wasn¡¯t able toe himself." Old man Ren Hou remarked with admiration in his voice.

    Old master Ji Rusheng frowned and cleared his friend¡¯s misunderstanding, "Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t bring this gift. It¡¯s from my eldest grandson, Xiao Zhiren."

    Old man, Ren Hou was not the only one surprised at this revtion. The entire hall went into silence for a minute before a wave of whispering engulfed the hall.

    But the person in question, Xiao Zhiren was the one who received a bigger blow by this news. He looked at his assistant. "I have no idea how this set came up in the gift box. This is definitely not what I prepared." At Qin Qu¡¯s exnation, Xiao Zhiren stayed quiet.

    "Who¡¯s Xiao Zhiren?"

    "Xiao Syaoran has an elder brother?"

    "Where is this Xiao Zhiren?"

    While the whispering got louder, Xiao Zhiren felt ufortable. He wasn¡¯t a big fan of staying in news or being the topic of others gossip over the tea time. Before his grandfather, Ji Rusheng decide to look for him, he decided to leave the venue and that¡¯s exactly what he did.

    Qin Qu followed right behind him as he took long strides to leave as soon as possible.

    True to his spections, Old master Ji Rusheng asked housekeeper Zhang to bring Xiao Zhiren on the stage but he received the news that he left urgently. The old master didn¡¯t get angry that his grandson left without meeting him rather he was upset over this fact. He stared his son, Ji Yifeng but he avoided looking into his father¡¯s using gaze.

    Even Ji Rusheng knew the reason why Xiao Zhiren left. But he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that he missed his grandson. And after so many years, he finally managed to see him but it was only for a moment.

    Meanwhile...

    "Find out the person who messed up the present," Xiao Zhiren ordered Qin Qu as he made his way towards the car parking.

    "But Zhiren..." Before Qin Qu could say anything, Xiao Zhiren interrupted him.

    "The porcin piece that I originally brought for the old master and that Han Dynasty Chess set are both on a whole different level. I can¡¯t ept that gift. But since I can¡¯t ask the old master to give the present back, I can only look for a way topensate that person ordingly. You just look for him." Qin Qu could only follow his boss¡¯ orders.

    Qin Qu could only listen to what Xiao Zhiren said since he wasn¡¯t just an employee, he was also Zhiren¡¯s closest friend.

    Xiao Zhiren took the elevator and came to his suite. The moment he walked in the doors, he knew that his younger brother Xiao Zhiyuan was not home. He sighed and rummaged out his phone to make a call. Even after several tries, he couldn¡¯t get through to Xiao Zhiyuan.

    His younger brother was his whole world. Xiao Zhiren knew that Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s rebellious nature only came out because he brought him back to China with himself. But he couldn¡¯t tell Xiao Zhiyuan the reason for leaving their life in America anding to China all of a sudden. Because he knew that it was not the right time yet.

    He threw his jacket on the nearby couch and walked out of the suite to look for Xiao Zhiyuan.

    Xie Rong got frustrated in the huge suite all by herself. She was sitting on the cold floor in a full lotus position with her eyes closed. Even in meditation, she didn¡¯t feel at ease.

    Therefore, she stood up and wore a cap on her head before pulling up the hoodie over it. Looking like a rebellious young teenager, she walked out of her suite.

 Chapter 6 Honest Sinner

    Meanwhile, Xiao Zhiyuan was roaming around aimlessly near the Imperial Grand Hotel when he came across a rectangr ground. It appeared to be a football field with goalposts and crossbars.

    He was going to pass through when a figure standing on the green field caught his attention. He sat down at the stairs to watch that tall figure y.

    The tall figure with arms out and bend knees was juggling with the football as if getting a hang of it. It was basic juggling at first with dropping the ball on the ground kicking it with his one knee then moving to his other knee. After juggling with thighs, he shifted to juggling with his feet. The yer was urate with the timing of kicking the ser ball.

    After juggling a little bit, the figure on the field ced one leg beside the ball, leaned back a little and kicked the football with his other leg. The ball went straight to the. Xiao Zhiyuan noticed the bnce and precision with which the ball was kicked and he was quite impressed by the yer.

    Before he could continue to watch, he heard some noises around and turned to look. The group of people walking towards him looked to be some street thugs with piercings and tattoos on their bodies.

    "Hey kiddo, don¡¯t you know that kids are not supposed to roam around at night," the one who spoke was a bit masculine and Xiao Zhiyuan looked like a matchstick standing before him with his rangy build.

    Xiao Zhiyuan wanted to ignore them and leave but one of them blocked his way saying, "Since you already are here, you should leave something behind for us bros."

    Xiao Zhiyuan frown. "I don¡¯t have anything." He replied straightforwardly.

    "Aye, kiddo! You¡¯re dressed in such expensive clothes. You must have some cash on you. And if you don¡¯t we can just call your family to drop some money for us." A bulky man spoke with a mockingugh.

    "Let me leave!" Xiao Zhiyuan was getting annoyed by their uselessughing and cheers.

    "Oh, our young rich kid wants to leave? Sorry, but that¡¯s not possible for now," The masculine guy spoke again.

    Xiao Zhiyuan was a teenager in his rebellious phase, hearing all the sneers, he was furious. In his rage, he pushed the masculine man making stagger back a bit.

    "You! How dare you push me?" The masculine man red indignantly towards Xiao Zhiyuan and raised his clenched fist to punch Xiao Zhiyuan.

    Xiao Zhiyuan managed to dodge it with his nimble body. The man got more furious and raised his fist again but Xiao Zhiyuan again managed to dodge it. The third time, his group of people came up and held Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s arms not letting him escape or dodge.

    On the other hand, Xie Rong was quietly enjoying her solitude with her football when she heard somemotion around her and turned her face to see some people fighting. She was going to ignore themotion since it had nothing to do with her but then she saw how two people held a single rangy boy¡¯s arms and the third one was punching him.

    She frowned unpleasantly at the scene unfolding before her. She looked at her football at the ground and looked up at the masculine mannding a punch on the boy¡¯s face.

    With a smirk, Xie Rong raised the ball off the ground with her feet in a Touzani Pick-up style and kicked the ball in mid-air straight towards the masculine man.

    Before the masculine thug¡¯s punch couldnd on Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s face again, the football made contact with his face or rather with his nose. "Argh!" The man screamed in pain as he felt blood gushing out of his nose.

    Everyone was stunned for a moment before turning to see who threw the ball. But all they found was an empty field with dim lights illuminating it.

    "Are you looking for me?" They heard a strong and deep voice from behind and when they turned, Xie Rong delivered a punch straight to the jaw making the one who was holding Xiao Zhiyuan wail in pain.

    She looked at the other guy who was trembling with fear. Xie Rong looked at his hand on Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s arm and arched her brow. The man instantly left Xiao Zhiyuan and dropped to his knees begging, "Please let me go!" He pleaded. He could see the way both his partners were bleeding with single hits and he didn¡¯t want to be like them.

    Although he could see that the person who beat his partners was rather young, he had an imposing aura.

    Xie Rong snorted and said, "I don¡¯t do forgiveness. It¡¯s not my nature. But as the Confucius says, ¡¯A man who hasmitted a mistake and doesn¡¯t correct it, ismitting another mistake.¡¯ So, apologize to the boy, not me."

    The man promptly turned to Xiao Zhiyuan who was staring nkly at Xie Rong. Xiao Zhiyuan wasn¡¯t focused on the man groveling at his feet and said, "Just leave. I forgive you."

    The group of thugs ran at lightning speed. Xie Rong walked to her football at the side and with her heel, she did sweep to lift the ball and caught it in her hands.

    "You didn¡¯t have to save me," Xie Rong frowned when she heard Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s aloof and indifferent voice. She wasn¡¯t the kind of person to expect a ¡¯thank you¡¯ or anything for that matter. For her expectation were just another name of disappointment and she didn¡¯t like it.

    But she sure didn¡¯t think that the young boy will say something like that. She did a 180-degree turn to look at the young boy¡¯s face. He was tall, and slim with ink-ck eyes and shiny smooth hair falling to his shoulders. He looked poised, confident, and had a bit of haughty air to him.

    "I didn¡¯t do it for you in the first ce," Xie Rong replied in her usual deep voice which took Xiao Zhiyuan by surprise.

    Xiao Zhiyuan could barely see the face of the person beside him ¡¯cause of the ck cap and an oversized hoodie over his head. But when Xie Rong lifted her face, Xiao Zhiyuan was stunned. Those stark green eyes were like an enchantment that shackled him within them. And he forgot what he wanted to say.

    It took him a moment topose himself. "Then why did you beat them?" He inquired with a bit of curiosity while trying to look into Xie Rong¡¯s eyes again. But she had already turned to look away from him.

    "I did it because those guys were too loud for me. I like silence and they were being noisy." Xiao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t believe that the green-eyed person before him actually beat someone up just because they were loud for him? What kind of reason was that?

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhiyuan grumbled and rummaged out a cigarette pack from his pocket. He ced a cigarette between his thin lips and was about to light it up when a p at the back of his head make him spit the cigarette out.

    Xiao Zhiyuan furiously turned his face and red at Xie Rong but thetter was unfazed. While snatching the pack of cigarettes from his hand, she said, "Don¡¯t you know that smoking is injurious for health?"

    "What does that have to do with y-" Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s words were stuck in his throat when he saw Xie Rong biting a cigarette stick between her slightly red lips and lighting it up. He couldn¡¯t believe that person at all. "You just said that smoking is injurious for health. Why are you smoking then?" He questioned with an icy re.

    Xie Rong puffed out the rings of smoke in an elegant manner and replied, "It¡¯s injurious for you, not for me. I¡¯m a strong person. Besides, I¡¯m more injurious than this small cigarette."

    Xiao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t help but snort at her reply. "Strong but hypocrite. What injurious? Humph?" He remarked.

    Xie Rong¡¯s lips curved upward slightly in amusement. "Kiddo! I¡¯m an honest sinner. Not a lying or a judgemental hypocrite."

 Chapter 7 Are You A Saint?

    Xiao Zhiyuan stood side by side with Xie Rong for half an hour without even speaking. While Xie Rong was focused on juggling her ball with her feet while spinning herself, Xiao Zhiyuan was focused on following her movements.

    Xie Rong didn¡¯t give back the pack of cigarettes to Xiao Zhiyuan and he was not very happy about it. But he still couldn¡¯t shift his eyes away from that hoodie guy before him.

    "Do you have something to say, kiddo?" Xie Rong asked feeling his gaze on herself for a long time. The reason she asked the question was simple; she never liked it when people stared at her like that. And oddly enough, people loved to stare at her.

    Xiao Zhiyuan cleared his throat and pursed his lips in a conundrum. He had forgotten his cell phone at the hotel and didn¡¯t even know the way back. He pondered for a moment before speaking up, "Can you tell me the way to Imperial Grand Hotel from here?"

    Xie Rong caught the ball in her hand and pushed her hood and cap back revealing her head full of chocte brown hairplimenting her green eyes perfectly. With mixed breed features and golden brown skin tone, the person before Xiao Zhiyuan was an epitome of perfection.

    From a young age, Xiao Zhiyuan admired his own brother, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s beauty. He always believed that no-one could look more handsome than his brother. And that made him always look up to his brother as his god not just his hero.

    But today, the tall guy before him who had the same height as himself, had the perfect features one could possibly only wish for.

    "Why do you want to go to a hotel at this time?" Xie Rong questioned nonchntly.

    "Because I¡¯m living there." Xiao Zhiyuan answered matter-of-factly.

    "Then you don¡¯t know how to get to your temporary home?" Xie Rong asked giving Xiao Zhiyuan a weird look.

    Xiao Zhiyuan felt insulted but he still answered, "I¡¯ve onlye to China in the past month. I don¡¯t know a lot of things about here. I get confused with directions." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

    "I only came to China today. Aren¡¯t I at a bigger disadvantage then you?" Xie Rong retorted.

    "D*mn! Bro will kill me if I¡¯mte." Xiao Zhiyuan muttered under his breath but Xie Rong¡¯s sensitive ears picked up his words.

    "Someone¡¯s waiting for you at home?" Xie Rong didn¡¯t even figure out herself why she asked that question but it was already asked and she couldn¡¯t take it back.

    Xiao Zhiyuan gave her a weird look and said, "Doesn¡¯t everyone have someone waiting for them at home?"

    Xie Rong looked towards the starry sky and answered, "Just because every demon has a scar doesn¡¯t mean every home¡¯s door is ajar. Some houses are just bizarre."

    Xiao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t understand Xie Rong¡¯s meaning as he kept staring at her face thinking, ¡¯What a weird guy he is. But he¡¯s treacherously handsome like that Usui Takumi from theic book I read.¡¯

    Xie Rong sighed audibly and turned her face towards Xiao Zhiyuan. "You can follow me, I¡¯m going the same way." She took a pause and with a mischievous look added, "And I have a good sense of directions, unlike a certain someone."

    Xiao Zhiyuan red at her in disbelief and crossed his arms in front of his chest saying, "Humph! I don¡¯t need your help. I¡¯ll find my way myself."

    Xie Rong smiled at his childish attitude and didn¡¯t push him. "Suit yourself, kiddo!" With that said, she turned to leave.

    "I¡¯m not a kid!" Xiao Zhiyuan yelled at her leaving figure but she didn¡¯t turn around, only raised her hand and waved at him.

    Xiao Zhiyuan humphed and looked around. If he said that he was not sacred then he would be lying since he wasn¡¯t familiar with many things in this unfamiliar country. He bit his nails and looked at the back of Xie Rong¡¯s figure. He was prideful, he couldn¡¯t just go and say that he will follow him. Therefore, he decided to follow the ck figure inconspicuously while keeping a fair distance.

    Ahead of him, Xie Rong had already sensed Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s presence behind her because of two reasons. First, her keen ninja senses and second, Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯sck of subtlety.

    Xie Rong kept ying with her football while walking. From one foot to another the ball was moving as if she was a professional yer ying in a football match with a ball in her feet running to make a goal.

    As herplete focus was on football, she didn¡¯t realize that there were stairs ahead of her. And her football ended up rolling down and crashed on someone because she heard a, "What the hell?"

    She craned her neck and certainly, there was a tall man standing at the end of the stairs. "Great, now my cellphone is broke." She immediately ran down the stairs when she heard aint about a cellphone.

    She looked at the broken screen of the cellphone and scratched behind her ear thinking, ¡¯Whose face did I see in the morning that I¡¯m only breaking stuff? First, that expensive Ming dynasty Porcin set and now this!¡¯

    "I¡¯m really sorry! I didn¡¯t realize there were stairs and also, I didn¡¯t expect anyone to be here at this time." Xie Rong apologized sincerely. She might be ruthless but she always apologized when she felt like it was really her fault.

    Xiao Zhiren was looking for Xiao Zhiyuan for an hour in the nearby ces. He was about to call Qin Qu when a football crashed on his hands and his cell phone dropped with a thud shattering its screen. At Xie Rong¡¯s pleasantly deep voice, he looked up at the hoodie

    "That was your football?" Xie Rong heard the same familiar mellow voice making her lift her head up. Seeing the person before herself, she realized that he was the same person whose porcin set she broke earlier in the evening. She might haven¡¯t seen his face clearly before but she couldn¡¯t his noble and charming presence.

    In her thoughts, she didn¡¯t notice the look in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes who was standing before her. There was disbelief, confusion, and some indescribable feelings. He was stunned to see the face before him that made a certain person pop up in his mind.

    "It was my football and my mistake as well. So, I¡¯m really very sorry! I¡¯ll buy you a new one." Xie Rong continued to talk and her deep voice broke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s daze. He stared at her for a moment longer before shaking his head.

    "Ah... It¡¯s okay! You said it was a mistake. So, it¡¯s alright!" He replied making Xie Rong frown.

    "Are you a saint or something? Why are you being so understanding?" From Xie Rong¡¯s experience, she had only seen people act nice when they get benefitted in return. No-one can be selfless. At least she wasn¡¯t.

    Her best friend once called her selfless but he didn¡¯t know that she was doing everything just to have a friend by her side. Even that rtionship was not selfless.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised by her question but he calmly replied, "I¡¯m no saint and I don¡¯t want to be one. And I¡¯m in a hurry right now."

    "Hmm... So, if you aren¡¯t a saint, are you wearing a mask of one?" Xie Rong asked curiously.

 Chapter 8 A Lost Ghos

    Xiao Zhiren stared directly at her face as if saying, ¡¯Seriously? I just mentioned that I¡¯m in a hurry.¡¯

    As if understanding his look, Xie Rong said in English with her perfect British ent, "Fine! You can leave since you¡¯re also looking down on me."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled at her words. "Looking down at you? Where did thate from?"

    Xie Rong sighed audibly. "You don¡¯t want me topensate you because you think that I won¡¯t be able to afford it, right? Isn¡¯t that looking down on me? I really have bad luck today. Everyone is looking down at me." She was talking about the hotel employee who yelled at her earlier in the day.

    "I don¡¯t want you topensate because I really don¡¯t think that you did it intentionally. Not because I¡¯m looking down at you." Xiao Zhiren enunciated each word to clearly get it through the thick and weird head of the person before him.

    "And you think that people are nice in this world?" Xie Rong challenged fixing her cap on her head.

    "Some people are still nice in this world." Xiao Zhiren argued and thought why was he still wasting time with this person. Deep down he knew the answer to his own question but he didn¡¯t want to ept it.

    "You¡¯re weird!" Both Xie Rong and Xiao Zhiren remarked about each other simultaneously and looked at each other¡¯s eyes.

    "You both are acting weird," they heard a voice and turned to see Xiao Zhiyuan standing at the stairs.

    Xiao Zhiren immediately walked towards his younger brother. "Where were you? I¡¯ve been looking for you for more than an hour now. Do you know how worried I was?"

    Xiao Zhiyuan snorted. "If you¡¯d have been concerned then you wouldn¡¯t have talked to me like that."

    Xiao Zhiren held his brother¡¯s face in his hands saying, "Yuan, you¡¯re the only one I¡¯m left with. How can you even think that big brother doesn¡¯t have any concern for you?"

    Xiao Zhiyuan looked at his brother¡¯s worried look and added, "If you¡¯re concerned about me then let¡¯s go back home. I don¡¯t want to stay here in China. I don¡¯t like it here."

    Xiao Zhiren raked his hand through his ck hair and sighed heavily. "Little brother, I told you that I have a reason foring here."

    "Then tell me the reason for God¡¯s sake. I need to know it." Xiao Zhiyuan spoke exasperatedly.

    Xiao Zhiren hugged his little brother and said, "I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯ll tell you everything but now is not the right time. Give me some time, okay?"

    Watching from the sidelines, Xie Rong found this scene heartwarming. At this point, she missed her younger brother and a bitterness gushed into her heart.

    She turned around and walked away giving the brother¡¯s some privacy. As she strolled on the footpath, she lifted her head to look at the sky. The smog in the city had hidden the stars underneath it. There was only one thought running through her mind, ¡¯Hope you¡¯re doing well, little brother. You must have grown up in all these years. And I¡¯m such an unlucky brother of yours that I can¡¯t evene to see you.¡¯

    Being raised as a boy gave her a habit of addressing herself as ¡¯him¡¯ all the time. Oddly enough, in all her years away from her family, she never had the desire to even act like a girl. Being a guy was her nature now.

    Meanwhile, when she left both the brother¡¯s alone that¡¯s when Xiao Zhiren noticed Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s ck eye. "What happened to you? Did someone hurt you?" He immediately went into an overprotective brother mode.

    "Big bro, I¡¯m fine. I got into a scuffle but that green-eyed person saved me." When Xiao Zhiyuan talked about Xie Rong, both the brothers turned but didn¡¯t find her anywhere. "Where did he go now? He¡¯s really like a ghost." Xiao Zhiyuan remarked.

    While beside him Xiao Zhiren was lost in thoughts. Those green eyes got etched not just in his mind or heart but it seemed like those eyes found a way to his soul and made a home there. He thought what Xiao Zhiyuan said was right, that green-eyed person was like a ghost but... A lost one.

    Under the dark of night, he strolled into his life gently and softly. But he was surreal enough to kindle up those buried sad intangibles of grief and yearning in his heart.

    But that was just Xiao Zhiren¡¯s thoughts and he could have never imagined that he was right. Xie Rong¡¯s green eyes were actually a reminder to her that she was indeed a lost ghost; surreal enough to end up as just a fantasy.

    "Big bro!" Xiao Zhiyuan shook his big brother to break his dazed state.

    "Huh? What happened?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking at his younger brother¡¯s scowl.

    "Let¡¯s go back. I¡¯m hungry." He even rubbed his stomach making Xiao Zhiren chuckle. He ruffled Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s hair and led the way back towards the hotel.

    When they came back to the hotel suite, Xiao Zhiren ordered some food for Xiao Zhiyuan. After freshening up, Zhiyuan got busy ying games on his cellphone as he took a seat beside his brother.

    Xiao Zhiren was working on hisptop when the housekeeping came with the meal and along with the housekeeping, Qin Qu also entered the suite.

    Xiao Zhiren looked up at his assistant and long term friend, Qin Qu with an inquiring gaze. "Did you look into it?"

    "All I found out is that the person who broke that gift you originally brought was the one who sent that expensive chess-set." Qin Qu replied with a tired look.

    Xiao Zhiren frowned. "And who¡¯s that person?"

    "Now that¡¯s the tricky part, my dear friend. I couldn¡¯t find anything about him." Qin Qu was shaking his head in defeat.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s frown deepened. "Then don¡¯t waste time here. Go and look for that person."

    Qin Qu red at his friend and had the urge to hit him. It was after midnight and he was still ordering him to work. He sighed thinking, ¡¯It¡¯s my fault for having a friend like you.¡¯

 Chapter 9 Am I A Kid?

    In the following month, no matter how much Qin Qu tried to look for the person who reced the gift, he always ended at square one. And whenever he informed Xiao Zhiren about this matter, he would always re at Qin Qu saying, "Have you lost your value? Or perhaps you have forgotten how to work? Keep looking!"

    While Xiao Zhiren was busy in looking for Xie Rong, she was busy with establishing a Traditional Medicinal Hall in the mountainous region at the outskirts of the Imperial City. Ru specifically chose this ce because it was far away from the hustle and bustle of the city which she didn¡¯t like and also because this ce was going to be the cover for her base.

    The traditional medicinal hall was beautifully designed with bamboo wood. It had an ancient feel to it with the way courtyards and pavilions were set up. She was busy with drying the herbs in the courtyard when she felt the presence of someone behind her. "What is it?" She asked without looking.

    Although it wasn¡¯t the first time that Ru managed to feel her presence even when she didn¡¯t make a slight sound, it still surprised Adia. "They are here, Master!" She informed respectfully.

    "Okay! I¡¯ll be right there." Ru answered in a calm and yet authoritative tone.

    Adia bowed her head and walked back leaving Ru alone. Xie Rong strewed the yarrow flowers in her hand in the wicker basket to dry them and trudged inside the bamboo house. Behind the house, an open courtyard garden spread far. Leaving the medicinal building at the front, the rest of the courtyards were engulfed by tall forest trees. There was a cobblestone path at the side led to a pavilion.

    In the pavilion, she pressed a button and a passageway within the mountain opened up. It was brightly lit up and Xie Rong trudged in leisurely and reached an open area at the end designed as a courtyard.

    The entire courtyard was filled with people d in ck suits. They were standing on ceremony as none of them even dared to lift their eyes to look at her. Xie Rong stood right before them and looked at the people before her.

    "Do you all know what you¡¯re here for?" Ru¡¯s pleasant voice rang out in the huge courtyard. Originally, she had brought her best group of five people called, ck Mist with her. Now, she had called her Purple Rain group consisting of more than a hundred people to China.

    "Scatter around the country, I need you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. But don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re not here to seize the power." She took a pause as she observed the lowered heads before her and added, "Don¡¯t get into unnecessary fights. Be as low-key as you can possibly be. Do you get it?"

    "Yes, Master!" The sound reverberated in the courtyard built inside the cave.

    It was true that Ru had no n to establish any authority in China before, but now she had to have some power in Asia to counterattack the people who tried to assassinate her in Europe. She always was taught that enemy who hides in the dark to strike is the most vicious one since you can¡¯t see his moves at all. Therefore, she asked her group of people to keep an eye out to avoid any kind of surprise attacks.

    After passing her orders, she went out of the cave with only Adia and Wu Dishi following behind her.

    She halted in her step and both the people behind her also stopped. "Wu Dishi!"

    "Yes, Master!"

    "Your job is still the same. Keep looking over the Metrix Consortium. And Adia will assist you." Wu Dishi and Adia shared a look behind her and hesitated.

    "Master, since you¡¯re here in China, I was hoping for you to take your role as the chairman openly. You¡¯ve been working from behind the scenes for a long time now." Wu Dishi presented his point with utmost respect not daring to offend her in any way.

    "I¡¯m fine with working behind the scenes. Don¡¯t make it an issue. Take Adia and the other ck Mist members with you. We¡¯re expanding Metrix Consortium, you¡¯ll need help." Ru replied calmly.

    "But master, if I take all the members then who will be with you?" Wu Dishi asked.

    Ru turned to look at him and he instantly bowed down his head in fear. "Am I a kid who needs someone else¡¯ protection? Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the one who saved those members of ck Mist¡¯s, not the other way around."

    Wu Dishi gulped down his saliva with difficulty as the droplets of sweat rolled down his face profusely. "Sorry, master! I¡¯ll take everyone with me." With that, Wu Dishi left with Adia.

    Ru followed a certain path that opened up to a smallke. At one side of theke, there was a forest of white flowering Magnolia and Wisteria trees. Under the clear blue summer sky, the lush blooming white flowers depicted an aesthetic sight.

    Ru sat down on a rock at the edge of theke. She was immersed in observing the white water lilies when suddenly, she heard a yelp with a thud sound along with a horse¡¯ neigh.

    Spontaneously, Ru stood up and darted her eyes around. The sound hade from the white flowering forest, she frowned and kept her gaze at the trees. Suddenly, a ck caviar horse ran straight towards her.

    The horse was neighing loudly as it ran straight towards her with a scared look in his big eyes. Ru turned sideways and caught it¡¯s harness firmly in her hands. The ck caviar was moving his head from side to side in an attempt to escape from Ru. She calmly petted the horse¡¯ withers and lightly scratched a few times.

    "Be a good boy! Calm down!" She whispered near its ears in a soothing voice. As if understanding hermand, the horse stopped moving around and leaned closer to her. Ru smiled at him saying, "Aiyo! you¡¯re such a sweet horsey."

    "Thank God, he¡¯s okay!" Ru was busy talking to the horse when she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a man d in washed up jeans with a white short sleeve shirting towards her.

    As his gaze fell on Ru, he stopped. He remembered those green eyes perfectly well. "Howe you¡¯re here?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking straight into her eyes.

    "Do we know each other?" Ru remembered him not just from his face but also from his voice that was distinct from others. But she still pretended as if she had forgotten about him. Before Xiao Zhiren could open his mouth to speak, Ru¡¯s eyes fell on the blood dripping down his knee. "You¡¯re injured." She remarked looking at the bleeding knee.

    "Why is it that something bad always happens when you and Ie across each other?" Ru shook her head as she thought how she first broke his gift, then on the second meeting, she broke his cellphone. And today, although it wasn¡¯t her fault, she still was there when he got injured.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s lips curled up pleasantly as he said, "So, you do remember me?"

    Ru bit her tongue as she just realized that she had spoiled her own cover. Thinking of something, she spoke, "Well, how can I forget Mr. Saint?"

    Her cheeky smile and the word, ¡¯saint¡¯ made Xiao Zhiren scowl.

 Chapter 10 Bad Luck Or Sad Luck

    Xiao Zhiren gritted his teeth but tried to hide his frustration. "I told you that I¡¯m not a saint."

    Ru¡¯s brows rose a bit in mirth. His taut muscles under the white cotton shirt made him appear casual and yet elegant. But Ru was looking with merriment at him because his exquisite face had gone ck when she called him a ¡¯saint¡¯.

    "Take a seat and let me have a look at your wound," Ru offered as she simpered.

    "It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll see a doctor after getting back to the equestrian club." He had no intention of joining Qin Qu to the equestrian club but in the end, he had to listen to his best friend. Everything was fine when he started riding the ck caviar but suddenly a rabbit came in his way and the horse was spooked.

    After that, Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t get control over the horse no matter how much he tried. He fell from the horse in his attempt to calm the horse.

    "It¡¯s better to treat the wound as soon as possible. Let me just have a look." Ru pushed him on the rock by the side of theke before Xiao Zhiren could even argue.

    He grimaced as Ru lifted his jeans up to expose his kneepletely. She took some water from theke to clean his wound before, pulling out a small packet from her sleeve. As she sprinkled the powdery substance on his wound, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t wince at all. Xie Rong was quite impressed since she knew better how much that anti-inmmatory medicine burned.

    "Oh, our Mr. Saint is actually quite brave." She regarded with attention.

    Xiao Zhiren scowled saying, "Oi! Can¡¯t you stop calling me Mr. Saint?"

    "I don¡¯t know your name, what else am I supposed to call you?" Ru argued as she pulled out a sanitized bandage out of her pocket.

    "Xiao Zhiren..." He answered with a straight face but Ruughed out loud making him clench his jaw.

    "So, you¡¯re really a saint?" Ru said in between her fit of augh. "I mean your name¡¯s literal meaning is actually a saint. Zhiren... A Saint." She further said in amusement.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face contorted at her response. Ru wrapped the bandage around his knee in silence. As she focused on work, the teasing smile on her face had vanished. When Xiao Zhiren saw her somber look, he was lost in deep thought.

    He actually wanted to know why the ¡¯young man¡¯ before him was carrying medicine and bandage with ¡¯him¡¯ but ¡¯his¡¯ tranquil face made Xiao Zhiren forget all about it.

    "Why did you say that something bad happens whenever we meet?" Xiao Zhiren questioned looking straight into her eyes.

    Ru¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as she answered, "I broke your cellphonest time and this time, you got injured."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled as he retorted, "That could only mean that we are running down bad luck."

    Ru stared into his ink ck orbs and said, "No, it means you and I share bad luck."

    Xiao Zhiren was a bit taken aback by her serious look and words. "Or perhaps, we share sad luck."

    Ru¡¯s thin lips slightly uplifted in a sour smile as she thought, ¡¯Sharing sad luck is worse than the bad one.¡¯ She didn¡¯t speak her thoughts out and stood up after wrapping the bandage. "This is mypensation for breaking your phonest time."

    Xiao Zhiren looked down at the neatly wrapped bandage and said, "You saved my brotherst time. That was enoughpensation."

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she said, "You mean that haughty, snobby, and a bit childish kiddo?" Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips at the way she described his younger brother but since he couldn¡¯t argue, he nodded. "Well, it wasn¡¯t a big deal, Mr. Saint."

    "Seriously?" Xiao Zhiren red at the stubborn ¡¯young man¡¯ before him.

    Ru raised her hands in surrender as she said, "Fine, I won¡¯t say it anymore." ¡¯For now.¡¯ She left thest part to herself.

    "Do you like topensate or something?" Xiao Zhiren questioned gazing at the side of ¡¯his¡¯ face. "We can get even in the future. All our life is ahead of us."

    "When you were leaving the house today, did you think that this would happen with you?" Xiao Zhiren furrowed his brows and shook his head in response. "If you can¡¯t even guarantee your next breath then how can you say that we have all our life ahead of us."

    She stayed quiet for a minute before she went on, "Saying that we have all our life ahead of us is almost like convincing ourselves with the illusions of lies. Always remember, life doesn¡¯t have a habit of giving second chances."

    Ru patted the horse that was grazing beside them and intended to leave when she heard his voice again, "Oi! What should I call you?"

    Ru didn¡¯t turn around but her voice rang out, "You can call me whatever you like." This voice was low, pleasant and deep.

    But the words stunned Xiao Zhiren to his spot. As another distant voice rang in his mind, "What should I call you?" He had asked back then.

    "You can call me whatever you like." The feminine voice was feeble and hoarse with a tinge of loneliness and emptiness.

    Both the voices ovepped in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind as he stood frozen at his spot. When he came around, Ru was nowhere in sight. He darted his eyes all around but the ¡¯young man¡¯ had vanished into thin air.

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his head and looked at the clear blue sky as he whispered, "Then I¡¯ll call you Bellissimo.[1] This name suite you perfectly. You¡¯re not just handsome, you really have a lovely soul." He smiled to himself.

    Xiao Zhiren always believed that it was rare in this age for people to ept their mistakes and actually apologize for it as well. But Ru made him realize that those people might be rare, but they still existed.

    [1] Bellissimo ¨C Italian for lovely if he has a lovely spirit, soul, or is just in handsome.

 Chapter 11 Serendipity & Destiny

    "Big brother, when are you getting me a car?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked his elder brother over breakfast.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pushed the te of scrambled eggs towards him saying, "Didn¡¯t I already got a car for you?"

    Since Xiao Zhi-Yuan was the most important person in his life, Xiao Zhi-Ren always fulfilled his wishes before his own. To look for a perfect house, Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed at the Imperial Grand hotel for a month. Finally, he found an apartment in a residential building.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chose a very peaceful and beautiful environment. The residential area was in the suburbs of the Imperial City with lush green gardens surrounding it. The duplex apartment was on the ground floor of the building.

    "Big brother, you bought a Bugatti Chiron for me. I want a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport." Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied indifferently. Xiao Zhi-Ren was familiar with his younger brother¡¯s aloof and cold nature, hence he didn¡¯t mind the way he spoke.

    He sighed and looked at Qin Qu who was eating with them. "Qu, order Bugatti Veyron Super Sport for Yuan."

    Qin Qu darted his eyes between the pr opposite brothers before him. Elder one was carefree, poetic, fun loving, and yet mature while the younger one was aloof, cold, indifferent, and yet childish. Being Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s best friend, Qin Qu knew that he was a verypromising kind of person who always adjusted himself with time and people.

    Qin Qu had seen the way Xiao Zhi-Ren raised Xiao Zhi-Yuan all alone in the past decade. Perhaps that¡¯s why he was overprotective of his younger brother.

    "Fine! I¡¯ll ce an order for it." Qin Qu replied in a dull tone.

    "Oh, big brother!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan called his brother to get his attention, "Are you going to transfer all the business from America to here?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gazed at his brother¡¯s inquiring eyes and replied, "Nope!" he popped the ¡¯p¡¯ unnecessarily. "SnapVise Technologies will work exactly as it¡¯d been. We¡¯re just expanding our business to Asian Market."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan scoffed. "Don¡¯t you think that the European market has more potential?"

    "I have my reasons for avoiding the European market." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke calmly taking a bite of his Crepe.

    "Name one reason," Xiao Zhi-Yuan challenged.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren ced his fork and knife in the te without making a sound and said, "Lord Alev Knight!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s brows creased up. "You asked for a reason. I gave you one."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan fell into thought, ¡¯I need to see who this Lord Alev Knight is. And what power does he have?¡¯ He ate the rest of breakfast in silence.

    After breakfast, Xiao Zhi-Ren personally came to drop his younger brother to high school. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was reluctant but he still had to leave for school. Knowing his younger brother, Xiao Zhi-Ren could tell why he was so reluctant, he wasn¡¯t able to adjust in this new study system and that too when he was already a senior in high school.

    "You¡¯re spoiling him!" Qin Qumented while driving the car.

    "I don¡¯t have anyone else to spoil." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave the same answer as he always did.

    Qin Qu shook his head, his face a mixture of crestfallen and thwart while he reminded Xiao Zhi-Ren, "Don¡¯t forget, you have to attend a party this evening." In response, Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head in acknowledgment but didn¡¯t speak.

    He never liked socializing with people. It wasn¡¯t his cup of tea. Although he was known as an amiable and insouciant kind of a person, he wasn¡¯t an extrovert.

    In the evening when Xiao Zhi-Ren came to the party hall, the chattering and music made him scrunch up his face. "Don¡¯t make that face! We need connections in Asia. Parties are a good way forworking." Hearing Qin Qu¡¯s lecture, Xiao Zhi-Ren had the urge to tape his mouth.

    Qin Qu patiently and pleasantly introduced Xiao Zhi-Ren to every important person in the party. Xiao Zhi-Ren was known as the eye-candy in America, he had several girls running around for his attention anding to China was no better, if not worse.

    Several girls came up to him and tried to strike a conversation. Xiao Zhi-Ren being the polite one managed to make small talk with them but the strong stench of their perfumes made him want to puke.

    With much effort, he managed to escape from the hall and entered the back garden for a breather. He looked heavenwards and closed his eyes briefly as he thought, ¡¯Why are girls so damn scary?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t allergic to girls, but he had developed a strange habit of keeping his distance from the opposite sex after his mother died.

    He opened his eyes as he heard a soft whisper from behind the shrubs. "Couldn¡¯t you have taught me how to cry?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows knitted together.

    He took a few steps and turned to look at the person who was talking. Behind the shrubs, at a far corner on a wooden bench, anky figure was reclining with both arms sprawled out and legs wide apart. The posture was bothnguid and imposing.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren became motionless as he stared at those green twinkling eyes gazing at the sky. The ¡¯young man¡¯ on the bench puffed out rings of smoke and that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi-Ren noticed a thin stick of cigarette between ¡¯his¡¯ fingers.

    He didn¡¯t want to make his presence known at all. He wanted to silently leave and yet his feet didn¡¯t listen to him. That ¡¯young man¡¯ reminded him of someone and it made him want to go closer to ¡¯him¡¯.

    "I never thought I¡¯d see you here," Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke up making Ru turn her face a bit in his direction. Under the dim lights, she could see his exquisite smiling face which was warmer than the sun.

    Ru gave him a once over before saying, "You seem to be everywhere."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled softly taking Ru by surprise. His chuckle was low, soft but mesmerizing. Then she heard his even more charismatic voice,

    "Here we meet under the semnce of serendipity,

    And yet again it feels like the connection is made befittingly."

    "Poetic much?" Ru asked staring straight into his ink-ck eyes.

    "Why? Didn¡¯t you like it?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned taking a seat beside her on the wooden bench. Looking into her green eyes, he seemed to have lost himself yet again.

    "There is no such thing as coincidences," Ru spoke staring at the burning cigarette in her hand.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled as he said, "No, there is only fate! Because using a small word like ¡¯coincidence¡¯ to describe such huge signs will be humiliating for fate."

 Chapter 12 Rejoicing In Tears

    Sitting under the tar-ck sky, Ru nced heavenwards to see therge clouds gathering in the sky. The postcard-perfect night sky changed its color and began to darken into gravel-grey.

    The soft wind blew like whispering softly. Xiao Zhi-Ren nced at the side of her face intently.

    "Xiao Zhi-Ren!" Qin Qu was calling out his name making Xiao Zhi-Ren groan.

    He immediately stood up and said, "He¡¯s really annoying. I¡¯ll see you around." With that, he turned around the shrubs and went to Qin Qu¡¯s side.

    "Stop shouting! I¡¯m right here," Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke abrasively making Qin Qu narrow his eyes at him.

    "I told you to make some connections. Why are you hiding here?" Qin Qu asked acrimoniously.

    "I can make connections if only the hyenas inside leave me alone." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied matter-of-factly. Qin Qu pursed his lips at the way Xiao Zhi-Ren addressed thedies from aristocratic families as ¡¯hyenas¡¯.

    Qin Qu shook his head and took Xiao Zhi-Ren inside the party hall with himself.

    The moment Xiao Zhi-Ren walked away from Ru, a figure d in ck appeared before her and paid his respect before standing upright with his head lowered in respect. "Master!" He was a part of the ck Mist group and held Ru in the same regards as everyone else in the group.

    Ru looked at him and asked, "What is it, Conor?"

    The man in ck, Conor replied in his polished Irish ent, "There is some movement at the Feng Bar."

    Ru rubbed her bottom lip and listened to Conor¡¯s detailed report. "Go back to Wu Dishi. I¡¯ll look into that bar myself." Conor bowed his head and vanished in the dark of night.

    After a moment of piercing silence, a droplet of rain fell on her cheek. And then plenty of other droplets followed it in azy manner. The rain poured down the sky hesitantly and politely. It was ratherforting.

    The whispering hum in the wind along with the pitter-patter of the rain and the soft maracas that is the sound of grass, she felt content and tranquility spread on her face.

    She didn¡¯t move and neither did she had any intention of finding shelter. She was a pluviophile.[1] She always felt a strange peacefulness listening to the rain¡¯s sound. The rain wasn¡¯t just a piece of music that she listened to, it was an emotion she could feel deeply.

    The soothing sound of rain made her lips curve upward in an enchanting smile.

    "She sat under the drizzle,

    alone with a ss of swizzle.

    Her heart ran amok in dismissal,

    and yet she kept her wounds not so superficial..."

    Suddenly a memory gushed into her mind. "Young master Ru, who locked you here?" Her grand master opened the door of the storeroom and asked the young girl of 8 years.

    She was sitting in a corner hugging her knees. Slowly, she lifted her head and gazed at the aged face. "n Mistress locked me inside," Ru spoke in a wronged tone as she informed him how her own mother had locked her up.

    Grandmaster stroked her hair asking, "And why did she do it?"

    "Because I wanted to go out with other boys to y in the rain." She rubbed her nose annoyingly.

    Her grand master smiled affectionately at her and held her hand. He brought her out of the small room and walked towards the back side of the n houses. He brought her to an isted courtyard and said, "Young master, next time when you want to go out in rain,e to this ce but all alone."

    "But why can¡¯t I go out with other boys?" She asked blinking her eyes.

    "Because you¡¯re different," the reply came.

    "How am I different?" she asked while scowling.

    "Because you are the young master of our n. You¡¯ll be the next n leader. It¡¯s not suitable for you to be so open with everyone else." Grandmaster answered cleverly hiding the fact that she¡¯s a ¡¯girl¡¯ and that¡¯s why she¡¯s not allowed to hang around boys in the rain.

    But being a young girl, she actually believed him and distanced herself from everyone. And became the unapproachable, untouchable and formidable young master Ru of the n.

    Her reminiscing was broken when she didn¡¯t feel the raindrops falling on her face. She opened her eyes to see an umbre covering her. Ru tilted her head and saw Xiao Zhi-Ren standing beside her with an umbre to shield her. His chiseled lips curved into a charming smile and took her by surprise.

    In her life, she had never been shielded neither from a wielding sword nor a pouring rain. She felt strange at her heart as she raised her brow at him inquiringly and her green eyes gazed at him. As if asking, "Why?"

    "Sitting here all alone, you¡¯re reminding of a lonely person." He started as he gazed at the puddles of water. "I feel like you¡¯re trying to make this rain touch you to make you feel less lonely."

    When he had seen the rain outside the window, he had a feeling that the ¡¯young man¡¯ he met would still be here. Xiao Zhi-Ren took an umbre and came out only to find ¡¯him¡¯ smiling under the rain. But that smile reminded him of his favorite quote of John Green, ¡¯If people were rain, then I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren felt like the smile of the ¡¯young man¡¯ before him, was akin to a silent hurricane. But the only difference was ¡¯his¡¯ silent storm was only destroying ¡¯himself¡¯.

    "If you¡¯ll keep acting saintly, I can only call you Mr. Saint," Ru remarked with a poker-face.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren grimaced and she added, "Drop that umbre. We already hide behind our own tears, at least we shouldn¡¯t hide from heaven¡¯s tears."

    "You think the sky is crying?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked utterly intrigued by her statement.

    "Yes, it¡¯s crying," she answered nkly.

    "Why?" he asked further.

    "Because of its unrequited love for Earth." Xiao Zhi-Ren stared her with mouth agape. "Have you noticed how after every heat wave, raines pouring down?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s frown loosened up a bit. "Seeing the Earth burn up with heat, the sky feels hurt and its pain turns into tears and fall upon us."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was bewildered at her way of thinking. He heard her scoff as she went on, "Oddly, because of our human nature, we rejoice in the tears of the sky as we rejoice in others misery."

    "Have you been told that you¡¯re weird?" Xiao Zhi-Ren whispered leaning closer to her.

    Ru stood up from the bench saying, "I¡¯ve been told." With that, she waved him bye and trudged towards the darker part of the garden.

    [1] "Pluviophile"; a lover of rain. someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

 Chapter 13 A Fun Nigh

    "Who¡¯s that?" Qin Qu came beside Xiao Zhi-Ren as he was looking in the direction where Ru was walking to.

    "Bellissimo," Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without even thinking.

    Qin Qu knitted his brows and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren. "What¡¯s with that look in your eyes?" Qin Qu had noticed the way Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes held the feeling of hope and an immense tenderness.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed quiet for so long that Qin Qu thought he wouldn¡¯t answer anymore. But he did, "That young man reminds me of... her."

    Qin Qu¡¯s eyes shed as he asked, "Her? As in, the girl you¡¯d been looking for the past decade?" Qin Qu pped the back of his head and went on, "Have you lost your mind?" Xiao Zhi-Ren scowled at his assistant/best friend. "You¡¯re trying to look for a long lost girl of your obsession in a MAN? How ridiculous can you possibly be?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that Qin Qu was right. He wasn¡¯t supposed to look for her in the ¡¯green-eyed man¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t help but notice the simrities. And those uncanny simrities pulled him towards that ¡¯man¡¯. He was really being ridiculous but what could he do when after looking for so long, he still had no clue where had she vanished to.

    "His face holds the same look of emptiness that she had." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke softly as the memory of a wan and sallow slender figure invaded his mind.

    He remembered the moment heid eyes on her lonely figure sitting on a wheelchair. She had a bandage wrapped around her eyes obstructing him from seeing her face clearly but he would forget never that beautiful ck mole right above the edge of her upper lip.

    Today, thinking back to that time, he could only say,

    "And I read her soul through her face¡¯ mirror,

    but I forgot to keep the image in my heart clearer."

    Because no matter what he couldn¡¯t seem to decide whether what he saw on her face was the truth or just an illusion? And he knew that the ¡¯young man¡¯ he met coincidently time and again didn¡¯t have the same mole as her but he had the same way of talking. So what if the voice was different?

    His trance broke when he heard Qin Qu¡¯s voice again.

    "Then focus on other stuff. Like, have you seen the way he walks? I only saw it from the back but even I can¡¯t deny that his manners spoke volumes of eloquence and aristocracy." He ruefully patted Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s shoulder saying, "I know that you miss that girl a lot but Zhi-Ren, you can¡¯t just look for her in someone else. Especially not in a man!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren sighed heavily and nodded his head. He had also observed how the ¡¯young man¡¯ seemed to be not just well-educated but also well-mannered. This kind of mannerism can¡¯t just be learned, theye with genes, naturally. He shook his head to himself thinking, ¡¯Qu is right. I should stop trying to get close to that man just because he reminds me of her. If anything I should be avoiding him since he reminds me of her.¡¯ With that conviction, he stood under the rain for a while longer before leaving along with Qin Qu.

    In the next few days, Ru had personally been visiting Feng Bar under the disguise of an ordinary bartender. In all her time at the bar, she had already observed plenty of things and tonight, she knew that a big deal was going to be cracked right in this seemingly low-ss bar.

    "Hey, give me a tequ cocktail," Ru heard a familiar voice making her turn to see the teenage boy who had just taken a seat on the stool before the counter.

    "Are you even allowed to drink?" She asked looking at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s school uniform.

    "Does that concern you? Your job is to serve me," Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke snidely and lifted his eyes from the tablet in his hand to look at Ru¡¯s familiar eyes. For a moment, he was stuck. "It¡¯s you!" He managed to breath out.

    Today, Ru was neither wearing a cap nor a hood which left room for Xiao Zhi-Yuan to see her head full of thick chocte brown hair. Ru was donning simple ck jeans with a ck button-up shirt which was the requirements for working in this bar.

    After getting out of the daze, Xiao Zhi-Yuanmented, "Never took you for a bartender."

    "Why not?" Ru asked seemingly interested in knowing about his answer.

    "Well... You don¡¯t have that kind of aura or feel to you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke with hesitation.

    "What kind of aura do I have?" Her voice was akin to melting honey making Xiao Zhi-Yuan want to pour his heart out.

    "You seem strong, confident. You have a feeling of being mysterious, powerful, and all that."

    "Look at you being so observing," Ru¡¯s lips curled a bit upward in an almost imperceptible way.

    "Can I get my cocktail now," Xiao Zhi-Yuan avoided looking into ¡¯his¡¯ piercing green eyes afraid that they might make him show his real self.

    "Sure, you will," Ru spoke with a smirk and turned around to get busy.

    When Ru slid a cocktail ss before him, Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t notice anything amiss since the drink was colorless. But when he took a single sip, his mouth felt like burning. As the drink passed through his throat, his body was set ame.

    Instead of making him a simple and boring tequ cocktail, Ru had added the twist of reposado tequ making it into a ¡¯Sweaty Hipster Cocktail¡¯. The cocktail was famous for its spicy burning taste making it one of the spiciest cocktails. Adults might not be able to handle the drink much less an eighteen-year-old.

    He opened his mouth to breathe out the hot air as his eyes sting. He red at Ru who was pleased with his reaction. "What¡¯s that?" He spat out.

    "It¡¯s a cocktail," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "Of course, if you didn¡¯t like this one, I can make you a Bloody Maria. I¡¯m quite skilled."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan might not know what ¡¯Bloody Maria¡¯ was but he figured it wasn¡¯t anything better than what he had tasted. "You¡¯re mean and annoying!" His words were sharp as swords but Ru was unfazed.

    Her expression only shifted when she saw a group of people entering a private room in the back. She held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cor from over the counter and pulled him towards herself saying, "I have a hundred more ways to make your soul burn to ashes. So, I¡¯m warning you, if you don¡¯t want to taste what does it feel like burning in mes, leave this bar. NOW!" Her voice¡¯s texture was still low and deep but it held an edge of a silent storm within it which scared Xiao Zhi-Yuan for some reason.

    Although he was one of those rebellious kids who didn¡¯t like listening to others, he still listened to her and picked his school bag to leave.

    Ru turned to look at the closed door of the private room and picked up her cap to wear. After that, she rubbed her hands together while her eyes shone with a strange light. "It surely will be a fun night." She said to herself and trudged towards the private room.

 Chapter 14 Plain Brutal

    There was a group of five people keeping watch outside the private room and when Ru came up to them, they immediately stood in her way stopping her from going inside.

    Ru rolled her eyes at them and pretended to leave. But her half-turned body moved in a nimble way as she raised her hand and delivered a ¡¯phoenix eye¡¯[1] punch on one of theckey¡¯s temple. Since the punch was precisely at the temple which happens to be the thinnest part of the cranium, theckey¡¯s bulky body fell down; lifelessly.

    The others raised their fists to punch her but Ru rolled around a bit and struck with the heal of her hand on another one¡¯s forehead making him fall down with a ¡¯thud¡¯. Before others could make sense of her moves, she jabbed her two fingers behind their corbone and forced them to the ground.

    As the group of five menid unconscious in her feet, she dusted off her hands and said, "Well, this wasn¡¯t fun at all."

    It couldn¡¯t have been fun for someone like her who had been involved with all kinds of martial arts since she was only four. And the moves she used on these men were used by the most basic martial art practitioner. Although the moves seemed simple, a bit of carelessness could have killed anyone. But Ru only focused on making them unconscious, she wasn¡¯t nning on killing.

    After the men were out of her way, shenguidly opened the door of the private room and took long but steady steps as if walking in her own backyard.

    There were only four men inside; two were the small time mafia bosses while the other two were theirckeys. "Who are you? And who allowed you to walk in?" Both of theckeys came up to her. One of them held her cor while the other red with his burning gaze.

    Ru tilted her face and only stared at the hand that was holding her cor. In half a beat of time, her hand held that ignorant hand on her cor and twisted it in a way that a bone cracking sound was heard rming everyone in the room.

    "Ahhhh!" The man whose hand was crushed wailed in anguish.

    Both mafia bosses stood up from the couch and looked at Ru in a different light. Their original thought was that the young man was simply in the wrong room but now, they felt a feeling of foreboding seeping in their hearts.

    "You! Don¡¯t you dare move!" The otherckey pulled out a gun and pointed at Ru¡¯s head.

    Her eyes shed as theckey heard her low voice, "Bad move!" Her words had just fallen when her hand lifted to grab his wrist.

    "BANG!"

    In his moment of a hurry, the man pulled the trigger but Ru had already turned to a side to dodge it. She had expected that. But before he could get another chance to pull the trigger, Ru struck the crevice of his forearm with her thumb making him disabled to even lift his hand. She took the gun and looked at the mafia bosses staring at her with anger.

    "Our men are surrounding this bar, you won¡¯t be able to leave." One of them tried to scare her with his threat.

    Ru scratched her forehead with the muzzle of the gun and took slow steps towards them. "I¡¯ve never met someone who could keep me from leaving. If I want to leave, no-one can get in my way." Her pleasant voice sounded like ticking time bomb scaring them out of their wits.

    They heard some crashing sounds and then a group of five people d inplete ck walked inside in an orderly manner. They were all part of the ck Mist squad. "Master, we¡¯ve settled the ones outside." One of the five spoke with respect.

    "Mhmm..." Ru gave a response.

    "Don¡¯t you know who we are? We have strong backers. You can¡¯t possibly touch us." The other mafia boss tried to sound brave as he threatened her.

    Ru took off her cap and threw it backward. Jack from the ¡¯ck Mist¡¯ caught it and held it like a precious pearl in his hands. Ru lifted her green eyes and outstared the one who had just spoken. She pointed the muzzle of the gun in her hand at his forehead making him freeze at his spot.

    With a ¡¯bang¡¯, the gun went off and the man fell on the couch behind him with his eyes wide open. Even though, the bullet hadn¡¯t even grazed him. It just passed from right beside his ear.

    "Ay, I don¡¯t like these toys," Ru remarked and with both hands opened the whole gun dropping its pieces like sand. She lifted her beautiful green eyes making that man feel haunted and said, "Don¡¯t think that I missed. I never miss my target unless I want to."

    Both men before her gulped down the saliva stuck in their throats with much difficulty. "Why- Why do you want to take our lives?" They asked pitifully.

    Ru titled her head to side saying, "Confucious said, ¡¯If your face is ugly, you can¡¯t me the mirror.¡¯ Since you both have threatened me repeatedly then how can you me me for treating you the same way?"

    Ru moved around the table in the middle and sat on it facing both men huddled on the couch. "Now, let¡¯s talk about that," she pointed at the trunk ced inconspicuously in the corner.

    "Wha-What about it?" One of them licked his lips as he questioned.

    Ru waved her hand and the members of ck Mist opened the trunk and brought an AR-15 towards her. Ru took it from Adia¡¯s hand and looked at the men before her with a practiced sweet smile. "This gun shouldn¡¯t be here. So, my question is simple. Who¡¯s managing to smuggle the arms in Asia?"

    "We- We don¡¯t know him!" They decided to keep their mouths shut since they didn¡¯t know the power of the one before them but they knew the power of the one behind this smuggling deals.

    "Well, this is certainly annoying." Ru turned to the ck Mist Squad and said, "Take them away and make sure to extract something out of them." She paused to stare all of them down before adding, "And don¡¯t you dare disappoint me as you did with those assassins. Otherwise, I¡¯ll demote you all to the Yellow Bonesaw Squad."

    The ck Mist Squad¡¯s people gulped down at the reminder of Yellow Bonesaw Squad. It was the only squad that had the worst kind of training schedule and activities. The worst part was that Yellow Bonesaw Squad was at the lowest of the hierarchy while their ck Mist was at the top. That demotion was a bit brutal. Wait! It was in brutal.

    "We won¡¯t disappoint you, Master!" All of them spoke with conviction and took hold of the mafia bosses and dragged them along with themselves. Both the old bosses yelled and screamed at Ru. "You can¡¯t do this to us. What have we done to you?"

    Ru simply replied with another phrase from the Confucious, "Life is an echo, what you send outes back." They couldn¡¯t possibly me her when they had been spreading the brutality themselves.

    Ru rubbed the tip of her nose and looked around at the mess making her feel ufortable. She stood up and with the same ease left the bar.

    What she didn¡¯t know was that there was a certain teenager hiding in a booth who had watched everything that had transpired in the bar. His eyes were shining like twinkling stars in the dark night.

    [1] "Phoenix Eye Punch": It involves extending the index finger while raising your fist.

 Chapter 15 Big Bear

    Earlier, when Ru warned Xiao Zhi-Yuan to leave the bar, he really left. But he coincidently forgot his tablet inside. And when he came back to collect it, he heard some muffled voices and turned a corner to see Ru striking the tandem of five men unconscious with a single strike.

    He was stunned and couldn¡¯t shift his eyes away from the scene that yed out before him. It felt like a scene of a wuxia novel ying out with all those martial arts moves. He could literally picture Ru in long-sleeved robes with a sleek sword in hand and long hairs tied in a high ponytail like a rebel and yet noble young master of a martial arts family. Okay! He was overly imaginative! But he couldn¡¯t help it with the scenes before him.

    When Ru walked inside the private room, she didn¡¯t bother to close the door and that allowed Xiao Zhi-Yuan to peek inside but hearing some strange sounds, he decided to hide under a table in an inconspicuous booth.

    He couldn¡¯t hear anything but he could tell that the conversation was intense as for the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯, Xiao Zhi-Yuan had already assumed ¡¯him¡¯ to be some formidable personality. Because the way those people in ck treated ¡¯him¡¯, showed that ¡¯he¡¯ wasn¡¯t anyone to be messed with.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes followed Ru¡¯s disappearing figure until she was out of his sight. He stood rooted at his spot deeply immersed in his thoughts.

    In a trance, he took a cab back home.

    "Ahan, Yuan! Finally, you¡¯re back. I was waiting for you, let¡¯s have dinner." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke a bit cheerfully when he saw his younger brother entering through the main door.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t respond in any way. He kept walking straight to his room in a dazed state.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Qin Qu shared a look and frowned. "Earth to Caramelo!" Xiao Zhi-Ren waved his hand before Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes. He intentionally used ¡¯Caramelo¡¯ to call his younger brother because he knew how much he hated this nickname. The reason was very simple, Caramelo literally meant ¡¯as sweet as candy¡¯ in Spanish and Xiao Zhi-Yuan was anything but sweet. Therefore, it was more of a sarcastic nickname for him.

    "I¡¯m not hungry!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan finally spoke in an animated tone and pushed his brother away before walking to his own room.

    Behind him, both best friends, Xiao Zhi-Ren and Qin Qu shared another look of shock. "Did he just give zero response on being called ¡¯Caramelo¡¯?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned his best friend who could only nod. "Is he sick or something?" He questioned again and Qin Qu only shrugged in reply. They were in disbelief but they couldn¡¯t push him for an answer. So, they decided to eat dinner without him.

    After dinner, Xiao Zhi-Ren went to his study and turned on hisputer with multiple monitor screens. Being the Chief Executive Officer of SnapVise Technologies, he had to multi-task a lot. But tonight, his purpose was not to work but rather to do what he always loved to do; hacking.

    His mother always left him alone at home with his younger brother because she had to work a lot. And since he had no interest in tv, he shifted his attention towards theputers. He had won several hackingpetitions by the time he entered high school but after his mother¡¯s death, Xiao Zhi-Ren only allowed himself to hack in secret.

    Tonight his reason for turning to hack, was apetition held by the ck Cybe. Thepetition was called, "Snatch The g & Smash The Net". So, thepetition¡¯s working was as such:

    There were a total of 4 levels in thepetition.

    About 200 hackers from around the globe were registered for thepetition under their code names.

    On the first level, all the hackers had to simply go through a ¡¯Cyber Security Challenge¡¯ and the fastest 100 were the only ones who could move on to the next level.

    On the second level, each hacker had a code of virus installed in their ownputers which they had created themselves. Then they were paired as opponents randomly. After being paired, they had to attack the other person with their own virus known as ¡¯g¡¯ while they had to make sure that nobody manages to break through their own defenses and nts their viruses.

    The remaining 50 hackers had to battle it out with themselves again in the next round but the twist was that their viruses were now supposed to be concealed with cryptography. And the opponent had to look for that virus and try to break it. After this attack and defensepetition, thest round begins. In this, the hackers would have to work on the clock. The hacker who would manage to break all defenses in the minimum time would be victorious.

    The server to hack was chosen by the ck Cybe hosts, thesepanies liked to challenge their own security to see the ws that could be fixed.

    At precisely 12, thepetition began. The first three rounds were akin to a joke for Xiao Zhi-Ren and he even began to wonder why had he bothered to even enter in thispetition. His own virus was strong enough to not even worry about defending while he focused on just attacking his opponents.

    On thest round, he had to be alert. His slender and long fingers ran over the white keyboard as if flying over a piano. His every movement was smooth and seemed carefree just like his personality.

    He managed to break all the defenses in precisely 5 minutes and 23 seconds but his screen still shed with ¡¯Second Position¡¯.

    He pressed some keys and the screen shed the name of the winner,

    Winner: ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯

    Time: ¡¯5 minutes 22 seconds¡¯

    As he stared dumbfoundedly at the name shing at the screen, Qin Qu came up behind him. "What the hell? Did you lose? And that too with only 1 second¡¯s difference?" Qin Qu¡¯s jaw was practically going to hit the ground with this shocking news. He was someone who was familiar with his best friend¡¯s capabilities and he had never seen him lose before.

    When Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t reply, Qin Qu added, "Who¡¯s this ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯?"

    "I have no idea since this is ck Cybe, everyone is faceless here." Xiao Zhi-Ren sighed out heavily. He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he spoke, "But I think I really need to look for this person. He¡¯d be a good asset for ourpany."

    Qin Qu nodded his head agreeing with his best friend¡¯s words.

    -The next morning-

    Xiao Zhi-Ren got busy with preparing breakfast aftering back from his morning run. He saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan walking out of his room with panda eyes. "Didn¡¯t you sleepst night?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked anxiously.

    "No... I had a lot to sort out," Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered monotonously.

    "What did you have to sort out?" Xiao Zhi-Ren pried which he didn¡¯t do very often but he felt like knowing at this moment.

    "Big Bear," Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised since it¡¯s been a long time Xiao Zhi-Yuan hadn¡¯t called him ¡¯Big Bear¡¯. He¡¯s been calling him ¡¯Big brother¡¯ since they came to China and it felt very distant to Xiao Zhi-Ren. Now, he was happy that his younger brother was back to his original habits.

    "Yes, my little bear," Xiao Zhi-Ren happily replied.

    "Do you think that those Kung Fu masters or those Ninja¡¯s in books are real?" His question took Xiao Zhi-Ren by surprise.

    "Er... Um... I think so. Actually, I hope so." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied hesitatingly as he avoided gazing into his younger brother¡¯s eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "I saw a real-life martial artistst night."

    "What?" Xiao Zhi-Ren stared wide-eyed at his brother. "Did he do anything to you? Are you hurt anywhere? Tell me!"

    "Rx! Big bear, you¡¯re overreacting." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave his brother a weird look. "I was just saying that he was super duper cool. Like a real hero. He¡¯s just awesome." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spent the next 15 minutes gushing over Ru while Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face turned ck with each passing second.

    It was the longest he had seen his brother speak and that too without being rude or sarcastic. "I thought I was the coolest person in your life," Xiao Zhi-Ren ruefully sighed when he stopped talking.

    "Well, big bear! You¡¯ll always be the coolest brother for me. But I can¡¯t say that he was any less cool than you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face turned sad as he added in a glum tone, "I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll see him again or not." He shook his head and started eating his sandwich.

    While on the side, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind kept running with horrendous scenarios. He didn¡¯t want his brother to be near any troublemaker. And especially not the one who knew martial arts.

 Chapter 16 Black And Dark

    At the outskirts of Imperial City, the sky was akin to a masterpiece on the easel of a creator. The night was like those curtains of the theatre that falls after the scene ends. And on the next day, this curtain will be raised again and we¡¯d see a bright new day with a whole new scene filled with new characters.

    The tranquil ck sky sang a beautiful choir with the twinkling stars. And the apanying crescent moon sent a steady rhythm to the earth in the form of its soft light.

    In a bamboo house¡¯s small room, a figureid still on the cold floor looking at the sky through the ss roof above with green eyes. Like a lifeless person, she didn¡¯t move an inch of her body.

    The silent night¡¯s tranquility was broken by the sound of crickets and buzzes from other insects in the forest. But what Ru heard was the poetry from the starry night. A whisper only meant for her.

    ¡¯She walks in the dark night,

    with no hope of light in sight.

    She likes unting her dark heart,

    hiding her soul that was falling apart.

    She loves her dark clothes

    like people love a rose.

    This queen was called a ghost,

    but she was a shadow that wasn¡¯t just a hoax.¡¯

    Her eyes were still blinking when the curtain of darkness started to be lifted slowly and the sunlight cascaded down on the earth with its orange pearl like rays. When her cloak of darkness lifted, she pushed herself off the cold hard ground and trudged out to the open courtyard after wearing her training suit and running shoes.

    As per her routine of the day, she ran for an hour in the woods. After that, she stood still in the middle of the courtyard and took deep breaths. After calming her mind and making her spirit a bit free, she moved her body to shift to a stable stance.

    Ru raised her hands in front of her as if defending herself from an imaginary attack while her elbows protecting her ribs. She stepped forward with her non-dominant leg keeping her knees slightly bent and threw a punch straight into the air.

    On the far end, the members of ck Mist was looking at her practicing her favorite martial arts style; Krav Maga.[1] Krav Maga was said to be the most effective style but when they watched the way Ru¡¯s nimble body moved with her sharp senses, they could only stay frozen at their spot.

    In Krav Maga, speed and flow of attacks mattered a lot since it had root techniques from Muay Thai and Jui-Juitsu. And Ru had trained in a way that her speed was hard to follow. People hardly could catch the way she delivered her punches or kicks although, she did both of those scarcely.

    Out of the younger generation of her own n, she was considered the fastest one and yet her grandmasters always scolded her for being slow. Perhaps, it was their cruel remarks that pushed her to keep striving for best even after leaving her n behind. Her hunger for being the best was the reason that today, this most challenging martial arts style looked like a piece of cake for her.

    "Are you guys just going to stand there?" Ru¡¯s deep voice rang in the courtyard making the tandem of five to feel flustered.

    They came up to her in an orderly manner with their heads lowered in respect. "Don¡¯t tell me that you couldn¡¯t open the mouth of two small flies in the past 8 hours." Ru¡¯s tone held a dangerous touch to it making them sweat buckets.

    "Master, they opened their mouths," Adia started.

    "And?" Ru urged her to continue as she stared her down. Even though Adia wasn¡¯t looking at Ru¡¯s eyes, she still could feel the cold shudder running up her spine.

    "They are of no use. They don¡¯t know much." Another member of ck Mist, Connor spoke up respectfully.

    "That I already knew. Tell me something that I don¡¯t know," Ru shifted her body closer to them as her voice turned lower.

    "Well, they did tell us that the weapons beening through Hong Kong. But whoever is calling the shots in Hong Kong isn¡¯t the mastermind." Adia added in to help Connor.

    Ru pondered for a while before saying, "You have one week. I want all the details of things happening in Hong Kong." She looked at the group of five standing still without any intention to leave and spoke sarcastically, "What? Want to stay for breakfast?"

    "Ah? No, no... We¡¯re going!" All of them ran out in a frenzy. Although they respected their master the most in this world, they were scared of their master the most as well.

    "Wu Dishi!" Ru called out and Wu Dishi came up to her side. "I heard there is a very famous ramen shop named, Ramen for Life."

    "Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it. Does master want me to order some ramen from there?" He inquired.

    "Nope. Just drop me off to that shop after I go through the files you brought." Wu Dishi nodded his head and passed all the documents to her.

    While she was reading the files in her hand, Wu Dishi kept staring at her with aplicated expression.

    "Do you have something to ask?" Ru¡¯s sudden question surprised Wu Dishi.

    He cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to speak, "Master, do you mind me asking something?"

    "Just ask. I can guarantee that I won¡¯t bite you," she said that with a smirk which was too hard for Wu Dishi to handle.

    ¡¯Gosh! Master, why are you so handsome?¡¯ Wu Dishi shook his mind to get rid of his own ridiculous thoughts. "Master, why did you personallye to China and that too just because of two assassins?" This thing had been bothering him from the time Ru came to China. He didn¡¯t think that those assassins were such a threat for his master to leave Europe ande back to China all of a sudden.

    "Hmmm..." Ru sighed heavily as she answered, "You¡¯re right! Those assassins or arms smuggling has no concern with me. But that mute girl who came to kill me and her way of looking at me, I can¡¯t get it over my head."

    Wu Dishi frowned by her side as he added, "What do you mean, master?"

    "She was like a puppet whose strings were being pulled. Assassins are emotionless and I know that better than anyone but she didn¡¯t even have the right to think for herself." As Ru spoke, Wu Dishi¡¯s heart shook a bit.

    "Do you mean that she¡¯s a part of those human puppets experiments?" Ru nodded her head making Wu Dishi¡¯s feare true. He couldn¡¯t possibly imagine that kind of inhumane thing.

    But he didn¡¯t know the fact that his own master had been a victim of that experiment once. Her mind might have made her forget that nightmare but her body was still living that nightmare. And the pain in her body reminded her of that nightmare every single day. And to retrieve those missing pieces of her memory, she had to get to the mastermind behind those experiments.

    It was her only lead in the past decade and she wasn¡¯t willing to lose it at any cost!

    It took her four hours to go through all the documents and after that, Wu Dishi dropped her off at the famous ramen shop in the school district.

    The ramen shop was rather designed in a simple style with wooden interior. Ru walked inside and heard a polite, "Wee customer! Take a seat!" Ru was surprised by the smile she was receiving from the cute girl at the door.

    The cute girl showed her to a table and took her order. "Give me the most amazing bowl of ramen."

    "Which vor would you like?" The cute girl asked smiling brightly at Ru.

    Ru looked at the cute girl with her green eyes and propping her chin on her palm said, "Which one would you order?"

    The cute teenage girl lost herself in Ru¡¯s beautiful eyes and that handsome face. "I¡¯d order a Nagasaki Champon. It¡¯s the best one here."

    "Oh, then I¡¯ll take what this cutie is suggesting," Ru passed her most amazing smile making the cute girl feel like floating in the air. She blushed and ran back to the kitchen.

    "Why did she run away? Was I scary just now?" Ru asked herself as she saw the cute girl¡¯s odd reaction.

    "You weren¡¯t scary rather you were quite good at flirting," Ru lifted her eyes to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan standing closer to her seat.

    Ru frowned as she said, "But I wasn¡¯t flirting."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan took a seat opposite of Ru without asking and said, "Then you¡¯re really clueless about your charms." Ru decided not to answer to that. It wasn¡¯t worth it. She didn¡¯t like making small talk anyway. But Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke up again, "What are you doing here all alone? And why is it that you¡¯re always alone?"

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan ditched school just now, he didn¡¯t expect to find Ru in the ramen shop near his school. He was surprised and mostly, happy to have found her without even looking.

    "Am I the only person alone in this world?" Ru¡¯s words made Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowl as she added, "We alle alone to this world and leave alone as well. Death will be ck, lonely and dark. So, isn¡¯t it better to make peace with your solitude beforehand?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared at her face for a long while before speaking, "Death is ck and dark only because we have no-one to share it with. But as for life, isn¡¯t it better to make life a bit brighter since we have no control over death? Because once you die, you¡¯re gone."

    ¡¯Some people defy death as well but they have to live their life like living through hell.¡¯ Ru thought with a hand over her chest. Her body reminded her of the pain when the bullet pierced through the left side of her chest. Who knew it was her luck or misfortune that her heart was slight to the right side.

    Some nightmares simply don¡¯t end even after you wake up from your sleep.

    [1] "Krav Maga": Also known as contactbat.

 Chapter 17 Oniisan

    There was no discernible alteration in Ru¡¯s countenance but Xiao Zhi-Yuan had seen the way her hand went up against her chest. He squinted his eyes but didn¡¯t speak.

    "Why are you sitting here? There are plenty of other seats avable," Ru pointed out after her senses recovered a bit.

    Xiao shrugged his shoulders nonchntly as he replied, "I don¡¯t want to sit anywhere else."

    "Here¡¯s your bowl of ramen," the cute girl¡¯s voice rang out as she ced the piping hot bowl of ramens before Ru and smiled radiantly.

    The aroma of ramens was tantalizing making Ru¡¯s unduly zestful stomach to growl. It was a good thing that nobody heard the growls of her stomach.

    She picked her chopsticks elegantly. Like a Persian cat, she began to eatnguidly and yet with sophistication. To Xiao Zhi-Yuan, the person before him appeared to be indecipherable. Ru¡¯s exquisite table manners and etiquettes reminded him of the time when his own etiquette teacher used to scold him all the time for hurrying over everything.

    He never thought that mere seeing someone eating ramen could be this fascinating.

    Supporting the side of his face on his knuckles, Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept his eyes on Ru. He was amazed that his staring didn¡¯t even bother her at all. For Ru, he was like the background of a scene that she didn¡¯t need to focus on with the lens of her eyes. Her only focus was the bowl of ramens that was more appealing and rather more appetizing.

    "Do you have friends?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked out of the blue with his clear phoenix-like eyes peering at her green ones.

    Ru calmly wiped the sides of her mouth with a napkin and lifted her eyes to gaze into Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes. "No, I don¡¯t keep friends."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan knitted his brows confoundedly, "Why not?"

    Ru pped a few bills on the table before standing up to leave. She stood by Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s chair and ced her hand over his shoulder saying, "Because in the end. those friends would be standing before you to call you a monster without hesitation."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled by her words. He sat there in a daze not knowing the meaning behind those words. With a jolt, his daze broke and he darted his eyes around but Ru was gone.

    He frantically ran out to look for Ru and found her sitting on the stairs of the yground. She was staring nkly ahead. Xiao Zhi-Yuan took a seat beside her.

    "Hey, what if I want to be friends with you?" Ru gave him a weird look with her expressionless face.

    "Kiddo! Make friends with your own age group¡¯s people," she retorted inly.

    His face fell a bit as he said, "But I don¡¯t fit in them."

    "So, you¡¯re the odd one at school," Ru remarked with amusement. "Even then, I won¡¯t be friends with you."

    "Why not?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan wasn¡¯t happy with this reply at all.

    "How old are you?" Ru asked a question in return instead of answering him.

    "I¡¯m turning eighteen this year." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered modestlypletely contradicting his usual stance.

    "You and I have a difference of a decade in age." Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could argue, Ru added, "Apart from that, I don¡¯t like kids who skip school." Ru looked disdainfully at him since he was d in his school uniform she had guessed that he ditched school.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s shoulders slumped down as he replied, "I never skipped school before. It¡¯s just that... here the school is different. I¡¯m not used to it." As he said that, he pulled out his cigarette pack from the pocket and was about to take a stick when the pack was snatched from his hand yet again.

    An open-handed pnded on the back of his head making him scowl. "No smoking!" Although Ru said it, she contradicted her own words by biting a stick between her lips and lighting it up with her lighter.

    The other night because of the dim lights, Xiao Zhi-Yuan hadn¡¯t noticed the lighter in her hands but now that he saw it, he was quite impressed. It was a silver lighter with a beautifully carved ¡¯Raven¡¯ word on one side of it. Ru twisted the lighter in her hand and that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi-Yuan noticed a ¡¯Thunderbird¡¯ symbol on the other side of the lighter. He was stunned.

    The ¡¯Thunderbird¡¯ symbol reminded him of the sketch his elder brother kept locked in his drawer for years. The symbol was exactly alike. ¡¯Is there a connection?¡¯ He thought but shook his head immediately.

    "Can¡¯t you buy your own cigarettes?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowled at her and tried to take his pack back but couldn¡¯t do it because of the clear difference in strengths. "Ugh!" He was clearly exasperated.

    "Why would I waste my money on this useless thing?" Ru answered his earlier question as she blew out rings of smoke leisurely.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared with his mouth agape. "Then why are you smoking if it¡¯s useless?"

    "Well, it¡¯s a good way to pass time." Ru¡¯s answer made Xiao Zhi-Yuan want to puke blood but her next words made him straightened up. "You didn¡¯t listen to mest time at the club." Her cold and yet unwavering eyes stared at his clear eyes as she went on, "I don¡¯t like disobedient kids."

    "You knew?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was bewildered at this discovery since he thought he made his presence inconspicuous.

    "My senses are better than your nonexistent ones. Obviously, I knew you¡¯re there. I just had no interest in confronting you at that time." Her tone seemed sardonic to Xiao Zhi-Yuan for some reason. "You didn¡¯t tell anyone about the happenings, did you?" He felt great pressure on himself and gulped down his saliva with difficulty.

    "Humph! I¡¯m not an idiot. Why would I tell anyone about that? Also, what do you mean by me having non-existent senses?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked not bothering to keep his cold and aloof nature.

    His face contorted with ck lines made Ru feel nostalgic as she lifted her hand and tousled his thick ck hair. "It¡¯s kind of adorable that you have no clue about the ten bodyguards keeping an eye on you."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes widened at not just her words but also at the way Ru¡¯s hand tousled his hair. The touch was gentle like an older brother was teasing his younger one. This idea made him smile spontaneously and his smile took Ru by surprise. Slowly his smile turned into a frown at a realization, "What bodyguards?"

    Ru had noticed the movements of seemingly hidden bodyguards but when her handnded on Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s head, that¡¯s when her suspicion was confirmed. Ru rolled her eyes at him and smiled mesmerizingly as she said, "You¡¯re really naive!"

    If someone else would have said those words, Xiao Zhi-Yuan would have minded it but since these words came from the person whom he had the desire to grow close to, he didn¡¯t give much of a reaction.

    "You remind me of a poem I read in my brother¡¯s diary once," Ru arched her single brow at him inquiringly. "It read:

    I wore a smile to look alive,

    But I forgot to hide my dead soul inside,

    The holes that left my heart hollow,

    To the world, the blood

    That flowed from them, seemed shallow."

    He took a pause before adding, "My brother once told me that friends are just friends. With nobels on them. Even if one of those friends calls you a monster, it doesn¡¯t mean the rest of the world wouldn¡¯t want to embrace that monster." He smiled innocently with his boyish charms. "Also, I¡¯m not giving up the idea of bing your friend. I¡¯ll surely be better than your other friend."

    "Kiddo! Don¡¯t strive to be someone¡¯s recement. It¡¯ll only be painful to you."

    "I have a name, you know!" He scowled a bit displeased and added, "Xiao Zhi-Yuan but if you don¡¯t want to call me by this name, you can call me Xan. That¡¯s what everybody called me back in America."

    "Xan!" Ru said his name as if rolling it over her tongue. "Do you think you¡¯ll see me again?"

    "Of course!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was confident with his words. "We¡¯ll see each other for sure. Oh, what should I call you?" Before Ru could answer, he clicked his fingers excitedly calling, "Oniisan![1]"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened at the way he called her. "What did you just call me?" She asked uncertainly.

    "Oniisan!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered without hesitation. "Why? Is something wrong?"

    "Huh? No... It¡¯s just that no-one has ever called me that." Ru mumbled softly but Xiao Zhi-Yuan heard her.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan pped his hands together as he said, "That¡¯s even better. Now, stay as only my Oniisan. Okay?" He made an ¡¯okay¡¯ sign and excitedly stood up.

    Ru¡¯s eyes followed him until he got into his car and cruised away.

    ¡¯Some people walk into your life without knowing what they¡¯re getting themselves into.¡¯ Ru shook her head and prepared to leave.

    [1] "Oniisan": Older brother in Japanese

 Chapter 18 Bonding Time

    "What did you just say?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice was dramatically loud as he demanded an answer from the amass of ten bodyguards reporting to him. "You¡¯re actually telling me that someone dared to p my younger brother and he didn¡¯t even react?" His voice was abrasive with a tinge of disbelief.

    "Yes, Mr. Xiao!" The senior most bodyguard spoke with the utmost respect and rted the whole events of the day to him.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren waved his hand making them leave him alone with hisplicated thoughts. Since when did his younger brother let other people touch him and what more this person actually pped him? Saying that he was shocked would be an understatement at the moment.

    He knew better than anyone that his brother was as stubborn as a mule.

    In his daze, he didn¡¯t realize when Qin Qu had walked inside his office and was now seated right before his huge mahogany desk. Qin Qu had to knock on the tabletop to break Xiao Zhi-Ren out of his reverie.

    "Where are you lost?" Qin Qu asked keeping his voice calm while knitting his brows together.

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren jolted a bit and looked at his best friend¡¯s prying eyes. "Oh, nothing much. What about you? Do you have anything for me?"

    Qin Qu gave a skeptical look but decided not to ask anything. "I have an invitation from a charity auction for you." Qin Qu informed him keeping his professional look.

    "I¡¯ll take a rain check on that. You can go on my behalf. I have to spend some quality time with my brother." His voice was surprisingly crisp.

    Qin Qu rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to argue but he was interrupted by Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Don¡¯t try to make this a bone of contention[1] between us. I really need to give some time to Xiao Zhi-Yuan."

    Qin Qu heaved a long sigh before taking his leave. Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t stay for a long time at the office. He arrived home earlier than usual and made his way to the apartment.

    When Xiao Zhi-Ren opened the door and walked in, he saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan sitting on the swing chair in the balcony with his legs tucked under him. He was cradling theptop in hisp. He was so immersed in whatever he was reading on theptop that he didn¡¯t notice his elder brother¡¯s presence until Xiao Zhi-Ren tapped on his shoulder.

    "Hey, big bear! How are you back so early?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked in a surprised way.

    "I thought it¡¯s been a while since you and I have spent time together. So, let¡¯s spend this evening together. We¡¯ll do whatever you want to do?" Xiao Zhi-Ren told his younger brother with a gentle smile and tender eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan eyed his brother suspiciously for a while before agreeing, "Okay! Let¡¯s go out for a game of basketball?" He looked up expectantly at his brother¡¯s eyes imploring him to say yes.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled lopsidedly and said, "That sounds good. Go and get ready!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately got up and ran to his room in excitement. Back in America, both brothers had a tradition to y basketball on weekends but because of moving to China, Xiao Zhi-Ren was as busy as a bee and couldn¡¯t spend time with his brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a long sigh as he determined, "I have to give my time to Yuan. No matter what, he¡¯s my priority!"

    The wind was getting chilly as the darkness cascaded over the sky. Under the starry night, two tall figures were seen ying on a basketball court. The fluorescent lights illuminated the concrete court surrounded by metal chain link fences.

    Sweat was dripping down his face as Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept dribbling the ball while Xiao Zhi-Ren kept trying to steal it from him. Xiao Zhi-Yuan spun his body escaping from Xiao Zhi-Ren and jumped up to throw the ball.

    The ball went straight through the hoop making Xiao Zhi-Yuan look triumphantly at his brother saying, "I won!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was panting with his hands on his waist. He grinned looking at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s contemptuous expression.

    He walked up to a bench on the side of the court and pulled out a water bottle before gulping it down. His fair skin was blemish-free but at the moment, it was covered with beads of sweat. He took a towel to pat his face dry and threw another water bottle towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan who caught it with ease.

    "Big Bear, you¡¯re losing your spark." Xiao Zhi-Yuan took advantage of his victory and teased his brother but Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t react much. He only smiled at his brother.

    ¡¯Not losing my spark. Just don¡¯t want you ever lose.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren kept his inner thoughts to himself. After losing his mother at the age of 18, Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that he could face all the storms in the world. But oddly, he didn¡¯t have the heart to see his only brother upset.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan sat beside his brother when he heard the question, "So, how¡¯s school?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan stiffened a bit. He didn¡¯t like this question. Not at all!

    "It¡¯s fine." He replied in a dull tone.

    "If there is something bothering you. Just tell me," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to pry him again but to no avail.

    "I¡¯m fine, big bear. I¡¯ll tell you if something is wrong." Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head at his words deciding to believe him for the time being.

    "Oh, big bear! I looked into that Lord Alev Knight." Xiao Zhi-Yuan diverted the course of conversation but it stunned Xiao Zhi-Ren. He wasn¡¯t expecting his younger brother to actually take interest in these business-rted problems.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat trying topose himself. "So, what did you find?"

    "Well, to be honest, there is nothing much reported about him," Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a sigh of relief but it got stuck at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s next words. "But that doesn¡¯t mean there is nothing to report."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled deviously to himself. "I think he¡¯s more interesting than scary. What do you think?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren studied his brother¡¯s expression for a while before speaking, "Yes! Lord Alev Knight is surely interesting with his weird obsession for power."

    "Mhmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head in agreement. "But you know his secret organization is considered one of the most formidable one." He rummaged out his tab from the backpack with an elevated look and went on, "Look! ording to rumors, there is a hierarchy of power within the organization and the ck Mist squad is considered at the top. They are a group of top-notch martial artists."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren listened attentively even though he was aware of everything Xiao Zhi-Yuan was saying. "But that¡¯s wrong, big bear!" Xiao Zhi-Ren furrowed his brows at his younger brother looking perplexed. "The one at the top of the hierarchy is actually just one person, ¡¯The White Shadow!¡¯" As Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s words fell, Xiao Zhi-Ren was stunned at his ce.

    "What? What are you talking about, Yuan?" He asked with a set jaw.

    "Oho! Big Bear, at the top of the hierarchy, is color ¡¯White¡¯ which represents spirit. The ckes at second which represents ¡¯Soul¡¯. Although I don¡¯t know why he named it this way."

    "Look!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan pulled out some photos of disfigured people saying, "The world thinks that the people who targeted them were different. But they missed a single detail."

    "And what¡¯s that?"

    "All these targets had a slight scratch from a needle on their necks and after that, they are left in this miserable state. There are no traces of poison in the body at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren saw the photos of a couple of targets. One was a photo of a woman who was quite beautiful once but now, only her bones and breath was left as sheid in hospital waiting for death. "Big bear, this woman used to be involved in human trafficking and now, look at her." Xiao Zhi-Yuan clicked his tongue in mock sympathy.

    He swiped to the next photo where a man wasying on the hospital bed with several nails and metal thingies holding him in ce. Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked at him with disdain and said, "And this one, he¡¯s the monster who actually experimented his drugs on young girls. Good thing that now, he can only breathe. He can¡¯t even lift a finger for the rest of his life."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked dubiously at his younger brother. "How are you sure that this is done by ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and how is he rted to Lord Alev Knight?"

    "Intuition!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied matter-of-factly.

    "Yuan, stop paying attention to such things. It¡¯s not your age to even dig this deep about something."

    "But I was just interested in Lord Alev Knight. That¡¯s why I did all this research." Xiao Zhi-Yuan defended himself.

    "Yuan, no arguing! Focus on studying. Promise me that you won¡¯t try to dig any more deeper," Xiao Zhi-Ren sternly looked at his brother. Xiao Zhi-Yuan made a face but he knew that he had no way out of this. So he gave in.

    "I promise that I won¡¯t!"

    "Good boy! Let¡¯s go home!" Xiao Zhi-Ren seemed happy from the outside but his mind was not calm at all. ¡¯Was this ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and the one from hackingpetition different from each other? What if they are the same? Then what¡¯s the connection between Lord Alev Knight and him?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren felt like his mind was going to explode at this rate. He shook his mind and focused on whatever Xiao Zhi-Yuan was telling him.

    [1] "Bone of Contention": A topic which remains a dispute for discussion.

 Chapter 19 Kick The Bucket!

    "I heard you made a new friend, today," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to inquire impertinently while acting nonchnt about it.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave his brother who was busy in arranging the food on tes, a look. "Your minions are quite effective when ites to reporting about me." His tone was quite ironic.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat awkwardly before cing the Salisbury Steak on the table. Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately stretched out his hand to take the steak when Xiao Zhi-Ren smacked his hand making him withdraw it back with a scowl. "Let me bring all the food, first!" Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke sternly before bringing the rest of his home-cooked dishes to the table.

    Since he grew up alone, he developed a liking for cooking and he always experimented with different recipes. That¡¯s why right now, there were Chicken Fajitas, Dumplings, and Chicken Noodle Soup served on the table. He took off the apron and sat beside Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Now, can we start?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked impatiently and seeing his brother nod, he instantly dug into the food with fervor.

    Seeing Xiao Zhi-Yuan eating with such delight, Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled in satisfaction. It was quite bizarre but this was his whole world. His life! Just him and his younger brother.

    "Won¡¯t you tell me something about your new friend?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as he cut his steak in pieces before taking a bite.

    "Mmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan tilted his face a bit in a thoughtful manner. "What should I say about Oniisan?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes widened. "Oniisan?" His voice was prating making Xiao Zhi-Yuan a bit ufortable. "I thought I was the only brother for you!" He really didn¡¯t like this feeling of sharing his younger brother with another person.

    "Big Bear! Now, you¡¯re overreacting for no reason." Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied in a modted tone. "And you know Oniisan as well. He¡¯s the one who saved me the other night."

    Realization dawned on Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face as he calmed down a bit. "Oh, he¡¯s the one!"

    "Yup! He¡¯s the one." Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face brightened up unusually making Xiao Zhi-Ren feel strange for some reason.

    "What do you even know about him that you made him your ¡¯Oniisan¡¯?" Xiao Zhi-Ren air-quoted as he spoke with his unveiled jealousy.

    "Nothing much. I just know that Oniisan is amazing. Just like you!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke with an expression that was as bright as a button.

    "You actually bothered to search about Knight Empire¡¯s chairman but didn¡¯t even look into the person whom you just befriended?" Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that his younger brother kept his friends to a minimum number because he was very cautious with people. It was like his younger brother couldn¡¯t trust anyone in his life except for him.

    "Friendship is made with heart, not with the mind. It doesn¡¯t need logic, it just needs a connection." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised to hear such mature thoughtsing from his 17 years old brother.

    He smiled lopsidedly as he tousled Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s hair saying, "I¡¯m d that you¡¯ve grown up." Xiao Zhi-Yuan swatted his brother¡¯s hand away with an irritated look.

    "You know I don¡¯t like it," Xiao Zhi-Ren obviously knew that his brother hated it when someone messed with his hair but it never stopped him from messing with him.

    As they ate the rest of the dinner in silence, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in his own thoughts stealing nces at his brother¡¯s face. ¡¯Sorry, bro! But I can¡¯t tell you theplete reason for this friendship. Although there is a connection that I can feel with Oniisan, there is something else as well.¡¯

    With these thoughts, his mind wandered off to the night in the club when he was hiding under the table. It was a pure coincidence that when the five people d in ck entered the club in all their glory, one of them dropped something on the floor. And when he leaned down to pick it up, Xiao Zhi-Yuan noticed a tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo was all too familiar to Xiao Zhi-Yuan, it was a ¡¯ck me¡¯; the symbol that was associated with Knight Empires.

    After much contemtion, Xiao Zhi-Yuan came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence that the ck Mist squad had only five people and the people before him, were also only five in number. He figured that the green-eyed man was somehow rted to Lord Alev Knight. Obviously, he didn¡¯t think about the possibility of Ru actually being Lord Alev Knight since he was under the impression that a formidable person like Mr. Knight would definitely note to a small bar to do the job himself.

    Therefore, he only kept the thought that Ru was somehow linked with Knight Empires and nothing else. Although he did all his research because of Ru, he didn¡¯t befriend her for this purpose. As he had told his brother, this was a connection he couldn¡¯t possibly exin in words.

    ¡¯Fate had yed,

    And a connection was made.

    It was a matter of the heart,

    That the mind couldn¡¯t pull apart.¡¯

    Meanwhile, on the other side, Ru was having a staringpetition with Wu Dishi.

    "You¡¯re telling me to wear that," she pointed at the silver tailor-made suit in Wu Dishi¡¯s hand with contempt. "Does this lord look like he¡¯s gonna wear that thing?"

    "Master, it¡¯s just a suit." Wu Dishi managed to say under his master¡¯s deadly eyes. He hated that look. And he also hated the fact that those green eyes were beyond beautiful and yet so... So wicked? He shook his head to avoid these thoughts afraid that the master before him might be able to read his mind after all, ¡¯he¡¯ was capable of doing anything.

    "What color is it?" Ru asked keeping a poker-face.

    Wu Dishi frowned at the question but still answered politely, "It¡¯s in silver color." He was uncertain and why was that? Even he couldn¡¯t tell himself.

    "And have you ever seen this lord wear silver color?" Ru questioned as she reclined back in the leather single seat sofa and ovepped her long legs elegantly.

    "Erm... No!" Wu Dishi answered while his mind was thinking, ¡¯But then again, I haven¡¯t seen you wear any other color then ck and gray.¡¯

    "Go and kick the bucket![1] I¡¯m not going anywhere in that silver suit. Bring it in ck!" Her voice was still low since she didn¡¯t have the habit of raising her voice in anger. If anything, her voice always became more pleasant when she was fuming with rage.

    Tonight was a charity auction and Ru was going to attend that particr event for two reasons; one, she had a knack for charity and that too for hungry and orphan children. Perhaps, it became a part of her since she was aware of how it felt like to be hungry and alone. Her second reason was the highlight of the auction; a painting by the artist known as ¡¯Casse Amoureux¡¯.

    Her family n had a habit of collecting antique stuff and from what Ru saw in her years of growing up, the mere antique pieces were enough to shake the entire country. That¡¯s where she developed a habit of collecting antique or unique stuff for herself.

    This particr painting wasn¡¯t antique, but it was surely unique. What made it unique was the fact that it was thest painting by the artist.

    Wu Dishi efficiently arranged for a ck suit in ten minutes and presented it to his master who only gave a single word in appreciation and that was, "Adequate!" Wu Dishi could only shake his head at theck of words and that too of appreciation.

    Wu Dishi was lost when Ru came out in thatplete ck suit. Even the shirt underneath was ck. Wu Dishi already called his master a Greek god with exquisite facial contours but tonight, his master was exuding the aura of a fallen angel.

    Ru¡¯s tall figure in a ck suit was not just fabulous or eloquent, it was dazzling with a sense of maturity exuding from her solemn face. The fact that Ru had mixed-breed features with her high cheekbones and golden brown skin mixed with those round deep-set eyes made her already very eye-catching for people. But today, the suit was adding another charm to her personality.

    "Master, you forgot to wear the tie," Wu Dishi reminded her after getting over the fact that his master was beyondparison.

    Ru gave him a look that said, ¡¯Have you lost your mind?¡¯ "This lord is surely not going to wear that. You should be d that I even bothered wearing this suit. Which by the way, ispletely unnecessary."

    "Master, I think you should wear the tie as well since you¡¯ve already done so much like wearing a ¡¯suit¡¯," Wu Dishi had the urge to be sarcastic about it but he still managed to speak normally.

    "Oi! I said I¡¯m not wearing that tie at all. I¡¯ve never understood the meaning behind it anyway. And wearing it around my neck would make me feel like a dog with a leash. And I¡¯m certainly not a dog! It¡¯d be an insult to the dog." Wu Dishi was stunned at his spot.

    ¡¯Did he just made himself sound worse than a dog?¡¯ Wu Dishi couldn¡¯t believe what he heard.

    As if answering his question, Ru said, "Dogs are loyal, friendly, and yful. Most importantly, they listen to humans. I have none of those good qualities. That¡¯s whyparing a dog with myself would be an insult for the dogs."

    Wu Dishi had nothing to say about this weird logic since he was the person who knew that no-one could be more loyal than his own master but he didn¡¯t have the courage to speak up.

    [1] "Kick the bucket": To die.

 Chapter 20 The Parting Soul

    Keeping an obtrusive presence, Ru entered the convention center where the charity auction was organized. The convention hall was quite big with round tables arranged neatly leaving a pathway in the middle.

    There were prominent figures of the Imperial Capital attending this auction. But it seemed like a socializing event to Ru which she despised the most. ording to her if you came for the charity then you should focus on that instead of mingling with people to broaden your social circle.

    The only good thing was the fact that reporters were not allowed to enter the venue. Otherwise, this would have been just a show of power and money.

    As per her preference, Wu Dishi had arranged her seat to be at the most inconspicuous corner. Far away from the chattering crowd of the night.

    Wu Dishi could clearly see his master¡¯s face darkening because of the dy and he was at the verge of breaking down. Knowing that if the auction didn¡¯t start soon, his master would probably run berserk.

    Finally, the auction began and Wu Dishi could stop being on edge. He wiped the invincible sweat on his forehead and sat straight on the seat beside his master. Two other men and a woman were seated on the same table.

    During the entire auction ceremony, Ru didn¡¯t bid for anything. She clearly knew what she wanted. Therefore, she didn¡¯t want to bother with unnecessary stuff at all.

    Her eyes only darted around to see the things being auctioned and then she¡¯d act nonchntly. As for the people around seated on her table, they didn¡¯t seem much interested in the auction either. But Ru was interested in them for sure!

    Other than having a brutal personality and cruel mouth, another one of her bad traits was her habit of trying to read people. Wu Dishi wasn¡¯t wrong with the idea that his master might read his mind. Ru might not be able to read a mind but she was very good at reading people.

    As she was noticed a bit, the man seated on her right was wearing a cap on his head and mask on his face. He was trying to be quite discreet with that look. But his dark eyes were staring nkly at the stage. His eyes looked deste, clear and yet there was a hint of being lonely.

    Ru stroked her chin and turned her face to see the gentleman sitting opposite of her. With his professional attire and sses, he looked dignified and mature.

    Ru didn¡¯t bother checking up on the woman who¡¯s been eyeing her for a long time now. Ru avoided that woman¡¯s gaze afraid that she might lose her restraint and say something that she wasn¡¯t supposed to.

    As the auction neared its end, the final piece was put on disy as the emcee announced, "Now, the highlight of tonight... Here we present the ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ by the famous French artist ¡¯Casse Amourex¡¯."

    The painting was beautiful. It made one want to spend hours looking at it. There was nothing much on the canvas. There were only two hands holding each other. But the feminine hand was painted in the form of fleeting butterflies. While the masculine hand was drawn as if it had cracks like a shattered ss slowly scattering away. The name was really befitting for the painting, ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯.

    It showed how one person was flying towards the sky freely leaving the other in pieces.

    "The bidding price is starting at 5 million dors." The emcee¡¯s voice rang out and the bidding started.

    "8 million!"

    "10 million!"

    "15 million!"

    Ru looked at the man opposite of hers who made thest bid and quirked her brow. ¡¯Oh, so he wasn¡¯t bidding before because of this piece? Dream on!¡¯ She thought to herself as she leaned back in her chair with no intention of raising the price. She was sitting leisurely with her legs crossed over each other elegantly.

    "30 million!" The man with sses raised the final bid.

    "We have 30 million. Is there anyone who would like to add? No?" The emcee was speaking enthusiastically. "30 million going once! 30 million going twice! 30 million goi-"

    "90 million!" Ru¡¯s deep voice rang in the hall attracting plenty of attention from people.

    "Who¡¯s that young man?"

    "Did he just tripled the bid price?"

    "He¡¯s really handsome. Seems like a young master of some noble family."

    There were plenty ofments going around but Ru wasn¡¯t focused on them at all. The man in sses nced at Ru with a slight frown between his strong brows. In response, Ru¡¯s lips curled slightly upwards in a smirk.

    "Alright! So, 90 million going once! 90 million going twice! And... Sold! This gentleman in a ck suit..." An employee whispered something in the emcee¡¯s ear making his eyes go round as he cleared his throat and continued, "I mean, Mr. Xie Rong from the Metrix Consortium has bought the ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ for 90 million dors."

    "You¡¯re Mr. Xie Rong?" The man in sses asked with disbelief as he shot up from his seat. Seeing the odd looks being thrown his way, he took his seat back but stared at Ru inquiringly. At the moment, the man with a mask on his face was also intrigued as he kept staring at Ru with aplicated look.

    Ru looked straight at him and replied, "Why? Want an autograph?"

    The one who asked the question had a very unpleased look on his face while Ru heard a small chuckle from the one sitting beside her, hiding his face from all.

    "Actually, I was looking for a way to have a meeting with you," the man in sses replied calmly.

    Ru frowned a bit as she asked, "And why is that?"

    He extended his card towards Ru and she read the name written in gold writing: ¡¯Qin Qu¡¯ from SnapVise Technologies.

    "Wu Dishi!" She called out.

    "Yes, Master!" Wu Dishi stood up to take his orders.

    "Collect that painting!" Wu Dishi looked at Qin Qu for a while in hesitation before nodding his head.

    "Mr. Qin, may I know why have you been looking for this lo-" she cut her words before she couldplete the ¡¯this lord¡¯ title and added, "I mean how can this young master help you?"

    "Actually, ourpany¡¯s CEO would like to have a meeting with you!" Qin Qu told her keeping his eyes on Ru¡¯s green eyes feeling a strange sense of intimidation. But he had to make this request for Xiao Zhi-Ren. It took him more than a month to find out about the person who reced Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s gift for his grandfather. Qin Qu didn¡¯t just spend time and resources, he even had to bribe the hotel staff to get some information.

    Ru rolled the name card in her hand a few times with a contemtive look. "I¡¯ll see what I can do about that," Ru spoke indifferently before standing up from her seat and turning towards the side exit of the hall.

    Her being ¡¯Xie Rong; The chairman of Metrix Consortium¡¯ was attention-grabbing news. She didn¡¯t want to be involved with the meet and greet part. There was no-one at this event who caught her eyes except for this man, Qin Qu and the one who was being mysterious with his mask and all.

    Her task for the night was done! Now, the news that Xie Rong himself was in China would start circting and that was her way of announcing to the world that now, Metrix Consortium will be the biggest business corporation in Asia. Also, from the time Metrix Consortium started working in Asia, there had always been rumors that Chairman Xie Rong was autistic and ugly. That¡¯s why he never attended any events. After this event, the rumors would surely die down.

    While she was leaving the convention center, she heard someone calling her, "Stop! Mr. Xie!"

    Ru turned around to see the man who was wearing a cap and mask, running after her. He was wearing in jeans and a shirt but with his taut figure, it looked quite good on him.

    "Do you have something to say Mr. I¡¯m-being-low-key?" The man didn¡¯t give much of a reaction.

    "Why did you bought the painting for such exorbitant money? I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t worth this much."

    Ru gave him a once over before replying with a serene look, "The painting might not have worth it but... Those orphan kids are worth that money."

    Ru didn¡¯t bother sticking around and whipped around to leave taking long strides with her long legs.

    The man was stunned for a moment with her reply and it took a while toe around for him. As he saw her straight back with her hand stuffed in the pants pockets, he shouted, "Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d have a soft spot for orphans?"

    Ru didn¡¯t turn around to look at him, just lifted her arm over her head and waved at him saying, "That¡¯s the only redeeming quality I¡¯ve got!"

    Although he was right that the painting ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ wasn¡¯t worth this much, for Ru, it was all worth it. Because as they say there¡¯s no ounting for tastes. Since she liked the painting, she bought it. Yes, bought it at a preposterous price but so what? The money was going to a good cause. That was all that mattered.

 Chapter 21 Hunger Cravings

    When Wu Dishi came out with the painting tucked under his arm, Ru was leaning against the side of the car waiting for him. She had been spinning the ck name card with her fingers.

    When she felt Wu Dishi¡¯s presence, tucking the card between her index and middle finger, she struck the card towards Wu Dishi as if throwing a shuriken. rmed by her move, Wu Dishi barely managed to catch the card before it could cut his face with its sharp edges. It was a good thing that his training made his body agile.

    He frowned staring at the business card in his hand and looked inquiringly at his master.

    "Arrange a meeting!" Ru said and without exining any further, she climbed inside the car leaving a dumbfounded employee of hers outside.

    ¡¯Arrange a meeting? But why?¡¯ Wu Dishi thought to himself. ¡¯Well, it¡¯s not like master will give me an answer. So, I better just listen to him.¡¯ He sighed to himself and after cing the painting in the luggagepartment with care, he took his seat behind the wheel.

    Ru was silently gazing out at the passing road and cars when she heard Wu Dishi¡¯s voice, "Master, what should I do with the painting?"

    "Send it to the gallery." She replied absentmindedly.

    "The gallery in London?" Wu Dishi asked again carefully analyzing his master¡¯s expressions.

    "No. The gallery in Imperial will do for now."

    Wu Dishi bobbed his head up and down saying, "Yes, master!"

    "Stop the car." The car ride was passing in silence when suddenly Wu Dishi heard his master¡¯s order. Without any dy, he parked the car at the roadside and looked back at Ru.

    "Is something the matter, master?" Wu Dishi inquired and as he saw Ru getting out of the car, he followed.

    "You can wait here or just go back," Ru said and whipped her body to leave.

    "But master, what are you gonna do here?" Wu Dishi was quite curious about the reason for stopping here. He looked around and saw a brightly lit street. It was a food market and seeing it, he could roughly guess the reason.

    "I¡¯m going to eat, of course. I¡¯m very hungry." Ru didn¡¯t have to tell him that but she felt like he should know where she was going.

    "Master, I can ask the cooks to prepare dinner for you," Wu Dishi felt like banging his head after suggesting that. He might have spent the least time with his master but he had heard that Lord Alev Knight was obsessed with street food. Leaving an extravagant meal, ¡¯he¡¯ would always run to a stall.

    Naturally, Ru frowned at his suggestion and looked at him oddly with her green eyes. "Mr. Wu, do as much you are asked to. This lord has never been fond of useless suggestions." Her words said with calmness surely snatched away Wu Dishi¡¯s calm as he shuddered a bit. "Now, shoo away! This lord has some Baozi[1] cravings to satiate."

    "But master..." He hesitated in his speech. He knew he had no right to say anything but he was still worried about his employer.

    "Now, what?"

    Wu Dishi cleared his throat and reminded her courteously, "Master hasn¡¯t been sleeping for the past three nights. This subordinate thinks that the master should take some rest. Otherwise, it might have a bad impact on the master¡¯s health."

    Ru gave him a bleak look saying, "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll find my way back to get some sleepter." Although she said this, she knew it was another sleepless night. When she was younger, she was asked to learn all the time leaving no room for her to adopt a habit of sleeping for long hours.

    But from the past decade, sleep and she was at odds with each other. Not sleeping for days was a quotidian thing. Until now, she had been holding her body because of her expertise in traditional medicine otherwise... She would have long lost this battle with life. She could only sleep with a heavy dose of her personally made medicine and that also could make her sleep for a couple of hours since the nightmares never let her be at peace.

    Leaving Wu Dishi, Ru briskly walked towards the food street. It was Imperial¡¯s famous Xi¨¡ngli¨¤o[2] food street and it had everything that Ru could wish to eat. Her hunger was quite unusual for people. Even her only best friend used to say, ¡¯Ru¡¯er, your hunger puts me at the ends of my tether [3]. Can¡¯t you just control this hunger of yours?¡¯

    She used to reply, ¡¯What¡¯s so wrong with my hunger? I work my arse off for this hunger. Just like everyone else.¡¯

    ¡¯Not everyone works for hunger,¡¯ he used to say making her scowl.

    ¡¯Yes, they do!¡¯ She challenged him back then as she added, ¡¯All of us... work for hunger in life. Now that¡¯s different, that our cravings are contrasting.¡¯ He gave her an odd look and she went on, ¡¯Some of us have the hunger for money. Some have the hunger for power. And there are some carving for love. But for me... I¡¯m one of those who have a hunger for food. And I really don¡¯t find anything wrong with that.¡¯

    ¡¯You are impossible to argue with. I don¡¯t even know where these logicse from.¡¯ He used to shake his head at her in disbelief.

    But she never cared for others opinion about her hunger cravings. She loved food and that was that. No-one could change that. If even her old master who used to punish her several times for this unusual hunger couldn¡¯t even stop her from eating excessively than how could anybody else could?

    She made her way to a Baozi stall and took a seat gracefully. Her elegant figure was quite contrasting with the surroundings but who cares? Definitely, she didn¡¯t! She just lost herself in the doughy bun filled with meat and veggies. The world around her was lost as only she and that steaming delicacy in her hand were left.

    Meanwhile, Qin Qu narrated all about his encounter with Xie Rong to Xiao Zhi-Ren right aftering back from the auction.

    "Why are you telling me about the chairman of Metrix Consortium? We certainly have nothing to do with him." That was the reply Qin Qu received from Xiao Zhi-Ren making him roll his eyes at his best friend.

    "Will you please focus?" Qin Qu sternly said and continued, "Xie Rong was the person who sent that chess-set on your grandfather¡¯s birthday."

    Now, this got Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s attention and he looked at his friend for more information. "Really?"

    "Yup! I had to go through so much trouble to find this information," Qin Qu rubbed his forehead tiredly and went on, "At first, there were no clues. Not even in CCTV footage. Then I tried bribing a few individuals at the hotel and they told me that the hotel¡¯s big boss was the one who bumped into you." He sighed heavily in between his talk and took a sip of water before continuing, "Then it was another big mystery that who¡¯s the big boss of Imperial Grand hotel? Most of the things pointed towards Mr. Wu Dishi but when I looked deeper, I found out that Mr. Wu Dishi is merely the CEO of the Metrix Consortium. There is actually someone above him calling the shots. And that¡¯s how I figured that it must be Mr. Xie Rong- The chairman of the group."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was lost in thoughts and didn¡¯t bother saying anything to Qin Qu. He had already figured that the person behind that gift swap was someone powerful. But about this Xie Rong, he was a bit skeptical since Metrix Consortium only emerged in Asia for the past two years and until now, Xie Rong was just a name that nobody could put a face on.

    He wasn¡¯t wrong with his skepticism since Xie Rong was nobody two years ago and now, he was one of the biggest tycoons in Asia. Xiao Zhi-Ren was more interested in knowing how Xie Rong managed to get that chess-set with his influence. After all, it can¡¯t be that a man that emerged two years ago was more formidable than himself who had been working from the age of 19 to build his Tech Empire.

    But since Qin Qu had already made a move by offering to meet, then he can only take advantage of this fact and observe this mysterious person.

    [1] "Baozi": Chinese Bread Buns

    [2] "Xi¨¡ngli¨¤o": It literally means spice

    [3] "At the ends of my tether": This idiom means, To reach the end of your patience.

 Chapter 22 Coffee People & Tea People

    Wu Di Shi had efficiently managed to arrange the meeting with Xiao Zhi-Ren. And right now, Ru was sitting at the Royal Cafe waiting for Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    The cafe was a typical western style coffee shop. It wasn¡¯t very big but it wasn¡¯t small either. It had a coffee colored theme and there were ss walls overlooking the bustling roads of Imperial Capital. The aroma of freshly baked delicacies was enticing enough to make one crave for a bite.

    The Cafe was chosen by Xiao Zhi-Ren himself while Ru just showed up. It wasn¡¯t that Xiao Zhi-Ren waste. Nope! If he had beente Ru would have been long gone. It was just that Ru came earlier than the meeting time out of habit.

    She seated at the table near the ss wall and asked for a Tarry Lapsang Souchong tea[1] for herself. As the waitress brought over her tea she kept looking at the strong color of the tea. Although the tea was famous for being strong, healthy and vorful, Ru particrly liked it for its smoky vor and fragrance.

    Precisely on the meeting time, Qin Qu pushed open the door of the cafe and Xiao Zhi-Ren followed suit. Qin Qu darted his eyes around the cafe and found Ru reclining back on her seat with a cup of tea gracefully to take a sip, seemingly enjoying her tea. He strode towards her and said, "Mr. Xie, sorry for making you wait like this."

    Ru slightly lifted her eyes to gaze at Qin Qu and ced her teacup back on the table without making a slight sound. She politely stood up from her chair and said, "There is no need to apologize. I came earlier than necessary."

    Qin Qu smiled and remembered that he wasn¡¯t the one who was here to meet Xie Rong. It was the person behind him. "Oh, let me introduce you to the CEO of SnapVise Technologies, Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren." Qin Qu introduced Ru to Xiao Zhi-Ren but he didn¡¯t notice the slight raise of the brow that Ru passed after seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was quite surprised himself. Seeing the ¡¯man¡¯ with green eyes that constantly been having coincidental encounters with him, made Xiao Zhi-Ren feel weird. Last time, he decided to avoid his green-eyed person who reminded him of someone. But today... Fate has made Xiao Zhi-Ren stand before ¡¯him¡¯ again.

    "Qu, you can leave." Xiao Zhi-Ren told Qin Qu before turning to Ru and extending his hand for her to take. "It¡¯s nice to finally officially meet you, Mr. Xie Rong." Ru looked at his fair and big hand before extending her own to shake it like a polite and well-mannered person.

    When Qin Qu left both of them alone, Xiao Zhi-Ren took the seat opposite of Ru and kept staring at her green eyes.

    "What would you like to drink, Sir?" A petite waitress came up to take his order. Hearing her voice, Xiao Zhi-Ren finally shifted his gaze away from Ru and said with a humble smile, "One Irish Coffee, please. Thank You!" The waitress bowed slightly and left.

    Hearing him order Irish Coffee, Ru rolled her eyes which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Xiao Zhi-Ren. "May I ask the reason for such reaction of scornfulness?" He asked with a crease between his brows. Ru still found his voice quite mellow for some reason.

    She gave him a brittle smile as she spoke in her low, gruff but deep voice, "I heard somewhere that Blue Jeans, rock-n-roll along with ¡¯coffee¡¯ is a part of American Culture that isn¡¯t going anywhere. And since you¡¯ve been in America for a long time, I really expected you to order for a ¡¯coffee¡¯. You surely didn¡¯t disappoint me by doing so." Every time Ru said coffee, Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but smilezily. She kind of made it sound like ¡¯Coff-ay¡¯. It was new for Xiao Zhi-Ren but surely very entertaining.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that he couldn¡¯t argue about Coffee culture in America. But when his gaze fell on the tea before her, he smirked. "Well, if tea people like yourself are still not over your afternoon teas then how can we get over our coffee?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chose the word ¡¯tea people¡¯ particrly because he had heard Ru talking in English with a perfect British ent. He roughly guessed that Ru must have been to Europe and since English people are known for their tea then how could he notment about that.

    Ru had been certainly amused with his reply as a genuine smile bloomed on her thin lips. It was weird that it¡¯d been a long time since she had smiled genuinely.

    "Although I can argue with that, I think we shouldn¡¯t dwell on that topic," Ru suggested calmly as she hid her smile behind her poker-face.

    "And why is that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked.

    "Because Mr. Xiao, tea culture came to Europe from China while Coffee culture originated from Arabia. We both shouldn¡¯t be arguing about something which wasn¡¯t even originated from our respective hometowns." Ru argued back politely.

    The waitress came back with Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s Irish Coffee and left silently without disturbing their discussion. "I wasn¡¯t born in America. It can¡¯t be considered as my hometown." Xiao Zhi-Ren told her after the waitress left.

    Ru gave a mirthless smile and said, "Mr. Xiao, you spent more than a decade in America. This fact alone makes it your hometown. Sure, if you¡¯re born in China then this is your hometown but your other hometown is in that country."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave Ru a blithe look before taking a sip of his Irish Coffee. Tasting the coffee mixture with whiskey and sugar was pure bliss for someone like him. And the thickyer of cream on the top had always been like a cherry on top. With his taste buds feeling blissful, he took another sip hurriedly.

    "Take a chill pill, bro!" Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her instinctively. "That¡¯s one strong coffee you got there. Take too much of that I might have to say, ¡¯just crash here, bro.¡¯"

    Xiao Zhi-Renughed at herment and her earnest expression. "You really have a way with words," he couldn¡¯t help butment.

    "Can¡¯t help that." Ru shrugged her shoulders and raised her hand to order another cup of tea for herself. Then she turned back her attention to Xiao Zhi-Ren with a serious look. "Now, let¡¯se back to the reason for our meeting. When I heard that CEO of SnapVise Technologies wanted to meet me, I didn¡¯t expect it to be you."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren squinted his eyes as he said, "You must have done your homework. How is that possible that you didn¡¯t even try to look anything up about me?"

    "Mr. Xiao, for me, other person¡¯s privacy is as much of importance as mine is to me. Well, that¡¯s different that I don¡¯t care about this so-called personal space when someone gets on my nerve or leaves me with no other option." Ru answered him honestly with a sincere look. She was really being honest. If she could deal with a person without digging in his life, she always chooses to do so. After all, most of the time her digging brought out some skeletons which she didn¡¯t personally enjoy watching.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a lopsided smile, "Well, I heard how generously you spent 90 million dors at a single painting. If that was to help the orphan kids than I can only say that you have a really kind heart, Mr. Xie."

    Ru gave him a deadpanned look as she replied, "You might be the only person who thinks that this young master is actually kind." She took a pause and said in a soft voice, "Most people said that I¡¯m just a person without a heart."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren had heard her words and was stunned by them. ¡¯Heartless?¡¯ He didn¡¯t think so since Ru had helped Xiao Zhi-Yuan without any ulterior motive and this green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ before him also took care of his wound even when ¡¯he¡¯ didn¡¯t have to.

    "I don¡¯t think that you¡¯re heartless," Xiao Zhi-Ren started, gazing into her green eyes while Ru gave him an inquiring look with a raised brow. "You¡¯re not heartless. You just haven¡¯t confronted your heart yet." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his remark as she stared at his handsome face for longer than necessary.

    [1]: "Tarry Lapsang Souchong": A variety of Smoked Chinese ck Tea which is harvested in Taiwan.

 Chapter 23 A Strangers Idea Of Love & Life

    ¡¯Haven¡¯t confronted her heart?¡¯ Her thick brows furrowed in thought. ¡¯Has she confronted her heart? No! Everyone always said that she was heartless. And she believed it! No-one has ever asked her to look inside her own self and confront her heart. It¡¯s weird that a stranger was the one telling her to look for her heart.¡¯ Then her brows eased up as she gave a brittle smile. ¡¯You came toote with that advice, Mr. Xiao. This young master has already given up looking for something pointless like a heart. It¡¯s enough that it¡¯s beating to keep me going.¡¯

    She heaved a long sigh and picked up her second cup of tea. "I guess Mr. Xie hasn¡¯t found that special someone who could make him want to explore his heart inside out." Ru heard his charismatic voice making her look back into his ck eyes.

    "Is it necessary to find that special someone?" Ru asked with amusement swimming in her eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a sad smile as he said, "People often find the true meaning of life after they learn the meaning of love." Ru thought she saw a strange yearning and longing in his eyes as he talked, "Life is actually very beautiful and one can only see it when they are in love."

    Ru rubbed her bottom lip as she said, "Mr. Xiao, the real meaning and importance of something can only be learned after we lose that thing. Love and life are also that way. Love teaches to live and life teaches you to love. But in reality, it¡¯s actually a heartbreak that gives us the lesson of love and it¡¯s the death that teaches the value of life."

    Oh, how Xiao Zhi-Ren wished to argue. But he knew he couldn¡¯t. No matter what, Ru¡¯s words were the reality of his life. He learned to live after watching the death of his mother and he learned to love after losing a certain someone.

    "Has anyone ever told you that you¡¯re brutally honest with words? Like every word cuts deeper than a knife." Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as Ru¡¯s words brought too much of his buried memories back.

    "I have been told. But I can¡¯t change that habit. I was raised this way." Ru answered honestly and changed the discussion. "I¡¯m sure, you¡¯re a busy person. Would you mind telling the reason for this meeting?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head saying, "Sorry for wasting your precious time. But... The reason I wanted to see you is that chess-set."

    Ru frowned. "What chess-set?" She wasn¡¯t being ignorant, she really never bothered remembering such small details. At least, not unless those trivial details were important or something.

    "The Han Dynasty Chess-set." Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to remind her, "The one, you used as apensation for breaking my gift."

    "Oh, that?" Realization dawned on her as she bobbed her head up and down. "What about it?" Her reaction was unexpected for Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Was it not good enough? Or did I forget to apologize for my mistake? No, no. I definitely apologized." At this point, she was more of like having a conversation with her own self leaving Xiao Zhi-Ren to sit awkwardly before her.

    "Mr. Xie?" He called out to get her attention and as she looked up, he said, "You¡¯ve apologized. Also, that chess set was more than just enough."

    Ru furrowed her brows again, "If it was enough then why are we having this conversation, exactly?"

    "Because of the fact that it was more than just enough!" Xiao Zhi-Ren enunciated each word with force. Before Ru could argue back and don¡¯t even think for a second that she wouldn¡¯t, Xiao Zhi-Ren added, "Yourpensation was like a person broke a ss of water andpensated it by buying the entire hotel. And that¡¯s me being humble with my example."

    ¡¯Is he saying that his Ming Dynasty¡¯s porcin set was like a ss of water that I broke and my Han Dynasty Chess-set was like buying a hotel? Does that even make sense?¡¯ Ru thought.

    "I can¡¯t really give that set, back to you but how about wepromise in some other way?" Xiao Zhi-Ren suggested disregarding Ru¡¯s dumbfounded look.

    "Compromise?" Ru asked with confusion visible on her face.

    "Yes,promise. Like I can find you something of equal value or something," Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t paying attention but Ru was quite surprised to hear his suggestion. She had always given people more than they asked for but no-one had ever said to her that herpensation was too much. If anything, for people, it was never enough.

    "Mr. Xiao, I don¡¯t need anything. And I gave you that set as an apology." Ru said to him straightforwardly with a weird feeling in her heart.

    "But I won¡¯t be at ease. That apology wasn¡¯t even needed. Please, just to let my heart be at peace can¡¯t you think of something that I can offer?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was imploring with his eyes. He really had been living with a burden on his heart for the past month. He never liked taking advantage of people and epting that expensive chess-set was akin to taking advantage of someone¡¯s good intentions and Xiao Zhi-Ren never liked the idea of manipting one¡¯s good intentions.

    Ru fell into deep thought. She couldn¡¯t decide what to say. Did she need anything? Yes! She needed her memories. But could he give her that? No! How could he? Did she need anything else? Couldn¡¯t think of anything at the moment. She was The Lord Alev Knight for goodness sake! Entire Europe was wrapped around her fingers. How could she need anything when she could get everything on her own?

    Ru kneaded her temples as she took a deep breath. "Mr. Xiao, I really can¡¯t think of anything but seeing your sincere actions, I can only think of one thing."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes brightened up as he questioned, "What is it? You can tell me. As long as it¡¯s within my power, I¡¯ll help you get it."

    Ru looked into his sincere eyes and felt quite weird. She had never seen a person who had a more sincerest look than the one before him. "Um... How about a promise?" Xiao Zhi-Ren knitted his brows in confusion. "I mean just because I don¡¯t need anything now, doesn¡¯t mean that I might not need anything in the future. How about you give me a promise that you¡¯ll help me get something when I want you to?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren thought for a moment. It wasn¡¯t the original n but it wasn¡¯t bad either. He already was aware that the person who could have the influence to buy Han Dynasty Chess-set must be someone who wouldn¡¯t need his help in getting anything. But his conscience didn¡¯t allow him to back away. This promise was the only way to help his conscience feel at ease.

    "Okay! Deal!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without any hesitation and Ru heaved a sigh of relief that finally, she got herself out of this.

    "I should get going now," Ru said as she got up from the chair.

    "Yeah, me too!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied and after paying for their respective drinks, they walked out of the cafe. "Do you need a ride?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know why he asked that question but since he hasn¡¯t seen Ru with a car or any ride before, he just blurted out the offer.

    "Thanks but no thanks! I have my ride." Ru answered and turned to leave.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stared at her back before walking up to his car parked at the corner. He drove out of there with still Ru¡¯s words about love and life ringing in his mind. His hands itched to pick up a pen write down the words running in his mind.

    When he stopped the car at the red signal, he immediately looked for a notepad and wrote a rough sketch of his words:

    "I often thought love taught me to live,

    But walking her fade away from my life,

    I realized that heartbreak taught me the lesson for life

    Life might have taught me to love

    But it was the idea of death that taught me to cherish this song of life

    Life was beautiful with her love by my side

    But it was words of a stranger that became my guide."

    He was smiling at those words when suddenly his gaze fell out of the window pane at a certain someone, stunning him at his spot.

 Chapter 24 Being Alone & Being Lonely

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was stupified seeing Ru before his eyes. She had worn the cap on her head as he had seen before. Her green eyes were looking ahead as she rode a sleek ck... bicycle?

    He had the urge to shout at her, ¡¯Like seriously? I mean are you for real?¡¯

    When Ru told him earlier that she has the ride of her own. Never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that the so-called ride was actually a bicycle. The bicycle was ssy and oddly, under Ru¡¯s tall frame, it didn¡¯t feel odd.

    If anything Xiao Zhi-Ren found the young ¡¯man¡¯ quite elegant riding that bicycle. ¡¯How can he do everything so elegantly?¡¯ He thought to himself as Ru¡¯s figure vanished from his sight.

    Earlier when he saw Ru drinking tea, Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but think that Ru must have been a part of some real aristocratic family because of that distinguished aura along with those rich refined manners. One couldn¡¯t fake those things even if they want to. For Xiao Zhi-Ren, the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was a perfect example of noble bearings with a calm persona.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren could only shake his head at the prejudice he has had since the time he used to live with his father¡¯s family in Imperial. He was taught even in Ji Family house that noble men like them should always allow people to only see their dignified selves. And with time, he started thinking that perhaps money was the way to be dignified among people.

    Today, this stranger taught him another lesson. One needed to have cultural values and an enchanting aura that wouldn¡¯t need the help of money to show your noble status. This made him think even more highly of Ru.

    The car revved back on the road towards his destination with his mind stuck on the peculiar chairman of Metrix Consortium who could have bought any car he wanted and yet chose to drive a bicycle.

    On the contrary, Ru had nothing in her mind. She was aimlessly riding the bicycle which she specifically bought as means for her transport.

    When she was young, the car was a foreign thing for her. Why? Because until the age of 13, the younger generation was kept away from modern technology.

    In other words, the younger generation was taught to survive without modern technology until the age of 13. They were taught martial arts, traditional medicine, and other basic studies. But at the age of 13, Ru was finally introduced to the real technology. It wasn¡¯t that her n was benighted when it came to technology. Quite the contrary actually.

    Ru¡¯s family n was much more advanced than the world around them. They just liked keeping their advancement hidden since it could cause a lot of uproars.

    But even being exposed to such level of technological advancement, Ru was unfazed and showed no particr interest in learning about it. She knew how to drive a car but her life¡¯s training had molded her in a way that she always ran away from driving.

    Also, riding a bicycle or walking on foot both would make her tire out and that could help in her sleep at some level. That¡¯s why she chose to buy a bicycle instead of a car.

    In her thoughts, she didn¡¯t realize when she reached the school district of Imperial. She looked around and was quite surprised that she was back at this ce. In her subconsciousness, she was aware that she was hoping to meet that aloof and cold teenager who called her Oniisan making one of her biggest wishe true. But she tried to reason with herself that she only came to eat those ramens again.

    Her eyes were darting around looking for something or rather someone but she couldn¡¯t see him. She sat inside the ramen shop and ordered a bowl of Vegan ramen bowl for herself.

    Even while eating, her whole attention was at the door. But to her dismay, Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t show up. She sighed heavily and left the shop after paying for the ramen. She was feeling grumpy. Why? She couldn¡¯t tell.

    She wanted to hear Oniisan in his voice again and yet she didn¡¯t. She was confusing her own self. But it wasn¡¯t her fault. Even though she had a younger brother, he wasn¡¯t allowed to even call her anything other than ¡¯Young master Ru¡¯. At one point, she hated that title. She hated the fact that she wasn¡¯t even allowed to spend time with her own brother. She hated that she had to spend more hours training than the other people of her age.

    But with time, she figured all the reasons for these abnormal restrictions on herself. Oddly, it didn¡¯t even hurt anymore. Or perhaps, she forgot what pain felt like. Or possibly, she got used to the pain so much that the pain didn¡¯t felt like pain again.

    With these past things wandering in her mind, she was riding the bicycle to the side of the school to take a shortcut. But to her surprise, she saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan being held against the wall by a few other kids.

    She rolled her eyes at the irony and climbed off of her ride. "Hey, kids! I guess you never learned that bullying is not a nice thing to do."

    The three kids that were around Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned to look at Ru and were quite surprised that someone actually came to this side of the school. "Go away! It has nothing to do with you!" A teenager sneered. He looked like a typical thug with his shirt¡¯s button left open.

    "Well, actually it has everything to do with me since that¡¯s my little brother you dared to touch," Ru answered in a calm voice yet the teenagers felt a strange chill running up their spine. Before they could move, Ru stood right before the one who was holding Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cor. She held his wrist and the teenager burst out crying in pain.

    "You¡¯re noisy." She rubbed her ears in annoyance as she pressed on his pressure point on the elbow making him faint instantly.

    The other two looked horrified with the scene before them. "Now, who¡¯s next?" Her eyesnded on the other two and they sprinted away without thinking. "Eh? Such cowards!" She had disdain in her eyes as she turned to look at Xiao Zhi-Yuan, who was grinning like an idiot.

    He immediately lunged at her and hugged her tightly saying, "Oniisan! You¡¯re the best!" Ru was gonna push him away since she didn¡¯t like hugs but hearing him say ¡¯Oniisan¡¯, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so. Instead, she patted his back awkwardly since she had no idea what she was supposed to do in this situation.

    "Why is it always you who gets targeted by such thugs?" Ru teased him a bit making Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowl.

    He pulled away and said, "And why is it that you¡¯re always so lonely?"

    Ru gave him a set smile as she replied, "Correction. I¡¯m always alone. Not lonely."

    "There is a difference?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned.

    "Yup! Being lonely means that your loneliness can devour you while being alone means you can rule your solitude." She took a pause and further added, "Lonely are the people who can¡¯te to terms with their solitude while alone are the people who rule the world with their solitude as theirpanion."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan bobbed his head in understanding and remarked, "That logic was weird but I guess it was the best one I¡¯ve ever heard."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan hooked his arm with Ru¡¯s and said, "Come Oniisan, I¡¯ll treat you to a bowl of ramen."

    He was about to trudge away when Ru didn¡¯t move from her spot. She smelled a familiar metallic scent. This scent was too familiar for someone like her who had been ying with blood from an early age. She looked at Xiao Zhi-Yuan again, surveying his body and saw the side of his abdomen bleeding.

    "Who did that?" Hearing a strange fierceness in her voice, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled.

 Chapter 25 A Mature Teenager

    Ru lifted his shirt to see a ghastly sight. Although the wound looked deep, it didn¡¯t seem to have done much damage. The wound was right below his left kidney. It seemed to be like something sharp had pierced through him. The blood was oozing out of the wound but Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t seem to care much about it. Perhaps the adrenaline was still high from the earlier scuffle.

    "I asked a question, Xan!" Ru raised her voice instinctively but Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t answer.

    "Aye, this is the first time, Oniisan has called me Xan and not kiddo. I¡¯m so happy!" He grinned again disregarding Ru¡¯s fierce gaze.

    "Xan, what happened?" Ru softened her tone while gritting her teeth.

    "Aiyah! Nothing happened. I told you Nah, I don¡¯t fit in here. So, they just tried to teach me a lesson for being different. That¡¯s the problem with us humans. We want to be different ourselves but if someone else turns out to be different, we get upset over it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan shook his head like a mature person. "Anyways, when they pushed me in the corner, that small pole just dug in my skin." He spoke nonchntly as he pointed towards a sharp edge of the pole on one side.

    Ru rubbed her forehead as she questioned, "Where are your ipetent bodyguards?"

    "Oh, those! I asked bro to keep them away from me. I don¡¯t like them running around me like my tail." Ru had the urge to p him and she even lifted her hand to do so. But the way he closed his eyes in fear made Ru drop her hand down.

    She had been cing her hand over his wound to stop the bleeding but it wasn¡¯t that effective. "Let¡¯s take you to the hospital," Ru suggested.

    "Nope!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan backed away saying, "I¡¯m not going to the hospital."

    "Why?" Ru questioned while Xiao Zhi-Yuan pursed his lips. "Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re actually scared of hospitals?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t like the term ¡¯scared¡¯. So, he argued, "No. I just don¡¯t like hospitals. Have some bad memories." He didn¡¯t want to share the detail of his dislike for hospitals. His worst memories were associated with hospitals. How could he talk about it so openly?

    "Fine! Then sit down on the ground," Ru saw the way his face was solemn at the mention of the hospital. So, she decided not to push him any further. She could treat his wound anyway so it didn¡¯t matter much.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t argue this time and sat down on the ground. Ru lifted his shirt up and pulled out her set of needles. She ced the already disinfected needles precisely around his wound and the blood stopped oozing out. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was more than impressed since he didn¡¯t feel anything.

    Ru stood up and pulled out her cell phone to make a call. "Hey, Wu Dishi! Do something for me." She instructed Wu Dishi about the things that he needed to bring and disconnected the call.

    "Now, you tell me who were these thugs," Ru turned to Xiao Zhi-Yuan for a questioning session. She had a hateful look in her eyes as she red at the teenager who stillid unconscious on the ground.

    "I can¡¯t point fingers at other people when I¡¯m the one to me." Ru gave him an inquiring look and he went on, "I mean, I shouldn¡¯t say that they are in the wrong since I know that it¡¯s me who¡¯s weak. instead of pointing my finger at them to me, I can only work on myself to be stronger. But I never cared about it before since I was never bullied back in New York."

    Ru didn¡¯t know whether she should smile at the fact this teenager was mature for his age or be sad that he had grown up earlier than he was supposed to? She didn¡¯t like the idea of Xiao Zhi-Yuan losing his innocence at such a young age just because of this cruel world. She had faced the cruel world first hand and she never wished that anybody else should go through what she did.

    She tousled his hair and said, "Stop talking like an eighty-year-old. As for being strong, physical strength is superficial. If anything, you should be more clever than your enemies. Also, I know you¡¯re hurting. There is nothing wrong with lying sometimes but we should avoid lying about our feelings. Otherwise, those pure feelings get tainted by lies."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gazed at Ru strangely. He didn¡¯t know why he had this strange connection with Ru. But he just knew that the person before him was someone extraordinary. And also, he just knew that he wanted this person in his life. After his own brother, ¡¯he¡¯ was the sincerest person he had ever met.

    After a while, Wu Dishi brought the things that Ru asked for and stood at a side in silence. Ru wore her gloves and cleaned the wound properly before stitching it and applying the bandage.

    "You¡¯re all set. Wu Dishi will drive you home." Ru told Xiao Zhi-Yuan who had his eyes closed. When Ru saw him showing this vulnerable side, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡¯So, you aren¡¯t that strong after all, eh?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked at his perfectly bandaged wound and lifted his eyes to face Ru. "Oniisan can really do anything!" His praise made Ru frown a bit. "Oh, and why don¡¯t Oniisan take me home? I don¡¯t want to go with him." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave Wu Dishi a look and said, "No offense by the way."

    "None taken," Wu Dishi replied politely.

    Ru wasn¡¯t nning on saying yes but his ck gleaming eyes made her agree. "Fine! Wu Dishi drive the car!" Ru helped Xiao Zhi-Yuan up and took him to the car. Wu Dishi had already ced her bicycle in the luggagepartment afraid that his master might get angry if he forgot the precious ride of ¡¯his¡¯.

    When Wu Dishi was driving both Xiao Zhi-Yuan and Ru, he was wondering what rtionship there could be between the two. He had never seen his master act so cordially with anyone before. What¡¯s more, the teenage boy was actually calling his master as Oniisan!? No-one ever dared to call his master this affectionately before! Wu Dishi thought this was huge news and he needed to share it with someone but he couldn¡¯t even do that.

    Rumors and gossips were forbidden in Knight Empires and the consequences of both were unimaginable. He definitely didn¡¯t have the desire to be one of those who got to experience those consequences first hand. Therefore, he could only shut his trap and concentrate on his job.

    On the other hand, Ru was staring at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s calm and collected face. He didn¡¯t look like someone who had just been hurt. Although there were signs of paleness on his face, he didn¡¯t show any signs of weakness though.

    But in her limited time with Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she had read him inside out. This boy was not aloof or cold. Instead, he was a very warm person. He was always sincere. His reason for distancing himself from the world was that he was afraid of losing people. Ru had learned that he grew up without parents and that might have been his reason for avoiding the attachments. Why he chose to attach himself with her, she didn¡¯t know. But she knew that she wasn¡¯t gonnain about it either.

    When Wu Dishi stopped the car before the apartment building, Ru was surprised. She only read the huge name board, ¡¯Joyous Homes¡¯ and a wave of old memories rushed to her mind.

    ¡¯Here I am, standing before the ce where I didn¡¯t n toe again.¡¯ she thought to herself as she shook her head lightly. She pulled off the cap from her head and climbed off the car.

 Chapter 26 They So Did!

    *shback*

    "We can name it ¡¯Joyous Family Homes¡¯," Ru suggested as she looked at the blueprintsying on the table before her. She looked at her best friend standing beside her and saw him giving her an odd look.

    "Joyous Family Homes? Why?" Her best friend, Jie asked.

    "Because my dear friend, homes are supposed to be joyous. And only a family makes a home joyous, cheerful and ebullient," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "That¡¯s why let¡¯s name this new housing society as ¡¯Joyous Family Homes¡¯."

    Jie narrowed his brown charming eyes at her saying, "Ru¡¯er, some people don¡¯t have a family to make their homes joyous." Ru frowned since she knew he was indirectly pointing at her. Bloody son of a bachelor!

    "Dear best friend, without family, a home is not even home much less a joyous one." A vein popped on her neck showing her disagreement. "Without family, home is called a house; simply made of stones and woods. In short a materialistic thing having no sentimental value. And I don¡¯t want my new developing project to be all about money."

    "Fine!" Jie grumbled seeing her adamant on her words. "How about naming it Joyous Homes? As I said, not everyone has a family after all."

    Ru pondered for a while before bobbing her head. "Okay! Joyous Homes can work as well." she took a pause before adding, "But don¡¯t say that I have no family. Once I have found what I¡¯ve lost, I¡¯ll certainly go back to my family."

    "Do you really want to go back to the ce which caged you for so long?" Jie asked with disbelief visible on his face.

    "Of course. That golden cage of mine still was a luxury than your free world." Ru answered and went back to looking over the blueprints.

    *shback End*

    Coming back to the present, Ru felt like it had been a lifetime since that conversation happened. In reality, it only happened a little over 4 years ago. This condominium building was the first project that she took over in China after bing Lord Alev Knight. The reason was that she wanted a home toe back to.

    She sighed and in her thoughts didn¡¯t even notice when Xiao Zhi-Yuan had dragged her inside his apartment. The apartment structure was exactly as she remembered designing it. It was a duplex apartment. The entrance had a sleek hardwood food making it a bit glossy floor.

    The apartment had a top-down view of the living room from the second floor. The apartment¡¯s Bauhaus theme contrasted with the light and chic interior.

    Three amazing chandeliers in the living area made an immediate awe-inspiring impression. There were Brooklyn Chairs along withfy white couches and ss coffee table in the middle of the living room to go along. The styling was refined and yet its intricate design made one feelfortable in the apartment.

    An open and spacious dining room looked over the fabulous view of the society part outside the french doors.

    All in all, it¡¯s minimalistic style really impressed Ru at first sight.

    "Take a seat. I¡¯lle after changing out of these bloodstained clothes." She heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice as he was making his way towards the spiral stairway.

    "Hey, kiddo!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned and grimaced showing his dislike at the way she called him. Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Fine. Xan, can I use your kitchen?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan instantly smiled hearing her call him, ¡¯Xan¡¯ and nodded his head saying, "Oniisan can do anything he likes." With that, he left Ru alone in the spacious living room.

    Ru made her way to the kitchen which was separated from the dining room with a tinted ss partition. The kitchen had a very straightforward approach to luxury with its marble and copper design. It had aplete white-based shape giving it anotheryer of sophistication along with that ss, ceramic and chrome served as its second ents.

    In all honesty, Ru fell in love with this kitchen. It really was impressive, to say the least. She shook her head and rolled up her sleeves a bit. She wore the apron and got to work. She needed to give Xiao Zhi-Yuan some herbal concoction for the pain but before that he needed to eat something.

    She pulled open the double door refrigerator and was amazed to find it filled with fresh ingredients. She took all the things that she needed and got to work.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan came downstairs, he lost himself in the rich aroma that was lingering in the air. He paced up to Ru¡¯s side in the kitchen and said, "I didn¡¯t know Oniisan can cook."

    Ru lifted her eyes briefly to nce at him and answered, "I didn¡¯t know what you like to eat but since you¡¯re injured I¡¯m making you some chicken congee. It¡¯s good for health."

    Xiao Zhi-Yan didn¡¯t like congee but he didn¡¯t want to argue with his Oniisan. Therefore, he kept quiet. Ru served him congee with a couple of side dishes and asked him to finish it while it was still hot. Xiao Zhi-Yuanplied and ate the whole bowl in no time.

    "Wow! That¡¯s the best congee ever!" he couldn¡¯t help but praise while licking his lips in delight.

    Ru smiledzily at his behavior and passed him a small bowl of the medicine. Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowled looking at that dark-colored medicine in the bowl which he was asked to finish.

    "I don¡¯t want to drink this," he scrunched up his face as if thinking of something, he said, "Okay! I¡¯ll drink it."

    "What¡¯s the catch?" Ru asked with amusement.

    "Umm... Well... Please, don¡¯t tell bro about it," he pleaded with his eyes. "Please, he¡¯ll be really upset and worried. I don¡¯t want to see him sad."

    "Drink this. I¡¯ll think about whether to tell your brother or not." Ru answered and made him drink the whole bowl of the medicine.

    "Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! Eww... This tasted so bad." Xiao Zhi-Yuanined like a ten-year-old making Ru roll her eyes at him.

    She tousled his hair again and heard the sound of the door unlocking. Hearing the sound of the door, Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately perked up as he called out, "Is the weather cold?"

    "So what? Your brother is strong!" Came the answer from the hallway in a familiar voice.

    "The day must be tiring," Xiao Zhi-Yuan called out again as he stood up to greet his brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled gently at his brother and replied, "So what? Your warmth is all I¡¯m requiring."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to hug his brother but Xiao Zhi-Yuan evaded it afraid that his brother would see his wounds and then he¡¯d be in big trouble.

    Both of the brothers didn¡¯t notice the way Ru was looking at them. ¡¯Oh, they did not just greet each other in such a childish manner? Ugh! They did! They so did!¡¯ She was going crazy in her mind thinking about their earlier way topleting each other¡¯s words as if rhyming a poem or something.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren suddenly noticed a pair of eyes on himself and tilted his face to see Ru standing with her arms tucked in her front pockets.

    "You!" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what to say. He was more than just surprised to see Ru at his own home.

 Chapter 27 Before I Kill You

    Noticing his brother¡¯s strange look, Xiao Zhi-Yuan introduced them, "Big Bear, that¡¯s Oniisan and Oniisan, this is my brother. Xiao Zhi-Ren."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knitted his brows as he said, "I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see Mr. Xie again, on the same day at that too."

    "Well, that¡¯s the beauty of life. It¡¯s unexpectedly beautiful with its surprises." Ru answered looking into his eyes.

    "Eh? You both met earlier today?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked with curiosity.

    "Yeah! We did. You don¡¯t need to know." Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t exin anything to his brother and asked instead, "Did you ditch school again? How are you bing so irresponsible? There are only 3 months before the University Entrance Exams. How are you gonna pass that?"

    "And whose fault is that I¡¯mcking behind?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan challenged back. "Ha? Who told you to bring me to China in the middle of the semester?"

    "Well, I always thought my brother is a genius and he¡¯ll be able to catch up with other people with his achievements." Xiao Zhi-Ren put all the me back on his younger brother for being irresponsible.

    "Oh, big bear, I was a genius but Chinese Literature and English Literature are so opposite of each other. How am I supposed to learn Chinese Literature in such a short time? I barely can talk in Mandarine much less learn literature in it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan argued back.

    Seeing them banter like this, Ru chuckled softly and both brothers turned to look at her. "Is it funny, Mr. Xie?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked incredulously.

    "No... Not really! Seeing his hate towards Chinese Literature reminded me of my old self. Gosh! I used to hate Literature¡¯s guts with a searing passion." While Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised to hear that, Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes had brightened up.

    But both didn¡¯t realize that Ru¡¯s mind had wandered off to an old memory.

    *shback*

    "Young master Ru, it has been already a week and you still haven¡¯t been able to learn ¡¯The ssic of Poetry¡¯[1]?" An aged voice bellowed making the young Ru wince.

    "Old master Song, this young master needs a few more days," Ru spoke in her childlike voice as she was kneeling before her Literature master.

    "Humph! Young master Ru, if you¡¯re going to take these many days to just learn ¡¯The ssic of Poetry¡¯ then how are we going toplete the rest of ssic books? You still have ¡¯The Analects of Confucius¡¯ to master." Old master Song reprimanded her badly as she listened with her head down in respect.

    "What is happening here?" Hearing her grandfather¡¯s intimidating voice, Ru immediately turned to him.

    "Grandfather," seeing her grandfather¡¯s narrowed eyes, she coughed and started again, "Old n Patriarch, old master Song is not showing mercy for this young master. This young master is only 8 years old and old master Song is making this young master more pitiful with all these books." She was speaking as if she had been really wronged.

    "Young master Ru, go back to your courtyard and kneel on the washboard until I say so otherwise." Ru was startled to hear her grandfather¡¯s words.

    "What did this young master do wrong now?" She asked in exasperation.

    "Young master Ru, you¡¯re the next head of the n. And it doesn¡¯t suit for a n head to call himself pitiful." Hearing this exnation from Old master Song, Ru could only swallow her anger and go to execute her punishment.

    *shback End*

    Thinking of how she had to kneel on the washboard for 8 hours made her cringe at the memory. Let¡¯s be honest here, it¡¯s not pleasant seeing your knees bleed from kneeling.

    When she noticed both brothers eyes on herself, she smiled saying, "But now I don¡¯t hate it. I learned my lesson. Since I had to master all the Five ssics and Four Books in ssical Language."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was astounded at her words. ¡¯All the ssics? That¡¯s a huge thing!¡¯

    "You must have learned poetry then as well. Care to share?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know why he wanted to test the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him but he did.

    "Hmm... Poetry?" Ru tapped her chin with her index finger as she pondered for a minute before speaking, "I¡¯ll read out a stanza written by Su Tungpo back in Song Dynasty."

    ¡¯The moon rounds the red mansion

    Stoops to silk-pad doors

    Shines upon the sleepless

    Bearing no grudge

    Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren had always been a fan of poetry and he certainly had heard the stanza that Ru read out but he still couldn¡¯t help but have a feeling that hearing the same stanza from Ru was like discovering its meaning all over again.

    "Do you write yourself as well Oniisan?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked excitedly.

    Ru scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she answered, "Well, I try to. But my best friend used to alwaysin about my bad rhyming senses."

    "Why don¡¯t you read out something. It can¡¯t be that bad," Xiao Zhi-Yuan tugged at her sleeve making feel pressured.

    "So, here it is:

    Roses are red

    Violets are blue

    Come back home

    Before I kill you!" Three handsome people in the living shared an awkward moment of silence before bouts ofughter were heard around. Ru didn¡¯t remember thest time sheughed along with someone but today, she did. Even if it was for a small moment, she felt happy.

    "That... That was unique!" Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked trying hard to muffle hisugh.

    "You don¡¯t have to be polite about it. I know it sucked." Ru answered nonchntly.

    "As I thought, Oniisan sure is peculiar and I love that about you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan announced. "But I think Oniisan is hiding his real talent."

    Ru gave him a quizzical look and Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled in return. "Just hire a tutor for him or just choose foreign literature for the test. What¡¯s so difficult about that?" Ru suggested as she turned to Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "I think, I should!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied solemnly.

    "I should get going now," Ru turned to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "Oniisan can stay for the night. It¡¯s quitete now."

    Ru whipped her body to look at him saying, "Don¡¯t worry about me. I live on the top floor of the building."

    Although she didn¡¯t live there, she was nning on staying there for the night. It would give her a way to decide what to do with her apartment.

    "Oh, then I can visit Oniisan whenever I want," Xiao Zhi-Yuan was d about his oue. He waved his hand saying goodbye to Ru before turning back towards his room.

    "I guess we¡¯ll see each other again, Mr. Xiao." Ru smiled mysteriously at Xiao Zhi-Ren before leaving his apartment.

    She took the private elevator to her own triplex apartment at the top. Earlier, she nned on telling Xiao Zhi-Ren about Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s injury but seeing the brother¡¯s loving banter, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so.

    She entered the apartment and found it exactly as Jie once designed its interior. Nothing was changed. But she had the urge to leave this ce. Every single thing was hand-picked by her best friend, Jie and now, she didn¡¯t feelfortable in thepany of these things.

    She roamed around in the dramatic and unforgettable ck marble hallway. The interior seemed to echo the beach tones of thendscape. She stood before the ss walls of the living room looking over the vast greennd. The living room didn¡¯t have much furniture but it had neutral natural tones giving it a sophisticated feeling.

    She dialed a number and said, "I need some changes to be done in my apartment. It¡¯s convenient to stay here for a while. Its closer to the office anyway." She had decided to fight with her uneasy feelings and stay at the same ce which made her ufortable. That was her way of fighting with own herself.

    [1] "The ssic of Poetry": It¡¯s one of the five ssics in ancient Chinesenguage. It was written in the Song Dynasty.

 Chapter 28 Annoying Pes

    "What¡¯s up, Mr. Knight?"

    Ru was busy with the documents in her hand when that irritating voice made her clench her fists. Although the irritating voice was not irritating in reality, it was just irritating to her. Because it belonged to an irksomed whom she didn¡¯t fancy at all.

    "Certainly this lord¡¯s blood pressure is up seeing his highness¡¯ galling physiognomy," Ru answered as she lifted her eyes to look at that irksomed.

    In reality, the man standing before her was pleasing to the eyes. More than just pleasing with his sharp features making one want to turn to take another look. He was a typical Englishd; sophisticated and yet domineering. He was amused hearing Ru¡¯s answer as always.

    Thisd was none other than the Royal Prince of London, His Highness Adrian Alister.

    "You know I really didn¡¯t expect that Mr. Knight woulde to China himself," he spoke in his soothing voice with his British ent.

    "I believe it was His Highness himself who wanted this lord to personally take over this case," Ru answered without missing a beat. There was a bit of hostility whenever she said, ¡¯His Highness¡¯ and Adrian knew the reason for that perfectly well.

    Ru was sitting cross-legged on the thick carpet of the newly redecorated apartment. Adrian was quite lost in his thoughts as he kept his eyes on Ru¡¯s figure sitting on the floor. The green-eyed lord before him had been a mystery for the past 6 years in his life. And an awful mystery at that.

    He called Ru an awful mystery since he couldn¡¯t help being intrigued by her. Also, he found Ru quite irritating just like she found him equally irritating.

    But oddly, these two mismatched people who hated each other¡¯s guts had been making a pretty good team to solve the unsolved mysteries in Ennd.

    Ru was a part ofw enforcers once but then because of her exceptional talents, the royal Queen took a liking to her and asked Ru to be an important figure. The Queen gave Ru a year to rise in ranks and get involved with people who hide from thew. And that¡¯s when a genius officer became the Lord Alev Knight.

    His hate for Ru was also because of his grandmother, the Queen was actually extremely fond of Ru. She¡¯d always reprimand Adrian to be exceptional like Mr. Knight. It made him hate Ru.

    "Well, I thought you¡¯d send your people to look into this smuggling case. Who knew that Mr. Knight would actually bring his own army back to China? Are you nning to rule Asia?" Adrian asked with interest as he decided to take a seat at the couch himself since his host wasn¡¯t nning on doing so.

    "Did I ask you to sit? How many times have I told you to leave your Royal arse out of my business?" Ru¡¯s remark made Adrian want to deliver a punch straight to that damn handsome face before him but he knew he wouldn¡¯t be sessful. "This lord only brought a part of his army and that too because the Queen wants everything to be done efficiently. As for taking over Asia," Ru scoffed. "This lord is not shallow like you."

    "Can¡¯t you speak without taunting me?" Adrian asked glowering at her.

    "To that, I can only reply with... Bugger Off!" That really ticked off Adrian whose fairplexion was being painted with the hues of red.

    "You knobhead! I hate you!" Adrian growled at her but Ru was unfazed. ¡¯How typical of him!¡¯ Adrian thought to himself. His biggest problem was that no matter what he said, this Mr. Knight would never lose ¡¯his¡¯ temper. And that made him even more grumpy.

    "Have I mentioned?" Ru asked inly with a poker-face.

    "What?" Adrian showed interest as he leaned closer.

    "The feeling is very mutual. This lord hates his highness¡¯ royal arse as well." If someone saw this scene from afar, they would think that the two people were having a normal conversation with their calm looks but only these two could tell the burning fury hidden in their words.

    There was silence in the spacious seating area that spanned almost all over the living room. In silence, Adrian observed the interior of the living area and was surprised to see how the sharp edges of the furniture reflected the angr artwork and matching modr table set.

    Adrian left Ru¡¯s side and roamed around her apartment as if it was his own royal garden. He was already fascinated by the ck marble hallways and then he saw the stunning artworks that decorated the entire dark hallway making it appear like a part of a gallery.

    Adrian was well-versed in the art and was familiar with each piece that was hung on the wall. Passing through the hallway, he came across the staggering floor to ceiling sculpture swirls around a curvaceous ck daybed. It was illuminated from the floor by the recessed lighting.

    Adrian already was familiar that Mr. Knight had a very peculiar taste but he still couldn¡¯t figure out the reason for ck color in ¡¯his¡¯ life.

    "Are you done admiring the view?" Adrian was startled when he heard Ru¡¯s voice from behind him. ¡¯Gosh! Why doesn¡¯t this man make any sound when he walks?¡¯ he was roaring in his mind but he knew if he said it out loud then they¡¯d again get into an unnecessary argument. And he was certainly not in the mood.

    "Shall we talk about your reason for being here, His royal highness?" Ru taunted him again making him roll his eyes.

    "Fine! Grandmother asked me to inform you something," Ru attentively listened without interrupting at all. "The spy she had sent for this smuggling deals is killed. Before dying he sent a message to the HQ." Adrian took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead saying, "The message stated that smuggling is just a way to distract us. The real purpose of these people is far worse."

    Seeing Ru¡¯s indifferent look, Adrian had a thought, "You knew?!" He didn¡¯t know if he was asking or stating a fact. But since Ru didn¡¯t react he realized that it was a fact. "Then do you know their real motive."

    "For now, I¡¯m unclear about it. But we¡¯ll eventually get to that." Ru stated without even sparing Adrian a nce. He really felt invisible in herpany while she felt invincible to him.

    ¡¯Was he really that insignificant for this Lord Alev Knight?¡¯ he thought to himself helplessly. ¡¯What rotten luck I have that I came across this unbeatable lord!¡¯

    "Doesn¡¯t royal highness have to catch a flight back home now?" Ru asked as if she was just reminding him like a loyal subordinate.

    Adrain squinted his eyes and said, "Nope! I¡¯m going to stay here for a while."

    "Suit yourself! But get your royal arse out of my apartment. My humble abode can¡¯t possibly amodate his royal highness¡¯ great self. After all, this lord is only a lowly subject."

    ¡¯Lowly subject? My arse!¡¯ Adrian smiled pleasantly and answered, "Grandmother specifically advised me to stick close to Mr. Knight during my stay in China. Now, how can I go against my royal grandmother?" Adrian was feeling proud of himself since now, he¡¯ll get to irritate this green-eyed monster as much as he wants to.

    Ru took a deep breath and answered, "Okay! As the royal highness says so."

    She hated the idea of sharing her apartment with this brat but she had no other option. He really was an annoying pest hovering in her life for the past 6 years.

 Chapter 29 If You Can Fit, Be My Gues

    In the past week, Ru had changed the entire interior of the apartment to give it a media-savvy look. The things that she didn¡¯t change were the natural tones of the apartment. The ce was a work of pure art and the world-ss artworks only enhanced the refined structure of the apartment.

    If one would ask, what was missing in this apartment? The answer would be...

    "WHAT THE FUDGE? WHERE THE HELL IS THE BED?"

    The booming roar must have answered your question. Yes, there was no bed in this huge triplex apartment. Originally, the apartment was designed for her and she would never have any guest which left no reason for having a guest room to amodate people. And since she never slept onfy beds, there was no point in wasting money.

    Adrian came running back to Ru who was still immersed in the documents before her. "Are you even listening? Where is the bed? Where am I supposed to sleep?" His voice was clearly abrasive and yet Ru didn¡¯t bother lifting her head to spare him a nce.

    "I¡¯ve already informed Royal Highness Adrian that this lord¡¯s humble abode won¡¯t be able to amodate you. It was you who still wanted to stay here." Ru¡¯s mellifluous voice and her mocking words were quite contrasting making Adrian want to bang either his own head or that green-eyed monster¡¯s.

    "Now, am I suppose to sleep on your head, Mr. Knight?" Adrian questioned sarcastically while gritting his teeth. He wasn¡¯t serious but someone else took his words seriously.

    Ru stroked her chin as if seriously pondering that idea in her mind. "If you can fit, be my guest," Ru answered him and even moved her head a bit towards him.

    Adrian raised his hands wanting to strangle her but he could only harrumph before walking away not before saying, "You better get me a bed before Ie back."

    "Pow! Pow! Pow!" Ru made the sound with her mouth. She even was punching her hands in the air while ring towards the hallway where he vanished. Then she picked up her cellphone and dialed a number. "What do you think you¡¯re doing in London? I don¡¯t care how you¡¯re gonna do it but get this damn prince off of my back. If he¡¯s not gone by tonight, I might strangle him to death." Taking a brief pause, she added, "And then I think strangling will be too easy. I honestly want to boil him alive in a pot and skin him with my own hands."

    The person at the other end shuddered just listening to the malicious tone of hers. "Sir Knight! I¡¯ll take care of it."

    "You better do!" With these parting words of hidden warning, Ru hung up the call.

    While she was sulking at her ce, Adrian had left to see an old friend who was the reason for his decision to stay in China for a few days. Obviously, he wanted to torture Mr. Knight with his presence but his real reason was different indeed.

    "Hey, Zoran!" Adrian called out the moment he stepped inside the spacious office of his friend. The person sitting on the swivel chair behind the mahogany desk had refined features; elegant and alluring.

    On the huge mahogany desk was a customized ss-like acrylic desk namete. On the name que, in beautiful writing was engraved: Xiao Zhi-Ren, CEO SnapVise Technologies.

    "Adrian! You didn¡¯t even inform me that you¡¯reing," Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at his old friend and walked towards him to give him a bro hug.

    "If I had informed, would you be this surprised?" Adrian asked yfully wiggling his brows.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at Adrian¡¯s childish behavior and couldn¡¯t help but remind him, "If you keep acting like a child, who would still believe that you¡¯re the royal highness of Ennd?"

    "Forget about that. You tell me why did you suddenly decide toe to China?" Adrian inquired as he pulled him to a sitting area in the corner of the room. Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed quiet making Adrian impatient. "Zoran! I¡¯m asking you something?"

    "Since you ruined my chances in the European market, I decided to take my chances in Asia," Xiao Zhi-Ren answered crisply not forgetting to remind Adrian of his mistakes.

    "What did I do?" Adrian yed the act of being ignorant.

    "Really?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gave him a look before reminding him, "If it wasn¡¯t for your stupid wish to be at loggerheads with Lord Alev Knight. I wouldn¡¯t have had to lose my chances in the European market."

    Adrian scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "In my defense, that person is hateful to the bones. I couldn¡¯t help it. Who knew that he had someone on his end to stop your exceptional attack on Knight Empires server." Adrian clicked his tongue in disappointment. "It was such a waste. We were so close to cracking his whole empire down."

    "Mr. Royal Prince, it was not a waste. It was a disaster for me. Whoever was stopping the attack left a damn malware in my own server. I had a loss of millions just because of your stupid revenge." Xiao Zhi-Ren flicked Adrian¡¯s forehead.

    They had been friends since their college days since both were in the same ss. Adrian was sent to America to study away from all the media coverage of his royal lifestyle. And that¡¯s when both became close friends.

    A few years back, Adrian wanted to take his revenge on Lord Alev Knight and to do that, he asked Xiao Zhi-Ren to attack the main server of Knight Empires. Now, it was their misfortune that their attack was fruitless. And in return, Xiao Zhi-Ren had to suffer huge losses. From that time, Xiao Zhi-Ren decided to stay far away from Knight Empires territory.

    "I still think that your animosity is quite pointless. If I haven¡¯t heard wrong, Mr. Knight actually saved your grandmother¡¯s life and that¡¯s why the Queen favors him so much." Adrian hated this specific argument. Why was everyone reminding him about how big of a favor that hateful person did on the royal family?

    "Look, Zoran! You don¡¯t know him personally. I might not have hated him this much if he had a likable personality. But he is just too hateful. I can¡¯t help it." Adrian raked his fingers through his golden blond locks.

    "Oh? Why don¡¯t you tell me what¡¯s so hateful about him?" Xiao Zhi-Ren retorted as he gave hisplete attention to Adrian seemingly quite interested in this particr topic.

    "He... He..." Adrian tried to think of his reasons but suddenly all his reasons seemed childish. But since Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking at him eagerly, he had to say something. "He is too honest with his remarks. He never respects me. Always treat me as if I¡¯m a child who doesn¡¯t know any better."

    "And that¡¯s your reason? Because if it is then I think your problem is that he doesn¡¯t like licking your boot to get your favor." Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t bother sugar-coating his words before his friend.

    Adrian was about to argue when his cellphone made him swallow his words back down. Seeing the caller id, he frowned and picked up the call. "What is it?"

    "Your Highness, my apologies to disturb you but it¡¯s urgent." The person at the other end spoke respectfully.

    "Come to the point," Adrian spoke impatiently.

    "There seems to be an emergency at your vineyard in France..." Adrian¡¯s face changed color the more he listened.

    "Ask the pilots to be on standby. I¡¯ming straight to the airport." Adrian hung up the call and stood up in a hurry.

    "Is everything okay with you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired seeing his unusual behavior.

    "Yeah! Just a bit of an issue that requires my assistance. Anyway, you better tell me the real reason foring to China when I see you next. For now, I¡¯ll let you keep this secret." Adrian hugged Xiao Zhi-Ren before leaving his office.

 Chapter 30 Four; The Death

    "Master, here are the details that we gathered in Hong Kong." Adia passed a tabletputer to Ru and stood back in line with the other members of ck Mist squad.

    "Anything particr that I should know about?" Ru asked as her eyes were skimming through the data before her on the screen.

    No-one spoke to answer as they kept sharing looks with each other. Sensing their reluctance, Ru said in a neutral manner, "Jack!"

    "Always at your service master," the youngest of the squad spoke submissively.

    "Are you going to hide things from your master?" The way Ru spoke sent chills to Jack¡¯s spine making him gulp down his swallow.

    "Absolutely not, master." Ru expected that answer. She knew very well that since Jack was the youngest, he always treated her as his everything. For Jack, Ru was not just a master, she was his savior and he would do anything to repay her.

    "Start talking," hearing Ru¡¯s order, Jack straightened up.

    "There is a particrly odd thing that came to our attention," Jack started with a strange expression. "We came across another girl like the one who tried to kill you back in London."

    "Where is she?" Ru immediately asked.

    Jack bit down his lips and answered, "We lost her."

    Ru mmed her hand on the table before her making the other¡¯s startle up. She rubbed her temples as she questioned, "How are you sure that the one who attacked me and the one who came across you have any kind of connection?"

    Connor was the one to answer that question, "The one we came across was also mute." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at Connor to keep going, "Apart from that, she had the same look of bloodthirst in her eyes. Her movements and way of execution everything matched with the assassin we have in our dungeon."

    "Go, get busy," Ru waved her fingers asking them to leave her alone.

    ¡¯Mute? Female? This can¡¯t be a coincidence now, can it?¡¯ Ru was lost in her thoughts when she felt the presence of someone close by. "What is it, Jack?"

    Jack was startled but he instantlyposed himself and said, "I forgot to tell you something, master."

    Ru turned around to look at him and asked, "What is it?"

    Jack dug out a piece of cloth from his pocket and extended it towards her saying, "When I was fighting with that assassin, I identally tore a piece of her dress. You might wanna see it closely."

    Ru took the piece from his hand and Jack turned around to leave. Ru held the cloth in hand and couldn¡¯t tell why this kid wanted her to look at it closely. She rubbed her hand over it, tried to smell it but couldn¡¯t decide what was she supposed to be looking for.

    While she was busy frowning, her phone rang making her groan in irritation. Seeing the caller id, a smug smile bloomed on her thin lips. "Oh my! Your Royal Highness, your bed has just been delivered. When would you be gracing my humble abode with your presence?"

    "I¡¯m on the ne. Going to France for some urgent work." Adrian¡¯s somber voice was transmitted from the other end.

    "Oho! Is everything alright with his highness? I hope you won¡¯t be needing any assistance." It was a pity that Ru couldn¡¯t see his contorted face at the moment. Nheless, she was enjoying the helplessness in his voice.

    On the other side, if Adrian knew her thoughts, he would have strangled her by now. "No, I don¡¯t need your assistance. I can certainly handle my own business." Adrian spoke with indignation.

    "Then I hope his highness can deal withw and press all the while maintaining his code of fighting with problems like any other civilian." Adrian¡¯s eyes went round as he understood her meaning.

    "You! You did it! I should have guessed. Ugh!" Adrian was irked and now, stood at the edge of his patience. It was no wonder that suddenly his vineyard was facing awsuit and that whole incident of wine not being properly brewed or whatnot had been spread to the media.

    "Took you long enough to figure it out."

    "Mr. Knight, may I ask why you love to attack me so openly?" Adrian spoke clenching his jaw.

    "It must be because I hate hiding in the dark to attack," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "You idiot! I wish I never have to see you again!" Adrian screamed through the phone making Ru push the phone away from her ear.

    "Trust me, I¡¯m not a fan of seeing you either. Also, if this mission went as I want it to, you won¡¯t see this lord ever again." Ru¡¯s voice had changed to an intense tone making Adrian feel weird.

    "Hey! What do you mean?" Adrian received no reply since the line was cut. He stared at the phone screen as he kept thinking of those words, ¡¯Won¡¯t see him again? Why?¡¯ Suddenly, Adrian realized that he didn¡¯t like the sound of this certain phrase at all. His favorite hobby had be to frustrate Mr. Knight, how could he just get over it? ¡¯He must be messing with me again!¡¯ He shook his head and decided not to believe Ru¡¯s words.

    But what he didn¡¯t know was that Ru meant what she said. Her only reason to stay as Lord Alev Knight was to look for her memories that she lost. Look for the source of pain that prickled her body and burned her soul every time.

    After hanging up the call, as if remembering something, Ru picked the piece of cloth and went to a room on the third floor of the apartment. She opened a wooden cab and mixed up a few chemicals in a ss container before dipping the cloth in it.

    True to her spections, the ck cloth suddenly had writing on it in, visible in white color. When she looked closely, she realized it wasn¡¯t writing. Rather it was a female gender symbol. But the symbol¡¯s peculiarity was the fact that in the circle head, there was written: 19. She stared at it for a long time in shock.

    She went to the huge mirror wall in the room and took off her ck jacket and lifted the full-sleeve shirt underneath. Turning her taut body sideways, she looked at the side of her ribcage. The tattoo on her body and on that cloth was identical except for two things: One, hers had the number four engraved in the circle head and two, her tattoo¡¯s circle head had two devil horns.

    She always told herself that she had that symbol since she was famous for being called ¡¯four¡¯ back in her n because it sounded like the death in Mandarine. But today, she had to stop convincing her mind.

    She staggered back a bit as she kept staring at that tattoo on her own body. Where it came from? She didn¡¯t know. Why was it on her body? She didn¡¯t know that either. What did it mean? She knew nothing.

    But now she knew one thing, coincidences can happen but not this much. How was it possible that seeing that assassin who tried to kill her, she felt sympathy instead of rage? How was it possible that she found the same symbol on someone¡¯s clothes as she had on her own body. That surely wasn¡¯t her family¡¯s symbol.

    ¡¯Now, I have all the more reason to believe that I¡¯m close to finding whatever I lost!¡¯ she determined in her mind and pulled her jacket back on. ¡¯Whoever you are, I¡¯ll find you! Even if the cost of finding you is to lose my life!¡¯

 Chapter 31 Soccer? Football!

    We are often told that time is a healer. With time, everything gets better.

    But...

    The truth is...

    Time was never a healer. If anything, time is a teacher instead.

    It doesn¡¯t heal our wounds to make us feel better. It just teaches us the way to bear that pain and live with it. In all honesty, there is no such pain that actually truly fades away.

    Pain sticks with us but the difference is that pain sticks to us like our shadow.

    How is it a shadow?

    When we get close to something that brings happiness in our life again, for that particr time, pain leaves our side as the shadows leave us in darkness.

    No matter how old this pain gets, it doesn¡¯t fade away. But then again, without this pain, we all be left with no reminders of our mistakes.

    As the saying goes, ¡¯Pain demands to be felt.¡¯

    We all have different ways to cope with that pain. For Ru, she made herself busy with work to not let herself break down. After seeing the same marking as she had on her body, she felt her body reminding her of all the pain that it went through.

    The feeling of being torn apart was overwhelming her to the extent that she had the urge to scream. But...

    She didn¡¯t scream.

    Instead, she chose to smile as always.

    Why?

    She was taught to never let others hear her screams of pain. Because it would only make people pity her and young master Ru was anything but pitiful.

    No matter how much her brain was screaming inside, she had never let anyone hear those screams. She would never show her vulnerability to anyone. It was a taboo in her life.

    Right now, to escape from the screaming voices in her head, she had buried herself in different affairs for the whole day. But when the screams didn¡¯t leave her alone, she chose to pick up her football and went to the park nearby.

    She¡¯d been running around with the football aimlessly when she heard a voice from behind, "You seem to be quite fond of ser."

    Ru looked up to see Xiao Zhi-Ren sitting on a bench with his eyes trained on her. She felt like he had been there for quite a while now. Because he didn¡¯t seem to be someone who was just passing by.

    Ru took the ball in her hand and replied, "First, it¡¯s called football. Second, it¡¯s the only game that actually excites me."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at her and said, "Well, ser sure is one of the most yed sports in the world."

    "I don¡¯t understand this," Ru started making Xiao Zhi-Ren raise his brow inquiringly. "Why do you Americans have to call it ser? Clearly, for the entire world, it¡¯s football."

    "Let me correct you. Australians also call it ser." Xiao Zhi-Ren argued.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him saying, "It doesn¡¯t exin the reason for being called ser."

    "That¡¯s a good question. But America already has a game known as football." Xiao Zhi-Ren presented his answer as he crossed his arms before his chest.

    Ru scoffed. "Mr. Xiao, that game is called rugby. Because neither it¡¯s yed with a ball nor it¡¯s yed by the feet."

    "Mr. Xie, I think this is something we should not be arguing about since neither you are aplete English man and nor am I aplete American." He was quite reasonable and even Ru herself didn¡¯t know why she started this argument in the first ce.

    But nheless, it helped her ovee the prickling pain and loud screams in her mind.

    "Want some?" Ru looked at the bottle of water in the hand that he had extended towards her. She shrugged her shoulders and took the bottle before perching down beside him on the bench.

    "Thank you!"

    "You are most wee!" He replied pleasantly and looked straight at the empty park. "Do you mind me asking what¡¯s your deal with the hoods?" He had always seen Ru in hoods and that too in either ck or grey color. But he chose to ignore this color part.

    Ru looked at him through her peripheral vision and replied, "It helps me in concentrating at the things that are right in front of my eyes." He nodded his head as if understood the meaning behind her words. "Mey I ask what brought you here at this time?"

    "Oh, me? Ie for a walk whenever I feel stuffed up inside the house."

    They sat in silence again. But the silence wasn¡¯t awkward at all. Both were lost in their own thoughts. As Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind was wandering off to find the emotion in those green eyes before him. Earlier when he saw Ru ying all alone, he felt like he saw a bit of agitation and anger emitting from her body.

    But now, seeing the calm expression on Ru¡¯s face, he was questioning his own mind. Was he overthinking? Perhaps not. Since until now, this was the first time he felt that there was something else to the young ¡¯man¡¯ beside him other than ¡¯his¡¯ tranquil and enchanting aura.

    "You know, my face doesn¡¯t have the answers written on it but I do know how to speak." Xiao Zhi-Ren jolted a bit hearing that deep voice. He was flustered for being caught for gawking.

    He dry coughed a bit and spoke, "So, what¡¯s up, Mr. Xie?" He knew he wasn¡¯t close enough to Ru to ask anything personal. Therefore, he decided to do some casual chatting.

    Ru shot up from her seat and looked at the sky curiously and said, "Oh, it¡¯s a bird..." She clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment saying, "Tsk... Nah... It¡¯s a ne... Oh, wait!" She turned her gaze to Xiao Zhi-Ren who was looking at her with his raised brows. "Ah! It¡¯s Superman!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pursed his lips trying hard to muffle hisugh but as they both looked at each other. Both had amusing smiles on their handsome faces and both ended upughing together. Xiao Zhi-Ren never thought that the chairman of Metrix Consortium would give him such a childish reply for a simple ¡¯What¡¯s up?¡¯

    "Haha... That¡¯s quite old..." Xiao Zhi-Ren said rolling his eyes at her.

    "But you fell for it." Ru reminded him, making him scrunch up his face as he nodded.

    "Fair enough!"

    After theirughter died down, they started walking back towards the apartment building together. "Aren¡¯t you excessively cheerful for someone who calls the shots for one of thergest and fastest growing group ofpanies?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked while Ru was busy in spinning the ball on her finger.

    Ru didn¡¯t spare him a nce as she retorted, "Aren¡¯t you too carefree yourself?" Xiao Zhi-Ren pursed his lips knowing he couldn¡¯t argue with that. "But in all honesty, I think you¡¯re not carefree at all. Just like you know in your heart that I¡¯m not cheerful." The way she gave him a lopsided smile gave Xiao Zhi-Ren a start.

    In his heart, he knew that the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was not cheerful. But the way he always found ¡¯him¡¯ smiling gave Xiao Zhi-Ren believe for just a second that perhaps, his heart was wrong. Perhaps, this person was cheerful and he was just overthinking again.

    But Ru¡¯s answer broke that believe of ¡¯maybe¡¯ in him. Now, he could say that this young ¡¯man¡¯ was certainly hiding behind ¡¯his¡¯ cheerful persona. Like he was hiding behind a carefree one.

    They were on a tree-lined pathway which led to the apartment building. Ru was distracted with her mind in chaos over plenty of things. Suddenly a fast car lost bnce and changingnes got on the pathway. Xiao Zhi-Ren pulled Ru, making her fall to the grass-d ground with himself. If he had been a secondte, Ru would have been severely injured.

    "Are you okay?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked her and looked at the way where the car vanished. "F*ck! People really have no sense of following the speed limit at all."

    Ru sat frozen on the ground without moving. Xiao Zhi-Ren thought that the car gave her the fright but he didn¡¯t know that she was not scared. Instead, she was in shock. A state of disbelief.

    "Why did you save me?" Xiao Zhi-Ren heard her soft voice which wasn¡¯t like what he was familiar with. The voice wasn¡¯t deep. It was delicate like silver bells were chiming.

    "Uh? Wasn¡¯t I supposed to?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t understand the context of her question.

    This was the first time someone saved her without any reason. She always had to save herself along with the people around her. It never felt weird since she could save herself and others. But today, someone else saved her.

    True, it was just an ident and he did it on instinct but for her, it meant a lot more. She dusted off her ck trousers and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren in the dark night. "Mr. Xiao, since you saved my life if you ever need me in the future for anything. Don¡¯t hesitate from asking."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned since he thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. But seeing the look of resolution and sincerity in her eyes, Xiao Zhi-Ren could only nod his head. "I¡¯ll hold you for that promise then."

    Ru extended her hand for him to shake as she said, "Have faith in me. This young master¡¯s promise is more important than his own life."

    If she knew that this promise would one day make her want to strangle Xiao Zhi-Ren, she would have never given that promise without thinking.

 Chapter 32 Youre A Bubble, Im Gum

    "Organize the productunch event. Let¡¯s name it... ¡¯New Phase of Tech, Made by Snap Tech¡¯. But make sure to not reveal the details of the products that we areunching." Xiao Zhi-Ren told Qin Qu as they were nning their first productunch in China.

    "Wouldn¡¯t it be better to give some sneak peek to our new product? It¡¯ll generate some anticipation in public." Qin Qu suggested.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren ced his customized ck pen on the table and looked at his best friend, "Qu, I want the product to stay as a secret to cause a whole new level of anticipation." Qin Qu definitely wasn¡¯t following but he still listened attentively. "This is SnapVise Technologies first step into China. And as you are familiar, there is already enough hype surrounding us. Now, we just need to focus on taking advantage of this hype. The less our customers will know, the more curious they will be to find out."

    Qin Qu nodded his head in admirationpletely understanding Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s intention. "Oh, and don¡¯t forget to release a promotional video." Xiao Zhi-Ren reminded Qin Qu and turned to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan surreptitiously trying to escape from the house. "Where are you going, Yuan?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan straightened up to look at his elder brother¡¯s questioning gaze. He scratched the tip of his nose and answered, "I¡¯m going to see Oniisan."

    A line appeared between Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows. "Why?"

    "Because I¡¯m gonna ask him to help me with the Chinese Literature." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered straightforwardly.

    "Why don¡¯t you chose foreign Literature just as your Oniisan had suggested," Xiao Zhi-Ren argued. He really didn¡¯t understand the reason for Xiao Zhi-Yuan trying to stick with Chinese Literature when he wasn¡¯t even familiar with the basics of it.

    "Humph!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan scoffed. "Then how will I be able to prove myself?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s frown deepened as he said, "But I don¡¯t need you to prove yourself to me."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave him an odd look saying, "Who said I was gonna prove myself to you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised with that response. ¡¯Not me? Then who?¡¯ He was thinking when Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered his unasked question, "I¡¯m only gonna do it to prove myself to Oniisan."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t stick around for long to listen to his elder brother and left the house. He took the elevator to the top floor but to his dismay, there was no-one at home. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was disappointed and with his sour mood, he walked out of the building.

    But to his surprise, he was greeted with the scene which immediately uplifted his spirit. Ru was on her bicycle and was riding right towards him. Xiao Zhi-Yuan found the sight quite impressive. Ru¡¯s tall figure on the bicycle didn¡¯t seem awkward to him at all. If anything, it felt to be excessively handsome with a rebellious charm.

    "Hey, Kiddo!" Ru tousled his hair while riding the bicycle around him in a circle.

    "What¡¯s with the bicycle?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan questioned with interest.

    "Oh, this? This is my ride. Cool, right?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan never thought that he would say that a in bicycle is cool. But at the moment, he found the same in bicycle super cool. He kept watching Ru riding the bicycle in circles around himself. "How¡¯s your wound? After I took out the stitches yesterday, did it hurt?"

    "Everything is alright. I didn¡¯t feel a thing. You¡¯re the best doctor!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave her two thumbs up with admiration blinking in his eyes.

    "That¡¯s good! What are you doing here?"

    "I was looking for you," Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered with a small smile on his young face.

    Ru stopped the bicycle and climbed off of it. "Why? Do you need something?"

    "I was hoping you could tutor me in Chinese Literature." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke hesitantly.

    Ru frowned at his words and asked curiously, "Do you really want my help with study or are you just looking for ways to spend more time with me?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan grinned goofily at being caught so easily. He lowered his head in embarrassment but Ru found him too cute. She ruffled his hair as she chuckled lightly. "People usually find excuses to run away from me. You¡¯re the first who¡¯s trying to look for ways to stay close to me." Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised to hear that.

    "Is it bad that I want to spend time with you?" He asked peering at her green eyes.

    Ru stared back at his face while she pondered for a while. "Let me warn you, most of the people in my life have a habit of calling me a troublemaker since somehow there is always trouble where I go."

    "I don¡¯t mind." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered almost instantly.

    "Aigoo! Let me finish first. Although people called me the troublemaker, my grandfather had the belief that trouble doesn¡¯t follow me, I am the trouble myself." She took a pause and looked seriously at his face asking, "Do you still think I should be your tutor?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan bobbed his head up and down vigorously. There was no doubt in this. He wanted to be close to Ru. He had a feeling that he would get to learn a lot from his Oniisan. And he was a seeker for knowledge burning with curiosity all the time. Who could y the role of his tutor better than his Oniisan who knew almost about everything?

    "Okay!" Ru pped her hand in excitement and smiled at him mischievously. "From now, you¡¯re a bubble, I¡¯m gum. Come, let¡¯s have some fun." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gaped at her and eventually, bothughed out at her silly sense of rhyming. But Xiao Zhi-Yuan had a feeling that these silly rhymes were to make himugh.

    "I thought we were going to study," Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked in between hisughter.

    "Who said study can¡¯t be fun?" Ru retorted with her green eyes wide open.

    "Every student in the world say it." He answered matter-of-factly. Ru frowned at his words. How was she supposed to know it? She had never been to school in her entire life. For her studying was not torture, the fact that she only had to study was the torture. She was homeschooled but she had better and extensive knowledge than any other person her own age. "Also, school is even a bigger hell where merciless devils roam around freely." He was quite indignant about his school experience.

    High schoolers are scary no matter where you go in this world. And Xiao Zhi-Yuan was quite tired of their petty behaviors.

    Ru clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Tsk... Tsk... Xan boy!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked up and she went on, "It¡¯s not that school is a hell filled with devils. It¡¯s just that the whole world is filled with devils. A hell doesn¡¯t create devils, it¡¯s the other way around. Only devils can create hells." He found this reasoning quite convincing. Taking advantage of their almost same height, Ru slung an arm around his shoulder saying, "Also, only GOD can be considered the merciful one. The rest of his creations- I mean us, humans- are only merciless. It¡¯s the basic rule of life. To survive, you have to be the merciless one. And if you can¡¯t be one then learn to pretend like one."

    Not bothering to stop, Ru took him to her own apartment at the top floor. But unbeknownst to them, a certain someone was watching their interaction from the second floor of his apartment.

    "I have never seen Zhi-Yuanughing like that," Qin Qu¡¯s voice from beside him broke the train of Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s thoughts. He wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his friend¡¯s words since they were true. Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept to himself usually and he wasn¡¯t someone tough so easily.

    "This... Mr. Xie Rong is scary and intriguing." Xiao Zhi-Ren mumbled to himself. He wasn¡¯t scared that Ru would hurt his brother. But something in him was in conflict. Something even he couldn¡¯t describe in words. More so, this intriguing feeling was even more conflicting.

 Chapter 33 That Is Knowledge

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in awe seeing the spacious and magnificent apartment of Ru. He had his fair share ofing across rich people and their lifestyle- being one himself- but there was a distinct charm in this apartment.

    What made it morous was the artwork and what made it unpretentious was the minimalistic interior. Xiao Zhi-Yuan instantly fell in love with those ck marble hallways.

    "Make yourself at home, I¡¯ll bring something for you to drink," Ru told him in a modest manner before leaving him alone in the sitting area. Xiao Zhi-Yuan pulled open the curtains to see the beautiful view of the green grass and trees.

    "Can I look around the house?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan beseeched Ru with his bright ck eyes. Ru looked at him and nodded.

    There was nothing in her house that she would hide from anyone. And the stuff that was supposed to be kept behind closed doors was already safe and sound in her inconspicuous lockers.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan walked all around the first floor and went upstairs using the spiral stairs. He admired all the masterpieces of artworks lining in the hallway. There were two doors on the second floor. When he opened the first door. His eyes widened as they slowly brightened up.

    The room behind the doors was akin to a music instrument gallery. It was spacious. There was a huge piano in ck in the corner near the ss wall. There were different instruments like cello, violin, zither, Erhu[1], Dizi[2], guitar, and plenty of other instruments which Xiao Zhi-Yuan was not familiar with.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan wasn¡¯t interested in any other instrument than the violin before him. That dark mahogany colored violin looked enticing to him as if calling Xiao Zhi-Yuan toe closer. And he couldn¡¯t stop himself from picking that violin off its stand.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan always loved the violin. He believed that a violin could create the sweetest sound if it was in right hands. As for in wrong hands, one might not need to imagine much. He loved the fact that a violin¡¯s music had the ability to capture human emotions making them feel pain, happiness, and all other emotions with just a melody.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan touched the violin, he could feel its smooth and polished surface. From the handcrafted bridge to the holes, every single delicate detail had been made with skill and care.

    After admiring the design of the violin, Xiao Zhi-Yuan supported the violin between his shoulder and chin and ced the violin¡¯s bow on its four strings making a slight screeching sound. He took a deep breath and tried to remember theposition in his mind.

    As his eyes closed, his hand moved on its own ord and a beautiful symphony floated out in the air as if a genie had escaped from the bottle.

    Ru had ced the fresh juice for Xiao Zhi-Yuan in the living room when she heard the slow melody making her turn towards the music room upstairs. Ru leaned against the door to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan lost in his own world. The melody was pensive and quiet, building and stirring up to the grandiose climax. Ru loved this bnce of sophistication, elegance, calm and yet uplifting ambiance.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan finished his melody, he heard a couple of enthusiastic ps and turned to see Ru leaningnguidly against the doorframe. "You got some hidden talent," Ru reckoned.

    "Nah... It¡¯s nothing. I have stopped practicing for a few years now." His eyes turned to the violin in hand as he went on, "But seeing this gem of a violin, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from touching it. But a slight touch was not enough. So, I decided to y it. Hope you don¡¯t mind?" He was looking expectantly at Ru.

    She shook her head lightly saying, "I definitely don¡¯t mind after listening to that beautiful piece." Ru praised him without hesitation. She could feel his passion and emotions in the melody. And she had a feeling that it was his ownposition. But if it really was then she couldn¡¯t help being intrigued to know about the reason behind such a sad and soulful melody.

    "Thanks. But I think this violin is to be praised. This is truly a tour de force[1]." Xiao Zhi-Yuan praised the violin instead.

    "Well, if it¡¯s in my music gallery then it¡¯s a given that it has to be a gem." Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning until she exined. "Kiddo, the violin in your hand is one of a kind. It originally belonged to Sir David which means it¡¯s a century-old violin which I bought in an auction a few years ago."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled by her words. He was holding a non-receable violin in his hand? His hands trembled a bit but thinking that his life might not be able to cover its loss, he managed to put back the violin safely at its spot.

    After a while, his eyes darted all around in the room and he asked, "What about the other instruments?"

    "They all are one of a kind. All have their own history and value." Ru answered calmly.

    "Why?" Ru knew his meaning was to ask why she had so many instruments.

    "Because I like collecting things," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "Oh, and you can take the violin if you like it. For me, it¡¯s just a showpiece. At least, you can y it."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan shook his head and his hands as well emphasizing his point, "No, no... It¡¯s too much for me. Also, I¡¯ve stopped ying."

    "May I ask why?" Ru tried to probe him a bit.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan sighed heavily and answered, "When mom died, my elder brother brought a music teacher for me to learn violin since he didn¡¯t want me to fall into depression. I lost my interest after a while." Ru knew that he was hiding something since the way he just so inly talked about his mother¡¯s death showed hisck of affection for her. But she didn¡¯t have a right to pry any further.

    She had a rule, ¡¯One should probe others as much as they would like others to do with them.¡¯ Since she wasn¡¯t gonna share her secrets, she didn¡¯t have the right question his secrets.

    "Oh, can you y any instrument?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan changed the topic.

    "Not really..." Ru lied trying to avoid his gaze. She knew how to y zither and the flute but both of these were traditional instruments and for someone young like Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she felt like he wouldn¡¯t be interested in them. "Come downstairs, let¡¯s start your first lecture."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan followed her down to the sitting area and took a seat at the couch while Ru sat beside him. She offered him fresh fruit juice before starting the lecture.

    "So, how are we going to do it? The learning part." He asked with an eager look.

    "Look, I have one rule for you," Ru started solemnly. "If you know, recognize that you know. If you don¡¯t know, then realize that you don¡¯t know. That is knowledge.[4]" He knitted his brow in confusion making Ru exin further, "You have to keep in mind that there is no use of learning without knowledge. And we are here to gain knowledge. Not to learn. There is a clear distinction in both." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head eagerly.

    "Now, this young master is going to make you top this so-called Chinese Literature with ease." Ru winked at him yfully as she gave him the confidence in her own weird ways.

    [1] "Erhu": Chinese two-faced fiddle

    [2] "Dizi": Chinese bamboo flute

    [3] "tour de force": a work of outstanding artistry.

    [4] It¡¯s a saying from Confucius.

 Chapter 34 Food Is An Ar

    "What is this, Mr. Xiao?" Ru asked as her green eyes looked at the ck card in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s hand. There were standing in the lobby of the condominium building at the moment.

    "We have a productunching event tomorrow. This is my special invitation to you, Mr. Xie." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without missing a beat. His lips were slightly curled upwards into an arc while his ink-ck eyes kept looking at her face.

    Ru frowned with her eyes on the card in his hand as she rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of her thumb in a thoughtful manner. After taking her sweet time, she lifted her eyes to meet his deep ones and said, "Not interested."

    She turned to leave but to her dismay, Xiao Zhi-Ren caught her hood pulling her backward. "Wooo! What do you think you¡¯re doing?" She red at him indignantly.

    But one thing she didn¡¯t know about Xiao Zhi-Ren was that he was as nonchnt about public opinions as she was herself. Which meant her re or indignance had little to no effect on him. He smiled politely and said in an appealing voice, "May I know the reason for declining this invitation?"

    Ru swatted his hand which was still holding her hood and fixed her sweatshirt. "Don¡¯t like parties. Don¡¯t want toe. What¡¯s so difficult to understand here?"

    "It¡¯s aunch event, not a party." Xiao Zhi-Ren reminded her which made her roll her eyes at him.

    "People are gonna socialize there, that makes it a socializing party." Seeing him furrow his brows, she added, "Also, I have social anxiety."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but scoff at this statement. "At least pick a suitable lie." He took a deep breath and said, "Fine. Don¡¯te. But wait here, I have something for you."

    He went to the reception and collected a lunch box before walking back to Ru. She was indeed quite curious to know about what could he have for her. After all, the number of time she received things from people could be counted on one hand.

    "Here, this is for helping my brother with his studies." Xiao Zhi-Ren extended his hand which held a beautiful lunch box towards her.

    Seeing that it was a lunch box, Ru didn¡¯t bother being polite at all. She quickly snatched the lunch box and took it to the waiting area in the lobby. cing the lunch box on the table, she immediately opened it to reveal wonton soup, Kung Pao chicken, Sesame-Ginger beef, and rice.

    Her mouth watered at the sight and that enticing aroma made her hungry. She quickly picked the chopsticks to taste and was more amazed. It had been years, she had tasted such amazing food. She knew how to cook herself but with her wandering habits, she rarely cooked these past years.

    She packed the whole lunch box again and turned to see Xiao Zhi-Ren staring at her with amusement in his eyes. "What?" She inquired innocently.

    "Why are you packing it? Aren¡¯t you gonna eat it?"

    Ru stood before him and stretched her long arm to tap on his chest surprising Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Mr. Xiao, food is an art for me. I don¡¯t eat it. I savor this art. And this is not the ce where I¡¯ll be able to appreciate this tempting taste." She took a pause before adding, "Can you share the contact info of this chef? I¡¯d love to hire him."

    For some reason, Xiao Zhi-Ren felt proud for having such amazing cooking skills. But he chose not to tell the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him. "If you like his skills so much, you cane to my ce whenever you want to eat."

    "Can¡¯t I just poach him from your side?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eye twitched but he managed to put on a polite smile.

    "No... You can¡¯t."

    "Tsk... What a pity!" Ru sighed disappointedly. "Oh, by the way, I¡¯ll be there for your event."

    "What changed your mind?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked perplexedly.

    Ru tapped on the lunch box saying, "This food did."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Food won over his modesty? But he was relieved to know that Ru decided to ept the invitation. On the other hand, she snatched the invitation card from him and turned to leave, walking briskly towards the elevator.

    On the following day, the productunch event of SnapVise Technologies was all over the news. Plenty of distinguishable and acimed guests joined the event merely to size up the newpetitor who suddenly decided to invade into the Asian market.

    The entire A.K Convention Center was packed up with round tables lining up in the huge hall. The media representatives were given a separate area to keep them under check.

    The event began with the SnapVise Technologies representatives going up on stage one-by-one to introduce their mission and goals along with what the general public could expect from them in the future.

    After they introduced their whole new range of devices, to involve their guests into the event, they had set up a separate section where people could do a test run of the new devices.

    During the whole process, Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking for a specific person who said that ¡¯he¡¯ woulde but wasn¡¯t here until now. He was busy meeting with people when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Xiao Zhi-Ren turned around to see Ru standing in in ck jeans and a button-up shirt with an elegant ck zer.

    For the chairman of Metrix Consortium, this attire seemed too ordinary but with Ru¡¯s dignified aura and personality, no-one could question her choice of clothes.

    "Those are some high tech devices. If I knew you¡¯re this capable, I¡¯d have tried to curry favor with you." Ru said with a charming smile as she flipped her chocte brown hair to one side with her slender fingers.

    "Curry favor? With me? Really?" Xiao Zhi-Ren naturally didn¡¯t believe her words. Who would? Metrix Consortium wasn¡¯t involved in the modern tech. All thepanies under Metrix Consortium were in real estate, developing, mining, and trading.

    "Whatever! Congrats anyway." Ru waved her hand nonchntly. "I don¡¯t think anyone will be able to take over these products that easily."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at her words but changed the topic, "You¡¯rete."

    Ru punched lightly on his arm saying, "I had been here all along, my friend. You just didn¡¯t see me." The way she said ¡¯my friend¡¯ made Xiao Zhi-Ren immediately smile brightly. Ru didn¡¯t even realize it herself that she had called him a friend.

    "Hi, Mr. Xie! I didn¡¯t know you¡¯ll be here," Qin Qu greeted Ru enthusiastically. He was one of those people who knew how to talk with people and when or where, what to say.

    Ru took his hand to shake briefly before saying, "I¡¯m a free bird. And free birds like me tend to fly from one branch to another. Right now, I¡¯m here. Who knows where I¡¯ll be in the next second."

    Seeing her talking like a dialectician, Xiao Zhi-Ren knocked on her head making Qin Qu gasp at the side while Ru red at him again. "Can¡¯t you stop with your deep thinking for a while. It doesn¡¯t suit your childish behavior." Xiao Zhi-Ren said sternly.

    "I¡¯m childish?" Ru scoffed at him. "I¡¯m a very mature person. But I¡¯m also a very alive person."

    "Now, what is that supposed to mean?" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her anticipating a weird logic again.

    "Aigoo! Mr. Xiao, being alive and mature means that I¡¯ve kept my mature thinking along with my inner child. When we kill the inner child of ourselves and try to grow mature that¡¯s when we turn into those boring old businessmen over there." She pointed at a group of people having some serious discussion.

    "You... I have no words for you." Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at her.

    "I know." Ru obviously even took that as apliment.

    Qin Qu shook his head and tried to talk again. "So, Mr. Xie, what¡¯s up?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gave him a look which Qin Qu couldn¡¯t understand until he heard Ru¡¯s reply.

    She innocently looked up and pointed her finger upwards saying, "A chandelier! Are you seeing something else?" Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled at her response while Qin Qu stared at her with nothing else to say.

    "You changed the answer this time," Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked.

    "Well, Superman can¡¯t possibly fly in the hall freely." Ru gave him a knowing look before Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head agreeing with her point.

    Qin Qu on the side was so surprised to see thefortability level between these two. It was like they had been friends for decades. Oddly, he realized that even his and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s interactions weren¡¯t like this. ¡¯When did they be so close?¡¯ He thought to himself.

    But what he didn¡¯t know was that they had made a strange bond even during their first interaction. And after Xiao Zhi-Ren saved Ru from being hit by the car, she considered herself to be in debt. Also, after the lunch box that he offered, Ru was more thanfortable with Xiao Zhi-Ren since she believed that food is a sacred thing.

    As she says, ¡¯Bonds created over food are unbreakable ones. It ties us closer than a blood bond.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s smile stiffened suddenly and Ru¡¯s keen senses didn¡¯t miss this small detail. She had always been sensitive to these small things. She followed his line of sight to see a middle-aged man being greeted by several people. He seemed to have a noble status since everyone was willing to go up to him themselves.

    The middle-aged man was none other than Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s own father, Ji Yifeng. Ru didn¡¯t find anything wrong with that neer since his eyes were gentle and soft with a smile permanently etched on his face. He gave the impression of an easygoing and yet noble presence. Overall, he gave Ru a feeling of being a very warm person.

    But Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t share her thoughts at all.

 Chapter 35 Lessons Of Being Hur

    Eyes are assumed to be a speculum to our soul. Because eyes hold all the sentiments and emotions that we want to screen with the pretense of a smile. But the actual reason for lurking behind a smile is that sometimes those feelings and emotions are so overwhelming that we couldn¡¯t possibly find the words to describe them. Nah!

    The genuine purpose is that we can describe those feelings but we can never justify them with words. But with our eyes... They have their own charm and their own voice. A special song that all can hear but only a few can appreciate the lyrics.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes had those tangled feelings looking at his fathering his way apanied by a group of people. He didn¡¯t let his smile fade but he didn¡¯t have any control over his own eyes. That is to say, his face had a soft smile but his eyes didn¡¯t have the spark of that smile in them.

    Looking into his ink-ck eyes, she could feel a story floating in those eyes that reminded her of the dark night that she so fancied. But oddly, it was one of those moments when she felt the urge to read that story.

    His eyes held a world in them which was unknown to her. But unknowingly, she wanted to explore that world.

    Sensing an ardent gaze, Xiao Zhi-Ren stirred his eyes to meet Ru¡¯s green ones looking keenly at him. At this moment, he found her eyes orphic; mysterious and entrancing, beyond his understanding.

    For a split second, his heart shook vehemently against his chest. He felt like cowering away. Sneaking away from her eyes that seemed to be trying to read his heart... Or perhaps, his soul.

    The eye contact between them was broken when Xiao Zhi-Ren heard someone¡¯s voice, "Chairman Ji, meet Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren, the astonishinglypetent CEO who is behind the sess of SnapVise Technologies." A director from Ji Yifeng¡¯s side introduced Xiao Zhi-Ren and turned to say, "And Mr. Xiao, this is the Chairman of Ji Conglomerate, Mr. Ji Yifeng. But I think, Mr. Ji doesn¡¯t need an introduction." He didn¡¯t forget to brown-nose while he was at it.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren took a deep breath and extended his hand towards Ji Yifeng as if meeting any other distinguished guest. "It¡¯s a great pleasure meeting you, Mr. Ji." His voice was profoundly dignified and professional.

    The way he hid his emotions made Ru praise him in her heart. Then she slipped her eyes towards Ji Yifeng and was astonished for a second to see him bearing the same look in his eyes that she saw in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes.

    But the story in Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes was a lot brighter to her since she could easily see a sense of being hurt, lost, yearning and sadness. It took a while for Ji Yifeng to extend his hand to shake Xiao Zhi-Ren as he said, "Likewise... Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren." The way he said Xiao Zhi-Ren made Ru raise her brow in question.

    ¡¯Interesting... Indeed, very interesting.¡¯ She knew she had no right to interfere here. So, she tried to make her ubiquity unobtrusive. But she forgot a certain nature of her own self. She had an aura that was remarkably eye-catching. Even in her in clothes, her presence could make people turn their head to get a glimpse of her.

    "And this gentleman is..." Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed her presence but he was the first to question her identity.

    "I am a nobody..." Ru immediately replied taking a few steps backward, trying to run away.

    How could Xiao Zhi-Ren let her slip away so easily? With a ¡¯swish¡¯, he caught the cor of her jacket making her halt. He turned her around while Ru was cursing in her heart. "This is Mr. Xie Rong!"

    A few low gasps were heard from the group of people behind Ji Yifeng as someone voiced out, "He must have the same name as the chairman of Metrix Consortium. How could the real chairman be so young."

    Everyone nodded agreeing to his assertion. Now, that observation made Ru feel offended. What did he mean by that? Did everyone had to be an old broom like him to be a chairman? What nonsense! She jeered in her heart.

    But her face held a serene eloquence as if she wasn¡¯t stirred by his words at all. What she didn¡¯t know was that someone else felt even more offended than Ru herself at this moment. "Master, should I get you something to eat?" Ru was surprised to see Wu Dishi but since he was here acting servile, the group of elderly Chairmen couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    Wu Dishi had been here all along, but just like his master, he had his ways to conceal his presence. It¡¯s just that he couldn¡¯t stay away from this discussion when he heard those people questioning his own master¡¯s identity.

    "Is he really the mysterious chairman of Metrix Consortium?" Ru didn¡¯t know who inquired but she was certainly d that she wasn¡¯t the one who had to p an answer at his face. After all, her grandfather taught her to be reverential to the elderly people.

    "Mr. Gou has any doubt about our chairman?" Hearing Wu Dishi¡¯s reply, people couldn¡¯t even gasp anymore. In the past two years, every one of them tried to find something about this chairman of Metrix Consortium but in the end, it turned out to be someone half of their own age. How ludicrous was that?

    Ru tried to disregard all the people as she had suddenlye up with a thought, "Mr. Ji," Ji Yifeng looked at Ru but he was the only person whose expression didn¡¯t change even for a second. And why would it, he had felt the firm and prodigious aura of Ru and that led him to inquire about her earlier. "You¡¯re from the same Ji family whose Old master is Ji Ru Sheng?"

    Ji Yifeng frowned slightly at this inquiry but still answered politely, "Yes... He¡¯s my father."

    Ru immediately passed him a beautiful smile surprising everyone with her handsomeness. "Say, would your old master be interested in selling his antique collection of hand carved, Chinese folk art?"

    This question... It came out of the blue. It didn¡¯t just surprise Ji Yifeng even Xiao Zhi-Ren was dumbfounded at the side. ¡¯Seriously? Is this the ce or time to discuss antique collections?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren could only roll his eyes at Ru since he really didn¡¯t have any words for her.

    "This... Mr. Xie, I won¡¯t be able to answer. My father loves his collection but he certainly admires youngpetent young men like yourself. Why don¡¯t you make this request to him personally?" Ji Yifeng suggested with a gentle smile on his face.

    His impression of this green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ altered in a minute. He found Ru to be a very impressive person. He had a perception that his father, Ji Ru Sheng would love this young one.

    Ru rapped her chin in a pensive manner as she said, "I¡¯ll think about this."

    "Please, excuse us, Mr. Ji but we have something to discuss." Xiao Zhi-Ren politely made an excuse as he tugged at Ru¡¯s sleeve.

    Although Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart felt the pain of being treated as a stranger by his own flesh and blood, he had no way or reason to impute his son. Therefore, he nodded his head.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren dragged Ru to a corner while she was scowling. "What the hell? Would you stop pulling my jacket so much? It¡¯s branded!" Ru fixed her jacket making Xiao Zhi-Ren close his eyes briefly trying to control his anger.

    "Do you know what I have the urge to do right now?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked while gritting his teeth.

    Ru grinned looking at his livid expression and answered, "You want to punch me in the face."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes widened as he said, "How did you guess?"

    Ru patted on his shoulder saying, "Everyone wants to do that. It¡¯s one of my special qualities. I can bring out a person¡¯s real self." She was surely feeling proud of herself while Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to feel.

    Was it normal that his anger suddenly lost like thin air? He kept staring at Ru¡¯s tranquil face which oddly brought a sense of peacefulness to his heart. "But since you want to punch me, let me give you a piece of advice."

    "What? You won¡¯t let me punch?" Xiao Zhi-Ren retorted but Ru¡¯s answer was unexpected.

    "Although I can defend myself against your punch, I still won¡¯t stop you from hitting me." He furrowed his brows in confusion as she continued in her deep and low voice, "Hurting me might give you a sense of aplishment and you¡¯ll also learn a lesson but it¡¯ll be nothingpared to the lesson that you learned from being hurt by this world."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s heart shook once again. How could a person¡¯s words make him speechless? And how could that same person¡¯s eyes make him feel vulnerable?

 Chapter 36 Bond Of Bitter Memories

    "Ahh! Look at those two!"

    "Wow! How can someone be so strikingly good looking?"

    "Oh, wait! The one in a tux is actually the CEO of SnapVise Technologies."

    "What? I always thought he¡¯d be a nerd kind of a guy but this one is so handsome."

    "Aiyo! That green-eyed one is like an enchanter. Sigh! Drop-dead gorgeous!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru were standing in the corner when the surrounding girls¡¯ments made both of them raise their brows respectively. Although Ru didn¡¯t want to pay attention to them, she couldn¡¯t help but give a half smile when they called Xiao Zhi-Ren a nerd. But that half smile instantly shifted to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s lips when the same girls called Ru an enchanter.

    He couldn¡¯t have agreed more with them. Even without those green eyes, Xiao Zhi-Ren could say that Ru¡¯s striking features were a sight to behold.

    "Haiz! My knees are getting weak just looking at them together."

    "Omo! Why is my fujoshi heart beating violently looking at them smiling like that?"

    "They both make one handsome pair."

    The smiles of Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face immediately stiffened and they both took a few steps away from each other.

    "Why are girls so blunt these days? Don¡¯t they have anything better to do?" Xiao Zhi-Renined looking anywhere but at Ru.

    "That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like girls," Ru scrunched up her face scornfully. "They are really noisy."

    If Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that the one calling girls noisy was a girl herself, he would have puked blood. This indifference for girls was embedded in her soul from a young age. She never tried to understand girls and from what she saw about girls, she grew more distant. Staying in her own world as a guy was a lot more peaceful and easier for her.

    Suddenly, Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled and Ru gave him an inquiring look. "They called you an enchanter." Heughed again not getting over this sentence.

    "They called you strikingly good looking." Ru pointed out.

    "Fair enough!" Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to stifle hisughter.

    "Oh, by the way, do you have food here?" Ru asked making Xiao Zhi-Ren give her an ugly look.

    "Yes, the food section is over there," he pointed in the direction of food and Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately. Even Xiao Zhi-Ren could feel the excitement bursting out of her body making him speechless. "You¡¯re here for food?"

    Ru turned to him saying, "Of course!" She would never lie about this. "Mr. Xiao, where there is free food, you¡¯d always find me there."

    "Cheapstake!" Xiao Zhi-Ren grumbled making Ru narrow her eyes at him.

    "Shut up you noodle otherwise I¡¯ll turn you into a... doodle." With that being said, she whipped her body and ran towards the food table. Xiao Zhi-Ren stood rooted to his spot thinking about thest words that were said to him.

    "Noodle? Doodle? Who rhymes like this?" He questioned no-one in particr. But since Ru had run to food, he had to go back towards the group of people waiting for him. If it was up to him, he¡¯d never see his father, Ji Yifeng ever again but it was business. Beforeing to China, he was already familiar with the part that he won¡¯t be able to avoiding across the Ji family. But he had toe.

    And he even knew that to find some truths, he might even have to be a part of Ji family all over again. That didn¡¯t mean he had to act cordially before Ji Yifeng. He only needed to be at his best behavior of being a professional.

    Meanwhile, Ru was busy going through a whole mountain of food ced before her. "Master, do you need..." Wu Dishi¡¯s words were stuck in his throat when he saw his master ring at him. Food had always been her heaven. And Ru hated it when someone dared to disturb her.

    "Scram!" One word from her and Wu Dishi ran for his life leaving her alone.

    After tasting some Puck Potstickers and Roasted Tomato Tartare, her green eyes caught sight of something that made her forget the world around her. The murderous aura that had engulfed her due to Wu Dishi¡¯s disturbance suddenly turned into a love-struck teenager.

    In a daze, Ru took slow steps towards the entity of her fascination. She grinned broadly as her heart was screaming inside,

    "Oh, my love! How I tell you, how much I missed the touch of your smooth buttery skin against my lips? How much I missed that sweetness of yours in my mouth which enthralls me. My heartbeat, my dream... Oh, you¡¯re in my heart¡¯s every scream. My love for you is purer than anything in this world."

    Reaching near her ¡¯love¡¯, she slowly lifted her hand to take that beautiful... Chocte cake?

    Yes! Ru¡¯s love which was unmatched in this world was actually for chocte. It didn¡¯t matter in which form the chocte came. The only thing that mattered to her was that there had to be some chocte for her.

    She was one of those people who like to say, ¡¯Chocte is the answer. Who cares what the question is?¡¯

    She was about to taste the chocty heaven in her mouth when a voice made her startle.

    "What? No, no... I¡¯m just leaving the event." Hearing that feminine voice, Ru forgot all about the cake in her hand and whipped her body but there were many women behind her. Ru¡¯s heart was beating vehemently. She knew that voice.

    She could never forget that voice that haunted her nights. Even without a face, she could recognize that person with her abilities. She ran around trying to find the person who just spoke.

    "Excuse me! I have got a priormitment and I need to get there." Ru paused again when she heard the voice with her sensitive hearing ability and turned to see a woman in an elegant gown leaving the hall. She immediately ran after her but by the time Ru came out the back door, that woman had already boarded into a ck van.

    "Aish!" Ru kicked the air in rage. "Malum sit![1]" She pulled her own hair and dialed Wu Dishi¡¯s number, "Get me the CCTV footage of this event. Now!" Her bellowing really shocked Wu Dishi who immediately got to work. "I¡¯ll find you! At any cost, I will find you!" Ru whispered to herself in a resolute manner.

    There are two strong bonds in life that follow us for life. First is the bond of love and second... The bond of memories; bitter or sweet. And Ru knew that the woman who just left was someone who had the connection with her bitter memories. Although those memories are hazy in her mind, it didn¡¯t mean there was nothing clearer in her mind.

    That sharp voice was clear in her mind.

    [1] "Malum sit!": Damn it in Latin

 Chapter 37 Myself!

    Inside the security room of the convention center, Ru had been looking through the CCTV footage to find thedy who had the voice she heard earlier.

    "Master, what about the dress color of that person? It can help us in narrowing it down," Wu Dishi suggested since they had been looking for an hour but couldn¡¯t find anything. The weird part was that his master was not even telling him why they were looking for thisdy?

    Ru stiffened a bit hearing his suggestion. Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with his suggestion. But how could Ru tell him that she didn¡¯t know the color because... Sigh! It didn¡¯t matter at the moment. "I didn¡¯t notice the color." Ru lied inly keeping her secrets buried inside as always.

    Although Wu Dishi found her words quite absurd, he still stayed quiet. "Why there is no CCTV footage from the back hallway?" Ru questioned noticing all the screens before her.

    "Oh, that was damaged before the event started and someone must have forgotten to fix it." Wu Dishi answered hoping that his master doesn¡¯t make this into an issue.

    Ru rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She leaned back in the swivel chair and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths from her mouth, she put the world on silent mode around her. And her mind rewinds to y the scene from earlier.

    ¡¯ck van...¡¯ That was one thing she was sure about. ¡¯Thedy had a height of about 167 cm if we don¡¯t count her 5-inch heels.¡¯ She tapped her fingers on the tabletop in a rhythmic manner. ¡¯Anything particr... Anything... Focus young master focus!¡¯ Ru was having a battle with her own mind. And it worked as her mind caught on to a certain detail.

    "A hawk logo!" Ru spoke out suddenly startling Wu Dishi who had been frozen still up till now.

    "Huh? What do you mean, master?" Wu Dishi inquired since his mind couldn¡¯tprehend her words. In all honesty, he never understood his master.

    She vaguely figured out a logo at the side of the ck van and Ru had faith in herself that she¡¯d get somewhere with that information. "Bring me aptop!" She ordered Wu Dishi and seeing him still standing there, she snapped her fingers before his eyes. "Should I bring tea for Mr. Wu?" Wu Dishi shook his head and she snapped at him, "Then move fast!"

    Wu Dishi immediately got to business leaving Ru alone in the security room. Her eyes skimmed over the screens but she wasn¡¯t paying attention. She didn¡¯t know what the woman looked like but she had gotten another clue from her mind. While thatdy was getting on the van, her hair lifted to a side showing a musical note tattoo on her shoulder.

    Soon, Wu Dishi brought a high-techptop and stood at a side. Ru turned on theptop and got to work. The first phase was to look for thepany who had that hawk logo. And it didn¡¯t take long before the result was before her eyes.

    "Eastern Security Inc..." Ru read out thepany¡¯s name.

    "Oh! Master," Wu Dishi¡¯s mind rang a bell and went on, "This is a subsidiary of Ji Corporation. They have the country¡¯s biggest and strongest securitywork."

    "Ji Corporation?" Ru¡¯s brows furrowed. "Is it the same one whose Chairman I just met in the party?" Seeing the way Wu Dishi nodded his head, she fell into deep thought. "Wait! Thispany... Do they provide security to others or just have it to protect their own empire?"

    "They have the rank system just like you have," Wu Dishi started. "From what I¡¯ve heard, the red rank guards are avable for anyone to hire while the ck ones are reserved for politicians or other prominent figures. As for their personal security, they keep the best. The blue rank guards."

    Ru nodded and shrugged her shoulders indifferently since this had nothing to do with her at all. She had other things to worry about. How would she know which rank guards were here tonight? Looking at theptop screen, Ru cracked her knucklesnguidly and after stretching her fingers, her fingers flew all over theptop.

    Her sun-kissedplexion along with those long but slender fingers was skimming over the keyboard as a dragonfly skims over the water. Wu Dishi couldn¡¯t even blink his eyes since he felt like he would miss this beautiful sight.

    Strings of code were shing on the ck screen. And after ten minutes when her fingers lifted up, Wu Dishi could see plenty of folders on the screen. "Phew! They have one seriously sick security design for their server."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s eyes widened. "Master! Did you just hacked into the Ji Corporation¡¯s main server?" His heart was beating violently while beads of cold sweat were running down his face.

    "Ay? What are you talking about? I can¡¯t get into Ji Corporation¡¯s main server. They had built it separately. One can only hack it from inside. For now, I only needed details about that security van I saw." She took a pause while clicking through some documents and exined, "Look, I just got the details about the whereabouts of their security vans for tonight. Then I narrowed it down by searching the van who came to the convention center."

    She showed the number te and details of security guards who were in that van along with who was the guest they were apanying. "Ji Caihong! Who is she and why was she with the blue ranked guards?"

    "She¡¯s Chairman Ji Yifeng¡¯s only daughter." Wu Dishi answered as much as he knew.

    Ru typed strings of codes again and Ji Caihong¡¯s biography opened before her. She didn¡¯t read anything about her except for Ji Caihong¡¯s age and profession. Looking at the picture of a sweet looking girl, Ru couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡¯Was she the one? My mind is certainly not ringing a bell.¡¯ But since this was a lead, she couldn¡¯t let it slip away.

    "Aish! I¡¯m leaving!" She mmed theptop but luckily theptop survived from her wrath.

    The event had long been ended and Ru heaved a sigh of relief for that. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to face that many people all over again. With a whistle tune floating out from her mouth and both hands in front pockets of her jeans, she was trudging towards the exit, lost in her own world.

    "Where have you been?" Hearing that voice Ru whipped her body instinctively.

    "You just scared me, Mr. Xiao," Ru remarked while rubbing her nose tip.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren rolled his eyes at her saying, "As if Mr. Xie is scared of anything."

    "You never know. Perhaps, even I¡¯m scared of something." Ru pointed out vaguely.

    "And what is it that Mr. Xie is scared of exactly?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned raising his brow.

    Ru came closer to him and looked around to make sure nobody was around. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "Myself." Xiao Zhi-Ren would have taken her words as a joke but the look on her face told him that she wasn¡¯t lying. The person before him was truly scared of ¡¯himself¡¯ but the question was; why?

    "Let¡¯s go together. We¡¯re going the same way." Xiao Zhi-Ren offered, looking at her green eyes that seemed to be always wandering around.

    "That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ll be able to save some money." This time Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t surprised at all by her words. He had figured that she was the kind of person who could spend millions for the sake of hobbies but would always be in conflict when ites to spending a penny on her basic needs.

    "Cheapstake!" Xiao Zhi-Ren grumbled again making Ru scowl at him.

 Chapter 38 Smile Just To Spite Others

    With a blue colored file-folder tucked under her arm, Ru pressed the doorbell of the apartment. The door was pulled open to reveal a teenager with a disheveled look. His ck eyes abruptly brightened up looking at Ru.

    "Oniisan,e inside," Xiao Zhi-Yuan put on an admiring look as he kept smiling up to Ru while making a ¡¯please¡¯ gesture with his hand.

    "What¡¯s with this look? Is being untidy a new trend or something?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked down at his rumpled clothes and tried to fix his hair with his fingers.

    "Not sure about the trend... I was cleaning my room and that led to this look." He answered with his boyish charms. Ru nodded not finding it odd that he cleaned his own room. She reckoned that Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t want his brother to get too dependent on attendants. "Should I bring something for you to drink?"

    "Nope... Thank you very much but I just took an elevator ride to get here. It wasn¡¯t tiring enough." Ru replied indifferently and Xiao Zhi-Yuan couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at her retort. "I asked you to write two essays as yourst assignment."

    "I did. Isn¡¯t my essay in that file you¡¯re carrying?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan beamed as he went on, "Don¡¯t want to be narcissistic but didn¡¯t I do well in just a week?"

    Ru lifted her hand and flicked the space between his brows making him grimace. "Ouch! Oniisan, what¡¯s that for?" He was rubbing the spot where she flicked. It was painful.

    "The essay on ¡¯The influence of Confucianism on Chinese Culture¡¯ was average but eptable," she started, pulling out the papers out of the folder in her hand. "But what¡¯s up with the other essay?"

    "What¡¯s wrong with it?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was pouting even now clearly not happy with the ¡¯Average¡¯ment. He was always admired for being a genius, this ¡¯average¡¯ment was not in the history of his life until today.

    "The topic was, ¡¯Eastern Mythologies: The Chinese Dragon¡¯ and what the bloody hell did you write?" Hearing Ru swearing in her British ent made Xiao Zhi-Yuan smile involuntarily. Seeing him grin like a lunatic, Ru gave an open-handed p on the back of his head saying, "You little squirrel!"

    ¡¯Huh? Squirrel?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Yuan was stuck with this in his mind while Ru went on, "You have written that dragon is an embodiment of lust, greed, violence, evil and most of all death."

    "Isn¡¯t that right?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan knitted his brows in confusion since that¡¯s what he learned in his years in America.

    "Better use your senses and some inte for research before typing such nonsense." Her words were sharp but she spoke so calmly that even Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised. "What you wrote is true but in Western mythology. In Eastern mythology, the dragon is amon motif representing its heavenly background. A dragon is a legend in Chinese culture which definitely doesn¡¯t bring despair."

    "Oh..." Realization dawned on Xiao Zhi-Yuan but he still believed that it wasn¡¯t his fault for not knowing it. He wasn¡¯t familiar with Chinese Culture.

    "Write it again!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head and Ru was about to turn to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice.

    "Yuan, get ready. I¡¯ll take you to KTV tonight."

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Yuan whipped to look at Xiao Zhi-Ren and asked simultaneously, "What¡¯s KTV?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren darted his eyes between both his little brother and Ru. He found their identical expressions quite amusing. "It¡¯s Chinese word for karaoke." Both listeners nodded their head in understanding.

    "Okay, I¡¯ll be back in a minute before changing." Xiao Zhi-Yuan ran up the stairs to his room.

    "Would you like to join us, Mr. Xie?" Ru pondered for a moment about his offer and since she had nothing else nned, she shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    After an hour, they parked the car before a high-ss KTV club. Xiao Zhi-Ren led them to the lobby where he asked for a specific private room which was already reserved for them.

    A pretty youngdy took it upon herself to guide them to their room with a polite smile on her face. Seeing the youngdy¡¯s innocent look, Ru couldn¡¯t stop herself from saying, "Hey, prettydy, I think I¡¯ve seen you somewhere." Seeing a mischievous lopsided grin on Ru¡¯s face, Xiao Zhi-Ren had an inkling that she was up to no good.

    Sure enough, the youngdy who was guiding them smiled bashfully since such a handsome ¡¯man¡¯ was actually talking to her. She was screaming in her head like a fangirl as she asked breathily, "Where?"

    Ru¡¯s grin broadened as she leaned closer to her saying, "In my dream of a lifetime." Xiao Zhi-Ren facepalmed himself, thinking why did he invite this yful master toe along? The pretty youngdy¡¯s cheeks were tainted red and she kept looking downwards to hide her blush.

    "Here is your room, Sir! If you need anything just ring the bell." The youngdy gestured towards the room and stood at the side respectfully.

    "If I ring the bell, would you be the one toe, my beautifuldy?" Ru asked again making her voice sound coyish.

    The youngdy bit her lower lip and said, "Yes, sir!"

    "Really?" Ru feigned surprise as she went on in a low voice, "I¡¯ll surely ring this bell tonight. I hope youe, mdy."

    The youngdy bowed her head and turned to leave instantly afraid that her blush might embarrass her before these VVIP guests. Ru¡¯s green eyes followed her disappearing silhouette with a satisfied smile on her thin lips.

    She shifted her eyes to see both brothers giving her odd looks. The elder one had the look of displeasure while the younger one was awe-inspired.

    "What?" Ru asked feigning ignorance while looking at Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "What¡¯s up with this flirting mode?" Xiao Zhi-Ren raised his brow inquiringly.

    "What flirting? I wasn¡¯t flirting with her." She inly refused to ept this insinuation.

    "Oh, really? Then what really were you doing?" He crossed his arms before his chest seemingly very interested in her reply.

    "I was trying to make her smile," she answered honestly and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows snapped together. "Oho! look, Mr. Xiao, you might have not noticed but she was looking quite sad with her puffy eyes which she tried to hide with make-up. And I assume it has something to do with a break-up. So, I just gifted her with a smile by just saying some sweet words. Now, for the rest of the night or even for the week toe, her mind will keep thinking about this handsome young master who called her beautiful." Saying ¡¯handsome young master¡¯ she even shamelessly pointed at her own self.

    "And why are you trying to spread smiles? You don¡¯t even like girls," Xiao Zhi-Ren made a trenchant remark.

    "Aiyoh! Mr. Xiao, I don¡¯t like girls, that¡¯s a different story. As for spreading the smiles, my grandfather taught me, ¡¯Although it¡¯s true that a single smile hides the scariest scars, that doesn¡¯t mean we should stop smiling. Always put on a smile, even if it¡¯s fake. If it won¡¯t help you, it might encourage someone to get through the tough times.¡¯" Xiao Zhi-Ren listened to her attentively without disturbing her as she continued, "And in my journey of life, I¡¯ve learned that I¡¯m the worst kind of person but even I feel good about myself when a stranger smile because of me."

    "People fake smiles to hide their feelings, so that no-one judges them. " Xiao Zhi-Yuan joined the conversation and Ru smiled gently at him as she tousled his hair.

    "My little squirrel, then we should learn to smile just to spite others."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was feeling like this young ¡¯man¡¯ was quite sensible until Ru made thestment making him roll his eyes at her. "Can¡¯t you teach something nice to my little brother?"

    "I always tell him what¡¯s right. Am I wrong, Xan?" Ru argued.

    "Big Bear, don¡¯t be mean. Oniisan always teaches me the best things." Xiao Zhi-Ren gaped at both of them since his own brother was taking another person¡¯s side.

    "That¡¯s like my little squirrel," her voice sounded like wind chimes to Xiao Zhi-Yuan who felt happy about himself.

    "Shall we finally enter the room?" Xiao Zhi-Ren interrupted their admiring moment.

    "Okay..." Ru answered and was intending on opening the door when they heard a loud girlish voice calling out.

    "Xiao Zhi-Yuan!" The three of them turned their bodies to look at a teenage girl in a pretty A-Line short dress in blue color with a beautiful butterfly embroidered on the waistline. She sprinted towards them in her high heels and went straight into Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s embrace.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan staggered a bit because of the impact which came out of the blue while his eyes were wide opened. As for the other two standing on each side of his, they were staring amusingly at this scene ying before them.

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren bent a bit backward and shared a look of reverence for Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

 Chapter 39 Black Is Wicked

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren took a couple of steps backward and huddled up their head close to each other. "Do you have a girlfriend, Mr. Xiao?" Ru asked Xiao Zhi-Ren with her eyes still stuck on the teenage couple embracing each other. Okay! Only the girl was canoodling, the boy was frozen still at his spot.

    "Nope!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied popping the ¡¯p¡¯ dramatically. "What about you?" He asked Ru in return.

    "If I don¡¯t even like girls why would I keep one close to me?" Although she replied like that, inwardly she was thinking, ¡¯I haven¡¯t lost my mind yet. I can¡¯t even imagine hugging opposite gender much less the same one.¡¯ She cleared her throat saying, "Aye! My grandfather was right."

    "About what?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired curiously.

    "He used to say that the younger generation will surpass the older one in no time. Look, you¡¯re single. I¡¯m single but such tiny kids have girlfriends." Ru sighed and Xiao Zhi-Ren had to nod in agreement.

    "Let me go now!" They heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s irritated voice making them share a look. ¡¯Was they wrong about this girlfriend part?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was glowering but the cute girl before him was unfazed by his expression. And she even dared to pinch Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cheeks saying, "I know you look cute while scowling but that smile you just had earlier was even cuter. Can¡¯t you smile again? Please!" Her dewy eyes beseeched Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    Ru and Xiao Zhi-Yuan dry coughed reminding the youngsters that they were also present here. "Oh, who are they?" The cute girl finally noticed their presence and asked Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "My brothers!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s demeanor changed as he introduced both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren with a bit of haughtiness in his tone.

    "Oh... You guys make such a striking picture. It¡¯s almost like looking at three male godsing right out of aic book." She was looking at them with a fangirl expression. In a second, she made her perspective of them; the tallest one seemed refined while the green-eyed one was bewitching. As for Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she always called him an ice burg; cold.

    "And she is?" Both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru inquired simultaneously.

    Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could answer, the pretty girl spoke herself, "Hi! I¡¯m Shen Yue. But you can call me Yue Yue." She held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s arm and continued, "He¡¯s my Xiao Tang Yuan(Little Dumpling) and I¡¯m his Dai Mao(a symbol of cuteness)."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru had the same look on their face; they both were trying to stifle theirughter. "Aiyoh! Little Dumpling you didn¡¯t tell us about your cute girlfriend." Ru teased Xiao Zhi-Yuan making him fume.

    Shen Yue was smiling bashfully at the side while Xiao Zhi-Yuan peeled her hand off of his arm and took a couple of steps away from her saying, "She¡¯s not my girlfriend. And you! Stop clinging to me for no reason." Shen Yue¡¯s face fell at his words.

    Ru red at Xiao Zhi-Yuan and turned to Shen Yue. "Hey, little Yue Yue! Would you like to join us for dinner? Mr. Xiao here is very generous and he won¡¯t mind at all."

    "I¡¯m the one paying? Again?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked feigning a sickly sweet voice.

    "Obviously, you¡¯re so rich after all," Ru answered matter-of-factly and added, "Don¡¯t be such a cheapskate."

    "Cheapskate? Why do I feel like the pot is calling the kettle ck[1]?" Xiao Zhi-Ren said ironically making Ru narrow her eyes at him.

    "Did you just called me a pot?" Ru argued stubbornly.

    "No... I called you ck." He replied inly.

    "Wicked![2]" Ru grinned charmingly. "Then I don¡¯t mind."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was dumbfounded by her response. ¡¯Calling a pot was a problem but calling him ck is wicked? What the hell is the logic here?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking, "Calling you ck is cool?" Ru nodded vigorously. "How? And why?"

    "Because ck is my favorite color. It¡¯s mysterious like myself and it represents strength, seriousness, power, and authority. In other words, this one word ¡¯ck¡¯ is my perfect definition." Ru answered his question smoothly.

    ¡¯Why do I even bother questioning him?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren really wanted to bang his head against the wall or perhaps he wanted to bang Ru¡¯s head against the wall. Whichever it was, he couldn¡¯t do it before the pair of teenagers who kept gazing at them with indescribable expressions.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat and passed a gentle smile to Shen Yue saying, "Since you¡¯re Yuan¡¯s friend. You can join us."

    "I would love to but I¡¯m here with some family friends. I¡¯ll join you guys some other time." Shen Yue had a cheery personality and she loved the bickering between Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru, finding them adorable. Knowing Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s aloof and cold personality, she didn¡¯t expect that his brothers would have such an impressive and winsome charisma.

    "I¡¯ll see you at school, my little dumpling!" With that, she nted a soft kiss at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cheek stunning him. "Bye!" She waved goodbye to Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru before turning to leave.

    "Hey, little squirrel, are you that upset because of your cutesie¡¯s absence that you can¡¯t even move now?" Ru wiggled her brows teasing Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "How can you hide such a cute girlfriend from your own brother?" Even Xiao Zhi-Ren joined Ru in teasing his little brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face was red but whether it was because of anger or was he feeling shy, that wasn¡¯t sure.

    He pushed both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru away saying, "She¡¯s not my girlfriend. She is just ssmate who is irritating." He opened the door of the private room and mmed the door behind him grumbling to himself, "Why are the girls so brazen these days? Where is women dignity?"

    "Did we go too far?" Ru voiced out in a serious tone.

    Both tilted their head and as the ink-ck eyes locked with emerald green ones, they both smiled mischievously and shook their head saying, "Nah!"

    Laughing blithely, both entered the private room one after the other.

    [1] "Pot calling the kettle ck": people should not criticize someone else for a fault that they have themselves

    [2] "Wicked": Taken as British ng for ¡¯cool¡¯

 Chapter 40 Anything But Normal

    The private KTV room was quite spacious considering there were only Qin Qu and Xiao Zhi-Yuan seated inside before Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren entered.

    Sleek marble floor with wooden checkered wall interior,fy sofas lined up against the wall and a huge t screen tv made the ambiance of the room seem pleasant. Ru looked around curiously since she had never taken the initiative toe to a KTV club before. It was a whole new world for someone like her.

    "Oh, Mr. Xie! I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯d also be joining us." Qin Qu abruptly stood up seeing Ru enter along with Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "You don¡¯t have to be so formal," Ru said distractedly. Her focus was on the beautiful room.

    "Oniisan,e and sit with me," Xiao Zhi-Yuan dragged her towards his own seat. While Xiao Zhi-Yuan was figuring out the way to operate the music system, Ru found her sce in the food menu ced on the table.

    She pressed the buzzer and a guy from the staff came to take their order. Ru ordered a bunch of food without any hesitation while Qin Qu gaped at her, not knowing what to think.

    "What about the drinks?" The staff member asked politely.

    "Just bring some wine," Xiao Zhi-Ren told the name of the wine and he left the room.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was the first one to put on a song and took the mike. He had put on a song of his choice but Ru wasn¡¯t listening to him. She used her superpower of shutting the world around as she focused on eating.

    "Mr. Xie, won¡¯t you sing?" Qin Qu asked rather reluctantly.

    "I don¡¯t know any song. How can I sing it?" Ru answered to his question sincerely.

    Qin Qu looked askance as he asked, "You have never heard any song?"

    "Huh? I have heard obviously. In this age and time, you get to hear music everywhere you go. I just don¡¯t pay attention to them since I¡¯m not interested." Qin Qu still wasn¡¯t very convinced but seeing the look in her eyes, he had to believe.

    "Why don¡¯t you take some wine?" Qin Qu was about to pour some wine for her when she stopped him.

    "Don¡¯t bother. I don¡¯t drink wine."

    "Why is that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked the question, looking at her curiously.

    Ru sighed heavily saying, "I have my reasons. Excuse me for a moment," she excused herself and came out in the empty hallways.

    Finding a silent corner which had ss walls looking over the skyscrapers of the city, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She bit a stick of cigarette between her lips and lit it up before taking a puff.

    Leaning her head against the wall, she thought about why she didn¡¯t drink wine? Once upon a time, she used to love wine. Especially the peach wine brewed by her grandfather. But then she started avoiding the wine. She puffed out rings of smoke and closed her eyes losing herself in memories.

    *shback*

    "Put young master Ru on the ice blocks," the booming authoritative voice made everyone present cower back a bit. But two people still came up to teenage Ru¡¯s side.

    "I have legs. I¡¯ll just go down myself." Ru stopped the two boys from touching her. She didn¡¯t look aggrieved or sad. In fact, there was no visible expression on her face as she took off her shoes and stood on the ice block barefoot. She felt her body being bit by the freezing feeling but she still didn¡¯t hiss.

    "Kneel!" She looked up at her father¡¯s raging face and kneeled down on the ice block. "Pull up your sleeves!" The next order was heard and she had to obey. She knew the next part herself, so, she stretched out her arms.

    She was about 16 years old at that time when she stole some wine from her grandfather¡¯s courtyard but was caught by her father. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t her first time doing it but somehow it became the first time when she was caught. She called it her rotten luck.

    It certainly was rotten luck since her father who was the patriarch of the n punished her severely. When she stretched her bare arms, her father asked his subordinate to thrash her with a wicker cane a hundred times.

    All the blows were made on her forearms and by the time he was done, Ru¡¯s forearms were covered in blood and she could barely feel her arms. Her father looked at her calm face and walked away shaking his head.

    There wasn¡¯t a single tear that dropped from her eyes but the ones watching had pitiful looks in their eyes. She didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t the first punishment and it definitely wasn¡¯t going to be thest. She tried to stand up but her body rolled down to a side because of the numbness caused by the ice.

    This time she didn¡¯t try to stand up too soon. Sheid on the ground with her face up and lifted her arms slowly to blow on them. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t effective, she dropped her arms to the ground. "Young master, let me help you to your courtyard." A young disciple came up to offer his help but Ru shook her head.

    "Aye! If I can¡¯t even bear this much pain then how will I be able to be your next leader?" Her dignity would never allow her to take help. Also, she was aware that if she took the help that disciple will be punished as well. And she would never allow that to happen.

    It took a while before she could feel a bit of sensation in her legs and with much effort, she managed to stand up. Stumbling, falling, rolling somehow she finally reached her courtyard. She was sweating buckets by the time she walked inside. She lost all her strength to walk and fell down to the ground. Since there was no-one in her courtyard, she didn¡¯t care about how long she stayed on the ground.

    She had just closed her eyes when she heard a voice, "Look at this weak person. How is he gonna take over the legacy of our n?" She instantly opened her eyes to look at her mother¡¯s displeased face. "Why are you down there? Get up already!"

    Ru groaned inwardly and stood up to cup her fists to greet the n matriarch with respect. "Go andy down." Ru nodded at hermand and went under the shade toy down on a bamboo mat. Her mother sat down beside her and put some herbal paste on her arms.

    "Are you happy by being a rebellion like this?" Ru shifted her eyes to see her father ring at her.

    "I just stole a bit of wine," Ru replied innocently.

    "Do you think I punished you for stealing wine?" Her father¡¯s tone got louder making her want to bury a hole to hide inside. "Ru, how can you break the rules again and help someone outside of the n?"

    Hearing his words, she realized what he meant. Because of her best friend, she used her resources and authority as the young master of the n to help a girl in hiding her past. It wasn¡¯t a big deal, was it? Well, it was! And she knew it. She was not allowed to keep contact with the outside world and yet she broke the rule time and again.

    "I don¡¯t care that you used your authority. But let me remind you, the way you want to spread happiness will only leave you emptyhanded. Because the people who sell happiness are often left with nothing for themselves." With these words, her father left her courtyard.

    "Stop challenging your father¡¯s patience. He doesn¡¯t have much of it." Her mother spoke gently and left after applying the medicine to her wounds.

    *shback Ends*

    Coming back to the present, Ru could only scoff at her own self. "Father, you were right. I¡¯m really emptyhanded. For the world, I have everything one could wish for; money, and power. But I don¡¯t have anything left in my heart that could make me happy." She whispered softly to herself. "I¡¯m not even left with the courage to face you again."

    She didn¡¯t stop drinking because of this event rather she left it because no wine ever appealed to her the way her grandfather¡¯ did. She even tried to brew it herself but she couldn¡¯t bring out the taste that she desired badly.

    She never hated her parents for being cold to her. She knew they loved her but their way of showing that love was peculiar. Instead of loving her like a normal child, they raised her to be the strongest child since she was anything but normal.

 Chapter 41 Story Of A Storm

    Memories are one of the precious things for human beings but not when those memories of the past be the punishment of the present. We keep good memories to relive those happy moments all over again and we keep the bad ones because we can¡¯t possibly get rid of them no matter how hard we try to.

    Standing in the same corridor, Ru stubbed the cigarette and properly disposed of it. When she pulled the pack again to take another stick, she realized that unknowingly, she had smoked the whole pack already. She scratched her head awkwardly before throwing the empty pack of cigarette in the bin.

    After taking another look at the night sky, she turned to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice. She took another step to see a youngdy in a whitece dress trying to hold his hand. From her position, she could only see the side profile of the girl but it was enough to tell her who that girl was; Ji Caihong. Ru frowned as she thought, ¡¯I haven¡¯t even started looking for her and the young miss served herself to me? Interesting!¡¯

    She didn¡¯t try to interrupt them and stayed in the corner, discreetly.

    Earlier when Xiao Zhi-Yuan came out of the private room, he¡¯d nned to look for Ru. But who knew he will bump into one of the people, he never wished to see again. "Zhi-Yuan!" Ji Caihong called out his name softly with a sweet smile on her pinkish lips. Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no interest in talking to her and that¡¯s why he tried to walk away but Ji Caihong held his wrist not letting him leave. She lifted her hand to palm his face but Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned his face away. Her bright eyes dimmed a bit but she immediately concealed the disappointment.

    "Did youe alone? Or Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge is with you?" Hearing Ji Caihong¡¯s voice, Ru¡¯s brows knitted together. Her voice was too sweet as if listening to the whistle of birds; beautiful, soothing, and yet distinctive. The voice in her memories reminded her of catfights.

    ¡¯She¡¯s definitely not giving me the vibes of the person I¡¯m looking for. Then howe the van which is assigned for her security was at the event the other night? Did she give her van to someone else? Or my mind is ying tricks with me? What if I¡¯m mistaken?¡¯ With all these thoughts, Ru felt exasperated but she knew she couldn¡¯t give up this easily.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan jerked Ji Caihong¡¯s hand away saying, "I told you before to stay away from my brother. He¡¯s my brother, not yours!" The sharp edge to his voice was surprising to Ru as she forgot all about her thoughts and listened closely.

    Ji Caihong looked dejected. "But he¡¯s my brother as well. No matter what, we share the same father." She spoke ruefully in a low voice making Xiao Zhi-Yuan grit his teeth. He hated this reminder. His brother was his alone! His brother was his whole family, how could he bring himself to share him with someone else?

    On the side, even Ru looked at them wide-eyed. ¡¯Same father? Then doesn¡¯t that means Xiao Zhi-Ren and Xiao Zhi-Yuan are actually a part of Ji family?¡¯ There were millions of questions running in her mind but she didn¡¯t have the answers.

    "I didn¡¯t have a father in the past 18 years of my life and I certainly don¡¯t need one now." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered gravely and walked right past her. Why would he wish for a father who abandoned him even before he was born? He didn¡¯t need a father as long as he had his brother by his side.

    After walking a fair distance, he called Ru. "Oniisan, where are you?"

    "Little squirrel, I have someone to meet. You have fun. I¡¯ll see youter!" Ru replied to him looking intently at Ji Caihong frozen at the same spot. Ru could see the way tears were trickling down her cute little face. But she was bravely trying to stifle her sobs.

    Now, whether it was Ji Caihong¡¯s stubborn nature or bravery, Ru couldn¡¯t possibly tell.

    "Fine!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan grumbled disappointedly and hung up the call.

    "The brother doesn¡¯t want to acknowledge the father or anyone associated with him. And the half-sister is crying over the harsh words of the same brother? Now, this is getting interesting..." Ru smiled to herself. Whether Ji Caihong had any connection to her lost memories or not, she didn¡¯t know. But Ji Caihong had certainly caught her attention. And if Ru got interested in someone, there was no way she¡¯d let it go unless the mystery is solved.

    Ru watched Ji Caihong falling down on her knees right in the middle of the hallway but she didn¡¯t stick around to watch her vulnerable state. First, it didn¡¯t feel right and second, she hated tears. She took the other route to sort out her thoughts. Someone once said that she liked to y god in someone¡¯s life and she didn¡¯t want to y that role again. She had no right to be nosy for no reason. Therefore, she tried her best to bury those bursting desires of curiosity inside her.

    She took the lift to the top floor and came to a rooftop garden and sat down on the ground with her back leaning against the railings. While Ru was silently trying to avoid Ji Caihong, the fate had something else nned. After a while, the elevator¡¯s ¡¯ding¡¯ made Ru turn to see Xiao Zhi-Rening out of the elevator with a petite figure in a white dress. Ji Caihong was still sniffling and Xiao Zhi-Ren helped her to an empty bench.

    She hugged his waist and cried unceasingly with her shoulders trembling. Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t push her away or said anything. He simply kept stroking her hair like an older brother.

    The scene before Ru was heartwarming even when there was nothing to say.

    After silently sobbing for a while, Ji Caihong pulled herself away from Xiao Zhi-Ren and crouched down before her toe to the same level as her. He passed his handkerchief and she took it silently wiping her tears.

    On a side, Ru wasn¡¯tfortable with those big teardrops in her almond-shaped eyes and right before Ji Caihong, even Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯tfortable with those tears. While Ru had always had something against tears, she didn¡¯t know that for Xiao Zhi-Ren, tears held a different meaning.

    Ru couldn¡¯t cry herself and that left her with an inkling to stop others¡¯ tear. Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s meaning of tears came from the peculiar person he had met who didn¡¯t cry even facing death and said to him, ¡¯Tears are like a story of the storm brewing inside a person. But some people don¡¯t like sharing that story hidden by a smile which even tears can¡¯t wash away. Because some storms have no end.¡¯

    Ru couldn¡¯t understand the situation ying before her. Earlier, the younger brother made the same half-sister cry with his words and now, the elder brother was wiping the tears lovingly. ¡¯Why is this situation getting more and more interesting than before?¡¯ Ru thought to herself and leaned backnguidly against the metal railings.

 Chapter 42 Blue & Red

    If one asked Ru was she trying to eavesdrop here, her answer would be, "No way! They are sharing such a sweet and heart-warming moment if I¡¯ll try to leave, it¡¯ll ruin such an emotional scene." And yes! She would be lying!

    Being the person who was titled as a shadow, she had many ways to make her existence concealed while leaving them alone and yet, she chose to stay hidden in the dark corner. Although she was quite far from Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ji Caihong, she could still hear them from her current position because of her over-sensitive ears.

    Her ears were sensitive than normal humans since she was trained to fight with blindfolds and also, there was a time in her life when only sounds were herpanions while there was no light in her life.

    As Ji Caihong¡¯s sniffling sound lightened up a bit, Xiao Zhi-Ren pushed her hair away from her face and asked, "Why are you crying like this?" She stayed quiet not answering while she kept looking at Xiao Zhi-Ren with her bloodshot eyes. "Aren¡¯t you even gonna tell your Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge?"

    "Ge-Ge," she tried to speak and choked on her emotions.

    "Yes, little sister," Xiao Zhi-Ren encouraged her as he rubbed her back.

    "He said, you can¡¯t be my brother. He won¡¯t allow it." Ji Caihong spoke in a bit hoarse voice.

    "Who said it?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was scowling.

    "Zhi-Yuan... He hates me, Ge-Ge." Xiao Zhi-Ren figured what must have happened. When he found Ji Caihong crying hysterically in the hallways, he didn¡¯t think that Xiao Zhi-Yuan would have also met her. He stood up and sat beside her on the bench.

    He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulled her closer and said, "I told you to ignore Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s words. He¡¯s still a kid. And he doesn¡¯t hate you, he just doesn¡¯t know you yet." He was coaxing her gently while Ru was nodding her head agreeing with him silently. Even she believed that Xiao Zhi-Yuan was a kid who couldn¡¯t even define love in a proper way much less talk about what hate is.

    Ji Caihong ced her head on his shoulder saying, "But Ge-Ge, he doesn¡¯t even want to look at me. I just want a little brother." Hearing her such a sad voice, even Ru couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for her.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stroked her arm up and down saying, "Stop thinking about his words and if he spoke rudely to you again, deliver an open-handed p straight to his face."

    Ji Caihong gasped as she lifted her head to look straight at Xiao Zhi-Ren. "How can I do that, Ge-Ge?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pinched her small nose finding her adorable for such a reaction and said, "Why not? You¡¯re 7 years older than him. It¡¯s your right to teach him a lesson if he does something wrong." He caressed her cheek softly and added, "If you won¡¯t even ept your own right, how will you make him realize that you¡¯re his elder sister and not a joke?"

    While Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking at Ji Caihong for a response, Ru was again nodding her head as a thought invaded into his mind, ¡¯Why do I feel like I¡¯m listening to myself?¡¯ At this strange thought, she cringed a bit. But she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that until now, whatever Xiao Zhi-Ren said was what she would have said herself. His thoughts were aligned with her mind and Ru had never met someone who could remind her of her own self before. ¡¯You¡¯re even more intriguing than I originally thought, Mr. Xiao...¡¯ She half-smiled to herself and waited for Ji Caihong¡¯s answer.

    Ji Caihong was in a dilemma. "But Ge-Ge, he doesn¡¯t even want to ept that we have the same father. How will he ept me as his sister?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stiffened a bit but heposed himself immediately as he asked, "When you were young, did I held you in my arms because we shared the same father?"

    Ji Caihong shook her head and said, "When we were young, we didn¡¯t even know that we have the same father."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren patted her head. "Exactly, my cute little sister. The more you¡¯ll remind him about us sharing the same father, the more he¡¯ll run away from you. Don¡¯t use your blood rtion to get close to him, use your innocent personality to win him over." Ji Caihong contemted his words while Ru got more curious.

    ¡¯Although I¡¯m not supposed to think about this, I can¡¯t help myself. So, they were very close when they were young but parted away for years.¡¯ She looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren and saw his affectionate gaze for Ji Caihong while hers held an extreme sense of dependence, love, and respect. ¡¯It seems the years of separation couldn¡¯t change their rtionship.¡¯ And Ru wasn¡¯t wrong; the years apart only increased their love and care for each other.

    "Okay, I¡¯ll do whatever Ge-Ge says." Ji Caihong agreed to listen to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s advice. She needed her little brother at any cost and for that, if she had to be a bit stern with him, she¡¯ll do it!

    "That¡¯s like my sister. Now, give me a smile, my Xiao Hong." Ji Caihong¡¯s pinkish lips had just curled into a beautiful smile when the pair of sibling heard someone¡¯sugh startling them.

    They both stood up and walked towards the dark corner. "Mr. Xie?" Xiao Zhi-Ren said in disbelief. ¡¯Why him of all people?¡¯ He was thinking inwardly.

    Ru looked at their questioning looks and tried to control herughter. "I wasn¡¯t eavesdropping." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a pointed look, obviously not believing a word and Ru rolled her eyes saying, "Okay, fine. I did eavesdrop. But it wasn¡¯t intentional. I came here first. So, technically it¡¯s your own fault." As always, Ru shirked all the insinuations smoothly.

    "Whatever. Why did youugh?" That was what he was really curious about. He certainly didn¡¯t say any joke or did he?

    "Oh, that?" Ru chuckled again a bit as she said, "You called her Xiao Hong and that reminded me of the little cute pet I had when I was young."

    "Was it a cute kitten?" Ji Caihong asked as her eyes were stuck on Ru¡¯s green eyes that were the only thing she could clearly see in the dim lights.

    "Nope." Ru shook her head.

    "Was it a puppy?" Ji Caihong asked again.

    "Nope." Ru shook her head again and Xiao Zhi-Ren had a foreboding that Ru¡¯s answer would be just like herself; weird and peculiar. Ru definitely didn¡¯t disappoint him as she said, "It was Blue Krait[1] but I named it Xiao Hong[2] just for fun." Her expressions abruptly turned solemn as she added, "But now if I think about it, it wasn¡¯t funny at all." Thest statement was for her own self.

    [1] "Blue Krait": One of the deadliest snakes in the world.

    [2] "Xiao Hong": Little Red... She actually named a blue snake red just for the fun of it.

 Chapter 43 Tell Me Something I Dont Know

    Both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ji Caihong could only stare at her with their mouth agape.

    "So, you named a blue snake as red just for the fun of it? I don¡¯t find it funny at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned with disbelief clearly visible on his face.

    Ru felt offended by his words as she red at him saying, "It was funny, for me considering that I was young at that time."

    "You really have the worst sense of humor, " Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help butment making Ru narrow her eyes at him dangerously.

    "Aigo[1]! As if our Mr. Xiao¡¯s sense of humor is off the charts..." She took a pause not wanting to banter with him again- at least not before thedy who just stopped crying- and added, "Well, technically I didn¡¯t name it red for fun." Ru rubbed her chin as she went on, "Red color is associated with Vermillion Bird[2] and it¡¯s also a symbol of joy and good fortune. And since my Xiao Hong came as my joy when I was five, so, I named it red. What¡¯s wrong with that?" Ru looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren as if daring him to argue or disagree.

    But how could he do that? He didn¡¯t find anything wrong with her exnation except for the part that she was five years old when she kept a pet who was actually one of the world¡¯s deadliest snakes. He only had the urge to ask, ¡¯How do you do this, Mr. Xie?¡¯ And as for what Ru do? Wasn¡¯t it obvious, she always left him more confused about herself.

    What he didn¡¯t consider was the fact that under what circumstances a five-year-old was forced to make a snake her friend. He couldn¡¯t possibly imagine the solitude of her life where she could only talk to animals. If he could understand that solitude, he could have also understood the reason for her estranged behavior towards humans.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and said, "Whatever you heard, don¡¯t talk about it with Zhi-Yuan." Looking at him acting so humbly, Ru gave a lopsided smile thinking how can he change his demeanor for different people.

    She had already observed his imposing personality when he was dealing with the business but when it came to his brother, he bes the sweetest brother in the world. It was like having a split personality since whenever he was talking to even Ru, his aura wouldpletely change into something indescribable.

    "You don¡¯t even have to mention that, Mr. Xiao." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised as she continued, "This is your personal story and although I love stories, I don¡¯t like sharing them." She shrugged her shoulders and intentionally bumped into Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s shoulder while passing right by his side.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was staring at her back with aplicated look while Ji Caihong had an inquisitive feeling bursting inside her.

    After taking a few steps, Ru halted in her step and whisked her body around elegantly. "Ah! Since you reminded of my favorite pet, let me help you a bit." She was osting to Ji Caihong as she went on, "If you want to know your little brother, head to Central Imperial Library in the school district. He has a habit of spending two hours daily there after school."

    "How do you know that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren felt alienated since he didn¡¯t even know about this himself. ¡¯Since when did he knew about my brother¡¯s daily schedule?¡¯

    "Mr. Xiao, your little brother has only one passion in life..." She took an unnecessary pause to hype up their curiosity and said, "Books! He¡¯s a typical example of a nerd with the exception of not wearing sses."

    Now, when Ru shifted her gaze to look at Ji Caihong, she found her in a daze. But it wasn¡¯t her fault, it was the first time for Ji Caihong to see such peculiar emerald green eyes with such awe-striking features that she was astounded.

    Ru snapped her fingers to break Ji Caihong¡¯s daydreaming and asked skeptically, "Are you good at studies?"

    Ji Caihong was taken aback by that question and answered in a small voice, "I topped my University exam back in high school."

    Ru raised her brow in surprise and gave a disdainful look to Xiao Zhi-Ren saying, "Are you sure she¡¯s your sister?"

    Before Xiao Zhi-Ren could open his mouth to argue, Ji Caihong spoke up, "I doubt that sometimes as well. I can¡¯t evenpete with Syaoran Ge-Ge who topped in the whole Imperial much less with Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge who praised in the whole state for his extraordinary records."

    Ru¡¯s mouth opened wide and Xiao Zhi-Ren felt smug seeing her reaction. ording to him, this reaction was because Ru was shocked to hear about his aplishments but to his dismay, her words shattered his pride into pieces, "You have another brother? How many siblings do you have? And is it a family of geniuses or nerds? Why is each person trying to top up the previous one?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren really wanted to punch Ru now but he convinced himself to avoid violence. "Is this any of your concern?" He asked gritting his teeth.

    "Not really," Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    "Oh, I forgot to say," Ji Caihong walked up to her side and said, "You have the most beautiful eyes I¡¯ve ever seen in my life."

    "Tell me something I don¡¯t know," although Ru¡¯s words were a bit conceited, she wasn¡¯t trying to be. She had heard the samepliment way too many times in her life that it became a norm. But seeing the brightness in Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes, Ru smiled at her charmingly and said, "You¡¯re one of the most gorgeous youngdies I¡¯ve ever met in my life."

    Seeing Ji Caihong smiling bashfully at herpliment, Xiao Zhi-Ren pulled Ru from her jacket¡¯s cor yet again and warned, "Don¡¯t flirt with my sister. She¡¯s the only princess of our house and I don¡¯t want jerks like yourself to hang around her."

    Ru first scowled when he pulled her cor but his words left her with only a strange feeling of warmth. Seeing him being so protective over a half-sister even when he hated his father was a very refreshing experience for her.

    Ru raised her hands in defense and said, "I told you, I don¡¯t do flirting." Passing a beautiful smile to both of them, she turned to enter the elevator.

    [1] "Aigo!": OMG in Korean but more in a negative sense

    [2] "Vermillion Bird": One of the heavenly creatures in Chinese mythology

 Chapter 44 Choose Wisely

    Madness; it lies somewhere between the chaos of insanity and the beautiful dreams we hold of reality. All of us hide some madness within ourselves. And you can¡¯t possibly figure out a person until you¡¯ve seen the madness they are concealing.

    There is nothing wrong with the person who has the courage to show you his madness. We should be wary of the ones who never even learned the extent of their own madness.

    In the past years, Ru ruled over people with her madness as her solepanion. She always fancied the idea of it.

    She let the insanity toil with her,

    While her madness devour her

    In her journey to learn the reality;

    Insanity prevailed her stance of sanity

    Standing on the edge of insomnia and cmity

    She walked in the abyss of darkness superciliously.

    She was so intoxicated by madness

    That she fell in love with her own sadness...

    But seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s rtionship with his half-sister brought a strange feeling to Ru¡¯s heart. For the first time in a long while, she desired someone who could understand her madness without judging her. She closed her eyes and only one person came to her mind.

    She didn¡¯t go to her condominium building that night and went straight to the bamboo house she had built on the outskirts of the city in the mountains.

    "Adia, bring the girl who attacked me in London." Adia was taken aback a bit to hear the orders but she knew, questioning her master would only bring her trouble. Therefore, she stayed quiet and left to work on the order she received.

    In two days, when Adia brought the mute assassin to Ru, she was still in the same bamboo house fiddling around with chemicals.

    "Master, she¡¯s here!" Adia informed Ru while she was staring intently at the strange concoction of herbs.

    Hearing Adia¡¯s voice, Ru picked up a syringe and filled it with that liquid. She came to the courtyard where the mute assassin girl was tied up against the tree.

    Ru took slow but steady steps and stood right in front of the chained girl who had a murderous look in her eyes as if trying to kill Ru with her looks. But if looks could kill, Ru would have been long dead.

    "Go back to your original positions. Leave us alone," Ru waved off her group of people who reluctantly shared a look with each other. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Although her voice was still deep and low, they could feel the change in the meaning behind it. Within minutes, the courtyard was empty with only Ru and the mute girl standing facing each other.

    The chained figure was inmed while the other figure before her was nonchnt. Both kept having a staringpetition for a long while. In the end, Ru sighed heavily feeling the helplessness of that mute girl. For the first time in her life, she was feeling pity for someone.

    She pulled out the syringe from her pocket and looked straight into sinister eyes before her. "Right now, whatever I say will have no effect on you. You¡¯re like that mad dog who has lost his ability to differentiate. So, before I offer anything. I need to wake you up from your slumber."

    The mute girl tried hard to tug at the chains gritting her teeth but it didn¡¯t work. Ru didn¡¯t care about her efforts of trying to escape, she injected the liquid straight into her neck.

    Ru had been experimenting on the same girl¡¯s blood since she had faced her. She wasn¡¯t sure if her personal creation would be able to fix the girl before her but she was certain that the mixture would allow this young girl to think for herself again.

    After injecting the liquid, Ru unchained her and threw the chains away. The girl had a splitting headache but on instinct, she lunged to attack Ru with all her strength. Ru nimbly turned to her right side and held her arm to twist it. Her one hand had twisted the girl¡¯s arms behind her back while her other arm came around her neck to put her in a headlock.

    The girl tried to kick Ru¡¯s knee but Ru had already caged her legs by twisting her own leg with hers.

    "Seeing your feisty personality, I¡¯vee up with a name for you... I¡¯ll call you Lilith." Saying that Ru pushed her away making her fall on the ground.

    "Let¡¯s y a game," Ru started as she pulled out a stick of cigarette and continued, "Since you want to kill me, I¡¯ll give you a chance to do that." The other girl who she just named Lilith was shaking her head as she felt strange sensations all over her body and most of all, her brain. But listening to Ru¡¯s voice, she stopped and lifted her face to stare at her indecisively. "We¡¯ll y two rounds. The first round will end when this cigarette of mine ends and in that round, I won¡¯t counterattack. As for the second round..." she smiled boldly. "You will know when we get to it."

    "There are no rules. But there is a reward if even the tip of your nail managed to touch me, I¡¯ll let you walk away from here freely." Because of the medicine in her body, Lilith could understand Ru¡¯s meaning which shook her a bit.

    Noticing the flicker in her eyes, Ru knew that she had managed to get her attention. She lit up her cigarette and said, "Your time starts now!"

    As her words fell, Lilith stood up and curled her hand into a tight fist. She was trying to aim for Ru¡¯s face and from Ru¡¯s experience, she could tell that the punch was solid. But Lilith had underestimated Ru¡¯s ability. The girl who wasnguidly puffing out rings of smoke agilely jumped in the air and did a backward somersault with perfection.

    But Lilith¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop, she was enraged even more and she tried to m her hand into Ru¡¯s ribs. This time, Ru turned sideways right before her hand could even touch Ru¡¯s jacket. The attack from Lilith continued as she tried to kick, punch or even scratch Ru but for the next five minutes, all her hands and legs touched was air.

    After five minutes, Ru threw the cigarette butt to the ground and stubbed it with her shoe as she said, "Round one is over!" Thenguid smile turned into a solemn look as she added, "Now, it¡¯s my turn."

    Lilith felt the change in her green eyes and her heart jolted. She didn¡¯t even get a chance to move when Ru¡¯s palmnded straight to her chest throwing her quite far away. Lilith spurted out blood as her bodynded on the cobblestones. She felt a piercing pain in her chest as if a boulder had hit her brutally.

    After this blow, her mind was a lot clearer than before and she took this chance to observe the tall figure before her eyes. Ru¡¯s green eyes looked beautiful but she realized that those eyes held the same pain as she had.

    As Ru walked slowly towards her, Lilith tried to get up but her body felt shattered. When Ru crouched down before her, she tried to cower away with fear in her eyes.

    Pulling two things out of her jacket, Ru ced them on the ground and said, "Since I won, now, it¡¯s time for a decision... You have to choose one of these things and it¡¯ll decide what future holds for you."

    Lilith frowned as her eyes looked at one of the things on the ground; a small dagger. "If you choose the dagger, I¡¯ll kill you inly. Don¡¯t forget, you are of no use to me since even you have no idea who turned you into a killing machine. So, killing you inly is the only mercy I can offer." Lilith gulped visibly and looked at the other thing; ck rose. "And if you choose the ck rose... Then I can help you."

    Lilith stared wide-eyed at Ru with disbelief in her eyes. "I¡¯ll help in fixing the effects of their experiments on your body as for healing your mind, that¡¯s all up to you." Ru stood up to leave and passed herst words, "Choose wisely."

 Chapter 45 Abyss Of Bloodthirs

    Ru had never smoked so much before but since she came to China, she had the urge to always hold a cigarette in her mouth. And that¡¯s what she did after leaving Lilith to decide her fate. She didn¡¯t smoke for cravings but rather she did it to distract her mind.

    After smoking for a while, Ru went back to the courtyard and noticed the conflicted look in Lilith¡¯s eyes. Her eyes were stuck on the dagger and Ru was familiar with that look.

    The reason she chose not to kill Lilith was simple; she didn¡¯t want an innocent person to die. And yes! For Ru, Lilith was innocent since whatever she did in life was done under the influence of drugs that had been induced in her body from a young age.

    Now that Lilith¡¯s mind was a lot clearer, her mind had shes of all the inhumane things she had done in her life and it made her feel disgusted by her own existence. She couldn¡¯t even remember when was thest time, she made a decision for her own self rather than receiving orders to take out missions.

    "So, what¡¯s your choice?" Hearing Ru¡¯s maic voice, Lilith stayed frozen and took a while before lifting her hand towards the dagger but before she could touch it, the same deep maic voice halted her hand in midair. "Let me help you with your decision." Ru sat down beside her on the ground and folded her slim long legs. "If you choose the dagger, it means you¡¯re giving up on yourself and this life. But I won¡¯t judge you for being a coward. Because I know what¡¯s running in your mind."

    Lilith lifted her eyes to stare at her as if to question her, "Do you really know what I¡¯m feeling?"

    Ru had a brittle smile ying on her thin lips as she answered the question her eyes asked, "Yes, I do know. The memories of the people who died from your hands are trying to pierce your heart. It¡¯s inevitable but it¡¯s painful as well. Because you have done it and there is no nice way to put it. But," she took a brief pause before adding, "This ck rose can give you a chance of redemption. A second chance to live life."

    Lilith felt a strange feeling in her heart and lifted her hands to make hand gesture asking, "How?"

    The brittle smile didn¡¯t leave Ru¡¯s lips as she spoke, "That first kill of our life was difficult. It was done to protect ourselves but it made the rest of the kills too easy for us. Because bloodthirst is also a form of addiction. It¡¯s an endless abyss where if one falls, there is hardly any way to escape on your own. Taking lives have always been way easier than saving them and at a point in my life, I stop doing both. But looking at you, I want to save you... From the demons of your mind and soul."

    Ru pulled out a chocte bar from her pocket and ate itnguidly savoring its taste as she sighed, "I want you to choose this ck rose. That way, the people whom you killed won¡¯te back but there will be a chance for you to save someone else from dying or ending up like yourself."

    Ru genuinely wished that Lilith chooses the ck rose, she didn¡¯t know what she¡¯ll do if Lilith chose the dagger. Apparently, the one who was infamous for being heartless didn¡¯t have the heart to kill the innocent girl before her. The abyss of bloodthirst was not oundish to her, the difference was she had to pull herself out all on her own while this time, she wanted to lend her hand to someone else.

    This time, Lilith didn¡¯t hesitate for a minute before she held the ck rose and extended her hand towards Ru since she knew that she definitely didn¡¯t want someone to be a victim like herself ever again. She had seen the way other girls died in thatb because of experiments. Those screams that turned to numbness were strongly embedded in her mind.

    "You certainly made the right choice," Ru replied, taking the rose from her hand.

    "Can you make me a human again?" Lilith asked with hand gestures again.

    "I certainly will do my best!" Ru answered her question honestly and her sincere look touched Lilith¡¯s heart. "Follow me!"

    Lilith silently followed Ru and she brought her to a man-made hot-water spring. Passing some clothes to her, she said, "Clean yourself up, I¡¯ll be waiting outside."

    Under all circumstances, Ru would never let go of her gentlemanly bearing as she walked out.

    After Lilith cleaned up and wore the pair of new clothes, Ru took her towards the secretb in the seemingly ordinary bamboo house. Lilith unconsciously took a step back since her mind only had the images of being kept in ab all these years. With sensibility came the trauma that was rooted deep inside her heart.

    Sensing the fear of the girl, Ru stopped and took a deep breath. "The reason I brought you here is that I want to give you this." Ru gave the injections filled with the same liquid she had injected in her body. "You have to inject these in your body after every 24 hours. For now, this is the only solution I came up with. I¡¯ll have to do more research on a permanent solution. But you need to make sure to take these shots on time."

    Although Ru had brought her to theb to do some experiment, her fear made Ru decide otherwise. It wasn¡¯t the time to scare the girl off.

    Bringing her to a quiet garden, Ru said, "I have only two rules for you." Lilith listened attentively with her stiff expressions. She really had no other expression and Ru knew she¡¯ll have to work on that but that was the task for another time. "The first rule is, don¡¯t even think about betraying me even in your wildest dreams. I might only have a couple of ways to save you but I have a million ways to kill you." After this frank reminder, a ghostly smile appeared on her lips as she went on, "The second rule is, no matter what happens don¡¯te between me and my food. Or I¡¯ll make your life a living hell." It was obvious which of the rules was considered more important from her emphasis.

    "These are the only two bottom lines I have. Don¡¯t touch them and the world will be as pleasant as it is now."

    After that, she took Lilith to Adia who was taken aback a bit butposed herself instantly. "Adia, this is Lilith and Lilith, this is Adia." She introduced both girls and continued, "Adia is the only female subordinate I have had until now. You¡¯re the second and I¡¯m leaving you under Adia¡¯s care. Learn how the things work here and then we¡¯ll move on to the next phase."

    Lilith obviously had noments to make but Adia had a lot of questions to ask. She ran after Ru and asked, "Master, what are you nning to do? She tried to kill you."

    "Thanks for the reminder!" Adia could clearly perceive sarcasm in her voice. "But I don¡¯t need your reminders. Once I saved you from dying at the hands of your own people, today, I¡¯m trying to save her from her own self. If you can get a second chance then why not her?" Adia was left speechless since she had nothing to argue with.

    And what could she possibly say? There was nothing to say at all! Her master saved her when she was betrayed by her own people. Since she was the weakest one back then, her own people had made her the scapegoat. And if not for her master, how could she still be standing here proudly as the leading member of ck Mist squad which was known as the deadliest group of mercenaries?

    Therefore, Adia stayed quiet and obediently bowed her head in respect saying, "I¡¯ll take good care of her, master. You don¡¯t have to worry at all."

    Ru didn¡¯t have any visible change in her expression. She still had a neutral but refined look as she left the bamboo house to get a ride back to the inner city.

 Chapter 46 Wrath Of An Angry Sister

    For the past two days, Xiao Zhi-Yuan had been missing Ru¡¯s presence since she had not been back to the apartment. He had been sulking all alone since even Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t around to keep himpany.

    At times like these, Xiao Zhi-Yuan truly felt lonely but he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to make friends. Socializing had always been his nemesis. He would rather stay cooped up in his room reading a book than going out to party like others his age. As Ru named him; he really was a nerd who knew only how to bury himself in books.

    He tried to be rebellious just to spite his own brother but smoking or drinking both didn¡¯t work for him. When he wanted to smoke, Ru snatched the pack from him and when he wanted to get drunk, Ru made him that spicy drink making him want to never touch alcohol ever again.

    With his head resting on his hand, he had a goofy smile on his face as those memories of meeting Ru came to his mind. Although he seemed to be looking at the school grounds through the window, in reality, he was just lost in his own thoughts.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s day-dreaming came to an end when he heard a camera snap sound. With a frown, he turned his face to see Shen Yue grinning as she was looking at the photo she just clicked. "Woah! I really can¡¯t get tired of this charming and gentle smile." Shemented making Xiao Zhi-Yuan upset.

    "Delete that!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan said keeping his voice neutral.

    "I don¡¯t want to!" Shen Yue retorted and even stuck out her tongue childishly.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan got irked by her behavior and he shot up from his chair. His tall andnky figure towered above Shen Yue¡¯s petite one. When he lifted his hand to take the phone, Shen Yue stubbornly hid it behind her; sping it tightly.

    "I said to delete it," he was trying hard to not let his temper get the best of him but the girl before him had her own ¡¯ideas¡¯. She took a step back and tried to run from the ssroom. Catching on to her thoughts, Xiao Zhi-Yuan stretched out his long leg to follow but before he could move, he was pushed back by a sturdy hand. Shen Yue gasped as she stopped in her track.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was caught off guard and took him a while to get back to his feet. He clenched his fists and looked at the one who just pushed him; Zhang Han. He was the current ss president and also the top student in the whole school. Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no animosity or at least, that¡¯s what Xiao Zhi-Yuan thought. Technically they never even interacted with each other and yet, Zhang Han hated his guts but why? That Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no clue about.

    Because let¡¯s be honest, Ru¡¯s little squirrel was truly a bit dense when it came to reading people or their feelings.

    For instance, Xiao Zhi-Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly see that Shen Yue was irritating him all the time because she was interested in him. Also, if he couldn¡¯t even notice others feelings for himself, how could he see that Zhang Han was interested in Shen Yue?

    "How dare you try to touch our Yue Yue?" Zhang Han asked with hostility.

    "I only asked her to delete the photo she clicked. I have no interest in touching someone like her," Xiao Zhi-Yuan had always been honest but Ru¡¯s influence actually made him brutally honest. His words stung Shen Yue who was trying to intervene but was stopped by the other students.

    Even Zhang Han felt hurt when he heard that Shen Yue actually clicked a photo of Xiao Zhi-Yuan but hisst words made Zhang Han re hatefully at him. Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could even react, Zhang Han delivered a punch to his face in a fit of rage.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan tasted blood in his mouth as his lip was cut by the impact of that punch. Xiao Zhi-Yuan also raised his fist to attack but suddenly a voice rang out, "Guys, get back to your seats. The teacher ising."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan reluctantly let his hand drop by his side and sat back on his seat and dropped his head on the desk, not taking any interest in the ss affairs. Everyone else also settled down.

    Soon the head teacher Li entered the senior ss ¡¯A¡¯ with a delicate, beautiful and a magnificent beauty following behind. There were countless gasps of astonishment in the ss which came from the boys while the girls burned with envy.

    "Stay quiet everyone!" The teacher Li announced and all the students lowered their voices. Then the teacher turned to the beauty and said, "Miss, this is the senior ss ¡¯A¡¯. Who were you looking for?" The teacher spoke humbly since the person before him was the only daughter of Ji Family. A family that held the highest esteem in the whole of Asia.

    Earlier when the teacher Li was called to the principal office, he had no idea he would get to meet this pride of the aristocratic family in flesh. But he was confused, this Miss Ji only asked for the directions to the ss, she didn¡¯t tell him who she was looking for.

    Ji Caihong d in her ocean blue dress looked like a water fairy with her long ck hair cascading down to her back in waves. Her delicate manner and those glistening eyes had already enchanted plenty in the ss. But there was a slight disappointment in those eyes as they darted around in the ss but couldn¡¯t find whom she was looking for.

    Suddenly, she saw someone in thest row with his head down. Her eyes brightened up and she walked briskly towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s side. She tapped on his shoulder lightly, Xiao Zhi-Yuan who was already in a bad mood, turned his face to snap at the one who disturbed him, "What?"

    Looking at Ji Caihong¡¯s grinning face, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was stunned for a moment before his brows knitted together. Ji Caihong was about to say something when her eyes fell on the blood on his lower lip and sensing a dangerous glint in her eyes, Xiao Zhi-Yuan tried to cover his lip instinctively. But she didn¡¯t give him a chance to do so.

    "Who did it?" She only voiced out this question as her hand lifted up to touch his face that was turning slightly blue.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan hissed at her slight touch and swatted her hand away saying, "None of your concern." Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes darkened even more as she felt her body burning with rage. She was meek and a very delicate youngdy of her family but the one hurt before her was her only younger brother. And how can a sister see her brother hurt? Definitely, she couldn¡¯t!

    The gentle water fairy instantly turned into a dark one with a fierce aura around her.

    She whipped her body around to re at teacher Li and seeing her eyes, even the elderly teacher was startled. "I didn¡¯t know that Imperial¡¯s top school allowed their students to bully others!"

    "Miss..." Teacher Li tried to rify but he didn¡¯t have anything to argue with. He was already stupified to see Ji Caihong approaching Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Save your breath!" Ji Caihong¡¯s voice boomed in the ssroom jolting everyone. "You just wait and see what I do to your school now." Her threat was tant and teacher Li knew that she was not kidding at all.

    "Miss, this was obviously a matter between students. It¡¯s not right to implicate the school." Teacher Li could onlye up with these words to cate the situation but he didn¡¯t know that his words would get back to bite him in the as*.

    "Really? Then find me the one who is responsible," Ji Caihong gave him a way out and teacher Li heaved a sigh of relief.

    Teacher Li looked sternly at the students and said, "Whoever did this to Xiao Zhi-Yuan,e out now!" No-one moved from there seats. "None of you is willing to tell me who is responsible here?" The students were quite loyal to Zhang Han since he was the ss president and also, he had a pretty good backing. Even when Shen Yue wanted to help, she couldn¡¯t. Zhang Han¡¯s and her own families were business partners and good friends.

    Also, no-one in the ss knew anything about Xiao Zhi-Yuan or the Ji Caihong. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t dare to be so loyal.

    Teacher Li gritted his teeth since none of his students was ready to open their mouth. Since Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no interest in speaking up himself, the students thought he was scared of Zhang Han. And they tried to take advantage of that fact by saying, "Teacher, Xiao Zhi-Yuan have a badpany. One of his gangster friends might have done this to him."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan still didn¡¯t try to defend himself but his reason was simple; he wasn¡¯t sure about Ji Caihong¡¯s intentions. Why was she being so protective of him? Clearly, he had treated her badly every time they met. But here she was with a fierce look in her eyes that had seemed to touch his heart in one way or another.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t react that was one thing but Ji Caihone doesn¡¯t say anything, how was that possible? She directly went up to the student who had spoken and delivered a crisp p to his face without restraining her strength. The guy was stunned still as he red at Ji Caihong.

    "How dare you hit me?" The student roared at her. Since it was the top school of Imperial obviously each student came from a prominent background and had some sense of arrogance. "My father is the topwyer of the country. He¡¯ll sue you for this!" Teacher Li felt his heart drop as he heard his own student¡¯s haughty words before the haughtiness queen herself.

    Ji Caihong sneered as she pulled at his corner and gave another p saying, "Now, I pped you twice. Go and tell your father to sue me. And don¡¯t forget to tell him that my name is Ji... Cai... Hong!"

    The students twisted their necks to look at her in astonishment. Although the Ji family was highly esteemed, it was also one of the most secretive ones. They had all heard about the Ji family¡¯s young miss but they had never seen her.

    As the fear of Ji Family crawled in the students¡¯ hearts, one of them stood up and tried to speak, "Miss Ji, I¡¯ll tell you who-" Ji Caihong interrupted him.

    With a sweet smile, she said, "My family doesn¡¯t have the habit of giving the second chances. You all have chosen your path and now all of you should also wait for awsuit along with this lousy school."

    "But why should all of us take the me?" One girl cried out exasperatedly.

    "Because all of you are such loyal friends!" Ji Caihong turned and held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s wrist pulling him with herself. She stopped at the door and said, "The one who does the crime is not the only criminal. Those watch it and stay silent are also as much guilty." With that, she dragged Xiao Zhi-Yuan straight out of the school.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was still in a daze when she had dragged him along to where her car was parked. She took deep breaths. Inside, under the influence of adrenaline, she didn¡¯t realize how nervous she was after all, she had never spoken like that before.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled to himself looking at her fidgeting all by herself. All his life the only person who fought for him like this was his elder brother. Then Ru came to fight for him in a different way and now, Ji Caihong¡¯s fighting style waspletely out of his expectations. Why was she so concerned about him so much?

    He once heard that a sister¡¯s protectiveness for her brother goes beyond one¡¯s imaginations. Was this anger because she really was acting like his elder sister? Was this the wrath of an elder sister? If it was, he felt really happy about it.

 Chapter 47 Fight For Your Brother

    But his cold and aloof image won¡¯t let him ept that he was happy about it at all. He never wanted others to fight his battles but apparently, he was too innocent for this society ruled by humbugs. While he was busy evaluating Ji Caihong, she had rummaged out her cellphone to make a call to her father.

    "Hello, daddy! I need your help," Ji Caihong had just spoken when her phone was pulled away by Xiao Zhi-Yuan. Ji Caihong looked at him disbelief.

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing? Did I ask for your help? I don¡¯t need your help and certainly don¡¯t need your father¡¯s help. This is my life and you have no right to interfere in it. Both of you should just stay away from my life." As Xiao Zhi-Yuan was fuming in anger, he didn¡¯t realize that the call was still connected and Ji Yifeng heard each and every word that his youngest son said.

    He was hurt and yet he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He felt like no matter what he said, to both his sons, his words would only be excuses and nothing more. Ji Yifeng silently disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair with a heavy heart.

    Back on the road outside the Imperial Private Academy, Ji Caihong was not hurt but rather angry at Xaio Zhi-Yuan.

    "And who even told you toe to my school? What are you even doing here?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan finally asked the question that he wanted to.

    Ji Caihong opened the car door and pushed a beautiful wooden lunch box towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan saying, "I came to apologize."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was taken aback by her apology. Why was she apologizing? Wasn¡¯t he the one who hurt herst time? What¡¯s with the lunch box then?

    He frowned in confusion as he asked, "For what?" His words had just fallen when Ji Caihong gave an open-handed p on his cheek which was unscathed. She had held back her strength but the p¡¯s sound was still sharp.

    Even her driver looked wide-eyed at the supposedly delicate young miss of his family. What happened to her? The driver was thinking but he wasn¡¯t alone.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in disbelief as he gaped at her. "Did you just p me?" He was feeling resentful and Ji Caihong was feeling pained but she had to persist. To crack this hard nut, she had to be harder.

    "I did! But I also apologized, didn¡¯t I?" She spoke with such nonchnce that Xiao Zhi-Yuan had the urge to vomit blood.

    "Who apologize before the mistake?" He roared at her.

    "I do!" Ji Caihong replied with ease and said, "Now, don¡¯t waste the food. It¡¯s very special."

    She was going to turn to leave when she heard him mumble behind her, "Even my brother has never touched me. How can you p me like this?" Hearing his heartbreaking voice, Ji Caihong became the nut who cracked with a single blow.

    She whipped around and held his face lightly as she spoke anxiously, "Does it hurt a lot? I¡¯m sorry! I was angry. I know you don¡¯t want me as a sister but you should still give me some respect as I¡¯m older than you."

    The rims of his eyes got red as he retorted, "You could have said that nicely. Why did you p me? Already my jaw is hurting from that punch I took."

    Realizing her own mistake, Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes got red and tears flowed out without restraint, "I¡¯m really sorry! Ah-Yuan, please forgive me! I¡¯ll do anything just don¡¯t be upset. Let¡¯s take you to the hospital first."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was again surprised by her sudden flow of tears but he couldn¡¯tment on that since she had already pulled him inside the car. As the car drove, she said, "Ah-Yuan, you eat the lunch box. It¡¯s better to eat something before going to the hospital."

    He wanted to reject but his grumbling stomach gave him away. He didn¡¯t eat anything in the morning since he was alone at breakfast. So, he decided to have a bite. As he opened the lid of the lunch box, enticing aromas filled inside the car making his stomach growl loudly.

    ¡¯Forget it! She pped me. So, I can definitely eat this without feeling guilty.¡¯ Thinking this, he started eating with zeal. He didn¡¯t try much of Chinese Cuisine before since Xiao Zhi-Ren always made western cuisine for him but now, taking a single bite of the delicacies before him, made him want more.

    Watching him eat with such content, Ji Caihong felt extremely happy. It was a good thing that she didn¡¯t tell him about who prepared the lunch especially for him. When they arrived at the Capital hospital, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was done eating.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan got out of the car and said, "Thanks for the ride. I¡¯ll manage the rest. As for forgiving you, we are not even close to that." With that, he turned to leave and stopped to ask, "How are you going to sue the school and my whole ss? Is that even possible?"

    Ji Caihong smiled softly and said, "I have plenty of reasons to sue them. Defamation, bullying, protecting the offender, and many more things. You don¡¯t worry. This matter won¡¯t settle outside of court unless your whole ss gets on their knees to ask for forgiveness." Seeing her determination, Xiao Zhi-Yuan felt strange. He didn¡¯t ask her to not file a case. He had no interest at all.

    "Fine! I¡¯m going then." He turned around walked inside the hospital doors.

    Ji Caihong knew that if she pushed any further, he would be irked. Therefore, she decided to leave him on his own. But she didn¡¯t forget to inform Xiao Zhi-Ren about the incidents that happened without leaving any detail. "You don¡¯t worry about any of it. Let me handle Yuan¡¯s matters." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke calmly over the phone.

    "Ge, he¡¯s my responsibility as well. I¡¯ll not back off. Not at any cost. If anything, you stay out of my way. I won¡¯t involve anyone from the whole family. But please, don¡¯t push me further away from my little brother." Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that she was ambitious. So what if she was overly sensitive? He believed in her but he didn¡¯t want her to worry so much. He was left with no other choice, so he reluctantly agreed. "Thank you, Ge! You just take care of him and yourself."

    She hung up the call and got back inside her car to leave for home.

    When she arrived at the Ji Family House, she saw her father pacing back and forth inside the huge living room. Seeing her enter, he walked towards her and asked, "What¡¯s going on? Why am I getting the news that a fake Ji Caihong tried to threaten high school students with awsuit?"

    "Fake? How do I look fake?" Ji Caihong didn¡¯t like this insinuation at all.

    "That is not the main point right now. Princess, tell daddy what¡¯s going on? Why were you with Zhi-Yuan and is he hurt?" Ji Caihong held her father¡¯s trembling cold hands in her small ones and said, "Daddy, he¡¯s your son. He can handle a punch. As for what¡¯s going on, you stay out of it. This is a sister¡¯s fight for her brother."

    Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t understand her meaning. He had already felt like fainting when she mentioned Xiao Zhi-Yuan getting punched. Perhaps, because he never got a chance to even hold his youngest son, his love for Xiao Zhi-Yaun was in exuberance. After all, he never even got to shower that love on him, so, it just stayed buried in him all these years.

    "I won¡¯t interfere. But tell me everything in detail," Ji Yifeng had to know the details to be at ease. Ji Caihong knew this fact and that¡¯s why she rted the whole events of the day to him in detail. Ji Yifeng was raging by the time she finished. "How dare they? Do you think awsuit will be enough?"

    Ji Caihong smiled at her father and said, "Don¡¯t worry daddy! I have my own ns. Just let this princess of yours handle this matter in her own way." Seeing her so spirited, Ji Yifeng naturally couldn¡¯t refuse.

    He affectionately patted her head and said, "Don¡¯t show mercy. It¡¯s a fight for your brother. Mercy is not allowed!" Ji Caihong only needed these words and she nodded her head vigorously.

    If she was proud to be the only sister of three brothers, she also knew how to love and protect those three brothers. No-one gets to touch her brothers; they are her bottom line!

 Chapter 48 Under The Guise Of Our First Time

    "Mr. Xiao, we¡¯re ready to move," one of Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s bodyguards informed him in a courteous manner.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at his younger brother¡¯s swollen face and sighed in defeat. He ced an icepressor on his face and said, "Behave yourself and don¡¯t you dare to run around uselessly."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded inpliance and watched on as Xiao Zhi-Ren left the apartment.

    With a group of five people walking behind him in an orderly manner, Xiao Zhi-Ren walked out of the condominium building. He was invited to an important conference tonight otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t leave his brother alone at any cost. He hadn¡¯t even moved from the lobby when his cellphone rang and in his moment of distraction, he bumped straight into someone¡¯s body.

    "Crack!"

    He looked at his phone which now had a cracked screen and heard a gasp, making him lift his eyes. His gaze fell on Ru who was cupping her mouth in disbelief. He believed that the young ¡¯man¡¯ felt bad for breaking his phone again. But he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong than that.

    And he realized it when he heard Ru¡¯s using voice, "You murderer!"

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at ¡¯him¡¯ with a gaped mouth. "What? What do you mean?"

    "Mr. Xiao, you murdered my chocte!" Ru¡¯s voice dropped an octave taking Xiao Zhi-Ren by surprise since he felt a heavy pressure. Following her gaze, Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that he had stepped on a bar of chocte. Xiao Zhi-Ren thought that Ru couldn¡¯t possibly shock him any more than this but she did yet again in the very next moment as she extended her hand and said, "Give me money for my chocte."

    The bodyguards behind Xiao Zhi-Ren shared the same look as their master. They all looked lost for some reason. Xiao Zhi-Ren took deep breaths and reminded her, "Mr. Xie, you broke my cellphone and I¡¯m not even asking for thepensation here."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she pulled out a cellphone from her jacket and pushed it towards him saying, "You have a new phone. Now, give me money for my chocte."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at the phone that was pushed into his hands and realized that it was a brand new cellphone. ¡¯Why was he carrying it?¡¯ He thought but didn¡¯t voice out his question.

    Even if he did, Ru wouldn¡¯t tell him that she had a habit of murdering her own cellphones in anger which was why there was always a spare phone in her jacket.

    "Mr. Xie, are you money hungry? Aren¡¯t you a billionaire?" Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but ask this question. It was very weird for him seeing Ru asking for money and that too for a chocte bar!

    "I do love money, you have a problem?" Ru bit back at him.

    "Money can¡¯t buy happiness." Xiao Zhi-Ren thought he was being the smart one in this conversation as he the upper hand but as always, he really underestimated Ru¡¯s damn mouth.

    "Mr. Xiao money can¡¯t buy happiness and I know that." Xiao Zhi-Ren felt good but his smile immediately stiffened at her next words. "But money can buy chocte and food. And for me, there is no difference between food, choctes, and happiness."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren clenched his fists tightly having the urge to crack Ru¡¯s mind to see what it was filled with. Where do these strange repliese from? He couldn¡¯t understand at all!

    "What are you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gritted his teeth in exasperation.

    Ru shrugged her broad shouldersnguidly saying, "I¡¯m not sure about what I am but I¡¯m sure about what I¡¯m not."

    "And what¡¯s that?" He asked curiously.

    "I¡¯m definitely not a piece of cake." Xiao Zhi-Ren was speechless at her reply. He shook his head and pulled out his wallet but before he could pull out the bills, Ru stopped him, "Forget it! I just realized it was my mistake also for not looking ahead. I was too lost in the blissful taste of that soft, sweet..." she gulped her saliva, got rid of the dreamy look and added, "Aish! Just go!"

    "You should take the money now," Xiao Zhi-Ren said in a in voice not understanding her strange mind.

    "Mr. Xiao, keep the money and order a bit of happiness with some smiles and lots and lots of love. For your own self. You need it." Ru patted on his shoulder and turned sideways to leave when she heard his voice.

    "Not everyone¡¯s definition of happiness is a bar of chocte, Mr. Xiao. Some people really can¡¯t buy happiness." His voice was heavy as he spoke but Ru smiled lopsidedly at his reply.

    "It¡¯s not a coincidence that stressed spelled backward is desserts. And if you still can¡¯t find happiness in food. There is definitely something wrong with you." She took another step ahead and added, "And in my opinion, there is only one possibility for a person when they can¡¯t find happiness."

    "And what¡¯s that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was genuinely interested in knowing her answer.

    "You are not letting go of the things that actually made you unhappy in the first ce." Ru smiled at him and left. Not realizing that her words made Xiao Zhi-Ren stuck to his spot.

    "Sir?" Hearing the voice of his bodyguard, Xiao Zhi-Ren snapped out of it and got on his ride in silence.

    Ru¡¯sst words unknowingly brought out some memories that he held close to his heart for years.

    *shback*

    He stood far away looking at the lonely figure sitting on a wheelchair in the balcony. With the gauze around her eyes, she couldn¡¯t see the world and yet, her hands were extended out as if trying to catch the air or perhaps, feel it.

    Standing under the starry night, his only wish was to look at the dark mess that she was. She was all alone and yet, he couldn¡¯t find a single trace of helplessness in her. All he felt around her was an enchanting aura. Even with her wan and sallow appearance, her aura was enchanting enough for people.

    "Are you going to just stand there?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was startled as he realized that she felt his presence but his question was how? As if listening to his thoughts, she answered in her feeble voice, "Your rugged, intense cedarwood along with Oud scent is quite peculiar. It¡¯s not hard to recognize you especially when you are the only one in this room."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled softly and paced up to stand beside her as he leaned against the railing. "What are you doing out of your bed at this time?" He asked.

    "I¡¯m looking for joy." Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned at that answer as she went on, "This slight touch of a cool breeze against my hand and those crickets¡¯ sound of running in the garden, that¡¯s the joy I was looking for."

    "I didn¡¯t know that happiness can be found so easily," Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked in a sorrowful tone.

    "Happiness is not in the world, it¡¯s within our own hearts." He heard her faint voice.

    "Then why are looking for it outside?"

    "The only people who look for happiness outside are the ones who can no longer find it inside them." She sighed heavily as she added, "Breaking the shackles of sadness, we have to embrace the fear of future tides... Only then we can live in the happiness of the present." Her fingers touched the metal railing as she went on, "I need some time to break the shackles and before that, I¡¯ll look for joy in the world."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren kept staring at the mole right above the edge of her lips. He couldn¡¯t move his gaze away. "I suddenly have a weird wish." He started in a low but gentle voice, "I wish therees a day when you and I meet under the guise of it being our first time all over again."

    Her lips curled up in a ghostly smile as she said, "No wish is weird in this world."

    *End of shback*

    And Xiao Zhi-Ren believed those words. He only had those words to believe in. Since he hated the fact that he met her when she was crumbling down. He hated seeing the scars on her body. He hated the fact that she couldn¡¯t see or walk ever again. He hated everything about the way they met except for one thing; he couldn¡¯t hate meeting her at any cost.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at the sky through the window pane and whispered,

    "Looking at the starry night,

    I¡¯m reminded of you all over again tonight

    You made me believe in destiny

    Here I am longing for you desperately

    Even if it can¡¯t be under the guise of our first time

    I¡¯m begging

    Pleading

    Please,e back to stay between my arms for a lifetime..."

    He sighed out as the feeling of her absence made it difficult to breathe for him. It happened every time. He always lost hisposure whenever that one person¡¯s memory came back to his mind.

 Chapter 49 Hunting Dragons

    Sitting cross-legged, Ru was in meditation to ease up her mental fatigue which came with herck of sleep. At the sound of the doorbell, she opened her eyes and got upnguidly from her position. Weaving her way through the hallway, she opened the main door without looking through the door videocam.

    As she yanked the door open, she saw a face smiling and waving at her, "Hi, Oniisan! How are you?"

    "Living in denial and suppressed rage..." Ru¡¯s answer left no desire in Xiao Zhi-Yuan to ask that question again. Noticing his deste expression, Ru changed her demeanor from being cranky to ¡¯hail-fellow-well-met¡¯. "That was me being funny. No need for having such pained look."

    "You really need some guidance in the humor department," Xiao Zhi-Yuan remarked and reminded her, "You could have gone with the traditional reply of, ¡¯I¡¯m fine¡¯ as well."

    "That would have been boring and I don¡¯t do boring." Ru shrugged her shoulders and made a weing gesture and he stepped inside the apartment. Xiao Zhi-Yuan yet again was awe-struck by the interior of her apartment as the ck color always left a deep but mysterious efficacy on his mind. But today, he was more enchanted by that deep aroma of cinnamon in the air with a soft touch of jasmine.

    Just taking a few breaths, he could feel his entire body calming down. But the most effect was on his nerves; he felt revitalized mentally. "What¡¯s this aroma?" He asked following Ru as she walked towards the kitchen.

    "It¡¯s called aromatherapy. It helps me with my sleep issues." Ru answered honestly since she didn¡¯t think there was any need to hide this fact from him.

    "Does it help?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan questioned taking a seat at the high kitchen stool as Ru turned to pour him a ss of juice as a courtesy.

    "Little squirrel, a human¡¯s strongest sense is the sense of smell. And aromatherapy is more than just helpful." She slid the ss of juice towards him, she added, "For instance, I¡¯m using Cinnamon and Jasmine aromas for now. And you must have felt a soothing sensation running in your body along with a certain calmness." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded instinctively.

    Ru picked up a small candle from a nearby stand and she continued, "That¡¯s because Cinnamon can fight mental fatigue and Jasmine essential oil is a natural anti-depressant." Xiao Zhi-Yuan took the candle from her hand and sniffed the cinnamon scent, feeling his mind easing up.

    With a ghostly smile, Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared at Ru¡¯s face thinking about how this person always made him learn something new. It was almost like there was nothing that she wasn¡¯t familiar with.

    Taking a sip of the fruit juice in his hand, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised by the burst of vors in his mouth. Enjoying the juice silently, he suddenly asked, "I haven¡¯t seen you for a week. What were you doing?"

    "Me?" Ru pointed at her face and with a serious look, said, "I was hunting dragons! Wanna join me next time?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan rolled his eyes at her reply as he heard Ru¡¯s chuckle. "You canugh this time. It was funny at some level."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan tried to stifle hisugh and voiced out, "Can you be serious for a second?"

    "Aish! Fine! I was stuck between the dilemma of being better or best." Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned at her answer and Ru couldn¡¯t possibly exin him in detail. She didn¡¯t want to tell him that the dilemma wasn¡¯t of being better or best. The dilemma was that she had to choose whether to save someone who tried to kill her or not. It was an exhausting decision for her. Since she couldn¡¯t be best in her own personal opinion, so, she chose to be a better person by saving Lilith.

    But to divert the conversation, she asked, "You tell me, how was your week?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan pursed his lips trying to decide whether to say anything or not and in the end, he chose to be honest. "Last week, I faced a strange circumstance..." He rted the school incident in detail without leaving a bit. "That Ji Caihong wasn¡¯t just saying it. She actually filed thewsuits and I didn¡¯t know it until the principal called me to his office and asked me to request on their behalf for withdrawal of the case."

    Ru listened attentively with a glint in her emerald eyes. "Did you just forgive them like that?" She knew the answer without asking but she needed to confirm from his mouth.

    "Yeah... It wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway." Xiao Zhi-Yuan pretended as if it didn¡¯t matter but Ru wasn¡¯t a child. She could read a person like the back of her own hand. And someone like Xiao Zhi-Yuan- who had an overly expressive face- it was quite easy to figure him out.

    "A girl went to such lengths of filingwsuit against a school and your ss just for your sake and you just forgave everyone?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning.

    "I had to forgive them. I can¡¯t ruin their careers like this. Did I do something wrong? Because bro taught me that forgiveness is the best gift you can give someone." Also, he didn¡¯t want to drag this issue. He didn¡¯t say anything at the start because he thought Ji Caihong won¡¯t really take any action just for his sake. He was rather surprised when the principal called him to his office and told him about thewsuit. He decided not to drag anyone¡¯s lives. It wasn¡¯t worth it anyway.

    Ru liked this teaching. It reminded her of her own grandfather. She touched his head full of thick hair and said, "Forgiveness is not bad. But only the people who value it deserves it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned as he stared at her. "You think your ssmates would let you live in peace after this? Little squirrel, those kids got away without making an effort to apologize. You just fell for a principal¡¯s words and you let everyone go."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan fell into deep thought and seeing his pondering look, Ru spoke with a sigh, "But the worst kind of revenge is forgiveness. So, don¡¯t be so hard on yourself." Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled softly and nodded.

    "Oniisan, don¡¯t vanish like this again. It¡¯s really boring without you." Ru tousled his hair and agreed not to do it again.

    Unknowingly, respect for her in Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s heart had increased once again. As for Ru, whenever he came before her with his sincere smile, she would really want to indulge him endlessly. It was a strange connection of heart but it was already made.

    Suddenly a beeping sound rang out startling Xiao Zhi-Yuan. Ru looked at her watch and pressed a button. The beeping stopped and there was visibly no change in her expressions but Xiao Zhi-Yuan had felt a sudden coldness emanating from her body.

    "Ummm... My little squirrel, can you leave? I have something important to do." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded obediently and got up to leave. While walking he turned his face to see Ru¡¯s clenched fists as if she was ready to murder someone. Shaking his head, he silently left her alone.

 Chapter 50 Shadows Hotbed

    As Ru heard the sound of the door, she turned to enter the second room on the top floor. The room had its separate security lock which needed her handprints to unlock. As the system verified her identity, a systematic voice rang out: "Wee back to the Shadow¡¯s hotbed[1]!"

    She took one step inside the room and the darkroom, suddenly lit up. The lights that illuminated it weren¡¯t too bright rather gave it an even more eerie look.

    "Raven, connect me to the headquarters." Ru gave the order in a somber manner.

    "Connecting master to headquarters," her personalized system, Raven answered and the entire wall before Ru turned on with multiple screens on disy.

    Ru sat down on the swivel chair before theputer screens and tapped the tabletop which had a keyboard on it.

    "Sir!" The line connected and a man¡¯s face disyed on one of the screens.

    "What¡¯s going on, Andrew?" Ru questioned keeping her poker-face game on.

    Andrew hesitated a bit before answering, "Sir, just a few minutes ago, someone tried to hack into our main server." Ru raised her brow making Andrew gulp visibly. Even through a screen and a distance of thousand miles, he felt the intimidating pressure as if a boulder was weighing down on his body. "You don¡¯t have to worry though, nothing was taken. Our team managed to overpower them."

    "Oh, you did? Then tell me who was the one who got guts to mess with this lord?" Andrew knew he had just knocked himself with a hammer and there was no way out of it anymore.

    "About that... Sir Knight! We couldn¡¯t track the exact location." Ru lightly pped the table and Andrew jerked back a bit in fear.

    "Why not?" Ru inquired but with a smile this time that took Andrew¡¯s breath away. Not because he was enchanted or something but because he knew the devil behind that smile very well.

    "Because the attack was happening from all over the world." Ru frowned at his words.

    "What were they looking for?" she asked.

    "Apparently, some details about our recent arms technology." Ru thought about it a bit.

    "You lookpletely gutted[2]! Go back to work. I¡¯ll take over from here." Andrew heaved a sigh of relief as if he was granted a new lease on life and disconnected the connection.

    After rubbing her lips in thought, she cracked her knuckles and ced her fingers on the keyboard before her. Her fingers pressed a specificbination and the screens before her suddenly showed the name: The White Shadow!

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan had done his research and found out about myths rted to ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯, his belief was that this person would be someone close to Lord Alev Knight and he wasn¡¯tpletely wrong. Since our Lord Alev Knight a.k.a herself had always been the one under the guise of white shadow.

    As for Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s suspicion about the hacker, he heard about during thepetition was also true. She was the same white shadow hackers knew as formidable.

    Both brothers knew two different versions of Ru; the elder one thought the white shadow was a hacker while the younger one thought that the white shadow was a skilled assassin. But both couldn¡¯t have guessed that it was the same person who loved ying the game of identities.

    As her fingers flew across the keyboard in a smooth motion, the earlier attack on her Empire¡¯s server became moreplicated to her. Andrew was telling her the truth, the attacking location was from all around the globe which meant that someone was remotely controlling thousands ofputers just to attack her server.

    But was Knight Empire¡¯s main server a piece of cake to cut? No! Definitely not! She had designed the firewalls and even the security measures were strong. There is no way one can leave without getting theirputers infected with her viruses.

    The question this time was; what they were looking for? They went as far as to actually create thousands of zombies[3] just to hide their tracks. Since they hid their tracks so well, Ru had no desire to waste her time looking for the bot herder[4].

    She immediately started working on her own counterattack. Since there was an attack, there¡¯ll be another one for sure. Or she could give them a worthy bait.

    She had looked through the files and although it seemed like the attacker was trying to find the arms technology details, in reality, the attacker was lurking around to look for Knight Medical Sciences Research Center¡¯s files.

    Ru sneered and started writing new code. Strings of codes appeared as the soft rhythmic tapping sound echoed in the room. Her sun-kissed fingers were slender but long. Since she was taller than most girls with her 182-centimeter height, even her hands were bigger than most girls.

    After working on her new software, she smiled beautifully and said, "Raven, connect me with Andrew and Charles." Charles was the head of Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility. As the calls connected simultaneously, she spoke up, "Andrew, keep the team on alert. I¡¯ve embedded a loop inside the server, whoever will enter now won¡¯t be able to leave at least not until we track him down."

    "We won¡¯t disappoint you, Sir!" Andrew answered resolutely, hiding his shock about how he had only talked to his boss half an hour ago and now, a new n was in motion already.

    "As for you Charles," she turned towards the middle-aged man on the screen and went on, "We need bait to lure out our prey. For that, release a piece of news that our research facility has mastered the art of controlling one¡¯s mind."

    "Sir Knight?" Mr. Charles was rather taken aback because their research was theplete opposite of what he just heard.

    "Rx! Don¡¯t get your knickers in a twist[5]..." Andrew bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself fromughing out. "You just have to spread a rumor like that. No need to announce it officially. I don¡¯t want any troubles with the Queen. But do it after a week or so. It might seem a bit odd if we did it right after the attack."

    "I¡¯ll do as the lord just said," Charles curtsied politely and disconnected the call.

    Ru leaned back in the swivel chair and spun it as she asked, "What do you think, Raven? Aren¡¯t I a genius?"

    "You haven¡¯t taken the IQ test, master! How am I supposed to give you an answer?" Ru growled at that bloody machine. Why is it that even her own software doesn¡¯t want to ept her as a genius?

    "You have gone crazy!" Ru roared at her.

    "A child always resembles his parents and since you created me, master. Does that mean, you are also crazy?" Ru sat there with her mouth agape in disbelief. In what rotten time, have I created this dumb assistant?

    "You know what, SOD OFF![6]" She stood up and went out of the room with an annoyed look.

    [1] "hotbed": ¡¯a ce where people meet in secret, typically to engage in an illicit activity.¡¯

    [2] "Gutted": Devastated

    [3] "Zombies": Otherwise known as bots that work under the instruction of hackers.

    [4] "Bot herder": The one controlling the bo of zombieputers.

    [5] It means don¡¯t get worked up!

    [6] "Sod Off": Piss Off!

 Chapter 51 Lonely At The Top

    "Aish![1] This wanker machine made me so mad that I¡¯m famished now." Ru growled as she walked out of the room.

    "Master is always famished. This has nothing to do with. Kindly, stop defaming my name." Hearing Raven¡¯s mechanical voice, Ru clenched her fists in anger as her whole body trembled.

    "Bloody hell! I¡¯m cursing that rotten time when I actually decided to create you. Someone must have nicked[2] my intelligence back then." She really was cursing the time when she came up with the idea of creating Raven; a personal virtual assistant.

    "But master created me so that she would have someone to talk to. Since talking to yourself would give people the idea that you¡¯re insane, you came up with the idea of creating me. Your personal diary and your other self who could talk exactly like yourself." At this point, Ru grabbed her hair and pulled them in exasperation since this machine was going overboard.

    Ru lifted her hand, bringing her wristwatch close to her lips, she said, "Raven, go to sleep!" She was frustrated at the reminder of Raven that in reality, even after decades, she still had no-one to talk to. There wasn¡¯t much difference between the time when she created Raven in her teen years and now that she was in herte twenties.

    The only notable difference was; back then she was in a golden cage and now, she was said to be free. Oddly, she hated this freedom. She left the cage in pursuit of freedom, who knew that freedom woulde with a price.

    "Ugh! Arggh! I really need some nosh[3] before I lose my mind anymore." This was her way of running away from her thoughts. Turning to food was more of an excuse to escape. But her love for food couldn¡¯t be overlooked as well.

    Meanwhile, driving back from the office, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind was distracted. Although he managed to achieve a lot in previous years, he still wasn¡¯t able to find a single person. But he knew he¡¯de across her. After all, she left with a promise toe back. But promises had always been fragile, one touch could break them. So, after all these years, even his morale was getting down.

    Sighing, he gazed out the window pane and his eyes fell on a familiar figure. "Stop the car!" He ordered and the driver immediately parked the car on the roadside.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren got down the car and with a frown etched between his brows, he kept staring at that tall figure d in ck from head to toe, sitting on a food stall. As he got closer, Xiao Zhi-Ren saw how Ru¡¯s eyes were closed as her face was supported by the heel of her hand.

    With a charming smile, she looked content as if she was living a dream life. Xiao Zhi-Ren silently took a seat at the stool beside Ru while his eyes didn¡¯t leave her face.

    "Aiya, pretty young man! Are you going to order or not?" Hearing the voice of the stall owner, Ru opened her eyes.

    "Ayi![4] Obviously, I¡¯m going to order." She took a pause to smile again charming the middle-ageddy before her as she added, "Give me a lot of dumplings first along with a bowl of Mapo Doufu and rice. Also, mini wantons soup and side dishes."

    "You can finish all that? Mapo doufu alone is quite spicy, don¡¯t you want a drink with that?" The stalldy questioned with concern.

    "Aiyoh! I¡¯ll use the soup as the drink." Her reply not only left the stalldy dumbfounded, but even Xiao Zhi-Ren also couldn¡¯t believe her.

    "Who uses a spicy soup as a drink with a super spicy tofu dish?" Ru tilted her face and raised her bows as she looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "I do!" She replied as she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Also, what are you doing here? Go away!"

    "Why? I can¡¯t eat here?" He retorted.

    "You look out of ce in that suit." Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at his own handmade suit and darted his eyes around only to feel ufortable.

    Still, he was not going to relent. "Anyway, that¡¯s not your concern." Saying that he ordered some hand-cut noodles for himself since he was feeling hungry as well.

    When the food was ced before them, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes still followed Ru¡¯s movements because of her peculiar eating manners. Don¡¯t get the wrong idea. She was eating in an extremenguid and sophisticated way. Taking time to chew her food before swallowing. What he found peculiar was the way, her face would have levels of satisfaction as she chewed on her food.

    Both ate in silence not because they didn¡¯t have anything to talk about. Rather because both were taught not to talk while eating that¡¯d be an insult to food.

    After eating to her fill, Ru paid for both of their food before turning to leave. Xiao Zhi-Ren ran to catch up to her as he asked, "Why did you pay my bill? Aren¡¯t you a stingy person?" After a second, he added in disbelief, "Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re trying to worm your way out of that promise you gave me for saving your life?"

    Ru gave him a pointed look as if she was calling him an idiot. "Have you lost your mind? First of all, I¡¯m not stingy. I¡¯m wicked!" She said with a look of delight and went on, "Second of all, my word is akin to my life. For you, promises might be capricious but for this young master," she pointed at herself and continued, "Promises are the reason for life. I¡¯d rather kill myself than to go back on my words. I just paid for the food because I felt like doing it. And no-one can stop me from doing what I want to do!"

    "Are you done?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as he crossed his arms before his chest. Ru knitted her brows lightly and nodded. "There was no need for this long lecture. I seriously won¡¯t mind even if you decide to break this promise since it¡¯s pointless in my opinion anyway."

    Ru thought about what he said and decided to stay quiet since she couldn¡¯t possibly give him a brief reply. She couldn¡¯t understand herself why she¡¯d always end up having long conversations with Xiao Zhi-Ren. Silently, she started walking in the direction of the condominium building and Xiao Zhi-Ren followed along.

    "Can I ask you something?" Ru looked at his inquiring gaze and nodded. "When I came to that stall, you¡¯re sitting with your eyes closed as if feeling content for some reason."

    Understanding his question, Ru smiled softly. "I was feeling content." Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned at her reply. "I told you before, food is very sacred for me. But today, I was content because of the music it yed for me."

    "Music?"

    "That sizzling sound of dumplings being fried on that hot pan mixed with that constant stirring and bubbling sound of the soup. Also, that small noises that utensils make. All in all, ites together to bring a beautiful melody with an enticing aroma." At this point, Xiao Zhi-Ren stared at her with his mouth agape and his stiff face suddenly turned into a bright smile.

    He ruffled her hair making her re at him as he said, "You really are one of a kind. I doubt I¡¯ll ever find anyone like you ever again." He suddenly realized her hair was really smooth just like her way of speech.

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious? Awesome-luscious pieces like me are rare." Ru smiled smugly and added, "You¡¯re not bad yourself. But you¡¯re a bit less awesome."

    "Are youplimenting me right now?" Ru nodded her head in reply vigorously. "What is this? I thought you didn¡¯t like me."

    "I don¡¯t eat with people I don¡¯t like. Also, I don¡¯t often share a meal with people." Taking a pause she looked up at the sky as she added, "Since I shared a meal with you then that means you¡¯re not that bad. My grandfather used to say that the connections made over a bowl of rice are the most genuine ones and have the strongest foundation."

    "You¡¯re the second person outside of my family who just shared a meal with me." She further added absentmindedly.

    "I should feel honored by that." He retorted.

    "You should!"

    At her reply, both of them burst intoughter together. Since good food brings good mood, Ru was actually in an ecstatic mood because of that spicy st of vors in her mouth. Also, because it had been a very long time since someone took the initiative to sit beside her to eat. All her subordinates wouldn¡¯t even dare to roam around her while she was having her meal.

    Was it really lonely at the top? Yes, it was! And she knew it better than anyone. The worst part of being at the top was that she forgot how to share her problems with others or perhaps, she didn¡¯t know it from the very beginning.

    [1] "Aish!": Damn in Korean.

    [2] "Nicked": Stolen

    [3] "Nosh": ng for food

    [4] "Ayi": Aunt or Auntie

 Chapter 52 Ive Been Through Hell

    As both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru walked alongside each other towards theirmon destination. There was an ocean of silence between them. It was a cold winter night and the gust of cold wind was blowing past them.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was wrapped in his long woolen coat but suddenly, he noticed that the young ¡¯man¡¯ beside him was only d in a ck hoodie which didn¡¯t even look very warm to him.

    "Mr. Xie," he called her as his curiosity took the best of him.

    "Hmmm..." Ru hummed in reply.

    "Aren¡¯t you cold?" Ru knitted her brows as she tilted her head to nce at him inquiringly. "I mean do you know the temperature today?"

    "I heard it¡¯s quite cold," Ru answered nonchntly with a shrug of her shoulders.

    "You heard it? What about feeling it yourself?"

    Ru stopped walking and turned to face Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Do you know what I¡¯ve been through life?"

    "Umm... No." Xiao Zhi-Ren was bbergasted by this reply not knowing what to say.

    "Exactly that¡¯s why you think that this temperature of -3 degrees is actually cold."

    "It¡¯s 26 degrees actually." Xiao Zhi-Ren told her inly.

    Ru lifted her hands as if ready to choke him to death. "Mr. Xiao, it¡¯s -3 degrees Celcius which is equal to 26 degrees Fahrenheit." Obviously, Xiao Zhi-Ren was aware of that but he was teasing her on purpose to see her reaction and was truly amused by it. Unexpectedly though, Ru didn¡¯tment on him being American this time even when he talked about the temperature in Fahrenheit instead of Celcius.

    "So, what have you been through?" He changed the topic since Ru was throwing him cold daggers with her res.

    "I¡¯ve been through hell. After that, I don¡¯t think things like a bit of cold can possibly hurt me." Just thinking about the time made her shudder inwardly but seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s prying eyes. Sheughed it off saying, "That was a joke."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head on the outside but he didn¡¯t believe her words entirely. Something bugged him inwardly that she wasn¡¯t joking with him. And if she really wasn¡¯t then he really didn¡¯t know how to react.

    He wasn¡¯t wrong. She wasn¡¯t kidding at all. She had lived in a hell that burned her and then it slowly froze her.

    "So, can I conclude that you like cold weather?" Xiao Zhi-Ren again distracted her as his keen gaze had caught the way her hands clenched into tight fists.

    "You can say that," Ru remarked simply and her fists were loosened up a bit.

    "I like drinking hot choctes in cold weather. What do you like about it?"

    "I like wind chills in the dead of night." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her an inquisitive look.

    "Why?" he asked.

    "Because they are exactly like me... Piercing cold roving in darkness." Herst words were said in a whisper but Xiao Zhi-Ren still managed to hear her.

    None of them spoke afterward. In that peaceful silence, they reached their respective homes.

    Later in the night, when Xiao Zhi-Ren sat alone in his study, his mind kept wandering off to Ru. That indescribable emotion in her green eyes was irking him for some unknown reason. He remembered the time when Ru told him that people called her heartless. He already reckoned that she wasn¡¯t heartless but tonight, he learned that she had actually started to use her heart a bit less to make it seem like she was a cold and insensitive person.

    ¡¯Do you know what I¡¯ve been through in life?¡¯ Her voice again rang in his mind as he further fell into deep thought. ¡¯I¡¯ve been through hell.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren leaned his head back to rest and closed his eyes.

    "What was that hell like to make you indifferent to the extent that there is always a practiced smile on your face?" He really wanted to ask that question to Ru but he didn¡¯t know with what right he should ask? They could be considered acquaintances but nothing more. Ru was cold but he knew she was harder to understand since even he couldn¡¯t fathom what kind of volcano was hidden underneath that nket of coldness.

    He sighed out since the green-eyed person in his life was getting more and more intriguing. But the real problem was, no matter how intrigued he was he still couldn¡¯t look up anything rted to the person named ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯.

    His probing around only got him the ordinary details rted to Ru. For instance, things like her name, ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯ and the rted professional detail. Even a single photo wasn¡¯t anywhere on the wide web.

    Oddly, he noticed how much simrities Mr. Xie Rong shared with Lord Alev Knight. Both were mysterious keeping their personal lives well concealed. Both hold an inconceivable power since nothing could be disclosed about them. And both fancied dark colors and dark lives.

    This fact alone wasn¡¯t enough for him to feel suspicious but for some odd reason, Xiao Zhi-Ren still tried to look up the whereabouts of Lord Alev Knight and the easiest way to do that was; Adrian.

    Thinking about this, Xiao Zhi-Ren dialed Adrian¡¯s number and after a couple of rings the call was connected and Adrian¡¯s groggy voice came through, "Hey, Zoran!"

    "Did I disturb your sleep?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked looking at the time. It was about 10 o¡¯clock in China but if Adrian was in London then it was around 3 o¡¯clock in the day there. Why was he sleeping at this time?

    "Yeah, I just got back from France. So, I decided to catch up on some sleep." Adrian replied as he rubbed his eyes.

    "What took you so long in France?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was rather surprised to know that it¡¯s been weeks since Adrian went to France from China to take care of some issue and the matter was only solved now.

    "Don¡¯t even ask me. It¡¯s all his fault!" Adrian seemed aggressive to Xiao Zhi-Ren. It was like he was ready to pounce on someone at any moment.

    "Who are we talking about?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned with interest even though he had a hint about who was being discussed here.

    "That bloody piece of rubbish! That bloody arse! I¡¯m going to murder him if he came before my eyes again." Through Adrian¡¯s hateful curses, Xiao Zhi-Ren managed to conjecture that it was indeed Lord Alev Knight who messed with Adrian again. How very obvious!

    To be honest, Xiao Zhi-Ren found both arch-enemies to be rather childish. Both Adrian and Mr. Knight always tried to be better than the other one. As if it was apetition who managed to get on whose nerves.

    Shaking his head, Xiao Zhi-Ren asked, "So, where is your nemesis, Mr. Knight?"

    "Could you please stop giving him so much respect by calling him Mr. Knight so politely? Just call him a bloody blighter[1]!" Sensing how much worked up Adrian was Xiao Zhi-Ren decided not to provoke him any further.

    "Fine... Now, can you please enlighten me where that bastard is?" Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke in the way that Adrian would like.

    "Sorry, can¡¯t tell you. Grandmother sent him on some secret mission. His whereabouts are said to be kept the most secretive at this point." Listening to Adrian, Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that he won¡¯t be getting any specific details. "But why are you so curious?"

    "That¡¯s not important for now... But can¡¯t you at least tell me in which part of the world he is?" Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to probe a bit more.

    Knowing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s obsession with Alev Knight¡¯s life, Adrian decided to be a bit honest. "He¡¯s somewhere in Asia. That¡¯s all I can tell you."

    "When did he left London?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked.

    "About two months ago. Don¡¯t ask anymore. I¡¯m going back to sleep." Adrian hung up the call immediately since he really wasn¡¯t allowed to disclose any more than this.

    ¡¯Two months? Isn¡¯t this the same time when Xie Rong came to China?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren rubbed his lips in thought. ¡¯Both people have way too many simrities... Now, even the timeline of them being in Asia is the same. What connection do they share?¡¯

    Obviously, Xiao Zhi-Ren only thought they were somehow connected. He couldn¡¯t fathom them being the same person for various reasons. The first reason would be, Xie Rong wasn¡¯t like how Adrian had exined Alev Knight to be. But Xiao Zhi-Ren was forgetting one thing; Adrian always had his biasedness controlling his thoughts whenever he talking about Ru. While Xiao Zhi-Ren was observing the real Ru with his own eyes.

    [1] "Blighter": An unpleasant person regarded with pity, contempt, or envy.

 Chapter 53 More The Merrier

    "So, Confucius has about 6 central conceptions," Ru¡¯s melodic voice was ringing in her apartment¡¯s sitting area as she kept pacing like a schr while a teenager listened attentively to each word or at least, he was trying to. "The first conception is Ren... Do you know what it means?" Ru looked at Xiao Zhi-Yuan who was startled from this sudden question. "Are you listening?" She asked narrowing her eyes dangerously.

    ¡¯How can I concentrate when you have such a strong and schrly presence along with that refined voice?¡¯ Obviously, he didn¡¯t voice out his thoughts in fear of being thrashed. "I¡¯m listening..." He answered in a low voice.

    "Fine... So, tell me the meaning of Ren," Ru looked straight into his eyes trying to intimidate him and it worked quite easily.

    "I... I don¡¯t know." He heard a sigh before Ru rolled the book ced on the table and delivered a blow on his head making him scowl. "Oniisan! That hurt!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s whining was disregarded.

    "Concentrate!" Ru warned him before starting again, "Ren means Virtue, love, benevolence, and kindness. In other words, the kind of bearing a human has to exhibit in order to achieve a flourishingmunity. Are we clear?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan lifted his head from the notebook in his hand and nodded his head vigorously.

    "Moving on, second is Junzi which means a nobleman. To further exin it-," her words were cut off as the doorbell rang making her groan in frustration.

    "Should I open the door?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan offered to help but Ru gave him a look that made him cower back in his seat.

    She silently went to open the door and frowned to see the visitor. "What brought Mr. Xiao to my door?"

    As always, Xiao Zhi-Ren rolled his eyes at herck of hospitality and told her, "Is my brother with you?" Ru nodded and he added, "Ask him toe out."

    "Why didn¡¯t you just call him? Doesn¡¯t this generation love that technology called a cellphone?" Xiao Zhi-Ren could hear the brimming sarcasm in her sentence making him feel amused by her.

    "I would have done that but he left his phone at the house. As for contacting you, I don¡¯t even have contact details. While we are at the subject, why don¡¯t you give me your business card?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s suggestion was not bad but there was a w.

    "I don¡¯t even have a business card," Ru replied in a lifeless manner making Xiao Zhi-Ren look at him with wide eyes. Then she turned her face and called out, "Little squirrel, your brother is here to see you!"

    "Are you sure that you¡¯re the chairman of one of Asia¡¯srgest consortiums?" Ru looked back at Xiao Zhi-Ren and raked her fluffy hair to one side in an elegant manner. Subconsciously, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes followed the movement of her hand as a sudden thought came to his mind, ¡¯Perfectly sun-kissed skin tone. Its as if the sun has caressed his skin with love.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at his own weird thinking.

    "I¡¯m pretty sure, I am the chairman but I don¡¯t carry unnecessary things with me like business cards. Waste of space." Xiao Zhi-Ren was about to remind her that she was even carrying a whole set of medical kit with her when they met for the second time in the mountains but right at that moment, Xiao Zhi-Yuan joined them at the door.

    Seeing Xiao Zhi-Yuan, Ru took a few steps back to give both brothers some privacy. "Why are you here big bear?"

    "You said you want to buy something. Come with me, I¡¯m going to the supermarket to buy groceries." At the mention of the supermarket, Ru¡¯s ears stood up like a wolf and she stopped in her track.

    "I can¡¯t go right now. Let¡¯s take a rain check." Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t want to cut short his study time with Ru, not even for his own brother.

    "You want me to go alone?" Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t believe that his brother was actually not interested in spending time with him. At this time, his eyes caught sight of a hand that was raised in the air trying to get his attention but Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay any attention to Ru or rather he was trying hard not to pay any attention.

    "Just take your best friend as always. Where is Qu anyway?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan suggested while the single hand behind him turned into two eager hands waving from side-to-side but when Ru saw there was no use of just waving her hands. She pushed Xiao Zhi-Yuan aside.

    "Take me... I want to go to the supermarket." Ru¡¯s green eyes were twinkling like big stars making a smile swerve its way to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face but he tried to stifle it with a dry cough.

    "You? Why? Don¡¯t tell me, Mr. Xie Rong actually had never been to a supermarket before?" Xiao Zhi-Ren feigned surprise on his face. "How much of a spoiled brat are you that you never even saw a supermarket?"

    Ru red at him menacingly before saying, "I have been to supermarkets. I just want to join you because I like supermarkets. Why? Can¡¯t I just tag along?"

    "Okay! You and I should go then. Yuan, have fun studying!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was dumbfounded at this situation.

    "Wait! I also want to go," he frantically tried to tag with them.

    "But you just said that you don¡¯t want to go," Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t going to let this go easily.

    "Now, I want to go." Xiao Zhi-Yuan argued.

    "No... I think you should study." Ru looked at these brothers bantering back and forth making her feel tired from just watching at the sidelines.

    "Enough!" Ru bellowed making both of them stop talking. "Although I don¡¯t believe in this saying, I¡¯ll still say it, more the merrier. Let¡¯s just go now."

    Both brothers nodded and turned to leave. As they came out of the apartment, noticing something, Xiao Zhi-Ren caught Ru¡¯s cor from behind and pulled her back. "What is your problem? Why do you always pull me like a sack of potatoes?" After scowling at him she spoke in a low voice, "Why did I say potatoes? I¡¯m not even a big fan of potatoes!" Shrugged her shoulders and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren inquiringly.

    He smiled in return and pointed at the floor with his index finger. Ru looked down and didn¡¯t find anything out of ordinary as she said, "Why are you making me look at the marble floor? Don¡¯t tell me that you want to admire the floor at this time."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren flicked her head and before she could retaliate, he asked, "Where are your shoes?"

    "Huh?" Ru looked down and saw that she was still barefoot as she likes to roam around in her house. She grinned sheepishly and said, "You guys go down, I¡¯ll just be out after wearing my shoes."

    Punching in her password, she opened the door and went in while both brothers shared a look. "He¡¯s adorable. Isn¡¯t he?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked his elder brother and Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t have agreed more with that statement. He really found Ru to be quite cute with her strange antics.

    Within 5 minutes, Ru ran down and found Xiao Zhi-Ren in the car waiting for her right outside the condominium building. She heard Xiao Zhi-Ren calling out, "Walk carefully. Don¡¯t trip over. I¡¯m not running away!"

    Ru smiled and stopped running. As she walked briskly towards his car, her mind had plenty of thoughts running through it but what stood out was, ¡¯In my life of twenty-eight years, no-one ever waited for me. Grandfather said, even time doesn¡¯t wait for us much less these mere humans. That¡¯s why he never taught me how to wait as well. It¡¯s weird but why am I feeling this warmth gushing in my body just because someone chose to wait for me?¡¯ She knocked on her head and whispered, "Young master Ru, you¡¯re really easy to satisfy."

    "Where are you lost?" Ru was jolted awake and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren giving her a strange look. She shook her head absentmindedly. "Get in!" Ru nodded and climbed on the passenger seat since Xiao Zhi-Yuan chose to sit in the backseat.

 Chapter 54 Dont Be A Killjoy

    Xiao Zhi-Ren dropped his brother off at one of the biggest bookstores in the mall before he left with Ru for the supermarket at the ground floor of the mall. With twinkling green eyes, Ru followed Xiao Zhi-Ren inside the huge supermarket. She stood before the aisles, closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath.

    "What are you doing?" Her concentration was broken by Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s curious voice beside her.

    "I¡¯m trying to find the food section. I heard there will be plenty of free food samples there." She rubbed her hands excitedly with a wide grin on her face.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face scrunched up a bit as he asked, "You came for free food samples?"

    "Yup!" She answered in all honesty since there was no need to hide such a small matter.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren facepalmed himself and shook his head. While he was distracted, Ru was already turning to find the food section but her cor was tightly clutched from behind making her clench her fists.

    "Mr. Xie, where is your cellphone?" Although his question was unexpected, Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to it at all.

    "Mr. Xiao, let me make it clear," she lifted her index finger before him and added, "First, no-one dares to hold my cor. Stop doing that! It might be myst warning to you." She further lifted her middle finger and went on, "Second, stop calling me Mr. Xie. It¡¯s really annoying." Finally, she uncurled her thumb and said, "Third, I left my phone at the apartment."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a forced smile which wasn¡¯t sincere at all and reciprocated her actions by lifting his index finger before her. "First, I¡¯ll try not to hold your cor again." Obviously, Ru felt that he was insincere with his words but didn¡¯t interrupt him as he continued, "Second, how can you leave your cell phone at home? Don¡¯t tell me, that¡¯s also a waste of space for you." Ru scratched her head sheepishly since she found cell phones to be really a waste. "Third, what else am I supposed to call you if not Mr. Xie?"

    Ru waved her hand saying, "You can just call me Ru-" she bit her own tongue at this slip of the tongue.

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned in confusion but Ru tactfully altered her words.

    "Just call me Rong. Yes! You can just call me Rong." Ru avoided his gaze trying hard not to look straight at him.

    After observing her with suspicion, Xiao Zhi-Ren said, "Okay! I¡¯ll call you Rong. But..." he took a brief pause before adding, "You have to stop calling me Mr. Xiao."

    Ru tapped her chin in a thoughtful manner and nodded as she said, "Alright! I can do that but I told you I can¡¯t call you Zhi-Ren. Therefore, I¡¯ll call you Zhi."

    "Why don¡¯t you just call me Ren?" Xiao Zhi-Ren suggested in a in voice.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Just because I don¡¯t want to." Does she need a reason for that? No! She didn¡¯t think so! Then she turned to head towards the food section again but felt a tug at her back as someone pulled her back by holding her sweatshirt. Ru tilted her head to re at Xiao Zhi-Ren but he disregarded it.

    "Since you have left your cell phone at home, it¡¯s better that you stay with me. I don¡¯t want to waste time by looking for you." Ru opened her mouth to tell him that she had a smartwatch on her wrist, he could just call her there but he didn¡¯t give her a chance. "Sshhh... I know you love to talk but let¡¯s not say a word for a while." Saying that holding her sweatshirt, he almost dragged her with himself towards the aisles.

    Ru joined Xiao Zhi-Ren in his grocery shopping reluctantly. Notice the keyword; reluctantly! But her reluctance was thrown out the window and was even trampled on by a truck as her gaze fell on the shelves brimming with junk food. Her eyes nearly popped open as she ran towards a shelf and picked up a few boxes of choco pie, throwing them right in the trolly. Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her an inquiring look but she wasn¡¯t even sparing him a nce since her mind was only focused on the pile of food that was yet calling out to her.

    ¡¯Take me! Take me, young master Ru!¡¯ Ru could even hear the shoutings of all those packets before her. How could she possibly ignore such a call for help? She wasn¡¯t that much of a heartless one.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stood watching as the trolly was being assaulted by the piles of Doritos, pretzels, wavy¡¯s and the likes. He was speechless at the foodie before his eyes but instead of finding her a nuisance, he was beginning to feel, ¡¯Does he only have food to apany him? How much of a loner is he to find sce in a bunch of food?¡¯

    With this thought, Xiao Zhi-Ren felt a strange sadness engulfing his heart and he didn¡¯t try to stop Ru anymore. But he still found the smile on Ru¡¯s face to be captivating. He had seen her smile all the time and yet at that moment, he felt like it was the very first time for him to see her real smile which she wasn¡¯t wearing as a mask to hide her despondency.

    Ru with her own happy thoughts skipped around the aisles as if she had found the treasure of her life. While picking some candies, she caught sight of Xiao Zhi-Ren checking a jar of sauce. "Hey, Zhi!" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her in astonishment since the way she just called him sounded quite cordial. "Why are you buying this pasta sauce? You should make it fresh at home."

    "It takes too much time," Xiao Zhi-Ren answered looking through a whole range of jars.

    "So? You¡¯re not the one who¡¯s going to cook. Isn¡¯t your chef quite skilled?"

    "I don¡¯t even have a maid at my ce. Do you really think I have a chef?" Ru thought for a moment. He was right. He had been raising his brother all alone. If he didn¡¯t even bother to hire a housemaid for cleaning, why would he have a chef for food? Then the foodst time...

    "You!" Ru pointed an using finger at him. "You lied to mest time."

    "You just believed it. It¡¯s not my fault." Xiao Zhi-Ren shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn¡¯t in the wrong at all.

    Both of them bought other necessary stuff and Ru even helped him in picking out some fresh vegetables using her expertise. Xiao Zhi-Ren was even impressed with her way of exining him the art of choosing a fresh tomato. It went a bit like this, "Tomatoes are essential ingredients since they can be used in plenty of ways. And I¡¯m not being biased just because I love tomatoes." Now, that part was a lie. She was definitely being biased at the moment. But who cares? Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t! "Okay! We should first check why are we buying tomatoes. For instance, are we going to use them for sandwiches, sds or sauce, and stuff."

    "What¡¯s the difference?" He asked amusingly since he was enjoying her long speech.

    "There is a huge difference here. For sds and stir-fries, we can opt for cherry tomatoes since they are sweet in taste..." Just like that, she spent half an hour in making him understand this art of tomatoes which she excelled in. Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that she wasn¡¯t just fond of eating, she was fond of being Mr. Know-it-all as well.

    "Rong, do you know how to cook?" It took Ru a moment to realize that he was calling her.

    "Me? There is nothing that this young master can¡¯t do." Ru tried to brag before him arrogantly but Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t found her to be narcissistic. He reckoned that the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him really was unpredictable, so it wouldn¡¯t be odd for ¡¯him¡¯ to have more than one skill.

    "Do you like learning that much?" He asked as they made their way out of the vegetable section.

    "Haven¡¯t you learned in Confucius, ¡¯Life is finite. While knowledge is infinite.¡¯ I like to learn because that makes me believe that the more knowledge one have, the more fulfilling life one has lived." Ru answereding back to her schr version. "Oh, look! There are the free samples!" Ru tried to run away from him but Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice halted her.

    "I¡¯ll buy you food after getting out of here."

    Turning to look at Xiao Zhi-Ren, she asked, "You really are going to buy me food?" Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head. "You¡¯ll have to also invite me over for food as well." He readily agreed and she came back to pull Xiao Zhi-Ren with him towards the checkouts and said, "Don¡¯t be a killjoyter on."

    "I won¡¯t!" Xiao Zhi-Ren promised solemnly as he couldn¡¯t help but lift his hand to ruffle her fluffy hair.

    The scene of them together was to behold and lost in their own world, both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru didn¡¯t notice the looks they were receiving from all around. Both were tall, had well-built bodies, along with those striking features, they were the true definition of eye-candy for girls. One was like a refined angel and the other was akin to a rebellious demon. Oddly, theyplimented each other perfectly.

    They didn¡¯t have any issue at the checkout except for the fact that the cashier kept smiling at them coquettishly. Both both of them didn¡¯t notice it since they still had something to bicker about as always.

 Chapter 55 Demon & Angel

    Before taking Ru out for food, Xiao Zhi-Ren ced the grocery bags in the trunk of the car and went towards the mall where they dropped off Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Are you done looking around?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked his younger brother.

    "Just give me a few more minutes." Xiao Zhi-Yuan said and turned to browse around for books.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded and turned around to find Ru. She was leaning against a bookshelf. She had rolled her sleeves up to her forearm disying her taut muscles. Her one hand held a book while the other one was busy setting her fluffy hair down.

    This sight was... strange. Only for Xiao Zhhi-Ren... But the reason was all the girls who were going crazy over Ru¡¯s small movements. Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at this green-eyed monster who was oblivious to even the fact that ¡¯he¡¯ was creating havoc.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren came close to her side and looked at the book title which she was engrossed in. It read: Falling for my Ex-wife.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows knitted together as he asked, "You like reading such novels?"

    Hearing his familiar voice, Ru titled her face and said, "Nope! I hate this kind of books the most."

    The crease between his brows grew deeper as he asked, "Why? And if you hate it, why were you just reading it?"

    "I wasn¡¯t reading it. I was just seeing the oue of this. As expected, she forgave him in the end. How typical!" Xiao Zhi-Ren could hear the bitterness in her words. He picked up the book and browsed through the synopsis.

    It was a story about a man who divorced his wife calling her a cheater and such. But he didn¡¯t know that his wife was pregnant at that time. He also didn¡¯t know that his wife was being framed by his own ex-girlfriend. And after five years, when his ex-wife had moved on in her life, he suddenly realized that he had loved her all along. And went back to im her.

    Just as Ru said, a typical story but knowing Ru¡¯s peculiar nature, Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that her reason for calling it typical must have been different.

    "What¡¯s typical? It¡¯s just a love story." Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s words made Ru look straight into his eyes.

    "Is this really a love story? How?" She asked.

    "This is a love story with a second chance. There is a thing called second chances, Rong!" Xiao Zhi-Ren argued.

    "Is there? Is there really a thing called second chances?" Ru challenged him and added, "Zhi, we are only given one life... Look, this book doesn¡¯t make any sense to me. First, he called her an sl*t, a cheater and then, he went back after years to snatch her back? What kind of logic is that? And how can she even consider forgiving him?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren thought for a second before he answered, "Forgiveness makes her a bigger person." He had reckoned that he had to use his words with care whenever he was around Ru. Since she was someone who could even manipte your own words without you even realizing it.

    "No. Definitely not! Forgiveness makes her the fickle person." Ru retorted with conviction.

    "So, what do you want? Would the story make sense if she was to get revenge?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked again.

    "Obviously not! That would make her a weaker person!"

    "Huh?" He was left dumbfounded. She didn¡¯t want the protagonist to forgive, she didn¡¯t want her to get revenge. What was she up to?

    "Zhi, life is not all about forgiveness and revenge. Sometimes, it should be about forgetting. No matter if she says that she forgave him and perhaps takes him back but what¡¯s the guarantee that she will be able to forget those unkind words that he used for her? Forgiveness had always been easy. It was the forgetting part that killed people inside." Now, he understood her. He was astounded at her reply.

    "No matter how many times you open the book of past, the ending doesn¡¯t always change." She added after a moment. "It¡¯s better to decline the call of past rather than trying to make that past your present all over again."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what to say, therefore, he picked up another novel and asked, "What about this genre?"

    Ru looked at the book and figured it was also a typical story with a vampire falling in love with a human. "Do you think darkness and light can be together?" He further asked.

    "Now, this is something I do believe in." Xiao Zhi-Ren definitely didn¡¯t expect this answer from her. "Darkness will be meaningless without the light just as the light will be meaningless without the shadows of darkness. It¡¯s a verymon possibility that a demon falls for an angel."

    "But do you think this love can survive?"

    "Isn¡¯t day and night still existing?" Ru retorted.

    "What does that have to do with this book?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired.

    "Aiyoh! Zhi, have you ever seen the sky right before the sunrise or sunset?" Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head and she went on, "That¡¯s the moment when the darkness of night and the light of day embraces each other like those parted lovers." Xiao Zhi-Ren choked on air at her analogy. "That¡¯s why in my opinion, the purest love exists between a demon and an angel." Saying that her eyes caught sight of something outside the bookstore.

    "I¡¯ll be right back!" She didn¡¯t wait for Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s reply as she darted out of the store leaving a baffled Xiao Zhi-Ren behind. He wasn¡¯t actually baffled at her analogy, he was astounded to just know that she was excessively attentive. How could she always have something to say just to prove her point?

    Meanwhile, outside of the store, Ru rummaged out a coin from her pocket and aimed it straight to a person¡¯s ankle. "Ouch!" Within a second, Adia fell down on the ground. "Who dared to attack me?" She growled but didn¡¯t realize that all other members of her squad had horrified expressions as they kept staring behind.

    "I didn¡¯t know that my ck Mist squad was a fan of shopping?" Ru¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t any different from her usual self but the ambiance around her seemed to have turned dangerous within a matter of seconds.

    Seeing that they were in big trouble for being caught here in the hall, the boys pushed Adia ahead to exin. "Ma-Master!" Adia stuttered as she couldn¡¯t think of any coherent words to say. Thinking of something, she pulled the newest member of the team and used her as a shield. "We brought Lilith out to have a look around. She hasn¡¯t been to shopping in her life or at least, she can¡¯t think of the time when she did."

    This n seemed to have worked since Ru kept staring at Lilith¡¯s face without any expression.

    Getting the courage from this reaction, even other members of the squad chimed in, "Yes, yes... Lilith is only about 20 years old. We thought we should get her some colorful clothes. It¡¯s not nice for a young girl to always look so grim."

    "Also, she needs to see the world and mingle in the normal people to learn how to interact. Right?"

    Ru wasn¡¯t listening to any of them as her attention was solely on Lilith¡¯s face. She pulled out her credit card and ced it Lilith¡¯s hand saying, "Buy whatever you like."

    Lilith: "..."

    The ck Mist Squad: "..."

    When was thest time their master was this kind and giving? Never! Although they were all rescued by Ru herself at some point, none of them received this privilege to actually use their master¡¯s credit card which didn¡¯t even have a limit.

    "And you all..." Ru looked at their confounded looks and said, "Stop using her as your protection. I wasn¡¯t going to eat you all. I just didn¡¯t expect to see you all here that¡¯s why I came to say hello. Outside of work, what you do is none of my concern anyway." Throwing these words at them, Ru turned around to leave.

    "Is he always this easygoing?" Lilith asked Adia with her hand signs.

    Adia smiled at her as she answered, "Even if you spend a lifetime with him, I believe master will still be a mystery. He¡¯s easygoing to his people but when you do something that gets on his nerve, don¡¯t expect any kindness from him at all."

    Lilith¡¯s eyes followed Ru¡¯s disappearing back as she was lost in thought. She couldn¡¯t understand how this person was soid back. In theb, where she was kept with others, they were only treated as test subjects. This was perhaps the first time someone actually treated her as a human. It was a nice feeling.

 Chapter 56 Food Is food, No Logic Involved

    Ru who was entering the bookstore under the gazes of her subordinates but suddenly she stopped in her track and whipped her body around. "Oi! Adia!"

    Adia was a bit startled for being pointed out like this again. "Yes, master!" She answered uncertainly.

    Ru extended her hand saying, "Give me my coin back." Adia pursed her lips not knowing what to do with this master of hers. How can her master actually be so stingy to ask for the coin which hit her ankle earlier? "Throw it back. Fast!" Seeing her urging like that, Adia could only throw the coin towards Ru who caught it with ease and smiled in victory.

    As Ru entered the bookstore, Adia turned to a dumbfounded Lilith and said, "Oh, and did we mention, he¡¯s the most calctive person in this world. Also, the most stingy one!" Instead of finding it odd, Lilith found Ru even more interesting than before. How can a person like that give away ¡¯his¡¯ credit card with ease and yet ask for a single insignificant coin back?

    Finding Ru¡¯s antics amusing, Lilith¡¯s lips curled upward slightly which was hardly noticeable and yet Jack managed to discern her smile. "Oh, our new member also know how to smile." Hearing his remark, everyone looked at Lilith with smiles.

    "Kiddo! You¡¯re too young for that broody face. Learn to smile often." Connor patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder and for the first time in her life, Lilith felt the feeling of being a part of something. She had spent a week with these five members of ck Mist and all she learned was how much normal they were.

    At first, she thought they¡¯d be always nning or training since for the world, ck Mist squad was the other name of death. They alwayspleted their missions meticulously without leaving any loose ends. But living with them, she found them more childish than fierce.

    "Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s buy you something to eat first..." Adia pulled Lilith along and the boys followed suit as they went to find a ce to eat first.

    What Lilith hadn¡¯t figured out yet was that Ru was indeed imposing but only when it came to working. If her employees did what they were supposed to do, then the rest wasn¡¯t her concern. Especially, their personal lives had nothing to do with her. And working under her, her subordinates also adapted themselves.

    Back inside the bookstore, Ru saw Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan collecting the shopping bags from the counter. "Oniisan, where did you go?" Xiao Zhi Yuan rushed up to her side to ask.

    "I just saw someone I knew. So, I went to say hello." Her reply had nothing wrong with it and yet Xiao Zhi Ren found it hard to believe. He hade to understand a bit of her nature and from his understanding, he couldn¡¯t believe that Ru went on her own to greet someone. But he decided not to think much about this matter.

    "Stop chatting... Let¡¯s get you something to eat," he said while he again pulled Ru but from her sleeve this time. Since the food was involved, Ru disregarded the fact that he was dragging her again like a sack. But anything for food! Thinking this, she happily let herself dragged away.

    The three of them entered the food court in the mall and took a seat at an empty table. Xiao Zi Ren went to order at a fast food shop leaving Xiao Zhi Yuan and Ru to wait.

    "How¡¯s school, little squirrel?" Ru asked looking at the crowded food court. She wasn¡¯tfortable with all those people around her and to get over her uneasiness, she tried to make some small talk.

    "As you have predicted," Xiao Zhi Yuan answered inly. But seeing Ru¡¯s inquiring gaze, he further exined, "You were right, Oniisan! My forgiveness won¡¯t change anything, it¡¯ll make things worse."

    "What¡¯s really going on?" This time she really was interested to know in detail.

    "Since the day Ji Caihong stood up for me..." He hesitated a bit before saying, "All of my ss had been fleering that she¡¯s my sugar mommy and stuff like that."

    "Did you do something about it?"

    "Yes... I tried to tell them off but it didn¡¯t work. I mean they can say anything about me but Ji Caihong is a girl. They shouldn¡¯t be so impudent with their words." Ru found his sulky look to be quite amusing. "The worst part is I can¡¯t even fight with them. Otherwise, I¡¯d love to break a few jaws."

    Ru touched his head and said, "I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re such a sensitive boy." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning at first but after she spoke again he understood it clearly. "Even when you don¡¯t like Ji Caihong, you tried to stand up for her just because she¡¯s a girl. That¡¯s an admirable thing. As for that breaking jaws part, don¡¯t tell your brother but I¡¯ll help you with that."

    "Really?" Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mood immediately lifted up as she nodded her head. "That¡¯s good..."

    "Why did you stand up for her though? Are you starting to-?" Her words were cut off by Xiao Zhi Yuan as he shook his head.

    "I¡¯m not going soft on her... It¡¯s just that brother always taught me that we should always think before tainting a girl¡¯s name. Eminence might not matter that much to boys but it¡¯s the only thing that girls usually holds in high regard. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want them to talk nonsense about her." Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s reply touched the deepest part of Ru¡¯s heart.

    She stared at him in disbelief. How would one believe this sensible and sweet boy was only 18 years old? He learned something so early in life which most people don¡¯t even understand in their whole life. She smiled proudly as she tousled his hair saying, "My little squirrel, you¡¯re so adorable that I want to steal you from your brother."

    "Mind saying that again?" Hearing Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice from behind, Ru¡¯s smile faltered a bit.

    She tilted her head to see Xiao Zhi Ren giving her a dangerous look. "It was a joke!" Ru tried tough it off even though she wasn¡¯t kidding at all. She really wanted to steal Xiao Zhi Yuan. Xiao Zhi Ren red at her and pushed the tray of food before her and Xiao Zhi Yuan.

    Aftering back with his own tray of food, he sat right opposite of Ru just to pass deadly res to her. Ru wiggled her nose a bit and said, "Since you¡¯re still mad, how about a joke?" She took his silence to be his agreement as she added, "What¡¯s the difference between Cindere and Snow White?"

    "What is it?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked with interest as he took a sip of his cold drink.

    "One forgot to wear her shoes and the other forgot to take them off..." Ruughed out at her own joke while both brothers stared at her not understanding her meaning at all. "Ohe on guys! Cindere forgot her shoe at the ball while Snow White was even wearing her shoe while she was under the curse." Even after listening to her exnation, no oneughed at the table making her feel sour.

    Shrugging her shoulders, Ru picked up the packet of sauce but feeling irked by having the worst sense of humor, she tore the packet with excessive force making the drop of sauce fly up to the tip of her nose. Now this time, she definitely heard bouts ofughter from Xiao Zhi Yuan while Xiao Zhi Ren was trying hard to stayposed.

    "Aish! This really has something against me." There was sauce all over her fingers but instead of taking a napkin to clean up, she lifted her hand to wipe off the sauce. But her hand was held by a bigger one as Xiao Zhi Ren took a napkin and roughly wiped the tip of her nose making her wince, "Hei! Do it nicely!" Xiao Zhi Ren ignored her scowling and with another napkin wiped her hands.

    "Day by day, I feel like asking, how did you manage to be such an extraordinary person for the world when you can¡¯t even open a small packet of sauce." He shook his head while Ru lowered her head. "Also, I might not know the difference between Cindere and Snow White but I do know the simrities between you and Cindere." Ru looked at him with a crease between her brows. He knocked on her forehead saying, "You both love to forget your slippers."

    This was a blunt insult to her. But Ru couldn¡¯t even argue with him since it was her own fault for forgetting to wear her slippers when they were leaving the house. Not wanting to speak, Ru picked up fries from her tray and shoved them in her mouth.

    "I thought you don¡¯t like potatoes," Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s remark made Ru get back to reality as she looked at him. "The way you¡¯re eating fries would make people think that you¡¯re really fond of potatoes."

    Ru looked at her tray which now only had tworge-sized burgers and a cold drink in it while all the fires were gone. "I don¡¯t like potatoes but I love fries."

    "Oniisan, fries are made from potatoes," Xiao Zhi Yuan added but Ru¡¯s look made him silent.

    "I don¡¯t think about logic when ites to food." Her answer was straightforward and after that, she got herself busy with therge-sized burger. Somehow Xiao Zhi Ren knew about her appetite that¡¯s why he specifically got her tworge-sized burgers instead of one.

    Seeing her eating happily with content, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled to himself. After everything, only food could make her stop arguing. It was a good thing that at least logic wasn¡¯t involved with food.

 Chapter 57 Homesickness

    The entire day had been quite adventurous for Ru. She had not been to a supermarket for years and as for a bookstore, that was a big no-no in her life. The number of books she had to register in her brain back at her n was already more than enough for her.

    These days, she¡¯d only read books if she developed an interest in something new. And mostly, these books were bought by one of her subordinates. Although she had tasted all kinds of delicacies that the world had to offer, she still felt that there was something heavenly delicious in the burger she ate today.

    What she didn¡¯t understand was that it wasn¡¯t that burger that tasted so good. In reality, it was the fact that she actually shared a meal with someone in such a warm, harmonious, and joyous manner. People like her were used to eating all alone perhaps that¡¯s why being with those brothers gave her such a homely feeling.

    "Raven, it¡¯s official!" She eximed out as she entered her apartment.

    "May I ask what is official, master?" Her virtual nemesis a.k.a assistant asked in her humanoid voice.

    "I¡¯m homesick... Argh! I never thought there woulde a day when I¡¯d be homesick." Ru ruffled her own hair in exasperation. She was certain that this homesickness was because of seeing Xiao Zhi Ren. She had seen the way he doted on his younger brother and it made her yearn to see her own brother.

    *shback*

    "Big brother!" A young child of five years was trailing behind her teenage self, calling out just to get her attention.

    "Aiyah, stop following me... If mother got to know that you skipped your training because of me, I¡¯ll be hung to my death." Ru tried to shoo him away but the littled had no interest whatsoever in paying heed to her words.

    "You¡¯re talking as if our mother is a demoness... Stop being so full of yourself. Wait for me!" While he was trying to sort out his words, Ru had already climbed the mountain far ahead of him. His small feet were trying hard to catch up but how could he possibly match up the pace of a teenager?

    Her courtyard was in the most secluded part of the mountains and that was one of the reasons that nobody usually came to disturb her except for this littled who liked clinging to her like super glue.

    She was changing the headboard over the door of her courtyard when she heard his panting from behind. As she turned to look, his small face was flushed and sweat was dripping down his face like water droplets. She could only shake her head at his persistent nature.

    "Why did you follow me?" Ru asked ring at him but he was unfazed. Knowing his older brother¡¯s nature, the littled was aware that his brother would never be angry with him.

    "I saw you with a new name board for your courtyard. I just wanted to see what¡¯s it like..." Justifying his reasons, the littled lifted his eyes to look at the head of the door to see the new name board. He was left dumbfounded.

    He gave a look of disbelief to Ru before asking, "Big brother, who names their own courtyard as ¡¯The Easy Breezy And A Bit Peasy Hall¡¯?"

    "I do!" Ru answered inly with a look of content.

    "Why?" The littled asked in his childish voice.

    "Because I¡¯m an easygoing person who is like a breeze always floating around and as for peasy part? That was just rhyming perfectly so I added as a touch of humour." With ease, she described the whole reason behind a single nonsensical name of her courtyard. The littled was truly impressed as he facepalmed himself.

    "Aiyoh, big brother! Grandfather won¡¯t be happy to see this." The littled¡¯s reminder was timely but Ru was used to going against her grandfather¡¯s words. She thought, ¡¯The old man is already angry with me. With this, the anger will just go up a bit more. It doesn¡¯t matter much.¡¯ Thinking this, she shrugged her shoulders.

    "That old man is never happy anyway." Her words had just left her mouth when a booming and imposing voice rang out from behind her,

    "Have you ever tried making this old man happy?"

    Ru was frozen still at her spot as if someone had charmed her. ¡¯Why is my luck so rotten?¡¯ she thought to herself before slowly and carefully turning her body around.

    There he stood with his hands sped behind his back like a noble aristocratic person of a calm demeanour. But how could Ru be fooled by his outer look? "Heh heh... I always do everything just to make my grandfather happy and proud." Ru tried to use some skills of brown-nosing but she forgot that she wasn¡¯t really good at it.

    Her grandfather took slow steps towards her and pulled her ear saying, "Young master Ru is getting good at his antics. But what a shame... I still don¡¯t fall for that."

    "Grandfather, let my ear go. It¡¯s not fair. Why do I have to suffer? Pull this little brat¡¯s ear as well." The littled made an adorable face as if he was wronged as he looked up to his grandfather¡¯s face.

    "Grandfather, big brother left me at the foot of the mountain. All alone..." Ru gaped at that adorable rice cake wanting to bite him off. How was this kid so good at acting?

    "Ahhh!" Ru shrieked a bit as her ear was not the only thing now she had to worry about. Her grandfather¡¯s personal imposing pressure was too much for her young self.

    "You are fourteen and still, you have no idea how to care for your brother? And what¡¯s with this name board? What was wrong with the original name?" Being reprimanded by her grandfather was amon phenomenon for Ru. There was nothing noteworthy anymore. She silently listened to him or more like let it pass all over her head.

    After he was done, she spoke in her defence, "First of all, that old name didn¡¯t go well with my personality." The original name of her courtyard was, ¡¯The hall of youth schr¡¯ and ording to herself, she might be knowledgeable but she¡¯d never want to be called a schr. Not by anyone! "Second of all, I do care about my little rice cake but even he knows that mother and father would punish me if he missed his training and yet he¡¯s following me around." This time, she truly felt wronged. She just didn¡¯t want to spend another week in the punishment hall. Was it too much to wish for? "Andstly, I¡¯m not going back with that original name board."

    Seeing her huffing and puffing, her grandfather touched her head affectionately and said, "I¡¯ll get a new name board for my grandson. And I promise you¡¯ll love it." These words were enough to make her smile brightly as if the sky was cleared up after a storm. Of course, she had her ways to deal with this old man. Although everyone doted on the little rice cake, she knew she was still the most important to this old man.

    True to his promise, her grandfather actually got her a new name board. Her courtyard was named: ¡¯The Raven¡¯s Nest¡¯. Obviously, she loved this name since it was aligned with her nickname perfectly.

    *End of shback*

    With a sigh, Ru looked out the window. This homesickness was not good for her health. Oddly, she still hadn¡¯t figured that she¡¯d been homesick from the very beginning otherwise why would Lord Alev Knight¡¯s authority symbol be a ck raven? Also, why was her onlypanion who happened to be a virtual assistant was also named, Raven?

    "Why do I feel so stuffed all of a sudden?" Feeling a bit difort in her chest, she had to move her hands underneath the oversized sweatshirt to fix the binding around her chest. When it didn¡¯t work, she simply pulled it off freeing herself from the stuffy feeling. "So, it¡¯s one of those days when this binding actually gives me trouble," she mumbled to herself with a slight irritation visible on her face.

    "Without this difort, I believe master you¡¯ll even forget that you were actually born a girl." Ru really had the urge to punch Raven in the face but the irony was that Raven had no face. The urge to punch her wasn¡¯t because Raven was wrong but rather because she was absolutely right.

    If asionally, she didn¡¯t get a slight difort in her chest area or the monthly reminder didn¡¯t knock on her conscience, Ru would probably forget that she was, in fact, a girl or at least had the body of one. She wasn¡¯t disguised as a male rather it¡¯d be right to say that being a male was dyed-in-the-wool[1] not just in her heart but also in her soul.

    "Shut up, Raven!" Before Raven could reply as she was programmed to do, the sound of the doorbell interrupted their argument. "Check who¡¯s at the door at this time."

    "Facial recognitionplete. The personnel waiting outside the door is your secretary." Reven answered.

    "I don¡¯t have a secretary." Ru reminded her.

    "I almost forgot, it¡¯s the person who poses as yourpany¡¯s CEO and yet has a habit of running around you like your secretary."

    Ru rolled her eyes at this reply as she said, "Can¡¯t you just say that Wu Dishi is at the door?"

    "I wasn¡¯t programmed to answer so inly and it¡¯s master¡¯s own fault." Ru banged her head against the table saying, "Right! it¡¯s indeed my fault! My biggest mistake was to create you."

    Grumbling to herself, Ru went to open the door herself. "What do you want?" Wu Dishi was taken aback by the sudden outburst of his master. What did I do wrong? He didn¡¯t have the courage to voice this question but even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten a reply.

    "I... I brought the documents you asked for, " he stammered a bit beforeposing himself.

    Ru extended her hand and ordered, "Give it to me and get lost!" Poor him was startled as he passed the documents and ran away as soon as possible not knowing that he was just used as a punching bag. Since Ru couldn¡¯t yell at Raven, she transferred the anger on to Wu Dishi.

    [1] "dyed-in-the-wool": deep-rooted

 Chapter 58 Childish Revenge Plo

    "What are we doing here?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked looking at Ru who was acting all mysterious.

    Currently, both of them were outside one of Imperial¡¯s elite nightclubs which happened to be one of the hotspots for young Fu¡¯er Dais[1]. Xiao Zhi Yuan had followed her here not knowing what was running through her evil mind.

    "Oniisan! What are you looking for?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked again but Ru disregarded his inquiry yet again.

    "Shush!" She made a gesture for him to stay quiet and passed him a ck hoodie, a cap, and a ck mask. "Wear it! We need to hide our tracks."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan took the hoodie and wore it silently but inwardly, he was still confused about all this. Were they undercover or something? Ru took him to the underground parking lot and started looking through the cars number tes.

    Suddenly Ru stopped walking and Xiao Zhi Yuan almost banged into her back. "Why are we stopping here?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask again in a whisper and why was he being so cautious, even he couldn¡¯t tell.

    Ru hid behind a pir and surveyed their surroundings thoroughly. After that, she passed the duffle bag in her hand to Xiao Zhi Yuan and said in a low voice, "Stay here and don¡¯t make a sound... Let me clear the premises."

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi Yuan stood there dumbfoundedly as he saw Ruying down on the ground and rolling under the car which was parked beside her. He crouched down and saw her rolling all the way towards the end of the parking lot taking advantage of the cars.

    "All clear! Come out, little squirrel!" Hearing her voice, Xiao Zhi Yuan came out from hiding behind the pir and walked towards her. As he came close to her, he could see almost ten bulky men in ck suits on the ground.

    "What did you do to them Oniisan?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was gaping at the bodies sprawled all around.

    "Nothing much... I just let them have a taste of my special concoction of a sleeping potion." Ru answered off-handedly as she shrugged her shoulders. "Give me the bag." Xiao Zhi Yuan passed her the duffle bag.

    "Now, can we be clear about what we are really doing here sneaking like this?"

    Ru gave him a sly smile and said, "We are here to break some jaws as promised." Xiao Zhi Yuan was left speechless. When Ru offered to break the jaws of his ssmates back when they went to the mall, he agreed because he didn¡¯t think she was serious. Who knew she was really serious?

    "I thought you were joking with me back then," Xiao Zhi Yuan voiced out in a daze.

    Ru put one arm around his shoulder and said, "Little squirrel, let me be honest with you... There are two ¡¯F¡¯ words that I love and I¡¯d never dare to joke about them."

    "What are those words?" He inquired with intrigue.

    "Food and fight!" Her answer left her little squirrel to shake his head.

    "But I really don¡¯t want you to beat them..." Xiao Zhi Yuan really didn¡¯t have any interest in finding trouble with those ssmates. ording to him, there was only a month or so left in their exams and after that, he won¡¯t even have toe across them ever again. So, because of this reason, he had been avoiding conflicts.

    "Who said I¡¯ll beat them?" Xiao Zhi Yuan knitted his brows in confusion and Ru had to exin her words in detail, "Aiyoh, little squirrel! I¡¯m a man of principles. Beating those high school kids is way below me. I only fight with people who know how to defend themselves. These children are of no value to me."

    "Then how are we going to break jaws?"

    Ru opened the duffle bag and pulled out a couple of spray paint bottles. Xiao Zhi Yuan grew even more confused at seeing this. "There is a lesson I learned in life... Physical wounds tend to heal way faster and that¡¯s why always y with people¡¯s emotions. They never heal!"

    Saying that she shook the bottle of spray paint in hand and took her steps towards a red sports car. Now that Xiao Zhi Yuan noticed, he could see that those bodyguards on the floor were actually safeguarding this car. Looking closely, he could even tell the model of the car; Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Impressive!

    Xiao Zhi Yuan was really slow-witted since he was still thinking how could spray paint possibly hurt someone¡¯s emotions but the next moment when Ru wrote ¡¯Arsehole¡¯ on the windshield of the sports car, even Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s emotions were hurt. ¡¯That was such a good car.¡¯ He wanted to say but he still had no idea who owned this car.

    "What did they say? You have a sugar mommy," Ru was just talking to herself as she again used the paint to write on the side of the car: This is a gift from your sugar mommy!

    Xiao Zhi Yuan chuckled at the side. After she was done with her artwork on all parts of the sports car, she beckoned Xiao Zhi Yuan to follow her as they both went to hide. "Is that enough?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked.

    "Little squirrel, tell me how expensive is that car?"

    "If I remember correctly, it¡¯s about 4.5 million dors or so." Xiao Zhi Yuan had quite an interest in sports cars which was why he always knew about these details.

    "Exactly my point here," Ru said touching his head as if to pet him and went on, "I¡¯ve checked already. This particr ssmate of yours is obsessed with expensive cars just for the sake of his status otherwise why would a high school kid have one of the most expensive cars in the world? Trust me, this will hurt him more than my beating would have." Seeing her satisfied look, Xiao Zhi Yuan also became calm. Unknowingly, he had begun to trust Ru with all his heart without any questions asked.

    They had to wait for about two hours before the owner of the car finally came out of the club to get his ride. That¡¯s when Ru said, "Give me your phone!" Xiao Zhi Yuan gave his phone to her and she said, "And the show begins now!"

    Xiao Zhi Yuan looked towards the car to see one of his ss bully, Chu Feng standing before the car. Now he finally knew who the car belonged to. But the question in his mind now was; how did Ru get to know about that Chu Feng was the one jeering him in school?

    After all, others would think that it was Zhang Han who was looking for trouble with him because of Sheng Yue. But Zhang Han actually had nothing to do with his troubles in school. Since the time Zhang Han saw Ji Caihong standing up for Xiao Zhi Yuan, he knew that Xiao Zhi Yuan was not someone he could mess with. So, he backed off but others weren¡¯t as sensible as he was.

    "Who dared to do this?" Xiao Zhi Yuan heard Chu Feng¡¯s screeching roar making him want to rub his ears. Then he saw how Chu Feng was crying over his precious ¡¯baby¡¯ while kicking his bodyguards who were still fast asleep on the ground. He looked miserable and it made Xiao Zhi Yuan feel the sense of victory.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t know from where but suddenly, Chu Feng was attacked by raw eggs and rotten tomatoes. Not a single soul was in sight and yet there was plenty of trash being dumped on Chu Feng as if he was a dumpster. Even Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at his predicament. That¡¯s how the karma worked!

    Ru stealthily got Xiao Zhi Yuan out of the parking lot and edited the video which she had recorded of Chu Feng. After adding a bit of caption and emojis, she uploaded the video on Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s school forum using a fake IP address.

    "Now, enjoy the show until yourst day of school," Ru announced proudly.

    "That was childish of you, Oniisan." Xiao Zhi Yuan remarked with a slightly curled lips.

    "Yes... It was childish but I did it for the first time. So, it was really amusing!" Seeing her excitement, Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind this childish revenge.

    On another note, one shouldn¡¯t be calling it a childish plot since the car repair was going to cost a hell lot of money. And who knew how Chu Feng¡¯s parents were going to react. But obviously, even Ru thought it to be a childish but fun plot. After all, she couldn¡¯t be too hard on high school kids. But that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t do anything to those who dared to hurt her little squirrel.

    [1] "Fu¡¯er Dai": Children of the nouveau riche

 Chapter 59 Learn To Fall

    "Where is Yuan?" Qin Qu asked as he noticed that there was only Xiao Zhi Ren at home. He had been gone to the United States to deal with some matters and only today, he managed to find his way back.

    "He went out with Rong." Qin Qu quirked his brows in surprise.

    ¡¯Did he just said ¡¯Rong¡¯? When did they be so close? I was only gone for a couple of weeks.¡¯ Qin Qu thought to himself as he found this familiarity rather odd.

    "And you let him go? You¡¯d always been overprotective of your brother, what changed?" He asked indecisively.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter as long as Rong is with him." Xiao Zhi Ren answered indifferently as he looked through his emails.

    "You have got to be kidding with me!" Qin Qu couldn¡¯t believe that his best friend was actually trusting a stranger with his own brother. "Have you heard of all those rumors about Mr. Xie Rong? He¡¯s known to be a ruthless tyrant. He shouldn¡¯t even be thest person you could trust your brother to."

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave him a look that left him silent. "I have heard of all the rumors."

    "So? Do you think those are just rumors?" Qin Qu inquired.

    Xiao Zhi Ren got up from his chair and walked towards the windows to look outside at the dark night. "No... I actually think that all the rumors are true but those people don¡¯t know Rong in person. Leaving Yaun in his care is essential for now." Qin Qu frowned at his sentence as he went on, "I¡¯ve protected Yuan so well that he¡¯d grown to be extremely sensitive. His perspective of life and people are all aligned with my own self and I want to change that. Yuan needs a role model like Rong in his life who likes to question every single thing in life."

    Qin Qu kept listening attentively while Xiao Zhi Ren spoke with his gaze stuck on the outside world. "I want Yuan to see the world with Rong¡¯s eyes. There is something in this world that Yuan can only learn from Rong." Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t just saying it. He believed this wholeheartedly. He had seen Ru and Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s interactions and he was sure that Ru could teach Xiao Zhi Yuan that he wasn¡¯t able to.

    Xiao Zhi Ren had plenty of arguments with Ru and yet he felt that none of those arguments were meaningless. Because in the end, he always learned something absolutely new.

    Like earlier when Ru came to take Yuan with her, he had said, "Take care of my brother. He doesn¡¯t usually go out at this time of the night."

    Ru had answered him with, "Zhi, your overprotectiveness towards little squirrel is giving me wrong ideas."

    "What kind of ideas?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren while furrowing his brows.

    Although inwardly, Ru was thinking that his protectiveness must havee from a deep scar, on the outside, she didn¡¯t show it. "Nothing special..." She shrugged her shoulders and added, "I just think that you should let your brother grow now."

    "I just don¡¯t want him to get hurt," said Xiao Zhi Ren matter-of-factly.

    "And how will he grow up without being hurt? In judo¡¯s first lesson, we learn to fall before they teach us how to stand back up. That means, in life, we have to fall before we could learn to fly." She took a pause as she patted his shoulder and continued, "Don¡¯t hide your brother behind yourself. While protecting him for all these years, you have already learned to face this world. Now, it¡¯s his turn to learn. And you can¡¯t be an obstacle in that."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had no answer for her since she loved to leave him in a daze. It was true that he had been hiding Xiao Zhi Yuan behind himself but he had his reasons. He¡¯d been scared of losing his brother. He didn¡¯t want to experience the same pain all over again which he went through back then.

    Right at this moment, the doorbell rang and pulled Xiao Zhi Ren out of his reverie.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren opened the door, he saw Ru smiling at him with her charming green eyes stuck on his face. "Hi, big bear!" Xiao Zhi Yuan entered the house with frozen yogurt in his hand. And that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi Ren noticed the ice cream cone in Ru¡¯s hands.

    She had three-tier ice cream with three different vors; vani, strawberry, and chocte. "I¡¯ve dropped your brother off safely. Just as I promised." With that, Ru turned to leave but she was yanked back as Xiao Zhi Ren pulled her hoodie from the back.

    "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not the right time for ice cream?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked before Ru could even re at him for yanking her like that again.

    "I guess Zhi, you haven¡¯t heard before that the best time to eat ice cream is... ALWAYS!" She beamed while taking a bite off of the chocte scoop at the top of her cone.

    "What I mean is, it¡¯s already cold enough outside, do you have to eat such cold snack as well?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know when he adopted the habit of talking this much but apparently, he always enjoyed bickering with Ru over these small and insignificant matters.

    "What cold weather? It¡¯s never too cold for ice cream. You can only have the real taste of ice cream in winter. Eating ice cream in summer is such an ordinary thing. That¡¯s why I love ice cream in winter and hot chocte in summers." Listening to her, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but smile. As always, she again managed to make him feel amused. "Also, spring is right around the corner. Let¡¯s not fuss over my ice cream."

    She again turned to leave but Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice made her stop walking. "Where did you take Yuan?"

    Ru scratched her head sheepishly before saying, "It¡¯s top secret. I can¡¯t tell you." She didn¡¯t know how he¡¯ll react and she wasn¡¯t in the mood to be told that she did something wrong.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her reply. "So, did you show my brother how to fall?" He asked taking a moment.

    Ru smiled back at him and said, "Apparently, I can¡¯t bring myself to push him down. Rather than teaching him how to rise after falling down. I¡¯d teach him how to fly. As for falling down, I¡¯ll make sure nobody gets the chance to do that with him." Although she said thest sentence in a low voice, Xiao Zhi Ren still managed to catch her words.

    Before leaving, Ru left a few words behind for Xiao Zhi Ren, "I know you¡¯re trying to be perfect for the sake of your brother. Try not to disappoint him as a person since it¡¯d be a painful lesson for him."

 Chapter 60 Story Of The Darkest Hour

    Tossing and turning on the hardwood floor, Ru finally gave up on sleep. The one thing that seemed to have been a constant in her life was this insomnia that didn¡¯t let her sleep.

    Giving up on her sleep, Ru changed into a tracksuit and left her condo. She went to the running track in the park to vent out her pent up frustration. Lack of sleep often left people with a bad mood and she was no different except for the part that she always hid her turbulent state of mind with ease.

    She spent hours running on the track just to tire herself out. But her stamina was way better than even a professional runner. Because she was a martial artist, there was no way a bit of running could wear her down.

    As the dawn approached, Ru decided to give up on this endless cycle of running and went back to her ce. Right when she was about to enter the passcode, her eyes fell on a parcel that was ced before her door.

    Taking the parcel with herself, Ru went inside the condo. She took off her shoes and walked towards the sitting area barefoot. As she tore open the parcel, to her surprise, she found three books inside along with a sticky note that read: Have a happy time learning something new.

    She pressed her lips together and looked at the titles of the book. She noticed that each book was published in a different country.

    Although there was no name on that note, Ru could still tell who sent these books. There was a warm feeling in her heart as her lips curled upward.

    She spent that day thinking about the parcel. Even when Wu Dishi was showing her the new design models for their uing project, she wasn¡¯t listening.

    In the evening, she stood right outside the apartment no 101 and kept hesitating. There were two choices in her mind; either to just forget about it or to say thank you for the gift she received. She was rather reluctant because of thetter. Since life gave her plenty of opportunities to say sorry but the same life didn¡¯t really give her a reason to say thank you.

    In her heart, she knew that if she knocked on this door today for the sale of gratitude, she¡¯d be involving herself in something undo-able. And she¡¯d lying if she said she wasn¡¯t scared of getting attached again. Even if it was friendship, she had lost her faith in it. Because in the end, people would always choose the one they love rather the one they called a friend.

    But as she learned to always go with the choice that scared her, she eventually knocked on the door. In her opinion the scariest one¡¯s choice would be, the better that decision would turn out to be.

    Within minutes, the door was pulled open and Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s damp hair came in her view. He lifted his eyes and immediately frowned to find Ru at the door.

    "Rong? What brought you here?" His mellow voice broke her gaze from his raven colored hair that was a precise match with his eyes.

    "Ahem... Zhi, have you heard that the darkest houres right before the dawn?" Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t fathom where this conversation was heading but he chose not to fathom as well because of the peculiar nature of the person before him. He simply chose to nod his head. "I once heard a joke that if you want to steal your neighbor¡¯s milk and newspaper, that¡¯s the right time to do it. Heh heh!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her not so humorous joke and asked, "So, did you steal the milk?"

    "Huh?" Ru quirked her brows at his question and shook her head saying, "I¡¯d been many things in my life but I¡¯d never been a thief. That¡¯s against my principles." After speaking righteously, she suddenly noticed something as she asked, "Hey, why didn¡¯t you ask for the newspaper?"

    "Because you¡¯d rather drink milk than to read some boring current affairs." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a shrug of his shoulder and Ru was a bit surprised that he actually could see through her now. But obviously, she wasn¡¯t embarrassed at all.

    "Anyway, that was not what I came here for, " she took a pause to look straight into his eyes and continued, "I believe you chose that darkest hour to drop a parcel at my door."

    "How did you figure that it was me?" He wasn¡¯t really surprised that she learned about it.

    "Because of the note. I only told you that I love learning about new things but I don¡¯t buy books myself." Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Are you here to confront me or something?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "No... Not at all." Ru shook her head and wiggled her nose a bit before she crouched down and picked up a pot that she had ced beside his door. "I don¡¯t really know how to say thank you but I recently learned that it shouldn¡¯t be done empty handed. So, I brought this for you."

    Xiao Zhi Ren took the pot from her and eyed it in a weird way as he said, "So, you brought me spring onions?" Yes! That¡¯s exactly the thing nted in that small pot.

    "Correction... It¡¯s fresh spring onions. Whenever you want they¡¯d be right there for you. Just cut that green part and you are good to go." Ru even pointed at the green part to let him know. "I took care of them for the past 6 months. You better be nice to them."

    How exactly was one supposed to be nice to spring onions? That was what Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to ask but he noticed that she gave him this with sincere feelings. Also, it was one of the most practical gifts he hade across in his life.

    "Rong, there is really no need for this." Xiao Zhi Ren only left those books because he thought that a person like her would definitely love to read something meaningful. He never really thought he¡¯d be the one receiving a thank you gift.

    "You don¡¯t like the gift?" Ru asked with a solemn face. She didn¡¯t think buying him something expensive would be any useful after all he was a billionaire himself.

    "I like the gift," answered Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Okay, then I¡¯ll take my leave now." She turned, intending to leave.

    "Stop!" Ru looked back at Xiao Zhi Ren and raised her brow inquiringly. "I¡¯m about to make dinner. Stay for the meal."

    "Nah... I¡¯m okay." Xiao Zhi Ren was taken aback by her answer.

    He lifted his hand and ced it against her forehead as if checking her temperature. Ru swatted his hand away with a scowl. "What are you doing?"

    "I was checking if you¡¯re fine... I mean how can Rong say no to food?" Ru¡¯s mouth twitched as she heard him teasing her like this. "Have you been switched with your evil clone?" Seeing him being dramatic was quite new for Ru.

    "Ha ha ha..." She gave a dryugh and rolled her eyes, "That was not funny. Also, I do love food but I don¡¯t like being a burden to someone."

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled, held her wrist and pulled her inside the apartment saying, "It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to cook specifically for you. If you still think you¡¯d be a burden just help me in the kitchen."

    Ru looked at his hand holding her wrist feeling a strange sensation making its way up to her heart. ¡¯When was thest time someone held my hand?¡¯ She didn¡¯t have the answer for herself. She shook her head and thought about his suggestion. She could help in the kitchen in exchange for food. That was a good deal. "Okay!" She dly agreed.

 Chapter 61 If You Are The One

    Even after entering the apartment, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t let her wrist go and she had to remind him, "I¡¯m not nning on running away. Ergo, you can let my hand go now." If she wanted to run away, who would dare stop her?

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked down at his own hand wrapped around her wrist which seemed willowy to him. He let her hand drop to her side rather reluctantly and said, "Sorry! I didn¡¯t realize it that I was still holding your hand."

    "Heh? How can someone forget they are holding something?" Ru grumbled to herself with a confounded look.

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her query and said, "Perhaps, I forgot because I don¡¯t like the cold feeling which a warm hand leaves behind." Ru gave him a baffled look and her adorable expression made him lift his rugged hand to tousle her fluffy hair. "Letting go of a hand gives me the feeling that someone is leaving me behind."

    "So, are you still looking for that hand?" Ru asked with a quirk of her brow as she felt curious.

    "Which hand?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "The one which slipped away from your hand... Because I¡¯m sure someone must have slipped away from your hand to leave that kind of feeling behind." She tapped her chin with her index finger and added, "Almost like PTSD. Your mind subconsciously is looking for that hand."

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know how but she had managed to guess his emotions precisely as if she had seen it herself. He really was looking for that hand which slipped away from his grip. And the freezing void that hand left behind was still unbearable for him. Oddly, when he held Ru¡¯s wrist earlier, he felt his own body rxing as if it had found what it had been yearning for.

    "So, shall we begin?" Ru broke his reverie as she gestured towards his kitchen. Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and went straight towards the open kitchen. "What are we making?" She asked looking around at the kitchen which seemed exactly like it did the first time she was there; sophisticated and well-managed.

    After Xiao Zhi Ren told her about the three dishes they were going to make, she couldn¡¯t help but say, "Can I add chicken and tomato spiced curry? It¡¯ll go perfectly well with rice." Her eyes gleamed as her mouth had watered at the thought of eating this curry and she even licked her lips as if she could taste it right now.

    "If you¡¯re the one making it then why not?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reply made her frown a bit but it eased up after she thought for a second.

    "Okay..." He was surprised that she had readily agreed but what he didn¡¯t know was that she wasn¡¯t just fond of eating, she was fond of food as a whole; cooking and eatingbined. She had been avoiding cooking for a while now since it was rather odd to cook for just one person. Or perhaps, it was pitiful. She always liked to feed people and since now, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her the chance, she¡¯d dly make the curry because she won¡¯t be the only one enjoying it.

    Both of them wore the apron and got busy with their own thing. Ru was focused on cutting the ingredients for him which she did efficiently. Even Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but praise her knife skills.

    Both of them didn¡¯t notice when Xiao Zhi Yuan hade back home and was leaning leisurely against the ss partition to watch the harmonious scene in the kitchen. He felt strange seeing both Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru working in sync with each other.

    "Did you start reading the books?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked while she was stirring her curry in the pot.

    "I read all of them." She answered inly.

    "You read them in a day?" He was surprised to know that.

    "Yup... They were interesting. So, I had to finish them in one go."

    "Tell me what did you find interesting in them?" He inquired turning to face her this time.

    "Haven¡¯t you read the books yourself?" Ru asked him instead of answering him.

    "I have read the books but I still want to hear your opinion."

    Ru found his answer reasonable and answered, "From the first book, I learned that we as human have no right to abhor our past since we are the ones living in the present where shadows of our past are lurking around. If we had forsaken our past, we wouldn¡¯t be living in agony but if we really had forsaken our past, we wouldn¡¯t be where we are or who we are."

    Xiao Zhi Ren already knew that her view of seeing a book would be different than his own. And he was d he actually gave her the books. Her nature was different and it allowed her to see everything differently.

    "As for the second book, I learned that when time starts to slip away from our hand like sand through our fingers that¡¯s when we realize that it was worthless to hide our pain behind a mask of calmness." The more Ru spoke, the more Xiao Zhi Ren questioned himself whether they had read the same book or not? "Oh, by the way, where is my little squirrel?"

    Before Xiao Zhi Ren could answer, both of them heard Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "Right here, seemingly forgotten and ignored." Ru titled her head to look at him and smiled sincerely.

    "Since when were you standing there?" Both of them asked simultaneously and took a moment to re at each other. "You should have made a sound." Again they said simultaneously and huffed at each other.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan chuckled at them and said, "I have been here long enough. Anyway, I just didn¡¯t want to disturb you both." He came close to the kitchen counter and inhaled deeply taking in the delicious aromas lingering around in the air. "What did you make? Why is it making me drool?" He tried to open the lid from the pot but his hand was swatted away by Ru.

    "Change your uniform. Otherwise no food for you!" Seeing her acting all bossy, Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind at all and happily went to his room. She turned to look at Xiao Zhi Ren giving her strange looks and asked, "What?"

    "Nothing..." He shook his head and added, "Let¡¯s wrap up here." Ru nodded her head and hastily cleaned up the counter before serving the food.

 Chapter 62 For The Sake Of Promises

    Ru felt that she had grownfortable in the presence of Xiao brothers. The dinner was a joyous affair. And even after she left their ce, there was a smile stered on her face. It wasn¡¯t like her usual smile which always held a touch ofnguidness and aloofness. This smile was different. It was genuine.

    But as she looked at her own dim reflection through the ss walls, her smile stiffened up. She lifted her hands to touch her own face as if making sure that the smiling face was her own.

    She couldn¡¯t understand why but she wasn¡¯t able to look away. The face smiling back at her was captivating and enthralling. She tilted her head a bit and continued to stare at her own thin lips curled up in a beautiful smile. The glint in her beautiful eyes was akin to sunshine that could leave anyone with a sunburn.

    She had to p her face twice to get back her solemn face. "Ah, this young master has such charms that he even himself gets mesmerized by them. How unfair to the world!" As her usual self, she joked in order to get back herposure.

    But it didn¡¯t really help... She was sure that she wasfortable with Yuan because he reminded her of her little rice cake back home. But...

    The question was... Why was she so insouciant and congenial around Xiao Zhi Ren?

    She promised herself not to make friends. People didn¡¯t value friendship in this era. And yet, was she really amalgamating the fringe between ¡¯just acquaintances¡¯ and ¡¯friendship¡¯? Because if she was, she really was getting herself into deep trouble all over again.

    After taking a warm shower, she didn¡¯t bother drying her wet hair and went to the terrace through the french windows in her bedroom. The terrace was beautifully aligned with pots of flowers and bonsai maple trees in various colors. Other than those beautiful pots, there was only a wicker swing Egg chair on the terrace.

    Ru sat down in the chair absentmindedly and stared out at the dark night illuminated by skyscrapers. A person like her who grew up in the mountains never got used to the bustling cities that never slept. She didn¡¯t like the artificial lights that made it difficult to get a glimpse of that starsden sky.

    Often in the dark of night, she had a habit to whisper, "Ru, are you depressed?" As she asked that question in the void, she answered it herself, "No... I¡¯m not sad at all... Not really." Since she had no one to ask, she would do it herself.

    Leaning in her chair, she whispered again, "Are you happy with where you are?"

    She gave a bitter smile to herself before saying, "I¡¯m not exactly happy either. Even with my insomniac nature, I manage to smile andugh. I can even make the most horrible jokes in the day. But..." She took a brief pause to look upward at the sky filled with smog and added, "As I stay alone at night like right now, I forget how to feel. I forget whether I have any feeling within me or not? Or perhaps I really have turned into a barbarian."

    She had plenty of monologues sessions with herself. Because she was the only one who would dare ask herself how she feels. Maybe, sleep wasn¡¯t nning on showing tantrums tonight since she didn¡¯t even realize when the sleep actually knocked her out.

    ["You have a pretty smile," she heard a refined voice from right beside her but when she looked up, the person was engulfed in the darkness that surrounded her. "But it¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s a fake one." Her heart shook a bit at his words.

    She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, not knowing how to respond. So, she said, "It¡¯s easier for me to fake this smile. I didn¡¯t learn to show my tears."

    "You don¡¯t want to give people the satisfaction that they managed to tear you down. Is that why you¡¯re hiding a million problems behind that one fake smile?" Her heart was startled again as those words¡¯ attack was straight to her heart.

    She sniggered softly before saying, "I smile just to let the world know that I am here and I am still strong as I had been."

    She felt the warmth of a big hand on her shoulder as she heard that masculine voice again,

    "The first time I saw her smile

    I knew,

    fervent trouble was brewing inside

    There was nothing more beautiful

    then the smile on her lips

    and the glint in her eyes

    Nheless,

    I saw those tears that welled up in her eyes

    She didn¡¯t let the tears fall

    Just to keep that drowning girl¡¯s pride

    Or perhaps,

    To hide the fact that her smile was just...

    Another Disguise."]

    Ru felt a splitting headache as she was jolted awake from the dream. Cold sweat had drenched her clothes. With heavy breathing, she looked around to see that the sun had already risen up long ago. Ru frowned to see the sun¡¯s zing light shining on her face. ¡¯Did I slept through the whole night?¡¯ She wondered to herself. ¡¯How did that happen?¡¯

    It was a mystery to her how she managed to sleep through the night since even with her own personalized sleeping medication, she was only able to sleep for a couple of hours. She couldn¡¯t even remember when was thest time she actually slept for this long. Perhaps never?

    She shook her head and went inside to take a shower with a new conviction in her heart. ¡¯No matter what, stay away from Xiao Zhi Ren! He¡¯s bad news!¡¯ That voice in her dream had made her conviction stronger. She felt like she was confusing the person in her memory with Xiao Zhi Ren just because both had a mellow and charismatic voice which was distinct from the rest.

    However, she wasn¡¯t the only one being haunted by her memories.

    The first thing that Xiao Zhi Ren did in the morning was to open his hidden drawer and rummage out a beautifully carved pendant encrusted with pure green jade and blood-red rubies. There was a single character engraved on the pendant in Cantonese; ¡¯Yu¡¯.

    Xiao Zhi Ren sighed heavily as he stared at that pendant in his hand as if he could see the owner of this pendant right before his eyes.

    "One day, you might not find me here," she had said to him back then.

    "Where would you go? To seek your revenge?" He had asked her gazing at her frail body.

    He heard her scoff lightly as she said, "I might look like it but I really don¡¯t live my life for the sake of revenge." He saw her tracing a pattern on her palm with her index finger as she went on, "Only shallow people will burn their lives with the desire to take revenge."

    He gazed at her sleek ck hair that fell to her mid-back. "Will I see you again?" In his heart, he knew he won¡¯t be able to stop her. So, he chose the second best option he could think of.

    "You saved my life. And I¡¯m not a thankless person. I give you my word that I¡¯lle to look for you." Xiao Zhi Ren felt at ease at those words.

    "You have to keep this promise," he emphasized on his words to make sure that she remembers.

    He saw her lips turning a bit into an arc as she said, "Until today, I¡¯d lived my life aimlessly. Now, I might live this life for the sake of promises I have to keep."

    Coming back from his reverie, Xiao Zhi Ren felt a tear trickling down his face. He wiped it away and said to no one in particr, "I know you¡¯ll keep your promise but can¡¯t youe sooner? I¡¯m really tired of walking alone..."

    He kept tracing that character on the pendant gently. But little did our Xiao Zhi Ren knew that ¡¯Yu¡¯ in Cantonese was actually ¡¯Ru¡¯ in Pinyin. And the person with the character ¡¯Ru¡¯ was actually right beside him. But it wasn¡¯t like he could make the connection since the one he was waiting for was a girl and the one beside him was a ¡¯man¡¯.

 Chapter 63 My Uncle

    "Be quick and tell me all the thirty-six stratagems of Sun Tzu," Ru propped her face on the palm of her hand as she instructed Xiao Zhi Yuan.

    Both of them were in the Central Imperial Library which Ru chose as their study spot since she had been avoiding Xiao Zhi Ren for a week now. She had even been staying in her Medicine Hall in the mountains just to avoid Xiao Zhi Ren. If she hadn¡¯t promised Xiao Zhi Yuan to help him with his entrance exam, she would have already jilted him.

    But in the end, she was a man of her words!

    Oh, wait! That oddly didn¡¯t sound right...

    Perhaps, she was a woman of her words?

    Was she really a woman? She literally was questioning herself.

    But it wasn¡¯t her fault at all that she was even forced to question her own gender. She was born with the body of a female. Raised with the mentality of a male. Her gender was really a confusing matter for her.

    "All thirty-six?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked just to make sure that he heard right.

    Ru thought for a second before saying, "Let¡¯s start with stratagems for desperate situations."

    "Okay." Xiao Zhi Yuan made an okay sign with his hand and put his pen on the wooden table. After that, he started describing each of the stratagems with ease and finished with a smile saying, "Last two are my favorite. ¡¯Beauty Trap¡¯[1] and ¡¯If all else fails, Escape is the best¡¯[2]."

    Ru nodded her head in appreciation and patted his head like he was a pet. "At this rate, my little squirrel will definitely top the Entrance Exam." Hearing words of eulogizing from her, Xiao Zhi Yuan felt splendid inwardly.

    "Woah! I didn¡¯t know that Yuan can actually smile like that." At this remark, both Ru and Xiao Zhi Yuan turned their head to see Ji Caihong walking towards them.

    "Oh, look!" Ru gave her a surprised expression as she pointed at Ji Caihong¡¯s face saying, "That¡¯s the girl who shares the same name as my first pet."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a bit at Ru¡¯s way of acknowledging Ji Caihong while she stood with a scrunched up face. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Xie!" Ji Caihong grumbled and took a seat right opposite both of them at the same table.

    "Can you not call me Mr. Xie? I built an empire just so that people address me as Chairman Xie. Don¡¯t insult me by calling me, Mr. Xie." Ru told Ji Caihong with a weary look.

    "Should I also call you Chairman Xie?" Ji Caihong asked a bit uncertainly.

    "Umm... No!" Ru answered her inly.

    "Hmm..." Ji Caihong tapped her chin thoughtfully before saying, "How about Rong Brother?"

    "Rong Brother... Rong Brother..." Ru again rolled the name on her tongue before her eyes lit up. "I like the taste of that."

    "Huh? Taste? I think you meant to say you liked the sound of that."

    Ru shook her head and cleared up, "I exactly meant what I just said. More than the sound of it, I like the way ¡¯Rong Brother¡¯ rolls of my tongue. It seems smooth and tasteful."

    After staring intently at Ru¡¯s face, Ji Caihong could onlyment, "You¡¯re weird."

    "That I already know." Ru retorted impassively and shifted her attention back to Xiao Zhi Yuan. "Little squirrel, let¡¯s test you next week. Your Entrance exam is only a month away. So, I¡¯lle up with some sample question paper for you to solve."

    "I won¡¯t disappoint you!" Xiao Zhi Yuan answered resolutely.

    "Little brother, I brought this for you." Seeing that they were done, Ji Caihong pushed a lunch box towards Xiao Zhi Yuan with a radiant smile on her face.

    "I told you, I¡¯m not your brother!" Xiao Zhi Yuan snapped at her with a re but it didn¡¯t have the same effect as it used to do. He¡¯s been softening up a bittely especially since Ji Caihong always showed up with homemade delicacies for him. Although he still tried to shun her, it was obvious that he wasn¡¯tpletely against the idea of having a sister as he used to.

    "Looks like you both are still on the phase of ¡¯I¡¯m not your brother¡¯." Ru mimicked Xiao Zhi Yuan as she air-quoted his words.

    Ji Caihong giggled at her remark while Xiao Zhi Yuan gave her a disbelieving look. "Oniisan!" He raised his voice but Ru shrugged her shoulders not paying any heed to his childish tantrum.

    Ru shot up from the chair to take a seat on the table and leaned over to Ji Caihong¡¯s side as she whispered, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll soon get to the phase of ¡¯She¡¯s my sister!¡¯" Ji Caihong felt reassured by just the way Ru said it to her.

    "What did you say to her?" Xiao Zhi Yuan gave Ru a skeptical look.

    "Nothing... I just said that since you¡¯re not gonna take her in as a sister even when she¡¯s bringing you delicious food than she should try her luck on me. This young master would dly be her brother for the sake of food." Saying this, she even pulled the lunch box from Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s side towards herself but Xiao Zhi Yuan immediately stopped her.

    "That¡¯s mine." He argued with a pout.

    "Aiyoh! If you don¡¯t want the sister, why do you want her food? Be nice little squirrel! Just let me eat it." Ru again tried to take the lunch box but Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t let it go at all.

    Ji Caihong could see his reluctance and she realized that Ru was actually tricking him with reverse psychology. The more Ru asked him to let go, the more he wanted to hold on now.

    From their noises, the librarian had toe over to shush them. "Let¡¯s go out. I don¡¯t like that grumpydy." Ru whispered in a low voice as she red at the back of the grumpy librarian.

    The three of them were silently making their way out of the library when they came across Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s ssmate, Zhang Han. The same teenager who had punched Xiao Zhi Yuan. Zhang Han looked at Xiao Zhi Yuan and then shifted his eyes towards Ji Caihong to see her throwing daggers at him. He reflexively gulped.

    "Great Aunt, I have already apologized to him on my knees... Can¡¯t you stop giving me such dirty looks?" Zhang Han was talking to Ji Caihong. Seeing the way, she gave him a cold shoulder Zhang Han was left in a dilemma. He turned to Xiao Zhi Yuan and said, "Can¡¯t you tell her that I apologized already? Because of her, I have already lost my credit cards, my cars, and my other privileges. Including my chance to go backpacking tour to Europe." He really looked aggrieved and it made Xiao Zhi Yuan give Ji Caihong a strange look.

    He was trying to discern what kind of a rtionship they shared for Ji Caihong even managed to give him so much grief?

    Seeing that Xiao Zhi Yuan was still quiet, Zhang Han again urged him, "Would you say something?"

    "Ha? Oh... He really apologized and we are actually good friends now." Xiao Zhi Yuan exined to Ji Caihong.

    "You made a friend and that¡¯s actually the person who dared to punch you?" Ru asked from the side incredulously. It was ironic for her to question him since she was the person who was keeping the girl who tried to kill her right by her side. But obviously, she didn¡¯t consider that fact at all.

    "He did it because he was jealous thinking that I had something going on with Shen Yue." Xiao Zhi Yuan tried to exin Zhang Han¡¯s reason righteously making Ru shake her head at him.

    Ru prodded his head and said, "My little squirrel, you¡¯re really slow-witted if it took you such a long time to figure out that the fight was over a girl."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan scowled feeling wronged for being called slow-witted.

    While Ru was trying to knock some sense into his brain, Zhang Han moved closer to Ji Caihong and whispered, "Aunt... My best and dearest aunt... Can¡¯t you ask mom to let me go on that backpacking trip? Please! I beg you!" He implored with a puppy dog eyes.

    "It¡¯s not up to me... You should have thought of the consequences before you dared to raise your fist." Ji Caihong knocked on his head as she went on, "This is all because of your bad temper."

    "Excuse me! Do you mind me asking why is this teenager addressing you as ¡¯Aunt¡¯?" Ru tried not to probe but she couldn¡¯t help herself. She was intrigued by the way he addressed her as ¡¯aunt¡¯.

    "Rong Brother! This is Zhang Han... He¡¯s my nephew." At Ji Caihong¡¯s words, Ru choked on air. She darted her eyes between both Ji Caihong and Zhang Han. If one didn¡¯t know that Ji Caihong was twenty-six, they¡¯d definitely mistake her to be a teenager as well. Then she turned her gaze towards Xiao Zhi Yuan and grinned.

    "That means, my little squirrel is actually his ¡¯Uncle¡¯?" Ru chuckled softly while Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi Yuan stiffened up.

    "How is he, my uncle?" Zhang Han pointed at Xiao Zhi Yuan with a wary look. He really didn¡¯t understand how a minute ago Xiao Zhi Yuan was his ssmate and now, he was his ¡¯Uncle¡¯?

    "He¡¯s the youngest of our family. That makes him your uncle rightfully." Ji Caihong answered Zhang Han with a sly smile on her face. Zhang Han stared at Xiao Zhi Yuan with disbelief etched on his face.

    [1] & [2]: Both are popr stratagems by Sun Tzu

 Chapter 64 Bad News

    ¡¯Youngest of our family?¡¯ These words fell like lightning on Zhang Han who couldn¡¯t believe his own ears. ¡¯My mind must be ying tricks on me...¡¯ He thought as he looked at Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s face whose facial expressions weren¡¯t much different from his own.

    "Oi! I¡¯m not even epting you as my sister. Doesn¡¯t that mean that I have no interest in your family as well? Stop spouting nonsense!" Xiao Zhi Yuan snapped at Ji Caihong making Zhang Han look at him with a new found admiration.

    ¡¯Aiyah, either this ssmate of mine is really amazing or perhaps, really dumb. These are the only possibilities since he dared to be peevish with the only princess of Ji Family.¡¯ Zhang Han was wondering to himself while Ji Caihong felt downcast.

    On the side, Ru appeared rather bored but in reality, she was really amused by them. But as she saw Ji Caihong losing her earlier cheery persona, she said, "Just because you don¡¯t want to call her your sister, the fact that she and you both share the same blood won¡¯t change."

    Looking at her impassive manner, Xiao Zhi Yuan gaped at her and said, "Oniisan! Whose side are you on?"

    Ru lifted her gaze and gave him a cheeky smile saying, "Little squirrel, I don¡¯t take sides."

    Before Xiao Zhi Yuan could retort, Zhang Han came between them and eximed, "Wait! Wait! Wait!" He shifted his gaze back to Ji Caihong and asked bemusedly, "Mind exining to me first how he became my Uncle?"

    "Oh, oh, oh... I also want to know how this teenager turned into my little squirrel¡¯s nephew?" Ru also chimed in with excitement visible on her face.

    Although Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t show it on his face, he was also piqued to know about this. ording to his understanding, his grandparents only had one son and that was his own father, Ji Yifeng. Then how did Zhang Han became their direct rtive?

    "It¡¯s actually very simple... Since our grandparents always wanted a daughter, they adopted Zhang Han¡¯s grandmother from the side branch of the family." Ji Caihong chose to answer Ru first. Then she turned to Zhang Han and said, "Little Han, what do you call Syao Ran Brother?"

    "I call him, the second uncle." Zhang Han answered inly.

    "Exactly, you call Syao Ran Brother second uncle but you have never met your first uncle, have you?" Zhang Han shook his head in negation. "Well, I¡¯m not sure when you¡¯ll meet your first uncle but meet your third uncle," she even pointed at Xiao Zhi Yuan as she said that. "He¡¯s my youngest brother."

    First, Zhang Han gasped. Slowly, his expression turned from shock to realization and he cursed. "Oh boy! I¡¯m so dead now!" Realizing that he had not justmitted a crime but rather a sin by punching Xiao Zhi Yuan, Zhang Han really wanted to look for a hole to hide.

    Trying to digest the news that his ¡¯third uncle¡¯ was his ssmate, Zhang Han whirled his body to walk away but to his dismay, a tenacious foot came to trip him and losing his momentum, Zhang Han fell face t on the ground. "Ouch!" He tilted his head to re at Ru.

    "Sorry, my foot really doesn¡¯t listen to me these days." Obviously, she wasn¡¯t apologetic at all. But she still bent her waist and offered her hand as a support to Zhang Han since the other two siblings were busy in chuckling at his misery. As she pulled him up, her face went close to his ear and she whispered, "This was just a reminder that my little squirrel might be magnanimous, but I certainly am not!"

    There was a chilly aura that seemed to have prated through Zhang Han¡¯s senses. Ru offered him a tissue and said, "Your nose is bleeding." Only at her reminder, Zhang Han felt a sudden pain in his face and took the tissue to wipe the blood.

    "Oniisan! Why did you do it? I told you that I forgave him." Xiao Zhi Yuan wasn¡¯tining but he didn¡¯t want Ru to avenge him.

    "I only did this to give a knock on his consciousness," Ru replied nonchntly. "You young boys need to learn not to fight. Especially over some girl. This is why I always say that girls are bad news."

    Ji Caihong: "..."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan: "..."

    Zhang Han: "..."

    But these three weren¡¯t the only ones who were dumbfounded. A fourth person who had just been walking up to their side was also left bbergasted. Xiao Zhi Ren stared at Ru¡¯s face from the side and didn¡¯t make his presence known as he stood rooted withplicated thoughts running in his mind.

    "As I had expected, Rong brother is surely peculiar." Ji Caihong remarked with a sigh.

    "You¡¯re weird!" Zhang Han grumbled as he stared at Ru¡¯s strikingly handsome face. His first impression of Ru was that the young ¡¯man¡¯ had a rebellious aura with sinfully stunning looks. But now, he figured that Ru wasn¡¯t as simple as he thought earlier.

    "Thanks for thepliment," Ru didn¡¯t really mind his words.

    "Err... That was not apliment." Xiao Zhi Yuan reminded her.

    Ru patted his shoulder saying, "Little squirrel, either he mentions my good traits or bad, both are still my traits. Therefore, I¡¯ll still take it as apliment." Saying that she winked at him yfully and turned to leave. "Don¡¯t forget to study..." She took a pause before adding mischievously, "Uncle squirrel!" That was herst reminder to Xiao Zhi Yuan as she left him at the steps of the library.

    A certain little squirrel was left livid while Ji Caihong and Zhang Han stifled theirughter, trying hard not to irk him more than this.

    Ru had yet to leave the library grounds when she felt dizzy all of a sudden. She shook her head but the world seemed to have blurred for her. Taking a deep breath, with her staggering feet, she went under the shade of a tree and perched down on the grass.

    She was kneading her templed with her knuckles when she felt someone sitting beside her and she heard a familiar voice, "Here, have some water." A water bottle was shoved into her hand. Ru pulled out a pill from her pocket and took it with the water.

    When her mind cleared up, she stared wide-eyed at Xiao Zhi Ren curiously observing her face. She felt a bit ufortable as she asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and said, "Nothing... Are you feeling okay?"

    At this question, Ru didn¡¯t answer instantly like she always did. Instead, she went into deep thought as she couldn¡¯t decide why he asked this question. "I¡¯m fine." She tried to answer with as muchposure as she could muster up.

    "That was such an honest lie." At his remark, Ru was left dumbstruck. "But I won¡¯t push you for you the truth either. As your friend, I¡¯ll be understanding." For Xiao Zhi Ren, they were past the stage of acquaintances long ago. Since the way they always bickered was a clear indication that they were now friends. But Ru didn¡¯t share his sentiments at all.

    "When did we be friends?" Her tone turned a bit hostile and yet Xiao Zhi Ren could feel the torment of her heart. "Let me make one thing clear, we can never be friends."

    "Why not?" His voice was still calm and collected without any hint of him being irked.

    Ru stood up to leave when she said, "Because I don¡¯t believe in friendship. What¡¯s the use of taking a bullet for the sake of friendship and then learning that the same person has forgotten all about you?" She couldn¡¯t forget how she was forgotten by the one friend whom she always kept on the highest pedestal in her life.

    ¡¯Ah, so there is actually something that can make you act like a normal person.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself since it might be the first time he had seen a few real emotions in Ru. "Rong, wait!" He called out from behind and ran after her. After catching up with her, he pushed a paper bag towards her. "I brought some pan-fried buns for you."

    Ru was pleasantly surprised as she raised her brows in question, "For me? Are you sure?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her reaction and replied, "Yes, for you. Yuan told me that you¡¯d meet him at the library. So, I thought to bring you something to eat and since you enjoy street food the most, I picked these up on my way."

    Ru didn¡¯t dwell into his thoughtful gesture but she couldn¡¯t possibly say no to food. That was a sin in her eyes! She took the bag from his hand and inly showed her gratitude. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled but didn¡¯t say anything as he watched her taking a bite of the bun. The grease flowed down from the sides of her face and she stuck out her tongue to lick it. Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and asked, "Do you have some kind of animosity with girls?"

    "Huh?" Ru frowned in confusion at his sudden question.

    "Earlier, I heard you say that girls are bad news." He exined a bit.

    "Oh... I have nothing against them in particr. I was just advising them not to let their judgment be clouded by a girl." Ru didn¡¯t say anything further and he didn¡¯t ask anything else as well.

    Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t understand why she was so against friendship but he didn¡¯t want to probe unnecessarily as well.

    "Seems like some girl broke your heart," Xiao Zhi Renmented gingerly but it struck Ru at her deepest wounds.

    "I don¡¯t think a girl can ever break my heart..." ¡¯Since I¡¯m a girl myself, no matter how much I deny it¡¯ Taking a deep breath, she added, "But that girl surely broke my friendship."

    Herst sentence cleared up everything for Xiao Zhi Ren. ¡¯A girl came between him and his friend. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so against the idea of friendship.¡¯ As the realization dawned on him, he silently apanied Ru as they both went towards the parking lot side-by-side.

 Chapter 65 Fight To Kill

    ["We need to get out of here before someone notices your absence," she heard a faintly familiar voice and found herself nodding. "Follow me." She silently trailed behind that person whose voice gave her reassurance. She could feel a sense of dependence and trust in her heart.

    As she came out from the dark pathways, there was a fresh and earthy scent in the air. Everything around her seemed hazy to her and yet she could sense everything more clearly. The scent in the air gave away the fact that it had been raining for a while now. With heavy steps, she followed that person with a broad back into the depth of the forest.

    Suddenly, the scene changed and she found herself standing at the mountain top. Her feet were bare yet again but she was standing on a small patch of wild grass. "Four! They are about to catch up with us. If they got here, their aim would be to kill you. Yours should be the same. Don¡¯t just fight... You have to kill if you want to survive." Hearing that suggestion her mind wandered off to a distant memory.

    ¡¯Young master Ru, you¡¯re allowed to fight but don¡¯t try to take someone¡¯s life. Death is not yours to y with.¡¯ The voice of her grandfather rang in her mind but she had to shake it away.

    Whoever had spoken before was right. She had to kill if she wanted to live. Someone has to die for her to live. Thinking this, she picked up a wooden stick from the ground and stopped running. She aimed her each blow straight to kill without mercy. She could feel a sense of hatred and buried anger within her body.

    While her nimble body was moving at lightning speed, her eyes fell on a sleek gun pointed towards the man who had that sturdy back she seemed to have faith in. Without thinking, she jumped before him and pulled him away but in the process, the bullet grazed her arm.

    "Stop thinking about me... Save your own life!" She heard him whisper yell at her as he pushed her aside urging her to run. But she couldn¡¯t move her feet from the hard-baked ground.

    In her dilemma, the nightmare of her life began as something mmed against the back of her head... With a dizzy mind, she strived to stay tall.

    "Ge Ge, you¡¯re right! If we¡¯ll give her way to escape, Madam won¡¯t be upset with us for killing her." Hearing these words, she lifted her eyes to look at the man whose face was still shrouded in a haze.

    ¡¯He nned all this? But I trusted him...¡¯ She thought to herself and staring back at him, she asked in a hoarse voice, "Why?"

    "You¡¯re a monster." She heard his reply in that familiar and yet so unfamiliar voice. This time she was sure there was a tinge of ache behind that loathness and hostility.

    Before she got a chance to perceive anything else, her head was mmed against a boulder and a shrieking voice pierced her ears. The girl with that shrieking voice pulled her hair and made her stand up as she whispered close to her ear, "Didn¡¯t I tell you that you¡¯re nothing to him? In the end, he¡¯s the one who brought you to this state. All because the things I can offer are nothing before you!" Before she could even scoff at that voice, a ¡¯bang¡¯ sound resounded and she felt a bullet piercing through her chest.

    She stared at that man in a haze with disbelief as her knees buckled. But with her blurry sight, she had seen his hand trembling as he dropped the gun in his hand. ¡¯I might have to take desperate measures to take you out of here.¡¯ His voice rang in her mind again and she let her body fall lifelessly.

    "Four, I know you¡¯re strong. Just hold on for a while. I¡¯lle back for you!" In her half-dead state, she could only perceive the anxiousness of these words and nothing else.]

    "Master?" Seeing beads of perspiration trickling down her face, Adia tried to call out to Ru.

    Ru opened her eyes with a start and looked around only to find herself in the backseat of a Bentley. A water bottle appeared before her green eyes and she tilted her head to give Adia a questioning gaze. Adia didn¡¯t say anything and lowered her head. Ru took the bottle of water and leaned her head against the window pane.

    As she gazed out absentmindedly, her mind wandered off. The nightmare was the same but this time around, each emotion struck her like lightning. She even managed to notice small details like the hand tremble. Was it really there? Or her mind was distorting her memories? And those parting words... Did she really hear those words? The bullet was aimed straight on the left side of my chest but if that person really knew me then he might have known that I have Dextrocardia[1].

    The question that popped up in her mind was: ¡¯Was he really aiming to kill?¡¯

    "Master, we are here." From the passenger seat, Wu Dishi announced and broke Ru¡¯s train of thoughts. With her somber look, she nodded and climbed off the car.

    Stretching her limbs, she suddenly stopped and turned around to look at her surroundings. She shifted her gaze to Wu Dishi and asked, "We are in Jingshen?"

    "Yes, master!" Wu Dishi answered with a smile.

    Ru nodded and made her way towards the courtyard of the house which Wu Dishi had arranged for their stay. Watching her walk away, Wu Dishi turned to Adia and asked, "Do you have any idea why master suddenly took the initiative toe here himself?"

    "Why? Master can¡¯te?" Adia retorted masking the impassive manner of her employer.

    "No, no... That¡¯s not what I meant." Wu Dishi iled his hands in negation. "I meant to say that usually master only likes to work from behind the scenes. This time, to inspect the location for the new developing project, master actually decided to make a personal visit. I find it very odd."

    "Mr. Wu, have you ever seen my master exining his reasons?" Adia asked him with a straight face. Wu Dishi shook his head. "Exactly my point here. Master is the most unpredictable person. If you could fathom his thoughts, then you could have been the Lord of European economy market."

    Leaving him baffled, Adia went to follow Ru inside the courtyard. "Did she just insult me?" Wu Dishi asked himself and saw Lilith nodding her head making him feel victimized.

    Ru sat under the shade of a huge tree in the middle of the open courtyard and looked up towards a temple that could be seen from here. She wasn¡¯t going to tell her subordinates her real reason for being here.

    Jingshen was one of the remote areas in C Province but its natural beauty was unrivaled. There was ack of resources but it was still a famous tourist spot because of that temple. And for Ru, that temple was the reason she chose to make this trip herself.

    Before she couldpletely immerse in her memories of Jingshen Monastery, a voice interrupted her. "It¡¯s a call from the headquarters." Saying that Adia passed the cellphone to Ru and backed away.

    "What?" Ru answered the call.

    "We have done the preparations. Whenever you¡¯ll order, we¡¯ll hold the press conference." Hearing Andrew¡¯s voice Ru wasn¡¯t perturbed at all.

    "Let¡¯s wait for the right time to catch our culprit," Ru answered him inly.

    "Right time? Sir Knight, are you sure?" Andrew was frowning since it was this lord who told him to arrange everything without wasting time. Now that they were ready, this lord was telling him to wait.

    "Andrew, you can only mold iron ording to your desires when that iron is heated at a right temperature. We can never mold iron perfectly if it¡¯s too cold or too hot. Just like that wait for the right opportunity. It¡¯s still early to strike back." With that, she threw the phone back to Adia who swiftly caught it in mid-air.

    Seeing the way Adia was still standing beside her, Ru tilted her face to question, "Anything else?"

    Adia bit her lip and pieced out her words cautiously, "Actually, Secretary Liu is also here for the site visit and he wants to have dinner with Chairman Xie Rong."

    "Give me one reason to actually have this dinner," Ru looked straight at Adia¡¯s face.

    "Umm... He can help us in the bidding process." Adia voiced out.

    Ru gave her a look that seemed to say, ¡¯Do I need his help to win over this project?¡¯

    Adia pressed her lips together and added, "I heard that he has invited Abbot Wang Xiu Ying to join as well."

    Hearing that name, Ru gave a small smile and said, "I¡¯ll go." Adia was a bit taken aback. But she hastily nodded and left her alone.

    Looking at the temple again, Ru whispered, "I know you won¡¯te. But what¡¯s the harm in hoping." She sighed heavily and added, "Grandmaster Xiu Ying, it¡¯ll be interesting to see whether you recognize me or not."

 Chapter 66 A Cordial Dinner

    "Master, I prepared the suit for your dinner," Wu Dishi felt pleased with himself since he didn¡¯t make a mistake and had actually brought a ck suit. He didn¡¯t want to be scolded like thest time.

    But as per her nature, Ru didn¡¯t praise him at all. She just took the suit from his hand and went to get dressed. Oddly, she didn¡¯t even fuss over wearing a suit in the first ce. What Wu Dishi didn¡¯t know was that Ru had never been fastidious about clothes, she could even wear rags withoutmenting. Butst time, she was too amused by his expressions and that¡¯s why she chose to tease him on purpose.

    Seeing her fixing her hair with her fingers, Wu Dishi shook his head. ¡¯This chairman really has no care for his image.¡¯ He could silently mither at the side since he didn¡¯t have the guts to speak out.

    Ru felt someone tugging at her arm and tilted her face to see Lilith¡¯s big ck eyes gazing back at her. "Is there something you need?" Ru asked with her attention on her.

    "I want to fix your hair," Ru¡¯s brows raised up a bit as she understood Lilith¡¯s meaning through her hand signs.

    She looked at the hair gel in Lilith¡¯s hand and said, "I don¡¯t use anything on my hair that had chemicals in it."

    Lilith furrowed her brows and asked, "Why?"

    "Because there is only one thing I like about myself and that is my hair," she even pointed at her own head full of thick and fluffy but unruly hair. "I definitely don¡¯t want to lose my hair... Not again." She muttered thest words to herself as she shuddered inwardly at the reminder.

    Her reaction might be exaggerating for the onlookers but she herself knew why she was traumatized.

    Lilith wasn¡¯t convinced by her answer as she insisted, "This is natural. It won¡¯t have any side effects." Looking at her earnest eyes, Ru had to relent. She knew refusing Lilith would have a bad effect on her mind since her real self was still like an innocent baby.

    Ru sighed out heavily and lowered her head to give ess to Lilith. The young girl happily dabbed her hand with gel and fixed Ru¡¯s hair. While she was busy with styling Ru¡¯s hair, Ru was basking in the scent of grapefruit and ginger that was now bing a part of her hair. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief to know that the ingredients were indeed natural.

    Satisfied with her work, Lilith gave a toothy grin to Ru. Suspiciously eyeing her expressions, Ru looked at her own reflection in the mirror. Her chocte brown hair was styled elegantly with her fringes brushed backward giving a perfect view of her forehead.

    Ru couldn¡¯t help ruffling Lilith¡¯s hair before turning to leave.

    She had only Wu Dishi to apany her and left the others to whatever they wanted to do.

    The dinner was organized at a flourishing restaurant. Just to make it clear, the hotel¡¯s name was ¡¯Flourishing¡¯ for some odd reason and reading the name even Ru¡¯s lips curled up in a faint smile which wasn¡¯t noticeable.

    Although the restaurant wasn¡¯t extravagantly decorated, it still had its charms. The calm and serene ambiance was soothing and it made Ru rx a bit. Secretary Liu¡¯s assistant weed them at the door and directed them towards the private room on the second floor.

    Honestly speaking, Ru had no interest in meeting this Secretary Liu. She had a biased nature whenever it came to government officials and Secretary Liu wasn¡¯t any different.

    Secretary Liu was a woman in her sixties with a steadfast personality. She had maintained her looks even to this age. When she saw the door opening of the room, she immediately put on an amiable smile. "Wee Chairman Xie!" She greeted but as her eyes fell on Ru¡¯s figure, she was stuck for a moment.

    ording to Secretary Liu, Chairman Xie Rong would be a middle-aged man with a balding head and a nasty personality. And she assumed all of that because of the rumors that circted around in the circle. She was literally astounded to see that Chairman Xie before her was such a young and handsome man.

    One had to know that Ru might not be called cordial because of her indifferent personality but she was charming and there was no doubt about that. One look could charm people in a way that they couldn¡¯t help but like her.

    "There is no need to be this polite Sectratary Liu, it¡¯s my pleasure to have made your acquaintance." And when Ru spoke in her low, deep and yet husky voice, Secretary Liu was left awestruck.

    She never expected such an authoritative and formidable person like Chairman Xie to be humble, polite and soft-spoken. Ru might not be one of those gregarious people but she knew how to be the ¡¯likable¡¯ ones.

    Her reasons for being this patient, efficient and organized was that she always had one thought in mind: ¡¯I can¡¯t let my grandfather down by being a nasty person.¡¯ And that¡¯s why no matter what, she¡¯d always be at her best behavior in front of people.

    The private room wasn¡¯t spacious but it was minimalistic and meticulously designed. There was a low table in the middle of the room with cushions. Without further ado, Ru took her seat right opposite of Secretary Liu and Wu Dishi sat beside her.

    Even after they had exchanged the pleasantries, Secretary Liu kept her eyes on Ru. The more she looked at Ru¡¯s green eyes, the more she found the young man admirable. In her personal opinion, Ru¡¯s glistening and bright eyes gave away the fact that she was dependable, reliable, trustworthy, and loyal person. And oddly, her observation wasn¡¯t far fetched at all!

    "If you don¡¯t mind, Chairman Xie, I¡¯m expecting another person." Secretary Liu spoke with a pleasant smile on her face.

    "I don¡¯t mind at all," Ru thought she was waiting uselessly for Abbot Wang Xiu Ying but she didn¡¯t want to spoil thedy¡¯s mood. Therefore, she stayed quiet.

    "Let me offer you a drink as an apology for making you wait," Secretary Liu humbly lifted the wine urn but Ru raised her hand to stop her.

    "I should be the one offering you a drink instead," Ru answered and took the wine from her to pour her a cup. Secretary gazed at her movements with fascination. Ru¡¯s ¡¯gentlemanly¡¯ actions could win anyone¡¯s hearts much less Secretary Liu.

    Ru had just poured her a drink in courtesy when the door was pushed open and a tall figure emerged. "I¡¯m sorry for beingte." At this familiar voice, Ru tilted her head and her brows raised up indecisively. Her green eyes shed with those ck ones as she heard, "Rong? What are you doing here?"

    Before Ru could open her mouth to say anything, Secretary Liu interrupted her, "Zhi Ren, you know Chairman Xie?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to Secretary Liu and nodded his head. "Chairman Xie is my neighbor." Xiao Zhi Ren replied in a pleasant tone as he smiled meaningfully at Ru. "Also, he¡¯s Yuan¡¯s study partner." Secretary Liu gave Ru a surprised look.

    "If we keep meeting like this, I would get the wrong idea that Chairman Xie is actually following me." At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s teasing words, Wu Dishi choked on air and coughed profusely as he observed his master¡¯s expressions.

    Wu Dishi saw Ru¡¯sid-back look but he could feel a chilly aura shrouded around Ru as well. Soon, the chill in the air dissipated as Ru took a sip of the wine in her cup and said, "I can say the same about you." Recalling something, Ru turned to Secretary Liu and asked, "Were you waiting for him?"

    "Yes... He made a request but apparently, I can¡¯t be of much help." Secretary Liu sighed heavily before she signaled her assistant to call for the food to be served.

    "There is no need to sigh so loudly, I¡¯ll look for another way to meet him." Xiao Zhi Ren was talking to Secretary Liu, trying to lift her spirits while Ru was in deep thought. From what she could see, she reckoned that the person who wanted to meet Abbot Wang Xiu Ying was actually Xiao Zhi Ren and Secretary Liu was merely acting as the middle-man.

    After that Ru only focused on discussing thend that herpany was nning to bid on in

    Jingshen. She even didn¡¯t probe about the rtion between Xiao Zhi Ren and Secretary Liu. As always, in her opinion, it didn¡¯t concern her at all.

    It was her personal wishful thinking that perhaps, she¡¯de across her grandmaster at this dinner but her grandmaster didn¡¯t disappoint her at all. He really didn¡¯te as she predicted...

    After their discussion, Ru politely bade them goodbye but on her way, she could hear Secretary Liu¡¯s voice from behind telling Xiao Zhi Ren, "I tried to call him for dinner but the invitation was rejected since Abbott Wang is in seclusion and won¡¯t be receiving anyone for a while. You have wasted your trip here."

    Ru didn¡¯t stick around to eavesdrop any further and left.

    "It¡¯s alright, Madam Ji. I can just look around this beautiful ce. Don¡¯t worry about it." Xiao Zhi Ren reassured Secretary Liu politely.

    "You brat! Can¡¯t you just call me Auntie? Even though I¡¯m adopted, I still am your father¡¯s elder sister." Secretary Liu scolded Xiao Zhi Ren with a slight sulky look. "Anyways, forget it! I¡¯m already d that you at least tried to look for me when you needed my help. Otherwise, who knows when I¡¯d have gotten a chance to see this nephew of mine..." She shook her head in exasperation.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at her and didn¡¯t continue bothering her. If he had another way, he wouldn¡¯t have looked for her.

 Chapter 67 Grandmaster!

    "Strongest people?" Her soft silvery voice echoed in his mind. "Do you think strongest people are those who won a battle?"

    Without thinking, he replied, "Aren¡¯t they the strongest ones? After all, they won the battles that make them the heroes."

    She sniggered before her face turned back to its original tranquility. "Good Smartian, the people who won the battles are not the strongest ones. They are the broken ones. Because you can¡¯t even fathom what they lost in order to win that battle."

    "What did they lose?" He questioned with a curious look.

    "They lost a part of them... Some even lost their souls..." The reply took him by surprise as his raven ck eyes stared at her face covered in bandages. "Battles don¡¯t just leave scars, each scar came with the price of one¡¯s soul."

    Taking a while to get back hisposure, Xiao Zhi Ren inquired, "Then who are the strongest people?"

    Her thin and slightly chapped lips curled into a mocking smile as she said, "The strongest amongst us are those who had learned to cry behind closed doors while they smile brightly before the world making one envy of them."

    "Why?" He asked again.

    "Because those are the real heroes. They are constantly fighting a battle within that nobody knows about and yet they have the courage to stand tall with a smile." Taking a brief pause she said in a hushed tone, "They are physically, mentality and emotionally drained ones. Tired of life yet striving to survive."

    As the cold wind brushed past his face, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reverie was broken. He wrapped his windbreaker tightly, keeping his eyes on the face that suddenly reminded him of ¡¯her¡¯ words that were buried somewhere in his memory.

    Perhaps Xiao Zhi Ren had seen Ru¡¯s cheery and rebellious side so much that for a moment, it slipped his mind that the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was actually all alone. The twinkling green eyes that always had a mischievous glint in them looked mncholic and anguished.

    Today, he finally understood ¡¯her¡¯ definition of strongest people since it was his first time seeing someone like Ru. The idea of seeing the young ¡¯man¡¯ crying never crossed his mind since Xiao Zhi Ren believed that Ru wasn¡¯t one of those people who would cry; not even behind closed doors. But her current grief-stricken state made him feel uneasy.

    Taking a deep breath, Xiao Zhi Ren walked up to her side and ced his hand on her shoulder from behind. Instinctively, Ru¡¯s fighting instincts kicked in as she held his wrist and elbowed him in the guts before pulling him towards herself. Understanding that she was nning on flipping him over to knock the wind out of him, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s agile body moved on its own ord.

    He rolled over her hip a bit trying to break free from her but Ru didn¡¯t give him a chance as her other hand gripped his cor and flipped him over knocking him straight to the ground.

    "Ommff!" Xiao Zhi Ren felt his back making contact with the ground. The only good thing was that they were standing on a grassy field. If it was hard ground, Xiao Zhi Ren knew he would have been knocked out in a second.

    Seeing that the person was Xiao Zhi Ren, Ru pressed her lips together before leaving his wrist and lifting her foot from his chest.

    "Are you trying to kill me?" Xiao Zhi Ren screamed at her hatefully.

    "Who told you to appear so sneakily?" Ru retorted matter-of-factly as if it was entirely his fault for being sneaky. Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t ept that she was in a daze and didn¡¯t bother to check who was behind her before attacking.

    "Now, would you help me up or not?" Xiao Zhi Ren was rolling on the ground in pain and Ru had to offer her hand to pull him up. "You didn¡¯t even give me a chance to break out of your grip." He grumbled indignantly.

    "If you could break free from this young master¡¯s deadlocks then wouldn¡¯t it mean that this young master had wasted his entire life uselessly?" She wasn¡¯t wrong after all she spent decades training in all kinds of martial arts. If one could even break free from her then she should be the one called ipetent one.

    It was a good thing that Xiao Zhi Ren managed to timely straighten his posture otherwise, the damage would have been worse. He stretched his body easing his back which had been rubbed against the ground.

    Although Ru felt guilty for hurting him unnecessarily, she didn¡¯t say anything about it. She stood there watching him grumbling to himself.

    "Are you here to see Abbott Wang Xiu Ying again?" Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Xiao Zhi Ren stopped his movements and stared at her.

    They were currently in the depth of the woods. Right before them lied the secluded cabin where Abbott Wang Xiu Ying was said to be in seclusion.

    "Why are you asking? We are not friends as you said so yourself." Ru raised her brow as she was amused to see him being petty over such a thing.

    "But we are neighbors." Ru retorted matter-of-factly.

    "Hmph!" Xiao Zhi Ren harrumphed and turned his back towards her. "Even if I am here to meet Abbott Wang Xiu Ying, why do you care?"

    "I was curious to know what a person like you have to do with him?" Ru paced up to his side and whispered, "Are you here to ask him about your fortune?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her words and said, "What if I am here for my fortune?"

    "Aigoo! Zhi, why take such a long trip to Jingshen? You could have just asked me."

    He eyed her skeptically as he pointed at her asking, "You have the knowledge of divination?"

    "Nope!" Ru shook her head in negation. "But I have some experience in facial fortune telling."

    "Oh, really? Why don¡¯t you read my physiognomy?" Obviously, Xiao Zhi Ren was being sarcastic. He didn¡¯t believe a word that she had just said.

    But Ru didn¡¯t take it to heart as she lifted her hand to lift his chin as if really trying to read his fortune. "You have such bright and vivid eyes that it¡¯s obvious at one nce how intelligent you are." Xiao Zhi Ren listened to her amusingly as she continued, "Oh... Look at your hairline... Tsk. Tsk. You¡¯re really picky about socializing." Ru gave him a disapproving look.

    "The shape of your eyebrows is a clear indication that you have an exceptional temper and passion. Aye! You¡¯re really passionate about love as well." Ru gave him a crafty smile but Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t find the twinkle in her eyes even now.

    "How can you tell I¡¯m passionate about love?"

    "Because of your lips. From the shape of your lips, it¡¯s easy to discern everything about your sensuality." Xiao Zhi Ren gaped at her in disbelief and knocked on her head.

    "Stop messing around." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t believe a word that she had said since everything she said was something she could tell by just knowing him for a while except for the love part.

    "See... This is your problem. You don¡¯t even trust me. And if we don¡¯t even have trust how can we be friends." Ru used his words against him at the perfect time making Xiao Zhi Ren re at her.

    "Rong, don¡¯t try to act smart." Xiao Zhi Ren warned her sternly.

    "But I¡¯m not trying to act smart..." Ru answered innocently. "How can I?" She gave a cheeky smile as she winked and added, "When I already am smart why would I try to act like one?" She wiggled her brows at him yfully.

    Their bickering had made both of them forget where they were or why they were here. They were lost in trying to get the upper hand with each other and didn¡¯t even notice that a pair of vivid and adept eyes had been following their movements from the beginning. The poised and the refined old man seemed serene until his eyes fell on Ru¡¯s face. His eyes wavered.

    "You know you¡¯re wasting your time bying here, Zhi. Abbott Wang doesn¡¯t see anyone when he is in seclusion." Ru tried to dampen his spirits since no matter what she did Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t backing off. It was like he was hell-bent on defeating her.

    "HA! Aren¡¯t you here trying your luck as well?" Xiao Zhi Ren argued haughtilypletely unlike his nature.

    "No, I¡¯m not!" ¡¯I¡¯ll be d only seeing him from afar.¡¯ She definitely couldn¡¯t tell him her real intention. "I just lost my way and ended up here." She made the excuse that she could think of at that moment.

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to pry since he knew Ru wasn¡¯t going to disclose anything to him. "Anyways, I¡¯m here to see the Abbott and I will meet him." His conviction surprised Ru.

    "He won¡¯t see you," she couldn¡¯t help butment.

    Xiao Zhi Ren abruptly turned towards her and asked, "What if he did meet me?" Ru frowned, seeing the look of resolution in his eyes. "Do you want to make a bet?"

    Ru thought for a while and shrugged her shoulders giving her consent. "What¡¯s on stake?"

    "Whoever loses will have to grant a wish to the other one." Xiao Zhi Ren answered straightforwardly.

    "Deal!" Ru agreed without thinking since she really thought she¡¯d be the winner. "But I already owe you a wish from the time you saved me. Can¡¯t you just use that one? Why are you making new bets?"

    "I want to keep that one as my insurance." Xiao Zhi Ren answered boldly.

    On the side, the elderly man was amused by their bet as he smiled to himself. He saw Xiao Zhi Ren moving towards the cabin and passing something to his attendant.

    "Great Abbott, that young man asked me to give you this emblem." The elderly man took the emblem from his attendant¡¯s hand and his eyes widened and then a sly smile emerged on his lips. "Take him inside. I¡¯ll be right there with him." The attendant bowed and left to carry out his orders.

    When the attendant showed Xiao Zhi Ren the way inside, he didn¡¯t forget to turn and pass a victorious look to Ru leaving her baffled with her mouth agape.

    As Xiao Zhi Ren vanished inside the bamboo cabin, Ru heard an elderly but familiar voice from behind, "I never thought there woulde a day when I¡¯d be able to see our young master Ru lose a bet."

    Ru abruptly whipped around and came face to face with the face which she was familiar with. The face she came to see. "Grandmaster..." She whispered softly without realizing it.

 Chapter 68 Fallen Apar

    In a spur of emotions, Ru said in surprise, "You can recognize me?"

    Grandmaster Wang smiled softly as his elderly face wrinkled up even more. "Just because our young master Ru has green eyes now doesn¡¯t mean this old man won¡¯t recognize him." He took a brief pause to observe the way she kept her head down and added, "If my memory serves me right, young master Ru was taught to keep his head high. When did you learn the bad habit of avoiding your eyes like a thief?"

    Ru bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Are you really sure that I¡¯m your young master Ru?"

    "Mm... There is no doubt about it!" he answered without hesitation. "I can see that your jawline has turned sharper as you have grown up now. Also, you have grown taller. Your cheeks have turned hollow. But what pushed you to remove your identification mark?"

    Ru chewed the inside of her mouth before replying, "That stupid mole was a dead give away of my identity. So, I used a way to conceal it."

    "Have you been having fun outside? After all, it¡¯s been long since you started ying dead for everyone." Listening to his blunt insinuations, Ru felt embarrassed.

    "Do you think I wanted to y dead?" She raised her head to stare into his eyes. "I had to y dead since I had no courage to face my grandfather with these green eyes."

    "Follow me," he didn¡¯tment about her outburst and took her towards a small wooden pavilion on the back of the bamboo cabin. As they both sat opposite each other. Grandmaster Wang brewed some tea as he said, "There are two people who had yet to give up on you." Ru was startled a bit as he went on, "Old Master clearly stated that no one is allowed to dere his favorite grandson Ru as dead until he sees your dead body with his own eyes."

    Ru¡¯s heart shook a bit. She knew her grandfather¡¯s nature better than anyone. He was the most ruthless one and yet he was the one who doted on her the most as well. He was the one who raised her. Therefore, he was the most familiar with her as well. There was no way that her grandfather would ept the fact that she¡¯d really died just because someone said it.

    "Your little brother is the second one." Ru lifted her eyes in surprise. "Second young master is still looking for you. Last time when I saw him, he said, ¡¯He is my elder brother who I have looked up to my entire life. There is no way my brother can die so easily. I know he¡¯d fight till hisst breath just to survive.¡¯ And when I asked him to give up, wanna hear what he said?" Ru unknowingly nodded her head. "That brat said, ¡¯My brother gave me a promise that he¡¯lle back just for me. And my brother can give his life but he can never go back on his words.¡¯" There was a slight smile on his elderly face as he recalled those words.

    Ru felt her chest constricting as she heard those words. Sure enough that rice cake of hers was stubborn just like herself. She shook her head thinking, ¡¯You little rascal, you always forgot your lessons but now you can still remember my promise? You really are my brother.¡¯

    "Grandfather would be disappointed if he saw me like this," Ru said softly as if all the answers he sought were clustered in that one sentence.

    Ture enough, that one sentence really exined everything for Grandmaster Wang. The young child he raised was someone who was indifferent even about death. The young master Ru, in his memory, would never let his emotions control his actions.

    He could still remember the time her first pet died...

    *shback*

    "Grandfather!" Two elderly men were ying a game of chess when a childlike voice bellowed and in walked young master Ru with a furious look. "Grandfather, look at this stupid snake." She pushed the blue snake in her hand towards her grandfather.

    "What¡¯s wrong with our young master¡¯s Xiao Hong?" Grandmaster Wang asked in amusement.

    "Grandmaster, this stupid snake died. Useless fellow! Who am I going y with if he¡¯s gonna y dead now?" Grandmaster Wang and her grandfather were taken aback by her words. Everyone in the n knew her attachment with her first pet. And now, she was acting as if it was some random snake.

    "Young master Ru, are you upset that your Xiao Hong died?" Grandmaster Wang asked cautiously.

    The young Ru scoffed out. "Why would I be upset? I just find it troublesome that now I¡¯ll have to look for a new pet to y with." She threw the dead snake on the floor and turned to leave with a huff.

    "Young master Ru!" Her grandfather¡¯s intimidating voice halted her steps.

    "Yes, grandfather." She replied in a humble manner or more like obsequious manner which she only showed before her grandfather.

    "Bury the body of your snake." The domineering voice made her scowl.

    "Why?" she whined.

    "There is some respect you should give to the dead. No matter what, you had spent five years with your snake. Give him a proper goodbye." As she picked up the body of the snake, she heard, "Also, after the burial, pack your bags. You¡¯re going to Jingshen Monastery with Xiu Ying."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she asked, "Why?"

    "To learn that death is not something you can joke about."

    *End of shback*

    ¡¯Old master did his best to protect you and yet, fate had yed its game.¡¯ Grandmaster Wang shook his head lightly as he sighed. "Silly child! Your grandfather can be disappointed with the world but you had been an exception in his life. Old master would really be over the moon to know that you¡¯re alive."

    "I know he won¡¯t say anything but I¡¯ll lose the courage to face myself if I went back defeated."

    These words were enough to convince Grandmaster Wang since he had seen how she had only been taught how to win in life. There was a huge ego in her that won¡¯t allow her to back off.

    "Stubbornness runs in the blood. I can¡¯t even do anything about that." He muttered to himself. "I¡¯ll only tell the old master that you¡¯re alive. You can rest assured about the other things."

    Ru cupped her hands and bowed her head saying, "Thank you, Grandmaster!"

    Grandmaster Wang Xiu Ying waved her off wearily.

    "Oh, why did you let that man inside? You have a rule that you won¡¯t see visitors during seclusion." Ru didn¡¯t forget the part that he made her lose a bet.

    Grandmaster chuckled at her expressions and pulled out the emblem that Xiao Zhi Ren had brought with him. He extended his hand to let Ru take a look.

    She took the gold emblem in her hand and her eyes widened. "It¡¯s the golden emblem of ¡¯The FireBenders¡¯ Tower."

    "And if he holds this emblem, that means that young man is the core member of ¡¯The FireBenders¡¯ Tower. I had to let him in." Ru scrunched up her face, woefully.

    "I thought you did it to make me lose the bet," Ru muttered to herself.

    "I¡¯m ttered to see your trust in me." Ru pressed her lips together at his sarcastic remark.

    Recalling something, she straightened up, poured tea in his cup and raised her cup saying, "Let me toast a cup of tea to show my gratitude."

    Grandmaster Wang furrowed his brows in confusion. "What could possibly our young master Ru be grateful for?"

    Drinking the cup of tea, she stated, "My dearest Yingying," Grandmaster Wang red at her for addressing him so cordially.

    "Young master Ru!" His voice raised a bit making Ru stifle herughter.

    "Fine... I won¡¯t call you Yingying. Geez! You¡¯re still not fun at all." Sighing heavily, she added, "On a serious note, Grandmaster, this young master of yours is immensely grateful for having you in his life. You and I, both are familiar with my displeasure regarding my stay here at Jingshen." Obviously, he knew that she hated spending time in Jingshen. After all, she made sure to let everyone know of her displeasure by burning down whatever that got in her way.

    While he was reminiscing, she continued, "I hated it when you used to lock me up in the room to copy those ancient medicinal scriptures. But when I had no hope of walking ever again, it was your teachings that brought me back to my feet. Thank you for being strict with me!"

    Grandmaster Wang couldn¡¯t help but feel touched. Why? It was the first time young master Ru actually said something nice without being the jerk that ¡¯he¡¯ was. He didn¡¯t even realize it when tears had made their way to his eyes.

    But before he could bask in these nicements, her poisonous tongue ruined the mood by saying, "But don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forgive you for shaving my head. That is one debt I will collect at any cost!" She was still traumatized by the experience when he shaved her head full of shoulder-length hair. Her hair was her pride and that cruel old man trampled on that pride ruthlessly.

    Grandmaster Wang flicked the space between her brows and said, "As expected, you can never be the nice person. No matter what you just have to spoil the moment by using that thorny tongue of yours."

    Ru smiled goofily as if he was giving her the highest degree of praises. She raised up from the cushioned seat and her face turned back to wear the mask of impassiveness. "Grandmaster, I¡¯ve might be brutally torn down by this world. But I¡¯m still the same person who grew up before your eyes."

    It was true that in all these years, a lot of things changed around her. But one thing that she couldn¡¯t change was herself.

    Although staring at her reflection she had asked a million times:

    "Mirror mirror on the wall,

    Have I really fallen apart?"

    But deep down she knew, she didn¡¯t.

    If the fact that she had fallen was true then the fact that she was yet to fall apart was also true!

 Chapter 69 A Saint in a Demons World

    Life is all about hello and goodbye. When we say goodbye, it¡¯s in the hope of finding a new hello. But when we begin with a hello, none of us think that there woulde a day when we¡¯ll have to say goodbye as well.

    The most bizarre thing about life is that our new beginning is supposed to start with a simple hello. But somewhere along the road, our goodbye¡¯s turn into the mostplicated things in life.

    Ru had always hated the goodbye part. She had a habit of getting prickly whenever it was time to say goodbye. Her eloquent self would always act like a nasty brat at the time of goodbye. Perhaps, it was her way of showing that she had feelings... That she actually cared... She was also hurt...

    Nobody could possibly fathom her feelings when she lost her first pet... her snake; Xiao Hong.

    The snake was the onlypanion of her from the age of five and after five years, he left her. The worst part of its death was that it died right in her hands. And she spent hours trying to shake him awake.

    That was the first time, she actually felt betrayed as if Xiao Hong¡¯s death had pushed her in the abyss of realization that no matter how much you love something, one day you¡¯ll eventually have to say goodbye.

    It took her years to learn that every ¡¯hello¡¯ had a ¡¯hell¡¯ in it and every ¡¯goodbye¡¯ had a ¡¯good¡¯ in it. That¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t picky about goodbyes anymore but she had grown cautious of hellos.

    "I thought young master Ru would pull off his disguise." Grandmaster Wang made the remark while Ru was lost in her own thoughts. He was obviously talking about her roaming in the male clothes.

    Ru looked down at her own clothes and shrugged her shoulders saying, "I would have to change my gender. It¡¯s too bothersome."

    Grandmaster Wang looked at her disbelievingly. "Looks like young master Ru is still a bit confused about his own gender."

    Ru gave him a wry smile as she stated, "If you¡¯ll keep addressing me as a young master, how am I supposed to be clear about my gender?" She took a pause before standing up to look around at the green forest as she added, "Besides if it wasn¡¯t for that anatomy ss, I¡¯d have stayed clueless about my gender for even longer."

    Grandmaster Wang gave a tacit agreement since he was one of those people who were clear about Ru¡¯s situation. He couldn¡¯t me her for taking the male disguise too seriously. After all, ¡¯till the age of twelve, she still thought that she was a boy! If it wasn¡¯t for that anatomy ss that taught the difference between male and female bodies, Ru wouldn¡¯t have run to her mother to question.

    "I¡¯m taking my leave now. Say hi to my grandfather and tell him that... I miss him." She averted her eyes as if missing someone was a very embarrassing thing to do. Waving her hand over her shoulder, she vanished before his eyes.

    Grandmaster Wang stared at the spot where she disappeared for a while before sighing heavily.

    "I apologize to keep you waiting," hearing the elderly voice, Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up. He stared at the elderly man walk in but he could see that the old man was still full of vitality and his manners were refined.

    "It¡¯s no big deal." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind waiting at all. It was already enough that using his master¡¯s name, he was able to meet the Abbott Wang Xiu Ying.

    Silence shrouded the small room which had a cloak of incense in the air. The aroma made Xiao Zhi Ren feel at ease as if someone was soothing his tired nerves.

    Grandmaster Wang observed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s face as if trying to look for something. And suddenly, he smiled knowingly. It seemed he found what he was looking for.

    "You have a pair of bright and vivid eyes young man," Grandmaster Wang¡¯s words made Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s lips to curl a bit upward. "It¡¯s almost like there is an ocean of emotions in your eyes... They can make someone¡¯s imagination run amok or stir a person¡¯s soul. There is a strange luster in your eyes..."

    "Isn¡¯t that why you called me Zoran?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave a knowing look.

    Grandmaster Wang fell into deep thought. "Zoran? A boy born with the radiance of the dawn that can break the shadows of darkness and brightly lit up the dark sky." Grandmaster Wang seemed to have recalled the boy before his eyes as he smiled in irony. "I called you Zoran because of your peculiar birth chart but I named that little boy Zhi Ren. Are you really Zhi Ren of the Ji Family?"

    "I still am Zhi Ren but people know me as Zoran as well. My master definitely knows me as Zoran." Xiao Zhi Ren answered honestly since he didn¡¯t see any point in hiding anything from the elderly man before him. Xiao Zhi Ren might not have much impression of Jingshen Monastery but the elderly man before him had left a huge impression on his younger self.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren was born, his grandparents had brought him to Jingshen. It was Abbott Wang Xiu Ying who was asked to give a name to him. For the next ten or so years that Xiao Zhi Ren spent in Ji Family, he was always brought to Jingshen during the month of his birth for some ritual that he never understood.

    "I always wanted to know why you called me Zoran but named me Zhi Ren?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked inquisitively. "My grandmother used to also say that I have a very special constitution but ¡¯till now, I¡¯m not sure about it. Is my constitution really special? And if it is, then why?"

    Grandmaster Wang didn¡¯t answer him immediately instead, he took time to pour tea in anguid manner. After taking a sip of his own tea, he stated, "What if I say that your existence is like the radiance of dawn in someone else¡¯s dark life?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart shook a bit. "After going through your four pirs of destiny[1] and the rtionship between the five elements [2], I called you Zoran." Grandmaster Wang looked out at the slowly setting sun in the distance through the small window in the room and quoted, "¡¯Zh¨© r¨¦n zh¨© mi¨¤n b¨´ zh¨© x¨©n¡¯ Do you know what this idiom means?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and exined, "It means, ¡¯one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature¡¯. But what does it have to do with me?"

    "This idiom was the reason I named you Zhi Ren. You¡¯re one of those people who others can only know but not understand..." ¡¯Only someone bounded to you will be able to read you like an open book.¡¯ He gave a mysterious smile before adding, "But the most amusing thing about you is that fortunately, your soul has an interpreter... A faithful one; your bright and vivid eyes."

    Xiao Zhi Ren felt conflicted inside. He never believed in the superstitions or fortune telling. He had asked that question about his name because he always wanted to know the story behind him being called ¡¯special¡¯.

    "I believe you didn¡¯te all the way here just to ask me the reason behind your name." Grandmaster Wang had lived a long life. He was over seventy and had a foresighted personality. How could he be deceived by a young man¡¯s words?

    Xiao Zhi Ren rummaged out a small dagger from the inside pocket of his windbreaker and ced it on the Grandmaster Wang¡¯s table. "I¡¯m looking for someone but that person only left this dagger behind"

    Grandmaster Wang¡¯s eyes skimmed over the symbol of a ¡¯thunderbolt¡¯ at the handle of the dagger and remained impassive. "You think you can find a person with this dagger?"

    "No..." Xiao Zhi Ren was clear about the fact that he couldn¡¯t find that person with this dagger but this particr dagger was hand carved definitely representing a family. It¡¯d be easier to find the culprit behind his mother¡¯s death. He had only a small dagger and there was only this symbol on that dagger. He had no other clue. "But you¡¯d know which family¡¯smand emblem has this thunderbolt?"

    "Young man, are you testing me?" Xiao Zhi Ren found this question odd but he still shook his head. "If you aren¡¯t testing me... Do you want me to believe that the eldest grandson of the Ji Family doesn¡¯t have a clue that his own family¡¯smand emblem has a ck thunderbolt engraved on it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. He had considered the possibility of the culprit being someone from the Ji Family and yet he chose not to believe it out of filial piety. But now... What was he supposed to think? He still was in denial as he said, "But I thought only the hidden family ns of the nation use these find of emblems."

    "Ji Family is the second-ranked in those hidden family ns. Being hidden doesn¡¯t mean they hide from the world, it just means they keep their origins a bit secretive." Grandmaster cleared his question without asking anything.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was stumped for words. Was it really Ji Family members who chose to murder his mother? But why?

    "Thank you for your help... My master gave this to me to pass it to you." Xiao Zhi Ren passed the small wooden box to Grandmaster Wang and turned intending to leave.

    He halted in his steps as he heard a question from behind, "Young man, do you believe in soulmates?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at this sudden query. "No-" He was about to answer with ¡¯not really¡¯ when suddenly a smiling face popped up in his mind. Those ck eyes with a bit silver in them, twinkling like stars and that chubby face along with those Pheonix eyes that squinted whenever she smiled. Unknowingly, he smiled at the reminder of that face and nodded his head, "I do believe."

    Grandmaster Wang didn¡¯t continue on this topic and said, "Zhi Ren."

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to face him with a heavy heart. "Do you know Zhi Ren means a saint... A sage; a fully realized man?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave an ironic smile as he stated, "I¡¯m not a saint." He thought that the elderly man had seen his resolve for vengeance and that¡¯s why he was reminding him to act like his name and be forgiving towards his own blood.

    But...

    He was thoroughly wrong with his thinking.

    Grandmaster Wang smiled at his reply and said, "Just remember, your fate is bound with someone from birth and whether you are a saint or not, only that person can decide. Because no matter who you¡¯ll be, you¡¯ll always stay as the saint in that demon¡¯s life." His words startled Xiao Zhi Ren even more as he couldn¡¯t evenprehend the meaning behind them. "Have a safe journey." Saying that he waved him to leave.

    As Xiao Zhi Ren left the small wooden hut, Grandmaster Wang sighed tiredly.

    "Are you okay, Great Abbott?" His young attendant asked with concern.

    Grandmaster Wang rubbed his chin thoughtfully before whispering to himself, "It was meant to be a sad fate from the very beginning." He could only shake his head in disappointment.

    ¡¯One has the ocean of emotions in his eyes, the other holds the mysterious nature of that ocean. One has the tranquility of the ocean, the other holds wildness in her eyes. Oddly, both have the soul-stirring eyes... Sigh! It¡¯s a pity that they share a sad fate.¡¯ Grandmaster Wang¡¯s eyes got a bit wet as he was lost in his own thoughts.

    [1] (birth year, birth month, birth date and birth hour)

    [2] (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water)

 Chapter 70 Men & Children

    Xiao Zhi Ren might have heard each word that came out of Grandmaster Wang¡¯s mouth but there was only a couple of things that he couldpletelyprehend. The rest of his words seemed tooplicated for him to grasp at the moment.

    He kept rubbing his thumb over the engraved thunderbolt on the hilt of the dagger with a gaze brimming with disbelief. His feelings were conflicted at the moment since he couldn¡¯t decide whether he was agonized or rmed.

    If his own blood-rted family was behind his mother¡¯s death then he really wasn¡¯t sure how to react anymore. Lost in his own thoughts he didn¡¯t see that a certain green-eyed person was leaning against an old tree.

    Ru had a cigarette between her lips as she puffed out wisps of white smoke in anguid manner. She seemed content in her own world. As she finally saw Xiao Zhi Rening this way, she threw the cigarette butt and extinguished it underneath her handmade leather shoes.

    She straightened her posture and called out, "Hey, Zhi!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was so deeply immersed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even hear Ru¡¯s voice. She frowned at the side for being ignored like this and paced up to his side. There was a height difference of about half a head or so between both of them and it made it easier for Ru to put her arm around his shoulder catching him by surprise. "Neighbor, are you ignoring this young master?"

    Feeling a dangerous edge to her voice, Xiao Zhi Ren reacted almost immediately, "What are you saying? I was lost in my own thoughts." While he spoke, he subtly hid the dagger in his pocket but Ru¡¯s keen eyes had already caught sight of something shiny. She might not know other things but she knew a dagger when she saw one.

    How could she not recognize the toys that she yed with?

    But seeing him acting mysteriously, she didn¡¯t try to pry at all. Instead, she got straight to business. "Why are you sote? I¡¯ve been waiting for you here. And this lor- Ahem! I mean, this young master hate waiting." She tacitly altered her words with a dry cough. ¡¯You really need to get over this habit of calling yourself this lord.¡¯ She nodded her head agreeing with that nagging voice of her conscious.

    "You have been waiting? And that too for me?" Xiao Zhi Ren tilted his head to give her look of suspicion. "Why? We are not even friends as Chairman Xie has already cleared up."

    ¡¯Oh, look... He¡¯s still not over yourment about not being friends.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at that pesky voice in her head. But she didn¡¯t want to pursue this not so important topic. "Of course, I was waiting for you. You won the bet. I had to wait for you." Ru stated straightforwardly.

    "Oh, right! The bet!" At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reaction, Ru felt unpleasant.

    "Aiyoh, I shouldn¡¯t have reminded him about the bet," she muttered to herself as she retracted her hand back from his shoulders. ¡¯As if you could live with an unpaid debt.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t this irksome voice getting too plucky?

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but curl his lips up in amusement as he said, "I should feel honored that Chairman Xie Rong actually stayed behind to wait for me."

    "Yes, you should." With her impassive face, she said, "Now, you have two wishes. Make your wish wisely."

    "What are you? A genie? Choose your wish wisely. Hmph!" Xiao Zhi Ren mimicked her earlier expressions as he snorted.

    "Consider me a genie for now... Because I can grant you all that you desire except for two things."

    "What exceptions are those?" He asked inquisitively.

    "Don¡¯t ask me to save a life or take a life," Ru answered keeping her face expressions nk not letting a bit of her emotions disy.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was surprised by her reply. Never in his wildest dreams, he thought that her answer would be this weird. But then again the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him had never been the predictable type. ¡¯I really should get used to him.¡¯ He reminded himself.

    "Are you trying to tell me that you¡¯re an innocent Chairman whose hands are so clean that he won¡¯t take someone¡¯s life?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s ironic remark had little to no effect on Ru.

    Ru blinked her eyes as her longshes fluttered like the butterfly wings. A smile had formed on her face that sent cold chills to run up Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s spine. He was startled for a second to see such reaction from his own instincts under her alluring and yet cold eyes.

    "I am anything but innocent... But then again you are not any different..." Her sly smile didn¡¯t fade as she went on, "In this wild reality of life, innocence has just be a game." Looking in a distance, she added, "We all y this game but we still keep our wild sides."

    Not wanting to stay any longer in these woods, Ru turned towards the small road and climbed on her bicycle which was parked under a tree.

    "You brought your own ride even here?" Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to give her a look of incredulity but realized that it didn¡¯t matter at all. The young ¡¯man¡¯ before him was really out of this world.

    Paddling her bicycle in a circle around him, Ru stated, "Zhi, men are just like children; both are possessive over three things."

    "And what are those things?" At this point, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind hadpletely been distracted from the topic that upset him.

    Seeing him so intrigued by her words, Ru gave a subtle smile in victory. Her mission of distracting him had been aplished.

    By cing one foot on the road, she stopped the bicycle right before him and looked straight at his defined face. "Children are possessive over their candies, toys and their dreams. As for men, we are possessive over..." She lifted one finger and said, "Our money..." Lifting the second finger she added, "Our pride or ego whatever you wanna call it..." Pointing at her bicycle she added, "And our rides."

    From Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s simple question of why she brought her ride to Jingshen, she gave such a detailed answer. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t sure whether he was supposed to be in awe at her ability to manipte words or just punch her in the face for making his mind dizzy.

    He took a deep breath burying the urge to really punch that handsome face before his eyes that was grinning widely at the moment. "Aren¡¯t men also possessive about their women?"

    "My dear neighbor..." Her already low, and husky voice seemed a bit melodious as she went on, "If their woman is not their pride, do you think they¡¯ll be possessive about her?" Xiao Zhi Ren was stumped for words. "A woman is either a man¡¯s pride or ego. Those are the only possibilities. After all, there is no in between heaven and hell."

    Dumbfounded Xiao Zhi Ren stood there trying to let those heavy words sink in his mind. It was one of those moments when Xiao Zhi Ren really had no words to argue with Ru. And oddly, it was such a topic that he didn¡¯t want to argue foolishly as well.

    "Do you want a ride?" Xiao Zhi Ren eyed her bicycle weirdly. "Hmm... It¡¯ll be weird for two grown men to ride the same bicycle, right?"

    "What do you think?" He retorted.

    "Fine... I¡¯ll walk with you." Ru had to relent since there was no traffic on this small path between the woods. Ru got down from her bicycle and walked side-by-side with Xiao Zhi Ren. "Have you thought of a wish?" After walking some distance she asked again.

    "What if I really want you to take someone¡¯s life?"

    "I don¡¯t like ying with lives for someone else¡¯s sake. I¡¯m the demon who has his own rules. If I¡¯m gonna take someone¡¯s life that too... has to be on my own stakes." Altering back to her jolly persona, she said, "This genie is offering you the world and here you are asking for a petty human life? Think big... If you can¡¯t then think wisely."

    This time around Xiao Zhi Ren put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her neck close. "How about being my sworn brother instead?" Ru¡¯s eyes widened and her steps faltered as she almost tripped down but it was a good thing that Xiao Zhi Ren still hand an arm around her neck. Otherwise, she really would have fell face t on the ground.

 Chapter 71 Polar Opposites

    ¡¯Did he just say... sworn brother?¡¯ Although inwardly she was feeling dreadful, yet her face stayed impassive. Only her right brow had twitched slightly which didn¡¯t escape Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes. His attention had been on her face from the time he spoke.

    "Haha... That was a nice joke." Ru gave an awkwardugh trying tough this matter off.

    But Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s solemn face made her face stiffen. "You¡¯re not being yful, right?" She already knew the answer but she just couldn¡¯t believe it. Or rather, she didn¡¯t want to believe it... NOT AT ALL!

    "You might have the worst sense of humor but I definitely don¡¯t." Thatment was like an arrow shot straight to her ego. How could she take it lying down?

    "Hei! How dare you? I haven¡¯t even epted you as my sworn brother yet and you are already being a bully." This was the first time for Xiao Zhi Ren to see her actually showing emotion so brazenly. He had never heard her raise her voice at anyone in the past three months and yet, right now she was almost screaming at his face.

    For some odd reason, Xiao Zhi Ren felt good to see her livid. It was almost as if she seemed more human. He smiled gently and lifted his big hand to pat her head like a pet. "As a sworn brother, it¡¯s my right to bully you since you are younger than me."

    Ru was dumbfounded at him being so self-absorbed. She pointed her index finger straight to his face. "You!" Realizing how she had lost her rationality for a moment, Ru felt slightly ufortable. It had always been easier for her to hide her emotions whether it was her happiness or anger, both stayed within her. She never allowed her emotions to control her actions. But today, she actually let her emotions dictate her actions and words.

    Curling her index finger back into the fist, she lowered her hand. A single deep breath seemed to have changed the aura around her as she seemed serene like her usual self.

    "Why?"

    Hearing her sudden question, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her an inquiring gaze. Her green eyes shed again with his ck ones, seemingly unafraid.

    "I clearly offered you to ask for heaven and yet you asked to be a part of hell? Doesn¡¯t that make you the most foolish person?" As Ru stated her point, Xiao Zhi Ren was again amused by her words.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t avert his eyes.

    "In the hush of night,

    there was a pair of green eyes;

    sparkling,

    dazzling,

    and bright...

    Yet,

    there was a devil in sight;

    It intrigued me,

    Then it wrenched me,

    Finally,

    it just ensnared me."

    As his mellow voice resounded, Ru was frozen at her ce. ¡¯This voice...¡¯ Her mind was going crazy. The voice in her memory and the voice she was listening to ovepped making her feel distraught. She immediately tried to stop him, "Wait! What are you-" but she was interrupted as Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t listen to her.

    "In the hush of night,

    there was indeed a pair of green eyes;

    Jaded,

    Forlorn,

    and

    ready to put up a fight...

    I did see a devil in sight;

    it persuaded me,

    it hauled me,

    To see the confined demons,

    trying to pick up a fight."

    Clenching her fists tightly, Ru enunciated each word, "What do you think you are doing?" ¡¯He¡¯s trying to tell you a story... Story of your fake eyes... Or maybe, you fake self...¡¯ At this moment, it was hard for her to know whom she wanted to kill more; Xiao Zhi Ren or her own conscience?

    Giving a soft smile, Xiao Zhi Ren added, "I¡¯m trying to convince you." Ru frowned at his reply. "Let your demons call it a night. It¡¯s time for you toe to light... I don¡¯t think there is any fun living in ck and white."

    Ru could only gape at him for being... so peculiar with his words?

    But then again, she wasn¡¯t one to actually talk. After all, she was even more peculiar in her words.

    "I asked you a very simple question, why do you want to be a part of this hell?" While saying the word ¡¯hell¡¯ she even made a gesture at herself as if saying, ¡¯Yours truly is no better than hell himself.¡¯

    "Didn¡¯t I just gave the answer?" Seeing her narrowing her eyes dangerously, Xiao Zhi Ren sighed. "Okay, so to answer your simple question... I¡¯ll use simple words now... I am choosing hell perhaps because I¡¯vee to admire the demon who rules this hell."

    This was Ru¡¯s turn to be stumped for words. ¡¯He called me a demon? Right?¡¯ She wondered to herself unpleasantly but heard a nagging voice in her mind. ¡¯He also said he admired this demon! Focus on the things that matter.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly before eyeing Xiao Zhi Ren from head to toe.

    "Every rtionshipes at a price in this world. And being a sworn brotheres with the price of responsibilities. One not only has to share the happiness but also the grief and also, sometimes, one has to pay the price with life. It¡¯s not any casual rtionship." Ru stated sternly since she took such matters a lot seriously than other people because of the way she was cultivated from her young age. "I told you to think big if not wisely. Why are you being foolish?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind her words at all. He already had reckoned that the young ¡¯man¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to give in so easily.

    "I¡¯m not being foolish at all." Ru snorted at his reply but he disregarded it as he went on, "I know for a fact that you are not one to shy away from paying the price of death. Especially if someone important to you is at stake... I agree that being sworn brothers is not a casual matter. It¡¯s indeed a very serious decision. But let me be honest with you, I am also not someone who would shy away from death."

    Did she not trust his words? Of course, she believed each word that he said. She knew him as a very honest kind of person who would never say something that goes against his morals. Perhaps, that¡¯s why she was even more reluctant to ept his wish. She was shrouded in dark... Her whole life was a lie in itself. Even her gender was an illusion much less her identity!

    In that case, how could she let herself get attached to a person like him? He was the epitome of righteous human being that she had evere across in her life.

    Light and darkness... They both were pr opposites... They could only co-exist in peace but being together was a far cry.

 Chapter 72 Sworn Brothers

    While Ru was mulling over his words, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s gaze was yet again stuck on her face. He seemed to be trying to search for something. As if he was looking for the soul of the person before him but in those bright green eyesid a grandiose of wickedness but... Somewhere behind that devilry, there was the sovereignty of tenebrosity.

    "We can¡¯t be sworn brothers," Ru decided on it. There was no point in dawdling over this. The end result was that she would never want to bring another person in her life to share the dark life she leads. It¡¯d be unfair to him.

    "You said you¡¯ll do whatever I¡¯ll ask for," Xiao Zhi Ren reminded her calmly. "Since you said we can¡¯t be friends, I asked to be sworn brothers." He really didn¡¯t want to give her a way out of this.

    "The ones who take the oath of sworn brotherhood are also close friends." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Sworn brotherhood might lie on the border of friendship and kinship but originally it¡¯s purpose is still the intimacy among close friends."

    "But since you don¡¯t want to be a friend, I want to skip one step of bing close friends and directly move on to a mock kinship. It¡¯ll be more intimate and longersting. What¡¯s the harm?" What he said was not wrong. There was apparently nothing wrong with his suggestion at all.

    Except for the fact that Ru never liked making rtionships on impulse.

    Ru straightened up and asked a single question, "Do you have the courage to entrust your life to me?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was distracted as he was about to answer her question when her figure shed before his eyes and in the second, a gleaming silver needle was not only pointing at Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s throat but it had also slightly been pierced through his fair skin. "Before you say anything, remember clearly... This young master might not be able to save people with this seemingly small needle but this young master surely knows how to use it as a weapon. A single push and the blood flow to your brain will stop immediately. Do you think I won¡¯t kill you?"

    There wasn¡¯t a slight change in his expressions. Her threat didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on him. He was unfazed and unafraid. There was still a smile ying on his lips. Before Ru could move, Xiao Zhi Ren moved his own neck letting the needle pierce right through his skin. Ru was startled and her eyes went wide by this action. As she was stuck frozen, his body fell straight to the ground, lifelessly.

    "Oh, shoot!" She hurriedly crouched down to pull out the needle stuck in his acupuncture point. Although she had lied about the part that he would die, she still chose the acupuncture point which could leave him paralyzed.

    After pulling out the needle, she took some more needles out of her sleeves and pierced through his skin. Within fifteen minutes, Xiao Zhi Ren had woken up with new vigor as if someone had pumped him with exuberance.

    She was holding her head in both hands when she heard him breathing in a steady manner. Without thinking, she delivered an open-handed strike straight to the back of his head saying, "Have you lost your mind? For a mere wish, you actually put your life at stake? Who does that?"

    She was enraged. She hated those people who took life as a joke. No one knew what life in itself meant to her. She had seen death up close. And she actually had no desire to see it again.

    She was so livid that before he could open his mouth to say something, Ru lifted her fist andnded a blow straight to his guts. "Hei! Go easy on me!" Xiao Zhi Ren scowled while he really felt wrenching pain in his guts. "I wasn¡¯t putting my life on stake. I knew you won¡¯t kill me. As you said it, I just entrusted my life to you!"

    That statement quietened her up. Ru could only stare at him disbelievingly. She had no words for a lunatic like him. She didn¡¯t even trust her own shadow anymore, how could he so easily entrust her with his life?

    Was he that foolish?

    Or perhaps, he really had seen through her?

    Ru perched down on the ground from her squatting position and sat down cross-legged in a very leisurely manner. She suddenly felt threatened by his presence.

    As they say, no matter how deep a shadow is, in the end, it¡¯s still scared of the light.

    "You don¡¯t even know me. Do you think whatever you see is the real me?" Ru asked with a bit of despair in her eyes while her face still stayed calm.

    "I know you better than you think I do... If I have to expound you, I¡¯d say, you are a very scared person." Ru stared at him with a skeptical look. "You¡¯re scared because you think that more people called you a monster, you¡¯ll soon turn into one." Her eyes widened but he didn¡¯t stop. "You¡¯re scared that you¡¯re too different from the rest that makes you the odd one out." Xiao Zhi Ren saw her lowering her head to look at her own empty hands as if looking for something.

    "You¡¯re scared of the fact that you know too much and yet you feel that it¡¯s still not enough. It feels like you know nothing in the end." Ru snorted at this statement.

    "You¡¯re scared that the time in your hand is slipping away like sand."

    "You¡¯re scared of every single moment of your life because you¡¯re not sure whether the next breath will be yours or not. And most of all, you have the fear of your own self. You have made yourself loathe your own very self." He enunciated each word as if he was reading an open book before his eyes.

    And that fact alone was enough to scare her even more. "And right at this moment, you are scared to let me be a part of your life. Because you think your presence can only bring me doom."

    Xiao Zhi Ren ced one hand on her shoulder as he added, "Rong, you need to learn that to live again, one has to die once. Just because one of your experiences in life wasn¡¯t good that doesn¡¯t mean the rest will also follow suit. Even our heartbeat is not straight, how can life be fun without some hurdles?"

    Ru took a deep breath and pondered his words before smiling to herself as if mocking her own self. She actually learned to live life after she faced death. It reminded her of what she had said a long time ago,

    *shback*

    "Don¡¯t give up on life just yet," she heard that mellow and charismatic voice right beside her.

    "I¡¯m not giving up on life. I finally learned what life is, why would I give up on it just yet?" She answered in a soft voice.

    "You seem very positive for someone who just woke up from a long term state of unconsciousness," she had a feeling that he was smiling as he spoke.

    "Only despair can teach us optimism..."

    *End of shback*

    Inhaling a sharp breath, Ru shot up from the ground and stood up to brush away the dust on her clothes. She took the bottle of water from her bicycle and twisted the cap.

    Scratching her thumb against the bark of the tree, she shed a cut on her thumb and dripped the blood in the water. Then she pushed the bottle towards him. "If I¡¯m making an oath, I¡¯ll only make a blood oath. It¡¯s extreme. Are you up for it?"

    Without a word, Xiao Zhi Ren took the bottle and made a gash through his thumb to drip his blood in as well.

    After that, she ced the bottle on the ground and got on her knees and gave him a look before saying, "Are you waiting for heavenly decree now?"

    A bit startled, Xiao Zhi Ren got down on his knees as well right beside her.

    "Repeat after me..." Ru said and added, "Let heaven and earth be my witness. I, Xie Rong, am willing to vow here to take Xiao Zhi Ren as my sworn brother."

    As she finished, Xiao Zhi Ren also followed, "I, Xiao Zhi Ren, take Xie Rong as my sworn brother."

    "Sharing joys and sorrows, prosperity and misfortune. If I vite this oath, heaven, and earth will punish me." Both of them finished simultaneously and took the bottle of water to drink the water which had their blood drops in it.

    This was a small ritual and Ru only chose heaven as a witness, she didn¡¯t want a third person to get involved.

    "Hey, little brother! Wee to the family." Xiao Zhi Ren yfully punched her chest making her purse her lips trying hard to endure.

    ¡¯Can¡¯t you be nice? That¡¯s a sensitive spot.¡¯ Of course, she couldn¡¯t voice that out. Instead, she reciprocated his actions and punched his chest as well saying, "You better not call me little brother."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was amused by her scowl as he ruffled her fluffy hair. He put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Let¡¯s go now."

    As both of them were making their way back towards the inner Jingshen city, Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly recalled something and said, "You called me foolish earlier."

    "Didn¡¯t I exined myself as well? You could think big or wisely but in the end, you chose foolishly."

    "Actually, I did not only think big but I also thought very wisely." At Ru¡¯s inquisitive gaze, he added, "Having Chairman Xie Rong as my backer is surely a very wise decision and having Rong as my brother is me thinking about the big picture."

    Ru knew he was trying to lighten up the mood but she still punched the side of his stomach saying, "Don¡¯t test me again."

    At her warning, Xiao Zhi Ren could onlyugh.

    He didn¡¯t need a backer like her. He was already backed up by The FireBenders Tower. Why would he need a person like her to back him up? But he certainly was an amusing person in her life now. And she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that this new bond was indeed intriguing to herself.

 Chapter 73 Life is Not a Fairy-tale

    "Little squirrel, meet Lilith. From today onwards, she¡¯ll be your mentor."

    As Ru¡¯s words registered in Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mind, he was dumbfounded. He eyed the girl of an average height before him. There wasn¡¯t anything outstanding about her except for the fact that there seemed to be a glow and novelty on her small face.

    "Mentor?" Xiao Zhi Yuan looked at Ru with raised brows.

    Ru patted Lilith¡¯s skittish shoulder and said, "Yup! This youngdy will help you in building up your internal strength. Her training will definitely help you." She omitted the part that the training was actually to teach him self-defense. In these years of adolescents, scuffles weremon but Xiao Zhi Yuan was toonky for her liking. She just wanted him to be a bit dandy in practical life as well.

    After all, being a bookworm or a topper won¡¯t reallye in handy when he¡¯ll have to face this world of conniving and wily adults.

    Ru already had a discussion with Xiao Zhi Ren about this topic which had gone a bit like,

    "You¡¯re definitely a martial art practitioner, why are you keeping your brother in the dark?" She had asked while they sat together to share a drink as officially sworn brothers.

    "I want Yuan to stay as my innocent and pure little brother." He had answered inly.

    There was nothing wrong with that wish of his except that it was too... impractical. Or to put it bluntly, it was a half-baked wish of his.

    Perhaps that¡¯s why Ru spurted out the liquor in her mouth and snorted. "Innocent? Pure?" Sheughed out loud in amusement. "Life is not a fairytale, Zhi. You can¡¯t keep him guarded for life. And if you really want to, he¡¯d just be like a caged bird who doesn¡¯t have the right to fly freely."

    "I¡¯m not taking his freedom from him." Xiao Zhi Ren insisted but found his own words not very convincing.

    "You are giving him everything except for the knowledge he requires to deal with this world. Isn¡¯t that like taking his freedom?" Xiao Zhi Ren fell in deep thought.

    "But I¡¯m afraid he will be hurt to learn that this world is not a beautiful ce."

    "Isn¡¯t that¡¯s what he needs to learn at this point? He is in adolescent years, what he needs is a reality check." Taking another sip of her drink, she added, "In simple words, someone needs to tell him that if you lose your shoe at midnight, it means you¡¯re drunk. Chapter close! Don¡¯t expect otherwise."

    Xiao Zhi Ren pursed his lips at her statement and rolled his eyes. "You really have something against fairytales." He remarked.

    "Can¡¯t help it." She shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    Coming back to the present, Ru decided to choose someone inconspicuous to teach Xiao Zhi Yuan and also to protect him. While she needed Lilith to spend some time with someone close to her age group. So, she decided to shot two birds with one stone.

    Taking Xiao Zhi Yuan a bit farther from Lilith, Ru whispered, "Little squirrel, Lilith is a special case. She can¡¯t talk and that¡¯s why she¡¯s a bit sensitive to the environment. You better do as she shows you to."

    "She¡¯s mute?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was startled as he turned back to look at Lilith who was standing upright without any concern in the world.

    "You can say that." Ru didn¡¯t think it was necessary to tell him that from her recent examination, she learned that Lilith was actually not a mute by birth. It was psychological. Perhaps, some trauma in her early life had made her lose her voice. However, Lilith¡¯s mind did believe that she¡¯s a mute. It was hard to solve issues rted to the brain.

    Ru had nned for them to train in her own apartment. While she was going to leave these two alone, she stopped beside Lilith to remind her, "As I instructed before, no offensive moves. Teach him how to defend himself." Lilith bowed her head slightly to acknowledge her order.

    While she was gonna waste her time pacing around in the apartment, she received a call from Xiao Zhi Ren telling her toe downstairs.

    Without thinking, Ru took the elevator to his apartment. While she entered the apartment, Qin Qu was discussing something with Xiao Zhi Ren. Seeing Ru enter, he greeted her politely, "Hi, Chairman Xie! What¡¯s up?"

    Before Ru could retort with her own sarcastic remark, Xiao Zhi Ren spoke up on her behalf, "Your time is up." Ru quirked her brow in amusement but that¡¯s the only reaction one could see. "Go and prepare for the sponsorship event." Xiao Zhi Ren shooed Qin Qu away who was not pleased by Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s earlier remark.

    "Have a nice day, Chairman Xie." Qin Qu didn¡¯t forget to greet Ru on his way out. If there was a list of people one can¡¯t offend, Qin Qu knew that Ru¡¯s name would definitely be in that list in a bold and capitalized letter. Therefore, he always tried to act amiable and humble before her.

    "Yuan is at your ce?" Xiao Zhi Ren was typing something on hisptop as he asked without lifting his eyes from the screen.

    "Yes... I gave him an instructor today." Ru didn¡¯t hide this fact from him since he was the Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brother. How could she lie to him?

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s finger¡¯s paused for a split second before he went back to typing away. "Why did you call for me?" asked Ru.

    "I have to discuss something with you," Xiao Zhi Yuan answered while Ru sat down on a couch. "I just heard about yourpany¡¯s resort project."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that after all, by now everyone would know that Metrix Consortium won the bidding for thend development project. Like there was any doubt about that to begin that?

    "What about it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren ced hisptop aside and said, "I want to be an investor in that project."

 Chapter 74 Dusk Need a Dawn

    ¡¯Investor?¡¯ Ru narrowed her eyes as she tried to read Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s real intentions. Why would a leading Techpany want to invest in a development project? Although it wasn¡¯t anything unbelievable since everyone loved a bit more money.

    But that wasn¡¯t the case with Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru knew it very well.

    Like a person who just got intrigued, Ru reclined back and crossed her long leg over the other while with her elbow on the arm-rest, her knuckles were supporting her face. She looked eloquent and curious but still mesmerizing.

    "Mind if I ask why this sudden change of heart?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren licked his lips before his lips curled in a smile. "I have my reasons."

    "Reasons? More than one huh? Now I¡¯m more intrigued." Seeing him keeping his lips sealed, Ru decided to take advantage, "What? Can¡¯t talk about it with your sworn brother?"

    Ru obviously wasn¡¯t used to this title of sworn brother and it came out a bit sour from her mouth. It wasn¡¯t her fault though. Even though she actually performed the ritual with him, sheter realized that she can¡¯t be his brother. After all, she was still a GIRL!

    The reason she relented and epted him as a sworn brother was actually very simple. No one had ever described her fears better than Xiao Zhi Ren. Perhaps, she couldn¡¯t even exin those fears better than him.

    Although the idea of seeing the light was scary, she always chose the path that scared her. Every dusk eventually has to face the dawn. She chose to ept that Xiao Zhi Ren was like that dawn that was inevitable.

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhi Ren took her words quite seriously. "I can tell you but I just didn¡¯t want to burden you with my problems."

    "Ha! You should have thought about that before asking to be my sworn brother. Now, I¡¯m already involved and you can¡¯t do anything about that." Ru stated with her rebellious charms.

    "I¡¯m looking for a way to interact with the Ji Family members." Ru frowned at his reply.

    "But if I¡¯m not wrong, you are a part of Ji Family."

    Xiao Zhi Ren: "If I actually used my rtionship as the means, I¡¯ll seem deliberate and suspicious. And I don¡¯t want to stand out until I find the person I¡¯m looking for."

    Although Ru didn¡¯t know who that person was, she didn¡¯t bother pondering over it either.

    Ru: "Hmmm... Ji Family is actually interested in investing in mypany¡¯s project. Is that the way you chose to enhance your chances of interaction?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head in agreement.

    "Wrong choice." Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her. "It¡¯s not a secret that Ji Family Corporation is interested in this project but if you also got involved, that really will seem deliberate." Recalling something she added, "What¡¯s the other reason for this sudden interest?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren pressed his lips as he stared at Ru¡¯s green eyes trying to intimidate him.

    Sighing in defeat, he had to say out his intentions, "I heard Knight Empires is actually coborating with Metrix Consortium for this specific project."

    Ru¡¯s face twitched a bit at this reason. She was only using Knight Empires name to lure people who knew Xiao Zhi Ren would be one of them.

    "What does Knight Empires have to do with you?" asked Ru inquisitively.

    "Nothing really..." Xiao Zhi Ren shrugged his shoulders. "But I admire the one behind the Knight Empires. Let¡¯s say, I would love to make his acquaintance."

    If Ru had a drink in mouth, she would have definitely sprayed it out by now. What the hell? He was actually admiring her? Make acquaintance? Someone tell this fool, I¡¯m sitting right here before your eyes.

    ¡¯I suddenly wonder what will his reaction be if he found out that The Alev Knight, he is so fascinated by, is actually his sworn brother.¡¯ Ru was lost in her own world with these weird thoughts and didn¡¯t notice that Xiao Zhi Ren was giving her odd looks.

    Clearing her throat a bit awkwardly, Ru stated, "Zhi, even if Knight Empires is coborating with me. It doesn¡¯t mean Alev Knight will be involved directly."

    "I know that. But we have to take a start from somewhere." Xiao Zhi Ren argued.

    "Do you have something to eat? I need to process some details in my mind."

    "What does food have to do with thinking?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked bitterly.

    "Zhi Hyung[1], even a car needs some fuel to start. Why can¡¯t I need food to think?" Saying that she actually sat up cross-legged on the couch as if iming her right as a sworn brother.

    "Wait here, I have some snacks at home." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know why he always relented before that green-eyed food-monster. But he still did it happily. He brought some chips, candied plums and almonds for her to munch on while he sat back to work.

    After eating the whole bunch of snacks, Ru wiped her mouth elegantly and said, "I just thought of a perfect n."

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his gaze and closed theptop asking, "What is it?"

    "We have to make sure that the Ji Familyes to you and not the other way around." Ru smiled haughtily.

    "And how is that going to happen?" He asked.

    "Simple... It seems like Ji Family¡¯s intention to be an investor is the same as yours. They want to have a connection with Alev Knight." Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up as he found her reasoning quite reasonable. "We just have to make it seem like you¡¯re really close to the Knight Empires."

    "How is that going to happen?"

    "What am I here for? Did I build Metrix Consortium as a joke? Of course not! Mypany¡¯s new project doesn¡¯t really need investors since it¡¯s a coboration with Knight Empires but SnapVise Technologies does need some investors for their Big Data research center."

    "What are you nning?" He asked cautiously.

    "Until today, Knight Empires have yet to invest in Technology. How about the start with yourpany?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes lit up as he understood her meaning, "You want Knight Empires to invest in my project? To give the impression that Knight Empires is actually backing me?"

    "Bingo!"

    "You really are a crafty person. But what if Knight Empires opposed your decision?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want herpany to take a blow because of him.

    "Who would dare to oppose?" Feeling that her tone was a bit odd, she tactfully changed her statement, "I mean, I have a very good rtionship with Alev Knight. He¡¯ll do what I say."

    ¡¯How can I mind my own words?¡¯

    Obviously, Xiao Zhi Ren was oblivious to her thoughts. The news of Metrix Consortium having close rtion with Knight Empires was already a piece of huge news for the financial market of Asia.

    Ru suggested this solution because recently, it was brought to her attention that Xiao Zhi Ren had actually presented a proposal for investment from Knight Empires specifically years ago for the same project. Since the project was yet to begin, Ru thought to use it to her advantage.

    [1] "Hyung": Older brother in Korean

 Chapter 75 I Can Defend Him

    No matter how cunning a person is, he always ends up making a mistake. Just like Ru didn¡¯t realize that her words were interpreted quite differently.

    "You know Alev Knight personally?" At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s question, Ru just stared at him speechlessly.

    ¡¯What have you done, young master Ru?¡¯ She nagged at her own self but it was of no use. Who told her to talk without realizing her own meaning? Now she had only two options; either she could lie or she could just deny. She chose to go with thetter option as she said, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her incredulously. "You just said that you have a good rtionship with Alev Knight."

    "You heard it wrong." Ru insisted on him being wrong.

    "I did not!" Xiao Zhi Ren eximed. "I¡¯m sure you said that. Now, don¡¯t lie. Can¡¯t you just be honest?"

    ¡¯Honest? I¡¯d love to! But I¡¯m afraid you might get a heart attack from the shock of me being Alev Knight. Sigh! I still have to lie in the end.¡¯ Ru mulled over it for a while before straightening up to answer. "Fine. I do know him."

    "How?" Xiao Zhi Ren was immediately intrigued.

    ¡¯How can I not know myself?¡¯ Ignoring her inner thoughts, she stayed impassive as she answered, "I... I worked with him back in the days." ¡¯Seriously? That¡¯s the best you coulde up with?¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at herself inwardly.

    "You worked with Alev Knight?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked again just to make sure that he didn¡¯t get it wrong.

    "Yup!" When Ru confirmed it again, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes lit up. And looking at his expressions, Ru had a bad premonition.

    True enough, his next words left her in a dilemma. "I want to meet Alev Knight? Can you help?"

    ¡¯Why do you want to meet my alter ego?¡¯ Ru kneaded her temples tiredly. "He¡¯s in London."

    "He¡¯s not. He¡¯s in China and I know that. Don¡¯t you dare deny it." Ru¡¯s eyes widened seeing his conviction. Since when did her whereabouts be so easy to find?

    But Ru forgot to think of the possibility that Xiao Zhi Ren was just taking a wild shot. Her reactions though made his wild shot hit bull¡¯s eye.

    "How do you know that?" When she asked this question, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s doubts were confirmed. Now, there was no doubt that Alev Knight was in China.

    "Let¡¯s say it was my intuition." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to telltale about his friendship with and Adrian and thetter giving him a heads up.

    Although Ru didn¡¯t believe his words, she didn¡¯t want to pursue this matter. Him knowing Alev Knight¡¯s whereabouts was not the topic of discussion anyway. "Why do you want to meet Alev Knight?" This was the real topic of discussion for Ru. She was indeed very curious to know his reason.

    "Five years ago, when I submitted my proposal to Knight Empires, I didn¡¯t hear anything back from them. I know for a fact that Mr. Alev Knight didn¡¯t get a chance to see my proposal. I want to present my project proposal personally." At that time, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯spany wasn¡¯t a huge name in the market but it was said to be one of the most promising Techpany.

    "You think with you presenting the proposal personally, Alev Knight will be convinced to invest?"

    "I can guarantee you, he will." Xiao Zhi Ren had two things in life he was proud of; his brother and his work. There was no way that he¡¯d let Alev Knight say no to his project.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what she found interesting... Him being confident... Or him being over-confident?

    Nheless, he managed to pique her interest. Now, even she wanted to know how was he going to convince her alter ego, Alev Knight!

    "I¡¯m gonna ask you a question, Zhi. If I liked the answer, I¡¯ll arrange your meeting with him, if not... Don¡¯t expect any helping hand from this young master." Xiao Zhi Ren was well familiar with her weird questions, but he still chose to take the chance. After all, this was his only chance.

    "Okay... Ask away."

    "Why do you admire Alev? People might respect him but most people just have a fear for him. He¡¯s not someone admiring. His real self is a lot more ruthless than the one people hear about in rumors. Why are you so fascinated by him?" Xiao Zhi Ren took his time to understand her question. What she said was all true.

    If one sees Alev Knight from the world¡¯s perspective, he was ruthless, cold-blooded, inhumane. People could only find his mysterious personality a bit intriguing but the rest about him screamed bloody murder!

    "He¡¯s the reason, today I stand at the top of Tech Industry. Why wouldn¡¯t I admire him?" Ru might have conjectured a lot of scenarios in her mind but his answer definitely left her startled. Seeing the crease between Ru¡¯s brows, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled softly and added, "I might not have met Alev Knight in person but that man actually gave me the self-assurance I needed in life. He said to me that I¡¯m one of the most intriguing and promising people he had evere across in his life. That left a huge impact on me."

    Ru was perplexed. Did she say it? When?

    While she was pondering over it, she spoke again, "Do you know I never tried to enter the European market just because of him?"

    "Why? Did he stop you from doing so?" She asked.

    "No... I wanted to be a person who could rightfully stand on the same pinnacle as Alev Knight beforeing to Europe." Her heart shook at this statement. "My goal had always been him. I know he¡¯s notorious for a lot of things. But people like to only point at his ws while ignoring his wless personality. ¡¯Till today, I have yet to find a case where I could say that Alev Knight did something wrong. And I, as his admirer can definitely defend his each and every action."

    ¡¯Grandfather, today I really want you to hear this. There is actually someone in this world who wants to defend my actions for me... This... Really makes him look foolish.¡¯ Ru chewed the inside of her mouth since she really had no answer for him. No one has ever defended her before. And here he was ready to fight with the world for her honor. She smiled to herself as she thought, ¡¯I really like this feeling.¡¯

    She lunged to her feet and stretched her neck a bit to avoid his gaze. "I¡¯ll arrange for a meeting in a fortnight[1]."

    She was intending on leaving when Xiao Zhi Ren sprinted towards her and hugged her in excitement. "Thanks, little brother!" Xiao Zhi Ren was over the moon. Even after years of friendship with Adrian, he still didn¡¯t manage to see Alev Knight but now, with his sworn brother, he was getting this chance to even have a face-to-face meeting with the man behind Knight Empires.

    Ru pushed his heavy body off her and scowled, "First, no hugs. I hate it! Second, don¡¯t call me little brother." She fixed her sweatshirt just to make sure that nothing was revealing.

    After being pushed away, Xiao Zhi Ren felt like he was missing something. Ru¡¯s body felt cold to touch and yet the heat permeating from her body was contradicting. He had gotten a waft of a citric scent on her body mixed with something spicy? It was a weirdbination but he thought it suited Ru¡¯s personality perfectly.

    While her words were always sour, she definitely had a spicy personality making it sparkling.

    [1] ¡¯fortnight¡¯: a period of Two weeks

 Chapter 76 Strong-ling

    Coming back to her apartment, Ru was trying to sort out her thoughts.

    Alev Knight meeting Xiao Zhi Ren?

    Hmmm...

    She knocked on her own head, ¡¯Aish! What am I going to do now?¡¯

    While she was lost in her own thoughts, she heard the sound of the doorbell. Upon opening the door, she came face-to-face with an enraged Lilith.

    "What¡¯s wrong with you?" On Ru¡¯s question, Lilith clenched her fists tightly trying to calm herself.

    "I can¡¯t be a mentor of a weakling." Understanding Lilith¡¯s hand signs, Ru frowned.

    "What happened?" There was no way this girl was reacting like this over nothing.

    Lilith took a deep breath and tried to exin herself with as much detail as she could. "That little fresh meat[1] can¡¯t even throw a punch. What am I going to teach him?"

    Ru cocked her head to a side as she stated matter-of-factly, "Perhaps... You have to teach him how to throw a punch."

    Lilith gaped at Ru in disbelief. Although in the past months, her respect and admiration for Ru had reached a whole new pinnacle...

    But she still thought that this master of hers was really unexpected. Especially with words. How could ¡¯he¡¯ always make people speechless?

    "He almost broke his knuckles while trying to throw a single punch," added Lilith.

    That got Ru¡¯s attention. "Where is he?"

    "He¡¯s fine. You are not getting the point here. He is a weakling." Lilith was exasperated trying to state her main point.

    "Then it¡¯s your job to turn him into a strong-ling." Ru shrugged her shoulders while she put some water to boil for tea.

    "Is there even such a thing as being a strong-ling?" Lilith asked shoving herself right in front of Ru¡¯s eyes to make her notice the hand signs clearly.

    Ru sighed heavily before she touched Lilith¡¯s head and said, "Life can¡¯t be found in the terms defined by the world. If the term you want doesn¡¯t exist in the dictionary, make sure to add that term in your personal nk book of life."

    Lilith¡¯s heartbeat precipitated and she wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because of the words she heard or because of that gentle hand on her head that was enshrouding her heart in a gush of warmth.

    "As long as you believe that there is a thing called being strong-ling. No one can convince you otherwise."

    Pouring some tea in two cups, Ru pushed one cup towards Lilith as she continued, "Apart from that, I know it will be a bit difficult for you to like Yuan. But bear with it. Patience is the key." Looking out the ss wall with a thoughtful look, she went on, "He¡¯s different than you and I. He has lived a guarded life. Unlike both of us, he doesn¡¯t really know how cruel this world can be."

    Turning back, she patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder. "I told you before, your job is not just to teach him how to defend himself, you have to make his safety your first priority." Lilith nodded her head understanding one thing very clearly...

    That weakling boy is really important to her master. But the question was; WHY?

    Oblivious to this discussion, Xiao Zhi Yuan went to school as per his routine. His life at school had been a lot easier since the time, Zhang Han and he had gotten closer to each other. Both were always found together and although the students found this odd, no one dared toment.

    Zhang Han had always stayed in the teacher¡¯s good books because he was the ss president but ¡¯till now he never managed to have a close friend. Perhaps that¡¯s why his bonding with Xiao Zhi Yuan was stronger.

    There was obviously another reason...

    "Good morning, little Uncle!" Zhang Han teased Xiao Zhi Yuan as he put his arm around his shoulder.

    Peeling Zhang Han¡¯s hand off of his shoulder, Xiao Zhi Yuan shoved his school bag at Zhang Han and said, "My dearest nephew, why don¡¯t you help your uncle in carrying his schoolbag?"

    Zhang Han scrunched up his face indignantly. "That¡¯s not fair."

    "Why? Isn¡¯t helping your uncle a part of being respectful to your elders?"

    "Don¡¯t take it too far. I¡¯m older than you by the whole three months." Zhang Han retorted.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan pinched Zhang Han¡¯s cheek with an excessive force making him wince. "Who started it, little nephew?"

    "Forget it, I¡¯ll just carry the bag." In the end, Zhang Han had to resign since he was the one who started with the teasing.

    They had a pact that both of them won¡¯t disclose their rtionship in school at any cost. Being uncle and nephew of a ssmate was quite embarrassing or awkward for both of them. Now that Zhang Han brought up the topic, he had to pay for it.

    During the lunch hours, Zhang Han ced a lunch box before Xiao Zhi Yuan. "Your sister wanted me to deliver this to you. She has some urgent matter to deal with so she can¡¯te herself today."

    Xiao Zhi Yaun was quite used to these delicious lunch boxes by now but it was always brought by Ji Caihong herself. It was very odd for her to not show up herself.

    After pondering and hesitating for a long while, Xiao Zhi Yuan finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Is she sick? Or is she sick of bringing this to me herself?"

    Zhang Han had already been told that Xiao Zhi Yuan was quite a sensitive individual but it was his first time seeing Xiao Zhi Yuan acting like this. It was obvious that he was worried for Ji Caihong but he was also scared that just like everyone else, she is also tired of him.

    "Stop overthinking... Great grandmother ising back. So, my dearest aunt is busy preparing for that." Zhang Han decided to disclose this matter to Xiao Zhi Yuan since he was actually a family member.

    "Great grandmother? You mean my grandmother Zhao Mi?" Zhang Han nodded giving his confirmation. "Where is sheing from?"

    Zhang Han rolled his eyes at Xiao Zhi Yuan before telling him in detail, "Great grandmother had surgery six months ago. She¡¯s been recuperating in Germany. Now, that her health has been restored, she ising back home." Recalling something, Zhang Han tapped on Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s shoulder in excitement and said, "Oh, oh, there is going to be a banquet as well. Also, I heard you¡¯re on the guest list."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan was surprised to hear that but he didn¡¯t show it on his face. "I won¡¯t be attending."

    "That¡¯s not up to you to decide." Zhang Han gloated. "From what I heard, your brother and great grandmother are very close to each other. And there is no way that great grandmother calls and your brother won¡¯t show up. If my first uncle wille, obviously, my third uncle has to follow." He lowered his voice deliberately to say hisst sentence.

    Little Yuan scowled but didn¡¯t say anything since Zhang Han was right. If his grandmother was the hostess, Xiao Zhi Ren would never refuse to be the guest. And if his brother went, he¡¯ll drag him along. How troublesome!

    When the long day at school finished, both Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi Yuan were leaving the school together. But suddenly, catching sight of the person waiting for him at the gate, Xiao Zhi Yuan was left dumbfounded.

    ¡¯Am I dreaming?¡¯ He wondered to himself as he rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn¡¯t being delusional.

    [1] ¡¯Little Fresh Meat¡¯: handsome young males

 Chapter 77 Row A Raf

    Even after rubbing his eyes when Xiao Zhi Yuan could still see the person waiting for him at the gate, he was lost for words. It was certain that he wasn¡¯t dreaming.

    "What is she doing here?" He muttered to himself but Zhang Han still heard his voice.

    Zhang Han followed his sight to find a girl in simple jeans and shirt. She was holding a big bouquet of bright red roses in her hand. Her small face was impassive but her eyes were expressive.

    Seeing the girl walking in their direction, Xiao Zhi Yuan wanted to run away but he couldn¡¯t move his feet no matter how hard he tried to.

    Under the curious gazes of high school students, the girl stood right in front of Xiao Zhi Yuan and extended the bouquet of roses towards him. There were loud gasps around but he didn¡¯t care at all.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan eyed the roses and then eyed the girl who held it. There were someplicated feelings inside of him. Slowly he lifted his hand and pointed his finger at the bouquet and asked, "This is..." he pointed at his own face as he went on, "for me?"

    With her straight face, the girl nodded making Xiao Zhi Yuan arch his brows.

    He pressed his lips together before voicing out, "Lilly, are you sick? Just yesterday, you gave me a bunch of bruises. Today, you are giving me roses? Why?"

    Lilith rummaged out her cellphone and typed on it, "To apologize for yesterday."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan wanted to smile but his face was stiffened up. "So... To apologize you brought these red roses?"

    She typed again with a frown on her face, "Yes." Wasn¡¯t it obvious that she was apologizing? She was listening to her master and trying to be normal. Was it so hard to believe?

    This time, seeing her innocence, Xiao Zhi Yuan really smiled gently. "Lilly, you are not supposed to give red roses for an apology."

    Lilith gave an inquisitive look and typed again, "Why not?"

    "Red roses are a symbol of love. Yellow roses are used for an apology since they symbolize innocence and friendship." Xiao Zhi Yuan exined patiently with a gentle look.

    Although he was scared of Lilith because of yesterday¡¯s events, he still found her very innocent and naive at the moment. Yesterday, she had made him run for ten kilometers and after that, when he couldn¡¯t throw a punch right, she actually flipped him and knocked him straight to the ground. His back was still sore.

    Lilith scratched her head as she puckered up her lips and typed again, "I¡¯ll go buy the yellow ones."

    She was about to turn when Xiao Zhi Yuan held her wrist to stop her. "There is no need. I like the red ones better." Saying that he happily epted the bouquet from her hands. "Thank you! And I hope you won¡¯t be too vicious again."

    Lilith gave an uncertain look but still typed for him, "I will try my best."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan who was nodding in delight didn¡¯t notice that Zhang Han was giving him some serious looks.

    "I didn¡¯t know you have a girlfriend."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan frowned at Zhang Han¡¯s over-imaginative mind and said, "Stop using your little brain on my matters." He turned to Lilith and asked, "Did youe just for this?"

    She shook her head and typed on the cellphone for him to see, "I came to pick you up."

    Nodding, Xiao Zhi Yuan said, "Let¡¯s go then."

    After Lilith parked the car in the underground parking lot of the condominium building, both of them got off simultaneously. As they walked side-by-side towards the electronic doors, Xiao Zhi Yuan looked at Lilith¡¯s expressionless face and asked, "How do you know my Oniisan?"

    Lilith tilted her head to face him before she entered the passcode of the electronic ss door and walked inside. She took a while before taking her cellphone to type, "He saved me."

    Reading the three words on the screen, Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brows creased up. "Oniisan saved your life?"

    She shook her head and pointed at the screen again. There were the same words as before, "He saved me."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly fathom what she was talking about. Because only she knew how grateful she was to be able to meet her master. He literally saved her. Not her life, but her soul and humanity.

    Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a pair of green eyes were stuck on the ss of sparkling clean water.

    For somepany-rted issue, Ru had to fly back to London. But her mind definitely wasn¡¯t in the condition to focus on anything.

    Her mind was still upied with the thoughts of how she was going to fulfill her promise. This promise wouldn¡¯t have been an issue if she wasn¡¯t Alev Knight or if she wasn¡¯t Xie Rong. But the biggest problem was that she was the one with the dual identity.

    Sending someone else as Alev Knight would be akin to lying and the promise will not be fulfilled but going herself... Could she possibly exin the reason for these messed up identities?

    Adrian had just entered the meeting room when his eyes caught sight of Ru sitting all alone holding her head in her hands. He had never seen Alev Knight looking this distressed. And the extent of distress could be seen from the way, Ru ruffled her own hair making them a wild mess.

    "I didn¡¯t know our most favorite Knight in shining armor is back." Adrian couldn¡¯t stop himself from being bitter with words.

    Ru raked her fingers through her wild mess of a hair to settle them and Adrian¡¯s eyes followed her movements closely. Suddenly he sighed out, "It¡¯s a pity that you are a Knight. If you had been a Princess, men would have gone crazy over that face of yours." Adrian always thought that Ru¡¯s face was too handsome for a man. That defined face-cut and high cheekbone gave her a wild and yet sophisticated look.

    Adrian thought he¡¯d get a reaction since he just literally called Ru a girl but thetter was still indifferent. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to use her brain juice on this useless prince. She had better things to do. Or perhaps, more important things to worry about.

    Adrian didn¡¯t just give up. How could he? He won¡¯t be satisfied until the other person actually gave a reaction.

    "But then again, I think it¡¯s better that you¡¯re a man." This time Ru looked at him with an arched brow. She was curious to know, was her being a girl really that bad? "If you had been a girl, you¡¯d put other men to shame with your tough personality."

    Ru still didn¡¯t speak in reply as she mulled over his words. ¡¯Tough personality? Is it really that bad?¡¯ She wondered to herself in silence.

    Not feelingfortable with Ru¡¯s silence, Adrian burst up, "Hey, Alev! Why so serious, man? I have never seen you this quiet." Don¡¯t scare me like this.

    Rolling her eyes at his outburst, Runguidly looked at his face and retorted, "I certainly can¡¯t n your murder out loud now, can I?" She said it with an impassive look and a in voice.

    It took a while for Adrian to realize that she was being sarcastic with him. He snorted. "You! You¡¯re impossible! Just stay quiet."

    After another moment of silence, Ru asked, "Hey, Adrian! Does a tough personality of girls really bad?" She really regretted asking this question but the bullet was shot, she couldn¡¯t possibly retrieve it. She could only deal with the consequences now.

    Why did she ask this question? She didn¡¯t know. It just suddenly popped into her mind out of nowhere. She had never taken herself being a girl very seriously. If there weren¡¯t a monthly reminder, she might really forget that she was a girl. Therefore, she never really cared about those girly feelings at all. However, she couldn¡¯t deny that she was born a girl.

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Adrian retorted matter-of-factly. "Doesn¡¯t all boys like their woman to depend on them? If a woman is tougher than the man himself, it¡¯ll hurt his ego and pride." Recalling something, he frowned, "Why are you so interested? Is your girlfriend tough?"

    Ru wanted to smack his face but didn¡¯t want to bicker with him at all. "Yes... And I also like her being tough. A person, man or woman, can¡¯t depend on others for life. We have to fight our battles ourselves. There is nothing wrong with being tough. It just shows that a person has gone throw enough storms of life to learn how to row a raft like it¡¯s a luxury boat."

    Adrian was dumbfounded. Why did he feel like he was just insulted again? And he didn¡¯t even do anything!

 Chapter 78 Nice Words & Goosebumps

    Even during the meeting, Adrian could see that Ru was distracted. Something was definitely bothering her. But he was curious to know what could effect Alev Knight to this extent?

    Ru was the first one to leave the meeting room after the discussion was over. She only said a total of five words that were made up of, "Let¡¯s go with your n."

    The conference room went silent at her departure like this. She usually didn¡¯t say much during the meetings except for stating her points but today was one of those rare days when she didn¡¯t even try to nit-pick about other¡¯s ns.

    "Is Mr. Knight okay?" Someone dared to voice out the question to break the suffocating silence.

    "Who knows! Sir Knight seems to be in a bad mood today." Another official reckoned.

    "If that¡¯s the case then let¡¯s not bother him. I¡¯m sure none of us wants to be on the receiving end of his heartless persona." The others nodded their heads to disy their consent.

    Adrian who had been listening silently sighed out and lunged to his feet. He really needed to see what that Knight was up to.

    As he came out and was walking through the corridors to find Ru, he saw her leaning against the ss wall with a cigarette in his mouth. Wisps of white smoke had enshrouded her face but her eyes were still sparkling clear.

    Adrian stood by her side observing her movements patiently while she was still treating him like thin air. Completely INVISIBLE!

    Oddly, for the first time, Adrian wasn¡¯t irked by her behavior. Instead, he was feeling ufortable and worried.

    "Having a bad day?" He finally asked the question.

    She tilted her head to blew the rings of smoke straight at his face before saying, "Apparently, I forgot to wear my lucky underpants."

    Adrian first waved his hand before his face to disperse the smoke while he coughed lightly and then chuckled at her answer.

    He shook his head lightly before saying, "Sometimes you really make me question your sanity."

    The ashes of the burnt cigarette fell on Ru¡¯s fingers but she couldn¡¯t feel a thing. To Adrian, she seemed like someone who was numb to pain. But he didn¡¯t know that she was indeed so used to pain that the small burn couldn¡¯t possibly hurt her.

    "Don¡¯t question my sanity. It only answers to me." Ru replied in a in voice.

    "I have to talk to you about something. How about getting out of here?" Adrian tried to shift her attention and oddly, Ru didn¡¯t refuse.

    Instead, she took a few steps ahead of him and turned her head back to call him out, "What are you waiting for now? Should I bring a pumpkin carriage for your highness?"

    Adrian rolled his eyes at her before following her out. He chose one of the elite bars in downtown London which he owned.

    Rolling his sleeves, he asked, "Would you like a drink?"

    Ru sat down on high bar stool and answered, "Give me bourbon... Neat."

    Adrian picked up a bottle of bourbon and poured it in a ss. He picked some ice as he said, "Have it on the rocks."

    Ru snatched her drink from his hand before he could even add the ice and said, "Bourbon on the rocks... Doesn¡¯t rock my world."

    Adrian pursed his lips as his hand was still holding the ice in mid-air. He reminded himself to stay calm. Today was not a good day to argue. Poring some whiskey for himself, Adrian questioned, "Can¡¯t you ever be nice to me?"

    Ru looked into his ocean blue eyes and smile slyly. "For the past five years, I¡¯ve been looking for a day to be nice to you. But apparently, today isn¡¯t your day again!"

    Grinding his teeth, Adrian retorted, "I have also been pressing the delete button for five years... Apparently, it doesn¡¯t work because you¡¯re still right here." Gulping down his whiskey in one go, Adrian didn¡¯t even feel the burn in his throat since the burn in his heart was much worse! "With your level of sarcasm, you¡¯ll definitely end up in hell."

    Gulping down the liquor straight from the bourbon bottle, Ru smiled victoriously. "Don¡¯t worry... Hell has long banned my entry." Amused by his reaction, she added, "You should think about yourself. I have heard that Satan loves bloody buggers[1] like you."

    After that, she didn¡¯t bother with him at all. Seeing her supping down the alcohol like it was water, Adrian was really taken aback. If he wasn¡¯t wrong, he had heard that Alev Knight doesn¡¯t like drinking. It certainly didn¡¯t look like it at the moment.

    "On a serious note, Alev, what¡¯s going on with you?" He really needed an answer.

    Ru pinched his high bridged nose between her index and middle finger as she said, "Take care of your nose. It¡¯s poking in my business again."

    Adrian scowled as he rubbed his nose which was sore now. "I was trying to be nice here."

    Sighing out, she said, "Adrian, do you think anyone can admire a person like me?"

    Adrian went silent at her question. Where did this sudden questione from? He bit the inside of his lower lip as he pondered over his words.

    Looking at her green eyes looking at him earnestly, he answered, "Is it that hard to believe that you could be someone¡¯s idol?"

    "Isn¡¯t it? People don¡¯t respect me from the heart. They just fear me. My own subordinates respect me because they owe me their lives. I really don¡¯t see a reason why someone would actually be choosing to admire me? That person will have to defend my actions at every step of the way and yet he¡¯ll choose this path. Why?"

    She finally said out the things that¡¯d been gnawing at her heart. She still couldn¡¯t understand the reason why Xiao Zhi Ren would choose to defend her or admire her.

    "You do know that I hate you right?" Adrian asked his own question in return.

    "Of course, I know. The feeling is quite mutual after all." Ru shrugged her shoulders as if his opinion was unimportant.

    Adrian didn¡¯t focus on her words and continued, "The reason I hate you had always been my grandmother¡¯s trust in you. She would rather trust you than me. As for what type of a person you are... It never bothered me." Ru was surprised to hear his words. "Even if I want to, I can¡¯t hate you for your work. You are a weirdbination of ruthless personality and kindest heart. You have done a lot of things in the wrong way. But you never did something wrong."

    "I always admired you for all the innocent lives you saved. People can judge you for taking some bastards lives but I¡¯ll always choose to look at how those actions of yours gave new life and hope to a thousand others."

    "Yes, one will always have to defend your actions but so what? It won¡¯t change the fact that you are one of those people who stand high on their own capabilities. Not by some shady or backhanded means. You might not be honest with words but you are always honest with your actions and aims. That makes you peculiar for me."

    Seeing her blinking at him with a slightly curled lips, he added, "Now, don¡¯t let your boat float high above in the clouds. I was just being honest. But I still hate you as always."

    Ru gave him a sincere smile almost dazzling Adrian who was taken aback. This must the only time, she actually gave him a real smile and not those devious ones. That smile was really... enchanting. Adrian shook his head at his own thoughts.

    "Adrian, thank you for these words. But don¡¯t ever say it again. It gave me goosebumps all over."

    Adrian red at her and turned back to his drink. He really shouldn¡¯t have tried to be nice to this person. ¡¯He¡¯ doesn¡¯t deserve it!

    [1] ¡¯bloody buggers¡¯: Damn Jerks

 Chapter 79 Deep-Seated Passion

    "I¡¯ve heard some rumors going around. Mind if you clear those up for me?"

    Ru was looking at the group of people on the second floor through the ss window when she heard Adrian¡¯s question.

    "And can you please cut back on the liquor in your hand?" Adrian had already watched her drinking two whole bottles of bourbon without a break. He was afraid she¡¯d be sick. But thetter was more than just okay.

    "Being an Englishman, how can you even question this lord¡¯s deep-seated passion for booze?" Adrian twisted his mouth seemingly not quite impressed by her words. Seeing his dark look, she added, "You look like you might peg out[1] any moment now."

    Adrian snorted, not very gentlemanly if one might add so. "Wouldn¡¯t you feel brilliant if I just peg out?" Taking a slight break to walk up to her side, he added, "About those rumors..."

    "What rumors?" Ru asked absentmindedly.

    "I heard that Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility is experimenting on mastering the art of human mind control. Is it true?" He chose his words quite carefully being cautious for some unknown reason.

    "Haha..." Bouts ofughter rang in the dimly lit space. "Are you stered[2]? That soon?" In between her hystericalughter, she added, "Are you watching some sci-fi shows? The human mind is the mostplicated thing in this world. How can one master the art of controlling it? We are called humans, not puppets."

    Although her words sounded reasonable and sensible. But the more they sounded right, the more Adrian knew something was up.

    "It¡¯s not really hard to believe the rumors if it¡¯sing from Knight Empires. After all, everyone knows how much Alev Knight like to pull a blinder[3]." Adrian said in a calm voice as he sat with a straight posture.

    Ru eyed him weirdly with a meaningful look in her eyes. Of course, she knew about the rumors. She had started the rumors herself but it was, in fact, just a rumor. The purpose was just to lure her enemies out. But obviously, the rumors were going to attract some unnecessary attention as well just like Adrian¡¯s attention which waspletely unasked for.

    "Blimey[4]!" Ru gasped in surprise. "I didn¡¯t know Mister Royal Highness of Dogdy[5]-Ville actually thinks so highly of this lord." Knocking him on the head she added, "I might like pulling a blinder but I¡¯m still a human being. With no desire to control someone¡¯s mind."

    "In my personal opinion, if I ever started researching that would be on the human heart." Adrian arched his brows in perplexion. "I want to see how a person can possibly fall in love. Because love is the mostplicated thing for me. Just ask yourself, how can a person love another to the extent that they would want to lose their most precious thing called life for the other person?"

    "Dear Chap[6], stop trying to twist my mind with your words. Answer with a simple yes or no." Adrian had definitely had enough of her. He knew how much this lord loved to manipte with words.

    "Did Charles announced anything regarding this?" Ru asked turning back to her serious self.

    "No."

    "Then why are you looking for an answer? Charles is the Head of my Research Facility if even he had not given an official statement. Then there is no truth in those rumors. They could be just another version of Chinese whispers[7]." Ru¡¯s answer convinced Adrian to some extent but notpletely. He was sure there was more to it than meet the eye but he also knew with Ru¡¯s personality, she would never tell him straightforwardly.

    On the other side of the continent...

    Xiao Zhi Ren had been preupied with preparing a whole new project proposal for Alev Knight. For him, this Big Date Research Center was of utmost importance and he didn¡¯t want to lose out on a chance to have a coboration with Knight Empires.

    While he was working on hisptop in the evening, he received a call. "Hello, Grandmother!" He greeted the person on the other end politely.

    "Zhi Ren, I¡¯ve heard you have been in China for months and haven¡¯t been to the Old Residence. Did Grandmother raised you to be so unfilial?" The voice from the other end might be elderly but it was full of vigor and intimidation.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind at being chided like this. Instead, he smiled. The only person who could reprimand him like that was his grandmother Mi. Also, he could feel her concern and love even in those harsh words.

    "I heard my grandmother wasn¡¯t in the country. What would I do in the Old Residence without my Queen Grandmother?" He didn¡¯t have to say it directly for his grandmother to know why he was avoiding the Old Residence.

    Sure enough, the elderlydy understood as she sighed out tiredly. "Zhi Ren, whether I¡¯m there or not, that family is still yours."

    "Grandmother-" Before he could deny this fact with his argument, she cut him off.

    "Listen to grandmother first... I¡¯ming home next week and there is going to be a banquet at the house. I don¡¯t want to hear any excuses. You muste for my sake. Grandmother misses you." Her soft and pleading voice, eventually made Xiao Zhi Ren relent. How typical of him to fall for his grandmother¡¯s tricks.

    "I¡¯ll be there. Just for your sake, grandmother." Xiao Zhi Ren promised and after an exchange of pleasantries, he hung up the call.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan who had been leaning against the door of his study finally knocked to let him know of his presence.

    "You agreed? Again?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was indignant.

    "Yuan, I told you plenty of times... Our Grandmother is really important to me. I won¡¯t let you say a word against her." Xiao Zhi Ren gave Yuan a stern warning. Not paying heed to him grumbling all by himself, Xiao Zhi Ren added, "Have you seen your Oniisan?"

    At the mention of Ru, Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mood lifted up and he answered, "Oniisan is not home. Lily said he¡¯d be gone for a while. He¡¯s a busy person."

    "And I¡¯m not?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned his little brother as he arched his eyebrow.

    "You are busy... But let¡¯s be honest here Big bear... You can¡¯t possiblypete with Oniisan¡¯s level of power. He has control over the entire stock market." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind praising Ru before his own brother since, in his opinion, there was indeed no match between his big bear and his Oniisan.

    "If you¡¯re done belittling your own brother, go back to your room." Xiao Zhi Ren shooed him away since he couldn¡¯t possibly refute his words.

    Leaning back in his chair, he whispered, "My sworn brother is really at a whole different level." His voice held a touch of pride and satisfaction as if he was honored to have a sworn brother like Ru.

    [1] ¡¯peg out¡¯: die

    [2] ¡¯stered¡¯: drunk

    [3] ¡¯pull a blinder¡¯: To "pull a blinder" involves achieving something difficult faultlessly and skilfully.

    [4] ¡¯Blimey¡¯: My goodness!

    [5] ¡¯Dogdy¡¯: Suspicious

    [6] ¡¯chap¡¯: friend or male

    [7] ¡¯Chinese whispers¡¯: rumors that have been circted and watered down until they only vaguely resemble the truth.

 Chapter 80 Fishes Caught By The Sharks

    While both Ru and Adrian were making there way out of the bar, Ru heard a sweet and melodious voice making her halt to turn and look towards the stage on the first floor where a young girl was singing with her guitar in hands.

    "??She was a little girl

    hiding her colossal dreams

    in her big blue eyes

    She grew up in her golden cage

    trying to see the world

    through her castle¡¯s stage

    They told her, to hide

    there were demons waiting outside

    She sat there, on the rooftop

    Telling magic tales to the howling moon

    But no one knew

    she could hear the wind screaming, and telling her

    Listen to your heart and fly with me

    There is a whole world ahead to foresee

    Don¡¯t run, don¡¯t hide

    Dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat

    Listen to the magic bursting inside

    There is everything you¡¯ve been dreaming of outside

    No one to break you

    No one to shake you

    Just, dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat??"

    "Grab your brolly[1], it¡¯s drizzling outside." Adrian¡¯s voice broke Ru¡¯s daze who was so lost in the meaning of the lyrics that she forgot where she was standing.

    "Huh?" She looked at Adrian in confusion and then heard the sound of pitter-patter making her gape. "This surely is a dog¡¯s dinner[2]. Why is it raining again?" She was feeling exasperated to see the rain.

    Adrian scowled at her reaction. "Why do you look so gutted?[3]" He questioned clearly.

    Ru red at him hatefully. "Today is the match of my favorite team. Now, the match is going to cancel. How unfair!"

    Adrian pressed his lips together not knowing how to reply to that. But there was an irk in his heart to question something and so he did. "Did you fly all the way from Imperial Capital of China to London just to support your favorite football team?"

    Ru rummaged out a ticket from her pant and shoved it right before his face saying, "Why the fudge did I bought these tickets for?" Clenching her fists, she really wanted to smack someone¡¯s head or butt. "This is why I don¡¯t like London, it¡¯s always crying."

    "Don¡¯t talk rubbish. It doesn¡¯t rain that much in London. You¡¯re exaggerating now." Adrian felt the need to defend the pride of London.

    Ru gave him a sideways nce that was enough to shut his mouth. She snatched the brolly from Adrian¡¯s hand and walked out in the rain.

    Adrian looked at her tall, straight posture that seemed to scream confidence and whispered, "There he goes again, gallivanting[4] all by himself."

    Although Ru had snatched the umbre from his hand, she didn¡¯t open it for herself. As she had told Xiao Zhi Ren, she really wasn¡¯t afraid of rain. If anything rain was something she would say she loved. After all, no one could tell whether she was alone, tired, miserable, and crying or it was just the raindrops stuck on her gorgeous face.

    Walking down the alleyways, she saw a youth covering his head with his schoolbag as he ran to find a shelter for himself. She didn¡¯t know what came to her shambled[5] mind that she actually opened her umbre and covered him with it. Before the youth could lift his head to look at her, she had already pulled up her hoodie and walked ahead.

    "Thank you!" She heard a frisky voice from behind. Instead of turning, she raised her arm over her head and waved at him.

    It wasn¡¯t like she was in need of that umbre anyway. She just snatched it to piss off Adrian. Her mission was aplished so there was no need of the umbre at all.

    She didn¡¯t even notice that a pair of bright obsidian eyes, followed her ¡¯till she had turned to enter another alley.

    It took her about thirty minutes to reach her townhouse in downtown. Opening the door, she pped her hands twice and said, "Raven, say hello to daddy!"

    The virtual assistant replied monotonously, "Wee home, mommy!"

    "I¡¯m absolutely zonked(tired). So, mind your words." Ru said in a slightly irritated voice and peeled off her wet jacket and then the hoodie underneath.

    "I¡¯ll take note of that." The assistant answered being less irritating.

    Ru had not even been under the hot water for about five minutes when the ring sound of rm actually startled her. She turned off the water and wrapped a towel before running out in bathroom slippers.

    "Raven, turn on the systems and brief me on the situation. What¡¯s going on?" She hurriedly threw the orders as she clutched the towel, not letting it fall from her body.

    "It seems you have caught a fish lurking in the ocean of your server," came the voice of the virtual assistant being all cryptic like it¡¯s master.

    Ru sat on her swirl chair and not bothering with the towel, she started typing on the keyboard. Outside the window was a calming sound of pitter-patter while inside the house, there was only the sound of tic-ticing from the keys as her fingers flew over them.

    With a sly smile, she said, "Not a fish... I¡¯ve caught a sneaky rat." Pressing the enter button dramatically, she whispered, "Busted!" One could hear the sound of victory in her voice. "These fishes should know there are always sharks hiding in the ocean."

    The screens before her shed before her eyes and the location locked on to the supposed ¡¯rat¡¯.

    But...

    Looking at the location from which the attack was originated, her smile fell.

    [1] ¡¯brolly¡¯: Umbre

    [2] ¡¯dog¡¯s dinner¡¯: A Mess

    [3] ¡¯gutted¡¯: Extremely upset

    [4] ¡¯gallivanting¡¯: roaming

    [5] ¡¯shambled¡¯: Disoriented or chaotic

 Chapter 81 She Is No Thief!

    Ru had a gobsmacked[1] look stered on her face. She really couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. Perhaps, my eyes are ying a joke with me. She wondered to herself and rubbed her eyes repeatedly. "Did I press the wrong button or something?" She asked out loud to herself.

    But the answer came from the annoying assistant, "There seems to be no mistake in the results."

    Rubbing her thin lips with the pad of her index finger, she pondered over the possibilities. "It seems this lord needs to make a visit to Ji Family Residence himself."

    "Iing video call from Xiao Zhi Ren." Ru was in a daze and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t even bother to carefully let Raven¡¯s words sink in before she said, "Connect the call."

    As the call was just connected, Ru¡¯s eyes dropped on the single towel wrapped around her body. Without thinking, she plopped down on the floor to hide.

    "Rong?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mellow voice could be heard. Obviously, he was expecting to see his sworn brother but instead, he could only see an empty room.

    "Yeah," Ru answered from under the table.

    "Where are you?"

    Ru facepalmed herself at being such a blockhead. Thinking of a solution, she slightly craned her neck to show her face to Xiao Zhi Ren. Then gave him a wave with her fingers, "Hi! How are you?"

    She didn¡¯t even realize that at that moment, Xiao Zhi Ren had a look of astonishment on his face.

    With water dripping from her wet hair and dropping on her bare shoulders, along with those prominent and gorgeous beauty bones, she was a sight to behold. He could even see her slightly flushed cheeks perhaps because of the hot water or cold chills, but she looked really adorable.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s Adam apple bobbed up and down before he coughed lightly to clear his throat and shook his head. "What the hell are you doing under the table?" In his flustered state, he had raised his voice unnecessarily.

    "I¡¯m ying football, want to join?" Ru really couldn¡¯t help it. Her tongue really wasn¡¯t in her control. Realizing that she was in no position to bicker, she added, "I mean, I lost a penny. I¡¯m looking for it." Ru suddenly felt proud of her own quick thinking. It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t pat herself before him otherwise, she would have done it for sure.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her being such a stingy person. How shameful it seemed that a billionaire was looking for a penny? "I¡¯ll give you a penny for your thought."

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched at his sarcasm. She pointed her index finger at him and was about to stand up in rage when her falling towel saved her from being exposed. She held it tightly and reminded herself repeatedly not to banter.

    "Zhi Hyung, why are you calling me at this time?" She asked through gritted teeth.

    "Did you take a shower? Why is your hair wet?" Xiao Zhi Ren distracted her again with his own question.

    Ru touched her hair and nodded, "I had to take a shower. It was raining cats and dogs outside. London¡¯s people can be predictable but its weather can¡¯t be."

    "You are in London?" Ru bit her tongue at slipping like this. What was wrong with her?

    "Heh heh..." Sheughed awkwardly. "My favorite team was going to y today but the match canceled because of rain."

    Someone is indignant over the rain. Ren really wanted to smack her head. He thought Ru left for work but who knew this sworn brother was out and about just for his football team.

    "I called you to inform that my grandmother has invited me to a banquet next week. Would you like to join?" Ru shook her head without even thinking. She just wanted him to hang up already. Her legs had gone numb from squatting in such an awkward position. "As you wi-," His words were yet to leave his mouth when he saw her iling her hand frantically before the camera.

    "I want to join. Definitely, do. No doubt about that." Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her talking weirdly.

    "What are you nning?" He eyed her suspiciously as if trying to find her guilty conscious but Ru was called a stone-face, how could he find anything from her expression if she didn¡¯t allow him to? He suddenly gasped and said, "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to steal my grandfather¡¯s antique collection."

    Ru was amazed at his way of thinking. Last time, she did say she was interested in the antique collection of the Old Patriarch of Ji family but steal? She is no thief!

    "What do you mean by steal?" She red at him.

    [1] ¡¯gobsmacked¡¯: shocked, astounded

 Chapter 82 Hiding A Girlfriend

    There had never been a person in Ru¡¯s life who actually dared to insinuate that she was a thief! Breaking into unrestricted ces was a hobby that she had picked up over the years but she had never stolen anything from anyone.

    But considering the amount of data she had illegally acquired through her hacking, she could be called a thief. No! She shook her head denying her own thoughts. If she said she was not a thief than that was it!

    "How can you call your own sworn brother a thief?" Ru gave him an using look.

    Xiao Zhi Ren leisurely propped his face on his hand and said, "Rong, there is indeed something you do want to steal." He had a meaningful look in his eyes. "Forget it, when are youing back?"

    "I¡¯ll take a few days," she replied offhandedly. "If there is nothing else, Bye!" Before Xiao Zhi Ren could even utter a word, she pressed the keys to disconnect the call and heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Phew! That was... one hell of an experience." She suddenly thought of a possibility; what if Xiao Zhi Ren would have seen her wrapped in this towel? He would feel so betrayed.

    Oddly, she didn¡¯t even think for a second about her own self. Her mind waspletely filled up with the thought of seeing Xiao Zhi Ren disappointed in her. Perhaps, unknowingly the person named Xiao Zhi Ren had be a huge part of her life.

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhi Ren was tapping his chin apathetically. He seemed to have found Ru¡¯s behavior a bit unlikely. He had seen Ru being assertive in speech and her aura as well. And yet, today he could see that Ru was seemingly on edge. Like she was really scared of something.

    Scared? He shook his head in negation to himself. There is no way that person could be scared. Pondering over a bit carefully, he wondered, "Hiding? Yes, he must be trying to hide something from me." Xiao Zhi Ren seemed satisfied with his own posttion. But now the question remained; "What was he hiding?"

    "You¡¯re still awake?" Qin Qu¡¯s voice disturbed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s process of thinking out loud.

    Staring back at Qin Qu, Xiao Zhi Ren came up with a thought and said, "Qu, help me understand a situation."

    Qin Qu immediately took a seat to listen seemingly very intrigued to know this ¡¯situation¡¯ of Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up and tried to exin, "When I called a friend, he was hiding under the table. I could tell that he was half-naked, or perhapspletely. I don¡¯t know but he acted like he was hiding something from me. He was in a hurry to hang up as well." He neither mentioned the name of this ¡¯friend¡¯ nor the content of his conversation.

    Qin Qu listened attentively and after Xiao Zhi Ren was trying to make sense to him, Qin Qu went up to his side and pped the back of his head. "This is why I told you to get a girlfriend."

    Xiao Zhi Ren, who was rubbing his head with a scowl asked indignantly, "What does this have to do with a girlfriend?"

    "You fool! That friend of yours looked flushed, damp hair, a bit on edge and in a hurry. He even hid under the table. Now, who can be sure that he wasn¡¯t hiding his girlfriend from you?" Xiao Zhi Ren frowned since this exnation really didn¡¯t seem right to him. Rong and girlfriend? Impossible!

    Seeing the uncertain look in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes, he added, "Come on! He could be ying the ¡¯hide my sausage¡¯ when you caught him off guard with your call."

    Xiao Zhi Ren again tried to recall the situation. Indeed, Ru¡¯s behavior was suspicious as she kept looking downward. He only saw her one hand while the other one wasn¡¯t even lifted. Her cheeks were flushed and now that he paid attention, he could vaguely remember that Ru¡¯s lips were also red. Perhaps from kissing?

    ¡¯Was Rong really hiding his girlfriend?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself unsurely. It still seemed far-fetched. ¡¯But Rong told me he has no girlfriend. But the young man is too handsome for his own good. With those looks, it wouldn¡¯t odd if he really has found a girlfriend this soon.¡¯

    Suddenly, he mmed his fist on the table startling Qin Qu as well with his movement. "He went all the way to London in a hurry. There must be a girlfriend waiting for him. Right?"

    Qin Qu didn¡¯t know why Xiao Zhi Ren was acting like this but seeing that he seemed so certain, Qin Qu simply nodded agreeing with whatever Xiao Zhi Ren was spouting.

 Chapter 83 Get Back To Work

    If Ru would have known what conversation was going on between Qin Qu and Xiao Zhi Ren, she might have puked blood. But not before making those two men cough their guts out.

    Wait!

    No, no...

    Before kicking their butts, she would have definitely asked, "What does ¡¯hide my sausage¡¯ means?"

    After all, she was still oblivious to physical intimacy. For her, it was a very foreign and detestable thing. Yes, detestable! The idea of merely hugging with clothes seemed cringy to her how could she not find physical intimacy as detestable?

    But fortunately, young master Ru waspletely oblivious to this conversation. Shenguidlypleted her shower and picked up a book to read with a cup of piping hot tea.

    The very next day, young master Ru made a visit to Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility.

    "Wee, Mr. Knight," Charles, the head of the research facility greeted her politely. His manner was neither obsequious nor domineering. In his advanced age, he had great respect for his employer but only because, in his opinion, Lord Alev Knight was a man deserving of his status. For him, his employer was a just person but people only had the wrong idea about ¡¯him¡¯.

    "Hi, Charles!" Ru said back gleefully.

    Her cheery tone caught Charles off guard, he was taken aback. But with his experienced personality, he didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary.

    Ru took a seat in Charles¡¯ office and gave her orders, "Release an official statement to deny all the rumors going around."

    "But didn¡¯t you asked for those rumors to exist in the first ce?"

    "I did. And now, I want them to be gone. Before we get into unnecessary trouble, just hold a press conference and clear it up." Ru didn¡¯t bother exining herself.

    And she didn¡¯t need to as well. Charles agreed to do so since he was aware of one thing, Alev Knight always had a reason behind his every action and every single word. Soon enough, an official announcement was made to deny all the rumors straightforwardly without leaving any room for discussion.

    There were a few issues that required her attention which dyed her return and it took her about a week to settle everything since she unexpectedly had to make a short trip to Zurich as well.

    As the matters settled, Ru took a flight back to Imperial Capital where Wu Dishi was waiting for her already. Seeing him, her first words were, "Gather the ck Mist members."

    Wu Dishi immediately followed the orders and then drove her straight towards the outskirts of the city. The seemingly ordinary wooden house in the mountains had currently five people standing upright in the courtyard.

    "What do you think is going on?" The youngest of the group Jack questioned softly as if someone was keeping a watch over him. It wasn¡¯t his fault for being cautious, he always thought that his master was like a ghost that could be anywhere, anytime.

    "If we knew, we wouldn¡¯t be feeling so nervous right now," Adia answered his stupid question with slight irritation.

    "Master should rest after the long flight, why is heing to take our ss?" Jack made a pitiful face as if he was being wronged. "Do you think master knows that I spent thest week ying games?"

    "Have you ever seen master resting?" The most uptight person of the group, Connor voiced out his thoughts.

    Jack thought about it for a second and realized that indeed, he rarely had seen his master resting.

    "Also, have you ever seen anything staying hidden from the master? It¡¯s a given that he knows about your gaming obsession." Connor¡¯s words made Jack¡¯s heart leap up to his throat. He felt suffocated all of a sudden.

    As a limited edition Rolls Royce parked in the outer courtyard, the five of them stiffened up like a pole. Beads of perspiration could be seen on their faces. These sudden calls for meetings never ended well. None of them even dared to breathe loudly.

    Ru alighted from the car and took long but steady strides towards them.

    "Have you had enough fun while I was gone?" Ru¡¯s voice was calm as the morning serenity and yet it sent chills down their spine.

    Frightened, none of them dared to lift their heads. "If you did then it¡¯s time to get back to work."

    "Yes, master!" They echoed in sync.

    After that, all of them settled around a table and discussed the next course of action.

 Chapter 84 Fond of Night, Fear of Stars

    "You¡¯re here!"

    "Oniisan!"

    Ru heard the voices of both Xiao brothers as she entered the tailor shop. Why was she invited here by Big Xiao brother, she didn¡¯t know. But she had a hunch.

    Before the small Xiao brother coulde running towards her to hug her, big Xiao brother held him back saying, "Rong doesn¡¯t like hugs." The small Xiao brother scowled and turned his eyes away showing that he wasn¡¯t very happy with his brother.

    Looking at them Ru suddenly said, "Da Xiao, why am I here?" The big Xiao brother who was just called out gave her a surprised look.

    "Obviously to check whether the suit has the right fitting or not?" Saying that Xiao Zhi Ren had already pushed a tailor-made suit towards Ru.

    Surprisingly or not so surprisingly, the suit was actually ck but the shirt he gave her was white.

    "You want me to wear that shirt?" Ru gave him a look of disbelief.

    "Yeah. What¡¯s wrong with it?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong but Ru thought otherwise.

    "The fact that it¡¯s white. That¡¯s what¡¯s wrong with it." She said in a ¡¯duh¡¯ tone before continuing on, "Da Xiao, have you tried drawing on a ck paper with a ck marker?"

    ¡¯Here we go again.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself. "Not really."

    "Why not?"

    "Because ck marker will just merge with the ck paper. It won¡¯t even make a difference." Xiao Zhi Ren answered calmly as he pushed Xiao Zhi Yuan to try his own suit on.

    "Now, how about if we use the same marker on a white paper?" She asked again.

    ¡¯Oh, we are not done yet.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t want to tell Ru to shut up. Apparently, he really loved her weird way of talking. "If we draw on a white paper, the ck marker lines will be prominent."

    "Bingo! You are really smart, Da Xiao!" Ru smiled at him as she supported her elbow on his shoulder. Xiao Zhi Ren could only roll his eyes at her sarcastic remark but he didn¡¯t try to push her away. He even bent his body a bit to allow her easy ess to drop all of her weight on his shoulder.

    "Your point here is?" Getting a bit impatient with her dragging the time, he finally asked.

    "My point is... How can you ask this dark lord to wear white when you know it will be too weird? I¡¯m a ck kind of a person. White and I don¡¯t go together."

    "But you and I go together." Ru was a bit taken aback by his reply. She tilted her face to look at him but who knew he was also looking at her. A pair of green and a pair of ck orbs collided. Their faces were undeniably close to each other and both pulled away as if struck with lightning or something. Xiao Zhi Ren coughed dryly before clearing his meaning, "I mean to say that I¡¯m your sworn brother and I do love white."

    Getting back hisposure, he added, "Besides, even dark night has a shade of silvery and silky moonlight and starlight. That means ck and white are supposed to fit perfectly."

    ["Stop looking at the darkest nights, brightest stars will eventually be prominent." His voice felt like melting honey letting its sweetness seep into her soul.

    "You and I are very different." She answered in a delicate voice seemingly her forlorn got the best of her.

    She felt a calloused hand hold her own and could feel the warmth of the other body. "How are we different? We both are standing under the same starry night." His voice seemed to have stroked her heart delicately like the evening wind was caressing her face; reassuringly.

    "Isn¡¯t there a difference? You can see that starry night, I can only see the darkness left in my eyes." The hand that held hers tightened as if her words hurt him more than she was hurting inside.

    Suddenly, she felt him rxing again as he said, "If you can¡¯t see this starry night. Then look for your own." He brought her hand to touch her chest right above her heart and added, "Look for it right here. Life begins at night. And the night isn¡¯t worthwhile without the stars to apany it."]

    As Ru came back to reality, she took the suit from his hand without a word and walked into a fitting room. Walking in, she looked at her own reflection in the mirror and whispered to herself, "Perhaps, I¡¯ve loved the night too fondly... Now, I¡¯m left with even the fear of stars." She smiled mockingly at herself. "What have wee to, young master Ru?"

 Chapter 85 Green Grass & Pure Soul

    "You¡¯re getting meaner." Yuan was grumbling as he felt wronged and left out. Why was it that it felt like he was being pushed aside while his own brother was getting closer to Oniisan? He couldn¡¯t just take it lying down!

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhi Ren said absentmindedly while he fixed thepels of his coat. And attached a golden ted maple leaf shaped brooch on the leftpel. His tweed custom made zer was retro styled and tailored to be slim-fit for his lean body entuating his muscles. The white shirt underneath had a golden touch to its cor matching perfectly with the brooch.

    Without waiting for Xiao Zhi Ren, Yuan left the shop to wait in the car instead.

    When Ru came out, she saw Xiao Zhi Ren waiting for her. His dark eyes were deep and enchanting as they were eyeing her from head to toe. His lips were slightly curved with a bit of evil dancing on them.

    She could see a green tint on his face only near the lips and his jaw perhaps it was due to the slight stubble. Even though he had shaved his beard cleanly.

    "If you keep looking at me like that green grass will grow on your girlfriend¡¯s head.[1]" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s words made Ru scowl.

    "I don¡¯t have a girlfriend." She stated in an obvious manner.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her tall figure d in a ck formal suit, that seemed to have brought the ¡¯man¡¯ before him another kind of aura. It wasn¡¯t just aristocratic, noble or sophisticated. This aura was different. Her whole self seemed like that emperor sitting on the dragon throne unmatched and untouched.

    "If you don¡¯t have a girlfriend, who were you hiding under the table that day?" Xiao Zhi Ren came up to her side and fixed the cor of her shirt and as his fingers lightly brushed against the skin of her neck, there was a jolt of electricity that seemed to have sparked in his heart.

    Ru calmly pushed him away and stated, "I was hiding a girlfriend? And even I don¡¯t know that. You guys really have a wildly imaginative mind."

    "It wasn¡¯t my imagination. I have full faith in you." Xiao Zhi Ren replied inly. He really didn¡¯t believe that Ru would hide a girlfriend. Even if for a second, his mind wondered about this possibility, his heart still rebuked him for that. He pinched her nose and added, "After all, I named you Bellissimo for a reason."

    As both equally handsome and outstanding men were making their way out of the shop, they both caught unnecessary attention from the people around them. One was a magnificent sight to behold with his beautiful looks and charms, just like a handsome beast. While the other one was a delightful wonder of cold, elegant and brawns like the tough iceberg.

    Individually, they were already enough to take someone¡¯s breath away but when put in the same picture, they were too mesmerizing for people.

    To avoid all themotion, Ru shifted her attention back to Da Xiao and asked, "Doesn¡¯t Bellissimo means a lovely soul or handsome? Are you calling me handsome?"

    "No, I¡¯m calling you lovely soul." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a quirk of his lip that seemed to have enhanced his beauty.

    "Why? I don¡¯t have a lovely soul or spirit. It¡¯s purely dark." She enunciated each word to emphasize her point.

    "Rong, night hath a beautiful sight. The colors of the night are so rich and alive that one can¡¯t possibly find any impurity in them. No matter how dark you get, it just shows how lovely your soul is."

    ¡¯Does he have the wrong idea of life or do I?¡¯ Ru wondered to herself and chose to shrug her shoulders. This thinking wasn¡¯t worth the time to waste her brain juice.

    "Forget it, let¡¯s just get to that circus."

    "We are going to a banquet." Xiao Zhi Ren reminded her.

    "People are going to try to impress each other with their dresses and mannerisms just like circus animals. And then they willugh with each other as if seeing a clown." This description of a banquet was rather new for Xiao Zhi Ren. Oddly, it sounded right to him.

    "Then why are we even going?" He asked her amusingly.

    "Obviously, tough at clowns," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Why bother?" Xiao Zhi Ren started offhandedly. "I mean I see a clown almost every day for free. I shouldn¡¯t make a visit to a circus for that."

    "Huh? Where do you see the clown?" Ru turned her face to find him looking right back at her while trying to stifle hisugh.

    [1] ¡¯Having green grass grow on one¡¯s head¡¯: means their partner is cheating on them.

 Chapter 86 A Dog on Leash?

    Understanding the meaning behind his roundabout words, Ru squinted her eyes at him dangerously as a vein twitched at the side of her eye. "Did you just called me a clown?" Her voice was calm like it always had been but the way her eyes dug holes in his skull told volumes of how she was really feeling.

    "I did not!" Xiao Zhi Ren shirked the insinuation as if he waspletely innocent.

    But did Ru believe him? No! A big fat NO! Only a nutter[1] would actually believe his lie and she definitely wasn¡¯t one.

    "And you want me to believe that?" She scoffed totally unlike her usual self.

    "Believe it or not, it¡¯s all up to you dear sworn brother. Because if you believe me it means, you have faith in this Hyung of yours and if don¡¯t believe me..." he sighed sadly and went on, "Then it means that you actually see yourself as a clown."

    Ru¡¯s beautifully arched and thick brows were pulled together in a frown. If she said she believed him, it would mean that he¡¯s letting him get away with the fact that he actually called her a clown but if she refused to believe him, she¡¯d be degrading herself.

    Wow! He actually managed to shut her up. Because Ru didn¡¯t want to go with either of the choices she was given. So, she chose the third option; silence. The best solution ever!

    But how could a prideful and narcissistic person like her could take this lying down? She had to have her revenge but in a subtle way.

    Looking at his slim and ck tie, Ru held it in her hand and tugged at it saying, "Why are you being a slowpoke? Pick up the pace bro!"

    The way she pulled his tie made him almost lose his footing, that tug was intentional and he knew it. He was being dragged like a dog on a leash. At this thought, his brows crinkled up and he voiced out his suspicion, "Are you treating me like a dog?"

    Ru curled up her lips with mischief dancing in her sparkling green eyes but when she turned her face to look at him, her face was solemn like it had been. She feigned ignorance and questioned, "What are you talking about?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren pointed at his tie which was being used as a leash around his neck and said, "Doesn¡¯t this feel like I¡¯m your dog and you¡¯re taking me out on a walk?"

    Ru cocked her head to one side and asked innocently, "Does it?" Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "If you don¡¯t like it, then I¡¯ll just let go." After all, she was done with her ¡¯tit-for-tat¡¯. There was no problem in letting him free now since she was relieved in her heart now.

    Xiao Zhi Ren fixed his tie and walked briskly towards his own Bentley. His own entourage was waiting for him and gathered around him in an orderly manner when he walked out. Ru looked at the row of about ten BMW cars and in between was a special edition Bentley.

    "Let¡¯s go," Xiao Zhi Ren made a gesture for Ru to get on.

    Shrugging her shoulders nonchntly, she wanted to take the passenger seat but it was already upied Xiao Zhi Yuan who was surprisingly texting on his cellphone with a smile on his face.

    "What¡¯s gotten you in such a good mood?" Ru inquired when the car revved on the road.

    "Nothing special." He answered distractedly and Ru didn¡¯t pry any further. She had better things to do anyway.

    For instance...

    "Zhi, do you think Ji Family House has good chefs? I mean the food will be good, right?" Xiao Zhi Ren who was answering to some email on his phone pressed his lips together in a straight line at her question.

    "I don¡¯t know." He answered but Ru wasn¡¯t satisfied with his answer at all.

    "Oh,e on! It¡¯s one of the second-ranked families in the whole country. They must have good chefs." At this point, she was more of like talking to her own self. Or more like convincing herself that food will be good.

    But her words unknowingly had attracted Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s attention. Not just his, even Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s ears perked up as he leaned back to hear closely.

    "What do you mean by one of the second-ranked families? Isn¡¯t it the only second-ranked power?" Ru gave him a look of ridicule.

    "Zhi, do you think those in power are simple? If you do, you¡¯re really an innocent person and even I know that you only look innocent." She looked out at the slowly setting sun. "Innocence has been ripped apart by the vultures of reality."

    [1] ¡¯Nutter¡¯: A crazy person

 Chapter 87 Warm Home Or Cold Grave

    As their car drove on a familiar mountain road, Xiao Zhi Ren felt a pang of mncholy hit his heart. The journey towards the Ji Family Mansion was rather nostalgic and filled with bitter reminders.

    This particr mountain region was said to have been the roots of Ji Family from generations. Even the Mansion was built in the style of Ming dynasty. The ancient architecture of the Mansion was a clear indication of how far long the history of Ji Family was spanned.

    It was Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s first visit to the Ji Family Mansion since thest time he was here, he was too young to remember anything. The juvenile was awe-struck by the beauty and antiquity of the architecture.

    The only person unaffected by the brightly lit and decorated Mansion was our Young master Ru who had been idly yawning. But Ru was also the person who could clearly tell that the architecture of Ji Family Mansion had traces of dynasties even before that. It was very easy for her to find those traces in the fascinating pavilions.

    Only Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s car was led inside the main courtyard of Ji Mansion while his entourage was made to wait outside. Several helpers came forwards to help the strikingbo of handsome men. Although the helpers tried to keep their faces solemn showing their professionalism, their glimmering eyes had betrayed them big time.

    It wasn¡¯t their fault since thebo of three devilishly handsome but pr-opposite individuals was indeed eye-catching. And that¡¯s one way to say it humbly...

    Butler Zhang who had been strictly instructed to wait for the eldest young master of the house immediately straightened up as he looked at the tall frame of Xiao Zhi Ren. His old eyes lit up resembling the lights that had been used to decorate the courtyard.

    "Eldest young master!" The middle-aged man ran towards Xiao Zhi Ren and greeted humbly. "This must be our young master Yuan." His eyes had moistened up at just the sight of Xiao Zhi Yuan. The loyal servant had seen way too many storms in this family. He knew what it meant to have both these young masters back at home. "This way, please!" He showed them the way inside personally.

    The Ji Mansion was divided into different courtyards with the innermost courtyard being the ce where only the family of the head was allowed to stay. It was named, ¡¯Longevity Courtyard¡¯. Ru studied the golden characters with interest. Oddly, this reminded her of her own home.

    Although Ji Family¡¯s way of living was far different than her own, she still could see some simrities. For instance, the idea of having separate courtyards in one big Mansion was exactly like it was back home.

    Those big golden characters reminded her of a quote that was engraved on her grandfather¡¯s courtyard door. It stated, ¡¯If your journey of life doesn¡¯t lead you to a warm home, is that journey still worth all that you¡¯d been through?¡¯

    She might have jested about that statement a thousand times but today, she was definitely not the oneughing. After all, the journey of life which she fought for only led her to the edge of a cold grave. Perhaps, a warm home wasn¡¯t something she was fated for. She mocked herself inwardly and followed both Xiao brothers inside in a very low-key manner.

    The hall inside the house was filled with people of different backgrounds. Each more noteworthy than the previous one. But did Ru expected anything different? She did not! Just because her own n didn¡¯t like mingling and trying to fit in didn¡¯t mean other ns of ancient history were also like that. Each hidden family had its own way of leading their lives. And no other was allowed to question their ways.

    But even after wandering her eyes around in the hall, Ru didn¡¯t find anyone from the other hidden prestigious families. That didn¡¯t seem right.

    Suddenly, an elderly voice broke her reverie, "Zhi Ren!" Ru silently stood in an inconspicuous corner to make her presence unknown while she saw an elderlydy walking towards Xiao Zhi Ren with a bright smile on her wrinkled face.

    Her pace was slow and she was supported by Ji Caihong at the side as well. But the elderlydy¡¯s eyes were definitely brighter than the stars outside. Xiao Zhi Ren walked towards her to offer his hand as support and she held it while her other hand stroked his face lovingly. "Aiya, my grandson has surely gotten thin. How can you worry grandmother so much?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her exaggeration and said, "Grandmother, you¡¯re still as dramatic as you had always been." The elderlydy didn¡¯t mind his words at all. Instead, her smile widened.

 Chapter 88 Showtime

    The elderlydy¡¯s eyes fell on a slightly ufortable teenager and she beamed with joy, "Is this our little Yuan? He has grown up into a fine young man." Not caring about Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s reluctance, she pulled him in her arms.

    In the side corner, Ru could see the way tears had pooled into those aged eyes but the elderlydy was strong since she didn¡¯t even let a single tear escape her glistening eyes.

    After that, she stopped paying attention to the family drama before her, she brought her watch close to her mouth and said softly, "ck Mist, it¡¯s showtime!"

    From the tiny earpiece in her ear, she could hear the reply, "On position. Awaiting Master¡¯smand."

    Ru rummaged out her cellphone. She had previously hacked all the surveince camera¡¯s of the Mansion and the live stream was connected straight to her cellphone and to the devices in the hands of ck Mist members.

    Seeing a lot of guests still strolling in the garden as they were appreciating the beautiful architecture of the pavilions, she waited for them to move before giving orders.

    "Mr. Xie Rong?" Hearing her name- at least one of her names- being called out, Ru instantly tapped on the screen of her phone and the live streaming of the surveince cameras turned into the stock market analysis.

    She looked up and was surprised to see that the person who had addressed her just now was in fact, Ji Yifeng. Apparently, he was said to be the father of Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan. She couldn¡¯t say anything about Xiao Zhi Yuan but Xiao Zhi Ren definitely had some touches of his father¡¯s features.

    "Mr. Ji Yifeng, it¡¯s nice meeting you again." Ru altered her persona almost immediately into a polite person one couldn¡¯t possibly not like this handsome and eloquent young master.

    Ji Yifeng smiled at her politely as well. Not being supercilious or imperious. There were hundreds of guests who came to find a way to chat with the chairman of Ji Conglomerate. But as soon as Ji Yifeng caught sight of Ru standing alone in a corner, he immediately made his way towards her.

    "I¡¯m d to see you here. I was wondering whether you¡¯d ept my invitation or not." Yes! Ru had indeed received the invitation from Ji Yifeng himself but his invitation came after she had promised toe along with Xiao Zhi Ren. "I seem to be the worst host, you don¡¯t even have a drink in your hand."

    Ji Yifeng was about to turn to get something to drink when Ru¡¯s voice stopped him. "Mr. Ji Yifeng, I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t really want a drink. At least not for now. Otherwise, this young master would have long gone to get it for himself."

    Ji Yifeng liked her straightforwardness. It was like she didn¡¯t care about her image at all. Ji Yifeng found her very easygoing. Aplete contrast to what he had heard in rumors. If he hadn¡¯t seen Ru during Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s productunch event, he would have been like all the guest around him; trying to guess her identity. After all, her mere presence pulled Chairman of Ji Conglomerate towards herself.

    That fact alone was enough to tell that she wasn¡¯t some simple character at all.

    Feeling a certain someone¡¯s absence, Xiao Zhi Ren darted his eyes around to look for Ru only to find her happily chatting with Ji Yifeng. That scene didn¡¯t sit well with him. He didn¡¯t want Ru to have any kind of interaction with his father. Not in business and most importantly, not in personal life.

    Feeling annoyed, he walked up to her side and held her elbow. "Come, I have something to tell you." Completely disregarding Ji Yifeng¡¯s presence, he pulled Ru with himself who felt really uneasy as she saw the look on Ji Yifeng¡¯s face. She was familiar with that look.

    She had seen the same pain in her father¡¯s eyes whenever he punished her. It was like her pain was piercing his soul and right now, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s rudeness must be piercing Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart.

    "Let go of me," Ru escaped his grip and dusted off her sleeve to get rid of imaginary creases. "I was having an important conversation." She said with a bit of anger.

    "Don¡¯t socialize with a man like him." Xiao Zhi Ren said bluntly not sugar coating his words at all.

    "Why?"

    "Can¡¯t you see? He actually destroyed our happy family by cheating. If he hadn¡¯t done that we wouldn¡¯t have left and my mother would have been alive." He spoke out in exasperation. He hated his father for this sole reason.

 Chapter 89 Dont Praise Me!

    Ru remained silent at his sudden outburst. Even if the truth was exactly as he said, it had nothing to do with her. She had her own twisted life to worry about and there was no space to fit in anyone else¡¯ problems as well.

    Realizing how he had just said too much Xiao Zhi Ren was a bit flustered. But it had be too easy for him to talk to Ru about anything without restraint. Perhaps his trust and faith in her really were boundless now.

    "I need some fresh air," Ru made the excuse to get out of here. Her team was waiting for orders. Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to stop her but didn¡¯t. Although Ru didn¡¯t say anything, from her chilly aura, Xiao Zhi Ren conjectured one thing; Ru definitely didn¡¯t like what he said. But why?

    Walking straight out of the main hall, Ru¡¯s mind had the answer to his question. She didn¡¯t like the feeling of loathsome Xiao Zhi Ren had for his father. She was the kind of person who didn¡¯t like judging a person from society¡¯s eyes.

    In her daze, she collided into someone and without looking up, she said, "Sorry!"

    She was nning on walking right past that figure but halted when she heard this voice, "Mr. Xie!"

    Ru looked up and came face to face with an elderly man¡¯s face beaming with gentleness. And right by his side was Ji Yifeng who had called her name. "Are you feeling okay?"

    Ru tried to put on her polite smile and answered, "Yes. Just a bit stuffed up. So, I thought I should admire your flower garden. I¡¯ve heard quite a bit about its beauty."

    Ji Yifeng nodded his head finding her words believable. However, the elderly man beside him, Ji Rusheng, his father looked a bit surprised. Looking at Ru¡¯s face, he was lost in a daze. Her face resembled that person in his memory so much that he had a hard time believing his own eyes.

    Ji Rusheng shook his head and turned to Ru saying, "So, you¡¯re Xie Rong. I¡¯ve heard a lot of praises about you young man."

    "Praises? Then you must have heard about someone else. People don¡¯t really praise me." Ru said honestly. She was well aware of her own reputation. There was no reason for anyone to use honeyed words with her.

    Old Master Ji Rusheng gave a heartyugh and said to his son, Ji Yifeng, "You¡¯re right. This young man is really amusing." He turned back to Ru and said, "I heard you are really fond of my antique collection."

    Ru scratched her head sheepishly. "I do actually."

    Old Master Ji Rusheng patted her shoulder and added, "Come to visit again. I¡¯d love to show you my collection." By his side, even his son was surprised to hear those wordsing from his father. he knew how much Ji Rusheng treasured his collection and he never let anyonee close to it as well. But Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t know that his father had instantly be fond of Ru. "Now, go and have a walk in the garden. Should I ask someone to apany you?"

    "No, no... I don¡¯t want to trouble you. I¡¯ll find my way." Ru rejected immediately and darted out but not before bowing her head in respect. Herst gesture raised Ji Rusheng¡¯s liking for her even more.

    Out in the garden, Ru found a dark corner and said, "Come out."

    Five figures almost flew out of the dark to stand in an organized manner before her. "All of you have the sh drive I gave you."

    "Yes, master!"

    "Spread around, everyone is busy in the banquet. Other courtyards must only have servants. It¡¯s the right time for us. Find theputer whose hard drive has been attacked by my virus. After that, insert that sh drive in thatputer and leave. Are we clear?" Ru detailed the n once more to make it clear.

    Jake raised his hand to ask for permission and as he was granted, he asked, "Master, the one whoseputer has your virus, isn¡¯t it obvious that¡¯s the culprit we are looking for?"

    Ru threw him a deadly re before saying, "Don¡¯t waste my time. Get out! I¡¯ll take the innermost courtyard. The rest is yours."

    All of them bowed and scattered around. If it was as simple as finding theputer which initiated the attack on her Empires server, wouldn¡¯t she have caught the culprits by now?

    Looking back at the building where the banquet was going on, Ru stretched her body a bit. She walked to the back of the house and darted her eyes around to find anything amiss. Seeing the coast clear, she ran towards the wall ahead of her to climb.

 Chapter 90 Purest Love

    It had been a while since thest time Ru had climbed over walls or sneaked into somebody else¡¯ territory. But it didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t handle it. She had always been an expert at sneaking around.

    By now, she had roamed around the entire second floor of the house but didn¡¯t find what she was looking for. She was growing impatient since she had a tight schedule. If she stayed missing from the banquet for a long time, people will notice.

    There was only one room left for her to check. She jumped onto the balcony of it and realized there was someone in the room. She immediately hid behind the curtain making her presence inconspicuous.

    Craning her neck, she looked inside to find a lone figure sitting before a table filled with food. Her eyes were deste but ssy. Describing her as sad would seem flimsy. The woman looked like someone who had been buried deep in depression for so long that there were no tears left to cry or wail anymore.

    Her skin was pale and sallow as if she was sick. Perhaps, her sadness had seeped so deep into her bones that even pain couldn¡¯t be felt.

    Suddenly, the night wind made the curtains flutter and as the chilly air brushed against her face, she lifted her eyes to gaze out towards the night sky.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what she saw but her eyes suddenly brightened up as she shot up from her chair and said anxiously and eagerly, "My baby bean, you are back."

    Ru was about to frown since she couldn¡¯t see anyone in the room except for herself and that dainty looking woman. But she didn¡¯t get a chance since the curtain was lifted and the woman had already gripped her wrist in her hands as she gave a toothy grin.

    Oddly, Ru found her smile really beautiful. But that was not the point. The point was; how the hell did she get caught? That was a first!

    "Baby bean,e inside. Why are you hiding? Mom is all alone. Mom¡¯s been waiting for you all alone here." Now, Ru definitely frowned trying to get her mind around this whole situation.

    Who¡¯s the baby bean? Mom? What the hell was going on?

    Before she could think, the woman had dragged Ru inside and pushed her down on the chair. She took a seat beside her and took Ru¡¯s hands in her own. "Where did you go? Why did you make mom wait for such a long time?" Tears had gathered in her ssy eyes and fell down her eyelids but the smile on her pale face was still intact.

    The woman stroked Ru¡¯s cheek and broke her state of shock as she said, "Mom missed you a lot, my son. You don¡¯t know how much mom waited for you."

    Of course, she didn¡¯t know. First, she wasn¡¯t her son. Hell, she wasn¡¯t even a boy! Second, she had no clue why thedy was mistaking her for her own son.

    But looking more closely, Ru realized a certain detail that made her heart shook.

    "My son is finally back. That scheming woman can never win. How dare she try to snatch my son? I won¡¯t give my son at any cost! My baby bean is only mine. Yes, only mine!" The dainty woman was mumbling to herself and from the way her expressions shifted and she talked. Ru had reckoned that her mind was not functioning properly.

    No, more precisely... She seemed to be stuck in her state of trauma. The effect seemed stronger since the woman before her was even wearing clothes of over a decade old fashion. Now that Ru noticed, even the room was decorated in an old-fashioned manner.

    Ru was again lost in her own thoughts when she was pulled into a warm embrace. "Baby bean, don¡¯t leave mom again. Mom might die without you this time."

    The embrace wasn¡¯t repulsive. Instead, Ru felt calm and peaceful. Moreover, it felt warm. How odd!

    As she was pushed back a bit and her green eyes looked into that ssy pair of ck eyes, she heard a question, "You won¡¯t leave mom again, right?" Lost in the earnest and imploring look in that pair, Ru nodded her head.

    Damn! So much for being the ruthless lord! You should be ashamed of yourself. Even an insane woman managed to control you. What a pity!

    Ru¡¯s mind was constantly nagging her but she didn¡¯t pay attention. It really didn¡¯t matter.

    After all, her mother¡¯s words came to her mind, ¡¯A mother¡¯s love is the purest. A child is his mother¡¯s whole world.¡¯

    She couldn¡¯t fathom the state of the mother before her who lost her world.

 Chapter 91 Did It Again

    Ru kept her eyes on the odd woman before her eyes as she stroking Ru¡¯s soft hair and mumbling incoherent words to herself with a goofy smile. Why Ru called her odd? What else could she say, the woman was showering her motherly love on her; a demon.

    "Oh," suddenly recalling something, the woman lifted the lid of the pots on the table and said, "Look mom waited for you at dinner as always. Mom made it herself." Ru frowned at thest statement. The woman wasn¡¯t even sane, how could she cook? "Eat it. Mom is a bit forgetful so there might be something missing. Don¡¯t mind that, okay?"

    Ru saw her nervously rubbing her hands together and an innocent look on her face. But she was lost in her own thoughts as her words had triggered some old memories.

    *shback*

    "See what mother has brought for you. I made it all by myself." Young Ru gazed at her mother¡¯s face and sat down on the cushion.

    "How will I eat?" Ru grumbled as she lifted to show her bandaged hands to her which was the result of her own mistake.

    "Who told you to touch a hot kettle?" Her mother reprimanded her lightly but her voice had a tinge of worry in it as well. "I know you are hurt. That¡¯s why I made the food for you. Come, I¡¯ll feed you myself."

    Ru smiled happily and leaned closer to her mother¡¯s side to snuggle up. She didn¡¯t want to brag but her mother was really a breathtaking beauty. It was rare for her to have her mother all to herself, so she wanted to take as much advantage as she could.

    "Ah..." Ru opened her mouth and heard a light chuckle from her mother who rubbed her hair before feeding her a spoonful of rice and soup. After chewing a bit, Ru made a face and said, "There is too much salt in the soup."

    Seeing her mother pressing her lips together, she felt bad about herment. She knew how busy her mother was being the Matriarch of the n. But she still managed to find time to cook for her, it was already a huge deal. She shouldn¡¯t beining. "Just eat it. Mom is a bit forgetful these days. Don¡¯t mind that my dearest son, okay?"

    Ru nodded her head instantly changing her mood and said, "Mama, you know I¡¯m a girl. Can¡¯t you at least call me your daughter when we are alone?"

    Looking into her hopeful eyes, her mother¡¯s eyes dimmed. "My baby, you are not my daughter. You can¡¯t be. For me, you can only be a son. The day you became my daughter, I might lose you. And mom doesn¡¯t want that." There was strange sorrow in her voice that made Ru tense up.

    "Mama, what do you mean?" Young Ru gazed at her mother with her big ck eyes twinkling brightly.

    She saw her mother wiping a tear as she turned her face to hide it from her. "Nothing. Mom is a bit stressful these days. I don¡¯t even what I¡¯m saying. You rest properly. Don¡¯t you dare sneak out!" Saying that sternly, her mother left her alone.

    *End of shback*

    Coming back to the present, Ru couldn¡¯t refuse the odd woman and picked up the chopsticks to eat the food. She had let her own mother down by sneaking out, she didn¡¯t want to leave this mother down.

    While eating, Ru realized there were no spices in the soup. She smiled to herself but didn¡¯tment at all. How could she? This food was made with love, even without spices, she found it way better than her own.

    Seeing her heartily eating, the woman was satisfied. "Did you like mom¡¯s food?" She asked as she looked at the empty bowls with glimmering eyes.

    "Yes, I loved it," Ru answered softly, it wasn¡¯t a lie anyway.

    Someone knocked on the door and the woman got anxious. "My baby bean, you should leave now. Don¡¯t let them know you came to me. They will give you to that horrible woman again. You should go. Yes, you should go." She started pushing Ru towards the window from where she actually entered.

    Her nervous look made Ru uneasy as a million questions bubbled up in her mind. But she couldn¡¯t get an answer. At least not from this odd woman. Before she turned to jump, her hand was held by a soft but cold hand. She looked back at that woman and heard her, "You wille to see mom again, right?"

    Say no, young master Ru. She¡¯s not your mother.

    Ignored her inner self she nodded. You did it again!

    She saw that pale face blooming up with her single nod.

 Chapter 92 Numb To I

    Downstairs in the banquet hall, Old Madam Ji announced to everyone that Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan were the sons of Ji Family. Those who knew Xiao Zhi Ren as the CEO of SnapVise Technologies were already impressed by this man but now, they were dumbstruck. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t just capable, he even had a strong backing like Ji Family.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t very happy with this announcement since he had no interest in being a part of Ji Family or even being linked with them. But his own needs called for it. He couldn¡¯t help but grimace along.

    This sudden news had brought another wave of whispers to ensue in the hall.

    "I thought young master Ji Syaoran was the next head of Ji Family." Someone in the crowd voiced out.

    "Didn¡¯t everyone thought that way?" An elegantdy retorted.

    "But this Xiao Zhi Ren looks to be older than Ji Syaoran, does that mean he¡¯s the next in line?" Another person asked, curiously.

    "Haiz! It seems even Ji Family is not safe from internal strife for power."

    Xiao Zhi Ren tugged at his tie ufortably. All those whispers around him made him ufortable. He didn¡¯t want to be the next head. He just wanted to live with Xiao Zhi Yuan. But life surely doesn¡¯t go as one ns it.

    Trying to ease his uneasiness, Xiao Zhi Ren drank a little too much of that red wine. Although it kept his mind from overthinking, it didn¡¯t help with the uneasiness in his heart. A certain pair of green eyes popped up in his mind. Just the thought of Ru made him feel a bit better.

    Frowning, he looked around but couldn¡¯t find her anywhere. A bit anxious, he came out to the garden to look for her.

    On the other hand, Ru jumped down from the balcony in a swift motion andnded straight on her feet. Fixing her suit and dusting it off carefully, she sighed.

    "You¡¯re a tosser, young master!" She knocked on her own head. But at the memory of that woman¡¯s blooming smile, Ru couldn¡¯t even second guess. "A gift of a smile is all I can offer. It made her day bright and that¡¯s all that matters."

    She convinced herself and felt proud of herself. But she stiffened as she heard a familiar voice behind her, "I was wondering which spiderman was bold enough to jump from the third floor. Now I realized that it¡¯s our own ninja turtle."

    Ru slowly turned her body to look at Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s amused face. But the look in his eyes was different. What was it? As he took a few steps closer, Ru realized; he was a bit tipsy.

    Letting go of her nerves, she said, "I¡¯m more suited to be the lightning god, Thor! HA. HA. HA." It was a desperate attempt to distract him from asking about her sneaky behavior.

    As if reading her mind, Xiao Zhi Ren said, "Don¡¯t mind me. I really don¡¯t care why you just jumped down from there. I already knew you had some hidden motive for tagging along with me. And honestly, I don¡¯t even want to know what it is."

    His straightforward words helped Ru in slightlying back from the edge. "But I must say, that was a good jump." He put her in a loose headlock as heplimented her.

    "Well, this young master has always been good at it." Ru was acting like an egomaniac again. But as always, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t find it repulsive. After all, she had the right to be in love with herself.

    Getting back to her serious self, she asked, "What¡¯s wrong? Why did you drink this much?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her and chuckled softly. How weird it was that this sworn brother who knew him for only a few months could actually read his face so well!

    He looked straight into Ru¡¯s green eyes under the soft light of the crescent moon. "Rong, Why do people leave? And if they do leave us behind why do they still take a part of us with themselves?"

    Ru thought he was talking about his mother again. Therefore, she said, "People leave because if they won¡¯t how will universe conspire for them to meet again?" Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her with a surprised look as she went on, "And Zhi Hyung, people don¡¯t take a part of us with them. Instead, they leave something behind... They leave a feeling of emptiness behind as a reminder."

    "Isn¡¯t that unfair? For me to feel so empty?"

    "Not really." She shrugged her shoulder and continued, "You should be d you feel empty. The problem will ur the day you¡¯d be numb to all of it."

 Chapter 93 Im-Being-Low-Key

    Ru had no idea that her words had be like a ray of hope that shined brightly on Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart. He wasn¡¯t talking about his mother at all. He asked why ¡¯she¡¯ left him. But the way Ru told him that people leave so that universe could conspire for them to meet again, made his whole world lighten up.

    Why did he believe Ru¡¯s words? He couldn¡¯t even tell himself. He just believed in her. Looking into her green eyes, he seemed to forget everything. Unknowingly, he had full faith in whatever she told him.

    While walking back, she heard Jack¡¯s voice from the earpiece, "Master, mission aplished!" Her jaw tightened as a vein twitched on her forehead. She so wanted to smack Jack¡¯s face for using such an old fashioned way. But she held it in. She¡¯ll have to wait until the end of the banquet before teaching him a lesson.

    Inside the banquet hall...

    Whispers hadn¡¯t died down. Instead, they had increased with the arrival of Ji Syaoran himself. He was greeting his grandparents with a polite smile when his gaze fell on Xiao Zhi Ren. But when he saw Ru beside him, Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened a bit in surprise which he hid quite well.

    He straightened up before making his way towards Xiao Zhi Ren with a solemn look on his face. Ru observed him and Xiao Zhi Ren who definitely didn¡¯t look like his tipsy self that she just saw outside.

    "Do you know, one of them is the son of a Mistress," Ru¡¯s sharp listening senses had caught up this whispering very clearly as her ears perked up.

    "Really?" She heard a gasp. "Which one?"

    "Can¡¯t tell. Ji Family didn¡¯t let anyone leak this information."

    "I think it¡¯s that Xiao Zhi Ren." Someonemented in the gossip group.

    "No. I¡¯m sure it isn¡¯t him. First, he¡¯s the eldest one. Second, can¡¯t you see the doting look in Old Madam Ji¡¯s eyes? It¡¯s obvious he¡¯s the rightful one."

    Even Ru had to nod with this remark. But for now, she was interested in seeing the rtionship between these two half-brothers. They both could be the next head of the family. There had to

    be somepetition or perhaps... animosity?

    As Ji Syaoran came close to them, he immediately grinned and opened his arm for Xiao Zhi Ren whose face had the same look. "Bro, I missed you!" Hearing Ji Syaoran¡¯s words and their moment of cordiality. The hall went into a hushed silence.

    This came as a huge shock for some people who were trying to scheme about choosing sides to make the most of benefits.

    Xiao Zhi Ren patted Ji Syaoran¡¯s back and said, "We just talkedst night. Do you have to be so dramatic?"

    Ji Syaoran pulled away with a full blown smile gracing his handsome face. "It¡¯s been 21 hours. That¡¯s enough time for me to miss my brother."

    "I thought you were not gonna make it."

    "I had toe just for you." Seeing Ji Syaoran being cheeky, Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head at him before rubbing his perfectly styled hair. "Bro!" Ji Syaoran fixed his hair with a scowl. "I know you won¡¯t listen to the fact that I don¡¯t like being treated like a kid anymore but could you please refrain from doing it in public. I have an image to maintain."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at him and used both of his hands to ruffle Ji Syaoran¡¯s hair. "You never listen." Ji Syaoran grumbled but his eyes held a look of pure adoration and admiration.

    ¡¯I thought they¡¯d be at each other¡¯s throat. But they seem too close.¡¯ Ru was having a monologue in her mind as her hawk-like eyes were scrutinizing them. ¡¯Why does this Mr. Second brother have the same look in his eyes as our little squirrel?¡¯ Confusing! Everything was turning more confusing with each passing second.

    First, Old Madam Ji¡¯s unusual way of doting on Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Second, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s animosity towards his father, Ji Yifeng.

    Third, the odd woman on the third floor.

    Fourth, these half-brothers sharing such a close bond.

    Andstly, Ji Syaoran treating Xiao Zhi Ren exactly as Xiao Zhi Yuan does.

    "Oh, Ran Zi[1], meet Xie Rong. He¡¯s my sworn brother." A look of surprise shed through Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes.

    "Hi! I¡¯m Ji Syaoran." He held his hand out for Ru who eyed his hand and him with an amusing look. "Nice meeting you."

    Ru took his hand and squeezed it unnecessarily as she said slowly, "Likewise. Mr. I¡¯m-being-low-key..." Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened up. He didn¡¯t think Ru could recognize him.

    [1] ¡¯Ran Zi¡¯ is Ji Syaoran¡¯s nickname. Adding Zi is using a word for showing affection.

 Chapter 94 Twisted Family

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t expect that Ru would be able to recognize him. After all, thest time when they shared a table at the auction, he was wearing a mask and a cap. How did Ru recognize him? it was the first auction that Ru attended aftering back to Imperial. She had specifically been there to buy a painting named, ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯.

    "Heh heh... I don¡¯t understand your meaning, Mr. Xie." Ji Syaoran tried to y dumb. If he denied it, how could Ru insist that she met him? But he truly underestimated her.

    "Just because you were wearing a mask and a cap, do you think it was a perfect disguise?" Ru sneered before continuing, "I¡¯m a master of disguise. You forget subtle details like the prominent birthmark right under your ear. Also, you¡¯re still wearing the same ring." Ji Syaoran looked at his ck stone ring and pressed his lips together. He was speechless.

    "Rong, do you know my brother?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked with a quirk of a brow.

    "Didn¡¯t know he¡¯s your brother but yeah. I know him alright." Ru answered before rting the incident of the auction.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t surprised at all. He knew why Ji Syaoran was at that auction. But he couldn¡¯t tell Ru. But then again, she wasn¡¯t really interested in knowing either. He patted Ji Syaoran¡¯s shoulder and said, "Ran Zi, don¡¯t look so down. Rong is just too good with his keen senses."

    Ji Syaoran smiled at his brother and nodded. "Can you keep it a secret that I was at the auction?" He requested to Ru in a small voice.

    "My lips are sealed." Ru made a locking lips gesture before throwing the key making both brothersugh. She didn¡¯t even ask for the reason.

    "Hey, Ran Zi!" Ji Syaoran turned to look at Xiao Zhi Yuan and scowled a bit.

    "You brat! I¡¯m older than you. Treat me like that." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t care and he got into an argument with Ji Syaoran. Xiao Zhi Ren could only shake his head at his brothers.

    "So, you and your half-brother." Ru let her words hanging.

    "What about us?" Xiao Zhi Ren retorted.

    "You guys seem close," Ru said offhandedly.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled a bit before replying, "We are close. There is no difference between him and

    Yuan for me."

    "No difference? Don¡¯t they both have different mothers?" Ru couldn¡¯t stop herself from asking. She just had to open her mouth.

    "That never bothered me. I can hate my father for that. But Ran Zi and Xiao Hong are innocent."

    Ru nodded her head. "Little squirrel seems close to him, then why is he so distant to Xiao Hong?"

    "That¡¯s because, by the time Yuan got to know that Ran Zi is our half-brother, he was already too close to Ran Zi to hate him."

    Ru didn¡¯t ask further.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren went back to his grandparents, Ru was left alone. That meant her mind was wandering off to far off ces. Unnecessary ces.

    It was a good thing someone disturbed her. "Why are you standing all alone? Did you eat anything or not?" Ru looked Ji Yifeng¡¯s amiable smile and put on a polite and courteous look.

    "Don¡¯t worry about me, Mr. Ji." Taking a moment to ponder she said, "Can I ask you something personal?"

    Ji Yifeng looked into her green eyes and didn¡¯t know why but agreed. "Sure."

    Ru pressed her lips together to choose the right words. "Where is Xiao Hong¡¯s mother?" But the words that came out seemed rude, even now.

    "I heard she¡¯s dead. But honestly, I don¡¯t believe that at all." Ji Yifeng spoke in a whisper as if it was top secret information. Seeing Ru¡¯s face, he chuckled and changed his answer, "I was kidding."

    Ru could believe the former answer but thetter one? No way! He was so not kidding!

    "What about Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mother?" Ru saw Ji Yifeng visibly stiffening up as if it poked his sour spot. Perhaps it did since he clutched the ss in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white as a sheet.

    "Sorry, I have to do something. Excuse me," the way he made excuses and walked away confirmed one thing for Ru. Ji Family wasn¡¯t as simple as her own family n.

    She sighed out. ¡¯Why is this family so twisted? Mine is so simple.¡¯ Not wanting to stay longer, she bid goodbye to everyone politely and left the Ji Family Mansion. She had better things to do.

 Chapter 95 Soul Brother?

    After leaving the Ji Family Mansion, Ru went straight to the house in the mountains. And the first thing she did was...

    "Ahh! Master, why are you pulling my ear?"

    Oh, yes! She was pulling Jack¡¯s ear while smacking his butt with the bamboo stick in her hand. Her hand had been itching to do that since the time he screamed that ¡¯mission aplished¡¯ in her ear. The poor guy was screaming for mercy now but who would listen? Certainly, she won¡¯t!

    "Why am I doing this? What exactly does ¡¯mission aplished¡¯ means? Did this lord give you such bad training?" Ru rebuked him while ring at him.

    Jack lowered his head as he trying hard to fight the urge to rub his poor rear that had been hit badly. "Master, I was trying to act sagaciously." He bit down his grief and voiced out.

    "Don¡¯t bother doing so next time. Otherwise..." She left her words hanging which made Jack gulp visibly at the million possibilities. "Now, kkeojyeo![1]" As if receiving a second chance at life, Jack ran for his life.

    On the sideline, Lilith wasughing silently to herself. The way Ru thrashed Jack was too amusing for her. Ru looked at her inquiringly and she replied, "You are really adorable."

    "Me?" Ru pointed at her nose and Lilith nodded her head. "Woah! That¡¯s the second time someone called me adorable. I don¡¯t know what to say."

    Ru felt a tap at her shoulder and looked at Lilith who asked, "Who was the first one to call you adorable?"

    Ru pressed her lips together at the memory of being called ¡¯adorable¡¯.

    *shback*

    "Look that girl is wearing a ck and white striped dress," Ru said with a huge grin on her face while her mouth was filled with spicy crayfish that she¡¯d been munching on with zeal.

    "And what¡¯s wrong with that?" He frowned as he questioned while peeling the crayfish for her and cing it in her te one by one.

    "Aiyoh! Jie duffer doesn¡¯t she look like that animal who seems like a donkey but wears a sweater?" Hearing Ru¡¯s words his frown deepened.

    Suddenly at the realization, he said, "You mean a Zebra?"

    "Duh!" Ru eximed in a dramatic manner.

    He facepalmed himself and stifled hisughter before pinching her nose with his hands filled with sauce. "Aiyoh, my Ru¡¯er! Why are you so adorable?"

    Ru swatted his hand away, rubbed her nose clean and said, "My brother from another mother, I¡¯m not adorable." She puffed up her cheeks like a kid. She could only act like that before him. He was the only one who knew her. The real her.

    "You¡¯re right. Our Ru¡¯er is not adorable." Ru smiled in satisfaction but it stiffened as he added, "She¡¯s just adorkable." He burst outughing while Ru punched him in the guts.

    *End of shback*

    Ru had a ghostly smile on her face at the memory from a few years back. She suddenly saw Lilith waving her hand before her eyes as if saying, ¡¯Earth to master¡¯.

    "Yeah, what?" Ru came back to being impassive.

    "You didn¡¯t tell me? Who called you adorable?" Lilith asked again.

    "He was my brother..."

    "Really?" Lilith seemed surprised since she heard that Ru didn¡¯t like talking about her family at all.

    "Yup! But from another mother." Ru finished her sentence and Lilith¡¯s mouth opened up in the shape of ¡¯o¡¯.

    Ru didn¡¯t exin anything further. She left Lilith hanging but Lilith figured one thing for sure; the said person was very important to her master. Just the memory of him made her master smile so fascinatingly. There was no doubt that the said person was held in high regards.

    Meanwhile, for the first time since she came back to Imperial, she felt like talking to her soul brother. Yes! Soul brother! That¡¯s what Zhu Jie was for her. Xiao Zhi Ren was her sworn brother but Zhu Jie... he had been her soul brother since she was five. Her only escape to the world outside her n was him.

    She called him soul brother since she couldn¡¯t think of anyone who knew her better than him. If there was one person outside of her n who knew that she was a girl, it was Zhu Jie. And he was the only one who would treat her as a girl. He knew her thoughts, her schemes, her habits. Also, he was the only one who actually understood her nonsensical jokes.

    He always called her Ru¡¯er and only he was allowed to call her that. In fact, he could call her anything... Because if there was one person she couldn¡¯t stay mad at, it had to be that duffer soul brother of hers.

    [1] ¡¯kkeojyeo¡¯: Get Lost!

 Chapter 96 Blunder On Her Par

    Coming back to herputer room, Ru satnguidly on her swivel chair and gave it a 360-degree spin while waiting for theputers to boot up.

    She closed her eyes and let the events of the night rey like a scene from a movie. She had an impable memory and perhaps that¡¯s why having a gap between her memory felt even weirder to her. She could remember every tiny incident of her life vividly and yet, she couldn¡¯t remember anything that happened in those two years.

    It was pure torture since whenever she tried to put some pressure on her mind, she would get dizzy. It was a feeling like someone was squeezing the life out of her.

    "Wee back, master!" Raven¡¯s human-like voice made Ru open her eyes as she stared at the multiple screens surrounding her.

    "Run the virus diagnosis first." Getting the order, Raven started the process and Ru could see the numbers and codes running on the screen before her. It was going to take some time.

    She opened the drawers and pulled out a small box from inside. She opened it and a dragon-fly sized drone was before her eyes. She held it in her hand and taking a screwdriver from her precision screwdriver set, she started to fiddle with the drone¡¯s small screws.

    While the virus diagnosis was going on, she connected the tiny drone with herputer to install some upgraded software. Using her mobile, she controlled the drone and flew it around for a while to test.

    After being done with it, she saw that the virus diagnosis wasplete and the content of the hard drive was right before her. Not only that, because of the sh drive that Jack left behind, now she could track all the activities of that particrputer.

    "Urgh! Why does this girl have thousands of photos?" Ru groaned in frustration as the only thing in the hard drive were photos, photos, and yes, photos!

    "Master, it¡¯s a proven fact that girls like to take photos," Raven answered her in an all-knowing manner.

    "What are they? Obsessed with themselves or something?" Ru retorted quite irked for some reason.

    "No. But like a human-nature, they like getting the approval of the people. And the best way to do it is, showing their perfect selves." Ru rolled her eyes and snorted in contempt.

    "Raven, every human live his own life and fight his own battle. Then why the hell do humans need some strangers approval? Isn¡¯t it like degrading oneself. I¡¯ll call it attention-seeking for no good reason except for showing how desperate you are."

    "Master, you are being rude."

    "Am I?" Ru challenged.

    "Yes! Some doesn¡¯t want attention, they are just lonely enough to find sce in photos."

    "Who is teaching you this cr*p?" Ru asked since she definitely didn¡¯t program Raven like this.

    "Inte; also known as the World Wide Web. You can learn every skill as long as you are up for it." Ru scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "You should try it, it might help you learn some basic socializing skills."

    Ru ignored Raven and focused on going through the photos.

    Actually, she knew she wouldn¡¯t find anything in the hard drive from the beginning. Theputer IP that she had locked on tost time belonged to none other than Ji Caihong.

    It came as a surprise to Ru at first butter she started to connect the dots.

    Last time, when she heard that shrill voice that brought a buried memory back, she had ended up with one name; Ji Caihong.

    And now, Ji Caihong¡¯s personalputer was being used to invade into Knight Empires server. Ru actually believed that only an idiot would use their personalputer for doing something illegal like that.

    So, she simply never considered that Ji Caihong was behind all of it. But whoever it was, he was using Ji Caihong as a shield for sure.

    Let¡¯s see how long you can hide.

    Ru closed her eyes after looking through a couple of hundred photos, not wanting to continue.

    It was a blunder on her part.

    Because if she had gone through a few more photos, a certain face might have triggered her buried memory. s! She missed the perfect chance.

    Fate really didn¡¯t want her to have it easy.

 Chapter 97 Shopping Spree

    The following few days were quite strenuous for Ru. Her nights were spent on conference calls having meetings with people in Ennd while her days were worse since she had to be physically present for all the meetings of Metrix Consortium as Xie Rong.

    Swapping between her alter-egos day and night was excessively tiring in itself. The only breather she got was the time, she spent smoking.

    Right now, she was doing her field research on one of the shopping malls under her group¡¯s name. She had no interest in listening to the group of people who kept exining to her how profitable it was for them. She had yawned a couple of times to show her displeasure but the old fatty wasn¡¯t really taking the hint.

    How annoying!

    Wu Dishi was the only one who noticed the way her mouth was twitching, he knew if he dyed a second, his master might go berserk in the middle of this shopping mall. She honestly had no interest in knowing which restaurant franchise approached them and what international brands were vying for their attention.

    "Mr. Eric, that¡¯ll be all for today." Wu Dishi addressed the old fatty to stop him from talking anymore.

    The old fatty was given the task of managing such a big project, he wanted to do his best for his boss, Xie Rong. He was slightly displeased but didn¡¯t have the courage to say anything back to Wu Dishi.

    As the group of people left, Ru heaved a sigh of relief. "Why was he chatting so much? Do I really have to know the name of each international brand?"

    Wu Dishi stifled his smile and answered, "He was trying to impress you with his detailed report."

    Ru frowned. "Why bother? Is this young master someone who can be impressed? He rather irked me for no reason." She was feeling grumpy because, in her opinion, the past hour was just wasted here.

    Wu Dishi got an important call from the office and Ru sent him ahead. She was nning on checking out the arcade club, she heard about.

    While she was passing through a men¡¯s international brand clothing outlet, she heard a familiar voice from inside making her turn to look inside through the ss.

    "I think this one looks better," Xiao Zhi Yuan was holding a shirt in his hand while two men who had their back towards Ru were nodding their head. "Oniisan!" Suddenly, Yuan caught Ru looking and eximed in excitement.

    The other two men also turned to look with surprise and Ru finally found Xiao Zhi Ren and Ji Syaoran staring at her. Feeling like she had been caught doing something wrong, she smiled sheepishly at them.

    "Oniisan, what are you doing here? I haven¡¯t seen you for the whole week." Yuan was whining in his aggrieved tone.

    "I have been busy, little squirrel," Ru answered offhandedly as she was way well aware of two men staring at her intently. Ru turned her eyes and frowned for a second. She found the mannerism of both half-brothers to be identical. More than Xiao Zhi Yuan and Xiao Zhi Ren, she thought Ji Syaoran looked more like Xiao Zhi Ren. Weird!

    "What are you doing here, Rong?" The question came from Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Why? Can¡¯t Ie to my own mall now?" Ru asked making Xiao Zhi Ren narrow his eyes.

    "Oh, this is Mr. Xie¡¯s project. No wonder you managed to get all the high-ss international brands to sign with you." Ji Syaoran remarked with a smile.

    Scratching her head awkwardly, Ru altered the topic, "What are you, three brothers doing here?"

    "We had a day off and Yuan wanted to buy some new clothes. You know, he and his obsession with new clothes," Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes while he stated.

    Ru chuckled silently and said, "I do know about the obsession." Seeing Yuan scowling, not so happily, she went on, "So, what did you choose?"

    Hearing this question, Xiao Zhi Yuan grinned slyly and dug inside the shopping bags at the side. He pulled out a couple of t-shirts. "This one is for Big Bear." Yuan showed her the shirt and Ru¡¯s mouth twitched to smile since on the back it was written, ¡¯The Bossy Brother¡¯ in big bold letters.

    "This one is for Ran Zi," Yuan showed the same style of shirt in different color and the writing on it was, ¡¯The yboy Brother¡¯.

    Ru pursed her lips and continued to see as Yuan showed the third shirt, it had written, ¡¯The Obsessive Brother¡¯. Obviously, this was for himself.

    By this time, Ru really wanted tough at the names designed perfectly for these brothers. But soon her smile stiffened.

 Chapter 98 Cotton Candy Brothers

    Xiao Zhi Ren noticed how the handsome sun-kissed face suddenly stiffened as Yuan had pulled out the fourth shirt which he had specifically bought for her.

    It was a full sleeved shirt in ck and on the back was written: ¡¯The entric Brother.¡¯

    Why Ru stiffened up, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell.

    "Oniisan, this one is for you." Yuan was grinning cheekily.

    Ru scratched the tip of her nose and gave a lopsided grin saying, "entric? I¡¯m more like a super cool brother." Obviously, she was trying tough it off. "Anyway, keep shopping. I have to find something as well."

    "What are you looking for?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked.

    "A candy store," Ru answered inly. Now, how could she tell him that seeing their brotherly love has made her crave for some sugar? It was unexpected, weird and untimely. She pointed at herself and added, "This sweets need some real sweets to make him feel super sweet."

    "Mr. Sweet tooth, are you craving sugar again?" Xiao Zhi Ren teased her.

    "My body is feeling deprived without it. See, I¡¯m even getting lightheaded." She pretended to be dizzy and even staggered to emphasize her point.

    Xiao Zhi Ren flicked her forehead making her open her mouth like a goldfish. "Well, are you diabetic?"

    Ru rubbed the space between her brows and said, "Not yet, but if stuck around you cotton candy brothers, I might soon be diabetic."

    "Cotton candy brothers?!" The way the three brothers eximed simultaneously was a sight to behold. Ru was regretting not having a way to record it.

    ¡¯Damnit! If I knew it¡¯ll be this amusing, I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten my stupid spy camera.¡¯ She was really upset at this thought. What a huge mistake!

    "Well, you all are like eye-candy boys. But calling you eye-candy bros would be so outdated. So, I came up with an original, cotton candy brothers. Haha... It sounds so good. I¡¯m just too awesome." She was patting her shoulder at doing such a good job. Seeing her praise her own self, the three brothers had no words for her.

    "You know there is a limit to being an ego-centric. But you... my sworn brother really are beyond shameless."

    Not wanting to hold her displeasure, she flicked Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s forehead obviously using more force than he did. His forehead immediately got red while he stared back at her in disbelief.

    "How am I shameless? Have you seen this young master parading around naked? No, right? So, how the hell did I be shameless?"

    "You are impossible."

    "So are you!" Ru snapped back.

    On the sideline, Ji Syaoran was more than amused as he had pulled out popcorn from somewhere while watching them bicker like teenagers.

    "Do they always banter like this?" Ji Syaoran questioned Yuan while offering popcorn as a bribe.

    "They do. They are always at each other¡¯s throat but only they both can understand each other." Yuan answered with a shake of his head.

    "What do you mean?" Ji Syaoran frowned in confusion.

    "See for yourself." Yuan pointed at the bantering pair and Ji Syaoran followed suit only to be shocked.

    Back on Ru and Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s side...

    "I saw the candy store on the second floor." Ren was saying.

    "Really?" Ru¡¯s eyes lit up. "I should get there."

    "Don¡¯t hop around like a bunny." Ren seemed to be rebuking but his eyes said otherwise. "Tell me what kind of candy do you want?"

    Ru tapped her chin and smiled charmingly, "I want sweet... I want sour... And I want more sweet." Seeing her beaming with joy, Ren lost his earlier coldness.

    Ren pulled her shirt cor like old times which she had gotten used to by now and said, "Let¡¯s go then. We¡¯ll stuff you like a candy machine today."

    He was teasing her but with candies floating in her mind, how would Ru care? She didn¡¯t give a damn! And let him drag her towards the elevator.

    Trailing behind that pair, Ji Syaoran was gaping. "When did our elder brother be such an easy person?"

    "It all started with Oniisan. Big Bear always changes around him." Yuan answered like it wasmon sense.

    Ji Syaoran was more than just surprised. He was missing for a couple of months and his elder brother was already acting like a whole new person? That was unbelievable!

    But more than anything, Ji Syaoran saw a light of hope. Perhaps, now his brother would finally open up. It was about time. He had kept himself shut away from people for a decade. It was high time for his brother to let someone in. Anyone. As long as it was someone living... And most importantly, someone who was by his side and not just in his memories.

 Chapter 99 Sugar

    Standing before a huge candy store, Ru¡¯s eyes glimmered like a kid in a candy shop. Oh, wait! She was a kid in a candy shop.

    It wasn¡¯t her fault. Her childhood was filled with memories of training, learning, and again training. But there was no memory of someone taking her to a candy store. Even though everyone was aware of her love for candies.

    Walking in thend of candylicious, Ru was in awe.

    "So..." Ren drawled his words in a dramatic way. "Which candy do you want?"

    "Sugar, sugar, sugar... Damn! It¡¯s sugar heaven!" Ru obviously wasn¡¯t paying any attention towards the brothers behind her. All her attention was on those delicious looking candies.

    "Bro, doesn¡¯t he look like a girl in a branded shop with a ck credit card in hand?" The question came from Ji Syaoran who was asking this from Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Xiao Zhi Ren could see that himself. "Hey! If Oniisan would have been a girl..." Yuan whistled as he added, "Heck! He would have been a wicked one!"

    Ji Syaoran nodded agreeing with Yuanpletely while Ren was lost in Ru¡¯s antics of hopping from one ce to another. "He certainly will make a gorgeous woman!" Ren turned to look at Syaoran who seemed like he was appreciating whatever he was seeing.

    Ren pped his head and said, "Don¡¯t tell me you are imagining Rong in women clothing?"

    Syaoran smiled sheepishly and said, "Couldn¡¯t help it, bro!"

    "Can I help you, Sir?" A pretty shop attendant came to Ru¡¯s side as she had been watching her from the moment Ru entered.

    "Yes, you can," Ru answered with a childish grin. It looked so innocent that the shop attendant blushed furiously. "Do you sell liquor choctes?" The shop attendant blinked a few times. "It doesn¡¯t have to be like London Gin Truffles but something along the line..."

    The shop attendant took a moment before replying, "Wait here for a minute, Sir." and she went back to call the manager.

    "You want Liquor choctes?" Looking at Ren¡¯s inquiring gaze, Ru nodded. "Why?"

    "What do you mean by why? Man, it¡¯s liquor and chocte... Combined in one. What more can one ask for?" She emphasized each word to show how serious she was. "I can even kiss the person who invented such a heavenly delight."

    "Even if it¡¯s a man?" Syaoran couldn¡¯t really help himself.

    "Duh! Of course!" Sensing that she said something shocking, she tacitly changed her answer, "I mean we live in the 21st century. And I¡¯m a very easygoing person." Syaoran was intelligent enough to understand the suggestiveness of her words. It simply suggested that she wasn¡¯t against gay rtionships. But who would tell him that as a girl she was supposed to kiss a man!

    Unconsciously, the three brothers took a step backward which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Ru at all even though she was busy picking out vors of candies before her. She gave a brittleugh and said, "Don¡¯t think too highly of yourself. All of you are handsome but look at this young master..." she pointed at herself and went on, "I need someone wickedly handsome as I am. None of you are up to my standard."

    For the very first time, none of the three brothers didn¡¯t mind being not up to her standard. It was kind of a relief that they were put off the hook easily.

    The candy store was indeed for kids but the manager did have some stuff which the adults would like and it made it easier for Ru to pick out some tequ-filled choctes. She was very satisfied as she shopped around and gathered a huge box filled with sugary goods.

    "We can deliver it to your home," the manager offered politely and obviously, Ru wouldn¡¯t refuse.

    "Give me a pen and paper then." Getting the pen and paper, she scribbled the address with ease. Her writing had clear strokes but showed how confident the person was.

    She was about to pass the notepad back when her cellphone rang. "Zhi, give it to the manager. I have to go." She shoved the notepad in his arms and sprinted out the store.

    Ren was about to pass the notepad when her handwriting caught his attention. ¡¯This can¡¯t be possible!¡¯ He said to himself. He was more than familiar with that writing style. He had seen it before. Hell! He even spent hours looking at a letter written in the exact same writing. He couldn¡¯t be mistaken.

    But what if he was?

    At this thought, he passed the notepad to the manager and turned to his brothers, "I¡¯ll catch up with you guyster." And with those words, he was out the door. Looking around for a sign of Ru.

 Chapter 100 A Fallen Angel

    Running after the naked truths, all of us still are yearning for a well-dressed lie. Because truths are scary. They always had been. And it will always stay like that.

    For Ren, it was nearly impossible to believe that his sworn brother could be the girl he had been waiting for all this time. Honestly, the possibility didn¡¯t even cross his mind. But in his mind, he couldn¡¯t deny that the handwriting was the same. He could never be mistaken about that.

    He still remembered that day vividly...

    *shback*

    After staying out for a couple of days when he had gone back to the hospital, what awaited him was an empty bed and a cold room. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know what happened. How could a visually impaired person vanish on her own? Especially when she couldn¡¯t even walk anymore!

    He was anxious and frustrated.

    "Who discharged her?" Xiao Zhi Ren was looking for an answer. He needed something to hold on to. He couldn¡¯t lose her again.

    "Sir, it was a tall man who came to discharge her. He did all the paperwork and left." The nurse informed him politely. She was surprised... herself. Since the person who had been with the patient in the VIP room was Xiao Zhi Ren for the past year and now, suddenly another man came and took the patient with him.

    "Any name? Address? Anything?" Xiao Zhi Ren was infuriated. He was the one who brought her here. How could they let anyone take her? But he knew if she consented the hospital couldn¡¯t possibly stop her.

    "Actually, there is something..." Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her with a glimmer of hope. The nurse pulled out a small box and gave it to him. "She left this for you."

    "She said something?" He inquired while holding the wooden box.

    The nurse shrugged her shoulders, "She only asked to give this to her savior. I assume that is you since no one else visited her in this whole year."

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and took the box with himself.

    He only opened it after finding a quiet ce for himself to sit at.

    In the wooden boxid two things; one was the pendant with pure jade and rubies. And the other was... A letter.

    It read:

    "Mr. Savior,

    Oddly, I still don¡¯t know your name. You never told me and I never asked. I guess it was for the better.

    The pendant with you is my identity token. Keep it safe until Ie to im it back. It¡¯s coteral because I still owe you a debt of life. And I for one don¡¯t like owing people.

    But I can¡¯t pay you back just yet. I have to leave. I have to look for myself all over again. I have to look for the pieces, people stole from me. I told you, ¡¯I can conceive death but betrayal is not allowed.¡¯

    Confucious say: ¡¯Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.¡¯

    Although I¡¯m not looking for revenge, I¡¯m still the kind of person who likes to keep an empty grave prepared for herself. You never know. Therefore, just as a reminder, I¡¯m telling you... I might never get back to you.

    If I nevere back to take my pendant, do me a favor... Throw it in the ocean.

    I always wanted freedom and it came as a price. Perhaps, my pendant could enjoy the freedom in the beauty that lies under the blue sea.

    From,

    The girl you named, A Fallen Angel"

    *End of shback*

    The content of the letter was very simple. But Xiao Zhi Ren had read so many times that it was etched in his memory now. He knew each and every stroke of that letter since he always traced his finger over each character just to find the familiarity of her presence.

    That¡¯s why Ru¡¯s handwriting came as a shock to him. He could be wrong, he kept convincing himself but a part of him didn¡¯t believe it. Not even for a second. There were endless possibilities in his mind and each possibility made him uneasy.

    He found Ru leaving the mall and ran after her. He saw her extending her hand toward a blonde haired man and the man ced keys on her hand. After that, he gave her the helmet.

    From inside the ss doors, he saw her climbing on a motorbike and driving away. Five different motorbikes followed after her.

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned for a second and decided to ask herter on. But the uneasy feeling in his heart got the best of him as he ran towards his own car and immediately followed after speeding bikes.

 Chapter 101 Murderous Glin

    Earlier in the mall when Ru¡¯s ringtone caught her attention, it was like a wake-up call for her. It was a reminder!

    She could smile with those three brothers, makeme jokes, or even pretend to indulge herself into sugary goods. But at the end of the day, she had to go back to her own world of darkness.

    Reality had always been harsh. She didn¡¯t belong with them.

    The ringtone was actually an rm. It was time to leave. She made her way out the mall hastily and met up with the members of ck Mist waiting outside.

    "Did you bring a ride for me?" Jack immediately nodded and gave her the keys along with the helmet.

    Soon, she revved the bike and lurched forward on the busy road. Earlier through her subordinates, she had found out that there was a container being shipped out of Imperial cargo port.

    They needed to stop the container and she couldn¡¯t leave this work just up to her subordinates. From their mistake ofst time in Hong Kong, she had learned her lesson.

    It took them more than thirty minutes to reach the port because of the heavy traffic of Imperial Capital. Rows and rows of Cargo Containers could be seen on the seemingly deserted port.

    It was weird but there weren¡¯t many people around. Ru and her group parked the bikes at a distance and pulled on their disguise of a cap and mask on their face.

    "Master, I brought yours as well," Ru looked at Connor who pushed two Baretta 92 pistols in her hand along with a briefcase. Although she would always prefer not carrying this metal stuff, she didn¡¯t refuse it. The situation called for it right now.

    "Try to catch people alive. We don¡¯t want extra trouble for now." Hearing her order, the group of five nodded and spread out.

    "This is one step closer. Don¡¯t you dare to look back, Ru!" After giving herself a pep-talk, she took a deep breath and with her nimble body, she jumped up on the cargo containers. It was quite a distance from the ground considering there were about four containers ced one above the other.

    The golden hues of the sun were slowly fading away leaving a dim light. But Ru¡¯s senses always sharpened in the darkness. She could still make silhouettes of men patrolling in the group carrying Assualt rifles.

    She wasn¡¯t worried about them. Her eyes were looking around to look for any snipers. That won¡¯t be advantageous for her people. That¡¯s why she pulled out her newest version of tiny drones and controlled them to find anything amiss.

    Finding some hidden snipers as she had expected, Ru smirked under her mask. Opening the briefcase, she assembled her suppressed Sniper rifle and took her aims. The sound of the shot was muffled but every shot was taken urately.

    After making sure of her surroundings, she slowly made her way towards the group which she saw keep guard of a particr Container. Using the growing darkness to her advantage, she hid in the shadows avoiding the light by all means.

    "They asked us to deliver the stuff tonight." She heard those men talking and stopped.

    "Tonight? Weren¡¯t they going to send someone to collect the stuff?" Another one asked piquing Ru¡¯s interest.

    Not nning on waiting any longer, she pulled out her silver needles; her treasure and lifesaver. As she always says, she might not always be able to save people with these little things but she certainly could take life easily with these.

    Unfortunately, she had to obey her own orders. No killing people unless necessary. Sighing in disappointment, she aimed the needle directly towards their neck and one by one the group of ten people who were keeping guardid on the stone cold ground lifelessly. Not dead but paralyzed for sure.

    Dusting her hands she stood before the Container eyeing it with interest. The container door had a password lock on it. The men on the ground gave her a horrified look but none of them could utter a single word or move a single limb. The needles were obviouslyced with poison that could obstruct their movements easily.

    While she was eyeing the lock, two members of ck Mist came to her side. Seeing her inquiring gaze, they answered, "Everything is under control. The rest are bringing the ones we caught." Connor answered while he gave a pitiful look to those men.

    "Put them on a side and open the door," Ru ordered and they got to work.

    As the door of the Container opened, Ru heard a gasp. She didn¡¯t know who gasped but her reaction wasn¡¯t much different. Because of the sight before her, Ru¡¯s eyes got clouded with a murderous glint.

 Chapter 102 Broken Pieces

    Inside of the huge container was brightly lit, Ru¡¯s eyes fell on young girls aged 8-13 that were huddled together. There were about 20 girls there. The little girls didn¡¯t even look scared and none of them made a sound as if they were in a trance.

    Every step that Ru took inside was difficult for her. The scene before her had brought back shes of the time she was tied up in ab like an animal ready to be cut open. Her memories might not be vivid but the pain was etched on her soul.

    Those girls looked so vulnerable. At this tender age, they were called ¡¯stuff¡¯ like they weren¡¯t even living, breathing humans. They were being treated as mere objects. Their innocent eyes were looking at her but they were focused.

    Coming closer to them, Ru crouched down and examined the look on one of the girls. She held the little girl¡¯s wrist and took her pulse. Immediately the rims of her eyes turned red as a volcano had burst open inside of her.

    "They seem intoxicated," Jack could only mutter softly in horror. The girls were so young. How can someone be heartless enough to do this?

    In the beginning, Ru didn¡¯t notice but now she could clearly make out the residuals of the drugs in the air inside the Container.

    Ru stormed out of the Container, pulled out her Baretta 92 pistol which she wasn¡¯t nning on using today and aimed her shot at all groaning men outside.

    "Master, you said not to kill," Adia who had just joined back reminded her softly with caution.

    Ru shifted her aim from their head to their knees and started shooting. The silent port was filled with screams... Horrifying and gut-wrenching screams. She couldn¡¯t control the bloodthirst bursting inside of herself.

    She had inhaled the toxins of the drugs inside the container and the effect was strong for someone like her who had gone through this torture before. But the effect was slow because of her resilient nature. Nheless, it was still there she could feel it in her bones... The urge to rip people apart. To just tear everything or anything. Only a stream of blood could calm her.

    Her eyes were getting hazy and her breathing was ragged. She didn¡¯t look back at her subordinates but gave the orders in a stern voice, "Get the girls out of here to a safe ce. And send these men to the dungeon."

    Not waiting for a reply, Ru tried to run away from them. She couldn¡¯t stay with any of them. Her mind was reeling and her eyes were clouded with murderous intent. Her body wasn¡¯t listening to herself. The bone-crushing pain in her body was back. The more she resisted the urges, the more she felt herself losing control.

    Finding no other solution, she held her dagger and drove it straight through her thigh. As the blood flowed out, her mind felt a bit of rationalitying back to it. It wasn¡¯t much but it was there.

    She could vaguely hear the sound of the helicopter propellers in the background as several of helicoptersnded on the port. She knew it belonged to her own people and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t pay much attention.

    Trying to walk away from people, Ru¡¯s back hit a broad chest. Whoever was behind of her held her wrist in a tight grip and without even thinking, Ru went into her lethal mode. She felt like someone was trying to cage her all over again. And it made the rm bells ring in her mind.

    Whatever rationality she got was thrown in the wind almost immediately. Her body waspletely not under her control anymore. With the dagger still in her hand, she tried to sh the person behind her.

    The tall andnky figure dodged in the nick of time. "Rong!" It was Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice who had finally caught up to her. Because of the maze of Containers on the port, he had taken quite a time looking for her. Now that he did, she had attacked him.

    He had already been scared for her safety when he heard the gunshots earlier and that¡¯s why he chose to hold her wrist. Who knew his small gesture of care was something suffocating for her.

    But her green eyes brimming with an indescribable pain stunned Xiao Zhi Ren. It was like he could hear the screams of her mind. Telling him how much pain she was hiding. Telling him how many broken pieces were yet to be glued back together.

 Chapter 103 Cold Block Of Ice

    Xiao Zhi Ren might have escaped being shed by her dagger but her attacks didn¡¯t stop. Ru turned her body and attacked Xiao Zhi Ren again.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t see her face clearly because of theck of light but he could clearly make out her silhouette as it flew to stab him in the stomach. Xiao Zhi Ren held her wrist on time and avoided the attack. She twisted her way out of his grip easily.

    Her each strike was fierce as if she was ready to take a life while Xiao Zhi Ren was trying his best to have some restraint since he didn¡¯t want to hurt Ru. If he hadn¡¯t be trained from a young age, he knew he¡¯d have long lost this fight. He was hardly a match for Ru¡¯s techniques. He hadn¡¯t seen those moves before but he had heard about them.

    He had a hunch that Ru came from an ancient bloodline and now, he was certain that she came from a long line of martial practitioners. Those that defied one¡¯s modern beliefs. But she was holding back. He was sure, he¡¯d be dead if she wasn¡¯t holding back her strength.

    Attacking and dodging each other¡¯s attack, both of them reached under a flickering fluorescent light. As Xiao Zhi Ren looked at Ru¡¯s eyes, he was stunned. Those emerald green orbs that always made him feel at ease were zing right now with murderous intent.

    The rims of her eyes were red, he could even see the red veins visible in her eyes. Her face was distorted as if in pain. Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart shook violently. In his moment of daze, Ru got a chance and she raised the dagger again. Xiao Zhi Ren saw her movement and tried to flip his body. In the end, his arm was slightly slit but it wasn¡¯t serious.

    "RONG!" Xiao Zhi Ren shouted her name as he shook her but she didn¡¯t hear him. She lifted her hand again but this time, Xiao Zhi Ren held her wrists behind her back in a tight grip. Before Ru could roll her body using her legs, he trapped her by pushing her against a Container while he caught her legs between his own.

    "Rong, look at me!" His voice had turned softer. For some reason, her pained expression was like someone was stabbing his heart repeatedly. "What¡¯s wrong? Say something! How am I supposed to help you if you won¡¯t say a word?"

    Ru¡¯s struggle in his grip stopped as she slowly looked up and stared into his raven ck orbs. She felt entrapped and yet, there was a strangefort in this confinement. His arms were strong, his eyes were soft but the way he looked at her told her how he felt her pain.

    "I¡¯m right here. Stop struggling. I¡¯m not going anywhere." His voice was so gentle that Ru¡¯s eyes shed with strange emotions. He was talking as if coaxing a baby to sleep.

    Ru¡¯s eyes caught the blood dripping from his arm and her eyes chilled again. "I hurt you that¡¯s why you are shackling me as well." The words were said in a whisper but Xiao Zhi Ren heard her voice.

    ¡¯I¡¯m shackling him as well?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her words. "Rong, I¡¯m not chaining you. I¡¯m trying to save you. I don¡¯t want you to hurt yourself." He had seen the way she had stabbed herself in the thigh and didn¡¯t even flinch at the pain. He knew to leave her meant she¡¯ll do something worse.

    He didn¡¯t realize the impact of his words yet again.

    "Father, are you afraid that I¡¯ll hurt people? Is that why I¡¯m not allowed to leave our n?" She had asked with fury as she was tired of repeatedly being told that she was not allowed to leave.

    "Son, I just want to save you." Her father¡¯s voice was softer, soothing her.

    Ru¡¯s body trembled at the memory and suddenly, her knees buckled and her head tilted to one side with her eyes shut, tightly. If Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t holding her, she would have fallen to the ground.

    Xiao Zhi Ren tried to shake her but she stayed in a deep slumber. Xiao Zhi Ren felt the way her body temperature suddenly dropped. She was cold. As if she was an ice-cold block. If one wouldpare their body temperature, Xiao Zhi Ren might appear as a burning fire before her.

    Renid her on his back and ran towards his car. As heid her in the passenger seat, under the light, he finally noticed the way her lips had turned blue. It was unexpected. He thought she was drunk but it didn¡¯t seem like it anymore. Is it hypothermia?

 Chapter 104 Akin To Betrayal

    Xiao Zhi Ren first wrapped a handkerchief around her thigh to stop the bleeding then hurriedly got behind the steering wheel and started the car. He even turned the heater on for Ru. He was anxiously driving the car, not knowing what happened. He just wanted to confirm something with Ru but unexpectedly, he had found her in such a state.

    There were so many questions in his mind.

    Why was Rong with those people on motorbikes?

    Who were those people?

    And where did they vanish?

    What was Rong doing there at the cargo port?

    All the way out of the city... What was Rong doing here?

    What about the choppers I saw at the port?

    Nothing was even adding up!

    None of his questions could be answered and he was frustrated. He hit the steering wheel in exasperation.

    He tilted his head to see Ruying lifelessly. The only indication of life was the fact that her body was now shivering. Terribly.

    Up ahead the traffic was jammed. He was stuck outside of the city. There was nothing around except for a long line of vehicles. It scared Xiao Zhi Ren even more. What should I do?

    In anxiousness, he chose to call the first person who came to his mind. "Hello, Grandmother! I need your help. My friend¡¯s body suddenly turned cold. It¡¯s freezing cold. What should I do? I can¡¯t take him to the hospital."

    "Calm down, Ren. Slowly, tell me what¡¯s wrong." His grandmother¡¯s loving and calm voice managed to calm him a bit. He told her Ru¡¯s condition and waited for her reply. "It could be hypothermia. Or it could be the side effect of some drug. I can¡¯t tell. Is the shivering worsening?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at Ru and nodded, only to realize that she couldn¡¯t see him. "Yes. He¡¯s shivering badly."

    "Check his clothes. If they are damp. Change him out of it."

    "What?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave a dumbfounded look.

    "He¡¯s a friend of yours. Don¡¯t act like it¡¯s a girl. He must have sweated a lot. Just help him out of it already otherwise it might worsen. And cover him with a dry nket." Hearing no reply, she asked, "Are you still hesitating? Is it really a girl?"

    "Granna! No! But he¡¯s way more gorgeous than a girl. Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll be bent by him?" Xiao Zhi Ren tried to joke to calm his nerves as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got around to her side.

    "I don¡¯t mind you getting bent. For now, just help your friend if you wanna save him." Xiao Zhi Ren sighed out and unbuckled her seatbelt.

    "Fine. I¡¯ll do it." Xiao Zhi Ren disconnected the call and touched Ru¡¯s jacket which was wet as if she had just taken a shower.

    He slowly unzipped her jacket and pulled it off of her body. Ru was wearing a ck button-up shirt underneath. But Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes were stuck on something else.

    He saw the two sleek pistols tucked in her jeans and his eyes widened. "Just as I expected, you are so not a simple person." Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and lifted his hands to unbutton her shirt. When the first two buttons came undone, he could see her prominent cor-bones that could give any man desires to suck on them.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s throat dried and he licked his lips. He closed his eyes like a gentleman and unbuttoned her shirt. As he opened his eyes again, he was dumbstruck. He felt his hands trembling while his eyes were wide open.

    His mind reeled and he felt light-headed. One might expect this reaction from seeing the binding around her chest but Xiao Zhi Ren definitely wasn¡¯t looking at that. Instead, his eyes were stuck on something else altogether. Something familiar.

    He might have only gotten a glimpse of itst time but it was etched in his mind. Everything rted to that ¡¯person¡¯ was carved in his mind and heart.

    Now, that same tattoo was on Ru¡¯s body. Right on her ribcage, that number ¡¯four¡¯ was all it took for Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind to stop responding.

    He slowly retracted his gaze from the tattoo and looked up. That¡¯s when the binding around her chest came into his view. Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly felt a rush of emotions. Emotions, he couldn¡¯t possibly exin even if he wanted to.

    Was he happy? Yes!

    Was he feeling surreal? Definitely yes!

    Was he shocked? Abso-freaking-lutely yes!

    But what about feeling betrayed? His sworn brother had been lying to him all this time. Wasn¡¯t that akin to betrayal?

 Chapter 105 Broken Smiles

    In the silent and cold corridor, a man was pacing back and forth anxiously. He never had been fond of the silence that seemed to enshroud the hospitals making them seem more dreadful and lifeless.

    As the doors opened and he saw a doctor in a white coat walking out, Xiao Zhi Ren ran up to his side. "Doctor, how is he?" He bit his tongue before changing his words, "I mean, how is she?"

    "The patient is stable now." Xiao Zhi Ren knew there was something amiss with his tone. Therefore, he waited patiently for the doctor to continue, "The patient doesn¡¯t have hypothermia. Although the symptoms are the same."

    "Then what happened to her?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned with a frown.

    "We found some drug residuals in her blood."

    "Drug? What type of drug?" He asked incredulously.

    The doctor sighed heavily. "We are not sure. But her condition is definitely because of the side effects of those drugs." Xiao Zhi Ren was feeling confused and didn¡¯t listen to whatever the doctor had to say.

    Earlier, finding out that his sworn brother was the girl he had been looking for, was a huge blow to his heart. It took him a while to let that news sink in. He had called for a helicopter to take them to the hospital because he didn¡¯t want to waste time stuck in the traffic.

    Now, when he entered the room, he saw her lying unconscious on the white bed which lookedfortable enough but the beads of sweat on her face said otherwise. She didn¡¯t lookfortable at all.

    Suddenly, she turned her face and looked straight into Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes. For a second, he stood there; stunned. He thought she was unconscious but apparently, she wasn¡¯t anymore.

    Ru looked at her own body before shifting her gaze back to him. He didn¡¯t know what was going through her mind but whatever it was it made a beautiful smile to bloom on her slightly pale face.

    But that smile tore Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart into a million pieces. ¡¯A broken girl with a broken smile and a broken heart. Oh look, she¡¯s trying to keep the world from tearing her apart.¡¯ He felt a sudden constriction in his heart. He felt suffocated by that smile which looked too beautiful and too real; much to his displeasure.

    Suddenly, he had a wish to see her smiling from the heart. As if that one smile might be able to tear all those dark clouds that had been circling in his heart.

    Ru was surprised to find that Xiao Zhi Ren was the one who brought her to the hospital. Once again, he saved her. Even when she didn¡¯t ask him to. She knew the effect of that drug on her body way too well. The more stimted she was, the more she¡¯d lose control of her senses. And yet, that¡¯s exactly what happened tonight.

    She was expecting Xiao Zhi Ren to question her. There was no way that he didn¡¯t find out about her gender. But oddly, he didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t ask. He just sat on the stool beside her bed and stayed quiet.

    "Don¡¯t you want to know something?" In the end, Ru had to question it herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her and took a deep breath. "How are you feeling? Any difort or pain?" He asked with concern that stunned Ru.

    Ru shook her head in a daze. "No. I¡¯m fine. Nothing I can¡¯t take."

    Her words unexpectedly pierced Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart. Saying, ¡¯Nothing I can¡¯t take¡¯ was like telling him she had been through worse. Suddenly his mind shed the images of the night she walked along with him and said, ¡¯I¡¯ve been through hell.¡¯ Even though she hadughed it offter as a joke, he was sure it wasn¡¯t a joke. And now, there was no doubt left in him.

    Ru expected him to confront her but he inquired about her health. It was better for her since she really didn¡¯t know what answer she could give him.

    "Don¡¯t you have something else to ask?" She wanted to smack her head for opening her damn mouth but she couldn¡¯t help it. The more normal he acted, the more uneasy she felt.

    Even Xiao Zhi Ren knew why she was going roundabout this topic but he didn¡¯t really want toment on her way of life. At least, not yet!

    "Is that your real voice?" Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief with her mouth agape. Was he serious? Instead of her being a girl, he¡¯s inquiring about my voice? But she still shook her head at him. "Can you please use your real voice? It¡¯s a bit awkward."

 Chapter 106 Your Secret Is Safe With Me

    Ru¡¯s smiled to herself. It was indeed awkward for him. He was seeing her as a girl now but she was still using her low and deep masculine voice. He was truly conflicted inside.

    "I think you¡¯re already used to this voice," remarked Ru inly.

    "True. I am used to it." He agreed gingerly. But a part of him wanted to hear that silvery charming voice that was stuck in his memory. He missed the voice of that girl. But at this point, Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t even sure whether that was also Ru¡¯s real voice or not? She seemed skilled in the impersonation. He won¡¯t be surprised if she used another voice at this moment.

    He wanted to confront her. He did! At first, he even felt betrayed but then his mind calmed down and he realized that no person would hide his own identity for the sake of fun. There had to be a reason behind it all. Most of all, she was someone who was living the life of a facade. How hard would it be for her to disguise herself as a man? It was like losing your own individuality and living as someone you are not.

    While Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind was ying the game of words, he heard Ru¡¯s voice breaking his train of thoughts. "Don¡¯t think too much. Sometimes the worst ce to live in is right inside your mind. Let me hear your words, your mind will only make it worse for you." Seeing Ru acting so calm, Xiao Zhi Ren finally stopped listening to his mind.

    Even if he didn¡¯t have the right to know about her reasons for disguise, he really wanted to know why she didn¡¯t recognize her?

    "Rong-" Xiao Zhi Ren cut his sentence. He didn¡¯t know how to call her anymore. After all, now she was a girl to him.

    "You can just call me R." Hearing Ru¡¯s words, he nodded.

    "Well... Have we met before?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked hesitantly trying to keep his anxiousness in check.

    "We?" He nodded. "I don¡¯t think so. I saw you for the first time when I broke your ¡¯present¡¯." Ru air-quoted to remind him of the incident.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t feel like she was lying at all. And then it struck him, she couldn¡¯t see back then! But wait! He had met her even before she lost her eyes. It couldn¡¯t really be described as a meeting since he was the only one gawking at her while she was hopping from one stall of food to another.

    He felt disappointed inside. However, he didn¡¯t want to lose her again. It took years to find her. He didn¡¯t want to repeat those long years of solitude.

    "Rest for a while. We¡¯ll go home in the morning." Xiao Zhi Ren instructed her with a heavy heart.

    "Zhi," Ru stopped him from leaving.

    "Do you need anything?" He quirked his brow inquiringly.

    She shook her head and took a moment before saying, "Can you-I mean... Can you keep..." Ru couldn¡¯t seem to form a coherent sentence. She didn¡¯t like taking favors. It was against her principals. If she could it herself, she¡¯d never ask anyone for anything.

    As if reading her worries, Xiao Zhi Ren came close to her and rubbed her fluffy hair. "Don¡¯t worry. Your secret is safe with me." Ru was again in disbelief. How did he know what she wanted to say? It was obvious which secret he was talking about. But why did she feel so rxed when he rubbed her head like she was a pet? Also, why did his words made her feel at ease? It didn¡¯t make sense!

    She was treated like a pet and she actually likes it? Who took over her body? There is no way young master Ru would feel this way!

    Clearing her throat awkwardly, she started again, "Thanks for that. And can we leave now? I don¡¯t really fancy hospitals."

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to say that the doctors wanted to observe her condition but seeing a strange disdain in her eyes, he sealed his lips. He was the one who saw her life hanging by a thread on a hospital bed for the whole eight months. He could imagine her feeling of disgust and repulsiveness towards the hospital.

    "Okay. Let¡¯s go!" He answered and dialed a number getting his chopper ready.

    What he didn¡¯t know was that she was more ufortable on that plush bed. She really wasn¡¯t used to lying on such soft mattresses. Her back was protesting against it. Old habits do die hard, after all.

 Chapter 107 Lose The Girly Blush

    Getting back to their Condominium building, Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to take her to his own ce but knowing there would be Yuan and even Syaoran, he decided not to do so.

    Seeing him trailing behind herself, Ru turned to face him and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you following me?"

    "I need to make sure you¡¯re okay. After that, I¡¯ll leave." Ru couldn¡¯te up with a retort so she chose to just act indifferently.

    As she was about to punch in her passcode when he heard her voice, "No peeking!" Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at the way she was acting all mysteriously.

    Nevertheless, he turned his back towards her for her convenience. To be honest, Ru wasn¡¯t being mysterious at all. She just felt that if he noticed her passcode, he wouldugh at her for sure. Anyone would be; knowing that a person of her IQ actually had set her house passcode to ¡¯0000¡¯.

    But in her opinion, it was the smartest code. After all, people would always cross out the possibility of passcode being this predictable.

    As the door opened, she took off her shoes and walked inside. Xiao Zhi Ren followed suit and took off his shoes and put on the spare slippers that were ced in the cab. He was surprised to see that she who actually liked staying barefoot actually had quite a bundle of extra slippers in her cab.

    This was officially Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s first visit to her house. Don¡¯t get it wrong! He had been to the door but he never got a chance to see the inside. Now, that he had finally crossed over the entryway and trudged inside the seating area, he was in awe.

    The way the interior wasplimenting the dark shades of ck and gray, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know what to say. Moving around, he realized that her ce was more like an art gallery. Every art piece on the walls was marvelous.

    "Would you like to drink something?" Ru¡¯s voice made him look back at her.

    "Maybe,ter. Right now, you should take a warm shower. The doctor said you could get dizzy. So, let me help-," Xiao Zhi Ren bit back his words when he realized what he was saying.

    Seeing the tips of his ears getting red, Ru gave a sly smile. Inching a bit closer to him, she asked, "Want to join me in the shower, Zhi?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren staggered back as if someone burnt him. "Noooo! That¡¯s not what I meant. I forgot for a second that you are a..." His words were croaked while he was iling his arms dramatically.

    "That I¡¯m a girl?" She finally said it; the words he was avoiding all this time. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t reply giving his tacit agreement. "Zhi, if you kept on seeing me as a girl. This... Between us... It¡¯s gonna get tough."

    Seeing her serious look, Xiao Zhi Ren realized the severity of her words. It seemed she really put great importance on this fact that no one knows about her gender.

    Suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Who else knows? You know... About you... Being a girl." He was awkwardly scratching his head as he voiced out.

    "Only you know. And I¡¯d like to keep it that way." Xiao Zhi Ren felt a strange feeling of happiness within. Why? He didn¡¯t know at all! But he knew that this knowing this secret meant that he was a step closer to her. Hepletely disregarded the fact that if it was up to her, she would like to keep her secret under wraps.

    Also, she didn¡¯t tell him that there was someone else who knew of her identity but that someone wasn¡¯t here. Therefore, she said nothing about that.

    "Sure. No problem with that."

    "Then lose that girly blush. I¡¯m the girl here, not the other way around." She really knew how to sweep off that grin off of anyone¡¯s face.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a tight smile as he said, "Are you done ridiculing me? If you are then it¡¯s better to go take a shower. We have some things to get even about."

    Now, that he said it, Ru noticed the bandage on his arm making her feel guilty. She remembered being the one who slit his arm.

    She turned on her heels and left a few words lingering in the air, "Raven, keep our guestpany."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had yet to lock his brows in confusion when a voice echoed, "With pleasure, young master!"

 Chapter 108 I Think He Did

    Xiao Zhi Ren watched Ru¡¯s figure disappearing behind the door and whirled his body 360 degrees. He was trying to figure out whose voice he just heard. But there was no one in sight.

    "Who is here?" He asked and felt like an idiot.

    "Only me and you, Mr. Guest." He heard the same voice again but didn¡¯t see anyone again!

    "And who you might be?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned feeling intrigued.

    "Master named me Raven. I¡¯m master¡¯s personalized virtual assistant." Raven replied.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was a bit surprised to know that Raven was a virtual assistant. Being the CEO of a Tech Empire, he had his fair share of dealing with virtual assistants. But something about Raven seemed different to him.

    "Raven? He... I mean she named you Raven? That¡¯s interesting." Taking a moment of silence, he asked, "So, why are you named Raven?"

    "Sorry, I¡¯m not authorized to tell you that."

    Before he could divulge into questioning Raven about Ru, his phone rang. In the silent apartment, his ringtone seemed to echo. It made him realize how minimalistic design this condo had.

    Seeing the caller id, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled softly. "Hey, Granna!"

    "Ren, you didn¡¯t call me back. I was so worried thinking about that friend of yours." His Grandmother¡¯s voice was usatory but he knew she was really concerned.

    "Granna, don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s okay now. I took him to the hospital and his condition is a lot better now." Xiao Zhi Ren stated patiently while looking at the paintings on the walls.

    "Oh thank goodness!" He could hear her heaving a sigh of relief. "Who is this friend of yours?"

    "There is someone..." He gave a vague answer.

    "Is it the one you brought to the banquet the other night?" Xiao Zhi Ren felt like there was something odd with his grandmother¡¯s tone. Or was he overthinking?

    "Yeah. It¡¯s the same one." Shaking the ridiculous thoughts out of his mind, he answered.

    "Hmm... I have heard a lot about that young man," the ambiguous tone of his grandmother was really saying something. But he couldn¡¯t understand it at all.

    "You did?"

    "Your grandfather won¡¯t stop talking about him. From how sessful, capable he is to how insanely gorgeous he is. I¡¯ve heard all about it." Old Madam Ji was really amused since she had never heard her own husband gushing over someone like that. Before Xiao Zhi Ren could speak, she said, "Why don¡¯t you bring him for dinner someday? I didn¡¯t get a chance to see that young man at the banquet."

    Xiao Zhi Ren thought for a moment and answered, "I¡¯ll ask him. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯ll agree. But I¡¯ll try my best."

    "Okay... I hope he really didn¡¯t bent you," Old Madam Ji said in a joking manner.

    Xiao Zhi Ren heard the click sound of the door and turned to see Ru walking out of the room in V-neck full sleeve gray shirt with matching cargo pants. There was a towel around her neck while water dripping down from her hair as they fell handsomely over her forehead.

    From where he stood, he could see her skin glistening as the light fell on the droplets that were trailing down her honey-colored skin. As she walked towards him, his gaze fell on her cor-bones which were visible because of the V-neck of the shirt.

    In a daze, Xiao Zhi Ren answered, "I think he did." ¡¯Who wouldn¡¯t be?¡¯ It was a good thing, he kept thetter part to himself.

    "What? Are you serious?" Xiao Zhi Ren was startled by the roaring voice of his grandmother.

    He cleared his throat and said, "Rx, Granna. I was messing with you." Not waiting for her reply, he went on, "Bye, Granna! I gotta go. Take care of yourself. Please, don¡¯t strain your body again. I don¡¯t want to see you on a bed again."

    Old Madam Jipletely forgot of what he said earlier. These words of concern were enough for her to feel satisfied. Although she was very happy inwardly, she still pretended to be broody, "Fine, Fine. Stop nagging like your grandfather. You also take care of yourself."

    When Xiao Zhi Ren hung up the phone, he lifted his eyelids and took a step back because of the way Ru was grinning at him. Seeing him avoiding her eyes, Ru frowned a bit. "Zhi, why does it seem like you¡¯re scared of me?"

    "I-I¡¯m not." He stuttered before getting back hisposure.

    Ru didn¡¯t believe him at all. She could see the way he was ying with his fingers.

    Crossing the distance between them in a couple of steps, Ru held thepel of his suit jacket and pushed him against the wall behind them.

 Chapter 109 Dont Want You To Leave

    With her long and slender fingers clutching hispel while the other hand pped against the wall behind him, Ru¡¯s green eyes challenged Xiao Zhi Ren to look back. Their height difference wasn¡¯t that much, and with him being pushed against a wall, their faces were at a level.

    They were so close that he could even feel her hot breath falling on his face. ¡¯F*ck! Someone just kill me!¡¯ He groaned inwardly.

    Seeing his eyes still avoiding her face, Ru felt indignant. "Zhi, I don¡¯t like it when people don¡¯t look me in the eyes while talking to me."

    ¡¯How am I supposed to look? Mm... Why does she smell like lemon? And why do I suddenly find lemons to be very enticing?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren was obviously lost in his own thinking.

    "Zhi, are you ignoring me?" Ru¡¯s voice raised an octave.

    "Can you please back off a little," Xiao Zhi Ren tried to push her body back but when he touched her chest, his eyes widened and he pulled his hands back like they just touched a burning me. Although her chest was still tied in a binding, he knew what was underneath that hard facade.

    Ru saw his reaction, his gaze, his difort... She thoroughly observed everything.

    "Zhi, are you ufortable with knowing that I¡¯m a girl?" Her voice might have turned softer but her bluntness was enough to stun Xiao Zhi Ren for a second.

    Maintaining a reasonable distance from her, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It is a bit ufortable." He wasn¡¯t used to this yet. He was still trying to process the fact that she was a girl. And that too the one he had been yearning for. One wrong step and he might lose her again. He didn¡¯t want that. Not at all!

    Ru lowered her eyes to ponder his words.

    "I¡¯m sorry for making you ufortable." Xiao Zhi Ren stared at her as she continued, "I know you only wanted a sworn brother but I deceived you. I¡¯m really sorry about that. I know you didn¡¯t want to be a part of this mess. I didn¡¯t want you to be as well." Before he could refute her words, she kept going on, "If this is really too much for you... I¡¯ll move out of here."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart sank. ¡¯What did she say?¡¯

    If he wasn¡¯t certain before, her next words only confirmed it, "You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯m Xie Rong, I know how to disappear. You won¡¯t even hear my name again."

    Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly lost his temper. He gripped her wrist in his hand tightly. "Are you crazy? How many times are you nning to run? Aren¡¯t you tired of running? Why can¡¯t you just stay here and let this ce finally be your home? Are you that eager to disappear? One day, people might really forget all about you. For goodness sake, stop running!"

    He was furious. Actually, he was beyond furious. Her words reminded him of how she vanished all those years ago. When he found her, she was running from someone. When he tried to protect her, she ran from him. And when he tried to look for her, she was nowhere to be found.

    After all those years, now she stands before him. How can she even think about leaving again? Is she even gonna run from him? Why?

    Ru couldn¡¯t understand his rage. And more so, she was looking at him disbelievingly because she couldn¡¯t understand how he knew that she had been running for a long time? She never said anything about that.

    In fact, she was indeed tired of running. And that¡¯s why she finally chose toe back. She wanted a home as well. She didn¡¯t want to y the game of identities anymore. But why was he questioning her? With what right? He said it himself that she was making him ufortable, then why was he behaving like that now?

    "You... You said I¡¯m making you ufortable." Ru didn¡¯t question about anything else. She didn¡¯t need to hear anything else. Not now.

    Xiao Zhi Ren let go of her wrist and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek with the back of his knuckles as he whispered, "But I don¡¯t want you to leave."

 Chapter 110 Stop Running

    Therees a moment in our life when the time actually freezes for us. Not literally though. Perhaps it feels like it that time is stuck.

    But in reality, those moments are the one we¡¯d never forget. Because they are the ones ever vivid in our mind and unforgettable. Good or bad, happy or sad... It doesn¡¯t matter. That moment just carves itself in our memory so deeply that one can¡¯t possibly erase it.

    Right now, Ru was going through one of those moments. When Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s hand made contact with her skin ever so lightly, Ru was frozen still. For her, even time was frozen but there was something which was not frozen... The way his skin brushed against her own left a burning trail.

    "I don¡¯t want you to leave."

    As his words registered in her mind, Ru stared back into his eyes. There were plenty ofplicated emotions in his gaze. There was sadness, pain, loneliness, fear, and something she couldn¡¯t decipher.

    ¡¯Fear? What is he scared of?¡¯ She wondered to herself. She hadpletely forgotten that there was hardly any distance between them but she was reminded again when she felt his forehead leaning against her own.

    Why she didn¡¯t move? She wanted to! She always hated having someone this close to herself. But right now, she wasn¡¯t uneasy at all. It was like him knowing that she was a girl broke some barrier between them. She was rxed. Why? Because he was looking at her as a girl.

    "I¡¯m not ufortable with your presence. Heck! You are the only person who actually makes me feel at ease. How can I be ufortable with you?" Xiao Zhi Ren spoke softly as his peppermint breath fanned her face. "I¡¯m ufortable with the fact that you have such a tough life. It¡¯s not easy living a life of disguise. How are you surviving with it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was feeling hurt for her. How excruciatingly restless she must have been all this time!

    ¡¯Tough life?¡¯ Ru had never heard anyone ask her this question before. Her life always seemed perfect to the onlookers. The next n leader of the most ancient n in history. Imagine the power thates with that title. But no one asked how much responsibilityes with it as well. No one even asked how she was managing the life of double disguise.

    Ru finally pulled herself away from him because the heat emanating from his body was getting too intense for her cold self. Raking her fingers through her hair she asked, "Why do you care? Even if it had been tough, why do you care?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his hand to touch her head but she stepped back. He felt hurt and she could see it as well. But how could she let him invade her life so easily?

    "I care because we took a blood oath to stick together." He answered with a long sigh.

    Ru was a bit taken aback by his answer. "At that time, you only wanted a sworn brother. You didn¡¯t know what mess you¡¯re getting yourself into. I know I¡¯m a handful and I doe with a huge history of secrets. Don¡¯t push yourself for an oath. Since I¡¯m a girl, the oath might not be valid anymore."

    As much as she liked thepany of him, she would never put any other person¡¯s life at risk for keeping her own secrets. From all that she knew about Xiao Zhi Ren, she always found him to be too good for herself. Obviously when she was talking about them what she had in mind was as brothers,panions, friends, anything but nothing inclining towards a bug called ¡¯love¡¯.

    "If your reason to hide again is that I¡¯m gonna question your decisions then don¡¯t bother." Ru stared back at skeptically. "I won¡¯t ask anything. I¡¯ll keep your secret like I am supposed to do."

    Ru felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. His reassurance was enough. She really didn¡¯t want others to ask her for her reasons behind a disguise. It wasn¡¯t like she knew the real reason herself. But for now, her reason was simple... She wasfortable in her disguise. It had be herfort-zone.

    "So, can you stop running or hiding?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to sound too needy but he did. He had no control over it. He needed her right here with him even if it was just as a friend.

    Contemting his words for a while longer, Ru nodded her head, "I guess I need to stop somewhere. So, I¡¯ll just stop right here."

 Chapter 111 My Heart Wont Allow Me To

    Her words were simple yet Xiao Zhi Ren knew that she meant it. She had a weird habit of not saying things she didn¡¯t mean wholeheartedly. It was her way to be sincere.

    Ru never learned to say shallow words. She would always say what she felt, not caring about the feelings of the other person.

    "Thank you for choosing to stay," Xiao Zhi Ren said sincerely. The gentleness in his voice was almost scary for Ru. She wasn¡¯t used to people being this gentle with her.

    "Actually, I should thank you for not asking about anything. I know there is a lot going on in that head of yours. But..." she gave tired sigh as she went around the kitchen counter and continued, "I really can¡¯t answer. There might be some question which even I don¡¯t know how to answer."

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a seat at the high kitchen stool facing the kitchen counter and her who was standing on the other side. "I can understand and even if I can¡¯t I¡¯ll try to do so. That¡¯s the least I can do."

    Ru ignored the way he was looking at her and went to whip up a coffee for him since he really seemed to like it. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t disturb her while she made herself busy. He was just silently gazing at her in contentment. He literally felt ecstatic knowing that this was all not just his dream anymore. He could see her every day.

    "There you go, one ck coffee," she grimaced even at the sight of that coffee.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at her reaction and asked, "You really are not fond of coffee, are you?"

    ¡¯I have enough bitterness in life, don¡¯t want to add a bit more.¡¯ She thought to herself but changed her words when she opened her mouth, "I¡¯m already known as a bitter person, don¡¯t need coffee to spoil people¡¯s day. I can do a better job on my own. Thank you very much!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was amused by her answer. He knew her words were bitter but only to those who couldn¡¯t digest the honesty like hers. She attacked violently not just with her hands but also with her words. She was indeed a ruthless yer who really didn¡¯t know when to shy away. Who would look at her say that she almost died tonight?

    This reminder was enough to tense Xiao Zhi Ren and tried to ease his nerves by distracting himself.

    "Ran Zi is surprised to see that Yuan is quite fond of yourpany and he doesn¡¯t get attached to people so easily." Xiao Zhi Ren said while Ru was busying boiling some water for tea.

    Thinking about that little squirrel, Ru gave a slight smile. Xiao Zhi Ren felt a bit jealous seeing her smile at the name of his brother but he didn¡¯t know that her smile was because Yuan was a reminder of her own brother whom she missed a lot. All her care towards Yuan was because she felt sorry for leaving her little rice-cake behind.

    Before the bitterness of his absence could take over, Ru mumbled, "Little squirrel is adorable. I don¡¯t find it weird that he takes time to cozy up with people. We live in a world where our own shadow is not on our side. It¡¯s only right to be cautious about people."

    "Yes. But his distant behavior makes him an outcast."

    Ru gave a lopsided grin as she said, "We are all an outcast. We are only wearing the shells to feel like we belong somewhere. But we don¡¯t even realize that by wearing those shells we are actually hiding the beautiful pearls thaty inside."

    Yet again with her words, Xiao Zhi Ren felt something unshackling within himself. It was a good feeling but scary as well. Since even he didn¡¯t know how much she could undo him.

    After savoring the taste of his bitter coffee, Xiao Zhi Ren stood up to leave. "I think you should rest. We can talk some other day. Don¡¯t run around and please get some sleep."

    Was it concern? Or was he just being bossy with her? Either way, Ru didn¡¯t mind it. Oddly, she felt too tired toe up with a retort for him.

    "Yes, boss!" She gave a yful salute with her two fingers making him roll his eyes at her.

    He was about to leave but turned around to say, "I can promise to keep your secret and I won¡¯t ask anything either but don¡¯t expect anything else." Ru¡¯s brows creased up a bit but he continued, "I can¡¯t look at you as a sworn brother anymore. My heart won¡¯t allow me to."

 Chapter 112 Make-Out Session?

    "My heart won¡¯t allow me to."

    The words seemed ordinary but they held a deeper meaning. Something that made her eyes widen in surprise. There was something in his tone that made her didn¡¯t want to break away from his gaze. His ck orbs held so much care, tenderness, and love that he knew even she could read it vividly.

    Slowly the tip of her tongue darted out to lightly brush over her bottom lip and his eyes that were glued to her eyes lowered to follow the movement of her tongue. The moment felt torturous to him.

    She came around the kitchen ind and stood before him with her hands on her hips. "Oh, really? And why wouldn¡¯t your heart actually allow it?" Her tone was a bit unusual... There was yfulness to it and a bit sarcasm which he didn¡¯t care about at all.

    The way her green eyes blinked up at him made it really hard for him to breathe. He unbuttoned the first couple of buttons of his shirt since the cor of his shirt seemed too tight for his liking, all of a sudden.

    "You really don¡¯t know? Or you just want me to spell it out for you?" He asked and looked away from her enthralling eyes that seemed to be awakening something inside of him. Something that was in a deep slumber until now.

    Woah! Get your thoughts out of the rubbish bin. By ¡¯something¡¯ he meant his deep feelings for her. Hold the horses of those naughty thoughts!

    "And if I say that I want you to spell it out for me, how will you spell it?" Her teasing voice made Xiao Zhi Ren lose all his rationality.

    He turned back, stepped towards her and trapped her between his body and the kitchen ind with his hands on both of her sides. He didn¡¯t touch her yet. But he was close enough to feel her breath fan over his face making him close his eyes.

    Before he could stop himself, his head dipped and his lips brushed her cheek in a teasing manner. He felt her body stiffening before she raised her arms to push him. Xiao Zhi Ren held both her hands and as she opened her mouth to say something, he captured her lips.

    With his lips pressed against hers, he could feel a tidal wave of feelings surging inside of him. It was like the iplete puzzle piece of his life was found- one that he had been yearning to hold. Without any impatience, his lips caressed hers gently with care and love.

    He pulled away slowly and fluttered his eyes to look for something in hers. All he saw was confusion in those emerald green eyes that were fluttering like butterfly wings.

    For some unknown reason, he couldn¡¯t stop himself as he let her hands go before his hands came to stay on her waist. Without dy, he heaved her body and sat her on the ck marble kitchen ind, gazing into her eyes for a while longer.

    Oddly, she stayed quiet which wasn¡¯t like her at all. She was that open-mouthed person who would question everything in life. But since she didn¡¯t, Xiao Zhi Ren took it as if he was granted permission to continue.

    Feeling the absence of her soft lips against his own, he pressed them against hers moving skillfully. His hand that had been on her waist raised as he traced her back feeling the warmth of her body through the thing fabric of her t-shirt.

    Leaving her lips, he moved his lips to leave feather like kisses on her jaw before moving down to her neck. As he found the spot right below her ear, he heard a giggle as if she was ticklish. The sound was pure pleasure to his ears as if she was an instrument and he was loving the feel of her strings ying out music exclusively for his ears.

    But suddenly something felt amiss. There was an odd irk in his heart that something wasn¡¯t adding up here. As if recalling something, he gasped, "Giggle? Ticklish?"

    That question worked like a magic word since the next moment, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes flew open and he found himself in thefort of his own bed with sweat trickling down his body.

    "Fu*K! It was a dream!" He cursed as he threw the pillows in frustration.

    How he wished it wasn¡¯t a dream or he could live through that dream for a little longer. But who would have thought he¡¯d notice the fact that Ru doesn¡¯t giggle at the very least, not like a girl. Or that she won¡¯t be ticklish! Dreams really love to y with our feelings. He was yed in the worst way this time!

 Chapter 113 Clueless Young Master Ru

    Earlier when Xiao Zhi Ren had really said those words to Ru, her reaction was nothing like his dream at all. In fact, her reaction waspletely out of the box kind.

    She had simply shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh, well... As long as you don¡¯t treat me like a girl before others, it¡¯s fine with me."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was truly dumbstruck by her words. He wondered whether he was too good at hiding his emotions or she was too clueless about such emotions. But his heart inclined towards thetter option since she didn¡¯t seem like the kind of person who would have experienced love.

    He thought his words were suggestive enough but she acted like they were talking about the weather and there was nothing wrong at all.

    That night he could only toss and turn after that dream. His lips were tingling in anticipation. What would she taste like? What would her lips feel like on his? What would she feel like her under his touch? He was curious, way beyond his control. But he had no way to cure his curiosity unless he had a death wish.

    He knew for a fact that Ru would beat him to death if he dared to kiss her. And from his earlier experience, he knew she was way more fierce than she seemed. Now that he remembered it, he felt uneasy in his heart knowing that there was some drug which yed with her senses. She was someone who had a strong mental control but if some drug actually was working on her, it meant it wasn¡¯t a simple matter at all.

    However, the way she acted after gaining her senses back was even weirder. She didn¡¯t question him at all. She didn¡¯t seem disturbed at all. She only cared about her secret and nothing else. Was her own life that worthless in her eyes?

    Meanwhile on Ru¡¯s side...

    "Raven, change of ns," Ru started as she was typing something on theputer. "We have to start the research all over again. Drug addiction is not gone. We need a permanent solution. If it wasn¡¯t for Zhi I might have killed myself tonight just for the sake of sanity."

    At the thought of Xiao Zhi Ren, she quietened up. Since his earlier words were still crystal clear in her memory. ¡¯My heart won¡¯t allow me to.¡¯

    If someone thought she couldn¡¯t understand the underlying meaning they were mistaken about it. She might be clueless about the feeling of love or physical intimacy but she wasn¡¯t clueless when it came to reading people.

    She wasn¡¯t mistaken at all. The look in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes had already made it clear to her that he was looking at her as a woman. She couldn¡¯t me him for that but the tenderness which she saw in his eyes was something that kept bugging her.

    She was once told that she was the kind of person who was scared to experience love but it wasn¡¯t true. At least not until Xiao Zhi Ren barged into her life out of nowhere. As she had told him, he was like the saint she couldn¡¯t afford to love. And that was a scary feeling.

    He was that light she didn¡¯t dare to taint with her darkness. Because she knew before he could light up her dark world, she might pull him into her own dark world. In the end, she didn¡¯t want that painful life for him or for anyone.

    She knew life had broken his heart. She could see it in his deste eyes.

    But she also knew that life had broken her as a whole.

    He might only have the burden of a broken dream.

    But she was living with a burden of a broken past and possibly a broken future.

    Was it worth it to pull him into her life where she couldn¡¯t even find her own shadow? She had seen the worry in his eyes at the hospital and that reminded her how involved he was in her life. She knew her weaknesses all along but this was the first time, someone else saw her weakness.

    Shaking her head to shoo away these thoughts, she mumbled to herself, "I need the recipe for that drug before it kills me."

 Chapter 114 Plan Of Action

    That night wasn¡¯t any better for Ru, she was also restless but her reason was obviously different than Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s.

    Early in the morning, she ended up at the outskirts of the city deep in the mountains. She was trudging her way towards the bamboo house when she saw Lilith running towards her with a scared expression. It immediately rmed her.

    Lilith stopped before Ru and panted before gesturing, "What is going on?"

    Ru frowned at her question. "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking that? Tell me, why are you running?"

    Lilith took a moment to catch her breath and gestured in signnguage again, "Your ck Mist squad has gone crazy."

    Ru¡¯s lips hooked slightly upward as she stated, "I picked up the craziest bunch. Tell me something I don¡¯t know."

    Lilith rolled her eyes before adding, "From the moment they came back, all of them gave me tight hugs like they were choking me. And then there were such strange looks in their eyes. As if... As if they were pitying me, it made me so frustrated."

    Ru immediately understood what was going on. So, she patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder and gave her a key saying, "I asked Wu Dishi to buy you a ride. It¡¯s a motorbike. Take caution while driving." Lilith¡¯s mood immediately lifted up and her eyes sparkled like people of her age. Ru liked the look on her face, it showed that she was indeed just like any other young adult.

    Lilith snatched the keys and ran away to try her ride. Ru¡¯s expression shifted as she made her way inside the house towards the bunch of crazies.

    "Can you imagine what Lili has been through?" Ru heard Adia¡¯s voice and halted in her track, not letting her presence known just yet.

    "I can¡¯t even imagine that once upon a time Lili was one of those innocent souls that we savedst night." Jake¡¯s voice didn¡¯t hold his normal yfulness.

    "Is it wrong to think that we failed? I seem like a failure for not being able to save Lili back then." Even the fifth and quietest member of the group, Edmund spoke up as he mmed his hand on the table.

    "Rather than the regrets of the past," every one of them stood up as they heard Ru¡¯s voice as she continued, "Why don¡¯t you focus on the present? We can¡¯t control the past but we can control the present. Isn¡¯t it enough that we saved Lilith now than never?"

    "Master is always right." Jack agreed with Ru as always.

    "Jack and Jake, what happened with the girls?" Ru ignored his brown nosing and asked.

    "We sent them to the safe facility under Knight Empires. They have only gotten a taste of the drug through the air, so they are not yet addicted to it. We can save them." Jake read the report inly.

    "What about their identities and families?" Ru asked further even though she knew the answer.

    This time, Jack spoke up, "Their families are no more. And in records, they are dead as well." After a bit of hesitation, he managed to say, "Their vocal cords are damaged but... We can recover that through surgery."

    Ru inhaled a sharp breath of anger before turning to the rest of them, "What did you find?"

    "The ce of the transaction was empty. We didn¡¯t find anything except for an empty warehouse. They must have gotten the information that someone intercepted their deal." Connor gave the report in a professional manner.

    Clenching and unclenching her fists in anger, Ru stayed quiet for a while.

    "What should we do with the people we caught? They know nothing. They were just working as a middle delivery man." Adia questioned in an almost hushed up voice.

    "Get rid of them! Do I look like I care about what you do to them? If they don¡¯t have what I need then I don¡¯t need them alive." Her voice startled the five of them. It was rare seeing their master losing ¡¯his¡¯ temper.

    The thick silence got everyone tense. And none of them knew how to break it. All of them wanted to question her about their next step but none of them had the courage to deal with a pissed-off master of theirs.

    Ru knew that she needed some new n but for now, she was furious and with her rage, she could onlye up with destruction and nothing else.

 Chapter 115 Beyond Hopeless

    After spending a day in frustration and anger, Ru was exhausted by the time dusk came around. Right now, she was standing before Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s house and questioning herself, ¡¯What the hell am I doing here?¡¯

    She knew the answer, she just didn¡¯t have the courage to ept it. After a long contemtion session outside the door, she finally lifted her hand to ring the bell. But before she could, the door opened and Xiao Zhi Ren came into view looking at her inquiringly.

    "Are you done pacing around?" Ru gave him a confused look. "You have been out here for half-an-hour now."

    "How do you know that?" Ru questioned without thinking.

    Instead of answering her, Xiao Zhi Ren held her sleeve and as usual dragged her inside before the home-security system¡¯s monitor. Looking at that, Ru had a look of realization like she was suddenly enlightened and even dragged her words, "Ohh..." Then turning to look at his amused expression, she scratched her head sheepishly. "I was trying to remember what I came for."

    "Oh, is that right?" Xiao Zhi Ren yed along with her.

    "Of course." Ru stood her ground.

    "So, what did youe up with? I mean what brought you to my door?" He asked while he walked towards his kitchen.

    "Where is our little squirrel?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave her once over before turning back to hide his smile.

    "Is that what you want to ask?"

    "No, that was just a general question." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    "Okay, so the general answer would be he went to movies with his friends." Xiao Zhi Ren answered rolling his sleeves and prepared to dice up the vegetables.

    Nodding her head in understanding, she asked, "Why were you at the portst night?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren paused in his movement before continuing to work. "I was following you." Ru widened her eyes at his straightforward answer.

    "Why?" She asked cautiously.

    "Because I had to ask you something important." He answered inly.

    "What did you want to ask?" Ru asked and Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t answer immediately. He was wondering what to say since he had already gotten the answer to his question. Ru picked up a carrot and took a bite before asking, "Oh, wait! I suddenly remembered I promised you a meeting with Alev. I¡¯m really forgetful these days." She facepalmed herself feeling not happy about her memory at all.

    The name Alev rolled out of her tongue so naturally that it stunned Xiao Zhi Ren. Not noticing his expression at all, she continued, "Zhi, you should have reminded me. I got busy with so many things that it skipped my mind. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll have him before you next week at any cost!"

    Tightening his grip on the knife in his hand, he asked, "Last time, you said that Alev Knight would do anything you say." Ru hummed in response distractedly and he went on, "How close you both are exactly?"

    "Closer than you can imagine," Ru said without even thinking while her mind was like, ¡¯It¡¯s my alter ego. And if I don¡¯t know myself then who else will?¡¯

    "Does he know?" Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly questioned. "I mean about you... Your secret."

    Ru thought for a second about her answer, ¡¯No one knows my secrets better than myself. And if I know it than my other self also knows it.¡¯ Thinking this she answered, "Yeah! He knows me better than anyone. All my secrets and whatnots. Technically, you can call us two people living in one body with one heartbeat."

    She meant it literally but Xiao Zhi Ren took it metaphorically. The kitchen knife in his hand dropped and fell right beside his foot. It even slit the side of his foot but Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t feel the pain at all.

    His mind was elsewhere.

    ¡¯Am I toote? Does her heart already belong to someone else? But I can¡¯t even fight with Alev Knight! Damnit! How am I supposed to fight with my idol?¡¯ No one could understand the inner turmoil of Xiao Zhi Ren at this moment.

    One thing was for sure, he was beyond hopeless now.

 Chapter 116 Being Civil

    "Do you need help with that, Zhi?" Ru offered as she heard the ttering sound of a kitchen knife.

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a deep breath and repeated the mantra inside his head which went something along the line of, ¡¯Inhale... Exhale... Don¡¯t let it get to you. Don¡¯t let her see right through you.¡¯

    "No, thanks for the offer. But I¡¯m fine," he managed to get back hisposure and polite smile as he picked up the kitchen knife from the floor but disregarded the blood oozing out of his foot. He needed that pain on his body to keep his sanity. To forget that he was raging inside. To hide his painful heart. And most importantly, to keep his jealous self at bay.

    Ru wasn¡¯t really paying attention to his expressions otherwise, she could have easily learned what was going through his mind.

    She took another bite of the carrot in her hand and asked, "So, which friends of Little squirrel managed to pull him out of his hole?"

    "There is a pretty little instructor that you left by his side," Xiao Zhi Ren pointed out and Ru raised her brows in surprise.

    "Lilith?"

    "Yup! That¡¯s the girl." Ru was taking a moment to digest that fact as Xiao Zhi Ren continued, "Anyway, the idea of movies came from Zhang Han."

    Forgetting all about Lilith¡¯s condition, Ru said, "You mean Uncle and nephew went together?"

    Seeing her sparkling eyes, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t hold his chuckle and nodded, "Uncle and nephew went together."

    "Hmm... That¡¯s interesting." She was done with the carrot in her hand and when she decided to pick up another one, Xiao Zhi Ren swatted her hand away. Ru scrunched up her face. "Don¡¯t be so mean! I just want to take one more carrot."

    "Stop messing around. You can eat all you want after I¡¯m done cooking everything." Xiao Zhi Ren was nning on rebuking her but his voice was way too gentle making it seem like he was coaxing her.

    "Whatever!" Ru grumbled and started rummaging through her pockets. "Ahan!" She suddenly eximed as she found a leftover candy in her pocket. Her expression said it all. She was like that child whose eyes sparkled at the sight of sugary goods.

    "Can¡¯t believe you still have your sweet-tooth." Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head in amusement.

    Ru didn¡¯t mind his words since she was too engrossed in savoring the taste of sugar on her tongue.

    Looking at her face, Xiao Zhi Ren was lost for a long while. Pure bliss and happiness on her beautiful face was a clear indication of how lonely she was inside. Was it his fortune that he could see her sadness behind that smile? He didn¡¯t think so. Because it felt like torture to him.

    "My grandmother wants me to bring you to Ji Family Mansion," Xiao Zhi Ren tried to distract himself from the thoughts that were hurting him.

    "I went there just a few days ago. Why is she inviting me again?" Ru questioned absentmindedly since her attention was on the ingredients on the kitchen ind. She was trying to figure out what he was making for dinner.

    "She didn¡¯t get to meet you at the banquet so she wants me to bring you again," Xiao Zhi Ren answered while he added the vegetables in the boiling water on the stove. He turned to see Ru¡¯s frown and instantly knew she was thinking of ways to reject. So, he yed the other trick, "She¡¯ll be preparing a whole feast just for you."

    Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up as she asked, "She¡¯s inviting me over for a meal?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head while trying to stifle hisughter. "Zhi, you should have said so." Clearing her throat, she said, "I mean how can I reject her invite? This young master always listens to elders. Definitely won¡¯t let her down."

    In all honesty, Ru¡¯s mind was wandering off somewhere else. She had promised that woman on the third floor that she¡¯lle back. She had to sneak in the Ji Family Mansion anyway, now she could just walk in without having to hide or jump around.

    Although she loved wall climbing, being civil wasn¡¯t so bad after all.

 Chapter 117 Ill Remember

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s movements once again halted as Ru addressed herself as ¡¯This young master¡¯. It just didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    "You know you can talkfortably with me." Ru gave him a confused look. "No need to keep up the pretense of being a young master before me."

    Ru gaped at him in disbelief before saying, "You are overthinking, Zhi. I have always been a young master. It¡¯s not a pretense. It¡¯s who I am. After calling myself a young master for twenty-eight years of my life, it has be a part of me rather than just being a disguise."

    Xiao Zhi Ren stared at her wide-eyed. His mind was in shambles. He only thought that she was keeping this disguise to search for her enemies but how wrong he had been! If she had lived with this persona for all those years, it meant she never got a chance to experience being a girl.

    Then what about her real identity? Her real self?

    His stunned expression was palpable and it didn¡¯t bother Ru at all. She saw that the soup was boiling, so she shot up from her seat and went around the counter to stir the soup before tasting it. "Mm... Yum. Zhi, you are good." She gave him a thumbs up while he kept staring at her in a daze.

    "What happened to your foot?" Ru crouched down to see his bleeding foot and recalled how she heard the ttering of the knife. "Why are you standing here? You should get a band-aid."

    Xiao Zhi Ren held her hand to stop her. "It doesn¡¯t hurt."

    Ru scoffed contemptuously and said, "Say something believable. Pain is a reminder of being alive and it¡¯ll stick with us until the day we be a cold corpse. That hurts and I know that."

    She dragged him to take a seat at the couch and looked for a first-aid kit in the living room cabs. Coming back to his side, she kneeled before him on the thick carpet and held his foot in hand which he tried to avoid but her stern look made him leave everything up to her.

    Ru took off his slipper and ced his foot on her knee. She used the antiseptic to clean the cut before pulling out a small ss bottle from her own pocket. It had some green colored powder and when she sprinkled it on his wound it stung making him hiss in pain.

    All this while, he could only concentrate on the touch of her hand on his foot. Her hand was cold yet again but it seemed to be burning his skin.

    "See, told you it hurts," Ru said matter-of-factly as she put a band-aid on it. "Hope you¡¯ll remember this pain."

    Xiao Zhi Ren stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. His mind though knew, ¡¯I¡¯ll remember. After all, I still remember the secrets you kept just like I remember the moment we met.¡¯

    "Are you a doctor?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s sudden question made Ru frown. "I mean you are always carrying some strange things with you."

    Ru looked at the powder in her hand and understood his meaning, "I don¡¯t have an official degree but I certainly am a genius in traditional medicine."

    "A genius?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked amusedly and Ru nodded. "Is there really no limit to your narcissism?"

    Ru punched his shoulder yfully and sat beside him saying, "Zhi Hyung, I¡¯m a narcissist because I can afford to be one." Such arrogance! But she looked adorable being haughty.

    Xiao Zhi Ren pinched her nose and said, "You¡¯re impossible." Obviously, Ru took is as apliment without any shame at all.

    Later, Ru herself helped Xiao Zhi Ren with dinner and bestowed him with herpany as well saying, "Feel honored, this young master is bestowing you with his heavenly presence."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her and pped the back of her head while she only red in return. They both ate in silence, afortable one. Toofortable perhaps.

    "I thought you don¡¯t like eating with people," Xiao Zhi Ren remarked while collecting the dishes.

    "Yes. And I heard that you don¡¯t like eating alone." Ru¡¯s words put Xiao Zhi Ren in a trance and all he felt was a warm feeling gushing in his heart. She actually stayed because he was alone for dinner? He looked at her back while she was putting on the gloves to do the dishes and thought, ¡¯You really are unexpected with both words and actions.¡¯

 Chapter 118 Too Harsh

    "What are you looking at?"

    This must be the first time in Ru¡¯s life when she actually felt self-conscious under someone¡¯s gaze. And the person who was staring at her was none other than; Xiao Zhi Ren. They had nned to go to Ji Family Mansion on the following evening since Ru said she was free.

    But when she met him outside the condominium building, he started staring at her. And his piercing gaze actually managed to get to her.

    She was d in dark grey cargo pants with a ck slim-fit t-shirt along with a ck leather jacket and leather shoes. Her fluffy hair was left untamed to fall all over her forehead. The tips of her hair seemed to be caressing her eyebrows whenever she walked. Her green eyes seemed like the greenest forest in which one would dly want to lose himself. And Xiao Zhi Ren was indeed one of those people who would love to lose themselves in her eyes.

    "Hey! I¡¯m gonna charge you for staring," Ru announced while crossing her arms over her chest.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a start and pursed his lips before saying, "You are not a zoo animal that I¡¯ll have to pay for staring."

    Ru¡¯s jaw dropped... Well, not really but you got the picture. "Did you justpare me to a zoo animal?"

    "Why? Are you offended?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked offhandedly while getting behind the wheel to drive himself tonight.

    Ru took the passenger seat and huffed. "Of course, I¡¯m offended. At leastpare me to free animals. Zoo Animals are caged and I don¡¯t like things which are caged."

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to continue but there were some indignance and disdain in her tone that made him shut up. It was weird for him that she was not offended because hepared her to animals but she did feel offended because hepared her to caged animals. He might not be sharp enough to understand why she was so against cages but he knew better than to ask.

    The ride continued on silently after that with both of them lost in their own thoughts.

    "Why do you hate your father?" Ru was the one who broke the silence yet again but her question startled Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Because he cheated on my mother." He answered trying to keep his emotions leveled but his tight grip on the steering wheel gave away his inner rage.

    "But did he wronged you in any way?" asked Ru while her eyes still were looking outside the window pane at the slowly darkening night.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was lost for words. He didn¡¯t know why but he was. Her question was simple but he had no answer for it. If he was being honest, the truth would be that his father never wronged him. He was the eldest son of the family and naturally, he was the life of the whole family including his father.

    He had a very happy childhood until his mother decided to take him away from Ji Family. He even knew that it was his mother who hid from Ji Family and that¡¯s why his father couldn¡¯t be med for leaving him.

    However, there was a strange pain in his head when he tried to think about his reason for hatred towards his father. Destroying their family? He convinced himself until today that was the reason but now it didn¡¯t seem reasonable. Then why was there a feeling in his heart that he was supposed to hate his father?

    Ru could see his conflicted expressions and it made her curious.

    She didn¡¯t want to be curious at first butst night, she suddenly recalled something her grandfather taught her.

    "You¡¯re saying that if a man/woman cheats on his/her partner, the punishment is banishment from the n?" She had asked after going through the rulebook. As she saw the old man nodding, she was dumbfounded. "Why? Isn¡¯t it too harsh?"

    "Dear grandson, a man who can¡¯t even be honest to his own feelings or loyal to his own vows, how can you expect that man to be loyal to anyone?" Her grandfather¡¯s answer left her perplexed for a long time. At least ¡¯till she actually understood that his words were right.

    She had not just recalled that she also remembered that this rule was set by her own n for the rest of the hidden families. And there is no one worthy to go against her family which was why she was curious to know how did Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s father cheated on his mother and yet he was unharmed?

    It didn¡¯t make any sense.

 Chapter 119 Grandson-in-law

    "Oh my! Are you really Xie Rong?" Old Madam Ji was eyeing Ru with so much appreciation in her eyes that it made Ru feel on edge. She was like, ¡¯What have I done wrong now?¡¯

    "Heh-Heh... That¡¯s what I was told." Ru gave an awkwardugh as she answered.

    "Got a sense of humor as well. I like him already." Old Madam Ji spoke with delight as she led Ru inside.

    ¡¯This olddy is too cheerful for her age. But why does she think I have a sense of humor? I can¡¯t even understand my own jokes.¡¯ Ru was having a monologue inside while Old Madam Ji was gushing over how much she had heard about Ru from other sources. The said person had no interest at all.

    "I¡¯m feeling regretful that I didn¡¯t get a chance to say hello to you at the banquet." Old Madam Ji¡¯s rueful voice brought Ru back to thend of the living.

    She gave her most popr and always working as a charm, smile which made Old Madam Ji¡¯s eyes gleam with an indescribable emotion. "Oh, it must be my misfortune that I didn¡¯t get a chance to offer my greetings to a figure like Madam Ji."

    While Old Madam Ji was basking in the delight of Ru¡¯s melodious voice, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her a disbelieving look. ¡¯How does she change her demeanor so easily? Damn, she¡¯s better than those so-called actors. Look at her mouth, it¡¯s working like a charm on grandmother.¡¯

    "Haiz! There is no misfortune at all. Look, that was just a missed-chance. Here we are again." Old Madam Ji¡¯s dreamy sigh and words made Xiao Zhi Ren shake his head.

    ¡¯And scored! Great! It could be a new record. This girl actually charmed a person like my grandmother within five minutes. How impressive!¡¯ He was genuinely impressed with Ru¡¯s ability to wrap people around her fingers.

    "Grandma, where is grandfather?" Xiao Zhi Ren interrupted their conversation.

    "Oh, that old man went to attend some business banquet with your father." She answered insouciantly. Her aged-eyes were still assessing Ru with interest.

    "Xie Rong, are you single?" Ru¡¯s brows locked together in confusion but she still nodded cautiously. "Aiyo, it¡¯s such a shame," she suddenly said woefully.

    "Huh? What happened?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned looking at her expression. Why was Rong being single was a shame?

    "Isn¡¯t it a shame that I met this young man sote?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know whether to say he expected as much or should he just stayposed. "I don¡¯t even have a daughter or a granddaughter. What should I do?"

    Although Xiao Zhi Ren knew where this was going, he still dared to ask. "What do you want to do?"

    Old Madam Ji gave him a look of disapproval as she said, "Obviously, I want to take him in as my son-inw. Grandson-inw would also work."

    Ru who had been muting out their conversation suddenly spurted out the tea in her mouth. "My apologies. This is so not like me." She immediately took some tissues to wipe up her mouth and her clothes. Even in this small movement, Old Madam Ji could see the elegance in her which sparked her interest even more.

    "It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s absolutely alright," said Old Madam Ji.

    "Can I use yourfort room?"

    "Sure. Steward, show our Young Master Rong the way."

    With the guidance of the steward, Ru sprinted out of the sitting area. Why was she so unlucky? She was minding her own business and suddenly, the bomb of being a grandson-inw was dropped on her! Boom! ¡¯That¡¯s unfair to a poor person like me!¡¯ Sheined in her heart.

    "Grandma, how can you think about matchmaking?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked his grandmother a bit bitterly.

    "What did I say wrong? He has such a noble bearing and charming eloquence. How can I let him slip out of my hand?" Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t know what to say. "But it¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t even think of anyone who might match perfectly with him. Being this extraordinary must also be hectic for him." Old Madam Ji was pinching her brows as she felt a headacheing while Xiao Zhi Ren was rejoicing that she didn¡¯t say these words before Ru.

    Otherwise, that narcissistic and proud peacock would have danced on his head being all haughty. But a smile tugged at his lips at the thought that this proud peacock had to be a part of this family eventually. If not as grandson-inw then granddaughter-inw will also work, right? He would never let that proud peacock get away from him. Never!

 Chapter 120 Not An Ordinary Person

    Entering thefort room, Ru looked around and found the window which she was looking for. The window was right behind the huge jacuzzi with the view of a beautiful flower garden. Ru had aplete sketch of the Ji Family Mansion in her memory and it made it easy for her to get out of thefort room and jump her way straight to the third-floor balcony.

    She craned her neck and tried to look through the white chiffon curtains that were lightly fluttering in the night breeze. The room was brightly lit but there was no one in sight which made Ru a bit confused.

    "I didn¡¯t know that young men these days actually value their words," that voice made Ru look at the corner of the balcony. And there was the person she had been looking for in a beautiful skirt that reached her ankles. What surprised Ru was that she didn¡¯t even felt her presence. It was like that woman was merged with the darkness making her presence inconspicuous.

    "Don¡¯t know about others but I do value my words more than life itself," Ru answered, keeping her eyes trained on that woman¡¯s face that looked different for some reason. As her glistening eyes were looking at the distant sky, she seemed... normal?

    That was one way to pique Ru¡¯s inner nosy self.

    "I brought Xi¡¯an Pancakes for you," Ru pulled out a couple of pancakes wrapped in a stic packing. The woman looked at that crispy treat in her hand and gave a small smile before epting it.

    "You¡¯re not my son, you didn¡¯t have to bring this." Her words confirmed Ru¡¯s doubts. The woman was indeed normal tonight. It was like she was apletely different person.

    "Even if I¡¯m not your son, you fed me with a proper meal. I had to repay." Ru¡¯s words startled the woman before she could take a bite of the stuffed pancake in her hand. With a smile, she finally took a bite of the pancake and gave an appreciative look.

    "Did you make it yourself?" Ru gave her an inquiring gaze as if asking how did she know and her unasked question was answered in the next moment, "No street vendor can make something this delicious."

    Who doesn¡¯t likepliments? Obviously, our proud peacock was someone who loved basking inpliments. There was a time when she didn¡¯t like it that peopleplimented her culinary skills buting from this woman was exactly like her mother used to say. She felt touched.

    The odd woman touched Ru¡¯s head and said, "You are one handsome young man. Truly fatal for both males and females. Your future wife would be very lucky."

    Ru pressed her lips together not knowing what to say. After a moment of contemtion, she said, "Actually, I wanted to bring Lanzhou Noodle Soup but it wasn¡¯t easy to sneak that in."

    "Young man, you are taking too much risk for a stranger. This is not some ordinary territory." The woman¡¯s voice made Ru think about her words carefully.

    But in the end, she had an answer just like herself, "And I¡¯m not an ordinary person."

    "That I can see..." The woman¡¯s eyes stayed on Ru.

    "Since I¡¯m not supposed to call you mother, what should I address you as?"

    "You can call me Zhi." As her words registered in Ru¡¯s eyes, she was stunned to her spot.

    "Zhi?" She asked hesitantly.

    "Yes."

    "What about the family name?" Ru asked cautiously.

    "Family name?" The woman named Zhi took a moment of silence before saying, "Forget it. I¡¯ve forsaken my family for love. I have no right to use my family name casually."

    Her words put Ru in a deep dilemma. "I should get going. It¡¯s been fifteen minutes." Ru said in a bit of haste as she turned to jump back down.

    "Will youe again?" Ru stopped as she heard that voice again.

    "Do you want me to?"

    "I¡¯d like to talk to someone. It¡¯s been years I haven¡¯t had a normal conversation like this." Even Ru could see that herself.

    "I¡¯lle again." Ru couldn¡¯t stop the words from flowing out of her mouth. It was like she had no control over it at all.

    If this woman¡¯s name was Zhi, was there a possibility that she was connected to Xiao Zhi Ren? She could be the mother! But no, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mother died. He said he saw her dying right before his eyes. Then what connection is here?

    Ruffling her hair in annoyance, Ru closed the thinking doors of her brain. It was not the time. And most importantly, it wasn¡¯t her damn business!

 Chapter 122 My Aunt Visited

    "Dinner is served, Madam."

    As the maid announced this Ru¡¯s mind immediately spaced out everything else except for the food she was hungry for. After all, she came for the food. No, you came for the woman on the third floor. Her conscious reminded her. So what? Now, I¡¯m here for the food. So, shut up!

    "Let¡¯s go to the dining room." Old Madam Ji made her way towards the dining hall while Ru trailed behind her happily.

    "What took you so long in thefort room?" Xiao Zhi Ren who was walking beside cheery Ru asked.

    Ru gave him a forced smile and said, "Didn¡¯t I already exin that I was lost?"

    "Oh, and you want me to believe that a self-proimed ¡¯genius¡¯ like you forgot his way back?" The way he air-quoted the word genius made a vein twitch on Ru¡¯s face.

    "I wasn¡¯t paying attention." Ru tried to shirk away but how could Xiao Zhi Ren let her do that?

    "I don¡¯t buy your words."

    "How ironic!" Ru feigned a gasp and added, "I wasn¡¯t selling my words as well."

    This time Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mouth twitched. He took a deep breath to stop himself froming up with an ironic retort. "We can either dilly-dally for the whole night or you can be straightforward with me. Because I¡¯m really not believing that you lost your way."

    ¡¯As if I didn¡¯t know that.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly at him. ¡¯Why is he so insistent? Have to shut him up.¡¯

    With a devious look in her eyes, she stated, "My aunt visited. I was busy taking care of her."

    "You have an aunt? And she visited you here?" Ru held back her urge tough at his expression but it was a real effort on her part.

    Scratching the tip of her nose, Ru cleared her throat and said, "I do have an aunt, Zhi Hyung. She likes to visit every month for five days without dy. She is very diligent and trust me when I say she¡¯s a pain in my poor arse. As much as I hate her, I can¡¯t go against nature now. Can I?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was surely still lost since he said, "Yeah. We can¡¯t be disrespectful to elders."

    That did it for Ru as she burst outughing. He looked so innocent while talking about this that for the first time, Ru had the urge to pinch someone¡¯s cheek and if our young master Ru wants to do something, who would stop her? Apparently, no one!

    Ru actually pinched his cheeks making his eyes widen as she gave him a toothy grin. "Zhi, you are adorable."

    Before he could bask in the firstpliment from her, he recalled something and cursed under his breath before whispering softly, "You were talking about your periods?" His face was beetroot red while his voice was cautious which made Ruugh even louder.

    "I was." Her answer made Xiao Zhi Ren want to dig a hole and just bury himself in. How could he be so... naive?

    "Stop making fun of me." He grumbled to hide his embarrassment. It wasn¡¯t his fault that he didn¡¯t know the meaning of ¡¯visit from my aunt¡¯. He had been in the States for more than ten years. Also, that term had nothing to do with him.

    "I¡¯m not making fun of you. I really think you¡¯re adorable."

    "Don¡¯t you think that men don¡¯t like being called adorable?"

    "Really? But they should. I like this bashful side of yours a lot better."

    Her words lingered in the air while she had walked inside the dining hall and took a seat with an impassive look back on his face.

    While Ru was trying to keep herposure, she didn¡¯t see the thoughtful look on Old Madam Ji¡¯s face. She had seen Ru¡¯s earlier interaction with Xiao Zhi Ren in the hallways. She was just as much stunned as Xiao Zhi Ren was when Ru pinched his cheeks. That grandson of hers never even let her touch his face! This was unbelievable.

    Soon Xiao Zhi Ren also joined them on the table and took a seat beside Old Madam Ji while Ru was seated opposite of them.

    "Enjoy the meal," Old Madam Ji said with a smile on her face and that same thoughtful look in her eyes.

    "I sure will."

    "He sure will."

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi Ren said simultaneously and gave each other a look before turning back to the food.

 Chapter 123 Cant Be A Coincidence

    "You have a strong bonding with Zhiren. I have never seen him interact with anyone like this. Not even with his brothers." Old Madam Ji was telling Ru while she decided to apany Ru on a walk around the Mansion.

    "Strong bonding? I don¡¯t think so. All we do is argue." Ru answered with a snort.

    "Perhaps, that¡¯s the beauty of your brotherhood."

    Ru didn¡¯tment on that. ¡¯What brotherhood?¡¯ She wanted to ask but couldn¡¯t since she was indeed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s sworn brother. At least for the onlookers.

    "I heard Young Master Rong has some interest in my husband¡¯s antique collection," Old Madam Ji had brought Ru to a different courtyard which had tight security. On her orders, the double doors were opened and Old Madam Ji walked inside with Ru.

    When Ru looked at the ss boxes showcasing a whole range of antique artifacts, her eyes surely lit up like a starden sky.

    "Madam, Miss Yiyi is here," a maid came to inform.

    "Didn¡¯t you tell her that Xiao Hong is not home?" Old Madam Ji asked sternly.

    "We did. But she said she wishes to see you." The maid answered courteously.

    Before Ru could say anything, Old Madam Ji gave her an apologetic smile and said, "You look around while I have to see the visitor."

    "No, no. I should leave as well. You shouldn¡¯t trust me around such treasures of Ji Family." Ru said it in a yful tone but she meant every word sincerely.

    Old Madam Ji chuckled at her response and shook her head. "Young Master Rong, you should feel at ease and look around. Oh and let me know if you like something."

    "Will you give it to me?" Ru asked with a strange look.

    "Sure." Old Madam Ji shrugged her shoulders nonchntly before she turned to leave.

    Ru was dumbstruck by her reaction. One had to know that the things inside this huge hall were just like treasures. Treasures which couldn¡¯t be bought with money. It was more of like a family¡¯s heritage. How can the Mistress of the house be so nonchnt about this?

    Ru decided to take advantage of this moment and darted her eyes around to find anything that could pique her interest.

    Her own Han Dynasty Chess set was also ced in a ss box. Ru lifted her hand to touch the box but didn¡¯t touch it. She knew there would be an rm on the box. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to alert people.

    "You and I were not meant to be." Ru had a sorrowful gaze as she looked at that set with forlorn hope.

    One might think that the chess set was her moonlight.[1] Because her eyes exactly mirrored those feelings.

    There weren¡¯t many things that could pique her interest. Especially since she had seen an even magnificent collection back home. But nheless, this collection was surely striking.

    Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a rare item. She walked up to it with a curious look in her eyes. It was a hand-carved white jade flute. Its surface was polished and it looked akin to a deshelled egg. But Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck on the gold moon that was hanging from its one end.

    From her memory, she knew very well that Ji Family¡¯s emblem had a thunderbolt on it. But a gold moon was something she was familiar with as well. Obviously, it didn¡¯t belong to Ji Family but there are other affluent, formidable and yet low-key ns.

    This gold moon was the emblem of Xiao Family.

    "Xiao?" Ru whispered out as if asking herself. "Xiao Zhi Ren? Xiao Family? Was my initial guess right? Xiao Zhi Ren does have a connection with Xiao Family of Ocean State? Or is it just a coincidence?"

    "But with this jade flute being here, it can¡¯t just be a coincidence."

    [1] ¡¯moonlight¡¯: One-sided love or unattainable love. Like we can love moon but can¡¯t attain it.

 Chapter 124 Schemes To Seduce Ru

    -Inside the Main Courtyard-

    "Housekeeper Zhang, you have been in Ji Family for a long time. Right?" Xiao Zhi Ren hadn¡¯t gone out for a walk with his grandmother and Ru. He took this chance to ask around for some information.

    "I have been with your family for the past four decades, Young Master Zhiren." Housekeeper Zhang answered politely and humbly.

    Xiao Zhi Ren thought as much. He rummaged out his cellphone and showed a photo to Housekeeper Zhang. "Does this dagger belong to anyone in the family?" In the photo was the same dagger which was Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s only lead. He had to find the one who murdered his mother at any cost.

    Housekeeper Zhang adjusted his sses and looked at the photo. He took a long moment before answering, "This dagger belongs to Master Yifeng."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes widened at his reply. "Are you sure?"

    "I am sure. If I¡¯m not wrong Master Yifeng even carved a ¡¯Yi¡¯ with gold on it."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had seen that carving. It was at the rear bolster of the dagger. It was small but still readable. Xiao Zhi Ren was stunned since he didn¡¯t expect this. He never thought that his father could be behind his mother¡¯s death. ¡¯How could he? For the sake of his mistress, he forsook their marriage. But going as far as murdering his first wife?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to leave with a dazed look but he hadn¡¯t even taken a couple of steps when the housekeeper Zhang¡¯s voice halted him.

    "I don¡¯t know why are you curious about this. But if my memory serves me right, this dagger was given to Master Yifeng¡¯s second wife. The rest I don¡¯t know."

    Housekeeper Zhang took his leave with a small bow leaving Xiao Zhi Ren to crumble away like his crumbled thoughts.

    Oddly, knowing that there was a chance that his father was innocent made him feel better. Why? He couldn¡¯t tell. But his hatred for his father¡¯s second wife enhanced by leaps and bounds. ¡¯I should have known. That was the only person who hated my mother enough to kill her.¡¯

    Lost in his own thoughts when he was about to enter the living room, he bumped into a petite figure. "I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t looking." Xiao Zhi Ren apologized without dy.

    The petite figure of a girl was clinging to his body and she tilted her head upward to look at Xiao Zhi Ren, her face immediately blossomed like a white lotus.

    "It¡¯s alright. I wasn¡¯t looking as well." Xiao Zhi Ren heard her soft, gentledylike voice. She pulled away from him and stood straight like an elegant youngdy that could tug at any man¡¯s heartstrings.

    But how could Xiao Zhi Ren see her bashful or lovestruck look? His mind was either focused on unraveling the truth behind his mother¡¯s death or his mind was filled with thoughts on how to seduce Ru. Oh, yes! Our Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t that much of a saint either. He had plenty of schemes to seduce Ru and he was sure that one of them would work for sure.

    Disregarding the youngdy beside him, he moved towards his grandmother. "Where is Rong?"

    "I left him to admire your grandfather¡¯s antique collection." Old Madam Ji answered while she observed the way the youngdy was tucking her hair behind her ear like a shydy while eyeing her grandson.

    "Oh, he must be enjoying himself then." That¡¯s all Xiao Zhi Ren said and sat down beside his grandmother.

    "Grandmother, who is he?" The youngdy from earlier questioned Old Madam Ji.

    "He¡¯s my eldest grandson," was the only reply she received.

    "So, he¡¯s the eldest brother. I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Hong¡¯er." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t give any response but the other party was also persistent. More than he thought so. "By the way, I¡¯m Tang Yiyi. Ji Caihong¡¯s best friend."

    Now, Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his gaze to give that youngdy named Tang Yiyi, a once over. And from what he saw, he frowned deeply.

    Tang Yiyi had a fairplexion. She was like a fair maiden with her pure and clean image. Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Xiao Zhi Ren. The more she looked, the more she found him handsome. She already thought that Ji Caihong¡¯s brother Ji Syaoran was quite handsome but who knew that the eldest one was also an eye-candy.

    Ji Caihong was sure lucky when it came to brothers.

 Chapter 125 Settle Her Scores

    When Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t bother paying attention to Tang Yiyi, she couldn¡¯t find a reason to stay. Therefore, she had to leave.

    "Tang Yiyi took a fancy to you," Old Madam Ji stated casually while peeling melon seeds. "Should I arrange a meeting for you two?"

    "No thanks. I have someone already." Xiao Zhi Ren answered without even blinking an eye.

    Old Madam Ji narrowed her eyes at her grandson but didn¡¯t take his words to heart. ording to her, he didn¡¯t like Tang Yiyi and was making excuses now.

    "Is she really Xiao Hong¡¯s friend?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked curiously while munching on melon seeds which his grandmother was peeling for him.

    "Haiz! She is very close to Xiao Hong." Old Madam Ji didn¡¯t seem happy while she said that.

    "How is that possible? This girl looked way older than Xiao Hong." Xiao Zhi Ren was frowning.

    "Don¡¯t question me. All of your siblings are like you when ites to friends. Either you guys don¡¯t make friends or when you do, you guys always treat them like a family member." It felt good to say her grievances out loud. "This Tang Yiyi saved Xiao Hong years ago and from that moment, Xiao-Hong treats her like a sister. Honestly, though, I don¡¯t like her at all."

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled softly. "My grandma is still the same. Always showing her dislikes openly."

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I? That girl doesn¡¯t just look like a white lotus, even the feels she gives are the same. And I really don¡¯t like pretentious people. I like honest and blunt people like Xie Rong. Yeah. That is one fine specimen." Xiao Zhi Ren smiled but stayed quiet. "Find out if he has a sister. I¡¯ll dly tie the knot between you and her."

    "Aren¡¯t you eager to get me married?"

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I have to see a couple of great-grandchildren before dying in peace."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was about to re at his grandmother when he heard the voice that could make him forget everything,

    "Who¡¯s dying?" Ru asked while entering the room.

    "Rong! Brother, I¡¯m proud of you." Xiao Zhi Ren gave Ru a tight hug which she had to bear because of Old Madam Ji.

    "I wonder why?" Ru asked as she inhaled deeply to get back the oxygen which he knocked out of her by hugging that tightly.

    "Well, you actually managed to find your back this time." Ru¡¯s mouth twitched at his sarcastic remark.

    "I¡¯m proud of myself as well."

    "Oh, why?"

    "Because you¡¯re still alive and well."

    Xiao Zhi Ren red at her while she gave him an innocent smile. Even she was surprised that she hadn¡¯t strangled him yet. Because of the way they were moving, that day wasn¡¯t too far. For sure!

    "Anyways, I heard something about dying." Ru again went back to the original question.

    "Obviously, I¡¯m old so I¡¯d be the one dying as well." Old Madam Ji even made a pitiful look and coughed a couple of times to emphasize her point.

    Ru sat on her side and said, "Can you extend your hand for me?"

    Old Madam Ji immediately extended her hand towards her with curiosity. Before Ru could ce her fingers on her aged but still fair and delicate wrist, she stopped and pulled out a small satin cloth. cing it on her wrist she turned to take the pulse while saying, "My grandfather said to always give the respect and honor that a woman deserves. And a gentleman shouldn¡¯t be carelessly touching a fairdy."

    "Oh my!" Old Madam Ji ced her other hand over her chest as she gasped. "Young man, where were you when I was looking for you?"

    "He was negotiating the food deals with God." Xiao Zhi Ren jutted in and Ru gave him a deathly re.

    "Madam Ji, I was wondering the same thing," Ru said to the olddy with a beautiful smile taking anyone¡¯s breath away.

    ¡¯Here she goes using that poisonous tongue of hers which always works as a sweet poison ondies.¡¯ Huffing out a breath, he said, "Could you refrain from hitting on my grandmother?"

    "Whatever!" Ru grumbled before retrieving her hand and the satin cloth. "So, Old Madam Ji apart from being weak because of the big surgery everything else is perfect with you. Have some ginseng soup. You¡¯ll live for another decade or so easily."

    "Rong, are you a doctor?" Old Madam Ji asked with fascination.

    "Didn¡¯t I tell you, grandmother? He is a genius." The way Xiao Zhi Ren called her a genius was a bit unsettling with Ru but she decided to ignore it. She will settle her scores with Xiao Zhi Ren after leaving this house.

 Chapter 126 A Stolen Kiss

    "We should take our leave now," Xiao Zhi Ren hugged his grandmother while they were leaving.

    Old Madam Ji turned to Ru and hugged her delightedly and even sniffled as if she was parting with a longst love of her life all over again. "You bettere to visit. Next time, I¡¯ll cook for you myself."

    Being not a very huggy kind of person, Ru was slightly ufortable but it wasn¡¯t that obvious. Her only difort was keeping her chest away from Old Madam Ji which game them an awkward posture. "I¡¯ll visit for sure," Ru promised with a polite smile and the olddy seemed happy to hear that.

    Waving goodbye to Old Madam Ji, both Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru got in the car and drove out. Ru actually wanted to teach Xiao Zhi Ren a lesson for always being snarky and sarcastic but she chose not to. Her excuse to herself was, ¡¯The poor guy will die from my heavenly punch.¡¯ And yes, our young master Ru was being too full of herself all over again.

    Seeing that Xiao Zhi Ren had a lot on his mind, he distractedly turned the music on to fill the thick silence in the car.

    A melody yed but Ru kept her eyes on the outside world.

    ?? You ask me how deep my love for you is,

    How much I really love you...

    My affection is real,

    And my love is real.

    The moon represents my heart.[1] ??

    A beautiful voice sang the first verses and Ru¡¯s attention was shifted to it. She listened to it attentively. Almostpletely lost herself in those words. Unconsciously, she turned to look out. She was trying to find the moon but it was a moonless night; how will it represent a heart? She thought The song didn¡¯t stop, it kept ying softly.

    ?? You ask how deeply I love you,

    and just how great my love is.

    My affection does not waver

    and my love doesn¡¯t change.

    The moon represents my heart. ??

    This time, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes shifted back to Ru. Looking at her side profile, he was also lost in memory. Only the flickering lights illuminated her face. She wasn¡¯t fair like most girls in his life. Her skin had a natural ethereal beauty to it.

    Ru pressed the stop button and Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her.

    "Why did you stop it?" He asked.

    "Do you like songs like these?" She asked in return.

    "Not particrly but this is my favorite." He answered with a ghostly smile on his lips.

    "Why?"

    "Because I hoped that she¡¯d also be looking at the moon and she¡¯d know my love is with her." He answered without thinking.

    "But today is a moonless night." Ru reminded him.

    "It is. But you and I both know that the moon is still here." Ru nodded since even if they couldn¡¯t see it, the moon was still out there in space. "That¡¯s the beauty of moonless nights. We can¡¯t see the light but we know it¡¯s still there. Just like love."

    Ru felt like everything went over her head or at least she acted like that before him. On the rest of the ride, the same song yed repeatedly and as if it worked as a luby, Ru actually felt sleepy and soon lost herself to slumber.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren parked the car in the underground parking of the Condominium building, he announced, "We are here." But as he turned, he saw her eyes closed while her chest was heaving steadily. For a long time, he just stayed still watching her.

    ?? So soft was the kiss

    that has moved my heart.??

    The chorus of the song yed in the background while Xiao Zhi Ren unbuckled his seatbelt and shifted closer to her. Her thin lips had a natural slight pink touch. He was wondering how they were still pink since Ru smoked a lot.

    ?? Such a deep affection

    makes me long for you now.??

    The chorus finished while Xiao Zhi Ren was sweeping her untamed hair away from her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered but she wiggled her nose and went back to sleep.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell where the courage came from but his face inched closer to hers and like a feathery touch, his lips brushed against hers before he gained back his sanity and pressed a soft kiss only at the edge of her lips.

    ¡¯Let¡¯s have a real kiss. One that you could never forget.¡¯ He thought to himself and settled back in his seat and rested his back on the seat before closing his eyes.

    [1] It¡¯s a Chinese song titled ¡¯The moon represents my heart¡¯. The singer¡¯s name is Teresa Teng.

 Chapter 127 No Big Deal

    How exactly does one be a thief?

    Well, one has to be sneaky with his actions and get what he desires.

    That¡¯s exactly what Xiao Zhi Ren did but he didn¡¯t know a small detail about Ru; she¡¯s the devil who kept her senses awake even in slumber. She had always been a light sleeper. As a martial artist, she was already sensitive to her surroundings but living without eyes made her even more perceptive.

    In the car, she had indeed felt Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s movements. She had felt the pad of his finger as it brushed against her eyebrow while he was taming her hair. She even felt his spearmint breathing slowly closer to her. But she didn¡¯t react at all.

    When his soft lips lightly caressed her own, she was going to open her eyes on impulse. It took a lot of effort to stay calm on her part. When he left a soft kiss at the edge of her lips, she felt a tingling sensation. It was a giddy feeling but it felt good somehow.

    Huh? Good? Ew!

    She smacked her head for even thinking that it was a good feeling. It was a strange feeling. Yes, strange! Very, very strange.

    Adia who had been reading out the detailed reports suddenly stopped talking, seeing how her master was busy knocking on his own head.

    Ru didn¡¯t pay any attention to her. She was still thinking, why didn¡¯t she open her bloody eyes? And why didn¡¯t she confronted him?

    ¡¯Because you liked this new feeling.¡¯ Her conscience jutted in.

    No way! Ru snapped back. I just didn¡¯t want to have that awkward feeling between us. Yes! That¡¯s it! Ru convinced herself.

    ¡¯Go and run. Try to hide. But how long can you deny?¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at her own conscience. Was she on her side or not? It didn¡¯t seem like it.

    "Till the bloody end!" Ru¡¯s voice boomed making Adia flinch as she took a couple of steps back.

    "Master, are you alright?" Adia finally mustered up some courage to ask.

    Ru noticed her weird look and cleared her throat awkwardly.

    "Oh, I¡¯m fine. Just peachy." Ru answered with a slightly lost look.

    Adia didn¡¯t believe her but she acted as if she did. After all, she didn¡¯t have a death wish to question her master twice!

    She was about to start rting the reports again when Ru stopped her.

    "Adia..."

    "Yes, master?"

    "Have you ever kissed someone?"

    Adia choked on air and coughed profusely as she stared at Ru like she was looking at an alien. She lifted her hand and poked it in Ru¡¯s cheek.

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing?" Ru¡¯s voice startled her and she cowered back.

    "I was checking... If it¡¯s really you or someone else took hold of your body." Adia answered meekly.

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched. "I asked a question." She tried to distract the conversation again.

    Adia straightened up and said professionally. "No, sir. I haven¡¯t kissed anyone."

    Ru narrowed her eyes. "Liar! Your boyfriend¡¯s betrayal led you to join the Mercenary group in Tokyo."

    ¡¯That was way before I met you, master. How do you even know that?¡¯ Adia wasining to herself but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. "Master is quite insightful."

    "You wouldn¡¯t be here if I wasn¡¯t insightful," Ru answered inly with a shrug of her shoulders.

    "Fair enough," Adia answered. "As for your question, I have kissed. But it¡¯s been a long time."

    Ru gave a thoughtful look before saying, "So, I saw two people yesterday. While the girl was sleeping, the guy came close... And... Well, his lips brushed against hers. And eventually left a soft kiss at the edge of her lips. That¡¯s not called a French kiss right?"

    Ru looked at her eagerly. ¡¯Say no. Say it!¡¯ She was internally ordering her.

    Adia pondered over her words for a while before saying, "No, that can¡¯t be considered a French kiss." Ru heaved a sigh of relief as if someone had breathed life into her again. "But," Ru halted again.

    "But what?"

    "It can be considered a stolen kiss." Ru¡¯s face fell again.

    "But close kin members also share kisses, right? It¡¯s perfectly normal." Ru tried to find any straw to hold. She didn¡¯t want to ept that Xiao Zhi Ren had feelings for her. She wasn¡¯t an idiot. She knew all about feelings.

    "It¡¯s normal to kiss in friends and close kin members but... The kiss you described isn¡¯t one of those." Adia answered cautiously since she felt her master was acting weird.

    "What do you know?" Ru roared as she continued, "He must have wanted to kiss on the cheek but it ended up slightly near the lips. It¡¯s no big deal. No big deal at all."

 Chapter 128 Minding Your Own Business

    "Anyway, I¡¯ve heard that just like stolen moments are magical, stolen kisses are the sweetest. And that makes them beautiful."

    "Did I ask you?"

    Ru¡¯s voice startled Adia and she immediately shook her head. "I thought you might be interested in it since you asked about kisses."

    Ru lifted her fist as if ready to punch which made Adia close her eyes anticipating a jaw-breaking pain. But it didn¡¯te. She gingerly opened her eyes to see Ru scowling at her.

    "I had lost my mind out of curiosity. I¡¯m not curious anymore. Don¡¯t ever mention this conversation. Like never ever!" Ru warned her in a stern voice.

    "My lips are sealed. You won¡¯t hear a peep from me." Adia answered courteously.

    Ru sat back on the high stool and propped her head on her hand. "Let¡¯s get back to business."

    "Yes, boss!" Adia saluted and straightened up again.

    "Tell me what do you know about Ji Family and Xiao Family. What kind of interactions do they have?" Ru questioned solemnly.

    ¡¯Huh? How is this rted to our business? Master, you are one hell of a person.¡¯ Adia shook her head inconspicuously. "Well, we know that Xiao Family is the first-ranked n of the High Summit while Ji Family is the second-ranked one."

    "That even I know. Tell me something else," Ru said in a terrible mood.

    "Apart from that, both families don¡¯t have any interactions." Ru looked inquiringly at her while Adia went on, "Although they both are not at each other¡¯s throat, they are not any better either. Beforeing to China, we did a thorough investigation of High Summit members. Both families share a terrible personal interaction."

    "There isn¡¯t anything odd other than that?" Ru asked again.

    "Well, it¡¯s said that Xiao and Ji¡¯s Families used to be very cordial to each other since Old Madam Ji and thete mistress Xiao were best friends. But the situation changedter on." Adia told everything that she had heard through various sources.

    "Reason?"

    "No one knows. Both families sealed off the news using their influence. But whatever it was... It made both families dere cold-war against each other."

    Ru took a deep breath as her mind conjured up a million possibilities. She needed an answer as to why Xiao Zhi Ren was a ¡¯Xiao¡¯ and not a ¡¯Ji¡¯. Even though it had particrly nothing to do with her. Why the hell was she so curious about Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s matter? She wasn¡¯t curious about him. She was born a curious cat. Yes! There is no other possible reason.

    "Do thorough research on that reason. I need an answer to what made them dere a cold-war!" Ru ordered absentmindedly.

    Adia didn¡¯t answer her and kept frowning to herself when Ru snapped, "What is it?"

    "Master, do you mind me asking why are we prying into these families?" Adia asked keeping her running senses alert in fear that Ru would definitely throw something at her.

    "What¡¯s the one thing your master can¡¯t do?" Ru asked her own question.

    "Minding your own business," Adia answered in a hurry with certainty in her voice. As her words registered in her own mind, she looked terrified. "Master... I plead mercy."

    ¡¯I can¡¯t really mind my own business. Forget it! I¡¯m wasting my time. Let¡¯s focus on our own mission.¡¯ Ru thought to herself calmly trying hard not to kill Adia for being straightforward. "You know what... Let¡¯s forget it. Get back to the baseline."

    Adia bowed her head and left in a hurry before her master could even change her mind all over again. She was familiar with her master¡¯s entric personality but today, Ru gave her a strange vibe. One which was out of her understanding.

    Even Ru herself knew that she was an entric person but more importantly, she was a passionately curious one. She was told plenty of times that curiosity will get her killed one day. It was indeed her curiosity to see the outside world that led her so close to death.

    But in her personal opinion, every curiosity had a reason for existing. It was like a spark that could either light an undistinguishable fire of endless possibilities or a fire that could burn the person as a whole. At this point in life, she wasn¡¯t scared of either of the climax.

 Chapter 129 Tough Girl

    Meanwhile at SnapVise Technologies...

    "Ran Zi, why aren¡¯t you working today?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned Ji Syaoran seeing that his brother wasnguidly sprawled on the leather couch in his office.

    "I¡¯m not ditching work. I was done with my meetings. So, I decided that I shoulde to you and invite you out for some fun." Ji Syaoran answered with his eyes glued on his cellphone screen where he was ying some online game. "Ahan! This is what you get for messing with me bastard!" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s low growl made its way to Ji Syaoran and he tilted his head to give an apologetic look saying, "Sorry, bro! But this guy called me names first. I had to retaliate."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at his childish brother and said, "Who told you to y games like teenagers? You are already twenty-three."

    "What does age have to do with gaming? We are young as long as we believe we are." Ji Syaoran asked sulkily. "Anyways, are youing out with me or not?"

    "I can¡¯t. Go find your friends." Xiao Zhi Ren waved him off with a single sentence.

    "But you are the only friend I have. Don¡¯t do this with me." Ji Syaoran left his phone and came to plead with his eyes. He felt wrong for being abandoned by his brother like this.

    "Ran Zi, if you don¡¯t have a friend then make one. Grandma wasining about that as well." Xiao Zhi Ren understood why his grandmother was going on and on about this. All of the siblings have the worst interpersonal skills.

    "Come with me or I¡¯ll ask grandmother to find a blind date for you." Ji Syaoran threatened since Xiao Zhi Ren could go against anyone except for his grandmother. That irondy was not to be messed with. Old Madam Ji or Lady Jin Mi as people called her started her own business in her teenage years. Her International Group of Toys manufacturers was one the top in the world even now. She really was not someone to be messed with.

    Xiao Zhi Ren red at him. "Ran Zi!" His voice was stern but Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t nning on backing off. "You are the only person who knows that I can¡¯t be with anyone else."

    "Bro, how long are you going to wait for that girl? Who knows if she is still alive or not?" Ji Syaoran said in exasperation.

    "Don¡¯t you dare curse her. She¡¯s alive." Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice turned sharper.

    "And how are you so sure?" Ji Syaoran challenged. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t answer instead, his lips curled slightly upward in a smile as the scene ofst night¡¯s stolen kiss resurfaced in his mind. Ji Syaoran frowned a bit curiously before asking cautiously, "You found her?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head and Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened. He immediately came to tug at his sleeve like a kid. "Bro, where? When? How is she? How did you find her? Who is she? Where was she? Why didn¡¯t we find her earlier?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren swatted his hand away from his own sleeve and red at him. He was throwing questions at him without a break.

    "Why are you curious? Didn¡¯t you say I won¡¯t find her ever?"

    "I said that because I wanted you to move on from her. Just because of one girl, you never even tried to be in a rtionship with anyone else. I didn¡¯t want you to stay a loner for the rest of your life." Ji Syaoran looked distressed as he recalled the past.

    Xiao Zhi Ren ruffled his hair and said, "Stop caring about me and focus on yourself. Now that I have found her, I won¡¯t let her get away ever again."

    "Is... Is she alright now?" Ji Syaoran asked with a bit of concern.

    After a moment of pondering he said, "Physically? Yes. Mentally? Except for being a proud peacock, she seems fine. But emotionally... I don¡¯t know. She knows how to conceal her emotions."

    "Wasn¡¯t it obvious?" Ji Syaoran started, "Don¡¯t you remember when she woke up from thea. The doctor said he had never seen anyone as calm as she was after knowing that she can¡¯t see. It was like she didn¡¯t care at all. There wasn¡¯t a hint of pain on her face."

    "You are right. She certainly is a tough girl." Xiao Zhi Ren stated fondly.

    "Tough girl? I have never seen a more persistent person than her. Even being heavily injured, she held onto dear life fighting with even herst breath." Ji Syaoran would never forget the time he met Ru as well. After all, he was also with Xiao Zhi Ren when they found her half dead in the mountains.

 Chapter 130 Flashback Part 1

    *shback*

    "Bro,e home with me. You can¡¯t me anyone for Auntie Xiu¡¯s death." Ji Syaoran¡¯s exasperated voice halted Xiao Zhi Ren who was tracking his way through the mountainous paths.

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned around and red at Ji Syaoran saying, "Why shouldn¡¯t I me anyone? If your father hadn¡¯t cheated on her, mom wouldn¡¯t have left. And she would have been alive. I watched her die right before my eyes. What do you expect me to do?"

    Ji Syaoran lowered his head feeling incapable. "But bro, it was Auntie Xiu¡¯s own decision. No one forced her to leave. Dad still loves her."

    "If he loved her then why did he cheat on her?" Xiao Zhi Ren snapped back.

    Ji Syaoran was distressed. "Bro, I don¡¯t know any of that. But I do know that dad is still in love with her. I¡¯m also sad to hear about her death. She was the only mother figure in mine and Xiao Hong¡¯s life." Taking a deep breath, he went on, "Aren¡¯t me and Xiao Hong more pitiful in all this? We have never even gotten a chance to stay with our mother. At least don¡¯t pull away from us."

    The sound of thunder startled both of them as they simultaneously looked up to see dark clouds. The clear sky was littered with grey clouds.

    "It¡¯s going to rain. Let¡¯s give up the idea of hiking today." Ji Syaoran¡¯s words had juste out of his mouth when the rain started pouring down. "Great way to spend my summer vacations." He grumbled as the rain hit his face mercilessly.

    "Sorry for yelling at you," Xiao Zhi Ren apologized softly while they took shelter under an old tree. He felt guilty for distancing himself from both Ji Syaoran and Ji Caihong.

    "I¡¯m also sorry for forcing you. I just miss having you home." Ji Syaoran stated sincerely. Xiao Zhi Ren could understand his feelings since it¡¯d been four years since theyst saw each other. That¡¯s why when Ji Syaoran learned Xiao Zhi Ren was in Thand, he immediately came over.

    They spent about fifteen minutes under the tree waiting for the rain to subside and eventually it did. It was a quick shower rather untimely as well. The whole environment seemed to brighten up after being washed down.

    "Such rotten luck. I wanted to reach the peak today but no. My luck can never be on my side." Ji Syaoran kept on babbling.

    "Stop!" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice made him look at him in question. "Why is there blood on your face?"

    "Blood? On my face? How- Oh my God! Where did thise from?" Ji Syaoran touched his face to see his fingers tainted in red.

    They both stopped where they were and after looking all around, Xiao Zhi Ren slowly turned his head upward... There he found the source of blood. From a huge boulder by their side, blood mixed in water was streaming down.

    Xiao Zhi Ren immediately climbed up with Ji Syaoran following behind him. As he reached up, he stopped in his track. A listless body was lying beaten and blue... Or more like drenched in red with mud smothered all over the body.

    "What is that thing?" Ji Syaoran asked cautiously while he was trying hard not to look at the bloody scene before him. The rain might have washed down the blood stains from the ground but apparently, it couldn¡¯t wash off the blood from the body thaty on the stomach.

    "It¡¯s not a thing. It¡¯s a person." Xiao Zhi Ren said and crouched near the body and as he turned it sideways, even he wanted to close his eyes because of the grotesque scene. He tried to check the breathing of the person.

    "Is he breathing?" Ji Syaoran asked from behind.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell himself. He couldn¡¯t really feel the breathing at least not until his hand that was on the wrist of the body was held in a tight grip. Xiao Zhi Ren was startled at the scene.

    "Save me..." He heard a strained and a faint voice that seemed to be filled with determination.

    "Ran Zi, call for a chopper. The person is still breathing."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth opened wide. "Really? Even in this condition, he¡¯s alive?"

    "If you kept dawdling then he won¡¯t be for long." Saying that Xiao Zhi Ren took off his jacket and pressed it against the person¡¯s chest which was still bleeding.

    "Oh, okay." Ji Syaoran immediately contacted his security team who could track them from their cell phones easily.

    The helicopter was already on standby and after receiving the instructions, it flew over to the coordinates which they received.

 Chapter 131 Flashback Part 2

    *shback Continues*

    "Do you think he¡¯ll live through this?" Ji Syaoran questioned Xiao Zhi Ren while they waited outside the operation theatre. Using their family¡¯s name, they managed to arrange the best doctors avable but they still felt uneasy.

    "She¡¯ll live. She seems determined to live." Xiao Zhi Ren stated softly while his eyes were stuck on his own hands which still were stained with her blood.

    "She?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s ears perked up like a curious cat.

    "Yeah. She. When I was pressing on her chest wound that¡¯s when I realized it." Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice turned even softer as he exined while Ji Syaoran stared at him dumbfoundedly. Because she was covered in blood and mud, he really couldn¡¯t tell the gender. But seeing the persistence, he assumed that it was a man. But boy, was he wrong!

    The silence grew thicker between them as none of them dared to utter a word anymore.

    Thinking about something, Xiao Zhi Ren turned to Ji Syaoran and said, "What are you doing? Go and block the news of this. No one should know that we brought a patient here. Not even the Ji Family."

    "But why? Telling home might bring more chances of her survival." Ji Syaoran argued.

    "Duffer! She was attacked. Do you think if the news of her being rescued got out, she¡¯ll be safe? Those people who tried to kill her mighte back to hunt her."

    Ji Syaoran understood his brother¡¯s intention and left the hospital to clean up the mess. He strictly ordered his personal security team to seal their mouths. But all this while, Ji Syaoran¡¯s mind was wondering how relentlessly the girl was fighting for her life.

    While Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t much different either. He had never met anyone so desperate to live before in his life. She seemed like a person who was not ready to give up. Or more like she couldn¡¯t give up. She needed to live but if she was willing to endure this much pain... Then what was she enduring it all for?

    "How is she?" Both brothers ran to the doctors who came out of the operation theatre after a whole night.

    The doctors shared a look before one of them started talking, "The patient has three broken ribs, plenty of minor wounds, a bullet that was shot at her heart, plenty but luckily she has dextrocardia." Feeling that he was using medical jargons, he changed his words, "It means her heart is facing the right side. The bullet passed right by her heart. So, no major damage was done there. But the bleeding has cost her to lose a lot of blood."

    "What else?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked knowing it wasn¡¯t the end of it.

    "She has a brain injury from being hit with something hard that caused increased pressure within her skull. It has caused her optic nerve damage. We can¡¯t be sure but from the looks of it, she might never be able to see again." Ji Syaoran took a sharp intake of cold breath. "Her knees had also sustained injuries by being hit with seemingly a metal pole perhaps. But that also means she has very slim chances of walking again."

    "How is she alive?" Ji Syaoran had asked the question to particrly no one but he did get an answer.

    "To be honest, her survival seems like a miracle. Her sheer will has pulled her through." The doctor stated while the others nodded along.

    "She¡¯s persistent." Ji Syaoran remarked.

    "Or maybe, she¡¯s just a stubborn soul." Xiao Zhi Ren jutted in with a sorrowful tone.

    He could still hear that faint voice echoing in his mind repeatedly. ¡¯Save me...¡¯ They were simply two words but they held an immense determination that didn¡¯t seem to waver before the death. But he was thinking about whether mere surviving was really worth it for her? Wouldn¡¯t living like this feel worse than death?

 Chapter 132 Orchids

    *shback Still Continues*

    "We have shifted the patient to the room, you can see her now." Getting the doctor¡¯s approval, both of them made their way inside the private room.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was the one who walked inside first but as soon as his eyes fell on her cleaned up face, he was stunned. He ran to her side and rubbed his eyes trying to make sure he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. But even after that, he could see her.

    Her eyes had a thick gauze around them while there were other small scratches on her face that were disinfected.

    "Bro, let¡¯s go to the hotel after this." Ji Syaoran stopped talking when he saw the tears in his brother¡¯s eyes. "Bro, what¡¯s wrong?" He was rmed immediately.

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his finger to point at Ru¡¯s face but Ji Syaoran couldn¡¯t understand what he was trying to show him. "She... It¡¯s her. The one in the bar." Xiao Zhi Ren managed to stammer out his words.

    Ji Syaoran finally looked carefully at Ru¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t know what to say at all.

    "She¡¯s the girl you have been looking for a year?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head. "She¡¯s the reason you came to Thand?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded again.

    "A colleague of mine came to Thand for vacation. In his vacation pictures, she was captured unintentionally but it was the only lead that I got. So, I came." Xiao Zhi Ren exined in a solemn manner.

    "I¡¯m still surprised that you fell for someone at first sight." Ji Syaoran mumbled unbelievingly.

    "Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re too young to teach me about love? You¡¯re only 15. Act like you are fifteen and not twenty-five." Xiao Zhi Ren red at him while Ji Syaoran quietened up. He was a teenager, not a kid!

    "Bro, you¡¯re also only 20. And she..." He looked at Ru as he stated, "She looks like a teenager as well."

    "She¡¯s 19."

    "And how do you know that?" Ji Syaoran retorted.

    "When we met she was 18. She told me herself." Xiao Zhi Ren hurridly got up and turned back to him saying, "Let¡¯s take her out of here."

    "Where?"

    "China would be better. You and I both have a lot of connections there. This is still a foreignnd for both of us." Ji Syaoran agreed and went out to arrange for everything.

    Behind him, Xiao Zhi Ren held her gauzed wrapped hand in his own and whispered, "You told me that fate likes to y jokes with us. But I sure as hell am notughing right now."

    *End of shback*

    Even though that incident happened when he was only fifteen, Ji Syaoran could recall it vividly even at the age of twenty-three. He had seen the way his brother stayed by her side for eight months only to be left behind.

    As they say, people can leave but they always leave something behind. She also left her silhouette behind for Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Bro, can she recognize you?" Ji Syaoran asked after spending a long time reminiscing about the past.

    "No."

    "What? Why?" As if it suddenly hit him, he himself answered, "Right, she couldn¡¯t see back then. But can she see now?"

    "She can see very clearly."

    "Huh? How?"

    "I was curious about that too and I asked around. Professor Robert from Chicago told me that Optical nerve damage doesn¡¯t necessarily lead to blindness. Most of the time, because of timely treatment one can save the light of the eyes. So, it¡¯s possible that she got the surgery to fix her visual impairment." Xiao Zhi Ren told him what he found out.

    "She sure is stubborn like you said. Going through repeated surgeries is a pain in itself." Ji Syaoran cringed at the thought of suffering that kind of pain.

    "Stubborn... But also lost."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I can¡¯t find the girl I fell for. She seems to be lost somewhere in her." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t understand but he didn¡¯t question either.

    As for Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s meaning... For him, the girl he met all those years ago had a bright aura and fiery look. She was like a me that could burn you with a single touch.

    But today¡¯s Ru was nothing like that. Pure darkness was enshrouding her soul and she seemed lost in that darkness. Her fiery me was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was a cold chill that could devour you whole.

    The gird in his memory was like Dahlias- open to life¡¯s possibilities with her innocent and happy self. While the girl he found is more like orchids- pure, honest but running after perfection. The innocence was lost somewhere in the trail of time that crumbled her.

 Chapter 133 I Killed The Person I Once Was

    "You people can¡¯t just barge in my territory like this." The bulky man on his knees snarled as he red at Ru¡¯s impassive face.

    With her one foot on the chair, she was ying with a beautiful knife. They were in an old factory. Adia and Connor were keeping that man kneeling on the floor while the rest of the building was filled with her own subordinates.

    "Master," Jack came to bow and said, "We found the members of Team Seven. They were locked up in the basement."

    Ru shifted her eyes slightly to look at the group of four behind him. All of them looked half-dead due to the blows they must have suffered. Feeling her cold gaze, the four of them felt like chills were running down their spine.

    They knew their master hated dealing with unnecessary things and saving them was considered unnecessary but since Ru was a loyal person she would never leave her own people at the mercy of others. Being at her mercy was a different matter altogether.

    "So, these rats are your people." The bulky man sneered in contempt.

    Ru turned back to him and with the tip of her de under his chin, she lifted his face up.

    "You touched my people..." The people who knew her felt the anger behind that one sentence yet that man stayed ignorant and oblivious.

    "I did! So, what? I¡¯ll hit you worse than them, bastard!" The man snarled with malice in his voice.

    ¡¯Tsk. Truly, ignorance is bliss.¡¯ Adia was feeling pity for the man who actually got the guts to call her master ¡¯bastard¡¯.

    Ru¡¯s lips curled into an extremely cold and mirthless smile. "Do you know who I killed to be who I am today?" The man couldn¡¯t talk as Ru¡¯s green orbs were prating his strong defense. His body shuddered under her gaze. "I killed the person I once was." He gulped as he heard her answering her own question. "Do you think I¡¯m being a hero by saving them? I¡¯m not a champion fighting for justice. I simply kill the ones who dare to stand in my way."

    For the sake of his pride, the man struggled to get up but when failed, he threatened her, "You can¡¯t kill me. The people above me are powerful. They won¡¯t let you off easily."

    ¡¯Great! Now, he has a death wish. Fool, master hate threats!¡¯ Adia was cursing the man in her heart and even prayed for his soul to ¡¯not-get-peace-even-in-hell¡¯.

    Sure enough, as Adia had expected, Ru¡¯s knife pressed on his neck as blood oozed out of it. He screamed in pain since she had cut an artery precisely. Trailing the de down, Ru pressed the tip of the de on his chest with a poker face.

    His eyes widened in fear while Ru didn¡¯t enjoy his expression. She kicked the chair away and then that foot came down to kick the man¡¯s chin toppling him backward. Her leather shoes d foot stepped on his ribs and she applied pressure.

    "Crack!"

    Even the bones breaking sound could be heard along with the man¡¯s howls that sounded more like a banshee. A screeching banshee to be precise.

    "Lock him in his own basement." Ru¡¯s voice finally brought everyone back to her cold gaze. "And send these four fools to the hospital." Saying that she cleaned her de and kept it back in her ankle wrap.

    As she stepped out of the old building of the factory, she looked up at the morning sun. It was beautiful but she found it not very interesting since the next moment, a cigarette was lit between her lips.

    "Master, should we kill him and his people?" Connor asked courteously standing at an arm¡¯s length.

    "The artery I ruptured will kill him... But slowly with the blood loss." Connor¡¯s lips curled upward. He knew his master¡¯s antics very well. Ru would love to kill but she¡¯ll definitely do it in the excruciatingly painful way. That man¡¯s broken ribs and blood loss will give one hell of a lesson for threatening Alev Knight. "As for this ce..." She took a drag of her cigarette before continuing, "Burn it."

    "Yes, master!"

    Since the people of Feng Group were involved in smuggling and human trafficking along with illegal acquirements ofnds, she had no reason to show them mercy. But then again, she didn¡¯t have mercy to spare for useless thugs.

    Outside in the car, Wu Dishi was waiting for her and when she settled in, he drove her straight to Joyous Homes Condominium building.

    She had just stepped out of the car when she heard an overly enthusiastic voice calling her, "Oniisan!" Hearing that voice, Ru¡¯s impassive and cold aura was immediately dispersed leaving behind a warm and cordial smile.

 Chapter 134 Pleasures Of Life

    "Hey, little squirrel..." Ru turned to look at the youngster¡¯s beaming face.

    "Oniisan, where did you go? I¡¯ve been waiting for you since 4 in the morning." Xiao Zhi Yuanined in a sulky look.

    Ru touched his head full of ck hair and smiled, pondering her words before saying, "I went out for some enjoyment." ¡¯But yours and my definition of enjoyment can be misinterpreted.¡¯

    "Enjoyment?" Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brows locked together in confusion.

    "Haven¡¯t you heard about the four pleasures of life?" Yuan shook his head in negation and Ru had to exin, "The four pleasures of life are eating, drinking, ying and enjoying. Therefore, I was out looking for enjoyment." ¡¯Oh, wait! That was my version of four pleasures. Bloody hell! I¡¯m so going to hell for misleading a young boy but well... I¡¯ve already shot the arrow. Let¡¯s not go back on our words now.¡¯

    Behind her, Wu Dishi was trying to stifle hisughter as he heard her righteous way of talking. After all, she just made up those four pleasures of life.

    Ru looked at Yuan¡¯s innocent expression while she felt guilty inside for lying. But then again, she couldn¡¯t just tell him the truth now, could she? She for once knew that he wouldn¡¯t enjoy knowing that she just came back from pushing someone to death.

    The truth was rather simple for her... In the middle of the night, she had gotten a call.

    "Master, we lost contact with Team Seven." Adia¡¯s rxed voice could be heard from the other end.

    "How many days has it been?" She had asked.

    "It¡¯s been 48-hours but we have locked on to their location. Awaiting your orders to take action." Adia stated calmly.

    Ru took the initiative to look through the reports that Team Seven sent before they lost contact. And as she read the things Feng Group was involved in, Ru couldn¡¯t help but say, "I¡¯ll join you myself."

    And that¡¯s how she ended up at that Factory under Feng Group. She was nning on going the simple route of rescuing her people but the manager of that ce had to just provoke her with words. One can¡¯t me her for being vicious after threatening her brazenly.

    "Oniisan, I haven¡¯t heard of such pleasures..." Yuan¡¯s thoughtful voice brought Ru back to the present and she cleared her throat with a fake cough.

    "Really? I learned it exactly like this."

    "Are you sure?" Yuan gave a pointed look and Ru avoided looking straight at him.

    "Let it be. Why were you looking for me?" She changed the topic conveniently.

    "Oh, I need a good luck hug," Yuan answered as his eyes brightened up.

    "Good luck hug?" Ru had just said those words and Yuan wrapped his arms around her frame tightly. Luckily, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest.

    "Now wish me luck," she heard Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "What for?"

    "You forgot? Today is my entrance exam. I need to do my best. Have to make you proud." Yuan¡¯s words had a determination that made Ru feel amused.

    "You shouldn¡¯t have looked for luck around me. I¡¯m the King of misfortune myself." Ru grumbled as she felt like she might bring bad luck to him indeed. It¡¯s not like luck was ever on her side.

    "Oniisan, you think too much," Yuan said the most obvious thing.

    "That I sure do. Anyway, go ahead and do your best. No pressure though. Not being the best is not the end of the world. Okay?" Ru instructed him like a real elder brother while patting his shoulder for encouragement.

    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind," Yuan answered cheerfully with a spirited look. As if he was given a lucky charm and he knew everything will be alright now. Before seeing Ru he was a nervous wreck but not anymore. "Oniisan, you the most beautiful person I have ever met."

    Ru didn¡¯t understand the reason behind those words but being herself, she said, "Of course, I am. No one canpete with this young master¡¯s good looks. I¡¯m a rare sight to behold."

    Yuan burst outughing at her words in amusement. In all honesty, he didn¡¯t mean to say that she was beautiful because of her face which was an obvious fact instead, he meant to say that she was beautiful as a person. Exactly as she was.

    But then again, her level offort in her own skin was astonishing.

 Chapter 135 All Mine

    "You take him to the exam center, I have an important meeting to get to," Xiao Zhi Ren was talking to Ji Syaoran while they were exiting through the electronic doors of the condominium building.

    "I can drop him off but where is he?" Ji Syaoran asked rather inquisitively.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at his Rolex Daytona watch as he said, "He was going to look for Rong. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s taking him so long."

    "I think I know." Xiao Zhi Ren followed Ji Syaoran¡¯s gaze and saw Ru rubbing Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s head like a pet. "Hadn¡¯t he been against people touching his hair?" Ji Syaoran asked curiously.

    "I guess Rong doesn¡¯te in those people." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a small smile ying on his lips. Then he called out to Yuan, "Little brother, it¡¯s time to go. Ran Zi will take you and he¡¯ll be there to pick you up as well."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    "Sh*t! I can¡¯t pick him up, bro." Ji Syaoran suddenly cursed out receiving a deathly re from his elder brother. Trying to maintain his courage, he said, "I mean, I have to go to the football club. Ipletely forgot about it."

    "Mr. I¡¯m-being-subtle actually y football?" Ru asked being all nosy. You know precisely not minding her own bloody business!

    "Mr. Xie, can you stop calling me that? And yes, I do have a membership for a football club. That¡¯s the only sport I love." Ji Syaoran even unted his VIP membership card with pride.

    "Thank goodness! At least someone is normal here." Saying that she gave him a fist bump excitedly and said, "Bro, it¡¯s so good to find a football person. I was tired of that ser person." She was obviously pointing at Xiao Zhi Ren while saying that.

    Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t want to argue at this point. So, he said, "Ran Zi, Yuan is gettingte. Get out of here!" Ji Syaoran felt a dangerous edge to his brother¡¯s voice. As if he was hitting on his brother¡¯s girlfriend or something. He really wanted to ask, ¡¯Why are you eating vinegar?¡¯ but didn¡¯t since he didn¡¯t want Xiao Zhi Ren to tie him up under the sun all over again.

    Ji Syaoran immediately took Xiao Zhi Yuan sprinted away.

    "Bloody hell! I was gonna ask him to have a match with me sometime." Ru clicked her tongue as she mumbled peevishly. She sighed out and made her way inside.

    "Didn¡¯t she see me here?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned to himself with a frown as she had just walked right past him as if he was non-existent. He briskly walked to catch up to her and blocked her way. "Are you ignoring me?"

    "Oh, hi! Zhi Hyung didn¡¯t see you there..." That was a lie and even Xiao Zhi Ren could tell. "Anyway, what¡¯s up?"

    "I¡¯m socially programmed to say, ¡¯not much¡¯." Xiao Zhi Ren used her own way to answer the question of ¡¯what¡¯s up¡¯.

    "Haha... That¡¯s funny but true." Ru remarked while trying hard to act normal. ¡¯Young master Ru, we decided it was idental! No big deal at all! Get a grip!¡¯ With that monologue, she took a deep breath and asked, "Aren¡¯t you gettingte?"

    "I do have a meeting..." Xiao Zhi Ren drawled his words.

    "Oh, right! Come to Grand Royale Clubhouse by 7 tonight." Ru told him getting back her usual stance.

    "What for?" He asked.

    "For your anticipated meeting with Alev Knight. Don¡¯t bete, he hates waiting." Ru reminded him sternly to show how serious she was about this.

    "Hates waiting? Just like you?" Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell why it came to his mind just now.

    "Yup! You are right. In a way, he¡¯s just like me. So, don¡¯t sod... I mean, piss him off. He won¡¯t be as polite as I am." Ru said with a smirk as her conscious nagged, ¡¯Can¡¯t you stop boasting about your own alter ego?¡¯ Ru snapped back. ¡¯Each of my alter ego has its own entric personality, it¡¯s not my fault.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren kept quiet observing the look on her face and those bright eyes as they twinkled when she talked about Alev Knight. He gritted his teeth indignantly.

    "Will you be there?" He asked rather sulkily.

    "Huh? No. I have... Stuff to do." She said while she avoided his eyes. ¡¯Of course, I¡¯ll be there! How else would Aleve?¡¯

    "Don¡¯t you have to meet a good friend?" The way he said ¡¯good friend¡¯ didn¡¯t sit well with her but she ignored it.

    "Your meeting with him willst for an hour or so. For the rest of the time, he¡¯s all mine to keep." Ru said whatever came to her mind.

 Chapter 136 Meeting Alev Knigh

    Grand Royale Clubhouse...

    The elite clubhouse was frequented by the young masters of the affluent families. It was a ce they could find whatever they needed for enjoyment. In the clubhouse, there was a restaurant, a separate bar, and private rooms where people often yed Mahjong on the electronic machines.

    Tonight though the private rooms on the third floor were off limits. Professional and stoic bodyguards were littered around the corridors in their ck suits. The Raven Logo of Knight Empires was embroidered on their suit¡¯s jacket exquisitely.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s people weren¡¯t allowed inside and only he was led inside courteously. All the while, his fists were clenched tightly. Ru didn¡¯t realize the effect of her simple words on Xiao Zhi Ren at all. Her in words, ¡¯For the rest of the time, he¡¯s mine to keep.¡¯ were interpreted in a very different way by Xiao Zhi Ren. Something along the lines of... ¡¯We¡¯ll have the rest of the night to catch up on what we missed.¡¯ Now that could be anything behind closed doors, who would know?

    Just the reminder of her words made his blood boil in rage. Exactly howte was he in iming her as his own? He couldn¡¯t take this defeat!

    The bodyguards at the door opened it wide and gestured for Xiao Zhi Ren to walk inside. With a deep breath and a heavy heart, Xiao Zhi Ren stepped inside.

    The room was dimly lit. And only a single person was seated in a far corner with the sound of Mahjong tiles changing in the background. More precisely, it was the darkest corner. The man was dressed exquisitely in a pair of navy blue jeans along with a button-down shirt in the same color. There was a ck zer over it while the sleeves were creased up to his elbows.

    His legs were crossed and Xiao Zhi Ren could see his pair of ssy loafers. His posture was immacte and one of supremacy. But the one thing he couldn¡¯t see clearly was the person¡¯s face. He could make out the outline of sses and even could see a pair of ocean blue eyes. But the rest was concealed in the darkness of the room.

    "You can take a seat whenever you are ready, Zoran Xiao." That deep voice startled Xiao Zhi Ren for a second and he took a seat opposite of him.

    Xiao Zhi Ren had actually didn¡¯t expect to see Alev Knight since the man was mysterious and had many enemies. He would never show his face so casually to anyone. Therefore, he didn¡¯t find it odd at all.

    From the moment he walked inside, Xiao Zhi Ren could feel a pair of hawk-like eyes following his movements. It really made him nervous for some odd reason and seeing his flustered state, Ru gave a subtle smile of amusement.

    ¡¯WoW! Our Zhi Hyung actually is nervous? But he never does that before Xie Rong. Why is Alev Knight so different?¡¯ She wondered while taking a small sip of her milk tea. ¡¯Could you please stop talking about yourself like a third person?¡¯ Her conscious was at it again but Ru had no mood to get lost in banter with her.

    "Cat got your tongue?" After a prolonged silence, Ru had to break it in some way.

    "No. It¡¯s just that it feels unrealistic that I¡¯m actually meeting you in person." Xiao Zhi Ren answered while picking up a ss of water since his throat was dry and itchy now.

    "Alright. Take your time to calm down. Then you can tell me why you asked to meet me." Ru decided to go easy on him. After all, it was her sworn brother. But that doesn¡¯t count, you are a girl. Her conscious reminded her. ¡¯Just shut the hell up!¡¯ Ru snapped back.

    At first, she had nned on telling him that she was Alev Knight herself but there were a lot of risks involved. A slight mistake could put his life in danger and she wasn¡¯t inclined to that. If possible she would never want him to know that she was Alev Knight. She trusted him but her trust in the world had been gone for a long time now.

    She had deliberately dressed differently than she usually did. She even had to change the texture of her voice again. But that wasn¡¯t a big deal, she was the person who could change her voice to sound like anyone. She found it a hassle though since even she couldn¡¯t tell what she actually sounded like. She even had to change her contact lenses for his sake.

    There was no ce for even slight slips.

 Chapter 137 Life & Lifetime

    Within the next thirty minutes, Xiao Zhi Ren had actually managed to convince Ru for the investment project. His proposal wasn¡¯t just unique, it was indeed exceptional.

    cing the white porcin cup back in the saucer, Ru said, "You have done thorough research. I have no doubt that your idea would be able to bring revolutionary changes in the next decade. I must say, I am impressed."

    "I¡¯m d that you find it interesting enough," Xiao Zhi Ren finally heaved a sigh of relief. Only he knew how much important this project was for him. His nerves started to ease up.

    "I have a question though," Ru added while rubbing her chin gently.

    "I¡¯ll be d to clear up your doubts." Xiao Zhi Ren said and gulped down a whole ss of water again. From the moment he entered, he had drunk up to four ss of water. And it showed how much pressure he was in.

    "You could have asked Rong for the investment considering she¡¯s taken an oath to stand by you, she would have dly invested in this project. When ites to power and wealth, she isn¡¯t shabby either. I might call her an equal." Talking about her own self as a third person was so natural to her that no one could guess that she was talking about herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was taken aback by this question. After a bit of contemtion, he answered, "Perhaps, I don¡¯t want to have a professional rtionship with her." Ru¡¯s brows shot up. "Also, from the beginning, I wanted to work with Knight Empires for this project. That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t even ur to me." He naturally didn¡¯t say that he wanted Ru to have a personal bonding with him and not some estranged professional one.

    "Alright! I definitely am interested in this investment. Since Rong rmended you, I don¡¯t have any doubts whatsoever. If its gonna change the technology¡¯s perspective in our lives, I¡¯d love to see Knight Empires being a part of that revolution." Ru spoke very professionally without any hint of yfulness. She was like a professional actor, engrossed in her role so deeply that one really couldn¡¯t tell who she was.

    ying roles was indeed very natural to her. People only change clothes, she knew how to change personas. Even the aura around her would change drastically. If being Xie Rong was an easy-going persona of hers then being Alev Knight was all about authority, ruthlessness.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a mirthless smile as he said, "You seem to have a strong trust in Rong."

    "If I don¡¯t trust her. I might lose trust in life itself." ¡¯After all, losing faith in one¡¯s own self is akin to losing yourself altogether.¡¯

    "Do you mind me asking, how long have you known her?" Xiao Zhi Ren finally got over his flustered state to ask. But the intimidation wasn¡¯t gone. It was like something invisible in the room was pressing down on his heart. Most probably, it was his own feelings but he couldn¡¯t differentiate when his mind was all muddled up.

    Ru tapped her finger on the table rhythmically. "For as long as I can remember." She answered with amusement.

    "I have a question for you as well..." Ru started as she observed the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists as if her words had struck him at a sore spot. "What is Rong to you? Friend? Because she can¡¯t be a sworn brother. You know she, being a girl in disguise and all."

    "Friend? She doesn¡¯t like having friends. Sworn brother? She certainly can¡¯t have that title anymore but I¡¯ll make sure to keep the oath I took just like I know she will as well..." Ru smiled in knowing that he could faith in her. "As for what she is to me..." Xiao Zhi Ren took a long pause while Ru straightened up in anticipation. She didn¡¯t know why but she was really eager to hear his answer for some reason unknown to her own self.

    Xiao Zhi Ren finally smiled with valor and said, "For now, she¡¯s my life." Ru¡¯s eyes widened. "As for the future, I want to make her my lifetime." Ru¡¯s heart shook for the first time in a long while.

 Chapter 138 Behind Her Disguise

    Ru almost choked on air as his words had struck her like lightning. ¡¯His life? For a lifetime?¡¯ Those words sounded so bloody wrong but they felt so bloody right. Even her hand trembled and she had to clutch her knee to hide her trembling.

    Those were simple but yet mind-boggling words for her. She had lived between men, grew up like one herself. But she never thought such words could have any effect on her. Surprisingly, they did! Her mind was in shambles.

    Before she could get herposure back, she heard his voice again, "I can tell that she means a lot to you. And you might mean a lot more to her. But I don¡¯t n on backing off without a fight."

    ¡¯Hold on! What?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t tell what he was saying. ¡¯Does he think Alev is in love with Rong? But that would mean I¡¯m in love with myself!¡¯ She really wanted tough at this irony.

    "Wha-What are we fighting for?" Ru stuttered probably for the very first time in her life.

    "Fight for her love." Xiao Zhi Ren answered calmly this time.

    Ru closed her eyes as her lips curled into a self-mocking smile. She rubbed her forehead and asked, "Why? Why do you want to fight for her sake? She hides behind a disguise. She can only bring chaos with herself. She¡¯s a battle in herself."

    "But she¡¯s also a battle worth fighting for." He said with a beautiful smile gracing his handsome face.

    ¡¯Bloody son of a bachelor!!!!¡¯ She had the urge tough at his face but just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so. Her mind wasn¡¯t listening to her while her heart felt like it was awoken ever so gently and now, it was stirring her emotions.

    "Your battle isn¡¯t with me. It¡¯s with her own self. She¡¯s the one hiding behind the facade of darkness. How can an angel like you wish to choose a demon like her?" She was trying to persuade him to give up. Because the look in his eyes was scaring her. The warmth she felt from him wasn¡¯t shallow anymore, the sincerity and love in his eyes wasn¡¯t a lie anymore. But she so badly wanted it all to be just a big fat lie!

    "She¡¯s the bittersweet mystery of the night

    She¡¯s my angel who lost her light

    With demons hiding in her mind

    and dreams she¡¯s scared to see

    under the moonlight

    Fallen bloodsoaked from the sky

    she¡¯s myst wisps of golden grace

    Her body might be cut

    Her soul might be broken

    Her wings might be torn

    And her halo might be crooked

    But for me...

    She will always be a fallen angel

    Hiding behind her disguise."

    His voice brought a sudden pain to emerge in her heart as if someone was tearing her heart apart. The pain shifted to her head as some voices resurfaced in her mind.

    ["You think I¡¯m beautiful?" She could recognize her own voice.

    "Just like an angel." The other masculine voice answered.

    "An angel? Ha! I¡¯m more like a devil that too with my tattered wings." She could hear the sarcasm in her own voice.

    "If your wings are shedding feather, I¡¯m here to collect them. If your wings are torn apart, I¡¯m here as your needle and thread to put them back together."

    "Why?" She asked incredulously.

    "Because even if you fall, you will still be my angel. After all, fallen angels are still angels just painted in shadows."]

    The memory seemed foreign but it felt like hers. When did it happen? And with whom? She didn¡¯t know.

    "She¡¯s a demon craving chaos... You¡¯re the angel looking for sce..." The words left her mouth before she could even stop them. It was on impulse but Xiao Zhi Ren could tell it was the reality.

    "You should leave now, Mr. Xiao." Ru suddenly said as if being in close space with him will ignite the me that had scorched with her soul long ago.

    Xiao Zhi Ren naturally didn¡¯t make anyment. He had said whatever he had to say. He didn¡¯t want to hide his love. If he wasn¡¯t scared of losing Ru, he wouldn¡¯t even hide it from her as well.

    "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Knight." With that Xiao Zhi Ren extended his hand towards her and after a moment of hesitation, Ru shook his hand. But the touch of her cold hands made Xiao Zhi Ren frown in confusion.

    While walking out, his mind was wondering about the touch that felt too familiar. Was he missing Ru so much that he was imagining her everywhere now? Turning his head back to see the empty corridor with only bodyguards keeping watch, he wondered, ¡¯But was it really a mistake?¡¯

 Chapter 139 Fate, Love & Death

    With Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s departure, Ru felt suffocated. Her heart was repeatedly squeezed while she couldn¡¯t even tell what was wrong with her.

    Suddenly, the closed space made her feel entrapped. She shot up from her seat and went out the door. "Keys?" Extending her hand before Connor she asked for car keys. Connor was taken aback since everyone knew their master didn¡¯t like driving cars. But he still ced the keys of his Audi in her hand.

    Ru was about to leave when she stopped and left her words behind, "No need to follow me. Go back to your positions." With that, she went out of the clubhouse and alighted the car.

    In the next half an hour, she drove the car as if flying an airne. She couldn¡¯t even tell herself how many traffic rules she had broken. But she didn¡¯t care at all. As soon as the bustling city was left behind, she pressed a button and the roof was let down making the cool night breeze to p her face ruthlessly.

    She couldn¡¯t tell how far off she was from the city but by the time she stopped the car, she was at the top of a mountain that looked over the beautiful city lights that lit up the whole night. She perched down on the bo of the car and leaned back to close her eyes.

    Some people scare us and others confuse us. Xiao Zhi Ren managed to do both. Ru felt scared not of him but from his love.

    Lighting up a cigarette, she let her mind wander off to an old memory...

    *shback*

    "This young master is so good at hiding. Who can catch me?" Ru¡¯s young self boasted before a beautifuldy in red robes.

    Thedy¡¯s fair and soft hands touched the young Ru¡¯s head and she said, "Dear son, there are certain things you can¡¯t hide from in life."

    "Like what, mother?" Ru blinked her eyes at the alluring beauty before her.

    "You can¡¯t hide from fate, love, and death. The more you run from these, the more they will entangle your soul." Thedy¡¯s gentle voice answered while Ru¡¯s young face scrunched up in confusion. Thedy ruffled her hair and said, "Fate likes to y the game of love but dear child, love likes to y with death. It either teaches you how to live or just pushes you down the road of a life worse than death."

    "It went all over my head," Ru grumbled while wiggling her nose at her but the mesmerizing beauty before her only chuckled at her response with an adoring look in her eyes.

    *End of shback*

    She sat back up and pulled out her cellphone finally going through her contact list. Her finger hovered above a name for a long time and she finally pressed it with a long sigh.

    As the call connected, she heard a raspy and a bit groggy voice, "It better be a matter of life or death."

    Hearing this threat she smiled to herself and realized that it was already past midnight. She really was disturbing his sleep but whatever.

    "What if it¡¯s a matter of love or life?" She asked trying to keep a yful touch in her voice.

    She heard some shuffling from the other end which eventually ended up with a thud sound. Even from here, she could guess that he was so shocked to hear her voice that he fell down from the bed.

    "Ru¡¯er? Is that you?" The voice was cautious and careful.

    "Why? Someone else can dare to call you at this time?" Ru retorted.

    "Damn you moron! Where the hell have you been? I haven¡¯t heard from you for the past two years. Do you know how many scenarios came to my mind? I was so damn worried!" Ru pushed the phone away from her ear since she knew he was gonna go at it for a long time.

    True enough, he kept going on and on without a stop button.

    "Hello to you too, JieJie!" Taking advantage of his brief pause, she said.

    "Go to hell! And shove that damn hello down your throat!" She heard his roar making herugh out in amusement eventually.

    "I¡¯m already in hell. How far off are you nning on pushing me, my dearest soul-brother?" That did the trick, the line went silent for a moment.

    "Where are you?" She heard his tired voice.

    "Does it matter?" she retorted.

    "I guess it doesn¡¯t really as long as you are alive, nothing else matters." Zhu Jie drawled his words a bit.

    Ru couldn¡¯t help but smile at his reply. How weird that he could still make her smile! And it felt good knowing that someone was worried for her.

 Chapter 140 Love Is Suffering In Itself

    Ru¡¯s real identity might be a secret to many but Zhu Jie wasn¡¯t one of those people. He was the first person who called her a friend. He was also the only one who never addressed her as Young Master Ru. For him, she was just Ru¡¯er. His best friend and a brother. Yes! A brother because even though he knew she was a girl, he couldn¡¯t see her as one.

    It wasn¡¯t his fault. She never acted like a girl, he never treated her like one. But between them, there had never been a thing called secret. He was the one who could yell at her without any fear. Because he might be the only person from Ru¡¯s generation, who never got intimidated by her. He called her formidable but he was so sure of her love and care for him that he couldn¡¯t possibly imagine her hurting him.

    Just like any other time, she had rted the entire encounter with Xiao Zhi Ren from beginning till tonight. And the only reply she got in return was, "Hmmm... Interesting."

    "Aren¡¯t you shocked? Surprised? Stunned? Anything?" Ru questioned incredulously.

    "I¡¯m not." He answered inly.

    "I just told you that indirectly, he just confessed his love. Isn¡¯t that shocking?" She asked again.

    "Not at all." Ru was to ask why when he answered her unasked question himself, "Just because you believe that people can¡¯t love you doesn¡¯t mean I have to share your dumb views as well."

    "Do you know why I called?" She asked changing the topic. She was tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from him. He always said if he can love her as a person, anyone can love her as a woman. And she can¡¯t stop people from doing so. What Rubbish!

    "I know. You¡¯re trying toe up with ways to run away from him. And that¡¯s why you are calling me. You want me to tell you that you are right. But..." He took a deep breath and went on, "I won¡¯t say it. For me, your decision is wrong and it¡¯ll stay wrong."

    Ru rubbed her forehead and asked, "Why? Isn¡¯t it good? He¡¯ll give up easily. He doesn¡¯t even know what he is getting himself into."

    "Let me ask you a simple question... How far are you gonna run? I know you are tired. For God¡¯s sake, stop it already. On your eighteenth birthday, you¡¯re meant to be the Head of your n but you chose to run away. Even though you were prepared for that one step all your life, you chose to run. Then the person who saved your life, he cared about you and you knew that yet you ran from the hospital again in the name of looking for revenge. And today, you are trying to run all over again."

    His words brought so much guilt back to her that she felt like bursting up in exasperation. She knew each of his words were right.

    Zhu Jie¡¯s voice suddenly turned softer as he continued, "Ru¡¯er, are you afraid of falling?"

    "I¡¯ve already fallen to my grave once. How can I be scared of falling?" She answered ironically.

    "Then are you afraid of the dark?"

    "How can that be? I¡¯ve be one with the dark long time ago."

    "Are you scared of love?" He didn¡¯t give her a chance to answer this time, as he added, "I guess I have the answer to this question, you are rather scared of being loved instead of love itself."

    Ru didn¡¯t say a word to deny it. She couldn¡¯t possibly do so.

    "Instead of using your bloody smart mind on finding ways to run, face his love. Even if you can¡¯t reciprocate his feelings, don¡¯t leave him hanging like this. That¡¯d be an insult to his feelings and you were raised better than that!"

    "Love is suffering in itself..." she remarked rather defenselessly.

    "We all are defenseless against suffering. And there isn¡¯t any love in this world that doesn¡¯t go through suffering. You have to stick around him to know whether he¡¯s worth that suffering or not. Loveless life is also suffering then why not take a risk and live a life filled with love brewed in suffering."

    Ru gave a strange smile as his words registered in her mind. "I thought I was the genius between the two of us."

    Zhu Jie chuckled and replied, "My genius narcissistic friend, search through your memory. These are indeed your own words. It¡¯s just that you have the best advice for the world but when ites to yourself, you choose the worst options. That¡¯s why I¡¯m in your life to knock some sense into your mind."

    She couldn¡¯t deny his words again.

 Chapter 141 Neither Gentle Nor A Man

    There were plenty of reasons why Ru couldn¡¯t deny his words. But at this moment, she couldn¡¯t evene up with any of those reasons. Neither she could deny his words nor she coulde up with a retort for that.

    But her silence said a lot to Zhu Jie. They both shared a connection of the heart. It allowed both of them to discern the other person¡¯s thoughts or moods. Right now, he could tell she was in a dilemma.

    "Ru¡¯er, I know you have killed a piece of your own heart every single day just to be what you are today. You told me that a heart is like a garden but don¡¯t forget your garden in barren and razed. Can¡¯t you give him a chance to pick the pieces you have lost? He might be able to decorate your soul with some flowers sprinkled with love."

    He waited for her answer while she stayed silent for a long while.

    "Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?" He had to yell to get her attention.

    "Huh? I¡¯m trying to make sure, I called the right person. It seems like I did but why does he sound so different?"

    "Haha. Are you done?" He feigned a dryugh at her worst sense of humor.

    "Well, you can¡¯t me me. I¡¯m utterly gobsmacked to hear such words from you. Did my absence made you more intelligent or something?"

    Zhu Jie rolled his eyes and answered, "Your absence brought a lot of changes. But I¡¯ll let you know about that when I see you next time. As for being gobsmacked, I guess history does repeat itself but in its own way."

    "What do you mean?"

    "When I met my wife and asked you about love, your words also gobsmacked me back then. You said, ¡¯Love is in that single snowke thates to caress the tip of your nose but with a single touch it melts away, leaving behind a chilly shudder that spreads throughout your entire body. Love is in those waves that travel a thousand miles just to touch the shore once. They know they won¡¯t be able to stay but they still persist in their love.¡¯ You can¡¯t even imagine how I felt hearing that from a cold-hearted jerk like yourself." Ru didn¡¯t mind the way he addressed her. It was something verymon between them.

    But the words he just said also came from her.

    "Woah! I¡¯m such a profound and astute person. I definitely underestimate myself sometimes." Zhu Jie facepalmed himself as he heard her getting back to being so damn full of herself.

    "Can you for a second, stop being so full of yourself?"

    "I¡¯m not full of myself. If I was why would I feel like cats are having a party inside my stomach?" Zhu Jie¡¯s mouth twitched at not just her words but also the innocence she used to say those words. Gosh! He really was no match for her wicked ways. He was rubbing the space between his brows when he heard her voice again, "Anyway, jokes apart, I¡¯m really sorry for disturbing your sleep. I didn¡¯t realize it was sote at night."

    Zhu Jie naturally thought that she was in another region of the world and said, "Whatever. Hey, by the way, once upon a time you used to hate apologies. Why is it so easy to get a sorry from you now?"

    "Spend a couple of months in London. Trust me, they will teach you the manners of saying sorry. I guess I became a gentleman as well."

    "Dear Ru¡¯er, you are neither gentle nor a man. Get that through your thick skull, dumbass!" Ru scrunched up her face, not wanting to ept this defeat yet again! "Also, stop eating! You¡¯ll explode one day at this rate."

    "JieJie, I¡¯m not feeding on your blood. Why are your knickers in a twist? You bloody bugger! Go and shag[1] some bloody rubbish or something."

    "Show some bloody respect. I¡¯m older than you."

    "I showed respect by calling you. And even you know how difficult would that have been for a chuffed[2] person like me!" After taking a deep breath, her whole self calmed down.

    "Are you feeling better after breathing out your pent up fire?" She heard his question and hummed in response as they both chuckled together.

    "Thanks, JieJie!"

    "Anytime for you, Ru¡¯er."

    "I¡¯ll give you a bellter. Say hi to your ¡¯baby¡¯."

    "Which one?" He asked in amusement.

    "Would you stop unting your love? I know you have a wife and a child. Don¡¯t have to shove that in my face now!" She didn¡¯t even wait for an answer and hung up.

    [1] ¡¯shag¡¯: Screw

    [2] ¡¯chuffed¡¯: Proud

 Chapter 142 Ocean Of His Love

    After her conversation with Zhu Jie, Ru was all about smiling like a silly person. She had spent the entire night at the top of the mountain but oddly, she didn¡¯t smoke after the phone call. What she did was even more surprising... She did star gazing!

    A shocker! Well, it was for her. Because even in thatplete silence, she couldn¡¯t hear the voices howling inside her mind. She felt tranquil and rxed. It was a rare feeling for her so she appreciated it and embraced it with open arms.

    The original n of running far away from here was canceled. Now, she had to drive back to the Joyous Homes. After all, she had prepared a striking gift for Xiao Zhi Ren. He dared to be blunt and brave in front of Alev Knight but he cowered away from her!

    How dare he hid his feelings from her but gave a tant warning to another!

    ¡¯Well, you are that other person.¡¯ Her conscience reminded her.

    "So what? You know that I know that but he doesn¡¯t!" She retorted back stubbornly.

    Seeing that she could not appear in the same attire as Alev Knight, she picked up a pair of casual chinos and t-shirt but she didn¡¯t change the zer. On purpose! It was her weapon. And she was so going to poke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sore spot with it. Hehe... Just thinking about it made her feel wicked!

    By the time she parked at the entrance of the Condominium building, she knew it was about time for Xiao Zhiren to leave for office.

    Ru took off her blue contact lens to show her green eyes hidden underneath and ruffled her hair to make them appear disheveled. She hadn¡¯t been this excited for a long time now.

    As she entered, her eyes caught sight of Xiao Zhiren collecting his mails from the reception desk. She called out to him, "Yo Zhi! Good morning!" She even gave him a happy smile with a light friendly punch on his shoulder.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes darkened as he saw the zer she wore. He remembered it very well! Ru had noticed the look in his eyes and gave a sly smile as she inwardly cheered, ¡¯Oh, it¡¯s so working!¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a deep breath before speaking, "You look cheery."

    "Well, duh! I am happy so I¡¯ll look the part as well." She answered cheekily much to his annoyance.

    "I wonder what made you so happy," it took a lot of effort on his part to keep his face straight. Seeing her disheveled look gave birth to too many indecent ideas of R-rate and he desperately needed a PG-13 version from reality now.

    "Oh, what should I tell you now... Last night was intense." It certainly became intense after listening to your tant confession of love.

    "Crack!"

    The sound of ss cracking took her by surprise as she stared at the blood that flowed down his hand startling her. She didn¡¯t even realize it that he was clutching a ss water bottle in his hand all this while.

    She saw his blood trickling down while he barely reacted to it. Now, she finally realized she was acting childish and she had never been this way before. But she was even more amazed to see that the man before him loved her beyond her imagination. Just a single sentence provoked him. How intense or immense was this love?

    ¡¯You wouldn¡¯t know unless you¡¯re willing to drown in the ocean of his love.¡¯ For the first time, she wasn¡¯t annoyed at her conscience¡¯s words.

    Her heart felt strange as she saw his red blood oozing out. Holding his hand in her own, she dragged him along to the elevator. Xiao Zhi Ren was surprised but he didn¡¯t say anything and let her drag him along to her apartment.

    This time Ru didn¡¯t even bother hiding her passcode from him, the thought didn¡¯t even cross her mind. And as Xiao Zhi Ren saw the passcode, he was stunned. ¡¯0814? That¡¯s the date she vanished. Why would she use it if she doesn¡¯t remember me?¡¯

    Walking inside, she pushed him down on the couch and collected her first-aid kit. "You really love getting hurt." This was the third time, she was tending to his wound since the time they met. "I can¡¯t believe you are this careless."

    "You were with Alev Knight?" He asked instead of answering her.

    Ru lifted her eyes and looked straight into his eyes. His gaze was scorching and in a daze, she said, "We were ying video games. Lost track of time."

    The way Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s body visibly rxed left her mind in disarray. It was like someone breathed new life into him all over again.

 Chapter 143 Keep That In Mind

    Xiao Zhi Ren had never felt this rxed before. Her words were really like he was pardoned from a death penalty. A new life and hope were breathed into his soul. And since he was rxed now, the tiredness of the entire night came over him at once.

    Ru cleaned up his wound with care and expertise. Since Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind was clear of all the messed up ideas, he spent the next fifteen minutes just staring at her face. It wasn¡¯t the first time she was tending to his injury but there was one thing that remained the same; her expressions.

    She appeared rather calm and tranquil. But for some reason, Xiao Zhi Ren always felt that there was always something behind her calm self. What was it this time? He was frowning when his gaze fell on her again.

    Her hands had his blood on them and she was staring at it without blinking. She appeared to be in a daze. Sighing out she stood up and went to wash her hands. She rubbed her hands raw before intending to leave the restroom.

    She had turned to leave when she saw Xiao Zhi Ren leaning against the doorframe with an indescribable expression in his eyes.

    "You don¡¯t like blood..." He remarked in a certain way. When he saw her dazed look earlier, he felt like he could see her difort in her eyes. As if she loathed that crimson fluid on her skin.

    "Haven¡¯t you heard, I¡¯ve dyed dark nights with crimson blood. Why wouldn¡¯t I like it?" Ru tried to pass right past him but he blocked her way. His figure couldn¡¯t tower her that much but he still dared her to look into his eyes.

    "People can have misconceptions as well. And to be honest, everything that the world knows about you is just a facy."

    The tone of his voice pulled Ru to lift her eyes and stare back at him. It was indeed a huge mistake on her part as she blurted out, "I don¡¯t hate the blood. I abhor the coldness that it leaves behind."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s orbs contracted at the reminder.

    Ru, however, didn¡¯t need a reminder. Her body remembered the pain and coldness vividly. As the blood slowly oozed out of her body, her limbs went numb and after some time, all she felt was cold. But that cold was different than the one that the winter brings. That cold had invaded her blood and bones making her feel like a lifeless corpse.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t block her anymore and turned aside letting her pass. Ru went straight to the kitchen to brew some medicinal tea to lessen his pain and to speed up his recovery.

    "I know you don¡¯t like tea but this one is good for your injury," Ru exined as she saw him scrunching up his face like a kid who was asked to take his medicine.

    Xiao Zhi Ren iled his hands dramatically as he said, "It¡¯s alright. It doesn¡¯t even hurt anymore."

    "Oh, really?" Even though he found her tone weird, he still nodded. Ru came around the kitchen ind, stood before him and before he could even make sense of anything...

    "Oww!"

    She had pressed hard on his wounded hand. Oh, she couldn¡¯t even tell how much her hand was itching to do it from the time she saw him recklessly breaking a ss in his hand. Ru had always despised the acts of self-harm. And she even hated herself for doing it whenever she lost control of her senses. But he was in his senses. Just because of his jealousy, he hurt himself? How impulsive and impudent!

    Xiao Zhi Ren stared back at her in disbelief. He retracted his hand and blew on it as if it would make a difference.

    "What was that for?" He asked grudgingly.

    "Just had the sudden urge to do it. Why? What are you gonna do about it?" Seeing Ru¡¯s this side, Xiao Zhi Ren was stunned. When had she been unreasonable? Never! Then why was she like this now?

    Naturally, they both knew that Xiao Zhi Ren could really do nothing. Xiao Zhi Ren pressed his lips together in a straight line and really did nothing. Just stood there like a guilty child before picking up the hot tea and drank it in one go.

    Suddenly, Ru held his gauzed d hand and said, "If you dare to be this reckless again, the consequences will be..." She left her words hanging since she hade to have huge faith in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s imagination skills.

    "Will keep that in mind." Xiao Zhi Ren responded. He wasn¡¯t feeling wronged at all. In fact, he felt her act quite adorable. It meant, she cared.

 Chapter 144 For Being Here

    This little act of care made Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart bloom like a flower that had just been caressed by the warmth of the sun. The medicinal tea was really bitter but all he felt was sweetness.

    But when she left his hand he really felt empty as if someone stole a piece of his heart. But his smile didn¡¯t fade away rather it got him a frown from Ru.

    "Why are you smiling?" She asked pensively.

    "It felt good." His ambiguous answer made her frown deeper.

    "The medicine was not bitter?" She inquired to make sure.

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her adorable expression and shook his head saying, "I wasn¡¯t talking about the medicine. I meant your threat... The way you just rebuked me."

    ¡¯That¡¯s a first. When did people start enjoying my threats?¡¯ Ru was rubbing the nape of her neck while she wondered. But she didn¡¯t understand his underlying meaning. He meant he enjoyed the gentleness and care that she was hiding behind those words.

    "If you like it so much. I¡¯ll do it more often. I have the ultimate skill in the threatening department. I have a whole vocabry filled with bitter words." She even cackled at the end of her words, obviously, she was proud of her skills. While Xiao Zhi Ren thought that she must be the only one who can think that threatening is a ¡¯skill¡¯.

    Propping his elbow on the kitchen ind while supporting his face on the heel of his hand, he said, "What about sweet words?"

    "I like eating sweets but I can¡¯t digest sweet words," Ru answered while avoiding his eyes that seemed to be prating into her soul.

    Before Xiao Zhi Ren coulde up with a reply, she ced a te full of osmanthus cake right before him. He was surprised but only because the cake was shaped as bunny heads. They looked so cute that he didn¡¯t have the heart to even eat that.

    "Since you drank that bitter medicine... I¡¯m reluctantly offering you my cake." Ru had a heartbroken look in her eyes. Her reluctance was quite palpable.

    "This is for me?" He asked indecisively.

    Seeing his huge grin, she felt something was wrong here but she couldn¡¯t tell what? "I made it for myself yesterday but I¡¯m offering you some. After all, I¡¯m a good host. Very hospitable"

    Xiao Zhi Ren almost choked on the single bite that he had just taken when he heard about her being ¡¯hospitable¡¯. Who was she kidding here? Certainly, he was not that gullible to believe that she was this hospitable to every one of her guests.

    But disregarding her words, he said, "Well, I¡¯ll just pretend like this was made just for me."

    "Huh?"

    "Nothing. I meant this is really good." He tacitly chose to change his words for her sake.

    That onement was enough to put Ru back on her high horse as she grinned brightly and said, "Of course it¡¯s good. How can it not be? How is it possible that I touched something and it turned out bad? It can never happen!"

    "There we go again..."

    "What did you say?"

    Seeing her fiery gaze, he smiled politely and said, "I was saying you are right. You are good at everything. But let me ask you, can¡¯t you drop this conceited act once in a while?"

    Him calling her conceited couldn¡¯t make her angry. She didn¡¯t feel anything. "I¡¯m afraid if I stopped being conceited, you might run for the hills screaming bloody murder." There was a yfulness in her tone but there was a concealed truth in her eyes.

    "Why don¡¯t you try me?"

    His words shocked her for a second before sheughed it off saying, "You¡¯re funny Zhi." She took a step back to make some distance between them but Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly shot up from his seat and held her elbow. With a twist and pull, shended straight in his arms; against his chest.

    "You!" Ru¡¯s eyes widened and she tried to pull away when he encircled his arms around her back, trapping her arms and held her in ce.

    "Shh... Just hear me out." His cello-like voice right beside her ear made her stop squirming. Taking the cue, he said, "Thank you!"

    "For what?" He heard her muffled voice as her breath fanned his chest making his Adam¡¯s apple bob up and down prominently.

    He took in her sweet yet soft scent and felt like drowning. He wanted to say for giving him a chance to be in her life. But if he did, he was afraid that the one who would be running for the hills would be she. "For everything. Especially, for being here." He felt these ambiguous words won¡¯t do any harm.

 Chapter 145 Cute & Unharmful

    ¡¯Don¡¯t you dare fall for it! Push him away already!¡¯

    Ru was urging herself to push him but her stupid conscience wasn¡¯t listening. As it kept reminding her, ¡¯Let¡¯s stay for a while longer.¡¯

    ¡¯For what?¡¯ She snapped back at her conscience.

    ¡¯To steal some body heat for a cold person like you. Duh!¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly before speaking up, "Can you let go now? Don¡¯t push me over the edge."

    Xiao Zhi Ren tut-tutted as he retracted his arms rather reluctantly. "You should change your passcode. I identally saw it earlier." Ru raised her single brow at him. "Trust me, it wasn¡¯t intentional." Ru didn¡¯t reply. She kept herself busy with collecting the teapot and boiling some water for herself. Not willing to back out, he added, "So, does 0814 has some kind of special meaning? I mean most people use some important dates as their passcodes. Is it your birthday?"

    ¡¯Birthday? Do I have a birthday?¡¯ Ru frowned to herself before changing the topic, "What were you doing at the reception and that too with the ss water bottle?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren understood that she wasn¡¯t willing to answer him. But why? Was his reminder that bad? He shook his ridiculous thoughts away and said, "It wasn¡¯t mine. Yuan left it at the receptionst night. So, the receptionist was passing it to me."

    Ru snorted as she said, "Are you sure, she wasn¡¯t just looking for a chance to strike up a conversation with you?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled cheekily as he felt her disdain. Was it jealousy? No way! The rational part of his mind reminded him but he chose to ignore it. ¡¯It¡¯s definitely jealousy!¡¯ If Ru could be the proud peacock, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with him being a bit more imaginative, right? Well, as long as it satisfied him.

    "By the way, what¡¯s up with a ss water bottle? Isn¡¯t it inconvenient to carry them?" She asked after a bit of thinking. At first, she dide up with this question just to avoid his question but now, she was indeed curious.

    "Go and tell Yuan. He¡¯s one of those environmental protectors. He doesn¡¯t like stic bottles since they kill fishes and pollute our environment. ss is more convenient to recycle." Xiao Zhi Ren exined while eating another osmanthus cake.

    It made Ru smile brightly which took Xiao Zhi Ren by surprise.

    "What¡¯s so funny?"

    Ru looked at him and nodded. "Nothing. It¡¯s just that your words reminded me of my brother." Xiao Zhi Ren saw her eyes twinkling brightly as she was reminiscing all by herself. "My little rice-cake is really simr to your brother. Both are trying to protect fishes." She shook her head in amusement.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to question her about her brother but seeing how her expression shifted back to impassive in a blink of an eye, he changed his mind. It was like the earlier smile was just a figment of his imagination. He could see that she missed her brother but why did she act like she didn¡¯t?

    "I never expected that someone like you could actually eat osmanthus cake in the shape of bunnies." He tried to divert her attention.

    "Since I can¡¯t have roasted rabbits, I can only fool myself with these." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly while Xiao Zhi Ren gaped at her with a horrified look on his face.

    "That¡¯s so unfair! Rabbits are so cute and unharmful." Xiao Zhi Ren grumbled.

    "We live in the cycle of predators and preys. There is nothing cute and unharmful when your own life is at stakes. We all are the predators for power until that same power devours us like prey." Taking a moment to take a deep breath, she said, "I think you should leave now. You have an office to go to while I have sleep to catch up on. Apanying Alev Knight is a tiring affair."

    She used Alev Knight¡¯s name to piss him off on purpose and it worked. Xiao Zhi Ren who didn¡¯t have any mood to leave finally made his way out of her ce while grumbling incoherently. But he didn¡¯t forget to scoop up all her osmanthus cake before leaving.

 Chapter 146 Love Storys Villain

    Pushing him out of the door, Ru eventually heaved a sigh of relief. She stood alone before the ss windows and looked over the beautiful scenery outside. Although she had said she was going to catch up on sleep, it wasn¡¯t like she could. Her insomnia was just like her fate; both weren¡¯t in her control at all.

    But how desperately she wanted to control both was only known to her. After Xiao Zhi Ren left, there was no one to make any sound in the big condo. All that was left was herself. At times like these, she realized how lonely she was.

    Using work as her distraction, she chose to spend her day dealing with business. In her opinion, being a billionaire needed hard work but staying a billionaire needed harder work!

    On Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s end, he was really ticked off with Ru¡¯s words. Did she have to bring Alev Knight¡¯s name up? It ruined such a sweet moment of their banter. For him, these small banters were a form of a lovers quarrel. It would only make their bond stronger.

    He dialed a number and as the other person picked up, he said, "Adrian, do you think Alev Knight has a girlfriend?"

    "Cough! Cough! Have you lost your mind early in the morning?" Adrian¡¯s dramatic response came immediately. "And why are you ruining my day by talking about that bastard?"

    "Can¡¯t you simply answer my question?"

    "But I¡¯m not that close to him. I do know that Alev is a smooth-talker and adding his enchanting eyes along with his deadly gorgeous face, he can allure any girl. As for the girlfriend part, I¡¯m not sure."

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but nod along. Even though he couldn¡¯t see Alev Knight¡¯s face, what he saw was enough to tell that Alev was an alluring man.

    "You are right. His blue eyes held some kind of charm." Xiao Zhi Ren agreed.

    "Hold on, you met him? And what? Blue eyes?" Adrian almost screeched making Xiao Zhi Ren flinch. "This man is unbelievable. Seriously! People don¡¯t even change clothes as much as he changes his colored lenses. I wonder what is his obsession."

    "You mean blue is not his color?"

    "Who knows! We can only wonder. Anyways, you are such a traitor. Where have you been? You don¡¯t even call anymore." Adrianined.

    "This is my age to look for a girlfriend. I don¡¯t have time to waste on you." Xiao Zhi Ren replied back.

    "What? Girlfriend? Aren¡¯t you obsessed with a girl? The one who rules your dreams and reality." Adrian teased him.

    "She does rule my dreams." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a sweet smile while reclining back on his chair. "As for reality, it seems like Alev Knight ising between my love story as a viin."

    "Pfft!" With a fit ofughter Adrian added, "You mean, Alev Knight is your love rival? Haha! Why don¡¯t you just give up?"

    "Why? Why should I give up?" Xiao Zhi Ren grew defensive.

    "Because from the moment I have known Alev, he had never lost. As in like never ever!" Adrian answered honestly.

    "I will make him lose this time. For sure!" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know whether he was convincing Adrian or himself. Because even he knew that his love life¡¯s biggest obstacle was Ru herself. How was he supposed to move a stone-cold person¡¯s heart? Or precisely, how was supposed to make her believe that she had a heart filled with feelings?

    "Then I¡¯m rooting for you. After all, my life¡¯s goal is to see that narcissistic bastard fall."

    "Narcissistic?"

    "Yeah! Didn¡¯t I tell you before? That jerk is too full of himself!"

    ¡¯She is also full of herself. They both even have that inmon. How am I going to win?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren was racking his brain. "You depressed me even more. Go and attend some fundraiser. I¡¯m hanging up!" Before Adrian could ask the reason for his sudden outburst, Xiao Zhi Ren had really hung up the phone.

 Chapter 147 Her Genius Self

    "I heard some conflict is arising in our Mercenary Alliances, pay them a visit personally," Ru ordered over the phone while skimming through the files in her hand.

    "Should I go alone?" Adia¡¯s voice sounded hesitant.

    "Why? Should I send a babysitter with you?" Ru sarcastic retort made Adia shut up immediately. "I¡¯m hanging up. Don¡¯t bother me with briefings. You can discuss the issue with your squad."

    "Will do." Adia¡¯s words were left hanging since the call was already hung up. She stared at the phone screen before shouting, "Impatient much?"

    "Wee back, Master!" Jack¡¯s voice startled Adia as she jumped in fright and even dropped her cellphone.

    "Pfft!"

    Bouts ofughter from around her made her grit her teeth in fury. These jerks actually tricked her! But it wasn¡¯t her fault that her master¡¯s fear was deep-rooted in her soul. She could offend anyone except for her own master unless she had a death wish or worse.

    On Ru¡¯s side, she felt hungry after the whole day of reading contracts and seeing those number sheets. At this point, her mind was spinning so much that she felt like every word before her eyes were just a string of binary codes. She could read it but couldn¡¯tprehend anything anymore.

    "Raven, search the best ce to have Bibimbap(mixed rice)."

    "There is a Korean restaurant five kilometers away from your current location. It has the highest reviews." Raven¡¯s voice echoed in the silent hall.

    "Okay!" Ru shot up from her seat and changed into a pair of sweatpants along with arge hoodie before running out the door.

    Getting her favorite ride out of the parking lot, she happily climbed on it and started paddling. Riding a bicycle for a mere five kilometers was no big deal for her. She could even run longer than that but wasn¡¯t nning on doing so.

    After twenty minutes, she was right outside the restaurant that was named, ¡¯The Kimichi Stop¡¯.

    She thought it was an interesting name. Before she could take another step inside, her cellphone rang. "What is it?" She asked seemingly in an annoyed manner.

    "Oniisan, where are you?" Yuan¡¯s voice came from the other side.

    "I¡¯m in the Sh¨¤nsh¨ª district. Why?" Ru changed her tone to normal. Didn¡¯t want to scare the youngster.

    "Really? I¡¯m also in Sh¨¤nsh¨ª district. Let¡¯s meet up. I¡¯m at the bamboo tea house."

    ¡¯But I¡¯m hungry. And I only want my Bibimbap¡¯s bowl filled with my seasoned vegetables, mushrooms, beef, and much more.¡¯ Ru was whining inside since she was really reluctant to part away from here.

    "Oniisan, are you there?" Yuan didn¡¯t hear a reply for a long moment and had to ask again.

    She huffed like a kid and said, "Fine. I¡¯ll see you in a minute."

    With a heavy heart and even heavier feet, she turned to leave the restaurant. Although those enticing aromas were calling out to her, she had to leave. It didn¡¯t take her long to find the tea house where Yuan was already waiting for her outside.

    "Oniisan! You didn¡¯t even ask about my entrance exam or my finals." He immediately stuck to her like her leg essory.

    "You better have a good reason for calling me here," Ru didn¡¯t reply to him and instead said her own warning.

    Yuan smiled and dragged her along inside the tea house. The tea house was silent and tranquil. Ru could see the bodyguards littered around the entire second floor. When he slid open the door of the private room, Ru saw the person she had least expected.

    Ji Rusheng!

    The elderly man ced his teacup on the table and lifted his eyes to look at Ru. She saw a hint of smile sh in his eyes. "Have a seat young master Rong." Old Master Ji offered and Ru took the seat on the cushion opposite of him. "Have some tea." Since Old Master Ji poured the tea himself, she couldn¡¯t refuse it. It was against her virtues.

    "Grandfather, you can ask Oniisan. He was the one who told me about the four greatest pleasures of life." Yuan¡¯s voice made Ru spurt out the tea that she had yet to swallow.

    "Excuse me!" She wiped her mouth as she gave them an apologetic smile.

    A slight smile could be seen on Old Master Ji¡¯s elderly face as he said, "Oh... It seems young master Rong is quite insightful. Even an old man like me didn¡¯t know that four great pleasures of life are eating, drinking, ying, and enjoying. It¡¯s enlightening."

    Old Master Ji¡¯s sarcastic words brought Ru¡¯s guilt back with full force. She was cursing the time when she chose to spout that nonsense. It was such an insult to her genius self that her intelligence was being questioned now.

 Chapter 148 Loved The Thrill

    Ru was stuck in a predicament. If she said she was lying, she would lose face before Yuan but if she stayed thick-skinned- which she already was- she might lose her right of being proudful before Old Master Ji.

    ¡¯Shuck it, Ru! Pride is the only thing that matters anyway.¡¯ She willed herself while Old Master Ji was looking at her with interest.

    "I think I made a mistake that day, little squirrely." She gave a dryugh as she continued, "The four pleasures of life are ying the lyre, calligraphy, painting, and chess. These are the true values of an aristocratic descendant like yourself." She turned to look at Old Master Ji and asked gingerly, "Am I right, Mr. Ji?"

    Old Master Ji nodded his head and said, "Certainly I¡¯ve heard this version of our true values. But it¡¯s a shame that the new generation doesn¡¯t cherish these values."

    Yuan was frowning by her side. "I do know how to y chess." He said trying to show that he wasn¡¯tpletely clueless.

    "I¡¯m talking about Chinese Chess. Like this..." She pointed at the table where a chessboard was assembled and seemed like someone had left a game in the middle. "Oh look, the ck one is losing." She picked a ck piece and made the next move saying, "Ha! Checkmate!"

    Old Master Ji¡¯s brow quirked up in surprise as he saw how she made him lose the game. Earlier, he was ying the chess with an old friend but that old man left when he saw he was losing as always. But Ru easily changed the whole game. Interesting...

    "It¡¯s no wonder, my wife has been praising you for weeks. Young master Rong is indeed an interesting person. Quite skilled in chess, if I say it humbly." Old Master Ji didn¡¯t bother hiding his appreciative look. As he said earlier, the younger generation was truly forgetting their roots and values. People with Ru¡¯s skills were already scarce.

    "Now, you¡¯re ttering me..." Ru said offhandedly. "I¡¯m quite rough around the edges. It¡¯s been a long time since I yed chess." She could remember the time she yed itst. It was the night before she sneaked out of her n. She had won a game against her grandfather.

    "Oniisan, does learning these four things is very important?" Yuan joined in the conversation from the side after being quiet for a while.

    "Not everyone can be good at everything. So, learning one or two is already considered good enough." Ru replied patiently while Yuan listened attentively.

    Tracing the seam of his cup, Old Master Ji had aplicated gaze. The more he looked at Ru¡¯s behavior, the more he found her familiar. Yuan had stepped out to take a call when he said, "Young Master Rong, do you know you remind me of someone."

    Ru sipped on her tea and asked, "Really? Might I be bold to ask who that person is?"

    "Was." Old Master Ji replied with a bit of heaviness in his voice. "He¡¯s no more."

    "I apologize."

    Old Master Ji shook his head saying, "It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s been a long time anyway." With a distant look, he added, "To be honest, you don¡¯t even look like him. It¡¯s your green eyes and your aura that seems simr to his." To divert the conversation away from those painful memories, he said, "You seem very close to both Yuan and Zhiren."

    "One is my sworn brother and the other is just like my own little brother," Ru answered without even pausing to think.

    "I heard you saw my antique collection. Did you find anything to your liking?"

    Recalling her visit to Ji Mansion, her mind eventually wandered off to that stolen kiss and she smacked herself inwardly. It was not the time to think of such lewd memories. Clearing her throat, she said, "I liked a particr white jade flute. The gold crescent moon dangling from it was certainly very eye-catching."

    "With Young Master Rong¡¯s intelligence, I believe he already knows what it represents." Old Master Ji¡¯s words took her by surprise.

    "I certainly do. What I can¡¯t figure out is why would Xiao family give their prized possession to Ji Family even when there are rumors of both ns being arch-enemies." Ru didn¡¯t bother filtering her words anymore either.

    "Would you like to know?"

    "You think I won¡¯t ask?" She asked with a frown.

    "I told you. You¡¯re simr to an old friend. He loved the thrill. And since you are simr, if I told you the story, your thrill and interest both will be lost." Ru was surprised yet again at how right he was. Was his friend truly that simr to her?

 Chapter 149 Magic & Love

    Ru was indeed intrigued by Old Master Ji¡¯s words. As Yuan had said, her personality had always been entric and that¡¯s why she always acted unexpectedly. But the way Old Master Ji described her passion for the thrill, she was surprised, to say the least.

    Yuan came back to the room and they didn¡¯t bring the earlier topic up at all. Pretending as if the earlier conversation had never happened.

    Watching Yuan pick up a teacup, Ru frowned and held his arm saying, "There is an elder before you. How can you pick up your cup so casually? Don¡¯t you know about the tea etiquettes?"

    "I don¡¯t," Yuan answered honestly.

    Ru felt a headacheing as she faced the innocent youngster. "Looks like I have a lot to discuss with Zhi. How can he be so careless in raising you?" Shaking her head, she added, "Look closely." After that, she spent the next ten minutes demonstrating the proper etiquettes for tea including his posture.

    Yuan looked at her admiration and said, "Oniisan, is there anything you can¡¯t do?"

    "What do you mean?" Ru asked.

    "You are good at fighting, know your way with traditional medicine, have great culinary skills, possess vast knowledge of history. You¡¯re such an insightful person. Don¡¯t you get tired of learning?"

    If there was an ego meter, it would have topped since Ru was basking in all these praises happily.

    But maintaining the image of an eloquent young master, she said, "Little squirrel, knowledge is like an ocean, no matter how much water you take there will always be something new out there to learn. Learning only stops when we end up in a grave since life is a lesson in itself. So, while we are alive we should learn this lesson wisely."

    Old Master Ji who had been silently watching their exchange of words could not hide his astonishment as he looked at that seemingly young man. But his words were definitely not like that of a young man.

    ¡¯Xie Rong... This person is getting even more interesting.¡¯ Old Master Ji thought he might never be able to forget this green-eyed person just like he was yet to forget his oldrade. He wasn¡¯t nning on interrupting them as he could see how Yuan¡¯s eyes were glimmering with curiosity and interest.

    "I have a weird question. Will you answer it?" Ru nodded nonchntly and Yuan went on, "Do you think there is magic in this world?"

    "Sure. There is." Yuan was a bit taken aback since he really wasn¡¯t expecting it all.

    "Okay... Then where is this magic?" He asked after calming himself a bit.

    "It¡¯s right here." Ru poked his chest which made him furrow his brows while she continued, "Magic had always been within us. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be anywhere. Can you feel that rhythmic beat in your chest?"

    "It¡¯s my heartbeat, I surely can feel it."

    "Then why don¡¯t you believe in magic. Isn¡¯t it magical enough that a single heart is holding up your whole body?" Yuan widened his eyes in surprise.

    "But why do people say that love is magical?" he retorted again.

    Ru gave a lopsided grin which seemed bitter as she said, "Love is already a miracle in itself. Certain magic that one can¡¯t exin. Isn¡¯t it weird that the heart is yours but it beats at the rhythm of someone else? That¡¯s love. We can feel it but can¡¯t see it just like magic." But with a sigh, she added softly as if talking to herself, "But magic is also an illusion just like love since bothe to end one day."

    The distracted Yuan might not have heard herst words but the attentive and sharp Old Master Ji heard her clearly. He didn¡¯t know where this green-eyed person popped out from but he was sure that Ru would bring a lot of changes in his family. It was yet to tell whether they¡¯d be good or bad.

    "It¡¯s not early anymore. I should excuse myself now." Old Master Ji turned to Ru and said, "It was nice meeting you again. Let¡¯s y a game of chess sometime?"

    "Sure." Ru agreed readily.

    Then he exchanged some words with his grandson before leaving along with his huge entourage and here Ru thought only Xiao Zhi Ren was a show-off. But even she was clear that being the old Patriarch of Ji Family, Ji Rusheng¡¯s life was indeed in danger and precautions were necessary.

 Chapter 150 Born To Amaze People

    With Old Master Ji¡¯s departure, Ru also got up to leave saying, "Since you don¡¯t have anything else to ask, I¡¯ll leave now. My bibimbap is calling out me." Just at the thought of that hot bowl of mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables, her mouth watered. It was the ultimatefort food! And she needed thatfort right now!

    "Oniisan, I noticed a very weird thing about you," Yuan¡¯s voice halted Ru¡¯s steps and she looked back at him with a frown.

    "I¡¯m weird from the tip of my head to the tip of my toes. Which weirdness did you notice now?"

    Yuan shook his head at her slightly with a small smile before saying, "You seem like a modern person with an old soul." Seeing that Ru didn¡¯t give any reaction, he added, "I mean to say that you really value your old-fashioned way of thinking. And the way you show respect to elders is... strange."

    His words seemed to have hit a mark since Ru couldn¡¯t stop her mind from wandering off to old memories.

    *shback*

    Fifteen-year youth d in ck robes briskly entered an open pavilion where four elderly men were having a discussion.

    "Young Master Ru seems furious. Who dared to offend our Ru?" One of the elderly men in white robes noticed her red-rimmed eyes and remarked.

    "Elder Gu¨¡ng, that stupid best friend of mine said that I am an old-fashioned person. All I talk about is traditions and values. I know nothing about the modern way of thinking." Her aggrieved tone caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Aiyo, our Young Master is furious about such a small matter? Isn¡¯t that why we told you to spend more time with young people of your own age? Why do you still have to apany us... old bones?" Another elder in green robes said patiently.

    Ru frowned and turned to him saying, "Elder Y¨©xu¨¦, I am not upset that he called me old-fashioned. I am upset about the fact that he doesn¡¯t understand the true meaning of being modern."

    "And what is the definition of being modern for my grandson?" Hearing her own grandfather¡¯s question, she took a moment to think.

    "Being modern means walking side-by-side with the world you live in but still preserving your root values. After all, one¡¯s origin matters the most." Her words weren¡¯t surprising to any of the elders since they knew her nature well. The only thing one could see on their aged faces was a slight hint of pride which they felt because of her.

    "Our Young Master Ru really doesn¡¯t disappoint. You are worthy of being the pride of our Shadowwick State." A heartyugh could be heard from the fourth elder who had been silently sipping on his tea all this while. "But as our future n leader, remember to never let other¡¯s words define your character. You know best who you are. And if your own conscience is clear, others would never matter."

    Ru thought over their words for a while before nodding her head. She cupped her fist in her hand and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder W¨³sh¨´!"

    These four elders were the reason why she respected the elders oddly well. She seemed to fit in them better than she could do with people of her own age.

    *End of shback*

    It took a while to get out of her reverie and in her daze, she said, "A person who can¡¯t even value his own origin or roots, how can that person face others? To make people believe in you, we have to first believe in ourselves. And if we are going to ept these so-called modern ways while forgetting our own roots, what¡¯d be the difference between us and the world?"

    Although Yuan was used to her unusual way of thinking, he was still stunned. He had never learned anything about his origin or roots. One could say that he didn¡¯t even know what status his own bloodline; Ji Family held in the entire nation. He really was clueless.

    Now, he finally knew how Ru had a vast knowledge and his... was limited even though he was a bookworm himself. The basic difference was she started from her own roots. She learned what she was before learning what world she lived in.

    "You never cease to amaze me..." His soft remark finally broke Ru¡¯s daze.

    She smiled at him and rubbed his head saying with a yful wink, "I was born to amaze people." Yuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at her words. She really couldpliment herself at every chance.

 Chapter 151 Am I A Genie?

    As their earlier heavy mood got a bit lightened, Yuan stretched his arm and nted firmly on Ru¡¯s shoulder. But his closeness didn¡¯t make her want to push him away. Perhaps since she had been trying to find her own brother in him, she really didn¡¯t mind much of his behavior at all.

    However, if this hand on her shoulder would have been of Xiao Zhi Ren then that¡¯d have been an entirely different matter. After all, whenever he came close, Ru¡¯s danger rm would go off. But what she didn¡¯t know was that Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s presence was like a warm summer breeze. He made her feel secure and Ru wasn¡¯t used to being protected. She had been the one protecting herself all this while and the idea of depending on someone else was truly foreign to her.

    "Oniisan, next week is my graduation. Would youe?" Yuan questioned with a bright smile on his face.

    "You are inviting me to your school?" Ru asked while Yuan was confused seeing her glimmering eyes.

    ¡¯What made him so happy? My graduation? Or...¡¯ Yuan kept his thoughts to himself while he asked cautiously, "Oniisan, are you this happy because I¡¯m graduating?"

    "Of course not!" Ru answered straightforwardly. "I¡¯m excited because you invited me to your school."

    "What is so exciting about school?" He really couldn¡¯t understand the reason.

    "I have never seen a high school from inside. So obviously, this is very exciting." Taking a pause she added, "Didn¡¯t I tell you that I was homeschooled my entire life? Although I have an enormous knowledge in my tiny brain, still I have no experience with real school systems."

    Yuan didn¡¯t know whether he should cry orugh at this point. He solemnly turned to Ru and held her shoulders making her face him. "Let me remind you, it¡¯s a ce we can call hell. Students are scheming and full of envy. All they know is how to get good grades. As for real knowledge like yours, nobody cares."

    Ru frowned for a while as she tapped her chin and said, "Are you trying to tell me that my school was better where schemes and envy didn¡¯t exist? And anyway, not everyone can be a genius like me."

    Yuan: "..."

    "Which school was that? How could teenagers not have the drive to exceed others?" Yuan asked in surprise.

    "Who said there was no drive to exceed others? It¡¯s just that when I was young my first lesson was that the root of evil begins with an envious heart. And a scheming person who tries to trample on others and look down on them is nothing more than scum. We are martial artists and our path requires us to walk alone and yet to never forget ourrades."

    Ru said so much that she realized she wasn¡¯t supposed to disclose this much. Perhaps she really was missing home and that¡¯s why she was bbering nonsense.

    "Ahan! You reallye from a martial arts family!" Yuan seemed quite excited at this discovery. He had a hunch but it was never confirmed at least until now.

    Ru rubbed the space between her brows and said, "Is that important?"

    "Yup!" Then he tugged at her arm like a spoiled kid and asked, "Are you like a real-life shinobi?"

    Ru raked her fingers through her thick hair and said, "You can say it like that." She really didn¡¯t know how to curb the curiosity of this youngster who learned all about ninjas and martial arts throughic books and animes.

    Yet she patiently tried to answer his all queries as they both walked towards ¡¯The Kimchi Stop¡¯ restaurant where Ru ordered two bowls of bibimbap along with some side dishes and some ginseng chicken soup.

    "Today, I¡¯ll teach you the art of eating." Yuan looked at the table full of food which indeed looked enticing but he didn¡¯t know how they were supposed to finish this all.

    "Isn¡¯t this too much?" he asked uncertainly.

    "Food is never too much and this will nourish your body. Stop whining like a kid. The first rule of eating is; don¡¯t think, just eat. First, feel the delicious aroma and that¡¯ll be enough to tempt your hunger."

    The way she was describing made Yuan really feel like this wasn¡¯t just-food. It was an art that he had to master. He picked up his chopsticks and slowly started tasting the food before him.

    "You have toe to my graduation." He reminded her again.

    "I will." She promised.

    "And if I got first ce in the entrance exam, you have to grant me a wish. Deal?"

    "Am I a genie?"

    "To me, yes!"

    Ru pressed her lips together before ruffling his hair and saying, "Deal!"

 Chapter 152 Pave My Way To Her Hear

    "Tomorrow is the board meeting. Will you be joining us?" Wu Dishi inquired Ru while he dropped her off at her apartmentplex.

    "Nope. Tomorrow, nobody is allowed to disturb me for anything." Ru naturally didn¡¯t tell him that she was gonna attend high school graduation. And Wu Dishi could only raise his brows in question but didn¡¯t have the guts to question any further.

    "Then I¡¯ll take my leave now..." He silently got back to the car and drove away.

    Ru didn¡¯t go inside the building, instead, she decided to stroll around in the park. While aimlessly walking around, her eyes fell on a familiar figure. Even in the faint light, she could see him clearly. When people get used to their darkness, they often learn to appreciate everything that shines brighter just like HIM.

    Without a care for his expensive tailor-made suit, he was perched down on the grass cross-legged with a frail cat snuggled in hisp while he was holding a box of cat food for her in his hand to eat. This scene was quite unusual but somehow she felt it was befitting his personality.

    She was about to move closer when she heard his light chuckle and stopped.

    "Little kitty, slow down. The food is not running away." He stroked the little kitten¡¯s fur lovingly and added, "You¡¯re just like her. She also puts her fangs out when I touch her food."

    ¡¯Is he talking to a cat?¡¯ Ru wondered to herself while her conscience retorted, ¡¯You talk to yourself, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s worse?¡¯ Ru grumbled incoherently to herself and wondered, ¡¯But who is he talking about?¡¯

    "But I can¡¯t even me her. She sought sce in food. And it even makes her smile contently." With a saddened expression he went on, "Broken hearts like hers tend to smile a lot even though it¡¯s fake. But broken hearts also loves harder than others. So, you should give me some courage. I want her to seek her sce in me passionately."

    "Meow!" The cat miaowed at him with her big green eyes.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rubbed her head and let her off hisp saying, "Thanks for your support. If these green eyes are with me, I¡¯m sure to make that ¡¯self-proimed genius green-eyes¡¯ mine."

    "Meow!" The cat ran behind the bushes after saying her goodbye with that meow.

    "Jiayou(Fighting) to you too!" Xiao Zhi Ren waved at her while shaking his head.

    "I didn¡¯t know that my sworn brother can understand catsnguage. How amazing!" Ru¡¯s voice stunned Xiao Zhi Ren.

    He slowly turned around to see Ru looking at him with a hint of amusement floating in her green eyes. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t worried that she would call him crazy for talking to a cat rather he was worried about how much did she hear.

    "Hey, when did you get here?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked feigning his calm demeanor. Inwardly, he was really messed up.

    "Long enough to see that even a cat is your supporter. What charms you have, Zhi! And you called me an enchanter. How unfair to the innocent me!" It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t hear what he said, she just didn¡¯t want to bring that up. She wasn¡¯t that muddle-headed to not understand that she was the one who sought sce in food and she was that other green eyes in his life.

    Scratching his head, he said, "I still believe, my charms are nowhere near a match for yours."

    "Thanks for thepliment!" Ru slightly curtsied making himugh louder and oddly, she felt like that sound was the only thing missing under this beautiful night sky.

    "So, How are you today?" He asked pacing up to her side but after asking this he noticed the way she struggled to keep her lips shut. "Just let it out."

    "How do you think your favorite person can be?" Ru really struggled to keep her conceitedness to a minimum but seriously, it didn¡¯t work.

    But what she didn¡¯t know was that Xiao Zhi Ren was also well-prepared. "Since I¡¯m trying to pave my way to my favorite person¡¯s heart, she¡¯d be doing the same, right?" Ru was caught by surprise at his blunt flirty remark. He was flirting, right? Of course, she was sure! She had flirted with plenty of girls herself but who knew this guy was dangerous! Tapping her forehead, he added, "I almost forgot, she had already paved her way to my heart. It¡¯s my turn now." With that, he skipped his way ahead leaving her stunned.

 Chapter 153 The Taste Of Your Lips

    When was thest time someone made Ru speechless... Hmm... That was indeed an interesting question.

    But it surely wasn¡¯t the first time. However, it could be called the second time that a guy managed to stun her with his words.

    But thest one was the memory of a person she never got to see. But the memory might not be as clear to her as it was to Xiao Zhi Ren himself.

    *shback*

    "I heard from the doctor that you¡¯re making a speedy recovery. Even he is surprised." He had said as he entered the room.

    "Why are you here?" She asked without giving any reaction.

    He looked at her for a while before replying, "Because you are here."

    "You should do what you really wanna do. Stop wasting your time in the hospital."

    He rolled his eyes at her and said, "No. I don¡¯t want to."

    "And why is that?" She couldn¡¯t understand herself why she was insisting on this argument but she couldn¡¯t stop herself.

    "Because I am already doing what I love to do." He answered softly while she felt his presence closer to herself.

    "What is that?" She asked curiously.

    His peppermint breath brushed past her cheek as he whispered, "Being here with you."

    Although he couldn¡¯t possibly see her expression because off the excessive wounds on her face, he still knew that she was stunned because she didn¡¯t bother saying a word after that and pretended to sleep.

    *End of shback*

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at that beautiful memory and turned to see Ru still frozen stuck where he left her. Now that he noticed... He realized she was really adorable with that speechless look on her face.

    "Aren¡¯t youing?" His voice brought Ru back to her senses.

    Ru shook her head to calm herself again and joined him while they walked together towards the apartmentplex.

    "Didn¡¯t take you for a cats person..." Ru casually remarked to get over the turmoil running amok in her heart.

    "That¡¯s a stray cat, I found herst week. She was quite weak. I wanted to take her home but Yuan is allergic to cats. So, I could only do this much." He exined seriously.

    "And then he says I¡¯m not a saint," Ru mumbled to herself.

    "What did you say?"

    "I said you could have taken her to a shelter." Ru tacitly changed her words.

    "And why would I take her freedom from her? She seems happy in this wilderness. And who knows if she¡¯d get a good home or not?" Seeing him getting all sentimental, Ru was really amused.

    "You and your obsession with saving lives."

    "If I remember correctly, I saved your life as well; right on this very road." Xiao Zhi Ren replied cheekily.

    "And I gave you a wish in return." She retorted.

    "Since you like traditions so much..." He abruptly stopped while turning her to face him and went on, "I heard there is a saying that one should pay the debt of saving a life with one¡¯s body. How about devoting yours to me?"

    Ru choked on air and started coughing profusely. He rubbed her back to soothe her while Ru hadplicated emotions. ¡¯What¡¯s wrong with him? Wasn¡¯t he introvert in flirting? When did a fox¡¯s spirit take over him?¡¯

    Ru took a step back and said, "Something is seriously wrong with you tonight."

    "There is..." He replied while taking a step towards her.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" She asked on instinctively.

    "I am happy."

    "Why?"

    Gripping both her arms in his own, he pulled her close. Their faces were barely inches away from each other. "You are here. That¡¯s enough to make me happy."

    Ru knew she was supposed to struggle out of his grip but why wasn¡¯t her body moving. She was supposed to, right?

    Giving a dryugh, she said, "Having a sworn brother like me can make anyone happy."

    Xiao Zhiren leaned forward just enough to let the tips of their nose touch but this slight touch was like a scorching heat that spread not just in their bodies but also in their surroundings giving an ambiguous view.

    "I have been wondering whether your lips taste as good as they look..." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared back into his eyes that were right in front of her... So up close. "But it¡¯s a shame we wouldn¡¯t find out since you are my SWORN BROTHER." He emphasized thest two words on purpose before letting his grip loose and stepping back.

    Nothing happened. It seemed like that for anyone. But only Ru and Xiao Zhiren knew what this small interaction did. For Xiao Zhiren, he finally took another step forward and not like a thief this time. For Ru, he was making their bond unclear.

 Chapter 154 Depressing Dressing Sense

    Just as Ru¡¯s previous belief, Xiao Zhi Ren seemed dangerous... At least, for her heart. But would she let him see her moment of doubt? No way! No matter what young master Ru only knows how to strike back.

    He had a satisfied smile on his face when Ru came to his side and started pacing around him in a circle with a pensive look. Her sharp eyes were scrutinizing him from head to toe making him feel a bit strange.

    "What are you doing? Stop circling around me, you are making me dizzy." Xiao Zhi Ren stopped her from moving.

    Instead of answering him, she lifted her hand to touch his forehead as if checking his temperature. Then she moved to take his pulse and shook her head as if his condition seemed not very optimistic to her. Her hands had wandered off to check his ear, his arms, she even pulled his hair making him gape in disbelief at her... One could say she was inspecting his body to see what was wrong with him. But her style was peculiar like herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was silently enjoying her every expression. When he saw her staring at his face steadfastly, he said, "I know I am handsome but you don¡¯t have to stare for this long."

    Suddenly, her eyes shed as she pointed at him, "Something has gotten into you."

    "Oh, really?"

    "Yes! Definitely! I can see it in your eyes."

    "What can you see?" He questioned with an impish grin.

    "That glint of self-obsession." She retorted matter-of-factly.

    "How weird! I thought I only had you in my eyes." His face was straight with no-nonsense attitude making Ru feel like there was really a wild fox who took hold of his soul. "It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t have me in your eyes... Yet..."

    Her eyes twitched as she really was lost for words for a second but she chose to disregard his remarks yet again and insisted, "I can¡¯t be wrong. I see the same self-obsession in my own eyes every single day."

    Now, Xiao Zhi Ren was looking at her disbelievingly. How can a person unt his own narcissism with pride and yet not give off the feeling of being obnoxious? He thought only she was capable of doing that.

    Rubbing her fluffy hair and while ignoring her scowl, he said, "Then I can only me you for that. Your conceitedness has finally managed to influence me as well."

    Shirking all the me on her shoulders, he even dared to grin before her. How I want to punch that pretty face of yours! Ru growled inwardly but then thought against it. It¡¯d be a pity to ruin such a handsome face.

    It was true that they were still bickering but somehow something changed. Xiao Zhi Ren knew that to make her notice him, he would have to be like her; shameless! And oddly shamelessly flirting like this with her was actually more exciting than he thought. How he loved her reactions, he couldn¡¯t even describe in words.

    "I heard Yuan invited you to his graduation..." He casually said while entering through the electronic ss doors of theplex.

    "Yes. He did."

    "You¡¯reing?"

    "Mhmm." She hummed in reply.

    "Wear something nice to look presentable." Ru¡¯s jaw dropped at his parting words. Was he implying that she was not handsome enough? How dare he!

    "I always look remarkably handsome. Don¡¯t need your reminder!" She shouted behind him. "You¡¯re just jealous of my charms."

    Without even turning to face her, he yelled back, "I won¡¯t be jealous of your depressing dressing sense."

    ¡¯Depressing? Dressing sense?¡¯ Those words rang in her mind like a broken record as she kept ring at his disappearing back. ¡¯When did her impable dressing sense turned into a depressing one? This is an insult! And I won¡¯t take it lying down!¡¯

 Chapter 155 To Impress Or Depress?

    No one had ever dared toment on her dressing sense and yet here he was telling her she had a depressing dressing sense. It was indirectly his way of telling her that she was depressed and it showed in the way she presented herself. It didn¡¯t matter even if her dark clothing senses gave off a mysterious charm. It really couldn¡¯t hide her feelings.

    The reason why she started wearing ck was very different but now... It could be said that she really was depressed or perhaps, just wanted to hide her own dark soul behind her dark clothes. People have a misconception about depression. They think depression means being sad, crying all alone or dressing in ck clothes.

    What they don¡¯t realize is that being depressed actually is nothing like that. Being depressed means feeling numb... To every single emotion.

    Coming back to her own apartment, she went straight to her closet and as she walked in, all that came before her; was ck shirts, ck pants, ck jeans, ck cargo pants. Any variation in there would be a slight grey colored clothing which was actually nothing worth mentioning.

    But as she turned to look around, she saw rows of shoes neatly aligned in racks. There were ss racks with an even bigger collection of watches that looked beautiful to her. She might not be a fan of wearing watches but she certainly loved to collect them. But today, her closet looked nd to her. She had the urge to bang her head against the wall.

    She spent barely fifteen minutes in her closet and yet this could be a record-breaking moment for her. She had never taken this long to choose her clothes before. Ever!

    Scratching the tip of her nose she walked out of there and suddenly the thought of Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s nose against hers prated through her mind. She immediately dropped her hand and looked for her cellphone. Stupid flirt! He is getting to my head.

    The first person that she called was... "Wu Dishi, I have to go somewhere tomorrow. Get me some new clothes."

    "Should I get a formal suit for you, master?" His answer made her already spoiled mood much worse.

    "Just forget it!" She directly hung up the phone. Why was it that this wanker always brought formal suits for her to wear? She might dressed depressingly but at least she wasn¡¯t dressed like a middle-aged man like him! He was infuriating sometimes.

    She scrolled through her contacts but couldn¡¯t decide who to call.

    "Raven, who loves to shop?" She suddenly decided to consult her own virtual assistant.

    "Girls do." Raven¡¯s answer was generic but it still made Ru¡¯s eyes sh with an idea.

    In her circle, there were barely any girls. But she decided to try her luck. She dialed the number at the top of her list and as the other person picked up, she shot out her question, "Adia, get your arse out of bed and find me some clothes."

    "Clothes?" She looked at the clock to see it was almost midnight and continued, "Right now?"

    "Why? You can¡¯t?" Ru¡¯s calm tone scared her so much that she immediately jumped out of bed.

    "I am right at your service, master. But... What kind of clothes are we talking about here? I mean, what¡¯s the asion?" Adia questioned gingerly while putting on her shoes.

    "Why are you asking me? If I had the slightest clue would I be calling you?"

    Adia was speechless. How was she supposed to know what her entric master was looking for? It was really a talent to understand Ru. "Then... Are you dressing to impress?"

    Ru furrowed her brows as she thought and said, "Nope. I¡¯m gonna dress to depress." An evil smile made its way on her face. And while Adia was trying toprehend her words, Ru added, "Choose something so impable that it makes others depress to see this lord¡¯s handsomeness."

    Adia¡¯s lips twitched while she rolled her eyes. "I will certainly make you look so good that people will hate themselves." And it won¡¯t take much. If your gorgeous face doesn¡¯t work, your deadly eyes have their own charm. She kept her thoughts to herself though to not let her already self-obsessed master feel even more conceited.

    "That sounds better," Ru answered cheerfully.

 Chapter 156 Steal My Thunder

    The graduation ceremony was about to begin and Yuan¡¯s eyes were stuck at the main gate. But he felt like his neck was going to get stiff but the people he was waiting for weren¡¯ting. With each passing second, his mood was getting worse.

    "Hey, grumpy uncle!" Zhang Han teased him from the side.

    Yuan gave a chilly look to him in response and he raised his hands in defense. "Just kidding! No need to get your knickers in a twist." He silently stood by his side since his own parents wereing anyway. Zhang Han¡¯s own mother was dead while his father was mostly busy with his new family and that¡¯s why Zhang Han lived with his maternal family which was Ji Family.

    And since he didn¡¯t want to make a huge scene here, he asked every single person to stay away from his graduation. Even if a single Ji Family member showed up, he¡¯d really get tired of the attention.

    On the stage, the head-teacher asked the senior ss to take their seats.

    And while everyone was going to take their seats, Yuan also decided to move inside the school. He¡¯d been waiting at the main gate for a long time. Suddenly, a Bentley was parked outside the school and a tall figure emerged d in Khaki Trousers with a white shirt while the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. There was a deep green tie- almost ck- hung loosely around the cor which matched with his ck oxford dress shoes.

    "Your brother is here," Zhang Han nudged Yuan who turned to see his elder brother. Xiao Zhi Ren had a professional sternness on his handsome face but as his eyes fell on Yuan from afar, instantly a gentleness could be seen in his pair of ck orbs.

    Before he could make his way inside, the sound of loud revving could be heard as the two speeding sports cars parked right beside him.

    From the red convertible on his right side came out the cheery and yful face of his own brother, Ji Syaoran. He was wearing casual ripped jeans along with a ck and white striped t-shirt and he matched it with a ck zer and his white converse.

    While Zhiren looked like a responsible person, Ran Zi was like a yboy.

    "What are you doing here?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked.

    "My brother and my nephew are graduating. I had toe like a responsible elder." Ran Zi answered with a huge grin.

    "Which you are not." The remark came from Xiao Zhi Ren but it was mixed along with another voice that came from behind them.

    And now that they both noticed, they saw that the blue sports car on the left side of Zhiren also had a familiar face in it.

    While raking her fingers through her untamed hair, Ru came to stand beside both of them with a lopsided grin stered on her face.

    Both brothers couldn¡¯t help but give her a once over as she casually took off her sunsses. Her long legs were wrapped in skinny fit ivy chinos with a skinny fit white button-up shirt which had hints of sky blue patterns. The shirt was half-tucked while giving a perfect view of her leather belt which matched her Tan dress boots.

    The top two buttons of her shirt were undone giving a clear view of her prominent cor-bones. Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes darkened at the sight.

    "I think we should move inside." She said to both of them while she was rolling her sleeves a bit to unt her watch. "Did I dazzled you with my handsomeness?" She whispered especially close to Xiao Zhi Ren before making her way inside the school gates.

    While the three of them walked side by side with Ru being in the middle; they really were a sight to bedazzle anyone. Ru¡¯s reckless mboyance with that emerald stud on her right earlobe was aplete contrast with others beside her. And yet, her free and unrestrained aura couldn¡¯t overshadow her noble air.

    Both Zhang Han and Yuan could only gape at this sight while these ¡¯two and a half men¡¯ created a huge stir. A half men would be our Ru who was only disguised as one.

    "Button up your shirt," Xiao Zhiren said leaning towards Ru.

    "Don¡¯t want to." She answered inly making him gnash his teeth in annoyance.

    "Rong is hell-bent on stealing my thunder. What a shame!" Ru turned to Ran Zi who wasining.

    "It¡¯s Yuan¡¯s day. Not ours. Also, I don¡¯t have to steal your thunder, mine alone is far enough." Her haughty remark ended with a grin which was directed towards Yuan as she hugged him, "Let¡¯s get your medals. Fighting!"

    Yuan nodded and reciprocated her gesture, "Fighting!"

 Chapter 157 My Girl

    During the whole graduation ceremony, they caught a lot of unwanted attention whether it was Zhiren, Ran Zi or Ru. They had suddenly be a topic of discussion for many.

    And the school results weren¡¯t surprising at all. Yuan had indeed gotten the award for the top student and even topped his entrance exam in the whole capital. Because of that when he was called on stage to collect his certificate and medal, Ru not only stood up to p for him, she even dared to blow a loud whistle for him.

    Xiao Zhiren had to pull that excited bunny down before he could knock some sense into her but seeing her glimmering eyes, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything at all. He knew she was wanton but didn¡¯t her charms lied in that? He really couldn¡¯tin.

    While Yuan was the first, Zhang Han was pushed to second but he wasn¡¯t the oneining since he had other achievements to unt proudly. He was the ss president and also a member of different clubs. It had given him a huge advantage.

    After the long ceremony, they hurried over to Yuan and Zhang Han.

    "Congrattions to both of you!"

    Yuan and Zhang Hanughed happily since it was the end of high school life while they talked casually with each other.

    "We should have a celebration." Obviously, the idea came from the ever-ready party fanatic, Ran Zi.

    "Can¡¯t you think of anything else?" Zhiren pped the back of his head. Ran Zi scowled but still shook his head in negation.

    "Does celebration means a lot of free food?" Zhiren rolled his eyes at Ru while the others burst outughing.

    "Great! One is looking for a celebration to get a reason to drink and the other for free food. I¡¯m really stuck between one hell of people."

    Both Yuan and Zhang Han silently chuckled while Ru and Ran Zi shared a look before shrugging their shoulder in nonchnce.

    "Oi! Little squirrel, your girlfriend ising." Ru nudged Yuan towards the petite girl who was walking toward them.

    Seeing her, Yuan scrunched up his nose and said, "Neither is she my girlfriend and nor am I interested in her. She¡¯s Han¡¯s love interest."

    Feeling curious gazes on himself, Zhang Han rubbed his forehead saying, "I have decided to stay celibate for a lifetime. So, no love interest at all." His denial made the already curious gazes even more eager.

    "Let¡¯s get out of here before she catches up with us," Yuan started dragging them away since he really didn¡¯t want to have any interaction with Shen Yue. She was the reason Zhang Han and he got into a fight and became acquainted before bing best friends. But since Zhang Han was interested in her at first and she was looking for Yuan, both of them had a tacit decision to mutually avoid her.

    Listening to their exnation while leaving the school grounds, Ru said, "That¡¯s a smart move. A girl who makes you fight with your friend is really not worth it."

    "Stop misguiding youngsters." Zhiren¡¯s stern voice came from behind and Ru turned her face to stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

    "I¡¯m certainly not misguiding them. I¡¯m just warning them to be beware of girls with alternative motives. Also, they are too young to get into a rtionship. I mean look at us. Aren¡¯t we still wandering alone?" Ru¡¯s remark got both youngsters to give these three people some weird looks.

    "Talk about yourself... I¡¯m in the process of chasing my girl." Zhiren answered as if it was the most normal thing to say. While Ru¡¯s step halted before sheposed herself at, ¡¯My girl¡¯. Like, seriously? When did she be his?

    "Bro, are you serious?" Both Ran Zi and Yuan inquired simultaneously with disbelief clearly visible on their faces. Because they were the ones most clear about Zhiren¡¯s non-existing love life.

    "Both of you don¡¯t need to know." Zhiren conveniently waved them off and alighted his car. Rolling down his window pane, he asked, "Yuan, are youing with me?"

    Yuan shook his head without hesitation and said, "I¡¯m joining Oniisan."

    "Okay, then Han ising with me and Xiao Hong will be joining us at the venue." Ran Zi stated as he beckoned Han.

    While everyone got in their own respective cars, Ran Zi horned to get Ru¡¯s attention and said, "How about a race?"

    "Heh! Don¡¯t cryter." Saying that she winked at him before pushing her sunsses up her nose bridge.

    And that¡¯s how both the sports car revved on the road like a leopard after its prey. Only Xiao Zhiren was left out of the game but he was fine with it. Someone was needed to pray for those two reckless drivers.

 Chapter 158 Crush & First Love

    Zhiren naturally had faith in both Ru and Ran Zi but how could he possibly not know about their reckless obsession for winning. That is why he was restless until he reached the clubhouse.

    "Who won?" He inquired first hand as he saw Ru and Ran Zi giving each other a high five.

    "Is it not obvious?" Ru chirped while wiggling her brows at him.

    Xiao Zhiren thought he really was asking a dumb question. How could she let anyone win? Shaking his head, he entered the clubhouse and walked straight to the private hall they had booked already.

    However, Ru didn¡¯t follow them inside immediately. She received a call and stayed out. Although she had asked Wu Dishi to not contact her, the Knight Empire still needed her for some decision. She spent quite a bit of time outside the club before joining others.

    Ran Zi was really a party fanatic since the room was filled with food and liquor when she got there. And seeing the way how he had begun to drink already, she realized he really was into alcohol.

    "How about a drink, Rong?" Ran Zi offered.

    "If you insist, then I¡¯ll take Baiju." Ru didn¡¯t feel like turning him down. It was a celebration anyway and alcohol was a must.

    "Where is your sister?" She asked while taking a sip of her drink.

    "Xiao Hong ising from France. Her flight must have been dyed." Shrugging his shoulder nonchntly he added, "She¡¯ll be here though."

    She sat down in a corner to reply to some emails as she zoned out everything around her whether it was chatter or the loud music yed by the youngsters.

    But in her distraction, she also didn¡¯t realize how many sses of Baiju she had gulped down. Only Zhiren noticed her speed of emptying the alcohol as if she was drinking water.

    "Oniisan, let¡¯s y with us." As Yuan specifically tapped her shoulder, she finally looked up from her screen and smiled at Yuan. She couldn¡¯t possibly say no to him.

    "What¡¯s the game?" She asked curiously.

    "The game of truth and dare." Zhang Han jutted in.

    "Huh? Isn¡¯t that boring?" Ru voiced out her displeasure softly. "How do we y it?" She asked.

    She was then enlightened by the rules of one of the most childish games of her life. It was simple. Each had to pick three cards out of the deck and the person with the lowest card value will be asked a question or given a dare by the person with the highest card value.

    In the first round of the game, Yuan was the one with the lowest card values while Ran Zi had the highest number. Oddly, in her own first try, she became the one with the lowest card value while Yuan was the king.

    "So, my question is simple... Oniisan, are you single or taken?" Yuan asked with a sly smile while Ru gave him a slightly dazed look.

    "Who cares? I¡¯m awesome anyway!" Ru answered cheekily making them burst outughing.

    "Someone knows how to y this game." Ran Zi remarked as he gave Ru a fleeting nce.

    In the next round, she was again stuck with the lowest number and wondered, was her luck really this bad? Was it just bad luck? Or she really didn¡¯t understand this simple game?

    This time though she was stuck with Ran Zi.

    "Rong..."

    "Yes..."

    "Hmm..." He thought long and hard before saying, "Call your crush and express your love to her."

    Xiao Zhiren coughed a bit.

    Ru thought and extended her hand saying, "Give me your phone." Ran Zi didn¡¯t know what she was up to but he still passed his cellphone. She typed something and waited. After a while, she passed the phone back saying, "My crush is not picking up."

    "Didn¡¯t you just called yourself?" Zhiren was the one who pointed this fact out since he knew her best.

    Ru smiled shamelessly and said, "With this gorgeous face, why would I have any other crush? Self-love is the most important one. Naturally, I am my own crush and first love."

    Ran Zi¡¯s lips twitched while Zhiren shook his head at her. This proud peacock was always ready to show off his narcissism. Can¡¯t she stop for once?

    Ignoring her, the resumed the game. The highest one was again Ran Zi and he asked Xiao Zhiren, "If the girl you love had been here, what would you say to her?"

    Unconsciously, Ru¡¯s eyes shifted to his face only to realize he was staring back at her intently. With a brief pause, Zhiren answered, "I would ask her to start smiling. Because she is my reason to smile and it hurts when she puts on a facade of happiness."

 Chapter 159 Vicious Ru

    Ru was already looking at him with a thoughtful look on her face and somehow, Zhiren knew that she was aware of who he was talking about. Maybe that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t stop at just that and went on, "I would tell her that I know she likes to keep everything inside because she doesn¡¯t want to hurt others but she should stop destroying herself with that pain as well."

    His honest and heartfelt words moved everyone in the room and Ru wasn¡¯t an exception except she didn¡¯t know how to answer him.

    "Bro, what kind of a person is your crush?" Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ask as he felt that his brother was acting weird.

    "She isn¡¯t my crush. She¡¯s the love of my life. As for what kind of a person she is... She is a damaged person." His eyes were still stuck on Ru¡¯s impassive face while she kept drinking but this time, she had changed her preferences to the soju that was ced before her.

    After gulping down a bottle of soju without a break, she suddenlyughed changing the room¡¯s heavy atmosphere. "Zhi Hyung, beware of damaged people."

    "And why is that so?" Zhiren asked as he stared at her intently.

    She gave a bitter smile while her eyes dimmed a bit. "Because damaged people are dangerous... They have already built homes in hell and people like you might be burnt in the mes of their personal hell before you could even touch their shadow."

    The silence in the room was growing thicker and there wasn¡¯t a slight change in Zhiren¡¯s expression as he said, "Or perhaps damaged people are just hiding behind a facade."

    Ru definitely didn¡¯t agree with him and retorted, "If the facade is worn for too long, eventually it makes it difficult to differentiate between reality and masks."

    Zhiren took a deep breath to calm himself as he wasn¡¯t nning on arguing and said, "It doesn¡¯t matter. There are feelings that can bring the best of a person out. For instance, love."

    Ru scoffed at him saying, "The story of an antagonist always begins with her/his love for the wrong person."

    This time, Zhiren wasn¡¯t nning on taking it lying down. "But if the love is real, it¡¯s worth all the fights and obstacles. Because it can heal every single scar and pain."

    Ru snorted again, "Even fake love leaves behind a real pain, how can real love be any better?"

    The other people in the room realized that this argument was getting intense. It was as if both of them were hell-bent on proving their own point. In reality, Ru could agree with each word he said but would she really do that? She wasn¡¯t nning on doing so. If he was getting good at flirting with his sweet words, she was still Ru who knew how to cut a person with her harsh words.

    Coughing awkwardly to release the tension in the room, Ran Zi tried to joke, "Rong, you really have some violent attacks." He had never seen anyone snubbing his elder brother like that before. It was like Ru was his match in words.

    "Violent?" Ru didn¡¯t like that word for some reason. "Get your facts clear, I¡¯m vicious... And that¡¯s my most amazing personality trait."

    Ran Zi couldn¡¯t possibly argue with that at this point. So, he turned to Zhiren and said, "Bro, I can see you¡¯re head over heels in love. That¡¯s too much love right there in your eyes."

    Before Zhiren could say anything, Ru cut in again, "Too much is never good for health. Because that too much eventually hurts you so much that it¡¯s beyond your imagination."

    Ran Zi saw the way Zhiren¡¯s eyes were getting darker and wanted to either knock his own head or shut Ru¡¯s vicious tongue. Why was she provoking Zhiren, none of them could tell.

    Ran Zi didn¡¯t dare to even breathe loudly in fear that he would make his brother even angrier while Zhiren had closed his eyes to calm himself. He was trying hard to stop her words from getting to him. He won¡¯t let her negative mind ruin his beliefs. Never! Because if he had the slightest doubt in himself, he won¡¯t be able to get her ever in his life. And that was exactly the game what Ru was ying with him.

    She was testing his willpower. His beliefs. Most importantly, his self proimed love for her.

    Unclenching his fists, Zhiren opened his eyes that looked tranquil like water and said, "Even if she left me sad and heartbroken, I believe she¡¯d still be able to make me smile." With that, he shed a beautiful smile towards her.

    Ru pressed her lips together but stayed quiet.

 Chapter 160 Nice Meeting You

    Not wanting to stay inside to argue any further, Ru shot up from her seat and excused herself for a while. After a moment of thinking, Xiao Zhiren followed her out to the corridor.

    She was pacing in the corridor with her face hidden behind thick smoke. As she lifted her hand to bit the cigarette again, Xiao Zhiren watched herzy movements as if there was a huge storm behind her calm face.

    "What was that?" Hearing his voice, Ru lifted her eyes a bit to see his gloomy face.

    "What was what?" She feigned ignorance with a nonchnt smile.

    "What you just did inside?" He added.

    "I did something inside? Why can¡¯t I remember it?" Ru gave a thoughtful look while stubbing her cigarette in her hand and throwing it straight to the wastebin at the side.

    Xiao Zhiren red at her saying, "Stop pretending. You argued with me on purpose."

    "Of course, I did." She didn¡¯t bother denying it at all. "But did I say something wrong?"

    "What you said was right for you but what I said will always stay right to me." She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her again saying, "You better stop it."

    "Stop what exactly?" She asked.

    "Stop trying to push me away!" His voice had raised a bit while stared intently at her to see her eyes widening up a bit before getting back their usual luster. Seeing how she stepped back a bit from him, he felt disappointed and changed his words, "I mean, stop trying to push everyone away with your vicious tongue. These word games will get you nowhere except for a ce called loneliness."

    "Game of words?" She mumbled to herself. "Every person have a reason behind why they are ying the game." Sighing heavily, she went on, "Besides, I just wanted you to know that the worst paines with the love that you can¡¯t have. Don¡¯t push yourself towards such pain, it will leave behind a storm of tears."

    This time Xiao Zhiren scoffed at her words. "Tears of pain, regret or sadness... All of them hurt but the ones which are never shed... They are the worst because they are capable of eroding our souls."

    His words were surely a straight taunt to her. She didn¡¯t shed tears but was it her fault? She didn¡¯t even know the emotions that could bring the tears. Pain? She got used to it long ago. Regrets? She didn¡¯t like having such useless emotions. As for sadness? What really was sadness?

    Looking into her green eyes brimming with confusion, he added, "I honestly don¡¯t know how long you had been hearing things. But don¡¯t you think, it¡¯s time to start listening with care. Give up on existing already and give yourself a chance to live instead. What you look at can¡¯t always be true. So, start seeing..." ¡¯I want you to see me. Offering you the love that you need.¡¯ With a heavy heart, he added, "And if you can¡¯t see, try feeling." ¡¯All my feelings are for you anyway.¡¯

    She felt her heart beating a bit faster than it usually did. What was wrong? She was perplexed while her conscience had to remind her, ¡¯You closed your eyes, not wanting to see his passionate gaze. You even closed your ears to avoid his sincere words. But how are you going to close to your heart to keep his feelings at bay? That¡¯s the one thing you can¡¯t possibly rule over.¡¯

    "You¡¯re talking like you¡¯ve lived through my life," Ru mumbled softly barely audible.

    "I know you think that I don¡¯t understand you but don¡¯t you think that you also don¡¯t understand me at all? We both have the right to have opinions about each other but is it necessary to build a wall all over again between us just so that we could keep our bubble of opinions from bursting?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words quietened her up, unexpectedly. "Words cut deeper than knives. Stop using them so carelessly."

    As he turned to leave, he heard herugh and faced her again. She stretched her hand out to him and said, "It¡¯s nice to meet you, Xiao Zhiren." The way she said his full name stunned him. Wasn¡¯t it the first time, she actually called his full name? "It¡¯s really nice meeting you." She added again since she realized, it was possibly the first time someone actually dared to lecture her like this.

    Xiao Zhiren skeptically lifted his hand to shake hers but suddenly her face turned white like paper as she stared behind him in disbelief. Her eyes were about to pop out of her sockets.

 Chapter 161 Big & Warm Hug

    The person behind Xiao Zhiren also noticed her presence; he seemed stunned for a split second. Instinctively, Ru shrank and took Zhiren¡¯s well-proportioned body as a shield.

    "Bloody son of a bachelor! What the bloody hell is he doing here?" She whisper-screamed to herself with agitation.

    It was rare for Zhiren to see her swearing. She usually had an eloquent way of speaking.

    Through the ss walls along the sides of the corridor, she could see his figureing close in curiosity and without even thinking, she held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s cor and moved him along to the wall. The posture was ambiguous since she had her back pressed against the wall and Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body was towering above hers. That left little to the imagination for onlookers and the person who was making his way towards her also halted in his steps.

    There was certainly no way his Ru¡¯er would be willing to have this close physical body contact with others. A certain person was thinking while retracting his steps to leave them alone. However, at the end of the corridor, he halted again. But was he really mistaking?

    Suddenly, Ru¡¯s phone vibrated and without even looking at the caller id, she said, "Bloody bastard! Just go already, why are you calling me now?"

    "How do you know who¡¯s calling?" Xiao Zhiren questioned curiously. Although she had dragged him along and was still clutching his cor, he definitely wasn¡¯t the oneining. Why would he? She was willingly so close to him that he could smell a hint of lemon and jasmine on her neck. That was one bittersweetbination but it still managed to overwhelm his rationality.

    She slight nudged him while rummaging her phone out and coughed slightly as she picked up the call, "Long time no see, JieJie!" Hearing that familiar feminine voice, Xiao Zhiren was left even more stunned than he already was. How the hell did she do it? Hold on, the main point is, who is JieJie?

    "Ru¡¯er, where are you?" The question was the first thing that came as she had expected. What she didn¡¯t expect was seeing Zhu Jie here in this clubhouse. And it shocked her so much that she decided to hide. If he knew she was in China for months without telling him, he¡¯ll certainly won¡¯t let her live in peace.

    "Guess?" She tried being over-smart with him as always.

    "Don¡¯t want to." He answered inly while his eyes were still stuck on the pair of men stuck close to each other in the corridor.

    "How mean, JieJie! I had been in your dreams and yet you don¡¯t care to admit?" Zhu Jie¡¯s mouth twitched at her words while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s heart stopped beating for a millisecond.

    "I¡¯m in no mood of joking, Ru¡¯er!" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice turned sharper making Ru want to curse him for reading through her tricks. This best friend was certainly not easy to fool.

    "Okay, I¡¯m in Zurich. Why? Can I help you with something?" Ru lied straight through her teeth while she had crossed her pointer over the middle finger of the left hand.

    Zhu Jie stayed silent for a moment before saying, "Forget it. Tell me, how are you?"

    Ru heaved a sigh of relief as she felt that she survived through his initial attacks. "Well, Zurich is a bit cold. So, why don¡¯t youe over to give me a big and warm hug? I¡¯ll be fine instantly."

    She really had no clue that her human shield was turning colder with each passing second.

    "I¡¯d love to give you a big and warm hug but I can¡¯t. I¡¯m stuck in Imperial Capital." Zhu Jie replied with a smile. It was rare seeing his best friend acting in a cheeky manner.

    "Why are you in Imperial?" She tried to sound casual as much as possible.

    "Have you forgotten? The Zhu Family lives in Imperial." Ru nodded as she suddenly thought how foolish her question was. "Anyway, what are you up to?"

    "I¡¯m busy." She replied solemnly.

    "Oh, with what? And what about that lover boy of yours?"

    "You can say, I¡¯m busy trying to add that lover boy in my to-DO list." Her suggestive tone andplicated gaze were directed towards Zhiren who was busy brooding over his own thoughts.

    Wasn¡¯t Alev Knight enough ofpetition for him? Where was this personing from? With the voice and tone that she used for him was really full of love and tenderness. It made his heart feel bitter and sour. This was so not fair with him.

    However, Zhu Jie was coughing profusely as he really didn¡¯t expect such words from her. Anyone but HER!

    "It seems like lover boy is getting to your head."

    "I feel the same way, bro!"

 Chapter 162 A Bittersweet Kiss?

    Her sinful and wilful nonchnce might have been overlooked by Xiao Zhiren but Zhu Jie knew her like the back of his own hand. That lover boy really had taken action! This news was a happy surprise to him and hepletely dropped his suspicion of seeing her here. Perhaps, he had a little too much to drink earlier.

    "Why do I feel like he might soon be able to cross the ice-cold walls around your heart? Or maybe, he could melt them away." Zhu Jie voiced out in a pleasantly happy way.

    "Let¡¯s not assume things," Ru replied calmly and saw Xiao Zhiren taking a few steps back to maintain some distance between them while his face looked dark.

    "Careful my dearest friend, your words cane back to bite you." After that, the conversation was rather formal and basic.

    After she hung up the phone, she was left with a smile on her face which felt like it was piercing his heart. She had never smiled like this at him. It was pure love in her eyes. Damn it! Who the hell was on that phone call?

    "Was-Was it your boyfriend?" He asked cautiously.

    ¡¯Boyfriend? Jie is a boy and my friend. So...¡¯ "Yup!" She answered with her own logic in mind while Zhiren had somethingpletely different in his mind.

    He bit his lower lip in an effort to calm himself and said, "I thought Alev Knight was your boyfriend."

    "You can say that too." She answered absentmindedly.

    "But you said inside that you are your own crush." He reminded her of her own words which werepletely contradicting.

    "But a crush doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be your boyfriend. I have plenty of boyfriends but no crush other than myself." She retorted while trying to figure out what exactly was going on with him.

    "F*ck! Rong, are you nning on opening a harem?" Xiao Zhiren snapped at her with a re.

    "Harem? Have you lost your mind? How can my friends be a part of my harem?" She questioned curiously. She seriously was questioning his sanity but how could he be sane when his rationality was thrown out the window already. She was back to talking like a male while she talked so nicely to the person over the phone. It made him beyond jealous!

    "They. Are. Your. Boyfriends." He enunciated each word through gritted teeth.

    "Aren¡¯t you also my boyfriend?" Her words took him by surprise. No, it was definitely; shock! "I mean, you are also a boy and can be considered a friend at this point. That makes you a boyfriend as well."

    When her words finally sank in, Xiao Zhiren realized how wrong he was. He was losing his rationality way too easily because of her. But it wasn¡¯t his fault. There were too many bees around his honey.

    He was suddenly so happy that he couldn¡¯t possibly describe in words at all. She was about to walk away when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "I have a question."

    At first, she frowned at his sudden pull but straightening up, she said, "Ask away."

    "Who was on the phone call?" His hands hade to rest on her waist and Ru could feel the heat of his big hands through the thin fabric of her shirt.

    "Ummm..." She was lost for words for a second before saying, "Someone who lectured me about making nice memories. I don¡¯t even know what nice memories are. How am I gonna make some?" She was trying to joke but he suddenly pulled her body close, leaving no space between them anymore.

    His eyes were looking into hers but they had slightly shifted to look at her lips which were pressed together. He lifted his eyelids to look into her eyes again.

    As his one hand lifted to brush her fringes away from her eyes, she asked, "What are you doing?"

    He gave a lowugh which seemed to breeze through her lips as he asked, "Why? Are you scared?"

    Ru chuckled mischievously and said, "Scared? And me? What a jok..."

    The rest of the words were died down on her tongue as his face leaned forward to kiss her lips. It caught her off guard since he had yed the same game before with her but nothing happened back then.

    This was apletely new territory for Ru who had ventured off to extreme ces.

    The kiss certainly carried his spearmint mint aroma which she could taste in her own mouth. His heated breath was on her along with his warm lips pressing on hers. Before she coulde back to senses and push him away, he bit her lips a bit harshly making her gasp.

    "Now, this is your bittersweet memory."

 Chapter 163 Kiss Was Intentional

    Even though her lips tasted like tobo and alcohol, for the first time, he didn¡¯t despise it at all. It felt more of like an intoxicating drug that made it too hard for him to pull away but he couldn¡¯t possibly push his luck too far.

    Didn¡¯t want this proud peacock to run away!

    But as soon as he pulled away, he felt at a loss as if someone stole a part of himself. But the way her eyes were blinking back at him made him feel aplished.

    Ru¡¯s mind had gone numb along with her lips and she only recovered when his voice registered in her mind. But on reflex, her hand lifted up to strike her palm straight at his chest. However, Xiao Zhiren had sharp instincts and he moved out of her reach of time but still, her hand had grazed past his shoulder which instantly felt a stinging pain.

    The way her hand moved made Xiao Zhiren gulp since he could imagine the consequences of that strike if it hadnded on his chest. Was she nning on killing him? Not really! It was her body¡¯s reaction which had nothing to do with her mind or her heart. Just like her body had given up on listening to her mind the moment he touched her.

    But Ru, on the other hand, waspletely in a daze. She lifted her fingers to touch her lips that could still feel some tingling sensation that felt a bit strange. She lifted her head to look at him and unconsciously her eyes dropped to his lips.

    She turned on her heels to leave when she heard his voice, "Didn¡¯t like the memory? I was just teaching you how to make some memories since you seemed clueless." He really wanted to smack himself for trying to irk her but he just couldn¡¯t stop his own words from tumbling out.

    She faced him again and quietly observed his face while he was stretching his arm before sighing out, "I¡¯m sorry for hurting you. It wasn¡¯t intentional. It happened on reflex."

    "Ah..." He stepped close to her again and whispered, "But my kiss was intentional and I won¡¯t be apologizing for it." He tapped her nose with the tip of his finger before striding back to the room. His shoulder felt a bit ufortable because of the blow it received earlier but it wasn¡¯t something particrly unbearable.

    As his silhouette disappeared from her vision, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the wall. ¡¯What the hell just happened?¡¯

    ¡¯I would say, he just took your official first kiss.¡¯ As her conscience reminded her of this fact, Ru held her head in her hands and felt like the world was getting dizzy. Was the ground shaking or was she hallucinating? Whichever it was, she had no n on confirming it at this time.

    She wanted to escape from here. That was the only thing in her mind and since she had seen Zhu Jie leaving from the normal route, she didn¡¯t want to take her chances and that¡¯s why she chose a window and jumped down without thinking.

    Jumping down from the fourth floor was done in a sh and she hadnded perfectly well. Getting up, she dusted off her hands and rubbed the nape of her neck.

    "I didn¡¯t know Zurich is in Imperial Capital."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened at that voice and in extremely slow motion, she rotated her neck to look behind. Sure enough, there he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed before his chest.

    Pushing his body off of the wall, he came out of the dark corner and smiled at her rather furiously. "I didn¡¯t know our Ru¡¯er is so good at lying now."

    Ru was cursing her luck for this game. Why was this day taking such unexpected turns? She didn¡¯t want to get caught earlier when she was with Xiao Zhiren, let alone now when she could still feel his presence on her lips. Why was this best friend too good at reading her?

 Chapter 164 Stupid Alcohol!

    Meanwhile, when Xiao Zhiren came inside the room and sat beside Ran Zi, he was so lost in his own sweet world of bliss that he failed to notice the way Ran Zi was trembling beside him.

    "Big bear, where is Oniisan?" Yuan questioned as he saw that only Xiao Zhiren was back but Ru was missing.

    "He¡¯ll be back after calming down." Xiao Zhiren replied with a mysterious smile while Yuanpletely failed to understand his brother¡¯s meaning.

    However, there was someone who looked horrified. Ran Zi was about to go crazy. Earlier, he had wanted to leave the room to attend a call when he encountered his brother kissing Ru. He was shocked beyond belief.

    He kept reminding himself that his brother had someone in his heart and what he saw was just his own mind ying games with him. ¡¯Stupid alcohol! I¡¯m never touching you again!¡¯ He red at the liquor before him. ¡¯But what if being alone all these years really made bro too lonely? And Rong is even an enchanter, I can¡¯t me bro for falling for him. Urgh! I¡¯m losing my mind now!¡¯

    Seeing Ran Zi¡¯s unwavering gaze at himself, Xiao Zhiren raised his brow, "Are you alright, Ran Zi?"

    Ran Zi was jolted awake and he nodded his head with much difficulty. He lifted his hand and patted his brother¡¯s shoulder saying, "Bro, I¡¯m always with you. No matter what you do, just remember that I¡¯ll be right there to support you."

    Xiao Zhiren took his words to be just his drunken bbering and said, "I know. You don¡¯t need to tell me that."

    Ran Zi gave him a sad smile and thought, ¡¯Right, I should be by his side. So what if he likes Rong? We live in the modern era. Everything is possible. I shouldn¡¯t make it difficult for him at all.¡¯

    He was the true example of the brother who would always support his brother at any cost. If Xiao Zhiren said to stand, there was no way that Ran Zi would dare to sit. But now, he was thinking about how he was going to pretend like he knew nothing about that kiss. After all, he had always been really bad at hiding things from Xiao Zhiren.

    His predicament was avoided for the time being as the door opened and Ji Caihong entered along with another girl.

    "Sorry, I¡¯mte." She cheerfully started talking while going around to Zhang Han and Yuan¡¯s side. "Oh, right. That¡¯s Tang Yiyi. My best friend." She introduced the girl standing at the side in a pure white dress looking like a well-mannereddy.

    "Hello!" Tang Yiyi greeted everyone and added, "Congrattions on your graduation." She passed a bouquet of flowers to both Zhang Han and Yuan politely with a smile.

    After the initial introduction, Ran Zi pulled his sister to his side and gritted his teeth saying, "Why did you bring that thing with you?"

    "Ran-Ge! Yiyi is my friend, not a thing. I told you to be nice to her." Ji Caihong didn¡¯t look pleased with her brother¡¯s way of speaking about her best friend.

    "She¡¯s your friend, keep her in your circle. This is a family thing. You can¡¯t bring an outsider." Ran Zi added sternly.

    "But you told me that Ren-Ge was bringing Mr. Xie Rong. That¡¯s why I brought a friend as well." She answered stubbornly.

    Ran Zi rolled his eyes at her and turned to his elder brother, "Bro, would you please enlighten our dear sister whether Xie Rong is a friend in this circle or family?"

    Although Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know his intention, he still answered, "Rong is a part of the family. Why?"

    Ran Zi gave Ji Caihong a knowing look which she disregarded and walked away from him. "Anyhow, where is Mr. Xie Rong?"

    "Outside. He¡¯ll be in soon." As Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice was heard. A pair of glossy eyes shed with a malicious light. But in the dim lights of the room, that person was gone unnoticed except for Ran Zi whose eyes had been on that person from the beginning.

 Chapter 165 Lost My First Kiss

    "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Can¡¯t you let go of my ear?" Ru was trying to pry Zhu Jie¡¯s hand off of her ear which was brutally assaulted. "Don¡¯t test my patience!" She red at him furiously.

    He suddenly let go of her ear and stood in front of her saying, "Go ahead. Hit me." He held a challenging stance but no matter how irked Ru was inward, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hit him.

    She unclenched her fists and stomped her foot in exasperation. "You¡¯re taking advantage of the fact that I love you. This is so unfair, bro!"

    "Ow!" He pulled her hair making her yelp. "Not my hair! That¡¯s off-limits and you know that!"

    Zhu Jie didn¡¯t touch her hair again but didn¡¯t let go of the matter as well. "How could you lie to me? Since when did my Ru¡¯er start lying to me?"

    Ru stood like a child who was guilty while shifting her weight from one leg to another. "I didn¡¯t technically lie. I was just hiding. There is a difference." She still stubbornly held her ground.

    "When did youe to Imperial?" Ru cursed in her mind knowing this question was unavoidable. He wasn¡¯t letting her off now, if he knew she had been here for half a year, he might go berserk on her. No, no... This was a dangerous question.

    "You see I was just about to tell you-"

    His sharp voice cut her off, "Since when?"

    "Does that matter?" She questioned annoyingly.

    He knocked her head and said, "You t-head! Stop trying to avoid my question. I still have old scores to settle with you."

    Ru frowned while rubbing the side of her head and said, "You! Smurf-face! Why are you using me? There are no old scores between us."

    "Little banana shenanigan! Don¡¯t try to trick me!"

    "Shut the front door! When did I trick you? I¡¯m the most innocent little guy." She spoke righteously with an innocent look.

    "Ha! Jerk-face, stop mixing your gender." He snapped back.

    "Bloody lipping¡¯ lizard, I¡¯m not mixing my gender." He gave her a pointed look and she promptly changed her words, "Fine, fine. I¡¯m the most innocent girl."

    "Are you really?" He asked rhetorically.

    "Hey! I¡¯m a girl. Don¡¯t question that at the very least."

    He stifled hisughter and said, "I was talking about you being innocent but it seems like even you don¡¯t have faith in your own gender."

    Ru gaped at him in disbelief. He tricked her! This evil little minx!

    She crossed her arms before her and turned her face away as if to dere that she was really mad at him now. He knew about her antics better than anyone. It was rare for her to act cute but she did it. And he was one of those lucky people who had to handle her grumpy self.

    Zhu Jie held her arms and said, "Get over with this grumpy look now. Your face will look like a balloon otherwise."

    Ru subconsciously lifted her hands to touch her face before shaking her head. Not wanting to fall for his words again.

    As he kept tugging at her arm, she finally had to react, "You called me jerk-face."

    "And you called me smurf-face. Am Iining?"

    "Whatever!" Her grumbling made himugh out in pleasure as he rubbed her hair lovingly.

    "So, does our Ru¡¯er still needs that big and warm hug?" She nodded her head vigorously making him amused. He pulled her in his arms like a little kid and said, "If your subordinates knew that their lord actually acts cute like this with her brother, they might get a heart attack."

    "What does that have to do with them? I¡¯m hugging my own brother, not theirs." She replied back.

    After a longfortable hug, he pushed her away slightly and said, "This little brother of mine is still changing topics."

    "Elder brother, you should get over it. The water has already gone under the bridge, let¡¯s not try to dig old graves now."

    Zhu Jie knew he couldn¡¯t win in words with her. She had her ways to sneak away. Technically, they were cousins but since they called each other brother from the beginning, none of them really changed it. She didn¡¯t want to be his little sister, so he treated her like a little brother and for her, he was a brother from the very first day.

    Tapping her forehead, he said, "Little brother, be nice and tell me how long have you been here?"

    ¡¯What the fudge! Why are we still stuck here?¡¯ She was yelling in her mind but had to maintain herposure for his sake. As if a lightbulb suddenly went on, she said, "I lost my first kiss."

 Chapter 166 With You, For You

    Zhu Jie ended up coughing profusely as her words fell into his ears. He stared at her disbelievingly. Holding her hand in his own, he dragged her saying, "Ru¡¯er, I saw a very good tea house around here. Let me treat you to some pastries. We can talk in detail."

    Ru was pleased seeing how his behavior took a 180-degree turn at the mere mention of this. She wasn¡¯t going to hide this from him anyway. So, why not just use it to her own advantage? He wasn¡¯t gonna let her go easily otherwise.

    "Yes, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m famished." She happily announced following him like an obedient child.

    "When are you not hungry?" Zhu Jie retorted making her scowl displeasingly. He touseled her hair again and went on, "But who¡¯sining? I earned all my money just to feed this little brother of mine."

    Ru was definitely in a better mood to hear this. She didn¡¯t even hesitate before ordering a variety of things for herself. And even after the order was delivered, her attention was solely on eating.

    "Enough already! Tell me everything in detail." He grew impatient seeing her stuffed up face. Who said she ate elegantly?

    Ru swallowed the cake in her mouth and wiped her face before turning to tell him in detail about her first awakening of love? Nah! There wasn¡¯t such a thing... Yet!

    It took her barely three minutes to summarize everything about that kiss. For instance, going on like, "Took me off guard, cut me half-way. Damn it! I was talking and he cut me off. How rude is that!" Zhu Jie silently rolled his eyes at her exaggerations. And she perfectly, finished it off with, "Then he pulled away and said that he won¡¯t apologize for that. Like, seriously? How can someone be this shameless!" Saying that she turned to the servers and said, "Hey, can you get me another piece of that chocte cake. Thank you!"

    Zhu Jie rubbed his forehead as he was certainly speechless at her own shamelessness. Wasn¡¯t she the worst shameless person ever?

    "Ru¡¯er, my dearest brother, I didn¡¯t ask you how he did it. I asked how you felt." He emphasized to make his words get through her thick skull.

    "How I felt?" She looked strangely at him while he nodded. "Well... His lips were soft. Yeah, definitely were."

    Zhu Jie had the urge to bang her head against the table but he held in his urges and said, "I¡¯m talking about your feelings. Like what did you feel in your heart?"

    Ru tilted her head and blinked innocently at him while saying, "I felt nothing."

    "What? Really?" He was beyond surprised now.

    "I can¡¯t possibly lie to you." She replied honestly.

    "You just did an hour ago." At his reminder, she looked a bit awkward but didn¡¯t drop her strong front. Now, this was called the height of being shameless. But obviously, she won¡¯t agree.

    "That was different. I promise I felt nothing." She even raised her three fingers to show her sincerity as she continued, "My mindpletely went numb and my heart... Well, that was beating a bit strangely. But nothing else."

    He finally heaved a sigh of relief to know that there was at least some normal reaction. He pped her head and said, "Really, nothing more?"

    Ru thought for a minute to be sure. Naturally, she didn¡¯t want to upset the one sitting before her. "When I touched my lips earlier, they felt tingly. It was weird but nice?"

    She even seemed uncertain of her own words. "Weird or nice? Choose one." He insisted on.

    "Can I go with weirdly nice?" She offered, making him chuckle and Ru felt like this smile meant she had dodged a bullet. How troublesome! "Can I eat now?"

    "Go ahead, my gluttonize Ru¡¯er." She stuck her tongue out to him and continued to eat.

    He felt a sense of relief washing down on him as he saw her eating heartily before him. It was her first experience in physical intimacy, he certainly had no high hopes from her side. But if that lover boy managed to make her ice-cold heart to beat abnormally, then he was certain that Ru won¡¯t be at a loss.

    He rubbed her hair again lovingly and spoke in a calm tone, "Ru, don¡¯t make this into a huge issue. I told you earlier, life without feelings is much worse. Even heartbreaks are part of life and some pains are meant to concur. Don¡¯t hide again, okay?"

    "If you¡¯re scared of hurting him then remember, love is not a burden. It¡¯s the silent support. If he has the courage to love you, he should also have the courage to fight alongside with you... And for you."

 Chapter 167 Called Me A Monster

    Ru seemed like her attention was solely on the variety of pastries before her but Zhu Jie knew that she had heard him and even understood him very well. She was just being stubborn as she didn¡¯t want to agree with him.

    All of a sudden, she stopped eating and her green orbs darted around with a mirthless smile on her lips. She took a tissue to wipe her mouth. "Dear brother, do you have a gun?" Her sudden question made him raise his brow in confusion.

    "No. But my men are outside. Why?" As he asked, he saw her touching the wooden floor with her hand as if to feel something.

    She had a thoughtful expression on her face while she looked around the private room before leaping ahead and ducking his head down.

    BANG!

    The bullet swished right above their head and went straight to the wooden wall behind them making the splinters fly off.

    "Someone is courting death!" Her voice had turned stern while eyes darkening considerably. "Stay out of it." Her voice told Zhu Jie that he had no way to argue with her. If it was her fight, she would never let him get involved with it.

    She wasn¡¯t carrying any weapon on herself, even her dagger wasn¡¯t with her today but did she need something like a weapon? Most certainly, NOT!

    With heavy footsteps, the room was suddenly filled with over thirty people but only a handful was carrying guns.

    "Mr. Xie Rong, it¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you," a burly man who likely was the leader of the group said with a sinister smile on his scarred face.

    The corner of her lip tilted upward in amusement as she retorted, "It won¡¯t for long." While she said that her hand had already gone towards the waistline of her pants where she had hidden her silver needles. As she once said, she might not be able to save people with those small things but she most certainly knew how to take a life with them. Especially, when these specific needles wereced with her personally created poisons.

    SWISH!

    Both her hands moved nimbly to shoot the needles urately making them hit the bull¡¯s eye. The room stilled for a moment before echoes ofughter could be heard.

    "Mr. Xie is surely a funny man." The leader said while pointing to his man to take her down.

    Ru didn¡¯t even bother putting him in her eye as she rolled her eyes at him and her figure shed right before his eyes, she disappeared.

    "Where did he go?" They all turned frantically, looking for her.

    "Looking for something?" Her calm voice came from right behind him making his hair stand. How could a visibly lean and frail person scare him like that? Astonishment shed through his eyes but it wasn¡¯t over yet, "Why don¡¯t you check on your men?" With her suggestion, he turned and was dumbfounded.

    The needles that she had used earlier weren¡¯t just for show. Each of his men who held a gun was already on the floor begging for mercy with their faces turning into a rotten flesh.

    "I think you¡¯ve seen enough." Saying that she raised her palm and struck it right behind him. Immediately the bone-wrenching sound spread in the room halting everyone in their step. With one stroke, their leader was on the floor with blood oozing out of his face.

    Before anyone could get out of the shock, her figure shed again and within minutes, bodiesid sprawled on the floor. Most of her attacks were on the brain with one shot. That one strike of hers was enough to shatter the walls of their brains before they could even utter a word.

    "Don¡¯t move or I¡¯ll kill him!" Thest survivors often look forst straws but this poor guy chose the wrong straw to mess with.

    Ru watched him in amusement as he held a butterfly knife against Zhu Jie¡¯s neck as if ready to sh it any minute now. But the one being used as a hostage was very casual about it since he still had the time to see the time on his Patek Phillipe watch while he muttered, "My baby must be waiting for a long time now."

    Ru had the urge to whack his brain instead of that idiot who was holding him in ce. Why was he such a show-off?

    Completely ignoring the bloody scene in the room, she sat down again and poured herself a cup of tea saying, "Go ahead, kill him. He called me a monster once. I¡¯ll consider it being our scores settled."

    As her voice fell, the puny little guy¡¯s face turned ghastly pale while Zhu Jie shook his head at her in disbelief.

 Chapter 168 Luck Is On Your Side

    "First of all, I called you a barbarian and second of all, I thought we got over that incident." Zhu Jie replied while his hand had held the butterfly knife around his neck in a vice-like grip. Before that puny little fellow could move, Zhu Jie had twisted his wrist making him scream in agony as his wrist was broken.

    "I became the bigger person by letting you off the hook. It didn¡¯t mean I forgot about it." She was still sipping on piping hot tea and even had the mood to appreciate it¡¯s aroma. With how the lifeless bodies were huddled around her, one really had to question; how could she even digest that?!

    With her words, clear lines of dissatisfaction could be seen on his handsome face while his brown eyes narrowed into slits. "You love holding grudges even when I apologized on my knees. I even gave you chocte aspensation." His dissatisfaction with her became the nightmare for the assassin in his hands since Zhu Jie had already dug the very same butterfly knife through his neck without flinching.

    "You calling me barbaric dug a deeper wound. That chocte could barely fill that hole." She spoke righteously as if she was the epitome of truth.

    Zhu Jie rolled his eyes at her before snapping the neck which he held in his grip until now. As the lifeless body fell down on his feet, he had jump over it to take his seat before her saying, "I¡¯ll buy you an endless supply of chocte. Would you please get over that one time? It was a slip of my tongue."

    Ru tapped her chin thoughtfully and said, "It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t get over it. But..." She made an aggrieved face as she went on, "Your words had shaken my confidence. Now, tell me how can a man such as Zhiren like me when my own best friend believes me to be a monster?"

    Zhu Jie wanted to apud her for being this shameless. She was using his words against him? Such a brat she is!

    "No one would like a girlfriend who is a monster." She continued to jab him with her words. "OW!" She scowled at him as he yet again tugged at her hair. Her most precious hair, how dare he!

    "If he can¡¯t have you as a girlfriend. He¡¯ll have to love you as a ghoul-friend." His cheeky remark got him a harsh p on his shoulder. "Get over it now. It was my mistake for misspeaking and I do feel bad for it even now. You don¡¯t have to remind me of such a dark past." In all his life, if he regretted one thing that would be calling Ru a barbarian in rage. He didn¡¯t really mean it like that but it still hurt her where it stung worse than he could imagine.

    Ru could see the guilt in his charming brown eyes and felt bad for reminding him. But if she still wasn¡¯t over that, how could she let him have it easy? No way! They both should suffer together!

    "What about these?" He asked after seeing how her expression had shifted. People thought she had an impassive face but he could read her ever-changing moods easily. Since her face certainly was impassive but her eyes were the most expressive ones. They could never hide her emotions.

    She ced her phone on the table and pressed a button, soon Raven¡¯s voice could be heard, "Assembling the Knight Guards initiated!"

    "It¡¯s my mess, I can clean it up myself." Her answer wasn¡¯t surprising at all. It was exactly aligned with his thinking.

    "Of course, you can." He retorted sarcastically at this tant and ring truth. He silently observed her for another minute before sighing out, "I heard you met Grandmaster Wang in Jingshen."

    Ru barely lifted her eyelids as she said, "I did. That old man still recognized me after all these years."

    "Why wouldn¡¯t he recognize you?" He asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

    "They say, a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood. And yet, Grandmaster recognized me at first nce." She seemed confused.

    "Your eyes might have turned a darker shade with years but you are still very much recognizable by those who know you best." She frowned at his words, not knowing where he was going with this. "After all, you¡¯re still in childhood."

    She gasped in disbelief while preparing to lean over just to smack some sense into him. But her stupid team chose right this moment to enter in all their glory with uniformed footsteps that could barely be heard.

    "Luck is on your side today." She mused before standing up as her stance shifted to the ice-cold ciers.

 Chapter 169 Bind This Dragon

    "Master!"

    The fifty or so people simultaneously got on their knee in an act of disying respect.

    "Rise..." Ru¡¯s voice was calmer than it had been before. But her persona had shifted from being yful to ice-cold. It was a wonder that the ss windows hadn¡¯t formed icicles yet.

    "Thank you, master!"

    Ru had the urge to close her ear since they were loud. Too loud for her liking.

    "Clean up this mess." She was referring to the bodies sprawled around her.

    "Who are these people?" She could hear Jake¡¯s whispering because of her sensitive hearing.

    "These were dumb people who thought they can mess with our lord." Connor¡¯s voice right after that.

    "Dumb? I think they were the dumbest!" Adia added on with them.

    "If your chit-chat is done. Get to work." Ru¡¯s voice startled them and the frantically moved to clean up the bodies.

    "Do you know who these people were?" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice came from beside her.

    "Nope."

    "Then why didn¡¯t you keep one of them alive to find out?" He really wanted to question her intelligence.

    "What¡¯s the point? They were gonna die anyway." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she went on, "Besides, they wanted my life. And if you want a life, you should be ready to give one in return as well."

    Zhu Jie shook his head at her but couldn¡¯t argue since there was no point at all. To live, you have to kill as well and he was aware of that very well.

    They both stepped out of the teahouse to see it in shambles. That group of people was more like thugs than mercenaries or assassins. But when did her value dropped to have stupid low-life thugs toe after her? Our proud peacock definitely didn¡¯t agree with her own thoughts.

    "Bye, shorty!" Zhu Jie rubbed her head making her scowl.

    "Your wife is a shorty. Don¡¯t you dare call me shorty! I can reach exactly to your neck. That¡¯s not short at all." Ru retorted with disdain.

    "Hey! My wife is not short. Her height is perfect. She reaches exactly where she belongs." Zhu Jie replied with a loving smile on his face.

    Seeing that smile, Ru didn¡¯t want to question but her curiosity got the best of her, "Where does she belong?"

    Zhu Jie pointed his slender finger against his chest and said, "Right here, in my heart."

    Ru had the urge to puke blood but she couldn¡¯t. Urgh! Why the hell did she even ask that? She should have known this henpecked husband was going to ruin her mood.

    "That was so cheesy that my stomach is having difficulty in digesting this." Ru pretended to belch which got her a re from Zhu Jie. "Whatever."

    Zhu Jie turned to leave but stopped to ask, "When are you nning oning to meet my babies?"

    Ru scratched her head like a fool and said, "Not so soon."

    Zhu Jie narrowed his eyes at her and added, "Sort out your time. My babies have yet to meet their godmother."

    Ru nodded her head in understanding before her mind reeled and a frown formed between her brows. "Godmother? Who?"

    "You, silly monkey. Who else?" Zhu Jie was amused to see her dumbstruck face.

    "Are you serious? Couldn¡¯t you find any better godmother?" She was looking at him as if he had done some kind of a crime.

    He paced up to her front again and leaned ahead to caress her head saying, "I really couldn¡¯t find a better godmother. No one can top my Ru¡¯er."

    "You¡¯re just saying this for the sake of it. I certainly can¡¯t be someone¡¯s first choice."

    He flicked her forehead and said, "Run this brain on things that matter. Those people inside called you Xie Rong which means that they were after Xie Rong. Alev Knight has thousands of enemies but what did Xie Rong do? I think you need to concentrate on this fact for now. Stop being cheeky all the time."

    "You don¡¯t need to remind me of that. If they think Xie Rong is a puny little fish in a pond, they certainly don¡¯t know they have a demon waiting for them in the depth of that pond." Her green orbs zed with rage which could scare anyone. But Jie wasn¡¯t one of those people.

    "I¡¯ll see you soon. Do tell me if you need anything." He alighted his car and drove away leaving Ru to y her mind the tunes of the deadly melody of a bloodbath that had yet toe.

    "Trying to kill this lord? HA! I¡¯ll see who had eaten the galldder of a bear or a leopard. Because it won¡¯t be enough to bind this dragon!" She whispered to herself with a chill emanating from her body.

 Chapter 170 Precious To Him

    Inside the clubhouse, Yuan was getting impatient.

    "Big Bear, you said Oniisan will be back soon. Where is he?"

    Xiao Zhiren rubbed the space between his brows and dialed Ru¡¯s number. She picked up at thest ring. "Where are you?" He got straight to the point without dilly-dallying at all.

    There was silence at the other end and for a second, Xiao Zhiren thought perhaps, she wasn¡¯t there. Just as he was about to ask again, her deep but mischievous voice rang out, "ording to you, in your heart."

    Xiao Zhiren spurted the wine in his mouth and coughed profusely. Then he heard the sound of herughter as she said, "Oh man, I always wanted to say that. Your reaction must be priceless."

    She certainly was enjoying herself to the fullest at the expense of him but in her defense, he started it! Who told him to drop bomb after bomb on her?

    "Are you drunk?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask since he could never believe that her sense of humor could get suggestive or better.

    "Drunk? Please, I have better tolerance than you." She replied in a haughty manner which made it clear to Xiao Zhiren that it was really Ru on the phone.

    "Be serious. Yuan is asking for you here." Seeing the way Yuan was urging him, he had to get to inquire in all seriousness.

    "Oh, about that... I left a while ago. There is a... A situation that needs my personal attention." She replied while her eyes roamed around on the rows of bodies that were being carried out by her people in body-bags.

    "You left?" His frown got deeper.

    "Mhmm..." She hummed in response. "Tell little squirrel, I¡¯ll make it up to him some other day." Saying that she hung up the phone.

    "What did he say?" Yuan inquired Xiao Zhiren who was staring at his phone screen.

    "Rong had an urgent situation. So, he left." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply dampened Yuan¡¯s mood as his face fell. "Sh... Cough! He said he¡¯ll make it up to youter." He reassured his little brother.

    While on Ru¡¯s side, she looked at the now-empty teahouse and sighed heavily. "Jack!"

    "Yes, my lord!"

    "Find me the identities of these people. Also, give me a list of people whom Metrix Consortium has offended in recent months. And pay up as much as you have to. But this matter shouldn¡¯t blow up at all."

    "You don¡¯t have to worry at all." Jack bowed his head and stepped back to follow her instructions.

    "But master, these people could be after Alev Knight," Adia voiced out her opinion from the side.

    "They called me Xie Rong. Besides, how many people really know what Alev Knight looks like?" Adia quietened up as Ru¡¯s words made sense. Only Ru¡¯s direct subordinates and business partners knew what Alev Knight looked like. For the rest of the world, he was a mystery that was yet to be solved.

    "That is also true. But who have the guts to threaten your life?" Adia was still perplexed about this fact. These people were courting death now!

    "I think it¡¯s time to tell people that master Xie Rong is not to be messed with," Connor suggested and Ru even pondered over this fact.

    "Forget it. I don¡¯t want to lose my precious low-key life." Ru waved them off offhandedly. She really didn¡¯t want any unnecessary attention on herself. It was not worth it.

    Back at the clubhouse, Ran Zi left the private room to get some fresh air when a strange scenario caught his attention.

    "What did you say?" A female voice was shrieking. "Thirty people couldn¡¯t even kill a single man? What pathetic people did you hire?" That hissing voice sounded oddly familiar to him. "I don¡¯t know what you do. It¡¯s an order from the headquarters. You must kill Xie Rong!"

    Ran Zi halted in his steps as he heard the name. He stood rooted in his spot with a perplexed expression. Who would want to kill Xie Rong? And why?

    Although there were plenty of assassination attempts on himself, he still believed that all of those were because of his family¡¯s status. But what does Xie Rong have except for a hard-earned reputation and status? Yes, he heard about Ru¡¯s influence pretty well and also knew that Metrix Consortium offended more than just a few people. But none of them could be capable of challenging her power.

    He took a detour to hide behind a pir and kept watch to find out who was talking just now. Since Xie Rong was involved with Xiao Zhiren how could he let anyone hurt her? Anything or anyone that was precious to his elder brother was also precious to him!

 Chapter 171 My Brothers GUY

    Ji Syaoran tried his best to be discreet but luck wasn¡¯t in his favor as of yet. Even after waiting for half an hour, he saw no-one leaving from there. After being tired of waiting for so long, he finally went ahead to take a look. Much to his despair, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

    This day got from weird to weirder for Ji Syaoran who had no clue why he was the oneing across such scenarios. First, he saw his brother kissing a GUY! And then, he heard someone nning to kill his brother¡¯s GUY!

    He believed that the day couldn¡¯t possibly get any worse than this but he thought too soon.

    "Young master Ran," the team leader of his personal security team came up to him at night.

    "What is it?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s attention was still on hisputer screen while his fingers worked like magic.

    "Young master Jie was spotted at the same clubhouse as you." The team leader¡¯s voice sounded cautious.

    "So what? Jie has been staying in Capital these days." Being part of Ji Family, he naturally knew Zhu Jie; the young master of the Zhu Family. And since both Ji and Zhu family were part of the High Summit, they were on friendly terms.

    "He was seen with young master Ren¡¯s sworn brother."

    As his voice fell, Ji Syaoran¡¯s fingers stopped moving and in the next second, the screen shed with, "You Lost!"

    "Are you sure?" Ji Syaoran took off his headset and gave his full attention to this matter. Instead of answering him with words, the team leader ced the tabletputer before him and slightly bowed before taking his leave.

    Ji Syaoran was left to stare nkly at the video ying on the screen with a nk face but agitated heart. He yed it on repeat before reclining back on his leather chair in resign. "I thought today couldn¡¯t possibly get any worse."

    Poor Ji Syaoran spent the entire night trying to rake his brain. He was extremely perplexed about what to do next. As the dawn broke, his fuzzy brain finally came to a conclusion and he set out to act on it.

    Within twenty minutes he stood right outside Ru¡¯s apartment. As she opened the door, she came face to face with a disheveled Ji Syaoran who had prominent dark circles to tell the tale of his night.

    Ru eyed him suspiciously as he asked, "Can Ie inside? I have something urgent to talk about." Ru turned sideways to give him a way to enter.

    It was too early for Ru to amodate a guest like a courteous host. And she didn¡¯t n on doing so for an uninvited one. Seeing Ji Syaoran looking around at her apartment with interest, she grew impatient.

    "Get to business. Don¡¯t waste my time." Ji Syaoran looked at her as she stood with her arms crossed before her chest with an obvious scowl and distaste in her tone.

    ¡¯Looks like he is also not a morning person.¡¯ Ji Syaoran concluded in his mind. He couldn¡¯t possibly have thought that Ru was insomniac and every insomniac person had a bitter and sour mood afterying awake the whole night. She had yet to gather her emotions to calm herself but Ji Syaoran came running to ruin her moment.

    "Okay. I¡¯ll get to business then." He pulled out his phone and extended it towards Ru saying, "This... Did you do it alone?"

    "Did what?" Ru retorted while staring at the photos on the screen.

    The video wasn¡¯t high-quality considering it was shot with a mobile camera but one could see the way her figure shed around to drop bodies like it was the live version of his favorite online game.

    "You¡¯re more dangerous than I thought." Ji Syaoran replied exasperatedly. Wasn¡¯t it already hard enough to ept that his brother was in love with a GUY? Now, that GUY was even like the King of Hell that held no remorse.

    Ru¡¯s earlier raging emotions were set to tranquility with that video. She was amused by Ji Syaoran¡¯s reaction. If he thought she was dangerous then why was he here? Didn¡¯t he consider that she might kill him at the spot as well just to keep her secrets?

    Passing his phone back to him, she sat on a high stool and said, "I don¡¯t think you came here early in the morning just to tell me that I¡¯m a dangerous person."

    Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t surprised that she looked right through him. With her intelligence, it¡¯d be a wonder if she didn¡¯t. "What if I want to know what¡¯s going on between you and my brother?"

    Ru was a bit taken aback by his words. She certainly wasn¡¯t expecting these words from him.

 Chapter 172 Im Straigh

    Did we ever get to mention that there are two versions of Ru? Nope?

    Let¡¯s divulge into that topic for today. On normal asions, Ru¡¯s sensible part would be ruling her senses and she would have answered him with, "What can exactly go on between me and your brother? I¡¯m straight through and through!"

    That wouldn¡¯t be wrong considering her gender.

    But right now, Ji Syaoran¡¯s expressions and anxious tone evoked Ru¡¯s cunning and mischievous side. And let¡¯s face it, that version of her was never up to any good! Therefore, she answered him with, "Between me and your brother? Hmm... I think you can see for yourself. What does it seem like? Isn¡¯t it obvious enough?"

    For an outsider, there was nothing wrong with her words. Not at all. But Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t an outsider. He was the only insider who knew about the happenings of that kiss! Which brought us to the point where Ji Syaoran¡¯s face paled with her words.

    ¡¯What did it seem like? Bloody hell! It seemed like his brother had fallen for this enchanter. So, his mind wasn¡¯t just ying games?¡¯ Ji Syaoran finally had to ept the facts. He softly whispered, "But I thought my brother was straight."

    Ru snorted and said, "Oh please, even I used to think that." After the words left her mouth, she realized what she said was wrong. Xiao Zhiren was indeed straight. He kissed her knowing that she was a girl. Urgh! I really need to stop forgetting my bloody gender.

    Ji Syaoran stood rooted without moving at all. He was like a statue who was in deep thought. While his thoughts were unknown but Ru could conjecture that his thoughts were chaotic by the way his expressions were shifting with each passing second.

    He suddenly clenched his fists and shouted, "This is all your fault!"

    At being used so tantly, Ru was rather amused than offended. "Oh really? What did I do?"

    "Who told you to have such a face? It¡¯s a killer for both men and women. No wonder my brother fell for your stupid charms. Urgh!" He ruffled his own hair which by the way was already in a mess. "I don¡¯t even understand. Why does everyone like you? My grandmother, grandfather, father, brothers, and my sister, all have fallen for your charms and damn tongue of yours that knows how to please others."

    It was the first time for Ru to know that her vicious tongue had a way to charm others. How strange! Anyhow, she gave him a lopsided grin and said, "You like me as well." It wasn¡¯t a question. It was Ru¡¯s conceited self iming a fact.

    Ji Syaoran stared at her in disbelief but couldn¡¯t find a way to refute at all. If he didn¡¯t like her as a person, he wouldn¡¯t be standing here. He had heard about her but knowing her in person was different. Most of all, getting a glimpse of her martial arts, he waspletely sold.

    How could he say he didn¡¯t like her when he held the greatest respect for martial arts practitioners? He was practically dying toe under her wings.

    "You are infuriating as well." He grumbled in the end when no other retort came to his mind.

    "I know. I¡¯m quite proud of that trait of mine." Ru answered honestly making him feel exasperated. She was difficult to talk to. And that was for sure! Ru decided to use him to her own advantage as she said, "So, are you nning on asking your brother to keep his distance from me?"

    Ji Syaoran shook his head and said, "Why would I? If my brother loves you, then that¡¯s that. Neither I have a say in it nor I want to interfere. If he¡¯s happy. I¡¯m happier." Ru was left speechless with his reply. He wasn¡¯t going the conventional route. Wasn¡¯t he suppose to try and help his brothere back to the straight route? Why such a change?

    "Or perhaps, your brother is just confused with his feelings? How about you try setting him up with someone?" Ru tried to knock her own ideas in his mind.

    "Huh? No way! My brother is not confused at all." Ru didn¡¯t like his tone of affirmation.

    "How are you so sure?" She snapped at him.

    "Because he wouldn¡¯t have given up his first kiss in the moment of confusion."

    ¡¯Say what???¡¯ Ru was stared at him dumbfoundedly.

 Chapter 173 Thankless & Ruthless

    "Liar! How can it be his first kiss? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!" Ru wasn¡¯t inclined on believing him. Didn¡¯t he steal a kiss before as well? But she was forgetting that neither that was a real kiss nor Ji Syaoran had a clue about it.

    "Why would I lie to you?" Ji Syaoran felt wronged at being called a liar.

    "Because your brother seemed... experienced." Ru bobbed her head up and down seemingly feeling nothing wrong with her words. She definitely found the right word; experienced.

    If Ji Syaoran hadn¡¯t been controlled by his emotions, he would have asked, "How experienced are you to know what the kiss was like?" But unfortunately, he was on the leash of his chaotic emotions.

    "He¡¯s not experienced!" Ji Syaoran was irked, even forgetting that this was not the topic that brought him here.

    Ru was equally exasperated if not worse as she snapped back, "I said he is!"

    "He is not! And how are you so sure?"

    "Because I was at the other end of that kiss!"

    Ji Syaoran: "..."

    Ru: "..." What did I just say? She smacked her head inwardly while sighing, ¡¯Why is this bloody tongue not under my control?¡¯

    ¡¯Shouldn¡¯t you be questioning your experience?¡¯ Her conscious chose this moment to mock her.

    Ji Syaoran was utterly left speechless as he almost choked on air. But thinking that choking on air to death won¡¯t be a good way to die, so he dropped the idea. However, he still couldn¡¯te up with a retort. What could he possibly say? Wasn¡¯t it already a very strange scenario that he was discussing his brother¡¯s kissing experience with a GUY!

    Even Ru wasn¡¯t nning on opening her mouth again. She was cursing her loose mouth for not thinking before speaking at all. But she was rather more thick-skinned than most people as she convinced herself, ¡¯Embarrassment? HA! Every living person is bound to have those moments. Let¡¯s get over it!¡¯

    With a newfound vision, she stood up and went to get a ss of hot water for the still dumbfounded Ji Syaoran. In a daze, he even took the ss from her and was jolted awake when the piping hot water scalded his tongue. He red at Ru who shrugged in reply.

    "How long are you nning on staying?" Ru grew impatient seeing him having no intention of leaving.

    Ji Syaoran took a seat and blew on hot water to take a sip as the water entered his body, he felt himself wakening up. "You seem close to Zhu Jie."

    Ru narrowed her eyes at him but didn¡¯t question him about how he knew Zhu Jie. "What does that have to do with you?"

    "I just don¡¯t want you to make my brother wear a green hat. Ow! Ow!"

    Ru had pulled his ear. "You talk too much. Get your bloody facts straight. Jie is married you fool! And I¡¯m straight. Most importantly, I have no interest in your brother at all!" Her growling deep voice actually scared Ji Syaoran who had a weird expression mixed with his aggrieved look of being bullied under her hand.

    "Huh? You mean you¡¯re just ying with my brother. How could you!" His using tone made her hyperventte in anger.

    "I so want to break your bones right now." She gnashed her teeth while her eyes bore holes in Ji Syaoran.

    He hid his hands behind his back saying, "Break anything but don¡¯t touch my hands. They are precious."

    Ru was at the point where she was gaping at this weird human being before her. Wasn¡¯t his thinking really unconventional? Why was he not going by the script?

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be happy right now?" She asked.

    "Why would I be? If you¡¯re not interested in my brother than that means my brother is holding a torch for nothing. He¡¯ll be heartbroken again. This is not fair to him." Ji Syaoran¡¯s brooding made Ru feel a headacheing on.

    ¡¯What if he couldn¡¯t take this second rejection? First, that thankless girl left him and now, this ruthless man is ying with my brother¡¯s emotions.¡¯ Ji Syaoran was feeling helpless and agitated.

    If he knew that both the thankless girl in his memory and the ruthless man before him were the same person, he would definitely puke blood.

    But if Ru knew that he called her a thankless person, he would still have to puke blood since, under her hands, people could only puke blood if not their guts.

 Chapter 174 Well Wai

    In their long argument, they reached the point of deadlock where both felt like the other person was speaking some foreignnguage. Ru locked his masculine body with her nimble one and threw him out of her apartment.

    "Get out! Before I really murder you!"

    Ji Syaoran was thrown out on his buttock. Imagine his feelings... Ji Family¡¯s proud young master being kicked out just like that. Ouch! That was a blow to his pride.

    Before he could even settle his shock, he saw Ru shutting the door with a bang. He immediately shot up and started pounding on her door while ignoring the stinging pain in his buttock. She really wasn¡¯t a gentle person.

    "Hey, open the door! I still have something to say!" He was screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a good thing that there was only her apartment on the top floor otherwise, someone might have beaten him with a stick by now. "I was just taking my brother¡¯s side. Why did he get so cranky?" He muttered to himself before ringing the bell over and over again.

    ¡¯Click!¡¯

    The sound made him feel smug but his smugness was blown in the wind when he saw a slipper in Ru¡¯s hand and a dangerous look in her eyes. He gulped before taking a couple of steps back in fear.

    "Don¡¯t! I do have something important to say." He hurriedly tried to clear up while trying to make more distance between them.

    "You. Better. Hope. That. Your. Words. Don¡¯t. Push. Me. Over. The. Edge." She had enunciated each word in such a way that Ji Syaoran was left uncertain whether his words would be able to save him or not.

    "I heard someone nning to kill you." Ji Syaoran spoke in such a frantic manner as if he was trying to get rid of a hot potato.

    Ru dropped the slipper back inside and said, "Speak clearly."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief and recounted the conversation he heardst night. Ru was listening attentively and with her impassive face, Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t even sure what was going on in her mind. Was he safe or... Not?

    "Did you see the person?" She asked after he was done.

    He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and answered, "No. I wasn¡¯t able to. But it was a girl. Somehow she sounded familiar as well."

    "That wasn¡¯t helpful at all." Ru left a simple sentence and closed the door again.

    "Rude much?" Ji Syaoran grunted at the closed door. She hadn¡¯t even said a thank you. Even though it wasn¡¯t needed but from what he heard from his grandfather and grandmother, he had the impression that Ru was a really nice person.

    "Nice? It¡¯d be a wonder if this person really managed to smile sincerely at someone." Ji Syaoran wanted to kick the door but was afraid that she would really not let him go easily this time. So, he left grudgingly.

    Inside the apartment, Ru could see his antics through the screen ying in the living room. She heard him cursing and making a fuss but not a single emotion crossed her face.

    "Raven, turn the security screens off. And connect a call with Adia." Her voice was devoid of any emotions. Neither it was cold nor it was burning with rage. In a sense, her mood was quite calm and serene.

    "Right away, Master." Raven¡¯s voice echoed around in the silent apartment.

    As the call connected, Ru didn¡¯t wait for her voice before saying, "Did you find out about those assassins?"

    "Master, those people weren¡¯t assassins." Adia¡¯s answer came.

    "Did they belong to any organization?" She inquired.

    "Not that too." Adia¡¯s response made her frown a bit. Before she could ask further, Adia went on, "Those people were from local mafia. More like..."

    "Street thugs." Ru finished her words for her.

    "Yes."

    "Anything else?"

    "We asked around but it¡¯s still unclear why they attacked you or how did they get your location." Adia went on with her report. "But one thing is clear."

    "What is it?"

    "They weren¡¯t sure of your exact location. Yesterday, a couple of other restaurants around that tea house were also raided by those ruffians. Probably, looking for you."

    Ru¡¯s fingers tapped against the side of her leg as she closed her eyes and said, "Because the person who called the shot only knew that I was at the Grand Clubhouse."

    "Then should we check the security cameras there to find the mastermind?" Adia asked sensing strange vibes.

    "Grand clubhouse is famous for its privacy. There are no security cameras around the private rooms. There is no point in asking around."

    "What should we do then?"

    "Forget it. We¡¯ll wait. If they want me dead. They¡¯lle again."

 Chapter 175 At The Losing End

    While rubbing his sore behind, Ji Syaoran made his way to his brother¡¯s ce. He was already here in the same building. It didn¡¯t feel right for him to just leave like this. Also, he still had matters to discuss with his elder brother.

    "Ran Zi? What are you doing here?" Xiao Zhiren was perplexed seeing him so early in the morning. After all, who in the Ji Family didn¡¯t know that young master Syaoran loved his sleep just slightly less than his elder brother.

    "Why can¡¯t I be here? This is your ce which makes it mine as well." Ji Syaoran slid himself in like a worm.

    "What¡¯s wrong with your face? I thought my brother loved his image the most." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t want to push him about why he was here. Naturally, he knew Ji Syaoran will crack soon enough. That¡¯s why he chose the next important topic of him looking like a sleep-deprived lunatic.

    "This look?" Ji Syaoran peeled off his jacket and threw it on the ground like a kid saying, "This is all your fault. No, wait! This is all your boyfriend¡¯s fault!"

    Xiao Zhiren spurted out his coffee and started coughing with a weird look on his face. "Boyfriend? How many times have I told you to think before speaking?" Xiao Zhiren angrily rebuked him while wiping his mouth to get rid of the remnants of the coffee.

    Ji Syaoran fell on the couch leisurely while saying, "Please, don¡¯t try to hide it from me. I saw you kiss himst night in the hallway."

    Xiao Zhiren immediately understood what was going on. So, he calmly sat beside him and said, "Don¡¯t strain your tiny little brain. There is nothing like what you think."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes brightened up as he sat straight up and said, "You mean, you still love that thankless girl, right? Please, say yes. I don¡¯t want you to love this ruthless guy. It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t support you but he¡¯s... He said he is not interested in you and I don¡¯t want you to get hurt."

    It took Xiao Zhiren a while to digest Ji Syaoran¡¯s rambling but as he did, the light in his eyes had dimmed a bit. "Did he say that himself?" Ji Syaoran frowned and he had to continue, "About... Not being interested in me?"

    "Oh, that! Yes. He said it straight to my face. I¡¯m telling you he¡¯s ruthless and there is nothing noble about him as well. He literally picked me up and threw me out the door." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lips turned slightly upward when he heard what Ru did. He could literally visualize her annoyed look.

    With a sigh, Xiao Zhiren rubbed his brother¡¯s messy hair and said, "Who told you to go to him? If you¡¯ll spout nonsense, obviously he¡¯ll kick you out. Stop assuming things. Rong is straight and I am also straight."

    Ji Syaoran felt all his tiredness vanishing as he brightened up but soon frowned again. "Bro, what about the kiss?"

    Xiao Zhiren bit the inside of his cheek trying toe up with an excuse. "Umm... That... You can say it was a... ident."

    "ident?" Ji Syaoran sounded quite curious.

    "Yes. An ident." Xiao Zhiren reassured him.

    Ji Syaoran stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again, "But bro, I really won¡¯t me you if you fell for him. He looks quite simr to that girl." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t answer him. "You still only love her, right?"

    Xiao Zhiren smiled softly and said, "I do love her and only her. There is no doubt about that."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief and felt like a fool for overthinking. He should havee to Xiao Zhiren straight away instead of bickering with Rong. What a pity that he made the wrong tiger angry. Recalling her bloody eyes, Ji Syaoran gulped in fear and a shiver ran down his spine.

    "Silly brother, how can I forget her? All I ever wanted was to make her smile. And when she did smile, I fell all over in love with her. No matter what, I¡¯m still at the losing end."

    Ji Syaoran looked at his brother¡¯s back as he stood up and made his way towards the kitchen.

    "Go and freshen up. I¡¯ll make breakfast for you as well." Xiao Zhiren told Ji Syaoran while putting on his apron.

    "Can I get pancakes? Pretty please."

    "It depends whether you n on looking for Rong again or not?"

    "I won¡¯t. I promise!"

    "Then let me get your pancakes ready."

    Ji Syaoran smiled in victory, not knowing that he was the one who was yed by Xiao Zhiren. Zhiren knew if Ji Syaoran went again to Ru, her nature won¡¯t allow her to let him leave unharmed.

 Chapter 176 Blood Pool

    The dark of the night was serenading alone with no stars to apany the choir of lights. It was tranquil until the sound of the metal shing together could be heard in a distant.

    Dust was flying around in the air along with the stench of blood making one¡¯s stomach tighten. In the dark street, only a spark could be seen as a katana had shed with a dagger. Two pairs of bloodthirsty eyes stared each other down with a vicious look. But none of them backed away from the fight.

    The raven eyed girl¡¯s face was hidden behind a ck mask but her eyes gave away the effort she was putting into pushing that katana towards the other party¡¯s throat. However, the other party¡¯s green eyes seemed indifferent and quite bored as she held her in ce with a small dagger.

    Getting bored of this unpleasant fight, the green eyes shed with a cold light and used her one hand to m into the ribs of the raven eyed girl. Blood spurted out of her mouth as she fell on her knees and held her body up with her hands. The pain had rippled through her entire chest making her feel suffocated.

    With her sheer willpower, the raven eyed girl tried to lift her katana again but a foot was ced on her hand crushing it but she didn¡¯t dare to let her cries of pain escape. She only red at that green-eyed person who looked like the Grim Reaper at this point with the verdict of her death.

    The cold green eyes looked back at her with intrigue as she crouched down beside her and held her chin to lift her face.

    "Aye, it¡¯s such a pity that I have to kill you. I personally love people who know how to let their pain destroy themselves rather than giving satisfaction to the inflictor of that pain." That deep voice sounded calm and quite aggrieved as if it was really a pity.

    But in the next second, a punch hadnded straight on the temple of the girl on her all fours. Blood trickled out of her ears, nose, and mouth while her body fell like a lifeless doll on the ground that was painted with blood.

    Ru was still crouching beside that body with her eyes on the katana that was lying beside her foot. Her hand trembled but she clenched it tightly to stop the urge from taking over her rationality. She didn¡¯t want to. No, she couldn¡¯t let that part of her take over again.

    But seeing that silver sleek de dripping in blood, her whole body was shaking with need.

    "Master!" The echo from behind her made the look in her eyes to shift and she bit the inside of her mouth until she could taste the metallic taste of blood.

    Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she stood up and turned to face the member of ck Mist standing in an orderly manner.

    Ru cleaned her daggernguidly while her eyes roamed around to see the wandering eyes of her subordinates. Their curiosity wasn¡¯t far-fetched, after all, yet again there were bodies lying listlessly under their master¡¯s feet.

    They all had no visible reaction at seeing such a blood bath in the streets but they still felt a chill in the air. They could tell that the chill wasn¡¯t because of the souls that departed, it was rather because of the sour mood of their master who might be hoping to have their heads on a tter tonight as well for being ipetent.

    "This is the eighth assassination attempt in thest ten days. Do you all have something to say about that?" As Ru¡¯s voice rang in the eerie dark night, all of them clenched their fists behind their back to hide their scared souls.

    It was a wonder for them to see Ru still acting calm. Since the first attack in the tea house, where ever she went, she had been encountering life threats. From mercenaries to assassins to bounty hunters and even street ruffians. It was like she was a light attracting those moths to herself.

    "I asked a question..." Ru spoke again slowly as if taking her time or perhaps giving them time to sort out their time in this world instead. "If I didn¡¯t hear an exnation tonight. I¡¯ll send each of you back to the training camp."

    Her threat worked as a shaking hand was raised slowly. "Speak up, Edmund!"

    "Master, I-I think I know why these attacks are happening." The fourth member of the ck Mist attempted to talk.

    "Go on..."

    "Master, your name is on the Blood Pool."

 Chapter 177 Master Is Scared

    Blood Pool could be exined as a Bounty Strike list where people anonymously post the bounties on affluent people¡¯s death. Mercenaries and assassins usually take their missions from their organizations but bounty hunters had their ie only through the mission posted on the Blood Pool. But Blood Pool was apparently open to everyone as long as oneplete the mission, he can get the prize money.

    Ru gave Edmund a look that said, ¡¯Have you lost your mind?¡¯

    "I have been on that Blood Pool for the past seven years as ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and from the past six years as ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯. Don¡¯t you think that sounds rather unconvincing that only now will I have these assassination attempts?" Ru¡¯s point wasn¡¯t wrong. But she was forgetting a small detail.

    "Master, your alias ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ is just like the name itself. You are more like a myth to people than reality. As for your alias of ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯, only your trusted people know what you really look like." Edmund¡¯s words brought out Ru¡¯s interest as she crossed her arms.

    "Keep going." She gave her permission to continue.

    Edmund finally managed to breathe properly as he felt like a de that was pressed against his throat was slowly lifted and he managed to continue, "While I was going through all our channels, I came across the Blood Pool and saw the bounty on your head but the alias was ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯." As he finished, Ru¡¯s mind finally managed to grasp the whole situation.

    People couldn¡¯t find ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ or ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ since both of her identities were kept well hidden but her alias of ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯ was different. She had been actively participating in all of Matrix Consortium¡¯s business affairs. Not only her face was well-known to people, but even her location also wasn¡¯t that hard to trace if one followed her business meetings, they¡¯d be able to find her.

    And that exined why she had be an easy target for people these days. Certainly, Matrix Consortium had acquired a lot of enemies in the two years of its operation but she personally didn¡¯t think that she had offended anyone of the caliber who would dare to put a bounty on her life.

    Then who could it be? Hold on, most importantly...

    "What¡¯s the bounty?" Ru inquired after a while of contemtion.

    Edmund pursed his lips, not daring to voice it out. Ru narrowed her eyes at him before pressing the button on her watch and said, "Raven, quote the bounty on Xie Rong¡¯s life." Edmund¡¯s reaction had irked her at some level.

    "From the statistics, the bounty started from 5 million dors but now, it has reached 20 million dors." Ru gaped in disbelief as she heard Raven¡¯s response.

    "Are you fu*cking kidding me?" She shouted taking everyone by surprise. "Since when did my value went so low?"

    The team of five people before her were having difficulties while trying to stifle theirughter. Only their master could be this entric. Ru wasn¡¯t angry to find out that she was being hunted but she was rather upset to see that her value was only a puny 20 million. What a joke!

    Both as ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯, her bounty started at the higher figure than this one. It was making her super mad. Only for 20 million dors, these many people were after her life and yet as ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ holding the highest bounty prize of over a billion dors, no one had dared to even breathe loudly around her.

    Both were her own alias, then why this partiality. It seemed unfair.

    A soft tapping of leather shoes on the concrete floor could be heard as she saw a familiar faceing close. Wu Dishi bowed to greet her while his heart shuddered at the sight of all the blood.

    "I will be lying low for a while Wu Dishi. Manage the meetings yourself." Ru shifted back to the bodies and said, "Get rid of these people. They are making my eyes itch." Saying that she turned around and left them.

    "Huh? Why is master running instead of fighting back?" Wu Dishi was confused since he didn¡¯t think that it was his master¡¯s style to avoid a fight. Instead of standing tall to fight back, Ru was simply avoiding this showdown.

    Connor patted his shoulder and said, "Dearrade, Master is scared."

    "Huh? What? Scared?" Wu Dishi was dumbfounded at this response.

 Chapter 178 Just A Curse Or An Illusion

    Wu Dishi¡¯s face looked like he had eaten a fly. How could his formidable master be scared of anything? It didn¡¯t make any sense to him at all.

    It rather sounded like a joke. The biggest joke!

    "Connor, I know you¡¯re my senior in Master¡¯s squad but don¡¯t try to fool me like this." Wu Dishi tried to smile but didn¡¯t dare to disrespect the dead.

    "Connor isn¡¯t lying to you." Adia jutted in making Wu Dishi even more perplexed.

    He observed the expressions of the five people around him before saying, "Are you guys serious?" The five heads nodded simultaneously. "But how can Master be scared of anything or anyone?"

    "Every person has fear," Jack remarked softly.

    "And Master is also a human," Jake added along.

    "Yes. But..." Wu Dishi still had something to argue with when Adia stopped him.

    "Just because you¡¯ve seen master being almighty all the time, doesn¡¯t mean that master doesn¡¯t have his own fears."

    Wu Dishi thought about it a bit before nodding understanding her meaning. "But what is master scared of?"

    The five people beside him shared a look before they spoke together, "Himself."

    ¡¯What? Master is scared of himself?¡¯ Wu Dishi¡¯s mind was reeling with this information. "Why?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Connor crouched down to pick up that abandoned katana as he spoke, "You didn¡¯t see the look in Master¡¯s eyes when we came. If he had picked up this katana tonight, all of our heads would have been served to him."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s eyes widened up while Connor went on, "Excluding the attack in the tea house, Master has killed more than 100 people in the past ten days. He¡¯s not lying low because he¡¯s scared of those stunted assassins. Rather, our master is scared of losing his own rationality all over again."

    "You don¡¯t master the way we do," Adia jutted in toplete Connor¡¯s words. "You heard rumors of him being a monster. We have seen him acting like a Grim Reaper instead."

    Suddenly the memory of that tall figure d in ck with silver dyed hair and green cold eyes shed through her mind.

    "I¡¯ll never forget the day I met the master. He was drenched in blood and his sword was trailing behind him making a cringy sound as it was being dragged on the concrete floor. From head to toe, all I saw was his cold green eyes and his hair dyed in silver color." Adia narrated the scene from her memory vividly. "The mercenary where I was training was one of the best in the world and yet, it took master only an hour to wipe its existence from this world."

    "Lord Alev Knight is feared for a reason. He does have a reputation worthy of him. He has no mercy. You should be d that the master has dropped his sword years ago. Otherwise, there was always bloodshed around him." Edmund also added his part of the understanding of Ru.

    "Master didn¡¯t be Lord Alev Knight overnight but he had certainly trampled on Underworld Syndicates overnight and ruled over them. And during that time, Master wasn¡¯t rational at all. If you dare to cross his way, he¡¯ll cut your throat without even blinking." Connor¡¯s voice held the great respect which he felt for his master. There was no doubt that each one of them was the most loyal to her. Not because they were scared of her. But also because she gave them respect as a human being and gave them a chance to create a self-identity and value.

    "I¡¯ve never seen master with a sword." Wu Dishi voiced out while seeing them lifting the dead bodies off the ground.

    "Then you¡¯re lucky," Jake said with a smile.

    "Why?"

    "Because once that sword was sheathed, no one was left to tell the tale of it."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s heart jolted at this remark.

    "The sword is master¡¯s personally forged weapon and it was named The Bloody Moon."

    "The Bloody Moon? Any specific reason?"

    "Ask Connor, he¡¯s the only one who got to see it up close."

    Wu Dishi looked Connor with an earnest look.

    "There is a phrase written on the silver de," Connor started in a hushed tone as he quoted, "It says, ¡¯It was a full moon, just drowning in the blood of night.¡¯ As for the meaning, don¡¯t bother prying if you value your life."

    All of them got busy, not knowing that at the corner, a lone figure was concealed in the darkness to puff out the wispy smoke while listening to each word.

    Ru¡¯s lips upturned slightly as she whispered the other half of that phrase, "Perhaps it was just a curse... Or an illusion... But she was left to drench in the pool of blood that night."

 Chapter 179 Remind Me Of My Father

    By the time, Ru came back to the Condominium building, it was already 10 o¡¯clock. Before entering the building, she had seen a long line-up of SUVs on the road with suave looking bodyguards standing guard.

    From the logo embroidered on their suit jackets, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell who these people were apanying. Yet she was curious as she trotted inside the lobby. Soon her curiosity was curbed when she saw a middle-aged man in haute couture pacing back and forth before the oakwood door of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s apartment.

    The man was none other than the Chairman of the Ji Conglomerate, Ji Yifeng himself. In other words, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s father.

    Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to lift her feet and walk away. She stayed to watch that high and might man looking anxious like a teenager as he chewed on his nails. Another reason which she would never ept was that she hadn¡¯t seen Xiao Zhiren since the ¡¯kiss¡¯ incident. She wasn¡¯t avoiding him but apparently, it was the time leading them to have missed chances.

    Finally, Ji Yifeng mustered up the courage to ring the bell and waited patiently. His demeanor had amused Ru. It was the only amusing thing about tonight or perhaps about the whole week.

    Yuan was the one who opened the door and his face immediately stiffened as he saw Ji Yifeng standing before him who had lifted his hand reluctantly to wave saying, "Hi!"

    Ru felt a strange sense of loss since the person at the door was Yuan and not Xiao Zhiren himself. But she immediately shook that loss away, not daring to let it crawl inside her heart.

    "Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re not permitted here?" Yuan¡¯s voice was sharper than Ru had ever heard it. "Please go away and don¡¯t show up again. I don¡¯t like seeing you at all." With those cutting words, he had banged the door shut.

    Ru noticed the way Ji Yifeng¡¯s hands clenched trying to hide the tremor. He stood staring at the door for another ten minutes before sighing and turning to leave. His eyes caught Ru¡¯s as he had turned around and felt embarrassed.

    But Ru¡¯s face didn¡¯t show disdain or disgust for him. She was not repulsed at all. Instead, she paced up to him and said, "How am I so lucky to bump into Chairman Ji right here? Look at the odds."

    Ji Yifeng couldn¡¯t tell whether she saw him being treated worse than a stranger by his own son or not. But even if she did, he couldn¡¯t see it on her face at all.

    "I should be the one saying that. Chairman Xie is even harder to find than my humble self." Ji Yifeng chose to answer Ru in the same way she talked to him and that brought a smile to her face.

    "Since the odds are so great tonight. How about a cup of tea at my humble abode? I live in the same building anyway." Ru offered rather courteously which touched Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart as he nodded his head.

    "It¡¯d be an honor for me." He had said while following her to the elevator.

    Entering her apartment, Ji Yifeng felt like being pulled in, the interior was just too enthralling. It was indeed a work of art. Ru left him to admire her interior while she went ahead to brew some tea and also decided to make a couple of light snacks to go with it.

    Ji Yifeng had to wait for only 30 minutes which felt too little since he was immersed in admiring the art pieces scattered around her apartment. Ru ced the chrysanthemum tea along with dried plums, nuts, pastries and dumplings on the ss table in the living room.

    Ji Yifeng looked at the spread of delicacies before him and his eyes softened up as he smiled at Ru who sat opposite of him before pouring him tea.

    "From all the rumors I¡¯ve heard, I didn¡¯t expect you to be this good-natured." Ru didn¡¯t even flinch at his remark. She calmly took a sip of her tea. "I guess we should say rumors are just that... Rumors."

    Ru ced her porcin cup down and said, "Mostly the rumors about me are always true. And you¡¯re not wrong. I am not a good-natured person."

    "Really?" Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t seem to believe her words.

    "Yes, really! As for why I brought you to my ce..." There was a ghost of a smile at the edge of her lips as she continued, "You reminded me of my father."

    "Is it true?" Ru nodded honestly. "Am I that simr to him?"

    Ru shook her head in negation with a chuckle as she said, "No. Actually, you¡¯re theplete opposite of him."

 Chapter 180 Stop Being Stubborn

    Ji Yifeng definitely wasn¡¯t expecting this kind of a reply from her but nheless, he was still curious to know about Ru. Who wouldn¡¯t be? With Ru¡¯s demeanor, it wasn¡¯t hard for an aristocrat like him to understand that she didn¡¯te from a simple background.

    The aura around her could neither be feigned nor it could be practiced over the years. It was something that came from within herself.

    "Complete opposite?" He repeated her words as if trying to look for an answer.

    "Indeed, theplete opposite. You¡¯re a strong father, mine wasn¡¯t so." Ji Yifeng frowned at her reply. It was hard to believe that a strong character like Ru had a weak father. It didn¡¯t seem to fit in.

    Sensing his confusion, Ru decided to ease up the knots a bit. "Here you are standing tall with a strong spirit even when your sons have used you of ruining their family. Your willpower is remarkable. Especially considering that you have nevermitted a crime, to begin with."

    Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes widened up not only because he realized that she had heard Yuan¡¯s words earlier but also because he could tell she knew something.

    "But I did ruin our family." He insisted, trying to avert his eyes away from her.

    "You wouldn¡¯t be Ji Yifeng if you really hadmitted those crimes which your sons loathe you for. I honestly don¡¯t know what conspired back in those years but somehow I still have faith in you."

    Ji Yifeng could only give a bitter smile. Wasn¡¯t it ironic that this person whom he met a couple of times had faith in him but his own sons didn¡¯t?

    "You really have a perceptive mind." He could only say that. "Anyways, why do you think your father is weak?"

    "Oh, because he is," Ru answered calmly and went on, "Let me tell you a little secret, I have an obsession with ck color and it came from my father."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I was eight years old at that time, I loved to wear white. It was just my color. But one day, during my training I fell from the cliff and rolled down. Let¡¯s just say that the injuries were minor but the blood-stained white robes of mine told a different story."

    The memory of that time was still vivid in her mind...

    *shback*

    There was barely any space without bloodstains on her white robes as she stood with her head lowered in front of her father.

    His stormy eyes stared her down making her lower her head even more.

    "If the ground looks that interesting, should I help you bury a hole to lie down?"

    Ru immediately raised her head to face her father¡¯s raging face. Something shed in his eyes which the young her couldn¡¯t possibly decipher as he waved her off saying, "Just go back to your courtyard. And don¡¯t show me your face for a while."

    At that time, Ru took her leave with a heavy heart. She was a light sleeper from the beginning and when at midnight, she felt feather-like footsteps approaching, she was ready to strike. But couldn¡¯t do so.

    As she had turned, she saw her always mighty looking father kneeling on the floor with her blood-stained clothes in his hands. Under the dim lights, she could see his trembling hands and when he turned, she pretended to sleep again.

    She felt his soft breath close to herself but it was easy to feign her sleep until she felt something wet touching her face. Her whole body froze at the realization that her father was crying. The man she revered was actually crying and that too... Because of her.

    His strong hands stroked her hair with a rare tenderness as he whispered, "Can¡¯t you stop being stubborn? Why are you always hurting father like this?"

    Perhaps that was the night she decided, she¡¯ll never hurt her father again. And that¡¯s where her obsession with ck came from. Because even if she¡¯ll be drenched in blood, no one will know if her clothes would be ck.

    *shback*

    Coming back to the present, she felt lost again. Because now she could understand that emotion she used to see her father¡¯s eyes.

    "Do you know Mr. Ji that my father is the only person who rebuked me, thrashed me and even left me to starve? But at the end of the day, he was the one hurting the most. He had his responsibilities and I was the troublemaker challenging his authority. If he couldn¡¯t even discipline me, how could he keep his n in check?" She didn¡¯t know why she shared all this with Ji Yifeng. But it helped her heart to lighten up a bit.

 Chapter 181 I Dont Want His Son!

    Ru couldn¡¯t possibly forget that every time her father punished her for the sake of n Rules, he also punished himself along with her. He was strict and there was no doubt about that. She used to think that he was overreacting always.

    However, staying out all these years made her realize what she had really left behind. That father always portrayed himself as the bad guy just to help her stand up on her own feet. Just to teach her that she wasn¡¯t supposed to depend on others. She only needed herself to stand tall.

    Most importantly, if it wasn¡¯t because of the willpower that his father instilled in her soul, she really would have lost her life back then.

    "That¡¯s how fathers are. They hide their love behind their stern and strong demeanor. They want to be strong for their child. And that¡¯s why they never dare to show their weakness before their own kid." Ji Yifengmented after he learned of why Ru called her father weak.

    But wasn¡¯t all fathers weak when it came to their own flesh and blood?

    "We all are weak but yet we strive to be heroes for our kids."

    "I agree with you. After I left my dad, I did realize what he was for me. He always acted like a viin just so I could be the hero of his life." Ru was still reminiscing. "I always thought he was biased when it came to me and my little brother. But now I know that I was the one he loved the most. Because he taught me how to face the storm rather than protecting me behind himself like my little brother."

    Ji Yifeng could feel the love and respect in her voice and it really moved him. One could feel what her father meant to her.

    "Your father is lucky to have a son like you," he couldn¡¯t help saying this.

    ¡¯Son?¡¯ That one word made Ru want to scratch her head.

    With a cough, she hid her emotions and said, "Mr. Ji, why don¡¯t youe clean with your sons?" She might not know what went wrong but she was certain that Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t the viin in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life.

    "A lot of things will change if I repeated the story of those years. Some will be left heartbroken and others will be lost. I¡¯m fine being an outsider as long as my children are together... And happy. I don¡¯t want to crumble their whole life just to prove my innocence." Ji Yifeng¡¯s answer wasn¡¯t much different than what she had originally expected.

    Even as an outsider, she could tell that whatever happened in Ji Family wasn¡¯t as simple as people say it was. It was not justplicated. The truth could really alter their beliefs.

    "See, this is why I said you are a strong father," Ru spoke again with resolute as if telling him she was right all along. "You are the kind of father who is ready to bear the scorn of his own sons just so that they don¡¯t end up breaking in this cruel world. But let me warn you, Xiao Zhiren is a very curious person and the way he is digging into past, I believe he¡¯ll soone across it."

    Ji Yifeng smiled back at her rather sadly as he said, "Thanks for your concern but it¡¯s not needed. Ji Family isn¡¯t the only one hiding the past. Unless one of us speak up, Zhiren won¡¯t be able to find anything."

    Ru nodded understanding his point as well. Who else was hiding the past, she didn¡¯t know but she had a hunch about it.

    "Thanks for the tea and for your precious time as well. It made me feel a lot better. Talking to you really is interesting." Ji Yifeng stood up to leave.

    "This wasn¡¯t so bad for me either," Ru replied politely.

    She was apanying him to the door when he said, "Let me know if you need any help. Although I believe your background is peculiar than mine. But I can assure you that our Ji Family isn¡¯t shabby either."

    "I don¡¯t think I need anything from Mr. Ji." Ru¡¯s response was in ordance with his understanding of her.

    ¡¯You can ask for his son!¡¯ Her conscious reminded her making Ru want to pull that stupid conscious out and give it a good beating.

    ¡¯I don¡¯t want his son!¡¯ She snapped back inwardly while waving Ji Yifeng goodbye.

    ¡¯Well, not yet. But we never know... You might want him tomorrow.¡¯ Her conscious wasn¡¯t backing off.

    ¡¯Don¡¯t talk about tomorrow when we are not even promised one.¡¯ Ru replied before banging the door close and shaking her head to get rid of this stupid monologue.

 Chapter 182 Get Lost!

    After blocking out her conscious, Ru felt her insides twisting with a splitting pain rising from the core of her head. As her distraction was gone, her whole body felt heavy and she had to drag herself inside the apartment. However, after a few steps, her body went limp and she slid down on the ground.

    Her breath was getting heavier and uneven. The scene from earlier yed before her eyes like a movie. That thick stench of blood in the alley was still overwhelming her senses. At the reminder of seeing that katana with blood dripping down its tip made her knock her head back at the wall behind her.

    She wanted this pain to numb her senses to forget the earlier events of the night.

    But instead...

    She felt like standing between those corpses all over again. The lives she took tonight. Cold sweat was forming on her forehead while her eyes looked dazed as she stared straight particrly at nothing.

    In the past couple of months, acting as a civil human being almost made her forget the monster she was deep down. These recent attacks on her were a reminder. Reminding her of who she was and which world she belonged to.

    Even as a monster or a human, there was no doubt that each life held value. And every dead soul leaves a mark on its predator. She could tell that she was in for another torturous experience. Her mind won¡¯t let her forget those people who lost their lives to her. Just like the ones who were still haunting her from the past.

    Slowly, she felt like that blood spots in her memory turned into a mist before her very eyes and formed into a person that looked a replica of herself. There was an icy cold sneer on that beautiful face that looked like hers.

    "Just like a leopard can¡¯t change its spots, you can¡¯t change your nature. You¡¯ll always stay a monster." That chilly voice made Ru feel like her head was going to burst open. It was sharp and unbearable.

    Ru lifted her hand and bit down hard on her thumb until it bled. The taste of blood slowly entered her mouth and her lost rationality slowly came back. Her fuzzy mind finally noticed that there was no blood or mist or a person in her apartment except for herself. It was her own hallucinations ying with her mind all over again.

    Feeling the energy slowly drifting away from her body, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes slowly. Her thin blood-stained lips upturned slightly in a brittle smile in mock amusement.

    "Monster? Just call me a demon. Because this devil long lost the desire to find her human self." Even in her whispering, one could hear her vulnerability. And vulnerability was a taboo for her.

    She didn¡¯t know how long she stayed on the cold floor. All she knew was that slowly but certainly, her mind wasing out of those memory fragments which made her lose her rationality every single time.

    "Ding-Dong!"

    Suddenly, the doorbell¡¯s sound entered her ears but she ignored it. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with anyone in the middle of the night. Especially, when she wasn¡¯t even sure whether she¡¯d be able to hold herself back from strangling another person.

    But the person at the door was also very persistent since the doorbell kept going on for a long time. So long that Ru¡¯s face twitched in exasperation. How could someone be so insistent? If she wasn¡¯t opening the door, people should take the hint which clearly said; Get lost!

    But, nooo... Why would anyone be considerate of her flurry of emotions? Or her raging murdering instincts.

    Inhaling... Exhaling... She repeated it several times before pushing her now numb body off the floor. With her one hand on the wall to support her body, she paced towards the door while wiping the blood off her lips with her sleeve.

    However, on the other side of the door...

    It wasn¡¯t that Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t considerate of her feelings. But he was insisting on waiting for her to open the door just because he was told that she came back home and hadn¡¯t walked out. He knew she was inside.

    "What the hell is taking her so long? I hope she¡¯s okay..." He had gotten anxious since Ru wasn¡¯t opening the door which wasn¡¯t like her at all. There were so many scenarios running in his mind and each one was worse than the previous one. It only added up to his worries.

    Wasn¡¯t it enough that he hadn¡¯t seen her since that kiss? He was cursing himself for being impulsive. He felt like his move had finally crossed a line and she was now pushing him away. But this distance was making everything harder for him.

    And it became even worse when tonight he was told that Matrix Consortium¡¯s Chairman Xie Rong had been under multiple assassination attempts. And Xiao Zhiren who was nning on giving her time to sort out her feelings came running to her door to look for her.

    He didn¡¯t know why but he was really scared for her. Not because he thought she could be hurt by those assassins but rather because he didn¡¯t know anything about it. Such a heartless fellow she was that she didn¡¯t even seek him out. He knew she didn¡¯t need his help. But at the very least, she could look for him to talk about it or something.

    In all honesty, all these thoughts in his mind were just an excuse. An excuse that his restless heart needed to see her.

    Finally, the man of the hour... Cough... I mean the woman of the hour pulled open the door and stared at Xiao Zhiren with zing eyes.

    "What took you so long? Are you so desperate to ignor-" his words were stuck in his throat as he noticed her appearance. Earlier, Ji Yifeng might have not noticed anything but Xiao Zhiren was different. He could discern the smell of blood on her almost immediately. Moreover, what made him lost for words was her green eyes.

    Her pupils were contracted and her gaze was darkened. But there was something else amiss about those eyes other than the usual charm. He just couldn¡¯t point out what it was...

    Seeing that it was Xiao Zhiren at the door, Ru felt like hiding butposed herself. As for why or where that instinct of wanting to hide came from, she couldn¡¯t tell. She held the door with one hand while hiding her blood-stained one behind herself.

    Looking straight into his prating gaze, she only said two words, "Get lost!"

    And with those cold words, she mmed the door with a bang and took another deep breath.

    Xiao Zhiren was left alone and dumbstruck in the hallway but more so, he suddenly realized, what was the look he just saw in Ru¡¯s eyes. He had seen it before once. Her eyes looked dazed as if she was operating mechanically without a soul or any thinking of her own.

    At this realization, he pressed the doorbell again but no response came. After contemting for a while longer, he decided to try his luck and punched in the code he remembered by heart.

    He didn¡¯t expect that Ru really hadn¡¯t changed her passcode even till now. How odd! Wasn¡¯t she wary of him? Or was this her form of trust in him?

    That fleeting thought made him feel good inside but soon he came back to reality and ran inside to look for her. However, he couldn¡¯t find her. He looked in every single room but didn¡¯t see her. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to appreciate her apartment¡¯s interior or notice the fact that there was no bed in the entire apartment.

    His mind was a mess as he ran around frantically looking for her. Standing in her living room, he raked his fingers through his hair and breathed out, "Rong, where are you?"

    "Right behind you..." her voice came out in a whisper but Xiao Zhiren had heard it and immediately turned his head only to realize that she had been sitting on the floor right behind the main door while he was running around her apartment like a crazed man.

    Seriously? Couldn¡¯t she have spoken sooner?

    But this was not the time to rebuke her at all. He squatted down beside her and held her hand which she tried to retract but he didn¡¯t let her do so. Noticing that the blood on her hand was because of a small cut, he eased up a bit.

    Both of them kept staring into the depth of each other¡¯s eyes with no intention of backing off. As for what they were looking for, only they could tell.

    While Ru wasn¡¯t nning on saying anything, Xiao Zhiren wanted to hear her voice. He needed to hear it. But he didn¡¯t want to start off with her current condition. Looking for a topic as an ice breaker, he recalled how she mmed the door right at his face and said, "You¡¯re getting fond of banging." With a cough, he added, "I meant door. Banging the doors."

    Seeing how Ru¡¯s looked confused, he realized how clueless she was about the suggestive meaning behind his words. Aiyo, why did she seem so innocent all of a sudden?

 Chapter 183 Dear Zhiren

    At this moment, Xiao Zhiren would have described Ru as; An innocent face with a wild side. But that innocence was quite charming to him. But it also made him wonder how did she manage to preserve her childlike innocence in this polluted and corrupted world. It was rather unbelievable considering that she has enshrouded in the dark world herself.

    "What are you doing here?" He heard her slightly hoarse voice after the silence got intense along with their gazes that had been shing all this while.

    Xiao Zhiren cleared his throat while trying toe up with something to say. He couldn¡¯t just say that he was worried about her. Could he? There was nothing wrong with those words but he knew that she¡¯d on guard again. "You¡¯ve been avoiding me. So, I decided to look for you myself." He was gingerly trying to read her expressions but how could Ru let that happen.

    Even though his words did bring a ripple of memory that had something to do with his soft, warm and moist lips on her cold ones. But even then her face didn¡¯t even twitch and Xiao Zhiren inwardly sighed at how profound her gaze was. The depth in her eyes was truly scary sometimes. That depth shouldn¡¯t have belonged to someone of her age.

    With a nk look on her face, Ru said, "It¡¯s not that I was avoiding you. I just had been..." she thought about how to continue and finished her sentence with, "Highly in demand recently."

    She felt nothing wrong with calling her assassination attempts as ¡¯being highly in demand¡¯ but it certainly made Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face twitch. Because to her, all those peopleing after a single her meant that she was of real importance.

    He wanted to yell but he still kept his voice down as he spoke, "I didn¡¯t know being hunted by bounty hunters could actually be described as being highly in demand." There was sarcasm in his tone and Ru could hear it clearly. But even then, so what? It didn¡¯t faze her at all. Neither did that fact that he was aware of her assassination attacks.

    Just because she never said it out loud, it didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t know what Xiao Zhiren was capable of all on his own. It was no wonder that he knew about the bidding on Blood Pool.

    "Why not?" She retorted back insistently.

    Xiao Zhiren sat down cross-legged before her and said, "You tell me yourself, you¡¯re the one facing death every day." And that was the only thing scaring him. Or one of the things that scared him about her. But currently, this one was at the top of the list without any doubt.

    Ru finally moved a little as she lifted her hand which she had bitten earlier. Xiao Zhiren had already wiped her hand with his own shirt without caring for the bright crimson bloodstains.

    "If death is looking for me every day, doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯m highly in demand with the King of death?" Her reply really made Xiao Zhiren speechless yet again. Would it kill her to answer like a normal person? Was this something to show-off about? He didn¡¯t agree!

    She could see that Xiao Zhiren had something to ask. Or perhaps, there were a million questions in his mind. But once again, he chose to give her space. It was like he could read her mind without trying to. It was like he could tell that she didn¡¯t want to say out her worries.

    But the conflict in his eyes wasn¡¯t hidden from her as well. He was hurting himself inwardly as he saw her struggling alone. He was indeed struggling inside. Just the thought of how she was all alone here made him clench his hands tightly.

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell why but she knew one thing for sure, she didn¡¯t like the look in his eyes. He wasmenting for not being there for her. And she didn¡¯t like this itch in her heart that he was the reason for.

    "Oi, Zhiren!"

    "Hm..." Xiao Zhiren was a bit taken aback. It was rare for her to call him Zhiren. Or did she really call him that before?

    "Are you nning on bing an astronaut?" This out of the blue question made him furrow his brows in confusion.

    "No."

    "Then why are you so adamant on giving me space?" Xiao Zhiren closed his eyes trying to stifle this urge of wanting to knock her head. However, she wasn¡¯t done yet as she continued, "Why don¡¯t you just ask what¡¯s on your mind? Is it that hard? I know I look like the kind of person who would bite but I assure you I won¡¯t bite you."

    Herst sentence made his lips turn upward as he asked, "What if I do want you to bite me? Bite me all you want."

    Ru didn¡¯t expect his response to be like this. He really had changed his tactic of hitting on her. He was quite audacious around her these days. But why wasn¡¯t she able to push him away once and for all?

    "I¡¯ve killed 18 people tonight. Do you think I can¡¯t add another on the list?"

    "I don¡¯t think that at all. However, I know for a fact that the next person on that list won¡¯t be me." His cocky expression was supposed to irk her and yet she was being amused. When did that change conspire? Even she wasn¡¯t too sure about that.

    They both didn¡¯t speak for a while again and this time, Xiao Zhiren chose to break the silence as he said, "Do you want something? I can bring it to you."

    Ru looked into his eyes and a sly smile emerged on her face as she said, "I want snowman blood. Can you bring me some?"

    "Of course, I ca-" Xiao Zhiren stopped mid-sentence as he felt like something was wrong with her request. "Snowman blood?" He repeated uncertainly.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she answered, "Yup." Seeing his deep frown shenguidly added, "I¡¯m a bloodthirsty person. It¡¯s a very normal request on my part. But... Sigh! You certainly can¡¯t fulfill it."

    "Who said I can¡¯t?" Xiao Zhiren spoke in defiance as he said, "I can fulfill each and every request of yours." Then he gave a thoughtful look and went on, "Let me first figure out what snowman blood is."

    Ru didn¡¯t interrupt him and let him figure it out himself while she felt like her earlier dark aura was all gone. His presence had made her forget the surge of anger and rage and a will to kill everything in sight. He was like she said; a bright light. But what if his light was too much for her dark heart?

    Xiao Zhiren kept mumbling incoherently, "What could be snowman blood made of?"

    Ru shook her head at him while thinking, "You dumb bachelor! No wonder it was your first kiss. If it¡¯s snowman blood. Isn¡¯t it obviously made of snowman itself? With this IQ level, how will you get a girlfriend?"

    She was forgetting that IQ had nothing to do with having a girlfriend. A rtionship only needed a sincere heart and even she couldn¡¯t argue with that fact that Xiao Zhiren had the sincerest heart she had evere across.

    ¡¯It was your first kiss as well, Ms. Smartypants!¡¯ Her subconscious reminded her almost instantly.

    ¡¯If you keep quiet trust me nobody will miss you.¡¯ Ru retorted back.

    Xiao Zhiren was tired of thinking as he exasperatedly scratched his head and asked, "Can you speak like a normal person? What really is snowman blood?"

    "Bottled water," Ru answered ndly while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s teeth gnashed in fury.

    "Can¡¯t you stop with yourme jokes?" He snapped at her but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it harshly.

    "Aiyo! Dear Zhiren, it¡¯s not that my jokes areme. It¡¯s just that people are not smart enough to understand them. What can I say... Even I¡¯m very distressed about it. It¡¯s hard for a cream of a crop like me to live between ordinary people. How troublesome!" Her haughty arrogance and narcissism were beyond words. However, Xiao Zhiren seemed to have not heard anything except for one thing; Dear Zhiren.

    ¡¯Dear Zhiren? Dear Zhiren!¡¯ Xiao Zhiren kept repeating in his mind and thought that his name had never sounded this good before. Unexpectedly, Ru had dropped her deep voice and used her real feminine voice while talking which made the moment even more mesmerizing for him.

    ¡¯Who am I? Where am I?¡¯ Xiao Zhiren felt like dreaming as he tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Is this heaven?"

    Ru didn¡¯t get his meaning but she still responded in her peculiar manner, "Nope! This ce is called Earth and trust me, it¡¯s worse than hell."

    Xiao Zhiren gave a short chuckle surprising her even more. He ignored her answerpletely as he said, "If this is not heaven, then why is an angel sitting before me?"

    Ru widened her eyes. "Huh? There is an angel here? Where?" She even craned her neck to look around while he held her hand and pointed it towards herself.

    "Angel is right here hiding behind her pitch-dark disguise."

    Ru gave him a dumbfounded look while he stood up and tousled her hair saying, "I¡¯ll being your snowman blood to you."

    Ru was left to watch his disappearing back with a blurred vision. Suddenly, she felt her vision brightening up; all the colors of this world were back to her life.

 Chapter 184 A Borrowed Kiss

    Xiao Zhiren came back to her side with a bottle of water in hand. He twisted the cap while sitting beside her on the floor and passed her the bottle.

    Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck to each and every movement of his. As if she was trying to etch it in her memory. And it did. The way this long legs wrapped in cotton pants strode around, the way his eyes focused while his slender but strong fingers twisted the cap of the stic bottle. All of it got stuck in her memory.

    Sensing her gaze on himself, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t feel flustered at all. Instead, he felt something rippling inside his heart. With the exact same shamelessness as she had, he said, "I know I¡¯m handsome. No need to be starstruck."

    Ru almost spurted the water out of her mouth that was yet to be swallowed. It took a bit of effort to shove that water down her throat. "Lofty much?" She raised a single brow at him whether it was in sarcasm or amusement only she could tell.

    Xiao Zhiren gave a sly smile and put his arm over her shoulder as if giving her a side hug. "Learned it all from you." Ru¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t on his words anymore, rather it was on the presence of his firm hold on her shoulder. That hand on her shoulder wasn¡¯t repulsive. It was like a silent remedy that slowly pulled her out of whatever was happening in the previous days.

    Beside her, Xiao Zhiren was observing her actions as well. He saw the way her hand lifted to p his own but then stayed down with a conflicted look on her face. He was certain that she was having a hard time deciding whether to let his hand stay or push it away. But when she clenched her hands into fists and didn¡¯t push him away, Xiao Zhiren felt aplished. She was finally willing to give him leeway. And it was all he needed to crawl into her heart.

    Gulping down the whole bottle of water, Ru took a deep breath and something caught her eye. "You ran around my apartment in your shoes?"

    Xiao Zhiren raised his eyes before looking at his feet. Indeed, in his anxious state, he forgot about changing into slippers. While rubbing the nape of his neck, he said, "Actually, I was too anxious. I didn¡¯t realize it."

    "Why were you anxious?" Ru¡¯s outburst was misced at least that¡¯s what Xiao Zhiren thought.

    And that¡¯s why he managed to say, "This is your own fault! If you don¡¯t make me always so worried about me, I wouldn¡¯t lose my senses. But no! You love getting in trouble and that makes me scared. What do you expect? me yourself since you mean so much to me that I can¡¯t even think straight when ites to you."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened while she was left stunned. Why was he being so blunt? His bluntness was getting to her. Since she was the one who made him worried so it was all her own fault. Although this logic didn¡¯t make sense to her, somehow it felt good when she heard it.

    ¡¯Good?¡¯ Ru shook her head getting this ridiculous thought out of her mind. ¡¯There is nothing good about this. So, cut it already!¡¯

    Even if she denied it with all her might, even she knew that his words had stirred her emotions. In her slightly flustered state, she said, "I-I don¡¯t give a bloody hell! Yo-You ran amok like a crazed man in my apartment."

    "So what?" Xiao Zhiren questioned noticing the way her pupils were rolling upward in an attempt to hide her emotions.

    "Who¡¯s gonna clean it now?"

    Xiao Zhiren brought his face inches away from her and whispered, "Who?"

    As his breath fanned over her face, Ru tried to lean back only to realize that there was a wall behind her. She held her knee to hide the shaking, turned her face sideways and said, "Obviously, you¡¯ll have to do it yourself."

    "I¡¯ll do it." Xiao Zhiren readily agreed but Ru felt his breath getting closer. Suddenly, Ru¡¯s body stiffened because of a warm touch on her neck. Xiao Zhiren was nuzzling her neck and the feel of his nose caressing the exposed side of her neck made Ru¡¯s mind go nk. He dropped a feather-like kiss at the junction where her neck and jawline connected. "But I have a condition."

    Ru was clutching her clothes tightly while that simple touch of his kiss ignited her skin. She felt like ants were crawling on her body since the tingling was so strong. What was this feeling? She couldn¡¯t tell. No one had ever touched her so intimately before.

    She refused to meet his eyes while Xiao Zhiren held her chin and turned her face. Ru still kept her eyes heavenwards. She didn¡¯t want to look into his eyes. She was able to ignore the passion in his eyesst time but she was certain that he would break all her walls if she just looked into his ck orbs.

    There wasn¡¯t a tinge of shyness on her face. And Xiao Zhiren was amused by this fact since from long he knew that she wasn¡¯t someone who could be embarrassed. She didn¡¯t possess that coquettish nature of girls. It would be a miracle if she ever acted coy. But he wasn¡¯t counting on it at all.

    With a sly smile, he asked, "Don¡¯t you want to know about my condition?"

    Ru felt like she had fallen in her own trap. Seriously, how could her wordse to bite her like this? This was so wrong. But why wasn¡¯t she pushing him away?

    ¡¯Isn¡¯t it obvious? You don¡¯t want to hurt him.¡¯ Her conscious was back to guide her.

    ¡¯Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡¯ Ru inwardly bellowed.

    ¡¯Aiyayaya! Dear Ru¡¯er, right now you don¡¯t trust your own strength which had been unleashed. ept it that¡¯s the reason, you¡¯re not even touching him. Ru¡¯er is scared!¡¯ That mocking from her conscious might have felt like a nuisance to her but Ru knew that every said word was the truth.

    She just couldn¡¯t bring herself to hurt him.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t disturb her internal battle. He knew perfectly well when to push and when to pull away. He couldn¡¯t scare her now. That would be so not beneficial to his chase. Oh, yes! This had indeed be a chase from courtship. Because neither Ru was a normal girl who he could woo nor did he was someone who knew how to court someone.

    Instead, calling it a chase was better since both of them was chasing something. He didn¡¯t know what she was chasing. But he was certainly chasing her for years. And he couldn¡¯t just change that.

    "What is the condition?" Ru stammered her words out while willing herself to look into his eyes. It took everything within her to stop from snapping her resolve that was crumbling under his intense gaze.

    "I lent you something thest time we met. Give it back." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words made Ru frown.

    When did she borrow anything from him? What him? She had never borrowed anything from anyone in her life! Not even a single favor!

    "I didn¡¯t borrow anything from you." She answered inly after thinking thoroughly.

    "Yes, you didn¡¯t ask to borrow it but I still lent it to you. Why are you shirking away from the responsibility?"

    "But I really didn¡¯t. Okay, tell me what did you lend me?"

    Her stubborn denial was a great show for Xiao Zhiren. His hand dropped from her shoulder to her waist and he pulled her body close to his own and as her mouth opened to shout at him, his lips descended to capture hers.

    Last time when asked what the kiss was like, Ru couldn¡¯t say much since her mind had gone nk. But this time was different. She felt the intensity of his touch hundred folds or much more than that.

    Her lips didn¡¯t move at all since she had no clue what to do and it gave Xiao Zhiren the chance to do whatever he wished to. Lightly sucking on her lower lip, his tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips. Unlike thest time, he didn¡¯t taste the alcohol or tobo from her. This time she tasted much more intoxicating to him. So much so that Xiao Zhiren felt like drowning in her taste.

 Chapter 185 Hello For A Lifetime

    A direct confession of your feelings can¡¯t be done with mere words. Because when your lips brush against your lover¡¯s, words aren¡¯t needed anymore. Then your souls do the talking.

    A kiss can evoke a million things within you. It can burn a fire within your bones. And yet, it makes you feel like drowning in an ocean, gasping for air. Oddly enough, a kiss isn¡¯t only felt by the lips. It even makes every single cell in our bodye alive with desire.

    When Xiao Zhiren opened his eyes, he saw how she was looking at him up close without blinking. He wanted to shake his head at her stupor but instead, he pulled away slightly to smile against her lips. He lifted his hand and closed her eyes whispering in a husky voice, "Don¡¯t think. Let your heart feel."

    Before she could open her mouth, he had captured her lips again. The soft sensation of his lips awoken her from her stupor. This time though she listened to him and didn¡¯t think anything.

    And that¡¯s how she felt the storm that was brewing under her skin. It felt like his lips were whispering a secret while her heart was being caressed by his kisses. Nothing was rushed. He was kissing like he had all the time in this world. Like he¡¯d rather be kissing her than doing some other useless stuff.

    The movement of his lips against hers was soft and moist. But the kiss still felt hot and breathy. It wasn¡¯t a battle and none of them was trying to win either. Xiao Zhiren bit her lip softly making her open her mouth wide before making his way in to explore the deepest recess of her mouth.

    The first stroke of his tongue against hers made Ru stiffen and she opened her eyes frantically. The touch was quick and electric but she couldn¡¯t deny that it was delicious. His hand on her waist raised to rub soothing circles on her back; reassuring her. Just when her body loosened up again, only then did Xiao Zhiren continue to shower her with love and tenderness.

    He knew this kiss was way too intimate for her but he wanted to show her what it meant. He had a lot to say and he knew no word would ever be enough. That¡¯s why he used this kiss as a messenger of his love, his tenderness, his insecurities and most of all his fear of losing her.

    Ru felt much more than what he was trying to convey. She could feel his touch turning firmer, more determined and his tongue getting more curious.

    Ru had always been in control of everything in her life. This could be considered as a rare moment when she was not the one in control. Rather she was allowing someone else to take control. And he did. But she didn¡¯t find it repulsive at all.

    The teasing of his tongue made her feel like he was seeking a union and closeness. They were sharing the same breath, the same sensation, the same timeless and passionate moment. For the first time, Ru wasn¡¯t living a moment. She was feeling it with every awoken cell of her body.

    She felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach but chose to ignore it altogether. She neither knew what this sensation meant nor was she inclined on finding out. At least not right now.

    Xiao Zhiren only pulled away when both of them needed to catch their breath. Ru¡¯s chest was heaving up and down in an uneven manner. Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t any better if not worse but there was an indescribable emotion glimmering in his eyes while he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

    ¡¯Holy F*ck!¡¯ Ru could only curse in her mind when she looked into his eyes. That one look had made her biggest feare true. She officially felt her walls crumbling down leaving havoc behind.

    He didn¡¯t kiss her like he was saying goodbye neither did he kiss like it was their first hello. His kiss only screamed one thing to her; Hello for a lifetime of no goodbyes.

    Seeing how she was still looking at his face without even a tinge of shyness in her eyes, Xiao Zhiren really didn¡¯t know what to say. So, he rubbed her head saying, "I took back what I lent you... With interest."

    Ru suddenly remembered how this kiss started in the first ce. He was insisting he lent her something but she was also adamant that he didn¡¯t. Now that she thought about it, this shameless person was using his words to trick her. She didn¡¯t want to borrow thest kiss and definitely didn¡¯t n on giving it back tonight. But how could she say it now?

    While she was contemting what to say, he rested one hand behind her head and nted a firm kiss between her brows taking her by surprise yet again. That one kiss told her how much he respected her and how much he wanted to protect her.

    "Stop zoning out." Saying that he swiftly stood up and offered her his hand. "The marble floor is cold. Get up already."

    Ru took his hand. Unlike his fears, she really didn¡¯t pull away. Instead, she walked by his side and even took a seat at the couch. Xiao Zhiren sat beside her and kept his eyes on her side profile.

    Seeing her troubled eyes, he asked, "What¡¯s bothering you?"

    Ru turned a bit to face him and pointed straight at him without any hesitation as she said, "You."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t expect this answer at all. "I¡¯m bothering you? How?" Ru bit the inside of her lips but stayed quiet. He took her hand in his own and patiently waited for her to speak.

    "You¡¯re testing me the way no one ever dared to do so before." Ru began with a firm tone. "You¡¯re challenging my boundaries and beliefs. You¡¯re trying to crumble the walls that took years to build. And most of all, you are making me lose myself." He knew she wasn¡¯t done yet and that¡¯s why he still waited. "I really can¡¯t be what you expect me to be."

    "And what do you think I expect you to be?" He retorted almost immediately.

    "You want to change who I am."

    Xiao Zhiren gave her a smile. "I wouldn¡¯t dare do that. If there is one person in this world whom I don¡¯t want to change than that¡¯d be you. I like you, not the version what others want you to be. I fell for this version of yours. And I fell hard. You¡¯re annoying at times, narcissistic at others. You¡¯re insidious, ruthless, merciless, dark but aren¡¯t I still sitting here? Why would I even wish for you to change?"

    Ru was left bbergasted as she gaped at him in disbelief. Was that a confession? She knew it was- if one ignored the insult. But with a dry cough, she decided to pretend like she didn¡¯t get his real meaning at all.

    "It¡¯s good if you don¡¯t want to change me. It wasn¡¯t possible anyway." She replied offhandedly while turning to look outside the ss windows.

    Xiao Zhiren understood her intention and didn¡¯t continue this topic anymore. But he had a new curiosity now. "Hey! I think I didn¡¯t see a bed in your apartment."

    "Took you long enough to realize that, genius," Ru muttered under her breath.

    "I heard that." Ru shrugged her shoulders in response. "But seriously, you really don¡¯t have any beds?"

    "Nope."

    "Why not?" Before Ru could answer, he came up with his own ridiculous conclusion. "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a... Vampire?" His voice turned into a whisper at the end as if it was the biggest secret or something.

    "Seriously? Couldn¡¯t youe up with something better?"

    "Well, you love snowman blood. Who knows, maybe you actually like human blood as well." Xiao Zhiren was acting yfully unlike his nature.

    "Until now, I was only interested in squeezing blood out of humans. But now, I think I should try drinking it. How about starting with you?"

    Xiao Zhiren arched his neck towards her saying, "Go ahead. This artery gives better ess to blood."

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say or do. Really, this man was always testing her. Urgh! It¡¯s really annoying! But why wasn¡¯t she still kicking him out of the house as she did with his brother?

    "You know what Zhi... Hold your life dearly. I might snatch it away." She spat out through gritted teeth.

    With a cunning glint in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" She shouted at him.

    "You told me to hold my life dearly. That¡¯s what I doing. I can¡¯t let you snatch my life so easily now. Can I? How will I live without her?"

    His reply yet again made Ru speechless. What was he doing with her? Was he ying with her? Because if he was only God knew how much Ru was going to suffer.

 Chapter 186 Violent In Bed

    There are two types of dreams in life; one that we see with our open eyes. We often define them as ambitions. And the second ones are those thate to us when we sleep. But how can one define them?

    Some say when we sleep we end up living in another world. While others believe that those dreams are just a way of our mind telling us what we are missing.

    But what if we disagree with all those conjectures?

    Honestly, it¡¯s not like one can understand the dreams of a human. We are yet to understand the difficult andplicated nature of a human being. How can we im to understand the dreams of that same human being?

    Often our dreams areplicated or in simple. But still, we find them hard to understand except for the feeling they left behind.

    Tonight was bound to be a long night but who knew that Ru would be too tired to keep her eyes open? And more surprisingly, who would have thought this person who imed to have never seen a dream in life would actually end up finding herself in a strange dream.

    Walking through a thick bamboo forest bare feet, Ru found herself in a vast and barrennd which seemed endless. No matter where she looked, she found nothing even the green forest she had just left vanished.

    Suddenly, she heard theughter of a woman making her ears perk up. Her brows wrinkled as she scrutinized her eyes to look ahead, trying to find the source of thatughter.

    Ru saw thend before her turning into a beautiful greennd with a lush green grass looking like a natural carpet. Ru slowly stepped on that grass and found the grass softer than she had expected it to be. It felt like she was stepping on cotton.

    As she was slightly distracted by this soft feeling underneath her feet, Ru soon heard thatughter again. She looked up and saw a huge weeping willow tree emerge out of a pure haze. Ru seemed enchanted by the way it¡¯s slender branches were dancing at the rhythm of the breeze that softly blew around.

    Mesmerized by this simple scene, Ru kept moving forward and soon found the person whoseughter was pulling her in.

    Before her, a woman in pastel green long-sleeved robes was sitting while leaning against the tree. The woman had long ck hairs that were tied up in a beautiful braid with simple but elegant ornaments used for styling. Her eyes were lowered but Ru could tell they held an immense amount of love and gentleness by the way her lips were curled up.

    As Ru lowered her eyes, she found the reason behind that smile of hers. A man had his head in herp while he was talking animatedly to her. At the sight of that handsome face that was already etched in her mind, Ru stood there dumbstruck.

    "Zhi-Zhiren?" She whispered softly in confusion.

    But there was no doubt. That smile wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to her anymore. But why was she feeling an itch in her heart? As if someone was prickling it with something softly at first but then he lifted his hand to caress that girl¡¯s face and Ru felt like a fire was ignited within her.

    He suddenly seemed far away. Out of her reach. As if there was a huge gap between them. But what was it? She wanted to call out to him but couldn¡¯t do so.

    Just as she wanted to move, she felt a ring and scorching heat touching her body. She instinctively lifted her hand to shield her eyes.

    And that¡¯s how her dream came to an abrupt halt.

    While back in Ru¡¯s apartment, she still had her hand before her eyes to shield the zing sun rays that were falling on her through the ss windows in the living room. Groggily, Ru sat up and after rubbing her eyes, she slowly opened her eyes to find herself in the same couch where she was sitting with Xiao Zhirenst night.

    The scenes fromst night yed like a movie before her eyes and she got stunned. Why was she sleeping here? The answer would be that she hadpletely lost track of time and space as she spent hours arguing with Xiao Zhiren like a kid. She felt like she should be ashamed of herself. But wasn¡¯t she too thick-skinned? How could something like a bit of banter embarrass her?

    While she was pondering over that, she suddenly felt a body heat close to herself. She was immediately in an alert mode as she whipped her head and saw Xiao Zhiren sleeping right beside her. Her eyes widened, this time in shock at this unbelieving scene.

    The couch was big but not that big and yet she found herself sandwiched between him and the couch while he looked quite ufortable at the edge.

    Without even thinking, Ru pushed him off the couch and with a ¡¯thud¡¯ Xiao Zhirennded on the floor.

    "Ommff!" A groan escaped his mouth. "Why are you so violent early in the morning?"

    Seeing him scowl at her with that adorably handsome face of his, Ru¡¯s face darkened because it contrasted with that smiling face he had in her dream. And that too for the OTHER WOMAN!

    That gorgeous, peerlessly beautiful woman! How infuriating!

    "I was born violent. What does it have to do with you?" Ru pushed her chin up and shouted in a defying manner.

    Xiao Zhiren was confused at her sudden outburst. What went wrong? He wondered but couldn¡¯te up with anything. ¡¯Forget it! She¡¯s temperamental and entric one. I really won¡¯t be able to understand her mind.¡¯

    With that thought, Xiao Zhiren decided to disregard her ugly expressions and ring eyes.

    Like a calm and rational person, he stood up and said, "My little chili, if you are this violent early in the morning. I can only wonder how violent you can be in bed."

    "Huh? What?" Seeing her yet again dumbfounded look, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. She was way too clueless for her own good!

    It wasn¡¯t that she was clueless about his meaning. She simply didn¡¯t find the reason to let him know.

    However, he felt like he had to teach her. And there was a lot to teach here as well. Sigh! It¡¯ll certainly be tiring. But he was ready to invest in her both his time and effort along with himself. Oh, wait! He was already invested in her way beyond his own belief.

    "Nothing. Mind telling me what made you so angry?" Xiao Zhiren tried to steer away from the topic which was beyond her understanding.

    Again, his handsome profile in those white robes shed before her eyes lying with his head in another woman¡¯sp. Ru closed her eyes to shoo away that image and opened her eyes only after taking a long and deep breath.

    "Who allowed you to sleep with me?" Might as well use this excuse for her outburst. He wouldn¡¯t know anyway.

    Xiao Zhiren rolled his eyes at her as if seeing right through her as he said, "Oh, please! You didn¡¯t mind my presence when you used my shoulder as your pillow. I¡¯m notining and here you are hurting my feelings after taking tant advantage of me."

    Ru stared at him with her mouth agape in disbelief. "Wh-What the bloody nonsense are you spouting? I didn¡¯t take any advantage of you!" She stammered in her speech which was so unlike her.

    Xiao Zhiren secretly grinned and massaged his own shoulder. "Aiyo... You really are ruthless. My shoulder is numb because of you."

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell whether he was lying or telling the truth. For one, he was getting good at hiding his feelings. And second, she wasn¡¯t sure how she had a deep sleepst night. She had never even had a dream before in her life. At least not the one that was just a figment of her imagination. All her dreams wereprised of her lost memories.

    Although this particr dream also felt like a memory, Ru was certain it wasn¡¯t hers. There was no way it could be hers. Right? That small voice of uncertainty was enough to shook her resolve.

    Seeing her dazed expression, Xiao Zhiren felt something amiss as he came close to her and asked, "Are you still lost in the dream?" Ru didn¡¯t know why but she nodded. "Haiz! Don¡¯t overthink about it. What did you dream about anyway?" His curiosity grew when he saw her reaction.

    "Nothing. Nothing at all." Ru insisted.

    "Whatever. By the way, I heard that dreams are like wishes that our hearts secretly ask for. Hope your heart made the wish for us to be together."

    Ru abruptly stood up and made a beeline for her room upstairs while shouting at him, "Stop your stupid remarks and get out of my house. Don¡¯t let me see you when Ie back."

    Her weird expression was amusing to Xiao Zhiren as he watched her retreating back. But as she disappeared from his vision. His smile froze and a gloomy look took over.

    Last night, he also had a dream...

 Chapter 187 He Really Lef

    Locking herself in the bathroom, Ru leaned against the door and took long breaths. All this while, her mind wandering off to the dream she just had. She shook her head vigorously until she felt a bit dizzy and walked inside the ss walls to take a shower.

    After an ice-cold shower to numb the bloody itch in her whole body, she picked out a pair of a simple t-shirt and trousers. She didn¡¯t even bother with the binding around her chest since she wasn¡¯t nning on leaving the apartment at all. Also, the tightness in her chest earlier was too much. She needed to give her body some break at some point.

    But who would tell this silly girl that the tightness in her chest was definitely not because of a binding she had grown ustomed to.

    With a towel, she was drying her hair as she stepped inside her room. Suddenly as her eyes caught sight of something, she stopped in her track. Slowly, she turned her head and stared at the wall clock like it was some foreign thing.

    The clock wasn¡¯t foreign, it¡¯d be the time that seemed foreign to her instead.

    "Raven, what¡¯s the time?" Her eyes were still looking at the huge clock that didn¡¯t seem like a defected one.

    "It¡¯s 12:13 PM." Raven¡¯s reply made the already stunned Ru feel like she was still dreaming.

    She slept for almost 11 hours! This was like a historical moment for her. When was thest time she slept for this long? The answer would be NEVER!

    cing the back of her hand on her forehead, she tried to take her temperature but couldn¡¯t tell the difference since both her hand and forehead were cold. Pursing her lips, she held her own wrist with the other hand and concentrated intently.

    "I don¡¯t seem to have a fever. But then how can I sleep for this long?" Ru was scratching her head like a fool while trying to understand what changed. Then it suddenly clicked, "He was sleeping beside me." Her eyes grewrge considerably at this realization.

    ¡¯HA! Took you long enough, GENIUS!¡¯ Her conscious used the same sarcasm as she had used on Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru made a sour face and with a reluctant look in her eyes, she said, "No way! How is that possible? I might have been too exhausted."

    ¡¯If that floats your boat then why not...¡¯ Her conscious was active with her reply making Ru roll her eyes. She really didn¡¯t want to waste time having an arguing session with her own self.

    With her still damp hair she walked out of the bedroom and came downstairs. Her eyes unconsciously darted around in search of a figure but when she couldn¡¯t find him, she muttered, "He really left?"

    ¡¯You asked him to leave. Oh, let me rephrase it, you told him to get lost!¡¯ This reminder from her mind made her sour mood to turn bitter now.

    "Hmph! I told him to get lostst night as well. Didn¡¯t he disregard my words and still barged inside my house? Forget it! Why am I even wasting my breath on someone like him who smiles at other women even in my dreams? Hmph! Stupid! Jerk!" She kept rambling to herself while walking towards the kitchen.

    Looking at the ingredients in her fridge, she decided to make some beef noodles for herself. Home-cooked meals weren¡¯t so bad either. So, with this in mind, she took out the beef and other ingredients from the fridge.

    Her cell phone rang somewhere but she wasn¡¯t nning on looking for it until she felt that this person was rather persistent. Just like Xiao Zhiren wasst night? With a flicker in her eyes, she ran to find her cellphone and finally found it under the coffee table in the living room.

    Without looking at the called id, she touched the screen to attend the call but before she could speak she heard the other person¡¯s voice, "What took you so long?"

    Ru¡¯s excitement went down the drain almost immediately as she mumbled, "Oh, it¡¯s JieJie."

    "Ouch! That tone of yours just bit me hard." Zhu Jie¡¯s dramatic voice came from the other side as he continued, "Tell me honestly... Whose voice were you anticipating?" His curiosity took the best of him since he could feel the change in Ru even through the phone.

    "What? I was not expecting anyone! Stop wasting my time!" Her defiance proved it further to him that she was indeed lying.

    As if he had an epiphany, he came up with a n to trick this narcissistic genius. "I heard you got attackedst night again."

    "Mhmm..." Ru put the phone on speaker and started to chop the beef on a cutting board.

    "Did you get hurt?" He inquired again.

    "How is that possible? Those bounty hunters think too highly of themselves if they think that they can kill this lord. I have much worse up my sleeves." Ru replied confidently exactly along the lines of Zhu Jie¡¯s thoughts. He really expected the same words from this proud-peacock.

    "Yes, yes. Our young master Ru is a peerless genius. Who can survive after crossing his path?" He was rolling his eyes as these words left his mouth but inside even he was sure that there was nothing wrong in what she said. She wouldn¡¯t be ruling the Underworld Syndicates of Europe if she was that gullible to let any Tom, Dick, and Harry get to her.

    "Indeed. It¡¯s almost impossible to live after messing with me. So, you better behave." Ru added a warning at the end.

    "I¡¯m always behaving myself." As he said that, Ru heard the sound of a door in his background and stayed quiet as she heard a loud but familiar voice from his end.

    "Ah-Jie!"

    "Yes, baby." She heard her best friend¡¯s reply to his wife; Xu Mey and almost puked her guts out.

    ¡¯She is a grown woman. Actually, a mother of two kids. Stop calling her baby already!¡¯ Obviously, she didn¡¯t scream this out at him. One, she didn¡¯t want to hurt his feelings. Second, he wouldn¡¯t listen anyway. So, why waste her own breath? Right?

    "Hold Xiao Juan for a while. She¡¯s been crying for a while." Xu Mey¡¯s voice was still as she remembered it. This woman was always in a hurry for some reason. There was no patience in her. But if she wasn¡¯t impulsive, she might have lost a chance to be the wife of Zhu Jie as well.

    Now, that Ru noticed, she realized that the loud voice wasn¡¯t Xu Mey¡¯s rather it was from a crying little baby. Just the crying sound made Ru cringe for some reason. Urgh! Her dislike for babies was getting to her.

    "Ohh, my little princess,e to dad." Even her best friend¡¯s sickly sweet voice made her feel sick.

    Then she heard the door closing again and some soft murmurs which she couldn¡¯t understand or rather didn¡¯t want to.

    "Hey! I get it that I like sweets but you don¡¯t have to overload me with your perfect family love and sweetness." Ru¡¯s voice made Zhu Jie smile as he lightly patted his daughter andid her on his chest to sleep.

    "Ru¡¯er, were you expecting Xiao Zhiren¡¯s call?" His question was way out of her expectations since their initial topic was certainly not this.

    Perhaps, that¡¯s why she replied with, "Yes." She bit her tongue after the words were already said. What a bummer! Why couldn¡¯t she just control her bloody mouth before her best friend?

    "I knew it!" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice was soft but Ru could feel his smugness all the way there in her kitchen. She knew if his little baby girl wasn¡¯t beside him, he would have screamed at the top of his lungs by now. "Now,e clean already. What happened since thest time I saw you?"

    The way he asked made Ru think of those gossipy aunties who keeps an eye on the society romance. Imagining Zhu Jie in that scenario brought a big smile on her face. The idea was too funny for her.

    Ru sighed and decided to talk to Zhu Jie. It was better to talk to someone since the dream from earlier was really unsettling for some odd reason. As she narrated the whole dream, Zhu Jie was left bewildered.

    As she finished, she waited for his reply but Zhu Jie was left trying to digest everything first.

    "Woah! That man really knows what he wants." That was the reply she got from him.

    "And what is it that he wants?" She asked.

    "Dumbo! He wants you!" Zhu Jie snapped at her. "Aiyo, my little princess, can you hear that? This is your dumb godmother. Don¡¯t turn out to be clueless like her." Ru pouted as she heard himining about her to his daughter. "Except for being clueless, I¡¯ll let you take every other quality of hers."

    Ru felt a lot better with hisst words... Indeed, this was still her best friend who chose his wife over her but really, who remembers that? Obviously, she didn¡¯t!

    ¡¯Liar! A BIG FAT LIAR!¡¯ Her conscious nagged making her scowl but she would never ept it.

 Chapter 188 Im A Shy One

    "Not everyone can be like me. This young master is quite special." Ru¡¯s narcissistic nature came out. "After all, it¡¯s not easy to have a genius brain, with exceptional skills, otherworldly background, and much more."

    "Are you done singing your praises? You sound like a salesperson. The difference is you seem to be selling yourself." Zhu Jie¡¯s voice made her want to smack his head.

    "Oi! How can one describe me in only this much? I still have a whole lot to add." With a haughty expression she added, "Also, do you think anyone can afford to buy this lord?"

    "To be honest, I can define you in one sentence." Ru frowned at his answer. Hepletely disregarded hertter question since they both knew the answer.

    "How?" She asked.

    Zhu Jie smiled slightly as he said, "That I¡¯ll tell you some other day." Ru rolled her eyes at him. "For now, let¡¯s focus on your dream."

    "What¡¯s there to focus? Isn¡¯t it obvious that my dream was warning me to stay away from Xiao Zhiren?" Ru replied almost immediately much to Zhu Jie¡¯s distress.

    "You fool! You might be forgetting that willow trees are often associated with loss along with the hope of future retrieval."

    "Honestly speaking, instead of believing in revival theory of willow trees, I¡¯d rather believe in the theory that states that willows are indiscriminate destroyers of anything unlucky to cross its path." Ru¡¯s reply gave Zhu Jie a headache. It wasn¡¯t an easy task to win a battle of words with her. But he wasn¡¯t just anyone either.

    Jie: "Aiyayaya! Can¡¯t you focus on the simple versions like the tree itself symbolizes stability, bnce, learning, and harmony?"

    Ru: "Dear friend, don¡¯t forget that willow trees are often found near the water and water itself is capable of giving birth and taking lives."

    Jie: "Oh, then why are you forgetting that water represents the flow of life? It¡¯s the basic necessity of life even if it causes people harm. Love is also like flowing water. It can make you feel alive and it can kill you in the next second. But it¡¯ll still stay as the most precious thing in our lives."

    "You talk too much." That¡¯s all Ru could reply with since his logic was out of her brain. Just like her own logics did not get to other people. "Don¡¯t forget that he took advantage of me and ran away."

    Before Zhu Jie could say anything, he heard an unfamiliar voice from her side. "Who took advantage and who ran away?"

    The cooking chopsticks in Ru¡¯s hand fell down on the marble floor making a clinking sound while Ru stood rooted staring at Xiao Zhiren who had his eyebrows raised in an inquiring manner. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as Xiao Zhiren strode towards her.

    She pointed at him. "You! Why are you back?"

    Xiao Zhiren lifted the lid of the ck pot and the enticing aroma of sizzling beef noodles made him smile in contentment. "How did you know that I love beef noodles? You¡¯re really thoughtful. And here I was having my own assumptions." He tut-ted as if he felt like he was in the wrong.

    "What did you assume?" She asked forgetting all about her original question and the person on the phone who had conveniently chosen to stay silent.

    Xiao Zhiren took a spoon and spooned a bit of noodle soup to taste. As the hot and delicious soup touched his taste buds, he really felt rxed and refreshed. "Wow! This is damn good."

    "Why are you not answering any of my questions?" Ru snatched the spoon from his head and pointed her chin at him in her effort of staring him down.

    Xiao Zhiren straightened up and put his hands in the trouser pockets as he said, "Oh, I don¡¯t know. Perhaps, because a certain someone is too much of a nipoop!"

    "Did you just call me an idiot?" Ru red at him exasperatedly.

    "Well, whoever answered is certainly the one." Xiao Zhiren answered casually.

    "You! You!" Ru didn¡¯t know what to say this jerk! "Just answer my damn question, what is your assumptions about me?"

    Xiao Zhiren looked straight into her green eyes and said, "Simple. That you¡¯re clueless."

    Ru¡¯s temper red up at his reply. How dare he said that?!

    "Hahahaha..." A peal of heartyughter actually helped to make herself calm down as she came back to understand how she lost her temper yet again because of Xiao Zhiren. Why was it always him? She never raised her voice at anyone but this guy... Sigh! He was meant to be the death of her!

    Such an eloquent person like herself always turned into a street shrew because of him.

    While Xiao Zhiren was confused about theughter, Ru was scowling as she said, "Shut the bloody trap already! It wasn¡¯t that funny."

    It was getting hard for Zhu Jie to control hisughter. He already was bing a fan of Xiao Zhiren but now that he had heard the way he treated Ru, Zhu Jie was certain that this was THE ONE for his Ru¡¯er.

    There had to be no doubt about that!

    "Pardon me, Ru¡¯er! But... Haha... I¡¯m really getting entertained here. You guys can continue. Just treat me as thin air. I won¡¯t mind." From his voice, Ru was sure that there wasn¡¯t an ounce of guilt in him. He was getting the thrill at the expense of her. But since it was the first time, she didn¡¯t want to push it.

    However, our ocean of vinegar; Mr. Xiao Zhiren himself was stuck at ¡¯Ru¡¯er¡¯? That simple ¡¯Er¡¯ showed the endearment which felt like a sharp knife prating his chest.

    "Oh, cut it already before Ie to beat the bloody hell out of you!" Ru gave him a warning in a stern voice as much as she could use with this best friend. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d be scared of her threats though. He never did.

    "Who is that?" Xiao Zhiren asked in a small voice.

    "Oh, Mr. Xiao! Let me introduce myself..."

    "Goodbye!" Ru hung up the call without giving him any chance to say anything. Then she turned to Xiao Zhiren and said, "He¡¯s no one!"

    Xiao Zhiren noted her sour look and understood that she wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about it. So, he reluctantly had to let this matter rest. For now.

    "Come let¡¯s eat. I¡¯m also starving." Xiao Zhiren held her shoulders and pushed her down on the stool. Then he brought two sets of chopsticks but served only a single bowl of beef noodles since she had only cooked for herself.

    "Oi! I only did all this hard work for myself. I don¡¯t have enough for both of us." Ru told him straightforwardly as she the cutlery before her on the kitchen ind. Throwing all the courtesy for guest out the window.

    Xiao Zhiren sat on the stool beside her and tapped her nose adoringly as he said, "It isn¡¯t the matter that we have enough or not. The matter is whether we have the heart to share it with someone or not. So, my little chili, stop fussing unnecessarily."

    Ru frowned at his answer but decided to not pursue this matter. "Then serve the noodles in two bowls. Why do we have to take only one bowl." She was about to get up to get another bowl when he held her wrist. Ru looked down at his slight rough hand around her wrist.

    "Are you shy?" He asked making Ru¡¯s frown to etch deeper.

    "No. I¡¯m not!" She denied it honestly. She didn¡¯t know what shyness meant in the first ce.

    He pulled her down on the seat and said, "Then just eat. You¡¯re not shy, I¡¯m not shy then what¡¯s the big deal?" Ru felt nothing wrong with his words until he spoke the next sentence, "Besides, we have already tasted each other. There is no shame in tasting a meal together."

    For someone as clueless as Ru, it might be hard to understand but she still did. His meaning was crystal clear to her which seemed to be saying, "Since we have shared our saliva directly, there is nothing wrong in sharing it indirectly. It won¡¯t make much difference."

    But these words didn¡¯t make her feel ufortable. Instead, she felt something burning inside her heart. What was that zing itch? She really couldn¡¯t tell!

    Xiao Zhiren was focusing on blowing on the noodles when he felt her searing gaze at the side of his face, he didn¡¯t turn his face to look. Since he was afraid that he might lose control and kiss her again or as she said, take advantage of her. Take note that he was rolling his eyes inwardly at those insinuations.

    Nheless, he knew that if he kissed her now two things were certain; one that he would lose his rationality and wouldn¡¯t want to let go. Two that she would get violent and aggressive. So, with a deep breath, he calmed the devil inside of him and said, "You might not be shy but I am a very shy person. So, please stop eye-rap-ing me."

    Ru opened her mouth again in disbelief. What is wrong with this man? And what? Shy? Then who was the shameless person who kissed her? Say something that I can even believe!

 Chapter 189 Shadow

    With his explicit words, Xiao Zhiren was trying to ess her emotions. But when he noticed there wasn¡¯t much change in her countenance, he felt like he was banging his head against a wall. There wasn¡¯t much difference anyway. After all, either he bangs his head against a wall or tries to provoke Ru for a chance of emotions to show, both will stay unmoving.

    She really had that irksome quality which could easily make the other person mad.

    However, Xiao Zhiren was quite familiar with it. So, he didn¡¯t bother with her and continued to eat the noodles. All this time, her attention was still on him and she didn¡¯t want to eat with him either. But she could say no to him, saying no to food was not possible. NOT AT ALL!

    "Don¡¯t you have to go to the office?" Ru asked as she took a bite of hot noodles without even blowing on it.

    "I¡¯ve decided to take a page out of your book," his words made Ru frown.

    "What do you mean?" She asked.

    "Didn¡¯t you say that we pay our employees to work? If we can¡¯t even take a day off what¡¯s the point in us working our asses off to make so much money. Right?" Ru looked at him impassively while inwardly, she was quite surprised. He remembered her words for such a long time. That felt weird. "What are you looking at now?" Xiao Zhiren asked again as he saw she had stopped eating again to stare at his face. He even touched his face to see what was catching her attention so much today.

    "Nothing. I just didn¡¯t expect you to remember my words after all this time." Ru answered inly while shrugging her shoulders indifferently.

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his hand and rubbed her head saying, "I remember everything about you. You¡¯re not easy to forget."

    Ru¡¯s lips curled slightly upward in an almost unnoticeable smile as she continued to eat. After eating the beef noodles together, Xiao Zhiren took the cutlery and went in to wash the dishes at the sink. Ru followed after him saying, "I can do it myself. You should leave now."

    Xiao Zhiren turned to give her a pointed look as she said, "Why? So you could me me for running away again?"

    "What?"

    "What? Are you gonna deny it?" Ru didn¡¯t get a chance to reply as he went on, "You asked me to leave and I did. But then I heard you say that I took advantage of you and ran away. Now, would you enlighten me how did I take advantage of you?"

    "Didn¡¯t you?" Ru spoke on instinct as if she didn¡¯t even need to think at all. But she didn¡¯t realize the effect of her words on him.

    Xiao Zhiren could only smile bitterly as he mumbled, "So I was just taking advantage." With a deep breath, he calmed himself and turned to face her abruptly. "Fine. I did take advantage of you. What are you gonna do about it?"

    Ru was left dumbstruck at his reply. She didn¡¯t expect him to change his demeanor that easily. Wasn¡¯t he suppose to feel guilty and keep some distance from her? But what she overlooked was the fact that she had be Xiao Zhiren¡¯s stubbornness now. Once he was in love with her, then that love turned into an obsession which only intensified with her absence. However, now that he learned about the real her, she had be his stubbornness.

    Since Ru didn¡¯t know how to answer him, she decided to change the conversation. "If you¡¯re taking a day off, why don¡¯t you spend it with Yuan?"

    "He¡¯s nning his summer vacations with Zhang Han. He¡¯s not home." Xiao Zhiren answered calmly and dried the cutlery before wiping the counter.

    "Why are you here really?" Ru asked the question that was bugging her for a while now.

    "Do you have coffee beans?" Xiao Zhiren asked his own question.

    Ru walked by his side and opened the cabin. She passed him an airtight container of coffee beans. Xiao Zhiren checked the beans and smiled saying, "Didn¡¯t expect to find the world¡¯s finest coffee beans in a tea lover¡¯s house."

    "Shocked?" She inquired.

    "Nope. Just surprised." He answered before busying himself with grinding the coffee beans. Ru watched his movements with intent as he slowly and yet swiftly brewed himself a cup of strong coffee. She could tell it was strong with the strong aroma that was engulfing her.

    She always thought tea ceremony was the only sophisticated act. Who knew Coffee Brewing could be this satisfying. Also, who knew she wasn¡¯t finding the coffee brewing satisfying and rxing rather it was the person who was performing the brewing.

    She saw him taking a whiff of the aroma from his mug and grew impatient. "You still haven¡¯t answered my question."

    Taking a sip of his coffee in contentment, Xiao Zhiren lifted his eyes to look at her and said, "If I said my reason for being here out loud, you¡¯ll get frustrated. It¡¯s better to let it go."

    "I¡¯m already frustrated seeing you roaming around in my kitchen like you own this ce," Ru replied rather sharply.

    "Hmm... I understand." Saying that he walked towards the chaise lounge that was ced right before the floor to ceiling ss walls.

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell what his words really meant. He understand? What did he understand? Someone should make her understand as well!

    "I¡¯d have offered you the coffee but you don¡¯t like it at all." Xiao Zhiren voiced outnguidly. Finding her silence odd, he looked at her to see her already gone from his side. He decided not to look for her. She¡¯d push him further away otherwise. He needed her toe to him herself. For once, he wanted her to look for him.

    It had been an hour since Ru vanished. He knew she was inside the apartment but why wasn¡¯t sheing out. Just when he thought that she won¡¯te, he saw her walking towards him with a vacuum cleaner in tow.

    "Mr. Xiao, enough dilly-dallying. You have to clean what you messed up. Take responsibility for your actions." Xiao Zhiren felt speechless at her speech of righteousness. She really wasn¡¯t gonna let him off the hook. Sigh! It didn¡¯t matter much so he took the vacuum cleaner from her and decided to clean silently.

    But something in him wasn¡¯t nning on acting in a civilized way. And that¡¯s why when he was walking past her, he stopped to whisper, "Why don¡¯t I take responsibility for that kiss as well?"

    Ru¡¯s back straightened up at his remark. "No need for that. As a sworn brother, I¡¯ll let you go for that."

    Xiao Zhiren replied with, "Sworn brothers don¡¯t know what they taste like. But I certainly know what you taste like. So, stop calling me your so-called sworn brother."

    Xiao Zhiren felt pleased to see her reaction and moved to clean up the apartment. In all honesty, there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust in her apartment. He knew she was just messing with him but since it allowed him to stay with her, he didn¡¯t mind at all.

    While he got busy with vacuuming the first floor, Ru again left him alone.

    Later he found her on the second floor¡¯s balcony. She was watering the nts. The potted nts didn¡¯t have a single flower but looked pleasing to the eye. He left her there and one by one cleaned the other rooms on the second floor. However, before he could enter the room at the end of the hallway, he stopped in his track.

    He had noticed a weird thing already. Every room had a wooden alphabet carved on it. For instance, this room had a letter ¡¯S¡¯ on it and the other room on this floor had ¡¯A¡¯ engraved on the door. And the rooms downstairs had ¡¯D¡¯, ¡¯O¡¯ and ¡¯W¡¯ subsequently.

    No matter how he thought about it, he felt like something was missing. These letters meant something but what? Trying to list the alphabets together, his mind worked like a machine as he came to a conclusion, the best possibility was the word, ¡¯SHADOW¡¯. But a letter was missing. He didn¡¯t find the room with ¡¯H¡¯ letter. Where was that? Or was he overthinking again?

    He traced back his steps and noted how the hallway looked bigger than the sizes of the rooms. That only meant one thing, there was a hidden room right here.

    "Is it really shadow?" He voiced out while touching the wall.

    "ess to Shadow Zone denied. Voice authorization failed." Raven¡¯s systematic voice echoed in the hallway.

    "What are you doing?" Ru¡¯s voice came right after that from behind him taking him by surprise.

 Chapter 190 An Amazing Day

    Xiao Zhiren turned to see her impassible gaze trained on him. He felt like he was caught snooping around and even had a lingering feeling that she might throw him out of the house.

    But nothing of that sort happened. Ru simply took a couple of steps closer to him and asked again, "What are you looking for?"

    Being honest was the best tactic in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind as he answered, "There is a room missing on this floor. I¡¯m looking for its door."

    Ru¡¯s brow quirked up slightly. "Why do you think that? Maybe there are only two rooms on this floor." She spoke ndly as if none of this was interesting at all.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head persistently. "I can¡¯t be wrong this time."

    "And why is that?" She retorted.

    "Because there is an ¡¯H¡¯ missing in this whole house." With his words, Xiao Zhiren saw Ru¡¯s lip curling upward again in an inconspicuous way. It was hardly noticeable.

    He saw her turning to face the wall and lifting her hand. It looked like she randomly was touching the wall but suddenly, he saw the wall part in two and a wooden door came into his view. Just as he had predicted, there was a bold ¡¯H¡¯ letter engraved on it.

    "So, I was right. It does make abination of ¡¯SHADOW¡¯." Xiao Zhiren mumbled seemingly pleased with himself as his own hand lifted unconsciously to touch the door but Ru¡¯s body was nimble than his as she swatted his hand away.

    "Just because you can see it, doesn¡¯t mean you can touch it as well." Xiao Zhiren rubbed the back of his hand where she mercilessly hit him and scowled at her pitifully. "Also, are you done with the cleaning?"

    "I¡¯ve cleaned every spot except for that room," he pointed towards thest room at the end of the hallway and continued, "And this hidden room." Taking a pause, he added, "By the way, thatst room is also locked. Can you open it?"

    "Raven, get everything back in order." Ru didn¡¯t bother replying him and instead gave her orders to Raven. Xiao Zhiren saw the wall againing in ce making it seem like a part of the hallway as if there was really no room here.

    Then she turned on her heels and walked away from Xiao Zhiren. Seeing her leaving, he followed after her, "Hey! You didn¡¯t unlock the other room."

    "Those two rooms are off-limits. Don¡¯t bother with those." Ru finally gave him an answer.

    With her being so mysterious, Xiao Zhiren was really bothered. He could guess that the hidden room would be like her study where no one was allowed. He also didn¡¯t like anyone snooping around his own study, how could she be okay with it? Especially, considering she was in an even more dangerous line of work than himself.

    But thatst room¡¯s mystery was even more intriguing. What could be behind that closed door? In his own thoughts, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t realize that Ru had stopped and he bumped straight into her back.

    "Watch where you¡¯re going!" Ru snapped at him through gritted teeth.

    "Sorry!" Xiao Zhiren apologized immediately.

    "Are you that curious?" Her question really surprised him as if she could read his mind and the thought was a bit scary. Nheless, he still dared to nod in agreement. "What if I have weird fetishes? Wouldn¡¯t wanna scare you now."

    Xiao Zhiren was unfazed by her words. He had a feeling she was just trying to scare him. Whatever he¡¯ll just let her y. As long as it makes her happy.

    "Your reaction or more likeck of it is really a turndown," Ru muttered while looking around in her apartment.

    "Are you bored?" He asked looking at her expression.

    "I am." Ru decided to answer honestly. "I¡¯m not much of an indoor kind of a person."

    "Why don¡¯t you go out then?"

    Ru looked at him like he was a fool and said, "I¡¯m trying toy low. Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m being hunted?"

    "Since when did this little chili was scared? Don¡¯t you like hunts yourself?" Xiao Zhiren even dared to pinch her cheek as he called her ¡¯little chili¡¯. Ru had the urge to bite his handoff. He was treating her like a kid.

    "I love hunts as long as I¡¯m the hunter," Ru answered him inly to curb his curiosity which was growing indefinitely.

    "Aren¡¯t you still the hunter? After all, all the hunters after you are being ughtered by you."

    Ru looked at him with a deep gaze as she said softly, "I don¡¯t want to lose myself in this hunt."

    Those words were ambiguous but it seemed to have clicked everything in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind. Last night¡¯s events came to his mind as he remembered her condition, he just knew that was her breaking point. No wonder she was looking so distrait and muddled.

    "How about I take you somewhere then?" He suggested in an effort to distract her.

    Now, however, Ru was sure that he was the one who lost his mind. "Didn¡¯t you just hear me? I¡¯mying low. Meaning I can¡¯t go out."

    Xiao Zhiren put his arm over her shoulder pulling her to his side as he said, "Aiyo! My little chili, we¡¯ll keep a low profile."

    "You want me to put on a disguise?" She asked incredulously.

    "Nah!" he shook his head in negation making Ru frown. He rubbed her hair saying, "The best disguise for you is... Being your real self."

    Ru¡¯s frown grew deeper. "This is the real me." She answered matter-of-factly.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his finger before her eyes saying, "Nope. This is what you arefortable with. But today, we¡¯re going to make youfortable in your real skin..." He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "We are going to make youfortable in your real gender."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened dramatically as she stared at him in disbelief. No one had ever suggested something like that before. Well, considering how only one person knew of her real gender it was a given that no one suggested something this absurd.

    But why wasn¡¯t she finding his words absurd? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to? It was a given, right? She should be repulsive or more so disgusted by this idea. But she wasn¡¯t. Why wasn¡¯t she?

    "Let¡¯s head to your closet? We¡¯ll look for something appropriate." Ru didn¡¯t answer but apparently, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t need her answer as he had already held her cor from behind and started pulling her along.

    Oh, he hadn¡¯t done it for a while and Ru almost forgot how he loved to treat her like a sack full of potatoes. He was one infuriating man!

    ¡¯Then why are silently following him?¡¯ Her conscious asked and Ru could feel it smirking at her.

    Now, Ru was wondering who was more irritating, Xiao Zhiren or her own stupid conscious.

    ¡¯I¡¯m following him because... I also want to see what he can find in the closet that¡¯ll be appropriate.¡¯ Obviously, Ru wasn¡¯t even convinced with her own reply how could her conscious be?

    Sure enough, finding something appropriate in Ru¡¯s closet was like looking for a needle in a crowd or the invisible man.

    Everything was orderly arranged but not a single piece of cloth could be considered as ¡¯appropriate¡¯ at least not for a girl.

    Getting tired of it, Xiao Zhiren finally sighed in exasperation. "Wait here. I¡¯ll be back soon."

    Ru watched him leaving and turned to look around her closet. Wasn¡¯t all her clothes appropriate? Why was he acting weirdly?

    Obviously, her brain didn¡¯t work like his at all.

    About twenty minutester, Xiao Zhiren was back with a couple of bags in his hand. He passed her the shopping bags and said, "Change in these. Faster. We¡¯ll bete otherwise."

    Ru first eyed him suspiciously then moved her eyes to the bags in his hands and snatched them from him with a huff. She just wanted to leave this apartment without being noticed.

    She came out after a couple of minutes in washed-up jeans along with a ck t-shirt. It must have been the very first time that Ru wore something from the female section. Even though it was just a simple pair of jeans and a shirt.

    "Come and sit here," he beckoned her to sit at the chair and she did so with a slumped posture.

    Then she saw him pulling out a wig and immediately shot up from the chair. "Keep that thing away from me. I don¡¯t like long hair."

    Xiao Zhiren pushed her back on the chair and said, "Although girls also have short hair, your peculiar ones will be a dead giveaway. Just wear the extensions. There is no harm at all." Ru tutted at him annoyance and watched him messing her gorgeous fluffy hair into those long locks that fell over her shoulder.

    Looking at her grumpy face, Xiao Zhiren was amused. He tapped her nose and said, "Stop brooding and wear these colored lenses."

    Ru looked at the brown-colored lens and shook her head saying, "I¡¯ll wear my own." Saying that she pulled out her own pure ck lens and wore them with ease.

    Xiao Zhiren looked her up and down as his eyes sparkled with an obvious glint. This had to be the first time he saw her wearing something of her own size that allowed her figure to be prominent.

    ¡¯It¡¯s gonna be an amazing day.¡¯ Xiao Zhiren thoughts to himself with a smile.

 Chapter 191 Learned It All From You

    Ru was 14 when her father had brought her to a female store outside of their Shadowwick State. He had said, "Ru, you can choose any dress that you like. As long as we stay out of the n, you can dress up as a girl."

    She had scowled back then and replied, "Father, I don¡¯t like these clothes. I¡¯m fine with what I¡¯m wearing."

    "But little Ru, don¡¯t you also want to look pretty like other girls?" His father¡¯s gaze was affectionate yet there was a hint of guilt and hurt in his eyes.

    Ru had held his calloused hands with her small ones and said, "Father, am I not pretty as I am?"

    Looking at her big green eyes, he was stunned for a moment before he gently rubbed her hair saying, "My little Ru is the prettiest. No matter what she wears."

    Ru had smiled brightly at his words. "If Father thinks I¡¯m the prettiest than there is no doubt that young master Ru is the prettiest."

    Even now, Ru remembered that incident very well. She knew her father wanted her to know that he had his reasons for raising her like a boy. But nheless he loved her just the same.

    Although she never probed for the reason behind her disguise, she knew deep within that truth might ruin her beliefs. Or more so, it might ruin her identity. She wasn¡¯t willing to give up on both. Neither her beliefs nor her identity as the young master Ru. So, she chose the best way out. To stay quiet like she wasn¡¯t curious at all.

    Like, she didn¡¯t catch on to the abnormalities or lies that didn¡¯t add up. Ignorance is bliss. She truly followed that rule. As long as she stayed ignorant, her life and she... Both will stay as they were.

    Today, however, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was bbergasted. Those simple washed up ripped jeans hugged her legs in an appropriate manner. That simple white half-sleeved t-shirt made her bosom prominent- which ording to her were non-existent. And those long locks gave a different edge to her sharp features.

    But... Somehow Ru didn¡¯t feel like herself.

    People might call her gorgeous beauty at this point but she felt weird inside. It was just like Xiao Zhiren had mentioned, she wasn¡¯tfortable in her own skin. She had grownfortable in her disguise for so long that her own self felt foreign to her.

    Making her feelfortable in her own skin and gender was also a task that Xiao Zhiren had to work on along with evoking her feelings for him. Haiz! How tiring this work was!

    "Put this on," on reflex, she caught whatever was thrown her way and looked at the denim jacket in her hand.

    "How did you buy so much in such a short time?" Ru asked without even looking at him while wearing the jacket.

    "Are you forgetting that our apartment building is close to the shoppingplex?"

    Ru had a look of enlightment as she nodded in understanding. The shoppingplex was her own and yet she was reminded of it by someone else. She really was a masterpiece!

    Ru wore a pair of white converse and followed him out the door. Seeing her walk with long strides, Xiao Zhiren shook his head at her. "Hey! Walk like a girl."

    "Huh? There is a walk for girls?" See! As I said, she¡¯s a clueless genius! Xiao Zhiren mused to himself.

    "Take smaller steps. And put your hands out of your pockets. Also, put on a smile and lose the gruffness in your voice." Ru was frowning at his lecture but still followed his words. After all, he seemed to know what he was doing unlike her who had no idea what she was doing wrong.

    On their ride, Ru had asked the umpteenth time, "Where are we going?" And he always chose to answer with, "It¡¯s a surprise."

    It took them thirty minutes to reach their destination and as Ru looked at the Arena before her, she asked again, "What are we going here?"

    "We are here to watch a match." He answered and alighted from the car to open the door for her.

    "I can do that myself." She growled at him before climbing down the car.

    She was going to walk inside when he held her hand and before she could free herself, he whispered, "Stop moving. If we¡¯ll act like partners, people will be less suspicious."

    "Do you even believe in your own excuse?" Ru retorted.

    "I do." Xiao Zhiren answered with a guilt-free face.

    "Aren¡¯t you getting cheekier?" She lifted her brow at him without a hint of a smile on her face.

    "Learned it all from you." He replied leaning close to her.

    "me it all on me."

    "Why not?" He again fanned the side of her face with his breath.

    "Anything to invade my personal space, right?"

    "Anything." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s smile made Ru¡¯s lips twitch but she stifled her smile. She wasn¡¯t nning on giving him satisfaction.

    Hand-in-hand, both walked towards the entrance where a man greeted them with a courteous bow. "Eldest young master, the tickets you asked for." He respectfully passed the two front row seats tickets to Xiao Zhiren while trying to recognize Ru.

    Seeing his line of sight, Xiao Zhiren pulled Ru behind him rather possessively or maybe protectively? Ru wasn¡¯t really paying attention since her train of thoughts was wondering about what match they were going to see.

    "Thank you for these, Secretary Mo," Xiao Zhiren smiled at the man and strutted away along with Ru.

    Loud cheering voices could be heard from far away but only when Ru entered the Arena did she realize what match she was here for.

    Xiao Zhiren guided her to the seats and saw her pouting adorably. "What¡¯s wrong?" he asked.

    "You said we¡¯ll be watching a match." She reminded him.

    "Yes. And we are here for the match." He replied back.

    "This is not a match. This is a video gamepetition."

    Her words had just been spoken when the pretty host started thepetition.

    "Hello and wee to the 6th Grand Legends Championship. I¡¯m your host, Xiao Rou."

    "Little chili, this is eSports Championship. Isn¡¯t it also a match?" Xiao Zhiren found reasoning with her very difficult. "Don¡¯t you like games?"

    "I do. But I love games which involve me ying with people¡¯s mind or emotions. And in sports, I¡¯d always choose outdoor ones." Ru replied grumpily.

    "As you all know, today we¡¯re gathered here for the finals between ¡¯Immortals¡¯ and ¡¯Misfits¡¯. Both the teams are said to have strong gamey. ¡¯Misfits¡¯ had been the Legends Champion for the past three years. Let¡¯s see if they can keep their title this year as well." The host¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t bring out any burning passion in Ru. Instead, she was yawning in her own bored state.

    But it took a moment for her eyes to sparkle again as a big bucket of wings appeared before her. She looked at Xiao Zhiren who gave her a knowing look and she snatched it like someone was after her.

    That small act was enough to make Xiao Zhiren feel like she was indeed normal. At least her emotions weren¡¯t misced when it came to food.

    "How did you get this?" She asked while munching on her chicken wings.

    "I have my ways." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply reminded her of herself. Great! Why didn¡¯t someone mention that this answer was irksome? Because she really felt like smacking his head.

    ¡¯Others must have wanted to smack you as well when you used the same words.¡¯ Her conscious again reminded her but this time, Ru chose to nod along.

    Following that she focused her eyes on the stage and asked, "You don¡¯t seem interested in this championship. Then why are you here?"

    "Take a guess?"

    "You¡¯re here to support someone?"

    "Mhmm..." He was pleased as he hummed along. It felt good seeing that she was getting familiar with him.

    Ru nodded at his reply. It seemed more believable that he was here for someone rather than enjoying the game. He didn¡¯t look like someone who would waste his time watching these matches. If he had wasted his time like this he wouldn¡¯t be the CEO of SnapVise Technologies.

    "So, who are we here to support?" She again asked with a bit of grease around her lips.

    Xiao Zhiren naturally wiped her mouth with a napkin and Ru didn¡¯t seem to notice as well. Her eyes were still trained on the stage. This small gesture was really a very normal act and it really didn¡¯t feel awkward between them. And just as Xiao Zhiren realized it, he felt genuinely happy. It seemed like he managed to really crumble of distancest night.

    "Now, let¡¯s wee both the teams," with a loud cheering crowd two teams walked onto the stage in all their glory.

    Ru felt her mind getting dizzy from the loud noises around her. ¡¯Kids these days. Urgh!¡¯

    Xiao Zhiren saw her hand stopping mid-air as her eyes narrowed. She was staring intently at something or rather someone. There was a bit of confusion or surprise in her gaze. Whichever it was it made her forget all about her food.

 Chapter 192 Most Beautiful Pair Of Eyes

    Ru nudged Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm with her elbow saying, "Look over there..."

    However, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t bother shifting his gaze at all. He continued trying to sneak his hand inside her huge wings bucket but how could Ru let that happen. Even though her eyes were still on the person at the stage, she knew of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s every move. And that¡¯s why when his hand sneaked in to steal HER food, she swatted it away like an annoying fly.

    "I¡¯m asking you to look at the stage. Why are you trying to steal my food?" Ru chided him in a loud voice which seemed hushed in between the loud cheering crowd.

    "I am looking." Xiao Zhiren replied feeling wronged.

    "Idiot! Look at what¡¯s important." She again tried to direct his attention toward the stage but he was being stubborn.

    "I am looking at what¡¯s important." His answered irked her.

    She whipped her head to re at him and found him looking straight back at her with a gentle smile. That... Stunned her for a second before sheposed herself with a cough.

    "I don¡¯t like liars. How are you looking at what¡¯s important? You have been just looking at me all this time." He didn¡¯t look the slightest bit embarrassed.

    "Aiyo!" Xiao Zhiren pinched her nose saying, "When you are the most important to me than how am I lying?"

    Even Ru was stumped for words as his meaning cleared up in her mind. She was important to him than looking at her was also important. What logic! Shameless son of a bachelor!

    Ru really didn¡¯t know whether to praise him for twisting his words so well or beat the hell out of him for trying to y the word game with her. This level of sophistry was really unheard of. Even for someone like her who usually was genius at this herself.

    Her temper suddenly red up as she growled at him hatefully.

    "I don¡¯t want to y this game with you." She managed to grit out in anger and continued, "Look there... That guy in the cap and the mask looks like your brother."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t act stubborn again and looked towards the stage where the two teams were shaking hands now. He could see in the ck and red uniform of ¡¯Misfits¡¯, the person she called his ¡¯brother¡¯. Sharp eyes! Really sharp eyes! He mused.

    "Oh, really? Does he really look like my brother?" Xiao Zhiren was still acting clueless as if he knew nothing.

    "Oi! Don¡¯t try to y with me! I can recognize him very well." Ru was getting close to exploding. All this chattering around her was enough of a headache for her. And now, this Xiao Zhiren was also testing her again.

    Xiao Zhiren propped his face on his fist as he looked at her and said in a sad tone, "Aye... It¡¯s so sad that you can even recognize my brother in a mask but still can¡¯t see my love for you."

    Ru¡¯s hands slowly curled into fists as her mouth twitched. "Xiao. Zhi. Ren." She enunciated each word with extreme pressure. "Look into my eyes and tell me, can you see my will to strangle you?"

    Xiao Zhiren straightened up immediately as if he had received a royal decree which couldn¡¯t be ignored or dyed for a second. He intently looked into her eyes feeling dazed and somehow, with his eyes boring into hers, Ru felt the ignited me in her own eyes extinguishing like it never existed. Both of them didn¡¯t look away as if lost in each other.

    Even the match had already started but both didn¡¯t know and neither did they care at all. The world around really felt silent.

    And Ru felt like she was transported to a different era...

    A beautiful white wisteria vine pathway and two pair of eyes gazing at each other with an unconditional and unconceble love brimming in those pairs. The faces were hazy in her memory but she still managed to hear a pleasant voice asking, "Look into my eyes, can you tell how angry I am?"

    "Nah!" This feminine voice struck a chord in Ru as it felt really familiar. "All I see is the world¡¯s most beautiful pair of eyes."

    "I don¡¯t see it." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice broke her daze as she blinked in confusion as what happened. What did she just see?

    She darted her eyes around to find herself still in that noisy arena but that sh of memory? What was that? Was it something she forgot in those two years? But that beautiful ce wasn¡¯t like any other. It looked ethereal as if it didn¡¯t even belong to this era.

    Still, in her daze, she looked back at Xiao Zhiren and asked, "What do you see then?"

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his hand to brush her hair away from her eyes and said, "I see the world¡¯s most beautiful pair of eyes."

    His words dumbfounded Ru. She sat frozen still in her seat not being able toprehend this strange urrence. How could the words in her hallucination and reality ovep? The only difference was the voices.

    Ru felt like her mind was going crazy as she leaned back in her chair and didn¡¯t even bother with the food that was calling out to her. She knew she was different from an early age and she even called herself crazy plenty of times but how could she exin this strange hallucination. Oddly, it reminded her of the dream she hadst night.

    What the hell is wrong with me?! Ru wanted to bellow but couldn¡¯t do so.

    Seeing her face changing shades so spontaneously, Xiao Zhiren thought that his words made her upset with him. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t let that happen. So, he tried to strike up a conversation again.

    "My little chili, you didn¡¯t prove your words yet." Xiao Zhiren tugged at her jacket and as she finally looked at him, he continued, "I have two brothers, which one do you think is ying the match?"

    Ru stayed quiet for so long that even Xiao Zhiren felt like giving up. Finally, she voiced out, "Zhi, do you really believe that I won¡¯t throw you off to the stage from our seats?"

    Although her words were aligned with her personality, her aura and voice didn¡¯t match up. It bugged Xiao Zhiren seeing her in such a dispirited state.

    "Just like you threw my poor brother out of your apartment?"

    "He told you that?" Ru asked while lifting her brow.

    "Don¡¯t you know? Ji Syaoran is known as the bbermouth of our family. He can¡¯t keep his lips sealed. No matter what you do." Ru found a strange gentleness and love in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice as he talked about his brother.

    Ru had already recognized Ji Syaoran the moment he walked on the stage. Even though he looked a different person in that team uniform. But as Ru previously told him, there are plenty of ways to recognize a person. And Ru wasn¡¯t one who depended on a face to recognize someone.

    "This is why he said, his fingers are precious." Ru nodded her head as she remembered how Ji Syaoran hid his hand behind himself in fear that she might really break his hands.

    "He had always been careful when it came to his hands. ording to him, his fingers are priceless treasures." Xiao Zhiren shook his head as he quoted Ji Syaoran in amusement.

    Recalling something, Ru pped his arm, "Oi! Who are you calling a poor brother? That brother of yours called me a gay."

    Xiao Zhiren stifled hisughter with utmost effort and said, "He called me gay as well. Also, gave me his blessings. How touching! But I¡¯m not overreacting like you."

    "Your business is your business. My business is obviously mine. And I did feel offended!" Ru snapped back at him while staring at the huge screen where she could see those animated figures embroiled in a battle.

    To be honest, she could understand nothing. Not at all. Although she could see those figures fighting off, she felt no passion in her. Her face was like saying, ¡¯I can do better than that in real life.¡¯ She really wasn¡¯t impressed with this match.

    "This is boring." She remarked and noticed that a person beside her had been awfully silent all this while. When Ru looked at him, he looked dazed as if in deep thought. Ru waved her hand before his eyes, "Where are you lost?"

    "I was wondering..." Xiao Zhiren spoke softly.

    "What?" Ru urged him to speak.

    Right at this moment, the announcer spoke with great enthusiasm, "As thest Mage of ¡¯Immortals¡¯ had fallen. It concludes ¡¯Misfits¡¯ to be the fourth time Champion of Legends."

    Ru was trying to focus on the scene when she felt a warm breath on the side of her face again. She turned and found Xiao Zhiren inches away from her own face.

    "What is it?" She asked cautiously.

    "When will yours and mine... business will be ours?"

 Chapter 193 Found His Match

    Making her business and his business into their business meant that they¡¯d have to be one. For Ru, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t passive kind of a person but she still believed that he wasn¡¯t this proactive either. Now, he was very vocal. Especially when it came to his feelings for her. He was like looking for excuses to make her dumbstruck again and again.

    Ru touched Xiao Zhiren¡¯s forehead to check his temperature. Although he felt hot to touch, she didn¡¯t think it was a fever. "Zhi, when did you be so proactive? Why are you always professing your feelings?"

    "Because I am also scared." Xiao Zhiren replied, not minding that she had again found a way to steer away from the conversation.

    "Of what?" Ru asked in confusion.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the stage to see his brother taking the trophy and smiled before standing up and offering his hand to Ru.

    Ru obviously didn¡¯t take his hand but still stood up as well. As if Xiao Zhiren had expected this much, he immediately snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her towards himself. As she tried to pull away from her his vice grip, he leaned over and whispered, "I am scared that if I kept hiding my feelings, I might lose you to my love rivals. And since I have a long list of love rivals, I really don¡¯t know how else am I going to win."

    "Love-rivals?" Ru repeated with furrowed brows as they made their way out of the arena.

    "Yup. Love rivals." He answered.

    "Won¡¯t you enlighten me about your love rivals?" Ru suddenly forgot that his hand was still on her waist as they were side by side like any normal couple in love.

    "Do I have to?" Seeing Ru nod in response, he stated, "Well, to top the chart is my idol... Alev Knight!" Ru pursed her lips as she was about to choke on air. "Then there is a blond hair guy. He looks younger." Ru thought for a moment and realized he was talking about Jack from her ck Mist team. "Oh, and the recent one was that phone guy. The one you were happily chatting with earlier in the morning." All the while, he looked grumpy as if talking about his love rivals scalded his tongue.

    Just as Xiao Zhiren called Zhu Jie as his love-rival, Ru couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. "Pfft!" She gave a belly-hurtingugh. Ru pinched his cheek saying, "You¡¯re cute." Herughter didn¡¯t stop though.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind her suddenment but he still felt giddy inside. It was apliment he was happy to ept. It came from his little chili. He would even take poison much less being called ¡¯cute¡¯ at this age.

    "I¡¯m cuter than all other love rivals, right?" He immediately fished for morepliments.

    Ru flicked his forehead and said, "Don¡¯t push your luck."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled but didn¡¯t say anything. He really was pushing his luck now. Be happy with what you have, Zhiren. He reminded himself.

    "You bored me here. How are you gonnapensate me for that?" Ru was really not entertained in the match. Except for finding Ji Syaoran as a surprise, she found nothing too appealing to her.

    Xiao Zhiren had a reply. He really did. And he so wanted to say it out loud. But... He knew if he did, she won¡¯t let him leave unscathed. He was holding in his urge but controlling his tongue wasn¡¯t that easy. More importantly, that stupid heart of his was pushing him incessantly to just say it and eventually, he did, "How about Ipensate with my body?"

    Xiao Zhiren waited and waited but Ru stood rooted looking anywhere but him. Just when he thought he survived, she turned and punched his side, "OW!" And then a rain of punches fell on his mercilessly.

    Ru tightened her grip around his head as she had him in a headlock and said, "Since you want to offer your body so readily. How can I refuse?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face started losing color as he pped her forearm trying to loosen her grip but to no avail. "Little chili, at the rate you¡¯re going, only my dead body will be left."

    "It¡¯ll be enough for me," Ru replied indifferently.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s throat felt choked up and it got difficult to talk. With his hoarse voice, he managed to voice out, "Oi! My living body is a lot more valuable."

    "I can¡¯t see the value." As she said that she saw a group of men in ck uniforms surrounding her in a circle. Ru stayed unfazed at their sudden appearance.

    But Xiao Zhiren had an issue with them as he shouted, "Did I ask anyone of you to act? Stand down!"

    "But Sir, you¡¯re in... danger." One of them spoke out hesitantly.

    "Stand down!" Xiao Zhiren shouted. Well, as much as he could with his hoarse voice.

    The bodyguards still had some reluctance but had to follow the orders. So, they immediately backed out and went back to being inconspicuous. It wasn¡¯t that Ru didn¡¯t know about their presence, she just didn¡¯t care at all.

    "My dearest little chili, go ahead. Take all you want." Xiao Zhiren managed to smile even in this position.

    As he himself gave up, Ru lost the urge to kill him. She loosened her grip and Xiao Zhiren finally managed to breathe while coughing violently. He turned to face Ru and found a strange flicker in her eyes.

    "Don¡¯t you regret?" He suddenly questioned while rubbing his neck.

    "What?" She asked.

    "The people you killed... Don¡¯t you regret their death?" Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know why this serious question popped up in his mind but it did and he couldn¡¯t hold back.

    "I don¡¯t." Her answer stunned him for a moment. "What I do regret is losing myself in the progress." Saying that she walked away from him toward his car which they took here.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know why but his heart clenched at the thought of her words. ¡¯Losing herself?¡¯ What did that even feel like? He could only wonder. But as the dream fromst night shed past his eyes, he felt the sharp pain gnawing his insides and mumbled, "That¡¯s what losing yourself must have felt like."

    Only he could tell why he said that. Because only he knew which dream scared him so much.

    On the other side of things...

    Xiao Zhiren and Ru both didn¡¯t manage to catch a ¡¯shocked¡¯ pair of eyes that were stuck on them as they were leaving the audience seats. From the stage, Ji Syaoran felt like he was dreaming. Having his brother here wasn¡¯t a big deal but seeing his brother¡¯s hand on a girl¡¯s waist was more than just shocking! It was explosive!

    He immediately wanted to follow after to check who was the girl but the reporters didn¡¯t give him a chance. When he was finally freed, his brother had already left. "Damn it!" He cursed out.

    "Second young master, aren¡¯t you going to celebrate with your team?" His secretary¡¯s voice made his already sore mood to turn bitter.

    As if thinking of something, he asked, "Secretary Mo, did my brothere?"

    "Yes. Eldest young master just left." The secretary replied respectfully.

    "Was he alone?" Seeing how his secretary lowered his head, Ji Syaoran insisted, "Come clean with me. Don¡¯t you dare hide anything."

    The secretary shook his head and said, "No, Eldest young master came with a girl." Then he rted the whole incident word by word. He even emphasized on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s possessive nature.

    "Ahan!" Ji Syaoran jumped in the air in happiness. "I wasn¡¯t dreaming at all. My brother really brought a girl to my game. My GAME!" One had to know that Ji Syaoran being a professional eSports yer was a well-hidden fact. His biggest supporter was Xiao Zhiren but he never disclosed anything to outsiders. So, if he brought a girl with him, that meant that the girl was very important to him. Just the thought was enough to excite him.

    "Aye! I wish I had a photo as proof. Gammy would be over the moon!"

    Ji Syaoran heard a cough from beside him and looked at his Secretary¡¯s extended hand. As he took the phone from him, he saw plenty of clicks. But none captured Ru¡¯s face clearly. However, it was enough proof for him.

    He rummaged out his own phone and dialed a number, "Gammy, my dearest grandmother!"

    "What is wrong with you Ran Zi?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s voice came from the other side.

    "Your grandson has finally taken off his cloak of monks." Ji Syaoran¡¯s voice was piercing, unlike a young master of a huge n.

    "What are you saying? Did you get a girlfriend?"

    "Aiyo! My Gammy bear, how can I dare get a girlfriend before my brother."

    "Then what nonsense are you spouting?"

    "Your favorite grandson. Xiao Zhiren has finally held a hand of a girl with a loving gaze. Can you guess the meaning behind that?"

    He heard something ttering and Old Madam Ji¡¯s excited voice rang out, "My Zhiren has finally found his match."

 Chapter 194 My Dearest Love

    To calm down Ru and to save himself from another thrashing, Xiao Zhiren zipped his lips and took her somewhere she¡¯d forget all about his earlier remarks. And that ce was... The Food Street of the Capital.

    Obviously, to a foodie like Ru the only thing that could coax her would be food, not words. And as he had expected, Ru¡¯s eyes certainly brightened up at the sight of the bustling street filled with restaurants and food stalls. It was pure heaven for her.

    The aroma of spices, burnt oil, sweetness, sourness, lingered in the air making one¡¯s taste buds to awaken. At least, Ru¡¯s inner food beast was awoken. She held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s wrist and dragged him along towards the cold rice noodles bar.

    It was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s turn to be surprised as he felt her hands around his wrist. Her hands weren¡¯t like most girls. They were neither soft nor delicate. There was a distinct roughness that reminded him how much dangerous work she does every single day. Also, he was reminded of how tough she was.

    "Two bowls of cold rice noodles," Ru gave the order and found an empty seat to sit.

    Very soon, two bowls of cold rice noodles were ced before them on the stic table. Seeing Ru¡¯s glimmering eyes, Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t even bring himself to say that he didn¡¯t like cold noodles.

    Ru, on the other hand, had never been picky with food. No matter what the taste was, if she found it edible, you won¡¯t hear herin at all. She immediately dug in with her disposable chopsticks. Since this was a spicy meal with a spicy sauce, Xiao Zhiren could see the red sauce smeared on her lips as she slurped on her noodles.

    Her tongue came out to lick away the sauce and poor Xiao Zhiren felt like it was torture watching her eat. How he wished he was that bowl of noodles. Haiz! He was even jealous of noodles now!

    "I¡¯ve thought of another way topensate you," Xiao Zhiren spoke while still not touching his bowl of noodles at all.

    "What is it?" Ru really wasn¡¯t curious. His previous answer had already pissed her off.

    "Since you don¡¯t fancy my body aspensation. How about letting me devote my life to you instead?" Ru¡¯s chopsticks halted for a second as she looked at him with a deep gaze. "You can¡¯t stop my heart from beating for you. Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t think even I can do it at this point. So, let my heart at ease. I won¡¯t burden you."

    Ru didn¡¯t give him a direct reply but Xiao Zhiren decided to take her silence as her consent. As he picked up his chopsticks to take a bite, his bowl was snatched from him. He gave a wide-eyed look to Ru. "That¡¯s mine."

    "Who said that? I ordered two for myself. And didn¡¯t you just say that you¡¯ll devote yourself to me? How will you be able to do it if you can¡¯t even give up your bowl of noodles to me?" Ru¡¯s retort came as a huge surprise to Xiao Zhiren but it was a pleasant one.

    He found her act really cute as he lifted his hand and rubbed her head lovingly. "You¡¯re really..." Ru lifted her brow as if threatening him to continue, "Amazing. I was gonna say Amazing. Stop ring." Satisfied with his reply, Ru focused her attention back to the bowl of noodles at hand.

    But Xiao Zhiren¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift from her. He propped his chin on his hand and kept looking at her with tender filled eyes. Earlier he was gonna call her childish but cute; however, he had to change his words knowing she¡¯d not like his original words at all.

    Moving from that noodle bar, Ru pulled him to barbeque ce and ordered a whole bunch of meat skewers, kebabs, and rice wine. Xiao Zhiren looked at all the food being ced at their wooden table and asked, "Who¡¯s gonna eat all of this?"

    "This one," Ru pointed at herself proudly.

    "Are you sure you can eat all this? You just had two bowls of rice noodles." Xiao Zhiren kindly reminded her.

    "Oi! Are you underestimating me?" Ru gave him an inquiring look.

    Before Xiao Zhiren could say anything, the shop owner who was an olddy spoke up, "Young man, don¡¯t ever question your wife. That¡¯s the only form for a happy married life."

    Ru wasn¡¯t pleased to hear someone calling her a ¡¯wife¡¯ but Xiao Zhiren was over the moon. Ru wanted to clear the misunderstanding but Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t give her a chance as his face broke into a bright smile and he said, "Lao Ban[1], I¡¯ll remember that advice of yours."

    "Why didn¡¯t you let me speak anything?"

    "Why does it matter?" He argued.

    "Why doesn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not your wife." Ru stated inly.

    "You¡¯re right. You¡¯re not." Then his voice turned into a whisper as he added, "Not just yet."

    Ru ignored him since she really couldn¡¯t understand him at all. He was one hard person to read. And when Ru couldn¡¯t read people, she only got annoyed. So, she dedicated her sole focus to the meat-heaven before her.

    Unbeknownst to them, a storm was brewing on the inte and at the Ji Family Mansion.

    "Ran Zi, take a look at this," Old Madam Ji called Ji Syaoran as soon as he walked inside the house. "Come already. Look at this."

    "I¡¯ming. What¡¯s the hurry? Even I¡¯m not in such a hurry to show you those blurry photos of bro¡¯s girlfriend." Ji Syaoran sat down beside his grandmother on the couch and nced at her mobile screen. His eyes bulged out as he snatched the phone from her hand frantically. "Where is this from?" He asked in disbelief.

    "My favorite food blogger uploaded this photo from Food Street. It¡¯s taken only an hour ago." Old Madam Ji announced with palpable excitement on her old face.

    Ji Syaoran was still in disbelief as he looked at the screen. On the food blog, a single click was shared in which Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand was rubbing Ru¡¯s head while she scowled like a child. Although the picture was of their side profile, whoever knew them could recognize at one nce.

    There was a single caption with the photo, "Today, I went to find the taste of spices. Look, I found the spices of love instead. #foodstreet #truelove P.S. Someone gift me a guy like him. I¡¯m so envious seeing the love in his eyes."

    This post was trending all over Weibo on hot searches within an hour. Why wouldn¡¯t it? The love was overloading in that photo.

    Ji Syaoran scrolled down and read thements out loud for his grandmother.

    Chatter_box: Aiya! He¡¯s so handsome. And the way he¡¯s looking at that girl, I¡¯m so green with envy that I think soon a horse will be able to graze on my head.

    BlueStone: Why are people unting love in the food street? I can¡¯t even eat there in peace now! Too much dog food for a single dog like me.

    StarryNight: Forget about unting love, someone just tells me why do I nevere across such gorgeous couples?

    DarkAsSnow: Why is no one focusing on the girl? With one look, I can tell, she¡¯s a beauty. That gorgeous shape cut is so rare to see. Why is no one signing her? I want to see her in a movie!

    OverActive: Thementer above, do you really think that her boyfriend would allow her to work with other males? He might bury his love rivals. And I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be plenty of flies for him to shoo away already.

    PoetryQueen: Haiz! I can¡¯t help but write these lines for this couple... "I knew it was love at first sight

    The moment I saw that pair of eyes

    As my heart skipped a beat

    I took the hint to not breathe

    I was afraid, you¡¯d see my love

    I was afraid, I¡¯d never be enough

    But then you held my hand

    And it caressed my soul

    All it took was a kiss from your eyes

    And here I wasing undone."

    "Bro is famous in a day." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t know what else to say. It was supposed to be his ace point. But now, everyone knew about Xiao Zhiren¡¯s girlfriend.

    "Oh my! That girl really looks gorgeous. My Zhiren won¡¯t choose just anyone. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d as outstanding as he is himself." Old Madam Ji had already started fantasizing about the future. Everything was nned up in her mind. Just a proper wedding was yet to be held.

    ~~~

    In a farawaynd, another pair of eyes were glued on theptop screen as they stared at that photo of a loving couple.

    With a rhythmic tapping on the oakwood desk, the person lifted his slender fingers and dialed a number. As the call connected, his pleasantly soft voice spoke, "Settle everything. We¡¯re leaving for China, today."

    He hung up the phone and his fingers caressed the familiar figure in the photo as he whispered, "We¡¯ll soon settle our scores. Wait for me, my dearest love."

    [1] ¡¯Lao Ban¡¯: Boss as in someone who owns a business.

 Chapter 195 A Promise To A Fiancee

    "Bro, tell me who the girl is? Why are you being so secretive?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s high-pitched insistence could be heard from far away.

    For thest few days, Xiao Zhiren was said to be M.I.A. But in fact, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave Ru alone. He disconnected his all mediums ofmunication and stuck to Ru like glue in her apartment. She, however, found him to be a pest; one that she wasn¡¯t able to shake off.

    But she did manage to shout at him, "I¡¯d prefer being locked up in this apartment. Don¡¯t you dare bring me out again as a girl! It¡¯s such a tiring job to act like a girl."

    And he had reminded her yet again, "But you are a girl." But her only response was a punch in his guts. She was abusive to no end. Xiao Zhiren managed to bear with her violent nature with only one thought, ¡¯It¡¯s like we are a married couple always bickering or resorting to violence.¡¯ Even though only one of them was resorting to violence. As long as he was content, who could argue?

    Now, that Ji Syaoran finally got a hold of Xiao Zhiren, he was trying to probe out the details. But breaking Xiao Zhiren¡¯s defenses wasn¡¯t an easy job.

    "Mind your own business, Ran Zi." Xiao Zhiren said cuttingly.

    "Bro, don¡¯t be such a spoilsport! Just give me a peek." He poked Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm and asked, "Is she the same girl?" Xiao Zhiren was tired of his brother now. Someone remind him why did he decide to visit his grandmother¡¯s house? "Bro, tell me who she is!"

    "No one. Stop talking. I don¡¯t have a girlfriend!" Xiao Zhiren snapped in exasperation. Technically, neither he was lying nor was he telling the truth. Because Ru wasn¡¯t his girlfriend. And oddly, he didn¡¯t want to have such a flimsy rtionship status with her either. He wanted it for a lifetime and for that he wanted to make her, his wife. But it was only his own thinking for now.

    His ¡¯self-proimed¡¯ better half was neither treating him any better nor was she losing her half-hearted nature.

    "You¡¯re lying! We saw a photo!" Ji Syaoran argued back. "The whole Capital must have seen it by now!"

    "What photos?" Xiao Zhiren inquired, confused about this photos matter.

    "This photo!" Ji Syaoran had already bookmarked the blog page and he immediately showed it to his brother.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised to find that scene captured. But he felt so fluffy as he saw such a rare moment. His little chili looks so beautiful and cute with that scowl. He had wished for that moment to stop but who knew someone chose to hold it in for him. Now, he could look at it to his heart¡¯s content. But when he read thements from boys as they wrote how beautiful his little chili was, he was aggravated. He felt like wing some eyeballs out.

    Ji Syaoran saw the soft look in his brother¡¯s eyes then changing it to jealousy and eximed, "Ahan! I knew it! With that look, how can you deny that you don¡¯t have a girlfriend? Even a dog won¡¯t believe your words!"

    Xiao Zhiren immediatelyposed his emotions. It wasn¡¯t the time to say anything. If he did, his little chili would murder him. With a simplement, she had almost choked him to death. If he dared to ept that she¡¯s his girlfriend... Xiao Zhiren shuddered at the million possibilities.

    His rtionship with Ru could be said to have changed in the past few days but it wasn¡¯t to the extent that Ru would let her guard down. And he so wanted to break down her strong defenses.

    "Ran Zi! Shut up! I don¡¯t have a girlfriend. The girl in this photo is an old friend. That¡¯s all." Xiao Zhiren exined with a heavy heart.

    "I don¡¯t believe you!"

    "That¡¯s up to you." Xiao Zhiren knew how stubborn Ji Syaoran could get. So, he decided not to push him anymore.

    "But..." Ji Syaoran was about to continue but another voice beat him to it.

    "Ran Zi, that¡¯s enough." Ji Syaoran turned to look at his grandmother descending from the stairs with the help of the maid. She sat down at her seat and looked at both of her grandsons with a deep look before her eyes settled on Xiao Zhiren. But Xiao Zhiren found his grandmother¡¯s gaze to be a bit unsettling. "Thank you for clearing our misunderstanding, Zhiren. I¡¯d been so worried since the time I saw that photo. Now, I am finally at ease knowing that you¡¯re single."

    Xiao Zhiren brows quirked up in surprise while Ji Syaoran stared at her as if seeing a ghost. Who was the one nning the wedding? Was it your ghost, gammy? How are you changing your colors so fast?

    "Ran Zi, it¡¯s all your fault for speaking such nonsense. I knew my grandson wouldn¡¯t forget his promise. So what if it was made at a young age." Old Madam Ji¡¯s words and expressions made Ji Syaoran want to bow down to her. Even at this age, his grandmother was a top-ss actress. But why was she throwing him under the bus? How did it all be his fault?

    While Ji Syaoran wasmenting to himself, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t even know where this whole conversation was going. "What do you mean, grandmother? What promise?"

    "The promise you gave to your fiancee." Old Madam Ji¡¯s voice fell like a bolt out of the blue and Xiao Zhiren was the one being electrocuted.

    What the hell! Where did this fiancee pop up from?

    While Xiao Zhiren was going through some emotional strikes, Ru was unknown to all this while she munched on salted almonds. She threw a couple of almonds in her mouth and looked at the row of people standing before her.

    "Did you guys miss me?" Ru¡¯s words caused confusion to all members of ck Mist who stood before her.

    "What do you mean, master?" One of them dared to question because the silence was even more dangerous.

    "Well, if you didn¡¯t miss me then why the hell are you standing there like statues?" Ru¡¯s deepened voice made them flinch a bit.

    "We have something to report," Connor began inly.

    "Oh, really? I thought you were here to admire your master¡¯s beauty." Ru¡¯s satirical retort made all of them to purse their lips. "If you¡¯re here to report then start already. Do you think I have so much spare time to look at you all?"

    "Reporting to master, there are some strange happenings in thest few days."

    "Speak the humannguage."

    Edmund pushed Adia out of the way and began in his mechanical manner, "The Worldwide ck Market has gone into a frenzy."

    "Why?" Ru asked seemingly not caring at all.

    ¡¯At least pretend like you care.¡¯ Adia mused while shaking her head inwardly at Ru. ¡¯Whatever! Soon, you¡¯ll be the curious one.¡¯ With that thought, she left all her hopes on Edmund to clear up this matter.

    "Because of the Blood Pool bounty on ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯." As Ru heard Edmund¡¯s words, she stopped eating and ced the te of almonds on the table.

    "Continue."

    Edmund slightly bowed and added, "Since thest attack on you, whoever is epting the bounty strike on ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯, they are dying a mysterious death."

    "How is that possible?" Ru shot up from her seat as she stared them all down.

    "We are unclear about the details but we did collect something."

    He connected his phone to her LED and yed the photo album which consisted of dead bodies of all the assassins who were meant to kill her. "On their bodies, there is no sign of a fight. Not even a scratch is found. No poison in their blood either."

    Ru¡¯s brows tightened and so did her fists. "What¡¯s the cause of death?"

    "It¡¯s said to be a brain hemorrhage. But one of them imed that with a scan they found that..." he stopped talking in hesitation.

    "Say it!" Ru snapped at him.

    "They found that the simple bleeding in the brain isn¡¯t the cause of death. There are holes inside the brain but no physical damage. It¡¯s quite mysterious." As his sentencepleted, Ru closed her eyes to let that news sink in.

    ¡¯Brain shots?! But only my family knows how to use that martial arts technique. Does that mean...¡¯ Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to think about this possibility. ¡¯Why would anyone from the n help me? A nobody? Unless... they guessed who I am.¡¯ Ru tried to gulp but choked on her own saliva. This was frightening for so many ridiculous reasons.

 Chapter 196 Cheated On Her

    "Grandmother, what fiancee?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even sound like his when he shouted that question. "What promise? I don¡¯t have a fiancee!"

    Old Madam Ji took the cup of her freshly brewed jasmine tea from the maid and took a sip with a content smile on her face. Her actions werenguid and free as if there wasn¡¯t any grandson standing at her head urging her to spill the beans. But how could she spill the beans without punishing him a bit for lying?

    "Grandmother, stop stalling for time!" Xiao Zhiren yelled again in exasperation. "You¡¯re lying to me, right? You¡¯re just trying to scare me, right? You said you¡¯d never choose an arranged marriage for your grandchildren."

    "My dearest grandson, grandmother is still holding on to her words. I will never force any of my grandchildren to get into an arranged marriage." Old Madam Ji spoke righteously.

    "Then what¡¯s the meaning of your words?"

    "The meaning is simple; I didn¡¯t choose that fiancee for you."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s furrowed his brow in confusion as he asked, "Then who did?"

    Old Madam Ji again ignored him as she said, "Today, I find this tea rather refreshing. Ran Zi, why don¡¯t you have a cup with grandmother?"

    Ji Syaoran who was stuck to his ce until now finally moved and immediately sat beside his grandmother. With a look of ttery and admiration for that old woman who just turned the tables in mere minutes. Aiyo! His grandmother is certainly worthy of her name.

    "Grandmother!" Xiao Zhiren gnashed his teeth in anger as he enunciated each word for her to hear, "Tell. Me. Who. Chose. The. Invisible. FIANCEE. For. Me?"

    Old Madam Ji lifted her eyes and smiled as she answered, "You did."

    "What?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s felt like his whole world crumbling down. The fear of loss intensified in his heart. He was scared. Very scared. But he didn¡¯t want to back off just yet. "You don¡¯t have any proof. Besides, I don¡¯t remember any such event."

    At hisst words, Old Madam Ji¡¯s body stiffened a bit before a bitter smile appeared on her old face. "Indeed. You forgot." She muttered with a heavy heart. "But we all remember. For five years, the only name I heard from your mouth was hers. You kept saying that you¡¯ll only marry her. No matter what. As for the proof... Haven¡¯t you ever wondered why is there a red thread around your wrist?"

    Xiao Zhiren immediately looked at the red string that had been with him for as long as he could remember. Even after years, it didn¡¯t look worn-out for some reason. As for when he got it, where he got it? He couldn¡¯t remember at all. But he just knew that he could never take it off. His heart didn¡¯t allow him to. Just like now when he wanted to pull it off of him, his heart clenched in his chest with an unknown pain spreading through his body. In the end, he could only caress the red thread and drop his head in defeat.

    "Is this proof enough?" He managed to voice out for everyone to hear.

    "I have plenty of others. But do you really have the heart to face it?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s question stumped Xiao Zhiren.

    Well, did he? No, he did not! In all honesty, he wanted to run from there right this instant. He didn¡¯t want to hear another word. Even if there was a slight chance that his grandmother was lying, his heart really didn¡¯t have the courage to try his luck. Because if his grandmother wasn¡¯t lying... That one ¡¯if¡¯ was enough to break his resolve. How could he watch his own dream falling apart?

    "I don¡¯t care who that fiancee is but grandmother, I won¡¯t be going with that arrangement. I was young then but I am not now. I know what I want." Saying that he left the Ji Mansion.

    It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t break that engagement even if there was one. But the thought that he actually chose that fiancee himself was making him disgusted with himself. He felt like he had cheated on his little chili even before he met her. How could his heart love someone else? That¡¯s not possible! No way!

    However, he didn¡¯t even realize that his thoughts were really far-fetched.

    "Gammy, you really know how to lie. That was great!" Ji Syaoran happily munched on peanuts as heplimented his grandmother.

    "Who said I lied?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s words made Ji Syaoran choke on peanuts.

    "W-What? Bro really is engaged?" Ji Syaoran asked incredulously.

    "He is." Old Madam Ji sighed out. "But it was a verbalmitment back then. Honestly speaking, except for that thread on his wrist, I really don¡¯t have any other proof."

    "Huh?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth opened wide. "Then why were you so confident?"

    "Because I know my Zhiren very well. Even after being under the care of that witch, he still has his kind heart. His dilemma is not this engagementmitment. And I know it very well."

    Ji Syaoran gave her two thumbs up as he said, "Gammy is still the best! You really yed with bro this time."

    "You¡¯re again teaching him the wrong things," Old Master Ji Rusheng¡¯s voice came from behind the both the of them as he entered the living room.

    "Husband, I¡¯m a very good grandmother. I wouldn¡¯t dare teach my grandson anything wrong." Old Madam Ji countered back being all poised.

    "Mother, why did you bring up the engagement?" Ji Yifeng also followed his father inside. They both had heard the conversation but didn¡¯t dare to intrude since Xiao Zhiren wouldn¡¯t have been much happy to see his father.

    "Dad, grandmother just wanted to push bro into revealing his girlfriend." Ji Syaoran tried to defend his grandmother from his father¡¯s temper which seemed to be ring up for some reason.

    "Ran Zi, go back to your courtyard." Ji Yifeng said without even looking at his son¡¯s face.

    "But dad-"

    "Ji Syaoran! I said leave!" It was rare for Ji Syaoran to hear his full nameing out of his father¡¯s mouth but if he did, it meant his father was really in not a good mood. He immediately left the elders.

    "Stop being so harsh with Ran Zi. He isn¡¯t that old yet. His yful nature is not harmful at all." Old Madam Ji reprimanded her son a bit but keeping her voice in check.

    "Mother, stop defending him. And this is not the matter I want to discuss with you."

    "Then what do you want to say?" She asked knowing very well what he was about to say.

    "Why did you bring up the engagement?" He questioned.

    "It¡¯s his right to know." Old Madam Ji replied inly much to Ji Yifeng¡¯s annoyance.

    "Mother! Don¡¯t forget that he lost that right when he left you, me and his whole family behind." Somewhere in a hidden corner, Ji Syaoran pursed his lips when this topic was brought up. "He trusted someone he shouldn¡¯t have. He still does."

    Old Madam Ji stood up and ced her hand on her son¡¯s arm as if consoling as she said, "The fact that he¡¯s your eldest son won¡¯t change. You had been keeping calm until now even when he ignored you. What¡¯s this temper all about?"

    "Let me answer that for you wife," Old Master Ji Rusheng cut in as he continued, "Your dearest grandson has finally started the battle head-on."

    "What do you mean?" Old Madam Ji was confused.

    "For the past years, he had been trying to exploit our business behind the scene but we have been ignoring it. This time, he has gone far. He had been trying to buy out our shares from different people in side-branches and he managed to do it as well."

    "So what? Everything belongs to him as well."

    "He can take it all. I don¡¯t care. As you said, it all belongs to him anyway." Ji Yifeng started again but this time his eyes had turned red as if he was holding in his urge to cry. That look scared Old Madam Ji who rarely saw her son crying. "But why is he hell-bent on destroying the one thing that I hold dear? One thing that I have of her." A lone tear trickled down his face betraying his resolve.

    "Zhiren made the authorities shut the Art and Calligraphy Foundation."

    Old Madam Ji was stumped to hear her husband¡¯s reply. That exined her son¡¯s odd temper. That ce meant a lot to him. After all, he met the person he loved the most right in that building. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her gasp. ¡¯Zhiren, oh, Zhiren. If you knew what you did, I wonder how much it¡¯ll hurt you in the end.¡¯

 Chapter 197 My Little Bride

    Even after Xiao Zhiren left the Ji Mansion, his heart and mind both didn¡¯t calm down at all. If anything, a sharp headache was piercing through his brain. His vision blurred and he stepped on brakes,ing to an abrupt halt. It waste at night and the road wasn¡¯t as busy as it had been in the day.

    Xiao Zhiren dropped his head on the steering wheel and tried to remember what his grandmother said. If he chose someone himself as a kid, he should have some recollection of it, right? But why was his mindpletely nk?

    Pinching his forehead, his eyes fell on that red thread around his wrist. He felt like someone was mocking him. Reminding him how his love for his little chili was tainted. How could he love anyone else? No! He didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    With the pads of his finger, he caressed the red thread.

    "Mum, I want to take that little bean home." A childish voice rang in his mind.

    "My Renren, that little bean is someone¡¯s daughter. How can we take her home with us?" A beautiful and delicate voice answered.

    Xiao Zhiren frowned at that voice. Was it really his mother¡¯s voice? Why couldn¡¯t he recognize it then?

    "I don¡¯t care." The childish voice whined this time. "Look, my little bean is ying with those boys. I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t like it one bit!"

    A peal of softughter made him feel enchanted. Then he saw a pair of beautiful eyes but they were identical to his. There was immense love and tenderness in those eyes as they looked back at him. He could see nothing else, except for those eyes as if he was captivated.

    "Renren, tell me if someone took you away from mum, how would you feel?"

    "I¡¯ll be very sad." The child replied sadly.

    "Then if you take that little bean away from her parents, she¡¯ll also be very sad. Do you want her to cry?"

    "I don¡¯t." The child shook his head vigorously. "I don¡¯t want her to cry but I don¡¯t like seeing her with others. Why can¡¯t she just talk to me? Why can¡¯t she y with me only? And she doesn¡¯t even like me."

    "Aiyayaya, if you¡¯ll keep her away from things she likes, she won¡¯t like you at all. Tell me, do you like her?"

    "I do. I want her to be my little bride. Then she¡¯ll be mine only."

    A soft hand rubbed the child¡¯s head, "Then never take off the red thread. It¡¯s a promise."

    "What promise?"

    "A promise of a lifetime. A promise that she¡¯s yours. A promise that little bean is my Renren¡¯s bride."

    "Yah!"

    The child looked happy and excited. His infectious happiness made the woman beside him to smile as well. "But my little son, don¡¯t forget to never force your love. You can¡¯t cage her. She¡¯s born to fly higher. Make her fall in love with you to such an extent that in the crowd of people, her eyes could only yearn for you."

    Xiao Zhiren felt breathless and disoriented. His mind was getting dizzy. That memory snippet was too sudden and also, it seemed foreign. The images were blurred but the voices... He could hear every word clearly.

    First, he couldn¡¯t believe that he was the jealous kid in that memory. Second, he was certain that the woman wasn¡¯t his mother at all. Even though his mother was gentle and soft-spoken, he couldn¡¯t remember seeing such palpable love, gentleness, and tenderness in his mother¡¯s eyes. But then again, if that woman wasn¡¯t his mother, why was he calling her ¡¯Mum¡¯?

    So many things didn¡¯t add up making Xiao Zhiren¡¯s already frustrated state to hit rock-bottom. He barely managed to steer the car and park it by the roadside when he finally felt like he was at his limit. Those fragments of memory seemed like they had cut through his brain and managed to crawl out but it had left him in an exhausted state.

    He tried lifting his hand but his body was too tired to move. He felt numb all over and even his consciousness was slipping away from his grasp. With a lot of effort, he pressed the speed dial and just when the call connected, his vision darkened and his body went limp.

    On the other hand, Ru was fretting. She was pacing back and forth in her living room which made all the people around her dizzy from just watching her. How was their master so anxious?

    Although they had expected that their master would actually care about this matter of invisible help. But none of them thought that Ru would look this anxious over such a matter.

    "Master, you don¡¯t have to worry at all. We¡¯ll keep observing the movements. Besides, these people seem to be on our side." Jack spoke up the words of reassurance which fell on deaf ear.

    "But it¡¯s also possible that they are trying to make us lower our defenses and then they will strike," Connor added his own conjecture which was also ignored by Ru.

    "Yes, I agree. We shouldn¡¯t be at ease yet. Keeping a watch over this matter is important."

    Yet again, Ru didn¡¯t reply to anyone of them. Her walk was making them feel tired but she didn¡¯t seem like she was intending on taking a rest.

    Ru¡¯s mind was in aplete mess as she thought about the possibilities. She was certain that someone from the family helped her but why? And who?

    What if they want to take her back?

    That thought brought a strange sense of happiness to bubble inside of her but it soon turned into guilt and shame. She was so conflicted that she had the urge to scream out loud. But since she had never learned to show her emotions so easily, she refrained herself from doing so.

    "All of you," Ru suddenly stopped walking and turned to the five of them before her. "None of you have to keep a watch over this matter. Stay as far away as possible."

    "Huh?" The five of them shared a dumbfounded look.

    But before they could ask anything, Raven¡¯s voice interrupted them. "The Purple Rain guards have left a message."

    "y it," Ru said ndly.

    In the next second, she heard the voice of her guards from Italy. "Boss, someone is eager to look into your background. Someone even entered your ce here in Italy but since you don¡¯t leave any marks behind. I doubt that they¡¯d find anything. Also, people are specting that Lord Alev Knight is the one behind all those assassins who died a mysterious death. The Mercenaries are in an uproar. Boss, can¡¯t you make a visit. We need to shut their mouth."

    "Arrange my flight. If the Mafia Syndicates and Mercenaries really think I¡¯m behind all of those deaths. I need to give them some reassurance." Ru ordered Adia after listening to the voice message.

    Why was everything going the wrong way? Someone is really not happy seeing me rxed.

    "But Master, what kind of reassurance can we provide? We aren¡¯t the ones behind those deaths. We are not even holding them ountable that people from those Mafia Syndicates and Mercenaries took the mission of your death. And they areing on to us already? What nonsense!" Adia was provoked with her hot-headedness.

    "I¡¯ll reassure them that if I can kill their people, I can wipe them clean for being rowdy as well," Ru answered not paying heed to Adia¡¯s words.

    "You¡¯re gonna take the me for those deaths?" It shocked them to hear such a reply.

    "Of course, I am going to. Wouldn¡¯t it make them realize that they neither can mess with Alev Knight nor with the people under Alev Knight¡¯s wings? For instance, someone like Xie Rong."

    "But Master, you are both Alev Knight and Xie Rong." Jake reminded her of the obvious detail.

    "You know that... I know that. But they don¡¯t need to know that. They only need to fear me and listen to mymands for the sake of their lives and prosperity." Taking a pause, she was about to talk when her phone rang but seeing the caller id, she didn¡¯t n on receiving it. "You guys just don¡¯t forget, if you encounter anyone who has a feather tree printed on his sleeve, don¡¯t fight. It¡¯s the only way to live."

    Saying that she finally attended the call, "Hello!" No reply came, she could hear some hurried breathing but nothing else. "Xiao Zhiren, are you gonna talk or not?" Still, no reply came again. "Oi!" Her heart felt something amiss. Holding her phone between her face and shoulder, she turned to Connor, "Give me the car keys. Hurry up!"

    Taking the keys from his hand, she ran outside the door and pressed the elevator button. It was still on the ground floor and Ru¡¯s patience wasn¡¯t great, to begin with. She turned to stairways and sprinted down like a bolt of lightning.

    Shaking her wristwatch, she said, "Raven, locate Xiao Zhiren¡¯s location."

 Chapter 198 Taking Liberties With Sleeping Beauty

    It took Ru thirty minutes to drive to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s location and all this while, she didn¡¯t disconnect the call. She could hear his breathing and it brought a strange sense of ease. It was enough, at least, until she managed to reach him. As for why it was enough, well, she didn¡¯t want to waste her time thinking about it.

    She was a very rash driver, to begin with, and now, that she was in a hurry for some God-forsaken reason, she had really forgotten all about traffic rules. On a busy road, her car revved like a cyclone.

    And as she found his car parked at the roadside, she rushed up to his car and looked inside through the window pane. Inside the car, she could see him unconscious as she tried to open the door but it was locked from inside. Pulling out a silver needle from her needles pouch which is stuck to her body all the time, she fiddled with the lock.

    As the door unlocked, she mumbled, "Never thought I¡¯d use my precious needle for something as insignificant as picking a lock."

    Shaking her head, she opened the door. She ced her hand on his shoulder and tried shaking Xiao Zhiren, "Oi! Wake up! Xiao Zhiren!" But thetter wasn¡¯t very responsive. Ru held his wrist to take his pulse and realized how hot his body was. "Is he running a fever?" As she took his pulse, her brows furrowed.

    With his arm around her shoulder, she supported his body and helped him out before settling him in her own car. She hunched over to buckle his seatbelt. "I didn¡¯t cheat on you. I promise." His mumbling made her turn her face and without realizing it, her lips brushed past his jaw. The touch seemed to have awakened Xiao Zhiren as her wrist was held in his vice-like grip.

    His eyes shot open and she the blood veins in his eyes. "I don¡¯t remember her. I don¡¯t even know her."

    "Who are you talking about?" Ru asked looking at his anxious and more so, scared expression.

    "You¡¯d leave me if I said it out loud." He shook his head, not wanting to disclose anything.

    "So, you¡¯re gonna hide something from me?" Ru questioned with a quirk of her brow.

    "I-I don¡¯t want to. I can never hide anything from you." Ru felt like he was really vulnerable. He was acting like a kid who was asking for her reassurance.

    Ru ced her other hand on his as she said, "I won¡¯t leave. I give you my word." Since he decided to stick with her when she pushed him with all her might, she also decided to do the same for him.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her in surprise, not knowing how easily she agreed. Was she returning the favor? He couldn¡¯t tell but her words rxed him a bit but as he tried to say something, the pain shot through his head all over again. He held his head as a scream escaped through his mouth.

    "Are you okay?" Ru asked as she saw his face contorted in pain. She rushed over to the other side and started the car. "Just hold on, I¡¯ll take you to the nearest hospital."

    About fifteen minutester...

    Ru was settling through the hospital procedure while Xiao Zhiren was being checked by the doctors. Since it was her first time doing the paperwork for a hospital, she was really lost. More so, she felt exasperated. Why was this admission process so lengthy?

    But she had to swallow herints. It wasn¡¯t worth it. At least, not in a hospital.

    "Are you a family member?" A nurse came out to ask.

    Ru looked at her face for a while longer before nodding her head while the word that slipped out of her tongue was, "No."

    "Is it yes or no?" The nurse asked in confusion since Ru¡¯s action was saying something while her mouth was saying something else.

    "Yes," Ru replied while shaking her head. Clearly, her mind and heart were both in conflict and that led to her tongue and body being so not in sync.

    The nurse kept silent while tapping her foot impatiently. Ru sighed out saying, "I¡¯m family." It seemed it took a lot of effort on her part to say that simple sentence. But when she did, everything felt right. As if it was a very natural thing for her to say that.

    "Okay. So, does the patient have any allergies? Or past medical record that we should know about?"

    Ru scratched her head, not knowing the answer to that. She rummaged out her phone with an awkward cough and said, "Let me ask someone who knows about that." She called Ji Syaoran, gave him the gist of the situation and said, "Talk to the nurse." She passed the phone while Ji Syaoran was still stunned to receive her call.

    But Ji Syaoran was immediately on alert mode as he heard the questions of the nurse. He answered each and every question patiently while making his way to his car. He had to see his brother, to know what was wrong.

    After the nurse went back inside, Ru was left pacing around in the corridor. She hated waiting from the beginning of time but today, in particr, she wasn¡¯t feeling very fond of waiting. Soon after, the doctor came out of the room and saw Ru staring at him inquisitively.

    "He¡¯s running a high fever and as for his headache, we have done the scans. They are clear, you don¡¯t have to worry at all. It must be a simple migraine because of work stress." The doctor told Ru and allowed her to see him.

    She walked inside the silent but very clean room. He wasying alone on the white bed.

    She saw his pale face with beads of perspiration again visible on it. As if in a daze, she walked slowly to his side and ced her hand on his hand. She picked up a towel and went to wet it before lightly wiping his face. A frown was permanently etched between his brows, Ru ironed it down with her fingers.

    She was brushing his untamed fringe off of his wide forehead, she heard his raspy voice, "Are you done taking liberties?"

    Ru immediately stepped away from him. "What liberties?" She almost shouted at him but since he still looked very weak, she refrained herself yet again.

    "I heard that when people are feeling guilty, their voices take a sharp turn. So, my little chili, are you guilty?" Ru really couldn¡¯t believe this man. He was lying here looking all sick and weak but his mind was still active. Especially, when it came to teasing her.

    "Why would I be guilty?" Ru retorted but with a deep breath, she changed her words, "You know what, forget it. I think arguing with you will eventually make me lose half of my life. So, I¡¯m not going to."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t shift from her face, not even for a second. He kept gazing at her with a loving expression as if he was looking at his whole world. "Come here." He beckoned her towards himself while Ru was a bit reluctant to do so. "Are you scared?"

    With a snort, Ru took a couple of steps close to him again and asked, "What is it? Do you need anything? Are you feeling ufortable anywhere?"

    "I don¡¯t me you," said Xiao Zhiren.

    "For what?" asked Ru in return.

    "Well, seeing such a handsome man lying vulnerable and weak on the bed... Sigh! It¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯d want to take liberties."

    "You!" Ru red at him and turned away with a huff.

    But...

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and pulled her back, Ru was caught unguarded and ended up falling towards him or more precisely, on him. Instinctively though, she managed to ce her hands on both sides of his head and saved herself fromnding right on him.

    "Why did you pull me?" She screamed at his face.

    This odd posture of theirs was really ambiguous; with her face hovering above his with only a few inches of air separating them or was it connecting them? Since they were breathing the same air now, Xiao Zhiren inclined towards the connecting part rather than the separating one. Ru was busy glowering at him while Xiao Zhiren was busy etching her face in his mind. If he could forget someone as important as his fiancee. He was scared that he might forget his little chili as well. And that alone, was a very disturbing thought. His brows furrowed again.

    "What are you thinking about now?" Ru asked looking at his strange behavior.

    Xiao Zhiren smiled and shook his head as he lifted his hand to caress her face and said, "I was wondering how could a nasty person like you be so damn beautiful?"

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched as his reply. Was heplimenting her or insulting her? Forget it, his fever has gone to his head. I¡¯ll just show some mercy on ount of his poor health. Ru calmed herself down with these thoughtspletely ignoring the way his hand was making her skin feel tingly. It was totally normal... Right?

 Chapter 199 Melt Under His Touch

    The sensation of his calloused thumb drawing circles on her cheek felt so good that Ru felt like leaning into his touch further. And perhaps, just melt there.

    ¡¯Oh no. No, no, no! You did not just think that.¡¯ Ru pupils dted as she realized what was happening.

    ¡¯But, you just did. ept it already that you like his touch.¡¯ Her unreasonable conscious was awoken again.

    ¡¯Snap out of it, Ru!¡¯ She snapped at herself and slipped away from his touch.

    The hand that just held her was now left empty and the void seemed like it was gnawing at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s heart. He didn¡¯t like it when she coiled away from his touch but what could he do? He couldn¡¯t force her.

    "I¡¯ll be back in a moment," said Ru and left his room. Only aftering out was she able to breathe properly. Why was this summer getting hotter? ¡¯I should get some cold drink for myself,¡¯ thought Ru and left to find something cold for herself.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were still stuck on his hand. How weird it was that the girl whose body was cold like snow could always melt him like fire? He had yet to feel any warmth emanating from her body and yet his heart always felt fuzzy around her.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he heard the door opening again and as he was expecting Ru, Xiao Zhiren immediately turned his face but as his eyes fell on the person who entered, his eyes dimmed.

    The disappointment on his face was so clear that even Ji Syaoran who had run all the way here could see and couldn¡¯t stop himself from saying, "Ouch! At least, pretend like you¡¯re happy to see me."

    "But I am. Why should I bother pretending?" Xiao Zhiren answered straightforwardly. "Why are you here?"

    "I had to be here. My brother is sick, as his favorite little brother, I just had toe." Ji Syaoran answered as he sat on the side of his bed. "How are you feeling?"

    "I¡¯m fine." Xiao Zhiren lied with a straight face.

    Ji Syaoran scoffed at his brother, "Bro, try being more convincing than that. Because I¡¯m certainly not falling for it."

    "Yuan always falls for it." Xiao Zhiren voiced out as if saying that if Yuan bought his lies, Ji Syaoran should do so as well.

    "I¡¯m not Yuan. I am Ji Syaoran. And I know you better than Yuan. Also, he¡¯s an apathetic person, I¡¯m a passionate one." Ji Syaoran replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. They both stayed silent after that. Xiao Zhiren avoiding his brother¡¯s prying eyes and Ji Syaoran trying to find something on his face. "Will you please tell me what happened? The doctor said you have a high fever. And it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you have a fever. Besides, when did a fever manage to make you so weak?"

    Xiao Zhiren was also thinking about that. He couldn¡¯t remember when he had the feverst time. But it couldn¡¯t possibly have weakened him to this extent. Rubbing his forehead he said, "I don¡¯t know. I had a strange headache. It felt like something was trying to break open my skull. And then..."

    "Then what?" Ji Syaoran turned apprehensive but Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t manage to catch his expression.

    "Some foreign memories shed through my mind." As soon as he finished, Ji Syaoran¡¯s whole body stiffened. "That fiancee grandmother spoke about-"

    Ji Syaoran immediately interrupted him saying, "Bro, gammy was just kidding with you. Don¡¯t strain your mind like this for such an insignificant matter."

    Xiao Zhiren gave Ji Syaoran an odd look as he saw how his brother was all jittery. "She wasn¡¯t kidding at all. I saw it myself. I really chose someone on my own ord. I just don¡¯t know who that person is." He hissed as he felt the pain in his head again.

    "Oi! Can¡¯t you stop thinking? It doesn¡¯t matter since you don¡¯t remember her than just let it be." Ji Syaoran acted out all of a sudden.

    "Why are you getting angry? I¡¯ll just ask grandmother who she is. I need to know who she is and why can¡¯t I remember her."

    "No one knows who she is. Only you knew or mu..." Ji Syaoran bit his tongue before abruptly getting up from his seat.

    "Or? Who else knows?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously.

    Ji Syaoran ced his hand over his mouth as he feigned a yawn saying, "Gosh! I¡¯m really tired today. I should get back. Rest well. I¡¯ll bring porridge for you in the morning."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could open his mouth, Ji Syaoran had already slipped out of the room. Xiao Zhiren was baffled to see his brother acting so weird. No one really knew who that fiancee is? How is that possible? His face fell as he thought, ¡¯Perhaps, only mom knew about her and she is no more.¡¯

    Outside, Ru was busy trying to find a vending machine and when she did, she couldn¡¯t find a single coin on her body. ¡¯That¡¯s just utterly codswallop[1]!¡¯ She cursed while kicking the vending machine.

    She took a moment to survey her surroundings before her fingers did the magic and a couple of coins slid out from the vending machine. Ru smiled in victory which stiffened when she heard a very annoying voice right behind her, "I saw that."

    Ru looked at him for a second longer, "When did you get here?"

    "Just a while ago." Ji Syaoran answered inly. "Thanks for helping my brother."

    Ru shrugged her shoulders as she said, "I don¡¯t like you but that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t like your brother as well." The words left her mouth so naturally that she only realized the meaning after they had been spoken. Did she just say, she likes Xiao Zhiren? Pui! Pui! What rotten tongue!

    "Sorry aboutst time. I really misunderstood everything. But you can¡¯t me me for that really." Ji Syaoran scratched the back of his head as he apologized while Ru pushed the coins in and chose a bubbly drink for herself.

    Ru passed one to him as they both leaned against the wall side by side and with a pop, they both opened the cans in their hands simultaneously. Taking a sip of the cold bubbly drink, she felt refreshed. "It doesn¡¯t matter. I overreacted by throwing you out as well." As Ji Syaoran sighed, she added, "If I knew, I¡¯d have just broken your fingers."

    "Hey!" Ji Syaoran immediately got vignt but then he saw the lopsided grin of Ru which led him to realize he had just been fooled. "You¡¯re really not nice."

    "What¡¯s being nice like? Can I eat it? Does it taste good?" Ru¡¯s retort left Ji Syaoran in a stumped state. How was his brother able to bear this person? He really needed to ask his brother.

    "Did you tell..." Ji Syaoran raised his brow inquisitively as she added, "I mean at your house."

    He shook his head saying, "Nope. I definitely don¡¯t want a storm to start." Ru gave him a confused look as he continued, "Even though dad is upset with bro if he got to know that bro is in the hospital, believe me, the Capital might get on high-security alert."

    "Favored son of the family, eh?" Ru remarked amusingly while Ji Syaoran chuckled beside her.

    "You have no idea. He¡¯s the eldest son of the family, he¡¯s bound to be the favored one."

    "Is that the only reason? Him being the eldest son?" questioned Ru.

    "Of course not." Ji Syaoran answered but didn¡¯t exin his words.

    Ru had a lot of questions now. She felt like she¡¯d able to curb her curiosity but she really couldn¡¯t. Eventually, all the questions about the Ji family were again bothering her. It wasn¡¯t her concern, she had to remind herself repeatedly. But something inside of her also pointed out that it concerned Xiao Zhiren and since Xiao Zhiren was her sworn brother, it actually concerned her as well. How convincing! Not, of course.

    But it was enough of an excuse for herself to say, "Syaoran, does Zhiren have a history of migraine?"

    Ji Syaoran was taking a sip of his drink and his movements became a bit sluggish, unlike Xiao Zhiren, Ru¡¯s eyes caught on to his weird act very well.

    "No. Not at all. It must be because of the stress as the doctor mentioned." Ji Syaoran answered with as muchposure as he could manage under Ru¡¯s sharp eyes.

    "Don¡¯t tempt me with your lies. I¡¯m a violent person and you know that very well." Seeing her narrowed eyes along with that warning, Ji Syaoran gulped his saliva with difficulty.

    [1] ¡¯codswallop¡¯: nonsense

 Chapter 200 Are You Trying To Kill Me, Love?

    It was wishful thinking on Ji Syaoran¡¯s part if he really thought that he¡¯d be able to lie to Ru. Her intimidating eyes were enough to make him sumb before her.

    "Aiyo! Stop staring. I¡¯ll tell you." Ji Syaoran darted his eyes around to see if anyone was around and whispered, "Bro doesn¡¯t have a migraine history. I promise he doesn¡¯t. But..."

    "Keep going," drawled Ru.

    "It¡¯s a secret but bro doesn¡¯t remember much of his childhood. His memories are distorted," sighed Ji Syaoran. Seeing Ru¡¯s perplexed face, he added, "It¡¯s not that we never tried reminding him. It¡¯s just that... He¡¯d almost died with a brain stroke. The doctors said we shouldn¡¯t force him to remember anything. Our family is in a mess for years just to keep him alive."

    Ru was stunned for a minute. Memory distortion? Almost died?

    "How much did he forget?" Ru asked curiously.

    "Enough to draw a line between himself and his family." Ji Syaoran replied with a heavy heart.

    "So, the Ji Family¡¯s biggest skeleton in the closet is that they are hiding the truths just to keep their son alive," Ru mumbled to herself.

    "Please, don¡¯t tell him anything. Today, grandmother just mentioned something from his past and see, he is again in a hospital. He rarely gets sick but when he does, it always has something to do with his headaches that mysteriously starts. But today is the first time, he actually remembered something." Ji Syaoran spoke patiently with a helpless look on his face.

    Ru looked at his face for a long time with a scrutinizing gaze. She lifted her hand and Ji Syaoran instinctively took a step away. Ru shook her head at him and tousled his hair saying, "You¡¯re a good brother, Syaoran."

    Ji Syaoran was surprised by her action. He really thought she was going to hit him again. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t. Phew!

    "Won¡¯t you call me the best brother?" Ji Syaoran fished for some morepliment.

    "Nope." Ru refused to do so straightforwardly.

    "Why is that?" Ji Syaoran pouted adorably.

    "Because for this young master, only my little brother is the best," Ru answered, in all honesty, making Ji Syaoran speechless.

    Right around the corner, someone was standing. With her words, a beautiful smile bloomed on his lips as he shook his head.

    Ru felt weird as she started looking around. She ran towards the corner but found no one.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" asked Ji Syaoran seeing her flustered state.

    "I-I thought someone was looking at me," Ru said softly as her eyes kept roaming around in confusion or anticipation.

    "You¡¯re being paranoid." Ji Syaoran was certain since he didn¡¯t feel anything. But he was forgetting that there was a vast difference in Ru and himself.

    "Who are you calling paranoid?" Ru snapped at him with a re.

    Ji Syaoran backed out as he shook his head. Ru¡¯s cellphone chose this exact moment to ring and she held her finger up at him saying, "Hold that thought."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief as he literally experienced, ¡¯Saved by the bell¡¯ in flesh. While Ru was listening to the other person on the phone, shepletely ignored Ji Syaoran which gave him enough time to slip his way out of here and away from her.

    Meanwhile, from the other side of the call, Ru listened, "Master, your flight has been arranged. We have also handled everything here."

    Ru stayed silent for a moment. She looked towards Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hospital room and thought about the uproar in Empire. Fudge it! She cursed and said, "I have something to deal with here. All five of you take my ce and go to Italy. It¡¯s necessary to stop those organizations before we have to start another bloody war for power."

    "Master, are you really not going? But they would want to see Alev Knight in person?" Edmund was feeling a bit anxious. Since when did their master stop caring about his power?

    "Does anyone of them know what Alev Knight looks like?" Ru asked calmly in a whisper keeping her voice as low as possible.

    "No, Sir!" came the prompt reply.

    "Then why are we still having this conversation?" Ru¡¯s impatience was quite clear from her voice now.

    "Understood! One of us will act as the dummy Alev Knight," came Adia¡¯s voice.

    "Why do you sound so excited?" Ru¡¯s question made Adia stumped. Was this master a ghost? How does ¡¯he¡¯ even know everything? While Ru continued, "If anything you will never be able to act like Alev Knight."

    Adia understood her meaning and pursed her lips in a thin line. Of course, she was a girl. How could she act as dummy Alev Knight? Wuwu! This is unfair!

    "Keep me updated." With that, Ru hung up the call after crushing Adia¡¯s pretty little dream. That¡¯s when she realized that Ji Syaoran was no longer around. However, he was decent enough to leave a message which read, ¡¯I¡¯ll be back in the morning with breakfast.¡¯ She shook her head at his way of bribing her into forgetting. But gosh! It was working.

    ¡¯I really need to learn to say no to food.¡¯ She mused to herself.

    Following that, she did a whole survey around the hospital floor but still, her suspicion wasn¡¯t gone at all. How could she be wrong? She really felt someone¡¯s presence. And a burning intense gaze. Who could it be?

    With a shrug of her shoulders, she went back to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s room and saw him sleeping soundly. he looked really calm this time around. There was no frown on his handsome but pale face.

    Ru sat down on the stool beside his bed and allowed her mind to wander around.

    From the ss in the door, someone gazed inside and said, "Get me the details on that man. Every single detail."

    The person behind bowed his head slightly as he took themand, "I¡¯ll do it right away, Second Young Master."

    The man¡¯s light brown eyes were unfathomable as he stared at Ru¡¯s straight back. And just as she turned her head with a jerk, he turned aside as well to hide.

    "It seems my dearest love¡¯s sharp senses are certainly intact. d to know that there is no rust." He whispered before leaving in anguid manner, not at all acting suspiciously.

    Around dawn, Xiao Zhiren felt difort in his throat and stirred awoke to find some water for his parched throat. But as soon as he opened his eyes, he was left stunned.

    Ru¡¯s hand was holding his hand while her head was lying right beside his hand. Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t believe his eyes that she was actually this close to him, willingly. And it seemed like she stayed beside him for the whole night.

    No one could describe what Xiao Zhiren was going through. Perhaps, even he couldn¡¯t describe the turmoil of emotions within him. Was he happy? Then why did he felt like crying? He knew she was capable of making him smile when he first met her. Then when she left she made him realize how she¡¯d make him cry as well; only she could.

    But who knew she¡¯d actually be able to make him want to cry andugh at the very same time? Only she was capable of making him an emotional mess. He was an emotional wreck just for her. But what could he really do? He was a sucker for her love!

    Xiao Zhiren slowly pried his hand away from her before pulling the needle out of his vein. Then he slowly got up and with a gentleness one showed to a newborn baby, he picked her up before lying her down on his bed. He moved around the bed and settled right by her side.

    Ru stirred in her sleep and he felt like she was gonna wake up to bicker yet again. However, she didn¡¯t. She just rolled her body and her face went straight to the crook of his neck and her soft breath there made Xiao Zhiren¡¯s whole body to shiver in delicious pleasure.

    He stroked her hair lovingly as he whispered, "Are you trying to kill me, love?" He nted a soft kiss on her temple and added, "I¡¯m already yours. With everything I have to offer." With a content smile, he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her body close. He didn¡¯t give a damn if someone saw them like this.

    Nevertheless, the person whom he thought to be sleeping was the true definition of a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothes. Ru was a light sleeper, to begin with, no matter how gentle Xiao Zhiren was, she was still awoken. Not by his touch though. It was his scent that pulled her with an undefiable force. He smelled like medicine and sweat, but she could still find his real masculine scent. It was purely all of him.

    She wanted to open her eyes, she wanted to rebut but something made her shut up. It was the moment she realized how he was touching her. He must be the only one who actually held her with such caution and care.

    When he ced her on the bed, her mind was again getting drowsy. She med it all on him. He was like a sleep drug now. But in her half-awakened state, she heard his words clearly which made her heart pulsate vigorously. And when he pulled her closer, for a second, she thought he¡¯ll hear her heartbeat.

    But all she heard was a drumming rhythm of both their erratically beating hearts.

 Chapter 201 Our Relationship

    Di Lama once said, "Sleep is the best meditation."

    It is in fact very true. But what really is the essence of meditation?

    Meditation allows us to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally stable state. And to achieve mental rity and emotional stability we have to rx our soul. Only then our tension and stress will dwell.

    As for to rx one¡¯s soul, what better way there could possibly be than to lie in the arms of that particr one whose soul is connected to yours with a red thread of destiny. Listening to the heartbeat of that one which matches the rhythm of your own perfect-ly and makes a beautiful melody.

    There might be no better luby than this in the whole world.

    And there might be no better sight than the one Xiao Zhiren could see. With the soft rays of the sun falling on the back of her head, her face buried in his neck, and serenity on her distinct face. She looked so beautiful and her lips looked so inviting that Xiao Zhiren was having a hard time holding in his urge to just kiss the hell out of her.

    She stirred a bit before lifting her hand to rub her eyes. At that moment, she looked so adorable that Xiao Zhiren finally lost it. He dipped his head and pecked her lips without restraint as he said, "Good morning, love!"

    Ru was awake. Very awake now as her body was stiffened and her eyes were stuck on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face that was looking handsome, refreshed. Did she mention handsome? Okay, there was no harm in repeating, right?

    He was grinning like a fool as he stared back at her shocked look. Ru slowly became aware of his presence as in, she finally noted how there was a heavy arm snaked around her waist while his other arm was wrapped around her shoulders and was tangled in her hair.

    ¡¯Wasn¡¯t he numb by now?¡¯ That was the first thought that came to Ru¡¯s mind, surprising her. Wasn¡¯t she supposed to push him away first? Why was she worried about his well-being? That was so not like herself. Did someone take possession of her mind? Or body? Or perhaps, both?

    Because even now, instead of pushing him away Ru stayed in his arms while her mind worried about his health. On its own ord, her hand went up to his forehead and when she noted that he wasn¡¯t burning likest night, a sigh escaped her mouth. Not just Ru even Xiao Zhiren was shocked to see her behavior.

    She was really worried about him. Haiz! He could really die in peace now. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind was clouded with these mushy thoughts.

    On the other hand, Ru squirmed in his arms but he didn¡¯t loosen his grip. Not letting her escape at all. It wasn¡¯t every day one would be able to hold Ru, right? So, Xiao Zhiren was going to take advantage of each and every moment of it.

    She raised her hand to punch him when she heard his voice, "I¡¯m still sick. Is this how you¡¯re supposed to treat a patient?"

    Although Ru could retort with the fact that he didn¡¯t have a fever anymore, she didn¡¯t do so. After all, with how high his fever was she could tell he must be feeling weak even now. It was better not to stimte him or get violent.

    With an awkward cough, she said, "I remember, I slept there." Ru pointed at the stool and Xiao Zhiren nodded not even bothering to look anywhere other than her face.

    "You did. But I was worried you¡¯d be ufortable there. So, being a big-hearted person I opened my arms for you." It took a moment for Ru to digest his shameless words. Really? Was he praising himself?

    Oh, I really had a bad influence on him! How could he turn into such a narcissistic son of a bachelor! He¡¯s gonna put me to shame at this rate!

    Taking a deep calming breath, Ru stated matter-of-factly, "I¡¯m more ufortable here."

    "Really?" Xiao Zhiren gave her guilty look before rolling her body onto himself. "This must be morefortable. You like hard things anyway."

    Ru¡¯s jaw dropped at his sudden move and words. Okay! His body was taut and she¡¯d dly ept it. But how dare he! Was he treating her like a broken or fragile doll or something? This thought was disturbing more than the fact that her whole body was sprawled on his like he was the mattress.

    She punched his arm in rage and he pouted, "My little chili, I have a fever. How can you be so violent?"

    "You don¡¯t have a fever anymore." Ru bit out in exasperation while raising her hand again.

    This time, he again held her hand in his own and brought it to touch his forehead saying, "Feel it carefully. Fever is there."

    "I can¡¯t feel it." Ru insisted.

    "Love, feel with love. It is there." Xiao Zhiren also seemed adamant.

    "You! I said it¡¯s not-" her words died down at the tip of her tongue when Xiao Zhiren slid her hand down and pressed his lips against her palm.

    With a silly smile, he added, "I agree. Now, the fever is gone."

    Ru gave him thest punch on his chest before frantically getting off his bed. "You¡¯re getting audacious!" She stated loud and clear.

    "Hmm... Well, that¡¯s the only trait you don¡¯t have," Xiao Zhiren replied helplessly as he looked at her back. He could tell she was flustered. There was no way that her heart was made of steel and his advances had not the slightest bit of effect on her.

    As for Ru, wasn¡¯t it enough that her lips could feel the tingle of his lingering presence from earlier? Now, her palm was on fire and as for her body, she could still feel the sensations left by the friction between their fully clothed bodies.

    She didn¡¯t confront him again and went to wash her face. And even when the water touched her lips, she felt dazed. The water¡¯s coldness was a striking contrast to his hot, moist and soft lips. And this contrast made her body shiver whether it was in repulse or delicious anticipation, who knew? Even young master Ru wasn¡¯t aware.

    Or maybe she was aware somewhere deep inside her heart. However, she was just not ready to acknowledge that buried awareness.

    As she came out, she found Xiao Zhiren talking to the doctor. "The fever has gone down now. But your body has taken a blow because of your mental health. You shouldn¡¯t stress so much and give your mind and body some rest."

    "When can I discharge?" Xiao Zhiren was asking.

    "We have done somest-minute tests to be certain. Just wait for a couple of hours and if the tests are clear, you¡¯re good to go." The doctor replied professionally.

    "Thank you!" Xiao Zhiren replied politely and the doctor left the room, not without ncing towards Ru who was standing at the side. Xiao Zhiren also looked at her and when she didn¡¯t move, he called out, "Hey,e here!"

    Ru crossed her arms over her chest as she asked condescendingly, "Do you think I¡¯ll fall for it again?"

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t mind her attitude. Not even the least bit. If she was throwing tantrum before him that meant he had managed to move a step ahead again in their rtionship, right?

    "Love, can¡¯t you just listen to me for once without arguing?"

    Ru didn¡¯t even take a minute before replying, "Nope. Our rtionship will get boring otherwise."

    Seeing the smirk that appeared on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face, Ru realized she said something wrong. But what? Ah! ¡¯Rtionship?¡¯

    "Wipe that smirk off. Don¡¯t overthink. A rtionship could be any kind of rtionship. Even a friendship one or brotherhood one." Ru stammered her way toplete this sentence.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t lose his smirk, it only became more prominent as he said, "You¡¯re right. A rtionship can be of any kind. Even..." He left his words hanging for Ru¡¯s imagination to run wild which he knew she won¡¯t be able to control.

    "Fuck! Something is certainly wrong with me. Last night, I said to Ji Syaoran that I like Xiao Zhiren and now, this... This whole rtionship talk. What the!" Ru muttered as she turned to leave with a huff. Staying with this man was bing challenging and she was afraid, she might really lose something to him. It could be either her rationality or her whole self.

    "Did you just say you like me?"

    Holy cricket! Why am I talking so much rubbish!

 Chapter 202 Truly Are Fascinating

    Ru could only me her loose tongue for being rebellious in these few days. Why was she even speaking? She should just seal her mouth and stay quiet. That might put an end to it.

    Xiao Zhiren was bbergasted when he heard Ru¡¯s words. Did she really ept that she likes him? That was so unexpected!

    However, before he could confront her for this, someone chose to ruin this moment.

    "Bro, I brought the finest breakfast as promised." Ji Syaoran announced while grinning but when he saw the vein on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face twitching, he added, "Why so cold, guys? I might get frostbite at this rate." He was trying to lighten up the mood but from the expressions of the two people in the room, it clearly wasn¡¯t working very well.

    Ru was the first one to react as she walked past him and left the room not before bumping into Ji Syaoran¡¯s shoulder intentionally. Poor guy almost lost his bnce and fell on his buttock again.

    "Ow!" he was rubbing his sore shoulder as he mumbled, "That guy has some insane strength in that seemingly thin body."

    "What did you do?" Xiao Zhiren asked.

    "What do you mean?" Ji Syaoran retorted in confusion.

    "Clearly you must have done something for he... him to act like this." Xiao Zhiren had to remind himself to keep calling Ru as him and not her. But since now that the nature of his interaction with Ru had changed, it was really difficult to keep track of when to address her as a male and as a female. How tricky!

    "I didn¡¯t do anything." Ji Syaoran denied as he opened the thermos and poured some soup for Xiao Zhiren before offering it to him.

    "Don¡¯t lie. There is no way that little chili would react without any rhyme or reason." Xiao Zhiren obviously had grown ustomed to Ru¡¯s behaviors. It wasn¡¯t hard to know that she wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person. At least, not with others. Her unreasonable nature was reserved just for him.

    "You don¡¯t have faith in your brother?" Ji Syaoran asked in a disappointed manner.

    "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. But... I know that troublemaker well." Xiao Zhiren imed.

    Ji Syaoran looked at his brother¡¯s face for a second longer before sitting down on his bedside and said, "I called him paranoidst night. But he¡¯s petty. He¡¯s still holding a grudge over that small thing."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled. "Oh, tell me about it. Pettiness is embedded in his soul. As for grudges... Haiz! His temper is also a wonder."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t understand his meaning and didn¡¯t n on doing so either. He kept pushing food to Xiao Zhiren while he stood to watch. And whenever Xiao Zhiren said he was done, Ji Syaoran would threaten him with, "I¡¯ll tell grandmother that you have a fever. Do you want that?" Obviously, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t have any desire to listen to his grandmother¡¯s nagging for hours or days. It could possibly go on for weeks as well.

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t stop until every bit of the food was fed to his brother. He felt proud of himself. He was bing a good ckmailer. Er... Negotiator. Well, it¡¯s the same thing anyway. Who cares!

    "How¡¯s Yuan? Did he call you?" Ji Syaoran inquired after a while.

    "Last I heard, he was boarding his flight. Next, he didn¡¯t bother contacting me." Xiao Zhiren exined and heard his phone buzzing. Looking at the screen, he shed a smile saying, "Speak of the devil."

    He connected the call and put it on speaker.

    "Hey, big bear!" Yuan¡¯s voice sounded excited and cheery which was so unlike him.

    "Finally, my little brother remembered that he left a brother behind." Xiao Zhiren teased yfully.

    "Two brothers." Ji Syaoran corrected promptly.

    "Oh, Ran Zi is also there. What are you both doing without me?" Yuan asked suspiciously.

    "Well, certainly we can¡¯t be having more fun than you little brother." Ji Syaoran replied since Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t a good liar. "How¡¯s your trip going on? You¡¯ve been gone for four days and this is the second time I¡¯m hearing from you."

    "Sorry for not contacting. But I¡¯m in Amsterdam now. We are about to board the train to Paris from here." Yuan replied back.

    "Oh, that¡¯s good."

    It had taken a lot of effort on Yuan¡¯s part to get the permission for a backpacking trip around Europe with Zhang Han. Xiao Zhiren had protected him so much all these years that he didn¡¯t want to send Yuan alone so far away from him. But Yuan managed to convince him when he somehow managed to ask Ru for Lilith to be their traveling partner.

    He had been gone for four days and because of his excitement, he really forgot to inform back home that he was alright. It was a good thing that both Ji Family and Xiao Zhiren sent some people to keep an eye on them and keep them updated. Because these youngsters were truly unreliable.

    "Yuan, enjoy yourself and take care of your health." Xiao Zhiren reminded again.

    "Rx. I will take care of myself. I¡¯ll callter. Gotta rush." He hung up the call and both Ji Syaoran and Xiao Zhiren sighed.

    "He seems to be enjoying his freedom." Xiao Zhiren remarked thinking whether he had really been protecting Yuan too well. He should have let him experience the world on his own long ago as Ru had suggested once. He was the reason his brother was so indifferent and apathetic. Perhaps, this trip would bring some changes in his personality.

    But even in his wildest dreams, Xiao Zhiren would have never thought that this trip would change everything for Yuan. Not just his personality. But that was the matter of the future.

    For now...

    "Bro, take your own advice. That kid is fine. It¡¯s you who got a fever. Don¡¯t tell me you were worried about him and that¡¯s why your health deteriorated." Ji Syaoran was speaking all on his own without giving Xiao Zhiren a chance to reply. "If you had this much worry for me, I¡¯d be over the moon. It¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t matter as much as Yuan does. This is called the double-standards. You¡¯re biased in love between your two brothers. This is totally unfair!"

    "Are you done whining?" Xiao Zhiren asked pinching the space between his brows. "If you are then please get lost."

    "Now you¡¯re even kicking me out? Bro, I didn¡¯t expect this from you." Xiao Zhiren thought he was being dramatic but this time, Ji Syaoran was really hurt. "Fine. I¡¯ll leave." With a heavy heart, he packed the food containers and left.

    While walking past the garden of the hospital, he saw Ru sitting under a tree with a cigarette between her lips. He found her movements to be quite suave as she blew the whisps of smoke out of her mouth.

    "Leaving already? I thought you¡¯d leave with your brother." Ru took the initiative to talk.

    "He kicked me out." Ji Syaoran muttered softly.

    "Are you hurt?" Ru questioned intrigued by his sad expression.

    Ji Syaoran chortled loudly which slowly turned into a bitter smile as he said, "How can I be upset? At the end of the day, I¡¯m just a half-brother." The way he said thest words really felt weird to Ru. It was as if he was having a hard time even saying those words. As if he was mocking himself or that title of being a half-brother. What it was Ru couldn¡¯t really tell.

    "What half-brother or real brother? Brothers are brothers. There is no such thing as being half or not." Ru said inly before extinguishing her cigarette. "Brotherhood isn¡¯t imed by blood. It¡¯s a matter of the heart. You neither can deny it nor can you force it."

    "Why is it so hard to understand you?" Ji Syaoran suddenly changed the topic of conversation.

    Ru quirked her brow at him inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, I thought I¡¯ll be able to hate you after you pushed me out of your apartment and yet here I am finding it impossible to do so." Ji Syaoran really looked helpless as if he really was having the battle to understand why he couldn¡¯t hate her. She clearly irked him to no end but she somehow managed to say the words that his heart needed to hear. "You really intrigue me to no end..."

    "I know I¡¯m fascinating. You don¡¯t need to mention it at all."

    Ji Syaoran burst outughing with his head thrown back in reckless abandon. He seemed free and unrestrained. It was one of those rare moments when Ru thought she didn¡¯t see any burden of responsibilities in his eyes. He was truly hiding too much behind his yful nature that it gave people the illusion of how blissful he was.

    "I wish I could deny. But you truly are fascinating." Ji Syaoran remarked sincerely.

 Chapter 203 My Heart Hurts

    "Never took you for a smoker." Ji Syaoranmented as they both walked towards his car.

    "Never took you for a gamer either," Ru replied with a wink. With that lopsided grin, her forest green enchanting eyes Ji Syaoran felt he was in a dream. Why was everything so cool about this fellow? He really couldn¡¯t tell. It was almost surreal. "Anyway, I¡¯m not a habitual smoker. Just like taking a puff of a fag[1] or two once in a while. It helps me in focusing."

    "I still think you shouldn¡¯t smoke on an empty stomach. That¡¯s even more dangerous." Ji Syaoran remarked as he ced the food containers in the back seat of his car.

    Ru gave a slight smile as she said, "Well, someone forgot to bring my breakfast. Sigh! I had to work it up with just a fag." Her disappointed tone and words reminded Ji Syaoran of what he had promised herst night.

    He facepalmed himself saying guiltily, "I¡¯m so sorry. I was trying to feed brother and forgot that half the potion was for you."

    Ru gave him a chuckle as he patted his shoulder, "Listen, mate[2], that much of the food would have never been able to do justice to my appetite. It¡¯s fine as long as your brother ate his fill. He needs to refill his energy. I¡¯m already a very healthy person."

    "Healthy? I¡¯d say you have an insane strength." Ji Syaoran grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder which she had bumped into earlier when he came.

    "Don¡¯t act like a delicate young master. Even though Ji Family is an aristocratic family, every descendant is still taught the basics of martial arts. You are no exception and I can bet my everything on that." Ru replied in an all-knowing manner.

    "Are you really a ghost? How do you know everything?" Ji Syaoran asked in surprise. It wasn¡¯t every day that you¡¯d find someone who could tell you about your own family with such ease.

    "I¡¯m not a ghost. But I do love knowing things." Ru replied honestly and continued in a doubtful manner, "That¡¯s why I¡¯m so curious about that woman in Ji mansion."

    "What?" Ji Syaoran had heard her but he thought he had misheard. So, he had to question again just for confirmation.

    "Don¡¯t act clueless. She lives in your father¡¯s courtyard, there is no way that you don¡¯t know about her." Ru might have her doubts before but now she was certain that Ji Syaoran knew more than he was allowed to.

    "I do. But I won¡¯t talk about it." Ji Syaoran replied in a low voice and a defeated manner.

    "And I won¡¯t ask either. It won¡¯t be fun this way." Ru replied.

    They both stood silent with their own thoughts. Ji Syaoran with the curiosity of how Ru knew about someone his father protected the most and Ru with a feeling that her initial doubts might turn out to be the truth. And if they did, then Ji Yifeng was right. His sons¡¯ life would change.

    "By the way, are you from a martial practitioner family?" Ji Syaoran asked curiously.

    "What gave that away?" Ru asked and Ji Syaoran gave her a look that said, ¡¯Are you serious?¡¯

    "Your violent nature is enough to give you away."

    "Thugs are also violent." Ru pointed out.

    Ji Syaoran smiled in return and said, "Yes, but they don¡¯t carry the aura of a distinguished, elegant and eloquent master like yourself."

    "Fair enough." Ru shrugged her shoulders. "I just remembered, we still have that football match on pending."

    Ji Syaoran took a step back gingerly. "Not ying with you. No way."

    "Why not?" Ru wasn¡¯t pleased to hear that.

    "My Great Grand Master! Your hands are already enough to beat me to a pulp. Who knows what can you do with a football in hand? I can¡¯t take any risk. My poor heart won¡¯t allow me to." Ji Syaoran was bowing to her as if acknowledging her as his master.

    He lifted his eyes to observe her reaction and as their eyes met, both of them couldn¡¯t help the peal ofughter that engulfed them.

    "I promise it¡¯d be a friendly match. I just have no one to y with. I look like a bloody jerk ying all on my own." Ru spoke with a sad tone.

    "Then I shall be your good mate and apany you for a match."

    "Yes, you should!" Ru agreed solemnly. "Now, leave. I have to deal with your brother¡¯s discharge papers. Argh! I hate that paperwork."

    Ji Syaoranughed at her reaction and shook his head, "Well, you need to take full responsibility. You admitted him here. You should be the one to discharge him from here as well."

    "Traitor!" Ru scrunched up her nose at him while giving him a pointed look. He just smiled at her reaction and drove away.

    From his room¡¯s window, Xiao Zhiren had seen their interaction from the very start. He hated it that Ru was acting sofortable around Ji Syaoran even though thetter was his own brother. His blood boiled when he saw Ru touching his shoulder to give him a pat and he almost punched someone when he saw themughing so freely with each other.

    Why wasn¡¯t she this easy around him? Even now, she would find excuses to stay away from him! Fine! I won¡¯t touch you either now. I¡¯m being pushy and clingy. I should stop with this nonsense. Xiao Zhiren decided on his own.

    But when Ru entered back to his room, he couldn¡¯t stop his traitor eyes from looking at her. Still, seeing her easygoing look, he fumed and didn¡¯t say a word.

    "Your tests are all clear. The doctor said that you¡¯re free to go." Ru spoke happily as she strode towards him. "Now, get dressed. I¡¯ve dealt with your paperwork. We are leaving this hospital. Good riddance!"

    Xiao Zhiren neither moved an inch nor said a single word. Not even a nod of affirmation. He was just being broody.

    Ru wasn¡¯t oblivious to his odd behavior but she had no mood of entertaining him right now. "Get up already. Ran Zi left some clothes for you to change into." She didn¡¯t even realize that her intimate way of calling Ji Syaoran had ticked something off in Xiao Zhiren.

    He abruptly came down from his bed and held her arms in a tight grip. "What are you doing?" Ru asked in confusion, not caring that he was holding her.

    "I should ask you, what the hell are you doing?" He retorted back.

    "What did I do? I¡¯m the most innocent person between the two of us." Ru replied without feeling a hint of shame. But then again, she was talking about the way he was always touching her at every given chance or more like stolen chance.

    "Why are you like this?" He shook her a little.

    "I don¡¯t know. I was born this way." She said thoughtfully and added, "By the way, what am I like?"

    Xiao Zhiren had the urge to knock his own head against the wall. She truly was infuriating to talk to. But he chose to press his forehead against hers gently and cupped her face as he said, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re like either. I just know, you¡¯re hell-bent on undoing me, love."

    "Undoing you?" Ru stared back at his eyes that were erged because of theck of distance between them. "But I don¡¯t want to ruin you. I have no such desire as of yet."

    Xiao Zhiren stroked her cheeks with his thumb and said, "Yes, you are undoing me. Because you are my undoing yourself. My Achilles heel!" Ru didn¡¯t want to reply to that. She just didn¡¯t want to. She felt that she¡¯d end up saying something wrong so her silence was better. "I don¡¯t like it when you smile with other men. Even if it¡¯s my own brother."

    Ru and Xiao Zhiren both had a sense of deja vu. What was it?

    "I don¡¯t like it when sheughs with other kids." the voice echoed in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind.

    "Don¡¯t give that smile to other boys," Ru remembered a distant memory from a very young age. Probably, she was only nine or ten.

    "Why can¡¯t I?" She had asked looking at that weak looking kid.

    "Because my heart hurts when you show your beautiful smile to others." That small boy had replied.

    "Then go to a doctor. This young master will always do what he wants to do!" Ru had replied back in her usual haughty manner. And she still could remember how that the boy had looked upset because of her words.

    Hell! His expression even made her feel guilty at that age. And Ru wasn¡¯t someone who would feel guilty over anything! She had yet to know how he knew she was a girl when even she was clueless at that age.

    Presently, both of them stared back at each other. Xiao Zhiren biting his lip in guilt and Ru in confusion at how much resemnce Xiao Zhiren had with that annoying kid from her childhood. What a strange coincidence!

    [1] "fag": Cigarette

    [2] "mate": A friend orpanion

 Chapter 204 I Want You

    When Xiao Zhiren swore that he won¡¯t touch Ru, he was most definitely kidding with only himself. His self-control was always thrown out the window when Ru was involved. How could he resist it? He just couldn¡¯t bring himself to have any restraint around her whatsoever!

    After that moment of deja vu had passed, both of them were wearing somber looks as they left the hospital. Ru was the one to drive again as she let him rest in the passenger seat. She noticed he was awfully quiet as he kept his eyes trained on the scenery outside the window.

    But Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t tell her that he was guilty. That deja vu moment made him hate himself even more. He actually said something like that for another girl? Other than his little chili he really didn¡¯t like seeing someone smile with others? Why didn¡¯t it make sense? At least, not to his stubborn heart who was stuck on the stubborn person sitting in the same closed car unaware of the fact that he was awfully affected by her presence.

    As they reach their condominium building, Ru helped him to his apartment. "You should rest. No work is allowed. Doctor¡¯s instructions." Ru ordered while he silently listened. "Aren¡¯t you gonna say anything? Or cat got your tongue?"

    Xiao Zhiren stared at her, standing in HIS bedroom all alone with him, with a concerned look in her eyes. Okay! This image was gonna stuck with him. Because his mind had gone nk. He forgot all about that memory he didn¡¯t recognize. All that mattered was the fact that His little chili was in his room and that too for him.

    "Aren¡¯t you a medicine practitioner yourself? And I heard a very good one at that. Why did you take me to the hospital then?" Ru was taken aback by the question for two reasons. One, where did this questione from? And second, why the hell didn¡¯t she think of this?

    She tapped the tip of her shoes on the floor as she tried to think of an excuse. Hmm. So, why didn¡¯t she just dealt with his illness herself? It wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway.

    ¡¯Perhaps because you¡¯re too anxious to recall your own talents.¡¯ That unreasonable conscious again! Couldn¡¯t she just strangle her? It won¡¯t hurt anyone.

    ¡¯Shut up and go back to sleep!¡¯ Ru snapped back.

    ¡¯Why so early? There is only PG-13 scene going on here. I¡¯m definitely allowed to watch.¡¯ Ru had the urge to smack her head. What was this conscious thinking about? Disgusting!

    ¡¯You! Just kick the bucket already!¡¯ With a huff, Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren and realized that he had been staring at her all this while. And she was so lost in her own world that she didn¡¯t even realize it at all.

    "You! Stop asking questions. The hospital wasn¡¯t far and anyway, this young master¡¯s services are pricey. You won¡¯t be able to afford it." Ru had to make up an excuse right there and then.

    "Pricey? So, just likest time, should I pay with my body?" Xiao Zhiren teased her again.

    "Oi! You¡¯re courting death!"

    "No, love. I¡¯m only courting you. But yes, you¡¯re right. Since you seem to be the death of me. Indirectly, it means I am really courting death." Xiao Zhiren said in all honesty.

    "Zhiren, where do youe up with these?"

    "What?"

    "This cringe-worthy talking? Are you taking a special course or is it God gifted?"

    "Hmm... I think I was born with this talent. But I only realized it after you came to my life." Xiao Zhiren replied with a cheeky smile as he leaned his head against the headboard.

    "You seem healthy enough to flirt. I should take my leave then." Ru turned to leave and he cried out.

    "Wait! Why are you always running? It¡¯s hard to catch up in my weak state. Just stay. What if my condition rpsed?"

    Ignoring the first part of his speech, she realized thest part was correct. His condition could really rpse. Haiz! When did she turn into a caring person?

    "I¡¯ll stay. But no funny business." She warned him with a re and Xiao Zhiren raised his hands defensively.

    "Wouldn¡¯t dare," was his short reply.

    He was content with staring at Ru as she roamed around in his room looking at the abstract arts. She seemed deeply immersed in the paintings.

    His phone¡¯s ring disturbed his beautiful view. "What?" he snapped at the caller.

    "Woah! Buddy, woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" The yful voice from the other end made Xiao Zhiren roll his eyes.

    "Adrian, why are you calling?" Xiao Zhiren asked in a leveled-tone this time.

    "Why do I feel like you¡¯re trying to get rid of me? Is someone with you?" Adrian¡¯s curiosity got the best of him. And as he heard an affirmative sound from Xiao Zhiren, he added, "Am I disturbing?" Xiao Zhiren again gave an affirmative sound. "Wow! Is it my future sister-inw?"

    That ¡¯sister-inw¡¯ sounded so good to hear. And the feeling it brought was even more weing. It was like Xiao Zhiren could im that Ru was his and his alone.

    "It most certainly is." He replied with a smile tugging at his lips. Ru obviously had no interest in eavesdropping. So, she walked out of the room to give him privacy.

    "Oh My! Finally! I really was having doubt in your sexual orientation. But now that I know you swing the right way, I¡¯m very happy for you." Adrian said excitedly not caring that his words were making Xiao Zhiren angry.

    "Adrian, howe you remembered to call me?" Xiao Zhiren rephrased his earlier question.

    "Oh, right. I have to tell you something. I¡¯ming to China in a few days. You better wee me." Adrian spoke jubntly and continued, "Also, I heard your brother is in Europe."

    "Yuan is indeed there. Why?" Xiao Zhiren asked not knowing how did Adrian find out about this. "How do you even know that?"

    "He¡¯s under Lord Alev Knight¡¯s protection. Who in the who Europe didn¡¯t get the memo? It was like a bolt out of the blue knowing that Knight Empires specially trained warriors were sent to protect a group of youngsters. And when I dug deeper. It turned out, it¡¯s your brother. I didn¡¯t know you were on such good terms with Alev Knight." Adrian kept talking non-stop without even waiting for any reply from the other side.

    However, Xiao Zhiren was also very confused. Why would Alev Knight send his men to protect my brother? It didn¡¯t make sense. Unless...

    His gaze darkened while his face hardened at that possibility.

    "Send me the details of when you¡¯re arriving. I¡¯ll see you then. Bye for now."

    "Okay, bye. Enjoy your time with my future sister-inw."

    After hanging up the phone, he went out of the room to look for Ru and found her cutting some fruits for him in the living room. She even cut the apples in a rabbit shape like he was a kid. But the gesture was loving.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. Remember why you came to talk. Focus!

    "Did you ask Alev Knight to protect Yuan?" He asked.

    Ru barely gave him a fleeting nce and focused back on cutting the fruit as she said, "Why are you out of bed? And even if I did what¡¯s the big deal? If I rule the ce, I can do whatever I want."

    "You rule the ce?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows quirked up.

    "I mean... Alev rules there and I told you. There is no difference between his and mine. We are practically like one. So, I can use him however I want." Ru replied without giving it much thought. Or without considering the vinegar volcano that was about to burst out behind her.

    She was about to pass by his side when he held her hand and pushed her against the wall pinning her down. "I remember you still owe me a favor." He started with a clenched jaw.

    "I do remember," Ru replied not even trying to escape from his grip. Why? It felt so bloody natural!

    The pending favor was when he saved her from a car ident on the road. It wasn¡¯t a big deal but she had still offered to give him a nk promise.

    "Have you thought of what you want?" She asked.

    Gazing into her green eyes, he said, "I have."

    "What do you want from me?" She inquired curiously.

    "You." The word so naturally rolled out of his tongue that Ru was left dumbstruck. "I want you." He repeated for confirmation.

 Chapter 205 Your Heart Whispered To Me

    Three words... Eight letters... And a whole lot of feelings...

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s simple "I want you." carried a weight which couldn¡¯t be denied. These were one of the most romantic and sincerest words to a girl. A blunt confession that probably held a bigger promise than "I love you." Because his confession stated clearly how much she meant to him.

    Any girl would have melted at this confession and probably would have said, "I¡¯m already yours."or something along the line. At least, if the situation was reversed in their case and Ru was the one saying, "I want you." Xiao Zhiren wouldn¡¯t have even hesitated before saying, "I¡¯m all yours, to begin with."

    But sadly, the situation wasn¡¯t ideal in their case. Because the one doing the confession was Xiao Zhiren and the one being confessed to was our Ru; who loved running from her feelings. Especially, her feelings for Xiao Zhiren that had beplicated and far from her understanding.

    In just a half a year of knowing him, he had managed to challenge her limits. She hated being touched carelessly but now, she found herself in a dilemma whenever his skin made contact with her own. She never liked thepany of strangers and yet, in his presence, she found herself rxing as if shedding away all her guards.

    She wasn¡¯t sure what was changing between them. However, she was sure that something changed beyond repair. But with her indecisive nature, she wasn¡¯t very willing to ept those changes.

    And she couldn¡¯t find words, she raised her fist to throw a punch at his face which he easily dodged. "I¡¯m not up for a bargain." Ru snarled at him angrily as she kicked his knee without holding back.

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t gonna lie. It hurt. It really did. But he wasn¡¯t gonna back off either. If he let her slip away now, he might really lose her for good.

    Holding back her wrists, he pinned her back to the wall with her hands above her head. She was glowering while he was looking calm and patient.

    "I¡¯m not trying to buy you. I just want you to fulfill your promise." He stated holding her gaze.

    Ru thought she saw hurt in his raven-ck eyes. There was no unadulterated lust but there was pure and undiluted jealousy. Jealousy? But why? She couldn¡¯t figure that out while he wasn¡¯t very inclined on saying it out loud either. Nheless, the need and sincerity in his eyes were real. It was so real that it shook Ru¡¯s heart.

    His lips grazed past her cheeks in a tantalizing way as he said in a deep voice, "You don¡¯t n on going back on your words. Do you?"

    Ru turned her head sideways keeping a distance between his lips and her face just for the sake of her sanity which was going beyond her control. She couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    "I still stand by my words. I would rather die than go back on my words." Ru gritted out bitterly. "State your conditions in detail."

    "I thought you were a smart person. Didn¡¯t you already understood my meaning?" Xiao Zhiren shot back with a hint of sarcasm which made Ru narrow her eyes at him dangerously.

    But bloody hell! His citric scent mixed with a mild cedar made her overwhelmed mind to slowly calm down. It was a wonder that he again managed to wrap her senses with his presence.

    "Clearly, I¡¯m not as smart as I took myself to be." Ru scoffed looking at his intent eyes.

    This probably had been the first time, instead of being a narcissist she chose to state clearly that she really didn¡¯t understand. And honestly, she really didn¡¯t.

    "I have a banquet to attend this weekend. I want you to join me as my date."

    He took another step close to her tall body pressed against the hard wall. It removed whatever space there was between them. Now, his body was really pressed against hers. He looked into his beautiful emerald green eyes and started, "I have two options for you." Ru frowned as he continued, "Be as my girlfriend." Then his lips turned into a sly smile as he added, "Or..." his lips came inches away from her ear as he whispered seductively, "Be my boyfriend."

    As Ru gaped at him in disbelief, he had the audacity to wink back at her with amusement dancing in his dark and gorgeous orbs.

    "You have lost your mind. I can¡¯t be your boyfriend. What will people say?" Ru snapped at him as if he hadmitted a felony.

    "I don¡¯t give half a fuck about what people say or think. As long as the person standing beside me is you." His seemingly impulsive words tugged at her heart in a way that she didn¡¯t like. "Besides love, I also gave you another option. You can always choose toe as my girlfriend. I¡¯m fine with either one."

    "Codswallop! This is utter codswallop!" Ru¡¯s voice rose an octave as she red at him.

    However, both of them were still stuck in their earlier position with neither of them having any intention to move away. No matter what, Ru couldn¡¯t deny that being with him made her feelpletely lost. But he also made her feelfortable and protected. Also, how could she forget that he was the only one who was making her lose her sanity and yet helping her in keeping that sanity intact? It was weird but it was true.

    Whether he was being undone because of her or not, it was unclear. But he certainly was undoing the locks on the door that led to her heart.

    "Don¡¯t take too long. If you went out as my boyfriend, it¡¯s a given that people will recognize you. But if you went out as my girlfriend... You¡¯ll just be another mystery for people. Neither people will be able to identify you nor will you have to care about keeping a low-profile." Xiao Zhiren stated the pros and cons.

    Ru bit her bottom lip not knowing what to say to that. His words and reasoning were getting to her head once again.

    "I can find you the most gorgeous date." Ru took thest shot at this but he didn¡¯t look too pleased by her words.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face dipped down to her neck as he nuzzled patiently making a shiver run through her body at the contact. "For me..." he rubbed his nose along her neck to the spot below her ear as he added, "You¡¯ll always be..." he caught her earlobe between his soft lips before biting her softly and continued, "The most gorgeous woman in the whole universe."

    Her breath was hitched unexpectedly. ¡¯Gorgeous? And woman? When did these two words start describing her? Also, in the same sentence?¡¯ Ru was focused on frowning with her wild thoughts that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t realize the wild things that Xiao Zhiren was making her body feel.

    Well, not at least until Xiao Zhiren sucked at the soft spot right below her ear.

    "Pfft!" Ruughed out making Xiao Zhiren look at her inquisitively. She pursed her lips and stayed quiet. Xiao Zhiren again nipped at the sake spot and Ru¡¯s body squirmed in his hold as she bit her lips to hold back herugh. Now, Xiao Zhiren was really confused. But as if recalling something, his lips kissed the same spot and Ru finally lost it as he keptughing like a fool.

    It was a heartyugh. One that Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know she was capable of. He was amused. Really amused.

    "You¡¯re ticklish there. Right?" He asked the most obvious thing. She was supposed to be feeling anything but ticklish right at that spot. Really? Why was her body just like her weird mind?

    "I also didn¡¯t know until now," Ru said between herughs.

    Xiao Zhiren bit her bottom lip making her gasp in surprise and said, "You¡¯re really one of a kind."

    Ru caressed her bottom lip where his teeth grazed and replied, "I know. Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re falling for me?" Shit! What nonsense are you spouting again? Pui! Pui! Think before talking or just keep your trap shut!

    Xiao Zhiren gave her feathery kisses all over her face as he said, "I¡¯m not falling for you. I¡¯ve already fallen hard." Taking a pause, he asked, "So, you¡¯re my date. It¡¯s confirmed!"

    "But I didn¡¯t confirm it yet." Ru retorted.

    He pecked her lips and gave a cheeky smile, "You just did."

    "When did I? I didn¡¯t even say a word."

    "But your heart has already whispered to me softly."

    "Huh? You¡¯re just making things up again."

    "Why don¡¯t you ask your heart then?"

    Ru ced her hand over her chest and scowled, "Traitor!"

    Xiao Zhirenughed at her antics and hugged her not caring about her protest which was non-existent, to begin with.

 Chapter 206 Did I Need Another Reason?

    It was one thing that Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t believe that Ru didn¡¯t stop him from kissing her. While it was a totally different thing for Ru who was in shock. She had been kissed from her forehead to the junction where her jaw met her neck.

    And each kiss left a yearning in its wake. How did he do that? Ru couldn¡¯t tell. Well, obviously, her knees weren¡¯t inclined on buckling or her stomach feeling like a garden of butterflies pping away having a go at merry go lucky. But still, some feelings were there for sure. Even though those feelings weren¡¯t like normal girls who get giddy or shy at such a thing.

    Ru just couldn¡¯t bring herself to act coquettishly. She was from a warrior bloodline, it¡¯d be an insult to her whole lineage if she really became a dociledy or acted like a delicate young woman. Eeee! Even the sound of that didn¡¯t settle well with her.

    "Keep your hands to yourself. Make some distance." Ru ced her hands on his chest and pushed him away as she spoke. But Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t paying attention to her words. His eyes and focus were solely on the strong hands that were nted on his chest.

    "If you kept seducing me, I won¡¯t be able to keep my distance," he warned with a look of pure desire as his pupils contracted dangerously.

    "When did I seduce you? Bloody! I don¡¯t even know how to seduce someone!" Ru replied with assurance. His eyes pointed at her hands on his chest and Ru retracted them back with an awkward cough, "I should really leave before I go crazy here."

    "I don¡¯t mind if you go crazy for me," he replied cheekily making Ru¡¯s mouth to twitch. She couldn¡¯t decide whether she wanted tough or cry. His words were amusing, sincere and yet sounded so cheesy that she had the urge to cringe.

    "I¡¯ll really lose my mind with you," said Ru in exasperation as she turned on her heels to leave.

    "I¡¯d prefer if you lose your heart to me. Your mind is tooplicated for a simple man like me." Xiao Zhiren shouted at her back.

    Ru looked over her shoulder at him and asked, "Since when did you be a simple man? You crafty little thing!"

    "First of all, I¡¯m not a little thing. Crafty but not little." Xiao Zhiren said with his obvious displeasure. "Second of all, I am a very simple man. See, I¡¯m so simple that I only know two things."

    "What?"

    "One, I love you. Two, I want you to be mine for a lifetime." Xiao Zhiren replied with ease. "Wait! I want you for all the lifetimes and even in the afterlife. No bargaining on that!"

    "You! You!" Ru was having trouble finding the right words to describe him. "Bloody son of a bachelor! I can¡¯t even handle you for a day. I¡¯ll really go crazy if I got stuck with you for a lifetime."

    "But love, you don¡¯t have any other choice. You¡¯re already stuck with me." Xiao Zhiren replied as he crossed his arms over his chest with a smile gracing his slightly pale but handsome face.

    "I always have a choice," Ru replied with her usual arrogance.

    "We¡¯ll see about that," Xiao Zhiren response was equally arrogant.

    Ru left his apartment and nearly lost herposure as she walked into her own. Okay, let¡¯s sort out what just happened.

    ¡¯You are going on a date.¡¯ Her conscious reminded her in a sing-song voice. Well, someone was ecstatic about this. She rolled her eyes at that with a snort.

    "Mind your words. I¡¯m not going on a date. I¡¯m going as a date." Ru said as if her logic really made any sense. When even she knew that her logic neither had a head nor a tail. It was bullshit on her part! "Moving on, he kissed me. Let me add, again."

    ¡¯And you liked it.¡¯ Her conscious spoke again.

    "I so did not!" Ru said out loud.

    ¡¯Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!¡¯ Again, what¡¯s up with that sing-song excitement?

    "Argh! Why are his words affecting me so much?" Ru said to no one in particr. But someone heard it. Someone who was keen on answering as well.

    And it was...

    Obviously, her conscious as she shot back, ¡¯Because every word of his is filled with love and sincerity. You can¡¯t make yourself hate that.¡¯

    "I really can¡¯t." Ru agreed with her conscious as she continued, "Those eyes of his are so expressive that it¡¯s getting intense whenever I look into those orbs. That stupid smile of his is beautiful but why do I feel grateful to see him happy? It¡¯s weird that his scent is getting to me. How can it calm the raging storms in me? And those kisses... He never made me feel like he had an ulterior motive. How can someone¡¯s kiss be so pure and full of emotions? Why am I not disgusted by his touch like any other? Why does his taste is stuck in my memory? Why am I not repulsive to intimacy anymore?"

    There are so many whys in her life now!

    ¡¯With all due respect, are you still nning on denying your feelings?¡¯ As Ru heard that annoying voice again in her head, she fell quiet.

    Was she going to deny? She wanted to. But she didn¡¯t like seeing the disappointment on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face either. Whenever she was rude to him, she could see the way his eyes dimmed and it almost gave the illusion that he was losing something very precious. Just how precious was she to him?

    Honestly, Ru couldn¡¯t even fathom that part. She couldn¡¯t possibly have thought the intensity of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s love. He said he was crazy for her. He literally meant it. He said she means the world to him. He really did because all his world was her.

    "It¡¯s official. I¡¯m lost. Young Master Ru finally managed to be a lost cause. Such a shame it is!" Ru muttered again as she closed her eyes.

    After a while, she ran towards the full-length mirror in her closet and looked at her reflection from head to toe. "What does he see that is so appealing?" She asked as she kept trying to find anything unique on herself. "Like any other girl, I have two eyes, two arms, two legs, one nose, lips, two ears, and two strawberry creams that I always hide. I don¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. Then what does he see? What I see is appalling, not appealing."

    Ru ruffled her hair in annoyance since after spending an hour trying to look for something unique in herself. She was still back to square one. She was no different. Then why did he like her?

    ¡¯Since when did young master Ru lost her arrogance and confidence in herself?¡¯

    Ru sighed at that question. "I¡¯m confident as a young master. I can guarantee that nobody can shake off my charms as a man. But as a woman? Sheesh! I¡¯m the worst of the worst. How can anyone love someone like me who doesn¡¯t even know the first thing about being a woman?"

    Her self-doubts weren¡¯t far-fetched at all. They were valid since she found herself rather shabby and repulsive as a woman. It wasn¡¯t like he fell for her body. He never even saw it clearly. She didn¡¯t have an hourss body that men seemed to fall for easily.

    Till the sun went down to sleep peacefully at night, Ru was still burying her head in her knees trying toe up with one reason. Just one reason that could exin why Xiao Zhiren was after her. But till now, no luck. She had only gotten a splitting headache from all this thinking.

    Finally, in frustration, she left her apartment and found herself at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s door. She rang the bell and waited. He took some time before opening the door and when he did, he was surprised to find her on the other side.

    Before he could question her, she spoke up, "Why me?"

    "Huh?" he was dumbfounded and lost.

    "What do you see in me? Do you like the fact that I disguise myself as a man? Because I can¡¯t think of anything else that¡¯s different than any other girl. So, tell me, why me?"

    Xiao Zhiren understood her dilemma very well. And it made his heart hurt to see that she was questioning herself as a woman. Her real identity. Did she really have no confidence in herself?

    He gave a soft smile and answered, "You don¡¯t have to be different. You just have to be you. Because you¡¯re enough to brighten my day like a sun with just a simple smile. That same smile is enough to make my heart do a somersault in excitement. It¡¯s enough that you see the world in a way that I never could." Ru kept silent all this while he continued patiently, "Besides, my heart chose you the moment it saw you. Did I really need another reason? My heart has already caught the rhythm of yours. That reason should be enough for you."

 Chapter 207 Aly?

    ¡¯My heart has already caught the rhythm of yours. That reason should be enough for you.¡¯

    Those words echoed in her mind like a broken record. She was sick of this endless loop constantly ying in her mind. It wasn¡¯t annoying though. The feelings it agitated in her were annoying.

    For the next couple of nights, she again wasn¡¯t able to sleep. It wasck of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s presence beside her or her insomnia was back; it was hard to tell. However, a certain voice in her mind was nagging and iming that it was the absence of a particrly cheeky person.

    "My friend ising today. We are going to a restaurant for dinner. Would you like to join?" Xiao Zhiren asked her as he met her outside the condominium building.

    "Friend is yours. Dinner is yours. Why should I join?" Ru retorted keeping her eyes anywhere but at him.

    Leaning closer to her, he said, "I have to introduce my girlfriend." He saw Ru¡¯s body flinching visibly at his words and felt amused. Aye, this little chili wasn¡¯t that unaffected as she pretended to be.

    "What do you think I¡¯m friendless? I also have a priormitment with a very very very close friend!" Ru snapped at him, not caring about her sharp tone at all. Who told him to make her feel flustered? She wasn¡¯t this annoyed before in her entire life. Hold on a second, there was indeed a time when someone really annoyed her to an extent but she wasn¡¯t willing to relive through the memoryne. At least, not while Xiao Zhiren staring at her as if trying to read through her soul or something.

    Oddly, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t bothered at all even when Ru tried to incite him with that ¡¯very very very close friend¡¯ phrase. Why should he feel threatened? She was his girlfriend. It was amitment as well; one that Ru wouldn¡¯t go back on for the sake of her pride.

    "Okay, enjoy yourself." Xiao Zhiren chirped literally like a happy bird before nting a soft kiss on her cheek, leaving Ru to gape at his back.

    Clenching her fists, Ru punched and kicked in the air behind his back imagining him to be at the other end of this whole assault. But then he will get hurt. Aish! I need a drink. I so do! With this thought, Ru got into the car that she was using these days and made a bee-line for a popr nightclub in the Capital.

    Nightclubs weren¡¯t her forte considering she had a very old and conservative personality and beliefs. But she needed to be in a loud crowd where she won¡¯t be able to hear even her own mind. And since nightclub was the best option that came to her mind, Ru went with it. There was indeed no priormitment. It was just an excuse on her part and it worked.

    As she entered the nightclub, the loud music made her wince in irritation but she still willed herself to continue. But the smell of different perfumes lingering in the air made her stomach churn. And seeing those young men and women doing a sensual dance while grinding their bodies on each other made her even more repulsed.

    ¡¯Okay, I am done! I can¡¯t do this! No way!¡¯ She turned on her heels and walked out of that suffocating and horrendous ce. She was feeling disgusted. How could anyone like a nightclub? It was a horrible ce.

    She drove around some more and with Raven¡¯s rmendation chose a sophisticated bar. She took the elevator to reach the bar that was a part of a circr restaurant with floor-length windows. The bar counter was set up at the first portion of the restaurant while the second floor was dedicated to dinning.

    "Hey, bloke[1]! Give me some brandy. Or any hard liquor would work." Ru ordered the bartender as she took a seat at the high chair.

    The bartender looked her up and down. She had to repeat her words in Mandarin and then he reacted with, "Right away, Sir."

    Ru held her head in her hands and started humming in her mind. It was a good tactic to stop herself from thinking nonsense.

    "Aly?" Ru frowned at that voice and turned to see one of the most irksome guy in her life.

    "Your Royal Highness, I have a name. And it certainly isn¡¯t ¡¯Aly¡¯." She was gnashing her teeth in rage at him. Seeing Adrian¡¯s face was enough to make her already sour mood to get even more bitter.

    Adrian gave her a cheeky smile as he sat beside her saying, "Aly, Alev, Knight-y, Knight. All¡¯s the same, mate! Why are your knickers getting into a twist?"

    "You Bloody Blighty Plonker[1]! Get your Royal arse away from me!" Ru didn¡¯t bother giving him a face. It wasn¡¯t worth it. And she wasn¡¯t on good terms with him anyway.

    Adrian gasped dramatically while Ru picked up her brandy and gulped it in one go before clicking her fingers to get the bartender¡¯s attention as she gestured him to refill.

    "Mate, you look gutted!" Adrianmented as he didn¡¯t take her words to heart at all. He knew the more he felt agitated, the more she¡¯ll try to mess with him.

    "I thought you to be a bludger[2], why are hell-bent on acting like a bugger instead? Don¡¯t be nosy." Ru wasn¡¯t in the mood to entertain him at all. Wasn¡¯t it enough that she was having a restless day? She was feeling really ufortable for some reason.

    As if something was about to happen. But her heart was restless because of the anticipation rather than anxiousness.

    "Brilliant! You look like a ticking time bomb." Adrian was observing her expressions because it might be the first time he was actually seeing some fluctuation there. He thought she had face paralysis but now he was certain that there were a lot of emotions on that face. "By the way, when did Knight Empires top mercenaries be bodyguards? It makes one curious to know who you¡¯re protecting."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his words. He was from the Royal Family, of course, he had enough resources to know about her special orders regarding Yuan¡¯s protection. However, people were misunderstanding something. Her protection was for Lilith more than it was for Yuan. She was aware that Xiao Zhiren had sent his men for his brother. She didn¡¯t need to bother with him. Her priority was her own people.

    "Why are you here, Adrian?" She askedpletely ignoring his question.

    "I have a dinner meeting with a friend. I heard they serve excellent nosh here." Adrian replied in a vague manner knowing well enough that she was referring to his presence here in China rather than here as in the restaurant. "What brought you here? Nosh or liquor?"

    Taking another swig of her drink, Ru answered, "I¡¯m on the pull[3], mate!"

    Adrian choked on air as he coughed profusely while gaping at her in disbelief. It took him a while topose himself before he said, "Blimey! Your sense of humor is still horrendous as always."

    "Who said I¡¯m joking? This lord is certainly not in the mood to joke. And you¡¯d be thest person I¡¯d want to use my sense of humor on." Ru¡¯s brows were quirked up as he spoke monotonously.

    "Look, Knight! I for one will never believe your words. I have never even seen you snogging with anyone. And you¡¯re talking about shagging? Please, mate! Say something that I could really believe." Ru¡¯s lips curled up slightly at his reply. He wasn¡¯t that much of an idiot as she thought him to be. Certainly, snogging or shagging weren¡¯t on her list. Never had been.

    But a certain someone had already made her taste what snogging was like. As for shagging? Ru immediately shook her head and took the brandy bottle drinking straight from it.

    "Someone nicked[4] your heart?" Adrian said teasingly and while Ru red at him and wiped the remnants of liquor off her lips, he added, "Sorry, but the way you¡¯re trying to get pissed[5] is misleading."

    "I am gobsmacked. Utterly andpletely gobsmacked! How can a nutter[6] like you evene up with such a ridiculous thought?"

    "You know what, chap? With this word game of yours, you seem really dodgy." Adrian¡¯s smile irked Ru and she felt like her patience was running out now.

    "Your Highness, would you leave on your own or should I make you?" Ru¡¯s warning made Adrian zip his lips. It was better. He still remembered how she made him lose millions just because he came unannounced.

    "Fine. I¡¯ll see you around." Adrian got up from his seat to leave.

    "I hope not. I won¡¯t be polite like today otherwise." Ru replied shedding all fake cordiality while Adrian was yelling at her in his heart to know when was she polite? Because if her definition of polite was the way she just treated him like then she really needed a new thesaurus in life.

    [1] "Bloody Blighty Plonker": Damn Britain Idiot

    [2] "Bludger": An idle orzy person

    [3] "On The Pull": Looking for sex

    [4] "Nicked": Stolen

    [5] "Pissed": Drunk

    [6] "Nutter": Crazy person

 Chapter 208 Devils Reincarnation

    "Give me some vodka and gin. Brandy isn¡¯t doing me any good."

    Adrian heard Ru¡¯s voice and frowned, finding it rather different than he was remembered. But then again, the person was a mystery for him even after eight years. If Ru can change her appearance so well, how couldn¡¯t she change her voice?

    Not being able to hold back himself, Adrian took a backward step and said, "Knight, are you really heartbroken or something?"

    Ru passed him a deathly re along with a low and threatening growl escaping from her throat involuntarily which really scared Adrian and made him run for his life. Literally.

    Adrian might not know Ru very well but he knew one thing; she wasn¡¯t fond of alcohol. So, if something really managed to make her drink like this then it really wasn¡¯t a simple thing anymore.

    He ascended the spiral staircase of the restaurant and walked up to the private room where Xiao Zhiren was waiting for him already. "Hey, chap! You really came." Adrian seemed surprised when he gave him a bro hug which Xiao Zhiren knew was an act of him being dramatic as always.

    "Now, you¡¯re hurting my feelings." Xiao Zhiren replied with a pained look as if Adrian¡¯s little trust in him had really hurt some cords of his heart. They both chuckled along with each other before taking the seat opposite of each other. "Took you quite a while to get your royal ass here."

    The moment Xiao Zhiren said ¡¯royal ass¡¯ Adrian¡¯s mind wandered off to the most hateful person in his life who loves addressing him as ¡¯royal arse¡¯. Bloody! Why is heparing his best friend with that hateful person? Perhaps because I just had the misfortune of seeing him downstairs. Adrian shook his head while Xiao Zhiren kept staring at him oddly.

    "Earth to Adrian!" Xiao Zhiren waved his hand before Adrian¡¯s face to wake him up from his daydreaming session. And when Adrian jolted awake, he added, "Where are you lost? I didn¡¯t think my question was this difficult."

    Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Sorry, Zoran! My mind just went to a bothersome, hateful guy I had the misfortune to encounter here."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could question him, the waiter came to take their orders. Both Adrian and Xiao Zhiren choose a couple of dishes and a bottle of wine to go with it.

    "What brought you to China?" Xiao Zhiren questioned forgetting all about Adrian¡¯s earlierment.

    "Something... Personal." Adrian answered ambiguously.

    "That¡¯s very vague of you."

    Adrian gave a small smile before his eyes wandered off towards the bar counter downstairs where Ru was seated. He seemed in deep thought even now.

    "So, tell me something about my future sister-inw. What is she like? Where is she from? Who is she? Etcetera. Etcetera." Adrian shifted the topic and saw the way Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face suddenly blossomed like a flower which made Adrian¡¯s curiosity to shoot up a notch.

    Even though Adrian knew Xiao Zhiren all through college till now, there was still a lot about him that was unknown to Adrian. For instance, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s resistance towards women. He was guarding his chastity like a monk. And at one point Adrian even teased him with, "Heyd, are you gay or nning on bing a monk?"

    Obviously, he was beaten ck and blue by Xiao Zhiren that night. But still, it confirmed one thing for Adrian that neither he was gay nor he was a monk. But then who he was waiting for?

    With a content smile on his face, Xiao Zhiren swirled the red liquid in his sparkling ss and said, "How should I describe her? She¡¯s beautiful. But then again calling her beautiful is not even justified. You can say she¡¯s the kind of beauty that can delight one¡¯s eyes and flutter one¡¯s heart along with shaking one¡¯s soul." Adrian arched his brow at him as he took a sip of the wine and listened to Xiao Zhiren. "She¡¯s a wise woman. A wise and brilliant woman actually. That makes her an understanding person. She¡¯s unreasonable but over very unresonable things."

    "Beauty and brains? Lad, that¡¯s a lethalbination." Adrian remarked with amusement and a bit amazement. Amused to know that someone actually made those wordse out of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mouth and amazed to see how much love there was in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes and voice for her.

    "Lethalbination? She¡¯s quite lethal herself. My bombshell." Xiao Zhiren chuckled lightly thinking about the times he had been hit by Ru. Boy, the way she liked using her hands was deadly but then again it was better being under the knife of her physical assault than being at the other end of her verbal assault. "But do you know what¡¯s her true beauty is?"

    Adrian frowned a bit and stayed quiet waiting for him to continue since he knew Xiao Zhiren really wasn¡¯t looking for an answer from him.

    "Her true beauty lies in her beautiful eyes. Those eyes show the reflection of her pure heart and soul." ¡¯Considering how dark her soul is, there is definitely no impurity there.¡¯ He didn¡¯t say thest words out. "But even after saying all of these, I can assure you that I can¡¯t describe her. At least, not in words."

    "Woah! You¡¯re whipped!" Adrian said with a horrified look on his face. He was really intrigued to meet this girl who made his best friend look like a lovesick fool.

    Xiao Zhiren heaved a long sigh at his words as he said, "I know I¡¯m whipped. Abso-bloody-lutely whipped. But I can¡¯t help it. The more I look at her the more I find her familiar. As if we share a connection. I can¡¯t possibly tell you what I felt when I first saw her all those years ago."

    "What did you feel?" Adrian asked straightening up in his seat.

    "Heartache." Adrian¡¯s eyes opened wide at his reply.

    "Are you serious?" He questioned incredulously.

    "I know you think I¡¯m crazy but trust me that¡¯s exactly what I felt. It was a strange pain that surged through my heart to all my body."

    "Then why did you fall for her?"

    "Because along with that mysterious pain came a gush of warmth and happiness. The moment I looked into her eyes, the familiarity of her gaze made my heart skip a beat involuntarily. And the way my heart skipped a beat made me think I found what I had been missing all this time."

    Adrian emptied the content of his ss in one go. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s strange words were making him dizzy even before he had some food in his system. It was already hard enough for him to understand Ru and now, his own best friend was speaking a mysteriousnguage.

    "You¡¯re taking in riddles again. Just like him." Adrian pointed out a bit moodily.

    "Him? Who?" Xiao Zhiren asked knitting his brows together.

    "Alev Bloody Knight!" Adrian spat out bitterly.

    "What reminded you of Mr. Knight?"

    "He¡¯s sitting downstairs. Drinking like a bloody boozer and it¡¯s getting on my nerve. He¡¯s really giving me a headache." Adrian looked pissed off for some reason and it made Xiao Zhirenugh a little.

    "Adrian, the way you¡¯re talking is making me feel like you¡¯re worried for Mr. Knight." Xiao Zhiren said in a knowing way making Adrian scrunch up his face in displeasure.

    "Blimey! No bloody way!" Well, he didn¡¯t sound too convincing to Xiao Zhiren or to himself. And as Xiao Zhiren gave him a pointed look, he deted like a balloon before saying, "I¡¯m not worried. It¡¯s just... I have never really seen him this restless before. I always wanted to be the one to get on his nerve to shake his strong persona. But someone else managed to do it before me. As for whom? I have no clue."

    "Someone managed to shake Lord Alev Knight? That¡¯s a shocker!" Xiao Zhiren said with an honest surprise in his expressions. "But if he¡¯s using booze to get over it. It could be the result of a lover¡¯s quarrel."

    "Lover¡¯s quarrel? Hahaha!" Adrian burst outughing at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s implication. He clutched his stomach and couldn¡¯t helpughing even more. "Who would dare to love that stone wall? Wait, if someone really did... Oh boy! That person really is misfortunate in this life."

    "You know because of your own personal agenda. You make Alev Knight sound like a big bad wolf out to shred people in pieces before eating them alive."

    "If someone one day really told me that he¡¯s a big bad wolf, trust me, I won¡¯t hesitate at all before believing that person." Xiao Zhiren shook his head at him while Adrian pointed at something downstairs through the ss window saying, "Look at that chap. He is the devil¡¯s reincarnation himself. There is no doubt at all."

    Surprisingly, Xiao Zhiren also went close to the window and looked at where he was pointing before his eyes widened in surprise or shock.

 Chapter 209 A Knight And His Frigh

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes wandered towards the lone figure sitting at the bar counter gulping down whatever drinks there ware like water. He frowned as he looked at Adrian. "Where is Alev Knight?"

    "Mate, there is only one person at the bar counter in the middle of the day." Then he looked down and saw another person taking a seat beside Ru and he added, "Well, now there are two."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s fists clenched on instinct as he said, "But that¡¯s Xie Rong. From Metrix Consortium."

    Adrian gave him a chuckle as he added, "What do you expect? Do you think Alev Knight would actually enter Asia with his real identity? Bloody! I don¡¯t even think Alev Knight is his real identity. That guy is tooplicated for simple people like us." Adrian was shaking his head because of how difficult it was for him to figure out Ru or anything rted to her.

    "He came as Xie Rong to investigate some case for my Grandmother. But I heard that he said it¡¯d be hisst mission with the Royal Family." Adrian rubbed his chin as he continued, "Now that I think about it... Last time, he clearly said that if he managed to aplish his goal this time, I¡¯ll never have to see him again. It makes one wonder... What is he nning?"

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t really listening but yet his mind could make sense of whatever Adrian said. He was lost in his own world and thoughts as he looked at Ru. His feelings wereplicated. Hurt, betrayal, lies, and the game of hide and seek. Why did all of this feel familiar?

    Oh, right! He had gone through all this when he found out that his sworn brother Xie Rong was actually a woman; none other than the one whom he was yearning for. And today, he was told that the woman that resided in his heart was actually Alev Knight whom he had been considering as his love rival.

    Fuck!

    Last time, when he said all that about Ru to Alev Knight, she heard his confession. Wow! That girl really knew how to act. She still acted dumb before him all this while.

    Adrian was still talking, "Can you see the deathly aura around him? Even while drinking he seems like a Grim Reaper. He gave me a fright downstairs with his growl. I really can¡¯t understand this animal-like human being."

    Unclenching his fists, Xiao Zhirenughed out loudly taking Adrian by surprise. ¡¯Oh my dearest little chili, you had fun watching me being jealous.¡¯

    True enough, even Xiao Zhiren could feel the deathly vibes around Ru even from his position. It was weird but he was sure that she was upset over something.

    "You alright, mate?" Adrian questioned as he saw Xiao Zhiren¡¯s weird behavior. Thetter one took his seat again.

    "That¡¯s a million-dor question." Xiao Zhiren answered with a snort.

    "And the answer is..." Adrian drawled a bit.

    "The answer is I don¡¯t know." Adrian frowned at his reply as he continued, "Because I want to get angry. But I can¡¯t. I know I¡¯ll look into her eyes and my anger will be thrown out the window like the caution that was hit by a truck when she came into my life unannounced." Adrian was yet again amused to hear Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words. "I want to feel hurt that she lied. But then again, technically, she didn¡¯t lie. She just hid some facts. I also want to feel betrayed for being left clueless but I can¡¯t even do that. It¡¯s not like she haspletely reciprocated my feelings that I¡¯d expect her to share everything with me."

    Adrian pursed his lips as their lunch was served.

    "Zoran, are we still on the same page?"

    Xiao Zhiren arched his brow inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

    "I just don¡¯t feel like we are. Because I was talking about Alev Knight and somehow you went back to talking about my future sister-inw. I¡¯m confused here." Adrian borated with as much patience as he could muster up.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched the space between his brows and said, "Sorry. My mind drifted off to somewhere else."

    "d to see you¡¯re back. Stay with me lest I start feeling like an invisible person." Adrian said yfully making Xiao Zhiren smile a bit which was forced.

    Internally, Xiao Zhiren was conflicted. Was he supposed to be happy that Alev Knight wasn¡¯t his love rival? Or was he supposed to be even more worried considering what kind of dangers awaited Alev Knight at every corner? Why was his little chili involved in dangerous waters? Couldn¡¯t she just stay as a spicy little chili? Why did she have to be a fire-breathing little chili?

    But then again, if she wasn¡¯t breathing fire, she wouldn¡¯t be the little chili who made her way into his heart. Xiao Zhiren was infuriated; not with Ru. With his own mind which couldn¡¯t decide what to do. Yet again, he med himself. If he had made her trust him sooner, she¡¯d have opened up to him. But still, his courting ways werecking. I need to up my game.

    It was not her fault that she was too guarded. It was a necessity for her. He really couldn¡¯t me her at all.

    Meanwhile...

    Ru was busy mixing up every hard liquor that was ced before her on the marble counter. Except for a headache, she wasn¡¯t feeling drunk at all. But the headache was an indication that there was too much alcohol in her system and she should stop. However, she wasn¡¯t very keen on taking that warning.

    She felt someone¡¯s eyes on herself but really wasn¡¯t in the mood to see who it was. Besides, who wouldn¡¯t look back at such a handsomed, right? One look at that drop-dead gorgeous face couldn¡¯t possibly be enough for people¡¯s greedy hearts. With these narcissistic thoughts, Ru focused back on mixing soju with baijiu.

    "That¡¯s a very strangebination you got there."

    Ru heard a pleasantly husky voice beside her as someone sat beside her. She didn¡¯t pay any attention to him and went back to drinking.

    "You should eat something as well. This much booze is not very healthy."

    She heard that husky voice again making her frown. cing her ss on the counter with a bit force, she mumbled, "It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you."

    She heard a soft chuckle as the voice again rang in her ear, "You¡¯re right. It has nothing to do with me. Or... Maybe it does."

    That yful tone of his made Ru want to p him but she held in her violent tendencies. She was feeling tired, not lightheaded but maybe the sleep of past days was finally catching up to her. She really wanted to close her eyes.

    But she had to give this stranger an answer as well.

    "Stranger, stranger, stranger. I¡¯m a bloody psycho major. Don¡¯t try too hard to strike a conversation. This lord¡¯s temper is rather impatient. Shoo away from my sight. Before this Knight gives you a fright." Ru¡¯s voice was deep but it was coated with a dramatic sarcasm and the hint of her anger that she was trying to repress.

    "Oh My God! That actually rhymed. It did. It really did." Ru could hear the surprise and excitement in that husky voice making her frown in confusion. She turned to look at him and found him mumbling to himself with his head lowered and a cap over his head. "That was a first. A very first. I can¡¯t believe he managed to rhyme something properly."

    Ru¡¯s confusion intensified as she heard a couple of his words. "Do you know me?" She asked trying to see his face but the other person was busy typing something on his cellphone. Ru ced her hand on his jacket-d shoulder and repeated, "I asked do you know this young master?"

    Suddenly, the man raised his head and Ru came face to face with a smirking young man. But Ru¡¯s focus was stuck on his brown eyes. Those familiar brown eyes.

    Those brown eyes seemed to be smiling back at her as he touched her hand with his own to pry it off his shoulder. Ru was stunned by the sensation that went through her body. The young man ced a white porcin bottle before Ru and said, "Try this wine. Trust me it¡¯ll taste better than the rest." With that, the young man smirked again and walked away from her.

    Ru was left dazed as she kept her eyes on the porcin bottle. There was a golden feather tree carved on its sleek surface which made her eyes widen in shock. She opened the lid of the bottle and as soon as the aroma of that peach wine hit her nostrils, Ru lost herself to nostalgia.

    She looked back towards the direction where the young man disappeared and immediately sprinted after him. Of course, not forgetting her life-saving wine bottle.

 Chapter 210 My Love For You

    Ru followed him out of the restaurant and found the man taking the elevator. She waited and saw that the elevator had stopped at the rooftop. Not even waiting for the elevator, Ru ran towards the stairs and took a flight.

    Even after running up twenty floors, she wasn¡¯t breathless because of her stamina but she was sweating profusely. There was eagerness in her eyes and the restless heart of hers was drumming violently against her chest. Her eyes were wandering around on the dimly lit rooftop which seemed barren but she knew better. She would never believe that there was no one around her.

    Taking a couple of steps ahead, she shouted, "I know you¡¯re here. Come out! Now!" There was a ghostly silence around her. But Ru stood her ground. "Don¡¯t y games. I¡¯ll kill you otherwise."

    A snort was heard and Ru turned to face the man she met earlier. He had removed his cap and looked at Ru with a self-deprecatingugh. With a pang of sadness in his eyes, he said, "How many times are you nning on killing me?"

    Ru frowned at his reply as she took a calcted step close to him. The soft light was falling on one side of his face. He looked like one of those flower boys with just his looks. Those soft brown eyes were pulling her like a ma. Ru¡¯s hand lifted slowly and he didn¡¯t move back. As her fingers brushed his cheek, he closed his eyes and felt the tremble in her hand.

    "I didn¡¯t know you were such a softie. Your hands are trembling." With a chuckle, he looked into her green eyes again and added, "That¡¯s another first."

    Ru retracted her hand and clenched it into a tight fist even her knuckles had turned white. "When did this young master dare to kill you?" The look in her eyes was unfathomable but oddly, to the person before her, it was very amusing and familiar.

    "Didn¡¯t you?" He retorted with a pained expression. "You broke your promise. You broke the one thing I valued in this world; my trust in you. You broke our bond. And with all that, you Young Master Ru broke your brother."

    Ru closed her eyes at his words, she didn¡¯t want to face him. That face might have changed with years but those eyes... How could she forget those eyes she used to love so much?

    They both were as much of strangers as they were familiar with each other. It was like they knew the other person and yet, they both were trying to find someone in the eyes of the other person. They were trying to find the person they lost. At the same time, they were looking at the person they had be with time.

    "Why are you standing so calmly then?" Ru¡¯s words made him knit his brows in confusion. "If I broke you so much Second Young Master, why are you still so calm?" She looked challengingly into his eyes as she added, "Yell at me. Scorn me. Hate me. Condemn me. Do something!" ¡¯Do anything to take to this bloody guilt out of me.¡¯ She kept thest words for herself.

    The man ced his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. "I wish I could do all that. I wanted to. Trust me, I had written a whole speech for you. But..." The rims of his eyes reddened as he continued, "Ge, I can¡¯t bring myself to do it."

    Ru felt her heart taking a leap when she heard him calling her ¡¯Ge¡¯ after a decade. It was such a long time. So long that she felt like she was in a dream. Was this really a dream? The arms on her sides lifted on their own as she patted his back.

    "I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d still be a weakling." Ru¡¯sment made him smile as he shook his head. "Can¡¯t even do one thing right."

    "Grandfather said, love doesn¡¯t leave room for hate. You can either love someone or hate someone. But once you love them, you can only lie to yourself that you hate them because love would never leave hate in its ce. All it leaves behind is a void. Something which is deadlier than hate itself." As he quoted their grandfather¡¯s words, Ru was again hit with a wave of nostalgia. "And if you really hate someone from the bottom of your heart then you¡¯re never in love with them, to begin with."

    Pulling herself away from her brother, she said, "When did my Second Young Master start paying attention to grandfather¡¯s words?"

    "Since the time you left me to fend for myself. All alone." He muttered making a tinge of guilt to sh past Ru¡¯s eyes. "The promise was of a year. I waited and waited and kept waiting. But you didn¡¯te like you said you¡¯d." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You always called me a fool. I think I took that very seriously because I really waited for you like a fool."

    Ru stepped back making a distance between them as she turned to look away. "You should have stopped waiting like everyone else. You knew how much I loved freedom. I am enjoying my freedom away from that stuffy state where I always was bound to some rules." Ru said in her calm tone. Keeping all her emotions locked up all over again.

    "HA! My brother was everything but he never was a liar. Lost values or changed them for this world? Right, why would you care about a clingy brother? Your freedom matters more. Brother? It¡¯s a petty little title." His words seemed harsh to her which she wasn¡¯t expecting from him.

    "XIA HAORAN! Mind your words!" Ru looked back at him with raging eyes as she shouted. "Question my values. Don¡¯t you dare question our bond! Or my love for you!"

    A beautiful smile spread on his face as a tear slid down his cheek betraying his emotions. Then that smile turned into a peal of full-blownughter. The sound of hisughter seemed to have struck Ru as she stood stunned looking at her younger brother. But more than hisughter, his tear shook her heart.

    She held his face in her hands as she wiped his tear with her thumb and asked, "Why are you crying?"

    Xia Haoran ced his hand over hers and said, "Ge, this is the first time I heard my name from your mouth in my whole life."

    His words took her by surprise. She recalled how she really had never called him by his name. Even though the said name was given by her very self. He was her rice cake, her little brother, her life... It was strange but truly, it was the second time she called his name. First would have been when she held him in her arms and looking at his bright eyes and said, "I¡¯ll call you Haoran. My Xia Haoran."

    "It sounds good. I never thought it sounded this pleasing before." Ru punched his shoulder making him yelp yfully. "Well, somethings never change. You still are the violent one between us."

    "Being funny, are we now?" Ru retorted resentfully.

    "It¡¯s a known fact that between the two of us, only I have a sensible sense of humor." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he added, "I doubt that you have improved in these years at all."

    Ru gaped at him with narrowed eyes. Both of them stood silent again. Ru had to tilt her head to look at him now. He really had grown up. "Oi! Aren¡¯t you ashamed?"

    "What for?"

    "How dare you grew taller than your elder brother?"

    Xia Haoran nudged her arm saying, "You must be hopping mad since you can¡¯t tease me now for being tiny."

    "Itty-Bitty rice-cake. Remember who I am before teasing me. I still have a bad temper." Ru warned him but he could tell she was bluffing. She always did that around him.

    "Look at my height. How am I Itty-Bitty now? Don¡¯t just make things up." He pursed his lips to show his displeasure but inwardly he was d to see his brother was still treating like before.

    "By all means, grow taller than a skyscraper. But you¡¯ll still be my Itty-Bitty rice-cake." Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    Holding her hand in his own, he looked at it carefully as he said, "I missed you, Ge."

    Ru felt ants running all over her chest as if making it stuffy. But she still managed to squeeze his hand back as she said, "This young master missed you more."

 Chapter 211 Butterfly To Dragon

    The feelings that Ru and Xia Haoran held in for years would make one think they¡¯d start sobbing at their reunion. But this odd pair of siblings were sitting on a bench silently. One was supposed to shout for the absence that the other left behind and the other was suppose to clear up the circumstances. However, neither Xia Haoran asked anything nor Ru tried to clear anything.

    They both weren¡¯t inclined on tearing up or ying the me game as one would think. They were so calm and collected that people might think they never were apart.

    "Don¡¯t you want to ask anything?" Ru asked with an alienated look on her face.

    After staring at her face for a while, he answered, "Do you want to talk about it?" Ru shook her head without even thinking for once. With a sigh, he added, "Then what¡¯s the point? I can¡¯t possibly force you to tell me something you don¡¯t want to."

    "You still know me best," Ru mumbled more to herself than him but he heard her.

    "There is no one who can im to know you better." Ru opened her mouth to retort when he cut her off with, "Don¡¯t say your Jie knows you better. Because we both know that he knows you longer, not better. And there is a difference." Ru shut her mouth since that was what she wanted to say but couldn¡¯t argue with what he said either. "Besides, we might have an age difference of 6 or so years. We still have the strongest siblings bond."

    Ru raised her hand to touch his hair and oddly, he leaned down to give her better ess. That had never happened before. He used to run far away whenever she tried to touch his precious hair. Okay, both siblings had a weird obsession with their hair. Period.

    "Don¡¯t you have something to ask?" It was Xia Haoran¡¯s turn to ask her.

    Ru opened her mouth but closed it again as she bit her lips. It was hard not to ask anything. She had been cut off from her family for years. Now, he was her chance to know whatever was in her heart. However, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so.

    "I have a lot to ask. I want to know a lot as well. But... I won¡¯t ask." Somehow, Xia Haoran had expected that answer from her.

    "You think if I told you anything then the yearning that you¡¯d been hiding within yourself will no longer stay under your control. You¡¯d want to run back to that ¡¯fancy cage¡¯ as you called it. But you still have something to do that¡¯s holding you back here." Ru wasn¡¯t surprised that he read her like an open book. As he said, he knew her better. So, how could he not know what was in her mind?

    "It was indeed a fancy cage for me only. But honestly speaking, it is still the most precious ce for me. I have been all around the world like I always wanted to. It took me long enough to realize there was no ce like home. I¡¯m still unable to find a home outside of that cage." Taking a deep breath, and adding another deep breath, she said, "I knew from the very start that I was that precious butterfly that father wanted to protect at all costs. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to raise me like a delicate butterfly. He wanted me to be a dragon. A living, fire-breathing dragon."

    "He so did." Xia Haoran nodded in agreement as his eyes saddened again. "He made you the dragon. He made you stronger than anyone in our whole n or our whole state."

    Ru chuckled a bit as she said, "I have a thank you pending for him. If he didn¡¯t raise me like a dragon, I¡¯d have been dead."

    Xia Haoran looked at her with a horrified expression as he softly said, "Ge... What happened to you?"

    Ru wrapped an arm around his neck, "Don¡¯t look so down. You brother might be broken in this world but trust me, this young master is not shattered just yet." Tightening her headlock, she pinched his cheek and was about to speak when...

    Ten or so people in ck surrounded her with their swords pointing straight at her.

    "Release our Second Young Master!"

    One of them spoke with a wave of raging anger but it made Ru yawn as if she was bored. "Oh dear! You brought toys for me?" Ru looked at Xia Haoran inquisitively and while thetter one was busy trying to stop hisughter, she pinched his nose and stood up saying, "It¡¯s been a while since I had some good toys to y with."

    Being offended by her words, those people attacked all at once but right before their eyes, Ru¡¯s figure vanished. And as they were busy looking around, they heard a whistle and turned. Ru straightened her palm and struck at one of them¡¯s chest whonded far away from the rest.

    "What the bloody hell! I was expecting better." Saying that Ru moved towards the rest. Her figure moved with so much speed that the onlooker could only see the after-image like a movie was running before their eyes. Dusting her hands, she looked at Xia Haoran and said, "My dearest rice-cake, don¡¯t you think their level ofpetence is too... low?" She gave a look of disdain to all the people lying on the floor trying to get up.

    Although normal people would have been dead by her moves, they were at least alive enough to moan or grunt in pain.

    Xia Haoran was sittingnguidly at his seat without even flinching. His attitude towards this fight was just like one would expect from Ru. Both were indifferent and bored.

    "You should find some better subordinates for your protection," Ru suggested patting his shoulder.

    "My strongest protector left a long time ago. I had to work up with these weak ones." His answer made Ru¡¯s body stiffen for a movement as she was reminded of how she was supposed to protect him as she had promised.

    It was weird but the girl who never broke promises even to a strange actually broke so many with her own brother.

    Xia Haoran saw one of his men standing to attack and red at him. "Stand down. Can¡¯t you see who it is? Raise your sword at the Eldest Young Master Ru and be prepared for the consequences."

    All the people under him were close to his age and that¡¯s why most of them had a very vague impression of Ru from years ago. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t recognize her but as soon as they heard Xia Haoran¡¯s words, all of them fell on their knees to bow.

    "Greetings to the Eldest Young Master!"

    Ru just waved them off as she focused back on her brother. Pinching both of his cheeks, she pulled them and she trailed, "Yah! Why did you lose your chubby cheeks? I looked biting those riped tomatoes." She poked his hollowed cheeks and added, "What¡¯s up with this hollowed cheeks? I don¡¯t like this. Give me back my chubby-cheeked rice-cake. I don¡¯t like this one."

    "Pfft!"

    All of his subordinated were trying to muffle theirughter as they saw their formidable Second Young Master being treated like a kid. But who would dare to say anything? The other person was the most dreadful one even after all these years. The silence was better than losing their lives.

    "Ge, talk about double standards." Xia Haoran also got up and looked at Ru. "Have you seen your own face? You¡¯ve also changed. It happens when we grow up. How was I supposed to keep my chubby cheeks when you stopped stuffing me like a bloody teddy bear?"

    "Way to go! me it all on me now." Ru grumbled at him before turning towards his subordinates. "All of you, disappear from my sight. Or do you want to taste some more of my moves?"

    As if the fire had caught their clothes, all of them ran away leaving only Xia Haoran and Ru alone in a true sense this time.

    "Ge!"

    "What?"

    "My dearest love!"

    "Yah! Would you stop teasing me already with that title?" Ru was irked at the reminder of that.

    "Sorry but I feel sorrier for the one who called you ¡¯My dearest love¡¯." Xia Haoran answered in amusement. He knew how much Ru was irked by it but he loved doing it nheless.

    "Why do you feel sorry for him?"

    "Because the poor guy used to write love letters to you. And here you are with your new boyfriend. Tsk. Tsk. It¡¯s really unfair to him." Looking at Ru¡¯s deep gaze, he took a step back saying, "What? Just because you disguise as a guy, doesn¡¯t mean you are one. I admit your boyfriend is pretty good but still..."

    Running after him, Ru shouted, "Would you stop already? I don¡¯t have a boyfriend! And don¡¯t remind me of that nuisance from the past!"

 Chapter 212 Redeeming Qualities

    The look on Xia Haoran¡¯s face said it all. It was like he was screaming at her face that she was lying again.

    "Ge, I saw you with him at the hospital. Do you dare to admit that you don¡¯t care about him at all?" At first, Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his words then she let his words sink in.

    "Care?" She whispered softly as if questioning herself.

    "Of course, care. I have never seen you taking care of someone and don¡¯t tell me that you changed in these years. A leopard can never eat grass. It¡¯ll always stay as that bloodthirsty animal." Xia Haoran¡¯s voice held a certainty and assurance that Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to deny. Even she knew deep down that she cared about Xiao Zhiren but knowing it and epting it were two very different things.

    "Okay. I ept that I care about him." Xia Haoran was pleasantly surprised at her im but it soon turned into a scowl as she continued, "But it¡¯s only because I took a blood oath with him. He¡¯s my sworn brother and you know how serious I am about these things."

    Xia Haoran¡¯s face twitched as he tried to hold in his urges to kick his own brother. He couldn¡¯t believe that Ru just used the ¡¯sworn brother¡¯ to justify her car for Xiao Zhiren. Did he look like an idiot? Or was he still that gullible little teenager whom she left behind?

    However, Ru was very pleased with her answer. How smart of her!

    "Ge, aren¡¯t you ashamed of your own reasoning?" The smile on Ru¡¯s face stiffened as she red at Xia Haoran. "Do you still have the habit of forgetting that you¡¯re a female? FEMALE. Just because I can¡¯t bring myself to call you sister, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not one."

    Wasn¡¯t it a known fact that Ru often forgot her gender? Her disguise had grown on her to the extent that she found it really hard to ept her real self.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say to him. She knew that she couldn¡¯t be a ¡¯sworn brother¡¯ to Xiao Zhiren. Especially since the person involved had some intense feelings towards her. Feelings that she found really hard to ept.

    "You know I¡¯m still surprised that being the way you are, there are people who actually want you as their life partner." Ru¡¯s brows creased up as she looked at her brother inquisitively. "You tell me yourself... You¡¯re headstrong, stubborn, violent, sharp-mouthed, cunning like a fox, darker than midnight-,"

    He was interrupted by Ru.

    "Oh, stop it already. You¡¯re gonna make me blush with all thesepliments." Ru said offhandedly while grinning from ear to ear.

    Xia Haoran shook his head as he looked at Ru¡¯s satisfied expression. Indeed, only she was capable of taking those words as apliment but then again he was actuallyplimenting her. So, whatever! He shrugged his shoulder nonchntly.

    With a cough, he went on, "Anyways, as I was saying that you have not a single attribute like ady."

    "How¡¯s that?"

    "You¡¯re not delicate, coy, shy, graceful, elegant, soft-spoken or even gentle. Are you?" Ru shook her head almost instantly. She didn¡¯t need to think. Just hearing these words made her stomach coil up in disgust. And seeing the expression on her face, Xia Haoran pointed out, "These are the reasons why I¡¯m surprised that he fell for you."

    "I¡¯m also surprised. No. I¡¯m definitely shocked. How can he choose me?" Ru muttered in confusion. "I don¡¯t even have any redeeming quality."

    "Now, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong." Ru looked at Xia Haoran who had a faint smile on his face. "You¡¯re loyal, honest, strong, brave, and most of all, very innocent." Ru¡¯s eyes opened wide dramatically as she couldn¡¯t process his words properly.

    "I can ept all but I¡¯m neither honest nor innocent," Ru said with a nk look on her face.

    "It¡¯s weird that you always lose your narcissism when this topic is brought up." He ced his hand over her shoulder and spokenguidly, "Ge, your honestyes from your heart just like your innocence. We all are dishonest but we all are trying to protect something with that dishonesty. You protected your innocence through dishonesty. It¡¯s remarkable if you ask my opinion."

    Ru was surprised for a moment. She thought she¡¯d see the disappointment in his eyes. But in all these years, nothing changed about him; well, except that he grew up in height. His eyes though still looked at her with the same adoration, admiration, gentleness, zeal that it used to have. He was still her rice-cake who loved to tug at her sleeves and follow her like a clingy little pet.

    She smiled as she thought of this.

    This time, Xia Haoran saw the look in her eyes as well. He could more or less understand what was running through her mind. He never thought of hating her. He could never bring himself to do so. He was upset and angry since she hid for too long but nothing else.

    "By the way, even if you didn¡¯t have those qualities. There is one more that can top the charts."

    "What is it?" Ru asked curiously.

    "This face of yours." Ru gaped at him as he went on, "This face that can topple countries. Trust me, your face is enough to catch attention. I doubt there is anyone who can resist it. And if they did, they won¡¯t be able to run from your impable presence."

    Ru ruffled his hair adoringly as she said, "Aiyo, now you¡¯re talking rubbish. When did you learn to talk like this?" Xia Haoran was chuckling, not minding at all that his hairstyle was being squished by her. Recalling something, Ru tugged at his hair as she asked, "You were at the hospital?" He pursed his lips guiltily as he nodded. "I was right. I felt someone¡¯s presence. But why did you hide?"

    "You yed hide and seek for so long? Why couldn¡¯t I do so?" Xia Haoran answered while brushing his hair back with his fingers.

    Ru contemted for a moment longer as she added, "You were the one who killed those bounty hunters?"

    "Naturally. Who else would be this meticulous?" There was a smug look on his face that made Ru¡¯s lips twitch. She didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or sad to know that her brother was a replica of hers.

    "Seems like Father finally taught you the skills." Ru smiled a bit as she remembered how much Xia Haoran used to run after her because Father would never allow him to learn that one special skill.

    "He didn¡¯t." Xia Haoran shook his head. "I learned it all from Grandfather."

    Ru frowned at his reply. "Why? Father taught me personally. It¡¯s not possible that he¡¯d treat you differently."

    The smile on Xia Haoran¡¯s face diminished slightly and as he looked at her face, he was in a conflicting debate with himself. Coming to a conclusion, he simply answered her with, "How can Father give me the same treatment as his favorite son? You¡¯re always favored but you always thought I was the one loved the most."

    Ru didn¡¯t reply to him. She didn¡¯t know what to say either. She knew she was favored but loved? Was she really? Exhaling a long breath, she asked, "How did you find me?"

    "Tracked you all the way from London." Ru¡¯s brows quirked up as he added, "It¡¯s interesting that you have been running around as Alev Knight, Xie Rong, and what else? When are you nning on bing Young Master Ru again?"

    Ru didn¡¯t ask him how he guessed his identities. He was really like her. How could he be any less of a genius? After all, he was her brother. Her pride in the real sense.

    "I have to earn that identity back... I can¡¯t walk back as Young Master Ru until I really earn my justice back." Ru¡¯s fists clenched tightly as she was reminded of the nightmare that she had lost contact with for a long time.

    "How long will it take?" There was an eagerness in Xia Haoran¡¯s voice along with impatience. But he didn¡¯t voice it out clearly. He was hiding something from sure.

    "I don¡¯t know." Ru¡¯s answer made his eyes to lose their glimmer.

    "Can you write a letter to Father? I need it." Ru tried to read the look in Xia Haoran¡¯s eyes but he masked it perfectly. "Besides, he¡¯d love to know that you¡¯re fine." Ru gave a slight nod in response. "By the way, I didn¡¯t even tell you. Mother has saved all those love letters of yours."

    Ru was furious as he brought up that topic of letters again. Gosh! She hated that reminder from her childhood.

 Chapter 213 So Happy?

    Ru pped the back of his head. "I told you those were not love-letters."

    "Did you ever read even one of those letters? How are you sure they were not love-letters?" Xia Haoran retorted back. The letters were still sealed as they were sent. Who couldn¡¯t tell that she never even bothered to open any one of those?

    "How can a kid of ten or eleven years know what love is? They were definitely not love-letters. Besides, how can you say those were love letters? Did you read?" Ru also shot back challengingly.

    "I wanted to read but my dear mother was very strict about that. I couldn¡¯t do so." Ru narrowed her eyes at him while he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "However, I know those are love letters. Because every letter was addressed as ¡¯To my dearest love¡¯ and wrapped in a beautiful red envelope. You tell me, what else does it prove?" Ru opened her mouth to retort when he shut her up with a hand over her mouth and continued, "And why do you think that a kid can¡¯t understand love? Love doesn¡¯t have an age. Also, when two people are connected by the red thread of fate, there is no way they¡¯d escape. In my opinion, a child¡¯s love is the purest one."

    "You talk too much," Ru grumbled as she shot him a deadly re which he disregarded with a chuckle.

    He eyed her with a smirk as he said, "I learned from the best." Obviously, he was referring to her and even she knew it herself. "However, I really don¡¯t care who you are gonna choose. Either it¡¯s Xiao Zhiren or that nuisance from your childhood. I¡¯m okay with either one since I know both love you. The question is, who do you love?"

    "No one," Ru answered inly as if trying to just get rid of this conversation.

    "Keep denying." Xia Haoran muttered to himself. A ping sound caught his attention and he rummaged out his cellphone. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked through the content of the message. "Ge, I gotta go. Something came up." He gave Ru a hug and whispered, "Don¡¯t run. I¡¯ll see you soon."

    Ru stroked his head gently and said, "I won¡¯t. I think I¡¯ve run out of ces to run to."

    Xia Haoran smiled when heard her reply and nodded before turning to leave. As he stood before the elevator, he looked back at Ru with a deep gaze and shouted, "Take care of yourself."

    Ru waved him off saying, "I always do."

    As she watched him leave, her eyes fell back to the porcin bottle of peach wine that he left for her. There was an unfathomable emotion in her eyes as a gush of memories came back with that wine...

    "Grandfather, why don¡¯t you teach me how to make that peach wine?" She had blinked her eyes adorably at that old man before her. "I¡¯m already fourteen. I should carry on your legacy."

    Her grandfather smiled at her as he leisurely picked his white chess piece and made his move saying, "Focus on the game. If you lose, I¡¯ll lock you in the library." His stern voice held a bit of amusement which could be seen in his eyes as he saw the horrified look on Ru¡¯s face.

    Library? That ce was her nemesis. Why did everyone love to lock her there?

    She hated the books the most. It was like standing between books, she could hear them calling to her and it was creepy really creepy.

    Taking a deep breath toe over her fear of books, she said, "And if I win, will you let me learn your secret recipe of wine?" Her eyes looked at him earnestly while she picked her ck chess piece and ced it on the marble chessboard.

    When she didn¡¯t hear his reply for a while, she tugged at his sleeve and groaned, "Tell me..."

    "Didn¡¯t Young Master Ru was punished by the n patriarch a couple of days ago for stealing my wine?" His words made Ru retract her hands as she avoided his eyes. That reminder of sticks on forearms made her unconsciously rub her wrists. How could she forget how numb her lower body was after kneeling on that ice block?

    Father was really angry that day because she stole something. And stealing was way below her values and status. She couldn¡¯t even me her father for being furious with her.

    "Now you¡¯re gonna bully me as well?" She narrowed her eyes at him usingly.

    "No one dares to bully our Young Master Ru." With a hand on her head, he added, "I¡¯ll teach you the wine recipe but when it¡¯s the right time to do so."

    This answer had given her hope back then. After all, even her father didn¡¯t know the secret of grandfather¡¯s wine. She used to love spending time in her grandfather¡¯s courtyard which was filled with peach blossoms. In Spring, whenever she sat under those trees, it felt like pink snow was falling from the sky. It was indeed a sight to behold.

    With a sigh, she stopped daydreaming. She was promised to learn the secret recipe on her eighteenth birthday but she ran away before that. Time couldn¡¯t turn back so, she picked up the wine bottle before her now. She cradled it like it was a delicate baby. It was amusing to see how gentle she was with just a wine bottle. But it also showed how much her grandfather mattered to her.

    Ru also took the elevator down since she didn¡¯t n on running all the way down for 40 or so floors. It¡¯s not like she was impatient to do so. In the elevator, a thought crossed her mind. She dialed a number and waited for the call to connect.

    "Master?" A very cautious and uncertain voice came from the other side.

    "Wu Dishi, this lord has some important business for you." Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Wu Dishi became alert at an rming rate.

    "Yes, Master. What can I do for you?" He questioned politely and courteously.

    "Buy the Sky Building for this lord."

    "What?" Wu Dishi was confused when did Sky Building be important? Was it really valuable?

    "It¡¯s very valuable to me." Ru continued, not paying heed to his stunned or confused state.

    "Master, Sky Building¡¯s market value is not very beneficial. We wouldn¡¯t be getting any profit." Wu Dishi felt like he needed to make this clear even though he was certain that this point was clear to Ru herself.

    "Sometimes, profits are not everything. Mr. Wu, there is a thing called sentimental value. And trust me, it outweighs the mary profit."

    Wu Dishi choked on air as he heard her words. He was thinking whether there was a ghost who took hold of his master¡¯s body. Like how could Lord Alev Knight who valued money and power could talk about sentimental values? It just didn¡¯t make sense. At all!

    He drank a mouthful of water to stop his coughing and decided to take another chance, "Master?"

    "What?"

    "Are you okay?" His cautious tone made the vein in Ru¡¯s forehead to twitch visibly. "I mean I never heard you talking about sentimental values before."

    "Mr. Wu..."

    "Yes?"

    "I¡¯m a crazy, bloodthirsty devil. Do you really want to know whether I am okay or not?"

    Her tant threat made him shut up instantly as he said, "Understood. I¡¯ll arrange everything right away."

    "You better do," with that, she hung up.

    Initially, she really had no n on buying this building but now the time was different. Circumstances were also different. After all, now this ce really had sentimental value for her. Her little brother met her right in this building. That one fact was enough to make this building valuable for her.

    She had thought of seeing her brother plenty of times in these years but this was still unexpected. She was so happy that it was hard to conceal it. Her lips couldn¡¯t just stop from curling up and the shine in her eyes was just unconceble.

    She was so lost in her own happiness that she didn¡¯t even notice when the elevator stopped. But she did notice when she heard an annoying voice calling her, "Hey, Aly!"

    Ru lifted her eyes to re at Adrian but her body stiffened when she noticed the person standing beside him with a broody look and a furious aura that looked like it was about to erupt at any moment now.

    This person was none other than... Xiao Zhiren.

    And Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were boring into her soul and when he noticed the glimmer in her eyes and that smile on her face along with that wine bottle cradled in her arms, his brows quirked up in surprise. Who could make her so happy?

 Chapter 214 Intoxicated Ru?

    Seeing Xiao Zhiren, Ru abruptly took a ny-degree turn and faced the wall behind her. But her poor luck, the wall had a mirror on it. Her reflection was clear.

    ¡¯Argh! Why am I stuck here?¡¯ Ru shouted in her mind. ¡¯And which idiot put a mirror in an elevator?¡¯

    The two people entered the elevator and being the nosy being he was, Adrian tapped on Ru¡¯s shoulder saying, "Aly? What are you looking at? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re hiding from me?" Adrian¡¯s gasp made Ru roll her eyes at him.

    ¡¯Hide from you? I have the urge to hide you from the world. Perhaps, burying you in a hole would work.¡¯ Ru was scheming against Adrian in her mind but she stayedposed as much as she could. "What rubbish! Why would I hide from you? Can¡¯t you see? I¡¯m appreciating my peerless beauty. Ah, these deadly gorgeous eyes. You also see this reflection that¡¯s what real remarkable people look like."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s anger subdued just as he heard her usual narcissisticment. She really never ceases to amaze him. How was he supposed to stay angry with her? He just couldn¡¯t do it!

    "You and your narcissism!" Adrian said with resentment in his tone.

    Ru turned around to face him and narrowed her eyes at him as she said, "Are you forgetting?"

    "What?" Adrian asked taking a step back.

    "I said I¡¯ll beat the hell out of you if you showed me your face again." Ru reminded him which made him gulp.

    Adrian instantly hid behind Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body and said, "Don¡¯t you dare! Zoran, help me here."

    Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren and then at Adrian who was using him as a shield. Ru was wondering what he¡¯d say. For some reason, she wanted to hear what he really had to say. What was really on his mind? Was he that close to Adrian that this idiot Prince would tell him who she is?

    Her unasked question was answered almost instantly as Xiao Zhiren spoke up, "Adrian, don¡¯t worry. I believe our Lord Alev Knight is not that unreasonable."

    Ru closed her eyes briefly as he gritted out ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ with indignation. There was only one thing running through her mind, ¡¯Busted!¡¯

    "But Zoran, you don¡¯t know. This stupid lord is indeed very unreasonable." Adrian said while ring at Ru.

    Ru snorted as she said, "Yes, this lord is unreasonable. But at least, I¡¯m not a coward using my friend¡¯s body as a shield." Her sneer hit right where it was supposed to hurt.

    Adrian was livid as he pointed his finger at her, "You!" But he had nothing else to say. He was tongue-tied. However, his embarrassing state was covered when the elevator opened and he exited it saying, "Hmph! I don¡¯t want to be unreasonable like you."

    "Oh please! You have nothing to say anyway." Ru wasn¡¯tying back that soon either. She was already ousted by this dumb highness. She had to teach him a lesson about that.

    With Adrian at the front, Ru and Xiao Zhiren walked a bit behind him side by side.

    "You certainly love ying games," Xiao Zhiren whispered leaning close to her.

    "I can exin," Ru replied which made him snort.

    "Oh no, no! How can I dare ask for an exnation from the formidable Lord Alev Knight?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply made Ru purse her lips.

    She wasn¡¯t liking his tone. He never talked to her like that before. He wasn¡¯t even mad when he got to know that she was a girl. What happened this time? Wasn¡¯t it just a matter of identity?

    "You can¡¯t possibly be mad about this simple thing."

    "Simple?" Xiao Zhiren repeated her words exerting a bit of stress on his words.

    "Isn¡¯t it simple? You also have many things that you hide from me. Don¡¯t you?" Ru¡¯s words weren¡¯t wrong. He did hide things from her but not intentionally. She just never asked. She was never interested in knowing him.

    Xiao Zhiren held her wrist making Ru halt. He pulled her back and threw her over his shoulder. Ru was about to hit him when he said, "If you hit, I¡¯ll shout and Adrian will look back."

    Ru clenched her fists and stayed quiet while Xiao Zhiren brought her a secluded corner and ced her down. For the very first time, she really felt like she was treated like a sack. No one. Like no one had ever picked her up. Ever!

    Locking her between his arms he looked straight into her eyes and said, "Did you ever ask?"

    "What?" Ru asked in confusion.

    "Did you ever bother trying to know me like I always do? Between us, only I¡¯m running after you. As for you... You just run away from me." Ru bit her lip knowing well enough that she was indeed more interested in knowing about his family¡¯s matter than himself. Touching her forehead with his own, he spoke again, "I¡¯m not upset that you hid this from me. I¡¯m upset that you ignored my confession that night."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared back into his ink-ck whirlpools. "The night I met Alev Knight. It was you. I clearly told you my feelings but you stayed quiet. You ignored my words. What¡¯s more, you even used your own alter-ego to make me jealous time and again."

    With a cough, Ru voiced out, "It wasn¡¯t intentional. How would I know that you love drinking vinegar? Even when you know that I have no experience in rtionships. Heck! People don¡¯t even know my gender. How can you be this jealous?"

    "You don¡¯t understand at all. I¡¯m not jealous that someone might really steal you. I know no one can love you more than me."

    "Those are some really big words. Do you really have that much faith in yourself?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. "No. But I have faith in my love for you. And only for you." Ru stayed between his arms and also stayed quiet. She really couldn¡¯tpete with him. This love topic was out of sybus for her until now. "Do you know why I¡¯m drinking vinegar all the time?"

    Ru knew it was not a question for her to answer. So, she waited for him to speak again. "I don¡¯t like seeing that there are people who can make you happier than me. You¡¯re my id¨¦e fixe. And I can¡¯t possibly imagine being not good enough for you."

    "When other people know you better than me, it gives me aplex. I lose my confidence in myself. Not in my love for you. But in myself." Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, he added, "Damn it! I don¡¯t like the idea that I missed out on so many years of your life. And so many things about you."

    Leaning her head against the wall, Ru kept her eyes on him but didn¡¯t make a sound. She didn¡¯t want to. She didn¡¯t want him to stop talking either.

    "Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?" Xiao Zhiren asked as he saw her looking at him so intently with an indescribable look in her green eyes.

    "Your voice is sounding better and better. Keep talking." Xiao Zhiren gaped at her in disbelief. Was she enjoying herself right now? Was he funny or something?

    "Am I a clown keeping you entertained?" He retorted.

    Ru shook her head and her hand lifted slowly to touch the side of his face. And as her fingers made contact with his skin, Xiao Zhiren was stunned frozen. She voluntarily touched him. Is she drunk?

    "You¡¯re not a clown. But your words have a nice sound to it. Interesting, isn¡¯t it?"

    "Are you drunk, my little chili?" He questioned uncertainly.

    "Maybe. Maybe not." Ru wasn¡¯t sure herself. And as she realized what she just said, she was really surprised. "But I have yet to drink this wine. How am I already intoxicated?" She mumbled and looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s concerned face as she spoke, "It¡¯s your fault."

    "Mine? How?" He was perplexed. What did he do now?

    "Your words are intoxicating. That¡¯s dangerous for health and my mind."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s earlier outburst was deted like a balloon now. She seemed too adorable with her confused look. Caressing her face, he said, "Do you know, you look so adorable that I want to eat you."

    "Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m your little chili. I¡¯ll be spicy. Don¡¯t eat me." Ru might have not noticed her words. But Xiao Zhiren did. Especially at that ¡¯Your little chili¡¯.

    Wasn¡¯t it like she subconsciously epted that she was his? This enlightenment enlightened the whole world for Xiao Zhiren. Ay, this day was certainly a beautiful one.

    But to ruin the good moment, Adrian¡¯s call came in. "Where did you both vanished? Okay, that Aly loves to disappear but when did you get this habit?"

    "Shut up, Adrian! I¡¯ming." Xiao Zhiren grumbled and looked at Ru for a moment longer. Leaning down, he nted a firm kiss right between her brows and said, "I¡¯ll see you at home. Don¡¯t you dare run!" With this warning, he left her standing in that corner all alone.

    "Don¡¯t run? Why is everyone reminding me this today?" Ru muttered to herself. Forgetting the fact that she was experienced in running. If Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t holding her tightly, she would have really run again long ago.

 Chapter 215 Not Just An Obsession

    From the Sky Building, Ru went straight back to her apartment. After seeing her rice-cake, the anticipation in her heart was gone and meeting Xiao Zhiren managed to give some rest to her restless heart.

    Coming back to the silence of her apartment, she sat down cross-legged near the ss wall looking over thendscapes and closed her eyes. She needed to sort out her thoughts.

    It was true that she never asked Xiao Zhiren about himself. But in her defense, she never liked asking people about themselves. She loved reading people or solving them like a mystery. At least that way she had something to do.

    However, when it came to a certain Xiao Zhiren, he was the mystery she wasn¡¯t able to solve neither did she manage to read him at all. He showed her his caring, loving, gentle side but he never showed her his worries.

    He called her his id¨¦e fixe. Then how far this obsession could take him?

    Annoyance, anger, vexation, all these emotions were making her mind go into a frenzy. She huffed heavily and looked through the cab to look for some cigarette. Following her search, she picked up a thin cigarette and ced it between her lips.

    She was about to light it up when someone snatched it from her lips and she heard that familiar voice, "Stop smoking. I won¡¯t be able to live otherwise."

    Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s grinning face incredulously as she asked, "You won¡¯t be able to live?"

    "Yes. Don¡¯t you know, smoking is injurious to health." Xiao Zhiren replied in an all-knowing manner.

    Ru scratched the tip of her nose and said, "It¡¯s injurious to my health since I¡¯m the one smoking. How does it involve your life?"

    With his arm around her neck, he pulled her to his side saying, "Don¡¯t forget, you are MY LIFE. How many times should I repeat it?" He even rolled his eyes as if she really was being too forgetful as if his logic was the best one out there. "Besides, if your health will be affected, I¡¯ll eventually be affected by it. We are connected that way."

    Ru pinched his arm and he yelped while ring at her in resentment. "I just hurt you. I don¡¯t feel anything. Then how are we connected?" She wiggled her brows yfully while the mirthless smile on her face said otherwise.

    Rubbing his arm where she pinched, Xiao Zhiren spoke with an aggrieved tone, "That¡¯s because I¡¯m not in your heart. But you are in mine. So, right now, the connection is one-way. I can feel your pain but mine is yet having some disturbance on the way. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t feel my pain."

    Ru pursed her lips trying to stifle theughter that was threatening to escape but couldn¡¯t do so as she chuckled. His logic was exactly like him; Crazy. But she couldn¡¯t say anything as she looked at his smiling eyes looking back at her face with a gentle look.

    "What? What are you looking at?" asked Ru.

    Shaking his head softly he said, "Nothing. I was just wondering how can my little chili make me feel all sweet, warm and fuzzy with her beautiful smile. Even when her words are always cutting my heart."

    With a cough, she made some distance between them again and stood at the far end leaning against the kitchen ind. "How did youe in?"

    "Through the door," came the prompt reply in a duh tone as he took a step towards her.

    "I locked the door." She replied with a frown trying to recall whether she really locked it or not.

    "And I opened it with the passcode," said Xiao Zhiren with a shrug of his shoulder as he took another step close to her.

    "Don¡¯t you know how to knock? You can¡¯t just barge into someone else¡¯s house." Ru was trying to seem upset as she crossed her arms over her chest.

    Taking another step towards her, Xiao Zhiren poked her head as he said, "I rang the bell three times but you didn¡¯t hear it. I thought you must be avoiding me. So, I weed myself to your house." With both his hands on the counter behind her, he added, "Anyhow, this is my little chili¡¯s house. So, I¡¯m definitely weed here anytime."

    "I did not say that," Ru argued while she pushed him back to keep him at least at an arm¡¯s length. Meanwhile, she tried to rethink why didn¡¯t she hear the doorbell.

    "You didn¡¯t say I¡¯m not weed either." Xiao Zhiren pointed out with a sly smile.

    "Don¡¯t you just love ying with my words?" Ru was feeling terrible, hostile, indecisive but mostly helpless. How could the same person always manage to make her feel all these feelings? She had never been indecisive in her life. Not even once before he came into her life.

    "There is another thing of yours I love ying with." Her brows knitted together as she saw the smirk stered on his face and that teasing light in his eyes. What was he up to?

    But she wouldn¡¯t know what he was up to until she asked. However, if she asked then she¡¯d certainly be left even more helpless with his answer. After all, his favorite hobby was to make her vulnerable. Ru clenched her fists hatefully as she didn¡¯t know what to do. Ask him or not?

    Let¡¯s just take this bitter shot already! "There is something more intriguing to y with than my words? Howe I don¡¯t know-"

    Her eyes widened as her words were stuck in her throat.

    Why?

    As she was speaking, Xiao Zhiren had taken a couple of steps to close the distance between them as his one hand coiled around her waist and the other one firmly grasped the back of her head. And what followed was... Fireworks?

    There were fireworks, indeed.

    With his lips firmly nted against hers, the fireworks were a must. His lips softly brushed against hers, delicately as if afraid to hurt her. She could inhale his breath and the warmth of his skin made her mind do somersaults. For the first time, she wasn¡¯t standing like a statue whose mind had a short circuit.

    Instead, her lips developed a mind of their own as they caught the rhythm of his and yed along slowly and softly. That just added a whole lot of passion to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s burning desires as his tongue darted out to pry open her lips and plunged in without warning.

    Her tongue was a bit hesitant at first but then it fought for dominance as they wrestled. The earlier fireworks had already turned into mes of passion that were burning in both of their eyes.

    This was what really surprised Ru the most about him. The way he managed to ignite the desires within her that was even unknown to herself all this time. It was a primal desire as she had heard before but until he walked into her life, she never understood it at all.

    Her body was halfid back on the kitchen ind while Xiao Zhiren ravished her like a hungry lion. As he moved away to catch his breath, he looked into her green eyes that had turned a shade darker reflecting the emotions he had in his own. And that one look was enough to take his breath away just like it had always done.

    He knew she didn¡¯t like being touched, but he really couldn¡¯t resist her. Her scent always flooded his senses clouding his rationality. He just couldn¡¯t fight against his thoughts whenever she was around him.

    Ru was looking at him an odd way. It was neither embarrassment nor bashfulness. Rather it was her curiosity. She was wondering how far he could test her limits. The idea of intimacy that she always found ridiculous, could he really change that? The earlier mes had alreadybusted leaving her defenses in ck flimsy ashes.

    "I believe this is yours," she heard his voice and focused her eyes on the thing that was dangling before her eyes. Her eyes widened again. But this time, the reason was different.

    She pushed him away as she sat on the kitchen ind and snatched the pendant from his hand. That beautifully carved pendant... Encrusted with pure green jade and blood-red rubies. Even the character carved on the pendant was the same. There was no doubt, it was hers.

    But how did he have it? With this question, Ru lifted her eyes to look at Xiao Zhiren. ¡¯Was he the one who saved my life back then?¡¯ Her heart shook at this realization.

    "You had been my obsession since that time. It¡¯s not a love of days, weeks or months. I am in love with you for years."

    Ru caressed the pendant lying in her palm and mumbled, "I owe you another life-debt."

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation as he said, "You don¡¯t owe me anything. Except for a chance. An opportunity to prove that my love for you had always been true."

 Chapter 216 Hubby!

    Xiao Zhiren waited for her reply while Ru¡¯s eyes lingered on the one thing that connected her to her n; The Xia n of Shadowwick State. The pendant could be said to be an identity token that proved who she was. She never had the heart to part with it but she did.

    There were two reasons why Ru left it behind when she left the hospital without informing him. First, she wanted to give him something as reassurance that he¡¯d pay this life-debt. The second was the most important one because of which she never even asked him who he was back then. She had given herself a goal at that time; She¡¯d not look for this pendant until she had found the people who left her at herst breath.

    Because she knew if she had this pendant, she¡¯d have run back home long ago. She still remembered the time when she lost the pendant at the age of eight. Her father was so worried that he spent the entire day looking for it in the woods. And when she had asked him why was a simple pendant so important, he had replied with, "My child, this is not a normal pendant. Always remember, this pendant represents your existence. Don¡¯t ever gamble with this thing. Its purpose is yet to be served."

    Until today, Ru wasn¡¯t sure what he meant. What purpose could a pendant really have? But she was told not to question since every answer had a time.

    "This was the only thing I had of you. This was the only thing that assured me that you¡¯re out there somewhere." Ru looked at the side of his face as he continued, "Sometimes when I felt like you were just a long dream of mine, this pendant reminded me that I was wrong. You¡¯re as real as this pendant in my hands."

    Ru¡¯s lips curled up slightly as she listened to him. "I looked for you everywhere. I used every single mean to look for you but I couldn¡¯t. But I never stopped waiting. Somehow, I believed in the promise you left behind. And just because you said you¡¯lle back, I believed in you wholeheartedly without any doubt."

    "Why didn¡¯t you just give up? What if I really had lied in that letter?" Ru questioned with a skeptical look in her eyes.

    "I could give up. But my heart couldn¡¯t do so." Her brows quirked up as she looked into his ink-ck eyes. "My heart had been dead set on you from the moment we first met in that bar."

    "Bar?" Ru looked perplexed.

    "I know you don¡¯t remember. But I don¡¯t know why. However, I¡¯m not gonna remind you either. You¡¯ll have to think about that yourself." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply made her even more confused.

    She really didn¡¯t remember. But if she really didn¡¯t that only meant one thing; she met him during the year that is erased from her memory!

    "I was really surprised to know that you have green eyes. I mean when I first met you, you had pure ck eyes just like mine."

    "I must be wearing lenses. Green is my color from the beginning. But I was often asked to keep it a secret from others." Ru replied nkly with no emotion but with a turmoil in her mind as she tried to put some stress on it. Trying hard to remember anything from their first meeting but nothing came up.

    "Is Yu your name?" His question made her look confused and he pointed at the pendant in her hand saying, "That¡¯s Yu in Cantonese."

    Ru chuckled as she shook her head. "It¡¯s also Ru in Mandarin. Why did you think it was Cantonese? The character has the same strokes but different pronunciations only."

    "I first met you in Macau, so I assumed you to be from there. And people of Macau speak Cantonese. So, that¡¯s why I was misled." Xiao Zhiren borated sheepishly.

    "We met in Macau?" He nodded at her sudden question. "Where did you find me injured then?"

    "Taiwan." He answered honestly while he didn¡¯t know why she was asking these questions. But since she did, he had to answer honestly at all costs.

    "But I was in a hospital in Capital when I left."

    "Oh, that¡¯s because I brought you to China for better treatment and also because I was worried that those people who injured you might look for you again."

    "Did you..." Ru licked her dry lips and tried again, "Did you see anyone who injured me?"

    "No. You¡¯re alone when I and Ran Zi found you at yourst breath fighting desperately to live." Xiao Zhiren could never forget that moment. Not even if he tried to. Her blood-soaked, shed, the bruised body was still etched in his mind. He still had nightmares recalling how she could have died if he hadn¡¯t found her on time.

    "I was indeed desperate to live..." Ru mumbled softly with a irony in her voice. As the silence made room between them, Xiao Zhiren felt uneasy. She looked to be living through some painful memory as her fists were clenched turning her knuckles white.

    The rims of her eyes were getting red in rage and the furious look in her eyes made his heart clench painfully. He didn¡¯t like seeing her like that.

    cing his hand over hers, he smiled at her softly and said, "So, your name is Ru?"

    With the warmth of his hands on her cold ones, she felt herself rxing slowly. Her calmness returned also instantly to her as she looked into his eyes again.

    "I was never taught my name. But everyone called me Young Master Ru, so I assumed it to be my name." Ru¡¯s reply took Xiao Zhiren off guard.

    "What? How can no one tell you your own name? That¡¯s unfair."

    "I still don¡¯t know why I was raised as a boy. And you¡¯re upset about a meaningless name?" Ru poked his forehead like he always did to her. "But I do know that everything has a reason. I am indeed Young Master Ru but why am I, Young Master Ru, I¡¯m not sure about that."

    This answer was the closest she had been to let anyone know about herself. But it was getting easier with him. It was like him telling her about being the savior from back then made another connection to link them together. And that connection made her feel really rxed andfortable in his presence.

    "What should I call you then?" Xiao Zhiren questioned with a woeful look.

    "Don¡¯t you call me your little chili? Isn¡¯t that already enough?" Ru¡¯s answer made his mouth agape. This was the second time on the same day that she called herself ¡¯His¡¯. This eptance was really satisfying and gratifying.

    Encircling his arms around her waist, he pulled her close while she stared at him with raised brows. "You are indeed my little chili but I need a name as well."

    Ru¡¯s hand lifted while Xiao Zhiren kept his eyes on her movements. Her palmsid t against his chest while he thought she¡¯ll push him like always but surprisingly, she didn¡¯t. She only titled her head up to ask, "Why is that? Why is the name necessary?"

    Nuzzling up to the side of her face, he said in a slightly husky voice, "The most intimate name from the one you love is your own name. Just like I get a million feelings when you call me Zhiren. The feel is different. It¡¯s real with no sweetness but it does have a lot of real intimacy."

    "Hmm... Remind me not to call you Zhiren again."

    Xiao Zhiren bit her earlobe making her stare at him wide-eyed. "Don¡¯t force me to punish you."

    "What did I do?" Ru pointed her chin challengingly.

    "You hid too many things from me, Lord Alev Knight."

    Ru immediately lowered her eyes while pursing her lips. That reminder was really not necessary. "Fine, fine. I¡¯ll call you Zhiren. It¡¯s not like I can call you anything else."

    With a heavy sigh, Xiao Zhiren agreed, "I don¡¯t expect any nicknames from you either. Baby, darling, love, sugar, honey, all these from your mouth? Just the idea is unimaginable."

    Ru was cringing as he said all those names and nodded, "Indeed. That¡¯s too hard for me."

    "But I¡¯d love to hear that hubby from you." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s cheeky grin came again.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she said, "Stay on Earth. No need to dream of heaven that soon. It¡¯s unreachable. Just like hearing hubby from my mouth. Ever!"

    Xiao Zhirenughed at her reply and hugged her tightly as he whispered, "My heaven is not unreachable anymore. It¡¯s right here with you in my arms." ¡¯And one day, I¡¯ll make you call me hubby. It¡¯s a promise!¡¯

    Ru really wanted to smack his head but couldn¡¯t do so. Involuntarily, her heart was betraying her as it was really beating like a drum in his presence. The signs were all there. Irregr heartbeat, silly smiles, a giddy feeling in her heart... The only thing that left was; Her eptance of all these feelings.

 Chapter 217 The Look

    The banquet that Xiao Zhiren wanted to take her to was in the evening. And the first and foremost job for Xiao Zhiren was Ru¡¯s grooming which she had been avoiding for days now. Whenever he brought up the topic, she¡¯d always find some way to divert his attention.

    Most of the times, her way of diversion involved looking into his eyes straight. And Xiao Zhiren was a sucker for those green eyes that entranced him to no end. How could he remember anything else when the world¡¯s most beautiful eyes were right before him? It was unfair to his poor heart which was stuck on her.

    But this morning, Ru¡¯s n didn¡¯t work at all as Xiao Zhiren said, "Love, stop giving me The Look."

    "What look?" Ru feigned ignorance perfectly.

    "That look." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s finger rounded in a circle right before her eyes as he pointed at her.

    Ru frowned again as she said, "But I don¡¯t have a look."

    Xiao Zhiren snorted, "Yeah, right. If you don¡¯t have the look then I¡¯m the idiot who forgets his own name just looking into these eyes of yours."

    "Blimey! Zhiren, you¡¯re an idiot?" Ru asked wide-eyed with a gasp as she added, "I really couldn¡¯t tell until now."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s shoulder slumped in defeat as he exhaled a long breath. Talking to her was a tiring job. Physical and mental. Actually, she could even emotionally strain someone with just her words. But how she did it, he didn¡¯t know at all.

    Pushing a shopping bag to her, he pushed her towards the stairs saying, "Go to your room and change into these." Ru looked inside and found a simple white t-shirt and ck re bottom jeans. "And don¡¯t forget to cover up your enchanting eyes. I really don¡¯t want anyone else to get mesmerized by that pair of eyes."

    Scratching her chin, Ru pursed her lips as she was thinking. Then leaning close to him, she asked, "Zhiren, do you need some sugar?"

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhiren was dumbfounded. Where did that questione from?

    Supporting her elbow on his shoulder, she said, "I think you need a lot of sugar. Why don¡¯t you get some from the kitchen? I have plenty of it."

    "But I don¡¯t want sugar. Why are you even wasting time talking about sugar?" Xiao Zhiren looked at her in half perplexion and half skepticism.

    "Well... You love eating lemons all the time. So, I thought you might like some sugar to tone down that tangy taste lingering in your..." Poking his temple, she added, "You mind."

    She was indeed talking about his jealousy that seemed to be ring even when there was no one in the apartment aside from them. How possessive was he? And for her? What did she have?

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know what to say to her. He turned sideways and nted a chaste kiss on her lips taking her by surprise as he said, "I got my share of sugar. Thanks for offering. Now, you¡¯re gonna change your clothes or should I delve into this pot of honey?"

    She just hit herself with her own words. He really knew how to find loopholes in her words.

    "Pot of honey?" Ru asked uncertainly.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched her nose and answered, "Yes. Pot of honey. Since you¡¯re my honey and there are too many bees hovering around my honey all the time. It takes effort to shoo them away." He rubbed his forehead in distress as he added, "And tonight, I¡¯m certain I¡¯ll have to spend extra time guarding around you."

    Ruughed at his expression. "I don¡¯t need guarding at all! I¡¯m enough to do that on my own." With that, she rushed up the stairs to change her clothes.

    She hadn¡¯t noticed before but after she unfolded the t-shirt, her eyes stared at the design printed on it. Her lips twitch involuntarily. There was an attitude-filled red chili on the shirt and the words beside it were, ¡¯I¡¯m a little chili.¡¯

    Seriously, he definitely took his time to choose this one. Ru rolled her eyes at his choice but still wore it. When she came downstairs, she was ring at him while he seemed rather amused.

    "I knew it. This was made my little chili." Ru punched his arm but hisughter didn¡¯t stop. "What¡¯s with hazel eyes?"

    "You have some problem with it?"

    "Nada!" Xiao Zhiren shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    And that¡¯s how the both of them started the journey to wherever Xiao Zhiren was taking her. Because he wasn¡¯t keen on telling her. Apparently, it was a surprise. Ru had the urge to kick him out of the car when he said it was a surprise. Couldn¡¯t he like a normal person just tell her where they were going?

    In the car, Ru looked out the window in deep thought. "What¡¯s your connection with Adrian?" She asked out of the blue.

    "Define connection." Xiao Zhiren replied with a rebellious charm.

    "I mean how do you know that wanker Prince?" Ru rephrased her words but they seemed really amusing to Xiao Zhiren as he keptughing pleasantly. "If you¡¯re doneughing at my not so humorous joke, please enlighten me with your answer."

    "Do you really want to know?" Ru threw a deadly re his way.

    "No. I don¡¯t want to know. I¡¯m just so entertained in my life right now that I thought I should talk about that boring prince to keep the bnce. Happy?" Her touch of sarcasm made him burst outughing again.

    "Okay. So, let me tell you."

    "Finally." She groaned in response.

    "We met in college. Had a couple of sses together. Then we became best friends. And that¡¯s about it." Xiao Zhiren stated inly not delving deeper into how they became close friends and all. He could tell she wasn¡¯t interested in listening.

    "Mhmm..." Ru hummed in response as she nodded her head in understanding. That exins why Adrian was with Xiao Zhiren the other day. And also, why Xiao Zhiren knew about her being ¡¯Alev Knight¡¯. Certainly, that prince wouldn¡¯t talk about her to just anybody. And now she knew, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t just anybody to Adrian.

    "By the way, Adrian has a lot to say about you. And when I say, a lot. I¡¯m being very humble with words."

    Ru snickered at his remark. As if she didn¡¯t know that at all. Adrian had a lot to say right at her face much less behind her back.

    "I also have a lot to say about him." She replied as if she had a huge grudge against him.

    "Ohh... I wonder what my little chili has to say about my best friend." Xiao Zhiren gave her a look of anticipation.

    "Are you sure about that?" Ru asked to reconfirm.

    "Yes, I am sure." He replied positively.

    "Ready?"

    "Ready as I can be..." Xiao Zhiren replied uncertainly. Was she rushing for a battle or something? What¡¯s with all these questions?

    "Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you!" Xiao Zhiren was busy frowning at her words trying toprehend theplex meaning behind when she took a long breath and started, "For me, His Highness Adrian Alister is the name that I despise the most. Just the name is enough to make every pore in my body to feel repulsed by him. He¡¯s irksome, irritating,zy, impatient, clingy, hateful, bossy, talk a lot- like a lot as in A LOT! He¡¯s also nosy which I hate about him but then he makes it worse by being a crybaby who has to run to his grandmother after losing. He¡¯s childish and way easy to offend. And the attention he had received from girls all these years have turned him into a cocky flirt. He has a loud and obnoxious personality that makes me want to punch him to a pulp whenever he shows up in front of my face. And-"

    "There is more?" Xiao Zhiren asked as he really was having difficulty digesting everything she just said. That was his best friend you know but the one talking was his life. Goodness! He couldn¡¯t even bring himself to take sides right now. "Are you sure he doesn¡¯t have any good qualities?"

    Ru thought for a second before her voice turned into a whisper as she said, "He¡¯s honest even about his dislike for me. I like that about him that he doesn¡¯t try to act nice with me just because he¡¯s asked to do so. He¡¯s loyal and kind-hearted. He¡¯s straightforward, fair, and ambitious. I guess he¡¯s a person who has a very good heart but he doesn¡¯t like being vulnerable. Being a part of the royal family has made him hide his good-nature. Otherwise, it¡¯s hard to survive in pce politics."

    Xiao Zhiren smiled as he heard her words. See, she was not biased at all. She knew how to judge a person not just from her own perspective but from others¡¯ as well. She just treated Adrian as he treated her. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t even ask her to be nice to his best friend.

 Chapter 218 Lucky To Have Her

    Ru had expected Xiao Zhiren to bring her to a salon or something but he parked the car in front of a vi. When she gave an inquisitive look to him and he just shrugged his shoulders with a mysterious smile. Or was it a mischievous smile?

    As they waited outside the door after ringing the bell, Ru asked, "Why are we here?"

    "You¡¯ll see," was the reply of Xiao Zhiren. Right at this moment, the door opened and a pretty brte came to Ru¡¯s view. She looked beautiful with her shoulder-length hair and heart-shaped face. She was dressed in formal attire. "Hi, Melody!" Xiao Zhiren greeted her.

    The girl hugged Xiao Zhiren like any other foreigner while Ru kept looking at her with a raised brow. "Hi, Zoran! You¡¯re finally here. I thought you¡¯ll bail out again."

    Xiao Zhirenughed as they made their way inside the vi. "I was never gonna bailout but..." Wrapping his arm around Ru¡¯s waist, he pulled her to himself as he added, "This girlfriend of mine is moody and entric."

    The brte girl who was named Melody looked at Ru from head to toe and gave a surprised look. "Oh, my my! She¡¯s your girlfriend?"

    Xiao Zhiren nodded proudly while Melody walked in a circle around Ru. "All mine." Xiao Zhiren announced as if iming his right.

    "Fuck! She¡¯s gorgeous." Melody eximed with hands around her cheeks.

    "Language..." Xiao Zhiren warned with a sharp look.

    "Sorry! But I couldn¡¯t help it. Your girlfriend¡¯s features are like some painter¡¯s fantasy hase to life. Those defined high-cheekbones, ah! This enviable height. I can¡¯t help it. Can¡¯t I just borrow her as my muse?" Melody looked at Xiao Zhiren with pleading eyes.

    "Didn¡¯t I say, ALL MINE." Melody pouted at his reply.

    "Fine." She huffed at him but then tugged at Ru¡¯s arm saying, "I¡¯m gonna have so much fun styling you. I have so many ideas." Melody seemed like an excited bunny to Ru who was still staying quiet because she had no clue where she had stuck herself.

    But soon she realized it when she had sat still in a chair for hours while Melody and her assistants did all the job. For instance, nail grooming, waxing, adding realistic hair extensions and then styling those extensions.

    And all this time, Ru was like, "Is waxing necessary?"

    Melody had pursed her lips as she didn¡¯t know how to reply but she still did so, "Yes."

    "Do you have to pluck off my eyebrows?" Ru looked distressed as she put a hand over her eyebrows.

    "I¡¯m just gonna shape them. Nothing else. Trust me." With Melody¡¯s reassurance, Ru had to let them do what they were good at; grooming people.

    Xiao Zhiren was having theughter of his life in the waiting area since he could hear Ru¡¯s weird questions from inside. But he knew she won¡¯t get angry since it was rted to her promise and Ru would anything for a promise. Even doing what she hated the most; Acting like a girl.

    "Make-up? I heard those chemicals are not good for the skin. I¡¯m okay without it." Ru was worried her face will look like a clown. "Let my skin breathe." She insisted while everyone around her looked at her in a weird way.

    "With your skin, I really don¡¯t have to use make-up. You have the perfect olive skin, smooth and soft. It can make one envious. What do you use for it?" One of the assistants asked in curiosity.

    "Use? I don¡¯t use anything. My mother used to say that eating healthy is the key to wless skin. I just have a proper diet n. Nothing else." Ru spoke proudly as she talked about her mother.

    Melody could see that make-up would ruin her looks. So, she used a very minimal quantity and that too in light shades. Keeping it mostly natural to let her real beauty shine.

    Ru stretched her limbs after this torture and was rxed thinking they were done. But who knew she had still to suffer.

    "Come, Zoran has already prepared 4 dresses for you. Let¡¯s try them all." Melody seemed more excited then Ru.

    "Can¡¯t I just pick one and be done with it?" Ru asked tiredly. She really felt tired. This must be the most boring thing she had ever done. Who had such long hours to waste on themselves?

    "No. Can¡¯t do. You have to try them all and let me be the judge of which one looks good." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice came from behind her as he came towards her while grinning from ear to ear. Even without the evening gown, Xiao Zhiren was breathless seeing her face.

    Ru was sent to the changing room as Melody passed her the first gown. It was an off-shoulder red chiffon gown, a trumpet silhouette with train. It was short-sleeved, backless and hadce, beaded embellishments.

    "Should I help you with the zipper?" Melody shouted from outside.

    "No, I¡¯m done," Ru grumbled from inside.

    Melody looked at Xiao Zhiren inquisitively and he replied, "She¡¯s flexible. Super flexible." Melody chuckled at his reply. "Come out already."

    Ru reluctantly walked out in the long gown. While Ru was trying to manage that long train, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were starstruck. Who asked his girl to be this gorgeous? His eyes were trained on her exposed cor-bones that were too prominent to ignore. As for her figure, this was one of those rare times when she was wearing something in her own size. It made her body look enticing.

    Coughing to hide his blush, Xiao Zhiren said, "Let¡¯s try the other one."

    Ru huffed like a child as she walked back to the changing room and while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s jaw dropped at her back view, Melody gasped out, "Her shoulder des are so perfect. She really is making me envious now."

    Xiao Zhiren could only shake his head since his girl didn¡¯t even know it that she was beautiful. The second dress was in soft pink color with a floor-length sheath silhouette and one-shoulder neckline. It was sleeveless and in afortable stic crepe fabric.

    Xiao Zhiren thought it looked great on her until she took a step and he noticed the split that started from her mid-thigh to the floor. And just as Xiao Zhiren had expected, Ru spoke herself, "Don¡¯t choose this one. I¡¯m not going out in this one."

    Hell! Was Xiao Zhiren gonna choose that? No way! It was his own first time seeing her exposing this much skin. How could he show it to the world? But he had an itch to tease her as he said, "Why? Aren¡¯t you veryfortable in your skin? I thought you never get embarrassed or bashful."

    Ru pped the back of his head saying, "I don¡¯t like people staring at me. This will definitely make some heads turn." Oh, there it is! The cocky self.

    "So, I can look?" Xiao Zhiren tried his luck.

    "I didn¡¯t say that," Ru replied.

    "You didn¡¯t deny it either." Xiao Zhiren counter attacked and as Ru was about to talk, he pushed her back in saying, "We don¡¯t have time. Try the third one."

    The third dress was like a ball gown with a bell-like puffy skirt and Ru immediately refused to wear it with the excuse of, "I¡¯ll look like a church bell in this one."

    Xiao Zhiren replied with, "Why are you fretting? I¡¯ll be the only one to ring this bell."

    "It¡¯s not funny!" Ru shouted back while Xiao Zhiren keptughing outside.

    "Thanks for your help. I know you¡¯re here for some official business and I dragged you for a personal favor." Xiao Zhiren turned to Melody beside him with a serious look.

    "Aye, I¡¯m having fun. And it¡¯s a miracle that Zoran Xiao actually contacted me for a favor. I¡¯m already over the moon." Seeing her being dramatic Xiao Zhiren looked awkward. "Also, it was once in a lifetime opportunity to see who is your girlfriend. Who is the one girl who made you reject all others for years."

    "Still, it¡¯s a favor for me." He said.

    "She¡¯s really cute and innocent. I can see why she managed to catch you in her spider-web." Melodymented seeing the huge grin on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face. "I¡¯ve never seen in youughing like this even in college. This carefree look suits you."

    "I guess the credit goes to her. As you said, she is really cute and innocent. But the best part is she doesn¡¯t even know how cute she is." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes, face, his voice everything showed how much love he had for her.

    "She is lucky to have you in life," Melody said as she could see Xiao Zhiren¡¯s happiness and love right here in his eyes.

    "Nah. She isn¡¯t the lucky one. I am." His reply stunned Melody who had never seen Xiao Zhiren doing the sweet-talking. If the girls who were rejected by him back then knew that he was such a romantic person, they¡¯d have been hopping mad!

 Chapter 219 My Fair Lady

    One might define beauty in a million ways but for Xiao Zhiren, all the world¡¯s beauty was standing before him. The girl before him didn¡¯t look awkward at all. With her straight posture, she seemed confident in herself. It wasn¡¯t her usual vanity or self-conceitedness. This confidence was her pride that she felt within herself.

    She was dressed in ace fishtail Cheongsam with train which was in the champagne-colored lining and whitece details. It was a cool blend of bodycon crochetce fabric with mandarin cor and Chinese hand-made knot buttons at the back. The mermaid silhouette and her long legs made a statement of their own.

    The raven-colored straight hair was styled in soft wavy curls that cascaded over her right shoulder. Beautiful rhinestones encrusted olive leaf ear cuff could be seen on her left ear. A light pink colored lipstick adorned her lips.

    Trying to walk in that long gown, she lifted her eyes slowly to find Xiao Zhiren. He stood right before her with dazzling light in his eyes and a small smile ying on his lips. Looking into his eyes, she found the courage to smile as she knew this was it.

    He saw his woman being unapologetically herself

    Comfortable even in her perfect imperfections

    The essence of her beauty lied in her eyes

    Eyes that looked tranquil like water with a waver of uncertainty

    what lied beneath that surface was an ocean of wonder and ambiguity

    But it was a woman¡¯s heart

    Looking for herself in the eyes of her sweetheart

    Even her reflection seemed to be caressed by his love

    Oh, how she wished that moment to stop

    Because that mirror of his eyes made all her

    doubts to deter

    What remained was;

    Her wild and wandering soul

    That taught her love was the recipe of chaos

    Pity that the chaos had already begun

    But those were the troubles of a woman¡¯s heart

    That taught her that boundary was just another pass

    Perhaps that¡¯s how she ignited that wild thirst in his soul

    She offered her small fire for him to hold

    But it was a woman¡¯s heart

    lying in the hands of her sweetheart

    "You look breathtaking." Thepliment came from Melody who couldn¡¯t keep her eyes away from Ru.

    As for Xiao Zhiren, he stood silently and perhaps his silence was the biggestpliment she was looking for. Because in that silent moment where their eyes met, he had already poured his heart out to her. What else could he do? She was all that he could wish for and much more. And words could never be enough to describe that.

    "Let me bring the heels," Melody rushed out to find the matching heels for her leaving both of them alone.

    Out of the blue, Xiao Zhiren went on his one knee as he took her hand in his own and looked up into her eyes. nting a feather-like kiss on her knuckles, he said, "My fairdy, bestow me with the honor of being your partner."

    Ru rolled her eyes at his performance and said, "I¡¯m already your partner."

    "For the rest of life toe." Xiao Zhiren looked at her eagerly while she narrowed her eyes at him.

    "Only for tonight. Don¡¯t push your luck." She tried to retract her hand but he didn¡¯t let her do so.

    "I have to push my luck." He said with admiration in his eyes and a warmth in his voice.

    "Why?" She questioned.

    "Only by pushing I can break your walls." He replied with a cheeky smirk of his own and added, "Besides, it¡¯s my way of turning your no into a yes."

    "I¡¯d say, you¡¯re trying too hard," Ru said and took a step back as she saw Melodying back inside.

    "Try these on," Melody ced 4-inch heels before her.

    Ru looked at the heel that looked scary to her for some reason before looking at Melody with a doubt visible in her eyes. But Melody reassured her with a smile and Ru reluctantly made her feet cage between those torturous heels. Her already tall figure towered way more. And after wearing the heels, she was wondering... How was she supposed to walk in those?

    She tried to take a step but ended up losing her momentum. Then her fight was with her reflexes and gravity. But before her own reflexes could kick in, Xiao Zhiren had already held her by her waist. Ru clutched his shirt to keep her bnce and looked at his signature smirk again.

    "It seems like a y of destiny." He whispered softly.

    "And what¡¯s the y?"

    "You falling in my arms. Right where you belong." He answered solemnly with not a hint of yfulness in his eyes anymore.

    "I don¡¯t belong in your arms," she argued back.

    "That¡¯s what you think. Because you, my fairdy, are still oblivious to this game we call fate." He countered. "And fate often leads us to love."

    "And love is just another name for pain." Ru¡¯s answered made him silent for a second before he made her stand back up.

    Tapping her nose yfully, he turned to Melody again and said, "Get her those chunky heels no more than 3-inch. She won¡¯t be able to walk in these stilettos."

    Melody nodded since she had already seen it herself how bad Ru was with heels. She brought the pair of chunky heels for Ru as per Xiao Zhiren¡¯s request and asked her to try. This pair was much better than the earlier one so Ru managed to walk but she was still having difficulty with the long gown that was getting tangled with her each step.

    "I told youst time, take smaller steps. The way you¡¯re walking, soon you¡¯ll be lying t on the floor twisting your own ankle." Xiao Zhiren reminded her in a hushed tone and Ru had to agree because he was indeed right. "See over there," he pointed at Melody and Ru followed along. "Copy her movements. You¡¯re the genius here. You¡¯ll be able to learn in a minute."

    Ru red at him hatefully for using her own words against herself but still focused on the way Melody walked. Her each step was well-bnced as she walked with ease. One step at a time and effortlessly trudging around.

    It took her a moment or two longer but she got the gist of it and managed to walk civilly without falling or tripping around.

    Xiao Zhiren also dressed up in a clean-cut ck suit and a crisp white shirt underneath. He looked sharp, elegant and equally matched with her beauty.

    Ru was staring at him without blinking when her stupid conscious woke up, ¡¯Isn¡¯t he handsome?¡¯

    Ru nodded in a daze before shaking her head. ¡¯Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Who¡¯s handsome?¡¯

    ¡¯Keep denying. You love to do it anyway.¡¯ Her conscious retorted in contempt.

    ¡¯Okay, he¡¯s handsome. But I look at him almost every day. Don¡¯t you think beauty wears out?¡¯ Ru countered with her own words.

    ¡¯Right... Beauty doesn¡¯t wear out. Your eyesight is wearing out!¡¯ Her conscious shouted back. When Ru didn¡¯t reply, her conscious again buzzed in her mind, ¡¯Don¡¯t forget, the chaos in your heart has already begun. Now, the moment of realization and eptance is left.¡¯

    Ru blocked out the voiced in her head and looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand that appeared before her eyes. She hesitatingly ced her hand in his and he intertwined their fingers almost instantly and naturally. Her hands weren¡¯t that small but it still fits perfectly in his big ones.

    He said his goodbye to Melody and thanked her again while Ru silently apanied him to the car that brought them here. But Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t board it and pulled her over towards the limousine that was parked beside it.

    The driver opened the door for them and both of them settled in. In the car, he noticed how she kept trying to move her hair away from her neck and it made his lips curl upward. "Is it really ufortable?"

    "I¡¯ve always disliked long hair. First, it¡¯s bothersome to manage them and second, they make me feel hot. See, even in this air-conditioned car, I¡¯m sweating." Ru replied which seemed more likeining to him.

    "Excuses." He muttered under his breath and recalled something as he spoke again, "I heard something about your diet n. When did you get one of those?"

    "What do you mean? I always had a diet n." Ru answered honestly.

    "You have the biggest appetite I¡¯ve ever seen in anyone in my whole life."

    "That¡¯s not called big appetite. That¡¯s me eating a healthy and well-bnced diet."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her wide-eyed. ¡¯Healthy and well-bnced? Her definition of healthy ispletely distorted.¡¯ But of course, he didn¡¯t say that out loud. Because he knew he couldn¡¯t possibly question her food habits. She¡¯ll get mad. Like super mad. And right now, he couldn¡¯t afford that.

 Chapter 220 Satisfying Sigh

    When the limousine finally stopped, Ru didn¡¯t even wait for someone to open the door as she ran out instantly. Even Xiao Zhiren wanted to apud her for her impatience. But it wasn¡¯t her fault, he was again keeping the location of the banquet a secret.

    When he stepped out of the car, he found Ru looking right before her with a scowl on her face. As she heard his footsteps, she turned her eyes to look at him and asked, "You brought me to the High Summit Assembling Banquet?"

    "Oh, so you really are familiar with it?" Xiao Zhiren looked surprised but in reality, he wasn¡¯t. Because it had be a norm for him that she knew everything. "Have you been here before?"

    Ru was looking at the huge cruise ship before her as she could hear the sound of seagulls on the shore. There were tight security arrangements done for the banquet. The reason was simple. The top Family ns were assembling for their yearly meeting.

    And Xiao Zhiren belonged to the Ji Family which was ranked second, how could he note? However, it was his first time being here. And he only epted the invitation because his grandmother insisted way too much.

    "Why would this young mastere here before? I have nothing to do with High Summit or the ns involved in it." ¡¯Since my family had never been interested in ying the game of politics and power.¡¯ Ru was feeling bitter in her heart as she said, "But I can tell you everything you want to know about the High Summit."

    "For instance?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously as he led her inside the cruise ship after showing his invitation card.

    "For instance, there are a total of six ns involved in this High Summit which was originally started when the monarchy was ended. Xiao n is the first ranked one. Zhu and Ji follow behind at the second rank since one can¡¯t possibly tell which one is stronger. The rest of the members are; Fan, Wu, Hou, and Gou." Ru spoke in a practiced manner without taking a pause. It was like she was reciting a speech. "Coming together, these ns can rule the whole nation but they keep their power hidden. The purpose of this meeting had always been to create an opportunity for all of them toe together."

    Xiao Zhirenwas frowning a bit as he listened to her detailed analysis of this banquet.

    "The gathering kicks off with a banquet and then they spend two days on the sea. Using each other¡¯s resources, potential business opportunities, and other things are discussed. Especially, the protection of their family secrets that had managed to keep them standing even after centuries."

    "I heard Xia n is also involved in the High Summit." Xiao Zhiren stated inly.

    Ru snorted as if that was the real joke. "Blimey! Don¡¯t joke like that, Zhiren! Xia n is a martial arts practitioner Family. The High Summit isprised of Aristocratic blood. Those noble, high and mighty young masters from ancient times. Xia n had never taken part in High Summit because they prefer their own solitude and privacy. These events are considered wasteful in that n."

    "How do you know so much about Xia n?" His question reminded her how much nonsense she had just spouted without even realizing it. Well, wasn¡¯t it obvious that she¡¯d know Xia n better? Especially, considering the fact that she was a part of that n.

    But how was she supposed to say it out loud?

    With an awkwardugh, Ru wanted to say something but her gown tangled with her heels and she lost her bnce. Xiao Zhiren held her by the arms to support her saying, "Can you please focus on walking? I know you love multitasking but with this dress, I think you can barely either walk or talk. So, choose your priorities wisely."

    Ru couldn¡¯t rebut since he was right. It was an effort on her part to walk around with this kind of a dress. It was heavier than anything she had ever worn if one doesn¡¯t consider the weight balls she used to tie around her ankles and wrists to increase her speed. But for her, carrying those balls of 5 kg each was way easier than this dress.

    However, this small incident managed to divert Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention from the earlier question and Ru was thankful for that. She really didn¡¯t think that disclosing her identity of being the eldest young master of Xia n was a wise decision. If anything, it¡¯d bring him unnecessary trouble and she didn¡¯t want to burden him at all.

    "Did you get hurt?" While Ru was lost in thoughts, she didn¡¯t even realize when Xiao Zhiren had gone on his knee and held her foot to check for injuries.

    "You! Let go. We¡¯re in the hallway. There are people watching." Ru tried to squirm her foot out of his grip but he didn¡¯t budge.

    "You first tell me if it¡¯s hurt or not?" Xiao Zhiren asked stubbornly and seeing his concerned and anxious look made Ru feel helpless.

    "I¡¯m not hurt. Not hurt at all. Now, let go." Ru assured him and heaved a sigh of relief when he finally got up.

    "You¡¯re not lying, right?" Xiao Zhiren still wasn¡¯t convinced. He knew how much of an expert she was at hiding her pain. How could he be at ease around her?

    Ru held his hand and pressed it with a bit force saying, "I¡¯m not lying. Would you let it go already?"

    Xiao Zhiren nodded and this time, held her hand to support her in walking.

    "By the way, are we staying for two days?" Ru suddenly asked as a change of topic.

    "Yes."

    "You didn¡¯t tell me that. And we didn¡¯t bring any luggage as well." Ru looked at him usingly.

    "How can I tire my little chili with suchborious task? So, I already arranged everything." Xiao Zhiren replied sweetly but Ru didn¡¯t look satisfied with his answer.

    "Come clean with the truth. Don¡¯t try me." Ru warned threateningly.

    Xiao Zhiren had to sigh in defeat as he said, "Fine. I don¡¯t trust your taste in clothes. So, I asked Melody to pack some clothes for you."

    "So much for trust, huh! Hmph!" Ru humphed.

    During their banter, they had already reached the double door that led to the banquet hall. As it opened, a huge,vish and extraordinary hall came in view which looked like a part of a Seven-star hotel. But then again, this cruise ship was one of the best. So, facilities were supposed to be the best as well.

    However, both Ru and Xiao Zhiren weren¡¯t very interested in noticing their surroundings. Their own bickering was way too enticing and it was enough to make them live in their own cocoon.

    Ji Syaoran was holding a ss of champagne in his hand while he looked bored listening to the conversation of the older generation around him. Someone remind him why did he promise his grandmother that he¡¯d apany her all the time? Oh, right! His grandfather bailed on them at thest minute and he was gonnae on thest day only. Until then, he was the escort for his grandmother.

    Ji Syaoran was aimlessly looking around when a scene made his jaw drop and his eyes to open wide. He looked horrified, not stunned. He thought something was wrong with his eyes and he rubbed his eyes but the scene before him didn¡¯t change at all.

    Tugging at his grandmother¡¯s sleeve he tried to get her attention but she shooed him saying, "Ran Zi, don¡¯t disturb."

    Ji Syaoran, however, didn¡¯t care about her anger at all. He still poked her arm and said, "Gammy! Bro brought a girl."

    "What?" The old woman was stunned and then Ji Syaoran tilted her face towards the couple that walked inside the hallughing with each other without any care for the world around them. "OH MY GOD!" Old Madam Ji was petrified to her spot at this scene.

    After their initial moment of shock, both grandmother and grandson shared a look as they spoke simultaneously, "He really brought a girl!"

    Their excitement could be seen in their eyes clearly. It was like someone had served them the whole world on a silver tter. And why wouldn¡¯t it be like that? Old Madam Ji¡¯s biggest wish was to see her eldest grandson getting married and today, was the first time she saw himughing with a woman.

    As for Ji Syaoran, his only wish was to see his brother happy. If he could he would even serve his own happiness to Xiao Zhiren. But now that he saw the carefreeughter of his brother, he felt liberated. It was truly a satisfying sight.

 Chapter 221 Quinn Knigh

    "Who is with your eldest grandson?" The old Madam of Gou family asked Old Madam Ji when she looked at the pair of Xiao Zhiren and Ru.

    It was hard not to notice them. They made a perfect pair with their tall frames and breathtaking beauty. Moreover, the loving aura around them was even more enchanting. Who could resist taking another look?

    It was just as Xiao Zhiren had suspected, she was going to turn heads. And the heads were turned as everyone wanted to take another look at the beauty beside Xiao Zhiren. However, he was underestimating his own charms. They both were the center of attention, not only because of the beauty beside him but also because they made a picture-perfect couple that could make people envious.

    Old Madam Ji was still stunned by the fact that her grandson actually came with a female partner. But when she listened to the whispers around her, that¡¯s when she noticed how stunning her grandson¡¯s partner was. Once again, she was lost for words.

    "Madam Ji, you¡¯ve hidden your grandson well for years but now, you¡¯re even hiding his rtionship status?" Another madam spoke with a bit of envy in her tone.

    Old Madam Ji smiled softly as she replied, "Young generation has be too secretive. How can we question their decision?" She was trying to state that she didn¡¯t hide her grandson¡¯s girlfriend, he was being secretive. Also, she couldn¡¯t possibly tell others that she had no clue about what was going on between her grandson and the girl he brought.

    "Gammy!" Ji Syaoran again tugged at her arm as he gestured for her to make a move here.

    Old Madam Ji got the hint as she excused herself from her group of friends and trudged towards Xiao Zhiren¡¯s side.

    "Your idea to provoke bro actually worked. I¡¯m really thrilled." Ji Syaoran praised his grandmother with a grin. "If you hadn¡¯t brought up the topic of his long-forgotten fiancee, it¡¯d have been difficult to see his girlfriend."

    Ji Syaoran was somewhat right with his deduction. If Old Madam Ji hadn¡¯t provoked Xiao Zhiren, then he probably wouldn¡¯t have had the idea to introduce Ru as his girlfriend. So the credit really belonged to the olddy who was still wise and cunning.

    Old Madam Ji smiled in satisfaction and victory as she replied, "It¡¯s no wonder your brother was being secretive. That girl is beautiful."

    Ji Syaoran gave an affirmative nod as he said, "There is no doubt that she¡¯s gorgeous."

    The pair of nosy grandmother and grandson stopped right before Xiao Zhiren and Ru. Xiao Zhiren naturally greeted his grandmother, "Grandmother!" He gave her a tight hug with a big fat smile adorning his face.

    "Zhiren, it¡¯s a surprise that you listened to grandmother and actually decided to join us." Old Madam Ji started the conversation in a casual manner. Not letting it slip away that she was eager to know Ru¡¯s identity and most importantly, her status in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life.

    "How can I let you down?" Xiao Zhiren replied confidently.

    Old Madam Ji was looking at Ru and back to Xiao Zhiren with an inquisitive gaze. Trying to hint him that it was about time for introductions but he wasn¡¯t getting the hint. "Well..." she drawled her words as she again looked at Ru.

    "Well, what?" Xiao Zhiren feigned ignorance. He had already seen the curiosity, impatience, and eagerness in his grandmother¡¯s eyes but how could he just introduce her?

    "Bro, who is your partner? Won¡¯t you introduce us?" Ji Syaoran decided to help his grandmother because it wouldn¡¯t look nice if that olddy started questioning like an impatient teenager.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru and both of them shared a look. Coming here, they had already had a discussion about her identity which was something like...

    "You¡¯ll meet my grandmother at the banquet." Xiao Zhiren had informed her.

    "So? It¡¯s not my first time meeting her?" Ru replied nonchntly. She looked too rxed and it made him feel restless.

    "Love, you have met her as Xie Rong. You¡¯re not going as Xie Rong right now!" He reminded her while gesturing towards the long gown on her body.

    "It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m not going as Xie Rong." She said as she scratched the tip of her nose.

    "Be my guest and change back to Xie Rong." Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up but they dimmed almost instantly as he added, "I still don¡¯t mind introducing you as my boyfriend."

    With an awkward expression, she said, "No need. I¡¯ve gone through the torture of dressing up already. Let¡¯s get this over with now."

    Xiao Zhiren smiled at her excuse as he said, "You don¡¯t have to lie to me. You and I both know that you don¡¯t like people questioning your character and that¡¯s why you¡¯re apanying me as a girlfriend." Ru coughed but didn¡¯t refute his words at all. "By the way, do you have a female identity that we can tell others?"

    "I have never lived like a girl. So, no!" Ru answered inly.

    "So? Should I introduce you as Ru?"

    "Never!" Ru snapped at him. "You can introduce me as Quinn Knight."

    "Why?" Xiao Zhiren asked perplexedly.

    Ru stayed silent as she remembered how her mother used to say that, ¡¯Our Ru is born a queen. No one can change that. And don¡¯t let anyone treat you any differently. You¡¯re born to rule.¡¯ That reminder made her once choose Quinn as a name which meant ¡¯queen¡¯ and ¡¯wise¡¯.

    But her answer for Xiao Zhiren was, "Because I like that name."

    Xiao Zhiren naturally didn¡¯t question her decision as he said, "I also like that name. Quinn for the queen of my heart." Ru rolled her eyes at him as she punched his arm and he chuckled. "Wait, it should be the violent queen of my heart."

    Ru red at him and didn¡¯t say anything to him again.

    Now that they stood before Old Madam Ji and Ji Syaoran, Ru had to y her part. ying different characters wasn¡¯t difficult, she was a master of disguises. But it was her first time ying a girl¡¯s role. And it was ironic since she was born a girl.

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and pressed it softly as he blinked his eyes softly in reassurance. Then he turned to face Old Madam Ji and said, "Meet my girlfriend, Quinn. And love, that¡¯s my grandmother."

    "How are you doing this fine day, Mrs. Ji? It¡¯s a pleasure making your acquaintance." Ru¡¯s sweet voice coupled with her eloquent manner and beautiful polite smile, Old Madam Ji was lost for words as she couldn¡¯t move her eyes away from her.

    Ji Syaoran nudged his grandmother to break her daydream. Old Madam Ji cleared her throat awkwardly before saying, "I¡¯m doing very well. Better now that I¡¯vee to know such a good child. Your name really suits you. A beautiful name for a beautifuldy."

    "That¡¯s very nice of you to say but I think I have yet to learn a lot from a gracefuldy like yourself." Ru words not only stunned Old Madam Ji, but even Xiao Zhiren also couldn¡¯t help looking at her with admiration. Her eloquence was admirable indeed. She might not be able to walk or act like a girl but she knew how to win people with her tongue.

    Old Madam Ji patted her shoulder gently as she said, "Good child, you! You have a sweet tongue."

    At first, Old Madam Ji thought Ru to be beautiful but up close, her opinion was altered. Calling her just a beauty wasn¡¯t doing justice. The warmth in her eyes, the charming smile on her lips, a gentle way of speech, that soothing voice, and her strong presence... This all umted to her being more than just a beautifuldy. And Old Madam Ji wouldn¡¯t let anyone say otherwise.

    On the side, Ji Syaoran was also staring at Ru but for a very different reason. From afar, he felt like Ru was familiar but up close, he couldn¡¯t help this strong itch in his heart that he knew her. Was she really the same girl whom his brother was stuck on for years? Well, she looked slightly like her. However, her smile reminded him of someone else... Someone whom he wasn¡¯t really fond of before.

    Xie Rong? Ji Syaoran shook his head. How can she look like him? They could be rted but are they?

 Chapter 222 Very Likable

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s hawk-like gaze fixed on Ru¡¯s face and didn¡¯t move. He was trying to find the familiarity that he felt earlier when she smiled but still, he couldn¡¯t do so. It wasn¡¯t that Ru¡¯s face features changed or something but the light make-up had indeed made her features more prominent. And the hairstyle made a whole lot of difference.

    "Hi, I¡¯m Ji Syaoran. Bro¡¯s younger brother." Ji Syaoran introduced himself while his eyes didn¡¯t even blink for a second afraid that he might miss something.

    Ru wasn¡¯t an idiot. She naturally could see the curiosity in his eyes and it made her lips curled upward. "Nice to meet you, Ji Syaoran." She replied with an emphasis on his name which didn¡¯t go unnoticed.

    Biting his nail, Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes narrowed. Both Ru and Ji Syaoran were locked in a battle of staring. The former¡¯s eyes had a challenging look, thetter¡¯s curiosity was getting the best of him.

    "What are you both doing?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice brought their battle to an abrupt halt. He looked at Ji Syaoran, "Stop staring at her before I poke your eyes." Ji Syaoran immediately turned his eyes away and Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru saying in a whisper, "Love, stop provoking him."

    "I did no such thing. Don¡¯t use me wrongly." Ru yed the innocent card perfectly.

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand on her head and said, "Say something believable. I know my little chili better."

    "Come with me, I want to introduce you to everyone." Old Madam Ji dragged Xiao Zhiren and Ru naturally had to follow.

    Ji Syaoran leaned close to Ru as he whispered, "Introduce? I¡¯m telling you, Gammy just wants to brag about her favorite grandson and you."

    "Me?" Ru raised her brow at him in question as he nodded.

    "Yes, you. After all, there is hardly anyone here who couldpete with you in beauty." Ji Syaoran sounded sincere since even he couldn¡¯t bring himself to deny that Ru was deadly gorgeous.

    Ru flipped her hair and patted his shoulder saying, "I suddenly find you very likable."

    Ji Syaoran was surprised by this sudden change in her demeanor. "Why?"

    "Because you have such good eyesight. How else would you know that nobody canpete with me in beauty?" Her conceited answer made Ji Syaoran almost trip over his own foot. Ru held his arm to save him from falling as she said, "Spoke too soon."

    Ji Syaoran: "Narcissistic much?"

    Ru: "It¡¯s not narcissism."

    Ji Syaoran: "Oh, really?"

    Ru nodding: "Yup! It¡¯s called being honest and genuine."

    Ji Syaoran: "..."

    Taking time to process her words, he sighed out, "I wonder how you made my brother fall for you."

    Ru snorted in reply, "Keep wondering. Even I haven¡¯t found the answer to that mystery."

    In an inconspicuous corner of the ballroom, another pair was locked in a battle of staring. One looked calm and other were raging like a dragon ready to breathe fire.

    "Ji Yifeng!" The raging eyes red at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s father as he gritted out.

    "No need to get so hyper, Xiao Jingting. I already told you that I won¡¯t let you touch my son!" Ji Yifeng replied calmly.

    "Son?" The man named Xiao Jingting snickered. "What? The same one who wouldn¡¯t hesitate before putting a dagger at your throat?"

    Ji Yifeng closed his eyes briefly to hide the fluctuation in his deep eyes. "Even if he kills me, he¡¯ll still be my son."

    "I don¡¯t understand at all. How can you even say that?" Xiao Jingting was roaring in anger. "Your son ruined everything that was important to my sister. Including you!"

    "And that same sister of yours loved that son with all her heart. Even more than her own life." Ji Yifeng stated or more like reminded the person before him.

    "Maybe that was her mistake. Loving the wrong people." Xiao Jingting spat out in contempt. "Perhaps if she had made the right choices, we wouldn¡¯t be in this predicament."

    "Xiao Jingting!" Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes fixed on his face. "Don¡¯t you dare say anything about my wife. She was never wrong. And why do I have to remind you that my wife is your sister as well?"

    Xiao Jingting¡¯s shoulder¡¯s slumped down, he looked defeated as he said, "How can I forget that? She had forgotten me but I can¡¯t do the same to her." Ji Yifeng was about to pat his shoulder to show his support when Xiao Jingting again started, "But don¡¯t expect me to forgive your son. I won¡¯t!"

    Ji Yifeng rolled his eyes at him. "Would you get over that ¡¯your son¡¯ part? At the end of the day, that son of mine is your nephew. No matter how much you dislike him."

    Seeing Xiao Jingting huffing like a child, Ji Yifeng couldn¡¯t help but smile. This man before him reminded him so much of his wife. He was just as childish as she once was. "Stop brooding."

    Xiao Jingting turned his face away and that¡¯s when a scene caught his eyes. "What is your son doing here?"

    Ji Yifeng turned to follow his gaze and also looked at Xiao Zhiren standing beside his mother with a big smile on his face. For a second, he was stunned to see Xiao Zhiren smiling like that. "He¡¯s the eldest son of our family. Why can¡¯t he be here?"

    "He doesn¡¯t even call you his father," Xiao Jingting pointed out matter-of-factly.

    "Indeed." Ji Yifeng agreed with a sigh and added, "But he does love his grandmother and also, Ran Zi is here as well."

    "Who¡¯s the girl beside him?" Xiao Jingting¡¯s question made Ji Yifeng also notice the presence of Ru.

    "If you¡¯re asking me, who should I ask?" They both shared a look and shook their heads.

    "That makes you an incapable father." Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t mind his words. He knew was indeed an incapable father who couldn¡¯t even protect his kids. "Wish I could question you as a husband as well."

    "Was that apliment?" Ji Yifeng asked with an amusing grin. It must be told that this brother-inw of his was even more difficult to please than his own wife. In the past 3 decades, Xiao Jingting had neverplimented Ji Yifeng.

    "I didn¡¯t like you when you married my sister and I still don¡¯t like you." Xiao Jingting retorted.

    "I never needed your eptance. Your sister loved me and that was enough for both of us." Ji Yifeng¡¯s reply infuriated Xiao Jingting, it was a reminder of the past that he hated the most.

    "Hateful man!"

    Ji Yifeng had a look of epiphany as he said, "Now I know why Yuan is so difficult to get along with."

    "Why?" Xiao Jingting asked in curiosity.

    "Because your nephew is just like you; unbearable!"

    Xiao Jingting didn¡¯t retort. He thought it was pointless to do so anyway. So, he kept his silence but unknowingly, his eyes were wandering back to Ru again and again for some reason.

    "What are you looking at?" Ji Yifeng asked seeing the concentrated look of Xiao Jingting.

    "She..." He left his words hanging as he shook his head.

    "What about her?" Ji Yifeng curiously.

    "She looks familiar." Xiao Jingting said softly with a deep frown etched between his brows.

    "You know her? Or have you met her before?"

    "Neither." Xiao Jingting shook his head. "I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten such a peculiar face."

    "Then how is she familiar?"

    "I have no idea." Xiao Jingting replied while his mind was still trying to remember. She seemed really familiar to him. But had he really seen her before? If yes, then where? And why was his mind imagining her with forest green eyes? Frustrated by his own mind, Xiao Jingting pushed Ji Yifeng and said, "Go and find out who she is. Meet me on the deckter and tell me in detail."

    Ji Yifeng gave him an odd look. "When did our Tingting became such a nosy person? Did Ran Zi influenced you badly?"

    "Don¡¯t talk nonsense and just go already."

    "I¡¯m going but I don¡¯t think Zhiren will even let me step close to her. The way his hand is on her waist, it¡¯s obvious how possessive he is about her."

    "Well, he¡¯s your son. Isn¡¯t it a given that he¡¯d be possessive like his father?"

    Ji Yifeng nodded as he couldn¡¯t refute his words. "Fine. Let me try. But you stop talking down to me, I¡¯m still your one and only brother-inw."

    "I know. I know. You don¡¯t have to remind me that." Xiao Jingting was being impatient which was really unlike him.

 Chapter 223 Hes The Answer

    During the thirty minutes of introduction to everyone, Ru was tired. She tugged at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm saying, "My face is hurting."

    "Why?"

    "I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve smiled this politely ever in my life before," said Ru while rubbing her jaw.

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled softly at her reply. "You and your excuses..." he shook his head as he continued, "Both are really cute."

    He wanted to pinch her nose but she swatted his hand away like an annoying fly. "Can¡¯t you put a lock on your cringe-worthy remarks?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation. "Nope. It gets difficult when you¡¯re standing right beside me looking like a damn femme fatale."

    "Don¡¯t say anything anymore. I¡¯m getting dizzy with your words." Ru pushed him away and walked towards a corner. Clicking her fingers together, she called for the server and picked up a ss of sparkling champagne.

    "If you stand here alone, someone might take your boyfriend from right under your nose." This voice made Ru tilt her face and she looked Ji Yifeng standing not too far from her. He was looking at Xiao Zhiren and Ru also followed his gaze to see a couple of girls trying to strike up a conversation with him.

    ¡¯And he said, she was the honey who attracted unwanted bees.¡¯ Ru shook her head at her own thought.

    "He can do whatever he wants," Ru replied nonchntly.

    "You don¡¯t care or do you have faith that no one will be able to snatch him from you?" Ji Yifeng was curious to know the answer since Ru¡¯s rxed face was really strange to him. How could she be so calm?

    "I want to say I don¡¯t care but this stupid heart is leaning towards the second option." Ru¡¯s reply amused him and heughed out.

    "By the way, I¡¯m Ji Yifeng."

    "I know," Ru replied knowingly making his raise her brows. "You¡¯re Zhiren¡¯s father. Isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯d know?"

    With a bitter smile, he said, "Something tells me, he¡¯s not the one who told you about me."

    "He doesn¡¯t have to. I have my own ways." Ru took a swig of the bubbling champagne and said, "Anyhow, let¡¯s not talk about him. Let me introduce myself, I¡¯m Quinn. Quinn Knight."

    "It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Knight."

    "Please, you can call me Quinn. No need to be this formal."

    "You¡¯re not from here, are you?" He asked.

    "What gives that away?"

    "I think you¡¯d have been the talk of the town if you¡¯re from here." Ji Yifeng stated. "Just like now."

    "Now?"

    "Mhmm..." He hummed in reply and said, "Everyone in this room is looking at you. They are talking about you and trying to find ways to get to know who you really are."

    "Why? Aren¡¯t I like every other girl here?"

    "That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Something is different about you." Ji Yifeng sighed out. "Although everyone here is from an aristocrat family. Your aura is different. And that aura of yours is making you stand out between others."

    "Really? I thought I stood out because of how beautiful I am."

    Ji Yifengughed out and said, "Yeah. That too."

    Ru¡¯s behavior really surprised Ji Yifeng. He really didn¡¯t expect Xiao Zhiren¡¯s girlfriend to have a good impression of him. But somehow he didn¡¯t detect any contempt from Ru¡¯s voice. Was she good at hiding or she really didn¡¯t have any views about him, he couldn¡¯t tell.

    "Love, what are you doing here?" Xiao Zhiren held Ru¡¯s arm and pulled her to his side while ring at Ji Yifeng. Now, this contempt from his son was something very familiar to him.

    "Can¡¯t you see or those girls¡¯ sparkling lovestruck eyes made you blind already?" Ji Yifeng pursed his lips to stifle hisughter. He didn¡¯t think Ru¡¯s answer could be so straightforward.

    "Are you jealous?" Xiao Zhiren asked forgetting all about his father who was in hearing range even now.

    Ru snorted udylike, "Jealous? Aren¡¯t you getting too full of yourself?"

    "I am full of myself. But slightly lesser than you," replied Xiao Zhiren with a grin.

    Ji Yifeng was smiling looking at their interaction. He felt lighthearted seeing the love in their eyes and their bickering. Wasn¡¯t this how married couples behaved? They looked adorable to him and being a sensible elder, he excused himself to give them some privacy.

    "You¡¯re impossible," Ru said disbelievingly.

    "Well, I have to match my little chili in every way possible." Xiao Zhiren replied holding back hisughter. He knew she¡¯ll punch him if heughed at her face. And he had no mood of getting beaten blue or ck in front of his family.

    "Is there a room we can borrow for ten minutes?" Ru asked suddenly making Xiao Zhiren frown.

    "We have a room of our own. Why do we have to borrow? What do you need it for?" He asked curiosly.

    "Let¡¯s go to that room then," Ru pulled his hand and started dragging him out the ballroom.

    "Why are we going to the room? What are your intentions?" Xiao Zhiren sounded all suspicious and vignt.

    "Don¡¯t worry, what I want to do can only be done behind closed doors." Xiao Zhiren choked on air and coughed profusely.

    "Love, are you serious?"

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Of course, how can I beat your arse up in front of everyone?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face fell as his not so innocent dreams were shattered in a minute by her. Wasn¡¯t she really cruel?

    "You¡¯re really cruel, love," said Xiao Zhiren with a scowl.

    "Oh, really?" Ru stopped walking in the hallway and ced her hand on her hips threateningly.

    "Yes. You¡¯re boring and cruel."

    "How so?"

    "You don¡¯t appreciate my presence." He grumbled feeling wronged. "You don¡¯t even value the moments we spend together."

    "And that makes me boring and cruel?"

    "It does. After all, if you won¡¯t enjoy the present than you¡¯ll only be left with memories filled with regrets." Xiao Zhiren spoke righteously as he tried to dump some sense into her brain.

    "Memories are always filled with regrets," Ru stated matter-of-factly.

    "Wrong. Not all memories are regretful." Xiao Zhiren argued back.

    "Yes, they are. Because the memory in itself is a regret. After all, you can¡¯t bring that moment back; happy or sad, it¡¯ll still be just a memory in your heart."

    "Do you know who cherished people are?" Xiao Zhiren asked and Ru nodded.

    "Cherished people are the ones who are precious to us," Ru replied calmly.

    "So, imagine if you one day lose someone who you cherished the most. Would that person¡¯s absence make him any less cherished one in your heart?" He asked again.

    Ru was left in deep thought as she contemted his words. The people she cherished were her family and they were away from her but in all those years, they didn¡¯t be any less important to her. If anything, she now cherished them more than ever.

    So, her reply was, "No. I still cherish the ones who are away."

    "Then how can a cherished memory be a regret? Cherished memories are the treasure which is priceless. And it only bes sweeter and lovelier with time."

    Ru nodded her head in a daze, "I guess you¡¯re right."

    Losing his educating persona, he slid close to her and said, "So, don¡¯t you think we should be making some cherished memories as well?"

    Ru looked at him with a frown and said, "No, I don¡¯t think so."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s whole mood was spoiled by her reply. "Can¡¯t you ever y along with me?"

    "I can but I don¡¯t want to."

    "Why not?" He was exasperated now.

    "Because I don¡¯t like your stupid ideas about ying along."

    "You!" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body trembled in anger. "You know what, you¡¯ll only cherish me when I¡¯ll be a memory as well. Hmph!"

    Ru¡¯s heart shook violently as he said those words. She felt suffocated as if someone had stopped her supply of oxygen. Watching him turn away coiled her stomach in the worst way and she felt like puking up. Why was it so difficult watching him leave? Why was her heart hurting so much?

    Why did it feel like if he walked away, she¡¯ll lose him? Why the idea of losing him was so painful? And why was the idea of loving him not so detestable?

    The questions were plenty but the answer was none. Or there was one? Ru looked at his back as she heard a whisper in her mind, ¡¯He¡¯s the answer.¡¯

    Ru walked behind him and held his hand to stop him. Xiao Zhiren stopped but didn¡¯t turn to look at her. During this time, Ru¡¯s eyes caught a very familiar figure behind Xiao Zhiren and her eyes widened.

    How could she forget that this person would be here? All her questions were thrown out the window as new questions were forming up in her mind.

    Swallowing her saliva, she pushed Xiao Zhiren against the wall and crashed her lips on his leaving him stunned.

 Chapter 224 I Said That?

    There were plenty of questions in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind. But the one that dominated his thoughts was; Why did she kiss him? Although he was d for this initiative that she took on her own will. But he couldn¡¯t rule out the fact that she wasn¡¯t that extrovert in the intimacy department. There had to be a reason behind why she took this bold step.

    If she had kicked him so openly, he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised. But she kissing him openly was shocking.

    Oddly, he could feel the tension in her muscles as well. Her lips weren¡¯t rxed on his and movement was clumsy as well. But nevertheless, she still tasted sweeter than honey to him. But his mind couldn¡¯t rx at all.

    As for Ru, her mind was shouting, ¡¯Go away! Go away already! Why are you not moving?¡¯ She wished she could smack the head of that person taking anguid walk like he was in a garden. ¡¯Don¡¯t people normally give privacy to such scenes? Why is he still not going then?¡¯ Why the hell did she take the initiative to kiss if that busybody wasn¡¯t going to move?

    Ru had an inkling feeling that the busybody in the hallway had seen her and that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t moving at all. But she had no answers to that busybody¡¯s questions. That snooper was gonna ask a million of questions and Ru had no way of answering those questions. Worst of all, he was gonnaugh at her seeing her in female attire.

    And this one event would be repeated a million times in the future to tease her. She couldn¡¯t give him the satisfaction. Not at all! But on second thought, she could also use this thing with Xiao Zhiren - whatever it was - to her own advantage. For instance, she could finally unt someone before him like he always unted his wife before her.

    That was a good idea. Ru was weighing the pros and cons in her mind. And the cons were slightly heavier than the pros. After all, losing her image as the savage Young Master Ru was a lot worse than facing his endless unting of his perfect family.

    "Ah-Jie, why did youe out?" Ru heard that familiar sweet voice that could only belong to her busybody best friend/cousin, Zhu Jie¡¯s dearest wife; Xu Mey.

    Jie looked in Ru¡¯s direction for a moment longer before shaking his head. "It can¡¯t be her. She wouldn¡¯t ignore me like this." He mumbled before turning towards his wife. "I needed some fresh air, baby. Why were you looking for me?"

    "Mom¡¯s looking for you," Xu Mey replied to him with a smile.

    "Okay. Let¡¯s go to mom then." Jie followed her and entered the ballroom again.

    Ru counted to 100 before pulling away from Xiao Zhiren and heaving a sigh of relief. She craned her neck to see whether he was really gone or was he hiding somewhere for a sneak attack like he always did. She should have remembered that he was a ¡¯Zhu¡¯. His family would obviously be here with other families. Why did it skip her mind?

    Stupid! Forgetful mind! Useless one!

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face curiously. She looked disturbed but what could affect her so badly? She was a brave woman and he always saw her as one. Why was she being so sneaky now?

    "What are you looking at?" Xiao Zhiren asked.

    "Seeing if that sneaky bastard is gone or not," replied Ru in a daze.

    "Did you kiss me to hide from someone?" asked Xiao Zhiren again. He knew the answer but his stupid heart still made him ask that question.

    Ru snickered, "Obviously. Why else would I kiss you?" Now, that was her way to ruin someone¡¯s dreams.

    "Way to burst a bubble." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mood again fell. "Right. It¡¯s only my wishful thinking anyway." Ru looked at him and was stunned to see her watery eyes. Was he going to cry? But why? Did she do something?

    "Zhiren, are you going to cry?" Ru asked trying to turn his face towards her but he pushed her hand away.

    "You don¡¯t care. You don¡¯t care at all." He snapped back. "No matter what I do or what I say, you... You don¡¯t believe that I love you. You don¡¯t believe in me at all. Perhaps, I¡¯ll have to cut open my heart for you to see how much I really love you." With a self-deprecatingugh, he added, "I think you won¡¯t believe even if I really did it."

    Without giving a chance to Ru to speak, Xiao Zhiren walked away from her and all that she saw was a tear sliding down his cheek and his defeated back.

    Scratching her head, she said, "Did I do something wrong again? Argh! What is wrong with me?"

    "I can enlighten you about that part," hearing this voice, Ru¡¯s eyes widened once again. With a ¡¯woosh¡¯ she looked to her right side and saw that buttinsky looking at her with a weird look. He walked close to her and circled around her slowly eying her from head to toe. "Damn! I knew you¡¯d look gorgeous but never expected that you¡¯d be deadly gorgeous."

    "Was that sarcasm?" Ru asked in response.

    Jie flicked her forehead saying, "My silly Ru¡¯er, when did you lose your confidence in your self-acimed otherworldly looks? Aren¡¯t you the most handsome one? The peerless beauty with brains."

    "That I am," she replied matter-of-factly. "Didn¡¯t you just leave? Why are you back?"

    He snorted at her, "Do you think you can fool me? I watched you grew up. I don¡¯t have to see your face to recognize you. I¡¯m very familiar with you. Even in these girls clothes, you can¡¯t fool me." Pulling her along with himself, he added, "Just like I know that what you just said to Mr. Xiao Zhiren was wrong and you truly didn¡¯t mean to hurt him."

    "Of course, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt him," Ru replied with a sad look.

    "But you still hurt him." He stated the very obvious.

    "I didn¡¯t want to."

    "Ru¡¯er, Ru¡¯er, my dear Ru¡¯er! Have you told him that you love him?" Ru was stunned frozen as she stared at him.

    "I... I don¡¯t lov-love him." Ru stammered in her speech making Jie smile at her.

    "Stupid little girl. Tell me, he just cried because of you. How are you feeling?" Rubbing her hand, he said, "Be honest with me."

    Ru pursed her lips trying to formate her words. "I don¡¯t know. But my heart is clenching and it¡¯s really painful. I¡¯m not sure whether I hurt him or hurt myself."

    He patted her head and said, "Then my genius cousin, do you still need me to word out this feeling?" Ru stayed quiet as he continued, "You once told me that one of the worst pains in life is seeing the person you love crying. And the reason for those tears is you."

    "I said that?" Ru asked in disbelief.

    "Yes, you did." He replied.

    "Woah! I¡¯m really smart." Even in this situation, her narcissism was intact and it was really surprising for Jie. She lifted her eyes to look at Jie and asked, "Do you think I love him?" Jie nodded. "I¡¯m screwed."

 Chapter 225 Vinegar Bottle

    "Congrattions!" Jie said in a gleeful manner.

    "For what?" Ru gave him an incredulous look.

    "Finally, there is something that made you ept that you¡¯re not as omnipotent as you believes yourself to be," replied Jie.

    "Does it seem funny to you?" She looked at him with a warning gaze.

    "It¡¯s not funny. Not at all," he said. "But it¡¯s slightly difficult to believe that someone has that much hold on you. It¡¯s unimaginable."

    Ru also thought about this problem. She had never let anyone have any hold on her. She was punished so many times in her life only because she didn¡¯t have the will to let others control her. But now, a single man was messing with her. He even managed to get ess to a heart she had sealed behind iron walls.

    She rubbed her forehead anxiously as she said, "I need something to eat." With that, she already made her way to the food table.

    Jie was left facepalming himself. He trailed behind her and pulled her ear saying, "Dumbo! Go and look for him. Stop eating!"

    Ru pped the back of his hand. "Let go, Sticky-fingers! My mind is on a break, let me eat first."

    Jie rolled his eyes at her. At the name she just gave him and the excuse she came up with. "You need to do better than that to get rid of me, Spider-Monkey!" Ru shrugged him off and continued to stuff food in her mouth. "Aren¡¯t you worried about him? What if he did something? Or what if he gave up on you?"

    "He won¡¯t give up," Ru imed positively.

    "And how do you know that?" Jie retorted while raising his brows at her questioningly.

    "Because if there is one thing that Zhiren is proud of, that is his love for me. He cannot give up on that." Ru¡¯s answer left Jie stunned. When did she start talking like this? She was a narcissist but her confidence came from within and only for herself. She had never shown this much confidence in another person before. Wasn¡¯t she just being narcissist on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s behalf now? How unbelievable!

    "Are you just making excuses so that you don¡¯t have to abandon your food?"

    "Oi, Rat-Brain! Why are you always against me and my food? What? Are you that jealous of my love affair with food?" A blue vein bulged up on Jie¡¯s forehead. "Even Zhiren doesn¡¯t stop me from eating."

    With a sneaky smile on his face, he said, "Are you reallyparing me with Xiao Zhiren?" He clicked his tongue as he added, "I never thought you¡¯d do it."

    "Don¡¯t act with me." Ru pped his head. "You and I both are well aware that I can neverpare you with anyone. You have been the only constant and normal one in my life. Unlike you, I will never bring a third person between our friendship. Blood is thicker than water and I¡¯ll prove that you."

    "I didn¡¯t bring a third person between us as well."

    "My Prince Jie, no matter what you say... We have indeed grown distant from the time you got married." Ru stated in an indifferent tone.

    "But even with that distance, we are the closest to each other. There is no one who can im to know me better than you and the same goes for you."

    "That¡¯s because I¡¯m the smartest one between the two of us. And I¡¯m still holding our bond together."

    Jie really wanted to smack her head now. "Yes. I ept defeat. You¡¯re the queen as you had been from the beginning." He held her arm and pulled her away from the food saying, "Now, My food ghost! I¡¯ll give you the delicacies of the world. Just go and look for Xiao Zhiren."

    Ru scowled at him and seeing the crumbs around her lips, he shook his head. He rummaged out his hanky and wiped her face like she was a kid as he said, "You are always clumsy with food."

    "I am not." Ru denied instantly making him pinch her cheeks.

    "Yes, you are!" He said but as he was about to pinch her cheeks again, a voice made his body stiffen up.

    "What is going on here?" Both Jie and Ru turned and looked at Xu Mey standing wide-eyed before them. "Ah-Jie, what are you doing with this girl?"

    Both Ru and Jie shared a look because they both realized the issue here. Xu Mey knew Ru in her male avatar and she had never met Ru in her female avatar. Well, neither did she know that Ru was, in fact, a girl. So, right now, their position was really ambiguous.

    Ru wanted to help him out of this but he held her arm and turned to face Xu Mey. "Baby, meet..." He looked at Ru who getting his idea, continued, "Quinn Knight."

    "Why are you holding my husband¡¯s hand?" Xu Mey¡¯s eyes were stuck on their hands that were only touching because Jie had to hold back Ru from having a fit of anger.

    Before Jie could open his mouth, Ru replied, "Why? Is he your property?"

    "He¡¯s my husband." Xu Mey imed as she stared at Ru hatefully.

    Ru was quite indifferent considering all of Xu Mey¡¯s anger was nothing before Ru. Also, all the tricks up Xu Mey¡¯s sleeves were personally taught by Ru. Why would she be bothered?

    That¡¯s why her reply was overbearing as she said, "Husband. Not property."

    Xu Mey¡¯s fingers curled in her palms as she said, "He¡¯s not your property as well."

    "Naturally, he is not. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not trying to im him like you." Ru replied with a smirk while Jie was confused whether tough or cry. He really wanted tough though. He knew Ru could tick off anyone with her words but damn! This was the first time, she did it in her female role. This was remarkable progress.

    Someone remind himter to give a big round of apuse to Xiao Zhiren who managed to put this femme fatale look on his stubborn and annoying best friend.

    "You!" Xu Mey was ready to pounce on Ru.

    "Don¡¯t even think about being violent. I¡¯m better at it." Ru warned her not out of the goodwill of her heart but just because of Jie.

    Xu Mey turned to Jie, "Are you gonna stand there?"

    Jie looked at Ru who replied, "Go. I¡¯ll see youter." He nodded and nted a kiss on her head softly.

    "Do what I told you. Don¡¯t run back to food." Ru nodded her head reluctantly and watched him leave with his wife who was ring all the way.

    Ru shook her head seeing them leave as she mumbled, "She¡¯s still cute but annoying as well." With a sigh, she turned on her heels saw a frozen statue not far from her. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face was pale as he looked at her indignantly. "Hey, Zhiren!" Ru waved her hand at him.

    But he humphed and turned to leave. Ru ran after him and blocked his way. "What¡¯s wrong? Are you still angry about what I said outside? I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly. You know me. I am like that. I get those madness fits. It¡¯s very normal."

    Xiao Zhiren stared at her face oddly and said, "I also thought I knew you. But I don¡¯t. I used to believe that I have seen all kinds of precious stones in this world but then you came in my life and made me believe that the most precious stone for me was your heart. I thought your stone heart just don¡¯t feel anything but today, I learned that I was wrong. You just don¡¯t feel anything for me."

    "What are you getting at?" Ru asked in confusion.

    Xiao Zhiren held both her arms and said, "What I mean is that... That guy just kissed you. You smiled at him lovingly and talked to him nicely. You even fought for him. But what about me? Am I not worth even that much to you?"

    Ru pursed her lips as his words made sense to her finally. This vinegar bottle was over-imaginative as always. Did he just take Jie as hispetition? Like seriously? Ru wanted to shout at him, ¡¯Idiot! That¡¯s my cousin brother you¡¯re talking about!¡¯

    But instead of shouting at him, sheughed. Yes, yes. Sheughed pouring her heart out with that mesmerizingugh that made even Xiao Zhiren forget all about his anger for a moment.

 Chapter 226 Cube Of Sugar

    As Xiao Zhiren broke out of her enchantingughter, he left her and walked away. He wanted to yell at her or probably p some sense into her but he couldn¡¯t do so. He loved her, she didn¡¯t. She wasn¡¯t obliged to value his feelings. He was really aiming in a dark room. It was that simple.

    For the first time, he believed that love wasn¡¯t blind, the person he loved had love-blindness. Herck of empathy left him annoyed. He didn¡¯t know what to do or what to say but he sure wanted to do something.

    He took a champagne ss from one of the servers and gulped it down in anger. He was really trying hard to keep himself level-headed. After all, it was his own fault for loving a headstrong person. No, it was his stupid heart¡¯s fault that just kept saying that she was the one. It had to be her at any cost.

    Before he could walk far, Ru walked up to him and dragged him towards the elevator. "Let me go. Why are you following me now?" Xiao Zhiren tried to free himself but her grip was vice-like. How could he free himself unless she really wanted to let him free?

    It was rare for Ru to call something hers much less someone. And now that she had already epted Xiao Zhiren as hers in her heart, how was she going to let him free? In his dreams!

    She didn¡¯t reply to him at all and took him straight to the room which was booked for him. They had received the key cards when they boarded the cruise ship. After pulling him inside the room, she closed the door and pushed him against the closed door.

    This scene had something really wrong with it and Xiao Zhiren could feel it. But what was it? Ah! He was supposed to be taking the lead here. But was she really taking the lead? He didn¡¯t trust her very much at this point.

    Staring at his face, Ru asked, "Tell me, are lemons on sale these days?"

    "What?" Xiao Zhiren was perplexed. Where did the lemon talke from?

    "No? Then do you have some contract with lemon retailers?" She asked again and his response was still the same.

    He knitted his brows as he asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

    "It¡¯s not like that either." Ru nodded her head as if thinking something and said, "Then it must be that you have a personal lemon garden." Knocking his head, she added, "How else could you have an unlimited supply of lemons that you¡¯re eating all the time?"

    "I don¡¯t eat lemons." Xiao Zhiren replied as he took her words literally.

    "I used to think that you¡¯re a smart person. But you turned out to be the dumbest." Xiao Zhiren looked at her wide-eyed. "Instead of using your brain, why are always using your hyperactive imagination?" She poked on his chest as she red at him. "Is it fun burning your own heart with your own baseless jealousy?"

    Xiao Zhiren turned his face away saying, "I don¡¯t have a hyperactive imagination. You just have a blocked heart."

    Ru rolled her eyes at his response. "Why don¡¯t you ask me first? Huh? Can¡¯t you just question me? Is it so difficult toe to me and say, ¡¯My little chili, who was that guy? Why did he kiss you? Is he close to you?¡¯ Tell me, is it really that tough?"

    Xiao Zhiren might not know where this was going but he was certainly dazed when she called herself his again with right. It sounded nice. Oh, wait! Was his anger again giving up on him? No, no! Not this time. Not so easily!

    Hold your ground Zhiren! He willed himself to be strong as he faced her and said, "It¡¯s not like you ever answer anything clearly. Most of your answers are always vague!" Ru opened her mouth to retort when he spoke again, "Fine, I¡¯m asking now. Who was he? Would you answer?"

    "Naturally I will." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders making him stunned again. "Let¡¯s say that there is a circle in my heart and it contains all the people who matter the most to me. And the rest is out of that circle. And those out of the circle have nothing to do with. Their words or actions have nothing to do with me. But the ones in that circle are like my reversed scale. Jie is the person inside that circle. That¡¯s how important he is to me."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face darkened instantly as his eyes turned scarlet whether it was in rage or sadness, he didn¡¯t know. Ru pped his face, not with force but still did so.

    "I just told you to keep your lemon consumption under control. Would you let me finish?" With an aggrieved look, he nodded. "He¡¯s important because he was my first contact with the world outside my family. He was the first who knew who or what I am. He was the first friend I made. He¡¯s been my best friend since I was six years old. He had seen me at my worst and at my best."

    "He obviously means more to you," he snickered sadly.

    "Argh! I¡¯m gonna pull your hair out now. Are you even listening? He¡¯s my best friend. My maternal cousin. Besides, he¡¯s married and has two kids. Would you stop brooding now?!" Ru screamed at his face while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lit up brightly.

    "He¡¯s rted to you by blood?" He asked again for re-confirmation.

    "Yes!" Ru snapped at him.

    Xiao Zhiren grinned like a lunatic. With his arms around her waist, he picked her up in the air and twirled around in glee. Ru was so shocked by this action that she forgot to react. And even when he ced her back on the floor, she had yet toe back to Earth. It was not hard to guess that this was another first for her, right? Who would dare touch formidable Young Master Ru so casually?

    He kissed her cheeks forgetting all about the earlierments. What? She was always that indifferent. He couldn¡¯t hold that against her. If he had an active and nosy conscious like Ru¡¯s, he would have heard a voice in his head saying, ¡¯Excuses, excuses. You just need any excuse to be with her.¡¯ And Xiao Zhiren would have happily nodded along.

    Who cared about the context when the content was so delicious?

    "But is he that important in your heart that he can kick me out of your life like a fly from milk?" Xiao Zhiren suddenly felt really pressured. He finally met someone rted to Ru. The real Ru. Someone who could be called her family. It was a huge deal. What if he didn¡¯t like him? Would she really leave him because of her cousin¡¯s opinions?

    Ru was finally jolted awake and noticed how she was still caged between his arms. However, it didn¡¯t even cross her mind that she was supposed to push him away. eptance can do wonders and as she epted her feelings, naturally she didn¡¯t have any ns on pushing him away anymore.

    "I don¡¯t take people¡¯s opinions that seriously in my life," was Ru¡¯s reply which indirectly said that she won¡¯t let Jie kick Xiao Zhiren out of her life.

    "Even at the stake of your rtionship with him. Would you really choose me?" He asked again.

    "I have always despised crossroads in life. I¡¯d either have everything or nothing. There had never been a middle road for me. I don¡¯t do that." She replied assuringly.

    For the first time, Xiao Zhiren could feel her sincerity; The ring sincerity of her feelings. She hadn¡¯t said the words but he had a hunch but he was afraid to ask. What if it was yet again his hyperactive imagination ying with him? He didn¡¯t want to take that risk.

    "And anyway, let¡¯s suppose that my life is a ss of milk," Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows snapped together as she continued, "Then you¡¯re that cube of sugar that my best friend had been trying to mix into my life since the first time you dered openly that you love me. Even though I was under the disguise of Alev Knight, your feelings scared me for the first time. I¡¯d have run far away from you if Jie hadn¡¯t said otherwise."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lips curled up slightly at the reminder. That was the night when he first time imed her as his. He was scared that he would have topete with Alev Knight for her affection but who knew Alev Knight was her own alter ego in the end?

 Chapter 227 Spiked Intimacy

    Ru noticed the way he kept looking at her face with a lingering smile and her brows puckered up in uncertainty. "Did I say something funny?" She asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

    "Isn¡¯t it really funny?" He asked in return and continued, "This is the very first time, you are making an effort to clear up my misunderstanding. You have never done this before. You once told me that you hate exining yourself. Then why are you exining yourself to me?"

    Ru cleared her throat in a cloddish manner. Avoiding his burning gaze, she said, "Can¡¯t you tell?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. "I can¡¯t tell."

    "Aren¡¯t you smart?" She asked again looking straight into his eyes this time.

    "But didn¡¯t you just mention that I¡¯m the dumbest one here?" He used her words right back at her.

    "So, you¡¯re epting that you¡¯re the dumbest?" She asked incredulously.

    "First of all, I don¡¯t have the courage to disagree with you, love." Ru pursed her lips as he continued, "And second of all..." He took an unnecessary pause to test her patience.

    Ru pped his chest saying, "Aren¡¯t you gonna continue? Why are you dragging it for so long?"

    Xiao Zhiren smiled at her response and said, "Second of all, when ites to you, my little chili, your Zhiren bes the dumbest one who only knows how to love you. With you around only my heart beats, the mind stops functioning."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she said, "If your mind shuts off, then where do those clever and cheesy remarkse from?"

    "Obviously, from my heart." Xiao Zhiren replied matter-of-factly. When Ru gave him a skeptical look, he continued, "Let¡¯s ept it. Between us, I can never win in the brain game. You¡¯re smarter than me." The proud peacock¡¯s feathers stood up proudly at this remark. "So, I can only win with my sincere heart."

    "You just have an answer for everything, right?" Her face contorted as she tried to hide her smile from him.

    "Naturally." He replied and silence prevailed in the room.

    Ru wiggled out of his arms and surveyed the room which she had to share with him for two days. Apparently, it was an established fact as girlfriend and boyfriend, they¡¯d be staying in the same room. Was that logic really feasible?

    Calling it a room was an understatement. It was more like an exclusive suite.

    It had everything that a normal person could wish for. A king-sized bedroom separated from the living area with a tinted ss wall. A wall of ss right in front of the bed looking over at the bed of the sea with a wraparound personal balcony. As it¡¯s mentioned, this luxurious suite could amodate any normal person. However, Ru wasn¡¯t normal, to begin with.

    Probably that¡¯s why Xiao Zhiren saw no change in her expressions as she looked at the vast sea. He hugged her from behind and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Love, do you like me?"

    His lips were attached to the skin of her neck, trailing over it temptingly. He peppered kisses along its length, his mouth sucking and nipping on her skin. Ru took a sharp intake of breath as she said, "I¡¯d have thrown you in the sea by now if I didn¡¯t like you."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled against her skin and hot breath fanned dangerously on her skin. His tongue darted out to nibble on her earlobe and Ru had to bit her tongue to keep herself fromughing. That tingling sensation was hard to suppress though. "Let me rephrase my question then... Do you love me?"

    He stopped teasing her skin as he was eager to know the answer. He needed that answer to breathe now. It was something he couldn¡¯t live without anymore.

    He was already in her personal space, all she needed to do was turn around and that¡¯s what she did. She turned around and circled her arms around his neck taking him by surprise. With just the right amount of heat, she looked; not at him but into him. But his eyes were masking her feelings perhaps he held an even higher intensity than her. Or maybe he just knew the right blend of seduction which she was oblivious to.

    However, she still didn¡¯t hesitate before crashing her lips against his smoothly. Her body was poised, a just-right blend of rxation and tension. She personally knew how bad she was at kissing but ording to her, words might not be enough tomunicate with him anymore. She needed him to read her feelings and she tried her best to convey it with that kiss.

    It seemed like her will tomunicate with his heart was strong since the kiss was intense to Xiao Zhiren. For a man to feel butterflies in his stomach... Sigh! He felt really like a love-struck fool.

    His hands glided from her waist to her cheeks as he slightly pulled away, resting his forehead against hers, he hummed, "Are you trying to hide from someone again? Ow!" Ru tugged at his hair making him yelp in disbelief.

    "Forget it, if you can¡¯t understand," Ru was going to pull away but he gripped onto her hips and pulled her back.

    His lips softly grazed against hers, teasing her slowly. "I understand. You and your crazy heart that is certainly beating for me now." He gave a cheeky smile and as Ru opened her mouth to talk, he didn¡¯t hesitate before letting his tongue in. His pace was fast as he ravished her mouth.

    A sound escaped from the back of Ru¡¯s throat making her want to scream. How could her body betray her like this? Her heart had already betrayed her. And now this body wasn¡¯t even working with her. But since the other person was her Zhiren, how could shein?

    With their locked lips, they stepped back one step at a time and Ru finallynded on soft sheets. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s only dilemma was that they were fully clothed! But still, he hovered above her still kissing every single part of her exposed skin.

    Ru¡¯s body twitched as she said, "This bloody thing is too soft. I feel like I¡¯ll sink in."

    Xiao Zhirenughed at herment and with a twist, pulled her over his own body. "I told youst time, this whole body is all yours. Use it as you want."

    "Huh! You don¡¯t even dare to fight with me for your right." She replied while ring at him.

    He pushed her hair away from the face and said, "I can fight with the whole world for you. But I can never fight with you."

    "Why is that?" She asked.

    He kissed the tip of her nose making her scrunch it up and said, "Because I love you."

    "You just need excuses to say that..." Ru trailed.

    "Indeed. But one thing is confirmed."

    "What?"

    He pointed between both of them and said, "Between us, you¡¯re definitely gonna be the one at the top."

    Ru¡¯s eyes went round before she gritted her teeth and hit his jaw with her head. "Can you be nice for once?" Heined holding his jaw.

    Ru sat back up on the bed and said, "People can either be honest or nice. And I prefer being honest."

    He wished he could refute her words but why was it so difficult? He also sat up but a wave of vertigo made him dizzy. He rubbed his temple as a headache made him clench his eyes shut.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Ru asked seeing him acting weird all of a sudden.

    He loosened his tie and unbuttoned a couple of buttons saying, "I don¡¯t know. My head is heavy. And I¡¯m feeling really hot. Is there no air conditioner?"

    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that hot."

    "Ants are crawling all over my body." His fair skin suddenly tinted red at a speed visible to the eye.

    Ru¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up and she pulled his arm. She held his wrist and took his pulse. "Did you eat or drink anything?"

    He stressed on his mind. "Just a ss of champagne before you pulled me to the elevator." He replied.

    She got up and stepped away from him. "Your body temperature is high. And your heart is beating abnormally fast. I think... I think your drink was spiked."

    "What?"

 Chapter 228 Poor You!

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s vision had gotten blurry but he could still see how Ru was maintaining distance between them. "What kind of a drug it is?"

    "Use your own brain. Obviously, it¡¯s some kind of an aphrodisiac." She stated rather calmly.

    "Why are you moving away?" The whites of his eyes had already turned scarlet with the way he was trying to control his urges. He had never felt like this before. He felt like someone had ced him in an oven. It was burning hot. His mind was slowly getting hazy and to hold back his sanity, he was biting the inside of his cheek and he bit so hard that he could taste his own blood.

    As he managed to hold onto thest shred of his sanity, he said, "Do you think I¡¯ll pounce on you? Such little faith. Tsk. Tsk."

    Ru who stood on a side kept her eyes on his each and every move. By now, he hadpletely unbuttoned his shirt and his hard rock chest was right there for her to see. "Men and animals in heat can¡¯t be trusted."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s jaw dropped to the floor. No, no. Not figuratively. He literally fell to the ground and his jaw hit the floor. YES! That was the extent of his shock over her words. Because of the anger that he felt inside, his body heated up even more. He didn¡¯t bother answering her and ran towards the ensuite bathroom.

    He threw his shirt on the floor and sat down in the tub as he turned on the water. He didn¡¯t even bother strippingpletely. The cold water slowly soaked his body but it wasn¡¯t much effective. He even had the illusion that the cold water and his burning body were making a sizzling sound at the contact.

    Ru was leaning against the doorframe as she watched him with ease. There was no worry or anxiousness on her face at all. Ru took a step inside and sat at the marble edge of the tub. "Under the cold water, you¡¯ll only end up with a cold. It won¡¯t be effective on the drug that is in your system."

    "Do you have a better idea?" He gritted out.

    "How about I throw you in the sea?" Ru¡¯s response made him forget all about his pain as he red at her.

    "I¡¯ll freeze in the sea!" He shouted back.

    "Of course, you won¡¯t. I guarantee." Ru seemed really sure.

    "And how can you be this sure?" He asked even though he was unwilling to ask.

    "Because before you turn into a popsicle, the sharks would have munched on you as a night snack." Ruughed out at her own joke. Xiao Zhiren lifted his wet arm to touch her but she moved away. "Hey, don¡¯t wet my clothes. Or I¡¯ll really throw you in the sea." He hit his hand on the water sshing it. "On second thought, sharks won¡¯t eat a cheeky person like you. Only I can put up with you."

    "Are you a shark?" He asked in return. "Oh, no. You¡¯re the dinosaur. How can I forget?"

    "Huh? But dinosaurs have extinct from this world." Ru argued back.

    "You¡¯re an exception left for me. So, I should be the one saying that I am the only one who can put up with you!" In his argument, Xiao Zhiren hadn¡¯t even noticed that his body wasn¡¯t as painful as before. Definitely, it had something to do with Ru who was trying to distract him with this ridiculous argument.

    "But you can¡¯tin about putting up with me."

    "Why can¡¯t I?" He shot back at her.

    "Because you love me," Ru answered with a shrug of her shoulders leaving Xiao Zhiren a defeated soldier in this battle. As he had said, when it came to using the brain, he really couldn¡¯t win from her. He was not herpetition at all.

    "Don¡¯t you think you should be helping me right now to ease this pain?"

    "What do you think I¡¯m doing? Having a tea time party with you?" Ru snapped at him in response.

    "Most girls would have offered themselves to ease my pain." He mumbled.

    "Then find most girls. I definitely have some principles." Ru humphed at him while rolling her eyes.

    "Huh? So, you won¡¯t let me touch you at all?" Ru gave him an appalling look. How could he be worried about that right now?

    "Look, I definitely am not gonna let you touch me when there is no difference between you and an animal who wants to mate."

    "So, I can do whatever I want when I¡¯m sober?" Ru gripped his hair and dunked his head in the tub full of water. As he came up to breathe, he said, "It was worth a try."

    Just like he was helpless before her brain, she was helpless before his cheekiness. Both made each other speechless but perhaps, that was the road leading to the time where words weren¡¯t even necessary between them.

    A grunt escaped his mouth involuntarily and he stared at her face. Whether his face was wet because of the water or his own sweat, he couldn¡¯t tell the difference at this point.

    "Do you really have no solution? You¡¯re a genius in medicines." His hope was still on her. He also didn¡¯t have any wish to touch her when he wasn¡¯t even in his own senses. That would be disrespecting their love and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to blemish his love. The pain was bearable but using her body to ease this pain... Even the idea was unbearable for him.

    "Do you think I don¡¯t want to help you? Of course, I do. But..." Ru looked hesitant. "I¡¯ve always kept a distance from these so-called love drugs. Aphrodisiac and I never crossed the path in my entire life. I told you I have principles and this kind of drugs is against my principles."

    Between the waves of pain in his body, he felt his admiration and adoration for her rising. She really never did anything that was against her conscious. She really was a masterpiece.

    "But if I had silver needles, I could have lessened your pain. Even if I knock you out, the drug might affect your body." That was her problem. She forgot her silver needles in the clothes she took off at Melody¡¯s ce. "It was in my jeans but while changing so many gowns... Itpletely skipped from my mind that I was supposed to take my silver needles."

    "Couldn¡¯t you tell me sooner?" He screamed at her in resentment. "Those clothes are in the suitcase outside."

    "Really?" She ran outside and rummaged through the clothes and found the jeans which had her pouch of silver needles and in this case, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s savior. "Come out." She called him out and made himy down on the floor while he was still drenched.

    Her hand touched his chest and he shouted, "Don¡¯t touch me. You¡¯re making the drug worse."

    Ru pped his head, "If I won¡¯t touch, how will I treat you?" After berating him, she used a couple of needles on his chest near his heart and some on his neck. She was trying to control the blood flow in his body to bring his heart rate at a normal level. After inserting a bunch of needles in his body, she sat beside him and closed her eyes.

    "Why can¡¯t I move my body?" His question made her eyes shot open.

    She pulled a needle from his neck and coughed awkwardly, hiding her mistake. "I thought not moving will help."

    "How long will it take?" He asked.

    "An hour or so." She replied. "I can¡¯t find herbs here. Otherwise, you would have been fine by now."

    "Hm."

    "Now, the question is who really drugged you?" Ru¡¯s mind was obviously working overtime as she couldn¡¯t just sit still. This curiosity was too much for her. But now that, his body was not in any danger, Ru thought about what just conspired andughed out.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face and joined in.

    "Someone actually drugged you, why are youughing?" She looked at him oddly.

    "And you¡¯re the one stuck with me, why are youughing?" He gave his response.

    "It just seems funny. It¡¯s my first time seeing a man getting drugged." She replied in between herughter. "I always thought the girls were the victims in this. But poor you!"

 Chapter 229 Belong To Me

    It took her a while to get over the fact that he was actually the victim of being drugged. But when she did...

    "Do you have aptop here?" Xiao Zhiren gave her a weird look. Why was her topic of conversations changing so fast?

    "Yes, but why do you want it?" He asked while his eyebrows drew together.

    "I want to learn how to dance." Her derisive tone made him purse his lips. "Obviously, if I¡¯m asking for it. I have some use for it." She added.

    "And I¡¯m just asking about your purpose. Why are you always in the mood of an argument?" His jaw was clenched as he red at her.

    "Keep your temper in control. The drug might re-up again if you¡¯re stimted like this." Ru replied and got up to rummage through her bag of clothes.

    "If you talk like a normal person then I won¡¯t be provoked if you¡¯d just stop infuriating me." He said in annoyance.

    Ru took the same shirt which he had gotten for her and turned to look at him saying, "I tried acting like a normal person once. Apparently, people don¡¯t like normal." With those words, she went inside the bathroom to change out of her gown.

    Xiao Zhiren scowled as he looked at her back in her normal clothes. "Why did you change?"

    "You can¡¯t go back to the banquet. And for sure, I won¡¯t go either. So, why should I suffer in that long gown?" She gave him a look as if looking at an idiot. "Now, yourptop..." He pointed towards the table and she turned it on. "What¡¯s the password?"

    "Why don¡¯t you just use your hacking skills for that?" Ru coughed at his reply.

    "I¡¯m trying to be civil." She replied.

    "Little chili..." He said.

    "Hmm..."

    "Little chili..." He said again.

    "What? Just tell me the password already! I¡¯m in no mood to y." She shouted angrily.

    "I¡¯m trying to tell you that the password is ¡¯littlechili¡¯ in lowercase with no space." He borated himself making her face twitch.

    She typed it and it actually unlocked which made her expressions to shift again. She had no words for him. "Now would you like to tell me what are you trying to do?" He asked again because the silence wasn¡¯tfortable to him while he was still poked with so many silver needles.

    "I¡¯m trying to find the culprit behind your spiked drink," she replied calmly while her fingers kept typing on theptop and her eyes were stuck to the screen in concentration. She had tied the hair in a low pony which was the only hairstyle she knew. Her face was clean without even that thinyer of make-up. Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t move his eyes away from her.

    "Why do you think that it was intentional?" He inquired.

    "Why don¡¯t you?" She gave him a fleeting nce of disbelief.

    "There is a possibility that I wasn¡¯t the target..." He trailed.

    Ru snickered, "You want me to believe that such coincidences actually happen in this world?" He thought about her words and nodded. "I wouldn¡¯t believe that even if you kill me." She was firm as she continued, "And by the way, don¡¯t you find it weird that when you were upset, a waiter conveniently offered you a ss of champagne?" Now that she said it like that, he indeed had a weird feeling about this. "And that too in an empty corridor where that waiter wasn¡¯t even supposed to be in the first ce."

    "You really think someone is behind it?" Ru nodded her head and continued back to type.

    "Exactly that¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to look through the surveince cameras to find the culprit."

    "You¡¯re gonna hack into their control room?"

    "Bloody Bugger!" Ru cursed and slid theptop away in horror.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" He was alert immediately. Her face expressions were odd. As if she encountered something she was scared of. Huh? Scared of? And my little chili? Doesn¡¯t sound very right.

    "I can¡¯t hack their security system," Ru answered him in a small voice.

    "Really? There is something that you can¡¯t do?" Xiao Zhiren was astonished, to say the least. It was so unlike her. "But why can¡¯t you?"

    "It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t. Of course, I can. But... I don¡¯t want to anymore." She answered sorting her words carefully. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s expression told her that he wanted her to exin herself but he wasn¡¯t voicing out his question. There was tension between his brows but he wasn¡¯t willing to push her for an answer. Unknowingly, Ru smiled at his reaction. She knew how hard he was trying to hold in his curiosity and it touched her heart.

    Aish! He definitely was seducing her again. But how much more was he nning on seducing her? Wasn¡¯t she already lost in this game of seduction?

    "Do you want me to tell you why I don¡¯t want to?" She asked looking at his face.

    "I do but if you don¡¯t want to..." He didn¡¯t continue his words as he saw hering to sit beside him on the floor again.

    Her hands started taking back the needles from his body as she spoke, "The reason why I stopped the hacking is simple. The security system is designed by the Xenos."

    "Those mysterious Tech experts?" He widened his eyes in surprise.

    "Indeed." She nodded her head. "And this cruise ship also belongs to Xenos Group. I just didn¡¯t pay attention before."

    "What do you mean?"

    Ru cleaned her silver needles and continued, "You can say that Xenos Group belongs to someone from my family. Naturally, it¡¯s the same person who made me the hacker I am today. If I hacked into this system, it¡¯ll alert everyone in my family. It won¡¯t take them long to trace it back to me and then..." With a long sigh, she said, "Then they will tie me up and take me back home."

    Obviously, she was exaggerating but it worked on Xiao Zhiren very well as his expressions were unsightly. As he was free to move now, he sat up and held her hand, "Don¡¯t hack. I don¡¯t want you to leave me."

    Ru smiled at his reaction. "I¡¯m not leaving. And rx, I won¡¯t hack as well. I have other ways..."

    She still didn¡¯t mention that her family was Xia n because if Xiao Zhiren knew his reaction would have been over the top. Ru vaguely remembered that she heard once that although her n never participated in this High Summit of other six ns, her n was indeed responsible for the security measures. She never thought that to ensure the safety, her n provided this ce of meeting over the sea.

    As for the Xenos Group, it was operated by the elders of Shadowwick State. And Ru had learned all her hacking skills from those elders directly. Unlike other people of her generation, her masters had always been the real elders.

    Even though she was faced with this problem, she didn¡¯t want to give up. She would definitely find out the culprit.

    "Why don¡¯t you just let it go? I¡¯m alright now." Xiao Zhiren brought here to rx but her mind games were still going on.

    "Someone tried to mess with something that belongs to me. How can I let this go so easily?" She gritted out unconsciously.

    "So..." He slid close to her and added, "I belong to you now?"

    "Don¡¯t you?" She turned her face to find him only a few inches away from her.

    "I naturally believe that I belong to you. It was a matter of time when you¡¯d ept this fact." He stroked the side of her face lovingly.

 Chapter 230 I Do!

    One of the sweetest feelings in love is the one when your loved one is possessive about you. Not in an overwhelming way but in a rightful way. As if iming that you belong to me and I won¡¯t let others mess with you at all... Not even myself.

    And that¡¯s what Xiao Zhiren was feeling inside. He didn¡¯t know that she could make him fall head over heels for her all over again with such a simple sentence. But the point was that since that simple sentence came from her, it meant everything to him. Just like her single word could hurt him, another single word could put him on cloud nine.

    As for Ru, she had already made it clear that she had a clear distinction between people who belonged to her and those who didn¡¯t. Xiao Zhiren had already entered the circle of her heart, how could she not be possessive about him? She would never let anyone hurt anyone that was close to her heart. And Xiao Zhiren was now ruling in her heart, naturally, she won¡¯t allow anyone to bring him any harm.

    "Stop gawking. I know I¡¯m deadly gorgeous." Ru¡¯s conceited self broke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s loving gaze on her face. He rolled his eyes at her helplessly. "Why are parading around me half-naked? Go and get changed."

    He looked down at his upper naked body and then looked back at her with a sly smile. "Why? Are you feeling something? Is your heart beating, ba-thump, ba-thump? Or your face is heating up like a hot potato?"

    "Neither. I¡¯m getting annoyed." She replied ndly.

    "You really don¡¯t feel anything?" He asked again to reconfirm.

    "Nah! I¡¯ve seen better." His expression darkened at her reply and she hit his chest with her head this time, "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s given? I grew up as a male between males. It had been obvious that I¡¯d have seen a lot."

    Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t even refute her words at all. She indeed grew up in different circumstances than his. But why would someone hide her own gender for so long and without anyints? Although this question was nagging in his mind, he couldn¡¯t voice it out.

    He was about looking for a change of clothes when the sound of door-knocking caught his attention. He opened the door and found his brother smiling back at him, "Bro, why did youe up? The banquet is still going on and gammy is looking for you. Wooohoo..." Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes fell on his naked chest and he didn¡¯t know what to say. "Sorry to disturb you. You must have been busy with the more important stuff. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle gammy myself."

    Xiao Zhiren held the back of his neck and pulled him back. "Ran Zi, you hate using your brain. Why are you bothering now? Don¡¯t give this much trouble to your tiny little head."

    Ji Syaoran rubbed his neck and said, "Now, you¡¯re abusing your right as my elder brother. How can you insult me like this? I feel hurt?"

    "I¡¯m just warning you to not spout any nonsense to grandmother." Xiao Zhiren said. "You and I both know, she¡¯ll start nning a wedding otherwise."

    Ji Syaoranughed out saying, "Bro, you say yes. Trust me, Gammy has the resources to get you hitched right here and right now!"

    "Little brother, do you know what my own biggest wish is?" Ji Syaoran shook his head and looked at Xiao Zhiren for the answer. Xiao Zhiren, however, turned around and shouted, "Who wants chocte cake?"

    "I do!" Ru¡¯s voice enthusiastic voice came back.

    Xiao Zhiren smiled and turned back to Ji Syaoran, "My biggest wish is to hear that answer from her in a chapel."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth twitched and he had to bite his bottom lip to stifle hisughter. He never knew this sneaky side of his brother. "Take her to the chapel and trick her into saying those two words. I think it¡¯ll help with your misery."

    Xiao Zhiren thought about his suggestion and patted his shoulder, "I never knew you¡¯re smart, Ran Zi. That¡¯s a very good idea. But..." With a look of despair, he added, "There is one small problem."

    "What?"

    "She¡¯ll chop me into minced meat after that." He replied making Ji Syaoran cough.

    "What are you talking about?" Ru¡¯s voice startled both brothers as they turned to look at her standing behind. "And where is my chocte cake?"

    "It¡¯sing soon." Xiao Zhiren replied. "Right, Ran Zi?"

    Getting the message, Ji Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Definitelying right up, Queenie."

    "Queenie?" Ru gave him an odd look.

    "Sorry, can¡¯t bring myself to call you Sister Quinn. Something doesn¡¯t feel right with that. It¡¯s like it won¡¯t suit you at all." He replied. "So, I thought since you have a Queen like aura that demands attention, why not just call you Queenie?"

    Ru¡¯s lips curled upward slightly with his answer. One thing that Ru hade to like about Syaoran was that his hate and love for people was written all over his face. He didn¡¯t even try to hide his dislike for someone. He was too honest and sincere but that evergreen smile of his was disturbing. It was like a reminder that he was keeping something painful within himself.

    Ru walked past Xiao Zhiren and stood beside Ji Syaoran. "Zhiren, change your clothes before Ie back." With that, she pulled the door closed from outside and looked at Ji Syaoran. "Hi, Syaoran!"

    "Hello!" Ji Syaoran replied gingerly.

    Ru hung her arm around his neck and made him walk with her. "Now, I heard you love your brother more than your life."

    "I do. There is no doubt." Ji Syaoran answered with certainty and resolve.

    "Then if someone had hurt your brother, what would you do?" She asked looking at him carefully.

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s whole persona shifted as he fumed in rage, "Who dares to touch my brother?"

    "Why don¡¯t we find that out?" She suggested while patting his shoulder to calm him down.

    "Bro is hurt?" Ru nodded in reply. "You want to find the one who hurt him?" She nodded again without any hesitation. "But how? How are we going to find that person?"

    "It¡¯s quite easy if you¡¯re on board," Ru replied with a cunning glint in her eyes.

    "I¡¯m on board. Anything for my brother." Ji Syaoran also didn¡¯t hesitate before agreeing to help. How could he hesitate?

    "I like this spirit of you. Let¡¯s go now." She took him down on the elevator and only stopped when she reached her destination.

    "What are we doing in the security section?" Ji Syaoran asked looking at the que which clearly read, ¡¯Restricted Area.¡¯

    "You¡¯re the young master of Ji Family. This ce is like a garden for you."

    "Not really. Only the family heads can enter this area."

    Ru pushed him towards the Restricted Area and as soon as he stepped over the red line, security personnel came out to block his way. Ji Syaoran looked at her as if asking, ¡¯What are you nning to do?¡¯

    And she also replied with her eyes, ¡¯Let me handle this.¡¯

    "Young Master Syaoran, you can¡¯t enter this area. Please leave." The head of security politely gave his advice to Ji Syaoran.

    "Actually, Sir... My brother here has lost something really important and we were hoping to use the surveince video to find that thing. We wouldn¡¯t be disturbing you if it wasn¡¯t urgent." Ru¡¯s eyes were looking straight into the security head¡¯s eyes as she spoke. As if she had put an enchantment on him he nodded.

    "You can enter." The security head replied while looking at her with his unfocused eyes.

    "Thank you very much." Ru dragged Ji Syaoran and walked past them.

    "How did you do that? No, actually. What did you do?" Ji Syaoran was looking at her like a ghost.

    "Nothing much. I¡¯ve just put him under light hypnosis. He¡¯ll be fine by the time we leave." Ru¡¯s answer dumbstruck Ji Syaoran. Wasn¡¯t his brother¡¯s girlfriend, a very entric character? "Don¡¯t look at me like that, we have important stuff to do."

    "You! You¡¯re really gusty. What if something went wrong?"

    "I have a trump card for such situations."

    "And that is?"

    "Why should I tell you?" Ru shirked him away and thought to herself how she couldn¡¯t just disclose her trump card which was indeed her real identity. Now she even had her identity pendant, who would dare touch Young Master Ru?

 Chapter 231 Zhirens FanClub

    Ru¡¯s eyes were glued on the screen while Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes were stuck to her face. Before leaving the room, Ru had already untied her hair and now the long locks were left untamed. She was wearing a t-shirt with a ck and white striped pzzo which made her feminine looks to shine. Up close, Ji Syaoran did find Ru very familiar but he couldn¡¯t bring his mind to remember anything.

    "There it is..." Ru¡¯s sudden words jolted Ji Syaoran awake and the inspiration that he was feeling earlier was instantly lost as well. He looked inquisitively towards Ru and heard her say, "It¡¯s a girl as I had expected it to be."

    "Why were you sure that the culprit would be a girl?" Ji Syaoran was frowning with his attention solely on Ru. He didn¡¯t even bother looking at the screen yet. For some reason, her answer was more anticipated.

    "Idiot! Only a girl could take advantage of a drugged Zhiren. Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Ru replied matter-of-factly.

    "Bro is drugged?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s reaction seemed exaggerated to Ru.

    She rolled her eyes at him and with a thoughtful expression looked back at the screen. "Now the question is... Who is she?"

    Ji Syaoran looked at the screen and his expressions shifted instantly. "Why is she here?" He asked.

    "You know her?" Ru looked at him questioningly.

    Ji Syaoran hesitated before replying, "Bro didn¡¯t tell you about her?"

    "Was he suppose to?" Ji Syaoran nodded and she added, "Is she someone important in his life?" Ji Syaoran shook his head without even taking a second. Shrugging her shoulders, Ru said, "Then Zhiren wasn¡¯t supposed to tell me about her."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s expression was weird as he looked at her. "I suddenly think that shirt of yours is meant just for you."

    Ru looked down at the shirt that had the inscription of ¡¯I¡¯m a little chili¡¯ and smiled at him saying, "You both brothers have a lot inmon." She clicked her tongue and asked, "Now, would you mind telling me who she is?"

    "She¡¯s from bro¡¯s fan club back in college. She had been trying to seduce him for years now." Ji Syaoran exined with a dissatisfied look.

    "I asked who she is. Do I look interested in knowing what obsession she has with your brother?" Ru¡¯s voice showed her impatience quite well along with her exasperation.

    "Her name is Ansley Barrington. Oddly, that¡¯s all I know about her." Ru nodded her head but suddenly her brows snapped together in suspicion.

    "I¡¯ve heard that name before..." She scratched her jaw in a pensive manner. "Ahan! Now, I remember it!" Ji Syaoran had to ask what she remembered when she whispered a name in his ear and asked, "Is he here?"

    Ji Syaoran nodded his head and gave her the details. Ru¡¯s next words were, "Give me the room no."

    Ji Syaoran was skeptical about her intentions but he didn¡¯t voice out his suspicions as he somehow managed to provide her with the room no. While leaving the security room, Ru tapped on the security head¡¯s shoulder awaking him from his hypnosis. Ji Syaoran was still amazed because of her expertise.

    Hypnosis wasn¡¯t a joke especially on someone with a strong mental strength such as the security head who was trained for years. But she still managed it within minutes which meant that her mental capabilities were stronger than him.

    Taking the elevator back to her own floor, she said goodbye to Ji Syaoran and walked towards the room no Ji Syaoran told her about. As she knocked on the door, she cracked her knuckles as if preparing for a fight or more like a one-sided beating.

    When the door opened, a very familiar face came in view. And that person was none other than... "Hello, your highness Adrian Alister."

    Indeed. It was none other than our Prince Adrian himself. He was the person about whom Ru asked earlier to Ji Syaoran and he had replied with, "Royal families from eight countries send their representative each year. I heard Prince Adrian came this year on behalf of his brother who was busy with something else."

    And that¡¯s why Ru asked him for Adrian¡¯s room no. The purpose for her was simple. Adrian was in for a one-sided beating! Oh, how she missed beating him!

    And that¡¯s exactly what happened, Adrian had yet to open his mouth to inquire about Ru when she held his wrist, twisted it behind his back and mmed him against the wall. The impact made his jaw hurt. It was a wonder that his teeth were intact. But all of his bones were screaming in pain.

    "Hey! Who are you? How can you treat me like this?" Adrian¡¯s face was squished against the wall along with his body. He tried to move but how could Ru let him do so? Adrian couldn¡¯t even move an inch under her strength. His muscles were for a show but Ru¡¯s weren¡¯t. Every toned muscle of her body was the result of her rigorous life.

    "Ansley Barrington. Does the name ring a bell?" She asked in a forced manner.

    "Why are you asking about my fiancee? And how do you know her?" Adrian screamed in between his grunting sounds. "Let me go before I call security. Don¡¯t you know who I am?"

    "The fact is that Prince Adrian that you don¡¯t know who I am." Ru¡¯s menacing voice put Adrian under a spell of goosebumps.

    "Who are you?" He asked vigntly as danger bells rang in his mind. Somehow, he had a feeling that he wasn¡¯t gonna like her answer at all.

    But Ru wasn¡¯t inclined towards answering him just yet. She twisted his arm, even more, making him shout in pain and said, "Wouldn¡¯t you love to know who I am? But I¡¯m not here for introductions."

    "Then why are you here?" He asked.

    "Why did you bring your fiancee to this cruise?"

    "Because she requested to tag along."

    "Hmph! It¡¯s not like you ever listen to her. What changed this time?"

    Adrian¡¯s eyes widened. "How do you know how I treat her?"

    "Forget that! And listen carefully, your fiancee spiked my boyfriend¡¯s drink and I recently also learned that she¡¯d had been pinning for him for a long time." Adrian was speechless to hear that. "Aren¡¯t you feeling degraded being her fiance?"

    It took him a minute to reply, "She always had a crush on my best friend. Not on your boyfriend. And besides, she¡¯s not my choice."

    "You bloody Brighter! Who do you think my boyfriend is?"

    "Ow! Go easy there tigress and how would I know who your boyfriend is? Unless your boyfriend is Zoran." When Ru stayed quiet in reply. The danger bell in his mind did a ding-dong. "Your boyfriend is Zoran?"

    "Why do you think I¡¯m here?" Her cross-questioning actually confirmed his fears and Adrian felt like screaming at the top of his lungs. He knew that girl was gonna get him in trouble one day.

    "Bloody Hell! She actually did that? To my best friend?" He was cursing his fiancee without even thinking. "By the way, shouldn¡¯t you be beating her? It¡¯s her fault. How am I being implicated?" He wasn¡¯t the least bit affected that she was nning on cheating on him. He was angrier because her target was still his best friend.

    Ru struck at the middle of his spine with her elbow making him grunt in pain. "It¡¯s your fault because you gave her ess to this cruise. It¡¯s your fault for having such a dumb and cheating fiancee. Andst but not least, I have a rule; I don¡¯t beat fragile, docile girls. They make me feel nauseated."

    "You¡¯re a girl as well," he pointed out.

    Ru cleared her throat and said, "But I¡¯m not docile or fragile!"

    "That I agree withpletely." He replied. "Now let me go and don¡¯t think I won¡¯t get back at you for this insult. I¡¯m Adrian Alister, you can¡¯t just beat me like this and walk away. Who gives you the right to do this?"

    "I¡¯m Quinn Knight. Does that name also ring a bell?"

    Adrian¡¯s face paled instantly, "Are you rted to Alev Knight?"

    "Guess?" Saying that Ru kicked his knee from behind making him fall on his knees. "I¡¯m warning you to keep a leash on your fiancee. I¡¯m not a very forgiving person."

    Adrian was scared by now. And even when she left him alone, he was left with a horrifying look thinking, ¡¯Why did his best friend have to date Alev Knight¡¯s rtive? Couldn¡¯t he date anyone normal?¡¯

    He rubbed his wrist which had turned red from her grip and was soon gonna leave a ck and blue bruise as a reminder. He got up and decided to deal with his stupid fiancee who really was courting death now. If she had a death wish, she was more than wee but why was she courting his death?

 Chapter 232 Godmother

    Ru hade out of Adrian¡¯s room with a very satisfied look. A sly smile was stered on her lips. There was no doubt that she was feeling really proud of herself. Not that it was anything shocking or something. After all, it¡¯d be shocking if one day Ru didn¡¯t feel proud of herself. But if Ru lost her conceitedness, she wouldn¡¯t the Ru everyone loves now, would it?

    Someone threw an empty soda can on her head and when she turned to re, she found one of those people whom she couldn¡¯t bring herself to beat. She could stab him in her mind and Blimey! Was it not just a spectacr sight to stab him bloody in her head?! But sigh... It was just in her mind.

    "Where are you lost? I called you three times already." Ru didn¡¯t reply to Jie¡¯s question. Her attention was on a little baby in his arms. "Where are youing from?" He eyed her suspiciously.

    "I had an itch in my hand, I just took care of that itch," Ru answered with her eyes still staring that little baby who kept his big eyes on her. Ru found those eyes too profound for someone aged two.

    Jie gave a mocking smile as he said, "Why don¡¯t you just say that you beat someone up?" Right at this time, Adrian came out of his room and when he saw the two people standing outside his room, he was stunned. But knowing that one of those people was Ru, he gulped visibly and made a run for his life. Jie looked at his running figure and pulled Ru¡¯s ear, "He was that ¡¯itch¡¯, wasn¡¯t he?"

    "YA! Let go of my ear first." Jie loosened his grip and she continued, "Well, doesn¡¯t he look like an itch? I had to take care of him." If only Adrian knew that Ru had turned him as insignificant as an itch. Poor Prince might have died from anger.

    Jie shook his head in distress. He really didn¡¯t know what to do with her. "Did your wife kicked you out of the room?" Ru spoke again as she looked at Jie¡¯s pajamas and a baby boy in his arms.

    "How did you guess that?" He asked with a strange expression.

    "Do I really have to guess? Your wife is too predictable. She¡¯s the typical wife. I pushed her towards anger, and she pushed you out of the room. But why is she punishing the kid with you?" Ru¡¯s eyes were still on that little baby in his arms, for some reason, she couldn¡¯t look away.

    "She¡¯s not punishing him. Our little Bao is the love of his mother." Jie spoke while lovingly stroking the head of his son who was named Zhu Bao. "But he can only sleep in my arms. That¡¯s why he is stuck with him. But then again as a son, he should have his father¡¯s back, right?"

    "Why is he staring at me?" Ru felt weird being under the scrutiny of a baby boy who was barely two and a half years old. Ru was feeling at the edge since there was a purity and innocence in those eyes that she couldn¡¯t deny. She had never been judged by such an angelic baby and before his angelic self, she really felt like a big bad demon.

    It seemed like the darkness in her heart was being challenged by the light in those big eyes. Strange world!

    "He¡¯s trying to get familiar with you," Jie replied and then asked in a cute tone to his son, "Right, Baobao? Don¡¯t you wanna know your Godmother who was invisible from the moment you were born?"

    Ru¡¯s face twitched but she really had no reply for her absence because everything she¡¯d say feels like an excuse. "Why don¡¯t you hold him?" Jie suddenly offered, taking a step towards her.

    Ru instinctively took a step back as she said, "What kind of a father are you? Aren¡¯t you worried about your only son? I might break him."

    Jie really had the urge to p her face now. "He¡¯s a boy, not a damn toy that would break in your hands." He gritted out, trying his very best to keep his temper in check.

    "Is there a difference? Don¡¯t you know, I love breaking people?" Ru retorted still keeping her distance.

    But Jie didn¡¯t give her a chance again, he directly pushed the little Bao into her arms. When Ru held him in her arms, she was feeling strange perhaps because Little Bao perfectly fit in her arms and even feltfortable. But his sparkling eyes didn¡¯t stop looking at Ru.

    "How is it feeling?" Jie asked smiling brightly. This picture of Ru holding a baby was rare. He knew that the only baby whom Ru held in her arms was her own brother and nobody else.

    "Awkward," Ru replied while Little Bao touched her face with his small but soft hands. They were so soft that Ru felt like a butterfly was caressing her face.

    "Just rx your muscles already," Jie said as he could see how tense Ru really was under his son¡¯s touch. Not that any of it was any surprise to him at all.

    "Why is he so quiet?" Ru suddenly noticed this fact. The little babies were always crying,ughing or babbling. But this milk bun in her hand was too quiet as if he was silently observing everything.

    Jie rubbed his forehead as he replied, "Don¡¯t even mention that. He¡¯s already two and a half but we have still not heard his first word. He¡¯s really well behaved but... It¡¯s disturbing that he doesn¡¯t even make the effort to talk."

    "Maybe he likes being quiet," Ru suggested and as she spoke, the milk bun in her hands ced both his hands on her cheeks and smiled. That toothless smile was dazzling and that was something Ru never expected she¡¯d say. "He doesn¡¯t look like you or Xu Mey," Ru spoke in a daze as she was still entranced by that little baby¡¯s smile.

    "I¡¯ve also noticed that. He only inherited my eyes. The rest is nothing like me or my wife." Jie agreed with her without even arguing this time. "Little Bao, that¡¯s your Godmother. You can call her Auntie Ru."

    Ru coughed at his words. "YA! Just because you became a father, don¡¯t pull me over to your senior citizen group. I¡¯m no Auntie. Look at me, does this handsome face even deserve to be tainted with a title of Auntie?" She snapped at him but seeing Little Bao¡¯s wide-eyed look, she softened her tone and her look, "Hey, little bunny! You can call me Ru. This young master allows you to just call me Ru."

    "You know, I¡¯m not a senior citizen either." Jie retorted.

    "Bloody-," with a cough again, she changed her sentence and said, "Don¡¯t get on my nerve. I don¡¯t wanna be rude to you before your little son."

    "How can someone be so infuriating?"

    "Exactly like I am," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Ruru..."

    Before Jie coulde up with a response, both Ru and Jie heard a very soft voice making them stunned. Jie looked at his son and asked, "Did he just said your name?"

    "Oh, so my mind is not hallucinating?" Ru¡¯s reply confirmed his suspicion and he was left withplicated feelings of wanting to cry andugh at the same time.

    "I¡¯ve been trying to make him say Dad for so long and he didn¡¯t even budge. Why did he say your name first?"

    "How would I know that?" Ru¡¯s response was nonchnt as she saw a small head lying on her shoulder now. "When Haoran was born, he also said my name first. And mom said that kids are born with a natural affinity. Kids can easily understand a person¡¯s sincere feelings towards them through the touch."

    Ru didn¡¯t know how but her hand lifted up and she stroked that tiny head on her shoulder with a loving look in her eyes. She felt a tingling feeling in her heart when she heard her name in that soft voice.

    "I¡¯m suddenly jealous of my own son, how weird!" Jie mumbled as he looked at the look on Ru¡¯s face. Although she had been very good to him, he could see that she was bewitched by his own son now.

    And her next words really proved him right as she said, "Little bunny, you grow up fast. This Godmother has a whole world to give you."

    "You never gave me the whole world," Jie grumbled in an aggrieved tone but for some reason, tears had brimmed in his eyes because of what she said to his son. He didn¡¯t know it before but today, his best friend really seemed extraordinary.

    He remembered she was the one who always used to say, "Do you know what I love about kids?" And when he would ask what, her reply would be, "The fact that they are never mine." And that was actually really funny to her. He never thought she was naturally so good to kids. One really couldn¡¯t judge someone so easily.

    "I already gave you your whole world," she replied calmly but he was left frowning.

    "Don¡¯t lie! When did you give me the whole world?" He asked.

    Ru looked into his eyes and smiled saying, "Your world lied in your wife and I gave her to you. Do you still have a doubt?"

    Her words left him speechless.

    Ru: 1

    Jie: 0

    End of story!

 Chapter 233 Losing This Play

    The little milk bun in Ru¡¯s arms was sleeping peacefully as if there really was no fear in the whole world. "He really is smart." Jie suddenly remarked looking at his own son.

    "Why do you think so?" Ru asked with a raise of her brow.

    "He found the most protected embrace. Isn¡¯t he smart?" Jie replied with a gentle look in his eyes.

    "Where is your daughter?" Ru asked.

    "She is a hyperactive kid. So, by now she¡¯s so tired that she¡¯d sleep as soon as she hits the pillow." Jie replied with an affectionate tone. Recalling something, he asked, "Why did you hit Adrian again? You didn¡¯t even wait and hit him directly in this female avatar of yours."

    "His fiancee was coveting something of mine. He had to pay for that," Ru¡¯s voice had a dangerous edge to it which Jie could feel clearly. But there was something else as well.

    "So, Xiao Zhiren is yours now?" He asked with an inconspicuous smile on his lips.

    "Of course, he¡¯s mine. Who dares to say otherwise?" Ru replied without even thinking and it brought a full-blown smile to Jie¡¯s face.

    "Aye, why am I feeling proud of seeing you growing up?" He wiped the non-existent tears dramatically and went on, "My Ru¡¯er has finally grown into a woman." He rubbed her head making Ru feel exasperated.

    "Are you done with the performance?" She asked looking at him with narrowed eyes.

    "Ahem!" He cleared his throat and nodded, "Certainly done."

    "Good. Then take your son before I kidnap him and run away." Ru gave Little Bao back to Jie but felt a tug at her shirt. She looked down to see her shirt was fisted in Little Bao¡¯s small hands. As she uncurled his fingers, she said, "He has a strong grip. Sigh... Take him away fast. My heart is swaying. I might really take him."

    Jie chuckled as he took Little Bao in his own arms and said, "Ru¡¯er, my wife won¡¯t go easy on you if you dared to touch her son."

    "Huh? She won¡¯t be able to find me in this life," Ru replied assuringly.

    "Don¡¯t underestimate the desperation of a mother for her child. It can shake heaven." When Ru didn¡¯t give him any reply, he was surprised. Ru started walking with him silently as she decided to walk him to his door.

    "Do you want me to knock down the door for you?" Ru asked standing before Jie¡¯s room which was at the far end from her own.

    "Nah! I can manage that myself. Also, I still remember how to pick a lock." Jie said confidently.

    "It¡¯s an electronic lock. You sure you can pick this one. It¡¯ll alert the security if you did anything wrong." Ru reminded him out of goodwill this time.

    "I won¡¯t be in trouble. The ship belongs to your family, why do I have to worry?"

    "You knew?" Ru asked wide-eyed.

    "Come on, you don¡¯t pay attention but I do. Of course, I know who owns the cruise ship." Taking a brief pause, he said, "Technically, you¡¯re the owner."

    Ru didn¡¯t deny his words but neither did she ept them as well. She didn¡¯t have the heart to deny and she didn¡¯t know whether she still had the right to ept as well.

    Seeing her lost, Jie asked, "Ru, how does it feel?"

    "What?" she retorted instinctively.

    "Love," he answered.

    Ru looked at the beautiful face of Little Bao as she spoke, "It feels just like life. I feel like I have a million emotions in my heart but when I actually want to talk about it... No word seems good enough. No emotion seems true enough."

    Jie silently listened to her answer and said, "Have you heard that the one who loves more always loses?" Ru nodded in reply and he went on, "That¡¯s what is simr between you and me. We both are the ones who are losing because of loving more."

    Ru was surprised to hear his reply. "I... I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the one who loves more." She denied itpletely but something in her heart said otherwise.

    "Ru, you never had a middle ground in life. Why do you think you can have a middle ground in love? You either love him way beyond your heart¡¯s capacity or you don¡¯t love him at all. And you know better than me on which track your heart is wandering on now." Jie said in a calm manner. His words weren¡¯t hurried and he wasn¡¯t scared to tell her what she was scared to ept herself.

    "Well, goodnight! I¡¯ll see you in the morning," Jie twisted the handle of his room and sure enough, it was unlocked as he said, "Isn¡¯t she cute for leaving the door open?"

    "She¡¯s certainly not cute throwing you out of the room," Ru retorted as she was irked by his words.

    Jieughed out softly trying not to wake his son as he said, "Ru, she¡¯s certainly not as cute as you are being all jealous just because someone coveted your Xiao Zhiren."

    "You!" Ru raised her hand to punch him but he had closed the door of his room. "Hateful!" Ru screamed at his door and turned on her heels to leave.

    She soon arrived in her own room and tip-toed her way in. She thought Xiao Zhiren was sleeping but she was proved wrong when she heard his voice, "Where were you?"

    Ru looked at the bed where he wasying on his back with his eyes closed. He really seemed like he was sleeping. Was he sleeptalking?

    "I was out for a walk," Ru replied nonchntly.

    "You¡¯re gone for two hours," he stated.

    "Was I?" Ru retorted skeptically. Obviously, she wasn¡¯t keeping a track of time.

    Hearing the silence in the room, he opened his eyes and looked at Ru who was preparing to sleep on the lounge floor. "What do you think you¡¯re doing?"

    "I¡¯m looking for a ce to sleep," she replied matter-of-factly.

    "What is wrong with the bed?"

    "It¡¯s too soft," she answered while shrugging her shoulders. "Go back to sleep. I might not be able to sleep anyway. So, it¡¯s okay for me to lie down anywhere. Your body needs recovering, you should rest."

    Xiao Zhiren gave her a thoughtful look as he said, "If anywhere is good to lie down then why not just lie down with me on the bed?"

    Ru looked at his face silently. Was it his favorite hobby to find loopholes in her words?

    "Don¡¯t want to," she said straightforwardly this time. Do you know how unsafe it was to lie down beside him on that bed? What if her inner beast woke up and she pounced on him? Who would take responsibility?

    Obviously, those were her excuses because if she really pounced on Xiao Zhiren, wouldn¡¯t he be over the moon?

    "Are youing yourself or should I pick you up myself?" Xiao Zhiren offered two options kindly.

    "Don¡¯t touch me or... I¡¯ll really throw you in the sea." Ru threatened as she saw him walking towards herself.

    "You want to throw me in the sea?" Ru nodded her head vigorously. "Okay. I¡¯ll grant your wish." Ru was still frowning trying to understand his meaning but he had already slid open the ss doors and really jumped down from the balcony.

    Ru was left watching wide-eyed. She was stunned but soon, her heart shook violently and panic rose in her being. She walked up to the balcony and was about to jump when she saw him waving at her from the balcony right below theirs.

    Ru didn¡¯t think and jumped down beside him andnded perfectly. She punched him without restraint as she shouted, "Have you lost your mind? How can you just jump? Something could have gone wrong. What were you thinking?"

    Xiao Zhiren held her wrist and looked into her eyes, "I was thinking how worried you¡¯d be to see me in danger. It seems you¡¯re really scared. Why is that?" He pulled her in his arms and continued, "Sorry for worrying you but you need to stop lying to me. If you care just say you care. Don¡¯t beat around the bush. It won¡¯t do any of us any good."

    Suddenly, Jie¡¯s voice rang in her mind, "We are the ones losing, Ru. No matter how we deny it. In the end, we are really lost by loving with all of what we have. Because our love doesn¡¯t see a timeline."

    Ru had a self-deprecating smile on her face as she thought, ¡¯So, Young Master Ru, this is what you amount to. A single man managed to make you lose even before your own will.¡¯ But for the first time, losing didn¡¯t feel so wrong. If anything it felt right. But why?

    That unreasonable voice in her mind whispered back, ¡¯Because he¡¯s just right for us.¡¯

    Ru didn¡¯t want to admit defeat but she still had to. This time the score was even.

    Ru: 1

    Jie: 1

    But how strange it was that both of them were defeated in this y of love.

 Chapter 234 Sad For You

    Love had always been known as the scariest and hardest pain to heal. Because love had been the pain from the start of time and yet we need love to heal that pain as well.

    Sometimes we love someone without even knowing it ourselves. And we love so deeply that the fear of that love buries itself deep in our soul. That¡¯s when we start denying our feelings because to us, only denying would help us ovee that fear.

    One can never be prepared for the loss of a loved one but how can we be sure that one can be prepared for love?

    Ru was that person who didn¡¯t know whether she was ready for love or not but she knew in her heart she had loved Xiao Zhiren for long. Perhaps longer than he had and that was something her heart was certain about.

    "What are you thinking?"

    With her back against his chest, Ru was lost in her own thinking. His voice had vaguely registered in her mind.

    "Do you think people are scared of love?" She asked distractedly.

    "Aren¡¯t they? You¡¯re also one of those people." He stated matter-of-factly while hugging her even closer.

    Ru shook her head lightly as she replied, "I¡¯ve never been scared of love. I just didn¡¯t know it until now."

    "Then what are you scared of?" He questioned as he nuzzled her hair.

    Ru turned her face to look at him as she said, "Loss." He frowned while she continued, "People are scared of that loss that love brings with itself."

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious that when people love someone they¡¯d be scared of losing that person?" He retorted feeling certain.

    Ru snickered softly, "Fear of losing the one we love can be scary but something else is even scarier than that."

    "What?"

    "Fear of losing ourselves." Xiao Zhiren stared at her fearful look. "We are often scared to lose the pieces that we offered to that one person whom we loved. Just like the fear of knowing that ¡¯good¡¯ in ¡¯goodbye¡¯ was meant for forever."

    Xiao Zhiren pinched her face saying, "Have your mind ever stopped thinking nonsense?"

    "I don¡¯t think so," she replied honestly. It wasn¡¯t like it was her fault that her mind was always wandering off.

    "Go to sleep," he said and closed her eyes with his hand.

    Ru also thought it was a good idea to close her eyes and shut her mind if she really could. Because there was a high chance that she was gonna get crazy with all those strange things running through her mind. Today had already been tough for her. epting so many feelings all at once wasn¡¯t an easy task.

    Then she even had to restrain herself from kidnapping a little milk bun. That was the toughest part for her. But knowing that she¡¯d only be offering darkness to that bundle of light was enough to dissuade her from acting upon her ns of kidnapping.

    She was feeling emotionally drained perhaps that¡¯s why she soon fell into a slumber. However, it was not a dreamless sleep for her yet again.

    [Ru found herself looking at a path that continued alongside the river. Under the azure blue sky, the path was lined with white cherry blossoms. And as the light breeze blew, the cherry blossoms fell like the first snow of winter. It was a beautiful sight. So beautiful that one might think it was part of a fantasy painting.

    A willowy figure of a woman was standing alone on that path. There was a white muslin cloth tied around her face while she wore a red and ck traditional Hanfu dress. The woman lifted her hand and caught a falling cherry blossom. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at that beautiful cherry blossom in her hand.

    "Why did you want to catch the cherry blossoms?"

    A male voice askeding right beside that slender woman.

    "Catching a falling cherry blossom makes your first lovee true. Haven¡¯t you heard?" The woman replied.

    "You actually believe in such stupid things?" The man retorted while blowing the cherry blossom away from her hand. "Your first love is standing before you already. It hase true."

    The woman looked dejected seeing how her cherry blossom was lost now. She punched the man¡¯s chest andined, "What did you do? What if you forgot me one day? That cherry blossom was to ensure that we end up together." She looked really aggrieved.

    The man hugged her from behind with his arms around her shoulders and said, "Even if I forget you one day, my heart won¡¯t. It¡¯ll always remember you. And I know that my heart will lead me to you even in next life." When the woman didn¡¯t answer him, he added, "Okay, I¡¯ll catch another cherry blossom for you."

    The woman stomped on his foot and said, "It doesn¡¯t work that way!" Saying that she lifted her skirt in an unnatural and not so elegant way before leaving him standing there all alone.

    "As I excepted, you only changed your clothes. Nature is still as violent as always." The man¡¯s voice from behind seemed like an echo that was suddenly lost.

    Slowly the scene before Ru changed and this time, she found herself on a cliff. What shocked her was the woman standing before her. She looked so familiar and yet so unfamiliar.

    With blood dripping down the side of her face, she looked like someone who was holding thest shred of her life desperately. There was a sword stuck right in the middle of her chest. And the one holding the hilt had tears pouring down his face.

    The man held her body in his arms and said, "Why did you do it? Our love was never wrong. You¡¯d always be my salvation."

    Coughing blood, she replied, "And you became my damnation."

    "We were meant to be soulmates," he reminded her.

    "And it was always bound to be a sad story." She coughed blood again.

    "Please, don¡¯t say that..." he cried.

    With her willpower, she lifted her hand and pushed him away as she said, "Thank you for waking me up from this dream I called love. This moment... I¡¯ll remember. If I ever crossed my path with you in any life. I wish my heart never beats for you again. Ever!" With that, she let her body fall backward where lied the deep valley of death.

    "Xiaoxue!" An agonized scream was the only thing left behind.]

    With thatst voice, Ru¡¯s dream was ended and she opened her eyes back to reality where she was lying still beside Xiao Zhiren. He had a peaceful glow on his face as he slept. She could hear his strong and steady heartbeat but instead offort, she felt an ache in her heart.

    What was it? She couldn¡¯t tell. The images in her dream were vague but she still remembered every word vividly. Why was it that she always had a strange dream whenever he was beside her? Ru slid out of the bed and ran out of the room to get some fresh air.

    The agonizing pain in her heart was making her feel suffocated. And the worst part was, she didn¡¯t even know why she was in pain.

    "Xiaoxue? Xiaoxue? Xiaoxue?" As Ru whispered this name, again and again, the ache in her heart increased in intensity. She felt tormented, tortured, injured, and heartbroken. "Who are you? And what do I have to do with you? Why is your name so painful to me? Just what are you? And why am I feeling sad for you?"

 Chapter 235 Renrens Bride

    Lost in her own world, Ru was standing on the deck with the early rays of sun falling softly on her face. The blue sky above her was an ever-changing art which looked beautiful with clouds and the sun that was wearing off the curtains of darkness slowly.

    The sea breeze was blowing her hair and providing some tranquility to her raging emotions.

    "Xiaoxue..." She repeated the name again as if tasting the sound of it on her tongue. Oddly, she could feel an affinity with this name as if it was really close to her. "¡¯Xiao¡¯ for ¡¯little¡¯ then which ¡¯Xue¡¯ is it? Xu¨¨ for blood? Xu¨¦ for acupuncture point? It could be Xu¨¥ for wormwood like grass..." Ru¡¯s mind was engaged in trying to figure out the name she heard in her dream. The scene of those white cherry blossoms falling shed before her eyes again and her eyes widened as she asked to no one in particr, "Is it Xu¨§ for ¡¯snow¡¯?"

    Lifting her hand, she ruffled her own hair, "Whatever! I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not gonna think. Aish! My brain is gonna explode now. Let¡¯s just stop thinking." With these words, she leaned back on the metal railing which was behind her. "It was just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream." She kept repeating to herself trying to make it sound more believable to her own mind.

    There was strange calmness in the air at this time of the day. Without any unnecessary noises, she was really feeling like she was all alone in the middle of the sea. And that idea wasn¡¯t as scary as it should have been.

    She turned around and ced her elbows on the railing. There was a swimming pool on the deck below hers which she could see clearly from her position. She didn¡¯t expect to see anyone up at this time but what she saw actually was a very heartwarming scene.

    A middle-aged couple was seated at a table of the cafe which was right beside the swimming pool. The man was feeding his wife himself. When she shook her head refusing to eat anymore, the man was coaxing her like a little kid. She couldn¡¯t hear their voices but she could see the love between them.

    What made this scene more heartwarming was the fact that she knew the couple. They were none other than Ji Yifeng and the woman she met twice in Ji Family whom she was certain about being Ji Yifeng¡¯s wife and Xiao Family¡¯s one and only daughter.

    Following that Ru saw Ji Yifeng saying something to the woman before leaving her there. Suddenly Ru¡¯s curious eyes met with that woman¡¯s skeptical ones. Both didn¡¯t look away as Ru felt like the woman was trying to recognize her but could she really do that when Ru was in female clothing? Although Ru wasn¡¯t sure, she was still surprised to see the sparkle in that woman¡¯s eyes as she stood up and started walking towards Ru.

    Ascending the stairs, she came close to Ru and looked at her face with the same curiosity as before. Ru was taken aback when the woman took her hands in her own and smiled at her.

    "Do... Do you know me?" Ru asked with uncertainty.

    "You have grown up so beautifully," the woman replied in a soft voice but her words put Ru in even more confusion.

    "I think you¡¯re mistaking me for someone else." There weren¡¯t many people who knew Ru was a girl this was why she was sure that the woman before her was mistaken.

    The woman shook her head as she replied, "I¡¯m not mistaken at all. You look exactly like your grandmother."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened considerably. ¡¯Grandmother?¡¯ Ru had no recollection of her grandmother. But what she did remember was the words her grandfather used to say, "You look just like your grandmother."

    If those words were not enough to shock her than the woman added more, "Except for your eyes which you got from your grandfather. Green... The color of life, renewal, and safety."

    Ru¡¯s muscles tensed up as she questioned, "How do you know me?"

    Before Ru could hear an answer, she heard a voice.

    "Zhi¡¯er!"

    Ru tilted her head and saw Ji Yifeng almost running up to her side. He held the woman in his arms and asked, "Why did youe here? I told you to sit there. I got so worried" The woman whom he just called Zhi¡¯er pursed her lips and refused to answer. Then he looked at Ru and said, "Sorry, Ms. Knight if my wife disturbed you in any way."

    Ru shook her head in negation absentmindedly.

    "Then we should leave," he said and both of them turned to walk away. They hadn¡¯t gone far when Ji Yifeng felt a tug on his shirt, he lowered his eyes to face the woman in his arms. "What is it? Do you want anything?"

    "Yifeng, I told you my Renren¡¯s bride is most beautiful."

    Ji Yifeng frowned slightly and said, "Xiao Zhi¡¯er, where did you see Renren¡¯s bride?"

    The woman named Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked back at Ru and smiled, "Isn¡¯t she over there? The one who shines even brighter than the sun."

    Ji Yifeng was stunned to hear her reply, "Zhi¡¯er, you must be mistaken. How can she be the bride that you chose? She¡¯s Quinn Knight."

    Xiao Zhi pouted and replied, "Don¡¯t you believe me anymore? She is my Renren¡¯s bride. And my Renren chose her himself."

    Hearing her aggrieved voice, Ji Yifeng nodded and cated her saying, "Yes, yes. You¡¯re right. She¡¯s the one. Now, let¡¯s go back to the room. You have to take your medicine as well."

    "I don¡¯t want to. Medicines are bitter. Yuck!" She refused acting like a spoiled kid.

    "But if you won¡¯t eat medicine, how will Renrene to see you? Don¡¯t you wanna see Renren?"

    Her eyes brightened up as she questioned, "My Renren wille to see me. You promise?"

    "I promise." He replied and looked back where Ru was standing a while ago with aplicated gaze. ¡¯If she really is the girl chosen by Zhi¡¯er and Renren, then Abbot Wang Xiuying was right. Fate is ying its game perfectly as always.¡¯ He mused to himself not knowing whether he was happy to hear this or not.

 Chapter 236 In Your Room

    There are certain things in life which can¡¯t be controlled by the will of a human. Just like Ru had no control over her keen senses anymore. Her reflexes or the observing habits had be a second nature of hers. It was so deep-rooted that even when Ru didn¡¯t wish to eavesdrop on Ji Yifeng and his wife, Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s conversation, she couldn¡¯t help it.

    Especially because a certain thing had caught her off guard. It struck her pretty badly.

    "Renren¡¯s bride?" Ru mumbled it as she walked back to her room. "Where have I heard this before?" She felt like she knew what they were talking about but since she couldn¡¯t immediately recall it, she was certain that it must be an insignificant memory in her mind. It was a new curiosity that led Ru to overthink.

    She had just entered the room again absentmindedly and was engulfed into a tight embrace. Ru was a bit taken aback and if she hadn¡¯t recognized Xiao Zhiren¡¯s natural scent, she would have definitely attacked him. It was a good thing that she had stopped beating him on instinct all the time. Poor guy had suffered enough because of her.

    She couldn¡¯t even remember how many times, she had hit him now. But see, he was still sticking to her, wanting nothing but to keep her in his arms. Where else could one find such an understanding boyfriend?

    ¡¯Huh? Boy what? Boyfriend?¡¯ Ru gulped as she mused, ¡¯Aiyo, looks like even my mind is ready to dere him as my boyfriend!¡¯

    Coming back to the present...

    She was stuck in his arms for a long time and he stayed quiet all the way. He kept stroking her hair and his grip didn¡¯t even loosen for a bit; as if she would disappear if he let her go. Ru did want to know what was wrong but being pressed against his body, she could hear his frantic heartbeat. What was it? Why did he seem so shaken up? She really couldn¡¯t tell but since he didn¡¯t talk, she didn¡¯t question either.

    She just lifted her arms and patted his back in a soothing manner. Slowly, she could feel his body rxing along with his erratic heartbeat. Woah! She had always been the one to make people¡¯s hearts shake in fear, it was quite rare for her to be the one to cate others.

    "Let me know whenever you¡¯re ready to let me go," she mumbled against his chest.

    Xiao Zhiren pushed her body enough to see her face and asked, "Where did you go? I was so scared when I didn¡¯t find you on the bed. Why did you leave without even telling me?"

    "Huh? So the reason why you look so shook up is my absence?" She didn¡¯t know whether she was asking that or stating it because in her heart she knew the answer. "Am I a little kid or something who will get lost? Or who has to take your permission even to breathe?"

    Ru didn¡¯t intend to speak so carelessly. At least, she didn¡¯t know she did until she saw the look on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face changing. He looked heartbroken by her words. So much for being the eloquent person! Why was she always saying the wrong things only to him? It was all her brain¡¯s fault that decided to shut down around him!

    Ru rubbed her forehead and spoke again, "You were sleeping. I couldn¡¯t just wake you up to tell you that I¡¯m going out for a walk. And I went for just half an hour or so. It¡¯s no big deal."

    "You could have written a simple note for me," he said with a heavy heart.

    "I remember writing two notes in life..." Ru started with a thoughtful look. "One was to inform my father that I¡¯m running away from home and the second was to you... to inform you that I¡¯ll remember your debt." Xiao Zhiren frowned as he listened not knowing where this was about to go. "In short, whenever I write notes to someone, they end up losing me. But if you want I can-"

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand over her lips to stop her frompleting her sentence as he said, "No need for a note. Just don¡¯t leave me. I don¡¯t wanna lose you again."

    Xiao Zhiren saw her staring at his face intently and asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Ru shook her head saying, "Nothing. Your answer was perfectly along the lines of what I thought you¡¯d say." She seemed really happy while saying this. The smile on her face waszy but bright and it shed all the haziness from Xiao Zhiren¡¯s morning.

    "If you kept smiling like that my heart won¡¯t be able to take it anymore."

    Hearing his words, Ru looked up at him questioningly, "What do you mean? I¡¯m not supposed to even smile?"

    "That¡¯s not what I mean..." He lowered his head to capture her lips with his own in a short but still passionate kiss as he said, "Your smile makes my heart skip a beat. It¡¯s very dangerous for my health."

    As if the fused lightbulb in her mind lit up as her eyes widened. "Now I know." She blurted out in a daze.

    "What?" He asked in confusion.

    "Why their words seemed so familiar." She eyed him suspiciously.

    "Love, you okay?"

    ¡¯Renren¡¯s bride? Isn¡¯t that the title I refused to take back then?¡¯ Her heart was going through a million emotions at this realization as she muttered to her, "I am the Renren¡¯s bride. Then..." She looked into his eyes and poked his forehead as she spoke, "You are Renren? Zhiren¡¯s Ren makes it Renren. Bloody Hell! I¡¯m losing this game from the beginning without even knowing it."

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand on her forehead and said, "You don¡¯t seem to have a fever. Did you take any wrong medicine? Why are you babbling nonsense?"

    Ru swatted his hand away and snorted, "Are you chewing gum or something? Why are you stuck to me from the beginning?"

    She squirmed out of his arms and walked towards the balcony for some fresh air and as she felt him following her, she said, "Stop following me. Do you think I can run from here?"

    "You can do anything and I believe if your mind really decided, you might even swim back." Xiao Zhiren replied in all honesty and Ru couldn¡¯t refute at all. She indeed wouldn¡¯t mind swimming back but only if she wanted to. She had no n of doing so right now.

    "Have some trust in me. I don¡¯t n on running." She again turned to leave but stopped and whipped around to face him with a ring look as she said, "I have already tried running from you twice. Look where it got me."

    "Where?" he asked innocently.

    Ru sighed heavily as she answered, "Right here, in your room."

    With that, she closed the balcony¡¯s door and sat down on the floor with aplicated look. Now that his words had triggered back her dusty memory from childhood, she was really confused. That memory wasn¡¯t insignificant as she had thought earlier. That memory was something she intentionally didn¡¯t think about.

 Chapter 237 As You Wish

    *shback*

    **18 Years Ago**

    Childhood is often defined as simplicity but it also means innocence. It¡¯s often filled with memories that one cherish for the rest of their lives.

    People could have contradicting views about Ru¡¯s childhood. Some might say it was tough on her. Others might disagree and say she had it very easy being born as the eldest of Xia n. But for Ru, her childhood was neither easy nor tough; it was just perfect.

    Back when her little pet snake - Xiao Hong - died, her grandfather sent her to Jingshen. She was under the care of Abbott Wang Xiuying as his disciple. Back then, she was only ten years old and she was left to copy hundreds of copies of scriptures.

    "Do you call it food? Is it even edible?" She was young but her voice had the same intimidation as it did yearster. She was never scared of confrontations and right now was involved in one again, "You made me write till my hands can¡¯t move and after that, you¡¯re giving me this?" She held a bowl in hand with disdain palpable on her face. "Look at this soup. It¡¯s nd and tasteless. This is worse than a ve would get."

    With his hands behind his back, Abbott Wang stood before her with a straight face. "Young Master Ru, in our Jingshen Temple every monk drinks the same soup."

    Ru stood up in the same posture as him and replied, "Does this Young Master look like a monk to you? Yah! Xiuying, I won¡¯t eat this."

    Abbott Wang¡¯s eyes narrowed considerably as he warned her, "Mind your words Young Master Ru. I¡¯m your elder. You can¡¯t address me by my name." Taking a deep breath, he smiled and continued, "And if you don¡¯t want to eat. That¡¯s up to you."

    Ru was left gaping as thest source of her food was gone as well. She was fuming mad as for who she was mad at she couldn¡¯t tell herself. She pped the wooden table in the room which broke into two under her assault and mumbled, "So much for being one of the richest kids in the world. I don¡¯t even have a single cent." She rubbed her hand over her grumbling stomach and lifted her hand to punch the door.

    However, her strike was stopped midway as the door opened and a hand took the blow of her punch without even flinching. Ru looked up at the smiling eyes of her Steward. "Uncle Shin, why did you stop me? Let me break this stupid door." Ru was fuming with an empty stomach.

    "I heard someone mentioning something like our Young Master Ru is too tired to even lift his hand. Now, here is Young Master Ru ready to wreak havoc. Isn¡¯t it surprising?" Steward Shin sounded m but he was very amused.

    "Uncle Shin, are you siding with that vile grandmaster Wang? How could you?" Ru spoke in an aggrieved tone. "My poor little Xiao Hong died and I¡¯m still upset about its death. You know only food can bringfort to my broken heart. Yet, you¡¯re siding with outsiders?"

    Steward Shin rolled his eyes at her and said, "Young Master Ru, you canin to Master yourself." He passed the handset in his hand to her.

    Ru snatched it from his hand and cautiously said, "Hello?"

    "Who put my evergreen son in such a bad mood?" Her father¡¯s voice came from the other side and left Ru stunned. But then came a gush of warmth in her heart which she was really missing.

    "Father!" Ru called out softly. "Where are you? When are youing back? Behind your back, grandfather put me here in Jingshen. I want to go home."

    "Hmm... Isn¡¯t Jingshen very peaceful for you?" Her father asked in a rxed manner.

    "I would rather go through your rigorous exercises. I don¡¯t like it here one bit!" She announced with certainty.

    She heard a soft chuckle from the other side, "Aiyo, my silly son. Why don¡¯t you honestly say that you don¡¯t like the food?"

    Ru pressed her lips together. There was no point in answering that, the answer was obvious for anyone. She didn¡¯t mind going through her father¡¯s strict ruling because he neverpromised on her food. In fact, he always brought the world delicacies just for her.

    "So, tell me; what would my son wish to eat?"

    "Mmm..." Ru thought about this seriously and answered, "I heard down the mountain, there is a famous shop in the town. I want to try their gluttonize rice cake soup."

    "Huh? That¡¯s it?" Ru reluctantly replied with a yes. "But I for one know that Jingshen also has a very famous kebab ce and steamed buns are also very good." Ru¡¯s mouth watered as she heard her father¡¯s words. "Wouldn¡¯t my son like to try all of that?"

    "Do you think I can bring myself to say no? Food is my weakness." Ru cried out.

    "My little glutton, then go out with your Uncle Shin. He¡¯ll buy you everything you want to eat."

    "Really?" Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately.

    "Really," the reply came.

    Ru waited for a minute before asking, "When are youing back?"

    "I¡¯ll be right by your side in a month. Wait for me at Jingshen. Father will take you home with himself." Ru¡¯s mood lifted up as she talked for another few minutes and hung up the call.

    Walking up to Steward Shin¡¯s side, she said, "Uncle Shin, let¡¯s go. We are going on a food trip." She patted his arm and went on, "Aren¡¯t you happy to hear that?"

    Steward Shin¡¯s reply was, "Are you sure you¡¯re not talking about yourself, Young Master?" When Ru eyed him, he added, "You look happier, that¡¯s why I was saying that."

    After that, Ru spent the next three hours on the streets of Jingshen Town. Back then, this was a small town with a very conservative lifestyle. However, Ru¡¯s food trip was a sess. From gluttonized rice cake soup to kebabs and from steamed buns to dumplings. She had a fill of everything.

    A little secret, the hand which was breaking after writing for consecutive 14 hours was not even tired while eating so much. It didn¡¯t even hurt. Trust me.

    When she came back to the Temple, it was already past 8. She had bought candied haws on her way up as herte-night snack. Well, Steward Shin didn¡¯t say anything but wasn¡¯t it obvious that those candied haws were gonna end up in her stomach sooner thante-night. But everyone knew about her huge appetite so it didn¡¯t surprise him.

    "Uncle Shin, you can go back to the room and report everything to my father in ease. I won¡¯t go anywhere at this time." Ru assured him with a solemn look. Leaning closer, she added, "But don¡¯t tell him I ate so much."

    "Young Master Ru, Master is most familiar with your appetite. He is the one who often cooks for you. Even though this humble servant of yours can lie but Master won¡¯t believe it." Steward Shin¡¯s voice was humble and polite.

    "Uncle Shin, how many times father told you to stop calling yourself a servant? Also, stop pretending. Do you think I don¡¯t know the reason why you¡¯re always sent along with me? You¡¯re father¡¯s spy and I really don¡¯t care about that."

    Steward Shin gave a small smile and said, "Young Master Ru is the smartest as always. Then I¡¯ll leave you now. Please, return to your room and have some rest."

    Ru watched him leave and heaved a sigh of relief. "Now, I can go to the waterfall at the back of the mountain and eat my candies haws there under the moonlight. Hehe..." Ru was lost in her schemes when someone bumped into her from behind and her candied haws fell down on the floor.

    Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck on her candied haws and she didn¡¯t notice the little boy who had fallen onto the floor as well. Apparently, he was the culprit who ruined her snack. She extended her hand longingly towards the fallen candied haws but the boy thought she was helping him. He held her hand and stood up saying, "Thanks for helping me. I tripped over something and bumped into you."

    Ru red at that bright-eyed boy and gritted out, "You ruined my candied haws."

    The boy only noticed the candied haws on the floor and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

    Ru clutched his cor and lifted him off the floor saying, "What should I do with your sorry? Can I eat it?"

    "It¡¯s just candies haws. Put me down!" The boy screamed as he realized his feet were off the ground. Clearly, between the two of them, he was the one who looked stronger. But he wasn¡¯t aware of the inner strength of Ru who wasn¡¯t raised like a pampered young master.

    "Put you down?" Ru looked around and the edges of her lips lifted up as she said, "As you wish!"

 Chapter 238 Despicable Weakling

    *shback Continued*

    Ru¡¯s ¡¯As you wish¡¯ was interpreted in apletely different way. The bright-eyed boy smiled thinking she was gonna ce him back on the ground. But he wasn¡¯t aware that this time, he was facing a devil who never did anything in a conventional way. If Ru could be defined as a normal one, wouldn¡¯t it be an insult to her prideful self?

    Sure enough, Ru didn¡¯t ce him down. She raised him over her head and overthrew his body. Where? On the ground? Naw! That might have broken his bones and she¡¯d easily be caught for that.

    So what she chose was...

    "Plop!"

    The sound of a heavy thing falling into the water was heard in the silence of the night. But this silence wasn¡¯t for long since...

    "Help! Save me! Help! I can¡¯t swim!" The boy cried out for help as he frantically moved his arms and legs.

    The cries of the boy fell on a deaf ear. Or perhaps, his voice got lost somewhere along the way while trying to travel out of the water well where she threw him. Well, who told him to mess with her food?

    Ru jumped on the brick wall that lined the well and walkednguidly in a circle. The screams of the boy continued and Ru tried to act like she couldn¡¯t hear him but she soon realized something was wrong.

    A silence had prevailed and she couldn¡¯t even hear any movements from the water.

    She plunged into the water and found the unconscious boy. She rolled her eyes since barely a minute had passed and he was out. Such a weakling! Her disdain for him increased a notch. She put him on her back, supporting his body with her one hand and held the metal hook of the rope with the other hand. It would have taken her half a minute to climb out of the well on her own but with an extra person on her back, she took 3-4 minutes.

    "What does he eat? Why is he so heavy?"

    Like a sack of potatoes, she threw him off of her back on the ground and took his pulse. "Still alive. Good." She mumbled to herself and continued, "For a second, I thought I went too far."

    She shook him and shouted, "Oi! Wake up! Don¡¯t be a baby." When she didn¡¯t get any response, she started the chestpressions. He coughed out some water and Ru sat back. "You¡¯re this big and you don¡¯t know how to swim?" That was her first words seeing him wake up.

    He was stupified by her words. Was it a crime that he didn¡¯t know how to swim? How would he know that his luck was not on his side and he¡¯d have to bump into a bully tonight?

    "You! How can you treat me like that? Do you know who I am?" The boy screamed at her face and in response, Ru yawned like she waspletely bored.

    "Like this Young Master care at all," was her nonchnt reply. She lightly squeezed the water out of her clothes. "And you started it first. One you ruined my candied haws and two, you even said that it¡¯s just candied haws. No one is allowed to insult my food."

    The boy poked her head with his finger and said, "Is there a loose screw in your head? How is food more important than my life?"

    Ru threw his hand away, "Hands off of me. Don¡¯t make me break that hand of yours as well."

    "How can someone be so unreasonable? You almost killed me!" He snapped at her in anger.

    "Trust me, you little weakling, I don¡¯t need a reason to kill you. Besides, don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the one who saved you as well." Ru seemed aggressive and the look in her eyes was dangerous.

    "I have never met a bully like you before," said the boy. "First, you did a mistake and now, you¡¯re trying to reason with me?"

    Ru kicked his knee making him hunch over to rub his knee. "You are mistaken, little weakling! I¡¯m not a bully. This Young Master prefer the term..." She leaned close to his ear and whispered in an eerie voice, "Devilishly Handsome Genius."

    The boy was spooked out of his wits because of her overwhelming sense of presence. He looked into her eyes. He felt like those ck orbs didn¡¯t match with her persona. Yes, she was wearing her colored lens as she did whenever she was out of her own state. However, he still found it hard to shift his gaze away from her.

    "Should I throw you back?" The boy shook his head on instinct and turned on his heels to run away. Ru snorted seeing him running like he had seen a ghost, "Such a handsome face I have and yet I scared him away. How weird!"

    Shrugging her shoulders she went back to her room.

    When the morning came around and Steward Shin went to look for her, he found Ru sitting outside on the stairs. "Young Master Ru, you didn¡¯t sleepst night?"

    "Uncle Shin, let¡¯s spend this day in silence. I really don¡¯t want to talk." Ru replied. She didn¡¯t n on looking for the boy who she metst night but she still saw him. He was following Abbott Wang Xiuying. "Aye, Uncle Shin!"

    "Yes, Young Master."

    "Who¡¯s the boy behind Xiuying?" Ru pointed in their direction and Steward Shin followed the direction of her finger. "You don¡¯t know?" She asked further when she saw him silently looking at them.

    "I do have some impression but I¡¯m more curious to know why Young Master Ru is interested in that boy? Also, didn¡¯t you just say let¡¯s no talk?"

    "Don¡¯t pay heed to my earlier words. And who said I¡¯m interested? That little thing ruined my candied hawsst night. I just want an act of thorough revenge. This vengeance is inevitable!" Ru¡¯s eyes burned with hatred.

    "Then I¡¯ll advise you not to touch him," said Steward Shin.

    "Why?" Ru frowned at him. "It¡¯s not like he or his family can challenge mine."

    "I agree that he or his family are no match for you. But he has a very special status." Ru¡¯s confusion was increased again.

    "Don¡¯t talk in riddles."

    "That young boy is the eldest son of the Ji Family," said Steward Shin.

    "One of those nine aristocrat ns?" asked Ru for confirmation.

    "Why do you keep forgetting that now only six ns are left? Three ns were extincted decades ago." Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to him since this had nothing to do with her. "However, his status is special because even though he¡¯s the eldest son of the Ji Family, he¡¯s chosen as the next sessor of the Xiao Family which is his mother¡¯s n."

    "Why is that so?"

    "Because that¡¯s what Master Wang Xiuying decided upon."

    "This Xiuying is always up to something," said Ru nonchntly. "Anyway, I still don¡¯t find his status any special. In fact, my desire for vengeance has gone up a notch now."

    "Young Master Ru, his mother¡¯s status is even more special."

    "What are you talking about? Uncle Shin, let¡¯s clear this in one go."

    Steward Shin sat beside her on the stairs and pointed at a woman who had joined that boy. "That woman is white clothes is his mother."

    "So?"

    "Her name is Xiao Zhi¡¯er. And she¡¯s your father¡¯s childhood friend." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as he borated.

    "She¡¯s the one Father told me about?" He nodded in response. "She is the one just like a sister to my Father?" He nodded again. "Let¡¯s forget the revenge part. Don¡¯t tell Father about it at all."

    "If you won¡¯t act upon your schemes, I won¡¯t say a word to Master."

    But his reassurance didn¡¯t do any good to Ru. Especially, because she saw Abbott Wang Xiuying, Xiao Zhi¡¯er and that young boy walking in her direction. She was reminded of how she almost really killed that boyst night. And it made her gulp visibly.

    Of all the people, why did that weakling have to be the son of my Father¡¯s best friend? If he got to know what I didst night, Father might get angry. Might? No, no. He will definitely be angry. Did that boy really tell everything? Well, he looks like a tattletale anyway.

    "Young Master Ru, some events ofst night hase into my attention."

    Hearing Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice, Ru cursed that boy in her mind. See, he really was a tattletale! Such a despicable weakling!

 Chapter 239 A Lone Star

    Ru had figured that she was already doomed. However, there was no harm in prolonging this situation, was there?

    "What are you talking about, Xiuying?" Ru replied feigning perfect ignorance as ifst night¡¯s events had nothing to do with her at all.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying stared at her face as he said, "Why do I have to remind Young Master that he can¡¯t call me by my name?"

    Ru stood up from the stairs and dusted off her clothes while walking down. "If you say so, Yingying." Seeing the look of Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s face she added, "Don¡¯t like it? How about Xiao Ying? No? Ying¡¯er? This won¡¯t do as well? Then... Ah-Ying? Come on, choose one already." She turned to look at Steward Shin and asked, "Uncle Shin, don¡¯t you think Yingying sounds better?"

    Steward Shin was having difficulty in keeping a straight face. Only his Young Master would dare to talk so impudently with Abbott Wang Xiuying. "If Young Master finds it better than how can I say otherwise?"

    "Xia Shin!" Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice made Steward Shin take a step back. "Young Master Ru, don¡¯t try to shirk away from the responsibility. Why did you bully this young manst night?"

    Ru gave a forced smile as she rolled her eyes, ¡¯See, he is a tattletale! I should have left him in the wellst night. Goodness is amount to nothing in this cruel world.¡¯ But controlling her urges to throw that boy back in the well, she said, "He started it."

    "Are you sure about that?" Another question was thrown her way.

    "Absolutely!" she replied with resolve. "He messed with my snacks. So, I messed with him. One should not forget that every action brings consequences. If he dared to ruin my food, why wouldn¡¯t I dare to touch him?"

    "Young Master Ru, did you already do something to him?" Steward Shin asked leaning close to her.

    Ru nodded her head and said, "Yup. I threw him in the well." She heard a gasp and looked at the woman standing silently behind the boy. Steward Shin was looking back at her wide-eyed. "But in my defense, I didn¡¯t know that he can¡¯t swim. I mean look at him, in this wild wicked world, he still doesn¡¯t know how to swim. Hence it¡¯s proved that I didn¡¯t bully him, he gave me the opportunity to do so."

    Steward Shin had the urge to give her a round of apuse for this reasoning. Young Master Ru and his excuses never get old. They only get amusing. However, others were having different thoughts than him.

    "I could have died!" The boy shouted at her.

    "Then you should be thanking me instead since I saved your sorry little as..." With a cough, she left her words halfway before continuing again, "Your sorry self! Yes. That¡¯s the correct word."

    "You!" The boy was hopping mad by now because of her unreasonable self.

    "Renren, that¡¯s enough." Ru heard a soft voice and looked closely at the woman who spoke up.

    "But Mum..."

    "No more," she warned and the young boy had to nod his head. "Master Wang, I believe you and I shouldn¡¯t get involved in children squabble."

    As she spoke, Ru¡¯s attention waspletely on her face. The woman although beautiful looked very pale. She observed her from head to toe and ran back inside the room. When Ru came back, she had a wooden chair in her hands which she ced down beside the woman and said, "You should sit down. In your condition, it¡¯s not healthy to stand for too long."

    Abbott Wang Xiuying had a small smile on his lips as he saw her actions while the woman was pleasantly surprised by her. "Young Master Ru, why don¡¯t you takedy Xiao¡¯s pulse." Abbott Wang Xiuying suggested and Ru nodded.

    "May I?" Ru asked for permission as she looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "You may," she replied while extending her hand towards Ru. Xiao Zhi¡¯er saw Ru scowling and smiled before looking at Steward Shin, "Shin, would you mind taking my Renren back to the room?"

    "Sure, Lady Zhi¡¯er," Steward Shin held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand and took him away.

    "Don¡¯t mind my words but..." Ru pulled back her fingers from her delicate wrist and said, "Are you out of your mind? Why else would you choose to go along with this pregnancy?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er stayed quiet and allowed Ru to talk. "You are eight months pregnant but you don¡¯t look like it at all. Instead of gaining weight, you¡¯re losing it. At this rate, both you and the fetus will be in danger during the delivery. But since you¡¯re here to meet Grandmaster Wang, I think you are aware of this already. Didn¡¯t someone tell you to not go along with this pregnancy?"

    "They did. Everyone told me that I should get an abortion but I can¡¯t do it." This response from Xiao Zhi¡¯er irked Ru.

    "You do realize that even if you survived through this pregnancy, your condition might worsenter on. Not only that, but there are also chances that even with all your efforts, this fetus might die." Ru¡¯s words were direct even at that age, she didn¡¯t care how her words might hurt others.

    "You talk like your father," Xiao Zhi¡¯er replied with a smile. "He also yelled at me when I told him that I¡¯ll take my chances with this baby." She rubbed Ru¡¯s head and added, "Even your overbearing personality is just alike. No wonder I find you so interesting."

    "You¡¯re my father¡¯s best friend and that¡¯s why I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. I don¡¯t find your choice to be a wise one. Abandoning your own life for an unborn baby is really ridiculous."

    "My baby is a part of me, how can I just abandon him? That¡¯s the hardest thing to do for a mother."

    "This is not your first child, is it?" Ru asked.

    "No, it¡¯s my third."

    "Then why are you abandoning your two children for the sake of saving the one who has yet to open his eyes in this world?" Ru really couldn¡¯t understand this choice.

    "Little Ru, the reason why I can¡¯t abandon this child is that he has yet to see this world. How can I give up on him?"

    Ru didn¡¯t stay to chat anymore, she gave a nod to both Xiao Zhi¡¯er and Abbott Wang before turning to leave. She felt like her mind will explode if she stayed any longer.

    "Don¡¯t mind her words, Ru has been raised as a brutally honest person. Even if she hurt your feelings, she won¡¯t even know it herself," Abbott Wang Xiuying spoke up for Ru as he looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "Master doesn¡¯t have to exin anything to me. Zhi¡¯er knows how the Xia Family rules and regtions are like. In fact, I find her to be a breath of fresh air." Xiao Zhi¡¯er spoke with affection in her voice. "I still would like her to be my daughter-inw."

    "You¡¯re still not giving up on that? Even when you know that Ru is born with aplicated identity." Abbott Wang Xiuying reminded her.

    "Her special identity doesn¡¯t really faze me." Xiao Zhi¡¯er replied nonchntly.

    "Don¡¯t forget she just tried to kill your son."

    "No. She wasn¡¯t trying to kill him. She was trying to teach him a lesson and when she realized that he couldn¡¯t swim, she was the one who saved him as well. Her presence can at least make my son realize that he can¡¯t get everything on a silver tter. Sometimes, he¡¯ll have to fight for himself as well."

    "Zhi¡¯er, I won¡¯t ask you to give up this idea but let me warn you..." Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked at Abbott Wang Xiuying, "Their stars have entwined for longer than you can imagine but they are still apart. And if they are apart that means, the universe doesn¡¯t want to see another sad ending."

    "Master, keep your riddles to yourself. One day when my Renren really falls for her, I won¡¯t listen to you at all." Xiao Zhi¡¯er announced haughtily before leaving him.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying shook his head as he whispered, "Ru holds grudges like no other. Zhiren has a heart of gold. They both are born with a lone star. Sigh. This conspiracy of fate is seemingly inevitable. I wonder if it¡¯s bounded for another sad story."

 Chapter 240 Smile Not Needed

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had always been the kind of person who would never change her opinions based on what others say. In fact, it was right to say that she didn¡¯t believe in the crowd¡¯s opinion. ording to her, she had her own brain to make a judgment, why should she listen to others when she still had the ability to think for herself?

    That was the reason why she was so straightforward with Xiao Zhi¡¯er. She knew that her words might get her in trouble with her father since Xiao Zhi¡¯er was just like a sister to him but even with this knowledge, she couldn¡¯t help but say what she thought to be right.

    With a knife in her hand, she was sharpening a wooden stick while she sat on a tree¡¯s branch. She had been sitting here to avoid seeing Abbott Wang Xiuying. She knew that old man would nag again. So, it was better to avoid him for a while.

    She had specifically chosen this spot behind the mountain where the waterfall was. The sound of the waterfall was really rxing.

    While she was enjoying herself in the silence, she heard some noises and looked down. The scene before her made her frown in disdain again.

    Why?

    Because not far from her, some local boys were teasing Xiao Zhiren. Seeing how he was again being bullied, she was really disappointed.

    "I heard this city boy is very rich," one of the little hooligans said.

    "Look at his soft skin. Isn¡¯t it softer than a girl?" The group of six boys guffawed at this remark.

    "Let me go. My security team will not go easy on you all." Xiao Zhiren tried to scare them and it made themugh even more. But they weren¡¯t alone. Even Ru hadughed at his words. If this was his way of threatening, Ru really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    However, she didn¡¯t make any attempt to help him. She was silently getting amused to see that race of cat and mouse between them. Six of those hooligans couldn¡¯t even catch a little boy. Ay, it was such a shame! But she had to agree that even though Xiao Zhiren had no knowledge of martial arts, his body was really agile.

    He was easily escaping from them but he seemed lost. He had been running in circles which showed that he didn¡¯t know the way back.

    Finally, when he was caught and one of those boys was going to hit him, that¡¯s when Ru moved. She held the hand of that boy stopping his attack and said, "I hate noisy people." With that, she squeezed the hand and the boy cried out in pain as a bone-crushing sound could be heard.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised to see her there and he didn¡¯t even dare to squeak out. And what followed was a stunning show of one-sided beating. The sound of bones breaking could be heard clearly which could make one shudder. Xiao Zhiren was stunned to his ce even when those boys ran away to save themselves. Well most of them limped their way back.

    "Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?" Ru questioned looking at the stunned Xiao Zhiren. "You¡¯re not a kid. How can you still let people bully you?"

    "Didn¡¯t you bully me as well?" Xiao Zhiren asked pointing at her usingly.

    "Ehem!" Ru cleared her throat and said, "That¡¯s different. I had a genuine reason for doing that. As for those boys, they wanted satisfaction out of your fear."

    Saying that she started trecking her way back up the mountain while Xiao Zhiren followed closely behind. "Why did you help me?"

    "Who said I helped you?" Ru retorted back. "Their loud voices got on my nerve," was her excuse as she added, "Why are you following me?"

    "Because I don¡¯t know the way back," he answered honestly.

    "Little weakling," Ru muttered with a shake of her head.

    Xiao Zhiren wanted to say something but his words turned into a scream as his foot slipped and his body lost momentum. By the time Ru looked back at him, his body was already falling down. Ru sighed out before jumping right after him.

    Down the small cliff was the waterfall which was Ru¡¯s favorite spot in Jingshen. Who knew she would have to jump in the water again to save that little weakling again. She could have let go but knowing how he was the son of Xiao Zhi¡¯er, she had to sort her priorities all over again.

    Xiao Zhiren was moving his arms and legs frantically in the water even when Ru held his waist, he didn¡¯t stop moving. She pped his face to wake him up and said, "Stop exaggerating. You¡¯re not dying! The water is not even deep enough."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her with resentment but stayed quiet. She helped him out of the water and felt like an idiot for helping him again. He was the trouble ma for sure!

    "How can you really not know how to swim? Is it that tough?" She snapped him while she pulled the long hairpin out of her hair. Her shoulder-length hair fell down.

    Xiao Zhiren was shivering as he replied through chattering teeth, "It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t try to learn how to swim. I¡¯m just scared of water."

    Ru looked at him weirdly and scowled, "What¡¯s there to be scared about?" She felt a sting in her eyes and felt like rubbing it. With the help of her pinky fingers, she took her lenses off and sshed some water in her eyes.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her green eyes and was left mesmerized. In a daze, he replied, "There is nothing to be scared of except for the fact that whenever I¡¯m in deep water, my heart starts hurting. It aches like it¡¯s breaking into pieces."

    Ru frowned at his reply and said, "That doesn¡¯t make sense. Do you have a trauma or something?"

    She took off her outer robe to squeeze the water out when she heard his reply, "Not sure about the trauma. The only thing I can remember is my nightmare where I always end up seeing someone drown in water."

    "That¡¯s just a dream. Why are you taking it so seriously?" Ru questioned indifferently. "If every dream turned into a reality, I¡¯d be a fairy with wings by now."

    "Are you sure, it¡¯s not devil with wings?" He questioned as he turned to look at her and was left dumbstruck. Her back was facing him while she tried to dry her robes. What left him dumbstruck was the white bandage around her chest. He immediately turned around and shouted, "Hey, how can you just take off your clothes?"

    He was in shock to know that she was a girl. A GIRL! He felt like hitting himself. How can he be bullied by a girl? But when he thought about it, he realized she wasn¡¯t a normal girl. So, he shouldn¡¯t be this embarrassed.

    Ru looked at him and her brows snapped together again, "What¡¯s gotten into you?"

    "Put your clothes back on," he screamed.

    "Don¡¯t yell at me! I¡¯ll really drown you in the water for real this time!" Ru¡¯s voice had a sharp edge while she wore her long robes back on and tied the belt. Thinking of something, she went close to him and poked his head saying, "Are you shy?"

    Xiao Zhiren stepped back and said, "You! Why are you so careless and carefree? Don¡¯t go around taking your clothes off anywhere."

    "Little weakling, why are talking like my father?" Ru had a thoughtful look on her face. The same words she had heard so many times from her father were said by him now. But she was never given a reason why. "I just wanted to dry my clothes, it¡¯s nothing to get so worked up about."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face closely and couldn¡¯t stop himself from staring. He could see she was younger than him but he couldn¡¯t find that childlike impression on her face. The expression of her face was serious that didn¡¯t suit her age at all. But her eyes made everything seem just right. They were so profound that he felt himself losing in that pair.

    On instinct, he lifted his hand and touched her head and asked, "Do you know how to smile?"

    Ru swatted his hand away saying, "That has nothing to do with you."

    "I just think you¡¯ll look beautiful with a smile on your face," he replied with a small smile.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders saying, "Aiyo, this Young Master is born handsome. A smile is not needed."

    Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips as he thought about her words, ¡¯Young Master? I really don¡¯t think so! But handsome? I can agree with that part.¡¯

 Chapter 241 Love Or Guil

    *shback Continued*

    To be honest, Xiao Zhiren had assumed things back then. Ru was only ten at that time and had no clue about her own gender yet. The bandage around her chest at that time was because of the wound she had on her chest. But she didn¡¯t have a single clue that her gender was disclosed so easily because of that.

    In theing weeks, Ru had spent hours teasing Xiao Zhiren. Or calling it bullying would be fair. Because he was always the one ending on the ground with a sore back. But when she wasn¡¯t spending time with him, he would always get moody.

    Over time, unknowingly, they grew close within a month and he started calling her ¡¯little bean.¡¯

    "Little bean, do you know my mum has chosen Renren¡¯s bride."

    They were sitting on the stairs together when Xiao Zhiren announced that.

    "Good for you, little weakling," Ru had replied indifferently not paying much heed to his words. "I hope she¡¯s stronger than you. At least, someone will be there to protect you."

    "She is very strong." He replied with a mischievous smile.

    When she didn¡¯t react, he was upset. He tapped her shoulder and said, "Can¡¯t you stop ying with other kids?"

    "ying? When did I y with other kids?" Ru asked with a frown. She never had any friends to y with. For her, the definition of ying was very different.

    "The other day you were hanging out with those four boys from the town," Xiao Zhiren grumbled unhappily.

    Ru put some stress on her memory and replied, "I wasn¡¯t hanging out with them. This Young Master was giving them some pointers."

    Xiao Zhiren held her sleeve and said, "I don¡¯t care. Even if you want to beat someone, just do that to me. Don¡¯t go to other kids."

    Ru looked at him like an idiot and said, "So, if I want to jump from a cliff would you apany me?"

    He thought about it for a second and nodded, "Yes, I will. I will do anything for you."

    "Why?" Ru asked on impulse.

    She had yet to hear his answer when Steward Shin¡¯s voice was heard, "Young Master Ru, Master is here."

    Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up and a smile curled her lips beautifully. Xiao Zhiren was left blinking at that new expression on her face.

    "Father is here? You¡¯re not messing with me, are you?" She asked to reconfirm.

    "No one dares to mess with you. Master is really here." Steward Shin replied honestly.

    Ru jumped up from where she was sitting and tugged at his sleeve, "Tell me, where is he?"

    Steward Shin smiled at her impatience and said, "Rx. He¡¯s with Master Wang right now. I¡¯d say you should clean up yourself before seeing him."

    Ru looked down at her clothes which had some dirt on it and said, "This Xiuying is really unbearable. Why is he taking up my father¡¯s time? So hateful! I¡¯ll ask father to get justice for me. Hmph!"

    Muttering to herself, she turned to walk towards her room when Xiao Zhiren stopped her. "Can you not smile like that at others?"

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Oi, little weakling, are you that confused in life? You¡¯re the one who kept saying that I should smile. Now, you just changed your mind so easily? Get your thoughts straight!"

    "I know," Xiao Zhiren stated. "But your smile just made my heart stop for a second. Now, I think if my heart can skip a beat then your smile is really dangerous for others as well. So, don¡¯t even smile at others." He looked worried as he kept mumbling, "What if others fell for you as well? I¡¯ll have so muchpetition. I don¡¯t want that. No, no."

    "You have lost your mind!" Ru bumped into his shoulder on purpose before walking past him.

    Meanwhile...

    Inside Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s room, Xiao Zhi¡¯er was standing in front of him with a man standing beside her.

    "Xia Longwei,dy Zhi¡¯er wants to betroth her son to your family¡¯s Ru." Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice was soft and calm as he stared at the man standing beside Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "Erm... I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the position to decide that," Xia Longwei answered inly.

    "Brother Long, are you serious? You have always treated me like a sister and you never refused to give me anything. Why are you suddenly backing out of this?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er spoke with discontent and anger.

    "Zhi¡¯er, you really are like my sister. But Ru will always be more important to me. I really can¡¯t decide something like this for her," Xia Longwei¡¯s texture and emotions were just like Ru¡¯s. There was no impatience or anger. He was calm and serene. But his words and tone had the intimidation of the leader that he was. Naturally, Ru had inherited a lot from him.

    "I don¡¯t care. Both kids like each other anyway," Xiao Zhi¡¯er announced as she sat down on the chair.

    "My Ru and like someone?" Xia Longwei raised his brow amusingly. When Xiao Zhi¡¯er frowned at his response, he added, "Sorry, but I think you¡¯re mistaken. My Ru had yet to learn how to like herself. How can she like anyone else? Her own gender is a mystery to her. Are you telling me that kind of person can actually like your son?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er gasped, "You still haven¡¯t told her that she is a girl?" Seeing him shaking his head, she added, "Have you gone mad? Brother Long, how can you even do that?"

    Xia Longwei pointed towards Abbott Wang Xiuying who was sipping on his tea and said, "Ask him. He¡¯s the one who said she should live like a boy."

    "Master Wang, what are you ying at?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er shifted her discontent towards him.

    "I¡¯m not ying at anything. I¡¯m just trying to keep her alive in this world where her identity in itself is a curse for her. Apart from that, I was trying to protect her from the sins that have followed her through time and space. I believed that if she lived like a boy, she would not catch the attention of the love that wasn¡¯t written as hers. But... Sigh. It seems I was wrong." He shook his head as he mumbled, "She still ended up right beside him."

    He pulled out two birth charts from the drawer of his small desk and said, "Do you both remember what I told you about your children?"

    "Master said that Ru is born with a shadow of the lone star looming over her destiny. The oue of that can only be decided by herself." Xia Longwei stated word for word of what he recalled from his memory.

    Abbot Wang Xiuying looked Xiao Zhi¡¯er and she said, "Seeing that birth chart, you said that my Zhiren had a rare trait. There is a name etched on his heart and his destiny. No matter where he goes, his heart will only beat for that one. Either out of love or guilt, it¡¯s yet to be decided by him."

    "Do you find any simrity there?" Abbott Wang Xiuying asked and both of them shook their heads. "There is no simrity indeed. Ru is like a lone wolf and Zhiren is the opposite of that. But their connection can¡¯t be denied. They both are each other¡¯s worst pain."

    "What is Master implying?" Xia Longwei asked with worry etched on his face.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying smiled at him and gave both of them a string of red thread. "Give this to both of them. Their invisible red thread is too tangled up. This one might help them in finding each other."

    "Are you actually agreeing to this proposal?" Xia Longwei kept looking at the thread in his hand with confusion.

    "You and I both don¡¯t have a say in this. If they really found each other, then that really is the fate meant for them." Xiao Zhi¡¯er was quite oblivious to their meaning but Xia Longwei understood it very well.

    It seemed like even if he saved her from the curse of her identity, he might not be able to save her from destiny. There was a lingering fear in Xia Longwei¡¯s heart. What Ru meant to him was something he couldn¡¯t say in words. Ru wasn¡¯t just a son or daughter, she was his pride. All of his strength came from her. He clutched that red thread in his hand and closed his eyes, how was he gonna watch her hurting herself?

 Chapter 242 So What?

    *shback Continued*

    "Brother Long!" Xiao Zhi¡¯er kept calling Xia Longwei but thetter was lost in his own thoughts. When she finally managed to catch up with him, she held his arm. "Brother Long, are you still upset with me?"

    Xia Longwei looked at her and his dazed eyed found their focus back. "Why? Should I actually throw a party that our Zhi¡¯er is throwing her own life away for an unborn child?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er seemed aggrieved to hear his harsh words, "Can¡¯t you be a bit nice to me?"

    "I can either be honest or nice. And being the head of my n, I prefer being honest." That overbearing tone and straightforward words were just like him and Xiao Zhi¡¯er didn¡¯t mind it all. She was familiar with his nature.

    She sighed out, "No wonder Ru is just like you. Even at this age, she has your sharp tongue. Why do you both even think alike?"

    "Because Ru is my son," he replied with a prideful look on his face.

    "Is she?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er retorted but her eyes widened as she realized what she just said. She looked at glowering Xia Longwei and tried to cate the situation, "Brother Long, I mean she can¡¯t be a son. Even though you raised her like one. But Ru is still a girl."

    Xia Longwei took a long breath and said, "Zhi¡¯er, I never questioned your decisions. But I have always treated you like my own sister. Are you willing to give up on your two sons for this unborn child?"

    "I¡¯m not giving up on anyone. Brother Long, there is still a ten percent chance that both I and my baby will be absolutely fine." She replied caressing her protruding belly with an affectionate look in her eyes. "You¡¯re the one who taught me that light at the end of the tunnel is better than no light at all. Then how can you not believe in this little hope of ten percent?"

    "Mum!" Xiao Zhiren ran up to her side and clung to her.

    "Renren, greet your uncle. He is mum¡¯s best brother."

    Xiao Zhiren hesitantly bowed and said, "Xiao Zhiren pays respects to uncle."

    Xia Longwei looked at him with a profound look and was only jolted awake from his thoughts when he heard his most favorite sound in the world, "Papa!" He turned around and saw his Ru running towards him. Her breathing was uneven when she stopped right in front of him. Cupping her fist, she said, "Ru greets father."

    Xia Longwei kneeled right before her and said, "This greeting was a bit nd. Seems like our Ru didn¡¯t miss father as much father missed Ru."

    Ru wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Ru missed papa. More than Ru can put in words."

    Xia Longwei rubbed her head and kissed her head like always. Before standing up and extending his hand towards her. Ru ced her hand in his and he said, "Let¡¯s go then. Father is gonna buy everything for his Ru." Ru nodded and walked right by his side. "I heard my Ru didn¡¯t try the steamboat. Shall we go there first?"

    "Yes, absolutely!" Ru replied excitedly.

    Later while picking the food for her, Xia Longwei started, "Ru!"

    "Hmm..."

    "What¡¯s most precious to you?" He asked.

    "You," Ru answered without missing a beat.

    He shook his head at her and flicked her forehead, "I am asking about a thing. Any material thing that you always keep by your side."

    "Oh..." Ru nodded her head in realization and pulled off the pendant from around her neck saying, "This. I always keep this with me. As papa once said, this pendant is the answer to my existence. So, I always keep it by my side."

    Xia Longweir passed that red thread to her and said, "Then keep this thread with the pendant. Don¡¯t ever lose it."

    "What is this for?" She asked blinking her eyes at him in confusion.

    "This is a promise. And my Ru does know how we Xia men take our promises very seriously."

    "We do," she replied with conviction.

    He rubbed her head and said, "Then keep this promise for father. Although it¡¯s a promise of a lifetime, I¡¯m not certain if it¡¯s good for you or not."

    "If father wants me to keep this, Ru will protect it with life," was her answer.

    "I know you will. But I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m scared of that." He mumbled more to himself but Ru heard his words clearly. However, she couldn¡¯tprehend his meaning. "Aish! That Xiuying ruined my mood with his destiny talk."

    Steward Shin chuckled out softly at his remark but noticing two pairs of eyes on him, he stopped himself. "Apologies Master."

    "Leave the apology. I don¡¯t need it. It¡¯s not like we can eat it." Xia Longwei¡¯s words made Steward Shin smile again. "Why did youugh, Shin?"

    "Because..." he looked between Ru and Xia Longwei before saying, "Master and Young Master are really one of a kind. Seeing you both anyone will say, like father like son."

    "Isn¡¯t that supposed to be this way? Ru is my son, he should be like me." Xia Longwei replied and Ru nodded along enthusiastically. Turning to her, he said, "That boy from earlier, I heard he is your good friend."

    Ru snorted, "No way. How can Young Master Ru even like someone like him? He is such a little weakling and crybaby. He even tattletale on me. That Xiuying made me work because of him again." Looking at her father, she even added, "I was not even at fault."

    "Young Master, you threw him in the well," Steward Shin reminded her out of goodness of his heart,

    "So what?"

    "So what?"

    Both Ru and Xia Longwei asked simtaneously as they looked at him with the same expressions. Steward Shin was left speechless. Definitely, there was no one who could win between Ru and her father.

    When Ru rted the whole incident to her father in detail, instead of rebuking her, he praised her saying, "As expected of my Ru. There was nothing wrong with what you did. How can he even mess with my Ru¡¯s candied haws?"

    "Master, Zhiren could have died," Steward Shin again pointed out even though he knew it would be of no use.

    "But he didn¡¯t die. Did he? My Ru saved him as well. Also, what kind of an eleven-year-old doesn¡¯t even know how to swim?" Xia Longwei was all the way Team Ru. There was no way he was gonna let anyone else lecture his Ru.

    His Ru already had it tough within Shadowwick State, how could he let her be wronged outside of his state?

    *End of shback*

 Chapter 243 Crazy In Love

    Feeling the sea breeze on her face, Ru had a soft smile on her face. Those were some really old and dusty memories. It seemed so far away that she hadpletely forgotten about. Yet it took a moment for those memories toe back. It was fascinating and yet scary in its own way. Ru wasn¡¯t the one who could decide whether she was fascinated by those memories or scared.

    She felt more lost though.

    She held that same pendant in her hands with aplicated look and rotated the pigeon blood ruby. That red thread was still tied to the real chain of the pendant. Because she didn¡¯t want to lose it, she had spent half an hour trying to weave the thread through the chain to make it seem like a part of the pendant.

    She looked at the closed door of the balcony and didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. The man inside seemed to have been etched in her life for far too long. She had given him this pendant as a promise to pay off her debt of life and yet unknowingly, he had been keeping their promise of a lifetime for both of them as well.

    The real meaning of that red thread was told to her when she was 14. Her father had said that it was token of her engagement to that boy who had been sending her letters. But Ru vividly remembered her own reaction, "What? No way! It is hard enough to ept that I¡¯m a girl. I don¡¯t want to keep this rtion at all."

    Her father¡¯s answer was, "That is up to you entirely. No one is forcing you anyway."

    Ru had only calmed down after his reassurance. If it was not forced then she was alright with anything. After all, she was really not good at saying no to her father for anything.

    Ru got up from the floor and slid open the door of the room to see Xiao Zhiren buttoning up his shirt. He looked at her curiously but didn¡¯t question anything.

    She looked at the open bottle of champagne and asked, "Why did you open that so early in the morning?"

    "You were acting so weird that I had to find something for my frantic mind," he replied inly. Xiao Zhiren frowned when he didn¡¯t hear her reply. He looked up at her and found her eyes stuck on his wrist for some reason while he was wearing his tie. "What are you looking at?"

    Ru walked up to him and held his wrist in her hand, Xiao Zhiren was taken aback as he eyes her cautiously. When did she begin to have this active skinship? And why was it making his stupid heart flutter again?

    Her thumb rubbed on the red string on his wrist and she asked, "Why do you wear this?"

    Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips as he was stumped for words. He didn¡¯t know how to bring up that fiancee at all whom he had no clue about. "Apparently, it¡¯s a promise I gave to someone."

    "Do you remember the person?" she asked.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation, "I can¡¯t recall that part of my memory."

    "Then why don¡¯t you take this off?" she asked again.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her hand touching that red thread and said, "I wanted to but..." he looked into her eyes and went on, "I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do so. I feel like my heart will stop beating if I took it off."

    "I recently found the use for a tie," she said changing the topic but not shifting her eyes away from him. Not even cowering away from his searing gaze or affectionate touch.

    "I wonder what it..." he replied but his words were cut off abruptly. Ru had held his tie and pulled him down to catch his lips with her own. This was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s second time to be at the surprising end. He wouldn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t like it. Of course, he liked it. He loved it.

    But he wasn¡¯t used to what he felt during that kiss. More than a kiss, he felt like Ru was talking to him through this kiss. As if, she was pouring all her words out through this kiss. And he was so overwhelmed that he felt like crying. What? Crying? He wanted to scream at himself. But he couldn¡¯t deny it. The intensity of her kiss was really too much for him.

    When she pulled away from him, he was still dazed. "What was this for?"

    Ru took his hand in her own and looking at their joined hands, she said, "It was to thank you."

    "Thank me for what?"

    Ru brought his hand up and kissed it softly as she said, "For keeping our promise for both of us."

    "Huh?" He was dumbfounded but when he saw her dazzling toothy grin, he was dumbstruck. "Aiyo, my poor heart is being assaulted by that beautiful smile."

    "Should I stop smiling then?" she questioned with a sly grin.

    He pulled her in his arms and said, "Definitely not. Assualt this heart as much as you want. It¡¯s all yours anyway."

    Ru chuckled, "You and your cheeky ways. Never get tired of it eh? Or do you not run out of words to say?"

    "How can I run out of my collection of words?" He retorted. Brushing the tip of his nose against hers, he spoke in a husky voice, "Do you know why ocean never runs out of waves?"

    "Why?" She asked with a constant smile stered on her face. She knew she was gonna cringe at his reply as always. But why did she still want to hear those words? Why? Was she really going crazy? Or...

    "Because waves are the ocean¡¯s way of showing its love for the shore. How can it ever run out of its love? Just like that, I can¡¯t run out of words as long as my heart is beating for you."

    Ru buried her face in the crook of his neck andughed out. See, he really made one cringe with those words. But now she was understanding why she wanted to hear it. She wasn¡¯t going crazy.

    She was already crazy in love with him.

 Chapter 244 Hateful Little Weakling

    After a while, Ru also changed her dress and wore the formal jumpsuit that he had for her. The gold-colored wide-leg jumpsuit was sleeveless with a halter neckline and a metallic belt around the waist.

    Seeing her in that dress, Xiao Zhiren kept smiling which eventually irked her. "Stop smiling or I¡¯ll change out of this."

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and made her sit on the sofa. "Do you have to have so many issues with me?"

    "Yes," she answered straightforwardly making him gape at her in disbelief. "If I¡¯m gonna date you then I need to turn you into my kind of boyfriend material. For that, I need to be vocal about what irks me about you."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyed widened in surprise. Now, that was way too straightforward even for someone like her. Wasn¡¯t it? Or was he overthinking?

    "Boyfriend material?" He asked hesitantly to confirm and she nodded in agreement. "What do I need to do for that?"

    "Nothing much. I¡¯ve gotten used to your cheesy talk but let¡¯s keep the public disy of affection out of our list of things. I don¡¯t like clingy people. I love being proactive and impulsive. Don¡¯t get in my way. Also, don¡¯t ask things I don¡¯t want to talk about. The rest we¡¯ll go with the flow for now." She stated in one go leaving him no room for an argument. Well, it wasn¡¯t like he was gonna argue anyway. "Totally out of context, but can¡¯t we have this dress in ck?"

    Xiao Zhiren narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head saying, "ck is yourfortable skin, I know. But my little chili should have some colors in life as well."

    "Whatever," she grumbled and made a face. Thinking of something she said, "What am I gonna do with this hair? The longest hair I ever had were shoulder-length and the only hairstyle I know is a messy one and high ponytails. Would that work?"

    Xiao Zhiren picked up a brush and started brushing her hair softly. "How can a girl not even know how to style her own hair? I have never met anyone who couldn¡¯t style their own hair."

    "You have met one," she replied.

    Xiao Zhiren leaned ahead to look at her face from behind the sofa and asked, "Who?"

    "Me." Ru pointed at herself.

    "Right there is indeed one," he spoke in a soft voice and fixed her hair. He didn¡¯t have to do much since with jumpsuit, it was better to let the hair down naturally. Following that, he brought out heels and picked up her foot to help her wear it.

    Seeing those ankle strap sandals, she frowned in discontent and difort. "Oi, do you know the phrase killer heels?"

    "I have heard it on more than one asion. Why?" Xiao Zhiren replied absentmindedly since his attention was on helping her wear those sandals.

    "They are called killer heels because they end up killing a woman¡¯s feet. Do you want that to happen to me?" Xiao Zhiren stifled hisughter at her weird logic. She had plenty of excuses for something she didn¡¯t like.

    "You don¡¯t need to stress yourself so much. I¡¯m not letting you walk barefoot."

    Standing up she had to adjust her body weight to keep bnce. It was safe to say that wearing heels also required some skills. Unfortunately, those were the skills, Ru would never want to learn. Not at any condition.

    He had poured another ss of champagne for himself as he held his hand out for her. "Do you want some?"

    Ru shook her head in response, "Champagne is too light for a hardcore person like me." Seeing the weird way he was looking at her, she added, "I don¡¯t like the taste of it."

    "I think you¡¯ll like the taste from now," he said ambiguously making her brows snap together. Before she could question him, he took a sip of champagne and kissed her hard making her drink the champagne from his mouth. He didn¡¯t instantly let go even after aplishing his goal. He was too engrossed in the kiss. Why would he want to let her go when even she wasn¡¯t trying to push him away?

    Tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue to taste the remnants of champagne or her, he said, "Start using your words wisely. You don¡¯t even realize how explicit you get with your words. I really don¡¯t have great willpower. Stop testing me now."

    "What did I say now?" She asked in confusion before rewinding her words in her mind. As the lightbulb of her brain lit up, she went on, "My mind and words are right. Your stupid brain is working in the wrong way." She pped his chest and added, "Besides, by hardcore I meant steadfast. Not the extreme way you¡¯re taking it!"

    Xiao Zhiren stroked the side of her face saying, "Oh, so my little chili is not as oblivious as she pretends to be. Interesting." Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "By the way, I don¡¯t mind hardcore. I have good stamina."

    "Bloody son of a bachelor!" Ru tried to push him away but he still held her tight. "You¡¯re again using my words to your own advantage. Why do you not understand what I want to say? Why is that your mind only understands what you want to understand?"

    "If I kept understanding your words, you wouldn¡¯t be in my arms right now. You¡¯d have run too far from me by now. So, it¡¯s enough for me to understand what really matters between us," he stated holding her head against his chest.

    "What really matters between us?" She asked.

    "What matters is that I love you," he replied matter-of-factly and nted a kiss on the top of her head and added, "Also, that you love me." With that, he nted another kiss but this time, on her forehead.

    "Sheesh! Who says I love you?" she retorted pretending to be angry.

    "I love you too," he said again.

    "Huh?"

    "Didn¡¯t you notice? I just heard thest three words of your sentence. Did you say anything else?"

    "You!" Ru yfully punched his arm. "Hateful little weakling."

    "What?"

    "Nothing!" She snapped back.

 Chapter 245 Who Started It?

    "Is this watch paired with yours?" Ru asked looking at the rose gold watch diamond-encrusted watch on her wrist.

    "Yes, mine is tinum and yours is rose gold. Perfect match. Isn¡¯t it?" he replied with a satisfied smile on his face.

    "Didn¡¯t I just say no public disy of affection?" She reminded him of the rules she had set up.

    "It¡¯s just a pair of watches. It¡¯s not even noticeable. Don¡¯t go overboard. Can¡¯t you do this much for me?" He made an adorable face to get her approval.

    Taking a long and deep breath, she said, "Fine. Whatever."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face lit up as he held her arm and they walked out of the room. He brought her to the deck for breakfast. There were many people already eating their breakfasts when they came. Plenty of them greeted him and Xiao Zhiren replied to them with a polite smile.

    "What do you want to eat?" He asked her while Ru¡¯s eyes were wandering around the deck as if looking for someone.

    When she finally caught sight of the person she was looking for, she said, "Not hungry. I¡¯ll see youter." Turning back, she added, "Don¡¯t start assuming or rotting in vinegar jar. Just gonna talk to my cousin." She made an okay sign with her hand and walked off.

    "Not hungry? Those words actually exist in her dictionary?" Xiao Zhiren whispered to himself in disbelief. He had never seen her saying no to food before. It was yet hard for him to believe that she actually was refusing to food. What was more important than food?

    Meanwhile, Ru found Jie standing beside the railing looking at the sea. She held his cor from behind and dragged him away from the crowd. "Yah! Let go of my cor. Stop acting like a bully."

    "My dear Prince Jie, don¡¯t get me started on who is the real bully between us." At her warning, he stopped talking and fixed his shirt. "Besides, I have something important to discuss with you."

    "I¡¯m sure talking is done with the mouth. Why are you always using your hands to drag me? Is that something you should do?" he asked looking at her unpleasantly but seeing her dressed up, his anger seemed like it vanished somewhere.

    "If I won¡¯t act like this who else will?" she retorted.

    "I don¡¯t care who else will. But please, have some respect for your present disguise. You¡¯re looking like a bloody diva, don¡¯t act like a hooligan," was Jie¡¯s humble reply to her. "By the way, I just saw you smiling at Zhiren. Why are you looking at me with such an ugly look? Seems like all the smiles are gonna be reserved for him now."

    "My dearest cousin, are you jealous?" Ru asked yfully nudging him.

    Jie pushed her away saying, "Of course not. Why would I be jealous? Didn¡¯t you leave him alone to look for me? I have nothing to be jealous about. Blood is still thicker than water."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "I really have something to talk about. Can we stop this dilly-dallying?"

    "You started it," he used her straightforwardly.

    "Of course not. It¡¯s you who started again this time," she denied this usation as always.

    "Take any witness here, you¡¯re the one who started it," he countered with the same passion.

    "Oh please. Even time and history is the witness that from our very first meeting, it has always been you who starts it," Ru imed, ring at him hatefully.

    After spending fifteen minutes of ming each other and spending another ten minutes to stare daggers at each other, they both said simultaneously, "What were we talking about?"

    Shaking her head, Ru started again, "Forget it whatever it was. Let¡¯s get to business. It¡¯s important."

    Jie also lost his yful look and straightened up. "What is it? Why do you look so serious? I was expecting you to look all shy and bubbly after epting your love. Why do you look some new mystery opened before you?"

    "Mystery? I think calling it a mystery will be fine as well." Ru replied despondently. She held her jade pendant before him and asked, "Remember this?"

    Jie took it from her hand and looked at her strangely. "Isn¡¯t this... Your most precious pendant?" She nodded her head slightly. Recalling something he frowned and said, "But when I went to pick you up from the hospital ten or so years ago, didn¡¯t you leave this for the person who saved you? As a promise to repay for his help?" She nodded again. Talking with him was always easy since most of the time, he was able toplete her sentences for her. "Then why do you have it now?"

    Ru didn¡¯t answer and that allowed him to think further as he said, "Did you found the person who had it?" She shook her head in negation. "Then... Did he found you?" Ru looked into his brown eyes and nodded. "Wow! That¡¯s a nice twist. But what¡¯s the problem here? Don¡¯t tell me he loves you as I told you years ago." He stoppedughing when Ru stayed quiet. "He really loves you?"

    Ru held his face and rotated him in the restaurant¡¯s direction saying, "It¡¯s him. Over there. That Zhiren stuck in my head and heart. He is the one who saved me."

    "Woah! That¡¯s an even bigger twist. What a coincidence!" Jie said after getting over his shock. This really came as a shock. Who would have thought about this twist? He didn¡¯t!

    "Coincidence?" Ru muttered more to herself than him. She took the pendant from him and pointed at its chain. "Then tell me what¡¯s inside the chain?"

    "That¡¯s the red thread Uncle gave you. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be your engagement token?" he was having fun teasing her but abruptly stopped, "Wait! Are you worried about this? This really is an issue. If you love Zhiren then how can you keep this promise that Uncle made with someone? This is really troubling."

    Ru pped the back of his head and asked, "Jiejie, who was my so-called fiance?"

    Jie rubbed the back of his head and replied, "Wasn¡¯t he called Renren? Since all I heard from Aunt was you being Renren¡¯s bride..." There was a long pause as he spoke to her through his eyes and cursed out loud, "Fuck it!"

 Chapter 246 Sensei?

    "Wait, wait just wait. Renren. Zhiren. Please tell me I¡¯m mistaken here," Jie looked at Ru for an answer but she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "You have got to be kidding with me. What kind of fate do you have?"

    "Right? It does make one think that this fate is ying with me? Right? I¡¯m not the only one. You also think that." Ru was looking for someone to really understand her inner turmoil. It was no joke that she had met Xiao Zhiren at three junctions of her life. How was she supposed to just ept it as coincidence?

    "Coincidence? Fuck the damn coincidence! This doesn¡¯t look like coincidence anymore." Jie was agitated more than she was. Or perhaps he knew how to express his emotions better than her. "You first met him when you¡¯re ten. Later on, your life changed because you figured out your gender. Then you met him 8 yearster. And at that time, your life again changed because you had lost too much. You lost yourpassion and whatever made you Young Master Ru." Jie was speaking without a pause and Ru was listening without stopping him.

    "And now, you met him again after ten years. I don¡¯t even have to say it but your life is changing again. You¡¯re learning to look at the world in a new way." He ced his hand on her shoulder and said, "What kind of shadow his presence has in your fate?"

    Ru thought about it herself. What kind of presence did he really have in her fate now? She held Jie¡¯s hand and said, "Jiejie, I don¡¯t know. I honestly can¡¯t tell what he is in my fate. But now, I can tell you what he is in my life." Jie pressed her hand urging her to continue, "Can you believe that without knowing it himself, he had been keeping our promise of the lifetime? He had been the keeper of our red thread for years. As for what he is in my life... It¡¯s weird to say it out loud but I feel like he¡¯s bing everything. My everything."

    "Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t even know what my fate is. How can I dare to im what part he ys in that fate? I¡¯ll be getting ahead of myself if I said anything on this."

    Jie wrapped his one arm around her shoulder and side hugged her saying, "Does his presence makes you forget about everything else?"

    She nodded, "As I said, he is bing my everything. How can I remember anything else besides him?"

    Jie smiled at her and kissed her temple. "Then that¡¯s enough right? If he makes our Ru¡¯er happy then screw the game fate is ying. I, Zhu Jie, your one and only cousin is right here with you. Believe this brother of yours, I¡¯ll be standing right with you no matter what happens."

    "I know," she replied.

    Their moment of peace was cut short when they heard an angry voice, "Ah-Jie!"

    Ru nudged him again saying, "Look, your spitfire is here."

    Jie looked at his agitated wife and said, "Before calling my baby spitfire, look at yourself in the mirror. And who¡¯s fault is it that she is a spitfire?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she replied, "No mine for sure."

    Jie knocked her head saying, "Say something I can believe." Turning to his wife¡¯s side, he said, "Baby, what are you doing here?"

    "Ah-Jie, keep a distance from her," Xu Mey red at Ru hatefully while ordering Jie to move away from her.

    Ru smiled at her and when Jie was about to pull away, she pulled him back even closer than before saying, "Where do you think you¡¯re going, Jiejie?"

    Xu Mey gaped at her while her whole body trembled in anger. "Jiejie? How dare you call my husband so intimately?"

    "Why can¡¯t I? I think I can do it even better than that. Hmm... How about..." Jie ced his hand over her mouth to stop her from perturbing his wife any more than she already was. From the way Xu Mey¡¯s fists were clenched, he could tell that his little spitfire was about to breathe fire at any moment now.

    "Baby, let¡¯s talkter," Jie tried to calm Xu Mey in a nice way. "This sister of mine has a habit of joking. Don¡¯t take it to heart at all."

    Ru bit his hand making him yelp. After that, she walked up to Xu Mey and said, "Since Mrs. Zhu is not in favor of giving your husband. I have a better proposition." Xu Mey frowned at her while she added, "How about giving me your son? That little bunny loves me anyway. Just give him to me."

    Xu Mey raised her hand to p her when Ru held her wrist and said, "Why are you getting violent? That¡¯s my job. It only suits me as well." Jie shook his head at her not knowing what had gotten into Ru. "For the first time, I¡¯m willing to negotiate with words and you¡¯re using force. That¡¯s not fair at all."

    "Ah-Jie, follow me," Xu Mey gritted out and turned on her heels to leave.

    Ruughed behind and dialed a number from her phone. Not far from her, Xu Mey¡¯s phone rang. Seeing the caller id, Xu Mey¡¯s face lit up and she immediately attended the call, "Sensei?" Her cheerful and excited voice rang out.

    "Dear disciple, if you¡¯re notfortable with my conditions. We can re-negotiate. But I want that son of yours for sure."

    "Huh?" Xu Mey gaped as she slowly turned around to look at Ru.

    Ru waved the phone at her and winked in her signature way which instantly left Xu Mey dumbstruck.

    "You! You! Sensei?" Xu Mey asked in shock and disbelief. Her whole world was shaken up.

    "Hi, dear disciple! Long-time no see," was Ru¡¯s casual reply.

    Meanwhile, Jie was rubbing his forehead which had a headache now. But seeing how Ru actually disclosed her gender to his wife, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. It took her a long time toe around, eh?

 Chapter 247 Weirdos

    There are somemon beliefs in life. For instance, the Earth is round. This one thing is etched in our minds from a very young age. And it had be deep-rooted within ourselves. The other beliefs would include that after every nighte a day just like after every storm wille a ray of sunshine.

    Just like those undeniable facts, Xu Mey had grown up with a belief that her Sensei, Ru who saved her life and taught her to see the world in a whole new light was actually a male. And that¡¯s why when she saw Ru in female clothes, she was having no second thoughts as she said, "Sensei, why are you cross-dressing as a girl?" That was the extent of her belief that Ru was a male.

    Beside her, Jie choked on air and was left somewhere betweenughing and coughing. He wasn¡¯t sure which one he was supposed to do first. Seeing his wife¡¯s expression, he really wanted to pinch her cheeks. Just how could she even question that?

    Well, at least, Ru had better control over her emotions and expressions but at this moment, even she was having difficulty keeping a straight face. She knew Xu Mey trusted her without questions. Ru¡¯s existence and value in Xu Mey¡¯s life were only known to her. That¡¯s why until or unless Ru said something from her own mouth, Xu Mey would never believe it.

    "My disciple is really..." ¡¯Innocent. Or maybe, I¡¯m too tricky.¡¯ Ru didn¡¯t say those words out. "Tell me, does this avatar looks good on me? Doesn¡¯t Sensei look like a killer beauty?"

    Xu Mey looked at her from head to toe and nodded her head vigorously, "Sensei looks amazing in anything. Oddly, you look just like a real woman. You¡¯re the best at disguises as always." She gave two thumbs up to Ru.

    Jie wrapped his arm around his wife¡¯s shoulder and said, "Baby, do you think this is a disguise?"

    "Ah-Jie, don¡¯t question my Sensei. I told you I¡¯ll be angry if you said anything to my Sensei. I don¡¯t care even if Sensei is your best friend. I still won¡¯t take your side when ites to Sensei." Xu Mey seemed upset.

    Ru knocked on her head making her yelp and then Xu Mey looked at Ru with an aggrieved expression. "Are you really bing slow-witted or do you have a blind trust in me?"

    "I believe Sensei more than myself," she replied without any hesitation at all.

    "Aiyo..." Ru heaved a long sigh and said, "I¡¯m not cross-dressing. I had been doing it all my life. But this is a rare moment when I am willing to let the world see my real self."

    "She means, real gender. The real self of hers is too scary for the world," Jie added on.

    Xu Mey was not paying attention. Not at all. Her mind was thunderstruck. She could hear buzzing around and couldn¡¯t tell what was real or what was fake. It was like someone stabbed her with a dagger and was twisting it in her guts. It seemed surreal and hard to believe.

    "Baby, why are you crying?" Jie was left nervous when he saw the tears trickling down Xu Mey¡¯s face. Her silent tears turned into sobbing as she cried her heart out. "What is wrong? Tell me what¡¯s going on? Did I do something? Did this stupid Ru make you cry? Right?" He red at Ru and shouted, "Oi! Dumbo! What did you do? Why did you make my baby cry?"

    "Have you lost some screws of your head? When did you see me bullying her? Which eye of yours saw me making her cry? Do tell, so I can poke it out of the socket!" Ru argued back while looking like someone who was preparing for a fight.

    "Yah!" Jie was about to continue when Xu Mey pped his arm. "Baby, why are hitting me?"

    "Don¡¯t say anything to him. No, her. I mean him. No, no, her. Whatever. Just don¡¯t say anything to sensei." Xu Mey¡¯s words solved the argument between Ru and Jie sooner than it was expected. She turned and stood right before Ru and asked, "Are you really... A woman?"

    Ru rubbed her earlobe and said, "At least, my body is of a woman."

    Xu Mey nodded her head in understanding and mumbled, "Sensei, you were always my first crush in life. I always admired you as a male god. It¡¯s truly heartbreaking to know that you are a woman." She sniffled as she spoke.

    "I know. I was also heartbroken when I figured out that I was a female. I went into shock for a weak because of that." Ru told her life¡¯s dark days of figuring out who she was. It was traumatizing for her to know that she was not a boy. Only she knew how much pride she took in being called ¡¯Young Master Ru¡¯.

    "But... Nheless," Xu Mey wiped her tears and smiled at her saying, "You are just as gorgeous as you had been forever. Xu Mey still finds Sensei the best."

    "Don¡¯t I look weird?" Ru questioned out of curiosity.

    "Not at all," Xu Mey shook her head. "Sensei looks amazing in anything. But I never thought Sensei would look so beautiful as a woman. What¡¯s the right word? Ah! Peerless beauty."

    "Now that you know who I am, how about the negotiation?" Ru was still stuck on that negotiation of hers.

    "About what?"

    "Don¡¯t say it!"

    Both Jie and Xu Mey had different things to say but they said it at the same time. Ru smiled mischievously at Jie and said, "About your son. I¡¯m the only godmother he has. Just give him to me."

    Xu Mey pressed her lips together not knowing how to answer that. While Jie said, "Ru¡¯er, you don¡¯t even know how to raise a kid."

    Ru caught him a headlock and screamed at him, "No one is born with the skills of raising a child. Did you know how to be a father before bing one? No, you did not! We only learn things when you¡¯re faced with the need to use those skills."

    "Sensei, can¡¯t you ask for something else? I can give my life to you but my little Bao is the only son I have," was Xu Mey¡¯s hesitant reply.

    "Tsk. Tsk." Ru clicked her tongue and said, "Stupid disciple, why are you feeling guilty while saying no to me? I would have pped your face if you had actually epted my proposal." Xu Mey was surprised to hear her reply. "I like that little bunny of yours. As a godmother, won¡¯t I get some time to spend with him?"

    "That you can," Xu Mey agreed readily.

    "You both husband and wife are one of a kind. Do I look like someone who will raise a kid?" Ru spoke in discontent while eyeing them both and they both shook their heads in sync. Why all weirdos were stuck in her life?

    ¡¯One keepspany with the likes of his own. Since you¡¯re a weirdo, how can normal ones enter your life?¡¯ Oh, there she was. Her sleeping conscious was awakened again. But at the wrong time as always to annoy the hell out of her.

    ¡¯Just keep sleeping!¡¯ Ru retorted to her conscious.

 Chapter 248 Her Man

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhiren had just taken a seat with his breakfast in hand when Adrian popped out of somewhere right beside him.

    "Zoran, how can you do this to me?" Adrian gave Zhiren a look of grievance making him frown.

    "Let me eat first," Zhiren pushed him away as he dug his fork into his pancake and lifted it to his mouth to take a bite.

    "My life is at stake because of you and you¡¯re actually in the mood to eat? How can you even swallow anything right now?" Adrian shouted at him angrily.

    "Because I am very happy. Actually, I haven¡¯t felt this happy since like forever." Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t lying. He indeed was flying high above in cloud nine. Why wouldn¡¯t he? The person he had loved for years was actually willing to stand by his side now. Nothing else really mattered at this point to him.

    "Happy? Your girlfriend almost killed mest night and you¡¯re happy?" Adrian looked at him weirdly.

    "My girlfriend? Did you meet my little chili? Why? How? Where?" Now, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention was solely on Adrian. How was it possible that something was rted to Ru and Xiao Zhiren would ignore?

    Adrian straightened up and narrated the story of Ru¡¯s threat to him. Also, how she actually beat him. He was really sulking in the grievance. She was the second person in his life who treated him like that. The crown of first-person was solely for Alev Knight. Poor Adrian didn¡¯t even know that both first and second were actually just one tricky person ying with his mind.

    "I had been so upset sincest night. But you tell me, this world has millions of females. Why does it have to be her?"

    Xiao Zhiren pped his head and said, "Because it has to be her. Only her. Besides, what¡¯s wrong with her?"

    Adrian rubbed his head and said, "Nothing is wrong except for the fact that... She is rted to Alev Knight."

    Xiao Zhiren rolled his eyes beforeughing out. He really wished to see Adrian¡¯s reaction if he figured out that Alev Knight and his girlfriend were both the same people. He imagined how much of a shock would it be for Adrian.

    "Get over it. There is nothing wrong with me dating someone rted to Alev Knight," said Xiao Zhiren.

    Adrian was irked but when he calmed down for a while, he said, "Well, considering how gorgeous she is. I also think there is nothing wrong with you dating her. Don¡¯t you think that Alev Knight¡¯s family genes are too good?"

    Xiao Zhiren choked on his food and coughed profusely. He drank a mouthful of water and punched Adrian¡¯s arm saying, "Don¡¯t you hate Alev Knight? Why are you so curious about his family genes?"

    "Why can¡¯t I? I know I hate Alev Knight but let¡¯s be honest here, one can¡¯t deny that he¡¯s ady killer with just his looks," said Adrian while Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips. "Same goes for your girlfriend. I wasn¡¯t in the position to admire her beauty at that time, but I can say it now that she is..."

    "If you dared to talk about my girlfriend one more time, I¡¯m gonna kill you." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s warning sealed Adrian¡¯s lips. Adrian could see how possessive Xiao Zhiren was. The weirdest part was he wasn¡¯t even allowing him to say anything about her.

    As Adrian¡¯s eyes wandered around, he tapped Xiao Zhiren¡¯s shoulder and said, "You aren¡¯t even allowing me to talk about her. Then how can you leave her alone with that guy." Xiao Zhiren also followed the direction he was looking at and saw Ru with Jie. "Isn¡¯t that guy too close to her?"

    Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t refute that. Even from his position, he could clearly see Ru¡¯sfort level with Jie. It was like she had no care in the world beside him. Even when he knew that Jie was her cousin, Xiao Zhiren was apprehensive. He knew Ru was tearing her walls down for him but the way she looked at Jie showed her unprecedented trust in him.

    "He is my little chili¡¯s cousin brother. They are close like real siblings." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know whether he was exining this to Adrian or to himself. But somehow saying it out loud made Xiao Zhiren feel a bit rxed.

    "Should we go and say hi then?" Adrian was suggesting it but the way he pulled Xiao Zhiren up seemed like he wasn¡¯t gonna take no for an answer. Not like Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t curious about seeing Ru¡¯s interaction with Jie. He was really curious. So, he let Adrian drag him easily.

    Back on Ru¡¯s side, she looked at Xu Mey inquisitively and thetter answered, "Little Bao is sleeping, Sensei. Why are you so impatient? When he will wake up, I¡¯ll bring him right to you. Keep him for the whole day."

    Ru made a sad look and said, "Isn¡¯t he sleeping for too long?"

    Jie pinched her nose and said, "Little kids need sleep for their growth. Do I have to tell you that as well? You never were this impatient to even see me."

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Jiejie, you¡¯re a brother. Little bunny is my nephew and my godson. Obviously, I¡¯m very biased right now towards him. Especially because he doesn¡¯t tease me like you."

    Jie was about to speak when he looked at someone walking up to them and leaned close to Ru and said, "Your man ising. What charms did you use that he¡¯s not even leaving you alone for a moment?"

    Ru turned her head to look at Xiao Zhiren and smiled before pushing Jie away saying, "Go hug your baby. Don¡¯t talk about my man!"

    "Oh, someone is protective about HER man..." said Jie yfully.

    Ru didn¡¯t pay any attention to his teasing and turned around to face Xiao Zhiren. "Are you done with your breakfast?"

    "Mhmm..." Xiao Zhiren hummed in reply as he wrapped an arm around her waist from the side and kissed her temple.

    Beside them, Jie was amused to see how Xiao Zhiren was trying to im Ru right before him as his own. It seemed childish but considering what Jie had done for Xu Mey, he found it rather cute. Adrian was d to see that Xiao Zhiren was not afraid to show his love. Ru was frowning since she clearly told him there¡¯d be no public disy of affection.

    However, between all those feelings, there was a certain person who felt like she was dreaming. This scene of Ru being in a man¡¯s arms felt surreal. No, the right word would be absurd. Xu Mey¡¯s heart was again struck by a thunderbolt.

 Chapter 249 Damn, Your Eyes!

    Have you ever seen someone going through consecutive heart attacks? Well, Xu Mey was literally that person today. She was surviving some serious bomb explosions and it wasn¡¯t easy to stay calm at all!

    "Sensei, he is?" Xu Mey voiced out gingerly while looking at Xiao Zhiren.

    "Right, we have introductions pending," said Ru and introduced everyone, "Zhiren, he is Zhu Jie, my best friend sh my only friend sh my cousin brother sh my secret box."

    Jie chuckled at her way of introducing him and shook hands with Xiao Zhiren saying, "Pleasure meeting you in person. I¡¯ve heard a lot and I must say, the words really don¡¯t do justice." Ru elbowed him in his guts making him grunt. "Control your hands." He glowered.

    Ru stuck her tongue at him and turned to Xu Mey, "Meet Mrs. Zhu, Xu Mey." Xiao Zhiren nodded at her in acknowledgment and Xu Mey did the same in return. Ru looked at Adrian standing beside Xiao Zhiren and said, "Mey, that¡¯s Adrian. Seemingly the least important person here." Adrian was left speechless at this introduction. "And this is Xiao Zhiren. He¡¯s my..."

    "Just say it," Jie was the only one getting a thrill over this scene. How could he not? It was damn funny for him.

    Ru red at Jie before trying again, "He¡¯s my... Boyfriend."

    Xu Mey lost her bnce and if Jie hadn¡¯t supported her body, she was certainly gonna fall. Xu Mey looked at Xiao Zhiren with a look of grievance as she clutched her chest. "Baby, are you alright?"

    "This is not fair!" Xu Mey blurted out. She tugged at Ru¡¯s sleeve as she said, "Okay. I ept you looking like this. But... How can you date someone? You¡¯re that formidable Sensei of mine who is aloof and distant from worldly stuff. Why are you dating then? It¡¯s like you¡¯re hell-bent on breaking my heart today."

    Adrian and Xiao Zhiren might be confused about this progress but Ru and Jie weren¡¯t. They both had to keep a straight face in this situation so as not to hurt Xu Mey¡¯s feelings. But how could one do that so easily?

    "Baby, you do realize that I¡¯m standing right here? How can you give my own cousin importance over me like this?" Jie chose this moment to tease his wife.

    "Jealous much, Jiejie?" Ru teased him from the side.

    "Little monkey, I¡¯m not talking to you," said Jie.

    "You! Mr. Spider, who wants to talk to you?" retorted Ru in dissatisfaction.

    "You little cockroach!" Jie snapped at her.

    "Ha! You¡¯re the roach in that cockroach!" Ru was not gonna back out in this childish argument.

    "That doesn¡¯t even make sense," said Jie giving her a look of ridicule.

    "Who cares?" was Ru¡¯s reply.

    On the side, Xiao Zhiren, Adrian and Xu Mey were looking at them weirdly. Leaning close to Xu Mey, Xiao Zhiren asked, "Does it happen a lot?"

    "You bet!" answered Xu Mey without hesitation. "They are like those siblings who are at each other¡¯s throat all the time but when a third person enters, they¡¯d be like two bodies one bond kind of siblings."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Adrian just had to ask that.

    And Xu Mey had to give a demo as well. "Ah-Jie, stop arguing with Sensei. If Sensei said it makes sense then it makes sense."

    Both Jie and Ru stopped their banter, turned to look at Xu Mey wide-eyed. Ru pointed at her and said, "I appreciate you taking my side, dear disciple but how dare you say that my best friend is wrong?"

    "As always, only my cousin treats me the best," Jie¡¯s words were also synced with Ru¡¯s leaving everyone feels irked.

    Xu Mey looked at Adrian and asked, "Does this make sense?"

    "Much better," he replied absentmindedly.

    Before Ru and Jie¡¯s short-lived bonding could end, Xu Mey pulled them to a table and said, "Sensei, why don¡¯t you tell me about your love story?"

    "I have a love story to tell? Who said that?"

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru disbelievingly. How could she be so insensitive about his feelings?

    Xu Mey was also disappointed with this reply so she changed her target. She turned to Xiao Zhiren to ask, "So, Mr. Xiao, what do you love about my Sensei?"

    Xiao Zhiren thought for a second before speaking, "I love her. All of her."

    "Come on, there must be something that pulled you to her. Any attraction point?" Xu Mey wasn¡¯t gonna let go so easily. She had to know what love made her Sensei to waver.

    "Her eyes... For the very first time, when we met... I had fallen for her eyes."

    "I know Sensei¡¯s eyes are beautiful but that¡¯s it?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head, "I didn¡¯t mean it like that. Even more than her beautiful eyes, I loved how much power those orbs held. It felt like her eyes would tear my soul apart and yet, my steps towards her didn¡¯t falter. As if something in me badly wanted to be torn apart by her. She was quiet but her eyes had so much to say that I couldn¡¯t stop myself from wanting and yearning to hear more."

    He heaved a long sigh as he gazed into Ru¡¯s eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear saying, "Indeed, these eyes burned me into ashes and turned my whole world upside down. Yet, I wouldn¡¯t ask for anything else. Because there is no route back from love." Tapping her nose, he added, "Not from this love. Not that I want one."

    "Argh! You¡¯re even difficult to dislike, how is this even fair?" Xu Mey blurted out while scrunching up her nose.

    However, Ru and Xiao Zhiren were both oblivious to her reaction. Because Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t moving his eyes away from Ru and how could Ru look away when his eyes were holding her back. As if she was a puppet in his hands.

    Xiao Zhiren caressed her face and sighed a dreamy sigh, "Damn, your eyes!"

    Ru pped his hand away saying, "You talk too much."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled lowly and replied, "I have topensate for both of us."

    "Cough! Cough!"

    A couple of coughs broke their short moment of love as Ru and Xiao Zhiren was brought back to brutal reality where three pair of eyes looked at them withplicated emotions.

    "Have some mercy, I¡¯m the only single one here," Adrian said and walked away from them, not wanting to be emotionally assaulted this way. This disy of love was worse thanst night¡¯s beating!

 Chapter 250 Aborable Sensei?

    It wouldn¡¯t be a lie if one said that Adrian¡¯s departure had no effect on the two couples at the table. They were in their own world and Adrian wasn¡¯t a part of it in any way possible.

    "I warned you about the public disy of affection," Ru¡¯s eyes were narrowed while her voice was strained as if suppressing her anger.

    Xiao Zhiren took his chair even closer to hers and hugged her from the side saying, "But I can¡¯t help it."

    "Why not?" she retortedpletely disregarding his look of grievance.

    "Mmm... Because I love it when you look at me with that look."

    Ru frowned in confusion as she asked, "What look?"

    "The look that says how annoyed you¡¯re with me. But at the same time, I love to see the damn passion hidden behind that irritation."

    Ru kept a straight face and didn¡¯t refute his words. Instead, she said, "Are you flirting with me right now?"

    "Nope," he shook his head innocently and added, "I¡¯m being extra friendly with my extra attractive girlfriend."

    Ru pursed her lips and said, "Where did you get that line from?"

    Xiao Zhiren cleared his throat and replied, "From the inte."

    Ru couldn¡¯t keep a straight face any longer, "Do you have to look for ways to flirt with me?"

    He touched the tip of her nose and said, "Who told you to be this cute?"

    Ru opened her mouth to reply but the sound ofughter cut her off. She turned towards the sound and saw Xu Mey trying to stifle herughter. "Sorry. It¡¯s just weird."

    "What is?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously. He had no problem with Xu Mey or Jie anymore since being close to them, he felt himself to be a part of Ru¡¯s world. It was a good feeling that he couldn¡¯t deny at all.

    "I just never thought there be a day someone would use ¡¯Cute¡¯ as an adjective to describe my Sensei," replied Xu Mey with a small smile on her face.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched Ru¡¯s both cheeks making her scowl and said, "But my little chili is really adorable. I don¡¯t know why you think otherwise."

    "Adorable? Are you sure you know my Sensei?" Xu Mey asked with an arched brow.

    Xiao Zhiren gave half of his attention to Xu Mey while the other half of his attention was on the way his hand was running up and down on Ru¡¯s back. "How would you describe my little chili then?"

    "I have to look for words to describe the most awesome person in my life?" Xu Mey¡¯s reaction was exaggerated whichever way one looked but her feelings of admiration and respect for Ru weren¡¯t. "This task is harder than giving a speech on the topic of a mother."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows knitted together and Ru borated for him, "Her mother wasn¡¯t around for the most part of her life."

    "Oh, I¡¯m sorry to hear that."

    Xu Mey chuckled at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s response and said, "She isn¡¯t dead. Don¡¯t be this sorry. She just ran from her responsibilities. And I grew up. As my Sensei said, I have the most amazing husband and two cutest little kids. Why should I be brooding over the woman who wasn¡¯t even a part of my life?"

    It¡¯d be right to say that Xiao Zhiren was surprised to see Xu Mey¡¯s nonchnt reaction. She talked so casually about it that Xiao Zhiren felt admiration for her.

    "Anyway, if I really have to describe my sensei, I¡¯d say... She¡¯s so wicked that one can¡¯t even bring himself to hate her. She had done so many right things in the wrong ways that I have lost count. But I still look up to Sensei. In all these years, she¡¯s the only person who stayed true to herself. Everyone changed in some way except for Sensei." Xu Mey¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t lose the sparkle as she talked about Ru.

    For a moment, even Ru herself didn¡¯t know what to say. Because for Ru, she was that darkness which couldn¡¯t be loved. She had changed. She knew herself. But why couldn¡¯t she just refute Xu Mey¡¯s words? Perhaps because as Xu Mey said, Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to lie to herself about who she was. She had been true to one person and that was her own self.

    "If you weren¡¯t a girl, I¡¯d be really scared of you," said Xiao Zhiren as he hugged Ru tighter.

    "Why?" Xu Mey questioned amusingly.

    "I feel like you¡¯d have been the biggest love rival for me," said Xiao Zhiren honestly making Xu Meyugh.

    On the side, Jie hadn¡¯t joined this conversation as he rubbed his bottom lip. He had a contemtive look on his face. He turned his eyes to meet Ru¡¯s and gave an amusing grin as he hand-signed, ¡¯You¡¯re in for a good ride with him.¡¯

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and answered in the same way, ¡¯As if I can¡¯t see that already.¡¯

    Jie grinned widely and replied with hand signs again, ¡¯I really like him.¡¯

    Ru sighed out and looked at Xiao Zhiren as she blurted out, "Me too."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking at her strange expressions.

    Ru shook her head in response and said, "Nothing. I was talking to myself."

    As Xiao Zhiren arched his brows at her, Jie chimed in, "Get used to it, Mr. Xiao. Our Ru¡¯er has a habit of talking to herself a lot. Sometimes, she¡¯ll be so engrossed in an argument with herself that she¡¯d lose contact with reality. You will keep calling but she won¡¯t be listening at all."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru inquisitively, "Really?"

    Ru scratched her head and shrugged her shoulders, "It doesn¡¯t happen that often now. I¡¯ve learned to shun my self-conscious."

    ¡¯Have you now? Why didn¡¯t I get the memo?¡¯ Her conscious chose this moment to pop again making Ru clench her jaw in exasperation. She kept her face straight and replied, ¡¯Do you have to bother me at this moment?¡¯

    ¡¯Yes, yes. I do. How can I not? I wanted to see how you¡¯ll shun me.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly and decided to just ignore this conscious. It was pointless anyway. Breathe in and breathe out Ru. Just let this negative energy flow out.

    Hearing a loud crying, Ru¡¯s daze was broken as she looked at two attendantsing to their table with each holding a baby. Ru could recognize the one who was rubbing his eyes adorably. As for the crying one, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess.

 Chapter 251 Dangerous Territory

    "Oh, why is my princess crying?" Jie took his little baby girl from the attendant and cooed softly and lovingly. "Dad is right here. Stop crying."

    As for little Bao, he was taken by the enthusiastic and excited Ru who stood up to take little Boa without any care for the people around her. Not that the little guy was any less enthusiastic. He had opened his and almost jumped into Ru¡¯s arms.

    "Did you miss me? I missed my little bunny very much," Ru¡¯s voice was so gentle that it seemed like someone had taken over her body.

    The little guy ced his hands on Ru¡¯s face as he didst night and giggled as he said, "Ruru..."

    "Huh? My little Bao spoke. Did you hear that Ah-Jie?" Xu Mey had jumped up from her seat in surprise. Tears had pooled in her eyes as she held her son¡¯s hand and kissed it incessantly.

    "I forgot to mention, he talkedst night as well," Jie mentioned offhandedly while patting the back of his daughter.

    "What did he say?" Xu Mey asked curiously and excitedly.

    "Ruru," as if knowing his mother¡¯s question, the answer was given by little Bao himself.

    Jie arched his brows and said, "That¡¯s exactly what he saidst night."

    Xu Mey frowned before looking at the way her son wasfortable in Ru¡¯s arms and said, "He¡¯s calling your name, right Sensei?" Ru nodded her head in response. Suddenly Xu Mey chuckled and said, "Now, I know why he was so quiet until now."

    "What do you mean?" Ru asked distractedly since her attention was mostly on the little bunny in her hands. Even Xiao Zhiren was being disregardedpletely to the sidelines.

    "My little Bao turned out to be just like me," said Xu Mey and Ru arched her brows at her in question, waiting for her to continue. "I also opened up when I met you. My son is also learning from your presence. No wonder he¡¯s my son."

    Ru found her reasoning to be very unreasonable but decided not to say it out loud. It was not the time to argue. It wouldn¡¯t have a good effect on the kids¡¯ minds. She was being mindful of her words and tone. She might have never taken interest in kids before but she knew what a single word could do to an innocent heart and mind.

    "Look, little Juan... That¡¯s your biased and crazy godmother. See, how she is showering all the love on little Bao but doesn¡¯t even care that little Juan is also here." Jie spoke as if he was talking to his daughter but everyone could tell who was supposed to hear those words.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Give her to me. This godmother is not biased at all. I was waiting for her to stop crying. You know how much I despise tears."

    "I know," Xu Mey raised her hand to announce. "How can I forget the way you used to re at me whenever I cried? It was beyond scary."

    Ru cleared her throat and said, "Hold my little bunny for a while."

    Xu Mey extended her hands to take Little Bao from Ru¡¯s arms but the little guy wasn¡¯tplying at all. The cor of Ru¡¯s dress was tightly fisted in little Bao¡¯s small hand as he refused to let go. "Little Bao, let Sensei go." Xu Mey tried to coo a bit but the little guy didn¡¯t listen. He looked at Ru with such glossy eyes that Ru¡¯s heart shook violently.

    She held him back and said, "You can let go. I can hold both of them." For a second, she thought he was gonna cry and her heart didn¡¯t feel at ease. It was like a protective feeling in her rose and she didn¡¯t want to see a single tear in his eyes. She adjusted little Bao in one arm and took little Juan from Jie who was looking at her curiously. Her brown eyes were a shade darker than her brother but they held the same curiosity.

    On the sidelines, when Xiao Zhiren saw this interaction he was too stunned to even move. Never even in his wildest dreams had he imagined to see Ru like this with anyone. She seemed so natural with the twins. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that he was feeling apprehensive and envious of them.

    "Haiz! Now, I finally figured it out," Xiao Zhiren sighed out anxiously.

    "What did you figure out, Mr. Xiao?" It was Jie¡¯s question.

    "I finally found my real love rival. It¡¯ll be hard to get her attention if your son is involved," he said thoughtfully. "I suddenly don¡¯t have a wish for kids. What if they stole my little chili?"

    Jieughed out hearing Xiao Zhiren¡¯s own worries. It was funny seeing a grown man fighting for attention. And the rival was a two years old boy. In a way, he could understand Xiao Zhiren¡¯s feelings better. He was also feeling like thatst night when he saw the look in Ru¡¯s eyes.

    It was like she was ready to bring the whole bloody world at his son¡¯s feet. Just what kind of God forsaken connection did they have?

    Xiao Zhiren walked behind Ru and said, "Love, am I ever gonna be hugged like this?"

    Ru scowled at him saying, "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re even jealous of these kids? I¡¯m their godmother. Do you know what that means?" Xiao Zhiren stayed quiet to hear her reply. "That means, I have the official right to spoil them. Hehe... I finally have a chance to train someone to be as wicked as me."

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head at her excitement and kissed her head saying, "They both are really cute."

    "Aren¡¯t they?" Ru spoke with a sparkle in her eyes which Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t look away from.

    While they were lost in their own world, another person who came to witness this scene was left dumbfounded. "Bro, when did you have two kids? You didn¡¯t even tell your brother. I¡¯m hurt."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at his brother and punched his arm saying, "Think before you speak, Ran Zi."

    Ji Syaoran shrugged his shoulders and said, "It¡¯s not my fault that you guys made a picture-perfect family. Anybody can get the wrong idea."

    "Picture perfect?" Xiao Zhiren questioned.

    Ji Syaoran nodded and said, "Yup. You looking at Queenie with a loving gaze and Queenie holding two little buns with a gentle look while leaning her head on your shoulder. Isn¡¯t that what a picture-perfect family looks like? Although I never experienced it, I¡¯m sure this is the one."

    "Syaoran, you¡¯re disturbing my godson and goddaughter." Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Ji Syaoran immediately zipped his lips and locked it before throwing the key in the sea. He still remembered the badass Ru fromst night. He had no wish to be to get on her wrong side. She was the dangerous territory, he had no wish to trudge through.

 Chapter 252 Go Back Home

    Since Ji Syaoran was quite scared of Ru¡¯s tyrannical self, he leaned close to his brother and said, "Grandmother is looking for you." Xiao Zhiren arched his brows inquisitively and Ji Syaoran added, "She has something important to discuss with you."

    Xiao Zhiren nodded and turned to Ru, "Love, I¡¯ll see youter."

    "Alright," was Ru¡¯s indifferent reply since at this moment, her attention was grabbed by two little ones in her arms.

    Ji Syaoran also stayed there for a moment longer to look at Ru curiously before turning to leave. Following that, Xu Mey took her twins from Ru and went to grab some breakfast for them. However, Jie was left behind who sat on a chair and beckoned Ru to sit.

    "I heard Ji Family is... Complicated," said Jie as Ru sat down on the chair beside him. "Are you okay with that?"

    Ru¡¯s hand on instinct went to touch the watch that Xiao Zhiren gave her as she spoke, "I already know that Ji Family isplicated. Or perhaps, because of just one secret, it has beplicated. No matter which one it is... They certainly have caught my attention."

    Jie rubbed her head and said, "Try not to open the doors that aren¡¯t meant for you to open. You might not be able to escape unscathed otherwise."

    Ru gave him a sincere smile and replied, "I was born with a stroke of strange luck. I was always meant to open the doors which were never meant for me."

    Jie¡¯s eyes shed with anxiousness which he tried to hide but failed. His worry was entirely different at this point. He had seen Ru close to death two times in his life. The first one was when she was only 8; she had eaten a poisonous berry without knowing it. Her father wanted to remove all the poisonous things from around her but she insisted on learning everything that could hurt her.

    ording to her, it was better to know your enemy than to avoid him. And that¡¯s how she mastered the arts of poisons and medicine.

    Her second encounter with death was when she was 18, Jie didn¡¯t know the details since Ru didn¡¯t remember clearly herself. But from her reports, he had gathered that she was a lost cause and yet miraculously survived.

    Now she was 28 and Jie¡¯s fear hade back. From 8 to 18 and 18 to 28, it had a decade each and yet the danger on her was the same. He remembered clearly the words of Ru¡¯s father. Xia Longwei had once said, "If Young Master Jie wants to be my Ru¡¯s friend, I only expect one thing in return. Don¡¯t leave her alone."

    Jie was only 14 at that time, but he could clearly feel a father¡¯s worry and anxiousness along with his fear. That¡¯s why Jie had asked, "Ru is my brother. My best friend. My everything except for a sister. I can never see her as one."

    Even Xia Longwei had couldn¡¯t help his lips from curling up as he said, "Young Master Jie, I don¡¯t want my Ru to know this but... She has shadows of death following her all the time. At her birth, she was called harbor of evil because... It¡¯s in her fate, if she won¡¯t kill, she will be killed. Either way, death won¡¯t leave her alone."

    Till this day, Jie was shocked because of those words but no matter how much he wanted to deny those words, he couldn¡¯t. And that¡¯s why Ru¡¯s happiness was really scaring him inside.

    He held her hand and looked into her eyes as he stressed his words, "Ru¡¯er, promise me that if anything seems too tough, you¡¯ll go back home. Please?"

    Ru frowned at him in surprise and didn¡¯t know what to say. "Bro, what do you mean? Has anything ever been tough for Young Master Ru?"

    Jie pped her head making her gape as he went on, "You don¡¯t always have to act like you can carry the burden of the whole world. Sometimes, let someone else help you carry that burden as well. So, please if you ever feel like its hurting. Please, go back home."

    Ru found the look in his eyes and his tone a bit weird but she didn¡¯t delve into this matter as she replied, "I promise. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t wanna go back home. I¡¯d still say it, my home is still in Shadowwick state. I¡¯m doing everything just to go back anyway."

    Jie¡¯s rxed a bit to hear that and went ahead leaving Ru alone to think. Jie wasn¡¯t the only person who said this to her. From Abbott Wang Xiuying to her own brother, Xia Haoran, everyone told her the same thing... "If it gets tough please go back home."

    But why was everyone asking her to do the same thing? What fear did they all have inmon?

    Ru didn¡¯t stay at the deck for long and walked around aimlessly. And on her aimless walk around, she ended up in a private zone. Obviously, she was gonna leave seeing the heavy security but when a silhouette caught her attention, her curiosity got the best of her.

    Although she could use her tricks to get past the security, she didn¡¯t do so. Instead, she went to one level higher and chose to jump down to the level below. It was a good thing that she was wearing a jumpsuit and not a gown likest night.

    She dusted her hands and leaned against the walls of the balcony. At this time, she was very thankful to her cunning mind for always having tricks up her sleeves.

    Inside the room, Ji Syaoran was sitting on the sofa with a knife and an apple in his hand. After he cut the apple in rabbit shapes, he walked towards the woman who was sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed.

    "Mum, look I even cut the apples in rabbits shapes. Don¡¯t you like it?"

    Ru wasn¡¯t much surprised when she heard Ji Syaoran¡¯s voice. She had already guessed that Ji Syaoran was Xiao Zhi¡¯er and Ji Yifeng¡¯s son. And from her memory, she was certain that Xiao Zhi¡¯er was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mother as well. The question was why were two brothers living with the title of half-brothers?

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er slowly lifted her eyes to look at the apple and said, "Are you sure I like apples in rabbit shapes? I thought my Syaoran was the one who loved apples cut like this."

    Ru didn¡¯t move, it was the only way to know what Ji Family was trying to hide. Since no one wanted to talk about it, she had her own ways as always. Staying oblivious to something wasn¡¯t in her nature. As a matter of fact, the more she didn¡¯t know, the more her curiosity was piqued and her passion would grow.

 Chapter 253 Help My Mother

    When Ru didn¡¯t hear anything for a long while, she peeked inside and saw Ji Syaoran staring at his mother with aplex look. The rims of his eyes had turned red. He sat down on the floor and held his mother¡¯s hands as he asked, "Mum, you recognize me?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er frowned at him strangely and stroked the side of his face saying, "My little wolf[1], how can I not recognize you? Do you think your mom is that forgetful?"

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s tear finally fell down as he smiled bitterly while thinking, ¡¯How should I tell you? In the past 14 years, this is the fourth time you actually called me by my name.¡¯ Even though his heart was feeling heavy, he couldn¡¯t stop smiling. He kissed his mother¡¯s hands and said, "Mum, your little wolf is really lonely without you."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er touched his head and said, "But mom is right here with you. How can my little wolf be alone? Isn¡¯t my Renren with you?"

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s face stiffened at her words as heughed sadly and asked, "What if I say bro is not with me?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had an unpleasant look on her as she replied, "Aye, that¡¯s not possible. My Renren promised to protect his brother for life. How can he not be with you?"

    Ji Syaoran ced his head in herp and said, "Mum still remembers what bro said years ago. Why does mum always forget me then?"

    Ru could hear his resentment and helpless in his choked up voice. She had already gathered that Ji Syaoran was the only person besides the elders of the Ji Family who knew everything. And he was living with the burden of all those truths as well.

    Not being recognized by his own mother... Even the idea was really sad.

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er kept running her hand through his hair as she said, "My little wolf has grown so tall and you¡¯re still jealous of your elder brother?"

    Ji Syaoran lifted his head and looked at her face as he spoke, "Shouldn¡¯t I be? It¡¯s been 14 years since bro left and it¡¯s been the same amount of years that I¡¯ve lost my own mother. Isn¡¯t it weird that even though he is never around, you only know him? And even when I am here, you don¡¯t even spare me a nce."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had a childlike innocence and clueless look on her face as she asked, "What are talking about Syaoran?"

    Ji Syaoran stared at his mother¡¯s face for a long time and shook his head saying, "Nothing. Your Syaoran has be a lost cause."

    "Wasn¡¯t he born a lost cause?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er teased him.

    Ji Syaoran scowled at her and whined like a kid, "Mum... How can you say this to your own son?"

    She pinched his nose and said, "You started it yourself."

    Ji Syaoran couldn¡¯t refute at all. So, he held her hand and ced it back on his head saying, "You keep this right here. I need you to touch my head to make me believe that it isn¡¯t one of my dreams again."

    Hisst words strangely touched Ru way too deeply. She could feel how hurt he was inside. Just what did he have to go through because of his family drama? She had seen him always trying to seek Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention. But it never crossed her mind that he wasn¡¯t an attention seeker, he was reallycking attention in his life.

    Even if the whole world showered him with love, what did it amount to? In the end, his own mother couldn¡¯t recognize him most of the time and as for his brother, he didn¡¯t recognize him either. Since for Xiao Zhiren, Ji Syaoran was still a half-brother. How unfair it was to him!

    Ru was just pondering over some thoughts when she heard the door opening and turned to see who entered. It was her first time seeing Ji Caihong since the time she got on the cruise ship. Actually, she hadn¡¯t seen this girl for a very long time. And if Ru¡¯s memory wasn¡¯t good, she¡¯d have really forgotten Ji Caihong¡¯s existence.

    Both Ji Syaoran and Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked in her direction. Ji Caihong was a bit stunned to see Xiao Zhi¡¯er but soon a smile bloomed on her face as she called out, "Mom!"

    Ru¡¯s attention, however, had shifted to Xiao Zhi¡¯er. The woman¡¯s face had gone pale. She immediately stood up and pulled Ji Syaoran behind her. She appeared vignt as she red at Ji Caihong and raised her hand to stop her from taking another step.

    "Don¡¯t you daree near my son!"

    Ru¡¯s curiosity took another turn when she heard Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s words.

    "Mom, it¡¯s me. Xiao Hong. Your daughter." Ji Caihong tried to speak but Xiao Zhi¡¯er didn¡¯t give her a chance at all.

    "I don¡¯t have a daughter. You¡¯re lying. You¡¯re that evil witch that ruined my family. I won¡¯t let you take my Syaoran. No, I won¡¯t." Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s eyes seemed dazed as if she had gone back in time.

    Ji Syaoran pressed her hand and said in a soothing voice, "Mum, calm down. It¡¯s alright." He turned to look at Ji Caihong and said, "Why are you here?"

    Tears were trickling down Ji Caihong¡¯s face as she looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s protective stance for Ji Syaoran and shouted, "Why can¡¯t I be here? Isn¡¯t she my mother as well? Why does she always do this to me only?"

    Hearing the sharp tone of Ji Caihong as if Xiao Zhi¡¯er was triggered. Her whole body shook violently as she picked up a ss vase and threw it on the floor before throwing everything on the floor from the table.

    "Get out! Leave my family alone! Isn¡¯t it enough that you killed my Renren?" As she spoke, she suddenly fell on the floor as if realizing something, she mumbled, "Right. You murdered my son. You took him from me."

    "Mum!" Ji Syaoran kneeled down beside and held her body in his arms as he red at Ji Caihong. "Are you happy now? Leave already."

    Ji Caihong looked reluctant and anxious as she looked at the lifeless state of Xiao Zhi¡¯er but she still turned around and left the room with tears in her eyes. Ji Syaoran kept shaking his mother but she didn¡¯t react at all as if she had gone into a state of shock. Ji Syaoran was scared out of his wits.

    Ru who had been observing until now chose this moment to slid open the door and walked inside. Ji Syaoran was stunned to see her there but before he could ask, Ru said, "I can either answer your question or save your mother. Hope you know your priorities."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t even have to think as he said, "Please, help my mother if you can."

    [1] Syaoran literally means ¡¯little wolf¡¯

 Chapter 254 A Past Well Hidden

    Ji Syaoran stood at the side silently as he watched Ru examining his mother carefully with caution. She was so concentrated that even Ji Syaoran was surprised. He left her alone with his mother and went to clean up the broken shards from the ground.

    After he cleaned the room to make it look like it¡¯s previous state, only then did he came back to stand beside Ru. He saw her taking out silver needles from his mother¡¯s body and asked, "Is she okay?"

    Ru nodded in affirmation and said, "She¡¯s out of her state of shock. But her mind needs rest that¡¯s why I made her sleep. When she¡¯ll wake up, hopefully, she¡¯ll have a clear mind."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief to hear that. He was really worried about his mother. "Thank you so much for your help!" Ji Syaoran thanked Ru with a sincere expression.

    Ru waved him off saying, "Sit over there." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t know why she said it but he did as she asked him to do and sat down on the sofa. Ru brought the first-aid kit and said, "Didn¡¯t you say your hands are precious? How can you be this careless?" It seemed like she was reprimanding him but Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t mind. Earlier when he tried to hold his mother before she could fall on the broken shards, he did indeed got a deep cut on his hand but until now, he wasn¡¯t paying attention to it.

    "You have a lot of questions, right?" asked Ji Syaoran with his eyes trying to make out any kind of change in Ru¡¯s expression. "My family is veryplicated. Leaves a lot of questions in one¡¯s mind."

    "Are you going to answer those questions?" was Ru¡¯s response which took Ji Syaoran by surprise. "I can¡¯t force you for answers but if I tried to find the answers my way..."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t need to hear her reply. "I can answer you since your bro¡¯s girlfriend. You deserve to know all this. Besides, you should know what dangerous waters you¡¯re entering. You should know that a seemingly very calm and perfect Ji Family isn¡¯t anything like its perfect image." Ru looked at his face before packing the first aid kit. "Our family wasn¡¯t always like this. Soplicated. At least, my childhood wasn¡¯t. I remember having a very happy family with dad, mom, bro and me. Everything was perfect."

    "Stop right there." Ru raised her hand to stop him and asked, "Do I look like I want to hear about your happy childhood? Just start from where everything went downhill."

    "Tsk. Tsk. You¡¯re really impatient just like Xie Rong." Ru coughed at his words as he added, "I was feeling so good reminiscing about the good part. Sigh! Fine, I¡¯ll start with my bad memories then."

    Ru leaned back in her seat while he stood up to walk towards the windows looking out at the sea. He seemed lost as he started, "Everything started changing when Yuan was born." Ru looked at his back and could feel his gloominess. "There was a secret mom kept from dad back then. She told no one that if she gave birth to Yuan, her own life will be in danger."

    Ru didn¡¯t need to hear this since she was aware of this fact very well. She was one of those people who warned Xiao Zhi¡¯er about her pregnancy.

    "I don¡¯t know the details since I was too young but I do know that after Yuan¡¯s birth, mom¡¯s health deteriorated and she was bedridden for two years. She had aged within days as if breathing herst breath. Dad was on the verge of breaking down with her." Ru silently let him continue. "Dad took mom anywhere he could to find someone who could cure her. Leaving me, bro and Yuan with grandmother, he did everything just to find anything that could bring him hope."

    "Wait!" Ji Syaoran looked back at Ru inquisitively and as went on, "You didn¡¯t mention Ji Caihong. Isn¡¯t she your twin?"

    Ji Syaoran smiled mockingly as he said, "Just because she was born on the same day and the same date as me, doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s my twin. Technically, she isn¡¯t even our sister at all. Yes, dad adopted herter on but that¡¯s different."

    "That means you, Zhiren and Yuan are the only real brothers. Also, the sons of Ji Family?" Ru asked to reconfirm this thing. Ji Syaoran nodded his head in affirmation. "Then how did Ji Caihonge into this picture?"

    "I was just about to get to that part if you hadn¡¯t interrupted me," said Ji Syaoran and Ru sealed her lips and urged him to continue with his story and he did. "Do you know that my dad has no siblings?"

    Ru did know that, "Yes. But on your grandmother¡¯s insistence, your grandfather adopted two kids from the side branch of the family."

    "Not many people know that... How do you know that?" Ji Syaoran looked at her with aplex gaze.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she replied, "I have my ways."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t press this matter as he said, "Alright. So one was a girl named Ji Liu and the other was a boy named Ji Lie. Both were siblings who lost their parents when they were young and grandmother adopted them. However,ter on, because our uncle Ji Lie tried to exploit his power and status, he was sent out of the family."

    He took a long and heavy breath, "Sometimes, I wonder if our family would have been any different if Uncle Lie wasn¡¯t sent out of the family. Could anything have been different?" Taking a brief pause, he added, "Because when dad was running around with mom to save her life, someone stole my mother¡¯s status and life. Worst was that... That person dared to rob a mother of her kids as well. In just a year, our family was left in shambles."

 Chapter 255 Secrets

    "Yah! How can someone take another¡¯s identity and life? Unless you¡¯re talking about identical twins, doppelgangers, or some bloody fantasy stuff." Ru hit his back without holding back making Ji Syaoran fall. Seeing how he fell, she mumbled a soft, "Sorry about that. Sometimes, I lose my control over my strength."

    Ji Syaoran tried rubbing his back but his arm couldn¡¯t reach and he had to bear with the pain as he said, "Can you be a bit gentle? And why are you so impatient? Let meplete first."

    "It¡¯s not my fault," almost shouted Ru at his face but considering how his mother was sleeping in the room, she lowered her volume and continued, "You stop taking breaks. I love talking in riddles but right now, I have no interest in solving riddles. Come clean all at once." Taking a deep breath, she went on, "So tell me, was Ji Lie behind your family¡¯splicated condition?"

    Ji Syaoran looked at her and shook his head in negation, "Uncle Lie died even before our family broke."

    "Then what happened?" she asked with a scowl on her face.

    Ji Syaoran heaved a long sigh and started, "Don¡¯t interrupt now. Here it goes..."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had fallen sick right after giving birth to her third son. She spent most of her time in her room which had been equipped with world-ss pieces of equipment. At most, people could say that those machines kept her breathing back then. Instead of getting better, her health was deteriorating at the speed one could see with the naked eye.

    She had spent two years like a lifeless person and after that, finally, some hope was brought for her survival. Ji Yifeng left with his wife for abroad to get her treated at any cost.

    But in their absence, a new storm had started in Ji Family. Yuan was only two when Xiao Zhiren¡¯s grandmother, Lady Jin Mi heard the news of Ji Lie¡¯s death. No matter what grandmother Ji loved her adopted son dearly and when she got the news that Ji Lie had left behind a wife and daughter, she couldn¡¯t help herself and brought the mother and daughter back home.

    That daughter was none other than Ji Caihong while her mother¡¯s name was Ling Qiaolian. Grandmother Ji had instantly taken a liking to Ji Caihong just because she was a girl. She always wanted a daughter in the family and that¡¯s why she even adopted Ji Liu.

    Later on, Ling Qiaolian¡¯s interaction with the boys of the house increased. She started caring for Yuan like a son and even treated Xiao Zhiren and Ji Syaoran like her own. Her gentle, kind and loving demeanor touched grandmother Ji very much. Seeing her effort to get epted as a family member, Ling Qiaolian did anything and everything.

    But who knew that her stay for one year would bring about so many changes. When Xiao Zhi¡¯er finally came back after a long stay, her whole family had changed. What she had to face was a son who looked at her with caution in his eyes.

    Seeing how Xiao Zhiren treated Ling Qiaolian and how Yuan had started calling her his mother, Xiao Zhi¡¯er was broken all over again. The sons for whom she fought with death had gone far from her. The only one who stayed by her side was Ji Syaoran. Because at his younger age, Ji Syaoran was a bit autistic and his only interaction was with his own mother. He couldn¡¯t get close to anyone except for her.

    Ji Yifeng stayed with his wife as always and consoled her. Xiao Zhi¡¯er wasn¡¯t a quitter. She tried everything to get her kids back but wasn¡¯t very sessful. One day, she found the reason behind that. She saw Ling Qiaolian adding something in her son¡¯s food. And when she got it tested, it turned out the food had traces of hypnotics.

    "Can you even imagine how mom¡¯s world must have crumbled right there?" Ji Syaoran asked with tears in his eyes.

    Ru was too engrossed in listening to this masterpiece that sounded right out of revenge plot drama. Even she was having trouble digesting it. She as an expert in medicines and hypnosis knew what it could do. Even adults would feel helpless before such things, much less a thirteen-year-old Xiao Zhiren. He was barely a teen. As for Yuan, he was already a nk sheet of paper at three. One could write anything and he would believe it.

    "How did your mother became mentally unstable? What trauma brought her to this point?" Ru asked in an urging manner.

    "Mom wanted to confront Ling Qiaolian but the same night, Ling Qiaolian tried to kidnap us, three brothers. She wanted to take us all away with her. But both Ji Family and Xiao Family were alerted because of mom¡¯s early discovery of those hypnotics," stated Ji Syaoran. "We still don¡¯t know who was helping that woman but she managed to board a ship. However, when mom saved us from the sea. She tried to escape on a helicopter and took Yuan and bro with her. During that long dark night, mom saw bro falling in the water and she fainted."

    "And when she woke up, she assumed that Zhiren was dead. That¡¯s why her memory is so bad." Rupleted his words for him and he nodded. "What about Ji Caihong? Why didn¡¯t she take her?"

    Ji Syaoran snorted, "That woman abandoned her own daughter. But when I found bro after four years, that¡¯s when I got to know what her intention was."

    "She was trying to make the real son of Ji Family stand against his own blood. Watching the bloodbath done by close kin... Hmm... I thought we were out of imperial days." Ru really wanted to hit someone at this point. This plot was twisted as it could get. Or so she thought.

    "Bro¡¯s memory was distortedpletely when I met him. He treated me as a half-brother and assumed that dad had cheated on our mother. In bro¡¯s mind, Ling Qiaolian had be his mother."

    "Because she used hypnosis to rece your mother¡¯s face with her own. And that¡¯s why Zhiren¡¯s affection for his own mother shifted towards her." Ru rubbed her forehead as she said, "I need time to get this in my head without the possibility of my mind exploding with such information."

 Chapter 256 For Herself

    "I have tried helping bro to recover his memories but..."

    Ru interrupted him as she abruptly spoke, "No, you can¡¯t do that." Ji Syaoran looked at her strangely as she added, "Do you even know the consequences of recklessly trying to push reality at him?"

    Ji Syaoran looked dejected as he replied, "Yes, I do. The doctor said I can lose my brother for life. Why do you think I¡¯m living as a half-brother? Why do you think my father is willing to be the viin for bro? Why do you think that my whole family is a mess?"

    Ru could understand his feelings and that made it worse for her. He alone had to go through everything and not only that, he even had to call Ji Caihong as his sister even though he knew that it was Ji Caihong¡¯s mother that ruined his own family. Apparently, Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t as carefree as he seemed to the world. He was carrying the burden of secrets too heavy for his age.

    "Aren¡¯t you well-versed in hypnosis? Can¡¯t you help my brother?" Ji Syaoran looked at Ru hopefully but thetter shook her head.

    "It¡¯s not that simple anymore. It has been 13 years since his memories have altered. At this point, I believe that deep hypnosis had been used which means, if I tried messing with his memories again, it will have consequences." Ru replied in a calm manner without showing the distress she was feeling inside. "Brain had always been the mostplicated part of our body. It¡¯s almost impossible to understand the neural system. However, what I can tell you is that I¡¯ll look for a way to help him."

    Ji Syaoran looked rxed to hear that. It meant a lot to him when she said that she was willing to help. "Actually, my dad wanted to look for the Xia family to help my brother. It¡¯s a widely known legend that Xia n had always been the masters of hypnosis. But our only connection with the Xia n was my mother who doesn¡¯t even recognize herself 7 out of 10 times."

    Ru heard his words but stayed quiet. It wasn¡¯t like she was gonna tell him that she was from Xia n herself. "Butter I heard that my grandfather did contact someone from the Xia n, however, their answer was the same as you. Messing with bro¡¯s brain can do more harm than good."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his words at all. She was taught by the same people, obviously, her answer was aligned with theirs. However, she was a bit surprised to know that Ji Rusheng, Ji Syaoran¡¯s grandfather actually managed to contact someone from her family. But she didn¡¯t voice her surprise out at all.

    "Syaoran, I recall hearing something about your father¡¯s second wife. Even the Ji Family servants think that Ling Qiaolian was Ji Yifeng¡¯s wife. What¡¯s the story behind that?" Ru asked after she briefly thought about this whole matter again.

    "That¡¯s because back then my grandmother really suggested dad to marry her. Seeing how she was obedient and a perfect daughter-inw material, my grandmother wanted dad to have a happy family. Since mom wasn¡¯t in good condition anyway. But it was dad¡¯s stubbornness that he would rather spend his whole life alone but he won¡¯t give mom¡¯s status, identity or kids to another woman."

    Ru smiled feeling proud of herself that she didn¡¯t judge Ji Yifeng wrongly. That man was truly worth respecting. Poor him, even he had to spend his whole life with a lot of burdens. He was already worried and distressed because of his wife and then his own son added misery to his life.

    "Because of that one time, Ji Family servants really assumed that Ling Qiaolian as the second mistress of the home. Besides, grandmother never told anyone who Ling Qiaolian was because if anyone else in the side branch knew that grandmother brought Uncle Lie¡¯s wife and kid back home even after what he did, no one would have agreed." He sighed out heavily and added, "Because of her that mistake, she still has no way to repent. Since then even my dad stopped talking to my grandmother like he used to. For dad, grandmother is just like any distant rtive whom he¡¯ll be only polite with. For him, grandmother is the reason why his family broke. Dad doesn¡¯t say it but almost everyone knows that dad still mes grandmother for everything."

    Ru whispered to herself, "I¡¯d be angry with him myself if he wasn¡¯t ming someone."

    ording to Ru, we as humans always need a thing or person to me. To let out our pent up frustration otherwise, it ends up eating us inside. She also knew that Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t just ming his mother, he was ming himself mostly. And that self-me was making him distant from his own mother.

    "Syaoran, I¡¯d like to see your mother¡¯s reports," said Ru after something came to her mind.

    "Why?"

    "Because I need to know her condition in detail," replied Ru.

    Ji Syaoran agreed to give her the reports after going back. As for Ru, she had already started nning what to do. She had to recover Xiao Zhiren¡¯s memories not only for him but also for herself. It was an insult to her that someone forgot her so easily.

    As she came out of the room with Ji Syaoran, she saw Ji Caihong crying at the side while Ji Yifeng sat beside her with aplicated look. "Xiao Hong, I told you not to go to Zhi¡¯er¡¯ room."

    "But dad, she¡¯s my mother as well," Ji Caihong sounded emotional.

    "I told you already that she can¡¯t remember you. Please, stop worsening her condition. I can understand that you also want a mother but try to understand."

    "Why does no one tries to understand me?" Ji Caihong questioned angrily before she wiped her tears and stormed off.

    Ji Yifeng was left sitting all alone with a dejected look. Ru was really shocked to see that even though Ji Caihong wasn¡¯t his daughter, Ji Yifeng was trying his best to be a father to her. That needed some real hardcore strength.

 Chapter 257 You Arent Alone

    Ru could count on her fingers the number of times she felt like she had no idea what was going on or what she was supposed to do. And today certainly was one of those days for her. The situation with Xiao Zhiren¡¯s family seemed so twisted that she was wanted to bang her head against the wall.

    And it never had happened that Young Master Ru wanted to do something and she didn¡¯t. That¡¯s exactly why when she came back to her room, she started hitting her head against the wall. At this point, this was the only thing that seemed sane to her insanely raging emotions. If she as a third party was going through such emotions, she could hardly imagine what the people involved were going through.

    With her eyes closed, as she again hit the wall, she felt something soft. Opening her eyes, she looked at the hand that had blocked her and turned her eyes to look at Xiao Zhiren looking at her with an inquisitively look and worry written all over his face.

    "You okay, love?" He asked.

    Ru stared at his face strangely before she held thepels of his jacket and mmed his back against the wall taking him by a shock or storm, that was yet to figure out. "Woah, for a second I forgot that my little chili is quite rough." He was still trying to be funny because her expressionless face was making him anxious now.

    Ru ced both her hands on his shoulders and stared straight at his face for a long time without saying anything. Although she was quite used to the silence, he wasn¡¯t. Especially when the silent person was his own little chili. He had always seen her bickering with him or saying something outrageous. This was new since she was quiet. So quiet that it felt almost scary.

    "Love, don¡¯t scare me like that. Do you have something to say? Even if you have nothing to say, just talk. Make a sound to let me know that I¡¯m not the crazy person who¡¯s actually talking to himself." Xiao Zhiren urged her to talk or do anything. But she didn¡¯t even flinch. If anything, her expressions darkened more than before.

    Ru cupped his face and made him look into her eyes as she thought, ¡¯I have a lot to say as in a lot. But I can¡¯t. My one careless word can put your life at risk and the idea of losing you is already scary enough. Oh, Ru! When did you be a ve to your feelings? But for the first time, I, Young Master Ru is not feeling pity for being a ve to my own feelings. Because those feelings belong to you. Just when did you be so bloody important?¡¯

    "I can¡¯t hear you, love. Can you please say it a little louder?" Xiao Zhiren could feel that she was saying something. Those eyes of hers were enough to tell him that. But what was stopping her from saying it out loud? She had never been the person to hold herself or her words back. He loved her bluntness but now, she was being like this. It suddenly felt odd and so not like her.

    All of sudden, Ru sighed out and dropped her head on his shoulder as she said, "I¡¯m tired."

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows quirked up in confusion.

    "Stay still. Let me recharge for a while," her words were enough to make him freeze. He stopped asking and hugged her.

    Both of them didn¡¯t know how long they stayed like that but one thing was certain that none of them wanted to let go. As Ru could hear his heartbeat, she felt herself calming down as if everything was alright in the world. However, it was a pity that she could never let her brain ept that everything was alright. That was a lie she could never tell herself.

    "If something¡¯s bothering you, you can always share it with me," Xiao Zhiren was really in a stump to see her acting this way. "But if you don¡¯t want to that¡¯s alright as well."

    "If I tell you, will you help me?" Her question sounded really unnecessary to him. Was there ever a doubt that his little chili said something and he wouldn¡¯t do so? If there really was the slightest bit of doubt in her then he needed to do something about that.

    "That¡¯s a dumb question, I will always help you even without you saying it," Xiao Zhiren replied while stroking her hair lovingly.

    "Are you calling me dumb?" Ru tilted her head to stare at him and Xiao Zhiren was taken aback.

    "Huh? I didn¡¯t call you dumb. I said your question is dumb," Xiao Zhiren tried to exin himself.

    Ru pushed him away and with her hands on her waist she said, "The question was asked by me and if that question seemed dumb to you that means I¡¯m also dumb, right?"

    "Does it even make sense?" Xiao Zhiren took a step towards her but she stepped backward.

    "Woah! Now, I don¡¯t even make sense to you. That¡¯s a shocker," said Ru making cold sweat appear on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face.

    He moved towards her while she kept going back. It continued until Ru¡¯s legs hit the couch behind her. Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stop moving and Ru had to lean backward now to avoid him. However, in the end, both of them fell on the couch. Xiao Zhiren held her body down and said, "Can you stop avoiding my question with your weird logic? I really want to help you."

    "And if you can¡¯t help me?" she asked.

    Xiao Zhiren shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I¡¯ll stay with you."

    "For what?"

    "To make sure..." he lowered his head to brush the tip of his nose with hers and added, "That you aren¡¯t alone." With that, he tilted his head and captured her lips with his own. Before even falling for her so deeply, he knew that he wasn¡¯t of much help to her. But that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to walk away.

    So what if her world and his were poles apart. Their heartbeat was one and that was more than enough.

 Chapter 258 Young Miss... Ru?

    Rationality and love have nothing to do with each other. Because love had never been logical and true love is always beyond rationality. Rational worlds are too fragile since they are based on fragile emotions.

    And when you find heaven on your lover¡¯s lips, that¡¯s when the rationality is truly lost. At least, that¡¯s what happened to Xiao Zhiren whopletely lost his control and rationality as the kiss got deeper and deeper. If he could, he would never want to pull away but the fact that he had that burning desire to taste every single inch of her body made him pull away. But only enough to drop kisses down her jawline to her neck.

    Her hair fell over her shoulders seductively making her look more tantalizing and captivating. With such beauty looming before his eyes, how could he hold himself back? He couldn¡¯t possibly stop his hands from wanting to touch her, feel her closer than she already was.

    Her corbones were covered with the fabric of the dress but it didn¡¯t stop him from kissing down towards the valley of her breasts. Ru felt her body burn in a strange way. She could feel the heat of his lips even with that fabric between them. But the possibility of it not being there was like a short-circuit. Because she couldn¡¯t tell whether she was ready for that step or not.

    Xiao Zhiren was obviously oblivious to her inner battle while he raised his head to kiss her exposed shoulders and his hand went behind her back to pull her zipper down. Ru clenched her fists tightly to stop herself while her teeth bit the inside of her cheek.

    Xiao Zhiren was only able to pull the zipper down to her mid-back when Ru tasted blood in her mouth and her senses returned. Lifting her hand, she fisted his hair and pulled his head up saying, "Don¡¯t take liberties that are beyond my control."

    "Ouch! Ouch! Can you let go of my hair, first?" Only from his reminder did Ru noticed that she was using more force than she intended.

    "Sorry," she apologized and let his hair go.

    Xiao Zhiren sat up, not before dropping a kiss on her lips and said, "You don¡¯t have to apologize."

    "When you live in London, sorry bes a habit you can¡¯t possibly shake off that easily," was Ru¡¯s reply which Xiao Zhiren had to agree with. He had heard and seen how on London streets even if you bump into someone, you¡¯ll hear a sorry. They say sorry for almost anything. But then again, it showed how the British were more polite people, so who canin about that?

    "Anyways, I meant that you don¡¯t have to apologize even for stopping me," said Xiao Zhiren sincerely. Ru closed her eyes and he jokingly said, "Do my words sound that touching? Did they move you to tears?"

    Ru opened her eyes at looked at him with a displeased look as she said, "Even if I¡¯m moved, I won¡¯t shed tears for that."

    "Well, you can¡¯t possibly control emotions," said Xiao Zhiren in a knowing manner.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and sighed out, "I might not be able to control emotions but just like that my tears are not in my control as well. I have never cried in my life before."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her strangely as he asked, "Never? Not even once?" Ru shook her head in negation. "What about when you¡¯re feeling pain? Or when you¡¯re sad, upset, heartbroken?"

    "Zhiren, I have never cried. ording to my grandfather¡¯s study of my brain, I¡¯m incapable of producing tears," replied Ru in such an indifferent manner that Xiao Zhiren felt weird. "I can feel emotions. I feel pain, sadness, and any other feeling. But none of those feelings bring me to tears. It has something to do with my brain even though there were a lot of rumors in my n about my condition."

    "Rumors?" asked Xiao Zhiren curiously.

    "Yeah, my astrology master used to say that I¡¯ve cried enough in my previous life and that¡¯s why I can¡¯t cry anymore." Hearing her words, he gaped at her in disbelief. "I have an even better one. There was another rumor that I¡¯m cursed. Well, I am cursed but I¡¯m sure my inability to shed tears has nothing to do with that."

    It took him a while to digest her words before he recalled something, "You learned astrology?"

    "Oh, I¡¯ve learned a lot of weird and useless things. Stop getting surprised over everything. I¡¯m the person who learned Latin- a deadnguage - just because I thought it was cool."

    Xiao Zhiren ruffled her hair at her way of replying. "It seems like you have a lot on your mind."

    As Xiao Zhiren noticed her underlying shades of worries, she took a deep breath and stood up, "I do have a lot on my mind but... I can deal with it. After all, who am I? I¡¯m Young Master Ru! I can do it all."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face scrunched up and he said, "Love, can you stop addressing yourself as Young Master Ru? It seems weird."

    Ru¡¯s brows furrowed as she looked at him and said, "But I am Young Master Ru."

    "You¡¯re a woman. It should be Young Miss Ru," reminded Xiao Zhiren in a polite way.

    Ru crossed her arms over her chest and stared squarely at his face. "My gender can¡¯t define my title. I was Young Master Ru and I¡¯d like to stay that way. Young Master Ru is not a name. It¡¯s my identity. It¡¯s who I really am. Alev Knight, Xie Rong, or my any other title can fade away. But Young Master Ru is that reality of my life which I can¡¯t run from."

    "You really take your gender way too lightly," said Xiao Zhiren with a shake of his head.

    Ru gave a lopsided grin and said, "My father didn¡¯t teach me about gender equality. He made me live through it and made me realize that there was not a single person of the opposite gender in my n who was better than me. So, for me, gender is just an excuse for people who want to give up. Otherwise, gender is not a barrier. The barrier is our societal norms and our own thinking."

 Chapter 259 Ru And Embarrassed?

    Xiao Zhiren called himself an idiot for trying to reason with Ru. He knew very well that her logic was out of his understanding and yet he dared to question her. If he wasn¡¯t an idiot, what else was he? However, what made him an even bigger idiot was the fact that he loved every word she said. Even when she made no sense at all.

    He noticed Ru pulling at her hair extensions lightly as if she was irritated by those things attached to her while she yawned and said, "Bloody hell, I¡¯m in serious need of some sugar intake."

    "I think I have some biscuits here," said Xiao Zhiren almost on instinct as if he was ready to serve her. Well, technically, he wanted to present her with the whole world but the only obstacle was that she was someone who could have the world all on her own.

    Ru smiled at him before full onughing at his face as she said, "Don¡¯t bother, Mr. American with a dodgy definition of a biscuit." Xiao Zhiren gave her a stern look in response and she challenged him back with the same enthusiasm as she went on, "What? Can you argue? For you, biscuits are soft and ky. I only eat crunchy biscuits."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s fighting spirit suddenly took over as he said, "Oh, right as if it¡¯s not weird to eat beans on a toast. Like, who does that?"

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Oi, mate! It¡¯s delicious, economical and takes only five minutes to make." She took a pause before saying, "And you guys talk weird as well. When I first went to America, do you even know how much I felt embarrassed?"

    "Embarrassed? And you? Why?" Even Xiao Zhiren was surprised and confused considering Ru¡¯s personality and nature, how could one embarrass such a thick-skinned person.

    Ru thought about whether to share that incident or not before finally speaking up, "I went to a supermarket and at the checkout counter, thedy said, ¡¯Paper or stic?¡¯ I stared at her like I was looking at an alien. I ced my money and credit card on the counter and said, ¡¯I have both, paper money and stic one.¡¯"

    "Pfft!" Ru wasn¡¯t even done yet and Xiao Zhiren had already lost his control over hisughter. "Love, she was asking whether you want a paper bag or stic bag."

    Ru gave him a hard stare and said, "I figuredter on. But at that time, quite a few people had the same reaction as you. Trust me, it wasn¡¯t fun at all considering I didn¡¯t have the foggiest idea why everyone wasughing." When Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stopughing, she pulled out a cigarette from out of nowhere and pulled out her lighter saying, "I¡¯ll just take a fag break. I¡¯ll be right back in a jiffy."

    Xiao Zhiren held her arm and stopped her before snatching the cigarette from her lips and said, "This is not good for you." He crushed the cigarette making Ru re at him.

    "Wind your neck in![1]" eximed Ru at him before pushing his hand off of her arm and adding, "That was the one cigarette I managed to steal and you even ruined that!"

    "You even stole it?" asked Xiao Zhiren in disbelief and Ru coughed awkwardly.

    "Borrowed it. I was gonna pay him back for that," she tried to exin before realizing that she didn¡¯t have to state her innocence before him. Like when did Young Master Ru felt the need to actually exin something to someone? And why? She felt ridiculous at the idea and said, "You know what, I¡¯m zonked![2] And I have no energy left to argue with you. Or perhaps, my brain cells don¡¯t want to do this overwork for you. So..." she pushed her lighter in his hand and went on, "I¡¯ll just go and find something to eat for myself."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could even open his mouth to say anything, she had vanished. He shook his head seeing how impatient she was but the smile on his face stiffened when he looked at the lighter she left in his hand. His eyes had widened in shock before his brows knitted together in confusion.

    As for Ru, she had stuck with her words and went straight to look for something to eat. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything since the morning. When she finally sat down to eat, she saw Ji Syaoran and called him over asking, "How¡¯s your mother?"

    "She¡¯s sleeping for now," he replied in a low voice as he carefully looked around.

    "And your sister who is actually not your sister but you still have to pretend like she is for some bizarre reason?"

    Hearing Ru¡¯s words, Ji Syaoran pursed his lips. He really didn¡¯t know whether tough or not. He tapped his fingers on the tabletop and said, "I think she¡¯s doing well. Her fiance has joined the cruise. So, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s better now."

    "She¡¯s engaged?" asked Ru in surprise.

    "Yup," replied Ji Syaoran as he watched her eating without any restraint. He noticed how she didn¡¯t care about how she looked while eating and yet managed to look suave. No wonder his brother had fallen for such a unique piece. As he looked around, he pointed at the upper deck and said, "Oh, there she is. Ji Caihong with her fiance."

    Ru licked the sauce from the side of her lips and looked in the direction he was pointing. Because of the sunlight, she didn¡¯t manage to see the face of the man beside Ji Caihong but she did manage to catch the happiness on Ji Caihong¡¯s face. It was obvious to see how much lovestruck that girl was.

    "She must love him a lot if his presence made her this happy," remarked Ru while taking another bite of her burger.

    "It really makes me wonder what love really is," mumbled Ji Syaoran softly.

    However, Ru didn¡¯t get to catch his words since her eyes were stuck on that man beside Ji Caihong. When he turned and his eyes met with Ru¡¯s both of their eyes widened in surprise? Or shock? Whatever it was, they both were staring at each other in disbelief.

    [1] "Wind your neck in": The ssic way of telling someone that their opinion is not appreciated in the given scenario.

    [2] "Zonked": Tired, Exhausted.

 Chapter 260 Start Of Our Misery

    Ru¡¯s forgot all about her hunger as she abruptly stood up with her eyes stuck on that very familiar face. Before she could feel the happiness of this reunion, a sudden sh of memory made her whole body tremble.

    While she was going through an emotional breakdown, the person staring back at her held the look of disbelief mixed with happiness. As soon as he got over his surprise, he practically just jumped down andnded right before Ru.

    "Ru?" his emotions were mixed up along with his feelings when he softly said her name and tears pooled into his clear blue eyes.

    Ru¡¯s hands clenched into fists as she stared nkly at him and said, "Rong."

    Yes, the person standing before her was the real Rong. He was the reason behind why she took the identity of Xie Rong. It was a reminder of him.

    A smile bloomed on Rong¡¯s face when she called out his name and as he lifted his arms to hug her, he heard a voice which made him halt.

    "Ru? What are you doing here?"

    Instinctively, Ru turned around to look at the person who called her and so did Rong. But as soon as Xiao Zhiren came in view, Ru lost her look of anger while Rong¡¯s eyes raged with fury.

    "Not him again!" Ru heard from Rong and turned to look at him questioningly. But while she was turning, Rong had already moved with a swoosh and ended up throwing a punch at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face without holding back.

    Seeing the blooding out of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mouth, Ru was stuck for a moment but just as Rong lifted his hand to throw another punch, Ru held his fist in her hand and red at him.

    "Let go!" said Rong in a warning tone.

    "Touch him again and I¡¯ll kill you right here without even thinking," replied Ru without hesitation.

    Rong dropped his hand by his side and looked at her with a strange expression. He looked hurt but not surprised at he said in anguage that only Ru could understand there, "It¡¯s been a decade and you¡¯re still protecting him? I thought you acted like a fool on the spur of the moment back then but it seems like you have really turned into a fool."

    "The person who pulled the triggered at my heart doesn¡¯t deserve to judge my actions," replied Ru in the same way.

    Rong¡¯s brows furrowed together as he heard her words. He looked confused. But the memory she got back was from the same moment when she was shot. For the very first time, she finally saw whose hand it was that pulled the trigger of that gun. But it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that she truly felt betrayed and hurt when that hand turned out to be of the person standing right before her eyes.

    Before Rong could make sense of what she was saying, Ru had already dropped all her facade and turned into the devil she was known for. Without thinking, she took off her shoes and ran towards Rong to attack. Any normal person would have never avoided her attack. One could barely see her moving with her nimble movements. However, Rong avoided every single strike of hers with ease.

    While they both were immersed in their own fight, a huge crowd had gathered at the side to look at them.

    "Ren Ge, ask your girlfriend to stop. She¡¯ll hurt my fiance," Xiao Zhiren who was trying to keep up with their fight heard Ji Caihong¡¯s pleading.

    "I would if I knew what¡¯s really going on," said Xiao Zhiren.

    "She looks like a pro," remarked Ji Syaoran in appreciation as he leisurely munched on the snacks. He was the only person who wasn¡¯t feeling apprehensive. "Actually, they both look like perfect partners with each of them knowing the style of fighting each of them had. How amazing!"

    Meanwhile, in between exchanging the blows, Rong said, "You do know that this fight is pointless, right?"

    "Pointless? I don¡¯t think so. I should get to push you to the edge of death like you did to me!" Ru¡¯s voice raised without her even realizing it at all.

    Hearing her words, Rong stopped resisting her attacks and let her punch her like she wanted to. But when he didn¡¯t resist, it annoyed Ru even more as she held his cor and red at him saying, "Why aren¡¯t you fighting back?!"

    "You said it yourself that I should go through exactly what you went through," saying that he pulled out a gun from somewhere and pushed it into her hand and went on, "Go on, shoot it right at my heart. At this point, I don¡¯t give a damn about my life. The only thing I¡¯ve been living for was to know that you¡¯re alive and well. Since I know now, let¡¯s end this. Please, I beg you. Just do me this favor already."

    Ru pointed the gun at his chest but even with all her will power, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to pull that damn trigger. It was like all of her body was resisting. In annoyance, she threw the gun to the sea.

    This time, Rong held the back of her neck and said, "If you the mighty, ruthless Young Master Ru can¡¯t bring herself to pull that trigger. How can you even believe that I, Xia Rong will have the courage to shoot you?" He shook her arms and added, "I don¡¯t know why do you think that I tried to kill you but..." he pointed in the direction of Xiao Zhiren and went on, "I¡¯m never letting that trouble walk back into your life. Not now, not ever! Even if I have to die myself, I¡¯ll keep you away from him to keep you alive."

    "What nonsense are you spouting? What does Zhiren have to do with this all?" Ru¡¯s mind was feeling a serious headache now from his words. She had never felt this confused before in her life ever.

    Rong was exasperated as he looked into Ru¡¯s eyes and asked, "Ru, don¡¯t you dare say that you don¡¯t remember why I got to the point of holding that gun?"

    "What if I say, I really don¡¯t?" retorted Ru nkly.

    "So you don¡¯t even remember that the start of our misery was him?"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened again as she looked at Rong and shifted her eyes to Xiao Zhiren who stood at a distance with an ice pack against his cheek. Ru might not know where all of this was going but she did know that she didn¡¯t like it one bit.

 Chapter 261 Still A Show-Off

    There are different kinds of worst moments in a person¡¯s life but if Ru had to choose one, she might end up choosing this very moment. Why?

    Because her mind was ying a joke with her. She could vividly see snippets of her memory and yet she wasn¡¯t able to link any of those together. Whether everything was a hallucination or reality, she wasn¡¯t sure anymore. And that sudden invasion of memories ended up giving her a headache. She felt like someone was splitting her apart.

    Just when she was about to lose her footing, Xiao Zhiren moved to hold her but since Rong was closer to her, he held her in his arms and supported her body as he let her lean on himself. The familiarity of his presence made Ru look up into his eyes trying to search for something. However, the way she didn¡¯t resist Rong¡¯s touch brought an ufortable feeling to resurface within Xiao Zhiren.

    "What are you looking at?" Even when she was feeling down, she didn¡¯t forget to shout at Rong for staring at her earnestly.

    He pointed at her eyes and said, "I don¡¯t like that color. It¡¯s not yours." Then he touched her hair and added, "And these long hairs are making me feel weird. Am I supposed to look at you as a woman?" He cringed at his own words and went on, "Please, my dearest cousin, that¡¯s like a big no-no!"

    Ru pushed him away and held her head in her hands as she said, "Do you think big brother that my look is important right now?"

    "All that matters is that you¡¯re alive. I can finally go back home," said Rong in a relieved tone making Ru look at him again.

    While both of them continued to talk civilly after their intense fight, the people around them were still reeling from the shock.

    "Why does it seem like they know each other?" asked Ji Syaoran as he looked at his elder brother questioningly.

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t sure about the situation himself as he replied softly, "I also think they know each other. The real question is how? I can clearly hear them but can¡¯t understand a single word."

    "Actually, even I can¡¯t recognize thenguage. But whatever they are talking about, it¡¯s sounding really good." Xiao Zhiren red at his brother who was still enjoying this situation.

    Meanwhile, on Ru¡¯s side, she was really gonna have a mental breakdown if Rong didn¡¯t press her acupuncture point to calm her nerves. "Are you freaking out? Since when did that start?" He asked with a strange feeling running through him.

    "You also didn¡¯t go home all this while?" Ru decided not toment on his silly questions and asked her own instead.

    Rong finally lost his calm expression as he replied, "Didn¡¯t know how to go back."

    "What? Forgot the way back home?"

    "Why is it that your jokes are still not funny?" he retorted making her roll her eyes at him childishly.

    They stayed silent for a minute before Ru said, "You hurt me." Rong was startled as he raised his brows at her in question. Ru showed him her wrist and added, "See, there is a scratch from your nail."

    Seeing her like this, Rong ended up smiling which turned into a burst of full-blownughter. He felt like even after years she was still the same. Hisughter turned into tears as he hugged her tightly in his arms and said, "I¡¯m sorry."

    "Why are you apologizing? If anyone should apologize that should be me. If you hadn¡¯t followed me back then, we wouldn¡¯t end up here," replied Ru with anguish burning in her heart. She truly felt like she was the one who did wrong. Even if her mind could convince her that he was the one who shot her back then, her heart would never believe it. Just like what her grandfather taught her, ¡¯We don¡¯t doubt our own. Just like we don¡¯t betray our own.¡¯

    Her second reason for not doubting was also simple. It was a rule in Xia Family that if anyone betrayed their own, the penalty is being shunned from the family. If you can¡¯t even be sincere with your own blood, what values can you possibly have?

    Rong slightly pulled away and looked at her face as he asked, "You¡¯re gonna apologize? Go ahead, I am waiting to hear the very first apology of Young Master Ru." Ru opened her mouth to say something when he interrupted her by saying, "No, wait! Don¡¯t apologize, I might not be able to take it."

    Ru punched him in the stomach and said, "Big brother, just because I¡¯m being polite, don¡¯t mistake me for being nice. I¡¯m still the very same as I used to be or worse maybe. But definitely not nice."

    Rong touched her head affectionately, "Like I don¡¯t know that already. You can be anything except for two things..." Ru waited for him to continue as he took a dramatic pause before saying, "You can¡¯t be nice and you can never be a real woman."

    Ru lifted her hand to hit him and he took a step back but Ru stopped midway as she felt her cellphone vibrating. She rummaged out her phone and took the call with an annoyed tone said, "This better be good, Wu Dishi. Or I¡¯ll forget all the goodness I learned in my life"

    Whatever Wu Dishi said from the other side of the line made Ru¡¯s expression changed drastically as she shouted, "What? How long has it been? And why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?" She heard the answer and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation before saying, "Get me out of here." She had just spoken those words when she heard the sound of a helicopter and looked up. "You¡¯re getting efficient."

    She hung up the call but her eyes didn¡¯t move away from the helicopter that was getting closer and closer. Suddenly recalling something she looked at Rong and said, "Big bro, you¡¯reing with me. I think I¡¯ll need your help."

    Rong also looked up at her ride and without asking a single question he nodded in agreement. Just as Ru saw the ropedder, without hesitation she ran towards the edge of the deck and jumped off earning more than just a few gasps.

    "Still a show-off," Rong shook his head at her but soon followed suit.

 Chapter 262 Missing People

    When Ru managed to enter the helicopter, she was fixing her safety belt when she heard Wu Dishi¡¯s voice, "Miss, who are you?"

    Ru looked at up at him with an indifferent look and saw his face contorted in perplexion. He was looking dumbfoundedly at Ru and the next person who entered after her. But Ru really didn¡¯t want to me him or yell at him for being so dense. But then again, who was she kidding? She was Ru if she didn¡¯t say anything that¡¯d be weird instead.

    "Want to die, Wu Dishi?"

    Hearing that deep voice filled with anger, frustration and something else that always managed to scare the hell out of him, Wu Dishi¡¯s spirit almost left his body. A look of astonishment had made his eyes open wide as he looked at Ru from the top of the head down to her bare feet. But as realization dawned on him, he visibly gulped as his face paled.

    "Master? Is that really you?" He asked for confirmation. He needed it badly.

    "This lord is only one in the whole world. Do you think a clone is sitting here?" Ru¡¯s aggressive voice brought Wu Dishi to the verge of tears. If he wasn¡¯t wearing a seatbelt, he would have gotten on his knees to beg for offending her.

    "I¡¯m really sorry, Master. Please don¡¯t take my ignorance to heart," Wu Dishi was pleading so that she could cut him some ck for once. However, Ru wasn¡¯t in the mood to punish him at the moment anyway so she just waved him off. Wu Dishi felt like he was given another chance to live as he finally managed to smile and said, "Ahan! Master, you¡¯re cross-dressing, right? To hide your identity? Wow, I must say Master is really a master of disguises." He even gave her two thumbs up.

    While Ru pressed her lips together as she heard his words, Rong ended up bursting into loudughter. Ru really was speechless. How was she supposed to break the news to her own subordinate that she had been deceiving him for years? More than the fact that Wu Dishi might feel betrayed, she was worried he might get a heart attack or something. So considering his health and other stuff, she just nodded her head and said, "Whatever!"

    Wu Dishi didn¡¯t pay attention to her offhanded reply as only now he focused on Rong and looked back at his master asking, "Who is he?"

    "You don¡¯t need to know," replied Ru calmly which told Wu Dishi that he wasn¡¯t supposed to poke his nose into that matter.

    Therefore, he nodded his head seriously and passed a tabletputer to Ru saying, "These are the details-" Ru stopped him from continuing by raised her hand.

    She looked into his eyes and said, "Get me some clothes first. I can¡¯t process in this attire anymore."

    It didn¡¯t take long before the helicopternded on the helipad on the rooftop of Metrix Consortium¡¯s building. Ru made her way to her office and found herself some clothes from the bedroom that was essible through her office. Even though she barely came to the office, Wu Dishi was very meticulous about the details.

    As she came out back in her short hair and ck attire with her bright green eyes, she really surprised herself at how different she looked. But this attire gave herfort, she couldn¡¯t feel in the past couple of days. One thing was for certain, she wasn¡¯t nning on acting like a girl ever again in her life. It almost made her lose half of her life. The effort and drama were too much for a straightforward person like her who would rather soak in blood with pride than wear makeup.

    Seeing her looking suave and handsome, Rong gave an appreciative nod as he said, "Now that looks like my little brother. You¡¯re definitely still handsome."

    "I know," said Ru with an attitude that surprised Wu Dishi who was standing by the door like a doorman.

    When Rong touched Ru¡¯s head, Wu Dishi lost it. He really thought someone was gonna die but poor him got another shock when Ru didn¡¯t react the way he expected instead she smiled at him with a sly look in her eyes as he said, "But still a little less than me."

    Ru kicked him on the shin and walked over to Wu Dishi. She clicked her fingers before his eyes to get his attention and said, "Start talking from the top. What exactly did you mean when you said Team Blue is missing? And if it¡¯s been a week, why didn¡¯t you inform me sooner?"

    Wu Dishi again passed her the tabletputer and started talking, "As per your instructions, Team Blue had been following Xiao Zhiyuan, his cousin Zhang Han and our very own Lilith. From Paris, they went to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam, they made a trip to Oktoberfest. Until there, the journey was rather smooth but from Oktoberfest, we received the message that something wasn¡¯t right. When they were going to make a trip to Krakow, I asked Team K to join them there as a precaution but..." he took a pause to take a step back before adding, "But Team K never met with Team Blue. We lost all the contacts. It¡¯s like all the members vanished into thin air."

    Ru rubbed her chin as she asked, "What about the kids?"

    Wu Dishi hesitantly took another step back and said, "We can¡¯t find them either." Ru red at him with zing eyes and he added, "Master, I already sent people to look through Krakow. Our people are on a search out for the past seven days. Even though we didn¡¯t manage to get much information, I can tell you that no news is good news."

    Ru closed her eyes in exasperation as she said, "Are you trying to preach right now?" Her voice was calm to the point of being eerie for Wu Dishi. He was fidgeting under her intense gaze. The way her intimidating aura had exploded made him really want to hide somewhere.

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare, master," said Wu Dishi in a shaky voice.

 Chapter 263 Ru; A Simple Girl

    Back on the cruise ship...

    Xiao Zhiren was still in shock at the fact that Ru left just like that. It hurt to know that she didn''t even look back once but he was somewhat familiar with her nature by now and knew how much of a one-tracked person she was. If something got stuck in her mind, she won''t look back at another thing until or unless she had dealt with the first thing.

    However, he really was irked by the fact that she left with someone who seemed closer to her than he ever felt. He really thought he was close to Ru by now but the first person to make him question that was, Jie. Still, Ru''s mannerisms with Jie assured him that they were just best friends who could tease each other and all.

    Nheless, it waspletely different this time around. That person around Ru seemed nothing different than Jie and yet it seemed awfully different.

    "Why is everyone gathered here? Did the meeting started already?"

    When Xiao Zhiren heard that question, he turned to look at Jie who was rubbing his eyes and kept yawning. It seemed like while all that drama was being unfolded, he was sleeping. Xiao Zhiren could only think of one thing, ''Birds of feathers flock together. No wonder Ru and Jie were so close. They both were entric in their own way.''

    As for why he thought that way was simple; a huge scene had unfolded before everyone on the deck but Jie had no clue about it. He was lost in dreand for far too long.

    "Your best friend left," informed Xiao Zhiren. Jie didn''t even flinch when he learned that instead, he looked like he was expecting it and that''s why Xiao Zhiren added, "You don''t seem surprised."

    "Well, Ru is like the wind. You never know where she''d end up," said Jie nonchntly while shrugging his shouldersnguidly. He''d have been more surprised if she had actually managed to stay on this cruise till the end. Her leaving was inevitable in his opinion.

    "She left with a guy," added Xiao Zhiren putting emphasis on ''guy'' showing how annoyed he was.

    However, Jie''s reaction baffled him even more because he replied with, "Now, I''d be more surprised if she left with a girl. Because let''s get this out of our way, Ru hates interacting with girls."

    Ji Caihong came up to tug at Zhiren''s arm and whined, "Bro, why did your girlfriend took my fiance with her? Where did she take him? Why is she stealing my fiance when she has you?"

    Now that sentence caught Jie''s attention. He, who wasnguidly looking for something to eat stopped and turned back as he asked, "She stole someone''s fiance?" Zhiren looked at Jie''s face and instead of finding shock, he found amusement. And most certainly, Jie was awfully amused at this point, "Wow! She really is my Ru."

    "Is it really that amusing, Mr. Zhu?" questioned Zhiren as he tried to stare down Jie while thetter was unfazed. How could he not be unfazed? He had dealt with Ru''s res that can make people go on their knees asking for mercy. How could merely Zhiren affect him?

    Jie shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It''s amusing to me for sure." He moved closer to Zhiren and asked with a straight face which was a striking contrast to his earlier carefree look, "Are you questioning my Ru''s loyalty? Or her feelings for you?"

    Zhiren was taken aback by his question and flinched a bit, "I''m not questioning anything. I just don''t find it okay that she left me here without even looking back or saying a word of goodbye."

    Jie tilted his head sideways and asked, "Did you tell her that she was supposed to tell you goodbye?"

    "What?"

    Jie shook his head at Zhiren and answered, "Mr. Xiao Zhiren, I don''t know what image you have of Ru in your mind but let me enlighten you. She is a very simple person. People tend to only find herplicated. But she isn''tplicated at all." Zhiren frowned at Jie''s words since he didn''t know where this was going. "Her level of simplicity is that if you won''t tell her something, she won''t do it." Zhiren''s eyes went round while Jie continued, "Ru had a very different lifestyle than you. If it took a million years to realize her feelings for you, do you think it''ll take her a day to realize how to act with those feelings? No, of course not!" Jie ced his hand on Zhiren''s shoulder, "You''re the first person in her life for whom she has those romantic feelings. But you can''t expect a ''dating illiterate'' person to know that she was supposed to say goodbye to you before leaving."

    Zhiren was speechlessly ncing at Jie. "As for why she didn''t tell you where she is going... Sigh! You''re crazy if you think she''d do that. Let me tell you one secret, the person whom Ru loves the most in her life is her father. But even then she never told her father what she was doing, where she was going and with whom she was going. That''s not a habit. That''s her nature. You can''t expect a person to change her nature. At least, not so easily."

    Hearing Jie talk about Ru''s nature and her father made Zhiren feel ufortable for some reason. He knew nothing about Ru''s family. At least, not the way Jie did. And it was his intuition but he felt like the person Ru left with also knew her family. Zhiren was really frustrated now. But now, his frustration was directed at himself.

    Jie picked up a muffin from the table and took a bite saying, "Man, you''re attitude is making me so curious to know the guy she ''ran off'' with." The way Jie air quoted ''ran off'' told how much amused he was on his own.

    Ji Syaoran passed his phone to Jie and said, "This video of their fight might help."

    Jie raised a brow at Ji Syaoran and asked, "You even recorded a video?"

    Ji Syaoran shrugged his shoulders nonchntly as he answered, "Couldn''t help it. I have never seen two martial arts masters going at each other. I hardly could see their moves. It was fascinating."

    Seeing Ji Syaoran''s daydreaming look, Jie was even more curious now as he took the phone and yed the video. Only 10 seconds through the video, Jie''s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped to the floor.

    "What the hell! Rong! That dumbass is alive?" The three people around him including Zhiren, Ji Syaoran and Ji Caihong heard his voice but they couldn''t understand what he said because just like Ru, he spoke a foreignnguage which they couldn''t recognize at all.

 Chapter 264 Brutal Realities

    Meanwhile, in Ru''s office, when Wu Dishi left the room, she looked at Rong who had been observing her for a while and asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Rong sighed saying, "You really didn''t change at all in a decade."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Are you still not gonna ask your brother for help?"

    Ru gave him a lopsided grin, "How can I? Aren''t you the one who taught me to never ask others for help? I should be capable enough to help myself."

    Rong nodded his head, "Yes, but you should consider asking your family." Ru didn''t reply and Rong knew why she was so quiet. It had never been her way. So, he changed the topic, "I have an inkling for a while... Are you Alev Knight?"

    Ru nced at him, blinked and nodded, "Yes, that''s me. You have heard of me."

    Rong rubbed his forehead in exasperation, "You idiot! Are you trying to tell me that you and I have been trying to kill each other for years? You must be kidding me!?"

    Ru''s brows raised instinctively as she contemted his words and asked hesitantly, "You''re the one known as Xavier? That Russian Mafia King?" Rong gave her a look that said, ''What do you think?'' Ru shut her eyes as she understood and said, "Great! We were in the battle of wits for years and yet I never realized that it''s you?"

    Since the time, Ru took the identity of Alev Knight, her biggest hurdle had been the person named Xavier. Her Knight Empire had been at war with Vier Industries. Amazing was the fact that the person behind Vier Industries was none other than her own brother. Fabulous!

    While she was trying to think about this situation, she heard Rong saying, "I have my people in Germany and Pnd as well. Send me the information about who you''re looking for. I think it''s more important to find the lost people."

    Ru nodded and called Wu Dishi in to take Rong with him. While she was gonna follow as well, she received a call and seeing Jie''s name shing on her screen, she picked it up, "What do you want Jie?"

    "You left?" came Jie''s voice.

    "Yeah, something urgent came up," replied Ru while waving at Wu Dishi and Rong gesturing them to leave on their own. When they left, she asked, "Why are you calling me? It''s not the first time I left unannounced? Are you that surprised?"

    "Me? Surprised? I''m used to it. That''s why I treat you like the wind. Always breezing around," said Jie looking heedlessly indifferent.

    "Oh, and here I thought that I was as important as oxygen to you," retorted Ru making Jie speechless.

    "Ouch! Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

    "No, not at all," Ru''s answer was to the point and she wanted him toe straight to the point as she said, "Can youe to the point though? I really don''t have time."

    "Impatient as always," remarked Jie and continued, "Anyways, a little birdyined that you didn''t bother saying goodbye to your boyfriend."

    Ru frowned, "Was I suppose to? Nobody told me that."

    Jie couldn''t help chuckling at her response. It aligned perfectly with what he thought she''d say. "Aye, my dumbest best friend. You''re really a masterpiece." He stoppedughing and added, "Another little birdy told me that you left with a very familiar face. So familiar that it seems like a dead person hase to life."

    Ru rolled her eyes at how Jie was twisting his words to ask about Rong and replied, "Jie, my brother is alive. Stop being sarcastic about it."

    "So, Rong Ge is really alive?" asked Jie, not knowing why he needed this confirmation even after he had seen the video of Ru and Rong together.

    Ru''s lips lifted up in a blissful smile as she answered, "Yes, he is."

    "Are you happy now?" asked Jie in a small voice.

    Ru hummed along before saying, "I am. More than that, I feel like I can breathe properly again. A pang of huge guilt has lifted off my chest knowing that my big brother is alive." Ru looked up to find Rong leaning against the door and asked Jie, "Do you wanna talk to him?"

    Jie hesitated before answering, "Sure."

    Ru passed the phone to Rong without telling him who was on the call but thetter knew it as he said through the receiver, "Hey, jerk head!"

    "Ugh! Ge, can you keep the insults to yourself? It''s been years. I thought you would have changed a bit," Jie couldn''t hold back himself. This was why he was hesitating. Rong always had been hostile towards Jie for the sole reason that Jie stuck with Ru like an annoying bug. But Rong''s hostility could only be seen through his way of insulting Jie at every chance he could get.

    Jie heard Rong''s deepugh and a realization hit him. He really was alive. "I can''t believe you''re still that easy to tease. I thought you''d be mature considering how you''re now the dad of twins."

    Jie''s eyes widened as he questioned, "Ge, you know about my kids?"

    "Of course, I do. Who do you think you''re talking to?" Jie''s face twitched as he heard that same narcissism that he was most familiar with. Only Jie could tell how simr Ru and Rong were in nature but then again, blood had always been thicker than water. How could he deny that Ru and Rong''s bond was strongest? And he had seen how strong it had been.

    From a young age, Jie had always felt really envious of Rong. Because even though the one spending the most time with Ru was him, the one who always knew what she needs or wants was Rong. Butter on, he learned that blood had that connection. The family had that connection. And he couldn''t challenge that connection.

    "It''s good to know that you''re still the same. As conceited as Ru. But I''m happy to know that you''re alive. However, I''m not pleased to know that you had been keeping track of my life but didn''t bothering to meet me." Jie''s reply got Rong thinking. He looked at Ru''s face who was typing something on herputer and sighed out.

    "I was keeping track of you to know whether Ru contacted you or not. However, I only got to know that you had some connection with Alev Knight. Although I had my doubts about Alev Knight, I still couldn''t confirm those doubts until today," answered Rong as he sat on the couch.

    "Well, since Ru is with you... I''ll stop worrying now. You better take care of her and let''s meet up when you both are free from whatever you both are cooking now."

    Rongughed at his choice of words and said his bye before hanging up. Ru didn''t look up from her screen and asked, "Did you both argue as always?"

    "Nah. Not this time," replied Rong. "But I''m d to know that he had been with you throughout these years."

    Ru smiled at that, "Apart from my family, I can only turn to Ah-Jie. You know very well that I only trust him." She took a pause before adding, "But now, I trust Zhiren as well."

    Rong''s jaw clenched as he heard herst sentence. He went up to her side and rubbed her head saying, "Little brother, trust is a brutal reality. Don''t lose yourself to it."

    Ru looked up to nce at Rong''s face and said, "I won''t. Young Master Ru can''t lose. Not even from the brutal realities."

 Chapter 265 Shes Right Here

    Rong looked at what Ru was working on theputer and frowned, "Do you think this kidnapping has something to do with that organization?"

    Ru knew which organization he was referring to. Those were the people because of whom she became Alev Knight. Those were the people, she despised the most. "I don''t think. I know it''s done by them."

    "Why? To get back at you for destroying their bases?" inquired Rong as he leaned against the shelf behind her.

    Ru shook her head and pulled out a picture of Lilith on theputer screen, "She is the reason." Rong raised his brow at her inquisitively. Ru borated on how she met Lilith and what conspired after that. Rong listened attentively and nodded his head but when he saw Ru changing the pictures on the screen, his brows furrowed up while she said, "They are trying to get their test subject back. I won''t let that happen." Ru rubbed her forehead and added, "But I can''t understand why did they kidnap Xiao Zhiyuan and Zhang Han with her."

    Rong pointed at Xiao Zhiyuan''s picture and asked, "Is he Xiao Zhiren''s brother?" Ru bobbed her head in response and he straightened up saying, "Then you''re looking at this situation wrongly."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" asked Ru in confusion.

    Rong pointed at Lilith''s photo and started, "Their target isn''t her," he shifted his finger to Yuan and went on, "He is the real target. She and the other guy just got stuck with him."

    Ru was perplexed not knowing what he meant, "Big brother, what are you talking about? Yuan doesn''t even have anything to do with that organization. He is just a simple high school graduate."

    "A simple high school graduate?" Ru found his tone a bit strange and looked at his face while he continued, "Which family does he belong to?"

    Ru answered, "The Ji Family."

    "And why do you think I got myself a fiancee from Ji Family?" asked Rong reminding Ru that she was told on the cruise ship that Rong was Ji Caihong''s fiance. But how could that be possible?

    After contemting for a moment, she said, "Maybe, you fell in love with that little girl." She thought about it for a minute before saying, "But is that even possible?"

    Rong had a bleak look on his face as he replied, "No, it''s not possible. I chose her for a reason."

    "Reason?"

    "Do you know who her mother is?" asked Rong and Ru''s eyes widened.

    "Oh, that woman who separated Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan from their own family. I just heard about her but I don''t know who she is," replied Ru and as his words yed in her mind again, she abruptly stood up saying, "Don''t tell me that she''s the one behind everything that happened with us."

    Rong stayed silent for a long moment while Ru pulled took out a cigarette and with her lighter, she lit it up. She was just about to take a puff when Rong pped the back of her head and narrowed his eyes at her, "Smoking?"

    Ru tried tough it off by saying, "Well, anyone can pick up one or two bad habits on the streets."

    Rong red at her and took her lighter from her as well. But when he looked at the word ''Raven'' carved on it, he smiled on his own. She still was sticking with her essence. But when he turned the lighter in his hand, his eyes caught sight of the ''Thunderbird'' symbol and his expressions shifted.

    "You don''t have a part of your memories, right?" asked Rong out of the blue.

    "Yeah, I don''t," replied Ru.

    He pointed at that lighter and said, "Howe you remember this ''Thunderbird''?"

    Ru frowned first before answering, "Just saw a snippet in my dreams." She thought about it before adding, "I thought this had something to do with my enemies. Butter, I was reminded that Thunderbird actually is the representation of the Ji Family. And I can''t find any link of my almost death with the Ji Family." Recalling how her team found something suspicious in Ji Family, she continued, "However, I do think that there is something fishy in Ji Family but still, they are not the ones I''m looking for."

    "They are certainly not the ones you''re looking for but they are connected indirectly."

    Ru''s face was contorted in confusion as she said, "Big brother, the only connection they can have is Ji Caihong''s mother. But that woman is dead. Even Xiao Zhiren is looking for her murderer. How can she be connected now? Unless the daughter took her mother''s ce and Ji Caihong is the real culprit now."

    "I never thought my little brother''s thinking could be this simple," replied Rong. "First of all, let me clear one thing with you. Ji Caihong''s innocent persona can be deceiving because she seems too naive to be true. However, she isn''t faking it. Ji Caihong is exactly what she seems. She has no hidden face." Ru was surprised to hear her brother speaking up for someone else but she still listened without interrupting him. "As for what suspicions you have of Ji Family are also wrong."

    "How can you be so sure?" asked Ru.

    "Because I''ve known that family for years now..." he took his phone and went through some documents before showing it to Ru. "Can you recognize her?"

    Ru looked at that photo and that horrible dream of hers shed right before her eyes. That shrieking voice of that girl rang in her ears, ''You still have the guts to look at my man.'' Ru''s cracked her knuckles while bloodthirst was palpable in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to tear that girl apart. "She is still alive?"

    "Well, I had plenty of chances to kill her but I knew you''d love to do it yourself," replied Rong.

    "How is she involved with Ji Family?" asked Ru.

    Rong showed her a photo of Ji Caihong with that girl. And that girl in the photo was none other than Ji Caihong''s best friend, Tang Yiyi who had previously sent assassins for Ru when she was trying to have a simple tea with her best friend Jie. "She is known as Tang Yiyi now. She took this identity to stay close to Ji Caihong. She''s more like Ji Caihong''s bodyguard and a rat in Ji Family. And that''s when I got to know how I was supposed to control the ones in that organization."

    Ru was trying to process this information in her mind when he dropped another bomb, "You said Xiao Zhiren is looking for that woman''s murderer."

    "Hmm..." Ru hummed in reply. "She did something with his memories. He thinks she was his mother and that''s why he''s hostile towards his own family."

    Rong gave her a smile that didn''t look like a smile as he asked, "Don''t you wanna know who the murderer is?"

    "You know?" asked Ru in surprise.

    "You know her as well," replied Rong and Ru''s brows quirked up in surprise. He brought her to a side and pointed at the mirror saying, "She''s right here."

 Chapter 266 She Never Did

    Meanwhile, back at the cruise ship...

    From the moment Jie hung up the call, he had been lost in his thoughts. Seeing his worried expression, Xu Mey went up to his side and ced her hand on his shoulder, "Is everything okay, Ah-Jie?"

    Jie turned his head to look at her concerned face and gave her a small smile in response before patting her hand on his own shoulder. "Everything is okay. For now, at least."

    Xu Mey furrowed her brows at his reply and questioned, "What do you mean? Did something happen? You can share it with me."

    Jie sighed before he turned around and wrapped his arms around his wife''s shoulders from behind while he ced his forehead on her shoulder, "Ru is gone."

    "And?" retorted Xu Mey in a calm voice and careless manner as if it wasn''t something shocking even to her. "Doesn''t Sensei always vanish like this? Why do you look so worried this time?"

    "I''m not worried that she left," replied Jie with a heavy tone. "I''m worried because of what she told mest night."

    Xu Mey''s curiosity piqued as she inquired, "What did she say?"

    "She came to see mest night," said Jie and lifted up his forehead off her shoulder. "She said goodbye to mest night even when she didn''t have any n on leaving today."

    Xu Mey frowned at his words and asked, "What do you mean? If she wasn''t supposed to leave today then why did shee to say goodbye beforehand?" She took a pause before adding, "She must have a reason for doing that. After all, Sensei doesn''t do anything without a well-nned reason behind it."

    Jie chuckled at his wife''s words knowing what she meant. Even he knew that Xu Mey understood Ru enough to say that Ru would never do anything without nning it. Even if her actions seemed random, those actions were well-thought of. She never moved on instincts, she only made it seem like she did.

    "She said goodbye to me because she was feeling apprehensive," answered Jie as his expressions turned grim thinking about Ru''s exact words...

    *The previous night*

    When Ru had learned Ji Family''s biggest secret from Ji Syaoran, her mind was buzzing with all kinds of thoughts that were hard for her to process alone. She didn''t go straight to see Xiao Zhiren at that time, instead that was the time when she chose to ruin Jie''s sleep and bug him with her worries.

    "What''s up with you at this time?" asked a half-asleep Jie rubbing his eyes.

    "I''m feeling something strange," replied Ru with a straight face.

    "What? Tell me about me," Jie''s sleep was all gone as he thought she was gonna share her true feelings about love with him. However, her response left him dumbfounded.

    "I''m here to say bye to you," she answered.

    "You''re leaving?" he questioned.

    "Don''t know," said Ru uncertainly.

    "Then why are you ruining my sleep?"

    "I''m feeling apprehensive," she replied.

    "Apprehensive? And you?" asked Jie in a strange voice. "When did Young Master Ru start to feel such humanly feelings?"

    Ru red at him dangerously but Jie rolled his eyes back at her in response while she sighed, "I honestly don''t know why my heart is so restless but it is. I have an inkling like something is about to go wrong. Badly wrong. And I don''t want to leave without seeing you."

    Jie listened to her words attentively and even could feel the seriousness of her words. But he still tried to lighten up the mood by saying, "Or maybe, you''re overthinking as always. How can things go wrong when Young Master Ru is around?"

    Ru tried to give him a small smile in reply as she said, "I know what you''re trying to do here. But don''t bother. I''m telling you the truth, my heart is feeling weird. My mind can''t process the secrets I just learned but it had only rmed my doubts."

    Jie contemted her words before rubbing her head, "Ru, you''re worrying for no reason. Nothing is gonna go wrong."

    Ru looked at him oddly as her face twitched, "Who said Young Master Ru is worried? My foreboding can only make me restless, worried is a strong word." She took a pause to take a long breath before continuing, "Have you seen the stars this night?" Jie''s brows knitted together at her while she said, "The stars alignment is also a sign. A storm is rising. Now, the question is if that storm can tear me down or not."

    "No matter how strong is the storm, I know my Ru can survive it as always," said Jie with certainty as he looked at her with a proud look in his eyes. He might not be certain about anything else, but he was certain that his Ru wasn''t someone who could break so easily.

    "I won''t lose, but I think I''ll lose something. The problem is I''m scared of losing myself this time," those were Ru''s parting words to him that made him feel uneasy.

    *Coming back to the present*

    Xu Mey ced a hand against Jie''s cheek and said, "If Sensei is not worried, why are you?" she took a small pause before adding, "Besides, it was just Sensei''s hunch. It''s nothing certain."

    Jie shook his head, "No, it''s not just a hunch of hers. Her premonitions had always been true. Every time she said something was about to go wrong, it did. That is why I''m worried."

    Hearing his exnation, even Xu Mey felt worried about this situation.

    Back on Metrix Consortium''s top floor, Ru was still staring at her reflection with a furrowed brows. She looked at Rong in the mirror and questioned, "I''m that... murderer?"

    Rong patted her shoulders as he answered, "The murdered Xiao Zhiren is looking for is definitely you." He turned her around to look into her eyes as he added, "But that''s different that you didn''t kill his ''fake'' mother named Ling Qiaolian."

    "What?" asked Ru in confusion. She was the murderer Xiao Zhiren was looking for killing Ling Qiaolian but then howe she didn''t kill Ling Qiaolian. What did it even mean?

    Rong ced his hand on her head and looked into her green eyes saying, "Just because you drove a dagger through her guts that doesn''t mean she died because of that."

    "Then how did she die?" asked Ru seemingly alert than before.

    "She never did," answered Rong with a straight face.

    "Huh?" Ru was dumbfounded.

    "My dearest little brother, Ling Qiaolian is still alive..."

    Ru''s eyes widened in shock as she heard this statement. It was like all her beliefs were taking a 180-degree turn and nothing seemed to be the truth anymore.

 Chapter 267 Bargaining Chip

    From the time Ru had met Zhiren, she knew that he had been looking for his mother''s murderer. He had seen her mother getting stabbed at herst moment and he even held onto the weapon that was used to stab her. But in the dead of the night, neither could he see the murderer''s face nor could he find his mother''s dead body.

    And at one point, she even felt the urge to help him as well. But since she had her own enemies lied up, she didn''t try to get involved with his enemies as well.

    However, it blew her mind when she got to know that the woman, Ling Qiaolian was not even Zhiren''s mother from the very beginning. And the woman, Xiao Zhi''er whom Zhiren hated the most in his life was, in fact, his own birth mother. He was just one of those people who fell in the trapid by Ling Qiaolian and ended up despising his own blood-rted rtions including his own father.

    Even when she learned of Zhiren''s suspicions about his own father''s involvement in Ling Qiaolian''s murder, she didn''t believe him. Call it intuition or whatever, but she felt like it was impossible for Ji Family to stoop this low.

    Ru even thought that Ling Qiaolian was really inhumane to turn a small child against his own family but she found her even worse when she found out that Ling Qiaolian didn''t even hesitate to leave her own daughter, Ji Caihong behind and never look back. But she thought like others that Ling Qiaolian was actually dead, so she didn''t really think about it that deeply.

    But now that Rong told her that Ling Qiaolian never died then her whole perceptive of this whole situation was changing drastically. And how could it not? Ling Qiaolian being alive all these years was like a game-changer and she had to look at this whole situation from a very different angle now.

    She kept staring at her reflection in the mirror as she questioned herself, ''How could you not know?'' She had been so busy trying to raise the power that shepletely overlooked the identities of her real enemies.

    Only now she thought of how cunning and dangerous Ling Qiaolian actually was. She not only faked her own death by her hands. By Young Master Ru''s hand, she escaped just like that? That was uneptable! Not only that Ling Qiaolian didn''t forget about her daughter, Ji Caihong all these years. She merely had been working from behind the scenes. Since on the front, she left Tang Yiyi to stay beside Ji Caihong.

    The day she had gone to visit Zhiren''s grandmother, she had actually heard of that name as well. Tang Yiyi, Ji Caihong''s best friend whom nobody liked in the whole Ji Family. But since she once saved Ji Caihong''s life, that''s why Ji Caihong really trusted her. Not knowing that she had been keeping a snake right by her side.

    "Whatever happened that year, did it have anything to do with Ling Qiaolian?" asked Ru as she nced at her brother who had concerned look on his face as he stared at her expressions changing. She was referring to the year about which she knew nothing. The year that had been wiped clean from her memory.

    Rong thought about it before answering her cautiously, "At least, it all started because of her hatred for the Ji family." He didn''t think he was supposed to tell Ru everything clearly. If her mind was trying to suppress her memories, maybe it was for the better.

    Unlike Ru, Rong had never been trained in medicine and it wasn''t that he was unfamiliar with that field. But he wasn''t as well-versed in medicine as Ru was. Just like how Ru''s specialty was medicine and swordsmanship. Rong''s main strength was in archery and hypnotism. That''s why he couldn''t tell how much effect his sudden revtion could have. Although he believed in her strong mental strength, he still didn''t wish to see her hurt at any cost.

    Even though every person in their Shadowwick state was an unmatched martial artist. Even they were divided into different categories. Every person had to choose a field he wanted to excel in. Just like Ru, who got too invested in medicine. That is why Rong''s expertise of no use to Ru. He couldn''t help her even with his hypnotism. Because he wasn''t sure of the consequences and he didn''t dare to take that risk with her.

    Ru didn''t know at this point what was right or wrong. But she understood one thing for certain, Xiao Zhiyuan''s kidnapping had something to do with Ling Qiaolian and as for her intentions, Ru couldn''t tell. She abruptly turned around and said, "Big brother, I have to find Yuan at all costs."

    Rong looked at her determined expression and didn''t say anything. He had expected something like this from her. She was stubborn and who didn''t know that in the entire Shadowwick state?

    "After destroying so many bases of those animals, I definitely have a way to find them as well," said Rong in an assuring way and Ru suddenly felt a rush of calmness and warmth spread throughout her body. She didn''t know how but his mere presence was so reassuring that she couldn''t describe it in mere words anymore. It was like she knew someone was there saying, ''Go ahead, I got your back.''

    Reying his words in her mind, she frowned as she said, "Big brother if you had been destroying that organization''s bases. Howe they didn''te to find trouble with you?"

    "I have a bargaining chip," answered Rong in a calm manner. Before Ru could question anything, she heard his cellphone''s vibration from the table. He bent down a little to take his phone and answered the call, "How is it going?" He listened to the other person''s reply before nodding, "Okay. Take them both to my ce. I''ll be greeting them personally."

    Ru frowned as she saw his lips curled up in a smirk. "Bro, who is the bargaining chip?"

    "You''ll know," said Rong calmly. "First, you have toe with me?"

    Ru quirked her brows at him in question, "Where?"

    He offered his hand to her and asked, "Do you trust me?"

    Ru looked at his hand before lifting her eyes to nce at his face as she answered, "More than myself."

    He smiled at her gently in reply as he said, "Then just follow me." Ru nodded her head and took his hand in hers without any hesitation at all.

 Chapter 268 Love & War

    It was already night time when Ru arrived at a luxurious vi with Rong. Expensive chandeliers, gold pieces and the interior that could make one envious. Entering such a ce, she gave her brother a once over. No matter how she thought about it, she really couldn''t associate this luxurious ce with her big brother''s name.

    Knowing his personality, she was willing to bet her life that this ce was so not aligned with what Rong really was. So, to win this bet that she had somehow started with her own conscience, she asked, "Big brother, this is your ce?"

    Rong seemed to have read her thoughts and he replied, "What do you think?"

    "It doesn''t seem right," answered Ru without hesitation at all.

    Rong''s lips curled up slightly. "It''s my first timeing here. It looks like my overly enthusiastic ''fiance'' put a lot of effort into this ce."

    The word ''fiance'' and the way he said it, both caught Ru''s attention very well. She knew the said ''fiance'' was Ji Caihong but she didn''t know what feelings her brother had for her. Did he really just got involved with her because she is the daughter of Ling Qiaolian? She thought this conjecture of hers was actually more usible than thinking that Rong was actually in love with Ji Caihong.

    The former seemed far-fetched. Just as she was about to pass through a door, she heard a familiar voice, "Why aren''t you telling me? Where is Xavier? I want to see him. What is wrong with you all?"

    Ru''s steps halted as she stared at her brother and asked, "Don''t tell me that your bargaining chip is inside this room." Her face was twitching for some reason. When he didn''t answer for a moment, she almost screamed, "Big brother, how can you use your own fiance as a bargaining chip here?"

    Yes, the familiar voice she heard belonged to Ji Caihong and as for how or when she returned from that cruise waspletely unknown to Ru. Well, no one could me her, she had been pre-upied trying to sort out her own emotions and a storm of information that was thrown at her so suddenly.

    Rong''s face muscles didn''t even lift, he looked as calm as anyone could possibly be. But there was a ripple in his blue eyes for some reason as he stared at Ru in contemtion. "Little brother, I told you I have my reasons for being with her. By now, you should have already guessed."

    Ru calmed herself down and said in a leveled voice, "I know. But she''s still someone whom I like. I can''t just use her like this. That too in this dangerous task."

    "When did Young Master Ru learn these human feelings of like and dislike?" questioned Rong as a line appeared between his brows. "Didn''t you use to despise having desires?"

    Ru was startled as she heard his words. His words reminded her how far off she had wandered from who she originally was. She indeed despised desires and the concept of like and dislike was considered way below her. The only thing mattered in her life was family, loyalty, and friendship. The rest could never amount to that. Then howe she said she liked that little girl whom she was not even very well acquainted with?

    But since she didn''t want her brother to know that she had softened up, she retorted, "Hmph! Who said I had no desires? You know very well that I always wanted to taste the delicacies of the whole world. That was also a desire. In fact, it''s you who has lived the life of a monk."

    She was indeed right. Even when she had some wishes, the person standing beside her had none. He was literally the definition of a monk or a saint who had left all worldly desires far behind him as he had ascended on a path far beyond that. If he had any will to live it was... "You only spend your life trying to protect me at any cost. As if that was the reason for your own existence. Your sole purpose of life."

    Rong didn''t say anything but something had shed in his eyes as he heard her words.

    "Brother, you can''t use her okay? We can find another way," insisted Ru, not knowing whether it was for Zhiren''s sake who cherished Ji Caihong very much or because she herself thought Ji Caihong was just a small naive girl.

    "I never said she is my bargaining chip," answered Rong as he touched his jaw. Ru''s face lit up but it soon twitched again as he added, "She''s the trump card, I won''t be revealing unless it''s absolutely necessary."

    "Bro, you won''t do anything like that. We can''t bring an innocent person in this battle," said Ru.

    Rong''s expressions darkened as he said, "We were also innocent when we were dragged into someone else''s battle of hatred and jealousy. Everything is fair in love and war. They started this war by using my love for you against us, now I don''t mind ying their game with them. Besides, don''t forget what grandfather taught you, ''Lose your life, but never let anyone lose your pride.'' You are still my pride. And I won''t back off that easily."

    Ru had rarely seen expressions on her seemingly poker-faced brother. Even though they were alike, he still was someone who could challenge the cold aura around her. It was like he was a well-forged sword ready to strike anyone who came after her ever again. Even though she had been very familiar with his protectiveness over her but it seemed to have intensified now.

    "But everything isn''t her fault," said Ru in a small voice.

    "Her fault is that she has a mother like Ling Qiaolian," replied Rong.

    Ru could only sigh in defeat before his stubbornness, "Okay. Do whatever you want. But I''d like to see why we are here."

    Rong nodded and took her around the corner of the hallway towards thest room. It seemed quite inconspicuous and ordinary. Rong opened the door of the room and gestured her to walk inside. Ru took a step inside and it took her a while to get ustomed to the darkness in the room.

    In that windowless room, she could finally make out the silhouette of a person who was tied up with a pole. Ru frowned and turned to look at Rong who only clicked his fingers and the light turned on.

 Chapter 269 A Slave & A Master

    As the lights flicked on, Ru only heard her brother saying, \"Meet Ji Caihong¡¯s best friend, Tang Yiyi. Hope you haven¡¯t forgotten that face.\"

    At the very beginning when Ru had her own suspicions rted to the Ji family, her every single trace led her to only one person; Ji Caihong. Whether it was the party where she heard that familiar voice of the woman whose sneak attack made her lose her eyesight or it was the time when Knight Empire¡¯s server had an attack.

    Both times her traces led her to Ji Caihong but she had never been able to bring herself to even doubt Ji Caihong. And now when she looked at that girl tied against the pole in that room, Ru knew why her traces led to Ji Caihong. Looking at Tang Yiyi¡¯s face Ru¡¯s blurred memories cleared up and her buried anger resurfaced. If that day, this woman hadn¡¯t attacked her from behind, Ru would have never fallen.

    Even if the effects of the drugs were strong, Ru could hold her ground but that one attack brought her to the edge of her death. Rather than saying that it was that bullet that pierced through her heart, Ru would most likely me this person right before her!

    \"Wake her up,\" Rong ordered his men to wake Tang Yiyi who had been peacefully in dreand until now but now, it was time to open her eyes to live her nightmare.

    Two expressionless females came out of the dark corner and silently threw water at Tang Yiyi¡¯s face, waking her from her slumber. Seeing that Tang Yiyi was slowly opening her eyes, both redhead females stepped back and went back to their position making their presence as little as possible.

    While Tang Yiyi was slowly trying to adjust to the bright light, Ru¡¯s whole body was trembling in anger. As she fluttered her eyes open, she was met with Ru¡¯s green eyes looking as dark as if she was straighting out of hell. Even though Tang Yiyi¡¯s body shuddered under the pressure of her gaze, she didn¡¯t back out. It took her a moment before her brows knitted together, \"You! Subject 4.\" Her eyes widened as she questioned, \"How are you alive?\"

    Ru sneered at her saying, \"You really thought this Lord would die at the mere hands of mortals like you? How presumptuous can you possibly be?\"

    Rong couldn¡¯t help but cough to conceal hisughter as he stood at a side. He really couldn¡¯t do anything with this little brother who really talked like she was looking down at the people who would really be like a thorn in her eyes.

    But his cough caught the attention of Tang Yiyi as she turned her head and as soon as she saw Rong¡¯s face, her eyes literally lit up, \"Han Ge, why are you here? Where have you been? I¡¯ve looked for you for so long. Is this despicable woman trying to get revenge on you as well?\"

    Han was the fake identity that Rong had when he and Ru were caught up with Tang Yiyi¡¯s organization. He even had to involve himself with those people because Ru wanted him to do so. Even though Ru was in her male attire at the moment, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Tang Yiyi could tell her gender with ease. After all, in that organization, everyone knew that she was cross-dressing. Even if Ru tried to hide it, during their several experiments it was inevident that they would learn her real gender.

    \"I was so worried about you,\" while Tang Yiyi talked both Rong or Ru said nothing. While elder brother was busy pretending like he wasn¡¯t even listening, the younger ¡¯brother¡¯ was busy fuming in anger while throwing daggers at Tang Yiyi with her green eyes. \"Even though you rebelled and betrayed the organization but if youe with me, I promise that nobody would me you for anything.\"

    Ru stood before Tang Yiyi to keep her treacherous eyes away from her brother. Oh, did she mention that she was really possessive about her brother? \"Before trying to rope in my brother, you should know that you¡¯re never getting out of here.\"

    Tang Yiyi looked at Ru hatefully as she sneered, \"Oh really? A dog is always able to bark in his own territory. And you¡¯re no better! What are you trying to prove by tying me up like this? You¡¯re just a coward! So what if you survived, you still had to live like a rat in a sewer!\"

    Rang¡¯s eyes zed with a dangerous light as he intended to move, Ru raised her hand to stop him as she said, \"You really think everyone¡¯s like you? So what if I¡¯m a dog? At least, this dog has a territory to brag about and bark in. What about you?\" Ru pulled out a dagger as she slowly came close to her and held it against her fair and pale skin making all the blood rush to her eyes which were intently looking at Ru¡¯s face. Ru slowly slid that dagger downwards to her neck, to her shoulders, to her arm but she didn¡¯t leave a single cut. No sh was made, it was more like that sharp tip was merely grazing her delicate skin making a dangerous feeling to crawl up in her heart. \"This dog can rule this world. But a dog like you can only wag its tail behind its master.\"

    \"You!\" Tang Yiyi was incited by Ru¡¯s words.

    \"Poisonous tongue as always,\" said Rong to himself as he listened to Ru. He knew how much she was itching to tear Tang Yiyi into pieces but she was holding herself back. But since she still had to keep her life, that didn¡¯t mean that Ru had to hold back on her poisonous words. She could infuriate a person to death no matter how strong one¡¯s mental strength was. Before Ru, it was all of no use. Because she knew where to hurt and how to do it.

    Ru was indeed trying to infuriate Tang Yiyi but most importantly, she was trying to remind her of her status in that organization. In that brutal ce, Tang Yiyi was merely a dog wagging its tail.

    Tang Yiyi was really on her verge of exploding and Ru didn¡¯t even have to do much. She said merely a few words and she already wanted to kill someone. But how could she not? Ru had hit right where it hurt. The striking disparity between Ru and her was the fact that she was a pawn in someone¡¯s game while Ru was a yer who knew how to y.

    While Tang Yiyi was a ve with a master, Ru was the master with countless ves under her. This disparity was enough to make Tang Yiyi hate Ru even more.

 Chapter 270 Not The Only Solution

    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Tang Yiyi felt hatred for Ru. Even when she first saw Ru, she despised her. Her reasoning was simple, she had taken a fancy to Rong but thetter was always caring about Ru. The same Rong who wouldn¡¯t even spare a nce to her would always be looking at Ru with an affectionate look.

    It always made her blood boil. But now that Ru was intently reminding her of her status before her, she was beyond infuriated.

    \"If my hands weren¡¯t tied, I¡¯d have already torn you into pieces,\" screamed Tang Yiyi with bloodshot eyes. All she saw was blood.

    Suddenly, the chains around her body came undone and fell down. She looked at Ru who said, \"I¡¯d like to see how you tear this lord to pieces.\" Ru took a step back and threw her dagger towards her. Tang Yiyi caught it promptly and looked at Ru with furrowed brows, not understanding what she was ying at. \"No one will interfere. How about you take this shot?\"

    The smile on Ru¡¯s face which didn¡¯t even look like a smile made Tang Yiyi feelcent but she wasn¡¯t willing to back off. Not at any cost! \"I¡¯ll make you regret this.\"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders in reply, \"My father didn¡¯t teach me the word regret. You can only feel regret when you¡¯re not willing to own up your mistakes and actions. I for one am not a coward. I¡¯m willing to own my mistakes even if it takes me to my grave.\"

    A proud smile could be seen on Rong¡¯s face who seemed really rxed to see those two going at each other¡¯s throats. In fact, he looked really bored as he yawned and whispered, \"I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s still fond of one-sided beatings. Tsk. Tsk. Little Ru and her weird obsessions. It¡¯ll never change.\"

    However, he wasn¡¯t lying at all. This fight¡¯s winner was already very obvious. Before Ru¡¯s vicious nature even a sadistic person like Tang Yiyi won¡¯t be able to stand a chance.

    As the fight began, Tang Yiyi ran towards Ru with the dagger in her hand but before she could touch Ru, thetter was already nowhere to be seen. Tang Yiyi¡¯s eyes widened as she felt a breath behind her before she felt pain in her calf as he fell down on her knee. Tang Yiyi tried to swing the dagger but was shocked to learn that her hands were empty.

    As the silver dagger swung before her eyes, Tang Yiyi stared at Ru who was smiling like a Cheshire cat at this point. \"You should be careful,\" said Ru as she dropped the dagger before Tang Yiyi once again before taking a step back.

    Tang Yiyi stood up and wildly attacked Ru who simply dodged every attack. As the dagger was pointed at her face, Ru turned her face sideways a little before holding Tang Yiyi¡¯s forearm and said, \"I thought you¡¯re strong. Fight with your brain, don¡¯t just attack me like a brute. Otherwise, this will really be a boring fight.\"

    Tang Yiyi¡¯s feathers were thoroughly being ruffled by Ru¡¯s words. And instead of trying to fight wisely, she was losing all of her rationality. Without seeing or knowing what she was doing, she kept swinging her arms and legs, but she couldn¡¯t even touch Ru¡¯s shadow. Having gone back and forth for thest ten minutes, Ru¡¯s patience ran out as she simply clenched her fist and punched straight at Tang Yiyi¡¯s ribs making her cry out in pain.

    Holding her wrist, she twisted it and the dagger fell down from Tang Yiyi¡¯s grip. \"You¡¯re not even worthy of this young master¡¯s time.\" With that, the sound of bones breaking could be heard along with Tang Yiyi¡¯s ear-piercing screams of pain. Her wrist was broken or more like crushed by Ru without even a flinch.

    Seeing how Ru¡¯s two fingers were moving towards Tang Yiyi¡¯s vital point, Rong¡¯s figure moved as he held her hand in time saying, \"We still need to keep her alive.\"

    Ru¡¯s bloodthirsty look was eased up when she nced at Rong¡¯s face who calmly dissuade her from doing something irreversible. Ru nodded her head before she picked up the dagger and shed Tang Yiyi¡¯s face without any hesitation. She didn¡¯t even care if the blood was painting her own hands, face or clothes. She was like a madman engrossed in her viciousness.

    \"Tell me where is Yuan!\"

    Tang Yiyi¡¯s reply were her blood-curdling screams. Except for her screams, her resolve didn¡¯t break at all. Her lips were sealed as if no matter what, she won¡¯t give in to Ru¡¯s demands.

    \"Tell me the location or else I¡¯ll really tear off your skin,\" saying that Ru didn¡¯t hesitate before really slicing the skin off her shoulder.

    This bloody scene didn¡¯t do anything to Ru but Rong¡¯s expressions wereplicated. He had never seen Ru using bloody means to achieve her goal. Torturing someone physically? That was way below her. But he figured that she must be using these bloody means to let off some steam. However, it still didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    Tang Yiyi fainted because of the pain that she couldn¡¯t endure and Ru shook her shoulders trying to shake her awake. \"Hey, wake up! Tell me what you did with Yuan?\"

    Rong ced his hand on Ru¡¯s shoulder and said, \"She won¡¯t answer like this. As you said, she¡¯s a dog. And dogs are very loyal to their owner. She won¡¯t spit out any information for you.\" He took a pause to wave his subordinates to wake that miserable self of Tang Yiyi before adding, \"By the way, when did you learn to talk so much? If I remember correctly, you always said that you¡¯d let your fists talk rather than your tongue. Then howe you¡¯re using your poisonous tongue so carelessly today?\"

    Ru nced at Rong and said, \"Living in wolves, one learns to howl. There is nothing to be surprised about that.\" Saying that she closed her eyes to calm her raging storm of emotions before saying, \"Besides, even if a dragon learns to howl like a wolf, it¡¯ll still not lose its might.\"

    Rong¡¯s lips lifted up in a small smile at her words before he shook his head at her saying, \"I have no problem with this dragon howling, but I certainly don¡¯t want this dragon to act like a street thug.\" Ru raised her brow at him as he continued, \"Torturing is way below you, young master Ru. Getting your hands dirty with blood is not the only solution in life.\"

    As Ru figured the hidden meaning behind his words, she smiled. Indeed, she really had no reason to get her hands dirty with someone¡¯s blood.

 Chapter 271 A Bai

    The simple way to get any information without getting your hands was... Hypnosis! Instead of physical torture, it was better to torture someone mentally until they lose their own mind.

    Ru¡¯s personal knowledge of hypnosis was limited. It was enough to shock the normal people but before the grandmaster level hypnosis of Rong, her skills were not even worth mentioning. Her skills were limited in this field which she just picked up because she was bored. Besides, if she had learned it from her master back at home, her skills might not be inferior to Rong¡¯s but Ru never had any interest back then.

    Her hypnosis wouldst temporary and she wouldn¡¯t be able to pull off a lot of things. But as she watched her brother disying his skills, she was in awe. He really was at the level where he could mind control someone to the point of making a person his personal puppet. She remembered his skills weren¡¯t this amazing a decade ago but he definitely honed his skills without any rest during this time.

    When Tang Yiyi waspletely under his control, Ru moved forward and questioned, \"Tell me something about yourself.\"

    \"Name: Tang Yiyi. Code name: Blue Sniper. Member of Spy Division. Organization Name: ck Mamba.\"

    After confirming everything, Ru further asked, \"Now, tell me did you kidnap Xiao Zhiyuan?\"

    With a nk expression, Tang Yiyi spoke, \"Target: Xiao Zhiyuan. Apanied by two people. One male and one female. Kidnapped during his backpacking trip through Europe.\"

    Ru¡¯s hands clenched together as she shook her, \"How did you kidnap him?\"

    \"He was kidnapped from the train he took. Our people intercepted it in the middle and killed every member of his protection team before throwing their bodies into the valleys,\" answered Tang Yiyi. Ru finally understood why they were not able to find any clues.

    Ru¡¯s fists tightened, \"Where is he? What did you do to him? Or what do you n to do?\"

    \"Headquarters. The orders were to take him to the headquarters but since Knight Empire¡¯s people were also looking for him, we decided to hide those three kids in Italy for the meantime. However, today they must be delivered to the headquarters.\" She suddenly stopped talking and Ru looked at Rong with a confused look. He blinked his eyes to reassure and sure enough, Tang Yiyi began to talk again like a parrot, \"He has only been kidnapped. Until now, he is not harmed. He is just a bait anyway.\"

    \"Bait?\" questioned Ru.

    \"A bait to catch Xiao Zhiren along with his entire Ji family,\" answered Tang Yiyi and added, \"After the purpose is aplished, there will be no use of Xiao Zhiyuan left. Eventually, he¡¯ll be killed.\"

    Ru raised her fist to punch her face that spouted that nonsense but Rong held her back saying, \"Stay calm.\"

    Ru took a deep breath before she asked through gritted teeth, \"What¡¯s your purpose to stay close to Ji Caihong? Does Ling Qiaolian want to protect her daughter?\"

    Tang Yiyi scoffed, \"Protect that dumb bitch? Never! My aunt doesn¡¯t even acknowledge that stupid girl as her daughter. She¡¯s only a backdoor to enter the Ji Family.\"

    Ru was disgusted to learn that a mother was just using her daughter for her revenge ns. Just how lowly could this Ling Qiaolian get? It seemed like her shamelessness had no limits.

    While Ru was lost in her thoughts, Rong moved and asked, \"Give me the location of headquarters.\"

    Ru also listened in as Tang Yiyi gave out the coordinates of the location. As Rong¡¯s people typed in the coordinates into theputer before informing him, \"Boss, the coordinates lead to ¡¯The Death Valley¡¯ mountain ranges.\"

    Rong nodded his head before he gave out his orders, \"Take ¡¯good¡¯ care of Ms. Tang.\" That emphasis on ¡¯good¡¯ sounded sinister and even Ru could tell what he meant by that.

    But she still asked, \"Can I kill her now?\"

    \"No hurry,\" answered Rong as he nced at Ru¡¯s eager eyes. \"She is about to live her worst nightmare. By tomorrow, she¡¯ll take her own life.\"

    Tsk, she was really gonna live her nightmare through this hypnosis. But Ru felt no pity. Well, not like she had any excessive pity to spare for a vile person like Tang Yiyi. Then she heard Rong ordering his subordinates, \"Assemble every single person of our organization. We have a battle awaiting us.\"

    Ru nced at her brother and held his arm saying, \"Big brother, you don¡¯t have to get involved in this. My goal is to save Yuan, this has nothing to do with you.\"

    Rong touched her head saying, \"If you really think your brother would let you jump in this pit of fire all alone, you¡¯re wrong. I didn¡¯t build an army for power. I built this army to support you. These are not my people, they are yours. They will pledge their loyalty to you without any hesitation because their loyalty had always been your right.\"

    Ru was touched by this gesture but she still didn¡¯t want him to get involved in this. She was already feeling guilty but she couldn¡¯t do anything. It might be an easy task for Rong to dissuade his rebellious little Ru but it wasn¡¯t easy for Ru to convince her headstrong brother whose only purpose had been to follow her around without any questions.

    Since she couldn¡¯t convince him to back off, she strode out to find Wu Dishi who had followed her to this vi but decided to stay out the door.

    \"Wu Dishi,\" called out Ru and Wu Dishi was in alert mode awaiting his orders. \"Assemble every knight of Knight Empire. We are going to war.\"

    Wu Dishi¡¯s heart was startled by the intensity of anger and rage in her voice but he didn¡¯t dare to dy as he answered, \"Yes, Master!\"

    The people under Ru¡¯smand who could survive a battle were above a thousand or so in number but the people under Rong were not even half. It made one wonder how he managed to hold his ground against Knight Empire. But soon Ru figured the answer.

    The assassins, mercenaries or other groups of fighters under Ru were all the ones she randomly picked while making her authority clear to the rest of the world. But it wasn¡¯t the same for Rong; each person under hismand was a skillful master. Each of those skillful masters could really do serious damage to hundreds ofmon mercenaries or assassins.

    However, Ru¡¯s group of people wasn¡¯t that bad either after she had put them all through rigorous training. They all could match those skillful masters.

    It could be said that both their armies were enough to cause the downfall of anyone individually. And if they were able to give enough headache to people alone, together their power could only make one shudder with fear.

 Chapter 272 Love Sick

    As the proverb goes: \"There is nothing certain, but the uncertain.\"

    Our future doesn¡¯t always align with what life has nned for us. Uncertainty is a factor that stays constant in our life. Life in itself has never been certain. We can make an effort and we can try our best but the result doesn¡¯t always guarantee our sess.

    But that uncertainty is the thing that makes our life so thrilling and precious.

    However, we can¡¯t deny that there is one thing certain in our life...

    Death...

    Death is a certain factor that we can¡¯t deny even if we want to.

    And this factor was the reason why Ru was staring at her phone screen for an hour now. She really wanted to dial that number but she still was hesitating for some reason. She nced at the name ¡¯Zhiren¡¯ in her contacts and closed her eyes in exasperation as he locked the phone screen.

    \"Something on your mind?\" she heard a voice and turned her head to look at Rong who was sitting before a Japanese style table. His movements were slow but precise as he stirred the teapot in his hand.

    Ru sighed before taking a seat before him as she answered, \"Not really.\"

    Rong only lifted his lips slightly showing that he didn¡¯t believe her lie even for a second. But he stayed quiet and silently poured a cup of tea for her and offered it to her. Ru epted it from his hand and took a sip of it. She had yet to swallow the tea when he guessed, \"You want to call Xiao Zhiren.\" Ru was bit taken aback but sheposed her expressions soon after. However, her slight change was enough for him to be certain as he urged, \"You should.\"

    Ru was again startled as she looked at him with confusion in her eyes. \"But... You don¡¯t even like him.\" In thest couple of days, she had already seen how much Rong disliked Zhiren. Or more like hated him. So, she really couldn¡¯t understand how or why he was suggesting her talk to Zhiren?

    Rong took a sip of his tea and agreed, \"I don¡¯t but you do.\" He might hate Zhiren but he could see the invitation in Ru¡¯s eyes. The only person who mattered in his life had been Ru, then how could deny her of one thing she fell for?

    He looked into her bright green eyes as he went on, \"There is only so much that we can control in life. Tomorrow is neither in your control nor mine.\" He looked outside at the dark sky as he trailed off, \"You must have heard, ¡¯Nothing¡¯s for sure, that¡¯s for sure¡¯. If we are not even sure about what¡¯s toe, isn¡¯t it better to be done with what your heart tells you to?\"

    Ru was surprised to hear his words and after a moment of reflection, she even nodded agreeably, \"You¡¯re right. Thanks, big brother.\" As she stood up to leave, she turned back to announce, \"Nothing¡¯s for sure in life, but I can assure you that the next dawn is gonna bring a bloody battle with it.\"

    Rong silently watched her leave the room while he whispered to himself, \"That is what I am scared of my little Ru. Every bloody battle demands sacrifice and I don¡¯t want you to sacrifice your love for this battle.\"

    Ru ran out to the garden and dialed Zhiren¡¯s number without any hesitation this time. Yes, she was a feeling a bit heavy but that didn¡¯t stop her from making this call.

    That battle that awaited her was gonna begin tomorrow. It took them two days to gather all their warriors from around the world before they finally decided tounch the attack. During these two days, she had only been focused on gathering information about the target location and forming strategies. She really had no time to think of anything else. But now when the battle was so near, she could only think about Zhiren.

    In fact, if her goal wasn¡¯t to rescue Yuan, she might have not been feeling this guilty inside. But now she did, knowing that she couldn¡¯t worry Zhiren about this matter.

    As she dialed the number, Zhiren picked up her call at the first ring catching Ru off-guard, \"Where are you?! How can you leave without a word?!\" Ru almost dropped her phone because of his loud voice. \"Do you even have any sense of responsibility? Who does it like this? Which kind of girlfriend just takes off without a word?\"

    Ru opened her mouth, \"I-\"

    But Zhiren didn¡¯t even give her a chance as his voice softened, \"My little chili, are you okay?\"

    Ru smiled at his concern and answered, \"This young master is as perfect as always. Don¡¯t you know perfection is another name of Young Master Ru.\"

    Zhiren rolled his eyes at her familiar way of speaking before he chuckled softly and began, \"Oh, I see you¡¯re doing fine since you still are ascent as ever.\" His anger slowly subdued as he went on, \"But on a serious note, are you really okay?\"

    \"I am,\" asserted Ru. \"What about you? Are you okay?\"

    She heard his sighing, \"How can I possibly be okay without my little chili? But I¡¯m still breathing.\"

    Ru quirked her brows up, \"Aren¡¯t you being dramatic?\"

    \"I¡¯m not,\" told Zhiren with certainty. \"It¡¯s not me being dramatic, I¡¯m really not doing too well.\"

    \"Huh? What happened?\" questioned Ru.

    \"I¡¯m sick,\" replied Zhiren.

    \"What sickness do you have? This Young Master can treat any kind of illness. You just name it.\"

    \"Yes, only you can treat my illness,\" remarked Zhiren.

    \"I¡¯ll treat it but you first tell me what illness do you have?\"

    \"Oh, it¡¯s a very tricky illness. Sometimes my heart hurts and then it suddenly starts beating fast. Other times, I¡¯ll be feeling angry but would suddenly lose myself and start smiling like an idiot. I¡¯d keep staring at my phone screen for hours without blinking and then would want to throw the phone away as well.\"

    Ru scratched her head, \"What kind of illness is that?\"

    \"Love, it¡¯s called lovesickness. And only you can treat it.\"

    Ru facepalmed herself as she heard his answer and wanted to smack his head for trying to y with her like that.

    \"Instead of lovesickness, it seems like you¡¯re going insane. That¡¯s my diagnosis for you,\" grinned Ru to herself foring up with such a retort.

    \"Oh, that¡¯s better than,\" came Zhiren¡¯s voice while Ru frowned and he went on, \"I have to match the insanity of my girlfriend. Otherwise, how will I know what goes through her crazy mind?\"

 Chapter 273 Normal One

    Ru felt a little strange as she listened to him to say that he was willing to cross the border of insanity as long as it meant he¡¯d feel close to her. She really didn¡¯t know what to say or how to feel about this situation.

    This kind of feeling could only be considered as another first for Young Master Ru.

    However, with that strange feeling that she couldn¡¯t describe in words came an uneasy feeling as well. So what if he was willing to go beyond insanity. He would still be far apart from her. Her catastrophic, profane, and cryptic insanity was even beyond her own understanding. How was a pure and simple person like him could evere even close to understanding her?

    People like him could only despise people like her. They would hardly put an effort into understanding thetter.

    Even though she could see that Zhiren was willing to understand her, she knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it.

    \"I really hope you never get to see my real insanity,\" whispered Ru in a small voice. She lifted her spirit as she continued, \"If you evere close to my insanity, you might regret falling in love with me.\"

    \"You¡¯re questioning my love for you again,\" stated Zhiren with a bit of sadness in his tone.

    \"No. I¡¯m merely enlightening you with the truth that you don¡¯t want to ept,\" said Ru calmly.

    Zhiren didn¡¯t know why she said that statement but he didn¡¯t feel good about it at all. He could feel it in his heart that this silence around him was actually a sign of a storm brewing somewhere. However, he just couldn¡¯t figure out where that storm was gonna lead him.

    \"Forget about that. You just tell me where are you?\" Zhiren tried to alter the course of conversation. \"And do you know how worried I had been for thest two days?\"

    \"What if I can¡¯t tell you where I am?\" retorted Ru.

    Zhiren stayed silent for a long moment. Ru would have assumed that the line was cut if only she hadn¡¯t been able to hear the faint sound of his breath through the speaker. Her hearing senses were sharper than most people and could really discern the changes in his breathing even.

    \"If you can¡¯t tell me it¡¯s okay. You must have your own reasons. But can you answer my next question?\"

    Ru thought about it for a moment before she hummed along in reply which allowed Zhiren to continue, \"Are you safe there?\"

    \"Safe? Hmmm... I am safe. At least, for now.\"

    Zhiren¡¯s heart almost stopped when she ended her sentence with ¡¯For now.¡¯ He clearly knew what it meant; She was nning on doing something dangerous.

    \"What are you nning?\" he questioned instinctively.

    The corner of Ru¡¯s lips raised up slightly into a knowing smile as she replied, \"If I told you my nning, I¡¯m afraid your weak heart might not be able to take it.\"

    Zhiren rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation. \"Would it be so bad for you to stay still and do nothing? Isn¡¯t living a normal life enough for you?\"

    \"Karen Horney once wrote, ¡¯A normal human being... does not exist.¡¯ Every human is weird and I am just a special kind of weird.\" Zhiren was silent while she added, \"All my life, I¡¯ve been taught one thing. Young Master Ru wasn¡¯t born to be normal. So, no Zhiren. I for one can¡¯t be normal. It¡¯s really not enough for me.\"

    \"But...\" Zhiren wanted to argue but he had nothing to argue with. He could win from Ru only when it came to flirting. As for eloquence, hers was far beyond his reach.

    \"Is it necessary for you to always go against me?\" asked Ru making Zhiren frown.

    \"What do you mean? When have I ever gone against you?\"

    \"You always do. From the very first day, your views have never been aligned with mine. Your way of life and mine had been very different. It really makes me wonder...\"

    \"What are you wondering now?\"

    Ru sighed, \"Whether two people who are traveling on two different routes can actually have the same destination.\"

    Her words stunned Zhiren. Indeed, they both were like fire and ice. Both had their own journeys but as for the destination? Zhiren shook his head, \"If I have to, I¡¯m willing to change my route for you.\"

    Ru chuckled at his response. \"Zhiren, if destiny was that easily altered, we as humans wouldn¡¯t be feeling this helpless when it came to life.\" The sound of her lowugh put Zhiren into a trance and hepletely forgot about what they were just discussing. After Ru stoppedughing, she recalled something and inquired, \"Oh, I was thinking of calling Yuan but couldn¡¯t reach him. Have you heard from him?\"

    Zhiren¡¯s trance was finally broken by her words as he replied, \"Hm. I just talked to him an hour ago. He said he¡¯s fine and having fun over there. In fact, he asked me not to call him. He said he¡¯ll contact me himself. I¡¯ll ask him to give you a call.\"

    Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed at this information. No wonder Zhiren was so rxed. That treacherous organization had taken all the measures to ensure that Zhiren couldn¡¯t find anything until they seed in their mission.

    Bloody scums!

    Ru¡¯s eyes shed with malicious and murderous intent at the reminder of those people. However, it soon disappeared as she heard Zhiren¡¯s voice, \"Why do I feel like you¡¯re missing Yuan more than me?\"

    With a yful glint in her eyes, she replied, \"Yuan is like a little brother to me. It¡¯s natural for me to miss him. As for you... Why would I miss you? Who are you mister?\"

    Zhiren gaped in disbelief. \"This is why I didn¡¯t want to send you away. See, it¡¯s only been two days and you already forgot all about me.\"

    He was like a kid asking for attention while Ru was being amused by his reactions.

 Chapter 274 The Beast Inside

    -The Death Valley-

    Rich velvet nket of ck swallowed up the day, draining the colors of grey and then into nothing at all as midnight came around. Only a smattering of luminous stars could be seen in the absolute darkness of midnight sky. Even the moon had waned into nothing at this time.

    Through a small window, the waned moonlight fell inside the dark, slightly damp and cold cell. The cell wasn¡¯t made of concrete, rather it seemed to be carved inside the mountain. The metal bars were really thick and it wasn¡¯t very spacious either.

    The moonlight seemed to be dancing in the myriad of shadows until it slowly fell on a figure curled up on the cold floor, shivering. Fair, tender but frail hands were hugging the small frame. Hair drenched in sweat stuck to the small face of the young girl who was suffering from immense pain.

    \"Lily!\"

    In the silence, she heard someone calling her name in a hushed tone. As if someone was trying to shake her awake from her semi-unconscious state.

    \"Lily! Wake up!\"

    The demons wreaking havoc in her mind slowly seemed to fade as the voice got clearer. Her brows knotted together as she tried to recognize that voice. The name sounded really familiar and yet it seemed unfamiliar. But she was certain she had heard that name.

    ¡¯Who was Lily?¡¯ The young girl wondered to herself.

    \"Lily, if you really gave up here, how are you gonna face your master Rong? You still have to repay your master for saving you!\"

    The girl¡¯s eyes opened instantly as if the name had brought her sense of rationality back. She used her wounded hands to support her body to sit up. Slowly, she pushed back her sticky hair to look back at the person calling her name.

    \"Xiao Han?\"

    Her voice was hoarse and really weak as she stared at the teenager in the cell right opposite her. He looked exhausted and disheveled. Not even one bit of him looked like he was the same young master of the Ji family who loved cause trouble for everyone. He didn¡¯t look like his lively self.

    \"Are you okay?\" he asked in a concerned voice, holding the metal bars he had been constantly looking at her condition which seemed to have worsened after they were moved to this new prison.

    Even though Zhang Han didn¡¯t know where this group of kidnappers brought them, he was certain that it was a farawaynd with no one to help them around.

    Meanwhile, making sense of his question, Lily finally recalled what happened. After they were kidnapped, they were kept together in a room. But yesterday when they were brought here, she was separated from the other two. And when they brought her back to that familiar-lookingboratory, she knew what was toe.

    But her only regret was that she got the other two teenagers in trouble. They had nothing to do with it and yet they were stuck here with her.

    \"Master, I¡¯m sorry for failing to keep them safe. Instead, I brought this cmity,\" she whispered with remorse but she couldn¡¯t do anything at all now. Her whole body was as heavy as a boulder. And her brain... It was a wonder that she could still keep some of her sense of thinking intact. \"Xiao Han, I¡¯m really sorry,\" she breathed out to the other teenager.

    Zhang Han leaned against the metal bars and finally rxed a little, seeing that she was awake. He was really scared when she didn¡¯t respond to his calls for the past five hours. However, he was also stubborn who kept calling her name in desperation. He didn¡¯t know what those people did to her after they brought them here, but when they threw her in the cell opposite of his, she looked lifeless.

    \"What are you sorry for? It¡¯s okay as long as you¡¯re alive,\" he replied before licking his dry lips. He was thirsty, really thirsty after calling her name so many times. It was surprising that he hadn¡¯t lost his voice until now.

    Lily looked up at him and choked out, \"This is all my fault. If I had not joined you guys on this trip, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. These people are after me. Because master tried to set me free from their shackles, they must be getting back their subject product now.\"

    \"Aiyo, you¡¯re really innocent,\" said Zhang Han as he tilted his head sideways and sighed, \"You might be their test subject before. But this time their target wasn¡¯t you.\" Lily frowned at his words while he pointed around in the cell and asked, \"Do you see anyone else in here?\"

    Even though it was really dark, her eyes were already ustomed to the darkness and she could tell that Zhang Han was alone in the cell. So, she shook her head in reply.

    \"Don¡¯t you think someone¡¯s missing?\" Lily raised her brow at his question. \"We came as a group of three. You¡¯re here, I¡¯m here...\"

    Her eyes widened at the realization as she screamed out, \"Where is Yuan? What did they do to him?\"

    Zhang Han stayed quiet for a moment as if thinking of something. \"I don¡¯t know where they took my little uncle but I¡¯m certain that he is fine.\"

    \"How can you be so sure?\"

    He shrugged his shoulders, \"Call it intuition or whatever. But I assure you that this whole charade of kidnapping wasn¡¯t for you. Their target from the beginning was my little uncle, Yuan.\" It was the only hope he had at this moment and he wasn¡¯t willing to let it go.

    His voice had just fallen when he heard a loud shriek from Lily and turned to look at her. She was clutching her head in both her hands with an agonizing pain visible on her pale face. But more than pain, he found that she seemed scared.

    With her hand, she pulled out a hairpin from her hair and pierced her own flesh right on her thigh. The pointed tip along with her killing skills, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that a simple hairpin turned into a weapon that shed her thigh and blood gushed out.

    Her nails scratched on the floor making even Zhang Han feel pity for her. \"What did they do to you?¡¯ he questioned calmly. He looked rather calm for a young master who had nevere across this kind of bloody scene before in his life.

    With her teeth nking together, she replied, \"They are trying to awaken the beast inside of me.\"

 Chapter 275 A Walk Back To The Cage?

    In a room filled with screening monitors, a tall man was keeping an eye on the two ¡¯prisoners¡¯ with aplex look.

    \"Captain,\" he heard a female voice from beside him but his stiff expression didn¡¯t change even for a second as if he didn¡¯t even hear the voice. Seemingly used to his reaction, the other person continued solemnly, \"What are we supposed to do with these two?\"

    The man rubbed his bottom lip with his index finger. \"Number 104 is still resisting?\" He seemed rather intrigued as his eyes stared at the screen which showed Lily¡¯s small figure curled up and trying to fight her own consciousness with all her willpower. Seeing her fighting to hold on to her humanity, his eyes glinted, \"Interesting. It¡¯s been years I have seen someone resisting the drug for so long.\"

    \"Captain, do you mean someone actually managed to resist before?\" asked the female subordinate incredulously. She knew the effects of the drug. It was more like a curse that could devour any person¡¯s humanity and turn that one into a mere puppet. She had seen hundreds of people like that in the organization. But none of them managed to fight this curse.

    The man let out a low chuckle. \"Resist? Oh, I have seen even better. That person was special and extraordinary. She didn¡¯t just manage to resist the drugs, she even managed to break the shackles of that drug on her consciousness all on her own.\" While the girl beside him was shocked by his revtion, she didn¡¯t notice how his eyes dimmed while he murmured to himself, \"Four...\" he sighed out sadly, \"You¡¯re truly extraordinary. Even after years, they¡¯re still trying to create another you not knowing that there was only one you.\"

    \"What happened to that test subject?\" asked the girl hesitantly.

    The man turned to look at her as he shook his head, \"She left.\"

    \"Hmmm... Only death can let one escape ck Mamba,\" said the female as if she understood everything.

    However, the manughed at her reaction and turned to leave with a shrug of his shoulders. Walking along the long hallways, he breathed out, \"Died? Thest of Ximen n died at the hands of mere an organization? Tsk. Tsk. How naive these people are!\"

    He stood outside a white door and cleared through the security check before entering. Behind the seemingly small door hid a huge hall filled with experimental instruments and apparatus that could only be found in high-tech government research facilities. His eyes fell on a long line of ¡¯test subjects¡¯ chained up against the beds and he could only sigh in his heart.

    While passing through, he greeted tens of doctors who were busy carrying out their experiments on human bodies. Finally, he arrived at the very end and ced his identification card on the electronic machine. As his identification cleared, a passageway opened up through the wall. He walked inside and found the person he had been looking for.

    \"Madam,\" he saluted the woman with politeness and submission.

    The woman who held a green liquid in her hand didn¡¯t spare him an eye as she inquired, \"What brought you here, Yu?\"

    The man who was addressed as Yu replied calmly, \"There is no change in number 104. She is still holding on.\"

    The woman¡¯s eyes shed with indignance. \"Hmm... The little bird learned to fly in thest half-year as she stayed away from her cage.\" Her lips curled up into a sinister smile. \"But just because she grew a new pair of wings doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t cut it again.\"

    If one looked carefully at the woman¡¯s face, they¡¯d be able to find uncanny resemnce with Ji Caihong¡¯s features. Except that Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes held the purest form of innocence while this middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes looked extremely cruel and evil. Indeed, she was none other than Ji Caihong¡¯s mother, Ling Qiaolian.

    \"Yu.\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\"

    \"Bring number 104 on a walk in the woods,\" instructed the Ling Qiaolian with amusement dancing in her eyes.

    Yu seemed confused and uncertain as he inquired, \"Madam wants me to free her from the prison cell?\"

    \"To let a bird walk back into its cage, one has to cut down its desire of freedom,\" replied Ling Qiaolian. As Yu heard her n, his eyes widened but he could only nod. As he turned to leave, she stopped him, \"Yu, have you heard anything from Yiyi¡¯s side?\"

    Yu slumped his shoulders and shook his head, \"No, Madam. Miss Tang¡¯s whereabouts are still unknown. We can¡¯t get in touch with anyone from her side. Even the people I sent to find her haven¡¯t been back. I believe that...\" He didn¡¯t dare continue his conjecture. On second thought, \"But Miss Tang¡¯s abilities are second to only you. Even if she encountered an unfavorable situation, she¡¯ll be able to resist.\"

    \"I¡¯m not worried about that. It¡¯s just that her target this time was Xie Rong. That tricky bastard definitely has a connection with that abominable Alve Knight. I want both of them dead before they coulde to us.\" Her voice held an extreme coldness and viciousness.

    Even Yu knew that Tang Yiyi¡¯s target had been Xie Rong for months, however, she was always defeated by the other side. In fact, in Tang Yiyi¡¯s own words, Xie Rong was like a cunning fox that always managed to slip away from her hands. If she was smart, the other side could be considered an aberrant.

    Even if he didn¡¯t know who this Xie Rong or Alev Knight was but he certainly admired both who single-handedly managed to be a headache for an organization like theirs.

    \"You act on the instruction, I still have to think of some countermeasures. We can¡¯t risk any slight mistake,\" she shooed him away while she stayed behind. Holding the white curtain, as she pulled it to a side, a fair teenager could be seen lying on the bed. His eyes were closed while his face seemed lifeless.

    She ran a hand over his face as she whispered, \"Don¡¯t me me for being ruthless, Little Yuan. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re the perfect bait to lure your brother here. And only my perfect subject can help me seize the Ji Family.\"

    Meanwhile, as Yu came out he went towards the prison cells. The guards outside greeted him with respect and fear while he acted oblivious to their reactions.

    \"What brought captain here?\" asked one of them.

    \"Take the prisoners out,\" he ordered. \"We¡¯re taking them on a tour through our territory.\"

 Chapter 276 A Pitiful Young Master

    \"Xiao Han!\"

    A pleading cry fell on his ear before he felt someone kicking right in his ribs making an intense pain to shot through his body. His eyes already felt heavy as if rocks had been weighing down on them.

    \"Wake up already! It¡¯d be no fun if you kept sleeping,\" he heard an unfamiliar but mocking voice.

    Zhang Han slowly opened his eyes and what came into his view were tall trees. It was a dense forest, sunlight only fell on the ground through the cracks. Outgrown roots, wildflowers, fallen leaves and a minty fragrance of grass greeted him. However, he could still distinctly discern the smell of death and fear hovering in the air around him.

    He had seen forests that seemed serene, carried a melody without rhythm and yed the music without the sound. And in the greens of every pte, one would find the verdant hues of nature¡¯s free dreams.

    But at this moment, he couldn¡¯t even fathom how many people¡¯s blood had painted the dirt path ahead of him. Just how many people took theirst breath right where he was?

    \"Is he ying dead? Why isn¡¯t that kid moving?\" a man clothed in blue asked.

    \"Maybe he is too scared and fainted again,\" replied his femalepanion in red.

    \"It¡¯d be a shame if he died just like that. I only took this task because I thought I¡¯d be seeing an entertaining show,\" another voice chimed in.

    \"Me too. I also want to see the fear in his eyes. I want him to run for his life. It¡¯d be more fun when those wolves would tear his limbs apart,\" said the female from earlier.

    Hearing their discussion, Lily¡¯s heart almost stopped as she looked in the direction of Zhang Han with fear and worry. She felt so helpless and useless at that moment. She couldn¡¯t even help him! Without realizing it, tears had started falling down her cheeks.

    How useless and incapable she felt that she couldn¡¯t even help the same person who actually taught her to live. She always found him annoying when he tagged along with Yuan with the excuse of being under her care to learn some martial arts. But sheter learned that his sole purpose to tag along was just to tease her.

    He¡¯d always find a way to make her smile without her even realizing it. It was his care and attention that actually pulled herpletely out of the shadows of death. She was grateful to Ru and her ck Mist squad for saving her. But neither Ru nor ck Mist squad knew what a normal teenager would want in life, so none of them was able to break her wallspletely.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Ru to ask Lily to be a trainer for Yuan, she¡¯d have never encountered this weird kid who always smiled at her kindly. But now when he needed her, her hands were tied, literally!

    \"Xiao Han!\" she burst out in tears with a whisper.

    Only then did Zhang Han sat up to look before him. Ten people d in their different colors of jackets could be seen. It seemed that each color represented the rank of the person. However, he was really not interested in them. But when his eyes fell on that square cage made of metal, his eyes fumed with fiery rage.

    Especially because the girl kneeling inside that cage looked really sad. Her tears made his rage to reach another level.

    \"Oh, this high and might young master is finally up. I guess we won¡¯t be disappointed with the show now.\" He couldn¡¯t tell who said that but it was not like he cared. His eyes were stuck on that figure shaking inside the cage.

    \"Don¡¯t be so impolite, little seven. This young master might start to cry otherwise.\" A roar ofughter ensued around.

    \"Haha! Then he¡¯ll call for his mommy!\"

    \"Hahaha!\"

    Suddenly hearing thatughter all of them turned silent and looked at Zhang Han with incredulous looks in their eyes. Why was he suddenlyughing? Couldn¡¯t he see his death was imminent?

    \"I think he¡¯s lost his brain.\" One of those men suggested.

    \"Right. Seeing that he can¡¯t avoid death, he really lost it.\" Another agreed with him.

    Zhang Han looked at their faces with a strange look. \"I guess you all have no brain like your master.\"

    \"What did you say?!\" An angry roar came from the team leader at the front in ck clothes who had been silent until now. \"Don¡¯t you dare say our master¡¯s name from your filthy mouth!\"

    \"Shouldn¡¯t I be calling you all brainless? After all, you did me such a huge favor by actually leaving me here. Right in the middle of a forest. Do you know how much I love forests?\"

    Zhang Han¡¯s words made everyone feel strange. What was this kid ying at?

    \"Do you think we brought you here for fun? Or for camping? Kid, we brought you to your grave!\" The leader snickered.

    Zhang Han slowly stood up from the ground. With a thud, everyone heard the chains on his hands falling on the ground. They looked at his dumbstruck while he rubbed his sore wrists and added, \"You did your job by bringing me to this yground. Now, it¡¯s my turn to make it your grave!\"

    \"How-\" The leader¡¯s words were left in his mouth as Zhang Han¡¯s figure moved past like a sh of lightning while sliting the leader¡¯s throat with the tiny but sharp de that had been imnted inside his ring.

    Everyone pulled out their weapon to attack but his figure was like floating on air as he moved across the ten of them and easily dropped them all on the ground in an instant.

    He touched the side of his ring and the de vanished as if it wasn¡¯t there at all. Looking at the bodies lying at his feet, he clenched his fists. \"Do you really think a disciple of Jingshen Temple is that easy to mess with?\"

 Chapter 277 Wolves

    Every person who had been watching this scene behind the screens was dumbstruck. They didn¡¯t even get a chance to react before every single one of their own fell to the ground like a broken kite. What stunned them, even more, was the fact that the young man¡¯s speed was horrifying.

    \"Captain?\" a young petite female tried to get her captain¡¯s attention.

    Their captain, Yu, however, looked fascinated by Zhang Han¡¯s movements. Yu had seen that footwork before and he was certain that he wasn¡¯t imagining it. And if his assumption was right then this time their organization really underestimated the other party.

    \"Inform Madam about this,\" he gave a light remark with no urgency in his voice. He seemed rather amused by these events. In fact, he was so amused that he didn¡¯t even want to blink as he stared at Zhang Han¡¯s figure visible on the monitor.

    Meanwhile, Zhang Han tried to pick up any useful thing from those losers that lost their lives so easily. All of a sudden, he heard a wolf howling not far away and cursed under his breath. He looked at the gun in his hand that he picked up from the leader of that group and whispered, \"Wolves and a single gun. Damn! I hate thisbination!\"

    Luckily, he had found a couple ofbat knives from the few of them as well. He came around the cage and crouched down before it.

    Inside the cage, Lily was staring at him oddly. She had never expected him to be so ruthless. He smiled like an angel all the time that she didn¡¯t even realize that he was hiding a monster underneath.

    \"Did they give you anything else?\" he asked and Lily shook her head in reply. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, \"I can exin everything but this is not the time for that. For now, I want you to trust me. Can you do that?\" Lily bobbed her head up and down clearing her stance. \"That¡¯s good.\" He stretched his hand through the space between the bars and caressed her cheek saying, \"I don¡¯t know what or who is helping you keep your humanity. But please, make that thing your anchor and hold onto it for a little bit longer. I promise I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. Okay?\"

    Lily lifted her hand to touch his hand that was on her cheek and tried to smile, \"I trust you.\" Zhang Han smiled back at her in reassurance while Lily¡¯s eyes widened at what she saw behind him. Noticing her gaze, he also turned to look.

    There stood several silhouettes, wolfish. They looked aggressive and as the foremost wolf howled, every wolf in the pack stopped to eye the prey as if they were invited on a family feast. Zhang Han sucked in a cold breath as he said, \"Well, that looks quite like a majestic wolf pack. They look cute right like huskies?\" he tried to joke around as his habit.

    \"It¡¯s not funny,\" said Lily. \"Let me out, I can help you.\"

    Zhang Han shook his head at her and pulled out a napkin from his pocket. He rolled it and tied it around Lily¡¯s eyes and while she was trying to remove it, he said, \"Please, don¡¯t take it off until I say so. You¡¯re safe in there. They can¡¯t even touch you in the cage. If you came out, I¡¯ll be distracted and that¡¯ll bring more trouble than necessary.\" Lily dropped her struggle as she felt him getting up. \"Just wait. I¡¯ll be right back.\"

    The pack of wolves before him had over a dozen members. Grey, brown and white, the pack looked really majestic as he said. Their fur, short over their body and longer at the neck, seemed smooth and shiny. But he really didn¡¯t think it was time to appreciate wolves beauty or might. Now, it was about survival.

    As the foremost wolf howled again, every other member in the pack started running towards Zhang Han¡¯s figure. However, the teenager who stood stretching his neck a minute ago was now running up to climb the nearby tree. The tree was tall and dense but wolves had already surrounded the tree.

    Zhang Han took off his jacket that had blood on it and just threw it on a branch before jumping off towards another branch of another tree. Aftering to a fair distance, he pulled out the gun he found and aimed at the alpha of the pack. Even an empire falls with a king, how can wolves survive? That was exactly his thought and that¡¯s why he aimed right in the middle of the wolf¡¯s head and took a shot.

    With an ear-piercing cry, the alpha fell down to the ground; lifeless. The wolves seeing their alpha fall got even angrier as they frantically tried to look for Zhang Han. A little teenager hiding in the trees took several shots and imed the life of seven wolves. Since there were only eight bullets in the gun and he had missed a shot, now he was only left with thebat knives.

    The remaining number of the wolves was exactly the same as he had killed but now the situation was really not in his favor. He picked up a pebble and threw it at the head of the wolf that was closest to him. As the wolf howled and ran towards him, Zhang Han held thebat knives in both his hands to attack.

    What followed was a bloody and gruesome battle. His shoulder was bitten by a wolf, another one even dragged him for quite a distance from his leg. All in all, by the time he killed the wolves, he was looking like he had bathed in blood. Not only that, but even his body was also filled with wounds now.

    He limped his way towards the cage and unlocked it. When Lily finally came out and took off the blindfold, she was stunned. The carcasses of wolves were littered around on the dirt path. And his condition didn¡¯t look very good either.

    She really wanted to know how he did it but couldn¡¯t find any words. Zhang Han however, wasn¡¯t really paying attention to her as he was surveying the surroundings. He held her wrist and dragged her with him. \"Let¡¯s run. The wolf cries will definitely bring more trouble for us.\"

    Lily didn¡¯t say anything but followed him. Even with an injured leg, he tried to run through the steep, narrow and rocky path of the mountain in a chaotic way. He was breathless, tired and feltpletely drained but he still didn¡¯t give up. He had to save her life at any cost!

    On a wet patch of dry leaves, Lily¡¯s step faltered and she almost fell. He helped her up and asked, \"Can you walk?\"

    Before she could nod, she screamed, \"Watch out!\"

    Unfortunately, it was already toote...

 Chapter 278 Provoking Death

    Surviving war only to die from an unseen disease. That¡¯s what Zhang Han felt in this situation.

    Because when Zhang Han turned around all he saw was a burly silhouette of the wolf and its bloodthirsty eyes before he shut his eyes tight awaiting those sharp teeth to pierce through his flesh. What a pity that he who managed to kill a whole pack was now caught so unprepared that he was gonna die at the hands of a puny lone wolf.

    However, the pain he expected never came, instead, he got to hear a loud wolf cry and felt something sshing on his face.

    \"A warrior should never close his eyes before death.\"

    A very calm and pleasant voice fell into his ear. His eyes shot open in an instant and he looked at his front. The wolf before him had a sleek sword pierced right through its neck. He moved his eyes slowly upward towards the golden hilt of the sword then moved upwards towards the fair hand that held it and finally saw the youth looking back at him with indifference.

    There was an almost imperceptible smirk stered on the other person¡¯s face and as he inclined towards Zhang Han¡¯s frozen figure, he added, \"If you have the courage to provoke death, have the courage to face it as well.\"

    Meanwhile...

    Everyone in the monitoring room had gone into a frenzy as they tried to look for Zhang Han and Lily¡¯s figure. The cameras and traps were everywhere in the mountain, they were certain that both youngsters couldn¡¯t possibly escape that easily.

    \"What¡¯s happening?\" came a stern voice and everyone held their breath in fear. Seeing all the heads down and nobody willing to answer her, Ling Qiaolian was infuriated, \"I asked something? Did you all lose your tongues?\" She looked at the captain of the team and inquired, \"Yu, what¡¯s going on?\"

    Yu who had been silently immersed in trying to link Zhang Han¡¯s movements to a certain someone in his memory was suddenly shaken awake from his trance. Instead of answering her, he moved towards theputer and reyed the video of Zhang Han¡¯s fight with their people and the wolves pack.

    Ling Qiaolian¡¯s brows furrowed up as she saw the smooth actions of Zhang Han. She really didn¡¯t expect that at all. The only reason why she ordered her people to take him out was that she wanted to use Zhang Han¡¯s brutal death from the wolves to teach Lily a lesson. She wanted her text subject to see that freedom could only bring her deaths of the people she cared for.

    She knew for certain that Lily would break after encountering such a thing. After all, the death of your loved ones right before your eyes is the worst price one can pay for freedom.

    However, she never expected that someone would challenge her gamen and that too right in her territory. Moreover, that someone would turn out to be a mere teenager? Who barely stepped into adulthood?

    \"How did this happen? Didn¡¯t you already know who he is?\" she screamed at the people around the room. \"Everyone of you had been keeping a watch on him for weeks and couldn¡¯t find a single abnormality? Are you that dumb?!\"

    \"Reporting to Madam, the reports that Ms. Tang sent didn¡¯t indicate anything special about this little nephew of Xiao Zhiren. In fact, he was considered so ordinary that oftentimes Ms. Tang even forgot about his existence.\" Yu started exining the report that Tang Yiyi had been giving for years. It wasn¡¯t their fault that Tang Yiyi was the brainless one who didn¡¯t notice Zhang Han¡¯s abnormalities.

    \"But we caught him two weeks ago? Howe he didn¡¯t resist during that time?\" fumed Ling Qiaolian. She knew the main problem lied with her own niece¡¯s report but that said niece was nowhere to be found. So, she could only dump all the me on the people who were present.

    \"From the moment we caught him, he had been constantly put on drugs. He slept for two weeks, he only regained his consciousness yesterday. And when he did, he was already locked in our dungeon. There is no way he¡¯d think about resisting during that time. That¡¯s why none of us actually noticed anything.\" Yu again stated the whole thing calmly.

    Ling Qiaolian thought about something before saying, \"Why are you all frozen? Look for both of them!\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\" came the reply as everyone got busy looking through the screening monitors spread all around the mountain.

    \"Yu, send people out! Now I want that little boy back alive as well!\"

    Yu nodded his head and went out to send several teams out to look for both Zhang Han and Lily. Although something told him that they wouldn¡¯t be able to find them now. From what he gathered, Zhang Han didn¡¯t seem as simple to him as everyone thought of him to be. He already found it weird that Ji Family was willing to raise Zhang Han even when he was not directly rted to them.

    When he came back inside the monitoring room, he saw Ling Qiaolian giving orders left and right. So, he silently stood at her side.

    \"Yu, do you find anything peculiar about this boy?\"

    Yu¡¯s heart jolted a bit but he still answered, \"Nothing so noteworthy, Madam. Even his movements aren¡¯t that fluid. He¡¯s at most a rookie in martial arts.\"

    She scoffed, \"Oftentimes the people or problems that we tend to overlook are the ones whoe to bite us so tantly. I really underestimated the Ji Family¡¯s cunningness.\"

    *BOOM!*

    *BOOM!*

    Suddenly, the sound of two sts was heard and both Yu and Ling Qiaolian turned to look at the screen.

    \"What is that?\"

    \"Madam, it seems like twondmines exploded. Someone must have stepped on thendmines.\"

    Ling Qiaolian frowned again.

    \"It isn¡¯t that surprising. No matter how talented both youngsters are, our territory is filled with untold dangers. There is no way they could escape unscathed,\" chimed in another person.

    \"Yu, ask your scout teams to check up on thendmines. If they both are dead we can¡¯t do anything about that but if not... I want both of them alive!\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\"

    Yu bowed to her slightly as he saw her leaving the room. He turned on his transmitter and send the location to his teams to check out. Now, he really was intrigued to know what was toe.

 Chapter 279 Senior Brother

    Lily had been startled by the scene that yed before her in a blink of an eye. A moment she was about to watch the wolf devour Zhang Han and the next moment, that burly figure of the wolf was lying lifeless on the ground. She really had no idea how to react.

    But she could only heave a sigh of relief since Zhang Han was unscathed and that was that mattered to her. She slowly looked up at the savior and was stunned for a moment.

    The young man before her eyes was really like a knight from a storybook d in all ck. The smirk on his face didn¡¯t falter even for a second. She could clearly see a mysterious glint in his eyes as he leaned down to face Zhang Han.

    She couldn¡¯t tell Zhang Han¡¯s reaction but she saw him clutching the other man¡¯s shirt to pull himself up before he ced his head on the broad shoulder of the other person in a defeated manner.

    Only then she heard his exhausted voice, \"Senior brother, you¡¯rete.\"

    The other person¡¯s smirk changed into a soft smile as he patted Zhang Han¡¯s shoulder and said, \"Junior brother, if you¡¯re still alive that means I¡¯m absolutely on time.\"

    Zhang Han held his shoulders and looked at him with fierce eyes, \"I almost lost my life!\"

    The other person chuckled at his reaction and patted his head like he was cating a pet, \"But I saved your life. Didn¡¯t I? In fact, now you owe this young master a favor.\"

    \"Owe you a favor? In your dreams!\" spat out Zhang Han before adding, \"The only thing I owe you young master Haoran is a beating!\"

    \"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. This temper of yours is still making me wonder how did you get epted as a disciple of the Jingshen Temple? With your foul temper, it¡¯s really a miracle that Grandmaster Wang Xiuying hasn¡¯t kicked you out yet.\"

    Hearing the other person insulting him so tantly, Zhang Han was on the verge of exploding. It was really not easy dealing with this senior brother of his. But he couldn¡¯t do anything. After all, the other person was still superior to him both in status and strength. He couldn¡¯t challenge either.

    When Zhang Han didn¡¯t reply and kept staring at his face, the young man got bothered as he sighed out. \"With your abilities, you could have escaped long ago. What held you back?\"

    Zhang Han still didn¡¯t reply but he visibly stiffened. He knew that the other person was right. The moment he opened his eyes, he could have found a way out for himself. But then, why didn¡¯t he? What held him back? Or who held him back?

    The other person squinted his eyes before he tilted his head to look at the girl behind Zhang Han and gave a lopsided grin as he said, \"No wonder, you didn¡¯t run.\" He took a step towards Lily but Zhang Han ced his hand over his chest, not letting him pass. \"Easy junior brother. I won¡¯t bite. I promise.\" Saying that he extended his hand towards Lily and introduced himself, \"Hello! This humble self is Xia Haoran. It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you.\"

    Lily was dumbstruck by that smile on his lips as she just kept staring in his orbs that seemed to be like whirlpools. She hesitated a bit before replying, \"I¡¯m Lily.\" Oddly, she found something really familiar with him. As if she could see a mirror image of a person she knew. And that person was none other than the one she respected and admired the most; Ru.

    Poor girl really didn¡¯t realize that she wasn¡¯t going crazy. The person standing before her was, after all, the youngest brother of Ru. If he won¡¯t have her attitude, who else would?

    \"Lily?\" Xia Haoran repeated her name. \"Ah! It¡¯s the name I¡¯ve been hearing for a couple of months now. You¡¯re well... considered pretty. Right?\" He looked at Zhang Han who red at him in return. \"What? Don¡¯t re at me like that? I mean no harm! I¡¯m a bit clueless about the beauty standards that¡¯s why I was asking for your opinion. But then again, if you have a crush on her she must be really pretty in your eyes.\"

    Zhang Han¡¯s eyes widened as he mmed his hand over Xia Haoran¡¯s mouth and dragged him to side. A little further from where Lily was sitting on the boulder.

    \"Senior brother, can you please be a bit tactful?\"

    Xia Haoran shrugged his shoulders saying, \"I should be saying that to you. My brother Ru used to say that love is like a mental illness. Because only a mentally retarded person would be willing to lose his own life for someone else.\"

    \"Don¡¯t try to confuse me with your eloquent speech. I¡¯m not falling for that! You¡¯rete and that¡¯s a fact!\"

    Xia Haoran looked at him seriously and asked, \"When did you get caught by those people?\"

    \"I can¡¯t be certain but it¡¯s been over a week,\" replied Zhang Han not knowing where this was going.

    \"Exactly! And when did you bother to send that emergency signal?\" Xia Haoran¡¯s eyespletely lost the initial yfulness as he stared at Zhang Han. \"The signal was sentst night. I got here as soon as Grandmaster Xiuying informed me.\"

    Zhang Han rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation as he said, \"It¡¯s not my fault. They used some kind of drug to put me to sleep. I barely woke upst night and only then I could do anything.\"

    \"Yes, and instead of finding your way out, you stuck around to save a damsel in distress?\"

    \"No!\" Zhang Han was furious now. \"She¡¯s not the only reason I chose to observe a little.\" Xia Haoran narrowed his eyes at him. \"My dear little uncle is in their hands even now. I don¡¯t even know where.\"

    \"Little uncle? You mean Xiao Zhiyuan?\" asked Xia Haoran and got a nod in reply. He was in deep thought before he clicked his fingers together.

    With a gush of the wind, over fifty people jumped down from their hiding spots in the trees. All-d in ck and all of them wearing a badge to represent the formidable n that people often thought to be a myth; The Xia n. Each and every one of those people was elites of the n.

    \"Shishi, deal with Xiao Han¡¯s wounds,\" instructed Xia Haoran.

    \"Yes, young master,\" ady walked towards Zhang Han to treat his injuries.

    \"The rest of you... Gather the situation around the mountain. Don¡¯t get involved in any fight, just watch and report back to me.\"

    Everyone left after giving a bow to him leaving behind a confused Lily, a screaming Zhang Han ring at his doctor who was being brutal on purpose with his wounds and Xia Haoran who was staring up at the blue sky with a hidden smile.

    \"Seems like, I¡¯d be seeing my brother sooner than I expected...\"

 Chapter 280 Gunfigh

    At the foot of the mountain, a group of five people was assembled in a uniformed manner as they stared at their master who had been daydreaming for a while now. It was a very rare moment for the ck Mist squad to actually see their master in this state.

    As for their peerless master, Ru was busy trying to digest the fact that she was supposed to fight this war with a... gun! Oh, her hatred for this metallic thingy was iparable!

    The ck Mist squad after ying a round of rock paper scissors finally decided their candidate who would dare to go up to their master and even shake her a bit to brief her about the details of the on-going events.

    And the candidate chosen was Adia who cursed her luck before trying to call out, "Master... Master..." Seeing that Ru wasn¡¯t really reacting, she took a deep breath and called out in a loud voice, "Master!"

    Runguidly lifted her eyes and looked at her. That one look made Adia¡¯s breath to hitch. "What are you yelling for?"

    Adia tried to maintain herposure as she began, "Our teams have entered the Death Valley. Until now, 50ndmines and other deadly traps had been dealt with."

    "Too slow," replied Ru as she dismantled the gun in her hand before rearranging it again. As if she had too much time on her hand to y around.

    Adia¡¯s face twitched at her reply. They only came an hour ago! How was the progress still counted as slow?! This was really unfair!

    "What about the mainir?" Ru inquired while she aimed the gun at the tree behind Adia but it really looked like it was aimed at her head.

    "We have found the security rooms with their people keeping a watch along the way but the mainir is yet to be found," replied Adia with a pale face. It wasn¡¯t that she wasn¡¯t brave. But facing death was not easy for anyone. Especially when the person on the opposite side was someone like her entric Master.

    "Still too slow," replied Ru in azy voice.

    They suddenly heard the sound of explosion from afar. Adia closed her eyes as if she was the one who pulled the trigger but when she didn¡¯t feel any pain, she opened her eyes and looked at her master¡¯s frown and licked her dry lips. Oh, she was saved! "Seems like someone miscalcted thendmines. Or perhaps the traps are getting deadlier."

    Ru looked at her in a bored manner, "Did I ask for an exnation?"

    Adia straightened up as if she was on alert as she said, "No, Sir!"

    "Then stay quiet!" ordered Ru before she picked up her tablet from the side and pulled out her mini-drones from the bag before setting them up. She was focused on seeing the situation through her mini-drones when she noticed that Adia was still standing where she was. "Do you have something else to say?"

    Adia hesitated a bit as she looked at the skilled team of a dozen people standing behind Ru with a nk look on their faces. The emblem on their chests was different than theirs. They definitely weren¡¯t the people of Knight Empires. Instead, those people with nk faces came from Xavier Cooperation, their biggest rival in business and in the underworld.

    "Master, why are we cooperating with Mr. Xavier?" asked Adia after much contemtion.

    "You have a problem with what I do?" retorted Ru.

    "Never! Master is wise but we always had been at odds with Mr. Xavier. Is it wise to trust him now?" She managed to voice out her worries. It wasn¡¯t wrong that the ck Mist squad was the most apprehensive one after they got to know about this synergy. They knew nothing about Ru and Rong¡¯s rtionship except for the fact that both parties were like fire and water. "Besides, didn¡¯t you always disagree with the way Mr. Xavier works? So, I thought you really hated him."

    The corner of Ru¡¯s lips lifted up slightly which stunned her team to their ces. "Hate is a strong word. I told you not to use it so carelessly," said Ru. "Yes, I had a disagreement with how they worked because I thought being in Russian Mafia one shouldn¡¯t be this soft and kind-hearted. With this Lord¡¯s ruthless ways of life, there was bound to be a rivalry and dissent."

    "Then what changed?" chimed in Connor from the back.

    Ru smiled at his question. Not slightly. Not like her usual lopsided grin. She smiled softly like never been done before her people. Her issue with the Xavier cooperation had always been that Mr. Xavier¡¯s way of dealing with things went against her own. And only now she learned why it was like that.

    If Xavier wasn¡¯t her own brother Rong, she might have not been able to understand this but now she did. Rong might be simr to her in many ways but he was still very different. Especially when it came to his kind-hearted nature. Ru was considered ruthless and she stuck with that image of hers. Rong was kind andpassionate. It didn¡¯t change even in all these years.

    "Little brother, what are you still doing here?" came Rong¡¯s voice as he came to Ru¡¯s side.

    "I¡¯m looking around," answered Ru before standing up. "Bro, is there no way that we can have a normal fight? I don¡¯t like these guns."

    "You still disagree with this weapon?" he asked with a raise of his brow.

    Ru nodded her head in agreement. "I do. Guns are a coward¡¯s way of battle. What¡¯s the fun in this? Even a dog can win a gunfight! You don¡¯t even need skills for such a thing."

    Rong smiled slightly at her reply and shook his head before he lifted his hand to ruffle her hair saying, "This is why grandfather used to say that there is no such thing as an honest fight in this world now. You should really get over this already."

    Ru nodded her head obedientlypletely not noticing the look of horror that dawned on her squad. The ck Mist squad looked at Ru¡¯s interaction with Rong as if they were watching a horror movie. When was their master so easy to talk to?!

    Soon Ru noticed Rong¡¯s frown as he pressed the earpiece in his ear and listened carefully. The frown got deeper and deeper until he looked at Ru.

    "Found something?" asked Ru and received a nod in reply. "What? What is it?"

    "You shoulde with me first," he said as he dragged her to a side with him.

 Chapter 281 Reckless One

    Ru followed Rong and even from a distance she could hear the sound of fighting. As they came close, she saw a single man d in ck who was turning out to be a nightmare for over twenty skilled people from her own team and Rong¡¯s team. A sh of surprise shed through her eyes before she jumped into the fight herself and held the hand of that so-called nightmare who was about to through a very deadly strike on the person beside him.

    "I didn¡¯t think this corrupt organization could actually have skilled masters like you," said Ru in her usual cold but very calm voice as if she was talking about the weather. Her eyes narrowed slightly when the man tried to resist. Getting impatient, she brought her hand up and in a blink of an eye, her palm struck at the man¡¯s chest throwing him off-bnce as he fell down while blood spurted out of his mouth.

    The side of her hand was gonna struck the side of his neck when Rong ced his hand on her shoulder and said, "Little brother, show some loyalty andmon sense. In your rage, the only thing you¡¯re seeing is blood." Ru raised her brows at his remark while he pointed at something. Ru followed the movement of his hand and finally, her eyes fell on the jade emblem hanging from the other man¡¯s waist.

    "How is..." she was lost for words. After being momentarily shocked, she shook the man saying, "What is a member of Shadowwick state doing here?"

    The man pulled down his mask and looked at Ru¡¯s green eyes with a look of bewilderment. His pain waspletely forgotten as he bowed his head. "Young master Ru..."

    Ru¡¯s brows quirked up slightly, "You recognize me? I thought people won¡¯t even remember my name after ten years."

    "Young master Ru is being humble. Who would dare forget young master Ru? Young master Haoran says, ¡¯Legends can be lost but they can¡¯t be forgotten.¡¯ The name Ru is itself a legend for warriors."

    His words awokeplicated emotions within Ru. Her brows knotted slightly, "Don¡¯t tell me that the youngest of our family is in these woods right now." It was a wild shot but something told her that she right.

    The man pursed his lips and didn¡¯t dare to look up. There were way too many stories back home involving the person standing before him. And he really didn¡¯t wish to find out whether all of those stories were true or not. Because the thing that was consistent in all the tales he heard was the ruthless nature of young master Ru.

    His silent agreement made Ru¡¯s face twitch in anger. "Where is he?" she inquired. "Take me to him."

    Meanwhile, Xie Haoran who was oblivious to the fact that his appearance just made his favorite brother¡¯s anger to reach a new pinnacle was busymenting, "Junior brother, you owe me big time. My precious sword is stained in blood because of you."

    "It¡¯s not the first time that your de has tasted blood, Senior brother," reminded Zhang Han with a roll of his eyes. After getting the first-aid, he had requested the same girl to look over Lily to see if she had any injuries while he surveyed their surroundings. After all, a certain high and mighty young master was acting way too carelessly again.

    "Yes, it¡¯s not the first time," agreed Xie Haoran before continuing, "But it¡¯s the first time, I¡¯ve killed a wolf with my precious de." His face looked guilty as he added, "How am I gonna face Midnight after this?"

    Zhang Han gritted his teeth to keep himself from throwing some profanities his way. How could he be worried about his pet wolf back home? Yes, ¡¯Midnight¡¯ was the name of Xie Haoran¡¯s little wolf. The irony was that ¡¯Midnight¡¯ was actually a wolf with pure white fur. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that his naming sense was as bad as his older brother.

    Xie Haoran sighed as he looked up at the sky and mumbled, "I¡¯m sorry Midnight. But I had to kill one of your kind to save one of mine."

    Suddenly, Xie Haoran and Zhang Han both felt the presence of people getting closer to them. Zhang Han was alert while Xie Haoran looked really indifferent about it. Henguidly took out his handkerchief to clean his de.

    "HAORAN!" That loud voice brought a smile to Xie Haoran¡¯s face as he turned around to look at his Ru bro and his eyes sparkled.

    "Haoran?" he heard another voice which wasn¡¯t as loud as the first one and looked at the person standing beside Ru. His eyes widened in surprise.

    "Rong Ge..." he called out before running over to his side and threw a punch at his face without holding back. Rong¡¯s people were immediately angered as they tried to make a move but Rong held his hand up signaling them to step back. Really, why was everyone greeting him with a punch? First, it was Ru and now little Ran as well?

    "It¡¯s nice to see you too little cousin," said Rong while he touched the side of his face and even tried to move his jaw. Fortunately, his jaw wasn¡¯t dislocated but it was gonna leave an ugly bruise. Then his hand touched Xie Haoran¡¯s head who was as almost as tall as him now and smiled, "You¡¯ve finally gotten taller, little shortie!"

    Xie Haoran hit his chest, "You! How could you! How could you leave me alone?"

    Ru chuckled at the side which infuriated Xie Haoran even more, "Ru Ge, just because I didn¡¯tsh out at you don¡¯t think you¡¯re any better than him."

    "You mean you didn¡¯t hit little brother? Why so biased little cousin?" asked Rong feeling wronged all of a sudden.

    "Because I and the whole n expected something reckless from Ru Ge but not from you! Rong Ge was known as the perfect example of being responsible. But you failed us by recklessly following this troublemaker out of the n."

    Xie Haoran¡¯s exnation made more sense then they really thought it would. How weird! Or maybe not. Everyone was familiar with Ru¡¯s nature. Nothing could stop her if she set her mind to something. Even if the sky fell, she¡¯d still do what she had nned. The only thing that mattered to her was whether her actions would benefit herself or not? The rest didn¡¯t matter. But Rong was different, he would only do what he felt right for others.

    It was a famous saying back in Shadowwick state, Ru is reckless/ruthless and Rong is responsible. Perhaps because of their contrasting nature, they had been put in a team. Rong was like Ru¡¯s shadow who would make sure that a certain young master won¡¯t go overboard with her recklessness or ruthlessness. Either of those spelled trouble!

    Getting tired of this talk, Ru pinched Xie Haoran¡¯s neck from behind and questioned, "What the hell are you doing here?"

 Chapter 282 Stay Safe

    Xie Haoran felt a cold shiver running down his spine as Ru¡¯s fingers were wrapped around his neck in a deadly trap. Damn! She wasn¡¯t going easy even on her brother. He wanted toin that this was not the way he had expected this reunion. But he couldn¡¯t since Ru¡¯s eyes told him that she wasn¡¯t in the mood for any nonsense. He could only answer her with the truth.

    "Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯sst disciple sent an SOS. I was the one who was assigned the rescue mission," answered Xie Haoran in a very submissive tone.

    "Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯sst disciple?" repeated Ru with a frown. "Who is that?"

    "That would be me," she heard a familiar voice and turned her head to look. Her brows raised considerably as she saw Zhang Han standing at the side. "Senior brother is here for me."

    "Zhang Han?" Ru couldn¡¯t believe it. She always felt that Zhang Han¡¯s presence was too small for her to pay any attention to him. He seemed rather like a fool sometimes. But apparently, she wasn¡¯t really as great at reading through people as she thought she was. "You¡¯re Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯s disciple?" Zhang Han only nodded his head in reply. "Wow! You hid quite well."

    Zhang Han smiled a little, "I¡¯ll take that as apliment, young master Ru. After all, it¡¯s not every day that young master Ru wouldpliment anyone."

    "And you also know me. Why am I not surprised?"

    Zhang Han chuckled softly at her response, "I knew young master Ru, the moment I first saw you with Xiao Zhiyuan. Whether you called yourself Alev Knight, Rong, or whatever, it couldn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re young master Ru. My master loves to talk about his entric disciple. And with your reputation, it wasn¡¯t hard to recognize you. Especially, those green eyes of yours gave you away."

    Ru was impressed. He deserved to be Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯s disciple with his observing skills. He caught on to her identities way faster like no other. Even with Xiao Zhiren, she had to disclose her identity herself. With Ji Syaoran, she gave away a bit of hint for him to catch on to. But with Zhang Han, there was no loophole and yet he caught on.

    "At first, I had my doubts because you acted like an idiot which was inplete contrast with the way people liked to describe you." Ru scowled at his choice of words for describing her carefree nature as her being an idiot while he went on, "Your closeness with Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan made me doubt many times. After all, you werebeled as the most unfriendly person. But on my graduation day, you just confirmed my suspicions. Those aberrant fighting skills couldn¡¯t just be anyone¡¯s."

    Ru nodded her head. He had seen her killing those bounty hunters. "You told Haoran?"

    "He did," answered Xia Haoran. "At first, I didn¡¯t believe him. Not until he sent me your photos with Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyaun."

    Zhang Han couldn¡¯t helpughing at Xia Hoaran¡¯s words which earned him a re from his senior brother but he chose to ignore it. "Senior brother, aren¡¯t you gonna mention how you¡¯re were hopping mad with jealousy when you learned about young master Ru¡¯s indulgence towards Xiao Zhiyuan?" He bit the inside of his lip to stop himself fromughing any further. "I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t forget the way you looked at that time."

    Ru finally loosened her grip on Xia Haoran¡¯s neck as she questioned, "You¡¯re jealous?"

    Xia Haoran tried to avoid her eyes as he answered, "Wouldn¡¯t I be? You actually chose another over your own brother." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his words. "Even now, you¡¯re here for him. You¡¯re here to save Xiao Zhiyuan." Ru tried to touch his head but he moved back avoiding her touch, "Don¡¯t worry, this time I won¡¯t ask you toe back home with me. It¡¯s really up to you. As for now, Xiao Han can show you the way to the mainir of those people."

    Ru opened her mouth to say something when she heard another voice, "Xiao Han doesn¡¯t know the way. We were blindfolded when they took us there." Ru looked behind and found Lily sitting at the boulder, she lowered her head and bit her lips, "I¡¯m sorry for failing you, master."

    Ru frowned at her words, "I sent you with Yuan to enjoy, not for his safety. So, you didn¡¯t fail me in any way." Lily was grateful that Ru thought this way but she was still feeling guilty. So, Ru added, "This has nothing to do with you, Lily." She looked towards the ck Mist squad who immediately moved towards Lily to check up on her.

    Ru was moving towards Xia Haoran when Zhang Han came between them and said, "Even though I was blindfolded, I was awake when they brought me out of the dungeon. So, I can tell you the way. But I¡¯ll follow as well. I can¡¯t leave that little uncle of mine alone there."

    Ru nodded at him. She didn¡¯t have to ask anything else. Knowing your way around in darkness was a basic skill, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that Zhang Han could remember everything about their way. But she still wanted to say something to her little brother who was sulking now.

    Rong could feel her struggle as he walked up to Xia Haoran. "Little Hao..."

    Xia Haoran crouched down beside the wolf he killed earlier and said, "Sorry, this young master won¡¯t be joining your battle. My mother has strictly forbidden me to do so. Besides, I think I¡¯ll be having a barbeque party instead." He looked over his shoulder to find every one of his team members standing behind him as he asked, "This looks delicious, right?" Nobody answered his question but not like he was looking for one.

    Rong rubbed his head saying, "That¡¯s what I was going to say, stay out of this fight. Don¡¯t get involved at any cost!"

    "You¡¯re still so predictable," scoffed Xia Haoran. He had already guessed what was running through both his brother¡¯s head. They weren¡¯t gonna let him fight. He was still a young kid for both of them. Oh, he¡¯d have loved to prove them wrong if only his mother really hadn¡¯t made him swore that he won¡¯t get into any unnecessary fight. "Now, go along already! Time is ticking! It¡¯s already close to nightfall."

    Zhang Han nodded at his words and turned to Ru, "Let¡¯s go, young master Ru."

    Ru looked at her little brother and said, "I¡¯ll be right back." Xia Haoran didn¡¯t reply but still nodded stiffly. He watched both his brothers giving orders to their respective teams as they walked away from him.

    Seeing their figures getting further and further, he stood up. "Young master Haoran, are we really not gonna help?"

    Xia Haoran looked at his subordinates and shook his head, "They can manage it on their own. Let¡¯s call back home and see what grandfather has to say about this." With aplicated look in his eyes, he whispered, "Stay safe... I really don¡¯t wanna lose both my brothers all over again."

 Chapter 283 Good Boy

    Inside the mainir, everyone was running around because they had started to lose their contact with several of their scout teams and security teams that were scattered all over their territory of the death valley. Losing contact with hundreds of people so abruptly meant that something was wrong. There was no way around it. This couldn¡¯t be a coincidence.

    "What is going on here?" Ling Qiaolian was really getting a headache at this unforeseen turn of events. No wonder she wasn¡¯t feeling good about this situation with Zhang Han earlier. She overlooked a lot of things. And now, trouble wasing right at her door.

    "It seems like we are ambushed," replied Yu as he took a break from ordering people around. The security system was hacked and they couldn¡¯t see what was going on. Or how many people they were about to face. But one thing was certain, whoever it was, their target was the main headquarter. And they definitely weren¡¯t looking for negotiations.

    Yu watched how Ling Qiaolian sneered and he felt a premonition rising in his heart. "I guess you¡¯ll be meeting your old friend soon, Yu." Yu¡¯s heart jolted a bit as she added, "Your favorite Four is at the door, won¡¯t you wee her?" Just because trouble was knocking at the door, didn¡¯t mean she had no way to wee that trouble.

    Yu closed his eyes but still managed to say, "Isn¡¯t Four dead? I shot her myself."

    Ling Qiaolian looked at him with a cold gaze, "Do you take me for an idiot, Yu? Or do you really think that I didn¡¯t see you choosing to shoot at her chest knowing very well that her heart was on the right side?"

    Yu fell on his knees as he voiced out, "Madam, I was..."

    "Save it. I don¡¯t care why you did it. I kept you alive because I know how skilled you are. Besides, she was of no use to me since she didn¡¯t sumb no matter what I did." Ling Qiaolian¡¯s biggest failure had been Ru; That one person she couldn¡¯t tame no matter how she tried to. Ru¡¯s mental strength and resistance were beyond her belief. Ru was nothing but a stubborn product to her. If only, she could control her then Ru could have be her explosive power and it wouldn¡¯t even take her second to ruin the five great ns. However, this was not the time toment. "But this time, I won¡¯t be going easy on you. You better kill her for me."

    Yu¡¯s heart felt heavy at this order that he was receiving the second time in his life. In the past, he didn¡¯t know how but Ling Qiaolian knew that Rong won¡¯t be able to shoot Ru. That¡¯s why she sent him to do the deed but her n was even twisted than that, she wanted him to make it look like Rong was the one who shot Ru.

    And in fact, that¡¯s what happened. Ru¡¯s brain only registered Rong¡¯s hand holding the gun at her, shepletely overlooked the silhouette who stood right behind Rong and aimed right at Ru¡¯s heart. However, at thatst moment when he was about to pull the trigger, his hand trembled. He didn¡¯t have it in him to shoot her. So, he chose to give her luck a chance. He chose to shoot at her chest just right beside her heart.

    Her survival was left on her luck. He could only do that much. He couldn¡¯t disobey Ling Qiaolian but he did for her. But that was his limit. He couldn¡¯t do more than that for her and he regretted it until this day.

    "I won¡¯t fail Madam this time," answered Yu acquiescently.

    "You better not," warned Ling Qiaolian. "This girl really underestimates me. Last time, I couldn¡¯t y with you like I wanted but this time I have more cards than you think little Four." Her eyes shed with menace as she barked orders, "Let everyone out on the field. And do everything to resist this attack. I don¡¯t want a single one of those people alive." Then she looked over at Yu again and said, "Bring out all the people from the dungeon."

    "But Madam, those people are all failed products," answered Yu looking at her weirdly.

    "All the more reason to let them out... They¡¯d make a good sacrifice for our cause," announced Ling Qiaolian without any hint of humanity in her eyes or her voice.

    People loved to say that Ru was heartless but in fact, those people hadn¡¯t met this monster. Ru might be heartless but she knew where her limits were or what was right or wrong. But this woman had no such thing as a borderline. If anything, she was inhumane and like a beast who would devour anything and everyone for her own benefit.

    She had always treated humans like products, products that could be sacrificed easily for her madness. Yes, madness! Because her experiments were nothing but her obsession and pure madness. She wanted to be the god who could control humans like the way she wanted them to. It was her obsession that she wanted everyone to bow down before her. It was nothing else except for her madness.

    One might like to call her a mad doctor. She did experiments far worse and cruel than now. As long as it got her what she wanted, she was willing to do anything. Even if it meant eating human flesh or human organs!

    Her madness was beyond anyone¡¯s understanding. But there was something even worse about her. And that was her deceitful nature. If it wasn¡¯t because of that deceitful nature of hers, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter the Ji family all those years ago.

    After ordering her people to prepare for the fight, she took long strides and went to another secret room. Inside the room, a person was sitting on the chair with two people inb coats standing beside him.

    "Is it done?" she asked.

    "Yes, Madam!" said both of them in unison.

    She nodded and waved them off before she walked around the chair and stood before that person. Her hand caressed the side of his face while she bent over to look into his unfocused eyes.

    "No matter how long and hard I try, you¡¯re still my most perfect creation..." she whispered proudly beside his ear. "Guess what! I heard you fell in love with my most stubborn product." She stuffed a dagger into his hands and went on, "Since you¡¯ve tamed her already, how about you¡¯d be the one to kill her as well dear Zhiren?"

    The person who was sitting still in the chair was none other than Xiao Zhiren. As she had said, she had many tricks up her sleeve this time around. And the biggest and deadliest of her cards was right before her; Xiao Zhiren.

    Her lips touched the side of his face as she whimpered pitifully, "You¡¯d do this for mommy, right?"

    Xiao Zhiren abruptly stood up as he said, "I¡¯d do anything for mommy."

    "Good boy..."

 Chapter 284 Like A Phoenix

    *shback*

    When Ling Qiaolian called Xiao Zhiren as her most perfect creation, she wasn¡¯t boasting. She was telling the truth. When she first entered the Ji Family as a pitiful widower with her pitiful daughter, her target wasn¡¯t Xiao Zhiren. However, when she came across Xiao Zhiren, she couldn¡¯t help making him her pawn.

    As Ru had always said, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s biggest problem was his kindness. He was too good and that actually made him a very gullible person. It wasn¡¯t really difficult for Ling Qiaolian to earn his trust back then considering how little he was at that time. He was a bright kid with a kind heart and it allowed her to wrap him around her fingers and mold him the way she wanted.

    He could be known as her first experiment body. And it was fascinating how it worked so well. Because day by day, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s dependence on her increased. He would do anything for her even if she asked to kill someone, he won¡¯t hesitate.

    The real truth about Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhi¡¯er that even Ji Syaoran was oblivious to were that under Ling Qiaolian¡¯s control, Xiao Zhiren indeed tried to kill his mother, Xiao Zhi¡¯er because his young brain waspletely ruled by the lies that Ling Qiaolian chose to imnt in his brain. ording to her, if she used Xiao Zhiren to kill Xiao Zhi¡¯er, it would clear her path. She¡¯d eventually seed in marrying Ji Yifeng and bing the young mistress of the Ji Family which would give her ess to the money and power of Ji Family that she needed toplete her experiments.

    She, however, underestimated the strength of Xiao Zhi¡¯er who managed to survive her own son¡¯s attack but it left a huge impact on her brain making her incapable to stay sane. But this one incident was enough to rm the Ji Family and that¡¯s when she chose to flee. She could run away alone but leaving her perfect creation behind wasn¡¯t something she was willing to do. She had put her years into making Xiao Zhiren her biggest weapon, how could she give up on him.

    Even under her control, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attachment to his youngest brother, Xiao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t lessen. So, she took Xiao Zhiyaun with herself as well. Kind of like an insurance policy that could be used anywhere anytime to lure Xiao Zhiren back to her cage if he ever dared to rebel against her.

    Her n was perfect. It was really perfect since she brought both of the sons far away from their family and chose to feed them lies to make the hate grow inside them like weeds that one could pull out but it would still leave it¡¯s roots somewhere within.

    She was the one who sent Xiao Zhiren to train under the skilled masters. She wanted him to have the skills that she needed not just the obedience that she needed.

    Everything was going great until a certain someone chose to walk in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life unannounced and made his brain to think differently. That, someone, was none other than Ru.

    *Ten Years Ago*

    Ru had run away from home in the darkness of the night. She wasn¡¯t really worried that anyone would follow her. Even if anyone did, she didn¡¯t have to worry since she could hide very well with her impable skills. She was wandering around the Capital for the very first time in her life. She found a ce to eat and started her food tour for which she actually ran from the home.

    While she was passing by a dim-sum ce, she watched ady sitting with tarot cards and a huge crowd around her. With her curious nature, she also joined the crowd and sat down before thedy saying, "Can you really tell my future?"

    Thedy¡¯s gentle eyes stared at Ru¡¯s eyes for a moment longer before she said, "Youngdy, you¡¯ve beautiful eyes." Ru eyes widened slightly. How could she tell that she was a girl? She was clearly in her male attire even now. She had bought female clothing as her best disguise but she had yet to find a ce to change. Well, the truth was that she got distracted by the food on her way.

    Thedy chuckled softly at Ru¡¯s reaction and shook her head. She ced cards before Ru and said, "Why don¡¯t you pick your own future?"

    Ru was surprised to hear those words. She found thedy even more peculiar than before. She didn¡¯t hesitate and picked up a card. She showed it to thedy since she couldn¡¯t understand it herself. Thedy took the card and stared at it for a moment longer than she did for others. Ru frowned in her impatience, "What is it? Just say it." ¡¯Not like I¡¯m gonna believe you anyway.¡¯ she added in her own mind but chose not to say it out loud. This was just a new experience for her. Something she didn¡¯t find in Shadowwick state.

    "Red thread of destiny..." thedy whispered making Ru¡¯s frown to get deeper.

    "What? What are you talking about?" asked Ru.

    Thedy looked at Ru, this time with aplicated gaze as she said, "Little girl, the strength of red thread is strong. It¡¯s gonna tug at your heart." Ru was scowling now, she felt like thedy was talking in riddles because she really couldn¡¯t understand her. "I don¡¯t know what to say. You can¡¯t avoid this fate but..." all of a sudden, she held Ru¡¯s hand and whispered, "Choose your path wisely. Everyone we meet on the same road is not meant for the same destinations. The bond that this thread had built can burn you."

    Ru pulled her hand away from her hold and rolled her eyes saying, "Listen, olddy, this young master only knows one thing life, you either do it or don¡¯t do it. There is no way around it. If I want to choose my road to doom, I¡¯ll still dly walk on that road because I chose it myself!"

    She abruptly got up and turned around to leave but right at this moment, she bumped into someone¡¯s chest. As she looked up, her green eyes were staring into ck orbs that looked dazed and nk.

    The olddy shook her head as she whispered, "Sigh! Little girl, it seems like your destiny is not willing to let you choose your path. I hope even if burns you, you¡¯re strong enough to rise from the ashes like the phoenix you¡¯re born as."

    *shback to be continued*

 Chapter 285 Seek Strength Not Revenge

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had immediately taken a dislike to the person she had bumped into. Even though he looked really handsome but the sole fact that she found a gun in his possession left a very bad impression on her.

    "Watch where you¡¯re going," she said harshly as she pulled away from him.

    However, that person was still staring at her face. Somehow, those dazed eyes were looking at her green ones with curiosity and with a frown. Something in those green sparkling eyes was pulling him towards her. He didn¡¯t know what it was but that invisible power was strong. And somehow very familiar as well. He just couldn¡¯t recall when or where he had felt this before.

    "Sorry," he muttered seeing the distaste in her eyes. His heart felt a prick when he noticed that dislike in her eyes. He had turned to leave and even walked to the end of the road when he suddenly realized that the gun that he had under his jacket was now gone.

    He tried to recall what happened when his eyes widened realizing that he had onlye in contact with a single person who had just bumped into him. He turned around and ran back to where he left her but she was nowhere to be found now. He frantically looked around to look for her but couldn¡¯t. She vanished into thin air making him feel apprehensive.

    Suddenly, a pebble hit his head and he looked towards the alley where it came from. There she stood leaning against the wall dangling his gun in her hand with a smirk. "Looking for this?"

    He ran towards her to take it from her when she got his neck into a deadlock before mming him on the cold concrete ground. He groaned in pain, "What are you ying at?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing. I just don¡¯t trust a man who keeps a gun in the crowd of innocent and ordinary people."

    His brows knitted slightly as he replied, "I have it for my own protection."

    "I don¡¯t believe that," announced Ru without any hesitation. She couldn¡¯t tell herself why she chose to pull this stunt. He, carrying a gun had nothing to do with her, and yet, on instinct, she chose to stealthily take his gun.

    "Aren¡¯t you being too nosy?" he retorted while trying to stand up. His bones were aching badly because of the tactic she used on him. He still couldn¡¯t believe that he actually lost from her and that too from a very young girl. The young girl before him was Ru, who finally changed out of her male attire before looking for trouble.

    "Maybe I am," she replied and leaned really close to his face, "So what?"

    His breath hitched because of how close they were. He really didn¡¯t know why but he was finding her presence overwhelming. It was weighing down on him.

    "Give me back my gun," he demanded trying to avoid her eyes that seemed like whirlpools pulling him in.

    "I can, but first you tell me what this is?" she showed another parcel which made his eyes widen is a surprise. She looked through the content of the parcel and spoke, "Target: Ji Yifeng... Interesting..." she said to herself as she read the other details before adding, "Killing a member of Five Great ns. Do you even realize the consequences?" He frowned at her words while she went on, "Not only Ji Family even the rest of the ns would start hunting for your life. And trust me, those ns are not as simple as you think. You won¡¯t be able to hide from them."

    "That is my concern," he said harshly.

    Ru furrowed her brows at him and added, "Okay then I¡¯d like to know the reason why you want to kill him." It wasn¡¯t like she was really interested but ording to her father, as a member of Xia n, it was their duty to protect the other ns when they needed protection. And she, being the next sessor of her father¡¯s legacy had to follow those rules.

    When he didn¡¯t reply, in a blink of an eye, Ru was standing right behind him as she pinned two silver needles at the side of his head and spoke softly, "Don¡¯t make me repeat myself."

    All of a sudden, as if a huge burden was lifted off of his mind as his eyes cleared up and he stared at Ru¡¯s green eyes with fascination now. "My father betrayed his wife and chose another. He betrayed me and my brother. And everyone took his side. He still managed to inherit the n Head¡¯s position when he doesn¡¯t even deserve it. I need to kill him to show my grandparents that they made a mistake by throwing my mother out."

    Ru scowled at his words, "Ji Yifeng is your father?" He nodded. "What¡¯s your name then?"

    "Xiao Zhiren..." he answered.

    Ru indifferent gaze looked at his face again before looking at the photo of Ji Yifeng in her hand, "Hmm... You do have simrities but why is yourst name Xiao instead of Ji?"

    "Because they don¡¯t even want to acknowledge my existence along with my mother," scoffed Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru scratched her head in confusion. This seemed really strange to her. She had nevere across something like this before. Her n was way simple. Well, actually it was moreplicated but Ru found her people¡¯s ways to be simple because she was used to it. Besides, there was no such thing as trickery and deceit or power struggle. That¡¯s why this was all so foreign to her.

    "And killing him is gonna get you the acknowledgment that you desire?" she retorted curiously. "I mean if your father is dead, there is no way anyone is gonna acknowledge you or your mother. If anything, you¡¯d bebeled as the unfilial son who took his father¡¯s life in the desire to seek power. How pathetic does that sound!"

    Xiao Zhiren was stunned by her words. Indeed, her words were hitting the mark. The brain that had only been listening to what his mother taught him was finally listening to someone talking rationally. Ru carefully pulled out her silver needles and put them back.

    "My father says, instead of seizing someone else¡¯s power make yourself the strongest one. Because once you¡¯re strong, those who shoved you down would be left with nothing but remorse and defeat. While you¡¯d have the choice to not forgive them for what they did to you."

    She threw the gun and the parcel back at him as she added, "You can either choose to let your anger define your downfall or use that anger as a way to rise to the top. I¡¯m sure your father would be really suffering when he realizes that he lost a treasure." Saying that she turned to leave and shouted over her shoulder, "Lose that gun though. Next time, I won¡¯t be kind enough to leave a word of advice." She was far now when her voice resonated through the empty alley, "Seek strength, revenge is already a lost game."

    Just like that, she was lost in the dark alley leaving a very confused Xiao Zhiren. His head was hurting badly. Whenever he tried to think about what she said, it would hurt. As if her words were contradicting with his roots.

    Ru didn¡¯t even realize how these few words of hers started the battle that she was just about to face now...

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 286 Getting Caugh

    *shback Continued*

    "Zhiren, you didn¡¯t finish the task that I assigned you."

    Xiao Zhiren was sitting alone in the middle of nowhere with his phone ced against his ear. He could hear Ling Qiaolian reprimanding him but honestly, his brain wasn¡¯t functioning properly to know what to say or what to do.

    Ru¡¯s sudden appearance shook his world. It was as if he lost the direction of his life. Or perhaps, he finally understood that he had been walking down the wrong direction all this while. Whichever one it was, he didn¡¯t feel okay with it.

    "Mom, I don¡¯t think killing is the right answer," he finally said.

    "What? What did you say?" Ling Qiaolian¡¯s voice turned sharp. "Are you forgetting what that family did to us? To you? To your brother? To me?"

    Xiao Zhiren closed his eyes in exasperation, "No, I haven¡¯t forgotten anything. I just feel like if we shed blood for revenge, it¡¯ll be of no use. What will be the difference between them and us? Besides, with Ji Yifeng¡¯s death, nothing will change. Instead, we¡¯ll have to suffer more."

    "Are you actually rebelling?" Ling Qiaolian¡¯s eyes narrowed as she noticed the change in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice. It was the first time, he had refused to do something she asked for. It really surprised her. How could he change so much? And that too so suddenly?

    "I¡¯m not," replied Xiao Zhiren. "I just want the revenge to be far worse than his death. I want him to live and suffer through this life knowing what his sins are."

    "Okay. Mom believes in you. Just take care of yourself," said Ling Qiaolian in a sweet voice and hung up the phone. Then she turned to look at the person behind her and said, "It seems like the drug is not working on Zhiren that effectively anymore. Send someone to bring him here."

    ....

    "Big brother, let go of my ear!" Ru tried to swat Rong¡¯s hand away from her ear which he was pulling not so gently. "At least, let me finish my noodles." She looked longingly at her bowl of piping hot noodles that she just ordered. How unfair was it that before she could even take a bite, her brother actually found her! "Father says to never disrespect the food!" She used herst resort and it worked.

    Rong loosened his grip on her ear as he stood aside and said, "Finish it up. Then we¡¯re going back home."

    "Err..." Ru made a sound at the back of her throat before she sat down and started slurping on the hot noodles without any care in this world.

    "Eat carefully. Don¡¯t burn yourself," rebuked Rong which made Ru smile at him because it sounded more like he was worried about her.

    "Big brother, how did you find me? I thought I left no tracks," Ru tried to strike up the conversation casually to know her brother¡¯s secret of finding her in this big country. It hasn¡¯t even been a week since she ran from home and he already caught up to her. She thought if she learned his secret, she¡¯d be able to hide her tracks perfectly from then on.

    "I¡¯m your big brother. I know how this brain of yours works," replied Rong without giving away any unnecessary information to her. Ru scowled at his reply and he poked her head saying, "Stop trying to waste time. We have to get back home before your eighteenth birthday."

    "I don¡¯t get it though, why is my eighteenth birthday so important?" Ru was frowning as she questioned. This question had bugged her for a long time now. Everyone back home always said that everything will change for her on her eighteenth birthday. But why? Or how so? What was gonna change?

    Rong rubbed her head saying, "You¡¯ll know once you get back."

    "Big brother, would you like some?" she questioned while looking into his blue eyes. In the entire n, only these two had different colored eyes. The rest either had ck or brown eyes. It really made both of them stand out too much. Perhaps that¡¯s why they both often used the lens to hide their real eye color. Although Ru always found it weird, she had never taken this matter too seriously.

    "Eat all you want, my little fatty!" Rong ruffled her hair making her scowl again. "I feel like there is a monster living in that tummy of yours. How can all of this fit inside that small tummy?"

    Ru stuck her tongue out at him. "Big brother, there is no monster in my tummy. Because I¡¯m the monster myself." She chuckled to herself but stopped when she saw that the other person wasn¡¯t amused by her words. "My bad..."

    Rong shook his head at her as they got up to leave and looked around as if surveying the surroundings as he asked, "Why did you wear these hideous clothes?"

    Ru looked down at the long skirt and shirt that she was wearing and frowned, "Hideous? But that shop keeper said all girls like this cute stuff."

    "Do you like this cute stuff?" he questioned in return. Ru¡¯s face scrunched up in disgust as she shook her head. "Then why are you wearing it?"

    "I thought if I changed my appearance nobody will be able to find me," replied Ru with a straight face butmented inside that she clearly overlooked this brother of hers who could find her from her scent. He really was like her shadow, always following her around no matter what. She even wore the clothes that she despised and yet he found her without any problem.

    "Even if you change this face of yours, this brother will still be able to recognize you," said Rong with certainty.

    "How so?"

    "Because Rong only has Ru in this world now," replied Rong with a sad smile.

    "Big brother, there is a huge family waiting for us back at home. How can you say that you only have me?"

    "You¡¯ll know when youe back," said Rong making Ru feel really frustrated. Every question¡¯s answer was back home. If that was true then why the hell did she run from there in the first ce?

    While she was being moody and throwing tantrums at the one person who would neverin to her, her eyes looked over at that familiar figure who was stuck between a group of attackers.

    Seeing Xiao Zhiren fighting those ten or so people all alone, Ru knitted her brows and tried to approach him. However, Rong held her arm and said, "Ru, that¡¯s not your fight."

    "But big brother, I know him," said Ru in an attempt to convince him.

    "That¡¯s not a good enough reason," replied Rong and added, "Don¡¯t forget your teachings, you¡¯ll only suffer if you¡¯ll try to fight others battles for them."

    "I know that..." Ru said as her foot tapped the ground impatiently before she said, "Sorry, big brother!"

    "Wha-"

    Rong¡¯s words were yet in his mouth when Ru used her silver needle to knock him out. She put him against the trunk of the tree and said, "I¡¯ll be right back after saving him. And I¡¯ll also go to my eighteenth birthday."

    With those words, she ran off in the direction of Xiao Zhiren without knowing that she wasn¡¯t gonna be able toe back. Not that easily. And most importantly, she was never gonna be able to celebrate her eighteenth birthday.

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 287 Preys

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had jumped into the fight without thinking much about it. ording to her, it was a piece of cake to deal with those amateurs. However, she forgot that people outside her world were sly rather than upright like her. Just because she hated dirty fights didn¡¯t mean others did as well.

    She was trying to save Xiao Zhiren when someone injected something on the back of her neck. Ru¡¯s steps faltered but she didn¡¯t give up. Even in that state, she fought with all her willpower. She dragged her body with that muddled head around and was almost on the verge of winning when the reinforcement joined and Ru couldn¡¯t hold on to her consciousness anymore.

    It was exactly as Rong had told her, if it wasn¡¯t for Xiao Zhiren she wouldn¡¯t have fallen. His hatred for Xiao Zhiren was justified for him because even if he was asked to choose again, he would end up choosing his own Ru¡¯s life over Xiao Zhiren¡¯s.

    And this was the reason why Rong was so uncertain about Ru¡¯s love for Xiao Zhiren. How could she love the person who actually became the reason for her downfall? How could she love someone who became the door to her insanity? How could she love him when he was the reason why she always felt lost?

    ....

    "Why did you bring this girl? I asked you to bring Xiao Zhiren to me," Ling Qiaolian screamed at the group of people who were beaten and blue standing before her.

    "Madam, this girl tried to save him. It was because of her that we all got injured and dyed."

    "She beat you all alone?" questioned Ling Qiaolian with a sh of surprise in her eyes.

    "Yes. Her skills were insane," said one of them.

    "Interesting..." said Ling Qiaolian as she eyed Ru with curiosity and interest. "Bring her to the ring." Saying that she walked off while those men brought Ru to the underground ring.

    The ring was like any fighting ring except that it had a metallic cage around it. And when Ru opened her eyes, that was exactly what she saw. She was lying alone in the ring. the only light in the room was directed at her and the rest of the space around her was drowned in darkness. Ru was immediately alert as she couldn¡¯t understand what was going around her.

    Her head was still hurting because of whatever drug they used on her but she was still able to stand on her feet. Suddenly, the door of the metallic cage was opened and dozens of bulky and mighty looking people were shoved inside. Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed at the scene while a voice rang out from somewhere, "Little girl, I heard you love helping others. Who is gonna help you now?"

    "This young master never needed anyone¡¯s help," sneered Ru even if she couldn¡¯t see who was talking. She wasn¡¯t gonna take it lying down.

    "Haha..." She heard a peal of menacingughter. "You¡¯re amusing. But you¡¯re forgetting, it¡¯s survival of the fittest. You either hunt or you are hunted down. Do you really think you can escape from here?"

    Ru smiled in reply, "I can escape even hell if I want to. You¡¯re really underestimating me."

    "Then hunt the ones before you and I¡¯ll let you out," said Ling Qiaolian as she watched Ru through the screen sitting inside a small room.

    Ru looked at those people before her who looked really dazed and frowned, "I won¡¯t fight innocent people. And I definitely won¡¯t kill just anyone!" She turned to leave but just as she touched the metal bar, her body was thrown away because of the electric shock¡¯s impact that came so suddenly. Ru groaned in pain as she puked a mouthful of blood.

    "You little girl are not as smart as I thought. This is my ring, do you think you can leave on your own will?" She took a brief pause before adding in amusement, "My pets only do what I want them to do."

    With the support of her hands, Ru stood up again and stared at her opponents again, "If I really killed these pets of yours, you¡¯ll let me go?"

    "I promise," said Ling Qiaolian.

    Ru knew the other person was lying to her but she had no other way at the moment. She could give a benefit of the doubt and that¡¯s what she did. Straightening her posture, she struck like lightning and every person who came into her vicinity was dead with a single blow of her palm. She chose to strike the vital points and get over with it.

    Ling Qiaolian¡¯s eyes shed with surprise as she noticed Ru¡¯s exceptional speed, technique, and control over her strength. It was remarkable and it made the excitement in her body to stir up.

    "I¡¯ve done my part, now it¡¯s your turn," said Ru as she killed thest person and wiped the side of her mouth.

    Ling Qiaolian narrowed her eyes before she signaled someone and a tranquilizer shot was again thrown at Ru which she couldn¡¯t perceive at the time and by the time, she did, it was already toote.

    "Send her to theb," instructed Ling Qiaolian. "She¡¯s the perfect subject I wanted. With her skills, it won¡¯t be long before I¡¯d be able to destroy the five great ns. Hahaha..."

    "What about Xiao Zhiren?" asked the man behind her.

    "I have a perfect use for him as well. Since he¡¯s so obsessed with taking revenge on his father in his own way, I¡¯m gonna push him to a ce where he¡¯s only gonna burn in the fire of revenge and hatred."

    ....

    The next time Ru opened her eyes, she found herself in a white room with different apparatus surrounding her. There was a green liquid that was being transfused into her blood. Ru tried to move but her hands and feet were tied to the sides of the bed.

    "Oh, you¡¯re finally awake."

    Ru heard that menacing voice again and became alert. Even though Ling Qiaolian spoke in a very sweet voice, Ru couldn¡¯t be mistaken about her voice. She was certain that this was the woman who forced her to kill. Ru had never raised her hand to kill anyone before this day. And it brought fury to surge through her.

    Ling Qiaolian was taken aback at how clear Ru¡¯s eyes were even when she was injected with a heavy dose of her special drug. It intrigued her even more.

    "You went back on your words," said Ru in a cold voice.

    "Are you really that naive?"

    Ru scoffed, "I¡¯m not naive. I just wanted to decide whether to kill you nicely or make you wish that you¡¯re dead. Since you went back on your words, I don¡¯t have any reason to go easy on you."

    "Talking big, are we now? Good, but it won¡¯t be of any use..."

    Ling Qiaolian leaned closer to Ru as she whispered, "I don¡¯t let my preys out that easily. And you have caught my attention. Do you really think I¡¯d let you walk out of here?"

    Ru¡¯s hands were struggling to find freedom and when she loosened up a bit, she somehow managed to pick the dagger ced at the side and drove it right through her stomach. "Even if I fall, I¡¯d make sure you fall with me."

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 288 Beasty

    *shback Continued*

    Ru¡¯s attack came as a surprise to Ling Qiaolian but she had used it to her own advantage. Because this scene was witnessed by Xiao Zhiren. And using her maniption, even this surprise attack became murder and the crime was pinned on the Ji Family which indeed became a driving force for Xiao Zhiren¡¯s revenge.

    In Ru¡¯s mind, she had taken Ling Qiaolian¡¯s life since she was again knocked out because of the drug they injected in her. But she didn¡¯t realize that she ended up being just another pawn who was yed in Ling Qiaolian¡¯s hands along with Xiao Zhiren.

    However, Ling Qiaolian didn¡¯t expect that Xiao Zhiren would drift away from her control if he encountered Ru. Because she had put all her pawns at ce perfectly. For instance, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s most loyal and close friend, Qin Qu was actually just a pawn used by her who was left beside Xiao Zhiren to report his every little action to Ling Qiaolian.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t realize that even his love for Xiao Zhiyuan was bing a way to manipte him. He was indeed just a little pawn in Ling Qiaolian¡¯s gamey. And the only person who was able to make him see the world through his own eyes instead of seeing it how Ling Qiaolian wanted him to was Ru.

    With Ru¡¯s entrance in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life, Ling Qiaolian felt the fear of losing the game she had set up for years.

    "Shh... Ru! Hey! Little brother, wake up!"

    Ru stirred in her sleep and fluttered her eyes open only to find herself chained up in a prison cell. A faint voice was calling out to her but she couldn¡¯t find anyone in sight.

    "Ru! Are you feeling okay? Tell me how you¡¯re feeling..."

    Ru crawled towards the wall with furrowed brows and found a small hole in the stone wall. Through that small gap, she could clearly see those blue eyes looking at her.

    "Big brother..." her voice faltered as she softly called out. "What are you doing here?"

    Rong tried to smile at her in reassurance. "I told you I¡¯ll follow you to hell. How can I let my little brother feel lonely?"

    Ru lowered her eyes as she tried to lift her hand to free herself but her whole body was aching. Everything felt so heavy. She couldn¡¯t find the strength to free herself. If Rong was in the cell beside hers that only meant one thing, he chose to let himself willingly get caught just so he could get to her. Ru was feeling really weird thinking about how she got not only herself in trouble but also roped in her stubborn brother as well.

    "Big brother, you shouldn¡¯t havee."

    "Silly one, I had toe," replied Rong even without thinking.

    "But yourst injury had made you really weak. Even if you want you can¡¯t save me from here," said Ru as she clearly remembered how badly Rong had gotten injured not too long ago.

    "Even if I can¡¯t save you, I¡¯d still choose to stay with you," sighed out Rong.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say to him. He was just as stubborn as she was. She should have known he was gonna follow her anywhere. He really forsook his own life just to follow her around. It always left her mouth with a bitter taste thinking about how he was taking his own life for granted.

    There were silence and darkness surrounding her. She neither knew where they were nor knew what day it was. All she knew was that she could hear weird screams in her mind. As if something dark was calling out to her. Asking her to ept her beasty side. Her breathing wasbored along with her eyes that were losing the focus slowly. All she saw was blood as if she craved it. It was a weird feeling but it made her despise herself for a moment.

    "Little brother..."

    Ru¡¯s eyes found focus when Rong called out to her in a hushed tone.

    "Happy birthday!"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She knew that odd surge of emotions inside of her heart was dangerous but she couldn¡¯t help it.

    "You¡¯re an idiot! How could you choose to follow me just because you wanted to wish me on my birthday? Before this day, you never even told me the actual date of my birthday."

    "I can tell you now if you want to know..."

    "I don¡¯t want to know," Ru tried to yell in her hoarse voice. "I just... want to go home." For the first time, Ru realized that there was really no ce like home. How badly she wanted to turn back time and stay close to her family.

    She didn¡¯t hear a reply from him for a long moment. But then he suddenly spoke with conviction, "Give me some time, I¡¯ll take you home as I promised. I can¡¯t fight them in my condition but I¡¯ll find another way to get us out of here."

    Ru¡¯s brows knitted up as she recalled theboratory shest saw. "Big brother, you need to blend into them."

    "What? These inhumane people? You want me to be one of them?"

    "No, I want you to pretend like you¡¯re one of them so that you can learn what they are up to. I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this ce and these people."

    "Ru, you do realize that it¡¯s not our fight. My job and responsibility are to get you home safely and that¡¯s it."

    "Are you really that selfish to ignore other people¡¯s pain and misery?"

    "Yes, I am." Rong wasn¡¯t even being hesitant as he continued, "If being selfish can keep you alive then I don¡¯t mind."

    Ru knew he meant it just like he always did. He could forsake his own life for her much less any stranger¡¯s. Although it was disturbing, she couldn¡¯t argue.

    "Big brother, just for me. Just this once. Can¡¯t you do what I want?"

    Her pleading voice worked since Rong had to give in. And thus began their n to infiltrate this inhumane organization. But Ru didn¡¯t even realize that this n would eventually cost her the only shred of humanity she had been left with. Even the identity which she so desperately seeks was taken from her.

    *End of shback*

 Chapter 289 Choose One

    *BANG!*

    *SLAM!*

    *THUD!*

    *CLANK!*

    The valley that seemed too quiet and peaceful just half a day ago was filled with all kinds of noises as bullets flew around, sts rang out. People mmed into things, or things mmed into people. Metal crashing with metal.

    No matter which sound it was, the result was the same. Blood! Yes, it was a bloodbath and chaos. Two figures who had entered the hidden facility scrunched up their nose as the acrid smell of stale gunpowder reached their nostrils.

    "I told you not to follow me," the young boy looked at the pretty girl behind him.

    "And I said that I can¡¯t just sit around. I also want to help you," she answered as the tension in the air was increasing. "I also want to save Yuan. Besides, you should be the one to sit this one out, you¡¯re already injured."

    Zhang Han didn¡¯t know how to convince this stubborn girl that he was still in a better condition than her. His injuries were all physical that would go away with time, hers wasn¡¯t. This ce was her worst nightmare and he really didn¡¯t want her to face it again. But before her stubbornness, he could only give in.

    "I think it¡¯s this way," she said and turned left.

    The real battle was going outside this hidden facility that¡¯s why they both didn¡¯t encounter much trouble while finding their way around. However, whatever Zhang Han saw inside that facility was making his blood roiled. He really wanted to burn this ce to ashes.

    No matter what or how he was gonna get that little uncle of his out of this nightmarish ce. ording to Zhang Han, Yuan was way too innocent for a ce like this.

    "Yuan!" Lily¡¯s cry got Zhang Han¡¯s attention as he rushed over towards her.

    There he was, Xiao Zhiyuan tied to a metal bed with chains as if he was some kind of a beast. But the real beasts were the ones who tied him here.

    "He¡¯s not waking up," Lily said as she tried to shake him awake but Yuan gave no reaction.

    "Let me try," offered Zhang Han and moved up to Yuan¡¯s side. He raised his index and middle finger and struck Yuan¡¯s chest making him cough up blood.

    "What are you doing?" Lily red at him.

    "I just woke him up," answered Zhang Han and rubbed Yuan¡¯s back who was still coughing blood. It was the only way Zhang Han could get him to cough up whatever they fed him. Even though he had been harsh but it was necessary. "Little uncle, you okay?"

    "Xiao Han?" asked Yuan in confusion as he blinked his eyes at Zhang Han.

    "Can¡¯t recognize me now?"

    "I can¡¯t see you..." answered Yuan and coughed again.

    "What? Did they turn you blind? That¡¯s not good. What should I do now?" Zhang Han was panicking when Lily hit his head.

    "He means his vision is blurry."

    "Oh, say it clearly. I¡¯m not in the right mind to process much at the moment," Zhang Han was already quite tensed. The situation they were in wasn¡¯t really ideal. There was blood everywhere. Screams cry of pain and help mixed with blood and mud. But his biggest dilemma here was that he didn¡¯t want Yuan to see all of this. You see, in Zhang Han¡¯s mind, Yuan was the most innocent soul and he didn¡¯t want him to see the cruelty of the world at its worst.

    "Where are we? What is this ce?" Yuan questioned while his vision cleared a bit and he looked at the white room he was in. Actually, no, it was more like aboratory of some sort. "And why does my body feel so stiff?"

    Zhang Han scratched his head not knowing how to answer those questions. As for Lily, she was already a person of few words. She didn¡¯t know what to say or what not to say.

    But they weren¡¯t given a chance to think of any excuse as well as suddenly the door behind them closed. The three heads whipped around to see several people standing with their weapons in his hands giving them dirty looks.

    "You kids should know better than to walk around without supervision," said one of the scary-looking man.

    "Seven, leave that kid in ck for me. He killed my brother today, I¡¯m gonna get back at him for that." A woman behind the scary-looking man said while staring at Zhang Han. It was needless to say that he had invited trouble for himself when he killed those people back in the fields. Well, not like he was going to regret doing that.

    "Don¡¯t worry, Nine. We all have some debt to collect from him," said another one.

    Zhang Han calcted their steps. They were spreading out making a circle around three of them. It didn¡¯t look good. He could find a way out without having to confront anyone but what about the rest of the two? Even though he knew Lily was strong but she wasn¡¯t really trained for a real battle. Her expertise lied towards sneak attacks. She could be called an assassin rather than a soldier.

    Zhang Han pulled out his sleek sword from under his sleeves and unsheathed it before their eyes. How d he was that his Senior Brother had something he could use in this battle.

    He stretched his arm and turned to look at Yuan saying, "Little Uncle, how about you close your eyes?"

    "Huh?" Yuan was dumbfounded.

    "I really don¡¯t want you to see any of it," replied Zhang Han in all honesty.

    "Kid, you talk too much!" A cry was heard from behind Zhang Han as a man rushed up to him as he pulled out his gun and shot a bullet towards Zhang Han who ducked down with ease and continued to do so until he stood right before that man¡¯s face.

    "You talk even more than me," was his words before he slit his throat without even flinching. Blood sshed on his face, staining his handsome face all over again. Before the other man¡¯s body even fell down, Zhang Han was under the wrath of those several people rushing to him with their own weapons.

    Lily picked up the gun that Zhang Han had slid towards her and shot a person every time she took an aim. Zhang Han had tried his best to fight with all his strength. But those people were not only strong, but he was also greatly outnumbered. He had already put half of them down but there was still the rest who were waiting for a perfect moment to strike since their gunpowder had run out now.

    Well, at least, Zhang Han didn¡¯t have to run around to avoid the bullets anymore now. Now, it was just a battle of skills. Let¡¯s see who falls first.

    "You¡¯re overestimating your little strength, kid."

    Zhang Han had a hand over her arm which was shot just now and looked over. His eyes widened. They were holding Yuan and Lily both with a de against their throats.

    "Let me give you a choice... Put that sword down and you can save them."

    "No! Xiao Han! Don¡¯t you dare believe them!" Lily screamed at him.

    Zhang Han tried to smile at her even though his whole body was in severe pain now. He dropped his sword down and slid it towards them as they instructed.

    "Now, let them go," said Zhang Han.

    "Hahaha..." A burst ofughter reverberated through the room.

    "Choose one," they said while Zhang Han narrowed his eyes at them. "Only one of them can walk out alive, Which one do you want to save? The choice is yours."

    "YOU!"

    Zhang Han tried to rush up but the way they pressed the des against both Yuan and Lily made blood drip out of their neck. Zhang Han came to a halt.

    "Xiao Han! Take Lily out of here," Yuan was the first one to speak up. He honestly didn¡¯t know what was going around him but he so wanted to be of some help. He could see Zhang Han¡¯s helplessness. And felt really powerless at the moment when he saw Zhang Han trying his very best just to protect him. He felt like a burden on both of them. And if he was a burden he didn¡¯t deserve to live.

    Zhang Han scoffed, "Little Uncle, even if I choose you or her... They aren¡¯t letting any of us walk out of here."

    "Smart kid," said the one with that predatory look who was holding Lily in his grip. "But what can you possibly do with this smartness?"

    Zhang Han¡¯s hands were clutched tightly beside him. There was no way he was willing to lose any one of the people before him. It was way out of question!

 Chapter 290 Not The Weak One

    Zhang Han was in a tight spot now. He didn¡¯t know what he could do to save both of them. On one side was his uncle, his best friend, his blood rtive, Xiao Zhiyuan. And on the other side was that beautiful girl he fell in love with, Lily.

    "Time is ticking, boy!"

    Zhang Han really despised that man with his grating voice. Oh, how he badly wanted to smash that face.

    "Xiao Han!" He looked towards Lily who called him and his eyes softened instantly. "I owe my master a lot for saving my life and I owe you a lot more for allowing me to see the beauty of feelings and emotions." She bit her lips before continuing, "I never thought I could love anyone. But your goofball personality took me by surprise."

    Zhang Han¡¯s lips curled up slightly. Was it really a confession or he was just overthinking? But whether it was or not, he was certain this was not the ce or time for all this.

    "Let¡¯s talk after getting out of here," he said.

    Lily shook her head. "No, this is myst chance to say it." Zhang Han¡¯s brows knitted up at her words. "I can feel ants crawling in my veins. I know it¡¯s poison." Zhang Han stared stunned at her. They actually poisoned her?! "There is no way I¡¯m leaving this ce alive."

    "We¡¯ll find a cure. My grandmaster can find a cure for you," said Zhang Han trying to be optimistic.

    Lily tried smiling at him, "As much as I fell for that optimistic outlook of yours, I have to tell you that I don¡¯t have that much time left."

    "We¡¯ll find another way then," he had an inkling of where she was going with this talk and he was genuinely scared now. He didn¡¯t feel this kind of fear when he was cornered, outnumbered, hurt, or wounded. But now fear was crawling into his heart. "Just trust me. I¡¯ll do everything in my power to..."

    "Xiao Han..." Zhang Han stopped rambling on when she called him again. "Thank you foring into my life."

    "No..." Zhang Han shook his head frantically.

    "Thank you for making me feel like a human again," she added.

    Zhang Han¡¯s eyes stung with tears but he held it back.

    "Also, thank you for loving someone like me." Lily took a deep breath as tears rolled down her eyes. He asked her to hold her anchor to hold onto her sanity. That idiot didn¡¯t know he was that anchor she held with dear life just because she didn¡¯t want to turn into a monster he¡¯de to hate.

    "Ah, such heart touching confessions. But it can¡¯t save you, kids!" Those words made Zhang Han¡¯s blood boil.

    But instead of paying attention to them, he tried to coax Lily, "Don¡¯t you dare. Don¡¯t you even think about doing that."

    Lily smiled at him through her tears and said, "I love you." He was stunned at his ce again. "Save Yuan at any cost! You must do it!" Those were herst words before she chucked her head ahead making that de at her neck dug deeper into her throat. Blood gushed down without any restraint as her whole body went limp.

    "NO!!!"

    "NO!!!"

    Yuan and Zhang Han¡¯s screams rang out in the room.

    *THUD*

    With a thud, Lily¡¯s body fell down on the ground lifeless. Zhang Han kept staring at her lifeless body while Yuan¡¯s heart almost stopped beating. Someone just gave up on her life just to save him? Why? He didn¡¯t even deserve it!

    While Yuan was still in shock, Zhang Han had lost all his caution. He was being so careful with his actions just because he had someone he wanted to save. But now, she was gone. All he wanted now was blood.

    "AHHH!!" With a raging scream, he ran towards the person who held Yuan.

    When the burly man saw Zhang Han rushing up to him, he tried to clit Yuan¡¯s throat. However, Zhang Han already was a step ahead as he threw a shard of ss he picked up cutting his handoff. He threw Yuan to one side and picked up his sword. He held the de even, a perfect, undaunted horizon; leveled with his nose.

    He stalled the oing strikes from the wretched attackers. His de was now like a symbol of brutality. He who was eager to get it done with before was now taking his sweet time cutting their guts out without any sympathy or hesitation. He was humming a low tune with a weird glimmer in his eyes as his sword shed around and the enemy fell down to his feet.

    No, he didn¡¯t kill anyone of them. He wasn¡¯t gonna go that easy on them! Never! Ever! They could only crawl on the floor and beg for death because he certainly wasn¡¯t gonna allow them to die without suffering his wrath.

    His whole body was again drenched in blood. Even his face was unrecognizable. He fell on his knees before Lily¡¯s body and held her up, hugging her close to his chest. "Why are you so stubborn? I said I¡¯ll find a way!" His tears finally fell down as he broke down.

    Yuan¡¯s daze was only broken with Zhang Han¡¯s loud wrenching cries as he held Lily tightly in his arms. Yuan had seen Zhang Han¡¯s obsession with her. Even when Zhang Han said it was love at first sight, Yuan would only make fun of him. But now... Now, he didn¡¯t even know who was joking back then.

    With wobbly legs, he came up to Zhang Han and said in a throaty voice, "I¡¯m sorry, Xiao Han. This is all my fault. I¡¯m really sorry! If only I had been the one to..."

    Zhang Han red at him, "Little uncle, don¡¯t you dare apologize for being alive." His tone and expression scared Yuan. "Your apology means that her death was in vain. If you med yourself then you¡¯re actually saying that she was a fool for saving you."

    "I didn¡¯t mean that..."

    "Whether you mean it or not, you need to remember this moment. She gave her life, not for you. She set herself free. This was the only freedom she could possibly have after everything she went through. She liked you a lot. She cared about you a lot. Don¡¯t let her down by looking like you¡¯re a burden on this world. If someone is willing to give their lives for you, at least act like you deserved it!"

    Zhang Han¡¯s words struck a chord. Yuan contemted those words before he got up and picked a scalpel from beside the bed he was tied to. As he went up to those groaning and crying people who had be prey to Zhang Han¡¯s brutal attacks, he crouched down beside them and said, "I¡¯ll never be the weak one again."

    "AHHH!"

    Zhang Han heard screams from behind him but he didn¡¯t turn to look at what Yuan was up to. He didn¡¯t care. He already knew the consequences of today.

    Xiao Zhiyuan was never gonna be the same person ever again!

 Chapter 291 She Was Going To End I

    "Team Red, cleared!"

    "Team Blue, cleared!"

    "Team Grey, on the move!"

    Ru heard progress reports of the team leaders through the earpiece and nodded her head in satisfaction.

    "Team ck Mist, what¡¯s the status?" she asked but didn¡¯t receive any reply from the other side. "Adia, Jack, Jake, Connor, Ed!" She frowned slightly. "Give me a bloody answer!"

    With some noises, a very low voice was heard, "Edmund here!"

    "Ed? What¡¯s going on at the east wing?" Ru questioned as she stepped on the dead bodies and made her way towards the entrance of the main building where the ck Mist team was assigned.

    "We... We came across some trouble," replied Edmund in a low voice making Ru scowl now. All her teams were moving smoothly but her best of the best team was facing trouble? How? Why? Who was the one capable of troubling them?

    "I¡¯ll be right there," said Ru and rushed over at the fastest speed. On the way, she was only greeted with dead bodies lying in a pool of blood. But it didn¡¯t affect her in the least. She was more than just used to this kind of scene. It didn¡¯t even bother that she was stepping on bodies that were alive till a few hours ago. But now, they had lost their lives.

    When Ru reached there she was a bit taken aback. Adia, Jack, and Connor were lying on the ground bleeding while Edmund and Jake were still engaged in a fight. But what surprised her was the fact that their opponent was a single person. And singlehandedly, he was turning out to be a nightmare for the rest of them.

    *THUD!*

    Jake¡¯s body crashed with the pir behind him.

    *COUGH! COUGH!*

    He was coughing blood now. But before the perpetrator of their injuries couldnd another strike on him, Ru came between them and pushed his body away making him stagger back. She turned around to support Jake¡¯s body, "You okay? Can you stand?"

    Jake¡¯s vision was blurry because of the impact, but he could recognize Ru¡¯s voice which brought himfort as he nodded, "Yes, Master!" He coughed again. "Sorry to be a disappointment!" He was really remorseful now. He was trying his best but the other person was an aberrant who didn¡¯t even allow him the time to breathe.

    "It¡¯s okay. You stay here. I can deal with this myself," said Ru as she put Jake on the ground and looked at Edmund, gesturing him to look over at Jake.

    "AHHH!" With a loud scream, she heard the sound of that person running up to her. Ru turned around to see his crazed look but the moment his eyes fell on Ru¡¯s face, he froze.

    Ru who was ready to counterattack was surprised to see when the other person¡¯s expressions changedpletely. His lips lifted up slightly as he called out, "Four..." Ru frowned at him but she knew he was calling her. She just knew it. "You¡¯ve grown up."

    Ru¡¯s frown deepened now. "You know me?"

    "I do, but you don¡¯t know me," replied Yu as he kept his eyes on her face. He contemted for a moment before saying, "I was the one who shot you back then." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his confession. "Because it was the order I received I had to obey."

    Ru lifted her gun and pointed it at his forehead. But he didn¡¯t move, didn¡¯t even resist. He just stood there as if he was asking her to pull that trigger. As if that was all he had been waiting for.

    "I owe you a debt," he began softly. "Back then if you hadn¡¯te around, I¡¯d have lost my life on that experiment table. But since they found a perfect subject like you, I was spared."

    "Are you expecting sympathy with those words? Because this young master doesn¡¯t have that." Ru¡¯s voice didn¡¯t fluctuate. Neither did her emotions. So what if he was one of those people who fell prey to the hands of these mad doctors who experimented on humans? That didn¡¯t mean she was willing to spare the life of the one who once tried to take hers!

    "I know," he mumbled softly and looked up in her eyes. "Four doesn¡¯t know how to forgive or forget."

    Ru¡¯s brows quirked up just a bit. It wasn¡¯t that noticeable but it was there. She really didn¡¯t remember him at all. But somehow he knew her. He knew her well.

    Yu picked up a gun from a dead body beside him and pointed it at Ru saying, "As much as I¡¯m indebted to you, I can¡¯t stop myself from obeying Madam¡¯s order. She wants you dead. And I can¡¯t go against it likest time." Ru narrowed her eyes at him as he added, "It¡¯s either you kill me or I kill you. There is no other way I¡¯m letting you walk through these doors."

    Ru sneered at him. "Do you really think I won¡¯t dare to pull this trigger?"

    ¡¯No, I know you will. And that¡¯s what I want you to do! Because I really can¡¯t pull this trigger twice at you.¡¯ Yu thought to himself with a sad smile ying on his thin lips. Was it weird that he was affected by her this badly? How was she able to control him without even trying? But deep down in his heart, he still believed that she was the reason why he was still alive. And thought alone was enough to crumble every other belief of his.

    Ru¡¯s pointer finger was hovering on the trigger as her mind was in deep thought. "Why didn¡¯t you shoot at my heart?" Yu was startled by her words. "If you received the orders to kill me, why did you hesitate? Why did you give me the chance to live?"

    "As I said, you gave me a chance to live. I decided to pay that debt back," said Yu with a straight face. Ru didn¡¯t think that reason alone was enough. That¡¯s when he added, "Also, you once told me to decide my own fate."

    "Is that why you¡¯re choosing death for yourself?"

    "In this life, I¡¯m done being a puppet. I would like to choose something for myself now. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to pull that trigger."

    Ru¡¯s hand was about to drop when he pulled the trigger and the bullet went right past Ru¡¯s ear. He could have chosen to shoot right at her head but he didn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t his intention, to begin with. "I told you if you won¡¯t. I¡¯ll have to kill you." He now pointed the nuzzle at her forehead, "This time I won¡¯t aim wrongly. I won¡¯t hesitate either. And I certainly won¡¯t let you pass. It¡¯s either your life or mine!"

    Ru¡¯s expressions hardened at his words as she pulled the trigger. The bullet went right through the space between his brows dropping his lifeless body on the ground.

    Ru looked at his listless body with a nk expression. "I love my life. There is no way I¡¯m giving up on it." She looked over at her team and said in her earpiece, "Send reinforcement to the east wing." Then she turned to Edmund who was the only one looking slightly better now. "When the reinforcementes, take the others and leave this ce."

    "What about you master?"

    "This is something I have to face alone," she said and turned towards the doors that led inside the mainir. Taking a deep breath, she entered through the door and closed it behind her. The rest of the journey, she was supposed to take it alone. She was the one who started it, she was going to end it as well.

 Chapter 292 Slashing Her Flesh

    As Ru walked inside through the winding dark hallways, it was like those nk pages from her memory book were suddenly being re-written. Or more like the invisible words on those nk pages were finally visible to her eyes.

    And the more details came to her mind, the more rage surged within her heart, soul, and body! At this moment, she was even ready to tear someone¡¯s limbs off with her bare hands. It was almost like something cynical caged within her was being teased slowly and screamed to let out. Ru could only clench her hands to hold herself back from doing something she¡¯d regret.

    However, the fight with those grotesque memories was getting tougher within her heart. She couldn¡¯t let her inner beast take over. Not just yet! She first needed to rationally get to the bottom of everything.

    She was breathing through her mouth as shepletely ignored her surroundings. And by surroundings, she meant the cages that held deformed humans staring at her like she was some kind of a meal for them. It was really not easy to keep herself from wanting to do some bloodshot. The sight was horrible beyond words could describe!

    As she finally crossed the maze of winding hallways lined with cages, she found her way to the innermost hall. However, what she saw made her blood boil all over again, and yet there was something prickling her heart as well.

    "Zhiren!" She eximed as soon as her eyes caught sight of that familiar figure.

    Xiao Zhiren was tied to the chair specially made for torture. Blood was oozing out of his wounds while his head was just hanging down. His body was listless and even her voice didn¡¯t stir him a little. He was unconscious.

    Ru ran to his side and opened the chains that were holding him on and cutting his flesh so painfully. Her heart ached to see him in this condition. She crouched down before him and held his face in her hands.

    "Zhiren! Wake up!" She pped his cheeks to wake him up but it didn¡¯t work. In the end, she had to press his acupuncture point and his eyes immediately opened while he coughed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he coughed which even fell on Ru¡¯s face. However, she didn¡¯t even flinch. Simply, she lifted her hand to wipe her eyes to avoid the blood from dripping into her eyes.

    *Cough! Cough! Cough!*

    His coughs didn¡¯t stop for a while and when it did, with great effort, he lifted his eyes to look at her with misty eyes. As his eyes met hers, his lips curled upward.

    "My... Little... Chilli..." he breathed out almost in disbelief.

    Seeing how his blood-stained hands were trembling as he tried to touch her face, she didn¡¯t hesitate before bringing his hand against her own cheek and leaned into it.

    "It¡¯s really you," he whispered as if he was finally enlightened that this wasn¡¯t a dream. She was indeed right here before him. Tracing her facial features, he asked, "Why are you here?"

    Ru¡¯s hand was still sping his as she said, "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that? I just talked to you a few days ago. And you were at home. Why did youe here? How did youe here?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s breathing was harsh as he told her, "After thest time I talked to you, I was informed by Qin Qu that Yuan had been kidnapped. My thoughts were all jumbled up and I didn¡¯t even think of informing you. But you know how much Yuan means to me. I couldn¡¯t idly sit by."

    Ru¡¯s expressions twisted, "Qin Qu?"

    "Yeah. He is my most trusted subordinate. He had been taking care of my business in the US for thest few months."

    Ru¡¯s frown deepened. She remembered this Qin Qu. At least, she had some impression of it since she had seen him around Xiao Zhiren when he came to the Maind. However, she realized that she hadn¡¯t seen him in a while. And if what Xiao Zhiren said was true then how did Mr. Qin Qu in the US found out about the kidnapping in Europe?

    She couldn¡¯t help asking, "And how did Mr. Qin Qu found out about Yuan¡¯s kidnapping?"

    Xiao Zhiren tried to answer but his mind couldn¡¯t process it for a while. It took him a while before he said, "He heard it from the team of security I left with Yuan."

    Ru snickered at his reply, "That¡¯s interesting because every member of my squad said that your security team had been killed. How can dead people inform? I didn¡¯t know dead could talk as well."

    Xiao Zhiren gasped, "You mean it was a trap? Did they lure me here?"

    Ru wiped his face with her sleeves as she went on, "Most probably there target had always been you. So, yes. You indeed fell in a trap." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Something was unsettling. Why? She couldn¡¯t figure it out at all. "Why do I feel like there is more to it?"

    Thinking to herself, she stood up and turned around, darting around at this white maze that only had bright bloodstains everywhere. White and red made a bright contrast.

    "Or maybe you¡¯re overthinking again," he stated. His voice didn¡¯t seem strained anymore but Ru was too absorbed in her own thoughts that she overlooked this abnormality. Besides, her trust in Xiao Zhiren was beyond someone¡¯s imagination now. "Why are you here?" he suddenly asked.

    Ru¡¯s eyes shed with malice as he replied honestly, "There is a woman who owes me a debt. I¡¯m just here to collect it."

    "How are you gonna collect it?" he probed.

    "By shing her flesh off of her bones..."

    Ru didn¡¯t mind saying that out loud. The beastly side of hers had already begun to overwhelm her senses. Why would she hide her true intentions now when she was bing a whole different person after all those years, all over again.

    She heard the jingling of the chains and assumed that Xiao Zhiren was trying to stand up. Thinking he needed help, she turned around and opened her mouth to say, "I¡¯ll help- Ooompf!"

    Just as she said two words, something sharp pierced through her stomach making her body convulse. Not from pain rather from the shock.

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 Chapter 293 Falling In A Trap

    When you attack an animal, it''s natural instinct is to fight back.

    Ru wasn''t any different. Before she even saw who was the one stabbing her, her hand had already stretched out and used the violent force to shove the person back. The attacker flew off and his back hit the wall behind before he fell down coughing blood.

    A trail of blood was also dripping down Ru''s mouth. She lowered her eyes and held the hilt of the dagger that had pierced through her stomach. As she pulled out the shiny dagger painted in her own blood, not a single scream came out of her mouth. But her breathing had changed the tempo.

    Staring intently at the dagger in her hand, her brows knitted together. It was familiar. Very familiar to her.

    "R... U...!"

    Ru lifted her eyes and looked at the person she attacked or it''d be better saying the one who attacked her first. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was none other than Xiao Zhiren. But the shock in her eyes was reflected in his eyes as well. They both stared at each other.

    "I..." he tried to speak. "I couldn''t... stop..." He coughed again as his trembling hand stretched out as if he wanted to reach out to her. "I''m... So... Sorry..." With that, he lost consciousness.

    Ru was still staring at the dagger in her hand and the person who used this very dagger to stab her.

    All of a sudden, the space around her filled with white mist. Ru didn''t even get a chance to cover her nose before the drug in the air was inhaled into her lungs.

    Coughing profusely, she fell to her knees. It was like ants started crawling within her blood making it difficult for her to even stand. Everything hurt. Even though everything before her was misty, she could hear everything more clearly in this silent space.

    Someone was walking up to her. She clearly heard footsteps but she couldn''t see yet who it was.

    It wasn''t until the white mist around her cleared that she was able to see the face of the person.

    Ling Qiaolian!

    Calling her a maniacal psychopath would be a better choice of words.

    After all, until now, Ru hadn''t seen anything like a human in this woman!

    There was a creepy smile on that woman''s face that Ru wished to tear apart. But her body refused to move. Seeing her struggle, the creepy smile widened, "Don''t try so hard. The dagger wasced with poison. And the air you breathed in was filled with my personally designed drug. There is no point in struggling."

    Ru red at her and growled in a low dangerous voice.

    "Such hostility, eh?" Ling Qiaolian was amused by Ru''s expressions. "But what''s the point? You still fell into my trap." She pointed towards Xiao Zhiren as she continued, "Isn''t it weird that you fell in this cage twice because of that one person?" Stroking her chin thoughtfully, she went on, "But then again, that''s what love does to people. You let your guard down and this love stabbed you in the back. How pitiful!"

    Ru was sickened by the way she tried to act sympathetic.

    "You messed with his mind again?" Ru voiced out holding back her urge to tear everything apart. "He had been a puppet for you since he was young. Why are you obsessed with him so much? He did nothing wrong to you! Even to this day, he''s mourning your death and avenging for you."

    "Hmmm..." Ling Qiaolian hummed while nodding her head at Ru. "Indeed, he has been a good puppet. My most favorite one... But s! Not the most powerful one."

    Ru''s temper was ring from the way she talked about Xiao Zhiren.

    "Let him go!" she demanded.

    Ling Qiaolian turned to Ru with a bit surprised look, "Your own life is at my mercy and you still want me to let him go? Tch. Tch. What has this love done to you my most precious puppet?"

    Ru shook off her hand that tried to touch her face and the intensity of her re increased so did the red veins that were slowly clouding the charm of her green orbs. Now, she looked like a bloodthirsty monster.

    "There is no need to be so hasty. Naturally, I''d let him go. How can I hurt my precious Renren?"

    "He is not your son. So, your act doesn''t deceive me at all!"

    Ling Qiaolian stared at Ru''s face before sighing, "But he has been a very obedient son to me. He still holds a very important ce in my heart. I really don''t want to hurt him. Why don''t you believe me?"

    "If you don''t want to hurt him? Why is he here? Why is hurt then?" spat Ru dangerously.

    Ling Qiaolian''s face drew nearer to Ru''s ear as she whispered, "me it on yourself."

    Ru''s eyes widened significantly as she repeated, "Me?"

    "Yes," she got the reply which left her perplexed. "This whole n I constructed was obviously to catch you. Just how can I let you escape? And you gave me a bait yourself when you fell in love with Xiao Zhiren and anything that''s close to him. Hahaha!" Her manacingugh could make one''s blood boil.

    "Even if he became the reason for my damnation, this young master still doesn''t regret it!"

    Ling Qiaolian looked at Ru''s face and seeing her determination, her expressions changed. It looked even more twisted and full of malice. As if she wasn''t looking at Ru but was seeing someone''s reflection in her and it drove her to madness. Forgetting all about sense, she unsheathed her sword and shed Ru''s back.

    "This is why I hate you. This superiority that you inherited from your mother. These green eyes that you got from your father. It reminds me how much I have despised your bloodline!"

    Ru''s brows furrowed not because of pain that she felt at her back but because of what she heard.

 Chapter 294 Raising A Snake

    *WARNING! The following scenes could be disturbing. Read at your own risk. But I''d like it if you''re too young or too depressed, then leave! Thank you!*

    Ru took a moment to voice out, "You know my family?"

    And when she said ''family'' she wasn''t referring to the Xia n where she grew up. She had long noticed that she wasn''t Xia Longwei''s daughter. Xia n''s direct descendant was only Xia Haoran. However, she never felt the need to learn about her real family either. With her twisted logic, if there was a need to know then one day, she''ll eventually hear about her real family.

    Because to her, Xia n was the only family she needed.

    However, she''d have never even imagined that the person to talk about her real family would be this woman. This mentally ill wretch!

    "How can I not?" Ling Qiaolian''s voice wasced with pride as she continued, "I murdered your whole n after all."

    Ru''s body trembled in anger as her eyes widened. "You!"

    "Why? Does it hurt now?"

    "Ru!"

    She turned around when she heard that familiar voice and looked at her brother who also found his way here after learning that Ru entered this ce alone. He was worried to death!

    Ling Qiaolian ced the sword at Ru''s neck and warned, "Ximen Rong if you don''t want me to slit her throat, stay right where you are."

    Rong stopped in his track but his eyes didn''t stop throwing daggers at that woman.

    "I assume you wouldn''t want your only sister to die right before your eyes just like your parents."

    Rong closed his eyes when she reminded me of that deeply rooted memory from his childhood. He was only six but he never forgot that scene.

    "If you even dared to touch my sister, I promise I''ll tear you apart. I''m not that young, helpless little boy anymore."

    Ling Qiaolian snickered at him, "If you had been that helpless, you wouldn''t have been able to save this sister of yours from my hands. She was supposed to die, and so were you!"

    "But aren''t we both here? Aren''t we a reminder that you failed back then?" Rong took a pause to add, "I''ll never forget how you deceived my family."

    Sheughed like a madwoman as she said, "I deceived them? But you can''t me me. me it on your grandparents who raised me like their daughter-inw and at the end, brought your mother to take the position which they promised me!"

    Ru was in a daze as she stared at her brother only. The red veins in her eyes were slowly going back to normal. Even her expressions were turning from rage to calm.

    "If it wasn''t for your mother, Xia Xue who came out of nowhere and married Ximen Xi, why would I be driven to madness? Ximen n''s patriarch and matriarch raised me like a daughter. Why would I betray them? They brought it upon themselves when they chose to leave me aside and bring Xia Xue as their daughter-inw. And why? Just because my n had been wiped out decades ago and I was the sole survivor? While Xia n was thriving? Why should I bear this loss? Why? If Ximen Xi couldn''t be mine when I loved him, then Xia Xue also had no right to be with him!"

    Only after listening to her, did Rue to a conclusion. She always wondered how her enemy knew her so well? How did her enemy umte so much power behind the backs of so many powerful ns?

    Only now she got the answer, everything Ling Qiaolian learned was from her own grandparents. and everything she had was given to her by Ru''s real n. She grew up with Ru''s real father. How was it possible that she won''t have such remarkable skills?

    "If only our grandparents knew that they were raising a snake in their own house," spat out Rong.

    "Yes, if only they knew..." Ling Qiaolian agreed. "But they didn''t! It allowed me to easily poison them to death."

    "Ungrateful!" Ru''s voice was surprisingly calm.

    "Ungrateful?" Ling Qiaolian smiled at Ru. "I think I gave them a very easy death since I had the sense of gratefulness towards them. Because you still haven''t heard how I killed your mother."

    Ru''s hands clenched into fists. While Rong shouted, "Don''t you dare bring it up!"

    "Why? Are you scared your sister will be scarred for life? But so what? She should know what happens to people who are too arrogant like her mother."

    "Ru, don''t listen to her. Don''t let her get to you!"

    Ru took a deep breath as she asked, "So how did you kill my mother?"

    "Oh, you''re eager to know. I like this spirit of yours..." Ling Qiaolian crouched down beside Ru''s kneeling figure and slowly started, "Xia Xue had a pride like no other. After all, she was the only young miss of Xia n in five generations. Her pride and arrogance were justified. But it was an eyesore for me. So, I drugged her that night and asked someone to rape her."

    Ru''s body went stiff.

    "Tsk... Tsk..." Ling Qiaolian clicked her tongue in disappointment. "It''s just a pity that even in her drugged state, she valued her pride more than her life. In the end, the madwoman set the whole room on fire. The bitch even killed my loyal dog with herself. I hope she burns in hell as she burned to death!"

    The sereneness that was starting to engulf Ru was truly dangerous. She looked so peaceful hearing all this that it made one shudder at the thought of what she was capable of doing. Or what she was nning on doing.

    Ling Qiaolian lifted Ru''s chin with her index finger as she went on, "I thought I was sessful in killing you that night as well, Ximen Ruxue."

    Ru''s eyes flickered. The name that came out of her mouth sounded familiar and yet not familiar. But she was certain, that''s her real name. The name people dared never tell her was; Ximen Ruxue. One of the twost direct lineages left of Ximen n.

    Ximen Rong and Ximen Ruxue!

    In fact, it wasn''t that Ru never heard of Ximen n. Learning about the history, it was inevitable toe across this n that was known as righteous. However, unlike Xia n, Ximen n had decided to focus more on science than martial arts in thest century. And when Ru was young she''d often tell her grandfather that Ximen n''s fall was because of this, they forgot their roots.

    How wrong was she!

    Only now did she learn that the Ximen n''s fall was because of their deep roots of righteousness. If they had abandoned a snake-like Ling Qiaolian when she was young, they would have escaped the cmity that fell upon them. How unfortunate of them!

 Chapter 295 Just Like Her Mother

    Ling Qiaolian''s intention of disclosing all of this was to shatter Ru''s emotional resistance. She wanted to break this girl whose eyes reminded her of Ximen Xi while her personality bore more and more resemnce to Xia Xue. Her biggest regret in life had been that she was never able to break Xia Xue. But in her mind, Ru was an easier target now. So what if she couldn''t break the mother, this daughter of hers would do.

    After all, at the end of the day, Ru turned out to be exactly like her mother; falling for love and willing to do anything for that love. She was gonna use that love to crumble Ru.

    "You''re like a curse," she told Ru who listened in silence. "I poisoned you even before you were born but you still survived. I poisoned you again on that night when Ximen n perished. But you yet again survived." Sheughed in mockery. "Even when I poisoned to kill you ten years ago, you somehow resisted that as well." Her sword poked at the ce Ru was stabbed earlier by Xiao Zhiren making her squirm while the blood gushed out without any break. "How are you gonna survive now? This is the world''s deadliest poison."

    Seeing herughter, Rong was infuriated. It was like looking at that scene from all those years ago...

    *shback*

    A small boy was holding his little sister against his chest as he sobbed looking at the blood that surrounded him. The cries that rose in the dark of night. The mes that were slowly engulfing everything around him.

    A pair of gentle arms suddenly wrapped around him as he picked up.

    "Ma!" he cried as he felt that familiar embrace.

    The woman before him had the bluest eyes like his own. Even her features resembled his own. But the face that had always been gentle and kind was now seemingly cold. The woman ran towards a secret room and opened the door of the secret passage. She put her son down and caressed his face softly while her other hand poked at the small nose of her daughter whom he held tightly as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

    "Rong, listen to mom carefully. Promise me you''ll do as mom says."

    The small kid took a moment to observe injuries on his mother''s body but still nodded, "I''ll do as you say."

    "Follow this path and run. Don''t look back," the woman instructed firmly and sternly.

    The kid shook his head, "No, I won''t leave mom behind."

    The woman held his shoulder and shook him, "Ximen Rong!" Her voice held a sharp touch while her eyes zed with fire. "Don''t forget who you are! Don''t act like a kid. Right now, you have to save yourself. And you have to protect your sister."

    He hesitated as he looked at the peacefully sleeping figure of his sister in his arms and tears slid down his eyes. He was torn.

    His mother stroked his head as she spoke softly, "When you reach your grandfather, he''ll be able to cure her poison. She''ll be fine. But for that, you''ll have to go find him at Shadowwick." She took a pause as she took off her jade pendant and tied it around her daughter''s neck saying, "When you see your uncle tell him, I, Xia Xue doesn''t want my Ruxue to grow up in the shadow of this night. You call her your brother, don''t forget to raise her like a brother as well. Mom has faith in you."

    She kissed both of her kids and held herself back from crying. She was the young miss of Xia n, tears were always frowned upon in that n. Besides, she couldn''t break down before her own kids now.

    She was about to get up when Rong held her sleeve and tugged at it. "You won''te with us?" No matter how rational he could be at this age, he still wanted his mother.

    She touched his head as she said, "Mom can''t leave your dad alone. But mom will follow youter with dad. Run now and don''t turn back."

    While she was closing the door of the secret passage, the little kid knew that was thest time he was seeing his mother. However, he was proud to say that thest image of his mother in his mind was of ady, who wanted to save her kids but wasn''t willing to run herself just to save herself. She couldn''t leave her husband behind.

    *End of shback*

    Even to this day, Rong had that memory engraved in his mind. Even when he reached Xia n back then and everyone rushed to save his mother, what they found was just dead bodies everywhere. In one night, one of the biggest n perished.

    He had insisted on following his uncle and grandfather, he still remembered he found his mother lying in his father''s arms. She didn''t look like she was dead. Instead, it seemed like she was just sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. And when he heard from his uncle that Xia Xue killed herself after fighting all night just because she couldn''t live without Ximen Xi, it really made him question love.

    That was one of the reason, he strongly despised the idea of seeing his Ru falling in love. He didn''t want to lose his sister as he did with his mother.

    Suddenly, he caught sight of Ru staring at him intently and frowned at what he saw in her eyes.

    When Ling Qiaolian noticed her gaze, she snickered, "Do you really think he can save you again? He might have been able to save you when your n was murdered or when you escaped from my ws ten years ago but he can''t save you this time."

    Ru didn''t look perturbed to hear her words, she calmly shifted her eyes towards Xiao Zhiren who had woken for who knows how long and was now staring at her with aplicated expression. He couldn''t move at all. Ru''s single attack had given him a serious internal injury, he couldn''t even feel his limbs.

    "HAHAHA! You still have faith in your love? How naive of you!" Ling Qiaolian''s voice turned dark and eerie as she continued, "No one can save you from me."

    The shiny sword de that was inches away from Ru''s neck was suddenly gripped into a hand. Ling Qiaolian was startled.

 Chapter 296 Foolishness Or True Love?

    Ling Qiaolian couldn''t believe her eyes when she noticed whose hand had obstructed her. The de that had slightly cut through the flesh of Ru''s neck was now being held in Ru''s hand. No matter how Ling Qiaolian tried to pull it, she couldn''t escape from Ru''s vice-like grip. Even when the de of the sword was clearly hurting her hand, Ru didn''t flinch. The de dripped in her blood but she didn''t let go.

    When Ru lifted her eyes, Ling Qiaolian was left startled. Her eyes were limpid without any shadow of helplessness or pain. In fact, her eyes looked so serene that it made people''s heart shudder with fear.

    Ling Qiaolian looked and noticed that Rong had straightened up as well with a hint of a smile ying at the corner of his lips as well. He also didn''t seem like the person who seemed devastated to see his sister earlier.

    The poised and elegant demeanor of both of them made Ling Qiaolian involuntarily think of Xia Xue.

    Ru slowly stood up on her feet without wavering. And while doing so, her hand still didn''t let go of the sword. Ling Qiaolian couldn''t wrap her head around this situation at all. She was certain that Ru lost a lot of blood because of the wound she received from Xiao Zhiren. And not to forget that the dagger he used to stab her wasced with the deadliest poison. Also, the white gas Ru inhaled earlier was mixed with a drug that could destroy one''s mental resistance and make them aggressive.

    Because of that very drug, Ling Qiaolian was inciting Ru. She wanted Ru to lose control of her senses. But the situation didn''t look like it was turning into her favor. Howe Ru seemed even more clear-headed now?

    She pulled a knife and tried to strike Ru where she had already been stabbed. But before she could even touch, Ru''s other hand gripped her wrist. Ling Qiaolian''s face contorted in pain but she held back her cries as the knife fell on the floor with a ''ng''.

    "Feeling confused?" Ru whispered in a low voice that had a hint of mockery. "You must be wondering howe I''m standing on my own?"

    "How?" Ling Qiaolian gritted out.

    "Well, before I tell you that let me clear a misconception about myself..." Ru''s voice wasnguid and free of any trouble. She really didn''t seem like the person whose one hand was gripping a sword''s de while the other was gripping the wrist of her attacker. "Papa always said, when the enemy is at your door, don''t look for someone to save you. Stand up and save yourself." Ru''s eyes dulled a little as her gaze wandered towards Xiao Zhiren who was frozen still. With a strange smile she went on, "Young Master Ru never learned to hide behind anyone. And I never shied away from courting my own death either."

    Ru''s hold on Ling Qiaolian''s wrist tightened to the point that it felt like the bones were about to be broken. And it took a minute before the bones did crack and she dropped her sword to hold her other hand that was experiencing an excruciating pain of being crushed.

    Ru''s leg lifted as she kicked her shins to make her drop on her floor on her knees. And as she did, Ru picked up her sword while her foot pressed on the same hand that she crushed earlier.

    "AH!"

    Ling Qiaolian couldn''t hold back her scream. She wanted to move but before she could, Ru had already used a hand-chop to paralyze her body.

    Ru''s eyes were carefully examining the sword in her hand as she went on, "Now let my brother clear another misconception of yours." She looked at Rong who nodded.

    "You might have felt victorious thinking that our mother died in that fire she started herself to protect herself but you''re wrong." Ling Qiaolian furrowed her brows. "For a member of Xia n, finding a way to deal with a cheap drug has never been a big deal. So, before your loyal dog could do anything, she had chopped him into pieces with her hands before setting the room on fire to fool you. And you fell for it!"

    "Impossible!" Ling Qiaolian screamed. "She died that night. In that fire!"

    Rong took a deep breath and shook his head in disappointment. "She indeed died that night but the person who killed her wasn''t you. Or that fire! She died exactly how she wanted to."

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She always felt a sense of joy thinking of how she drove Xia Xue to the madness that the woman burned herself.

    Ru took over as she stared into Ling Qiaolian''s eyes and smirked, "My brother often used Xia Xue as a bad example of someone who did everything is love to teach me how dreadful love can be."

    "Not like you learned it," Rong muttered bitterly.

    Ru chose to ignore him sulking at the side as she went on, "That night, Xia Xue was the one who killed all of your loyal dogs. She was the one who made you suffer such a huge loss that you had to look for schemes like infiltrating other ns to build up your forces all over again. In fact, even after killing everyone, she was unscathed."

    "Then how did she die?" Ling Qiaolian asked.

    "That stupid woman died in her husband''s arms. The wedding vow was ''Till death do us part.'' She took it a bit far. She couldn''t bear to part even at death so she followed Ximen Xi even in death as well. By choosing to save her kids, she became a brave mother. By dying in her husband''s arms, she proved her love." Ru was also shaking her head as she repeated all that she had heard in all those years.

    Even though Ru didn''t know that Ximen Xi and Xia Xue were her real parents, she had heard stories. It was inevitable that nobody would talk about them. Especially, when she was repeatedly warned by her brother Rong to never follow the path of Xia Xue.

    But until this day, Ru was unable to tell whether what Xia Xue chose to do that night was her foolishness, or was that the test of true love one had to give? Once she firmly believed it was foolishness. Because of the way she was raised, Xia Xue''s actions did seem foolish to her. But now... She again looked at Xiao Zhiren and lowered her eyes... Now she wasn''t very sure anymore.

 Chapter 297 Casualties

    Seeing the way Ling Qiaolian stared at her, Ru went on, "Let''s move on to how am I fine right now?"

    This was the thing that had been bothering Ling Qiaolian for a while now. Even if the reality of the past was hard for her to digest, this present was bing harder to swallow.

    "You said it yourself that you poisoned me three times before today and each time, I was unharmed." Ru''s voice was clear and pleasant to hear as always. But the feeling she evoked wasn''t anything pleasant at this point. The same sword that was earlier held against her own neck was now lying right beside Ling Qiaolian''s neck as Ru continued with a wink, "You''re right. Your poison had no cure. So, my grandfather made that very poison my antidote."

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes widened.

    "Yes, your thoughts are absolutely correct. To fight poison with poison, my grandfather made me drink poison for years. Until that very poison became a part of my blood. Everyone said I was born with a unique constitution. And now, I''m kind of immune to poisons. In fact, everyone used to say my blood might be deadlier than any poison now."

    Ru even had the mood tough right now. Herugh was low but sinister. She touched the jade pendant on her neck which had the character ''Ru'' engraved on it. This was the very pendant that originally belonged to her birth mother, Xia Xue.

    "Ten years ago, this pendant gave away my identity, right?"

    It wasn''t really a question. Ru was certain about this point. Ling Qiaolian had already said that she truly believed both Ru and Rong had died along with their Ximen n. But if it wasn''t for ten years ago when Ru''s urge to save Zhiren brought her to Ling Qiaolian''s human cage, this madwoman would have never found out that these twost direct descendants were still alive.

    "Now, clear up something for me..." began Ru again. "When I was stuck in this cage of yours, why didn''t you kill me? Why the obsession to control me? Was it some twisted way of revenge?"

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes shed with a glint as she replied, "Partly." Ru narrowed her eyes at her. "Part of the reason was my revenge. The other part was to attain the power that Ximen n''s Patriarch and Matriarch snatched from me and gave to your mother."

    "But you can not attain that power now. Even if Ximen n had burned that night, you''d get nothing."

    Ling Qiaolian snickered, "That''s where you''re right. Even after that borate n, I got nothing. Because even though they raised me as a daughter, they never told me that Ximen n was divided into four factions and only the head of the n can control everything that the Ximen n had umted in its long history."

    Ru raised her brows andughed at her face, "You didn''t know that? How dense are you? Every n had been divided into four factions; Direct Lineage, Main n, Branch n, andstly, the outer disciples. I thought everyone knew. While Xia n''s four factions live peacefully together, others aren''t like that. That night you were only able to kill the Direct Lineage of Ximen n because you don''t even know where the other three factions are. Ha Ha Ha!"

    "Let her go!"

    Ru stoppedughing as she heard that loud voice and rolled her eyes. "I had been wondering when the biggest hypocrite of the century was gonna show up." She turned around and look at the ''hypocrite'' with a smile as she added, "And here you are, Mr. Qin Qu."

    Earlier when Ru had heard the exnation from Zhiren, she was already left with a deep impression. No matter how cunning Ling Qiaolian had been, there was no way she''d know of every step of Zhiren''s life. Including, Ru''s importance in his life. Unless there was someone very close to Zhiren who had been informing her all this while. And who could be better than Xiao Zhiren''s best friend, Qin Qu?

    Marvelous, isn''t it?

    However, Ru didn''t find it funny at all.

    "Wearing the face of a friend to stab in the back. How despicable!"

    Qin Qu sneered, "As if you''re any better, Mr. Xie Rong. Or should I call you Mr. Alev Knight? Or perhaps, you''d prefer being called Ms. Ximen Ruxue?"

    Ru waved her hand offhandedly, "Please, any name is fine as long as you don''t add that ''Ms'' with it. It makes me feel ufortable."

    "Let her go or I''ll kill these two!" He pressed a button and a wall lifted up. Behind the wall was a cage with two teenagers tied up.

    "Oni-san!" Yuan couldn''t help shout out.

    Ru rolled her eyes again as she looked at Xiao Zhiyuan and Zhang Han who were both held captive as she asked, "I thought you could handle it, Zhang Han!"

    Zhang Han sighed out saying, "I''m not to me here. I certainly didn''t run blindly into someone''s arms just because he looked trustworthy!"

    Ru could understand what he meant. Yuan must have fallen in Qin Qu''s trap because for him Qin Qu was trustworthy. And to protect him, Zhang Han also followed suit only to end up in this mess. For a second, she forgot to even criticize Yuan''s intelligence because Zhang Han''s expressions were too grave for her to ignore.

    She took a moment before asking, "Is she gone?"

    Zhang Han was startled. He abruptly looked up and found Ru''s unfathomable gaze staring back at him. Something in his heart knew she was asking about Lilith and it felt like someone was tearing his heart all over again but he still managed to answer, "Yes, she is gone."

    Ru nodded her head and closed her eyes briefly. She knew Lily was dead and yet she couldn''t stop herself from asking for another confirmation.

    "Stop dying, let Ms. Ling go!"

    "Mr. Qin, you really think I''ll fall for this trick?"

    "You don''t want them alive?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders, "Every war has its casualties. We can''t do anything about that now."

    Qin Qu was left speechless by her words but more so because of her indifferent expressions.

 Chapter 298 Pretense?

    Qin Qu suddenlyughed mockingly at her as he said, "I almost fell for your indifferent expressions. But I still can recall how good you''re at pretense." Ru raised her brow at himzily as he went on, "After all, a person like you had been easily able to pass off as a guy for years. If you could fool with your gender, I shouldn''t doubt your acting skills."

    Ru''s hand slightly tightened on the hilt of the sword in her hand before she mmed the sword on the ground with such a violent force that the sword ended up scrapping off the ground. Her face, however, didn''t show her exasperation as she said, "Mr. Qin, I guess nobody told you that this Young Master hates to hear about this gender story." She paused slightly as she looked at her brother who had been calmly leaning against the wall looking at her. "Big Brother, this man thinks everything I do is a pretense."

    She sounded like she wasining to her elder brother since someone wronged her. Rong had always known how much Ru hated it when someone brought up her gender. The fact that she was a girl was undeniable but calling her ''male'' persona a pretense was a bigger crime because it was anything but just a pretense.

    In fact, for Ru, that ''male'' persona was the real her!

    "Aren''t you bored?" was Rong''s simple reply. He had been standing aside from all this while because Ru had already gestured him to stay away from this. And for the reason why he asked about her boredom was simple, she never liked wasting time talking. She''d either slice the other person or... Well, there was no ''or'' since that was her only effective method of doing things; Kill it before it kills you.

    Ru feigned a gasp at her brother as she said, "Big brother, how can I take away this shining moment from the viins? They deserve this tiny moment tough hysterically to show how ruthless they are. They also this moment to brag as if everything is under their control. In every story, a viin''s personal monologue is a must. How else we would enjoy the story?" She took a pause and looked at Qin Qu as she went on, "Besides, in the end, those viins have to lose their pathetic lives."

    Rong shook his head at her words. She really had be fond of unnecessary things while living outside. But if she was having fun, he wasn''t gonna get involved either. As long as everything was in her control, he''d let her y. He''d only get involved when she needs him.

    As for why Ru just wanted him to step aside, she didn''t want her brother to pay another price for her own stubbornness. Besides, as long as he was looking over her from the side, she knew she had nothing to fear in this world. That was her elder brother who protected her at every step of life.

    Although she grew up as Xia Haoran''s elder brother, from a very young age, she hade to realize that Rong was her real brother. It was too obvious. Since only she and Rong had different eye colors in the whole n. In fact, there was not another single person who had green or blue eyes like her and Rong in the whole Shadowwick.

    She''d have to be a lot dense to not realize the simrities in their features as well. And let''s not forget the protectiveness Rong had for her.

    But any of that never changed her rtionship with Xia Haoran. If Rong was her elder brother, Haoran was her little brother. No truth in this world could change that for her.

    "It seems you really think I''m bluffing," said Qin Qu. "It''s myst warning. If you didn''t let Madam go, I won''t hesitate in killing those two along with your boyfriend." He pulled out a gun and pointed at Zhiren.

    Ru was really amused now. "Go ahead, do it!" Her casual reply left everyone dumbfounded expect for her brother who was rolling his eyes at her. "You think I''m scared? I''ll be groveling and begging and pleading you let him go? Why? Why would I do that?"

    Qin Qu''s brows drew together, "Don''t you love him?"

    "He just stabbed me with the intention of killing me," replied Ru looking unperturbed. "In fact, I think if he died at your hands it''d be easier for him. Because this Young Master is not so good with backstabbers."

    Xiao Zhiren who had beenpletely lost in his own thoughts was suddenly assaulted with her words. As if his headache and confusion all vanished as he stared at her with a strange look. Did she mean it? Did he really burn the bridge that led to her with his own hands? But that was not his intention. He really didn''t know what came over him or why did he attack his little chili. He wanted to tell her all of this but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

    "No, that''s not possible!" Qin Qu shook his head as if in disbelief. "You can''t be that heartless. You loved him. There is no way that love is gone so soon. You''re lying!" He was screaming at her making Ru rub her ears in displeasure.

    How annoying!

    "You think I can''t be that heartless?" Ruughed at him. "Just how little do you know about me?" She was really surprised that this viin was so dumb. "I''m the person who didn''t even feel an ounce of sympathy for the parents who died under the hands of this Madam of yours."

    "Ru!" Rong''s voice was dark as he squinted his eyes at her.

    Ru shrugged at him indifferently, "Oh, please, brother. You can''t be expecting me to feel bad for people I don''t even remember." Indeed, when her birth parents died, she was too young to remember anything. Besides, this was the first time she even learned they were her parents. How was she supposed to feel? She had always been confused about feelings from a young age. No matter what feeling it was, she always found it tiresome and bothersome.

    Qin Qu was dazed by her expressions when in a blink, Ru''s heel hit the hilt of a knife lying by her feet as it shot up, she held it to strike it straight at Qin Qu''s hand which held the gun.

    "AH!"

    The knife pierced through his hand making him scream in agony especially because the knife belonged to Ling Qiaolian which she was trying to use against Ru earlier but failed and not to forget, everything in Ling Qiaolian''s hands was poisoned. So, right now, he could feel that poison crawling up in his blood as well.

    Ru smiled at him wickedly as she continued, "Although, for me, the only parents I''d give respect to are back at Shadowwick, that doesn''t mean I won''t collect some debts of blood from this Madam of yours."

    Just as Ru said, she felt absolutely nothing for Xia Xue or Ximen Xi. But her love, respect, and filial piety for Xia Longwei were undeniable. He raised her like his own child and for Ru, she''d do anything to prove that her Papa''s love wasn''t ced at the wrong person. She was not only gonna collect some blood for her birth parents, the one who died that night was also Xia Longwei''s only sister.

    It seemed, no matter what retribution she chose for Lin Qiaolian, it won''t ever be enough!

 Chapter 299 The Only Aim

    <h4>Chapter 299 The Only Aim</h4>

    "If I can¡¯t walk out of here, I won¡¯t let anyone of you out as well," Qin Qu¡¯s voice was viciously biting and sharp making Ru want to cut his tongue for howling like this.

    He didn¡¯t even take a moment before he took out a small device from his pocket and pressed the button with a mocking smile as he snarled, "Let¡¯s all bury here together."

    As soon as his words finished, several passages opened up in the white walls around them. And from those passages, throngs of bloodthirsty people rushed up. At first nce, Ru couldn¡¯t tell but when she noticed their eyes, she didn¡¯t even blink before rushing up to Qin Qu and drove the tip of the sword in her hand straight into his heart as she said, "Consider it your luck that this Young Master isn¡¯t in the mood to y with your pathetic life."

    With that being said, she turned to her brother saying, "Big Brother, help those two youngsters out." Looking at the throng of angry, bloodthirsty, and more importantly, ¡¯out of their mind¡¯ people rushing up to her, she added, "I¡¯ll see who buries who in this godforsaken ce!"

    Rong came to her side saying, "Let me help out."

    Ru shook her head and pushed him towards the ce Zhang Han and Xiao Zhiyuan were trapped. "Help them out first. Have faith in your little brother. I can deal with this alone."

    Of course, Rong had no doubt that she could deal with these hundred or so people. But he was still reluctant. Weapons have no eyes, he knew the battle always brings wounds as well. However, he didn¡¯t want her to get hurt.

    Soon, the sound of shing, metal nking, screams, whines, and painful cries filled the air. The scene was so horrifying that not only Yuan who was pampered from a young age but also Zhang Han was frozen at his ce. He had never seen this kind of bloodbath before in his entire life.

    It looked really painful.

    All this while, Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to anything apart from killing. That wicked side of her had finally torn apart the facade she so tried to stick with. This was the real her. With no remorse and no sympathy. The more blood dyed her hands, the more she felt liberated. She indeed was a psychopath herself.

    It was just hard to see her psycho persona on normal days when she wore the mask of a schr so well.

    Nevertheless, her eyes still caught on to Xiao Zhiren who had struggled to stand up and was now staring unblinkingly at the scene before his eyes. The girl drenched in blood waspletely unlike the one in his memory. That beautiful girl in his memory was suddenly unrecognizable to him. He had heard Ru saying plenty of times, ¡¯You won¡¯t like to meet the real me.¡¯

    But he alwaysughed it off. He always believed, she¡¯d never been able to scare him away. Because he believed he loved every part of hers. Every single mask she wore before the world, he loved it all wholeheartedly.

    Then why was he unable to move? Why did his heart suddenly had a strange trepidation? Why was there a slight itch in his mind that urged him to run? It didn¡¯t make any sense to him. Nothing of this made any sense to him. He was already struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that the reality he knew had been distorted. He lived in the world of vengeance that someone else created for him. His own will and thinking were all snatched from him.

    And now looking at the person he loved the most, he was hardly able to think or make sense of anything. Yet, he couldn¡¯t help the way his eyes were widened when he stared at Ru. And the girl who could read people like the back of her hand, how could she not see the apprehension in his eyes? Unless she was blind, it was way too obvious to her.

    She didn¡¯t know why she paused slightly when she noticed that dread in his ever so familiar and yet so unfamiliar eyes. No, the eyes were familiar. Very familiar. It was the emotion in those eyes that seemed unfamiliar.

    The corner of her lip lifted up slightly. It seemed like she was smiling but it was a sad smile. However, with all the blood on her face, it looked more like a maniac smile.

    Honestly speaking, Ru wasn¡¯t surprised at all to see his reaction. She knew herself. She knew him as well. She knew what she looked like right now. It¡¯d be crazy if he actually wasn¡¯t scared. The smile was her way of reminding herself. The bet that her heart made with her rationality came to an end. The heart that was blind with love actually lost the bet.

    In the end, it was still her rationality that won. After all, the only person who would stand by her side was herself. Love truly was a luxury to someone like her. She had delusions about her love and about herself for long enough. It was time to face reality all over again.

    When that fleeting moment, their eyes met, Ru smiled even brightly and shook her head before turning back to get back to something she was most familiar with; killing.

    While she was distracted, that psychotic woman who was struggling beside her had actually managed to crawl up to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s side. The gun that Qin Qu had dropped was still lying in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s feet. Ling Qiaolian knew she couldn¡¯t get out of here but she didn¡¯t wish to go down alone. She wanted to kill Ru if it was thest thing she did.

    Just when she picked up the gun, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes shifted to her. Seeing where she was aiming the gun, his heart shook violently. This fear of losing his little chili was worse than seeing her bloodshedding. There was no way he was willing to lose her.

    Without thinking, he jumped over and tried to snatch the gun.

    "Zhiren! Let it go! I have to kill her today!" Ling Qiaolian was ring with her bloodshot eyes at Xiao Zhiren hatefully.

    "No, I¡¯ll never let that happen!" Xiao Zhiren also struggled with all his might but somehow, the woman was able to get the upper hand, only because he was more severely injured than her, and due to everything that conspired, he was still feeling dizzy. His mind was still in disarray with only one vivid goal; to save Ru.

    "Zhiren!" Shouted Ling Qiaolian as the trigger was pulled and the aim was only one person; Ru.

 Chapter 300 Lingchi!

    <h4>Chapter 300 Lingchi!</h4>

    Xiao Zhiren was stunned to his ce with the gun in his hand that he had snatched from Ling Qiaolian¡¯s hands. He didn¡¯t even realize when the trigger was pulled in their own struggle. He felt his feet were stuck to the ground as he looked over to Ru¡¯s side with a horrified look.

    "Xiao Xue!!"

    Ru only heard the shout from behind her but had no clue what was going on. And when that name rang in her mind, it seemed to have transported her mind to a dream she had seen. Only now she knew that the dream was indeed just a twisted reflection of her future. In the dream, the man who stabbed her with a sword was Xiao Zhiren. And while she jumped off the cliff, someone had called out, ¡¯Xiao Xue¡¯ with the same tone. At that time, she had been wondering who was Xiao Xue. Now she could onlyugh at herself knowing that her full name was, Ximen XiaoXue.

    She only registered the world around her when the ng of metal against metal buzzed right behind her.

    Ru turned around to see her handsome little brother, Xia Haoran with his back towards her as he observed his sword¡¯s sleek body and nodded, "It didn¡¯t scar my lovely lotus."

    Ru¡¯s brows twitched when she heard the name he used to call his sword. She really wanted to smack his head but couldn¡¯t do so. One; she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hurt him. Two; he inherited his naming sense from her. So, technically she was the one to me here.

    "I told you to stay out of it," said Ru with a harsh tone. She clearly had advised him to not get involved in this fight yet he brought his little subordinates with him who were now dealing with those living corpses that Ru was wasting time on. But since he went against her words, she really wanted to teach him a lesson!

    Xia Haoran sounded quite casual as he tilted his head to nce at her saying, "I came to save my brother."

    Ru¡¯s brows knitted up as she looked down at the bullet that had been shot at her. It was lying quite a distance from her. When she looked up she saw the gun in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand who was trembling from head to toe in disbelief. He had really thought he would lose Ru but he didn¡¯t know where that ck robes youngster flown in from but with just one swish of his exquisite looking sword, he managed to disrupt the bullet¡¯s trajectory.

    But before he could heave a sigh of relief, he had noticed the way Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed in on the gun in his hands.

    "Hahaha!" Ling Qiaolianughed hysterically as she said, "Indeed, Xia Xue¡¯s daughter is so pitiful. Even she is not loved. How tragic that the one you loved dearly is now trying to kill you."

    When all fails, we try to grasp even the straws along with ourselves. That was exactly Ling Qiaolian¡¯s strategy. She had finally been scared of Ru. She always knew Ru was a danger that¡¯s why back then she gave up on trying to control her and settled on killing her instead. But she survived. And now, she was even worse than she was ten years ago. If back then Ling Qiaolian saw a devil in her, now she could actually see the grim reaper. Because everything that Ru touched was meant to wither under her touch.

    Since she was scared witless and had no way out. The only thing she wanted was to destroy Ru along with herself. If she couldn¡¯t kill her than she¡¯d resort to destroying her mentally. And that¡¯s exactly why she incited Ru¡¯s fury. She made it seem like Ru was unloved and even Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t reciprocate her feelings. And instead was willing to kill her.

    Ling Qiaolian felt like if Ru would kill Xiao Zhiren, he¡¯d be her destruction on its own.

    "Doesn¡¯t she talk too much?" It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a statement from Xia Haoran. "And I really don¡¯t like the way she is talking to you."

    Ru smiled at her little brother and snatched a shuriken from his belt. When she aimed it towards Xiao Zhiren, he wanted to shake his head to let her know that she misunderstood. However, she didn¡¯t give him a chance as the shuriken left her hand and whooshed towards him. Xiao Zhiren instinctively closed his eyes but...

    Shuriken only grazed past his earlobe before hitting the bullseye.

    "AH!"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body shook when he heard the shrilly scream and whipped his head around to look at Ling Qiaolian¡¯s whose shoulder was the real aim. When he turned to look back at Ru, he could clearly see a tinge of disappointment in her green eyes.

    "Are you okay?" Rong asked her when he came around looking at her up and down.

    "I¡¯m fine," she answered distractedly with her eyes still stuck on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face. "But don¡¯t call me Xiao Xue again." Rong pressed his lips together before nodding his head.

    Then she patted Xia Haoran¡¯s shoulder and said, "If you don¡¯t like her voice, get rid of it."

    Xia Haoran faintly smiled, "dly."

    Rong looked at Ru with wide eyes as he questioned, "You¡¯re really gonna let Ranran do this bloody task?" Ru knew what he meant. She had raised Xia Haoran as a very pampered younger brother. She would never allow him to do anything dirty. If it was to get sullied, she was enough to do it alone.

    "Don¡¯t worry, big brother. He isn¡¯t the same Haoran anymore."

    Rong also knew that. When they left the n¡¯s premises, Xia Haoran was just a sweet and innocent boy. But after his two brothers left him alone, he had to grow up before he was meant to. He had to be mature to take the positions that Ru and Rong left behind.

    Turning to look at Zhang Han and Xiao Zhiyuan, she asked, "Are those two okay?"

    "They are fine," answered Rong. "The drug hadn¡¯t reached the heart. They both are safe now."

    Ru felt eased up to hear that. Then she looked towards her little brother who didn¡¯t even flinch before cutting that woman¡¯s venomous tongue.

    Xia Haoran dragged that woman to Ru¡¯s feet again. He lifted his sleeves to wipe her face carefully making Ru smile at his gestures. Oh, she thought wrong. This one was still her little brother, nothing really changed about him. Then he asked, "Ruru, what are you gonna do to her?"

    Ru patted his head before crouching down to look at Ling Qiaolian. Lifting her chin with her hand, she said, "What do you say? What would you like? Do you want me to chop you up and cook a hearty meal?" Ru shook her head on her own, "Nah! I might choke to death with such a slice of poisonous meat. It won¡¯t be fun."

    "Quit ying around already," urged Rong who was really impatient now.

    Even Xia Haoran nodded his head, "It¡¯s alreadyte. I got tired of waiting for you all that¡¯s why I came inside to look for you."

    Ru jutted her bottom lip out adorably cupping her face with her hands as sheined, "How unfair! No one is letting me even have fun now." Rolling her eyes, she pped her hands joyfully, "Ah-ha! I know what I¡¯m gonna do! This Young Master is sentencing you to Lingchi![1]"

    "No!"

    Ru¡¯s face darkened as she looked up at Xiao Zhiren who had abruptlye to stop her. Seriously, didn¡¯t he know she hated it when someone interrupted her fun?

    [1] ¡¯Lingchi¡¯: tranted variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE until it was banned in 1905.

 Chapter 301 Shall We?

    <h4>Chapter 301 Shall We?</h4>

    "He¡¯s got the grit."

    "Or maybe he¡¯s got a death wish."

    Xia Haoran looked at Rong as he continued, "Death wish? I don¡¯t think so. Ruru really loves him. I don¡¯t think she will hurt him."

    Rong observed Ru¡¯s expressions that were darkening because of how abruptly she was stopped. With a graceful simplicity, he said, "It¡¯s a battle between rationality and emotions. Have you ever seen your Ruru being ruled by her feelings?"

    Xia Haoran paused before he said in a casual tone, "That was back then. Ruru from back then and now are two very different people."

    "And she thinks you are mature now." Rong shook his head and rubbed Xia Haoran¡¯s head saying, "A leopard can¡¯t change its spots."

    Xia Haoran couldn¡¯tprehend the meaning behind Rong¡¯s words but he didn¡¯t need to either.

    On the side, Ru stood up to face Xiao Zhiren as she repeated, "No? Are you really trying to stop me right now from killing her?"

    Ling Qiaolian tried to crawl up to Xiao Zhiren. Since her tongue was cut, she could only make iprehensible sounds but from her pathetic expressions and tears in her eyes, one could tell she was groveling for her petty life before him. As if he was her life savior.

    This scene ignited the fury within Ru vehemently.

    "I don¡¯t want you to kill her," Xiao Zhiren said after trying hard to suppress his fear.

    "Oh, really?" Ru threw away the sword that originally belonged to Ling Qiaolian carelessly on the other side of the hall as she stood before Xiao Zhiren with a solemn expression. "You do realize that she isn¡¯t just the viin in my life. She had done no better with you and your family. And you still wish to save her?"

    At this time, Xiao Zhiyuan had been quietly watching from sidelines moved up to his brother, and tugged at his sleeve saying, "Bro, that¡¯s not our mother. Don¡¯t get involved in this." All this while he didn¡¯t dare to look at Ru¡¯s face. As if he was really scared of her presence now.

    Keeping her voice level to a calming state, she said, "Listen to your brother. Step back."

    "I¡¯m not trying to save her," began Xiao Zhiren. "I just think that it should be handled legally. She is a criminal. I¡¯m sure..."

    "Save it!" Ru¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even let him finish. "You might be the saint, I¡¯ve always been the devil. If it¡¯s my revenge, why would I hand it over to someone else?"

    "Is it worth it to sully your hands with her blood?"

    "Yes!" was Ru¡¯s reply. She stretched her hand behind her as she said, "Haoran, give me your sword."

    Xia Haoran didn¡¯t even need to be said twice as he put it in her hand.

    "Not only my hands but even I¡¯m also drenched in people¡¯s blood from head to toe. My hands can¡¯t be sullied when even my soul is already tarnished. What a joke!"

    Taking a step towards Ling Qiaolian, she added, "There is no one who can stop me today."

    "Not even me?" asked Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru let out a burst of mockingughter. "You?" Shaking her head, she went on, "The reason why I¡¯m stuck in a predicament today is that I did the mistake of listening to my feelings instead of my rationality. Whenever it came to you, I always let my feelings rule me. Sorry, but today Young Master Ru is not even left with emotions."

    Ru dragged Ling Qiaolian from her hair towards the wall and used the shuriken to nail her hands against the wall. Shuriken went right into the hollow of her palms and stuck into the wooden door behind her.

    Using the sword to stroke Ling Qiaolian¡¯s body, she added, "Today, I¡¯ll slice your skin off with three thousand and six hundred cuts until only your skeleton is left. Don¡¯t worry, I will let you see the process until the very end. In fact, when I corrode your skeleton with my special acid, I¡¯ll even do my best to make you feel the pain till the very end!"

    Her words and mannerism only evoked fear in weak hearted people. Especially Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan who were left shaken. She didn¡¯t even flinch when she said it. And it didn¡¯t seem like she was kidding either. It was obvious that she nned on doing it with her own hands and she was nning on doing it exactly how she said it.

    "Chop! Chop!" Ru pped her hands urging, "Soft-hearted people can find their way out. Don¡¯t say this Young Master was heartless enough to not even warn you beforehand because this scene is gonna get unsightly. If you don¡¯t want nightmares for the rest of your lives, run for your dear lives!"

    "When did Ruru started talking so much nonsense? She used to never announce it like this before. She would quietly do it and vanish." Xia Haoran was wondering out loud which earned him a smack on his head from his Rong brother. "Why did you hit me?"

    "Can¡¯t you even understand that she is being thoughtful?" said Rong with aplicated gaze. "It¡¯s very obvious that Ru is worried about that youngster, Xiao Zhiyuan. She knows that today is gonna leave a big impression on him. It seems she really cares about him."

    Xia Haoran¡¯s brows creased up, "Xiao Zhiyuan? Why does she care about him?" He turned to Rong as heined, "I¡¯m telling you Rong brother, I¡¯m not sharing my brothers with anyone."

    Rong rolled his eyes at this big kid. Just exactly where did Ru get the idea that he was a grown-up now? He was still that whiny kid who never let his brothers y with others. Because he was scared others will steal his brothers from him. Slinging an arm around his neck, he said, "Rx! I don¡¯t think there is anyone who can take your ce in her life or in her heart. You¡¯re always our most favorite younger brother."

    "It better be like that," said Xia Haoran as his brows eased up slightly. However, he was still vigntly staring at Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s trembling figure. He looked so weak and vulnerable. Clearly, all of this had done huge damage to his mental health. Poor him! His young soul is left scarred for life. Xia Haoran couldn¡¯t help pitying Xiao Zhiyuan not realizing that they were almost the same age.

    "Little brother!"

    Xia Haoran was startled out of his thoughts when Ru called him.

    "Yes? Yes, I¡¯m here!"

    "Ask your junior brother to escort his uncles out of here."

    "Oh." Xia Haoran just had to look at Zhang Han who nodded in understanding before trying to drag both his uncles out of there.

    Ru looked at Xia Haoran and Rong before saying, "You both should leave as well."

    Then she looked at Ling Qiaolian¡¯s pale face as she smiled, "Now, shall we begin?"

 Chapter 302 Its Time For A Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 302 It¡°s Time For A Farewell</h4>

    There is a saying, ¡¯There is no more painful punishment than not to be punished.¡¯

    However, Ru had never followed these words.

    She had learned in life to give back tenfold of what she owes. And take back hundredfold of what others owe you!

    If one is willing tomit a sin, they should never forget the punishment that will find them in some way. Ru had always been the kind of person who would pass like thunder and move like the wind[1].[1]

    She was always the one to summon the wind and rain[2].[2] But even with that nature of hers, she never had to face the heavy rainstorm and strong gale[3].[3] Perhaps this was the reason why she seemed like a crane among a flock of chicken[4].[4]

    Truth be told, Ru felt nothing when she sliced up that woman with her own hands. In fact, it looked like she was really satisfied with what she did. True to her words, she exacted the punishment exactly like she wanted to. The gory scene was nauseating, the shrilly screams would make one¡¯s heart shake with fear until they slowly died down with the person. The blood dripped down like a continuous stream.

    Even the intestines were out of the body and were scattered around without care.

    In this bloody scene, Ru was leaning against the wall watching the skeleton of that inhumane creature corrode away. A cigarette was held between her lips and puffs of white smoke were making her face blurry. Her whole body was again soaked in fresh blood. One could only see her green eyes that still held a twinkle that was never overshadowed by anything.

    Even within this nauseating ce, the exotic beauty of her eyes was as striking as always. Her face was 80 percent in clouds and light winds[5] [5] and 20 percent self-satisfied. She looked so serene with that curl of her lips that one could see the reflection of her happiness in her eyes. It was really surprising how she was able to leisurely smoke with so many dead bodies lying around her.

    Finally, after she was done appreciating the art of work she had done, she stood up to leave. First, she went around the whole den as if looking for something. And when she finally found it, she carried it along to find the control room and hacked into the system.

    [Self Destruction mode is on! You have ten minutes to leave the premises.]

    When the system¡¯s mechanical voice rang around, she still didn¡¯t care. In fact, she stuck around to see the surveince screens and after she made sure that everyone had gone down the mountain, only then did she turned around with the ¡¯thing she carried¡¯ and ran out.

    *BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

    Continuous sts rang in the air and the ground shook. Instinctively everyone at the foot of the mountain craned their necks to look up because of the shockwaves.

    "Master!"

    Wu Dishi who was worried about Ru¡¯s safety was about to run over when Rong spoke up, "Your master is safe."

    Xia Haoran nodded his head along, "Don¡¯t worry! My brother just loves to blow things up. It has been a hobby. This much can¡¯t do anything to her."

    Xiao Zhiyuan who had been silently trembling as he sat on a boulder with Zhang Han holding his hand to support him, shivered even more. His eyes shed with something iprehensible.

    "My little bunny still seems very proud of me," Ru¡¯s amused voice could be heard from a distance.

    And as she walked out from behind the dense trees, Xia Haoran ran over to her. "Ruru!" He wanted to hug her but seeing that she was carrying a dead body, he couldn¡¯t do so. He looked at the young face of the girl whoid lifeless in her arms and asked, "Who is she?"

    Ruid down Lilith¡¯s body on the ground carefully as if afraid to wake her up from her sleep. Looking with a rare tenderness in her eyes, she answered, "She was your brother¡¯s redemption. Now, she is your brother¡¯s curse for life."

    Xia Haoran frowned at her words, not knowing what she meant. He looked at Rong who shook his head to stop him from asking any further. He could see that Ru was behaving differently when she looked at that lifeless girl.

    He might not really know who Lily was but he could see that she was someone important to Ru. And he wasn¡¯t wrong either. When Ru had decided to save Lilith back then, she truly thought she could bring a change. If only she was able to save that one life, it might free her from her heart¡¯s demons.

    But when she confirmed from Zhang Han that Lily was dead, she lost all sense. If she couldn¡¯t even save that one innocent girl, what right did she have to wear the facade of an angel?

    Xiao Zhiren had once called her a fallen angel. Now, she could only sneer at that reminder. A fallen angel is called a fallen angel because they are stripped of their purity and fall to disgrace. A fallen angel can only be the angel of darkness and death. At the end of the day, she was still representing darkness and death. What right did she have to pull someone else into her dark world?

    She only looked up when she felt someone crouching down beside Lily¡¯s body. Her eyelids lifted slightly and her eyes fell on Zhang Han who was staring at Lily¡¯s face with longing, heartache, and devastation. She really didn¡¯t know what he was feeling right now but she could tell how his young heart and soul were being churned up with this incident.

    Standing up from the ground, she looked at Wu Dishi and ordered, "Let¡¯s go. We have a funeral to arrange."

    Wu Dishi once looked at Lily¡¯s body and then at his master before nodding his head. He turned around to give orders before he walked back to Ru to say, "Master, this st will catch the attention of..."

    Ru raised her hand to stop him. "Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll handle the consequences."

    Wu Dishi again nodded and started leading the teams back towards their rides to get out of this godforsaken ce. It was time to say farewell to this ce.

    It was time to say farewell to Lily.

    And it was time to say farewell to... Her eyes shifted around until they settled on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s figure who was now sitting beside his brother with a heavy look on his face. However, from the looks of it, she could tell he had a clear mind now.

    She looked thankfully at her brother knowing very well he must have helped to stabilize Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mental state.

    [1] ¡¯¡¯To pass like thunder and move like the wind¡¯: Idiom; meaning to be expeditious and efficient.

    [2] ¡¯Summon the wind and rain¡¯: stir up trouble

    [3] ¡¯Heavy rainstorm and strong gale¡¯: to find oneself in a difficult or dangerous situation

    [4] ¡¯Crane among a flock of chicken¡¯: stands out from the crowd

    [5] ¡¯in clouds and light winds¡¯: calm, tranquil, serene

    [1] Idiom; meaning to be expeditious and efficient.

    [2] stir up trouble

    [3] to find oneself in a difficult or dangerous situation

    [4] stands out from the crowd

    [5] calm, tranquil, serene

 Chapter 303 - A Place In Your Life

    <h4>Chapter 303 - A ce In Your Life</h4>

    <i><strong>Two dayster...</strong></i>

    The funeral for Lilith was in the morning but Ru had stood before her grave till noon without any intention to leave. The weather was very pleasant on this day. It wasn¡¯t exactly sunny but neither was it cloudy. Perhaps nature was just as confused as Ru¡¯s inner feelings.

    The only person who had been standing not far from her was Zhang Han. Donning a ck suit, his fairplexion looked rather pale and waxy along with his red puffy eyes. His eyes looked void as he lifted his head and spoke, "Do you think she deserved to die?"

    Ru¡¯s head tilted as she looked heavenwards, "She had already been dead from the day her right to live freely was taken from her. So what if she¡¯s buried now? She had long been dead inside." Her hands clenched tightly as shemented over the fact that if only she hadn¡¯t shown Lily a way to live again, maybe her death wouldn¡¯t have been this painful to her and the people around her.

    She turned around to leave but when her eyes fell on a weeping willow swaying gently in the air, she ended up walking to it. Taking her shoes off, she let her feet touch the green grass that was soft. She sat down under the shade and leaned against the tree as she closed her eyes.

    She hadn¡¯t seen Zhiren in thest two days and Zhiyuan would end up trembling in fear at her sight so she kept her distance from him. As for why she didn¡¯t see Zhiren was because she let both her brothers find a way to help him.

    Just as she was thinking about the times she hade across Zhiren in her life, she felt a weight on her legs. Her eyes flew open and she looked down to see Xiao Zhiren whose head was nowying in herp.

    "You..."

    Before she could say anything he spoke up, "Can you not push me away?" He looked into her eyes with a pained look as he went on, "Something tells me, this might be myst chance."

    Ru leaned her head against the tree and didn¡¯t reply. She couldn¡¯t think of a reply. If she said yes, she¡¯d be hurting him, and if she said no, she¡¯d be lying to him. Either way, the answer wasn¡¯t right. So, the silence was the only option she could think of.

    His eyes dimmed when she didn¡¯t give any response. He had expected it and yet it hurt. He exhaled a lot and heavy breath, "Do you hate me?"

    Ru smiled faintly to herself, "Hate is a strong feeling. I don¡¯t use it so carelessly. You already know that."

    "Then do you regret it?" He didn¡¯t dare look at her face. "I didn¡¯t even realize how your and my life had been intertwined all this while. If it wasn¡¯t for me, your life would have been a lot easier."

    "I strongly disagree with that," stated Ru calmly. "Maybe if I hadn¡¯te across you back then I¡¯d have gone back home after having my fair share of wandering around. But whatever conspired yesterday was something I owed to the woman who gave me birth. I owed it to my bloodline that died down unjustly merely for someone¡¯s obsession for power and jealousy." She looked at the branches swaying in an enchanting manner as she went on, "This young master is still the same. I still don¡¯t regret anything. Neither meeting you, nor even letting you make a way to my heart."

    "But I only have a ce in your heart, I don¡¯t have one in your life, right?" he sounded bitter as he inquired looking at her face. He wanted her to turn her face a little so he could see her eyes. He wanted to see every little expression of hers to engrave it in his memory. If he didn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t know how he was gonna survive.

    From the moment his memories restored, he was in a dilemma. He didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to feel. All his thoughts and feelings were just in turmoil. He was feeling at a loss since it felt like he had been living a fake life all these years with fake memories. If there was one thing, that he was certain about that would be, in every single piece of his memory, real or fake, he loved only one person; this green-eyeddy who loved running around as ad.

    But now... It seemed like he lost the right to even hold her back.

    "Remember I told you that we are two people withpletely different destinations?" Zhiren stayed quiet in reply as she went on, "As you said, our lives had really been intertwined all along but we merely met at the crossroads of life before turning towards our own destinations. Our paths could only cross, it was never meant to merge."

    "You said an angel and a demon can fall in love," his voice was turning hoarse as he was trying to hold back his tears.

    Ru¡¯s hand lingered above his head for a while before she finally stroked his hair gently. "Yes, the demons in me fell for you even though they were scared of the ring halo you had. But I never said a demon and an angel can be together. My darkness is too afraid to taint your halo."

    His heart clenched in his chest painfully, "Can¡¯t you give me another chance?"

    "Zhi, didn¡¯t I say I don¡¯t believe in second chances? There is only one life and yet you insisted on wasting it by loving someone like me. I warned you that my insanity is catastrophic, it¡¯d destroy you. Yet, you stubbornly kept saying you could take it. You could love all of me." She took a deep breath as she went on, "You should face the truth now, the light in your eyes won¡¯t be able to brighten up my darkness. It might just end up losing it¡¯s own identity." Her hand touched his face as she added, "I never questioned your love as you insisted. I was merely stating the truth all this while. I don¡¯t want my demons to devour you. It¡¯s not something I¡¯d be able to watch."

 Chapter 304 - Farewell, My First Love

    <h4>Chapter 304 - Farewell, My First Love</h4>

    "Are you saying that falling in love with you was a mistake?" Xiao Zhiren really wanted to know what his feelings were at this moment. He could hear each word of hers, he was even able to understand the meaning and reality behind her words but he was unwilling to ept that meaning or that reality.

    "We can never be the judge of someone¡¯s love or any feelings. But it¡¯s also true that you¡¯re at fault..." she took a moment as her hand ran through her short hair. "Your mistake was to underestimate my insanity, ruthlessness, and the chaos I bring with me."

    "But all I ever wanted was for you and me to be us," he was agitated as he abruptly sat up but in the process, his hands somehow touched her abdomen and when he pulled his hand back, it was sullied with blood. He forgot what he wanted to say as the reminder and burden of how he was the one who gave that wound to her came crashing down. His hand trembled as he choked, "I... I¡¯m really sorry! I didn¡¯t even..."

    Ru waved her hand offhandedly as she didn¡¯t even let himplete his sentence. She looked down at her ck shirt and shook her head. She definitely broke a stitch without realizing it. It was a good thing she was wearing ck all over.

    "Zhi," she called out to him but Zhiren didn¡¯t turn to look at her. "Zhiren, look at me." Zhiren turned his head away refusing to do so. Ru held his face in her hands as she turned his head around to look at his face. But he had turned his gaze down, not daring to look into her green eyes. Ru sighed out, "Do you now understand why I¡¯m taking a step back?" Zhiren¡¯s head hung low as she went on, "Whatever happened two days ago won¡¯t ever let you look at me the same way as before. This is just another stab wound for me but to someone like you... It¡¯s akin to a nightmare. Let¡¯s assume for a second that I can forget the way you looked at me but can you forget what you saw?"

    She patted the side of his face as she added, "You asked me whether I can be a normal person. I answered I can¡¯t. Because in my own view, I¡¯m pretty normal. It¡¯s the matter of perspective, what you think is normal might not be the same to me."

    "You and I have hurt each other in our own ways. We both let each other down. So, it¡¯s better to take a step back from each other. I¡¯ll give you the time you need, you give me the space I need."

    Zhiren lifted his eyes up and Ru noticed how tears had brimmed in his eyes but since he was trying to hold his tears back, his eyes were bloodshot.

    "Are you really gonna leave my hand all over again? Are you really able to swallow this pain?" he asked with painful eyes boring into her soul.

    "It¡¯s either the matter of; we can endure it or we don¡¯t want to endure it. There is no such thing as not being able to endure the pain." She chuckled surprising him as she added, "Besides, who said I¡¯m leaving your hand?" Zhiren¡¯s eyes sparkled but the next moment she dropped a bomb on his head, "Didn¡¯t I give you a blood oath? I¡¯ll forever be your sworn brother."

    Zhiren stared at her for a long while in silence. His shoulders hunched as he said, "Howe you¡¯re still able to joke with me?"

    She put on her shoes before standing up as she said, "That¡¯s because I hate tears. If this is really thest time I¡¯m seeing you, I definitely don¡¯t want to leave with sadness."

    Xiao Zhiren also stood up and pulled her in a hug saying, "Every time we parted ways, I lived with the hope that I¡¯d see you again. What am I supposed to do this time?"

    Ru patted his back gently as she said, "This time you should ept the reality instead of chasing the illusions. And the truth is, some people can only have a ce in our hearts, not in our lives." She let herself divulge in the warmth of his body before she pulled away and kept a distance of an arm¡¯s length. "Thank you foring into my life! Love had never been my goal. It never was, it never will be. I never even thought I¡¯d look for love but then you came to my life and made me experience the feeling of it. I don¡¯t even mind the pain it brought because that means, I learned something."

    "You certainly are an eloquent person. Even at this moment, you have all the right words." Zhiren didn¡¯t know what else to say. As she said, he might really never be able to look at her without the reminder of that day. And he¡¯d never be able to live without feeling the guilt of almost killing her. If her body wasn¡¯t poison resistant, he knew very well that she¡¯d not be alive right now and that thought was a lot scarier.

    Ru extended her hand towards him, "Have a nice life, Xiao Zhiren."

    Zhiren took her hand as he said, "You once told me I should hold my life tightly, you might snatch it from me. I never thought you¡¯d be so true to your words." Because I called you my life and you¡¯re really taking it away from me. The worst part is, I have no right to stop you. He took a deep breath before adding, "Thank you for showing me the real darkness. They say darkness can¡¯t destroy light; it defines it. Your darkness truly made me see the beauty that I never even found standing in the light."

    Ru¡¯s lips curved up in a lopsided grin as she said, "Let¡¯s not forget that my darkness is leaving a lot of horrors in your life as well." She pulled her hand back and smiled widely as him. "It¡¯s ironic but you made my demons really dream of halos. However, demons can only be scorched by halos, mine did as well."

    She turned around to leave. Zhiren¡¯s eyes were stuck to her figure. He would never call this the end. Never! If anything this was just another chapter of separation. Even if this chapter didn¡¯t end in this lifetime, he¡¯d wait for it in the next life. He wasn¡¯t willing to believe that his love was not only a sad one or painful one but also an iplete one.

    Ru stopped at a distance and looked back at him as she said, "Zhiren, take care of your brother. This is the first time I¡¯m not able to keep a promise. I said I¡¯d never let Yuan fall. It¡¯s a y of destiny that I ended up being the one who ruined his worldview and destroyed his innocence. I¡¯m really sorry for that." She even bowed her head in a deep bow to show her sincerity.

    Zhiren was speechless as she stood straight and again turned back to leave. This time she raised her hand over head to wave back at him as she shouted, "Farewell, My First Love!"

    Maybe that was thest straw for him because the moment she said it, she seemed far out of his reach and it hurt so badly that his tears finally fell down. Farewell, it was but how he felt it was like the world hade to standstill. Farewell; it was just a word and yet it was enough to destroy his world.

 Chapter 305 - A Neverending Tale

    <h4>Chapter 305 - A Neverending Tale</h4>

    Tearful, sad, and heart wrenching, that¡¯s how a goodbye feels like but it gets worse when you have to put a smile on your face to hide the fact that along with that goodbye, you¡¯re leaving a part of yourself behind.

    It was exactly as Ru once said, love wasn¡¯t actually scary. It was the feeling of loss that love invoked that was the scariest part. However, every beginninges with an end and every end opens the door of the new beginning.

    As soon as Ru was away from Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sight, she clutched her shirt tightly. The ache in her chest was so intense that she wasn¡¯t able to feign nonchnce. She had to ept that she lost herself to Xiao Zhiren and now, she was left empty. And this feeling of emptiness was beginning to slowly crawl up within her.

    "Ge!" Xia Haoran ran over to her side and held her arm. He noticed the sweat on her face. "Ge, is it hurting?" She tilted her face to look at him as she shook her head. "Where is it hurting?" Ru ruffled his hair.

    "Didn¡¯t I say it¡¯s not hurting?"

    "As if I will ever believe you again in my life," retorted Xia Haoran.

    Ru pulled his ear, "You brat! Dare say that again! How dare you question me?"

    "Says the one who forgot me for ten years," grumbled Xia Haoran.

    Ru chuckled at him grumbling like that and squished his face saying, "Aiyo, my rice cake is still as adorable as always. If you keep being this cute, I¡¯ll soon forgive you for losing your chubby cheeks."

    From a distance, Rong had been noticing these two for a while before he stepped closer, and seeing the forced smile on Ru¡¯s face, he said, "You don¡¯t have to do it, you know."

    Ru looked up at her elder brother and questioned, "What are you talking about?"

    Rong ced his hand on her head as he looked into her eyes, "You clearly love him and it¡¯s obvious how much he loves you, and yet you¡¯re choosing to walk away?"

    Ru¡¯s eyes lowered as she replied, "Love and pain are only two sides of the same story. Oftentimes, we let love rule our senses but we can¡¯t forget, it¡¯s always the pain that brings us back to reality. Love and pain might be the two sides of the same story but they can never be in harmony. Pain has the tendency to destroy us as much as love does. Eventually, the pain will overwhelm the feelings of love until we be numb to it." She looked up at her brothers and tried to smile as she added, "When love bes painful one, it¡¯s better to let it go. No matter how much you want to hold it back. You¡¯ll be only hurting yourself and your partner."

    She looked towards the sky as she went on, "Right now, we both have be the reminder of pain to each other. Whether of past or present. So, if we have filled each other¡¯s past and present with pain, how can we say we¡¯ll be able to be each other¡¯s happiness in the future?

    "It¡¯s easy to say that just love is enough but it¡¯s a fact that love is never enough. Eventually, we have to face the harsh reality of life that is not as sweet as love seems to be."

    Both people around her pulled her in their arms and hugged her tightly.

    "Why are you both hugging me?" Ru was trying to get out of their grasp but to no avail as they both were familiar with her tactics way too well.

    "We want to," they both answered.

    Ru sighed and let them hug her. Maybe she needed that hug right now from these two people. She needed a reminder that there were people who really loved her. Her chest was feeling stuffed up and her eyes felt slightly wet that shocked her beyond words. She was definitely gonna im that her eyes were sweating, there was no way she¡¯d say she had tears in her eyes. That was the pride, she¡¯d like to keep holding on to right now. She needed that!

    When they both pulled away, Xia Haoran said, "Ge, don¡¯t forget. You still have us."

    "I know," replied Ru before adding, "Let¡¯s go home. I¡¯m tired now. I just want to go back and hug my papa. I miss him a lot."

    Xia Haoran chuckled, "Before that, you¡¯ll have to pass through grandfather."

    Ru exhaled a long breath, "At this point, I¡¯ll dly kneel in the ancestor hall for even a month. I don¡¯t care anymore! I just want to go back to where I came from."

    She knew she lost herself but she also knew that she took something from Xiao Zhiren. And it wasn¡¯t just that red thread on his wrist that she sneakily cut off, it was also a piece of him that she¡¯d have to take everywhere with her from now on. It¡¯d be a reminder. A reminder of her first love.

    Xiao Zhiren...

    This name would stick to her for the rest of her life. Either as her pain or her first feeling of love. He was someone who would always have a tender ce in her heart. He was also someone that left a bruise of longing within her.

    She didn¡¯t know whether their story ended here or was just left unfinished. Whatever it was, she was certain they didn¡¯t belong to each other. Not anymore. It was always meant to be a sad fate, they both must have momentarily forgotten that.

    It was time for Xiao Zhiren to go back to his rightful ce. It was time for him to be the eldest son of the Ji Family rightfully. He had lost his identity for too long, it was time for him to get it back. And Ru knew it was gonna be another battle for Xiao Zhiren to forget about everything he did to his own father and his mother whose memory was stuck at the moment she lost him.

    He had too many responsibilities, including the job to find his younger brother¡¯s lost innocence.

    As for her... She had an even bigger responsibility. As thest born of the Ximen n, she¡¯d never let that name be forgotten. It was something she owed to her bloodline. It was the debt of bloodline, she couldn¡¯t coil away from.

    ....

    With a cigarette held between her lips, she looked over at the creek surrounded with lush green trees. Just right across from this ce existed the valley where she grew up known as Shadowwick. When she first came out, she didn¡¯t know it¡¯d take this long toe back here.

    The cigarette was snatched from her mouth as Xia Haoran scowled, "Ge, that¡¯s unhealthy!"

    Ru rolled her eyes up as she replied, "Little brother, this is thest time. Once I crossed over, my grandfather is gonna break my legs. Let me have it onest time."

    Seeing how Xia Haoran threw it away, she was feeling at a loss. What a waste! Slowly, she rummaged out her favorite lighter and after a moment of ying with it, she stretched her arm and threw it into the water saying, "Somethings are better left out of this sacred ce." She took a deep breath as she added softly to herself, "Some feelings are better left out of this ce as well."

    They say the most romantic kind of love is the unfinished kind. It not only set your heart on an eternal fire, but it also leaves a mark on your soul that can¡¯t be removed. There was so much that happened between them and yet, it concluded to a story waiting to be written all over again.

    "Are you ready?" asked Rong with his hand around her shoulder.

    "As ready as I can be," she replied. "It¡¯s about time we return to our roots."

    As her brothers walked ahead, Ru looked back onest time as she said, "You and me. It¡¯s a bleak possibility but it¡¯s a neverending tale. Because I know I¡¯ll be haunted by your love in the still of the night." Her lips curved up into a lopsided grin as she put her hands into the pockets and whistled roguishly while following her brother towards the ce she called home.

 -1 Authors Notes

    <h4>Chapter -1 Author¡°s Notes</h4>

    First of all wee to my new book.

    I¡¯m writing this note to make a few things clear with you guys. For instance, our Female Protagonist is actually living with the disguise of a man. Or it would be better to say that she¡¯s been raised as a man and she doesn¡¯t have any experience whatsoever in acting like a girl.

    Another peculiar thing about her is her identity. She is known to the world by different names and identities.

    But for now, all of you should know her three main identities to avoid confusion.

    1: Young Master Ru: To all of you came here from my previous book, you guys are familiar with this identity. This was how she was addressed in her family n. Although her family won¡¯t be making an entry any soon, some shbacks will be there.

    (side note: Ru means one who is like a schr)

    2: Lord Alev Knight: This is the identity which entire Europe knows her as. The Chairman of Knight Empires who is a mysterious but most powerful man in Europe.

    (side note: Alev means me in Turkish and it¡¯s a very unique name for males but for females, it¡¯s not that unique.)

    3: Xie Rong: This is the identity which she¡¯s going to use in Asia.

    P.S. Fun fact, all the names mentioned above are unisex. hehe

    The rest you¡¯ll know in the book.

    Thank You for reading this...

 Chapter 1 Lord Alev Knights Torture

    From an early age, we¡¯re taught to believe in a notion; monsters are hiding underneath your bed.

    What we are not told is the reality of life that there is no such thing as monster hiding under your bed or in the closet for that matter.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean that there are no monsters at all.

    Monsters are real...

    And these monsters hide inside our own self. We all are keeping a demon hidden in our soul.

    The only difference is; some of us fight a battle with the demon inside of us for the rest of our lives while others just lose that battle and learn to embrace that inner demon.

    The ones who lose this battle with their inner demons are called WEAK. They are said to be weak because they couldn¡¯t keep their humanity.

    We often overlook the fact that battles are not fought alone. But battles are only lost when you¡¯re left alone by the world. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re too weak to win the battle, in fact, the people around us were too ignorant to push us in this abyss of darkness.

    That is to say, the only way for our inner demons to conquer us is when we¡¯re left with no-one to hold our hand and show us the right path.

    Some demons hide within you,

    A few carry your life with you...

    Some angels tread the path for you,

    But only a demon travels with you...

    Some angels might be asleep inside you,

    But a demon is always there to haunt you...

    Some keep the angels close to feel the light,

    But what can you do to the demon that lurks deep inside?

    As Lord Alev Knight gazed at the girl tied up with chains before him, he was in a dilemma of whether the girl was the demon or an angel who lost her battle?

    Cobblestone walls were surrounding the eerie underground space as the metal chains were sprawled across the stone floor. It reeked of mold and humidity in the air but along with that, there was a scent of death and suffering lingering in the air.

    The girl was chained against the cobblestone wall with chains and hammered metal shackles. Lord Alev Knight¡¯s green-eyes assessed the slender figure chained before him. She had short ck hair and verymon features, there was nothing too peculiar about her except for the sinister look in her eyes.

    He could easily perceive that look in her eyes which said that she was going to kill him brutally. How could he not recognize the same look he has in his own all the time?

    "Adia!" His pleasant voice rang out in the silent room.

    "Yes, Sir!" A woman in her early thirties came closer to his tall figure and lowered her head respectfully while her hands were sped before her.

    "It¡¯s been two days and you¡¯re telling this lord that she has not even spoken of the reason why she attacked me?" Although the voice was deep and pleasing to hear, Adia knew better than to be fooled by that gentle tone. She was familiar with her master¡¯s disposition; the gentler his voice, the vicious he gets.

    Adia licked her dried lips and didn¡¯t dare to look at her master¡¯s eyes. "Sir! It¡¯s not that we couldn¡¯t achieve anything with our torture. It¡¯s actually that she can¡¯t talk." Adia gulped down her saliva as she felt the beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

    "Are you telling me that she¡¯s mute?" Lord Alev Knight quirked a single brow in question and he turned to look at the locked up girl again.

    "Yes, Sir!" Hearing Adia¡¯s answer, a crease formed between his brows like a crinkled cloth. "And as expected, there is no record of her existence."

    He rubbed his tapering chin in a thoughtful manner. "What about that one?" He asked shifting his gaze towards another chained figure on the wooden chair.

    It was a young man with now ragged clothes or whatever was left of them and a swollen face which waspletely unrecognizable.

    "He¡¯s an assassin from Russia. And he¡¯s proving to be one hard nut to crack for now. We have even pulled all his nails out but his lips are sealed even now." Adia spoke with indignation as she red at the unconscious man on the chair.

    Lord Alev Knight lifted two fingers and ordered, "Wake him up for me!"

    Immediately, two of the men standing in the dark corner came up and threw cold water bucket on the unconscious man. With a jolt, the Russian assassin woke up and darted his eyes in the gruesome room before his eyes glued on those bright, sparkling, green eyes.

    The assassin gave a sinisterugh to challenge, "It¡¯s better to kill us, Lord Alev Knight! I won¡¯t be saying a word."

    "Ah! Was that just a challenge that I hear in his voice?" Lord Alev looked at Adia who nodded agreeing with him. "Then this lord will definitely let you take pleasure in his favorite torturing ways." His lips curved slightly upwards making all his men taking a step back in fear. "Let¡¯s see how long would you able to keep that tone with this lord." Saying this, he pulled out a dagger from his ankle boots and pointed at the chained man.

    "I¡¯ve yed with these things for more than a decade now. I¡¯m not going to be scared of a simple dagger." The assassin sneered with disdain.

    Lord Alev leaned a bit ahead and whispered, "Let this lord be honest with you. This lord¡¯s first toy was a dagger as well." At the end of his speech, he lowered the tip of the de down as he continued to talk, "My old master used to say that when youe across a stubborn prisoner, there is no need to invest so much energy into that subject." The de further lowered down the chained man¡¯s front in slow motion. "You can simply strike at the subject¡¯s weakest point which could not only hurt his body or mind but also, his hopes and dreams."

    The assassin followed the dagger with wide eyes as it reached down over his belt and between his thighs. Through the thinyer of cloth which was left on his thigh, he could feel the cold metal de sliding against his skin until it reached a certain point.

    Seeing the de so close to his manhood, the man gulped with a horrified expression. "You!" The man could only get this out before the tip of the dagger was pressed down in a smooth motion making the man howl with pain gushing into his entire body.

    "What do you have to say now?" Lord Alev Knight looked at the man before him with a slight smile lingering on his perfectly shaped slightly thin lips. He drew back the dagger.

    He winced in pain as his mind got hazy and had no energy left to talk or think. "Argh! Argh!" The tip of the de came down again to stab his manhood and this time, he fainted.

    "This is boring if you¡¯re to sleep like this," he said before passing a nce to his men. The cold water bit down on the chained man¡¯s skin again and he woke up with harsh breathing. With consciousness, the pain also came back as he stared at that green-eyed demon before him who in return waved his hand saying, "Hi! Shall we begin again?"

    Before the tip of the dagger couldnd again, the man shouted, "Stop! Please, I beg you to stop!"

    Lord Alev Knight stood straight and cleaned the dagger elegantly with his napkin. "Let¡¯s start with who sent you both to kill this lord and why?"

    "I don¡¯t know who they are." Lord Alev red at him with fury making him cower in fear. "But I know the reason why they want you dead."

    "Keep going."

    "You¡¯re the one leading the Internation Arms Dealing Traders Association. And since the time that organization is established, a lot of smugglers are not happy as they can¡¯t get their hands on most advanced weapons." After a pause, he added, "But I really don¡¯t know about who they are. I only know that they are from China."

    Lord Alev tapped his foot on the floor for a minute and shifted his gaze back towards the chained girl. "What is she?"

    "Huh?" The tied up man couldn¡¯t understand his meaning.

    "Can you be sure that she¡¯spletely human? Or that her being mute is a coincidence?" Hearing these questions, the man fell in thought.

    "I don¡¯t know anything about her. My mission was to lead that girl to you and she was tasked with the killing part who¡¯d know that you¡¯re not that easy." He grumbled thest part but everyone around him heard it as they inhaled a sharp breath pitying with him.

    Lord Alev cast ast nce towards the girl in shackles against the wall before taking long but steady strides outside the dungeon.

    Adia followed closely behind him. "Adia!" He called her.

    "At your service, Sir!" Adia replied courteously.

    "Keep both of them alive." Adia stared wide-eyed at the broad straight back of her master.

    Opening the door of his house, Lord Alev walked inside and pulled off the ck jacket. Immediately peeling off his blood-scent clothes, he walked inside the bathroom.

    Looking at the reflection of his own body with that personalized binding around his chest, a scowl appeared on that handsome face. That binding was like a reminder. A reminder that he was indeed she who was living in the disguise of a man.

    Rubbing the reflection that stared back, he... Oh, wait! She walked in the ss shower area for a bath to remove the stench of blood off her body.

 Chapter 2 A Blunder

    Pain...

    It¡¯s a four letter word concealing a million sentiments behind. Life... Hope... Love... Tear... Hate... All of these are four letter words. They share the deepest connection.

    Life brings Hope.

    Hope brings Love.

    Love brings a Tear.

    Tear brings Hate.

    And eventually,

    Hate brings Pain.

    Each thing¡¯s culmination is the pain.

    In the murky ambiance, her bare feet touched the hard-baked ground and a jumble of rocks prickled her skin. A vigorous pain shot up in the back of her head like fire when it came in contact with something hard. She turned her head slowly to see a tall figure camouged in smog with a metal pole in his hand. The wooden stick she held, fell down on the rocky ground making a small thud.

    She raised her trembling hand to touch the back of her head. An incontroble hiss escaped from her mouth. It made her dizzy. She was reeling but she strived to keep her ground. She felt a feeling of yearning in her heart.

    "Why?" She heard her own hoarse voice stinging with a furious fire raging in her eyes. Her throat felt constricted. She felt bitter.

    The man replied. "You¡¯re a monster." She could perceive loathness and hostility. Yet her heart screamed that the voice held a tinge of ache in it. Someonended a power-packed punch straight to her abdomen. Blood spurted out of her mouth painting the ground red but she still didn¡¯t let her body fall.

    She tried to lift her eyes to see the man¡¯s expression.

    "You still have the guts to look at my man." A loud shriek made her ears ring and in the next second, someone grabbed her hairs and smashed her head against a huge boulder. The sudden attack caught her off guard. To top off her misery, she heard a gunshot. She felt something trickling down her body and lowered her face to see a hot trail of blood flowing out of her chest. Her knees buckled making her fall on her knees. To keep her body from falling further, she ced both her hands on the rocky ground.

    Her breathing was getting shallow as she tried with all her might to raise her head. The man veiled in mist held the gun that shot the bullet that now was stuck in her chest.

    The girl with a screeching voice picked up a metal pole, hitting her with full force. Each hit made her curl her body. She kept wincing in pain. She didn¡¯t know how long had passed when she heard the girl¡¯s screeching voice again. "What should we do with her body, Ge-Ge?"

    "Leave it here. It¡¯ll be a treat for the animals." There were hoots ofughter around her as her bodyid limp on the hard soiled ground. Gradually, theughter got farther and farther away from her.

    The agonizing pain was not because of her losing breaths rather it was the feeling of betrayal that she felt in her heart. "Being betrayed is one of the most valuable lesson life can teach you." An ancient voice rang in her mind making her feel mncholy.

    Soon, her blurry vision turned into darkness as she felt herself falling into oblivion.

    "Sir! Excuse me, Sir!" A feminine courteous voice was heard making a crease appeared between her brows. With a jolt, she opened her eyes and darted her eyes around.

    Wearing her usual ck jeans with a ck shirt and an oversized grey hoodie, she was sitting in a first-ss seat of the ne. Cold sweat was trickling down her face making her shiver. "Sir!" She heard the voice again making her turn her face to look at a young and pretty attendant standing beside her seat with an anxious look.

    "Are you feeling okay, sir?" The attendant asked with politeness as she noticed the green eyes gazing at herself. Those eyes were akin to an enchantment that seemed to have trapped her soul.

    That dark chocte brown hair with a thick angr fringe haircut perfectly fell over her forehead. With thick brows, twinkling green eyes, a pointed nose, high cheekbones that had a hollow curve nting upwards towards the ears, and a wless golden brown skin; the person sitting before the flight attendant felt like a mirage to her. He had the most perfect facial featuresplimenting his tall figure.

    After a moment of silence, the attendant heard a deep, hoarse voice, "With such a pretty youngdy beside me, how can I not be fine?" The female attendant was already drowning in the handsomeness before her but now she blushed at the remark.

    The attendant bit her bottom lip and said, "The ne is going tond. Please, fasten your seatbelt."

    With her green eyes, she looked down to see the seatbelt and looked up at the attendant for a minute before a faint smile appeared on her face. "You see, prettydy, due to sleep my muscles are a bit numb. Why don¡¯t you help me with the seatbelt?" Her charismatic voice made the attendant blush even deeper and she really believed that the handsome person before her was flirting with her.

    In reality, the green-eyed person who was dressed as a man and even talked like one was, in fact, none other than Lord Alev Knight who happened to be a girl in disguise. And she was actually feeling a tremble in hands after that nightmare which she didn¡¯t want others to see. That¡¯s why she asked for help.

    Even though it was a nightmare. She never called it a nightmare. For her, it was part of her reality. A reality that seemed far out of her reach. No matter how much courage she had to face the pain, her body still remembered every bit of pain.

    The attendant happily helped her with the seatbelt and turned to leave with reluctance.

    After the nended, she was greeted by her assistant at the security check, "Master!" He bowed respectfully. "I¡¯ve arranged everything for your stay."

    "Wu Dishi," she called her assistant¡¯s name.

    "At your service, Master," he answered.

    "The rest of them are at the flighting from Italy. Wait here for them. I¡¯m going to the Imperial Grand Hotel, for now. Meet me thereter on with everyone." Wu Dishi bowed in acknowledgment.

    She dragged her feet out of the airport and hailed a cab for herself. In the cab, she rolled down the window pane to let the fresh air hit her face. She was feeling nauseous already but the smog-filled air made her stomach churn even worse than before.

    She rolled the window pane back up and leaned into the seat. She wasn¡¯t scared of heights or anything for that matter. But still, ne rides were not her strong suit. They always left her nauseous.

    After the cab dropped her at the hotel, she felt her headache intensifying for some reason. She shook her head and rubbed her thick brows repeatedly to get rid of her blurry vision.

    At the reception of the hotel:

    "Greetings Sir! Wee to Imperial Grand Hotel. How may I help you?" The receptionist politely asked but the moment she looked at the face before her, she was lost for words.

    The handsome word really was not enough to describe the green-eyed person standing before her.

    "I have a reservation under Wu Dishi¡¯s name," she replied and it took the receptionist a moment topose her emotions.

    "Let me check, sir!" The receptionist coughed lightly and looked through theputer records. Her eyes widened after looking through the records. She stared for a moment and asked, "Sir, are you by any chance, Mr. Xie Rong?"

    "Last time I checked, that¡¯s exactly my name." ¡¯At least, one of the names.¡¯ But she left thest part unsaid. The receptionist gulped at this reply and frantically passed the room key card.

    Xie Rong didn¡¯t think much about the receptionist¡¯s odd behavior and walked towards the elevator. While she was entering the elevator, another person walked out and Xie Rong bumped into him. She heard something dropping to the floor and shattering making her already aching head to ache even more.

    She crouched down on the floor and tried to see what broke because of her dizziness. "Sh*t!" She couldn¡¯t help but curse when she saw what she had broken. She lifted her face to look at the man who was frozen still beside her staring intently at the antique Ming Dynasty Porcin set which was broken into pieces now.

    She had the urge to crack her own head against something. How can she make such a mistake right aftering to China?

    The frozen man finally moved and looked at Xie Rong with zing eyes, "Do you know what you just broke?" Obviously, the man thought Xie Rong was an ordinary person. Even though she was d in a very stylish ensemble but it wasn¡¯t from a top-notch brand.

    "I¡¯llpensate you for it." Xie Rong said trying to evade getting into an argument. And since it was her mistake she had topensate.

    "How are you going topensate for this? Do you even know how expensive this is?" The man roared in anger and contempt.

    Xie Rong¡¯s dizziness was wearing her down. And she wasn¡¯t the kind of person who liked arguments. But the tone of the other person got on the wrong side of her nerve. She supported her body with the wall beside her and pointed her finger at the man, "You!"

    But her sentence was cut short when she heard a mellow andpassionate voice from behind. "What¡¯s going on here?" The texture of the voice stunned her for a moment.

 Chapter 3 As A Memory

    The voice sounded familiar to Xie Rong but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on where had she heard it?

    There are certain feelings which are buried so deep in our soul that even if our mind forgets all about them, our heart still keeps it as a reminder... As a memory.

    The man who was roaring like lion a minute ago turned into an obedient cat and replied, "Mr. Xiao, I was bringing your gift down but this person came crashing down into me and it fell down."

    "I told you that I¡¯llpensate for this." Xie Rong spoke again with indignation.

    "There is no need for that." Xie Rong heard the same mellow voice. "I believe, it was a mistake on your part as well. I really can¡¯t hold you ountable for a mistake."

    She turned her face to see the person who was this understanding. Was there really people like that in the world?

    She rubbed her eyes and saw a tall man donning a well-tailored, handmade ck suit. He looked like someone who had walked right out of aic book. He had tall stature with a well-built body. He held an aura of extraordinary elegance. His ink-ck hair was short and sleek almost reflecting the lights. His glossy ink-ck eyes were like a calm stream. His whole persona was enough to scream his exquisiteness and yet his face was a bit blurry to her.

    The exquisite man didn¡¯t nce at her and turned to the man behind him, "Qin Qu, get something else for the gift." With that, he walked away taking long strides with his long legs.

    Xie Rong wanted to stop him but another wave of nausea made her turn back and enter the elevator. After reaching her Presidential Suite, she puked her guts out in the bathroom, washed herself up and donned a pair of ck jeans and shirt again.

    She came to the living room when she heard a knock at the door. She pressed a button and the door was opened. Wu Dishi walked inside with a group of people following behind him.

    The group of five people stood in a straight line and bowed in respect greeting, "At your service, Sir!"

    "Cut it!" She said while taking a seat at the sofa and wore a jacket. "Wu Dishi!" She called out.

    "Yes, Master!" Wu Dishi answered.

    "I broke someone¡¯s gift downstairs. Go, find out about that andpensate with set 4." Hearing Xie Rong mentioning set 4, Wu Dishi was taken aback.

    He knew how much effort his master had put into attaining that specific set. But knowing his master¡¯s nature, he didn¡¯t dare question and left the room to follow her orders.

    Xie Rong heaved a long sigh and leaned back on the sofa with her hands crossed before her chest and addressed, "All of you!"

    Everyone stood ramrod at her voice. "No one will call me Lord Alev here in China. The world should only know that Lord Alev Knight is still in Europe." Xie Rong took a pause and added, "Here, I¡¯ll be Xie Rong; The Chairman of Metrix Consortium. Am I clear?"

    The group of people looked at each other before saying simultaneously, "Yes, Master!"

    "Also," she spoke again while pushing her short messy hair to one side to show theyers of her haircut. "None of you is allowed to talk about your real identities. The rest is up to you."

    "Yes, Master!" With that, all of them left the Suite leaving her alone in the huge space.

    Being alone in the room, Xie Rong closed her eyes for a moment and a distant yet mellow voice rang in her ears:

    "good god you¡¯re a gift

    a wildflower in the rain

    a wild child with stains

    sometimes imperfect

    sometimes unclean

    but so shiny underneath

    you are glistening

    are you listening

    you are a gift

    good god, you¡¯re a gift."

    ¨D SHILOW

    She promptly opened her eyes and ran her eyes around the suite to find nobody except for her own self. As always. ¡¯Another poem but the same voice... Once again came back to haunt me. Is it because the man from earlier had the same voice? Or is it because that you want me to remember that I owe you my life?¡¯ She sighed audibly and said out loud in the empty space, "Even if I owe you my life, I told you that I need to find myself first before repaying this debt of life."

    Xie Rong stood up and paced up to the French doors of the balcony. She looked into distant as she reminded herself of the reason foring back to China.

    She heard the sound of a door¡¯s opening but didn¡¯t turn to see who entered her Suite. "Master, are you feeling okay?" Xie Rong heard Adia¡¯s voice behind her.

    "What are you talking about?" Xie Rong acted as if she didn¡¯t know what Adia was talking about.

    "When you left China about 2 years ago because of a conflict with your best friend, you said that you never want to see this country ever again." Adia reminded her politely staring at the back of Xie Rong¡¯s head.

    Xie Rong sped her hands behind her back and said, "When I decided to leave this country a decade ago, I promised myself that without finding myself, I won¡¯te back here." She inhaled a sharp breath. "But I broke that promise for my best friend 2 years ago. And yes, I did say that I won¡¯te again. Today, I want to stand before my friend and ask him how can he say I was ying god in his life when I can¡¯t even be the god of my own life? Just because I didn¡¯t want toe, doesn¡¯t mean that¡¯s what life had in stores for me."

    Adia stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "Can you really stay here?"

    Xie Rong turned her body and faced Adia saying, "Haven¡¯t you heard a Chinese proverb, ¡¯Wherever you go, go with all your heart.¡¯ Since I¡¯m here already, I¡¯ll just stay."

    Meanwhile, Wu Dishi brought the set 4 from Xie Rong¡¯s collection to pay aspensation. He called the employees to gather around and asked, "Which customer¡¯s gift was broken by our hotel¡¯s employee?"

    "Mr. Wu, I didn¡¯t break it. It was a young man who intentionally bumped into me." Wu Dishi stared at the employee before him trying hard to stay calm. "That young man was not even worthy of stepping foot in our hotel with the clothes he wore. I don¡¯t know how security is working here."

    The employee had just finished talking when a crisp pnded on his face. He turned back to see a lean man in herte twenties with his western features and blond hair. "Call him ¡¯not worthy¡¯ one more time and see what I do to you." This man was the part of the group that was with Xie Rong in the suite.

    "Jake!" Wu Dishi called his name. "For now, let it go. I have to finish the task Master gave me first. We can take care of him afterward." Jake nodded and helped Wu Dishi in carrying the most expensive piece to the banquet hall of the hotel.

 Chapter 4 Ji Family Banque

    -At the Banquet Hall of Imperial Grand Hotel-

    The venue was set up to make one envy. It was the most expensive banquet hall in the whole Imperial city. Well-known media and reporters were present at the entrance which was akin to a red carpet.

    All of this publicity and exorbitant amount of money was spent on just the 75th birthday of the Old Master, Ji Rusheng. Various stars and political figures graced this party with their presence.

    Thunderous apuse sounded when the old Master, Ji Rusheng walked up on the stage. Even though Ji Rusheng was old but he still held the same sharp eyes like a hawk. His face didn¡¯t have many emotions but he looked dignified. He was exuding the aura of magnificence and intimidation. One could tell by a single nce that the man was a powerful figure who had faced the storms of life in his prime.

    When Xiao Zhiren entered the Banquet Hall, he saw the rows of tables lined the sides, and the entire hall was decorated withnterns making it seem extremely festive.

    The housekeeper of the Ji Family was a middle-aged man with long and sharp eyes as his master, Ji Rusheng. As the housekeeper saw Xiao Zhiren entering the hall, he immediately went up to him.

    "Eldest Young Master!" The housekeeper said with a gentle smile on his aged face.

    "Housekeeper Zhang, I believe you¡¯ve been well since thest time we met?" Xiao Zhiren spoke in a respectful manner. His tone was neither servile nor conceited.

    Housekeeper Zhang¡¯s smile broadened as he saw how the young master of the Ji family grew up with exquisite manners. "It¡¯s good to see you back here, eldest young master." Housekeeper remarked as his eyes moistened up a bit.

    His behavior and words seemed odd to the crowd around him since everyone knew about the authority which housekeeper Zhang held in the Ji Family. Housekeeper Zhang was known for his authoritative and lofty behavior but to the tall dashing young man before him, housekeeper Zhang was acting as a dutiful person.

    Everyone was curious about the identity of Xiao Zhiren but he was unfazed even under the scrutinizing gazes of people around him.

    "Eldest young master,e offer your greetings to the Old master." Housekeeper Zhang suggested.

    Xiao Zhiren saw the way people were crowding around Ji Rusheng and said, "I¡¯ll offer my greetingter when grandfather¡¯s alone."

    "Thene with me and take the seat on the stage with the rest of the family," housekeeper Zhang offered another suggestion but Xiao Zhiren politely declined.

    "Housekeeper Zhang, you should take care of other people. I¡¯ll take a seat somewhere else." Before housekeeper Zhang could argue, Xiao Zhiren walked to a corner to find a seat.

    Euphonious music sounded in the hall with guests mingling with each other. But he was still sitting straight exuding his aura of elegance and exquisiteness. He had the same serenity on his strong, angr face as he did before along with his calm glossy ink-ck eyes. His masculine and prominent jawline was a striking feature of his handsome face.

    His assistant who was standing beside him suddenly received a message and he leaned ahead to say, "Sir, the substitute gift is here. I¡¯ll be right back."

    Xiao Zhiren nodded at his assistant Qin Qu and waved him off with his two fingers. Qin Qu bowed slightly and walked out of the banquet hall.

    After a while, Xiao Zhiren noticed the presence of someone beside him and he turned his face to see his younger brother grimacing. "Zhiyuan, sit down and don¡¯t create any scene here."

    Xiao Zhiyuan took a seat beside his brother and said, "I¡¯m also not interested in creating any scene here. But bro, you shouldn¡¯t have brought me to this party."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t mind the tone of his younger brother. "It¡¯s a birthday party of our grandfather. He invited us, so, we had toe."

    Xiao Zhiyuan snorted and rolled his eyes. "What grandfather? I don¡¯t have a grandfather."

    "This is also our family, Zhiyuan." Xiao Zhiren said to his brother while patting his shoulder.

    "I have only one family and that is you. Other than you bro, I have no one in my family." Xiao Zhiyuan ended the conversation there as he reclined back in his seat and crossed his arms before his chest.

    Xiao Zhiyuan had many physical simrities with Xiao Zhiren. But both brothers had the age gap of more than a decade. Maybe that¡¯s why Zhiyuan was more of a kid then brother to Xiao Zhiren.

    All of a sudden, a youngdy with bangs and a gorgeous face came up to Xiao Zhiren. She had smooth jade-like skin, almond-shaped eyes, and rosy cheeks. Her row of thick, long eyshes was absolutely charming. A smile bloomed on her pinkish lips as she said, "Zhiren Ge-Ge, why are you sitting here? Come sit with the family at the front!" She tugged at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sleeve lightly.

    Before Xiao Zhiren could answer, Xiao Zhiyuan yanked her hand away from his brother¡¯s sleeve and replied coldly, "My brother is sitting with HIS FAMILY." He emphasized on thest part.

    Ji Caihong¡¯s smile immediately fell at his words. "Zhiyuan!" She called his name softly but Xiao Zhiyuan red at her.

    "We¡¯re not on familiar terms with each other. So, don¡¯t get friendly for no reason. And you can go over there and enjoy your party with your own family. Or do you want to snatch my brother from me as well?" His words pierced Ji Caihong¡¯s heart bitterly. Her eyes stung and she bit her lips to control her emotions.

    "Zhiyuan! Stay quiet!" Xiao Zhiren reprimanded his younger brother and turned to Xiao Caihong. "Don¡¯t mind Zhiyuan¡¯s words. He¡¯s a teenager. He doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s talking about."

    Xiao Zhiyuan opened his mouth to refute but he was instantly shunned down by the warning look from his elder brother. "Ji Caihong, we are absolutely okay here. You should join your family over there." Xiao Zhiren said with a polite and gentle smile making her feel a bit better. After she left, he turned to his younger brother and said, "If you can¡¯t say something nice, don¡¯t bother opening your mouth, Zhiyuan."

    Zhiyuan stared at his brother with wide-eyes and got up from the seat. "Where are you going?" Zhiren asked.

    "I¡¯m leaving this party since I¡¯m not allowed to be honest here, there is no point in me staying any longer." With that, Zhiyuan left the party with a burning rage within him.

    Zhiren pinched his brows but didn¡¯t stop Zhiyuan from leaving.

    Qin Qu came to stand beside Xiao Zhiren and leaned to inform him, "I¡¯ve brought the gif-" His statement was interrupted when someone said,

    "Old Master Rusheng should open the gifts now!"

 Chapter 5 Han Dynasty Chess-Se

    When most of the guests had presented the gifts, Xiao Zhiren also stood up and took a few steps forward, Ji Rusheng¡¯s gaze fell on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s tall andnky build making him smile with affection.

    He bowed his head in respect saying, "Zhiren offers his blessings to grandfather." Xiao Zhiren spoke in almost a whisper. He didn¡¯t want to attract too much attention from the people around him. "I¡¯ve prepared a gift for you as well."

    On cue, Qin Qu passed an exquisite box to Xiao Zhiren who in turn offered it to the old master Ji Rusheng.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stay and walked back to his table. Behind him, Ji Rusheng slowly opened the packaging of the gift box with both of his hands. As the box opened, someone gasped at the sight.

    "Oh my! Is that the hand-carved Burmese pattern chess set?" Someone gasps at the venue attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Isn¡¯t that Han Dynasty¡¯s chess set?" Another one pointed out.

    "You mean the one hand-carved by the Emperor himself?" Someone asked with astonishment.

    "Wasn¡¯t it in the museum of Romania from the past two centuries?" A man asked with curiosity.

    Old master Ji Rusheng¡¯s eyes were wide opened. He couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes. His daze was broken when a heartyugh rang out from beside him. "Who managed to bring this chess set for you?" The person beside Ji Rusheng was his old friend, Ren Hou who personally checked to ensure that it was the real set and he was more than shocked to see it.

    Old master Ji Rusheng frowned and looked at his best friend saying, "Ren Hou, don¡¯t you dare try to think of taking my present!"

    "Aye! Such stingy friend you really are!" Old man Ren Hou spoke a bit sadly. The old master, Ji Rusheng shook his head at his best friend before he heard his friend¡¯s voice again, "Who¡¯s present is this?"

    Before Ji Rusheng could answer his friend, housekeeper Zhang spoke up, "Master Ren, this present is from Ji family¡¯s eldest young master." His tone held a bit of pride in it which wasn¡¯t concealed at all.

    "Aye! Rusheng, your family¡¯s Ji Syaoran is very capable, ha. He even managed to bring such an amazing present for you even when he wasn¡¯t able toe himself." Old man Ren Hou remarked with admiration in his voice.

    Old master Ji Rusheng frowned and cleared his friend¡¯s misunderstanding, "Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t bring this gift. It¡¯s from my eldest grandson, Xiao Zhiren."

    Old man, Ren Hou was not the only one surprised at this revtion. The entire hall went into silence for a minute before a wave of whispering engulfed the hall.

    But the person in question, Xiao Zhiren was the one who received a bigger blow by this news. He looked at his assistant. "I have no idea how this set came up in the gift box. This is definitely not what I prepared." At Qin Qu¡¯s exnation, Xiao Zhiren stayed quiet.

    "Who¡¯s Xiao Zhiren?"

    "Xiao Syaoran has an elder brother?"

    "Where is this Xiao Zhiren?"

    While the whispering got louder, Xiao Zhiren felt ufortable. He wasn¡¯t a big fan of staying in news or being the topic of others gossip over the tea time. Before his grandfather, Ji Rusheng decide to look for him, he decided to leave the venue and that¡¯s exactly what he did.

    Qin Qu followed right behind him as he took long strides to leave as soon as possible.

    True to his spections, Old master Ji Rusheng asked housekeeper Zhang to bring Xiao Zhiren on the stage but he received the news that he left urgently. The old master didn¡¯t get angry that his grandson left without meeting him rather he was upset over this fact. He stared his son, Ji Yifeng but he avoided looking into his father¡¯s using gaze.

    Even Ji Rusheng knew the reason why Xiao Zhiren left. But he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that he missed his grandson. And after so many years, he finally managed to see him but it was only for a moment.

    Meanwhile...

    "Find out the person who messed up the present," Xiao Zhiren ordered Qin Qu as he made his way towards the car parking.

    "But Zhiren..." Before Qin Qu could say anything, Xiao Zhiren interrupted him.

    "The porcin piece that I originally brought for the old master and that Han Dynasty Chess set are both on a whole different level. I can¡¯t ept that gift. But since I can¡¯t ask the old master to give the present back, I can only look for a way topensate that person ordingly. You just look for him." Qin Qu could only follow his boss¡¯ orders.

    Qin Qu could only listen to what Xiao Zhiren said since he wasn¡¯t just an employee, he was also Zhiren¡¯s closest friend.

    Xiao Zhiren took the elevator and came to his suite. The moment he walked in the doors, he knew that his younger brother Xiao Zhiyuan was not home. He sighed and rummaged out his phone to make a call. Even after several tries, he couldn¡¯t get through to Xiao Zhiyuan.

    His younger brother was his whole world. Xiao Zhiren knew that Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s rebellious nature only came out because he brought him back to China with himself. But he couldn¡¯t tell Xiao Zhiyuan the reason for leaving their life in America anding to China all of a sudden. Because he knew that it was not the right time yet.

    He threw his jacket on the nearby couch and walked out of the suite to look for Xiao Zhiyuan.

    Xie Rong got frustrated in the huge suite all by herself. She was sitting on the cold floor in a full lotus position with her eyes closed. Even in meditation, she didn¡¯t feel at ease.

    Therefore, she stood up and wore a cap on her head before pulling up the hoodie over it. Looking like a rebellious young teenager, she walked out of her suite.

 Chapter 6 Honest Sinner

    Meanwhile, Xiao Zhiyuan was roaming around aimlessly near the Imperial Grand Hotel when he came across a rectangr ground. It appeared to be a football field with goalposts and crossbars.

    He was going to pass through when a figure standing on the green field caught his attention. He sat down at the stairs to watch that tall figure y.

    The tall figure with arms out and bend knees was juggling with the football as if getting a hang of it. It was basic juggling at first with dropping the ball on the ground kicking it with his one knee then moving to his other knee. After juggling with thighs, he shifted to juggling with his feet. The yer was urate with the timing of kicking the ser ball.

    After juggling a little bit, the figure on the field ced one leg beside the ball, leaned back a little and kicked the football with his other leg. The ball went straight to the. Xiao Zhiyuan noticed the bnce and precision with which the ball was kicked and he was quite impressed by the yer.

    Before he could continue to watch, he heard some noises around and turned to look. The group of people walking towards him looked to be some street thugs with piercings and tattoos on their bodies.

    "Hey kiddo, don¡¯t you know that kids are not supposed to roam around at night," the one who spoke was a bit masculine and Xiao Zhiyuan looked like a matchstick standing before him with his rangy build.

    Xiao Zhiyuan wanted to ignore them and leave but one of them blocked his way saying, "Since you already are here, you should leave something behind for us bros."

    Xiao Zhiyuan frown. "I don¡¯t have anything." He replied straightforwardly.

    "Aye, kiddo! You¡¯re dressed in such expensive clothes. You must have some cash on you. And if you don¡¯t we can just call your family to drop some money for us." A bulky man spoke with a mockingugh.

    "Let me leave!" Xiao Zhiyuan was getting annoyed by their uselessughing and cheers.

    "Oh, our young rich kid wants to leave? Sorry, but that¡¯s not possible for now," The masculine guy spoke again.

    Xiao Zhiyuan was a teenager in his rebellious phase, hearing all the sneers, he was furious. In his rage, he pushed the masculine man making stagger back a bit.

    "You! How dare you push me?" The masculine man red indignantly towards Xiao Zhiyuan and raised his clenched fist to punch Xiao Zhiyuan.

    Xiao Zhiyuan managed to dodge it with his nimble body. The man got more furious and raised his fist again but Xiao Zhiyuan again managed to dodge it. The third time, his group of people came up and held Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s arms not letting him escape or dodge.

    On the other hand, Xie Rong was quietly enjoying her solitude with her football when she heard somemotion around her and turned her face to see some people fighting. She was going to ignore themotion since it had nothing to do with her but then she saw how two people held a single rangy boy¡¯s arms and the third one was punching him.

    She frowned unpleasantly at the scene unfolding before her. She looked at her football at the ground and looked up at the masculine mannding a punch on the boy¡¯s face.

    With a smirk, Xie Rong raised the ball off the ground with her feet in a Touzani Pick-up style and kicked the ball in mid-air straight towards the masculine man.

    Before the masculine thug¡¯s punch couldnd on Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s face again, the football made contact with his face or rather with his nose. "Argh!" The man screamed in pain as he felt blood gushing out of his nose.

    Everyone was stunned for a moment before turning to see who threw the ball. But all they found was an empty field with dim lights illuminating it.

    "Are you looking for me?" They heard a strong and deep voice from behind and when they turned, Xie Rong delivered a punch straight to the jaw making the one who was holding Xiao Zhiyuan wail in pain.

    She looked at the other guy who was trembling with fear. Xie Rong looked at his hand on Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s arm and arched her brow. The man instantly left Xiao Zhiyuan and dropped to his knees begging, "Please let me go!" He pleaded. He could see the way both his partners were bleeding with single hits and he didn¡¯t want to be like them.

    Although he could see that the person who beat his partners was rather young, he had an imposing aura.

    Xie Rong snorted and said, "I don¡¯t do forgiveness. It¡¯s not my nature. But as the Confucius says, ¡¯A man who hasmitted a mistake and doesn¡¯t correct it, ismitting another mistake.¡¯ So, apologize to the boy, not me."

    The man promptly turned to Xiao Zhiyuan who was staring nkly at Xie Rong. Xiao Zhiyuan wasn¡¯t focused on the man groveling at his feet and said, "Just leave. I forgive you."

    The group of thugs ran at lightning speed. Xie Rong walked to her football at the side and with her heel, she did sweep to lift the ball and caught it in her hands.

    "You didn¡¯t have to save me," Xie Rong frowned when she heard Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s aloof and indifferent voice. She wasn¡¯t the kind of person to expect a ¡¯thank you¡¯ or anything for that matter. For her expectation were just another name of disappointment and she didn¡¯t like it.

    But she sure didn¡¯t think that the young boy will say something like that. She did a 180-degree turn to look at the young boy¡¯s face. He was tall, and slim with ink-ck eyes and shiny smooth hair falling to his shoulders. He looked poised, confident, and had a bit of haughty air to him.

    "I didn¡¯t do it for you in the first ce," Xie Rong replied in her usual deep voice which took Xiao Zhiyuan by surprise.

    Xiao Zhiyuan could barely see the face of the person beside him ¡¯cause of the ck cap and an oversized hoodie over his head. But when Xie Rong lifted her face, Xiao Zhiyuan was stunned. Those stark green eyes were like an enchantment that shackled him within them. And he forgot what he wanted to say.

    It took him a moment topose himself. "Then why did you beat them?" He inquired with a bit of curiosity while trying to look into Xie Rong¡¯s eyes again. But she had already turned to look away from him.

    "I did it because those guys were too loud for me. I like silence and they were being noisy." Xiao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t believe that the green-eyed person before him actually beat someone up just because they were loud for him? What kind of reason was that?

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhiyuan grumbled and rummaged out a cigarette pack from his pocket. He ced a cigarette between his thin lips and was about to light it up when a p at the back of his head make him spit the cigarette out.

    Xiao Zhiyuan furiously turned his face and red at Xie Rong but thetter was unfazed. While snatching the pack of cigarettes from his hand, she said, "Don¡¯t you know that smoking is injurious for health?"

    "What does that have to do with y-" Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s words were stuck in his throat when he saw Xie Rong biting a cigarette stick between her slightly red lips and lighting it up. He couldn¡¯t believe that person at all. "You just said that smoking is injurious for health. Why are you smoking then?" He questioned with an icy re.

    Xie Rong puffed out the rings of smoke in an elegant manner and replied, "It¡¯s injurious for you, not for me. I¡¯m a strong person. Besides, I¡¯m more injurious than this small cigarette."

    Xiao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t help but snort at her reply. "Strong but hypocrite. What injurious? Humph?" He remarked.

    Xie Rong¡¯s lips curved upward slightly in amusement. "Kiddo! I¡¯m an honest sinner. Not a lying or a judgemental hypocrite."

 Chapter 7 Are You A Saint?

    Xiao Zhiyuan stood side by side with Xie Rong for half an hour without even speaking. While Xie Rong was focused on juggling her ball with her feet while spinning herself, Xiao Zhiyuan was focused on following her movements.

    Xie Rong didn¡¯t give back the pack of cigarettes to Xiao Zhiyuan and he was not very happy about it. But he still couldn¡¯t shift his eyes away from that hoodie guy before him.

    "Do you have something to say, kiddo?" Xie Rong asked feeling his gaze on herself for a long time. The reason she asked the question was simple; she never liked it when people stared at her like that. And oddly enough, people loved to stare at her.

    Xiao Zhiyuan cleared his throat and pursed his lips in a conundrum. He had forgotten his cell phone at the hotel and didn¡¯t even know the way back. He pondered for a moment before speaking up, "Can you tell me the way to Imperial Grand Hotel from here?"

    Xie Rong caught the ball in her hand and pushed her hood and cap back revealing her head full of chocte brown hairplimenting her green eyes perfectly. With mixed breed features and golden brown skin tone, the person before Xiao Zhiyuan was an epitome of perfection.

    From a young age, Xiao Zhiyuan admired his own brother, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s beauty. He always believed that no-one could look more handsome than his brother. And that made him always look up to his brother as his god not just his hero.

    But today, the tall guy before him who had the same height as himself, had the perfect features one could possibly only wish for.

    "Why do you want to go to a hotel at this time?" Xie Rong questioned nonchntly.

    "Because I¡¯m living there." Xiao Zhiyuan answered matter-of-factly.

    "Then you don¡¯t know how to get to your temporary home?" Xie Rong asked giving Xiao Zhiyuan a weird look.

    Xiao Zhiyuan felt insulted but he still answered, "I¡¯ve onlye to China in the past month. I don¡¯t know a lot of things about here. I get confused with directions." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

    "I only came to China today. Aren¡¯t I at a bigger disadvantage then you?" Xie Rong retorted.

    "D*mn! Bro will kill me if I¡¯mte." Xiao Zhiyuan muttered under his breath but Xie Rong¡¯s sensitive ears picked up his words.

    "Someone¡¯s waiting for you at home?" Xie Rong didn¡¯t even figure out herself why she asked that question but it was already asked and she couldn¡¯t take it back.

    Xiao Zhiyuan gave her a weird look and said, "Doesn¡¯t everyone have someone waiting for them at home?"

    Xie Rong looked towards the starry sky and answered, "Just because every demon has a scar doesn¡¯t mean every home¡¯s door is ajar. Some houses are just bizarre."

    Xiao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t understand Xie Rong¡¯s meaning as he kept staring at her face thinking, ¡¯What a weird guy he is. But he¡¯s treacherously handsome like that Usui Takumi from theic book I read.¡¯

    Xie Rong sighed audibly and turned her face towards Xiao Zhiyuan. "You can follow me, I¡¯m going the same way." She took a pause and with a mischievous look added, "And I have a good sense of directions, unlike a certain someone."

    Xiao Zhiyuan red at her in disbelief and crossed his arms in front of his chest saying, "Humph! I don¡¯t need your help. I¡¯ll find my way myself."

    Xie Rong smiled at his childish attitude and didn¡¯t push him. "Suit yourself, kiddo!" With that said, she turned to leave.

    "I¡¯m not a kid!" Xiao Zhiyuan yelled at her leaving figure but she didn¡¯t turn around, only raised her hand and waved at him.

    Xiao Zhiyuan humphed and looked around. If he said that he was not sacred then he would be lying since he wasn¡¯t familiar with many things in this unfamiliar country. He bit his nails and looked at the back of Xie Rong¡¯s figure. He was prideful, he couldn¡¯t just go and say that he will follow him. Therefore, he decided to follow the ck figure inconspicuously while keeping a fair distance.

    Ahead of him, Xie Rong had already sensed Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s presence behind her because of two reasons. First, her keen ninja senses and second, Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯sck of subtlety.

    Xie Rong kept ying with her football while walking. From one foot to another the ball was moving as if she was a professional yer ying in a football match with a ball in her feet running to make a goal.

    As herplete focus was on football, she didn¡¯t realize that there were stairs ahead of her. And her football ended up rolling down and crashed on someone because she heard a, "What the hell?"

    She craned her neck and certainly, there was a tall man standing at the end of the stairs. "Great, now my cellphone is broke." She immediately ran down the stairs when she heard aint about a cellphone.

    She looked at the broken screen of the cellphone and scratched behind her ear thinking, ¡¯Whose face did I see in the morning that I¡¯m only breaking stuff? First, that expensive Ming dynasty Porcin set and now this!¡¯

    "I¡¯m really sorry! I didn¡¯t realize there were stairs and also, I didn¡¯t expect anyone to be here at this time." Xie Rong apologized sincerely. She might be ruthless but she always apologized when she felt like it was really her fault.

    Xiao Zhiren was looking for Xiao Zhiyuan for an hour in the nearby ces. He was about to call Qin Qu when a football crashed on his hands and his cell phone dropped with a thud shattering its screen. At Xie Rong¡¯s pleasantly deep voice, he looked up at the hoodie

    "That was your football?" Xie Rong heard the same familiar mellow voice making her lift her head up. Seeing the person before herself, she realized that he was the same person whose porcin set she broke earlier in the evening. She might haven¡¯t seen his face clearly before but she couldn¡¯t his noble and charming presence.

    In her thoughts, she didn¡¯t notice the look in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes who was standing before her. There was disbelief, confusion, and some indescribable feelings. He was stunned to see the face before him that made a certain person pop up in his mind.

    "It was my football and my mistake as well. So, I¡¯m really very sorry! I¡¯ll buy you a new one." Xie Rong continued to talk and her deep voice broke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s daze. He stared at her for a moment longer before shaking his head.

    "Ah... It¡¯s okay! You said it was a mistake. So, it¡¯s alright!" He replied making Xie Rong frown.

    "Are you a saint or something? Why are you being so understanding?" From Xie Rong¡¯s experience, she had only seen people act nice when they get benefitted in return. No-one can be selfless. At least she wasn¡¯t.

    Her best friend once called her selfless but he didn¡¯t know that she was doing everything just to have a friend by her side. Even that rtionship was not selfless.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised by her question but he calmly replied, "I¡¯m no saint and I don¡¯t want to be one. And I¡¯m in a hurry right now."

    "Hmm... So, if you aren¡¯t a saint, are you wearing a mask of one?" Xie Rong asked curiously.

 Chapter 8 A Lost Ghos

    Xiao Zhiren stared directly at her face as if saying, ¡¯Seriously? I just mentioned that I¡¯m in a hurry.¡¯

    As if understanding his look, Xie Rong said in English with her perfect British ent, "Fine! You can leave since you¡¯re also looking down on me."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled at her words. "Looking down at you? Where did thate from?"

    Xie Rong sighed audibly. "You don¡¯t want me topensate you because you think that I won¡¯t be able to afford it, right? Isn¡¯t that looking down on me? I really have bad luck today. Everyone is looking down at me." She was talking about the hotel employee who yelled at her earlier in the day.

    "I don¡¯t want you topensate because I really don¡¯t think that you did it intentionally. Not because I¡¯m looking down at you." Xiao Zhiren enunciated each word to clearly get it through the thick and weird head of the person before him.

    "And you think that people are nice in this world?" Xie Rong challenged fixing her cap on her head.

    "Some people are still nice in this world." Xiao Zhiren argued and thought why was he still wasting time with this person. Deep down he knew the answer to his own question but he didn¡¯t want to ept it.

    "You¡¯re weird!" Both Xie Rong and Xiao Zhiren remarked about each other simultaneously and looked at each other¡¯s eyes.

    "You both are acting weird," they heard a voice and turned to see Xiao Zhiyuan standing at the stairs.

    Xiao Zhiren immediately walked towards his younger brother. "Where were you? I¡¯ve been looking for you for more than an hour now. Do you know how worried I was?"

    Xiao Zhiyuan snorted. "If you¡¯d have been concerned then you wouldn¡¯t have talked to me like that."

    Xiao Zhiren held his brother¡¯s face in his hands saying, "Yuan, you¡¯re the only one I¡¯m left with. How can you even think that big brother doesn¡¯t have any concern for you?"

    Xiao Zhiyuan looked at his brother¡¯s worried look and added, "If you¡¯re concerned about me then let¡¯s go back home. I don¡¯t want to stay here in China. I don¡¯t like it here."

    Xiao Zhiren raked his hand through his ck hair and sighed heavily. "Little brother, I told you that I have a reason foring here."

    "Then tell me the reason for God¡¯s sake. I need to know it." Xiao Zhiyuan spoke exasperatedly.

    Xiao Zhiren hugged his little brother and said, "I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯ll tell you everything but now is not the right time. Give me some time, okay?"

    Watching from the sidelines, Xie Rong found this scene heartwarming. At this point, she missed her younger brother and a bitterness gushed into her heart.

    She turned around and walked away giving the brother¡¯s some privacy. As she strolled on the footpath, she lifted her head to look at the sky. The smog in the city had hidden the stars underneath it. There was only one thought running through her mind, ¡¯Hope you¡¯re doing well, little brother. You must have grown up in all these years. And I¡¯m such an unlucky brother of yours that I can¡¯t evene to see you.¡¯

    Being raised as a boy gave her a habit of addressing herself as ¡¯him¡¯ all the time. Oddly enough, in all her years away from her family, she never had the desire to even act like a girl. Being a guy was her nature now.

    Meanwhile, when she left both the brother¡¯s alone that¡¯s when Xiao Zhiren noticed Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s ck eye. "What happened to you? Did someone hurt you?" He immediately went into an overprotective brother mode.

    "Big bro, I¡¯m fine. I got into a scuffle but that green-eyed person saved me." When Xiao Zhiyuan talked about Xie Rong, both the brothers turned but didn¡¯t find her anywhere. "Where did he go now? He¡¯s really like a ghost." Xiao Zhiyuan remarked.

    While beside him Xiao Zhiren was lost in thoughts. Those green eyes got etched not just in his mind or heart but it seemed like those eyes found a way to his soul and made a home there. He thought what Xiao Zhiyuan said was right, that green-eyed person was like a ghost but... A lost one.

    Under the dark of night, he strolled into his life gently and softly. But he was surreal enough to kindle up those buried sad intangibles of grief and yearning in his heart.

    But that was just Xiao Zhiren¡¯s thoughts and he could have never imagined that he was right. Xie Rong¡¯s green eyes were actually a reminder to her that she was indeed a lost ghost; surreal enough to end up as just a fantasy.

    "Big bro!" Xiao Zhiyuan shook his big brother to break his dazed state.

    "Huh? What happened?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking at his younger brother¡¯s scowl.

    "Let¡¯s go back. I¡¯m hungry." He even rubbed his stomach making Xiao Zhiren chuckle. He ruffled Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s hair and led the way back towards the hotel.

    When they came back to the hotel suite, Xiao Zhiren ordered some food for Xiao Zhiyuan. After freshening up, Zhiyuan got busy ying games on his cellphone as he took a seat beside his brother.

    Xiao Zhiren was working on hisptop when the housekeeping came with the meal and along with the housekeeping, Qin Qu also entered the suite.

    Xiao Zhiren looked up at his assistant and long term friend, Qin Qu with an inquiring gaze. "Did you look into it?"

    "All I found out is that the person who broke that gift you originally brought was the one who sent that expensive chess-set." Qin Qu replied with a tired look.

    Xiao Zhiren frowned. "And who¡¯s that person?"

    "Now that¡¯s the tricky part, my dear friend. I couldn¡¯t find anything about him." Qin Qu was shaking his head in defeat.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s frown deepened. "Then don¡¯t waste time here. Go and look for that person."

    Qin Qu red at his friend and had the urge to hit him. It was after midnight and he was still ordering him to work. He sighed thinking, ¡¯It¡¯s my fault for having a friend like you.¡¯

 Chapter 9 Am I A Kid?

    In the following month, no matter how much Qin Qu tried to look for the person who reced the gift, he always ended at square one. And whenever he informed Xiao Zhiren about this matter, he would always re at Qin Qu saying, "Have you lost your value? Or perhaps you have forgotten how to work? Keep looking!"

    While Xiao Zhiren was busy in looking for Xie Rong, she was busy with establishing a Traditional Medicinal Hall in the mountainous region at the outskirts of the Imperial City. Ru specifically chose this ce because it was far away from the hustle and bustle of the city which she didn¡¯t like and also because this ce was going to be the cover for her base.

    The traditional medicinal hall was beautifully designed with bamboo wood. It had an ancient feel to it with the way courtyards and pavilions were set up. She was busy with drying the herbs in the courtyard when she felt the presence of someone behind her. "What is it?" She asked without looking.

    Although it wasn¡¯t the first time that Ru managed to feel her presence even when she didn¡¯t make a slight sound, it still surprised Adia. "They are here, Master!" She informed respectfully.

    "Okay! I¡¯ll be right there." Ru answered in a calm and yet authoritative tone.

    Adia bowed her head and walked back leaving Ru alone. Xie Rong strewed the yarrow flowers in her hand in the wicker basket to dry them and trudged inside the bamboo house. Behind the house, an open courtyard garden spread far. Leaving the medicinal building at the front, the rest of the courtyards were engulfed by tall forest trees. There was a cobblestone path at the side led to a pavilion.

    In the pavilion, she pressed a button and a passageway within the mountain opened up. It was brightly lit up and Xie Rong trudged in leisurely and reached an open area at the end designed as a courtyard.

    The entire courtyard was filled with people d in ck suits. They were standing on ceremony as none of them even dared to lift their eyes to look at her. Xie Rong stood right before them and looked at the people before her.

    "Do you all know what you¡¯re here for?" Ru¡¯s pleasant voice rang out in the huge courtyard. Originally, she had brought her best group of five people called, ck Mist with her. Now, she had called her Purple Rain group consisting of more than a hundred people to China.

    "Scatter around the country, I need you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. But don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re not here to seize the power." She took a pause as she observed the lowered heads before her and added, "Don¡¯t get into unnecessary fights. Be as low-key as you can possibly be. Do you get it?"

    "Yes, Master!" The sound reverberated in the courtyard built inside the cave.

    It was true that Ru had no n to establish any authority in China before, but now she had to have some power in Asia to counterattack the people who tried to assassinate her in Europe. She always was taught that enemy who hides in the dark to strike is the most vicious one since you can¡¯t see his moves at all. Therefore, she asked her group of people to keep an eye out to avoid any kind of surprise attacks.

    After passing her orders, she went out of the cave with only Adia and Wu Dishi following behind her.

    She halted in her step and both the people behind her also stopped. "Wu Dishi!"

    "Yes, Master!"

    "Your job is still the same. Keep looking over the Metrix Consortium. And Adia will assist you." Wu Dishi and Adia shared a look behind her and hesitated.

    "Master, since you¡¯re here in China, I was hoping for you to take your role as the chairman openly. You¡¯ve been working from behind the scenes for a long time now." Wu Dishi presented his point with utmost respect not daring to offend her in any way.

    "I¡¯m fine with working behind the scenes. Don¡¯t make it an issue. Take Adia and the other ck Mist members with you. We¡¯re expanding Metrix Consortium, you¡¯ll need help." Ru replied calmly.

    "But master, if I take all the members then who will be with you?" Wu Dishi asked.

    Ru turned to look at him and he instantly bowed down his head in fear. "Am I a kid who needs someone else¡¯ protection? Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the one who saved those members of ck Mist¡¯s, not the other way around."

    Wu Dishi gulped down his saliva with difficulty as the droplets of sweat rolled down his face profusely. "Sorry, master! I¡¯ll take everyone with me." With that, Wu Dishi left with Adia.

    Ru followed a certain path that opened up to a smallke. At one side of theke, there was a forest of white flowering Magnolia and Wisteria trees. Under the clear blue summer sky, the lush blooming white flowers depicted an aesthetic sight.

    Ru sat down on a rock at the edge of theke. She was immersed in observing the white water lilies when suddenly, she heard a yelp with a thud sound along with a horse¡¯ neigh.

    Spontaneously, Ru stood up and darted her eyes around. The sound hade from the white flowering forest, she frowned and kept her gaze at the trees. Suddenly, a ck caviar horse ran straight towards her.

    The horse was neighing loudly as it ran straight towards her with a scared look in his big eyes. Ru turned sideways and caught it¡¯s harness firmly in her hands. The ck caviar was moving his head from side to side in an attempt to escape from Ru. She calmly petted the horse¡¯ withers and lightly scratched a few times.

    "Be a good boy! Calm down!" She whispered near its ears in a soothing voice. As if understanding hermand, the horse stopped moving around and leaned closer to her. Ru smiled at him saying, "Aiyo! you¡¯re such a sweet horsey."

    "Thank God, he¡¯s okay!" Ru was busy talking to the horse when she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a man d in washed up jeans with a white short sleeve shirting towards her.

    As his gaze fell on Ru, he stopped. He remembered those green eyes perfectly well. "Howe you¡¯re here?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking straight into her eyes.

    "Do we know each other?" Ru remembered him not just from his face but also from his voice that was distinct from others. But she still pretended as if she had forgotten about him. Before Xiao Zhiren could open his mouth to speak, Ru¡¯s eyes fell on the blood dripping down his knee. "You¡¯re injured." She remarked looking at the bleeding knee.

    "Why is it that something bad always happens when you and Ie across each other?" Ru shook her head as she thought how she first broke his gift, then on the second meeting, she broke his cellphone. And today, although it wasn¡¯t her fault, she still was there when he got injured.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s lips curled up pleasantly as he said, "So, you do remember me?"

    Ru bit her tongue as she just realized that she had spoiled her own cover. Thinking of something, she spoke, "Well, how can I forget Mr. Saint?"

    Her cheeky smile and the word, ¡¯saint¡¯ made Xiao Zhiren scowl.

 Chapter 10 Bad Luck Or Sad Luck

    Xiao Zhiren gritted his teeth but tried to hide his frustration. "I told you that I¡¯m not a saint."

    Ru¡¯s brows rose a bit in mirth. His taut muscles under the white cotton shirt made him appear casual and yet elegant. But Ru was looking with merriment at him because his exquisite face had gone ck when she called him a ¡¯saint¡¯.

    "Take a seat and let me have a look at your wound," Ru offered as she simpered.

    "It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll see a doctor after getting back to the equestrian club." He had no intention of joining Qin Qu to the equestrian club but in the end, he had to listen to his best friend. Everything was fine when he started riding the ck caviar but suddenly a rabbit came in his way and the horse was spooked.

    After that, Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t get control over the horse no matter how much he tried. He fell from the horse in his attempt to calm the horse.

    "It¡¯s better to treat the wound as soon as possible. Let me just have a look." Ru pushed him on the rock by the side of theke before Xiao Zhiren could even argue.

    He grimaced as Ru lifted his jeans up to expose his kneepletely. She took some water from theke to clean his wound before, pulling out a small packet from her sleeve. As she sprinkled the powdery substance on his wound, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t wince at all. Xie Rong was quite impressed since she knew better how much that anti-inmmatory medicine burned.

    "Oh, our Mr. Saint is actually quite brave." She regarded with attention.

    Xiao Zhiren scowled saying, "Oi! Can¡¯t you stop calling me Mr. Saint?"

    "I don¡¯t know your name, what else am I supposed to call you?" Ru argued as she pulled out a sanitized bandage out of her pocket.

    "Xiao Zhiren..." He answered with a straight face but Ruughed out loud making him clench his jaw.

    "So, you¡¯re really a saint?" Ru said in between her fit of augh. "I mean your name¡¯s literal meaning is actually a saint. Zhiren... A Saint." She further said in amusement.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face contorted at her response. Ru wrapped the bandage around his knee in silence. As she focused on work, the teasing smile on her face had vanished. When Xiao Zhiren saw her somber look, he was lost in deep thought.

    He actually wanted to know why the ¡¯young man¡¯ before him was carrying medicine and bandage with ¡¯him¡¯ but ¡¯his¡¯ tranquil face made Xiao Zhiren forget all about it.

    "Why did you say that something bad happens whenever we meet?" Xiao Zhiren questioned looking straight into her eyes.

    Ru¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as she answered, "I broke your cellphonest time and this time, you got injured."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled as he retorted, "That could only mean that we are running down bad luck."

    Ru stared into his ink ck orbs and said, "No, it means you and I share bad luck."

    Xiao Zhiren was a bit taken aback by her serious look and words. "Or perhaps, we share sad luck."

    Ru¡¯s thin lips slightly uplifted in a sour smile as she thought, ¡¯Sharing sad luck is worse than the bad one.¡¯ She didn¡¯t speak her thoughts out and stood up after wrapping the bandage. "This is mypensation for breaking your phonest time."

    Xiao Zhiren looked down at the neatly wrapped bandage and said, "You saved my brotherst time. That was enoughpensation."

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she said, "You mean that haughty, snobby, and a bit childish kiddo?" Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips at the way she described his younger brother but since he couldn¡¯t argue, he nodded. "Well, it wasn¡¯t a big deal, Mr. Saint."

    "Seriously?" Xiao Zhiren red at the stubborn ¡¯young man¡¯ before him.

    Ru raised her hands in surrender as she said, "Fine, I won¡¯t say it anymore." ¡¯For now.¡¯ She left thest part to herself.

    "Do you like topensate or something?" Xiao Zhiren questioned gazing at the side of ¡¯his¡¯ face. "We can get even in the future. All our life is ahead of us."

    "When you were leaving the house today, did you think that this would happen with you?" Xiao Zhiren furrowed his brows and shook his head in response. "If you can¡¯t even guarantee your next breath then how can you say that we have all our life ahead of us."

    She stayed quiet for a minute before she went on, "Saying that we have all our life ahead of us is almost like convincing ourselves with the illusions of lies. Always remember, life doesn¡¯t have a habit of giving second chances."

    Ru patted the horse that was grazing beside them and intended to leave when she heard his voice again, "Oi! What should I call you?"

    Ru didn¡¯t turn around but her voice rang out, "You can call me whatever you like." This voice was low, pleasant and deep.

    But the words stunned Xiao Zhiren to his spot. As another distant voice rang in his mind, "What should I call you?" He had asked back then.

    "You can call me whatever you like." The feminine voice was feeble and hoarse with a tinge of loneliness and emptiness.

    Both the voices ovepped in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind as he stood frozen at his spot. When he came around, Ru was nowhere in sight. He darted his eyes all around but the ¡¯young man¡¯ had vanished into thin air.

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his head and looked at the clear blue sky as he whispered, "Then I¡¯ll call you Bellissimo.[1] This name suite you perfectly. You¡¯re not just handsome, you really have a lovely soul." He smiled to himself.

    Xiao Zhiren always believed that it was rare in this age for people to ept their mistakes and actually apologize for it as well. But Ru made him realize that those people might be rare, but they still existed.

    [1] Bellissimo ¨C Italian for lovely if he has a lovely spirit, soul, or is just in handsome.

 Chapter 11 Serendipity & Destiny

    "Big brother, when are you getting me a car?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked his elder brother over breakfast.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pushed the te of scrambled eggs towards him saying, "Didn¡¯t I already got a car for you?"

    Since Xiao Zhi-Yuan was the most important person in his life, Xiao Zhi-Ren always fulfilled his wishes before his own. To look for a perfect house, Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed at the Imperial Grand hotel for a month. Finally, he found an apartment in a residential building.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chose a very peaceful and beautiful environment. The residential area was in the suburbs of the Imperial City with lush green gardens surrounding it. The duplex apartment was on the ground floor of the building.

    "Big brother, you bought a Bugatti Chiron for me. I want a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport." Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied indifferently. Xiao Zhi-Ren was familiar with his younger brother¡¯s aloof and cold nature, hence he didn¡¯t mind the way he spoke.

    He sighed and looked at Qin Qu who was eating with them. "Qu, order Bugatti Veyron Super Sport for Yuan."

    Qin Qu darted his eyes between the pr opposite brothers before him. Elder one was carefree, poetic, fun loving, and yet mature while the younger one was aloof, cold, indifferent, and yet childish. Being Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s best friend, Qin Qu knew that he was a verypromising kind of person who always adjusted himself with time and people.

    Qin Qu had seen the way Xiao Zhi-Ren raised Xiao Zhi-Yuan all alone in the past decade. Perhaps that¡¯s why he was overprotective of his younger brother.

    "Fine! I¡¯ll ce an order for it." Qin Qu replied in a dull tone.

    "Oh, big brother!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan called his brother to get his attention, "Are you going to transfer all the business from America to here?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gazed at his brother¡¯s inquiring eyes and replied, "Nope!" he popped the ¡¯p¡¯ unnecessarily. "SnapVise Technologies will work exactly as it¡¯d been. We¡¯re just expanding our business to Asian Market."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan scoffed. "Don¡¯t you think that the European market has more potential?"

    "I have my reasons for avoiding the European market." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke calmly taking a bite of his Crepe.

    "Name one reason," Xiao Zhi-Yuan challenged.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren ced his fork and knife in the te without making a sound and said, "Lord Alev Knight!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s brows creased up. "You asked for a reason. I gave you one."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan fell into thought, ¡¯I need to see who this Lord Alev Knight is. And what power does he have?¡¯ He ate the rest of breakfast in silence.

    After breakfast, Xiao Zhi-Ren personally came to drop his younger brother to high school. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was reluctant but he still had to leave for school. Knowing his younger brother, Xiao Zhi-Ren could tell why he was so reluctant, he wasn¡¯t able to adjust in this new study system and that too when he was already a senior in high school.

    "You¡¯re spoiling him!" Qin Qumented while driving the car.

    "I don¡¯t have anyone else to spoil." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave the same answer as he always did.

    Qin Qu shook his head, his face a mixture of crestfallen and thwart while he reminded Xiao Zhi-Ren, "Don¡¯t forget, you have to attend a party this evening." In response, Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head in acknowledgment but didn¡¯t speak.

    He never liked socializing with people. It wasn¡¯t his cup of tea. Although he was known as an amiable and insouciant kind of a person, he wasn¡¯t an extrovert.

    In the evening when Xiao Zhi-Ren came to the party hall, the chattering and music made him scrunch up his face. "Don¡¯t make that face! We need connections in Asia. Parties are a good way forworking." Hearing Qin Qu¡¯s lecture, Xiao Zhi-Ren had the urge to tape his mouth.

    Qin Qu patiently and pleasantly introduced Xiao Zhi-Ren to every important person in the party. Xiao Zhi-Ren was known as the eye-candy in America, he had several girls running around for his attention anding to China was no better, if not worse.

    Several girls came up to him and tried to strike a conversation. Xiao Zhi-Ren being the polite one managed to make small talk with them but the strong stench of their perfumes made him want to puke.

    With much effort, he managed to escape from the hall and entered the back garden for a breather. He looked heavenwards and closed his eyes briefly as he thought, ¡¯Why are girls so damn scary?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t allergic to girls, but he had developed a strange habit of keeping his distance from the opposite sex after his mother died.

    He opened his eyes as he heard a soft whisper from behind the shrubs. "Couldn¡¯t you have taught me how to cry?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows knitted together.

    He took a few steps and turned to look at the person who was talking. Behind the shrubs, at a far corner on a wooden bench, anky figure was reclining with both arms sprawled out and legs wide apart. The posture was bothnguid and imposing.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren became motionless as he stared at those green twinkling eyes gazing at the sky. The ¡¯young man¡¯ on the bench puffed out rings of smoke and that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi-Ren noticed a thin stick of cigarette between ¡¯his¡¯ fingers.

    He didn¡¯t want to make his presence known at all. He wanted to silently leave and yet his feet didn¡¯t listen to him. That ¡¯young man¡¯ reminded him of someone and it made him want to go closer to ¡¯him¡¯.

    "I never thought I¡¯d see you here," Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke up making Ru turn her face a bit in his direction. Under the dim lights, she could see his exquisite smiling face which was warmer than the sun.

    Ru gave him a once over before saying, "You seem to be everywhere."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled softly taking Ru by surprise. His chuckle was low, soft but mesmerizing. Then she heard his even more charismatic voice,

    "Here we meet under the semnce of serendipity,

    And yet again it feels like the connection is made befittingly."

    "Poetic much?" Ru asked staring straight into his ink-ck eyes.

    "Why? Didn¡¯t you like it?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned taking a seat beside her on the wooden bench. Looking into her green eyes, he seemed to have lost himself yet again.

    "There is no such thing as coincidences," Ru spoke staring at the burning cigarette in her hand.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled as he said, "No, there is only fate! Because using a small word like ¡¯coincidence¡¯ to describe such huge signs will be humiliating for fate."

 Chapter 12 Rejoicing In Tears

    Sitting under the tar-ck sky, Ru nced heavenwards to see therge clouds gathering in the sky. The postcard-perfect night sky changed its color and began to darken into gravel-grey.

    The soft wind blew like whispering softly. Xiao Zhi-Ren nced at the side of her face intently.

    "Xiao Zhi-Ren!" Qin Qu was calling out his name making Xiao Zhi-Ren groan.

    He immediately stood up and said, "He¡¯s really annoying. I¡¯ll see you around." With that, he turned around the shrubs and went to Qin Qu¡¯s side.

    "Stop shouting! I¡¯m right here," Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke abrasively making Qin Qu narrow his eyes at him.

    "I told you to make some connections. Why are you hiding here?" Qin Qu asked acrimoniously.

    "I can make connections if only the hyenas inside leave me alone." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied matter-of-factly. Qin Qu pursed his lips at the way Xiao Zhi-Ren addressed thedies from aristocratic families as ¡¯hyenas¡¯.

    Qin Qu shook his head and took Xiao Zhi-Ren inside the party hall with himself.

    The moment Xiao Zhi-Ren walked away from Ru, a figure d in ck appeared before her and paid his respect before standing upright with his head lowered in respect. "Master!" He was a part of the ck Mist group and held Ru in the same regards as everyone else in the group.

    Ru looked at him and asked, "What is it, Conor?"

    The man in ck, Conor replied in his polished Irish ent, "There is some movement at the Feng Bar."

    Ru rubbed her bottom lip and listened to Conor¡¯s detailed report. "Go back to Wu Dishi. I¡¯ll look into that bar myself." Conor bowed his head and vanished in the dark of night.

    After a moment of piercing silence, a droplet of rain fell on her cheek. And then plenty of other droplets followed it in azy manner. The rain poured down the sky hesitantly and politely. It was ratherforting.

    The whispering hum in the wind along with the pitter-patter of the rain and the soft maracas that is the sound of grass, she felt content and tranquility spread on her face.

    She didn¡¯t move and neither did she had any intention of finding shelter. She was a pluviophile.[1] She always felt a strange peacefulness listening to the rain¡¯s sound. The rain wasn¡¯t just a piece of music that she listened to, it was an emotion she could feel deeply.

    The soothing sound of rain made her lips curve upward in an enchanting smile.

    "She sat under the drizzle,

    alone with a ss of swizzle.

    Her heart ran amok in dismissal,

    and yet she kept her wounds not so superficial..."

    Suddenly a memory gushed into her mind. "Young master Ru, who locked you here?" Her grand master opened the door of the storeroom and asked the young girl of 8 years.

    She was sitting in a corner hugging her knees. Slowly, she lifted her head and gazed at the aged face. "n Mistress locked me inside," Ru spoke in a wronged tone as she informed him how her own mother had locked her up.

    Grandmaster stroked her hair asking, "And why did she do it?"

    "Because I wanted to go out with other boys to y in the rain." She rubbed her nose annoyingly.

    Her grand master smiled affectionately at her and held her hand. He brought her out of the small room and walked towards the back side of the n houses. He brought her to an isted courtyard and said, "Young master, next time when you want to go out in rain,e to this ce but all alone."

    "But why can¡¯t I go out with other boys?" She asked blinking her eyes.

    "Because you¡¯re different," the reply came.

    "How am I different?" she asked while scowling.

    "Because you are the young master of our n. You¡¯ll be the next n leader. It¡¯s not suitable for you to be so open with everyone else." Grandmaster answered cleverly hiding the fact that she¡¯s a ¡¯girl¡¯ and that¡¯s why she¡¯s not allowed to hang around boys in the rain.

    But being a young girl, she actually believed him and distanced herself from everyone. And became the unapproachable, untouchable and formidable young master Ru of the n.

    Her reminiscing was broken when she didn¡¯t feel the raindrops falling on her face. She opened her eyes to see an umbre covering her. Ru tilted her head and saw Xiao Zhi-Ren standing beside her with an umbre to shield her. His chiseled lips curved into a charming smile and took her by surprise.

    In her life, she had never been shielded neither from a wielding sword nor a pouring rain. She felt strange at her heart as she raised her brow at him inquiringly and her green eyes gazed at him. As if asking, "Why?"

    "Sitting here all alone, you¡¯re reminding of a lonely person." He started as he gazed at the puddles of water. "I feel like you¡¯re trying to make this rain touch you to make you feel less lonely."

    When he had seen the rain outside the window, he had a feeling that the ¡¯young man¡¯ he met would still be here. Xiao Zhi-Ren took an umbre and came out only to find ¡¯him¡¯ smiling under the rain. But that smile reminded him of his favorite quote of John Green, ¡¯If people were rain, then I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren felt like the smile of the ¡¯young man¡¯ before him, was akin to a silent hurricane. But the only difference was ¡¯his¡¯ silent storm was only destroying ¡¯himself¡¯.

    "If you¡¯ll keep acting saintly, I can only call you Mr. Saint," Ru remarked with a poker-face.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren grimaced and she added, "Drop that umbre. We already hide behind our own tears, at least we shouldn¡¯t hide from heaven¡¯s tears."

    "You think the sky is crying?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked utterly intrigued by her statement.

    "Yes, it¡¯s crying," she answered nkly.

    "Why?" he asked further.

    "Because of its unrequited love for Earth." Xiao Zhi-Ren stared her with mouth agape. "Have you noticed how after every heat wave, raines pouring down?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s frown loosened up a bit. "Seeing the Earth burn up with heat, the sky feels hurt and its pain turns into tears and fall upon us."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was bewildered at her way of thinking. He heard her scoff as she went on, "Oddly, because of our human nature, we rejoice in the tears of the sky as we rejoice in others misery."

    "Have you been told that you¡¯re weird?" Xiao Zhi-Ren whispered leaning closer to her.

    Ru stood up from the bench saying, "I¡¯ve been told." With that, she waved him bye and trudged towards the darker part of the garden.

    [1] "Pluviophile"; a lover of rain. someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

 Chapter 13 A Fun Nigh

    "Who¡¯s that?" Qin Qu came beside Xiao Zhi-Ren as he was looking in the direction where Ru was walking to.

    "Bellissimo," Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without even thinking.

    Qin Qu knitted his brows and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren. "What¡¯s with that look in your eyes?" Qin Qu had noticed the way Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes held the feeling of hope and an immense tenderness.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed quiet for so long that Qin Qu thought he wouldn¡¯t answer anymore. But he did, "That young man reminds me of... her."

    Qin Qu¡¯s eyes shed as he asked, "Her? As in, the girl you¡¯d been looking for the past decade?" Qin Qu pped the back of his head and went on, "Have you lost your mind?" Xiao Zhi-Ren scowled at his assistant/best friend. "You¡¯re trying to look for a long lost girl of your obsession in a MAN? How ridiculous can you possibly be?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that Qin Qu was right. He wasn¡¯t supposed to look for her in the ¡¯green-eyed man¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t help but notice the simrities. And those uncanny simrities pulled him towards that ¡¯man¡¯. He was really being ridiculous but what could he do when after looking for so long, he still had no clue where had she vanished to.

    "His face holds the same look of emptiness that she had." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke softly as the memory of a wan and sallow slender figure invaded his mind.

    He remembered the moment heid eyes on her lonely figure sitting on a wheelchair. She had a bandage wrapped around her eyes obstructing him from seeing her face clearly but he would forget never that beautiful ck mole right above the edge of her upper lip.

    Today, thinking back to that time, he could only say,

    "And I read her soul through her face¡¯ mirror,

    but I forgot to keep the image in my heart clearer."

    Because no matter what he couldn¡¯t seem to decide whether what he saw on her face was the truth or just an illusion? And he knew that the ¡¯young man¡¯ he met coincidently time and again didn¡¯t have the same mole as her but he had the same way of talking. So what if the voice was different?

    His trance broke when he heard Qin Qu¡¯s voice again.

    "Then focus on other stuff. Like, have you seen the way he walks? I only saw it from the back but even I can¡¯t deny that his manners spoke volumes of eloquence and aristocracy." He ruefully patted Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s shoulder saying, "I know that you miss that girl a lot but Zhi-Ren, you can¡¯t just look for her in someone else. Especially not in a man!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren sighed heavily and nodded his head. He had also observed how the ¡¯young man¡¯ seemed to be not just well-educated but also well-mannered. This kind of mannerism can¡¯t just be learned, theye with genes, naturally. He shook his head to himself thinking, ¡¯Qu is right. I should stop trying to get close to that man just because he reminds me of her. If anything I should be avoiding him since he reminds me of her.¡¯ With that conviction, he stood under the rain for a while longer before leaving along with Qin Qu.

    In the next few days, Ru had personally been visiting Feng Bar under the disguise of an ordinary bartender. In all her time at the bar, she had already observed plenty of things and tonight, she knew that a big deal was going to be cracked right in this seemingly low-ss bar.

    "Hey, give me a tequ cocktail," Ru heard a familiar voice making her turn to see the teenage boy who had just taken a seat on the stool before the counter.

    "Are you even allowed to drink?" She asked looking at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s school uniform.

    "Does that concern you? Your job is to serve me," Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke snidely and lifted his eyes from the tablet in his hand to look at Ru¡¯s familiar eyes. For a moment, he was stuck. "It¡¯s you!" He managed to breath out.

    Today, Ru was neither wearing a cap nor a hood which left room for Xiao Zhi-Yuan to see her head full of thick chocte brown hair. Ru was donning simple ck jeans with a ck button-up shirt which was the requirements for working in this bar.

    After getting out of the daze, Xiao Zhi-Yuanmented, "Never took you for a bartender."

    "Why not?" Ru asked seemingly interested in knowing about his answer.

    "Well... You don¡¯t have that kind of aura or feel to you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke with hesitation.

    "What kind of aura do I have?" Her voice was akin to melting honey making Xiao Zhi-Yuan want to pour his heart out.

    "You seem strong, confident. You have a feeling of being mysterious, powerful, and all that."

    "Look at you being so observing," Ru¡¯s lips curled a bit upward in an almost imperceptible way.

    "Can I get my cocktail now," Xiao Zhi-Yuan avoided looking into ¡¯his¡¯ piercing green eyes afraid that they might make him show his real self.

    "Sure, you will," Ru spoke with a smirk and turned around to get busy.

    When Ru slid a cocktail ss before him, Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t notice anything amiss since the drink was colorless. But when he took a single sip, his mouth felt like burning. As the drink passed through his throat, his body was set ame.

    Instead of making him a simple and boring tequ cocktail, Ru had added the twist of reposado tequ making it into a ¡¯Sweaty Hipster Cocktail¡¯. The cocktail was famous for its spicy burning taste making it one of the spiciest cocktails. Adults might not be able to handle the drink much less an eighteen-year-old.

    He opened his mouth to breathe out the hot air as his eyes sting. He red at Ru who was pleased with his reaction. "What¡¯s that?" He spat out.

    "It¡¯s a cocktail," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "Of course, if you didn¡¯t like this one, I can make you a Bloody Maria. I¡¯m quite skilled."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan might not know what ¡¯Bloody Maria¡¯ was but he figured it wasn¡¯t anything better than what he had tasted. "You¡¯re mean and annoying!" His words were sharp as swords but Ru was unfazed.

    Her expression only shifted when she saw a group of people entering a private room in the back. She held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cor from over the counter and pulled him towards herself saying, "I have a hundred more ways to make your soul burn to ashes. So, I¡¯m warning you, if you don¡¯t want to taste what does it feel like burning in mes, leave this bar. NOW!" Her voice¡¯s texture was still low and deep but it held an edge of a silent storm within it which scared Xiao Zhi-Yuan for some reason.

    Although he was one of those rebellious kids who didn¡¯t like listening to others, he still listened to her and picked his school bag to leave.

    Ru turned to look at the closed door of the private room and picked up her cap to wear. After that, she rubbed her hands together while her eyes shone with a strange light. "It surely will be a fun night." She said to herself and trudged towards the private room.

 Chapter 14 Plain Brutal

    There was a group of five people keeping watch outside the private room and when Ru came up to them, they immediately stood in her way stopping her from going inside.

    Ru rolled her eyes at them and pretended to leave. But her half-turned body moved in a nimble way as she raised her hand and delivered a ¡¯phoenix eye¡¯[1] punch on one of theckey¡¯s temple. Since the punch was precisely at the temple which happens to be the thinnest part of the cranium, theckey¡¯s bulky body fell down; lifelessly.

    The others raised their fists to punch her but Ru rolled around a bit and struck with the heal of her hand on another one¡¯s forehead making him fall down with a ¡¯thud¡¯. Before others could make sense of her moves, she jabbed her two fingers behind their corbone and forced them to the ground.

    As the group of five menid unconscious in her feet, she dusted off her hands and said, "Well, this wasn¡¯t fun at all."

    It couldn¡¯t have been fun for someone like her who had been involved with all kinds of martial arts since she was only four. And the moves she used on these men were used by the most basic martial art practitioner. Although the moves seemed simple, a bit of carelessness could have killed anyone. But Ru only focused on making them unconscious, she wasn¡¯t nning on killing.

    After the men were out of her way, shenguidly opened the door of the private room and took long but steady steps as if walking in her own backyard.

    There were only four men inside; two were the small time mafia bosses while the other two were theirckeys. "Who are you? And who allowed you to walk in?" Both of theckeys came up to her. One of them held her cor while the other red with his burning gaze.

    Ru tilted her face and only stared at the hand that was holding her cor. In half a beat of time, her hand held that ignorant hand on her cor and twisted it in a way that a bone cracking sound was heard rming everyone in the room.

    "Ahhhh!" The man whose hand was crushed wailed in anguish.

    Both mafia bosses stood up from the couch and looked at Ru in a different light. Their original thought was that the young man was simply in the wrong room but now, they felt a feeling of foreboding seeping in their hearts.

    "You! Don¡¯t you dare move!" The otherckey pulled out a gun and pointed at Ru¡¯s head.

    Her eyes shed as theckey heard her low voice, "Bad move!" Her words had just fallen when her hand lifted to grab his wrist.

    "BANG!"

    In his moment of a hurry, the man pulled the trigger but Ru had already turned to a side to dodge it. She had expected that. But before he could get another chance to pull the trigger, Ru struck the crevice of his forearm with her thumb making him disabled to even lift his hand. She took the gun and looked at the mafia bosses staring at her with anger.

    "Our men are surrounding this bar, you won¡¯t be able to leave." One of them tried to scare her with his threat.

    Ru scratched her forehead with the muzzle of the gun and took slow steps towards them. "I¡¯ve never met someone who could keep me from leaving. If I want to leave, no-one can get in my way." Her pleasant voice sounded like ticking time bomb scaring them out of their wits.

    They heard some crashing sounds and then a group of five people d inplete ck walked inside in an orderly manner. They were all part of the ck Mist squad. "Master, we¡¯ve settled the ones outside." One of the five spoke with respect.

    "Mhmm..." Ru gave a response.

    "Don¡¯t you know who we are? We have strong backers. You can¡¯t possibly touch us." The other mafia boss tried to sound brave as he threatened her.

    Ru took off her cap and threw it backward. Jack from the ¡¯ck Mist¡¯ caught it and held it like a precious pearl in his hands. Ru lifted her green eyes and outstared the one who had just spoken. She pointed the muzzle of the gun in her hand at his forehead making him freeze at his spot.

    With a ¡¯bang¡¯, the gun went off and the man fell on the couch behind him with his eyes wide open. Even though, the bullet hadn¡¯t even grazed him. It just passed from right beside his ear.

    "Ay, I don¡¯t like these toys," Ru remarked and with both hands opened the whole gun dropping its pieces like sand. She lifted her beautiful green eyes making that man feel haunted and said, "Don¡¯t think that I missed. I never miss my target unless I want to."

    Both men before her gulped down the saliva stuck in their throats with much difficulty. "Why- Why do you want to take our lives?" They asked pitifully.

    Ru titled her head to side saying, "Confucious said, ¡¯If your face is ugly, you can¡¯t me the mirror.¡¯ Since you both have threatened me repeatedly then how can you me me for treating you the same way?"

    Ru moved around the table in the middle and sat on it facing both men huddled on the couch. "Now, let¡¯s talk about that," she pointed at the trunk ced inconspicuously in the corner.

    "Wha-What about it?" One of them licked his lips as he questioned.

    Ru waved her hand and the members of ck Mist opened the trunk and brought an AR-15 towards her. Ru took it from Adia¡¯s hand and looked at the men before her with a practiced sweet smile. "This gun shouldn¡¯t be here. So, my question is simple. Who¡¯s managing to smuggle the arms in Asia?"

    "We- We don¡¯t know him!" They decided to keep their mouths shut since they didn¡¯t know the power of the one before them but they knew the power of the one behind this smuggling deals.

    "Well, this is certainly annoying." Ru turned to the ck Mist Squad and said, "Take them away and make sure to extract something out of them." She paused to stare all of them down before adding, "And don¡¯t you dare disappoint me as you did with those assassins. Otherwise, I¡¯ll demote you all to the Yellow Bonesaw Squad."

    The ck Mist Squad¡¯s people gulped down at the reminder of Yellow Bonesaw Squad. It was the only squad that had the worst kind of training schedule and activities. The worst part was that Yellow Bonesaw Squad was at the lowest of the hierarchy while their ck Mist was at the top. That demotion was a bit brutal. Wait! It was in brutal.

    "We won¡¯t disappoint you, Master!" All of them spoke with conviction and took hold of the mafia bosses and dragged them along with themselves. Both the old bosses yelled and screamed at Ru. "You can¡¯t do this to us. What have we done to you?"

    Ru simply replied with another phrase from the Confucious, "Life is an echo, what you send outes back." They couldn¡¯t possibly me her when they had been spreading the brutality themselves.

    Ru rubbed the tip of her nose and looked around at the mess making her feel ufortable. She stood up and with the same ease left the bar.

    What she didn¡¯t know was that there was a certain teenager hiding in a booth who had watched everything that had transpired in the bar. His eyes were shining like twinkling stars in the dark night.

    [1] "Phoenix Eye Punch": It involves extending the index finger while raising your fist.

 Chapter 15 Big Bear

    Earlier, when Ru warned Xiao Zhi-Yuan to leave the bar, he really left. But he coincidently forgot his tablet inside. And when he came back to collect it, he heard some muffled voices and turned a corner to see Ru striking the tandem of five men unconscious with a single strike.

    He was stunned and couldn¡¯t shift his eyes away from the scene that yed out before him. It felt like a scene of a wuxia novel ying out with all those martial arts moves. He could literally picture Ru in long-sleeved robes with a sleek sword in hand and long hairs tied in a high ponytail like a rebel and yet noble young master of a martial arts family. Okay! He was overly imaginative! But he couldn¡¯t help it with the scenes before him.

    When Ru walked inside the private room, she didn¡¯t bother to close the door and that allowed Xiao Zhi-Yuan to peek inside but hearing some strange sounds, he decided to hide under a table in an inconspicuous booth.

    He couldn¡¯t hear anything but he could tell that the conversation was intense as for the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯, Xiao Zhi-Yuan had already assumed ¡¯him¡¯ to be some formidable personality. Because the way those people in ck treated ¡¯him¡¯, showed that ¡¯he¡¯ wasn¡¯t anyone to be messed with.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes followed Ru¡¯s disappearing figure until she was out of his sight. He stood rooted at his spot deeply immersed in his thoughts.

    In a trance, he took a cab back home.

    "Ahan, Yuan! Finally, you¡¯re back. I was waiting for you, let¡¯s have dinner." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke a bit cheerfully when he saw his younger brother entering through the main door.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t respond in any way. He kept walking straight to his room in a dazed state.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Qin Qu shared a look and frowned. "Earth to Caramelo!" Xiao Zhi-Ren waved his hand before Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes. He intentionally used ¡¯Caramelo¡¯ to call his younger brother because he knew how much he hated this nickname. The reason was very simple, Caramelo literally meant ¡¯as sweet as candy¡¯ in Spanish and Xiao Zhi-Yuan was anything but sweet. Therefore, it was more of a sarcastic nickname for him.

    "I¡¯m not hungry!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan finally spoke in an animated tone and pushed his brother away before walking to his own room.

    Behind him, both best friends, Xiao Zhi-Ren and Qin Qu shared another look of shock. "Did he just give zero response on being called ¡¯Caramelo¡¯?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned his best friend who could only nod. "Is he sick or something?" He questioned again and Qin Qu only shrugged in reply. They were in disbelief but they couldn¡¯t push him for an answer. So, they decided to eat dinner without him.

    After dinner, Xiao Zhi-Ren went to his study and turned on hisputer with multiple monitor screens. Being the Chief Executive Officer of SnapVise Technologies, he had to multi-task a lot. But tonight, his purpose was not to work but rather to do what he always loved to do; hacking.

    His mother always left him alone at home with his younger brother because she had to work a lot. And since he had no interest in tv, he shifted his attention towards theputers. He had won several hackingpetitions by the time he entered high school but after his mother¡¯s death, Xiao Zhi-Ren only allowed himself to hack in secret.

    Tonight his reason for turning to hack, was apetition held by the ck Cybe. Thepetition was called, "Snatch The g & Smash The Net". So, thepetition¡¯s working was as such:

    There were a total of 4 levels in thepetition.

    About 200 hackers from around the globe were registered for thepetition under their code names.

    On the first level, all the hackers had to simply go through a ¡¯Cyber Security Challenge¡¯ and the fastest 100 were the only ones who could move on to the next level.

    On the second level, each hacker had a code of virus installed in their ownputers which they had created themselves. Then they were paired as opponents randomly. After being paired, they had to attack the other person with their own virus known as ¡¯g¡¯ while they had to make sure that nobody manages to break through their own defenses and nts their viruses.

    The remaining 50 hackers had to battle it out with themselves again in the next round but the twist was that their viruses were now supposed to be concealed with cryptography. And the opponent had to look for that virus and try to break it. After this attack and defensepetition, thest round begins. In this, the hackers would have to work on the clock. The hacker who would manage to break all defenses in the minimum time would be victorious.

    The server to hack was chosen by the ck Cybe hosts, thesepanies liked to challenge their own security to see the ws that could be fixed.

    At precisely 12, thepetition began. The first three rounds were akin to a joke for Xiao Zhi-Ren and he even began to wonder why had he bothered to even enter in thispetition. His own virus was strong enough to not even worry about defending while he focused on just attacking his opponents.

    On thest round, he had to be alert. His slender and long fingers ran over the white keyboard as if flying over a piano. His every movement was smooth and seemed carefree just like his personality.

    He managed to break all the defenses in precisely 5 minutes and 23 seconds but his screen still shed with ¡¯Second Position¡¯.

    He pressed some keys and the screen shed the name of the winner,

    Winner: ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯

    Time: ¡¯5 minutes 22 seconds¡¯

    As he stared dumbfoundedly at the name shing at the screen, Qin Qu came up behind him. "What the hell? Did you lose? And that too with only 1 second¡¯s difference?" Qin Qu¡¯s jaw was practically going to hit the ground with this shocking news. He was someone who was familiar with his best friend¡¯s capabilities and he had never seen him lose before.

    When Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t reply, Qin Qu added, "Who¡¯s this ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯?"

    "I have no idea since this is ck Cybe, everyone is faceless here." Xiao Zhi-Ren sighed out heavily. He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he spoke, "But I think I really need to look for this person. He¡¯d be a good asset for ourpany."

    Qin Qu nodded his head agreeing with his best friend¡¯s words.

    -The next morning-

    Xiao Zhi-Ren got busy with preparing breakfast aftering back from his morning run. He saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan walking out of his room with panda eyes. "Didn¡¯t you sleepst night?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked anxiously.

    "No... I had a lot to sort out," Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered monotonously.

    "What did you have to sort out?" Xiao Zhi-Ren pried which he didn¡¯t do very often but he felt like knowing at this moment.

    "Big Bear," Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised since it¡¯s been a long time Xiao Zhi-Yuan hadn¡¯t called him ¡¯Big Bear¡¯. He¡¯s been calling him ¡¯Big brother¡¯ since they came to China and it felt very distant to Xiao Zhi-Ren. Now, he was happy that his younger brother was back to his original habits.

    "Yes, my little bear," Xiao Zhi-Ren happily replied.

    "Do you think that those Kung Fu masters or those Ninja¡¯s in books are real?" His question took Xiao Zhi-Ren by surprise.

    "Er... Um... I think so. Actually, I hope so." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied hesitatingly as he avoided gazing into his younger brother¡¯s eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "I saw a real-life martial artistst night."

    "What?" Xiao Zhi-Ren stared wide-eyed at his brother. "Did he do anything to you? Are you hurt anywhere? Tell me!"

    "Rx! Big bear, you¡¯re overreacting." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave his brother a weird look. "I was just saying that he was super duper cool. Like a real hero. He¡¯s just awesome." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spent the next 15 minutes gushing over Ru while Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face turned ck with each passing second.

    It was the longest he had seen his brother speak and that too without being rude or sarcastic. "I thought I was the coolest person in your life," Xiao Zhi-Ren ruefully sighed when he stopped talking.

    "Well, big bear! You¡¯ll always be the coolest brother for me. But I can¡¯t say that he was any less cool than you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face turned sad as he added in a glum tone, "I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll see him again or not." He shook his head and started eating his sandwich.

    While on the side, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind kept running with horrendous scenarios. He didn¡¯t want his brother to be near any troublemaker. And especially not the one who knew martial arts.

 Chapter 16 Black And Dark

    At the outskirts of Imperial City, the sky was akin to a masterpiece on the easel of a creator. The night was like those curtains of the theatre that falls after the scene ends. And on the next day, this curtain will be raised again and we¡¯d see a bright new day with a whole new scene filled with new characters.

    The tranquil ck sky sang a beautiful choir with the twinkling stars. And the apanying crescent moon sent a steady rhythm to the earth in the form of its soft light.

    In a bamboo house¡¯s small room, a figureid still on the cold floor looking at the sky through the ss roof above with green eyes. Like a lifeless person, she didn¡¯t move an inch of her body.

    The silent night¡¯s tranquility was broken by the sound of crickets and buzzes from other insects in the forest. But what Ru heard was the poetry from the starry night. A whisper only meant for her.

    ¡¯She walks in the dark night,

    with no hope of light in sight.

    She likes unting her dark heart,

    hiding her soul that was falling apart.

    She loves her dark clothes

    like people love a rose.

    This queen was called a ghost,

    but she was a shadow that wasn¡¯t just a hoax.¡¯

    Her eyes were still blinking when the curtain of darkness started to be lifted slowly and the sunlight cascaded down on the earth with its orange pearl like rays. When her cloak of darkness lifted, she pushed herself off the cold hard ground and trudged out to the open courtyard after wearing her training suit and running shoes.

    As per her routine of the day, she ran for an hour in the woods. After that, she stood still in the middle of the courtyard and took deep breaths. After calming her mind and making her spirit a bit free, she moved her body to shift to a stable stance.

    Ru raised her hands in front of her as if defending herself from an imaginary attack while her elbows protecting her ribs. She stepped forward with her non-dominant leg keeping her knees slightly bent and threw a punch straight into the air.

    On the far end, the members of ck Mist was looking at her practicing her favorite martial arts style; Krav Maga.[1] Krav Maga was said to be the most effective style but when they watched the way Ru¡¯s nimble body moved with her sharp senses, they could only stay frozen at their spot.

    In Krav Maga, speed and flow of attacks mattered a lot since it had root techniques from Muay Thai and Jui-Juitsu. And Ru had trained in a way that her speed was hard to follow. People hardly could catch the way she delivered her punches or kicks although, she did both of those scarcely.

    Out of the younger generation of her own n, she was considered the fastest one and yet her grandmasters always scolded her for being slow. Perhaps, it was their cruel remarks that pushed her to keep striving for best even after leaving her n behind. Her hunger for being the best was the reason that today, this most challenging martial arts style looked like a piece of cake for her.

    "Are you guys just going to stand there?" Ru¡¯s deep voice rang in the courtyard making the tandem of five to feel flustered.

    They came up to her in an orderly manner with their heads lowered in respect. "Don¡¯t tell me that you couldn¡¯t open the mouth of two small flies in the past 8 hours." Ru¡¯s tone held a dangerous touch to it making them sweat buckets.

    "Master, they opened their mouths," Adia started.

    "And?" Ru urged her to continue as she stared her down. Even though Adia wasn¡¯t looking at Ru¡¯s eyes, she still could feel the cold shudder running up her spine.

    "They are of no use. They don¡¯t know much." Another member of ck Mist, Connor spoke up respectfully.

    "That I already knew. Tell me something that I don¡¯t know," Ru shifted her body closer to them as her voice turned lower.

    "Well, they did tell us that the weapons beening through Hong Kong. But whoever is calling the shots in Hong Kong isn¡¯t the mastermind." Adia added in to help Connor.

    Ru pondered for a while before saying, "You have one week. I want all the details of things happening in Hong Kong." She looked at the group of five standing still without any intention to leave and spoke sarcastically, "What? Want to stay for breakfast?"

    "Ah? No, no... We¡¯re going!" All of them ran out in a frenzy. Although they respected their master the most in this world, they were scared of their master the most as well.

    "Wu Dishi!" Ru called out and Wu Dishi came up to her side. "I heard there is a very famous ramen shop named, Ramen for Life."

    "Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it. Does master want me to order some ramen from there?" He inquired.

    "Nope. Just drop me off to that shop after I go through the files you brought." Wu Dishi nodded his head and passed all the documents to her.

    While she was reading the files in her hand, Wu Dishi kept staring at her with aplicated expression.

    "Do you have something to ask?" Ru¡¯s sudden question surprised Wu Dishi.

    He cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to speak, "Master, do you mind me asking something?"

    "Just ask. I can guarantee that I won¡¯t bite you," she said that with a smirk which was too hard for Wu Dishi to handle.

    ¡¯Gosh! Master, why are you so handsome?¡¯ Wu Dishi shook his mind to get rid of his own ridiculous thoughts. "Master, why did you personallye to China and that too just because of two assassins?" This thing had been bothering him from the time Ru came to China. He didn¡¯t think that those assassins were such a threat for his master to leave Europe ande back to China all of a sudden.

    "Hmmm..." Ru sighed heavily as she answered, "You¡¯re right! Those assassins or arms smuggling has no concern with me. But that mute girl who came to kill me and her way of looking at me, I can¡¯t get it over my head."

    Wu Dishi frowned by her side as he added, "What do you mean, master?"

    "She was like a puppet whose strings were being pulled. Assassins are emotionless and I know that better than anyone but she didn¡¯t even have the right to think for herself." As Ru spoke, Wu Dishi¡¯s heart shook a bit.

    "Do you mean that she¡¯s a part of those human puppets experiments?" Ru nodded her head making Wu Dishi¡¯s feare true. He couldn¡¯t possibly imagine that kind of inhumane thing.

    But he didn¡¯t know the fact that his own master had been a victim of that experiment once. Her mind might have made her forget that nightmare but her body was still living that nightmare. And the pain in her body reminded her of that nightmare every single day. And to retrieve those missing pieces of her memory, she had to get to the mastermind behind those experiments.

    It was her only lead in the past decade and she wasn¡¯t willing to lose it at any cost!

    It took her four hours to go through all the documents and after that, Wu Dishi dropped her off at the famous ramen shop in the school district.

    The ramen shop was rather designed in a simple style with wooden interior. Ru walked inside and heard a polite, "Wee customer! Take a seat!" Ru was surprised by the smile she was receiving from the cute girl at the door.

    The cute girl showed her to a table and took her order. "Give me the most amazing bowl of ramen."

    "Which vor would you like?" The cute girl asked smiling brightly at Ru.

    Ru looked at the cute girl with her green eyes and propping her chin on her palm said, "Which one would you order?"

    The cute teenage girl lost herself in Ru¡¯s beautiful eyes and that handsome face. "I¡¯d order a Nagasaki Champon. It¡¯s the best one here."

    "Oh, then I¡¯ll take what this cutie is suggesting," Ru passed her most amazing smile making the cute girl feel like floating in the air. She blushed and ran back to the kitchen.

    "Why did she run away? Was I scary just now?" Ru asked herself as she saw the cute girl¡¯s odd reaction.

    "You weren¡¯t scary rather you were quite good at flirting," Ru lifted her eyes to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan standing closer to her seat.

    Ru frowned as she said, "But I wasn¡¯t flirting."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan took a seat opposite of Ru without asking and said, "Then you¡¯re really clueless about your charms." Ru decided not to answer to that. It wasn¡¯t worth it. She didn¡¯t like making small talk anyway. But Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke up again, "What are you doing here all alone? And why is it that you¡¯re always alone?"

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan ditched school just now, he didn¡¯t expect to find Ru in the ramen shop near his school. He was surprised and mostly, happy to have found her without even looking.

    "Am I the only person alone in this world?" Ru¡¯s words made Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowl as she added, "We alle alone to this world and leave alone as well. Death will be ck, lonely and dark. So, isn¡¯t it better to make peace with your solitude beforehand?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared at her face for a long while before speaking, "Death is ck and dark only because we have no-one to share it with. But as for life, isn¡¯t it better to make life a bit brighter since we have no control over death? Because once you die, you¡¯re gone."

    ¡¯Some people defy death as well but they have to live their life like living through hell.¡¯ Ru thought with a hand over her chest. Her body reminded her of the pain when the bullet pierced through the left side of her chest. Who knew it was her luck or misfortune that her heart was slight to the right side.

    Some nightmares simply don¡¯t end even after you wake up from your sleep.

    [1] "Krav Maga": Also known as contactbat.

 Chapter 17 Oniisan

    There was no discernible alteration in Ru¡¯s countenance but Xiao Zhi-Yuan had seen the way her hand went up against her chest. He squinted his eyes but didn¡¯t speak.

    "Why are you sitting here? There are plenty of other seats avable," Ru pointed out after her senses recovered a bit.

    Xiao shrugged his shoulders nonchntly as he replied, "I don¡¯t want to sit anywhere else."

    "Here¡¯s your bowl of ramen," the cute girl¡¯s voice rang out as she ced the piping hot bowl of ramens before Ru and smiled radiantly.

    The aroma of ramens was tantalizing making Ru¡¯s unduly zestful stomach to growl. It was a good thing that nobody heard the growls of her stomach.

    She picked her chopsticks elegantly. Like a Persian cat, she began to eatnguidly and yet with sophistication. To Xiao Zhi-Yuan, the person before him appeared to be indecipherable. Ru¡¯s exquisite table manners and etiquettes reminded him of the time when his own etiquette teacher used to scold him all the time for hurrying over everything.

    He never thought that mere seeing someone eating ramen could be this fascinating.

    Supporting the side of his face on his knuckles, Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept his eyes on Ru. He was amazed that his staring didn¡¯t even bother her at all. For Ru, he was like the background of a scene that she didn¡¯t need to focus on with the lens of her eyes. Her only focus was the bowl of ramens that was more appealing and rather more appetizing.

    "Do you have friends?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked out of the blue with his clear phoenix-like eyes peering at her green ones.

    Ru calmly wiped the sides of her mouth with a napkin and lifted her eyes to gaze into Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes. "No, I don¡¯t keep friends."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan knitted his brows confoundedly, "Why not?"

    Ru pped a few bills on the table before standing up to leave. She stood by Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s chair and ced her hand over his shoulder saying, "Because in the end. those friends would be standing before you to call you a monster without hesitation."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled by her words. He sat there in a daze not knowing the meaning behind those words. With a jolt, his daze broke and he darted his eyes around but Ru was gone.

    He frantically ran out to look for Ru and found her sitting on the stairs of the yground. She was staring nkly ahead. Xiao Zhi-Yuan took a seat beside her.

    "Hey, what if I want to be friends with you?" Ru gave him a weird look with her expressionless face.

    "Kiddo! Make friends with your own age group¡¯s people," she retorted inly.

    His face fell a bit as he said, "But I don¡¯t fit in them."

    "So, you¡¯re the odd one at school," Ru remarked with amusement. "Even then, I won¡¯t be friends with you."

    "Why not?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan wasn¡¯t happy with this reply at all.

    "How old are you?" Ru asked a question in return instead of answering him.

    "I¡¯m turning eighteen this year." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered modestlypletely contradicting his usual stance.

    "You and I have a difference of a decade in age." Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could argue, Ru added, "Apart from that, I don¡¯t like kids who skip school." Ru looked disdainfully at him since he was d in his school uniform she had guessed that he ditched school.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s shoulders slumped down as he replied, "I never skipped school before. It¡¯s just that... here the school is different. I¡¯m not used to it." As he said that, he pulled out his cigarette pack from the pocket and was about to take a stick when the pack was snatched from his hand yet again.

    An open-handed pnded on the back of his head making him scowl. "No smoking!" Although Ru said it, she contradicted her own words by biting a stick between her lips and lighting it up with her lighter.

    The other night because of the dim lights, Xiao Zhi-Yuan hadn¡¯t noticed the lighter in her hands but now that he saw it, he was quite impressed. It was a silver lighter with a beautifully carved ¡¯Raven¡¯ word on one side of it. Ru twisted the lighter in her hand and that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi-Yuan noticed a ¡¯Thunderbird¡¯ symbol on the other side of the lighter. He was stunned.

    The ¡¯Thunderbird¡¯ symbol reminded him of the sketch his elder brother kept locked in his drawer for years. The symbol was exactly alike. ¡¯Is there a connection?¡¯ He thought but shook his head immediately.

    "Can¡¯t you buy your own cigarettes?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowled at her and tried to take his pack back but couldn¡¯t do it because of the clear difference in strengths. "Ugh!" He was clearly exasperated.

    "Why would I waste my money on this useless thing?" Ru answered his earlier question as she blew out rings of smoke leisurely.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared with his mouth agape. "Then why are you smoking if it¡¯s useless?"

    "Well, it¡¯s a good way to pass time." Ru¡¯s answer made Xiao Zhi-Yuan want to puke blood but her next words made him straightened up. "You didn¡¯t listen to mest time at the club." Her cold and yet unwavering eyes stared at his clear eyes as she went on, "I don¡¯t like disobedient kids."

    "You knew?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was bewildered at this discovery since he thought he made his presence inconspicuous.

    "My senses are better than your nonexistent ones. Obviously, I knew you¡¯re there. I just had no interest in confronting you at that time." Her tone seemed sardonic to Xiao Zhi-Yuan for some reason. "You didn¡¯t tell anyone about the happenings, did you?" He felt great pressure on himself and gulped down his saliva with difficulty.

    "Humph! I¡¯m not an idiot. Why would I tell anyone about that? Also, what do you mean by me having non-existent senses?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked not bothering to keep his cold and aloof nature.

    His face contorted with ck lines made Ru feel nostalgic as she lifted her hand and tousled his thick ck hair. "It¡¯s kind of adorable that you have no clue about the ten bodyguards keeping an eye on you."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes widened at not just her words but also at the way Ru¡¯s hand tousled his hair. The touch was gentle like an older brother was teasing his younger one. This idea made him smile spontaneously and his smile took Ru by surprise. Slowly his smile turned into a frown at a realization, "What bodyguards?"

    Ru had noticed the movements of seemingly hidden bodyguards but when her handnded on Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s head, that¡¯s when her suspicion was confirmed. Ru rolled her eyes at him and smiled mesmerizingly as she said, "You¡¯re really naive!"

    If someone else would have said those words, Xiao Zhi-Yuan would have minded it but since these words came from the person whom he had the desire to grow close to, he didn¡¯t give much of a reaction.

    "You remind me of a poem I read in my brother¡¯s diary once," Ru arched her single brow at him inquiringly. "It read:

    I wore a smile to look alive,

    But I forgot to hide my dead soul inside,

    The holes that left my heart hollow,

    To the world, the blood

    That flowed from them, seemed shallow."

    He took a pause before adding, "My brother once told me that friends are just friends. With nobels on them. Even if one of those friends calls you a monster, it doesn¡¯t mean the rest of the world wouldn¡¯t want to embrace that monster." He smiled innocently with his boyish charms. "Also, I¡¯m not giving up the idea of bing your friend. I¡¯ll surely be better than your other friend."

    "Kiddo! Don¡¯t strive to be someone¡¯s recement. It¡¯ll only be painful to you."

    "I have a name, you know!" He scowled a bit displeased and added, "Xiao Zhi-Yuan but if you don¡¯t want to call me by this name, you can call me Xan. That¡¯s what everybody called me back in America."

    "Xan!" Ru said his name as if rolling it over her tongue. "Do you think you¡¯ll see me again?"

    "Of course!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was confident with his words. "We¡¯ll see each other for sure. Oh, what should I call you?" Before Ru could answer, he clicked his fingers excitedly calling, "Oniisan![1]"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened at the way he called her. "What did you just call me?" She asked uncertainly.

    "Oniisan!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered without hesitation. "Why? Is something wrong?"

    "Huh? No... It¡¯s just that no-one has ever called me that." Ru mumbled softly but Xiao Zhi-Yuan heard her.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan pped his hands together as he said, "That¡¯s even better. Now, stay as only my Oniisan. Okay?" He made an ¡¯okay¡¯ sign and excitedly stood up.

    Ru¡¯s eyes followed him until he got into his car and cruised away.

    ¡¯Some people walk into your life without knowing what they¡¯re getting themselves into.¡¯ Ru shook her head and prepared to leave.

    [1] "Oniisan": Older brother in Japanese

 Chapter 18 Bonding Time

    "What did you just say?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice was dramatically loud as he demanded an answer from the amass of ten bodyguards reporting to him. "You¡¯re actually telling me that someone dared to p my younger brother and he didn¡¯t even react?" His voice was abrasive with a tinge of disbelief.

    "Yes, Mr. Xiao!" The senior most bodyguard spoke with the utmost respect and rted the whole events of the day to him.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren waved his hand making them leave him alone with hisplicated thoughts. Since when did his younger brother let other people touch him and what more this person actually pped him? Saying that he was shocked would be an understatement at the moment.

    He knew better than anyone that his brother was as stubborn as a mule.

    In his daze, he didn¡¯t realize when Qin Qu had walked inside his office and was now seated right before his huge mahogany desk. Qin Qu had to knock on the tabletop to break Xiao Zhi-Ren out of his reverie.

    "Where are you lost?" Qin Qu asked keeping his voice calm while knitting his brows together.

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren jolted a bit and looked at his best friend¡¯s prying eyes. "Oh, nothing much. What about you? Do you have anything for me?"

    Qin Qu gave a skeptical look but decided not to ask anything. "I have an invitation from a charity auction for you." Qin Qu informed him keeping his professional look.

    "I¡¯ll take a rain check on that. You can go on my behalf. I have to spend some quality time with my brother." His voice was surprisingly crisp.

    Qin Qu rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to argue but he was interrupted by Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Don¡¯t try to make this a bone of contention[1] between us. I really need to give some time to Xiao Zhi-Yuan."

    Qin Qu heaved a long sigh before taking his leave. Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t stay for a long time at the office. He arrived home earlier than usual and made his way to the apartment.

    When Xiao Zhi-Ren opened the door and walked in, he saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan sitting on the swing chair in the balcony with his legs tucked under him. He was cradling theptop in hisp. He was so immersed in whatever he was reading on theptop that he didn¡¯t notice his elder brother¡¯s presence until Xiao Zhi-Ren tapped on his shoulder.

    "Hey, big bear! How are you back so early?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked in a surprised way.

    "I thought it¡¯s been a while since you and I have spent time together. So, let¡¯s spend this evening together. We¡¯ll do whatever you want to do?" Xiao Zhi-Ren told his younger brother with a gentle smile and tender eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan eyed his brother suspiciously for a while before agreeing, "Okay! Let¡¯s go out for a game of basketball?" He looked up expectantly at his brother¡¯s eyes imploring him to say yes.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled lopsidedly and said, "That sounds good. Go and get ready!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately got up and ran to his room in excitement. Back in America, both brothers had a tradition to y basketball on weekends but because of moving to China, Xiao Zhi-Ren was as busy as a bee and couldn¡¯t spend time with his brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a long sigh as he determined, "I have to give my time to Yuan. No matter what, he¡¯s my priority!"

    The wind was getting chilly as the darkness cascaded over the sky. Under the starry night, two tall figures were seen ying on a basketball court. The fluorescent lights illuminated the concrete court surrounded by metal chain link fences.

    Sweat was dripping down his face as Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept dribbling the ball while Xiao Zhi-Ren kept trying to steal it from him. Xiao Zhi-Yuan spun his body escaping from Xiao Zhi-Ren and jumped up to throw the ball.

    The ball went straight through the hoop making Xiao Zhi-Yuan look triumphantly at his brother saying, "I won!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was panting with his hands on his waist. He grinned looking at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s contemptuous expression.

    He walked up to a bench on the side of the court and pulled out a water bottle before gulping it down. His fair skin was blemish-free but at the moment, it was covered with beads of sweat. He took a towel to pat his face dry and threw another water bottle towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan who caught it with ease.

    "Big Bear, you¡¯re losing your spark." Xiao Zhi-Yuan took advantage of his victory and teased his brother but Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t react much. He only smiled at his brother.

    ¡¯Not losing my spark. Just don¡¯t want you ever lose.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren kept his inner thoughts to himself. After losing his mother at the age of 18, Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that he could face all the storms in the world. But oddly, he didn¡¯t have the heart to see his only brother upset.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan sat beside his brother when he heard the question, "So, how¡¯s school?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan stiffened a bit. He didn¡¯t like this question. Not at all!

    "It¡¯s fine." He replied in a dull tone.

    "If there is something bothering you. Just tell me," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to pry him again but to no avail.

    "I¡¯m fine, big bear. I¡¯ll tell you if something is wrong." Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head at his words deciding to believe him for the time being.

    "Oh, big bear! I looked into that Lord Alev Knight." Xiao Zhi-Yuan diverted the course of conversation but it stunned Xiao Zhi-Ren. He wasn¡¯t expecting his younger brother to actually take interest in these business-rted problems.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat trying topose himself. "So, what did you find?"

    "Well, to be honest, there is nothing much reported about him," Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a sigh of relief but it got stuck at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s next words. "But that doesn¡¯t mean there is nothing to report."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled deviously to himself. "I think he¡¯s more interesting than scary. What do you think?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren studied his brother¡¯s expression for a while before speaking, "Yes! Lord Alev Knight is surely interesting with his weird obsession for power."

    "Mhmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head in agreement. "But you know his secret organization is considered one of the most formidable one." He rummaged out his tab from the backpack with an elevated look and went on, "Look! ording to rumors, there is a hierarchy of power within the organization and the ck Mist squad is considered at the top. They are a group of top-notch martial artists."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren listened attentively even though he was aware of everything Xiao Zhi-Yuan was saying. "But that¡¯s wrong, big bear!" Xiao Zhi-Ren furrowed his brows at his younger brother looking perplexed. "The one at the top of the hierarchy is actually just one person, ¡¯The White Shadow!¡¯" As Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s words fell, Xiao Zhi-Ren was stunned at his ce.

    "What? What are you talking about, Yuan?" He asked with a set jaw.

    "Oho! Big Bear, at the top of the hierarchy, is color ¡¯White¡¯ which represents spirit. The ckes at second which represents ¡¯Soul¡¯. Although I don¡¯t know why he named it this way."

    "Look!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan pulled out some photos of disfigured people saying, "The world thinks that the people who targeted them were different. But they missed a single detail."

    "And what¡¯s that?"

    "All these targets had a slight scratch from a needle on their necks and after that, they are left in this miserable state. There are no traces of poison in the body at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren saw the photos of a couple of targets. One was a photo of a woman who was quite beautiful once but now, only her bones and breath was left as sheid in hospital waiting for death. "Big bear, this woman used to be involved in human trafficking and now, look at her." Xiao Zhi-Yuan clicked his tongue in mock sympathy.

    He swiped to the next photo where a man wasying on the hospital bed with several nails and metal thingies holding him in ce. Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked at him with disdain and said, "And this one, he¡¯s the monster who actually experimented his drugs on young girls. Good thing that now, he can only breathe. He can¡¯t even lift a finger for the rest of his life."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked dubiously at his younger brother. "How are you sure that this is done by ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and how is he rted to Lord Alev Knight?"

    "Intuition!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied matter-of-factly.

    "Yuan, stop paying attention to such things. It¡¯s not your age to even dig this deep about something."

    "But I was just interested in Lord Alev Knight. That¡¯s why I did all this research." Xiao Zhi-Yuan defended himself.

    "Yuan, no arguing! Focus on studying. Promise me that you won¡¯t try to dig any more deeper," Xiao Zhi-Ren sternly looked at his brother. Xiao Zhi-Yuan made a face but he knew that he had no way out of this. So he gave in.

    "I promise that I won¡¯t!"

    "Good boy! Let¡¯s go home!" Xiao Zhi-Ren seemed happy from the outside but his mind was not calm at all. ¡¯Was this ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and the one from hackingpetition different from each other? What if they are the same? Then what¡¯s the connection between Lord Alev Knight and him?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren felt like his mind was going to explode at this rate. He shook his mind and focused on whatever Xiao Zhi-Yuan was telling him.

    [1] "Bone of Contention": A topic which remains a dispute for discussion.

 Chapter 19 Kick The Bucket!

    "I heard you made a new friend, today," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to inquire impertinently while acting nonchnt about it.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave his brother who was busy in arranging the food on tes, a look. "Your minions are quite effective when ites to reporting about me." His tone was quite ironic.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat awkwardly before cing the Salisbury Steak on the table. Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately stretched out his hand to take the steak when Xiao Zhi-Ren smacked his hand making him withdraw it back with a scowl. "Let me bring all the food, first!" Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke sternly before bringing the rest of his home-cooked dishes to the table.

    Since he grew up alone, he developed a liking for cooking and he always experimented with different recipes. That¡¯s why right now, there were Chicken Fajitas, Dumplings, and Chicken Noodle Soup served on the table. He took off the apron and sat beside Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Now, can we start?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked impatiently and seeing his brother nod, he instantly dug into the food with fervor.

    Seeing Xiao Zhi-Yuan eating with such delight, Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled in satisfaction. It was quite bizarre but this was his whole world. His life! Just him and his younger brother.

    "Won¡¯t you tell me something about your new friend?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as he cut his steak in pieces before taking a bite.

    "Mmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan tilted his face a bit in a thoughtful manner. "What should I say about Oniisan?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes widened. "Oniisan?" His voice was prating making Xiao Zhi-Yuan a bit ufortable. "I thought I was the only brother for you!" He really didn¡¯t like this feeling of sharing his younger brother with another person.

    "Big Bear! Now, you¡¯re overreacting for no reason." Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied in a modted tone. "And you know Oniisan as well. He¡¯s the one who saved me the other night."

    Realization dawned on Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face as he calmed down a bit. "Oh, he¡¯s the one!"

    "Yup! He¡¯s the one." Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face brightened up unusually making Xiao Zhi-Ren feel strange for some reason.

    "What do you even know about him that you made him your ¡¯Oniisan¡¯?" Xiao Zhi-Ren air-quoted as he spoke with his unveiled jealousy.

    "Nothing much. I just know that Oniisan is amazing. Just like you!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke with an expression that was as bright as a button.

    "You actually bothered to search about Knight Empire¡¯s chairman but didn¡¯t even look into the person whom you just befriended?" Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that his younger brother kept his friends to a minimum number because he was very cautious with people. It was like his younger brother couldn¡¯t trust anyone in his life except for him.

    "Friendship is made with heart, not with the mind. It doesn¡¯t need logic, it just needs a connection." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised to hear such mature thoughtsing from his 17 years old brother.

    He smiled lopsidedly as he tousled Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s hair saying, "I¡¯m d that you¡¯ve grown up." Xiao Zhi-Yuan swatted his brother¡¯s hand away with an irritated look.

    "You know I don¡¯t like it," Xiao Zhi-Ren obviously knew that his brother hated it when someone messed with his hair but it never stopped him from messing with him.

    As they ate the rest of the dinner in silence, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in his own thoughts stealing nces at his brother¡¯s face. ¡¯Sorry, bro! But I can¡¯t tell you theplete reason for this friendship. Although there is a connection that I can feel with Oniisan, there is something else as well.¡¯

    With these thoughts, his mind wandered off to the night in the club when he was hiding under the table. It was a pure coincidence that when the five people d in ck entered the club in all their glory, one of them dropped something on the floor. And when he leaned down to pick it up, Xiao Zhi-Yuan noticed a tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo was all too familiar to Xiao Zhi-Yuan, it was a ¡¯ck me¡¯; the symbol that was associated with Knight Empires.

    After much contemtion, Xiao Zhi-Yuan came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence that the ck Mist squad had only five people and the people before him, were also only five in number. He figured that the green-eyed man was somehow rted to Lord Alev Knight. Obviously, he didn¡¯t think about the possibility of Ru actually being Lord Alev Knight since he was under the impression that a formidable person like Mr. Knight would definitely note to a small bar to do the job himself.

    Therefore, he only kept the thought that Ru was somehow linked with Knight Empires and nothing else. Although he did all his research because of Ru, he didn¡¯t befriend her for this purpose. As he had told his brother, this was a connection he couldn¡¯t possibly exin in words.

    ¡¯Fate had yed,

    And a connection was made.

    It was a matter of the heart,

    That the mind couldn¡¯t pull apart.¡¯

    Meanwhile, on the other side, Ru was having a staringpetition with Wu Dishi.

    "You¡¯re telling me to wear that," she pointed at the silver tailor-made suit in Wu Dishi¡¯s hand with contempt. "Does this lord look like he¡¯s gonna wear that thing?"

    "Master, it¡¯s just a suit." Wu Dishi managed to say under his master¡¯s deadly eyes. He hated that look. And he also hated the fact that those green eyes were beyond beautiful and yet so... So wicked? He shook his head to avoid these thoughts afraid that the master before him might be able to read his mind after all, ¡¯he¡¯ was capable of doing anything.

    "What color is it?" Ru asked keeping a poker-face.

    Wu Dishi frowned at the question but still answered politely, "It¡¯s in silver color." He was uncertain and why was that? Even he couldn¡¯t tell himself.

    "And have you ever seen this lord wear silver color?" Ru questioned as she reclined back in the leather single seat sofa and ovepped her long legs elegantly.

    "Erm... No!" Wu Dishi answered while his mind was thinking, ¡¯But then again, I haven¡¯t seen you wear any other color then ck and gray.¡¯

    "Go and kick the bucket![1] I¡¯m not going anywhere in that silver suit. Bring it in ck!" Her voice was still low since she didn¡¯t have the habit of raising her voice in anger. If anything, her voice always became more pleasant when she was fuming with rage.

    Tonight was a charity auction and Ru was going to attend that particr event for two reasons; one, she had a knack for charity and that too for hungry and orphan children. Perhaps, it became a part of her since she was aware of how it felt like to be hungry and alone. Her second reason was the highlight of the auction; a painting by the artist known as ¡¯Casse Amoureux¡¯.

    Her family n had a habit of collecting antique stuff and from what Ru saw in her years of growing up, the mere antique pieces were enough to shake the entire country. That¡¯s where she developed a habit of collecting antique or unique stuff for herself.

    This particr painting wasn¡¯t antique, but it was surely unique. What made it unique was the fact that it was thest painting by the artist.

    Wu Dishi efficiently arranged for a ck suit in ten minutes and presented it to his master who only gave a single word in appreciation and that was, "Adequate!" Wu Dishi could only shake his head at theck of words and that too of appreciation.

    Wu Dishi was lost when Ru came out in thatplete ck suit. Even the shirt underneath was ck. Wu Dishi already called his master a Greek god with exquisite facial contours but tonight, his master was exuding the aura of a fallen angel.

    Ru¡¯s tall figure in a ck suit was not just fabulous or eloquent, it was dazzling with a sense of maturity exuding from her solemn face. The fact that Ru had mixed-breed features with her high cheekbones and golden brown skin mixed with those round deep-set eyes made her already very eye-catching for people. But today, the suit was adding another charm to her personality.

    "Master, you forgot to wear the tie," Wu Dishi reminded her after getting over the fact that his master was beyondparison.

    Ru gave him a look that said, ¡¯Have you lost your mind?¡¯ "This lord is surely not going to wear that. You should be d that I even bothered wearing this suit. Which by the way, ispletely unnecessary."

    "Master, I think you should wear the tie as well since you¡¯ve already done so much like wearing a ¡¯suit¡¯," Wu Dishi had the urge to be sarcastic about it but he still managed to speak normally.

    "Oi! I said I¡¯m not wearing that tie at all. I¡¯ve never understood the meaning behind it anyway. And wearing it around my neck would make me feel like a dog with a leash. And I¡¯m certainly not a dog! It¡¯d be an insult to the dog." Wu Dishi was stunned at his spot.

    ¡¯Did he just made himself sound worse than a dog?¡¯ Wu Dishi couldn¡¯t believe what he heard.

    As if answering his question, Ru said, "Dogs are loyal, friendly, and yful. Most importantly, they listen to humans. I have none of those good qualities. That¡¯s whyparing a dog with myself would be an insult for the dogs."

    Wu Dishi had nothing to say about this weird logic since he was the person who knew that no-one could be more loyal than his own master but he didn¡¯t have the courage to speak up.

    [1] "Kick the bucket": To die.

 Chapter 20 The Parting Soul

    Keeping an obtrusive presence, Ru entered the convention center where the charity auction was organized. The convention hall was quite big with round tables arranged neatly leaving a pathway in the middle.

    There were prominent figures of the Imperial Capital attending this auction. But it seemed like a socializing event to Ru which she despised the most. ording to her if you came for the charity then you should focus on that instead of mingling with people to broaden your social circle.

    The only good thing was the fact that reporters were not allowed to enter the venue. Otherwise, this would have been just a show of power and money.

    As per her preference, Wu Dishi had arranged her seat to be at the most inconspicuous corner. Far away from the chattering crowd of the night.

    Wu Dishi could clearly see his master¡¯s face darkening because of the dy and he was at the verge of breaking down. Knowing that if the auction didn¡¯t start soon, his master would probably run berserk.

    Finally, the auction began and Wu Dishi could stop being on edge. He wiped the invincible sweat on his forehead and sat straight on the seat beside his master. Two other men and a woman were seated on the same table.

    During the entire auction ceremony, Ru didn¡¯t bid for anything. She clearly knew what she wanted. Therefore, she didn¡¯t want to bother with unnecessary stuff at all.

    Her eyes only darted around to see the things being auctioned and then she¡¯d act nonchntly. As for the people around seated on her table, they didn¡¯t seem much interested in the auction either. But Ru was interested in them for sure!

    Other than having a brutal personality and cruel mouth, another one of her bad traits was her habit of trying to read people. Wu Dishi wasn¡¯t wrong with the idea that his master might read his mind. Ru might not be able to read a mind but she was very good at reading people.

    As she was noticed a bit, the man seated on her right was wearing a cap on his head and mask on his face. He was trying to be quite discreet with that look. But his dark eyes were staring nkly at the stage. His eyes looked deste, clear and yet there was a hint of being lonely.

    Ru stroked her chin and turned her face to see the gentleman sitting opposite of her. With his professional attire and sses, he looked dignified and mature.

    Ru didn¡¯t bother checking up on the woman who¡¯s been eyeing her for a long time now. Ru avoided that woman¡¯s gaze afraid that she might lose her restraint and say something that she wasn¡¯t supposed to.

    As the auction neared its end, the final piece was put on disy as the emcee announced, "Now, the highlight of tonight... Here we present the ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ by the famous French artist ¡¯Casse Amourex¡¯."

    The painting was beautiful. It made one want to spend hours looking at it. There was nothing much on the canvas. There were only two hands holding each other. But the feminine hand was painted in the form of fleeting butterflies. While the masculine hand was drawn as if it had cracks like a shattered ss slowly scattering away. The name was really befitting for the painting, ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯.

    It showed how one person was flying towards the sky freely leaving the other in pieces.

    "The bidding price is starting at 5 million dors." The emcee¡¯s voice rang out and the bidding started.

    "8 million!"

    "10 million!"

    "15 million!"

    Ru looked at the man opposite of hers who made thest bid and quirked her brow. ¡¯Oh, so he wasn¡¯t bidding before because of this piece? Dream on!¡¯ She thought to herself as she leaned back in her chair with no intention of raising the price. She was sitting leisurely with her legs crossed over each other elegantly.

    "30 million!" The man with sses raised the final bid.

    "We have 30 million. Is there anyone who would like to add? No?" The emcee was speaking enthusiastically. "30 million going once! 30 million going twice! 30 million goi-"

    "90 million!" Ru¡¯s deep voice rang in the hall attracting plenty of attention from people.

    "Who¡¯s that young man?"

    "Did he just tripled the bid price?"

    "He¡¯s really handsome. Seems like a young master of some noble family."

    There were plenty ofments going around but Ru wasn¡¯t focused on them at all. The man in sses nced at Ru with a slight frown between his strong brows. In response, Ru¡¯s lips curled slightly upwards in a smirk.

    "Alright! So, 90 million going once! 90 million going twice! And... Sold! This gentleman in a ck suit..." An employee whispered something in the emcee¡¯s ear making his eyes go round as he cleared his throat and continued, "I mean, Mr. Xie Rong from the Metrix Consortium has bought the ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ for 90 million dors."

    "You¡¯re Mr. Xie Rong?" The man in sses asked with disbelief as he shot up from his seat. Seeing the odd looks being thrown his way, he took his seat back but stared at Ru inquiringly. At the moment, the man with a mask on his face was also intrigued as he kept staring at Ru with aplicated look.

    Ru looked straight at him and replied, "Why? Want an autograph?"

    The one who asked the question had a very unpleased look on his face while Ru heard a small chuckle from the one sitting beside her, hiding his face from all.

    "Actually, I was looking for a way to have a meeting with you," the man in sses replied calmly.

    Ru frowned a bit as she asked, "And why is that?"

    He extended his card towards Ru and she read the name written in gold writing: ¡¯Qin Qu¡¯ from SnapVise Technologies.

    "Wu Dishi!" She called out.

    "Yes, Master!" Wu Dishi stood up to take his orders.

    "Collect that painting!" Wu Dishi looked at Qin Qu for a while in hesitation before nodding his head.

    "Mr. Qin, may I know why have you been looking for this lo-" she cut her words before she couldplete the ¡¯this lord¡¯ title and added, "I mean how can this young master help you?"

    "Actually, ourpany¡¯s CEO would like to have a meeting with you!" Qin Qu told her keeping his eyes on Ru¡¯s green eyes feeling a strange sense of intimidation. But he had to make this request for Xiao Zhi-Ren. It took him more than a month to find out about the person who reced Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s gift for his grandfather. Qin Qu didn¡¯t just spend time and resources, he even had to bribe the hotel staff to get some information.

    Ru rolled the name card in her hand a few times with a contemtive look. "I¡¯ll see what I can do about that," Ru spoke indifferently before standing up from her seat and turning towards the side exit of the hall.

    Her being ¡¯Xie Rong; The chairman of Metrix Consortium¡¯ was attention-grabbing news. She didn¡¯t want to be involved with the meet and greet part. There was no-one at this event who caught her eyes except for this man, Qin Qu and the one who was being mysterious with his mask and all.

    Her task for the night was done! Now, the news that Xie Rong himself was in China would start circting and that was her way of announcing to the world that now, Metrix Consortium will be the biggest business corporation in Asia. Also, from the time Metrix Consortium started working in Asia, there had always been rumors that Chairman Xie Rong was autistic and ugly. That¡¯s why he never attended any events. After this event, the rumors would surely die down.

    While she was leaving the convention center, she heard someone calling her, "Stop! Mr. Xie!"

    Ru turned around to see the man who was wearing a cap and mask, running after her. He was wearing in jeans and a shirt but with his taut figure, it looked quite good on him.

    "Do you have something to say Mr. I¡¯m-being-low-key?" The man didn¡¯t give much of a reaction.

    "Why did you bought the painting for such exorbitant money? I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t worth this much."

    Ru gave him a once over before replying with a serene look, "The painting might not have worth it but... Those orphan kids are worth that money."

    Ru didn¡¯t bother sticking around and whipped around to leave taking long strides with her long legs.

    The man was stunned for a moment with her reply and it took a while toe around for him. As he saw her straight back with her hand stuffed in the pants pockets, he shouted, "Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d have a soft spot for orphans?"

    Ru didn¡¯t turn around to look at him, just lifted her arm over her head and waved at him saying, "That¡¯s the only redeeming quality I¡¯ve got!"

    Although he was right that the painting ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯ wasn¡¯t worth this much, for Ru, it was all worth it. Because as they say there¡¯s no ounting for tastes. Since she liked the painting, she bought it. Yes, bought it at a preposterous price but so what? The money was going to a good cause. That was all that mattered.

 Chapter 21 Hunger Cravings

    When Wu Dishi came out with the painting tucked under his arm, Ru was leaning against the side of the car waiting for him. She had been spinning the ck name card with her fingers.

    When she felt Wu Dishi¡¯s presence, tucking the card between her index and middle finger, she struck the card towards Wu Dishi as if throwing a shuriken. rmed by her move, Wu Dishi barely managed to catch the card before it could cut his face with its sharp edges. It was a good thing that his training made his body agile.

    He frowned staring at the business card in his hand and looked inquiringly at his master.

    "Arrange a meeting!" Ru said and without exining any further, she climbed inside the car leaving a dumbfounded employee of hers outside.

    ¡¯Arrange a meeting? But why?¡¯ Wu Dishi thought to himself. ¡¯Well, it¡¯s not like master will give me an answer. So, I better just listen to him.¡¯ He sighed to himself and after cing the painting in the luggagepartment with care, he took his seat behind the wheel.

    Ru was silently gazing out at the passing road and cars when she heard Wu Dishi¡¯s voice, "Master, what should I do with the painting?"

    "Send it to the gallery." She replied absentmindedly.

    "The gallery in London?" Wu Dishi asked again carefully analyzing his master¡¯s expressions.

    "No. The gallery in Imperial will do for now."

    Wu Dishi bobbed his head up and down saying, "Yes, master!"

    "Stop the car." The car ride was passing in silence when suddenly Wu Dishi heard his master¡¯s order. Without any dy, he parked the car at the roadside and looked back at Ru.

    "Is something the matter, master?" Wu Dishi inquired and as he saw Ru getting out of the car, he followed.

    "You can wait here or just go back," Ru said and whipped her body to leave.

    "But master, what are you gonna do here?" Wu Dishi was quite curious about the reason for stopping here. He looked around and saw a brightly lit street. It was a food market and seeing it, he could roughly guess the reason.

    "I¡¯m going to eat, of course. I¡¯m very hungry." Ru didn¡¯t have to tell him that but she felt like he should know where she was going.

    "Master, I can ask the cooks to prepare dinner for you," Wu Dishi felt like banging his head after suggesting that. He might have spent the least time with his master but he had heard that Lord Alev Knight was obsessed with street food. Leaving an extravagant meal, ¡¯he¡¯ would always run to a stall.

    Naturally, Ru frowned at his suggestion and looked at him oddly with her green eyes. "Mr. Wu, do as much you are asked to. This lord has never been fond of useless suggestions." Her words said with calmness surely snatched away Wu Dishi¡¯s calm as he shuddered a bit. "Now, shoo away! This lord has some Baozi[1] cravings to satiate."

    "But master..." He hesitated in his speech. He knew he had no right to say anything but he was still worried about his employer.

    "Now, what?"

    Wu Dishi cleared his throat and reminded her courteously, "Master hasn¡¯t been sleeping for the past three nights. This subordinate thinks that the master should take some rest. Otherwise, it might have a bad impact on the master¡¯s health."

    Ru gave him a bleak look saying, "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll find my way back to get some sleepter." Although she said this, she knew it was another sleepless night. When she was younger, she was asked to learn all the time leaving no room for her to adopt a habit of sleeping for long hours.

    But from the past decade, sleep and she was at odds with each other. Not sleeping for days was a quotidian thing. Until now, she had been holding her body because of her expertise in traditional medicine otherwise... She would have long lost this battle with life. She could only sleep with a heavy dose of her personally made medicine and that also could make her sleep for a couple of hours since the nightmares never let her be at peace.

    Leaving Wu Dishi, Ru briskly walked towards the food street. It was Imperial¡¯s famous Xi¨¡ngli¨¤o[2] food street and it had everything that Ru could wish to eat. Her hunger was quite unusual for people. Even her only best friend used to say, ¡¯Ru¡¯er, your hunger puts me at the ends of my tether [3]. Can¡¯t you just control this hunger of yours?¡¯

    She used to reply, ¡¯What¡¯s so wrong with my hunger? I work my arse off for this hunger. Just like everyone else.¡¯

    ¡¯Not everyone works for hunger,¡¯ he used to say making her scowl.

    ¡¯Yes, they do!¡¯ She challenged him back then as she added, ¡¯All of us... work for hunger in life. Now that¡¯s different, that our cravings are contrasting.¡¯ He gave her an odd look and she went on, ¡¯Some of us have the hunger for money. Some have the hunger for power. And there are some carving for love. But for me... I¡¯m one of those who have a hunger for food. And I really don¡¯t find anything wrong with that.¡¯

    ¡¯You are impossible to argue with. I don¡¯t even know where these logicse from.¡¯ He used to shake his head at her in disbelief.

    But she never cared for others opinion about her hunger cravings. She loved food and that was that. No-one could change that. If even her old master who used to punish her several times for this unusual hunger couldn¡¯t even stop her from eating excessively than how could anybody else could?

    She made her way to a Baozi stall and took a seat gracefully. Her elegant figure was quite contrasting with the surroundings but who cares? Definitely, she didn¡¯t! She just lost herself in the doughy bun filled with meat and veggies. The world around her was lost as only she and that steaming delicacy in her hand were left.

    Meanwhile, Qin Qu narrated all about his encounter with Xie Rong to Xiao Zhi-Ren right aftering back from the auction.

    "Why are you telling me about the chairman of Metrix Consortium? We certainly have nothing to do with him." That was the reply Qin Qu received from Xiao Zhi-Ren making him roll his eyes at his best friend.

    "Will you please focus?" Qin Qu sternly said and continued, "Xie Rong was the person who sent that chess-set on your grandfather¡¯s birthday."

    Now, this got Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s attention and he looked at his friend for more information. "Really?"

    "Yup! I had to go through so much trouble to find this information," Qin Qu rubbed his forehead tiredly and went on, "At first, there were no clues. Not even in CCTV footage. Then I tried bribing a few individuals at the hotel and they told me that the hotel¡¯s big boss was the one who bumped into you." He sighed heavily in between his talk and took a sip of water before continuing, "Then it was another big mystery that who¡¯s the big boss of Imperial Grand hotel? Most of the things pointed towards Mr. Wu Dishi but when I looked deeper, I found out that Mr. Wu Dishi is merely the CEO of the Metrix Consortium. There is actually someone above him calling the shots. And that¡¯s how I figured that it must be Mr. Xie Rong- The chairman of the group."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was lost in thoughts and didn¡¯t bother saying anything to Qin Qu. He had already figured that the person behind that gift swap was someone powerful. But about this Xie Rong, he was a bit skeptical since Metrix Consortium only emerged in Asia for the past two years and until now, Xie Rong was just a name that nobody could put a face on.

    He wasn¡¯t wrong with his skepticism since Xie Rong was nobody two years ago and now, he was one of the biggest tycoons in Asia. Xiao Zhi-Ren was more interested in knowing how Xie Rong managed to get that chess-set with his influence. After all, it can¡¯t be that a man that emerged two years ago was more formidable than himself who had been working from the age of 19 to build his Tech Empire.

    But since Qin Qu had already made a move by offering to meet, then he can only take advantage of this fact and observe this mysterious person.

    [1] "Baozi": Chinese Bread Buns

    [2] "Xi¨¡ngli¨¤o": It literally means spice

    [3] "At the ends of my tether": This idiom means, To reach the end of your patience.

 Chapter 22 Coffee People & Tea People

    Wu Di Shi had efficiently managed to arrange the meeting with Xiao Zhi-Ren. And right now, Ru was sitting at the Royal Cafe waiting for Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    The cafe was a typical western style coffee shop. It wasn¡¯t very big but it wasn¡¯t small either. It had a coffee colored theme and there were ss walls overlooking the bustling roads of Imperial Capital. The aroma of freshly baked delicacies was enticing enough to make one crave for a bite.

    The Cafe was chosen by Xiao Zhi-Ren himself while Ru just showed up. It wasn¡¯t that Xiao Zhi-Ren waste. Nope! If he had beente Ru would have been long gone. It was just that Ru came earlier than the meeting time out of habit.

    She seated at the table near the ss wall and asked for a Tarry Lapsang Souchong tea[1] for herself. As the waitress brought over her tea she kept looking at the strong color of the tea. Although the tea was famous for being strong, healthy and vorful, Ru particrly liked it for its smoky vor and fragrance.

    Precisely on the meeting time, Qin Qu pushed open the door of the cafe and Xiao Zhi-Ren followed suit. Qin Qu darted his eyes around the cafe and found Ru reclining back on her seat with a cup of tea gracefully to take a sip, seemingly enjoying her tea. He strode towards her and said, "Mr. Xie, sorry for making you wait like this."

    Ru slightly lifted her eyes to gaze at Qin Qu and ced her teacup back on the table without making a slight sound. She politely stood up from her chair and said, "There is no need to apologize. I came earlier than necessary."

    Qin Qu smiled and remembered that he wasn¡¯t the one who was here to meet Xie Rong. It was the person behind him. "Oh, let me introduce you to the CEO of SnapVise Technologies, Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren." Qin Qu introduced Ru to Xiao Zhi-Ren but he didn¡¯t notice the slight raise of the brow that Ru passed after seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was quite surprised himself. Seeing the ¡¯man¡¯ with green eyes that constantly been having coincidental encounters with him, made Xiao Zhi-Ren feel weird. Last time, he decided to avoid his green-eyed person who reminded him of someone. But today... Fate has made Xiao Zhi-Ren stand before ¡¯him¡¯ again.

    "Qu, you can leave." Xiao Zhi-Ren told Qin Qu before turning to Ru and extending his hand for her to take. "It¡¯s nice to finally officially meet you, Mr. Xie Rong." Ru looked at his fair and big hand before extending her own to shake it like a polite and well-mannered person.

    When Qin Qu left both of them alone, Xiao Zhi-Ren took the seat opposite of Ru and kept staring at her green eyes.

    "What would you like to drink, Sir?" A petite waitress came up to take his order. Hearing her voice, Xiao Zhi-Ren finally shifted his gaze away from Ru and said with a humble smile, "One Irish Coffee, please. Thank You!" The waitress bowed slightly and left.

    Hearing him order Irish Coffee, Ru rolled her eyes which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Xiao Zhi-Ren. "May I ask the reason for such reaction of scornfulness?" He asked with a crease between his brows. Ru still found his voice quite mellow for some reason.

    She gave him a brittle smile as she spoke in her low, gruff but deep voice, "I heard somewhere that Blue Jeans, rock-n-roll along with ¡¯coffee¡¯ is a part of American Culture that isn¡¯t going anywhere. And since you¡¯ve been in America for a long time, I really expected you to order for a ¡¯coffee¡¯. You surely didn¡¯t disappoint me by doing so." Every time Ru said coffee, Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but smilezily. She kind of made it sound like ¡¯Coff-ay¡¯. It was new for Xiao Zhi-Ren but surely very entertaining.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that he couldn¡¯t argue about Coffee culture in America. But when his gaze fell on the tea before her, he smirked. "Well, if tea people like yourself are still not over your afternoon teas then how can we get over our coffee?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren chose the word ¡¯tea people¡¯ particrly because he had heard Ru talking in English with a perfect British ent. He roughly guessed that Ru must have been to Europe and since English people are known for their tea then how could he notment about that.

    Ru had been certainly amused with his reply as a genuine smile bloomed on her thin lips. It was weird that it¡¯d been a long time since she had smiled genuinely.

    "Although I can argue with that, I think we shouldn¡¯t dwell on that topic," Ru suggested calmly as she hid her smile behind her poker-face.

    "And why is that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked.

    "Because Mr. Xiao, tea culture came to Europe from China while Coffee culture originated from Arabia. We both shouldn¡¯t be arguing about something which wasn¡¯t even originated from our respective hometowns." Ru argued back politely.

    The waitress came back with Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s Irish Coffee and left silently without disturbing their discussion. "I wasn¡¯t born in America. It can¡¯t be considered as my hometown." Xiao Zhi-Ren told her after the waitress left.

    Ru gave a mirthless smile and said, "Mr. Xiao, you spent more than a decade in America. This fact alone makes it your hometown. Sure, if you¡¯re born in China then this is your hometown but your other hometown is in that country."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave Ru a blithe look before taking a sip of his Irish Coffee. Tasting the coffee mixture with whiskey and sugar was pure bliss for someone like him. And the thickyer of cream on the top had always been like a cherry on top. With his taste buds feeling blissful, he took another sip hurriedly.

    "Take a chill pill, bro!" Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her instinctively. "That¡¯s one strong coffee you got there. Take too much of that I might have to say, ¡¯just crash here, bro.¡¯"

    Xiao Zhi-Renughed at herment and her earnest expression. "You really have a way with words," he couldn¡¯t help butment.

    "Can¡¯t help that." Ru shrugged her shoulders and raised her hand to order another cup of tea for herself. Then she turned back her attention to Xiao Zhi-Ren with a serious look. "Now, let¡¯se back to the reason for our meeting. When I heard that CEO of SnapVise Technologies wanted to meet me, I didn¡¯t expect it to be you."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren squinted his eyes as he said, "You must have done your homework. How is that possible that you didn¡¯t even try to look anything up about me?"

    "Mr. Xiao, for me, other person¡¯s privacy is as much of importance as mine is to me. Well, that¡¯s different that I don¡¯t care about this so-called personal space when someone gets on my nerve or leaves me with no other option." Ru answered him honestly with a sincere look. She was really being honest. If she could deal with a person without digging in his life, she always chooses to do so. After all, most of the time her digging brought out some skeletons which she didn¡¯t personally enjoy watching.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a lopsided smile, "Well, I heard how generously you spent 90 million dors at a single painting. If that was to help the orphan kids than I can only say that you have a really kind heart, Mr. Xie."

    Ru gave him a deadpanned look as she replied, "You might be the only person who thinks that this young master is actually kind." She took a pause and said in a soft voice, "Most people said that I¡¯m just a person without a heart."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren had heard her words and was stunned by them. ¡¯Heartless?¡¯ He didn¡¯t think so since Ru had helped Xiao Zhi-Yuan without any ulterior motive and this green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ before him also took care of his wound even when ¡¯he¡¯ didn¡¯t have to.

    "I don¡¯t think that you¡¯re heartless," Xiao Zhi-Ren started, gazing into her green eyes while Ru gave him an inquiring look with a raised brow. "You¡¯re not heartless. You just haven¡¯t confronted your heart yet." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his remark as she stared at his handsome face for longer than necessary.

    [1]: "Tarry Lapsang Souchong": A variety of Smoked Chinese ck Tea which is harvested in Taiwan.

 Chapter 23 A Strangers Idea Of Love & Life

    ¡¯Haven¡¯t confronted her heart?¡¯ Her thick brows furrowed in thought. ¡¯Has she confronted her heart? No! Everyone always said that she was heartless. And she believed it! No-one has ever asked her to look inside her own self and confront her heart. It¡¯s weird that a stranger was the one telling her to look for her heart.¡¯ Then her brows eased up as she gave a brittle smile. ¡¯You came toote with that advice, Mr. Xiao. This young master has already given up looking for something pointless like a heart. It¡¯s enough that it¡¯s beating to keep me going.¡¯

    She heaved a long sigh and picked up her second cup of tea. "I guess Mr. Xie hasn¡¯t found that special someone who could make him want to explore his heart inside out." Ru heard his charismatic voice making her look back into his ck eyes.

    "Is it necessary to find that special someone?" Ru asked with amusement swimming in her eyes.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a sad smile as he said, "People often find the true meaning of life after they learn the meaning of love." Ru thought she saw a strange yearning and longing in his eyes as he talked, "Life is actually very beautiful and one can only see it when they are in love."

    Ru rubbed her bottom lip as she said, "Mr. Xiao, the real meaning and importance of something can only be learned after we lose that thing. Love and life are also that way. Love teaches to live and life teaches you to love. But in reality, it¡¯s actually a heartbreak that gives us the lesson of love and it¡¯s the death that teaches the value of life."

    Oh, how Xiao Zhi-Ren wished to argue. But he knew he couldn¡¯t. No matter what, Ru¡¯s words were the reality of his life. He learned to live after watching the death of his mother and he learned to love after losing a certain someone.

    "Has anyone ever told you that you¡¯re brutally honest with words? Like every word cuts deeper than a knife." Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as Ru¡¯s words brought too much of his buried memories back.

    "I have been told. But I can¡¯t change that habit. I was raised this way." Ru answered honestly and changed the discussion. "I¡¯m sure, you¡¯re a busy person. Would you mind telling the reason for this meeting?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head saying, "Sorry for wasting your precious time. But... The reason I wanted to see you is that chess-set."

    Ru frowned. "What chess-set?" She wasn¡¯t being ignorant, she really never bothered remembering such small details. At least, not unless those trivial details were important or something.

    "The Han Dynasty Chess-set." Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to remind her, "The one, you used as apensation for breaking my gift."

    "Oh, that?" Realization dawned on her as she bobbed her head up and down. "What about it?" Her reaction was unexpected for Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Was it not good enough? Or did I forget to apologize for my mistake? No, no. I definitely apologized." At this point, she was more of like having a conversation with her own self leaving Xiao Zhi-Ren to sit awkwardly before her.

    "Mr. Xie?" He called out to get her attention and as she looked up, he said, "You¡¯ve apologized. Also, that chess set was more than just enough."

    Ru furrowed her brows again, "If it was enough then why are we having this conversation, exactly?"

    "Because of the fact that it was more than just enough!" Xiao Zhi-Ren enunciated each word with force. Before Ru could argue back and don¡¯t even think for a second that she wouldn¡¯t, Xiao Zhi-Ren added, "Yourpensation was like a person broke a ss of water andpensated it by buying the entire hotel. And that¡¯s me being humble with my example."

    ¡¯Is he saying that his Ming Dynasty¡¯s porcin set was like a ss of water that I broke and my Han Dynasty Chess-set was like buying a hotel? Does that even make sense?¡¯ Ru thought.

    "I can¡¯t really give that set, back to you but how about wepromise in some other way?" Xiao Zhi-Ren suggested disregarding Ru¡¯s dumbfounded look.

    "Compromise?" Ru asked with confusion visible on her face.

    "Yes,promise. Like I can find you something of equal value or something," Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t paying attention but Ru was quite surprised to hear his suggestion. She had always given people more than they asked for but no-one had ever said to her that herpensation was too much. If anything, for people, it was never enough.

    "Mr. Xiao, I don¡¯t need anything. And I gave you that set as an apology." Ru said to him straightforwardly with a weird feeling in her heart.

    "But I won¡¯t be at ease. That apology wasn¡¯t even needed. Please, just to let my heart be at peace can¡¯t you think of something that I can offer?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was imploring with his eyes. He really had been living with a burden on his heart for the past month. He never liked taking advantage of people and epting that expensive chess-set was akin to taking advantage of someone¡¯s good intentions and Xiao Zhi-Ren never liked the idea of manipting one¡¯s good intentions.

    Ru fell into deep thought. She couldn¡¯t decide what to say. Did she need anything? Yes! She needed her memories. But could he give her that? No! How could he? Did she need anything else? Couldn¡¯t think of anything at the moment. She was The Lord Alev Knight for goodness sake! Entire Europe was wrapped around her fingers. How could she need anything when she could get everything on her own?

    Ru kneaded her temples as she took a deep breath. "Mr. Xiao, I really can¡¯t think of anything but seeing your sincere actions, I can only think of one thing."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes brightened up as he questioned, "What is it? You can tell me. As long as it¡¯s within my power, I¡¯ll help you get it."

    Ru looked into his sincere eyes and felt quite weird. She had never seen a person who had a more sincerest look than the one before him. "Um... How about a promise?" Xiao Zhi-Ren knitted his brows in confusion. "I mean just because I don¡¯t need anything now, doesn¡¯t mean that I might not need anything in the future. How about you give me a promise that you¡¯ll help me get something when I want you to?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren thought for a moment. It wasn¡¯t the original n but it wasn¡¯t bad either. He already was aware that the person who could have the influence to buy Han Dynasty Chess-set must be someone who wouldn¡¯t need his help in getting anything. But his conscience didn¡¯t allow him to back away. This promise was the only way to help his conscience feel at ease.

    "Okay! Deal!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without any hesitation and Ru heaved a sigh of relief that finally, she got herself out of this.

    "I should get going now," Ru said as she got up from the chair.

    "Yeah, me too!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied and after paying for their respective drinks, they walked out of the cafe. "Do you need a ride?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know why he asked that question but since he hasn¡¯t seen Ru with a car or any ride before, he just blurted out the offer.

    "Thanks but no thanks! I have my ride." Ru answered and turned to leave.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stared at her back before walking up to his car parked at the corner. He drove out of there with still Ru¡¯s words about love and life ringing in his mind. His hands itched to pick up a pen write down the words running in his mind.

    When he stopped the car at the red signal, he immediately looked for a notepad and wrote a rough sketch of his words:

    "I often thought love taught me to live,

    But walking her fade away from my life,

    I realized that heartbreak taught me the lesson for life

    Life might have taught me to love

    But it was the idea of death that taught me to cherish this song of life

    Life was beautiful with her love by my side

    But it was words of a stranger that became my guide."

    He was smiling at those words when suddenly his gaze fell out of the window pane at a certain someone, stunning him at his spot.

 Chapter 24 Being Alone & Being Lonely

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was stupified seeing Ru before his eyes. She had worn the cap on her head as he had seen before. Her green eyes were looking ahead as she rode a sleek ck... bicycle?

    He had the urge to shout at her, ¡¯Like seriously? I mean are you for real?¡¯

    When Ru told him earlier that she has the ride of her own. Never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that the so-called ride was actually a bicycle. The bicycle was ssy and oddly, under Ru¡¯s tall frame, it didn¡¯t feel odd.

    If anything Xiao Zhi-Ren found the young ¡¯man¡¯ quite elegant riding that bicycle. ¡¯How can he do everything so elegantly?¡¯ He thought to himself as Ru¡¯s figure vanished from his sight.

    Earlier when he saw Ru drinking tea, Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but think that Ru must have been a part of some real aristocratic family because of that distinguished aura along with those rich refined manners. One couldn¡¯t fake those things even if they want to. For Xiao Zhi-Ren, the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was a perfect example of noble bearings with a calm persona.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren could only shake his head at the prejudice he has had since the time he used to live with his father¡¯s family in Imperial. He was taught even in Ji Family house that noble men like them should always allow people to only see their dignified selves. And with time, he started thinking that perhaps money was the way to be dignified among people.

    Today, this stranger taught him another lesson. One needed to have cultural values and an enchanting aura that wouldn¡¯t need the help of money to show your noble status. This made him think even more highly of Ru.

    The car revved back on the road towards his destination with his mind stuck on the peculiar chairman of Metrix Consortium who could have bought any car he wanted and yet chose to drive a bicycle.

    On the contrary, Ru had nothing in her mind. She was aimlessly riding the bicycle which she specifically bought as means for her transport.

    When she was young, the car was a foreign thing for her. Why? Because until the age of 13, the younger generation was kept away from modern technology.

    In other words, the younger generation was taught to survive without modern technology until the age of 13. They were taught martial arts, traditional medicine, and other basic studies. But at the age of 13, Ru was finally introduced to the real technology. It wasn¡¯t that her n was benighted when it came to technology. Quite the contrary actually.

    Ru¡¯s family n was much more advanced than the world around them. They just liked keeping their advancement hidden since it could cause a lot of uproars.

    But even being exposed to such level of technological advancement, Ru was unfazed and showed no particr interest in learning about it. She knew how to drive a car but her life¡¯s training had molded her in a way that she always ran away from driving.

    Also, riding a bicycle or walking on foot both would make her tire out and that could help in her sleep at some level. That¡¯s why she chose to buy a bicycle instead of a car.

    In her thoughts, she didn¡¯t realize when she reached the school district of Imperial. She looked around and was quite surprised that she was back at this ce. In her subconsciousness, she was aware that she was hoping to meet that aloof and cold teenager who called her Oniisan making one of her biggest wishe true. But she tried to reason with herself that she only came to eat those ramens again.

    Her eyes were darting around looking for something or rather someone but she couldn¡¯t see him. She sat inside the ramen shop and ordered a bowl of Vegan ramen bowl for herself.

    Even while eating, her whole attention was at the door. But to her dismay, Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t show up. She sighed heavily and left the shop after paying for the ramen. She was feeling grumpy. Why? She couldn¡¯t tell.

    She wanted to hear Oniisan in his voice again and yet she didn¡¯t. She was confusing her own self. But it wasn¡¯t her fault. Even though she had a younger brother, he wasn¡¯t allowed to even call her anything other than ¡¯Young master Ru¡¯. At one point, she hated that title. She hated the fact that she wasn¡¯t even allowed to spend time with her own brother. She hated that she had to spend more hours training than the other people of her age.

    But with time, she figured all the reasons for these abnormal restrictions on herself. Oddly, it didn¡¯t even hurt anymore. Or perhaps, she forgot what pain felt like. Or possibly, she got used to the pain so much that the pain didn¡¯t felt like pain again.

    With these past things wandering in her mind, she was riding the bicycle to the side of the school to take a shortcut. But to her surprise, she saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan being held against the wall by a few other kids.

    She rolled her eyes at the irony and climbed off of her ride. "Hey, kids! I guess you never learned that bullying is not a nice thing to do."

    The three kids that were around Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned to look at Ru and were quite surprised that someone actually came to this side of the school. "Go away! It has nothing to do with you!" A teenager sneered. He looked like a typical thug with his shirt¡¯s button left open.

    "Well, actually it has everything to do with me since that¡¯s my little brother you dared to touch," Ru answered in a calm voice yet the teenagers felt a strange chill running up their spine. Before they could move, Ru stood right before the one who was holding Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cor. She held his wrist and the teenager burst out crying in pain.

    "You¡¯re noisy." She rubbed her ears in annoyance as she pressed on his pressure point on the elbow making him faint instantly.

    The other two looked horrified with the scene before them. "Now, who¡¯s next?" Her eyesnded on the other two and they sprinted away without thinking. "Eh? Such cowards!" She had disdain in her eyes as she turned to look at Xiao Zhi-Yuan, who was grinning like an idiot.

    He immediately lunged at her and hugged her tightly saying, "Oniisan! You¡¯re the best!" Ru was gonna push him away since she didn¡¯t like hugs but hearing him say ¡¯Oniisan¡¯, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so. Instead, she patted his back awkwardly since she had no idea what she was supposed to do in this situation.

    "Why is it always you who gets targeted by such thugs?" Ru teased him a bit making Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowl.

    He pulled away and said, "And why is it that you¡¯re always so lonely?"

    Ru gave him a set smile as she replied, "Correction. I¡¯m always alone. Not lonely."

    "There is a difference?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned.

    "Yup! Being lonely means that your loneliness can devour you while being alone means you can rule your solitude." She took a pause and further added, "Lonely are the people who can¡¯te to terms with their solitude while alone are the people who rule the world with their solitude as theirpanion."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan bobbed his head in understanding and remarked, "That logic was weird but I guess it was the best one I¡¯ve ever heard."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan hooked his arm with Ru¡¯s and said, "Come Oniisan, I¡¯ll treat you to a bowl of ramen."

    He was about to trudge away when Ru didn¡¯t move from her spot. She smelled a familiar metallic scent. This scent was too familiar for someone like her who had been ying with blood from an early age. She looked at Xiao Zhi-Yuan again, surveying his body and saw the side of his abdomen bleeding.

    "Who did that?" Hearing a strange fierceness in her voice, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled.

 Chapter 25 A Mature Teenager

    Ru lifted his shirt to see a ghastly sight. Although the wound looked deep, it didn¡¯t seem to have done much damage. The wound was right below his left kidney. It seemed to be like something sharp had pierced through him. The blood was oozing out of the wound but Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t seem to care much about it. Perhaps the adrenaline was still high from the earlier scuffle.

    "I asked a question, Xan!" Ru raised her voice instinctively but Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t answer.

    "Aye, this is the first time, Oniisan has called me Xan and not kiddo. I¡¯m so happy!" He grinned again disregarding Ru¡¯s fierce gaze.

    "Xan, what happened?" Ru softened her tone while gritting her teeth.

    "Aiyah! Nothing happened. I told you Nah, I don¡¯t fit in here. So, they just tried to teach me a lesson for being different. That¡¯s the problem with us humans. We want to be different ourselves but if someone else turns out to be different, we get upset over it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan shook his head like a mature person. "Anyways, when they pushed me in the corner, that small pole just dug in my skin." He spoke nonchntly as he pointed towards a sharp edge of the pole on one side.

    Ru rubbed her forehead as she questioned, "Where are your ipetent bodyguards?"

    "Oh, those! I asked bro to keep them away from me. I don¡¯t like them running around me like my tail." Ru had the urge to p him and she even lifted her hand to do so. But the way he closed his eyes in fear made Ru drop her hand down.

    She had been cing her hand over his wound to stop the bleeding but it wasn¡¯t that effective. "Let¡¯s take you to the hospital," Ru suggested.

    "Nope!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan backed away saying, "I¡¯m not going to the hospital."

    "Why?" Ru questioned while Xiao Zhi-Yuan pursed his lips. "Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re actually scared of hospitals?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t like the term ¡¯scared¡¯. So, he argued, "No. I just don¡¯t like hospitals. Have some bad memories." He didn¡¯t want to share the detail of his dislike for hospitals. His worst memories were associated with hospitals. How could he talk about it so openly?

    "Fine! Then sit down on the ground," Ru saw the way his face was solemn at the mention of the hospital. So, she decided not to push him any further. She could treat his wound anyway so it didn¡¯t matter much.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t argue this time and sat down on the ground. Ru lifted his shirt up and pulled out her set of needles. She ced the already disinfected needles precisely around his wound and the blood stopped oozing out. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was more than impressed since he didn¡¯t feel anything.

    Ru stood up and pulled out her cell phone to make a call. "Hey, Wu Dishi! Do something for me." She instructed Wu Dishi about the things that he needed to bring and disconnected the call.

    "Now, you tell me who were these thugs," Ru turned to Xiao Zhi-Yuan for a questioning session. She had a hateful look in her eyes as she red at the teenager who stillid unconscious on the ground.

    "I can¡¯t point fingers at other people when I¡¯m the one to me." Ru gave him an inquiring look and he went on, "I mean, I shouldn¡¯t say that they are in the wrong since I know that it¡¯s me who¡¯s weak. instead of pointing my finger at them to me, I can only work on myself to be stronger. But I never cared about it before since I was never bullied back in New York."

    Ru didn¡¯t know whether she should smile at the fact this teenager was mature for his age or be sad that he had grown up earlier than he was supposed to? She didn¡¯t like the idea of Xiao Zhi-Yuan losing his innocence at such a young age just because of this cruel world. She had faced the cruel world first hand and she never wished that anybody else should go through what she did.

    She tousled his hair and said, "Stop talking like an eighty-year-old. As for being strong, physical strength is superficial. If anything, you should be more clever than your enemies. Also, I know you¡¯re hurting. There is nothing wrong with lying sometimes but we should avoid lying about our feelings. Otherwise, those pure feelings get tainted by lies."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gazed at Ru strangely. He didn¡¯t know why he had this strange connection with Ru. But he just knew that the person before him was someone extraordinary. And also, he just knew that he wanted this person in his life. After his own brother, ¡¯he¡¯ was the sincerest person he had ever met.

    After a while, Wu Dishi brought the things that Ru asked for and stood at a side in silence. Ru wore her gloves and cleaned the wound properly before stitching it and applying the bandage.

    "You¡¯re all set. Wu Dishi will drive you home." Ru told Xiao Zhi-Yuan who had his eyes closed. When Ru saw him showing this vulnerable side, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡¯So, you aren¡¯t that strong after all, eh?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked at his perfectly bandaged wound and lifted his eyes to face Ru. "Oniisan can really do anything!" His praise made Ru frown a bit. "Oh, and why don¡¯t Oniisan take me home? I don¡¯t want to go with him." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave Wu Dishi a look and said, "No offense by the way."

    "None taken," Wu Dishi replied politely.

    Ru wasn¡¯t nning on saying yes but his ck gleaming eyes made her agree. "Fine! Wu Dishi drive the car!" Ru helped Xiao Zhi-Yuan up and took him to the car. Wu Dishi had already ced her bicycle in the luggagepartment afraid that his master might get angry if he forgot the precious ride of ¡¯his¡¯.

    When Wu Dishi was driving both Xiao Zhi-Yuan and Ru, he was wondering what rtionship there could be between the two. He had never seen his master act so cordially with anyone before. What¡¯s more, the teenage boy was actually calling his master as Oniisan!? No-one ever dared to call his master this affectionately before! Wu Dishi thought this was huge news and he needed to share it with someone but he couldn¡¯t even do that.

    Rumors and gossips were forbidden in Knight Empires and the consequences of both were unimaginable. He definitely didn¡¯t have the desire to be one of those who got to experience those consequences first hand. Therefore, he could only shut his trap and concentrate on his job.

    On the other hand, Ru was staring at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s calm and collected face. He didn¡¯t look like someone who had just been hurt. Although there were signs of paleness on his face, he didn¡¯t show any signs of weakness though.

    But in her limited time with Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she had read him inside out. This boy was not aloof or cold. Instead, he was a very warm person. He was always sincere. His reason for distancing himself from the world was that he was afraid of losing people. Ru had learned that he grew up without parents and that might have been his reason for avoiding the attachments. Why he chose to attach himself with her, she didn¡¯t know. But she knew that she wasn¡¯t gonnain about it either.

    When Wu Dishi stopped the car before the apartment building, Ru was surprised. She only read the huge name board, ¡¯Joyous Homes¡¯ and a wave of old memories rushed to her mind.

    ¡¯Here I am, standing before the ce where I didn¡¯t n toe again.¡¯ she thought to herself as she shook her head lightly. She pulled off the cap from her head and climbed off the car.

 Chapter 26 They So Did!

    *shback*

    "We can name it ¡¯Joyous Family Homes¡¯," Ru suggested as she looked at the blueprintsying on the table before her. She looked at her best friend standing beside her and saw him giving her an odd look.

    "Joyous Family Homes? Why?" Her best friend, Jie asked.

    "Because my dear friend, homes are supposed to be joyous. And only a family makes a home joyous, cheerful and ebullient," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "That¡¯s why let¡¯s name this new housing society as ¡¯Joyous Family Homes¡¯."

    Jie narrowed his brown charming eyes at her saying, "Ru¡¯er, some people don¡¯t have a family to make their homes joyous." Ru frowned since she knew he was indirectly pointing at her. Bloody son of a bachelor!

    "Dear best friend, without family, a home is not even home much less a joyous one." A vein popped on her neck showing her disagreement. "Without family, home is called a house; simply made of stones and woods. In short a materialistic thing having no sentimental value. And I don¡¯t want my new developing project to be all about money."

    "Fine!" Jie grumbled seeing her adamant on her words. "How about naming it Joyous Homes? As I said, not everyone has a family after all."

    Ru pondered for a while before bobbing her head. "Okay! Joyous Homes can work as well." she took a pause before adding, "But don¡¯t say that I have no family. Once I have found what I¡¯ve lost, I¡¯ll certainly go back to my family."

    "Do you really want to go back to the ce which caged you for so long?" Jie asked with disbelief visible on his face.

    "Of course. That golden cage of mine still was a luxury than your free world." Ru answered and went back to looking over the blueprints.

    *shback End*

    Coming back to the present, Ru felt like it had been a lifetime since that conversation happened. In reality, it only happened a little over 4 years ago. This condominium building was the first project that she took over in China after bing Lord Alev Knight. The reason was that she wanted a home toe back to.

    She sighed and in her thoughts didn¡¯t even notice when Xiao Zhi-Yuan had dragged her inside his apartment. The apartment structure was exactly as she remembered designing it. It was a duplex apartment. The entrance had a sleek hardwood food making it a bit glossy floor.

    The apartment had a top-down view of the living room from the second floor. The apartment¡¯s Bauhaus theme contrasted with the light and chic interior.

    Three amazing chandeliers in the living area made an immediate awe-inspiring impression. There were Brooklyn Chairs along withfy white couches and ss coffee table in the middle of the living room to go along. The styling was refined and yet its intricate design made one feelfortable in the apartment.

    An open and spacious dining room looked over the fabulous view of the society part outside the french doors.

    All in all, it¡¯s minimalistic style really impressed Ru at first sight.

    "Take a seat. I¡¯lle after changing out of these bloodstained clothes." She heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice as he was making his way towards the spiral stairway.

    "Hey, kiddo!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned and grimaced showing his dislike at the way she called him. Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Fine. Xan, can I use your kitchen?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan instantly smiled hearing her call him, ¡¯Xan¡¯ and nodded his head saying, "Oniisan can do anything he likes." With that, he left Ru alone in the spacious living room.

    Ru made her way to the kitchen which was separated from the dining room with a tinted ss partition. The kitchen had a very straightforward approach to luxury with its marble and copper design. It had aplete white-based shape giving it anotheryer of sophistication along with that ss, ceramic and chrome served as its second ents.

    In all honesty, Ru fell in love with this kitchen. It really was impressive, to say the least. She shook her head and rolled up her sleeves a bit. She wore the apron and got to work. She needed to give Xiao Zhi-Yuan some herbal concoction for the pain but before that he needed to eat something.

    She pulled open the double door refrigerator and was amazed to find it filled with fresh ingredients. She took all the things that she needed and got to work.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan came downstairs, he lost himself in the rich aroma that was lingering in the air. He paced up to Ru¡¯s side in the kitchen and said, "I didn¡¯t know Oniisan can cook."

    Ru lifted her eyes briefly to nce at him and answered, "I didn¡¯t know what you like to eat but since you¡¯re injured I¡¯m making you some chicken congee. It¡¯s good for health."

    Xiao Zhi-Yan didn¡¯t like congee but he didn¡¯t want to argue with his Oniisan. Therefore, he kept quiet. Ru served him congee with a couple of side dishes and asked him to finish it while it was still hot. Xiao Zhi-Yuanplied and ate the whole bowl in no time.

    "Wow! That¡¯s the best congee ever!" he couldn¡¯t help but praise while licking his lips in delight.

    Ru smiledzily at his behavior and passed him a small bowl of the medicine. Xiao Zhi-Yuan scowled looking at that dark-colored medicine in the bowl which he was asked to finish.

    "I don¡¯t want to drink this," he scrunched up his face as if thinking of something, he said, "Okay! I¡¯ll drink it."

    "What¡¯s the catch?" Ru asked with amusement.

    "Umm... Well... Please, don¡¯t tell bro about it," he pleaded with his eyes. "Please, he¡¯ll be really upset and worried. I don¡¯t want to see him sad."

    "Drink this. I¡¯ll think about whether to tell your brother or not." Ru answered and made him drink the whole bowl of the medicine.

    "Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! Eww... This tasted so bad." Xiao Zhi-Yuanined like a ten-year-old making Ru roll her eyes at him.

    She tousled his hair again and heard the sound of the door unlocking. Hearing the sound of the door, Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately perked up as he called out, "Is the weather cold?"

    "So what? Your brother is strong!" Came the answer from the hallway in a familiar voice.

    "The day must be tiring," Xiao Zhi-Yuan called out again as he stood up to greet his brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled gently at his brother and replied, "So what? Your warmth is all I¡¯m requiring."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to hug his brother but Xiao Zhi-Yuan evaded it afraid that his brother would see his wounds and then he¡¯d be in big trouble.

    Both of the brothers didn¡¯t notice the way Ru was looking at them. ¡¯Oh, they did not just greet each other in such a childish manner? Ugh! They did! They so did!¡¯ She was going crazy in her mind thinking about their earlier way topleting each other¡¯s words as if rhyming a poem or something.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren suddenly noticed a pair of eyes on himself and tilted his face to see Ru standing with her arms tucked in her front pockets.

    "You!" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what to say. He was more than just surprised to see Ru at his own home.

 Chapter 27 Before I Kill You

    Noticing his brother¡¯s strange look, Xiao Zhi-Yuan introduced them, "Big Bear, that¡¯s Oniisan and Oniisan, this is my brother. Xiao Zhi-Ren."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren knitted his brows as he said, "I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see Mr. Xie again, on the same day at that too."

    "Well, that¡¯s the beauty of life. It¡¯s unexpectedly beautiful with its surprises." Ru answered looking into his eyes.

    "Eh? You both met earlier today?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked with curiosity.

    "Yeah! We did. You don¡¯t need to know." Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t exin anything to his brother and asked instead, "Did you ditch school again? How are you bing so irresponsible? There are only 3 months before the University Entrance Exams. How are you gonna pass that?"

    "And whose fault is that I¡¯mcking behind?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan challenged back. "Ha? Who told you to bring me to China in the middle of the semester?"

    "Well, I always thought my brother is a genius and he¡¯ll be able to catch up with other people with his achievements." Xiao Zhi-Ren put all the me back on his younger brother for being irresponsible.

    "Oh, big bear, I was a genius but Chinese Literature and English Literature are so opposite of each other. How am I supposed to learn Chinese Literature in such a short time? I barely can talk in Mandarine much less learn literature in it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan argued back.

    Seeing them banter like this, Ru chuckled softly and both brothers turned to look at her. "Is it funny, Mr. Xie?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked incredulously.

    "No... Not really! Seeing his hate towards Chinese Literature reminded me of my old self. Gosh! I used to hate Literature¡¯s guts with a searing passion." While Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised to hear that, Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s eyes had brightened up.

    But both didn¡¯t realize that Ru¡¯s mind had wandered off to an old memory.

    *shback*

    "Young master Ru, it has been already a week and you still haven¡¯t been able to learn ¡¯The ssic of Poetry¡¯[1]?" An aged voice bellowed making the young Ru wince.

    "Old master Song, this young master needs a few more days," Ru spoke in her childlike voice as she was kneeling before her Literature master.

    "Humph! Young master Ru, if you¡¯re going to take these many days to just learn ¡¯The ssic of Poetry¡¯ then how are we going toplete the rest of ssic books? You still have ¡¯The Analects of Confucius¡¯ to master." Old master Song reprimanded her badly as she listened with her head down in respect.

    "What is happening here?" Hearing her grandfather¡¯s intimidating voice, Ru immediately turned to him.

    "Grandfather," seeing her grandfather¡¯s narrowed eyes, she coughed and started again, "Old n Patriarch, old master Song is not showing mercy for this young master. This young master is only 8 years old and old master Song is making this young master more pitiful with all these books." She was speaking as if she had been really wronged.

    "Young master Ru, go back to your courtyard and kneel on the washboard until I say so otherwise." Ru was startled to hear her grandfather¡¯s words.

    "What did this young master do wrong now?" She asked in exasperation.

    "Young master Ru, you¡¯re the next head of the n. And it doesn¡¯t suit for a n head to call himself pitiful." Hearing this exnation from Old master Song, Ru could only swallow her anger and go to execute her punishment.

    *shback End*

    Thinking of how she had to kneel on the washboard for 8 hours made her cringe at the memory. Let¡¯s be honest here, it¡¯s not pleasant seeing your knees bleed from kneeling.

    When she noticed both brothers eyes on herself, she smiled saying, "But now I don¡¯t hate it. I learned my lesson. Since I had to master all the Five ssics and Four Books in ssical Language."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was astounded at her words. ¡¯All the ssics? That¡¯s a huge thing!¡¯

    "You must have learned poetry then as well. Care to share?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know why he wanted to test the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him but he did.

    "Hmm... Poetry?" Ru tapped her chin with her index finger as she pondered for a minute before speaking, "I¡¯ll read out a stanza written by Su Tungpo back in Song Dynasty."

    ¡¯The moon rounds the red mansion

    Stoops to silk-pad doors

    Shines upon the sleepless

    Bearing no grudge

    Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren had always been a fan of poetry and he certainly had heard the stanza that Ru read out but he still couldn¡¯t help but have a feeling that hearing the same stanza from Ru was like discovering its meaning all over again.

    "Do you write yourself as well Oniisan?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked excitedly.

    Ru scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she answered, "Well, I try to. But my best friend used to alwaysin about my bad rhyming senses."

    "Why don¡¯t you read out something. It can¡¯t be that bad," Xiao Zhi-Yuan tugged at her sleeve making feel pressured.

    "So, here it is:

    Roses are red

    Violets are blue

    Come back home

    Before I kill you!" Three handsome people in the living shared an awkward moment of silence before bouts ofughter were heard around. Ru didn¡¯t remember thest time sheughed along with someone but today, she did. Even if it was for a small moment, she felt happy.

    "That... That was unique!" Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked trying hard to muffle hisugh.

    "You don¡¯t have to be polite about it. I know it sucked." Ru answered nonchntly.

    "As I thought, Oniisan sure is peculiar and I love that about you." Xiao Zhi-Yuan announced. "But I think Oniisan is hiding his real talent."

    Ru gave him a quizzical look and Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled in return. "Just hire a tutor for him or just choose foreign literature for the test. What¡¯s so difficult about that?" Ru suggested as she turned to Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "I think, I should!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied solemnly.

    "I should get going now," Ru turned to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "Oniisan can stay for the night. It¡¯s quitete now."

    Ru whipped her body to look at him saying, "Don¡¯t worry about me. I live on the top floor of the building."

    Although she didn¡¯t live there, she was nning on staying there for the night. It would give her a way to decide what to do with her apartment.

    "Oh, then I can visit Oniisan whenever I want," Xiao Zhi-Yuan was d about his oue. He waved his hand saying goodbye to Ru before turning back towards his room.

    "I guess we¡¯ll see each other again, Mr. Xiao." Ru smiled mysteriously at Xiao Zhi-Ren before leaving his apartment.

    She took the private elevator to her own triplex apartment at the top. Earlier, she nned on telling Xiao Zhi-Ren about Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s injury but seeing the brother¡¯s loving banter, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so.

    She entered the apartment and found it exactly as Jie once designed its interior. Nothing was changed. But she had the urge to leave this ce. Every single thing was hand-picked by her best friend, Jie and now, she didn¡¯t feelfortable in thepany of these things.

    She roamed around in the dramatic and unforgettable ck marble hallway. The interior seemed to echo the beach tones of thendscape. She stood before the ss walls of the living room looking over the vast greennd. The living room didn¡¯t have much furniture but it had neutral natural tones giving it a sophisticated feeling.

    She dialed a number and said, "I need some changes to be done in my apartment. It¡¯s convenient to stay here for a while. Its closer to the office anyway." She had decided to fight with her uneasy feelings and stay at the same ce which made her ufortable. That was her way of fighting with own herself.

    [1] "The ssic of Poetry": It¡¯s one of the five ssics in ancient Chinesenguage. It was written in the Song Dynasty.

 Chapter 28 Annoying Pes

    "What¡¯s up, Mr. Knight?"

    Ru was busy with the documents in her hand when that irritating voice made her clench her fists. Although the irritating voice was not irritating in reality, it was just irritating to her. Because it belonged to an irksomed whom she didn¡¯t fancy at all.

    "Certainly this lord¡¯s blood pressure is up seeing his highness¡¯ galling physiognomy," Ru answered as she lifted her eyes to look at that irksomed.

    In reality, the man standing before her was pleasing to the eyes. More than just pleasing with his sharp features making one want to turn to take another look. He was a typical Englishd; sophisticated and yet domineering. He was amused hearing Ru¡¯s answer as always.

    Thisd was none other than the Royal Prince of London, His Highness Adrian Alister.

    "You know I really didn¡¯t expect that Mr. Knight woulde to China himself," he spoke in his soothing voice with his British ent.

    "I believe it was His Highness himself who wanted this lord to personally take over this case," Ru answered without missing a beat. There was a bit of hostility whenever she said, ¡¯His Highness¡¯ and Adrian knew the reason for that perfectly well.

    Ru was sitting cross-legged on the thick carpet of the newly redecorated apartment. Adrian was quite lost in his thoughts as he kept his eyes on Ru¡¯s figure sitting on the floor. The green-eyed lord before him had been a mystery for the past 6 years in his life. And an awful mystery at that.

    He called Ru an awful mystery since he couldn¡¯t help being intrigued by her. Also, he found Ru quite irritating just like she found him equally irritating.

    But oddly, these two mismatched people who hated each other¡¯s guts had been making a pretty good team to solve the unsolved mysteries in Ennd.

    Ru was a part ofw enforcers once but then because of her exceptional talents, the royal Queen took a liking to her and asked Ru to be an important figure. The Queen gave Ru a year to rise in ranks and get involved with people who hide from thew. And that¡¯s when a genius officer became the Lord Alev Knight.

    His hate for Ru was also because of his grandmother, the Queen was actually extremely fond of Ru. She¡¯d always reprimand Adrian to be exceptional like Mr. Knight. It made him hate Ru.

    "Well, I thought you¡¯d send your people to look into this smuggling case. Who knew that Mr. Knight would actually bring his own army back to China? Are you nning to rule Asia?" Adrian asked with interest as he decided to take a seat at the couch himself since his host wasn¡¯t nning on doing so.

    "Did I ask you to sit? How many times have I told you to leave your Royal arse out of my business?" Ru¡¯s remark made Adrian want to deliver a punch straight to that damn handsome face before him but he knew he wouldn¡¯t be sessful. "This lord only brought a part of his army and that too because the Queen wants everything to be done efficiently. As for taking over Asia," Ru scoffed. "This lord is not shallow like you."

    "Can¡¯t you speak without taunting me?" Adrian asked glowering at her.

    "To that, I can only reply with... Bugger Off!" That really ticked off Adrian whose fairplexion was being painted with the hues of red.

    "You knobhead! I hate you!" Adrian growled at her but Ru was unfazed. ¡¯How typical of him!¡¯ Adrian thought to himself. His biggest problem was that no matter what he said, this Mr. Knight would never lose ¡¯his¡¯ temper. And that made him even more grumpy.

    "Have I mentioned?" Ru asked inly with a poker-face.

    "What?" Adrian showed interest as he leaned closer.

    "The feeling is very mutual. This lord hates his highness¡¯ royal arse as well." If someone saw this scene from afar, they would think that the two people were having a normal conversation with their calm looks but only these two could tell the burning fury hidden in their words.

    There was silence in the spacious seating area that spanned almost all over the living room. In silence, Adrian observed the interior of the living area and was surprised to see how the sharp edges of the furniture reflected the angr artwork and matching modr table set.

    Adrian left Ru¡¯s side and roamed around her apartment as if it was his own royal garden. He was already fascinated by the ck marble hallways and then he saw the stunning artworks that decorated the entire dark hallway making it appear like a part of a gallery.

    Adrian was well-versed in the art and was familiar with each piece that was hung on the wall. Passing through the hallway, he came across the staggering floor to ceiling sculpture swirls around a curvaceous ck daybed. It was illuminated from the floor by the recessed lighting.

    Adrian already was familiar that Mr. Knight had a very peculiar taste but he still couldn¡¯t figure out the reason for ck color in ¡¯his¡¯ life.

    "Are you done admiring the view?" Adrian was startled when he heard Ru¡¯s voice from behind him. ¡¯Gosh! Why doesn¡¯t this man make any sound when he walks?¡¯ he was roaring in his mind but he knew if he said it out loud then they¡¯d again get into an unnecessary argument. And he was certainly not in the mood.

    "Shall we talk about your reason for being here, His royal highness?" Ru taunted him again making him roll his eyes.

    "Fine! Grandmother asked me to inform you something," Ru attentively listened without interrupting at all. "The spy she had sent for this smuggling deals is killed. Before dying he sent a message to the HQ." Adrian took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead saying, "The message stated that smuggling is just a way to distract us. The real purpose of these people is far worse."

    Seeing Ru¡¯s indifferent look, Adrian had a thought, "You knew?!" He didn¡¯t know if he was asking or stating a fact. But since Ru didn¡¯t react he realized that it was a fact. "Then do you know their real motive."

    "For now, I¡¯m unclear about it. But we¡¯ll eventually get to that." Ru stated without even sparing Adrian a nce. He really felt invisible in herpany while she felt invincible to him.

    ¡¯Was he really that insignificant for this Lord Alev Knight?¡¯ he thought to himself helplessly. ¡¯What rotten luck I have that I came across this unbeatable lord!¡¯

    "Doesn¡¯t royal highness have to catch a flight back home now?" Ru asked as if she was just reminding him like a loyal subordinate.

    Adrain squinted his eyes and said, "Nope! I¡¯m going to stay here for a while."

    "Suit yourself! But get your royal arse out of my apartment. My humble abode can¡¯t possibly amodate his royal highness¡¯ great self. After all, this lord is only a lowly subject."

    ¡¯Lowly subject? My arse!¡¯ Adrian smiled pleasantly and answered, "Grandmother specifically advised me to stick close to Mr. Knight during my stay in China. Now, how can I go against my royal grandmother?" Adrian was feeling proud of himself since now, he¡¯ll get to irritate this green-eyed monster as much as he wants to.

    Ru took a deep breath and answered, "Okay! As the royal highness says so."

    She hated the idea of sharing her apartment with this brat but she had no other option. He really was an annoying pest hovering in her life for the past 6 years.

 Chapter 29 If You Can Fit, Be My Gues

    In the past week, Ru had changed the entire interior of the apartment to give it a media-savvy look. The things that she didn¡¯t change were the natural tones of the apartment. The ce was a work of pure art and the world-ss artworks only enhanced the refined structure of the apartment.

    If one would ask, what was missing in this apartment? The answer would be...

    "WHAT THE FUDGE? WHERE THE HELL IS THE BED?"

    The booming roar must have answered your question. Yes, there was no bed in this huge triplex apartment. Originally, the apartment was designed for her and she would never have any guest which left no reason for having a guest room to amodate people. And since she never slept onfy beds, there was no point in wasting money.

    Adrian came running back to Ru who was still immersed in the documents before her. "Are you even listening? Where is the bed? Where am I supposed to sleep?" His voice was clearly abrasive and yet Ru didn¡¯t bother lifting her head to spare him a nce.

    "I¡¯ve already informed Royal Highness Adrian that this lord¡¯s humble abode won¡¯t be able to amodate you. It was you who still wanted to stay here." Ru¡¯s mellifluous voice and her mocking words were quite contrasting making Adrian want to bang either his own head or that green-eyed monster¡¯s.

    "Now, am I suppose to sleep on your head, Mr. Knight?" Adrian questioned sarcastically while gritting his teeth. He wasn¡¯t serious but someone else took his words seriously.

    Ru stroked her chin as if seriously pondering that idea in her mind. "If you can fit, be my guest," Ru answered him and even moved her head a bit towards him.

    Adrian raised his hands wanting to strangle her but he could only harrumph before walking away not before saying, "You better get me a bed before Ie back."

    "Pow! Pow! Pow!" Ru made the sound with her mouth. She even was punching her hands in the air while ring towards the hallway where he vanished. Then she picked up her cellphone and dialed a number. "What do you think you¡¯re doing in London? I don¡¯t care how you¡¯re gonna do it but get this damn prince off of my back. If he¡¯s not gone by tonight, I might strangle him to death." Taking a brief pause, she added, "And then I think strangling will be too easy. I honestly want to boil him alive in a pot and skin him with my own hands."

    The person at the other end shuddered just listening to the malicious tone of hers. "Sir Knight! I¡¯ll take care of it."

    "You better do!" With these parting words of hidden warning, Ru hung up the call.

    While she was sulking at her ce, Adrian had left to see an old friend who was the reason for his decision to stay in China for a few days. Obviously, he wanted to torture Mr. Knight with his presence but his real reason was different indeed.

    "Hey, Zoran!" Adrian called out the moment he stepped inside the spacious office of his friend. The person sitting on the swivel chair behind the mahogany desk had refined features; elegant and alluring.

    On the huge mahogany desk was a customized ss-like acrylic desk namete. On the name que, in beautiful writing was engraved: Xiao Zhi-Ren, CEO SnapVise Technologies.

    "Adrian! You didn¡¯t even inform me that you¡¯reing," Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at his old friend and walked towards him to give him a bro hug.

    "If I had informed, would you be this surprised?" Adrian asked yfully wiggling his brows.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at Adrian¡¯s childish behavior and couldn¡¯t help but remind him, "If you keep acting like a child, who would still believe that you¡¯re the royal highness of Ennd?"

    "Forget about that. You tell me why did you suddenly decide toe to China?" Adrian inquired as he pulled him to a sitting area in the corner of the room. Xiao Zhi-Ren stayed quiet making Adrian impatient. "Zoran! I¡¯m asking you something?"

    "Since you ruined my chances in the European market, I decided to take my chances in Asia," Xiao Zhi-Ren answered crisply not forgetting to remind Adrian of his mistakes.

    "What did I do?" Adrian yed the act of being ignorant.

    "Really?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gave him a look before reminding him, "If it wasn¡¯t for your stupid wish to be at loggerheads with Lord Alev Knight. I wouldn¡¯t have had to lose my chances in the European market."

    Adrian scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "In my defense, that person is hateful to the bones. I couldn¡¯t help it. Who knew that he had someone on his end to stop your exceptional attack on Knight Empires server." Adrian clicked his tongue in disappointment. "It was such a waste. We were so close to cracking his whole empire down."

    "Mr. Royal Prince, it was not a waste. It was a disaster for me. Whoever was stopping the attack left a damn malware in my own server. I had a loss of millions just because of your stupid revenge." Xiao Zhi-Ren flicked Adrian¡¯s forehead.

    They had been friends since their college days since both were in the same ss. Adrian was sent to America to study away from all the media coverage of his royal lifestyle. And that¡¯s when both became close friends.

    A few years back, Adrian wanted to take his revenge on Lord Alev Knight and to do that, he asked Xiao Zhi-Ren to attack the main server of Knight Empires. Now, it was their misfortune that their attack was fruitless. And in return, Xiao Zhi-Ren had to suffer huge losses. From that time, Xiao Zhi-Ren decided to stay far away from Knight Empires territory.

    "I still think that your animosity is quite pointless. If I haven¡¯t heard wrong, Mr. Knight actually saved your grandmother¡¯s life and that¡¯s why the Queen favors him so much." Adrian hated this specific argument. Why was everyone reminding him about how big of a favor that hateful person did on the royal family?

    "Look, Zoran! You don¡¯t know him personally. I might not have hated him this much if he had a likable personality. But he is just too hateful. I can¡¯t help it." Adrian raked his fingers through his golden blond locks.

    "Oh? Why don¡¯t you tell me what¡¯s so hateful about him?" Xiao Zhi-Ren retorted as he gave hisplete attention to Adrian seemingly quite interested in this particr topic.

    "He... He..." Adrian tried to think of his reasons but suddenly all his reasons seemed childish. But since Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking at him eagerly, he had to say something. "He is too honest with his remarks. He never respects me. Always treat me as if I¡¯m a child who doesn¡¯t know any better."

    "And that¡¯s your reason? Because if it is then I think your problem is that he doesn¡¯t like licking your boot to get your favor." Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t bother sugar-coating his words before his friend.

    Adrian was about to argue when his cellphone made him swallow his words back down. Seeing the caller id, he frowned and picked up the call. "What is it?"

    "Your Highness, my apologies to disturb you but it¡¯s urgent." The person at the other end spoke respectfully.

    "Come to the point," Adrian spoke impatiently.

    "There seems to be an emergency at your vineyard in France..." Adrian¡¯s face changed color the more he listened.

    "Ask the pilots to be on standby. I¡¯ming straight to the airport." Adrian hung up the call and stood up in a hurry.

    "Is everything okay with you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired seeing his unusual behavior.

    "Yeah! Just a bit of an issue that requires my assistance. Anyway, you better tell me the real reason foring to China when I see you next. For now, I¡¯ll let you keep this secret." Adrian hugged Xiao Zhi-Ren before leaving his office.

 Chapter 30 Four; The Death

    "Master, here are the details that we gathered in Hong Kong." Adia passed a tabletputer to Ru and stood back in line with the other members of ck Mist squad.

    "Anything particr that I should know about?" Ru asked as her eyes were skimming through the data before her on the screen.

    No-one spoke to answer as they kept sharing looks with each other. Sensing their reluctance, Ru said in a neutral manner, "Jack!"

    "Always at your service master," the youngest of the squad spoke submissively.

    "Are you going to hide things from your master?" The way Ru spoke sent chills to Jack¡¯s spine making him gulp down his swallow.

    "Absolutely not, master." Ru expected that answer. She knew very well that since Jack was the youngest, he always treated her as his everything. For Jack, Ru was not just a master, she was his savior and he would do anything to repay her.

    "Start talking," hearing Ru¡¯s order, Jack straightened up.

    "There is a particrly odd thing that came to our attention," Jack started with a strange expression. "We came across another girl like the one who tried to kill you back in London."

    "Where is she?" Ru immediately asked.

    Jack bit down his lips and answered, "We lost her."

    Ru mmed her hand on the table before her making the other¡¯s startle up. She rubbed her temples as she questioned, "How are you sure that the one who attacked me and the one who came across you have any kind of connection?"

    Connor was the one to answer that question, "The one we came across was also mute." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at Connor to keep going, "Apart from that, she had the same look of bloodthirst in her eyes. Her movements and way of execution everything matched with the assassin we have in our dungeon."

    "Go, get busy," Ru waved her fingers asking them to leave her alone.

    ¡¯Mute? Female? This can¡¯t be a coincidence now, can it?¡¯ Ru was lost in her thoughts when she felt the presence of someone close by. "What is it, Jack?"

    Jack was startled but he instantlyposed himself and said, "I forgot to tell you something, master."

    Ru turned around to look at him and asked, "What is it?"

    Jack dug out a piece of cloth from his pocket and extended it towards her saying, "When I was fighting with that assassin, I identally tore a piece of her dress. You might wanna see it closely."

    Ru took the piece from his hand and Jack turned around to leave. Ru held the cloth in hand and couldn¡¯t tell why this kid wanted her to look at it closely. She rubbed her hand over it, tried to smell it but couldn¡¯t decide what was she supposed to be looking for.

    While she was busy frowning, her phone rang making her groan in irritation. Seeing the caller id, a smug smile bloomed on her thin lips. "Oh my! Your Royal Highness, your bed has just been delivered. When would you be gracing my humble abode with your presence?"

    "I¡¯m on the ne. Going to France for some urgent work." Adrian¡¯s somber voice was transmitted from the other end.

    "Oho! Is everything alright with his highness? I hope you won¡¯t be needing any assistance." It was a pity that Ru couldn¡¯t see his contorted face at the moment. Nheless, she was enjoying the helplessness in his voice.

    On the other side, if Adrian knew her thoughts, he would have strangled her by now. "No, I don¡¯t need your assistance. I can certainly handle my own business." Adrian spoke with indignation.

    "Then I hope his highness can deal withw and press all the while maintaining his code of fighting with problems like any other civilian." Adrian¡¯s eyes went round as he understood her meaning.

    "You! You did it! I should have guessed. Ugh!" Adrian was irked and now, stood at the edge of his patience. It was no wonder that suddenly his vineyard was facing awsuit and that whole incident of wine not being properly brewed or whatnot had been spread to the media.

    "Took you long enough to figure it out."

    "Mr. Knight, may I ask why you love to attack me so openly?" Adrian spoke clenching his jaw.

    "It must be because I hate hiding in the dark to attack," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "You idiot! I wish I never have to see you again!" Adrian screamed through the phone making Ru push the phone away from her ear.

    "Trust me, I¡¯m not a fan of seeing you either. Also, if this mission went as I want it to, you won¡¯t see this lord ever again." Ru¡¯s voice had changed to an intense tone making Adrian feel weird.

    "Hey! What do you mean?" Adrian received no reply since the line was cut. He stared at the phone screen as he kept thinking of those words, ¡¯Won¡¯t see him again? Why?¡¯ Suddenly, Adrian realized that he didn¡¯t like the sound of this certain phrase at all. His favorite hobby had be to frustrate Mr. Knight, how could he just get over it? ¡¯He must be messing with me again!¡¯ He shook his head and decided not to believe Ru¡¯s words.

    But what he didn¡¯t know was that Ru meant what she said. Her only reason to stay as Lord Alev Knight was to look for her memories that she lost. Look for the source of pain that prickled her body and burned her soul every time.

    After hanging up the call, as if remembering something, Ru picked the piece of cloth and went to a room on the third floor of the apartment. She opened a wooden cab and mixed up a few chemicals in a ss container before dipping the cloth in it.

    True to her spections, the ck cloth suddenly had writing on it in, visible in white color. When she looked closely, she realized it wasn¡¯t writing. Rather it was a female gender symbol. But the symbol¡¯s peculiarity was the fact that in the circle head, there was written: 19. She stared at it for a long time in shock.

    She went to the huge mirror wall in the room and took off her ck jacket and lifted the full-sleeve shirt underneath. Turning her taut body sideways, she looked at the side of her ribcage. The tattoo on her body and on that cloth was identical except for two things: One, hers had the number four engraved in the circle head and two, her tattoo¡¯s circle head had two devil horns.

    She always told herself that she had that symbol since she was famous for being called ¡¯four¡¯ back in her n because it sounded like the death in Mandarine. But today, she had to stop convincing her mind.

    She staggered back a bit as she kept staring at that tattoo on her own body. Where it came from? She didn¡¯t know. Why was it on her body? She didn¡¯t know that either. What did it mean? She knew nothing.

    But now she knew one thing, coincidences can happen but not this much. How was it possible that seeing that assassin who tried to kill her, she felt sympathy instead of rage? How was it possible that she found the same symbol on someone¡¯s clothes as she had on her own body. That surely wasn¡¯t her family¡¯s symbol.

    ¡¯Now, I have all the more reason to believe that I¡¯m close to finding whatever I lost!¡¯ she determined in her mind and pulled her jacket back on. ¡¯Whoever you are, I¡¯ll find you! Even if the cost of finding you is to lose my life!¡¯

 Chapter 31 Soccer? Football!

    We are often told that time is a healer. With time, everything gets better.

    But...

    The truth is...

    Time was never a healer. If anything, time is a teacher instead.

    It doesn¡¯t heal our wounds to make us feel better. It just teaches us the way to bear that pain and live with it. In all honesty, there is no such pain that actually truly fades away.

    Pain sticks with us but the difference is that pain sticks to us like our shadow.

    How is it a shadow?

    When we get close to something that brings happiness in our life again, for that particr time, pain leaves our side as the shadows leave us in darkness.

    No matter how old this pain gets, it doesn¡¯t fade away. But then again, without this pain, we all be left with no reminders of our mistakes.

    As the saying goes, ¡¯Pain demands to be felt.¡¯

    We all have different ways to cope with that pain. For Ru, she made herself busy with work to not let herself break down. After seeing the same marking as she had on her body, she felt her body reminding her of all the pain that it went through.

    The feeling of being torn apart was overwhelming her to the extent that she had the urge to scream. But...

    She didn¡¯t scream.

    Instead, she chose to smile as always.

    Why?

    She was taught to never let others hear her screams of pain. Because it would only make people pity her and young master Ru was anything but pitiful.

    No matter how much her brain was screaming inside, she had never let anyone hear those screams. She would never show her vulnerability to anyone. It was a taboo in her life.

    Right now, to escape from the screaming voices in her head, she had buried herself in different affairs for the whole day. But when the screams didn¡¯t leave her alone, she chose to pick up her football and went to the park nearby.

    She¡¯d been running around with the football aimlessly when she heard a voice from behind, "You seem to be quite fond of ser."

    Ru looked up to see Xiao Zhi-Ren sitting on a bench with his eyes trained on her. She felt like he had been there for quite a while now. Because he didn¡¯t seem to be someone who was just passing by.

    Ru took the ball in her hand and replied, "First, it¡¯s called football. Second, it¡¯s the only game that actually excites me."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at her and said, "Well, ser sure is one of the most yed sports in the world."

    "I don¡¯t understand this," Ru started making Xiao Zhi-Ren raise his brow inquiringly. "Why do you Americans have to call it ser? Clearly, for the entire world, it¡¯s football."

    "Let me correct you. Australians also call it ser." Xiao Zhi-Ren argued.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him saying, "It doesn¡¯t exin the reason for being called ser."

    "That¡¯s a good question. But America already has a game known as football." Xiao Zhi-Ren presented his answer as he crossed his arms before his chest.

    Ru scoffed. "Mr. Xiao, that game is called rugby. Because neither it¡¯s yed with a ball nor it¡¯s yed by the feet."

    "Mr. Xie, I think this is something we should not be arguing about since neither you are aplete English man and nor am I aplete American." He was quite reasonable and even Ru herself didn¡¯t know why she started this argument in the first ce.

    But nheless, it helped her ovee the prickling pain and loud screams in her mind.

    "Want some?" Ru looked at the bottle of water in the hand that he had extended towards her. She shrugged her shoulders and took the bottle before perching down beside him on the bench.

    "Thank you!"

    "You are most wee!" He replied pleasantly and looked straight at the empty park. "Do you mind me asking what¡¯s your deal with the hoods?" He had always seen Ru in hoods and that too in either ck or grey color. But he chose to ignore this color part.

    Ru looked at him through her peripheral vision and replied, "It helps me in concentrating at the things that are right in front of my eyes." He nodded his head as if understood the meaning behind her words. "Mey I ask what brought you here at this time?"

    "Oh, me? Ie for a walk whenever I feel stuffed up inside the house."

    They sat in silence again. But the silence wasn¡¯t awkward at all. Both were lost in their own thoughts. As Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind was wandering off to find the emotion in those green eyes before him. Earlier when he saw Ru ying all alone, he felt like he saw a bit of agitation and anger emitting from her body.

    But now, seeing the calm expression on Ru¡¯s face, he was questioning his own mind. Was he overthinking? Perhaps not. Since until now, this was the first time he felt that there was something else to the young ¡¯man¡¯ beside him other than ¡¯his¡¯ tranquil and enchanting aura.

    "You know, my face doesn¡¯t have the answers written on it but I do know how to speak." Xiao Zhi-Ren jolted a bit hearing that deep voice. He was flustered for being caught for gawking.

    He dry coughed a bit and spoke, "So, what¡¯s up, Mr. Xie?" He knew he wasn¡¯t close enough to Ru to ask anything personal. Therefore, he decided to do some casual chatting.

    Ru shot up from her seat and looked at the sky curiously and said, "Oh, it¡¯s a bird..." She clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment saying, "Tsk... Nah... It¡¯s a ne... Oh, wait!" She turned her gaze to Xiao Zhi-Ren who was looking at her with his raised brows. "Ah! It¡¯s Superman!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pursed his lips trying hard to muffle hisugh but as they both looked at each other. Both had amusing smiles on their handsome faces and both ended upughing together. Xiao Zhi-Ren never thought that the chairman of Metrix Consortium would give him such a childish reply for a simple ¡¯What¡¯s up?¡¯

    "Haha... That¡¯s quite old..." Xiao Zhi-Ren said rolling his eyes at her.

    "But you fell for it." Ru reminded him, making him scrunch up his face as he nodded.

    "Fair enough!"

    After theirughter died down, they started walking back towards the apartment building together. "Aren¡¯t you excessively cheerful for someone who calls the shots for one of thergest and fastest growing group ofpanies?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked while Ru was busy in spinning the ball on her finger.

    Ru didn¡¯t spare him a nce as she retorted, "Aren¡¯t you too carefree yourself?" Xiao Zhi-Ren pursed his lips knowing he couldn¡¯t argue with that. "But in all honesty, I think you¡¯re not carefree at all. Just like you know in your heart that I¡¯m not cheerful." The way she gave him a lopsided smile gave Xiao Zhi-Ren a start.

    In his heart, he knew that the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was not cheerful. But the way he always found ¡¯him¡¯ smiling gave Xiao Zhi-Ren believe for just a second that perhaps, his heart was wrong. Perhaps, this person was cheerful and he was just overthinking again.

    But Ru¡¯s answer broke that believe of ¡¯maybe¡¯ in him. Now, he could say that this young ¡¯man¡¯ was certainly hiding behind ¡¯his¡¯ cheerful persona. Like he was hiding behind a carefree one.

    They were on a tree-lined pathway which led to the apartment building. Ru was distracted with her mind in chaos over plenty of things. Suddenly a fast car lost bnce and changingnes got on the pathway. Xiao Zhi-Ren pulled Ru, making her fall to the grass-d ground with himself. If he had been a secondte, Ru would have been severely injured.

    "Are you okay?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked her and looked at the way where the car vanished. "F*ck! People really have no sense of following the speed limit at all."

    Ru sat frozen on the ground without moving. Xiao Zhi-Ren thought that the car gave her the fright but he didn¡¯t know that she was not scared. Instead, she was in shock. A state of disbelief.

    "Why did you save me?" Xiao Zhi-Ren heard her soft voice which wasn¡¯t like what he was familiar with. The voice wasn¡¯t deep. It was delicate like silver bells were chiming.

    "Uh? Wasn¡¯t I supposed to?" Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t understand the context of her question.

    This was the first time someone saved her without any reason. She always had to save herself along with the people around her. It never felt weird since she could save herself and others. But today, someone else saved her.

    True, it was just an ident and he did it on instinct but for her, it meant a lot more. She dusted off her ck trousers and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren in the dark night. "Mr. Xiao, since you saved my life if you ever need me in the future for anything. Don¡¯t hesitate from asking."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned since he thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. But seeing the look of resolution and sincerity in her eyes, Xiao Zhi-Ren could only nod his head. "I¡¯ll hold you for that promise then."

    Ru extended her hand for him to shake as she said, "Have faith in me. This young master¡¯s promise is more important than his own life."

    If she knew that this promise would one day make her want to strangle Xiao Zhi-Ren, she would have never given that promise without thinking.

 Chapter 32 Youre A Bubble, Im Gum

    "Organize the productunch event. Let¡¯s name it... ¡¯New Phase of Tech, Made by Snap Tech¡¯. But make sure to not reveal the details of the products that we areunching." Xiao Zhi-Ren told Qin Qu as they were nning their first productunch in China.

    "Wouldn¡¯t it be better to give some sneak peek to our new product? It¡¯ll generate some anticipation in public." Qin Qu suggested.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren ced his customized ck pen on the table and looked at his best friend, "Qu, I want the product to stay as a secret to cause a whole new level of anticipation." Qin Qu definitely wasn¡¯t following but he still listened attentively. "This is SnapVise Technologies first step into China. And as you are familiar, there is already enough hype surrounding us. Now, we just need to focus on taking advantage of this hype. The less our customers will know, the more curious they will be to find out."

    Qin Qu nodded his head in admirationpletely understanding Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s intention. "Oh, and don¡¯t forget to release a promotional video." Xiao Zhi-Ren reminded Qin Qu and turned to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan surreptitiously trying to escape from the house. "Where are you going, Yuan?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan straightened up to look at his elder brother¡¯s questioning gaze. He scratched the tip of his nose and answered, "I¡¯m going to see Oniisan."

    A line appeared between Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows. "Why?"

    "Because I¡¯m gonna ask him to help me with the Chinese Literature." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered straightforwardly.

    "Why don¡¯t you chose foreign Literature just as your Oniisan had suggested," Xiao Zhi-Ren argued. He really didn¡¯t understand the reason for Xiao Zhi-Yuan trying to stick with Chinese Literature when he wasn¡¯t even familiar with the basics of it.

    "Humph!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan scoffed. "Then how will I be able to prove myself?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s frown deepened as he said, "But I don¡¯t need you to prove yourself to me."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave him an odd look saying, "Who said I was gonna prove myself to you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised with that response. ¡¯Not me? Then who?¡¯ He was thinking when Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered his unasked question, "I¡¯m only gonna do it to prove myself to Oniisan."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t stick around for long to listen to his elder brother and left the house. He took the elevator to the top floor but to his dismay, there was no-one at home. Xiao Zhi-Yuan was disappointed and with his sour mood, he walked out of the building.

    But to his surprise, he was greeted with the scene which immediately uplifted his spirit. Ru was on her bicycle and was riding right towards him. Xiao Zhi-Yuan found the sight quite impressive. Ru¡¯s tall figure on the bicycle didn¡¯t seem awkward to him at all. If anything, it felt to be excessively handsome with a rebellious charm.

    "Hey, Kiddo!" Ru tousled his hair while riding the bicycle around him in a circle.

    "What¡¯s with the bicycle?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan questioned with interest.

    "Oh, this? This is my ride. Cool, right?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan never thought that he would say that a in bicycle is cool. But at the moment, he found the same in bicycle super cool. He kept watching Ru riding the bicycle in circles around himself. "How¡¯s your wound? After I took out the stitches yesterday, did it hurt?"

    "Everything is alright. I didn¡¯t feel a thing. You¡¯re the best doctor!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave her two thumbs up with admiration blinking in his eyes.

    "That¡¯s good! What are you doing here?"

    "I was looking for you," Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered with a small smile on his young face.

    Ru stopped the bicycle and climbed off of it. "Why? Do you need something?"

    "I was hoping you could tutor me in Chinese Literature." Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke hesitantly.

    Ru frowned at his words and asked curiously, "Do you really want my help with study or are you just looking for ways to spend more time with me?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan grinned goofily at being caught so easily. He lowered his head in embarrassment but Ru found him too cute. She ruffled his hair as she chuckled lightly. "People usually find excuses to run away from me. You¡¯re the first who¡¯s trying to look for ways to stay close to me." Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised to hear that.

    "Is it bad that I want to spend time with you?" He asked peering at her green eyes.

    Ru stared back at his face while she pondered for a while. "Let me warn you, most of the people in my life have a habit of calling me a troublemaker since somehow there is always trouble where I go."

    "I don¡¯t mind." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered almost instantly.

    "Aigoo! Let me finish first. Although people called me the troublemaker, my grandfather had the belief that trouble doesn¡¯t follow me, I am the trouble myself." She took a pause and looked seriously at his face asking, "Do you still think I should be your tutor?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan bobbed his head up and down vigorously. There was no doubt in this. He wanted to be close to Ru. He had a feeling that he would get to learn a lot from his Oniisan. And he was a seeker for knowledge burning with curiosity all the time. Who could y the role of his tutor better than his Oniisan who knew almost about everything?

    "Okay!" Ru pped her hand in excitement and smiled at him mischievously. "From now, you¡¯re a bubble, I¡¯m gum. Come, let¡¯s have some fun." Xiao Zhi-Yuan gaped at her and eventually, bothughed out at her silly sense of rhyming. But Xiao Zhi-Yuan had a feeling that these silly rhymes were to make himugh.

    "I thought we were going to study," Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked in between hisughter.

    "Who said study can¡¯t be fun?" Ru retorted with her green eyes wide open.

    "Every student in the world say it." He answered matter-of-factly. Ru frowned at his words. How was she supposed to know it? She had never been to school in her entire life. For her studying was not torture, the fact that she only had to study was the torture. She was homeschooled but she had better and extensive knowledge than any other person her own age. "Also, school is even a bigger hell where merciless devils roam around freely." He was quite indignant about his school experience.

    High schoolers are scary no matter where you go in this world. And Xiao Zhi-Yuan was quite tired of their petty behaviors.

    Ru clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Tsk... Tsk... Xan boy!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked up and she went on, "It¡¯s not that school is a hell filled with devils. It¡¯s just that the whole world is filled with devils. A hell doesn¡¯t create devils, it¡¯s the other way around. Only devils can create hells." He found this reasoning quite convincing. Taking advantage of their almost same height, Ru slung an arm around his shoulder saying, "Also, only GOD can be considered the merciful one. The rest of his creations- I mean us, humans- are only merciless. It¡¯s the basic rule of life. To survive, you have to be the merciless one. And if you can¡¯t be one then learn to pretend like one."

    Not bothering to stop, Ru took him to her own apartment at the top floor. But unbeknownst to them, a certain someone was watching their interaction from the second floor of his apartment.

    "I have never seen Zhi-Yuanughing like that," Qin Qu¡¯s voice from beside him broke the train of Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s thoughts. He wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his friend¡¯s words since they were true. Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept to himself usually and he wasn¡¯t someone tough so easily.

    "This... Mr. Xie Rong is scary and intriguing." Xiao Zhi-Ren mumbled to himself. He wasn¡¯t scared that Ru would hurt his brother. But something in him was in conflict. Something even he couldn¡¯t describe in words. More so, this intriguing feeling was even more conflicting.

 Chapter 33 That Is Knowledge

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in awe seeing the spacious and magnificent apartment of Ru. He had his fair share ofing across rich people and their lifestyle- being one himself- but there was a distinct charm in this apartment.

    What made it morous was the artwork and what made it unpretentious was the minimalistic interior. Xiao Zhi-Yuan instantly fell in love with those ck marble hallways.

    "Make yourself at home, I¡¯ll bring something for you to drink," Ru told him in a modest manner before leaving him alone in the sitting area. Xiao Zhi-Yuan pulled open the curtains to see the beautiful view of the green grass and trees.

    "Can I look around the house?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan beseeched Ru with his bright ck eyes. Ru looked at him and nodded.

    There was nothing in her house that she would hide from anyone. And the stuff that was supposed to be kept behind closed doors was already safe and sound in her inconspicuous lockers.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan walked all around the first floor and went upstairs using the spiral stairs. He admired all the masterpieces of artworks lining in the hallway. There were two doors on the second floor. When he opened the first door. His eyes widened as they slowly brightened up.

    The room behind the doors was akin to a music instrument gallery. It was spacious. There was a huge piano in ck in the corner near the ss wall. There were different instruments like cello, violin, zither, Erhu[1], Dizi[2], guitar, and plenty of other instruments which Xiao Zhi-Yuan was not familiar with.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan wasn¡¯t interested in any other instrument than the violin before him. That dark mahogany colored violin looked enticing to him as if calling Xiao Zhi-Yuan toe closer. And he couldn¡¯t stop himself from picking that violin off its stand.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan always loved the violin. He believed that a violin could create the sweetest sound if it was in right hands. As for in wrong hands, one might not need to imagine much. He loved the fact that a violin¡¯s music had the ability to capture human emotions making them feel pain, happiness, and all other emotions with just a melody.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan touched the violin, he could feel its smooth and polished surface. From the handcrafted bridge to the holes, every single delicate detail had been made with skill and care.

    After admiring the design of the violin, Xiao Zhi-Yuan supported the violin between his shoulder and chin and ced the violin¡¯s bow on its four strings making a slight screeching sound. He took a deep breath and tried to remember theposition in his mind.

    As his eyes closed, his hand moved on its own ord and a beautiful symphony floated out in the air as if a genie had escaped from the bottle.

    Ru had ced the fresh juice for Xiao Zhi-Yuan in the living room when she heard the slow melody making her turn towards the music room upstairs. Ru leaned against the door to see Xiao Zhi-Yuan lost in his own world. The melody was pensive and quiet, building and stirring up to the grandiose climax. Ru loved this bnce of sophistication, elegance, calm and yet uplifting ambiance.

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan finished his melody, he heard a couple of enthusiastic ps and turned to see Ru leaningnguidly against the doorframe. "You got some hidden talent," Ru reckoned.

    "Nah... It¡¯s nothing. I have stopped practicing for a few years now." His eyes turned to the violin in hand as he went on, "But seeing this gem of a violin, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from touching it. But a slight touch was not enough. So, I decided to y it. Hope you don¡¯t mind?" He was looking expectantly at Ru.

    She shook her head lightly saying, "I definitely don¡¯t mind after listening to that beautiful piece." Ru praised him without hesitation. She could feel his passion and emotions in the melody. And she had a feeling that it was his ownposition. But if it really was then she couldn¡¯t help being intrigued to know about the reason behind such a sad and soulful melody.

    "Thanks. But I think this violin is to be praised. This is truly a tour de force[1]." Xiao Zhi-Yuan praised the violin instead.

    "Well, if it¡¯s in my music gallery then it¡¯s a given that it has to be a gem." Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning until she exined. "Kiddo, the violin in your hand is one of a kind. It originally belonged to Sir David which means it¡¯s a century-old violin which I bought in an auction a few years ago."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was startled by her words. He was holding a non-receable violin in his hand? His hands trembled a bit but thinking that his life might not be able to cover its loss, he managed to put back the violin safely at its spot.

    After a while, his eyes darted all around in the room and he asked, "What about the other instruments?"

    "They all are one of a kind. All have their own history and value." Ru answered calmly.

    "Why?" Ru knew his meaning was to ask why she had so many instruments.

    "Because I like collecting things," Ru answered matter-of-factly. "Oh, and you can take the violin if you like it. For me, it¡¯s just a showpiece. At least, you can y it."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan shook his head and his hands as well emphasizing his point, "No, no... It¡¯s too much for me. Also, I¡¯ve stopped ying."

    "May I ask why?" Ru tried to probe him a bit.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan sighed heavily and answered, "When mom died, my elder brother brought a music teacher for me to learn violin since he didn¡¯t want me to fall into depression. I lost my interest after a while." Ru knew that he was hiding something since the way he just so inly talked about his mother¡¯s death showed hisck of affection for her. But she didn¡¯t have a right to pry any further.

    She had a rule, ¡¯One should probe others as much as they would like others to do with them.¡¯ Since she wasn¡¯t gonna share her secrets, she didn¡¯t have the right question his secrets.

    "Oh, can you y any instrument?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan changed the topic.

    "Not really..." Ru lied trying to avoid his gaze. She knew how to y zither and the flute but both of these were traditional instruments and for someone young like Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she felt like he wouldn¡¯t be interested in them. "Come downstairs, let¡¯s start your first lecture."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan followed her down to the sitting area and took a seat at the couch while Ru sat beside him. She offered him fresh fruit juice before starting the lecture.

    "So, how are we going to do it? The learning part." He asked with an eager look.

    "Look, I have one rule for you," Ru started solemnly. "If you know, recognize that you know. If you don¡¯t know, then realize that you don¡¯t know. That is knowledge.[4]" He knitted his brow in confusion making Ru exin further, "You have to keep in mind that there is no use of learning without knowledge. And we are here to gain knowledge. Not to learn. There is a clear distinction in both." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head eagerly.

    "Now, this young master is going to make you top this so-called Chinese Literature with ease." Ru winked at him yfully as she gave him the confidence in her own weird ways.

    [1] "Erhu": Chinese two-faced fiddle

    [2] "Dizi": Chinese bamboo flute

    [3] "tour de force": a work of outstanding artistry.

    [4] It¡¯s a saying from Confucius.

 Chapter 34 Food Is An Ar

    "What is this, Mr. Xiao?" Ru asked as her green eyes looked at the ck card in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s hand. There were standing in the lobby of the condominium building at the moment.

    "We have a productunching event tomorrow. This is my special invitation to you, Mr. Xie." Xiao Zhi-Ren replied without missing a beat. His lips were slightly curled upwards into an arc while his ink-ck eyes kept looking at her face.

    Ru frowned with her eyes on the card in his hand as she rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of her thumb in a thoughtful manner. After taking her sweet time, she lifted her eyes to meet his deep ones and said, "Not interested."

    She turned to leave but to her dismay, Xiao Zhi-Ren caught her hood pulling her backward. "Wooo! What do you think you¡¯re doing?" She red at him indignantly.

    But one thing she didn¡¯t know about Xiao Zhi-Ren was that he was as nonchnt about public opinions as she was herself. Which meant her re or indignance had little to no effect on him. He smiled politely and said in an appealing voice, "May I know the reason for declining this invitation?"

    Ru swatted his hand which was still holding her hood and fixed her sweatshirt. "Don¡¯t like parties. Don¡¯t want toe. What¡¯s so difficult to understand here?"

    "It¡¯s aunch event, not a party." Xiao Zhi-Ren reminded her which made her roll her eyes at him.

    "People are gonna socialize there, that makes it a socializing party." Seeing him furrow his brows, she added, "Also, I have social anxiety."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but scoff at this statement. "At least pick a suitable lie." He took a deep breath and said, "Fine. Don¡¯te. But wait here, I have something for you."

    He went to the reception and collected a lunch box before walking back to Ru. She was indeed quite curious to know about what could he have for her. After all, the number of time she received things from people could be counted on one hand.

    "Here, this is for helping my brother with his studies." Xiao Zhi-Ren extended his hand which held a beautiful lunch box towards her.

    Seeing that it was a lunch box, Ru didn¡¯t bother being polite at all. She quickly snatched the lunch box and took it to the waiting area in the lobby. cing the lunch box on the table, she immediately opened it to reveal wonton soup, Kung Pao chicken, Sesame-Ginger beef, and rice.

    Her mouth watered at the sight and that enticing aroma made her hungry. She quickly picked the chopsticks to taste and was more amazed. It had been years, she had tasted such amazing food. She knew how to cook herself but with her wandering habits, she rarely cooked these past years.

    She packed the whole lunch box again and turned to see Xiao Zhi-Ren staring at her with amusement in his eyes. "What?" She inquired innocently.

    "Why are you packing it? Aren¡¯t you gonna eat it?"

    Ru stood before him and stretched her long arm to tap on his chest surprising Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Mr. Xiao, food is an art for me. I don¡¯t eat it. I savor this art. And this is not the ce where I¡¯ll be able to appreciate this tempting taste." She took a pause before adding, "Can you share the contact info of this chef? I¡¯d love to hire him."

    For some reason, Xiao Zhi-Ren felt proud for having such amazing cooking skills. But he chose not to tell the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him. "If you like his skills so much, you cane to my ce whenever you want to eat."

    "Can¡¯t I just poach him from your side?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eye twitched but he managed to put on a polite smile.

    "No... You can¡¯t."

    "Tsk... What a pity!" Ru sighed disappointedly. "Oh, by the way, I¡¯ll be there for your event."

    "What changed your mind?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked perplexedly.

    Ru tapped on the lunch box saying, "This food did."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Food won over his modesty? But he was relieved to know that Ru decided to ept the invitation. On the other hand, she snatched the invitation card from him and turned to leave, walking briskly towards the elevator.

    On the following day, the productunch event of SnapVise Technologies was all over the news. Plenty of distinguishable and acimed guests joined the event merely to size up the newpetitor who suddenly decided to invade into the Asian market.

    The entire A.K Convention Center was packed up with round tables lining up in the huge hall. The media representatives were given a separate area to keep them under check.

    The event began with the SnapVise Technologies representatives going up on stage one-by-one to introduce their mission and goals along with what the general public could expect from them in the future.

    After they introduced their whole new range of devices, to involve their guests into the event, they had set up a separate section where people could do a test run of the new devices.

    During the whole process, Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking for a specific person who said that ¡¯he¡¯ woulde but wasn¡¯t here until now. He was busy meeting with people when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Xiao Zhi-Ren turned around to see Ru standing in in ck jeans and a button-up shirt with an elegant ck zer.

    For the chairman of Metrix Consortium, this attire seemed too ordinary but with Ru¡¯s dignified aura and personality, no-one could question her choice of clothes.

    "Those are some high tech devices. If I knew you¡¯re this capable, I¡¯d have tried to curry favor with you." Ru said with a charming smile as she flipped her chocte brown hair to one side with her slender fingers.

    "Curry favor? With me? Really?" Xiao Zhi-Ren naturally didn¡¯t believe her words. Who would? Metrix Consortium wasn¡¯t involved in the modern tech. All thepanies under Metrix Consortium were in real estate, developing, mining, and trading.

    "Whatever! Congrats anyway." Ru waved her hand nonchntly. "I don¡¯t think anyone will be able to take over these products that easily."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled at her words but changed the topic, "You¡¯rete."

    Ru punched lightly on his arm saying, "I had been here all along, my friend. You just didn¡¯t see me." The way she said ¡¯my friend¡¯ made Xiao Zhi-Ren immediately smile brightly. Ru didn¡¯t even realize it herself that she had called him a friend.

    "Hi, Mr. Xie! I didn¡¯t know you¡¯ll be here," Qin Qu greeted Ru enthusiastically. He was one of those people who knew how to talk with people and when or where, what to say.

    Ru took his hand to shake briefly before saying, "I¡¯m a free bird. And free birds like me tend to fly from one branch to another. Right now, I¡¯m here. Who knows where I¡¯ll be in the next second."

    Seeing her talking like a dialectician, Xiao Zhi-Ren knocked on her head making Qin Qu gasp at the side while Ru red at him again. "Can¡¯t you stop with your deep thinking for a while. It doesn¡¯t suit your childish behavior." Xiao Zhi-Ren said sternly.

    "I¡¯m childish?" Ru scoffed at him. "I¡¯m a very mature person. But I¡¯m also a very alive person."

    "Now, what is that supposed to mean?" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her anticipating a weird logic again.

    "Aigoo! Mr. Xiao, being alive and mature means that I¡¯ve kept my mature thinking along with my inner child. When we kill the inner child of ourselves and try to grow mature that¡¯s when we turn into those boring old businessmen over there." She pointed at a group of people having some serious discussion.

    "You... I have no words for you." Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at her.

    "I know." Ru obviously even took that as apliment.

    Qin Qu shook his head and tried to talk again. "So, Mr. Xie, what¡¯s up?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gave him a look which Qin Qu couldn¡¯t understand until he heard Ru¡¯s reply.

    She innocently looked up and pointed her finger upwards saying, "A chandelier! Are you seeing something else?" Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled at her response while Qin Qu stared at her with nothing else to say.

    "You changed the answer this time," Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked.

    "Well, Superman can¡¯t possibly fly in the hall freely." Ru gave him a knowing look before Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head agreeing with her point.

    Qin Qu on the side was so surprised to see thefortability level between these two. It was like they had been friends for decades. Oddly, he realized that even his and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s interactions weren¡¯t like this. ¡¯When did they be so close?¡¯ He thought to himself.

    But what he didn¡¯t know was that they had made a strange bond even during their first interaction. And after Xiao Zhi-Ren saved Ru from being hit by the car, she considered herself to be in debt. Also, after the lunch box that he offered, Ru was more thanfortable with Xiao Zhi-Ren since she believed that food is a sacred thing.

    As she says, ¡¯Bonds created over food are unbreakable ones. It ties us closer than a blood bond.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s smile stiffened suddenly and Ru¡¯s keen senses didn¡¯t miss this small detail. She had always been sensitive to these small things. She followed his line of sight to see a middle-aged man being greeted by several people. He seemed to have a noble status since everyone was willing to go up to him themselves.

    The middle-aged man was none other than Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s own father, Ji Yifeng. Ru didn¡¯t find anything wrong with that neer since his eyes were gentle and soft with a smile permanently etched on his face. He gave the impression of an easygoing and yet noble presence. Overall, he gave Ru a feeling of being a very warm person.

    But Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t share her thoughts at all.

 Chapter 35 Lessons Of Being Hur

    Eyes are assumed to be a speculum to our soul. Because eyes hold all the sentiments and emotions that we want to screen with the pretense of a smile. But the actual reason for lurking behind a smile is that sometimes those feelings and emotions are so overwhelming that we couldn¡¯t possibly find the words to describe them. Nah!

    The genuine purpose is that we can describe those feelings but we can never justify them with words. But with our eyes... They have their own charm and their own voice. A special song that all can hear but only a few can appreciate the lyrics.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes had those tangled feelings looking at his fathering his way apanied by a group of people. He didn¡¯t let his smile fade but he didn¡¯t have any control over his own eyes. That is to say, his face had a soft smile but his eyes didn¡¯t have the spark of that smile in them.

    Looking into his ink-ck eyes, she could feel a story floating in those eyes that reminded her of the dark night that she so fancied. But oddly, it was one of those moments when she felt the urge to read that story.

    His eyes held a world in them which was unknown to her. But unknowingly, she wanted to explore that world.

    Sensing an ardent gaze, Xiao Zhi-Ren stirred his eyes to meet Ru¡¯s green ones looking keenly at him. At this moment, he found her eyes orphic; mysterious and entrancing, beyond his understanding.

    For a split second, his heart shook vehemently against his chest. He felt like cowering away. Sneaking away from her eyes that seemed to be trying to read his heart... Or perhaps, his soul.

    The eye contact between them was broken when Xiao Zhi-Ren heard someone¡¯s voice, "Chairman Ji, meet Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren, the astonishinglypetent CEO who is behind the sess of SnapVise Technologies." A director from Ji Yifeng¡¯s side introduced Xiao Zhi-Ren and turned to say, "And Mr. Xiao, this is the Chairman of Ji Conglomerate, Mr. Ji Yifeng. But I think, Mr. Ji doesn¡¯t need an introduction." He didn¡¯t forget to brown-nose while he was at it.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren took a deep breath and extended his hand towards Ji Yifeng as if meeting any other distinguished guest. "It¡¯s a great pleasure meeting you, Mr. Ji." His voice was profoundly dignified and professional.

    The way he hid his emotions made Ru praise him in her heart. Then she slipped her eyes towards Ji Yifeng and was astonished for a second to see him bearing the same look in his eyes that she saw in Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes.

    But the story in Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes was a lot brighter to her since she could easily see a sense of being hurt, lost, yearning and sadness. It took a while for Ji Yifeng to extend his hand to shake Xiao Zhi-Ren as he said, "Likewise... Mr. Xiao Zhi-Ren." The way he said Xiao Zhi-Ren made Ru raise her brow in question.

    ¡¯Interesting... Indeed, very interesting.¡¯ She knew she had no right to interfere here. So, she tried to make her ubiquity unobtrusive. But she forgot a certain nature of her own self. She had an aura that was remarkably eye-catching. Even in her in clothes, her presence could make people turn their head to get a glimpse of her.

    "And this gentleman is..." Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed her presence but he was the first to question her identity.

    "I am a nobody..." Ru immediately replied taking a few steps backward, trying to run away.

    How could Xiao Zhi-Ren let her slip away so easily? With a ¡¯swish¡¯, he caught the cor of her jacket making her halt. He turned her around while Ru was cursing in her heart. "This is Mr. Xie Rong!"

    A few low gasps were heard from the group of people behind Ji Yifeng as someone voiced out, "He must have the same name as the chairman of Metrix Consortium. How could the real chairman be so young."

    Everyone nodded agreeing to his assertion. Now, that observation made Ru feel offended. What did he mean by that? Did everyone had to be an old broom like him to be a chairman? What nonsense! She jeered in her heart.

    But her face held a serene eloquence as if she wasn¡¯t stirred by his words at all. What she didn¡¯t know was that someone else felt even more offended than Ru herself at this moment. "Master, should I get you something to eat?" Ru was surprised to see Wu Dishi but since he was here acting servile, the group of elderly Chairmen couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    Wu Dishi had been here all along, but just like his master, he had his ways to conceal his presence. It¡¯s just that he couldn¡¯t stay away from this discussion when he heard those people questioning his own master¡¯s identity.

    "Is he really the mysterious chairman of Metrix Consortium?" Ru didn¡¯t know who inquired but she was certainly d that she wasn¡¯t the one who had to p an answer at his face. After all, her grandfather taught her to be reverential to the elderly people.

    "Mr. Gou has any doubt about our chairman?" Hearing Wu Dishi¡¯s reply, people couldn¡¯t even gasp anymore. In the past two years, every one of them tried to find something about this chairman of Metrix Consortium but in the end, it turned out to be someone half of their own age. How ludicrous was that?

    Ru tried to disregard all the people as she had suddenlye up with a thought, "Mr. Ji," Ji Yifeng looked at Ru but he was the only person whose expression didn¡¯t change even for a second. And why would it, he had felt the firm and prodigious aura of Ru and that led him to inquire about her earlier. "You¡¯re from the same Ji family whose Old master is Ji Ru Sheng?"

    Ji Yifeng frowned slightly at this inquiry but still answered politely, "Yes... He¡¯s my father."

    Ru immediately passed him a beautiful smile surprising everyone with her handsomeness. "Say, would your old master be interested in selling his antique collection of hand carved, Chinese folk art?"

    This question... It came out of the blue. It didn¡¯t just surprise Ji Yifeng even Xiao Zhi-Ren was dumbfounded at the side. ¡¯Seriously? Is this the ce or time to discuss antique collections?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren could only roll his eyes at Ru since he really didn¡¯t have any words for her.

    "This... Mr. Xie, I won¡¯t be able to answer. My father loves his collection but he certainly admires youngpetent young men like yourself. Why don¡¯t you make this request to him personally?" Ji Yifeng suggested with a gentle smile on his face.

    His impression of this green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ altered in a minute. He found Ru to be a very impressive person. He had a perception that his father, Ji Ru Sheng would love this young one.

    Ru rapped her chin in a pensive manner as she said, "I¡¯ll think about this."

    "Please, excuse us, Mr. Ji but we have something to discuss." Xiao Zhi-Ren politely made an excuse as he tugged at Ru¡¯s sleeve.

    Although Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart felt the pain of being treated as a stranger by his own flesh and blood, he had no way or reason to impute his son. Therefore, he nodded his head.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren dragged Ru to a corner while she was scowling. "What the hell? Would you stop pulling my jacket so much? It¡¯s branded!" Ru fixed her jacket making Xiao Zhi-Ren close his eyes briefly trying to control his anger.

    "Do you know what I have the urge to do right now?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked while gritting his teeth.

    Ru grinned looking at his livid expression and answered, "You want to punch me in the face."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes widened as he said, "How did you guess?"

    Ru patted on his shoulder saying, "Everyone wants to do that. It¡¯s one of my special qualities. I can bring out a person¡¯s real self." She was surely feeling proud of herself while Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to feel.

    Was it normal that his anger suddenly lost like thin air? He kept staring at Ru¡¯s tranquil face which oddly brought a sense of peacefulness to his heart. "But since you want to punch me, let me give you a piece of advice."

    "What? You won¡¯t let me punch?" Xiao Zhi-Ren retorted but Ru¡¯s answer was unexpected.

    "Although I can defend myself against your punch, I still won¡¯t stop you from hitting me." He furrowed his brows in confusion as she continued in her deep and low voice, "Hurting me might give you a sense of aplishment and you¡¯ll also learn a lesson but it¡¯ll be nothingpared to the lesson that you learned from being hurt by this world."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s heart shook once again. How could a person¡¯s words make him speechless? And how could that same person¡¯s eyes make him feel vulnerable?

 Chapter 36 Bond Of Bitter Memories

    "Ahh! Look at those two!"

    "Wow! How can someone be so strikingly good looking?"

    "Oh, wait! The one in a tux is actually the CEO of SnapVise Technologies."

    "What? I always thought he¡¯d be a nerd kind of a guy but this one is so handsome."

    "Aiyo! That green-eyed one is like an enchanter. Sigh! Drop-dead gorgeous!"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru were standing in the corner when the surrounding girls¡¯ments made both of them raise their brows respectively. Although Ru didn¡¯t want to pay attention to them, she couldn¡¯t help but give a half smile when they called Xiao Zhi-Ren a nerd. But that half smile instantly shifted to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s lips when the same girls called Ru an enchanter.

    He couldn¡¯t have agreed more with them. Even without those green eyes, Xiao Zhi-Ren could say that Ru¡¯s striking features were a sight to behold.

    "Haiz! My knees are getting weak just looking at them together."

    "Omo! Why is my fujoshi heart beating violently looking at them smiling like that?"

    "They both make one handsome pair."

    The smiles of Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face immediately stiffened and they both took a few steps away from each other.

    "Why are girls so blunt these days? Don¡¯t they have anything better to do?" Xiao Zhi-Renined looking anywhere but at Ru.

    "That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like girls," Ru scrunched up her face scornfully. "They are really noisy."

    If Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that the one calling girls noisy was a girl herself, he would have puked blood. This indifference for girls was embedded in her soul from a young age. She never tried to understand girls and from what she saw about girls, she grew more distant. Staying in her own world as a guy was a lot more peaceful and easier for her.

    Suddenly, Xiao Zhi-Ren chuckled and Ru gave him an inquiring look. "They called you an enchanter." Heughed again not getting over this sentence.

    "They called you strikingly good looking." Ru pointed out.

    "Fair enough!" Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to stifle hisughter.

    "Oh, by the way, do you have food here?" Ru asked making Xiao Zhi-Ren give her an ugly look.

    "Yes, the food section is over there," he pointed in the direction of food and Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately. Even Xiao Zhi-Ren could feel the excitement bursting out of her body making him speechless. "You¡¯re here for food?"

    Ru turned to him saying, "Of course!" She would never lie about this. "Mr. Xiao, where there is free food, you¡¯d always find me there."

    "Cheapstake!" Xiao Zhi-Ren grumbled making Ru narrow her eyes at him.

    "Shut up you noodle otherwise I¡¯ll turn you into a... doodle." With that being said, she whipped her body and ran towards the food table. Xiao Zhi-Ren stood rooted to his spot thinking about thest words that were said to him.

    "Noodle? Doodle? Who rhymes like this?" He questioned no-one in particr. But since Ru had run to food, he had to go back towards the group of people waiting for him. If it was up to him, he¡¯d never see his father, Ji Yifeng ever again but it was business. Beforeing to China, he was already familiar with the part that he won¡¯t be able to avoiding across the Ji family. But he had toe.

    And he even knew that to find some truths, he might even have to be a part of Ji family all over again. That didn¡¯t mean he had to act cordially before Ji Yifeng. He only needed to be at his best behavior of being a professional.

    Meanwhile, Ru was busy going through a whole mountain of food ced before her. "Master, do you need..." Wu Dishi¡¯s words were stuck in his throat when he saw his master ring at him. Food had always been her heaven. And Ru hated it when someone dared to disturb her.

    "Scram!" One word from her and Wu Dishi ran for his life leaving her alone.

    After tasting some Puck Potstickers and Roasted Tomato Tartare, her green eyes caught sight of something that made her forget the world around her. The murderous aura that had engulfed her due to Wu Dishi¡¯s disturbance suddenly turned into a love-struck teenager.

    In a daze, Ru took slow steps towards the entity of her fascination. She grinned broadly as her heart was screaming inside,

    "Oh, my love! How I tell you, how much I missed the touch of your smooth buttery skin against my lips? How much I missed that sweetness of yours in my mouth which enthralls me. My heartbeat, my dream... Oh, you¡¯re in my heart¡¯s every scream. My love for you is purer than anything in this world."

    Reaching near her ¡¯love¡¯, she slowly lifted her hand to take that beautiful... Chocte cake?

    Yes! Ru¡¯s love which was unmatched in this world was actually for chocte. It didn¡¯t matter in which form the chocte came. The only thing that mattered to her was that there had to be some chocte for her.

    She was one of those people who like to say, ¡¯Chocte is the answer. Who cares what the question is?¡¯

    She was about to taste the chocty heaven in her mouth when a voice made her startle.

    "What? No, no... I¡¯m just leaving the event." Hearing that feminine voice, Ru forgot all about the cake in her hand and whipped her body but there were many women behind her. Ru¡¯s heart was beating vehemently. She knew that voice.

    She could never forget that voice that haunted her nights. Even without a face, she could recognize that person with her abilities. She ran around trying to find the person who just spoke.

    "Excuse me! I have got a priormitment and I need to get there." Ru paused again when she heard the voice with her sensitive hearing ability and turned to see a woman in an elegant gown leaving the hall. She immediately ran after her but by the time Ru came out the back door, that woman had already boarded into a ck van.

    "Aish!" Ru kicked the air in rage. "Malum sit![1]" She pulled her own hair and dialed Wu Dishi¡¯s number, "Get me the CCTV footage of this event. Now!" Her bellowing really shocked Wu Dishi who immediately got to work. "I¡¯ll find you! At any cost, I will find you!" Ru whispered to herself in a resolute manner.

    There are two strong bonds in life that follow us for life. First is the bond of love and second... The bond of memories; bitter or sweet. And Ru knew that the woman who just left was someone who had the connection with her bitter memories. Although those memories are hazy in her mind, it didn¡¯t mean there was nothing clearer in her mind.

    That sharp voice was clear in her mind.

    [1] "Malum sit!": Damn it in Latin

 Chapter 37 Myself!

    Inside the security room of the convention center, Ru had been looking through the CCTV footage to find thedy who had the voice she heard earlier.

    "Master, what about the dress color of that person? It can help us in narrowing it down," Wu Dishi suggested since they had been looking for an hour but couldn¡¯t find anything. The weird part was that his master was not even telling him why they were looking for thisdy?

    Ru stiffened a bit hearing his suggestion. Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with his suggestion. But how could Ru tell him that she didn¡¯t know the color because... Sigh! It didn¡¯t matter at the moment. "I didn¡¯t notice the color." Ru lied inly keeping her secrets buried inside as always.

    Although Wu Dishi found her words quite absurd, he still stayed quiet. "Why there is no CCTV footage from the back hallway?" Ru questioned noticing all the screens before her.

    "Oh, that was damaged before the event started and someone must have forgotten to fix it." Wu Dishi answered hoping that his master doesn¡¯t make this into an issue.

    Ru rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She leaned back in the swivel chair and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths from her mouth, she put the world on silent mode around her. And her mind rewinds to y the scene from earlier.

    ¡¯ck van...¡¯ That was one thing she was sure about. ¡¯Thedy had a height of about 167 cm if we don¡¯t count her 5-inch heels.¡¯ She tapped her fingers on the tabletop in a rhythmic manner. ¡¯Anything particr... Anything... Focus young master focus!¡¯ Ru was having a battle with her own mind. And it worked as her mind caught on to a certain detail.

    "A hawk logo!" Ru spoke out suddenly startling Wu Dishi who had been frozen still up till now.

    "Huh? What do you mean, master?" Wu Dishi inquired since his mind couldn¡¯tprehend her words. In all honesty, he never understood his master.

    She vaguely figured out a logo at the side of the ck van and Ru had faith in herself that she¡¯d get somewhere with that information. "Bring me aptop!" She ordered Wu Dishi and seeing him still standing there, she snapped her fingers before his eyes. "Should I bring tea for Mr. Wu?" Wu Dishi shook his head and she snapped at him, "Then move fast!"

    Wu Dishi immediately got to business leaving Ru alone in the security room. Her eyes skimmed over the screens but she wasn¡¯t paying attention. She didn¡¯t know what the woman looked like but she had gotten another clue from her mind. While thatdy was getting on the van, her hair lifted to a side showing a musical note tattoo on her shoulder.

    Soon, Wu Dishi brought a high-techptop and stood at a side. Ru turned on theptop and got to work. The first phase was to look for thepany who had that hawk logo. And it didn¡¯t take long before the result was before her eyes.

    "Eastern Security Inc..." Ru read out thepany¡¯s name.

    "Oh! Master," Wu Dishi¡¯s mind rang a bell and went on, "This is a subsidiary of Ji Corporation. They have the country¡¯s biggest and strongest securitywork."

    "Ji Corporation?" Ru¡¯s brows furrowed. "Is it the same one whose Chairman I just met in the party?" Seeing the way Wu Dishi nodded his head, she fell into deep thought. "Wait! Thispany... Do they provide security to others or just have it to protect their own empire?"

    "They have the rank system just like you have," Wu Dishi started. "From what I¡¯ve heard, the red rank guards are avable for anyone to hire while the ck ones are reserved for politicians or other prominent figures. As for their personal security, they keep the best. The blue rank guards."

    Ru nodded and shrugged her shoulders indifferently since this had nothing to do with her at all. She had other things to worry about. How would she know which rank guards were here tonight? Looking at theptop screen, Ru cracked her knucklesnguidly and after stretching her fingers, her fingers flew all over theptop.

    Her sun-kissedplexion along with those long but slender fingers was skimming over the keyboard as a dragonfly skims over the water. Wu Dishi couldn¡¯t even blink his eyes since he felt like he would miss this beautiful sight.

    Strings of code were shing on the ck screen. And after ten minutes when her fingers lifted up, Wu Dishi could see plenty of folders on the screen. "Phew! They have one seriously sick security design for their server."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s eyes widened. "Master! Did you just hacked into the Ji Corporation¡¯s main server?" His heart was beating violently while beads of cold sweat were running down his face.

    "Ay? What are you talking about? I can¡¯t get into Ji Corporation¡¯s main server. They had built it separately. One can only hack it from inside. For now, I only needed details about that security van I saw." She took a pause while clicking through some documents and exined, "Look, I just got the details about the whereabouts of their security vans for tonight. Then I narrowed it down by searching the van who came to the convention center."

    She showed the number te and details of security guards who were in that van along with who was the guest they were apanying. "Ji Caihong! Who is she and why was she with the blue ranked guards?"

    "She¡¯s Chairman Ji Yifeng¡¯s only daughter." Wu Dishi answered as much as he knew.

    Ru typed strings of codes again and Ji Caihong¡¯s biography opened before her. She didn¡¯t read anything about her except for Ji Caihong¡¯s age and profession. Looking at the picture of a sweet looking girl, Ru couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡¯Was she the one? My mind is certainly not ringing a bell.¡¯ But since this was a lead, she couldn¡¯t let it slip away.

    "Aish! I¡¯m leaving!" She mmed theptop but luckily theptop survived from her wrath.

    The event had long been ended and Ru heaved a sigh of relief for that. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to face that many people all over again. With a whistle tune floating out from her mouth and both hands in front pockets of her jeans, she was trudging towards the exit, lost in her own world.

    "Where have you been?" Hearing that voice Ru whipped her body instinctively.

    "You just scared me, Mr. Xiao," Ru remarked while rubbing her nose tip.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren rolled his eyes at her saying, "As if Mr. Xie is scared of anything."

    "You never know. Perhaps, even I¡¯m scared of something." Ru pointed out vaguely.

    "And what is it that Mr. Xie is scared of exactly?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned raising his brow.

    Ru came closer to him and looked around to make sure nobody was around. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "Myself." Xiao Zhi-Ren would have taken her words as a joke but the look on her face told him that she wasn¡¯t lying. The person before him was truly scared of ¡¯himself¡¯ but the question was; why?

    "Let¡¯s go together. We¡¯re going the same way." Xiao Zhi-Ren offered, looking at her green eyes that seemed to be always wandering around.

    "That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ll be able to save some money." This time Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t surprised at all by her words. He had figured that she was the kind of person who could spend millions for the sake of hobbies but would always be in conflict when ites to spending a penny on her basic needs.

    "Cheapstake!" Xiao Zhi-Ren grumbled again making Ru scowl at him.

 Chapter 38 Smile Just To Spite Others

    With a blue colored file-folder tucked under her arm, Ru pressed the doorbell of the apartment. The door was pulled open to reveal a teenager with a disheveled look. His ck eyes abruptly brightened up looking at Ru.

    "Oniisan,e inside," Xiao Zhi-Yuan put on an admiring look as he kept smiling up to Ru while making a ¡¯please¡¯ gesture with his hand.

    "What¡¯s with this look? Is being untidy a new trend or something?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked down at his rumpled clothes and tried to fix his hair with his fingers.

    "Not sure about the trend... I was cleaning my room and that led to this look." He answered with his boyish charms. Ru nodded not finding it odd that he cleaned his own room. She reckoned that Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t want his brother to get too dependent on attendants. "Should I bring something for you to drink?"

    "Nope... Thank you very much but I just took an elevator ride to get here. It wasn¡¯t tiring enough." Ru replied indifferently and Xiao Zhi-Yuan couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at her retort. "I asked you to write two essays as yourst assignment."

    "I did. Isn¡¯t my essay in that file you¡¯re carrying?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan beamed as he went on, "Don¡¯t want to be narcissistic but didn¡¯t I do well in just a week?"

    Ru lifted her hand and flicked the space between his brows making him grimace. "Ouch! Oniisan, what¡¯s that for?" He was rubbing the spot where she flicked. It was painful.

    "The essay on ¡¯The influence of Confucianism on Chinese Culture¡¯ was average but eptable," she started, pulling out the papers out of the folder in her hand. "But what¡¯s up with the other essay?"

    "What¡¯s wrong with it?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was pouting even now clearly not happy with the ¡¯Average¡¯ment. He was always admired for being a genius, this ¡¯average¡¯ment was not in the history of his life until today.

    "The topic was, ¡¯Eastern Mythologies: The Chinese Dragon¡¯ and what the bloody hell did you write?" Hearing Ru swearing in her British ent made Xiao Zhi-Yuan smile involuntarily. Seeing him grin like a lunatic, Ru gave an open-handed p on the back of his head saying, "You little squirrel!"

    ¡¯Huh? Squirrel?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Yuan was stuck with this in his mind while Ru went on, "You have written that dragon is an embodiment of lust, greed, violence, evil and most of all death."

    "Isn¡¯t that right?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan knitted his brows in confusion since that¡¯s what he learned in his years in America.

    "Better use your senses and some inte for research before typing such nonsense." Her words were sharp but she spoke so calmly that even Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised. "What you wrote is true but in Western mythology. In Eastern mythology, the dragon is amon motif representing its heavenly background. A dragon is a legend in Chinese culture which definitely doesn¡¯t bring despair."

    "Oh..." Realization dawned on Xiao Zhi-Yuan but he still believed that it wasn¡¯t his fault for not knowing it. He wasn¡¯t familiar with Chinese Culture.

    "Write it again!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head and Ru was about to turn to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice.

    "Yuan, get ready. I¡¯ll take you to KTV tonight."

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Yuan whipped to look at Xiao Zhi-Ren and asked simultaneously, "What¡¯s KTV?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren darted his eyes between both his little brother and Ru. He found their identical expressions quite amusing. "It¡¯s Chinese word for karaoke." Both listeners nodded their head in understanding.

    "Okay, I¡¯ll be back in a minute before changing." Xiao Zhi-Yuan ran up the stairs to his room.

    "Would you like to join us, Mr. Xie?" Ru pondered for a moment about his offer and since she had nothing else nned, she shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    After an hour, they parked the car before a high-ss KTV club. Xiao Zhi-Ren led them to the lobby where he asked for a specific private room which was already reserved for them.

    A pretty youngdy took it upon herself to guide them to their room with a polite smile on her face. Seeing the youngdy¡¯s innocent look, Ru couldn¡¯t stop herself from saying, "Hey, prettydy, I think I¡¯ve seen you somewhere." Seeing a mischievous lopsided grin on Ru¡¯s face, Xiao Zhi-Ren had an inkling that she was up to no good.

    Sure enough, the youngdy who was guiding them smiled bashfully since such a handsome ¡¯man¡¯ was actually talking to her. She was screaming in her head like a fangirl as she asked breathily, "Where?"

    Ru¡¯s grin broadened as she leaned closer to her saying, "In my dream of a lifetime." Xiao Zhi-Ren facepalmed himself, thinking why did he invite this yful master toe along? The pretty youngdy¡¯s cheeks were tainted red and she kept looking downwards to hide her blush.

    "Here is your room, Sir! If you need anything just ring the bell." The youngdy gestured towards the room and stood at the side respectfully.

    "If I ring the bell, would you be the one toe, my beautifuldy?" Ru asked again making her voice sound coyish.

    The youngdy bit her lower lip and said, "Yes, sir!"

    "Really?" Ru feigned surprise as she went on in a low voice, "I¡¯ll surely ring this bell tonight. I hope youe, mdy."

    The youngdy bowed her head and turned to leave instantly afraid that her blush might embarrass her before these VVIP guests. Ru¡¯s green eyes followed her disappearing silhouette with a satisfied smile on her thin lips.

    She shifted her eyes to see both brothers giving her odd looks. The elder one had the look of displeasure while the younger one was awe-inspired.

    "What?" Ru asked feigning ignorance while looking at Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "What¡¯s up with this flirting mode?" Xiao Zhi-Ren raised his brow inquiringly.

    "What flirting? I wasn¡¯t flirting with her." She inly refused to ept this insinuation.

    "Oh, really? Then what really were you doing?" He crossed his arms before his chest seemingly very interested in her reply.

    "I was trying to make her smile," she answered honestly and Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows snapped together. "Oho! look, Mr. Xiao, you might have not noticed but she was looking quite sad with her puffy eyes which she tried to hide with make-up. And I assume it has something to do with a break-up. So, I just gifted her with a smile by just saying some sweet words. Now, for the rest of the night or even for the week toe, her mind will keep thinking about this handsome young master who called her beautiful." Saying ¡¯handsome young master¡¯ she even shamelessly pointed at her own self.

    "And why are you trying to spread smiles? You don¡¯t even like girls," Xiao Zhi-Ren made a trenchant remark.

    "Aiyoh! Mr. Xiao, I don¡¯t like girls, that¡¯s a different story. As for spreading the smiles, my grandfather taught me, ¡¯Although it¡¯s true that a single smile hides the scariest scars, that doesn¡¯t mean we should stop smiling. Always put on a smile, even if it¡¯s fake. If it won¡¯t help you, it might encourage someone to get through the tough times.¡¯" Xiao Zhi-Ren listened to her attentively without disturbing her as she continued, "And in my journey of life, I¡¯ve learned that I¡¯m the worst kind of person but even I feel good about myself when a stranger smile because of me."

    "People fake smiles to hide their feelings, so that no-one judges them. " Xiao Zhi-Yuan joined the conversation and Ru smiled gently at him as she tousled his hair.

    "My little squirrel, then we should learn to smile just to spite others."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was feeling like this young ¡¯man¡¯ was quite sensible until Ru made thestment making him roll his eyes at her. "Can¡¯t you teach something nice to my little brother?"

    "I always tell him what¡¯s right. Am I wrong, Xan?" Ru argued.

    "Big Bear, don¡¯t be mean. Oniisan always teaches me the best things." Xiao Zhi-Ren gaped at both of them since his own brother was taking another person¡¯s side.

    "That¡¯s like my little squirrel," her voice sounded like wind chimes to Xiao Zhi-Yuan who felt happy about himself.

    "Shall we finally enter the room?" Xiao Zhi-Ren interrupted their admiring moment.

    "Okay..." Ru answered and was intending on opening the door when they heard a loud girlish voice calling out.

    "Xiao Zhi-Yuan!" The three of them turned their bodies to look at a teenage girl in a pretty A-Line short dress in blue color with a beautiful butterfly embroidered on the waistline. She sprinted towards them in her high heels and went straight into Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s embrace.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan staggered a bit because of the impact which came out of the blue while his eyes were wide opened. As for the other two standing on each side of his, they were staring amusingly at this scene ying before them.

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren bent a bit backward and shared a look of reverence for Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

 Chapter 39 Black Is Wicked

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren took a couple of steps backward and huddled up their head close to each other. "Do you have a girlfriend, Mr. Xiao?" Ru asked Xiao Zhi-Ren with her eyes still stuck on the teenage couple embracing each other. Okay! Only the girl was canoodling, the boy was frozen still at his spot.

    "Nope!" Xiao Zhi-Ren replied popping the ¡¯p¡¯ dramatically. "What about you?" He asked Ru in return.

    "If I don¡¯t even like girls why would I keep one close to me?" Although she replied like that, inwardly she was thinking, ¡¯I haven¡¯t lost my mind yet. I can¡¯t even imagine hugging opposite gender much less the same one.¡¯ She cleared her throat saying, "Aye! My grandfather was right."

    "About what?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired curiously.

    "He used to say that the younger generation will surpass the older one in no time. Look, you¡¯re single. I¡¯m single but such tiny kids have girlfriends." Ru sighed and Xiao Zhi-Ren had to nod in agreement.

    "Let me go now!" They heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s irritated voice making them share a look. ¡¯Was they wrong about this girlfriend part?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was glowering but the cute girl before him was unfazed by his expression. And she even dared to pinch Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cheeks saying, "I know you look cute while scowling but that smile you just had earlier was even cuter. Can¡¯t you smile again? Please!" Her dewy eyes beseeched Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    Ru and Xiao Zhi-Yuan dry coughed reminding the youngsters that they were also present here. "Oh, who are they?" The cute girl finally noticed their presence and asked Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "My brothers!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s demeanor changed as he introduced both Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren with a bit of haughtiness in his tone.

    "Oh... You guys make such a striking picture. It¡¯s almost like looking at three male godsing right out of aic book." She was looking at them with a fangirl expression. In a second, she made her perspective of them; the tallest one seemed refined while the green-eyed one was bewitching. As for Xiao Zhi-Yuan, she always called him an ice burg; cold.

    "And she is?" Both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru inquired simultaneously.

    Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could answer, the pretty girl spoke herself, "Hi! I¡¯m Shen Yue. But you can call me Yue Yue." She held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s arm and continued, "He¡¯s my Xiao Tang Yuan(Little Dumpling) and I¡¯m his Dai Mao(a symbol of cuteness)."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru had the same look on their face; they both were trying to stifle theirughter. "Aiyoh! Little Dumpling you didn¡¯t tell us about your cute girlfriend." Ru teased Xiao Zhi-Yuan making him fume.

    Shen Yue was smiling bashfully at the side while Xiao Zhi-Yuan peeled her hand off of his arm and took a couple of steps away from her saying, "She¡¯s not my girlfriend. And you! Stop clinging to me for no reason." Shen Yue¡¯s face fell at his words.

    Ru red at Xiao Zhi-Yuan and turned to Shen Yue. "Hey, little Yue Yue! Would you like to join us for dinner? Mr. Xiao here is very generous and he won¡¯t mind at all."

    "I¡¯m the one paying? Again?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked feigning a sickly sweet voice.

    "Obviously, you¡¯re so rich after all," Ru answered matter-of-factly and added, "Don¡¯t be such a cheapskate."

    "Cheapskate? Why do I feel like the pot is calling the kettle ck[1]?" Xiao Zhi-Ren said ironically making Ru narrow her eyes at him.

    "Did you just called me a pot?" Ru argued stubbornly.

    "No... I called you ck." He replied inly.

    "Wicked![2]" Ru grinned charmingly. "Then I don¡¯t mind."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was dumbfounded by her response. ¡¯Calling a pot was a problem but calling him ck is wicked? What the hell is the logic here?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking, "Calling you ck is cool?" Ru nodded vigorously. "How? And why?"

    "Because ck is my favorite color. It¡¯s mysterious like myself and it represents strength, seriousness, power, and authority. In other words, this one word ¡¯ck¡¯ is my perfect definition." Ru answered his question smoothly.

    ¡¯Why do I even bother questioning him?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren really wanted to bang his head against the wall or perhaps he wanted to bang Ru¡¯s head against the wall. Whichever it was, he couldn¡¯t do it before the pair of teenagers who kept gazing at them with indescribable expressions.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat and passed a gentle smile to Shen Yue saying, "Since you¡¯re Yuan¡¯s friend. You can join us."

    "I would love to but I¡¯m here with some family friends. I¡¯ll join you guys some other time." Shen Yue had a cheery personality and she loved the bickering between Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru, finding them adorable. Knowing Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s aloof and cold personality, she didn¡¯t expect that his brothers would have such an impressive and winsome charisma.

    "I¡¯ll see you at school, my little dumpling!" With that, she nted a soft kiss at Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s cheek stunning him. "Bye!" She waved goodbye to Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru before turning to leave.

    "Hey, little squirrel, are you that upset because of your cutesie¡¯s absence that you can¡¯t even move now?" Ru wiggled her brows teasing Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "How can you hide such a cute girlfriend from your own brother?" Even Xiao Zhi-Ren joined Ru in teasing his little brother.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s face was red but whether it was because of anger or was he feeling shy, that wasn¡¯t sure.

    He pushed both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru away saying, "She¡¯s not my girlfriend. She is just ssmate who is irritating." He opened the door of the private room and mmed the door behind him grumbling to himself, "Why are the girls so brazen these days? Where is women dignity?"

    "Did we go too far?" Ru voiced out in a serious tone.

    Both tilted their head and as the ink-ck eyes locked with emerald green ones, they both smiled mischievously and shook their head saying, "Nah!"

    Laughing blithely, both entered the private room one after the other.

    [1] "Pot calling the kettle ck": people should not criticize someone else for a fault that they have themselves

    [2] "Wicked": Taken as British ng for ¡¯cool¡¯

 Chapter 40 Anything But Normal

    The private KTV room was quite spacious considering there were only Qin Qu and Xiao Zhi-Yuan seated inside before Ru and Xiao Zhi-Ren entered.

    Sleek marble floor with wooden checkered wall interior,fy sofas lined up against the wall and a huge t screen tv made the ambiance of the room seem pleasant. Ru looked around curiously since she had never taken the initiative toe to a KTV club before. It was a whole new world for someone like her.

    "Oh, Mr. Xie! I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯d also be joining us." Qin Qu abruptly stood up seeing Ru enter along with Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "You don¡¯t have to be so formal," Ru said distractedly. Her focus was on the beautiful room.

    "Oniisan,e and sit with me," Xiao Zhi-Yuan dragged her towards his own seat. While Xiao Zhi-Yuan was figuring out the way to operate the music system, Ru found her sce in the food menu ced on the table.

    She pressed the buzzer and a guy from the staff came to take their order. Ru ordered a bunch of food without any hesitation while Qin Qu gaped at her, not knowing what to think.

    "What about the drinks?" The staff member asked politely.

    "Just bring some wine," Xiao Zhi-Ren told the name of the wine and he left the room.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was the first one to put on a song and took the mike. He had put on a song of his choice but Ru wasn¡¯t listening to him. She used her superpower of shutting the world around as she focused on eating.

    "Mr. Xie, won¡¯t you sing?" Qin Qu asked rather reluctantly.

    "I don¡¯t know any song. How can I sing it?" Ru answered to his question sincerely.

    Qin Qu looked askance as he asked, "You have never heard any song?"

    "Huh? I have heard obviously. In this age and time, you get to hear music everywhere you go. I just don¡¯t pay attention to them since I¡¯m not interested." Qin Qu still wasn¡¯t very convinced but seeing the look in her eyes, he had to believe.

    "Why don¡¯t you take some wine?" Qin Qu was about to pour some wine for her when she stopped him.

    "Don¡¯t bother. I don¡¯t drink wine."

    "Why is that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked the question, looking at her curiously.

    Ru sighed heavily saying, "I have my reasons. Excuse me for a moment," she excused herself and came out in the empty hallways.

    Finding a silent corner which had ss walls looking over the skyscrapers of the city, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She bit a stick of cigarette between her lips and lit it up before taking a puff.

    Leaning her head against the wall, she thought about why she didn¡¯t drink wine? Once upon a time, she used to love wine. Especially the peach wine brewed by her grandfather. But then she started avoiding the wine. She puffed out rings of smoke and closed her eyes losing herself in memories.

    *shback*

    "Put young master Ru on the ice blocks," the booming authoritative voice made everyone present cower back a bit. But two people still came up to teenage Ru¡¯s side.

    "I have legs. I¡¯ll just go down myself." Ru stopped the two boys from touching her. She didn¡¯t look aggrieved or sad. In fact, there was no visible expression on her face as she took off her shoes and stood on the ice block barefoot. She felt her body being bit by the freezing feeling but she still didn¡¯t hiss.

    "Kneel!" She looked up at her father¡¯s raging face and kneeled down on the ice block. "Pull up your sleeves!" The next order was heard and she had to obey. She knew the next part herself, so, she stretched out her arms.

    She was about 16 years old at that time when she stole some wine from her grandfather¡¯s courtyard but was caught by her father. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t her first time doing it but somehow it became the first time when she was caught. She called it her rotten luck.

    It certainly was rotten luck since her father who was the patriarch of the n punished her severely. When she stretched her bare arms, her father asked his subordinate to thrash her with a wicker cane a hundred times.

    All the blows were made on her forearms and by the time he was done, Ru¡¯s forearms were covered in blood and she could barely feel her arms. Her father looked at her calm face and walked away shaking his head.

    There wasn¡¯t a single tear that dropped from her eyes but the ones watching had pitiful looks in their eyes. She didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t the first punishment and it definitely wasn¡¯t going to be thest. She tried to stand up but her body rolled down to a side because of the numbness caused by the ice.

    This time she didn¡¯t try to stand up too soon. Sheid on the ground with her face up and lifted her arms slowly to blow on them. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t effective, she dropped her arms to the ground. "Young master, let me help you to your courtyard." A young disciple came up to offer his help but Ru shook her head.

    "Aye! If I can¡¯t even bear this much pain then how will I be able to be your next leader?" Her dignity would never allow her to take help. Also, she was aware that if she took the help that disciple will be punished as well. And she would never allow that to happen.

    It took a while before she could feel a bit of sensation in her legs and with much effort, she managed to stand up. Stumbling, falling, rolling somehow she finally reached her courtyard. She was sweating buckets by the time she walked inside. She lost all her strength to walk and fell down to the ground. Since there was no-one in her courtyard, she didn¡¯t care about how long she stayed on the ground.

    She had just closed her eyes when she heard a voice, "Look at this weak person. How is he gonna take over the legacy of our n?" She instantly opened her eyes to look at her mother¡¯s displeased face. "Why are you down there? Get up already!"

    Ru groaned inwardly and stood up to cup her fists to greet the n matriarch with respect. "Go andy down." Ru nodded at hermand and went under the shade toy down on a bamboo mat. Her mother sat down beside her and put some herbal paste on her arms.

    "Are you happy by being a rebellion like this?" Ru shifted her eyes to see her father ring at her.

    "I just stole a bit of wine," Ru replied innocently.

    "Do you think I punished you for stealing wine?" Her father¡¯s tone got louder making her want to bury a hole to hide inside. "Ru, how can you break the rules again and help someone outside of the n?"

    Hearing his words, she realized what he meant. Because of her best friend, she used her resources and authority as the young master of the n to help a girl in hiding her past. It wasn¡¯t a big deal, was it? Well, it was! And she knew it. She was not allowed to keep contact with the outside world and yet she broke the rule time and again.

    "I don¡¯t care that you used your authority. But let me remind you, the way you want to spread happiness will only leave you emptyhanded. Because the people who sell happiness are often left with nothing for themselves." With these words, her father left her courtyard.

    "Stop challenging your father¡¯s patience. He doesn¡¯t have much of it." Her mother spoke gently and left after applying the medicine to her wounds.

    *shback Ends*

    Coming back to the present, Ru could only scoff at her own self. "Father, you were right. I¡¯m really emptyhanded. For the world, I have everything one could wish for; money, and power. But I don¡¯t have anything left in my heart that could make me happy." She whispered softly to herself. "I¡¯m not even left with the courage to face you again."

    She didn¡¯t stop drinking because of this event rather she left it because no wine ever appealed to her the way her grandfather¡¯ did. She even tried to brew it herself but she couldn¡¯t bring out the taste that she desired badly.

    She never hated her parents for being cold to her. She knew they loved her but their way of showing that love was peculiar. Instead of loving her like a normal child, they raised her to be the strongest child since she was anything but normal.

 Chapter 41 Story Of A Storm

    Memories are one of the precious things for human beings but not when those memories of the past be the punishment of the present. We keep good memories to relive those happy moments all over again and we keep the bad ones because we can¡¯t possibly get rid of them no matter how hard we try to.

    Standing in the same corridor, Ru stubbed the cigarette and properly disposed of it. When she pulled the pack again to take another stick, she realized that unknowingly, she had smoked the whole pack already. She scratched her head awkwardly before throwing the empty pack of cigarette in the bin.

    After taking another look at the night sky, she turned to leave when she heard Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s voice. She took another step to see a youngdy in a whitece dress trying to hold his hand. From her position, she could only see the side profile of the girl but it was enough to tell her who that girl was; Ji Caihong. Ru frowned as she thought, ¡¯I haven¡¯t even started looking for her and the young miss served herself to me? Interesting!¡¯

    She didn¡¯t try to interrupt them and stayed in the corner, discreetly.

    Earlier when Xiao Zhi-Yuan came out of the private room, he¡¯d nned to look for Ru. But who knew he will bump into one of the people, he never wished to see again. "Zhi-Yuan!" Ji Caihong called out his name softly with a sweet smile on her pinkish lips. Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no interest in talking to her and that¡¯s why he tried to walk away but Ji Caihong held his wrist not letting him leave. She lifted her hand to palm his face but Xiao Zhi-Yuan turned his face away. Her bright eyes dimmed a bit but she immediately concealed the disappointment.

    "Did youe alone? Or Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge is with you?" Hearing Ji Caihong¡¯s voice, Ru¡¯s brows knitted together. Her voice was too sweet as if listening to the whistle of birds; beautiful, soothing, and yet distinctive. The voice in her memories reminded her of catfights.

    ¡¯She¡¯s definitely not giving me the vibes of the person I¡¯m looking for. Then howe the van which is assigned for her security was at the event the other night? Did she give her van to someone else? Or my mind is ying tricks with me? What if I¡¯m mistaken?¡¯ With all these thoughts, Ru felt exasperated but she knew she couldn¡¯t give up this easily.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan jerked Ji Caihong¡¯s hand away saying, "I told you before to stay away from my brother. He¡¯s my brother, not yours!" The sharp edge to his voice was surprising to Ru as she forgot all about her thoughts and listened closely.

    Ji Caihong looked dejected. "But he¡¯s my brother as well. No matter what, we share the same father." She spoke ruefully in a low voice making Xiao Zhi-Yuan grit his teeth. He hated this reminder. His brother was his alone! His brother was his whole family, how could he bring himself to share him with someone else?

    On the side, even Ru looked at them wide-eyed. ¡¯Same father? Then doesn¡¯t that means Xiao Zhi-Ren and Xiao Zhi-Yuan are actually a part of Ji family?¡¯ There were millions of questions running in her mind but she didn¡¯t have the answers.

    "I didn¡¯t have a father in the past 18 years of my life and I certainly don¡¯t need one now." Xiao Zhi-Yuan answered gravely and walked right past her. Why would he wish for a father who abandoned him even before he was born? He didn¡¯t need a father as long as he had his brother by his side.

    After walking a fair distance, he called Ru. "Oniisan, where are you?"

    "Little squirrel, I have someone to meet. You have fun. I¡¯ll see youter!" Ru replied to him looking intently at Ji Caihong frozen at the same spot. Ru could see the way tears were trickling down her cute little face. But she was bravely trying to stifle her sobs.

    Now, whether it was Ji Caihong¡¯s stubborn nature or bravery, Ru couldn¡¯t possibly tell.

    "Fine!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan grumbled disappointedly and hung up the call.

    "The brother doesn¡¯t want to acknowledge the father or anyone associated with him. And the half-sister is crying over the harsh words of the same brother? Now, this is getting interesting..." Ru smiled to herself. Whether Ji Caihong had any connection to her lost memories or not, she didn¡¯t know. But Ji Caihong had certainly caught her attention. And if Ru got interested in someone, there was no way she¡¯d let it go unless the mystery is solved.

    Ru watched Ji Caihong falling down on her knees right in the middle of the hallway but she didn¡¯t stick around to watch her vulnerable state. First, it didn¡¯t feel right and second, she hated tears. She took the other route to sort out her thoughts. Someone once said that she liked to y god in someone¡¯s life and she didn¡¯t want to y that role again. She had no right to be nosy for no reason. Therefore, she tried her best to bury those bursting desires of curiosity inside her.

    She took the lift to the top floor and came to a rooftop garden and sat down on the ground with her back leaning against the railings. While Ru was silently trying to avoid Ji Caihong, the fate had something else nned. After a while, the elevator¡¯s ¡¯ding¡¯ made Ru turn to see Xiao Zhi-Rening out of the elevator with a petite figure in a white dress. Ji Caihong was still sniffling and Xiao Zhi-Ren helped her to an empty bench.

    She hugged his waist and cried unceasingly with her shoulders trembling. Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t push her away or said anything. He simply kept stroking her hair like an older brother.

    The scene before Ru was heartwarming even when there was nothing to say.

    After silently sobbing for a while, Ji Caihong pulled herself away from Xiao Zhi-Ren and crouched down before her toe to the same level as her. He passed his handkerchief and she took it silently wiping her tears.

    On a side, Ru wasn¡¯tfortable with those big teardrops in her almond-shaped eyes and right before Ji Caihong, even Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯tfortable with those tears. While Ru had always had something against tears, she didn¡¯t know that for Xiao Zhi-Ren, tears held a different meaning.

    Ru couldn¡¯t cry herself and that left her with an inkling to stop others¡¯ tear. Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s meaning of tears came from the peculiar person he had met who didn¡¯t cry even facing death and said to him, ¡¯Tears are like a story of the storm brewing inside a person. But some people don¡¯t like sharing that story hidden by a smile which even tears can¡¯t wash away. Because some storms have no end.¡¯

    Ru couldn¡¯t understand the situation ying before her. Earlier, the younger brother made the same half-sister cry with his words and now, the elder brother was wiping the tears lovingly. ¡¯Why is this situation getting more and more interesting than before?¡¯ Ru thought to herself and leaned backnguidly against the metal railings.

 Chapter 42 Blue & Red

    If one asked Ru was she trying to eavesdrop here, her answer would be, "No way! They are sharing such a sweet and heart-warming moment if I¡¯ll try to leave, it¡¯ll ruin such an emotional scene." And yes! She would be lying!

    Being the person who was titled as a shadow, she had many ways to make her existence concealed while leaving them alone and yet, she chose to stay hidden in the dark corner. Although she was quite far from Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ji Caihong, she could still hear them from her current position because of her over-sensitive ears.

    Her ears were sensitive than normal humans since she was trained to fight with blindfolds and also, there was a time in her life when only sounds were herpanions while there was no light in her life.

    As Ji Caihong¡¯s sniffling sound lightened up a bit, Xiao Zhi-Ren pushed her hair away from her face and asked, "Why are you crying like this?" She stayed quiet not answering while she kept looking at Xiao Zhi-Ren with her bloodshot eyes. "Aren¡¯t you even gonna tell your Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge?"

    "Ge-Ge," she tried to speak and choked on her emotions.

    "Yes, little sister," Xiao Zhi-Ren encouraged her as he rubbed her back.

    "He said, you can¡¯t be my brother. He won¡¯t allow it." Ji Caihong spoke in a bit hoarse voice.

    "Who said it?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was scowling.

    "Zhi-Yuan... He hates me, Ge-Ge." Xiao Zhi-Ren figured what must have happened. When he found Ji Caihong crying hysterically in the hallways, he didn¡¯t think that Xiao Zhi-Yuan would have also met her. He stood up and sat beside her on the bench.

    He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulled her closer and said, "I told you to ignore Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s words. He¡¯s still a kid. And he doesn¡¯t hate you, he just doesn¡¯t know you yet." He was coaxing her gently while Ru was nodding her head agreeing with him silently. Even she believed that Xiao Zhi-Yuan was a kid who couldn¡¯t even define love in a proper way much less talk about what hate is.

    Ji Caihong ced her head on his shoulder saying, "But Ge-Ge, he doesn¡¯t even want to look at me. I just want a little brother." Hearing her such a sad voice, even Ru couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for her.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stroked her arm up and down saying, "Stop thinking about his words and if he spoke rudely to you again, deliver an open-handed p straight to his face."

    Ji Caihong gasped as she lifted her head to look straight at Xiao Zhi-Ren. "How can I do that, Ge-Ge?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren pinched her small nose finding her adorable for such a reaction and said, "Why not? You¡¯re 7 years older than him. It¡¯s your right to teach him a lesson if he does something wrong." He caressed her cheek softly and added, "If you won¡¯t even ept your own right, how will you make him realize that you¡¯re his elder sister and not a joke?"

    While Xiao Zhi-Ren was looking at Ji Caihong for a response, Ru was again nodding her head as a thought invaded into his mind, ¡¯Why do I feel like I¡¯m listening to myself?¡¯ At this strange thought, she cringed a bit. But she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that until now, whatever Xiao Zhi-Ren said was what she would have said herself. His thoughts were aligned with her mind and Ru had never met someone who could remind her of her own self before. ¡¯You¡¯re even more intriguing than I originally thought, Mr. Xiao...¡¯ She half-smiled to herself and waited for Ji Caihong¡¯s answer.

    Ji Caihong was in a dilemma. "But Ge-Ge, he doesn¡¯t even want to ept that we have the same father. How will he ept me as his sister?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stiffened a bit but heposed himself immediately as he asked, "When you were young, did I held you in my arms because we shared the same father?"

    Ji Caihong shook her head and said, "When we were young, we didn¡¯t even know that we have the same father."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren patted her head. "Exactly, my cute little sister. The more you¡¯ll remind him about us sharing the same father, the more he¡¯ll run away from you. Don¡¯t use your blood rtion to get close to him, use your innocent personality to win him over." Ji Caihong contemted his words while Ru got more curious.

    ¡¯Although I¡¯m not supposed to think about this, I can¡¯t help myself. So, they were very close when they were young but parted away for years.¡¯ She looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren and saw his affectionate gaze for Ji Caihong while hers held an extreme sense of dependence, love, and respect. ¡¯It seems the years of separation couldn¡¯t change their rtionship.¡¯ And Ru wasn¡¯t wrong; the years apart only increased their love and care for each other.

    "Okay, I¡¯ll do whatever Ge-Ge says." Ji Caihong agreed to listen to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s advice. She needed her little brother at any cost and for that, if she had to be a bit stern with him, she¡¯ll do it!

    "That¡¯s like my sister. Now, give me a smile, my Xiao Hong." Ji Caihong¡¯s pinkish lips had just curled into a beautiful smile when the pair of sibling heard someone¡¯sugh startling them.

    They both stood up and walked towards the dark corner. "Mr. Xie?" Xiao Zhi-Ren said in disbelief. ¡¯Why him of all people?¡¯ He was thinking inwardly.

    Ru looked at their questioning looks and tried to control herughter. "I wasn¡¯t eavesdropping." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a pointed look, obviously not believing a word and Ru rolled her eyes saying, "Okay, fine. I did eavesdrop. But it wasn¡¯t intentional. I came here first. So, technically it¡¯s your own fault." As always, Ru shirked all the insinuations smoothly.

    "Whatever. Why did youugh?" That was what he was really curious about. He certainly didn¡¯t say any joke or did he?

    "Oh, that?" Ru chuckled again a bit as she said, "You called her Xiao Hong and that reminded me of the little cute pet I had when I was young."

    "Was it a cute kitten?" Ji Caihong asked as her eyes were stuck on Ru¡¯s green eyes that were the only thing she could clearly see in the dim lights.

    "Nope." Ru shook her head.

    "Was it a puppy?" Ji Caihong asked again.

    "Nope." Ru shook her head again and Xiao Zhi-Ren had a foreboding that Ru¡¯s answer would be just like herself; weird and peculiar. Ru definitely didn¡¯t disappoint him as she said, "It was Blue Krait[1] but I named it Xiao Hong[2] just for fun." Her expressions abruptly turned solemn as she added, "But now if I think about it, it wasn¡¯t funny at all." Thest statement was for her own self.

    [1] "Blue Krait": One of the deadliest snakes in the world.

    [2] "Xiao Hong": Little Red... She actually named a blue snake red just for the fun of it.

 Chapter 43 Tell Me Something I Dont Know

    Both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ji Caihong could only stare at her with their mouth agape.

    "So, you named a blue snake as red just for the fun of it? I don¡¯t find it funny at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned with disbelief clearly visible on his face.

    Ru felt offended by his words as she red at him saying, "It was funny, for me considering that I was young at that time."

    "You really have the worst sense of humor, " Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help butment making Ru narrow her eyes at him dangerously.

    "Aigo[1]! As if our Mr. Xiao¡¯s sense of humor is off the charts..." She took a pause not wanting to banter with him again- at least not before thedy who just stopped crying- and added, "Well, technically I didn¡¯t name it red for fun." Ru rubbed her chin as she went on, "Red color is associated with Vermillion Bird[2] and it¡¯s also a symbol of joy and good fortune. And since my Xiao Hong came as my joy when I was five, so, I named it red. What¡¯s wrong with that?" Ru looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren as if daring him to argue or disagree.

    But how could he do that? He didn¡¯t find anything wrong with her exnation except for the part that she was five years old when she kept a pet who was actually one of the world¡¯s deadliest snakes. He only had the urge to ask, ¡¯How do you do this, Mr. Xie?¡¯ And as for what Ru do? Wasn¡¯t it obvious, she always left him more confused about herself.

    What he didn¡¯t consider was the fact that under what circumstances a five-year-old was forced to make a snake her friend. He couldn¡¯t possibly imagine the solitude of her life where she could only talk to animals. If he could understand that solitude, he could have also understood the reason for her estranged behavior towards humans.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and said, "Whatever you heard, don¡¯t talk about it with Zhi-Yuan." Looking at him acting so humbly, Ru gave a lopsided smile thinking how can he change his demeanor for different people.

    She had already observed his imposing personality when he was dealing with the business but when it came to his brother, he bes the sweetest brother in the world. It was like having a split personality since whenever he was talking to even Ru, his aura wouldpletely change into something indescribable.

    "You don¡¯t even have to mention that, Mr. Xiao." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised as she continued, "This is your personal story and although I love stories, I don¡¯t like sharing them." She shrugged her shoulders and intentionally bumped into Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s shoulder while passing right by his side.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was staring at her back with aplicated look while Ji Caihong had an inquisitive feeling bursting inside her.

    After taking a few steps, Ru halted in her step and whisked her body around elegantly. "Ah! Since you reminded of my favorite pet, let me help you a bit." She was osting to Ji Caihong as she went on, "If you want to know your little brother, head to Central Imperial Library in the school district. He has a habit of spending two hours daily there after school."

    "How do you know that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren felt alienated since he didn¡¯t even know about this himself. ¡¯Since when did he knew about my brother¡¯s daily schedule?¡¯

    "Mr. Xiao, your little brother has only one passion in life..." She took an unnecessary pause to hype up their curiosity and said, "Books! He¡¯s a typical example of a nerd with the exception of not wearing sses."

    Now, when Ru shifted her gaze to look at Ji Caihong, she found her in a daze. But it wasn¡¯t her fault, it was the first time for Ji Caihong to see such peculiar emerald green eyes with such awe-striking features that she was astounded.

    Ru snapped her fingers to break Ji Caihong¡¯s daydreaming and asked skeptically, "Are you good at studies?"

    Ji Caihong was taken aback by that question and answered in a small voice, "I topped my University exam back in high school."

    Ru raised her brow in surprise and gave a disdainful look to Xiao Zhi-Ren saying, "Are you sure she¡¯s your sister?"

    Before Xiao Zhi-Ren could open his mouth to argue, Ji Caihong spoke up, "I doubt that sometimes as well. I can¡¯t evenpete with Syaoran Ge-Ge who topped in the whole Imperial much less with Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge who praised in the whole state for his extraordinary records."

    Ru¡¯s mouth opened wide and Xiao Zhi-Ren felt smug seeing her reaction. ording to him, this reaction was because Ru was shocked to hear about his aplishments but to his dismay, her words shattered his pride into pieces, "You have another brother? How many siblings do you have? And is it a family of geniuses or nerds? Why is each person trying to top up the previous one?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren really wanted to punch Ru now but he convinced himself to avoid violence. "Is this any of your concern?" He asked gritting his teeth.

    "Not really," Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    "Oh, I forgot to say," Ji Caihong walked up to her side and said, "You have the most beautiful eyes I¡¯ve ever seen in my life."

    "Tell me something I don¡¯t know," although Ru¡¯s words were a bit conceited, she wasn¡¯t trying to be. She had heard the samepliment way too many times in her life that it became a norm. But seeing the brightness in Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes, Ru smiled at her charmingly and said, "You¡¯re one of the most gorgeous youngdies I¡¯ve ever met in my life."

    Seeing Ji Caihong smiling bashfully at herpliment, Xiao Zhi-Ren pulled Ru from her jacket¡¯s cor yet again and warned, "Don¡¯t flirt with my sister. She¡¯s the only princess of our house and I don¡¯t want jerks like yourself to hang around her."

    Ru first scowled when he pulled her cor but his words left her with only a strange feeling of warmth. Seeing him being so protective over a half-sister even when he hated his father was a very refreshing experience for her.

    Ru raised her hands in defense and said, "I told you, I don¡¯t do flirting." Passing a beautiful smile to both of them, she turned to enter the elevator.

    [1] "Aigo!": OMG in Korean but more in a negative sense

    [2] "Vermillion Bird": One of the heavenly creatures in Chinese mythology

 Chapter 44 Choose Wisely

    Madness; it lies somewhere between the chaos of insanity and the beautiful dreams we hold of reality. All of us hide some madness within ourselves. And you can¡¯t possibly figure out a person until you¡¯ve seen the madness they are concealing.

    There is nothing wrong with the person who has the courage to show you his madness. We should be wary of the ones who never even learned the extent of their own madness.

    In the past years, Ru ruled over people with her madness as her solepanion. She always fancied the idea of it.

    She let the insanity toil with her,

    While her madness devour her

    In her journey to learn the reality;

    Insanity prevailed her stance of sanity

    Standing on the edge of insomnia and cmity

    She walked in the abyss of darkness superciliously.

    She was so intoxicated by madness

    That she fell in love with her own sadness...

    But seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s rtionship with his half-sister brought a strange feeling to Ru¡¯s heart. For the first time in a long while, she desired someone who could understand her madness without judging her. She closed her eyes and only one person came to her mind.

    She didn¡¯t go to her condominium building that night and went straight to the bamboo house she had built on the outskirts of the city in the mountains.

    "Adia, bring the girl who attacked me in London." Adia was taken aback a bit to hear the orders but she knew, questioning her master would only bring her trouble. Therefore, she stayed quiet and left to work on the order she received.

    In two days, when Adia brought the mute assassin to Ru, she was still in the same bamboo house fiddling around with chemicals.

    "Master, she¡¯s here!" Adia informed Ru while she was staring intently at the strange concoction of herbs.

    Hearing Adia¡¯s voice, Ru picked up a syringe and filled it with that liquid. She came to the courtyard where the mute assassin girl was tied up against the tree.

    Ru took slow but steady steps and stood right in front of the chained girl who had a murderous look in her eyes as if trying to kill Ru with her looks. But if looks could kill, Ru would have been long dead.

    "Go back to your original positions. Leave us alone," Ru waved off her group of people who reluctantly shared a look with each other. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Although her voice was still deep and low, they could feel the change in the meaning behind it. Within minutes, the courtyard was empty with only Ru and the mute girl standing facing each other.

    The chained figure was inmed while the other figure before her was nonchnt. Both kept having a staringpetition for a long while. In the end, Ru sighed heavily feeling the helplessness of that mute girl. For the first time in her life, she was feeling pity for someone.

    She pulled out the syringe from her pocket and looked straight into sinister eyes before her. "Right now, whatever I say will have no effect on you. You¡¯re like that mad dog who has lost his ability to differentiate. So, before I offer anything. I need to wake you up from your slumber."

    The mute girl tried hard to tug at the chains gritting her teeth but it didn¡¯t work. Ru didn¡¯t care about her efforts of trying to escape, she injected the liquid straight into her neck.

    Ru had been experimenting on the same girl¡¯s blood since she had faced her. She wasn¡¯t sure if her personal creation would be able to fix the girl before her but she was certain that the mixture would allow this young girl to think for herself again.

    After injecting the liquid, Ru unchained her and threw the chains away. The girl had a splitting headache but on instinct, she lunged to attack Ru with all her strength. Ru nimbly turned to her right side and held her arm to twist it. Her one hand had twisted the girl¡¯s arms behind her back while her other arm came around her neck to put her in a headlock.

    The girl tried to kick Ru¡¯s knee but Ru had already caged her legs by twisting her own leg with hers.

    "Seeing your feisty personality, I¡¯vee up with a name for you... I¡¯ll call you Lilith." Saying that Ru pushed her away making her fall on the ground.

    "Let¡¯s y a game," Ru started as she pulled out a stick of cigarette and continued, "Since you want to kill me, I¡¯ll give you a chance to do that." The other girl who she just named Lilith was shaking her head as she felt strange sensations all over her body and most of all, her brain. But listening to Ru¡¯s voice, she stopped and lifted her face to stare at her indecisively. "We¡¯ll y two rounds. The first round will end when this cigarette of mine ends and in that round, I won¡¯t counterattack. As for the second round..." she smiled boldly. "You will know when we get to it."

    "There are no rules. But there is a reward if even the tip of your nail managed to touch me, I¡¯ll let you walk away from here freely." Because of the medicine in her body, Lilith could understand Ru¡¯s meaning which shook her a bit.

    Noticing the flicker in her eyes, Ru knew that she had managed to get her attention. She lit up her cigarette and said, "Your time starts now!"

    As her words fell, Lilith stood up and curled her hand into a tight fist. She was trying to aim for Ru¡¯s face and from Ru¡¯s experience, she could tell that the punch was solid. But Lilith had underestimated Ru¡¯s ability. The girl who wasnguidly puffing out rings of smoke agilely jumped in the air and did a backward somersault with perfection.

    But Lilith¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop, she was enraged even more and she tried to m her hand into Ru¡¯s ribs. This time, Ru turned sideways right before her hand could even touch Ru¡¯s jacket. The attack from Lilith continued as she tried to kick, punch or even scratch Ru but for the next five minutes, all her hands and legs touched was air.

    After five minutes, Ru threw the cigarette butt to the ground and stubbed it with her shoe as she said, "Round one is over!" Thenguid smile turned into a solemn look as she added, "Now, it¡¯s my turn."

    Lilith felt the change in her green eyes and her heart jolted. She didn¡¯t even get a chance to move when Ru¡¯s palmnded straight to her chest throwing her quite far away. Lilith spurted out blood as her bodynded on the cobblestones. She felt a piercing pain in her chest as if a boulder had hit her brutally.

    After this blow, her mind was a lot clearer than before and she took this chance to observe the tall figure before her eyes. Ru¡¯s green eyes looked beautiful but she realized that those eyes held the same pain as she had.

    As Ru walked slowly towards her, Lilith tried to get up but her body felt shattered. When Ru crouched down before her, she tried to cower away with fear in her eyes.

    Pulling two things out of her jacket, Ru ced them on the ground and said, "Since I won, now, it¡¯s time for a decision... You have to choose one of these things and it¡¯ll decide what future holds for you."

    Lilith frowned as her eyes looked at one of the things on the ground; a small dagger. "If you choose the dagger, I¡¯ll kill you inly. Don¡¯t forget, you are of no use to me since even you have no idea who turned you into a killing machine. So, killing you inly is the only mercy I can offer." Lilith gulped visibly and looked at the other thing; ck rose. "And if you choose the ck rose... Then I can help you."

    Lilith stared wide-eyed at Ru with disbelief in her eyes. "I¡¯ll help in fixing the effects of their experiments on your body as for healing your mind, that¡¯s all up to you." Ru stood up to leave and passed herst words, "Choose wisely."

 Chapter 45 Abyss Of Bloodthirs

    Ru had never smoked so much before but since she came to China, she had the urge to always hold a cigarette in her mouth. And that¡¯s what she did after leaving Lilith to decide her fate. She didn¡¯t smoke for cravings but rather she did it to distract her mind.

    After smoking for a while, Ru went back to the courtyard and noticed the conflicted look in Lilith¡¯s eyes. Her eyes were stuck on the dagger and Ru was familiar with that look.

    The reason she chose not to kill Lilith was simple; she didn¡¯t want an innocent person to die. And yes! For Ru, Lilith was innocent since whatever she did in life was done under the influence of drugs that had been induced in her body from a young age.

    Now that Lilith¡¯s mind was a lot clearer, her mind had shes of all the inhumane things she had done in her life and it made her feel disgusted by her own existence. She couldn¡¯t even remember when was thest time, she made a decision for her own self rather than receiving orders to take out missions.

    "So, what¡¯s your choice?" Hearing Ru¡¯s maic voice, Lilith stayed frozen and took a while before lifting her hand towards the dagger but before she could touch it, the same deep maic voice halted her hand in midair. "Let me help you with your decision." Ru sat down beside her on the ground and folded her slim long legs. "If you choose the dagger, it means you¡¯re giving up on yourself and this life. But I won¡¯t judge you for being a coward. Because I know what¡¯s running in your mind."

    Lilith lifted her eyes to stare at her as if to question her, "Do you really know what I¡¯m feeling?"

    Ru had a brittle smile ying on her thin lips as she answered the question her eyes asked, "Yes, I do know. The memories of the people who died from your hands are trying to pierce your heart. It¡¯s inevitable but it¡¯s painful as well. Because you have done it and there is no nice way to put it. But," she took a brief pause before adding, "This ck rose can give you a chance of redemption. A second chance to live life."

    Lilith felt a strange feeling in her heart and lifted her hands to make hand gesture asking, "How?"

    The brittle smile didn¡¯t leave Ru¡¯s lips as she spoke, "That first kill of our life was difficult. It was done to protect ourselves but it made the rest of the kills too easy for us. Because bloodthirst is also a form of addiction. It¡¯s an endless abyss where if one falls, there is hardly any way to escape on your own. Taking lives have always been way easier than saving them and at a point in my life, I stop doing both. But looking at you, I want to save you... From the demons of your mind and soul."

    Ru pulled out a chocte bar from her pocket and ate itnguidly savoring its taste as she sighed, "I want you to choose this ck rose. That way, the people whom you killed won¡¯te back but there will be a chance for you to save someone else from dying or ending up like yourself."

    Ru genuinely wished that Lilith chooses the ck rose, she didn¡¯t know what she¡¯ll do if Lilith chose the dagger. Apparently, the one who was infamous for being heartless didn¡¯t have the heart to kill the innocent girl before her. The abyss of bloodthirst was not oundish to her, the difference was she had to pull herself out all on her own while this time, she wanted to lend her hand to someone else.

    This time, Lilith didn¡¯t hesitate for a minute before she held the ck rose and extended her hand towards Ru since she knew that she definitely didn¡¯t want someone to be a victim like herself ever again. She had seen the way other girls died in thatb because of experiments. Those screams that turned to numbness were strongly embedded in her mind.

    "You certainly made the right choice," Ru replied, taking the rose from her hand.

    "Can you make me a human again?" Lilith asked with hand gestures again.

    "I certainly will do my best!" Ru answered her question honestly and her sincere look touched Lilith¡¯s heart. "Follow me!"

    Lilith silently followed Ru and she brought her to a man-made hot-water spring. Passing some clothes to her, she said, "Clean yourself up, I¡¯ll be waiting outside."

    Under all circumstances, Ru would never let go of her gentlemanly bearing as she walked out.

    After Lilith cleaned up and wore the pair of new clothes, Ru took her towards the secretb in the seemingly ordinary bamboo house. Lilith unconsciously took a step back since her mind only had the images of being kept in ab all these years. With sensibility came the trauma that was rooted deep inside her heart.

    Sensing the fear of the girl, Ru stopped and took a deep breath. "The reason I brought you here is that I want to give you this." Ru gave the injections filled with the same liquid she had injected in her body. "You have to inject these in your body after every 24 hours. For now, this is the only solution I came up with. I¡¯ll have to do more research on a permanent solution. But you need to make sure to take these shots on time."

    Although Ru had brought her to theb to do some experiment, her fear made Ru decide otherwise. It wasn¡¯t the time to scare the girl off.

    Bringing her to a quiet garden, Ru said, "I have only two rules for you." Lilith listened attentively with her stiff expressions. She really had no other expression and Ru knew she¡¯ll have to work on that but that was the task for another time. "The first rule is, don¡¯t even think about betraying me even in your wildest dreams. I might only have a couple of ways to save you but I have a million ways to kill you." After this frank reminder, a ghostly smile appeared on her lips as she went on, "The second rule is, no matter what happens don¡¯te between me and my food. Or I¡¯ll make your life a living hell." It was obvious which of the rules was considered more important from her emphasis.

    "These are the only two bottom lines I have. Don¡¯t touch them and the world will be as pleasant as it is now."

    After that, she took Lilith to Adia who was taken aback a bit butposed herself instantly. "Adia, this is Lilith and Lilith, this is Adia." She introduced both girls and continued, "Adia is the only female subordinate I have had until now. You¡¯re the second and I¡¯m leaving you under Adia¡¯s care. Learn how the things work here and then we¡¯ll move on to the next phase."

    Lilith obviously had noments to make but Adia had a lot of questions to ask. She ran after Ru and asked, "Master, what are you nning to do? She tried to kill you."

    "Thanks for the reminder!" Adia could clearly perceive sarcasm in her voice. "But I don¡¯t need your reminders. Once I saved you from dying at the hands of your own people, today, I¡¯m trying to save her from her own self. If you can get a second chance then why not her?" Adia was left speechless since she had nothing to argue with.

    And what could she possibly say? There was nothing to say at all! Her master saved her when she was betrayed by her own people. Since she was the weakest one back then, her own people had made her the scapegoat. And if not for her master, how could she still be standing here proudly as the leading member of ck Mist squad which was known as the deadliest group of mercenaries?

    Therefore, Adia stayed quiet and obediently bowed her head in respect saying, "I¡¯ll take good care of her, master. You don¡¯t have to worry at all."

    Ru didn¡¯t have any visible change in her expression. She still had a neutral but refined look as she left the bamboo house to get a ride back to the inner city.

 Chapter 46 Wrath Of An Angry Sister

    For the past two days, Xiao Zhi-Yuan had been missing Ru¡¯s presence since she had not been back to the apartment. He had been sulking all alone since even Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t around to keep himpany.

    At times like these, Xiao Zhi-Yuan truly felt lonely but he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to make friends. Socializing had always been his nemesis. He would rather stay cooped up in his room reading a book than going out to party like others his age. As Ru named him; he really was a nerd who knew only how to bury himself in books.

    He tried to be rebellious just to spite his own brother but smoking or drinking both didn¡¯t work for him. When he wanted to smoke, Ru snatched the pack from him and when he wanted to get drunk, Ru made him that spicy drink making him want to never touch alcohol ever again.

    With his head resting on his hand, he had a goofy smile on his face as those memories of meeting Ru came to his mind. Although he seemed to be looking at the school grounds through the window, in reality, he was just lost in his own thoughts.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s day-dreaming came to an end when he heard a camera snap sound. With a frown, he turned his face to see Shen Yue grinning as she was looking at the photo she just clicked. "Woah! I really can¡¯t get tired of this charming and gentle smile." Shemented making Xiao Zhi-Yuan upset.

    "Delete that!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan said keeping his voice neutral.

    "I don¡¯t want to!" Shen Yue retorted and even stuck out her tongue childishly.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan got irked by her behavior and he shot up from his chair. His tall andnky figure towered above Shen Yue¡¯s petite one. When he lifted his hand to take the phone, Shen Yue stubbornly hid it behind her; sping it tightly.

    "I said to delete it," he was trying hard to not let his temper get the best of him but the girl before him had her own ¡¯ideas¡¯. She took a step back and tried to run from the ssroom. Catching on to her thoughts, Xiao Zhi-Yuan stretched out his long leg to follow but before he could move, he was pushed back by a sturdy hand. Shen Yue gasped as she stopped in her track.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was caught off guard and took him a while to get back to his feet. He clenched his fists and looked at the one who just pushed him; Zhang Han. He was the current ss president and also the top student in the whole school. Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no animosity or at least, that¡¯s what Xiao Zhi-Yuan thought. Technically they never even interacted with each other and yet, Zhang Han hated his guts but why? That Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no clue about.

    Because let¡¯s be honest, Ru¡¯s little squirrel was truly a bit dense when it came to reading people or their feelings.

    For instance, Xiao Zhi-Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly see that Shen Yue was irritating him all the time because she was interested in him. Also, if he couldn¡¯t even notice others feelings for himself, how could he see that Zhang Han was interested in Shen Yue?

    "How dare you try to touch our Yue Yue?" Zhang Han asked with hostility.

    "I only asked her to delete the photo she clicked. I have no interest in touching someone like her," Xiao Zhi-Yuan had always been honest but Ru¡¯s influence actually made him brutally honest. His words stung Shen Yue who was trying to intervene but was stopped by the other students.

    Even Zhang Han felt hurt when he heard that Shen Yue actually clicked a photo of Xiao Zhi-Yuan but hisst words made Zhang Han re hatefully at him. Before Xiao Zhi-Yuan could even react, Zhang Han delivered a punch to his face in a fit of rage.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan tasted blood in his mouth as his lip was cut by the impact of that punch. Xiao Zhi-Yuan also raised his fist to attack but suddenly a voice rang out, "Guys, get back to your seats. The teacher ising."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan reluctantly let his hand drop by his side and sat back on his seat and dropped his head on the desk, not taking any interest in the ss affairs. Everyone else also settled down.

    Soon the head teacher Li entered the senior ss ¡¯A¡¯ with a delicate, beautiful and a magnificent beauty following behind. There were countless gasps of astonishment in the ss which came from the boys while the girls burned with envy.

    "Stay quiet everyone!" The teacher Li announced and all the students lowered their voices. Then the teacher turned to the beauty and said, "Miss, this is the senior ss ¡¯A¡¯. Who were you looking for?" The teacher spoke humbly since the person before him was the only daughter of Ji Family. A family that held the highest esteem in the whole of Asia.

    Earlier when the teacher Li was called to the principal office, he had no idea he would get to meet this pride of the aristocratic family in flesh. But he was confused, this Miss Ji only asked for the directions to the ss, she didn¡¯t tell him who she was looking for.

    Ji Caihong d in her ocean blue dress looked like a water fairy with her long ck hair cascading down to her back in waves. Her delicate manner and those glistening eyes had already enchanted plenty in the ss. But there was a slight disappointment in those eyes as they darted around in the ss but couldn¡¯t find whom she was looking for.

    Suddenly, she saw someone in thest row with his head down. Her eyes brightened up and she walked briskly towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s side. She tapped on his shoulder lightly, Xiao Zhi-Yuan who was already in a bad mood, turned his face to snap at the one who disturbed him, "What?"

    Looking at Ji Caihong¡¯s grinning face, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was stunned for a moment before his brows knitted together. Ji Caihong was about to say something when her eyes fell on the blood on his lower lip and sensing a dangerous glint in her eyes, Xiao Zhi-Yuan tried to cover his lip instinctively. But she didn¡¯t give him a chance to do so.

    "Who did it?" She only voiced out this question as her hand lifted up to touch his face that was turning slightly blue.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan hissed at her slight touch and swatted her hand away saying, "None of your concern." Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes darkened even more as she felt her body burning with rage. She was meek and a very delicate youngdy of her family but the one hurt before her was her only younger brother. And how can a sister see her brother hurt? Definitely, she couldn¡¯t!

    The gentle water fairy instantly turned into a dark one with a fierce aura around her.

    She whipped her body around to re at teacher Li and seeing her eyes, even the elderly teacher was startled. "I didn¡¯t know that Imperial¡¯s top school allowed their students to bully others!"

    "Miss..." Teacher Li tried to rify but he didn¡¯t have anything to argue with. He was already stupified to see Ji Caihong approaching Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Save your breath!" Ji Caihong¡¯s voice boomed in the ssroom jolting everyone. "You just wait and see what I do to your school now." Her threat was tant and teacher Li knew that she was not kidding at all.

    "Miss, this was obviously a matter between students. It¡¯s not right to implicate the school." Teacher Li could onlye up with these words to cate the situation but he didn¡¯t know that his words would get back to bite him in the as*.

    "Really? Then find me the one who is responsible," Ji Caihong gave him a way out and teacher Li heaved a sigh of relief.

    Teacher Li looked sternly at the students and said, "Whoever did this to Xiao Zhi-Yuan,e out now!" No-one moved from there seats. "None of you is willing to tell me who is responsible here?" The students were quite loyal to Zhang Han since he was the ss president and also, he had a pretty good backing. Even when Shen Yue wanted to help, she couldn¡¯t. Zhang Han¡¯s and her own families were business partners and good friends.

    Also, no-one in the ss knew anything about Xiao Zhi-Yuan or the Ji Caihong. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t dare to be so loyal.

    Teacher Li gritted his teeth since none of his students was ready to open their mouth. Since Xiao Zhi-Yuan had no interest in speaking up himself, the students thought he was scared of Zhang Han. And they tried to take advantage of that fact by saying, "Teacher, Xiao Zhi-Yuan have a badpany. One of his gangster friends might have done this to him."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan still didn¡¯t try to defend himself but his reason was simple; he wasn¡¯t sure about Ji Caihong¡¯s intentions. Why was she being so protective of him? Clearly, he had treated her badly every time they met. But here she was with a fierce look in her eyes that had seemed to touch his heart in one way or another.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t react that was one thing but Ji Caihone doesn¡¯t say anything, how was that possible? She directly went up to the student who had spoken and delivered a crisp p to his face without restraining her strength. The guy was stunned still as he red at Ji Caihong.

    "How dare you hit me?" The student roared at her. Since it was the top school of Imperial obviously each student came from a prominent background and had some sense of arrogance. "My father is the topwyer of the country. He¡¯ll sue you for this!" Teacher Li felt his heart drop as he heard his own student¡¯s haughty words before the haughtiness queen herself.

    Ji Caihong sneered as she pulled at his corner and gave another p saying, "Now, I pped you twice. Go and tell your father to sue me. And don¡¯t forget to tell him that my name is Ji... Cai... Hong!"

    The students twisted their necks to look at her in astonishment. Although the Ji family was highly esteemed, it was also one of the most secretive ones. They had all heard about the Ji family¡¯s young miss but they had never seen her.

    As the fear of Ji Family crawled in the students¡¯ hearts, one of them stood up and tried to speak, "Miss Ji, I¡¯ll tell you who-" Ji Caihong interrupted him.

    With a sweet smile, she said, "My family doesn¡¯t have the habit of giving the second chances. You all have chosen your path and now all of you should also wait for awsuit along with this lousy school."

    "But why should all of us take the me?" One girl cried out exasperatedly.

    "Because all of you are such loyal friends!" Ji Caihong turned and held Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s wrist pulling him with herself. She stopped at the door and said, "The one who does the crime is not the only criminal. Those watch it and stay silent are also as much guilty." With that, she dragged Xiao Zhi-Yuan straight out of the school.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was still in a daze when she had dragged him along to where her car was parked. She took deep breaths. Inside, under the influence of adrenaline, she didn¡¯t realize how nervous she was after all, she had never spoken like that before.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled to himself looking at her fidgeting all by herself. All his life the only person who fought for him like this was his elder brother. Then Ru came to fight for him in a different way and now, Ji Caihong¡¯s fighting style waspletely out of his expectations. Why was she so concerned about him so much?

    He once heard that a sister¡¯s protectiveness for her brother goes beyond one¡¯s imaginations. Was this anger because she really was acting like his elder sister? Was this the wrath of an elder sister? If it was, he felt really happy about it.

 Chapter 47 Fight For Your Brother

    But his cold and aloof image won¡¯t let him ept that he was happy about it at all. He never wanted others to fight his battles but apparently, he was too innocent for this society ruled by humbugs. While he was busy evaluating Ji Caihong, she had rummaged out her cellphone to make a call to her father.

    "Hello, daddy! I need your help," Ji Caihong had just spoken when her phone was pulled away by Xiao Zhi-Yuan. Ji Caihong looked at him disbelief.

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing? Did I ask for your help? I don¡¯t need your help and certainly don¡¯t need your father¡¯s help. This is my life and you have no right to interfere in it. Both of you should just stay away from my life." As Xiao Zhi-Yuan was fuming in anger, he didn¡¯t realize that the call was still connected and Ji Yifeng heard each and every word that his youngest son said.

    He was hurt and yet he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He felt like no matter what he said, to both his sons, his words would only be excuses and nothing more. Ji Yifeng silently disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair with a heavy heart.

    Back on the road outside the Imperial Private Academy, Ji Caihong was not hurt but rather angry at Xaio Zhi-Yuan.

    "And who even told you toe to my school? What are you even doing here?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan finally asked the question that he wanted to.

    Ji Caihong opened the car door and pushed a beautiful wooden lunch box towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan saying, "I came to apologize."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was taken aback by her apology. Why was she apologizing? Wasn¡¯t he the one who hurt herst time? What¡¯s with the lunch box then?

    He frowned in confusion as he asked, "For what?" His words had just fallen when Ji Caihong gave an open-handed p on his cheek which was unscathed. She had held back her strength but the p¡¯s sound was still sharp.

    Even her driver looked wide-eyed at the supposedly delicate young miss of his family. What happened to her? The driver was thinking but he wasn¡¯t alone.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in disbelief as he gaped at her. "Did you just p me?" He was feeling resentful and Ji Caihong was feeling pained but she had to persist. To crack this hard nut, she had to be harder.

    "I did! But I also apologized, didn¡¯t I?" She spoke with such nonchnce that Xiao Zhi-Yuan had the urge to vomit blood.

    "Who apologize before the mistake?" He roared at her.

    "I do!" Ji Caihong replied with ease and said, "Now, don¡¯t waste the food. It¡¯s very special."

    She was going to turn to leave when she heard him mumble behind her, "Even my brother has never touched me. How can you p me like this?" Hearing his heartbreaking voice, Ji Caihong became the nut who cracked with a single blow.

    She whipped around and held his face lightly as she spoke anxiously, "Does it hurt a lot? I¡¯m sorry! I was angry. I know you don¡¯t want me as a sister but you should still give me some respect as I¡¯m older than you."

    The rims of his eyes got red as he retorted, "You could have said that nicely. Why did you p me? Already my jaw is hurting from that punch I took."

    Realizing her own mistake, Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes got red and tears flowed out without restraint, "I¡¯m really sorry! Ah-Yuan, please forgive me! I¡¯ll do anything just don¡¯t be upset. Let¡¯s take you to the hospital first."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan was again surprised by her sudden flow of tears but he couldn¡¯tment on that since she had already pulled him inside the car. As the car drove, she said, "Ah-Yuan, you eat the lunch box. It¡¯s better to eat something before going to the hospital."

    He wanted to reject but his grumbling stomach gave him away. He didn¡¯t eat anything in the morning since he was alone at breakfast. So, he decided to have a bite. As he opened the lid of the lunch box, enticing aromas filled inside the car making his stomach growl loudly.

    ¡¯Forget it! She pped me. So, I can definitely eat this without feeling guilty.¡¯ Thinking this, he started eating with zeal. He didn¡¯t try much of Chinese Cuisine before since Xiao Zhi-Ren always made western cuisine for him but now, taking a single bite of the delicacies before him, made him want more.

    Watching him eat with such content, Ji Caihong felt extremely happy. It was a good thing that she didn¡¯t tell him about who prepared the lunch especially for him. When they arrived at the Capital hospital, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was done eating.

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan got out of the car and said, "Thanks for the ride. I¡¯ll manage the rest. As for forgiving you, we are not even close to that." With that, he turned to leave and stopped to ask, "How are you going to sue the school and my whole ss? Is that even possible?"

    Ji Caihong smiled softly and said, "I have plenty of reasons to sue them. Defamation, bullying, protecting the offender, and many more things. You don¡¯t worry. This matter won¡¯t settle outside of court unless your whole ss gets on their knees to ask for forgiveness." Seeing her determination, Xiao Zhi-Yuan felt strange. He didn¡¯t ask her to not file a case. He had no interest at all.

    "Fine! I¡¯m going then." He turned around walked inside the hospital doors.

    Ji Caihong knew that if she pushed any further, he would be irked. Therefore, she decided to leave him on his own. But she didn¡¯t forget to inform Xiao Zhi-Ren about the incidents that happened without leaving any detail. "You don¡¯t worry about any of it. Let me handle Yuan¡¯s matters." Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke calmly over the phone.

    "Ge, he¡¯s my responsibility as well. I¡¯ll not back off. Not at any cost. If anything, you stay out of my way. I won¡¯t involve anyone from the whole family. But please, don¡¯t push me further away from my little brother." Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that she was ambitious. So what if she was overly sensitive? He believed in her but he didn¡¯t want her to worry so much. He was left with no other choice, so he reluctantly agreed. "Thank you, Ge! You just take care of him and yourself."

    She hung up the call and got back inside her car to leave for home.

    When she arrived at the Ji Family House, she saw her father pacing back and forth inside the huge living room. Seeing her enter, he walked towards her and asked, "What¡¯s going on? Why am I getting the news that a fake Ji Caihong tried to threaten high school students with awsuit?"

    "Fake? How do I look fake?" Ji Caihong didn¡¯t like this insinuation at all.

    "That is not the main point right now. Princess, tell daddy what¡¯s going on? Why were you with Zhi-Yuan and is he hurt?" Ji Caihong held her father¡¯s trembling cold hands in her small ones and said, "Daddy, he¡¯s your son. He can handle a punch. As for what¡¯s going on, you stay out of it. This is a sister¡¯s fight for her brother."

    Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t understand her meaning. He had already felt like fainting when she mentioned Xiao Zhi-Yuan getting punched. Perhaps, because he never got a chance to even hold his youngest son, his love for Xiao Zhi-Yaun was in exuberance. After all, he never even got to shower that love on him, so, it just stayed buried in him all these years.

    "I won¡¯t interfere. But tell me everything in detail," Ji Yifeng had to know the details to be at ease. Ji Caihong knew this fact and that¡¯s why she rted the whole events of the day to him in detail. Ji Yifeng was raging by the time she finished. "How dare they? Do you think awsuit will be enough?"

    Ji Caihong smiled at her father and said, "Don¡¯t worry daddy! I have my own ns. Just let this princess of yours handle this matter in her own way." Seeing her so spirited, Ji Yifeng naturally couldn¡¯t refuse.

    He affectionately patted her head and said, "Don¡¯t show mercy. It¡¯s a fight for your brother. Mercy is not allowed!" Ji Caihong only needed these words and she nodded her head vigorously.

    If she was proud to be the only sister of three brothers, she also knew how to love and protect those three brothers. No-one gets to touch her brothers; they are her bottom line!

 Chapter 48 Under The Guise Of Our First Time

    "Mr. Xiao, we¡¯re ready to move," one of Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s bodyguards informed him in a courteous manner.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at his younger brother¡¯s swollen face and sighed in defeat. He ced an icepressor on his face and said, "Behave yourself and don¡¯t you dare to run around uselessly."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded inpliance and watched on as Xiao Zhi-Ren left the apartment.

    With a group of five people walking behind him in an orderly manner, Xiao Zhi-Ren walked out of the condominium building. He was invited to an important conference tonight otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t leave his brother alone at any cost. He hadn¡¯t even moved from the lobby when his cellphone rang and in his moment of distraction, he bumped straight into someone¡¯s body.

    "Crack!"

    He looked at his phone which now had a cracked screen and heard a gasp, making him lift his eyes. His gaze fell on Ru who was cupping her mouth in disbelief. He believed that the young ¡¯man¡¯ felt bad for breaking his phone again. But he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong than that.

    And he realized it when he heard Ru¡¯s using voice, "You murderer!"

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at ¡¯him¡¯ with a gaped mouth. "What? What do you mean?"

    "Mr. Xiao, you murdered my chocte!" Ru¡¯s voice dropped an octave taking Xiao Zhi-Ren by surprise since he felt a heavy pressure. Following her gaze, Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that he had stepped on a bar of chocte. Xiao Zhi-Ren thought that Ru couldn¡¯t possibly shock him any more than this but she did yet again in the very next moment as she extended her hand and said, "Give me money for my chocte."

    The bodyguards behind Xiao Zhi-Ren shared the same look as their master. They all looked lost for some reason. Xiao Zhi-Ren took deep breaths and reminded her, "Mr. Xie, you broke my cellphone and I¡¯m not even asking for thepensation here."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she pulled out a cellphone from her jacket and pushed it towards him saying, "You have a new phone. Now, give me money for my chocte."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at the phone that was pushed into his hands and realized that it was a brand new cellphone. ¡¯Why was he carrying it?¡¯ He thought but didn¡¯t voice out his question.

    Even if he did, Ru wouldn¡¯t tell him that she had a habit of murdering her own cellphones in anger which was why there was always a spare phone in her jacket.

    "Mr. Xie, are you money hungry? Aren¡¯t you a billionaire?" Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t help but ask this question. It was very weird for him seeing Ru asking for money and that too for a chocte bar!

    "I do love money, you have a problem?" Ru bit back at him.

    "Money can¡¯t buy happiness." Xiao Zhi-Ren thought he was being the smart one in this conversation as he the upper hand but as always, he really underestimated Ru¡¯s damn mouth.

    "Mr. Xiao money can¡¯t buy happiness and I know that." Xiao Zhi-Ren felt good but his smile immediately stiffened at her next words. "But money can buy chocte and food. And for me, there is no difference between food, choctes, and happiness."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren clenched his fists tightly having the urge to crack Ru¡¯s mind to see what it was filled with. Where do these strange repliese from? He couldn¡¯t understand at all!

    "What are you?" Xiao Zhi-Ren gritted his teeth in exasperation.

    Ru shrugged her broad shouldersnguidly saying, "I¡¯m not sure about what I am but I¡¯m sure about what I¡¯m not."

    "And what¡¯s that?" He asked curiously.

    "I¡¯m definitely not a piece of cake." Xiao Zhi-Ren was speechless at her reply. He shook his head and pulled out his wallet but before he could pull out the bills, Ru stopped him, "Forget it! I just realized it was my mistake also for not looking ahead. I was too lost in the blissful taste of that soft, sweet..." she gulped her saliva, got rid of the dreamy look and added, "Aish! Just go!"

    "You should take the money now," Xiao Zhi-Ren said in a in voice not understanding her strange mind.

    "Mr. Xiao, keep the money and order a bit of happiness with some smiles and lots and lots of love. For your own self. You need it." Ru patted on his shoulder and turned sideways to leave when she heard his voice.

    "Not everyone¡¯s definition of happiness is a bar of chocte, Mr. Xiao. Some people really can¡¯t buy happiness." His voice was heavy as he spoke but Ru smiled lopsidedly at his reply.

    "It¡¯s not a coincidence that stressed spelled backward is desserts. And if you still can¡¯t find happiness in food. There is definitely something wrong with you." She took another step ahead and added, "And in my opinion, there is only one possibility for a person when they can¡¯t find happiness."

    "And what¡¯s that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was genuinely interested in knowing her answer.

    "You are not letting go of the things that actually made you unhappy in the first ce." Ru smiled at him and left. Not realizing that her words made Xiao Zhi-Ren stuck to his spot.

    "Sir?" Hearing the voice of his bodyguard, Xiao Zhi-Ren snapped out of it and got on his ride in silence.

    Ru¡¯sst words unknowingly brought out some memories that he held close to his heart for years.

    *shback*

    He stood far away looking at the lonely figure sitting on a wheelchair in the balcony. With the gauze around her eyes, she couldn¡¯t see the world and yet, her hands were extended out as if trying to catch the air or perhaps, feel it.

    Standing under the starry night, his only wish was to look at the dark mess that she was. She was all alone and yet, he couldn¡¯t find a single trace of helplessness in her. All he felt around her was an enchanting aura. Even with her wan and sallow appearance, her aura was enchanting enough for people.

    "Are you going to just stand there?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was startled as he realized that she felt his presence but his question was how? As if listening to his thoughts, she answered in her feeble voice, "Your rugged, intense cedarwood along with Oud scent is quite peculiar. It¡¯s not hard to recognize you especially when you are the only one in this room."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled softly and paced up to stand beside her as he leaned against the railing. "What are you doing out of your bed at this time?" He asked.

    "I¡¯m looking for joy." Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned at that answer as she went on, "This slight touch of a cool breeze against my hand and those crickets¡¯ sound of running in the garden, that¡¯s the joy I was looking for."

    "I didn¡¯t know that happiness can be found so easily," Xiao Zhi-Ren remarked in a sorrowful tone.

    "Happiness is not in the world, it¡¯s within our own hearts." He heard her faint voice.

    "Then why are looking for it outside?"

    "The only people who look for happiness outside are the ones who can no longer find it inside them." She sighed heavily as she added, "Breaking the shackles of sadness, we have to embrace the fear of future tides... Only then we can live in the happiness of the present." Her fingers touched the metal railing as she went on, "I need some time to break the shackles and before that, I¡¯ll look for joy in the world."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren kept staring at the mole right above the edge of her lips. He couldn¡¯t move his gaze away. "I suddenly have a weird wish." He started in a low but gentle voice, "I wish therees a day when you and I meet under the guise of it being our first time all over again."

    Her lips curled up in a ghostly smile as she said, "No wish is weird in this world."

    *End of shback*

    And Xiao Zhi-Ren believed those words. He only had those words to believe in. Since he hated the fact that he met her when she was crumbling down. He hated seeing the scars on her body. He hated the fact that she couldn¡¯t see or walk ever again. He hated everything about the way they met except for one thing; he couldn¡¯t hate meeting her at any cost.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at the sky through the window pane and whispered,

    "Looking at the starry night,

    I¡¯m reminded of you all over again tonight

    You made me believe in destiny

    Here I am longing for you desperately

    Even if it can¡¯t be under the guise of our first time

    I¡¯m begging

    Pleading

    Please,e back to stay between my arms for a lifetime..."

    He sighed out as the feeling of her absence made it difficult to breathe for him. It happened every time. He always lost hisposure whenever that one person¡¯s memory came back to his mind.

 Chapter 49 Hunting Dragons

    Sitting cross-legged, Ru was in meditation to ease up her mental fatigue which came with herck of sleep. At the sound of the doorbell, she opened her eyes and got upnguidly from her position. Weaving her way through the hallway, she opened the main door without looking through the door videocam.

    As she yanked the door open, she saw a face smiling and waving at her, "Hi, Oniisan! How are you?"

    "Living in denial and suppressed rage..." Ru¡¯s answer left no desire in Xiao Zhi-Yuan to ask that question again. Noticing his deste expression, Ru changed her demeanor from being cranky to ¡¯hail-fellow-well-met¡¯. "That was me being funny. No need for having such pained look."

    "You really need some guidance in the humor department," Xiao Zhi-Yuan remarked and reminded her, "You could have gone with the traditional reply of, ¡¯I¡¯m fine¡¯ as well."

    "That would have been boring and I don¡¯t do boring." Ru shrugged her shoulders and made a weing gesture and he stepped inside the apartment. Xiao Zhi-Yuan yet again was awe-struck by the interior of her apartment as the ck color always left a deep but mysterious efficacy on his mind. But today, he was more enchanted by that deep aroma of cinnamon in the air with a soft touch of jasmine.

    Just taking a few breaths, he could feel his entire body calming down. But the most effect was on his nerves; he felt revitalized mentally. "What¡¯s this aroma?" He asked following Ru as she walked towards the kitchen.

    "It¡¯s called aromatherapy. It helps me with my sleep issues." Ru answered honestly since she didn¡¯t think there was any need to hide this fact from him.

    "Does it help?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan questioned taking a seat at the high kitchen stool as Ru turned to pour him a ss of juice as a courtesy.

    "Little squirrel, a human¡¯s strongest sense is the sense of smell. And aromatherapy is more than just helpful." She slid the ss of juice towards him, she added, "For instance, I¡¯m using Cinnamon and Jasmine aromas for now. And you must have felt a soothing sensation running in your body along with a certain calmness." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded instinctively.

    Ru picked up a small candle from a nearby stand and she continued, "That¡¯s because Cinnamon can fight mental fatigue and Jasmine essential oil is a natural anti-depressant." Xiao Zhi-Yuan took the candle from her hand and sniffed the cinnamon scent, feeling his mind easing up.

    With a ghostly smile, Xiao Zhi-Yuan stared at Ru¡¯s face thinking about how this person always made him learn something new. It was almost like there was nothing that she wasn¡¯t familiar with.

    Taking a sip of the fruit juice in his hand, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was surprised by the burst of vors in his mouth. Enjoying the juice silently, he suddenly asked, "I haven¡¯t seen you for a week. What were you doing?"

    "Me?" Ru pointed at her face and with a serious look, said, "I was hunting dragons! Wanna join me next time?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan rolled his eyes at her reply as he heard Ru¡¯s chuckle. "You canugh this time. It was funny at some level."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan tried to stifle hisugh and voiced out, "Can you be serious for a second?"

    "Aish! Fine! I was stuck between the dilemma of being better or best." Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned at her answer and Ru couldn¡¯t possibly exin him in detail. She didn¡¯t want to tell him that the dilemma wasn¡¯t of being better or best. The dilemma was that she had to choose whether to save someone who tried to kill her or not. It was an exhausting decision for her. Since she couldn¡¯t be best in her own personal opinion, so, she chose to be a better person by saving Lilith.

    But to divert the conversation, she asked, "You tell me, how was your week?"

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan pursed his lips trying to decide whether to say anything or not and in the end, he chose to be honest. "Last week, I faced a strange circumstance..." He rted the school incident in detail without leaving a bit. "That Ji Caihong wasn¡¯t just saying it. She actually filed thewsuits and I didn¡¯t know it until the principal called me to his office and asked me to request on their behalf for withdrawal of the case."

    Ru listened attentively with a glint in her emerald eyes. "Did you just forgive them like that?" She knew the answer without asking but she needed to confirm from his mouth.

    "Yeah... It wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway." Xiao Zhi-Yuan pretended as if it didn¡¯t matter but Ru wasn¡¯t a child. She could read a person like the back of her own hand. And someone like Xiao Zhi-Yuan- who had an overly expressive face- it was quite easy to figure him out.

    "A girl went to such lengths of filingwsuit against a school and your ss just for your sake and you just forgave everyone?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning.

    "I had to forgive them. I can¡¯t ruin their careers like this. Did I do something wrong? Because bro taught me that forgiveness is the best gift you can give someone." Also, he didn¡¯t want to drag this issue. He didn¡¯t say anything at the start because he thought Ji Caihong won¡¯t really take any action just for his sake. He was rather surprised when the principal called him to his office and told him about thewsuit. He decided not to drag anyone¡¯s lives. It wasn¡¯t worth it anyway.

    Ru liked this teaching. It reminded her of her own grandfather. She touched his head full of thick hair and said, "Forgiveness is not bad. But only the people who value it deserves it." Xiao Zhi-Yuan frowned as he stared at her. "You think your ssmates would let you live in peace after this? Little squirrel, those kids got away without making an effort to apologize. You just fell for a principal¡¯s words and you let everyone go."

    Xiao Zhi-Yuan fell into deep thought and seeing his pondering look, Ru spoke with a sigh, "But the worst kind of revenge is forgiveness. So, don¡¯t be so hard on yourself." Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled softly and nodded.

    "Oniisan, don¡¯t vanish like this again. It¡¯s really boring without you." Ru tousled his hair and agreed not to do it again.

    Unknowingly, respect for her in Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s heart had increased once again. As for Ru, whenever he came before her with his sincere smile, she would really want to indulge him endlessly. It was a strange connection of heart but it was already made.

    Suddenly a beeping sound rang out startling Xiao Zhi-Yuan. Ru looked at her watch and pressed a button. The beeping stopped and there was visibly no change in her expressions but Xiao Zhi-Yuan had felt a sudden coldness emanating from her body.

    "Ummm... My little squirrel, can you leave? I have something important to do." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded obediently and got up to leave. While walking he turned his face to see Ru¡¯s clenched fists as if she was ready to murder someone. Shaking his head, he silently left her alone.

 Chapter 50 Shadows Hotbed

    As Ru heard the sound of the door, she turned to enter the second room on the top floor. The room had its separate security lock which needed her handprints to unlock. As the system verified her identity, a systematic voice rang out: "Wee back to the Shadow¡¯s hotbed[1]!"

    She took one step inside the room and the darkroom, suddenly lit up. The lights that illuminated it weren¡¯t too bright rather gave it an even more eerie look.

    "Raven, connect me to the headquarters." Ru gave the order in a somber manner.

    "Connecting master to headquarters," her personalized system, Raven answered and the entire wall before Ru turned on with multiple screens on disy.

    Ru sat down on the swivel chair before theputer screens and tapped the tabletop which had a keyboard on it.

    "Sir!" The line connected and a man¡¯s face disyed on one of the screens.

    "What¡¯s going on, Andrew?" Ru questioned keeping her poker-face game on.

    Andrew hesitated a bit before answering, "Sir, just a few minutes ago, someone tried to hack into our main server." Ru raised her brow making Andrew gulp visibly. Even through a screen and a distance of thousand miles, he felt the intimidating pressure as if a boulder was weighing down on his body. "You don¡¯t have to worry though, nothing was taken. Our team managed to overpower them."

    "Oh, you did? Then tell me who was the one who got guts to mess with this lord?" Andrew knew he had just knocked himself with a hammer and there was no way out of it anymore.

    "About that... Sir Knight! We couldn¡¯t track the exact location." Ru lightly pped the table and Andrew jerked back a bit in fear.

    "Why not?" Ru inquired but with a smile this time that took Andrew¡¯s breath away. Not because he was enchanted or something but because he knew the devil behind that smile very well.

    "Because the attack was happening from all over the world." Ru frowned at his words.

    "What were they looking for?" she asked.

    "Apparently, some details about our recent arms technology." Ru thought about it a bit.

    "You lookpletely gutted[2]! Go back to work. I¡¯ll take over from here." Andrew heaved a sigh of relief as if he was granted a new lease on life and disconnected the connection.

    After rubbing her lips in thought, she cracked her knuckles and ced her fingers on the keyboard before her. Her fingers pressed a specificbination and the screens before her suddenly showed the name: The White Shadow!

    When Xiao Zhi-Yuan had done his research and found out about myths rted to ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯, his belief was that this person would be someone close to Lord Alev Knight and he wasn¡¯tpletely wrong. Since our Lord Alev Knight a.k.a herself had always been the one under the guise of white shadow.

    As for Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s suspicion about the hacker, he heard about during thepetition was also true. She was the same white shadow hackers knew as formidable.

    Both brothers knew two different versions of Ru; the elder one thought the white shadow was a hacker while the younger one thought that the white shadow was a skilled assassin. But both couldn¡¯t have guessed that it was the same person who loved ying the game of identities.

    As her fingers flew across the keyboard in a smooth motion, the earlier attack on her Empire¡¯s server became moreplicated to her. Andrew was telling her the truth, the attacking location was from all around the globe which meant that someone was remotely controlling thousands ofputers just to attack her server.

    But was Knight Empire¡¯s main server a piece of cake to cut? No! Definitely not! She had designed the firewalls and even the security measures were strong. There is no way one can leave without getting theirputers infected with her viruses.

    The question this time was; what they were looking for? They went as far as to actually create thousands of zombies[3] just to hide their tracks. Since they hid their tracks so well, Ru had no desire to waste her time looking for the bot herder[4].

    She immediately started working on her own counterattack. Since there was an attack, there¡¯ll be another one for sure. Or she could give them a worthy bait.

    She had looked through the files and although it seemed like the attacker was trying to find the arms technology details, in reality, the attacker was lurking around to look for Knight Medical Sciences Research Center¡¯s files.

    Ru sneered and started writing new code. Strings of codes appeared as the soft rhythmic tapping sound echoed in the room. Her sun-kissed fingers were slender but long. Since she was taller than most girls with her 182-centimeter height, even her hands were bigger than most girls.

    After working on her new software, she smiled beautifully and said, "Raven, connect me with Andrew and Charles." Charles was the head of Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility. As the calls connected simultaneously, she spoke up, "Andrew, keep the team on alert. I¡¯ve embedded a loop inside the server, whoever will enter now won¡¯t be able to leave at least not until we track him down."

    "We won¡¯t disappoint you, Sir!" Andrew answered resolutely, hiding his shock about how he had only talked to his boss half an hour ago and now, a new n was in motion already.

    "As for you Charles," she turned towards the middle-aged man on the screen and went on, "We need bait to lure out our prey. For that, release a piece of news that our research facility has mastered the art of controlling one¡¯s mind."

    "Sir Knight?" Mr. Charles was rather taken aback because their research was theplete opposite of what he just heard.

    "Rx! Don¡¯t get your knickers in a twist[5]..." Andrew bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself fromughing out. "You just have to spread a rumor like that. No need to announce it officially. I don¡¯t want any troubles with the Queen. But do it after a week or so. It might seem a bit odd if we did it right after the attack."

    "I¡¯ll do as the lord just said," Charles curtsied politely and disconnected the call.

    Ru leaned back in the swivel chair and spun it as she asked, "What do you think, Raven? Aren¡¯t I a genius?"

    "You haven¡¯t taken the IQ test, master! How am I supposed to give you an answer?" Ru growled at that bloody machine. Why is it that even her own software doesn¡¯t want to ept her as a genius?

    "You have gone crazy!" Ru roared at her.

    "A child always resembles his parents and since you created me, master. Does that mean, you are also crazy?" Ru sat there with her mouth agape in disbelief. In what rotten time, have I created this dumb assistant?

    "You know what, SOD OFF![6]" She stood up and went out of the room with an annoyed look.

    [1] "hotbed": ¡¯a ce where people meet in secret, typically to engage in an illicit activity.¡¯

    [2] "Gutted": Devastated

    [3] "Zombies": Otherwise known as bots that work under the instruction of hackers.

    [4] "Bot herder": The one controlling the bo of zombieputers.

    [5] It means don¡¯t get worked up!

    [6] "Sod Off": Piss Off!

 Chapter 51 Lonely At The Top

    "Aish![1] This wanker machine made me so mad that I¡¯m famished now." Ru growled as she walked out of the room.

    "Master is always famished. This has nothing to do with. Kindly, stop defaming my name." Hearing Raven¡¯s mechanical voice, Ru clenched her fists in anger as her whole body trembled.

    "Bloody hell! I¡¯m cursing that rotten time when I actually decided to create you. Someone must have nicked[2] my intelligence back then." She really was cursing the time when she came up with the idea of creating Raven; a personal virtual assistant.

    "But master created me so that she would have someone to talk to. Since talking to yourself would give people the idea that you¡¯re insane, you came up with the idea of creating me. Your personal diary and your other self who could talk exactly like yourself." At this point, Ru grabbed her hair and pulled them in exasperation since this machine was going overboard.

    Ru lifted her hand, bringing her wristwatch close to her lips, she said, "Raven, go to sleep!" She was frustrated at the reminder of Raven that in reality, even after decades, she still had no-one to talk to. There wasn¡¯t much difference between the time when she created Raven in her teen years and now that she was in herte twenties.

    The only notable difference was; back then she was in a golden cage and now, she was said to be free. Oddly, she hated this freedom. She left the cage in pursuit of freedom, who knew that freedom woulde with a price.

    "Ugh! Arggh! I really need some nosh[3] before I lose my mind anymore." This was her way of running away from her thoughts. Turning to food was more of an excuse to escape. But her love for food couldn¡¯t be overlooked as well.

    Meanwhile, driving back from the office, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s mind was distracted. Although he managed to achieve a lot in previous years, he still wasn¡¯t able to find a single person. But he knew he¡¯de across her. After all, she left with a promise toe back. But promises had always been fragile, one touch could break them. So, after all these years, even his morale was getting down.

    Sighing, he gazed out the window pane and his eyes fell on a familiar figure. "Stop the car!" He ordered and the driver immediately parked the car on the roadside.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren got down the car and with a frown etched between his brows, he kept staring at that tall figure d in ck from head to toe, sitting on a food stall. As he got closer, Xiao Zhi-Ren saw how Ru¡¯s eyes were closed as her face was supported by the heel of her hand.

    With a charming smile, she looked content as if she was living a dream life. Xiao Zhi-Ren silently took a seat at the stool beside Ru while his eyes didn¡¯t leave her face.

    "Aiya, pretty young man! Are you going to order or not?" Hearing the voice of the stall owner, Ru opened her eyes.

    "Ayi![4] Obviously, I¡¯m going to order." She took a pause to smile again charming the middle-ageddy before her as she added, "Give me a lot of dumplings first along with a bowl of Mapo Doufu and rice. Also, mini wantons soup and side dishes."

    "You can finish all that? Mapo doufu alone is quite spicy, don¡¯t you want a drink with that?" The stalldy questioned with concern.

    "Aiyoh! I¡¯ll use the soup as the drink." Her reply not only left the stalldy dumbfounded, but even Xiao Zhi-Ren also couldn¡¯t believe her.

    "Who uses a spicy soup as a drink with a super spicy tofu dish?" Ru tilted her face and raised her bows as she looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren.

    "I do!" She replied as she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Also, what are you doing here? Go away!"

    "Why? I can¡¯t eat here?" He retorted.

    "You look out of ce in that suit." Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at his own handmade suit and darted his eyes around only to feel ufortable.

    Still, he was not going to relent. "Anyway, that¡¯s not your concern." Saying that he ordered some hand-cut noodles for himself since he was feeling hungry as well.

    When the food was ced before them, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes still followed Ru¡¯s movements because of her peculiar eating manners. Don¡¯t get the wrong idea. She was eating in an extremenguid and sophisticated way. Taking time to chew her food before swallowing. What he found peculiar was the way, her face would have levels of satisfaction as she chewed on her food.

    Both ate in silence not because they didn¡¯t have anything to talk about. Rather because both were taught not to talk while eating that¡¯d be an insult to food.

    After eating to her fill, Ru paid for both of their food before turning to leave. Xiao Zhi-Ren ran to catch up to her as he asked, "Why did you pay my bill? Aren¡¯t you a stingy person?" After a second, he added in disbelief, "Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re trying to worm your way out of that promise you gave me for saving your life?"

    Ru gave him a pointed look as if she was calling him an idiot. "Have you lost your mind? First of all, I¡¯m not stingy. I¡¯m wicked!" She said with a look of delight and went on, "Second of all, my word is akin to my life. For you, promises might be capricious but for this young master," she pointed at herself and continued, "Promises are the reason for life. I¡¯d rather kill myself than to go back on my words. I just paid for the food because I felt like doing it. And no-one can stop me from doing what I want to do!"

    "Are you done?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as he crossed his arms before his chest. Ru knitted her brows lightly and nodded. "There was no need for this long lecture. I seriously won¡¯t mind even if you decide to break this promise since it¡¯s pointless in my opinion anyway."

    Ru thought about what he said and decided to stay quiet since she couldn¡¯t possibly give him a brief reply. She couldn¡¯t understand herself why she¡¯d always end up having long conversations with Xiao Zhi-Ren. Silently, she started walking in the direction of the condominium building and Xiao Zhi-Ren followed along.

    "Can I ask you something?" Ru looked at his inquiring gaze and nodded. "When I came to that stall, you¡¯re sitting with your eyes closed as if feeling content for some reason."

    Understanding his question, Ru smiled softly. "I was feeling content." Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned at her reply. "I told you before, food is very sacred for me. But today, I was content because of the music it yed for me."

    "Music?"

    "That sizzling sound of dumplings being fried on that hot pan mixed with that constant stirring and bubbling sound of the soup. Also, that small noises that utensils make. All in all, ites together to bring a beautiful melody with an enticing aroma." At this point, Xiao Zhi-Ren stared at her with his mouth agape and his stiff face suddenly turned into a bright smile.

    He ruffled her hair making her re at him as he said, "You really are one of a kind. I doubt I¡¯ll ever find anyone like you ever again." He suddenly realized her hair was really smooth just like her way of speech.

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious? Awesome-luscious pieces like me are rare." Ru smiled smugly and added, "You¡¯re not bad yourself. But you¡¯re a bit less awesome."

    "Are youplimenting me right now?" Ru nodded her head in reply vigorously. "What is this? I thought you didn¡¯t like me."

    "I don¡¯t eat with people I don¡¯t like. Also, I don¡¯t often share a meal with people." Taking a pause she looked up at the sky as she added, "Since I shared a meal with you then that means you¡¯re not that bad. My grandfather used to say that the connections made over a bowl of rice are the most genuine ones and have the strongest foundation."

    "You¡¯re the second person outside of my family who just shared a meal with me." She further added absentmindedly.

    "I should feel honored by that." He retorted.

    "You should!"

    At her reply, both of them burst intoughter together. Since good food brings good mood, Ru was actually in an ecstatic mood because of that spicy st of vors in her mouth. Also, because it had been a very long time since someone took the initiative to sit beside her to eat. All her subordinates wouldn¡¯t even dare to roam around her while she was having her meal.

    Was it really lonely at the top? Yes, it was! And she knew it better than anyone. The worst part of being at the top was that she forgot how to share her problems with others or perhaps, she didn¡¯t know it from the very beginning.

    [1] "Aish!": Damn in Korean.

    [2] "Nicked": Stolen

    [3] "Nosh": ng for food

    [4] "Ayi": Aunt or Auntie

 Chapter 52 Ive Been Through Hell

    As both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru walked alongside each other towards theirmon destination. There was an ocean of silence between them. It was a cold winter night and the gust of cold wind was blowing past them.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren was wrapped in his long woolen coat but suddenly, he noticed that the young ¡¯man¡¯ beside him was only d in a ck hoodie which didn¡¯t even look very warm to him.

    "Mr. Xie," he called her as his curiosity took the best of him.

    "Hmmm..." Ru hummed in reply.

    "Aren¡¯t you cold?" Ru knitted her brows as she tilted her head to nce at him inquiringly. "I mean do you know the temperature today?"

    "I heard it¡¯s quite cold," Ru answered nonchntly with a shrug of her shoulders.

    "You heard it? What about feeling it yourself?"

    Ru stopped walking and turned to face Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Do you know what I¡¯ve been through life?"

    "Umm... No." Xiao Zhi-Ren was bbergasted by this reply not knowing what to say.

    "Exactly that¡¯s why you think that this temperature of -3 degrees is actually cold."

    "It¡¯s 26 degrees actually." Xiao Zhi-Ren told her inly.

    Ru lifted her hands as if ready to choke him to death. "Mr. Xiao, it¡¯s -3 degrees Celcius which is equal to 26 degrees Fahrenheit." Obviously, Xiao Zhi-Ren was aware of that but he was teasing her on purpose to see her reaction and was truly amused by it. Unexpectedly though, Ru didn¡¯tment on him being American this time even when he talked about the temperature in Fahrenheit instead of Celcius.

    "So, what have you been through?" He changed the topic since Ru was throwing him cold daggers with her res.

    "I¡¯ve been through hell. After that, I don¡¯t think things like a bit of cold can possibly hurt me." Just thinking about the time made her shudder inwardly but seeing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s prying eyes. Sheughed it off saying, "That was a joke."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head on the outside but he didn¡¯t believe her words entirely. Something bugged him inwardly that she wasn¡¯t joking with him. And if she really wasn¡¯t then he really didn¡¯t know how to react.

    He wasn¡¯t wrong. She wasn¡¯t kidding at all. She had lived in a hell that burned her and then it slowly froze her.

    "So, can I conclude that you like cold weather?" Xiao Zhi-Ren again distracted her as his keen gaze had caught the way her hands clenched into tight fists.

    "You can say that," Ru remarked simply and her fists were loosened up a bit.

    "I like drinking hot choctes in cold weather. What do you like about it?"

    "I like wind chills in the dead of night." Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her an inquisitive look.

    "Why?" he asked.

    "Because they are exactly like me... Piercing cold roving in darkness." Herst words were said in a whisper but Xiao Zhi-Ren still managed to hear her.

    None of them spoke afterward. In that peaceful silence, they reached their respective homes.

    Later in the night, when Xiao Zhi-Ren sat alone in his study, his mind kept wandering off to Ru. That indescribable emotion in her green eyes was irking him for some unknown reason. He remembered the time when Ru told him that people called her heartless. He already reckoned that she wasn¡¯t heartless but tonight, he learned that she had actually started to use her heart a bit less to make it seem like she was a cold and insensitive person.

    ¡¯Do you know what I¡¯ve been through in life?¡¯ Her voice again rang in his mind as he further fell into deep thought. ¡¯I¡¯ve been through hell.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren leaned his head back to rest and closed his eyes.

    "What was that hell like to make you indifferent to the extent that there is always a practiced smile on your face?" He really wanted to ask that question to Ru but he didn¡¯t know with what right he should ask? They could be considered acquaintances but nothing more. Ru was cold but he knew she was harder to understand since even he couldn¡¯t fathom what kind of volcano was hidden underneath that nket of coldness.

    He sighed out since the green-eyed person in his life was getting more and more intriguing. But the real problem was, no matter how intrigued he was he still couldn¡¯t look up anything rted to the person named ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯.

    His probing around only got him the ordinary details rted to Ru. For instance, things like her name, ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯ and the rted professional detail. Even a single photo wasn¡¯t anywhere on the wide web.

    Oddly, he noticed how much simrities Mr. Xie Rong shared with Lord Alev Knight. Both were mysterious keeping their personal lives well concealed. Both hold an inconceivable power since nothing could be disclosed about them. And both fancied dark colors and dark lives.

    This fact alone wasn¡¯t enough for him to feel suspicious but for some odd reason, Xiao Zhi-Ren still tried to look up the whereabouts of Lord Alev Knight and the easiest way to do that was; Adrian.

    Thinking about this, Xiao Zhi-Ren dialed Adrian¡¯s number and after a couple of rings the call was connected and Adrian¡¯s groggy voice came through, "Hey, Zoran!"

    "Did I disturb your sleep?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked looking at the time. It was about 10 o¡¯clock in China but if Adrian was in London then it was around 3 o¡¯clock in the day there. Why was he sleeping at this time?

    "Yeah, I just got back from France. So, I decided to catch up on some sleep." Adrian replied as he rubbed his eyes.

    "What took you so long in France?" Xiao Zhi-Ren was rather surprised to know that it¡¯s been weeks since Adrian went to France from China to take care of some issue and the matter was only solved now.

    "Don¡¯t even ask me. It¡¯s all his fault!" Adrian seemed aggressive to Xiao Zhi-Ren. It was like he was ready to pounce on someone at any moment.

    "Who are we talking about?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned with interest even though he had a hint about who was being discussed here.

    "That bloody piece of rubbish! That bloody arse! I¡¯m going to murder him if he came before my eyes again." Through Adrian¡¯s hateful curses, Xiao Zhi-Ren managed to conjecture that it was indeed Lord Alev Knight who messed with Adrian again. How very obvious!

    To be honest, Xiao Zhi-Ren found both arch-enemies to be rather childish. Both Adrian and Mr. Knight always tried to be better than the other one. As if it was apetition who managed to get on whose nerves.

    Shaking his head, Xiao Zhi-Ren asked, "So, where is your nemesis, Mr. Knight?"

    "Could you please stop giving him so much respect by calling him Mr. Knight so politely? Just call him a bloody blighter[1]!" Sensing how much worked up Adrian was Xiao Zhi-Ren decided not to provoke him any further.

    "Fine... Now, can you please enlighten me where that bastard is?" Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke in the way that Adrian would like.

    "Sorry, can¡¯t tell you. Grandmother sent him on some secret mission. His whereabouts are said to be kept the most secretive at this point." Listening to Adrian, Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that he won¡¯t be getting any specific details. "But why are you so curious?"

    "That¡¯s not important for now... But can¡¯t you at least tell me in which part of the world he is?" Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to probe a bit more.

    Knowing Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s obsession with Alev Knight¡¯s life, Adrian decided to be a bit honest. "He¡¯s somewhere in Asia. That¡¯s all I can tell you."

    "When did he left London?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked.

    "About two months ago. Don¡¯t ask anymore. I¡¯m going back to sleep." Adrian hung up the call immediately since he really wasn¡¯t allowed to disclose any more than this.

    ¡¯Two months? Isn¡¯t this the same time when Xie Rong came to China?¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren rubbed his lips in thought. ¡¯Both people have way too many simrities... Now, even the timeline of them being in Asia is the same. What connection do they share?¡¯

    Obviously, Xiao Zhi-Ren only thought they were somehow connected. He couldn¡¯t fathom them being the same person for various reasons. The first reason would be, Xie Rong wasn¡¯t like how Adrian had exined Alev Knight to be. But Xiao Zhi-Ren was forgetting one thing; Adrian always had his biasedness controlling his thoughts whenever he talking about Ru. While Xiao Zhi-Ren was observing the real Ru with his own eyes.

    [1] "Blighter": An unpleasant person regarded with pity, contempt, or envy.

 Chapter 53 More The Merrier

    "So, Confucius has about 6 central conceptions," Ru¡¯s melodic voice was ringing in her apartment¡¯s sitting area as she kept pacing like a schr while a teenager listened attentively to each word or at least, he was trying to. "The first conception is Ren... Do you know what it means?" Ru looked at Xiao Zhi-Yuan who was startled from this sudden question. "Are you listening?" She asked narrowing her eyes dangerously.

    ¡¯How can I concentrate when you have such a strong and schrly presence along with that refined voice?¡¯ Obviously, he didn¡¯t voice out his thoughts in fear of being thrashed. "I¡¯m listening..." He answered in a low voice.

    "Fine... So, tell me the meaning of Ren," Ru looked straight into his eyes trying to intimidate him and it worked quite easily.

    "I... I don¡¯t know." He heard a sigh before Ru rolled the book ced on the table and delivered a blow on his head making him scowl. "Oniisan! That hurt!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan¡¯s whining was disregarded.

    "Concentrate!" Ru warned him before starting again, "Ren means Virtue, love, benevolence, and kindness. In other words, the kind of bearing a human has to exhibit in order to achieve a flourishingmunity. Are we clear?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan lifted his head from the notebook in his hand and nodded his head vigorously.

    "Moving on, second is Junzi which means a nobleman. To further exin it-," her words were cut off as the doorbell rang making her groan in frustration.

    "Should I open the door?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan offered to help but Ru gave him a look that made him cower back in his seat.

    She silently went to open the door and frowned to see the visitor. "What brought Mr. Xiao to my door?"

    As always, Xiao Zhi-Ren rolled his eyes at herck of hospitality and told her, "Is my brother with you?" Ru nodded and he added, "Ask him toe out."

    "Why didn¡¯t you just call him? Doesn¡¯t this generation love that technology called a cellphone?" Xiao Zhi-Ren could hear the brimming sarcasm in her sentence making him feel amused by her.

    "I would have done that but he left his phone at the house. As for contacting you, I don¡¯t even have contact details. While we are at the subject, why don¡¯t you give me your business card?" Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s suggestion was not bad but there was a w.

    "I don¡¯t even have a business card," Ru replied in a lifeless manner making Xiao Zhi-Ren look at him with wide eyes. Then she turned her face and called out, "Little squirrel, your brother is here to see you!"

    "Are you sure that you¡¯re the chairman of one of Asia¡¯srgest consortiums?" Ru looked back at Xiao Zhi-Ren and raked her fluffy hair to one side in an elegant manner. Subconsciously, Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s eyes followed the movement of her hand as a sudden thought came to his mind, ¡¯Perfectly sun-kissed skin tone. Its as if the sun has caressed his skin with love.¡¯ Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at his own weird thinking.

    "I¡¯m pretty sure, I am the chairman but I don¡¯t carry unnecessary things with me like business cards. Waste of space." Xiao Zhi-Ren was about to remind her that she was even carrying a whole set of medical kit with her when they met for the second time in the mountains but right at that moment, Xiao Zhi-Yuan joined them at the door.

    Seeing Xiao Zhi-Yuan, Ru took a few steps back to give both brothers some privacy. "Why are you here big bear?"

    "You said you want to buy something. Come with me, I¡¯m going to the supermarket to buy groceries." At the mention of the supermarket, Ru¡¯s ears stood up like a wolf and she stopped in her track.

    "I can¡¯t go right now. Let¡¯s take a rain check." Xiao Zhi-Yuan didn¡¯t want to cut short his study time with Ru, not even for his own brother.

    "You want me to go alone?" Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t believe that his brother was actually not interested in spending time with him. At this time, his eyes caught sight of a hand that was raised in the air trying to get his attention but Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay any attention to Ru or rather he was trying hard not to pay any attention.

    "Just take your best friend as always. Where is Qu anyway?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan suggested while the single hand behind him turned into two eager hands waving from side-to-side but when Ru saw there was no use of just waving her hands. She pushed Xiao Zhi-Yuan aside.

    "Take me... I want to go to the supermarket." Ru¡¯s green eyes were twinkling like big stars making a smile swerve its way to Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face but he tried to stifle it with a dry cough.

    "You? Why? Don¡¯t tell me, Mr. Xie Rong actually had never been to a supermarket before?" Xiao Zhi-Ren feigned surprise on his face. "How much of a spoiled brat are you that you never even saw a supermarket?"

    Ru red at him menacingly before saying, "I have been to supermarkets. I just want to join you because I like supermarkets. Why? Can¡¯t I just tag along?"

    "Okay! You and I should go then. Yuan, have fun studying!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan was dumbfounded at this situation.

    "Wait! I also want to go," he frantically tried to tag with them.

    "But you just said that you don¡¯t want to go," Xiao Zhi-Ren wasn¡¯t going to let this go easily.

    "Now, I want to go." Xiao Zhi-Yuan argued.

    "No... I think you should study." Ru looked at these brothers bantering back and forth making her feel tired from just watching at the sidelines.

    "Enough!" Ru bellowed making both of them stop talking. "Although I don¡¯t believe in this saying, I¡¯ll still say it, more the merrier. Let¡¯s just go now."

    Both brothers nodded and turned to leave. As they came out of the apartment, noticing something, Xiao Zhi-Ren caught Ru¡¯s cor from behind and pulled her back. "What is your problem? Why do you always pull me like a sack of potatoes?" After scowling at him she spoke in a low voice, "Why did I say potatoes? I¡¯m not even a big fan of potatoes!" Shrugged her shoulders and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren inquiringly.

    He smiled in return and pointed at the floor with his index finger. Ru looked down and didn¡¯t find anything out of ordinary as she said, "Why are you making me look at the marble floor? Don¡¯t tell me that you want to admire the floor at this time."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren flicked her head and before she could retaliate, he asked, "Where are your shoes?"

    "Huh?" Ru looked down and saw that she was still barefoot as she likes to roam around in her house. She grinned sheepishly and said, "You guys go down, I¡¯ll just be out after wearing my shoes."

    Punching in her password, she opened the door and went in while both brothers shared a look. "He¡¯s adorable. Isn¡¯t he?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked his elder brother and Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn¡¯t have agreed more with that statement. He really found Ru to be quite cute with her strange antics.

    Within 5 minutes, Ru ran down and found Xiao Zhi-Ren in the car waiting for her right outside the condominium building. She heard Xiao Zhi-Ren calling out, "Walk carefully. Don¡¯t trip over. I¡¯m not running away!"

    Ru smiled and stopped running. As she walked briskly towards his car, her mind had plenty of thoughts running through it but what stood out was, ¡¯In my life of twenty-eight years, no-one ever waited for me. Grandfather said, even time doesn¡¯t wait for us much less these mere humans. That¡¯s why he never taught me how to wait as well. It¡¯s weird but why am I feeling this warmth gushing in my body just because someone chose to wait for me?¡¯ She knocked on her head and whispered, "Young master Ru, you¡¯re really easy to satisfy."

    "Where are you lost?" Ru was jolted awake and looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren giving her a strange look. She shook her head absentmindedly. "Get in!" Ru nodded and climbed on the passenger seat since Xiao Zhi-Yuan chose to sit in the backseat.

 Chapter 54 Dont Be A Killjoy

    Xiao Zhi-Ren dropped his brother off at one of the biggest bookstores in the mall before he left with Ru for the supermarket at the ground floor of the mall. With twinkling green eyes, Ru followed Xiao Zhi-Ren inside the huge supermarket. She stood before the aisles, closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath.

    "What are you doing?" Her concentration was broken by Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s curious voice beside her.

    "I¡¯m trying to find the food section. I heard there will be plenty of free food samples there." She rubbed her hands excitedly with a wide grin on her face.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s face scrunched up a bit as he asked, "You came for free food samples?"

    "Yup!" She answered in all honesty since there was no need to hide such a small matter.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren facepalmed himself and shook his head. While he was distracted, Ru was already turning to find the food section but her cor was tightly clutched from behind making her clench her fists.

    "Mr. Xie, where is your cellphone?" Although his question was unexpected, Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to it at all.

    "Mr. Xiao, let me make it clear," she lifted her index finger before him and added, "First, no-one dares to hold my cor. Stop doing that! It might be myst warning to you." She further lifted her middle finger and went on, "Second, stop calling me Mr. Xie. It¡¯s really annoying." Finally, she uncurled her thumb and said, "Third, I left my phone at the apartment."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her a forced smile which wasn¡¯t sincere at all and reciprocated her actions by lifting his index finger before her. "First, I¡¯ll try not to hold your cor again." Obviously, Ru felt that he was insincere with his words but didn¡¯t interrupt him as he continued, "Second, how can you leave your cell phone at home? Don¡¯t tell me, that¡¯s also a waste of space for you." Ru scratched her head sheepishly since she found cell phones to be really a waste. "Third, what else am I supposed to call you if not Mr. Xie?"

    Ru waved her hand saying, "You can just call me Ru-" she bit her own tongue at this slip of the tongue.

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren frowned in confusion but Ru tactfully altered her words.

    "Just call me Rong. Yes! You can just call me Rong." Ru avoided his gaze trying hard not to look straight at him.

    After observing her with suspicion, Xiao Zhi-Ren said, "Okay! I¡¯ll call you Rong. But..." he took a brief pause before adding, "You have to stop calling me Mr. Xiao."

    Ru tapped her chin in a thoughtful manner and nodded as she said, "Alright! I can do that but I told you I can¡¯t call you Zhi-Ren. Therefore, I¡¯ll call you Zhi."

    "Why don¡¯t you just call me Ren?" Xiao Zhi-Ren suggested in a in voice.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Just because I don¡¯t want to." Does she need a reason for that? No! She didn¡¯t think so! Then she turned to head towards the food section again but felt a tug at her back as someone pulled her back by holding her sweatshirt. Ru tilted her head to re at Xiao Zhi-Ren but he disregarded it.

    "Since you have left your cell phone at home, it¡¯s better that you stay with me. I don¡¯t want to waste time by looking for you." Ru opened her mouth to tell him that she had a smartwatch on her wrist, he could just call her there but he didn¡¯t give her a chance. "Sshhh... I know you love to talk but let¡¯s not say a word for a while." Saying that holding her sweatshirt, he almost dragged her with himself towards the aisles.

    Ru joined Xiao Zhi-Ren in his grocery shopping reluctantly. Notice the keyword; reluctantly! But her reluctance was thrown out the window and was even trampled on by a truck as her gaze fell on the shelves brimming with junk food. Her eyes nearly popped open as she ran towards a shelf and picked up a few boxes of choco pie, throwing them right in the trolly. Xiao Zhi-Ren gave her an inquiring look but she wasn¡¯t even sparing him a nce since her mind was only focused on the pile of food that was yet calling out to her.

    ¡¯Take me! Take me, young master Ru!¡¯ Ru could even hear the shoutings of all those packets before her. How could she possibly ignore such a call for help? She wasn¡¯t that much of a heartless one.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren stood watching as the trolly was being assaulted by the piles of Doritos, pretzels, wavy¡¯s and the likes. He was speechless at the foodie before his eyes but instead of finding her a nuisance, he was beginning to feel, ¡¯Does he only have food to apany him? How much of a loner is he to find sce in a bunch of food?¡¯

    With this thought, Xiao Zhi-Ren felt a strange sadness engulfing his heart and he didn¡¯t try to stop Ru anymore. But he still found the smile on Ru¡¯s face to be captivating. He had seen her smile all the time and yet at that moment, he felt like it was the very first time for him to see her real smile which she wasn¡¯t wearing as a mask to hide her despondency.

    Ru with her own happy thoughts skipped around the aisles as if she had found the treasure of her life. While picking some candies, she caught sight of Xiao Zhi-Ren checking a jar of sauce. "Hey, Zhi!" Xiao Zhi-Ren looked at her in astonishment since the way she just called him sounded quite cordial. "Why are you buying this pasta sauce? You should make it fresh at home."

    "It takes too much time," Xiao Zhi-Ren answered looking through a whole range of jars.

    "So? You¡¯re not the one who¡¯s going to cook. Isn¡¯t your chef quite skilled?"

    "I don¡¯t even have a maid at my ce. Do you really think I have a chef?" Ru thought for a moment. He was right. He had been raising his brother all alone. If he didn¡¯t even bother to hire a housemaid for cleaning, why would he have a chef for food? Then the foodst time...

    "You!" Ru pointed an using finger at him. "You lied to mest time."

    "You just believed it. It¡¯s not my fault." Xiao Zhi-Ren shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn¡¯t in the wrong at all.

    Both of them bought other necessary stuff and Ru even helped him in picking out some fresh vegetables using her expertise. Xiao Zhi-Ren was even impressed with her way of exining him the art of choosing a fresh tomato. It went a bit like this, "Tomatoes are essential ingredients since they can be used in plenty of ways. And I¡¯m not being biased just because I love tomatoes." Now, that part was a lie. She was definitely being biased at the moment. But who cares? Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t! "Okay! We should first check why are we buying tomatoes. For instance, are we going to use them for sandwiches, sds or sauce, and stuff."

    "What¡¯s the difference?" He asked amusingly since he was enjoying her long speech.

    "There is a huge difference here. For sds and stir-fries, we can opt for cherry tomatoes since they are sweet in taste..." Just like that, she spent half an hour in making him understand this art of tomatoes which she excelled in. Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that she wasn¡¯t just fond of eating, she was fond of being Mr. Know-it-all as well.

    "Rong, do you know how to cook?" It took Ru a moment to realize that he was calling her.

    "Me? There is nothing that this young master can¡¯t do." Ru tried to brag before him arrogantly but Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t found her to be narcissistic. He reckoned that the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him really was unpredictable, so it wouldn¡¯t be odd for ¡¯him¡¯ to have more than one skill.

    "Do you like learning that much?" He asked as they made their way out of the vegetable section.

    "Haven¡¯t you learned in Confucius, ¡¯Life is finite. While knowledge is infinite.¡¯ I like to learn because that makes me believe that the more knowledge one have, the more fulfilling life one has lived." Ru answereding back to her schr version. "Oh, look! There are the free samples!" Ru tried to run away from him but Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s voice halted her.

    "I¡¯ll buy you food after getting out of here."

    Turning to look at Xiao Zhi-Ren, she asked, "You really are going to buy me food?" Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head. "You¡¯ll have to also invite me over for food as well." He readily agreed and she came back to pull Xiao Zhi-Ren with him towards the checkouts and said, "Don¡¯t be a killjoyter on."

    "I won¡¯t!" Xiao Zhi-Ren promised solemnly as he couldn¡¯t help but lift his hand to ruffle her fluffy hair.

    The scene of them together was to behold and lost in their own world, both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ru didn¡¯t notice the looks they were receiving from all around. Both were tall, had well-built bodies, along with those striking features, they were the true definition of eye-candy for girls. One was like a refined angel and the other was akin to a rebellious demon. Oddly, theyplimented each other perfectly.

    They didn¡¯t have any issue at the checkout except for the fact that the cashier kept smiling at them coquettishly. Both both of them didn¡¯t notice it since they still had something to bicker about as always.

 Chapter 55 Demon & Angel

    Before taking Ru out for food, Xiao Zhi-Ren ced the grocery bags in the trunk of the car and went towards the mall where they dropped off Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

    "Are you done looking around?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked his younger brother.

    "Just give me a few more minutes." Xiao Zhi-Yuan said and turned to browse around for books.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded and turned around to find Ru. She was leaning against a bookshelf. She had rolled her sleeves up to her forearm disying her taut muscles. Her one hand held a book while the other one was busy setting her fluffy hair down.

    This sight was... strange. Only for Xiao Zhhi-Ren... But the reason was all the girls who were going crazy over Ru¡¯s small movements. Xiao Zhi-Ren shook his head at this green-eyed monster who was oblivious to even the fact that ¡¯he¡¯ was creating havoc.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren came close to her side and looked at the book title which she was engrossed in. It read: Falling for my Ex-wife.

    Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s brows knitted together as he asked, "You like reading such novels?"

    Hearing his familiar voice, Ru titled her face and said, "Nope! I hate this kind of books the most."

    The crease between his brows grew deeper as he asked, "Why? And if you hate it, why were you just reading it?"

    "I wasn¡¯t reading it. I was just seeing the oue of this. As expected, she forgave him in the end. How typical!" Xiao Zhi-Ren could hear the bitterness in her words. He picked up the book and browsed through the synopsis.

    It was a story about a man who divorced his wife calling her a cheater and such. But he didn¡¯t know that his wife was pregnant at that time. He also didn¡¯t know that his wife was being framed by his own ex-girlfriend. And after five years, when his ex-wife had moved on in her life, he suddenly realized that he had loved her all along. And went back to im her.

    Just as Ru said, a typical story but knowing Ru¡¯s peculiar nature, Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that her reason for calling it typical must have been different.

    "What¡¯s typical? It¡¯s just a love story." Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s words made Ru look straight into his eyes.

    "Is this really a love story? How?" She asked.

    "This is a love story with a second chance. There is a thing called second chances, Rong!" Xiao Zhi-Ren argued.

    "Is there? Is there really a thing called second chances?" Ru challenged him and added, "Zhi, we are only given one life... Look, this book doesn¡¯t make any sense to me. First, he called her an sl*t, a cheater and then, he went back after years to snatch her back? What kind of logic is that? And how can she even consider forgiving him?"

    Xiao Zhi-Ren thought for a second before he answered, "Forgiveness makes her a bigger person." He had reckoned that he had to use his words with care whenever he was around Ru. Since she was someone who could even manipte your own words without you even realizing it.

    "No. Definitely not! Forgiveness makes her the fickle person." Ru retorted with conviction.

    "So, what do you want? Would the story make sense if she was to get revenge?" Xiao Zhi-Ren asked again.

    "Obviously not! That would make her a weaker person!"

    "Huh?" He was left dumbfounded. She didn¡¯t want the protagonist to forgive, she didn¡¯t want her to get revenge. What was she up to?

    "Zhi, life is not all about forgiveness and revenge. Sometimes, it should be about forgetting. No matter if she says that she forgave him and perhaps takes him back but what¡¯s the guarantee that she will be able to forget those unkind words that he used for her? Forgiveness had always been easy. It was the forgetting part that killed people inside." Now, he understood her. He was astounded at her reply.

    "No matter how many times you open the book of past, the ending doesn¡¯t always change." She added after a moment. "It¡¯s better to decline the call of past rather than trying to make that past your present all over again."

    Xiao Zhi-Ren didn¡¯t know what to say, therefore, he picked up another novel and asked, "What about this genre?"

    Ru looked at the book and figured it was also a typical story with a vampire falling in love with a human. "Do you think darkness and light can be together?" He further asked.

    "Now, this is something I do believe in." Xiao Zhi-Ren definitely didn¡¯t expect this answer from her. "Darkness will be meaningless without the light just as the light will be meaningless without the shadows of darkness. It¡¯s a verymon possibility that a demon falls for an angel."

    "But do you think this love can survive?"

    "Isn¡¯t day and night still existing?" Ru retorted.

    "What does that have to do with this book?" Xiao Zhi-Ren inquired.

    "Aiyoh! Zhi, have you ever seen the sky right before the sunrise or sunset?" Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head and she went on, "That¡¯s the moment when the darkness of night and the light of day embraces each other like those parted lovers." Xiao Zhi-Ren choked on air at her analogy. "That¡¯s why in my opinion, the purest love exists between a demon and an angel." Saying that her eyes caught sight of something outside the bookstore.

    "I¡¯ll be right back!" She didn¡¯t wait for Xiao Zhi-Ren¡¯s reply as she darted out of the store leaving a baffled Xiao Zhi-Ren behind. He wasn¡¯t actually baffled at her analogy, he was astounded to just know that she was excessively attentive. How could she always have something to say just to prove her point?

    Meanwhile, outside of the store, Ru rummaged out a coin from her pocket and aimed it straight to a person¡¯s ankle. "Ouch!" Within a second, Adia fell down on the ground. "Who dared to attack me?" She growled but didn¡¯t realize that all other members of her squad had horrified expressions as they kept staring behind.

    "I didn¡¯t know that my ck Mist squad was a fan of shopping?" Ru¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t any different from her usual self but the ambiance around her seemed to have turned dangerous within a matter of seconds.

    Seeing that they were in big trouble for being caught here in the hall, the boys pushed Adia ahead to exin. "Ma-Master!" Adia stuttered as she couldn¡¯t think of any coherent words to say. Thinking of something, she pulled the newest member of the team and used her as a shield. "We brought Lilith out to have a look around. She hasn¡¯t been to shopping in her life or at least, she can¡¯t think of the time when she did."

    This n seemed to have worked since Ru kept staring at Lilith¡¯s face without any expression.

    Getting the courage from this reaction, even other members of the squad chimed in, "Yes, yes... Lilith is only about 20 years old. We thought we should get her some colorful clothes. It¡¯s not nice for a young girl to always look so grim."

    "Also, she needs to see the world and mingle in the normal people to learn how to interact. Right?"

    Ru wasn¡¯t listening to any of them as her attention was solely on Lilith¡¯s face. She pulled out her credit card and ced it Lilith¡¯s hand saying, "Buy whatever you like."

    Lilith: "..."

    The ck Mist Squad: "..."

    When was thest time their master was this kind and giving? Never! Although they were all rescued by Ru herself at some point, none of them received this privilege to actually use their master¡¯s credit card which didn¡¯t even have a limit.

    "And you all..." Ru looked at their confounded looks and said, "Stop using her as your protection. I wasn¡¯t going to eat you all. I just didn¡¯t expect to see you all here that¡¯s why I came to say hello. Outside of work, what you do is none of my concern anyway." Throwing these words at them, Ru turned around to leave.

    "Is he always this easygoing?" Lilith asked Adia with her hand signs.

    Adia smiled at her as she answered, "Even if you spend a lifetime with him, I believe master will still be a mystery. He¡¯s easygoing to his people but when you do something that gets on his nerve, don¡¯t expect any kindness from him at all."

    Lilith¡¯s eyes followed Ru¡¯s disappearing back as she was lost in thought. She couldn¡¯t understand how this person was soid back. In theb, where she was kept with others, they were only treated as test subjects. This was perhaps the first time someone actually treated her as a human. It was a nice feeling.

 Chapter 56 Food Is food, No Logic Involved

    Ru who was entering the bookstore under the gazes of her subordinates but suddenly she stopped in her track and whipped her body around. "Oi! Adia!"

    Adia was a bit startled for being pointed out like this again. "Yes, master!" She answered uncertainly.

    Ru extended her hand saying, "Give me my coin back." Adia pursed her lips not knowing what to do with this master of hers. How can her master actually be so stingy to ask for the coin which hit her ankle earlier? "Throw it back. Fast!" Seeing her urging like that, Adia could only throw the coin towards Ru who caught it with ease and smiled in victory.

    As Ru entered the bookstore, Adia turned to a dumbfounded Lilith and said, "Oh, and did we mention, he¡¯s the most calctive person in this world. Also, the most stingy one!" Instead of finding it odd, Lilith found Ru even more interesting than before. How can a person like that give away ¡¯his¡¯ credit card with ease and yet ask for a single insignificant coin back?

    Finding Ru¡¯s antics amusing, Lilith¡¯s lips curled upward slightly which was hardly noticeable and yet Jack managed to discern her smile. "Oh, our new member also know how to smile." Hearing his remark, everyone looked at Lilith with smiles.

    "Kiddo! You¡¯re too young for that broody face. Learn to smile often." Connor patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder and for the first time in her life, Lilith felt the feeling of being a part of something. She had spent a week with these five members of ck Mist and all she learned was how much normal they were.

    At first, she thought they¡¯d be always nning or training since for the world, ck Mist squad was the other name of death. They alwayspleted their missions meticulously without leaving any loose ends. But living with them, she found them more childish than fierce.

    "Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s buy you something to eat first..." Adia pulled Lilith along and the boys followed suit as they went to find a ce to eat first.

    What Lilith hadn¡¯t figured out yet was that Ru was indeed imposing but only when it came to working. If her employees did what they were supposed to do, then the rest wasn¡¯t her concern. Especially, their personal lives had nothing to do with her. And working under her, her subordinates also adapted themselves.

    Back inside the bookstore, Ru saw Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan collecting the shopping bags from the counter. "Oniisan, where did you go?" Xiao Zhi Yuan rushed up to her side to ask.

    "I just saw someone I knew. So, I went to say hello." Her reply had nothing wrong with it and yet Xiao Zhi Ren found it hard to believe. He hade to understand a bit of her nature and from his understanding, he couldn¡¯t believe that Ru went on her own to greet someone. But he decided not to think much about this matter.

    "Stop chatting... Let¡¯s get you something to eat," he said while he again pulled Ru but from her sleeve this time. Since the food was involved, Ru disregarded the fact that he was dragging her again like a sack. But anything for food! Thinking this, she happily let herself dragged away.

    The three of them entered the food court in the mall and took a seat at an empty table. Xiao Zi Ren went to order at a fast food shop leaving Xiao Zhi Yuan and Ru to wait.

    "How¡¯s school, little squirrel?" Ru asked looking at the crowded food court. She wasn¡¯tfortable with all those people around her and to get over her uneasiness, she tried to make some small talk.

    "As you have predicted," Xiao Zhi Yuan answered inly. But seeing Ru¡¯s inquiring gaze, he further exined, "You were right, Oniisan! My forgiveness won¡¯t change anything, it¡¯ll make things worse."

    "What¡¯s really going on?" This time she really was interested to know in detail.

    "Since the day Ji Caihong stood up for me..." He hesitated a bit before saying, "All of my ss had been fleering that she¡¯s my sugar mommy and stuff like that."

    "Did you do something about it?"

    "Yes... I tried to tell them off but it didn¡¯t work. I mean they can say anything about me but Ji Caihong is a girl. They shouldn¡¯t be so impudent with their words." Ru found his sulky look to be quite amusing. "The worst part is I can¡¯t even fight with them. Otherwise, I¡¯d love to break a few jaws."

    Ru touched his head and said, "I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re such a sensitive boy." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t understand her meaning at first but after she spoke again he understood it clearly. "Even when you don¡¯t like Ji Caihong, you tried to stand up for her just because she¡¯s a girl. That¡¯s an admirable thing. As for that breaking jaws part, don¡¯t tell your brother but I¡¯ll help you with that."

    "Really?" Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mood immediately lifted up as she nodded her head. "That¡¯s good..."

    "Why did you stand up for her though? Are you starting to-?" Her words were cut off by Xiao Zhi Yuan as he shook his head.

    "I¡¯m not going soft on her... It¡¯s just that brother always taught me that we should always think before tainting a girl¡¯s name. Eminence might not matter that much to boys but it¡¯s the only thing that girls usually holds in high regard. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want them to talk nonsense about her." Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s reply touched the deepest part of Ru¡¯s heart.

    She stared at him in disbelief. How would one believe this sensible and sweet boy was only 18 years old? He learned something so early in life which most people don¡¯t even understand in their whole life. She smiled proudly as she tousled his hair saying, "My little squirrel, you¡¯re so adorable that I want to steal you from your brother."

    "Mind saying that again?" Hearing Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice from behind, Ru¡¯s smile faltered a bit.

    She tilted her head to see Xiao Zhi Ren giving her a dangerous look. "It was a joke!" Ru tried tough it off even though she wasn¡¯t kidding at all. She really wanted to steal Xiao Zhi Yuan. Xiao Zhi Ren red at her and pushed the tray of food before her and Xiao Zhi Yuan.

    Aftering back with his own tray of food, he sat right opposite of Ru just to pass deadly res to her. Ru wiggled her nose a bit and said, "Since you¡¯re still mad, how about a joke?" She took his silence to be his agreement as she added, "What¡¯s the difference between Cindere and Snow White?"

    "What is it?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked with interest as he took a sip of his cold drink.

    "One forgot to wear her shoes and the other forgot to take them off..." Ruughed out at her own joke while both brothers stared at her not understanding her meaning at all. "Ohe on guys! Cindere forgot her shoe at the ball while Snow White was even wearing her shoe while she was under the curse." Even after listening to her exnation, no oneughed at the table making her feel sour.

    Shrugging her shoulders, Ru picked up the packet of sauce but feeling irked by having the worst sense of humor, she tore the packet with excessive force making the drop of sauce fly up to the tip of her nose. Now this time, she definitely heard bouts ofughter from Xiao Zhi Yuan while Xiao Zhi Ren was trying hard to stayposed.

    "Aish! This really has something against me." There was sauce all over her fingers but instead of taking a napkin to clean up, she lifted her hand to wipe off the sauce. But her hand was held by a bigger one as Xiao Zhi Ren took a napkin and roughly wiped the tip of her nose making her wince, "Hei! Do it nicely!" Xiao Zhi Ren ignored her scowling and with another napkin wiped her hands.

    "Day by day, I feel like asking, how did you manage to be such an extraordinary person for the world when you can¡¯t even open a small packet of sauce." He shook his head while Ru lowered her head. "Also, I might not know the difference between Cindere and Snow White but I do know the simrities between you and Cindere." Ru looked at him with a crease between her brows. He knocked on her forehead saying, "You both love to forget your slippers."

    This was a blunt insult to her. But Ru couldn¡¯t even argue with him since it was her own fault for forgetting to wear her slippers when they were leaving the house. Not wanting to speak, Ru picked up fries from her tray and shoved them in her mouth.

    "I thought you don¡¯t like potatoes," Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s remark made Ru get back to reality as she looked at him. "The way you¡¯re eating fries would make people think that you¡¯re really fond of potatoes."

    Ru looked at her tray which now only had tworge-sized burgers and a cold drink in it while all the fires were gone. "I don¡¯t like potatoes but I love fries."

    "Oniisan, fries are made from potatoes," Xiao Zhi Yuan added but Ru¡¯s look made him silent.

    "I don¡¯t think about logic when ites to food." Her answer was straightforward and after that, she got herself busy with therge-sized burger. Somehow Xiao Zhi Ren knew about her appetite that¡¯s why he specifically got her tworge-sized burgers instead of one.

    Seeing her eating happily with content, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled to himself. After everything, only food could make her stop arguing. It was a good thing that at least logic wasn¡¯t involved with food.

 Chapter 57 Homesickness

    The entire day had been quite adventurous for Ru. She had not been to a supermarket for years and as for a bookstore, that was a big no-no in her life. The number of books she had to register in her brain back at her n was already more than enough for her.

    These days, she¡¯d only read books if she developed an interest in something new. And mostly, these books were bought by one of her subordinates. Although she had tasted all kinds of delicacies that the world had to offer, she still felt that there was something heavenly delicious in the burger she ate today.

    What she didn¡¯t understand was that it wasn¡¯t that burger that tasted so good. In reality, it was the fact that she actually shared a meal with someone in such a warm, harmonious, and joyous manner. People like her were used to eating all alone perhaps that¡¯s why being with those brothers gave her such a homely feeling.

    "Raven, it¡¯s official!" She eximed out as she entered her apartment.

    "May I ask what is official, master?" Her virtual nemesis a.k.a assistant asked in her humanoid voice.

    "I¡¯m homesick... Argh! I never thought there woulde a day when I¡¯d be homesick." Ru ruffled her own hair in exasperation. She was certain that this homesickness was because of seeing Xiao Zhi Ren. She had seen the way he doted on his younger brother and it made her yearn to see her own brother.

    *shback*

    "Big brother!" A young child of five years was trailing behind her teenage self, calling out just to get her attention.

    "Aiyah, stop following me... If mother got to know that you skipped your training because of me, I¡¯ll be hung to my death." Ru tried to shoo him away but the littled had no interest whatsoever in paying heed to her words.

    "You¡¯re talking as if our mother is a demoness... Stop being so full of yourself. Wait for me!" While he was trying to sort out his words, Ru had already climbed the mountain far ahead of him. His small feet were trying hard to catch up but how could he possibly match up the pace of a teenager?

    Her courtyard was in the most secluded part of the mountains and that was one of the reasons that nobody usually came to disturb her except for this littled who liked clinging to her like super glue.

    She was changing the headboard over the door of her courtyard when she heard his panting from behind. As she turned to look, his small face was flushed and sweat was dripping down his face like water droplets. She could only shake her head at his persistent nature.

    "Why did you follow me?" Ru asked ring at him but he was unfazed. Knowing his older brother¡¯s nature, the littled was aware that his brother would never be angry with him.

    "I saw you with a new name board for your courtyard. I just wanted to see what¡¯s it like..." Justifying his reasons, the littled lifted his eyes to look at the head of the door to see the new name board. He was left dumbfounded.

    He gave a look of disbelief to Ru before asking, "Big brother, who names their own courtyard as ¡¯The Easy Breezy And A Bit Peasy Hall¡¯?"

    "I do!" Ru answered inly with a look of content.

    "Why?" The littled asked in his childish voice.

    "Because I¡¯m an easygoing person who is like a breeze always floating around and as for peasy part? That was just rhyming perfectly so I added as a touch of humour." With ease, she described the whole reason behind a single nonsensical name of her courtyard. The littled was truly impressed as he facepalmed himself.

    "Aiyoh, big brother! Grandfather won¡¯t be happy to see this." The littled¡¯s reminder was timely but Ru was used to going against her grandfather¡¯s words. She thought, ¡¯The old man is already angry with me. With this, the anger will just go up a bit more. It doesn¡¯t matter much.¡¯ Thinking this, she shrugged her shoulders.

    "That old man is never happy anyway." Her words had just left her mouth when a booming and imposing voice rang out from behind her,

    "Have you ever tried making this old man happy?"

    Ru was frozen still at her spot as if someone had charmed her. ¡¯Why is my luck so rotten?¡¯ she thought to herself before slowly and carefully turning her body around.

    There he stood with his hands sped behind his back like a noble aristocratic person of a calm demeanour. But how could Ru be fooled by his outer look? "Heh heh... I always do everything just to make my grandfather happy and proud." Ru tried to use some skills of brown-nosing but she forgot that she wasn¡¯t really good at it.

    Her grandfather took slow steps towards her and pulled her ear saying, "Young master Ru is getting good at his antics. But what a shame... I still don¡¯t fall for that."

    "Grandfather, let my ear go. It¡¯s not fair. Why do I have to suffer? Pull this little brat¡¯s ear as well." The littled made an adorable face as if he was wronged as he looked up to his grandfather¡¯s face.

    "Grandfather, big brother left me at the foot of the mountain. All alone..." Ru gaped at that adorable rice cake wanting to bite him off. How was this kid so good at acting?

    "Ahhh!" Ru shrieked a bit as her ear was not the only thing now she had to worry about. Her grandfather¡¯s personal imposing pressure was too much for her young self.

    "You are fourteen and still, you have no idea how to care for your brother? And what¡¯s with this name board? What was wrong with the original name?" Being reprimanded by her grandfather was amon phenomenon for Ru. There was nothing noteworthy anymore. She silently listened to him or more like let it pass all over her head.

    After he was done, she spoke in her defence, "First of all, that old name didn¡¯t go well with my personality." The original name of her courtyard was, ¡¯The hall of youth schr¡¯ and ording to herself, she might be knowledgeable but she¡¯d never want to be called a schr. Not by anyone! "Second of all, I do care about my little rice cake but even he knows that mother and father would punish me if he missed his training and yet he¡¯s following me around." This time, she truly felt wronged. She just didn¡¯t want to spend another week in the punishment hall. Was it too much to wish for? "Andstly, I¡¯m not going back with that original name board."

    Seeing her huffing and puffing, her grandfather touched her head affectionately and said, "I¡¯ll get a new name board for my grandson. And I promise you¡¯ll love it." These words were enough to make her smile brightly as if the sky was cleared up after a storm. Of course, she had her ways to deal with this old man. Although everyone doted on the little rice cake, she knew she was still the most important to this old man.

    True to his promise, her grandfather actually got her a new name board. Her courtyard was named: ¡¯The Raven¡¯s Nest¡¯. Obviously, she loved this name since it was aligned with her nickname perfectly.

    *End of shback*

    With a sigh, Ru looked out the window. This homesickness was not good for her health. Oddly, she still hadn¡¯t figured that she¡¯d been homesick from the very beginning otherwise why would Lord Alev Knight¡¯s authority symbol be a ck raven? Also, why was her onlypanion who happened to be a virtual assistant was also named, Raven?

    "Why do I feel so stuffed all of a sudden?" Feeling a bit difort in her chest, she had to move her hands underneath the oversized sweatshirt to fix the binding around her chest. When it didn¡¯t work, she simply pulled it off freeing herself from the stuffy feeling. "So, it¡¯s one of those days when this binding actually gives me trouble," she mumbled to herself with a slight irritation visible on her face.

    "Without this difort, I believe master you¡¯ll even forget that you were actually born a girl." Ru really had the urge to punch Raven in the face but the irony was that Raven had no face. The urge to punch her wasn¡¯t because Raven was wrong but rather because she was absolutely right.

    If asionally, she didn¡¯t get a slight difort in her chest area or the monthly reminder didn¡¯t knock on her conscience, Ru would probably forget that she was, in fact, a girl or at least had the body of one. She wasn¡¯t disguised as a male rather it¡¯d be right to say that being a male was dyed-in-the-wool[1] not just in her heart but also in her soul.

    "Shut up, Raven!" Before Raven could reply as she was programmed to do, the sound of the doorbell interrupted their argument. "Check who¡¯s at the door at this time."

    "Facial recognitionplete. The personnel waiting outside the door is your secretary." Reven answered.

    "I don¡¯t have a secretary." Ru reminded her.

    "I almost forgot, it¡¯s the person who poses as yourpany¡¯s CEO and yet has a habit of running around you like your secretary."

    Ru rolled her eyes at this reply as she said, "Can¡¯t you just say that Wu Dishi is at the door?"

    "I wasn¡¯t programmed to answer so inly and it¡¯s master¡¯s own fault." Ru banged her head against the table saying, "Right! it¡¯s indeed my fault! My biggest mistake was to create you."

    Grumbling to herself, Ru went to open the door herself. "What do you want?" Wu Dishi was taken aback by the sudden outburst of his master. What did I do wrong? He didn¡¯t have the courage to voice this question but even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten a reply.

    "I... I brought the documents you asked for, " he stammered a bit beforeposing himself.

    Ru extended her hand and ordered, "Give it to me and get lost!" Poor him was startled as he passed the documents and ran away as soon as possible not knowing that he was just used as a punching bag. Since Ru couldn¡¯t yell at Raven, she transferred the anger on to Wu Dishi.

    [1] "dyed-in-the-wool": deep-rooted

 Chapter 58 Childish Revenge Plo

    "What are we doing here?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked looking at Ru who was acting all mysterious.

    Currently, both of them were outside one of Imperial¡¯s elite nightclubs which happened to be one of the hotspots for young Fu¡¯er Dais[1]. Xiao Zhi Yuan had followed her here not knowing what was running through her evil mind.

    "Oniisan! What are you looking for?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked again but Ru disregarded his inquiry yet again.

    "Shush!" She made a gesture for him to stay quiet and passed him a ck hoodie, a cap, and a ck mask. "Wear it! We need to hide our tracks."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan took the hoodie and wore it silently but inwardly, he was still confused about all this. Were they undercover or something? Ru took him to the underground parking lot and started looking through the cars number tes.

    Suddenly Ru stopped walking and Xiao Zhi Yuan almost banged into her back. "Why are we stopping here?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask again in a whisper and why was he being so cautious, even he couldn¡¯t tell.

    Ru hid behind a pir and surveyed their surroundings thoroughly. After that, she passed the duffle bag in her hand to Xiao Zhi Yuan and said in a low voice, "Stay here and don¡¯t make a sound... Let me clear the premises."

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhi Yuan stood there dumbfoundedly as he saw Ruying down on the ground and rolling under the car which was parked beside her. He crouched down and saw her rolling all the way towards the end of the parking lot taking advantage of the cars.

    "All clear! Come out, little squirrel!" Hearing her voice, Xiao Zhi Yuan came out from hiding behind the pir and walked towards her. As he came close to her, he could see almost ten bulky men in ck suits on the ground.

    "What did you do to them Oniisan?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was gaping at the bodies sprawled all around.

    "Nothing much... I just let them have a taste of my special concoction of a sleeping potion." Ru answered off-handedly as she shrugged her shoulders. "Give me the bag." Xiao Zhi Yuan passed her the duffle bag.

    "Now, can we be clear about what we are really doing here sneaking like this?"

    Ru gave him a sly smile and said, "We are here to break some jaws as promised." Xiao Zhi Yuan was left speechless. When Ru offered to break the jaws of his ssmates back when they went to the mall, he agreed because he didn¡¯t think she was serious. Who knew she was really serious?

    "I thought you were joking with me back then," Xiao Zhi Yuan voiced out in a daze.

    Ru put one arm around his shoulder and said, "Little squirrel, let me be honest with you... There are two ¡¯F¡¯ words that I love and I¡¯d never dare to joke about them."

    "What are those words?" He inquired with intrigue.

    "Food and fight!" Her answer left her little squirrel to shake his head.

    "But I really don¡¯t want you to beat them..." Xiao Zhi Yuan really didn¡¯t have any interest in finding trouble with those ssmates. ording to him, there was only a month or so left in their exams and after that, he won¡¯t even have toe across them ever again. So, because of this reason, he had been avoiding conflicts.

    "Who said I¡¯ll beat them?" Xiao Zhi Yuan knitted his brows in confusion and Ru had to exin her words in detail, "Aiyoh, little squirrel! I¡¯m a man of principles. Beating those high school kids is way below me. I only fight with people who know how to defend themselves. These children are of no value to me."

    "Then how are we going to break jaws?"

    Ru opened the duffle bag and pulled out a couple of spray paint bottles. Xiao Zhi Yuan grew even more confused at seeing this. "There is a lesson I learned in life... Physical wounds tend to heal way faster and that¡¯s why always y with people¡¯s emotions. They never heal!"

    Saying that she shook the bottle of spray paint in hand and took her steps towards a red sports car. Now that Xiao Zhi Yuan noticed, he could see that those bodyguards on the floor were actually safeguarding this car. Looking closely, he could even tell the model of the car; Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Impressive!

    Xiao Zhi Yuan was really slow-witted since he was still thinking how could spray paint possibly hurt someone¡¯s emotions but the next moment when Ru wrote ¡¯Arsehole¡¯ on the windshield of the sports car, even Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s emotions were hurt. ¡¯That was such a good car.¡¯ He wanted to say but he still had no idea who owned this car.

    "What did they say? You have a sugar mommy," Ru was just talking to herself as she again used the paint to write on the side of the car: This is a gift from your sugar mommy!

    Xiao Zhi Yuan chuckled at the side. After she was done with her artwork on all parts of the sports car, she beckoned Xiao Zhi Yuan to follow her as they both went to hide. "Is that enough?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked.

    "Little squirrel, tell me how expensive is that car?"

    "If I remember correctly, it¡¯s about 4.5 million dors or so." Xiao Zhi Yuan had quite an interest in sports cars which was why he always knew about these details.

    "Exactly my point here," Ru said touching his head as if to pet him and went on, "I¡¯ve checked already. This particr ssmate of yours is obsessed with expensive cars just for the sake of his status otherwise why would a high school kid have one of the most expensive cars in the world? Trust me, this will hurt him more than my beating would have." Seeing her satisfied look, Xiao Zhi Yuan also became calm. Unknowingly, he had begun to trust Ru with all his heart without any questions asked.

    They had to wait for about two hours before the owner of the car finally came out of the club to get his ride. That¡¯s when Ru said, "Give me your phone!" Xiao Zhi Yuan gave his phone to her and she said, "And the show begins now!"

    Xiao Zhi Yuan looked towards the car to see one of his ss bully, Chu Feng standing before the car. Now he finally knew who the car belonged to. But the question in his mind now was; how did Ru get to know about that Chu Feng was the one jeering him in school?

    After all, others would think that it was Zhang Han who was looking for trouble with him because of Sheng Yue. But Zhang Han actually had nothing to do with his troubles in school. Since the time Zhang Han saw Ji Caihong standing up for Xiao Zhi Yuan, he knew that Xiao Zhi Yuan was not someone he could mess with. So, he backed off but others weren¡¯t as sensible as he was.

    "Who dared to do this?" Xiao Zhi Yuan heard Chu Feng¡¯s screeching roar making him want to rub his ears. Then he saw how Chu Feng was crying over his precious ¡¯baby¡¯ while kicking his bodyguards who were still fast asleep on the ground. He looked miserable and it made Xiao Zhi Yuan feel the sense of victory.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t know from where but suddenly, Chu Feng was attacked by raw eggs and rotten tomatoes. Not a single soul was in sight and yet there was plenty of trash being dumped on Chu Feng as if he was a dumpster. Even Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at his predicament. That¡¯s how the karma worked!

    Ru stealthily got Xiao Zhi Yuan out of the parking lot and edited the video which she had recorded of Chu Feng. After adding a bit of caption and emojis, she uploaded the video on Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s school forum using a fake IP address.

    "Now, enjoy the show until yourst day of school," Ru announced proudly.

    "That was childish of you, Oniisan." Xiao Zhi Yuan remarked with a slightly curled lips.

    "Yes... It was childish but I did it for the first time. So, it was really amusing!" Seeing her excitement, Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind this childish revenge.

    On another note, one shouldn¡¯t be calling it a childish plot since the car repair was going to cost a hell lot of money. And who knew how Chu Feng¡¯s parents were going to react. But obviously, even Ru thought it to be a childish but fun plot. After all, she couldn¡¯t be too hard on high school kids. But that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t do anything to those who dared to hurt her little squirrel.

    [1] "Fu¡¯er Dai": Children of the nouveau riche

 Chapter 59 Learn To Fall

    "Where is Yuan?" Qin Qu asked as he noticed that there was only Xiao Zhi Ren at home. He had been gone to the United States to deal with some matters and only today, he managed to find his way back.

    "He went out with Rong." Qin Qu quirked his brows in surprise.

    ¡¯Did he just said ¡¯Rong¡¯? When did they be so close? I was only gone for a couple of weeks.¡¯ Qin Qu thought to himself as he found this familiarity rather odd.

    "And you let him go? You¡¯d always been overprotective of your brother, what changed?" He asked indecisively.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter as long as Rong is with him." Xiao Zhi Ren answered indifferently as he looked through his emails.

    "You have got to be kidding with me!" Qin Qu couldn¡¯t believe that his best friend was actually trusting a stranger with his own brother. "Have you heard of all those rumors about Mr. Xie Rong? He¡¯s known to be a ruthless tyrant. He shouldn¡¯t even be thest person you could trust your brother to."

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave him a look that left him silent. "I have heard of all the rumors."

    "So? Do you think those are just rumors?" Qin Qu inquired.

    Xiao Zhi Ren got up from his chair and walked towards the windows to look outside at the dark night. "No... I actually think that all the rumors are true but those people don¡¯t know Rong in person. Leaving Yaun in his care is essential for now." Qin Qu frowned at his sentence as he went on, "I¡¯ve protected Yuan so well that he¡¯d grown to be extremely sensitive. His perspective of life and people are all aligned with my own self and I want to change that. Yuan needs a role model like Rong in his life who likes to question every single thing in life."

    Qin Qu kept listening attentively while Xiao Zhi Ren spoke with his gaze stuck on the outside world. "I want Yuan to see the world with Rong¡¯s eyes. There is something in this world that Yuan can only learn from Rong." Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t just saying it. He believed this wholeheartedly. He had seen Ru and Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s interactions and he was sure that Ru could teach Xiao Zhi Yuan that he wasn¡¯t able to.

    Xiao Zhi Ren had plenty of arguments with Ru and yet he felt that none of those arguments were meaningless. Because in the end, he always learned something absolutely new.

    Like earlier when Ru came to take Yuan with her, he had said, "Take care of my brother. He doesn¡¯t usually go out at this time of the night."

    Ru had answered him with, "Zhi, your overprotectiveness towards little squirrel is giving me wrong ideas."

    "What kind of ideas?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren while furrowing his brows.

    Although inwardly, Ru was thinking that his protectiveness must havee from a deep scar, on the outside, she didn¡¯t show it. "Nothing special..." She shrugged her shoulders and added, "I just think that you should let your brother grow now."

    "I just don¡¯t want him to get hurt," said Xiao Zhi Ren matter-of-factly.

    "And how will he grow up without being hurt? In judo¡¯s first lesson, we learn to fall before they teach us how to stand back up. That means, in life, we have to fall before we could learn to fly." She took a pause as she patted his shoulder and continued, "Don¡¯t hide your brother behind yourself. While protecting him for all these years, you have already learned to face this world. Now, it¡¯s his turn to learn. And you can¡¯t be an obstacle in that."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had no answer for her since she loved to leave him in a daze. It was true that he had been hiding Xiao Zhi Yuan behind himself but he had his reasons. He¡¯d been scared of losing his brother. He didn¡¯t want to experience the same pain all over again which he went through back then.

    Right at this moment, the doorbell rang and pulled Xiao Zhi Ren out of his reverie.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren opened the door, he saw Ru smiling at him with her charming green eyes stuck on his face. "Hi, big bear!" Xiao Zhi Yuan entered the house with frozen yogurt in his hand. And that¡¯s when Xiao Zhi Ren noticed the ice cream cone in Ru¡¯s hands.

    She had three-tier ice cream with three different vors; vani, strawberry, and chocte. "I¡¯ve dropped your brother off safely. Just as I promised." With that, Ru turned to leave but she was yanked back as Xiao Zhi Ren pulled her hoodie from the back.

    "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not the right time for ice cream?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked before Ru could even re at him for yanking her like that again.

    "I guess Zhi, you haven¡¯t heard before that the best time to eat ice cream is... ALWAYS!" She beamed while taking a bite off of the chocte scoop at the top of her cone.

    "What I mean is, it¡¯s already cold enough outside, do you have to eat such cold snack as well?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know when he adopted the habit of talking this much but apparently, he always enjoyed bickering with Ru over these small and insignificant matters.

    "What cold weather? It¡¯s never too cold for ice cream. You can only have the real taste of ice cream in winter. Eating ice cream in summer is such an ordinary thing. That¡¯s why I love ice cream in winter and hot chocte in summers." Listening to her, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but smile. As always, she again managed to make him feel amused. "Also, spring is right around the corner. Let¡¯s not fuss over my ice cream."

    She again turned to leave but Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice made her stop walking. "Where did you take Yuan?"

    Ru scratched her head sheepishly before saying, "It¡¯s top secret. I can¡¯t tell you." She didn¡¯t know how he¡¯ll react and she wasn¡¯t in the mood to be told that she did something wrong.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her reply. "So, did you show my brother how to fall?" He asked taking a moment.

    Ru smiled back at him and said, "Apparently, I can¡¯t bring myself to push him down. Rather than teaching him how to rise after falling down. I¡¯d teach him how to fly. As for falling down, I¡¯ll make sure nobody gets the chance to do that with him." Although she said thest sentence in a low voice, Xiao Zhi Ren still managed to catch her words.

    Before leaving, Ru left a few words behind for Xiao Zhi Ren, "I know you¡¯re trying to be perfect for the sake of your brother. Try not to disappoint him as a person since it¡¯d be a painful lesson for him."

 Chapter 60 Story Of The Darkest Hour

    Tossing and turning on the hardwood floor, Ru finally gave up on sleep. The one thing that seemed to have been a constant in her life was this insomnia that didn¡¯t let her sleep.

    Giving up on her sleep, Ru changed into a tracksuit and left her condo. She went to the running track in the park to vent out her pent up frustration. Lack of sleep often left people with a bad mood and she was no different except for the part that she always hid her turbulent state of mind with ease.

    She spent hours running on the track just to tire herself out. But her stamina was way better than even a professional runner. Because she was a martial artist, there was no way a bit of running could wear her down.

    As the dawn approached, Ru decided to give up on this endless cycle of running and went back to her ce. Right when she was about to enter the passcode, her eyes fell on a parcel that was ced before her door.

    Taking the parcel with herself, Ru went inside the condo. She took off her shoes and walked towards the sitting area barefoot. As she tore open the parcel, to her surprise, she found three books inside along with a sticky note that read: Have a happy time learning something new.

    She pressed her lips together and looked at the titles of the book. She noticed that each book was published in a different country.

    Although there was no name on that note, Ru could still tell who sent these books. There was a warm feeling in her heart as her lips curled upward.

    She spent that day thinking about the parcel. Even when Wu Dishi was showing her the new design models for their uing project, she wasn¡¯t listening.

    In the evening, she stood right outside the apartment no 101 and kept hesitating. There were two choices in her mind; either to just forget about it or to say thank you for the gift she received. She was rather reluctant because of thetter. Since life gave her plenty of opportunities to say sorry but the same life didn¡¯t really give her a reason to say thank you.

    In her heart, she knew that if she knocked on this door today for the sale of gratitude, she¡¯d be involving herself in something undo-able. And she¡¯d lying if she said she wasn¡¯t scared of getting attached again. Even if it was friendship, she had lost her faith in it. Because in the end, people would always choose the one they love rather the one they called a friend.

    But as she learned to always go with the choice that scared her, she eventually knocked on the door. In her opinion the scariest one¡¯s choice would be, the better that decision would turn out to be.

    Within minutes, the door was pulled open and Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s damp hair came in her view. He lifted his eyes and immediately frowned to find Ru at the door.

    "Rong? What brought you here?" His mellow voice broke her gaze from his raven colored hair that was a precise match with his eyes.

    "Ahem... Zhi, have you heard that the darkest houres right before the dawn?" Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t fathom where this conversation was heading but he chose not to fathom as well because of the peculiar nature of the person before him. He simply chose to nod his head. "I once heard a joke that if you want to steal your neighbor¡¯s milk and newspaper, that¡¯s the right time to do it. Heh heh!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her not so humorous joke and asked, "So, did you steal the milk?"

    "Huh?" Ru quirked her brows at his question and shook her head saying, "I¡¯d been many things in my life but I¡¯d never been a thief. That¡¯s against my principles." After speaking righteously, she suddenly noticed something as she asked, "Hey, why didn¡¯t you ask for the newspaper?"

    "Because you¡¯d rather drink milk than to read some boring current affairs." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a shrug of his shoulder and Ru was a bit surprised that he actually could see through her now. But obviously, she wasn¡¯t embarrassed at all.

    "Anyway, that was not what I came here for, " she took a pause to look straight into his eyes and continued, "I believe you chose that darkest hour to drop a parcel at my door."

    "How did you figure that it was me?" He wasn¡¯t really surprised that she learned about it.

    "Because of the note. I only told you that I love learning about new things but I don¡¯t buy books myself." Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Are you here to confront me or something?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "No... Not at all." Ru shook her head and wiggled her nose a bit before she crouched down and picked up a pot that she had ced beside his door. "I don¡¯t really know how to say thank you but I recently learned that it shouldn¡¯t be done empty handed. So, I brought this for you."

    Xiao Zhi Ren took the pot from her and eyed it in a weird way as he said, "So, you brought me spring onions?" Yes! That¡¯s exactly the thing nted in that small pot.

    "Correction... It¡¯s fresh spring onions. Whenever you want they¡¯d be right there for you. Just cut that green part and you are good to go." Ru even pointed at the green part to let him know. "I took care of them for the past 6 months. You better be nice to them."

    How exactly was one supposed to be nice to spring onions? That was what Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to ask but he noticed that she gave him this with sincere feelings. Also, it was one of the most practical gifts he hade across in his life.

    "Rong, there is really no need for this." Xiao Zhi Ren only left those books because he thought that a person like her would definitely love to read something meaningful. He never really thought he¡¯d be the one receiving a thank you gift.

    "You don¡¯t like the gift?" Ru asked with a solemn face. She didn¡¯t think buying him something expensive would be any useful after all he was a billionaire himself.

    "I like the gift," answered Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Okay, then I¡¯ll take my leave now." She turned, intending to leave.

    "Stop!" Ru looked back at Xiao Zhi Ren and raised her brow inquiringly. "I¡¯m about to make dinner. Stay for the meal."

    "Nah... I¡¯m okay." Xiao Zhi Ren was taken aback by her answer.

    He lifted his hand and ced it against her forehead as if checking her temperature. Ru swatted his hand away with a scowl. "What are you doing?"

    "I was checking if you¡¯re fine... I mean how can Rong say no to food?" Ru¡¯s mouth twitched as she heard him teasing her like this. "Have you been switched with your evil clone?" Seeing him being dramatic was quite new for Ru.

    "Ha ha ha..." She gave a dryugh and rolled her eyes, "That was not funny. Also, I do love food but I don¡¯t like being a burden to someone."

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled, held her wrist and pulled her inside the apartment saying, "It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to cook specifically for you. If you still think you¡¯d be a burden just help me in the kitchen."

    Ru looked at his hand holding her wrist feeling a strange sensation making its way up to her heart. ¡¯When was thest time someone held my hand?¡¯ She didn¡¯t have the answer for herself. She shook her head and thought about his suggestion. She could help in the kitchen in exchange for food. That was a good deal. "Okay!" She dly agreed.

 Chapter 61 If You Are The One

    Even after entering the apartment, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t let her wrist go and she had to remind him, "I¡¯m not nning on running away. Ergo, you can let my hand go now." If she wanted to run away, who would dare stop her?

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked down at his own hand wrapped around her wrist which seemed willowy to him. He let her hand drop to her side rather reluctantly and said, "Sorry! I didn¡¯t realize it that I was still holding your hand."

    "Heh? How can someone forget they are holding something?" Ru grumbled to herself with a confounded look.

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her query and said, "Perhaps, I forgot because I don¡¯t like the cold feeling which a warm hand leaves behind." Ru gave him a baffled look and her adorable expression made him lift his rugged hand to tousle her fluffy hair. "Letting go of a hand gives me the feeling that someone is leaving me behind."

    "So, are you still looking for that hand?" Ru asked with a quirk of her brow as she felt curious.

    "Which hand?" asked Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "The one which slipped away from your hand... Because I¡¯m sure someone must have slipped away from your hand to leave that kind of feeling behind." She tapped her chin with her index finger and added, "Almost like PTSD. Your mind subconsciously is looking for that hand."

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know how but she had managed to guess his emotions precisely as if she had seen it herself. He really was looking for that hand which slipped away from his grip. And the freezing void that hand left behind was still unbearable for him. Oddly, when he held Ru¡¯s wrist earlier, he felt his own body rxing as if it had found what it had been yearning for.

    "So, shall we begin?" Ru broke his reverie as she gestured towards his kitchen. Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and went straight towards the open kitchen. "What are we making?" She asked looking around at the kitchen which seemed exactly like it did the first time she was there; sophisticated and well-managed.

    After Xiao Zhi Ren told her about the three dishes they were going to make, she couldn¡¯t help but say, "Can I add chicken and tomato spiced curry? It¡¯ll go perfectly well with rice." Her eyes gleamed as her mouth had watered at the thought of eating this curry and she even licked her lips as if she could taste it right now.

    "If you¡¯re the one making it then why not?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reply made her frown a bit but it eased up after she thought for a second.

    "Okay..." He was surprised that she had readily agreed but what he didn¡¯t know was that she wasn¡¯t just fond of eating, she was fond of food as a whole; cooking and eatingbined. She had been avoiding cooking for a while now since it was rather odd to cook for just one person. Or perhaps, it was pitiful. She always liked to feed people and since now, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her the chance, she¡¯d dly make the curry because she won¡¯t be the only one enjoying it.

    Both of them wore the apron and got busy with their own thing. Ru was focused on cutting the ingredients for him which she did efficiently. Even Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but praise her knife skills.

    Both of them didn¡¯t notice when Xiao Zhi Yuan hade back home and was leaning leisurely against the ss partition to watch the harmonious scene in the kitchen. He felt strange seeing both Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru working in sync with each other.

    "Did you start reading the books?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked while she was stirring her curry in the pot.

    "I read all of them." She answered inly.

    "You read them in a day?" He was surprised to know that.

    "Yup... They were interesting. So, I had to finish them in one go."

    "Tell me what did you find interesting in them?" He inquired turning to face her this time.

    "Haven¡¯t you read the books yourself?" Ru asked him instead of answering him.

    "I have read the books but I still want to hear your opinion."

    Ru found his answer reasonable and answered, "From the first book, I learned that we as human have no right to abhor our past since we are the ones living in the present where shadows of our past are lurking around. If we had forsaken our past, we wouldn¡¯t be living in agony but if we really had forsaken our past, we wouldn¡¯t be where we are or who we are."

    Xiao Zhi Ren already knew that her view of seeing a book would be different than his own. And he was d he actually gave her the books. Her nature was different and it allowed her to see everything differently.

    "As for the second book, I learned that when time starts to slip away from our hand like sand through our fingers that¡¯s when we realize that it was worthless to hide our pain behind a mask of calmness." The more Ru spoke, the more Xiao Zhi Ren questioned himself whether they had read the same book or not? "Oh, by the way, where is my little squirrel?"

    Before Xiao Zhi Ren could answer, both of them heard Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "Right here, seemingly forgotten and ignored." Ru titled her head to look at him and smiled sincerely.

    "Since when were you standing there?" Both of them asked simultaneously and took a moment to re at each other. "You should have made a sound." Again they said simultaneously and huffed at each other.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan chuckled at them and said, "I have been here long enough. Anyway, I just didn¡¯t want to disturb you both." He came close to the kitchen counter and inhaled deeply taking in the delicious aromas lingering around in the air. "What did you make? Why is it making me drool?" He tried to open the lid from the pot but his hand was swatted away by Ru.

    "Change your uniform. Otherwise no food for you!" Seeing her acting all bossy, Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind at all and happily went to his room. She turned to look at Xiao Zhi Ren giving her strange looks and asked, "What?"

    "Nothing..." He shook his head and added, "Let¡¯s wrap up here." Ru nodded her head and hastily cleaned up the counter before serving the food.

 Chapter 62 For The Sake Of Promises

    Ru felt that she had grownfortable in the presence of Xiao brothers. The dinner was a joyous affair. And even after she left their ce, there was a smile stered on her face. It wasn¡¯t like her usual smile which always held a touch ofnguidness and aloofness. This smile was different. It was genuine.

    But as she looked at her own dim reflection through the ss walls, her smile stiffened up. She lifted her hands to touch her own face as if making sure that the smiling face was her own.

    She couldn¡¯t understand why but she wasn¡¯t able to look away. The face smiling back at her was captivating and enthralling. She tilted her head a bit and continued to stare at her own thin lips curled up in a beautiful smile. The glint in her beautiful eyes was akin to sunshine that could leave anyone with a sunburn.

    She had to p her face twice to get back her solemn face. "Ah, this young master has such charms that he even himself gets mesmerized by them. How unfair to the world!" As her usual self, she joked in order to get back herposure.

    But it didn¡¯t really help... She was sure that she wasfortable with Yuan because he reminded her of her little rice cake back home. But...

    The question was... Why was she so insouciant and congenial around Xiao Zhi Ren?

    She promised herself not to make friends. People didn¡¯t value friendship in this era. And yet, was she really amalgamating the fringe between ¡¯just acquaintances¡¯ and ¡¯friendship¡¯? Because if she was, she really was getting herself into deep trouble all over again.

    After taking a warm shower, she didn¡¯t bother drying her wet hair and went to the terrace through the french windows in her bedroom. The terrace was beautifully aligned with pots of flowers and bonsai maple trees in various colors. Other than those beautiful pots, there was only a wicker swing Egg chair on the terrace.

    Ru sat down in the chair absentmindedly and stared out at the dark night illuminated by skyscrapers. A person like her who grew up in the mountains never got used to the bustling cities that never slept. She didn¡¯t like the artificial lights that made it difficult to get a glimpse of that starsden sky.

    Often in the dark of night, she had a habit to whisper, "Ru, are you depressed?" As she asked that question in the void, she answered it herself, "No... I¡¯m not sad at all... Not really." Since she had no one to ask, she would do it herself.

    Leaning in her chair, she whispered again, "Are you happy with where you are?"

    She gave a bitter smile to herself before saying, "I¡¯m not exactly happy either. Even with my insomniac nature, I manage to smile andugh. I can even make the most horrible jokes in the day. But..." She took a brief pause to look upward at the sky filled with smog and added, "As I stay alone at night like right now, I forget how to feel. I forget whether I have any feeling within me or not? Or perhaps I really have turned into a barbarian."

    She had plenty of monologues sessions with herself. Because she was the only one who would dare ask herself how she feels. Maybe, sleep wasn¡¯t nning on showing tantrums tonight since she didn¡¯t even realize when the sleep actually knocked her out.

    ["You have a pretty smile," she heard a refined voice from right beside her but when she looked up, the person was engulfed in the darkness that surrounded her. "But it¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s a fake one." Her heart shook a bit at his words.

    She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, not knowing how to respond. So, she said, "It¡¯s easier for me to fake this smile. I didn¡¯t learn to show my tears."

    "You don¡¯t want to give people the satisfaction that they managed to tear you down. Is that why you¡¯re hiding a million problems behind that one fake smile?" Her heart was startled again as those words¡¯ attack was straight to her heart.

    She sniggered softly before saying, "I smile just to let the world know that I am here and I am still strong as I had been."

    She felt the warmth of a big hand on her shoulder as she heard that masculine voice again,

    "The first time I saw her smile

    I knew,

    fervent trouble was brewing inside

    There was nothing more beautiful

    then the smile on her lips

    and the glint in her eyes

    Nheless,

    I saw those tears that welled up in her eyes

    She didn¡¯t let the tears fall

    Just to keep that drowning girl¡¯s pride

    Or perhaps,

    To hide the fact that her smile was just...

    Another Disguise."]

    Ru felt a splitting headache as she was jolted awake from the dream. Cold sweat had drenched her clothes. With heavy breathing, she looked around to see that the sun had already risen up long ago. Ru frowned to see the sun¡¯s zing light shining on her face. ¡¯Did I slept through the whole night?¡¯ She wondered to herself. ¡¯How did that happen?¡¯

    It was a mystery to her how she managed to sleep through the night since even with her own personalized sleeping medication, she was only able to sleep for a couple of hours. She couldn¡¯t even remember when was thest time she actually slept for this long. Perhaps never?

    She shook her head and went inside to take a shower with a new conviction in her heart. ¡¯No matter what, stay away from Xiao Zhi Ren! He¡¯s bad news!¡¯ That voice in her dream had made her conviction stronger. She felt like she was confusing the person in her memory with Xiao Zhi Ren just because both had a mellow and charismatic voice which was distinct from the rest.

    However, she wasn¡¯t the only one being haunted by her memories.

    The first thing that Xiao Zhi Ren did in the morning was to open his hidden drawer and rummage out a beautifully carved pendant encrusted with pure green jade and blood-red rubies. There was a single character engraved on the pendant in Cantonese; ¡¯Yu¡¯.

    Xiao Zhi Ren sighed heavily as he stared at that pendant in his hand as if he could see the owner of this pendant right before his eyes.

    "One day, you might not find me here," she had said to him back then.

    "Where would you go? To seek your revenge?" He had asked her gazing at her frail body.

    He heard her scoff lightly as she said, "I might look like it but I really don¡¯t live my life for the sake of revenge." He saw her tracing a pattern on her palm with her index finger as she went on, "Only shallow people will burn their lives with the desire to take revenge."

    He gazed at her sleek ck hair that fell to her mid-back. "Will I see you again?" In his heart, he knew he won¡¯t be able to stop her. So, he chose the second best option he could think of.

    "You saved my life. And I¡¯m not a thankless person. I give you my word that I¡¯lle to look for you." Xiao Zhi Ren felt at ease at those words.

    "You have to keep this promise," he emphasized on his words to make sure that she remembers.

    He saw her lips turning a bit into an arc as she said, "Until today, I¡¯d lived my life aimlessly. Now, I might live this life for the sake of promises I have to keep."

    Coming back from his reverie, Xiao Zhi Ren felt a tear trickling down his face. He wiped it away and said to no one in particr, "I know you¡¯ll keep your promise but can¡¯t youe sooner? I¡¯m really tired of walking alone..."

    He kept tracing that character on the pendant gently. But little did our Xiao Zhi Ren knew that ¡¯Yu¡¯ in Cantonese was actually ¡¯Ru¡¯ in Pinyin. And the person with the character ¡¯Ru¡¯ was actually right beside him. But it wasn¡¯t like he could make the connection since the one he was waiting for was a girl and the one beside him was a ¡¯man¡¯.

 Chapter 63 My Uncle

    "Be quick and tell me all the thirty-six stratagems of Sun Tzu," Ru propped her face on the palm of her hand as she instructed Xiao Zhi Yuan.

    Both of them were in the Central Imperial Library which Ru chose as their study spot since she had been avoiding Xiao Zhi Ren for a week now. She had even been staying in her Medicine Hall in the mountains just to avoid Xiao Zhi Ren. If she hadn¡¯t promised Xiao Zhi Yuan to help him with his entrance exam, she would have already jilted him.

    But in the end, she was a man of her words!

    Oh, wait! That oddly didn¡¯t sound right...

    Perhaps, she was a woman of her words?

    Was she really a woman? She literally was questioning herself.

    But it wasn¡¯t her fault at all that she was even forced to question her own gender. She was born with the body of a female. Raised with the mentality of a male. Her gender was really a confusing matter for her.

    "All thirty-six?" Xiao Zhi Yuan asked just to make sure that he heard right.

    Ru thought for a second before saying, "Let¡¯s start with stratagems for desperate situations."

    "Okay." Xiao Zhi Yuan made an okay sign with his hand and put his pen on the wooden table. After that, he started describing each of the stratagems with ease and finished with a smile saying, "Last two are my favorite. ¡¯Beauty Trap¡¯[1] and ¡¯If all else fails, Escape is the best¡¯[2]."

    Ru nodded her head in appreciation and patted his head like he was a pet. "At this rate, my little squirrel will definitely top the Entrance Exam." Hearing words of eulogizing from her, Xiao Zhi Yuan felt splendid inwardly.

    "Woah! I didn¡¯t know that Yuan can actually smile like that." At this remark, both Ru and Xiao Zhi Yuan turned their head to see Ji Caihong walking towards them.

    "Oh, look!" Ru gave her a surprised expression as she pointed at Ji Caihong¡¯s face saying, "That¡¯s the girl who shares the same name as my first pet."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a bit at Ru¡¯s way of acknowledging Ji Caihong while she stood with a scrunched up face. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Xie!" Ji Caihong grumbled and took a seat right opposite both of them at the same table.

    "Can you not call me Mr. Xie? I built an empire just so that people address me as Chairman Xie. Don¡¯t insult me by calling me, Mr. Xie." Ru told Ji Caihong with a weary look.

    "Should I also call you Chairman Xie?" Ji Caihong asked a bit uncertainly.

    "Umm... No!" Ru answered her inly.

    "Hmm..." Ji Caihong tapped her chin thoughtfully before saying, "How about Rong Brother?"

    "Rong Brother... Rong Brother..." Ru again rolled the name on her tongue before her eyes lit up. "I like the taste of that."

    "Huh? Taste? I think you meant to say you liked the sound of that."

    Ru shook her head and cleared up, "I exactly meant what I just said. More than the sound of it, I like the way ¡¯Rong Brother¡¯ rolls of my tongue. It seems smooth and tasteful."

    After staring intently at Ru¡¯s face, Ji Caihong could onlyment, "You¡¯re weird."

    "That I already know." Ru retorted impassively and shifted her attention back to Xiao Zhi Yuan. "Little squirrel, let¡¯s test you next week. Your Entrance exam is only a month away. So, I¡¯lle up with some sample question paper for you to solve."

    "I won¡¯t disappoint you!" Xiao Zhi Yuan answered resolutely.

    "Little brother, I brought this for you." Seeing that they were done, Ji Caihong pushed a lunch box towards Xiao Zhi Yuan with a radiant smile on her face.

    "I told you, I¡¯m not your brother!" Xiao Zhi Yuan snapped at her with a re but it didn¡¯t have the same effect as it used to do. He¡¯s been softening up a bittely especially since Ji Caihong always showed up with homemade delicacies for him. Although he still tried to shun her, it was obvious that he wasn¡¯tpletely against the idea of having a sister as he used to.

    "Looks like you both are still on the phase of ¡¯I¡¯m not your brother¡¯." Ru mimicked Xiao Zhi Yuan as she air-quoted his words.

    Ji Caihong giggled at her remark while Xiao Zhi Yuan gave her a disbelieving look. "Oniisan!" He raised his voice but Ru shrugged her shoulders not paying any heed to his childish tantrum.

    Ru shot up from the chair to take a seat on the table and leaned over to Ji Caihong¡¯s side as she whispered, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll soon get to the phase of ¡¯She¡¯s my sister!¡¯" Ji Caihong felt reassured by just the way Ru said it to her.

    "What did you say to her?" Xiao Zhi Yuan gave Ru a skeptical look.

    "Nothing... I just said that since you¡¯re not gonna take her in as a sister even when she¡¯s bringing you delicious food than she should try her luck on me. This young master would dly be her brother for the sake of food." Saying this, she even pulled the lunch box from Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s side towards herself but Xiao Zhi Yuan immediately stopped her.

    "That¡¯s mine." He argued with a pout.

    "Aiyoh! If you don¡¯t want the sister, why do you want her food? Be nice little squirrel! Just let me eat it." Ru again tried to take the lunch box but Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t let it go at all.

    Ji Caihong could see his reluctance and she realized that Ru was actually tricking him with reverse psychology. The more Ru asked him to let go, the more he wanted to hold on now.

    From their noises, the librarian had toe over to shush them. "Let¡¯s go out. I don¡¯t like that grumpydy." Ru whispered in a low voice as she red at the back of the grumpy librarian.

    The three of them were silently making their way out of the library when they came across Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s ssmate, Zhang Han. The same teenager who had punched Xiao Zhi Yuan. Zhang Han looked at Xiao Zhi Yuan and then shifted his eyes towards Ji Caihong to see her throwing daggers at him. He reflexively gulped.

    "Great Aunt, I have already apologized to him on my knees... Can¡¯t you stop giving me such dirty looks?" Zhang Han was talking to Ji Caihong. Seeing the way, she gave him a cold shoulder Zhang Han was left in a dilemma. He turned to Xiao Zhi Yuan and said, "Can¡¯t you tell her that I apologized already? Because of her, I have already lost my credit cards, my cars, and my other privileges. Including my chance to go backpacking tour to Europe." He really looked aggrieved and it made Xiao Zhi Yuan give Ji Caihong a strange look.

    He was trying to discern what kind of a rtionship they shared for Ji Caihong even managed to give him so much grief?

    Seeing that Xiao Zhi Yuan was still quiet, Zhang Han again urged him, "Would you say something?"

    "Ha? Oh... He really apologized and we are actually good friends now." Xiao Zhi Yuan exined to Ji Caihong.

    "You made a friend and that¡¯s actually the person who dared to punch you?" Ru asked from the side incredulously. It was ironic for her to question him since she was the person who was keeping the girl who tried to kill her right by her side. But obviously, she didn¡¯t consider that fact at all.

    "He did it because he was jealous thinking that I had something going on with Shen Yue." Xiao Zhi Yuan tried to exin Zhang Han¡¯s reason righteously making Ru shake her head at him.

    Ru prodded his head and said, "My little squirrel, you¡¯re really slow-witted if it took you such a long time to figure out that the fight was over a girl."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan scowled feeling wronged for being called slow-witted.

    While Ru was trying to knock some sense into his brain, Zhang Han moved closer to Ji Caihong and whispered, "Aunt... My best and dearest aunt... Can¡¯t you ask mom to let me go on that backpacking trip? Please! I beg you!" He implored with a puppy dog eyes.

    "It¡¯s not up to me... You should have thought of the consequences before you dared to raise your fist." Ji Caihong knocked on his head as she went on, "This is all because of your bad temper."

    "Excuse me! Do you mind me asking why is this teenager addressing you as ¡¯Aunt¡¯?" Ru tried not to probe but she couldn¡¯t help herself. She was intrigued by the way he addressed her as ¡¯aunt¡¯.

    "Rong Brother! This is Zhang Han... He¡¯s my nephew." At Ji Caihong¡¯s words, Ru choked on air. She darted her eyes between both Ji Caihong and Zhang Han. If one didn¡¯t know that Ji Caihong was twenty-six, they¡¯d definitely mistake her to be a teenager as well. Then she turned her gaze towards Xiao Zhi Yuan and grinned.

    "That means, my little squirrel is actually his ¡¯Uncle¡¯?" Ru chuckled softly while Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi Yuan stiffened up.

    "How is he, my uncle?" Zhang Han pointed at Xiao Zhi Yuan with a wary look. He really didn¡¯t understand how a minute ago Xiao Zhi Yuan was his ssmate and now, he was his ¡¯Uncle¡¯?

    "He¡¯s the youngest of our family. That makes him your uncle rightfully." Ji Caihong answered Zhang Han with a sly smile on her face. Zhang Han stared at Xiao Zhi Yuan with disbelief etched on his face.

    [1] & [2]: Both are popr stratagems by Sun Tzu

 Chapter 64 Bad News

    ¡¯Youngest of our family?¡¯ These words fell like lightning on Zhang Han who couldn¡¯t believe his own ears. ¡¯My mind must be ying tricks on me...¡¯ He thought as he looked at Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s face whose facial expressions weren¡¯t much different from his own.

    "Oi! I¡¯m not even epting you as my sister. Doesn¡¯t that mean that I have no interest in your family as well? Stop spouting nonsense!" Xiao Zhi Yuan snapped at Ji Caihong making Zhang Han look at him with a new found admiration.

    ¡¯Aiyah, either this ssmate of mine is really amazing or perhaps, really dumb. These are the only possibilities since he dared to be peevish with the only princess of Ji Family.¡¯ Zhang Han was wondering to himself while Ji Caihong felt downcast.

    On the side, Ru appeared rather bored but in reality, she was really amused by them. But as she saw Ji Caihong losing her earlier cheery persona, she said, "Just because you don¡¯t want to call her your sister, the fact that she and you both share the same blood won¡¯t change."

    Looking at her impassive manner, Xiao Zhi Yuan gaped at her and said, "Oniisan! Whose side are you on?"

    Ru lifted her gaze and gave him a cheeky smile saying, "Little squirrel, I don¡¯t take sides."

    Before Xiao Zhi Yuan could retort, Zhang Han came between them and eximed, "Wait! Wait! Wait!" He shifted his gaze back to Ji Caihong and asked bemusedly, "Mind exining to me first how he became my Uncle?"

    "Oh, oh, oh... I also want to know how this teenager turned into my little squirrel¡¯s nephew?" Ru also chimed in with excitement visible on her face.

    Although Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t show it on his face, he was also piqued to know about this. ording to his understanding, his grandparents only had one son and that was his own father, Ji Yifeng. Then how did Zhang Han became their direct rtive?

    "It¡¯s actually very simple... Since our grandparents always wanted a daughter, they adopted Zhang Han¡¯s grandmother from the side branch of the family." Ji Caihong chose to answer Ru first. Then she turned to Zhang Han and said, "Little Han, what do you call Syao Ran Brother?"

    "I call him, the second uncle." Zhang Han answered inly.

    "Exactly, you call Syao Ran Brother second uncle but you have never met your first uncle, have you?" Zhang Han shook his head in negation. "Well, I¡¯m not sure when you¡¯ll meet your first uncle but meet your third uncle," she even pointed at Xiao Zhi Yuan as she said that. "He¡¯s my youngest brother."

    First, Zhang Han gasped. Slowly, his expression turned from shock to realization and he cursed. "Oh boy! I¡¯m so dead now!" Realizing that he had not justmitted a crime but rather a sin by punching Xiao Zhi Yuan, Zhang Han really wanted to look for a hole to hide.

    Trying to digest the news that his ¡¯third uncle¡¯ was his ssmate, Zhang Han whirled his body to walk away but to his dismay, a tenacious foot came to trip him and losing his momentum, Zhang Han fell face t on the ground. "Ouch!" He tilted his head to re at Ru.

    "Sorry, my foot really doesn¡¯t listen to me these days." Obviously, she wasn¡¯t apologetic at all. But she still bent her waist and offered her hand as a support to Zhang Han since the other two siblings were busy in chuckling at his misery. As she pulled him up, her face went close to his ear and she whispered, "This was just a reminder that my little squirrel might be magnanimous, but I certainly am not!"

    There was a chilly aura that seemed to have prated through Zhang Han¡¯s senses. Ru offered him a tissue and said, "Your nose is bleeding." Only at her reminder, Zhang Han felt a sudden pain in his face and took the tissue to wipe the blood.

    "Oniisan! Why did you do it? I told you that I forgave him." Xiao Zhi Yuan wasn¡¯tining but he didn¡¯t want Ru to avenge him.

    "I only did this to give a knock on his consciousness," Ru replied nonchntly. "You young boys need to learn not to fight. Especially over some girl. This is why I always say that girls are bad news."

    Ji Caihong: "..."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan: "..."

    Zhang Han: "..."

    But these three weren¡¯t the only ones who were dumbfounded. A fourth person who had just been walking up to their side was also left bbergasted. Xiao Zhi Ren stared at Ru¡¯s face from the side and didn¡¯t make his presence known as he stood rooted withplicated thoughts running in his mind.

    "As I had expected, Rong brother is surely peculiar." Ji Caihong remarked with a sigh.

    "You¡¯re weird!" Zhang Han grumbled as he stared at Ru¡¯s strikingly handsome face. His first impression of Ru was that the young ¡¯man¡¯ had a rebellious aura with sinfully stunning looks. But now, he figured that Ru wasn¡¯t as simple as he thought earlier.

    "Thanks for thepliment," Ru didn¡¯t really mind his words.

    "Err... That was not apliment." Xiao Zhi Yuan reminded her.

    Ru patted his shoulder saying, "Little squirrel, either he mentions my good traits or bad, both are still my traits. Therefore, I¡¯ll still take it as apliment." Saying that she winked at him yfully and turned to leave. "Don¡¯t forget to study..." She took a pause before adding mischievously, "Uncle squirrel!" That was herst reminder to Xiao Zhi Yuan as she left him at the steps of the library.

    A certain little squirrel was left livid while Ji Caihong and Zhang Han stifled theirughter, trying hard not to irk him more than this.

    Ru had yet to leave the library grounds when she felt dizzy all of a sudden. She shook her head but the world seemed to have blurred for her. Taking a deep breath, with her staggering feet, she went under the shade of a tree and perched down on the grass.

    She was kneading her templed with her knuckles when she felt someone sitting beside her and she heard a familiar voice, "Here, have some water." A water bottle was shoved into her hand. Ru pulled out a pill from her pocket and took it with the water.

    When her mind cleared up, she stared wide-eyed at Xiao Zhi Ren curiously observing her face. She felt a bit ufortable as she asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and said, "Nothing... Are you feeling okay?"

    At this question, Ru didn¡¯t answer instantly like she always did. Instead, she went into deep thought as she couldn¡¯t decide why he asked this question. "I¡¯m fine." She tried to answer with as muchposure as she could muster up.

    "That was such an honest lie." At his remark, Ru was left dumbstruck. "But I won¡¯t push you for you the truth either. As your friend, I¡¯ll be understanding." For Xiao Zhi Ren, they were past the stage of acquaintances long ago. Since the way they always bickered was a clear indication that they were now friends. But Ru didn¡¯t share his sentiments at all.

    "When did we be friends?" Her tone turned a bit hostile and yet Xiao Zhi Ren could feel the torment of her heart. "Let me make one thing clear, we can never be friends."

    "Why not?" His voice was still calm and collected without any hint of him being irked.

    Ru stood up to leave when she said, "Because I don¡¯t believe in friendship. What¡¯s the use of taking a bullet for the sake of friendship and then learning that the same person has forgotten all about you?" She couldn¡¯t forget how she was forgotten by the one friend whom she always kept on the highest pedestal in her life.

    ¡¯Ah, so there is actually something that can make you act like a normal person.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself since it might be the first time he had seen a few real emotions in Ru. "Rong, wait!" He called out from behind and ran after her. After catching up with her, he pushed a paper bag towards her. "I brought some pan-fried buns for you."

    Ru was pleasantly surprised as she raised her brows in question, "For me? Are you sure?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her reaction and replied, "Yes, for you. Yuan told me that you¡¯d meet him at the library. So, I thought to bring you something to eat and since you enjoy street food the most, I picked these up on my way."

    Ru didn¡¯t dwell into his thoughtful gesture but she couldn¡¯t possibly say no to food. That was a sin in her eyes! She took the bag from his hand and inly showed her gratitude. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled but didn¡¯t say anything as he watched her taking a bite of the bun. The grease flowed down from the sides of her face and she stuck out her tongue to lick it. Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and asked, "Do you have some kind of animosity with girls?"

    "Huh?" Ru frowned in confusion at his sudden question.

    "Earlier, I heard you say that girls are bad news." He exined a bit.

    "Oh... I have nothing against them in particr. I was just advising them not to let their judgment be clouded by a girl." Ru didn¡¯t say anything further and he didn¡¯t ask anything else as well.

    Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t understand why she was so against friendship but he didn¡¯t want to probe unnecessarily as well.

    "Seems like some girl broke your heart," Xiao Zhi Renmented gingerly but it struck Ru at her deepest wounds.

    "I don¡¯t think a girl can ever break my heart..." ¡¯Since I¡¯m a girl myself, no matter how much I deny it¡¯ Taking a deep breath, she added, "But that girl surely broke my friendship."

    Herst sentence cleared up everything for Xiao Zhi Ren. ¡¯A girl came between him and his friend. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so against the idea of friendship.¡¯ As the realization dawned on him, he silently apanied Ru as they both went towards the parking lot side-by-side.

 Chapter 65 Fight To Kill

    ["We need to get out of here before someone notices your absence," she heard a faintly familiar voice and found herself nodding. "Follow me." She silently trailed behind that person whose voice gave her reassurance. She could feel a sense of dependence and trust in her heart.

    As she came out from the dark pathways, there was a fresh and earthy scent in the air. Everything around her seemed hazy to her and yet she could sense everything more clearly. The scent in the air gave away the fact that it had been raining for a while now. With heavy steps, she followed that person with a broad back into the depth of the forest.

    Suddenly, the scene changed and she found herself standing at the mountain top. Her feet were bare yet again but she was standing on a small patch of wild grass. "Four! They are about to catch up with us. If they got here, their aim would be to kill you. Yours should be the same. Don¡¯t just fight... You have to kill if you want to survive." Hearing that suggestion her mind wandered off to a distant memory.

    ¡¯Young master Ru, you¡¯re allowed to fight but don¡¯t try to take someone¡¯s life. Death is not yours to y with.¡¯ The voice of her grandfather rang in her mind but she had to shake it away.

    Whoever had spoken before was right. She had to kill if she wanted to live. Someone has to die for her to live. Thinking this, she picked up a wooden stick from the ground and stopped running. She aimed her each blow straight to kill without mercy. She could feel a sense of hatred and buried anger within her body.

    While her nimble body was moving at lightning speed, her eyes fell on a sleek gun pointed towards the man who had that sturdy back she seemed to have faith in. Without thinking, she jumped before him and pulled him away but in the process, the bullet grazed her arm.

    "Stop thinking about me... Save your own life!" She heard him whisper yell at her as he pushed her aside urging her to run. But she couldn¡¯t move her feet from the hard-baked ground.

    In her dilemma, the nightmare of her life began as something mmed against the back of her head... With a dizzy mind, she strived to stay tall.

    "Ge Ge, you¡¯re right! If we¡¯ll give her way to escape, Madam won¡¯t be upset with us for killing her." Hearing these words, she lifted her eyes to look at the man whose face was still shrouded in a haze.

    ¡¯He nned all this? But I trusted him...¡¯ She thought to herself and staring back at him, she asked in a hoarse voice, "Why?"

    "You¡¯re a monster." She heard his reply in that familiar and yet so unfamiliar voice. This time she was sure there was a tinge of ache behind that loathness and hostility.

    Before she got a chance to perceive anything else, her head was mmed against a boulder and a shrieking voice pierced her ears. The girl with that shrieking voice pulled her hair and made her stand up as she whispered close to her ear, "Didn¡¯t I tell you that you¡¯re nothing to him? In the end, he¡¯s the one who brought you to this state. All because the things I can offer are nothing before you!" Before she could even scoff at that voice, a ¡¯bang¡¯ sound resounded and she felt a bullet piercing through her chest.

    She stared at that man in a haze with disbelief as her knees buckled. But with her blurry sight, she had seen his hand trembling as he dropped the gun in his hand. ¡¯I might have to take desperate measures to take you out of here.¡¯ His voice rang in her mind again and she let her body fall lifelessly.

    "Four, I know you¡¯re strong. Just hold on for a while. I¡¯lle back for you!" In her half-dead state, she could only perceive the anxiousness of these words and nothing else.]

    "Master?" Seeing beads of perspiration trickling down her face, Adia tried to call out to Ru.

    Ru opened her eyes with a start and looked around only to find herself in the backseat of a Bentley. A water bottle appeared before her green eyes and she tilted her head to give Adia a questioning gaze. Adia didn¡¯t say anything and lowered her head. Ru took the bottle of water and leaned her head against the window pane.

    As she gazed out absentmindedly, her mind wandered off. The nightmare was the same but this time around, each emotion struck her like lightning. She even managed to notice small details like the hand tremble. Was it really there? Or her mind was distorting her memories? And those parting words... Did she really hear those words? The bullet was aimed straight on the left side of my chest but if that person really knew me then he might have known that I have Dextrocardia[1].

    The question that popped up in her mind was: ¡¯Was he really aiming to kill?¡¯

    "Master, we are here." From the passenger seat, Wu Dishi announced and broke Ru¡¯s train of thoughts. With her somber look, she nodded and climbed off the car.

    Stretching her limbs, she suddenly stopped and turned around to look at her surroundings. She shifted her gaze to Wu Dishi and asked, "We are in Jingshen?"

    "Yes, master!" Wu Dishi answered with a smile.

    Ru nodded and made her way towards the courtyard of the house which Wu Dishi had arranged for their stay. Watching her walk away, Wu Dishi turned to Adia and asked, "Do you have any idea why master suddenly took the initiative toe here himself?"

    "Why? Master can¡¯te?" Adia retorted masking the impassive manner of her employer.

    "No, no... That¡¯s not what I meant." Wu Dishi iled his hands in negation. "I meant to say that usually master only likes to work from behind the scenes. This time, to inspect the location for the new developing project, master actually decided to make a personal visit. I find it very odd."

    "Mr. Wu, have you ever seen my master exining his reasons?" Adia asked him with a straight face. Wu Dishi shook his head. "Exactly my point here. Master is the most unpredictable person. If you could fathom his thoughts, then you could have been the Lord of European economy market."

    Leaving him baffled, Adia went to follow Ru inside the courtyard. "Did she just insult me?" Wu Dishi asked himself and saw Lilith nodding her head making him feel victimized.

    Ru sat under the shade of a huge tree in the middle of the open courtyard and looked up towards a temple that could be seen from here. She wasn¡¯t going to tell her subordinates her real reason for being here.

    Jingshen was one of the remote areas in C Province but its natural beauty was unrivaled. There was ack of resources but it was still a famous tourist spot because of that temple. And for Ru, that temple was the reason she chose to make this trip herself.

    Before she couldpletely immerse in her memories of Jingshen Monastery, a voice interrupted her. "It¡¯s a call from the headquarters." Saying that Adia passed the cellphone to Ru and backed away.

    "What?" Ru answered the call.

    "We have done the preparations. Whenever you¡¯ll order, we¡¯ll hold the press conference." Hearing Andrew¡¯s voice Ru wasn¡¯t perturbed at all.

    "Let¡¯s wait for the right time to catch our culprit," Ru answered him inly.

    "Right time? Sir Knight, are you sure?" Andrew was frowning since it was this lord who told him to arrange everything without wasting time. Now that they were ready, this lord was telling him to wait.

    "Andrew, you can only mold iron ording to your desires when that iron is heated at a right temperature. We can never mold iron perfectly if it¡¯s too cold or too hot. Just like that wait for the right opportunity. It¡¯s still early to strike back." With that, she threw the phone back to Adia who swiftly caught it in mid-air.

    Seeing the way Adia was still standing beside her, Ru tilted her face to question, "Anything else?"

    Adia bit her lip and pieced out her words cautiously, "Actually, Secretary Liu is also here for the site visit and he wants to have dinner with Chairman Xie Rong."

    "Give me one reason to actually have this dinner," Ru looked straight at Adia¡¯s face.

    "Umm... He can help us in the bidding process." Adia voiced out.

    Ru gave her a look that seemed to say, ¡¯Do I need his help to win over this project?¡¯

    Adia pressed her lips together and added, "I heard that he has invited Abbot Wang Xiu Ying to join as well."

    Hearing that name, Ru gave a small smile and said, "I¡¯ll go." Adia was a bit taken aback. But she hastily nodded and left her alone.

    Looking at the temple again, Ru whispered, "I know you won¡¯te. But what¡¯s the harm in hoping." She sighed heavily and added, "Grandmaster Xiu Ying, it¡¯ll be interesting to see whether you recognize me or not."

 Chapter 66 A Cordial Dinner

    "Master, I prepared the suit for your dinner," Wu Dishi felt pleased with himself since he didn¡¯t make a mistake and had actually brought a ck suit. He didn¡¯t want to be scolded like thest time.

    But as per her nature, Ru didn¡¯t praise him at all. She just took the suit from his hand and went to get dressed. Oddly, she didn¡¯t even fuss over wearing a suit in the first ce. What Wu Dishi didn¡¯t know was that Ru had never been fastidious about clothes, she could even wear rags withoutmenting. Butst time, she was too amused by his expressions and that¡¯s why she chose to tease him on purpose.

    Seeing her fixing her hair with her fingers, Wu Dishi shook his head. ¡¯This chairman really has no care for his image.¡¯ He could silently mither at the side since he didn¡¯t have the guts to speak out.

    Ru felt someone tugging at her arm and tilted her face to see Lilith¡¯s big ck eyes gazing back at her. "Is there something you need?" Ru asked with her attention on her.

    "I want to fix your hair," Ru¡¯s brows raised up a bit as she understood Lilith¡¯s meaning through her hand signs.

    She looked at the hair gel in Lilith¡¯s hand and said, "I don¡¯t use anything on my hair that had chemicals in it."

    Lilith furrowed her brows and asked, "Why?"

    "Because there is only one thing I like about myself and that is my hair," she even pointed at her own head full of thick and fluffy but unruly hair. "I definitely don¡¯t want to lose my hair... Not again." She muttered thest words to herself as she shuddered inwardly at the reminder.

    Her reaction might be exaggerating for the onlookers but she herself knew why she was traumatized.

    Lilith wasn¡¯t convinced by her answer as she insisted, "This is natural. It won¡¯t have any side effects." Looking at her earnest eyes, Ru had to relent. She knew refusing Lilith would have a bad effect on her mind since her real self was still like an innocent baby.

    Ru sighed out heavily and lowered her head to give ess to Lilith. The young girl happily dabbed her hand with gel and fixed Ru¡¯s hair. While she was busy with styling Ru¡¯s hair, Ru was basking in the scent of grapefruit and ginger that was now bing a part of her hair. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief to know that the ingredients were indeed natural.

    Satisfied with her work, Lilith gave a toothy grin to Ru. Suspiciously eyeing her expressions, Ru looked at her own reflection in the mirror. Her chocte brown hair was styled elegantly with her fringes brushed backward giving a perfect view of her forehead.

    Ru couldn¡¯t help ruffling Lilith¡¯s hair before turning to leave.

    She had only Wu Dishi to apany her and left the others to whatever they wanted to do.

    The dinner was organized at a flourishing restaurant. Just to make it clear, the hotel¡¯s name was ¡¯Flourishing¡¯ for some odd reason and reading the name even Ru¡¯s lips curled up in a faint smile which wasn¡¯t noticeable.

    Although the restaurant wasn¡¯t extravagantly decorated, it still had its charms. The calm and serene ambiance was soothing and it made Ru rx a bit. Secretary Liu¡¯s assistant weed them at the door and directed them towards the private room on the second floor.

    Honestly speaking, Ru had no interest in meeting this Secretary Liu. She had a biased nature whenever it came to government officials and Secretary Liu wasn¡¯t any different.

    Secretary Liu was a woman in her sixties with a steadfast personality. She had maintained her looks even to this age. When she saw the door opening of the room, she immediately put on an amiable smile. "Wee Chairman Xie!" She greeted but as her eyes fell on Ru¡¯s figure, she was stuck for a moment.

    ording to Secretary Liu, Chairman Xie Rong would be a middle-aged man with a balding head and a nasty personality. And she assumed all of that because of the rumors that circted around in the circle. She was literally astounded to see that Chairman Xie before her was such a young and handsome man.

    One had to know that Ru might not be called cordial because of her indifferent personality but she was charming and there was no doubt about that. One look could charm people in a way that they couldn¡¯t help but like her.

    "There is no need to be this polite Sectratary Liu, it¡¯s my pleasure to have made your acquaintance." And when Ru spoke in her low, deep and yet husky voice, Secretary Liu was left awestruck.

    She never expected such an authoritative and formidable person like Chairman Xie to be humble, polite and soft-spoken. Ru might not be one of those gregarious people but she knew how to be the ¡¯likable¡¯ ones.

    Her reasons for being this patient, efficient and organized was that she always had one thought in mind: ¡¯I can¡¯t let my grandfather down by being a nasty person.¡¯ And that¡¯s why no matter what, she¡¯d always be at her best behavior in front of people.

    The private room wasn¡¯t spacious but it was minimalistic and meticulously designed. There was a low table in the middle of the room with cushions. Without further ado, Ru took her seat right opposite of Secretary Liu and Wu Dishi sat beside her.

    Even after they had exchanged the pleasantries, Secretary Liu kept her eyes on Ru. The more she looked at Ru¡¯s green eyes, the more she found the young man admirable. In her personal opinion, Ru¡¯s glistening and bright eyes gave away the fact that she was dependable, reliable, trustworthy, and loyal person. And oddly, her observation wasn¡¯t far fetched at all!

    "If you don¡¯t mind, Chairman Xie, I¡¯m expecting another person." Secretary Liu spoke with a pleasant smile on her face.

    "I don¡¯t mind at all," Ru thought she was waiting uselessly for Abbot Wang Xiu Ying but she didn¡¯t want to spoil thedy¡¯s mood. Therefore, she stayed quiet.

    "Let me offer you a drink as an apology for making you wait," Secretary Liu humbly lifted the wine urn but Ru raised her hand to stop her.

    "I should be the one offering you a drink instead," Ru answered and took the wine from her to pour her a cup. Secretary gazed at her movements with fascination. Ru¡¯s ¡¯gentlemanly¡¯ actions could win anyone¡¯s hearts much less Secretary Liu.

    Ru had just poured her a drink in courtesy when the door was pushed open and a tall figure emerged. "I¡¯m sorry for beingte." At this familiar voice, Ru tilted her head and her brows raised up indecisively. Her green eyes shed with those ck ones as she heard, "Rong? What are you doing here?"

    Before Ru could open her mouth to say anything, Secretary Liu interrupted her, "Zhi Ren, you know Chairman Xie?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to Secretary Liu and nodded his head. "Chairman Xie is my neighbor." Xiao Zhi Ren replied in a pleasant tone as he smiled meaningfully at Ru. "Also, he¡¯s Yuan¡¯s study partner." Secretary Liu gave Ru a surprised look.

    "If we keep meeting like this, I would get the wrong idea that Chairman Xie is actually following me." At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s teasing words, Wu Dishi choked on air and coughed profusely as he observed his master¡¯s expressions.

    Wu Dishi saw Ru¡¯sid-back look but he could feel a chilly aura shrouded around Ru as well. Soon, the chill in the air dissipated as Ru took a sip of the wine in her cup and said, "I can say the same about you." Recalling something, Ru turned to Secretary Liu and asked, "Were you waiting for him?"

    "Yes... He made a request but apparently, I can¡¯t be of much help." Secretary Liu sighed heavily before she signaled her assistant to call for the food to be served.

    "There is no need to sigh so loudly, I¡¯ll look for another way to meet him." Xiao Zhi Ren was talking to Secretary Liu, trying to lift her spirits while Ru was in deep thought. From what she could see, she reckoned that the person who wanted to meet Abbot Wang Xiu Ying was actually Xiao Zhi Ren and Secretary Liu was merely acting as the middle-man.

    After that Ru only focused on discussing thend that herpany was nning to bid on in

    Jingshen. She even didn¡¯t probe about the rtion between Xiao Zhi Ren and Secretary Liu. As always, in her opinion, it didn¡¯t concern her at all.

    It was her personal wishful thinking that perhaps, she¡¯de across her grandmaster at this dinner but her grandmaster didn¡¯t disappoint her at all. He really didn¡¯te as she predicted...

    After their discussion, Ru politely bade them goodbye but on her way, she could hear Secretary Liu¡¯s voice from behind telling Xiao Zhi Ren, "I tried to call him for dinner but the invitation was rejected since Abbott Wang is in seclusion and won¡¯t be receiving anyone for a while. You have wasted your trip here."

    Ru didn¡¯t stick around to eavesdrop any further and left.

    "It¡¯s alright, Madam Ji. I can just look around this beautiful ce. Don¡¯t worry about it." Xiao Zhi Ren reassured Secretary Liu politely.

    "You brat! Can¡¯t you just call me Auntie? Even though I¡¯m adopted, I still am your father¡¯s elder sister." Secretary Liu scolded Xiao Zhi Ren with a slight sulky look. "Anyways, forget it! I¡¯m already d that you at least tried to look for me when you needed my help. Otherwise, who knows when I¡¯d have gotten a chance to see this nephew of mine..." She shook her head in exasperation.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at her and didn¡¯t continue bothering her. If he had another way, he wouldn¡¯t have looked for her.

 Chapter 67 Grandmaster!

    "Strongest people?" Her soft silvery voice echoed in his mind. "Do you think strongest people are those who won a battle?"

    Without thinking, he replied, "Aren¡¯t they the strongest ones? After all, they won the battles that make them the heroes."

    She sniggered before her face turned back to its original tranquility. "Good Smartian, the people who won the battles are not the strongest ones. They are the broken ones. Because you can¡¯t even fathom what they lost in order to win that battle."

    "What did they lose?" He questioned with a curious look.

    "They lost a part of them... Some even lost their souls..." The reply took him by surprise as his raven ck eyes stared at her face covered in bandages. "Battles don¡¯t just leave scars, each scar came with the price of one¡¯s soul."

    Taking a while to get back hisposure, Xiao Zhi Ren inquired, "Then who are the strongest people?"

    Her thin and slightly chapped lips curled into a mocking smile as she said, "The strongest amongst us are those who had learned to cry behind closed doors while they smile brightly before the world making one envy of them."

    "Why?" He asked again.

    "Because those are the real heroes. They are constantly fighting a battle within that nobody knows about and yet they have the courage to stand tall with a smile." Taking a brief pause she said in a hushed tone, "They are physically, mentality and emotionally drained ones. Tired of life yet striving to survive."

    As the cold wind brushed past his face, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reverie was broken. He wrapped his windbreaker tightly, keeping his eyes on the face that suddenly reminded him of ¡¯her¡¯ words that were buried somewhere in his memory.

    Perhaps Xiao Zhi Ren had seen Ru¡¯s cheery and rebellious side so much that for a moment, it slipped his mind that the green-eyed ¡¯man¡¯ was actually all alone. The twinkling green eyes that always had a mischievous glint in them looked mncholic and anguished.

    Today, he finally understood ¡¯her¡¯ definition of strongest people since it was his first time seeing someone like Ru. The idea of seeing the young ¡¯man¡¯ crying never crossed his mind since Xiao Zhi Ren believed that Ru wasn¡¯t one of those people who would cry; not even behind closed doors. But her current grief-stricken state made him feel uneasy.

    Taking a deep breath, Xiao Zhi Ren walked up to her side and ced his hand on her shoulder from behind. Instinctively, Ru¡¯s fighting instincts kicked in as she held his wrist and elbowed him in the guts before pulling him towards herself. Understanding that she was nning on flipping him over to knock the wind out of him, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s agile body moved on its own ord.

    He rolled over her hip a bit trying to break free from her but Ru didn¡¯t give him a chance as her other hand gripped his cor and flipped him over knocking him straight to the ground.

    "Ommff!" Xiao Zhi Ren felt his back making contact with the ground. The only good thing was that they were standing on a grassy field. If it was hard ground, Xiao Zhi Ren knew he would have been knocked out in a second.

    Seeing that the person was Xiao Zhi Ren, Ru pressed her lips together before leaving his wrist and lifting her foot from his chest.

    "Are you trying to kill me?" Xiao Zhi Ren screamed at her hatefully.

    "Who told you to appear so sneakily?" Ru retorted matter-of-factly as if it was entirely his fault for being sneaky. Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t ept that she was in a daze and didn¡¯t bother to check who was behind her before attacking.

    "Now, would you help me up or not?" Xiao Zhi Ren was rolling on the ground in pain and Ru had to offer her hand to pull him up. "You didn¡¯t even give me a chance to break out of your grip." He grumbled indignantly.

    "If you could break free from this young master¡¯s deadlocks then wouldn¡¯t it mean that this young master had wasted his entire life uselessly?" She wasn¡¯t wrong after all she spent decades training in all kinds of martial arts. If one could even break free from her then she should be the one called ipetent one.

    It was a good thing that Xiao Zhi Ren managed to timely straighten his posture otherwise, the damage would have been worse. He stretched his body easing his back which had been rubbed against the ground.

    Although Ru felt guilty for hurting him unnecessarily, she didn¡¯t say anything about it. She stood there watching him grumbling to himself.

    "Are you here to see Abbott Wang Xiu Ying again?" Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Xiao Zhi Ren stopped his movements and stared at her.

    They were currently in the depth of the woods. Right before them lied the secluded cabin where Abbott Wang Xiu Ying was said to be in seclusion.

    "Why are you asking? We are not friends as you said so yourself." Ru raised her brow as she was amused to see him being petty over such a thing.

    "But we are neighbors." Ru retorted matter-of-factly.

    "Hmph!" Xiao Zhi Ren harrumphed and turned his back towards her. "Even if I am here to meet Abbott Wang Xiu Ying, why do you care?"

    "I was curious to know what a person like you have to do with him?" Ru paced up to his side and whispered, "Are you here to ask him about your fortune?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her words and said, "What if I am here for my fortune?"

    "Aigoo! Zhi, why take such a long trip to Jingshen? You could have just asked me."

    He eyed her skeptically as he pointed at her asking, "You have the knowledge of divination?"

    "Nope!" Ru shook her head in negation. "But I have some experience in facial fortune telling."

    "Oh, really? Why don¡¯t you read my physiognomy?" Obviously, Xiao Zhi Ren was being sarcastic. He didn¡¯t believe a word that she had just said.

    But Ru didn¡¯t take it to heart as she lifted her hand to lift his chin as if really trying to read his fortune. "You have such bright and vivid eyes that it¡¯s obvious at one nce how intelligent you are." Xiao Zhi Ren listened to her amusingly as she continued, "Oh... Look at your hairline... Tsk. Tsk. You¡¯re really picky about socializing." Ru gave him a disapproving look.

    "The shape of your eyebrows is a clear indication that you have an exceptional temper and passion. Aye! You¡¯re really passionate about love as well." Ru gave him a crafty smile but Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t find the twinkle in her eyes even now.

    "How can you tell I¡¯m passionate about love?"

    "Because of your lips. From the shape of your lips, it¡¯s easy to discern everything about your sensuality." Xiao Zhi Ren gaped at her in disbelief and knocked on her head.

    "Stop messing around." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t believe a word that she had said since everything she said was something she could tell by just knowing him for a while except for the love part.

    "See... This is your problem. You don¡¯t even trust me. And if we don¡¯t even have trust how can we be friends." Ru used his words against him at the perfect time making Xiao Zhi Ren re at her.

    "Rong, don¡¯t try to act smart." Xiao Zhi Ren warned her sternly.

    "But I¡¯m not trying to act smart..." Ru answered innocently. "How can I?" She gave a cheeky smile as she winked and added, "When I already am smart why would I try to act like one?" She wiggled her brows at him yfully.

    Their bickering had made both of them forget where they were or why they were here. They were lost in trying to get the upper hand with each other and didn¡¯t even notice that a pair of vivid and adept eyes had been following their movements from the beginning. The poised and the refined old man seemed serene until his eyes fell on Ru¡¯s face. His eyes wavered.

    "You know you¡¯re wasting your time bying here, Zhi. Abbott Wang doesn¡¯t see anyone when he is in seclusion." Ru tried to dampen his spirits since no matter what she did Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t backing off. It was like he was hell-bent on defeating her.

    "HA! Aren¡¯t you here trying your luck as well?" Xiao Zhi Ren argued haughtilypletely unlike his nature.

    "No, I¡¯m not!" ¡¯I¡¯ll be d only seeing him from afar.¡¯ She definitely couldn¡¯t tell him her real intention. "I just lost my way and ended up here." She made the excuse that she could think of at that moment.

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to pry since he knew Ru wasn¡¯t going to disclose anything to him. "Anyways, I¡¯m here to see the Abbott and I will meet him." His conviction surprised Ru.

    "He won¡¯t see you," she couldn¡¯t help butment.

    Xiao Zhi Ren abruptly turned towards her and asked, "What if he did meet me?" Ru frowned, seeing the look of resolution in his eyes. "Do you want to make a bet?"

    Ru thought for a while and shrugged her shoulders giving her consent. "What¡¯s on stake?"

    "Whoever loses will have to grant a wish to the other one." Xiao Zhi Ren answered straightforwardly.

    "Deal!" Ru agreed without thinking since she really thought she¡¯d be the winner. "But I already owe you a wish from the time you saved me. Can¡¯t you just use that one? Why are you making new bets?"

    "I want to keep that one as my insurance." Xiao Zhi Ren answered boldly.

    On the side, the elderly man was amused by their bet as he smiled to himself. He saw Xiao Zhi Ren moving towards the cabin and passing something to his attendant.

    "Great Abbott, that young man asked me to give you this emblem." The elderly man took the emblem from his attendant¡¯s hand and his eyes widened and then a sly smile emerged on his lips. "Take him inside. I¡¯ll be right there with him." The attendant bowed and left to carry out his orders.

    When the attendant showed Xiao Zhi Ren the way inside, he didn¡¯t forget to turn and pass a victorious look to Ru leaving her baffled with her mouth agape.

    As Xiao Zhi Ren vanished inside the bamboo cabin, Ru heard an elderly but familiar voice from behind, "I never thought there woulde a day when I¡¯d be able to see our young master Ru lose a bet."

    Ru abruptly whipped around and came face to face with the face which she was familiar with. The face she came to see. "Grandmaster..." She whispered softly without realizing it.

 Chapter 68 Fallen Apar

    In a spur of emotions, Ru said in surprise, "You can recognize me?"

    Grandmaster Wang smiled softly as his elderly face wrinkled up even more. "Just because our young master Ru has green eyes now doesn¡¯t mean this old man won¡¯t recognize him." He took a brief pause to observe the way she kept her head down and added, "If my memory serves me right, young master Ru was taught to keep his head high. When did you learn the bad habit of avoiding your eyes like a thief?"

    Ru bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Are you really sure that I¡¯m your young master Ru?"

    "Mm... There is no doubt about it!" he answered without hesitation. "I can see that your jawline has turned sharper as you have grown up now. Also, you have grown taller. Your cheeks have turned hollow. But what pushed you to remove your identification mark?"

    Ru chewed the inside of her mouth before replying, "That stupid mole was a dead give away of my identity. So, I used a way to conceal it."

    "Have you been having fun outside? After all, it¡¯s been long since you started ying dead for everyone." Listening to his blunt insinuations, Ru felt embarrassed.

    "Do you think I wanted to y dead?" She raised her head to stare into his eyes. "I had to y dead since I had no courage to face my grandfather with these green eyes."

    "Follow me," he didn¡¯tment about her outburst and took her towards a small wooden pavilion on the back of the bamboo cabin. As they both sat opposite each other. Grandmaster Wang brewed some tea as he said, "There are two people who had yet to give up on you." Ru was startled a bit as he went on, "Old Master clearly stated that no one is allowed to dere his favorite grandson Ru as dead until he sees your dead body with his own eyes."

    Ru¡¯s heart shook a bit. She knew her grandfather¡¯s nature better than anyone. He was the most ruthless one and yet he was the one who doted on her the most as well. He was the one who raised her. Therefore, he was the most familiar with her as well. There was no way that her grandfather would ept the fact that she¡¯d really died just because someone said it.

    "Your little brother is the second one." Ru lifted her eyes in surprise. "Second young master is still looking for you. Last time when I saw him, he said, ¡¯He is my elder brother who I have looked up to my entire life. There is no way my brother can die so easily. I know he¡¯d fight till hisst breath just to survive.¡¯ And when I asked him to give up, wanna hear what he said?" Ru unknowingly nodded her head. "That brat said, ¡¯My brother gave me a promise that he¡¯lle back just for me. And my brother can give his life but he can never go back on his words.¡¯" There was a slight smile on his elderly face as he recalled those words.

    Ru felt her chest constricting as she heard those words. Sure enough that rice cake of hers was stubborn just like herself. She shook her head thinking, ¡¯You little rascal, you always forgot your lessons but now you can still remember my promise? You really are my brother.¡¯

    "Grandfather would be disappointed if he saw me like this," Ru said softly as if all the answers he sought were clustered in that one sentence.

    Ture enough, that one sentence really exined everything for Grandmaster Wang. The young child he raised was someone who was indifferent even about death. The young master Ru, in his memory, would never let his emotions control his actions.

    He could still remember the time her first pet died...

    *shback*

    "Grandfather!" Two elderly men were ying a game of chess when a childlike voice bellowed and in walked young master Ru with a furious look. "Grandfather, look at this stupid snake." She pushed the blue snake in her hand towards her grandfather.

    "What¡¯s wrong with our young master¡¯s Xiao Hong?" Grandmaster Wang asked in amusement.

    "Grandmaster, this stupid snake died. Useless fellow! Who am I going y with if he¡¯s gonna y dead now?" Grandmaster Wang and her grandfather were taken aback by her words. Everyone in the n knew her attachment with her first pet. And now, she was acting as if it was some random snake.

    "Young master Ru, are you upset that your Xiao Hong died?" Grandmaster Wang asked cautiously.

    The young Ru scoffed out. "Why would I be upset? I just find it troublesome that now I¡¯ll have to look for a new pet to y with." She threw the dead snake on the floor and turned to leave with a huff.

    "Young master Ru!" Her grandfather¡¯s intimidating voice halted her steps.

    "Yes, grandfather." She replied in a humble manner or more like obsequious manner which she only showed before her grandfather.

    "Bury the body of your snake." The domineering voice made her scowl.

    "Why?" she whined.

    "There is some respect you should give to the dead. No matter what, you had spent five years with your snake. Give him a proper goodbye." As she picked up the body of the snake, she heard, "Also, after the burial, pack your bags. You¡¯re going to Jingshen Monastery with Xiu Ying."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she asked, "Why?"

    "To learn that death is not something you can joke about."

    *End of shback*

    ¡¯Old master did his best to protect you and yet, fate had yed its game.¡¯ Grandmaster Wang shook his head lightly as he sighed. "Silly child! Your grandfather can be disappointed with the world but you had been an exception in his life. Old master would really be over the moon to know that you¡¯re alive."

    "I know he won¡¯t say anything but I¡¯ll lose the courage to face myself if I went back defeated."

    These words were enough to convince Grandmaster Wang since he had seen how she had only been taught how to win in life. There was a huge ego in her that won¡¯t allow her to back off.

    "Stubbornness runs in the blood. I can¡¯t even do anything about that." He muttered to himself. "I¡¯ll only tell the old master that you¡¯re alive. You can rest assured about the other things."

    Ru cupped her hands and bowed her head saying, "Thank you, Grandmaster!"

    Grandmaster Wang Xiu Ying waved her off wearily.

    "Oh, why did you let that man inside? You have a rule that you won¡¯t see visitors during seclusion." Ru didn¡¯t forget the part that he made her lose a bet.

    Grandmaster chuckled at her expressions and pulled out the emblem that Xiao Zhi Ren had brought with him. He extended his hand to let Ru take a look.

    She took the gold emblem in her hand and her eyes widened. "It¡¯s the golden emblem of ¡¯The FireBenders¡¯ Tower."

    "And if he holds this emblem, that means that young man is the core member of ¡¯The FireBenders¡¯ Tower. I had to let him in." Ru scrunched up her face, woefully.

    "I thought you did it to make me lose the bet," Ru muttered to herself.

    "I¡¯m ttered to see your trust in me." Ru pressed her lips together at his sarcastic remark.

    Recalling something, she straightened up, poured tea in his cup and raised her cup saying, "Let me toast a cup of tea to show my gratitude."

    Grandmaster Wang furrowed his brows in confusion. "What could possibly our young master Ru be grateful for?"

    Drinking the cup of tea, she stated, "My dearest Yingying," Grandmaster Wang red at her for addressing him so cordially.

    "Young master Ru!" His voice raised a bit making Ru stifle herughter.

    "Fine... I won¡¯t call you Yingying. Geez! You¡¯re still not fun at all." Sighing heavily, she added, "On a serious note, Grandmaster, this young master of yours is immensely grateful for having you in his life. You and I, both are familiar with my displeasure regarding my stay here at Jingshen." Obviously, he knew that she hated spending time in Jingshen. After all, she made sure to let everyone know of her displeasure by burning down whatever that got in her way.

    While he was reminiscing, she continued, "I hated it when you used to lock me up in the room to copy those ancient medicinal scriptures. But when I had no hope of walking ever again, it was your teachings that brought me back to my feet. Thank you for being strict with me!"

    Grandmaster Wang couldn¡¯t help but feel touched. Why? It was the first time young master Ru actually said something nice without being the jerk that ¡¯he¡¯ was. He didn¡¯t even realize it when tears had made their way to his eyes.

    But before he could bask in these nicements, her poisonous tongue ruined the mood by saying, "But don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forgive you for shaving my head. That is one debt I will collect at any cost!" She was still traumatized by the experience when he shaved her head full of shoulder-length hair. Her hair was her pride and that cruel old man trampled on that pride ruthlessly.

    Grandmaster Wang flicked the space between her brows and said, "As expected, you can never be the nice person. No matter what you just have to spoil the moment by using that thorny tongue of yours."

    Ru smiled goofily as if he was giving her the highest degree of praises. She raised up from the cushioned seat and her face turned back to wear the mask of impassiveness. "Grandmaster, I¡¯ve might be brutally torn down by this world. But I¡¯m still the same person who grew up before your eyes."

    It was true that in all these years, a lot of things changed around her. But one thing that she couldn¡¯t change was herself.

    Although staring at her reflection she had asked a million times:

    "Mirror mirror on the wall,

    Have I really fallen apart?"

    But deep down she knew, she didn¡¯t.

    If the fact that she had fallen was true then the fact that she was yet to fall apart was also true!

 Chapter 69 A Saint in a Demons World

    Life is all about hello and goodbye. When we say goodbye, it¡¯s in the hope of finding a new hello. But when we begin with a hello, none of us think that there woulde a day when we¡¯ll have to say goodbye as well.

    The most bizarre thing about life is that our new beginning is supposed to start with a simple hello. But somewhere along the road, our goodbye¡¯s turn into the mostplicated things in life.

    Ru had always hated the goodbye part. She had a habit of getting prickly whenever it was time to say goodbye. Her eloquent self would always act like a nasty brat at the time of goodbye. Perhaps, it was her way of showing that she had feelings... That she actually cared... She was also hurt...

    Nobody could possibly fathom her feelings when she lost her first pet... her snake; Xiao Hong.

    The snake was the onlypanion of her from the age of five and after five years, he left her. The worst part of its death was that it died right in her hands. And she spent hours trying to shake him awake.

    That was the first time, she actually felt betrayed as if Xiao Hong¡¯s death had pushed her in the abyss of realization that no matter how much you love something, one day you¡¯ll eventually have to say goodbye.

    It took her years to learn that every ¡¯hello¡¯ had a ¡¯hell¡¯ in it and every ¡¯goodbye¡¯ had a ¡¯good¡¯ in it. That¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t picky about goodbyes anymore but she had grown cautious of hellos.

    "I thought young master Ru would pull off his disguise." Grandmaster Wang made the remark while Ru was lost in her own thoughts. He was obviously talking about her roaming in the male clothes.

    Ru looked down at her own clothes and shrugged her shoulders saying, "I would have to change my gender. It¡¯s too bothersome."

    Grandmaster Wang looked at her disbelievingly. "Looks like young master Ru is still a bit confused about his own gender."

    Ru gave him a wry smile as she stated, "If you¡¯ll keep addressing me as a young master, how am I supposed to be clear about my gender?" She took a pause before standing up to look around at the green forest as she added, "Besides if it wasn¡¯t for that anatomy ss, I¡¯d have stayed clueless about my gender for even longer."

    Grandmaster Wang gave a tacit agreement since he was one of those people who were clear about Ru¡¯s situation. He couldn¡¯t me her for taking the male disguise too seriously. After all, ¡¯till the age of twelve, she still thought that she was a boy! If it wasn¡¯t for that anatomy ss that taught the difference between male and female bodies, Ru wouldn¡¯t have run to her mother to question.

    "I¡¯m taking my leave now. Say hi to my grandfather and tell him that... I miss him." She averted her eyes as if missing someone was a very embarrassing thing to do. Waving her hand over her shoulder, she vanished before his eyes.

    Grandmaster Wang stared at the spot where she disappeared for a while before sighing heavily.

    "I apologize to keep you waiting," hearing the elderly voice, Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up. He stared at the elderly man walk in but he could see that the old man was still full of vitality and his manners were refined.

    "It¡¯s no big deal." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind waiting at all. It was already enough that using his master¡¯s name, he was able to meet the Abbott Wang Xiu Ying.

    Silence shrouded the small room which had a cloak of incense in the air. The aroma made Xiao Zhi Ren feel at ease as if someone was soothing his tired nerves.

    Grandmaster Wang observed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s face as if trying to look for something. And suddenly, he smiled knowingly. It seemed he found what he was looking for.

    "You have a pair of bright and vivid eyes young man," Grandmaster Wang¡¯s words made Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s lips to curl a bit upward. "It¡¯s almost like there is an ocean of emotions in your eyes... They can make someone¡¯s imagination run amok or stir a person¡¯s soul. There is a strange luster in your eyes..."

    "Isn¡¯t that why you called me Zoran?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave a knowing look.

    Grandmaster Wang fell into deep thought. "Zoran? A boy born with the radiance of the dawn that can break the shadows of darkness and brightly lit up the dark sky." Grandmaster Wang seemed to have recalled the boy before his eyes as he smiled in irony. "I called you Zoran because of your peculiar birth chart but I named that little boy Zhi Ren. Are you really Zhi Ren of the Ji Family?"

    "I still am Zhi Ren but people know me as Zoran as well. My master definitely knows me as Zoran." Xiao Zhi Ren answered honestly since he didn¡¯t see any point in hiding anything from the elderly man before him. Xiao Zhi Ren might not have much impression of Jingshen Monastery but the elderly man before him had left a huge impression on his younger self.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren was born, his grandparents had brought him to Jingshen. It was Abbott Wang Xiu Ying who was asked to give a name to him. For the next ten or so years that Xiao Zhi Ren spent in Ji Family, he was always brought to Jingshen during the month of his birth for some ritual that he never understood.

    "I always wanted to know why you called me Zoran but named me Zhi Ren?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked inquisitively. "My grandmother used to also say that I have a very special constitution but ¡¯till now, I¡¯m not sure about it. Is my constitution really special? And if it is, then why?"

    Grandmaster Wang didn¡¯t answer him immediately instead, he took time to pour tea in anguid manner. After taking a sip of his own tea, he stated, "What if I say that your existence is like the radiance of dawn in someone else¡¯s dark life?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart shook a bit. "After going through your four pirs of destiny[1] and the rtionship between the five elements [2], I called you Zoran." Grandmaster Wang looked out at the slowly setting sun in the distance through the small window in the room and quoted, "¡¯Zh¨© r¨¦n zh¨© mi¨¤n b¨´ zh¨© x¨©n¡¯ Do you know what this idiom means?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and exined, "It means, ¡¯one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature¡¯. But what does it have to do with me?"

    "This idiom was the reason I named you Zhi Ren. You¡¯re one of those people who others can only know but not understand..." ¡¯Only someone bounded to you will be able to read you like an open book.¡¯ He gave a mysterious smile before adding, "But the most amusing thing about you is that fortunately, your soul has an interpreter... A faithful one; your bright and vivid eyes."

    Xiao Zhi Ren felt conflicted inside. He never believed in the superstitions or fortune telling. He had asked that question about his name because he always wanted to know the story behind him being called ¡¯special¡¯.

    "I believe you didn¡¯te all the way here just to ask me the reason behind your name." Grandmaster Wang had lived a long life. He was over seventy and had a foresighted personality. How could he be deceived by a young man¡¯s words?

    Xiao Zhi Ren rummaged out a small dagger from the inside pocket of his windbreaker and ced it on the Grandmaster Wang¡¯s table. "I¡¯m looking for someone but that person only left this dagger behind"

    Grandmaster Wang¡¯s eyes skimmed over the symbol of a ¡¯thunderbolt¡¯ at the handle of the dagger and remained impassive. "You think you can find a person with this dagger?"

    "No..." Xiao Zhi Ren was clear about the fact that he couldn¡¯t find that person with this dagger but this particr dagger was hand carved definitely representing a family. It¡¯d be easier to find the culprit behind his mother¡¯s death. He had only a small dagger and there was only this symbol on that dagger. He had no other clue. "But you¡¯d know which family¡¯smand emblem has this thunderbolt?"

    "Young man, are you testing me?" Xiao Zhi Ren found this question odd but he still shook his head. "If you aren¡¯t testing me... Do you want me to believe that the eldest grandson of the Ji Family doesn¡¯t have a clue that his own family¡¯smand emblem has a ck thunderbolt engraved on it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. He had considered the possibility of the culprit being someone from the Ji Family and yet he chose not to believe it out of filial piety. But now... What was he supposed to think? He still was in denial as he said, "But I thought only the hidden family ns of the nation use these find of emblems."

    "Ji Family is the second-ranked in those hidden family ns. Being hidden doesn¡¯t mean they hide from the world, it just means they keep their origins a bit secretive." Grandmaster cleared his question without asking anything.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was stumped for words. Was it really Ji Family members who chose to murder his mother? But why?

    "Thank you for your help... My master gave this to me to pass it to you." Xiao Zhi Ren passed the small wooden box to Grandmaster Wang and turned intending to leave.

    He halted in his steps as he heard a question from behind, "Young man, do you believe in soulmates?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at this sudden query. "No-" He was about to answer with ¡¯not really¡¯ when suddenly a smiling face popped up in his mind. Those ck eyes with a bit silver in them, twinkling like stars and that chubby face along with those Pheonix eyes that squinted whenever she smiled. Unknowingly, he smiled at the reminder of that face and nodded his head, "I do believe."

    Grandmaster Wang didn¡¯t continue on this topic and said, "Zhi Ren."

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to face him with a heavy heart. "Do you know Zhi Ren means a saint... A sage; a fully realized man?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave an ironic smile as he stated, "I¡¯m not a saint." He thought that the elderly man had seen his resolve for vengeance and that¡¯s why he was reminding him to act like his name and be forgiving towards his own blood.

    But...

    He was thoroughly wrong with his thinking.

    Grandmaster Wang smiled at his reply and said, "Just remember, your fate is bound with someone from birth and whether you are a saint or not, only that person can decide. Because no matter who you¡¯ll be, you¡¯ll always stay as the saint in that demon¡¯s life." His words startled Xiao Zhi Ren even more as he couldn¡¯t evenprehend the meaning behind them. "Have a safe journey." Saying that he waved him to leave.

    As Xiao Zhi Ren left the small wooden hut, Grandmaster Wang sighed tiredly.

    "Are you okay, Great Abbott?" His young attendant asked with concern.

    Grandmaster Wang rubbed his chin thoughtfully before whispering to himself, "It was meant to be a sad fate from the very beginning." He could only shake his head in disappointment.

    ¡¯One has the ocean of emotions in his eyes, the other holds the mysterious nature of that ocean. One has the tranquility of the ocean, the other holds wildness in her eyes. Oddly, both have the soul-stirring eyes... Sigh! It¡¯s a pity that they share a sad fate.¡¯ Grandmaster Wang¡¯s eyes got a bit wet as he was lost in his own thoughts.

    [1] (birth year, birth month, birth date and birth hour)

    [2] (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water)

 Chapter 70 Men & Children

    Xiao Zhi Ren might have heard each word that came out of Grandmaster Wang¡¯s mouth but there was only a couple of things that he couldpletelyprehend. The rest of his words seemed tooplicated for him to grasp at the moment.

    He kept rubbing his thumb over the engraved thunderbolt on the hilt of the dagger with a gaze brimming with disbelief. His feelings were conflicted at the moment since he couldn¡¯t decide whether he was agonized or rmed.

    If his own blood-rted family was behind his mother¡¯s death then he really wasn¡¯t sure how to react anymore. Lost in his own thoughts he didn¡¯t see that a certain green-eyed person was leaning against an old tree.

    Ru had a cigarette between her lips as she puffed out wisps of white smoke in anguid manner. She seemed content in her own world. As she finally saw Xiao Zhi Rening this way, she threw the cigarette butt and extinguished it underneath her handmade leather shoes.

    She straightened her posture and called out, "Hey, Zhi!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was so deeply immersed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even hear Ru¡¯s voice. She frowned at the side for being ignored like this and paced up to his side. There was a height difference of about half a head or so between both of them and it made it easier for Ru to put her arm around his shoulder catching him by surprise. "Neighbor, are you ignoring this young master?"

    Feeling a dangerous edge to her voice, Xiao Zhi Ren reacted almost immediately, "What are you saying? I was lost in my own thoughts." While he spoke, he subtly hid the dagger in his pocket but Ru¡¯s keen eyes had already caught sight of something shiny. She might not know other things but she knew a dagger when she saw one.

    How could she not recognize the toys that she yed with?

    But seeing him acting mysteriously, she didn¡¯t try to pry at all. Instead, she got straight to business. "Why are you sote? I¡¯ve been waiting for you here. And this lor- Ahem! I mean, this young master hate waiting." She tacitly altered her words with a dry cough. ¡¯You really need to get over this habit of calling yourself this lord.¡¯ She nodded her head agreeing with that nagging voice of her conscious.

    "You have been waiting? And that too for me?" Xiao Zhi Ren tilted his head to give her look of suspicion. "Why? We are not even friends as Chairman Xie has already cleared up."

    ¡¯Oh, look... He¡¯s still not over yourment about not being friends.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at that pesky voice in her head. But she didn¡¯t want to pursue this not so important topic. "Of course, I was waiting for you. You won the bet. I had to wait for you." Ru stated straightforwardly.

    "Oh, right! The bet!" At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s reaction, Ru felt unpleasant.

    "Aiyoh, I shouldn¡¯t have reminded him about the bet," she muttered to herself as she retracted her hand back from his shoulders. ¡¯As if you could live with an unpaid debt.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t this irksome voice getting too plucky?

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but curl his lips up in amusement as he said, "I should feel honored that Chairman Xie Rong actually stayed behind to wait for me."

    "Yes, you should." With her impassive face, she said, "Now, you have two wishes. Make your wish wisely."

    "What are you? A genie? Choose your wish wisely. Hmph!" Xiao Zhi Ren mimicked her earlier expressions as he snorted.

    "Consider me a genie for now... Because I can grant you all that you desire except for two things."

    "What exceptions are those?" He asked inquisitively.

    "Don¡¯t ask me to save a life or take a life," Ru answered keeping her face expressions nk not letting a bit of her emotions disy.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was surprised by her reply. Never in his wildest dreams, he thought that her answer would be this weird. But then again the young ¡¯man¡¯ before him had never been the predictable type. ¡¯I really should get used to him.¡¯ He reminded himself.

    "Are you trying to tell me that you¡¯re an innocent Chairman whose hands are so clean that he won¡¯t take someone¡¯s life?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s ironic remark had little to no effect on Ru.

    Ru blinked her eyes as her longshes fluttered like the butterfly wings. A smile had formed on her face that sent cold chills to run up Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s spine. He was startled for a second to see such reaction from his own instincts under her alluring and yet cold eyes.

    "I am anything but innocent... But then again you are not any different..." Her sly smile didn¡¯t fade as she went on, "In this wild reality of life, innocence has just be a game." Looking in a distance, she added, "We all y this game but we still keep our wild sides."

    Not wanting to stay any longer in these woods, Ru turned towards the small road and climbed on her bicycle which was parked under a tree.

    "You brought your own ride even here?" Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to give her a look of incredulity but realized that it didn¡¯t matter at all. The young ¡¯man¡¯ before him was really out of this world.

    Paddling her bicycle in a circle around him, Ru stated, "Zhi, men are just like children; both are possessive over three things."

    "And what are those things?" At this point, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind hadpletely been distracted from the topic that upset him.

    Seeing him so intrigued by her words, Ru gave a subtle smile in victory. Her mission of distracting him had been aplished.

    By cing one foot on the road, she stopped the bicycle right before him and looked straight at his defined face. "Children are possessive over their candies, toys and their dreams. As for men, we are possessive over..." She lifted one finger and said, "Our money..." Lifting the second finger she added, "Our pride or ego whatever you wanna call it..." Pointing at her bicycle she added, "And our rides."

    From Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s simple question of why she brought her ride to Jingshen, she gave such a detailed answer. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t sure whether he was supposed to be in awe at her ability to manipte words or just punch her in the face for making his mind dizzy.

    He took a deep breath burying the urge to really punch that handsome face before his eyes that was grinning widely at the moment. "Aren¡¯t men also possessive about their women?"

    "My dear neighbor..." Her already low, and husky voice seemed a bit melodious as she went on, "If their woman is not their pride, do you think they¡¯ll be possessive about her?" Xiao Zhi Ren was stumped for words. "A woman is either a man¡¯s pride or ego. Those are the only possibilities. After all, there is no in between heaven and hell."

    Dumbfounded Xiao Zhi Ren stood there trying to let those heavy words sink in his mind. It was one of those moments when Xiao Zhi Ren really had no words to argue with Ru. And oddly, it was such a topic that he didn¡¯t want to argue foolishly as well.

    "Do you want a ride?" Xiao Zhi Ren eyed her bicycle weirdly. "Hmm... It¡¯ll be weird for two grown men to ride the same bicycle, right?"

    "What do you think?" He retorted.

    "Fine... I¡¯ll walk with you." Ru had to relent since there was no traffic on this small path between the woods. Ru got down from her bicycle and walked side-by-side with Xiao Zhi Ren. "Have you thought of a wish?" After walking some distance she asked again.

    "What if I really want you to take someone¡¯s life?"

    "I don¡¯t like ying with lives for someone else¡¯s sake. I¡¯m the demon who has his own rules. If I¡¯m gonna take someone¡¯s life that too... has to be on my own stakes." Altering back to her jolly persona, she said, "This genie is offering you the world and here you are asking for a petty human life? Think big... If you can¡¯t then think wisely."

    This time around Xiao Zhi Ren put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her neck close. "How about being my sworn brother instead?" Ru¡¯s eyes widened and her steps faltered as she almost tripped down but it was a good thing that Xiao Zhi Ren still hand an arm around her neck. Otherwise, she really would have fell face t on the ground.

 Chapter 71 Polar Opposites

    ¡¯Did he just say... sworn brother?¡¯ Although inwardly she was feeling dreadful, yet her face stayed impassive. Only her right brow had twitched slightly which didn¡¯t escape Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes. His attention had been on her face from the time he spoke.

    "Haha... That was a nice joke." Ru gave an awkwardugh trying tough this matter off.

    But Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s solemn face made her face stiffen. "You¡¯re not being yful, right?" She already knew the answer but she just couldn¡¯t believe it. Or rather, she didn¡¯t want to believe it... NOT AT ALL!

    "You might have the worst sense of humor but I definitely don¡¯t." Thatment was like an arrow shot straight to her ego. How could she take it lying down?

    "Hei! How dare you? I haven¡¯t even epted you as my sworn brother yet and you are already being a bully." This was the first time for Xiao Zhi Ren to see her actually showing emotion so brazenly. He had never heard her raise her voice at anyone in the past three months and yet, right now she was almost screaming at his face.

    For some odd reason, Xiao Zhi Ren felt good to see her livid. It was almost as if she seemed more human. He smiled gently and lifted his big hand to pat her head like a pet. "As a sworn brother, it¡¯s my right to bully you since you are younger than me."

    Ru was dumbfounded at him being so self-absorbed. She pointed her index finger straight to his face. "You!" Realizing how she had lost her rationality for a moment, Ru felt slightly ufortable. It had always been easier for her to hide her emotions whether it was her happiness or anger, both stayed within her. She never allowed her emotions to control her actions. But today, she actually let her emotions dictate her actions and words.

    Curling her index finger back into the fist, she lowered her hand. A single deep breath seemed to have changed the aura around her as she seemed serene like her usual self.

    "Why?"

    Hearing her sudden question, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her an inquiring gaze. Her green eyes shed again with his ck ones, seemingly unafraid.

    "I clearly offered you to ask for heaven and yet you asked to be a part of hell? Doesn¡¯t that make you the most foolish person?" As Ru stated her point, Xiao Zhi Ren was again amused by her words.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t avert his eyes.

    "In the hush of night,

    there was a pair of green eyes;

    sparkling,

    dazzling,

    and bright...

    Yet,

    there was a devil in sight;

    It intrigued me,

    Then it wrenched me,

    Finally,

    it just ensnared me."

    As his mellow voice resounded, Ru was frozen at her ce. ¡¯This voice...¡¯ Her mind was going crazy. The voice in her memory and the voice she was listening to ovepped making her feel distraught. She immediately tried to stop him, "Wait! What are you-" but she was interrupted as Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t listen to her.

    "In the hush of night,

    there was indeed a pair of green eyes;

    Jaded,

    Forlorn,

    and

    ready to put up a fight...

    I did see a devil in sight;

    it persuaded me,

    it hauled me,

    To see the confined demons,

    trying to pick up a fight."

    Clenching her fists tightly, Ru enunciated each word, "What do you think you are doing?" ¡¯He¡¯s trying to tell you a story... Story of your fake eyes... Or maybe, you fake self...¡¯ At this moment, it was hard for her to know whom she wanted to kill more; Xiao Zhi Ren or her own conscience?

    Giving a soft smile, Xiao Zhi Ren added, "I¡¯m trying to convince you." Ru frowned at his reply. "Let your demons call it a night. It¡¯s time for you toe to light... I don¡¯t think there is any fun living in ck and white."

    Ru could only gape at him for being... so peculiar with his words?

    But then again, she wasn¡¯t one to actually talk. After all, she was even more peculiar in her words.

    "I asked you a very simple question, why do you want to be a part of this hell?" While saying the word ¡¯hell¡¯ she even made a gesture at herself as if saying, ¡¯Yours truly is no better than hell himself.¡¯

    "Didn¡¯t I just gave the answer?" Seeing her narrowing her eyes dangerously, Xiao Zhi Ren sighed. "Okay, so to answer your simple question... I¡¯ll use simple words now... I am choosing hell perhaps because I¡¯vee to admire the demon who rules this hell."

    This was Ru¡¯s turn to be stumped for words. ¡¯He called me a demon? Right?¡¯ She wondered to herself unpleasantly but heard a nagging voice in her mind. ¡¯He also said he admired this demon! Focus on the things that matter.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly before eyeing Xiao Zhi Ren from head to toe.

    "Every rtionshipes at a price in this world. And being a sworn brotheres with the price of responsibilities. One not only has to share the happiness but also the grief and also, sometimes, one has to pay the price with life. It¡¯s not any casual rtionship." Ru stated sternly since she took such matters a lot seriously than other people because of the way she was cultivated from her young age. "I told you to think big if not wisely. Why are you being foolish?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind her words at all. He already had reckoned that the young ¡¯man¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to give in so easily.

    "I¡¯m not being foolish at all." Ru snorted at his reply but he disregarded it as he went on, "I know for a fact that you are not one to shy away from paying the price of death. Especially if someone important to you is at stake... I agree that being sworn brothers is not a casual matter. It¡¯s indeed a very serious decision. But let me be honest with you, I am also not someone who would shy away from death."

    Did she not trust his words? Of course, she believed each word that he said. She knew him as a very honest kind of person who would never say something that goes against his morals. Perhaps, that¡¯s why she was even more reluctant to ept his wish. She was shrouded in dark... Her whole life was a lie in itself. Even her gender was an illusion much less her identity!

    In that case, how could she let herself get attached to a person like him? He was the epitome of righteous human being that she had evere across in her life.

    Light and darkness... They both were pr opposites... They could only co-exist in peace but being together was a far cry.

 Chapter 72 Sworn Brothers

    While Ru was mulling over his words, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s gaze was yet again stuck on her face. He seemed to be trying to search for something. As if he was looking for the soul of the person before him but in those bright green eyesid a grandiose of wickedness but... Somewhere behind that devilry, there was the sovereignty of tenebrosity.

    "We can¡¯t be sworn brothers," Ru decided on it. There was no point in dawdling over this. The end result was that she would never want to bring another person in her life to share the dark life she leads. It¡¯d be unfair to him.

    "You said you¡¯ll do whatever I¡¯ll ask for," Xiao Zhi Ren reminded her calmly. "Since you said we can¡¯t be friends, I asked to be sworn brothers." He really didn¡¯t want to give her a way out of this.

    "The ones who take the oath of sworn brotherhood are also close friends." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Sworn brotherhood might lie on the border of friendship and kinship but originally it¡¯s purpose is still the intimacy among close friends."

    "But since you don¡¯t want to be a friend, I want to skip one step of bing close friends and directly move on to a mock kinship. It¡¯ll be more intimate and longersting. What¡¯s the harm?" What he said was not wrong. There was apparently nothing wrong with his suggestion at all.

    Except for the fact that Ru never liked making rtionships on impulse.

    Ru straightened up and asked a single question, "Do you have the courage to entrust your life to me?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was distracted as he was about to answer her question when her figure shed before his eyes and in the second, a gleaming silver needle was not only pointing at Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s throat but it had also slightly been pierced through his fair skin. "Before you say anything, remember clearly... This young master might not be able to save people with this seemingly small needle but this young master surely knows how to use it as a weapon. A single push and the blood flow to your brain will stop immediately. Do you think I won¡¯t kill you?"

    There wasn¡¯t a slight change in his expressions. Her threat didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on him. He was unfazed and unafraid. There was still a smile ying on his lips. Before Ru could move, Xiao Zhi Ren moved his own neck letting the needle pierce right through his skin. Ru was startled and her eyes went wide by this action. As she was stuck frozen, his body fell straight to the ground, lifelessly.

    "Oh, shoot!" She hurriedly crouched down to pull out the needle stuck in his acupuncture point. Although she had lied about the part that he would die, she still chose the acupuncture point which could leave him paralyzed.

    After pulling out the needle, she took some more needles out of her sleeves and pierced through his skin. Within fifteen minutes, Xiao Zhi Ren had woken up with new vigor as if someone had pumped him with exuberance.

    She was holding her head in both hands when she heard him breathing in a steady manner. Without thinking, she delivered an open-handed strike straight to the back of his head saying, "Have you lost your mind? For a mere wish, you actually put your life at stake? Who does that?"

    She was enraged. She hated those people who took life as a joke. No one knew what life in itself meant to her. She had seen death up close. And she actually had no desire to see it again.

    She was so livid that before he could open his mouth to say something, Ru lifted her fist andnded a blow straight to his guts. "Hei! Go easy on me!" Xiao Zhi Ren scowled while he really felt wrenching pain in his guts. "I wasn¡¯t putting my life on stake. I knew you won¡¯t kill me. As you said it, I just entrusted my life to you!"

    That statement quietened her up. Ru could only stare at him disbelievingly. She had no words for a lunatic like him. She didn¡¯t even trust her own shadow anymore, how could he so easily entrust her with his life?

    Was he that foolish?

    Or perhaps, he really had seen through her?

    Ru perched down on the ground from her squatting position and sat down cross-legged in a very leisurely manner. She suddenly felt threatened by his presence.

    As they say, no matter how deep a shadow is, in the end, it¡¯s still scared of the light.

    "You don¡¯t even know me. Do you think whatever you see is the real me?" Ru asked with a bit of despair in her eyes while her face still stayed calm.

    "I know you better than you think I do... If I have to expound you, I¡¯d say, you are a very scared person." Ru stared at him with a skeptical look. "You¡¯re scared because you think that more people called you a monster, you¡¯ll soon turn into one." Her eyes widened but he didn¡¯t stop. "You¡¯re scared that you¡¯re too different from the rest that makes you the odd one out." Xiao Zhi Ren saw her lowering her head to look at her own empty hands as if looking for something.

    "You¡¯re scared of the fact that you know too much and yet you feel that it¡¯s still not enough. It feels like you know nothing in the end." Ru snorted at this statement.

    "You¡¯re scared that the time in your hand is slipping away like sand."

    "You¡¯re scared of every single moment of your life because you¡¯re not sure whether the next breath will be yours or not. And most of all, you have the fear of your own self. You have made yourself loathe your own very self." He enunciated each word as if he was reading an open book before his eyes.

    And that fact alone was enough to scare her even more. "And right at this moment, you are scared to let me be a part of your life. Because you think your presence can only bring me doom."

    Xiao Zhi Ren ced one hand on her shoulder as he added, "Rong, you need to learn that to live again, one has to die once. Just because one of your experiences in life wasn¡¯t good that doesn¡¯t mean the rest will also follow suit. Even our heartbeat is not straight, how can life be fun without some hurdles?"

    Ru took a deep breath and pondered his words before smiling to herself as if mocking her own self. She actually learned to live life after she faced death. It reminded her of what she had said a long time ago,

    *shback*

    "Don¡¯t give up on life just yet," she heard that mellow and charismatic voice right beside her.

    "I¡¯m not giving up on life. I finally learned what life is, why would I give up on it just yet?" She answered in a soft voice.

    "You seem very positive for someone who just woke up from a long term state of unconsciousness," she had a feeling that he was smiling as he spoke.

    "Only despair can teach us optimism..."

    *End of shback*

    Inhaling a sharp breath, Ru shot up from the ground and stood up to brush away the dust on her clothes. She took the bottle of water from her bicycle and twisted the cap.

    Scratching her thumb against the bark of the tree, she shed a cut on her thumb and dripped the blood in the water. Then she pushed the bottle towards him. "If I¡¯m making an oath, I¡¯ll only make a blood oath. It¡¯s extreme. Are you up for it?"

    Without a word, Xiao Zhi Ren took the bottle and made a gash through his thumb to drip his blood in as well.

    After that, she ced the bottle on the ground and got on her knees and gave him a look before saying, "Are you waiting for heavenly decree now?"

    A bit startled, Xiao Zhi Ren got down on his knees as well right beside her.

    "Repeat after me..." Ru said and added, "Let heaven and earth be my witness. I, Xie Rong, am willing to vow here to take Xiao Zhi Ren as my sworn brother."

    As she finished, Xiao Zhi Ren also followed, "I, Xiao Zhi Ren, take Xie Rong as my sworn brother."

    "Sharing joys and sorrows, prosperity and misfortune. If I vite this oath, heaven, and earth will punish me." Both of them finished simultaneously and took the bottle of water to drink the water which had their blood drops in it.

    This was a small ritual and Ru only chose heaven as a witness, she didn¡¯t want a third person to get involved.

    "Hey, little brother! Wee to the family." Xiao Zhi Ren yfully punched her chest making her purse her lips trying hard to endure.

    ¡¯Can¡¯t you be nice? That¡¯s a sensitive spot.¡¯ Of course, she couldn¡¯t voice that out. Instead, she reciprocated his actions and punched his chest as well saying, "You better not call me little brother."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was amused by her scowl as he ruffled her fluffy hair. He put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Let¡¯s go now."

    As both of them were making their way back towards the inner Jingshen city, Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly recalled something and said, "You called me foolish earlier."

    "Didn¡¯t I exined myself as well? You could think big or wisely but in the end, you chose foolishly."

    "Actually, I did not only think big but I also thought very wisely." At Ru¡¯s inquisitive gaze, he added, "Having Chairman Xie Rong as my backer is surely a very wise decision and having Rong as my brother is me thinking about the big picture."

    Ru knew he was trying to lighten up the mood but she still punched the side of his stomach saying, "Don¡¯t test me again."

    At her warning, Xiao Zhi Ren could onlyugh.

    He didn¡¯t need a backer like her. He was already backed up by The FireBenders Tower. Why would he need a person like her to back him up? But he certainly was an amusing person in her life now. And she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that this new bond was indeed intriguing to herself.

 Chapter 73 Life is Not a Fairy-tale

    "Little squirrel, meet Lilith. From today onwards, she¡¯ll be your mentor."

    As Ru¡¯s words registered in Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mind, he was dumbfounded. He eyed the girl of an average height before him. There wasn¡¯t anything outstanding about her except for the fact that there seemed to be a glow and novelty on her small face.

    "Mentor?" Xiao Zhi Yuan looked at Ru with raised brows.

    Ru patted Lilith¡¯s skittish shoulder and said, "Yup! This youngdy will help you in building up your internal strength. Her training will definitely help you." She omitted the part that the training was actually to teach him self-defense. In these years of adolescents, scuffles weremon but Xiao Zhi Yuan was toonky for her liking. She just wanted him to be a bit dandy in practical life as well.

    After all, being a bookworm or a topper won¡¯t reallye in handy when he¡¯ll have to face this world of conniving and wily adults.

    Ru already had a discussion with Xiao Zhi Ren about this topic which had gone a bit like,

    "You¡¯re definitely a martial art practitioner, why are you keeping your brother in the dark?" She had asked while they sat together to share a drink as officially sworn brothers.

    "I want Yuan to stay as my innocent and pure little brother." He had answered inly.

    There was nothing wrong with that wish of his except that it was too... impractical. Or to put it bluntly, it was a half-baked wish of his.

    Perhaps that¡¯s why Ru spurted out the liquor in her mouth and snorted. "Innocent? Pure?" Sheughed out loud in amusement. "Life is not a fairytale, Zhi. You can¡¯t keep him guarded for life. And if you really want to, he¡¯d just be like a caged bird who doesn¡¯t have the right to fly freely."

    "I¡¯m not taking his freedom from him." Xiao Zhi Ren insisted but found his own words not very convincing.

    "You are giving him everything except for the knowledge he requires to deal with this world. Isn¡¯t that like taking his freedom?" Xiao Zhi Ren fell in deep thought.

    "But I¡¯m afraid he will be hurt to learn that this world is not a beautiful ce."

    "Isn¡¯t that¡¯s what he needs to learn at this point? He is in adolescent years, what he needs is a reality check." Taking another sip of her drink, she added, "In simple words, someone needs to tell him that if you lose your shoe at midnight, it means you¡¯re drunk. Chapter close! Don¡¯t expect otherwise."

    Xiao Zhi Ren pursed his lips at her statement and rolled his eyes. "You really have something against fairytales." He remarked.

    "Can¡¯t help it." She shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    Coming back to the present, Ru decided to choose someone inconspicuous to teach Xiao Zhi Yuan and also to protect him. While she needed Lilith to spend some time with someone close to her age group. So, she decided to shot two birds with one stone.

    Taking Xiao Zhi Yuan a bit farther from Lilith, Ru whispered, "Little squirrel, Lilith is a special case. She can¡¯t talk and that¡¯s why she¡¯s a bit sensitive to the environment. You better do as she shows you to."

    "She¡¯s mute?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was startled as he turned back to look at Lilith who was standing upright without any concern in the world.

    "You can say that." Ru didn¡¯t think it was necessary to tell him that from her recent examination, she learned that Lilith was actually not a mute by birth. It was psychological. Perhaps, some trauma in her early life had made her lose her voice. However, Lilith¡¯s mind did believe that she¡¯s a mute. It was hard to solve issues rted to the brain.

    Ru had nned for them to train in her own apartment. While she was going to leave these two alone, she stopped beside Lilith to remind her, "As I instructed before, no offensive moves. Teach him how to defend himself." Lilith bowed her head slightly to acknowledge her order.

    While she was gonna waste her time pacing around in the apartment, she received a call from Xiao Zhi Ren telling her toe downstairs.

    Without thinking, Ru took the elevator to his apartment. While she entered the apartment, Qin Qu was discussing something with Xiao Zhi Ren. Seeing Ru enter, he greeted her politely, "Hi, Chairman Xie! What¡¯s up?"

    Before Ru could retort with her own sarcastic remark, Xiao Zhi Ren spoke up on her behalf, "Your time is up." Ru quirked her brow in amusement but that¡¯s the only reaction one could see. "Go and prepare for the sponsorship event." Xiao Zhi Ren shooed Qin Qu away who was not pleased by Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s earlier remark.

    "Have a nice day, Chairman Xie." Qin Qu didn¡¯t forget to greet Ru on his way out. If there was a list of people one can¡¯t offend, Qin Qu knew that Ru¡¯s name would definitely be in that list in a bold and capitalized letter. Therefore, he always tried to act amiable and humble before her.

    "Yuan is at your ce?" Xiao Zhi Ren was typing something on hisptop as he asked without lifting his eyes from the screen.

    "Yes... I gave him an instructor today." Ru didn¡¯t hide this fact from him since he was the Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brother. How could she lie to him?

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s finger¡¯s paused for a split second before he went back to typing away. "Why did you call for me?" asked Ru.

    "I have to discuss something with you," Xiao Zhi Yuan answered while Ru sat down on a couch. "I just heard about yourpany¡¯s resort project."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that after all, by now everyone would know that Metrix Consortium won the bidding for thend development project. Like there was any doubt about that to begin that?

    "What about it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren ced hisptop aside and said, "I want to be an investor in that project."

 Chapter 74 Dusk Need a Dawn

    ¡¯Investor?¡¯ Ru narrowed her eyes as she tried to read Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s real intentions. Why would a leading Techpany want to invest in a development project? Although it wasn¡¯t anything unbelievable since everyone loved a bit more money.

    But that wasn¡¯t the case with Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru knew it very well.

    Like a person who just got intrigued, Ru reclined back and crossed her long leg over the other while with her elbow on the arm-rest, her knuckles were supporting her face. She looked eloquent and curious but still mesmerizing.

    "Mind if I ask why this sudden change of heart?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren licked his lips before his lips curled in a smile. "I have my reasons."

    "Reasons? More than one huh? Now I¡¯m more intrigued." Seeing him keeping his lips sealed, Ru decided to take advantage, "What? Can¡¯t talk about it with your sworn brother?"

    Ru obviously wasn¡¯t used to this title of sworn brother and it came out a bit sour from her mouth. It wasn¡¯t her fault though. Even though she actually performed the ritual with him, sheter realized that she can¡¯t be his brother. After all, she was still a GIRL!

    The reason she relented and epted him as a sworn brother was actually very simple. No one had ever described her fears better than Xiao Zhi Ren. Perhaps, she couldn¡¯t even exin those fears better than him.

    Although the idea of seeing the light was scary, she always chose the path that scared her. Every dusk eventually has to face the dawn. She chose to ept that Xiao Zhi Ren was like that dawn that was inevitable.

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhi Ren took her words quite seriously. "I can tell you but I just didn¡¯t want to burden you with my problems."

    "Ha! You should have thought about that before asking to be my sworn brother. Now, I¡¯m already involved and you can¡¯t do anything about that." Ru stated with her rebellious charms.

    "I¡¯m looking for a way to interact with the Ji Family members." Ru frowned at his reply.

    "But if I¡¯m not wrong, you are a part of Ji Family."

    Xiao Zhi Ren: "If I actually used my rtionship as the means, I¡¯ll seem deliberate and suspicious. And I don¡¯t want to stand out until I find the person I¡¯m looking for."

    Although Ru didn¡¯t know who that person was, she didn¡¯t bother pondering over it either.

    Ru: "Hmmm... Ji Family is actually interested in investing in mypany¡¯s project. Is that the way you chose to enhance your chances of interaction?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head in agreement.

    "Wrong choice." Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her. "It¡¯s not a secret that Ji Family Corporation is interested in this project but if you also got involved, that really will seem deliberate." Recalling something she added, "What¡¯s the other reason for this sudden interest?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren pressed his lips as he stared at Ru¡¯s green eyes trying to intimidate him.

    Sighing in defeat, he had to say out his intentions, "I heard Knight Empires is actually coborating with Metrix Consortium for this specific project."

    Ru¡¯s face twitched a bit at this reason. She was only using Knight Empires name to lure people who knew Xiao Zhi Ren would be one of them.

    "What does Knight Empires have to do with you?" asked Ru inquisitively.

    "Nothing really..." Xiao Zhi Ren shrugged his shoulders. "But I admire the one behind the Knight Empires. Let¡¯s say, I would love to make his acquaintance."

    If Ru had a drink in mouth, she would have definitely sprayed it out by now. What the hell? He was actually admiring her? Make acquaintance? Someone tell this fool, I¡¯m sitting right here before your eyes.

    ¡¯I suddenly wonder what will his reaction be if he found out that The Alev Knight, he is so fascinated by, is actually his sworn brother.¡¯ Ru was lost in her own world with these weird thoughts and didn¡¯t notice that Xiao Zhi Ren was giving her odd looks.

    Clearing her throat a bit awkwardly, Ru stated, "Zhi, even if Knight Empires is coborating with me. It doesn¡¯t mean Alev Knight will be involved directly."

    "I know that. But we have to take a start from somewhere." Xiao Zhi Ren argued.

    "Do you have something to eat? I need to process some details in my mind."

    "What does food have to do with thinking?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked bitterly.

    "Zhi Hyung[1], even a car needs some fuel to start. Why can¡¯t I need food to think?" Saying that she actually sat up cross-legged on the couch as if iming her right as a sworn brother.

    "Wait here, I have some snacks at home." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know why he always relented before that green-eyed food-monster. But he still did it happily. He brought some chips, candied plums and almonds for her to munch on while he sat back to work.

    After eating the whole bunch of snacks, Ru wiped her mouth elegantly and said, "I just thought of a perfect n."

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his gaze and closed theptop asking, "What is it?"

    "We have to make sure that the Ji Familyes to you and not the other way around." Ru smiled haughtily.

    "And how is that going to happen?" He asked.

    "Simple... It seems like Ji Family¡¯s intention to be an investor is the same as yours. They want to have a connection with Alev Knight." Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up as he found her reasoning quite reasonable. "We just have to make it seem like you¡¯re really close to the Knight Empires."

    "How is that going to happen?"

    "What am I here for? Did I build Metrix Consortium as a joke? Of course not! Mypany¡¯s new project doesn¡¯t really need investors since it¡¯s a coboration with Knight Empires but SnapVise Technologies does need some investors for their Big Data research center."

    "What are you nning?" He asked cautiously.

    "Until today, Knight Empires have yet to invest in Technology. How about the start with yourpany?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes lit up as he understood her meaning, "You want Knight Empires to invest in my project? To give the impression that Knight Empires is actually backing me?"

    "Bingo!"

    "You really are a crafty person. But what if Knight Empires opposed your decision?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want herpany to take a blow because of him.

    "Who would dare to oppose?" Feeling that her tone was a bit odd, she tactfully changed her statement, "I mean, I have a very good rtionship with Alev Knight. He¡¯ll do what I say."

    ¡¯How can I mind my own words?¡¯

    Obviously, Xiao Zhi Ren was oblivious to her thoughts. The news of Metrix Consortium having close rtion with Knight Empires was already a piece of huge news for the financial market of Asia.

    Ru suggested this solution because recently, it was brought to her attention that Xiao Zhi Ren had actually presented a proposal for investment from Knight Empires specifically years ago for the same project. Since the project was yet to begin, Ru thought to use it to her advantage.

    [1] "Hyung": Older brother in Korean

 Chapter 75 I Can Defend Him

    No matter how cunning a person is, he always ends up making a mistake. Just like Ru didn¡¯t realize that her words were interpreted quite differently.

    "You know Alev Knight personally?" At Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s question, Ru just stared at him speechlessly.

    ¡¯What have you done, young master Ru?¡¯ She nagged at her own self but it was of no use. Who told her to talk without realizing her own meaning? Now she had only two options; either she could lie or she could just deny. She chose to go with thetter option as she said, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her incredulously. "You just said that you have a good rtionship with Alev Knight."

    "You heard it wrong." Ru insisted on him being wrong.

    "I did not!" Xiao Zhi Ren eximed. "I¡¯m sure you said that. Now, don¡¯t lie. Can¡¯t you just be honest?"

    ¡¯Honest? I¡¯d love to! But I¡¯m afraid you might get a heart attack from the shock of me being Alev Knight. Sigh! I still have to lie in the end.¡¯ Ru mulled over it for a while before straightening up to answer. "Fine. I do know him."

    "How?" Xiao Zhi Ren was immediately intrigued.

    ¡¯How can I not know myself?¡¯ Ignoring her inner thoughts, she stayed impassive as she answered, "I... I worked with him back in the days." ¡¯Seriously? That¡¯s the best you coulde up with?¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at herself inwardly.

    "You worked with Alev Knight?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked again just to make sure that he didn¡¯t get it wrong.

    "Yup!" When Ru confirmed it again, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes lit up. And looking at his expressions, Ru had a bad premonition.

    True enough, his next words left her in a dilemma. "I want to meet Alev Knight? Can you help?"

    ¡¯Why do you want to meet my alter ego?¡¯ Ru kneaded her temples tiredly. "He¡¯s in London."

    "He¡¯s not. He¡¯s in China and I know that. Don¡¯t you dare deny it." Ru¡¯s eyes widened seeing his conviction. Since when did her whereabouts be so easy to find?

    But Ru forgot to think of the possibility that Xiao Zhi Ren was just taking a wild shot. Her reactions though made his wild shot hit bull¡¯s eye.

    "How do you know that?" When she asked this question, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s doubts were confirmed. Now, there was no doubt that Alev Knight was in China.

    "Let¡¯s say it was my intuition." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to telltale about his friendship with and Adrian and thetter giving him a heads up.

    Although Ru didn¡¯t believe his words, she didn¡¯t want to pursue this matter. Him knowing Alev Knight¡¯s whereabouts was not the topic of discussion anyway. "Why do you want to meet Alev Knight?" This was the real topic of discussion for Ru. She was indeed very curious to know his reason.

    "Five years ago, when I submitted my proposal to Knight Empires, I didn¡¯t hear anything back from them. I know for a fact that Mr. Alev Knight didn¡¯t get a chance to see my proposal. I want to present my project proposal personally." At that time, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯spany wasn¡¯t a huge name in the market but it was said to be one of the most promising Techpany.

    "You think with you presenting the proposal personally, Alev Knight will be convinced to invest?"

    "I can guarantee you, he will." Xiao Zhi Ren had two things in life he was proud of; his brother and his work. There was no way that he¡¯d let Alev Knight say no to his project.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what she found interesting... Him being confident... Or him being over-confident?

    Nheless, he managed to pique her interest. Now, even she wanted to know how was he going to convince her alter ego, Alev Knight!

    "I¡¯m gonna ask you a question, Zhi. If I liked the answer, I¡¯ll arrange your meeting with him, if not... Don¡¯t expect any helping hand from this young master." Xiao Zhi Ren was well familiar with her weird questions, but he still chose to take the chance. After all, this was his only chance.

    "Okay... Ask away."

    "Why do you admire Alev? People might respect him but most people just have a fear for him. He¡¯s not someone admiring. His real self is a lot more ruthless than the one people hear about in rumors. Why are you so fascinated by him?" Xiao Zhi Ren took his time to understand her question. What she said was all true.

    If one sees Alev Knight from the world¡¯s perspective, he was ruthless, cold-blooded, inhumane. People could only find his mysterious personality a bit intriguing but the rest about him screamed bloody murder!

    "He¡¯s the reason, today I stand at the top of Tech Industry. Why wouldn¡¯t I admire him?" Ru might have conjectured a lot of scenarios in her mind but his answer definitely left her startled. Seeing the crease between Ru¡¯s brows, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled softly and added, "I might not have met Alev Knight in person but that man actually gave me the self-assurance I needed in life. He said to me that I¡¯m one of the most intriguing and promising people he had evere across in his life. That left a huge impact on me."

    Ru was perplexed. Did she say it? When?

    While she was pondering over it, she spoke again, "Do you know I never tried to enter the European market just because of him?"

    "Why? Did he stop you from doing so?" She asked.

    "No... I wanted to be a person who could rightfully stand on the same pinnacle as Alev Knight beforeing to Europe." Her heart shook at this statement. "My goal had always been him. I know he¡¯s notorious for a lot of things. But people like to only point at his ws while ignoring his wless personality. ¡¯Till today, I have yet to find a case where I could say that Alev Knight did something wrong. And I, as his admirer can definitely defend his each and every action."

    ¡¯Grandfather, today I really want you to hear this. There is actually someone in this world who wants to defend my actions for me... This... Really makes him look foolish.¡¯ Ru chewed the inside of her mouth since she really had no answer for him. No one has ever defended her before. And here he was ready to fight with the world for her honor. She smiled to herself as she thought, ¡¯I really like this feeling.¡¯

    She lunged to her feet and stretched her neck a bit to avoid his gaze. "I¡¯ll arrange for a meeting in a fortnight[1]."

    She was intending on leaving when Xiao Zhi Ren sprinted towards her and hugged her in excitement. "Thanks, little brother!" Xiao Zhi Ren was over the moon. Even after years of friendship with Adrian, he still didn¡¯t manage to see Alev Knight but now, with his sworn brother, he was getting this chance to even have a face-to-face meeting with the man behind Knight Empires.

    Ru pushed his heavy body off her and scowled, "First, no hugs. I hate it! Second, don¡¯t call me little brother." She fixed her sweatshirt just to make sure that nothing was revealing.

    After being pushed away, Xiao Zhi Ren felt like he was missing something. Ru¡¯s body felt cold to touch and yet the heat permeating from her body was contradicting. He had gotten a waft of a citric scent on her body mixed with something spicy? It was a weirdbination but he thought it suited Ru¡¯s personality perfectly.

    While her words were always sour, she definitely had a spicy personality making it sparkling.

    [1] ¡¯fortnight¡¯: a period of Two weeks

 Chapter 76 Strong-ling

    Coming back to her apartment, Ru was trying to sort out her thoughts.

    Alev Knight meeting Xiao Zhi Ren?

    Hmmm...

    She knocked on her own head, ¡¯Aish! What am I going to do now?¡¯

    While she was lost in her own thoughts, she heard the sound of the doorbell. Upon opening the door, she came face-to-face with an enraged Lilith.

    "What¡¯s wrong with you?" On Ru¡¯s question, Lilith clenched her fists tightly trying to calm herself.

    "I can¡¯t be a mentor of a weakling." Understanding Lilith¡¯s hand signs, Ru frowned.

    "What happened?" There was no way this girl was reacting like this over nothing.

    Lilith took a deep breath and tried to exin herself with as much detail as she could. "That little fresh meat[1] can¡¯t even throw a punch. What am I going to teach him?"

    Ru cocked her head to a side as she stated matter-of-factly, "Perhaps... You have to teach him how to throw a punch."

    Lilith gaped at Ru in disbelief. Although in the past months, her respect and admiration for Ru had reached a whole new pinnacle...

    But she still thought that this master of hers was really unexpected. Especially with words. How could ¡¯he¡¯ always make people speechless?

    "He almost broke his knuckles while trying to throw a single punch," added Lilith.

    That got Ru¡¯s attention. "Where is he?"

    "He¡¯s fine. You are not getting the point here. He is a weakling." Lilith was exasperated trying to state her main point.

    "Then it¡¯s your job to turn him into a strong-ling." Ru shrugged her shoulders while she put some water to boil for tea.

    "Is there even such a thing as being a strong-ling?" Lilith asked shoving herself right in front of Ru¡¯s eyes to make her notice the hand signs clearly.

    Ru sighed heavily before she touched Lilith¡¯s head and said, "Life can¡¯t be found in the terms defined by the world. If the term you want doesn¡¯t exist in the dictionary, make sure to add that term in your personal nk book of life."

    Lilith¡¯s heartbeat precipitated and she wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because of the words she heard or because of that gentle hand on her head that was enshrouding her heart in a gush of warmth.

    "As long as you believe that there is a thing called being strong-ling. No one can convince you otherwise."

    Pouring some tea in two cups, Ru pushed one cup towards Lilith as she continued, "Apart from that, I know it will be a bit difficult for you to like Yuan. But bear with it. Patience is the key." Looking out the ss wall with a thoughtful look, she went on, "He¡¯s different than you and I. He has lived a guarded life. Unlike both of us, he doesn¡¯t really know how cruel this world can be."

    Turning back, she patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder. "I told you before, your job is not just to teach him how to defend himself, you have to make his safety your first priority." Lilith nodded her head understanding one thing very clearly...

    That weakling boy is really important to her master. But the question was; WHY?

    Oblivious to this discussion, Xiao Zhi Yuan went to school as per his routine. His life at school had been a lot easier since the time, Zhang Han and he had gotten closer to each other. Both were always found together and although the students found this odd, no one dared toment.

    Zhang Han had always stayed in the teacher¡¯s good books because he was the ss president but ¡¯till now he never managed to have a close friend. Perhaps that¡¯s why his bonding with Xiao Zhi Yuan was stronger.

    There was obviously another reason...

    "Good morning, little Uncle!" Zhang Han teased Xiao Zhi Yuan as he put his arm around his shoulder.

    Peeling Zhang Han¡¯s hand off of his shoulder, Xiao Zhi Yuan shoved his school bag at Zhang Han and said, "My dearest nephew, why don¡¯t you help your uncle in carrying his schoolbag?"

    Zhang Han scrunched up his face indignantly. "That¡¯s not fair."

    "Why? Isn¡¯t helping your uncle a part of being respectful to your elders?"

    "Don¡¯t take it too far. I¡¯m older than you by the whole three months." Zhang Han retorted.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan pinched Zhang Han¡¯s cheek with an excessive force making him wince. "Who started it, little nephew?"

    "Forget it, I¡¯ll just carry the bag." In the end, Zhang Han had to resign since he was the one who started with the teasing.

    They had a pact that both of them won¡¯t disclose their rtionship in school at any cost. Being uncle and nephew of a ssmate was quite embarrassing or awkward for both of them. Now that Zhang Han brought up the topic, he had to pay for it.

    During the lunch hours, Zhang Han ced a lunch box before Xiao Zhi Yuan. "Your sister wanted me to deliver this to you. She has some urgent matter to deal with so she can¡¯te herself today."

    Xiao Zhi Yaun was quite used to these delicious lunch boxes by now but it was always brought by Ji Caihong herself. It was very odd for her to not show up herself.

    After pondering and hesitating for a long while, Xiao Zhi Yuan finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Is she sick? Or is she sick of bringing this to me herself?"

    Zhang Han had already been told that Xiao Zhi Yuan was quite a sensitive individual but it was his first time seeing Xiao Zhi Yuan acting like this. It was obvious that he was worried for Ji Caihong but he was also scared that just like everyone else, she is also tired of him.

    "Stop overthinking... Great grandmother ising back. So, my dearest aunt is busy preparing for that." Zhang Han decided to disclose this matter to Xiao Zhi Yuan since he was actually a family member.

    "Great grandmother? You mean my grandmother Zhao Mi?" Zhang Han nodded giving his confirmation. "Where is sheing from?"

    Zhang Han rolled his eyes at Xiao Zhi Yuan before telling him in detail, "Great grandmother had surgery six months ago. She¡¯s been recuperating in Germany. Now, that her health has been restored, she ising back home." Recalling something, Zhang Han tapped on Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s shoulder in excitement and said, "Oh, oh, there is going to be a banquet as well. Also, I heard you¡¯re on the guest list."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan was surprised to hear that but he didn¡¯t show it on his face. "I won¡¯t be attending."

    "That¡¯s not up to you to decide." Zhang Han gloated. "From what I heard, your brother and great grandmother are very close to each other. And there is no way that great grandmother calls and your brother won¡¯t show up. If my first uncle wille, obviously, my third uncle has to follow." He lowered his voice deliberately to say hisst sentence.

    Little Yuan scowled but didn¡¯t say anything since Zhang Han was right. If his grandmother was the hostess, Xiao Zhi Ren would never refuse to be the guest. And if his brother went, he¡¯ll drag him along. How troublesome!

    When the long day at school finished, both Zhang Han and Xiao Zhi Yuan were leaving the school together. But suddenly, catching sight of the person waiting for him at the gate, Xiao Zhi Yuan was left dumbfounded.

    ¡¯Am I dreaming?¡¯ He wondered to himself as he rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn¡¯t being delusional.

    [1] ¡¯Little Fresh Meat¡¯: handsome young males

 Chapter 77 Row A Raf

    Even after rubbing his eyes when Xiao Zhi Yuan could still see the person waiting for him at the gate, he was lost for words. It was certain that he wasn¡¯t dreaming.

    "What is she doing here?" He muttered to himself but Zhang Han still heard his voice.

    Zhang Han followed his sight to find a girl in simple jeans and shirt. She was holding a big bouquet of bright red roses in her hand. Her small face was impassive but her eyes were expressive.

    Seeing the girl walking in their direction, Xiao Zhi Yuan wanted to run away but he couldn¡¯t move his feet no matter how hard he tried to.

    Under the curious gazes of high school students, the girl stood right in front of Xiao Zhi Yuan and extended the bouquet of roses towards him. There were loud gasps around but he didn¡¯t care at all.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan eyed the roses and then eyed the girl who held it. There were someplicated feelings inside of him. Slowly he lifted his hand and pointed his finger at the bouquet and asked, "This is..." he pointed at his own face as he went on, "for me?"

    With her straight face, the girl nodded making Xiao Zhi Yuan arch his brows.

    He pressed his lips together before voicing out, "Lilly, are you sick? Just yesterday, you gave me a bunch of bruises. Today, you are giving me roses? Why?"

    Lilith rummaged out her cellphone and typed on it, "To apologize for yesterday."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan wanted to smile but his face was stiffened up. "So... To apologize you brought these red roses?"

    She typed again with a frown on her face, "Yes." Wasn¡¯t it obvious that she was apologizing? She was listening to her master and trying to be normal. Was it so hard to believe?

    This time, seeing her innocence, Xiao Zhi Yuan really smiled gently. "Lilly, you are not supposed to give red roses for an apology."

    Lilith gave an inquisitive look and typed again, "Why not?"

    "Red roses are a symbol of love. Yellow roses are used for an apology since they symbolize innocence and friendship." Xiao Zhi Yuan exined patiently with a gentle look.

    Although he was scared of Lilith because of yesterday¡¯s events, he still found her very innocent and naive at the moment. Yesterday, she had made him run for ten kilometers and after that, when he couldn¡¯t throw a punch right, she actually flipped him and knocked him straight to the ground. His back was still sore.

    Lilith scratched her head as she puckered up her lips and typed again, "I¡¯ll go buy the yellow ones."

    She was about to turn when Xiao Zhi Yuan held her wrist to stop her. "There is no need. I like the red ones better." Saying that he happily epted the bouquet from her hands. "Thank you! And I hope you won¡¯t be too vicious again."

    Lilith gave an uncertain look but still typed for him, "I will try my best."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan who was nodding in delight didn¡¯t notice that Zhang Han was giving him some serious looks.

    "I didn¡¯t know you have a girlfriend."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan frowned at Zhang Han¡¯s over-imaginative mind and said, "Stop using your little brain on my matters." He turned to Lilith and asked, "Did youe just for this?"

    She shook her head and typed on the cellphone for him to see, "I came to pick you up."

    Nodding, Xiao Zhi Yuan said, "Let¡¯s go then."

    After Lilith parked the car in the underground parking lot of the condominium building, both of them got off simultaneously. As they walked side-by-side towards the electronic doors, Xiao Zhi Yuan looked at Lilith¡¯s expressionless face and asked, "How do you know my Oniisan?"

    Lilith tilted her head to face him before she entered the passcode of the electronic ss door and walked inside. She took a while before taking her cellphone to type, "He saved me."

    Reading the three words on the screen, Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brows creased up. "Oniisan saved your life?"

    She shook her head and pointed at the screen again. There were the same words as before, "He saved me."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly fathom what she was talking about. Because only she knew how grateful she was to be able to meet her master. He literally saved her. Not her life, but her soul and humanity.

    Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a pair of green eyes were stuck on the ss of sparkling clean water.

    For somepany-rted issue, Ru had to fly back to London. But her mind definitely wasn¡¯t in the condition to focus on anything.

    Her mind was still upied with the thoughts of how she was going to fulfill her promise. This promise wouldn¡¯t have been an issue if she wasn¡¯t Alev Knight or if she wasn¡¯t Xie Rong. But the biggest problem was that she was the one with the dual identity.

    Sending someone else as Alev Knight would be akin to lying and the promise will not be fulfilled but going herself... Could she possibly exin the reason for these messed up identities?

    Adrian had just entered the meeting room when his eyes caught sight of Ru sitting all alone holding her head in her hands. He had never seen Alev Knight looking this distressed. And the extent of distress could be seen from the way, Ru ruffled her own hair making them a wild mess.

    "I didn¡¯t know our most favorite Knight in shining armor is back." Adrian couldn¡¯t stop himself from being bitter with words.

    Ru raked her fingers through her wild mess of a hair to settle them and Adrian¡¯s eyes followed her movements closely. Suddenly he sighed out, "It¡¯s a pity that you are a Knight. If you had been a Princess, men would have gone crazy over that face of yours." Adrian always thought that Ru¡¯s face was too handsome for a man. That defined face-cut and high cheekbone gave her a wild and yet sophisticated look.

    Adrian thought he¡¯d get a reaction since he just literally called Ru a girl but thetter was still indifferent. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to use her brain juice on this useless prince. She had better things to do. Or perhaps, more important things to worry about.

    Adrian didn¡¯t just give up. How could he? He won¡¯t be satisfied until the other person actually gave a reaction.

    "But then again, I think it¡¯s better that you¡¯re a man." This time Ru looked at him with an arched brow. She was curious to know, was her being a girl really that bad? "If you had been a girl, you¡¯d put other men to shame with your tough personality."

    Ru still didn¡¯t speak in reply as she mulled over his words. ¡¯Tough personality? Is it really that bad?¡¯ She wondered to herself in silence.

    Not feelingfortable with Ru¡¯s silence, Adrian burst up, "Hey, Alev! Why so serious, man? I have never seen you this quiet." Don¡¯t scare me like this.

    Rolling her eyes at his outburst, Runguidly looked at his face and retorted, "I certainly can¡¯t n your murder out loud now, can I?" She said it with an impassive look and a in voice.

    It took a while for Adrian to realize that she was being sarcastic with him. He snorted. "You! You¡¯re impossible! Just stay quiet."

    After another moment of silence, Ru asked, "Hey, Adrian! Does a tough personality of girls really bad?" She really regretted asking this question but the bullet was shot, she couldn¡¯t possibly retrieve it. She could only deal with the consequences now.

    Why did she ask this question? She didn¡¯t know. It just suddenly popped into her mind out of nowhere. She had never taken herself being a girl very seriously. If there weren¡¯t a monthly reminder, she might really forget that she was a girl. Therefore, she never really cared about those girly feelings at all. However, she couldn¡¯t deny that she was born a girl.

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Adrian retorted matter-of-factly. "Doesn¡¯t all boys like their woman to depend on them? If a woman is tougher than the man himself, it¡¯ll hurt his ego and pride." Recalling something, he frowned, "Why are you so interested? Is your girlfriend tough?"

    Ru wanted to smack his face but didn¡¯t want to bicker with him at all. "Yes... And I also like her being tough. A person, man or woman, can¡¯t depend on others for life. We have to fight our battles ourselves. There is nothing wrong with being tough. It just shows that a person has gone throw enough storms of life to learn how to row a raft like it¡¯s a luxury boat."

    Adrian was dumbfounded. Why did he feel like he was just insulted again? And he didn¡¯t even do anything!

 Chapter 78 Nice Words & Goosebumps

    Even during the meeting, Adrian could see that Ru was distracted. Something was definitely bothering her. But he was curious to know what could effect Alev Knight to this extent?

    Ru was the first one to leave the meeting room after the discussion was over. She only said a total of five words that were made up of, "Let¡¯s go with your n."

    The conference room went silent at her departure like this. She usually didn¡¯t say much during the meetings except for stating her points but today was one of those rare days when she didn¡¯t even try to nit-pick about other¡¯s ns.

    "Is Mr. Knight okay?" Someone dared to voice out the question to break the suffocating silence.

    "Who knows! Sir Knight seems to be in a bad mood today." Another official reckoned.

    "If that¡¯s the case then let¡¯s not bother him. I¡¯m sure none of us wants to be on the receiving end of his heartless persona." The others nodded their heads to disy their consent.

    Adrian who had been listening silently sighed out and lunged to his feet. He really needed to see what that Knight was up to.

    As he came out and was walking through the corridors to find Ru, he saw her leaning against the ss wall with a cigarette in his mouth. Wisps of white smoke had enshrouded her face but her eyes were still sparkling clear.

    Adrian stood by her side observing her movements patiently while she was still treating him like thin air. Completely INVISIBLE!

    Oddly, for the first time, Adrian wasn¡¯t irked by her behavior. Instead, he was feeling ufortable and worried.

    "Having a bad day?" He finally asked the question.

    She tilted her head to blew the rings of smoke straight at his face before saying, "Apparently, I forgot to wear my lucky underpants."

    Adrian first waved his hand before his face to disperse the smoke while he coughed lightly and then chuckled at her answer.

    He shook his head lightly before saying, "Sometimes you really make me question your sanity."

    The ashes of the burnt cigarette fell on Ru¡¯s fingers but she couldn¡¯t feel a thing. To Adrian, she seemed like someone who was numb to pain. But he didn¡¯t know that she was indeed so used to pain that the small burn couldn¡¯t possibly hurt her.

    "Don¡¯t question my sanity. It only answers to me." Ru replied in a in voice.

    "I have to talk to you about something. How about getting out of here?" Adrian tried to shift her attention and oddly, Ru didn¡¯t refuse.

    Instead, she took a few steps ahead of him and turned her head back to call him out, "What are you waiting for now? Should I bring a pumpkin carriage for your highness?"

    Adrian rolled his eyes at her before following her out. He chose one of the elite bars in downtown London which he owned.

    Rolling his sleeves, he asked, "Would you like a drink?"

    Ru sat down on high bar stool and answered, "Give me bourbon... Neat."

    Adrian picked up a bottle of bourbon and poured it in a ss. He picked some ice as he said, "Have it on the rocks."

    Ru snatched her drink from his hand before he could even add the ice and said, "Bourbon on the rocks... Doesn¡¯t rock my world."

    Adrian pursed his lips as his hand was still holding the ice in mid-air. He reminded himself to stay calm. Today was not a good day to argue. Poring some whiskey for himself, Adrian questioned, "Can¡¯t you ever be nice to me?"

    Ru looked into his ocean blue eyes and smile slyly. "For the past five years, I¡¯ve been looking for a day to be nice to you. But apparently, today isn¡¯t your day again!"

    Grinding his teeth, Adrian retorted, "I have also been pressing the delete button for five years... Apparently, it doesn¡¯t work because you¡¯re still right here." Gulping down his whiskey in one go, Adrian didn¡¯t even feel the burn in his throat since the burn in his heart was much worse! "With your level of sarcasm, you¡¯ll definitely end up in hell."

    Gulping down the liquor straight from the bourbon bottle, Ru smiled victoriously. "Don¡¯t worry... Hell has long banned my entry." Amused by his reaction, she added, "You should think about yourself. I have heard that Satan loves bloody buggers[1] like you."

    After that, she didn¡¯t bother with him at all. Seeing her supping down the alcohol like it was water, Adrian was really taken aback. If he wasn¡¯t wrong, he had heard that Alev Knight doesn¡¯t like drinking. It certainly didn¡¯t look like it at the moment.

    "On a serious note, Alev, what¡¯s going on with you?" He really needed an answer.

    Ru pinched his high bridged nose between her index and middle finger as she said, "Take care of your nose. It¡¯s poking in my business again."

    Adrian scowled as he rubbed his nose which was sore now. "I was trying to be nice here."

    Sighing out, she said, "Adrian, do you think anyone can admire a person like me?"

    Adrian went silent at her question. Where did this sudden questione from? He bit the inside of his lower lip as he pondered over his words.

    Looking at her green eyes looking at him earnestly, he answered, "Is it that hard to believe that you could be someone¡¯s idol?"

    "Isn¡¯t it? People don¡¯t respect me from the heart. They just fear me. My own subordinates respect me because they owe me their lives. I really don¡¯t see a reason why someone would actually be choosing to admire me? That person will have to defend my actions at every step of the way and yet he¡¯ll choose this path. Why?"

    She finally said out the things that¡¯d been gnawing at her heart. She still couldn¡¯t understand the reason why Xiao Zhi Ren would choose to defend her or admire her.

    "You do know that I hate you right?" Adrian asked his own question in return.

    "Of course, I know. The feeling is quite mutual after all." Ru shrugged her shoulders as if his opinion was unimportant.

    Adrian didn¡¯t focus on her words and continued, "The reason I hate you had always been my grandmother¡¯s trust in you. She would rather trust you than me. As for what type of a person you are... It never bothered me." Ru was surprised to hear his words. "Even if I want to, I can¡¯t hate you for your work. You are a weirdbination of ruthless personality and kindest heart. You have done a lot of things in the wrong way. But you never did something wrong."

    "I always admired you for all the innocent lives you saved. People can judge you for taking some bastards lives but I¡¯ll always choose to look at how those actions of yours gave new life and hope to a thousand others."

    "Yes, one will always have to defend your actions but so what? It won¡¯t change the fact that you are one of those people who stand high on their own capabilities. Not by some shady or backhanded means. You might not be honest with words but you are always honest with your actions and aims. That makes you peculiar for me."

    Seeing her blinking at him with a slightly curled lips, he added, "Now, don¡¯t let your boat float high above in the clouds. I was just being honest. But I still hate you as always."

    Ru gave him a sincere smile almost dazzling Adrian who was taken aback. This must the only time, she actually gave him a real smile and not those devious ones. That smile was really... enchanting. Adrian shook his head at his own thoughts.

    "Adrian, thank you for these words. But don¡¯t ever say it again. It gave me goosebumps all over."

    Adrian red at her and turned back to his drink. He really shouldn¡¯t have tried to be nice to this person. ¡¯He¡¯ doesn¡¯t deserve it!

    [1] ¡¯bloody buggers¡¯: Damn Jerks

 Chapter 79 Deep-Seated Passion

    "I¡¯ve heard some rumors going around. Mind if you clear those up for me?"

    Ru was looking at the group of people on the second floor through the ss window when she heard Adrian¡¯s question.

    "And can you please cut back on the liquor in your hand?" Adrian had already watched her drinking two whole bottles of bourbon without a break. He was afraid she¡¯d be sick. But thetter was more than just okay.

    "Being an Englishman, how can you even question this lord¡¯s deep-seated passion for booze?" Adrian twisted his mouth seemingly not quite impressed by her words. Seeing his dark look, she added, "You look like you might peg out[1] any moment now."

    Adrian snorted, not very gentlemanly if one might add so. "Wouldn¡¯t you feel brilliant if I just peg out?" Taking a slight break to walk up to her side, he added, "About those rumors..."

    "What rumors?" Ru asked absentmindedly.

    "I heard that Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility is experimenting on mastering the art of human mind control. Is it true?" He chose his words quite carefully being cautious for some unknown reason.

    "Haha..." Bouts ofughter rang in the dimly lit space. "Are you stered[2]? That soon?" In between her hystericalughter, she added, "Are you watching some sci-fi shows? The human mind is the mostplicated thing in this world. How can one master the art of controlling it? We are called humans, not puppets."

    Although her words sounded reasonable and sensible. But the more they sounded right, the more Adrian knew something was up.

    "It¡¯s not really hard to believe the rumors if it¡¯sing from Knight Empires. After all, everyone knows how much Alev Knight like to pull a blinder[3]." Adrian said in a calm voice as he sat with a straight posture.

    Ru eyed him weirdly with a meaningful look in her eyes. Of course, she knew about the rumors. She had started the rumors herself but it was, in fact, just a rumor. The purpose was just to lure her enemies out. But obviously, the rumors were going to attract some unnecessary attention as well just like Adrian¡¯s attention which waspletely unasked for.

    "Blimey[4]!" Ru gasped in surprise. "I didn¡¯t know Mister Royal Highness of Dogdy[5]-Ville actually thinks so highly of this lord." Knocking him on the head she added, "I might like pulling a blinder but I¡¯m still a human being. With no desire to control someone¡¯s mind."

    "In my personal opinion, if I ever started researching that would be on the human heart." Adrian arched his brows in perplexion. "I want to see how a person can possibly fall in love. Because love is the mostplicated thing for me. Just ask yourself, how can a person love another to the extent that they would want to lose their most precious thing called life for the other person?"

    "Dear Chap[6], stop trying to twist my mind with your words. Answer with a simple yes or no." Adrian had definitely had enough of her. He knew how much this lord loved to manipte with words.

    "Did Charles announced anything regarding this?" Ru asked turning back to her serious self.

    "No."

    "Then why are you looking for an answer? Charles is the Head of my Research Facility if even he had not given an official statement. Then there is no truth in those rumors. They could be just another version of Chinese whispers[7]." Ru¡¯s answer convinced Adrian to some extent but notpletely. He was sure there was more to it than meet the eye but he also knew with Ru¡¯s personality, she would never tell him straightforwardly.

    On the other side of the continent...

    Xiao Zhi Ren had been preupied with preparing a whole new project proposal for Alev Knight. For him, this Big Date Research Center was of utmost importance and he didn¡¯t want to lose out on a chance to have a coboration with Knight Empires.

    While he was working on hisptop in the evening, he received a call. "Hello, Grandmother!" He greeted the person on the other end politely.

    "Zhi Ren, I¡¯ve heard you have been in China for months and haven¡¯t been to the Old Residence. Did Grandmother raised you to be so unfilial?" The voice from the other end might be elderly but it was full of vigor and intimidation.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t mind at being chided like this. Instead, he smiled. The only person who could reprimand him like that was his grandmother Mi. Also, he could feel her concern and love even in those harsh words.

    "I heard my grandmother wasn¡¯t in the country. What would I do in the Old Residence without my Queen Grandmother?" He didn¡¯t have to say it directly for his grandmother to know why he was avoiding the Old Residence.

    Sure enough, the elderlydy understood as she sighed out tiredly. "Zhi Ren, whether I¡¯m there or not, that family is still yours."

    "Grandmother-" Before he could deny this fact with his argument, she cut him off.

    "Listen to grandmother first... I¡¯ming home next week and there is going to be a banquet at the house. I don¡¯t want to hear any excuses. You muste for my sake. Grandmother misses you." Her soft and pleading voice, eventually made Xiao Zhi Ren relent. How typical of him to fall for his grandmother¡¯s tricks.

    "I¡¯ll be there. Just for your sake, grandmother." Xiao Zhi Ren promised and after an exchange of pleasantries, he hung up the call.

    Xiao Zhi Yuan who had been leaning against the door of his study finally knocked to let him know of his presence.

    "You agreed? Again?" Xiao Zhi Yuan was indignant.

    "Yuan, I told you plenty of times... Our Grandmother is really important to me. I won¡¯t let you say a word against her." Xiao Zhi Ren gave Yuan a stern warning. Not paying heed to him grumbling all by himself, Xiao Zhi Ren added, "Have you seen your Oniisan?"

    At the mention of Ru, Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s mood lifted up and he answered, "Oniisan is not home. Lily said he¡¯d be gone for a while. He¡¯s a busy person."

    "And I¡¯m not?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned his little brother as he arched his eyebrow.

    "You are busy... But let¡¯s be honest here Big bear... You can¡¯t possiblypete with Oniisan¡¯s level of power. He has control over the entire stock market." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t mind praising Ru before his own brother since, in his opinion, there was indeed no match between his big bear and his Oniisan.

    "If you¡¯re done belittling your own brother, go back to your room." Xiao Zhi Ren shooed him away since he couldn¡¯t possibly refute his words.

    Leaning back in his chair, he whispered, "My sworn brother is really at a whole different level." His voice held a touch of pride and satisfaction as if he was honored to have a sworn brother like Ru.

    [1] ¡¯peg out¡¯: die

    [2] ¡¯stered¡¯: drunk

    [3] ¡¯pull a blinder¡¯: To "pull a blinder" involves achieving something difficult faultlessly and skilfully.

    [4] ¡¯Blimey¡¯: My goodness!

    [5] ¡¯Dogdy¡¯: Suspicious

    [6] ¡¯chap¡¯: friend or male

    [7] ¡¯Chinese whispers¡¯: rumors that have been circted and watered down until they only vaguely resemble the truth.

 Chapter 80 Fishes Caught By The Sharks

    While both Ru and Adrian were making there way out of the bar, Ru heard a sweet and melodious voice making her halt to turn and look towards the stage on the first floor where a young girl was singing with her guitar in hands.

    "??She was a little girl

    hiding her colossal dreams

    in her big blue eyes

    She grew up in her golden cage

    trying to see the world

    through her castle¡¯s stage

    They told her, to hide

    there were demons waiting outside

    She sat there, on the rooftop

    Telling magic tales to the howling moon

    But no one knew

    she could hear the wind screaming, and telling her

    Listen to your heart and fly with me

    There is a whole world ahead to foresee

    Don¡¯t run, don¡¯t hide

    Dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat

    Listen to the magic bursting inside

    There is everything you¡¯ve been dreaming of outside

    No one to break you

    No one to shake you

    Just, dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat??"

    "Grab your brolly[1], it¡¯s drizzling outside." Adrian¡¯s voice broke Ru¡¯s daze who was so lost in the meaning of the lyrics that she forgot where she was standing.

    "Huh?" She looked at Adrian in confusion and then heard the sound of pitter-patter making her gape. "This surely is a dog¡¯s dinner[2]. Why is it raining again?" She was feeling exasperated to see the rain.

    Adrian scowled at her reaction. "Why do you look so gutted?[3]" He questioned clearly.

    Ru red at him hatefully. "Today is the match of my favorite team. Now, the match is going to cancel. How unfair!"

    Adrian pressed his lips together not knowing how to reply to that. But there was an irk in his heart to question something and so he did. "Did you fly all the way from Imperial Capital of China to London just to support your favorite football team?"

    Ru rummaged out a ticket from her pant and shoved it right before his face saying, "Why the fudge did I bought these tickets for?" Clenching her fists, she really wanted to smack someone¡¯s head or butt. "This is why I don¡¯t like London, it¡¯s always crying."

    "Don¡¯t talk rubbish. It doesn¡¯t rain that much in London. You¡¯re exaggerating now." Adrian felt the need to defend the pride of London.

    Ru gave him a sideways nce that was enough to shut his mouth. She snatched the brolly from Adrian¡¯s hand and walked out in the rain.

    Adrian looked at her tall, straight posture that seemed to scream confidence and whispered, "There he goes again, gallivanting[4] all by himself."

    Although Ru had snatched the umbre from his hand, she didn¡¯t open it for herself. As she had told Xiao Zhi Ren, she really wasn¡¯t afraid of rain. If anything rain was something she would say she loved. After all, no one could tell whether she was alone, tired, miserable, and crying or it was just the raindrops stuck on her gorgeous face.

    Walking down the alleyways, she saw a youth covering his head with his schoolbag as he ran to find a shelter for himself. She didn¡¯t know what came to her shambled[5] mind that she actually opened her umbre and covered him with it. Before the youth could lift his head to look at her, she had already pulled up her hoodie and walked ahead.

    "Thank you!" She heard a frisky voice from behind. Instead of turning, she raised her arm over her head and waved at him.

    It wasn¡¯t like she was in need of that umbre anyway. She just snatched it to piss off Adrian. Her mission was aplished so there was no need of the umbre at all.

    She didn¡¯t even notice that a pair of bright obsidian eyes, followed her ¡¯till she had turned to enter another alley.

    It took her about thirty minutes to reach her townhouse in downtown. Opening the door, she pped her hands twice and said, "Raven, say hello to daddy!"

    The virtual assistant replied monotonously, "Wee home, mommy!"

    "I¡¯m absolutely zonked(tired). So, mind your words." Ru said in a slightly irritated voice and peeled off her wet jacket and then the hoodie underneath.

    "I¡¯ll take note of that." The assistant answered being less irritating.

    Ru had not even been under the hot water for about five minutes when the ring sound of rm actually startled her. She turned off the water and wrapped a towel before running out in bathroom slippers.

    "Raven, turn on the systems and brief me on the situation. What¡¯s going on?" She hurriedly threw the orders as she clutched the towel, not letting it fall from her body.

    "It seems you have caught a fish lurking in the ocean of your server," came the voice of the virtual assistant being all cryptic like it¡¯s master.

    Ru sat on her swirl chair and not bothering with the towel, she started typing on the keyboard. Outside the window was a calming sound of pitter-patter while inside the house, there was only the sound of tic-ticing from the keys as her fingers flew over them.

    With a sly smile, she said, "Not a fish... I¡¯ve caught a sneaky rat." Pressing the enter button dramatically, she whispered, "Busted!" One could hear the sound of victory in her voice. "These fishes should know there are always sharks hiding in the ocean."

    The screens before her shed before her eyes and the location locked on to the supposed ¡¯rat¡¯.

    But...

    Looking at the location from which the attack was originated, her smile fell.

    [1] ¡¯brolly¡¯: Umbre

    [2] ¡¯dog¡¯s dinner¡¯: A Mess

    [3] ¡¯gutted¡¯: Extremely upset

    [4] ¡¯gallivanting¡¯: roaming

    [5] ¡¯shambled¡¯: Disoriented or chaotic

 Chapter 81 She Is No Thief!

    Ru had a gobsmacked[1] look stered on her face. She really couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. Perhaps, my eyes are ying a joke with me. She wondered to herself and rubbed her eyes repeatedly. "Did I press the wrong button or something?" She asked out loud to herself.

    But the answer came from the annoying assistant, "There seems to be no mistake in the results."

    Rubbing her thin lips with the pad of her index finger, she pondered over the possibilities. "It seems this lord needs to make a visit to Ji Family Residence himself."

    "Iing video call from Xiao Zhi Ren." Ru was in a daze and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t even bother to carefully let Raven¡¯s words sink in before she said, "Connect the call."

    As the call was just connected, Ru¡¯s eyes dropped on the single towel wrapped around her body. Without thinking, she plopped down on the floor to hide.

    "Rong?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mellow voice could be heard. Obviously, he was expecting to see his sworn brother but instead, he could only see an empty room.

    "Yeah," Ru answered from under the table.

    "Where are you?"

    Ru facepalmed herself at being such a blockhead. Thinking of a solution, she slightly craned her neck to show her face to Xiao Zhi Ren. Then gave him a wave with her fingers, "Hi! How are you?"

    She didn¡¯t even realize that at that moment, Xiao Zhi Ren had a look of astonishment on his face.

    With water dripping from her wet hair and dropping on her bare shoulders, along with those prominent and gorgeous beauty bones, she was a sight to behold. He could even see her slightly flushed cheeks perhaps because of the hot water or cold chills, but she looked really adorable.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s Adam apple bobbed up and down before he coughed lightly to clear his throat and shook his head. "What the hell are you doing under the table?" In his flustered state, he had raised his voice unnecessarily.

    "I¡¯m ying football, want to join?" Ru really couldn¡¯t help it. Her tongue really wasn¡¯t in her control. Realizing that she was in no position to bicker, she added, "I mean, I lost a penny. I¡¯m looking for it." Ru suddenly felt proud of her own quick thinking. It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t pat herself before him otherwise, she would have done it for sure.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her being such a stingy person. How shameful it seemed that a billionaire was looking for a penny? "I¡¯ll give you a penny for your thought."

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched at his sarcasm. She pointed her index finger at him and was about to stand up in rage when her falling towel saved her from being exposed. She held it tightly and reminded herself repeatedly not to banter.

    "Zhi Hyung, why are you calling me at this time?" She asked through gritted teeth.

    "Did you take a shower? Why is your hair wet?" Xiao Zhi Ren distracted her again with his own question.

    Ru touched her hair and nodded, "I had to take a shower. It was raining cats and dogs outside. London¡¯s people can be predictable but its weather can¡¯t be."

    "You are in London?" Ru bit her tongue at slipping like this. What was wrong with her?

    "Heh heh..." Sheughed awkwardly. "My favorite team was going to y today but the match canceled because of rain."

    Someone is indignant over the rain. Ren really wanted to smack her head. He thought Ru left for work but who knew this sworn brother was out and about just for his football team.

    "I called you to inform that my grandmother has invited me to a banquet next week. Would you like to join?" Ru shook her head without even thinking. She just wanted him to hang up already. Her legs had gone numb from squatting in such an awkward position. "As you wi-," His words were yet to leave his mouth when he saw her iling her hand frantically before the camera.

    "I want to join. Definitely, do. No doubt about that." Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her talking weirdly.

    "What are you nning?" He eyed her suspiciously as if trying to find her guilty conscious but Ru was called a stone-face, how could he find anything from her expression if she didn¡¯t allow him to? He suddenly gasped and said, "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to steal my grandfather¡¯s antique collection."

    Ru was amazed at his way of thinking. Last time, she did say she was interested in the antique collection of the Old Patriarch of Ji family but steal? She is no thief!

    "What do you mean by steal?" She red at him.

    [1] ¡¯gobsmacked¡¯: shocked, astounded

 Chapter 82 Hiding A Girlfriend

    There had never been a person in Ru¡¯s life who actually dared to insinuate that she was a thief! Breaking into unrestricted ces was a hobby that she had picked up over the years but she had never stolen anything from anyone.

    But considering the amount of data she had illegally acquired through her hacking, she could be called a thief. No! She shook her head denying her own thoughts. If she said she was not a thief than that was it!

    "How can you call your own sworn brother a thief?" Ru gave him an using look.

    Xiao Zhi Ren leisurely propped his face on his hand and said, "Rong, there is indeed something you do want to steal." He had a meaningful look in his eyes. "Forget it, when are youing back?"

    "I¡¯ll take a few days," she replied offhandedly. "If there is nothing else, Bye!" Before Xiao Zhi Ren could even utter a word, she pressed the keys to disconnect the call and heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Phew! That was... one hell of an experience." She suddenly thought of a possibility; what if Xiao Zhi Ren would have seen her wrapped in this towel? He would feel so betrayed.

    Oddly, she didn¡¯t even think for a second about her own self. Her mind waspletely filled up with the thought of seeing Xiao Zhi Ren disappointed in her. Perhaps, unknowingly the person named Xiao Zhi Ren had be a huge part of her life.

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhi Ren was tapping his chin apathetically. He seemed to have found Ru¡¯s behavior a bit unlikely. He had seen Ru being assertive in speech and her aura as well. And yet, today he could see that Ru was seemingly on edge. Like she was really scared of something.

    Scared? He shook his head in negation to himself. There is no way that person could be scared. Pondering over a bit carefully, he wondered, "Hiding? Yes, he must be trying to hide something from me." Xiao Zhi Ren seemed satisfied with his own posttion. But now the question remained; "What was he hiding?"

    "You¡¯re still awake?" Qin Qu¡¯s voice disturbed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s process of thinking out loud.

    Staring back at Qin Qu, Xiao Zhi Ren came up with a thought and said, "Qu, help me understand a situation."

    Qin Qu immediately took a seat to listen seemingly very intrigued to know this ¡¯situation¡¯ of Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Xiao Zhi Ren straightened up and tried to exin, "When I called a friend, he was hiding under the table. I could tell that he was half-naked, or perhapspletely. I don¡¯t know but he acted like he was hiding something from me. He was in a hurry to hang up as well." He neither mentioned the name of this ¡¯friend¡¯ nor the content of his conversation.

    Qin Qu listened attentively and after Xiao Zhi Ren was trying to make sense to him, Qin Qu went up to his side and pped the back of his head. "This is why I told you to get a girlfriend."

    Xiao Zhi Ren, who was rubbing his head with a scowl asked indignantly, "What does this have to do with a girlfriend?"

    "You fool! That friend of yours looked flushed, damp hair, a bit on edge and in a hurry. He even hid under the table. Now, who can be sure that he wasn¡¯t hiding his girlfriend from you?" Xiao Zhi Ren frowned since this exnation really didn¡¯t seem right to him. Rong and girlfriend? Impossible!

    Seeing the uncertain look in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes, he added, "Come on! He could be ying the ¡¯hide my sausage¡¯ when you caught him off guard with your call."

    Xiao Zhi Ren again tried to recall the situation. Indeed, Ru¡¯s behavior was suspicious as she kept looking downward. He only saw her one hand while the other one wasn¡¯t even lifted. Her cheeks were flushed and now that he paid attention, he could vaguely remember that Ru¡¯s lips were also red. Perhaps from kissing?

    ¡¯Was Rong really hiding his girlfriend?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself unsurely. It still seemed far-fetched. ¡¯But Rong told me he has no girlfriend. But the young man is too handsome for his own good. With those looks, it wouldn¡¯t odd if he really has found a girlfriend this soon.¡¯

    Suddenly, he mmed his fist on the table startling Qin Qu as well with his movement. "He went all the way to London in a hurry. There must be a girlfriend waiting for him. Right?"

    Qin Qu didn¡¯t know why Xiao Zhi Ren was acting like this but seeing that he seemed so certain, Qin Qu simply nodded agreeing with whatever Xiao Zhi Ren was spouting.

 Chapter 83 Get Back To Work

    If Ru would have known what conversation was going on between Qin Qu and Xiao Zhi Ren, she might have puked blood. But not before making those two men cough their guts out.

    Wait!

    No, no...

    Before kicking their butts, she would have definitely asked, "What does ¡¯hide my sausage¡¯ means?"

    After all, she was still oblivious to physical intimacy. For her, it was a very foreign and detestable thing. Yes, detestable! The idea of merely hugging with clothes seemed cringy to her how could she not find physical intimacy as detestable?

    But fortunately, young master Ru waspletely oblivious to this conversation. Shenguidlypleted her shower and picked up a book to read with a cup of piping hot tea.

    The very next day, young master Ru made a visit to Knight Medical Sciences Research Facility.

    "Wee, Mr. Knight," Charles, the head of the research facility greeted her politely. His manner was neither obsequious nor domineering. In his advanced age, he had great respect for his employer but only because, in his opinion, Lord Alev Knight was a man deserving of his status. For him, his employer was a just person but people only had the wrong idea about ¡¯him¡¯.

    "Hi, Charles!" Ru said back gleefully.

    Her cheery tone caught Charles off guard, he was taken aback. But with his experienced personality, he didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary.

    Ru took a seat in Charles¡¯ office and gave her orders, "Release an official statement to deny all the rumors going around."

    "But didn¡¯t you asked for those rumors to exist in the first ce?"

    "I did. And now, I want them to be gone. Before we get into unnecessary trouble, just hold a press conference and clear it up." Ru didn¡¯t bother exining herself.

    And she didn¡¯t need to as well. Charles agreed to do so since he was aware of one thing, Alev Knight always had a reason behind his every action and every single word. Soon enough, an official announcement was made to deny all the rumors straightforwardly without leaving any room for discussion.

    There were a few issues that required her attention which dyed her return and it took her about a week to settle everything since she unexpectedly had to make a short trip to Zurich as well.

    As the matters settled, Ru took a flight back to Imperial Capital where Wu Dishi was waiting for her already. Seeing him, her first words were, "Gather the ck Mist members."

    Wu Dishi immediately followed the orders and then drove her straight towards the outskirts of the city. The seemingly ordinary wooden house in the mountains had currently five people standing upright in the courtyard.

    "What do you think is going on?" The youngest of the group Jack questioned softly as if someone was keeping a watch over him. It wasn¡¯t his fault for being cautious, he always thought that his master was like a ghost that could be anywhere, anytime.

    "If we knew, we wouldn¡¯t be feeling so nervous right now," Adia answered his stupid question with slight irritation.

    "Master should rest after the long flight, why is heing to take our ss?" Jack made a pitiful face as if he was being wronged. "Do you think master knows that I spent thest week ying games?"

    "Have you ever seen master resting?" The most uptight person of the group, Connor voiced out his thoughts.

    Jack thought about it for a second and realized that indeed, he rarely had seen his master resting.

    "Also, have you ever seen anything staying hidden from the master? It¡¯s a given that he knows about your gaming obsession." Connor¡¯s words made Jack¡¯s heart leap up to his throat. He felt suffocated all of a sudden.

    As a limited edition Rolls Royce parked in the outer courtyard, the five of them stiffened up like a pole. Beads of perspiration could be seen on their faces. These sudden calls for meetings never ended well. None of them even dared to breathe loudly.

    Ru alighted from the car and took long but steady strides towards them.

    "Have you had enough fun while I was gone?" Ru¡¯s voice was calm as the morning serenity and yet it sent chills down their spine.

    Frightened, none of them dared to lift their heads. "If you did then it¡¯s time to get back to work."

    "Yes, master!" They echoed in sync.

    After that, all of them settled around a table and discussed the next course of action.

 Chapter 84 Fond of Night, Fear of Stars

    "You¡¯re here!"

    "Oniisan!"

    Ru heard the voices of both Xiao brothers as she entered the tailor shop. Why was she invited here by Big Xiao brother, she didn¡¯t know. But she had a hunch.

    Before the small Xiao brother coulde running towards her to hug her, big Xiao brother held him back saying, "Rong doesn¡¯t like hugs." The small Xiao brother scowled and turned his eyes away showing that he wasn¡¯t very happy with his brother.

    Looking at them Ru suddenly said, "Da Xiao, why am I here?" The big Xiao brother who was just called out gave her a surprised look.

    "Obviously to check whether the suit has the right fitting or not?" Saying that Xiao Zhi Ren had already pushed a tailor-made suit towards Ru.

    Surprisingly or not so surprisingly, the suit was actually ck but the shirt he gave her was white.

    "You want me to wear that shirt?" Ru gave him a look of disbelief.

    "Yeah. What¡¯s wrong with it?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong but Ru thought otherwise.

    "The fact that it¡¯s white. That¡¯s what¡¯s wrong with it." She said in a ¡¯duh¡¯ tone before continuing on, "Da Xiao, have you tried drawing on a ck paper with a ck marker?"

    ¡¯Here we go again.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren thought to himself. "Not really."

    "Why not?"

    "Because ck marker will just merge with the ck paper. It won¡¯t even make a difference." Xiao Zhi Ren answered calmly as he pushed Xiao Zhi Yuan to try his own suit on.

    "Now, how about if we use the same marker on a white paper?" She asked again.

    ¡¯Oh, we are not done yet.¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t want to tell Ru to shut up. Apparently, he really loved her weird way of talking. "If we draw on a white paper, the ck marker lines will be prominent."

    "Bingo! You are really smart, Da Xiao!" Ru smiled at him as she supported her elbow on his shoulder. Xiao Zhi Ren could only roll his eyes at her sarcastic remark but he didn¡¯t try to push her away. He even bent his body a bit to allow her easy ess to drop all of her weight on his shoulder.

    "Your point here is?" Getting a bit impatient with her dragging the time, he finally asked.

    "My point is... How can you ask this dark lord to wear white when you know it will be too weird? I¡¯m a ck kind of a person. White and I don¡¯t go together."

    "But you and I go together." Ru was a bit taken aback by his reply. She tilted her face to look at him but who knew he was also looking at her. A pair of green and a pair of ck orbs collided. Their faces were undeniably close to each other and both pulled away as if struck with lightning or something. Xiao Zhi Ren coughed dryly before clearing his meaning, "I mean to say that I¡¯m your sworn brother and I do love white."

    Getting back hisposure, he added, "Besides, even dark night has a shade of silvery and silky moonlight and starlight. That means ck and white are supposed to fit perfectly."

    ["Stop looking at the darkest nights, brightest stars will eventually be prominent." His voice felt like melting honey letting its sweetness seep into her soul.

    "You and I are very different." She answered in a delicate voice seemingly her forlorn got the best of her.

    She felt a calloused hand hold her own and could feel the warmth of the other body. "How are we different? We both are standing under the same starry night." His voice seemed to have stroked her heart delicately like the evening wind was caressing her face; reassuringly.

    "Isn¡¯t there a difference? You can see that starry night, I can only see the darkness left in my eyes." The hand that held hers tightened as if her words hurt him more than she was hurting inside.

    Suddenly, she felt him rxing again as he said, "If you can¡¯t see this starry night. Then look for your own." He brought her hand to touch her chest right above her heart and added, "Look for it right here. Life begins at night. And the night isn¡¯t worthwhile without the stars to apany it."]

    As Ru came back to reality, she took the suit from his hand without a word and walked into a fitting room. Walking in, she looked at her own reflection in the mirror and whispered to herself, "Perhaps, I¡¯ve loved the night too fondly... Now, I¡¯m left with even the fear of stars." She smiled mockingly at herself. "What have wee to, young master Ru?"

 Chapter 85 Green Grass & Pure Soul

    "You¡¯re getting meaner." Yuan was grumbling as he felt wronged and left out. Why was it that it felt like he was being pushed aside while his own brother was getting closer to Oniisan? He couldn¡¯t just take it lying down!

    "Whatever!" Xiao Zhi Ren said absentmindedly while he fixed thepels of his coat. And attached a golden ted maple leaf shaped brooch on the leftpel. His tweed custom made zer was retro styled and tailored to be slim-fit for his lean body entuating his muscles. The white shirt underneath had a golden touch to its cor matching perfectly with the brooch.

    Without waiting for Xiao Zhi Ren, Yuan left the shop to wait in the car instead.

    When Ru came out, she saw Xiao Zhi Ren waiting for her. His dark eyes were deep and enchanting as they were eyeing her from head to toe. His lips were slightly curved with a bit of evil dancing on them.

    She could see a green tint on his face only near the lips and his jaw perhaps it was due to the slight stubble. Even though he had shaved his beard cleanly.

    "If you keep looking at me like that green grass will grow on your girlfriend¡¯s head.[1]" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s words made Ru scowl.

    "I don¡¯t have a girlfriend." She stated in an obvious manner.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her tall figure d in a ck formal suit, that seemed to have brought the ¡¯man¡¯ before him another kind of aura. It wasn¡¯t just aristocratic, noble or sophisticated. This aura was different. Her whole self seemed like that emperor sitting on the dragon throne unmatched and untouched.

    "If you don¡¯t have a girlfriend, who were you hiding under the table that day?" Xiao Zhi Ren came up to her side and fixed the cor of her shirt and as his fingers lightly brushed against the skin of her neck, there was a jolt of electricity that seemed to have sparked in his heart.

    Ru calmly pushed him away and stated, "I was hiding a girlfriend? And even I don¡¯t know that. You guys really have a wildly imaginative mind."

    "It wasn¡¯t my imagination. I have full faith in you." Xiao Zhi Ren replied inly. He really didn¡¯t believe that Ru would hide a girlfriend. Even if for a second, his mind wondered about this possibility, his heart still rebuked him for that. He pinched her nose and added, "After all, I named you Bellissimo for a reason."

    As both equally handsome and outstanding men were making their way out of the shop, they both caught unnecessary attention from the people around them. One was a magnificent sight to behold with his beautiful looks and charms, just like a handsome beast. While the other one was a delightful wonder of cold, elegant and brawns like the tough iceberg.

    Individually, they were already enough to take someone¡¯s breath away but when put in the same picture, they were too mesmerizing for people.

    To avoid all themotion, Ru shifted her attention back to Da Xiao and asked, "Doesn¡¯t Bellissimo means a lovely soul or handsome? Are you calling me handsome?"

    "No, I¡¯m calling you lovely soul." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a quirk of his lip that seemed to have enhanced his beauty.

    "Why? I don¡¯t have a lovely soul or spirit. It¡¯s purely dark." She enunciated each word to emphasize her point.

    "Rong, night hath a beautiful sight. The colors of the night are so rich and alive that one can¡¯t possibly find any impurity in them. No matter how dark you get, it just shows how lovely your soul is."

    ¡¯Does he have the wrong idea of life or do I?¡¯ Ru wondered to herself and chose to shrug her shoulders. This thinking wasn¡¯t worth the time to waste her brain juice.

    "Forget it, let¡¯s just get to that circus."

    "We are going to a banquet." Xiao Zhi Ren reminded her.

    "People are going to try to impress each other with their dresses and mannerisms just like circus animals. And then they willugh with each other as if seeing a clown." This description of a banquet was rather new for Xiao Zhi Ren. Oddly, it sounded right to him.

    "Then why are we even going?" He asked her amusingly.

    "Obviously, tough at clowns," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Why bother?" Xiao Zhi Ren started offhandedly. "I mean I see a clown almost every day for free. I shouldn¡¯t make a visit to a circus for that."

    "Huh? Where do you see the clown?" Ru turned her face to find him looking right back at her while trying to stifle hisugh.

    [1] ¡¯Having green grass grow on one¡¯s head¡¯: means their partner is cheating on them.

 Chapter 86 A Dog on Leash?

    Understanding the meaning behind his roundabout words, Ru squinted her eyes at him dangerously as a vein twitched at the side of her eye. "Did you just called me a clown?" Her voice was calm like it always had been but the way her eyes dug holes in his skull told volumes of how she was really feeling.

    "I did not!" Xiao Zhi Ren shirked the insinuation as if he waspletely innocent.

    But did Ru believe him? No! A big fat NO! Only a nutter[1] would actually believe his lie and she definitely wasn¡¯t one.

    "And you want me to believe that?" She scoffed totally unlike her usual self.

    "Believe it or not, it¡¯s all up to you dear sworn brother. Because if you believe me it means, you have faith in this Hyung of yours and if don¡¯t believe me..." he sighed sadly and went on, "Then it means that you actually see yourself as a clown."

    Ru¡¯s beautifully arched and thick brows were pulled together in a frown. If she said she believed him, it would mean that he¡¯s letting him get away with the fact that he actually called her a clown but if she refused to believe him, she¡¯d be degrading herself.

    Wow! He actually managed to shut her up. Because Ru didn¡¯t want to go with either of the choices she was given. So, she chose the third option; silence. The best solution ever!

    But how could a prideful and narcissistic person like her could take this lying down? She had to have her revenge but in a subtle way.

    Looking at his slim and ck tie, Ru held it in her hand and tugged at it saying, "Why are you being a slowpoke? Pick up the pace bro!"

    The way she pulled his tie made him almost lose his footing, that tug was intentional and he knew it. He was being dragged like a dog on a leash. At this thought, his brows crinkled up and he voiced out his suspicion, "Are you treating me like a dog?"

    Ru curled up her lips with mischief dancing in her sparkling green eyes but when she turned her face to look at him, her face was solemn like it had been. She feigned ignorance and questioned, "What are you talking about?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren pointed at his tie which was being used as a leash around his neck and said, "Doesn¡¯t this feel like I¡¯m your dog and you¡¯re taking me out on a walk?"

    Ru cocked her head to one side and asked innocently, "Does it?" Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "If you don¡¯t like it, then I¡¯ll just let go." After all, she was done with her ¡¯tit-for-tat¡¯. There was no problem in letting him free now since she was relieved in her heart now.

    Xiao Zhi Ren fixed his tie and walked briskly towards his own Bentley. His own entourage was waiting for him and gathered around him in an orderly manner when he walked out. Ru looked at the row of about ten BMW cars and in between was a special edition Bentley.

    "Let¡¯s go," Xiao Zhi Ren made a gesture for Ru to get on.

    Shrugging her shoulders nonchntly, she wanted to take the passenger seat but it was already upied Xiao Zhi Yuan who was surprisingly texting on his cellphone with a smile on his face.

    "What¡¯s gotten you in such a good mood?" Ru inquired when the car revved on the road.

    "Nothing special." He answered distractedly and Ru didn¡¯t pry any further. She had better things to do anyway.

    For instance...

    "Zhi, do you think Ji Family House has good chefs? I mean the food will be good, right?" Xiao Zhi Ren who was answering to some email on his phone pressed his lips together in a straight line at her question.

    "I don¡¯t know." He answered but Ru wasn¡¯t satisfied with his answer at all.

    "Oh,e on! It¡¯s one of the second-ranked families in the whole country. They must have good chefs." At this point, she was more of like talking to her own self. Or more like convincing herself that food will be good.

    But her words unknowingly had attracted Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s attention. Not just his, even Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s ears perked up as he leaned back to hear closely.

    "What do you mean by one of the second-ranked families? Isn¡¯t it the only second-ranked power?" Ru gave him a look of ridicule.

    "Zhi, do you think those in power are simple? If you do, you¡¯re really an innocent person and even I know that you only look innocent." She looked out at the slowly setting sun. "Innocence has been ripped apart by the vultures of reality."

    [1] ¡¯Nutter¡¯: A crazy person

 Chapter 87 Warm Home Or Cold Grave

    As their car drove on a familiar mountain road, Xiao Zhi Ren felt a pang of mncholy hit his heart. The journey towards the Ji Family Mansion was rather nostalgic and filled with bitter reminders.

    This particr mountain region was said to have been the roots of Ji Family from generations. Even the Mansion was built in the style of Ming dynasty. The ancient architecture of the Mansion was a clear indication of how far long the history of Ji Family was spanned.

    It was Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s first visit to the Ji Family Mansion since thest time he was here, he was too young to remember anything. The juvenile was awe-struck by the beauty and antiquity of the architecture.

    The only person unaffected by the brightly lit and decorated Mansion was our Young master Ru who had been idly yawning. But Ru was also the person who could clearly tell that the architecture of Ji Family Mansion had traces of dynasties even before that. It was very easy for her to find those traces in the fascinating pavilions.

    Only Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s car was led inside the main courtyard of Ji Mansion while his entourage was made to wait outside. Several helpers came forwards to help the strikingbo of handsome men. Although the helpers tried to keep their faces solemn showing their professionalism, their glimmering eyes had betrayed them big time.

    It wasn¡¯t their fault since thebo of three devilishly handsome but pr-opposite individuals was indeed eye-catching. And that¡¯s one way to say it humbly...

    Butler Zhang who had been strictly instructed to wait for the eldest young master of the house immediately straightened up as he looked at the tall frame of Xiao Zhi Ren. His old eyes lit up resembling the lights that had been used to decorate the courtyard.

    "Eldest young master!" The middle-aged man ran towards Xiao Zhi Ren and greeted humbly. "This must be our young master Yuan." His eyes had moistened up at just the sight of Xiao Zhi Yuan. The loyal servant had seen way too many storms in this family. He knew what it meant to have both these young masters back at home. "This way, please!" He showed them the way inside personally.

    The Ji Mansion was divided into different courtyards with the innermost courtyard being the ce where only the family of the head was allowed to stay. It was named, ¡¯Longevity Courtyard¡¯. Ru studied the golden characters with interest. Oddly, this reminded her of her own home.

    Although Ji Family¡¯s way of living was far different than her own, she still could see some simrities. For instance, the idea of having separate courtyards in one big Mansion was exactly like it was back home.

    Those big golden characters reminded her of a quote that was engraved on her grandfather¡¯s courtyard door. It stated, ¡¯If your journey of life doesn¡¯t lead you to a warm home, is that journey still worth all that you¡¯d been through?¡¯

    She might have jested about that statement a thousand times but today, she was definitely not the oneughing. After all, the journey of life which she fought for only led her to the edge of a cold grave. Perhaps, a warm home wasn¡¯t something she was fated for. She mocked herself inwardly and followed both Xiao brothers inside in a very low-key manner.

    The hall inside the house was filled with people of different backgrounds. Each more noteworthy than the previous one. But did Ru expected anything different? She did not! Just because her own n didn¡¯t like mingling and trying to fit in didn¡¯t mean other ns of ancient history were also like that. Each hidden family had its own way of leading their lives. And no other was allowed to question their ways.

    But even after wandering her eyes around in the hall, Ru didn¡¯t find anyone from the other hidden prestigious families. That didn¡¯t seem right.

    Suddenly, an elderly voice broke her reverie, "Zhi Ren!" Ru silently stood in an inconspicuous corner to make her presence unknown while she saw an elderlydy walking towards Xiao Zhi Ren with a bright smile on her wrinkled face.

    Her pace was slow and she was supported by Ji Caihong at the side as well. But the elderlydy¡¯s eyes were definitely brighter than the stars outside. Xiao Zhi Ren walked towards her to offer his hand as support and she held it while her other hand stroked his face lovingly. "Aiya, my grandson has surely gotten thin. How can you worry grandmother so much?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her exaggeration and said, "Grandmother, you¡¯re still as dramatic as you had always been." The elderlydy didn¡¯t mind his words at all. Instead, her smile widened.

 Chapter 88 Showtime

    The elderlydy¡¯s eyes fell on a slightly ufortable teenager and she beamed with joy, "Is this our little Yuan? He has grown up into a fine young man." Not caring about Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s reluctance, she pulled him in her arms.

    In the side corner, Ru could see the way tears had pooled into those aged eyes but the elderlydy was strong since she didn¡¯t even let a single tear escape her glistening eyes.

    After that, she stopped paying attention to the family drama before her, she brought her watch close to her mouth and said softly, "ck Mist, it¡¯s showtime!"

    From the tiny earpiece in her ear, she could hear the reply, "On position. Awaiting Master¡¯smand."

    Ru rummaged out her cellphone. She had previously hacked all the surveince camera¡¯s of the Mansion and the live stream was connected straight to her cellphone and to the devices in the hands of ck Mist members.

    Seeing a lot of guests still strolling in the garden as they were appreciating the beautiful architecture of the pavilions, she waited for them to move before giving orders.

    "Mr. Xie Rong?" Hearing her name- at least one of her names- being called out, Ru instantly tapped on the screen of her phone and the live streaming of the surveince cameras turned into the stock market analysis.

    She looked up and was surprised to see that the person who had addressed her just now was in fact, Ji Yifeng. Apparently, he was said to be the father of Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan. She couldn¡¯t say anything about Xiao Zhi Yuan but Xiao Zhi Ren definitely had some touches of his father¡¯s features.

    "Mr. Ji Yifeng, it¡¯s nice meeting you again." Ru altered her persona almost immediately into a polite person one couldn¡¯t possibly not like this handsome and eloquent young master.

    Ji Yifeng smiled at her politely as well. Not being supercilious or imperious. There were hundreds of guests who came to find a way to chat with the chairman of Ji Conglomerate. But as soon as Ji Yifeng caught sight of Ru standing alone in a corner, he immediately made his way towards her.

    "I¡¯m d to see you here. I was wondering whether you¡¯d ept my invitation or not." Yes! Ru had indeed received the invitation from Ji Yifeng himself but his invitation came after she had promised toe along with Xiao Zhi Ren. "I seem to be the worst host, you don¡¯t even have a drink in your hand."

    Ji Yifeng was about to turn to get something to drink when Ru¡¯s voice stopped him. "Mr. Ji Yifeng, I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t really want a drink. At least not for now. Otherwise, this young master would have long gone to get it for himself."

    Ji Yifeng liked her straightforwardness. It was like she didn¡¯t care about her image at all. Ji Yifeng found her very easygoing. Aplete contrast to what he had heard in rumors. If he hadn¡¯t seen Ru during Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s productunch event, he would have been like all the guest around him; trying to guess her identity. After all, her mere presence pulled Chairman of Ji Conglomerate towards herself.

    That fact alone was enough to tell that she wasn¡¯t some simple character at all.

    Feeling a certain someone¡¯s absence, Xiao Zhi Ren darted his eyes around to look for Ru only to find her happily chatting with Ji Yifeng. That scene didn¡¯t sit well with him. He didn¡¯t want Ru to have any kind of interaction with his father. Not in business and most importantly, not in personal life.

    Feeling annoyed, he walked up to her side and held her elbow. "Come, I have something to tell you." Completely disregarding Ji Yifeng¡¯s presence, he pulled Ru with himself who felt really uneasy as she saw the look on Ji Yifeng¡¯s face. She was familiar with that look.

    She had seen the same pain in her father¡¯s eyes whenever he punished her. It was like her pain was piercing his soul and right now, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s rudeness must be piercing Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart.

    "Let go of me," Ru escaped his grip and dusted off her sleeve to get rid of imaginary creases. "I was having an important conversation." She said with a bit of anger.

    "Don¡¯t socialize with a man like him." Xiao Zhi Ren said bluntly not sugar coating his words at all.

    "Why?"

    "Can¡¯t you see? He actually destroyed our happy family by cheating. If he hadn¡¯t done that we wouldn¡¯t have left and my mother would have been alive." He spoke out in exasperation. He hated his father for this sole reason.

 Chapter 89 Dont Praise Me!

    Ru remained silent at his sudden outburst. Even if the truth was exactly as he said, it had nothing to do with her. She had her own twisted life to worry about and there was no space to fit in anyone else¡¯ problems as well.

    Realizing how he had just said too much Xiao Zhi Ren was a bit flustered. But it had be too easy for him to talk to Ru about anything without restraint. Perhaps his trust and faith in her really were boundless now.

    "I need some fresh air," Ru made the excuse to get out of here. Her team was waiting for orders. Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to stop her but didn¡¯t. Although Ru didn¡¯t say anything, from her chilly aura, Xiao Zhi Ren conjectured one thing; Ru definitely didn¡¯t like what he said. But why?

    Walking straight out of the main hall, Ru¡¯s mind had the answer to his question. She didn¡¯t like the feeling of loathsome Xiao Zhi Ren had for his father. She was the kind of person who didn¡¯t like judging a person from society¡¯s eyes.

    In her daze, she collided into someone and without looking up, she said, "Sorry!"

    She was nning on walking right past that figure but halted when she heard this voice, "Mr. Xie!"

    Ru looked up and came face to face with an elderly man¡¯s face beaming with gentleness. And right by his side was Ji Yifeng who had called her name. "Are you feeling okay?"

    Ru tried to put on her polite smile and answered, "Yes. Just a bit stuffed up. So, I thought I should admire your flower garden. I¡¯ve heard quite a bit about its beauty."

    Ji Yifeng nodded his head finding her words believable. However, the elderly man beside him, Ji Rusheng, his father looked a bit surprised. Looking at Ru¡¯s face, he was lost in a daze. Her face resembled that person in his memory so much that he had a hard time believing his own eyes.

    Ji Rusheng shook his head and turned to Ru saying, "So, you¡¯re Xie Rong. I¡¯ve heard a lot of praises about you young man."

    "Praises? Then you must have heard about someone else. People don¡¯t really praise me." Ru said honestly. She was well aware of her own reputation. There was no reason for anyone to use honeyed words with her.

    Old Master Ji Rusheng gave a heartyugh and said to his son, Ji Yifeng, "You¡¯re right. This young man is really amusing." He turned back to Ru and said, "I heard you are really fond of my antique collection."

    Ru scratched her head sheepishly. "I do actually."

    Old Master Ji Rusheng patted her shoulder and added, "Come to visit again. I¡¯d love to show you my collection." By his side, even his son was surprised to hear those wordsing from his father. he knew how much Ji Rusheng treasured his collection and he never let anyonee close to it as well. But Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t know that his father had instantly be fond of Ru. "Now, go and have a walk in the garden. Should I ask someone to apany you?"

    "No, no... I don¡¯t want to trouble you. I¡¯ll find my way." Ru rejected immediately and darted out but not before bowing her head in respect. Herst gesture raised Ji Rusheng¡¯s liking for her even more.

    Out in the garden, Ru found a dark corner and said, "Come out."

    Five figures almost flew out of the dark to stand in an organized manner before her. "All of you have the sh drive I gave you."

    "Yes, master!"

    "Spread around, everyone is busy in the banquet. Other courtyards must only have servants. It¡¯s the right time for us. Find theputer whose hard drive has been attacked by my virus. After that, insert that sh drive in thatputer and leave. Are we clear?" Ru detailed the n once more to make it clear.

    Jake raised his hand to ask for permission and as he was granted, he asked, "Master, the one whoseputer has your virus, isn¡¯t it obvious that¡¯s the culprit we are looking for?"

    Ru threw him a deadly re before saying, "Don¡¯t waste my time. Get out! I¡¯ll take the innermost courtyard. The rest is yours."

    All of them bowed and scattered around. If it was as simple as finding theputer which initiated the attack on her Empires server, wouldn¡¯t she have caught the culprits by now?

    Looking back at the building where the banquet was going on, Ru stretched her body a bit. She walked to the back of the house and darted her eyes around to find anything amiss. Seeing the coast clear, she ran towards the wall ahead of her to climb.

 Chapter 90 Purest Love

    It had been a while since thest time Ru had climbed over walls or sneaked into somebody else¡¯ territory. But it didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t handle it. She had always been an expert at sneaking around.

    By now, she had roamed around the entire second floor of the house but didn¡¯t find what she was looking for. She was growing impatient since she had a tight schedule. If she stayed missing from the banquet for a long time, people will notice.

    There was only one room left for her to check. She jumped onto the balcony of it and realized there was someone in the room. She immediately hid behind the curtain making her presence inconspicuous.

    Craning her neck, she looked inside to find a lone figure sitting before a table filled with food. Her eyes were deste but ssy. Describing her as sad would seem flimsy. The woman looked like someone who had been buried deep in depression for so long that there were no tears left to cry or wail anymore.

    Her skin was pale and sallow as if she was sick. Perhaps, her sadness had seeped so deep into her bones that even pain couldn¡¯t be felt.

    Suddenly, the night wind made the curtains flutter and as the chilly air brushed against her face, she lifted her eyes to gaze out towards the night sky.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what she saw but her eyes suddenly brightened up as she shot up from her chair and said anxiously and eagerly, "My baby bean, you are back."

    Ru was about to frown since she couldn¡¯t see anyone in the room except for herself and that dainty looking woman. But she didn¡¯t get a chance since the curtain was lifted and the woman had already gripped her wrist in her hands as she gave a toothy grin.

    Oddly, Ru found her smile really beautiful. But that was not the point. The point was; how the hell did she get caught? That was a first!

    "Baby bean,e inside. Why are you hiding? Mom is all alone. Mom¡¯s been waiting for you all alone here." Now, Ru definitely frowned trying to get her mind around this whole situation.

    Who¡¯s the baby bean? Mom? What the hell was going on?

    Before she could think, the woman had dragged Ru inside and pushed her down on the chair. She took a seat beside her and took Ru¡¯s hands in her own. "Where did you go? Why did you make mom wait for such a long time?" Tears had gathered in her ssy eyes and fell down her eyelids but the smile on her pale face was still intact.

    The woman stroked Ru¡¯s cheek and broke her state of shock as she said, "Mom missed you a lot, my son. You don¡¯t know how much mom waited for you."

    Of course, she didn¡¯t know. First, she wasn¡¯t her son. Hell, she wasn¡¯t even a boy! Second, she had no clue why thedy was mistaking her for her own son.

    But looking more closely, Ru realized a certain detail that made her heart shook.

    "My son is finally back. That scheming woman can never win. How dare she try to snatch my son? I won¡¯t give my son at any cost! My baby bean is only mine. Yes, only mine!" The dainty woman was mumbling to herself and from the way her expressions shifted and she talked. Ru had reckoned that her mind was not functioning properly.

    No, more precisely... She seemed to be stuck in her state of trauma. The effect seemed stronger since the woman before her was even wearing clothes of over a decade old fashion. Now that Ru noticed, even the room was decorated in an old-fashioned manner.

    Ru was again lost in her own thoughts when she was pulled into a warm embrace. "Baby bean, don¡¯t leave mom again. Mom might die without you this time."

    The embrace wasn¡¯t repulsive. Instead, Ru felt calm and peaceful. Moreover, it felt warm. How odd!

    As she was pushed back a bit and her green eyes looked into that ssy pair of ck eyes, she heard a question, "You won¡¯t leave mom again, right?" Lost in the earnest and imploring look in that pair, Ru nodded her head.

    Damn! So much for being the ruthless lord! You should be ashamed of yourself. Even an insane woman managed to control you. What a pity!

    Ru¡¯s mind was constantly nagging her but she didn¡¯t pay attention. It really didn¡¯t matter.

    After all, her mother¡¯s words came to her mind, ¡¯A mother¡¯s love is the purest. A child is his mother¡¯s whole world.¡¯

    She couldn¡¯t fathom the state of the mother before her who lost her world.

 Chapter 91 Did It Again

    Ru kept her eyes on the odd woman before her eyes as she stroking Ru¡¯s soft hair and mumbling incoherent words to herself with a goofy smile. Why Ru called her odd? What else could she say, the woman was showering her motherly love on her; a demon.

    "Oh," suddenly recalling something, the woman lifted the lid of the pots on the table and said, "Look mom waited for you at dinner as always. Mom made it herself." Ru frowned at thest statement. The woman wasn¡¯t even sane, how could she cook? "Eat it. Mom is a bit forgetful so there might be something missing. Don¡¯t mind that, okay?"

    Ru saw her nervously rubbing her hands together and an innocent look on her face. But she was lost in her own thoughts as her words had triggered some old memories.

    *shback*

    "See what mother has brought for you. I made it all by myself." Young Ru gazed at her mother¡¯s face and sat down on the cushion.

    "How will I eat?" Ru grumbled as she lifted to show her bandaged hands to her which was the result of her own mistake.

    "Who told you to touch a hot kettle?" Her mother reprimanded her lightly but her voice had a tinge of worry in it as well. "I know you are hurt. That¡¯s why I made the food for you. Come, I¡¯ll feed you myself."

    Ru smiled happily and leaned closer to her mother¡¯s side to snuggle up. She didn¡¯t want to brag but her mother was really a breathtaking beauty. It was rare for her to have her mother all to herself, so she wanted to take as much advantage as she could.

    "Ah..." Ru opened her mouth and heard a light chuckle from her mother who rubbed her hair before feeding her a spoonful of rice and soup. After chewing a bit, Ru made a face and said, "There is too much salt in the soup."

    Seeing her mother pressing her lips together, she felt bad about herment. She knew how busy her mother was being the Matriarch of the n. But she still managed to find time to cook for her, it was already a huge deal. She shouldn¡¯t beining. "Just eat it. Mom is a bit forgetful these days. Don¡¯t mind that my dearest son, okay?"

    Ru nodded her head instantly changing her mood and said, "Mama, you know I¡¯m a girl. Can¡¯t you at least call me your daughter when we are alone?"

    Looking into her hopeful eyes, her mother¡¯s eyes dimmed. "My baby, you are not my daughter. You can¡¯t be. For me, you can only be a son. The day you became my daughter, I might lose you. And mom doesn¡¯t want that." There was strange sorrow in her voice that made Ru tense up.

    "Mama, what do you mean?" Young Ru gazed at her mother with her big ck eyes twinkling brightly.

    She saw her mother wiping a tear as she turned her face to hide it from her. "Nothing. Mom is a bit stressful these days. I don¡¯t even what I¡¯m saying. You rest properly. Don¡¯t you dare sneak out!" Saying that sternly, her mother left her alone.

    *End of shback*

    Coming back to the present, Ru couldn¡¯t refuse the odd woman and picked up the chopsticks to eat the food. She had let her own mother down by sneaking out, she didn¡¯t want to leave this mother down.

    While eating, Ru realized there were no spices in the soup. She smiled to herself but didn¡¯tment at all. How could she? This food was made with love, even without spices, she found it way better than her own.

    Seeing her heartily eating, the woman was satisfied. "Did you like mom¡¯s food?" She asked as she looked at the empty bowls with glimmering eyes.

    "Yes, I loved it," Ru answered softly, it wasn¡¯t a lie anyway.

    Someone knocked on the door and the woman got anxious. "My baby bean, you should leave now. Don¡¯t let them know you came to me. They will give you to that horrible woman again. You should go. Yes, you should go." She started pushing Ru towards the window from where she actually entered.

    Her nervous look made Ru uneasy as a million questions bubbled up in her mind. But she couldn¡¯t get an answer. At least not from this odd woman. Before she turned to jump, her hand was held by a soft but cold hand. She looked back at that woman and heard her, "You wille to see mom again, right?"

    Say no, young master Ru. She¡¯s not your mother.

    Ignored her inner self she nodded. You did it again!

    She saw that pale face blooming up with her single nod.

 Chapter 92 Numb To I

    Downstairs in the banquet hall, Old Madam Ji announced to everyone that Xiao Zhi Ren and Xiao Zhi Yuan were the sons of Ji Family. Those who knew Xiao Zhi Ren as the CEO of SnapVise Technologies were already impressed by this man but now, they were dumbstruck. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t just capable, he even had a strong backing like Ji Family.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t very happy with this announcement since he had no interest in being a part of Ji Family or even being linked with them. But his own needs called for it. He couldn¡¯t help but grimace along.

    This sudden news had brought another wave of whispers to ensue in the hall.

    "I thought young master Ji Syaoran was the next head of Ji Family." Someone in the crowd voiced out.

    "Didn¡¯t everyone thought that way?" An elegantdy retorted.

    "But this Xiao Zhi Ren looks to be older than Ji Syaoran, does that mean he¡¯s the next in line?" Another person asked, curiously.

    "Haiz! It seems even Ji Family is not safe from internal strife for power."

    Xiao Zhi Ren tugged at his tie ufortably. All those whispers around him made him ufortable. He didn¡¯t want to be the next head. He just wanted to live with Xiao Zhi Yuan. But life surely doesn¡¯t go as one ns it.

    Trying to ease his uneasiness, Xiao Zhi Ren drank a little too much of that red wine. Although it kept his mind from overthinking, it didn¡¯t help with the uneasiness in his heart. A certain pair of green eyes popped up in his mind. Just the thought of Ru made him feel a bit better.

    Frowning, he looked around but couldn¡¯t find her anywhere. A bit anxious, he came out to the garden to look for her.

    On the other hand, Ru jumped down from the balcony in a swift motion andnded straight on her feet. Fixing her suit and dusting it off carefully, she sighed.

    "You¡¯re a tosser, young master!" She knocked on her own head. But at the memory of that woman¡¯s blooming smile, Ru couldn¡¯t even second guess. "A gift of a smile is all I can offer. It made her day bright and that¡¯s all that matters."

    She convinced herself and felt proud of herself. But she stiffened as she heard a familiar voice behind her, "I was wondering which spiderman was bold enough to jump from the third floor. Now I realized that it¡¯s our own ninja turtle."

    Ru slowly turned her body to look at Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s amused face. But the look in his eyes was different. What was it? As he took a few steps closer, Ru realized; he was a bit tipsy.

    Letting go of her nerves, she said, "I¡¯m more suited to be the lightning god, Thor! HA. HA. HA." It was a desperate attempt to distract him from asking about her sneaky behavior.

    As if reading her mind, Xiao Zhi Ren said, "Don¡¯t mind me. I really don¡¯t care why you just jumped down from there. I already knew you had some hidden motive for tagging along with me. And honestly, I don¡¯t even want to know what it is."

    His straightforward words helped Ru in slightlying back from the edge. "But I must say, that was a good jump." He put her in a loose headlock as heplimented her.

    "Well, this young master has always been good at it." Ru was acting like an egomaniac again. But as always, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t find it repulsive. After all, she had the right to be in love with herself.

    Getting back to her serious self, she asked, "What¡¯s wrong? Why did you drink this much?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her and chuckled softly. How weird it was that this sworn brother who knew him for only a few months could actually read his face so well!

    He looked straight into Ru¡¯s green eyes under the soft light of the crescent moon. "Rong, Why do people leave? And if they do leave us behind why do they still take a part of us with themselves?"

    Ru thought he was talking about his mother again. Therefore, she said, "People leave because if they won¡¯t how will universe conspire for them to meet again?" Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her with a surprised look as she went on, "And Zhi Hyung, people don¡¯t take a part of us with them. Instead, they leave something behind... They leave a feeling of emptiness behind as a reminder."

    "Isn¡¯t that unfair? For me to feel so empty?"

    "Not really." She shrugged her shoulder and continued, "You should be d you feel empty. The problem will ur the day you¡¯d be numb to all of it."

 Chapter 93 Im-Being-Low-Key

    Ru had no idea that her words had be like a ray of hope that shined brightly on Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart. He wasn¡¯t talking about his mother at all. He asked why ¡¯she¡¯ left him. But the way Ru told him that people leave so that universe could conspire for them to meet again, made his whole world lighten up.

    Why did he believe Ru¡¯s words? He couldn¡¯t even tell himself. He just believed in her. Looking into her green eyes, he seemed to forget everything. Unknowingly, he had full faith in whatever she told him.

    While walking back, she heard Jack¡¯s voice from the earpiece, "Master, mission aplished!" Her jaw tightened as a vein twitched on her forehead. She so wanted to smack Jack¡¯s face for using such an old fashioned way. But she held it in. She¡¯ll have to wait until the end of the banquet before teaching him a lesson.

    Inside the banquet hall...

    Whispers hadn¡¯t died down. Instead, they had increased with the arrival of Ji Syaoran himself. He was greeting his grandparents with a polite smile when his gaze fell on Xiao Zhi Ren. But when he saw Ru beside him, Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened a bit in surprise which he hid quite well.

    He straightened up before making his way towards Xiao Zhi Ren with a solemn look on his face. Ru observed him and Xiao Zhi Ren who definitely didn¡¯t look like his tipsy self that she just saw outside.

    "Do you know, one of them is the son of a Mistress," Ru¡¯s sharp listening senses had caught up this whispering very clearly as her ears perked up.

    "Really?" She heard a gasp. "Which one?"

    "Can¡¯t tell. Ji Family didn¡¯t let anyone leak this information."

    "I think it¡¯s that Xiao Zhi Ren." Someonemented in the gossip group.

    "No. I¡¯m sure it isn¡¯t him. First, he¡¯s the eldest one. Second, can¡¯t you see the doting look in Old Madam Ji¡¯s eyes? It¡¯s obvious he¡¯s the rightful one."

    Even Ru had to nod with this remark. But for now, she was interested in seeing the rtionship between these two half-brothers. They both could be the next head of the family. There had to

    be somepetition or perhaps... animosity?

    As Ji Syaoran came close to them, he immediately grinned and opened his arm for Xiao Zhi Ren whose face had the same look. "Bro, I missed you!" Hearing Ji Syaoran¡¯s words and their moment of cordiality. The hall went into a hushed silence.

    This came as a huge shock for some people who were trying to scheme about choosing sides to make the most of benefits.

    Xiao Zhi Ren patted Ji Syaoran¡¯s back and said, "We just talkedst night. Do you have to be so dramatic?"

    Ji Syaoran pulled away with a full blown smile gracing his handsome face. "It¡¯s been 21 hours. That¡¯s enough time for me to miss my brother."

    "I thought you were not gonna make it."

    "I had toe just for you." Seeing Ji Syaoran being cheeky, Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head at him before rubbing his perfectly styled hair. "Bro!" Ji Syaoran fixed his hair with a scowl. "I know you won¡¯t listen to the fact that I don¡¯t like being treated like a kid anymore but could you please refrain from doing it in public. I have an image to maintain."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at him and used both of his hands to ruffle Ji Syaoran¡¯s hair. "You never listen." Ji Syaoran grumbled but his eyes held a look of pure adoration and admiration.

    ¡¯I thought they¡¯d be at each other¡¯s throat. But they seem too close.¡¯ Ru was having a monologue in her mind as her hawk-like eyes were scrutinizing them. ¡¯Why does this Mr. Second brother have the same look in his eyes as our little squirrel?¡¯ Confusing! Everything was turning more confusing with each passing second.

    First, Old Madam Ji¡¯s unusual way of doting on Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Second, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s animosity towards his father, Ji Yifeng.

    Third, the odd woman on the third floor.

    Fourth, these half-brothers sharing such a close bond.

    Andstly, Ji Syaoran treating Xiao Zhi Ren exactly as Xiao Zhi Yuan does.

    "Oh, Ran Zi[1], meet Xie Rong. He¡¯s my sworn brother." A look of surprise shed through Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes.

    "Hi! I¡¯m Ji Syaoran." He held his hand out for Ru who eyed his hand and him with an amusing look. "Nice meeting you."

    Ru took his hand and squeezed it unnecessarily as she said slowly, "Likewise. Mr. I¡¯m-being-low-key..." Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened up. He didn¡¯t think Ru could recognize him.

    [1] ¡¯Ran Zi¡¯ is Ji Syaoran¡¯s nickname. Adding Zi is using a word for showing affection.

 Chapter 94 Twisted Family

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t expect that Ru would be able to recognize him. After all, thest time when they shared a table at the auction, he was wearing a mask and a cap. How did Ru recognize him? it was the first auction that Ru attended aftering back to Imperial. She had specifically been there to buy a painting named, ¡¯The Parting Soul¡¯.

    "Heh heh... I don¡¯t understand your meaning, Mr. Xie." Ji Syaoran tried to y dumb. If he denied it, how could Ru insist that she met him? But he truly underestimated her.

    "Just because you were wearing a mask and a cap, do you think it was a perfect disguise?" Ru sneered before continuing, "I¡¯m a master of disguise. You forget subtle details like the prominent birthmark right under your ear. Also, you¡¯re still wearing the same ring." Ji Syaoran looked at his ck stone ring and pressed his lips together. He was speechless.

    "Rong, do you know my brother?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked with a quirk of a brow.

    "Didn¡¯t know he¡¯s your brother but yeah. I know him alright." Ru answered before rting the incident of the auction.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t surprised at all. He knew why Ji Syaoran was at that auction. But he couldn¡¯t tell Ru. But then again, she wasn¡¯t really interested in knowing either. He patted Ji Syaoran¡¯s shoulder and said, "Ran Zi, don¡¯t look so down. Rong is just too good with his keen senses."

    Ji Syaoran smiled at his brother and nodded. "Can you keep it a secret that I was at the auction?" He requested to Ru in a small voice.

    "My lips are sealed." Ru made a locking lips gesture before throwing the key making both brothersugh. She didn¡¯t even ask for the reason.

    "Hey, Ran Zi!" Ji Syaoran turned to look at Xiao Zhi Yuan and scowled a bit.

    "You brat! I¡¯m older than you. Treat me like that." Xiao Zhi Yuan didn¡¯t care and he got into an argument with Ji Syaoran. Xiao Zhi Ren could only shake his head at his brothers.

    "So, you and your half-brother." Ru let her words hanging.

    "What about us?" Xiao Zhi Ren retorted.

    "You guys seem close," Ru said offhandedly.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled a bit before replying, "We are close. There is no difference between him and

    Yuan for me."

    "No difference? Don¡¯t they both have different mothers?" Ru couldn¡¯t stop herself from asking. She just had to open her mouth.

    "That never bothered me. I can hate my father for that. But Ran Zi and Xiao Hong are innocent."

    Ru nodded her head. "Little squirrel seems close to him, then why is he so distant to Xiao Hong?"

    "That¡¯s because, by the time Yuan got to know that Ran Zi is our half-brother, he was already too close to Ran Zi to hate him."

    Ru didn¡¯t ask further.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren went back to his grandparents, Ru was left alone. That meant her mind was wandering off to far off ces. Unnecessary ces.

    It was a good thing someone disturbed her. "Why are you standing all alone? Did you eat anything or not?" Ru looked Ji Yifeng¡¯s amiable smile and put on a polite and courteous look.

    "Don¡¯t worry about me, Mr. Ji." Taking a moment to ponder she said, "Can I ask you something personal?"

    Ji Yifeng looked into her green eyes and didn¡¯t know why but agreed. "Sure."

    Ru pressed her lips together to choose the right words. "Where is Xiao Hong¡¯s mother?" But the words that came out seemed rude, even now.

    "I heard she¡¯s dead. But honestly, I don¡¯t believe that at all." Ji Yifeng spoke in a whisper as if it was top secret information. Seeing Ru¡¯s face, he chuckled and changed his answer, "I was kidding."

    Ru could believe the former answer but thetter one? No way! He was so not kidding!

    "What about Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mother?" Ru saw Ji Yifeng visibly stiffening up as if it poked his sour spot. Perhaps it did since he clutched the ss in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white as a sheet.

    "Sorry, I have to do something. Excuse me," the way he made excuses and walked away confirmed one thing for Ru. Ji Family wasn¡¯t as simple as her own family n.

    She sighed out. ¡¯Why is this family so twisted? Mine is so simple.¡¯ Not wanting to stay longer, she bid goodbye to everyone politely and left the Ji Family Mansion. She had better things to do.

 Chapter 95 Soul Brother?

    After leaving the Ji Family Mansion, Ru went straight to the house in the mountains. And the first thing she did was...

    "Ahh! Master, why are you pulling my ear?"

    Oh, yes! She was pulling Jack¡¯s ear while smacking his butt with the bamboo stick in her hand. Her hand had been itching to do that since the time he screamed that ¡¯mission aplished¡¯ in her ear. The poor guy was screaming for mercy now but who would listen? Certainly, she won¡¯t!

    "Why am I doing this? What exactly does ¡¯mission aplished¡¯ means? Did this lord give you such bad training?" Ru rebuked him while ring at him.

    Jack lowered his head as he trying hard to fight the urge to rub his poor rear that had been hit badly. "Master, I was trying to act sagaciously." He bit down his grief and voiced out.

    "Don¡¯t bother doing so next time. Otherwise..." She left her words hanging which made Jack gulp visibly at the million possibilities. "Now, kkeojyeo![1]" As if receiving a second chance at life, Jack ran for his life.

    On the sideline, Lilith wasughing silently to herself. The way Ru thrashed Jack was too amusing for her. Ru looked at her inquiringly and she replied, "You are really adorable."

    "Me?" Ru pointed at her nose and Lilith nodded her head. "Woah! That¡¯s the second time someone called me adorable. I don¡¯t know what to say."

    Ru felt a tap at her shoulder and looked at Lilith who asked, "Who was the first one to call you adorable?"

    Ru pressed her lips together at the memory of being called ¡¯adorable¡¯.

    *shback*

    "Look that girl is wearing a ck and white striped dress," Ru said with a huge grin on her face while her mouth was filled with spicy crayfish that she¡¯d been munching on with zeal.

    "And what¡¯s wrong with that?" He frowned as he questioned while peeling the crayfish for her and cing it in her te one by one.

    "Aiyoh! Jie duffer doesn¡¯t she look like that animal who seems like a donkey but wears a sweater?" Hearing Ru¡¯s words his frown deepened.

    Suddenly at the realization, he said, "You mean a Zebra?"

    "Duh!" Ru eximed in a dramatic manner.

    He facepalmed himself and stifled hisughter before pinching her nose with his hands filled with sauce. "Aiyoh, my Ru¡¯er! Why are you so adorable?"

    Ru swatted his hand away, rubbed her nose clean and said, "My brother from another mother, I¡¯m not adorable." She puffed up her cheeks like a kid. She could only act like that before him. He was the only one who knew her. The real her.

    "You¡¯re right. Our Ru¡¯er is not adorable." Ru smiled in satisfaction but it stiffened as he added, "She¡¯s just adorkable." He burst outughing while Ru punched him in the guts.

    *End of shback*

    Ru had a ghostly smile on her face at the memory from a few years back. She suddenly saw Lilith waving her hand before her eyes as if saying, ¡¯Earth to master¡¯.

    "Yeah, what?" Ru came back to being impassive.

    "You didn¡¯t tell me? Who called you adorable?" Lilith asked again.

    "He was my brother..."

    "Really?" Lilith seemed surprised since she heard that Ru didn¡¯t like talking about her family at all.

    "Yup! But from another mother." Ru finished her sentence and Lilith¡¯s mouth opened up in the shape of ¡¯o¡¯.

    Ru didn¡¯t exin anything further. She left Lilith hanging but Lilith figured one thing for sure; the said person was very important to her master. Just the memory of him made her master smile so fascinatingly. There was no doubt that the said person was held in high regards.

    Meanwhile, for the first time since she came back to Imperial, she felt like talking to her soul brother. Yes! Soul brother! That¡¯s what Zhu Jie was for her. Xiao Zhi Ren was her sworn brother but Zhu Jie... he had been her soul brother since she was five. Her only escape to the world outside her n was him.

    She called him soul brother since she couldn¡¯t think of anyone who knew her better than him. If there was one person outside of her n who knew that she was a girl, it was Zhu Jie. And he was the only one who would treat her as a girl. He knew her thoughts, her schemes, her habits. Also, he was the only one who actually understood her nonsensical jokes.

    He always called her Ru¡¯er and only he was allowed to call her that. In fact, he could call her anything... Because if there was one person she couldn¡¯t stay mad at, it had to be that duffer soul brother of hers.

    [1] ¡¯kkeojyeo¡¯: Get Lost!

 Chapter 96 Blunder On Her Par

    Coming back to herputer room, Ru satnguidly on her swivel chair and gave it a 360-degree spin while waiting for theputers to boot up.

    She closed her eyes and let the events of the night rey like a scene from a movie. She had an impable memory and perhaps that¡¯s why having a gap between her memory felt even weirder to her. She could remember every tiny incident of her life vividly and yet, she couldn¡¯t remember anything that happened in those two years.

    It was pure torture since whenever she tried to put some pressure on her mind, she would get dizzy. It was a feeling like someone was squeezing the life out of her.

    "Wee back, master!" Raven¡¯s human-like voice made Ru open her eyes as she stared at the multiple screens surrounding her.

    "Run the virus diagnosis first." Getting the order, Raven started the process and Ru could see the numbers and codes running on the screen before her. It was going to take some time.

    She opened the drawers and pulled out a small box from inside. She opened it and a dragon-fly sized drone was before her eyes. She held it in her hand and taking a screwdriver from her precision screwdriver set, she started to fiddle with the drone¡¯s small screws.

    While the virus diagnosis was going on, she connected the tiny drone with herputer to install some upgraded software. Using her mobile, she controlled the drone and flew it around for a while to test.

    After being done with it, she saw that the virus diagnosis wasplete and the content of the hard drive was right before her. Not only that, because of the sh drive that Jack left behind, now she could track all the activities of that particrputer.

    "Urgh! Why does this girl have thousands of photos?" Ru groaned in frustration as the only thing in the hard drive were photos, photos, and yes, photos!

    "Master, it¡¯s a proven fact that girls like to take photos," Raven answered her in an all-knowing manner.

    "What are they? Obsessed with themselves or something?" Ru retorted quite irked for some reason.

    "No. But like a human-nature, they like getting the approval of the people. And the best way to do it is, showing their perfect selves." Ru rolled her eyes and snorted in contempt.

    "Raven, every human live his own life and fight his own battle. Then why the hell do humans need some strangers approval? Isn¡¯t it like degrading oneself. I¡¯ll call it attention-seeking for no good reason except for showing how desperate you are."

    "Master, you are being rude."

    "Am I?" Ru challenged.

    "Yes! Some doesn¡¯t want attention, they are just lonely enough to find sce in photos."

    "Who is teaching you this cr*p?" Ru asked since she definitely didn¡¯t program Raven like this.

    "Inte; also known as the World Wide Web. You can learn every skill as long as you are up for it." Ru scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "You should try it, it might help you learn some basic socializing skills."

    Ru ignored Raven and focused on going through the photos.

    Actually, she knew she wouldn¡¯t find anything in the hard drive from the beginning. Theputer IP that she had locked on tost time belonged to none other than Ji Caihong.

    It came as a surprise to Ru at first butter she started to connect the dots.

    Last time, when she heard that shrill voice that brought a buried memory back, she had ended up with one name; Ji Caihong.

    And now, Ji Caihong¡¯s personalputer was being used to invade into Knight Empires server. Ru actually believed that only an idiot would use their personalputer for doing something illegal like that.

    So, she simply never considered that Ji Caihong was behind all of it. But whoever it was, he was using Ji Caihong as a shield for sure.

    Let¡¯s see how long you can hide.

    Ru closed her eyes after looking through a couple of hundred photos, not wanting to continue.

    It was a blunder on her part.

    Because if she had gone through a few more photos, a certain face might have triggered her buried memory. s! She missed the perfect chance.

    Fate really didn¡¯t want her to have it easy.

 Chapter 97 Shopping Spree

    The following few days were quite strenuous for Ru. Her nights were spent on conference calls having meetings with people in Ennd while her days were worse since she had to be physically present for all the meetings of Metrix Consortium as Xie Rong.

    Swapping between her alter-egos day and night was excessively tiring in itself. The only breather she got was the time, she spent smoking.

    Right now, she was doing her field research on one of the shopping malls under her group¡¯s name. She had no interest in listening to the group of people who kept exining to her how profitable it was for them. She had yawned a couple of times to show her displeasure but the old fatty wasn¡¯t really taking the hint.

    How annoying!

    Wu Dishi was the only one who noticed the way her mouth was twitching, he knew if he dyed a second, his master might go berserk in the middle of this shopping mall. She honestly had no interest in knowing which restaurant franchise approached them and what international brands were vying for their attention.

    "Mr. Eric, that¡¯ll be all for today." Wu Dishi addressed the old fatty to stop him from talking anymore.

    The old fatty was given the task of managing such a big project, he wanted to do his best for his boss, Xie Rong. He was slightly displeased but didn¡¯t have the courage to say anything back to Wu Dishi.

    As the group of people left, Ru heaved a sigh of relief. "Why was he chatting so much? Do I really have to know the name of each international brand?"

    Wu Dishi stifled his smile and answered, "He was trying to impress you with his detailed report."

    Ru frowned. "Why bother? Is this young master someone who can be impressed? He rather irked me for no reason." She was feeling grumpy because, in her opinion, the past hour was just wasted here.

    Wu Dishi got an important call from the office and Ru sent him ahead. She was nning on checking out the arcade club, she heard about.

    While she was passing through a men¡¯s international brand clothing outlet, she heard a familiar voice from inside making her turn to look inside through the ss.

    "I think this one looks better," Xiao Zhi Yuan was holding a shirt in his hand while two men who had their back towards Ru were nodding their head. "Oniisan!" Suddenly, Yuan caught Ru looking and eximed in excitement.

    The other two men also turned to look with surprise and Ru finally found Xiao Zhi Ren and Ji Syaoran staring at her. Feeling like she had been caught doing something wrong, she smiled sheepishly at them.

    "Oniisan, what are you doing here? I haven¡¯t seen you for the whole week." Yuan was whining in his aggrieved tone.

    "I have been busy, little squirrel," Ru answered offhandedly as she was way well aware of two men staring at her intently. Ru turned her eyes and frowned for a second. She found the mannerism of both half-brothers to be identical. More than Xiao Zhi Yuan and Xiao Zhi Ren, she thought Ji Syaoran looked more like Xiao Zhi Ren. Weird!

    "What are you doing here, Rong?" The question came from Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Why? Can¡¯t Ie to my own mall now?" Ru asked making Xiao Zhi Ren narrow his eyes.

    "Oh, this is Mr. Xie¡¯s project. No wonder you managed to get all the high-ss international brands to sign with you." Ji Syaoran remarked with a smile.

    Scratching her head awkwardly, Ru altered the topic, "What are you, three brothers doing here?"

    "We had a day off and Yuan wanted to buy some new clothes. You know, he and his obsession with new clothes," Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes while he stated.

    Ru chuckled silently and said, "I do know about the obsession." Seeing Yuan scowling, not so happily, she went on, "So, what did you choose?"

    Hearing this question, Xiao Zhi Yuan grinned slyly and dug inside the shopping bags at the side. He pulled out a couple of t-shirts. "This one is for Big Bear." Yuan showed her the shirt and Ru¡¯s mouth twitched to smile since on the back it was written, ¡¯The Bossy Brother¡¯ in big bold letters.

    "This one is for Ran Zi," Yuan showed the same style of shirt in different color and the writing on it was, ¡¯The yboy Brother¡¯.

    Ru pursed her lips and continued to see as Yuan showed the third shirt, it had written, ¡¯The Obsessive Brother¡¯. Obviously, this was for himself.

    By this time, Ru really wanted tough at the names designed perfectly for these brothers. But soon her smile stiffened.

 Chapter 98 Cotton Candy Brothers

    Xiao Zhi Ren noticed how the handsome sun-kissed face suddenly stiffened as Yuan had pulled out the fourth shirt which he had specifically bought for her.

    It was a full sleeved shirt in ck and on the back was written: ¡¯The entric Brother.¡¯

    Why Ru stiffened up, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell.

    "Oniisan, this one is for you." Yuan was grinning cheekily.

    Ru scratched the tip of her nose and gave a lopsided grin saying, "entric? I¡¯m more like a super cool brother." Obviously, she was trying tough it off. "Anyway, keep shopping. I have to find something as well."

    "What are you looking for?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked.

    "A candy store," Ru answered inly. Now, how could she tell him that seeing their brotherly love has made her crave for some sugar? It was unexpected, weird and untimely. She pointed at herself and added, "This sweets need some real sweets to make him feel super sweet."

    "Mr. Sweet tooth, are you craving sugar again?" Xiao Zhi Ren teased her.

    "My body is feeling deprived without it. See, I¡¯m even getting lightheaded." She pretended to be dizzy and even staggered to emphasize her point.

    Xiao Zhi Ren flicked her forehead making her open her mouth like a goldfish. "Well, are you diabetic?"

    Ru rubbed the space between her brows and said, "Not yet, but if stuck around you cotton candy brothers, I might soon be diabetic."

    "Cotton candy brothers?!" The way the three brothers eximed simultaneously was a sight to behold. Ru was regretting not having a way to record it.

    ¡¯Damnit! If I knew it¡¯ll be this amusing, I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten my stupid spy camera.¡¯ She was really upset at this thought. What a huge mistake!

    "Well, you all are like eye-candy boys. But calling you eye-candy bros would be so outdated. So, I came up with an original, cotton candy brothers. Haha... It sounds so good. I¡¯m just too awesome." She was patting her shoulder at doing such a good job. Seeing her praise her own self, the three brothers had no words for her.

    "You know there is a limit to being an ego-centric. But you... my sworn brother really are beyond shameless."

    Not wanting to hold her displeasure, she flicked Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s forehead obviously using more force than he did. His forehead immediately got red while he stared back at her in disbelief.

    "How am I shameless? Have you seen this young master parading around naked? No, right? So, how the hell did I be shameless?"

    "You are impossible."

    "So are you!" Ru snapped back.

    On the sideline, Ji Syaoran was more than amused as he had pulled out popcorn from somewhere while watching them bicker like teenagers.

    "Do they always banter like this?" Ji Syaoran questioned Yuan while offering popcorn as a bribe.

    "They do. They are always at each other¡¯s throat but only they both can understand each other." Yuan answered with a shake of his head.

    "What do you mean?" Ji Syaoran frowned in confusion.

    "See for yourself." Yuan pointed at the bantering pair and Ji Syaoran followed suit only to be shocked.

    Back on Ru and Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s side...

    "I saw the candy store on the second floor." Ren was saying.

    "Really?" Ru¡¯s eyes lit up. "I should get there."

    "Don¡¯t hop around like a bunny." Ren seemed to be rebuking but his eyes said otherwise. "Tell me what kind of candy do you want?"

    Ru tapped her chin and smiled charmingly, "I want sweet... I want sour... And I want more sweet." Seeing her beaming with joy, Ren lost his earlier coldness.

    Ren pulled her shirt cor like old times which she had gotten used to by now and said, "Let¡¯s go then. We¡¯ll stuff you like a candy machine today."

    He was teasing her but with candies floating in her mind, how would Ru care? She didn¡¯t give a damn! And let him drag her towards the elevator.

    Trailing behind that pair, Ji Syaoran was gaping. "When did our elder brother be such an easy person?"

    "It all started with Oniisan. Big Bear always changes around him." Yuan answered like it wasmon sense.

    Ji Syaoran was more than just surprised. He was missing for a couple of months and his elder brother was already acting like a whole new person? That was unbelievable!

    But more than anything, Ji Syaoran saw a light of hope. Perhaps, now his brother would finally open up. It was about time. He had kept himself shut away from people for a decade. It was high time for his brother to let someone in. Anyone. As long as it was someone living... And most importantly, someone who was by his side and not just in his memories.

 Chapter 99 Sugar

    Standing before a huge candy store, Ru¡¯s eyes glimmered like a kid in a candy shop. Oh, wait! She was a kid in a candy shop.

    It wasn¡¯t her fault. Her childhood was filled with memories of training, learning, and again training. But there was no memory of someone taking her to a candy store. Even though everyone was aware of her love for candies.

    Walking in thend of candylicious, Ru was in awe.

    "So..." Ren drawled his words in a dramatic way. "Which candy do you want?"

    "Sugar, sugar, sugar... Damn! It¡¯s sugar heaven!" Ru obviously wasn¡¯t paying any attention towards the brothers behind her. All her attention was on those delicious looking candies.

    "Bro, doesn¡¯t he look like a girl in a branded shop with a ck credit card in hand?" The question came from Ji Syaoran who was asking this from Xiao Zhi Ren.

    Xiao Zhi Ren could see that himself. "Hey! If Oniisan would have been a girl..." Yuan whistled as he added, "Heck! He would have been a wicked one!"

    Ji Syaoran nodded agreeing with Yuanpletely while Ren was lost in Ru¡¯s antics of hopping from one ce to another. "He certainly will make a gorgeous woman!" Ren turned to look at Syaoran who seemed like he was appreciating whatever he was seeing.

    Ren pped his head and said, "Don¡¯t tell me you are imagining Rong in women clothing?"

    Syaoran smiled sheepishly and said, "Couldn¡¯t help it, bro!"

    "Can I help you, Sir?" A pretty shop attendant came to Ru¡¯s side as she had been watching her from the moment Ru entered.

    "Yes, you can," Ru answered with a childish grin. It looked so innocent that the shop attendant blushed furiously. "Do you sell liquor choctes?" The shop attendant blinked a few times. "It doesn¡¯t have to be like London Gin Truffles but something along the line..."

    The shop attendant took a moment before replying, "Wait here for a minute, Sir." and she went back to call the manager.

    "You want Liquor choctes?" Looking at Ren¡¯s inquiring gaze, Ru nodded. "Why?"

    "What do you mean by why? Man, it¡¯s liquor and chocte... Combined in one. What more can one ask for?" She emphasized each word to show how serious she was. "I can even kiss the person who invented such a heavenly delight."

    "Even if it¡¯s a man?" Syaoran couldn¡¯t really help himself.

    "Duh! Of course!" Sensing that she said something shocking, she tacitly changed her answer, "I mean we live in the 21st century. And I¡¯m a very easygoing person." Syaoran was intelligent enough to understand the suggestiveness of her words. It simply suggested that she wasn¡¯t against gay rtionships. But who would tell him that as a girl she was supposed to kiss a man!

    Unconsciously, the three brothers took a step backward which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Ru at all even though she was busy picking out vors of candies before her. She gave a brittleugh and said, "Don¡¯t think too highly of yourself. All of you are handsome but look at this young master..." she pointed at herself and went on, "I need someone wickedly handsome as I am. None of you are up to my standard."

    For the very first time, none of the three brothers didn¡¯t mind being not up to her standard. It was kind of a relief that they were put off the hook easily.

    The candy store was indeed for kids but the manager did have some stuff which the adults would like and it made it easier for Ru to pick out some tequ-filled choctes. She was very satisfied as she shopped around and gathered a huge box filled with sugary goods.

    "We can deliver it to your home," the manager offered politely and obviously, Ru wouldn¡¯t refuse.

    "Give me a pen and paper then." Getting the pen and paper, she scribbled the address with ease. Her writing had clear strokes but showed how confident the person was.

    She was about to pass the notepad back when her cellphone rang. "Zhi, give it to the manager. I have to go." She shoved the notepad in his arms and sprinted out the store.

    Ren was about to pass the notepad when her handwriting caught his attention. ¡¯This can¡¯t be possible!¡¯ He said to himself. He was more than familiar with that writing style. He had seen it before. Hell! He even spent hours looking at a letter written in the exact same writing. He couldn¡¯t be mistaken.

    But what if he was?

    At this thought, he passed the notepad to the manager and turned to his brothers, "I¡¯ll catch up with you guyster." And with those words, he was out the door. Looking around for a sign of Ru.

 Chapter 100 A Fallen Angel

    Running after the naked truths, all of us still are yearning for a well-dressed lie. Because truths are scary. They always had been. And it will always stay like that.

    For Ren, it was nearly impossible to believe that his sworn brother could be the girl he had been waiting for all this time. Honestly, the possibility didn¡¯t even cross his mind. But in his mind, he couldn¡¯t deny that the handwriting was the same. He could never be mistaken about that.

    He still remembered that day vividly...

    *shback*

    After staying out for a couple of days when he had gone back to the hospital, what awaited him was an empty bed and a cold room. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know what happened. How could a visually impaired person vanish on her own? Especially when she couldn¡¯t even walk anymore!

    He was anxious and frustrated.

    "Who discharged her?" Xiao Zhi Ren was looking for an answer. He needed something to hold on to. He couldn¡¯t lose her again.

    "Sir, it was a tall man who came to discharge her. He did all the paperwork and left." The nurse informed him politely. She was surprised... herself. Since the person who had been with the patient in the VIP room was Xiao Zhi Ren for the past year and now, suddenly another man came and took the patient with him.

    "Any name? Address? Anything?" Xiao Zhi Ren was infuriated. He was the one who brought her here. How could they let anyone take her? But he knew if she consented the hospital couldn¡¯t possibly stop her.

    "Actually, there is something..." Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her with a glimmer of hope. The nurse pulled out a small box and gave it to him. "She left this for you."

    "She said something?" He inquired while holding the wooden box.

    The nurse shrugged her shoulders, "She only asked to give this to her savior. I assume that is you since no one else visited her in this whole year."

    Xiao Zhi Ren nodded and took the box with himself.

    He only opened it after finding a quiet ce for himself to sit at.

    In the wooden boxid two things; one was the pendant with pure jade and rubies. And the other was... A letter.

    It read:

    "Mr. Savior,

    Oddly, I still don¡¯t know your name. You never told me and I never asked. I guess it was for the better.

    The pendant with you is my identity token. Keep it safe until Ie to im it back. It¡¯s coteral because I still owe you a debt of life. And I for one don¡¯t like owing people.

    But I can¡¯t pay you back just yet. I have to leave. I have to look for myself all over again. I have to look for the pieces, people stole from me. I told you, ¡¯I can conceive death but betrayal is not allowed.¡¯

    Confucious say: ¡¯Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.¡¯

    Although I¡¯m not looking for revenge, I¡¯m still the kind of person who likes to keep an empty grave prepared for herself. You never know. Therefore, just as a reminder, I¡¯m telling you... I might never get back to you.

    If I nevere back to take my pendant, do me a favor... Throw it in the ocean.

    I always wanted freedom and it came as a price. Perhaps, my pendant could enjoy the freedom in the beauty that lies under the blue sea.

    From,

    The girl you named, A Fallen Angel"

    *End of shback*

    The content of the letter was very simple. But Xiao Zhi Ren had read so many times that it was etched in his memory now. He knew each and every stroke of that letter since he always traced his finger over each character just to find the familiarity of her presence.

    That¡¯s why Ru¡¯s handwriting came as a shock to him. He could be wrong, he kept convincing himself but a part of him didn¡¯t believe it. Not even for a second. There were endless possibilities in his mind and each possibility made him uneasy.

    He found Ru leaving the mall and ran after her. He saw her extending her hand toward a blonde haired man and the man ced keys on her hand. After that, he gave her the helmet.

    From inside the ss doors, he saw her climbing on a motorbike and driving away. Five different motorbikes followed after her.

    Xiao Zhi Ren frowned for a second and decided to ask herter on. But the uneasy feeling in his heart got the best of him as he ran towards his own car and immediately followed after speeding bikes.

 Chapter 101 Murderous Glin

    Earlier in the mall when Ru¡¯s ringtone caught her attention, it was like a wake-up call for her. It was a reminder!

    She could smile with those three brothers, makeme jokes, or even pretend to indulge herself into sugary goods. But at the end of the day, she had to go back to her own world of darkness.

    Reality had always been harsh. She didn¡¯t belong with them.

    The ringtone was actually an rm. It was time to leave. She made her way out the mall hastily and met up with the members of ck Mist waiting outside.

    "Did you bring a ride for me?" Jack immediately nodded and gave her the keys along with the helmet.

    Soon, she revved the bike and lurched forward on the busy road. Earlier through her subordinates, she had found out that there was a container being shipped out of Imperial cargo port.

    They needed to stop the container and she couldn¡¯t leave this work just up to her subordinates. From their mistake ofst time in Hong Kong, she had learned her lesson.

    It took them more than thirty minutes to reach the port because of the heavy traffic of Imperial Capital. Rows and rows of Cargo Containers could be seen on the seemingly deserted port.

    It was weird but there weren¡¯t many people around. Ru and her group parked the bikes at a distance and pulled on their disguise of a cap and mask on their face.

    "Master, I brought yours as well," Ru looked at Connor who pushed two Baretta 92 pistols in her hand along with a briefcase. Although she would always prefer not carrying this metal stuff, she didn¡¯t refuse it. The situation called for it right now.

    "Try to catch people alive. We don¡¯t want extra trouble for now." Hearing her order, the group of five nodded and spread out.

    "This is one step closer. Don¡¯t you dare to look back, Ru!" After giving herself a pep-talk, she took a deep breath and with her nimble body, she jumped up on the cargo containers. It was quite a distance from the ground considering there were about four containers ced one above the other.

    The golden hues of the sun were slowly fading away leaving a dim light. But Ru¡¯s senses always sharpened in the darkness. She could still make silhouettes of men patrolling in the group carrying Assualt rifles.

    She wasn¡¯t worried about them. Her eyes were looking around to look for any snipers. That won¡¯t be advantageous for her people. That¡¯s why she pulled out her newest version of tiny drones and controlled them to find anything amiss.

    Finding some hidden snipers as she had expected, Ru smirked under her mask. Opening the briefcase, she assembled her suppressed Sniper rifle and took her aims. The sound of the shot was muffled but every shot was taken urately.

    After making sure of her surroundings, she slowly made her way towards the group which she saw keep guard of a particr Container. Using the growing darkness to her advantage, she hid in the shadows avoiding the light by all means.

    "They asked us to deliver the stuff tonight." She heard those men talking and stopped.

    "Tonight? Weren¡¯t they going to send someone to collect the stuff?" Another one asked piquing Ru¡¯s interest.

    Not nning on waiting any longer, she pulled out her silver needles; her treasure and lifesaver. As she always says, she might not always be able to save people with these little things but she certainly could take life easily with these.

    Unfortunately, she had to obey her own orders. No killing people unless necessary. Sighing in disappointment, she aimed the needle directly towards their neck and one by one the group of ten people who were keeping guardid on the stone cold ground lifelessly. Not dead but paralyzed for sure.

    Dusting her hands she stood before the Container eyeing it with interest. The container door had a password lock on it. The men on the ground gave her a horrified look but none of them could utter a single word or move a single limb. The needles were obviouslyced with poison that could obstruct their movements easily.

    While she was eyeing the lock, two members of ck Mist came to her side. Seeing her inquiring gaze, they answered, "Everything is under control. The rest are bringing the ones we caught." Connor answered while he gave a pitiful look to those men.

    "Put them on a side and open the door," Ru ordered and they got to work.

    As the door of the Container opened, Ru heard a gasp. She didn¡¯t know who gasped but her reaction wasn¡¯t much different. Because of the sight before her, Ru¡¯s eyes got clouded with a murderous glint.

 Chapter 102 Broken Pieces

    Inside of the huge container was brightly lit, Ru¡¯s eyes fell on young girls aged 8-13 that were huddled together. There were about 20 girls there. The little girls didn¡¯t even look scared and none of them made a sound as if they were in a trance.

    Every step that Ru took inside was difficult for her. The scene before her had brought back shes of the time she was tied up in ab like an animal ready to be cut open. Her memories might not be vivid but the pain was etched on her soul.

    Those girls looked so vulnerable. At this tender age, they were called ¡¯stuff¡¯ like they weren¡¯t even living, breathing humans. They were being treated as mere objects. Their innocent eyes were looking at her but they were focused.

    Coming closer to them, Ru crouched down and examined the look on one of the girls. She held the little girl¡¯s wrist and took her pulse. Immediately the rims of her eyes turned red as a volcano had burst open inside of her.

    "They seem intoxicated," Jack could only mutter softly in horror. The girls were so young. How can someone be heartless enough to do this?

    In the beginning, Ru didn¡¯t notice but now she could clearly make out the residuals of the drugs in the air inside the Container.

    Ru stormed out of the Container, pulled out her Baretta 92 pistol which she wasn¡¯t nning on using today and aimed her shot at all groaning men outside.

    "Master, you said not to kill," Adia who had just joined back reminded her softly with caution.

    Ru shifted her aim from their head to their knees and started shooting. The silent port was filled with screams... Horrifying and gut-wrenching screams. She couldn¡¯t control the bloodthirst bursting inside of herself.

    She had inhaled the toxins of the drugs inside the container and the effect was strong for someone like her who had gone through this torture before. But the effect was slow because of her resilient nature. Nheless, it was still there she could feel it in her bones... The urge to rip people apart. To just tear everything or anything. Only a stream of blood could calm her.

    Her eyes were getting hazy and her breathing was ragged. She didn¡¯t look back at her subordinates but gave the orders in a stern voice, "Get the girls out of here to a safe ce. And send these men to the dungeon."

    Not waiting for a reply, Ru tried to run away from them. She couldn¡¯t stay with any of them. Her mind was reeling and her eyes were clouded with murderous intent. Her body wasn¡¯t listening to herself. The bone-crushing pain in her body was back. The more she resisted the urges, the more she felt herself losing control.

    Finding no other solution, she held her dagger and drove it straight through her thigh. As the blood flowed out, her mind felt a bit of rationalitying back to it. It wasn¡¯t much but it was there.

    She could vaguely hear the sound of the helicopter propellers in the background as several of helicoptersnded on the port. She knew it belonged to her own people and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t pay much attention.

    Trying to walk away from people, Ru¡¯s back hit a broad chest. Whoever was behind of her held her wrist in a tight grip and without even thinking, Ru went into her lethal mode. She felt like someone was trying to cage her all over again. And it made the rm bells ring in her mind.

    Whatever rationality she got was thrown in the wind almost immediately. Her body waspletely not under her control anymore. With the dagger still in her hand, she tried to sh the person behind her.

    The tall andnky figure dodged in the nick of time. "Rong!" It was Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice who had finally caught up to her. Because of the maze of Containers on the port, he had taken quite a time looking for her. Now that he did, she had attacked him.

    He had already been scared for her safety when he heard the gunshots earlier and that¡¯s why he chose to hold her wrist. Who knew his small gesture of care was something suffocating for her.

    But her green eyes brimming with an indescribable pain stunned Xiao Zhi Ren. It was like he could hear the screams of her mind. Telling him how much pain she was hiding. Telling him how many broken pieces were yet to be glued back together.

 Chapter 103 Cold Block Of Ice

    Xiao Zhi Ren might have escaped being shed by her dagger but her attacks didn¡¯t stop. Ru turned her body and attacked Xiao Zhi Ren again.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t see her face clearly because of theck of light but he could clearly make out her silhouette as it flew to stab him in the stomach. Xiao Zhi Ren held her wrist on time and avoided the attack. She twisted her way out of his grip easily.

    Her each strike was fierce as if she was ready to take a life while Xiao Zhi Ren was trying his best to have some restraint since he didn¡¯t want to hurt Ru. If he hadn¡¯t be trained from a young age, he knew he¡¯d have long lost this fight. He was hardly a match for Ru¡¯s techniques. He hadn¡¯t seen those moves before but he had heard about them.

    He had a hunch that Ru came from an ancient bloodline and now, he was certain that she came from a long line of martial practitioners. Those that defied one¡¯s modern beliefs. But she was holding back. He was sure, he¡¯d be dead if she wasn¡¯t holding back her strength.

    Attacking and dodging each other¡¯s attack, both of them reached under a flickering fluorescent light. As Xiao Zhi Ren looked at Ru¡¯s eyes, he was stunned. Those emerald green orbs that always made him feel at ease were zing right now with murderous intent.

    The rims of her eyes were red, he could even see the red veins visible in her eyes. Her face was distorted as if in pain. Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart shook violently. In his moment of daze, Ru got a chance and she raised the dagger again. Xiao Zhi Ren saw her movement and tried to flip his body. In the end, his arm was slightly slit but it wasn¡¯t serious.

    "RONG!" Xiao Zhi Ren shouted her name as he shook her but she didn¡¯t hear him. She lifted her hand again but this time, Xiao Zhi Ren held her wrists behind her back in a tight grip. Before Ru could roll her body using her legs, he trapped her by pushing her against a Container while he caught her legs between his own.

    "Rong, look at me!" His voice had turned softer. For some reason, her pained expression was like someone was stabbing his heart repeatedly. "What¡¯s wrong? Say something! How am I supposed to help you if you won¡¯t say a word?"

    Ru¡¯s struggle in his grip stopped as she slowly looked up and stared into his raven ck orbs. She felt entrapped and yet, there was a strangefort in this confinement. His arms were strong, his eyes were soft but the way he looked at her told her how he felt her pain.

    "I¡¯m right here. Stop struggling. I¡¯m not going anywhere." His voice was so gentle that Ru¡¯s eyes shed with strange emotions. He was talking as if coaxing a baby to sleep.

    Ru¡¯s eyes caught the blood dripping from his arm and her eyes chilled again. "I hurt you that¡¯s why you are shackling me as well." The words were said in a whisper but Xiao Zhi Ren heard her voice.

    ¡¯I¡¯m shackling him as well?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her words. "Rong, I¡¯m not chaining you. I¡¯m trying to save you. I don¡¯t want you to hurt yourself." He had seen the way she had stabbed herself in the thigh and didn¡¯t even flinch at the pain. He knew to leave her meant she¡¯ll do something worse.

    He didn¡¯t realize the impact of his words yet again.

    "Father, are you afraid that I¡¯ll hurt people? Is that why I¡¯m not allowed to leave our n?" She had asked with fury as she was tired of repeatedly being told that she was not allowed to leave.

    "Son, I just want to save you." Her father¡¯s voice was softer, soothing her.

    Ru¡¯s body trembled at the memory and suddenly, her knees buckled and her head tilted to one side with her eyes shut, tightly. If Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t holding her, she would have fallen to the ground.

    Xiao Zhi Ren tried to shake her but she stayed in a deep slumber. Xiao Zhi Ren felt the way her body temperature suddenly dropped. She was cold. As if she was an ice-cold block. If one wouldpare their body temperature, Xiao Zhi Ren might appear as a burning fire before her.

    Renid her on his back and ran towards his car. As heid her in the passenger seat, under the light, he finally noticed the way her lips had turned blue. It was unexpected. He thought she was drunk but it didn¡¯t seem like it anymore. Is it hypothermia?

 Chapter 104 Akin To Betrayal

    Xiao Zhi Ren first wrapped a handkerchief around her thigh to stop the bleeding then hurriedly got behind the steering wheel and started the car. He even turned the heater on for Ru. He was anxiously driving the car, not knowing what happened. He just wanted to confirm something with Ru but unexpectedly, he had found her in such a state.

    There were so many questions in his mind.

    Why was Rong with those people on motorbikes?

    Who were those people?

    And where did they vanish?

    What was Rong doing there at the cargo port?

    All the way out of the city... What was Rong doing here?

    What about the choppers I saw at the port?

    Nothing was even adding up!

    None of his questions could be answered and he was frustrated. He hit the steering wheel in exasperation.

    He tilted his head to see Ruying lifelessly. The only indication of life was the fact that her body was now shivering. Terribly.

    Up ahead the traffic was jammed. He was stuck outside of the city. There was nothing around except for a long line of vehicles. It scared Xiao Zhi Ren even more. What should I do?

    In anxiousness, he chose to call the first person who came to his mind. "Hello, Grandmother! I need your help. My friend¡¯s body suddenly turned cold. It¡¯s freezing cold. What should I do? I can¡¯t take him to the hospital."

    "Calm down, Ren. Slowly, tell me what¡¯s wrong." His grandmother¡¯s loving and calm voice managed to calm him a bit. He told her Ru¡¯s condition and waited for her reply. "It could be hypothermia. Or it could be the side effect of some drug. I can¡¯t tell. Is the shivering worsening?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at Ru and nodded, only to realize that she couldn¡¯t see him. "Yes. He¡¯s shivering badly."

    "Check his clothes. If they are damp. Change him out of it."

    "What?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave a dumbfounded look.

    "He¡¯s a friend of yours. Don¡¯t act like it¡¯s a girl. He must have sweated a lot. Just help him out of it already otherwise it might worsen. And cover him with a dry nket." Hearing no reply, she asked, "Are you still hesitating? Is it really a girl?"

    "Granna! No! But he¡¯s way more gorgeous than a girl. Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll be bent by him?" Xiao Zhi Ren tried to joke to calm his nerves as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got around to her side.

    "I don¡¯t mind you getting bent. For now, just help your friend if you wanna save him." Xiao Zhi Ren sighed out and unbuckled her seatbelt.

    "Fine. I¡¯ll do it." Xiao Zhi Ren disconnected the call and touched Ru¡¯s jacket which was wet as if she had just taken a shower.

    He slowly unzipped her jacket and pulled it off of her body. Ru was wearing a ck button-up shirt underneath. But Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes were stuck on something else.

    He saw the two sleek pistols tucked in her jeans and his eyes widened. "Just as I expected, you are so not a simple person." Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head and lifted his hands to unbutton her shirt. When the first two buttons came undone, he could see her prominent cor-bones that could give any man desires to suck on them.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s throat dried and he licked his lips. He closed his eyes like a gentleman and unbuttoned her shirt. As he opened his eyes again, he was dumbstruck. He felt his hands trembling while his eyes were wide open.

    His mind reeled and he felt light-headed. One might expect this reaction from seeing the binding around her chest but Xiao Zhi Ren definitely wasn¡¯t looking at that. Instead, his eyes were stuck on something else altogether. Something familiar.

    He might have only gotten a glimpse of itst time but it was etched in his mind. Everything rted to that ¡¯person¡¯ was carved in his mind and heart.

    Now, that same tattoo was on Ru¡¯s body. Right on her ribcage, that number ¡¯four¡¯ was all it took for Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind to stop responding.

    He slowly retracted his gaze from the tattoo and looked up. That¡¯s when the binding around her chest came into his view. Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly felt a rush of emotions. Emotions, he couldn¡¯t possibly exin even if he wanted to.

    Was he happy? Yes!

    Was he feeling surreal? Definitely yes!

    Was he shocked? Abso-freaking-lutely yes!

    But what about feeling betrayed? His sworn brother had been lying to him all this time. Wasn¡¯t that akin to betrayal?

 Chapter 105 Broken Smiles

    In the silent and cold corridor, a man was pacing back and forth anxiously. He never had been fond of the silence that seemed to enshroud the hospitals making them seem more dreadful and lifeless.

    As the doors opened and he saw a doctor in a white coat walking out, Xiao Zhi Ren ran up to his side. "Doctor, how is he?" He bit his tongue before changing his words, "I mean, how is she?"

    "The patient is stable now." Xiao Zhi Ren knew there was something amiss with his tone. Therefore, he waited patiently for the doctor to continue, "The patient doesn¡¯t have hypothermia. Although the symptoms are the same."

    "Then what happened to her?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned with a frown.

    "We found some drug residuals in her blood."

    "Drug? What type of drug?" He asked incredulously.

    The doctor sighed heavily. "We are not sure. But her condition is definitely because of the side effects of those drugs." Xiao Zhi Ren was feeling confused and didn¡¯t listen to whatever the doctor had to say.

    Earlier, finding out that his sworn brother was the girl he had been looking for, was a huge blow to his heart. It took him a while to let that news sink in. He had called for a helicopter to take them to the hospital because he didn¡¯t want to waste time stuck in the traffic.

    Now, when he entered the room, he saw her lying unconscious on the white bed which lookedfortable enough but the beads of sweat on her face said otherwise. She didn¡¯t lookfortable at all.

    Suddenly, she turned her face and looked straight into Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes. For a second, he stood there; stunned. He thought she was unconscious but apparently, she wasn¡¯t anymore.

    Ru looked at her own body before shifting her gaze back to him. He didn¡¯t know what was going through her mind but whatever it was it made a beautiful smile to bloom on her slightly pale face.

    But that smile tore Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart into a million pieces. ¡¯A broken girl with a broken smile and a broken heart. Oh look, she¡¯s trying to keep the world from tearing her apart.¡¯ He felt a sudden constriction in his heart. He felt suffocated by that smile which looked too beautiful and too real; much to his displeasure.

    Suddenly, he had a wish to see her smiling from the heart. As if that one smile might be able to tear all those dark clouds that had been circling in his heart.

    Ru was surprised to find that Xiao Zhi Ren was the one who brought her to the hospital. Once again, he saved her. Even when she didn¡¯t ask him to. She knew the effect of that drug on her body way too well. The more stimted she was, the more she¡¯d lose control of her senses. And yet, that¡¯s exactly what happened tonight.

    She was expecting Xiao Zhi Ren to question her. There was no way that he didn¡¯t find out about her gender. But oddly, he didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t ask. He just sat on the stool beside her bed and stayed quiet.

    "Don¡¯t you want to know something?" In the end, Ru had to question it herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at her and took a deep breath. "How are you feeling? Any difort or pain?" He asked with concern that stunned Ru.

    Ru shook her head in a daze. "No. I¡¯m fine. Nothing I can¡¯t take."

    Her words unexpectedly pierced Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart. Saying, ¡¯Nothing I can¡¯t take¡¯ was like telling him she had been through worse. Suddenly his mind shed the images of the night she walked along with him and said, ¡¯I¡¯ve been through hell.¡¯ Even though she hadughed it offter as a joke, he was sure it wasn¡¯t a joke. And now, there was no doubt left in him.

    Ru expected him to confront her but he inquired about her health. It was better for her since she really didn¡¯t know what answer she could give him.

    "Don¡¯t you have something else to ask?" She wanted to smack her head for opening her damn mouth but she couldn¡¯t help it. The more normal he acted, the more uneasy she felt.

    Even Xiao Zhi Ren knew why she was going roundabout this topic but he didn¡¯t really want toment on her way of life. At least, not yet!

    "Is that your real voice?" Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief with her mouth agape. Was he serious? Instead of her being a girl, he¡¯s inquiring about my voice? But she still shook her head at him. "Can you please use your real voice? It¡¯s a bit awkward."

 Chapter 106 Your Secret Is Safe With Me

    Ru¡¯s smiled to herself. It was indeed awkward for him. He was seeing her as a girl now but she was still using her low and deep masculine voice. He was truly conflicted inside.

    "I think you¡¯re already used to this voice," remarked Ru inly.

    "True. I am used to it." He agreed gingerly. But a part of him wanted to hear that silvery charming voice that was stuck in his memory. He missed the voice of that girl. But at this point, Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t even sure whether that was also Ru¡¯s real voice or not? She seemed skilled in the impersonation. He won¡¯t be surprised if she used another voice at this moment.

    He wanted to confront her. He did! At first, he even felt betrayed but then his mind calmed down and he realized that no person would hide his own identity for the sake of fun. There had to be a reason behind it all. Most of all, she was someone who was living the life of a facade. How hard would it be for her to disguise herself as a man? It was like losing your own individuality and living as someone you are not.

    While Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind was ying the game of words, he heard Ru¡¯s voice breaking his train of thoughts. "Don¡¯t think too much. Sometimes the worst ce to live in is right inside your mind. Let me hear your words, your mind will only make it worse for you." Seeing Ru acting so calm, Xiao Zhi Ren finally stopped listening to his mind.

    Even if he didn¡¯t have the right to know about her reasons for disguise, he really wanted to know why she didn¡¯t recognize her?

    "Rong-" Xiao Zhi Ren cut his sentence. He didn¡¯t know how to call her anymore. After all, now she was a girl to him.

    "You can just call me R." Hearing Ru¡¯s words, he nodded.

    "Well... Have we met before?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked hesitantly trying to keep his anxiousness in check.

    "We?" He nodded. "I don¡¯t think so. I saw you for the first time when I broke your ¡¯present¡¯." Ru air-quoted to remind him of the incident.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t feel like she was lying at all. And then it struck him, she couldn¡¯t see back then! But wait! He had met her even before she lost her eyes. It couldn¡¯t really be described as a meeting since he was the only one gawking at her while she was hopping from one stall of food to another.

    He felt disappointed inside. However, he didn¡¯t want to lose her again. It took years to find her. He didn¡¯t want to repeat those long years of solitude.

    "Rest for a while. We¡¯ll go home in the morning." Xiao Zhi Ren instructed her with a heavy heart.

    "Zhi," Ru stopped him from leaving.

    "Do you need anything?" He quirked his brow inquiringly.

    She shook her head and took a moment before saying, "Can you-I mean... Can you keep..." Ru couldn¡¯t seem to form a coherent sentence. She didn¡¯t like taking favors. It was against her principals. If she could it herself, she¡¯d never ask anyone for anything.

    As if reading her worries, Xiao Zhi Ren came close to her and rubbed her fluffy hair. "Don¡¯t worry. Your secret is safe with me." Ru was again in disbelief. How did he know what she wanted to say? It was obvious which secret he was talking about. But why did she feel so rxed when he rubbed her head like she was a pet? Also, why did his words made her feel at ease? It didn¡¯t make sense!

    She was treated like a pet and she actually likes it? Who took over her body? There is no way young master Ru would feel this way!

    Clearing her throat awkwardly, she started again, "Thanks for that. And can we leave now? I don¡¯t really fancy hospitals."

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to say that the doctors wanted to observe her condition but seeing a strange disdain in her eyes, he sealed his lips. He was the one who saw her life hanging by a thread on a hospital bed for the whole eight months. He could imagine her feeling of disgust and repulsiveness towards the hospital.

    "Okay. Let¡¯s go!" He answered and dialed a number getting his chopper ready.

    What he didn¡¯t know was that she was more ufortable on that plush bed. She really wasn¡¯t used to lying on such soft mattresses. Her back was protesting against it. Old habits do die hard, after all.

 Chapter 107 Lose The Girly Blush

    Getting back to their Condominium building, Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to take her to his own ce but knowing there would be Yuan and even Syaoran, he decided not to do so.

    Seeing him trailing behind herself, Ru turned to face him and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you following me?"

    "I need to make sure you¡¯re okay. After that, I¡¯ll leave." Ru couldn¡¯te up with a retort so she chose to just act indifferently.

    As she was about to punch in her passcode when he heard her voice, "No peeking!" Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at the way she was acting all mysteriously.

    Nevertheless, he turned his back towards her for her convenience. To be honest, Ru wasn¡¯t being mysterious at all. She just felt that if he noticed her passcode, he wouldugh at her for sure. Anyone would be; knowing that a person of her IQ actually had set her house passcode to ¡¯0000¡¯.

    But in her opinion, it was the smartest code. After all, people would always cross out the possibility of passcode being this predictable.

    As the door opened, she took off her shoes and walked inside. Xiao Zhi Ren followed suit and took off his shoes and put on the spare slippers that were ced in the cab. He was surprised to see that she who actually liked staying barefoot actually had quite a bundle of extra slippers in her cab.

    This was officially Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s first visit to her house. Don¡¯t get it wrong! He had been to the door but he never got a chance to see the inside. Now, that he had finally crossed over the entryway and trudged inside the seating area, he was in awe.

    The way the interior wasplimenting the dark shades of ck and gray, Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know what to say. Moving around, he realized that her ce was more like an art gallery. Every art piece on the walls was marvelous.

    "Would you like to drink something?" Ru¡¯s voice made him look back at her.

    "Maybe,ter. Right now, you should take a warm shower. The doctor said you could get dizzy. So, let me help-," Xiao Zhi Ren bit back his words when he realized what he was saying.

    Seeing the tips of his ears getting red, Ru gave a sly smile. Inching a bit closer to him, she asked, "Want to join me in the shower, Zhi?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren staggered back as if someone burnt him. "Noooo! That¡¯s not what I meant. I forgot for a second that you are a..." His words were croaked while he was iling his arms dramatically.

    "That I¡¯m a girl?" She finally said it; the words he was avoiding all this time. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t reply giving his tacit agreement. "Zhi, if you kept on seeing me as a girl. This... Between us... It¡¯s gonna get tough."

    Seeing her serious look, Xiao Zhi Ren realized the severity of her words. It seemed she really put great importance on this fact that no one knows about her gender.

    Suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Who else knows? You know... About you... Being a girl." He was awkwardly scratching his head as he voiced out.

    "Only you know. And I¡¯d like to keep it that way." Xiao Zhi Ren felt a strange feeling of happiness within. Why? He didn¡¯t know at all! But he knew that this knowing this secret meant that he was a step closer to her. Hepletely disregarded the fact that if it was up to her, she would like to keep her secret under wraps.

    Also, she didn¡¯t tell him that there was someone else who knew of her identity but that someone wasn¡¯t here. Therefore, she said nothing about that.

    "Sure. No problem with that."

    "Then lose that girly blush. I¡¯m the girl here, not the other way around." She really knew how to sweep off that grin off of anyone¡¯s face.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a tight smile as he said, "Are you done ridiculing me? If you are then it¡¯s better to go take a shower. We have some things to get even about."

    Now, that he said it, Ru noticed the bandage on his arm making her feel guilty. She remembered being the one who slit his arm.

    She turned on her heels and left a few words lingering in the air, "Raven, keep our guestpany."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had yet to lock his brows in confusion when a voice echoed, "With pleasure, young master!"

 Chapter 108 I Think He Did

    Xiao Zhi Ren watched Ru¡¯s figure disappearing behind the door and whirled his body 360 degrees. He was trying to figure out whose voice he just heard. But there was no one in sight.

    "Who is here?" He asked and felt like an idiot.

    "Only me and you, Mr. Guest." He heard the same voice again but didn¡¯t see anyone again!

    "And who you might be?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned feeling intrigued.

    "Master named me Raven. I¡¯m master¡¯s personalized virtual assistant." Raven replied.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was a bit surprised to know that Raven was a virtual assistant. Being the CEO of a Tech Empire, he had his fair share of dealing with virtual assistants. But something about Raven seemed different to him.

    "Raven? He... I mean she named you Raven? That¡¯s interesting." Taking a moment of silence, he asked, "So, why are you named Raven?"

    "Sorry, I¡¯m not authorized to tell you that."

    Before he could divulge into questioning Raven about Ru, his phone rang. In the silent apartment, his ringtone seemed to echo. It made him realize how minimalistic design this condo had.

    Seeing the caller id, Xiao Zhi Ren smiled softly. "Hey, Granna!"

    "Ren, you didn¡¯t call me back. I was so worried thinking about that friend of yours." His Grandmother¡¯s voice was usatory but he knew she was really concerned.

    "Granna, don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s okay now. I took him to the hospital and his condition is a lot better now." Xiao Zhi Ren stated patiently while looking at the paintings on the walls.

    "Oh thank goodness!" He could hear her heaving a sigh of relief. "Who is this friend of yours?"

    "There is someone..." He gave a vague answer.

    "Is it the one you brought to the banquet the other night?" Xiao Zhi Ren felt like there was something odd with his grandmother¡¯s tone. Or was he overthinking?

    "Yeah. It¡¯s the same one." Shaking the ridiculous thoughts out of his mind, he answered.

    "Hmm... I have heard a lot about that young man," the ambiguous tone of his grandmother was really saying something. But he couldn¡¯t understand it at all.

    "You did?"

    "Your grandfather won¡¯t stop talking about him. From how sessful, capable he is to how insanely gorgeous he is. I¡¯ve heard all about it." Old Madam Ji was really amused since she had never heard her own husband gushing over someone like that. Before Xiao Zhi Ren could speak, she said, "Why don¡¯t you bring him for dinner someday? I didn¡¯t get a chance to see that young man at the banquet."

    Xiao Zhi Ren thought for a moment and answered, "I¡¯ll ask him. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯ll agree. But I¡¯ll try my best."

    "Okay... I hope he really didn¡¯t bent you," Old Madam Ji said in a joking manner.

    Xiao Zhi Ren heard the click sound of the door and turned to see Ru walking out of the room in V-neck full sleeve gray shirt with matching cargo pants. There was a towel around her neck while water dripping down from her hair as they fell handsomely over her forehead.

    From where he stood, he could see her skin glistening as the light fell on the droplets that were trailing down her honey-colored skin. As she walked towards him, his gaze fell on her cor-bones which were visible because of the V-neck of the shirt.

    In a daze, Xiao Zhi Ren answered, "I think he did." ¡¯Who wouldn¡¯t be?¡¯ It was a good thing, he kept thetter part to himself.

    "What? Are you serious?" Xiao Zhi Ren was startled by the roaring voice of his grandmother.

    He cleared his throat and said, "Rx, Granna. I was messing with you." Not waiting for her reply, he went on, "Bye, Granna! I gotta go. Take care of yourself. Please, don¡¯t strain your body again. I don¡¯t want to see you on a bed again."

    Old Madam Jipletely forgot of what he said earlier. These words of concern were enough for her to feel satisfied. Although she was very happy inwardly, she still pretended to be broody, "Fine, Fine. Stop nagging like your grandfather. You also take care of yourself."

    When Xiao Zhi Ren hung up the phone, he lifted his eyelids and took a step back because of the way Ru was grinning at him. Seeing him avoiding her eyes, Ru frowned a bit. "Zhi, why does it seem like you¡¯re scared of me?"

    "I-I¡¯m not." He stuttered before getting back hisposure.

    Ru didn¡¯t believe him at all. She could see the way he was ying with his fingers.

    Crossing the distance between them in a couple of steps, Ru held thepel of his suit jacket and pushed him against the wall behind them.

 Chapter 109 Dont Want You To Leave

    With her long and slender fingers clutching hispel while the other hand pped against the wall behind him, Ru¡¯s green eyes challenged Xiao Zhi Ren to look back. Their height difference wasn¡¯t that much, and with him being pushed against a wall, their faces were at a level.

    They were so close that he could even feel her hot breath falling on his face. ¡¯F*ck! Someone just kill me!¡¯ He groaned inwardly.

    Seeing his eyes still avoiding her face, Ru felt indignant. "Zhi, I don¡¯t like it when people don¡¯t look me in the eyes while talking to me."

    ¡¯How am I supposed to look? Mm... Why does she smell like lemon? And why do I suddenly find lemons to be very enticing?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren was obviously lost in his own thinking.

    "Zhi, are you ignoring me?" Ru¡¯s voice raised an octave.

    "Can you please back off a little," Xiao Zhi Ren tried to push her body back but when he touched her chest, his eyes widened and he pulled his hands back like they just touched a burning me. Although her chest was still tied in a binding, he knew what was underneath that hard facade.

    Ru saw his reaction, his gaze, his difort... She thoroughly observed everything.

    "Zhi, are you ufortable with knowing that I¡¯m a girl?" Her voice might have turned softer but her bluntness was enough to stun Xiao Zhi Ren for a second.

    Maintaining a reasonable distance from her, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It is a bit ufortable." He wasn¡¯t used to this yet. He was still trying to process the fact that she was a girl. And that too the one he had been yearning for. One wrong step and he might lose her again. He didn¡¯t want that. Not at all!

    Ru lowered her eyes to ponder his words.

    "I¡¯m sorry for making you ufortable." Xiao Zhi Ren stared at her as she continued, "I know you only wanted a sworn brother but I deceived you. I¡¯m really sorry about that. I know you didn¡¯t want to be a part of this mess. I didn¡¯t want you to be as well." Before he could refute her words, she kept going on, "If this is really too much for you... I¡¯ll move out of here."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart sank. ¡¯What did she say?¡¯

    If he wasn¡¯t certain before, her next words only confirmed it, "You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯m Xie Rong, I know how to disappear. You won¡¯t even hear my name again."

    Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly lost his temper. He gripped her wrist in his hand tightly. "Are you crazy? How many times are you nning to run? Aren¡¯t you tired of running? Why can¡¯t you just stay here and let this ce finally be your home? Are you that eager to disappear? One day, people might really forget all about you. For goodness sake, stop running!"

    He was furious. Actually, he was beyond furious. Her words reminded him of how she vanished all those years ago. When he found her, she was running from someone. When he tried to protect her, she ran from him. And when he tried to look for her, she was nowhere to be found.

    After all those years, now she stands before him. How can she even think about leaving again? Is she even gonna run from him? Why?

    Ru couldn¡¯t understand his rage. And more so, she was looking at him disbelievingly because she couldn¡¯t understand how he knew that she had been running for a long time? She never said anything about that.

    In fact, she was indeed tired of running. And that¡¯s why she finally chose toe back. She wanted a home as well. She didn¡¯t want to y the game of identities anymore. But why was he questioning her? With what right? He said it himself that she was making him ufortable, then why was he behaving like that now?

    "You... You said I¡¯m making you ufortable." Ru didn¡¯t question about anything else. She didn¡¯t need to hear anything else. Not now.

    Xiao Zhi Ren let go of her wrist and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek with the back of his knuckles as he whispered, "But I don¡¯t want you to leave."

 Chapter 110 Stop Running

    Therees a moment in our life when the time actually freezes for us. Not literally though. Perhaps it feels like it that time is stuck.

    But in reality, those moments are the one we¡¯d never forget. Because they are the ones ever vivid in our mind and unforgettable. Good or bad, happy or sad... It doesn¡¯t matter. That moment just carves itself in our memory so deeply that one can¡¯t possibly erase it.

    Right now, Ru was going through one of those moments. When Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s hand made contact with her skin ever so lightly, Ru was frozen still. For her, even time was frozen but there was something which was not frozen... The way his skin brushed against her own left a burning trail.

    "I don¡¯t want you to leave."

    As his words registered in her mind, Ru stared back into his eyes. There were plenty ofplicated emotions in his gaze. There was sadness, pain, loneliness, fear, and something she couldn¡¯t decipher.

    ¡¯Fear? What is he scared of?¡¯ She wondered to herself. She hadpletely forgotten that there was hardly any distance between them but she was reminded again when she felt his forehead leaning against her own.

    Why she didn¡¯t move? She wanted to! She always hated having someone this close to herself. But right now, she wasn¡¯t uneasy at all. It was like him knowing that she was a girl broke some barrier between them. She was rxed. Why? Because he was looking at her as a girl.

    "I¡¯m not ufortable with your presence. Heck! You are the only person who actually makes me feel at ease. How can I be ufortable with you?" Xiao Zhi Ren spoke softly as his peppermint breath fanned her face. "I¡¯m ufortable with the fact that you have such a tough life. It¡¯s not easy living a life of disguise. How are you surviving with it?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was feeling hurt for her. How excruciatingly restless she must have been all this time!

    ¡¯Tough life?¡¯ Ru had never heard anyone ask her this question before. Her life always seemed perfect to the onlookers. The next n leader of the most ancient n in history. Imagine the power thates with that title. But no one asked how much responsibilityes with it as well. No one even asked how she was managing the life of double disguise.

    Ru finally pulled herself away from him because the heat emanating from his body was getting too intense for her cold self. Raking her fingers through her hair she asked, "Why do you care? Even if it had been tough, why do you care?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his hand to touch her head but she stepped back. He felt hurt and she could see it as well. But how could she let him invade her life so easily?

    "I care because we took a blood oath to stick together." He answered with a long sigh.

    Ru was a bit taken aback by his answer. "At that time, you only wanted a sworn brother. You didn¡¯t know what mess you¡¯re getting yourself into. I know I¡¯m a handful and I doe with a huge history of secrets. Don¡¯t push yourself for an oath. Since I¡¯m a girl, the oath might not be valid anymore."

    As much as she liked thepany of him, she would never put any other person¡¯s life at risk for keeping her own secrets. From all that she knew about Xiao Zhi Ren, she always found him to be too good for herself. Obviously when she was talking about them what she had in mind was as brothers,panions, friends, anything but nothing inclining towards a bug called ¡¯love¡¯.

    "If your reason to hide again is that I¡¯m gonna question your decisions then don¡¯t bother." Ru stared back at skeptically. "I won¡¯t ask anything. I¡¯ll keep your secret like I am supposed to do."

    Ru felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. His reassurance was enough. She really didn¡¯t want others to ask her for her reasons behind a disguise. It wasn¡¯t like she knew the real reason herself. But for now, her reason was simple... She wasfortable in her disguise. It had be herfort-zone.

    "So, can you stop running or hiding?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t want to sound too needy but he did. He had no control over it. He needed her right here with him even if it was just as a friend.

    Contemting his words for a while longer, Ru nodded her head, "I guess I need to stop somewhere. So, I¡¯ll just stop right here."

 Chapter 111 My Heart Wont Allow Me To

    Her words were simple yet Xiao Zhi Ren knew that she meant it. She had a weird habit of not saying things she didn¡¯t mean wholeheartedly. It was her way to be sincere.

    Ru never learned to say shallow words. She would always say what she felt, not caring about the feelings of the other person.

    "Thank you for choosing to stay," Xiao Zhi Ren said sincerely. The gentleness in his voice was almost scary for Ru. She wasn¡¯t used to people being this gentle with her.

    "Actually, I should thank you for not asking about anything. I know there is a lot going on in that head of yours. But..." she gave tired sigh as she went around the kitchen counter and continued, "I really can¡¯t answer. There might be some question which even I don¡¯t know how to answer."

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a seat at the high kitchen stool facing the kitchen counter and her who was standing on the other side. "I can understand and even if I can¡¯t I¡¯ll try to do so. That¡¯s the least I can do."

    Ru ignored the way he was looking at her and went to whip up a coffee for him since he really seemed to like it. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t disturb her while she made herself busy. He was just silently gazing at her in contentment. He literally felt ecstatic knowing that this was all not just his dream anymore. He could see her every day.

    "There you go, one ck coffee," she grimaced even at the sight of that coffee.

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled at her reaction and asked, "You really are not fond of coffee, are you?"

    ¡¯I have enough bitterness in life, don¡¯t want to add a bit more.¡¯ She thought to herself but changed her words when she opened her mouth, "I¡¯m already known as a bitter person, don¡¯t need coffee to spoil people¡¯s day. I can do a better job on my own. Thank you very much!"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was amused by her answer. He knew her words were bitter but only to those who couldn¡¯t digest the honesty like hers. She attacked violently not just with her hands but also with her words. She was indeed a ruthless yer who really didn¡¯t know when to shy away. Who would look at her say that she almost died tonight?

    This reminder was enough to tense Xiao Zhi Ren and tried to ease his nerves by distracting himself.

    "Ran Zi is surprised to see that Yuan is quite fond of yourpany and he doesn¡¯t get attached to people so easily." Xiao Zhi Ren said while Ru was busying boiling some water for tea.

    Thinking about that little squirrel, Ru gave a slight smile. Xiao Zhi Ren felt a bit jealous seeing her smile at the name of his brother but he didn¡¯t know that her smile was because Yuan was a reminder of her own brother whom she missed a lot. All her care towards Yuan was because she felt sorry for leaving her little rice-cake behind.

    Before the bitterness of his absence could take over, Ru mumbled, "Little squirrel is adorable. I don¡¯t find it weird that he takes time to cozy up with people. We live in a world where our own shadow is not on our side. It¡¯s only right to be cautious about people."

    "Yes. But his distant behavior makes him an outcast."

    Ru gave a lopsided grin as she said, "We are all an outcast. We are only wearing the shells to feel like we belong somewhere. But we don¡¯t even realize that by wearing those shells we are actually hiding the beautiful pearls thaty inside."

    Yet again with her words, Xiao Zhi Ren felt something unshackling within himself. It was a good feeling but scary as well. Since even he didn¡¯t know how much she could undo him.

    After savoring the taste of his bitter coffee, Xiao Zhi Ren stood up to leave. "I think you should rest. We can talk some other day. Don¡¯t run around and please get some sleep."

    Was it concern? Or was he just being bossy with her? Either way, Ru didn¡¯t mind it. Oddly, she felt too tired toe up with a retort for him.

    "Yes, boss!" She gave a yful salute with her two fingers making him roll his eyes at her.

    He was about to leave but turned around to say, "I can promise to keep your secret and I won¡¯t ask anything either but don¡¯t expect anything else." Ru¡¯s brows creased up a bit but he continued, "I can¡¯t look at you as a sworn brother anymore. My heart won¡¯t allow me to."

 Chapter 112 Make-Out Session?

    "My heart won¡¯t allow me to."

    The words seemed ordinary but they held a deeper meaning. Something that made her eyes widen in surprise. There was something in his tone that made her didn¡¯t want to break away from his gaze. His ck orbs held so much care, tenderness, and love that he knew even she could read it vividly.

    Slowly the tip of her tongue darted out to lightly brush over her bottom lip and his eyes that were glued to her eyes lowered to follow the movement of her tongue. The moment felt torturous to him.

    She came around the kitchen ind and stood before him with her hands on her hips. "Oh, really? And why wouldn¡¯t your heart actually allow it?" Her tone was a bit unusual... There was yfulness to it and a bit sarcasm which he didn¡¯t care about at all.

    The way her green eyes blinked up at him made it really hard for him to breathe. He unbuttoned the first couple of buttons of his shirt since the cor of his shirt seemed too tight for his liking, all of a sudden.

    "You really don¡¯t know? Or you just want me to spell it out for you?" He asked and looked away from her enthralling eyes that seemed to be awakening something inside of him. Something that was in a deep slumber until now.

    Woah! Get your thoughts out of the rubbish bin. By ¡¯something¡¯ he meant his deep feelings for her. Hold the horses of those naughty thoughts!

    "And if I say that I want you to spell it out for me, how will you spell it?" Her teasing voice made Xiao Zhi Ren lose all his rationality.

    He turned back, stepped towards her and trapped her between his body and the kitchen ind with his hands on both of her sides. He didn¡¯t touch her yet. But he was close enough to feel her breath fan over his face making him close his eyes.

    Before he could stop himself, his head dipped and his lips brushed her cheek in a teasing manner. He felt her body stiffening before she raised her arms to push him. Xiao Zhi Ren held both her hands and as she opened her mouth to say something, he captured her lips.

    With his lips pressed against hers, he could feel a tidal wave of feelings surging inside of him. It was like the iplete puzzle piece of his life was found- one that he had been yearning to hold. Without any impatience, his lips caressed hers gently with care and love.

    He pulled away slowly and fluttered his eyes to look for something in hers. All he saw was confusion in those emerald green eyes that were fluttering like butterfly wings.

    For some unknown reason, he couldn¡¯t stop himself as he let her hands go before his hands came to stay on her waist. Without dy, he heaved her body and sat her on the ck marble kitchen ind, gazing into her eyes for a while longer.

    Oddly, she stayed quiet which wasn¡¯t like her at all. She was that open-mouthed person who would question everything in life. But since she didn¡¯t, Xiao Zhi Ren took it as if he was granted permission to continue.

    Feeling the absence of her soft lips against his own, he pressed them against hers moving skillfully. His hand that had been on her waist raised as he traced her back feeling the warmth of her body through the thing fabric of her t-shirt.

    Leaving her lips, he moved his lips to leave feather like kisses on her jaw before moving down to her neck. As he found the spot right below her ear, he heard a giggle as if she was ticklish. The sound was pure pleasure to his ears as if she was an instrument and he was loving the feel of her strings ying out music exclusively for his ears.

    But suddenly something felt amiss. There was an odd irk in his heart that something wasn¡¯t adding up here. As if recalling something, he gasped, "Giggle? Ticklish?"

    That question worked like a magic word since the next moment, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes flew open and he found himself in thefort of his own bed with sweat trickling down his body.

    "Fu*K! It was a dream!" He cursed as he threw the pillows in frustration.

    How he wished it wasn¡¯t a dream or he could live through that dream for a little longer. But who would have thought he¡¯d notice the fact that Ru doesn¡¯t giggle at the very least, not like a girl. Or that she won¡¯t be ticklish! Dreams really love to y with our feelings. He was yed in the worst way this time!

 Chapter 113 Clueless Young Master Ru

    Earlier when Xiao Zhi Ren had really said those words to Ru, her reaction was nothing like his dream at all. In fact, her reaction waspletely out of the box kind.

    She had simply shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh, well... As long as you don¡¯t treat me like a girl before others, it¡¯s fine with me."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was truly dumbstruck by her words. He wondered whether he was too good at hiding his emotions or she was too clueless about such emotions. But his heart inclined towards thetter option since she didn¡¯t seem like the kind of person who would have experienced love.

    He thought his words were suggestive enough but she acted like they were talking about the weather and there was nothing wrong at all.

    That night he could only toss and turn after that dream. His lips were tingling in anticipation. What would she taste like? What would her lips feel like on his? What would she feel like her under his touch? He was curious, way beyond his control. But he had no way to cure his curiosity unless he had a death wish.

    He knew for a fact that Ru would beat him to death if he dared to kiss her. And from his earlier experience, he knew she was way more fierce than she seemed. Now that he remembered it, he felt uneasy in his heart knowing that there was some drug which yed with her senses. She was someone who had a strong mental control but if some drug actually was working on her, it meant it wasn¡¯t a simple matter at all.

    However, the way she acted after gaining her senses back was even weirder. She didn¡¯t question him at all. She didn¡¯t seem disturbed at all. She only cared about her secret and nothing else. Was her own life that worthless in her eyes?

    Meanwhile on Ru¡¯s side...

    "Raven, change of ns," Ru started as she was typing something on theputer. "We have to start the research all over again. Drug addiction is not gone. We need a permanent solution. If it wasn¡¯t for Zhi I might have killed myself tonight just for the sake of sanity."

    At the thought of Xiao Zhi Ren, she quietened up. Since his earlier words were still crystal clear in her memory. ¡¯My heart won¡¯t allow me to.¡¯

    If someone thought she couldn¡¯t understand the underlying meaning they were mistaken about it. She might be clueless about the feeling of love or physical intimacy but she wasn¡¯t clueless when it came to reading people.

    She wasn¡¯t mistaken at all. The look in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes had already made it clear to her that he was looking at her as a woman. She couldn¡¯t me him for that but the tenderness which she saw in his eyes was something that kept bugging her.

    She was once told that she was the kind of person who was scared to experience love but it wasn¡¯t true. At least not until Xiao Zhi Ren barged into her life out of nowhere. As she had told him, he was like the saint she couldn¡¯t afford to love. And that was a scary feeling.

    He was that light she didn¡¯t dare to taint with her darkness. Because she knew before he could light up her dark world, she might pull him into her own dark world. In the end, she didn¡¯t want that painful life for him or for anyone.

    She knew life had broken his heart. She could see it in his deste eyes.

    But she also knew that life had broken her as a whole.

    He might only have the burden of a broken dream.

    But she was living with a burden of a broken past and possibly a broken future.

    Was it worth it to pull him into her life where she couldn¡¯t even find her own shadow? She had seen the worry in his eyes at the hospital and that reminded her how involved he was in her life. She knew her weaknesses all along but this was the first time, someone else saw her weakness.

    Shaking her head to shoo away these thoughts, she mumbled to herself, "I need the recipe for that drug before it kills me."

 Chapter 114 Plan Of Action

    That night wasn¡¯t any better for Ru, she was also restless but her reason was obviously different than Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s.

    Early in the morning, she ended up at the outskirts of the city deep in the mountains. She was trudging her way towards the bamboo house when she saw Lilith running towards her with a scared expression. It immediately rmed her.

    Lilith stopped before Ru and panted before gesturing, "What is going on?"

    Ru frowned at her question. "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking that? Tell me, why are you running?"

    Lilith took a moment to catch her breath and gestured in signnguage again, "Your ck Mist squad has gone crazy."

    Ru¡¯s lips hooked slightly upward as she stated, "I picked up the craziest bunch. Tell me something I don¡¯t know."

    Lilith rolled her eyes before adding, "From the moment they came back, all of them gave me tight hugs like they were choking me. And then there were such strange looks in their eyes. As if... As if they were pitying me, it made me so frustrated."

    Ru immediately understood what was going on. So, she patted Lilith¡¯s shoulder and gave her a key saying, "I asked Wu Dishi to buy you a ride. It¡¯s a motorbike. Take caution while driving." Lilith¡¯s mood immediately lifted up and her eyes sparkled like people of her age. Ru liked the look on her face, it showed that she was indeed just like any other young adult.

    Lilith snatched the keys and ran away to try her ride. Ru¡¯s expression shifted as she made her way inside the house towards the bunch of crazies.

    "Can you imagine what Lili has been through?" Ru heard Adia¡¯s voice and halted in her track, not letting her presence known just yet.

    "I can¡¯t even imagine that once upon a time Lili was one of those innocent souls that we savedst night." Jake¡¯s voice didn¡¯t hold his normal yfulness.

    "Is it wrong to think that we failed? I seem like a failure for not being able to save Lili back then." Even the fifth and quietest member of the group, Edmund spoke up as he mmed his hand on the table.

    "Rather than the regrets of the past," every one of them stood up as they heard Ru¡¯s voice as she continued, "Why don¡¯t you focus on the present? We can¡¯t control the past but we can control the present. Isn¡¯t it enough that we saved Lilith now than never?"

    "Master is always right." Jack agreed with Ru as always.

    "Jack and Jake, what happened with the girls?" Ru ignored his brown nosing and asked.

    "We sent them to the safe facility under Knight Empires. They have only gotten a taste of the drug through the air, so they are not yet addicted to it. We can save them." Jake read the report inly.

    "What about their identities and families?" Ru asked further even though she knew the answer.

    This time, Jack spoke up, "Their families are no more. And in records, they are dead as well." After a bit of hesitation, he managed to say, "Their vocal cords are damaged but... We can recover that through surgery."

    Ru inhaled a sharp breath of anger before turning to the rest of them, "What did you find?"

    "The ce of the transaction was empty. We didn¡¯t find anything except for an empty warehouse. They must have gotten the information that someone intercepted their deal." Connor gave the report in a professional manner.

    Clenching and unclenching her fists in anger, Ru stayed quiet for a while.

    "What should we do with the people we caught? They know nothing. They were just working as a middle delivery man." Adia questioned in an almost hushed up voice.

    "Get rid of them! Do I look like I care about what you do to them? If they don¡¯t have what I need then I don¡¯t need them alive." Her voice startled the five of them. It was rare seeing their master losing ¡¯his¡¯ temper.

    The thick silence got everyone tense. And none of them knew how to break it. All of them wanted to question her about their next step but none of them had the courage to deal with a pissed-off master of theirs.

    Ru knew that she needed some new n but for now, she was furious and with her rage, she could onlye up with destruction and nothing else.

 Chapter 115 Beyond Hopeless

    After spending a day in frustration and anger, Ru was exhausted by the time dusk came around. Right now, she was standing before Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s house and questioning herself, ¡¯What the hell am I doing here?¡¯

    She knew the answer, she just didn¡¯t have the courage to ept it. After a long contemtion session outside the door, she finally lifted her hand to ring the bell. But before she could, the door opened and Xiao Zhi Ren came into view looking at her inquiringly.

    "Are you done pacing around?" Ru gave him a confused look. "You have been out here for half-an-hour now."

    "How do you know that?" Ru questioned without thinking.

    Instead of answering her, Xiao Zhi Ren held her sleeve and as usual dragged her inside before the home-security system¡¯s monitor. Looking at that, Ru had a look of realization like she was suddenly enlightened and even dragged her words, "Ohh..." Then turning to look at his amused expression, she scratched her head sheepishly. "I was trying to remember what I came for."

    "Oh, is that right?" Xiao Zhi Ren yed along with her.

    "Of course." Ru stood her ground.

    "So, what did youe up with? I mean what brought you to my door?" He asked while he walked towards his kitchen.

    "Where is our little squirrel?" Xiao Zhi Ren gave her once over before turning back to hide his smile.

    "Is that what you want to ask?"

    "No, that was just a general question." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly.

    "Okay, so the general answer would be he went to movies with his friends." Xiao Zhi Ren answered rolling his sleeves and prepared to dice up the vegetables.

    Nodding her head in understanding, she asked, "Why were you at the portst night?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren paused in his movement before continuing to work. "I was following you." Ru widened her eyes at his straightforward answer.

    "Why?" She asked cautiously.

    "Because I had to ask you something important." He answered inly.

    "What did you want to ask?" Ru asked and Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t answer immediately. He was wondering what to say since he had already gotten the answer to his question. Ru picked up a carrot and took a bite before asking, "Oh, wait! I suddenly remembered I promised you a meeting with Alev. I¡¯m really forgetful these days." She facepalmed herself feeling not happy about her memory at all.

    The name Alev rolled out of her tongue so naturally that it stunned Xiao Zhi Ren. Not noticing his expression at all, she continued, "Zhi, you should have reminded me. I got busy with so many things that it skipped my mind. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll have him before you next week at any cost!"

    Tightening his grip on the knife in his hand, he asked, "Last time, you said that Alev Knight would do anything you say." Ru hummed in response distractedly and he went on, "How close you both are exactly?"

    "Closer than you can imagine," Ru said without even thinking while her mind was like, ¡¯It¡¯s my alter ego. And if I don¡¯t know myself then who else will?¡¯

    "Does he know?" Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly questioned. "I mean about you... Your secret."

    Ru thought for a second about her answer, ¡¯No one knows my secrets better than myself. And if I know it than my other self also knows it.¡¯ Thinking this she answered, "Yeah! He knows me better than anyone. All my secrets and whatnots. Technically, you can call us two people living in one body with one heartbeat."

    She meant it literally but Xiao Zhi Ren took it metaphorically. The kitchen knife in his hand dropped and fell right beside his foot. It even slit the side of his foot but Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t feel the pain at all.

    His mind was elsewhere.

    ¡¯Am I toote? Does her heart already belong to someone else? But I can¡¯t even fight with Alev Knight! Damnit! How am I supposed to fight with my idol?¡¯ No one could understand the inner turmoil of Xiao Zhi Ren at this moment.

    One thing was for sure, he was beyond hopeless now.

 Chapter 116 Being Civil

    "Do you need help with that, Zhi?" Ru offered as she heard the ttering sound of a kitchen knife.

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a deep breath and repeated the mantra inside his head which went something along the line of, ¡¯Inhale... Exhale... Don¡¯t let it get to you. Don¡¯t let her see right through you.¡¯

    "No, thanks for the offer. But I¡¯m fine," he managed to get back hisposure and polite smile as he picked up the kitchen knife from the floor but disregarded the blood oozing out of his foot. He needed that pain on his body to keep his sanity. To forget that he was raging inside. To hide his painful heart. And most importantly, to keep his jealous self at bay.

    Ru wasn¡¯t really paying attention to his expressions otherwise, she could have easily learned what was going through his mind.

    She took another bite of the carrot in her hand and asked, "So, which friends of Little squirrel managed to pull him out of his hole?"

    "There is a pretty little instructor that you left by his side," Xiao Zhi Ren pointed out and Ru raised her brows in surprise.

    "Lilith?"

    "Yup! That¡¯s the girl." Ru was taking a moment to digest that fact as Xiao Zhi Ren continued, "Anyway, the idea of movies came from Zhang Han."

    Forgetting all about Lilith¡¯s condition, Ru said, "You mean Uncle and nephew went together?"

    Seeing her sparkling eyes, Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t hold his chuckle and nodded, "Uncle and nephew went together."

    "Hmm... That¡¯s interesting." She was done with the carrot in her hand and when she decided to pick up another one, Xiao Zhi Ren swatted her hand away. Ru scrunched up her face. "Don¡¯t be so mean! I just want to take one more carrot."

    "Stop messing around. You can eat all you want after I¡¯m done cooking everything." Xiao Zhi Ren was nning on rebuking her but his voice was way too gentle making it seem like he was coaxing her.

    "Whatever!" Ru grumbled and started rummaging through her pockets. "Ahan!" She suddenly eximed as she found a leftover candy in her pocket. Her expression said it all. She was like that child whose eyes sparkled at the sight of sugary goods.

    "Can¡¯t believe you still have your sweet-tooth." Xiao Zhi Ren shook his head in amusement.

    Ru didn¡¯t mind his words since she was too engrossed in savoring the taste of sugar on her tongue.

    Looking at her face, Xiao Zhi Ren was lost for a long while. Pure bliss and happiness on her beautiful face was a clear indication of how lonely she was inside. Was it his fortune that he could see her sadness behind that smile? He didn¡¯t think so. Because it felt like torture to him.

    "My grandmother wants me to bring you to Ji Family Mansion," Xiao Zhi Ren tried to distract himself from the thoughts that were hurting him.

    "I went there just a few days ago. Why is she inviting me again?" Ru questioned absentmindedly since her attention was on the ingredients on the kitchen ind. She was trying to figure out what he was making for dinner.

    "She didn¡¯t get to meet you at the banquet so she wants me to bring you again," Xiao Zhi Ren answered while he added the vegetables in the boiling water on the stove. He turned to see Ru¡¯s frown and instantly knew she was thinking of ways to reject. So, he yed the other trick, "She¡¯ll be preparing a whole feast just for you."

    Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up as she asked, "She¡¯s inviting me over for a meal?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head while trying to stifle hisughter. "Zhi, you should have said so." Clearing her throat, she said, "I mean how can I reject her invite? This young master always listens to elders. Definitely won¡¯t let her down."

    In all honesty, Ru¡¯s mind was wandering off somewhere else. She had promised that woman on the third floor that she¡¯lle back. She had to sneak in the Ji Family Mansion anyway, now she could just walk in without having to hide or jump around.

    Although she loved wall climbing, being civil wasn¡¯t so bad after all.

 Chapter 117 Ill Remember

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s movements once again halted as Ru addressed herself as ¡¯This young master¡¯. It just didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    "You know you can talkfortably with me." Ru gave him a confused look. "No need to keep up the pretense of being a young master before me."

    Ru gaped at him in disbelief before saying, "You are overthinking, Zhi. I have always been a young master. It¡¯s not a pretense. It¡¯s who I am. After calling myself a young master for twenty-eight years of my life, it has be a part of me rather than just being a disguise."

    Xiao Zhi Ren stared at her wide-eyed. His mind was in shambles. He only thought that she was keeping this disguise to search for her enemies but how wrong he had been! If she had lived with this persona for all those years, it meant she never got a chance to experience being a girl.

    Then what about her real identity? Her real self?

    His stunned expression was palpable and it didn¡¯t bother Ru at all. She saw that the soup was boiling, so she shot up from her seat and went around the counter to stir the soup before tasting it. "Mm... Yum. Zhi, you are good." She gave him a thumbs up while he kept staring at her in a daze.

    "What happened to your foot?" Ru crouched down to see his bleeding foot and recalled how she heard the ttering of the knife. "Why are you standing here? You should get a band-aid."

    Xiao Zhi Ren held her hand to stop her. "It doesn¡¯t hurt."

    Ru scoffed contemptuously and said, "Say something believable. Pain is a reminder of being alive and it¡¯ll stick with us until the day we be a cold corpse. That hurts and I know that."

    She dragged him to take a seat at the couch and looked for a first-aid kit in the living room cabs. Coming back to his side, she kneeled before him on the thick carpet and held his foot in hand which he tried to avoid but her stern look made him leave everything up to her.

    Ru took off his slipper and ced his foot on her knee. She used the antiseptic to clean the cut before pulling out a small ss bottle from her own pocket. It had some green colored powder and when she sprinkled it on his wound it stung making him hiss in pain.

    All this while, he could only concentrate on the touch of her hand on his foot. Her hand was cold yet again but it seemed to be burning his skin.

    "See, told you it hurts," Ru said matter-of-factly as she put a band-aid on it. "Hope you¡¯ll remember this pain."

    Xiao Zhi Ren stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. His mind though knew, ¡¯I¡¯ll remember. After all, I still remember the secrets you kept just like I remember the moment we met.¡¯

    "Are you a doctor?" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s sudden question made Ru frown. "I mean you are always carrying some strange things with you."

    Ru looked at the powder in her hand and understood his meaning, "I don¡¯t have an official degree but I certainly am a genius in traditional medicine."

    "A genius?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked amusedly and Ru nodded. "Is there really no limit to your narcissism?"

    Ru punched his shoulder yfully and sat beside him saying, "Zhi Hyung, I¡¯m a narcissist because I can afford to be one." Such arrogance! But she looked adorable being haughty.

    Xiao Zhi Ren pinched her nose and said, "You¡¯re impossible." Obviously, Ru took is as apliment without any shame at all.

    Later, Ru herself helped Xiao Zhi Ren with dinner and bestowed him with herpany as well saying, "Feel honored, this young master is bestowing you with his heavenly presence."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at her and pped the back of her head while she only red in return. They both ate in silence, afortable one. Toofortable perhaps.

    "I thought you don¡¯t like eating with people," Xiao Zhi Ren remarked while collecting the dishes.

    "Yes. And I heard that you don¡¯t like eating alone." Ru¡¯s words put Xiao Zhi Ren in a trance and all he felt was a warm feeling gushing in his heart. She actually stayed because he was alone for dinner? He looked at her back while she was putting on the gloves to do the dishes and thought, ¡¯You really are unexpected with both words and actions.¡¯

 Chapter 118 Too Harsh

    "What are you looking at?"

    This must be the first time in Ru¡¯s life when she actually felt self-conscious under someone¡¯s gaze. And the person who was staring at her was none other than; Xiao Zhi Ren. They had nned to go to Ji Family Mansion on the following evening since Ru said she was free.

    But when she met him outside the condominium building, he started staring at her. And his piercing gaze actually managed to get to her.

    She was d in dark grey cargo pants with a ck slim-fit t-shirt along with a ck leather jacket and leather shoes. Her fluffy hair was left untamed to fall all over her forehead. The tips of her hair seemed to be caressing her eyebrows whenever she walked. Her green eyes seemed like the greenest forest in which one would dly want to lose himself. And Xiao Zhi Ren was indeed one of those people who would love to lose themselves in her eyes.

    "Hey! I¡¯m gonna charge you for staring," Ru announced while crossing her arms over her chest.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a start and pursed his lips before saying, "You are not a zoo animal that I¡¯ll have to pay for staring."

    Ru¡¯s jaw dropped... Well, not really but you got the picture. "Did you justpare me to a zoo animal?"

    "Why? Are you offended?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked offhandedly while getting behind the wheel to drive himself tonight.

    Ru took the passenger seat and huffed. "Of course, I¡¯m offended. At leastpare me to free animals. Zoo Animals are caged and I don¡¯t like things which are caged."

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to continue but there were some indignance and disdain in her tone that made him shut up. It was weird for him that she was not offended because hepared her to animals but she did feel offended because hepared her to caged animals. He might not be sharp enough to understand why she was so against cages but he knew better than to ask.

    The ride continued on silently after that with both of them lost in their own thoughts.

    "Why do you hate your father?" Ru was the one who broke the silence yet again but her question startled Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Because he cheated on my mother." He answered trying to keep his emotions leveled but his tight grip on the steering wheel gave away his inner rage.

    "But did he wronged you in any way?" asked Ru while her eyes still were looking outside the window pane at the slowly darkening night.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was lost for words. He didn¡¯t know why but he was. Her question was simple but he had no answer for it. If he was being honest, the truth would be that his father never wronged him. He was the eldest son of the family and naturally, he was the life of the whole family including his father.

    He had a very happy childhood until his mother decided to take him away from Ji Family. He even knew that it was his mother who hid from Ji Family and that¡¯s why his father couldn¡¯t be med for leaving him.

    However, there was a strange pain in his head when he tried to think about his reason for hatred towards his father. Destroying their family? He convinced himself until today that was the reason but now it didn¡¯t seem reasonable. Then why was there a feeling in his heart that he was supposed to hate his father?

    Ru could see his conflicted expressions and it made her curious.

    She didn¡¯t want to be curious at first butst night, she suddenly recalled something her grandfather taught her.

    "You¡¯re saying that if a man/woman cheats on his/her partner, the punishment is banishment from the n?" She had asked after going through the rulebook. As she saw the old man nodding, she was dumbfounded. "Why? Isn¡¯t it too harsh?"

    "Dear grandson, a man who can¡¯t even be honest to his own feelings or loyal to his own vows, how can you expect that man to be loyal to anyone?" Her grandfather¡¯s answer left her perplexed for a long time. At least ¡¯till she actually understood that his words were right.

    She had not just recalled that she also remembered that this rule was set by her own n for the rest of the hidden families. And there is no one worthy to go against her family which was why she was curious to know how did Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s father cheated on his mother and yet he was unharmed?

    It didn¡¯t make any sense.

 Chapter 119 Grandson-in-law

    "Oh my! Are you really Xie Rong?" Old Madam Ji was eyeing Ru with so much appreciation in her eyes that it made Ru feel on edge. She was like, ¡¯What have I done wrong now?¡¯

    "Heh-Heh... That¡¯s what I was told." Ru gave an awkwardugh as she answered.

    "Got a sense of humor as well. I like him already." Old Madam Ji spoke with delight as she led Ru inside.

    ¡¯This olddy is too cheerful for her age. But why does she think I have a sense of humor? I can¡¯t even understand my own jokes.¡¯ Ru was having a monologue inside while Old Madam Ji was gushing over how much she had heard about Ru from other sources. The said person had no interest at all.

    "I¡¯m feeling regretful that I didn¡¯t get a chance to say hello to you at the banquet." Old Madam Ji¡¯s rueful voice brought Ru back to thend of the living.

    She gave her most popr and always working as a charm, smile which made Old Madam Ji¡¯s eyes gleam with an indescribable emotion. "Oh, it must be my misfortune that I didn¡¯t get a chance to offer my greetings to a figure like Madam Ji."

    While Old Madam Ji was basking in the delight of Ru¡¯s melodious voice, Xiao Zhi Ren gave her a disbelieving look. ¡¯How does she change her demeanor so easily? Damn, she¡¯s better than those so-called actors. Look at her mouth, it¡¯s working like a charm on grandmother.¡¯

    "Haiz! There is no misfortune at all. Look, that was just a missed-chance. Here we are again." Old Madam Ji¡¯s dreamy sigh and words made Xiao Zhi Ren shake his head.

    ¡¯And scored! Great! It could be a new record. This girl actually charmed a person like my grandmother within five minutes. How impressive!¡¯ He was genuinely impressed with Ru¡¯s ability to wrap people around her fingers.

    "Grandma, where is grandfather?" Xiao Zhi Ren interrupted their conversation.

    "Oh, that old man went to attend some business banquet with your father." She answered insouciantly. Her aged-eyes were still assessing Ru with interest.

    "Xie Rong, are you single?" Ru¡¯s brows locked together in confusion but she still nodded cautiously. "Aiyo, it¡¯s such a shame," she suddenly said woefully.

    "Huh? What happened?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned looking at her expression. Why was Rong being single was a shame?

    "Isn¡¯t it a shame that I met this young man sote?" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know whether to say he expected as much or should he just stayposed. "I don¡¯t even have a daughter or a granddaughter. What should I do?"

    Although Xiao Zhi Ren knew where this was going, he still dared to ask. "What do you want to do?"

    Old Madam Ji gave him a look of disapproval as she said, "Obviously, I want to take him in as my son-inw. Grandson-inw would also work."

    Ru who had been muting out their conversation suddenly spurted out the tea in her mouth. "My apologies. This is so not like me." She immediately took some tissues to wipe up her mouth and her clothes. Even in this small movement, Old Madam Ji could see the elegance in her which sparked her interest even more.

    "It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s absolutely alright," said Old Madam Ji.

    "Can I use yourfort room?"

    "Sure. Steward, show our Young Master Rong the way."

    With the guidance of the steward, Ru sprinted out of the sitting area. Why was she so unlucky? She was minding her own business and suddenly, the bomb of being a grandson-inw was dropped on her! Boom! ¡¯That¡¯s unfair to a poor person like me!¡¯ Sheined in her heart.

    "Grandma, how can you think about matchmaking?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked his grandmother a bit bitterly.

    "What did I say wrong? He has such a noble bearing and charming eloquence. How can I let him slip out of my hand?" Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t know what to say. "But it¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t even think of anyone who might match perfectly with him. Being this extraordinary must also be hectic for him." Old Madam Ji was pinching her brows as she felt a headacheing while Xiao Zhi Ren was rejoicing that she didn¡¯t say these words before Ru.

    Otherwise, that narcissistic and proud peacock would have danced on his head being all haughty. But a smile tugged at his lips at the thought that this proud peacock had to be a part of this family eventually. If not as grandson-inw then granddaughter-inw will also work, right? He would never let that proud peacock get away from him. Never!

 Chapter 120 Not An Ordinary Person

    Entering thefort room, Ru looked around and found the window which she was looking for. The window was right behind the huge jacuzzi with the view of a beautiful flower garden. Ru had aplete sketch of the Ji Family Mansion in her memory and it made it easy for her to get out of thefort room and jump her way straight to the third-floor balcony.

    She craned her neck and tried to look through the white chiffon curtains that were lightly fluttering in the night breeze. The room was brightly lit but there was no one in sight which made Ru a bit confused.

    "I didn¡¯t know that young men these days actually value their words," that voice made Ru look at the corner of the balcony. And there was the person she had been looking for in a beautiful skirt that reached her ankles. What surprised Ru was that she didn¡¯t even felt her presence. It was like that woman was merged with the darkness making her presence inconspicuous.

    "Don¡¯t know about others but I do value my words more than life itself," Ru answered, keeping her eyes trained on that woman¡¯s face that looked different for some reason. As her glistening eyes were looking at the distant sky, she seemed... normal?

    That was one way to pique Ru¡¯s inner nosy self.

    "I brought Xi¡¯an Pancakes for you," Ru pulled out a couple of pancakes wrapped in a stic packing. The woman looked at that crispy treat in her hand and gave a small smile before epting it.

    "You¡¯re not my son, you didn¡¯t have to bring this." Her words confirmed Ru¡¯s doubts. The woman was indeed normal tonight. It was like she was apletely different person.

    "Even if I¡¯m not your son, you fed me with a proper meal. I had to repay." Ru¡¯s words startled the woman before she could take a bite of the stuffed pancake in her hand. With a smile, she finally took a bite of the pancake and gave an appreciative look.

    "Did you make it yourself?" Ru gave her an inquiring gaze as if asking how did she know and her unasked question was answered in the next moment, "No street vendor can make something this delicious."

    Who doesn¡¯t likepliments? Obviously, our proud peacock was someone who loved basking inpliments. There was a time when she didn¡¯t like it that peopleplimented her culinary skills buting from this woman was exactly like her mother used to say. She felt touched.

    The odd woman touched Ru¡¯s head and said, "You are one handsome young man. Truly fatal for both males and females. Your future wife would be very lucky."

    Ru pressed her lips together not knowing what to say. After a moment of contemtion, she said, "Actually, I wanted to bring Lanzhou Noodle Soup but it wasn¡¯t easy to sneak that in."

    "Young man, you are taking too much risk for a stranger. This is not some ordinary territory." The woman¡¯s voice made Ru think about her words carefully.

    But in the end, she had an answer just like herself, "And I¡¯m not an ordinary person."

    "That I can see..." The woman¡¯s eyes stayed on Ru.

    "Since I¡¯m not supposed to call you mother, what should I address you as?"

    "You can call me Zhi." As her words registered in Ru¡¯s eyes, she was stunned to her spot.

    "Zhi?" She asked hesitantly.

    "Yes."

    "What about the family name?" Ru asked cautiously.

    "Family name?" The woman named Zhi took a moment of silence before saying, "Forget it. I¡¯ve forsaken my family for love. I have no right to use my family name casually."

    Her words put Ru in a deep dilemma. "I should get going. It¡¯s been fifteen minutes." Ru said in a bit of haste as she turned to jump back down.

    "Will youe again?" Ru stopped as she heard that voice again.

    "Do you want me to?"

    "I¡¯d like to talk to someone. It¡¯s been years I haven¡¯t had a normal conversation like this." Even Ru could see that herself.

    "I¡¯lle again." Ru couldn¡¯t stop the words from flowing out of her mouth. It was like she had no control over it at all.

    If this woman¡¯s name was Zhi, was there a possibility that she was connected to Xiao Zhi Ren? She could be the mother! But no, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mother died. He said he saw her dying right before his eyes. Then what connection is here?

    Ruffling her hair in annoyance, Ru closed the thinking doors of her brain. It was not the time. And most importantly, it wasn¡¯t her damn business!

 Chapter 122 My Aunt Visited

    "Dinner is served, Madam."

    As the maid announced this Ru¡¯s mind immediately spaced out everything else except for the food she was hungry for. After all, she came for the food. No, you came for the woman on the third floor. Her conscious reminded her. So what? Now, I¡¯m here for the food. So, shut up!

    "Let¡¯s go to the dining room." Old Madam Ji made her way towards the dining hall while Ru trailed behind her happily.

    "What took you so long in thefort room?" Xiao Zhi Ren who was walking beside cheery Ru asked.

    Ru gave him a forced smile and said, "Didn¡¯t I already exin that I was lost?"

    "Oh, and you want me to believe that a self-proimed ¡¯genius¡¯ like you forgot his way back?" The way he air-quoted the word genius made a vein twitch on Ru¡¯s face.

    "I wasn¡¯t paying attention." Ru tried to shirk away but how could Xiao Zhi Ren let her do that?

    "I don¡¯t buy your words."

    "How ironic!" Ru feigned a gasp and added, "I wasn¡¯t selling my words as well."

    This time Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mouth twitched. He took a deep breath to stop himself froming up with an ironic retort. "We can either dilly-dally for the whole night or you can be straightforward with me. Because I¡¯m really not believing that you lost your way."

    ¡¯As if I didn¡¯t know that.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly at him. ¡¯Why is he so insistent? Have to shut him up.¡¯

    With a devious look in her eyes, she stated, "My aunt visited. I was busy taking care of her."

    "You have an aunt? And she visited you here?" Ru held back her urge tough at his expression but it was a real effort on her part.

    Scratching the tip of her nose, Ru cleared her throat and said, "I do have an aunt, Zhi Hyung. She likes to visit every month for five days without dy. She is very diligent and trust me when I say she¡¯s a pain in my poor arse. As much as I hate her, I can¡¯t go against nature now. Can I?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren was surely still lost since he said, "Yeah. We can¡¯t be disrespectful to elders."

    That did it for Ru as she burst outughing. He looked so innocent while talking about this that for the first time, Ru had the urge to pinch someone¡¯s cheek and if our young master Ru wants to do something, who would stop her? Apparently, no one!

    Ru actually pinched his cheeks making his eyes widen as she gave him a toothy grin. "Zhi, you are adorable."

    Before he could bask in the firstpliment from her, he recalled something and cursed under his breath before whispering softly, "You were talking about your periods?" His face was beetroot red while his voice was cautious which made Ruugh even louder.

    "I was." Her answer made Xiao Zhi Ren want to dig a hole and just bury himself in. How could he be so... naive?

    "Stop making fun of me." He grumbled to hide his embarrassment. It wasn¡¯t his fault that he didn¡¯t know the meaning of ¡¯visit from my aunt¡¯. He had been in the States for more than ten years. Also, that term had nothing to do with him.

    "I¡¯m not making fun of you. I really think you¡¯re adorable."

    "Don¡¯t you think that men don¡¯t like being called adorable?"

    "Really? But they should. I like this bashful side of yours a lot better."

    Her words lingered in the air while she had walked inside the dining hall and took a seat with an impassive look back on his face.

    While Ru was trying to keep herposure, she didn¡¯t see the thoughtful look on Old Madam Ji¡¯s face. She had seen Ru¡¯s earlier interaction with Xiao Zhi Ren in the hallways. She was just as much stunned as Xiao Zhi Ren was when Ru pinched his cheeks. That grandson of hers never even let her touch his face! This was unbelievable.

    Soon Xiao Zhi Ren also joined them on the table and took a seat beside Old Madam Ji while Ru was seated opposite of them.

    "Enjoy the meal," Old Madam Ji said with a smile on her face and that same thoughtful look in her eyes.

    "I sure will."

    "He sure will."

    Both Ru and Xiao Zhi Ren said simultaneously and gave each other a look before turning back to the food.

 Chapter 123 Cant Be A Coincidence

    "You have a strong bonding with Zhiren. I have never seen him interact with anyone like this. Not even with his brothers." Old Madam Ji was telling Ru while she decided to apany Ru on a walk around the Mansion.

    "Strong bonding? I don¡¯t think so. All we do is argue." Ru answered with a snort.

    "Perhaps, that¡¯s the beauty of your brotherhood."

    Ru didn¡¯tment on that. ¡¯What brotherhood?¡¯ She wanted to ask but couldn¡¯t since she was indeed Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s sworn brother. At least for the onlookers.

    "I heard Young Master Rong has some interest in my husband¡¯s antique collection," Old Madam Ji had brought Ru to a different courtyard which had tight security. On her orders, the double doors were opened and Old Madam Ji walked inside with Ru.

    When Ru looked at the ss boxes showcasing a whole range of antique artifacts, her eyes surely lit up like a starden sky.

    "Madam, Miss Yiyi is here," a maid came to inform.

    "Didn¡¯t you tell her that Xiao Hong is not home?" Old Madam Ji asked sternly.

    "We did. But she said she wishes to see you." The maid answered courteously.

    Before Ru could say anything, Old Madam Ji gave her an apologetic smile and said, "You look around while I have to see the visitor."

    "No, no. I should leave as well. You shouldn¡¯t trust me around such treasures of Ji Family." Ru said it in a yful tone but she meant every word sincerely.

    Old Madam Ji chuckled at her response and shook her head. "Young Master Rong, you should feel at ease and look around. Oh and let me know if you like something."

    "Will you give it to me?" Ru asked with a strange look.

    "Sure." Old Madam Ji shrugged her shoulders nonchntly before she turned to leave.

    Ru was dumbstruck by her reaction. One had to know that the things inside this huge hall were just like treasures. Treasures which couldn¡¯t be bought with money. It was more of like a family¡¯s heritage. How can the Mistress of the house be so nonchnt about this?

    Ru decided to take advantage of this moment and darted her eyes around to find anything that could pique her interest.

    Her own Han Dynasty Chess set was also ced in a ss box. Ru lifted her hand to touch the box but didn¡¯t touch it. She knew there would be an rm on the box. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to alert people.

    "You and I were not meant to be." Ru had a sorrowful gaze as she looked at that set with forlorn hope.

    One might think that the chess set was her moonlight.[1] Because her eyes exactly mirrored those feelings.

    There weren¡¯t many things that could pique her interest. Especially since she had seen an even magnificent collection back home. But nheless, this collection was surely striking.

    Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a rare item. She walked up to it with a curious look in her eyes. It was a hand-carved white jade flute. Its surface was polished and it looked akin to a deshelled egg. But Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck on the gold moon that was hanging from its one end.

    From her memory, she knew very well that Ji Family¡¯s emblem had a thunderbolt on it. But a gold moon was something she was familiar with as well. Obviously, it didn¡¯t belong to Ji Family but there are other affluent, formidable and yet low-key ns.

    This gold moon was the emblem of Xiao Family.

    "Xiao?" Ru whispered out as if asking herself. "Xiao Zhi Ren? Xiao Family? Was my initial guess right? Xiao Zhi Ren does have a connection with Xiao Family of Ocean State? Or is it just a coincidence?"

    "But with this jade flute being here, it can¡¯t just be a coincidence."

    [1] ¡¯moonlight¡¯: One-sided love or unattainable love. Like we can love moon but can¡¯t attain it.

 Chapter 124 Schemes To Seduce Ru

    -Inside the Main Courtyard-

    "Housekeeper Zhang, you have been in Ji Family for a long time. Right?" Xiao Zhi Ren hadn¡¯t gone out for a walk with his grandmother and Ru. He took this chance to ask around for some information.

    "I have been with your family for the past four decades, Young Master Zhiren." Housekeeper Zhang answered politely and humbly.

    Xiao Zhi Ren thought as much. He rummaged out his cellphone and showed a photo to Housekeeper Zhang. "Does this dagger belong to anyone in the family?" In the photo was the same dagger which was Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s only lead. He had to find the one who murdered his mother at any cost.

    Housekeeper Zhang adjusted his sses and looked at the photo. He took a long moment before answering, "This dagger belongs to Master Yifeng."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes widened at his reply. "Are you sure?"

    "I am sure. If I¡¯m not wrong Master Yifeng even carved a ¡¯Yi¡¯ with gold on it."

    Xiao Zhi Ren had seen that carving. It was at the rear bolster of the dagger. It was small but still readable. Xiao Zhi Ren was stunned since he didn¡¯t expect this. He never thought that his father could be behind his mother¡¯s death. ¡¯How could he? For the sake of his mistress, he forsook their marriage. But going as far as murdering his first wife?¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned to leave with a dazed look but he hadn¡¯t even taken a couple of steps when the housekeeper Zhang¡¯s voice halted him.

    "I don¡¯t know why are you curious about this. But if my memory serves me right, this dagger was given to Master Yifeng¡¯s second wife. The rest I don¡¯t know."

    Housekeeper Zhang took his leave with a small bow leaving Xiao Zhi Ren to crumble away like his crumbled thoughts.

    Oddly, knowing that there was a chance that his father was innocent made him feel better. Why? He couldn¡¯t tell. But his hatred for his father¡¯s second wife enhanced by leaps and bounds. ¡¯I should have known. That was the only person who hated my mother enough to kill her.¡¯

    Lost in his own thoughts when he was about to enter the living room, he bumped into a petite figure. "I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t looking." Xiao Zhi Ren apologized without dy.

    The petite figure of a girl was clinging to his body and she tilted her head upward to look at Xiao Zhi Ren, her face immediately blossomed like a white lotus.

    "It¡¯s alright. I wasn¡¯t looking as well." Xiao Zhi Ren heard her soft, gentledylike voice. She pulled away from him and stood straight like an elegant youngdy that could tug at any man¡¯s heartstrings.

    But how could Xiao Zhi Ren see her bashful or lovestruck look? His mind was either focused on unraveling the truth behind his mother¡¯s death or his mind was filled with thoughts on how to seduce Ru. Oh, yes! Our Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t that much of a saint either. He had plenty of schemes to seduce Ru and he was sure that one of them would work for sure.

    Disregarding the youngdy beside him, he moved towards his grandmother. "Where is Rong?"

    "I left him to admire your grandfather¡¯s antique collection." Old Madam Ji answered while she observed the way the youngdy was tucking her hair behind her ear like a shydy while eyeing her grandson.

    "Oh, he must be enjoying himself then." That¡¯s all Xiao Zhi Ren said and sat down beside his grandmother.

    "Grandmother, who is he?" The youngdy from earlier questioned Old Madam Ji.

    "He¡¯s my eldest grandson," was the only reply she received.

    "So, he¡¯s the eldest brother. I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Hong¡¯er." Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t give any response but the other party was also persistent. More than he thought so. "By the way, I¡¯m Tang Yiyi. Ji Caihong¡¯s best friend."

    Now, Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his gaze to give that youngdy named Tang Yiyi, a once over. And from what he saw, he frowned deeply.

    Tang Yiyi had a fairplexion. She was like a fair maiden with her pure and clean image. Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Xiao Zhi Ren. The more she looked, the more she found him handsome. She already thought that Ji Caihong¡¯s brother Ji Syaoran was quite handsome but who knew that the eldest one was also an eye-candy.

    Ji Caihong was sure lucky when it came to brothers.

 Chapter 125 Settle Her Scores

    When Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t bother paying attention to Tang Yiyi, she couldn¡¯t find a reason to stay. Therefore, she had to leave.

    "Tang Yiyi took a fancy to you," Old Madam Ji stated casually while peeling melon seeds. "Should I arrange a meeting for you two?"

    "No thanks. I have someone already." Xiao Zhi Ren answered without even blinking an eye.

    Old Madam Ji narrowed her eyes at her grandson but didn¡¯t take his words to heart. ording to her, he didn¡¯t like Tang Yiyi and was making excuses now.

    "Is she really Xiao Hong¡¯s friend?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked curiously while munching on melon seeds which his grandmother was peeling for him.

    "Haiz! She is very close to Xiao Hong." Old Madam Ji didn¡¯t seem happy while she said that.

    "How is that possible? This girl looked way older than Xiao Hong." Xiao Zhi Ren was frowning.

    "Don¡¯t question me. All of your siblings are like you when ites to friends. Either you guys don¡¯t make friends or when you do, you guys always treat them like a family member." It felt good to say her grievances out loud. "This Tang Yiyi saved Xiao Hong years ago and from that moment, Xiao-Hong treats her like a sister. Honestly, though, I don¡¯t like her at all."

    Xiao Zhi Ren chuckled softly. "My grandma is still the same. Always showing her dislikes openly."

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I? That girl doesn¡¯t just look like a white lotus, even the feels she gives are the same. And I really don¡¯t like pretentious people. I like honest and blunt people like Xie Rong. Yeah. That is one fine specimen." Xiao Zhi Ren smiled but stayed quiet. "Find out if he has a sister. I¡¯ll dly tie the knot between you and her."

    "Aren¡¯t you eager to get me married?"

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I have to see a couple of great-grandchildren before dying in peace."

    Xiao Zhi Ren was about to re at his grandmother when he heard the voice that could make him forget everything,

    "Who¡¯s dying?" Ru asked while entering the room.

    "Rong! Brother, I¡¯m proud of you." Xiao Zhi Ren gave Ru a tight hug which she had to bear because of Old Madam Ji.

    "I wonder why?" Ru asked as she inhaled deeply to get back the oxygen which he knocked out of her by hugging that tightly.

    "Well, you actually managed to find your back this time." Ru¡¯s mouth twitched at his sarcastic remark.

    "I¡¯m proud of myself as well."

    "Oh, why?"

    "Because you¡¯re still alive and well."

    Xiao Zhi Ren red at her while she gave him an innocent smile. Even she was surprised that she hadn¡¯t strangled him yet. Because of the way they were moving, that day wasn¡¯t too far. For sure!

    "Anyways, I heard something about dying." Ru again went back to the original question.

    "Obviously, I¡¯m old so I¡¯d be the one dying as well." Old Madam Ji even made a pitiful look and coughed a couple of times to emphasize her point.

    Ru sat on her side and said, "Can you extend your hand for me?"

    Old Madam Ji immediately extended her hand towards her with curiosity. Before Ru could ce her fingers on her aged but still fair and delicate wrist, she stopped and pulled out a small satin cloth. cing it on her wrist she turned to take the pulse while saying, "My grandfather said to always give the respect and honor that a woman deserves. And a gentleman shouldn¡¯t be carelessly touching a fairdy."

    "Oh my!" Old Madam Ji ced her other hand over her chest as she gasped. "Young man, where were you when I was looking for you?"

    "He was negotiating the food deals with God." Xiao Zhi Ren jutted in and Ru gave him a deathly re.

    "Madam Ji, I was wondering the same thing," Ru said to the olddy with a beautiful smile taking anyone¡¯s breath away.

    ¡¯Here she goes using that poisonous tongue of hers which always works as a sweet poison ondies.¡¯ Huffing out a breath, he said, "Could you refrain from hitting on my grandmother?"

    "Whatever!" Ru grumbled before retrieving her hand and the satin cloth. "So, Old Madam Ji apart from being weak because of the big surgery everything else is perfect with you. Have some ginseng soup. You¡¯ll live for another decade or so easily."

    "Rong, are you a doctor?" Old Madam Ji asked with fascination.

    "Didn¡¯t I tell you, grandmother? He is a genius." The way Xiao Zhi Ren called her a genius was a bit unsettling with Ru but she decided to ignore it. She will settle her scores with Xiao Zhi Ren after leaving this house.

 Chapter 126 A Stolen Kiss

    "We should take our leave now," Xiao Zhi Ren hugged his grandmother while they were leaving.

    Old Madam Ji turned to Ru and hugged her delightedly and even sniffled as if she was parting with a longst love of her life all over again. "You bettere to visit. Next time, I¡¯ll cook for you myself."

    Being not a very huggy kind of person, Ru was slightly ufortable but it wasn¡¯t that obvious. Her only difort was keeping her chest away from Old Madam Ji which game them an awkward posture. "I¡¯ll visit for sure," Ru promised with a polite smile and the olddy seemed happy to hear that.

    Waving goodbye to Old Madam Ji, both Xiao Zhi Ren and Ru got in the car and drove out. Ru actually wanted to teach Xiao Zhi Ren a lesson for always being snarky and sarcastic but she chose not to. Her excuse to herself was, ¡¯The poor guy will die from my heavenly punch.¡¯ And yes, our young master Ru was being too full of herself all over again.

    Seeing that Xiao Zhi Ren had a lot on his mind, he distractedly turned the music on to fill the thick silence in the car.

    A melody yed but Ru kept her eyes on the outside world.

    ?? You ask me how deep my love for you is,

    How much I really love you...

    My affection is real,

    And my love is real.

    The moon represents my heart.[1] ??

    A beautiful voice sang the first verses and Ru¡¯s attention was shifted to it. She listened to it attentively. Almostpletely lost herself in those words. Unconsciously, she turned to look out. She was trying to find the moon but it was a moonless night; how will it represent a heart? She thought The song didn¡¯t stop, it kept ying softly.

    ?? You ask how deeply I love you,

    and just how great my love is.

    My affection does not waver

    and my love doesn¡¯t change.

    The moon represents my heart. ??

    This time, Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes shifted back to Ru. Looking at her side profile, he was also lost in memory. Only the flickering lights illuminated her face. She wasn¡¯t fair like most girls in his life. Her skin had a natural ethereal beauty to it.

    Ru pressed the stop button and Xiao Zhi Ren frowned at her.

    "Why did you stop it?" He asked.

    "Do you like songs like these?" She asked in return.

    "Not particrly but this is my favorite." He answered with a ghostly smile on his lips.

    "Why?"

    "Because I hoped that she¡¯d also be looking at the moon and she¡¯d know my love is with her." He answered without thinking.

    "But today is a moonless night." Ru reminded him.

    "It is. But you and I both know that the moon is still here." Ru nodded since even if they couldn¡¯t see it, the moon was still out there in space. "That¡¯s the beauty of moonless nights. We can¡¯t see the light but we know it¡¯s still there. Just like love."

    Ru felt like everything went over her head or at least she acted like that before him. On the rest of the ride, the same song yed repeatedly and as if it worked as a luby, Ru actually felt sleepy and soon lost herself to slumber.

    When Xiao Zhi Ren parked the car in the underground parking of the Condominium building, he announced, "We are here." But as he turned, he saw her eyes closed while her chest was heaving steadily. For a long time, he just stayed still watching her.

    ?? So soft was the kiss

    that has moved my heart.??

    The chorus of the song yed in the background while Xiao Zhi Ren unbuckled his seatbelt and shifted closer to her. Her thin lips had a natural slight pink touch. He was wondering how they were still pink since Ru smoked a lot.

    ?? Such a deep affection

    makes me long for you now.??

    The chorus finished while Xiao Zhi Ren was sweeping her untamed hair away from her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered but she wiggled her nose and went back to sleep.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell where the courage came from but his face inched closer to hers and like a feathery touch, his lips brushed against hers before he gained back his sanity and pressed a soft kiss only at the edge of her lips.

    ¡¯Let¡¯s have a real kiss. One that you could never forget.¡¯ He thought to himself and settled back in his seat and rested his back on the seat before closing his eyes.

    [1] It¡¯s a Chinese song titled ¡¯The moon represents my heart¡¯. The singer¡¯s name is Teresa Teng.

 Chapter 127 No Big Deal

    How exactly does one be a thief?

    Well, one has to be sneaky with his actions and get what he desires.

    That¡¯s exactly what Xiao Zhi Ren did but he didn¡¯t know a small detail about Ru; she¡¯s the devil who kept her senses awake even in slumber. She had always been a light sleeper. As a martial artist, she was already sensitive to her surroundings but living without eyes made her even more perceptive.

    In the car, she had indeed felt Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s movements. She had felt the pad of his finger as it brushed against her eyebrow while he was taming her hair. She even felt his spearmint breathing slowly closer to her. But she didn¡¯t react at all.

    When his soft lips lightly caressed her own, she was going to open her eyes on impulse. It took a lot of effort to stay calm on her part. When he left a soft kiss at the edge of her lips, she felt a tingling sensation. It was a giddy feeling but it felt good somehow.

    Huh? Good? Ew!

    She smacked her head for even thinking that it was a good feeling. It was a strange feeling. Yes, strange! Very, very strange.

    Adia who had been reading out the detailed reports suddenly stopped talking, seeing how her master was busy knocking on his own head.

    Ru didn¡¯t pay any attention to her. She was still thinking, why didn¡¯t she open her bloody eyes? And why didn¡¯t she confronted him?

    ¡¯Because you liked this new feeling.¡¯ Her conscience jutted in.

    No way! Ru snapped back. I just didn¡¯t want to have that awkward feeling between us. Yes! That¡¯s it! Ru convinced herself.

    ¡¯Go and run. Try to hide. But how long can you deny?¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes at her own conscience. Was she on her side or not? It didn¡¯t seem like it.

    "Till the bloody end!" Ru¡¯s voice boomed making Adia flinch as she took a couple of steps back.

    "Master, are you alright?" Adia finally mustered up some courage to ask.

    Ru noticed her weird look and cleared her throat awkwardly.

    "Oh, I¡¯m fine. Just peachy." Ru answered with a slightly lost look.

    Adia didn¡¯t believe her but she acted as if she did. After all, she didn¡¯t have a death wish to question her master twice!

    She was about to start rting the reports again when Ru stopped her.

    "Adia..."

    "Yes, master?"

    "Have you ever kissed someone?"

    Adia choked on air and coughed profusely as she stared at Ru like she was looking at an alien. She lifted her hand and poked it in Ru¡¯s cheek.

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing?" Ru¡¯s voice startled her and she cowered back.

    "I was checking... If it¡¯s really you or someone else took hold of your body." Adia answered meekly.

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched. "I asked a question." She tried to distract the conversation again.

    Adia straightened up and said professionally. "No, sir. I haven¡¯t kissed anyone."

    Ru narrowed her eyes. "Liar! Your boyfriend¡¯s betrayal led you to join the Mercenary group in Tokyo."

    ¡¯That was way before I met you, master. How do you even know that?¡¯ Adia wasining to herself but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. "Master is quite insightful."

    "You wouldn¡¯t be here if I wasn¡¯t insightful," Ru answered inly with a shrug of her shoulders.

    "Fair enough," Adia answered. "As for your question, I have kissed. But it¡¯s been a long time."

    Ru gave a thoughtful look before saying, "So, I saw two people yesterday. While the girl was sleeping, the guy came close... And... Well, his lips brushed against hers. And eventually left a soft kiss at the edge of her lips. That¡¯s not called a French kiss right?"

    Ru looked at her eagerly. ¡¯Say no. Say it!¡¯ She was internally ordering her.

    Adia pondered over her words for a while before saying, "No, that can¡¯t be considered a French kiss." Ru heaved a sigh of relief as if someone had breathed life into her again. "But," Ru halted again.

    "But what?"

    "It can be considered a stolen kiss." Ru¡¯s face fell again.

    "But close kin members also share kisses, right? It¡¯s perfectly normal." Ru tried to find any straw to hold. She didn¡¯t want to ept that Xiao Zhi Ren had feelings for her. She wasn¡¯t an idiot. She knew all about feelings.

    "It¡¯s normal to kiss in friends and close kin members but... The kiss you described isn¡¯t one of those." Adia answered cautiously since she felt her master was acting weird.

    "What do you know?" Ru roared as she continued, "He must have wanted to kiss on the cheek but it ended up slightly near the lips. It¡¯s no big deal. No big deal at all."

 Chapter 128 Minding Your Own Business

    "Anyway, I¡¯ve heard that just like stolen moments are magical, stolen kisses are the sweetest. And that makes them beautiful."

    "Did I ask you?"

    Ru¡¯s voice startled Adia and she immediately shook her head. "I thought you might be interested in it since you asked about kisses."

    Ru lifted her fist as if ready to punch which made Adia close her eyes anticipating a jaw-breaking pain. But it didn¡¯te. She gingerly opened her eyes to see Ru scowling at her.

    "I had lost my mind out of curiosity. I¡¯m not curious anymore. Don¡¯t ever mention this conversation. Like never ever!" Ru warned her in a stern voice.

    "My lips are sealed. You won¡¯t hear a peep from me." Adia answered courteously.

    Ru sat back on the high stool and propped her head on her hand. "Let¡¯s get back to business."

    "Yes, boss!" Adia saluted and straightened up again.

    "Tell me what do you know about Ji Family and Xiao Family. What kind of interactions do they have?" Ru questioned solemnly.

    ¡¯Huh? How is this rted to our business? Master, you are one hell of a person.¡¯ Adia shook her head inconspicuously. "Well, we know that Xiao Family is the first-ranked n of the High Summit while Ji Family is the second-ranked one."

    "That even I know. Tell me something else," Ru said in a terrible mood.

    "Apart from that, both families don¡¯t have any interactions." Ru looked inquiringly at her while Adia went on, "Although they both are not at each other¡¯s throat, they are not any better either. Beforeing to China, we did a thorough investigation of High Summit members. Both families share a terrible personal interaction."

    "There isn¡¯t anything odd other than that?" Ru asked again.

    "Well, it¡¯s said that Xiao and Ji¡¯s Families used to be very cordial to each other since Old Madam Ji and thete mistress Xiao were best friends. But the situation changedter on." Adia told everything that she had heard through various sources.

    "Reason?"

    "No one knows. Both families sealed off the news using their influence. But whatever it was... It made both families dere cold-war against each other."

    Ru took a deep breath as her mind conjured up a million possibilities. She needed an answer as to why Xiao Zhi Ren was a ¡¯Xiao¡¯ and not a ¡¯Ji¡¯. Even though it had particrly nothing to do with her. Why the hell was she so curious about Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s matter? She wasn¡¯t curious about him. She was born a curious cat. Yes! There is no other possible reason.

    "Do thorough research on that reason. I need an answer to what made them dere a cold-war!" Ru ordered absentmindedly.

    Adia didn¡¯t answer her and kept frowning to herself when Ru snapped, "What is it?"

    "Master, do you mind me asking why are we prying into these families?" Adia asked keeping her running senses alert in fear that Ru would definitely throw something at her.

    "What¡¯s the one thing your master can¡¯t do?" Ru asked her own question.

    "Minding your own business," Adia answered in a hurry with certainty in her voice. As her words registered in her own mind, she looked terrified. "Master... I plead mercy."

    ¡¯I can¡¯t really mind my own business. Forget it! I¡¯m wasting my time. Let¡¯s focus on our own mission.¡¯ Ru thought to herself calmly trying hard not to kill Adia for being straightforward. "You know what... Let¡¯s forget it. Get back to the baseline."

    Adia bowed her head and left in a hurry before her master could even change her mind all over again. She was familiar with her master¡¯s entric personality but today, Ru gave her a strange vibe. One which was out of her understanding.

    Even Ru herself knew that she was an entric person but more importantly, she was a passionately curious one. She was told plenty of times that curiosity will get her killed one day. It was indeed her curiosity to see the outside world that led her so close to death.

    But in her personal opinion, every curiosity had a reason for existing. It was like a spark that could either light an undistinguishable fire of endless possibilities or a fire that could burn the person as a whole. At this point in life, she wasn¡¯t scared of either of the climax.

 Chapter 129 Tough Girl

    Meanwhile at SnapVise Technologies...

    "Ran Zi, why aren¡¯t you working today?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned Ji Syaoran seeing that his brother wasnguidly sprawled on the leather couch in his office.

    "I¡¯m not ditching work. I was done with my meetings. So, I decided that I shoulde to you and invite you out for some fun." Ji Syaoran answered with his eyes glued on his cellphone screen where he was ying some online game. "Ahan! This is what you get for messing with me bastard!" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s low growl made its way to Ji Syaoran and he tilted his head to give an apologetic look saying, "Sorry, bro! But this guy called me names first. I had to retaliate."

    Xiao Zhi Ren rolled his eyes at his childish brother and said, "Who told you to y games like teenagers? You are already twenty-three."

    "What does age have to do with gaming? We are young as long as we believe we are." Ji Syaoran asked sulkily. "Anyways, are youing out with me or not?"

    "I can¡¯t. Go find your friends." Xiao Zhi Ren waved him off with a single sentence.

    "But you are the only friend I have. Don¡¯t do this with me." Ji Syaoran left his phone and came to plead with his eyes. He felt wrong for being abandoned by his brother like this.

    "Ran Zi, if you don¡¯t have a friend then make one. Grandma wasining about that as well." Xiao Zhi Ren understood why his grandmother was going on and on about this. All of the siblings have the worst interpersonal skills.

    "Come with me or I¡¯ll ask grandmother to find a blind date for you." Ji Syaoran threatened since Xiao Zhi Ren could go against anyone except for his grandmother. That irondy was not to be messed with. Old Madam Ji or Lady Jin Mi as people called her started her own business in her teenage years. Her International Group of Toys manufacturers was one the top in the world even now. She really was not someone to be messed with.

    Xiao Zhi Ren red at him. "Ran Zi!" His voice was stern but Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t nning on backing off. "You are the only person who knows that I can¡¯t be with anyone else."

    "Bro, how long are you going to wait for that girl? Who knows if she is still alive or not?" Ji Syaoran said in exasperation.

    "Don¡¯t you dare curse her. She¡¯s alive." Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice turned sharper.

    "And how are you so sure?" Ji Syaoran challenged. Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t answer instead, his lips curled slightly upward in a smile as the scene ofst night¡¯s stolen kiss resurfaced in his mind. Ji Syaoran frowned a bit curiously before asking cautiously, "You found her?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head and Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes widened. He immediately came to tug at his sleeve like a kid. "Bro, where? When? How is she? How did you find her? Who is she? Where was she? Why didn¡¯t we find her earlier?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren swatted his hand away from his own sleeve and red at him. He was throwing questions at him without a break.

    "Why are you curious? Didn¡¯t you say I won¡¯t find her ever?"

    "I said that because I wanted you to move on from her. Just because of one girl, you never even tried to be in a rtionship with anyone else. I didn¡¯t want you to stay a loner for the rest of your life." Ji Syaoran looked distressed as he recalled the past.

    Xiao Zhi Ren ruffled his hair and said, "Stop caring about me and focus on yourself. Now that I have found her, I won¡¯t let her get away ever again."

    "Is... Is she alright now?" Ji Syaoran asked with a bit of concern.

    After a moment of pondering he said, "Physically? Yes. Mentally? Except for being a proud peacock, she seems fine. But emotionally... I don¡¯t know. She knows how to conceal her emotions."

    "Wasn¡¯t it obvious?" Ji Syaoran started, "Don¡¯t you remember when she woke up from thea. The doctor said he had never seen anyone as calm as she was after knowing that she can¡¯t see. It was like she didn¡¯t care at all. There wasn¡¯t a hint of pain on her face."

    "You are right. She certainly is a tough girl." Xiao Zhi Ren stated fondly.

    "Tough girl? I have never seen a more persistent person than her. Even being heavily injured, she held onto dear life fighting with even herst breath." Ji Syaoran would never forget the time he met Ru as well. After all, he was also with Xiao Zhi Ren when they found her half dead in the mountains.

 Chapter 130 Flashback Part 1

    *shback*

    "Bro,e home with me. You can¡¯t me anyone for Auntie Xiu¡¯s death." Ji Syaoran¡¯s exasperated voice halted Xiao Zhi Ren who was tracking his way through the mountainous paths.

    Xiao Zhi Ren turned around and red at Ji Syaoran saying, "Why shouldn¡¯t I me anyone? If your father hadn¡¯t cheated on her, mom wouldn¡¯t have left. And she would have been alive. I watched her die right before my eyes. What do you expect me to do?"

    Ji Syaoran lowered his head feeling incapable. "But bro, it was Auntie Xiu¡¯s own decision. No one forced her to leave. Dad still loves her."

    "If he loved her then why did he cheat on her?" Xiao Zhi Ren snapped back.

    Ji Syaoran was distressed. "Bro, I don¡¯t know any of that. But I do know that dad is still in love with her. I¡¯m also sad to hear about her death. She was the only mother figure in mine and Xiao Hong¡¯s life." Taking a deep breath, he went on, "Aren¡¯t me and Xiao Hong more pitiful in all this? We have never even gotten a chance to stay with our mother. At least don¡¯t pull away from us."

    The sound of thunder startled both of them as they simultaneously looked up to see dark clouds. The clear sky was littered with grey clouds.

    "It¡¯s going to rain. Let¡¯s give up the idea of hiking today." Ji Syaoran¡¯s words had juste out of his mouth when the rain started pouring down. "Great way to spend my summer vacations." He grumbled as the rain hit his face mercilessly.

    "Sorry for yelling at you," Xiao Zhi Ren apologized softly while they took shelter under an old tree. He felt guilty for distancing himself from both Ji Syaoran and Ji Caihong.

    "I¡¯m also sorry for forcing you. I just miss having you home." Ji Syaoran stated sincerely. Xiao Zhi Ren could understand his feelings since it¡¯d been four years since theyst saw each other. That¡¯s why when Ji Syaoran learned Xiao Zhi Ren was in Thand, he immediately came over.

    They spent about fifteen minutes under the tree waiting for the rain to subside and eventually it did. It was a quick shower rather untimely as well. The whole environment seemed to brighten up after being washed down.

    "Such rotten luck. I wanted to reach the peak today but no. My luck can never be on my side." Ji Syaoran kept on babbling.

    "Stop!" Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice made him look at him in question. "Why is there blood on your face?"

    "Blood? On my face? How- Oh my God! Where did thise from?" Ji Syaoran touched his face to see his fingers tainted in red.

    They both stopped where they were and after looking all around, Xiao Zhi Ren slowly turned his head upward... There he found the source of blood. From a huge boulder by their side, blood mixed in water was streaming down.

    Xiao Zhi Ren immediately climbed up with Ji Syaoran following behind him. As he reached up, he stopped in his track. A listless body was lying beaten and blue... Or more like drenched in red with mud smothered all over the body.

    "What is that thing?" Ji Syaoran asked cautiously while he was trying hard not to look at the bloody scene before him. The rain might have washed down the blood stains from the ground but apparently, it couldn¡¯t wash off the blood from the body thaty on the stomach.

    "It¡¯s not a thing. It¡¯s a person." Xiao Zhi Ren said and crouched near the body and as he turned it sideways, even he wanted to close his eyes because of the grotesque scene. He tried to check the breathing of the person.

    "Is he breathing?" Ji Syaoran asked from behind.

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell himself. He couldn¡¯t really feel the breathing at least not until his hand that was on the wrist of the body was held in a tight grip. Xiao Zhi Ren was startled at the scene.

    "Save me..." He heard a strained and a faint voice that seemed to be filled with determination.

    "Ran Zi, call for a chopper. The person is still breathing."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth opened wide. "Really? Even in this condition, he¡¯s alive?"

    "If you kept dawdling then he won¡¯t be for long." Saying that Xiao Zhi Ren took off his jacket and pressed it against the person¡¯s chest which was still bleeding.

    "Oh, okay." Ji Syaoran immediately contacted his security team who could track them from their cell phones easily.

    The helicopter was already on standby and after receiving the instructions, it flew over to the coordinates which they received.

 Chapter 131 Flashback Part 2

    *shback Continues*

    "Do you think he¡¯ll live through this?" Ji Syaoran questioned Xiao Zhi Ren while they waited outside the operation theatre. Using their family¡¯s name, they managed to arrange the best doctors avable but they still felt uneasy.

    "She¡¯ll live. She seems determined to live." Xiao Zhi Ren stated softly while his eyes were stuck on his own hands which still were stained with her blood.

    "She?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s ears perked up like a curious cat.

    "Yeah. She. When I was pressing on her chest wound that¡¯s when I realized it." Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s voice turned even softer as he exined while Ji Syaoran stared at him dumbfoundedly. Because she was covered in blood and mud, he really couldn¡¯t tell the gender. But seeing the persistence, he assumed that it was a man. But boy, was he wrong!

    The silence grew thicker between them as none of them dared to utter a word anymore.

    Thinking about something, Xiao Zhi Ren turned to Ji Syaoran and said, "What are you doing? Go and block the news of this. No one should know that we brought a patient here. Not even the Ji Family."

    "But why? Telling home might bring more chances of her survival." Ji Syaoran argued.

    "Duffer! She was attacked. Do you think if the news of her being rescued got out, she¡¯ll be safe? Those people who tried to kill her mighte back to hunt her."

    Ji Syaoran understood his brother¡¯s intention and left the hospital to clean up the mess. He strictly ordered his personal security team to seal their mouths. But all this while, Ji Syaoran¡¯s mind was wondering how relentlessly the girl was fighting for her life.

    While Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t much different either. He had never met anyone so desperate to live before in his life. She seemed like a person who was not ready to give up. Or more like she couldn¡¯t give up. She needed to live but if she was willing to endure this much pain... Then what was she enduring it all for?

    "How is she?" Both brothers ran to the doctors who came out of the operation theatre after a whole night.

    The doctors shared a look before one of them started talking, "The patient has three broken ribs, plenty of minor wounds, a bullet that was shot at her heart, plenty but luckily she has dextrocardia." Feeling that he was using medical jargons, he changed his words, "It means her heart is facing the right side. The bullet passed right by her heart. So, no major damage was done there. But the bleeding has cost her to lose a lot of blood."

    "What else?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked knowing it wasn¡¯t the end of it.

    "She has a brain injury from being hit with something hard that caused increased pressure within her skull. It has caused her optic nerve damage. We can¡¯t be sure but from the looks of it, she might never be able to see again." Ji Syaoran took a sharp intake of cold breath. "Her knees had also sustained injuries by being hit with seemingly a metal pole perhaps. But that also means she has very slim chances of walking again."

    "How is she alive?" Ji Syaoran had asked the question to particrly no one but he did get an answer.

    "To be honest, her survival seems like a miracle. Her sheer will has pulled her through." The doctor stated while the others nodded along.

    "She¡¯s persistent." Ji Syaoran remarked.

    "Or maybe, she¡¯s just a stubborn soul." Xiao Zhi Ren jutted in with a sorrowful tone.

    He could still hear that faint voice echoing in his mind repeatedly. ¡¯Save me...¡¯ They were simply two words but they held an immense determination that didn¡¯t seem to waver before the death. But he was thinking about whether mere surviving was really worth it for her? Wouldn¡¯t living like this feel worse than death?

 Chapter 132 Orchids

    *shback Still Continues*

    "We have shifted the patient to the room, you can see her now." Getting the doctor¡¯s approval, both of them made their way inside the private room.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was the one who walked inside first but as soon as his eyes fell on her cleaned up face, he was stunned. He ran to her side and rubbed his eyes trying to make sure he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. But even after that, he could see her.

    Her eyes had a thick gauze around them while there were other small scratches on her face that were disinfected.

    "Bro, let¡¯s go to the hotel after this." Ji Syaoran stopped talking when he saw the tears in his brother¡¯s eyes. "Bro, what¡¯s wrong?" He was rmed immediately.

    Xiao Zhi Ren lifted his finger to point at Ru¡¯s face but Ji Syaoran couldn¡¯t understand what he was trying to show him. "She... It¡¯s her. The one in the bar." Xiao Zhi Ren managed to stammer out his words.

    Ji Syaoran finally looked carefully at Ru¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t know what to say at all.

    "She¡¯s the girl you have been looking for a year?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded his head. "She¡¯s the reason you came to Thand?" Xiao Zhi Ren nodded again.

    "A colleague of mine came to Thand for vacation. In his vacation pictures, she was captured unintentionally but it was the only lead that I got. So, I came." Xiao Zhi Ren exined in a solemn manner.

    "I¡¯m still surprised that you fell for someone at first sight." Ji Syaoran mumbled unbelievingly.

    "Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re too young to teach me about love? You¡¯re only 15. Act like you are fifteen and not twenty-five." Xiao Zhi Ren red at him while Ji Syaoran quietened up. He was a teenager, not a kid!

    "Bro, you¡¯re also only 20. And she..." He looked at Ru as he stated, "She looks like a teenager as well."

    "She¡¯s 19."

    "And how do you know that?" Ji Syaoran retorted.

    "When we met she was 18. She told me herself." Xiao Zhi Ren hurridly got up and turned back to him saying, "Let¡¯s take her out of here."

    "Where?"

    "China would be better. You and I both have a lot of connections there. This is still a foreignnd for both of us." Ji Syaoran agreed and went out to arrange for everything.

    Behind him, Xiao Zhi Ren held her gauzed wrapped hand in his own and whispered, "You told me that fate likes to y jokes with us. But I sure as hell am notughing right now."

    *End of shback*

    Even though that incident happened when he was only fifteen, Ji Syaoran could recall it vividly even at the age of twenty-three. He had seen the way his brother stayed by her side for eight months only to be left behind.

    As they say, people can leave but they always leave something behind. She also left her silhouette behind for Xiao Zhi Ren.

    "Bro, can she recognize you?" Ji Syaoran asked after spending a long time reminiscing about the past.

    "No."

    "What? Why?" As if it suddenly hit him, he himself answered, "Right, she couldn¡¯t see back then. But can she see now?"

    "She can see very clearly."

    "Huh? How?"

    "I was curious about that too and I asked around. Professor Robert from Chicago told me that Optical nerve damage doesn¡¯t necessarily lead to blindness. Most of the time, because of timely treatment one can save the light of the eyes. So, it¡¯s possible that she got the surgery to fix her visual impairment." Xiao Zhi Ren told him what he found out.

    "She sure is stubborn like you said. Going through repeated surgeries is a pain in itself." Ji Syaoran cringed at the thought of suffering that kind of pain.

    "Stubborn... But also lost."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I can¡¯t find the girl I fell for. She seems to be lost somewhere in her." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t understand but he didn¡¯t question either.

    As for Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s meaning... For him, the girl he met all those years ago had a bright aura and fiery look. She was like a me that could burn you with a single touch.

    But today¡¯s Ru was nothing like that. Pure darkness was enshrouding her soul and she seemed lost in that darkness. Her fiery me was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was a cold chill that could devour you whole.

    The gird in his memory was like Dahlias- open to life¡¯s possibilities with her innocent and happy self. While the girl he found is more like orchids- pure, honest but running after perfection. The innocence was lost somewhere in the trail of time that crumbled her.

 Chapter 133 I Killed The Person I Once Was

    "You people can¡¯t just barge in my territory like this." The bulky man on his knees snarled as he red at Ru¡¯s impassive face.

    With her one foot on the chair, she was ying with a beautiful knife. They were in an old factory. Adia and Connor were keeping that man kneeling on the floor while the rest of the building was filled with her own subordinates.

    "Master," Jack came to bow and said, "We found the members of Team Seven. They were locked up in the basement."

    Ru shifted her eyes slightly to look at the group of four behind him. All of them looked half-dead due to the blows they must have suffered. Feeling her cold gaze, the four of them felt like chills were running down their spine.

    They knew their master hated dealing with unnecessary things and saving them was considered unnecessary but since Ru was a loyal person she would never leave her own people at the mercy of others. Being at her mercy was a different matter altogether.

    "So, these rats are your people." The bulky man sneered in contempt.

    Ru turned back to him and with the tip of her de under his chin, she lifted his face up.

    "You touched my people..." The people who knew her felt the anger behind that one sentence yet that man stayed ignorant and oblivious.

    "I did! So, what? I¡¯ll hit you worse than them, bastard!" The man snarled with malice in his voice.

    ¡¯Tsk. Truly, ignorance is bliss.¡¯ Adia was feeling pity for the man who actually got the guts to call her master ¡¯bastard¡¯.

    Ru¡¯s lips curled into an extremely cold and mirthless smile. "Do you know who I killed to be who I am today?" The man couldn¡¯t talk as Ru¡¯s green orbs were prating his strong defense. His body shuddered under her gaze. "I killed the person I once was." He gulped as he heard her answering her own question. "Do you think I¡¯m being a hero by saving them? I¡¯m not a champion fighting for justice. I simply kill the ones who dare to stand in my way."

    For the sake of his pride, the man struggled to get up but when failed, he threatened her, "You can¡¯t kill me. The people above me are powerful. They won¡¯t let you off easily."

    ¡¯Great! Now, he has a death wish. Fool, master hate threats!¡¯ Adia was cursing the man in her heart and even prayed for his soul to ¡¯not-get-peace-even-in-hell¡¯.

    Sure enough, as Adia had expected, Ru¡¯s knife pressed on his neck as blood oozed out of it. He screamed in pain since she had cut an artery precisely. Trailing the de down, Ru pressed the tip of the de on his chest with a poker face.

    His eyes widened in fear while Ru didn¡¯t enjoy his expression. She kicked the chair away and then that foot came down to kick the man¡¯s chin toppling him backward. Her leather shoes d foot stepped on his ribs and she applied pressure.

    "Crack!"

    Even the bones breaking sound could be heard along with the man¡¯s howls that sounded more like a banshee. A screeching banshee to be precise.

    "Lock him in his own basement." Ru¡¯s voice finally brought everyone back to her cold gaze. "And send these four fools to the hospital." Saying that she cleaned her de and kept it back in her ankle wrap.

    As she stepped out of the old building of the factory, she looked up at the morning sun. It was beautiful but she found it not very interesting since the next moment, a cigarette was lit between her lips.

    "Master, should we kill him and his people?" Connor asked courteously standing at an arm¡¯s length.

    "The artery I ruptured will kill him... But slowly with the blood loss." Connor¡¯s lips curled upward. He knew his master¡¯s antics very well. Ru would love to kill but she¡¯ll definitely do it in the excruciatingly painful way. That man¡¯s broken ribs and blood loss will give one hell of a lesson for threatening Alev Knight. "As for this ce..." She took a drag of her cigarette before continuing, "Burn it."

    "Yes, master!"

    Since the people of Feng Group were involved in smuggling and human trafficking along with illegal acquirements ofnds, she had no reason to show them mercy. But then again, she didn¡¯t have mercy to spare for useless thugs.

    Outside in the car, Wu Dishi was waiting for her and when she settled in, he drove her straight to Joyous Homes Condominium building.

    She had just stepped out of the car when she heard an overly enthusiastic voice calling her, "Oniisan!" Hearing that voice, Ru¡¯s impassive and cold aura was immediately dispersed leaving behind a warm and cordial smile.

 Chapter 134 Pleasures Of Life

    "Hey, little squirrel..." Ru turned to look at the youngster¡¯s beaming face.

    "Oniisan, where did you go? I¡¯ve been waiting for you since 4 in the morning." Xiao Zhi Yuanined in a sulky look.

    Ru touched his head full of ck hair and smiled, pondering her words before saying, "I went out for some enjoyment." ¡¯But yours and my definition of enjoyment can be misinterpreted.¡¯

    "Enjoyment?" Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s brows locked together in confusion.

    "Haven¡¯t you heard about the four pleasures of life?" Yuan shook his head in negation and Ru had to exin, "The four pleasures of life are eating, drinking, ying and enjoying. Therefore, I was out looking for enjoyment." ¡¯Oh, wait! That was my version of four pleasures. Bloody hell! I¡¯m so going to hell for misleading a young boy but well... I¡¯ve already shot the arrow. Let¡¯s not go back on our words now.¡¯

    Behind her, Wu Dishi was trying to stifle hisughter as he heard her righteous way of talking. After all, she just made up those four pleasures of life.

    Ru looked at Yuan¡¯s innocent expression while she felt guilty inside for lying. But then again, she couldn¡¯t just tell him the truth now, could she? She for once knew that he wouldn¡¯t enjoy knowing that she just came back from pushing someone to death.

    The truth was rather simple for her... In the middle of the night, she had gotten a call.

    "Master, we lost contact with Team Seven." Adia¡¯s rxed voice could be heard from the other end.

    "How many days has it been?" She had asked.

    "It¡¯s been 48-hours but we have locked on to their location. Awaiting your orders to take action." Adia stated calmly.

    Ru took the initiative to look through the reports that Team Seven sent before they lost contact. And as she read the things Feng Group was involved in, Ru couldn¡¯t help but say, "I¡¯ll join you myself."

    And that¡¯s how she ended up at that Factory under Feng Group. She was nning on going the simple route of rescuing her people but the manager of that ce had to just provoke her with words. One can¡¯t me her for being vicious after threatening her brazenly.

    "Oniisan, I haven¡¯t heard of such pleasures..." Yuan¡¯s thoughtful voice brought Ru back to the present and she cleared her throat with a fake cough.

    "Really? I learned it exactly like this."

    "Are you sure?" Yuan gave a pointed look and Ru avoided looking straight at him.

    "Let it be. Why were you looking for me?" She changed the topic conveniently.

    "Oh, I need a good luck hug," Yuan answered as his eyes brightened up.

    "Good luck hug?" Ru had just said those words and Yuan wrapped his arms around her frame tightly. Luckily, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest.

    "Now wish me luck," she heard Yuan¡¯s voice.

    "What for?"

    "You forgot? Today is my entrance exam. I need to do my best. Have to make you proud." Yuan¡¯s words had a determination that made Ru feel amused.

    "You shouldn¡¯t have looked for luck around me. I¡¯m the King of misfortune myself." Ru grumbled as she felt like she might bring bad luck to him indeed. It¡¯s not like luck was ever on her side.

    "Oniisan, you think too much," Yuan said the most obvious thing.

    "That I sure do. Anyway, go ahead and do your best. No pressure though. Not being the best is not the end of the world. Okay?" Ru instructed him like a real elder brother while patting his shoulder for encouragement.

    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind," Yuan answered cheerfully with a spirited look. As if he was given a lucky charm and he knew everything will be alright now. Before seeing Ru he was a nervous wreck but not anymore. "Oniisan, you the most beautiful person I have ever met."

    Ru didn¡¯t understand the reason behind those words but being herself, she said, "Of course, I am. No one canpete with this young master¡¯s good looks. I¡¯m a rare sight to behold."

    Yuan burst outughing at her words in amusement. In all honesty, he didn¡¯t mean to say that she was beautiful because of her face which was an obvious fact instead, he meant to say that she was beautiful as a person. Exactly as she was.

    But then again, her level offort in her own skin was astonishing.

 Chapter 135 All Mine

    "You take him to the exam center, I have an important meeting to get to," Xiao Zhi Ren was talking to Ji Syaoran while they were exiting through the electronic doors of the condominium building.

    "I can drop him off but where is he?" Ji Syaoran asked rather inquisitively.

    Xiao Zhi Ren looked at his Rolex Daytona watch as he said, "He was going to look for Rong. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s taking him so long."

    "I think I know." Xiao Zhi Ren followed Ji Syaoran¡¯s gaze and saw Ru rubbing Xiao Zhi Yuan¡¯s head like a pet. "Hadn¡¯t he been against people touching his hair?" Ji Syaoran asked curiously.

    "I guess Rong doesn¡¯te in those people." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a small smile ying on his lips. Then he called out to Yuan, "Little brother, it¡¯s time to go. Ran Zi will take you and he¡¯ll be there to pick you up as well."

    Xiao Zhi Yuan shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    "Sh*t! I can¡¯t pick him up, bro." Ji Syaoran suddenly cursed out receiving a deathly re from his elder brother. Trying to maintain his courage, he said, "I mean, I have to go to the football club. Ipletely forgot about it."

    "Mr. I¡¯m-being-subtle actually y football?" Ru asked being all nosy. You know precisely not minding her own bloody business!

    "Mr. Xie, can you stop calling me that? And yes, I do have a membership for a football club. That¡¯s the only sport I love." Ji Syaoran even unted his VIP membership card with pride.

    "Thank goodness! At least someone is normal here." Saying that she gave him a fist bump excitedly and said, "Bro, it¡¯s so good to find a football person. I was tired of that ser person." She was obviously pointing at Xiao Zhi Ren while saying that.

    Xiao Zhi Ren really didn¡¯t want to argue at this point. So, he said, "Ran Zi, Yuan is gettingte. Get out of here!" Ji Syaoran felt a dangerous edge to his brother¡¯s voice. As if he was hitting on his brother¡¯s girlfriend or something. He really wanted to ask, ¡¯Why are you eating vinegar?¡¯ but didn¡¯t since he didn¡¯t want Xiao Zhi Ren to tie him up under the sun all over again.

    Ji Syaoran immediately took Xiao Zhi Yuan sprinted away.

    "Bloody hell! I was gonna ask him to have a match with me sometime." Ru clicked her tongue as she mumbled peevishly. She sighed out and made her way inside.

    "Didn¡¯t she see me here?" Xiao Zhi Ren questioned to himself with a frown as she had just walked right past him as if he was non-existent. He briskly walked to catch up to her and blocked her way. "Are you ignoring me?"

    "Oh, hi! Zhi Hyung didn¡¯t see you there..." That was a lie and even Xiao Zhi Ren could tell. "Anyway, what¡¯s up?"

    "I¡¯m socially programmed to say, ¡¯not much¡¯." Xiao Zhi Ren used her own way to answer the question of ¡¯what¡¯s up¡¯.

    "Haha... That¡¯s funny but true." Ru remarked while trying hard to act normal. ¡¯Young master Ru, we decided it was idental! No big deal at all! Get a grip!¡¯ With that monologue, she took a deep breath and asked, "Aren¡¯t you gettingte?"

    "I do have a meeting..." Xiao Zhi Ren drawled his words.

    "Oh, right! Come to Grand Royale Clubhouse by 7 tonight." Ru told him getting back her usual stance.

    "What for?" He asked.

    "For your anticipated meeting with Alev Knight. Don¡¯t bete, he hates waiting." Ru reminded him sternly to show how serious she was about this.

    "Hates waiting? Just like you?" Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t tell why it came to his mind just now.

    "Yup! You are right. In a way, he¡¯s just like me. So, don¡¯t sod... I mean, piss him off. He won¡¯t be as polite as I am." Ru said with a smirk as her conscious nagged, ¡¯Can¡¯t you stop boasting about your own alter ego?¡¯ Ru snapped back. ¡¯Each of my alter ego has its own entric personality, it¡¯s not my fault.¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren kept quiet observing the look on her face and those bright eyes as they twinkled when she talked about Alev Knight. He gritted his teeth indignantly.

    "Will you be there?" He asked rather sulkily.

    "Huh? No. I have... Stuff to do." She said while she avoided his eyes. ¡¯Of course, I¡¯ll be there! How else would Aleve?¡¯

    "Don¡¯t you have to meet a good friend?" The way he said ¡¯good friend¡¯ didn¡¯t sit well with her but she ignored it.

    "Your meeting with him willst for an hour or so. For the rest of the time, he¡¯s all mine to keep." Ru said whatever came to her mind.

 Chapter 136 Meeting Alev Knigh

    Grand Royale Clubhouse...

    The elite clubhouse was frequented by the young masters of the affluent families. It was a ce they could find whatever they needed for enjoyment. In the clubhouse, there was a restaurant, a separate bar, and private rooms where people often yed Mahjong on the electronic machines.

    Tonight though the private rooms on the third floor were off limits. Professional and stoic bodyguards were littered around the corridors in their ck suits. The Raven Logo of Knight Empires was embroidered on their suit¡¯s jacket exquisitely.

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s people weren¡¯t allowed inside and only he was led inside courteously. All the while, his fists were clenched tightly. Ru didn¡¯t realize the effect of her simple words on Xiao Zhi Ren at all. Her in words, ¡¯For the rest of the time, he¡¯s mine to keep.¡¯ were interpreted in a very different way by Xiao Zhi Ren. Something along the lines of... ¡¯We¡¯ll have the rest of the night to catch up on what we missed.¡¯ Now that could be anything behind closed doors, who would know?

    Just the reminder of her words made his blood boil in rage. Exactly howte was he in iming her as his own? He couldn¡¯t take this defeat!

    The bodyguards at the door opened it wide and gestured for Xiao Zhi Ren to walk inside. With a deep breath and a heavy heart, Xiao Zhi Ren stepped inside.

    The room was dimly lit. And only a single person was seated in a far corner with the sound of Mahjong tiles changing in the background. More precisely, it was the darkest corner. The man was dressed exquisitely in a pair of navy blue jeans along with a button-down shirt in the same color. There was a ck zer over it while the sleeves were creased up to his elbows.

    His legs were crossed and Xiao Zhi Ren could see his pair of ssy loafers. His posture was immacte and one of supremacy. But the one thing he couldn¡¯t see clearly was the person¡¯s face. He could make out the outline of sses and even could see a pair of ocean blue eyes. But the rest was concealed in the darkness of the room.

    "You can take a seat whenever you are ready, Zoran Xiao." That deep voice startled Xiao Zhi Ren for a second and he took a seat opposite of him.

    Xiao Zhi Ren had actually didn¡¯t expect to see Alev Knight since the man was mysterious and had many enemies. He would never show his face so casually to anyone. Therefore, he didn¡¯t find it odd at all.

    From the moment he walked inside, Xiao Zhi Ren could feel a pair of hawk-like eyes following his movements. It really made him nervous for some odd reason and seeing his flustered state, Ru gave a subtle smile of amusement.

    ¡¯WoW! Our Zhi Hyung actually is nervous? But he never does that before Xie Rong. Why is Alev Knight so different?¡¯ She wondered while taking a small sip of her milk tea. ¡¯Could you please stop talking about yourself like a third person?¡¯ Her conscious was at it again but Ru had no mood to get lost in banter with her.

    "Cat got your tongue?" After a prolonged silence, Ru had to break it in some way.

    "No. It¡¯s just that it feels unrealistic that I¡¯m actually meeting you in person." Xiao Zhi Ren answered while picking up a ss of water since his throat was dry and itchy now.

    "Alright. Take your time to calm down. Then you can tell me why you asked to meet me." Ru decided to go easy on him. After all, it was her sworn brother. But that doesn¡¯t count, you are a girl. Her conscious reminded her. ¡¯Just shut the hell up!¡¯ Ru snapped back.

    At first, she had nned on telling him that she was Alev Knight herself but there were a lot of risks involved. A slight mistake could put his life in danger and she wasn¡¯t inclined to that. If possible she would never want him to know that she was Alev Knight. She trusted him but her trust in the world had been gone for a long time now.

    She had deliberately dressed differently than she usually did. She even had to change the texture of her voice again. But that wasn¡¯t a big deal, she was the person who could change her voice to sound like anyone. She found it a hassle though since even she couldn¡¯t tell what she actually sounded like. She even had to change her contact lenses for his sake.

    There was no ce for even slight slips.

 Chapter 137 Life & Lifetime

    Within the next thirty minutes, Xiao Zhi Ren had actually managed to convince Ru for the investment project. His proposal wasn¡¯t just unique, it was indeed exceptional.

    cing the white porcin cup back in the saucer, Ru said, "You have done thorough research. I have no doubt that your idea would be able to bring revolutionary changes in the next decade. I must say, I am impressed."

    "I¡¯m d that you find it interesting enough," Xiao Zhi Ren finally heaved a sigh of relief. Only he knew how much important this project was for him. His nerves started to ease up.

    "I have a question though," Ru added while rubbing her chin gently.

    "I¡¯ll be d to clear up your doubts." Xiao Zhi Ren said and gulped down a whole ss of water again. From the moment he entered, he had drunk up to four ss of water. And it showed how much pressure he was in.

    "You could have asked Rong for the investment considering she¡¯s taken an oath to stand by you, she would have dly invested in this project. When ites to power and wealth, she isn¡¯t shabby either. I might call her an equal." Talking about her own self as a third person was so natural to her that no one could guess that she was talking about herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was taken aback by this question. After a bit of contemtion, he answered, "Perhaps, I don¡¯t want to have a professional rtionship with her." Ru¡¯s brows shot up. "Also, from the beginning, I wanted to work with Knight Empires for this project. That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t even ur to me." He naturally didn¡¯t say that he wanted Ru to have a personal bonding with him and not some estranged professional one.

    "Alright! I definitely am interested in this investment. Since Rong rmended you, I don¡¯t have any doubts whatsoever. If its gonna change the technology¡¯s perspective in our lives, I¡¯d love to see Knight Empires being a part of that revolution." Ru spoke very professionally without any hint of yfulness. She was like a professional actor, engrossed in her role so deeply that one really couldn¡¯t tell who she was.

    ying roles was indeed very natural to her. People only change clothes, she knew how to change personas. Even the aura around her would change drastically. If being Xie Rong was an easy-going persona of hers then being Alev Knight was all about authority, ruthlessness.

    Xiao Zhi Ren gave a mirthless smile as he said, "You seem to have a strong trust in Rong."

    "If I don¡¯t trust her. I might lose trust in life itself." ¡¯After all, losing faith in one¡¯s own self is akin to losing yourself altogether.¡¯

    "Do you mind me asking, how long have you known her?" Xiao Zhi Ren finally got over his flustered state to ask. But the intimidation wasn¡¯t gone. It was like something invisible in the room was pressing down on his heart. Most probably, it was his own feelings but he couldn¡¯t differentiate when his mind was all muddled up.

    Ru tapped her finger on the table rhythmically. "For as long as I can remember." She answered with amusement.

    "I have a question for you as well..." Ru started as she observed the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists as if her words had struck him at a sore spot. "What is Rong to you? Friend? Because she can¡¯t be a sworn brother. You know she, being a girl in disguise and all."

    "Friend? She doesn¡¯t like having friends. Sworn brother? She certainly can¡¯t have that title anymore but I¡¯ll make sure to keep the oath I took just like I know she will as well..." Ru smiled in knowing that he could faith in her. "As for what she is to me..." Xiao Zhi Ren took a long pause while Ru straightened up in anticipation. She didn¡¯t know why but she was really eager to hear his answer for some reason unknown to her own self.

    Xiao Zhi Ren finally smiled with valor and said, "For now, she¡¯s my life." Ru¡¯s eyes widened. "As for the future, I want to make her my lifetime." Ru¡¯s heart shook for the first time in a long while.

 Chapter 138 Behind Her Disguise

    Ru almost choked on air as his words had struck her like lightning. ¡¯His life? For a lifetime?¡¯ Those words sounded so bloody wrong but they felt so bloody right. Even her hand trembled and she had to clutch her knee to hide her trembling.

    Those were simple but yet mind-boggling words for her. She had lived between men, grew up like one herself. But she never thought such words could have any effect on her. Surprisingly, they did! Her mind was in shambles.

    Before she could get herposure back, she heard his voice again, "I can tell that she means a lot to you. And you might mean a lot more to her. But I don¡¯t n on backing off without a fight."

    ¡¯Hold on! What?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t tell what he was saying. ¡¯Does he think Alev is in love with Rong? But that would mean I¡¯m in love with myself!¡¯ She really wanted tough at this irony.

    "Wha-What are we fighting for?" Ru stuttered probably for the very first time in her life.

    "Fight for her love." Xiao Zhi Ren answered calmly this time.

    Ru closed her eyes as her lips curled into a self-mocking smile. She rubbed her forehead and asked, "Why? Why do you want to fight for her sake? She hides behind a disguise. She can only bring chaos with herself. She¡¯s a battle in herself."

    "But she¡¯s also a battle worth fighting for." He said with a beautiful smile gracing his handsome face.

    ¡¯Bloody son of a bachelor!!!!¡¯ She had the urge tough at his face but just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so. Her mind wasn¡¯t listening to her while her heart felt like it was awoken ever so gently and now, it was stirring her emotions.

    "Your battle isn¡¯t with me. It¡¯s with her own self. She¡¯s the one hiding behind the facade of darkness. How can an angel like you wish to choose a demon like her?" She was trying to persuade him to give up. Because the look in his eyes was scaring her. The warmth she felt from him wasn¡¯t shallow anymore, the sincerity and love in his eyes wasn¡¯t a lie anymore. But she so badly wanted it all to be just a big fat lie!

    "She¡¯s the bittersweet mystery of the night

    She¡¯s my angel who lost her light

    With demons hiding in her mind

    and dreams she¡¯s scared to see

    under the moonlight

    Fallen bloodsoaked from the sky

    she¡¯s myst wisps of golden grace

    Her body might be cut

    Her soul might be broken

    Her wings might be torn

    And her halo might be crooked

    But for me...

    She will always be a fallen angel

    Hiding behind her disguise."

    His voice brought a sudden pain to emerge in her heart as if someone was tearing her heart apart. The pain shifted to her head as some voices resurfaced in her mind.

    ["You think I¡¯m beautiful?" She could recognize her own voice.

    "Just like an angel." The other masculine voice answered.

    "An angel? Ha! I¡¯m more like a devil that too with my tattered wings." She could hear the sarcasm in her own voice.

    "If your wings are shedding feather, I¡¯m here to collect them. If your wings are torn apart, I¡¯m here as your needle and thread to put them back together."

    "Why?" She asked incredulously.

    "Because even if you fall, you will still be my angel. After all, fallen angels are still angels just painted in shadows."]

    The memory seemed foreign but it felt like hers. When did it happen? And with whom? She didn¡¯t know.

    "She¡¯s a demon craving chaos... You¡¯re the angel looking for sce..." The words left her mouth before she could even stop them. It was on impulse but Xiao Zhi Ren could tell it was the reality.

    "You should leave now, Mr. Xiao." Ru suddenly said as if being in close space with him will ignite the me that had scorched with her soul long ago.

    Xiao Zhi Ren naturally didn¡¯t make anyment. He had said whatever he had to say. He didn¡¯t want to hide his love. If he wasn¡¯t scared of losing Ru, he wouldn¡¯t even hide it from her as well.

    "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Knight." With that Xiao Zhi Ren extended his hand towards her and after a moment of hesitation, Ru shook his hand. But the touch of her cold hands made Xiao Zhi Ren frown in confusion.

    While walking out, his mind was wondering about the touch that felt too familiar. Was he missing Ru so much that he was imagining her everywhere now? Turning his head back to see the empty corridor with only bodyguards keeping watch, he wondered, ¡¯But was it really a mistake?¡¯

 Chapter 139 Fate, Love & Death

    With Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s departure, Ru felt suffocated. Her heart was repeatedly squeezed while she couldn¡¯t even tell what was wrong with her.

    Suddenly, the closed space made her feel entrapped. She shot up from her seat and went out the door. "Keys?" Extending her hand before Connor she asked for car keys. Connor was taken aback since everyone knew their master didn¡¯t like driving cars. But he still ced the keys of his Audi in her hand.

    Ru was about to leave when she stopped and left her words behind, "No need to follow me. Go back to your positions." With that, she went out of the clubhouse and alighted the car.

    In the next half an hour, she drove the car as if flying an airne. She couldn¡¯t even tell herself how many traffic rules she had broken. But she didn¡¯t care at all. As soon as the bustling city was left behind, she pressed a button and the roof was let down making the cool night breeze to p her face ruthlessly.

    She couldn¡¯t tell how far off she was from the city but by the time she stopped the car, she was at the top of a mountain that looked over the beautiful city lights that lit up the whole night. She perched down on the bo of the car and leaned back to close her eyes.

    Some people scare us and others confuse us. Xiao Zhi Ren managed to do both. Ru felt scared not of him but from his love.

    Lighting up a cigarette, she let her mind wander off to an old memory...

    *shback*

    "This young master is so good at hiding. Who can catch me?" Ru¡¯s young self boasted before a beautifuldy in red robes.

    Thedy¡¯s fair and soft hands touched the young Ru¡¯s head and she said, "Dear son, there are certain things you can¡¯t hide from in life."

    "Like what, mother?" Ru blinked her eyes at the alluring beauty before her.

    "You can¡¯t hide from fate, love, and death. The more you run from these, the more they will entangle your soul." Thedy¡¯s gentle voice answered while Ru¡¯s young face scrunched up in confusion. Thedy ruffled her hair and said, "Fate likes to y the game of love but dear child, love likes to y with death. It either teaches you how to live or just pushes you down the road of a life worse than death."

    "It went all over my head," Ru grumbled while wiggling her nose at her but the mesmerizing beauty before her only chuckled at her response with an adoring look in her eyes.

    *End of shback*

    She sat back up and pulled out her cellphone finally going through her contact list. Her finger hovered above a name for a long time and she finally pressed it with a long sigh.

    As the call connected, she heard a raspy and a bit groggy voice, "It better be a matter of life or death."

    Hearing this threat she smiled to herself and realized that it was already past midnight. She really was disturbing his sleep but whatever.

    "What if it¡¯s a matter of love or life?" She asked trying to keep a yful touch in her voice.

    She heard some shuffling from the other end which eventually ended up with a thud sound. Even from here, she could guess that he was so shocked to hear her voice that he fell down from the bed.

    "Ru¡¯er? Is that you?" The voice was cautious and careful.

    "Why? Someone else can dare to call you at this time?" Ru retorted.

    "Damn you moron! Where the hell have you been? I haven¡¯t heard from you for the past two years. Do you know how many scenarios came to my mind? I was so damn worried!" Ru pushed the phone away from her ear since she knew he was gonna go at it for a long time.

    True enough, he kept going on and on without a stop button.

    "Hello to you too, JieJie!" Taking advantage of his brief pause, she said.

    "Go to hell! And shove that damn hello down your throat!" She heard his roar making herugh out in amusement eventually.

    "I¡¯m already in hell. How far off are you nning on pushing me, my dearest soul-brother?" That did the trick, the line went silent for a moment.

    "Where are you?" She heard his tired voice.

    "Does it matter?" she retorted.

    "I guess it doesn¡¯t really as long as you are alive, nothing else matters." Zhu Jie drawled his words a bit.

    Ru couldn¡¯t help but smile at his reply. How weird that he could still make her smile! And it felt good knowing that someone was worried for her.

 Chapter 140 Love Is Suffering In Itself

    Ru¡¯s real identity might be a secret to many but Zhu Jie wasn¡¯t one of those people. He was the first person who called her a friend. He was also the only one who never addressed her as Young Master Ru. For him, she was just Ru¡¯er. His best friend and a brother. Yes! A brother because even though he knew she was a girl, he couldn¡¯t see her as one.

    It wasn¡¯t his fault. She never acted like a girl, he never treated her like one. But between them, there had never been a thing called secret. He was the one who could yell at her without any fear. Because he might be the only person from Ru¡¯s generation, who never got intimidated by her. He called her formidable but he was so sure of her love and care for him that he couldn¡¯t possibly imagine her hurting him.

    Just like any other time, she had rted the entire encounter with Xiao Zhi Ren from beginning till tonight. And the only reply she got in return was, "Hmmm... Interesting."

    "Aren¡¯t you shocked? Surprised? Stunned? Anything?" Ru questioned incredulously.

    "I¡¯m not." He answered inly.

    "I just told you that indirectly, he just confessed his love. Isn¡¯t that shocking?" She asked again.

    "Not at all." Ru was to ask why when he answered her unasked question himself, "Just because you believe that people can¡¯t love you doesn¡¯t mean I have to share your dumb views as well."

    "Do you know why I called?" She asked changing the topic. She was tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from him. He always said if he can love her as a person, anyone can love her as a woman. And she can¡¯t stop people from doing so. What Rubbish!

    "I know. You¡¯re trying toe up with ways to run away from him. And that¡¯s why you are calling me. You want me to tell you that you are right. But..." He took a deep breath and went on, "I won¡¯t say it. For me, your decision is wrong and it¡¯ll stay wrong."

    Ru rubbed her forehead and asked, "Why? Isn¡¯t it good? He¡¯ll give up easily. He doesn¡¯t even know what he is getting himself into."

    "Let me ask you a simple question... How far are you gonna run? I know you are tired. For God¡¯s sake, stop it already. On your eighteenth birthday, you¡¯re meant to be the Head of your n but you chose to run away. Even though you were prepared for that one step all your life, you chose to run. Then the person who saved your life, he cared about you and you knew that yet you ran from the hospital again in the name of looking for revenge. And today, you are trying to run all over again."

    His words brought so much guilt back to her that she felt like bursting up in exasperation. She knew each of his words were right.

    Zhu Jie¡¯s voice suddenly turned softer as he continued, "Ru¡¯er, are you afraid of falling?"

    "I¡¯ve already fallen to my grave once. How can I be scared of falling?" She answered ironically.

    "Then are you afraid of the dark?"

    "How can that be? I¡¯ve be one with the dark long time ago."

    "Are you scared of love?" He didn¡¯t give her a chance to answer this time, as he added, "I guess I have the answer to this question, you are rather scared of being loved instead of love itself."

    Ru didn¡¯t say a word to deny it. She couldn¡¯t possibly do so.

    "Instead of using your bloody smart mind on finding ways to run, face his love. Even if you can¡¯t reciprocate his feelings, don¡¯t leave him hanging like this. That¡¯d be an insult to his feelings and you were raised better than that!"

    "Love is suffering in itself..." she remarked rather defenselessly.

    "We all are defenseless against suffering. And there isn¡¯t any love in this world that doesn¡¯t go through suffering. You have to stick around him to know whether he¡¯s worth that suffering or not. Loveless life is also suffering then why not take a risk and live a life filled with love brewed in suffering."

    Ru gave a strange smile as his words registered in her mind. "I thought I was the genius between the two of us."

    Zhu Jie chuckled and replied, "My genius narcissistic friend, search through your memory. These are indeed your own words. It¡¯s just that you have the best advice for the world but when ites to yourself, you choose the worst options. That¡¯s why I¡¯m in your life to knock some sense into your mind."

    She couldn¡¯t deny his words again.

 Chapter 141 Neither Gentle Nor A Man

    There were plenty of reasons why Ru couldn¡¯t deny his words. But at this moment, she couldn¡¯t evene up with any of those reasons. Neither she could deny his words nor she coulde up with a retort for that.

    But her silence said a lot to Zhu Jie. They both shared a connection of the heart. It allowed both of them to discern the other person¡¯s thoughts or moods. Right now, he could tell she was in a dilemma.

    "Ru¡¯er, I know you have killed a piece of your own heart every single day just to be what you are today. You told me that a heart is like a garden but don¡¯t forget your garden in barren and razed. Can¡¯t you give him a chance to pick the pieces you have lost? He might be able to decorate your soul with some flowers sprinkled with love."

    He waited for her answer while she stayed silent for a long while.

    "Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?" He had to yell to get her attention.

    "Huh? I¡¯m trying to make sure, I called the right person. It seems like I did but why does he sound so different?"

    "Haha. Are you done?" He feigned a dryugh at her worst sense of humor.

    "Well, you can¡¯t me me. I¡¯m utterly gobsmacked to hear such words from you. Did my absence made you more intelligent or something?"

    Zhu Jie rolled his eyes and answered, "Your absence brought a lot of changes. But I¡¯ll let you know about that when I see you next time. As for being gobsmacked, I guess history does repeat itself but in its own way."

    "What do you mean?"

    "When I met my wife and asked you about love, your words also gobsmacked me back then. You said, ¡¯Love is in that single snowke thates to caress the tip of your nose but with a single touch it melts away, leaving behind a chilly shudder that spreads throughout your entire body. Love is in those waves that travel a thousand miles just to touch the shore once. They know they won¡¯t be able to stay but they still persist in their love.¡¯ You can¡¯t even imagine how I felt hearing that from a cold-hearted jerk like yourself." Ru didn¡¯t mind the way he addressed her. It was something verymon between them.

    But the words he just said also came from her.

    "Woah! I¡¯m such a profound and astute person. I definitely underestimate myself sometimes." Zhu Jie facepalmed himself as he heard her getting back to being so damn full of herself.

    "Can you for a second, stop being so full of yourself?"

    "I¡¯m not full of myself. If I was why would I feel like cats are having a party inside my stomach?" Zhu Jie¡¯s mouth twitched at not just her words but also the innocence she used to say those words. Gosh! He really was no match for her wicked ways. He was rubbing the space between his brows when he heard her voice again, "Anyway, jokes apart, I¡¯m really sorry for disturbing your sleep. I didn¡¯t realize it was sote at night."

    Zhu Jie naturally thought that she was in another region of the world and said, "Whatever. Hey, by the way, once upon a time you used to hate apologies. Why is it so easy to get a sorry from you now?"

    "Spend a couple of months in London. Trust me, they will teach you the manners of saying sorry. I guess I became a gentleman as well."

    "Dear Ru¡¯er, you are neither gentle nor a man. Get that through your thick skull, dumbass!" Ru scrunched up her face, not wanting to ept this defeat yet again! "Also, stop eating! You¡¯ll explode one day at this rate."

    "JieJie, I¡¯m not feeding on your blood. Why are your knickers in a twist? You bloody bugger! Go and shag[1] some bloody rubbish or something."

    "Show some bloody respect. I¡¯m older than you."

    "I showed respect by calling you. And even you know how difficult would that have been for a chuffed[2] person like me!" After taking a deep breath, her whole self calmed down.

    "Are you feeling better after breathing out your pent up fire?" She heard his question and hummed in response as they both chuckled together.

    "Thanks, JieJie!"

    "Anytime for you, Ru¡¯er."

    "I¡¯ll give you a bellter. Say hi to your ¡¯baby¡¯."

    "Which one?" He asked in amusement.

    "Would you stop unting your love? I know you have a wife and a child. Don¡¯t have to shove that in my face now!" She didn¡¯t even wait for an answer and hung up.

    [1] ¡¯shag¡¯: Screw

    [2] ¡¯chuffed¡¯: Proud

 Chapter 142 Ocean Of His Love

    After her conversation with Zhu Jie, Ru was all about smiling like a silly person. She had spent the entire night at the top of the mountain but oddly, she didn¡¯t smoke after the phone call. What she did was even more surprising... She did star gazing!

    A shocker! Well, it was for her. Because even in thatplete silence, she couldn¡¯t hear the voices howling inside her mind. She felt tranquil and rxed. It was a rare feeling for her so she appreciated it and embraced it with open arms.

    The original n of running far away from here was canceled. Now, she had to drive back to the Joyous Homes. After all, she had prepared a striking gift for Xiao Zhi Ren. He dared to be blunt and brave in front of Alev Knight but he cowered away from her!

    How dare he hid his feelings from her but gave a tant warning to another!

    ¡¯Well, you are that other person.¡¯ Her conscience reminded her.

    "So what? You know that I know that but he doesn¡¯t!" She retorted back stubbornly.

    Seeing that she could not appear in the same attire as Alev Knight, she picked up a pair of casual chinos and t-shirt but she didn¡¯t change the zer. On purpose! It was her weapon. And she was so going to poke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sore spot with it. Hehe... Just thinking about it made her feel wicked!

    By the time she parked at the entrance of the Condominium building, she knew it was about time for Xiao Zhiren to leave for office.

    Ru took off her blue contact lens to show her green eyes hidden underneath and ruffled her hair to make them appear disheveled. She hadn¡¯t been this excited for a long time now.

    As she entered, her eyes caught sight of Xiao Zhiren collecting his mails from the reception desk. She called out to him, "Yo Zhi! Good morning!" She even gave him a happy smile with a light friendly punch on his shoulder.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes darkened as he saw the zer she wore. He remembered it very well! Ru had noticed the look in his eyes and gave a sly smile as she inwardly cheered, ¡¯Oh, it¡¯s so working!¡¯

    Xiao Zhi Ren took a deep breath before speaking, "You look cheery."

    "Well, duh! I am happy so I¡¯ll look the part as well." She answered cheekily much to his annoyance.

    "I wonder what made you so happy," it took a lot of effort on his part to keep his face straight. Seeing her disheveled look gave birth to too many indecent ideas of R-rate and he desperately needed a PG-13 version from reality now.

    "Oh, what should I tell you now... Last night was intense." It certainly became intense after listening to your tant confession of love.

    "Crack!"

    The sound of ss cracking took her by surprise as she stared at the blood that flowed down his hand startling her. She didn¡¯t even realize it that he was clutching a ss water bottle in his hand all this while.

    She saw his blood trickling down while he barely reacted to it. Now, she finally realized she was acting childish and she had never been this way before. But she was even more amazed to see that the man before him loved her beyond her imagination. Just a single sentence provoked him. How intense or immense was this love?

    ¡¯You wouldn¡¯t know unless you¡¯re willing to drown in the ocean of his love.¡¯ For the first time, she wasn¡¯t annoyed at her conscience¡¯s words.

    Her heart felt strange as she saw his red blood oozing out. Holding his hand in her own, she dragged him along to the elevator. Xiao Zhi Ren was surprised but he didn¡¯t say anything and let her drag him along to her apartment.

    This time Ru didn¡¯t even bother hiding her passcode from him, the thought didn¡¯t even cross her mind. And as Xiao Zhi Ren saw the passcode, he was stunned. ¡¯0814? That¡¯s the date she vanished. Why would she use it if she doesn¡¯t remember me?¡¯

    Walking inside, she pushed him down on the couch and collected her first-aid kit. "You really love getting hurt." This was the third time, she was tending to his wound since the time they met. "I can¡¯t believe you are this careless."

    "You were with Alev Knight?" He asked instead of answering her.

    Ru lifted her eyes and looked straight into his eyes. His gaze was scorching and in a daze, she said, "We were ying video games. Lost track of time."

    The way Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s body visibly rxed left her mind in disarray. It was like someone breathed new life into him all over again.

 Chapter 143 Keep That In Mind

    Xiao Zhi Ren had never felt this rxed before. Her words were really like he was pardoned from a death penalty. A new life and hope were breathed into his soul. And since he was rxed now, the tiredness of the entire night came over him at once.

    Ru cleaned up his wound with care and expertise. Since Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s mind was clear of all the messed up ideas, he spent the next fifteen minutes just staring at her face. It wasn¡¯t the first time she was tending to his injury but there was one thing that remained the same; her expressions.

    She appeared rather calm and tranquil. But for some reason, Xiao Zhi Ren always felt that there was always something behind her calm self. What was it this time? He was frowning when his gaze fell on her again.

    Her hands had his blood on them and she was staring at it without blinking. She appeared to be in a daze. Sighing out she stood up and went to wash her hands. She rubbed her hands raw before intending to leave the restroom.

    She had turned to leave when she saw Xiao Zhi Ren leaning against the doorframe with an indescribable expression in his eyes.

    "You don¡¯t like blood..." He remarked in a certain way. When he saw her dazed look earlier, he felt like he could see her difort in her eyes. As if she loathed that crimson fluid on her skin.

    "Haven¡¯t you heard, I¡¯ve dyed dark nights with crimson blood. Why wouldn¡¯t I like it?" Ru tried to pass right past him but he blocked her way. His figure couldn¡¯t tower her that much but he still dared her to look into his eyes.

    "People can have misconceptions as well. And to be honest, everything that the world knows about you is just a facy."

    The tone of his voice pulled Ru to lift her eyes and stare back at him. It was indeed a huge mistake on her part as she blurted out, "I don¡¯t hate the blood. I abhor the coldness that it leaves behind."

    Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s orbs contracted at the reminder.

    Ru, however, didn¡¯t need a reminder. Her body remembered the pain and coldness vividly. As the blood slowly oozed out of her body, her limbs went numb and after some time, all she felt was cold. But that cold was different than the one that the winter brings. That cold had invaded her blood and bones making her feel like a lifeless corpse.

    Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t block her anymore and turned aside letting her pass. Ru went straight to the kitchen to brew some medicinal tea to lessen his pain and to speed up his recovery.

    "I know you don¡¯t like tea but this one is good for your injury," Ru exined as she saw him scrunching up his face like a kid who was asked to take his medicine.

    Xiao Zhi Ren iled his hands dramatically as he said, "It¡¯s alright. It doesn¡¯t even hurt anymore."

    "Oh, really?" Even though he found her tone weird, he still nodded. Ru came around the kitchen ind, stood before him and before he could even make sense of anything...

    "Oww!"

    She had pressed hard on his wounded hand. Oh, she couldn¡¯t even tell how much her hand was itching to do it from the time she saw him recklessly breaking a ss in his hand. Ru had always despised the acts of self-harm. And she even hated herself for doing it whenever she lost control of her senses. But he was in his senses. Just because of his jealousy, he hurt himself? How impulsive and impudent!

    Xiao Zhi Ren stared back at her in disbelief. He retracted his hand and blew on it as if it would make a difference.

    "What was that for?" He asked grudgingly.

    "Just had the sudden urge to do it. Why? What are you gonna do about it?" Seeing Ru¡¯s this side, Xiao Zhi Ren was stunned. When had she been unreasonable? Never! Then why was she like this now?

    Naturally, they both knew that Xiao Zhi Ren could really do nothing. Xiao Zhi Ren pressed his lips together in a straight line and really did nothing. Just stood there like a guilty child before picking up the hot tea and drank it in one go.

    Suddenly, Ru held his gauzed d hand and said, "If you dare to be this reckless again, the consequences will be..." She left her words hanging since she hade to have huge faith in Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s imagination skills.

    "Will keep that in mind." Xiao Zhi Ren responded. He wasn¡¯t feeling wronged at all. In fact, he felt her act quite adorable. It meant, she cared.

 Chapter 144 For Being Here

    This little act of care made Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s heart bloom like a flower that had just been caressed by the warmth of the sun. The medicinal tea was really bitter but all he felt was sweetness.

    But when she left his hand he really felt empty as if someone stole a piece of his heart. But his smile didn¡¯t fade away rather it got him a frown from Ru.

    "Why are you smiling?" She asked pensively.

    "It felt good." His ambiguous answer made her frown deeper.

    "The medicine was not bitter?" She inquired to make sure.

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her adorable expression and shook his head saying, "I wasn¡¯t talking about the medicine. I meant your threat... The way you just rebuked me."

    ¡¯That¡¯s a first. When did people start enjoying my threats?¡¯ Ru was rubbing the nape of her neck while she wondered. But she didn¡¯t understand his underlying meaning. He meant he enjoyed the gentleness and care that she was hiding behind those words.

    "If you like it so much. I¡¯ll do it more often. I have the ultimate skill in the threatening department. I have a whole vocabry filled with bitter words." She even cackled at the end of her words, obviously, she was proud of her skills. While Xiao Zhi Ren thought that she must be the only one who can think that threatening is a ¡¯skill¡¯.

    Propping his elbow on the kitchen ind while supporting his face on the heel of his hand, he said, "What about sweet words?"

    "I like eating sweets but I can¡¯t digest sweet words," Ru answered while avoiding his eyes that seemed to be prating into her soul.

    Before Xiao Zhi Ren coulde up with a reply, she ced a te full of osmanthus cake right before him. He was surprised but only because the cake was shaped as bunny heads. They looked so cute that he didn¡¯t have the heart to even eat that.

    "Since you drank that bitter medicine... I¡¯m reluctantly offering you my cake." Ru had a heartbroken look in her eyes. Her reluctance was quite palpable.

    "This is for me?" He asked indecisively.

    Seeing his huge grin, she felt something was wrong here but she couldn¡¯t tell what? "I made it for myself yesterday but I¡¯m offering you some. After all, I¡¯m a good host. Very hospitable"

    Xiao Zhi Ren almost choked on the single bite that he had just taken when he heard about her being ¡¯hospitable¡¯. Who was she kidding here? Certainly, he was not that gullible to believe that she was this hospitable to every one of her guests.

    But disregarding her words, he said, "Well, I¡¯ll just pretend like this was made just for me."

    "Huh?"

    "Nothing. I meant this is really good." He tacitly chose to change his words for her sake.

    That onement was enough to put Ru back on her high horse as she grinned brightly and said, "Of course it¡¯s good. How can it not be? How is it possible that I touched something and it turned out bad? It can never happen!"

    "There we go again..."

    "What did you say?"

    Seeing her fiery gaze, he smiled politely and said, "I was saying you are right. You are good at everything. But let me ask you, can¡¯t you drop this conceited act once in a while?"

    Him calling her conceited couldn¡¯t make her angry. She didn¡¯t feel anything. "I¡¯m afraid if I stopped being conceited, you might run for the hills screaming bloody murder." There was a yfulness in her tone but there was a concealed truth in her eyes.

    "Why don¡¯t you try me?"

    His words shocked her for a second before sheughed it off saying, "You¡¯re funny Zhi." She took a step back to make some distance between them but Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly shot up from his seat and held her elbow. With a twist and pull, shended straight in his arms; against his chest.

    "You!" Ru¡¯s eyes widened and she tried to pull away when he encircled his arms around her back, trapping her arms and held her in ce.

    "Shh... Just hear me out." His cello-like voice right beside her ear made her stop squirming. Taking the cue, he said, "Thank you!"

    "For what?" He heard her muffled voice as her breath fanned his chest making his Adam¡¯s apple bob up and down prominently.

    He took in her sweet yet soft scent and felt like drowning. He wanted to say for giving him a chance to be in her life. But if he did, he was afraid that the one who would be running for the hills would be she. "For everything. Especially, for being here." He felt these ambiguous words won¡¯t do any harm.

 Chapter 145 Cute & Unharmful

    ¡¯Don¡¯t you dare fall for it! Push him away already!¡¯

    Ru was urging herself to push him but her stupid conscience wasn¡¯t listening. As it kept reminding her, ¡¯Let¡¯s stay for a while longer.¡¯

    ¡¯For what?¡¯ She snapped back at her conscience.

    ¡¯To steal some body heat for a cold person like you. Duh!¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly before speaking up, "Can you let go now? Don¡¯t push me over the edge."

    Xiao Zhi Ren tut-tutted as he retracted his arms rather reluctantly. "You should change your passcode. I identally saw it earlier." Ru raised her single brow at him. "Trust me, it wasn¡¯t intentional." Ru didn¡¯t reply. She kept herself busy with collecting the teapot and boiling some water for herself. Not willing to back out, he added, "So, does 0814 has some kind of special meaning? I mean most people use some important dates as their passcodes. Is it your birthday?"

    ¡¯Birthday? Do I have a birthday?¡¯ Ru frowned to herself before changing the topic, "What were you doing at the reception and that too with the ss water bottle?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren understood that she wasn¡¯t willing to answer him. But why? Was his reminder that bad? He shook his ridiculous thoughts away and said, "It wasn¡¯t mine. Yuan left it at the receptionst night. So, the receptionist was passing it to me."

    Ru snorted as she said, "Are you sure, she wasn¡¯t just looking for a chance to strike up a conversation with you?"

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled cheekily as he felt her disdain. Was it jealousy? No way! The rational part of his mind reminded him but he chose to ignore it. ¡¯It¡¯s definitely jealousy!¡¯ If Ru could be the proud peacock, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with him being a bit more imaginative, right? Well, as long as it satisfied him.

    "By the way, what¡¯s up with a ss water bottle? Isn¡¯t it inconvenient to carry them?" She asked after a bit of thinking. At first, she dide up with this question just to avoid his question but now, she was indeed curious.

    "Go and tell Yuan. He¡¯s one of those environmental protectors. He doesn¡¯t like stic bottles since they kill fishes and pollute our environment. ss is more convenient to recycle." Xiao Zhi Ren exined while eating another osmanthus cake.

    It made Ru smile brightly which took Xiao Zhi Ren by surprise.

    "What¡¯s so funny?"

    Ru looked at him and nodded. "Nothing. It¡¯s just that your words reminded me of my brother." Xiao Zhi Ren saw her eyes twinkling brightly as she was reminiscing all by herself. "My little rice-cake is really simr to your brother. Both are trying to protect fishes." She shook her head in amusement.

    Xiao Zhi Ren wanted to question her about her brother but seeing how her expression shifted back to impassive in a blink of an eye, he changed his mind. It was like the earlier smile was just a figment of his imagination. He could see that she missed her brother but why did she act like she didn¡¯t?

    "I never expected that someone like you could actually eat osmanthus cake in the shape of bunnies." He tried to divert her attention.

    "Since I can¡¯t have roasted rabbits, I can only fool myself with these." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly while Xiao Zhi Ren gaped at her with a horrified look on his face.

    "That¡¯s so unfair! Rabbits are so cute and unharmful." Xiao Zhi Ren grumbled.

    "We live in the cycle of predators and preys. There is nothing cute and unharmful when your own life is at stakes. We all are the predators for power until that same power devours us like prey." Taking a moment to take a deep breath, she said, "I think you should leave now. You have an office to go to while I have sleep to catch up on. Apanying Alev Knight is a tiring affair."

    She used Alev Knight¡¯s name to piss him off on purpose and it worked. Xiao Zhi Ren who didn¡¯t have any mood to leave finally made his way out of her ce while grumbling incoherently. But he didn¡¯t forget to scoop up all her osmanthus cake before leaving.

 Chapter 146 Love Storys Villain

    Pushing him out of the door, Ru eventually heaved a sigh of relief. She stood alone before the ss windows and looked over the beautiful scenery outside. Although she had said she was going to catch up on sleep, it wasn¡¯t like she could. Her insomnia was just like her fate; both weren¡¯t in her control at all.

    But how desperately she wanted to control both was only known to her. After Xiao Zhi Ren left, there was no one to make any sound in the big condo. All that was left was herself. At times like these, she realized how lonely she was.

    Using work as her distraction, she chose to spend her day dealing with business. In her opinion, being a billionaire needed hard work but staying a billionaire needed harder work!

    On Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s end, he was really ticked off with Ru¡¯s words. Did she have to bring Alev Knight¡¯s name up? It ruined such a sweet moment of their banter. For him, these small banters were a form of a lovers quarrel. It would only make their bond stronger.

    He dialed a number and as the other person picked up, he said, "Adrian, do you think Alev Knight has a girlfriend?"

    "Cough! Cough! Have you lost your mind early in the morning?" Adrian¡¯s dramatic response came immediately. "And why are you ruining my day by talking about that bastard?"

    "Can¡¯t you simply answer my question?"

    "But I¡¯m not that close to him. I do know that Alev is a smooth-talker and adding his enchanting eyes along with his deadly gorgeous face, he can allure any girl. As for the girlfriend part, I¡¯m not sure."

    Xiao Zhi Ren couldn¡¯t help but nod along. Even though he couldn¡¯t see Alev Knight¡¯s face, what he saw was enough to tell that Alev was an alluring man.

    "You are right. His blue eyes held some kind of charm." Xiao Zhi Ren agreed.

    "Hold on, you met him? And what? Blue eyes?" Adrian almost screeched making Xiao Zhi Ren flinch. "This man is unbelievable. Seriously! People don¡¯t even change clothes as much as he changes his colored lenses. I wonder what is his obsession."

    "You mean blue is not his color?"

    "Who knows! We can only wonder. Anyways, you are such a traitor. Where have you been? You don¡¯t even call anymore." Adrianined.

    "This is my age to look for a girlfriend. I don¡¯t have time to waste on you." Xiao Zhi Ren replied back.

    "What? Girlfriend? Aren¡¯t you obsessed with a girl? The one who rules your dreams and reality." Adrian teased him.

    "She does rule my dreams." Xiao Zhi Ren answered with a sweet smile while reclining back on his chair. "As for reality, it seems like Alev Knight ising between my love story as a viin."

    "Pfft!" With a fit ofughter Adrian added, "You mean, Alev Knight is your love rival? Haha! Why don¡¯t you just give up?"

    "Why? Why should I give up?" Xiao Zhi Ren grew defensive.

    "Because from the moment I have known Alev, he had never lost. As in like never ever!" Adrian answered honestly.

    "I will make him lose this time. For sure!" Xiao Zhi Ren didn¡¯t know whether he was convincing Adrian or himself. Because even he knew that his love life¡¯s biggest obstacle was Ru herself. How was he supposed to move a stone-cold person¡¯s heart? Or precisely, how was supposed to make her believe that she had a heart filled with feelings?

    "Then I¡¯m rooting for you. After all, my life¡¯s goal is to see that narcissistic bastard fall."

    "Narcissistic?"

    "Yeah! Didn¡¯t I tell you before? That jerk is too full of himself!"

    ¡¯She is also full of herself. They both even have that inmon. How am I going to win?¡¯ Xiao Zhi Ren was racking his brain. "You depressed me even more. Go and attend some fundraiser. I¡¯m hanging up!" Before Adrian could ask the reason for his sudden outburst, Xiao Zhi Ren had really hung up the phone.

 Chapter 147 Her Genius Self

    "I heard some conflict is arising in our Mercenary Alliances, pay them a visit personally," Ru ordered over the phone while skimming through the files in her hand.

    "Should I go alone?" Adia¡¯s voice sounded hesitant.

    "Why? Should I send a babysitter with you?" Ru sarcastic retort made Adia shut up immediately. "I¡¯m hanging up. Don¡¯t bother me with briefings. You can discuss the issue with your squad."

    "Will do." Adia¡¯s words were left hanging since the call was already hung up. She stared at the phone screen before shouting, "Impatient much?"

    "Wee back, Master!" Jack¡¯s voice startled Adia as she jumped in fright and even dropped her cellphone.

    "Pfft!"

    Bouts ofughter from around her made her grit her teeth in fury. These jerks actually tricked her! But it wasn¡¯t her fault that her master¡¯s fear was deep-rooted in her soul. She could offend anyone except for her own master unless she had a death wish or worse.

    On Ru¡¯s side, she felt hungry after the whole day of reading contracts and seeing those number sheets. At this point, her mind was spinning so much that she felt like every word before her eyes were just a string of binary codes. She could read it but couldn¡¯tprehend anything anymore.

    "Raven, search the best ce to have Bibimbap(mixed rice)."

    "There is a Korean restaurant five kilometers away from your current location. It has the highest reviews." Raven¡¯s voice echoed in the silent hall.

    "Okay!" Ru shot up from her seat and changed into a pair of sweatpants along with arge hoodie before running out the door.

    Getting her favorite ride out of the parking lot, she happily climbed on it and started paddling. Riding a bicycle for a mere five kilometers was no big deal for her. She could even run longer than that but wasn¡¯t nning on doing so.

    After twenty minutes, she was right outside the restaurant that was named, ¡¯The Kimichi Stop¡¯.

    She thought it was an interesting name. Before she could take another step inside, her cellphone rang. "What is it?" She asked seemingly in an annoyed manner.

    "Oniisan, where are you?" Yuan¡¯s voice came from the other side.

    "I¡¯m in the Sh¨¤nsh¨ª district. Why?" Ru changed her tone to normal. Didn¡¯t want to scare the youngster.

    "Really? I¡¯m also in Sh¨¤nsh¨ª district. Let¡¯s meet up. I¡¯m at the bamboo tea house."

    ¡¯But I¡¯m hungry. And I only want my Bibimbap¡¯s bowl filled with my seasoned vegetables, mushrooms, beef, and much more.¡¯ Ru was whining inside since she was really reluctant to part away from here.

    "Oniisan, are you there?" Yuan didn¡¯t hear a reply for a long moment and had to ask again.

    She huffed like a kid and said, "Fine. I¡¯ll see you in a minute."

    With a heavy heart and even heavier feet, she turned to leave the restaurant. Although those enticing aromas were calling out to her, she had to leave. It didn¡¯t take her long to find the tea house where Yuan was already waiting for her outside.

    "Oniisan! You didn¡¯t even ask about my entrance exam or my finals." He immediately stuck to her like her leg essory.

    "You better have a good reason for calling me here," Ru didn¡¯t reply to him and instead said her own warning.

    Yuan smiled and dragged her along inside the tea house. The tea house was silent and tranquil. Ru could see the bodyguards littered around the entire second floor. When he slid open the door of the private room, Ru saw the person she had least expected.

    Ji Rusheng!

    The elderly man ced his teacup on the table and lifted his eyes to look at Ru. She saw a hint of smile sh in his eyes. "Have a seat young master Rong." Old Master Ji offered and Ru took the seat on the cushion opposite of him. "Have some tea." Since Old Master Ji poured the tea himself, she couldn¡¯t refuse it. It was against her virtues.

    "Grandfather, you can ask Oniisan. He was the one who told me about the four greatest pleasures of life." Yuan¡¯s voice made Ru spurt out the tea that she had yet to swallow.

    "Excuse me!" She wiped her mouth as she gave them an apologetic smile.

    A slight smile could be seen on Old Master Ji¡¯s elderly face as he said, "Oh... It seems young master Rong is quite insightful. Even an old man like me didn¡¯t know that four great pleasures of life are eating, drinking, ying, and enjoying. It¡¯s enlightening."

    Old Master Ji¡¯s sarcastic words brought Ru¡¯s guilt back with full force. She was cursing the time when she chose to spout that nonsense. It was such an insult to her genius self that her intelligence was being questioned now.

 Chapter 148 Loved The Thrill

    Ru was stuck in a predicament. If she said she was lying, she would lose face before Yuan but if she stayed thick-skinned- which she already was- she might lose her right of being proudful before Old Master Ji.

    ¡¯Shuck it, Ru! Pride is the only thing that matters anyway.¡¯ She willed herself while Old Master Ji was looking at her with interest.

    "I think I made a mistake that day, little squirrely." She gave a dryugh as she continued, "The four pleasures of life are ying the lyre, calligraphy, painting, and chess. These are the true values of an aristocratic descendant like yourself." She turned to look at Old Master Ji and asked gingerly, "Am I right, Mr. Ji?"

    Old Master Ji nodded his head and said, "Certainly I¡¯ve heard this version of our true values. But it¡¯s a shame that the new generation doesn¡¯t cherish these values."

    Yuan was frowning by her side. "I do know how to y chess." He said trying to show that he wasn¡¯tpletely clueless.

    "I¡¯m talking about Chinese Chess. Like this..." She pointed at the table where a chessboard was assembled and seemed like someone had left a game in the middle. "Oh look, the ck one is losing." She picked a ck piece and made the next move saying, "Ha! Checkmate!"

    Old Master Ji¡¯s brow quirked up in surprise as he saw how she made him lose the game. Earlier, he was ying the chess with an old friend but that old man left when he saw he was losing as always. But Ru easily changed the whole game. Interesting...

    "It¡¯s no wonder, my wife has been praising you for weeks. Young master Rong is indeed an interesting person. Quite skilled in chess, if I say it humbly." Old Master Ji didn¡¯t bother hiding his appreciative look. As he said earlier, the younger generation was truly forgetting their roots and values. People with Ru¡¯s skills were already scarce.

    "Now, you¡¯re ttering me..." Ru said offhandedly. "I¡¯m quite rough around the edges. It¡¯s been a long time since I yed chess." She could remember the time she yed itst. It was the night before she sneaked out of her n. She had won a game against her grandfather.

    "Oniisan, does learning these four things is very important?" Yuan joined in the conversation from the side after being quiet for a while.

    "Not everyone can be good at everything. So, learning one or two is already considered good enough." Ru replied patiently while Yuan listened attentively.

    Tracing the seam of his cup, Old Master Ji had aplicated gaze. The more he looked at Ru¡¯s behavior, the more he found her familiar. Yuan had stepped out to take a call when he said, "Young Master Rong, do you know you remind me of someone."

    Ru sipped on her tea and asked, "Really? Might I be bold to ask who that person is?"

    "Was." Old Master Ji replied with a bit of heaviness in his voice. "He¡¯s no more."

    "I apologize."

    Old Master Ji shook his head saying, "It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s been a long time anyway." With a distant look, he added, "To be honest, you don¡¯t even look like him. It¡¯s your green eyes and your aura that seems simr to his." To divert the conversation away from those painful memories, he said, "You seem very close to both Yuan and Zhiren."

    "One is my sworn brother and the other is just like my own little brother," Ru answered without even pausing to think.

    "I heard you saw my antique collection. Did you find anything to your liking?"

    Recalling her visit to Ji Mansion, her mind eventually wandered off to that stolen kiss and she smacked herself inwardly. It was not the time to think of such lewd memories. Clearing her throat, she said, "I liked a particr white jade flute. The gold crescent moon dangling from it was certainly very eye-catching."

    "With Young Master Rong¡¯s intelligence, I believe he already knows what it represents." Old Master Ji¡¯s words took her by surprise.

    "I certainly do. What I can¡¯t figure out is why would Xiao family give their prized possession to Ji Family even when there are rumors of both ns being arch-enemies." Ru didn¡¯t bother filtering her words anymore either.

    "Would you like to know?"

    "You think I won¡¯t ask?" She asked with a frown.

    "I told you. You¡¯re simr to an old friend. He loved the thrill. And since you are simr, if I told you the story, your thrill and interest both will be lost." Ru was surprised yet again at how right he was. Was his friend truly that simr to her?

 Chapter 149 Magic & Love

    Ru was indeed intrigued by Old Master Ji¡¯s words. As Yuan had said, her personality had always been entric and that¡¯s why she always acted unexpectedly. But the way Old Master Ji described her passion for the thrill, she was surprised, to say the least.

    Yuan came back to the room and they didn¡¯t bring the earlier topic up at all. Pretending as if the earlier conversation had never happened.

    Watching Yuan pick up a teacup, Ru frowned and held his arm saying, "There is an elder before you. How can you pick up your cup so casually? Don¡¯t you know about the tea etiquettes?"

    "I don¡¯t," Yuan answered honestly.

    Ru felt a headacheing as she faced the innocent youngster. "Looks like I have a lot to discuss with Zhi. How can he be so careless in raising you?" Shaking her head, she added, "Look closely." After that, she spent the next ten minutes demonstrating the proper etiquettes for tea including his posture.

    Yuan looked at her admiration and said, "Oniisan, is there anything you can¡¯t do?"

    "What do you mean?" Ru asked.

    "You are good at fighting, know your way with traditional medicine, have great culinary skills, possess vast knowledge of history. You¡¯re such an insightful person. Don¡¯t you get tired of learning?"

    If there was an ego meter, it would have topped since Ru was basking in all these praises happily.

    But maintaining the image of an eloquent young master, she said, "Little squirrel, knowledge is like an ocean, no matter how much water you take there will always be something new out there to learn. Learning only stops when we end up in a grave since life is a lesson in itself. So, while we are alive we should learn this lesson wisely."

    Old Master Ji who had been silently watching their exchange of words could not hide his astonishment as he looked at that seemingly young man. But his words were definitely not like that of a young man.

    ¡¯Xie Rong... This person is getting even more interesting.¡¯ Old Master Ji thought he might never be able to forget this green-eyed person just like he was yet to forget his oldrade. He wasn¡¯t nning on interrupting them as he could see how Yuan¡¯s eyes were glimmering with curiosity and interest.

    "I have a weird question. Will you answer it?" Ru nodded nonchntly and Yuan went on, "Do you think there is magic in this world?"

    "Sure. There is." Yuan was a bit taken aback since he really wasn¡¯t expecting it all.

    "Okay... Then where is this magic?" He asked after calming himself a bit.

    "It¡¯s right here." Ru poked his chest which made him furrow his brows while she continued, "Magic had always been within us. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be anywhere. Can you feel that rhythmic beat in your chest?"

    "It¡¯s my heartbeat, I surely can feel it."

    "Then why don¡¯t you believe in magic. Isn¡¯t it magical enough that a single heart is holding up your whole body?" Yuan widened his eyes in surprise.

    "But why do people say that love is magical?" he retorted again.

    Ru gave a lopsided grin which seemed bitter as she said, "Love is already a miracle in itself. Certain magic that one can¡¯t exin. Isn¡¯t it weird that the heart is yours but it beats at the rhythm of someone else? That¡¯s love. We can feel it but can¡¯t see it just like magic." But with a sigh, she added softly as if talking to herself, "But magic is also an illusion just like love since bothe to end one day."

    The distracted Yuan might not have heard herst words but the attentive and sharp Old Master Ji heard her clearly. He didn¡¯t know where this green-eyed person popped out from but he was sure that Ru would bring a lot of changes in his family. It was yet to tell whether they¡¯d be good or bad.

    "It¡¯s not early anymore. I should excuse myself now." Old Master Ji turned to Ru and said, "It was nice meeting you again. Let¡¯s y a game of chess sometime?"

    "Sure." Ru agreed readily.

    Then he exchanged some words with his grandson before leaving along with his huge entourage and here Ru thought only Xiao Zhi Ren was a show-off. But even she was clear that being the old Patriarch of Ji Family, Ji Rusheng¡¯s life was indeed in danger and precautions were necessary.

 Chapter 150 Born To Amaze People

    With Old Master Ji¡¯s departure, Ru also got up to leave saying, "Since you don¡¯t have anything else to ask, I¡¯ll leave now. My bibimbap is calling out me." Just at the thought of that hot bowl of mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables, her mouth watered. It was the ultimatefort food! And she needed thatfort right now!

    "Oniisan, I noticed a very weird thing about you," Yuan¡¯s voice halted Ru¡¯s steps and she looked back at him with a frown.

    "I¡¯m weird from the tip of my head to the tip of my toes. Which weirdness did you notice now?"

    Yuan shook his head at her slightly with a small smile before saying, "You seem like a modern person with an old soul." Seeing that Ru didn¡¯t give any reaction, he added, "I mean to say that you really value your old-fashioned way of thinking. And the way you show respect to elders is... strange."

    His words seemed to have hit a mark since Ru couldn¡¯t stop her mind from wandering off to old memories.

    *shback*

    Fifteen-year youth d in ck robes briskly entered an open pavilion where four elderly men were having a discussion.

    "Young Master Ru seems furious. Who dared to offend our Ru?" One of the elderly men in white robes noticed her red-rimmed eyes and remarked.

    "Elder Gu¨¡ng, that stupid best friend of mine said that I am an old-fashioned person. All I talk about is traditions and values. I know nothing about the modern way of thinking." Her aggrieved tone caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    "Aiyo, our Young Master is furious about such a small matter? Isn¡¯t that why we told you to spend more time with young people of your own age? Why do you still have to apany us... old bones?" Another elder in green robes said patiently.

    Ru frowned and turned to him saying, "Elder Y¨©xu¨¦, I am not upset that he called me old-fashioned. I am upset about the fact that he doesn¡¯t understand the true meaning of being modern."

    "And what is the definition of being modern for my grandson?" Hearing her own grandfather¡¯s question, she took a moment to think.

    "Being modern means walking side-by-side with the world you live in but still preserving your root values. After all, one¡¯s origin matters the most." Her words weren¡¯t surprising to any of the elders since they knew her nature well. The only thing one could see on their aged faces was a slight hint of pride which they felt because of her.

    "Our Young Master Ru really doesn¡¯t disappoint. You are worthy of being the pride of our Shadowwick State." A heartyugh could be heard from the fourth elder who had been silently sipping on his tea all this while. "But as our future n leader, remember to never let other¡¯s words define your character. You know best who you are. And if your own conscience is clear, others would never matter."

    Ru thought over their words for a while before nodding her head. She cupped her fist in her hand and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder W¨³sh¨´!"

    These four elders were the reason why she respected the elders oddly well. She seemed to fit in them better than she could do with people of her own age.

    *End of shback*

    It took a while to get out of her reverie and in her daze, she said, "A person who can¡¯t even value his own origin or roots, how can that person face others? To make people believe in you, we have to first believe in ourselves. And if we are going to ept these so-called modern ways while forgetting our own roots, what¡¯d be the difference between us and the world?"

    Although Yuan was used to her unusual way of thinking, he was still stunned. He had never learned anything about his origin or roots. One could say that he didn¡¯t even know what status his own bloodline; Ji Family held in the entire nation. He really was clueless.

    Now, he finally knew how Ru had a vast knowledge and his... was limited even though he was a bookworm himself. The basic difference was she started from her own roots. She learned what she was before learning what world she lived in.

    "You never cease to amaze me..." His soft remark finally broke Ru¡¯s daze.

    She smiled at him and rubbed his head saying with a yful wink, "I was born to amaze people." Yuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at her words. She really couldpliment herself at every chance.

 Chapter 151 Am I A Genie?

    As their earlier heavy mood got a bit lightened, Yuan stretched his arm and nted firmly on Ru¡¯s shoulder. But his closeness didn¡¯t make her want to push him away. Perhaps since she had been trying to find her own brother in him, she really didn¡¯t mind much of his behavior at all.

    However, if this hand on her shoulder would have been of Xiao Zhi Ren then that¡¯d have been an entirely different matter. After all, whenever he came close, Ru¡¯s danger rm would go off. But what she didn¡¯t know was that Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s presence was like a warm summer breeze. He made her feel secure and Ru wasn¡¯t used to being protected. She had been the one protecting herself all this while and the idea of depending on someone else was truly foreign to her.

    "Oniisan, next week is my graduation. Would youe?" Yuan questioned with a bright smile on his face.

    "You are inviting me to your school?" Ru asked while Yuan was confused seeing her glimmering eyes.

    ¡¯What made him so happy? My graduation? Or...¡¯ Yuan kept his thoughts to himself while he asked cautiously, "Oniisan, are you this happy because I¡¯m graduating?"

    "Of course not!" Ru answered straightforwardly. "I¡¯m excited because you invited me to your school."

    "What is so exciting about school?" He really couldn¡¯t understand the reason.

    "I have never seen a high school from inside. So obviously, this is very exciting." Taking a pause she added, "Didn¡¯t I tell you that I was homeschooled my entire life? Although I have an enormous knowledge in my tiny brain, still I have no experience with real school systems."

    Yuan didn¡¯t know whether he should cry orugh at this point. He solemnly turned to Ru and held her shoulders making her face him. "Let me remind you, it¡¯s a ce we can call hell. Students are scheming and full of envy. All they know is how to get good grades. As for real knowledge like yours, nobody cares."

    Ru frowned for a while as she tapped her chin and said, "Are you trying to tell me that my school was better where schemes and envy didn¡¯t exist? And anyway, not everyone can be a genius like me."

    Yuan: "..."

    "Which school was that? How could teenagers not have the drive to exceed others?" Yuan asked in surprise.

    "Who said there was no drive to exceed others? It¡¯s just that when I was young my first lesson was that the root of evil begins with an envious heart. And a scheming person who tries to trample on others and look down on them is nothing more than scum. We are martial artists and our path requires us to walk alone and yet to never forget ourrades."

    Ru said so much that she realized she wasn¡¯t supposed to disclose this much. Perhaps she really was missing home and that¡¯s why she was bbering nonsense.

    "Ahan! You reallye from a martial arts family!" Yuan seemed quite excited at this discovery. He had a hunch but it was never confirmed at least until now.

    Ru rubbed the space between her brows and said, "Is that important?"

    "Yup!" Then he tugged at her arm like a spoiled kid and asked, "Are you like a real-life shinobi?"

    Ru raked her fingers through her thick hair and said, "You can say it like that." She really didn¡¯t know how to curb the curiosity of this youngster who learned all about ninjas and martial arts throughic books and animes.

    Yet she patiently tried to answer his all queries as they both walked towards ¡¯The Kimchi Stop¡¯ restaurant where Ru ordered two bowls of bibimbap along with some side dishes and some ginseng chicken soup.

    "Today, I¡¯ll teach you the art of eating." Yuan looked at the table full of food which indeed looked enticing but he didn¡¯t know how they were supposed to finish this all.

    "Isn¡¯t this too much?" he asked uncertainly.

    "Food is never too much and this will nourish your body. Stop whining like a kid. The first rule of eating is; don¡¯t think, just eat. First, feel the delicious aroma and that¡¯ll be enough to tempt your hunger."

    The way she was describing made Yuan really feel like this wasn¡¯t just-food. It was an art that he had to master. He picked up his chopsticks and slowly started tasting the food before him.

    "You have toe to my graduation." He reminded her again.

    "I will." She promised.

    "And if I got first ce in the entrance exam, you have to grant me a wish. Deal?"

    "Am I a genie?"

    "To me, yes!"

    Ru pressed her lips together before ruffling his hair and saying, "Deal!"

 Chapter 152 Pave My Way To Her Hear

    "Tomorrow is the board meeting. Will you be joining us?" Wu Dishi inquired Ru while he dropped her off at her apartmentplex.

    "Nope. Tomorrow, nobody is allowed to disturb me for anything." Ru naturally didn¡¯t tell him that she was gonna attend high school graduation. And Wu Dishi could only raise his brows in question but didn¡¯t have the guts to question any further.

    "Then I¡¯ll take my leave now..." He silently got back to the car and drove away.

    Ru didn¡¯t go inside the building, instead, she decided to stroll around in the park. While aimlessly walking around, her eyes fell on a familiar figure. Even in the faint light, she could see him clearly. When people get used to their darkness, they often learn to appreciate everything that shines brighter just like HIM.

    Without a care for his expensive tailor-made suit, he was perched down on the grass cross-legged with a frail cat snuggled in hisp while he was holding a box of cat food for her in his hand to eat. This scene was quite unusual but somehow she felt it was befitting his personality.

    She was about to move closer when she heard his light chuckle and stopped.

    "Little kitty, slow down. The food is not running away." He stroked the little kitten¡¯s fur lovingly and added, "You¡¯re just like her. She also puts her fangs out when I touch her food."

    ¡¯Is he talking to a cat?¡¯ Ru wondered to herself while her conscience retorted, ¡¯You talk to yourself, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s worse?¡¯ Ru grumbled incoherently to herself and wondered, ¡¯But who is he talking about?¡¯

    "But I can¡¯t even me her. She sought sce in food. And it even makes her smile contently." With a saddened expression he went on, "Broken hearts like hers tend to smile a lot even though it¡¯s fake. But broken hearts also loves harder than others. So, you should give me some courage. I want her to seek her sce in me passionately."

    "Meow!" The cat miaowed at him with her big green eyes.

    Xiao Zhi Ren rubbed her head and let her off hisp saying, "Thanks for your support. If these green eyes are with me, I¡¯m sure to make that ¡¯self-proimed genius green-eyes¡¯ mine."

    "Meow!" The cat ran behind the bushes after saying her goodbye with that meow.

    "Jiayou(Fighting) to you too!" Xiao Zhi Ren waved at her while shaking his head.

    "I didn¡¯t know that my sworn brother can understand catsnguage. How amazing!" Ru¡¯s voice stunned Xiao Zhi Ren.

    He slowly turned around to see Ru looking at him with a hint of amusement floating in her green eyes. Xiao Zhi Ren wasn¡¯t worried that she would call him crazy for talking to a cat rather he was worried about how much did she hear.

    "Hey, when did you get here?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked feigning his calm demeanor. Inwardly, he was really messed up.

    "Long enough to see that even a cat is your supporter. What charms you have, Zhi! And you called me an enchanter. How unfair to the innocent me!" It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t hear what he said, she just didn¡¯t want to bring that up. She wasn¡¯t that muddle-headed to not understand that she was the one who sought sce in food and she was that other green eyes in his life.

    Scratching his head, he said, "I still believe, my charms are nowhere near a match for yours."

    "Thanks for thepliment!" Ru slightly curtsied making himugh louder and oddly, she felt like that sound was the only thing missing under this beautiful night sky.

    "So, How are you today?" He asked pacing up to her side but after asking this he noticed the way she struggled to keep her lips shut. "Just let it out."

    "How do you think your favorite person can be?" Ru really struggled to keep her conceitedness to a minimum but seriously, it didn¡¯t work.

    But what she didn¡¯t know was that Xiao Zhi Ren was also well-prepared. "Since I¡¯m trying to pave my way to my favorite person¡¯s heart, she¡¯d be doing the same, right?" Ru was caught by surprise at his blunt flirty remark. He was flirting, right? Of course, she was sure! She had flirted with plenty of girls herself but who knew this guy was dangerous! Tapping her forehead, he added, "I almost forgot, she had already paved her way to my heart. It¡¯s my turn now." With that, he skipped his way ahead leaving her stunned.

 Chapter 153 The Taste Of Your Lips

    When was thest time someone made Ru speechless... Hmm... That was indeed an interesting question.

    But it surely wasn¡¯t the first time. However, it could be called the second time that a guy managed to stun her with his words.

    But thest one was the memory of a person she never got to see. But the memory might not be as clear to her as it was to Xiao Zhi Ren himself.

    *shback*

    "I heard from the doctor that you¡¯re making a speedy recovery. Even he is surprised." He had said as he entered the room.

    "Why are you here?" She asked without giving any reaction.

    He looked at her for a while before replying, "Because you are here."

    "You should do what you really wanna do. Stop wasting your time in the hospital."

    He rolled his eyes at her and said, "No. I don¡¯t want to."

    "And why is that?" She couldn¡¯t understand herself why she was insisting on this argument but she couldn¡¯t stop herself.

    "Because I am already doing what I love to do." He answered softly while she felt his presence closer to herself.

    "What is that?" She asked curiously.

    His peppermint breath brushed past her cheek as he whispered, "Being here with you."

    Although he couldn¡¯t possibly see her expression because off the excessive wounds on her face, he still knew that she was stunned because she didn¡¯t bother saying a word after that and pretended to sleep.

    *End of shback*

    Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at that beautiful memory and turned to see Ru still frozen stuck where he left her. Now that he noticed... He realized she was really adorable with that speechless look on her face.

    "Aren¡¯t youing?" His voice brought Ru back to her senses.

    Ru shook her head to calm herself again and joined him while they walked together towards the apartmentplex.

    "Didn¡¯t take you for a cats person..." Ru casually remarked to get over the turmoil running amok in her heart.

    "That¡¯s a stray cat, I found herst week. She was quite weak. I wanted to take her home but Yuan is allergic to cats. So, I could only do this much." He exined seriously.

    "And then he says I¡¯m not a saint," Ru mumbled to herself.

    "What did you say?"

    "I said you could have taken her to a shelter." Ru tacitly changed her words.

    "And why would I take her freedom from her? She seems happy in this wilderness. And who knows if she¡¯d get a good home or not?" Seeing him getting all sentimental, Ru was really amused.

    "You and your obsession with saving lives."

    "If I remember correctly, I saved your life as well; right on this very road." Xiao Zhi Ren replied cheekily.

    "And I gave you a wish in return." She retorted.

    "Since you like traditions so much..." He abruptly stopped while turning her to face him and went on, "I heard there is a saying that one should pay the debt of saving a life with one¡¯s body. How about devoting yours to me?"

    Ru choked on air and started coughing profusely. He rubbed her back to soothe her while Ru hadplicated emotions. ¡¯What¡¯s wrong with him? Wasn¡¯t he introvert in flirting? When did a fox¡¯s spirit take over him?¡¯

    Ru took a step back and said, "Something is seriously wrong with you tonight."

    "There is..." He replied while taking a step towards her.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" She asked on instinctively.

    "I am happy."

    "Why?"

    Gripping both her arms in his own, he pulled her close. Their faces were barely inches away from each other. "You are here. That¡¯s enough to make me happy."

    Ru knew she was supposed to struggle out of his grip but why wasn¡¯t her body moving. She was supposed to, right?

    Giving a dryugh, she said, "Having a sworn brother like me can make anyone happy."

    Xiao Zhiren leaned forward just enough to let the tips of their nose touch but this slight touch was like a scorching heat that spread not just in their bodies but also in their surroundings giving an ambiguous view.

    "I have been wondering whether your lips taste as good as they look..." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared back into his eyes that were right in front of her... So up close. "But it¡¯s a shame we wouldn¡¯t find out since you are my SWORN BROTHER." He emphasized thest two words on purpose before letting his grip loose and stepping back.

    Nothing happened. It seemed like that for anyone. But only Ru and Xiao Zhiren knew what this small interaction did. For Xiao Zhiren, he finally took another step forward and not like a thief this time. For Ru, he was making their bond unclear.

 Chapter 154 Depressing Dressing Sense

    Just as Ru¡¯s previous belief, Xiao Zhi Ren seemed dangerous... At least, for her heart. But would she let him see her moment of doubt? No way! No matter what young master Ru only knows how to strike back.

    He had a satisfied smile on his face when Ru came to his side and started pacing around him in a circle with a pensive look. Her sharp eyes were scrutinizing him from head to toe making him feel a bit strange.

    "What are you doing? Stop circling around me, you are making me dizzy." Xiao Zhi Ren stopped her from moving.

    Instead of answering him, she lifted her hand to touch his forehead as if checking his temperature. Then she moved to take his pulse and shook her head as if his condition seemed not very optimistic to her. Her hands had wandered off to check his ear, his arms, she even pulled his hair making him gape in disbelief at her... One could say she was inspecting his body to see what was wrong with him. But her style was peculiar like herself.

    Xiao Zhi Ren was silently enjoying her every expression. When he saw her staring at his face steadfastly, he said, "I know I am handsome but you don¡¯t have to stare for this long."

    Suddenly, her eyes shed as she pointed at him, "Something has gotten into you."

    "Oh, really?"

    "Yes! Definitely! I can see it in your eyes."

    "What can you see?" He questioned with an impish grin.

    "That glint of self-obsession." She retorted matter-of-factly.

    "How weird! I thought I only had you in my eyes." His face was straight with no-nonsense attitude making Ru feel like there was really a wild fox who took hold of his soul. "It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t have me in your eyes... Yet..."

    Her eyes twitched as she really was lost for words for a second but she chose to disregard his remarks yet again and insisted, "I can¡¯t be wrong. I see the same self-obsession in my own eyes every single day."

    Now, Xiao Zhi Ren was looking at her disbelievingly. How can a person unt his own narcissism with pride and yet not give off the feeling of being obnoxious? He thought only she was capable of doing that.

    Rubbing her fluffy hair and while ignoring her scowl, he said, "Then I can only me you for that. Your conceitedness has finally managed to influence me as well."

    Shirking all the me on her shoulders, he even dared to grin before her. How I want to punch that pretty face of yours! Ru growled inwardly but then thought against it. It¡¯d be a pity to ruin such a handsome face.

    It was true that they were still bickering but somehow something changed. Xiao Zhi Ren knew that to make her notice him, he would have to be like her; shameless! And oddly shamelessly flirting like this with her was actually more exciting than he thought. How he loved her reactions, he couldn¡¯t even describe in words.

    "I heard Yuan invited you to his graduation..." He casually said while entering through the electronic ss doors of theplex.

    "Yes. He did."

    "You¡¯reing?"

    "Mhmm." She hummed in reply.

    "Wear something nice to look presentable." Ru¡¯s jaw dropped at his parting words. Was he implying that she was not handsome enough? How dare he!

    "I always look remarkably handsome. Don¡¯t need your reminder!" She shouted behind him. "You¡¯re just jealous of my charms."

    Without even turning to face her, he yelled back, "I won¡¯t be jealous of your depressing dressing sense."

    ¡¯Depressing? Dressing sense?¡¯ Those words rang in her mind like a broken record as she kept ring at his disappearing back. ¡¯When did her impable dressing sense turned into a depressing one? This is an insult! And I won¡¯t take it lying down!¡¯

 Chapter 155 To Impress Or Depress?

    No one had ever dared toment on her dressing sense and yet here he was telling her she had a depressing dressing sense. It was indirectly his way of telling her that she was depressed and it showed in the way she presented herself. It didn¡¯t matter even if her dark clothing senses gave off a mysterious charm. It really couldn¡¯t hide her feelings.

    The reason why she started wearing ck was very different but now... It could be said that she really was depressed or perhaps, just wanted to hide her own dark soul behind her dark clothes. People have a misconception about depression. They think depression means being sad, crying all alone or dressing in ck clothes.

    What they don¡¯t realize is that being depressed actually is nothing like that. Being depressed means feeling numb... To every single emotion.

    Coming back to her own apartment, she went straight to her closet and as she walked in, all that came before her; was ck shirts, ck pants, ck jeans, ck cargo pants. Any variation in there would be a slight grey colored clothing which was actually nothing worth mentioning.

    But as she turned to look around, she saw rows of shoes neatly aligned in racks. There were ss racks with an even bigger collection of watches that looked beautiful to her. She might not be a fan of wearing watches but she certainly loved to collect them. But today, her closet looked nd to her. She had the urge to bang her head against the wall.

    She spent barely fifteen minutes in her closet and yet this could be a record-breaking moment for her. She had never taken this long to choose her clothes before. Ever!

    Scratching the tip of her nose she walked out of there and suddenly the thought of Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s nose against hers prated through her mind. She immediately dropped her hand and looked for her cellphone. Stupid flirt! He is getting to my head.

    The first person that she called was... "Wu Dishi, I have to go somewhere tomorrow. Get me some new clothes."

    "Should I get a formal suit for you, master?" His answer made her already spoiled mood much worse.

    "Just forget it!" She directly hung up the phone. Why was it that this wanker always brought formal suits for her to wear? She might dressed depressingly but at least she wasn¡¯t dressed like a middle-aged man like him! He was infuriating sometimes.

    She scrolled through her contacts but couldn¡¯t decide who to call.

    "Raven, who loves to shop?" She suddenly decided to consult her own virtual assistant.

    "Girls do." Raven¡¯s answer was generic but it still made Ru¡¯s eyes sh with an idea.

    In her circle, there were barely any girls. But she decided to try her luck. She dialed the number at the top of her list and as the other person picked up, she shot out her question, "Adia, get your arse out of bed and find me some clothes."

    "Clothes?" She looked at the clock to see it was almost midnight and continued, "Right now?"

    "Why? You can¡¯t?" Ru¡¯s calm tone scared her so much that she immediately jumped out of bed.

    "I am right at your service, master. But... What kind of clothes are we talking about here? I mean, what¡¯s the asion?" Adia questioned gingerly while putting on her shoes.

    "Why are you asking me? If I had the slightest clue would I be calling you?"

    Adia was speechless. How was she supposed to know what her entric master was looking for? It was really a talent to understand Ru. "Then... Are you dressing to impress?"

    Ru furrowed her brows as she thought and said, "Nope. I¡¯m gonna dress to depress." An evil smile made its way on her face. And while Adia was trying toprehend her words, Ru added, "Choose something so impable that it makes others depress to see this lord¡¯s handsomeness."

    Adia¡¯s lips twitched while she rolled her eyes. "I will certainly make you look so good that people will hate themselves." And it won¡¯t take much. If your gorgeous face doesn¡¯t work, your deadly eyes have their own charm. She kept her thoughts to herself though to not let her already self-obsessed master feel even more conceited.

    "That sounds better," Ru answered cheerfully.

 Chapter 156 Steal My Thunder

    The graduation ceremony was about to begin and Yuan¡¯s eyes were stuck at the main gate. But he felt like his neck was going to get stiff but the people he was waiting for weren¡¯ting. With each passing second, his mood was getting worse.

    "Hey, grumpy uncle!" Zhang Han teased him from the side.

    Yuan gave a chilly look to him in response and he raised his hands in defense. "Just kidding! No need to get your knickers in a twist." He silently stood by his side since his own parents wereing anyway. Zhang Han¡¯s own mother was dead while his father was mostly busy with his new family and that¡¯s why Zhang Han lived with his maternal family which was Ji Family.

    And since he didn¡¯t want to make a huge scene here, he asked every single person to stay away from his graduation. Even if a single Ji Family member showed up, he¡¯d really get tired of the attention.

    On the stage, the head-teacher asked the senior ss to take their seats.

    And while everyone was going to take their seats, Yuan also decided to move inside the school. He¡¯d been waiting at the main gate for a long time. Suddenly, a Bentley was parked outside the school and a tall figure emerged d in Khaki Trousers with a white shirt while the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. There was a deep green tie- almost ck- hung loosely around the cor which matched with his ck oxford dress shoes.

    "Your brother is here," Zhang Han nudged Yuan who turned to see his elder brother. Xiao Zhi Ren had a professional sternness on his handsome face but as his eyes fell on Yuan from afar, instantly a gentleness could be seen in his pair of ck orbs.

    Before he could make his way inside, the sound of loud revving could be heard as the two speeding sports cars parked right beside him.

    From the red convertible on his right side came out the cheery and yful face of his own brother, Ji Syaoran. He was wearing casual ripped jeans along with a ck and white striped t-shirt and he matched it with a ck zer and his white converse.

    While Zhiren looked like a responsible person, Ran Zi was like a yboy.

    "What are you doing here?" Xiao Zhi Ren asked.

    "My brother and my nephew are graduating. I had toe like a responsible elder." Ran Zi answered with a huge grin.

    "Which you are not." The remark came from Xiao Zhi Ren but it was mixed along with another voice that came from behind them.

    And now that they both noticed, they saw that the blue sports car on the left side of Zhiren also had a familiar face in it.

    While raking her fingers through her untamed hair, Ru came to stand beside both of them with a lopsided grin stered on her face.

    Both brothers couldn¡¯t help but give her a once over as she casually took off her sunsses. Her long legs were wrapped in skinny fit ivy chinos with a skinny fit white button-up shirt which had hints of sky blue patterns. The shirt was half-tucked while giving a perfect view of her leather belt which matched her Tan dress boots.

    The top two buttons of her shirt were undone giving a clear view of her prominent cor-bones. Xiao Zhi Ren¡¯s eyes darkened at the sight.

    "I think we should move inside." She said to both of them while she was rolling her sleeves a bit to unt her watch. "Did I dazzled you with my handsomeness?" She whispered especially close to Xiao Zhi Ren before making her way inside the school gates.

    While the three of them walked side by side with Ru being in the middle; they really were a sight to bedazzle anyone. Ru¡¯s reckless mboyance with that emerald stud on her right earlobe was aplete contrast with others beside her. And yet, her free and unrestrained aura couldn¡¯t overshadow her noble air.

    Both Zhang Han and Yuan could only gape at this sight while these ¡¯two and a half men¡¯ created a huge stir. A half men would be our Ru who was only disguised as one.

    "Button up your shirt," Xiao Zhiren said leaning towards Ru.

    "Don¡¯t want to." She answered inly making him gnash his teeth in annoyance.

    "Rong is hell-bent on stealing my thunder. What a shame!" Ru turned to Ran Zi who wasining.

    "It¡¯s Yuan¡¯s day. Not ours. Also, I don¡¯t have to steal your thunder, mine alone is far enough." Her haughty remark ended with a grin which was directed towards Yuan as she hugged him, "Let¡¯s get your medals. Fighting!"

    Yuan nodded and reciprocated her gesture, "Fighting!"

 Chapter 157 My Girl

    During the whole graduation ceremony, they caught a lot of unwanted attention whether it was Zhiren, Ran Zi or Ru. They had suddenly be a topic of discussion for many.

    And the school results weren¡¯t surprising at all. Yuan had indeed gotten the award for the top student and even topped his entrance exam in the whole capital. Because of that when he was called on stage to collect his certificate and medal, Ru not only stood up to p for him, she even dared to blow a loud whistle for him.

    Xiao Zhiren had to pull that excited bunny down before he could knock some sense into her but seeing her glimmering eyes, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything at all. He knew she was wanton but didn¡¯t her charms lied in that? He really couldn¡¯tin.

    While Yuan was the first, Zhang Han was pushed to second but he wasn¡¯t the oneining since he had other achievements to unt proudly. He was the ss president and also a member of different clubs. It had given him a huge advantage.

    After the long ceremony, they hurried over to Yuan and Zhang Han.

    "Congrattions to both of you!"

    Yuan and Zhang Hanughed happily since it was the end of high school life while they talked casually with each other.

    "We should have a celebration." Obviously, the idea came from the ever-ready party fanatic, Ran Zi.

    "Can¡¯t you think of anything else?" Zhiren pped the back of his head. Ran Zi scowled but still shook his head in negation.

    "Does celebration means a lot of free food?" Zhiren rolled his eyes at Ru while the others burst outughing.

    "Great! One is looking for a celebration to get a reason to drink and the other for free food. I¡¯m really stuck between one hell of people."

    Both Yuan and Zhang Han silently chuckled while Ru and Ran Zi shared a look before shrugging their shoulder in nonchnce.

    "Oi! Little squirrel, your girlfriend ising." Ru nudged Yuan towards the petite girl who was walking toward them.

    Seeing her, Yuan scrunched up his nose and said, "Neither is she my girlfriend and nor am I interested in her. She¡¯s Han¡¯s love interest."

    Feeling curious gazes on himself, Zhang Han rubbed his forehead saying, "I have decided to stay celibate for a lifetime. So, no love interest at all." His denial made the already curious gazes even more eager.

    "Let¡¯s get out of here before she catches up with us," Yuan started dragging them away since he really didn¡¯t want to have any interaction with Shen Yue. She was the reason Zhang Han and he got into a fight and became acquainted before bing best friends. But since Zhang Han was interested in her at first and she was looking for Yuan, both of them had a tacit decision to mutually avoid her.

    Listening to their exnation while leaving the school grounds, Ru said, "That¡¯s a smart move. A girl who makes you fight with your friend is really not worth it."

    "Stop misguiding youngsters." Zhiren¡¯s stern voice came from behind and Ru turned her face to stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

    "I¡¯m certainly not misguiding them. I¡¯m just warning them to be beware of girls with alternative motives. Also, they are too young to get into a rtionship. I mean look at us. Aren¡¯t we still wandering alone?" Ru¡¯s remark got both youngsters to give these three people some weird looks.

    "Talk about yourself... I¡¯m in the process of chasing my girl." Zhiren answered as if it was the most normal thing to say. While Ru¡¯s step halted before sheposed herself at, ¡¯My girl¡¯. Like, seriously? When did she be his?

    "Bro, are you serious?" Both Ran Zi and Yuan inquired simultaneously with disbelief clearly visible on their faces. Because they were the ones most clear about Zhiren¡¯s non-existing love life.

    "Both of you don¡¯t need to know." Zhiren conveniently waved them off and alighted his car. Rolling down his window pane, he asked, "Yuan, are youing with me?"

    Yuan shook his head without hesitation and said, "I¡¯m joining Oniisan."

    "Okay, then Han ising with me and Xiao Hong will be joining us at the venue." Ran Zi stated as he beckoned Han.

    While everyone got in their own respective cars, Ran Zi horned to get Ru¡¯s attention and said, "How about a race?"

    "Heh! Don¡¯t cryter." Saying that she winked at him before pushing her sunsses up her nose bridge.

    And that¡¯s how both the sports car revved on the road like a leopard after its prey. Only Xiao Zhiren was left out of the game but he was fine with it. Someone was needed to pray for those two reckless drivers.

 Chapter 158 Crush & First Love

    Zhiren naturally had faith in both Ru and Ran Zi but how could he possibly not know about their reckless obsession for winning. That is why he was restless until he reached the clubhouse.

    "Who won?" He inquired first hand as he saw Ru and Ran Zi giving each other a high five.

    "Is it not obvious?" Ru chirped while wiggling her brows at him.

    Xiao Zhiren thought he really was asking a dumb question. How could she let anyone win? Shaking his head, he entered the clubhouse and walked straight to the private hall they had booked already.

    However, Ru didn¡¯t follow them inside immediately. She received a call and stayed out. Although she had asked Wu Dishi to not contact her, the Knight Empire still needed her for some decision. She spent quite a bit of time outside the club before joining others.

    Ran Zi was really a party fanatic since the room was filled with food and liquor when she got there. And seeing the way how he had begun to drink already, she realized he really was into alcohol.

    "How about a drink, Rong?" Ran Zi offered.

    "If you insist, then I¡¯ll take Baiju." Ru didn¡¯t feel like turning him down. It was a celebration anyway and alcohol was a must.

    "Where is your sister?" She asked while taking a sip of her drink.

    "Xiao Hong ising from France. Her flight must have been dyed." Shrugging his shoulder nonchntly he added, "She¡¯ll be here though."

    She sat down in a corner to reply to some emails as she zoned out everything around her whether it was chatter or the loud music yed by the youngsters.

    But in her distraction, she also didn¡¯t realize how many sses of Baiju she had gulped down. Only Zhiren noticed her speed of emptying the alcohol as if she was drinking water.

    "Oniisan, let¡¯s y with us." As Yuan specifically tapped her shoulder, she finally looked up from her screen and smiled at Yuan. She couldn¡¯t possibly say no to him.

    "What¡¯s the game?" She asked curiously.

    "The game of truth and dare." Zhang Han jutted in.

    "Huh? Isn¡¯t that boring?" Ru voiced out her displeasure softly. "How do we y it?" She asked.

    She was then enlightened by the rules of one of the most childish games of her life. It was simple. Each had to pick three cards out of the deck and the person with the lowest card value will be asked a question or given a dare by the person with the highest card value.

    In the first round of the game, Yuan was the one with the lowest card values while Ran Zi had the highest number. Oddly, in her own first try, she became the one with the lowest card value while Yuan was the king.

    "So, my question is simple... Oniisan, are you single or taken?" Yuan asked with a sly smile while Ru gave him a slightly dazed look.

    "Who cares? I¡¯m awesome anyway!" Ru answered cheekily making them burst outughing.

    "Someone knows how to y this game." Ran Zi remarked as he gave Ru a fleeting nce.

    In the next round, she was again stuck with the lowest number and wondered, was her luck really this bad? Was it just bad luck? Or she really didn¡¯t understand this simple game?

    This time though she was stuck with Ran Zi.

    "Rong..."

    "Yes..."

    "Hmm..." He thought long and hard before saying, "Call your crush and express your love to her."

    Xiao Zhiren coughed a bit.

    Ru thought and extended her hand saying, "Give me your phone." Ran Zi didn¡¯t know what she was up to but he still passed his cellphone. She typed something and waited. After a while, she passed the phone back saying, "My crush is not picking up."

    "Didn¡¯t you just called yourself?" Zhiren was the one who pointed this fact out since he knew her best.

    Ru smiled shamelessly and said, "With this gorgeous face, why would I have any other crush? Self-love is the most important one. Naturally, I am my own crush and first love."

    Ran Zi¡¯s lips twitched while Zhiren shook his head at her. This proud peacock was always ready to show off his narcissism. Can¡¯t she stop for once?

    Ignoring her, the resumed the game. The highest one was again Ran Zi and he asked Xiao Zhiren, "If the girl you love had been here, what would you say to her?"

    Unconsciously, Ru¡¯s eyes shifted to his face only to realize he was staring back at her intently. With a brief pause, Zhiren answered, "I would ask her to start smiling. Because she is my reason to smile and it hurts when she puts on a facade of happiness."

 Chapter 159 Vicious Ru

    Ru was already looking at him with a thoughtful look on her face and somehow, Zhiren knew that she was aware of who he was talking about. Maybe that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t stop at just that and went on, "I would tell her that I know she likes to keep everything inside because she doesn¡¯t want to hurt others but she should stop destroying herself with that pain as well."

    His honest and heartfelt words moved everyone in the room and Ru wasn¡¯t an exception except she didn¡¯t know how to answer him.

    "Bro, what kind of a person is your crush?" Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ask as he felt that his brother was acting weird.

    "She isn¡¯t my crush. She¡¯s the love of my life. As for what kind of a person she is... She is a damaged person." His eyes were still stuck on Ru¡¯s impassive face while she kept drinking but this time, she had changed her preferences to the soju that was ced before her.

    After gulping down a bottle of soju without a break, she suddenlyughed changing the room¡¯s heavy atmosphere. "Zhi Hyung, beware of damaged people."

    "And why is that so?" Zhiren asked as he stared at her intently.

    She gave a bitter smile while her eyes dimmed a bit. "Because damaged people are dangerous... They have already built homes in hell and people like you might be burnt in the mes of their personal hell before you could even touch their shadow."

    The silence in the room was growing thicker and there wasn¡¯t a slight change in Zhiren¡¯s expression as he said, "Or perhaps damaged people are just hiding behind a facade."

    Ru definitely didn¡¯t agree with him and retorted, "If the facade is worn for too long, eventually it makes it difficult to differentiate between reality and masks."

    Zhiren took a deep breath to calm himself as he wasn¡¯t nning on arguing and said, "It doesn¡¯t matter. There are feelings that can bring the best of a person out. For instance, love."

    Ru scoffed at him saying, "The story of an antagonist always begins with her/his love for the wrong person."

    This time, Zhiren wasn¡¯t nning on taking it lying down. "But if the love is real, it¡¯s worth all the fights and obstacles. Because it can heal every single scar and pain."

    Ru snorted again, "Even fake love leaves behind a real pain, how can real love be any better?"

    The other people in the room realized that this argument was getting intense. It was as if both of them were hell-bent on proving their own point. In reality, Ru could agree with each word he said but would she really do that? She wasn¡¯t nning on doing so. If he was getting good at flirting with his sweet words, she was still Ru who knew how to cut a person with her harsh words.

    Coughing awkwardly to release the tension in the room, Ran Zi tried to joke, "Rong, you really have some violent attacks." He had never seen anyone snubbing his elder brother like that before. It was like Ru was his match in words.

    "Violent?" Ru didn¡¯t like that word for some reason. "Get your facts clear, I¡¯m vicious... And that¡¯s my most amazing personality trait."

    Ran Zi couldn¡¯t possibly argue with that at this point. So, he turned to Zhiren and said, "Bro, I can see you¡¯re head over heels in love. That¡¯s too much love right there in your eyes."

    Before Zhiren could say anything, Ru cut in again, "Too much is never good for health. Because that too much eventually hurts you so much that it¡¯s beyond your imagination."

    Ran Zi saw the way Zhiren¡¯s eyes were getting darker and wanted to either knock his own head or shut Ru¡¯s vicious tongue. Why was she provoking Zhiren, none of them could tell.

    Ran Zi didn¡¯t dare to even breathe loudly in fear that he would make his brother even angrier while Zhiren had closed his eyes to calm himself. He was trying hard to stop her words from getting to him. He won¡¯t let her negative mind ruin his beliefs. Never! Because if he had the slightest doubt in himself, he won¡¯t be able to get her ever in his life. And that was exactly the game what Ru was ying with him.

    She was testing his willpower. His beliefs. Most importantly, his self proimed love for her.

    Unclenching his fists, Zhiren opened his eyes that looked tranquil like water and said, "Even if she left me sad and heartbroken, I believe she¡¯d still be able to make me smile." With that, he shed a beautiful smile towards her.

    Ru pressed her lips together but stayed quiet.

 Chapter 160 Nice Meeting You

    Not wanting to stay inside to argue any further, Ru shot up from her seat and excused herself for a while. After a moment of thinking, Xiao Zhiren followed her out to the corridor.

    She was pacing in the corridor with her face hidden behind thick smoke. As she lifted her hand to bit the cigarette again, Xiao Zhiren watched herzy movements as if there was a huge storm behind her calm face.

    "What was that?" Hearing his voice, Ru lifted her eyes a bit to see his gloomy face.

    "What was what?" She feigned ignorance with a nonchnt smile.

    "What you just did inside?" He added.

    "I did something inside? Why can¡¯t I remember it?" Ru gave a thoughtful look while stubbing her cigarette in her hand and throwing it straight to the wastebin at the side.

    Xiao Zhiren red at her saying, "Stop pretending. You argued with me on purpose."

    "Of course, I did." She didn¡¯t bother denying it at all. "But did I say something wrong?"

    "What you said was right for you but what I said will always stay right to me." She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her again saying, "You better stop it."

    "Stop what exactly?" She asked.

    "Stop trying to push me away!" His voice had raised a bit while stared intently at her to see her eyes widening up a bit before getting back their usual luster. Seeing how she stepped back a bit from him, he felt disappointed and changed his words, "I mean, stop trying to push everyone away with your vicious tongue. These word games will get you nowhere except for a ce called loneliness."

    "Game of words?" She mumbled to herself. "Every person have a reason behind why they are ying the game." Sighing heavily, she went on, "Besides, I just wanted you to know that the worst paines with the love that you can¡¯t have. Don¡¯t push yourself towards such pain, it will leave behind a storm of tears."

    This time Xiao Zhiren scoffed at her words. "Tears of pain, regret or sadness... All of them hurt but the ones which are never shed... They are the worst because they are capable of eroding our souls."

    His words were surely a straight taunt to her. She didn¡¯t shed tears but was it her fault? She didn¡¯t even know the emotions that could bring the tears. Pain? She got used to it long ago. Regrets? She didn¡¯t like having such useless emotions. As for sadness? What really was sadness?

    Looking into her green eyes brimming with confusion, he added, "I honestly don¡¯t know how long you had been hearing things. But don¡¯t you think, it¡¯s time to start listening with care. Give up on existing already and give yourself a chance to live instead. What you look at can¡¯t always be true. So, start seeing..." ¡¯I want you to see me. Offering you the love that you need.¡¯ With a heavy heart, he added, "And if you can¡¯t see, try feeling." ¡¯All my feelings are for you anyway.¡¯

    She felt her heart beating a bit faster than it usually did. What was wrong? She was perplexed while her conscience had to remind her, ¡¯You closed your eyes, not wanting to see his passionate gaze. You even closed your ears to avoid his sincere words. But how are you going to close to your heart to keep his feelings at bay? That¡¯s the one thing you can¡¯t possibly rule over.¡¯

    "You¡¯re talking like you¡¯ve lived through my life," Ru mumbled softly barely audible.

    "I know you think that I don¡¯t understand you but don¡¯t you think that you also don¡¯t understand me at all? We both have the right to have opinions about each other but is it necessary to build a wall all over again between us just so that we could keep our bubble of opinions from bursting?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words quietened her up, unexpectedly. "Words cut deeper than knives. Stop using them so carelessly."

    As he turned to leave, he heard herugh and faced her again. She stretched her hand out to him and said, "It¡¯s nice to meet you, Xiao Zhiren." The way she said his full name stunned him. Wasn¡¯t it the first time, she actually called his full name? "It¡¯s really nice meeting you." She added again since she realized, it was possibly the first time someone actually dared to lecture her like this.

    Xiao Zhiren skeptically lifted his hand to shake hers but suddenly her face turned white like paper as she stared behind him in disbelief. Her eyes were about to pop out of her sockets.

 Chapter 161 Big & Warm Hug

    The person behind Xiao Zhiren also noticed her presence; he seemed stunned for a split second. Instinctively, Ru shrank and took Zhiren¡¯s well-proportioned body as a shield.

    "Bloody son of a bachelor! What the bloody hell is he doing here?" She whisper-screamed to herself with agitation.

    It was rare for Zhiren to see her swearing. She usually had an eloquent way of speaking.

    Through the ss walls along the sides of the corridor, she could see his figureing close in curiosity and without even thinking, she held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s cor and moved him along to the wall. The posture was ambiguous since she had her back pressed against the wall and Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body was towering above hers. That left little to the imagination for onlookers and the person who was making his way towards her also halted in his steps.

    There was certainly no way his Ru¡¯er would be willing to have this close physical body contact with others. A certain person was thinking while retracting his steps to leave them alone. However, at the end of the corridor, he halted again. But was he really mistaking?

    Suddenly, Ru¡¯s phone vibrated and without even looking at the caller id, she said, "Bloody bastard! Just go already, why are you calling me now?"

    "How do you know who¡¯s calling?" Xiao Zhiren questioned curiously. Although she had dragged him along and was still clutching his cor, he definitely wasn¡¯t the oneining. Why would he? She was willingly so close to him that he could smell a hint of lemon and jasmine on her neck. That was one bittersweetbination but it still managed to overwhelm his rationality.

    She slight nudged him while rummaging her phone out and coughed slightly as she picked up the call, "Long time no see, JieJie!" Hearing that familiar feminine voice, Xiao Zhiren was left even more stunned than he already was. How the hell did she do it? Hold on, the main point is, who is JieJie?

    "Ru¡¯er, where are you?" The question was the first thing that came as she had expected. What she didn¡¯t expect was seeing Zhu Jie here in this clubhouse. And it shocked her so much that she decided to hide. If he knew she was in China for months without telling him, he¡¯ll certainly won¡¯t let her live in peace.

    "Guess?" She tried being over-smart with him as always.

    "Don¡¯t want to." He answered inly while his eyes were still stuck on the pair of men stuck close to each other in the corridor.

    "How mean, JieJie! I had been in your dreams and yet you don¡¯t care to admit?" Zhu Jie¡¯s mouth twitched at her words while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s heart stopped beating for a millisecond.

    "I¡¯m in no mood of joking, Ru¡¯er!" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice turned sharper making Ru want to curse him for reading through her tricks. This best friend was certainly not easy to fool.

    "Okay, I¡¯m in Zurich. Why? Can I help you with something?" Ru lied straight through her teeth while she had crossed her pointer over the middle finger of the left hand.

    Zhu Jie stayed silent for a moment before saying, "Forget it. Tell me, how are you?"

    Ru heaved a sigh of relief as she felt that she survived through his initial attacks. "Well, Zurich is a bit cold. So, why don¡¯t youe over to give me a big and warm hug? I¡¯ll be fine instantly."

    She really had no clue that her human shield was turning colder with each passing second.

    "I¡¯d love to give you a big and warm hug but I can¡¯t. I¡¯m stuck in Imperial Capital." Zhu Jie replied with a smile. It was rare seeing his best friend acting in a cheeky manner.

    "Why are you in Imperial?" She tried to sound casual as much as possible.

    "Have you forgotten? The Zhu Family lives in Imperial." Ru nodded as she suddenly thought how foolish her question was. "Anyway, what are you up to?"

    "I¡¯m busy." She replied solemnly.

    "Oh, with what? And what about that lover boy of yours?"

    "You can say, I¡¯m busy trying to add that lover boy in my to-DO list." Her suggestive tone andplicated gaze were directed towards Zhiren who was busy brooding over his own thoughts.

    Wasn¡¯t Alev Knight enough ofpetition for him? Where was this personing from? With the voice and tone that she used for him was really full of love and tenderness. It made his heart feel bitter and sour. This was so not fair with him.

    However, Zhu Jie was coughing profusely as he really didn¡¯t expect such words from her. Anyone but HER!

    "It seems like lover boy is getting to your head."

    "I feel the same way, bro!"

 Chapter 162 A Bittersweet Kiss?

    Her sinful and wilful nonchnce might have been overlooked by Xiao Zhiren but Zhu Jie knew her like the back of his own hand. That lover boy really had taken action! This news was a happy surprise to him and hepletely dropped his suspicion of seeing her here. Perhaps, he had a little too much to drink earlier.

    "Why do I feel like he might soon be able to cross the ice-cold walls around your heart? Or maybe, he could melt them away." Zhu Jie voiced out in a pleasantly happy way.

    "Let¡¯s not assume things," Ru replied calmly and saw Xiao Zhiren taking a few steps back to maintain some distance between them while his face looked dark.

    "Careful my dearest friend, your words cane back to bite you." After that, the conversation was rather formal and basic.

    After she hung up the phone, she was left with a smile on her face which felt like it was piercing his heart. She had never smiled like this at him. It was pure love in her eyes. Damn it! Who the hell was on that phone call?

    "Was-Was it your boyfriend?" He asked cautiously.

    ¡¯Boyfriend? Jie is a boy and my friend. So...¡¯ "Yup!" She answered with her own logic in mind while Zhiren had somethingpletely different in his mind.

    He bit his lower lip in an effort to calm himself and said, "I thought Alev Knight was your boyfriend."

    "You can say that too." She answered absentmindedly.

    "But you said inside that you are your own crush." He reminded her of her own words which werepletely contradicting.

    "But a crush doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be your boyfriend. I have plenty of boyfriends but no crush other than myself." She retorted while trying to figure out what exactly was going on with him.

    "F*ck! Rong, are you nning on opening a harem?" Xiao Zhiren snapped at her with a re.

    "Harem? Have you lost your mind? How can my friends be a part of my harem?" She questioned curiously. She seriously was questioning his sanity but how could he be sane when his rationality was thrown out the window already. She was back to talking like a male while she talked so nicely to the person over the phone. It made him beyond jealous!

    "They. Are. Your. Boyfriends." He enunciated each word through gritted teeth.

    "Aren¡¯t you also my boyfriend?" Her words took him by surprise. No, it was definitely; shock! "I mean, you are also a boy and can be considered a friend at this point. That makes you a boyfriend as well."

    When her words finally sank in, Xiao Zhiren realized how wrong he was. He was losing his rationality way too easily because of her. But it wasn¡¯t his fault. There were too many bees around his honey.

    He was suddenly so happy that he couldn¡¯t possibly describe in words at all. She was about to walk away when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "I have a question."

    At first, she frowned at his sudden pull but straightening up, she said, "Ask away."

    "Who was on the phone call?" His hands hade to rest on her waist and Ru could feel the heat of his big hands through the thin fabric of her shirt.

    "Ummm..." She was lost for words for a second before saying, "Someone who lectured me about making nice memories. I don¡¯t even know what nice memories are. How am I gonna make some?" She was trying to joke but he suddenly pulled her body close, leaving no space between them anymore.

    His eyes were looking into hers but they had slightly shifted to look at her lips which were pressed together. He lifted his eyelids to look into her eyes again.

    As his one hand lifted to brush her fringes away from her eyes, she asked, "What are you doing?"

    He gave a lowugh which seemed to breeze through her lips as he asked, "Why? Are you scared?"

    Ru chuckled mischievously and said, "Scared? And me? What a jok..."

    The rest of the words were died down on her tongue as his face leaned forward to kiss her lips. It caught her off guard since he had yed the same game before with her but nothing happened back then.

    This was apletely new territory for Ru who had ventured off to extreme ces.

    The kiss certainly carried his spearmint mint aroma which she could taste in her own mouth. His heated breath was on her along with his warm lips pressing on hers. Before she coulde back to senses and push him away, he bit her lips a bit harshly making her gasp.

    "Now, this is your bittersweet memory."

 Chapter 163 Kiss Was Intentional

    Even though her lips tasted like tobo and alcohol, for the first time, he didn¡¯t despise it at all. It felt more of like an intoxicating drug that made it too hard for him to pull away but he couldn¡¯t possibly push his luck too far.

    Didn¡¯t want this proud peacock to run away!

    But as soon as he pulled away, he felt at a loss as if someone stole a part of himself. But the way her eyes were blinking back at him made him feel aplished.

    Ru¡¯s mind had gone numb along with her lips and she only recovered when his voice registered in her mind. But on reflex, her hand lifted up to strike her palm straight at his chest. However, Xiao Zhiren had sharp instincts and he moved out of her reach of time but still, her hand had grazed past his shoulder which instantly felt a stinging pain.

    The way her hand moved made Xiao Zhiren gulp since he could imagine the consequences of that strike if it hadnded on his chest. Was she nning on killing him? Not really! It was her body¡¯s reaction which had nothing to do with her mind or her heart. Just like her body had given up on listening to her mind the moment he touched her.

    But Ru, on the other hand, waspletely in a daze. She lifted her fingers to touch her lips that could still feel some tingling sensation that felt a bit strange. She lifted her head to look at him and unconsciously her eyes dropped to his lips.

    She turned on her heels to leave when she heard his voice, "Didn¡¯t like the memory? I was just teaching you how to make some memories since you seemed clueless." He really wanted to smack himself for trying to irk her but he just couldn¡¯t stop his own words from tumbling out.

    She faced him again and quietly observed his face while he was stretching his arm before sighing out, "I¡¯m sorry for hurting you. It wasn¡¯t intentional. It happened on reflex."

    "Ah..." He stepped close to her again and whispered, "But my kiss was intentional and I won¡¯t be apologizing for it." He tapped her nose with the tip of his finger before striding back to the room. His shoulder felt a bit ufortable because of the blow it received earlier but it wasn¡¯t something particrly unbearable.

    As his silhouette disappeared from her vision, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the wall. ¡¯What the hell just happened?¡¯

    ¡¯I would say, he just took your official first kiss.¡¯ As her conscience reminded her of this fact, Ru held her head in her hands and felt like the world was getting dizzy. Was the ground shaking or was she hallucinating? Whichever it was, she had no n on confirming it at this time.

    She wanted to escape from here. That was the only thing in her mind and since she had seen Zhu Jie leaving from the normal route, she didn¡¯t want to take her chances and that¡¯s why she chose a window and jumped down without thinking.

    Jumping down from the fourth floor was done in a sh and she hadnded perfectly well. Getting up, she dusted off her hands and rubbed the nape of her neck.

    "I didn¡¯t know Zurich is in Imperial Capital."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened at that voice and in extremely slow motion, she rotated her neck to look behind. Sure enough, there he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed before his chest.

    Pushing his body off of the wall, he came out of the dark corner and smiled at her rather furiously. "I didn¡¯t know our Ru¡¯er is so good at lying now."

    Ru was cursing her luck for this game. Why was this day taking such unexpected turns? She didn¡¯t want to get caught earlier when she was with Xiao Zhiren, let alone now when she could still feel his presence on her lips. Why was this best friend too good at reading her?

 Chapter 164 Stupid Alcohol!

    Meanwhile, when Xiao Zhiren came inside the room and sat beside Ran Zi, he was so lost in his own sweet world of bliss that he failed to notice the way Ran Zi was trembling beside him.

    "Big bear, where is Oniisan?" Yuan questioned as he saw that only Xiao Zhiren was back but Ru was missing.

    "He¡¯ll be back after calming down." Xiao Zhiren replied with a mysterious smile while Yuanpletely failed to understand his brother¡¯s meaning.

    However, there was someone who looked horrified. Ran Zi was about to go crazy. Earlier, he had wanted to leave the room to attend a call when he encountered his brother kissing Ru. He was shocked beyond belief.

    He kept reminding himself that his brother had someone in his heart and what he saw was just his own mind ying games with him. ¡¯Stupid alcohol! I¡¯m never touching you again!¡¯ He red at the liquor before him. ¡¯But what if being alone all these years really made bro too lonely? And Rong is even an enchanter, I can¡¯t me bro for falling for him. Urgh! I¡¯m losing my mind now!¡¯

    Seeing Ran Zi¡¯s unwavering gaze at himself, Xiao Zhiren raised his brow, "Are you alright, Ran Zi?"

    Ran Zi was jolted awake and he nodded his head with much difficulty. He lifted his hand and patted his brother¡¯s shoulder saying, "Bro, I¡¯m always with you. No matter what you do, just remember that I¡¯ll be right there to support you."

    Xiao Zhiren took his words to be just his drunken bbering and said, "I know. You don¡¯t need to tell me that."

    Ran Zi gave him a sad smile and thought, ¡¯Right, I should be by his side. So what if he likes Rong? We live in the modern era. Everything is possible. I shouldn¡¯t make it difficult for him at all.¡¯

    He was the true example of the brother who would always support his brother at any cost. If Xiao Zhiren said to stand, there was no way that Ran Zi would dare to sit. But now, he was thinking about how he was going to pretend like he knew nothing about that kiss. After all, he had always been really bad at hiding things from Xiao Zhiren.

    His predicament was avoided for the time being as the door opened and Ji Caihong entered along with another girl.

    "Sorry, I¡¯mte." She cheerfully started talking while going around to Zhang Han and Yuan¡¯s side. "Oh, right. That¡¯s Tang Yiyi. My best friend." She introduced the girl standing at the side in a pure white dress looking like a well-mannereddy.

    "Hello!" Tang Yiyi greeted everyone and added, "Congrattions on your graduation." She passed a bouquet of flowers to both Zhang Han and Yuan politely with a smile.

    After the initial introduction, Ran Zi pulled his sister to his side and gritted his teeth saying, "Why did you bring that thing with you?"

    "Ran-Ge! Yiyi is my friend, not a thing. I told you to be nice to her." Ji Caihong didn¡¯t look pleased with her brother¡¯s way of speaking about her best friend.

    "She¡¯s your friend, keep her in your circle. This is a family thing. You can¡¯t bring an outsider." Ran Zi added sternly.

    "But you told me that Ren-Ge was bringing Mr. Xie Rong. That¡¯s why I brought a friend as well." She answered stubbornly.

    Ran Zi rolled his eyes at her and turned to his elder brother, "Bro, would you please enlighten our dear sister whether Xie Rong is a friend in this circle or family?"

    Although Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know his intention, he still answered, "Rong is a part of the family. Why?"

    Ran Zi gave Ji Caihong a knowing look which she disregarded and walked away from him. "Anyhow, where is Mr. Xie Rong?"

    "Outside. He¡¯ll be in soon." As Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice was heard. A pair of glossy eyes shed with a malicious light. But in the dim lights of the room, that person was gone unnoticed except for Ran Zi whose eyes had been on that person from the beginning.

 Chapter 165 Lost My First Kiss

    "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Can¡¯t you let go of my ear?" Ru was trying to pry Zhu Jie¡¯s hand off of her ear which was brutally assaulted. "Don¡¯t test my patience!" She red at him furiously.

    He suddenly let go of her ear and stood in front of her saying, "Go ahead. Hit me." He held a challenging stance but no matter how irked Ru was inward, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hit him.

    She unclenched her fists and stomped her foot in exasperation. "You¡¯re taking advantage of the fact that I love you. This is so unfair, bro!"

    "Ow!" He pulled her hair making her yelp. "Not my hair! That¡¯s off-limits and you know that!"

    Zhu Jie didn¡¯t touch her hair again but didn¡¯t let go of the matter as well. "How could you lie to me? Since when did my Ru¡¯er start lying to me?"

    Ru stood like a child who was guilty while shifting her weight from one leg to another. "I didn¡¯t technically lie. I was just hiding. There is a difference." She still stubbornly held her ground.

    "When did youe to Imperial?" Ru cursed in her mind knowing this question was unavoidable. He wasn¡¯t letting her off now, if he knew she had been here for half a year, he might go berserk on her. No, no... This was a dangerous question.

    "You see I was just about to tell you-"

    His sharp voice cut her off, "Since when?"

    "Does that matter?" She questioned annoyingly.

    He knocked her head and said, "You t-head! Stop trying to avoid my question. I still have old scores to settle with you."

    Ru frowned while rubbing the side of her head and said, "You! Smurf-face! Why are you using me? There are no old scores between us."

    "Little banana shenanigan! Don¡¯t try to trick me!"

    "Shut the front door! When did I trick you? I¡¯m the most innocent little guy." She spoke righteously with an innocent look.

    "Ha! Jerk-face, stop mixing your gender." He snapped back.

    "Bloody lipping¡¯ lizard, I¡¯m not mixing my gender." He gave her a pointed look and she promptly changed her words, "Fine, fine. I¡¯m the most innocent girl."

    "Are you really?" He asked rhetorically.

    "Hey! I¡¯m a girl. Don¡¯t question that at the very least."

    He stifled hisughter and said, "I was talking about you being innocent but it seems like even you don¡¯t have faith in your own gender."

    Ru gaped at him in disbelief. He tricked her! This evil little minx!

    She crossed her arms before her and turned her face away as if to dere that she was really mad at him now. He knew about her antics better than anyone. It was rare for her to act cute but she did it. And he was one of those lucky people who had to handle her grumpy self.

    Zhu Jie held her arms and said, "Get over with this grumpy look now. Your face will look like a balloon otherwise."

    Ru subconsciously lifted her hands to touch her face before shaking her head. Not wanting to fall for his words again.

    As he kept tugging at her arm, she finally had to react, "You called me jerk-face."

    "And you called me smurf-face. Am Iining?"

    "Whatever!" Her grumbling made himugh out in pleasure as he rubbed her hair lovingly.

    "So, does our Ru¡¯er still needs that big and warm hug?" She nodded her head vigorously making him amused. He pulled her in his arms like a little kid and said, "If your subordinates knew that their lord actually acts cute like this with her brother, they might get a heart attack."

    "What does that have to do with them? I¡¯m hugging my own brother, not theirs." She replied back.

    After a longfortable hug, he pushed her away slightly and said, "This little brother of mine is still changing topics."

    "Elder brother, you should get over it. The water has already gone under the bridge, let¡¯s not try to dig old graves now."

    Zhu Jie knew he couldn¡¯t win in words with her. She had her ways to sneak away. Technically, they were cousins but since they called each other brother from the beginning, none of them really changed it. She didn¡¯t want to be his little sister, so he treated her like a little brother and for her, he was a brother from the very first day.

    Tapping her forehead, he said, "Little brother, be nice and tell me how long have you been here?"

    ¡¯What the fudge! Why are we still stuck here?¡¯ She was yelling in her mind but had to maintain herposure for his sake. As if a lightbulb suddenly went on, she said, "I lost my first kiss."

 Chapter 166 With You, For You

    Zhu Jie ended up coughing profusely as her words fell into his ears. He stared at her disbelievingly. Holding her hand in his own, he dragged her saying, "Ru¡¯er, I saw a very good tea house around here. Let me treat you to some pastries. We can talk in detail."

    Ru was pleased seeing how his behavior took a 180-degree turn at the mere mention of this. She wasn¡¯t going to hide this from him anyway. So, why not just use it to her own advantage? He wasn¡¯t gonna let her go easily otherwise.

    "Yes, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m famished." She happily announced following him like an obedient child.

    "When are you not hungry?" Zhu Jie retorted making her scowl displeasingly. He touseled her hair again and went on, "But who¡¯sining? I earned all my money just to feed this little brother of mine."

    Ru was definitely in a better mood to hear this. She didn¡¯t even hesitate before ordering a variety of things for herself. And even after the order was delivered, her attention was solely on eating.

    "Enough already! Tell me everything in detail." He grew impatient seeing her stuffed up face. Who said she ate elegantly?

    Ru swallowed the cake in her mouth and wiped her face before turning to tell him in detail about her first awakening of love? Nah! There wasn¡¯t such a thing... Yet!

    It took her barely three minutes to summarize everything about that kiss. For instance, going on like, "Took me off guard, cut me half-way. Damn it! I was talking and he cut me off. How rude is that!" Zhu Jie silently rolled his eyes at her exaggerations. And she perfectly, finished it off with, "Then he pulled away and said that he won¡¯t apologize for that. Like, seriously? How can someone be this shameless!" Saying that she turned to the servers and said, "Hey, can you get me another piece of that chocte cake. Thank you!"

    Zhu Jie rubbed his forehead as he was certainly speechless at her own shamelessness. Wasn¡¯t she the worst shameless person ever?

    "Ru¡¯er, my dearest brother, I didn¡¯t ask you how he did it. I asked how you felt." He emphasized to make his words get through her thick skull.

    "How I felt?" She looked strangely at him while he nodded. "Well... His lips were soft. Yeah, definitely were."

    Zhu Jie had the urge to bang her head against the table but he held in his urges and said, "I¡¯m talking about your feelings. Like what did you feel in your heart?"

    Ru tilted her head and blinked innocently at him while saying, "I felt nothing."

    "What? Really?" He was beyond surprised now.

    "I can¡¯t possibly lie to you." She replied honestly.

    "You just did an hour ago." At his reminder, she looked a bit awkward but didn¡¯t drop her strong front. Now, this was called the height of being shameless. But obviously, she won¡¯t agree.

    "That was different. I promise I felt nothing." She even raised her three fingers to show her sincerity as she continued, "My mindpletely went numb and my heart... Well, that was beating a bit strangely. But nothing else."

    He finally heaved a sigh of relief to know that there was at least some normal reaction. He pped her head and said, "Really, nothing more?"

    Ru thought for a minute to be sure. Naturally, she didn¡¯t want to upset the one sitting before her. "When I touched my lips earlier, they felt tingly. It was weird but nice?"

    She even seemed uncertain of her own words. "Weird or nice? Choose one." He insisted on.

    "Can I go with weirdly nice?" She offered, making him chuckle and Ru felt like this smile meant she had dodged a bullet. How troublesome! "Can I eat now?"

    "Go ahead, my gluttonize Ru¡¯er." She stuck her tongue out to him and continued to eat.

    He felt a sense of relief washing down on him as he saw her eating heartily before him. It was her first experience in physical intimacy, he certainly had no high hopes from her side. But if that lover boy managed to make her ice-cold heart to beat abnormally, then he was certain that Ru won¡¯t be at a loss.

    He rubbed her hair again lovingly and spoke in a calm tone, "Ru, don¡¯t make this into a huge issue. I told you earlier, life without feelings is much worse. Even heartbreaks are part of life and some pains are meant to concur. Don¡¯t hide again, okay?"

    "If you¡¯re scared of hurting him then remember, love is not a burden. It¡¯s the silent support. If he has the courage to love you, he should also have the courage to fight alongside with you... And for you."

 Chapter 167 Called Me A Monster

    Ru seemed like her attention was solely on the variety of pastries before her but Zhu Jie knew that she had heard him and even understood him very well. She was just being stubborn as she didn¡¯t want to agree with him.

    All of a sudden, she stopped eating and her green orbs darted around with a mirthless smile on her lips. She took a tissue to wipe her mouth. "Dear brother, do you have a gun?" Her sudden question made him raise his brow in confusion.

    "No. But my men are outside. Why?" As he asked, he saw her touching the wooden floor with her hand as if to feel something.

    She had a thoughtful expression on her face while she looked around the private room before leaping ahead and ducking his head down.

    BANG!

    The bullet swished right above their head and went straight to the wooden wall behind them making the splinters fly off.

    "Someone is courting death!" Her voice had turned stern while eyes darkening considerably. "Stay out of it." Her voice told Zhu Jie that he had no way to argue with her. If it was her fight, she would never let him get involved with it.

    She wasn¡¯t carrying any weapon on herself, even her dagger wasn¡¯t with her today but did she need something like a weapon? Most certainly, NOT!

    With heavy footsteps, the room was suddenly filled with over thirty people but only a handful was carrying guns.

    "Mr. Xie Rong, it¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you," a burly man who likely was the leader of the group said with a sinister smile on his scarred face.

    The corner of her lip tilted upward in amusement as she retorted, "It won¡¯t for long." While she said that her hand had already gone towards the waistline of her pants where she had hidden her silver needles. As she once said, she might not be able to save people with those small things but she most certainly knew how to take a life with them. Especially, when these specific needles wereced with her personally created poisons.

    SWISH!

    Both her hands moved nimbly to shoot the needles urately making them hit the bull¡¯s eye. The room stilled for a moment before echoes ofughter could be heard.

    "Mr. Xie is surely a funny man." The leader said while pointing to his man to take her down.

    Ru didn¡¯t even bother putting him in her eye as she rolled her eyes at him and her figure shed right before his eyes, she disappeared.

    "Where did he go?" They all turned frantically, looking for her.

    "Looking for something?" Her calm voice came from right behind him making his hair stand. How could a visibly lean and frail person scare him like that? Astonishment shed through his eyes but it wasn¡¯t over yet, "Why don¡¯t you check on your men?" With her suggestion, he turned and was dumbfounded.

    The needles that she had used earlier weren¡¯t just for show. Each of his men who held a gun was already on the floor begging for mercy with their faces turning into a rotten flesh.

    "I think you¡¯ve seen enough." Saying that she raised her palm and struck it right behind him. Immediately the bone-wrenching sound spread in the room halting everyone in their step. With one stroke, their leader was on the floor with blood oozing out of his face.

    Before anyone could get out of the shock, her figure shed again and within minutes, bodiesid sprawled on the floor. Most of her attacks were on the brain with one shot. That one strike of hers was enough to shatter the walls of their brains before they could even utter a word.

    "Don¡¯t move or I¡¯ll kill him!" Thest survivors often look forst straws but this poor guy chose the wrong straw to mess with.

    Ru watched him in amusement as he held a butterfly knife against Zhu Jie¡¯s neck as if ready to sh it any minute now. But the one being used as a hostage was very casual about it since he still had the time to see the time on his Patek Phillipe watch while he muttered, "My baby must be waiting for a long time now."

    Ru had the urge to whack his brain instead of that idiot who was holding him in ce. Why was he such a show-off?

    Completely ignoring the bloody scene in the room, she sat down again and poured herself a cup of tea saying, "Go ahead, kill him. He called me a monster once. I¡¯ll consider it being our scores settled."

    As her voice fell, the puny little guy¡¯s face turned ghastly pale while Zhu Jie shook his head at her in disbelief.

 Chapter 168 Luck Is On Your Side

    "First of all, I called you a barbarian and second of all, I thought we got over that incident." Zhu Jie replied while his hand had held the butterfly knife around his neck in a vice-like grip. Before that puny little fellow could move, Zhu Jie had twisted his wrist making him scream in agony as his wrist was broken.

    "I became the bigger person by letting you off the hook. It didn¡¯t mean I forgot about it." She was still sipping on piping hot tea and even had the mood to appreciate it¡¯s aroma. With how the lifeless bodies were huddled around her, one really had to question; how could she even digest that?!

    With her words, clear lines of dissatisfaction could be seen on his handsome face while his brown eyes narrowed into slits. "You love holding grudges even when I apologized on my knees. I even gave you chocte aspensation." His dissatisfaction with her became the nightmare for the assassin in his hands since Zhu Jie had already dug the very same butterfly knife through his neck without flinching.

    "You calling me barbaric dug a deeper wound. That chocte could barely fill that hole." She spoke righteously as if she was the epitome of truth.

    Zhu Jie rolled his eyes at her before snapping the neck which he held in his grip until now. As the lifeless body fell down on his feet, he had jump over it to take his seat before her saying, "I¡¯ll buy you an endless supply of chocte. Would you please get over that one time? It was a slip of my tongue."

    Ru tapped her chin thoughtfully and said, "It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t get over it. But..." She made an aggrieved face as she went on, "Your words had shaken my confidence. Now, tell me how can a man such as Zhiren like me when my own best friend believes me to be a monster?"

    Zhu Jie wanted to apud her for being this shameless. She was using his words against him? Such a brat she is!

    "No one would like a girlfriend who is a monster." She continued to jab him with her words. "OW!" She scowled at him as he yet again tugged at her hair. Her most precious hair, how dare he!

    "If he can¡¯t have you as a girlfriend. He¡¯ll have to love you as a ghoul-friend." His cheeky remark got him a harsh p on his shoulder. "Get over it now. It was my mistake for misspeaking and I do feel bad for it even now. You don¡¯t have to remind me of such a dark past." In all his life, if he regretted one thing that would be calling Ru a barbarian in rage. He didn¡¯t really mean it like that but it still hurt her where it stung worse than he could imagine.

    Ru could see the guilt in his charming brown eyes and felt bad for reminding him. But if she still wasn¡¯t over that, how could she let him have it easy? No way! They both should suffer together!

    "What about these?" He asked after seeing how her expression had shifted. People thought she had an impassive face but he could read her ever-changing moods easily. Since her face certainly was impassive but her eyes were the most expressive ones. They could never hide her emotions.

    She ced her phone on the table and pressed a button, soon Raven¡¯s voice could be heard, "Assembling the Knight Guards initiated!"

    "It¡¯s my mess, I can clean it up myself." Her answer wasn¡¯t surprising at all. It was exactly aligned with his thinking.

    "Of course, you can." He retorted sarcastically at this tant and ring truth. He silently observed her for another minute before sighing out, "I heard you met Grandmaster Wang in Jingshen."

    Ru barely lifted her eyelids as she said, "I did. That old man still recognized me after all these years."

    "Why wouldn¡¯t he recognize you?" He asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

    "They say, a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood. And yet, Grandmaster recognized me at first nce." She seemed confused.

    "Your eyes might have turned a darker shade with years but you are still very much recognizable by those who know you best." She frowned at his words, not knowing where he was going with this. "After all, you¡¯re still in childhood."

    She gasped in disbelief while preparing to lean over just to smack some sense into him. But her stupid team chose right this moment to enter in all their glory with uniformed footsteps that could barely be heard.

    "Luck is on your side today." She mused before standing up as her stance shifted to the ice-cold ciers.

 Chapter 169 Bind This Dragon

    "Master!"

    The fifty or so people simultaneously got on their knee in an act of disying respect.

    "Rise..." Ru¡¯s voice was calmer than it had been before. But her persona had shifted from being yful to ice-cold. It was a wonder that the ss windows hadn¡¯t formed icicles yet.

    "Thank you, master!"

    Ru had the urge to close her ear since they were loud. Too loud for her liking.

    "Clean up this mess." She was referring to the bodies sprawled around her.

    "Who are these people?" She could hear Jake¡¯s whispering because of her sensitive hearing.

    "These were dumb people who thought they can mess with our lord." Connor¡¯s voice right after that.

    "Dumb? I think they were the dumbest!" Adia added on with them.

    "If your chit-chat is done. Get to work." Ru¡¯s voice startled them and the frantically moved to clean up the bodies.

    "Do you know who these people were?" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice came from beside her.

    "Nope."

    "Then why didn¡¯t you keep one of them alive to find out?" He really wanted to question her intelligence.

    "What¡¯s the point? They were gonna die anyway." Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she went on, "Besides, they wanted my life. And if you want a life, you should be ready to give one in return as well."

    Zhu Jie shook his head at her but couldn¡¯t argue since there was no point at all. To live, you have to kill as well and he was aware of that very well.

    They both stepped out of the teahouse to see it in shambles. That group of people was more like thugs than mercenaries or assassins. But when did her value dropped to have stupid low-life thugs toe after her? Our proud peacock definitely didn¡¯t agree with her own thoughts.

    "Bye, shorty!" Zhu Jie rubbed her head making her scowl.

    "Your wife is a shorty. Don¡¯t you dare call me shorty! I can reach exactly to your neck. That¡¯s not short at all." Ru retorted with disdain.

    "Hey! My wife is not short. Her height is perfect. She reaches exactly where she belongs." Zhu Jie replied with a loving smile on his face.

    Seeing that smile, Ru didn¡¯t want to question but her curiosity got the best of her, "Where does she belong?"

    Zhu Jie pointed his slender finger against his chest and said, "Right here, in my heart."

    Ru had the urge to puke blood but she couldn¡¯t. Urgh! Why the hell did she even ask that? She should have known this henpecked husband was going to ruin her mood.

    "That was so cheesy that my stomach is having difficulty in digesting this." Ru pretended to belch which got her a re from Zhu Jie. "Whatever."

    Zhu Jie turned to leave but stopped to ask, "When are you nning oning to meet my babies?"

    Ru scratched her head like a fool and said, "Not so soon."

    Zhu Jie narrowed his eyes at her and added, "Sort out your time. My babies have yet to meet their godmother."

    Ru nodded her head in understanding before her mind reeled and a frown formed between her brows. "Godmother? Who?"

    "You, silly monkey. Who else?" Zhu Jie was amused to see her dumbstruck face.

    "Are you serious? Couldn¡¯t you find any better godmother?" She was looking at him as if he had done some kind of a crime.

    He paced up to her front again and leaned ahead to caress her head saying, "I really couldn¡¯t find a better godmother. No one can top my Ru¡¯er."

    "You¡¯re just saying this for the sake of it. I certainly can¡¯t be someone¡¯s first choice."

    He flicked her forehead and said, "Run this brain on things that matter. Those people inside called you Xie Rong which means that they were after Xie Rong. Alev Knight has thousands of enemies but what did Xie Rong do? I think you need to concentrate on this fact for now. Stop being cheeky all the time."

    "You don¡¯t need to remind me of that. If they think Xie Rong is a puny little fish in a pond, they certainly don¡¯t know they have a demon waiting for them in the depth of that pond." Her green orbs zed with rage which could scare anyone. But Jie wasn¡¯t one of those people.

    "I¡¯ll see you soon. Do tell me if you need anything." He alighted his car and drove away leaving Ru to y her mind the tunes of the deadly melody of a bloodbath that had yet toe.

    "Trying to kill this lord? HA! I¡¯ll see who had eaten the galldder of a bear or a leopard. Because it won¡¯t be enough to bind this dragon!" She whispered to herself with a chill emanating from her body.

 Chapter 170 Precious To Him

    Inside the clubhouse, Yuan was getting impatient.

    "Big Bear, you said Oniisan will be back soon. Where is he?"

    Xiao Zhiren rubbed the space between his brows and dialed Ru¡¯s number. She picked up at thest ring. "Where are you?" He got straight to the point without dilly-dallying at all.

    There was silence at the other end and for a second, Xiao Zhiren thought perhaps, she wasn¡¯t there. Just as he was about to ask again, her deep but mischievous voice rang out, "ording to you, in your heart."

    Xiao Zhiren spurted the wine in his mouth and coughed profusely. Then he heard the sound of herughter as she said, "Oh man, I always wanted to say that. Your reaction must be priceless."

    She certainly was enjoying herself to the fullest at the expense of him but in her defense, he started it! Who told him to drop bomb after bomb on her?

    "Are you drunk?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask since he could never believe that her sense of humor could get suggestive or better.

    "Drunk? Please, I have better tolerance than you." She replied in a haughty manner which made it clear to Xiao Zhiren that it was really Ru on the phone.

    "Be serious. Yuan is asking for you here." Seeing the way Yuan was urging him, he had to get to inquire in all seriousness.

    "Oh, about that... I left a while ago. There is a... A situation that needs my personal attention." She replied while her eyes roamed around on the rows of bodies that were being carried out by her people in body-bags.

    "You left?" His frown got deeper.

    "Mhmm..." She hummed in response. "Tell little squirrel, I¡¯ll make it up to him some other day." Saying that she hung up the phone.

    "What did he say?" Yuan inquired Xiao Zhiren who was staring at his phone screen.

    "Rong had an urgent situation. So, he left." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply dampened Yuan¡¯s mood as his face fell. "Sh... Cough! He said he¡¯ll make it up to youter." He reassured his little brother.

    While on Ru¡¯s side, she looked at the now-empty teahouse and sighed heavily. "Jack!"

    "Yes, my lord!"

    "Find me the identities of these people. Also, give me a list of people whom Metrix Consortium has offended in recent months. And pay up as much as you have to. But this matter shouldn¡¯t blow up at all."

    "You don¡¯t have to worry at all." Jack bowed his head and stepped back to follow her instructions.

    "But master, these people could be after Alev Knight," Adia voiced out her opinion from the side.

    "They called me Xie Rong. Besides, how many people really know what Alev Knight looks like?" Adia quietened up as Ru¡¯s words made sense. Only Ru¡¯s direct subordinates and business partners knew what Alev Knight looked like. For the rest of the world, he was a mystery that was yet to be solved.

    "That is also true. But who have the guts to threaten your life?" Adia was still perplexed about this fact. These people were courting death now!

    "I think it¡¯s time to tell people that master Xie Rong is not to be messed with," Connor suggested and Ru even pondered over this fact.

    "Forget it. I don¡¯t want to lose my precious low-key life." Ru waved them off offhandedly. She really didn¡¯t want any unnecessary attention on herself. It was not worth it.

    Back at the clubhouse, Ran Zi left the private room to get some fresh air when a strange scenario caught his attention.

    "What did you say?" A female voice was shrieking. "Thirty people couldn¡¯t even kill a single man? What pathetic people did you hire?" That hissing voice sounded oddly familiar to him. "I don¡¯t know what you do. It¡¯s an order from the headquarters. You must kill Xie Rong!"

    Ran Zi halted in his steps as he heard the name. He stood rooted in his spot with a perplexed expression. Who would want to kill Xie Rong? And why?

    Although there were plenty of assassination attempts on himself, he still believed that all of those were because of his family¡¯s status. But what does Xie Rong have except for a hard-earned reputation and status? Yes, he heard about Ru¡¯s influence pretty well and also knew that Metrix Consortium offended more than just a few people. But none of them could be capable of challenging her power.

    He took a detour to hide behind a pir and kept watch to find out who was talking just now. Since Xie Rong was involved with Xiao Zhiren how could he let anyone hurt her? Anything or anyone that was precious to his elder brother was also precious to him!

 Chapter 171 My Brothers GUY

    Ji Syaoran tried his best to be discreet but luck wasn¡¯t in his favor as of yet. Even after waiting for half an hour, he saw no-one leaving from there. After being tired of waiting for so long, he finally went ahead to take a look. Much to his despair, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

    This day got from weird to weirder for Ji Syaoran who had no clue why he was the oneing across such scenarios. First, he saw his brother kissing a GUY! And then, he heard someone nning to kill his brother¡¯s GUY!

    He believed that the day couldn¡¯t possibly get any worse than this but he thought too soon.

    "Young master Ran," the team leader of his personal security team came up to him at night.

    "What is it?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s attention was still on hisputer screen while his fingers worked like magic.

    "Young master Jie was spotted at the same clubhouse as you." The team leader¡¯s voice sounded cautious.

    "So what? Jie has been staying in Capital these days." Being part of Ji Family, he naturally knew Zhu Jie; the young master of the Zhu Family. And since both Ji and Zhu family were part of the High Summit, they were on friendly terms.

    "He was seen with young master Ren¡¯s sworn brother."

    As his voice fell, Ji Syaoran¡¯s fingers stopped moving and in the next second, the screen shed with, "You Lost!"

    "Are you sure?" Ji Syaoran took off his headset and gave his full attention to this matter. Instead of answering him with words, the team leader ced the tabletputer before him and slightly bowed before taking his leave.

    Ji Syaoran was left to stare nkly at the video ying on the screen with a nk face but agitated heart. He yed it on repeat before reclining back on his leather chair in resign. "I thought today couldn¡¯t possibly get any worse."

    Poor Ji Syaoran spent the entire night trying to rake his brain. He was extremely perplexed about what to do next. As the dawn broke, his fuzzy brain finally came to a conclusion and he set out to act on it.

    Within twenty minutes he stood right outside Ru¡¯s apartment. As she opened the door, she came face to face with a disheveled Ji Syaoran who had prominent dark circles to tell the tale of his night.

    Ru eyed him suspiciously as he asked, "Can Ie inside? I have something urgent to talk about." Ru turned sideways to give him a way to enter.

    It was too early for Ru to amodate a guest like a courteous host. And she didn¡¯t n on doing so for an uninvited one. Seeing Ji Syaoran looking around at her apartment with interest, she grew impatient.

    "Get to business. Don¡¯t waste my time." Ji Syaoran looked at her as she stood with her arms crossed before her chest with an obvious scowl and distaste in her tone.

    ¡¯Looks like he is also not a morning person.¡¯ Ji Syaoran concluded in his mind. He couldn¡¯t possibly have thought that Ru was insomniac and every insomniac person had a bitter and sour mood afterying awake the whole night. She had yet to gather her emotions to calm herself but Ji Syaoran came running to ruin her moment.

    "Okay. I¡¯ll get to business then." He pulled out his phone and extended it towards Ru saying, "This... Did you do it alone?"

    "Did what?" Ru retorted while staring at the photos on the screen.

    The video wasn¡¯t high-quality considering it was shot with a mobile camera but one could see the way her figure shed around to drop bodies like it was the live version of his favorite online game.

    "You¡¯re more dangerous than I thought." Ji Syaoran replied exasperatedly. Wasn¡¯t it already hard enough to ept that his brother was in love with a GUY? Now, that GUY was even like the King of Hell that held no remorse.

    Ru¡¯s earlier raging emotions were set to tranquility with that video. She was amused by Ji Syaoran¡¯s reaction. If he thought she was dangerous then why was he here? Didn¡¯t he consider that she might kill him at the spot as well just to keep her secrets?

    Passing his phone back to him, she sat on a high stool and said, "I don¡¯t think you came here early in the morning just to tell me that I¡¯m a dangerous person."

    Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t surprised that she looked right through him. With her intelligence, it¡¯d be a wonder if she didn¡¯t. "What if I want to know what¡¯s going on between you and my brother?"

    Ru was a bit taken aback by his words. She certainly wasn¡¯t expecting these words from him.

 Chapter 172 Im Straigh

    Did we ever get to mention that there are two versions of Ru? Nope?

    Let¡¯s divulge into that topic for today. On normal asions, Ru¡¯s sensible part would be ruling her senses and she would have answered him with, "What can exactly go on between me and your brother? I¡¯m straight through and through!"

    That wouldn¡¯t be wrong considering her gender.

    But right now, Ji Syaoran¡¯s expressions and anxious tone evoked Ru¡¯s cunning and mischievous side. And let¡¯s face it, that version of her was never up to any good! Therefore, she answered him with, "Between me and your brother? Hmm... I think you can see for yourself. What does it seem like? Isn¡¯t it obvious enough?"

    For an outsider, there was nothing wrong with her words. Not at all. But Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t an outsider. He was the only insider who knew about the happenings of that kiss! Which brought us to the point where Ji Syaoran¡¯s face paled with her words.

    ¡¯What did it seem like? Bloody hell! It seemed like his brother had fallen for this enchanter. So, his mind wasn¡¯t just ying games?¡¯ Ji Syaoran finally had to ept the facts. He softly whispered, "But I thought my brother was straight."

    Ru snorted and said, "Oh please, even I used to think that." After the words left her mouth, she realized what she said was wrong. Xiao Zhiren was indeed straight. He kissed her knowing that she was a girl. Urgh! I really need to stop forgetting my bloody gender.

    Ji Syaoran stood rooted without moving at all. He was like a statue who was in deep thought. While his thoughts were unknown but Ru could conjecture that his thoughts were chaotic by the way his expressions were shifting with each passing second.

    He suddenly clenched his fists and shouted, "This is all your fault!"

    At being used so tantly, Ru was rather amused than offended. "Oh really? What did I do?"

    "Who told you to have such a face? It¡¯s a killer for both men and women. No wonder my brother fell for your stupid charms. Urgh!" He ruffled his own hair which by the way was already in a mess. "I don¡¯t even understand. Why does everyone like you? My grandmother, grandfather, father, brothers, and my sister, all have fallen for your charms and damn tongue of yours that knows how to please others."

    It was the first time for Ru to know that her vicious tongue had a way to charm others. How strange! Anyhow, she gave him a lopsided grin and said, "You like me as well." It wasn¡¯t a question. It was Ru¡¯s conceited self iming a fact.

    Ji Syaoran stared at her in disbelief but couldn¡¯t find a way to refute at all. If he didn¡¯t like her as a person, he wouldn¡¯t be standing here. He had heard about her but knowing her in person was different. Most of all, getting a glimpse of her martial arts, he waspletely sold.

    How could he say he didn¡¯t like her when he held the greatest respect for martial arts practitioners? He was practically dying toe under her wings.

    "You are infuriating as well." He grumbled in the end when no other retort came to his mind.

    "I know. I¡¯m quite proud of that trait of mine." Ru answered honestly making him feel exasperated. She was difficult to talk to. And that was for sure! Ru decided to use him to her own advantage as she said, "So, are you nning on asking your brother to keep his distance from me?"

    Ji Syaoran shook his head and said, "Why would I? If my brother loves you, then that¡¯s that. Neither I have a say in it nor I want to interfere. If he¡¯s happy. I¡¯m happier." Ru was left speechless with his reply. He wasn¡¯t going the conventional route. Wasn¡¯t he suppose to try and help his brothere back to the straight route? Why such a change?

    "Or perhaps, your brother is just confused with his feelings? How about you try setting him up with someone?" Ru tried to knock her own ideas in his mind.

    "Huh? No way! My brother is not confused at all." Ru didn¡¯t like his tone of affirmation.

    "How are you so sure?" She snapped at him.

    "Because he wouldn¡¯t have given up his first kiss in the moment of confusion."

    ¡¯Say what???¡¯ Ru was stared at him dumbfoundedly.

 Chapter 173 Thankless & Ruthless

    "Liar! How can it be his first kiss? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!" Ru wasn¡¯t inclined on believing him. Didn¡¯t he steal a kiss before as well? But she was forgetting that neither that was a real kiss nor Ji Syaoran had a clue about it.

    "Why would I lie to you?" Ji Syaoran felt wronged at being called a liar.

    "Because your brother seemed... experienced." Ru bobbed her head up and down seemingly feeling nothing wrong with her words. She definitely found the right word; experienced.

    If Ji Syaoran hadn¡¯t been controlled by his emotions, he would have asked, "How experienced are you to know what the kiss was like?" But unfortunately, he was on the leash of his chaotic emotions.

    "He¡¯s not experienced!" Ji Syaoran was irked, even forgetting that this was not the topic that brought him here.

    Ru was equally exasperated if not worse as she snapped back, "I said he is!"

    "He is not! And how are you so sure?"

    "Because I was at the other end of that kiss!"

    Ji Syaoran: "..."

    Ru: "..." What did I just say? She smacked her head inwardly while sighing, ¡¯Why is this bloody tongue not under my control?¡¯

    ¡¯Shouldn¡¯t you be questioning your experience?¡¯ Her conscious chose this moment to mock her.

    Ji Syaoran was utterly left speechless as he almost choked on air. But thinking that choking on air to death won¡¯t be a good way to die, so he dropped the idea. However, he still couldn¡¯te up with a retort. What could he possibly say? Wasn¡¯t it already a very strange scenario that he was discussing his brother¡¯s kissing experience with a GUY!

    Even Ru wasn¡¯t nning on opening her mouth again. She was cursing her loose mouth for not thinking before speaking at all. But she was rather more thick-skinned than most people as she convinced herself, ¡¯Embarrassment? HA! Every living person is bound to have those moments. Let¡¯s get over it!¡¯

    With a newfound vision, she stood up and went to get a ss of hot water for the still dumbfounded Ji Syaoran. In a daze, he even took the ss from her and was jolted awake when the piping hot water scalded his tongue. He red at Ru who shrugged in reply.

    "How long are you nning on staying?" Ru grew impatient seeing him having no intention of leaving.

    Ji Syaoran took a seat and blew on hot water to take a sip as the water entered his body, he felt himself wakening up. "You seem close to Zhu Jie."

    Ru narrowed her eyes at him but didn¡¯t question him about how he knew Zhu Jie. "What does that have to do with you?"

    "I just don¡¯t want you to make my brother wear a green hat. Ow! Ow!"

    Ru had pulled his ear. "You talk too much. Get your bloody facts straight. Jie is married you fool! And I¡¯m straight. Most importantly, I have no interest in your brother at all!" Her growling deep voice actually scared Ji Syaoran who had a weird expression mixed with his aggrieved look of being bullied under her hand.

    "Huh? You mean you¡¯re just ying with my brother. How could you!" His using tone made her hyperventte in anger.

    "I so want to break your bones right now." She gnashed her teeth while her eyes bore holes in Ji Syaoran.

    He hid his hands behind his back saying, "Break anything but don¡¯t touch my hands. They are precious."

    Ru was at the point where she was gaping at this weird human being before her. Wasn¡¯t his thinking really unconventional? Why was he not going by the script?

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be happy right now?" She asked.

    "Why would I be? If you¡¯re not interested in my brother than that means my brother is holding a torch for nothing. He¡¯ll be heartbroken again. This is not fair to him." Ji Syaoran¡¯s brooding made Ru feel a headacheing on.

    ¡¯What if he couldn¡¯t take this second rejection? First, that thankless girl left him and now, this ruthless man is ying with my brother¡¯s emotions.¡¯ Ji Syaoran was feeling helpless and agitated.

    If he knew that both the thankless girl in his memory and the ruthless man before him were the same person, he would definitely puke blood.

    But if Ru knew that he called her a thankless person, he would still have to puke blood since, under her hands, people could only puke blood if not their guts.

 Chapter 174 Well Wai

    In their long argument, they reached the point of deadlock where both felt like the other person was speaking some foreignnguage. Ru locked his masculine body with her nimble one and threw him out of her apartment.

    "Get out! Before I really murder you!"

    Ji Syaoran was thrown out on his buttock. Imagine his feelings... Ji Family¡¯s proud young master being kicked out just like that. Ouch! That was a blow to his pride.

    Before he could even settle his shock, he saw Ru shutting the door with a bang. He immediately shot up and started pounding on her door while ignoring the stinging pain in his buttock. She really wasn¡¯t a gentle person.

    "Hey, open the door! I still have something to say!" He was screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a good thing that there was only her apartment on the top floor otherwise, someone might have beaten him with a stick by now. "I was just taking my brother¡¯s side. Why did he get so cranky?" He muttered to himself before ringing the bell over and over again.

    ¡¯Click!¡¯

    The sound made him feel smug but his smugness was blown in the wind when he saw a slipper in Ru¡¯s hand and a dangerous look in her eyes. He gulped before taking a couple of steps back in fear.

    "Don¡¯t! I do have something important to say." He hurriedly tried to clear up while trying to make more distance between them.

    "You. Better. Hope. That. Your. Words. Don¡¯t. Push. Me. Over. The. Edge." She had enunciated each word in such a way that Ji Syaoran was left uncertain whether his words would be able to save him or not.

    "I heard someone nning to kill you." Ji Syaoran spoke in such a frantic manner as if he was trying to get rid of a hot potato.

    Ru dropped the slipper back inside and said, "Speak clearly."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief and recounted the conversation he heardst night. Ru was listening attentively and with her impassive face, Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t even sure what was going on in her mind. Was he safe or... Not?

    "Did you see the person?" She asked after he was done.

    He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and answered, "No. I wasn¡¯t able to. But it was a girl. Somehow she sounded familiar as well."

    "That wasn¡¯t helpful at all." Ru left a simple sentence and closed the door again.

    "Rude much?" Ji Syaoran grunted at the closed door. She hadn¡¯t even said a thank you. Even though it wasn¡¯t needed but from what he heard from his grandfather and grandmother, he had the impression that Ru was a really nice person.

    "Nice? It¡¯d be a wonder if this person really managed to smile sincerely at someone." Ji Syaoran wanted to kick the door but was afraid that she would really not let him go easily this time. So, he left grudgingly.

    Inside the apartment, Ru could see his antics through the screen ying in the living room. She heard him cursing and making a fuss but not a single emotion crossed her face.

    "Raven, turn the security screens off. And connect a call with Adia." Her voice was devoid of any emotions. Neither it was cold nor it was burning with rage. In a sense, her mood was quite calm and serene.

    "Right away, Master." Raven¡¯s voice echoed around in the silent apartment.

    As the call connected, Ru didn¡¯t wait for her voice before saying, "Did you find out about those assassins?"

    "Master, those people weren¡¯t assassins." Adia¡¯s answer came.

    "Did they belong to any organization?" She inquired.

    "Not that too." Adia¡¯s response made her frown a bit. Before she could ask further, Adia went on, "Those people were from local mafia. More like..."

    "Street thugs." Ru finished her words for her.

    "Yes."

    "Anything else?"

    "We asked around but it¡¯s still unclear why they attacked you or how did they get your location." Adia went on with her report. "But one thing is clear."

    "What is it?"

    "They weren¡¯t sure of your exact location. Yesterday, a couple of other restaurants around that tea house were also raided by those ruffians. Probably, looking for you."

    Ru¡¯s fingers tapped against the side of her leg as she closed her eyes and said, "Because the person who called the shot only knew that I was at the Grand Clubhouse."

    "Then should we check the security cameras there to find the mastermind?" Adia asked sensing strange vibes.

    "Grand clubhouse is famous for its privacy. There are no security cameras around the private rooms. There is no point in asking around."

    "What should we do then?"

    "Forget it. We¡¯ll wait. If they want me dead. They¡¯lle again."

 Chapter 175 At The Losing End

    While rubbing his sore behind, Ji Syaoran made his way to his brother¡¯s ce. He was already here in the same building. It didn¡¯t feel right for him to just leave like this. Also, he still had matters to discuss with his elder brother.

    "Ran Zi? What are you doing here?" Xiao Zhiren was perplexed seeing him so early in the morning. After all, who in the Ji Family didn¡¯t know that young master Syaoran loved his sleep just slightly less than his elder brother.

    "Why can¡¯t I be here? This is your ce which makes it mine as well." Ji Syaoran slid himself in like a worm.

    "What¡¯s wrong with your face? I thought my brother loved his image the most." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t want to push him about why he was here. Naturally, he knew Ji Syaoran will crack soon enough. That¡¯s why he chose the next important topic of him looking like a sleep-deprived lunatic.

    "This look?" Ji Syaoran peeled off his jacket and threw it on the ground like a kid saying, "This is all your fault. No, wait! This is all your boyfriend¡¯s fault!"

    Xiao Zhiren spurted out his coffee and started coughing with a weird look on his face. "Boyfriend? How many times have I told you to think before speaking?" Xiao Zhiren angrily rebuked him while wiping his mouth to get rid of the remnants of the coffee.

    Ji Syaoran fell on the couch leisurely while saying, "Please, don¡¯t try to hide it from me. I saw you kiss himst night in the hallway."

    Xiao Zhiren immediately understood what was going on. So, he calmly sat beside him and said, "Don¡¯t strain your tiny little brain. There is nothing like what you think."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes brightened up as he sat straight up and said, "You mean, you still love that thankless girl, right? Please, say yes. I don¡¯t want you to love this ruthless guy. It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t support you but he¡¯s... He said he is not interested in you and I don¡¯t want you to get hurt."

    It took Xiao Zhiren a while to digest Ji Syaoran¡¯s rambling but as he did, the light in his eyes had dimmed a bit. "Did he say that himself?" Ji Syaoran frowned and he had to continue, "About... Not being interested in me?"

    "Oh, that! Yes. He said it straight to my face. I¡¯m telling you he¡¯s ruthless and there is nothing noble about him as well. He literally picked me up and threw me out the door." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lips turned slightly upward when he heard what Ru did. He could literally visualize her annoyed look.

    With a sigh, Xiao Zhiren rubbed his brother¡¯s messy hair and said, "Who told you to go to him? If you¡¯ll spout nonsense, obviously he¡¯ll kick you out. Stop assuming things. Rong is straight and I am also straight."

    Ji Syaoran felt all his tiredness vanishing as he brightened up but soon frowned again. "Bro, what about the kiss?"

    Xiao Zhiren bit the inside of his cheek trying toe up with an excuse. "Umm... That... You can say it was a... ident."

    "ident?" Ji Syaoran sounded quite curious.

    "Yes. An ident." Xiao Zhiren reassured him.

    Ji Syaoran stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again, "But bro, I really won¡¯t me you if you fell for him. He looks quite simr to that girl." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t answer him. "You still only love her, right?"

    Xiao Zhiren smiled softly and said, "I do love her and only her. There is no doubt about that."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief and felt like a fool for overthinking. He should havee to Xiao Zhiren straight away instead of bickering with Rong. What a pity that he made the wrong tiger angry. Recalling her bloody eyes, Ji Syaoran gulped in fear and a shiver ran down his spine.

    "Silly brother, how can I forget her? All I ever wanted was to make her smile. And when she did smile, I fell all over in love with her. No matter what, I¡¯m still at the losing end."

    Ji Syaoran looked at his brother¡¯s back as he stood up and made his way towards the kitchen.

    "Go and freshen up. I¡¯ll make breakfast for you as well." Xiao Zhiren told Ji Syaoran while putting on his apron.

    "Can I get pancakes? Pretty please."

    "It depends whether you n on looking for Rong again or not?"

    "I won¡¯t. I promise!"

    "Then let me get your pancakes ready."

    Ji Syaoran smiled in victory, not knowing that he was the one who was yed by Xiao Zhiren. Zhiren knew if Ji Syaoran went again to Ru, her nature won¡¯t allow her to let him leave unharmed.

 Chapter 176 Blood Pool

    The dark of the night was serenading alone with no stars to apany the choir of lights. It was tranquil until the sound of the metal shing together could be heard in a distant.

    Dust was flying around in the air along with the stench of blood making one¡¯s stomach tighten. In the dark street, only a spark could be seen as a katana had shed with a dagger. Two pairs of bloodthirsty eyes stared each other down with a vicious look. But none of them backed away from the fight.

    The raven eyed girl¡¯s face was hidden behind a ck mask but her eyes gave away the effort she was putting into pushing that katana towards the other party¡¯s throat. However, the other party¡¯s green eyes seemed indifferent and quite bored as she held her in ce with a small dagger.

    Getting bored of this unpleasant fight, the green eyes shed with a cold light and used her one hand to m into the ribs of the raven eyed girl. Blood spurted out of her mouth as she fell on her knees and held her body up with her hands. The pain had rippled through her entire chest making her feel suffocated.

    With her sheer willpower, the raven eyed girl tried to lift her katana again but a foot was ced on her hand crushing it but she didn¡¯t dare to let her cries of pain escape. She only red at that green-eyed person who looked like the Grim Reaper at this point with the verdict of her death.

    The cold green eyes looked back at her with intrigue as she crouched down beside her and held her chin to lift her face.

    "Aye, it¡¯s such a pity that I have to kill you. I personally love people who know how to let their pain destroy themselves rather than giving satisfaction to the inflictor of that pain." That deep voice sounded calm and quite aggrieved as if it was really a pity.

    But in the next second, a punch hadnded straight on the temple of the girl on her all fours. Blood trickled out of her ears, nose, and mouth while her body fell like a lifeless doll on the ground that was painted with blood.

    Ru was still crouching beside that body with her eyes on the katana that was lying beside her foot. Her hand trembled but she clenched it tightly to stop the urge from taking over her rationality. She didn¡¯t want to. No, she couldn¡¯t let that part of her take over again.

    But seeing that silver sleek de dripping in blood, her whole body was shaking with need.

    "Master!" The echo from behind her made the look in her eyes to shift and she bit the inside of her mouth until she could taste the metallic taste of blood.

    Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she stood up and turned to face the member of ck Mist standing in an orderly manner.

    Ru cleaned her daggernguidly while her eyes roamed around to see the wandering eyes of her subordinates. Their curiosity wasn¡¯t far-fetched, after all, yet again there were bodies lying listlessly under their master¡¯s feet.

    They all had no visible reaction at seeing such a blood bath in the streets but they still felt a chill in the air. They could tell that the chill wasn¡¯t because of the souls that departed, it was rather because of the sour mood of their master who might be hoping to have their heads on a tter tonight as well for being ipetent.

    "This is the eighth assassination attempt in thest ten days. Do you all have something to say about that?" As Ru¡¯s voice rang in the eerie dark night, all of them clenched their fists behind their back to hide their scared souls.

    It was a wonder for them to see Ru still acting calm. Since the first attack in the tea house, where ever she went, she had been encountering life threats. From mercenaries to assassins to bounty hunters and even street ruffians. It was like she was a light attracting those moths to herself.

    "I asked a question..." Ru spoke again slowly as if taking her time or perhaps giving them time to sort out their time in this world instead. "If I didn¡¯t hear an exnation tonight. I¡¯ll send each of you back to the training camp."

    Her threat worked as a shaking hand was raised slowly. "Speak up, Edmund!"

    "Master, I-I think I know why these attacks are happening." The fourth member of the ck Mist attempted to talk.

    "Go on..."

    "Master, your name is on the Blood Pool."

 Chapter 177 Master Is Scared

    Blood Pool could be exined as a Bounty Strike list where people anonymously post the bounties on affluent people¡¯s death. Mercenaries and assassins usually take their missions from their organizations but bounty hunters had their ie only through the mission posted on the Blood Pool. But Blood Pool was apparently open to everyone as long as oneplete the mission, he can get the prize money.

    Ru gave Edmund a look that said, ¡¯Have you lost your mind?¡¯

    "I have been on that Blood Pool for the past seven years as ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and from the past six years as ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯. Don¡¯t you think that sounds rather unconvincing that only now will I have these assassination attempts?" Ru¡¯s point wasn¡¯t wrong. But she was forgetting a small detail.

    "Master, your alias ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ is just like the name itself. You are more like a myth to people than reality. As for your alias of ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯, only your trusted people know what you really look like." Edmund¡¯s words brought out Ru¡¯s interest as she crossed her arms.

    "Keep going." She gave her permission to continue.

    Edmund finally managed to breathe properly as he felt like a de that was pressed against his throat was slowly lifted and he managed to continue, "While I was going through all our channels, I came across the Blood Pool and saw the bounty on your head but the alias was ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯." As he finished, Ru¡¯s mind finally managed to grasp the whole situation.

    People couldn¡¯t find ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ or ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ since both of her identities were kept well hidden but her alias of ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯ was different. She had been actively participating in all of Matrix Consortium¡¯s business affairs. Not only her face was well-known to people, but even her location also wasn¡¯t that hard to trace if one followed her business meetings, they¡¯d be able to find her.

    And that exined why she had be an easy target for people these days. Certainly, Matrix Consortium had acquired a lot of enemies in the two years of its operation but she personally didn¡¯t think that she had offended anyone of the caliber who would dare to put a bounty on her life.

    Then who could it be? Hold on, most importantly...

    "What¡¯s the bounty?" Ru inquired after a while of contemtion.

    Edmund pursed his lips, not daring to voice it out. Ru narrowed her eyes at him before pressing the button on her watch and said, "Raven, quote the bounty on Xie Rong¡¯s life." Edmund¡¯s reaction had irked her at some level.

    "From the statistics, the bounty started from 5 million dors but now, it has reached 20 million dors." Ru gaped in disbelief as she heard Raven¡¯s response.

    "Are you fu*cking kidding me?" She shouted taking everyone by surprise. "Since when did my value went so low?"

    The team of five people before her were having difficulties while trying to stifle theirughter. Only their master could be this entric. Ru wasn¡¯t angry to find out that she was being hunted but she was rather upset to see that her value was only a puny 20 million. What a joke!

    Both as ¡¯The White Shadow¡¯ and ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯, her bounty started at the higher figure than this one. It was making her super mad. Only for 20 million dors, these many people were after her life and yet as ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ holding the highest bounty prize of over a billion dors, no one had dared to even breathe loudly around her.

    Both were her own alias, then why this partiality. It seemed unfair.

    A soft tapping of leather shoes on the concrete floor could be heard as she saw a familiar faceing close. Wu Dishi bowed to greet her while his heart shuddered at the sight of all the blood.

    "I will be lying low for a while Wu Dishi. Manage the meetings yourself." Ru shifted back to the bodies and said, "Get rid of these people. They are making my eyes itch." Saying that she turned around and left them.

    "Huh? Why is master running instead of fighting back?" Wu Dishi was confused since he didn¡¯t think that it was his master¡¯s style to avoid a fight. Instead of standing tall to fight back, Ru was simply avoiding this showdown.

    Connor patted his shoulder and said, "Dearrade, Master is scared."

    "Huh? What? Scared?" Wu Dishi was dumbfounded at this response.

 Chapter 178 Just A Curse Or An Illusion

    Wu Dishi¡¯s face looked like he had eaten a fly. How could his formidable master be scared of anything? It didn¡¯t make any sense to him at all.

    It rather sounded like a joke. The biggest joke!

    "Connor, I know you¡¯re my senior in Master¡¯s squad but don¡¯t try to fool me like this." Wu Dishi tried to smile but didn¡¯t dare to disrespect the dead.

    "Connor isn¡¯t lying to you." Adia jutted in making Wu Dishi even more perplexed.

    He observed the expressions of the five people around him before saying, "Are you guys serious?" The five heads nodded simultaneously. "But how can Master be scared of anything or anyone?"

    "Every person has fear," Jack remarked softly.

    "And Master is also a human," Jake added along.

    "Yes. But..." Wu Dishi still had something to argue with when Adia stopped him.

    "Just because you¡¯ve seen master being almighty all the time, doesn¡¯t mean that master doesn¡¯t have his own fears."

    Wu Dishi thought about it a bit before nodding understanding her meaning. "But what is master scared of?"

    The five people beside him shared a look before they spoke together, "Himself."

    ¡¯What? Master is scared of himself?¡¯ Wu Dishi¡¯s mind was reeling with this information. "Why?" He couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Connor crouched down to pick up that abandoned katana as he spoke, "You didn¡¯t see the look in Master¡¯s eyes when we came. If he had picked up this katana tonight, all of our heads would have been served to him."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s eyes widened up while Connor went on, "Excluding the attack in the tea house, Master has killed more than 100 people in the past ten days. He¡¯s not lying low because he¡¯s scared of those stunted assassins. Rather, our master is scared of losing his own rationality all over again."

    "You don¡¯t master the way we do," Adia jutted in toplete Connor¡¯s words. "You heard rumors of him being a monster. We have seen him acting like a Grim Reaper instead."

    Suddenly the memory of that tall figure d in ck with silver dyed hair and green cold eyes shed through her mind.

    "I¡¯ll never forget the day I met the master. He was drenched in blood and his sword was trailing behind him making a cringy sound as it was being dragged on the concrete floor. From head to toe, all I saw was his cold green eyes and his hair dyed in silver color." Adia narrated the scene from her memory vividly. "The mercenary where I was training was one of the best in the world and yet, it took master only an hour to wipe its existence from this world."

    "Lord Alev Knight is feared for a reason. He does have a reputation worthy of him. He has no mercy. You should be d that the master has dropped his sword years ago. Otherwise, there was always bloodshed around him." Edmund also added his part of the understanding of Ru.

    "Master didn¡¯t be Lord Alev Knight overnight but he had certainly trampled on Underworld Syndicates overnight and ruled over them. And during that time, Master wasn¡¯t rational at all. If you dare to cross his way, he¡¯ll cut your throat without even blinking." Connor¡¯s voice held the great respect which he felt for his master. There was no doubt that each one of them was the most loyal to her. Not because they were scared of her. But also because she gave them respect as a human being and gave them a chance to create a self-identity and value.

    "I¡¯ve never seen master with a sword." Wu Dishi voiced out while seeing them lifting the dead bodies off the ground.

    "Then you¡¯re lucky," Jake said with a smile.

    "Why?"

    "Because once that sword was sheathed, no one was left to tell the tale of it."

    Wu Dishi¡¯s heart jolted at this remark.

    "The sword is master¡¯s personally forged weapon and it was named The Bloody Moon."

    "The Bloody Moon? Any specific reason?"

    "Ask Connor, he¡¯s the only one who got to see it up close."

    Wu Dishi looked Connor with an earnest look.

    "There is a phrase written on the silver de," Connor started in a hushed tone as he quoted, "It says, ¡¯It was a full moon, just drowning in the blood of night.¡¯ As for the meaning, don¡¯t bother prying if you value your life."

    All of them got busy, not knowing that at the corner, a lone figure was concealed in the darkness to puff out the wispy smoke while listening to each word.

    Ru¡¯s lips upturned slightly as she whispered the other half of that phrase, "Perhaps it was just a curse... Or an illusion... But she was left to drench in the pool of blood that night."

 Chapter 179 Remind Me Of My Father

    By the time, Ru came back to the Condominium building, it was already 10 o¡¯clock. Before entering the building, she had seen a long line-up of SUVs on the road with suave looking bodyguards standing guard.

    From the logo embroidered on their suit jackets, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell who these people were apanying. Yet she was curious as she trotted inside the lobby. Soon her curiosity was curbed when she saw a middle-aged man in haute couture pacing back and forth before the oakwood door of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s apartment.

    The man was none other than the Chairman of the Ji Conglomerate, Ji Yifeng himself. In other words, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s father.

    Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to lift her feet and walk away. She stayed to watch that high and might man looking anxious like a teenager as he chewed on his nails. Another reason which she would never ept was that she hadn¡¯t seen Xiao Zhiren since the ¡¯kiss¡¯ incident. She wasn¡¯t avoiding him but apparently, it was the time leading them to have missed chances.

    Finally, Ji Yifeng mustered up the courage to ring the bell and waited patiently. His demeanor had amused Ru. It was the only amusing thing about tonight or perhaps about the whole week.

    Yuan was the one who opened the door and his face immediately stiffened as he saw Ji Yifeng standing before him who had lifted his hand reluctantly to wave saying, "Hi!"

    Ru felt a strange sense of loss since the person at the door was Yuan and not Xiao Zhiren himself. But she immediately shook that loss away, not daring to let it crawl inside her heart.

    "Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re not permitted here?" Yuan¡¯s voice was sharper than Ru had ever heard it. "Please go away and don¡¯t show up again. I don¡¯t like seeing you at all." With those cutting words, he had banged the door shut.

    Ru noticed the way Ji Yifeng¡¯s hands clenched trying to hide the tremor. He stood staring at the door for another ten minutes before sighing and turning to leave. His eyes caught Ru¡¯s as he had turned around and felt embarrassed.

    But Ru¡¯s face didn¡¯t show disdain or disgust for him. She was not repulsed at all. Instead, she paced up to him and said, "How am I so lucky to bump into Chairman Ji right here? Look at the odds."

    Ji Yifeng couldn¡¯t tell whether she saw him being treated worse than a stranger by his own son or not. But even if she did, he couldn¡¯t see it on her face at all.

    "I should be the one saying that. Chairman Xie is even harder to find than my humble self." Ji Yifeng chose to answer Ru in the same way she talked to him and that brought a smile to her face.

    "Since the odds are so great tonight. How about a cup of tea at my humble abode? I live in the same building anyway." Ru offered rather courteously which touched Ji Yifeng¡¯s heart as he nodded his head.

    "It¡¯d be an honor for me." He had said while following her to the elevator.

    Entering her apartment, Ji Yifeng felt like being pulled in, the interior was just too enthralling. It was indeed a work of art. Ru left him to admire her interior while she went ahead to brew some tea and also decided to make a couple of light snacks to go with it.

    Ji Yifeng had to wait for only 30 minutes which felt too little since he was immersed in admiring the art pieces scattered around her apartment. Ru ced the chrysanthemum tea along with dried plums, nuts, pastries and dumplings on the ss table in the living room.

    Ji Yifeng looked at the spread of delicacies before him and his eyes softened up as he smiled at Ru who sat opposite of him before pouring him tea.

    "From all the rumors I¡¯ve heard, I didn¡¯t expect you to be this good-natured." Ru didn¡¯t even flinch at his remark. She calmly took a sip of her tea. "I guess we should say rumors are just that... Rumors."

    Ru ced her porcin cup down and said, "Mostly the rumors about me are always true. And you¡¯re not wrong. I am not a good-natured person."

    "Really?" Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t seem to believe her words.

    "Yes, really! As for why I brought you to my ce..." There was a ghost of a smile at the edge of her lips as she continued, "You reminded me of my father."

    "Is it true?" Ru nodded honestly. "Am I that simr to him?"

    Ru shook her head in negation with a chuckle as she said, "No. Actually, you¡¯re theplete opposite of him."

 Chapter 180 Stop Being Stubborn

    Ji Yifeng definitely wasn¡¯t expecting this kind of a reply from her but nheless, he was still curious to know about Ru. Who wouldn¡¯t be? With Ru¡¯s demeanor, it wasn¡¯t hard for an aristocrat like him to understand that she didn¡¯te from a simple background.

    The aura around her could neither be feigned nor it could be practiced over the years. It was something that came from within herself.

    "Complete opposite?" He repeated her words as if trying to look for an answer.

    "Indeed, theplete opposite. You¡¯re a strong father, mine wasn¡¯t so." Ji Yifeng frowned at her reply. It was hard to believe that a strong character like Ru had a weak father. It didn¡¯t seem to fit in.

    Sensing his confusion, Ru decided to ease up the knots a bit. "Here you are standing tall with a strong spirit even when your sons have used you of ruining their family. Your willpower is remarkable. Especially considering that you have nevermitted a crime, to begin with."

    Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes widened up not only because he realized that she had heard Yuan¡¯s words earlier but also because he could tell she knew something.

    "But I did ruin our family." He insisted, trying to avert his eyes away from her.

    "You wouldn¡¯t be Ji Yifeng if you really hadmitted those crimes which your sons loathe you for. I honestly don¡¯t know what conspired back in those years but somehow I still have faith in you."

    Ji Yifeng could only give a bitter smile. Wasn¡¯t it ironic that this person whom he met a couple of times had faith in him but his own sons didn¡¯t?

    "You really have a perceptive mind." He could only say that. "Anyways, why do you think your father is weak?"

    "Oh, because he is," Ru answered calmly and went on, "Let me tell you a little secret, I have an obsession with ck color and it came from my father."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I was eight years old at that time, I loved to wear white. It was just my color. But one day, during my training I fell from the cliff and rolled down. Let¡¯s just say that the injuries were minor but the blood-stained white robes of mine told a different story."

    The memory of that time was still vivid in her mind...

    *shback*

    There was barely any space without bloodstains on her white robes as she stood with her head lowered in front of her father.

    His stormy eyes stared her down making her lower her head even more.

    "If the ground looks that interesting, should I help you bury a hole to lie down?"

    Ru immediately raised her head to face her father¡¯s raging face. Something shed in his eyes which the young her couldn¡¯t possibly decipher as he waved her off saying, "Just go back to your courtyard. And don¡¯t show me your face for a while."

    At that time, Ru took her leave with a heavy heart. She was a light sleeper from the beginning and when at midnight, she felt feather-like footsteps approaching, she was ready to strike. But couldn¡¯t do so.

    As she had turned, she saw her always mighty looking father kneeling on the floor with her blood-stained clothes in his hands. Under the dim lights, she could see his trembling hands and when he turned, she pretended to sleep again.

    She felt his soft breath close to herself but it was easy to feign her sleep until she felt something wet touching her face. Her whole body froze at the realization that her father was crying. The man she revered was actually crying and that too... Because of her.

    His strong hands stroked her hair with a rare tenderness as he whispered, "Can¡¯t you stop being stubborn? Why are you always hurting father like this?"

    Perhaps that was the night she decided, she¡¯ll never hurt her father again. And that¡¯s where her obsession with ck came from. Because even if she¡¯ll be drenched in blood, no one will know if her clothes would be ck.

    *shback*

    Coming back to the present, she felt lost again. Because now she could understand that emotion she used to see her father¡¯s eyes.

    "Do you know Mr. Ji that my father is the only person who rebuked me, thrashed me and even left me to starve? But at the end of the day, he was the one hurting the most. He had his responsibilities and I was the troublemaker challenging his authority. If he couldn¡¯t even discipline me, how could he keep his n in check?" She didn¡¯t know why she shared all this with Ji Yifeng. But it helped her heart to lighten up a bit.

 Chapter 181 I Dont Want His Son!

    Ru couldn¡¯t possibly forget that every time her father punished her for the sake of n Rules, he also punished himself along with her. He was strict and there was no doubt about that. She used to think that he was overreacting always.

    However, staying out all these years made her realize what she had really left behind. That father always portrayed himself as the bad guy just to help her stand up on her own feet. Just to teach her that she wasn¡¯t supposed to depend on others. She only needed herself to stand tall.

    Most importantly, if it wasn¡¯t because of the willpower that his father instilled in her soul, she really would have lost her life back then.

    "That¡¯s how fathers are. They hide their love behind their stern and strong demeanor. They want to be strong for their child. And that¡¯s why they never dare to show their weakness before their own kid." Ji Yifengmented after he learned of why Ru called her father weak.

    But wasn¡¯t all fathers weak when it came to their own flesh and blood?

    "We all are weak but yet we strive to be heroes for our kids."

    "I agree with you. After I left my dad, I did realize what he was for me. He always acted like a viin just so I could be the hero of his life." Ru was still reminiscing. "I always thought he was biased when it came to me and my little brother. But now I know that I was the one he loved the most. Because he taught me how to face the storm rather than protecting me behind himself like my little brother."

    Ji Yifeng could feel the love and respect in her voice and it really moved him. One could feel what her father meant to her.

    "Your father is lucky to have a son like you," he couldn¡¯t help saying this.

    ¡¯Son?¡¯ That one word made Ru want to scratch her head.

    With a cough, she hid her emotions and said, "Mr. Ji, why don¡¯t youe clean with your sons?" She might not know what went wrong but she was certain that Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t the viin in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life.

    "A lot of things will change if I repeated the story of those years. Some will be left heartbroken and others will be lost. I¡¯m fine being an outsider as long as my children are together... And happy. I don¡¯t want to crumble their whole life just to prove my innocence." Ji Yifeng¡¯s answer wasn¡¯t much different than what she had originally expected.

    Even as an outsider, she could tell that whatever happened in Ji Family wasn¡¯t as simple as people say it was. It was not justplicated. The truth could really alter their beliefs.

    "See, this is why I said you are a strong father," Ru spoke again with resolute as if telling him she was right all along. "You are the kind of father who is ready to bear the scorn of his own sons just so that they don¡¯t end up breaking in this cruel world. But let me warn you, Xiao Zhiren is a very curious person and the way he is digging into past, I believe he¡¯ll soone across it."

    Ji Yifeng smiled back at her rather sadly as he said, "Thanks for your concern but it¡¯s not needed. Ji Family isn¡¯t the only one hiding the past. Unless one of us speak up, Zhiren won¡¯t be able to find anything."

    Ru nodded understanding his point as well. Who else was hiding the past, she didn¡¯t know but she had a hunch about it.

    "Thanks for the tea and for your precious time as well. It made me feel a lot better. Talking to you really is interesting." Ji Yifeng stood up to leave.

    "This wasn¡¯t so bad for me either," Ru replied politely.

    She was apanying him to the door when he said, "Let me know if you need any help. Although I believe your background is peculiar than mine. But I can assure you that our Ji Family isn¡¯t shabby either."

    "I don¡¯t think I need anything from Mr. Ji." Ru¡¯s response was in ordance with his understanding of her.

    ¡¯You can ask for his son!¡¯ Her conscious reminded her making Ru want to pull that stupid conscious out and give it a good beating.

    ¡¯I don¡¯t want his son!¡¯ She snapped back inwardly while waving Ji Yifeng goodbye.

    ¡¯Well, not yet. But we never know... You might want him tomorrow.¡¯ Her conscious wasn¡¯t backing off.

    ¡¯Don¡¯t talk about tomorrow when we are not even promised one.¡¯ Ru replied before banging the door close and shaking her head to get rid of this stupid monologue.

 Chapter 182 Get Lost!

    After blocking out her conscious, Ru felt her insides twisting with a splitting pain rising from the core of her head. As her distraction was gone, her whole body felt heavy and she had to drag herself inside the apartment. However, after a few steps, her body went limp and she slid down on the ground.

    Her breath was getting heavier and uneven. The scene from earlier yed before her eyes like a movie. That thick stench of blood in the alley was still overwhelming her senses. At the reminder of seeing that katana with blood dripping down its tip made her knock her head back at the wall behind her.

    She wanted this pain to numb her senses to forget the earlier events of the night.

    But instead...

    She felt like standing between those corpses all over again. The lives she took tonight. Cold sweat was forming on her forehead while her eyes looked dazed as she stared straight particrly at nothing.

    In the past couple of months, acting as a civil human being almost made her forget the monster she was deep down. These recent attacks on her were a reminder. Reminding her of who she was and which world she belonged to.

    Even as a monster or a human, there was no doubt that each life held value. And every dead soul leaves a mark on its predator. She could tell that she was in for another torturous experience. Her mind won¡¯t let her forget those people who lost their lives to her. Just like the ones who were still haunting her from the past.

    Slowly, she felt like that blood spots in her memory turned into a mist before her very eyes and formed into a person that looked a replica of herself. There was an icy cold sneer on that beautiful face that looked like hers.

    "Just like a leopard can¡¯t change its spots, you can¡¯t change your nature. You¡¯ll always stay a monster." That chilly voice made Ru feel like her head was going to burst open. It was sharp and unbearable.

    Ru lifted her hand and bit down hard on her thumb until it bled. The taste of blood slowly entered her mouth and her lost rationality slowly came back. Her fuzzy mind finally noticed that there was no blood or mist or a person in her apartment except for herself. It was her own hallucinations ying with her mind all over again.

    Feeling the energy slowly drifting away from her body, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes slowly. Her thin blood-stained lips upturned slightly in a brittle smile in mock amusement.

    "Monster? Just call me a demon. Because this devil long lost the desire to find her human self." Even in her whispering, one could hear her vulnerability. And vulnerability was a taboo for her.

    She didn¡¯t know how long she stayed on the cold floor. All she knew was that slowly but certainly, her mind wasing out of those memory fragments which made her lose her rationality every single time.

    "Ding-Dong!"

    Suddenly, the doorbell¡¯s sound entered her ears but she ignored it. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with anyone in the middle of the night. Especially, when she wasn¡¯t even sure whether she¡¯d be able to hold herself back from strangling another person.

    But the person at the door was also very persistent since the doorbell kept going on for a long time. So long that Ru¡¯s face twitched in exasperation. How could someone be so insistent? If she wasn¡¯t opening the door, people should take the hint which clearly said; Get lost!

    But, nooo... Why would anyone be considerate of her flurry of emotions? Or her raging murdering instincts.

    Inhaling... Exhaling... She repeated it several times before pushing her now numb body off the floor. With her one hand on the wall to support her body, she paced towards the door while wiping the blood off her lips with her sleeve.

    However, on the other side of the door...

    It wasn¡¯t that Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t considerate of her feelings. But he was insisting on waiting for her to open the door just because he was told that she came back home and hadn¡¯t walked out. He knew she was inside.

    "What the hell is taking her so long? I hope she¡¯s okay..." He had gotten anxious since Ru wasn¡¯t opening the door which wasn¡¯t like her at all. There were so many scenarios running in his mind and each one was worse than the previous one. It only added up to his worries.

    Wasn¡¯t it enough that he hadn¡¯t seen her since that kiss? He was cursing himself for being impulsive. He felt like his move had finally crossed a line and she was now pushing him away. But this distance was making everything harder for him.

    And it became even worse when tonight he was told that Matrix Consortium¡¯s Chairman Xie Rong had been under multiple assassination attempts. And Xiao Zhiren who was nning on giving her time to sort out her feelings came running to her door to look for her.

    He didn¡¯t know why but he was really scared for her. Not because he thought she could be hurt by those assassins but rather because he didn¡¯t know anything about it. Such a heartless fellow she was that she didn¡¯t even seek him out. He knew she didn¡¯t need his help. But at the very least, she could look for him to talk about it or something.

    In all honesty, all these thoughts in his mind were just an excuse. An excuse that his restless heart needed to see her.

    Finally, the man of the hour... Cough... I mean the woman of the hour pulled open the door and stared at Xiao Zhiren with zing eyes.

    "What took you so long? Are you so desperate to ignor-" his words were stuck in his throat as he noticed her appearance. Earlier, Ji Yifeng might have not noticed anything but Xiao Zhiren was different. He could discern the smell of blood on her almost immediately. Moreover, what made him lost for words was her green eyes.

    Her pupils were contracted and her gaze was darkened. But there was something else amiss about those eyes other than the usual charm. He just couldn¡¯t point out what it was...

    Seeing that it was Xiao Zhiren at the door, Ru felt like hiding butposed herself. As for why or where that instinct of wanting to hide came from, she couldn¡¯t tell. She held the door with one hand while hiding her blood-stained one behind herself.

    Looking straight into his prating gaze, she only said two words, "Get lost!"

    And with those cold words, she mmed the door with a bang and took another deep breath.

    Xiao Zhiren was left alone and dumbstruck in the hallway but more so, he suddenly realized, what was the look he just saw in Ru¡¯s eyes. He had seen it before once. Her eyes looked dazed as if she was operating mechanically without a soul or any thinking of her own.

    At this realization, he pressed the doorbell again but no response came. After contemting for a while longer, he decided to try his luck and punched in the code he remembered by heart.

    He didn¡¯t expect that Ru really hadn¡¯t changed her passcode even till now. How odd! Wasn¡¯t she wary of him? Or was this her form of trust in him?

    That fleeting thought made him feel good inside but soon he came back to reality and ran inside to look for her. However, he couldn¡¯t find her. He looked in every single room but didn¡¯t see her. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to appreciate her apartment¡¯s interior or notice the fact that there was no bed in the entire apartment.

    His mind was a mess as he ran around frantically looking for her. Standing in her living room, he raked his fingers through his hair and breathed out, "Rong, where are you?"

    "Right behind you..." her voice came out in a whisper but Xiao Zhiren had heard it and immediately turned his head only to realize that she had been sitting on the floor right behind the main door while he was running around her apartment like a crazed man.

    Seriously? Couldn¡¯t she have spoken sooner?

    But this was not the time to rebuke her at all. He squatted down beside her and held her hand which she tried to retract but he didn¡¯t let her do so. Noticing that the blood on her hand was because of a small cut, he eased up a bit.

    Both of them kept staring into the depth of each other¡¯s eyes with no intention of backing off. As for what they were looking for, only they could tell.

    While Ru wasn¡¯t nning on saying anything, Xiao Zhiren wanted to hear her voice. He needed to hear it. But he didn¡¯t want to start off with her current condition. Looking for a topic as an ice breaker, he recalled how she mmed the door right at his face and said, "You¡¯re getting fond of banging." With a cough, he added, "I meant door. Banging the doors."

    Seeing how Ru¡¯s looked confused, he realized how clueless she was about the suggestive meaning behind his words. Aiyo, why did she seem so innocent all of a sudden?

 Chapter 183 Dear Zhiren

    At this moment, Xiao Zhiren would have described Ru as; An innocent face with a wild side. But that innocence was quite charming to him. But it also made him wonder how did she manage to preserve her childlike innocence in this polluted and corrupted world. It was rather unbelievable considering that she has enshrouded in the dark world herself.

    "What are you doing here?" He heard her slightly hoarse voice after the silence got intense along with their gazes that had been shing all this while.

    Xiao Zhiren cleared his throat while trying toe up with something to say. He couldn¡¯t just say that he was worried about her. Could he? There was nothing wrong with those words but he knew that she¡¯d on guard again. "You¡¯ve been avoiding me. So, I decided to look for you myself." He was gingerly trying to read her expressions but how could Ru let that happen.

    Even though his words did bring a ripple of memory that had something to do with his soft, warm and moist lips on her cold ones. But even then her face didn¡¯t even twitch and Xiao Zhiren inwardly sighed at how profound her gaze was. The depth in her eyes was truly scary sometimes. That depth shouldn¡¯t have belonged to someone of her age.

    With a nk look on her face, Ru said, "It¡¯s not that I was avoiding you. I just had been..." she thought about how to continue and finished her sentence with, "Highly in demand recently."

    She felt nothing wrong with calling her assassination attempts as ¡¯being highly in demand¡¯ but it certainly made Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face twitch. Because to her, all those peopleing after a single her meant that she was of real importance.

    He wanted to yell but he still kept his voice down as he spoke, "I didn¡¯t know being hunted by bounty hunters could actually be described as being highly in demand." There was sarcasm in his tone and Ru could hear it clearly. But even then, so what? It didn¡¯t faze her at all. Neither did that fact that he was aware of her assassination attacks.

    Just because she never said it out loud, it didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t know what Xiao Zhiren was capable of all on his own. It was no wonder that he knew about the bidding on Blood Pool.

    "Why not?" She retorted back insistently.

    Xiao Zhiren sat down cross-legged before her and said, "You tell me yourself, you¡¯re the one facing death every day." And that was the only thing scaring him. Or one of the things that scared him about her. But currently, this one was at the top of the list without any doubt.

    Ru finally moved a little as she lifted her hand which she had bitten earlier. Xiao Zhiren had already wiped her hand with his own shirt without caring for the bright crimson bloodstains.

    "If death is looking for me every day, doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯m highly in demand with the King of death?" Her reply really made Xiao Zhiren speechless yet again. Would it kill her to answer like a normal person? Was this something to show-off about? He didn¡¯t agree!

    She could see that Xiao Zhiren had something to ask. Or perhaps, there were a million questions in his mind. But once again, he chose to give her space. It was like he could read her mind without trying to. It was like he could tell that she didn¡¯t want to say out her worries.

    But the conflict in his eyes wasn¡¯t hidden from her as well. He was hurting himself inwardly as he saw her struggling alone. He was indeed struggling inside. Just the thought of how she was all alone here made him clench his hands tightly.

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell why but she knew one thing for sure, she didn¡¯t like the look in his eyes. He wasmenting for not being there for her. And she didn¡¯t like this itch in her heart that he was the reason for.

    "Oi, Zhiren!"

    "Hm..." Xiao Zhiren was a bit taken aback. It was rare for her to call him Zhiren. Or did she really call him that before?

    "Are you nning on bing an astronaut?" This out of the blue question made him furrow his brows in confusion.

    "No."

    "Then why are you so adamant on giving me space?" Xiao Zhiren closed his eyes trying to stifle this urge of wanting to knock her head. However, she wasn¡¯t done yet as she continued, "Why don¡¯t you just ask what¡¯s on your mind? Is it that hard? I know I look like the kind of person who would bite but I assure you I won¡¯t bite you."

    Herst sentence made his lips turn upward as he asked, "What if I do want you to bite me? Bite me all you want."

    Ru didn¡¯t expect his response to be like this. He really had changed his tactic of hitting on her. He was quite audacious around her these days. But why wasn¡¯t she able to push him away once and for all?

    "I¡¯ve killed 18 people tonight. Do you think I can¡¯t add another on the list?"

    "I don¡¯t think that at all. However, I know for a fact that the next person on that list won¡¯t be me." His cocky expression was supposed to irk her and yet she was being amused. When did that change conspire? Even she wasn¡¯t too sure about that.

    They both didn¡¯t speak for a while again and this time, Xiao Zhiren chose to break the silence as he said, "Do you want something? I can bring it to you."

    Ru looked into his eyes and a sly smile emerged on her face as she said, "I want snowman blood. Can you bring me some?"

    "Of course, I ca-" Xiao Zhiren stopped mid-sentence as he felt like something was wrong with her request. "Snowman blood?" He repeated uncertainly.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she answered, "Yup." Seeing his deep frown shenguidly added, "I¡¯m a bloodthirsty person. It¡¯s a very normal request on my part. But... Sigh! You certainly can¡¯t fulfill it."

    "Who said I can¡¯t?" Xiao Zhiren spoke in defiance as he said, "I can fulfill each and every request of yours." Then he gave a thoughtful look and went on, "Let me first figure out what snowman blood is."

    Ru didn¡¯t interrupt him and let him figure it out himself while she felt like her earlier dark aura was all gone. His presence had made her forget the surge of anger and rage and a will to kill everything in sight. He was like she said; a bright light. But what if his light was too much for her dark heart?

    Xiao Zhiren kept mumbling incoherently, "What could be snowman blood made of?"

    Ru shook her head at him while thinking, "You dumb bachelor! No wonder it was your first kiss. If it¡¯s snowman blood. Isn¡¯t it obviously made of snowman itself? With this IQ level, how will you get a girlfriend?"

    She was forgetting that IQ had nothing to do with having a girlfriend. A rtionship only needed a sincere heart and even she couldn¡¯t argue with that fact that Xiao Zhiren had the sincerest heart she had evere across.

    ¡¯It was your first kiss as well, Ms. Smartypants!¡¯ Her subconscious reminded her almost instantly.

    ¡¯If you keep quiet trust me nobody will miss you.¡¯ Ru retorted back.

    Xiao Zhiren was tired of thinking as he exasperatedly scratched his head and asked, "Can you speak like a normal person? What really is snowman blood?"

    "Bottled water," Ru answered ndly while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s teeth gnashed in fury.

    "Can¡¯t you stop with yourme jokes?" He snapped at her but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it harshly.

    "Aiyo! Dear Zhiren, it¡¯s not that my jokes areme. It¡¯s just that people are not smart enough to understand them. What can I say... Even I¡¯m very distressed about it. It¡¯s hard for a cream of a crop like me to live between ordinary people. How troublesome!" Her haughty arrogance and narcissism were beyond words. However, Xiao Zhiren seemed to have not heard anything except for one thing; Dear Zhiren.

    ¡¯Dear Zhiren? Dear Zhiren!¡¯ Xiao Zhiren kept repeating in his mind and thought that his name had never sounded this good before. Unexpectedly, Ru had dropped her deep voice and used her real feminine voice while talking which made the moment even more mesmerizing for him.

    ¡¯Who am I? Where am I?¡¯ Xiao Zhiren felt like dreaming as he tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Is this heaven?"

    Ru didn¡¯t get his meaning but she still responded in her peculiar manner, "Nope! This ce is called Earth and trust me, it¡¯s worse than hell."

    Xiao Zhiren gave a short chuckle surprising her even more. He ignored her answerpletely as he said, "If this is not heaven, then why is an angel sitting before me?"

    Ru widened her eyes. "Huh? There is an angel here? Where?" She even craned her neck to look around while he held her hand and pointed it towards herself.

    "Angel is right here hiding behind her pitch-dark disguise."

    Ru gave him a dumbfounded look while he stood up and tousled her hair saying, "I¡¯ll being your snowman blood to you."

    Ru was left to watch his disappearing back with a blurred vision. Suddenly, she felt her vision brightening up; all the colors of this world were back to her life.

 Chapter 184 A Borrowed Kiss

    Xiao Zhiren came back to her side with a bottle of water in hand. He twisted the cap while sitting beside her on the floor and passed her the bottle.

    Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck to each and every movement of his. As if she was trying to etch it in her memory. And it did. The way this long legs wrapped in cotton pants strode around, the way his eyes focused while his slender but strong fingers twisted the cap of the stic bottle. All of it got stuck in her memory.

    Sensing her gaze on himself, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t feel flustered at all. Instead, he felt something rippling inside his heart. With the exact same shamelessness as she had, he said, "I know I¡¯m handsome. No need to be starstruck."

    Ru almost spurted the water out of her mouth that was yet to be swallowed. It took a bit of effort to shove that water down her throat. "Lofty much?" She raised a single brow at him whether it was in sarcasm or amusement only she could tell.

    Xiao Zhiren gave a sly smile and put his arm over her shoulder as if giving her a side hug. "Learned it all from you." Ru¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t on his words anymore, rather it was on the presence of his firm hold on her shoulder. That hand on her shoulder wasn¡¯t repulsive. It was like a silent remedy that slowly pulled her out of whatever was happening in the previous days.

    Beside her, Xiao Zhiren was observing her actions as well. He saw the way her hand lifted to p his own but then stayed down with a conflicted look on her face. He was certain that she was having a hard time deciding whether to let his hand stay or push it away. But when she clenched her hands into fists and didn¡¯t push him away, Xiao Zhiren felt aplished. She was finally willing to give him leeway. And it was all he needed to crawl into her heart.

    Gulping down the whole bottle of water, Ru took a deep breath and something caught her eye. "You ran around my apartment in your shoes?"

    Xiao Zhiren raised his eyes before looking at his feet. Indeed, in his anxious state, he forgot about changing into slippers. While rubbing the nape of his neck, he said, "Actually, I was too anxious. I didn¡¯t realize it."

    "Why were you anxious?" Ru¡¯s outburst was misced at least that¡¯s what Xiao Zhiren thought.

    And that¡¯s why he managed to say, "This is your own fault! If you don¡¯t make me always so worried about me, I wouldn¡¯t lose my senses. But no! You love getting in trouble and that makes me scared. What do you expect? me yourself since you mean so much to me that I can¡¯t even think straight when ites to you."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened while she was left stunned. Why was he being so blunt? His bluntness was getting to her. Since she was the one who made him worried so it was all her own fault. Although this logic didn¡¯t make sense to her, somehow it felt good when she heard it.

    ¡¯Good?¡¯ Ru shook her head getting this ridiculous thought out of her mind. ¡¯There is nothing good about this. So, cut it already!¡¯

    Even if she denied it with all her might, even she knew that his words had stirred her emotions. In her slightly flustered state, she said, "I-I don¡¯t give a bloody hell! Yo-You ran amok like a crazed man in my apartment."

    "So what?" Xiao Zhiren questioned noticing the way her pupils were rolling upward in an attempt to hide her emotions.

    "Who¡¯s gonna clean it now?"

    Xiao Zhiren brought his face inches away from her and whispered, "Who?"

    As his breath fanned over her face, Ru tried to lean back only to realize that there was a wall behind her. She held her knee to hide the shaking, turned her face sideways and said, "Obviously, you¡¯ll have to do it yourself."

    "I¡¯ll do it." Xiao Zhiren readily agreed but Ru felt his breath getting closer. Suddenly, Ru¡¯s body stiffened because of a warm touch on her neck. Xiao Zhiren was nuzzling her neck and the feel of his nose caressing the exposed side of her neck made Ru¡¯s mind go nk. He dropped a feather-like kiss at the junction where her neck and jawline connected. "But I have a condition."

    Ru was clutching her clothes tightly while that simple touch of his kiss ignited her skin. She felt like ants were crawling on her body since the tingling was so strong. What was this feeling? She couldn¡¯t tell. No one had ever touched her so intimately before.

    She refused to meet his eyes while Xiao Zhiren held her chin and turned her face. Ru still kept her eyes heavenwards. She didn¡¯t want to look into his eyes. She was able to ignore the passion in his eyesst time but she was certain that he would break all her walls if she just looked into his ck orbs.

    There wasn¡¯t a tinge of shyness on her face. And Xiao Zhiren was amused by this fact since from long he knew that she wasn¡¯t someone who could be embarrassed. She didn¡¯t possess that coquettish nature of girls. It would be a miracle if she ever acted coy. But he wasn¡¯t counting on it at all.

    With a sly smile, he asked, "Don¡¯t you want to know about my condition?"

    Ru felt like she had fallen in her own trap. Seriously, how could her wordse to bite her like this? This was so wrong. But why wasn¡¯t she pushing him away?

    ¡¯Isn¡¯t it obvious? You don¡¯t want to hurt him.¡¯ Her conscious was back to guide her.

    ¡¯Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡¯ Ru inwardly bellowed.

    ¡¯Aiyayaya! Dear Ru¡¯er, right now you don¡¯t trust your own strength which had been unleashed. ept it that¡¯s the reason, you¡¯re not even touching him. Ru¡¯er is scared!¡¯ That mocking from her conscious might have felt like a nuisance to her but Ru knew that every said word was the truth.

    She just couldn¡¯t bring herself to hurt him.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t disturb her internal battle. He knew perfectly well when to push and when to pull away. He couldn¡¯t scare her now. That would be so not beneficial to his chase. Oh, yes! This had indeed be a chase from courtship. Because neither Ru was a normal girl who he could woo nor did he was someone who knew how to court someone.

    Instead, calling it a chase was better since both of them was chasing something. He didn¡¯t know what she was chasing. But he was certainly chasing her for years. And he couldn¡¯t just change that.

    "What is the condition?" Ru stammered her words out while willing herself to look into his eyes. It took everything within her to stop from snapping her resolve that was crumbling under his intense gaze.

    "I lent you something thest time we met. Give it back." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words made Ru frown.

    When did she borrow anything from him? What him? She had never borrowed anything from anyone in her life! Not even a single favor!

    "I didn¡¯t borrow anything from you." She answered inly after thinking thoroughly.

    "Yes, you didn¡¯t ask to borrow it but I still lent it to you. Why are you shirking away from the responsibility?"

    "But I really didn¡¯t. Okay, tell me what did you lend me?"

    Her stubborn denial was a great show for Xiao Zhiren. His hand dropped from her shoulder to her waist and he pulled her body close to his own and as her mouth opened to shout at him, his lips descended to capture hers.

    Last time when asked what the kiss was like, Ru couldn¡¯t say much since her mind had gone nk. But this time was different. She felt the intensity of his touch hundred folds or much more than that.

    Her lips didn¡¯t move at all since she had no clue what to do and it gave Xiao Zhiren the chance to do whatever he wished to. Lightly sucking on her lower lip, his tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips. Unlike thest time, he didn¡¯t taste the alcohol or tobo from her. This time she tasted much more intoxicating to him. So much so that Xiao Zhiren felt like drowning in her taste.

 Chapter 185 Hello For A Lifetime

    A direct confession of your feelings can¡¯t be done with mere words. Because when your lips brush against your lover¡¯s, words aren¡¯t needed anymore. Then your souls do the talking.

    A kiss can evoke a million things within you. It can burn a fire within your bones. And yet, it makes you feel like drowning in an ocean, gasping for air. Oddly enough, a kiss isn¡¯t only felt by the lips. It even makes every single cell in our bodye alive with desire.

    When Xiao Zhiren opened his eyes, he saw how she was looking at him up close without blinking. He wanted to shake his head at her stupor but instead, he pulled away slightly to smile against her lips. He lifted his hand and closed her eyes whispering in a husky voice, "Don¡¯t think. Let your heart feel."

    Before she could open her mouth, he had captured her lips again. The soft sensation of his lips awoken her from her stupor. This time though she listened to him and didn¡¯t think anything.

    And that¡¯s how she felt the storm that was brewing under her skin. It felt like his lips were whispering a secret while her heart was being caressed by his kisses. Nothing was rushed. He was kissing like he had all the time in this world. Like he¡¯d rather be kissing her than doing some other useless stuff.

    The movement of his lips against hers was soft and moist. But the kiss still felt hot and breathy. It wasn¡¯t a battle and none of them was trying to win either. Xiao Zhiren bit her lip softly making her open her mouth wide before making his way in to explore the deepest recess of her mouth.

    The first stroke of his tongue against hers made Ru stiffen and she opened her eyes frantically. The touch was quick and electric but she couldn¡¯t deny that it was delicious. His hand on her waist raised to rub soothing circles on her back; reassuring her. Just when her body loosened up again, only then did Xiao Zhiren continue to shower her with love and tenderness.

    He knew this kiss was way too intimate for her but he wanted to show her what it meant. He had a lot to say and he knew no word would ever be enough. That¡¯s why he used this kiss as a messenger of his love, his tenderness, his insecurities and most of all his fear of losing her.

    Ru felt much more than what he was trying to convey. She could feel his touch turning firmer, more determined and his tongue getting more curious.

    Ru had always been in control of everything in her life. This could be considered as a rare moment when she was not the one in control. Rather she was allowing someone else to take control. And he did. But she didn¡¯t find it repulsive at all.

    The teasing of his tongue made her feel like he was seeking a union and closeness. They were sharing the same breath, the same sensation, the same timeless and passionate moment. For the first time, Ru wasn¡¯t living a moment. She was feeling it with every awoken cell of her body.

    She felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach but chose to ignore it altogether. She neither knew what this sensation meant nor was she inclined on finding out. At least not right now.

    Xiao Zhiren only pulled away when both of them needed to catch their breath. Ru¡¯s chest was heaving up and down in an uneven manner. Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t any better if not worse but there was an indescribable emotion glimmering in his eyes while he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

    ¡¯Holy F*ck!¡¯ Ru could only curse in her mind when she looked into his eyes. That one look had made her biggest feare true. She officially felt her walls crumbling down leaving havoc behind.

    He didn¡¯t kiss her like he was saying goodbye neither did he kiss like it was their first hello. His kiss only screamed one thing to her; Hello for a lifetime of no goodbyes.

    Seeing how she was still looking at his face without even a tinge of shyness in her eyes, Xiao Zhiren really didn¡¯t know what to say. So, he rubbed her head saying, "I took back what I lent you... With interest."

    Ru suddenly remembered how this kiss started in the first ce. He was insisting he lent her something but she was also adamant that he didn¡¯t. Now that she thought about it, this shameless person was using his words to trick her. She didn¡¯t want to borrow thest kiss and definitely didn¡¯t n on giving it back tonight. But how could she say it now?

    While she was contemting what to say, he rested one hand behind her head and nted a firm kiss between her brows taking her by surprise yet again. That one kiss told her how much he respected her and how much he wanted to protect her.

    "Stop zoning out." Saying that he swiftly stood up and offered her his hand. "The marble floor is cold. Get up already."

    Ru took his hand. Unlike his fears, she really didn¡¯t pull away. Instead, she walked by his side and even took a seat at the couch. Xiao Zhiren sat beside her and kept his eyes on her side profile.

    Seeing her troubled eyes, he asked, "What¡¯s bothering you?"

    Ru turned a bit to face him and pointed straight at him without any hesitation as she said, "You."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t expect this answer at all. "I¡¯m bothering you? How?" Ru bit the inside of her lips but stayed quiet. He took her hand in his own and patiently waited for her to speak.

    "You¡¯re testing me the way no one ever dared to do so before." Ru began with a firm tone. "You¡¯re challenging my boundaries and beliefs. You¡¯re trying to crumble the walls that took years to build. And most of all, you are making me lose myself." He knew she wasn¡¯t done yet and that¡¯s why he still waited. "I really can¡¯t be what you expect me to be."

    "And what do you think I expect you to be?" He retorted almost immediately.

    "You want to change who I am."

    Xiao Zhiren gave her a smile. "I wouldn¡¯t dare do that. If there is one person in this world whom I don¡¯t want to change than that¡¯d be you. I like you, not the version what others want you to be. I fell for this version of yours. And I fell hard. You¡¯re annoying at times, narcissistic at others. You¡¯re insidious, ruthless, merciless, dark but aren¡¯t I still sitting here? Why would I even wish for you to change?"

    Ru was left bbergasted as she gaped at him in disbelief. Was that a confession? She knew it was- if one ignored the insult. But with a dry cough, she decided to pretend like she didn¡¯t get his real meaning at all.

    "It¡¯s good if you don¡¯t want to change me. It wasn¡¯t possible anyway." She replied offhandedly while turning to look outside the ss windows.

    Xiao Zhiren understood her intention and didn¡¯t continue this topic anymore. But he had a new curiosity now. "Hey! I think I didn¡¯t see a bed in your apartment."

    "Took you long enough to realize that, genius," Ru muttered under her breath.

    "I heard that." Ru shrugged her shoulders in response. "But seriously, you really don¡¯t have any beds?"

    "Nope."

    "Why not?" Before Ru could answer, he came up with his own ridiculous conclusion. "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a... Vampire?" His voice turned into a whisper at the end as if it was the biggest secret or something.

    "Seriously? Couldn¡¯t youe up with something better?"

    "Well, you love snowman blood. Who knows, maybe you actually like human blood as well." Xiao Zhiren was acting yfully unlike his nature.

    "Until now, I was only interested in squeezing blood out of humans. But now, I think I should try drinking it. How about starting with you?"

    Xiao Zhiren arched his neck towards her saying, "Go ahead. This artery gives better ess to blood."

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say or do. Really, this man was always testing her. Urgh! It¡¯s really annoying! But why wasn¡¯t she still kicking him out of the house as she did with his brother?

    "You know what Zhi... Hold your life dearly. I might snatch it away." She spat out through gritted teeth.

    With a cunning glint in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" She shouted at him.

    "You told me to hold my life dearly. That¡¯s what I doing. I can¡¯t let you snatch my life so easily now. Can I? How will I live without her?"

    His reply yet again made Ru speechless. What was he doing with her? Was he ying with her? Because if he was only God knew how much Ru was going to suffer.

 Chapter 186 Violent In Bed

    There are two types of dreams in life; one that we see with our open eyes. We often define them as ambitions. And the second ones are those thate to us when we sleep. But how can one define them?

    Some say when we sleep we end up living in another world. While others believe that those dreams are just a way of our mind telling us what we are missing.

    But what if we disagree with all those conjectures?

    Honestly, it¡¯s not like one can understand the dreams of a human. We are yet to understand the difficult andplicated nature of a human being. How can we im to understand the dreams of that same human being?

    Often our dreams areplicated or in simple. But still, we find them hard to understand except for the feeling they left behind.

    Tonight was bound to be a long night but who knew that Ru would be too tired to keep her eyes open? And more surprisingly, who would have thought this person who imed to have never seen a dream in life would actually end up finding herself in a strange dream.

    Walking through a thick bamboo forest bare feet, Ru found herself in a vast and barrennd which seemed endless. No matter where she looked, she found nothing even the green forest she had just left vanished.

    Suddenly, she heard theughter of a woman making her ears perk up. Her brows wrinkled as she scrutinized her eyes to look ahead, trying to find the source of thatughter.

    Ru saw thend before her turning into a beautiful greennd with a lush green grass looking like a natural carpet. Ru slowly stepped on that grass and found the grass softer than she had expected it to be. It felt like she was stepping on cotton.

    As she was slightly distracted by this soft feeling underneath her feet, Ru soon heard thatughter again. She looked up and saw a huge weeping willow tree emerge out of a pure haze. Ru seemed enchanted by the way it¡¯s slender branches were dancing at the rhythm of the breeze that softly blew around.

    Mesmerized by this simple scene, Ru kept moving forward and soon found the person whoseughter was pulling her in.

    Before her, a woman in pastel green long-sleeved robes was sitting while leaning against the tree. The woman had long ck hairs that were tied up in a beautiful braid with simple but elegant ornaments used for styling. Her eyes were lowered but Ru could tell they held an immense amount of love and gentleness by the way her lips were curled up.

    As Ru lowered her eyes, she found the reason behind that smile of hers. A man had his head in herp while he was talking animatedly to her. At the sight of that handsome face that was already etched in her mind, Ru stood there dumbstruck.

    "Zhi-Zhiren?" She whispered softly in confusion.

    But there was no doubt. That smile wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to her anymore. But why was she feeling an itch in her heart? As if someone was prickling it with something softly at first but then he lifted his hand to caress that girl¡¯s face and Ru felt like a fire was ignited within her.

    He suddenly seemed far away. Out of her reach. As if there was a huge gap between them. But what was it? She wanted to call out to him but couldn¡¯t do so.

    Just as she wanted to move, she felt a ring and scorching heat touching her body. She instinctively lifted her hand to shield her eyes.

    And that¡¯s how her dream came to an abrupt halt.

    While back in Ru¡¯s apartment, she still had her hand before her eyes to shield the zing sun rays that were falling on her through the ss windows in the living room. Groggily, Ru sat up and after rubbing her eyes, she slowly opened her eyes to find herself in the same couch where she was sitting with Xiao Zhirenst night.

    The scenes fromst night yed like a movie before her eyes and she got stunned. Why was she sleeping here? The answer would be that she hadpletely lost track of time and space as she spent hours arguing with Xiao Zhiren like a kid. She felt like she should be ashamed of herself. But wasn¡¯t she too thick-skinned? How could something like a bit of banter embarrass her?

    While she was pondering over that, she suddenly felt a body heat close to herself. She was immediately in an alert mode as she whipped her head and saw Xiao Zhiren sleeping right beside her. Her eyes widened, this time in shock at this unbelieving scene.

    The couch was big but not that big and yet she found herself sandwiched between him and the couch while he looked quite ufortable at the edge.

    Without even thinking, Ru pushed him off the couch and with a ¡¯thud¡¯ Xiao Zhirennded on the floor.

    "Ommff!" A groan escaped his mouth. "Why are you so violent early in the morning?"

    Seeing him scowl at her with that adorably handsome face of his, Ru¡¯s face darkened because it contrasted with that smiling face he had in her dream. And that too for the OTHER WOMAN!

    That gorgeous, peerlessly beautiful woman! How infuriating!

    "I was born violent. What does it have to do with you?" Ru pushed her chin up and shouted in a defying manner.

    Xiao Zhiren was confused at her sudden outburst. What went wrong? He wondered but couldn¡¯te up with anything. ¡¯Forget it! She¡¯s temperamental and entric one. I really won¡¯t be able to understand her mind.¡¯

    With that thought, Xiao Zhiren decided to disregard her ugly expressions and ring eyes.

    Like a calm and rational person, he stood up and said, "My little chili, if you are this violent early in the morning. I can only wonder how violent you can be in bed."

    "Huh? What?" Seeing her yet again dumbfounded look, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. She was way too clueless for her own good!

    It wasn¡¯t that she was clueless about his meaning. She simply didn¡¯t find the reason to let him know.

    However, he felt like he had to teach her. And there was a lot to teach here as well. Sigh! It¡¯ll certainly be tiring. But he was ready to invest in her both his time and effort along with himself. Oh, wait! He was already invested in her way beyond his own belief.

    "Nothing. Mind telling me what made you so angry?" Xiao Zhiren tried to steer away from the topic which was beyond her understanding.

    Again, his handsome profile in those white robes shed before her eyes lying with his head in another woman¡¯sp. Ru closed her eyes to shoo away that image and opened her eyes only after taking a long and deep breath.

    "Who allowed you to sleep with me?" Might as well use this excuse for her outburst. He wouldn¡¯t know anyway.

    Xiao Zhiren rolled his eyes at her as if seeing right through her as he said, "Oh, please! You didn¡¯t mind my presence when you used my shoulder as your pillow. I¡¯m notining and here you are hurting my feelings after taking tant advantage of me."

    Ru stared at him with her mouth agape in disbelief. "Wh-What the bloody nonsense are you spouting? I didn¡¯t take any advantage of you!" She stammered in her speech which was so unlike her.

    Xiao Zhiren secretly grinned and massaged his own shoulder. "Aiyo... You really are ruthless. My shoulder is numb because of you."

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell whether he was lying or telling the truth. For one, he was getting good at hiding his feelings. And second, she wasn¡¯t sure how she had a deep sleepst night. She had never even had a dream before in her life. At least not the one that was just a figment of her imagination. All her dreams wereprised of her lost memories.

    Although this particr dream also felt like a memory, Ru was certain it wasn¡¯t hers. There was no way it could be hers. Right? That small voice of uncertainty was enough to shook her resolve.

    Seeing her dazed expression, Xiao Zhiren felt something amiss as he came close to her and asked, "Are you still lost in the dream?" Ru didn¡¯t know why but she nodded. "Haiz! Don¡¯t overthink about it. What did you dream about anyway?" His curiosity grew when he saw her reaction.

    "Nothing. Nothing at all." Ru insisted.

    "Whatever. By the way, I heard that dreams are like wishes that our hearts secretly ask for. Hope your heart made the wish for us to be together."

    Ru abruptly stood up and made a beeline for her room upstairs while shouting at him, "Stop your stupid remarks and get out of my house. Don¡¯t let me see you when Ie back."

    Her weird expression was amusing to Xiao Zhiren as he watched her retreating back. But as she disappeared from his vision. His smile froze and a gloomy look took over.

    Last night, he also had a dream...

 Chapter 187 He Really Lef

    Locking herself in the bathroom, Ru leaned against the door and took long breaths. All this while, her mind wandering off to the dream she just had. She shook her head vigorously until she felt a bit dizzy and walked inside the ss walls to take a shower.

    After an ice-cold shower to numb the bloody itch in her whole body, she picked out a pair of a simple t-shirt and trousers. She didn¡¯t even bother with the binding around her chest since she wasn¡¯t nning on leaving the apartment at all. Also, the tightness in her chest earlier was too much. She needed to give her body some break at some point.

    But who would tell this silly girl that the tightness in her chest was definitely not because of a binding she had grown ustomed to.

    With a towel, she was drying her hair as she stepped inside her room. Suddenly as her eyes caught sight of something, she stopped in her track. Slowly, she turned her head and stared at the wall clock like it was some foreign thing.

    The clock wasn¡¯t foreign, it¡¯d be the time that seemed foreign to her instead.

    "Raven, what¡¯s the time?" Her eyes were still looking at the huge clock that didn¡¯t seem like a defected one.

    "It¡¯s 12:13 PM." Raven¡¯s reply made the already stunned Ru feel like she was still dreaming.

    She slept for almost 11 hours! This was like a historical moment for her. When was thest time she slept for this long? The answer would be NEVER!

    cing the back of her hand on her forehead, she tried to take her temperature but couldn¡¯t tell the difference since both her hand and forehead were cold. Pursing her lips, she held her own wrist with the other hand and concentrated intently.

    "I don¡¯t seem to have a fever. But then how can I sleep for this long?" Ru was scratching her head like a fool while trying to understand what changed. Then it suddenly clicked, "He was sleeping beside me." Her eyes grewrge considerably at this realization.

    ¡¯HA! Took you long enough, GENIUS!¡¯ Her conscious used the same sarcasm as she had used on Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru made a sour face and with a reluctant look in her eyes, she said, "No way! How is that possible? I might have been too exhausted."

    ¡¯If that floats your boat then why not...¡¯ Her conscious was active with her reply making Ru roll her eyes. She really didn¡¯t want to waste time having an arguing session with her own self.

    With her still damp hair she walked out of the bedroom and came downstairs. Her eyes unconsciously darted around in search of a figure but when she couldn¡¯t find him, she muttered, "He really left?"

    ¡¯You asked him to leave. Oh, let me rephrase it, you told him to get lost!¡¯ This reminder from her mind made her sour mood to turn bitter now.

    "Hmph! I told him to get lostst night as well. Didn¡¯t he disregard my words and still barged inside my house? Forget it! Why am I even wasting my breath on someone like him who smiles at other women even in my dreams? Hmph! Stupid! Jerk!" She kept rambling to herself while walking towards the kitchen.

    Looking at the ingredients in her fridge, she decided to make some beef noodles for herself. Home-cooked meals weren¡¯t so bad either. So, with this in mind, she took out the beef and other ingredients from the fridge.

    Her cell phone rang somewhere but she wasn¡¯t nning on looking for it until she felt that this person was rather persistent. Just like Xiao Zhiren wasst night? With a flicker in her eyes, she ran to find her cellphone and finally found it under the coffee table in the living room.

    Without looking at the called id, she touched the screen to attend the call but before she could speak she heard the other person¡¯s voice, "What took you so long?"

    Ru¡¯s excitement went down the drain almost immediately as she mumbled, "Oh, it¡¯s JieJie."

    "Ouch! That tone of yours just bit me hard." Zhu Jie¡¯s dramatic voice came from the other side as he continued, "Tell me honestly... Whose voice were you anticipating?" His curiosity took the best of him since he could feel the change in Ru even through the phone.

    "What? I was not expecting anyone! Stop wasting my time!" Her defiance proved it further to him that she was indeed lying.

    As if he had an epiphany, he came up with a n to trick this narcissistic genius. "I heard you got attackedst night again."

    "Mhmm..." Ru put the phone on speaker and started to chop the beef on a cutting board.

    "Did you get hurt?" He inquired again.

    "How is that possible? Those bounty hunters think too highly of themselves if they think that they can kill this lord. I have much worse up my sleeves." Ru replied confidently exactly along the lines of Zhu Jie¡¯s thoughts. He really expected the same words from this proud-peacock.

    "Yes, yes. Our young master Ru is a peerless genius. Who can survive after crossing his path?" He was rolling his eyes as these words left his mouth but inside even he was sure that there was nothing wrong in what she said. She wouldn¡¯t be ruling the Underworld Syndicates of Europe if she was that gullible to let any Tom, Dick, and Harry get to her.

    "Indeed. It¡¯s almost impossible to live after messing with me. So, you better behave." Ru added a warning at the end.

    "I¡¯m always behaving myself." As he said that, Ru heard the sound of a door in his background and stayed quiet as she heard a loud but familiar voice from his end.

    "Ah-Jie!"

    "Yes, baby." She heard her best friend¡¯s reply to his wife; Xu Mey and almost puked her guts out.

    ¡¯She is a grown woman. Actually, a mother of two kids. Stop calling her baby already!¡¯ Obviously, she didn¡¯t scream this out at him. One, she didn¡¯t want to hurt his feelings. Second, he wouldn¡¯t listen anyway. So, why waste her own breath? Right?

    "Hold Xiao Juan for a while. She¡¯s been crying for a while." Xu Mey¡¯s voice was still as she remembered it. This woman was always in a hurry for some reason. There was no patience in her. But if she wasn¡¯t impulsive, she might have lost a chance to be the wife of Zhu Jie as well.

    Now, that Ru noticed, she realized that the loud voice wasn¡¯t Xu Mey¡¯s rather it was from a crying little baby. Just the crying sound made Ru cringe for some reason. Urgh! Her dislike for babies was getting to her.

    "Ohh, my little princess,e to dad." Even her best friend¡¯s sickly sweet voice made her feel sick.

    Then she heard the door closing again and some soft murmurs which she couldn¡¯t understand or rather didn¡¯t want to.

    "Hey! I get it that I like sweets but you don¡¯t have to overload me with your perfect family love and sweetness." Ru¡¯s voice made Zhu Jie smile as he lightly patted his daughter andid her on his chest to sleep.

    "Ru¡¯er, were you expecting Xiao Zhiren¡¯s call?" His question was way out of her expectations since their initial topic was certainly not this.

    Perhaps, that¡¯s why she replied with, "Yes." She bit her tongue after the words were already said. What a bummer! Why couldn¡¯t she just control her bloody mouth before her best friend?

    "I knew it!" Zhu Jie¡¯s voice was soft but Ru could feel his smugness all the way there in her kitchen. She knew if his little baby girl wasn¡¯t beside him, he would have screamed at the top of his lungs by now. "Now,e clean already. What happened since thest time I saw you?"

    The way he asked made Ru think of those gossipy aunties who keeps an eye on the society romance. Imagining Zhu Jie in that scenario brought a big smile on her face. The idea was too funny for her.

    Ru sighed and decided to talk to Zhu Jie. It was better to talk to someone since the dream from earlier was really unsettling for some odd reason. As she narrated the whole dream, Zhu Jie was left bewildered.

    As she finished, she waited for his reply but Zhu Jie was left trying to digest everything first.

    "Woah! That man really knows what he wants." That was the reply she got from him.

    "And what is it that he wants?" She asked.

    "Dumbo! He wants you!" Zhu Jie snapped at her. "Aiyo, my little princess, can you hear that? This is your dumb godmother. Don¡¯t turn out to be clueless like her." Ru pouted as she heard himining about her to his daughter. "Except for being clueless, I¡¯ll let you take every other quality of hers."

    Ru felt a lot better with hisst words... Indeed, this was still her best friend who chose his wife over her but really, who remembers that? Obviously, she didn¡¯t!

    ¡¯Liar! A BIG FAT LIAR!¡¯ Her conscious nagged making her scowl but she would never ept it.

 Chapter 188 Im A Shy One

    "Not everyone can be like me. This young master is quite special." Ru¡¯s narcissistic nature came out. "After all, it¡¯s not easy to have a genius brain, with exceptional skills, otherworldly background, and much more."

    "Are you done singing your praises? You sound like a salesperson. The difference is you seem to be selling yourself." Zhu Jie¡¯s voice made her want to smack his head.

    "Oi! How can one describe me in only this much? I still have a whole lot to add." With a haughty expression she added, "Also, do you think anyone can afford to buy this lord?"

    "To be honest, I can define you in one sentence." Ru frowned at his answer. Hepletely disregarded hertter question since they both knew the answer.

    "How?" She asked.

    Zhu Jie smiled slightly as he said, "That I¡¯ll tell you some other day." Ru rolled her eyes at him. "For now, let¡¯s focus on your dream."

    "What¡¯s there to focus? Isn¡¯t it obvious that my dream was warning me to stay away from Xiao Zhiren?" Ru replied almost immediately much to Zhu Jie¡¯s distress.

    "You fool! You might be forgetting that willow trees are often associated with loss along with the hope of future retrieval."

    "Honestly speaking, instead of believing in revival theory of willow trees, I¡¯d rather believe in the theory that states that willows are indiscriminate destroyers of anything unlucky to cross its path." Ru¡¯s reply gave Zhu Jie a headache. It wasn¡¯t an easy task to win a battle of words with her. But he wasn¡¯t just anyone either.

    Jie: "Aiyayaya! Can¡¯t you focus on the simple versions like the tree itself symbolizes stability, bnce, learning, and harmony?"

    Ru: "Dear friend, don¡¯t forget that willow trees are often found near the water and water itself is capable of giving birth and taking lives."

    Jie: "Oh, then why are you forgetting that water represents the flow of life? It¡¯s the basic necessity of life even if it causes people harm. Love is also like flowing water. It can make you feel alive and it can kill you in the next second. But it¡¯ll still stay as the most precious thing in our lives."

    "You talk too much." That¡¯s all Ru could reply with since his logic was out of her brain. Just like her own logics did not get to other people. "Don¡¯t forget that he took advantage of me and ran away."

    Before Zhu Jie could say anything, he heard an unfamiliar voice from her side. "Who took advantage and who ran away?"

    The cooking chopsticks in Ru¡¯s hand fell down on the marble floor making a clinking sound while Ru stood rooted staring at Xiao Zhiren who had his eyebrows raised in an inquiring manner. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as Xiao Zhiren strode towards her.

    She pointed at him. "You! Why are you back?"

    Xiao Zhiren lifted the lid of the ck pot and the enticing aroma of sizzling beef noodles made him smile in contentment. "How did you know that I love beef noodles? You¡¯re really thoughtful. And here I was having my own assumptions." He tut-ted as if he felt like he was in the wrong.

    "What did you assume?" She asked forgetting all about her original question and the person on the phone who had conveniently chosen to stay silent.

    Xiao Zhiren took a spoon and spooned a bit of noodle soup to taste. As the hot and delicious soup touched his taste buds, he really felt rxed and refreshed. "Wow! This is damn good."

    "Why are you not answering any of my questions?" Ru snatched the spoon from his head and pointed her chin at him in her effort of staring him down.

    Xiao Zhiren straightened up and put his hands in the trouser pockets as he said, "Oh, I don¡¯t know. Perhaps, because a certain someone is too much of a nipoop!"

    "Did you just call me an idiot?" Ru red at him exasperatedly.

    "Well, whoever answered is certainly the one." Xiao Zhiren answered casually.

    "You! You!" Ru didn¡¯t know what to say this jerk! "Just answer my damn question, what is your assumptions about me?"

    Xiao Zhiren looked straight into her green eyes and said, "Simple. That you¡¯re clueless."

    Ru¡¯s temper red up at his reply. How dare he said that?!

    "Hahahaha..." A peal of heartyughter actually helped to make herself calm down as she came back to understand how she lost her temper yet again because of Xiao Zhiren. Why was it always him? She never raised her voice at anyone but this guy... Sigh! He was meant to be the death of her!

    Such an eloquent person like herself always turned into a street shrew because of him.

    While Xiao Zhiren was confused about theughter, Ru was scowling as she said, "Shut the bloody trap already! It wasn¡¯t that funny."

    It was getting hard for Zhu Jie to control hisughter. He already was bing a fan of Xiao Zhiren but now that he had heard the way he treated Ru, Zhu Jie was certain that this was THE ONE for his Ru¡¯er.

    There had to be no doubt about that!

    "Pardon me, Ru¡¯er! But... Haha... I¡¯m really getting entertained here. You guys can continue. Just treat me as thin air. I won¡¯t mind." From his voice, Ru was sure that there wasn¡¯t an ounce of guilt in him. He was getting the thrill at the expense of her. But since it was the first time, she didn¡¯t want to push it.

    However, our ocean of vinegar; Mr. Xiao Zhiren himself was stuck at ¡¯Ru¡¯er¡¯? That simple ¡¯Er¡¯ showed the endearment which felt like a sharp knife prating his chest.

    "Oh, cut it already before Ie to beat the bloody hell out of you!" Ru gave him a warning in a stern voice as much as she could use with this best friend. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d be scared of her threats though. He never did.

    "Who is that?" Xiao Zhiren asked in a small voice.

    "Oh, Mr. Xiao! Let me introduce myself..."

    "Goodbye!" Ru hung up the call without giving him any chance to say anything. Then she turned to Xiao Zhiren and said, "He¡¯s no one!"

    Xiao Zhiren noted her sour look and understood that she wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about it. So, he reluctantly had to let this matter rest. For now.

    "Come let¡¯s eat. I¡¯m also starving." Xiao Zhiren held her shoulders and pushed her down on the stool. Then he brought two sets of chopsticks but served only a single bowl of beef noodles since she had only cooked for herself.

    "Oi! I only did all this hard work for myself. I don¡¯t have enough for both of us." Ru told him straightforwardly as she the cutlery before her on the kitchen ind. Throwing all the courtesy for guest out the window.

    Xiao Zhiren sat on the stool beside her and tapped her nose adoringly as he said, "It isn¡¯t the matter that we have enough or not. The matter is whether we have the heart to share it with someone or not. So, my little chili, stop fussing unnecessarily."

    Ru frowned at his answer but decided to not pursue this matter. "Then serve the noodles in two bowls. Why do we have to take only one bowl." She was about to get up to get another bowl when he held her wrist. Ru looked down at his slight rough hand around her wrist.

    "Are you shy?" He asked making Ru¡¯s frown to etch deeper.

    "No. I¡¯m not!" She denied it honestly. She didn¡¯t know what shyness meant in the first ce.

    He pulled her down on the seat and said, "Then just eat. You¡¯re not shy, I¡¯m not shy then what¡¯s the big deal?" Ru felt nothing wrong with his words until he spoke the next sentence, "Besides, we have already tasted each other. There is no shame in tasting a meal together."

    For someone as clueless as Ru, it might be hard to understand but she still did. His meaning was crystal clear to her which seemed to be saying, "Since we have shared our saliva directly, there is nothing wrong in sharing it indirectly. It won¡¯t make much difference."

    But these words didn¡¯t make her feel ufortable. Instead, she felt something burning inside her heart. What was that zing itch? She really couldn¡¯t tell!

    Xiao Zhiren was focusing on blowing on the noodles when he felt her searing gaze at the side of his face, he didn¡¯t turn his face to look. Since he was afraid that he might lose control and kiss her again or as she said, take advantage of her. Take note that he was rolling his eyes inwardly at those insinuations.

    Nheless, he knew that if he kissed her now two things were certain; one that he would lose his rationality and wouldn¡¯t want to let go. Two that she would get violent and aggressive. So, with a deep breath, he calmed the devil inside of him and said, "You might not be shy but I am a very shy person. So, please stop eye-rap-ing me."

    Ru opened her mouth again in disbelief. What is wrong with this man? And what? Shy? Then who was the shameless person who kissed her? Say something that I can even believe!

 Chapter 189 Shadow

    With his explicit words, Xiao Zhiren was trying to ess her emotions. But when he noticed there wasn¡¯t much change in her countenance, he felt like he was banging his head against a wall. There wasn¡¯t much difference anyway. After all, either he bangs his head against a wall or tries to provoke Ru for a chance of emotions to show, both will stay unmoving.

    She really had that irksome quality which could easily make the other person mad.

    However, Xiao Zhiren was quite familiar with it. So, he didn¡¯t bother with her and continued to eat the noodles. All this time, her attention was still on him and she didn¡¯t want to eat with him either. But she could say no to him, saying no to food was not possible. NOT AT ALL!

    "Don¡¯t you have to go to the office?" Ru asked as she took a bite of hot noodles without even blowing on it.

    "I¡¯ve decided to take a page out of your book," his words made Ru frown.

    "What do you mean?" She asked.

    "Didn¡¯t you say that we pay our employees to work? If we can¡¯t even take a day off what¡¯s the point in us working our asses off to make so much money. Right?" Ru looked at him impassively while inwardly, she was quite surprised. He remembered her words for such a long time. That felt weird. "What are you looking at now?" Xiao Zhiren asked again as he saw she had stopped eating again to stare at his face. He even touched his face to see what was catching her attention so much today.

    "Nothing. I just didn¡¯t expect you to remember my words after all this time." Ru answered inly while shrugging her shoulders indifferently.

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his hand and rubbed her head saying, "I remember everything about you. You¡¯re not easy to forget."

    Ru¡¯s lips curled slightly upward in an almost unnoticeable smile as she continued to eat. After eating the beef noodles together, Xiao Zhiren took the cutlery and went in to wash the dishes at the sink. Ru followed after him saying, "I can do it myself. You should leave now."

    Xiao Zhiren turned to give her a pointed look as she said, "Why? So you could me me for running away again?"

    "What?"

    "What? Are you gonna deny it?" Ru didn¡¯t get a chance to reply as he went on, "You asked me to leave and I did. But then I heard you say that I took advantage of you and ran away. Now, would you enlighten me how did I take advantage of you?"

    "Didn¡¯t you?" Ru spoke on instinct as if she didn¡¯t even need to think at all. But she didn¡¯t realize the effect of her words on him.

    Xiao Zhiren could only smile bitterly as he mumbled, "So I was just taking advantage." With a deep breath, he calmed himself and turned to face her abruptly. "Fine. I did take advantage of you. What are you gonna do about it?"

    Ru was left dumbstruck at his reply. She didn¡¯t expect him to change his demeanor that easily. Wasn¡¯t he suppose to feel guilty and keep some distance from her? But what she overlooked was the fact that she had be Xiao Zhiren¡¯s stubbornness now. Once he was in love with her, then that love turned into an obsession which only intensified with her absence. However, now that he learned about the real her, she had be his stubbornness.

    Since Ru didn¡¯t know how to answer him, she decided to change the conversation. "If you¡¯re taking a day off, why don¡¯t you spend it with Yuan?"

    "He¡¯s nning his summer vacations with Zhang Han. He¡¯s not home." Xiao Zhiren answered calmly and dried the cutlery before wiping the counter.

    "Why are you here really?" Ru asked the question that was bugging her for a while now.

    "Do you have coffee beans?" Xiao Zhiren asked his own question.

    Ru walked by his side and opened the cabin. She passed him an airtight container of coffee beans. Xiao Zhiren checked the beans and smiled saying, "Didn¡¯t expect to find the world¡¯s finest coffee beans in a tea lover¡¯s house."

    "Shocked?" She inquired.

    "Nope. Just surprised." He answered before busying himself with grinding the coffee beans. Ru watched his movements with intent as he slowly and yet swiftly brewed himself a cup of strong coffee. She could tell it was strong with the strong aroma that was engulfing her.

    She always thought tea ceremony was the only sophisticated act. Who knew Coffee Brewing could be this satisfying. Also, who knew she wasn¡¯t finding the coffee brewing satisfying and rxing rather it was the person who was performing the brewing.

    She saw him taking a whiff of the aroma from his mug and grew impatient. "You still haven¡¯t answered my question."

    Taking a sip of his coffee in contentment, Xiao Zhiren lifted his eyes to look at her and said, "If I said my reason for being here out loud, you¡¯ll get frustrated. It¡¯s better to let it go."

    "I¡¯m already frustrated seeing you roaming around in my kitchen like you own this ce," Ru replied rather sharply.

    "Hmm... I understand." Saying that he walked towards the chaise lounge that was ced right before the floor to ceiling ss walls.

    Ru couldn¡¯t tell what his words really meant. He understand? What did he understand? Someone should make her understand as well!

    "I¡¯d have offered you the coffee but you don¡¯t like it at all." Xiao Zhiren voiced outnguidly. Finding her silence odd, he looked at her to see her already gone from his side. He decided not to look for her. She¡¯d push him further away otherwise. He needed her toe to him herself. For once, he wanted her to look for him.

    It had been an hour since Ru vanished. He knew she was inside the apartment but why wasn¡¯t sheing out. Just when he thought that she won¡¯te, he saw her walking towards him with a vacuum cleaner in tow.

    "Mr. Xiao, enough dilly-dallying. You have to clean what you messed up. Take responsibility for your actions." Xiao Zhiren felt speechless at her speech of righteousness. She really wasn¡¯t gonna let him off the hook. Sigh! It didn¡¯t matter much so he took the vacuum cleaner from her and decided to clean silently.

    But something in him wasn¡¯t nning on acting in a civilized way. And that¡¯s why when he was walking past her, he stopped to whisper, "Why don¡¯t I take responsibility for that kiss as well?"

    Ru¡¯s back straightened up at his remark. "No need for that. As a sworn brother, I¡¯ll let you go for that."

    Xiao Zhiren replied with, "Sworn brothers don¡¯t know what they taste like. But I certainly know what you taste like. So, stop calling me your so-called sworn brother."

    Xiao Zhiren felt pleased to see her reaction and moved to clean up the apartment. In all honesty, there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust in her apartment. He knew she was just messing with him but since it allowed him to stay with her, he didn¡¯t mind at all.

    While he got busy with vacuuming the first floor, Ru again left him alone.

    Later he found her on the second floor¡¯s balcony. She was watering the nts. The potted nts didn¡¯t have a single flower but looked pleasing to the eye. He left her there and one by one cleaned the other rooms on the second floor. However, before he could enter the room at the end of the hallway, he stopped in his track.

    He had noticed a weird thing already. Every room had a wooden alphabet carved on it. For instance, this room had a letter ¡¯S¡¯ on it and the other room on this floor had ¡¯A¡¯ engraved on the door. And the rooms downstairs had ¡¯D¡¯, ¡¯O¡¯ and ¡¯W¡¯ subsequently.

    No matter how he thought about it, he felt like something was missing. These letters meant something but what? Trying to list the alphabets together, his mind worked like a machine as he came to a conclusion, the best possibility was the word, ¡¯SHADOW¡¯. But a letter was missing. He didn¡¯t find the room with ¡¯H¡¯ letter. Where was that? Or was he overthinking again?

    He traced back his steps and noted how the hallway looked bigger than the sizes of the rooms. That only meant one thing, there was a hidden room right here.

    "Is it really shadow?" He voiced out while touching the wall.

    "ess to Shadow Zone denied. Voice authorization failed." Raven¡¯s systematic voice echoed in the hallway.

    "What are you doing?" Ru¡¯s voice came right after that from behind him taking him by surprise.

 Chapter 190 An Amazing Day

    Xiao Zhiren turned to see her impassible gaze trained on him. He felt like he was caught snooping around and even had a lingering feeling that she might throw him out of the house.

    But nothing of that sort happened. Ru simply took a couple of steps closer to him and asked again, "What are you looking for?"

    Being honest was the best tactic in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind as he answered, "There is a room missing on this floor. I¡¯m looking for its door."

    Ru¡¯s brow quirked up slightly. "Why do you think that? Maybe there are only two rooms on this floor." She spoke ndly as if none of this was interesting at all.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head persistently. "I can¡¯t be wrong this time."

    "And why is that?" She retorted.

    "Because there is an ¡¯H¡¯ missing in this whole house." With his words, Xiao Zhiren saw Ru¡¯s lip curling upward again in an inconspicuous way. It was hardly noticeable.

    He saw her turning to face the wall and lifting her hand. It looked like she randomly was touching the wall but suddenly, he saw the wall part in two and a wooden door came into his view. Just as he had predicted, there was a bold ¡¯H¡¯ letter engraved on it.

    "So, I was right. It does make abination of ¡¯SHADOW¡¯." Xiao Zhiren mumbled seemingly pleased with himself as his own hand lifted unconsciously to touch the door but Ru¡¯s body was nimble than his as she swatted his hand away.

    "Just because you can see it, doesn¡¯t mean you can touch it as well." Xiao Zhiren rubbed the back of his hand where she mercilessly hit him and scowled at her pitifully. "Also, are you done with the cleaning?"

    "I¡¯ve cleaned every spot except for that room," he pointed towards thest room at the end of the hallway and continued, "And this hidden room." Taking a pause, he added, "By the way, thatst room is also locked. Can you open it?"

    "Raven, get everything back in order." Ru didn¡¯t bother replying him and instead gave her orders to Raven. Xiao Zhiren saw the wall againing in ce making it seem like a part of the hallway as if there was really no room here.

    Then she turned on her heels and walked away from Xiao Zhiren. Seeing her leaving, he followed after her, "Hey! You didn¡¯t unlock the other room."

    "Those two rooms are off-limits. Don¡¯t bother with those." Ru finally gave him an answer.

    With her being so mysterious, Xiao Zhiren was really bothered. He could guess that the hidden room would be like her study where no one was allowed. He also didn¡¯t like anyone snooping around his own study, how could she be okay with it? Especially, considering she was in an even more dangerous line of work than himself.

    But thatst room¡¯s mystery was even more intriguing. What could be behind that closed door? In his own thoughts, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t realize that Ru had stopped and he bumped straight into her back.

    "Watch where you¡¯re going!" Ru snapped at him through gritted teeth.

    "Sorry!" Xiao Zhiren apologized immediately.

    "Are you that curious?" Her question really surprised him as if she could read his mind and the thought was a bit scary. Nheless, he still dared to nod in agreement. "What if I have weird fetishes? Wouldn¡¯t wanna scare you now."

    Xiao Zhiren was unfazed by her words. He had a feeling she was just trying to scare him. Whatever he¡¯ll just let her y. As long as it makes her happy.

    "Your reaction or more likeck of it is really a turndown," Ru muttered while looking around in her apartment.

    "Are you bored?" He asked looking at her expression.

    "I am." Ru decided to answer honestly. "I¡¯m not much of an indoor kind of a person."

    "Why don¡¯t you go out then?"

    Ru looked at him like he was a fool and said, "I¡¯m trying toy low. Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m being hunted?"

    "Since when did this little chili was scared? Don¡¯t you like hunts yourself?" Xiao Zhiren even dared to pinch her cheek as he called her ¡¯little chili¡¯. Ru had the urge to bite his handoff. He was treating her like a kid.

    "I love hunts as long as I¡¯m the hunter," Ru answered him inly to curb his curiosity which was growing indefinitely.

    "Aren¡¯t you still the hunter? After all, all the hunters after you are being ughtered by you."

    Ru looked at him with a deep gaze as she said softly, "I don¡¯t want to lose myself in this hunt."

    Those words were ambiguous but it seemed to have clicked everything in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind. Last night¡¯s events came to his mind as he remembered her condition, he just knew that was her breaking point. No wonder she was looking so distrait and muddled.

    "How about I take you somewhere then?" He suggested in an effort to distract her.

    Now, however, Ru was sure that he was the one who lost his mind. "Didn¡¯t you just hear me? I¡¯mying low. Meaning I can¡¯t go out."

    Xiao Zhiren put his arm over her shoulder pulling her to his side as he said, "Aiyo! My little chili, we¡¯ll keep a low profile."

    "You want me to put on a disguise?" She asked incredulously.

    "Nah!" he shook his head in negation making Ru frown. He rubbed her hair saying, "The best disguise for you is... Being your real self."

    Ru¡¯s frown grew deeper. "This is the real me." She answered matter-of-factly.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his finger before her eyes saying, "Nope. This is what you arefortable with. But today, we¡¯re going to make youfortable in your real skin..." He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "We are going to make youfortable in your real gender."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened dramatically as she stared at him in disbelief. No one had ever suggested something like that before. Well, considering how only one person knew of her real gender it was a given that no one suggested something this absurd.

    But why wasn¡¯t she finding his words absurd? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to? It was a given, right? She should be repulsive or more so disgusted by this idea. But she wasn¡¯t. Why wasn¡¯t she?

    "Let¡¯s head to your closet? We¡¯ll look for something appropriate." Ru didn¡¯t answer but apparently, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t need her answer as he had already held her cor from behind and started pulling her along.

    Oh, he hadn¡¯t done it for a while and Ru almost forgot how he loved to treat her like a sack full of potatoes. He was one infuriating man!

    ¡¯Then why are silently following him?¡¯ Her conscious asked and Ru could feel it smirking at her.

    Now, Ru was wondering who was more irritating, Xiao Zhiren or her own stupid conscious.

    ¡¯I¡¯m following him because... I also want to see what he can find in the closet that¡¯ll be appropriate.¡¯ Obviously, Ru wasn¡¯t even convinced with her own reply how could her conscious be?

    Sure enough, finding something appropriate in Ru¡¯s closet was like looking for a needle in a crowd or the invisible man.

    Everything was orderly arranged but not a single piece of cloth could be considered as ¡¯appropriate¡¯ at least not for a girl.

    Getting tired of it, Xiao Zhiren finally sighed in exasperation. "Wait here. I¡¯ll be back soon."

    Ru watched him leaving and turned to look around her closet. Wasn¡¯t all her clothes appropriate? Why was he acting weirdly?

    Obviously, her brain didn¡¯t work like his at all.

    About twenty minutester, Xiao Zhiren was back with a couple of bags in his hand. He passed her the shopping bags and said, "Change in these. Faster. We¡¯ll bete otherwise."

    Ru first eyed him suspiciously then moved her eyes to the bags in his hands and snatched them from him with a huff. She just wanted to leave this apartment without being noticed.

    She came out after a couple of minutes in washed-up jeans along with a ck t-shirt. It must have been the very first time that Ru wore something from the female section. Even though it was just a simple pair of jeans and a shirt.

    "Come and sit here," he beckoned her to sit at the chair and she did so with a slumped posture.

    Then she saw him pulling out a wig and immediately shot up from the chair. "Keep that thing away from me. I don¡¯t like long hair."

    Xiao Zhiren pushed her back on the chair and said, "Although girls also have short hair, your peculiar ones will be a dead giveaway. Just wear the extensions. There is no harm at all." Ru tutted at him annoyance and watched him messing her gorgeous fluffy hair into those long locks that fell over her shoulder.

    Looking at her grumpy face, Xiao Zhiren was amused. He tapped her nose and said, "Stop brooding and wear these colored lenses."

    Ru looked at the brown-colored lens and shook her head saying, "I¡¯ll wear my own." Saying that she pulled out her own pure ck lens and wore them with ease.

    Xiao Zhiren looked her up and down as his eyes sparkled with an obvious glint. This had to be the first time he saw her wearing something of her own size that allowed her figure to be prominent.

    ¡¯It¡¯s gonna be an amazing day.¡¯ Xiao Zhiren thoughts to himself with a smile.

 Chapter 191 Learned It All From You

    Ru was 14 when her father had brought her to a female store outside of their Shadowwick State. He had said, "Ru, you can choose any dress that you like. As long as we stay out of the n, you can dress up as a girl."

    She had scowled back then and replied, "Father, I don¡¯t like these clothes. I¡¯m fine with what I¡¯m wearing."

    "But little Ru, don¡¯t you also want to look pretty like other girls?" His father¡¯s gaze was affectionate yet there was a hint of guilt and hurt in his eyes.

    Ru had held his calloused hands with her small ones and said, "Father, am I not pretty as I am?"

    Looking at her big green eyes, he was stunned for a moment before he gently rubbed her hair saying, "My little Ru is the prettiest. No matter what she wears."

    Ru had smiled brightly at his words. "If Father thinks I¡¯m the prettiest than there is no doubt that young master Ru is the prettiest."

    Even now, Ru remembered that incident very well. She knew her father wanted her to know that he had his reasons for raising her like a boy. But nheless he loved her just the same.

    Although she never probed for the reason behind her disguise, she knew deep within that truth might ruin her beliefs. Or more so, it might ruin her identity. She wasn¡¯t willing to give up on both. Neither her beliefs nor her identity as the young master Ru. So, she chose the best way out. To stay quiet like she wasn¡¯t curious at all.

    Like, she didn¡¯t catch on to the abnormalities or lies that didn¡¯t add up. Ignorance is bliss. She truly followed that rule. As long as she stayed ignorant, her life and she... Both will stay as they were.

    Today, however, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was bbergasted. Those simple washed up ripped jeans hugged her legs in an appropriate manner. That simple white half-sleeved t-shirt made her bosom prominent- which ording to her were non-existent. And those long locks gave a different edge to her sharp features.

    But... Somehow Ru didn¡¯t feel like herself.

    People might call her gorgeous beauty at this point but she felt weird inside. It was just like Xiao Zhiren had mentioned, she wasn¡¯tfortable in her own skin. She had grownfortable in her disguise for so long that her own self felt foreign to her.

    Making her feelfortable in her own skin and gender was also a task that Xiao Zhiren had to work on along with evoking her feelings for him. Haiz! How tiring this work was!

    "Put this on," on reflex, she caught whatever was thrown her way and looked at the denim jacket in her hand.

    "How did you buy so much in such a short time?" Ru asked without even looking at him while wearing the jacket.

    "Are you forgetting that our apartment building is close to the shoppingplex?"

    Ru had a look of enlightment as she nodded in understanding. The shoppingplex was her own and yet she was reminded of it by someone else. She really was a masterpiece!

    Ru wore a pair of white converse and followed him out the door. Seeing her walk with long strides, Xiao Zhiren shook his head at her. "Hey! Walk like a girl."

    "Huh? There is a walk for girls?" See! As I said, she¡¯s a clueless genius! Xiao Zhiren mused to himself.

    "Take smaller steps. And put your hands out of your pockets. Also, put on a smile and lose the gruffness in your voice." Ru was frowning at his lecture but still followed his words. After all, he seemed to know what he was doing unlike her who had no idea what she was doing wrong.

    On their ride, Ru had asked the umpteenth time, "Where are we going?" And he always chose to answer with, "It¡¯s a surprise."

    It took them thirty minutes to reach their destination and as Ru looked at the Arena before her, she asked again, "What are we going here?"

    "We are here to watch a match." He answered and alighted from the car to open the door for her.

    "I can do that myself." She growled at him before climbing down the car.

    She was going to walk inside when he held her hand and before she could free herself, he whispered, "Stop moving. If we¡¯ll act like partners, people will be less suspicious."

    "Do you even believe in your own excuse?" Ru retorted.

    "I do." Xiao Zhiren answered with a guilt-free face.

    "Aren¡¯t you getting cheekier?" She lifted her brow at him without a hint of a smile on her face.

    "Learned it all from you." He replied leaning close to her.

    "me it all on me."

    "Why not?" He again fanned the side of her face with his breath.

    "Anything to invade my personal space, right?"

    "Anything." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s smile made Ru¡¯s lips twitch but she stifled her smile. She wasn¡¯t nning on giving him satisfaction.

    Hand-in-hand, both walked towards the entrance where a man greeted them with a courteous bow. "Eldest young master, the tickets you asked for." He respectfully passed the two front row seats tickets to Xiao Zhiren while trying to recognize Ru.

    Seeing his line of sight, Xiao Zhiren pulled Ru behind him rather possessively or maybe protectively? Ru wasn¡¯t really paying attention since her train of thoughts was wondering about what match they were going to see.

    "Thank you for these, Secretary Mo," Xiao Zhiren smiled at the man and strutted away along with Ru.

    Loud cheering voices could be heard from far away but only when Ru entered the Arena did she realize what match she was here for.

    Xiao Zhiren guided her to the seats and saw her pouting adorably. "What¡¯s wrong?" he asked.

    "You said we¡¯ll be watching a match." She reminded him.

    "Yes. And we are here for the match." He replied back.

    "This is not a match. This is a video gamepetition."

    Her words had just been spoken when the pretty host started thepetition.

    "Hello and wee to the 6th Grand Legends Championship. I¡¯m your host, Xiao Rou."

    "Little chili, this is eSports Championship. Isn¡¯t it also a match?" Xiao Zhiren found reasoning with her very difficult. "Don¡¯t you like games?"

    "I do. But I love games which involve me ying with people¡¯s mind or emotions. And in sports, I¡¯d always choose outdoor ones." Ru replied grumpily.

    "As you all know, today we¡¯re gathered here for the finals between ¡¯Immortals¡¯ and ¡¯Misfits¡¯. Both the teams are said to have strong gamey. ¡¯Misfits¡¯ had been the Legends Champion for the past three years. Let¡¯s see if they can keep their title this year as well." The host¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t bring out any burning passion in Ru. Instead, she was yawning in her own bored state.

    But it took a moment for her eyes to sparkle again as a big bucket of wings appeared before her. She looked at Xiao Zhiren who gave her a knowing look and she snatched it like someone was after her.

    That small act was enough to make Xiao Zhiren feel like she was indeed normal. At least her emotions weren¡¯t misced when it came to food.

    "How did you get this?" She asked while munching on her chicken wings.

    "I have my ways." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply reminded her of herself. Great! Why didn¡¯t someone mention that this answer was irksome? Because she really felt like smacking his head.

    ¡¯Others must have wanted to smack you as well when you used the same words.¡¯ Her conscious again reminded her but this time, Ru chose to nod along.

    Following that she focused her eyes on the stage and asked, "You don¡¯t seem interested in this championship. Then why are you here?"

    "Take a guess?"

    "You¡¯re here to support someone?"

    "Mhmm..." He was pleased as he hummed along. It felt good seeing that she was getting familiar with him.

    Ru nodded at his reply. It seemed more believable that he was here for someone rather than enjoying the game. He didn¡¯t look like someone who would waste his time watching these matches. If he had wasted his time like this he wouldn¡¯t be the CEO of SnapVise Technologies.

    "So, who are we here to support?" She again asked with a bit of grease around her lips.

    Xiao Zhiren naturally wiped her mouth with a napkin and Ru didn¡¯t seem to notice as well. Her eyes were still trained on the stage. This small gesture was really a very normal act and it really didn¡¯t feel awkward between them. And just as Xiao Zhiren realized it, he felt genuinely happy. It seemed like he managed to really crumble of distancest night.

    "Now, let¡¯s wee both the teams," with a loud cheering crowd two teams walked onto the stage in all their glory.

    Ru felt her mind getting dizzy from the loud noises around her. ¡¯Kids these days. Urgh!¡¯

    Xiao Zhiren saw her hand stopping mid-air as her eyes narrowed. She was staring intently at something or rather someone. There was a bit of confusion or surprise in her gaze. Whichever it was it made her forget all about her food.

 Chapter 192 Most Beautiful Pair Of Eyes

    Ru nudged Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm with her elbow saying, "Look over there..."

    However, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t bother shifting his gaze at all. He continued trying to sneak his hand inside her huge wings bucket but how could Ru let that happen. Even though her eyes were still on the person at the stage, she knew of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s every move. And that¡¯s why when his hand sneaked in to steal HER food, she swatted it away like an annoying fly.

    "I¡¯m asking you to look at the stage. Why are you trying to steal my food?" Ru chided him in a loud voice which seemed hushed in between the loud cheering crowd.

    "I am looking." Xiao Zhiren replied feeling wronged.

    "Idiot! Look at what¡¯s important." She again tried to direct his attention toward the stage but he was being stubborn.

    "I am looking at what¡¯s important." His answered irked her.

    She whipped her head to re at him and found him looking straight back at her with a gentle smile. That... Stunned her for a second before sheposed herself with a cough.

    "I don¡¯t like liars. How are you looking at what¡¯s important? You have been just looking at me all this time." He didn¡¯t look the slightest bit embarrassed.

    "Aiyo!" Xiao Zhiren pinched her nose saying, "When you are the most important to me than how am I lying?"

    Even Ru was stumped for words as his meaning cleared up in her mind. She was important to him than looking at her was also important. What logic! Shameless son of a bachelor!

    Ru really didn¡¯t know whether to praise him for twisting his words so well or beat the hell out of him for trying to y the word game with her. This level of sophistry was really unheard of. Even for someone like her who usually was genius at this herself.

    Her temper suddenly red up as she growled at him hatefully.

    "I don¡¯t want to y this game with you." She managed to grit out in anger and continued, "Look there... That guy in the cap and the mask looks like your brother."

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t act stubborn again and looked towards the stage where the two teams were shaking hands now. He could see in the ck and red uniform of ¡¯Misfits¡¯, the person she called his ¡¯brother¡¯. Sharp eyes! Really sharp eyes! He mused.

    "Oh, really? Does he really look like my brother?" Xiao Zhiren was still acting clueless as if he knew nothing.

    "Oi! Don¡¯t try to y with me! I can recognize him very well." Ru was getting close to exploding. All this chattering around her was enough of a headache for her. And now, this Xiao Zhiren was also testing her again.

    Xiao Zhiren propped his face on his fist as he looked at her and said in a sad tone, "Aye... It¡¯s so sad that you can even recognize my brother in a mask but still can¡¯t see my love for you."

    Ru¡¯s hands slowly curled into fists as her mouth twitched. "Xiao. Zhi. Ren." She enunciated each word with extreme pressure. "Look into my eyes and tell me, can you see my will to strangle you?"

    Xiao Zhiren straightened up immediately as if he had received a royal decree which couldn¡¯t be ignored or dyed for a second. He intently looked into her eyes feeling dazed and somehow, with his eyes boring into hers, Ru felt the ignited me in her own eyes extinguishing like it never existed. Both of them didn¡¯t look away as if lost in each other.

    Even the match had already started but both didn¡¯t know and neither did they care at all. The world around really felt silent.

    And Ru felt like she was transported to a different era...

    A beautiful white wisteria vine pathway and two pair of eyes gazing at each other with an unconditional and unconceble love brimming in those pairs. The faces were hazy in her memory but she still managed to hear a pleasant voice asking, "Look into my eyes, can you tell how angry I am?"

    "Nah!" This feminine voice struck a chord in Ru as it felt really familiar. "All I see is the world¡¯s most beautiful pair of eyes."

    "I don¡¯t see it." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice broke her daze as she blinked in confusion as what happened. What did she just see?

    She darted her eyes around to find herself still in that noisy arena but that sh of memory? What was that? Was it something she forgot in those two years? But that beautiful ce wasn¡¯t like any other. It looked ethereal as if it didn¡¯t even belong to this era.

    Still, in her daze, she looked back at Xiao Zhiren and asked, "What do you see then?"

    Xiao Zhiren lifted his hand to brush her hair away from her eyes and said, "I see the world¡¯s most beautiful pair of eyes."

    His words dumbfounded Ru. She sat frozen still in her seat not being able toprehend this strange urrence. How could the words in her hallucination and reality ovep? The only difference was the voices.

    Ru felt like her mind was going crazy as she leaned back in her chair and didn¡¯t even bother with the food that was calling out to her. She knew she was different from an early age and she even called herself crazy plenty of times but how could she exin this strange hallucination. Oddly, it reminded her of the dream she hadst night.

    What the hell is wrong with me?! Ru wanted to bellow but couldn¡¯t do so.

    Seeing her face changing shades so spontaneously, Xiao Zhiren thought that his words made her upset with him. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t let that happen. So, he tried to strike up a conversation again.

    "My little chili, you didn¡¯t prove your words yet." Xiao Zhiren tugged at her jacket and as she finally looked at him, he continued, "I have two brothers, which one do you think is ying the match?"

    Ru stayed quiet for so long that even Xiao Zhiren felt like giving up. Finally, she voiced out, "Zhi, do you really believe that I won¡¯t throw you off to the stage from our seats?"

    Although her words were aligned with her personality, her aura and voice didn¡¯t match up. It bugged Xiao Zhiren seeing her in such a dispirited state.

    "Just like you threw my poor brother out of your apartment?"

    "He told you that?" Ru asked while lifting her brow.

    "Don¡¯t you know? Ji Syaoran is known as the bbermouth of our family. He can¡¯t keep his lips sealed. No matter what you do." Ru found a strange gentleness and love in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice as he talked about his brother.

    Ru had already recognized Ji Syaoran the moment he walked on the stage. Even though he looked a different person in that team uniform. But as Ru previously told him, there are plenty of ways to recognize a person. And Ru wasn¡¯t one who depended on a face to recognize someone.

    "This is why he said, his fingers are precious." Ru nodded her head as she remembered how Ji Syaoran hid his hand behind himself in fear that she might really break his hands.

    "He had always been careful when it came to his hands. ording to him, his fingers are priceless treasures." Xiao Zhiren shook his head as he quoted Ji Syaoran in amusement.

    Recalling something, Ru pped his arm, "Oi! Who are you calling a poor brother? That brother of yours called me a gay."

    Xiao Zhiren stifled hisughter with utmost effort and said, "He called me gay as well. Also, gave me his blessings. How touching! But I¡¯m not overreacting like you."

    "Your business is your business. My business is obviously mine. And I did feel offended!" Ru snapped back at him while staring at the huge screen where she could see those animated figures embroiled in a battle.

    To be honest, she could understand nothing. Not at all. Although she could see those figures fighting off, she felt no passion in her. Her face was like saying, ¡¯I can do better than that in real life.¡¯ She really wasn¡¯t impressed with this match.

    "This is boring." She remarked and noticed that a person beside her had been awfully silent all this while. When Ru looked at him, he looked dazed as if in deep thought. Ru waved her hand before his eyes, "Where are you lost?"

    "I was wondering..." Xiao Zhiren spoke softly.

    "What?" Ru urged him to speak.

    Right at this moment, the announcer spoke with great enthusiasm, "As thest Mage of ¡¯Immortals¡¯ had fallen. It concludes ¡¯Misfits¡¯ to be the fourth time Champion of Legends."

    Ru was trying to focus on the scene when she felt a warm breath on the side of her face again. She turned and found Xiao Zhiren inches away from her own face.

    "What is it?" She asked cautiously.

    "When will yours and mine... business will be ours?"

 Chapter 193 Found His Match

    Making her business and his business into their business meant that they¡¯d have to be one. For Ru, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t passive kind of a person but she still believed that he wasn¡¯t this proactive either. Now, he was very vocal. Especially when it came to his feelings for her. He was like looking for excuses to make her dumbstruck again and again.

    Ru touched Xiao Zhiren¡¯s forehead to check his temperature. Although he felt hot to touch, she didn¡¯t think it was a fever. "Zhi, when did you be so proactive? Why are you always professing your feelings?"

    "Because I am also scared." Xiao Zhiren replied, not minding that she had again found a way to steer away from the conversation.

    "Of what?" Ru asked in confusion.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the stage to see his brother taking the trophy and smiled before standing up and offering his hand to Ru.

    Ru obviously didn¡¯t take his hand but still stood up as well. As if Xiao Zhiren had expected this much, he immediately snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her towards himself. As she tried to pull away from her his vice grip, he leaned over and whispered, "I am scared that if I kept hiding my feelings, I might lose you to my love rivals. And since I have a long list of love rivals, I really don¡¯t know how else am I going to win."

    "Love-rivals?" Ru repeated with furrowed brows as they made their way out of the arena.

    "Yup. Love rivals." He answered.

    "Won¡¯t you enlighten me about your love rivals?" Ru suddenly forgot that his hand was still on her waist as they were side by side like any normal couple in love.

    "Do I have to?" Seeing Ru nod in response, he stated, "Well, to top the chart is my idol... Alev Knight!" Ru pursed her lips as she was about to choke on air. "Then there is a blond hair guy. He looks younger." Ru thought for a moment and realized he was talking about Jack from her ck Mist team. "Oh, and the recent one was that phone guy. The one you were happily chatting with earlier in the morning." All the while, he looked grumpy as if talking about his love rivals scalded his tongue.

    Just as Xiao Zhiren called Zhu Jie as his love-rival, Ru couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. "Pfft!" She gave a belly-hurtingugh. Ru pinched his cheek saying, "You¡¯re cute." Herughter didn¡¯t stop though.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind her suddenment but he still felt giddy inside. It was apliment he was happy to ept. It came from his little chili. He would even take poison much less being called ¡¯cute¡¯ at this age.

    "I¡¯m cuter than all other love rivals, right?" He immediately fished for morepliments.

    Ru flicked his forehead and said, "Don¡¯t push your luck."

    Xiao Zhiren scowled but didn¡¯t say anything. He really was pushing his luck now. Be happy with what you have, Zhiren. He reminded himself.

    "You bored me here. How are you gonnapensate me for that?" Ru was really not entertained in the match. Except for finding Ji Syaoran as a surprise, she found nothing too appealing to her.

    Xiao Zhiren had a reply. He really did. And he so wanted to say it out loud. But... He knew if he did, she won¡¯t let him leave unscathed. He was holding in his urge but controlling his tongue wasn¡¯t that easy. More importantly, that stupid heart of his was pushing him incessantly to just say it and eventually, he did, "How about Ipensate with my body?"

    Xiao Zhiren waited and waited but Ru stood rooted looking anywhere but him. Just when he thought he survived, she turned and punched his side, "OW!" And then a rain of punches fell on his mercilessly.

    Ru tightened her grip around his head as she had him in a headlock and said, "Since you want to offer your body so readily. How can I refuse?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face started losing color as he pped her forearm trying to loosen her grip but to no avail. "Little chili, at the rate you¡¯re going, only my dead body will be left."

    "It¡¯ll be enough for me," Ru replied indifferently.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s throat felt choked up and it got difficult to talk. With his hoarse voice, he managed to voice out, "Oi! My living body is a lot more valuable."

    "I can¡¯t see the value." As she said that she saw a group of men in ck uniforms surrounding her in a circle. Ru stayed unfazed at their sudden appearance.

    But Xiao Zhiren had an issue with them as he shouted, "Did I ask anyone of you to act? Stand down!"

    "But Sir, you¡¯re in... danger." One of them spoke out hesitantly.

    "Stand down!" Xiao Zhiren shouted. Well, as much as he could with his hoarse voice.

    The bodyguards still had some reluctance but had to follow the orders. So, they immediately backed out and went back to being inconspicuous. It wasn¡¯t that Ru didn¡¯t know about their presence, she just didn¡¯t care at all.

    "My dearest little chili, go ahead. Take all you want." Xiao Zhiren managed to smile even in this position.

    As he himself gave up, Ru lost the urge to kill him. She loosened her grip and Xiao Zhiren finally managed to breathe while coughing violently. He turned to face Ru and found a strange flicker in her eyes.

    "Don¡¯t you regret?" He suddenly questioned while rubbing his neck.

    "What?" She asked.

    "The people you killed... Don¡¯t you regret their death?" Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know why this serious question popped up in his mind but it did and he couldn¡¯t hold back.

    "I don¡¯t." Her answer stunned him for a moment. "What I do regret is losing myself in the progress." Saying that she walked away from him toward his car which they took here.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know why but his heart clenched at the thought of her words. ¡¯Losing herself?¡¯ What did that even feel like? He could only wonder. But as the dream fromst night shed past his eyes, he felt the sharp pain gnawing his insides and mumbled, "That¡¯s what losing yourself must have felt like."

    Only he could tell why he said that. Because only he knew which dream scared him so much.

    On the other side of things...

    Xiao Zhiren and Ru both didn¡¯t manage to catch a ¡¯shocked¡¯ pair of eyes that were stuck on them as they were leaving the audience seats. From the stage, Ji Syaoran felt like he was dreaming. Having his brother here wasn¡¯t a big deal but seeing his brother¡¯s hand on a girl¡¯s waist was more than just shocking! It was explosive!

    He immediately wanted to follow after to check who was the girl but the reporters didn¡¯t give him a chance. When he was finally freed, his brother had already left. "Damn it!" He cursed out.

    "Second young master, aren¡¯t you going to celebrate with your team?" His secretary¡¯s voice made his already sore mood to turn bitter.

    As if thinking of something, he asked, "Secretary Mo, did my brothere?"

    "Yes. Eldest young master just left." The secretary replied respectfully.

    "Was he alone?" Seeing how his secretary lowered his head, Ji Syaoran insisted, "Come clean with me. Don¡¯t you dare hide anything."

    The secretary shook his head and said, "No, Eldest young master came with a girl." Then he rted the whole incident word by word. He even emphasized on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s possessive nature.

    "Ahan!" Ji Syaoran jumped in the air in happiness. "I wasn¡¯t dreaming at all. My brother really brought a girl to my game. My GAME!" One had to know that Ji Syaoran being a professional eSports yer was a well-hidden fact. His biggest supporter was Xiao Zhiren but he never disclosed anything to outsiders. So, if he brought a girl with him, that meant that the girl was very important to him. Just the thought was enough to excite him.

    "Aye! I wish I had a photo as proof. Gammy would be over the moon!"

    Ji Syaoran heard a cough from beside him and looked at his Secretary¡¯s extended hand. As he took the phone from him, he saw plenty of clicks. But none captured Ru¡¯s face clearly. However, it was enough proof for him.

    He rummaged out his own phone and dialed a number, "Gammy, my dearest grandmother!"

    "What is wrong with you Ran Zi?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s voice came from the other side.

    "Your grandson has finally taken off his cloak of monks." Ji Syaoran¡¯s voice was piercing, unlike a young master of a huge n.

    "What are you saying? Did you get a girlfriend?"

    "Aiyo! My Gammy bear, how can I dare get a girlfriend before my brother."

    "Then what nonsense are you spouting?"

    "Your favorite grandson. Xiao Zhiren has finally held a hand of a girl with a loving gaze. Can you guess the meaning behind that?"

    He heard something ttering and Old Madam Ji¡¯s excited voice rang out, "My Zhiren has finally found his match."

 Chapter 194 My Dearest Love

    To calm down Ru and to save himself from another thrashing, Xiao Zhiren zipped his lips and took her somewhere she¡¯d forget all about his earlier remarks. And that ce was... The Food Street of the Capital.

    Obviously, to a foodie like Ru the only thing that could coax her would be food, not words. And as he had expected, Ru¡¯s eyes certainly brightened up at the sight of the bustling street filled with restaurants and food stalls. It was pure heaven for her.

    The aroma of spices, burnt oil, sweetness, sourness, lingered in the air making one¡¯s taste buds to awaken. At least, Ru¡¯s inner food beast was awoken. She held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s wrist and dragged him along towards the cold rice noodles bar.

    It was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s turn to be surprised as he felt her hands around his wrist. Her hands weren¡¯t like most girls. They were neither soft nor delicate. There was a distinct roughness that reminded him how much dangerous work she does every single day. Also, he was reminded of how tough she was.

    "Two bowls of cold rice noodles," Ru gave the order and found an empty seat to sit.

    Very soon, two bowls of cold rice noodles were ced before them on the stic table. Seeing Ru¡¯s glimmering eyes, Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t even bring himself to say that he didn¡¯t like cold noodles.

    Ru, on the other hand, had never been picky with food. No matter what the taste was, if she found it edible, you won¡¯t hear herin at all. She immediately dug in with her disposable chopsticks. Since this was a spicy meal with a spicy sauce, Xiao Zhiren could see the red sauce smeared on her lips as she slurped on her noodles.

    Her tongue came out to lick away the sauce and poor Xiao Zhiren felt like it was torture watching her eat. How he wished he was that bowl of noodles. Haiz! He was even jealous of noodles now!

    "I¡¯ve thought of another way topensate you," Xiao Zhiren spoke while still not touching his bowl of noodles at all.

    "What is it?" Ru really wasn¡¯t curious. His previous answer had already pissed her off.

    "Since you don¡¯t fancy my body aspensation. How about letting me devote my life to you instead?" Ru¡¯s chopsticks halted for a second as she looked at him with a deep gaze. "You can¡¯t stop my heart from beating for you. Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t think even I can do it at this point. So, let my heart at ease. I won¡¯t burden you."

    Ru didn¡¯t give him a direct reply but Xiao Zhiren decided to take her silence as her consent. As he picked up his chopsticks to take a bite, his bowl was snatched from him. He gave a wide-eyed look to Ru. "That¡¯s mine."

    "Who said that? I ordered two for myself. And didn¡¯t you just say that you¡¯ll devote yourself to me? How will you be able to do it if you can¡¯t even give up your bowl of noodles to me?" Ru¡¯s retort came as a huge surprise to Xiao Zhiren but it was a pleasant one.

    He found her act really cute as he lifted his hand and rubbed her head lovingly. "You¡¯re really..." Ru lifted her brow as if threatening him to continue, "Amazing. I was gonna say Amazing. Stop ring." Satisfied with his reply, Ru focused her attention back to the bowl of noodles at hand.

    But Xiao Zhiren¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift from her. He propped his chin on his hand and kept looking at her with tender filled eyes. Earlier he was gonna call her childish but cute; however, he had to change his words knowing she¡¯d not like his original words at all.

    Moving from that noodle bar, Ru pulled him to barbeque ce and ordered a whole bunch of meat skewers, kebabs, and rice wine. Xiao Zhiren looked at all the food being ced at their wooden table and asked, "Who¡¯s gonna eat all of this?"

    "This one," Ru pointed at herself proudly.

    "Are you sure you can eat all this? You just had two bowls of rice noodles." Xiao Zhiren kindly reminded her.

    "Oi! Are you underestimating me?" Ru gave him an inquiring look.

    Before Xiao Zhiren could say anything, the shop owner who was an olddy spoke up, "Young man, don¡¯t ever question your wife. That¡¯s the only form for a happy married life."

    Ru wasn¡¯t pleased to hear someone calling her a ¡¯wife¡¯ but Xiao Zhiren was over the moon. Ru wanted to clear the misunderstanding but Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t give her a chance as his face broke into a bright smile and he said, "Lao Ban[1], I¡¯ll remember that advice of yours."

    "Why didn¡¯t you let me speak anything?"

    "Why does it matter?" He argued.

    "Why doesn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not your wife." Ru stated inly.

    "You¡¯re right. You¡¯re not." Then his voice turned into a whisper as he added, "Not just yet."

    Ru ignored him since she really couldn¡¯t understand him at all. He was one hard person to read. And when Ru couldn¡¯t read people, she only got annoyed. So, she dedicated her sole focus to the meat-heaven before her.

    Unbeknownst to them, a storm was brewing on the inte and at the Ji Family Mansion.

    "Ran Zi, take a look at this," Old Madam Ji called Ji Syaoran as soon as he walked inside the house. "Come already. Look at this."

    "I¡¯ming. What¡¯s the hurry? Even I¡¯m not in such a hurry to show you those blurry photos of bro¡¯s girlfriend." Ji Syaoran sat down beside his grandmother on the couch and nced at her mobile screen. His eyes bulged out as he snatched the phone from her hand frantically. "Where is this from?" He asked in disbelief.

    "My favorite food blogger uploaded this photo from Food Street. It¡¯s taken only an hour ago." Old Madam Ji announced with palpable excitement on her old face.

    Ji Syaoran was still in disbelief as he looked at the screen. On the food blog, a single click was shared in which Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand was rubbing Ru¡¯s head while she scowled like a child. Although the picture was of their side profile, whoever knew them could recognize at one nce.

    There was a single caption with the photo, "Today, I went to find the taste of spices. Look, I found the spices of love instead. #foodstreet #truelove P.S. Someone gift me a guy like him. I¡¯m so envious seeing the love in his eyes."

    This post was trending all over Weibo on hot searches within an hour. Why wouldn¡¯t it? The love was overloading in that photo.

    Ji Syaoran scrolled down and read thements out loud for his grandmother.

    Chatter_box: Aiya! He¡¯s so handsome. And the way he¡¯s looking at that girl, I¡¯m so green with envy that I think soon a horse will be able to graze on my head.

    BlueStone: Why are people unting love in the food street? I can¡¯t even eat there in peace now! Too much dog food for a single dog like me.

    StarryNight: Forget about unting love, someone just tells me why do I nevere across such gorgeous couples?

    DarkAsSnow: Why is no one focusing on the girl? With one look, I can tell, she¡¯s a beauty. That gorgeous shape cut is so rare to see. Why is no one signing her? I want to see her in a movie!

    OverActive: Thementer above, do you really think that her boyfriend would allow her to work with other males? He might bury his love rivals. And I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be plenty of flies for him to shoo away already.

    PoetryQueen: Haiz! I can¡¯t help but write these lines for this couple... "I knew it was love at first sight

    The moment I saw that pair of eyes

    As my heart skipped a beat

    I took the hint to not breathe

    I was afraid, you¡¯d see my love

    I was afraid, I¡¯d never be enough

    But then you held my hand

    And it caressed my soul

    All it took was a kiss from your eyes

    And here I wasing undone."

    "Bro is famous in a day." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t know what else to say. It was supposed to be his ace point. But now, everyone knew about Xiao Zhiren¡¯s girlfriend.

    "Oh my! That girl really looks gorgeous. My Zhiren won¡¯t choose just anyone. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d as outstanding as he is himself." Old Madam Ji had already started fantasizing about the future. Everything was nned up in her mind. Just a proper wedding was yet to be held.

    ~~~

    In a farawaynd, another pair of eyes were glued on theptop screen as they stared at that photo of a loving couple.

    With a rhythmic tapping on the oakwood desk, the person lifted his slender fingers and dialed a number. As the call connected, his pleasantly soft voice spoke, "Settle everything. We¡¯re leaving for China, today."

    He hung up the phone and his fingers caressed the familiar figure in the photo as he whispered, "We¡¯ll soon settle our scores. Wait for me, my dearest love."

    [1] ¡¯Lao Ban¡¯: Boss as in someone who owns a business.

 Chapter 195 A Promise To A Fiancee

    "Bro, tell me who the girl is? Why are you being so secretive?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s high-pitched insistence could be heard from far away.

    For thest few days, Xiao Zhiren was said to be M.I.A. But in fact, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave Ru alone. He disconnected his all mediums ofmunication and stuck to Ru like glue in her apartment. She, however, found him to be a pest; one that she wasn¡¯t able to shake off.

    But she did manage to shout at him, "I¡¯d prefer being locked up in this apartment. Don¡¯t you dare bring me out again as a girl! It¡¯s such a tiring job to act like a girl."

    And he had reminded her yet again, "But you are a girl." But her only response was a punch in his guts. She was abusive to no end. Xiao Zhiren managed to bear with her violent nature with only one thought, ¡¯It¡¯s like we are a married couple always bickering or resorting to violence.¡¯ Even though only one of them was resorting to violence. As long as he was content, who could argue?

    Now, that Ji Syaoran finally got a hold of Xiao Zhiren, he was trying to probe out the details. But breaking Xiao Zhiren¡¯s defenses wasn¡¯t an easy job.

    "Mind your own business, Ran Zi." Xiao Zhiren said cuttingly.

    "Bro, don¡¯t be such a spoilsport! Just give me a peek." He poked Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm and asked, "Is she the same girl?" Xiao Zhiren was tired of his brother now. Someone remind him why did he decide to visit his grandmother¡¯s house? "Bro, tell me who she is!"

    "No one. Stop talking. I don¡¯t have a girlfriend!" Xiao Zhiren snapped in exasperation. Technically, neither he was lying nor was he telling the truth. Because Ru wasn¡¯t his girlfriend. And oddly, he didn¡¯t want to have such a flimsy rtionship status with her either. He wanted it for a lifetime and for that he wanted to make her, his wife. But it was only his own thinking for now.

    His ¡¯self-proimed¡¯ better half was neither treating him any better nor was she losing her half-hearted nature.

    "You¡¯re lying! We saw a photo!" Ji Syaoran argued back. "The whole Capital must have seen it by now!"

    "What photos?" Xiao Zhiren inquired, confused about this photos matter.

    "This photo!" Ji Syaoran had already bookmarked the blog page and he immediately showed it to his brother.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised to find that scene captured. But he felt so fluffy as he saw such a rare moment. His little chili looks so beautiful and cute with that scowl. He had wished for that moment to stop but who knew someone chose to hold it in for him. Now, he could look at it to his heart¡¯s content. But when he read thements from boys as they wrote how beautiful his little chili was, he was aggravated. He felt like wing some eyeballs out.

    Ji Syaoran saw the soft look in his brother¡¯s eyes then changing it to jealousy and eximed, "Ahan! I knew it! With that look, how can you deny that you don¡¯t have a girlfriend? Even a dog won¡¯t believe your words!"

    Xiao Zhiren immediatelyposed his emotions. It wasn¡¯t the time to say anything. If he did, his little chili would murder him. With a simplement, she had almost choked him to death. If he dared to ept that she¡¯s his girlfriend... Xiao Zhiren shuddered at the million possibilities.

    His rtionship with Ru could be said to have changed in the past few days but it wasn¡¯t to the extent that Ru would let her guard down. And he so wanted to break down her strong defenses.

    "Ran Zi! Shut up! I don¡¯t have a girlfriend. The girl in this photo is an old friend. That¡¯s all." Xiao Zhiren exined with a heavy heart.

    "I don¡¯t believe you!"

    "That¡¯s up to you." Xiao Zhiren knew how stubborn Ji Syaoran could get. So, he decided not to push him anymore.

    "But..." Ji Syaoran was about to continue but another voice beat him to it.

    "Ran Zi, that¡¯s enough." Ji Syaoran turned to look at his grandmother descending from the stairs with the help of the maid. She sat down at her seat and looked at both of her grandsons with a deep look before her eyes settled on Xiao Zhiren. But Xiao Zhiren found his grandmother¡¯s gaze to be a bit unsettling. "Thank you for clearing our misunderstanding, Zhiren. I¡¯d been so worried since the time I saw that photo. Now, I am finally at ease knowing that you¡¯re single."

    Xiao Zhiren brows quirked up in surprise while Ji Syaoran stared at her as if seeing a ghost. Who was the one nning the wedding? Was it your ghost, gammy? How are you changing your colors so fast?

    "Ran Zi, it¡¯s all your fault for speaking such nonsense. I knew my grandson wouldn¡¯t forget his promise. So what if it was made at a young age." Old Madam Ji¡¯s words and expressions made Ji Syaoran want to bow down to her. Even at this age, his grandmother was a top-ss actress. But why was she throwing him under the bus? How did it all be his fault?

    While Ji Syaoran wasmenting to himself, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t even know where this whole conversation was going. "What do you mean, grandmother? What promise?"

    "The promise you gave to your fiancee." Old Madam Ji¡¯s voice fell like a bolt out of the blue and Xiao Zhiren was the one being electrocuted.

    What the hell! Where did this fiancee pop up from?

    While Xiao Zhiren was going through some emotional strikes, Ru was unknown to all this while she munched on salted almonds. She threw a couple of almonds in her mouth and looked at the row of people standing before her.

    "Did you guys miss me?" Ru¡¯s words caused confusion to all members of ck Mist who stood before her.

    "What do you mean, master?" One of them dared to question because the silence was even more dangerous.

    "Well, if you didn¡¯t miss me then why the hell are you standing there like statues?" Ru¡¯s deepened voice made them flinch a bit.

    "We have something to report," Connor began inly.

    "Oh, really? I thought you were here to admire your master¡¯s beauty." Ru¡¯s satirical retort made all of them to purse their lips. "If you¡¯re here to report then start already. Do you think I have so much spare time to look at you all?"

    "Reporting to master, there are some strange happenings in thest few days."

    "Speak the humannguage."

    Edmund pushed Adia out of the way and began in his mechanical manner, "The Worldwide ck Market has gone into a frenzy."

    "Why?" Ru asked seemingly not caring at all.

    ¡¯At least pretend like you care.¡¯ Adia mused while shaking her head inwardly at Ru. ¡¯Whatever! Soon, you¡¯ll be the curious one.¡¯ With that thought, she left all her hopes on Edmund to clear up this matter.

    "Because of the Blood Pool bounty on ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯." As Ru heard Edmund¡¯s words, she stopped eating and ced the te of almonds on the table.

    "Continue."

    Edmund slightly bowed and added, "Since thest attack on you, whoever is epting the bounty strike on ¡¯Xie Rong¡¯, they are dying a mysterious death."

    "How is that possible?" Ru shot up from her seat as she stared them all down.

    "We are unclear about the details but we did collect something."

    He connected his phone to her LED and yed the photo album which consisted of dead bodies of all the assassins who were meant to kill her. "On their bodies, there is no sign of a fight. Not even a scratch is found. No poison in their blood either."

    Ru¡¯s brows tightened and so did her fists. "What¡¯s the cause of death?"

    "It¡¯s said to be a brain hemorrhage. But one of them imed that with a scan they found that..." he stopped talking in hesitation.

    "Say it!" Ru snapped at him.

    "They found that the simple bleeding in the brain isn¡¯t the cause of death. There are holes inside the brain but no physical damage. It¡¯s quite mysterious." As his sentencepleted, Ru closed her eyes to let that news sink in.

    ¡¯Brain shots?! But only my family knows how to use that martial arts technique. Does that mean...¡¯ Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to think about this possibility. ¡¯Why would anyone from the n help me? A nobody? Unless... they guessed who I am.¡¯ Ru tried to gulp but choked on her own saliva. This was frightening for so many ridiculous reasons.

 Chapter 196 Cheated On Her

    "Grandmother, what fiancee?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even sound like his when he shouted that question. "What promise? I don¡¯t have a fiancee!"

    Old Madam Ji took the cup of her freshly brewed jasmine tea from the maid and took a sip with a content smile on her face. Her actions werenguid and free as if there wasn¡¯t any grandson standing at her head urging her to spill the beans. But how could she spill the beans without punishing him a bit for lying?

    "Grandmother, stop stalling for time!" Xiao Zhiren yelled again in exasperation. "You¡¯re lying to me, right? You¡¯re just trying to scare me, right? You said you¡¯d never choose an arranged marriage for your grandchildren."

    "My dearest grandson, grandmother is still holding on to her words. I will never force any of my grandchildren to get into an arranged marriage." Old Madam Ji spoke righteously.

    "Then what¡¯s the meaning of your words?"

    "The meaning is simple; I didn¡¯t choose that fiancee for you."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s furrowed his brow in confusion as he asked, "Then who did?"

    Old Madam Ji again ignored him as she said, "Today, I find this tea rather refreshing. Ran Zi, why don¡¯t you have a cup with grandmother?"

    Ji Syaoran who was stuck to his ce until now finally moved and immediately sat beside his grandmother. With a look of ttery and admiration for that old woman who just turned the tables in mere minutes. Aiyo! His grandmother is certainly worthy of her name.

    "Grandmother!" Xiao Zhiren gnashed his teeth in anger as he enunciated each word for her to hear, "Tell. Me. Who. Chose. The. Invisible. FIANCEE. For. Me?"

    Old Madam Ji lifted her eyes and smiled as she answered, "You did."

    "What?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s felt like his whole world crumbling down. The fear of loss intensified in his heart. He was scared. Very scared. But he didn¡¯t want to back off just yet. "You don¡¯t have any proof. Besides, I don¡¯t remember any such event."

    At hisst words, Old Madam Ji¡¯s body stiffened a bit before a bitter smile appeared on her old face. "Indeed. You forgot." She muttered with a heavy heart. "But we all remember. For five years, the only name I heard from your mouth was hers. You kept saying that you¡¯ll only marry her. No matter what. As for the proof... Haven¡¯t you ever wondered why is there a red thread around your wrist?"

    Xiao Zhiren immediately looked at the red string that had been with him for as long as he could remember. Even after years, it didn¡¯t look worn-out for some reason. As for when he got it, where he got it? He couldn¡¯t remember at all. But he just knew that he could never take it off. His heart didn¡¯t allow him to. Just like now when he wanted to pull it off of him, his heart clenched in his chest with an unknown pain spreading through his body. In the end, he could only caress the red thread and drop his head in defeat.

    "Is this proof enough?" He managed to voice out for everyone to hear.

    "I have plenty of others. But do you really have the heart to face it?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s question stumped Xiao Zhiren.

    Well, did he? No, he did not! In all honesty, he wanted to run from there right this instant. He didn¡¯t want to hear another word. Even if there was a slight chance that his grandmother was lying, his heart really didn¡¯t have the courage to try his luck. Because if his grandmother wasn¡¯t lying... That one ¡¯if¡¯ was enough to break his resolve. How could he watch his own dream falling apart?

    "I don¡¯t care who that fiancee is but grandmother, I won¡¯t be going with that arrangement. I was young then but I am not now. I know what I want." Saying that he left the Ji Mansion.

    It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t break that engagement even if there was one. But the thought that he actually chose that fiancee himself was making him disgusted with himself. He felt like he had cheated on his little chili even before he met her. How could his heart love someone else? That¡¯s not possible! No way!

    However, he didn¡¯t even realize that his thoughts were really far-fetched.

    "Gammy, you really know how to lie. That was great!" Ji Syaoran happily munched on peanuts as heplimented his grandmother.

    "Who said I lied?" Old Madam Ji¡¯s words made Ji Syaoran choke on peanuts.

    "W-What? Bro really is engaged?" Ji Syaoran asked incredulously.

    "He is." Old Madam Ji sighed out. "But it was a verbalmitment back then. Honestly speaking, except for that thread on his wrist, I really don¡¯t have any other proof."

    "Huh?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth opened wide. "Then why were you so confident?"

    "Because I know my Zhiren very well. Even after being under the care of that witch, he still has his kind heart. His dilemma is not this engagementmitment. And I know it very well."

    Ji Syaoran gave her two thumbs up as he said, "Gammy is still the best! You really yed with bro this time."

    "You¡¯re again teaching him the wrong things," Old Master Ji Rusheng¡¯s voice came from behind the both the of them as he entered the living room.

    "Husband, I¡¯m a very good grandmother. I wouldn¡¯t dare teach my grandson anything wrong." Old Madam Ji countered back being all poised.

    "Mother, why did you bring up the engagement?" Ji Yifeng also followed his father inside. They both had heard the conversation but didn¡¯t dare to intrude since Xiao Zhiren wouldn¡¯t have been much happy to see his father.

    "Dad, grandmother just wanted to push bro into revealing his girlfriend." Ji Syaoran tried to defend his grandmother from his father¡¯s temper which seemed to be ring up for some reason.

    "Ran Zi, go back to your courtyard." Ji Yifeng said without even looking at his son¡¯s face.

    "But dad-"

    "Ji Syaoran! I said leave!" It was rare for Ji Syaoran to hear his full nameing out of his father¡¯s mouth but if he did, it meant his father was really in not a good mood. He immediately left the elders.

    "Stop being so harsh with Ran Zi. He isn¡¯t that old yet. His yful nature is not harmful at all." Old Madam Ji reprimanded her son a bit but keeping her voice in check.

    "Mother, stop defending him. And this is not the matter I want to discuss with you."

    "Then what do you want to say?" She asked knowing very well what he was about to say.

    "Why did you bring up the engagement?" He questioned.

    "It¡¯s his right to know." Old Madam Ji replied inly much to Ji Yifeng¡¯s annoyance.

    "Mother! Don¡¯t forget that he lost that right when he left you, me and his whole family behind." Somewhere in a hidden corner, Ji Syaoran pursed his lips when this topic was brought up. "He trusted someone he shouldn¡¯t have. He still does."

    Old Madam Ji stood up and ced her hand on her son¡¯s arm as if consoling as she said, "The fact that he¡¯s your eldest son won¡¯t change. You had been keeping calm until now even when he ignored you. What¡¯s this temper all about?"

    "Let me answer that for you wife," Old Master Ji Rusheng cut in as he continued, "Your dearest grandson has finally started the battle head-on."

    "What do you mean?" Old Madam Ji was confused.

    "For the past years, he had been trying to exploit our business behind the scene but we have been ignoring it. This time, he has gone far. He had been trying to buy out our shares from different people in side-branches and he managed to do it as well."

    "So what? Everything belongs to him as well."

    "He can take it all. I don¡¯t care. As you said, it all belongs to him anyway." Ji Yifeng started again but this time his eyes had turned red as if he was holding in his urge to cry. That look scared Old Madam Ji who rarely saw her son crying. "But why is he hell-bent on destroying the one thing that I hold dear? One thing that I have of her." A lone tear trickled down his face betraying his resolve.

    "Zhiren made the authorities shut the Art and Calligraphy Foundation."

    Old Madam Ji was stumped to hear her husband¡¯s reply. That exined her son¡¯s odd temper. That ce meant a lot to him. After all, he met the person he loved the most right in that building. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her gasp. ¡¯Zhiren, oh, Zhiren. If you knew what you did, I wonder how much it¡¯ll hurt you in the end.¡¯

 Chapter 197 My Little Bride

    Even after Xiao Zhiren left the Ji Mansion, his heart and mind both didn¡¯t calm down at all. If anything, a sharp headache was piercing through his brain. His vision blurred and he stepped on brakes,ing to an abrupt halt. It waste at night and the road wasn¡¯t as busy as it had been in the day.

    Xiao Zhiren dropped his head on the steering wheel and tried to remember what his grandmother said. If he chose someone himself as a kid, he should have some recollection of it, right? But why was his mindpletely nk?

    Pinching his forehead, his eyes fell on that red thread around his wrist. He felt like someone was mocking him. Reminding him how his love for his little chili was tainted. How could he love anyone else? No! He didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    With the pads of his finger, he caressed the red thread.

    "Mum, I want to take that little bean home." A childish voice rang in his mind.

    "My Renren, that little bean is someone¡¯s daughter. How can we take her home with us?" A beautiful and delicate voice answered.

    Xiao Zhiren frowned at that voice. Was it really his mother¡¯s voice? Why couldn¡¯t he recognize it then?

    "I don¡¯t care." The childish voice whined this time. "Look, my little bean is ying with those boys. I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t like it one bit!"

    A peal of softughter made him feel enchanted. Then he saw a pair of beautiful eyes but they were identical to his. There was immense love and tenderness in those eyes as they looked back at him. He could see nothing else, except for those eyes as if he was captivated.

    "Renren, tell me if someone took you away from mum, how would you feel?"

    "I¡¯ll be very sad." The child replied sadly.

    "Then if you take that little bean away from her parents, she¡¯ll also be very sad. Do you want her to cry?"

    "I don¡¯t." The child shook his head vigorously. "I don¡¯t want her to cry but I don¡¯t like seeing her with others. Why can¡¯t she just talk to me? Why can¡¯t she y with me only? And she doesn¡¯t even like me."

    "Aiyayaya, if you¡¯ll keep her away from things she likes, she won¡¯t like you at all. Tell me, do you like her?"

    "I do. I want her to be my little bride. Then she¡¯ll be mine only."

    A soft hand rubbed the child¡¯s head, "Then never take off the red thread. It¡¯s a promise."

    "What promise?"

    "A promise of a lifetime. A promise that she¡¯s yours. A promise that little bean is my Renren¡¯s bride."

    "Yah!"

    The child looked happy and excited. His infectious happiness made the woman beside him to smile as well. "But my little son, don¡¯t forget to never force your love. You can¡¯t cage her. She¡¯s born to fly higher. Make her fall in love with you to such an extent that in the crowd of people, her eyes could only yearn for you."

    Xiao Zhiren felt breathless and disoriented. His mind was getting dizzy. That memory snippet was too sudden and also, it seemed foreign. The images were blurred but the voices... He could hear every word clearly.

    First, he couldn¡¯t believe that he was the jealous kid in that memory. Second, he was certain that the woman wasn¡¯t his mother at all. Even though his mother was gentle and soft-spoken, he couldn¡¯t remember seeing such palpable love, gentleness, and tenderness in his mother¡¯s eyes. But then again, if that woman wasn¡¯t his mother, why was he calling her ¡¯Mum¡¯?

    So many things didn¡¯t add up making Xiao Zhiren¡¯s already frustrated state to hit rock-bottom. He barely managed to steer the car and park it by the roadside when he finally felt like he was at his limit. Those fragments of memory seemed like they had cut through his brain and managed to crawl out but it had left him in an exhausted state.

    He tried lifting his hand but his body was too tired to move. He felt numb all over and even his consciousness was slipping away from his grasp. With a lot of effort, he pressed the speed dial and just when the call connected, his vision darkened and his body went limp.

    On the other hand, Ru was fretting. She was pacing back and forth in her living room which made all the people around her dizzy from just watching her. How was their master so anxious?

    Although they had expected that their master would actually care about this matter of invisible help. But none of them thought that Ru would look this anxious over such a matter.

    "Master, you don¡¯t have to worry at all. We¡¯ll keep observing the movements. Besides, these people seem to be on our side." Jack spoke up the words of reassurance which fell on deaf ear.

    "But it¡¯s also possible that they are trying to make us lower our defenses and then they will strike," Connor added his own conjecture which was also ignored by Ru.

    "Yes, I agree. We shouldn¡¯t be at ease yet. Keeping a watch over this matter is important."

    Yet again, Ru didn¡¯t reply to anyone of them. Her walk was making them feel tired but she didn¡¯t seem like she was intending on taking a rest.

    Ru¡¯s mind was in aplete mess as she thought about the possibilities. She was certain that someone from the family helped her but why? And who?

    What if they want to take her back?

    That thought brought a strange sense of happiness to bubble inside of her but it soon turned into guilt and shame. She was so conflicted that she had the urge to scream out loud. But since she had never learned to show her emotions so easily, she refrained herself from doing so.

    "All of you," Ru suddenly stopped walking and turned to the five of them before her. "None of you have to keep a watch over this matter. Stay as far away as possible."

    "Huh?" The five of them shared a dumbfounded look.

    But before they could ask anything, Raven¡¯s voice interrupted them. "The Purple Rain guards have left a message."

    "y it," Ru said ndly.

    In the next second, she heard the voice of her guards from Italy. "Boss, someone is eager to look into your background. Someone even entered your ce here in Italy but since you don¡¯t leave any marks behind. I doubt that they¡¯d find anything. Also, people are specting that Lord Alev Knight is the one behind all those assassins who died a mysterious death. The Mercenaries are in an uproar. Boss, can¡¯t you make a visit. We need to shut their mouth."

    "Arrange my flight. If the Mafia Syndicates and Mercenaries really think I¡¯m behind all of those deaths. I need to give them some reassurance." Ru ordered Adia after listening to the voice message.

    Why was everything going the wrong way? Someone is really not happy seeing me rxed.

    "But Master, what kind of reassurance can we provide? We aren¡¯t the ones behind those deaths. We are not even holding them ountable that people from those Mafia Syndicates and Mercenaries took the mission of your death. And they areing on to us already? What nonsense!" Adia was provoked with her hot-headedness.

    "I¡¯ll reassure them that if I can kill their people, I can wipe them clean for being rowdy as well," Ru answered not paying heed to Adia¡¯s words.

    "You¡¯re gonna take the me for those deaths?" It shocked them to hear such a reply.

    "Of course, I am going to. Wouldn¡¯t it make them realize that they neither can mess with Alev Knight nor with the people under Alev Knight¡¯s wings? For instance, someone like Xie Rong."

    "But Master, you are both Alev Knight and Xie Rong." Jake reminded her of the obvious detail.

    "You know that... I know that. But they don¡¯t need to know that. They only need to fear me and listen to mymands for the sake of their lives and prosperity." Taking a pause, she was about to talk when her phone rang but seeing the caller id, she didn¡¯t n on receiving it. "You guys just don¡¯t forget, if you encounter anyone who has a feather tree printed on his sleeve, don¡¯t fight. It¡¯s the only way to live."

    Saying that she finally attended the call, "Hello!" No reply came, she could hear some hurried breathing but nothing else. "Xiao Zhiren, are you gonna talk or not?" Still, no reply came again. "Oi!" Her heart felt something amiss. Holding her phone between her face and shoulder, she turned to Connor, "Give me the car keys. Hurry up!"

    Taking the keys from his hand, she ran outside the door and pressed the elevator button. It was still on the ground floor and Ru¡¯s patience wasn¡¯t great, to begin with. She turned to stairways and sprinted down like a bolt of lightning.

    Shaking her wristwatch, she said, "Raven, locate Xiao Zhiren¡¯s location."

 Chapter 198 Taking Liberties With Sleeping Beauty

    It took Ru thirty minutes to drive to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s location and all this while, she didn¡¯t disconnect the call. She could hear his breathing and it brought a strange sense of ease. It was enough, at least, until she managed to reach him. As for why it was enough, well, she didn¡¯t want to waste her time thinking about it.

    She was a very rash driver, to begin with, and now, that she was in a hurry for some God-forsaken reason, she had really forgotten all about traffic rules. On a busy road, her car revved like a cyclone.

    And as she found his car parked at the roadside, she rushed up to his car and looked inside through the window pane. Inside the car, she could see him unconscious as she tried to open the door but it was locked from inside. Pulling out a silver needle from her needles pouch which is stuck to her body all the time, she fiddled with the lock.

    As the door unlocked, she mumbled, "Never thought I¡¯d use my precious needle for something as insignificant as picking a lock."

    Shaking her head, she opened the door. She ced her hand on his shoulder and tried shaking Xiao Zhiren, "Oi! Wake up! Xiao Zhiren!" But thetter wasn¡¯t very responsive. Ru held his wrist to take his pulse and realized how hot his body was. "Is he running a fever?" As she took his pulse, her brows furrowed.

    With his arm around her shoulder, she supported his body and helped him out before settling him in her own car. She hunched over to buckle his seatbelt. "I didn¡¯t cheat on you. I promise." His mumbling made her turn her face and without realizing it, her lips brushed past his jaw. The touch seemed to have awakened Xiao Zhiren as her wrist was held in his vice-like grip.

    His eyes shot open and she the blood veins in his eyes. "I don¡¯t remember her. I don¡¯t even know her."

    "Who are you talking about?" Ru asked looking at his anxious and more so, scared expression.

    "You¡¯d leave me if I said it out loud." He shook his head, not wanting to disclose anything.

    "So, you¡¯re gonna hide something from me?" Ru questioned with a quirk of her brow.

    "I-I don¡¯t want to. I can never hide anything from you." Ru felt like he was really vulnerable. He was acting like a kid who was asking for her reassurance.

    Ru ced her other hand on his as she said, "I won¡¯t leave. I give you my word." Since he decided to stick with her when she pushed him with all her might, she also decided to do the same for him.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her in surprise, not knowing how easily she agreed. Was she returning the favor? He couldn¡¯t tell but her words rxed him a bit but as he tried to say something, the pain shot through his head all over again. He held his head as a scream escaped through his mouth.

    "Are you okay?" Ru asked as she saw his face contorted in pain. She rushed over to the other side and started the car. "Just hold on, I¡¯ll take you to the nearest hospital."

    About fifteen minutester...

    Ru was settling through the hospital procedure while Xiao Zhiren was being checked by the doctors. Since it was her first time doing the paperwork for a hospital, she was really lost. More so, she felt exasperated. Why was this admission process so lengthy?

    But she had to swallow herints. It wasn¡¯t worth it. At least, not in a hospital.

    "Are you a family member?" A nurse came out to ask.

    Ru looked at her face for a while longer before nodding her head while the word that slipped out of her tongue was, "No."

    "Is it yes or no?" The nurse asked in confusion since Ru¡¯s action was saying something while her mouth was saying something else.

    "Yes," Ru replied while shaking her head. Clearly, her mind and heart were both in conflict and that led to her tongue and body being so not in sync.

    The nurse kept silent while tapping her foot impatiently. Ru sighed out saying, "I¡¯m family." It seemed it took a lot of effort on her part to say that simple sentence. But when she did, everything felt right. As if it was a very natural thing for her to say that.

    "Okay. So, does the patient have any allergies? Or past medical record that we should know about?"

    Ru scratched her head, not knowing the answer to that. She rummaged out her phone with an awkward cough and said, "Let me ask someone who knows about that." She called Ji Syaoran, gave him the gist of the situation and said, "Talk to the nurse." She passed the phone while Ji Syaoran was still stunned to receive her call.

    But Ji Syaoran was immediately on alert mode as he heard the questions of the nurse. He answered each and every question patiently while making his way to his car. He had to see his brother, to know what was wrong.

    After the nurse went back inside, Ru was left pacing around in the corridor. She hated waiting from the beginning of time but today, in particr, she wasn¡¯t feeling very fond of waiting. Soon after, the doctor came out of the room and saw Ru staring at him inquisitively.

    "He¡¯s running a high fever and as for his headache, we have done the scans. They are clear, you don¡¯t have to worry at all. It must be a simple migraine because of work stress." The doctor told Ru and allowed her to see him.

    She walked inside the silent but very clean room. He wasying alone on the white bed.

    She saw his pale face with beads of perspiration again visible on it. As if in a daze, she walked slowly to his side and ced her hand on his hand. She picked up a towel and went to wet it before lightly wiping his face. A frown was permanently etched between his brows, Ru ironed it down with her fingers.

    She was brushing his untamed fringe off of his wide forehead, she heard his raspy voice, "Are you done taking liberties?"

    Ru immediately stepped away from him. "What liberties?" She almost shouted at him but since he still looked very weak, she refrained herself yet again.

    "I heard that when people are feeling guilty, their voices take a sharp turn. So, my little chili, are you guilty?" Ru really couldn¡¯t believe this man. He was lying here looking all sick and weak but his mind was still active. Especially, when it came to teasing her.

    "Why would I be guilty?" Ru retorted but with a deep breath, she changed her words, "You know what, forget it. I think arguing with you will eventually make me lose half of my life. So, I¡¯m not going to."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t shift from her face, not even for a second. He kept gazing at her with a loving expression as if he was looking at his whole world. "Come here." He beckoned her towards himself while Ru was a bit reluctant to do so. "Are you scared?"

    With a snort, Ru took a couple of steps close to him again and asked, "What is it? Do you need anything? Are you feeling ufortable anywhere?"

    "I don¡¯t me you," said Xiao Zhiren.

    "For what?" asked Ru in return.

    "Well, seeing such a handsome man lying vulnerable and weak on the bed... Sigh! It¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯d want to take liberties."

    "You!" Ru red at him and turned away with a huff.

    But...

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and pulled her back, Ru was caught unguarded and ended up falling towards him or more precisely, on him. Instinctively though, she managed to ce her hands on both sides of his head and saved herself fromnding right on him.

    "Why did you pull me?" She screamed at his face.

    This odd posture of theirs was really ambiguous; with her face hovering above his with only a few inches of air separating them or was it connecting them? Since they were breathing the same air now, Xiao Zhiren inclined towards the connecting part rather than the separating one. Ru was busy glowering at him while Xiao Zhiren was busy etching her face in his mind. If he could forget someone as important as his fiancee. He was scared that he might forget his little chili as well. And that alone, was a very disturbing thought. His brows furrowed again.

    "What are you thinking about now?" Ru asked looking at his strange behavior.

    Xiao Zhiren smiled and shook his head as he lifted his hand to caress her face and said, "I was wondering how could a nasty person like you be so damn beautiful?"

    Ru¡¯s mouth twitched as his reply. Was heplimenting her or insulting her? Forget it, his fever has gone to his head. I¡¯ll just show some mercy on ount of his poor health. Ru calmed herself down with these thoughtspletely ignoring the way his hand was making her skin feel tingly. It was totally normal... Right?

 Chapter 199 Melt Under His Touch

    The sensation of his calloused thumb drawing circles on her cheek felt so good that Ru felt like leaning into his touch further. And perhaps, just melt there.

    ¡¯Oh no. No, no, no! You did not just think that.¡¯ Ru pupils dted as she realized what was happening.

    ¡¯But, you just did. ept it already that you like his touch.¡¯ Her unreasonable conscious was awoken again.

    ¡¯Snap out of it, Ru!¡¯ She snapped at herself and slipped away from his touch.

    The hand that just held her was now left empty and the void seemed like it was gnawing at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s heart. He didn¡¯t like it when she coiled away from his touch but what could he do? He couldn¡¯t force her.

    "I¡¯ll be back in a moment," said Ru and left his room. Only aftering out was she able to breathe properly. Why was this summer getting hotter? ¡¯I should get some cold drink for myself,¡¯ thought Ru and left to find something cold for herself.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were still stuck on his hand. How weird it was that the girl whose body was cold like snow could always melt him like fire? He had yet to feel any warmth emanating from her body and yet his heart always felt fuzzy around her.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he heard the door opening again and as he was expecting Ru, Xiao Zhiren immediately turned his face but as his eyes fell on the person who entered, his eyes dimmed.

    The disappointment on his face was so clear that even Ji Syaoran who had run all the way here could see and couldn¡¯t stop himself from saying, "Ouch! At least, pretend like you¡¯re happy to see me."

    "But I am. Why should I bother pretending?" Xiao Zhiren answered straightforwardly. "Why are you here?"

    "I had to be here. My brother is sick, as his favorite little brother, I just had toe." Ji Syaoran answered as he sat on the side of his bed. "How are you feeling?"

    "I¡¯m fine." Xiao Zhiren lied with a straight face.

    Ji Syaoran scoffed at his brother, "Bro, try being more convincing than that. Because I¡¯m certainly not falling for it."

    "Yuan always falls for it." Xiao Zhiren voiced out as if saying that if Yuan bought his lies, Ji Syaoran should do so as well.

    "I¡¯m not Yuan. I am Ji Syaoran. And I know you better than Yuan. Also, he¡¯s an apathetic person, I¡¯m a passionate one." Ji Syaoran replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. They both stayed silent after that. Xiao Zhiren avoiding his brother¡¯s prying eyes and Ji Syaoran trying to find something on his face. "Will you please tell me what happened? The doctor said you have a high fever. And it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you have a fever. Besides, when did a fever manage to make you so weak?"

    Xiao Zhiren was also thinking about that. He couldn¡¯t remember when he had the feverst time. But it couldn¡¯t possibly have weakened him to this extent. Rubbing his forehead he said, "I don¡¯t know. I had a strange headache. It felt like something was trying to break open my skull. And then..."

    "Then what?" Ji Syaoran turned apprehensive but Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t manage to catch his expression.

    "Some foreign memories shed through my mind." As soon as he finished, Ji Syaoran¡¯s whole body stiffened. "That fiancee grandmother spoke about-"

    Ji Syaoran immediately interrupted him saying, "Bro, gammy was just kidding with you. Don¡¯t strain your mind like this for such an insignificant matter."

    Xiao Zhiren gave Ji Syaoran an odd look as he saw how his brother was all jittery. "She wasn¡¯t kidding at all. I saw it myself. I really chose someone on my own ord. I just don¡¯t know who that person is." He hissed as he felt the pain in his head again.

    "Oi! Can¡¯t you stop thinking? It doesn¡¯t matter since you don¡¯t remember her than just let it be." Ji Syaoran acted out all of a sudden.

    "Why are you getting angry? I¡¯ll just ask grandmother who she is. I need to know who she is and why can¡¯t I remember her."

    "No one knows who she is. Only you knew or mu..." Ji Syaoran bit his tongue before abruptly getting up from his seat.

    "Or? Who else knows?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously.

    Ji Syaoran ced his hand over his mouth as he feigned a yawn saying, "Gosh! I¡¯m really tired today. I should get back. Rest well. I¡¯ll bring porridge for you in the morning."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could open his mouth, Ji Syaoran had already slipped out of the room. Xiao Zhiren was baffled to see his brother acting so weird. No one really knew who that fiancee is? How is that possible? His face fell as he thought, ¡¯Perhaps, only mom knew about her and she is no more.¡¯

    Outside, Ru was busy trying to find a vending machine and when she did, she couldn¡¯t find a single coin on her body. ¡¯That¡¯s just utterly codswallop[1]!¡¯ She cursed while kicking the vending machine.

    She took a moment to survey her surroundings before her fingers did the magic and a couple of coins slid out from the vending machine. Ru smiled in victory which stiffened when she heard a very annoying voice right behind her, "I saw that."

    Ru looked at him for a second longer, "When did you get here?"

    "Just a while ago." Ji Syaoran answered inly. "Thanks for helping my brother."

    Ru shrugged her shoulders as she said, "I don¡¯t like you but that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t like your brother as well." The words left her mouth so naturally that she only realized the meaning after they had been spoken. Did she just say, she likes Xiao Zhiren? Pui! Pui! What rotten tongue!

    "Sorry aboutst time. I really misunderstood everything. But you can¡¯t me me for that really." Ji Syaoran scratched the back of his head as he apologized while Ru pushed the coins in and chose a bubbly drink for herself.

    Ru passed one to him as they both leaned against the wall side by side and with a pop, they both opened the cans in their hands simultaneously. Taking a sip of the cold bubbly drink, she felt refreshed. "It doesn¡¯t matter. I overreacted by throwing you out as well." As Ji Syaoran sighed, she added, "If I knew, I¡¯d have just broken your fingers."

    "Hey!" Ji Syaoran immediately got vignt but then he saw the lopsided grin of Ru which led him to realize he had just been fooled. "You¡¯re really not nice."

    "What¡¯s being nice like? Can I eat it? Does it taste good?" Ru¡¯s retort left Ji Syaoran in a stumped state. How was his brother able to bear this person? He really needed to ask his brother.

    "Did you tell..." Ji Syaoran raised his brow inquisitively as she added, "I mean at your house."

    He shook his head saying, "Nope. I definitely don¡¯t want a storm to start." Ru gave him a confused look as he continued, "Even though dad is upset with bro if he got to know that bro is in the hospital, believe me, the Capital might get on high-security alert."

    "Favored son of the family, eh?" Ru remarked amusingly while Ji Syaoran chuckled beside her.

    "You have no idea. He¡¯s the eldest son of the family, he¡¯s bound to be the favored one."

    "Is that the only reason? Him being the eldest son?" questioned Ru.

    "Of course not." Ji Syaoran answered but didn¡¯t exin his words.

    Ru had a lot of questions now. She felt like she¡¯d able to curb her curiosity but she really couldn¡¯t. Eventually, all the questions about the Ji family were again bothering her. It wasn¡¯t her concern, she had to remind herself repeatedly. But something inside of her also pointed out that it concerned Xiao Zhiren and since Xiao Zhiren was her sworn brother, it actually concerned her as well. How convincing! Not, of course.

    But it was enough of an excuse for herself to say, "Syaoran, does Zhiren have a history of migraine?"

    Ji Syaoran was taking a sip of his drink and his movements became a bit sluggish, unlike Xiao Zhiren, Ru¡¯s eyes caught on to his weird act very well.

    "No. Not at all. It must be because of the stress as the doctor mentioned." Ji Syaoran answered with as muchposure as he could manage under Ru¡¯s sharp eyes.

    "Don¡¯t tempt me with your lies. I¡¯m a violent person and you know that very well." Seeing her narrowed eyes along with that warning, Ji Syaoran gulped his saliva with difficulty.

    [1] ¡¯codswallop¡¯: nonsense

 Chapter 200 Are You Trying To Kill Me, Love?

    It was wishful thinking on Ji Syaoran¡¯s part if he really thought that he¡¯d be able to lie to Ru. Her intimidating eyes were enough to make him sumb before her.

    "Aiyo! Stop staring. I¡¯ll tell you." Ji Syaoran darted his eyes around to see if anyone was around and whispered, "Bro doesn¡¯t have a migraine history. I promise he doesn¡¯t. But..."

    "Keep going," drawled Ru.

    "It¡¯s a secret but bro doesn¡¯t remember much of his childhood. His memories are distorted," sighed Ji Syaoran. Seeing Ru¡¯s perplexed face, he added, "It¡¯s not that we never tried reminding him. It¡¯s just that... He¡¯d almost died with a brain stroke. The doctors said we shouldn¡¯t force him to remember anything. Our family is in a mess for years just to keep him alive."

    Ru was stunned for a minute. Memory distortion? Almost died?

    "How much did he forget?" Ru asked curiously.

    "Enough to draw a line between himself and his family." Ji Syaoran replied with a heavy heart.

    "So, the Ji Family¡¯s biggest skeleton in the closet is that they are hiding the truths just to keep their son alive," Ru mumbled to herself.

    "Please, don¡¯t tell him anything. Today, grandmother just mentioned something from his past and see, he is again in a hospital. He rarely gets sick but when he does, it always has something to do with his headaches that mysteriously starts. But today is the first time, he actually remembered something." Ji Syaoran spoke patiently with a helpless look on his face.

    Ru looked at his face for a long time with a scrutinizing gaze. She lifted her hand and Ji Syaoran instinctively took a step away. Ru shook her head at him and tousled his hair saying, "You¡¯re a good brother, Syaoran."

    Ji Syaoran was surprised by her action. He really thought she was going to hit him again. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t. Phew!

    "Won¡¯t you call me the best brother?" Ji Syaoran fished for some morepliment.

    "Nope." Ru refused to do so straightforwardly.

    "Why is that?" Ji Syaoran pouted adorably.

    "Because for this young master, only my little brother is the best," Ru answered, in all honesty, making Ji Syaoran speechless.

    Right around the corner, someone was standing. With her words, a beautiful smile bloomed on his lips as he shook his head.

    Ru felt weird as she started looking around. She ran towards the corner but found no one.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" asked Ji Syaoran seeing her flustered state.

    "I-I thought someone was looking at me," Ru said softly as her eyes kept roaming around in confusion or anticipation.

    "You¡¯re being paranoid." Ji Syaoran was certain since he didn¡¯t feel anything. But he was forgetting that there was a vast difference in Ru and himself.

    "Who are you calling paranoid?" Ru snapped at him with a re.

    Ji Syaoran backed out as he shook his head. Ru¡¯s cellphone chose this exact moment to ring and she held her finger up at him saying, "Hold that thought."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief as he literally experienced, ¡¯Saved by the bell¡¯ in flesh. While Ru was listening to the other person on the phone, shepletely ignored Ji Syaoran which gave him enough time to slip his way out of here and away from her.

    Meanwhile, from the other side of the call, Ru listened, "Master, your flight has been arranged. We have also handled everything here."

    Ru stayed silent for a moment. She looked towards Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hospital room and thought about the uproar in Empire. Fudge it! She cursed and said, "I have something to deal with here. All five of you take my ce and go to Italy. It¡¯s necessary to stop those organizations before we have to start another bloody war for power."

    "Master, are you really not going? But they would want to see Alev Knight in person?" Edmund was feeling a bit anxious. Since when did their master stop caring about his power?

    "Does anyone of them know what Alev Knight looks like?" Ru asked calmly in a whisper keeping her voice as low as possible.

    "No, Sir!" came the prompt reply.

    "Then why are we still having this conversation?" Ru¡¯s impatience was quite clear from her voice now.

    "Understood! One of us will act as the dummy Alev Knight," came Adia¡¯s voice.

    "Why do you sound so excited?" Ru¡¯s question made Adia stumped. Was this master a ghost? How does ¡¯he¡¯ even know everything? While Ru continued, "If anything you will never be able to act like Alev Knight."

    Adia understood her meaning and pursed her lips in a thin line. Of course, she was a girl. How could she act as dummy Alev Knight? Wuwu! This is unfair!

    "Keep me updated." With that, Ru hung up the call after crushing Adia¡¯s pretty little dream. That¡¯s when she realized that Ji Syaoran was no longer around. However, he was decent enough to leave a message which read, ¡¯I¡¯ll be back in the morning with breakfast.¡¯ She shook her head at his way of bribing her into forgetting. But gosh! It was working.

    ¡¯I really need to learn to say no to food.¡¯ She mused to herself.

    Following that, she did a whole survey around the hospital floor but still, her suspicion wasn¡¯t gone at all. How could she be wrong? She really felt someone¡¯s presence. And a burning intense gaze. Who could it be?

    With a shrug of her shoulders, she went back to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s room and saw him sleeping soundly. he looked really calm this time around. There was no frown on his handsome but pale face.

    Ru sat down on the stool beside his bed and allowed her mind to wander around.

    From the ss in the door, someone gazed inside and said, "Get me the details on that man. Every single detail."

    The person behind bowed his head slightly as he took themand, "I¡¯ll do it right away, Second Young Master."

    The man¡¯s light brown eyes were unfathomable as he stared at Ru¡¯s straight back. And just as she turned her head with a jerk, he turned aside as well to hide.

    "It seems my dearest love¡¯s sharp senses are certainly intact. d to know that there is no rust." He whispered before leaving in anguid manner, not at all acting suspiciously.

    Around dawn, Xiao Zhiren felt difort in his throat and stirred awoke to find some water for his parched throat. But as soon as he opened his eyes, he was left stunned.

    Ru¡¯s hand was holding his hand while her head was lying right beside his hand. Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t believe his eyes that she was actually this close to him, willingly. And it seemed like she stayed beside him for the whole night.

    No one could describe what Xiao Zhiren was going through. Perhaps, even he couldn¡¯t describe the turmoil of emotions within him. Was he happy? Then why did he felt like crying? He knew she was capable of making him smile when he first met her. Then when she left she made him realize how she¡¯d make him cry as well; only she could.

    But who knew she¡¯d actually be able to make him want to cry andugh at the very same time? Only she was capable of making him an emotional mess. He was an emotional wreck just for her. But what could he really do? He was a sucker for her love!

    Xiao Zhiren slowly pried his hand away from her before pulling the needle out of his vein. Then he slowly got up and with a gentleness one showed to a newborn baby, he picked her up before lying her down on his bed. He moved around the bed and settled right by her side.

    Ru stirred in her sleep and he felt like she was gonna wake up to bicker yet again. However, she didn¡¯t. She just rolled her body and her face went straight to the crook of his neck and her soft breath there made Xiao Zhiren¡¯s whole body to shiver in delicious pleasure.

    He stroked her hair lovingly as he whispered, "Are you trying to kill me, love?" He nted a soft kiss on her temple and added, "I¡¯m already yours. With everything I have to offer." With a content smile, he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her body close. He didn¡¯t give a damn if someone saw them like this.

    Nevertheless, the person whom he thought to be sleeping was the true definition of a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothes. Ru was a light sleeper, to begin with, no matter how gentle Xiao Zhiren was, she was still awoken. Not by his touch though. It was his scent that pulled her with an undefiable force. He smelled like medicine and sweat, but she could still find his real masculine scent. It was purely all of him.

    She wanted to open her eyes, she wanted to rebut but something made her shut up. It was the moment she realized how he was touching her. He must be the only one who actually held her with such caution and care.

    When he ced her on the bed, her mind was again getting drowsy. She med it all on him. He was like a sleep drug now. But in her half-awakened state, she heard his words clearly which made her heart pulsate vigorously. And when he pulled her closer, for a second, she thought he¡¯ll hear her heartbeat.

    But all she heard was a drumming rhythm of both their erratically beating hearts.

 Chapter 201 Our Relationship

    Di Lama once said, "Sleep is the best meditation."

    It is in fact very true. But what really is the essence of meditation?

    Meditation allows us to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally stable state. And to achieve mental rity and emotional stability we have to rx our soul. Only then our tension and stress will dwell.

    As for to rx one¡¯s soul, what better way there could possibly be than to lie in the arms of that particr one whose soul is connected to yours with a red thread of destiny. Listening to the heartbeat of that one which matches the rhythm of your own perfect-ly and makes a beautiful melody.

    There might be no better luby than this in the whole world.

    And there might be no better sight than the one Xiao Zhiren could see. With the soft rays of the sun falling on the back of her head, her face buried in his neck, and serenity on her distinct face. She looked so beautiful and her lips looked so inviting that Xiao Zhiren was having a hard time holding in his urge to just kiss the hell out of her.

    She stirred a bit before lifting her hand to rub her eyes. At that moment, she looked so adorable that Xiao Zhiren finally lost it. He dipped his head and pecked her lips without restraint as he said, "Good morning, love!"

    Ru was awake. Very awake now as her body was stiffened and her eyes were stuck on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face that was looking handsome, refreshed. Did she mention handsome? Okay, there was no harm in repeating, right?

    He was grinning like a fool as he stared back at her shocked look. Ru slowly became aware of his presence as in, she finally noted how there was a heavy arm snaked around her waist while his other arm was wrapped around her shoulders and was tangled in her hair.

    ¡¯Wasn¡¯t he numb by now?¡¯ That was the first thought that came to Ru¡¯s mind, surprising her. Wasn¡¯t she supposed to push him away first? Why was she worried about his well-being? That was so not like herself. Did someone take possession of her mind? Or body? Or perhaps, both?

    Because even now, instead of pushing him away Ru stayed in his arms while her mind worried about his health. On its own ord, her hand went up to his forehead and when she noted that he wasn¡¯t burning likest night, a sigh escaped her mouth. Not just Ru even Xiao Zhiren was shocked to see her behavior.

    She was really worried about him. Haiz! He could really die in peace now. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind was clouded with these mushy thoughts.

    On the other hand, Ru squirmed in his arms but he didn¡¯t loosen his grip. Not letting her escape at all. It wasn¡¯t every day one would be able to hold Ru, right? So, Xiao Zhiren was going to take advantage of each and every moment of it.

    She raised her hand to punch him when she heard his voice, "I¡¯m still sick. Is this how you¡¯re supposed to treat a patient?"

    Although Ru could retort with the fact that he didn¡¯t have a fever anymore, she didn¡¯t do so. After all, with how high his fever was she could tell he must be feeling weak even now. It was better not to stimte him or get violent.

    With an awkward cough, she said, "I remember, I slept there." Ru pointed at the stool and Xiao Zhiren nodded not even bothering to look anywhere other than her face.

    "You did. But I was worried you¡¯d be ufortable there. So, being a big-hearted person I opened my arms for you." It took a moment for Ru to digest his shameless words. Really? Was he praising himself?

    Oh, I really had a bad influence on him! How could he turn into such a narcissistic son of a bachelor! He¡¯s gonna put me to shame at this rate!

    Taking a deep calming breath, Ru stated matter-of-factly, "I¡¯m more ufortable here."

    "Really?" Xiao Zhiren gave her guilty look before rolling her body onto himself. "This must be morefortable. You like hard things anyway."

    Ru¡¯s jaw dropped at his sudden move and words. Okay! His body was taut and she¡¯d dly ept it. But how dare he! Was he treating her like a broken or fragile doll or something? This thought was disturbing more than the fact that her whole body was sprawled on his like he was the mattress.

    She punched his arm in rage and he pouted, "My little chili, I have a fever. How can you be so violent?"

    "You don¡¯t have a fever anymore." Ru bit out in exasperation while raising her hand again.

    This time, he again held her hand in his own and brought it to touch his forehead saying, "Feel it carefully. Fever is there."

    "I can¡¯t feel it." Ru insisted.

    "Love, feel with love. It is there." Xiao Zhiren also seemed adamant.

    "You! I said it¡¯s not-" her words died down at the tip of her tongue when Xiao Zhiren slid her hand down and pressed his lips against her palm.

    With a silly smile, he added, "I agree. Now, the fever is gone."

    Ru gave him thest punch on his chest before frantically getting off his bed. "You¡¯re getting audacious!" She stated loud and clear.

    "Hmm... Well, that¡¯s the only trait you don¡¯t have," Xiao Zhiren replied helplessly as he looked at her back. He could tell she was flustered. There was no way that her heart was made of steel and his advances had not the slightest bit of effect on her.

    As for Ru, wasn¡¯t it enough that her lips could feel the tingle of his lingering presence from earlier? Now, her palm was on fire and as for her body, she could still feel the sensations left by the friction between their fully clothed bodies.

    She didn¡¯t confront him again and went to wash her face. And even when the water touched her lips, she felt dazed. The water¡¯s coldness was a striking contrast to his hot, moist and soft lips. And this contrast made her body shiver whether it was in repulse or delicious anticipation, who knew? Even young master Ru wasn¡¯t aware.

    Or maybe she was aware somewhere deep inside her heart. However, she was just not ready to acknowledge that buried awareness.

    As she came out, she found Xiao Zhiren talking to the doctor. "The fever has gone down now. But your body has taken a blow because of your mental health. You shouldn¡¯t stress so much and give your mind and body some rest."

    "When can I discharge?" Xiao Zhiren was asking.

    "We have done somest-minute tests to be certain. Just wait for a couple of hours and if the tests are clear, you¡¯re good to go." The doctor replied professionally.

    "Thank you!" Xiao Zhiren replied politely and the doctor left the room, not without ncing towards Ru who was standing at the side. Xiao Zhiren also looked at her and when she didn¡¯t move, he called out, "Hey,e here!"

    Ru crossed her arms over her chest as she asked condescendingly, "Do you think I¡¯ll fall for it again?"

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t mind her attitude. Not even the least bit. If she was throwing tantrum before him that meant he had managed to move a step ahead again in their rtionship, right?

    "Love, can¡¯t you just listen to me for once without arguing?"

    Ru didn¡¯t even take a minute before replying, "Nope. Our rtionship will get boring otherwise."

    Seeing the smirk that appeared on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face, Ru realized she said something wrong. But what? Ah! ¡¯Rtionship?¡¯

    "Wipe that smirk off. Don¡¯t overthink. A rtionship could be any kind of rtionship. Even a friendship one or brotherhood one." Ru stammered her way toplete this sentence.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t lose his smirk, it only became more prominent as he said, "You¡¯re right. A rtionship can be of any kind. Even..." He left his words hanging for Ru¡¯s imagination to run wild which he knew she won¡¯t be able to control.

    "Fuck! Something is certainly wrong with me. Last night, I said to Ji Syaoran that I like Xiao Zhiren and now, this... This whole rtionship talk. What the!" Ru muttered as she turned to leave with a huff. Staying with this man was bing challenging and she was afraid, she might really lose something to him. It could be either her rationality or her whole self.

    "Did you just say you like me?"

    Holy cricket! Why am I talking so much rubbish!

 Chapter 202 Truly Are Fascinating

    Ru could only me her loose tongue for being rebellious in these few days. Why was she even speaking? She should just seal her mouth and stay quiet. That might put an end to it.

    Xiao Zhiren was bbergasted when he heard Ru¡¯s words. Did she really ept that she likes him? That was so unexpected!

    However, before he could confront her for this, someone chose to ruin this moment.

    "Bro, I brought the finest breakfast as promised." Ji Syaoran announced while grinning but when he saw the vein on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face twitching, he added, "Why so cold, guys? I might get frostbite at this rate." He was trying to lighten up the mood but from the expressions of the two people in the room, it clearly wasn¡¯t working very well.

    Ru was the first one to react as she walked past him and left the room not before bumping into Ji Syaoran¡¯s shoulder intentionally. Poor guy almost lost his bnce and fell on his buttock again.

    "Ow!" he was rubbing his sore shoulder as he mumbled, "That guy has some insane strength in that seemingly thin body."

    "What did you do?" Xiao Zhiren asked.

    "What do you mean?" Ji Syaoran retorted in confusion.

    "Clearly you must have done something for he... him to act like this." Xiao Zhiren had to remind himself to keep calling Ru as him and not her. But since now that the nature of his interaction with Ru had changed, it was really difficult to keep track of when to address her as a male and as a female. How tricky!

    "I didn¡¯t do anything." Ji Syaoran denied as he opened the thermos and poured some soup for Xiao Zhiren before offering it to him.

    "Don¡¯t lie. There is no way that little chili would react without any rhyme or reason." Xiao Zhiren obviously had grown ustomed to Ru¡¯s behaviors. It wasn¡¯t hard to know that she wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person. At least, not with others. Her unreasonable nature was reserved just for him.

    "You don¡¯t have faith in your brother?" Ji Syaoran asked in a disappointed manner.

    "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. But... I know that troublemaker well." Xiao Zhiren imed.

    Ji Syaoran looked at his brother¡¯s face for a second longer before sitting down on his bedside and said, "I called him paranoidst night. But he¡¯s petty. He¡¯s still holding a grudge over that small thing."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled. "Oh, tell me about it. Pettiness is embedded in his soul. As for grudges... Haiz! His temper is also a wonder."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t understand his meaning and didn¡¯t n on doing so either. He kept pushing food to Xiao Zhiren while he stood to watch. And whenever Xiao Zhiren said he was done, Ji Syaoran would threaten him with, "I¡¯ll tell grandmother that you have a fever. Do you want that?" Obviously, Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t have any desire to listen to his grandmother¡¯s nagging for hours or days. It could possibly go on for weeks as well.

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t stop until every bit of the food was fed to his brother. He felt proud of himself. He was bing a good ckmailer. Er... Negotiator. Well, it¡¯s the same thing anyway. Who cares!

    "How¡¯s Yuan? Did he call you?" Ji Syaoran inquired after a while.

    "Last I heard, he was boarding his flight. Next, he didn¡¯t bother contacting me." Xiao Zhiren exined and heard his phone buzzing. Looking at the screen, he shed a smile saying, "Speak of the devil."

    He connected the call and put it on speaker.

    "Hey, big bear!" Yuan¡¯s voice sounded excited and cheery which was so unlike him.

    "Finally, my little brother remembered that he left a brother behind." Xiao Zhiren teased yfully.

    "Two brothers." Ji Syaoran corrected promptly.

    "Oh, Ran Zi is also there. What are you both doing without me?" Yuan asked suspiciously.

    "Well, certainly we can¡¯t be having more fun than you little brother." Ji Syaoran replied since Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t a good liar. "How¡¯s your trip going on? You¡¯ve been gone for four days and this is the second time I¡¯m hearing from you."

    "Sorry for not contacting. But I¡¯m in Amsterdam now. We are about to board the train to Paris from here." Yuan replied back.

    "Oh, that¡¯s good."

    It had taken a lot of effort on Yuan¡¯s part to get the permission for a backpacking trip around Europe with Zhang Han. Xiao Zhiren had protected him so much all these years that he didn¡¯t want to send Yuan alone so far away from him. But Yuan managed to convince him when he somehow managed to ask Ru for Lilith to be their traveling partner.

    He had been gone for four days and because of his excitement, he really forgot to inform back home that he was alright. It was a good thing that both Ji Family and Xiao Zhiren sent some people to keep an eye on them and keep them updated. Because these youngsters were truly unreliable.

    "Yuan, enjoy yourself and take care of your health." Xiao Zhiren reminded again.

    "Rx. I will take care of myself. I¡¯ll callter. Gotta rush." He hung up the call and both Ji Syaoran and Xiao Zhiren sighed.

    "He seems to be enjoying his freedom." Xiao Zhiren remarked thinking whether he had really been protecting Yuan too well. He should have let him experience the world on his own long ago as Ru had suggested once. He was the reason his brother was so indifferent and apathetic. Perhaps, this trip would bring some changes in his personality.

    But even in his wildest dreams, Xiao Zhiren would have never thought that this trip would change everything for Yuan. Not just his personality. But that was the matter of the future.

    For now...

    "Bro, take your own advice. That kid is fine. It¡¯s you who got a fever. Don¡¯t tell me you were worried about him and that¡¯s why your health deteriorated." Ji Syaoran was speaking all on his own without giving Xiao Zhiren a chance to reply. "If you had this much worry for me, I¡¯d be over the moon. It¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t matter as much as Yuan does. This is called the double-standards. You¡¯re biased in love between your two brothers. This is totally unfair!"

    "Are you done whining?" Xiao Zhiren asked pinching the space between his brows. "If you are then please get lost."

    "Now you¡¯re even kicking me out? Bro, I didn¡¯t expect this from you." Xiao Zhiren thought he was being dramatic but this time, Ji Syaoran was really hurt. "Fine. I¡¯ll leave." With a heavy heart, he packed the food containers and left.

    While walking past the garden of the hospital, he saw Ru sitting under a tree with a cigarette between her lips. He found her movements to be quite suave as she blew the whisps of smoke out of her mouth.

    "Leaving already? I thought you¡¯d leave with your brother." Ru took the initiative to talk.

    "He kicked me out." Ji Syaoran muttered softly.

    "Are you hurt?" Ru questioned intrigued by his sad expression.

    Ji Syaoran chortled loudly which slowly turned into a bitter smile as he said, "How can I be upset? At the end of the day, I¡¯m just a half-brother." The way he said thest words really felt weird to Ru. It was as if he was having a hard time even saying those words. As if he was mocking himself or that title of being a half-brother. What it was Ru couldn¡¯t really tell.

    "What half-brother or real brother? Brothers are brothers. There is no such thing as being half or not." Ru said inly before extinguishing her cigarette. "Brotherhood isn¡¯t imed by blood. It¡¯s a matter of the heart. You neither can deny it nor can you force it."

    "Why is it so hard to understand you?" Ji Syaoran suddenly changed the topic of conversation.

    Ru quirked her brow at him inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, I thought I¡¯ll be able to hate you after you pushed me out of your apartment and yet here I am finding it impossible to do so." Ji Syaoran really looked helpless as if he really was having the battle to understand why he couldn¡¯t hate her. She clearly irked him to no end but she somehow managed to say the words that his heart needed to hear. "You really intrigue me to no end..."

    "I know I¡¯m fascinating. You don¡¯t need to mention it at all."

    Ji Syaoran burst outughing with his head thrown back in reckless abandon. He seemed free and unrestrained. It was one of those rare moments when Ru thought she didn¡¯t see any burden of responsibilities in his eyes. He was truly hiding too much behind his yful nature that it gave people the illusion of how blissful he was.

    "I wish I could deny. But you truly are fascinating." Ji Syaoran remarked sincerely.

 Chapter 203 My Heart Hurts

    "Never took you for a smoker." Ji Syaoranmented as they both walked towards his car.

    "Never took you for a gamer either," Ru replied with a wink. With that lopsided grin, her forest green enchanting eyes Ji Syaoran felt he was in a dream. Why was everything so cool about this fellow? He really couldn¡¯t tell. It was almost surreal. "Anyway, I¡¯m not a habitual smoker. Just like taking a puff of a fag[1] or two once in a while. It helps me in focusing."

    "I still think you shouldn¡¯t smoke on an empty stomach. That¡¯s even more dangerous." Ji Syaoran remarked as he ced the food containers in the back seat of his car.

    Ru gave a slight smile as she said, "Well, someone forgot to bring my breakfast. Sigh! I had to work it up with just a fag." Her disappointed tone and words reminded Ji Syaoran of what he had promised herst night.

    He facepalmed himself saying guiltily, "I¡¯m so sorry. I was trying to feed brother and forgot that half the potion was for you."

    Ru gave him a chuckle as he patted his shoulder, "Listen, mate[2], that much of the food would have never been able to do justice to my appetite. It¡¯s fine as long as your brother ate his fill. He needs to refill his energy. I¡¯m already a very healthy person."

    "Healthy? I¡¯d say you have an insane strength." Ji Syaoran grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder which she had bumped into earlier when he came.

    "Don¡¯t act like a delicate young master. Even though Ji Family is an aristocratic family, every descendant is still taught the basics of martial arts. You are no exception and I can bet my everything on that." Ru replied in an all-knowing manner.

    "Are you really a ghost? How do you know everything?" Ji Syaoran asked in surprise. It wasn¡¯t every day that you¡¯d find someone who could tell you about your own family with such ease.

    "I¡¯m not a ghost. But I do love knowing things." Ru replied honestly and continued in a doubtful manner, "That¡¯s why I¡¯m so curious about that woman in Ji mansion."

    "What?" Ji Syaoran had heard her but he thought he had misheard. So, he had to question again just for confirmation.

    "Don¡¯t act clueless. She lives in your father¡¯s courtyard, there is no way that you don¡¯t know about her." Ru might have her doubts before but now she was certain that Ji Syaoran knew more than he was allowed to.

    "I do. But I won¡¯t talk about it." Ji Syaoran replied in a low voice and a defeated manner.

    "And I won¡¯t ask either. It won¡¯t be fun this way." Ru replied.

    They both stood silent with their own thoughts. Ji Syaoran with the curiosity of how Ru knew about someone his father protected the most and Ru with a feeling that her initial doubts might turn out to be the truth. And if they did, then Ji Yifeng was right. His sons¡¯ life would change.

    "By the way, are you from a martial practitioner family?" Ji Syaoran asked curiously.

    "What gave that away?" Ru asked and Ji Syaoran gave her a look that said, ¡¯Are you serious?¡¯

    "Your violent nature is enough to give you away."

    "Thugs are also violent." Ru pointed out.

    Ji Syaoran smiled in return and said, "Yes, but they don¡¯t carry the aura of a distinguished, elegant and eloquent master like yourself."

    "Fair enough." Ru shrugged her shoulders. "I just remembered, we still have that football match on pending."

    Ji Syaoran took a step back gingerly. "Not ying with you. No way."

    "Why not?" Ru wasn¡¯t pleased to hear that.

    "My Great Grand Master! Your hands are already enough to beat me to a pulp. Who knows what can you do with a football in hand? I can¡¯t take any risk. My poor heart won¡¯t allow me to." Ji Syaoran was bowing to her as if acknowledging her as his master.

    He lifted his eyes to observe her reaction and as their eyes met, both of them couldn¡¯t help the peal ofughter that engulfed them.

    "I promise it¡¯d be a friendly match. I just have no one to y with. I look like a bloody jerk ying all on my own." Ru spoke with a sad tone.

    "Then I shall be your good mate and apany you for a match."

    "Yes, you should!" Ru agreed solemnly. "Now, leave. I have to deal with your brother¡¯s discharge papers. Argh! I hate that paperwork."

    Ji Syaoranughed at her reaction and shook his head, "Well, you need to take full responsibility. You admitted him here. You should be the one to discharge him from here as well."

    "Traitor!" Ru scrunched up her nose at him while giving him a pointed look. He just smiled at her reaction and drove away.

    From his room¡¯s window, Xiao Zhiren had seen their interaction from the very start. He hated it that Ru was acting sofortable around Ji Syaoran even though thetter was his own brother. His blood boiled when he saw Ru touching his shoulder to give him a pat and he almost punched someone when he saw themughing so freely with each other.

    Why wasn¡¯t she this easy around him? Even now, she would find excuses to stay away from him! Fine! I won¡¯t touch you either now. I¡¯m being pushy and clingy. I should stop with this nonsense. Xiao Zhiren decided on his own.

    But when Ru entered back to his room, he couldn¡¯t stop his traitor eyes from looking at her. Still, seeing her easygoing look, he fumed and didn¡¯t say a word.

    "Your tests are all clear. The doctor said that you¡¯re free to go." Ru spoke happily as she strode towards him. "Now, get dressed. I¡¯ve dealt with your paperwork. We are leaving this hospital. Good riddance!"

    Xiao Zhiren neither moved an inch nor said a single word. Not even a nod of affirmation. He was just being broody.

    Ru wasn¡¯t oblivious to his odd behavior but she had no mood of entertaining him right now. "Get up already. Ran Zi left some clothes for you to change into." She didn¡¯t even realize that her intimate way of calling Ji Syaoran had ticked something off in Xiao Zhiren.

    He abruptly came down from his bed and held her arms in a tight grip. "What are you doing?" Ru asked in confusion, not caring that he was holding her.

    "I should ask you, what the hell are you doing?" He retorted back.

    "What did I do? I¡¯m the most innocent person between the two of us." Ru replied without feeling a hint of shame. But then again, she was talking about the way he was always touching her at every given chance or more like stolen chance.

    "Why are you like this?" He shook her a little.

    "I don¡¯t know. I was born this way." She said thoughtfully and added, "By the way, what am I like?"

    Xiao Zhiren had the urge to knock his own head against the wall. She truly was infuriating to talk to. But he chose to press his forehead against hers gently and cupped her face as he said, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re like either. I just know, you¡¯re hell-bent on undoing me, love."

    "Undoing you?" Ru stared back at his eyes that were erged because of theck of distance between them. "But I don¡¯t want to ruin you. I have no such desire as of yet."

    Xiao Zhiren stroked her cheeks with his thumb and said, "Yes, you are undoing me. Because you are my undoing yourself. My Achilles heel!" Ru didn¡¯t want to reply to that. She just didn¡¯t want to. She felt that she¡¯d end up saying something wrong so her silence was better. "I don¡¯t like it when you smile with other men. Even if it¡¯s my own brother."

    Ru and Xiao Zhiren both had a sense of deja vu. What was it?

    "I don¡¯t like it when sheughs with other kids." the voice echoed in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind.

    "Don¡¯t give that smile to other boys," Ru remembered a distant memory from a very young age. Probably, she was only nine or ten.

    "Why can¡¯t I?" She had asked looking at that weak looking kid.

    "Because my heart hurts when you show your beautiful smile to others." That small boy had replied.

    "Then go to a doctor. This young master will always do what he wants to do!" Ru had replied back in her usual haughty manner. And she still could remember how that the boy had looked upset because of her words.

    Hell! His expression even made her feel guilty at that age. And Ru wasn¡¯t someone who would feel guilty over anything! She had yet to know how he knew she was a girl when even she was clueless at that age.

    Presently, both of them stared back at each other. Xiao Zhiren biting his lip in guilt and Ru in confusion at how much resemnce Xiao Zhiren had with that annoying kid from her childhood. What a strange coincidence!

    [1] "fag": Cigarette

    [2] "mate": A friend orpanion

 Chapter 204 I Want You

    When Xiao Zhiren swore that he won¡¯t touch Ru, he was most definitely kidding with only himself. His self-control was always thrown out the window when Ru was involved. How could he resist it? He just couldn¡¯t bring himself to have any restraint around her whatsoever!

    After that moment of deja vu had passed, both of them were wearing somber looks as they left the hospital. Ru was the one to drive again as she let him rest in the passenger seat. She noticed he was awfully quiet as he kept his eyes trained on the scenery outside the window.

    But Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t tell her that he was guilty. That deja vu moment made him hate himself even more. He actually said something like that for another girl? Other than his little chili he really didn¡¯t like seeing someone smile with others? Why didn¡¯t it make sense? At least, not to his stubborn heart who was stuck on the stubborn person sitting in the same closed car unaware of the fact that he was awfully affected by her presence.

    As they reach their condominium building, Ru helped him to his apartment. "You should rest. No work is allowed. Doctor¡¯s instructions." Ru ordered while he silently listened. "Aren¡¯t you gonna say anything? Or cat got your tongue?"

    Xiao Zhiren stared at her, standing in HIS bedroom all alone with him, with a concerned look in her eyes. Okay! This image was gonna stuck with him. Because his mind had gone nk. He forgot all about that memory he didn¡¯t recognize. All that mattered was the fact that His little chili was in his room and that too for him.

    "Aren¡¯t you a medicine practitioner yourself? And I heard a very good one at that. Why did you take me to the hospital then?" Ru was taken aback by the question for two reasons. One, where did this questione from? And second, why the hell didn¡¯t she think of this?

    She tapped the tip of her shoes on the floor as she tried to think of an excuse. Hmm. So, why didn¡¯t she just dealt with his illness herself? It wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway.

    ¡¯Perhaps because you¡¯re too anxious to recall your own talents.¡¯ That unreasonable conscious again! Couldn¡¯t she just strangle her? It won¡¯t hurt anyone.

    ¡¯Shut up and go back to sleep!¡¯ Ru snapped back.

    ¡¯Why so early? There is only PG-13 scene going on here. I¡¯m definitely allowed to watch.¡¯ Ru had the urge to smack her head. What was this conscious thinking about? Disgusting!

    ¡¯You! Just kick the bucket already!¡¯ With a huff, Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren and realized that he had been staring at her all this while. And she was so lost in her own world that she didn¡¯t even realize it at all.

    "You! Stop asking questions. The hospital wasn¡¯t far and anyway, this young master¡¯s services are pricey. You won¡¯t be able to afford it." Ru had to make up an excuse right there and then.

    "Pricey? So, just likest time, should I pay with my body?" Xiao Zhiren teased her again.

    "Oi! You¡¯re courting death!"

    "No, love. I¡¯m only courting you. But yes, you¡¯re right. Since you seem to be the death of me. Indirectly, it means I am really courting death." Xiao Zhiren said in all honesty.

    "Zhiren, where do youe up with these?"

    "What?"

    "This cringe-worthy talking? Are you taking a special course or is it God gifted?"

    "Hmm... I think I was born with this talent. But I only realized it after you came to my life." Xiao Zhiren replied with a cheeky smile as he leaned his head against the headboard.

    "You seem healthy enough to flirt. I should take my leave then." Ru turned to leave and he cried out.

    "Wait! Why are you always running? It¡¯s hard to catch up in my weak state. Just stay. What if my condition rpsed?"

    Ignoring the first part of his speech, she realized thest part was correct. His condition could really rpse. Haiz! When did she turn into a caring person?

    "I¡¯ll stay. But no funny business." She warned him with a re and Xiao Zhiren raised his hands defensively.

    "Wouldn¡¯t dare," was his short reply.

    He was content with staring at Ru as she roamed around in his room looking at the abstract arts. She seemed deeply immersed in the paintings.

    His phone¡¯s ring disturbed his beautiful view. "What?" he snapped at the caller.

    "Woah! Buddy, woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" The yful voice from the other end made Xiao Zhiren roll his eyes.

    "Adrian, why are you calling?" Xiao Zhiren asked in a leveled-tone this time.

    "Why do I feel like you¡¯re trying to get rid of me? Is someone with you?" Adrian¡¯s curiosity got the best of him. And as he heard an affirmative sound from Xiao Zhiren, he added, "Am I disturbing?" Xiao Zhiren again gave an affirmative sound. "Wow! Is it my future sister-inw?"

    That ¡¯sister-inw¡¯ sounded so good to hear. And the feeling it brought was even more weing. It was like Xiao Zhiren could im that Ru was his and his alone.

    "It most certainly is." He replied with a smile tugging at his lips. Ru obviously had no interest in eavesdropping. So, she walked out of the room to give him privacy.

    "Oh My! Finally! I really was having doubt in your sexual orientation. But now that I know you swing the right way, I¡¯m very happy for you." Adrian said excitedly not caring that his words were making Xiao Zhiren angry.

    "Adrian, howe you remembered to call me?" Xiao Zhiren rephrased his earlier question.

    "Oh, right. I have to tell you something. I¡¯ming to China in a few days. You better wee me." Adrian spoke jubntly and continued, "Also, I heard your brother is in Europe."

    "Yuan is indeed there. Why?" Xiao Zhiren asked not knowing how did Adrian find out about this. "How do you even know that?"

    "He¡¯s under Lord Alev Knight¡¯s protection. Who in the who Europe didn¡¯t get the memo? It was like a bolt out of the blue knowing that Knight Empires specially trained warriors were sent to protect a group of youngsters. And when I dug deeper. It turned out, it¡¯s your brother. I didn¡¯t know you were on such good terms with Alev Knight." Adrian kept talking non-stop without even waiting for any reply from the other side.

    However, Xiao Zhiren was also very confused. Why would Alev Knight send his men to protect my brother? It didn¡¯t make sense. Unless...

    His gaze darkened while his face hardened at that possibility.

    "Send me the details of when you¡¯re arriving. I¡¯ll see you then. Bye for now."

    "Okay, bye. Enjoy your time with my future sister-inw."

    After hanging up the phone, he went out of the room to look for Ru and found her cutting some fruits for him in the living room. She even cut the apples in a rabbit shape like he was a kid. But the gesture was loving.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. Remember why you came to talk. Focus!

    "Did you ask Alev Knight to protect Yuan?" He asked.

    Ru barely gave him a fleeting nce and focused back on cutting the fruit as she said, "Why are you out of bed? And even if I did what¡¯s the big deal? If I rule the ce, I can do whatever I want."

    "You rule the ce?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows quirked up.

    "I mean... Alev rules there and I told you. There is no difference between his and mine. We are practically like one. So, I can use him however I want." Ru replied without giving it much thought. Or without considering the vinegar volcano that was about to burst out behind her.

    She was about to pass by his side when he held her hand and pushed her against the wall pinning her down. "I remember you still owe me a favor." He started with a clenched jaw.

    "I do remember," Ru replied not even trying to escape from his grip. Why? It felt so bloody natural!

    The pending favor was when he saved her from a car ident on the road. It wasn¡¯t a big deal but she had still offered to give him a nk promise.

    "Have you thought of what you want?" She asked.

    Gazing into her green eyes, he said, "I have."

    "What do you want from me?" She inquired curiously.

    "You." The word so naturally rolled out of his tongue that Ru was left dumbstruck. "I want you." He repeated for confirmation.

 Chapter 205 Your Heart Whispered To Me

    Three words... Eight letters... And a whole lot of feelings...

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s simple "I want you." carried a weight which couldn¡¯t be denied. These were one of the most romantic and sincerest words to a girl. A blunt confession that probably held a bigger promise than "I love you." Because his confession stated clearly how much she meant to him.

    Any girl would have melted at this confession and probably would have said, "I¡¯m already yours."or something along the line. At least, if the situation was reversed in their case and Ru was the one saying, "I want you." Xiao Zhiren wouldn¡¯t have even hesitated before saying, "I¡¯m all yours, to begin with."

    But sadly, the situation wasn¡¯t ideal in their case. Because the one doing the confession was Xiao Zhiren and the one being confessed to was our Ru; who loved running from her feelings. Especially, her feelings for Xiao Zhiren that had beplicated and far from her understanding.

    In just a half a year of knowing him, he had managed to challenge her limits. She hated being touched carelessly but now, she found herself in a dilemma whenever his skin made contact with her own. She never liked thepany of strangers and yet, in his presence, she found herself rxing as if shedding away all her guards.

    She wasn¡¯t sure what was changing between them. However, she was sure that something changed beyond repair. But with her indecisive nature, she wasn¡¯t very willing to ept those changes.

    And she couldn¡¯t find words, she raised her fist to throw a punch at his face which he easily dodged. "I¡¯m not up for a bargain." Ru snarled at him angrily as she kicked his knee without holding back.

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t gonna lie. It hurt. It really did. But he wasn¡¯t gonna back off either. If he let her slip away now, he might really lose her for good.

    Holding back her wrists, he pinned her back to the wall with her hands above her head. She was glowering while he was looking calm and patient.

    "I¡¯m not trying to buy you. I just want you to fulfill your promise." He stated holding her gaze.

    Ru thought she saw hurt in his raven-ck eyes. There was no unadulterated lust but there was pure and undiluted jealousy. Jealousy? But why? She couldn¡¯t figure that out while he wasn¡¯t very inclined on saying it out loud either. Nheless, the need and sincerity in his eyes were real. It was so real that it shook Ru¡¯s heart.

    His lips grazed past her cheeks in a tantalizing way as he said in a deep voice, "You don¡¯t n on going back on your words. Do you?"

    Ru turned her head sideways keeping a distance between his lips and her face just for the sake of her sanity which was going beyond her control. She couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    "I still stand by my words. I would rather die than go back on my words." Ru gritted out bitterly. "State your conditions in detail."

    "I thought you were a smart person. Didn¡¯t you already understood my meaning?" Xiao Zhiren shot back with a hint of sarcasm which made Ru narrow her eyes at him dangerously.

    But bloody hell! His citric scent mixed with a mild cedar made her overwhelmed mind to slowly calm down. It was a wonder that he again managed to wrap her senses with his presence.

    "Clearly, I¡¯m not as smart as I took myself to be." Ru scoffed looking at his intent eyes.

    This probably had been the first time, instead of being a narcissist she chose to state clearly that she really didn¡¯t understand. And honestly, she really didn¡¯t.

    "I have a banquet to attend this weekend. I want you to join me as my date."

    He took another step close to her tall body pressed against the hard wall. It removed whatever space there was between them. Now, his body was really pressed against hers. He looked into his beautiful emerald green eyes and started, "I have two options for you." Ru frowned as he continued, "Be as my girlfriend." Then his lips turned into a sly smile as he added, "Or..." his lips came inches away from her ear as he whispered seductively, "Be my boyfriend."

    As Ru gaped at him in disbelief, he had the audacity to wink back at her with amusement dancing in his dark and gorgeous orbs.

    "You have lost your mind. I can¡¯t be your boyfriend. What will people say?" Ru snapped at him as if he hadmitted a felony.

    "I don¡¯t give half a fuck about what people say or think. As long as the person standing beside me is you." His seemingly impulsive words tugged at her heart in a way that she didn¡¯t like. "Besides love, I also gave you another option. You can always choose toe as my girlfriend. I¡¯m fine with either one."

    "Codswallop! This is utter codswallop!" Ru¡¯s voice rose an octave as she red at him.

    However, both of them were still stuck in their earlier position with neither of them having any intention to move away. No matter what, Ru couldn¡¯t deny that being with him made her feelpletely lost. But he also made her feelfortable and protected. Also, how could she forget that he was the only one who was making her lose her sanity and yet helping her in keeping that sanity intact? It was weird but it was true.

    Whether he was being undone because of her or not, it was unclear. But he certainly was undoing the locks on the door that led to her heart.

    "Don¡¯t take too long. If you went out as my boyfriend, it¡¯s a given that people will recognize you. But if you went out as my girlfriend... You¡¯ll just be another mystery for people. Neither people will be able to identify you nor will you have to care about keeping a low-profile." Xiao Zhiren stated the pros and cons.

    Ru bit her bottom lip not knowing what to say to that. His words and reasoning were getting to her head once again.

    "I can find you the most gorgeous date." Ru took thest shot at this but he didn¡¯t look too pleased by her words.

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face dipped down to her neck as he nuzzled patiently making a shiver run through her body at the contact. "For me..." he rubbed his nose along her neck to the spot below her ear as he added, "You¡¯ll always be..." he caught her earlobe between his soft lips before biting her softly and continued, "The most gorgeous woman in the whole universe."

    Her breath was hitched unexpectedly. ¡¯Gorgeous? And woman? When did these two words start describing her? Also, in the same sentence?¡¯ Ru was focused on frowning with her wild thoughts that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t realize the wild things that Xiao Zhiren was making her body feel.

    Well, not at least until Xiao Zhiren sucked at the soft spot right below her ear.

    "Pfft!" Ruughed out making Xiao Zhiren look at her inquisitively. She pursed her lips and stayed quiet. Xiao Zhiren again nipped at the sake spot and Ru¡¯s body squirmed in his hold as she bit her lips to hold back herugh. Now, Xiao Zhiren was really confused. But as if recalling something, his lips kissed the same spot and Ru finally lost it as he keptughing like a fool.

    It was a heartyugh. One that Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know she was capable of. He was amused. Really amused.

    "You¡¯re ticklish there. Right?" He asked the most obvious thing. She was supposed to be feeling anything but ticklish right at that spot. Really? Why was her body just like her weird mind?

    "I also didn¡¯t know until now," Ru said between herughs.

    Xiao Zhiren bit her bottom lip making her gasp in surprise and said, "You¡¯re really one of a kind."

    Ru caressed her bottom lip where his teeth grazed and replied, "I know. Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re falling for me?" Shit! What nonsense are you spouting again? Pui! Pui! Think before talking or just keep your trap shut!

    Xiao Zhiren gave her feathery kisses all over her face as he said, "I¡¯m not falling for you. I¡¯ve already fallen hard." Taking a pause, he asked, "So, you¡¯re my date. It¡¯s confirmed!"

    "But I didn¡¯t confirm it yet." Ru retorted.

    He pecked her lips and gave a cheeky smile, "You just did."

    "When did I? I didn¡¯t even say a word."

    "But your heart has already whispered to me softly."

    "Huh? You¡¯re just making things up again."

    "Why don¡¯t you ask your heart then?"

    Ru ced her hand over her chest and scowled, "Traitor!"

    Xiao Zhirenughed at her antics and hugged her not caring about her protest which was non-existent, to begin with.

 Chapter 206 Did I Need Another Reason?

    It was one thing that Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t believe that Ru didn¡¯t stop him from kissing her. While it was a totally different thing for Ru who was in shock. She had been kissed from her forehead to the junction where her jaw met her neck.

    And each kiss left a yearning in its wake. How did he do that? Ru couldn¡¯t tell. Well, obviously, her knees weren¡¯t inclined on buckling or her stomach feeling like a garden of butterflies pping away having a go at merry go lucky. But still, some feelings were there for sure. Even though those feelings weren¡¯t like normal girls who get giddy or shy at such a thing.

    Ru just couldn¡¯t bring herself to act coquettishly. She was from a warrior bloodline, it¡¯d be an insult to her whole lineage if she really became a dociledy or acted like a delicate young woman. Eeee! Even the sound of that didn¡¯t settle well with her.

    "Keep your hands to yourself. Make some distance." Ru ced her hands on his chest and pushed him away as she spoke. But Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t paying attention to her words. His eyes and focus were solely on the strong hands that were nted on his chest.

    "If you kept seducing me, I won¡¯t be able to keep my distance," he warned with a look of pure desire as his pupils contracted dangerously.

    "When did I seduce you? Bloody! I don¡¯t even know how to seduce someone!" Ru replied with assurance. His eyes pointed at her hands on his chest and Ru retracted them back with an awkward cough, "I should really leave before I go crazy here."

    "I don¡¯t mind if you go crazy for me," he replied cheekily making Ru¡¯s mouth to twitch. She couldn¡¯t decide whether she wanted tough or cry. His words were amusing, sincere and yet sounded so cheesy that she had the urge to cringe.

    "I¡¯ll really lose my mind with you," said Ru in exasperation as she turned on her heels to leave.

    "I¡¯d prefer if you lose your heart to me. Your mind is tooplicated for a simple man like me." Xiao Zhiren shouted at her back.

    Ru looked over her shoulder at him and asked, "Since when did you be a simple man? You crafty little thing!"

    "First of all, I¡¯m not a little thing. Crafty but not little." Xiao Zhiren said with his obvious displeasure. "Second of all, I am a very simple man. See, I¡¯m so simple that I only know two things."

    "What?"

    "One, I love you. Two, I want you to be mine for a lifetime." Xiao Zhiren replied with ease. "Wait! I want you for all the lifetimes and even in the afterlife. No bargaining on that!"

    "You! You!" Ru was having trouble finding the right words to describe him. "Bloody son of a bachelor! I can¡¯t even handle you for a day. I¡¯ll really go crazy if I got stuck with you for a lifetime."

    "But love, you don¡¯t have any other choice. You¡¯re already stuck with me." Xiao Zhiren replied as he crossed his arms over his chest with a smile gracing his slightly pale but handsome face.

    "I always have a choice," Ru replied with her usual arrogance.

    "We¡¯ll see about that," Xiao Zhiren response was equally arrogant.

    Ru left his apartment and nearly lost herposure as she walked into her own. Okay, let¡¯s sort out what just happened.

    ¡¯You are going on a date.¡¯ Her conscious reminded her in a sing-song voice. Well, someone was ecstatic about this. She rolled her eyes at that with a snort.

    "Mind your words. I¡¯m not going on a date. I¡¯m going as a date." Ru said as if her logic really made any sense. When even she knew that her logic neither had a head nor a tail. It was bullshit on her part! "Moving on, he kissed me. Let me add, again."

    ¡¯And you liked it.¡¯ Her conscious spoke again.

    "I so did not!" Ru said out loud.

    ¡¯Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!¡¯ Again, what¡¯s up with that sing-song excitement?

    "Argh! Why are his words affecting me so much?" Ru said to no one in particr. But someone heard it. Someone who was keen on answering as well.

    And it was...

    Obviously, her conscious as she shot back, ¡¯Because every word of his is filled with love and sincerity. You can¡¯t make yourself hate that.¡¯

    "I really can¡¯t." Ru agreed with her conscious as she continued, "Those eyes of his are so expressive that it¡¯s getting intense whenever I look into those orbs. That stupid smile of his is beautiful but why do I feel grateful to see him happy? It¡¯s weird that his scent is getting to me. How can it calm the raging storms in me? And those kisses... He never made me feel like he had an ulterior motive. How can someone¡¯s kiss be so pure and full of emotions? Why am I not disgusted by his touch like any other? Why does his taste is stuck in my memory? Why am I not repulsive to intimacy anymore?"

    There are so many whys in her life now!

    ¡¯With all due respect, are you still nning on denying your feelings?¡¯ As Ru heard that annoying voice again in her head, she fell quiet.

    Was she going to deny? She wanted to. But she didn¡¯t like seeing the disappointment on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face either. Whenever she was rude to him, she could see the way his eyes dimmed and it almost gave the illusion that he was losing something very precious. Just how precious was she to him?

    Honestly, Ru couldn¡¯t even fathom that part. She couldn¡¯t possibly have thought the intensity of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s love. He said he was crazy for her. He literally meant it. He said she means the world to him. He really did because all his world was her.

    "It¡¯s official. I¡¯m lost. Young Master Ru finally managed to be a lost cause. Such a shame it is!" Ru muttered again as she closed her eyes.

    After a while, she ran towards the full-length mirror in her closet and looked at her reflection from head to toe. "What does he see that is so appealing?" She asked as she kept trying to find anything unique on herself. "Like any other girl, I have two eyes, two arms, two legs, one nose, lips, two ears, and two strawberry creams that I always hide. I don¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. Then what does he see? What I see is appalling, not appealing."

    Ru ruffled her hair in annoyance since after spending an hour trying to look for something unique in herself. She was still back to square one. She was no different. Then why did he like her?

    ¡¯Since when did young master Ru lost her arrogance and confidence in herself?¡¯

    Ru sighed at that question. "I¡¯m confident as a young master. I can guarantee that nobody can shake off my charms as a man. But as a woman? Sheesh! I¡¯m the worst of the worst. How can anyone love someone like me who doesn¡¯t even know the first thing about being a woman?"

    Her self-doubts weren¡¯t far-fetched at all. They were valid since she found herself rather shabby and repulsive as a woman. It wasn¡¯t like he fell for her body. He never even saw it clearly. She didn¡¯t have an hourss body that men seemed to fall for easily.

    Till the sun went down to sleep peacefully at night, Ru was still burying her head in her knees trying toe up with one reason. Just one reason that could exin why Xiao Zhiren was after her. But till now, no luck. She had only gotten a splitting headache from all this thinking.

    Finally, in frustration, she left her apartment and found herself at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s door. She rang the bell and waited. He took some time before opening the door and when he did, he was surprised to find her on the other side.

    Before he could question her, she spoke up, "Why me?"

    "Huh?" he was dumbfounded and lost.

    "What do you see in me? Do you like the fact that I disguise myself as a man? Because I can¡¯t think of anything else that¡¯s different than any other girl. So, tell me, why me?"

    Xiao Zhiren understood her dilemma very well. And it made his heart hurt to see that she was questioning herself as a woman. Her real identity. Did she really have no confidence in herself?

    He gave a soft smile and answered, "You don¡¯t have to be different. You just have to be you. Because you¡¯re enough to brighten my day like a sun with just a simple smile. That same smile is enough to make my heart do a somersault in excitement. It¡¯s enough that you see the world in a way that I never could." Ru kept silent all this while he continued patiently, "Besides, my heart chose you the moment it saw you. Did I really need another reason? My heart has already caught the rhythm of yours. That reason should be enough for you."

 Chapter 207 Aly?

    ¡¯My heart has already caught the rhythm of yours. That reason should be enough for you.¡¯

    Those words echoed in her mind like a broken record. She was sick of this endless loop constantly ying in her mind. It wasn¡¯t annoying though. The feelings it agitated in her were annoying.

    For the next couple of nights, she again wasn¡¯t able to sleep. It wasck of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s presence beside her or her insomnia was back; it was hard to tell. However, a certain voice in her mind was nagging and iming that it was the absence of a particrly cheeky person.

    "My friend ising today. We are going to a restaurant for dinner. Would you like to join?" Xiao Zhiren asked her as he met her outside the condominium building.

    "Friend is yours. Dinner is yours. Why should I join?" Ru retorted keeping her eyes anywhere but at him.

    Leaning closer to her, he said, "I have to introduce my girlfriend." He saw Ru¡¯s body flinching visibly at his words and felt amused. Aye, this little chili wasn¡¯t that unaffected as she pretended to be.

    "What do you think I¡¯m friendless? I also have a priormitment with a very very very close friend!" Ru snapped at him, not caring about her sharp tone at all. Who told him to make her feel flustered? She wasn¡¯t this annoyed before in her entire life. Hold on a second, there was indeed a time when someone really annoyed her to an extent but she wasn¡¯t willing to relive through the memoryne. At least, not while Xiao Zhiren staring at her as if trying to read through her soul or something.

    Oddly, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t bothered at all even when Ru tried to incite him with that ¡¯very very very close friend¡¯ phrase. Why should he feel threatened? She was his girlfriend. It was amitment as well; one that Ru wouldn¡¯t go back on for the sake of her pride.

    "Okay, enjoy yourself." Xiao Zhiren chirped literally like a happy bird before nting a soft kiss on her cheek, leaving Ru to gape at his back.

    Clenching her fists, Ru punched and kicked in the air behind his back imagining him to be at the other end of this whole assault. But then he will get hurt. Aish! I need a drink. I so do! With this thought, Ru got into the car that she was using these days and made a bee-line for a popr nightclub in the Capital.

    Nightclubs weren¡¯t her forte considering she had a very old and conservative personality and beliefs. But she needed to be in a loud crowd where she won¡¯t be able to hear even her own mind. And since nightclub was the best option that came to her mind, Ru went with it. There was indeed no priormitment. It was just an excuse on her part and it worked.

    As she entered the nightclub, the loud music made her wince in irritation but she still willed herself to continue. But the smell of different perfumes lingering in the air made her stomach churn. And seeing those young men and women doing a sensual dance while grinding their bodies on each other made her even more repulsed.

    ¡¯Okay, I am done! I can¡¯t do this! No way!¡¯ She turned on her heels and walked out of that suffocating and horrendous ce. She was feeling disgusted. How could anyone like a nightclub? It was a horrible ce.

    She drove around some more and with Raven¡¯s rmendation chose a sophisticated bar. She took the elevator to reach the bar that was a part of a circr restaurant with floor-length windows. The bar counter was set up at the first portion of the restaurant while the second floor was dedicated to dinning.

    "Hey, bloke[1]! Give me some brandy. Or any hard liquor would work." Ru ordered the bartender as she took a seat at the high chair.

    The bartender looked her up and down. She had to repeat her words in Mandarin and then he reacted with, "Right away, Sir."

    Ru held her head in her hands and started humming in her mind. It was a good tactic to stop herself from thinking nonsense.

    "Aly?" Ru frowned at that voice and turned to see one of the most irksome guy in her life.

    "Your Royal Highness, I have a name. And it certainly isn¡¯t ¡¯Aly¡¯." She was gnashing her teeth in rage at him. Seeing Adrian¡¯s face was enough to make her already sour mood to get even more bitter.

    Adrian gave her a cheeky smile as he sat beside her saying, "Aly, Alev, Knight-y, Knight. All¡¯s the same, mate! Why are your knickers getting into a twist?"

    "You Bloody Blighty Plonker[1]! Get your Royal arse away from me!" Ru didn¡¯t bother giving him a face. It wasn¡¯t worth it. And she wasn¡¯t on good terms with him anyway.

    Adrian gasped dramatically while Ru picked up her brandy and gulped it in one go before clicking her fingers to get the bartender¡¯s attention as she gestured him to refill.

    "Mate, you look gutted!" Adrianmented as he didn¡¯t take her words to heart at all. He knew the more he felt agitated, the more she¡¯ll try to mess with him.

    "I thought you to be a bludger[2], why are hell-bent on acting like a bugger instead? Don¡¯t be nosy." Ru wasn¡¯t in the mood to entertain him at all. Wasn¡¯t it enough that she was having a restless day? She was feeling really ufortable for some reason.

    As if something was about to happen. But her heart was restless because of the anticipation rather than anxiousness.

    "Brilliant! You look like a ticking time bomb." Adrian was observing her expressions because it might be the first time he was actually seeing some fluctuation there. He thought she had face paralysis but now he was certain that there were a lot of emotions on that face. "By the way, when did Knight Empires top mercenaries be bodyguards? It makes one curious to know who you¡¯re protecting."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his words. He was from the Royal Family, of course, he had enough resources to know about her special orders regarding Yuan¡¯s protection. However, people were misunderstanding something. Her protection was for Lilith more than it was for Yuan. She was aware that Xiao Zhiren had sent his men for his brother. She didn¡¯t need to bother with him. Her priority was her own people.

    "Why are you here, Adrian?" She askedpletely ignoring his question.

    "I have a dinner meeting with a friend. I heard they serve excellent nosh here." Adrian replied in a vague manner knowing well enough that she was referring to his presence here in China rather than here as in the restaurant. "What brought you here? Nosh or liquor?"

    Taking another swig of her drink, Ru answered, "I¡¯m on the pull[3], mate!"

    Adrian choked on air as he coughed profusely while gaping at her in disbelief. It took him a while topose himself before he said, "Blimey! Your sense of humor is still horrendous as always."

    "Who said I¡¯m joking? This lord is certainly not in the mood to joke. And you¡¯d be thest person I¡¯d want to use my sense of humor on." Ru¡¯s brows were quirked up as he spoke monotonously.

    "Look, Knight! I for one will never believe your words. I have never even seen you snogging with anyone. And you¡¯re talking about shagging? Please, mate! Say something that I could really believe." Ru¡¯s lips curled up slightly at his reply. He wasn¡¯t that much of an idiot as she thought him to be. Certainly, snogging or shagging weren¡¯t on her list. Never had been.

    But a certain someone had already made her taste what snogging was like. As for shagging? Ru immediately shook her head and took the brandy bottle drinking straight from it.

    "Someone nicked[4] your heart?" Adrian said teasingly and while Ru red at him and wiped the remnants of liquor off her lips, he added, "Sorry, but the way you¡¯re trying to get pissed[5] is misleading."

    "I am gobsmacked. Utterly andpletely gobsmacked! How can a nutter[6] like you evene up with such a ridiculous thought?"

    "You know what, chap? With this word game of yours, you seem really dodgy." Adrian¡¯s smile irked Ru and she felt like her patience was running out now.

    "Your Highness, would you leave on your own or should I make you?" Ru¡¯s warning made Adrian zip his lips. It was better. He still remembered how she made him lose millions just because he came unannounced.

    "Fine. I¡¯ll see you around." Adrian got up from his seat to leave.

    "I hope not. I won¡¯t be polite like today otherwise." Ru replied shedding all fake cordiality while Adrian was yelling at her in his heart to know when was she polite? Because if her definition of polite was the way she just treated him like then she really needed a new thesaurus in life.

    [1] "Bloody Blighty Plonker": Damn Britain Idiot

    [2] "Bludger": An idle orzy person

    [3] "On The Pull": Looking for sex

    [4] "Nicked": Stolen

    [5] "Pissed": Drunk

    [6] "Nutter": Crazy person

 Chapter 208 Devils Reincarnation

    "Give me some vodka and gin. Brandy isn¡¯t doing me any good."

    Adrian heard Ru¡¯s voice and frowned, finding it rather different than he was remembered. But then again, the person was a mystery for him even after eight years. If Ru can change her appearance so well, how couldn¡¯t she change her voice?

    Not being able to hold back himself, Adrian took a backward step and said, "Knight, are you really heartbroken or something?"

    Ru passed him a deathly re along with a low and threatening growl escaping from her throat involuntarily which really scared Adrian and made him run for his life. Literally.

    Adrian might not know Ru very well but he knew one thing; she wasn¡¯t fond of alcohol. So, if something really managed to make her drink like this then it really wasn¡¯t a simple thing anymore.

    He ascended the spiral staircase of the restaurant and walked up to the private room where Xiao Zhiren was waiting for him already. "Hey, chap! You really came." Adrian seemed surprised when he gave him a bro hug which Xiao Zhiren knew was an act of him being dramatic as always.

    "Now, you¡¯re hurting my feelings." Xiao Zhiren replied with a pained look as if Adrian¡¯s little trust in him had really hurt some cords of his heart. They both chuckled along with each other before taking the seat opposite of each other. "Took you quite a while to get your royal ass here."

    The moment Xiao Zhiren said ¡¯royal ass¡¯ Adrian¡¯s mind wandered off to the most hateful person in his life who loves addressing him as ¡¯royal arse¡¯. Bloody! Why is heparing his best friend with that hateful person? Perhaps because I just had the misfortune of seeing him downstairs. Adrian shook his head while Xiao Zhiren kept staring at him oddly.

    "Earth to Adrian!" Xiao Zhiren waved his hand before Adrian¡¯s face to wake him up from his daydreaming session. And when Adrian jolted awake, he added, "Where are you lost? I didn¡¯t think my question was this difficult."

    Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Sorry, Zoran! My mind just went to a bothersome, hateful guy I had the misfortune to encounter here."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could question him, the waiter came to take their orders. Both Adrian and Xiao Zhiren choose a couple of dishes and a bottle of wine to go with it.

    "What brought you to China?" Xiao Zhiren questioned forgetting all about Adrian¡¯s earlierment.

    "Something... Personal." Adrian answered ambiguously.

    "That¡¯s very vague of you."

    Adrian gave a small smile before his eyes wandered off towards the bar counter downstairs where Ru was seated. He seemed in deep thought even now.

    "So, tell me something about my future sister-inw. What is she like? Where is she from? Who is she? Etcetera. Etcetera." Adrian shifted the topic and saw the way Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face suddenly blossomed like a flower which made Adrian¡¯s curiosity to shoot up a notch.

    Even though Adrian knew Xiao Zhiren all through college till now, there was still a lot about him that was unknown to Adrian. For instance, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s resistance towards women. He was guarding his chastity like a monk. And at one point Adrian even teased him with, "Heyd, are you gay or nning on bing a monk?"

    Obviously, he was beaten ck and blue by Xiao Zhiren that night. But still, it confirmed one thing for Adrian that neither he was gay nor he was a monk. But then who he was waiting for?

    With a content smile on his face, Xiao Zhiren swirled the red liquid in his sparkling ss and said, "How should I describe her? She¡¯s beautiful. But then again calling her beautiful is not even justified. You can say she¡¯s the kind of beauty that can delight one¡¯s eyes and flutter one¡¯s heart along with shaking one¡¯s soul." Adrian arched his brow at him as he took a sip of the wine and listened to Xiao Zhiren. "She¡¯s a wise woman. A wise and brilliant woman actually. That makes her an understanding person. She¡¯s unreasonable but over very unresonable things."

    "Beauty and brains? Lad, that¡¯s a lethalbination." Adrian remarked with amusement and a bit amazement. Amused to know that someone actually made those wordse out of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mouth and amazed to see how much love there was in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes and voice for her.

    "Lethalbination? She¡¯s quite lethal herself. My bombshell." Xiao Zhiren chuckled lightly thinking about the times he had been hit by Ru. Boy, the way she liked using her hands was deadly but then again it was better being under the knife of her physical assault than being at the other end of her verbal assault. "But do you know what¡¯s her true beauty is?"

    Adrian frowned a bit and stayed quiet waiting for him to continue since he knew Xiao Zhiren really wasn¡¯t looking for an answer from him.

    "Her true beauty lies in her beautiful eyes. Those eyes show the reflection of her pure heart and soul." ¡¯Considering how dark her soul is, there is definitely no impurity there.¡¯ He didn¡¯t say thest words out. "But even after saying all of these, I can assure you that I can¡¯t describe her. At least, not in words."

    "Woah! You¡¯re whipped!" Adrian said with a horrified look on his face. He was really intrigued to meet this girl who made his best friend look like a lovesick fool.

    Xiao Zhiren heaved a long sigh at his words as he said, "I know I¡¯m whipped. Abso-bloody-lutely whipped. But I can¡¯t help it. The more I look at her the more I find her familiar. As if we share a connection. I can¡¯t possibly tell you what I felt when I first saw her all those years ago."

    "What did you feel?" Adrian asked straightening up in his seat.

    "Heartache." Adrian¡¯s eyes opened wide at his reply.

    "Are you serious?" He questioned incredulously.

    "I know you think I¡¯m crazy but trust me that¡¯s exactly what I felt. It was a strange pain that surged through my heart to all my body."

    "Then why did you fall for her?"

    "Because along with that mysterious pain came a gush of warmth and happiness. The moment I looked into her eyes, the familiarity of her gaze made my heart skip a beat involuntarily. And the way my heart skipped a beat made me think I found what I had been missing all this time."

    Adrian emptied the content of his ss in one go. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s strange words were making him dizzy even before he had some food in his system. It was already hard enough for him to understand Ru and now, his own best friend was speaking a mysteriousnguage.

    "You¡¯re taking in riddles again. Just like him." Adrian pointed out a bit moodily.

    "Him? Who?" Xiao Zhiren asked knitting his brows together.

    "Alev Bloody Knight!" Adrian spat out bitterly.

    "What reminded you of Mr. Knight?"

    "He¡¯s sitting downstairs. Drinking like a bloody boozer and it¡¯s getting on my nerve. He¡¯s really giving me a headache." Adrian looked pissed off for some reason and it made Xiao Zhirenugh a little.

    "Adrian, the way you¡¯re talking is making me feel like you¡¯re worried for Mr. Knight." Xiao Zhiren said in a knowing way making Adrian scrunch up his face in displeasure.

    "Blimey! No bloody way!" Well, he didn¡¯t sound too convincing to Xiao Zhiren or to himself. And as Xiao Zhiren gave him a pointed look, he deted like a balloon before saying, "I¡¯m not worried. It¡¯s just... I have never really seen him this restless before. I always wanted to be the one to get on his nerve to shake his strong persona. But someone else managed to do it before me. As for whom? I have no clue."

    "Someone managed to shake Lord Alev Knight? That¡¯s a shocker!" Xiao Zhiren said with an honest surprise in his expressions. "But if he¡¯s using booze to get over it. It could be the result of a lover¡¯s quarrel."

    "Lover¡¯s quarrel? Hahaha!" Adrian burst outughing at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s implication. He clutched his stomach and couldn¡¯t helpughing even more. "Who would dare to love that stone wall? Wait, if someone really did... Oh boy! That person really is misfortunate in this life."

    "You know because of your own personal agenda. You make Alev Knight sound like a big bad wolf out to shred people in pieces before eating them alive."

    "If someone one day really told me that he¡¯s a big bad wolf, trust me, I won¡¯t hesitate at all before believing that person." Xiao Zhiren shook his head at him while Adrian pointed at something downstairs through the ss window saying, "Look at that chap. He is the devil¡¯s reincarnation himself. There is no doubt at all."

    Surprisingly, Xiao Zhiren also went close to the window and looked at where he was pointing before his eyes widened in surprise or shock.

 Chapter 209 A Knight And His Frigh

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes wandered towards the lone figure sitting at the bar counter gulping down whatever drinks there ware like water. He frowned as he looked at Adrian. "Where is Alev Knight?"

    "Mate, there is only one person at the bar counter in the middle of the day." Then he looked down and saw another person taking a seat beside Ru and he added, "Well, now there are two."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s fists clenched on instinct as he said, "But that¡¯s Xie Rong. From Metrix Consortium."

    Adrian gave him a chuckle as he added, "What do you expect? Do you think Alev Knight would actually enter Asia with his real identity? Bloody! I don¡¯t even think Alev Knight is his real identity. That guy is tooplicated for simple people like us." Adrian was shaking his head because of how difficult it was for him to figure out Ru or anything rted to her.

    "He came as Xie Rong to investigate some case for my Grandmother. But I heard that he said it¡¯d be hisst mission with the Royal Family." Adrian rubbed his chin as he continued, "Now that I think about it... Last time, he clearly said that if he managed to aplish his goal this time, I¡¯ll never have to see him again. It makes one wonder... What is he nning?"

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t really listening but yet his mind could make sense of whatever Adrian said. He was lost in his own world and thoughts as he looked at Ru. His feelings wereplicated. Hurt, betrayal, lies, and the game of hide and seek. Why did all of this feel familiar?

    Oh, right! He had gone through all this when he found out that his sworn brother Xie Rong was actually a woman; none other than the one whom he was yearning for. And today, he was told that the woman that resided in his heart was actually Alev Knight whom he had been considering as his love rival.

    Fuck!

    Last time, when he said all that about Ru to Alev Knight, she heard his confession. Wow! That girl really knew how to act. She still acted dumb before him all this while.

    Adrian was still talking, "Can you see the deathly aura around him? Even while drinking he seems like a Grim Reaper. He gave me a fright downstairs with his growl. I really can¡¯t understand this animal-like human being."

    Unclenching his fists, Xiao Zhirenughed out loudly taking Adrian by surprise. ¡¯Oh my dearest little chili, you had fun watching me being jealous.¡¯

    True enough, even Xiao Zhiren could feel the deathly vibes around Ru even from his position. It was weird but he was sure that she was upset over something.

    "You alright, mate?" Adrian questioned as he saw Xiao Zhiren¡¯s weird behavior. Thetter one took his seat again.

    "That¡¯s a million-dor question." Xiao Zhiren answered with a snort.

    "And the answer is..." Adrian drawled a bit.

    "The answer is I don¡¯t know." Adrian frowned at his reply as he continued, "Because I want to get angry. But I can¡¯t. I know I¡¯ll look into her eyes and my anger will be thrown out the window like the caution that was hit by a truck when she came into my life unannounced." Adrian was yet again amused to hear Xiao Zhiren¡¯s words. "I want to feel hurt that she lied. But then again, technically, she didn¡¯t lie. She just hid some facts. I also want to feel betrayed for being left clueless but I can¡¯t even do that. It¡¯s not like she haspletely reciprocated my feelings that I¡¯d expect her to share everything with me."

    Adrian pursed his lips as their lunch was served.

    "Zoran, are we still on the same page?"

    Xiao Zhiren arched his brow inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

    "I just don¡¯t feel like we are. Because I was talking about Alev Knight and somehow you went back to talking about my future sister-inw. I¡¯m confused here." Adrian borated with as much patience as he could muster up.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched the space between his brows and said, "Sorry. My mind drifted off to somewhere else."

    "d to see you¡¯re back. Stay with me lest I start feeling like an invisible person." Adrian said yfully making Xiao Zhiren smile a bit which was forced.

    Internally, Xiao Zhiren was conflicted. Was he supposed to be happy that Alev Knight wasn¡¯t his love rival? Or was he supposed to be even more worried considering what kind of dangers awaited Alev Knight at every corner? Why was his little chili involved in dangerous waters? Couldn¡¯t she just stay as a spicy little chili? Why did she have to be a fire-breathing little chili?

    But then again, if she wasn¡¯t breathing fire, she wouldn¡¯t be the little chili who made her way into his heart. Xiao Zhiren was infuriated; not with Ru. With his own mind which couldn¡¯t decide what to do. Yet again, he med himself. If he had made her trust him sooner, she¡¯d have opened up to him. But still, his courting ways werecking. I need to up my game.

    It was not her fault that she was too guarded. It was a necessity for her. He really couldn¡¯t me her at all.

    Meanwhile...

    Ru was busy mixing up every hard liquor that was ced before her on the marble counter. Except for a headache, she wasn¡¯t feeling drunk at all. But the headache was an indication that there was too much alcohol in her system and she should stop. However, she wasn¡¯t very keen on taking that warning.

    She felt someone¡¯s eyes on herself but really wasn¡¯t in the mood to see who it was. Besides, who wouldn¡¯t look back at such a handsomed, right? One look at that drop-dead gorgeous face couldn¡¯t possibly be enough for people¡¯s greedy hearts. With these narcissistic thoughts, Ru focused back on mixing soju with baijiu.

    "That¡¯s a very strangebination you got there."

    Ru heard a pleasantly husky voice beside her as someone sat beside her. She didn¡¯t pay any attention to him and went back to drinking.

    "You should eat something as well. This much booze is not very healthy."

    She heard that husky voice again making her frown. cing her ss on the counter with a bit force, she mumbled, "It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you."

    She heard a soft chuckle as the voice again rang in her ear, "You¡¯re right. It has nothing to do with me. Or... Maybe it does."

    That yful tone of his made Ru want to p him but she held in her violent tendencies. She was feeling tired, not lightheaded but maybe the sleep of past days was finally catching up to her. She really wanted to close her eyes.

    But she had to give this stranger an answer as well.

    "Stranger, stranger, stranger. I¡¯m a bloody psycho major. Don¡¯t try too hard to strike a conversation. This lord¡¯s temper is rather impatient. Shoo away from my sight. Before this Knight gives you a fright." Ru¡¯s voice was deep but it was coated with a dramatic sarcasm and the hint of her anger that she was trying to repress.

    "Oh My God! That actually rhymed. It did. It really did." Ru could hear the surprise and excitement in that husky voice making her frown in confusion. She turned to look at him and found him mumbling to himself with his head lowered and a cap over his head. "That was a first. A very first. I can¡¯t believe he managed to rhyme something properly."

    Ru¡¯s confusion intensified as she heard a couple of his words. "Do you know me?" She asked trying to see his face but the other person was busy typing something on his cellphone. Ru ced her hand on his jacket-d shoulder and repeated, "I asked do you know this young master?"

    Suddenly, the man raised his head and Ru came face to face with a smirking young man. But Ru¡¯s focus was stuck on his brown eyes. Those familiar brown eyes.

    Those brown eyes seemed to be smiling back at her as he touched her hand with his own to pry it off his shoulder. Ru was stunned by the sensation that went through her body. The young man ced a white porcin bottle before Ru and said, "Try this wine. Trust me it¡¯ll taste better than the rest." With that, the young man smirked again and walked away from her.

    Ru was left dazed as she kept her eyes on the porcin bottle. There was a golden feather tree carved on its sleek surface which made her eyes widen in shock. She opened the lid of the bottle and as soon as the aroma of that peach wine hit her nostrils, Ru lost herself to nostalgia.

    She looked back towards the direction where the young man disappeared and immediately sprinted after him. Of course, not forgetting her life-saving wine bottle.

 Chapter 210 My Love For You

    Ru followed him out of the restaurant and found the man taking the elevator. She waited and saw that the elevator had stopped at the rooftop. Not even waiting for the elevator, Ru ran towards the stairs and took a flight.

    Even after running up twenty floors, she wasn¡¯t breathless because of her stamina but she was sweating profusely. There was eagerness in her eyes and the restless heart of hers was drumming violently against her chest. Her eyes were wandering around on the dimly lit rooftop which seemed barren but she knew better. She would never believe that there was no one around her.

    Taking a couple of steps ahead, she shouted, "I know you¡¯re here. Come out! Now!" There was a ghostly silence around her. But Ru stood her ground. "Don¡¯t y games. I¡¯ll kill you otherwise."

    A snort was heard and Ru turned to face the man she met earlier. He had removed his cap and looked at Ru with a self-deprecatingugh. With a pang of sadness in his eyes, he said, "How many times are you nning on killing me?"

    Ru frowned at his reply as she took a calcted step close to him. The soft light was falling on one side of his face. He looked like one of those flower boys with just his looks. Those soft brown eyes were pulling her like a ma. Ru¡¯s hand lifted slowly and he didn¡¯t move back. As her fingers brushed his cheek, he closed his eyes and felt the tremble in her hand.

    "I didn¡¯t know you were such a softie. Your hands are trembling." With a chuckle, he looked into her green eyes again and added, "That¡¯s another first."

    Ru retracted her hand and clenched it into a tight fist even her knuckles had turned white. "When did this young master dare to kill you?" The look in her eyes was unfathomable but oddly, to the person before her, it was very amusing and familiar.

    "Didn¡¯t you?" He retorted with a pained expression. "You broke your promise. You broke the one thing I valued in this world; my trust in you. You broke our bond. And with all that, you Young Master Ru broke your brother."

    Ru closed her eyes at his words, she didn¡¯t want to face him. That face might have changed with years but those eyes... How could she forget those eyes she used to love so much?

    They both were as much of strangers as they were familiar with each other. It was like they knew the other person and yet, they both were trying to find someone in the eyes of the other person. They were trying to find the person they lost. At the same time, they were looking at the person they had be with time.

    "Why are you standing so calmly then?" Ru¡¯s words made him knit his brows in confusion. "If I broke you so much Second Young Master, why are you still so calm?" She looked challengingly into his eyes as she added, "Yell at me. Scorn me. Hate me. Condemn me. Do something!" ¡¯Do anything to take to this bloody guilt out of me.¡¯ She kept thest words for herself.

    The man ced his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. "I wish I could do all that. I wanted to. Trust me, I had written a whole speech for you. But..." The rims of his eyes reddened as he continued, "Ge, I can¡¯t bring myself to do it."

    Ru felt her heart taking a leap when she heard him calling her ¡¯Ge¡¯ after a decade. It was such a long time. So long that she felt like she was in a dream. Was this really a dream? The arms on her sides lifted on their own as she patted his back.

    "I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d still be a weakling." Ru¡¯sment made him smile as he shook his head. "Can¡¯t even do one thing right."

    "Grandfather said, love doesn¡¯t leave room for hate. You can either love someone or hate someone. But once you love them, you can only lie to yourself that you hate them because love would never leave hate in its ce. All it leaves behind is a void. Something which is deadlier than hate itself." As he quoted their grandfather¡¯s words, Ru was again hit with a wave of nostalgia. "And if you really hate someone from the bottom of your heart then you¡¯re never in love with them, to begin with."

    Pulling herself away from her brother, she said, "When did my Second Young Master start paying attention to grandfather¡¯s words?"

    "Since the time you left me to fend for myself. All alone." He muttered making a tinge of guilt to sh past Ru¡¯s eyes. "The promise was of a year. I waited and waited and kept waiting. But you didn¡¯te like you said you¡¯d." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You always called me a fool. I think I took that very seriously because I really waited for you like a fool."

    Ru stepped back making a distance between them as she turned to look away. "You should have stopped waiting like everyone else. You knew how much I loved freedom. I am enjoying my freedom away from that stuffy state where I always was bound to some rules." Ru said in her calm tone. Keeping all her emotions locked up all over again.

    "HA! My brother was everything but he never was a liar. Lost values or changed them for this world? Right, why would you care about a clingy brother? Your freedom matters more. Brother? It¡¯s a petty little title." His words seemed harsh to her which she wasn¡¯t expecting from him.

    "XIA HAORAN! Mind your words!" Ru looked back at him with raging eyes as she shouted. "Question my values. Don¡¯t you dare question our bond! Or my love for you!"

    A beautiful smile spread on his face as a tear slid down his cheek betraying his emotions. Then that smile turned into a peal of full-blownughter. The sound of hisughter seemed to have struck Ru as she stood stunned looking at her younger brother. But more than hisughter, his tear shook her heart.

    She held his face in her hands as she wiped his tear with her thumb and asked, "Why are you crying?"

    Xia Haoran ced his hand over hers and said, "Ge, this is the first time I heard my name from your mouth in my whole life."

    His words took her by surprise. She recalled how she really had never called him by his name. Even though the said name was given by her very self. He was her rice cake, her little brother, her life... It was strange but truly, it was the second time she called his name. First would have been when she held him in her arms and looking at his bright eyes and said, "I¡¯ll call you Haoran. My Xia Haoran."

    "It sounds good. I never thought it sounded this pleasing before." Ru punched his shoulder making him yelp yfully. "Well, somethings never change. You still are the violent one between us."

    "Being funny, are we now?" Ru retorted resentfully.

    "It¡¯s a known fact that between the two of us, only I have a sensible sense of humor." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he added, "I doubt that you have improved in these years at all."

    Ru gaped at him with narrowed eyes. Both of them stood silent again. Ru had to tilt her head to look at him now. He really had grown up. "Oi! Aren¡¯t you ashamed?"

    "What for?"

    "How dare you grew taller than your elder brother?"

    Xia Haoran nudged her arm saying, "You must be hopping mad since you can¡¯t tease me now for being tiny."

    "Itty-Bitty rice-cake. Remember who I am before teasing me. I still have a bad temper." Ru warned him but he could tell she was bluffing. She always did that around him.

    "Look at my height. How am I Itty-Bitty now? Don¡¯t just make things up." He pursed his lips to show his displeasure but inwardly he was d to see his brother was still treating like before.

    "By all means, grow taller than a skyscraper. But you¡¯ll still be my Itty-Bitty rice-cake." Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    Holding her hand in his own, he looked at it carefully as he said, "I missed you, Ge."

    Ru felt ants running all over her chest as if making it stuffy. But she still managed to squeeze his hand back as she said, "This young master missed you more."

 Chapter 211 Butterfly To Dragon

    The feelings that Ru and Xia Haoran held in for years would make one think they¡¯d start sobbing at their reunion. But this odd pair of siblings were sitting on a bench silently. One was supposed to shout for the absence that the other left behind and the other was suppose to clear up the circumstances. However, neither Xia Haoran asked anything nor Ru tried to clear anything.

    They both weren¡¯t inclined on tearing up or ying the me game as one would think. They were so calm and collected that people might think they never were apart.

    "Don¡¯t you want to ask anything?" Ru asked with an alienated look on her face.

    After staring at her face for a while, he answered, "Do you want to talk about it?" Ru shook her head without even thinking for once. With a sigh, he added, "Then what¡¯s the point? I can¡¯t possibly force you to tell me something you don¡¯t want to."

    "You still know me best," Ru mumbled more to herself than him but he heard her.

    "There is no one who can im to know you better." Ru opened her mouth to retort when he cut her off with, "Don¡¯t say your Jie knows you better. Because we both know that he knows you longer, not better. And there is a difference." Ru shut her mouth since that was what she wanted to say but couldn¡¯t argue with what he said either. "Besides, we might have an age difference of 6 or so years. We still have the strongest siblings bond."

    Ru raised her hand to touch his hair and oddly, he leaned down to give her better ess. That had never happened before. He used to run far away whenever she tried to touch his precious hair. Okay, both siblings had a weird obsession with their hair. Period.

    "Don¡¯t you have something to ask?" It was Xia Haoran¡¯s turn to ask her.

    Ru opened her mouth but closed it again as she bit her lips. It was hard not to ask anything. She had been cut off from her family for years. Now, he was her chance to know whatever was in her heart. However, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do so.

    "I have a lot to ask. I want to know a lot as well. But... I won¡¯t ask." Somehow, Xia Haoran had expected that answer from her.

    "You think if I told you anything then the yearning that you¡¯d been hiding within yourself will no longer stay under your control. You¡¯d want to run back to that ¡¯fancy cage¡¯ as you called it. But you still have something to do that¡¯s holding you back here." Ru wasn¡¯t surprised that he read her like an open book. As he said, he knew her better. So, how could he not know what was in her mind?

    "It was indeed a fancy cage for me only. But honestly speaking, it is still the most precious ce for me. I have been all around the world like I always wanted to. It took me long enough to realize there was no ce like home. I¡¯m still unable to find a home outside of that cage." Taking a deep breath, and adding another deep breath, she said, "I knew from the very start that I was that precious butterfly that father wanted to protect at all costs. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to raise me like a delicate butterfly. He wanted me to be a dragon. A living, fire-breathing dragon."

    "He so did." Xia Haoran nodded in agreement as his eyes saddened again. "He made you the dragon. He made you stronger than anyone in our whole n or our whole state."

    Ru chuckled a bit as she said, "I have a thank you pending for him. If he didn¡¯t raise me like a dragon, I¡¯d have been dead."

    Xia Haoran looked at her with a horrified expression as he softly said, "Ge... What happened to you?"

    Ru wrapped an arm around his neck, "Don¡¯t look so down. You brother might be broken in this world but trust me, this young master is not shattered just yet." Tightening her headlock, she pinched his cheek and was about to speak when...

    Ten or so people in ck surrounded her with their swords pointing straight at her.

    "Release our Second Young Master!"

    One of them spoke with a wave of raging anger but it made Ru yawn as if she was bored. "Oh dear! You brought toys for me?" Ru looked at Xia Haoran inquisitively and while thetter one was busy trying to stop hisughter, she pinched his nose and stood up saying, "It¡¯s been a while since I had some good toys to y with."

    Being offended by her words, those people attacked all at once but right before their eyes, Ru¡¯s figure vanished. And as they were busy looking around, they heard a whistle and turned. Ru straightened her palm and struck at one of them¡¯s chest whonded far away from the rest.

    "What the bloody hell! I was expecting better." Saying that Ru moved towards the rest. Her figure moved with so much speed that the onlooker could only see the after-image like a movie was running before their eyes. Dusting her hands, she looked at Xia Haoran and said, "My dearest rice-cake, don¡¯t you think their level ofpetence is too... low?" She gave a look of disdain to all the people lying on the floor trying to get up.

    Although normal people would have been dead by her moves, they were at least alive enough to moan or grunt in pain.

    Xia Haoran was sittingnguidly at his seat without even flinching. His attitude towards this fight was just like one would expect from Ru. Both were indifferent and bored.

    "You should find some better subordinates for your protection," Ru suggested patting his shoulder.

    "My strongest protector left a long time ago. I had to work up with these weak ones." His answer made Ru¡¯s body stiffen for a movement as she was reminded of how she was supposed to protect him as she had promised.

    It was weird but the girl who never broke promises even to a strange actually broke so many with her own brother.

    Xia Haoran saw one of his men standing to attack and red at him. "Stand down. Can¡¯t you see who it is? Raise your sword at the Eldest Young Master Ru and be prepared for the consequences."

    All the people under him were close to his age and that¡¯s why most of them had a very vague impression of Ru from years ago. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t recognize her but as soon as they heard Xia Haoran¡¯s words, all of them fell on their knees to bow.

    "Greetings to the Eldest Young Master!"

    Ru just waved them off as she focused back on her brother. Pinching both of his cheeks, she pulled them and she trailed, "Yah! Why did you lose your chubby cheeks? I looked biting those riped tomatoes." She poked his hollowed cheeks and added, "What¡¯s up with this hollowed cheeks? I don¡¯t like this. Give me back my chubby-cheeked rice-cake. I don¡¯t like this one."

    "Pfft!"

    All of his subordinated were trying to muffle theirughter as they saw their formidable Second Young Master being treated like a kid. But who would dare to say anything? The other person was the most dreadful one even after all these years. The silence was better than losing their lives.

    "Ge, talk about double standards." Xia Haoran also got up and looked at Ru. "Have you seen your own face? You¡¯ve also changed. It happens when we grow up. How was I supposed to keep my chubby cheeks when you stopped stuffing me like a bloody teddy bear?"

    "Way to go! me it all on me now." Ru grumbled at him before turning towards his subordinates. "All of you, disappear from my sight. Or do you want to taste some more of my moves?"

    As if the fire had caught their clothes, all of them ran away leaving only Xia Haoran and Ru alone in a true sense this time.

    "Ge!"

    "What?"

    "My dearest love!"

    "Yah! Would you stop teasing me already with that title?" Ru was irked at the reminder of that.

    "Sorry but I feel sorrier for the one who called you ¡¯My dearest love¡¯." Xia Haoran answered in amusement. He knew how much Ru was irked by it but he loved doing it nheless.

    "Why do you feel sorry for him?"

    "Because the poor guy used to write love letters to you. And here you are with your new boyfriend. Tsk. Tsk. It¡¯s really unfair to him." Looking at Ru¡¯s deep gaze, he took a step back saying, "What? Just because you disguise as a guy, doesn¡¯t mean you are one. I admit your boyfriend is pretty good but still..."

    Running after him, Ru shouted, "Would you stop already? I don¡¯t have a boyfriend! And don¡¯t remind me of that nuisance from the past!"

 Chapter 212 Redeeming Qualities

    The look on Xia Haoran¡¯s face said it all. It was like he was screaming at her face that she was lying again.

    "Ge, I saw you with him at the hospital. Do you dare to admit that you don¡¯t care about him at all?" At first, Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his words then she let his words sink in.

    "Care?" She whispered softly as if questioning herself.

    "Of course, care. I have never seen you taking care of someone and don¡¯t tell me that you changed in these years. A leopard can never eat grass. It¡¯ll always stay as that bloodthirsty animal." Xia Haoran¡¯s voice held a certainty and assurance that Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to deny. Even she knew deep down that she cared about Xiao Zhiren but knowing it and epting it were two very different things.

    "Okay. I ept that I care about him." Xia Haoran was pleasantly surprised at her im but it soon turned into a scowl as she continued, "But it¡¯s only because I took a blood oath with him. He¡¯s my sworn brother and you know how serious I am about these things."

    Xia Haoran¡¯s face twitched as he tried to hold in his urges to kick his own brother. He couldn¡¯t believe that Ru just used the ¡¯sworn brother¡¯ to justify her car for Xiao Zhiren. Did he look like an idiot? Or was he still that gullible little teenager whom she left behind?

    However, Ru was very pleased with her answer. How smart of her!

    "Ge, aren¡¯t you ashamed of your own reasoning?" The smile on Ru¡¯s face stiffened as she red at Xia Haoran. "Do you still have the habit of forgetting that you¡¯re a female? FEMALE. Just because I can¡¯t bring myself to call you sister, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not one."

    Wasn¡¯t it a known fact that Ru often forgot her gender? Her disguise had grown on her to the extent that she found it really hard to ept her real self.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say to him. She knew that she couldn¡¯t be a ¡¯sworn brother¡¯ to Xiao Zhiren. Especially since the person involved had some intense feelings towards her. Feelings that she found really hard to ept.

    "You know I¡¯m still surprised that being the way you are, there are people who actually want you as their life partner." Ru¡¯s brows creased up as she looked at her brother inquisitively. "You tell me yourself... You¡¯re headstrong, stubborn, violent, sharp-mouthed, cunning like a fox, darker than midnight-,"

    He was interrupted by Ru.

    "Oh, stop it already. You¡¯re gonna make me blush with all thesepliments." Ru said offhandedly while grinning from ear to ear.

    Xia Haoran shook his head as he looked at Ru¡¯s satisfied expression. Indeed, only she was capable of taking those words as apliment but then again he was actuallyplimenting her. So, whatever! He shrugged his shoulder nonchntly.

    With a cough, he went on, "Anyways, as I was saying that you have not a single attribute like ady."

    "How¡¯s that?"

    "You¡¯re not delicate, coy, shy, graceful, elegant, soft-spoken or even gentle. Are you?" Ru shook her head almost instantly. She didn¡¯t need to think. Just hearing these words made her stomach coil up in disgust. And seeing the expression on her face, Xia Haoran pointed out, "These are the reasons why I¡¯m surprised that he fell for you."

    "I¡¯m also surprised. No. I¡¯m definitely shocked. How can he choose me?" Ru muttered in confusion. "I don¡¯t even have any redeeming quality."

    "Now, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong." Ru looked at Xia Haoran who had a faint smile on his face. "You¡¯re loyal, honest, strong, brave, and most of all, very innocent." Ru¡¯s eyes opened wide dramatically as she couldn¡¯t process his words properly.

    "I can ept all but I¡¯m neither honest nor innocent," Ru said with a nk look on her face.

    "It¡¯s weird that you always lose your narcissism when this topic is brought up." He ced his hand over her shoulder and spokenguidly, "Ge, your honestyes from your heart just like your innocence. We all are dishonest but we all are trying to protect something with that dishonesty. You protected your innocence through dishonesty. It¡¯s remarkable if you ask my opinion."

    Ru was surprised for a moment. She thought she¡¯d see the disappointment in his eyes. But in all these years, nothing changed about him; well, except that he grew up in height. His eyes though still looked at her with the same adoration, admiration, gentleness, zeal that it used to have. He was still her rice-cake who loved to tug at her sleeves and follow her like a clingy little pet.

    She smiled as she thought of this.

    This time, Xia Haoran saw the look in her eyes as well. He could more or less understand what was running through her mind. He never thought of hating her. He could never bring himself to do so. He was upset and angry since she hid for too long but nothing else.

    "By the way, even if you didn¡¯t have those qualities. There is one more that can top the charts."

    "What is it?" Ru asked curiously.

    "This face of yours." Ru gaped at him as he went on, "This face that can topple countries. Trust me, your face is enough to catch attention. I doubt there is anyone who can resist it. And if they did, they won¡¯t be able to run from your impable presence."

    Ru ruffled his hair adoringly as she said, "Aiyo, now you¡¯re talking rubbish. When did you learn to talk like this?" Xia Haoran was chuckling, not minding at all that his hairstyle was being squished by her. Recalling something, Ru tugged at his hair as she asked, "You were at the hospital?" He pursed his lips guiltily as he nodded. "I was right. I felt someone¡¯s presence. But why did you hide?"

    "You yed hide and seek for so long? Why couldn¡¯t I do so?" Xia Haoran answered while brushing his hair back with his fingers.

    Ru contemted for a moment longer as she added, "You were the one who killed those bounty hunters?"

    "Naturally. Who else would be this meticulous?" There was a smug look on his face that made Ru¡¯s lips twitch. She didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or sad to know that her brother was a replica of hers.

    "Seems like Father finally taught you the skills." Ru smiled a bit as she remembered how much Xia Haoran used to run after her because Father would never allow him to learn that one special skill.

    "He didn¡¯t." Xia Haoran shook his head. "I learned it all from Grandfather."

    Ru frowned at his reply. "Why? Father taught me personally. It¡¯s not possible that he¡¯d treat you differently."

    The smile on Xia Haoran¡¯s face diminished slightly and as he looked at her face, he was in a conflicting debate with himself. Coming to a conclusion, he simply answered her with, "How can Father give me the same treatment as his favorite son? You¡¯re always favored but you always thought I was the one loved the most."

    Ru didn¡¯t reply to him. She didn¡¯t know what to say either. She knew she was favored but loved? Was she really? Exhaling a long breath, she asked, "How did you find me?"

    "Tracked you all the way from London." Ru¡¯s brows quirked up as he added, "It¡¯s interesting that you have been running around as Alev Knight, Xie Rong, and what else? When are you nning on bing Young Master Ru again?"

    Ru didn¡¯t ask him how he guessed his identities. He was really like her. How could he be any less of a genius? After all, he was her brother. Her pride in the real sense.

    "I have to earn that identity back... I can¡¯t walk back as Young Master Ru until I really earn my justice back." Ru¡¯s fists clenched tightly as she was reminded of the nightmare that she had lost contact with for a long time.

    "How long will it take?" There was an eagerness in Xia Haoran¡¯s voice along with impatience. But he didn¡¯t voice it out clearly. He was hiding something from sure.

    "I don¡¯t know." Ru¡¯s answer made his eyes to lose their glimmer.

    "Can you write a letter to Father? I need it." Ru tried to read the look in Xia Haoran¡¯s eyes but he masked it perfectly. "Besides, he¡¯d love to know that you¡¯re fine." Ru gave a slight nod in response. "By the way, I didn¡¯t even tell you. Mother has saved all those love letters of yours."

    Ru was furious as he brought up that topic of letters again. Gosh! She hated that reminder from her childhood.

 Chapter 213 So Happy?

    Ru pped the back of his head. "I told you those were not love-letters."

    "Did you ever read even one of those letters? How are you sure they were not love-letters?" Xia Haoran retorted back. The letters were still sealed as they were sent. Who couldn¡¯t tell that she never even bothered to open any one of those?

    "How can a kid of ten or eleven years know what love is? They were definitely not love-letters. Besides, how can you say those were love letters? Did you read?" Ru also shot back challengingly.

    "I wanted to read but my dear mother was very strict about that. I couldn¡¯t do so." Ru narrowed her eyes at him while he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "However, I know those are love letters. Because every letter was addressed as ¡¯To my dearest love¡¯ and wrapped in a beautiful red envelope. You tell me, what else does it prove?" Ru opened her mouth to retort when he shut her up with a hand over her mouth and continued, "And why do you think that a kid can¡¯t understand love? Love doesn¡¯t have an age. Also, when two people are connected by the red thread of fate, there is no way they¡¯d escape. In my opinion, a child¡¯s love is the purest one."

    "You talk too much," Ru grumbled as she shot him a deadly re which he disregarded with a chuckle.

    He eyed her with a smirk as he said, "I learned from the best." Obviously, he was referring to her and even she knew it herself. "However, I really don¡¯t care who you are gonna choose. Either it¡¯s Xiao Zhiren or that nuisance from your childhood. I¡¯m okay with either one since I know both love you. The question is, who do you love?"

    "No one," Ru answered inly as if trying to just get rid of this conversation.

    "Keep denying." Xia Haoran muttered to himself. A ping sound caught his attention and he rummaged out his cellphone. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked through the content of the message. "Ge, I gotta go. Something came up." He gave Ru a hug and whispered, "Don¡¯t run. I¡¯ll see you soon."

    Ru stroked his head gently and said, "I won¡¯t. I think I¡¯ve run out of ces to run to."

    Xia Haoran smiled when heard her reply and nodded before turning to leave. As he stood before the elevator, he looked back at Ru with a deep gaze and shouted, "Take care of yourself."

    Ru waved him off saying, "I always do."

    As she watched him leave, her eyes fell back to the porcin bottle of peach wine that he left for her. There was an unfathomable emotion in her eyes as a gush of memories came back with that wine...

    "Grandfather, why don¡¯t you teach me how to make that peach wine?" She had blinked her eyes adorably at that old man before her. "I¡¯m already fourteen. I should carry on your legacy."

    Her grandfather smiled at her as he leisurely picked his white chess piece and made his move saying, "Focus on the game. If you lose, I¡¯ll lock you in the library." His stern voice held a bit of amusement which could be seen in his eyes as he saw the horrified look on Ru¡¯s face.

    Library? That ce was her nemesis. Why did everyone love to lock her there?

    She hated the books the most. It was like standing between books, she could hear them calling to her and it was creepy really creepy.

    Taking a deep breath toe over her fear of books, she said, "And if I win, will you let me learn your secret recipe of wine?" Her eyes looked at him earnestly while she picked her ck chess piece and ced it on the marble chessboard.

    When she didn¡¯t hear his reply for a while, she tugged at his sleeve and groaned, "Tell me..."

    "Didn¡¯t Young Master Ru was punished by the n patriarch a couple of days ago for stealing my wine?" His words made Ru retract her hands as she avoided his eyes. That reminder of sticks on forearms made her unconsciously rub her wrists. How could she forget how numb her lower body was after kneeling on that ice block?

    Father was really angry that day because she stole something. And stealing was way below her values and status. She couldn¡¯t even me her father for being furious with her.

    "Now you¡¯re gonna bully me as well?" She narrowed her eyes at him usingly.

    "No one dares to bully our Young Master Ru." With a hand on her head, he added, "I¡¯ll teach you the wine recipe but when it¡¯s the right time to do so."

    This answer had given her hope back then. After all, even her father didn¡¯t know the secret of grandfather¡¯s wine. She used to love spending time in her grandfather¡¯s courtyard which was filled with peach blossoms. In Spring, whenever she sat under those trees, it felt like pink snow was falling from the sky. It was indeed a sight to behold.

    With a sigh, she stopped daydreaming. She was promised to learn the secret recipe on her eighteenth birthday but she ran away before that. Time couldn¡¯t turn back so, she picked up the wine bottle before her now. She cradled it like it was a delicate baby. It was amusing to see how gentle she was with just a wine bottle. But it also showed how much her grandfather mattered to her.

    Ru also took the elevator down since she didn¡¯t n on running all the way down for 40 or so floors. It¡¯s not like she was impatient to do so. In the elevator, a thought crossed her mind. She dialed a number and waited for the call to connect.

    "Master?" A very cautious and uncertain voice came from the other side.

    "Wu Dishi, this lord has some important business for you." Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Wu Dishi became alert at an rming rate.

    "Yes, Master. What can I do for you?" He questioned politely and courteously.

    "Buy the Sky Building for this lord."

    "What?" Wu Dishi was confused when did Sky Building be important? Was it really valuable?

    "It¡¯s very valuable to me." Ru continued, not paying heed to his stunned or confused state.

    "Master, Sky Building¡¯s market value is not very beneficial. We wouldn¡¯t be getting any profit." Wu Dishi felt like he needed to make this clear even though he was certain that this point was clear to Ru herself.

    "Sometimes, profits are not everything. Mr. Wu, there is a thing called sentimental value. And trust me, it outweighs the mary profit."

    Wu Dishi choked on air as he heard her words. He was thinking whether there was a ghost who took hold of his master¡¯s body. Like how could Lord Alev Knight who valued money and power could talk about sentimental values? It just didn¡¯t make sense. At all!

    He drank a mouthful of water to stop his coughing and decided to take another chance, "Master?"

    "What?"

    "Are you okay?" His cautious tone made the vein in Ru¡¯s forehead to twitch visibly. "I mean I never heard you talking about sentimental values before."

    "Mr. Wu..."

    "Yes?"

    "I¡¯m a crazy, bloodthirsty devil. Do you really want to know whether I am okay or not?"

    Her tant threat made him shut up instantly as he said, "Understood. I¡¯ll arrange everything right away."

    "You better do," with that, she hung up.

    Initially, she really had no n on buying this building but now the time was different. Circumstances were also different. After all, now this ce really had sentimental value for her. Her little brother met her right in this building. That one fact was enough to make this building valuable for her.

    She had thought of seeing her brother plenty of times in these years but this was still unexpected. She was so happy that it was hard to conceal it. Her lips couldn¡¯t just stop from curling up and the shine in her eyes was just unconceble.

    She was so lost in her own happiness that she didn¡¯t even notice when the elevator stopped. But she did notice when she heard an annoying voice calling her, "Hey, Aly!"

    Ru lifted her eyes to re at Adrian but her body stiffened when she noticed the person standing beside him with a broody look and a furious aura that looked like it was about to erupt at any moment now.

    This person was none other than... Xiao Zhiren.

    And Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were boring into her soul and when he noticed the glimmer in her eyes and that smile on her face along with that wine bottle cradled in her arms, his brows quirked up in surprise. Who could make her so happy?

 Chapter 214 Intoxicated Ru?

    Seeing Xiao Zhiren, Ru abruptly took a ny-degree turn and faced the wall behind her. But her poor luck, the wall had a mirror on it. Her reflection was clear.

    ¡¯Argh! Why am I stuck here?¡¯ Ru shouted in her mind. ¡¯And which idiot put a mirror in an elevator?¡¯

    The two people entered the elevator and being the nosy being he was, Adrian tapped on Ru¡¯s shoulder saying, "Aly? What are you looking at? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re hiding from me?" Adrian¡¯s gasp made Ru roll her eyes at him.

    ¡¯Hide from you? I have the urge to hide you from the world. Perhaps, burying you in a hole would work.¡¯ Ru was scheming against Adrian in her mind but she stayedposed as much as she could. "What rubbish! Why would I hide from you? Can¡¯t you see? I¡¯m appreciating my peerless beauty. Ah, these deadly gorgeous eyes. You also see this reflection that¡¯s what real remarkable people look like."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s anger subdued just as he heard her usual narcissisticment. She really never ceases to amaze him. How was he supposed to stay angry with her? He just couldn¡¯t do it!

    "You and your narcissism!" Adrian said with resentment in his tone.

    Ru turned around to face him and narrowed her eyes at him as she said, "Are you forgetting?"

    "What?" Adrian asked taking a step back.

    "I said I¡¯ll beat the hell out of you if you showed me your face again." Ru reminded him which made him gulp.

    Adrian instantly hid behind Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body and said, "Don¡¯t you dare! Zoran, help me here."

    Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren and then at Adrian who was using him as a shield. Ru was wondering what he¡¯d say. For some reason, she wanted to hear what he really had to say. What was really on his mind? Was he that close to Adrian that this idiot Prince would tell him who she is?

    Her unasked question was answered almost instantly as Xiao Zhiren spoke up, "Adrian, don¡¯t worry. I believe our Lord Alev Knight is not that unreasonable."

    Ru closed her eyes briefly as he gritted out ¡¯Lord Alev Knight¡¯ with indignation. There was only one thing running through her mind, ¡¯Busted!¡¯

    "But Zoran, you don¡¯t know. This stupid lord is indeed very unreasonable." Adrian said while ring at Ru.

    Ru snorted as she said, "Yes, this lord is unreasonable. But at least, I¡¯m not a coward using my friend¡¯s body as a shield." Her sneer hit right where it was supposed to hurt.

    Adrian was livid as he pointed his finger at her, "You!" But he had nothing else to say. He was tongue-tied. However, his embarrassing state was covered when the elevator opened and he exited it saying, "Hmph! I don¡¯t want to be unreasonable like you."

    "Oh please! You have nothing to say anyway." Ru wasn¡¯tying back that soon either. She was already ousted by this dumb highness. She had to teach him a lesson about that.

    With Adrian at the front, Ru and Xiao Zhiren walked a bit behind him side by side.

    "You certainly love ying games," Xiao Zhiren whispered leaning close to her.

    "I can exin," Ru replied which made him snort.

    "Oh no, no! How can I dare ask for an exnation from the formidable Lord Alev Knight?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply made Ru purse her lips.

    She wasn¡¯t liking his tone. He never talked to her like that before. He wasn¡¯t even mad when he got to know that she was a girl. What happened this time? Wasn¡¯t it just a matter of identity?

    "You can¡¯t possibly be mad about this simple thing."

    "Simple?" Xiao Zhiren repeated her words exerting a bit of stress on his words.

    "Isn¡¯t it simple? You also have many things that you hide from me. Don¡¯t you?" Ru¡¯s words weren¡¯t wrong. He did hide things from her but not intentionally. She just never asked. She was never interested in knowing him.

    Xiao Zhiren held her wrist making Ru halt. He pulled her back and threw her over his shoulder. Ru was about to hit him when he said, "If you hit, I¡¯ll shout and Adrian will look back."

    Ru clenched her fists and stayed quiet while Xiao Zhiren brought her a secluded corner and ced her down. For the very first time, she really felt like she was treated like a sack. No one. Like no one had ever picked her up. Ever!

    Locking her between his arms he looked straight into her eyes and said, "Did you ever ask?"

    "What?" Ru asked in confusion.

    "Did you ever bother trying to know me like I always do? Between us, only I¡¯m running after you. As for you... You just run away from me." Ru bit her lip knowing well enough that she was indeed more interested in knowing about his family¡¯s matter than himself. Touching her forehead with his own, he spoke again, "I¡¯m not upset that you hid this from me. I¡¯m upset that you ignored my confession that night."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened as she stared back into his ink-ck whirlpools. "The night I met Alev Knight. It was you. I clearly told you my feelings but you stayed quiet. You ignored my words. What¡¯s more, you even used your own alter-ego to make me jealous time and again."

    With a cough, Ru voiced out, "It wasn¡¯t intentional. How would I know that you love drinking vinegar? Even when you know that I have no experience in rtionships. Heck! People don¡¯t even know my gender. How can you be this jealous?"

    "You don¡¯t understand at all. I¡¯m not jealous that someone might really steal you. I know no one can love you more than me."

    "Those are some really big words. Do you really have that much faith in yourself?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. "No. But I have faith in my love for you. And only for you." Ru stayed between his arms and also stayed quiet. She really couldn¡¯tpete with him. This love topic was out of sybus for her until now. "Do you know why I¡¯m drinking vinegar all the time?"

    Ru knew it was not a question for her to answer. So, she waited for him to speak again. "I don¡¯t like seeing that there are people who can make you happier than me. You¡¯re my id¨¦e fixe. And I can¡¯t possibly imagine being not good enough for you."

    "When other people know you better than me, it gives me aplex. I lose my confidence in myself. Not in my love for you. But in myself." Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, he added, "Damn it! I don¡¯t like the idea that I missed out on so many years of your life. And so many things about you."

    Leaning her head against the wall, Ru kept her eyes on him but didn¡¯t make a sound. She didn¡¯t want to. She didn¡¯t want him to stop talking either.

    "Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?" Xiao Zhiren asked as he saw her looking at him so intently with an indescribable look in her green eyes.

    "Your voice is sounding better and better. Keep talking." Xiao Zhiren gaped at her in disbelief. Was she enjoying herself right now? Was he funny or something?

    "Am I a clown keeping you entertained?" He retorted.

    Ru shook her head and her hand lifted slowly to touch the side of his face. And as her fingers made contact with his skin, Xiao Zhiren was stunned frozen. She voluntarily touched him. Is she drunk?

    "You¡¯re not a clown. But your words have a nice sound to it. Interesting, isn¡¯t it?"

    "Are you drunk, my little chili?" He questioned uncertainly.

    "Maybe. Maybe not." Ru wasn¡¯t sure herself. And as she realized what she just said, she was really surprised. "But I have yet to drink this wine. How am I already intoxicated?" She mumbled and looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s concerned face as she spoke, "It¡¯s your fault."

    "Mine? How?" He was perplexed. What did he do now?

    "Your words are intoxicating. That¡¯s dangerous for health and my mind."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s earlier outburst was deted like a balloon now. She seemed too adorable with her confused look. Caressing her face, he said, "Do you know, you look so adorable that I want to eat you."

    "Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m your little chili. I¡¯ll be spicy. Don¡¯t eat me." Ru might have not noticed her words. But Xiao Zhiren did. Especially at that ¡¯Your little chili¡¯.

    Wasn¡¯t it like she subconsciously epted that she was his? This enlightenment enlightened the whole world for Xiao Zhiren. Ay, this day was certainly a beautiful one.

    But to ruin the good moment, Adrian¡¯s call came in. "Where did you both vanished? Okay, that Aly loves to disappear but when did you get this habit?"

    "Shut up, Adrian! I¡¯ming." Xiao Zhiren grumbled and looked at Ru for a moment longer. Leaning down, he nted a firm kiss right between her brows and said, "I¡¯ll see you at home. Don¡¯t you dare run!" With this warning, he left her standing in that corner all alone.

    "Don¡¯t run? Why is everyone reminding me this today?" Ru muttered to herself. Forgetting the fact that she was experienced in running. If Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t holding her tightly, she would have really run again long ago.

 Chapter 215 Not Just An Obsession

    From the Sky Building, Ru went straight back to her apartment. After seeing her rice-cake, the anticipation in her heart was gone and meeting Xiao Zhiren managed to give some rest to her restless heart.

    Coming back to the silence of her apartment, she sat down cross-legged near the ss wall looking over thendscapes and closed her eyes. She needed to sort out her thoughts.

    It was true that she never asked Xiao Zhiren about himself. But in her defense, she never liked asking people about themselves. She loved reading people or solving them like a mystery. At least that way she had something to do.

    However, when it came to a certain Xiao Zhiren, he was the mystery she wasn¡¯t able to solve neither did she manage to read him at all. He showed her his caring, loving, gentle side but he never showed her his worries.

    He called her his id¨¦e fixe. Then how far this obsession could take him?

    Annoyance, anger, vexation, all these emotions were making her mind go into a frenzy. She huffed heavily and looked through the cab to look for some cigarette. Following her search, she picked up a thin cigarette and ced it between her lips.

    She was about to light it up when someone snatched it from her lips and she heard that familiar voice, "Stop smoking. I won¡¯t be able to live otherwise."

    Ru looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s grinning face incredulously as she asked, "You won¡¯t be able to live?"

    "Yes. Don¡¯t you know, smoking is injurious to health." Xiao Zhiren replied in an all-knowing manner.

    Ru scratched the tip of her nose and said, "It¡¯s injurious to my health since I¡¯m the one smoking. How does it involve your life?"

    With his arm around her neck, he pulled her to his side saying, "Don¡¯t forget, you are MY LIFE. How many times should I repeat it?" He even rolled his eyes as if she really was being too forgetful as if his logic was the best one out there. "Besides, if your health will be affected, I¡¯ll eventually be affected by it. We are connected that way."

    Ru pinched his arm and he yelped while ring at her in resentment. "I just hurt you. I don¡¯t feel anything. Then how are we connected?" She wiggled her brows yfully while the mirthless smile on her face said otherwise.

    Rubbing his arm where she pinched, Xiao Zhiren spoke with an aggrieved tone, "That¡¯s because I¡¯m not in your heart. But you are in mine. So, right now, the connection is one-way. I can feel your pain but mine is yet having some disturbance on the way. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t feel my pain."

    Ru pursed her lips trying to stifle theughter that was threatening to escape but couldn¡¯t do so as she chuckled. His logic was exactly like him; Crazy. But she couldn¡¯t say anything as she looked at his smiling eyes looking back at her face with a gentle look.

    "What? What are you looking at?" asked Ru.

    Shaking his head softly he said, "Nothing. I was just wondering how can my little chili make me feel all sweet, warm and fuzzy with her beautiful smile. Even when her words are always cutting my heart."

    With a cough, she made some distance between them again and stood at the far end leaning against the kitchen ind. "How did youe in?"

    "Through the door," came the prompt reply in a duh tone as he took a step towards her.

    "I locked the door." She replied with a frown trying to recall whether she really locked it or not.

    "And I opened it with the passcode," said Xiao Zhiren with a shrug of his shoulder as he took another step close to her.

    "Don¡¯t you know how to knock? You can¡¯t just barge into someone else¡¯s house." Ru was trying to seem upset as she crossed her arms over her chest.

    Taking another step towards her, Xiao Zhiren poked her head as he said, "I rang the bell three times but you didn¡¯t hear it. I thought you must be avoiding me. So, I weed myself to your house." With both his hands on the counter behind her, he added, "Anyhow, this is my little chili¡¯s house. So, I¡¯m definitely weed here anytime."

    "I did not say that," Ru argued while she pushed him back to keep him at least at an arm¡¯s length. Meanwhile, she tried to rethink why didn¡¯t she hear the doorbell.

    "You didn¡¯t say I¡¯m not weed either." Xiao Zhiren pointed out with a sly smile.

    "Don¡¯t you just love ying with my words?" Ru was feeling terrible, hostile, indecisive but mostly helpless. How could the same person always manage to make her feel all these feelings? She had never been indecisive in her life. Not even once before he came into her life.

    "There is another thing of yours I love ying with." Her brows knitted together as she saw the smirk stered on his face and that teasing light in his eyes. What was he up to?

    But she wouldn¡¯t know what he was up to until she asked. However, if she asked then she¡¯d certainly be left even more helpless with his answer. After all, his favorite hobby was to make her vulnerable. Ru clenched her fists hatefully as she didn¡¯t know what to do. Ask him or not?

    Let¡¯s just take this bitter shot already! "There is something more intriguing to y with than my words? Howe I don¡¯t know-"

    Her eyes widened as her words were stuck in her throat.

    Why?

    As she was speaking, Xiao Zhiren had taken a couple of steps to close the distance between them as his one hand coiled around her waist and the other one firmly grasped the back of her head. And what followed was... Fireworks?

    There were fireworks, indeed.

    With his lips firmly nted against hers, the fireworks were a must. His lips softly brushed against hers, delicately as if afraid to hurt her. She could inhale his breath and the warmth of his skin made her mind do somersaults. For the first time, she wasn¡¯t standing like a statue whose mind had a short circuit.

    Instead, her lips developed a mind of their own as they caught the rhythm of his and yed along slowly and softly. That just added a whole lot of passion to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s burning desires as his tongue darted out to pry open her lips and plunged in without warning.

    Her tongue was a bit hesitant at first but then it fought for dominance as they wrestled. The earlier fireworks had already turned into mes of passion that were burning in both of their eyes.

    This was what really surprised Ru the most about him. The way he managed to ignite the desires within her that was even unknown to herself all this time. It was a primal desire as she had heard before but until he walked into her life, she never understood it at all.

    Her body was halfid back on the kitchen ind while Xiao Zhiren ravished her like a hungry lion. As he moved away to catch his breath, he looked into her green eyes that had turned a shade darker reflecting the emotions he had in his own. And that one look was enough to take his breath away just like it had always done.

    He knew she didn¡¯t like being touched, but he really couldn¡¯t resist her. Her scent always flooded his senses clouding his rationality. He just couldn¡¯t fight against his thoughts whenever she was around him.

    Ru was looking at him an odd way. It was neither embarrassment nor bashfulness. Rather it was her curiosity. She was wondering how far he could test her limits. The idea of intimacy that she always found ridiculous, could he really change that? The earlier mes had alreadybusted leaving her defenses in ck flimsy ashes.

    "I believe this is yours," she heard his voice and focused her eyes on the thing that was dangling before her eyes. Her eyes widened again. But this time, the reason was different.

    She pushed him away as she sat on the kitchen ind and snatched the pendant from his hand. That beautifully carved pendant... Encrusted with pure green jade and blood-red rubies. Even the character carved on the pendant was the same. There was no doubt, it was hers.

    But how did he have it? With this question, Ru lifted her eyes to look at Xiao Zhiren. ¡¯Was he the one who saved my life back then?¡¯ Her heart shook at this realization.

    "You had been my obsession since that time. It¡¯s not a love of days, weeks or months. I am in love with you for years."

    Ru caressed the pendant lying in her palm and mumbled, "I owe you another life-debt."

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation as he said, "You don¡¯t owe me anything. Except for a chance. An opportunity to prove that my love for you had always been true."

 Chapter 216 Hubby!

    Xiao Zhiren waited for her reply while Ru¡¯s eyes lingered on the one thing that connected her to her n; The Xia n of Shadowwick State. The pendant could be said to be an identity token that proved who she was. She never had the heart to part with it but she did.

    There were two reasons why Ru left it behind when she left the hospital without informing him. First, she wanted to give him something as reassurance that he¡¯d pay this life-debt. The second was the most important one because of which she never even asked him who he was back then. She had given herself a goal at that time; She¡¯d not look for this pendant until she had found the people who left her at herst breath.

    Because she knew if she had this pendant, she¡¯d have run back home long ago. She still remembered the time when she lost the pendant at the age of eight. Her father was so worried that he spent the entire day looking for it in the woods. And when she had asked him why was a simple pendant so important, he had replied with, "My child, this is not a normal pendant. Always remember, this pendant represents your existence. Don¡¯t ever gamble with this thing. Its purpose is yet to be served."

    Until today, Ru wasn¡¯t sure what he meant. What purpose could a pendant really have? But she was told not to question since every answer had a time.

    "This was the only thing I had of you. This was the only thing that assured me that you¡¯re out there somewhere." Ru looked at the side of his face as he continued, "Sometimes when I felt like you were just a long dream of mine, this pendant reminded me that I was wrong. You¡¯re as real as this pendant in my hands."

    Ru¡¯s lips curled up slightly as she listened to him. "I looked for you everywhere. I used every single mean to look for you but I couldn¡¯t. But I never stopped waiting. Somehow, I believed in the promise you left behind. And just because you said you¡¯lle back, I believed in you wholeheartedly without any doubt."

    "Why didn¡¯t you just give up? What if I really had lied in that letter?" Ru questioned with a skeptical look in her eyes.

    "I could give up. But my heart couldn¡¯t do so." Her brows quirked up as she looked into his ink-ck eyes. "My heart had been dead set on you from the moment we first met in that bar."

    "Bar?" Ru looked perplexed.

    "I know you don¡¯t remember. But I don¡¯t know why. However, I¡¯m not gonna remind you either. You¡¯ll have to think about that yourself." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s reply made her even more confused.

    She really didn¡¯t remember. But if she really didn¡¯t that only meant one thing; she met him during the year that is erased from her memory!

    "I was really surprised to know that you have green eyes. I mean when I first met you, you had pure ck eyes just like mine."

    "I must be wearing lenses. Green is my color from the beginning. But I was often asked to keep it a secret from others." Ru replied nkly with no emotion but with a turmoil in her mind as she tried to put some stress on it. Trying hard to remember anything from their first meeting but nothing came up.

    "Is Yu your name?" His question made her look confused and he pointed at the pendant in her hand saying, "That¡¯s Yu in Cantonese."

    Ru chuckled as she shook her head. "It¡¯s also Ru in Mandarin. Why did you think it was Cantonese? The character has the same strokes but different pronunciations only."

    "I first met you in Macau, so I assumed you to be from there. And people of Macau speak Cantonese. So, that¡¯s why I was misled." Xiao Zhiren borated sheepishly.

    "We met in Macau?" He nodded at her sudden question. "Where did you find me injured then?"

    "Taiwan." He answered honestly while he didn¡¯t know why she was asking these questions. But since she did, he had to answer honestly at all costs.

    "But I was in a hospital in Capital when I left."

    "Oh, that¡¯s because I brought you to China for better treatment and also because I was worried that those people who injured you might look for you again."

    "Did you..." Ru licked her dry lips and tried again, "Did you see anyone who injured me?"

    "No. You¡¯re alone when I and Ran Zi found you at yourst breath fighting desperately to live." Xiao Zhiren could never forget that moment. Not even if he tried to. Her blood-soaked, shed, the bruised body was still etched in his mind. He still had nightmares recalling how she could have died if he hadn¡¯t found her on time.

    "I was indeed desperate to live..." Ru mumbled softly with a irony in her voice. As the silence made room between them, Xiao Zhiren felt uneasy. She looked to be living through some painful memory as her fists were clenched turning her knuckles white.

    The rims of her eyes were getting red in rage and the furious look in her eyes made his heart clench painfully. He didn¡¯t like seeing her like that.

    cing his hand over hers, he smiled at her softly and said, "So, your name is Ru?"

    With the warmth of his hands on her cold ones, she felt herself rxing slowly. Her calmness returned also instantly to her as she looked into his eyes again.

    "I was never taught my name. But everyone called me Young Master Ru, so I assumed it to be my name." Ru¡¯s reply took Xiao Zhiren off guard.

    "What? How can no one tell you your own name? That¡¯s unfair."

    "I still don¡¯t know why I was raised as a boy. And you¡¯re upset about a meaningless name?" Ru poked his forehead like he always did to her. "But I do know that everything has a reason. I am indeed Young Master Ru but why am I, Young Master Ru, I¡¯m not sure about that."

    This answer was the closest she had been to let anyone know about herself. But it was getting easier with him. It was like him telling her about being the savior from back then made another connection to link them together. And that connection made her feel really rxed andfortable in his presence.

    "What should I call you then?" Xiao Zhiren questioned with a woeful look.

    "Don¡¯t you call me your little chili? Isn¡¯t that already enough?" Ru¡¯s answer made his mouth agape. This was the second time on the same day that she called herself ¡¯His¡¯. This eptance was really satisfying and gratifying.

    Encircling his arms around her waist, he pulled her close while she stared at him with raised brows. "You are indeed my little chili but I need a name as well."

    Ru¡¯s hand lifted while Xiao Zhiren kept his eyes on her movements. Her palmsid t against his chest while he thought she¡¯ll push him like always but surprisingly, she didn¡¯t. She only titled her head up to ask, "Why is that? Why is the name necessary?"

    Nuzzling up to the side of her face, he said in a slightly husky voice, "The most intimate name from the one you love is your own name. Just like I get a million feelings when you call me Zhiren. The feel is different. It¡¯s real with no sweetness but it does have a lot of real intimacy."

    "Hmm... Remind me not to call you Zhiren again."

    Xiao Zhiren bit her earlobe making her stare at him wide-eyed. "Don¡¯t force me to punish you."

    "What did I do?" Ru pointed her chin challengingly.

    "You hid too many things from me, Lord Alev Knight."

    Ru immediately lowered her eyes while pursing her lips. That reminder was really not necessary. "Fine, fine. I¡¯ll call you Zhiren. It¡¯s not like I can call you anything else."

    With a heavy sigh, Xiao Zhiren agreed, "I don¡¯t expect any nicknames from you either. Baby, darling, love, sugar, honey, all these from your mouth? Just the idea is unimaginable."

    Ru was cringing as he said all those names and nodded, "Indeed. That¡¯s too hard for me."

    "But I¡¯d love to hear that hubby from you." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s cheeky grin came again.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she said, "Stay on Earth. No need to dream of heaven that soon. It¡¯s unreachable. Just like hearing hubby from my mouth. Ever!"

    Xiao Zhirenughed at her reply and hugged her tightly as he whispered, "My heaven is not unreachable anymore. It¡¯s right here with you in my arms." ¡¯And one day, I¡¯ll make you call me hubby. It¡¯s a promise!¡¯

    Ru really wanted to smack his head but couldn¡¯t do so. Involuntarily, her heart was betraying her as it was really beating like a drum in his presence. The signs were all there. Irregr heartbeat, silly smiles, a giddy feeling in her heart... The only thing that left was; Her eptance of all these feelings.

 Chapter 217 The Look

    The banquet that Xiao Zhiren wanted to take her to was in the evening. And the first and foremost job for Xiao Zhiren was Ru¡¯s grooming which she had been avoiding for days now. Whenever he brought up the topic, she¡¯d always find some way to divert his attention.

    Most of the times, her way of diversion involved looking into his eyes straight. And Xiao Zhiren was a sucker for those green eyes that entranced him to no end. How could he remember anything else when the world¡¯s most beautiful eyes were right before him? It was unfair to his poor heart which was stuck on her.

    But this morning, Ru¡¯s n didn¡¯t work at all as Xiao Zhiren said, "Love, stop giving me The Look."

    "What look?" Ru feigned ignorance perfectly.

    "That look." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s finger rounded in a circle right before her eyes as he pointed at her.

    Ru frowned again as she said, "But I don¡¯t have a look."

    Xiao Zhiren snorted, "Yeah, right. If you don¡¯t have the look then I¡¯m the idiot who forgets his own name just looking into these eyes of yours."

    "Blimey! Zhiren, you¡¯re an idiot?" Ru asked wide-eyed with a gasp as she added, "I really couldn¡¯t tell until now."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s shoulder slumped in defeat as he exhaled a long breath. Talking to her was a tiring job. Physical and mental. Actually, she could even emotionally strain someone with just her words. But how she did it, he didn¡¯t know at all.

    Pushing a shopping bag to her, he pushed her towards the stairs saying, "Go to your room and change into these." Ru looked inside and found a simple white t-shirt and ck re bottom jeans. "And don¡¯t forget to cover up your enchanting eyes. I really don¡¯t want anyone else to get mesmerized by that pair of eyes."

    Scratching her chin, Ru pursed her lips as she was thinking. Then leaning close to him, she asked, "Zhiren, do you need some sugar?"

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhiren was dumbfounded. Where did that questione from?

    Supporting her elbow on his shoulder, she said, "I think you need a lot of sugar. Why don¡¯t you get some from the kitchen? I have plenty of it."

    "But I don¡¯t want sugar. Why are you even wasting time talking about sugar?" Xiao Zhiren looked at her in half perplexion and half skepticism.

    "Well... You love eating lemons all the time. So, I thought you might like some sugar to tone down that tangy taste lingering in your..." Poking his temple, she added, "You mind."

    She was indeed talking about his jealousy that seemed to be ring even when there was no one in the apartment aside from them. How possessive was he? And for her? What did she have?

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know what to say to her. He turned sideways and nted a chaste kiss on her lips taking her by surprise as he said, "I got my share of sugar. Thanks for offering. Now, you¡¯re gonna change your clothes or should I delve into this pot of honey?"

    She just hit herself with her own words. He really knew how to find loopholes in her words.

    "Pot of honey?" Ru asked uncertainly.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched her nose and answered, "Yes. Pot of honey. Since you¡¯re my honey and there are too many bees hovering around my honey all the time. It takes effort to shoo them away." He rubbed his forehead in distress as he added, "And tonight, I¡¯m certain I¡¯ll have to spend extra time guarding around you."

    Ruughed at his expression. "I don¡¯t need guarding at all! I¡¯m enough to do that on my own." With that, she rushed up the stairs to change her clothes.

    She hadn¡¯t noticed before but after she unfolded the t-shirt, her eyes stared at the design printed on it. Her lips twitch involuntarily. There was an attitude-filled red chili on the shirt and the words beside it were, ¡¯I¡¯m a little chili.¡¯

    Seriously, he definitely took his time to choose this one. Ru rolled her eyes at his choice but still wore it. When she came downstairs, she was ring at him while he seemed rather amused.

    "I knew it. This was made my little chili." Ru punched his arm but hisughter didn¡¯t stop. "What¡¯s with hazel eyes?"

    "You have some problem with it?"

    "Nada!" Xiao Zhiren shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    And that¡¯s how the both of them started the journey to wherever Xiao Zhiren was taking her. Because he wasn¡¯t keen on telling her. Apparently, it was a surprise. Ru had the urge to kick him out of the car when he said it was a surprise. Couldn¡¯t he like a normal person just tell her where they were going?

    In the car, Ru looked out the window in deep thought. "What¡¯s your connection with Adrian?" She asked out of the blue.

    "Define connection." Xiao Zhiren replied with a rebellious charm.

    "I mean how do you know that wanker Prince?" Ru rephrased her words but they seemed really amusing to Xiao Zhiren as he keptughing pleasantly. "If you¡¯re doneughing at my not so humorous joke, please enlighten me with your answer."

    "Do you really want to know?" Ru threw a deadly re his way.

    "No. I don¡¯t want to know. I¡¯m just so entertained in my life right now that I thought I should talk about that boring prince to keep the bnce. Happy?" Her touch of sarcasm made him burst outughing again.

    "Okay. So, let me tell you."

    "Finally." She groaned in response.

    "We met in college. Had a couple of sses together. Then we became best friends. And that¡¯s about it." Xiao Zhiren stated inly not delving deeper into how they became close friends and all. He could tell she wasn¡¯t interested in listening.

    "Mhmm..." Ru hummed in response as she nodded her head in understanding. That exins why Adrian was with Xiao Zhiren the other day. And also, why Xiao Zhiren knew about her being ¡¯Alev Knight¡¯. Certainly, that prince wouldn¡¯t talk about her to just anybody. And now she knew, Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t just anybody to Adrian.

    "By the way, Adrian has a lot to say about you. And when I say, a lot. I¡¯m being very humble with words."

    Ru snickered at his remark. As if she didn¡¯t know that at all. Adrian had a lot to say right at her face much less behind her back.

    "I also have a lot to say about him." She replied as if she had a huge grudge against him.

    "Ohh... I wonder what my little chili has to say about my best friend." Xiao Zhiren gave her a look of anticipation.

    "Are you sure about that?" Ru asked to reconfirm.

    "Yes, I am sure." He replied positively.

    "Ready?"

    "Ready as I can be..." Xiao Zhiren replied uncertainly. Was she rushing for a battle or something? What¡¯s with all these questions?

    "Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you!" Xiao Zhiren was busy frowning at her words trying toprehend theplex meaning behind when she took a long breath and started, "For me, His Highness Adrian Alister is the name that I despise the most. Just the name is enough to make every pore in my body to feel repulsed by him. He¡¯s irksome, irritating,zy, impatient, clingy, hateful, bossy, talk a lot- like a lot as in A LOT! He¡¯s also nosy which I hate about him but then he makes it worse by being a crybaby who has to run to his grandmother after losing. He¡¯s childish and way easy to offend. And the attention he had received from girls all these years have turned him into a cocky flirt. He has a loud and obnoxious personality that makes me want to punch him to a pulp whenever he shows up in front of my face. And-"

    "There is more?" Xiao Zhiren asked as he really was having difficulty digesting everything she just said. That was his best friend you know but the one talking was his life. Goodness! He couldn¡¯t even bring himself to take sides right now. "Are you sure he doesn¡¯t have any good qualities?"

    Ru thought for a second before her voice turned into a whisper as she said, "He¡¯s honest even about his dislike for me. I like that about him that he doesn¡¯t try to act nice with me just because he¡¯s asked to do so. He¡¯s loyal and kind-hearted. He¡¯s straightforward, fair, and ambitious. I guess he¡¯s a person who has a very good heart but he doesn¡¯t like being vulnerable. Being a part of the royal family has made him hide his good-nature. Otherwise, it¡¯s hard to survive in pce politics."

    Xiao Zhiren smiled as he heard her words. See, she was not biased at all. She knew how to judge a person not just from her own perspective but from others¡¯ as well. She just treated Adrian as he treated her. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t even ask her to be nice to his best friend.

 Chapter 218 Lucky To Have Her

    Ru had expected Xiao Zhiren to bring her to a salon or something but he parked the car in front of a vi. When she gave an inquisitive look to him and he just shrugged his shoulders with a mysterious smile. Or was it a mischievous smile?

    As they waited outside the door after ringing the bell, Ru asked, "Why are we here?"

    "You¡¯ll see," was the reply of Xiao Zhiren. Right at this moment, the door opened and a pretty brte came to Ru¡¯s view. She looked beautiful with her shoulder-length hair and heart-shaped face. She was dressed in formal attire. "Hi, Melody!" Xiao Zhiren greeted her.

    The girl hugged Xiao Zhiren like any other foreigner while Ru kept looking at her with a raised brow. "Hi, Zoran! You¡¯re finally here. I thought you¡¯ll bail out again."

    Xiao Zhirenughed as they made their way inside the vi. "I was never gonna bailout but..." Wrapping his arm around Ru¡¯s waist, he pulled her to himself as he added, "This girlfriend of mine is moody and entric."

    The brte girl who was named Melody looked at Ru from head to toe and gave a surprised look. "Oh, my my! She¡¯s your girlfriend?"

    Xiao Zhiren nodded proudly while Melody walked in a circle around Ru. "All mine." Xiao Zhiren announced as if iming his right.

    "Fuck! She¡¯s gorgeous." Melody eximed with hands around her cheeks.

    "Language..." Xiao Zhiren warned with a sharp look.

    "Sorry! But I couldn¡¯t help it. Your girlfriend¡¯s features are like some painter¡¯s fantasy hase to life. Those defined high-cheekbones, ah! This enviable height. I can¡¯t help it. Can¡¯t I just borrow her as my muse?" Melody looked at Xiao Zhiren with pleading eyes.

    "Didn¡¯t I say, ALL MINE." Melody pouted at his reply.

    "Fine." She huffed at him but then tugged at Ru¡¯s arm saying, "I¡¯m gonna have so much fun styling you. I have so many ideas." Melody seemed like an excited bunny to Ru who was still staying quiet because she had no clue where she had stuck herself.

    But soon she realized it when she had sat still in a chair for hours while Melody and her assistants did all the job. For instance, nail grooming, waxing, adding realistic hair extensions and then styling those extensions.

    And all this time, Ru was like, "Is waxing necessary?"

    Melody had pursed her lips as she didn¡¯t know how to reply but she still did so, "Yes."

    "Do you have to pluck off my eyebrows?" Ru looked distressed as she put a hand over her eyebrows.

    "I¡¯m just gonna shape them. Nothing else. Trust me." With Melody¡¯s reassurance, Ru had to let them do what they were good at; grooming people.

    Xiao Zhiren was having theughter of his life in the waiting area since he could hear Ru¡¯s weird questions from inside. But he knew she won¡¯t get angry since it was rted to her promise and Ru would anything for a promise. Even doing what she hated the most; Acting like a girl.

    "Make-up? I heard those chemicals are not good for the skin. I¡¯m okay without it." Ru was worried her face will look like a clown. "Let my skin breathe." She insisted while everyone around her looked at her in a weird way.

    "With your skin, I really don¡¯t have to use make-up. You have the perfect olive skin, smooth and soft. It can make one envious. What do you use for it?" One of the assistants asked in curiosity.

    "Use? I don¡¯t use anything. My mother used to say that eating healthy is the key to wless skin. I just have a proper diet n. Nothing else." Ru spoke proudly as she talked about her mother.

    Melody could see that make-up would ruin her looks. So, she used a very minimal quantity and that too in light shades. Keeping it mostly natural to let her real beauty shine.

    Ru stretched her limbs after this torture and was rxed thinking they were done. But who knew she had still to suffer.

    "Come, Zoran has already prepared 4 dresses for you. Let¡¯s try them all." Melody seemed more excited then Ru.

    "Can¡¯t I just pick one and be done with it?" Ru asked tiredly. She really felt tired. This must be the most boring thing she had ever done. Who had such long hours to waste on themselves?

    "No. Can¡¯t do. You have to try them all and let me be the judge of which one looks good." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice came from behind her as he came towards her while grinning from ear to ear. Even without the evening gown, Xiao Zhiren was breathless seeing her face.

    Ru was sent to the changing room as Melody passed her the first gown. It was an off-shoulder red chiffon gown, a trumpet silhouette with train. It was short-sleeved, backless and hadce, beaded embellishments.

    "Should I help you with the zipper?" Melody shouted from outside.

    "No, I¡¯m done," Ru grumbled from inside.

    Melody looked at Xiao Zhiren inquisitively and he replied, "She¡¯s flexible. Super flexible." Melody chuckled at his reply. "Come out already."

    Ru reluctantly walked out in the long gown. While Ru was trying to manage that long train, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes were starstruck. Who asked his girl to be this gorgeous? His eyes were trained on her exposed cor-bones that were too prominent to ignore. As for her figure, this was one of those rare times when she was wearing something in her own size. It made her body look enticing.

    Coughing to hide his blush, Xiao Zhiren said, "Let¡¯s try the other one."

    Ru huffed like a child as she walked back to the changing room and while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s jaw dropped at her back view, Melody gasped out, "Her shoulder des are so perfect. She really is making me envious now."

    Xiao Zhiren could only shake his head since his girl didn¡¯t even know it that she was beautiful. The second dress was in soft pink color with a floor-length sheath silhouette and one-shoulder neckline. It was sleeveless and in afortable stic crepe fabric.

    Xiao Zhiren thought it looked great on her until she took a step and he noticed the split that started from her mid-thigh to the floor. And just as Xiao Zhiren had expected, Ru spoke herself, "Don¡¯t choose this one. I¡¯m not going out in this one."

    Hell! Was Xiao Zhiren gonna choose that? No way! It was his own first time seeing her exposing this much skin. How could he show it to the world? But he had an itch to tease her as he said, "Why? Aren¡¯t you veryfortable in your skin? I thought you never get embarrassed or bashful."

    Ru pped the back of his head saying, "I don¡¯t like people staring at me. This will definitely make some heads turn." Oh, there it is! The cocky self.

    "So, I can look?" Xiao Zhiren tried his luck.

    "I didn¡¯t say that," Ru replied.

    "You didn¡¯t deny it either." Xiao Zhiren counter attacked and as Ru was about to talk, he pushed her back in saying, "We don¡¯t have time. Try the third one."

    The third dress was like a ball gown with a bell-like puffy skirt and Ru immediately refused to wear it with the excuse of, "I¡¯ll look like a church bell in this one."

    Xiao Zhiren replied with, "Why are you fretting? I¡¯ll be the only one to ring this bell."

    "It¡¯s not funny!" Ru shouted back while Xiao Zhiren keptughing outside.

    "Thanks for your help. I know you¡¯re here for some official business and I dragged you for a personal favor." Xiao Zhiren turned to Melody beside him with a serious look.

    "Aye, I¡¯m having fun. And it¡¯s a miracle that Zoran Xiao actually contacted me for a favor. I¡¯m already over the moon." Seeing her being dramatic Xiao Zhiren looked awkward. "Also, it was once in a lifetime opportunity to see who is your girlfriend. Who is the one girl who made you reject all others for years."

    "Still, it¡¯s a favor for me." He said.

    "She¡¯s really cute and innocent. I can see why she managed to catch you in her spider-web." Melodymented seeing the huge grin on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face. "I¡¯ve never seen in youughing like this even in college. This carefree look suits you."

    "I guess the credit goes to her. As you said, she is really cute and innocent. But the best part is she doesn¡¯t even know how cute she is." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes, face, his voice everything showed how much love he had for her.

    "She is lucky to have you in life," Melody said as she could see Xiao Zhiren¡¯s happiness and love right here in his eyes.

    "Nah. She isn¡¯t the lucky one. I am." His reply stunned Melody who had never seen Xiao Zhiren doing the sweet-talking. If the girls who were rejected by him back then knew that he was such a romantic person, they¡¯d have been hopping mad!

 Chapter 219 My Fair Lady

    One might define beauty in a million ways but for Xiao Zhiren, all the world¡¯s beauty was standing before him. The girl before him didn¡¯t look awkward at all. With her straight posture, she seemed confident in herself. It wasn¡¯t her usual vanity or self-conceitedness. This confidence was her pride that she felt within herself.

    She was dressed in ace fishtail Cheongsam with train which was in the champagne-colored lining and whitece details. It was a cool blend of bodycon crochetce fabric with mandarin cor and Chinese hand-made knot buttons at the back. The mermaid silhouette and her long legs made a statement of their own.

    The raven-colored straight hair was styled in soft wavy curls that cascaded over her right shoulder. Beautiful rhinestones encrusted olive leaf ear cuff could be seen on her left ear. A light pink colored lipstick adorned her lips.

    Trying to walk in that long gown, she lifted her eyes slowly to find Xiao Zhiren. He stood right before her with dazzling light in his eyes and a small smile ying on his lips. Looking into his eyes, she found the courage to smile as she knew this was it.

    He saw his woman being unapologetically herself

    Comfortable even in her perfect imperfections

    The essence of her beauty lied in her eyes

    Eyes that looked tranquil like water with a waver of uncertainty

    what lied beneath that surface was an ocean of wonder and ambiguity

    But it was a woman¡¯s heart

    Looking for herself in the eyes of her sweetheart

    Even her reflection seemed to be caressed by his love

    Oh, how she wished that moment to stop

    Because that mirror of his eyes made all her

    doubts to deter

    What remained was;

    Her wild and wandering soul

    That taught her love was the recipe of chaos

    Pity that the chaos had already begun

    But those were the troubles of a woman¡¯s heart

    That taught her that boundary was just another pass

    Perhaps that¡¯s how she ignited that wild thirst in his soul

    She offered her small fire for him to hold

    But it was a woman¡¯s heart

    lying in the hands of her sweetheart

    "You look breathtaking." Thepliment came from Melody who couldn¡¯t keep her eyes away from Ru.

    As for Xiao Zhiren, he stood silently and perhaps his silence was the biggestpliment she was looking for. Because in that silent moment where their eyes met, he had already poured his heart out to her. What else could he do? She was all that he could wish for and much more. And words could never be enough to describe that.

    "Let me bring the heels," Melody rushed out to find the matching heels for her leaving both of them alone.

    Out of the blue, Xiao Zhiren went on his one knee as he took her hand in his own and looked up into her eyes. nting a feather-like kiss on her knuckles, he said, "My fairdy, bestow me with the honor of being your partner."

    Ru rolled her eyes at his performance and said, "I¡¯m already your partner."

    "For the rest of life toe." Xiao Zhiren looked at her eagerly while she narrowed her eyes at him.

    "Only for tonight. Don¡¯t push your luck." She tried to retract her hand but he didn¡¯t let her do so.

    "I have to push my luck." He said with admiration in his eyes and a warmth in his voice.

    "Why?" She questioned.

    "Only by pushing I can break your walls." He replied with a cheeky smirk of his own and added, "Besides, it¡¯s my way of turning your no into a yes."

    "I¡¯d say, you¡¯re trying too hard," Ru said and took a step back as she saw Melodying back inside.

    "Try these on," Melody ced 4-inch heels before her.

    Ru looked at the heel that looked scary to her for some reason before looking at Melody with a doubt visible in her eyes. But Melody reassured her with a smile and Ru reluctantly made her feet cage between those torturous heels. Her already tall figure towered way more. And after wearing the heels, she was wondering... How was she supposed to walk in those?

    She tried to take a step but ended up losing her momentum. Then her fight was with her reflexes and gravity. But before her own reflexes could kick in, Xiao Zhiren had already held her by her waist. Ru clutched his shirt to keep her bnce and looked at his signature smirk again.

    "It seems like a y of destiny." He whispered softly.

    "And what¡¯s the y?"

    "You falling in my arms. Right where you belong." He answered solemnly with not a hint of yfulness in his eyes anymore.

    "I don¡¯t belong in your arms," she argued back.

    "That¡¯s what you think. Because you, my fairdy, are still oblivious to this game we call fate." He countered. "And fate often leads us to love."

    "And love is just another name for pain." Ru¡¯s answered made him silent for a second before he made her stand back up.

    Tapping her nose yfully, he turned to Melody again and said, "Get her those chunky heels no more than 3-inch. She won¡¯t be able to walk in these stilettos."

    Melody nodded since she had already seen it herself how bad Ru was with heels. She brought the pair of chunky heels for Ru as per Xiao Zhiren¡¯s request and asked her to try. This pair was much better than the earlier one so Ru managed to walk but she was still having difficulty with the long gown that was getting tangled with her each step.

    "I told youst time, take smaller steps. The way you¡¯re walking, soon you¡¯ll be lying t on the floor twisting your own ankle." Xiao Zhiren reminded her in a hushed tone and Ru had to agree because he was indeed right. "See over there," he pointed at Melody and Ru followed along. "Copy her movements. You¡¯re the genius here. You¡¯ll be able to learn in a minute."

    Ru red at him hatefully for using her own words against herself but still focused on the way Melody walked. Her each step was well-bnced as she walked with ease. One step at a time and effortlessly trudging around.

    It took her a moment or two longer but she got the gist of it and managed to walk civilly without falling or tripping around.

    Xiao Zhiren also dressed up in a clean-cut ck suit and a crisp white shirt underneath. He looked sharp, elegant and equally matched with her beauty.

    Ru was staring at him without blinking when her stupid conscious woke up, ¡¯Isn¡¯t he handsome?¡¯

    Ru nodded in a daze before shaking her head. ¡¯Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Who¡¯s handsome?¡¯

    ¡¯Keep denying. You love to do it anyway.¡¯ Her conscious retorted in contempt.

    ¡¯Okay, he¡¯s handsome. But I look at him almost every day. Don¡¯t you think beauty wears out?¡¯ Ru countered with her own words.

    ¡¯Right... Beauty doesn¡¯t wear out. Your eyesight is wearing out!¡¯ Her conscious shouted back. When Ru didn¡¯t reply, her conscious again buzzed in her mind, ¡¯Don¡¯t forget, the chaos in your heart has already begun. Now, the moment of realization and eptance is left.¡¯

    Ru blocked out the voiced in her head and looked at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand that appeared before her eyes. She hesitatingly ced her hand in his and he intertwined their fingers almost instantly and naturally. Her hands weren¡¯t that small but it still fits perfectly in his big ones.

    He said his goodbye to Melody and thanked her again while Ru silently apanied him to the car that brought them here. But Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t board it and pulled her over towards the limousine that was parked beside it.

    The driver opened the door for them and both of them settled in. In the car, he noticed how she kept trying to move her hair away from her neck and it made his lips curl upward. "Is it really ufortable?"

    "I¡¯ve always disliked long hair. First, it¡¯s bothersome to manage them and second, they make me feel hot. See, even in this air-conditioned car, I¡¯m sweating." Ru replied which seemed more likeining to him.

    "Excuses." He muttered under his breath and recalled something as he spoke again, "I heard something about your diet n. When did you get one of those?"

    "What do you mean? I always had a diet n." Ru answered honestly.

    "You have the biggest appetite I¡¯ve ever seen in anyone in my whole life."

    "That¡¯s not called big appetite. That¡¯s me eating a healthy and well-bnced diet."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her wide-eyed. ¡¯Healthy and well-bnced? Her definition of healthy ispletely distorted.¡¯ But of course, he didn¡¯t say that out loud. Because he knew he couldn¡¯t possibly question her food habits. She¡¯ll get mad. Like super mad. And right now, he couldn¡¯t afford that.

 Chapter 220 Satisfying Sigh

    When the limousine finally stopped, Ru didn¡¯t even wait for someone to open the door as she ran out instantly. Even Xiao Zhiren wanted to apud her for her impatience. But it wasn¡¯t her fault, he was again keeping the location of the banquet a secret.

    When he stepped out of the car, he found Ru looking right before her with a scowl on her face. As she heard his footsteps, she turned her eyes to look at him and asked, "You brought me to the High Summit Assembling Banquet?"

    "Oh, so you really are familiar with it?" Xiao Zhiren looked surprised but in reality, he wasn¡¯t. Because it had be a norm for him that she knew everything. "Have you been here before?"

    Ru was looking at the huge cruise ship before her as she could hear the sound of seagulls on the shore. There were tight security arrangements done for the banquet. The reason was simple. The top Family ns were assembling for their yearly meeting.

    And Xiao Zhiren belonged to the Ji Family which was ranked second, how could he note? However, it was his first time being here. And he only epted the invitation because his grandmother insisted way too much.

    "Why would this young mastere here before? I have nothing to do with High Summit or the ns involved in it." ¡¯Since my family had never been interested in ying the game of politics and power.¡¯ Ru was feeling bitter in her heart as she said, "But I can tell you everything you want to know about the High Summit."

    "For instance?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously as he led her inside the cruise ship after showing his invitation card.

    "For instance, there are a total of six ns involved in this High Summit which was originally started when the monarchy was ended. Xiao n is the first ranked one. Zhu and Ji follow behind at the second rank since one can¡¯t possibly tell which one is stronger. The rest of the members are; Fan, Wu, Hou, and Gou." Ru spoke in a practiced manner without taking a pause. It was like she was reciting a speech. "Coming together, these ns can rule the whole nation but they keep their power hidden. The purpose of this meeting had always been to create an opportunity for all of them toe together."

    Xiao Zhirenwas frowning a bit as he listened to her detailed analysis of this banquet.

    "The gathering kicks off with a banquet and then they spend two days on the sea. Using each other¡¯s resources, potential business opportunities, and other things are discussed. Especially, the protection of their family secrets that had managed to keep them standing even after centuries."

    "I heard Xia n is also involved in the High Summit." Xiao Zhiren stated inly.

    Ru snorted as if that was the real joke. "Blimey! Don¡¯t joke like that, Zhiren! Xia n is a martial arts practitioner Family. The High Summit isprised of Aristocratic blood. Those noble, high and mighty young masters from ancient times. Xia n had never taken part in High Summit because they prefer their own solitude and privacy. These events are considered wasteful in that n."

    "How do you know so much about Xia n?" His question reminded her how much nonsense she had just spouted without even realizing it. Well, wasn¡¯t it obvious that she¡¯d know Xia n better? Especially, considering the fact that she was a part of that n.

    But how was she supposed to say it out loud?

    With an awkwardugh, Ru wanted to say something but her gown tangled with her heels and she lost her bnce. Xiao Zhiren held her by the arms to support her saying, "Can you please focus on walking? I know you love multitasking but with this dress, I think you can barely either walk or talk. So, choose your priorities wisely."

    Ru couldn¡¯t rebut since he was right. It was an effort on her part to walk around with this kind of a dress. It was heavier than anything she had ever worn if one doesn¡¯t consider the weight balls she used to tie around her ankles and wrists to increase her speed. But for her, carrying those balls of 5 kg each was way easier than this dress.

    However, this small incident managed to divert Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention from the earlier question and Ru was thankful for that. She really didn¡¯t think that disclosing her identity of being the eldest young master of Xia n was a wise decision. If anything, it¡¯d bring him unnecessary trouble and she didn¡¯t want to burden him at all.

    "Did you get hurt?" While Ru was lost in thoughts, she didn¡¯t even realize when Xiao Zhiren had gone on his knee and held her foot to check for injuries.

    "You! Let go. We¡¯re in the hallway. There are people watching." Ru tried to squirm her foot out of his grip but he didn¡¯t budge.

    "You first tell me if it¡¯s hurt or not?" Xiao Zhiren asked stubbornly and seeing his concerned and anxious look made Ru feel helpless.

    "I¡¯m not hurt. Not hurt at all. Now, let go." Ru assured him and heaved a sigh of relief when he finally got up.

    "You¡¯re not lying, right?" Xiao Zhiren still wasn¡¯t convinced. He knew how much of an expert she was at hiding her pain. How could he be at ease around her?

    Ru held his hand and pressed it with a bit force saying, "I¡¯m not lying. Would you let it go already?"

    Xiao Zhiren nodded and this time, held her hand to support her in walking.

    "By the way, are we staying for two days?" Ru suddenly asked as a change of topic.

    "Yes."

    "You didn¡¯t tell me that. And we didn¡¯t bring any luggage as well." Ru looked at him usingly.

    "How can I tire my little chili with suchborious task? So, I already arranged everything." Xiao Zhiren replied sweetly but Ru didn¡¯t look satisfied with his answer.

    "Come clean with the truth. Don¡¯t try me." Ru warned threateningly.

    Xiao Zhiren had to sigh in defeat as he said, "Fine. I don¡¯t trust your taste in clothes. So, I asked Melody to pack some clothes for you."

    "So much for trust, huh! Hmph!" Ru humphed.

    During their banter, they had already reached the double door that led to the banquet hall. As it opened, a huge,vish and extraordinary hall came in view which looked like a part of a Seven-star hotel. But then again, this cruise ship was one of the best. So, facilities were supposed to be the best as well.

    However, both Ru and Xiao Zhiren weren¡¯t very interested in noticing their surroundings. Their own bickering was way too enticing and it was enough to make them live in their own cocoon.

    Ji Syaoran was holding a ss of champagne in his hand while he looked bored listening to the conversation of the older generation around him. Someone remind him why did he promise his grandmother that he¡¯d apany her all the time? Oh, right! His grandfather bailed on them at thest minute and he was gonnae on thest day only. Until then, he was the escort for his grandmother.

    Ji Syaoran was aimlessly looking around when a scene made his jaw drop and his eyes to open wide. He looked horrified, not stunned. He thought something was wrong with his eyes and he rubbed his eyes but the scene before him didn¡¯t change at all.

    Tugging at his grandmother¡¯s sleeve he tried to get her attention but she shooed him saying, "Ran Zi, don¡¯t disturb."

    Ji Syaoran, however, didn¡¯t care about her anger at all. He still poked her arm and said, "Gammy! Bro brought a girl."

    "What?" The old woman was stunned and then Ji Syaoran tilted her face towards the couple that walked inside the hallughing with each other without any care for the world around them. "OH MY GOD!" Old Madam Ji was petrified to her spot at this scene.

    After their initial moment of shock, both grandmother and grandson shared a look as they spoke simultaneously, "He really brought a girl!"

    Their excitement could be seen in their eyes clearly. It was like someone had served them the whole world on a silver tter. And why wouldn¡¯t it be like that? Old Madam Ji¡¯s biggest wish was to see her eldest grandson getting married and today, was the first time she saw himughing with a woman.

    As for Ji Syaoran, his only wish was to see his brother happy. If he could he would even serve his own happiness to Xiao Zhiren. But now that he saw the carefreeughter of his brother, he felt liberated. It was truly a satisfying sight.

 Chapter 221 Quinn Knigh

    "Who is with your eldest grandson?" The old Madam of Gou family asked Old Madam Ji when she looked at the pair of Xiao Zhiren and Ru.

    It was hard not to notice them. They made a perfect pair with their tall frames and breathtaking beauty. Moreover, the loving aura around them was even more enchanting. Who could resist taking another look?

    It was just as Xiao Zhiren had suspected, she was going to turn heads. And the heads were turned as everyone wanted to take another look at the beauty beside Xiao Zhiren. However, he was underestimating his own charms. They both were the center of attention, not only because of the beauty beside him but also because they made a picture-perfect couple that could make people envious.

    Old Madam Ji was still stunned by the fact that her grandson actually came with a female partner. But when she listened to the whispers around her, that¡¯s when she noticed how stunning her grandson¡¯s partner was. Once again, she was lost for words.

    "Madam Ji, you¡¯ve hidden your grandson well for years but now, you¡¯re even hiding his rtionship status?" Another madam spoke with a bit of envy in her tone.

    Old Madam Ji smiled softly as she replied, "Young generation has be too secretive. How can we question their decision?" She was trying to state that she didn¡¯t hide her grandson¡¯s girlfriend, he was being secretive. Also, she couldn¡¯t possibly tell others that she had no clue about what was going on between her grandson and the girl he brought.

    "Gammy!" Ji Syaoran again tugged at her arm as he gestured for her to make a move here.

    Old Madam Ji got the hint as she excused herself from her group of friends and trudged towards Xiao Zhiren¡¯s side.

    "Your idea to provoke bro actually worked. I¡¯m really thrilled." Ji Syaoran praised his grandmother with a grin. "If you hadn¡¯t brought up the topic of his long-forgotten fiancee, it¡¯d have been difficult to see his girlfriend."

    Ji Syaoran was somewhat right with his deduction. If Old Madam Ji hadn¡¯t provoked Xiao Zhiren, then he probably wouldn¡¯t have had the idea to introduce Ru as his girlfriend. So the credit really belonged to the olddy who was still wise and cunning.

    Old Madam Ji smiled in satisfaction and victory as she replied, "It¡¯s no wonder your brother was being secretive. That girl is beautiful."

    Ji Syaoran gave an affirmative nod as he said, "There is no doubt that she¡¯s gorgeous."

    The pair of nosy grandmother and grandson stopped right before Xiao Zhiren and Ru. Xiao Zhiren naturally greeted his grandmother, "Grandmother!" He gave her a tight hug with a big fat smile adorning his face.

    "Zhiren, it¡¯s a surprise that you listened to grandmother and actually decided to join us." Old Madam Ji started the conversation in a casual manner. Not letting it slip away that she was eager to know Ru¡¯s identity and most importantly, her status in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life.

    "How can I let you down?" Xiao Zhiren replied confidently.

    Old Madam Ji was looking at Ru and back to Xiao Zhiren with an inquisitive gaze. Trying to hint him that it was about time for introductions but he wasn¡¯t getting the hint. "Well..." she drawled her words as she again looked at Ru.

    "Well, what?" Xiao Zhiren feigned ignorance. He had already seen the curiosity, impatience, and eagerness in his grandmother¡¯s eyes but how could he just introduce her?

    "Bro, who is your partner? Won¡¯t you introduce us?" Ji Syaoran decided to help his grandmother because it wouldn¡¯t look nice if that olddy started questioning like an impatient teenager.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru and both of them shared a look. Coming here, they had already had a discussion about her identity which was something like...

    "You¡¯ll meet my grandmother at the banquet." Xiao Zhiren had informed her.

    "So? It¡¯s not my first time meeting her?" Ru replied nonchntly. She looked too rxed and it made him feel restless.

    "Love, you have met her as Xie Rong. You¡¯re not going as Xie Rong right now!" He reminded her while gesturing towards the long gown on her body.

    "It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m not going as Xie Rong." She said as she scratched the tip of her nose.

    "Be my guest and change back to Xie Rong." Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up but they dimmed almost instantly as he added, "I still don¡¯t mind introducing you as my boyfriend."

    With an awkward expression, she said, "No need. I¡¯ve gone through the torture of dressing up already. Let¡¯s get this over with now."

    Xiao Zhiren smiled at her excuse as he said, "You don¡¯t have to lie to me. You and I both know that you don¡¯t like people questioning your character and that¡¯s why you¡¯re apanying me as a girlfriend." Ru coughed but didn¡¯t refute his words at all. "By the way, do you have a female identity that we can tell others?"

    "I have never lived like a girl. So, no!" Ru answered inly.

    "So? Should I introduce you as Ru?"

    "Never!" Ru snapped at him. "You can introduce me as Quinn Knight."

    "Why?" Xiao Zhiren asked perplexedly.

    Ru stayed silent as she remembered how her mother used to say that, ¡¯Our Ru is born a queen. No one can change that. And don¡¯t let anyone treat you any differently. You¡¯re born to rule.¡¯ That reminder made her once choose Quinn as a name which meant ¡¯queen¡¯ and ¡¯wise¡¯.

    But her answer for Xiao Zhiren was, "Because I like that name."

    Xiao Zhiren naturally didn¡¯t question her decision as he said, "I also like that name. Quinn for the queen of my heart." Ru rolled her eyes at him as she punched his arm and he chuckled. "Wait, it should be the violent queen of my heart."

    Ru red at him and didn¡¯t say anything to him again.

    Now that they stood before Old Madam Ji and Ji Syaoran, Ru had to y her part. ying different characters wasn¡¯t difficult, she was a master of disguises. But it was her first time ying a girl¡¯s role. And it was ironic since she was born a girl.

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and pressed it softly as he blinked his eyes softly in reassurance. Then he turned to face Old Madam Ji and said, "Meet my girlfriend, Quinn. And love, that¡¯s my grandmother."

    "How are you doing this fine day, Mrs. Ji? It¡¯s a pleasure making your acquaintance." Ru¡¯s sweet voice coupled with her eloquent manner and beautiful polite smile, Old Madam Ji was lost for words as she couldn¡¯t move her eyes away from her.

    Ji Syaoran nudged his grandmother to break her daydream. Old Madam Ji cleared her throat awkwardly before saying, "I¡¯m doing very well. Better now that I¡¯vee to know such a good child. Your name really suits you. A beautiful name for a beautifuldy."

    "That¡¯s very nice of you to say but I think I have yet to learn a lot from a gracefuldy like yourself." Ru words not only stunned Old Madam Ji, but even Xiao Zhiren also couldn¡¯t help looking at her with admiration. Her eloquence was admirable indeed. She might not be able to walk or act like a girl but she knew how to win people with her tongue.

    Old Madam Ji patted her shoulder gently as she said, "Good child, you! You have a sweet tongue."

    At first, Old Madam Ji thought Ru to be beautiful but up close, her opinion was altered. Calling her just a beauty wasn¡¯t doing justice. The warmth in her eyes, the charming smile on her lips, a gentle way of speech, that soothing voice, and her strong presence... This all umted to her being more than just a beautifuldy. And Old Madam Ji wouldn¡¯t let anyone say otherwise.

    On the side, Ji Syaoran was also staring at Ru but for a very different reason. From afar, he felt like Ru was familiar but up close, he couldn¡¯t help this strong itch in his heart that he knew her. Was she really the same girl whom his brother was stuck on for years? Well, she looked slightly like her. However, her smile reminded him of someone else... Someone whom he wasn¡¯t really fond of before.

    Xie Rong? Ji Syaoran shook his head. How can she look like him? They could be rted but are they?

 Chapter 222 Very Likable

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s hawk-like gaze fixed on Ru¡¯s face and didn¡¯t move. He was trying to find the familiarity that he felt earlier when she smiled but still, he couldn¡¯t do so. It wasn¡¯t that Ru¡¯s face features changed or something but the light make-up had indeed made her features more prominent. And the hairstyle made a whole lot of difference.

    "Hi, I¡¯m Ji Syaoran. Bro¡¯s younger brother." Ji Syaoran introduced himself while his eyes didn¡¯t even blink for a second afraid that he might miss something.

    Ru wasn¡¯t an idiot. She naturally could see the curiosity in his eyes and it made her lips curled upward. "Nice to meet you, Ji Syaoran." She replied with an emphasis on his name which didn¡¯t go unnoticed.

    Biting his nail, Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes narrowed. Both Ru and Ji Syaoran were locked in a battle of staring. The former¡¯s eyes had a challenging look, thetter¡¯s curiosity was getting the best of him.

    "What are you both doing?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice brought their battle to an abrupt halt. He looked at Ji Syaoran, "Stop staring at her before I poke your eyes." Ji Syaoran immediately turned his eyes away and Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru saying in a whisper, "Love, stop provoking him."

    "I did no such thing. Don¡¯t use me wrongly." Ru yed the innocent card perfectly.

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand on her head and said, "Say something believable. I know my little chili better."

    "Come with me, I want to introduce you to everyone." Old Madam Ji dragged Xiao Zhiren and Ru naturally had to follow.

    Ji Syaoran leaned close to Ru as he whispered, "Introduce? I¡¯m telling you, Gammy just wants to brag about her favorite grandson and you."

    "Me?" Ru raised her brow at him in question as he nodded.

    "Yes, you. After all, there is hardly anyone here who couldpete with you in beauty." Ji Syaoran sounded sincere since even he couldn¡¯t bring himself to deny that Ru was deadly gorgeous.

    Ru flipped her hair and patted his shoulder saying, "I suddenly find you very likable."

    Ji Syaoran was surprised by this sudden change in her demeanor. "Why?"

    "Because you have such good eyesight. How else would you know that nobody canpete with me in beauty?" Her conceited answer made Ji Syaoran almost trip over his own foot. Ru held his arm to save him from falling as she said, "Spoke too soon."

    Ji Syaoran: "Narcissistic much?"

    Ru: "It¡¯s not narcissism."

    Ji Syaoran: "Oh, really?"

    Ru nodding: "Yup! It¡¯s called being honest and genuine."

    Ji Syaoran: "..."

    Taking time to process her words, he sighed out, "I wonder how you made my brother fall for you."

    Ru snorted in reply, "Keep wondering. Even I haven¡¯t found the answer to that mystery."

    In an inconspicuous corner of the ballroom, another pair was locked in a battle of staring. One looked calm and other were raging like a dragon ready to breathe fire.

    "Ji Yifeng!" The raging eyes red at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s father as he gritted out.

    "No need to get so hyper, Xiao Jingting. I already told you that I won¡¯t let you touch my son!" Ji Yifeng replied calmly.

    "Son?" The man named Xiao Jingting snickered. "What? The same one who wouldn¡¯t hesitate before putting a dagger at your throat?"

    Ji Yifeng closed his eyes briefly to hide the fluctuation in his deep eyes. "Even if he kills me, he¡¯ll still be my son."

    "I don¡¯t understand at all. How can you even say that?" Xiao Jingting was roaring in anger. "Your son ruined everything that was important to my sister. Including you!"

    "And that same sister of yours loved that son with all her heart. Even more than her own life." Ji Yifeng stated or more like reminded the person before him.

    "Maybe that was her mistake. Loving the wrong people." Xiao Jingting spat out in contempt. "Perhaps if she had made the right choices, we wouldn¡¯t be in this predicament."

    "Xiao Jingting!" Ji Yifeng¡¯s eyes fixed on his face. "Don¡¯t you dare say anything about my wife. She was never wrong. And why do I have to remind you that my wife is your sister as well?"

    Xiao Jingting¡¯s shoulder¡¯s slumped down, he looked defeated as he said, "How can I forget that? She had forgotten me but I can¡¯t do the same to her." Ji Yifeng was about to pat his shoulder to show his support when Xiao Jingting again started, "But don¡¯t expect me to forgive your son. I won¡¯t!"

    Ji Yifeng rolled his eyes at him. "Would you get over that ¡¯your son¡¯ part? At the end of the day, that son of mine is your nephew. No matter how much you dislike him."

    Seeing Xiao Jingting huffing like a child, Ji Yifeng couldn¡¯t help but smile. This man before him reminded him so much of his wife. He was just as childish as she once was. "Stop brooding."

    Xiao Jingting turned his face away and that¡¯s when a scene caught his eyes. "What is your son doing here?"

    Ji Yifeng turned to follow his gaze and also looked at Xiao Zhiren standing beside his mother with a big smile on his face. For a second, he was stunned to see Xiao Zhiren smiling like that. "He¡¯s the eldest son of our family. Why can¡¯t he be here?"

    "He doesn¡¯t even call you his father," Xiao Jingting pointed out matter-of-factly.

    "Indeed." Ji Yifeng agreed with a sigh and added, "But he does love his grandmother and also, Ran Zi is here as well."

    "Who¡¯s the girl beside him?" Xiao Jingting¡¯s question made Ji Yifeng also notice the presence of Ru.

    "If you¡¯re asking me, who should I ask?" They both shared a look and shook their heads.

    "That makes you an incapable father." Ji Yifeng didn¡¯t mind his words. He knew was indeed an incapable father who couldn¡¯t even protect his kids. "Wish I could question you as a husband as well."

    "Was that apliment?" Ji Yifeng asked with an amusing grin. It must be told that this brother-inw of his was even more difficult to please than his own wife. In the past 3 decades, Xiao Jingting had neverplimented Ji Yifeng.

    "I didn¡¯t like you when you married my sister and I still don¡¯t like you." Xiao Jingting retorted.

    "I never needed your eptance. Your sister loved me and that was enough for both of us." Ji Yifeng¡¯s reply infuriated Xiao Jingting, it was a reminder of the past that he hated the most.

    "Hateful man!"

    Ji Yifeng had a look of epiphany as he said, "Now I know why Yuan is so difficult to get along with."

    "Why?" Xiao Jingting asked in curiosity.

    "Because your nephew is just like you; unbearable!"

    Xiao Jingting didn¡¯t retort. He thought it was pointless to do so anyway. So, he kept his silence but unknowingly, his eyes were wandering back to Ru again and again for some reason.

    "What are you looking at?" Ji Yifeng asked seeing the concentrated look of Xiao Jingting.

    "She..." He left his words hanging as he shook his head.

    "What about her?" Ji Yifeng curiously.

    "She looks familiar." Xiao Jingting said softly with a deep frown etched between his brows.

    "You know her? Or have you met her before?"

    "Neither." Xiao Jingting shook his head. "I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten such a peculiar face."

    "Then how is she familiar?"

    "I have no idea." Xiao Jingting replied while his mind was still trying to remember. She seemed really familiar to him. But had he really seen her before? If yes, then where? And why was his mind imagining her with forest green eyes? Frustrated by his own mind, Xiao Jingting pushed Ji Yifeng and said, "Go and find out who she is. Meet me on the deckter and tell me in detail."

    Ji Yifeng gave him an odd look. "When did our Tingting became such a nosy person? Did Ran Zi influenced you badly?"

    "Don¡¯t talk nonsense and just go already."

    "I¡¯m going but I don¡¯t think Zhiren will even let me step close to her. The way his hand is on her waist, it¡¯s obvious how possessive he is about her."

    "Well, he¡¯s your son. Isn¡¯t it a given that he¡¯d be possessive like his father?"

    Ji Yifeng nodded as he couldn¡¯t refute his words. "Fine. Let me try. But you stop talking down to me, I¡¯m still your one and only brother-inw."

    "I know. I know. You don¡¯t have to remind me that." Xiao Jingting was being impatient which was really unlike him.

 Chapter 223 Hes The Answer

    During the thirty minutes of introduction to everyone, Ru was tired. She tugged at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s arm saying, "My face is hurting."

    "Why?"

    "I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve smiled this politely ever in my life before," said Ru while rubbing her jaw.

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled softly at her reply. "You and your excuses..." he shook his head as he continued, "Both are really cute."

    He wanted to pinch her nose but she swatted his hand away like an annoying fly. "Can¡¯t you put a lock on your cringe-worthy remarks?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation. "Nope. It gets difficult when you¡¯re standing right beside me looking like a damn femme fatale."

    "Don¡¯t say anything anymore. I¡¯m getting dizzy with your words." Ru pushed him away and walked towards a corner. Clicking her fingers together, she called for the server and picked up a ss of sparkling champagne.

    "If you stand here alone, someone might take your boyfriend from right under your nose." This voice made Ru tilt her face and she looked Ji Yifeng standing not too far from her. He was looking at Xiao Zhiren and Ru also followed his gaze to see a couple of girls trying to strike up a conversation with him.

    ¡¯And he said, she was the honey who attracted unwanted bees.¡¯ Ru shook her head at her own thought.

    "He can do whatever he wants," Ru replied nonchntly.

    "You don¡¯t care or do you have faith that no one will be able to snatch him from you?" Ji Yifeng was curious to know the answer since Ru¡¯s rxed face was really strange to him. How could she be so calm?

    "I want to say I don¡¯t care but this stupid heart is leaning towards the second option." Ru¡¯s reply amused him and heughed out.

    "By the way, I¡¯m Ji Yifeng."

    "I know," Ru replied knowingly making his raise her brows. "You¡¯re Zhiren¡¯s father. Isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯d know?"

    With a bitter smile, he said, "Something tells me, he¡¯s not the one who told you about me."

    "He doesn¡¯t have to. I have my own ways." Ru took a swig of the bubbling champagne and said, "Anyhow, let¡¯s not talk about him. Let me introduce myself, I¡¯m Quinn. Quinn Knight."

    "It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Knight."

    "Please, you can call me Quinn. No need to be this formal."

    "You¡¯re not from here, are you?" He asked.

    "What gives that away?"

    "I think you¡¯d have been the talk of the town if you¡¯re from here." Ji Yifeng stated. "Just like now."

    "Now?"

    "Mhmm..." He hummed in reply and said, "Everyone in this room is looking at you. They are talking about you and trying to find ways to get to know who you really are."

    "Why? Aren¡¯t I like every other girl here?"

    "That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Something is different about you." Ji Yifeng sighed out. "Although everyone here is from an aristocrat family. Your aura is different. And that aura of yours is making you stand out between others."

    "Really? I thought I stood out because of how beautiful I am."

    Ji Yifengughed out and said, "Yeah. That too."

    Ru¡¯s behavior really surprised Ji Yifeng. He really didn¡¯t expect Xiao Zhiren¡¯s girlfriend to have a good impression of him. But somehow he didn¡¯t detect any contempt from Ru¡¯s voice. Was she good at hiding or she really didn¡¯t have any views about him, he couldn¡¯t tell.

    "Love, what are you doing here?" Xiao Zhiren held Ru¡¯s arm and pulled her to his side while ring at Ji Yifeng. Now, this contempt from his son was something very familiar to him.

    "Can¡¯t you see or those girls¡¯ sparkling lovestruck eyes made you blind already?" Ji Yifeng pursed his lips to stifle hisughter. He didn¡¯t think Ru¡¯s answer could be so straightforward.

    "Are you jealous?" Xiao Zhiren asked forgetting all about his father who was in hearing range even now.

    Ru snorted udylike, "Jealous? Aren¡¯t you getting too full of yourself?"

    "I am full of myself. But slightly lesser than you," replied Xiao Zhiren with a grin.

    Ji Yifeng was smiling looking at their interaction. He felt lighthearted seeing the love in their eyes and their bickering. Wasn¡¯t this how married couples behaved? They looked adorable to him and being a sensible elder, he excused himself to give them some privacy.

    "You¡¯re impossible," Ru said disbelievingly.

    "Well, I have to match my little chili in every way possible." Xiao Zhiren replied holding back hisughter. He knew she¡¯ll punch him if heughed at her face. And he had no mood of getting beaten blue or ck in front of his family.

    "Is there a room we can borrow for ten minutes?" Ru asked suddenly making Xiao Zhiren frown.

    "We have a room of our own. Why do we have to borrow? What do you need it for?" He asked curiosly.

    "Let¡¯s go to that room then," Ru pulled his hand and started dragging him out the ballroom.

    "Why are we going to the room? What are your intentions?" Xiao Zhiren sounded all suspicious and vignt.

    "Don¡¯t worry, what I want to do can only be done behind closed doors." Xiao Zhiren choked on air and coughed profusely.

    "Love, are you serious?"

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Of course, how can I beat your arse up in front of everyone?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face fell as his not so innocent dreams were shattered in a minute by her. Wasn¡¯t she really cruel?

    "You¡¯re really cruel, love," said Xiao Zhiren with a scowl.

    "Oh, really?" Ru stopped walking in the hallway and ced her hand on her hips threateningly.

    "Yes. You¡¯re boring and cruel."

    "How so?"

    "You don¡¯t appreciate my presence." He grumbled feeling wronged. "You don¡¯t even value the moments we spend together."

    "And that makes me boring and cruel?"

    "It does. After all, if you won¡¯t enjoy the present than you¡¯ll only be left with memories filled with regrets." Xiao Zhiren spoke righteously as he tried to dump some sense into her brain.

    "Memories are always filled with regrets," Ru stated matter-of-factly.

    "Wrong. Not all memories are regretful." Xiao Zhiren argued back.

    "Yes, they are. Because the memory in itself is a regret. After all, you can¡¯t bring that moment back; happy or sad, it¡¯ll still be just a memory in your heart."

    "Do you know who cherished people are?" Xiao Zhiren asked and Ru nodded.

    "Cherished people are the ones who are precious to us," Ru replied calmly.

    "So, imagine if you one day lose someone who you cherished the most. Would that person¡¯s absence make him any less cherished one in your heart?" He asked again.

    Ru was left in deep thought as she contemted his words. The people she cherished were her family and they were away from her but in all those years, they didn¡¯t be any less important to her. If anything, she now cherished them more than ever.

    So, her reply was, "No. I still cherish the ones who are away."

    "Then how can a cherished memory be a regret? Cherished memories are the treasure which is priceless. And it only bes sweeter and lovelier with time."

    Ru nodded her head in a daze, "I guess you¡¯re right."

    Losing his educating persona, he slid close to her and said, "So, don¡¯t you think we should be making some cherished memories as well?"

    Ru looked at him with a frown and said, "No, I don¡¯t think so."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s whole mood was spoiled by her reply. "Can¡¯t you ever y along with me?"

    "I can but I don¡¯t want to."

    "Why not?" He was exasperated now.

    "Because I don¡¯t like your stupid ideas about ying along."

    "You!" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body trembled in anger. "You know what, you¡¯ll only cherish me when I¡¯ll be a memory as well. Hmph!"

    Ru¡¯s heart shook violently as he said those words. She felt suffocated as if someone had stopped her supply of oxygen. Watching him turn away coiled her stomach in the worst way and she felt like puking up. Why was it so difficult watching him leave? Why was her heart hurting so much?

    Why did it feel like if he walked away, she¡¯ll lose him? Why the idea of losing him was so painful? And why was the idea of loving him not so detestable?

    The questions were plenty but the answer was none. Or there was one? Ru looked at his back as she heard a whisper in her mind, ¡¯He¡¯s the answer.¡¯

    Ru walked behind him and held his hand to stop him. Xiao Zhiren stopped but didn¡¯t turn to look at her. During this time, Ru¡¯s eyes caught a very familiar figure behind Xiao Zhiren and her eyes widened.

    How could she forget that this person would be here? All her questions were thrown out the window as new questions were forming up in her mind.

    Swallowing her saliva, she pushed Xiao Zhiren against the wall and crashed her lips on his leaving him stunned.

 Chapter 224 I Said That?

    There were plenty of questions in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mind. But the one that dominated his thoughts was; Why did she kiss him? Although he was d for this initiative that she took on her own will. But he couldn¡¯t rule out the fact that she wasn¡¯t that extrovert in the intimacy department. There had to be a reason behind why she took this bold step.

    If she had kicked him so openly, he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised. But she kissing him openly was shocking.

    Oddly, he could feel the tension in her muscles as well. Her lips weren¡¯t rxed on his and movement was clumsy as well. But nevertheless, she still tasted sweeter than honey to him. But his mind couldn¡¯t rx at all.

    As for Ru, her mind was shouting, ¡¯Go away! Go away already! Why are you not moving?¡¯ She wished she could smack the head of that person taking anguid walk like he was in a garden. ¡¯Don¡¯t people normally give privacy to such scenes? Why is he still not going then?¡¯ Why the hell did she take the initiative to kiss if that busybody wasn¡¯t going to move?

    Ru had an inkling feeling that the busybody in the hallway had seen her and that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t moving at all. But she had no answers to that busybody¡¯s questions. That snooper was gonna ask a million of questions and Ru had no way of answering those questions. Worst of all, he was gonnaugh at her seeing her in female attire.

    And this one event would be repeated a million times in the future to tease her. She couldn¡¯t give him the satisfaction. Not at all! But on second thought, she could also use this thing with Xiao Zhiren - whatever it was - to her own advantage. For instance, she could finally unt someone before him like he always unted his wife before her.

    That was a good idea. Ru was weighing the pros and cons in her mind. And the cons were slightly heavier than the pros. After all, losing her image as the savage Young Master Ru was a lot worse than facing his endless unting of his perfect family.

    "Ah-Jie, why did youe out?" Ru heard that familiar sweet voice that could only belong to her busybody best friend/cousin, Zhu Jie¡¯s dearest wife; Xu Mey.

    Jie looked in Ru¡¯s direction for a moment longer before shaking his head. "It can¡¯t be her. She wouldn¡¯t ignore me like this." He mumbled before turning towards his wife. "I needed some fresh air, baby. Why were you looking for me?"

    "Mom¡¯s looking for you," Xu Mey replied to him with a smile.

    "Okay. Let¡¯s go to mom then." Jie followed her and entered the ballroom again.

    Ru counted to 100 before pulling away from Xiao Zhiren and heaving a sigh of relief. She craned her neck to see whether he was really gone or was he hiding somewhere for a sneak attack like he always did. She should have remembered that he was a ¡¯Zhu¡¯. His family would obviously be here with other families. Why did it skip her mind?

    Stupid! Forgetful mind! Useless one!

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face curiously. She looked disturbed but what could affect her so badly? She was a brave woman and he always saw her as one. Why was she being so sneaky now?

    "What are you looking at?" Xiao Zhiren asked.

    "Seeing if that sneaky bastard is gone or not," replied Ru in a daze.

    "Did you kiss me to hide from someone?" asked Xiao Zhiren again. He knew the answer but his stupid heart still made him ask that question.

    Ru snickered, "Obviously. Why else would I kiss you?" Now, that was her way to ruin someone¡¯s dreams.

    "Way to burst a bubble." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mood again fell. "Right. It¡¯s only my wishful thinking anyway." Ru looked at him and was stunned to see her watery eyes. Was he going to cry? But why? Did she do something?

    "Zhiren, are you going to cry?" Ru asked trying to turn his face towards her but he pushed her hand away.

    "You don¡¯t care. You don¡¯t care at all." He snapped back. "No matter what I do or what I say, you... You don¡¯t believe that I love you. You don¡¯t believe in me at all. Perhaps, I¡¯ll have to cut open my heart for you to see how much I really love you." With a self-deprecatingugh, he added, "I think you won¡¯t believe even if I really did it."

    Without giving a chance to Ru to speak, Xiao Zhiren walked away from her and all that she saw was a tear sliding down his cheek and his defeated back.

    Scratching her head, she said, "Did I do something wrong again? Argh! What is wrong with me?"

    "I can enlighten you about that part," hearing this voice, Ru¡¯s eyes widened once again. With a ¡¯woosh¡¯ she looked to her right side and saw that buttinsky looking at her with a weird look. He walked close to her and circled around her slowly eying her from head to toe. "Damn! I knew you¡¯d look gorgeous but never expected that you¡¯d be deadly gorgeous."

    "Was that sarcasm?" Ru asked in response.

    Jie flicked her forehead saying, "My silly Ru¡¯er, when did you lose your confidence in your self-acimed otherworldly looks? Aren¡¯t you the most handsome one? The peerless beauty with brains."

    "That I am," she replied matter-of-factly. "Didn¡¯t you just leave? Why are you back?"

    He snorted at her, "Do you think you can fool me? I watched you grew up. I don¡¯t have to see your face to recognize you. I¡¯m very familiar with you. Even in these girls clothes, you can¡¯t fool me." Pulling her along with himself, he added, "Just like I know that what you just said to Mr. Xiao Zhiren was wrong and you truly didn¡¯t mean to hurt him."

    "Of course, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt him," Ru replied with a sad look.

    "But you still hurt him." He stated the very obvious.

    "I didn¡¯t want to."

    "Ru¡¯er, Ru¡¯er, my dear Ru¡¯er! Have you told him that you love him?" Ru was stunned frozen as she stared at him.

    "I... I don¡¯t lov-love him." Ru stammered in her speech making Jie smile at her.

    "Stupid little girl. Tell me, he just cried because of you. How are you feeling?" Rubbing her hand, he said, "Be honest with me."

    Ru pursed her lips trying to formate her words. "I don¡¯t know. But my heart is clenching and it¡¯s really painful. I¡¯m not sure whether I hurt him or hurt myself."

    He patted her head and said, "Then my genius cousin, do you still need me to word out this feeling?" Ru stayed quiet as he continued, "You once told me that one of the worst pains in life is seeing the person you love crying. And the reason for those tears is you."

    "I said that?" Ru asked in disbelief.

    "Yes, you did." He replied.

    "Woah! I¡¯m really smart." Even in this situation, her narcissism was intact and it was really surprising for Jie. She lifted her eyes to look at Jie and asked, "Do you think I love him?" Jie nodded. "I¡¯m screwed."

 Chapter 225 Vinegar Bottle

    "Congrattions!" Jie said in a gleeful manner.

    "For what?" Ru gave him an incredulous look.

    "Finally, there is something that made you ept that you¡¯re not as omnipotent as you believes yourself to be," replied Jie.

    "Does it seem funny to you?" She looked at him with a warning gaze.

    "It¡¯s not funny. Not at all," he said. "But it¡¯s slightly difficult to believe that someone has that much hold on you. It¡¯s unimaginable."

    Ru also thought about this problem. She had never let anyone have any hold on her. She was punished so many times in her life only because she didn¡¯t have the will to let others control her. But now, a single man was messing with her. He even managed to get ess to a heart she had sealed behind iron walls.

    She rubbed her forehead anxiously as she said, "I need something to eat." With that, she already made her way to the food table.

    Jie was left facepalming himself. He trailed behind her and pulled her ear saying, "Dumbo! Go and look for him. Stop eating!"

    Ru pped the back of his hand. "Let go, Sticky-fingers! My mind is on a break, let me eat first."

    Jie rolled his eyes at her. At the name she just gave him and the excuse she came up with. "You need to do better than that to get rid of me, Spider-Monkey!" Ru shrugged him off and continued to stuff food in her mouth. "Aren¡¯t you worried about him? What if he did something? Or what if he gave up on you?"

    "He won¡¯t give up," Ru imed positively.

    "And how do you know that?" Jie retorted while raising his brows at her questioningly.

    "Because if there is one thing that Zhiren is proud of, that is his love for me. He cannot give up on that." Ru¡¯s answer left Jie stunned. When did she start talking like this? She was a narcissist but her confidence came from within and only for herself. She had never shown this much confidence in another person before. Wasn¡¯t she just being narcissist on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s behalf now? How unbelievable!

    "Are you just making excuses so that you don¡¯t have to abandon your food?"

    "Oi, Rat-Brain! Why are you always against me and my food? What? Are you that jealous of my love affair with food?" A blue vein bulged up on Jie¡¯s forehead. "Even Zhiren doesn¡¯t stop me from eating."

    With a sneaky smile on his face, he said, "Are you reallyparing me with Xiao Zhiren?" He clicked his tongue as he added, "I never thought you¡¯d do it."

    "Don¡¯t act with me." Ru pped his head. "You and I both are well aware that I can neverpare you with anyone. You have been the only constant and normal one in my life. Unlike you, I will never bring a third person between our friendship. Blood is thicker than water and I¡¯ll prove that you."

    "I didn¡¯t bring a third person between us as well."

    "My Prince Jie, no matter what you say... We have indeed grown distant from the time you got married." Ru stated in an indifferent tone.

    "But even with that distance, we are the closest to each other. There is no one who can im to know me better than you and the same goes for you."

    "That¡¯s because I¡¯m the smartest one between the two of us. And I¡¯m still holding our bond together."

    Jie really wanted to smack her head now. "Yes. I ept defeat. You¡¯re the queen as you had been from the beginning." He held her arm and pulled her away from the food saying, "Now, My food ghost! I¡¯ll give you the delicacies of the world. Just go and look for Xiao Zhiren."

    Ru scowled at him and seeing the crumbs around her lips, he shook his head. He rummaged out his hanky and wiped her face like she was a kid as he said, "You are always clumsy with food."

    "I am not." Ru denied instantly making him pinch her cheeks.

    "Yes, you are!" He said but as he was about to pinch her cheeks again, a voice made his body stiffen up.

    "What is going on here?" Both Jie and Ru turned and looked at Xu Mey standing wide-eyed before them. "Ah-Jie, what are you doing with this girl?"

    Both Ru and Jie shared a look because they both realized the issue here. Xu Mey knew Ru in her male avatar and she had never met Ru in her female avatar. Well, neither did she know that Ru was, in fact, a girl. So, right now, their position was really ambiguous.

    Ru wanted to help him out of this but he held her arm and turned to face Xu Mey. "Baby, meet..." He looked at Ru who getting his idea, continued, "Quinn Knight."

    "Why are you holding my husband¡¯s hand?" Xu Mey¡¯s eyes were stuck on their hands that were only touching because Jie had to hold back Ru from having a fit of anger.

    Before Jie could open his mouth, Ru replied, "Why? Is he your property?"

    "He¡¯s my husband." Xu Mey imed as she stared at Ru hatefully.

    Ru was quite indifferent considering all of Xu Mey¡¯s anger was nothing before Ru. Also, all the tricks up Xu Mey¡¯s sleeves were personally taught by Ru. Why would she be bothered?

    That¡¯s why her reply was overbearing as she said, "Husband. Not property."

    Xu Mey¡¯s fingers curled in her palms as she said, "He¡¯s not your property as well."

    "Naturally, he is not. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not trying to im him like you." Ru replied with a smirk while Jie was confused whether tough or cry. He really wanted tough though. He knew Ru could tick off anyone with her words but damn! This was the first time, she did it in her female role. This was remarkable progress.

    Someone remind himter to give a big round of apuse to Xiao Zhiren who managed to put this femme fatale look on his stubborn and annoying best friend.

    "You!" Xu Mey was ready to pounce on Ru.

    "Don¡¯t even think about being violent. I¡¯m better at it." Ru warned her not out of the goodwill of her heart but just because of Jie.

    Xu Mey turned to Jie, "Are you gonna stand there?"

    Jie looked at Ru who replied, "Go. I¡¯ll see youter." He nodded and nted a kiss on her head softly.

    "Do what I told you. Don¡¯t run back to food." Ru nodded her head reluctantly and watched him leave with his wife who was ring all the way.

    Ru shook her head seeing them leave as she mumbled, "She¡¯s still cute but annoying as well." With a sigh, she turned on her heels saw a frozen statue not far from her. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face was pale as he looked at her indignantly. "Hey, Zhiren!" Ru waved her hand at him.

    But he humphed and turned to leave. Ru ran after him and blocked his way. "What¡¯s wrong? Are you still angry about what I said outside? I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly. You know me. I am like that. I get those madness fits. It¡¯s very normal."

    Xiao Zhiren stared at her face oddly and said, "I also thought I knew you. But I don¡¯t. I used to believe that I have seen all kinds of precious stones in this world but then you came in my life and made me believe that the most precious stone for me was your heart. I thought your stone heart just don¡¯t feel anything but today, I learned that I was wrong. You just don¡¯t feel anything for me."

    "What are you getting at?" Ru asked in confusion.

    Xiao Zhiren held both her arms and said, "What I mean is that... That guy just kissed you. You smiled at him lovingly and talked to him nicely. You even fought for him. But what about me? Am I not worth even that much to you?"

    Ru pursed her lips as his words made sense to her finally. This vinegar bottle was over-imaginative as always. Did he just take Jie as hispetition? Like seriously? Ru wanted to shout at him, ¡¯Idiot! That¡¯s my cousin brother you¡¯re talking about!¡¯

    But instead of shouting at him, sheughed. Yes, yes. Sheughed pouring her heart out with that mesmerizingugh that made even Xiao Zhiren forget all about his anger for a moment.

 Chapter 226 Cube Of Sugar

    As Xiao Zhiren broke out of her enchantingughter, he left her and walked away. He wanted to yell at her or probably p some sense into her but he couldn¡¯t do so. He loved her, she didn¡¯t. She wasn¡¯t obliged to value his feelings. He was really aiming in a dark room. It was that simple.

    For the first time, he believed that love wasn¡¯t blind, the person he loved had love-blindness. Herck of empathy left him annoyed. He didn¡¯t know what to do or what to say but he sure wanted to do something.

    He took a champagne ss from one of the servers and gulped it down in anger. He was really trying hard to keep himself level-headed. After all, it was his own fault for loving a headstrong person. No, it was his stupid heart¡¯s fault that just kept saying that she was the one. It had to be her at any cost.

    Before he could walk far, Ru walked up to him and dragged him towards the elevator. "Let me go. Why are you following me now?" Xiao Zhiren tried to free himself but her grip was vice-like. How could he free himself unless she really wanted to let him free?

    It was rare for Ru to call something hers much less someone. And now that she had already epted Xiao Zhiren as hers in her heart, how was she going to let him free? In his dreams!

    She didn¡¯t reply to him at all and took him straight to the room which was booked for him. They had received the key cards when they boarded the cruise ship. After pulling him inside the room, she closed the door and pushed him against the closed door.

    This scene had something really wrong with it and Xiao Zhiren could feel it. But what was it? Ah! He was supposed to be taking the lead here. But was she really taking the lead? He didn¡¯t trust her very much at this point.

    Staring at his face, Ru asked, "Tell me, are lemons on sale these days?"

    "What?" Xiao Zhiren was perplexed. Where did the lemon talke from?

    "No? Then do you have some contract with lemon retailers?" She asked again and his response was still the same.

    He knitted his brows as he asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

    "It¡¯s not like that either." Ru nodded her head as if thinking something and said, "Then it must be that you have a personal lemon garden." Knocking his head, she added, "How else could you have an unlimited supply of lemons that you¡¯re eating all the time?"

    "I don¡¯t eat lemons." Xiao Zhiren replied as he took her words literally.

    "I used to think that you¡¯re a smart person. But you turned out to be the dumbest." Xiao Zhiren looked at her wide-eyed. "Instead of using your brain, why are always using your hyperactive imagination?" She poked on his chest as she red at him. "Is it fun burning your own heart with your own baseless jealousy?"

    Xiao Zhiren turned his face away saying, "I don¡¯t have a hyperactive imagination. You just have a blocked heart."

    Ru rolled her eyes at his response. "Why don¡¯t you ask me first? Huh? Can¡¯t you just question me? Is it so difficult toe to me and say, ¡¯My little chili, who was that guy? Why did he kiss you? Is he close to you?¡¯ Tell me, is it really that tough?"

    Xiao Zhiren might not know where this was going but he was certainly dazed when she called herself his again with right. It sounded nice. Oh, wait! Was his anger again giving up on him? No, no! Not this time. Not so easily!

    Hold your ground Zhiren! He willed himself to be strong as he faced her and said, "It¡¯s not like you ever answer anything clearly. Most of your answers are always vague!" Ru opened her mouth to retort when he spoke again, "Fine, I¡¯m asking now. Who was he? Would you answer?"

    "Naturally I will." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders making him stunned again. "Let¡¯s say that there is a circle in my heart and it contains all the people who matter the most to me. And the rest is out of that circle. And those out of the circle have nothing to do with. Their words or actions have nothing to do with me. But the ones in that circle are like my reversed scale. Jie is the person inside that circle. That¡¯s how important he is to me."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face darkened instantly as his eyes turned scarlet whether it was in rage or sadness, he didn¡¯t know. Ru pped his face, not with force but still did so.

    "I just told you to keep your lemon consumption under control. Would you let me finish?" With an aggrieved look, he nodded. "He¡¯s important because he was my first contact with the world outside my family. He was the first who knew who or what I am. He was the first friend I made. He¡¯s been my best friend since I was six years old. He had seen me at my worst and at my best."

    "He obviously means more to you," he snickered sadly.

    "Argh! I¡¯m gonna pull your hair out now. Are you even listening? He¡¯s my best friend. My maternal cousin. Besides, he¡¯s married and has two kids. Would you stop brooding now?!" Ru screamed at his face while Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lit up brightly.

    "He¡¯s rted to you by blood?" He asked again for re-confirmation.

    "Yes!" Ru snapped at him.

    Xiao Zhiren grinned like a lunatic. With his arms around her waist, he picked her up in the air and twirled around in glee. Ru was so shocked by this action that she forgot to react. And even when he ced her back on the floor, she had yet toe back to Earth. It was not hard to guess that this was another first for her, right? Who would dare touch formidable Young Master Ru so casually?

    He kissed her cheeks forgetting all about the earlierments. What? She was always that indifferent. He couldn¡¯t hold that against her. If he had an active and nosy conscious like Ru¡¯s, he would have heard a voice in his head saying, ¡¯Excuses, excuses. You just need any excuse to be with her.¡¯ And Xiao Zhiren would have happily nodded along.

    Who cared about the context when the content was so delicious?

    "But is he that important in your heart that he can kick me out of your life like a fly from milk?" Xiao Zhiren suddenly felt really pressured. He finally met someone rted to Ru. The real Ru. Someone who could be called her family. It was a huge deal. What if he didn¡¯t like him? Would she really leave him because of her cousin¡¯s opinions?

    Ru was finally jolted awake and noticed how she was still caged between his arms. However, it didn¡¯t even cross her mind that she was supposed to push him away. eptance can do wonders and as she epted her feelings, naturally she didn¡¯t have any ns on pushing him away anymore.

    "I don¡¯t take people¡¯s opinions that seriously in my life," was Ru¡¯s reply which indirectly said that she won¡¯t let Jie kick Xiao Zhiren out of her life.

    "Even at the stake of your rtionship with him. Would you really choose me?" He asked again.

    "I have always despised crossroads in life. I¡¯d either have everything or nothing. There had never been a middle road for me. I don¡¯t do that." She replied assuringly.

    For the first time, Xiao Zhiren could feel her sincerity; The ring sincerity of her feelings. She hadn¡¯t said the words but he had a hunch but he was afraid to ask. What if it was yet again his hyperactive imagination ying with him? He didn¡¯t want to take that risk.

    "And anyway, let¡¯s suppose that my life is a ss of milk," Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows snapped together as she continued, "Then you¡¯re that cube of sugar that my best friend had been trying to mix into my life since the first time you dered openly that you love me. Even though I was under the disguise of Alev Knight, your feelings scared me for the first time. I¡¯d have run far away from you if Jie hadn¡¯t said otherwise."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s lips curled up slightly at the reminder. That was the night when he first time imed her as his. He was scared that he would have topete with Alev Knight for her affection but who knew Alev Knight was her own alter ego in the end?

 Chapter 227 Spiked Intimacy

    Ru noticed the way he kept looking at her face with a lingering smile and her brows puckered up in uncertainty. "Did I say something funny?" She asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

    "Isn¡¯t it really funny?" He asked in return and continued, "This is the very first time, you are making an effort to clear up my misunderstanding. You have never done this before. You once told me that you hate exining yourself. Then why are you exining yourself to me?"

    Ru cleared her throat in a cloddish manner. Avoiding his burning gaze, she said, "Can¡¯t you tell?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head. "I can¡¯t tell."

    "Aren¡¯t you smart?" She asked again looking straight into his eyes this time.

    "But didn¡¯t you just mention that I¡¯m the dumbest one here?" He used her words right back at her.

    "So, you¡¯re epting that you¡¯re the dumbest?" She asked incredulously.

    "First of all, I don¡¯t have the courage to disagree with you, love." Ru pursed her lips as he continued, "And second of all..." He took an unnecessary pause to test her patience.

    Ru pped his chest saying, "Aren¡¯t you gonna continue? Why are you dragging it for so long?"

    Xiao Zhiren smiled at her response and said, "Second of all, when ites to you, my little chili, your Zhiren bes the dumbest one who only knows how to love you. With you around only my heart beats, the mind stops functioning."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him as she said, "If your mind shuts off, then where do those clever and cheesy remarkse from?"

    "Obviously, from my heart." Xiao Zhiren replied matter-of-factly. When Ru gave him a skeptical look, he continued, "Let¡¯s ept it. Between us, I can never win in the brain game. You¡¯re smarter than me." The proud peacock¡¯s feathers stood up proudly at this remark. "So, I can only win with my sincere heart."

    "You just have an answer for everything, right?" Her face contorted as she tried to hide her smile from him.

    "Naturally." He replied and silence prevailed in the room.

    Ru wiggled out of his arms and surveyed the room which she had to share with him for two days. Apparently, it was an established fact as girlfriend and boyfriend, they¡¯d be staying in the same room. Was that logic really feasible?

    Calling it a room was an understatement. It was more like an exclusive suite.

    It had everything that a normal person could wish for. A king-sized bedroom separated from the living area with a tinted ss wall. A wall of ss right in front of the bed looking over at the bed of the sea with a wraparound personal balcony. As it¡¯s mentioned, this luxurious suite could amodate any normal person. However, Ru wasn¡¯t normal, to begin with.

    Probably that¡¯s why Xiao Zhiren saw no change in her expressions as she looked at the vast sea. He hugged her from behind and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Love, do you like me?"

    His lips were attached to the skin of her neck, trailing over it temptingly. He peppered kisses along its length, his mouth sucking and nipping on her skin. Ru took a sharp intake of breath as she said, "I¡¯d have thrown you in the sea by now if I didn¡¯t like you."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled against her skin and hot breath fanned dangerously on her skin. His tongue darted out to nibble on her earlobe and Ru had to bit her tongue to keep herself fromughing. That tingling sensation was hard to suppress though. "Let me rephrase my question then... Do you love me?"

    He stopped teasing her skin as he was eager to know the answer. He needed that answer to breathe now. It was something he couldn¡¯t live without anymore.

    He was already in her personal space, all she needed to do was turn around and that¡¯s what she did. She turned around and circled her arms around his neck taking him by surprise. With just the right amount of heat, she looked; not at him but into him. But his eyes were masking her feelings perhaps he held an even higher intensity than her. Or maybe he just knew the right blend of seduction which she was oblivious to.

    However, she still didn¡¯t hesitate before crashing her lips against his smoothly. Her body was poised, a just-right blend of rxation and tension. She personally knew how bad she was at kissing but ording to her, words might not be enough tomunicate with him anymore. She needed him to read her feelings and she tried her best to convey it with that kiss.

    It seemed like her will tomunicate with his heart was strong since the kiss was intense to Xiao Zhiren. For a man to feel butterflies in his stomach... Sigh! He felt really like a love-struck fool.

    His hands glided from her waist to her cheeks as he slightly pulled away, resting his forehead against hers, he hummed, "Are you trying to hide from someone again? Ow!" Ru tugged at his hair making him yelp in disbelief.

    "Forget it, if you can¡¯t understand," Ru was going to pull away but he gripped onto her hips and pulled her back.

    His lips softly grazed against hers, teasing her slowly. "I understand. You and your crazy heart that is certainly beating for me now." He gave a cheeky smile and as Ru opened her mouth to talk, he didn¡¯t hesitate before letting his tongue in. His pace was fast as he ravished her mouth.

    A sound escaped from the back of Ru¡¯s throat making her want to scream. How could her body betray her like this? Her heart had already betrayed her. And now this body wasn¡¯t even working with her. But since the other person was her Zhiren, how could shein?

    With their locked lips, they stepped back one step at a time and Ru finallynded on soft sheets. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s only dilemma was that they were fully clothed! But still, he hovered above her still kissing every single part of her exposed skin.

    Ru¡¯s body twitched as she said, "This bloody thing is too soft. I feel like I¡¯ll sink in."

    Xiao Zhirenughed at herment and with a twist, pulled her over his own body. "I told youst time, this whole body is all yours. Use it as you want."

    "Huh! You don¡¯t even dare to fight with me for your right." She replied while ring at him.

    He pushed her hair away from the face and said, "I can fight with the whole world for you. But I can never fight with you."

    "Why is that?" She asked.

    He kissed the tip of her nose making her scrunch it up and said, "Because I love you."

    "You just need excuses to say that..." Ru trailed.

    "Indeed. But one thing is confirmed."

    "What?"

    He pointed between both of them and said, "Between us, you¡¯re definitely gonna be the one at the top."

    Ru¡¯s eyes went round before she gritted her teeth and hit his jaw with her head. "Can you be nice for once?" Heined holding his jaw.

    Ru sat back up on the bed and said, "People can either be honest or nice. And I prefer being honest."

    He wished he could refute her words but why was it so difficult? He also sat up but a wave of vertigo made him dizzy. He rubbed his temple as a headache made him clench his eyes shut.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Ru asked seeing him acting weird all of a sudden.

    He loosened his tie and unbuttoned a couple of buttons saying, "I don¡¯t know. My head is heavy. And I¡¯m feeling really hot. Is there no air conditioner?"

    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that hot."

    "Ants are crawling all over my body." His fair skin suddenly tinted red at a speed visible to the eye.

    Ru¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up and she pulled his arm. She held his wrist and took his pulse. "Did you eat or drink anything?"

    He stressed on his mind. "Just a ss of champagne before you pulled me to the elevator." He replied.

    She got up and stepped away from him. "Your body temperature is high. And your heart is beating abnormally fast. I think... I think your drink was spiked."

    "What?"

 Chapter 228 Poor You!

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s vision had gotten blurry but he could still see how Ru was maintaining distance between them. "What kind of a drug it is?"

    "Use your own brain. Obviously, it¡¯s some kind of an aphrodisiac." She stated rather calmly.

    "Why are you moving away?" The whites of his eyes had already turned scarlet with the way he was trying to control his urges. He had never felt like this before. He felt like someone had ced him in an oven. It was burning hot. His mind was slowly getting hazy and to hold back his sanity, he was biting the inside of his cheek and he bit so hard that he could taste his own blood.

    As he managed to hold onto thest shred of his sanity, he said, "Do you think I¡¯ll pounce on you? Such little faith. Tsk. Tsk."

    Ru who stood on a side kept her eyes on his each and every move. By now, he hadpletely unbuttoned his shirt and his hard rock chest was right there for her to see. "Men and animals in heat can¡¯t be trusted."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s jaw dropped to the floor. No, no. Not figuratively. He literally fell to the ground and his jaw hit the floor. YES! That was the extent of his shock over her words. Because of the anger that he felt inside, his body heated up even more. He didn¡¯t bother answering her and ran towards the ensuite bathroom.

    He threw his shirt on the floor and sat down in the tub as he turned on the water. He didn¡¯t even bother strippingpletely. The cold water slowly soaked his body but it wasn¡¯t much effective. He even had the illusion that the cold water and his burning body were making a sizzling sound at the contact.

    Ru was leaning against the doorframe as she watched him with ease. There was no worry or anxiousness on her face at all. Ru took a step inside and sat at the marble edge of the tub. "Under the cold water, you¡¯ll only end up with a cold. It won¡¯t be effective on the drug that is in your system."

    "Do you have a better idea?" He gritted out.

    "How about I throw you in the sea?" Ru¡¯s response made him forget all about his pain as he red at her.

    "I¡¯ll freeze in the sea!" He shouted back.

    "Of course, you won¡¯t. I guarantee." Ru seemed really sure.

    "And how can you be this sure?" He asked even though he was unwilling to ask.

    "Because before you turn into a popsicle, the sharks would have munched on you as a night snack." Ruughed out at her own joke. Xiao Zhiren lifted his wet arm to touch her but she moved away. "Hey, don¡¯t wet my clothes. Or I¡¯ll really throw you in the sea." He hit his hand on the water sshing it. "On second thought, sharks won¡¯t eat a cheeky person like you. Only I can put up with you."

    "Are you a shark?" He asked in return. "Oh, no. You¡¯re the dinosaur. How can I forget?"

    "Huh? But dinosaurs have extinct from this world." Ru argued back.

    "You¡¯re an exception left for me. So, I should be the one saying that I am the only one who can put up with you!" In his argument, Xiao Zhiren hadn¡¯t even noticed that his body wasn¡¯t as painful as before. Definitely, it had something to do with Ru who was trying to distract him with this ridiculous argument.

    "But you can¡¯tin about putting up with me."

    "Why can¡¯t I?" He shot back at her.

    "Because you love me," Ru answered with a shrug of her shoulders leaving Xiao Zhiren a defeated soldier in this battle. As he had said, when it came to using the brain, he really couldn¡¯t win from her. He was not herpetition at all.

    "Don¡¯t you think you should be helping me right now to ease this pain?"

    "What do you think I¡¯m doing? Having a tea time party with you?" Ru snapped at him in response.

    "Most girls would have offered themselves to ease my pain." He mumbled.

    "Then find most girls. I definitely have some principles." Ru humphed at him while rolling her eyes.

    "Huh? So, you won¡¯t let me touch you at all?" Ru gave him an appalling look. How could he be worried about that right now?

    "Look, I definitely am not gonna let you touch me when there is no difference between you and an animal who wants to mate."

    "So, I can do whatever I want when I¡¯m sober?" Ru gripped his hair and dunked his head in the tub full of water. As he came up to breathe, he said, "It was worth a try."

    Just like he was helpless before her brain, she was helpless before his cheekiness. Both made each other speechless but perhaps, that was the road leading to the time where words weren¡¯t even necessary between them.

    A grunt escaped his mouth involuntarily and he stared at her face. Whether his face was wet because of the water or his own sweat, he couldn¡¯t tell the difference at this point.

    "Do you really have no solution? You¡¯re a genius in medicines." His hope was still on her. He also didn¡¯t have any wish to touch her when he wasn¡¯t even in his own senses. That would be disrespecting their love and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to blemish his love. The pain was bearable but using her body to ease this pain... Even the idea was unbearable for him.

    "Do you think I don¡¯t want to help you? Of course, I do. But..." Ru looked hesitant. "I¡¯ve always kept a distance from these so-called love drugs. Aphrodisiac and I never crossed the path in my entire life. I told you I have principles and this kind of drugs is against my principles."

    Between the waves of pain in his body, he felt his admiration and adoration for her rising. She really never did anything that was against her conscious. She really was a masterpiece.

    "But if I had silver needles, I could have lessened your pain. Even if I knock you out, the drug might affect your body." That was her problem. She forgot her silver needles in the clothes she took off at Melody¡¯s ce. "It was in my jeans but while changing so many gowns... Itpletely skipped from my mind that I was supposed to take my silver needles."

    "Couldn¡¯t you tell me sooner?" He screamed at her in resentment. "Those clothes are in the suitcase outside."

    "Really?" She ran outside and rummaged through the clothes and found the jeans which had her pouch of silver needles and in this case, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s savior. "Come out." She called him out and made himy down on the floor while he was still drenched.

    Her hand touched his chest and he shouted, "Don¡¯t touch me. You¡¯re making the drug worse."

    Ru pped his head, "If I won¡¯t touch, how will I treat you?" After berating him, she used a couple of needles on his chest near his heart and some on his neck. She was trying to control the blood flow in his body to bring his heart rate at a normal level. After inserting a bunch of needles in his body, she sat beside him and closed her eyes.

    "Why can¡¯t I move my body?" His question made her eyes shot open.

    She pulled a needle from his neck and coughed awkwardly, hiding her mistake. "I thought not moving will help."

    "How long will it take?" He asked.

    "An hour or so." She replied. "I can¡¯t find herbs here. Otherwise, you would have been fine by now."

    "Hm."

    "Now, the question is who really drugged you?" Ru¡¯s mind was obviously working overtime as she couldn¡¯t just sit still. This curiosity was too much for her. But now that, his body was not in any danger, Ru thought about what just conspired andughed out.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face and joined in.

    "Someone actually drugged you, why are youughing?" She looked at him oddly.

    "And you¡¯re the one stuck with me, why are youughing?" He gave his response.

    "It just seems funny. It¡¯s my first time seeing a man getting drugged." She replied in between herughter. "I always thought the girls were the victims in this. But poor you!"

 Chapter 229 Belong To Me

    It took her a while to get over the fact that he was actually the victim of being drugged. But when she did...

    "Do you have aptop here?" Xiao Zhiren gave her a weird look. Why was her topic of conversations changing so fast?

    "Yes, but why do you want it?" He asked while his eyebrows drew together.

    "I want to learn how to dance." Her derisive tone made him purse his lips. "Obviously, if I¡¯m asking for it. I have some use for it." She added.

    "And I¡¯m just asking about your purpose. Why are you always in the mood of an argument?" His jaw was clenched as he red at her.

    "Keep your temper in control. The drug might re-up again if you¡¯re stimted like this." Ru replied and got up to rummage through her bag of clothes.

    "If you talk like a normal person then I won¡¯t be provoked if you¡¯d just stop infuriating me." He said in annoyance.

    Ru took the same shirt which he had gotten for her and turned to look at him saying, "I tried acting like a normal person once. Apparently, people don¡¯t like normal." With those words, she went inside the bathroom to change out of her gown.

    Xiao Zhiren scowled as he looked at her back in her normal clothes. "Why did you change?"

    "You can¡¯t go back to the banquet. And for sure, I won¡¯t go either. So, why should I suffer in that long gown?" She gave him a look as if looking at an idiot. "Now, yourptop..." He pointed towards the table and she turned it on. "What¡¯s the password?"

    "Why don¡¯t you just use your hacking skills for that?" Ru coughed at his reply.

    "I¡¯m trying to be civil." She replied.

    "Little chili..." He said.

    "Hmm..."

    "Little chili..." He said again.

    "What? Just tell me the password already! I¡¯m in no mood to y." She shouted angrily.

    "I¡¯m trying to tell you that the password is ¡¯littlechili¡¯ in lowercase with no space." He borated himself making her face twitch.

    She typed it and it actually unlocked which made her expressions to shift again. She had no words for him. "Now would you like to tell me what are you trying to do?" He asked again because the silence wasn¡¯tfortable to him while he was still poked with so many silver needles.

    "I¡¯m trying to find the culprit behind your spiked drink," she replied calmly while her fingers kept typing on theptop and her eyes were stuck to the screen in concentration. She had tied the hair in a low pony which was the only hairstyle she knew. Her face was clean without even that thinyer of make-up. Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t move his eyes away from her.

    "Why do you think that it was intentional?" He inquired.

    "Why don¡¯t you?" She gave him a fleeting nce of disbelief.

    "There is a possibility that I wasn¡¯t the target..." He trailed.

    Ru snickered, "You want me to believe that such coincidences actually happen in this world?" He thought about her words and nodded. "I wouldn¡¯t believe that even if you kill me." She was firm as she continued, "And by the way, don¡¯t you find it weird that when you were upset, a waiter conveniently offered you a ss of champagne?" Now that she said it like that, he indeed had a weird feeling about this. "And that too in an empty corridor where that waiter wasn¡¯t even supposed to be in the first ce."

    "You really think someone is behind it?" Ru nodded her head and continued back to type.

    "Exactly that¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to look through the surveince cameras to find the culprit."

    "You¡¯re gonna hack into their control room?"

    "Bloody Bugger!" Ru cursed and slid theptop away in horror.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" He was alert immediately. Her face expressions were odd. As if she encountered something she was scared of. Huh? Scared of? And my little chili? Doesn¡¯t sound very right.

    "I can¡¯t hack their security system," Ru answered him in a small voice.

    "Really? There is something that you can¡¯t do?" Xiao Zhiren was astonished, to say the least. It was so unlike her. "But why can¡¯t you?"

    "It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t. Of course, I can. But... I don¡¯t want to anymore." She answered sorting her words carefully. Xiao Zhiren¡¯s expression told her that he wanted her to exin herself but he wasn¡¯t voicing out his question. There was tension between his brows but he wasn¡¯t willing to push her for an answer. Unknowingly, Ru smiled at his reaction. She knew how hard he was trying to hold in his curiosity and it touched her heart.

    Aish! He definitely was seducing her again. But how much more was he nning on seducing her? Wasn¡¯t she already lost in this game of seduction?

    "Do you want me to tell you why I don¡¯t want to?" She asked looking at his face.

    "I do but if you don¡¯t want to..." He didn¡¯t continue his words as he saw hering to sit beside him on the floor again.

    Her hands started taking back the needles from his body as she spoke, "The reason why I stopped the hacking is simple. The security system is designed by the Xenos."

    "Those mysterious Tech experts?" He widened his eyes in surprise.

    "Indeed." She nodded her head. "And this cruise ship also belongs to Xenos Group. I just didn¡¯t pay attention before."

    "What do you mean?"

    Ru cleaned her silver needles and continued, "You can say that Xenos Group belongs to someone from my family. Naturally, it¡¯s the same person who made me the hacker I am today. If I hacked into this system, it¡¯ll alert everyone in my family. It won¡¯t take them long to trace it back to me and then..." With a long sigh, she said, "Then they will tie me up and take me back home."

    Obviously, she was exaggerating but it worked on Xiao Zhiren very well as his expressions were unsightly. As he was free to move now, he sat up and held her hand, "Don¡¯t hack. I don¡¯t want you to leave me."

    Ru smiled at his reaction. "I¡¯m not leaving. And rx, I won¡¯t hack as well. I have other ways..."

    She still didn¡¯t mention that her family was Xia n because if Xiao Zhiren knew his reaction would have been over the top. Ru vaguely remembered that she heard once that although her n never participated in this High Summit of other six ns, her n was indeed responsible for the security measures. She never thought that to ensure the safety, her n provided this ce of meeting over the sea.

    As for the Xenos Group, it was operated by the elders of Shadowwick State. And Ru had learned all her hacking skills from those elders directly. Unlike other people of her generation, her masters had always been the real elders.

    Even though she was faced with this problem, she didn¡¯t want to give up. She would definitely find out the culprit.

    "Why don¡¯t you just let it go? I¡¯m alright now." Xiao Zhiren brought here to rx but her mind games were still going on.

    "Someone tried to mess with something that belongs to me. How can I let this go so easily?" She gritted out unconsciously.

    "So..." He slid close to her and added, "I belong to you now?"

    "Don¡¯t you?" She turned her face to find him only a few inches away from her.

    "I naturally believe that I belong to you. It was a matter of time when you¡¯d ept this fact." He stroked the side of her face lovingly.

 Chapter 230 I Do!

    One of the sweetest feelings in love is the one when your loved one is possessive about you. Not in an overwhelming way but in a rightful way. As if iming that you belong to me and I won¡¯t let others mess with you at all... Not even myself.

    And that¡¯s what Xiao Zhiren was feeling inside. He didn¡¯t know that she could make him fall head over heels for her all over again with such a simple sentence. But the point was that since that simple sentence came from her, it meant everything to him. Just like her single word could hurt him, another single word could put him on cloud nine.

    As for Ru, she had already made it clear that she had a clear distinction between people who belonged to her and those who didn¡¯t. Xiao Zhiren had already entered the circle of her heart, how could she not be possessive about him? She would never let anyone hurt anyone that was close to her heart. And Xiao Zhiren was now ruling in her heart, naturally, she won¡¯t allow anyone to bring him any harm.

    "Stop gawking. I know I¡¯m deadly gorgeous." Ru¡¯s conceited self broke Xiao Zhiren¡¯s loving gaze on her face. He rolled his eyes at her helplessly. "Why are parading around me half-naked? Go and get changed."

    He looked down at his upper naked body and then looked back at her with a sly smile. "Why? Are you feeling something? Is your heart beating, ba-thump, ba-thump? Or your face is heating up like a hot potato?"

    "Neither. I¡¯m getting annoyed." She replied ndly.

    "You really don¡¯t feel anything?" He asked again to reconfirm.

    "Nah! I¡¯ve seen better." His expression darkened at her reply and she hit his chest with her head this time, "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s given? I grew up as a male between males. It had been obvious that I¡¯d have seen a lot."

    Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t even refute her words at all. She indeed grew up in different circumstances than his. But why would someone hide her own gender for so long and without anyints? Although this question was nagging in his mind, he couldn¡¯t voice it out.

    He was about looking for a change of clothes when the sound of door-knocking caught his attention. He opened the door and found his brother smiling back at him, "Bro, why did youe up? The banquet is still going on and gammy is looking for you. Wooohoo..." Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes fell on his naked chest and he didn¡¯t know what to say. "Sorry to disturb you. You must have been busy with the more important stuff. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle gammy myself."

    Xiao Zhiren held the back of his neck and pulled him back. "Ran Zi, you hate using your brain. Why are you bothering now? Don¡¯t give this much trouble to your tiny little head."

    Ji Syaoran rubbed his neck and said, "Now, you¡¯re abusing your right as my elder brother. How can you insult me like this? I feel hurt?"

    "I¡¯m just warning you to not spout any nonsense to grandmother." Xiao Zhiren said. "You and I both know, she¡¯ll start nning a wedding otherwise."

    Ji Syaoranughed out saying, "Bro, you say yes. Trust me, Gammy has the resources to get you hitched right here and right now!"

    "Little brother, do you know what my own biggest wish is?" Ji Syaoran shook his head and looked at Xiao Zhiren for the answer. Xiao Zhiren, however, turned around and shouted, "Who wants chocte cake?"

    "I do!" Ru¡¯s voice enthusiastic voice came back.

    Xiao Zhiren smiled and turned back to Ji Syaoran, "My biggest wish is to hear that answer from her in a chapel."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s mouth twitched and he had to bite his bottom lip to stifle hisughter. He never knew this sneaky side of his brother. "Take her to the chapel and trick her into saying those two words. I think it¡¯ll help with your misery."

    Xiao Zhiren thought about his suggestion and patted his shoulder, "I never knew you¡¯re smart, Ran Zi. That¡¯s a very good idea. But..." With a look of despair, he added, "There is one small problem."

    "What?"

    "She¡¯ll chop me into minced meat after that." He replied making Ji Syaoran cough.

    "What are you talking about?" Ru¡¯s voice startled both brothers as they turned to look at her standing behind. "And where is my chocte cake?"

    "It¡¯sing soon." Xiao Zhiren replied. "Right, Ran Zi?"

    Getting the message, Ji Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Definitelying right up, Queenie."

    "Queenie?" Ru gave him an odd look.

    "Sorry, can¡¯t bring myself to call you Sister Quinn. Something doesn¡¯t feel right with that. It¡¯s like it won¡¯t suit you at all." He replied. "So, I thought since you have a Queen like aura that demands attention, why not just call you Queenie?"

    Ru¡¯s lips curled upward slightly with his answer. One thing that Ru hade to like about Syaoran was that his hate and love for people was written all over his face. He didn¡¯t even try to hide his dislike for someone. He was too honest and sincere but that evergreen smile of his was disturbing. It was like a reminder that he was keeping something painful within himself.

    Ru walked past Xiao Zhiren and stood beside Ji Syaoran. "Zhiren, change your clothes before Ie back." With that, she pulled the door closed from outside and looked at Ji Syaoran. "Hi, Syaoran!"

    "Hello!" Ji Syaoran replied gingerly.

    Ru hung her arm around his neck and made him walk with her. "Now, I heard you love your brother more than your life."

    "I do. There is no doubt." Ji Syaoran answered with certainty and resolve.

    "Then if someone had hurt your brother, what would you do?" She asked looking at him carefully.

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s whole persona shifted as he fumed in rage, "Who dares to touch my brother?"

    "Why don¡¯t we find that out?" She suggested while patting his shoulder to calm him down.

    "Bro is hurt?" Ru nodded in reply. "You want to find the one who hurt him?" She nodded again without any hesitation. "But how? How are we going to find that person?"

    "It¡¯s quite easy if you¡¯re on board," Ru replied with a cunning glint in her eyes.

    "I¡¯m on board. Anything for my brother." Ji Syaoran also didn¡¯t hesitate before agreeing to help. How could he hesitate?

    "I like this spirit of you. Let¡¯s go now." She took him down on the elevator and only stopped when she reached her destination.

    "What are we doing in the security section?" Ji Syaoran asked looking at the que which clearly read, ¡¯Restricted Area.¡¯

    "You¡¯re the young master of Ji Family. This ce is like a garden for you."

    "Not really. Only the family heads can enter this area."

    Ru pushed him towards the Restricted Area and as soon as he stepped over the red line, security personnel came out to block his way. Ji Syaoran looked at her as if asking, ¡¯What are you nning to do?¡¯

    And she also replied with her eyes, ¡¯Let me handle this.¡¯

    "Young Master Syaoran, you can¡¯t enter this area. Please leave." The head of security politely gave his advice to Ji Syaoran.

    "Actually, Sir... My brother here has lost something really important and we were hoping to use the surveince video to find that thing. We wouldn¡¯t be disturbing you if it wasn¡¯t urgent." Ru¡¯s eyes were looking straight into the security head¡¯s eyes as she spoke. As if she had put an enchantment on him he nodded.

    "You can enter." The security head replied while looking at her with his unfocused eyes.

    "Thank you very much." Ru dragged Ji Syaoran and walked past them.

    "How did you do that? No, actually. What did you do?" Ji Syaoran was looking at her like a ghost.

    "Nothing much. I¡¯ve just put him under light hypnosis. He¡¯ll be fine by the time we leave." Ru¡¯s answer dumbstruck Ji Syaoran. Wasn¡¯t his brother¡¯s girlfriend, a very entric character? "Don¡¯t look at me like that, we have important stuff to do."

    "You! You¡¯re really gusty. What if something went wrong?"

    "I have a trump card for such situations."

    "And that is?"

    "Why should I tell you?" Ru shirked him away and thought to herself how she couldn¡¯t just disclose her trump card which was indeed her real identity. Now she even had her identity pendant, who would dare touch Young Master Ru?

 Chapter 231 Zhirens FanClub

    Ru¡¯s eyes were glued on the screen while Ji Syaoran¡¯s eyes were stuck to her face. Before leaving the room, Ru had already untied her hair and now the long locks were left untamed. She was wearing a t-shirt with a ck and white striped pzzo which made her feminine looks to shine. Up close, Ji Syaoran did find Ru very familiar but he couldn¡¯t bring his mind to remember anything.

    "There it is..." Ru¡¯s sudden words jolted Ji Syaoran awake and the inspiration that he was feeling earlier was instantly lost as well. He looked inquisitively towards Ru and heard her say, "It¡¯s a girl as I had expected it to be."

    "Why were you sure that the culprit would be a girl?" Ji Syaoran was frowning with his attention solely on Ru. He didn¡¯t even bother looking at the screen yet. For some reason, her answer was more anticipated.

    "Idiot! Only a girl could take advantage of a drugged Zhiren. Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Ru replied matter-of-factly.

    "Bro is drugged?" Ji Syaoran¡¯s reaction seemed exaggerated to Ru.

    She rolled her eyes at him and with a thoughtful expression looked back at the screen. "Now the question is... Who is she?"

    Ji Syaoran looked at the screen and his expressions shifted instantly. "Why is she here?" He asked.

    "You know her?" Ru looked at him questioningly.

    Ji Syaoran hesitated before replying, "Bro didn¡¯t tell you about her?"

    "Was he suppose to?" Ji Syaoran nodded and she added, "Is she someone important in his life?" Ji Syaoran shook his head without even taking a second. Shrugging her shoulders, Ru said, "Then Zhiren wasn¡¯t supposed to tell me about her."

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s expression was weird as he looked at her. "I suddenly think that shirt of yours is meant just for you."

    Ru looked down at the shirt that had the inscription of ¡¯I¡¯m a little chili¡¯ and smiled at him saying, "You both brothers have a lot inmon." She clicked her tongue and asked, "Now, would you mind telling me who she is?"

    "She¡¯s from bro¡¯s fan club back in college. She had been trying to seduce him for years now." Ji Syaoran exined with a dissatisfied look.

    "I asked who she is. Do I look interested in knowing what obsession she has with your brother?" Ru¡¯s voice showed her impatience quite well along with her exasperation.

    "Her name is Ansley Barrington. Oddly, that¡¯s all I know about her." Ru nodded her head but suddenly her brows snapped together in suspicion.

    "I¡¯ve heard that name before..." She scratched her jaw in a pensive manner. "Ahan! Now, I remember it!" Ji Syaoran had to ask what she remembered when she whispered a name in his ear and asked, "Is he here?"

    Ji Syaoran nodded his head and gave her the details. Ru¡¯s next words were, "Give me the room no."

    Ji Syaoran was skeptical about her intentions but he didn¡¯t voice out his suspicions as he somehow managed to provide her with the room no. While leaving the security room, Ru tapped on the security head¡¯s shoulder awaking him from his hypnosis. Ji Syaoran was still amazed because of her expertise.

    Hypnosis wasn¡¯t a joke especially on someone with a strong mental strength such as the security head who was trained for years. But she still managed it within minutes which meant that her mental capabilities were stronger than him.

    Taking the elevator back to her own floor, she said goodbye to Ji Syaoran and walked towards the room no Ji Syaoran told her about. As she knocked on the door, she cracked her knuckles as if preparing for a fight or more like a one-sided beating.

    When the door opened, a very familiar face came in view. And that person was none other than... "Hello, your highness Adrian Alister."

    Indeed. It was none other than our Prince Adrian himself. He was the person about whom Ru asked earlier to Ji Syaoran and he had replied with, "Royal families from eight countries send their representative each year. I heard Prince Adrian came this year on behalf of his brother who was busy with something else."

    And that¡¯s why Ru asked him for Adrian¡¯s room no. The purpose for her was simple. Adrian was in for a one-sided beating! Oh, how she missed beating him!

    And that¡¯s exactly what happened, Adrian had yet to open his mouth to inquire about Ru when she held his wrist, twisted it behind his back and mmed him against the wall. The impact made his jaw hurt. It was a wonder that his teeth were intact. But all of his bones were screaming in pain.

    "Hey! Who are you? How can you treat me like this?" Adrian¡¯s face was squished against the wall along with his body. He tried to move but how could Ru let him do so? Adrian couldn¡¯t even move an inch under her strength. His muscles were for a show but Ru¡¯s weren¡¯t. Every toned muscle of her body was the result of her rigorous life.

    "Ansley Barrington. Does the name ring a bell?" She asked in a forced manner.

    "Why are you asking about my fiancee? And how do you know her?" Adrian screamed in between his grunting sounds. "Let me go before I call security. Don¡¯t you know who I am?"

    "The fact is that Prince Adrian that you don¡¯t know who I am." Ru¡¯s menacing voice put Adrian under a spell of goosebumps.

    "Who are you?" He asked vigntly as danger bells rang in his mind. Somehow, he had a feeling that he wasn¡¯t gonna like her answer at all.

    But Ru wasn¡¯t inclined towards answering him just yet. She twisted his arm, even more, making him shout in pain and said, "Wouldn¡¯t you love to know who I am? But I¡¯m not here for introductions."

    "Then why are you here?" He asked.

    "Why did you bring your fiancee to this cruise?"

    "Because she requested to tag along."

    "Hmph! It¡¯s not like you ever listen to her. What changed this time?"

    Adrian¡¯s eyes widened. "How do you know how I treat her?"

    "Forget that! And listen carefully, your fiancee spiked my boyfriend¡¯s drink and I recently also learned that she¡¯d had been pinning for him for a long time." Adrian was speechless to hear that. "Aren¡¯t you feeling degraded being her fiance?"

    It took him a minute to reply, "She always had a crush on my best friend. Not on your boyfriend. And besides, she¡¯s not my choice."

    "You bloody Brighter! Who do you think my boyfriend is?"

    "Ow! Go easy there tigress and how would I know who your boyfriend is? Unless your boyfriend is Zoran." When Ru stayed quiet in reply. The danger bell in his mind did a ding-dong. "Your boyfriend is Zoran?"

    "Why do you think I¡¯m here?" Her cross-questioning actually confirmed his fears and Adrian felt like screaming at the top of his lungs. He knew that girl was gonna get him in trouble one day.

    "Bloody Hell! She actually did that? To my best friend?" He was cursing his fiancee without even thinking. "By the way, shouldn¡¯t you be beating her? It¡¯s her fault. How am I being implicated?" He wasn¡¯t the least bit affected that she was nning on cheating on him. He was angrier because her target was still his best friend.

    Ru struck at the middle of his spine with her elbow making him grunt in pain. "It¡¯s your fault because you gave her ess to this cruise. It¡¯s your fault for having such a dumb and cheating fiancee. Andst but not least, I have a rule; I don¡¯t beat fragile, docile girls. They make me feel nauseated."

    "You¡¯re a girl as well," he pointed out.

    Ru cleared her throat and said, "But I¡¯m not docile or fragile!"

    "That I agree withpletely." He replied. "Now let me go and don¡¯t think I won¡¯t get back at you for this insult. I¡¯m Adrian Alister, you can¡¯t just beat me like this and walk away. Who gives you the right to do this?"

    "I¡¯m Quinn Knight. Does that name also ring a bell?"

    Adrian¡¯s face paled instantly, "Are you rted to Alev Knight?"

    "Guess?" Saying that Ru kicked his knee from behind making him fall on his knees. "I¡¯m warning you to keep a leash on your fiancee. I¡¯m not a very forgiving person."

    Adrian was scared by now. And even when she left him alone, he was left with a horrifying look thinking, ¡¯Why did his best friend have to date Alev Knight¡¯s rtive? Couldn¡¯t he date anyone normal?¡¯

    He rubbed his wrist which had turned red from her grip and was soon gonna leave a ck and blue bruise as a reminder. He got up and decided to deal with his stupid fiancee who really was courting death now. If she had a death wish, she was more than wee but why was she courting his death?

 Chapter 232 Godmother

    Ru hade out of Adrian¡¯s room with a very satisfied look. A sly smile was stered on her lips. There was no doubt that she was feeling really proud of herself. Not that it was anything shocking or something. After all, it¡¯d be shocking if one day Ru didn¡¯t feel proud of herself. But if Ru lost her conceitedness, she wouldn¡¯t the Ru everyone loves now, would it?

    Someone threw an empty soda can on her head and when she turned to re, she found one of those people whom she couldn¡¯t bring herself to beat. She could stab him in her mind and Blimey! Was it not just a spectacr sight to stab him bloody in her head?! But sigh... It was just in her mind.

    "Where are you lost? I called you three times already." Ru didn¡¯t reply to Jie¡¯s question. Her attention was on a little baby in his arms. "Where are youing from?" He eyed her suspiciously.

    "I had an itch in my hand, I just took care of that itch," Ru answered with her eyes still staring that little baby who kept his big eyes on her. Ru found those eyes too profound for someone aged two.

    Jie gave a mocking smile as he said, "Why don¡¯t you just say that you beat someone up?" Right at this time, Adrian came out of his room and when he saw the two people standing outside his room, he was stunned. But knowing that one of those people was Ru, he gulped visibly and made a run for his life. Jie looked at his running figure and pulled Ru¡¯s ear, "He was that ¡¯itch¡¯, wasn¡¯t he?"

    "YA! Let go of my ear first." Jie loosened his grip and she continued, "Well, doesn¡¯t he look like an itch? I had to take care of him." If only Adrian knew that Ru had turned him as insignificant as an itch. Poor Prince might have died from anger.

    Jie shook his head in distress. He really didn¡¯t know what to do with her. "Did your wife kicked you out of the room?" Ru spoke again as she looked at Jie¡¯s pajamas and a baby boy in his arms.

    "How did you guess that?" He asked with a strange expression.

    "Do I really have to guess? Your wife is too predictable. She¡¯s the typical wife. I pushed her towards anger, and she pushed you out of the room. But why is she punishing the kid with you?" Ru¡¯s eyes were still on that little baby in his arms, for some reason, she couldn¡¯t look away.

    "She¡¯s not punishing him. Our little Bao is the love of his mother." Jie spoke while lovingly stroking the head of his son who was named Zhu Bao. "But he can only sleep in my arms. That¡¯s why he is stuck with him. But then again as a son, he should have his father¡¯s back, right?"

    "Why is he staring at me?" Ru felt weird being under the scrutiny of a baby boy who was barely two and a half years old. Ru was feeling at the edge since there was a purity and innocence in those eyes that she couldn¡¯t deny. She had never been judged by such an angelic baby and before his angelic self, she really felt like a big bad demon.

    It seemed like the darkness in her heart was being challenged by the light in those big eyes. Strange world!

    "He¡¯s trying to get familiar with you," Jie replied and then asked in a cute tone to his son, "Right, Baobao? Don¡¯t you wanna know your Godmother who was invisible from the moment you were born?"

    Ru¡¯s face twitched but she really had no reply for her absence because everything she¡¯d say feels like an excuse. "Why don¡¯t you hold him?" Jie suddenly offered, taking a step towards her.

    Ru instinctively took a step back as she said, "What kind of a father are you? Aren¡¯t you worried about your only son? I might break him."

    Jie really had the urge to p her face now. "He¡¯s a boy, not a damn toy that would break in your hands." He gritted out, trying his very best to keep his temper in check.

    "Is there a difference? Don¡¯t you know, I love breaking people?" Ru retorted still keeping her distance.

    But Jie didn¡¯t give her a chance again, he directly pushed the little Bao into her arms. When Ru held him in her arms, she was feeling strange perhaps because Little Bao perfectly fit in her arms and even feltfortable. But his sparkling eyes didn¡¯t stop looking at Ru.

    "How is it feeling?" Jie asked smiling brightly. This picture of Ru holding a baby was rare. He knew that the only baby whom Ru held in her arms was her own brother and nobody else.

    "Awkward," Ru replied while Little Bao touched her face with his small but soft hands. They were so soft that Ru felt like a butterfly was caressing her face.

    "Just rx your muscles already," Jie said as he could see how tense Ru really was under his son¡¯s touch. Not that any of it was any surprise to him at all.

    "Why is he so quiet?" Ru suddenly noticed this fact. The little babies were always crying,ughing or babbling. But this milk bun in her hand was too quiet as if he was silently observing everything.

    Jie rubbed his forehead as he replied, "Don¡¯t even mention that. He¡¯s already two and a half but we have still not heard his first word. He¡¯s really well behaved but... It¡¯s disturbing that he doesn¡¯t even make the effort to talk."

    "Maybe he likes being quiet," Ru suggested and as she spoke, the milk bun in her hands ced both his hands on her cheeks and smiled. That toothless smile was dazzling and that was something Ru never expected she¡¯d say. "He doesn¡¯t look like you or Xu Mey," Ru spoke in a daze as she was still entranced by that little baby¡¯s smile.

    "I¡¯ve also noticed that. He only inherited my eyes. The rest is nothing like me or my wife." Jie agreed with her without even arguing this time. "Little Bao, that¡¯s your Godmother. You can call her Auntie Ru."

    Ru coughed at his words. "YA! Just because you became a father, don¡¯t pull me over to your senior citizen group. I¡¯m no Auntie. Look at me, does this handsome face even deserve to be tainted with a title of Auntie?" She snapped at him but seeing Little Bao¡¯s wide-eyed look, she softened her tone and her look, "Hey, little bunny! You can call me Ru. This young master allows you to just call me Ru."

    "You know, I¡¯m not a senior citizen either." Jie retorted.

    "Bloody-," with a cough again, she changed her sentence and said, "Don¡¯t get on my nerve. I don¡¯t wanna be rude to you before your little son."

    "How can someone be so infuriating?"

    "Exactly like I am," Ru answered matter-of-factly.

    "Ruru..."

    Before Jie coulde up with a response, both Ru and Jie heard a very soft voice making them stunned. Jie looked at his son and asked, "Did he just said your name?"

    "Oh, so my mind is not hallucinating?" Ru¡¯s reply confirmed his suspicion and he was left withplicated feelings of wanting to cry andugh at the same time.

    "I¡¯ve been trying to make him say Dad for so long and he didn¡¯t even budge. Why did he say your name first?"

    "How would I know that?" Ru¡¯s response was nonchnt as she saw a small head lying on her shoulder now. "When Haoran was born, he also said my name first. And mom said that kids are born with a natural affinity. Kids can easily understand a person¡¯s sincere feelings towards them through the touch."

    Ru didn¡¯t know how but her hand lifted up and she stroked that tiny head on her shoulder with a loving look in her eyes. She felt a tingling feeling in her heart when she heard her name in that soft voice.

    "I¡¯m suddenly jealous of my own son, how weird!" Jie mumbled as he looked at the look on Ru¡¯s face. Although she had been very good to him, he could see that she was bewitched by his own son now.

    And her next words really proved him right as she said, "Little bunny, you grow up fast. This Godmother has a whole world to give you."

    "You never gave me the whole world," Jie grumbled in an aggrieved tone but for some reason, tears had brimmed in his eyes because of what she said to his son. He didn¡¯t know it before but today, his best friend really seemed extraordinary.

    He remembered she was the one who always used to say, "Do you know what I love about kids?" And when he would ask what, her reply would be, "The fact that they are never mine." And that was actually really funny to her. He never thought she was naturally so good to kids. One really couldn¡¯t judge someone so easily.

    "I already gave you your whole world," she replied calmly but he was left frowning.

    "Don¡¯t lie! When did you give me the whole world?" He asked.

    Ru looked into his eyes and smiled saying, "Your world lied in your wife and I gave her to you. Do you still have a doubt?"

    Her words left him speechless.

    Ru: 1

    Jie: 0

    End of story!

 Chapter 233 Losing This Play

    The little milk bun in Ru¡¯s arms was sleeping peacefully as if there really was no fear in the whole world. "He really is smart." Jie suddenly remarked looking at his own son.

    "Why do you think so?" Ru asked with a raise of her brow.

    "He found the most protected embrace. Isn¡¯t he smart?" Jie replied with a gentle look in his eyes.

    "Where is your daughter?" Ru asked.

    "She is a hyperactive kid. So, by now she¡¯s so tired that she¡¯d sleep as soon as she hits the pillow." Jie replied with an affectionate tone. Recalling something, he asked, "Why did you hit Adrian again? You didn¡¯t even wait and hit him directly in this female avatar of yours."

    "His fiancee was coveting something of mine. He had to pay for that," Ru¡¯s voice had a dangerous edge to it which Jie could feel clearly. But there was something else as well.

    "So, Xiao Zhiren is yours now?" He asked with an inconspicuous smile on his lips.

    "Of course, he¡¯s mine. Who dares to say otherwise?" Ru replied without even thinking and it brought a full-blown smile to Jie¡¯s face.

    "Aye, why am I feeling proud of seeing you growing up?" He wiped the non-existent tears dramatically and went on, "My Ru¡¯er has finally grown into a woman." He rubbed her head making Ru feel exasperated.

    "Are you done with the performance?" She asked looking at him with narrowed eyes.

    "Ahem!" He cleared his throat and nodded, "Certainly done."

    "Good. Then take your son before I kidnap him and run away." Ru gave Little Bao back to Jie but felt a tug at her shirt. She looked down to see her shirt was fisted in Little Bao¡¯s small hands. As she uncurled his fingers, she said, "He has a strong grip. Sigh... Take him away fast. My heart is swaying. I might really take him."

    Jie chuckled as he took Little Bao in his own arms and said, "Ru¡¯er, my wife won¡¯t go easy on you if you dared to touch her son."

    "Huh? She won¡¯t be able to find me in this life," Ru replied assuringly.

    "Don¡¯t underestimate the desperation of a mother for her child. It can shake heaven." When Ru didn¡¯t give him any reply, he was surprised. Ru started walking with him silently as she decided to walk him to his door.

    "Do you want me to knock down the door for you?" Ru asked standing before Jie¡¯s room which was at the far end from her own.

    "Nah! I can manage that myself. Also, I still remember how to pick a lock." Jie said confidently.

    "It¡¯s an electronic lock. You sure you can pick this one. It¡¯ll alert the security if you did anything wrong." Ru reminded him out of goodwill this time.

    "I won¡¯t be in trouble. The ship belongs to your family, why do I have to worry?"

    "You knew?" Ru asked wide-eyed.

    "Come on, you don¡¯t pay attention but I do. Of course, I know who owns the cruise ship." Taking a brief pause, he said, "Technically, you¡¯re the owner."

    Ru didn¡¯t deny his words but neither did she ept them as well. She didn¡¯t have the heart to deny and she didn¡¯t know whether she still had the right to ept as well.

    Seeing her lost, Jie asked, "Ru, how does it feel?"

    "What?" she retorted instinctively.

    "Love," he answered.

    Ru looked at the beautiful face of Little Bao as she spoke, "It feels just like life. I feel like I have a million emotions in my heart but when I actually want to talk about it... No word seems good enough. No emotion seems true enough."

    Jie silently listened to her answer and said, "Have you heard that the one who loves more always loses?" Ru nodded in reply and he went on, "That¡¯s what is simr between you and me. We both are the ones who are losing because of loving more."

    Ru was surprised to hear his reply. "I... I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the one who loves more." She denied itpletely but something in her heart said otherwise.

    "Ru, you never had a middle ground in life. Why do you think you can have a middle ground in love? You either love him way beyond your heart¡¯s capacity or you don¡¯t love him at all. And you know better than me on which track your heart is wandering on now." Jie said in a calm manner. His words weren¡¯t hurried and he wasn¡¯t scared to tell her what she was scared to ept herself.

    "Well, goodnight! I¡¯ll see you in the morning," Jie twisted the handle of his room and sure enough, it was unlocked as he said, "Isn¡¯t she cute for leaving the door open?"

    "She¡¯s certainly not cute throwing you out of the room," Ru retorted as she was irked by his words.

    Jieughed out softly trying not to wake his son as he said, "Ru, she¡¯s certainly not as cute as you are being all jealous just because someone coveted your Xiao Zhiren."

    "You!" Ru raised her hand to punch him but he had closed the door of his room. "Hateful!" Ru screamed at his door and turned on her heels to leave.

    She soon arrived in her own room and tip-toed her way in. She thought Xiao Zhiren was sleeping but she was proved wrong when she heard his voice, "Where were you?"

    Ru looked at the bed where he wasying on his back with his eyes closed. He really seemed like he was sleeping. Was he sleeptalking?

    "I was out for a walk," Ru replied nonchntly.

    "You¡¯re gone for two hours," he stated.

    "Was I?" Ru retorted skeptically. Obviously, she wasn¡¯t keeping a track of time.

    Hearing the silence in the room, he opened his eyes and looked at Ru who was preparing to sleep on the lounge floor. "What do you think you¡¯re doing?"

    "I¡¯m looking for a ce to sleep," she replied matter-of-factly.

    "What is wrong with the bed?"

    "It¡¯s too soft," she answered while shrugging her shoulders. "Go back to sleep. I might not be able to sleep anyway. So, it¡¯s okay for me to lie down anywhere. Your body needs recovering, you should rest."

    Xiao Zhiren gave her a thoughtful look as he said, "If anywhere is good to lie down then why not just lie down with me on the bed?"

    Ru looked at his face silently. Was it his favorite hobby to find loopholes in her words?

    "Don¡¯t want to," she said straightforwardly this time. Do you know how unsafe it was to lie down beside him on that bed? What if her inner beast woke up and she pounced on him? Who would take responsibility?

    Obviously, those were her excuses because if she really pounced on Xiao Zhiren, wouldn¡¯t he be over the moon?

    "Are youing yourself or should I pick you up myself?" Xiao Zhiren offered two options kindly.

    "Don¡¯t touch me or... I¡¯ll really throw you in the sea." Ru threatened as she saw him walking towards herself.

    "You want to throw me in the sea?" Ru nodded her head vigorously. "Okay. I¡¯ll grant your wish." Ru was still frowning trying to understand his meaning but he had already slid open the ss doors and really jumped down from the balcony.

    Ru was left watching wide-eyed. She was stunned but soon, her heart shook violently and panic rose in her being. She walked up to the balcony and was about to jump when she saw him waving at her from the balcony right below theirs.

    Ru didn¡¯t think and jumped down beside him andnded perfectly. She punched him without restraint as she shouted, "Have you lost your mind? How can you just jump? Something could have gone wrong. What were you thinking?"

    Xiao Zhiren held her wrist and looked into her eyes, "I was thinking how worried you¡¯d be to see me in danger. It seems you¡¯re really scared. Why is that?" He pulled her in his arms and continued, "Sorry for worrying you but you need to stop lying to me. If you care just say you care. Don¡¯t beat around the bush. It won¡¯t do any of us any good."

    Suddenly, Jie¡¯s voice rang in her mind, "We are the ones losing, Ru. No matter how we deny it. In the end, we are really lost by loving with all of what we have. Because our love doesn¡¯t see a timeline."

    Ru had a self-deprecating smile on her face as she thought, ¡¯So, Young Master Ru, this is what you amount to. A single man managed to make you lose even before your own will.¡¯ But for the first time, losing didn¡¯t feel so wrong. If anything it felt right. But why?

    That unreasonable voice in her mind whispered back, ¡¯Because he¡¯s just right for us.¡¯

    Ru didn¡¯t want to admit defeat but she still had to. This time the score was even.

    Ru: 1

    Jie: 1

    But how strange it was that both of them were defeated in this y of love.

 Chapter 234 Sad For You

    Love had always been known as the scariest and hardest pain to heal. Because love had been the pain from the start of time and yet we need love to heal that pain as well.

    Sometimes we love someone without even knowing it ourselves. And we love so deeply that the fear of that love buries itself deep in our soul. That¡¯s when we start denying our feelings because to us, only denying would help us ovee that fear.

    One can never be prepared for the loss of a loved one but how can we be sure that one can be prepared for love?

    Ru was that person who didn¡¯t know whether she was ready for love or not but she knew in her heart she had loved Xiao Zhiren for long. Perhaps longer than he had and that was something her heart was certain about.

    "What are you thinking?"

    With her back against his chest, Ru was lost in her own thinking. His voice had vaguely registered in her mind.

    "Do you think people are scared of love?" She asked distractedly.

    "Aren¡¯t they? You¡¯re also one of those people." He stated matter-of-factly while hugging her even closer.

    Ru shook her head lightly as she replied, "I¡¯ve never been scared of love. I just didn¡¯t know it until now."

    "Then what are you scared of?" He questioned as he nuzzled her hair.

    Ru turned her face to look at him as she said, "Loss." He frowned while she continued, "People are scared of that loss that love brings with itself."

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious that when people love someone they¡¯d be scared of losing that person?" He retorted feeling certain.

    Ru snickered softly, "Fear of losing the one we love can be scary but something else is even scarier than that."

    "What?"

    "Fear of losing ourselves." Xiao Zhiren stared at her fearful look. "We are often scared to lose the pieces that we offered to that one person whom we loved. Just like the fear of knowing that ¡¯good¡¯ in ¡¯goodbye¡¯ was meant for forever."

    Xiao Zhiren pinched her face saying, "Have your mind ever stopped thinking nonsense?"

    "I don¡¯t think so," she replied honestly. It wasn¡¯t like it was her fault that her mind was always wandering off.

    "Go to sleep," he said and closed her eyes with his hand.

    Ru also thought it was a good idea to close her eyes and shut her mind if she really could. Because there was a high chance that she was gonna get crazy with all those strange things running through her mind. Today had already been tough for her. epting so many feelings all at once wasn¡¯t an easy task.

    Then she even had to restrain herself from kidnapping a little milk bun. That was the toughest part for her. But knowing that she¡¯d only be offering darkness to that bundle of light was enough to dissuade her from acting upon her ns of kidnapping.

    She was feeling emotionally drained perhaps that¡¯s why she soon fell into a slumber. However, it was not a dreamless sleep for her yet again.

    [Ru found herself looking at a path that continued alongside the river. Under the azure blue sky, the path was lined with white cherry blossoms. And as the light breeze blew, the cherry blossoms fell like the first snow of winter. It was a beautiful sight. So beautiful that one might think it was part of a fantasy painting.

    A willowy figure of a woman was standing alone on that path. There was a white muslin cloth tied around her face while she wore a red and ck traditional Hanfu dress. The woman lifted her hand and caught a falling cherry blossom. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at that beautiful cherry blossom in her hand.

    "Why did you want to catch the cherry blossoms?"

    A male voice askeding right beside that slender woman.

    "Catching a falling cherry blossom makes your first lovee true. Haven¡¯t you heard?" The woman replied.

    "You actually believe in such stupid things?" The man retorted while blowing the cherry blossom away from her hand. "Your first love is standing before you already. It hase true."

    The woman looked dejected seeing how her cherry blossom was lost now. She punched the man¡¯s chest andined, "What did you do? What if you forgot me one day? That cherry blossom was to ensure that we end up together." She looked really aggrieved.

    The man hugged her from behind with his arms around her shoulders and said, "Even if I forget you one day, my heart won¡¯t. It¡¯ll always remember you. And I know that my heart will lead me to you even in next life." When the woman didn¡¯t answer him, he added, "Okay, I¡¯ll catch another cherry blossom for you."

    The woman stomped on his foot and said, "It doesn¡¯t work that way!" Saying that she lifted her skirt in an unnatural and not so elegant way before leaving him standing there all alone.

    "As I excepted, you only changed your clothes. Nature is still as violent as always." The man¡¯s voice from behind seemed like an echo that was suddenly lost.

    Slowly the scene before Ru changed and this time, she found herself on a cliff. What shocked her was the woman standing before her. She looked so familiar and yet so unfamiliar.

    With blood dripping down the side of her face, she looked like someone who was holding thest shred of her life desperately. There was a sword stuck right in the middle of her chest. And the one holding the hilt had tears pouring down his face.

    The man held her body in his arms and said, "Why did you do it? Our love was never wrong. You¡¯d always be my salvation."

    Coughing blood, she replied, "And you became my damnation."

    "We were meant to be soulmates," he reminded her.

    "And it was always bound to be a sad story." She coughed blood again.

    "Please, don¡¯t say that..." he cried.

    With her willpower, she lifted her hand and pushed him away as she said, "Thank you for waking me up from this dream I called love. This moment... I¡¯ll remember. If I ever crossed my path with you in any life. I wish my heart never beats for you again. Ever!" With that, she let her body fall backward where lied the deep valley of death.

    "Xiaoxue!" An agonized scream was the only thing left behind.]

    With thatst voice, Ru¡¯s dream was ended and she opened her eyes back to reality where she was lying still beside Xiao Zhiren. He had a peaceful glow on his face as he slept. She could hear his strong and steady heartbeat but instead offort, she felt an ache in her heart.

    What was it? She couldn¡¯t tell. The images in her dream were vague but she still remembered every word vividly. Why was it that she always had a strange dream whenever he was beside her? Ru slid out of the bed and ran out of the room to get some fresh air.

    The agonizing pain in her heart was making her feel suffocated. And the worst part was, she didn¡¯t even know why she was in pain.

    "Xiaoxue? Xiaoxue? Xiaoxue?" As Ru whispered this name, again and again, the ache in her heart increased in intensity. She felt tormented, tortured, injured, and heartbroken. "Who are you? And what do I have to do with you? Why is your name so painful to me? Just what are you? And why am I feeling sad for you?"

 Chapter 235 Renrens Bride

    Lost in her own world, Ru was standing on the deck with the early rays of sun falling softly on her face. The blue sky above her was an ever-changing art which looked beautiful with clouds and the sun that was wearing off the curtains of darkness slowly.

    The sea breeze was blowing her hair and providing some tranquility to her raging emotions.

    "Xiaoxue..." She repeated the name again as if tasting the sound of it on her tongue. Oddly, she could feel an affinity with this name as if it was really close to her. "¡¯Xiao¡¯ for ¡¯little¡¯ then which ¡¯Xue¡¯ is it? Xu¨¨ for blood? Xu¨¦ for acupuncture point? It could be Xu¨¥ for wormwood like grass..." Ru¡¯s mind was engaged in trying to figure out the name she heard in her dream. The scene of those white cherry blossoms falling shed before her eyes again and her eyes widened as she asked to no one in particr, "Is it Xu¨§ for ¡¯snow¡¯?"

    Lifting her hand, she ruffled her own hair, "Whatever! I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not gonna think. Aish! My brain is gonna explode now. Let¡¯s just stop thinking." With these words, she leaned back on the metal railing which was behind her. "It was just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream." She kept repeating to herself trying to make it sound more believable to her own mind.

    There was strange calmness in the air at this time of the day. Without any unnecessary noises, she was really feeling like she was all alone in the middle of the sea. And that idea wasn¡¯t as scary as it should have been.

    She turned around and ced her elbows on the railing. There was a swimming pool on the deck below hers which she could see clearly from her position. She didn¡¯t expect to see anyone up at this time but what she saw actually was a very heartwarming scene.

    A middle-aged couple was seated at a table of the cafe which was right beside the swimming pool. The man was feeding his wife himself. When she shook her head refusing to eat anymore, the man was coaxing her like a little kid. She couldn¡¯t hear their voices but she could see the love between them.

    What made this scene more heartwarming was the fact that she knew the couple. They were none other than Ji Yifeng and the woman she met twice in Ji Family whom she was certain about being Ji Yifeng¡¯s wife and Xiao Family¡¯s one and only daughter.

    Following that Ru saw Ji Yifeng saying something to the woman before leaving her there. Suddenly Ru¡¯s curious eyes met with that woman¡¯s skeptical ones. Both didn¡¯t look away as Ru felt like the woman was trying to recognize her but could she really do that when Ru was in female clothing? Although Ru wasn¡¯t sure, she was still surprised to see the sparkle in that woman¡¯s eyes as she stood up and started walking towards Ru.

    Ascending the stairs, she came close to Ru and looked at her face with the same curiosity as before. Ru was taken aback when the woman took her hands in her own and smiled at her.

    "Do... Do you know me?" Ru asked with uncertainty.

    "You have grown up so beautifully," the woman replied in a soft voice but her words put Ru in even more confusion.

    "I think you¡¯re mistaking me for someone else." There weren¡¯t many people who knew Ru was a girl this was why she was sure that the woman before her was mistaken.

    The woman shook her head as she replied, "I¡¯m not mistaken at all. You look exactly like your grandmother."

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened considerably. ¡¯Grandmother?¡¯ Ru had no recollection of her grandmother. But what she did remember was the words her grandfather used to say, "You look just like your grandmother."

    If those words were not enough to shock her than the woman added more, "Except for your eyes which you got from your grandfather. Green... The color of life, renewal, and safety."

    Ru¡¯s muscles tensed up as she questioned, "How do you know me?"

    Before Ru could hear an answer, she heard a voice.

    "Zhi¡¯er!"

    Ru tilted her head and saw Ji Yifeng almost running up to her side. He held the woman in his arms and asked, "Why did youe here? I told you to sit there. I got so worried" The woman whom he just called Zhi¡¯er pursed her lips and refused to answer. Then he looked at Ru and said, "Sorry, Ms. Knight if my wife disturbed you in any way."

    Ru shook her head in negation absentmindedly.

    "Then we should leave," he said and both of them turned to walk away. They hadn¡¯t gone far when Ji Yifeng felt a tug on his shirt, he lowered his eyes to face the woman in his arms. "What is it? Do you want anything?"

    "Yifeng, I told you my Renren¡¯s bride is most beautiful."

    Ji Yifeng frowned slightly and said, "Xiao Zhi¡¯er, where did you see Renren¡¯s bride?"

    The woman named Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked back at Ru and smiled, "Isn¡¯t she over there? The one who shines even brighter than the sun."

    Ji Yifeng was stunned to hear her reply, "Zhi¡¯er, you must be mistaken. How can she be the bride that you chose? She¡¯s Quinn Knight."

    Xiao Zhi pouted and replied, "Don¡¯t you believe me anymore? She is my Renren¡¯s bride. And my Renren chose her himself."

    Hearing her aggrieved voice, Ji Yifeng nodded and cated her saying, "Yes, yes. You¡¯re right. She¡¯s the one. Now, let¡¯s go back to the room. You have to take your medicine as well."

    "I don¡¯t want to. Medicines are bitter. Yuck!" She refused acting like a spoiled kid.

    "But if you won¡¯t eat medicine, how will Renrene to see you? Don¡¯t you wanna see Renren?"

    Her eyes brightened up as she questioned, "My Renren wille to see me. You promise?"

    "I promise." He replied and looked back where Ru was standing a while ago with aplicated gaze. ¡¯If she really is the girl chosen by Zhi¡¯er and Renren, then Abbot Wang Xiuying was right. Fate is ying its game perfectly as always.¡¯ He mused to himself not knowing whether he was happy to hear this or not.

 Chapter 236 In Your Room

    There are certain things in life which can¡¯t be controlled by the will of a human. Just like Ru had no control over her keen senses anymore. Her reflexes or the observing habits had be a second nature of hers. It was so deep-rooted that even when Ru didn¡¯t wish to eavesdrop on Ji Yifeng and his wife, Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s conversation, she couldn¡¯t help it.

    Especially because a certain thing had caught her off guard. It struck her pretty badly.

    "Renren¡¯s bride?" Ru mumbled it as she walked back to her room. "Where have I heard this before?" She felt like she knew what they were talking about but since she couldn¡¯t immediately recall it, she was certain that it must be an insignificant memory in her mind. It was a new curiosity that led Ru to overthink.

    She had just entered the room again absentmindedly and was engulfed into a tight embrace. Ru was a bit taken aback and if she hadn¡¯t recognized Xiao Zhiren¡¯s natural scent, she would have definitely attacked him. It was a good thing that she had stopped beating him on instinct all the time. Poor guy had suffered enough because of her.

    She couldn¡¯t even remember how many times, she had hit him now. But see, he was still sticking to her, wanting nothing but to keep her in his arms. Where else could one find such an understanding boyfriend?

    ¡¯Huh? Boy what? Boyfriend?¡¯ Ru gulped as she mused, ¡¯Aiyo, looks like even my mind is ready to dere him as my boyfriend!¡¯

    Coming back to the present...

    She was stuck in his arms for a long time and he stayed quiet all the way. He kept stroking her hair and his grip didn¡¯t even loosen for a bit; as if she would disappear if he let her go. Ru did want to know what was wrong but being pressed against his body, she could hear his frantic heartbeat. What was it? Why did he seem so shaken up? She really couldn¡¯t tell but since he didn¡¯t talk, she didn¡¯t question either.

    She just lifted her arms and patted his back in a soothing manner. Slowly, she could feel his body rxing along with his erratic heartbeat. Woah! She had always been the one to make people¡¯s hearts shake in fear, it was quite rare for her to be the one to cate others.

    "Let me know whenever you¡¯re ready to let me go," she mumbled against his chest.

    Xiao Zhiren pushed her body enough to see her face and asked, "Where did you go? I was so scared when I didn¡¯t find you on the bed. Why did you leave without even telling me?"

    "Huh? So the reason why you look so shook up is my absence?" She didn¡¯t know whether she was asking that or stating it because in her heart she knew the answer. "Am I a little kid or something who will get lost? Or who has to take your permission even to breathe?"

    Ru didn¡¯t intend to speak so carelessly. At least, she didn¡¯t know she did until she saw the look on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face changing. He looked heartbroken by her words. So much for being the eloquent person! Why was she always saying the wrong things only to him? It was all her brain¡¯s fault that decided to shut down around him!

    Ru rubbed her forehead and spoke again, "You were sleeping. I couldn¡¯t just wake you up to tell you that I¡¯m going out for a walk. And I went for just half an hour or so. It¡¯s no big deal."

    "You could have written a simple note for me," he said with a heavy heart.

    "I remember writing two notes in life..." Ru started with a thoughtful look. "One was to inform my father that I¡¯m running away from home and the second was to you... to inform you that I¡¯ll remember your debt." Xiao Zhiren frowned as he listened not knowing where this was about to go. "In short, whenever I write notes to someone, they end up losing me. But if you want I can-"

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand over her lips to stop her frompleting her sentence as he said, "No need for a note. Just don¡¯t leave me. I don¡¯t wanna lose you again."

    Xiao Zhiren saw her staring at his face intently and asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Ru shook her head saying, "Nothing. Your answer was perfectly along the lines of what I thought you¡¯d say." She seemed really happy while saying this. The smile on her face waszy but bright and it shed all the haziness from Xiao Zhiren¡¯s morning.

    "If you kept smiling like that my heart won¡¯t be able to take it anymore."

    Hearing his words, Ru looked up at him questioningly, "What do you mean? I¡¯m not supposed to even smile?"

    "That¡¯s not what I mean..." He lowered his head to capture her lips with his own in a short but still passionate kiss as he said, "Your smile makes my heart skip a beat. It¡¯s very dangerous for my health."

    As if the fused lightbulb in her mind lit up as her eyes widened. "Now I know." She blurted out in a daze.

    "What?" He asked in confusion.

    "Why their words seemed so familiar." She eyed him suspiciously.

    "Love, you okay?"

    ¡¯Renren¡¯s bride? Isn¡¯t that the title I refused to take back then?¡¯ Her heart was going through a million emotions at this realization as she muttered to her, "I am the Renren¡¯s bride. Then..." She looked into his eyes and poked his forehead as she spoke, "You are Renren? Zhiren¡¯s Ren makes it Renren. Bloody Hell! I¡¯m losing this game from the beginning without even knowing it."

    Xiao Zhiren ced his hand on her forehead and said, "You don¡¯t seem to have a fever. Did you take any wrong medicine? Why are you babbling nonsense?"

    Ru swatted his hand away and snorted, "Are you chewing gum or something? Why are you stuck to me from the beginning?"

    She squirmed out of his arms and walked towards the balcony for some fresh air and as she felt him following her, she said, "Stop following me. Do you think I can run from here?"

    "You can do anything and I believe if your mind really decided, you might even swim back." Xiao Zhiren replied in all honesty and Ru couldn¡¯t refute at all. She indeed wouldn¡¯t mind swimming back but only if she wanted to. She had no n of doing so right now.

    "Have some trust in me. I don¡¯t n on running." She again turned to leave but stopped and whipped around to face him with a ring look as she said, "I have already tried running from you twice. Look where it got me."

    "Where?" he asked innocently.

    Ru sighed heavily as she answered, "Right here, in your room."

    With that, she closed the balcony¡¯s door and sat down on the floor with aplicated look. Now that his words had triggered back her dusty memory from childhood, she was really confused. That memory wasn¡¯t insignificant as she had thought earlier. That memory was something she intentionally didn¡¯t think about.

 Chapter 237 As You Wish

    *shback*

    **18 Years Ago**

    Childhood is often defined as simplicity but it also means innocence. It¡¯s often filled with memories that one cherish for the rest of their lives.

    People could have contradicting views about Ru¡¯s childhood. Some might say it was tough on her. Others might disagree and say she had it very easy being born as the eldest of Xia n. But for Ru, her childhood was neither easy nor tough; it was just perfect.

    Back when her little pet snake - Xiao Hong - died, her grandfather sent her to Jingshen. She was under the care of Abbott Wang Xiuying as his disciple. Back then, she was only ten years old and she was left to copy hundreds of copies of scriptures.

    "Do you call it food? Is it even edible?" She was young but her voice had the same intimidation as it did yearster. She was never scared of confrontations and right now was involved in one again, "You made me write till my hands can¡¯t move and after that, you¡¯re giving me this?" She held a bowl in hand with disdain palpable on her face. "Look at this soup. It¡¯s nd and tasteless. This is worse than a ve would get."

    With his hands behind his back, Abbott Wang stood before her with a straight face. "Young Master Ru, in our Jingshen Temple every monk drinks the same soup."

    Ru stood up in the same posture as him and replied, "Does this Young Master look like a monk to you? Yah! Xiuying, I won¡¯t eat this."

    Abbott Wang¡¯s eyes narrowed considerably as he warned her, "Mind your words Young Master Ru. I¡¯m your elder. You can¡¯t address me by my name." Taking a deep breath, he smiled and continued, "And if you don¡¯t want to eat. That¡¯s up to you."

    Ru was left gaping as thest source of her food was gone as well. She was fuming mad as for who she was mad at she couldn¡¯t tell herself. She pped the wooden table in the room which broke into two under her assault and mumbled, "So much for being one of the richest kids in the world. I don¡¯t even have a single cent." She rubbed her hand over her grumbling stomach and lifted her hand to punch the door.

    However, her strike was stopped midway as the door opened and a hand took the blow of her punch without even flinching. Ru looked up at the smiling eyes of her Steward. "Uncle Shin, why did you stop me? Let me break this stupid door." Ru was fuming with an empty stomach.

    "I heard someone mentioning something like our Young Master Ru is too tired to even lift his hand. Now, here is Young Master Ru ready to wreak havoc. Isn¡¯t it surprising?" Steward Shin sounded m but he was very amused.

    "Uncle Shin, are you siding with that vile grandmaster Wang? How could you?" Ru spoke in an aggrieved tone. "My poor little Xiao Hong died and I¡¯m still upset about its death. You know only food can bringfort to my broken heart. Yet, you¡¯re siding with outsiders?"

    Steward Shin rolled his eyes at her and said, "Young Master Ru, you canin to Master yourself." He passed the handset in his hand to her.

    Ru snatched it from his hand and cautiously said, "Hello?"

    "Who put my evergreen son in such a bad mood?" Her father¡¯s voice came from the other side and left Ru stunned. But then came a gush of warmth in her heart which she was really missing.

    "Father!" Ru called out softly. "Where are you? When are youing back? Behind your back, grandfather put me here in Jingshen. I want to go home."

    "Hmm... Isn¡¯t Jingshen very peaceful for you?" Her father asked in a rxed manner.

    "I would rather go through your rigorous exercises. I don¡¯t like it here one bit!" She announced with certainty.

    She heard a soft chuckle from the other side, "Aiyo, my silly son. Why don¡¯t you honestly say that you don¡¯t like the food?"

    Ru pressed her lips together. There was no point in answering that, the answer was obvious for anyone. She didn¡¯t mind going through her father¡¯s strict ruling because he neverpromised on her food. In fact, he always brought the world delicacies just for her.

    "So, tell me; what would my son wish to eat?"

    "Mmm..." Ru thought about this seriously and answered, "I heard down the mountain, there is a famous shop in the town. I want to try their gluttonize rice cake soup."

    "Huh? That¡¯s it?" Ru reluctantly replied with a yes. "But I for one know that Jingshen also has a very famous kebab ce and steamed buns are also very good." Ru¡¯s mouth watered as she heard her father¡¯s words. "Wouldn¡¯t my son like to try all of that?"

    "Do you think I can bring myself to say no? Food is my weakness." Ru cried out.

    "My little glutton, then go out with your Uncle Shin. He¡¯ll buy you everything you want to eat."

    "Really?" Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately.

    "Really," the reply came.

    Ru waited for a minute before asking, "When are youing back?"

    "I¡¯ll be right by your side in a month. Wait for me at Jingshen. Father will take you home with himself." Ru¡¯s mood lifted up as she talked for another few minutes and hung up the call.

    Walking up to Steward Shin¡¯s side, she said, "Uncle Shin, let¡¯s go. We are going on a food trip." She patted his arm and went on, "Aren¡¯t you happy to hear that?"

    Steward Shin¡¯s reply was, "Are you sure you¡¯re not talking about yourself, Young Master?" When Ru eyed him, he added, "You look happier, that¡¯s why I was saying that."

    After that, Ru spent the next three hours on the streets of Jingshen Town. Back then, this was a small town with a very conservative lifestyle. However, Ru¡¯s food trip was a sess. From gluttonized rice cake soup to kebabs and from steamed buns to dumplings. She had a fill of everything.

    A little secret, the hand which was breaking after writing for consecutive 14 hours was not even tired while eating so much. It didn¡¯t even hurt. Trust me.

    When she came back to the Temple, it was already past 8. She had bought candied haws on her way up as herte-night snack. Well, Steward Shin didn¡¯t say anything but wasn¡¯t it obvious that those candied haws were gonna end up in her stomach sooner thante-night. But everyone knew about her huge appetite so it didn¡¯t surprise him.

    "Uncle Shin, you can go back to the room and report everything to my father in ease. I won¡¯t go anywhere at this time." Ru assured him with a solemn look. Leaning closer, she added, "But don¡¯t tell him I ate so much."

    "Young Master Ru, Master is most familiar with your appetite. He is the one who often cooks for you. Even though this humble servant of yours can lie but Master won¡¯t believe it." Steward Shin¡¯s voice was humble and polite.

    "Uncle Shin, how many times father told you to stop calling yourself a servant? Also, stop pretending. Do you think I don¡¯t know the reason why you¡¯re always sent along with me? You¡¯re father¡¯s spy and I really don¡¯t care about that."

    Steward Shin gave a small smile and said, "Young Master Ru is the smartest as always. Then I¡¯ll leave you now. Please, return to your room and have some rest."

    Ru watched him leave and heaved a sigh of relief. "Now, I can go to the waterfall at the back of the mountain and eat my candies haws there under the moonlight. Hehe..." Ru was lost in her schemes when someone bumped into her from behind and her candied haws fell down on the floor.

    Ru¡¯s eyes were stuck on her candied haws and she didn¡¯t notice the little boy who had fallen onto the floor as well. Apparently, he was the culprit who ruined her snack. She extended her hand longingly towards the fallen candied haws but the boy thought she was helping him. He held her hand and stood up saying, "Thanks for helping me. I tripped over something and bumped into you."

    Ru red at that bright-eyed boy and gritted out, "You ruined my candied haws."

    The boy only noticed the candied haws on the floor and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

    Ru clutched his cor and lifted him off the floor saying, "What should I do with your sorry? Can I eat it?"

    "It¡¯s just candies haws. Put me down!" The boy screamed as he realized his feet were off the ground. Clearly, between the two of them, he was the one who looked stronger. But he wasn¡¯t aware of the inner strength of Ru who wasn¡¯t raised like a pampered young master.

    "Put you down?" Ru looked around and the edges of her lips lifted up as she said, "As you wish!"

 Chapter 238 Despicable Weakling

    *shback Continued*

    Ru¡¯s ¡¯As you wish¡¯ was interpreted in apletely different way. The bright-eyed boy smiled thinking she was gonna ce him back on the ground. But he wasn¡¯t aware that this time, he was facing a devil who never did anything in a conventional way. If Ru could be defined as a normal one, wouldn¡¯t it be an insult to her prideful self?

    Sure enough, Ru didn¡¯t ce him down. She raised him over her head and overthrew his body. Where? On the ground? Naw! That might have broken his bones and she¡¯d easily be caught for that.

    So what she chose was...

    "Plop!"

    The sound of a heavy thing falling into the water was heard in the silence of the night. But this silence wasn¡¯t for long since...

    "Help! Save me! Help! I can¡¯t swim!" The boy cried out for help as he frantically moved his arms and legs.

    The cries of the boy fell on a deaf ear. Or perhaps, his voice got lost somewhere along the way while trying to travel out of the water well where she threw him. Well, who told him to mess with her food?

    Ru jumped on the brick wall that lined the well and walkednguidly in a circle. The screams of the boy continued and Ru tried to act like she couldn¡¯t hear him but she soon realized something was wrong.

    A silence had prevailed and she couldn¡¯t even hear any movements from the water.

    She plunged into the water and found the unconscious boy. She rolled her eyes since barely a minute had passed and he was out. Such a weakling! Her disdain for him increased a notch. She put him on her back, supporting his body with her one hand and held the metal hook of the rope with the other hand. It would have taken her half a minute to climb out of the well on her own but with an extra person on her back, she took 3-4 minutes.

    "What does he eat? Why is he so heavy?"

    Like a sack of potatoes, she threw him off of her back on the ground and took his pulse. "Still alive. Good." She mumbled to herself and continued, "For a second, I thought I went too far."

    She shook him and shouted, "Oi! Wake up! Don¡¯t be a baby." When she didn¡¯t get any response, she started the chestpressions. He coughed out some water and Ru sat back. "You¡¯re this big and you don¡¯t know how to swim?" That was her first words seeing him wake up.

    He was stupified by her words. Was it a crime that he didn¡¯t know how to swim? How would he know that his luck was not on his side and he¡¯d have to bump into a bully tonight?

    "You! How can you treat me like that? Do you know who I am?" The boy screamed at her face and in response, Ru yawned like she waspletely bored.

    "Like this Young Master care at all," was her nonchnt reply. She lightly squeezed the water out of her clothes. "And you started it first. One you ruined my candied haws and two, you even said that it¡¯s just candied haws. No one is allowed to insult my food."

    The boy poked her head with his finger and said, "Is there a loose screw in your head? How is food more important than my life?"

    Ru threw his hand away, "Hands off of me. Don¡¯t make me break that hand of yours as well."

    "How can someone be so unreasonable? You almost killed me!" He snapped at her in anger.

    "Trust me, you little weakling, I don¡¯t need a reason to kill you. Besides, don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the one who saved you as well." Ru seemed aggressive and the look in her eyes was dangerous.

    "I have never met a bully like you before," said the boy. "First, you did a mistake and now, you¡¯re trying to reason with me?"

    Ru kicked his knee making him hunch over to rub his knee. "You are mistaken, little weakling! I¡¯m not a bully. This Young Master prefer the term..." She leaned close to his ear and whispered in an eerie voice, "Devilishly Handsome Genius."

    The boy was spooked out of his wits because of her overwhelming sense of presence. He looked into her eyes. He felt like those ck orbs didn¡¯t match with her persona. Yes, she was wearing her colored lens as she did whenever she was out of her own state. However, he still found it hard to shift his gaze away from her.

    "Should I throw you back?" The boy shook his head on instinct and turned on his heels to run away. Ru snorted seeing him running like he had seen a ghost, "Such a handsome face I have and yet I scared him away. How weird!"

    Shrugging her shoulders she went back to her room.

    When the morning came around and Steward Shin went to look for her, he found Ru sitting outside on the stairs. "Young Master Ru, you didn¡¯t sleepst night?"

    "Uncle Shin, let¡¯s spend this day in silence. I really don¡¯t want to talk." Ru replied. She didn¡¯t n on looking for the boy who she metst night but she still saw him. He was following Abbott Wang Xiuying. "Aye, Uncle Shin!"

    "Yes, Young Master."

    "Who¡¯s the boy behind Xiuying?" Ru pointed in their direction and Steward Shin followed the direction of her finger. "You don¡¯t know?" She asked further when she saw him silently looking at them.

    "I do have some impression but I¡¯m more curious to know why Young Master Ru is interested in that boy? Also, didn¡¯t you just say let¡¯s no talk?"

    "Don¡¯t pay heed to my earlier words. And who said I¡¯m interested? That little thing ruined my candied hawsst night. I just want an act of thorough revenge. This vengeance is inevitable!" Ru¡¯s eyes burned with hatred.

    "Then I¡¯ll advise you not to touch him," said Steward Shin.

    "Why?" Ru frowned at him. "It¡¯s not like he or his family can challenge mine."

    "I agree that he or his family are no match for you. But he has a very special status." Ru¡¯s confusion was increased again.

    "Don¡¯t talk in riddles."

    "That young boy is the eldest son of the Ji Family," said Steward Shin.

    "One of those nine aristocrat ns?" asked Ru for confirmation.

    "Why do you keep forgetting that now only six ns are left? Three ns were extincted decades ago." Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to him since this had nothing to do with her. "However, his status is special because even though he¡¯s the eldest son of the Ji Family, he¡¯s chosen as the next sessor of the Xiao Family which is his mother¡¯s n."

    "Why is that so?"

    "Because that¡¯s what Master Wang Xiuying decided upon."

    "This Xiuying is always up to something," said Ru nonchntly. "Anyway, I still don¡¯t find his status any special. In fact, my desire for vengeance has gone up a notch now."

    "Young Master Ru, his mother¡¯s status is even more special."

    "What are you talking about? Uncle Shin, let¡¯s clear this in one go."

    Steward Shin sat beside her on the stairs and pointed at a woman who had joined that boy. "That woman is white clothes is his mother."

    "So?"

    "Her name is Xiao Zhi¡¯er. And she¡¯s your father¡¯s childhood friend." Ru¡¯s eyes widened as he borated.

    "She¡¯s the one Father told me about?" He nodded in response. "She is the one just like a sister to my Father?" He nodded again. "Let¡¯s forget the revenge part. Don¡¯t tell Father about it at all."

    "If you won¡¯t act upon your schemes, I won¡¯t say a word to Master."

    But his reassurance didn¡¯t do any good to Ru. Especially, because she saw Abbott Wang Xiuying, Xiao Zhi¡¯er and that young boy walking in her direction. She was reminded of how she almost really killed that boyst night. And it made her gulp visibly.

    Of all the people, why did that weakling have to be the son of my Father¡¯s best friend? If he got to know what I didst night, Father might get angry. Might? No, no. He will definitely be angry. Did that boy really tell everything? Well, he looks like a tattletale anyway.

    "Young Master Ru, some events ofst night hase into my attention."

    Hearing Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice, Ru cursed that boy in her mind. See, he really was a tattletale! Such a despicable weakling!

 Chapter 239 A Lone Star

    Ru had figured that she was already doomed. However, there was no harm in prolonging this situation, was there?

    "What are you talking about, Xiuying?" Ru replied feigning perfect ignorance as ifst night¡¯s events had nothing to do with her at all.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying stared at her face as he said, "Why do I have to remind Young Master that he can¡¯t call me by my name?"

    Ru stood up from the stairs and dusted off her clothes while walking down. "If you say so, Yingying." Seeing the look of Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s face she added, "Don¡¯t like it? How about Xiao Ying? No? Ying¡¯er? This won¡¯t do as well? Then... Ah-Ying? Come on, choose one already." She turned to look at Steward Shin and asked, "Uncle Shin, don¡¯t you think Yingying sounds better?"

    Steward Shin was having difficulty in keeping a straight face. Only his Young Master would dare to talk so impudently with Abbott Wang Xiuying. "If Young Master finds it better than how can I say otherwise?"

    "Xia Shin!" Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice made Steward Shin take a step back. "Young Master Ru, don¡¯t try to shirk away from the responsibility. Why did you bully this young manst night?"

    Ru gave a forced smile as she rolled her eyes, ¡¯See, he is a tattletale! I should have left him in the wellst night. Goodness is amount to nothing in this cruel world.¡¯ But controlling her urges to throw that boy back in the well, she said, "He started it."

    "Are you sure about that?" Another question was thrown her way.

    "Absolutely!" she replied with resolve. "He messed with my snacks. So, I messed with him. One should not forget that every action brings consequences. If he dared to ruin my food, why wouldn¡¯t I dare to touch him?"

    "Young Master Ru, did you already do something to him?" Steward Shin asked leaning close to her.

    Ru nodded her head and said, "Yup. I threw him in the well." She heard a gasp and looked at the woman standing silently behind the boy. Steward Shin was looking back at her wide-eyed. "But in my defense, I didn¡¯t know that he can¡¯t swim. I mean look at him, in this wild wicked world, he still doesn¡¯t know how to swim. Hence it¡¯s proved that I didn¡¯t bully him, he gave me the opportunity to do so."

    Steward Shin had the urge to give her a round of apuse for this reasoning. Young Master Ru and his excuses never get old. They only get amusing. However, others were having different thoughts than him.

    "I could have died!" The boy shouted at her.

    "Then you should be thanking me instead since I saved your sorry little as..." With a cough, she left her words halfway before continuing again, "Your sorry self! Yes. That¡¯s the correct word."

    "You!" The boy was hopping mad by now because of her unreasonable self.

    "Renren, that¡¯s enough." Ru heard a soft voice and looked closely at the woman who spoke up.

    "But Mum..."

    "No more," she warned and the young boy had to nod his head. "Master Wang, I believe you and I shouldn¡¯t get involved in children squabble."

    As she spoke, Ru¡¯s attention waspletely on her face. The woman although beautiful looked very pale. She observed her from head to toe and ran back inside the room. When Ru came back, she had a wooden chair in her hands which she ced down beside the woman and said, "You should sit down. In your condition, it¡¯s not healthy to stand for too long."

    Abbott Wang Xiuying had a small smile on his lips as he saw her actions while the woman was pleasantly surprised by her. "Young Master Ru, why don¡¯t you takedy Xiao¡¯s pulse." Abbott Wang Xiuying suggested and Ru nodded.

    "May I?" Ru asked for permission as she looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "You may," she replied while extending her hand towards Ru. Xiao Zhi¡¯er saw Ru scowling and smiled before looking at Steward Shin, "Shin, would you mind taking my Renren back to the room?"

    "Sure, Lady Zhi¡¯er," Steward Shin held Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand and took him away.

    "Don¡¯t mind my words but..." Ru pulled back her fingers from her delicate wrist and said, "Are you out of your mind? Why else would you choose to go along with this pregnancy?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er stayed quiet and allowed Ru to talk. "You are eight months pregnant but you don¡¯t look like it at all. Instead of gaining weight, you¡¯re losing it. At this rate, both you and the fetus will be in danger during the delivery. But since you¡¯re here to meet Grandmaster Wang, I think you are aware of this already. Didn¡¯t someone tell you to not go along with this pregnancy?"

    "They did. Everyone told me that I should get an abortion but I can¡¯t do it." This response from Xiao Zhi¡¯er irked Ru.

    "You do realize that even if you survived through this pregnancy, your condition might worsenter on. Not only that, but there are also chances that even with all your efforts, this fetus might die." Ru¡¯s words were direct even at that age, she didn¡¯t care how her words might hurt others.

    "You talk like your father," Xiao Zhi¡¯er replied with a smile. "He also yelled at me when I told him that I¡¯ll take my chances with this baby." She rubbed Ru¡¯s head and added, "Even your overbearing personality is just alike. No wonder I find you so interesting."

    "You¡¯re my father¡¯s best friend and that¡¯s why I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. I don¡¯t find your choice to be a wise one. Abandoning your own life for an unborn baby is really ridiculous."

    "My baby is a part of me, how can I just abandon him? That¡¯s the hardest thing to do for a mother."

    "This is not your first child, is it?" Ru asked.

    "No, it¡¯s my third."

    "Then why are you abandoning your two children for the sake of saving the one who has yet to open his eyes in this world?" Ru really couldn¡¯t understand this choice.

    "Little Ru, the reason why I can¡¯t abandon this child is that he has yet to see this world. How can I give up on him?"

    Ru didn¡¯t stay to chat anymore, she gave a nod to both Xiao Zhi¡¯er and Abbott Wang before turning to leave. She felt like her mind will explode if she stayed any longer.

    "Don¡¯t mind her words, Ru has been raised as a brutally honest person. Even if she hurt your feelings, she won¡¯t even know it herself," Abbott Wang Xiuying spoke up for Ru as he looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "Master doesn¡¯t have to exin anything to me. Zhi¡¯er knows how the Xia Family rules and regtions are like. In fact, I find her to be a breath of fresh air." Xiao Zhi¡¯er spoke with affection in her voice. "I still would like her to be my daughter-inw."

    "You¡¯re still not giving up on that? Even when you know that Ru is born with aplicated identity." Abbott Wang Xiuying reminded her.

    "Her special identity doesn¡¯t really faze me." Xiao Zhi¡¯er replied nonchntly.

    "Don¡¯t forget she just tried to kill your son."

    "No. She wasn¡¯t trying to kill him. She was trying to teach him a lesson and when she realized that he couldn¡¯t swim, she was the one who saved him as well. Her presence can at least make my son realize that he can¡¯t get everything on a silver tter. Sometimes, he¡¯ll have to fight for himself as well."

    "Zhi¡¯er, I won¡¯t ask you to give up this idea but let me warn you..." Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked at Abbott Wang Xiuying, "Their stars have entwined for longer than you can imagine but they are still apart. And if they are apart that means, the universe doesn¡¯t want to see another sad ending."

    "Master, keep your riddles to yourself. One day when my Renren really falls for her, I won¡¯t listen to you at all." Xiao Zhi¡¯er announced haughtily before leaving him.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying shook his head as he whispered, "Ru holds grudges like no other. Zhiren has a heart of gold. They both are born with a lone star. Sigh. This conspiracy of fate is seemingly inevitable. I wonder if it¡¯s bounded for another sad story."

 Chapter 240 Smile Not Needed

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had always been the kind of person who would never change her opinions based on what others say. In fact, it was right to say that she didn¡¯t believe in the crowd¡¯s opinion. ording to her, she had her own brain to make a judgment, why should she listen to others when she still had the ability to think for herself?

    That was the reason why she was so straightforward with Xiao Zhi¡¯er. She knew that her words might get her in trouble with her father since Xiao Zhi¡¯er was just like a sister to him but even with this knowledge, she couldn¡¯t help but say what she thought to be right.

    With a knife in her hand, she was sharpening a wooden stick while she sat on a tree¡¯s branch. She had been sitting here to avoid seeing Abbott Wang Xiuying. She knew that old man would nag again. So, it was better to avoid him for a while.

    She had specifically chosen this spot behind the mountain where the waterfall was. The sound of the waterfall was really rxing.

    While she was enjoying herself in the silence, she heard some noises and looked down. The scene before her made her frown in disdain again.

    Why?

    Because not far from her, some local boys were teasing Xiao Zhiren. Seeing how he was again being bullied, she was really disappointed.

    "I heard this city boy is very rich," one of the little hooligans said.

    "Look at his soft skin. Isn¡¯t it softer than a girl?" The group of six boys guffawed at this remark.

    "Let me go. My security team will not go easy on you all." Xiao Zhiren tried to scare them and it made themugh even more. But they weren¡¯t alone. Even Ru hadughed at his words. If this was his way of threatening, Ru really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    However, she didn¡¯t make any attempt to help him. She was silently getting amused to see that race of cat and mouse between them. Six of those hooligans couldn¡¯t even catch a little boy. Ay, it was such a shame! But she had to agree that even though Xiao Zhiren had no knowledge of martial arts, his body was really agile.

    He was easily escaping from them but he seemed lost. He had been running in circles which showed that he didn¡¯t know the way back.

    Finally, when he was caught and one of those boys was going to hit him, that¡¯s when Ru moved. She held the hand of that boy stopping his attack and said, "I hate noisy people." With that, she squeezed the hand and the boy cried out in pain as a bone-crushing sound could be heard.

    Xiao Zhiren was surprised to see her there and he didn¡¯t even dare to squeak out. And what followed was a stunning show of one-sided beating. The sound of bones breaking could be heard clearly which could make one shudder. Xiao Zhiren was stunned to his ce even when those boys ran away to save themselves. Well most of them limped their way back.

    "Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?" Ru questioned looking at the stunned Xiao Zhiren. "You¡¯re not a kid. How can you still let people bully you?"

    "Didn¡¯t you bully me as well?" Xiao Zhiren asked pointing at her usingly.

    "Ehem!" Ru cleared her throat and said, "That¡¯s different. I had a genuine reason for doing that. As for those boys, they wanted satisfaction out of your fear."

    Saying that she started trecking her way back up the mountain while Xiao Zhiren followed closely behind. "Why did you help me?"

    "Who said I helped you?" Ru retorted back. "Their loud voices got on my nerve," was her excuse as she added, "Why are you following me?"

    "Because I don¡¯t know the way back," he answered honestly.

    "Little weakling," Ru muttered with a shake of her head.

    Xiao Zhiren wanted to say something but his words turned into a scream as his foot slipped and his body lost momentum. By the time Ru looked back at him, his body was already falling down. Ru sighed out before jumping right after him.

    Down the small cliff was the waterfall which was Ru¡¯s favorite spot in Jingshen. Who knew she would have to jump in the water again to save that little weakling again. She could have let go but knowing how he was the son of Xiao Zhi¡¯er, she had to sort her priorities all over again.

    Xiao Zhiren was moving his arms and legs frantically in the water even when Ru held his waist, he didn¡¯t stop moving. She pped his face to wake him up and said, "Stop exaggerating. You¡¯re not dying! The water is not even deep enough."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her with resentment but stayed quiet. She helped him out of the water and felt like an idiot for helping him again. He was the trouble ma for sure!

    "How can you really not know how to swim? Is it that tough?" She snapped him while she pulled the long hairpin out of her hair. Her shoulder-length hair fell down.

    Xiao Zhiren was shivering as he replied through chattering teeth, "It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t try to learn how to swim. I¡¯m just scared of water."

    Ru looked at him weirdly and scowled, "What¡¯s there to be scared about?" She felt a sting in her eyes and felt like rubbing it. With the help of her pinky fingers, she took her lenses off and sshed some water in her eyes.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her green eyes and was left mesmerized. In a daze, he replied, "There is nothing to be scared of except for the fact that whenever I¡¯m in deep water, my heart starts hurting. It aches like it¡¯s breaking into pieces."

    Ru frowned at his reply and said, "That doesn¡¯t make sense. Do you have a trauma or something?"

    She took off her outer robe to squeeze the water out when she heard his reply, "Not sure about the trauma. The only thing I can remember is my nightmare where I always end up seeing someone drown in water."

    "That¡¯s just a dream. Why are you taking it so seriously?" Ru questioned indifferently. "If every dream turned into a reality, I¡¯d be a fairy with wings by now."

    "Are you sure, it¡¯s not devil with wings?" He questioned as he turned to look at her and was left dumbstruck. Her back was facing him while she tried to dry her robes. What left him dumbstruck was the white bandage around her chest. He immediately turned around and shouted, "Hey, how can you just take off your clothes?"

    He was in shock to know that she was a girl. A GIRL! He felt like hitting himself. How can he be bullied by a girl? But when he thought about it, he realized she wasn¡¯t a normal girl. So, he shouldn¡¯t be this embarrassed.

    Ru looked at him and her brows snapped together again, "What¡¯s gotten into you?"

    "Put your clothes back on," he screamed.

    "Don¡¯t yell at me! I¡¯ll really drown you in the water for real this time!" Ru¡¯s voice had a sharp edge while she wore her long robes back on and tied the belt. Thinking of something, she went close to him and poked his head saying, "Are you shy?"

    Xiao Zhiren stepped back and said, "You! Why are you so careless and carefree? Don¡¯t go around taking your clothes off anywhere."

    "Little weakling, why are talking like my father?" Ru had a thoughtful look on her face. The same words she had heard so many times from her father were said by him now. But she was never given a reason why. "I just wanted to dry my clothes, it¡¯s nothing to get so worked up about."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her face closely and couldn¡¯t stop himself from staring. He could see she was younger than him but he couldn¡¯t find that childlike impression on her face. The expression of her face was serious that didn¡¯t suit her age at all. But her eyes made everything seem just right. They were so profound that he felt himself losing in that pair.

    On instinct, he lifted his hand and touched her head and asked, "Do you know how to smile?"

    Ru swatted his hand away saying, "That has nothing to do with you."

    "I just think you¡¯ll look beautiful with a smile on your face," he replied with a small smile.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders saying, "Aiyo, this Young Master is born handsome. A smile is not needed."

    Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips as he thought about her words, ¡¯Young Master? I really don¡¯t think so! But handsome? I can agree with that part.¡¯

 Chapter 241 Love Or Guil

    *shback Continued*

    To be honest, Xiao Zhiren had assumed things back then. Ru was only ten at that time and had no clue about her own gender yet. The bandage around her chest at that time was because of the wound she had on her chest. But she didn¡¯t have a single clue that her gender was disclosed so easily because of that.

    In theing weeks, Ru had spent hours teasing Xiao Zhiren. Or calling it bullying would be fair. Because he was always the one ending on the ground with a sore back. But when she wasn¡¯t spending time with him, he would always get moody.

    Over time, unknowingly, they grew close within a month and he started calling her ¡¯little bean.¡¯

    "Little bean, do you know my mum has chosen Renren¡¯s bride."

    They were sitting on the stairs together when Xiao Zhiren announced that.

    "Good for you, little weakling," Ru had replied indifferently not paying much heed to his words. "I hope she¡¯s stronger than you. At least, someone will be there to protect you."

    "She is very strong." He replied with a mischievous smile.

    When she didn¡¯t react, he was upset. He tapped her shoulder and said, "Can¡¯t you stop ying with other kids?"

    "ying? When did I y with other kids?" Ru asked with a frown. She never had any friends to y with. For her, the definition of ying was very different.

    "The other day you were hanging out with those four boys from the town," Xiao Zhiren grumbled unhappily.

    Ru put some stress on her memory and replied, "I wasn¡¯t hanging out with them. This Young Master was giving them some pointers."

    Xiao Zhiren held her sleeve and said, "I don¡¯t care. Even if you want to beat someone, just do that to me. Don¡¯t go to other kids."

    Ru looked at him like an idiot and said, "So, if I want to jump from a cliff would you apany me?"

    He thought about it for a second and nodded, "Yes, I will. I will do anything for you."

    "Why?" Ru asked on impulse.

    She had yet to hear his answer when Steward Shin¡¯s voice was heard, "Young Master Ru, Master is here."

    Ru¡¯s eyes brightened up and a smile curled her lips beautifully. Xiao Zhiren was left blinking at that new expression on her face.

    "Father is here? You¡¯re not messing with me, are you?" She asked to reconfirm.

    "No one dares to mess with you. Master is really here." Steward Shin replied honestly.

    Ru jumped up from where she was sitting and tugged at his sleeve, "Tell me, where is he?"

    Steward Shin smiled at her impatience and said, "Rx. He¡¯s with Master Wang right now. I¡¯d say you should clean up yourself before seeing him."

    Ru looked down at her clothes which had some dirt on it and said, "This Xiuying is really unbearable. Why is he taking up my father¡¯s time? So hateful! I¡¯ll ask father to get justice for me. Hmph!"

    Muttering to herself, she turned to walk towards her room when Xiao Zhiren stopped her. "Can you not smile like that at others?"

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Oi, little weakling, are you that confused in life? You¡¯re the one who kept saying that I should smile. Now, you just changed your mind so easily? Get your thoughts straight!"

    "I know," Xiao Zhiren stated. "But your smile just made my heart stop for a second. Now, I think if my heart can skip a beat then your smile is really dangerous for others as well. So, don¡¯t even smile at others." He looked worried as he kept mumbling, "What if others fell for you as well? I¡¯ll have so muchpetition. I don¡¯t want that. No, no."

    "You have lost your mind!" Ru bumped into his shoulder on purpose before walking past him.

    Meanwhile...

    Inside Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s room, Xiao Zhi¡¯er was standing in front of him with a man standing beside her.

    "Xia Longwei,dy Zhi¡¯er wants to betroth her son to your family¡¯s Ru." Abbott Wang Xiuying¡¯s voice was soft and calm as he stared at the man standing beside Xiao Zhi¡¯er.

    "Erm... I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the position to decide that," Xia Longwei answered inly.

    "Brother Long, are you serious? You have always treated me like a sister and you never refused to give me anything. Why are you suddenly backing out of this?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er spoke with discontent and anger.

    "Zhi¡¯er, you really are like my sister. But Ru will always be more important to me. I really can¡¯t decide something like this for her," Xia Longwei¡¯s texture and emotions were just like Ru¡¯s. There was no impatience or anger. He was calm and serene. But his words and tone had the intimidation of the leader that he was. Naturally, Ru had inherited a lot from him.

    "I don¡¯t care. Both kids like each other anyway," Xiao Zhi¡¯er announced as she sat down on the chair.

    "My Ru and like someone?" Xia Longwei raised his brow amusingly. When Xiao Zhi¡¯er frowned at his response, he added, "Sorry, but I think you¡¯re mistaken. My Ru had yet to learn how to like herself. How can she like anyone else? Her own gender is a mystery to her. Are you telling me that kind of person can actually like your son?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er gasped, "You still haven¡¯t told her that she is a girl?" Seeing him shaking his head, she added, "Have you gone mad? Brother Long, how can you even do that?"

    Xia Longwei pointed towards Abbott Wang Xiuying who was sipping on his tea and said, "Ask him. He¡¯s the one who said she should live like a boy."

    "Master Wang, what are you ying at?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er shifted her discontent towards him.

    "I¡¯m not ying at anything. I¡¯m just trying to keep her alive in this world where her identity in itself is a curse for her. Apart from that, I was trying to protect her from the sins that have followed her through time and space. I believed that if she lived like a boy, she would not catch the attention of the love that wasn¡¯t written as hers. But... Sigh. It seems I was wrong." He shook his head as he mumbled, "She still ended up right beside him."

    He pulled out two birth charts from the drawer of his small desk and said, "Do you both remember what I told you about your children?"

    "Master said that Ru is born with a shadow of the lone star looming over her destiny. The oue of that can only be decided by herself." Xia Longwei stated word for word of what he recalled from his memory.

    Abbot Wang Xiuying looked Xiao Zhi¡¯er and she said, "Seeing that birth chart, you said that my Zhiren had a rare trait. There is a name etched on his heart and his destiny. No matter where he goes, his heart will only beat for that one. Either out of love or guilt, it¡¯s yet to be decided by him."

    "Do you find any simrity there?" Abbott Wang Xiuying asked and both of them shook their heads. "There is no simrity indeed. Ru is like a lone wolf and Zhiren is the opposite of that. But their connection can¡¯t be denied. They both are each other¡¯s worst pain."

    "What is Master implying?" Xia Longwei asked with worry etched on his face.

    Abbott Wang Xiuying smiled at him and gave both of them a string of red thread. "Give this to both of them. Their invisible red thread is too tangled up. This one might help them in finding each other."

    "Are you actually agreeing to this proposal?" Xia Longwei kept looking at the thread in his hand with confusion.

    "You and I both don¡¯t have a say in this. If they really found each other, then that really is the fate meant for them." Xiao Zhi¡¯er was quite oblivious to their meaning but Xia Longwei understood it very well.

    It seemed like even if he saved her from the curse of her identity, he might not be able to save her from destiny. There was a lingering fear in Xia Longwei¡¯s heart. What Ru meant to him was something he couldn¡¯t say in words. Ru wasn¡¯t just a son or daughter, she was his pride. All of his strength came from her. He clutched that red thread in his hand and closed his eyes, how was he gonna watch her hurting herself?

 Chapter 242 So What?

    *shback Continued*

    "Brother Long!" Xiao Zhi¡¯er kept calling Xia Longwei but thetter was lost in his own thoughts. When she finally managed to catch up with him, she held his arm. "Brother Long, are you still upset with me?"

    Xia Longwei looked at her and his dazed eyed found their focus back. "Why? Should I actually throw a party that our Zhi¡¯er is throwing her own life away for an unborn child?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er seemed aggrieved to hear his harsh words, "Can¡¯t you be a bit nice to me?"

    "I can either be honest or nice. And being the head of my n, I prefer being honest." That overbearing tone and straightforward words were just like him and Xiao Zhi¡¯er didn¡¯t mind it all. She was familiar with his nature.

    She sighed out, "No wonder Ru is just like you. Even at this age, she has your sharp tongue. Why do you both even think alike?"

    "Because Ru is my son," he replied with a prideful look on his face.

    "Is she?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er retorted but her eyes widened as she realized what she just said. She looked at glowering Xia Longwei and tried to cate the situation, "Brother Long, I mean she can¡¯t be a son. Even though you raised her like one. But Ru is still a girl."

    Xia Longwei took a long breath and said, "Zhi¡¯er, I never questioned your decisions. But I have always treated you like my own sister. Are you willing to give up on your two sons for this unborn child?"

    "I¡¯m not giving up on anyone. Brother Long, there is still a ten percent chance that both I and my baby will be absolutely fine." She replied caressing her protruding belly with an affectionate look in her eyes. "You¡¯re the one who taught me that light at the end of the tunnel is better than no light at all. Then how can you not believe in this little hope of ten percent?"

    "Mum!" Xiao Zhiren ran up to her side and clung to her.

    "Renren, greet your uncle. He is mum¡¯s best brother."

    Xiao Zhiren hesitantly bowed and said, "Xiao Zhiren pays respects to uncle."

    Xia Longwei looked at him with a profound look and was only jolted awake from his thoughts when he heard his most favorite sound in the world, "Papa!" He turned around and saw his Ru running towards him. Her breathing was uneven when she stopped right in front of him. Cupping her fist, she said, "Ru greets father."

    Xia Longwei kneeled right before her and said, "This greeting was a bit nd. Seems like our Ru didn¡¯t miss father as much father missed Ru."

    Ru wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Ru missed papa. More than Ru can put in words."

    Xia Longwei rubbed her head and kissed her head like always. Before standing up and extending his hand towards her. Ru ced her hand in his and he said, "Let¡¯s go then. Father is gonna buy everything for his Ru." Ru nodded and walked right by his side. "I heard my Ru didn¡¯t try the steamboat. Shall we go there first?"

    "Yes, absolutely!" Ru replied excitedly.

    Later while picking the food for her, Xia Longwei started, "Ru!"

    "Hmm..."

    "What¡¯s most precious to you?" He asked.

    "You," Ru answered without missing a beat.

    He shook his head at her and flicked her forehead, "I am asking about a thing. Any material thing that you always keep by your side."

    "Oh..." Ru nodded her head in realization and pulled off the pendant from around her neck saying, "This. I always keep this with me. As papa once said, this pendant is the answer to my existence. So, I always keep it by my side."

    Xia Longweir passed that red thread to her and said, "Then keep this thread with the pendant. Don¡¯t ever lose it."

    "What is this for?" She asked blinking her eyes at him in confusion.

    "This is a promise. And my Ru does know how we Xia men take our promises very seriously."

    "We do," she replied with conviction.

    He rubbed her head and said, "Then keep this promise for father. Although it¡¯s a promise of a lifetime, I¡¯m not certain if it¡¯s good for you or not."

    "If father wants me to keep this, Ru will protect it with life," was her answer.

    "I know you will. But I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m scared of that." He mumbled more to himself but Ru heard his words clearly. However, she couldn¡¯tprehend his meaning. "Aish! That Xiuying ruined my mood with his destiny talk."

    Steward Shin chuckled out softly at his remark but noticing two pairs of eyes on him, he stopped himself. "Apologies Master."

    "Leave the apology. I don¡¯t need it. It¡¯s not like we can eat it." Xia Longwei¡¯s words made Steward Shin smile again. "Why did youugh, Shin?"

    "Because..." he looked between Ru and Xia Longwei before saying, "Master and Young Master are really one of a kind. Seeing you both anyone will say, like father like son."

    "Isn¡¯t that supposed to be this way? Ru is my son, he should be like me." Xia Longwei replied and Ru nodded along enthusiastically. Turning to her, he said, "That boy from earlier, I heard he is your good friend."

    Ru snorted, "No way. How can Young Master Ru even like someone like him? He is such a little weakling and crybaby. He even tattletale on me. That Xiuying made me work because of him again." Looking at her father, she even added, "I was not even at fault."

    "Young Master, you threw him in the well," Steward Shin reminded her out of goodness of his heart,

    "So what?"

    "So what?"

    Both Ru and Xia Longwei asked simtaneously as they looked at him with the same expressions. Steward Shin was left speechless. Definitely, there was no one who could win between Ru and her father.

    When Ru rted the whole incident to her father in detail, instead of rebuking her, he praised her saying, "As expected of my Ru. There was nothing wrong with what you did. How can he even mess with my Ru¡¯s candied haws?"

    "Master, Zhiren could have died," Steward Shin again pointed out even though he knew it would be of no use.

    "But he didn¡¯t die. Did he? My Ru saved him as well. Also, what kind of an eleven-year-old doesn¡¯t even know how to swim?" Xia Longwei was all the way Team Ru. There was no way he was gonna let anyone else lecture his Ru.

    His Ru already had it tough within Shadowwick State, how could he let her be wronged outside of his state?

    *End of shback*

 Chapter 243 Crazy In Love

    Feeling the sea breeze on her face, Ru had a soft smile on her face. Those were some really old and dusty memories. It seemed so far away that she hadpletely forgotten about. Yet it took a moment for those memories toe back. It was fascinating and yet scary in its own way. Ru wasn¡¯t the one who could decide whether she was fascinated by those memories or scared.

    She felt more lost though.

    She held that same pendant in her hands with aplicated look and rotated the pigeon blood ruby. That red thread was still tied to the real chain of the pendant. Because she didn¡¯t want to lose it, she had spent half an hour trying to weave the thread through the chain to make it seem like a part of the pendant.

    She looked at the closed door of the balcony and didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. The man inside seemed to have been etched in her life for far too long. She had given him this pendant as a promise to pay off her debt of life and yet unknowingly, he had been keeping their promise of a lifetime for both of them as well.

    The real meaning of that red thread was told to her when she was 14. Her father had said that it was token of her engagement to that boy who had been sending her letters. But Ru vividly remembered her own reaction, "What? No way! It is hard enough to ept that I¡¯m a girl. I don¡¯t want to keep this rtion at all."

    Her father¡¯s answer was, "That is up to you entirely. No one is forcing you anyway."

    Ru had only calmed down after his reassurance. If it was not forced then she was alright with anything. After all, she was really not good at saying no to her father for anything.

    Ru got up from the floor and slid open the door of the room to see Xiao Zhiren buttoning up his shirt. He looked at her curiously but didn¡¯t question anything.

    She looked at the open bottle of champagne and asked, "Why did you open that so early in the morning?"

    "You were acting so weird that I had to find something for my frantic mind," he replied inly. Xiao Zhiren frowned when he didn¡¯t hear her reply. He looked up at her and found her eyes stuck on his wrist for some reason while he was wearing his tie. "What are you looking at?"

    Ru walked up to him and held his wrist in her hand, Xiao Zhiren was taken aback as he eyes her cautiously. When did she begin to have this active skinship? And why was it making his stupid heart flutter again?

    Her thumb rubbed on the red string on his wrist and she asked, "Why do you wear this?"

    Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips as he was stumped for words. He didn¡¯t know how to bring up that fiancee at all whom he had no clue about. "Apparently, it¡¯s a promise I gave to someone."

    "Do you remember the person?" she asked.

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation, "I can¡¯t recall that part of my memory."

    "Then why don¡¯t you take this off?" she asked again.

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her hand touching that red thread and said, "I wanted to but..." he looked into her eyes and went on, "I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do so. I feel like my heart will stop beating if I took it off."

    "I recently found the use for a tie," she said changing the topic but not shifting her eyes away from him. Not even cowering away from his searing gaze or affectionate touch.

    "I wonder what it..." he replied but his words were cut off abruptly. Ru had held his tie and pulled him down to catch his lips with her own. This was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s second time to be at the surprising end. He wouldn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t like it. Of course, he liked it. He loved it.

    But he wasn¡¯t used to what he felt during that kiss. More than a kiss, he felt like Ru was talking to him through this kiss. As if, she was pouring all her words out through this kiss. And he was so overwhelmed that he felt like crying. What? Crying? He wanted to scream at himself. But he couldn¡¯t deny it. The intensity of her kiss was really too much for him.

    When she pulled away from him, he was still dazed. "What was this for?"

    Ru took his hand in her own and looking at their joined hands, she said, "It was to thank you."

    "Thank me for what?"

    Ru brought his hand up and kissed it softly as she said, "For keeping our promise for both of us."

    "Huh?" He was dumbfounded but when he saw her dazzling toothy grin, he was dumbstruck. "Aiyo, my poor heart is being assaulted by that beautiful smile."

    "Should I stop smiling then?" she questioned with a sly grin.

    He pulled her in his arms and said, "Definitely not. Assualt this heart as much as you want. It¡¯s all yours anyway."

    Ru chuckled, "You and your cheeky ways. Never get tired of it eh? Or do you not run out of words to say?"

    "How can I run out of my collection of words?" He retorted. Brushing the tip of his nose against hers, he spoke in a husky voice, "Do you know why ocean never runs out of waves?"

    "Why?" She asked with a constant smile stered on her face. She knew she was gonna cringe at his reply as always. But why did she still want to hear those words? Why? Was she really going crazy? Or...

    "Because waves are the ocean¡¯s way of showing its love for the shore. How can it ever run out of its love? Just like that, I can¡¯t run out of words as long as my heart is beating for you."

    Ru buried her face in the crook of his neck andughed out. See, he really made one cringe with those words. But now she was understanding why she wanted to hear it. She wasn¡¯t going crazy.

    She was already crazy in love with him.

 Chapter 244 Hateful Little Weakling

    After a while, Ru also changed her dress and wore the formal jumpsuit that he had for her. The gold-colored wide-leg jumpsuit was sleeveless with a halter neckline and a metallic belt around the waist.

    Seeing her in that dress, Xiao Zhiren kept smiling which eventually irked her. "Stop smiling or I¡¯ll change out of this."

    Xiao Zhiren held her hand and made her sit on the sofa. "Do you have to have so many issues with me?"

    "Yes," she answered straightforwardly making him gape at her in disbelief. "If I¡¯m gonna date you then I need to turn you into my kind of boyfriend material. For that, I need to be vocal about what irks me about you."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyed widened in surprise. Now, that was way too straightforward even for someone like her. Wasn¡¯t it? Or was he overthinking?

    "Boyfriend material?" He asked hesitantly to confirm and she nodded in agreement. "What do I need to do for that?"

    "Nothing much. I¡¯ve gotten used to your cheesy talk but let¡¯s keep the public disy of affection out of our list of things. I don¡¯t like clingy people. I love being proactive and impulsive. Don¡¯t get in my way. Also, don¡¯t ask things I don¡¯t want to talk about. The rest we¡¯ll go with the flow for now." She stated in one go leaving him no room for an argument. Well, it wasn¡¯t like he was gonna argue anyway. "Totally out of context, but can¡¯t we have this dress in ck?"

    Xiao Zhiren narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head saying, "ck is yourfortable skin, I know. But my little chili should have some colors in life as well."

    "Whatever," she grumbled and made a face. Thinking of something she said, "What am I gonna do with this hair? The longest hair I ever had were shoulder-length and the only hairstyle I know is a messy one and high ponytails. Would that work?"

    Xiao Zhiren picked up a brush and started brushing her hair softly. "How can a girl not even know how to style her own hair? I have never met anyone who couldn¡¯t style their own hair."

    "You have met one," she replied.

    Xiao Zhiren leaned ahead to look at her face from behind the sofa and asked, "Who?"

    "Me." Ru pointed at herself.

    "Right there is indeed one," he spoke in a soft voice and fixed her hair. He didn¡¯t have to do much since with jumpsuit, it was better to let the hair down naturally. Following that, he brought out heels and picked up her foot to help her wear it.

    Seeing those ankle strap sandals, she frowned in discontent and difort. "Oi, do you know the phrase killer heels?"

    "I have heard it on more than one asion. Why?" Xiao Zhiren replied absentmindedly since his attention was on helping her wear those sandals.

    "They are called killer heels because they end up killing a woman¡¯s feet. Do you want that to happen to me?" Xiao Zhiren stifled hisughter at her weird logic. She had plenty of excuses for something she didn¡¯t like.

    "You don¡¯t need to stress yourself so much. I¡¯m not letting you walk barefoot."

    Standing up she had to adjust her body weight to keep bnce. It was safe to say that wearing heels also required some skills. Unfortunately, those were the skills, Ru would never want to learn. Not at any condition.

    He had poured another ss of champagne for himself as he held his hand out for her. "Do you want some?"

    Ru shook her head in response, "Champagne is too light for a hardcore person like me." Seeing the weird way he was looking at her, she added, "I don¡¯t like the taste of it."

    "I think you¡¯ll like the taste from now," he said ambiguously making her brows snap together. Before she could question him, he took a sip of champagne and kissed her hard making her drink the champagne from his mouth. He didn¡¯t instantly let go even after aplishing his goal. He was too engrossed in the kiss. Why would he want to let her go when even she wasn¡¯t trying to push him away?

    Tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue to taste the remnants of champagne or her, he said, "Start using your words wisely. You don¡¯t even realize how explicit you get with your words. I really don¡¯t have great willpower. Stop testing me now."

    "What did I say now?" She asked in confusion before rewinding her words in her mind. As the lightbulb of her brain lit up, she went on, "My mind and words are right. Your stupid brain is working in the wrong way." She pped his chest and added, "Besides, by hardcore I meant steadfast. Not the extreme way you¡¯re taking it!"

    Xiao Zhiren stroked the side of her face saying, "Oh, so my little chili is not as oblivious as she pretends to be. Interesting." Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "By the way, I don¡¯t mind hardcore. I have good stamina."

    "Bloody son of a bachelor!" Ru tried to push him away but he still held her tight. "You¡¯re again using my words to your own advantage. Why do you not understand what I want to say? Why is that your mind only understands what you want to understand?"

    "If I kept understanding your words, you wouldn¡¯t be in my arms right now. You¡¯d have run too far from me by now. So, it¡¯s enough for me to understand what really matters between us," he stated holding her head against his chest.

    "What really matters between us?" She asked.

    "What matters is that I love you," he replied matter-of-factly and nted a kiss on the top of her head and added, "Also, that you love me." With that, he nted another kiss but this time, on her forehead.

    "Sheesh! Who says I love you?" she retorted pretending to be angry.

    "I love you too," he said again.

    "Huh?"

    "Didn¡¯t you notice? I just heard thest three words of your sentence. Did you say anything else?"

    "You!" Ru yfully punched his arm. "Hateful little weakling."

    "What?"

    "Nothing!" She snapped back.

 Chapter 245 Who Started It?

    "Is this watch paired with yours?" Ru asked looking at the rose gold watch diamond-encrusted watch on her wrist.

    "Yes, mine is tinum and yours is rose gold. Perfect match. Isn¡¯t it?" he replied with a satisfied smile on his face.

    "Didn¡¯t I just say no public disy of affection?" She reminded him of the rules she had set up.

    "It¡¯s just a pair of watches. It¡¯s not even noticeable. Don¡¯t go overboard. Can¡¯t you do this much for me?" He made an adorable face to get her approval.

    Taking a long and deep breath, she said, "Fine. Whatever."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face lit up as he held her arm and they walked out of the room. He brought her to the deck for breakfast. There were many people already eating their breakfasts when they came. Plenty of them greeted him and Xiao Zhiren replied to them with a polite smile.

    "What do you want to eat?" He asked her while Ru¡¯s eyes were wandering around the deck as if looking for someone.

    When she finally caught sight of the person she was looking for, she said, "Not hungry. I¡¯ll see youter." Turning back, she added, "Don¡¯t start assuming or rotting in vinegar jar. Just gonna talk to my cousin." She made an okay sign with her hand and walked off.

    "Not hungry? Those words actually exist in her dictionary?" Xiao Zhiren whispered to himself in disbelief. He had never seen her saying no to food before. It was yet hard for him to believe that she actually was refusing to food. What was more important than food?

    Meanwhile, Ru found Jie standing beside the railing looking at the sea. She held his cor from behind and dragged him away from the crowd. "Yah! Let go of my cor. Stop acting like a bully."

    "My dear Prince Jie, don¡¯t get me started on who is the real bully between us." At her warning, he stopped talking and fixed his shirt. "Besides, I have something important to discuss with you."

    "I¡¯m sure talking is done with the mouth. Why are you always using your hands to drag me? Is that something you should do?" he asked looking at her unpleasantly but seeing her dressed up, his anger seemed like it vanished somewhere.

    "If I won¡¯t act like this who else will?" she retorted.

    "I don¡¯t care who else will. But please, have some respect for your present disguise. You¡¯re looking like a bloody diva, don¡¯t act like a hooligan," was Jie¡¯s humble reply to her. "By the way, I just saw you smiling at Zhiren. Why are you looking at me with such an ugly look? Seems like all the smiles are gonna be reserved for him now."

    "My dearest cousin, are you jealous?" Ru asked yfully nudging him.

    Jie pushed her away saying, "Of course not. Why would I be jealous? Didn¡¯t you leave him alone to look for me? I have nothing to be jealous about. Blood is still thicker than water."

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "I really have something to talk about. Can we stop this dilly-dallying?"

    "You started it," he used her straightforwardly.

    "Of course not. It¡¯s you who started again this time," she denied this usation as always.

    "Take any witness here, you¡¯re the one who started it," he countered with the same passion.

    "Oh please. Even time and history is the witness that from our very first meeting, it has always been you who starts it," Ru imed, ring at him hatefully.

    After spending fifteen minutes of ming each other and spending another ten minutes to stare daggers at each other, they both said simultaneously, "What were we talking about?"

    Shaking her head, Ru started again, "Forget it whatever it was. Let¡¯s get to business. It¡¯s important."

    Jie also lost his yful look and straightened up. "What is it? Why do you look so serious? I was expecting you to look all shy and bubbly after epting your love. Why do you look some new mystery opened before you?"

    "Mystery? I think calling it a mystery will be fine as well." Ru replied despondently. She held her jade pendant before him and asked, "Remember this?"

    Jie took it from her hand and looked at her strangely. "Isn¡¯t this... Your most precious pendant?" She nodded her head slightly. Recalling something he frowned and said, "But when I went to pick you up from the hospital ten or so years ago, didn¡¯t you leave this for the person who saved you? As a promise to repay for his help?" She nodded again. Talking with him was always easy since most of the time, he was able toplete her sentences for her. "Then why do you have it now?"

    Ru didn¡¯t answer and that allowed him to think further as he said, "Did you found the person who had it?" She shook her head in negation. "Then... Did he found you?" Ru looked into his brown eyes and nodded. "Wow! That¡¯s a nice twist. But what¡¯s the problem here? Don¡¯t tell me he loves you as I told you years ago." He stoppedughing when Ru stayed quiet. "He really loves you?"

    Ru held his face and rotated him in the restaurant¡¯s direction saying, "It¡¯s him. Over there. That Zhiren stuck in my head and heart. He is the one who saved me."

    "Woah! That¡¯s an even bigger twist. What a coincidence!" Jie said after getting over his shock. This really came as a shock. Who would have thought about this twist? He didn¡¯t!

    "Coincidence?" Ru muttered more to herself than him. She took the pendant from him and pointed at its chain. "Then tell me what¡¯s inside the chain?"

    "That¡¯s the red thread Uncle gave you. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be your engagement token?" he was having fun teasing her but abruptly stopped, "Wait! Are you worried about this? This really is an issue. If you love Zhiren then how can you keep this promise that Uncle made with someone? This is really troubling."

    Ru pped the back of his head and asked, "Jiejie, who was my so-called fiance?"

    Jie rubbed the back of his head and replied, "Wasn¡¯t he called Renren? Since all I heard from Aunt was you being Renren¡¯s bride..." There was a long pause as he spoke to her through his eyes and cursed out loud, "Fuck it!"

 Chapter 246 Sensei?

    "Wait, wait just wait. Renren. Zhiren. Please tell me I¡¯m mistaken here," Jie looked at Ru for an answer but she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "You have got to be kidding with me. What kind of fate do you have?"

    "Right? It does make one think that this fate is ying with me? Right? I¡¯m not the only one. You also think that." Ru was looking for someone to really understand her inner turmoil. It was no joke that she had met Xiao Zhiren at three junctions of her life. How was she supposed to just ept it as coincidence?

    "Coincidence? Fuck the damn coincidence! This doesn¡¯t look like coincidence anymore." Jie was agitated more than she was. Or perhaps he knew how to express his emotions better than her. "You first met him when you¡¯re ten. Later on, your life changed because you figured out your gender. Then you met him 8 yearster. And at that time, your life again changed because you had lost too much. You lost yourpassion and whatever made you Young Master Ru." Jie was speaking without a pause and Ru was listening without stopping him.

    "And now, you met him again after ten years. I don¡¯t even have to say it but your life is changing again. You¡¯re learning to look at the world in a new way." He ced his hand on her shoulder and said, "What kind of shadow his presence has in your fate?"

    Ru thought about it herself. What kind of presence did he really have in her fate now? She held Jie¡¯s hand and said, "Jiejie, I don¡¯t know. I honestly can¡¯t tell what he is in my fate. But now, I can tell you what he is in my life." Jie pressed her hand urging her to continue, "Can you believe that without knowing it himself, he had been keeping our promise of the lifetime? He had been the keeper of our red thread for years. As for what he is in my life... It¡¯s weird to say it out loud but I feel like he¡¯s bing everything. My everything."

    "Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t even know what my fate is. How can I dare to im what part he ys in that fate? I¡¯ll be getting ahead of myself if I said anything on this."

    Jie wrapped his one arm around her shoulder and side hugged her saying, "Does his presence makes you forget about everything else?"

    She nodded, "As I said, he is bing my everything. How can I remember anything else besides him?"

    Jie smiled at her and kissed her temple. "Then that¡¯s enough right? If he makes our Ru¡¯er happy then screw the game fate is ying. I, Zhu Jie, your one and only cousin is right here with you. Believe this brother of yours, I¡¯ll be standing right with you no matter what happens."

    "I know," she replied.

    Their moment of peace was cut short when they heard an angry voice, "Ah-Jie!"

    Ru nudged him again saying, "Look, your spitfire is here."

    Jie looked at his agitated wife and said, "Before calling my baby spitfire, look at yourself in the mirror. And who¡¯s fault is it that she is a spitfire?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she replied, "No mine for sure."

    Jie knocked her head saying, "Say something I can believe." Turning to his wife¡¯s side, he said, "Baby, what are you doing here?"

    "Ah-Jie, keep a distance from her," Xu Mey red at Ru hatefully while ordering Jie to move away from her.

    Ru smiled at her and when Jie was about to pull away, she pulled him back even closer than before saying, "Where do you think you¡¯re going, Jiejie?"

    Xu Mey gaped at her while her whole body trembled in anger. "Jiejie? How dare you call my husband so intimately?"

    "Why can¡¯t I? I think I can do it even better than that. Hmm... How about..." Jie ced his hand over her mouth to stop her from perturbing his wife any more than she already was. From the way Xu Mey¡¯s fists were clenched, he could tell that his little spitfire was about to breathe fire at any moment now.

    "Baby, let¡¯s talkter," Jie tried to calm Xu Mey in a nice way. "This sister of mine has a habit of joking. Don¡¯t take it to heart at all."

    Ru bit his hand making him yelp. After that, she walked up to Xu Mey and said, "Since Mrs. Zhu is not in favor of giving your husband. I have a better proposition." Xu Mey frowned at her while she added, "How about giving me your son? That little bunny loves me anyway. Just give him to me."

    Xu Mey raised her hand to p her when Ru held her wrist and said, "Why are you getting violent? That¡¯s my job. It only suits me as well." Jie shook his head at her not knowing what had gotten into Ru. "For the first time, I¡¯m willing to negotiate with words and you¡¯re using force. That¡¯s not fair at all."

    "Ah-Jie, follow me," Xu Mey gritted out and turned on her heels to leave.

    Ruughed behind and dialed a number from her phone. Not far from her, Xu Mey¡¯s phone rang. Seeing the caller id, Xu Mey¡¯s face lit up and she immediately attended the call, "Sensei?" Her cheerful and excited voice rang out.

    "Dear disciple, if you¡¯re notfortable with my conditions. We can re-negotiate. But I want that son of yours for sure."

    "Huh?" Xu Mey gaped as she slowly turned around to look at Ru.

    Ru waved the phone at her and winked in her signature way which instantly left Xu Mey dumbstruck.

    "You! You! Sensei?" Xu Mey asked in shock and disbelief. Her whole world was shaken up.

    "Hi, dear disciple! Long-time no see," was Ru¡¯s casual reply.

    Meanwhile, Jie was rubbing his forehead which had a headache now. But seeing how Ru actually disclosed her gender to his wife, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. It took her a long time toe around, eh?

 Chapter 247 Weirdos

    There are somemon beliefs in life. For instance, the Earth is round. This one thing is etched in our minds from a very young age. And it had be deep-rooted within ourselves. The other beliefs would include that after every nighte a day just like after every storm wille a ray of sunshine.

    Just like those undeniable facts, Xu Mey had grown up with a belief that her Sensei, Ru who saved her life and taught her to see the world in a whole new light was actually a male. And that¡¯s why when she saw Ru in female clothes, she was having no second thoughts as she said, "Sensei, why are you cross-dressing as a girl?" That was the extent of her belief that Ru was a male.

    Beside her, Jie choked on air and was left somewhere betweenughing and coughing. He wasn¡¯t sure which one he was supposed to do first. Seeing his wife¡¯s expression, he really wanted to pinch her cheeks. Just how could she even question that?

    Well, at least, Ru had better control over her emotions and expressions but at this moment, even she was having difficulty keeping a straight face. She knew Xu Mey trusted her without questions. Ru¡¯s existence and value in Xu Mey¡¯s life were only known to her. That¡¯s why until or unless Ru said something from her own mouth, Xu Mey would never believe it.

    "My disciple is really..." ¡¯Innocent. Or maybe, I¡¯m too tricky.¡¯ Ru didn¡¯t say those words out. "Tell me, does this avatar looks good on me? Doesn¡¯t Sensei look like a killer beauty?"

    Xu Mey looked at her from head to toe and nodded her head vigorously, "Sensei looks amazing in anything. Oddly, you look just like a real woman. You¡¯re the best at disguises as always." She gave two thumbs up to Ru.

    Jie wrapped his arm around his wife¡¯s shoulder and said, "Baby, do you think this is a disguise?"

    "Ah-Jie, don¡¯t question my Sensei. I told you I¡¯ll be angry if you said anything to my Sensei. I don¡¯t care even if Sensei is your best friend. I still won¡¯t take your side when ites to Sensei." Xu Mey seemed upset.

    Ru knocked on her head making her yelp and then Xu Mey looked at Ru with an aggrieved expression. "Are you really bing slow-witted or do you have a blind trust in me?"

    "I believe Sensei more than myself," she replied without any hesitation at all.

    "Aiyo..." Ru heaved a long sigh and said, "I¡¯m not cross-dressing. I had been doing it all my life. But this is a rare moment when I am willing to let the world see my real self."

    "She means, real gender. The real self of hers is too scary for the world," Jie added on.

    Xu Mey was not paying attention. Not at all. Her mind was thunderstruck. She could hear buzzing around and couldn¡¯t tell what was real or what was fake. It was like someone stabbed her with a dagger and was twisting it in her guts. It seemed surreal and hard to believe.

    "Baby, why are you crying?" Jie was left nervous when he saw the tears trickling down Xu Mey¡¯s face. Her silent tears turned into sobbing as she cried her heart out. "What is wrong? Tell me what¡¯s going on? Did I do something? Did this stupid Ru make you cry? Right?" He red at Ru and shouted, "Oi! Dumbo! What did you do? Why did you make my baby cry?"

    "Have you lost some screws of your head? When did you see me bullying her? Which eye of yours saw me making her cry? Do tell, so I can poke it out of the socket!" Ru argued back while looking like someone who was preparing for a fight.

    "Yah!" Jie was about to continue when Xu Mey pped his arm. "Baby, why are hitting me?"

    "Don¡¯t say anything to him. No, her. I mean him. No, no, her. Whatever. Just don¡¯t say anything to sensei." Xu Mey¡¯s words solved the argument between Ru and Jie sooner than it was expected. She turned and stood right before Ru and asked, "Are you really... A woman?"

    Ru rubbed her earlobe and said, "At least, my body is of a woman."

    Xu Mey nodded her head in understanding and mumbled, "Sensei, you were always my first crush in life. I always admired you as a male god. It¡¯s truly heartbreaking to know that you are a woman." She sniffled as she spoke.

    "I know. I was also heartbroken when I figured out that I was a female. I went into shock for a weak because of that." Ru told her life¡¯s dark days of figuring out who she was. It was traumatizing for her to know that she was not a boy. Only she knew how much pride she took in being called ¡¯Young Master Ru¡¯.

    "But... Nheless," Xu Mey wiped her tears and smiled at her saying, "You are just as gorgeous as you had been forever. Xu Mey still finds Sensei the best."

    "Don¡¯t I look weird?" Ru questioned out of curiosity.

    "Not at all," Xu Mey shook her head. "Sensei looks amazing in anything. But I never thought Sensei would look so beautiful as a woman. What¡¯s the right word? Ah! Peerless beauty."

    "Now that you know who I am, how about the negotiation?" Ru was still stuck on that negotiation of hers.

    "About what?"

    "Don¡¯t say it!"

    Both Jie and Xu Mey had different things to say but they said it at the same time. Ru smiled mischievously at Jie and said, "About your son. I¡¯m the only godmother he has. Just give him to me."

    Xu Mey pressed her lips together not knowing how to answer that. While Jie said, "Ru¡¯er, you don¡¯t even know how to raise a kid."

    Ru caught him a headlock and screamed at him, "No one is born with the skills of raising a child. Did you know how to be a father before bing one? No, you did not! We only learn things when you¡¯re faced with the need to use those skills."

    "Sensei, can¡¯t you ask for something else? I can give my life to you but my little Bao is the only son I have," was Xu Mey¡¯s hesitant reply.

    "Tsk. Tsk." Ru clicked her tongue and said, "Stupid disciple, why are you feeling guilty while saying no to me? I would have pped your face if you had actually epted my proposal." Xu Mey was surprised to hear her reply. "I like that little bunny of yours. As a godmother, won¡¯t I get some time to spend with him?"

    "That you can," Xu Mey agreed readily.

    "You both husband and wife are one of a kind. Do I look like someone who will raise a kid?" Ru spoke in discontent while eyeing them both and they both shook their heads in sync. Why all weirdos were stuck in her life?

    ¡¯One keepspany with the likes of his own. Since you¡¯re a weirdo, how can normal ones enter your life?¡¯ Oh, there she was. Her sleeping conscious was awakened again. But at the wrong time as always to annoy the hell out of her.

    ¡¯Just keep sleeping!¡¯ Ru retorted to her conscious.

 Chapter 248 Her Man

    On the other hand, Xiao Zhiren had just taken a seat with his breakfast in hand when Adrian popped out of somewhere right beside him.

    "Zoran, how can you do this to me?" Adrian gave Zhiren a look of grievance making him frown.

    "Let me eat first," Zhiren pushed him away as he dug his fork into his pancake and lifted it to his mouth to take a bite.

    "My life is at stake because of you and you¡¯re actually in the mood to eat? How can you even swallow anything right now?" Adrian shouted at him angrily.

    "Because I am very happy. Actually, I haven¡¯t felt this happy since like forever." Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t lying. He indeed was flying high above in cloud nine. Why wouldn¡¯t he? The person he had loved for years was actually willing to stand by his side now. Nothing else really mattered at this point to him.

    "Happy? Your girlfriend almost killed mest night and you¡¯re happy?" Adrian looked at him weirdly.

    "My girlfriend? Did you meet my little chili? Why? How? Where?" Now, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention was solely on Adrian. How was it possible that something was rted to Ru and Xiao Zhiren would ignore?

    Adrian straightened up and narrated the story of Ru¡¯s threat to him. Also, how she actually beat him. He was really sulking in the grievance. She was the second person in his life who treated him like that. The crown of first-person was solely for Alev Knight. Poor Adrian didn¡¯t even know that both first and second were actually just one tricky person ying with his mind.

    "I had been so upset sincest night. But you tell me, this world has millions of females. Why does it have to be her?"

    Xiao Zhiren pped his head and said, "Because it has to be her. Only her. Besides, what¡¯s wrong with her?"

    Adrian rubbed his head and said, "Nothing is wrong except for the fact that... She is rted to Alev Knight."

    Xiao Zhiren rolled his eyes beforeughing out. He really wished to see Adrian¡¯s reaction if he figured out that Alev Knight and his girlfriend were both the same people. He imagined how much of a shock would it be for Adrian.

    "Get over it. There is nothing wrong with me dating someone rted to Alev Knight," said Xiao Zhiren.

    Adrian was irked but when he calmed down for a while, he said, "Well, considering how gorgeous she is. I also think there is nothing wrong with you dating her. Don¡¯t you think that Alev Knight¡¯s family genes are too good?"

    Xiao Zhiren choked on his food and coughed profusely. He drank a mouthful of water and punched Adrian¡¯s arm saying, "Don¡¯t you hate Alev Knight? Why are you so curious about his family genes?"

    "Why can¡¯t I? I know I hate Alev Knight but let¡¯s be honest here, one can¡¯t deny that he¡¯s ady killer with just his looks," said Adrian while Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips. "Same goes for your girlfriend. I wasn¡¯t in the position to admire her beauty at that time, but I can say it now that she is..."

    "If you dared to talk about my girlfriend one more time, I¡¯m gonna kill you." Xiao Zhiren¡¯s warning sealed Adrian¡¯s lips. Adrian could see how possessive Xiao Zhiren was. The weirdest part was he wasn¡¯t even allowing him to say anything about her.

    As Adrian¡¯s eyes wandered around, he tapped Xiao Zhiren¡¯s shoulder and said, "You aren¡¯t even allowing me to talk about her. Then how can you leave her alone with that guy." Xiao Zhiren also followed the direction he was looking at and saw Ru with Jie. "Isn¡¯t that guy too close to her?"

    Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t refute that. Even from his position, he could clearly see Ru¡¯sfort level with Jie. It was like she had no care in the world beside him. Even when he knew that Jie was her cousin, Xiao Zhiren was apprehensive. He knew Ru was tearing her walls down for him but the way she looked at Jie showed her unprecedented trust in him.

    "He is my little chili¡¯s cousin brother. They are close like real siblings." Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t know whether he was exining this to Adrian or to himself. But somehow saying it out loud made Xiao Zhiren feel a bit rxed.

    "Should we go and say hi then?" Adrian was suggesting it but the way he pulled Xiao Zhiren up seemed like he wasn¡¯t gonna take no for an answer. Not like Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t curious about seeing Ru¡¯s interaction with Jie. He was really curious. So, he let Adrian drag him easily.

    Back on Ru¡¯s side, she looked at Xu Mey inquisitively and thetter answered, "Little Bao is sleeping, Sensei. Why are you so impatient? When he will wake up, I¡¯ll bring him right to you. Keep him for the whole day."

    Ru made a sad look and said, "Isn¡¯t he sleeping for too long?"

    Jie pinched her nose and said, "Little kids need sleep for their growth. Do I have to tell you that as well? You never were this impatient to even see me."

    Ru knocked on his head saying, "Jiejie, you¡¯re a brother. Little bunny is my nephew and my godson. Obviously, I¡¯m very biased right now towards him. Especially because he doesn¡¯t tease me like you."

    Jie was about to speak when he looked at someone walking up to them and leaned close to Ru and said, "Your man ising. What charms did you use that he¡¯s not even leaving you alone for a moment?"

    Ru turned her head to look at Xiao Zhiren and smiled before pushing Jie away saying, "Go hug your baby. Don¡¯t talk about my man!"

    "Oh, someone is protective about HER man..." said Jie yfully.

    Ru didn¡¯t pay any attention to his teasing and turned around to face Xiao Zhiren. "Are you done with your breakfast?"

    "Mhmm..." Xiao Zhiren hummed in reply as he wrapped an arm around her waist from the side and kissed her temple.

    Beside them, Jie was amused to see how Xiao Zhiren was trying to im Ru right before him as his own. It seemed childish but considering what Jie had done for Xu Mey, he found it rather cute. Adrian was d to see that Xiao Zhiren was not afraid to show his love. Ru was frowning since she clearly told him there¡¯d be no public disy of affection.

    However, between all those feelings, there was a certain person who felt like she was dreaming. This scene of Ru being in a man¡¯s arms felt surreal. No, the right word would be absurd. Xu Mey¡¯s heart was again struck by a thunderbolt.

 Chapter 249 Damn, Your Eyes!

    Have you ever seen someone going through consecutive heart attacks? Well, Xu Mey was literally that person today. She was surviving some serious bomb explosions and it wasn¡¯t easy to stay calm at all!

    "Sensei, he is?" Xu Mey voiced out gingerly while looking at Xiao Zhiren.

    "Right, we have introductions pending," said Ru and introduced everyone, "Zhiren, he is Zhu Jie, my best friend sh my only friend sh my cousin brother sh my secret box."

    Jie chuckled at her way of introducing him and shook hands with Xiao Zhiren saying, "Pleasure meeting you in person. I¡¯ve heard a lot and I must say, the words really don¡¯t do justice." Ru elbowed him in his guts making him grunt. "Control your hands." He glowered.

    Ru stuck her tongue at him and turned to Xu Mey, "Meet Mrs. Zhu, Xu Mey." Xiao Zhiren nodded at her in acknowledgment and Xu Mey did the same in return. Ru looked at Adrian standing beside Xiao Zhiren and said, "Mey, that¡¯s Adrian. Seemingly the least important person here." Adrian was left speechless at this introduction. "And this is Xiao Zhiren. He¡¯s my..."

    "Just say it," Jie was the only one getting a thrill over this scene. How could he not? It was damn funny for him.

    Ru red at Jie before trying again, "He¡¯s my... Boyfriend."

    Xu Mey lost her bnce and if Jie hadn¡¯t supported her body, she was certainly gonna fall. Xu Mey looked at Xiao Zhiren with a look of grievance as she clutched her chest. "Baby, are you alright?"

    "This is not fair!" Xu Mey blurted out. She tugged at Ru¡¯s sleeve as she said, "Okay. I ept you looking like this. But... How can you date someone? You¡¯re that formidable Sensei of mine who is aloof and distant from worldly stuff. Why are you dating then? It¡¯s like you¡¯re hell-bent on breaking my heart today."

    Adrian and Xiao Zhiren might be confused about this progress but Ru and Jie weren¡¯t. They both had to keep a straight face in this situation so as not to hurt Xu Mey¡¯s feelings. But how could one do that so easily?

    "Baby, you do realize that I¡¯m standing right here? How can you give my own cousin importance over me like this?" Jie chose this moment to tease his wife.

    "Jealous much, Jiejie?" Ru teased him from the side.

    "Little monkey, I¡¯m not talking to you," said Jie.

    "You! Mr. Spider, who wants to talk to you?" retorted Ru in dissatisfaction.

    "You little cockroach!" Jie snapped at her.

    "Ha! You¡¯re the roach in that cockroach!" Ru was not gonna back out in this childish argument.

    "That doesn¡¯t even make sense," said Jie giving her a look of ridicule.

    "Who cares?" was Ru¡¯s reply.

    On the side, Xiao Zhiren, Adrian and Xu Mey were looking at them weirdly. Leaning close to Xu Mey, Xiao Zhiren asked, "Does it happen a lot?"

    "You bet!" answered Xu Mey without hesitation. "They are like those siblings who are at each other¡¯s throat all the time but when a third person enters, they¡¯d be like two bodies one bond kind of siblings."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Adrian just had to ask that.

    And Xu Mey had to give a demo as well. "Ah-Jie, stop arguing with Sensei. If Sensei said it makes sense then it makes sense."

    Both Jie and Ru stopped their banter, turned to look at Xu Mey wide-eyed. Ru pointed at her and said, "I appreciate you taking my side, dear disciple but how dare you say that my best friend is wrong?"

    "As always, only my cousin treats me the best," Jie¡¯s words were also synced with Ru¡¯s leaving everyone feels irked.

    Xu Mey looked at Adrian and asked, "Does this make sense?"

    "Much better," he replied absentmindedly.

    Before Ru and Jie¡¯s short-lived bonding could end, Xu Mey pulled them to a table and said, "Sensei, why don¡¯t you tell me about your love story?"

    "I have a love story to tell? Who said that?"

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru disbelievingly. How could she be so insensitive about his feelings?

    Xu Mey was also disappointed with this reply so she changed her target. She turned to Xiao Zhiren to ask, "So, Mr. Xiao, what do you love about my Sensei?"

    Xiao Zhiren thought for a second before speaking, "I love her. All of her."

    "Come on, there must be something that pulled you to her. Any attraction point?" Xu Mey wasn¡¯t gonna let go so easily. She had to know what love made her Sensei to waver.

    "Her eyes... For the very first time, when we met... I had fallen for her eyes."

    "I know Sensei¡¯s eyes are beautiful but that¡¯s it?"

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head, "I didn¡¯t mean it like that. Even more than her beautiful eyes, I loved how much power those orbs held. It felt like her eyes would tear my soul apart and yet, my steps towards her didn¡¯t falter. As if something in me badly wanted to be torn apart by her. She was quiet but her eyes had so much to say that I couldn¡¯t stop myself from wanting and yearning to hear more."

    He heaved a long sigh as he gazed into Ru¡¯s eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear saying, "Indeed, these eyes burned me into ashes and turned my whole world upside down. Yet, I wouldn¡¯t ask for anything else. Because there is no route back from love." Tapping her nose, he added, "Not from this love. Not that I want one."

    "Argh! You¡¯re even difficult to dislike, how is this even fair?" Xu Mey blurted out while scrunching up her nose.

    However, Ru and Xiao Zhiren were both oblivious to her reaction. Because Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t moving his eyes away from Ru and how could Ru look away when his eyes were holding her back. As if she was a puppet in his hands.

    Xiao Zhiren caressed her face and sighed a dreamy sigh, "Damn, your eyes!"

    Ru pped his hand away saying, "You talk too much."

    Xiao Zhiren chuckled lowly and replied, "I have topensate for both of us."

    "Cough! Cough!"

    A couple of coughs broke their short moment of love as Ru and Xiao Zhiren was brought back to brutal reality where three pair of eyes looked at them withplicated emotions.

    "Have some mercy, I¡¯m the only single one here," Adrian said and walked away from them, not wanting to be emotionally assaulted this way. This disy of love was worse thanst night¡¯s beating!

 Chapter 250 Aborable Sensei?

    It wouldn¡¯t be a lie if one said that Adrian¡¯s departure had no effect on the two couples at the table. They were in their own world and Adrian wasn¡¯t a part of it in any way possible.

    "I warned you about the public disy of affection," Ru¡¯s eyes were narrowed while her voice was strained as if suppressing her anger.

    Xiao Zhiren took his chair even closer to hers and hugged her from the side saying, "But I can¡¯t help it."

    "Why not?" she retortedpletely disregarding his look of grievance.

    "Mmm... Because I love it when you look at me with that look."

    Ru frowned in confusion as she asked, "What look?"

    "The look that says how annoyed you¡¯re with me. But at the same time, I love to see the damn passion hidden behind that irritation."

    Ru kept a straight face and didn¡¯t refute his words. Instead, she said, "Are you flirting with me right now?"

    "Nope," he shook his head innocently and added, "I¡¯m being extra friendly with my extra attractive girlfriend."

    Ru pursed her lips and said, "Where did you get that line from?"

    Xiao Zhiren cleared his throat and replied, "From the inte."

    Ru couldn¡¯t keep a straight face any longer, "Do you have to look for ways to flirt with me?"

    He touched the tip of her nose and said, "Who told you to be this cute?"

    Ru opened her mouth to reply but the sound ofughter cut her off. She turned towards the sound and saw Xu Mey trying to stifle herughter. "Sorry. It¡¯s just weird."

    "What is?" Xiao Zhiren asked curiously. He had no problem with Xu Mey or Jie anymore since being close to them, he felt himself to be a part of Ru¡¯s world. It was a good feeling that he couldn¡¯t deny at all.

    "I just never thought there be a day someone would use ¡¯Cute¡¯ as an adjective to describe my Sensei," replied Xu Mey with a small smile on her face.

    Xiao Zhiren pinched Ru¡¯s both cheeks making her scowl and said, "But my little chili is really adorable. I don¡¯t know why you think otherwise."

    "Adorable? Are you sure you know my Sensei?" Xu Mey asked with an arched brow.

    Xiao Zhiren gave half of his attention to Xu Mey while the other half of his attention was on the way his hand was running up and down on Ru¡¯s back. "How would you describe my little chili then?"

    "I have to look for words to describe the most awesome person in my life?" Xu Mey¡¯s reaction was exaggerated whichever way one looked but her feelings of admiration and respect for Ru weren¡¯t. "This task is harder than giving a speech on the topic of a mother."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows knitted together and Ru borated for him, "Her mother wasn¡¯t around for the most part of her life."

    "Oh, I¡¯m sorry to hear that."

    Xu Mey chuckled at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s response and said, "She isn¡¯t dead. Don¡¯t be this sorry. She just ran from her responsibilities. And I grew up. As my Sensei said, I have the most amazing husband and two cutest little kids. Why should I be brooding over the woman who wasn¡¯t even a part of my life?"

    It¡¯d be right to say that Xiao Zhiren was surprised to see Xu Mey¡¯s nonchnt reaction. She talked so casually about it that Xiao Zhiren felt admiration for her.

    "Anyway, if I really have to describe my sensei, I¡¯d say... She¡¯s so wicked that one can¡¯t even bring himself to hate her. She had done so many right things in the wrong ways that I have lost count. But I still look up to Sensei. In all these years, she¡¯s the only person who stayed true to herself. Everyone changed in some way except for Sensei." Xu Mey¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t lose the sparkle as she talked about Ru.

    For a moment, even Ru herself didn¡¯t know what to say. Because for Ru, she was that darkness which couldn¡¯t be loved. She had changed. She knew herself. But why couldn¡¯t she just refute Xu Mey¡¯s words? Perhaps because as Xu Mey said, Ru couldn¡¯t bring herself to lie to herself about who she was. She had been true to one person and that was her own self.

    "If you weren¡¯t a girl, I¡¯d be really scared of you," said Xiao Zhiren as he hugged Ru tighter.

    "Why?" Xu Mey questioned amusingly.

    "I feel like you¡¯d have been the biggest love rival for me," said Xiao Zhiren honestly making Xu Meyugh.

    On the side, Jie hadn¡¯t joined this conversation as he rubbed his bottom lip. He had a contemtive look on his face. He turned his eyes to meet Ru¡¯s and gave an amusing grin as he hand-signed, ¡¯You¡¯re in for a good ride with him.¡¯

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and answered in the same way, ¡¯As if I can¡¯t see that already.¡¯

    Jie grinned widely and replied with hand signs again, ¡¯I really like him.¡¯

    Ru sighed out and looked at Xiao Zhiren as she blurted out, "Me too."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Xiao Zhiren asked looking at her strange expressions.

    Ru shook her head in response and said, "Nothing. I was talking to myself."

    As Xiao Zhiren arched his brows at her, Jie chimed in, "Get used to it, Mr. Xiao. Our Ru¡¯er has a habit of talking to herself a lot. Sometimes, she¡¯ll be so engrossed in an argument with herself that she¡¯d lose contact with reality. You will keep calling but she won¡¯t be listening at all."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at Ru inquisitively, "Really?"

    Ru scratched her head and shrugged her shoulders, "It doesn¡¯t happen that often now. I¡¯ve learned to shun my self-conscious."

    ¡¯Have you now? Why didn¡¯t I get the memo?¡¯ Her conscious chose this moment to pop again making Ru clench her jaw in exasperation. She kept her face straight and replied, ¡¯Do you have to bother me at this moment?¡¯

    ¡¯Yes, yes. I do. How can I not? I wanted to see how you¡¯ll shun me.¡¯ Ru rolled her eyes inwardly and decided to just ignore this conscious. It was pointless anyway. Breathe in and breathe out Ru. Just let this negative energy flow out.

    Hearing a loud crying, Ru¡¯s daze was broken as she looked at two attendantsing to their table with each holding a baby. Ru could recognize the one who was rubbing his eyes adorably. As for the crying one, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess.

 Chapter 251 Dangerous Territory

    "Oh, why is my princess crying?" Jie took his little baby girl from the attendant and cooed softly and lovingly. "Dad is right here. Stop crying."

    As for little Bao, he was taken by the enthusiastic and excited Ru who stood up to take little Boa without any care for the people around her. Not that the little guy was any less enthusiastic. He had opened his and almost jumped into Ru¡¯s arms.

    "Did you miss me? I missed my little bunny very much," Ru¡¯s voice was so gentle that it seemed like someone had taken over her body.

    The little guy ced his hands on Ru¡¯s face as he didst night and giggled as he said, "Ruru..."

    "Huh? My little Bao spoke. Did you hear that Ah-Jie?" Xu Mey had jumped up from her seat in surprise. Tears had pooled in her eyes as she held her son¡¯s hand and kissed it incessantly.

    "I forgot to mention, he talkedst night as well," Jie mentioned offhandedly while patting the back of his daughter.

    "What did he say?" Xu Mey asked curiously and excitedly.

    "Ruru," as if knowing his mother¡¯s question, the answer was given by little Bao himself.

    Jie arched his brows and said, "That¡¯s exactly what he saidst night."

    Xu Mey frowned before looking at the way her son wasfortable in Ru¡¯s arms and said, "He¡¯s calling your name, right Sensei?" Ru nodded her head in response. Suddenly Xu Mey chuckled and said, "Now, I know why he was so quiet until now."

    "What do you mean?" Ru asked distractedly since her attention was mostly on the little bunny in her hands. Even Xiao Zhiren was being disregardedpletely to the sidelines.

    "My little Bao turned out to be just like me," said Xu Mey and Ru arched her brows at her in question, waiting for her to continue. "I also opened up when I met you. My son is also learning from your presence. No wonder he¡¯s my son."

    Ru found her reasoning to be very unreasonable but decided not to say it out loud. It was not the time to argue. It wouldn¡¯t have a good effect on the kids¡¯ minds. She was being mindful of her words and tone. She might have never taken interest in kids before but she knew what a single word could do to an innocent heart and mind.

    "Look, little Juan... That¡¯s your biased and crazy godmother. See, how she is showering all the love on little Bao but doesn¡¯t even care that little Juan is also here." Jie spoke as if he was talking to his daughter but everyone could tell who was supposed to hear those words.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Give her to me. This godmother is not biased at all. I was waiting for her to stop crying. You know how much I despise tears."

    "I know," Xu Mey raised her hand to announce. "How can I forget the way you used to re at me whenever I cried? It was beyond scary."

    Ru cleared her throat and said, "Hold my little bunny for a while."

    Xu Mey extended her hands to take Little Bao from Ru¡¯s arms but the little guy wasn¡¯tplying at all. The cor of Ru¡¯s dress was tightly fisted in little Bao¡¯s small hand as he refused to let go. "Little Bao, let Sensei go." Xu Mey tried to coo a bit but the little guy didn¡¯t listen. He looked at Ru with such glossy eyes that Ru¡¯s heart shook violently.

    She held him back and said, "You can let go. I can hold both of them." For a second, she thought he was gonna cry and her heart didn¡¯t feel at ease. It was like a protective feeling in her rose and she didn¡¯t want to see a single tear in his eyes. She adjusted little Bao in one arm and took little Juan from Jie who was looking at her curiously. Her brown eyes were a shade darker than her brother but they held the same curiosity.

    On the sidelines, when Xiao Zhiren saw this interaction he was too stunned to even move. Never even in his wildest dreams had he imagined to see Ru like this with anyone. She seemed so natural with the twins. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that he was feeling apprehensive and envious of them.

    "Haiz! Now, I finally figured it out," Xiao Zhiren sighed out anxiously.

    "What did you figure out, Mr. Xiao?" It was Jie¡¯s question.

    "I finally found my real love rival. It¡¯ll be hard to get her attention if your son is involved," he said thoughtfully. "I suddenly don¡¯t have a wish for kids. What if they stole my little chili?"

    Jieughed out hearing Xiao Zhiren¡¯s own worries. It was funny seeing a grown man fighting for attention. And the rival was a two years old boy. In a way, he could understand Xiao Zhiren¡¯s feelings better. He was also feeling like thatst night when he saw the look in Ru¡¯s eyes.

    It was like she was ready to bring the whole bloody world at his son¡¯s feet. Just what kind of God forsaken connection did they have?

    Xiao Zhiren walked behind Ru and said, "Love, am I ever gonna be hugged like this?"

    Ru scowled at him saying, "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re even jealous of these kids? I¡¯m their godmother. Do you know what that means?" Xiao Zhiren stayed quiet to hear her reply. "That means, I have the official right to spoil them. Hehe... I finally have a chance to train someone to be as wicked as me."

    Xiao Zhiren shook his head at her excitement and kissed her head saying, "They both are really cute."

    "Aren¡¯t they?" Ru spoke with a sparkle in her eyes which Xiao Zhiren couldn¡¯t look away from.

    While they were lost in their own world, another person who came to witness this scene was left dumbfounded. "Bro, when did you have two kids? You didn¡¯t even tell your brother. I¡¯m hurt."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at his brother and punched his arm saying, "Think before you speak, Ran Zi."

    Ji Syaoran shrugged his shoulders and said, "It¡¯s not my fault that you guys made a picture-perfect family. Anybody can get the wrong idea."

    "Picture perfect?" Xiao Zhiren questioned.

    Ji Syaoran nodded and said, "Yup. You looking at Queenie with a loving gaze and Queenie holding two little buns with a gentle look while leaning her head on your shoulder. Isn¡¯t that what a picture-perfect family looks like? Although I never experienced it, I¡¯m sure this is the one."

    "Syaoran, you¡¯re disturbing my godson and goddaughter." Hearing Ru¡¯s voice, Ji Syaoran immediately zipped his lips and locked it before throwing the key in the sea. He still remembered the badass Ru fromst night. He had no wish to be to get on her wrong side. She was the dangerous territory, he had no wish to trudge through.

 Chapter 252 Go Back Home

    Since Ji Syaoran was quite scared of Ru¡¯s tyrannical self, he leaned close to his brother and said, "Grandmother is looking for you." Xiao Zhiren arched his brows inquisitively and Ji Syaoran added, "She has something important to discuss with you."

    Xiao Zhiren nodded and turned to Ru, "Love, I¡¯ll see youter."

    "Alright," was Ru¡¯s indifferent reply since at this moment, her attention was grabbed by two little ones in her arms.

    Ji Syaoran also stayed there for a moment longer to look at Ru curiously before turning to leave. Following that, Xu Mey took her twins from Ru and went to grab some breakfast for them. However, Jie was left behind who sat on a chair and beckoned Ru to sit.

    "I heard Ji Family is... Complicated," said Jie as Ru sat down on the chair beside him. "Are you okay with that?"

    Ru¡¯s hand on instinct went to touch the watch that Xiao Zhiren gave her as she spoke, "I already know that Ji Family isplicated. Or perhaps, because of just one secret, it has beplicated. No matter which one it is... They certainly have caught my attention."

    Jie rubbed her head and said, "Try not to open the doors that aren¡¯t meant for you to open. You might not be able to escape unscathed otherwise."

    Ru gave him a sincere smile and replied, "I was born with a stroke of strange luck. I was always meant to open the doors which were never meant for me."

    Jie¡¯s eyes shed with anxiousness which he tried to hide but failed. His worry was entirely different at this point. He had seen Ru close to death two times in his life. The first one was when she was only 8; she had eaten a poisonous berry without knowing it. Her father wanted to remove all the poisonous things from around her but she insisted on learning everything that could hurt her.

    ording to her, it was better to know your enemy than to avoid him. And that¡¯s how she mastered the arts of poisons and medicine.

    Her second encounter with death was when she was 18, Jie didn¡¯t know the details since Ru didn¡¯t remember clearly herself. But from her reports, he had gathered that she was a lost cause and yet miraculously survived.

    Now she was 28 and Jie¡¯s fear hade back. From 8 to 18 and 18 to 28, it had a decade each and yet the danger on her was the same. He remembered clearly the words of Ru¡¯s father. Xia Longwei had once said, "If Young Master Jie wants to be my Ru¡¯s friend, I only expect one thing in return. Don¡¯t leave her alone."

    Jie was only 14 at that time, but he could clearly feel a father¡¯s worry and anxiousness along with his fear. That¡¯s why Jie had asked, "Ru is my brother. My best friend. My everything except for a sister. I can never see her as one."

    Even Xia Longwei had couldn¡¯t help his lips from curling up as he said, "Young Master Jie, I don¡¯t want my Ru to know this but... She has shadows of death following her all the time. At her birth, she was called harbor of evil because... It¡¯s in her fate, if she won¡¯t kill, she will be killed. Either way, death won¡¯t leave her alone."

    Till this day, Jie was shocked because of those words but no matter how much he wanted to deny those words, he couldn¡¯t. And that¡¯s why Ru¡¯s happiness was really scaring him inside.

    He held her hand and looked into her eyes as he stressed his words, "Ru¡¯er, promise me that if anything seems too tough, you¡¯ll go back home. Please?"

    Ru frowned at him in surprise and didn¡¯t know what to say. "Bro, what do you mean? Has anything ever been tough for Young Master Ru?"

    Jie pped her head making her gape as he went on, "You don¡¯t always have to act like you can carry the burden of the whole world. Sometimes, let someone else help you carry that burden as well. So, please if you ever feel like its hurting. Please, go back home."

    Ru found the look in his eyes and his tone a bit weird but she didn¡¯t delve into this matter as she replied, "I promise. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t wanna go back home. I¡¯d still say it, my home is still in Shadowwick state. I¡¯m doing everything just to go back anyway."

    Jie¡¯s rxed a bit to hear that and went ahead leaving Ru alone to think. Jie wasn¡¯t the only person who said this to her. From Abbott Wang Xiuying to her own brother, Xia Haoran, everyone told her the same thing... "If it gets tough please go back home."

    But why was everyone asking her to do the same thing? What fear did they all have inmon?

    Ru didn¡¯t stay at the deck for long and walked around aimlessly. And on her aimless walk around, she ended up in a private zone. Obviously, she was gonna leave seeing the heavy security but when a silhouette caught her attention, her curiosity got the best of her.

    Although she could use her tricks to get past the security, she didn¡¯t do so. Instead, she went to one level higher and chose to jump down to the level below. It was a good thing that she was wearing a jumpsuit and not a gown likest night.

    She dusted her hands and leaned against the walls of the balcony. At this time, she was very thankful to her cunning mind for always having tricks up her sleeves.

    Inside the room, Ji Syaoran was sitting on the sofa with a knife and an apple in his hand. After he cut the apple in rabbit shapes, he walked towards the woman who was sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed.

    "Mum, look I even cut the apples in rabbits shapes. Don¡¯t you like it?"

    Ru wasn¡¯t much surprised when she heard Ji Syaoran¡¯s voice. She had already guessed that Ji Syaoran was Xiao Zhi¡¯er and Ji Yifeng¡¯s son. And from her memory, she was certain that Xiao Zhi¡¯er was Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mother as well. The question was why were two brothers living with the title of half-brothers?

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er slowly lifted her eyes to look at the apple and said, "Are you sure I like apples in rabbit shapes? I thought my Syaoran was the one who loved apples cut like this."

    Ru didn¡¯t move, it was the only way to know what Ji Family was trying to hide. Since no one wanted to talk about it, she had her own ways as always. Staying oblivious to something wasn¡¯t in her nature. As a matter of fact, the more she didn¡¯t know, the more her curiosity was piqued and her passion would grow.

 Chapter 253 Help My Mother

    When Ru didn¡¯t hear anything for a long while, she peeked inside and saw Ji Syaoran staring at his mother with aplex look. The rims of his eyes had turned red. He sat down on the floor and held his mother¡¯s hands as he asked, "Mum, you recognize me?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er frowned at him strangely and stroked the side of his face saying, "My little wolf[1], how can I not recognize you? Do you think your mom is that forgetful?"

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s tear finally fell down as he smiled bitterly while thinking, ¡¯How should I tell you? In the past 14 years, this is the fourth time you actually called me by my name.¡¯ Even though his heart was feeling heavy, he couldn¡¯t stop smiling. He kissed his mother¡¯s hands and said, "Mum, your little wolf is really lonely without you."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er touched his head and said, "But mom is right here with you. How can my little wolf be alone? Isn¡¯t my Renren with you?"

    Ji Syaoran¡¯s face stiffened at her words as heughed sadly and asked, "What if I say bro is not with me?"

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had an unpleasant look on her as she replied, "Aye, that¡¯s not possible. My Renren promised to protect his brother for life. How can he not be with you?"

    Ji Syaoran ced his head in herp and said, "Mum still remembers what bro said years ago. Why does mum always forget me then?"

    Ru could hear his resentment and helpless in his choked up voice. She had already gathered that Ji Syaoran was the only person besides the elders of the Ji Family who knew everything. And he was living with the burden of all those truths as well.

    Not being recognized by his own mother... Even the idea was really sad.

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er kept running her hand through his hair as she said, "My little wolf has grown so tall and you¡¯re still jealous of your elder brother?"

    Ji Syaoran lifted his head and looked at her face as he spoke, "Shouldn¡¯t I be? It¡¯s been 14 years since bro left and it¡¯s been the same amount of years that I¡¯ve lost my own mother. Isn¡¯t it weird that even though he is never around, you only know him? And even when I am here, you don¡¯t even spare me a nce."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had a childlike innocence and clueless look on her face as she asked, "What are talking about Syaoran?"

    Ji Syaoran stared at his mother¡¯s face for a long time and shook his head saying, "Nothing. Your Syaoran has be a lost cause."

    "Wasn¡¯t he born a lost cause?" Xiao Zhi¡¯er teased him.

    Ji Syaoran scowled at her and whined like a kid, "Mum... How can you say this to your own son?"

    She pinched his nose and said, "You started it yourself."

    Ji Syaoran couldn¡¯t refute at all. So, he held her hand and ced it back on his head saying, "You keep this right here. I need you to touch my head to make me believe that it isn¡¯t one of my dreams again."

    Hisst words strangely touched Ru way too deeply. She could feel how hurt he was inside. Just what did he have to go through because of his family drama? She had seen him always trying to seek Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attention. But it never crossed her mind that he wasn¡¯t an attention seeker, he was reallycking attention in his life.

    Even if the whole world showered him with love, what did it amount to? In the end, his own mother couldn¡¯t recognize him most of the time and as for his brother, he didn¡¯t recognize him either. Since for Xiao Zhiren, Ji Syaoran was still a half-brother. How unfair it was to him!

    Ru was just pondering over some thoughts when she heard the door opening and turned to see who entered. It was her first time seeing Ji Caihong since the time she got on the cruise ship. Actually, she hadn¡¯t seen this girl for a very long time. And if Ru¡¯s memory wasn¡¯t good, she¡¯d have really forgotten Ji Caihong¡¯s existence.

    Both Ji Syaoran and Xiao Zhi¡¯er looked in her direction. Ji Caihong was a bit stunned to see Xiao Zhi¡¯er but soon a smile bloomed on her face as she called out, "Mom!"

    Ru¡¯s attention, however, had shifted to Xiao Zhi¡¯er. The woman¡¯s face had gone pale. She immediately stood up and pulled Ji Syaoran behind her. She appeared vignt as she red at Ji Caihong and raised her hand to stop her from taking another step.

    "Don¡¯t you daree near my son!"

    Ru¡¯s curiosity took another turn when she heard Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s words.

    "Mom, it¡¯s me. Xiao Hong. Your daughter." Ji Caihong tried to speak but Xiao Zhi¡¯er didn¡¯t give her a chance at all.

    "I don¡¯t have a daughter. You¡¯re lying. You¡¯re that evil witch that ruined my family. I won¡¯t let you take my Syaoran. No, I won¡¯t." Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s eyes seemed dazed as if she had gone back in time.

    Ji Syaoran pressed her hand and said in a soothing voice, "Mum, calm down. It¡¯s alright." He turned to look at Ji Caihong and said, "Why are you here?"

    Tears were trickling down Ji Caihong¡¯s face as she looked at Xiao Zhi¡¯er¡¯s protective stance for Ji Syaoran and shouted, "Why can¡¯t I be here? Isn¡¯t she my mother as well? Why does she always do this to me only?"

    Hearing the sharp tone of Ji Caihong as if Xiao Zhi¡¯er was triggered. Her whole body shook violently as she picked up a ss vase and threw it on the floor before throwing everything on the floor from the table.

    "Get out! Leave my family alone! Isn¡¯t it enough that you killed my Renren?" As she spoke, she suddenly fell on the floor as if realizing something, she mumbled, "Right. You murdered my son. You took him from me."

    "Mum!" Ji Syaoran kneeled down beside and held her body in his arms as he red at Ji Caihong. "Are you happy now? Leave already."

    Ji Caihong looked reluctant and anxious as she looked at the lifeless state of Xiao Zhi¡¯er but she still turned around and left the room with tears in her eyes. Ji Syaoran kept shaking his mother but she didn¡¯t react at all as if she had gone into a state of shock. Ji Syaoran was scared out of his wits.

    Ru who had been observing until now chose this moment to slid open the door and walked inside. Ji Syaoran was stunned to see her there but before he could ask, Ru said, "I can either answer your question or save your mother. Hope you know your priorities."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t even have to think as he said, "Please, help my mother if you can."

    [1] Syaoran literally means ¡¯little wolf¡¯

 Chapter 254 A Past Well Hidden

    Ji Syaoran stood at the side silently as he watched Ru examining his mother carefully with caution. She was so concentrated that even Ji Syaoran was surprised. He left her alone with his mother and went to clean up the broken shards from the ground.

    After he cleaned the room to make it look like it¡¯s previous state, only then did he came back to stand beside Ru. He saw her taking out silver needles from his mother¡¯s body and asked, "Is she okay?"

    Ru nodded in affirmation and said, "She¡¯s out of her state of shock. But her mind needs rest that¡¯s why I made her sleep. When she¡¯ll wake up, hopefully, she¡¯ll have a clear mind."

    Ji Syaoran heaved a sigh of relief to hear that. He was really worried about his mother. "Thank you so much for your help!" Ji Syaoran thanked Ru with a sincere expression.

    Ru waved him off saying, "Sit over there." Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t know why she said it but he did as she asked him to do and sat down on the sofa. Ru brought the first-aid kit and said, "Didn¡¯t you say your hands are precious? How can you be this careless?" It seemed like she was reprimanding him but Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t mind. Earlier when he tried to hold his mother before she could fall on the broken shards, he did indeed got a deep cut on his hand but until now, he wasn¡¯t paying attention to it.

    "You have a lot of questions, right?" asked Ji Syaoran with his eyes trying to make out any kind of change in Ru¡¯s expression. "My family is veryplicated. Leaves a lot of questions in one¡¯s mind."

    "Are you going to answer those questions?" was Ru¡¯s response which took Ji Syaoran by surprise. "I can¡¯t force you for answers but if I tried to find the answers my way..."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t need to hear her reply. "I can answer you since your bro¡¯s girlfriend. You deserve to know all this. Besides, you should know what dangerous waters you¡¯re entering. You should know that a seemingly very calm and perfect Ji Family isn¡¯t anything like its perfect image." Ru looked at his face before packing the first aid kit. "Our family wasn¡¯t always like this. Soplicated. At least, my childhood wasn¡¯t. I remember having a very happy family with dad, mom, bro and me. Everything was perfect."

    "Stop right there." Ru raised her hand to stop him and asked, "Do I look like I want to hear about your happy childhood? Just start from where everything went downhill."

    "Tsk. Tsk. You¡¯re really impatient just like Xie Rong." Ru coughed at his words as he added, "I was feeling so good reminiscing about the good part. Sigh! Fine, I¡¯ll start with my bad memories then."

    Ru leaned back in her seat while he stood up to walk towards the windows looking out at the sea. He seemed lost as he started, "Everything started changing when Yuan was born." Ru looked at his back and could feel his gloominess. "There was a secret mom kept from dad back then. She told no one that if she gave birth to Yuan, her own life will be in danger."

    Ru didn¡¯t need to hear this since she was aware of this fact very well. She was one of those people who warned Xiao Zhi¡¯er about her pregnancy.

    "I don¡¯t know the details since I was too young but I do know that after Yuan¡¯s birth, mom¡¯s health deteriorated and she was bedridden for two years. She had aged within days as if breathing herst breath. Dad was on the verge of breaking down with her." Ru silently let him continue. "Dad took mom anywhere he could to find someone who could cure her. Leaving me, bro and Yuan with grandmother, he did everything just to find anything that could bring him hope."

    "Wait!" Ji Syaoran looked back at Ru inquisitively and as went on, "You didn¡¯t mention Ji Caihong. Isn¡¯t she your twin?"

    Ji Syaoran smiled mockingly as he said, "Just because she was born on the same day and the same date as me, doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s my twin. Technically, she isn¡¯t even our sister at all. Yes, dad adopted herter on but that¡¯s different."

    "That means you, Zhiren and Yuan are the only real brothers. Also, the sons of Ji Family?" Ru asked to reconfirm this thing. Ji Syaoran nodded his head in affirmation. "Then how did Ji Caihonge into this picture?"

    "I was just about to get to that part if you hadn¡¯t interrupted me," said Ji Syaoran and Ru sealed her lips and urged him to continue with his story and he did. "Do you know that my dad has no siblings?"

    Ru did know that, "Yes. But on your grandmother¡¯s insistence, your grandfather adopted two kids from the side branch of the family."

    "Not many people know that... How do you know that?" Ji Syaoran looked at her with aplex gaze.

    Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchntly as she replied, "I have my ways."

    Ji Syaoran didn¡¯t press this matter as he said, "Alright. So one was a girl named Ji Liu and the other was a boy named Ji Lie. Both were siblings who lost their parents when they were young and grandmother adopted them. However,ter on, because our uncle Ji Lie tried to exploit his power and status, he was sent out of the family."

    He took a long and heavy breath, "Sometimes, I wonder if our family would have been any different if Uncle Lie wasn¡¯t sent out of the family. Could anything have been different?" Taking a brief pause, he added, "Because when dad was running around with mom to save her life, someone stole my mother¡¯s status and life. Worst was that... That person dared to rob a mother of her kids as well. In just a year, our family was left in shambles."

 Chapter 255 Secrets

    "Yah! How can someone take another¡¯s identity and life? Unless you¡¯re talking about identical twins, doppelgangers, or some bloody fantasy stuff." Ru hit his back without holding back making Ji Syaoran fall. Seeing how he fell, she mumbled a soft, "Sorry about that. Sometimes, I lose my control over my strength."

    Ji Syaoran tried rubbing his back but his arm couldn¡¯t reach and he had to bear with the pain as he said, "Can you be a bit gentle? And why are you so impatient? Let meplete first."

    "It¡¯s not my fault," almost shouted Ru at his face but considering how his mother was sleeping in the room, she lowered her volume and continued, "You stop taking breaks. I love talking in riddles but right now, I have no interest in solving riddles. Come clean all at once." Taking a deep breath, she went on, "So tell me, was Ji Lie behind your family¡¯splicated condition?"

    Ji Syaoran looked at her and shook his head in negation, "Uncle Lie died even before our family broke."

    "Then what happened?" she asked with a scowl on her face.

    Ji Syaoran heaved a long sigh and started, "Don¡¯t interrupt now. Here it goes..."

    Xiao Zhi¡¯er had fallen sick right after giving birth to her third son. She spent most of her time in her room which had been equipped with world-ss pieces of equipment. At most, people could say that those machines kept her breathing back then. Instead of getting better, her health was deteriorating at the speed one could see with the naked eye.

    She had spent two years like a lifeless person and after that, finally, some hope was brought for her survival. Ji Yifeng left with his wife for abroad to get her treated at any cost.

    But in their absence, a new storm had started in Ji Family. Yuan was only two when Xiao Zhiren¡¯s grandmother, Lady Jin Mi heard the news of Ji Lie¡¯s death. No matter what grandmother Ji loved her adopted son dearly and when she got the news that Ji Lie had left behind a wife and daughter, she couldn¡¯t help herself and brought the mother and daughter back home.

    That daughter was none other than Ji Caihong while her mother¡¯s name was Ling Qiaolian. Grandmother Ji had instantly taken a liking to Ji Caihong just because she was a girl. She always wanted a daughter in the family and that¡¯s why she even adopted Ji Liu.

    Later on, Ling Qiaolian¡¯s interaction with the boys of the house increased. She started caring for Yuan like a son and even treated Xiao Zhiren and Ji Syaoran like her own. Her gentle, kind and loving demeanor touched grandmother Ji very much. Seeing her effort to get epted as a family member, Ling Qiaolian did anything and everything.

    But who knew that her stay for one year would bring about so many changes. When Xiao Zhi¡¯er finally came back after a long stay, her whole family had changed. What she had to face was a son who looked at her with caution in his eyes.

    Seeing how Xiao Zhiren treated Ling Qiaolian and how Yuan had started calling her his mother, Xiao Zhi¡¯er was broken all over again. The sons for whom she fought with death had gone far from her. The only one who stayed by her side was Ji Syaoran. Because at his younger age, Ji Syaoran was a bit autistic and his only interaction was with his own mother. He couldn¡¯t get close to anyone except for her.

    Ji Yifeng stayed with his wife as always and consoled her. Xiao Zhi¡¯er wasn¡¯t a quitter. She tried everything to get her kids back but wasn¡¯t very sessful. One day, she found the reason behind that. She saw Ling Qiaolian adding something in her son¡¯s food. And when she got it tested, it turned out the food had traces of hypnotics.

    "Can you even imagine how mom¡¯s world must have crumbled right there?" Ji Syaoran asked with tears in his eyes.

    Ru was too engrossed in listening to this masterpiece that sounded right out of revenge plot drama. Even she was having trouble digesting it. She as an expert in medicines and hypnosis knew what it could do. Even adults would feel helpless before such things, much less a thirteen-year-old Xiao Zhiren. He was barely a teen. As for Yuan, he was already a nk sheet of paper at three. One could write anything and he would believe it.

    "How did your mother became mentally unstable? What trauma brought her to this point?" Ru asked in an urging manner.

    "Mom wanted to confront Ling Qiaolian but the same night, Ling Qiaolian tried to kidnap us, three brothers. She wanted to take us all away with her. But both Ji Family and Xiao Family were alerted because of mom¡¯s early discovery of those hypnotics," stated Ji Syaoran. "We still don¡¯t know who was helping that woman but she managed to board a ship. However, when mom saved us from the sea. She tried to escape on a helicopter and took Yuan and bro with her. During that long dark night, mom saw bro falling in the water and she fainted."

    "And when she woke up, she assumed that Zhiren was dead. That¡¯s why her memory is so bad." Rupleted his words for him and he nodded. "What about Ji Caihong? Why didn¡¯t she take her?"

    Ji Syaoran snorted, "That woman abandoned her own daughter. But when I found bro after four years, that¡¯s when I got to know what her intention was."

    "She was trying to make the real son of Ji Family stand against his own blood. Watching the bloodbath done by close kin... Hmm... I thought we were out of imperial days." Ru really wanted to hit someone at this point. This plot was twisted as it could get. Or so she thought.

    "Bro¡¯s memory was distortedpletely when I met him. He treated me as a half-brother and assumed that dad had cheated on our mother. In bro¡¯s mind, Ling Qiaolian had be his mother."

    "Because she used hypnosis to rece your mother¡¯s face with her own. And that¡¯s why Zhiren¡¯s affection for his own mother shifted towards her." Ru rubbed her forehead as she said, "I need time to get this in my head without the possibility of my mind exploding with such information."

 Chapter 256 For Herself

    "I have tried helping bro to recover his memories but..."

    Ru interrupted him as she abruptly spoke, "No, you can¡¯t do that." Ji Syaoran looked at her strangely as she added, "Do you even know the consequences of recklessly trying to push reality at him?"

    Ji Syaoran looked dejected as he replied, "Yes, I do. The doctor said I can lose my brother for life. Why do you think I¡¯m living as a half-brother? Why do you think my father is willing to be the viin for bro? Why do you think that my whole family is a mess?"

    Ru could understand his feelings and that made it worse for her. He alone had to go through everything and not only that, he even had to call Ji Caihong as his sister even though he knew that it was Ji Caihong¡¯s mother that ruined his own family. Apparently, Ji Syaoran wasn¡¯t as carefree as he seemed to the world. He was carrying the burden of secrets too heavy for his age.

    "Aren¡¯t you well-versed in hypnosis? Can¡¯t you help my brother?" Ji Syaoran looked at Ru hopefully but thetter shook her head.

    "It¡¯s not that simple anymore. It has been 13 years since his memories have altered. At this point, I believe that deep hypnosis had been used which means, if I tried messing with his memories again, it will have consequences." Ru replied in a calm manner without showing the distress she was feeling inside. "Brain had always been the mostplicated part of our body. It¡¯s almost impossible to understand the neural system. However, what I can tell you is that I¡¯ll look for a way to help him."

    Ji Syaoran looked rxed to hear that. It meant a lot to him when she said that she was willing to help. "Actually, my dad wanted to look for the Xia family to help my brother. It¡¯s a widely known legend that Xia n had always been the masters of hypnosis. But our only connection with the Xia n was my mother who doesn¡¯t even recognize herself 7 out of 10 times."

    Ru heard his words but stayed quiet. It wasn¡¯t like she was gonna tell him that she was from Xia n herself. "Butter I heard that my grandfather did contact someone from the Xia n, however, their answer was the same as you. Messing with bro¡¯s brain can do more harm than good."

    Ru wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his words at all. She was taught by the same people, obviously, her answer was aligned with theirs. However, she was a bit surprised to know that Ji Rusheng, Ji Syaoran¡¯s grandfather actually managed to contact someone from her family. But she didn¡¯t voice her surprise out at all.

    "Syaoran, I recall hearing something about your father¡¯s second wife. Even the Ji Family servants think that Ling Qiaolian was Ji Yifeng¡¯s wife. What¡¯s the story behind that?" Ru asked after she briefly thought about this whole matter again.

    "That¡¯s because back then my grandmother really suggested dad to marry her. Seeing how she was obedient and a perfect daughter-inw material, my grandmother wanted dad to have a happy family. Since mom wasn¡¯t in good condition anyway. But it was dad¡¯s stubbornness that he would rather spend his whole life alone but he won¡¯t give mom¡¯s status, identity or kids to another woman."

    Ru smiled feeling proud of herself that she didn¡¯t judge Ji Yifeng wrongly. That man was truly worth respecting. Poor him, even he had to spend his whole life with a lot of burdens. He was already worried and distressed because of his wife and then his own son added misery to his life.

    "Because of that one time, Ji Family servants really assumed that Ling Qiaolian as the second mistress of the home. Besides, grandmother never told anyone who Ling Qiaolian was because if anyone else in the side branch knew that grandmother brought Uncle Lie¡¯s wife and kid back home even after what he did, no one would have agreed." He sighed out heavily and added, "Because of her that mistake, she still has no way to repent. Since then even my dad stopped talking to my grandmother like he used to. For dad, grandmother is just like any distant rtive whom he¡¯ll be only polite with. For him, grandmother is the reason why his family broke. Dad doesn¡¯t say it but almost everyone knows that dad still mes grandmother for everything."

    Ru whispered to herself, "I¡¯d be angry with him myself if he wasn¡¯t ming someone."

    ording to Ru, we as humans always need a thing or person to me. To let out our pent up frustration otherwise, it ends up eating us inside. She also knew that Ji Yifeng wasn¡¯t just ming his mother, he was ming himself mostly. And that self-me was making him distant from his own mother.

    "Syaoran, I¡¯d like to see your mother¡¯s reports," said Ru after something came to her mind.

    "Why?"

    "Because I need to know her condition in detail," replied Ru.

    Ji Syaoran agreed to give her the reports after going back. As for Ru, she had already started nning what to do. She had to recover Xiao Zhiren¡¯s memories not only for him but also for herself. It was an insult to her that someone forgot her so easily.

    As she came out of the room with Ji Syaoran, she saw Ji Caihong crying at the side while Ji Yifeng sat beside her with aplicated look. "Xiao Hong, I told you not to go to Zhi¡¯er¡¯ room."

    "But dad, she¡¯s my mother as well," Ji Caihong sounded emotional.

    "I told you already that she can¡¯t remember you. Please, stop worsening her condition. I can understand that you also want a mother but try to understand."

    "Why does no one tries to understand me?" Ji Caihong questioned angrily before she wiped her tears and stormed off.

    Ji Yifeng was left sitting all alone with a dejected look. Ru was really shocked to see that even though Ji Caihong wasn¡¯t his daughter, Ji Yifeng was trying his best to be a father to her. That needed some real hardcore strength.

 Chapter 257 You Arent Alone

    Ru could count on her fingers the number of times she felt like she had no idea what was going on or what she was supposed to do. And today certainly was one of those days for her. The situation with Xiao Zhiren¡¯s family seemed so twisted that she was wanted to bang her head against the wall.

    And it never had happened that Young Master Ru wanted to do something and she didn¡¯t. That¡¯s exactly why when she came back to her room, she started hitting her head against the wall. At this point, this was the only thing that seemed sane to her insanely raging emotions. If she as a third party was going through such emotions, she could hardly imagine what the people involved were going through.

    With her eyes closed, as she again hit the wall, she felt something soft. Opening her eyes, she looked at the hand that had blocked her and turned her eyes to look at Xiao Zhiren looking at her with an inquisitively look and worry written all over his face.

    "You okay, love?" He asked.

    Ru stared at his face strangely before she held thepels of his jacket and mmed his back against the wall taking him by a shock or storm, that was yet to figure out. "Woah, for a second I forgot that my little chili is quite rough." He was still trying to be funny because her expressionless face was making him anxious now.

    Ru ced both her hands on his shoulders and stared straight at his face for a long time without saying anything. Although she was quite used to the silence, he wasn¡¯t. Especially when the silent person was his own little chili. He had always seen her bickering with him or saying something outrageous. This was new since she was quiet. So quiet that it felt almost scary.

    "Love, don¡¯t scare me like that. Do you have something to say? Even if you have nothing to say, just talk. Make a sound to let me know that I¡¯m not the crazy person who¡¯s actually talking to himself." Xiao Zhiren urged her to talk or do anything. But she didn¡¯t even flinch. If anything, her expressions darkened more than before.

    Ru cupped his face and made him look into her eyes as she thought, ¡¯I have a lot to say as in a lot. But I can¡¯t. My one careless word can put your life at risk and the idea of losing you is already scary enough. Oh, Ru! When did you be a ve to your feelings? But for the first time, I, Young Master Ru is not feeling pity for being a ve to my own feelings. Because those feelings belong to you. Just when did you be so bloody important?¡¯

    "I can¡¯t hear you, love. Can you please say it a little louder?" Xiao Zhiren could feel that she was saying something. Those eyes of hers were enough to tell him that. But what was stopping her from saying it out loud? She had never been the person to hold herself or her words back. He loved her bluntness but now, she was being like this. It suddenly felt odd and so not like her.

    All of sudden, Ru sighed out and dropped her head on his shoulder as she said, "I¡¯m tired."

    "Huh?" Xiao Zhiren¡¯s brows quirked up in confusion.

    "Stay still. Let me recharge for a while," her words were enough to make him freeze. He stopped asking and hugged her.

    Both of them didn¡¯t know how long they stayed like that but one thing was certain that none of them wanted to let go. As Ru could hear his heartbeat, she felt herself calming down as if everything was alright in the world. However, it was a pity that she could never let her brain ept that everything was alright. That was a lie she could never tell herself.

    "If something¡¯s bothering you, you can always share it with me," Xiao Zhiren was really in a stump to see her acting this way. "But if you don¡¯t want to that¡¯s alright as well."

    "If I tell you, will you help me?" Her question sounded really unnecessary to him. Was there ever a doubt that his little chili said something and he wouldn¡¯t do so? If there really was the slightest bit of doubt in her then he needed to do something about that.

    "That¡¯s a dumb question, I will always help you even without you saying it," Xiao Zhiren replied while stroking her hair lovingly.

    "Are you calling me dumb?" Ru tilted her head to stare at him and Xiao Zhiren was taken aback.

    "Huh? I didn¡¯t call you dumb. I said your question is dumb," Xiao Zhiren tried to exin himself.

    Ru pushed him away and with her hands on her waist she said, "The question was asked by me and if that question seemed dumb to you that means I¡¯m also dumb, right?"

    "Does it even make sense?" Xiao Zhiren took a step towards her but she stepped backward.

    "Woah! Now, I don¡¯t even make sense to you. That¡¯s a shocker," said Ru making cold sweat appear on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face.

    He moved towards her while she kept going back. It continued until Ru¡¯s legs hit the couch behind her. Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stop moving and Ru had to lean backward now to avoid him. However, in the end, both of them fell on the couch. Xiao Zhiren held her body down and said, "Can you stop avoiding my question with your weird logic? I really want to help you."

    "And if you can¡¯t help me?" she asked.

    Xiao Zhiren shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I¡¯ll stay with you."

    "For what?"

    "To make sure..." he lowered his head to brush the tip of his nose with hers and added, "That you aren¡¯t alone." With that, he tilted his head and captured her lips with his own. Before even falling for her so deeply, he knew that he wasn¡¯t of much help to her. But that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to walk away.

    So what if her world and his were poles apart. Their heartbeat was one and that was more than enough.

 Chapter 258 Young Miss... Ru?

    Rationality and love have nothing to do with each other. Because love had never been logical and true love is always beyond rationality. Rational worlds are too fragile since they are based on fragile emotions.

    And when you find heaven on your lover¡¯s lips, that¡¯s when the rationality is truly lost. At least, that¡¯s what happened to Xiao Zhiren whopletely lost his control and rationality as the kiss got deeper and deeper. If he could, he would never want to pull away but the fact that he had that burning desire to taste every single inch of her body made him pull away. But only enough to drop kisses down her jawline to her neck.

    Her hair fell over her shoulders seductively making her look more tantalizing and captivating. With such beauty looming before his eyes, how could he hold himself back? He couldn¡¯t possibly stop his hands from wanting to touch her, feel her closer than she already was.

    Her corbones were covered with the fabric of the dress but it didn¡¯t stop him from kissing down towards the valley of her breasts. Ru felt her body burn in a strange way. She could feel the heat of his lips even with that fabric between them. But the possibility of it not being there was like a short-circuit. Because she couldn¡¯t tell whether she was ready for that step or not.

    Xiao Zhiren was obviously oblivious to her inner battle while he raised his head to kiss her exposed shoulders and his hand went behind her back to pull her zipper down. Ru clenched her fists tightly to stop herself while her teeth bit the inside of her cheek.

    Xiao Zhiren was only able to pull the zipper down to her mid-back when Ru tasted blood in her mouth and her senses returned. Lifting her hand, she fisted his hair and pulled his head up saying, "Don¡¯t take liberties that are beyond my control."

    "Ouch! Ouch! Can you let go of my hair, first?" Only from his reminder did Ru noticed that she was using more force than she intended.

    "Sorry," she apologized and let his hair go.

    Xiao Zhiren sat up, not before dropping a kiss on her lips and said, "You don¡¯t have to apologize."

    "When you live in London, sorry bes a habit you can¡¯t possibly shake off that easily," was Ru¡¯s reply which Xiao Zhiren had to agree with. He had heard and seen how on London streets even if you bump into someone, you¡¯ll hear a sorry. They say sorry for almost anything. But then again, it showed how the British were more polite people, so who canin about that?

    "Anyways, I meant that you don¡¯t have to apologize even for stopping me," said Xiao Zhiren sincerely. Ru closed her eyes and he jokingly said, "Do my words sound that touching? Did they move you to tears?"

    Ru opened her eyes at looked at him with a displeased look as she said, "Even if I¡¯m moved, I won¡¯t shed tears for that."

    "Well, you can¡¯t possibly control emotions," said Xiao Zhiren in a knowing manner.

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and sighed out, "I might not be able to control emotions but just like that my tears are not in my control as well. I have never cried in my life before."

    Xiao Zhiren looked at her strangely as he asked, "Never? Not even once?" Ru shook her head in negation. "What about when you¡¯re feeling pain? Or when you¡¯re sad, upset, heartbroken?"

    "Zhiren, I have never cried. ording to my grandfather¡¯s study of my brain, I¡¯m incapable of producing tears," replied Ru in such an indifferent manner that Xiao Zhiren felt weird. "I can feel emotions. I feel pain, sadness, and any other feeling. But none of those feelings bring me to tears. It has something to do with my brain even though there were a lot of rumors in my n about my condition."

    "Rumors?" asked Xiao Zhiren curiously.

    "Yeah, my astrology master used to say that I¡¯ve cried enough in my previous life and that¡¯s why I can¡¯t cry anymore." Hearing her words, he gaped at her in disbelief. "I have an even better one. There was another rumor that I¡¯m cursed. Well, I am cursed but I¡¯m sure my inability to shed tears has nothing to do with that."

    It took him a while to digest her words before he recalled something, "You learned astrology?"

    "Oh, I¡¯ve learned a lot of weird and useless things. Stop getting surprised over everything. I¡¯m the person who learned Latin- a deadnguage - just because I thought it was cool."

    Xiao Zhiren ruffled her hair at her way of replying. "It seems like you have a lot on your mind."

    As Xiao Zhiren noticed her underlying shades of worries, she took a deep breath and stood up, "I do have a lot on my mind but... I can deal with it. After all, who am I? I¡¯m Young Master Ru! I can do it all."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face scrunched up and he said, "Love, can you stop addressing yourself as Young Master Ru? It seems weird."

    Ru¡¯s brows furrowed as she looked at him and said, "But I am Young Master Ru."

    "You¡¯re a woman. It should be Young Miss Ru," reminded Xiao Zhiren in a polite way.

    Ru crossed her arms over her chest and stared squarely at his face. "My gender can¡¯t define my title. I was Young Master Ru and I¡¯d like to stay that way. Young Master Ru is not a name. It¡¯s my identity. It¡¯s who I really am. Alev Knight, Xie Rong, or my any other title can fade away. But Young Master Ru is that reality of my life which I can¡¯t run from."

    "You really take your gender way too lightly," said Xiao Zhiren with a shake of his head.

    Ru gave a lopsided grin and said, "My father didn¡¯t teach me about gender equality. He made me live through it and made me realize that there was not a single person of the opposite gender in my n who was better than me. So, for me, gender is just an excuse for people who want to give up. Otherwise, gender is not a barrier. The barrier is our societal norms and our own thinking."

 Chapter 259 Ru And Embarrassed?

    Xiao Zhiren called himself an idiot for trying to reason with Ru. He knew very well that her logic was out of his understanding and yet he dared to question her. If he wasn¡¯t an idiot, what else was he? However, what made him an even bigger idiot was the fact that he loved every word she said. Even when she made no sense at all.

    He noticed Ru pulling at her hair extensions lightly as if she was irritated by those things attached to her while she yawned and said, "Bloody hell, I¡¯m in serious need of some sugar intake."

    "I think I have some biscuits here," said Xiao Zhiren almost on instinct as if he was ready to serve her. Well, technically, he wanted to present her with the whole world but the only obstacle was that she was someone who could have the world all on her own.

    Ru smiled at him before full onughing at his face as she said, "Don¡¯t bother, Mr. American with a dodgy definition of a biscuit." Xiao Zhiren gave her a stern look in response and she challenged him back with the same enthusiasm as she went on, "What? Can you argue? For you, biscuits are soft and ky. I only eat crunchy biscuits."

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s fighting spirit suddenly took over as he said, "Oh, right as if it¡¯s not weird to eat beans on a toast. Like, who does that?"

    Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Oi, mate! It¡¯s delicious, economical and takes only five minutes to make." She took a pause before saying, "And you guys talk weird as well. When I first went to America, do you even know how much I felt embarrassed?"

    "Embarrassed? And you? Why?" Even Xiao Zhiren was surprised and confused considering Ru¡¯s personality and nature, how could one embarrass such a thick-skinned person.

    Ru thought about whether to share that incident or not before finally speaking up, "I went to a supermarket and at the checkout counter, thedy said, ¡¯Paper or stic?¡¯ I stared at her like I was looking at an alien. I ced my money and credit card on the counter and said, ¡¯I have both, paper money and stic one.¡¯"

    "Pfft!" Ru wasn¡¯t even done yet and Xiao Zhiren had already lost his control over hisughter. "Love, she was asking whether you want a paper bag or stic bag."

    Ru gave him a hard stare and said, "I figuredter on. But at that time, quite a few people had the same reaction as you. Trust me, it wasn¡¯t fun at all considering I didn¡¯t have the foggiest idea why everyone wasughing." When Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t stopughing, she pulled out a cigarette from out of nowhere and pulled out her lighter saying, "I¡¯ll just take a fag break. I¡¯ll be right back in a jiffy."

    Xiao Zhiren held her arm and stopped her before snatching the cigarette from her lips and said, "This is not good for you." He crushed the cigarette making Ru re at him.

    "Wind your neck in![1]" eximed Ru at him before pushing his hand off of her arm and adding, "That was the one cigarette I managed to steal and you even ruined that!"

    "You even stole it?" asked Xiao Zhiren in disbelief and Ru coughed awkwardly.

    "Borrowed it. I was gonna pay him back for that," she tried to exin before realizing that she didn¡¯t have to state her innocence before him. Like when did Young Master Ru felt the need to actually exin something to someone? And why? She felt ridiculous at the idea and said, "You know what, I¡¯m zonked![2] And I have no energy left to argue with you. Or perhaps, my brain cells don¡¯t want to do this overwork for you. So..." she pushed her lighter in his hand and went on, "I¡¯ll just go and find something to eat for myself."

    Before Xiao Zhiren could even open his mouth to say anything, she had vanished. He shook his head seeing how impatient she was but the smile on his face stiffened when he looked at the lighter she left in his hand. His eyes had widened in shock before his brows knitted together in confusion.

    As for Ru, she had stuck with her words and went straight to look for something to eat. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything since the morning. When she finally sat down to eat, she saw Ji Syaoran and called him over asking, "How¡¯s your mother?"

    "She¡¯s sleeping for now," he replied in a low voice as he carefully looked around.

    "And your sister who is actually not your sister but you still have to pretend like she is for some bizarre reason?"

    Hearing Ru¡¯s words, Ji Syaoran pursed his lips. He really didn¡¯t know whether tough or not. He tapped his fingers on the tabletop and said, "I think she¡¯s doing well. Her fiance has joined the cruise. So, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s better now."

    "She¡¯s engaged?" asked Ru in surprise.

    "Yup," replied Ji Syaoran as he watched her eating without any restraint. He noticed how she didn¡¯t care about how she looked while eating and yet managed to look suave. No wonder his brother had fallen for such a unique piece. As he looked around, he pointed at the upper deck and said, "Oh, there she is. Ji Caihong with her fiance."

    Ru licked the sauce from the side of her lips and looked in the direction he was pointing. Because of the sunlight, she didn¡¯t manage to see the face of the man beside Ji Caihong but she did manage to catch the happiness on Ji Caihong¡¯s face. It was obvious to see how much lovestruck that girl was.

    "She must love him a lot if his presence made her this happy," remarked Ru while taking another bite of her burger.

    "It really makes me wonder what love really is," mumbled Ji Syaoran softly.

    However, Ru didn¡¯t get to catch his words since her eyes were stuck on that man beside Ji Caihong. When he turned and his eyes met with Ru¡¯s both of their eyes widened in surprise? Or shock? Whatever it was, they both were staring at each other in disbelief.

    [1] "Wind your neck in": The ssic way of telling someone that their opinion is not appreciated in the given scenario.

    [2] "Zonked": Tired, Exhausted.

 Chapter 260 Start Of Our Misery

    Ru¡¯s forgot all about her hunger as she abruptly stood up with her eyes stuck on that very familiar face. Before she could feel the happiness of this reunion, a sudden sh of memory made her whole body tremble.

    While she was going through an emotional breakdown, the person staring back at her held the look of disbelief mixed with happiness. As soon as he got over his surprise, he practically just jumped down andnded right before Ru.

    "Ru?" his emotions were mixed up along with his feelings when he softly said her name and tears pooled into his clear blue eyes.

    Ru¡¯s hands clenched into fists as she stared nkly at him and said, "Rong."

    Yes, the person standing before her was the real Rong. He was the reason behind why she took the identity of Xie Rong. It was a reminder of him.

    A smile bloomed on Rong¡¯s face when she called out his name and as he lifted his arms to hug her, he heard a voice which made him halt.

    "Ru? What are you doing here?"

    Instinctively, Ru turned around to look at the person who called her and so did Rong. But as soon as Xiao Zhiren came in view, Ru lost her look of anger while Rong¡¯s eyes raged with fury.

    "Not him again!" Ru heard from Rong and turned to look at him questioningly. But while she was turning, Rong had already moved with a swoosh and ended up throwing a punch at Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face without holding back.

    Seeing the blooding out of Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mouth, Ru was stuck for a moment but just as Rong lifted his hand to throw another punch, Ru held his fist in her hand and red at him.

    "Let go!" said Rong in a warning tone.

    "Touch him again and I¡¯ll kill you right here without even thinking," replied Ru without hesitation.

    Rong dropped his hand by his side and looked at her with a strange expression. He looked hurt but not surprised at he said in anguage that only Ru could understand there, "It¡¯s been a decade and you¡¯re still protecting him? I thought you acted like a fool on the spur of the moment back then but it seems like you have really turned into a fool."

    "The person who pulled the triggered at my heart doesn¡¯t deserve to judge my actions," replied Ru in the same way.

    Rong¡¯s brows furrowed together as he heard her words. He looked confused. But the memory she got back was from the same moment when she was shot. For the very first time, she finally saw whose hand it was that pulled the trigger of that gun. But it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that she truly felt betrayed and hurt when that hand turned out to be of the person standing right before her eyes.

    Before Rong could make sense of what she was saying, Ru had already dropped all her facade and turned into the devil she was known for. Without thinking, she took off her shoes and ran towards Rong to attack. Any normal person would have never avoided her attack. One could barely see her moving with her nimble movements. However, Rong avoided every single strike of hers with ease.

    While they both were immersed in their own fight, a huge crowd had gathered at the side to look at them.

    "Ren Ge, ask your girlfriend to stop. She¡¯ll hurt my fiance," Xiao Zhiren who was trying to keep up with their fight heard Ji Caihong¡¯s pleading.

    "I would if I knew what¡¯s really going on," said Xiao Zhiren.

    "She looks like a pro," remarked Ji Syaoran in appreciation as he leisurely munched on the snacks. He was the only person who wasn¡¯t feeling apprehensive. "Actually, they both look like perfect partners with each of them knowing the style of fighting each of them had. How amazing!"

    Meanwhile, in between exchanging the blows, Rong said, "You do know that this fight is pointless, right?"

    "Pointless? I don¡¯t think so. I should get to push you to the edge of death like you did to me!" Ru¡¯s voice raised without her even realizing it at all.

    Hearing her words, Rong stopped resisting her attacks and let her punch her like she wanted to. But when he didn¡¯t resist, it annoyed Ru even more as she held his cor and red at him saying, "Why aren¡¯t you fighting back?!"

    "You said it yourself that I should go through exactly what you went through," saying that he pulled out a gun from somewhere and pushed it into her hand and went on, "Go on, shoot it right at my heart. At this point, I don¡¯t give a damn about my life. The only thing I¡¯ve been living for was to know that you¡¯re alive and well. Since I know now, let¡¯s end this. Please, I beg you. Just do me this favor already."

    Ru pointed the gun at his chest but even with all her will power, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to pull that damn trigger. It was like all of her body was resisting. In annoyance, she threw the gun to the sea.

    This time, Rong held the back of her neck and said, "If you the mighty, ruthless Young Master Ru can¡¯t bring herself to pull that trigger. How can you even believe that I, Xia Rong will have the courage to shoot you?" He shook her arms and added, "I don¡¯t know why do you think that I tried to kill you but..." he pointed in the direction of Xiao Zhiren and went on, "I¡¯m never letting that trouble walk back into your life. Not now, not ever! Even if I have to die myself, I¡¯ll keep you away from him to keep you alive."

    "What nonsense are you spouting? What does Zhiren have to do with this all?" Ru¡¯s mind was feeling a serious headache now from his words. She had never felt this confused before in her life ever.

    Rong was exasperated as he looked into Ru¡¯s eyes and asked, "Ru, don¡¯t you dare say that you don¡¯t remember why I got to the point of holding that gun?"

    "What if I say, I really don¡¯t?" retorted Ru nkly.

    "So you don¡¯t even remember that the start of our misery was him?"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened again as she looked at Rong and shifted her eyes to Xiao Zhiren who stood at a distance with an ice pack against his cheek. Ru might not know where all of this was going but she did know that she didn¡¯t like it one bit.

 Chapter 261 Still A Show-Off

    There are different kinds of worst moments in a person¡¯s life but if Ru had to choose one, she might end up choosing this very moment. Why?

    Because her mind was ying a joke with her. She could vividly see snippets of her memory and yet she wasn¡¯t able to link any of those together. Whether everything was a hallucination or reality, she wasn¡¯t sure anymore. And that sudden invasion of memories ended up giving her a headache. She felt like someone was splitting her apart.

    Just when she was about to lose her footing, Xiao Zhiren moved to hold her but since Rong was closer to her, he held her in his arms and supported her body as he let her lean on himself. The familiarity of his presence made Ru look up into his eyes trying to search for something. However, the way she didn¡¯t resist Rong¡¯s touch brought an ufortable feeling to resurface within Xiao Zhiren.

    "What are you looking at?" Even when she was feeling down, she didn¡¯t forget to shout at Rong for staring at her earnestly.

    He pointed at her eyes and said, "I don¡¯t like that color. It¡¯s not yours." Then he touched her hair and added, "And these long hairs are making me feel weird. Am I supposed to look at you as a woman?" He cringed at his own words and went on, "Please, my dearest cousin, that¡¯s like a big no-no!"

    Ru pushed him away and held her head in her hands as she said, "Do you think big brother that my look is important right now?"

    "All that matters is that you¡¯re alive. I can finally go back home," said Rong in a relieved tone making Ru look at him again.

    While both of them continued to talk civilly after their intense fight, the people around them were still reeling from the shock.

    "Why does it seem like they know each other?" asked Ji Syaoran as he looked at his elder brother questioningly.

    Xiao Zhiren wasn¡¯t sure about the situation himself as he replied softly, "I also think they know each other. The real question is how? I can clearly hear them but can¡¯t understand a single word."

    "Actually, even I can¡¯t recognize thenguage. But whatever they are talking about, it¡¯s sounding really good." Xiao Zhiren red at his brother who was still enjoying this situation.

    Meanwhile, on Ru¡¯s side, she was really gonna have a mental breakdown if Rong didn¡¯t press her acupuncture point to calm her nerves. "Are you freaking out? Since when did that start?" He asked with a strange feeling running through him.

    "You also didn¡¯t go home all this while?" Ru decided not toment on his silly questions and asked her own instead.

    Rong finally lost his calm expression as he replied, "Didn¡¯t know how to go back."

    "What? Forgot the way back home?"

    "Why is it that your jokes are still not funny?" he retorted making her roll her eyes at him childishly.

    They stayed silent for a minute before Ru said, "You hurt me." Rong was startled as he raised his brows at her in question. Ru showed him her wrist and added, "See, there is a scratch from your nail."

    Seeing her like this, Rong ended up smiling which turned into a burst of full-blownughter. He felt like even after years she was still the same. Hisughter turned into tears as he hugged her tightly in his arms and said, "I¡¯m sorry."

    "Why are you apologizing? If anyone should apologize that should be me. If you hadn¡¯t followed me back then, we wouldn¡¯t end up here," replied Ru with anguish burning in her heart. She truly felt like she was the one who did wrong. Even if her mind could convince her that he was the one who shot her back then, her heart would never believe it. Just like what her grandfather taught her, ¡¯We don¡¯t doubt our own. Just like we don¡¯t betray our own.¡¯

    Her second reason for not doubting was also simple. It was a rule in Xia Family that if anyone betrayed their own, the penalty is being shunned from the family. If you can¡¯t even be sincere with your own blood, what values can you possibly have?

    Rong slightly pulled away and looked at her face as he asked, "You¡¯re gonna apologize? Go ahead, I am waiting to hear the very first apology of Young Master Ru." Ru opened her mouth to say something when he interrupted her by saying, "No, wait! Don¡¯t apologize, I might not be able to take it."

    Ru punched him in the stomach and said, "Big brother, just because I¡¯m being polite, don¡¯t mistake me for being nice. I¡¯m still the very same as I used to be or worse maybe. But definitely not nice."

    Rong touched her head affectionately, "Like I don¡¯t know that already. You can be anything except for two things..." Ru waited for him to continue as he took a dramatic pause before saying, "You can¡¯t be nice and you can never be a real woman."

    Ru lifted her hand to hit him and he took a step back but Ru stopped midway as she felt her cellphone vibrating. She rummaged out her phone and took the call with an annoyed tone said, "This better be good, Wu Dishi. Or I¡¯ll forget all the goodness I learned in my life"

    Whatever Wu Dishi said from the other side of the line made Ru¡¯s expression changed drastically as she shouted, "What? How long has it been? And why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?" She heard the answer and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation before saying, "Get me out of here." She had just spoken those words when she heard the sound of a helicopter and looked up. "You¡¯re getting efficient."

    She hung up the call but her eyes didn¡¯t move away from the helicopter that was getting closer and closer. Suddenly recalling something she looked at Rong and said, "Big bro, you¡¯reing with me. I think I¡¯ll need your help."

    Rong also looked up at her ride and without asking a single question he nodded in agreement. Just as Ru saw the ropedder, without hesitation she ran towards the edge of the deck and jumped off earning more than just a few gasps.

    "Still a show-off," Rong shook his head at her but soon followed suit.

 Chapter 262 Missing People

    When Ru managed to enter the helicopter, she was fixing her safety belt when she heard Wu Dishi¡¯s voice, "Miss, who are you?"

    Ru looked at up at him with an indifferent look and saw his face contorted in perplexion. He was looking dumbfoundedly at Ru and the next person who entered after her. But Ru really didn¡¯t want to me him or yell at him for being so dense. But then again, who was she kidding? She was Ru if she didn¡¯t say anything that¡¯d be weird instead.

    "Want to die, Wu Dishi?"

    Hearing that deep voice filled with anger, frustration and something else that always managed to scare the hell out of him, Wu Dishi¡¯s spirit almost left his body. A look of astonishment had made his eyes open wide as he looked at Ru from the top of the head down to her bare feet. But as realization dawned on him, he visibly gulped as his face paled.

    "Master? Is that really you?" He asked for confirmation. He needed it badly.

    "This lord is only one in the whole world. Do you think a clone is sitting here?" Ru¡¯s aggressive voice brought Wu Dishi to the verge of tears. If he wasn¡¯t wearing a seatbelt, he would have gotten on his knees to beg for offending her.

    "I¡¯m really sorry, Master. Please don¡¯t take my ignorance to heart," Wu Dishi was pleading so that she could cut him some ck for once. However, Ru wasn¡¯t in the mood to punish him at the moment anyway so she just waved him off. Wu Dishi felt like he was given another chance to live as he finally managed to smile and said, "Ahan! Master, you¡¯re cross-dressing, right? To hide your identity? Wow, I must say Master is really a master of disguises." He even gave her two thumbs up.

    While Ru pressed her lips together as she heard his words, Rong ended up bursting into loudughter. Ru really was speechless. How was she supposed to break the news to her own subordinate that she had been deceiving him for years? More than the fact that Wu Dishi might feel betrayed, she was worried he might get a heart attack or something. So considering his health and other stuff, she just nodded her head and said, "Whatever!"

    Wu Dishi didn¡¯t pay attention to her offhanded reply as only now he focused on Rong and looked back at his master asking, "Who is he?"

    "You don¡¯t need to know," replied Ru calmly which told Wu Dishi that he wasn¡¯t supposed to poke his nose into that matter.

    Therefore, he nodded his head seriously and passed a tabletputer to Ru saying, "These are the details-" Ru stopped him from continuing by raised her hand.

    She looked into his eyes and said, "Get me some clothes first. I can¡¯t process in this attire anymore."

    It didn¡¯t take long before the helicopternded on the helipad on the rooftop of Metrix Consortium¡¯s building. Ru made her way to her office and found herself some clothes from the bedroom that was essible through her office. Even though she barely came to the office, Wu Dishi was very meticulous about the details.

    As she came out back in her short hair and ck attire with her bright green eyes, she really surprised herself at how different she looked. But this attire gave herfort, she couldn¡¯t feel in the past couple of days. One thing was for certain, she wasn¡¯t nning on acting like a girl ever again in her life. It almost made her lose half of her life. The effort and drama were too much for a straightforward person like her who would rather soak in blood with pride than wear makeup.

    Seeing her looking suave and handsome, Rong gave an appreciative nod as he said, "Now that looks like my little brother. You¡¯re definitely still handsome."

    "I know," said Ru with an attitude that surprised Wu Dishi who was standing by the door like a doorman.

    When Rong touched Ru¡¯s head, Wu Dishi lost it. He really thought someone was gonna die but poor him got another shock when Ru didn¡¯t react the way he expected instead she smiled at him with a sly look in her eyes as he said, "But still a little less than me."

    Ru kicked him on the shin and walked over to Wu Dishi. She clicked her fingers before his eyes to get his attention and said, "Start talking from the top. What exactly did you mean when you said Team Blue is missing? And if it¡¯s been a week, why didn¡¯t you inform me sooner?"

    Wu Dishi again passed her the tabletputer and started talking, "As per your instructions, Team Blue had been following Xiao Zhiyuan, his cousin Zhang Han and our very own Lilith. From Paris, they went to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam, they made a trip to Oktoberfest. Until there, the journey was rather smooth but from Oktoberfest, we received the message that something wasn¡¯t right. When they were going to make a trip to Krakow, I asked Team K to join them there as a precaution but..." he took a pause to take a step back before adding, "But Team K never met with Team Blue. We lost all the contacts. It¡¯s like all the members vanished into thin air."

    Ru rubbed her chin as she asked, "What about the kids?"

    Wu Dishi hesitantly took another step back and said, "We can¡¯t find them either." Ru red at him with zing eyes and he added, "Master, I already sent people to look through Krakow. Our people are on a search out for the past seven days. Even though we didn¡¯t manage to get much information, I can tell you that no news is good news."

    Ru closed her eyes in exasperation as she said, "Are you trying to preach right now?" Her voice was calm to the point of being eerie for Wu Dishi. He was fidgeting under her intense gaze. The way her intimidating aura had exploded made him really want to hide somewhere.

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare, master," said Wu Dishi in a shaky voice.

 Chapter 263 Ru; A Simple Girl

    Back on the cruise ship...

    Xiao Zhiren was still in shock at the fact that Ru left just like that. It hurt to know that she didn''t even look back once but he was somewhat familiar with her nature by now and knew how much of a one-tracked person she was. If something got stuck in her mind, she won''t look back at another thing until or unless she had dealt with the first thing.

    However, he really was irked by the fact that she left with someone who seemed closer to her than he ever felt. He really thought he was close to Ru by now but the first person to make him question that was, Jie. Still, Ru''s mannerisms with Jie assured him that they were just best friends who could tease each other and all.

    Nheless, it waspletely different this time around. That person around Ru seemed nothing different than Jie and yet it seemed awfully different.

    "Why is everyone gathered here? Did the meeting started already?"

    When Xiao Zhiren heard that question, he turned to look at Jie who was rubbing his eyes and kept yawning. It seemed like while all that drama was being unfolded, he was sleeping. Xiao Zhiren could only think of one thing, ''Birds of feathers flock together. No wonder Ru and Jie were so close. They both were entric in their own way.''

    As for why he thought that way was simple; a huge scene had unfolded before everyone on the deck but Jie had no clue about it. He was lost in dreand for far too long.

    "Your best friend left," informed Xiao Zhiren. Jie didn''t even flinch when he learned that instead, he looked like he was expecting it and that''s why Xiao Zhiren added, "You don''t seem surprised."

    "Well, Ru is like the wind. You never know where she''d end up," said Jie nonchntly while shrugging his shouldersnguidly. He''d have been more surprised if she had actually managed to stay on this cruise till the end. Her leaving was inevitable in his opinion.

    "She left with a guy," added Xiao Zhiren putting emphasis on ''guy'' showing how annoyed he was.

    However, Jie''s reaction baffled him even more because he replied with, "Now, I''d be more surprised if she left with a girl. Because let''s get this out of our way, Ru hates interacting with girls."

    Ji Caihong came up to tug at Zhiren''s arm and whined, "Bro, why did your girlfriend took my fiance with her? Where did she take him? Why is she stealing my fiance when she has you?"

    Now that sentence caught Jie''s attention. He, who wasnguidly looking for something to eat stopped and turned back as he asked, "She stole someone''s fiance?" Zhiren looked at Jie''s face and instead of finding shock, he found amusement. And most certainly, Jie was awfully amused at this point, "Wow! She really is my Ru."

    "Is it really that amusing, Mr. Zhu?" questioned Zhiren as he tried to stare down Jie while thetter was unfazed. How could he not be unfazed? He had dealt with Ru''s res that can make people go on their knees asking for mercy. How could merely Zhiren affect him?

    Jie shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It''s amusing to me for sure." He moved closer to Zhiren and asked with a straight face which was a striking contrast to his earlier carefree look, "Are you questioning my Ru''s loyalty? Or her feelings for you?"

    Zhiren was taken aback by his question and flinched a bit, "I''m not questioning anything. I just don''t find it okay that she left me here without even looking back or saying a word of goodbye."

    Jie tilted his head sideways and asked, "Did you tell her that she was supposed to tell you goodbye?"

    "What?"

    Jie shook his head at Zhiren and answered, "Mr. Xiao Zhiren, I don''t know what image you have of Ru in your mind but let me enlighten you. She is a very simple person. People tend to only find herplicated. But she isn''tplicated at all." Zhiren frowned at Jie''s words since he didn''t know where this was going. "Her level of simplicity is that if you won''t tell her something, she won''t do it." Zhiren''s eyes went round while Jie continued, "Ru had a very different lifestyle than you. If it took a million years to realize her feelings for you, do you think it''ll take her a day to realize how to act with those feelings? No, of course not!" Jie ced his hand on Zhiren''s shoulder, "You''re the first person in her life for whom she has those romantic feelings. But you can''t expect a ''dating illiterate'' person to know that she was supposed to say goodbye to you before leaving."

    Zhiren was speechlessly ncing at Jie. "As for why she didn''t tell you where she is going... Sigh! You''re crazy if you think she''d do that. Let me tell you one secret, the person whom Ru loves the most in her life is her father. But even then she never told her father what she was doing, where she was going and with whom she was going. That''s not a habit. That''s her nature. You can''t expect a person to change her nature. At least, not so easily."

    Hearing Jie talk about Ru''s nature and her father made Zhiren feel ufortable for some reason. He knew nothing about Ru''s family. At least, not the way Jie did. And it was his intuition but he felt like the person Ru left with also knew her family. Zhiren was really frustrated now. But now, his frustration was directed at himself.

    Jie picked up a muffin from the table and took a bite saying, "Man, you''re attitude is making me so curious to know the guy she ''ran off'' with." The way Jie air quoted ''ran off'' told how much amused he was on his own.

    Ji Syaoran passed his phone to Jie and said, "This video of their fight might help."

    Jie raised a brow at Ji Syaoran and asked, "You even recorded a video?"

    Ji Syaoran shrugged his shoulders nonchntly as he answered, "Couldn''t help it. I have never seen two martial arts masters going at each other. I hardly could see their moves. It was fascinating."

    Seeing Ji Syaoran''s daydreaming look, Jie was even more curious now as he took the phone and yed the video. Only 10 seconds through the video, Jie''s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped to the floor.

    "What the hell! Rong! That dumbass is alive?" The three people around him including Zhiren, Ji Syaoran and Ji Caihong heard his voice but they couldn''t understand what he said because just like Ru, he spoke a foreignnguage which they couldn''t recognize at all.

 Chapter 264 Brutal Realities

    Meanwhile, in Ru''s office, when Wu Dishi left the room, she looked at Rong who had been observing her for a while and asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Rong sighed saying, "You really didn''t change at all in a decade."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Are you still not gonna ask your brother for help?"

    Ru gave him a lopsided grin, "How can I? Aren''t you the one who taught me to never ask others for help? I should be capable enough to help myself."

    Rong nodded his head, "Yes, but you should consider asking your family." Ru didn''t reply and Rong knew why she was so quiet. It had never been her way. So, he changed the topic, "I have an inkling for a while... Are you Alev Knight?"

    Ru nced at him, blinked and nodded, "Yes, that''s me. You have heard of me."

    Rong rubbed his forehead in exasperation, "You idiot! Are you trying to tell me that you and I have been trying to kill each other for years? You must be kidding me!?"

    Ru''s brows raised instinctively as she contemted his words and asked hesitantly, "You''re the one known as Xavier? That Russian Mafia King?" Rong gave her a look that said, ''What do you think?'' Ru shut her eyes as she understood and said, "Great! We were in the battle of wits for years and yet I never realized that it''s you?"

    Since the time, Ru took the identity of Alev Knight, her biggest hurdle had been the person named Xavier. Her Knight Empire had been at war with Vier Industries. Amazing was the fact that the person behind Vier Industries was none other than her own brother. Fabulous!

    While she was trying to think about this situation, she heard Rong saying, "I have my people in Germany and Pnd as well. Send me the information about who you''re looking for. I think it''s more important to find the lost people."

    Ru nodded and called Wu Dishi in to take Rong with him. While she was gonna follow as well, she received a call and seeing Jie''s name shing on her screen, she picked it up, "What do you want Jie?"

    "You left?" came Jie''s voice.

    "Yeah, something urgent came up," replied Ru while waving at Wu Dishi and Rong gesturing them to leave on their own. When they left, she asked, "Why are you calling me? It''s not the first time I left unannounced? Are you that surprised?"

    "Me? Surprised? I''m used to it. That''s why I treat you like the wind. Always breezing around," said Jie looking heedlessly indifferent.

    "Oh, and here I thought that I was as important as oxygen to you," retorted Ru making Jie speechless.

    "Ouch! Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

    "No, not at all," Ru''s answer was to the point and she wanted him toe straight to the point as she said, "Can youe to the point though? I really don''t have time."

    "Impatient as always," remarked Jie and continued, "Anyways, a little birdyined that you didn''t bother saying goodbye to your boyfriend."

    Ru frowned, "Was I suppose to? Nobody told me that."

    Jie couldn''t help chuckling at her response. It aligned perfectly with what he thought she''d say. "Aye, my dumbest best friend. You''re really a masterpiece." He stoppedughing and added, "Another little birdy told me that you left with a very familiar face. So familiar that it seems like a dead person hase to life."

    Ru rolled her eyes at how Jie was twisting his words to ask about Rong and replied, "Jie, my brother is alive. Stop being sarcastic about it."

    "So, Rong Ge is really alive?" asked Jie, not knowing why he needed this confirmation even after he had seen the video of Ru and Rong together.

    Ru''s lips lifted up in a blissful smile as she answered, "Yes, he is."

    "Are you happy now?" asked Jie in a small voice.

    Ru hummed along before saying, "I am. More than that, I feel like I can breathe properly again. A pang of huge guilt has lifted off my chest knowing that my big brother is alive." Ru looked up to find Rong leaning against the door and asked Jie, "Do you wanna talk to him?"

    Jie hesitated before answering, "Sure."

    Ru passed the phone to Rong without telling him who was on the call but thetter knew it as he said through the receiver, "Hey, jerk head!"

    "Ugh! Ge, can you keep the insults to yourself? It''s been years. I thought you would have changed a bit," Jie couldn''t hold back himself. This was why he was hesitating. Rong always had been hostile towards Jie for the sole reason that Jie stuck with Ru like an annoying bug. But Rong''s hostility could only be seen through his way of insulting Jie at every chance he could get.

    Jie heard Rong''s deepugh and a realization hit him. He really was alive. "I can''t believe you''re still that easy to tease. I thought you''d be mature considering how you''re now the dad of twins."

    Jie''s eyes widened as he questioned, "Ge, you know about my kids?"

    "Of course, I do. Who do you think you''re talking to?" Jie''s face twitched as he heard that same narcissism that he was most familiar with. Only Jie could tell how simr Ru and Rong were in nature but then again, blood had always been thicker than water. How could he deny that Ru and Rong''s bond was strongest? And he had seen how strong it had been.

    From a young age, Jie had always felt really envious of Rong. Because even though the one spending the most time with Ru was him, the one who always knew what she needs or wants was Rong. Butter on, he learned that blood had that connection. The family had that connection. And he couldn''t challenge that connection.

    "It''s good to know that you''re still the same. As conceited as Ru. But I''m happy to know that you''re alive. However, I''m not pleased to know that you had been keeping track of my life but didn''t bothering to meet me." Jie''s reply got Rong thinking. He looked at Ru''s face who was typing something on herputer and sighed out.

    "I was keeping track of you to know whether Ru contacted you or not. However, I only got to know that you had some connection with Alev Knight. Although I had my doubts about Alev Knight, I still couldn''t confirm those doubts until today," answered Rong as he sat on the couch.

    "Well, since Ru is with you... I''ll stop worrying now. You better take care of her and let''s meet up when you both are free from whatever you both are cooking now."

    Rongughed at his choice of words and said his bye before hanging up. Ru didn''t look up from her screen and asked, "Did you both argue as always?"

    "Nah. Not this time," replied Rong. "But I''m d to know that he had been with you throughout these years."

    Ru smiled at that, "Apart from my family, I can only turn to Ah-Jie. You know very well that I only trust him." She took a pause before adding, "But now, I trust Zhiren as well."

    Rong''s jaw clenched as he heard herst sentence. He went up to her side and rubbed her head saying, "Little brother, trust is a brutal reality. Don''t lose yourself to it."

    Ru looked up to nce at Rong''s face and said, "I won''t. Young Master Ru can''t lose. Not even from the brutal realities."

 Chapter 265 Shes Right Here

    Rong looked at what Ru was working on theputer and frowned, "Do you think this kidnapping has something to do with that organization?"

    Ru knew which organization he was referring to. Those were the people because of whom she became Alev Knight. Those were the people, she despised the most. "I don''t think. I know it''s done by them."

    "Why? To get back at you for destroying their bases?" inquired Rong as he leaned against the shelf behind her.

    Ru shook her head and pulled out a picture of Lilith on theputer screen, "She is the reason." Rong raised his brow at her inquisitively. Ru borated on how she met Lilith and what conspired after that. Rong listened attentively and nodded his head but when he saw Ru changing the pictures on the screen, his brows furrowed up while she said, "They are trying to get their test subject back. I won''t let that happen." Ru rubbed her forehead and added, "But I can''t understand why did they kidnap Xiao Zhiyuan and Zhang Han with her."

    Rong pointed at Xiao Zhiyuan''s picture and asked, "Is he Xiao Zhiren''s brother?" Ru bobbed her head in response and he straightened up saying, "Then you''re looking at this situation wrongly."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" asked Ru in confusion.

    Rong pointed at Lilith''s photo and started, "Their target isn''t her," he shifted his finger to Yuan and went on, "He is the real target. She and the other guy just got stuck with him."

    Ru was perplexed not knowing what he meant, "Big brother, what are you talking about? Yuan doesn''t even have anything to do with that organization. He is just a simple high school graduate."

    "A simple high school graduate?" Ru found his tone a bit strange and looked at his face while he continued, "Which family does he belong to?"

    Ru answered, "The Ji Family."

    "And why do you think I got myself a fiancee from Ji Family?" asked Rong reminding Ru that she was told on the cruise ship that Rong was Ji Caihong''s fiance. But how could that be possible?

    After contemting for a moment, she said, "Maybe, you fell in love with that little girl." She thought about it for a minute before saying, "But is that even possible?"

    Rong had a bleak look on his face as he replied, "No, it''s not possible. I chose her for a reason."

    "Reason?"

    "Do you know who her mother is?" asked Rong and Ru''s eyes widened.

    "Oh, that woman who separated Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan from their own family. I just heard about her but I don''t know who she is," replied Ru and as his words yed in her mind again, she abruptly stood up saying, "Don''t tell me that she''s the one behind everything that happened with us."

    Rong stayed silent for a long moment while Ru pulled took out a cigarette and with her lighter, she lit it up. She was just about to take a puff when Rong pped the back of her head and narrowed his eyes at her, "Smoking?"

    Ru tried tough it off by saying, "Well, anyone can pick up one or two bad habits on the streets."

    Rong red at her and took her lighter from her as well. But when he looked at the word ''Raven'' carved on it, he smiled on his own. She still was sticking with her essence. But when he turned the lighter in his hand, his eyes caught sight of the ''Thunderbird'' symbol and his expressions shifted.

    "You don''t have a part of your memories, right?" asked Rong out of the blue.

    "Yeah, I don''t," replied Ru.

    He pointed at that lighter and said, "Howe you remember this ''Thunderbird''?"

    Ru frowned first before answering, "Just saw a snippet in my dreams." She thought about it before adding, "I thought this had something to do with my enemies. Butter, I was reminded that Thunderbird actually is the representation of the Ji Family. And I can''t find any link of my almost death with the Ji Family." Recalling how her team found something suspicious in Ji Family, she continued, "However, I do think that there is something fishy in Ji Family but still, they are not the ones I''m looking for."

    "They are certainly not the ones you''re looking for but they are connected indirectly."

    Ru''s face was contorted in confusion as she said, "Big brother, the only connection they can have is Ji Caihong''s mother. But that woman is dead. Even Xiao Zhiren is looking for her murderer. How can she be connected now? Unless the daughter took her mother''s ce and Ji Caihong is the real culprit now."

    "I never thought my little brother''s thinking could be this simple," replied Rong. "First of all, let me clear one thing with you. Ji Caihong''s innocent persona can be deceiving because she seems too naive to be true. However, she isn''t faking it. Ji Caihong is exactly what she seems. She has no hidden face." Ru was surprised to hear her brother speaking up for someone else but she still listened without interrupting him. "As for what suspicions you have of Ji Family are also wrong."

    "How can you be so sure?" asked Ru.

    "Because I''ve known that family for years now..." he took his phone and went through some documents before showing it to Ru. "Can you recognize her?"

    Ru looked at that photo and that horrible dream of hers shed right before her eyes. That shrieking voice of that girl rang in her ears, ''You still have the guts to look at my man.'' Ru''s cracked her knuckles while bloodthirst was palpable in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to tear that girl apart. "She is still alive?"

    "Well, I had plenty of chances to kill her but I knew you''d love to do it yourself," replied Rong.

    "How is she involved with Ji Family?" asked Ru.

    Rong showed her a photo of Ji Caihong with that girl. And that girl in the photo was none other than Ji Caihong''s best friend, Tang Yiyi who had previously sent assassins for Ru when she was trying to have a simple tea with her best friend Jie. "She is known as Tang Yiyi now. She took this identity to stay close to Ji Caihong. She''s more like Ji Caihong''s bodyguard and a rat in Ji Family. And that''s when I got to know how I was supposed to control the ones in that organization."

    Ru was trying to process this information in her mind when he dropped another bomb, "You said Xiao Zhiren is looking for that woman''s murderer."

    "Hmm..." Ru hummed in reply. "She did something with his memories. He thinks she was his mother and that''s why he''s hostile towards his own family."

    Rong gave her a smile that didn''t look like a smile as he asked, "Don''t you wanna know who the murderer is?"

    "You know?" asked Ru in surprise.

    "You know her as well," replied Rong and Ru''s brows quirked up in surprise. He brought her to a side and pointed at the mirror saying, "She''s right here."

 Chapter 266 She Never Did

    Meanwhile, back at the cruise ship...

    From the moment Jie hung up the call, he had been lost in his thoughts. Seeing his worried expression, Xu Mey went up to his side and ced her hand on his shoulder, "Is everything okay, Ah-Jie?"

    Jie turned his head to look at her concerned face and gave her a small smile in response before patting her hand on his own shoulder. "Everything is okay. For now, at least."

    Xu Mey furrowed her brows at his reply and questioned, "What do you mean? Did something happen? You can share it with me."

    Jie sighed before he turned around and wrapped his arms around his wife''s shoulders from behind while he ced his forehead on her shoulder, "Ru is gone."

    "And?" retorted Xu Mey in a calm voice and careless manner as if it wasn''t something shocking even to her. "Doesn''t Sensei always vanish like this? Why do you look so worried this time?"

    "I''m not worried that she left," replied Jie with a heavy tone. "I''m worried because of what she told mest night."

    Xu Mey''s curiosity piqued as she inquired, "What did she say?"

    "She came to see mest night," said Jie and lifted up his forehead off her shoulder. "She said goodbye to mest night even when she didn''t have any n on leaving today."

    Xu Mey frowned at his words and asked, "What do you mean? If she wasn''t supposed to leave today then why did shee to say goodbye beforehand?" She took a pause before adding, "She must have a reason for doing that. After all, Sensei doesn''t do anything without a well-nned reason behind it."

    Jie chuckled at his wife''s words knowing what she meant. Even he knew that Xu Mey understood Ru enough to say that Ru would never do anything without nning it. Even if her actions seemed random, those actions were well-thought of. She never moved on instincts, she only made it seem like she did.

    "She said goodbye to me because she was feeling apprehensive," answered Jie as his expressions turned grim thinking about Ru''s exact words...

    *The previous night*

    When Ru had learned Ji Family''s biggest secret from Ji Syaoran, her mind was buzzing with all kinds of thoughts that were hard for her to process alone. She didn''t go straight to see Xiao Zhiren at that time, instead that was the time when she chose to ruin Jie''s sleep and bug him with her worries.

    "What''s up with you at this time?" asked a half-asleep Jie rubbing his eyes.

    "I''m feeling something strange," replied Ru with a straight face.

    "What? Tell me about me," Jie''s sleep was all gone as he thought she was gonna share her true feelings about love with him. However, her response left him dumbfounded.

    "I''m here to say bye to you," she answered.

    "You''re leaving?" he questioned.

    "Don''t know," said Ru uncertainly.

    "Then why are you ruining my sleep?"

    "I''m feeling apprehensive," she replied.

    "Apprehensive? And you?" asked Jie in a strange voice. "When did Young Master Ru start to feel such humanly feelings?"

    Ru red at him dangerously but Jie rolled his eyes back at her in response while she sighed, "I honestly don''t know why my heart is so restless but it is. I have an inkling like something is about to go wrong. Badly wrong. And I don''t want to leave without seeing you."

    Jie listened to her words attentively and even could feel the seriousness of her words. But he still tried to lighten up the mood by saying, "Or maybe, you''re overthinking as always. How can things go wrong when Young Master Ru is around?"

    Ru tried to give him a small smile in reply as she said, "I know what you''re trying to do here. But don''t bother. I''m telling you the truth, my heart is feeling weird. My mind can''t process the secrets I just learned but it had only rmed my doubts."

    Jie contemted her words before rubbing her head, "Ru, you''re worrying for no reason. Nothing is gonna go wrong."

    Ru looked at him oddly as her face twitched, "Who said Young Master Ru is worried? My foreboding can only make me restless, worried is a strong word." She took a pause to take a long breath before continuing, "Have you seen the stars this night?" Jie''s brows knitted together at her while she said, "The stars alignment is also a sign. A storm is rising. Now, the question is if that storm can tear me down or not."

    "No matter how strong is the storm, I know my Ru can survive it as always," said Jie with certainty as he looked at her with a proud look in his eyes. He might not be certain about anything else, but he was certain that his Ru wasn''t someone who could break so easily.

    "I won''t lose, but I think I''ll lose something. The problem is I''m scared of losing myself this time," those were Ru''s parting words to him that made him feel uneasy.

    *Coming back to the present*

    Xu Mey ced a hand against Jie''s cheek and said, "If Sensei is not worried, why are you?" she took a small pause before adding, "Besides, it was just Sensei''s hunch. It''s nothing certain."

    Jie shook his head, "No, it''s not just a hunch of hers. Her premonitions had always been true. Every time she said something was about to go wrong, it did. That is why I''m worried."

    Hearing his exnation, even Xu Mey felt worried about this situation.

    Back on Metrix Consortium''s top floor, Ru was still staring at her reflection with a furrowed brows. She looked at Rong in the mirror and questioned, "I''m that... murderer?"

    Rong patted her shoulders as he answered, "The murdered Xiao Zhiren is looking for is definitely you." He turned her around to look into her eyes as he added, "But that''s different that you didn''t kill his ''fake'' mother named Ling Qiaolian."

    "What?" asked Ru in confusion. She was the murderer Xiao Zhiren was looking for killing Ling Qiaolian but then howe she didn''t kill Ling Qiaolian. What did it even mean?

    Rong ced his hand on her head and looked into her green eyes saying, "Just because you drove a dagger through her guts that doesn''t mean she died because of that."

    "Then how did she die?" asked Ru seemingly alert than before.

    "She never did," answered Rong with a straight face.

    "Huh?" Ru was dumbfounded.

    "My dearest little brother, Ling Qiaolian is still alive..."

    Ru''s eyes widened in shock as she heard this statement. It was like all her beliefs were taking a 180-degree turn and nothing seemed to be the truth anymore.

 Chapter 267 Bargaining Chip

    From the time Ru had met Zhiren, she knew that he had been looking for his mother''s murderer. He had seen her mother getting stabbed at herst moment and he even held onto the weapon that was used to stab her. But in the dead of the night, neither could he see the murderer''s face nor could he find his mother''s dead body.

    And at one point, she even felt the urge to help him as well. But since she had her own enemies lied up, she didn''t try to get involved with his enemies as well.

    However, it blew her mind when she got to know that the woman, Ling Qiaolian was not even Zhiren''s mother from the very beginning. And the woman, Xiao Zhi''er whom Zhiren hated the most in his life was, in fact, his own birth mother. He was just one of those people who fell in the trapid by Ling Qiaolian and ended up despising his own blood-rted rtions including his own father.

    Even when she learned of Zhiren''s suspicions about his own father''s involvement in Ling Qiaolian''s murder, she didn''t believe him. Call it intuition or whatever, but she felt like it was impossible for Ji Family to stoop this low.

    Ru even thought that Ling Qiaolian was really inhumane to turn a small child against his own family but she found her even worse when she found out that Ling Qiaolian didn''t even hesitate to leave her own daughter, Ji Caihong behind and never look back. But she thought like others that Ling Qiaolian was actually dead, so she didn''t really think about it that deeply.

    But now that Rong told her that Ling Qiaolian never died then her whole perceptive of this whole situation was changing drastically. And how could it not? Ling Qiaolian being alive all these years was like a game-changer and she had to look at this whole situation from a very different angle now.

    She kept staring at her reflection in the mirror as she questioned herself, ''How could you not know?'' She had been so busy trying to raise the power that shepletely overlooked the identities of her real enemies.

    Only now she thought of how cunning and dangerous Ling Qiaolian actually was. She not only faked her own death by her hands. By Young Master Ru''s hand, she escaped just like that? That was uneptable! Not only that Ling Qiaolian didn''t forget about her daughter, Ji Caihong all these years. She merely had been working from behind the scenes. Since on the front, she left Tang Yiyi to stay beside Ji Caihong.

    The day she had gone to visit Zhiren''s grandmother, she had actually heard of that name as well. Tang Yiyi, Ji Caihong''s best friend whom nobody liked in the whole Ji Family. But since she once saved Ji Caihong''s life, that''s why Ji Caihong really trusted her. Not knowing that she had been keeping a snake right by her side.

    "Whatever happened that year, did it have anything to do with Ling Qiaolian?" asked Ru as she nced at her brother who had concerned look on his face as he stared at her expressions changing. She was referring to the year about which she knew nothing. The year that had been wiped clean from her memory.

    Rong thought about it before answering her cautiously, "At least, it all started because of her hatred for the Ji family." He didn''t think he was supposed to tell Ru everything clearly. If her mind was trying to suppress her memories, maybe it was for the better.

    Unlike Ru, Rong had never been trained in medicine and it wasn''t that he was unfamiliar with that field. But he wasn''t as well-versed in medicine as Ru was. Just like how Ru''s specialty was medicine and swordsmanship. Rong''s main strength was in archery and hypnotism. That''s why he couldn''t tell how much effect his sudden revtion could have. Although he believed in her strong mental strength, he still didn''t wish to see her hurt at any cost.

    Even though every person in their Shadowwick state was an unmatched martial artist. Even they were divided into different categories. Every person had to choose a field he wanted to excel in. Just like Ru, who got too invested in medicine. That is why Rong''s expertise of no use to Ru. He couldn''t help her even with his hypnotism. Because he wasn''t sure of the consequences and he didn''t dare to take that risk with her.

    Ru didn''t know at this point what was right or wrong. But she understood one thing for certain, Xiao Zhiyuan''s kidnapping had something to do with Ling Qiaolian and as for her intentions, Ru couldn''t tell. She abruptly turned around and said, "Big brother, I have to find Yuan at all costs."

    Rong looked at her determined expression and didn''t say anything. He had expected something like this from her. She was stubborn and who didn''t know that in the entire Shadowwick state?

    "After destroying so many bases of those animals, I definitely have a way to find them as well," said Rong in an assuring way and Ru suddenly felt a rush of calmness and warmth spread throughout her body. She didn''t know how but his mere presence was so reassuring that she couldn''t describe it in mere words anymore. It was like she knew someone was there saying, ''Go ahead, I got your back.''

    Reying his words in her mind, she frowned as she said, "Big brother if you had been destroying that organization''s bases. Howe they didn''te to find trouble with you?"

    "I have a bargaining chip," answered Rong in a calm manner. Before Ru could question anything, she heard his cellphone''s vibration from the table. He bent down a little to take his phone and answered the call, "How is it going?" He listened to the other person''s reply before nodding, "Okay. Take them both to my ce. I''ll be greeting them personally."

    Ru frowned as she saw his lips curled up in a smirk. "Bro, who is the bargaining chip?"

    "You''ll know," said Rong calmly. "First, you have toe with me?"

    Ru quirked her brows at him in question, "Where?"

    He offered his hand to her and asked, "Do you trust me?"

    Ru looked at his hand before lifting her eyes to nce at his face as she answered, "More than myself."

    He smiled at her gently in reply as he said, "Then just follow me." Ru nodded her head and took his hand in hers without any hesitation at all.

 Chapter 268 Love & War

    It was already night time when Ru arrived at a luxurious vi with Rong. Expensive chandeliers, gold pieces and the interior that could make one envious. Entering such a ce, she gave her brother a once over. No matter how she thought about it, she really couldn''t associate this luxurious ce with her big brother''s name.

    Knowing his personality, she was willing to bet her life that this ce was so not aligned with what Rong really was. So, to win this bet that she had somehow started with her own conscience, she asked, "Big brother, this is your ce?"

    Rong seemed to have read her thoughts and he replied, "What do you think?"

    "It doesn''t seem right," answered Ru without hesitation at all.

    Rong''s lips curled up slightly. "It''s my first timeing here. It looks like my overly enthusiastic ''fiance'' put a lot of effort into this ce."

    The word ''fiance'' and the way he said it, both caught Ru''s attention very well. She knew the said ''fiance'' was Ji Caihong but she didn''t know what feelings her brother had for her. Did he really just got involved with her because she is the daughter of Ling Qiaolian? She thought this conjecture of hers was actually more usible than thinking that Rong was actually in love with Ji Caihong.

    The former seemed far-fetched. Just as she was about to pass through a door, she heard a familiar voice, "Why aren''t you telling me? Where is Xavier? I want to see him. What is wrong with you all?"

    Ru''s steps halted as she stared at her brother and asked, "Don''t tell me that your bargaining chip is inside this room." Her face was twitching for some reason. When he didn''t answer for a moment, she almost screamed, "Big brother, how can you use your own fiance as a bargaining chip here?"

    Yes, the familiar voice she heard belonged to Ji Caihong and as for how or when she returned from that cruise waspletely unknown to Ru. Well, no one could me her, she had been pre-upied trying to sort out her own emotions and a storm of information that was thrown at her so suddenly.

    Rong''s face muscles didn''t even lift, he looked as calm as anyone could possibly be. But there was a ripple in his blue eyes for some reason as he stared at Ru in contemtion. "Little brother, I told you I have my reasons for being with her. By now, you should have already guessed."

    Ru calmed herself down and said in a leveled voice, "I know. But she''s still someone whom I like. I can''t just use her like this. That too in this dangerous task."

    "When did Young Master Ru learn these human feelings of like and dislike?" questioned Rong as a line appeared between his brows. "Didn''t you use to despise having desires?"

    Ru was startled as she heard his words. His words reminded her how far off she had wandered from who she originally was. She indeed despised desires and the concept of like and dislike was considered way below her. The only thing mattered in her life was family, loyalty, and friendship. The rest could never amount to that. Then howe she said she liked that little girl whom she was not even very well acquainted with?

    But since she didn''t want her brother to know that she had softened up, she retorted, "Hmph! Who said I had no desires? You know very well that I always wanted to taste the delicacies of the whole world. That was also a desire. In fact, it''s you who has lived the life of a monk."

    She was indeed right. Even when she had some wishes, the person standing beside her had none. He was literally the definition of a monk or a saint who had left all worldly desires far behind him as he had ascended on a path far beyond that. If he had any will to live it was... "You only spend your life trying to protect me at any cost. As if that was the reason for your own existence. Your sole purpose of life."

    Rong didn''t say anything but something had shed in his eyes as he heard her words.

    "Brother, you can''t use her okay? We can find another way," insisted Ru, not knowing whether it was for Zhiren''s sake who cherished Ji Caihong very much or because she herself thought Ji Caihong was just a small naive girl.

    "I never said she is my bargaining chip," answered Rong as he touched his jaw. Ru''s face lit up but it soon twitched again as he added, "She''s the trump card, I won''t be revealing unless it''s absolutely necessary."

    "Bro, you won''t do anything like that. We can''t bring an innocent person in this battle," said Ru.

    Rong''s expressions darkened as he said, "We were also innocent when we were dragged into someone else''s battle of hatred and jealousy. Everything is fair in love and war. They started this war by using my love for you against us, now I don''t mind ying their game with them. Besides, don''t forget what grandfather taught you, ''Lose your life, but never let anyone lose your pride.'' You are still my pride. And I won''t back off that easily."

    Ru had rarely seen expressions on her seemingly poker-faced brother. Even though they were alike, he still was someone who could challenge the cold aura around her. It was like he was a well-forged sword ready to strike anyone who came after her ever again. Even though she had been very familiar with his protectiveness over her but it seemed to have intensified now.

    "But everything isn''t her fault," said Ru in a small voice.

    "Her fault is that she has a mother like Ling Qiaolian," replied Rong.

    Ru could only sigh in defeat before his stubbornness, "Okay. Do whatever you want. But I''d like to see why we are here."

    Rong nodded and took her around the corner of the hallway towards thest room. It seemed quite inconspicuous and ordinary. Rong opened the door of the room and gestured her to walk inside. Ru took a step inside and it took her a while to get ustomed to the darkness in the room.

    In that windowless room, she could finally make out the silhouette of a person who was tied up with a pole. Ru frowned and turned to look at Rong who only clicked his fingers and the light turned on.

 Chapter 269 A Slave & A Master

    As the lights flicked on, Ru only heard her brother saying, \"Meet Ji Caihong¡¯s best friend, Tang Yiyi. Hope you haven¡¯t forgotten that face.\"

    At the very beginning when Ru had her own suspicions rted to the Ji family, her every single trace led her to only one person; Ji Caihong. Whether it was the party where she heard that familiar voice of the woman whose sneak attack made her lose her eyesight or it was the time when Knight Empire¡¯s server had an attack.

    Both times her traces led her to Ji Caihong but she had never been able to bring herself to even doubt Ji Caihong. And now when she looked at that girl tied against the pole in that room, Ru knew why her traces led to Ji Caihong. Looking at Tang Yiyi¡¯s face Ru¡¯s blurred memories cleared up and her buried anger resurfaced. If that day, this woman hadn¡¯t attacked her from behind, Ru would have never fallen.

    Even if the effects of the drugs were strong, Ru could hold her ground but that one attack brought her to the edge of her death. Rather than saying that it was that bullet that pierced through her heart, Ru would most likely me this person right before her!

    \"Wake her up,\" Rong ordered his men to wake Tang Yiyi who had been peacefully in dreand until now but now, it was time to open her eyes to live her nightmare.

    Two expressionless females came out of the dark corner and silently threw water at Tang Yiyi¡¯s face, waking her from her slumber. Seeing that Tang Yiyi was slowly opening her eyes, both redhead females stepped back and went back to their position making their presence as little as possible.

    While Tang Yiyi was slowly trying to adjust to the bright light, Ru¡¯s whole body was trembling in anger. As she fluttered her eyes open, she was met with Ru¡¯s green eyes looking as dark as if she was straighting out of hell. Even though Tang Yiyi¡¯s body shuddered under the pressure of her gaze, she didn¡¯t back out. It took her a moment before her brows knitted together, \"You! Subject 4.\" Her eyes widened as she questioned, \"How are you alive?\"

    Ru sneered at her saying, \"You really thought this Lord would die at the mere hands of mortals like you? How presumptuous can you possibly be?\"

    Rong couldn¡¯t help but cough to conceal hisughter as he stood at a side. He really couldn¡¯t do anything with this little brother who really talked like she was looking down at the people who would really be like a thorn in her eyes.

    But his cough caught the attention of Tang Yiyi as she turned her head and as soon as she saw Rong¡¯s face, her eyes literally lit up, \"Han Ge, why are you here? Where have you been? I¡¯ve looked for you for so long. Is this despicable woman trying to get revenge on you as well?\"

    Han was the fake identity that Rong had when he and Ru were caught up with Tang Yiyi¡¯s organization. He even had to involve himself with those people because Ru wanted him to do so. Even though Ru was in her male attire at the moment, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Tang Yiyi could tell her gender with ease. After all, in that organization, everyone knew that she was cross-dressing. Even if Ru tried to hide it, during their several experiments it was inevident that they would learn her real gender.

    \"I was so worried about you,\" while Tang Yiyi talked both Rong or Ru said nothing. While elder brother was busy pretending like he wasn¡¯t even listening, the younger ¡¯brother¡¯ was busy fuming in anger while throwing daggers at Tang Yiyi with her green eyes. \"Even though you rebelled and betrayed the organization but if youe with me, I promise that nobody would me you for anything.\"

    Ru stood before Tang Yiyi to keep her treacherous eyes away from her brother. Oh, did she mention that she was really possessive about her brother? \"Before trying to rope in my brother, you should know that you¡¯re never getting out of here.\"

    Tang Yiyi looked at Ru hatefully as she sneered, \"Oh really? A dog is always able to bark in his own territory. And you¡¯re no better! What are you trying to prove by tying me up like this? You¡¯re just a coward! So what if you survived, you still had to live like a rat in a sewer!\"

    Rang¡¯s eyes zed with a dangerous light as he intended to move, Ru raised her hand to stop him as she said, \"You really think everyone¡¯s like you? So what if I¡¯m a dog? At least, this dog has a territory to brag about and bark in. What about you?\" Ru pulled out a dagger as she slowly came close to her and held it against her fair and pale skin making all the blood rush to her eyes which were intently looking at Ru¡¯s face. Ru slowly slid that dagger downwards to her neck, to her shoulders, to her arm but she didn¡¯t leave a single cut. No sh was made, it was more like that sharp tip was merely grazing her delicate skin making a dangerous feeling to crawl up in her heart. \"This dog can rule this world. But a dog like you can only wag its tail behind its master.\"

    \"You!\" Tang Yiyi was incited by Ru¡¯s words.

    \"Poisonous tongue as always,\" said Rong to himself as he listened to Ru. He knew how much she was itching to tear Tang Yiyi into pieces but she was holding herself back. But since she still had to keep her life, that didn¡¯t mean that Ru had to hold back on her poisonous words. She could infuriate a person to death no matter how strong one¡¯s mental strength was. Before Ru, it was all of no use. Because she knew where to hurt and how to do it.

    Ru was indeed trying to infuriate Tang Yiyi but most importantly, she was trying to remind her of her status in that organization. In that brutal ce, Tang Yiyi was merely a dog wagging its tail.

    Tang Yiyi was really on her verge of exploding and Ru didn¡¯t even have to do much. She said merely a few words and she already wanted to kill someone. But how could she not? Ru had hit right where it hurt. The striking disparity between Ru and her was the fact that she was a pawn in someone¡¯s game while Ru was a yer who knew how to y.

    While Tang Yiyi was a ve with a master, Ru was the master with countless ves under her. This disparity was enough to make Tang Yiyi hate Ru even more.

 Chapter 270 Not The Only Solution

    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Tang Yiyi felt hatred for Ru. Even when she first saw Ru, she despised her. Her reasoning was simple, she had taken a fancy to Rong but thetter was always caring about Ru. The same Rong who wouldn¡¯t even spare a nce to her would always be looking at Ru with an affectionate look.

    It always made her blood boil. But now that Ru was intently reminding her of her status before her, she was beyond infuriated.

    \"If my hands weren¡¯t tied, I¡¯d have already torn you into pieces,\" screamed Tang Yiyi with bloodshot eyes. All she saw was blood.

    Suddenly, the chains around her body came undone and fell down. She looked at Ru who said, \"I¡¯d like to see how you tear this lord to pieces.\" Ru took a step back and threw her dagger towards her. Tang Yiyi caught it promptly and looked at Ru with furrowed brows, not understanding what she was ying at. \"No one will interfere. How about you take this shot?\"

    The smile on Ru¡¯s face which didn¡¯t even look like a smile made Tang Yiyi feelcent but she wasn¡¯t willing to back off. Not at any cost! \"I¡¯ll make you regret this.\"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders in reply, \"My father didn¡¯t teach me the word regret. You can only feel regret when you¡¯re not willing to own up your mistakes and actions. I for one am not a coward. I¡¯m willing to own my mistakes even if it takes me to my grave.\"

    A proud smile could be seen on Rong¡¯s face who seemed really rxed to see those two going at each other¡¯s throats. In fact, he looked really bored as he yawned and whispered, \"I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s still fond of one-sided beatings. Tsk. Tsk. Little Ru and her weird obsessions. It¡¯ll never change.\"

    However, he wasn¡¯t lying at all. This fight¡¯s winner was already very obvious. Before Ru¡¯s vicious nature even a sadistic person like Tang Yiyi won¡¯t be able to stand a chance.

    As the fight began, Tang Yiyi ran towards Ru with the dagger in her hand but before she could touch Ru, thetter was already nowhere to be seen. Tang Yiyi¡¯s eyes widened as she felt a breath behind her before she felt pain in her calf as he fell down on her knee. Tang Yiyi tried to swing the dagger but was shocked to learn that her hands were empty.

    As the silver dagger swung before her eyes, Tang Yiyi stared at Ru who was smiling like a Cheshire cat at this point. \"You should be careful,\" said Ru as she dropped the dagger before Tang Yiyi once again before taking a step back.

    Tang Yiyi stood up and wildly attacked Ru who simply dodged every attack. As the dagger was pointed at her face, Ru turned her face sideways a little before holding Tang Yiyi¡¯s forearm and said, \"I thought you¡¯re strong. Fight with your brain, don¡¯t just attack me like a brute. Otherwise, this will really be a boring fight.\"

    Tang Yiyi¡¯s feathers were thoroughly being ruffled by Ru¡¯s words. And instead of trying to fight wisely, she was losing all of her rationality. Without seeing or knowing what she was doing, she kept swinging her arms and legs, but she couldn¡¯t even touch Ru¡¯s shadow. Having gone back and forth for thest ten minutes, Ru¡¯s patience ran out as she simply clenched her fist and punched straight at Tang Yiyi¡¯s ribs making her cry out in pain.

    Holding her wrist, she twisted it and the dagger fell down from Tang Yiyi¡¯s grip. \"You¡¯re not even worthy of this young master¡¯s time.\" With that, the sound of bones breaking could be heard along with Tang Yiyi¡¯s ear-piercing screams of pain. Her wrist was broken or more like crushed by Ru without even a flinch.

    Seeing how Ru¡¯s two fingers were moving towards Tang Yiyi¡¯s vital point, Rong¡¯s figure moved as he held her hand in time saying, \"We still need to keep her alive.\"

    Ru¡¯s bloodthirsty look was eased up when she nced at Rong¡¯s face who calmly dissuade her from doing something irreversible. Ru nodded her head before she picked up the dagger and shed Tang Yiyi¡¯s face without any hesitation. She didn¡¯t even care if the blood was painting her own hands, face or clothes. She was like a madman engrossed in her viciousness.

    \"Tell me where is Yuan!\"

    Tang Yiyi¡¯s reply were her blood-curdling screams. Except for her screams, her resolve didn¡¯t break at all. Her lips were sealed as if no matter what, she won¡¯t give in to Ru¡¯s demands.

    \"Tell me the location or else I¡¯ll really tear off your skin,\" saying that Ru didn¡¯t hesitate before really slicing the skin off her shoulder.

    This bloody scene didn¡¯t do anything to Ru but Rong¡¯s expressions wereplicated. He had never seen Ru using bloody means to achieve her goal. Torturing someone physically? That was way below her. But he figured that she must be using these bloody means to let off some steam. However, it still didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    Tang Yiyi fainted because of the pain that she couldn¡¯t endure and Ru shook her shoulders trying to shake her awake. \"Hey, wake up! Tell me what you did with Yuan?\"

    Rong ced his hand on Ru¡¯s shoulder and said, \"She won¡¯t answer like this. As you said, she¡¯s a dog. And dogs are very loyal to their owner. She won¡¯t spit out any information for you.\" He took a pause to wave his subordinates to wake that miserable self of Tang Yiyi before adding, \"By the way, when did you learn to talk so much? If I remember correctly, you always said that you¡¯d let your fists talk rather than your tongue. Then howe you¡¯re using your poisonous tongue so carelessly today?\"

    Ru nced at Rong and said, \"Living in wolves, one learns to howl. There is nothing to be surprised about that.\" Saying that she closed her eyes to calm her raging storm of emotions before saying, \"Besides, even if a dragon learns to howl like a wolf, it¡¯ll still not lose its might.\"

    Rong¡¯s lips lifted up in a small smile at her words before he shook his head at her saying, \"I have no problem with this dragon howling, but I certainly don¡¯t want this dragon to act like a street thug.\" Ru raised her brow at him as he continued, \"Torturing is way below you, young master Ru. Getting your hands dirty with blood is not the only solution in life.\"

    As Ru figured the hidden meaning behind his words, she smiled. Indeed, she really had no reason to get her hands dirty with someone¡¯s blood.

 Chapter 271 A Bai

    The simple way to get any information without getting your hands was... Hypnosis! Instead of physical torture, it was better to torture someone mentally until they lose their own mind.

    Ru¡¯s personal knowledge of hypnosis was limited. It was enough to shock the normal people but before the grandmaster level hypnosis of Rong, her skills were not even worth mentioning. Her skills were limited in this field which she just picked up because she was bored. Besides, if she had learned it from her master back at home, her skills might not be inferior to Rong¡¯s but Ru never had any interest back then.

    Her hypnosis wouldst temporary and she wouldn¡¯t be able to pull off a lot of things. But as she watched her brother disying his skills, she was in awe. He really was at the level where he could mind control someone to the point of making a person his personal puppet. She remembered his skills weren¡¯t this amazing a decade ago but he definitely honed his skills without any rest during this time.

    When Tang Yiyi waspletely under his control, Ru moved forward and questioned, \"Tell me something about yourself.\"

    \"Name: Tang Yiyi. Code name: Blue Sniper. Member of Spy Division. Organization Name: ck Mamba.\"

    After confirming everything, Ru further asked, \"Now, tell me did you kidnap Xiao Zhiyuan?\"

    With a nk expression, Tang Yiyi spoke, \"Target: Xiao Zhiyuan. Apanied by two people. One male and one female. Kidnapped during his backpacking trip through Europe.\"

    Ru¡¯s hands clenched together as she shook her, \"How did you kidnap him?\"

    \"He was kidnapped from the train he took. Our people intercepted it in the middle and killed every member of his protection team before throwing their bodies into the valleys,\" answered Tang Yiyi. Ru finally understood why they were not able to find any clues.

    Ru¡¯s fists tightened, \"Where is he? What did you do to him? Or what do you n to do?\"

    \"Headquarters. The orders were to take him to the headquarters but since Knight Empire¡¯s people were also looking for him, we decided to hide those three kids in Italy for the meantime. However, today they must be delivered to the headquarters.\" She suddenly stopped talking and Ru looked at Rong with a confused look. He blinked his eyes to reassure and sure enough, Tang Yiyi began to talk again like a parrot, \"He has only been kidnapped. Until now, he is not harmed. He is just a bait anyway.\"

    \"Bait?\" questioned Ru.

    \"A bait to catch Xiao Zhiren along with his entire Ji family,\" answered Tang Yiyi and added, \"After the purpose is aplished, there will be no use of Xiao Zhiyuan left. Eventually, he¡¯ll be killed.\"

    Ru raised her fist to punch her face that spouted that nonsense but Rong held her back saying, \"Stay calm.\"

    Ru took a deep breath before she asked through gritted teeth, \"What¡¯s your purpose to stay close to Ji Caihong? Does Ling Qiaolian want to protect her daughter?\"

    Tang Yiyi scoffed, \"Protect that dumb bitch? Never! My aunt doesn¡¯t even acknowledge that stupid girl as her daughter. She¡¯s only a backdoor to enter the Ji Family.\"

    Ru was disgusted to learn that a mother was just using her daughter for her revenge ns. Just how lowly could this Ling Qiaolian get? It seemed like her shamelessness had no limits.

    While Ru was lost in her thoughts, Rong moved and asked, \"Give me the location of headquarters.\"

    Ru also listened in as Tang Yiyi gave out the coordinates of the location. As Rong¡¯s people typed in the coordinates into theputer before informing him, \"Boss, the coordinates lead to ¡¯The Death Valley¡¯ mountain ranges.\"

    Rong nodded his head before he gave out his orders, \"Take ¡¯good¡¯ care of Ms. Tang.\" That emphasis on ¡¯good¡¯ sounded sinister and even Ru could tell what he meant by that.

    But she still asked, \"Can I kill her now?\"

    \"No hurry,\" answered Rong as he nced at Ru¡¯s eager eyes. \"She is about to live her worst nightmare. By tomorrow, she¡¯ll take her own life.\"

    Tsk, she was really gonna live her nightmare through this hypnosis. But Ru felt no pity. Well, not like she had any excessive pity to spare for a vile person like Tang Yiyi. Then she heard Rong ordering his subordinates, \"Assemble every single person of our organization. We have a battle awaiting us.\"

    Ru nced at her brother and held his arm saying, \"Big brother, you don¡¯t have to get involved in this. My goal is to save Yuan, this has nothing to do with you.\"

    Rong touched her head saying, \"If you really think your brother would let you jump in this pit of fire all alone, you¡¯re wrong. I didn¡¯t build an army for power. I built this army to support you. These are not my people, they are yours. They will pledge their loyalty to you without any hesitation because their loyalty had always been your right.\"

    Ru was touched by this gesture but she still didn¡¯t want him to get involved in this. She was already feeling guilty but she couldn¡¯t do anything. It might be an easy task for Rong to dissuade his rebellious little Ru but it wasn¡¯t easy for Ru to convince her headstrong brother whose only purpose had been to follow her around without any questions.

    Since she couldn¡¯t convince him to back off, she strode out to find Wu Dishi who had followed her to this vi but decided to stay out the door.

    \"Wu Dishi,\" called out Ru and Wu Dishi was in alert mode awaiting his orders. \"Assemble every knight of Knight Empire. We are going to war.\"

    Wu Dishi¡¯s heart was startled by the intensity of anger and rage in her voice but he didn¡¯t dare to dy as he answered, \"Yes, Master!\"

    The people under Ru¡¯smand who could survive a battle were above a thousand or so in number but the people under Rong were not even half. It made one wonder how he managed to hold his ground against Knight Empire. But soon Ru figured the answer.

    The assassins, mercenaries or other groups of fighters under Ru were all the ones she randomly picked while making her authority clear to the rest of the world. But it wasn¡¯t the same for Rong; each person under hismand was a skillful master. Each of those skillful masters could really do serious damage to hundreds ofmon mercenaries or assassins.

    However, Ru¡¯s group of people wasn¡¯t that bad either after she had put them all through rigorous training. They all could match those skillful masters.

    It could be said that both their armies were enough to cause the downfall of anyone individually. And if they were able to give enough headache to people alone, together their power could only make one shudder with fear.

 Chapter 272 Love Sick

    As the proverb goes: \"There is nothing certain, but the uncertain.\"

    Our future doesn¡¯t always align with what life has nned for us. Uncertainty is a factor that stays constant in our life. Life in itself has never been certain. We can make an effort and we can try our best but the result doesn¡¯t always guarantee our sess.

    But that uncertainty is the thing that makes our life so thrilling and precious.

    However, we can¡¯t deny that there is one thing certain in our life...

    Death...

    Death is a certain factor that we can¡¯t deny even if we want to.

    And this factor was the reason why Ru was staring at her phone screen for an hour now. She really wanted to dial that number but she still was hesitating for some reason. She nced at the name ¡¯Zhiren¡¯ in her contacts and closed her eyes in exasperation as he locked the phone screen.

    \"Something on your mind?\" she heard a voice and turned her head to look at Rong who was sitting before a Japanese style table. His movements were slow but precise as he stirred the teapot in his hand.

    Ru sighed before taking a seat before him as she answered, \"Not really.\"

    Rong only lifted his lips slightly showing that he didn¡¯t believe her lie even for a second. But he stayed quiet and silently poured a cup of tea for her and offered it to her. Ru epted it from his hand and took a sip of it. She had yet to swallow the tea when he guessed, \"You want to call Xiao Zhiren.\" Ru was bit taken aback but sheposed her expressions soon after. However, her slight change was enough for him to be certain as he urged, \"You should.\"

    Ru was again startled as she looked at him with confusion in her eyes. \"But... You don¡¯t even like him.\" In thest couple of days, she had already seen how much Rong disliked Zhiren. Or more like hated him. So, she really couldn¡¯t understand how or why he was suggesting her talk to Zhiren?

    Rong took a sip of his tea and agreed, \"I don¡¯t but you do.\" He might hate Zhiren but he could see the invitation in Ru¡¯s eyes. The only person who mattered in his life had been Ru, then how could deny her of one thing she fell for?

    He looked into her bright green eyes as he went on, \"There is only so much that we can control in life. Tomorrow is neither in your control nor mine.\" He looked outside at the dark sky as he trailed off, \"You must have heard, ¡¯Nothing¡¯s for sure, that¡¯s for sure¡¯. If we are not even sure about what¡¯s toe, isn¡¯t it better to be done with what your heart tells you to?\"

    Ru was surprised to hear his words and after a moment of reflection, she even nodded agreeably, \"You¡¯re right. Thanks, big brother.\" As she stood up to leave, she turned back to announce, \"Nothing¡¯s for sure in life, but I can assure you that the next dawn is gonna bring a bloody battle with it.\"

    Rong silently watched her leave the room while he whispered to himself, \"That is what I am scared of my little Ru. Every bloody battle demands sacrifice and I don¡¯t want you to sacrifice your love for this battle.\"

    Ru ran out to the garden and dialed Zhiren¡¯s number without any hesitation this time. Yes, she was a feeling a bit heavy but that didn¡¯t stop her from making this call.

    That battle that awaited her was gonna begin tomorrow. It took them two days to gather all their warriors from around the world before they finally decided tounch the attack. During these two days, she had only been focused on gathering information about the target location and forming strategies. She really had no time to think of anything else. But now when the battle was so near, she could only think about Zhiren.

    In fact, if her goal wasn¡¯t to rescue Yuan, she might have not been feeling this guilty inside. But now she did, knowing that she couldn¡¯t worry Zhiren about this matter.

    As she dialed the number, Zhiren picked up her call at the first ring catching Ru off-guard, \"Where are you?! How can you leave without a word?!\" Ru almost dropped her phone because of his loud voice. \"Do you even have any sense of responsibility? Who does it like this? Which kind of girlfriend just takes off without a word?\"

    Ru opened her mouth, \"I-\"

    But Zhiren didn¡¯t even give her a chance as his voice softened, \"My little chili, are you okay?\"

    Ru smiled at his concern and answered, \"This young master is as perfect as always. Don¡¯t you know perfection is another name of Young Master Ru.\"

    Zhiren rolled his eyes at her familiar way of speaking before he chuckled softly and began, \"Oh, I see you¡¯re doing fine since you still are ascent as ever.\" His anger slowly subdued as he went on, \"But on a serious note, are you really okay?\"

    \"I am,\" asserted Ru. \"What about you? Are you okay?\"

    She heard his sighing, \"How can I possibly be okay without my little chili? But I¡¯m still breathing.\"

    Ru quirked her brows up, \"Aren¡¯t you being dramatic?\"

    \"I¡¯m not,\" told Zhiren with certainty. \"It¡¯s not me being dramatic, I¡¯m really not doing too well.\"

    \"Huh? What happened?\" questioned Ru.

    \"I¡¯m sick,\" replied Zhiren.

    \"What sickness do you have? This Young Master can treat any kind of illness. You just name it.\"

    \"Yes, only you can treat my illness,\" remarked Zhiren.

    \"I¡¯ll treat it but you first tell me what illness do you have?\"

    \"Oh, it¡¯s a very tricky illness. Sometimes my heart hurts and then it suddenly starts beating fast. Other times, I¡¯ll be feeling angry but would suddenly lose myself and start smiling like an idiot. I¡¯d keep staring at my phone screen for hours without blinking and then would want to throw the phone away as well.\"

    Ru scratched her head, \"What kind of illness is that?\"

    \"Love, it¡¯s called lovesickness. And only you can treat it.\"

    Ru facepalmed herself as she heard his answer and wanted to smack his head for trying to y with her like that.

    \"Instead of lovesickness, it seems like you¡¯re going insane. That¡¯s my diagnosis for you,\" grinned Ru to herself foring up with such a retort.

    \"Oh, that¡¯s better than,\" came Zhiren¡¯s voice while Ru frowned and he went on, \"I have to match the insanity of my girlfriend. Otherwise, how will I know what goes through her crazy mind?\"

 Chapter 273 Normal One

    Ru felt a little strange as she listened to him to say that he was willing to cross the border of insanity as long as it meant he¡¯d feel close to her. She really didn¡¯t know what to say or how to feel about this situation.

    This kind of feeling could only be considered as another first for Young Master Ru.

    However, with that strange feeling that she couldn¡¯t describe in words came an uneasy feeling as well. So what if he was willing to go beyond insanity. He would still be far apart from her. Her catastrophic, profane, and cryptic insanity was even beyond her own understanding. How was a pure and simple person like him could evere even close to understanding her?

    People like him could only despise people like her. They would hardly put an effort into understanding thetter.

    Even though she could see that Zhiren was willing to understand her, she knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it.

    \"I really hope you never get to see my real insanity,\" whispered Ru in a small voice. She lifted her spirit as she continued, \"If you evere close to my insanity, you might regret falling in love with me.\"

    \"You¡¯re questioning my love for you again,\" stated Zhiren with a bit of sadness in his tone.

    \"No. I¡¯m merely enlightening you with the truth that you don¡¯t want to ept,\" said Ru calmly.

    Zhiren didn¡¯t know why she said that statement but he didn¡¯t feel good about it at all. He could feel it in his heart that this silence around him was actually a sign of a storm brewing somewhere. However, he just couldn¡¯t figure out where that storm was gonna lead him.

    \"Forget about that. You just tell me where are you?\" Zhiren tried to alter the course of conversation. \"And do you know how worried I had been for thest two days?\"

    \"What if I can¡¯t tell you where I am?\" retorted Ru.

    Zhiren stayed silent for a long moment. Ru would have assumed that the line was cut if only she hadn¡¯t been able to hear the faint sound of his breath through the speaker. Her hearing senses were sharper than most people and could really discern the changes in his breathing even.

    \"If you can¡¯t tell me it¡¯s okay. You must have your own reasons. But can you answer my next question?\"

    Ru thought about it for a moment before she hummed along in reply which allowed Zhiren to continue, \"Are you safe there?\"

    \"Safe? Hmmm... I am safe. At least, for now.\"

    Zhiren¡¯s heart almost stopped when she ended her sentence with ¡¯For now.¡¯ He clearly knew what it meant; She was nning on doing something dangerous.

    \"What are you nning?\" he questioned instinctively.

    The corner of Ru¡¯s lips raised up slightly into a knowing smile as she replied, \"If I told you my nning, I¡¯m afraid your weak heart might not be able to take it.\"

    Zhiren rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation. \"Would it be so bad for you to stay still and do nothing? Isn¡¯t living a normal life enough for you?\"

    \"Karen Horney once wrote, ¡¯A normal human being... does not exist.¡¯ Every human is weird and I am just a special kind of weird.\" Zhiren was silent while she added, \"All my life, I¡¯ve been taught one thing. Young Master Ru wasn¡¯t born to be normal. So, no Zhiren. I for one can¡¯t be normal. It¡¯s really not enough for me.\"

    \"But...\" Zhiren wanted to argue but he had nothing to argue with. He could win from Ru only when it came to flirting. As for eloquence, hers was far beyond his reach.

    \"Is it necessary for you to always go against me?\" asked Ru making Zhiren frown.

    \"What do you mean? When have I ever gone against you?\"

    \"You always do. From the very first day, your views have never been aligned with mine. Your way of life and mine had been very different. It really makes me wonder...\"

    \"What are you wondering now?\"

    Ru sighed, \"Whether two people who are traveling on two different routes can actually have the same destination.\"

    Her words stunned Zhiren. Indeed, they both were like fire and ice. Both had their own journeys but as for the destination? Zhiren shook his head, \"If I have to, I¡¯m willing to change my route for you.\"

    Ru chuckled at his response. \"Zhiren, if destiny was that easily altered, we as humans wouldn¡¯t be feeling this helpless when it came to life.\" The sound of her lowugh put Zhiren into a trance and hepletely forgot about what they were just discussing. After Ru stoppedughing, she recalled something and inquired, \"Oh, I was thinking of calling Yuan but couldn¡¯t reach him. Have you heard from him?\"

    Zhiren¡¯s trance was finally broken by her words as he replied, \"Hm. I just talked to him an hour ago. He said he¡¯s fine and having fun over there. In fact, he asked me not to call him. He said he¡¯ll contact me himself. I¡¯ll ask him to give you a call.\"

    Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed at this information. No wonder Zhiren was so rxed. That treacherous organization had taken all the measures to ensure that Zhiren couldn¡¯t find anything until they seed in their mission.

    Bloody scums!

    Ru¡¯s eyes shed with malicious and murderous intent at the reminder of those people. However, it soon disappeared as she heard Zhiren¡¯s voice, \"Why do I feel like you¡¯re missing Yuan more than me?\"

    With a yful glint in her eyes, she replied, \"Yuan is like a little brother to me. It¡¯s natural for me to miss him. As for you... Why would I miss you? Who are you mister?\"

    Zhiren gaped in disbelief. \"This is why I didn¡¯t want to send you away. See, it¡¯s only been two days and you already forgot all about me.\"

    He was like a kid asking for attention while Ru was being amused by his reactions.

 Chapter 274 The Beast Inside

    -The Death Valley-

    Rich velvet nket of ck swallowed up the day, draining the colors of grey and then into nothing at all as midnight came around. Only a smattering of luminous stars could be seen in the absolute darkness of midnight sky. Even the moon had waned into nothing at this time.

    Through a small window, the waned moonlight fell inside the dark, slightly damp and cold cell. The cell wasn¡¯t made of concrete, rather it seemed to be carved inside the mountain. The metal bars were really thick and it wasn¡¯t very spacious either.

    The moonlight seemed to be dancing in the myriad of shadows until it slowly fell on a figure curled up on the cold floor, shivering. Fair, tender but frail hands were hugging the small frame. Hair drenched in sweat stuck to the small face of the young girl who was suffering from immense pain.

    \"Lily!\"

    In the silence, she heard someone calling her name in a hushed tone. As if someone was trying to shake her awake from her semi-unconscious state.

    \"Lily! Wake up!\"

    The demons wreaking havoc in her mind slowly seemed to fade as the voice got clearer. Her brows knotted together as she tried to recognize that voice. The name sounded really familiar and yet it seemed unfamiliar. But she was certain she had heard that name.

    ¡¯Who was Lily?¡¯ The young girl wondered to herself.

    \"Lily, if you really gave up here, how are you gonna face your master Rong? You still have to repay your master for saving you!\"

    The girl¡¯s eyes opened instantly as if the name had brought her sense of rationality back. She used her wounded hands to support her body to sit up. Slowly, she pushed back her sticky hair to look back at the person calling her name.

    \"Xiao Han?\"

    Her voice was hoarse and really weak as she stared at the teenager in the cell right opposite her. He looked exhausted and disheveled. Not even one bit of him looked like he was the same young master of the Ji family who loved cause trouble for everyone. He didn¡¯t look like his lively self.

    \"Are you okay?\" he asked in a concerned voice, holding the metal bars he had been constantly looking at her condition which seemed to have worsened after they were moved to this new prison.

    Even though Zhang Han didn¡¯t know where this group of kidnappers brought them, he was certain that it was a farawaynd with no one to help them around.

    Meanwhile, making sense of his question, Lily finally recalled what happened. After they were kidnapped, they were kept together in a room. But yesterday when they were brought here, she was separated from the other two. And when they brought her back to that familiar-lookingboratory, she knew what was toe.

    But her only regret was that she got the other two teenagers in trouble. They had nothing to do with it and yet they were stuck here with her.

    \"Master, I¡¯m sorry for failing to keep them safe. Instead, I brought this cmity,\" she whispered with remorse but she couldn¡¯t do anything at all now. Her whole body was as heavy as a boulder. And her brain... It was a wonder that she could still keep some of her sense of thinking intact. \"Xiao Han, I¡¯m really sorry,\" she breathed out to the other teenager.

    Zhang Han leaned against the metal bars and finally rxed a little, seeing that she was awake. He was really scared when she didn¡¯t respond to his calls for the past five hours. However, he was also stubborn who kept calling her name in desperation. He didn¡¯t know what those people did to her after they brought them here, but when they threw her in the cell opposite of his, she looked lifeless.

    \"What are you sorry for? It¡¯s okay as long as you¡¯re alive,\" he replied before licking his dry lips. He was thirsty, really thirsty after calling her name so many times. It was surprising that he hadn¡¯t lost his voice until now.

    Lily looked up at him and choked out, \"This is all my fault. If I had not joined you guys on this trip, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. These people are after me. Because master tried to set me free from their shackles, they must be getting back their subject product now.\"

    \"Aiyo, you¡¯re really innocent,\" said Zhang Han as he tilted his head sideways and sighed, \"You might be their test subject before. But this time their target wasn¡¯t you.\" Lily frowned at his words while he pointed around in the cell and asked, \"Do you see anyone else in here?\"

    Even though it was really dark, her eyes were already ustomed to the darkness and she could tell that Zhang Han was alone in the cell. So, she shook her head in reply.

    \"Don¡¯t you think someone¡¯s missing?\" Lily raised her brow at his question. \"We came as a group of three. You¡¯re here, I¡¯m here...\"

    Her eyes widened at the realization as she screamed out, \"Where is Yuan? What did they do to him?\"

    Zhang Han stayed quiet for a moment as if thinking of something. \"I don¡¯t know where they took my little uncle but I¡¯m certain that he is fine.\"

    \"How can you be so sure?\"

    He shrugged his shoulders, \"Call it intuition or whatever. But I assure you that this whole charade of kidnapping wasn¡¯t for you. Their target from the beginning was my little uncle, Yuan.\" It was the only hope he had at this moment and he wasn¡¯t willing to let it go.

    His voice had just fallen when he heard a loud shriek from Lily and turned to look at her. She was clutching her head in both her hands with an agonizing pain visible on her pale face. But more than pain, he found that she seemed scared.

    With her hand, she pulled out a hairpin from her hair and pierced her own flesh right on her thigh. The pointed tip along with her killing skills, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that a simple hairpin turned into a weapon that shed her thigh and blood gushed out.

    Her nails scratched on the floor making even Zhang Han feel pity for her. \"What did they do to you?¡¯ he questioned calmly. He looked rather calm for a young master who had nevere across this kind of bloody scene before in his life.

    With her teeth nking together, she replied, \"They are trying to awaken the beast inside of me.\"

 Chapter 275 A Walk Back To The Cage?

    In a room filled with screening monitors, a tall man was keeping an eye on the two ¡¯prisoners¡¯ with aplex look.

    \"Captain,\" he heard a female voice from beside him but his stiff expression didn¡¯t change even for a second as if he didn¡¯t even hear the voice. Seemingly used to his reaction, the other person continued solemnly, \"What are we supposed to do with these two?\"

    The man rubbed his bottom lip with his index finger. \"Number 104 is still resisting?\" He seemed rather intrigued as his eyes stared at the screen which showed Lily¡¯s small figure curled up and trying to fight her own consciousness with all her willpower. Seeing her fighting to hold on to her humanity, his eyes glinted, \"Interesting. It¡¯s been years I have seen someone resisting the drug for so long.\"

    \"Captain, do you mean someone actually managed to resist before?\" asked the female subordinate incredulously. She knew the effects of the drug. It was more like a curse that could devour any person¡¯s humanity and turn that one into a mere puppet. She had seen hundreds of people like that in the organization. But none of them managed to fight this curse.

    The man let out a low chuckle. \"Resist? Oh, I have seen even better. That person was special and extraordinary. She didn¡¯t just manage to resist the drugs, she even managed to break the shackles of that drug on her consciousness all on her own.\" While the girl beside him was shocked by his revtion, she didn¡¯t notice how his eyes dimmed while he murmured to himself, \"Four...\" he sighed out sadly, \"You¡¯re truly extraordinary. Even after years, they¡¯re still trying to create another you not knowing that there was only one you.\"

    \"What happened to that test subject?\" asked the girl hesitantly.

    The man turned to look at her as he shook his head, \"She left.\"

    \"Hmmm... Only death can let one escape ck Mamba,\" said the female as if she understood everything.

    However, the manughed at her reaction and turned to leave with a shrug of his shoulders. Walking along the long hallways, he breathed out, \"Died? Thest of Ximen n died at the hands of mere an organization? Tsk. Tsk. How naive these people are!\"

    He stood outside a white door and cleared through the security check before entering. Behind the seemingly small door hid a huge hall filled with experimental instruments and apparatus that could only be found in high-tech government research facilities. His eyes fell on a long line of ¡¯test subjects¡¯ chained up against the beds and he could only sigh in his heart.

    While passing through, he greeted tens of doctors who were busy carrying out their experiments on human bodies. Finally, he arrived at the very end and ced his identification card on the electronic machine. As his identification cleared, a passageway opened up through the wall. He walked inside and found the person he had been looking for.

    \"Madam,\" he saluted the woman with politeness and submission.

    The woman who held a green liquid in her hand didn¡¯t spare him an eye as she inquired, \"What brought you here, Yu?\"

    The man who was addressed as Yu replied calmly, \"There is no change in number 104. She is still holding on.\"

    The woman¡¯s eyes shed with indignance. \"Hmm... The little bird learned to fly in thest half-year as she stayed away from her cage.\" Her lips curled up into a sinister smile. \"But just because she grew a new pair of wings doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t cut it again.\"

    If one looked carefully at the woman¡¯s face, they¡¯d be able to find uncanny resemnce with Ji Caihong¡¯s features. Except that Ji Caihong¡¯s eyes held the purest form of innocence while this middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes looked extremely cruel and evil. Indeed, she was none other than Ji Caihong¡¯s mother, Ling Qiaolian.

    \"Yu.\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\"

    \"Bring number 104 on a walk in the woods,\" instructed the Ling Qiaolian with amusement dancing in her eyes.

    Yu seemed confused and uncertain as he inquired, \"Madam wants me to free her from the prison cell?\"

    \"To let a bird walk back into its cage, one has to cut down its desire of freedom,\" replied Ling Qiaolian. As Yu heard her n, his eyes widened but he could only nod. As he turned to leave, she stopped him, \"Yu, have you heard anything from Yiyi¡¯s side?\"

    Yu slumped his shoulders and shook his head, \"No, Madam. Miss Tang¡¯s whereabouts are still unknown. We can¡¯t get in touch with anyone from her side. Even the people I sent to find her haven¡¯t been back. I believe that...\" He didn¡¯t dare continue his conjecture. On second thought, \"But Miss Tang¡¯s abilities are second to only you. Even if she encountered an unfavorable situation, she¡¯ll be able to resist.\"

    \"I¡¯m not worried about that. It¡¯s just that her target this time was Xie Rong. That tricky bastard definitely has a connection with that abominable Alve Knight. I want both of them dead before they coulde to us.\" Her voice held an extreme coldness and viciousness.

    Even Yu knew that Tang Yiyi¡¯s target had been Xie Rong for months, however, she was always defeated by the other side. In fact, in Tang Yiyi¡¯s own words, Xie Rong was like a cunning fox that always managed to slip away from her hands. If she was smart, the other side could be considered an aberrant.

    Even if he didn¡¯t know who this Xie Rong or Alev Knight was but he certainly admired both who single-handedly managed to be a headache for an organization like theirs.

    \"You act on the instruction, I still have to think of some countermeasures. We can¡¯t risk any slight mistake,\" she shooed him away while she stayed behind. Holding the white curtain, as she pulled it to a side, a fair teenager could be seen lying on the bed. His eyes were closed while his face seemed lifeless.

    She ran a hand over his face as she whispered, \"Don¡¯t me me for being ruthless, Little Yuan. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re the perfect bait to lure your brother here. And only my perfect subject can help me seize the Ji Family.\"

    Meanwhile, as Yu came out he went towards the prison cells. The guards outside greeted him with respect and fear while he acted oblivious to their reactions.

    \"What brought captain here?\" asked one of them.

    \"Take the prisoners out,\" he ordered. \"We¡¯re taking them on a tour through our territory.\"

 Chapter 276 A Pitiful Young Master

    \"Xiao Han!\"

    A pleading cry fell on his ear before he felt someone kicking right in his ribs making an intense pain to shot through his body. His eyes already felt heavy as if rocks had been weighing down on them.

    \"Wake up already! It¡¯d be no fun if you kept sleeping,\" he heard an unfamiliar but mocking voice.

    Zhang Han slowly opened his eyes and what came into his view were tall trees. It was a dense forest, sunlight only fell on the ground through the cracks. Outgrown roots, wildflowers, fallen leaves and a minty fragrance of grass greeted him. However, he could still distinctly discern the smell of death and fear hovering in the air around him.

    He had seen forests that seemed serene, carried a melody without rhythm and yed the music without the sound. And in the greens of every pte, one would find the verdant hues of nature¡¯s free dreams.

    But at this moment, he couldn¡¯t even fathom how many people¡¯s blood had painted the dirt path ahead of him. Just how many people took theirst breath right where he was?

    \"Is he ying dead? Why isn¡¯t that kid moving?\" a man clothed in blue asked.

    \"Maybe he is too scared and fainted again,\" replied his femalepanion in red.

    \"It¡¯d be a shame if he died just like that. I only took this task because I thought I¡¯d be seeing an entertaining show,\" another voice chimed in.

    \"Me too. I also want to see the fear in his eyes. I want him to run for his life. It¡¯d be more fun when those wolves would tear his limbs apart,\" said the female from earlier.

    Hearing their discussion, Lily¡¯s heart almost stopped as she looked in the direction of Zhang Han with fear and worry. She felt so helpless and useless at that moment. She couldn¡¯t even help him! Without realizing it, tears had started falling down her cheeks.

    How useless and incapable she felt that she couldn¡¯t even help the same person who actually taught her to live. She always found him annoying when he tagged along with Yuan with the excuse of being under her care to learn some martial arts. But sheter learned that his sole purpose to tag along was just to tease her.

    He¡¯d always find a way to make her smile without her even realizing it. It was his care and attention that actually pulled herpletely out of the shadows of death. She was grateful to Ru and her ck Mist squad for saving her. But neither Ru nor ck Mist squad knew what a normal teenager would want in life, so none of them was able to break her wallspletely.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Ru to ask Lily to be a trainer for Yuan, she¡¯d have never encountered this weird kid who always smiled at her kindly. But now when he needed her, her hands were tied, literally!

    \"Xiao Han!\" she burst out in tears with a whisper.

    Only then did Zhang Han sat up to look before him. Ten people d in their different colors of jackets could be seen. It seemed that each color represented the rank of the person. However, he was really not interested in them. But when his eyes fell on that square cage made of metal, his eyes fumed with fiery rage.

    Especially because the girl kneeling inside that cage looked really sad. Her tears made his rage to reach another level.

    \"Oh, this high and might young master is finally up. I guess we won¡¯t be disappointed with the show now.\" He couldn¡¯t tell who said that but it was not like he cared. His eyes were stuck on that figure shaking inside the cage.

    \"Don¡¯t be so impolite, little seven. This young master might start to cry otherwise.\" A roar ofughter ensued around.

    \"Haha! Then he¡¯ll call for his mommy!\"

    \"Hahaha!\"

    Suddenly hearing thatughter all of them turned silent and looked at Zhang Han with incredulous looks in their eyes. Why was he suddenlyughing? Couldn¡¯t he see his death was imminent?

    \"I think he¡¯s lost his brain.\" One of those men suggested.

    \"Right. Seeing that he can¡¯t avoid death, he really lost it.\" Another agreed with him.

    Zhang Han looked at their faces with a strange look. \"I guess you all have no brain like your master.\"

    \"What did you say?!\" An angry roar came from the team leader at the front in ck clothes who had been silent until now. \"Don¡¯t you dare say our master¡¯s name from your filthy mouth!\"

    \"Shouldn¡¯t I be calling you all brainless? After all, you did me such a huge favor by actually leaving me here. Right in the middle of a forest. Do you know how much I love forests?\"

    Zhang Han¡¯s words made everyone feel strange. What was this kid ying at?

    \"Do you think we brought you here for fun? Or for camping? Kid, we brought you to your grave!\" The leader snickered.

    Zhang Han slowly stood up from the ground. With a thud, everyone heard the chains on his hands falling on the ground. They looked at his dumbstruck while he rubbed his sore wrists and added, \"You did your job by bringing me to this yground. Now, it¡¯s my turn to make it your grave!\"

    \"How-\" The leader¡¯s words were left in his mouth as Zhang Han¡¯s figure moved past like a sh of lightning while sliting the leader¡¯s throat with the tiny but sharp de that had been imnted inside his ring.

    Everyone pulled out their weapon to attack but his figure was like floating on air as he moved across the ten of them and easily dropped them all on the ground in an instant.

    He touched the side of his ring and the de vanished as if it wasn¡¯t there at all. Looking at the bodies lying at his feet, he clenched his fists. \"Do you really think a disciple of Jingshen Temple is that easy to mess with?\"

 Chapter 277 Wolves

    Every person who had been watching this scene behind the screens was dumbstruck. They didn¡¯t even get a chance to react before every single one of their own fell to the ground like a broken kite. What stunned them, even more, was the fact that the young man¡¯s speed was horrifying.

    \"Captain?\" a young petite female tried to get her captain¡¯s attention.

    Their captain, Yu, however, looked fascinated by Zhang Han¡¯s movements. Yu had seen that footwork before and he was certain that he wasn¡¯t imagining it. And if his assumption was right then this time their organization really underestimated the other party.

    \"Inform Madam about this,\" he gave a light remark with no urgency in his voice. He seemed rather amused by these events. In fact, he was so amused that he didn¡¯t even want to blink as he stared at Zhang Han¡¯s figure visible on the monitor.

    Meanwhile, Zhang Han tried to pick up any useful thing from those losers that lost their lives so easily. All of a sudden, he heard a wolf howling not far away and cursed under his breath. He looked at the gun in his hand that he picked up from the leader of that group and whispered, \"Wolves and a single gun. Damn! I hate thisbination!\"

    Luckily, he had found a couple ofbat knives from the few of them as well. He came around the cage and crouched down before it.

    Inside the cage, Lily was staring at him oddly. She had never expected him to be so ruthless. He smiled like an angel all the time that she didn¡¯t even realize that he was hiding a monster underneath.

    \"Did they give you anything else?\" he asked and Lily shook her head in reply. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, \"I can exin everything but this is not the time for that. For now, I want you to trust me. Can you do that?\" Lily bobbed her head up and down clearing her stance. \"That¡¯s good.\" He stretched his hand through the space between the bars and caressed her cheek saying, \"I don¡¯t know what or who is helping you keep your humanity. But please, make that thing your anchor and hold onto it for a little bit longer. I promise I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. Okay?\"

    Lily lifted her hand to touch his hand that was on her cheek and tried to smile, \"I trust you.\" Zhang Han smiled back at her in reassurance while Lily¡¯s eyes widened at what she saw behind him. Noticing her gaze, he also turned to look.

    There stood several silhouettes, wolfish. They looked aggressive and as the foremost wolf howled, every wolf in the pack stopped to eye the prey as if they were invited on a family feast. Zhang Han sucked in a cold breath as he said, \"Well, that looks quite like a majestic wolf pack. They look cute right like huskies?\" he tried to joke around as his habit.

    \"It¡¯s not funny,\" said Lily. \"Let me out, I can help you.\"

    Zhang Han shook his head at her and pulled out a napkin from his pocket. He rolled it and tied it around Lily¡¯s eyes and while she was trying to remove it, he said, \"Please, don¡¯t take it off until I say so. You¡¯re safe in there. They can¡¯t even touch you in the cage. If you came out, I¡¯ll be distracted and that¡¯ll bring more trouble than necessary.\" Lily dropped her struggle as she felt him getting up. \"Just wait. I¡¯ll be right back.\"

    The pack of wolves before him had over a dozen members. Grey, brown and white, the pack looked really majestic as he said. Their fur, short over their body and longer at the neck, seemed smooth and shiny. But he really didn¡¯t think it was time to appreciate wolves beauty or might. Now, it was about survival.

    As the foremost wolf howled again, every other member in the pack started running towards Zhang Han¡¯s figure. However, the teenager who stood stretching his neck a minute ago was now running up to climb the nearby tree. The tree was tall and dense but wolves had already surrounded the tree.

    Zhang Han took off his jacket that had blood on it and just threw it on a branch before jumping off towards another branch of another tree. Aftering to a fair distance, he pulled out the gun he found and aimed at the alpha of the pack. Even an empire falls with a king, how can wolves survive? That was exactly his thought and that¡¯s why he aimed right in the middle of the wolf¡¯s head and took a shot.

    With an ear-piercing cry, the alpha fell down to the ground; lifeless. The wolves seeing their alpha fall got even angrier as they frantically tried to look for Zhang Han. A little teenager hiding in the trees took several shots and imed the life of seven wolves. Since there were only eight bullets in the gun and he had missed a shot, now he was only left with thebat knives.

    The remaining number of the wolves was exactly the same as he had killed but now the situation was really not in his favor. He picked up a pebble and threw it at the head of the wolf that was closest to him. As the wolf howled and ran towards him, Zhang Han held thebat knives in both his hands to attack.

    What followed was a bloody and gruesome battle. His shoulder was bitten by a wolf, another one even dragged him for quite a distance from his leg. All in all, by the time he killed the wolves, he was looking like he had bathed in blood. Not only that, but even his body was also filled with wounds now.

    He limped his way towards the cage and unlocked it. When Lily finally came out and took off the blindfold, she was stunned. The carcasses of wolves were littered around on the dirt path. And his condition didn¡¯t look very good either.

    She really wanted to know how he did it but couldn¡¯t find any words. Zhang Han however, wasn¡¯t really paying attention to her as he was surveying the surroundings. He held her wrist and dragged her with him. \"Let¡¯s run. The wolf cries will definitely bring more trouble for us.\"

    Lily didn¡¯t say anything but followed him. Even with an injured leg, he tried to run through the steep, narrow and rocky path of the mountain in a chaotic way. He was breathless, tired and feltpletely drained but he still didn¡¯t give up. He had to save her life at any cost!

    On a wet patch of dry leaves, Lily¡¯s step faltered and she almost fell. He helped her up and asked, \"Can you walk?\"

    Before she could nod, she screamed, \"Watch out!\"

    Unfortunately, it was already toote...

 Chapter 278 Provoking Death

    Surviving war only to die from an unseen disease. That¡¯s what Zhang Han felt in this situation.

    Because when Zhang Han turned around all he saw was a burly silhouette of the wolf and its bloodthirsty eyes before he shut his eyes tight awaiting those sharp teeth to pierce through his flesh. What a pity that he who managed to kill a whole pack was now caught so unprepared that he was gonna die at the hands of a puny lone wolf.

    However, the pain he expected never came, instead, he got to hear a loud wolf cry and felt something sshing on his face.

    \"A warrior should never close his eyes before death.\"

    A very calm and pleasant voice fell into his ear. His eyes shot open in an instant and he looked at his front. The wolf before him had a sleek sword pierced right through its neck. He moved his eyes slowly upward towards the golden hilt of the sword then moved upwards towards the fair hand that held it and finally saw the youth looking back at him with indifference.

    There was an almost imperceptible smirk stered on the other person¡¯s face and as he inclined towards Zhang Han¡¯s frozen figure, he added, \"If you have the courage to provoke death, have the courage to face it as well.\"

    Meanwhile...

    Everyone in the monitoring room had gone into a frenzy as they tried to look for Zhang Han and Lily¡¯s figure. The cameras and traps were everywhere in the mountain, they were certain that both youngsters couldn¡¯t possibly escape that easily.

    \"What¡¯s happening?\" came a stern voice and everyone held their breath in fear. Seeing all the heads down and nobody willing to answer her, Ling Qiaolian was infuriated, \"I asked something? Did you all lose your tongues?\" She looked at the captain of the team and inquired, \"Yu, what¡¯s going on?\"

    Yu who had been silently immersed in trying to link Zhang Han¡¯s movements to a certain someone in his memory was suddenly shaken awake from his trance. Instead of answering her, he moved towards theputer and reyed the video of Zhang Han¡¯s fight with their people and the wolves pack.

    Ling Qiaolian¡¯s brows furrowed up as she saw the smooth actions of Zhang Han. She really didn¡¯t expect that at all. The only reason why she ordered her people to take him out was that she wanted to use Zhang Han¡¯s brutal death from the wolves to teach Lily a lesson. She wanted her text subject to see that freedom could only bring her deaths of the people she cared for.

    She knew for certain that Lily would break after encountering such a thing. After all, the death of your loved ones right before your eyes is the worst price one can pay for freedom.

    However, she never expected that someone would challenge her gamen and that too right in her territory. Moreover, that someone would turn out to be a mere teenager? Who barely stepped into adulthood?

    \"How did this happen? Didn¡¯t you already know who he is?\" she screamed at the people around the room. \"Everyone of you had been keeping a watch on him for weeks and couldn¡¯t find a single abnormality? Are you that dumb?!\"

    \"Reporting to Madam, the reports that Ms. Tang sent didn¡¯t indicate anything special about this little nephew of Xiao Zhiren. In fact, he was considered so ordinary that oftentimes Ms. Tang even forgot about his existence.\" Yu started exining the report that Tang Yiyi had been giving for years. It wasn¡¯t their fault that Tang Yiyi was the brainless one who didn¡¯t notice Zhang Han¡¯s abnormalities.

    \"But we caught him two weeks ago? Howe he didn¡¯t resist during that time?\" fumed Ling Qiaolian. She knew the main problem lied with her own niece¡¯s report but that said niece was nowhere to be found. So, she could only dump all the me on the people who were present.

    \"From the moment we caught him, he had been constantly put on drugs. He slept for two weeks, he only regained his consciousness yesterday. And when he did, he was already locked in our dungeon. There is no way he¡¯d think about resisting during that time. That¡¯s why none of us actually noticed anything.\" Yu again stated the whole thing calmly.

    Ling Qiaolian thought about something before saying, \"Why are you all frozen? Look for both of them!\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\" came the reply as everyone got busy looking through the screening monitors spread all around the mountain.

    \"Yu, send people out! Now I want that little boy back alive as well!\"

    Yu nodded his head and went out to send several teams out to look for both Zhang Han and Lily. Although something told him that they wouldn¡¯t be able to find them now. From what he gathered, Zhang Han didn¡¯t seem as simple to him as everyone thought of him to be. He already found it weird that Ji Family was willing to raise Zhang Han even when he was not directly rted to them.

    When he came back inside the monitoring room, he saw Ling Qiaolian giving orders left and right. So, he silently stood at her side.

    \"Yu, do you find anything peculiar about this boy?\"

    Yu¡¯s heart jolted a bit but he still answered, \"Nothing so noteworthy, Madam. Even his movements aren¡¯t that fluid. He¡¯s at most a rookie in martial arts.\"

    She scoffed, \"Oftentimes the people or problems that we tend to overlook are the ones whoe to bite us so tantly. I really underestimated the Ji Family¡¯s cunningness.\"

    *BOOM!*

    *BOOM!*

    Suddenly, the sound of two sts was heard and both Yu and Ling Qiaolian turned to look at the screen.

    \"What is that?\"

    \"Madam, it seems like twondmines exploded. Someone must have stepped on thendmines.\"

    Ling Qiaolian frowned again.

    \"It isn¡¯t that surprising. No matter how talented both youngsters are, our territory is filled with untold dangers. There is no way they could escape unscathed,\" chimed in another person.

    \"Yu, ask your scout teams to check up on thendmines. If they both are dead we can¡¯t do anything about that but if not... I want both of them alive!\"

    \"Yes, Madam!\"

    Yu bowed to her slightly as he saw her leaving the room. He turned on his transmitter and send the location to his teams to check out. Now, he really was intrigued to know what was toe.

 Chapter 279 Senior Brother

    Lily had been startled by the scene that yed before her in a blink of an eye. A moment she was about to watch the wolf devour Zhang Han and the next moment, that burly figure of the wolf was lying lifeless on the ground. She really had no idea how to react.

    But she could only heave a sigh of relief since Zhang Han was unscathed and that was that mattered to her. She slowly looked up at the savior and was stunned for a moment.

    The young man before her eyes was really like a knight from a storybook d in all ck. The smirk on his face didn¡¯t falter even for a second. She could clearly see a mysterious glint in his eyes as he leaned down to face Zhang Han.

    She couldn¡¯t tell Zhang Han¡¯s reaction but she saw him clutching the other man¡¯s shirt to pull himself up before he ced his head on the broad shoulder of the other person in a defeated manner.

    Only then she heard his exhausted voice, \"Senior brother, you¡¯rete.\"

    The other person¡¯s smirk changed into a soft smile as he patted Zhang Han¡¯s shoulder and said, \"Junior brother, if you¡¯re still alive that means I¡¯m absolutely on time.\"

    Zhang Han held his shoulders and looked at him with fierce eyes, \"I almost lost my life!\"

    The other person chuckled at his reaction and patted his head like he was cating a pet, \"But I saved your life. Didn¡¯t I? In fact, now you owe this young master a favor.\"

    \"Owe you a favor? In your dreams!\" spat out Zhang Han before adding, \"The only thing I owe you young master Haoran is a beating!\"

    \"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. This temper of yours is still making me wonder how did you get epted as a disciple of the Jingshen Temple? With your foul temper, it¡¯s really a miracle that Grandmaster Wang Xiuying hasn¡¯t kicked you out yet.\"

    Hearing the other person insulting him so tantly, Zhang Han was on the verge of exploding. It was really not easy dealing with this senior brother of his. But he couldn¡¯t do anything. After all, the other person was still superior to him both in status and strength. He couldn¡¯t challenge either.

    When Zhang Han didn¡¯t reply and kept staring at his face, the young man got bothered as he sighed out. \"With your abilities, you could have escaped long ago. What held you back?\"

    Zhang Han still didn¡¯t reply but he visibly stiffened. He knew that the other person was right. The moment he opened his eyes, he could have found a way out for himself. But then, why didn¡¯t he? What held him back? Or who held him back?

    The other person squinted his eyes before he tilted his head to look at the girl behind Zhang Han and gave a lopsided grin as he said, \"No wonder, you didn¡¯t run.\" He took a step towards Lily but Zhang Han ced his hand over his chest, not letting him pass. \"Easy junior brother. I won¡¯t bite. I promise.\" Saying that he extended his hand towards Lily and introduced himself, \"Hello! This humble self is Xia Haoran. It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you.\"

    Lily was dumbstruck by that smile on his lips as she just kept staring in his orbs that seemed to be like whirlpools. She hesitated a bit before replying, \"I¡¯m Lily.\" Oddly, she found something really familiar with him. As if she could see a mirror image of a person she knew. And that person was none other than the one she respected and admired the most; Ru.

    Poor girl really didn¡¯t realize that she wasn¡¯t going crazy. The person standing before her was, after all, the youngest brother of Ru. If he won¡¯t have her attitude, who else would?

    \"Lily?\" Xia Haoran repeated her name. \"Ah! It¡¯s the name I¡¯ve been hearing for a couple of months now. You¡¯re well... considered pretty. Right?\" He looked at Zhang Han who red at him in return. \"What? Don¡¯t re at me like that? I mean no harm! I¡¯m a bit clueless about the beauty standards that¡¯s why I was asking for your opinion. But then again, if you have a crush on her she must be really pretty in your eyes.\"

    Zhang Han¡¯s eyes widened as he mmed his hand over Xia Haoran¡¯s mouth and dragged him to side. A little further from where Lily was sitting on the boulder.

    \"Senior brother, can you please be a bit tactful?\"

    Xia Haoran shrugged his shoulders saying, \"I should be saying that to you. My brother Ru used to say that love is like a mental illness. Because only a mentally retarded person would be willing to lose his own life for someone else.\"

    \"Don¡¯t try to confuse me with your eloquent speech. I¡¯m not falling for that! You¡¯rete and that¡¯s a fact!\"

    Xia Haoran looked at him seriously and asked, \"When did you get caught by those people?\"

    \"I can¡¯t be certain but it¡¯s been over a week,\" replied Zhang Han not knowing where this was going.

    \"Exactly! And when did you bother to send that emergency signal?\" Xia Haoran¡¯s eyespletely lost the initial yfulness as he stared at Zhang Han. \"The signal was sentst night. I got here as soon as Grandmaster Xiuying informed me.\"

    Zhang Han rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation as he said, \"It¡¯s not my fault. They used some kind of drug to put me to sleep. I barely woke upst night and only then I could do anything.\"

    \"Yes, and instead of finding your way out, you stuck around to save a damsel in distress?\"

    \"No!\" Zhang Han was furious now. \"She¡¯s not the only reason I chose to observe a little.\" Xia Haoran narrowed his eyes at him. \"My dear little uncle is in their hands even now. I don¡¯t even know where.\"

    \"Little uncle? You mean Xiao Zhiyuan?\" asked Xia Haoran and got a nod in reply. He was in deep thought before he clicked his fingers together.

    With a gush of the wind, over fifty people jumped down from their hiding spots in the trees. All-d in ck and all of them wearing a badge to represent the formidable n that people often thought to be a myth; The Xia n. Each and every one of those people was elites of the n.

    \"Shishi, deal with Xiao Han¡¯s wounds,\" instructed Xia Haoran.

    \"Yes, young master,\" ady walked towards Zhang Han to treat his injuries.

    \"The rest of you... Gather the situation around the mountain. Don¡¯t get involved in any fight, just watch and report back to me.\"

    Everyone left after giving a bow to him leaving behind a confused Lily, a screaming Zhang Han ring at his doctor who was being brutal on purpose with his wounds and Xia Haoran who was staring up at the blue sky with a hidden smile.

    \"Seems like, I¡¯d be seeing my brother sooner than I expected...\"

 Chapter 280 Gunfigh

    At the foot of the mountain, a group of five people was assembled in a uniformed manner as they stared at their master who had been daydreaming for a while now. It was a very rare moment for the ck Mist squad to actually see their master in this state.

    As for their peerless master, Ru was busy trying to digest the fact that she was supposed to fight this war with a... gun! Oh, her hatred for this metallic thingy was iparable!

    The ck Mist squad after ying a round of rock paper scissors finally decided their candidate who would dare to go up to their master and even shake her a bit to brief her about the details of the on-going events.

    And the candidate chosen was Adia who cursed her luck before trying to call out, "Master... Master..." Seeing that Ru wasn¡¯t really reacting, she took a deep breath and called out in a loud voice, "Master!"

    Runguidly lifted her eyes and looked at her. That one look made Adia¡¯s breath to hitch. "What are you yelling for?"

    Adia tried to maintain herposure as she began, "Our teams have entered the Death Valley. Until now, 50ndmines and other deadly traps had been dealt with."

    "Too slow," replied Ru as she dismantled the gun in her hand before rearranging it again. As if she had too much time on her hand to y around.

    Adia¡¯s face twitched at her reply. They only came an hour ago! How was the progress still counted as slow?! This was really unfair!

    "What about the mainir?" Ru inquired while she aimed the gun at the tree behind Adia but it really looked like it was aimed at her head.

    "We have found the security rooms with their people keeping a watch along the way but the mainir is yet to be found," replied Adia with a pale face. It wasn¡¯t that she wasn¡¯t brave. But facing death was not easy for anyone. Especially when the person on the opposite side was someone like her entric Master.

    "Still too slow," replied Ru in azy voice.

    They suddenly heard the sound of explosion from afar. Adia closed her eyes as if she was the one who pulled the trigger but when she didn¡¯t feel any pain, she opened her eyes and looked at her master¡¯s frown and licked her dry lips. Oh, she was saved! "Seems like someone miscalcted thendmines. Or perhaps the traps are getting deadlier."

    Ru looked at her in a bored manner, "Did I ask for an exnation?"

    Adia straightened up as if she was on alert as she said, "No, Sir!"

    "Then stay quiet!" ordered Ru before she picked up her tablet from the side and pulled out her mini-drones from the bag before setting them up. She was focused on seeing the situation through her mini-drones when she noticed that Adia was still standing where she was. "Do you have something else to say?"

    Adia hesitated a bit as she looked at the skilled team of a dozen people standing behind Ru with a nk look on their faces. The emblem on their chests was different than theirs. They definitely weren¡¯t the people of Knight Empires. Instead, those people with nk faces came from Xavier Cooperation, their biggest rival in business and in the underworld.

    "Master, why are we cooperating with Mr. Xavier?" asked Adia after much contemtion.

    "You have a problem with what I do?" retorted Ru.

    "Never! Master is wise but we always had been at odds with Mr. Xavier. Is it wise to trust him now?" She managed to voice out her worries. It wasn¡¯t wrong that the ck Mist squad was the most apprehensive one after they got to know about this synergy. They knew nothing about Ru and Rong¡¯s rtionship except for the fact that both parties were like fire and water. "Besides, didn¡¯t you always disagree with the way Mr. Xavier works? So, I thought you really hated him."

    The corner of Ru¡¯s lips lifted up slightly which stunned her team to their ces. "Hate is a strong word. I told you not to use it so carelessly," said Ru. "Yes, I had a disagreement with how they worked because I thought being in Russian Mafia one shouldn¡¯t be this soft and kind-hearted. With this Lord¡¯s ruthless ways of life, there was bound to be a rivalry and dissent."

    "Then what changed?" chimed in Connor from the back.

    Ru smiled at his question. Not slightly. Not like her usual lopsided grin. She smiled softly like never been done before her people. Her issue with the Xavier cooperation had always been that Mr. Xavier¡¯s way of dealing with things went against her own. And only now she learned why it was like that.

    If Xavier wasn¡¯t her own brother Rong, she might have not been able to understand this but now she did. Rong might be simr to her in many ways but he was still very different. Especially when it came to his kind-hearted nature. Ru was considered ruthless and she stuck with that image of hers. Rong was kind andpassionate. It didn¡¯t change even in all these years.

    "Little brother, what are you still doing here?" came Rong¡¯s voice as he came to Ru¡¯s side.

    "I¡¯m looking around," answered Ru before standing up. "Bro, is there no way that we can have a normal fight? I don¡¯t like these guns."

    "You still disagree with this weapon?" he asked with a raise of his brow.

    Ru nodded her head in agreement. "I do. Guns are a coward¡¯s way of battle. What¡¯s the fun in this? Even a dog can win a gunfight! You don¡¯t even need skills for such a thing."

    Rong smiled slightly at her reply and shook his head before he lifted his hand to ruffle her hair saying, "This is why grandfather used to say that there is no such thing as an honest fight in this world now. You should really get over this already."

    Ru nodded her head obedientlypletely not noticing the look of horror that dawned on her squad. The ck Mist squad looked at Ru¡¯s interaction with Rong as if they were watching a horror movie. When was their master so easy to talk to?!

    Soon Ru noticed Rong¡¯s frown as he pressed the earpiece in his ear and listened carefully. The frown got deeper and deeper until he looked at Ru.

    "Found something?" asked Ru and received a nod in reply. "What? What is it?"

    "You shoulde with me first," he said as he dragged her to a side with him.

 Chapter 281 Reckless One

    Ru followed Rong and even from a distance she could hear the sound of fighting. As they came close, she saw a single man d in ck who was turning out to be a nightmare for over twenty skilled people from her own team and Rong¡¯s team. A sh of surprise shed through her eyes before she jumped into the fight herself and held the hand of that so-called nightmare who was about to through a very deadly strike on the person beside him.

    "I didn¡¯t think this corrupt organization could actually have skilled masters like you," said Ru in her usual cold but very calm voice as if she was talking about the weather. Her eyes narrowed slightly when the man tried to resist. Getting impatient, she brought her hand up and in a blink of an eye, her palm struck at the man¡¯s chest throwing him off-bnce as he fell down while blood spurted out of his mouth.

    The side of her hand was gonna struck the side of his neck when Rong ced his hand on her shoulder and said, "Little brother, show some loyalty andmon sense. In your rage, the only thing you¡¯re seeing is blood." Ru raised her brows at his remark while he pointed at something. Ru followed the movement of his hand and finally, her eyes fell on the jade emblem hanging from the other man¡¯s waist.

    "How is..." she was lost for words. After being momentarily shocked, she shook the man saying, "What is a member of Shadowwick state doing here?"

    The man pulled down his mask and looked at Ru¡¯s green eyes with a look of bewilderment. His pain waspletely forgotten as he bowed his head. "Young master Ru..."

    Ru¡¯s brows quirked up slightly, "You recognize me? I thought people won¡¯t even remember my name after ten years."

    "Young master Ru is being humble. Who would dare forget young master Ru? Young master Haoran says, ¡¯Legends can be lost but they can¡¯t be forgotten.¡¯ The name Ru is itself a legend for warriors."

    His words awokeplicated emotions within Ru. Her brows knotted slightly, "Don¡¯t tell me that the youngest of our family is in these woods right now." It was a wild shot but something told her that she right.

    The man pursed his lips and didn¡¯t dare to look up. There were way too many stories back home involving the person standing before him. And he really didn¡¯t wish to find out whether all of those stories were true or not. Because the thing that was consistent in all the tales he heard was the ruthless nature of young master Ru.

    His silent agreement made Ru¡¯s face twitch in anger. "Where is he?" she inquired. "Take me to him."

    Meanwhile, Xie Haoran who was oblivious to the fact that his appearance just made his favorite brother¡¯s anger to reach a new pinnacle was busymenting, "Junior brother, you owe me big time. My precious sword is stained in blood because of you."

    "It¡¯s not the first time that your de has tasted blood, Senior brother," reminded Zhang Han with a roll of his eyes. After getting the first-aid, he had requested the same girl to look over Lily to see if she had any injuries while he surveyed their surroundings. After all, a certain high and mighty young master was acting way too carelessly again.

    "Yes, it¡¯s not the first time," agreed Xie Haoran before continuing, "But it¡¯s the first time, I¡¯ve killed a wolf with my precious de." His face looked guilty as he added, "How am I gonna face Midnight after this?"

    Zhang Han gritted his teeth to keep himself from throwing some profanities his way. How could he be worried about his pet wolf back home? Yes, ¡¯Midnight¡¯ was the name of Xie Haoran¡¯s little wolf. The irony was that ¡¯Midnight¡¯ was actually a wolf with pure white fur. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that his naming sense was as bad as his older brother.

    Xie Haoran sighed as he looked up at the sky and mumbled, "I¡¯m sorry Midnight. But I had to kill one of your kind to save one of mine."

    Suddenly, Xie Haoran and Zhang Han both felt the presence of people getting closer to them. Zhang Han was alert while Xie Haoran looked really indifferent about it. Henguidly took out his handkerchief to clean his de.

    "HAORAN!" That loud voice brought a smile to Xie Haoran¡¯s face as he turned around to look at his Ru bro and his eyes sparkled.

    "Haoran?" he heard another voice which wasn¡¯t as loud as the first one and looked at the person standing beside Ru. His eyes widened in surprise.

    "Rong Ge..." he called out before running over to his side and threw a punch at his face without holding back. Rong¡¯s people were immediately angered as they tried to make a move but Rong held his hand up signaling them to step back. Really, why was everyone greeting him with a punch? First, it was Ru and now little Ran as well?

    "It¡¯s nice to see you too little cousin," said Rong while he touched the side of his face and even tried to move his jaw. Fortunately, his jaw wasn¡¯t dislocated but it was gonna leave an ugly bruise. Then his hand touched Xie Haoran¡¯s head who was as almost as tall as him now and smiled, "You¡¯ve finally gotten taller, little shortie!"

    Xie Haoran hit his chest, "You! How could you! How could you leave me alone?"

    Ru chuckled at the side which infuriated Xie Haoran even more, "Ru Ge, just because I didn¡¯tsh out at you don¡¯t think you¡¯re any better than him."

    "You mean you didn¡¯t hit little brother? Why so biased little cousin?" asked Rong feeling wronged all of a sudden.

    "Because I and the whole n expected something reckless from Ru Ge but not from you! Rong Ge was known as the perfect example of being responsible. But you failed us by recklessly following this troublemaker out of the n."

    Xie Haoran¡¯s exnation made more sense then they really thought it would. How weird! Or maybe not. Everyone was familiar with Ru¡¯s nature. Nothing could stop her if she set her mind to something. Even if the sky fell, she¡¯d still do what she had nned. The only thing that mattered to her was whether her actions would benefit herself or not? The rest didn¡¯t matter. But Rong was different, he would only do what he felt right for others.

    It was a famous saying back in Shadowwick state, Ru is reckless/ruthless and Rong is responsible. Perhaps because of their contrasting nature, they had been put in a team. Rong was like Ru¡¯s shadow who would make sure that a certain young master won¡¯t go overboard with her recklessness or ruthlessness. Either of those spelled trouble!

    Getting tired of this talk, Ru pinched Xie Haoran¡¯s neck from behind and questioned, "What the hell are you doing here?"

 Chapter 282 Stay Safe

    Xie Haoran felt a cold shiver running down his spine as Ru¡¯s fingers were wrapped around his neck in a deadly trap. Damn! She wasn¡¯t going easy even on her brother. He wanted toin that this was not the way he had expected this reunion. But he couldn¡¯t since Ru¡¯s eyes told him that she wasn¡¯t in the mood for any nonsense. He could only answer her with the truth.

    "Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯sst disciple sent an SOS. I was the one who was assigned the rescue mission," answered Xie Haoran in a very submissive tone.

    "Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯sst disciple?" repeated Ru with a frown. "Who is that?"

    "That would be me," she heard a familiar voice and turned her head to look. Her brows raised considerably as she saw Zhang Han standing at the side. "Senior brother is here for me."

    "Zhang Han?" Ru couldn¡¯t believe it. She always felt that Zhang Han¡¯s presence was too small for her to pay any attention to him. He seemed rather like a fool sometimes. But apparently, she wasn¡¯t really as great at reading through people as she thought she was. "You¡¯re Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯s disciple?" Zhang Han only nodded his head in reply. "Wow! You hid quite well."

    Zhang Han smiled a little, "I¡¯ll take that as apliment, young master Ru. After all, it¡¯s not every day that young master Ru wouldpliment anyone."

    "And you also know me. Why am I not surprised?"

    Zhang Han chuckled softly at her response, "I knew young master Ru, the moment I first saw you with Xiao Zhiyuan. Whether you called yourself Alev Knight, Rong, or whatever, it couldn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re young master Ru. My master loves to talk about his entric disciple. And with your reputation, it wasn¡¯t hard to recognize you. Especially, those green eyes of yours gave you away."

    Ru was impressed. He deserved to be Grandmaster Xiuying¡¯s disciple with his observing skills. He caught on to her identities way faster like no other. Even with Xiao Zhiren, she had to disclose her identity herself. With Ji Syaoran, she gave away a bit of hint for him to catch on to. But with Zhang Han, there was no loophole and yet he caught on.

    "At first, I had my doubts because you acted like an idiot which was inplete contrast with the way people liked to describe you." Ru scowled at his choice of words for describing her carefree nature as her being an idiot while he went on, "Your closeness with Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan made me doubt many times. After all, you werebeled as the most unfriendly person. But on my graduation day, you just confirmed my suspicions. Those aberrant fighting skills couldn¡¯t just be anyone¡¯s."

    Ru nodded her head. He had seen her killing those bounty hunters. "You told Haoran?"

    "He did," answered Xia Haoran. "At first, I didn¡¯t believe him. Not until he sent me your photos with Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyaun."

    Zhang Han couldn¡¯t helpughing at Xia Hoaran¡¯s words which earned him a re from his senior brother but he chose to ignore it. "Senior brother, aren¡¯t you gonna mention how you¡¯re were hopping mad with jealousy when you learned about young master Ru¡¯s indulgence towards Xiao Zhiyuan?" He bit the inside of his lip to stop himself fromughing any further. "I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t forget the way you looked at that time."

    Ru finally loosened her grip on Xia Haoran¡¯s neck as she questioned, "You¡¯re jealous?"

    Xia Haoran tried to avoid her eyes as he answered, "Wouldn¡¯t I be? You actually chose another over your own brother." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his words. "Even now, you¡¯re here for him. You¡¯re here to save Xiao Zhiyuan." Ru tried to touch his head but he moved back avoiding her touch, "Don¡¯t worry, this time I won¡¯t ask you toe back home with me. It¡¯s really up to you. As for now, Xiao Han can show you the way to the mainir of those people."

    Ru opened her mouth to say something when she heard another voice, "Xiao Han doesn¡¯t know the way. We were blindfolded when they took us there." Ru looked behind and found Lily sitting at the boulder, she lowered her head and bit her lips, "I¡¯m sorry for failing you, master."

    Ru frowned at her words, "I sent you with Yuan to enjoy, not for his safety. So, you didn¡¯t fail me in any way." Lily was grateful that Ru thought this way but she was still feeling guilty. So, Ru added, "This has nothing to do with you, Lily." She looked towards the ck Mist squad who immediately moved towards Lily to check up on her.

    Ru was moving towards Xia Haoran when Zhang Han came between them and said, "Even though I was blindfolded, I was awake when they brought me out of the dungeon. So, I can tell you the way. But I¡¯ll follow as well. I can¡¯t leave that little uncle of mine alone there."

    Ru nodded at him. She didn¡¯t have to ask anything else. Knowing your way around in darkness was a basic skill, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that Zhang Han could remember everything about their way. But she still wanted to say something to her little brother who was sulking now.

    Rong could feel her struggle as he walked up to Xia Haoran. "Little Hao..."

    Xia Haoran crouched down beside the wolf he killed earlier and said, "Sorry, this young master won¡¯t be joining your battle. My mother has strictly forbidden me to do so. Besides, I think I¡¯ll be having a barbeque party instead." He looked over his shoulder to find every one of his team members standing behind him as he asked, "This looks delicious, right?" Nobody answered his question but not like he was looking for one.

    Rong rubbed his head saying, "That¡¯s what I was going to say, stay out of this fight. Don¡¯t get involved at any cost!"

    "You¡¯re still so predictable," scoffed Xia Haoran. He had already guessed what was running through both his brother¡¯s head. They weren¡¯t gonna let him fight. He was still a young kid for both of them. Oh, he¡¯d have loved to prove them wrong if only his mother really hadn¡¯t made him swore that he won¡¯t get into any unnecessary fight. "Now, go along already! Time is ticking! It¡¯s already close to nightfall."

    Zhang Han nodded at his words and turned to Ru, "Let¡¯s go, young master Ru."

    Ru looked at her little brother and said, "I¡¯ll be right back." Xia Haoran didn¡¯t reply but still nodded stiffly. He watched both his brothers giving orders to their respective teams as they walked away from him.

    Seeing their figures getting further and further, he stood up. "Young master Haoran, are we really not gonna help?"

    Xia Haoran looked at his subordinates and shook his head, "They can manage it on their own. Let¡¯s call back home and see what grandfather has to say about this." With aplicated look in his eyes, he whispered, "Stay safe... I really don¡¯t wanna lose both my brothers all over again."

 Chapter 283 Good Boy

    Inside the mainir, everyone was running around because they had started to lose their contact with several of their scout teams and security teams that were scattered all over their territory of the death valley. Losing contact with hundreds of people so abruptly meant that something was wrong. There was no way around it. This couldn¡¯t be a coincidence.

    "What is going on here?" Ling Qiaolian was really getting a headache at this unforeseen turn of events. No wonder she wasn¡¯t feeling good about this situation with Zhang Han earlier. She overlooked a lot of things. And now, trouble wasing right at her door.

    "It seems like we are ambushed," replied Yu as he took a break from ordering people around. The security system was hacked and they couldn¡¯t see what was going on. Or how many people they were about to face. But one thing was certain, whoever it was, their target was the main headquarter. And they definitely weren¡¯t looking for negotiations.

    Yu watched how Ling Qiaolian sneered and he felt a premonition rising in his heart. "I guess you¡¯ll be meeting your old friend soon, Yu." Yu¡¯s heart jolted a bit as she added, "Your favorite Four is at the door, won¡¯t you wee her?" Just because trouble was knocking at the door, didn¡¯t mean she had no way to wee that trouble.

    Yu closed his eyes but still managed to say, "Isn¡¯t Four dead? I shot her myself."

    Ling Qiaolian looked at him with a cold gaze, "Do you take me for an idiot, Yu? Or do you really think that I didn¡¯t see you choosing to shoot at her chest knowing very well that her heart was on the right side?"

    Yu fell on his knees as he voiced out, "Madam, I was..."

    "Save it. I don¡¯t care why you did it. I kept you alive because I know how skilled you are. Besides, she was of no use to me since she didn¡¯t sumb no matter what I did." Ling Qiaolian¡¯s biggest failure had been Ru; That one person she couldn¡¯t tame no matter how she tried to. Ru¡¯s mental strength and resistance were beyond her belief. Ru was nothing but a stubborn product to her. If only, she could control her then Ru could have be her explosive power and it wouldn¡¯t even take her second to ruin the five great ns. However, this was not the time toment. "But this time, I won¡¯t be going easy on you. You better kill her for me."

    Yu¡¯s heart felt heavy at this order that he was receiving the second time in his life. In the past, he didn¡¯t know how but Ling Qiaolian knew that Rong won¡¯t be able to shoot Ru. That¡¯s why she sent him to do the deed but her n was even twisted than that, she wanted him to make it look like Rong was the one who shot Ru.

    And in fact, that¡¯s what happened. Ru¡¯s brain only registered Rong¡¯s hand holding the gun at her, shepletely overlooked the silhouette who stood right behind Rong and aimed right at Ru¡¯s heart. However, at thatst moment when he was about to pull the trigger, his hand trembled. He didn¡¯t have it in him to shoot her. So, he chose to give her luck a chance. He chose to shoot at her chest just right beside her heart.

    Her survival was left on her luck. He could only do that much. He couldn¡¯t disobey Ling Qiaolian but he did for her. But that was his limit. He couldn¡¯t do more than that for her and he regretted it until this day.

    "I won¡¯t fail Madam this time," answered Yu acquiescently.

    "You better not," warned Ling Qiaolian. "This girl really underestimates me. Last time, I couldn¡¯t y with you like I wanted but this time I have more cards than you think little Four." Her eyes shed with menace as she barked orders, "Let everyone out on the field. And do everything to resist this attack. I don¡¯t want a single one of those people alive." Then she looked over at Yu again and said, "Bring out all the people from the dungeon."

    "But Madam, those people are all failed products," answered Yu looking at her weirdly.

    "All the more reason to let them out... They¡¯d make a good sacrifice for our cause," announced Ling Qiaolian without any hint of humanity in her eyes or her voice.

    People loved to say that Ru was heartless but in fact, those people hadn¡¯t met this monster. Ru might be heartless but she knew where her limits were or what was right or wrong. But this woman had no such thing as a borderline. If anything, she was inhumane and like a beast who would devour anything and everyone for her own benefit.

    She had always treated humans like products, products that could be sacrificed easily for her madness. Yes, madness! Because her experiments were nothing but her obsession and pure madness. She wanted to be the god who could control humans like the way she wanted them to. It was her obsession that she wanted everyone to bow down before her. It was nothing else except for her madness.

    One might like to call her a mad doctor. She did experiments far worse and cruel than now. As long as it got her what she wanted, she was willing to do anything. Even if it meant eating human flesh or human organs!

    Her madness was beyond anyone¡¯s understanding. But there was something even worse about her. And that was her deceitful nature. If it wasn¡¯t because of that deceitful nature of hers, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter the Ji family all those years ago.

    After ordering her people to prepare for the fight, she took long strides and went to another secret room. Inside the room, a person was sitting on the chair with two people inb coats standing beside him.

    "Is it done?" she asked.

    "Yes, Madam!" said both of them in unison.

    She nodded and waved them off before she walked around the chair and stood before that person. Her hand caressed the side of his face while she bent over to look into his unfocused eyes.

    "No matter how long and hard I try, you¡¯re still my most perfect creation..." she whispered proudly beside his ear. "Guess what! I heard you fell in love with my most stubborn product." She stuffed a dagger into his hands and went on, "Since you¡¯ve tamed her already, how about you¡¯d be the one to kill her as well dear Zhiren?"

    The person who was sitting still in the chair was none other than Xiao Zhiren. As she had said, she had many tricks up her sleeve this time around. And the biggest and deadliest of her cards was right before her; Xiao Zhiren.

    Her lips touched the side of his face as she whimpered pitifully, "You¡¯d do this for mommy, right?"

    Xiao Zhiren abruptly stood up as he said, "I¡¯d do anything for mommy."

    "Good boy..."

 Chapter 284 Like A Phoenix

    *shback*

    When Ling Qiaolian called Xiao Zhiren as her most perfect creation, she wasn¡¯t boasting. She was telling the truth. When she first entered the Ji Family as a pitiful widower with her pitiful daughter, her target wasn¡¯t Xiao Zhiren. However, when she came across Xiao Zhiren, she couldn¡¯t help making him her pawn.

    As Ru had always said, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s biggest problem was his kindness. He was too good and that actually made him a very gullible person. It wasn¡¯t really difficult for Ling Qiaolian to earn his trust back then considering how little he was at that time. He was a bright kid with a kind heart and it allowed her to wrap him around her fingers and mold him the way she wanted.

    He could be known as her first experiment body. And it was fascinating how it worked so well. Because day by day, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s dependence on her increased. He would do anything for her even if she asked to kill someone, he won¡¯t hesitate.

    The real truth about Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhi¡¯er that even Ji Syaoran was oblivious to were that under Ling Qiaolian¡¯s control, Xiao Zhiren indeed tried to kill his mother, Xiao Zhi¡¯er because his young brain waspletely ruled by the lies that Ling Qiaolian chose to imnt in his brain. ording to her, if she used Xiao Zhiren to kill Xiao Zhi¡¯er, it would clear her path. She¡¯d eventually seed in marrying Ji Yifeng and bing the young mistress of the Ji Family which would give her ess to the money and power of Ji Family that she needed toplete her experiments.

    She, however, underestimated the strength of Xiao Zhi¡¯er who managed to survive her own son¡¯s attack but it left a huge impact on her brain making her incapable to stay sane. But this one incident was enough to rm the Ji Family and that¡¯s when she chose to flee. She could run away alone but leaving her perfect creation behind wasn¡¯t something she was willing to do. She had put her years into making Xiao Zhiren her biggest weapon, how could she give up on him.

    Even under her control, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s attachment to his youngest brother, Xiao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t lessen. So, she took Xiao Zhiyaun with herself as well. Kind of like an insurance policy that could be used anywhere anytime to lure Xiao Zhiren back to her cage if he ever dared to rebel against her.

    Her n was perfect. It was really perfect since she brought both of the sons far away from their family and chose to feed them lies to make the hate grow inside them like weeds that one could pull out but it would still leave it¡¯s roots somewhere within.

    She was the one who sent Xiao Zhiren to train under the skilled masters. She wanted him to have the skills that she needed not just the obedience that she needed.

    Everything was going great until a certain someone chose to walk in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life unannounced and made his brain to think differently. That, someone, was none other than Ru.

    *Ten Years Ago*

    Ru had run away from home in the darkness of the night. She wasn¡¯t really worried that anyone would follow her. Even if anyone did, she didn¡¯t have to worry since she could hide very well with her impable skills. She was wandering around the Capital for the very first time in her life. She found a ce to eat and started her food tour for which she actually ran from the home.

    While she was passing by a dim-sum ce, she watched ady sitting with tarot cards and a huge crowd around her. With her curious nature, she also joined the crowd and sat down before thedy saying, "Can you really tell my future?"

    Thedy¡¯s gentle eyes stared at Ru¡¯s eyes for a moment longer before she said, "Youngdy, you¡¯ve beautiful eyes." Ru eyes widened slightly. How could she tell that she was a girl? She was clearly in her male attire even now. She had bought female clothing as her best disguise but she had yet to find a ce to change. Well, the truth was that she got distracted by the food on her way.

    Thedy chuckled softly at Ru¡¯s reaction and shook her head. She ced cards before Ru and said, "Why don¡¯t you pick your own future?"

    Ru was surprised to hear those words. She found thedy even more peculiar than before. She didn¡¯t hesitate and picked up a card. She showed it to thedy since she couldn¡¯t understand it herself. Thedy took the card and stared at it for a moment longer than she did for others. Ru frowned in her impatience, "What is it? Just say it." ¡¯Not like I¡¯m gonna believe you anyway.¡¯ she added in her own mind but chose not to say it out loud. This was just a new experience for her. Something she didn¡¯t find in Shadowwick state.

    "Red thread of destiny..." thedy whispered making Ru¡¯s frown to get deeper.

    "What? What are you talking about?" asked Ru.

    Thedy looked at Ru, this time with aplicated gaze as she said, "Little girl, the strength of red thread is strong. It¡¯s gonna tug at your heart." Ru was scowling now, she felt like thedy was talking in riddles because she really couldn¡¯t understand her. "I don¡¯t know what to say. You can¡¯t avoid this fate but..." all of a sudden, she held Ru¡¯s hand and whispered, "Choose your path wisely. Everyone we meet on the same road is not meant for the same destinations. The bond that this thread had built can burn you."

    Ru pulled her hand away from her hold and rolled her eyes saying, "Listen, olddy, this young master only knows one thing life, you either do it or don¡¯t do it. There is no way around it. If I want to choose my road to doom, I¡¯ll still dly walk on that road because I chose it myself!"

    She abruptly got up and turned around to leave but right at this moment, she bumped into someone¡¯s chest. As she looked up, her green eyes were staring into ck orbs that looked dazed and nk.

    The olddy shook her head as she whispered, "Sigh! Little girl, it seems like your destiny is not willing to let you choose your path. I hope even if burns you, you¡¯re strong enough to rise from the ashes like the phoenix you¡¯re born as."

    *shback to be continued*

 Chapter 285 Seek Strength Not Revenge

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had immediately taken a dislike to the person she had bumped into. Even though he looked really handsome but the sole fact that she found a gun in his possession left a very bad impression on her.

    "Watch where you¡¯re going," she said harshly as she pulled away from him.

    However, that person was still staring at her face. Somehow, those dazed eyes were looking at her green ones with curiosity and with a frown. Something in those green sparkling eyes was pulling him towards her. He didn¡¯t know what it was but that invisible power was strong. And somehow very familiar as well. He just couldn¡¯t recall when or where he had felt this before.

    "Sorry," he muttered seeing the distaste in her eyes. His heart felt a prick when he noticed that dislike in her eyes. He had turned to leave and even walked to the end of the road when he suddenly realized that the gun that he had under his jacket was now gone.

    He tried to recall what happened when his eyes widened realizing that he had onlye in contact with a single person who had just bumped into him. He turned around and ran back to where he left her but she was nowhere to be found now. He frantically looked around to look for her but couldn¡¯t. She vanished into thin air making him feel apprehensive.

    Suddenly, a pebble hit his head and he looked towards the alley where it came from. There she stood leaning against the wall dangling his gun in her hand with a smirk. "Looking for this?"

    He ran towards her to take it from her when she got his neck into a deadlock before mming him on the cold concrete ground. He groaned in pain, "What are you ying at?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing. I just don¡¯t trust a man who keeps a gun in the crowd of innocent and ordinary people."

    His brows knitted slightly as he replied, "I have it for my own protection."

    "I don¡¯t believe that," announced Ru without any hesitation. She couldn¡¯t tell herself why she chose to pull this stunt. He, carrying a gun had nothing to do with her, and yet, on instinct, she chose to stealthily take his gun.

    "Aren¡¯t you being too nosy?" he retorted while trying to stand up. His bones were aching badly because of the tactic she used on him. He still couldn¡¯t believe that he actually lost from her and that too from a very young girl. The young girl before him was Ru, who finally changed out of her male attire before looking for trouble.

    "Maybe I am," she replied and leaned really close to his face, "So what?"

    His breath hitched because of how close they were. He really didn¡¯t know why but he was finding her presence overwhelming. It was weighing down on him.

    "Give me back my gun," he demanded trying to avoid her eyes that seemed like whirlpools pulling him in.

    "I can, but first you tell me what this is?" she showed another parcel which made his eyes widen is a surprise. She looked through the content of the parcel and spoke, "Target: Ji Yifeng... Interesting..." she said to herself as she read the other details before adding, "Killing a member of Five Great ns. Do you even realize the consequences?" He frowned at her words while she went on, "Not only Ji Family even the rest of the ns would start hunting for your life. And trust me, those ns are not as simple as you think. You won¡¯t be able to hide from them."

    "That is my concern," he said harshly.

    Ru furrowed her brows at him and added, "Okay then I¡¯d like to know the reason why you want to kill him." It wasn¡¯t like she was really interested but ording to her father, as a member of Xia n, it was their duty to protect the other ns when they needed protection. And she, being the next sessor of her father¡¯s legacy had to follow those rules.

    When he didn¡¯t reply, in a blink of an eye, Ru was standing right behind him as she pinned two silver needles at the side of his head and spoke softly, "Don¡¯t make me repeat myself."

    All of a sudden, as if a huge burden was lifted off of his mind as his eyes cleared up and he stared at Ru¡¯s green eyes with fascination now. "My father betrayed his wife and chose another. He betrayed me and my brother. And everyone took his side. He still managed to inherit the n Head¡¯s position when he doesn¡¯t even deserve it. I need to kill him to show my grandparents that they made a mistake by throwing my mother out."

    Ru scowled at his words, "Ji Yifeng is your father?" He nodded. "What¡¯s your name then?"

    "Xiao Zhiren..." he answered.

    Ru indifferent gaze looked at his face again before looking at the photo of Ji Yifeng in her hand, "Hmm... You do have simrities but why is yourst name Xiao instead of Ji?"

    "Because they don¡¯t even want to acknowledge my existence along with my mother," scoffed Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru scratched her head in confusion. This seemed really strange to her. She had nevere across something like this before. Her n was way simple. Well, actually it was moreplicated but Ru found her people¡¯s ways to be simple because she was used to it. Besides, there was no such thing as trickery and deceit or power struggle. That¡¯s why this was all so foreign to her.

    "And killing him is gonna get you the acknowledgment that you desire?" she retorted curiously. "I mean if your father is dead, there is no way anyone is gonna acknowledge you or your mother. If anything, you¡¯d bebeled as the unfilial son who took his father¡¯s life in the desire to seek power. How pathetic does that sound!"

    Xiao Zhiren was stunned by her words. Indeed, her words were hitting the mark. The brain that had only been listening to what his mother taught him was finally listening to someone talking rationally. Ru carefully pulled out her silver needles and put them back.

    "My father says, instead of seizing someone else¡¯s power make yourself the strongest one. Because once you¡¯re strong, those who shoved you down would be left with nothing but remorse and defeat. While you¡¯d have the choice to not forgive them for what they did to you."

    She threw the gun and the parcel back at him as she added, "You can either choose to let your anger define your downfall or use that anger as a way to rise to the top. I¡¯m sure your father would be really suffering when he realizes that he lost a treasure." Saying that she turned to leave and shouted over her shoulder, "Lose that gun though. Next time, I won¡¯t be kind enough to leave a word of advice." She was far now when her voice resonated through the empty alley, "Seek strength, revenge is already a lost game."

    Just like that, she was lost in the dark alley leaving a very confused Xiao Zhiren. His head was hurting badly. Whenever he tried to think about what she said, it would hurt. As if her words were contradicting with his roots.

    Ru didn¡¯t even realize how these few words of hers started the battle that she was just about to face now...

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 286 Getting Caugh

    *shback Continued*

    "Zhiren, you didn¡¯t finish the task that I assigned you."

    Xiao Zhiren was sitting alone in the middle of nowhere with his phone ced against his ear. He could hear Ling Qiaolian reprimanding him but honestly, his brain wasn¡¯t functioning properly to know what to say or what to do.

    Ru¡¯s sudden appearance shook his world. It was as if he lost the direction of his life. Or perhaps, he finally understood that he had been walking down the wrong direction all this while. Whichever one it was, he didn¡¯t feel okay with it.

    "Mom, I don¡¯t think killing is the right answer," he finally said.

    "What? What did you say?" Ling Qiaolian¡¯s voice turned sharp. "Are you forgetting what that family did to us? To you? To your brother? To me?"

    Xiao Zhiren closed his eyes in exasperation, "No, I haven¡¯t forgotten anything. I just feel like if we shed blood for revenge, it¡¯ll be of no use. What will be the difference between them and us? Besides, with Ji Yifeng¡¯s death, nothing will change. Instead, we¡¯ll have to suffer more."

    "Are you actually rebelling?" Ling Qiaolian¡¯s eyes narrowed as she noticed the change in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s voice. It was the first time, he had refused to do something she asked for. It really surprised her. How could he change so much? And that too so suddenly?

    "I¡¯m not," replied Xiao Zhiren. "I just want the revenge to be far worse than his death. I want him to live and suffer through this life knowing what his sins are."

    "Okay. Mom believes in you. Just take care of yourself," said Ling Qiaolian in a sweet voice and hung up the phone. Then she turned to look at the person behind her and said, "It seems like the drug is not working on Zhiren that effectively anymore. Send someone to bring him here."

    ....

    "Big brother, let go of my ear!" Ru tried to swat Rong¡¯s hand away from her ear which he was pulling not so gently. "At least, let me finish my noodles." She looked longingly at her bowl of piping hot noodles that she just ordered. How unfair was it that before she could even take a bite, her brother actually found her! "Father says to never disrespect the food!" She used herst resort and it worked.

    Rong loosened his grip on her ear as he stood aside and said, "Finish it up. Then we¡¯re going back home."

    "Err..." Ru made a sound at the back of her throat before she sat down and started slurping on the hot noodles without any care in this world.

    "Eat carefully. Don¡¯t burn yourself," rebuked Rong which made Ru smile at him because it sounded more like he was worried about her.

    "Big brother, how did you find me? I thought I left no tracks," Ru tried to strike up the conversation casually to know her brother¡¯s secret of finding her in this big country. It hasn¡¯t even been a week since she ran from home and he already caught up to her. She thought if she learned his secret, she¡¯d be able to hide her tracks perfectly from then on.

    "I¡¯m your big brother. I know how this brain of yours works," replied Rong without giving away any unnecessary information to her. Ru scowled at his reply and he poked her head saying, "Stop trying to waste time. We have to get back home before your eighteenth birthday."

    "I don¡¯t get it though, why is my eighteenth birthday so important?" Ru was frowning as she questioned. This question had bugged her for a long time now. Everyone back home always said that everything will change for her on her eighteenth birthday. But why? Or how so? What was gonna change?

    Rong rubbed her head saying, "You¡¯ll know once you get back."

    "Big brother, would you like some?" she questioned while looking into his blue eyes. In the entire n, only these two had different colored eyes. The rest either had ck or brown eyes. It really made both of them stand out too much. Perhaps that¡¯s why they both often used the lens to hide their real eye color. Although Ru always found it weird, she had never taken this matter too seriously.

    "Eat all you want, my little fatty!" Rong ruffled her hair making her scowl again. "I feel like there is a monster living in that tummy of yours. How can all of this fit inside that small tummy?"

    Ru stuck her tongue out at him. "Big brother, there is no monster in my tummy. Because I¡¯m the monster myself." She chuckled to herself but stopped when she saw that the other person wasn¡¯t amused by her words. "My bad..."

    Rong shook his head at her as they got up to leave and looked around as if surveying the surroundings as he asked, "Why did you wear these hideous clothes?"

    Ru looked down at the long skirt and shirt that she was wearing and frowned, "Hideous? But that shop keeper said all girls like this cute stuff."

    "Do you like this cute stuff?" he questioned in return. Ru¡¯s face scrunched up in disgust as she shook her head. "Then why are you wearing it?"

    "I thought if I changed my appearance nobody will be able to find me," replied Ru with a straight face butmented inside that she clearly overlooked this brother of hers who could find her from her scent. He really was like her shadow, always following her around no matter what. She even wore the clothes that she despised and yet he found her without any problem.

    "Even if you change this face of yours, this brother will still be able to recognize you," said Rong with certainty.

    "How so?"

    "Because Rong only has Ru in this world now," replied Rong with a sad smile.

    "Big brother, there is a huge family waiting for us back at home. How can you say that you only have me?"

    "You¡¯ll know when youe back," said Rong making Ru feel really frustrated. Every question¡¯s answer was back home. If that was true then why the hell did she run from there in the first ce?

    While she was being moody and throwing tantrums at the one person who would neverin to her, her eyes looked over at that familiar figure who was stuck between a group of attackers.

    Seeing Xiao Zhiren fighting those ten or so people all alone, Ru knitted her brows and tried to approach him. However, Rong held her arm and said, "Ru, that¡¯s not your fight."

    "But big brother, I know him," said Ru in an attempt to convince him.

    "That¡¯s not a good enough reason," replied Rong and added, "Don¡¯t forget your teachings, you¡¯ll only suffer if you¡¯ll try to fight others battles for them."

    "I know that..." Ru said as her foot tapped the ground impatiently before she said, "Sorry, big brother!"

    "Wha-"

    Rong¡¯s words were yet in his mouth when Ru used her silver needle to knock him out. She put him against the trunk of the tree and said, "I¡¯ll be right back after saving him. And I¡¯ll also go to my eighteenth birthday."

    With those words, she ran off in the direction of Xiao Zhiren without knowing that she wasn¡¯t gonna be able toe back. Not that easily. And most importantly, she was never gonna be able to celebrate her eighteenth birthday.

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 287 Preys

    *shback Continued*

    Ru had jumped into the fight without thinking much about it. ording to her, it was a piece of cake to deal with those amateurs. However, she forgot that people outside her world were sly rather than upright like her. Just because she hated dirty fights didn¡¯t mean others did as well.

    She was trying to save Xiao Zhiren when someone injected something on the back of her neck. Ru¡¯s steps faltered but she didn¡¯t give up. Even in that state, she fought with all her willpower. She dragged her body with that muddled head around and was almost on the verge of winning when the reinforcement joined and Ru couldn¡¯t hold on to her consciousness anymore.

    It was exactly as Rong had told her, if it wasn¡¯t for Xiao Zhiren she wouldn¡¯t have fallen. His hatred for Xiao Zhiren was justified for him because even if he was asked to choose again, he would end up choosing his own Ru¡¯s life over Xiao Zhiren¡¯s.

    And this was the reason why Rong was so uncertain about Ru¡¯s love for Xiao Zhiren. How could she love the person who actually became the reason for her downfall? How could she love someone who became the door to her insanity? How could she love him when he was the reason why she always felt lost?

    ....

    "Why did you bring this girl? I asked you to bring Xiao Zhiren to me," Ling Qiaolian screamed at the group of people who were beaten and blue standing before her.

    "Madam, this girl tried to save him. It was because of her that we all got injured and dyed."

    "She beat you all alone?" questioned Ling Qiaolian with a sh of surprise in her eyes.

    "Yes. Her skills were insane," said one of them.

    "Interesting..." said Ling Qiaolian as she eyed Ru with curiosity and interest. "Bring her to the ring." Saying that she walked off while those men brought Ru to the underground ring.

    The ring was like any fighting ring except that it had a metallic cage around it. And when Ru opened her eyes, that was exactly what she saw. She was lying alone in the ring. the only light in the room was directed at her and the rest of the space around her was drowned in darkness. Ru was immediately alert as she couldn¡¯t understand what was going around her.

    Her head was still hurting because of whatever drug they used on her but she was still able to stand on her feet. Suddenly, the door of the metallic cage was opened and dozens of bulky and mighty looking people were shoved inside. Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed at the scene while a voice rang out from somewhere, "Little girl, I heard you love helping others. Who is gonna help you now?"

    "This young master never needed anyone¡¯s help," sneered Ru even if she couldn¡¯t see who was talking. She wasn¡¯t gonna take it lying down.

    "Haha..." She heard a peal of menacingughter. "You¡¯re amusing. But you¡¯re forgetting, it¡¯s survival of the fittest. You either hunt or you are hunted down. Do you really think you can escape from here?"

    Ru smiled in reply, "I can escape even hell if I want to. You¡¯re really underestimating me."

    "Then hunt the ones before you and I¡¯ll let you out," said Ling Qiaolian as she watched Ru through the screen sitting inside a small room.

    Ru looked at those people before her who looked really dazed and frowned, "I won¡¯t fight innocent people. And I definitely won¡¯t kill just anyone!" She turned to leave but just as she touched the metal bar, her body was thrown away because of the electric shock¡¯s impact that came so suddenly. Ru groaned in pain as she puked a mouthful of blood.

    "You little girl are not as smart as I thought. This is my ring, do you think you can leave on your own will?" She took a brief pause before adding in amusement, "My pets only do what I want them to do."

    With the support of her hands, Ru stood up again and stared at her opponents again, "If I really killed these pets of yours, you¡¯ll let me go?"

    "I promise," said Ling Qiaolian.

    Ru knew the other person was lying to her but she had no other way at the moment. She could give a benefit of the doubt and that¡¯s what she did. Straightening her posture, she struck like lightning and every person who came into her vicinity was dead with a single blow of her palm. She chose to strike the vital points and get over with it.

    Ling Qiaolian¡¯s eyes shed with surprise as she noticed Ru¡¯s exceptional speed, technique, and control over her strength. It was remarkable and it made the excitement in her body to stir up.

    "I¡¯ve done my part, now it¡¯s your turn," said Ru as she killed thest person and wiped the side of her mouth.

    Ling Qiaolian narrowed her eyes before she signaled someone and a tranquilizer shot was again thrown at Ru which she couldn¡¯t perceive at the time and by the time, she did, it was already toote.

    "Send her to theb," instructed Ling Qiaolian. "She¡¯s the perfect subject I wanted. With her skills, it won¡¯t be long before I¡¯d be able to destroy the five great ns. Hahaha..."

    "What about Xiao Zhiren?" asked the man behind her.

    "I have a perfect use for him as well. Since he¡¯s so obsessed with taking revenge on his father in his own way, I¡¯m gonna push him to a ce where he¡¯s only gonna burn in the fire of revenge and hatred."

    ....

    The next time Ru opened her eyes, she found herself in a white room with different apparatus surrounding her. There was a green liquid that was being transfused into her blood. Ru tried to move but her hands and feet were tied to the sides of the bed.

    "Oh, you¡¯re finally awake."

    Ru heard that menacing voice again and became alert. Even though Ling Qiaolian spoke in a very sweet voice, Ru couldn¡¯t be mistaken about her voice. She was certain that this was the woman who forced her to kill. Ru had never raised her hand to kill anyone before this day. And it brought fury to surge through her.

    Ling Qiaolian was taken aback at how clear Ru¡¯s eyes were even when she was injected with a heavy dose of her special drug. It intrigued her even more.

    "You went back on your words," said Ru in a cold voice.

    "Are you really that naive?"

    Ru scoffed, "I¡¯m not naive. I just wanted to decide whether to kill you nicely or make you wish that you¡¯re dead. Since you went back on your words, I don¡¯t have any reason to go easy on you."

    "Talking big, are we now? Good, but it won¡¯t be of any use..."

    Ling Qiaolian leaned closer to Ru as she whispered, "I don¡¯t let my preys out that easily. And you have caught my attention. Do you really think I¡¯d let you walk out of here?"

    Ru¡¯s hands were struggling to find freedom and when she loosened up a bit, she somehow managed to pick the dagger ced at the side and drove it right through her stomach. "Even if I fall, I¡¯d make sure you fall with me."

    *shback to be Continued*

 Chapter 288 Beasty

    *shback Continued*

    Ru¡¯s attack came as a surprise to Ling Qiaolian but she had used it to her own advantage. Because this scene was witnessed by Xiao Zhiren. And using her maniption, even this surprise attack became murder and the crime was pinned on the Ji Family which indeed became a driving force for Xiao Zhiren¡¯s revenge.

    In Ru¡¯s mind, she had taken Ling Qiaolian¡¯s life since she was again knocked out because of the drug they injected in her. But she didn¡¯t realize that she ended up being just another pawn who was yed in Ling Qiaolian¡¯s hands along with Xiao Zhiren.

    However, Ling Qiaolian didn¡¯t expect that Xiao Zhiren would drift away from her control if he encountered Ru. Because she had put all her pawns at ce perfectly. For instance, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s most loyal and close friend, Qin Qu was actually just a pawn used by her who was left beside Xiao Zhiren to report his every little action to Ling Qiaolian.

    Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t realize that even his love for Xiao Zhiyuan was bing a way to manipte him. He was indeed just a little pawn in Ling Qiaolian¡¯s gamey. And the only person who was able to make him see the world through his own eyes instead of seeing it how Ling Qiaolian wanted him to was Ru.

    With Ru¡¯s entrance in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s life, Ling Qiaolian felt the fear of losing the game she had set up for years.

    "Shh... Ru! Hey! Little brother, wake up!"

    Ru stirred in her sleep and fluttered her eyes open only to find herself chained up in a prison cell. A faint voice was calling out to her but she couldn¡¯t find anyone in sight.

    "Ru! Are you feeling okay? Tell me how you¡¯re feeling..."

    Ru crawled towards the wall with furrowed brows and found a small hole in the stone wall. Through that small gap, she could clearly see those blue eyes looking at her.

    "Big brother..." her voice faltered as she softly called out. "What are you doing here?"

    Rong tried to smile at her in reassurance. "I told you I¡¯ll follow you to hell. How can I let my little brother feel lonely?"

    Ru lowered her eyes as she tried to lift her hand to free herself but her whole body was aching. Everything felt so heavy. She couldn¡¯t find the strength to free herself. If Rong was in the cell beside hers that only meant one thing, he chose to let himself willingly get caught just so he could get to her. Ru was feeling really weird thinking about how she got not only herself in trouble but also roped in her stubborn brother as well.

    "Big brother, you shouldn¡¯t havee."

    "Silly one, I had toe," replied Rong even without thinking.

    "But yourst injury had made you really weak. Even if you want you can¡¯t save me from here," said Ru as she clearly remembered how badly Rong had gotten injured not too long ago.

    "Even if I can¡¯t save you, I¡¯d still choose to stay with you," sighed out Rong.

    Ru didn¡¯t know what to say to him. He was just as stubborn as she was. She should have known he was gonna follow her anywhere. He really forsook his own life just to follow her around. It always left her mouth with a bitter taste thinking about how he was taking his own life for granted.

    There were silence and darkness surrounding her. She neither knew where they were nor knew what day it was. All she knew was that she could hear weird screams in her mind. As if something dark was calling out to her. Asking her to ept her beasty side. Her breathing wasbored along with her eyes that were losing the focus slowly. All she saw was blood as if she craved it. It was a weird feeling but it made her despise herself for a moment.

    "Little brother..."

    Ru¡¯s eyes found focus when Rong called out to her in a hushed tone.

    "Happy birthday!"

    Ru¡¯s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She knew that odd surge of emotions inside of her heart was dangerous but she couldn¡¯t help it.

    "You¡¯re an idiot! How could you choose to follow me just because you wanted to wish me on my birthday? Before this day, you never even told me the actual date of my birthday."

    "I can tell you now if you want to know..."

    "I don¡¯t want to know," Ru tried to yell in her hoarse voice. "I just... want to go home." For the first time, Ru realized that there was really no ce like home. How badly she wanted to turn back time and stay close to her family.

    She didn¡¯t hear a reply from him for a long moment. But then he suddenly spoke with conviction, "Give me some time, I¡¯ll take you home as I promised. I can¡¯t fight them in my condition but I¡¯ll find another way to get us out of here."

    Ru¡¯s brows knitted up as she recalled theboratory shest saw. "Big brother, you need to blend into them."

    "What? These inhumane people? You want me to be one of them?"

    "No, I want you to pretend like you¡¯re one of them so that you can learn what they are up to. I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this ce and these people."

    "Ru, you do realize that it¡¯s not our fight. My job and responsibility are to get you home safely and that¡¯s it."

    "Are you really that selfish to ignore other people¡¯s pain and misery?"

    "Yes, I am." Rong wasn¡¯t even being hesitant as he continued, "If being selfish can keep you alive then I don¡¯t mind."

    Ru knew he meant it just like he always did. He could forsake his own life for her much less any stranger¡¯s. Although it was disturbing, she couldn¡¯t argue.

    "Big brother, just for me. Just this once. Can¡¯t you do what I want?"

    Her pleading voice worked since Rong had to give in. And thus began their n to infiltrate this inhumane organization. But Ru didn¡¯t even realize that this n would eventually cost her the only shred of humanity she had been left with. Even the identity which she so desperately seeks was taken from her.

    *End of shback*

 Chapter 289 Choose One

    *BANG!*

    *SLAM!*

    *THUD!*

    *CLANK!*

    The valley that seemed too quiet and peaceful just half a day ago was filled with all kinds of noises as bullets flew around, sts rang out. People mmed into things, or things mmed into people. Metal crashing with metal.

    No matter which sound it was, the result was the same. Blood! Yes, it was a bloodbath and chaos. Two figures who had entered the hidden facility scrunched up their nose as the acrid smell of stale gunpowder reached their nostrils.

    "I told you not to follow me," the young boy looked at the pretty girl behind him.

    "And I said that I can¡¯t just sit around. I also want to help you," she answered as the tension in the air was increasing. "I also want to save Yuan. Besides, you should be the one to sit this one out, you¡¯re already injured."

    Zhang Han didn¡¯t know how to convince this stubborn girl that he was still in a better condition than her. His injuries were all physical that would go away with time, hers wasn¡¯t. This ce was her worst nightmare and he really didn¡¯t want her to face it again. But before her stubbornness, he could only give in.

    "I think it¡¯s this way," she said and turned left.

    The real battle was going outside this hidden facility that¡¯s why they both didn¡¯t encounter much trouble while finding their way around. However, whatever Zhang Han saw inside that facility was making his blood roiled. He really wanted to burn this ce to ashes.

    No matter what or how he was gonna get that little uncle of his out of this nightmarish ce. ording to Zhang Han, Yuan was way too innocent for a ce like this.

    "Yuan!" Lily¡¯s cry got Zhang Han¡¯s attention as he rushed over towards her.

    There he was, Xiao Zhiyuan tied to a metal bed with chains as if he was some kind of a beast. But the real beasts were the ones who tied him here.

    "He¡¯s not waking up," Lily said as she tried to shake him awake but Yuan gave no reaction.

    "Let me try," offered Zhang Han and moved up to Yuan¡¯s side. He raised his index and middle finger and struck Yuan¡¯s chest making him cough up blood.

    "What are you doing?" Lily red at him.

    "I just woke him up," answered Zhang Han and rubbed Yuan¡¯s back who was still coughing blood. It was the only way Zhang Han could get him to cough up whatever they fed him. Even though he had been harsh but it was necessary. "Little uncle, you okay?"

    "Xiao Han?" asked Yuan in confusion as he blinked his eyes at Zhang Han.

    "Can¡¯t recognize me now?"

    "I can¡¯t see you..." answered Yuan and coughed again.

    "What? Did they turn you blind? That¡¯s not good. What should I do now?" Zhang Han was panicking when Lily hit his head.

    "He means his vision is blurry."

    "Oh, say it clearly. I¡¯m not in the right mind to process much at the moment," Zhang Han was already quite tensed. The situation they were in wasn¡¯t really ideal. There was blood everywhere. Screams cry of pain and help mixed with blood and mud. But his biggest dilemma here was that he didn¡¯t want Yuan to see all of this. You see, in Zhang Han¡¯s mind, Yuan was the most innocent soul and he didn¡¯t want him to see the cruelty of the world at its worst.

    "Where are we? What is this ce?" Yuan questioned while his vision cleared a bit and he looked at the white room he was in. Actually, no, it was more like aboratory of some sort. "And why does my body feel so stiff?"

    Zhang Han scratched his head not knowing how to answer those questions. As for Lily, she was already a person of few words. She didn¡¯t know what to say or what not to say.

    But they weren¡¯t given a chance to think of any excuse as well as suddenly the door behind them closed. The three heads whipped around to see several people standing with their weapons in his hands giving them dirty looks.

    "You kids should know better than to walk around without supervision," said one of the scary-looking man.

    "Seven, leave that kid in ck for me. He killed my brother today, I¡¯m gonna get back at him for that." A woman behind the scary-looking man said while staring at Zhang Han. It was needless to say that he had invited trouble for himself when he killed those people back in the fields. Well, not like he was going to regret doing that.

    "Don¡¯t worry, Nine. We all have some debt to collect from him," said another one.

    Zhang Han calcted their steps. They were spreading out making a circle around three of them. It didn¡¯t look good. He could find a way out without having to confront anyone but what about the rest of the two? Even though he knew Lily was strong but she wasn¡¯t really trained for a real battle. Her expertise lied towards sneak attacks. She could be called an assassin rather than a soldier.

    Zhang Han pulled out his sleek sword from under his sleeves and unsheathed it before their eyes. How d he was that his Senior Brother had something he could use in this battle.

    He stretched his arm and turned to look at Yuan saying, "Little Uncle, how about you close your eyes?"

    "Huh?" Yuan was dumbfounded.

    "I really don¡¯t want you to see any of it," replied Zhang Han in all honesty.

    "Kid, you talk too much!" A cry was heard from behind Zhang Han as a man rushed up to him as he pulled out his gun and shot a bullet towards Zhang Han who ducked down with ease and continued to do so until he stood right before that man¡¯s face.

    "You talk even more than me," was his words before he slit his throat without even flinching. Blood sshed on his face, staining his handsome face all over again. Before the other man¡¯s body even fell down, Zhang Han was under the wrath of those several people rushing to him with their own weapons.

    Lily picked up the gun that Zhang Han had slid towards her and shot a person every time she took an aim. Zhang Han had tried his best to fight with all his strength. But those people were not only strong, but he was also greatly outnumbered. He had already put half of them down but there was still the rest who were waiting for a perfect moment to strike since their gunpowder had run out now.

    Well, at least, Zhang Han didn¡¯t have to run around to avoid the bullets anymore now. Now, it was just a battle of skills. Let¡¯s see who falls first.

    "You¡¯re overestimating your little strength, kid."

    Zhang Han had a hand over her arm which was shot just now and looked over. His eyes widened. They were holding Yuan and Lily both with a de against their throats.

    "Let me give you a choice... Put that sword down and you can save them."

    "No! Xiao Han! Don¡¯t you dare believe them!" Lily screamed at him.

    Zhang Han tried to smile at her even though his whole body was in severe pain now. He dropped his sword down and slid it towards them as they instructed.

    "Now, let them go," said Zhang Han.

    "Hahaha..." A burst ofughter reverberated through the room.

    "Choose one," they said while Zhang Han narrowed his eyes at them. "Only one of them can walk out alive, Which one do you want to save? The choice is yours."

    "YOU!"

    Zhang Han tried to rush up but the way they pressed the des against both Yuan and Lily made blood drip out of their neck. Zhang Han came to a halt.

    "Xiao Han! Take Lily out of here," Yuan was the first one to speak up. He honestly didn¡¯t know what was going around him but he so wanted to be of some help. He could see Zhang Han¡¯s helplessness. And felt really powerless at the moment when he saw Zhang Han trying his very best just to protect him. He felt like a burden on both of them. And if he was a burden he didn¡¯t deserve to live.

    Zhang Han scoffed, "Little Uncle, even if I choose you or her... They aren¡¯t letting any of us walk out of here."

    "Smart kid," said the one with that predatory look who was holding Lily in his grip. "But what can you possibly do with this smartness?"

    Zhang Han¡¯s hands were clutched tightly beside him. There was no way he was willing to lose any one of the people before him. It was way out of question!

 Chapter 290 Not The Weak One

    Zhang Han was in a tight spot now. He didn¡¯t know what he could do to save both of them. On one side was his uncle, his best friend, his blood rtive, Xiao Zhiyuan. And on the other side was that beautiful girl he fell in love with, Lily.

    "Time is ticking, boy!"

    Zhang Han really despised that man with his grating voice. Oh, how he badly wanted to smash that face.

    "Xiao Han!" He looked towards Lily who called him and his eyes softened instantly. "I owe my master a lot for saving my life and I owe you a lot more for allowing me to see the beauty of feelings and emotions." She bit her lips before continuing, "I never thought I could love anyone. But your goofball personality took me by surprise."

    Zhang Han¡¯s lips curled up slightly. Was it really a confession or he was just overthinking? But whether it was or not, he was certain this was not the ce or time for all this.

    "Let¡¯s talk after getting out of here," he said.

    Lily shook her head. "No, this is myst chance to say it." Zhang Han¡¯s brows knitted up at her words. "I can feel ants crawling in my veins. I know it¡¯s poison." Zhang Han stared stunned at her. They actually poisoned her?! "There is no way I¡¯m leaving this ce alive."

    "We¡¯ll find a cure. My grandmaster can find a cure for you," said Zhang Han trying to be optimistic.

    Lily tried smiling at him, "As much as I fell for that optimistic outlook of yours, I have to tell you that I don¡¯t have that much time left."

    "We¡¯ll find another way then," he had an inkling of where she was going with this talk and he was genuinely scared now. He didn¡¯t feel this kind of fear when he was cornered, outnumbered, hurt, or wounded. But now fear was crawling into his heart. "Just trust me. I¡¯ll do everything in my power to..."

    "Xiao Han..." Zhang Han stopped rambling on when she called him again. "Thank you foring into my life."

    "No..." Zhang Han shook his head frantically.

    "Thank you for making me feel like a human again," she added.

    Zhang Han¡¯s eyes stung with tears but he held it back.

    "Also, thank you for loving someone like me." Lily took a deep breath as tears rolled down her eyes. He asked her to hold her anchor to hold onto her sanity. That idiot didn¡¯t know he was that anchor she held with dear life just because she didn¡¯t want to turn into a monster he¡¯de to hate.

    "Ah, such heart touching confessions. But it can¡¯t save you, kids!" Those words made Zhang Han¡¯s blood boil.

    But instead of paying attention to them, he tried to coax Lily, "Don¡¯t you dare. Don¡¯t you even think about doing that."

    Lily smiled at him through her tears and said, "I love you." He was stunned at his ce again. "Save Yuan at any cost! You must do it!" Those were herst words before she chucked her head ahead making that de at her neck dug deeper into her throat. Blood gushed down without any restraint as her whole body went limp.

    "NO!!!"

    "NO!!!"

    Yuan and Zhang Han¡¯s screams rang out in the room.

    *THUD*

    With a thud, Lily¡¯s body fell down on the ground lifeless. Zhang Han kept staring at her lifeless body while Yuan¡¯s heart almost stopped beating. Someone just gave up on her life just to save him? Why? He didn¡¯t even deserve it!

    While Yuan was still in shock, Zhang Han had lost all his caution. He was being so careful with his actions just because he had someone he wanted to save. But now, she was gone. All he wanted now was blood.

    "AHHH!!" With a raging scream, he ran towards the person who held Yuan.

    When the burly man saw Zhang Han rushing up to him, he tried to clit Yuan¡¯s throat. However, Zhang Han already was a step ahead as he threw a shard of ss he picked up cutting his handoff. He threw Yuan to one side and picked up his sword. He held the de even, a perfect, undaunted horizon; leveled with his nose.

    He stalled the oing strikes from the wretched attackers. His de was now like a symbol of brutality. He who was eager to get it done with before was now taking his sweet time cutting their guts out without any sympathy or hesitation. He was humming a low tune with a weird glimmer in his eyes as his sword shed around and the enemy fell down to his feet.

    No, he didn¡¯t kill anyone of them. He wasn¡¯t gonna go that easy on them! Never! Ever! They could only crawl on the floor and beg for death because he certainly wasn¡¯t gonna allow them to die without suffering his wrath.

    His whole body was again drenched in blood. Even his face was unrecognizable. He fell on his knees before Lily¡¯s body and held her up, hugging her close to his chest. "Why are you so stubborn? I said I¡¯ll find a way!" His tears finally fell down as he broke down.

    Yuan¡¯s daze was only broken with Zhang Han¡¯s loud wrenching cries as he held Lily tightly in his arms. Yuan had seen Zhang Han¡¯s obsession with her. Even when Zhang Han said it was love at first sight, Yuan would only make fun of him. But now... Now, he didn¡¯t even know who was joking back then.

    With wobbly legs, he came up to Zhang Han and said in a throaty voice, "I¡¯m sorry, Xiao Han. This is all my fault. I¡¯m really sorry! If only I had been the one to..."

    Zhang Han red at him, "Little uncle, don¡¯t you dare apologize for being alive." His tone and expression scared Yuan. "Your apology means that her death was in vain. If you med yourself then you¡¯re actually saying that she was a fool for saving you."

    "I didn¡¯t mean that..."

    "Whether you mean it or not, you need to remember this moment. She gave her life, not for you. She set herself free. This was the only freedom she could possibly have after everything she went through. She liked you a lot. She cared about you a lot. Don¡¯t let her down by looking like you¡¯re a burden on this world. If someone is willing to give their lives for you, at least act like you deserved it!"

    Zhang Han¡¯s words struck a chord. Yuan contemted those words before he got up and picked a scalpel from beside the bed he was tied to. As he went up to those groaning and crying people who had be prey to Zhang Han¡¯s brutal attacks, he crouched down beside them and said, "I¡¯ll never be the weak one again."

    "AHHH!"

    Zhang Han heard screams from behind him but he didn¡¯t turn to look at what Yuan was up to. He didn¡¯t care. He already knew the consequences of today.

    Xiao Zhiyuan was never gonna be the same person ever again!

 Chapter 291 She Was Going To End I

    "Team Red, cleared!"

    "Team Blue, cleared!"

    "Team Grey, on the move!"

    Ru heard progress reports of the team leaders through the earpiece and nodded her head in satisfaction.

    "Team ck Mist, what¡¯s the status?" she asked but didn¡¯t receive any reply from the other side. "Adia, Jack, Jake, Connor, Ed!" She frowned slightly. "Give me a bloody answer!"

    With some noises, a very low voice was heard, "Edmund here!"

    "Ed? What¡¯s going on at the east wing?" Ru questioned as she stepped on the dead bodies and made her way towards the entrance of the main building where the ck Mist team was assigned.

    "We... We came across some trouble," replied Edmund in a low voice making Ru scowl now. All her teams were moving smoothly but her best of the best team was facing trouble? How? Why? Who was the one capable of troubling them?

    "I¡¯ll be right there," said Ru and rushed over at the fastest speed. On the way, she was only greeted with dead bodies lying in a pool of blood. But it didn¡¯t affect her in the least. She was more than just used to this kind of scene. It didn¡¯t even bother that she was stepping on bodies that were alive till a few hours ago. But now, they had lost their lives.

    When Ru reached there she was a bit taken aback. Adia, Jack, and Connor were lying on the ground bleeding while Edmund and Jake were still engaged in a fight. But what surprised her was the fact that their opponent was a single person. And singlehandedly, he was turning out to be a nightmare for the rest of them.

    *THUD!*

    Jake¡¯s body crashed with the pir behind him.

    *COUGH! COUGH!*

    He was coughing blood now. But before the perpetrator of their injuries couldnd another strike on him, Ru came between them and pushed his body away making him stagger back. She turned around to support Jake¡¯s body, "You okay? Can you stand?"

    Jake¡¯s vision was blurry because of the impact, but he could recognize Ru¡¯s voice which brought himfort as he nodded, "Yes, Master!" He coughed again. "Sorry to be a disappointment!" He was really remorseful now. He was trying his best but the other person was an aberrant who didn¡¯t even allow him the time to breathe.

    "It¡¯s okay. You stay here. I can deal with this myself," said Ru as she put Jake on the ground and looked at Edmund, gesturing him to look over at Jake.

    "AHHH!" With a loud scream, she heard the sound of that person running up to her. Ru turned around to see his crazed look but the moment his eyes fell on Ru¡¯s face, he froze.

    Ru who was ready to counterattack was surprised to see when the other person¡¯s expressions changedpletely. His lips lifted up slightly as he called out, "Four..." Ru frowned at him but she knew he was calling her. She just knew it. "You¡¯ve grown up."

    Ru¡¯s frown deepened now. "You know me?"

    "I do, but you don¡¯t know me," replied Yu as he kept his eyes on her face. He contemted for a moment before saying, "I was the one who shot you back then." Ru¡¯s eyes widened at his confession. "Because it was the order I received I had to obey."

    Ru lifted her gun and pointed it at his forehead. But he didn¡¯t move, didn¡¯t even resist. He just stood there as if he was asking her to pull that trigger. As if that was all he had been waiting for.

    "I owe you a debt," he began softly. "Back then if you hadn¡¯te around, I¡¯d have lost my life on that experiment table. But since they found a perfect subject like you, I was spared."

    "Are you expecting sympathy with those words? Because this young master doesn¡¯t have that." Ru¡¯s voice didn¡¯t fluctuate. Neither did her emotions. So what if he was one of those people who fell prey to the hands of these mad doctors who experimented on humans? That didn¡¯t mean she was willing to spare the life of the one who once tried to take hers!

    "I know," he mumbled softly and looked up in her eyes. "Four doesn¡¯t know how to forgive or forget."

    Ru¡¯s brows quirked up just a bit. It wasn¡¯t that noticeable but it was there. She really didn¡¯t remember him at all. But somehow he knew her. He knew her well.

    Yu picked up a gun from a dead body beside him and pointed it at Ru saying, "As much as I¡¯m indebted to you, I can¡¯t stop myself from obeying Madam¡¯s order. She wants you dead. And I can¡¯t go against it likest time." Ru narrowed her eyes at him as he added, "It¡¯s either you kill me or I kill you. There is no other way I¡¯m letting you walk through these doors."

    Ru sneered at him. "Do you really think I won¡¯t dare to pull this trigger?"

    ¡¯No, I know you will. And that¡¯s what I want you to do! Because I really can¡¯t pull this trigger twice at you.¡¯ Yu thought to himself with a sad smile ying on his thin lips. Was it weird that he was affected by her this badly? How was she able to control him without even trying? But deep down in his heart, he still believed that she was the reason why he was still alive. And thought alone was enough to crumble every other belief of his.

    Ru¡¯s pointer finger was hovering on the trigger as her mind was in deep thought. "Why didn¡¯t you shoot at my heart?" Yu was startled by her words. "If you received the orders to kill me, why did you hesitate? Why did you give me the chance to live?"

    "As I said, you gave me a chance to live. I decided to pay that debt back," said Yu with a straight face. Ru didn¡¯t think that reason alone was enough. That¡¯s when he added, "Also, you once told me to decide my own fate."

    "Is that why you¡¯re choosing death for yourself?"

    "In this life, I¡¯m done being a puppet. I would like to choose something for myself now. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to pull that trigger."

    Ru¡¯s hand was about to drop when he pulled the trigger and the bullet went right past Ru¡¯s ear. He could have chosen to shoot right at her head but he didn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t his intention, to begin with. "I told you if you won¡¯t. I¡¯ll have to kill you." He now pointed the nuzzle at her forehead, "This time I won¡¯t aim wrongly. I won¡¯t hesitate either. And I certainly won¡¯t let you pass. It¡¯s either your life or mine!"

    Ru¡¯s expressions hardened at his words as she pulled the trigger. The bullet went right through the space between his brows dropping his lifeless body on the ground.

    Ru looked at his listless body with a nk expression. "I love my life. There is no way I¡¯m giving up on it." She looked over at her team and said in her earpiece, "Send reinforcement to the east wing." Then she turned to Edmund who was the only one looking slightly better now. "When the reinforcementes, take the others and leave this ce."

    "What about you master?"

    "This is something I have to face alone," she said and turned towards the doors that led inside the mainir. Taking a deep breath, she entered through the door and closed it behind her. The rest of the journey, she was supposed to take it alone. She was the one who started it, she was going to end it as well.

 Chapter 292 Slashing Her Flesh

    As Ru walked inside through the winding dark hallways, it was like those nk pages from her memory book were suddenly being re-written. Or more like the invisible words on those nk pages were finally visible to her eyes.

    And the more details came to her mind, the more rage surged within her heart, soul, and body! At this moment, she was even ready to tear someone¡¯s limbs off with her bare hands. It was almost like something cynical caged within her was being teased slowly and screamed to let out. Ru could only clench her hands to hold herself back from doing something she¡¯d regret.

    However, the fight with those grotesque memories was getting tougher within her heart. She couldn¡¯t let her inner beast take over. Not just yet! She first needed to rationally get to the bottom of everything.

    She was breathing through her mouth as shepletely ignored her surroundings. And by surroundings, she meant the cages that held deformed humans staring at her like she was some kind of a meal for them. It was really not easy to keep herself from wanting to do some bloodshot. The sight was horrible beyond words could describe!

    As she finally crossed the maze of winding hallways lined with cages, she found her way to the innermost hall. However, what she saw made her blood boil all over again, and yet there was something prickling her heart as well.

    "Zhiren!" She eximed as soon as her eyes caught sight of that familiar figure.

    Xiao Zhiren was tied to the chair specially made for torture. Blood was oozing out of his wounds while his head was just hanging down. His body was listless and even her voice didn¡¯t stir him a little. He was unconscious.

    Ru ran to his side and opened the chains that were holding him on and cutting his flesh so painfully. Her heart ached to see him in this condition. She crouched down before him and held his face in her hands.

    "Zhiren! Wake up!" She pped his cheeks to wake him up but it didn¡¯t work. In the end, she had to press his acupuncture point and his eyes immediately opened while he coughed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he coughed which even fell on Ru¡¯s face. However, she didn¡¯t even flinch. Simply, she lifted her hand to wipe her eyes to avoid the blood from dripping into her eyes.

    *Cough! Cough! Cough!*

    His coughs didn¡¯t stop for a while and when it did, with great effort, he lifted his eyes to look at her with misty eyes. As his eyes met hers, his lips curled upward.

    "My... Little... Chilli..." he breathed out almost in disbelief.

    Seeing how his blood-stained hands were trembling as he tried to touch her face, she didn¡¯t hesitate before bringing his hand against her own cheek and leaned into it.

    "It¡¯s really you," he whispered as if he was finally enlightened that this wasn¡¯t a dream. She was indeed right here before him. Tracing her facial features, he asked, "Why are you here?"

    Ru¡¯s hand was still sping his as she said, "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that? I just talked to you a few days ago. And you were at home. Why did youe here? How did youe here?"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s breathing was harsh as he told her, "After thest time I talked to you, I was informed by Qin Qu that Yuan had been kidnapped. My thoughts were all jumbled up and I didn¡¯t even think of informing you. But you know how much Yuan means to me. I couldn¡¯t idly sit by."

    Ru¡¯s expressions twisted, "Qin Qu?"

    "Yeah. He is my most trusted subordinate. He had been taking care of my business in the US for thest few months."

    Ru¡¯s frown deepened. She remembered this Qin Qu. At least, she had some impression of it since she had seen him around Xiao Zhiren when he came to the Maind. However, she realized that she hadn¡¯t seen him in a while. And if what Xiao Zhiren said was true then how did Mr. Qin Qu in the US found out about the kidnapping in Europe?

    She couldn¡¯t help asking, "And how did Mr. Qin Qu found out about Yuan¡¯s kidnapping?"

    Xiao Zhiren tried to answer but his mind couldn¡¯t process it for a while. It took him a while before he said, "He heard it from the team of security I left with Yuan."

    Ru snickered at his reply, "That¡¯s interesting because every member of my squad said that your security team had been killed. How can dead people inform? I didn¡¯t know dead could talk as well."

    Xiao Zhiren gasped, "You mean it was a trap? Did they lure me here?"

    Ru wiped his face with her sleeves as she went on, "Most probably there target had always been you. So, yes. You indeed fell in a trap." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Something was unsettling. Why? She couldn¡¯t figure it out at all. "Why do I feel like there is more to it?"

    Thinking to herself, she stood up and turned around, darting around at this white maze that only had bright bloodstains everywhere. White and red made a bright contrast.

    "Or maybe you¡¯re overthinking again," he stated. His voice didn¡¯t seem strained anymore but Ru was too absorbed in her own thoughts that she overlooked this abnormality. Besides, her trust in Xiao Zhiren was beyond someone¡¯s imagination now. "Why are you here?" he suddenly asked.

    Ru¡¯s eyes shed with malice as he replied honestly, "There is a woman who owes me a debt. I¡¯m just here to collect it."

    "How are you gonna collect it?" he probed.

    "By shing her flesh off of her bones..."

    Ru didn¡¯t mind saying that out loud. The beastly side of hers had already begun to overwhelm her senses. Why would she hide her true intentions now when she was bing a whole different person after all those years, all over again.

    She heard the jingling of the chains and assumed that Xiao Zhiren was trying to stand up. Thinking he needed help, she turned around and opened her mouth to say, "I¡¯ll help- Ooompf!"

    Just as she said two words, something sharp pierced through her stomach making her body convulse. Not from pain rather from the shock.

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 Chapter 293 Falling In A Trap

    When you attack an animal, it''s natural instinct is to fight back.

    Ru wasn''t any different. Before she even saw who was the one stabbing her, her hand had already stretched out and used the violent force to shove the person back. The attacker flew off and his back hit the wall behind before he fell down coughing blood.

    A trail of blood was also dripping down Ru''s mouth. She lowered her eyes and held the hilt of the dagger that had pierced through her stomach. As she pulled out the shiny dagger painted in her own blood, not a single scream came out of her mouth. But her breathing had changed the tempo.

    Staring intently at the dagger in her hand, her brows knitted together. It was familiar. Very familiar to her.

    "R... U...!"

    Ru lifted her eyes and looked at the person she attacked or it''d be better saying the one who attacked her first. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was none other than Xiao Zhiren. But the shock in her eyes was reflected in his eyes as well. They both stared at each other.

    "I..." he tried to speak. "I couldn''t... stop..." He coughed again as his trembling hand stretched out as if he wanted to reach out to her. "I''m... So... Sorry..." With that, he lost consciousness.

    Ru was still staring at the dagger in her hand and the person who used this very dagger to stab her.

    All of a sudden, the space around her filled with white mist. Ru didn''t even get a chance to cover her nose before the drug in the air was inhaled into her lungs.

    Coughing profusely, she fell to her knees. It was like ants started crawling within her blood making it difficult for her to even stand. Everything hurt. Even though everything before her was misty, she could hear everything more clearly in this silent space.

    Someone was walking up to her. She clearly heard footsteps but she couldn''t see yet who it was.

    It wasn''t until the white mist around her cleared that she was able to see the face of the person.

    Ling Qiaolian!

    Calling her a maniacal psychopath would be a better choice of words.

    After all, until now, Ru hadn''t seen anything like a human in this woman!

    There was a creepy smile on that woman''s face that Ru wished to tear apart. But her body refused to move. Seeing her struggle, the creepy smile widened, "Don''t try so hard. The dagger wasced with poison. And the air you breathed in was filled with my personally designed drug. There is no point in struggling."

    Ru red at her and growled in a low dangerous voice.

    "Such hostility, eh?" Ling Qiaolian was amused by Ru''s expressions. "But what''s the point? You still fell into my trap." She pointed towards Xiao Zhiren as she continued, "Isn''t it weird that you fell in this cage twice because of that one person?" Stroking her chin thoughtfully, she went on, "But then again, that''s what love does to people. You let your guard down and this love stabbed you in the back. How pitiful!"

    Ru was sickened by the way she tried to act sympathetic.

    "You messed with his mind again?" Ru voiced out holding back her urge to tear everything apart. "He had been a puppet for you since he was young. Why are you obsessed with him so much? He did nothing wrong to you! Even to this day, he''s mourning your death and avenging for you."

    "Hmmm..." Ling Qiaolian hummed while nodding her head at Ru. "Indeed, he has been a good puppet. My most favorite one... But s! Not the most powerful one."

    Ru''s temper was ring from the way she talked about Xiao Zhiren.

    "Let him go!" she demanded.

    Ling Qiaolian turned to Ru with a bit surprised look, "Your own life is at my mercy and you still want me to let him go? Tch. Tch. What has this love done to you my most precious puppet?"

    Ru shook off her hand that tried to touch her face and the intensity of her re increased so did the red veins that were slowly clouding the charm of her green orbs. Now, she looked like a bloodthirsty monster.

    "There is no need to be so hasty. Naturally, I''d let him go. How can I hurt my precious Renren?"

    "He is not your son. So, your act doesn''t deceive me at all!"

    Ling Qiaolian stared at Ru''s face before sighing, "But he has been a very obedient son to me. He still holds a very important ce in my heart. I really don''t want to hurt him. Why don''t you believe me?"

    "If you don''t want to hurt him? Why is he here? Why is hurt then?" spat Ru dangerously.

    Ling Qiaolian''s face drew nearer to Ru''s ear as she whispered, "me it on yourself."

    Ru''s eyes widened significantly as she repeated, "Me?"

    "Yes," she got the reply which left her perplexed. "This whole n I constructed was obviously to catch you. Just how can I let you escape? And you gave me a bait yourself when you fell in love with Xiao Zhiren and anything that''s close to him. Hahaha!" Her manacingugh could make one''s blood boil.

    "Even if he became the reason for my damnation, this young master still doesn''t regret it!"

    Ling Qiaolian looked at Ru''s face and seeing her determination, her expressions changed. It looked even more twisted and full of malice. As if she wasn''t looking at Ru but was seeing someone''s reflection in her and it drove her to madness. Forgetting all about sense, she unsheathed her sword and shed Ru''s back.

    "This is why I hate you. This superiority that you inherited from your mother. These green eyes that you got from your father. It reminds me how much I have despised your bloodline!"

    Ru''s brows furrowed not because of pain that she felt at her back but because of what she heard.

 Chapter 294 Raising A Snake

    *WARNING! The following scenes could be disturbing. Read at your own risk. But I''d like it if you''re too young or too depressed, then leave! Thank you!*

    Ru took a moment to voice out, "You know my family?"

    And when she said ''family'' she wasn''t referring to the Xia n where she grew up. She had long noticed that she wasn''t Xia Longwei''s daughter. Xia n''s direct descendant was only Xia Haoran. However, she never felt the need to learn about her real family either. With her twisted logic, if there was a need to know then one day, she''ll eventually hear about her real family.

    Because to her, Xia n was the only family she needed.

    However, she''d have never even imagined that the person to talk about her real family would be this woman. This mentally ill wretch!

    "How can I not?" Ling Qiaolian''s voice wasced with pride as she continued, "I murdered your whole n after all."

    Ru''s body trembled in anger as her eyes widened. "You!"

    "Why? Does it hurt now?"

    "Ru!"

    She turned around when she heard that familiar voice and looked at her brother who also found his way here after learning that Ru entered this ce alone. He was worried to death!

    Ling Qiaolian ced the sword at Ru''s neck and warned, "Ximen Rong if you don''t want me to slit her throat, stay right where you are."

    Rong stopped in his track but his eyes didn''t stop throwing daggers at that woman.

    "I assume you wouldn''t want your only sister to die right before your eyes just like your parents."

    Rong closed his eyes when she reminded me of that deeply rooted memory from his childhood. He was only six but he never forgot that scene.

    "If you even dared to touch my sister, I promise I''ll tear you apart. I''m not that young, helpless little boy anymore."

    Ling Qiaolian snickered at him, "If you had been that helpless, you wouldn''t have been able to save this sister of yours from my hands. She was supposed to die, and so were you!"

    "But aren''t we both here? Aren''t we a reminder that you failed back then?" Rong took a pause to add, "I''ll never forget how you deceived my family."

    Sheughed like a madwoman as she said, "I deceived them? But you can''t me me. me it on your grandparents who raised me like their daughter-inw and at the end, brought your mother to take the position which they promised me!"

    Ru was in a daze as she stared at her brother only. The red veins in her eyes were slowly going back to normal. Even her expressions were turning from rage to calm.

    "If it wasn''t for your mother, Xia Xue who came out of nowhere and married Ximen Xi, why would I be driven to madness? Ximen n''s patriarch and matriarch raised me like a daughter. Why would I betray them? They brought it upon themselves when they chose to leave me aside and bring Xia Xue as their daughter-inw. And why? Just because my n had been wiped out decades ago and I was the sole survivor? While Xia n was thriving? Why should I bear this loss? Why? If Ximen Xi couldn''t be mine when I loved him, then Xia Xue also had no right to be with him!"

    Only after listening to her, did Rue to a conclusion. She always wondered how her enemy knew her so well? How did her enemy umte so much power behind the backs of so many powerful ns?

    Only now she got the answer, everything Ling Qiaolian learned was from her own grandparents. and everything she had was given to her by Ru''s real n. She grew up with Ru''s real father. How was it possible that she won''t have such remarkable skills?

    "If only our grandparents knew that they were raising a snake in their own house," spat out Rong.

    "Yes, if only they knew..." Ling Qiaolian agreed. "But they didn''t! It allowed me to easily poison them to death."

    "Ungrateful!" Ru''s voice was surprisingly calm.

    "Ungrateful?" Ling Qiaolian smiled at Ru. "I think I gave them a very easy death since I had the sense of gratefulness towards them. Because you still haven''t heard how I killed your mother."

    Ru''s hands clenched into fists. While Rong shouted, "Don''t you dare bring it up!"

    "Why? Are you scared your sister will be scarred for life? But so what? She should know what happens to people who are too arrogant like her mother."

    "Ru, don''t listen to her. Don''t let her get to you!"

    Ru took a deep breath as she asked, "So how did you kill my mother?"

    "Oh, you''re eager to know. I like this spirit of yours..." Ling Qiaolian crouched down beside Ru''s kneeling figure and slowly started, "Xia Xue had a pride like no other. After all, she was the only young miss of Xia n in five generations. Her pride and arrogance were justified. But it was an eyesore for me. So, I drugged her that night and asked someone to rape her."

    Ru''s body went stiff.

    "Tsk... Tsk..." Ling Qiaolian clicked her tongue in disappointment. "It''s just a pity that even in her drugged state, she valued her pride more than her life. In the end, the madwoman set the whole room on fire. The bitch even killed my loyal dog with herself. I hope she burns in hell as she burned to death!"

    The sereneness that was starting to engulf Ru was truly dangerous. She looked so peaceful hearing all this that it made one shudder at the thought of what she was capable of doing. Or what she was nning on doing.

    Ling Qiaolian lifted Ru''s chin with her index finger as she went on, "I thought I was sessful in killing you that night as well, Ximen Ruxue."

    Ru''s eyes flickered. The name that came out of her mouth sounded familiar and yet not familiar. But she was certain, that''s her real name. The name people dared never tell her was; Ximen Ruxue. One of the twost direct lineages left of Ximen n.

    Ximen Rong and Ximen Ruxue!

    In fact, it wasn''t that Ru never heard of Ximen n. Learning about the history, it was inevitable toe across this n that was known as righteous. However, unlike Xia n, Ximen n had decided to focus more on science than martial arts in thest century. And when Ru was young she''d often tell her grandfather that Ximen n''s fall was because of this, they forgot their roots.

    How wrong was she!

    Only now did she learn that the Ximen n''s fall was because of their deep roots of righteousness. If they had abandoned a snake-like Ling Qiaolian when she was young, they would have escaped the cmity that fell upon them. How unfortunate of them!

 Chapter 295 Just Like Her Mother

    Ling Qiaolian''s intention of disclosing all of this was to shatter Ru''s emotional resistance. She wanted to break this girl whose eyes reminded her of Ximen Xi while her personality bore more and more resemnce to Xia Xue. Her biggest regret in life had been that she was never able to break Xia Xue. But in her mind, Ru was an easier target now. So what if she couldn''t break the mother, this daughter of hers would do.

    After all, at the end of the day, Ru turned out to be exactly like her mother; falling for love and willing to do anything for that love. She was gonna use that love to crumble Ru.

    "You''re like a curse," she told Ru who listened in silence. "I poisoned you even before you were born but you still survived. I poisoned you again on that night when Ximen n perished. But you yet again survived." Sheughed in mockery. "Even when I poisoned to kill you ten years ago, you somehow resisted that as well." Her sword poked at the ce Ru was stabbed earlier by Xiao Zhiren making her squirm while the blood gushed out without any break. "How are you gonna survive now? This is the world''s deadliest poison."

    Seeing herughter, Rong was infuriated. It was like looking at that scene from all those years ago...

    *shback*

    A small boy was holding his little sister against his chest as he sobbed looking at the blood that surrounded him. The cries that rose in the dark of night. The mes that were slowly engulfing everything around him.

    A pair of gentle arms suddenly wrapped around him as he picked up.

    "Ma!" he cried as he felt that familiar embrace.

    The woman before him had the bluest eyes like his own. Even her features resembled his own. But the face that had always been gentle and kind was now seemingly cold. The woman ran towards a secret room and opened the door of the secret passage. She put her son down and caressed his face softly while her other hand poked at the small nose of her daughter whom he held tightly as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

    "Rong, listen to mom carefully. Promise me you''ll do as mom says."

    The small kid took a moment to observe injuries on his mother''s body but still nodded, "I''ll do as you say."

    "Follow this path and run. Don''t look back," the woman instructed firmly and sternly.

    The kid shook his head, "No, I won''t leave mom behind."

    The woman held his shoulder and shook him, "Ximen Rong!" Her voice held a sharp touch while her eyes zed with fire. "Don''t forget who you are! Don''t act like a kid. Right now, you have to save yourself. And you have to protect your sister."

    He hesitated as he looked at the peacefully sleeping figure of his sister in his arms and tears slid down his eyes. He was torn.

    His mother stroked his head as she spoke softly, "When you reach your grandfather, he''ll be able to cure her poison. She''ll be fine. But for that, you''ll have to go find him at Shadowwick." She took a pause as she took off her jade pendant and tied it around her daughter''s neck saying, "When you see your uncle tell him, I, Xia Xue doesn''t want my Ruxue to grow up in the shadow of this night. You call her your brother, don''t forget to raise her like a brother as well. Mom has faith in you."

    She kissed both of her kids and held herself back from crying. She was the young miss of Xia n, tears were always frowned upon in that n. Besides, she couldn''t break down before her own kids now.

    She was about to get up when Rong held her sleeve and tugged at it. "You won''te with us?" No matter how rational he could be at this age, he still wanted his mother.

    She touched his head as she said, "Mom can''t leave your dad alone. But mom will follow youter with dad. Run now and don''t turn back."

    While she was closing the door of the secret passage, the little kid knew that was thest time he was seeing his mother. However, he was proud to say that thest image of his mother in his mind was of ady, who wanted to save her kids but wasn''t willing to run herself just to save herself. She couldn''t leave her husband behind.

    *End of shback*

    Even to this day, Rong had that memory engraved in his mind. Even when he reached Xia n back then and everyone rushed to save his mother, what they found was just dead bodies everywhere. In one night, one of the biggest n perished.

    He had insisted on following his uncle and grandfather, he still remembered he found his mother lying in his father''s arms. She didn''t look like she was dead. Instead, it seemed like she was just sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. And when he heard from his uncle that Xia Xue killed herself after fighting all night just because she couldn''t live without Ximen Xi, it really made him question love.

    That was one of the reason, he strongly despised the idea of seeing his Ru falling in love. He didn''t want to lose his sister as he did with his mother.

    Suddenly, he caught sight of Ru staring at him intently and frowned at what he saw in her eyes.

    When Ling Qiaolian noticed her gaze, she snickered, "Do you really think he can save you again? He might have been able to save you when your n was murdered or when you escaped from my ws ten years ago but he can''t save you this time."

    Ru didn''t look perturbed to hear her words, she calmly shifted her eyes towards Xiao Zhiren who had woken for who knows how long and was now staring at her with aplicated expression. He couldn''t move at all. Ru''s single attack had given him a serious internal injury, he couldn''t even feel his limbs.

    "HAHAHA! You still have faith in your love? How naive of you!" Ling Qiaolian''s voice turned dark and eerie as she continued, "No one can save you from me."

    The shiny sword de that was inches away from Ru''s neck was suddenly gripped into a hand. Ling Qiaolian was startled.

 Chapter 296 Foolishness Or True Love?

    Ling Qiaolian couldn''t believe her eyes when she noticed whose hand had obstructed her. The de that had slightly cut through the flesh of Ru''s neck was now being held in Ru''s hand. No matter how Ling Qiaolian tried to pull it, she couldn''t escape from Ru''s vice-like grip. Even when the de of the sword was clearly hurting her hand, Ru didn''t flinch. The de dripped in her blood but she didn''t let go.

    When Ru lifted her eyes, Ling Qiaolian was left startled. Her eyes were limpid without any shadow of helplessness or pain. In fact, her eyes looked so serene that it made people''s heart shudder with fear.

    Ling Qiaolian looked and noticed that Rong had straightened up as well with a hint of a smile ying at the corner of his lips as well. He also didn''t seem like the person who seemed devastated to see his sister earlier.

    The poised and elegant demeanor of both of them made Ling Qiaolian involuntarily think of Xia Xue.

    Ru slowly stood up on her feet without wavering. And while doing so, her hand still didn''t let go of the sword. Ling Qiaolian couldn''t wrap her head around this situation at all. She was certain that Ru lost a lot of blood because of the wound she received from Xiao Zhiren. And not to forget that the dagger he used to stab her wasced with the deadliest poison. Also, the white gas Ru inhaled earlier was mixed with a drug that could destroy one''s mental resistance and make them aggressive.

    Because of that very drug, Ling Qiaolian was inciting Ru. She wanted Ru to lose control of her senses. But the situation didn''t look like it was turning into her favor. Howe Ru seemed even more clear-headed now?

    She pulled a knife and tried to strike Ru where she had already been stabbed. But before she could even touch, Ru''s other hand gripped her wrist. Ling Qiaolian''s face contorted in pain but she held back her cries as the knife fell on the floor with a ''ng''.

    "Feeling confused?" Ru whispered in a low voice that had a hint of mockery. "You must be wondering howe I''m standing on my own?"

    "How?" Ling Qiaolian gritted out.

    "Well, before I tell you that let me clear a misconception about myself..." Ru''s voice wasnguid and free of any trouble. She really didn''t seem like the person whose one hand was gripping a sword''s de while the other was gripping the wrist of her attacker. "Papa always said, when the enemy is at your door, don''t look for someone to save you. Stand up and save yourself." Ru''s eyes dulled a little as her gaze wandered towards Xiao Zhiren who was frozen still. With a strange smile she went on, "Young Master Ru never learned to hide behind anyone. And I never shied away from courting my own death either."

    Ru''s hold on Ling Qiaolian''s wrist tightened to the point that it felt like the bones were about to be broken. And it took a minute before the bones did crack and she dropped her sword to hold her other hand that was experiencing an excruciating pain of being crushed.

    Ru''s leg lifted as she kicked her shins to make her drop on her floor on her knees. And as she did, Ru picked up her sword while her foot pressed on the same hand that she crushed earlier.

    "AH!"

    Ling Qiaolian couldn''t hold back her scream. She wanted to move but before she could, Ru had already used a hand-chop to paralyze her body.

    Ru''s eyes were carefully examining the sword in her hand as she went on, "Now let my brother clear another misconception of yours." She looked at Rong who nodded.

    "You might have felt victorious thinking that our mother died in that fire she started herself to protect herself but you''re wrong." Ling Qiaolian furrowed her brows. "For a member of Xia n, finding a way to deal with a cheap drug has never been a big deal. So, before your loyal dog could do anything, she had chopped him into pieces with her hands before setting the room on fire to fool you. And you fell for it!"

    "Impossible!" Ling Qiaolian screamed. "She died that night. In that fire!"

    Rong took a deep breath and shook his head in disappointment. "She indeed died that night but the person who killed her wasn''t you. Or that fire! She died exactly how she wanted to."

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She always felt a sense of joy thinking of how she drove Xia Xue to the madness that the woman burned herself.

    Ru took over as she stared into Ling Qiaolian''s eyes and smirked, "My brother often used Xia Xue as a bad example of someone who did everything is love to teach me how dreadful love can be."

    "Not like you learned it," Rong muttered bitterly.

    Ru chose to ignore him sulking at the side as she went on, "That night, Xia Xue was the one who killed all of your loyal dogs. She was the one who made you suffer such a huge loss that you had to look for schemes like infiltrating other ns to build up your forces all over again. In fact, even after killing everyone, she was unscathed."

    "Then how did she die?" Ling Qiaolian asked.

    "That stupid woman died in her husband''s arms. The wedding vow was ''Till death do us part.'' She took it a bit far. She couldn''t bear to part even at death so she followed Ximen Xi even in death as well. By choosing to save her kids, she became a brave mother. By dying in her husband''s arms, she proved her love." Ru was also shaking her head as she repeated all that she had heard in all those years.

    Even though Ru didn''t know that Ximen Xi and Xia Xue were her real parents, she had heard stories. It was inevitable that nobody would talk about them. Especially, when she was repeatedly warned by her brother Rong to never follow the path of Xia Xue.

    But until this day, Ru was unable to tell whether what Xia Xue chose to do that night was her foolishness, or was that the test of true love one had to give? Once she firmly believed it was foolishness. Because of the way she was raised, Xia Xue''s actions did seem foolish to her. But now... She again looked at Xiao Zhiren and lowered her eyes... Now she wasn''t very sure anymore.

 Chapter 297 Casualties

    Seeing the way Ling Qiaolian stared at her, Ru went on, "Let''s move on to how am I fine right now?"

    This was the thing that had been bothering Ling Qiaolian for a while now. Even if the reality of the past was hard for her to digest, this present was bing harder to swallow.

    "You said it yourself that you poisoned me three times before today and each time, I was unharmed." Ru''s voice was clear and pleasant to hear as always. But the feeling she evoked wasn''t anything pleasant at this point. The same sword that was earlier held against her own neck was now lying right beside Ling Qiaolian''s neck as Ru continued with a wink, "You''re right. Your poison had no cure. So, my grandfather made that very poison my antidote."

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes widened.

    "Yes, your thoughts are absolutely correct. To fight poison with poison, my grandfather made me drink poison for years. Until that very poison became a part of my blood. Everyone said I was born with a unique constitution. And now, I''m kind of immune to poisons. In fact, everyone used to say my blood might be deadlier than any poison now."

    Ru even had the mood tough right now. Herugh was low but sinister. She touched the jade pendant on her neck which had the character ''Ru'' engraved on it. This was the very pendant that originally belonged to her birth mother, Xia Xue.

    "Ten years ago, this pendant gave away my identity, right?"

    It wasn''t really a question. Ru was certain about this point. Ling Qiaolian had already said that she truly believed both Ru and Rong had died along with their Ximen n. But if it wasn''t for ten years ago when Ru''s urge to save Zhiren brought her to Ling Qiaolian''s human cage, this madwoman would have never found out that these twost direct descendants were still alive.

    "Now, clear up something for me..." began Ru again. "When I was stuck in this cage of yours, why didn''t you kill me? Why the obsession to control me? Was it some twisted way of revenge?"

    Ling Qiaolian''s eyes shed with a glint as she replied, "Partly." Ru narrowed her eyes at her. "Part of the reason was my revenge. The other part was to attain the power that Ximen n''s Patriarch and Matriarch snatched from me and gave to your mother."

    "But you can not attain that power now. Even if Ximen n had burned that night, you''d get nothing."

    Ling Qiaolian snickered, "That''s where you''re right. Even after that borate n, I got nothing. Because even though they raised me as a daughter, they never told me that Ximen n was divided into four factions and only the head of the n can control everything that the Ximen n had umted in its long history."

    Ru raised her brows andughed at her face, "You didn''t know that? How dense are you? Every n had been divided into four factions; Direct Lineage, Main n, Branch n, andstly, the outer disciples. I thought everyone knew. While Xia n''s four factions live peacefully together, others aren''t like that. That night you were only able to kill the Direct Lineage of Ximen n because you don''t even know where the other three factions are. Ha Ha Ha!"

    "Let her go!"

    Ru stoppedughing as she heard that loud voice and rolled her eyes. "I had been wondering when the biggest hypocrite of the century was gonna show up." She turned around and look at the ''hypocrite'' with a smile as she added, "And here you are, Mr. Qin Qu."

    Earlier when Ru had heard the exnation from Zhiren, she was already left with a deep impression. No matter how cunning Ling Qiaolian had been, there was no way she''d know of every step of Zhiren''s life. Including, Ru''s importance in his life. Unless there was someone very close to Zhiren who had been informing her all this while. And who could be better than Xiao Zhiren''s best friend, Qin Qu?

    Marvelous, isn''t it?

    However, Ru didn''t find it funny at all.

    "Wearing the face of a friend to stab in the back. How despicable!"

    Qin Qu sneered, "As if you''re any better, Mr. Xie Rong. Or should I call you Mr. Alev Knight? Or perhaps, you''d prefer being called Ms. Ximen Ruxue?"

    Ru waved her hand offhandedly, "Please, any name is fine as long as you don''t add that ''Ms'' with it. It makes me feel ufortable."

    "Let her go or I''ll kill these two!" He pressed a button and a wall lifted up. Behind the wall was a cage with two teenagers tied up.

    "Oni-san!" Yuan couldn''t help shout out.

    Ru rolled her eyes again as she looked at Xiao Zhiyuan and Zhang Han who were both held captive as she asked, "I thought you could handle it, Zhang Han!"

    Zhang Han sighed out saying, "I''m not to me here. I certainly didn''t run blindly into someone''s arms just because he looked trustworthy!"

    Ru could understand what he meant. Yuan must have fallen in Qin Qu''s trap because for him Qin Qu was trustworthy. And to protect him, Zhang Han also followed suit only to end up in this mess. For a second, she forgot to even criticize Yuan''s intelligence because Zhang Han''s expressions were too grave for her to ignore.

    She took a moment before asking, "Is she gone?"

    Zhang Han was startled. He abruptly looked up and found Ru''s unfathomable gaze staring back at him. Something in his heart knew she was asking about Lilith and it felt like someone was tearing his heart all over again but he still managed to answer, "Yes, she is gone."

    Ru nodded her head and closed her eyes briefly. She knew Lily was dead and yet she couldn''t stop herself from asking for another confirmation.

    "Stop dying, let Ms. Ling go!"

    "Mr. Qin, you really think I''ll fall for this trick?"

    "You don''t want them alive?"

    Ru shrugged her shoulders, "Every war has its casualties. We can''t do anything about that now."

    Qin Qu was left speechless by her words but more so because of her indifferent expressions.

 Chapter 298 Pretense?

    Qin Qu suddenlyughed mockingly at her as he said, "I almost fell for your indifferent expressions. But I still can recall how good you''re at pretense." Ru raised her brow at himzily as he went on, "After all, a person like you had been easily able to pass off as a guy for years. If you could fool with your gender, I shouldn''t doubt your acting skills."

    Ru''s hand slightly tightened on the hilt of the sword in her hand before she mmed the sword on the ground with such a violent force that the sword ended up scrapping off the ground. Her face, however, didn''t show her exasperation as she said, "Mr. Qin, I guess nobody told you that this Young Master hates to hear about this gender story." She paused slightly as she looked at her brother who had been calmly leaning against the wall looking at her. "Big Brother, this man thinks everything I do is a pretense."

    She sounded like she wasining to her elder brother since someone wronged her. Rong had always known how much Ru hated it when someone brought up her gender. The fact that she was a girl was undeniable but calling her ''male'' persona a pretense was a bigger crime because it was anything but just a pretense.

    In fact, for Ru, that ''male'' persona was the real her!

    "Aren''t you bored?" was Rong''s simple reply. He had been standing aside from all this while because Ru had already gestured him to stay away from this. And for the reason why he asked about her boredom was simple, she never liked wasting time talking. She''d either slice the other person or... Well, there was no ''or'' since that was her only effective method of doing things; Kill it before it kills you.

    Ru feigned a gasp at her brother as she said, "Big brother, how can I take away this shining moment from the viins? They deserve this tiny moment tough hysterically to show how ruthless they are. They also this moment to brag as if everything is under their control. In every story, a viin''s personal monologue is a must. How else we would enjoy the story?" She took a pause and looked at Qin Qu as she went on, "Besides, in the end, those viins have to lose their pathetic lives."

    Rong shook his head at her words. She really had be fond of unnecessary things while living outside. But if she was having fun, he wasn''t gonna get involved either. As long as everything was in her control, he''d let her y. He''d only get involved when she needs him.

    As for why Ru just wanted him to step aside, she didn''t want her brother to pay another price for her own stubbornness. Besides, as long as he was looking over her from the side, she knew she had nothing to fear in this world. That was her elder brother who protected her at every step of life.

    Although she grew up as Xia Haoran''s elder brother, from a very young age, she hade to realize that Rong was her real brother. It was too obvious. Since only she and Rong had different eye colors in the whole n. In fact, there was not another single person who had green or blue eyes like her and Rong in the whole Shadowwick.

    She''d have to be a lot dense to not realize the simrities in their features as well. And let''s not forget the protectiveness Rong had for her.

    But any of that never changed her rtionship with Xia Haoran. If Rong was her elder brother, Haoran was her little brother. No truth in this world could change that for her.

    "It seems you really think I''m bluffing," said Qin Qu. "It''s myst warning. If you didn''t let Madam go, I won''t hesitate in killing those two along with your boyfriend." He pulled out a gun and pointed at Zhiren.

    Ru was really amused now. "Go ahead, do it!" Her casual reply left everyone dumbfounded expect for her brother who was rolling his eyes at her. "You think I''m scared? I''ll be groveling and begging and pleading you let him go? Why? Why would I do that?"

    Qin Qu''s brows drew together, "Don''t you love him?"

    "He just stabbed me with the intention of killing me," replied Ru looking unperturbed. "In fact, I think if he died at your hands it''d be easier for him. Because this Young Master is not so good with backstabbers."

    Xiao Zhiren who had beenpletely lost in his own thoughts was suddenly assaulted with her words. As if his headache and confusion all vanished as he stared at her with a strange look. Did she mean it? Did he really burn the bridge that led to her with his own hands? But that was not his intention. He really didn''t know what came over him or why did he attack his little chili. He wanted to tell her all of this but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

    "No, that''s not possible!" Qin Qu shook his head as if in disbelief. "You can''t be that heartless. You loved him. There is no way that love is gone so soon. You''re lying!" He was screaming at her making Ru rub her ears in displeasure.

    How annoying!

    "You think I can''t be that heartless?" Ruughed at him. "Just how little do you know about me?" She was really surprised that this viin was so dumb. "I''m the person who didn''t even feel an ounce of sympathy for the parents who died under the hands of this Madam of yours."

    "Ru!" Rong''s voice was dark as he squinted his eyes at her.

    Ru shrugged at him indifferently, "Oh, please, brother. You can''t be expecting me to feel bad for people I don''t even remember." Indeed, when her birth parents died, she was too young to remember anything. Besides, this was the first time she even learned they were her parents. How was she supposed to feel? She had always been confused about feelings from a young age. No matter what feeling it was, she always found it tiresome and bothersome.

    Qin Qu was dazed by her expressions when in a blink, Ru''s heel hit the hilt of a knife lying by her feet as it shot up, she held it to strike it straight at Qin Qu''s hand which held the gun.

    "AH!"

    The knife pierced through his hand making him scream in agony especially because the knife belonged to Ling Qiaolian which she was trying to use against Ru earlier but failed and not to forget, everything in Ling Qiaolian''s hands was poisoned. So, right now, he could feel that poison crawling up in his blood as well.

    Ru smiled at him wickedly as she continued, "Although, for me, the only parents I''d give respect to are back at Shadowwick, that doesn''t mean I won''t collect some debts of blood from this Madam of yours."

    Just as Ru said, she felt absolutely nothing for Xia Xue or Ximen Xi. But her love, respect, and filial piety for Xia Longwei were undeniable. He raised her like his own child and for Ru, she''d do anything to prove that her Papa''s love wasn''t ced at the wrong person. She was not only gonna collect some blood for her birth parents, the one who died that night was also Xia Longwei''s only sister.

    It seemed, no matter what retribution she chose for Lin Qiaolian, it won''t ever be enough!

 Chapter 299 The Only Aim

    <h4>Chapter 299 The Only Aim</h4>

    "If I can¡¯t walk out of here, I won¡¯t let anyone of you out as well," Qin Qu¡¯s voice was viciously biting and sharp making Ru want to cut his tongue for howling like this.

    He didn¡¯t even take a moment before he took out a small device from his pocket and pressed the button with a mocking smile as he snarled, "Let¡¯s all bury here together."

    As soon as his words finished, several passages opened up in the white walls around them. And from those passages, throngs of bloodthirsty people rushed up. At first nce, Ru couldn¡¯t tell but when she noticed their eyes, she didn¡¯t even blink before rushing up to Qin Qu and drove the tip of the sword in her hand straight into his heart as she said, "Consider it your luck that this Young Master isn¡¯t in the mood to y with your pathetic life."

    With that being said, she turned to her brother saying, "Big Brother, help those two youngsters out." Looking at the throng of angry, bloodthirsty, and more importantly, ¡¯out of their mind¡¯ people rushing up to her, she added, "I¡¯ll see who buries who in this godforsaken ce!"

    Rong came to her side saying, "Let me help out."

    Ru shook her head and pushed him towards the ce Zhang Han and Xiao Zhiyuan were trapped. "Help them out first. Have faith in your little brother. I can deal with this alone."

    Of course, Rong had no doubt that she could deal with these hundred or so people. But he was still reluctant. Weapons have no eyes, he knew the battle always brings wounds as well. However, he didn¡¯t want her to get hurt.

    Soon, the sound of shing, metal nking, screams, whines, and painful cries filled the air. The scene was so horrifying that not only Yuan who was pampered from a young age but also Zhang Han was frozen at his ce. He had never seen this kind of bloodbath before in his entire life.

    It looked really painful.

    All this while, Ru didn¡¯t pay attention to anything apart from killing. That wicked side of her had finally torn apart the facade she so tried to stick with. This was the real her. With no remorse and no sympathy. The more blood dyed her hands, the more she felt liberated. She indeed was a psychopath herself.

    It was just hard to see her psycho persona on normal days when she wore the mask of a schr so well.

    Nevertheless, her eyes still caught on to Xiao Zhiren who had struggled to stand up and was now staring unblinkingly at the scene before his eyes. The girl drenched in blood waspletely unlike the one in his memory. That beautiful girl in his memory was suddenly unrecognizable to him. He had heard Ru saying plenty of times, ¡¯You won¡¯t like to meet the real me.¡¯

    But he alwaysughed it off. He always believed, she¡¯d never been able to scare him away. Because he believed he loved every part of hers. Every single mask she wore before the world, he loved it all wholeheartedly.

    Then why was he unable to move? Why did his heart suddenly had a strange trepidation? Why was there a slight itch in his mind that urged him to run? It didn¡¯t make any sense to him. Nothing of this made any sense to him. He was already struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that the reality he knew had been distorted. He lived in the world of vengeance that someone else created for him. His own will and thinking were all snatched from him.

    And now looking at the person he loved the most, he was hardly able to think or make sense of anything. Yet, he couldn¡¯t help the way his eyes were widened when he stared at Ru. And the girl who could read people like the back of her hand, how could she not see the apprehension in his eyes? Unless she was blind, it was way too obvious to her.

    She didn¡¯t know why she paused slightly when she noticed that dread in his ever so familiar and yet so unfamiliar eyes. No, the eyes were familiar. Very familiar. It was the emotion in those eyes that seemed unfamiliar.

    The corner of her lip lifted up slightly. It seemed like she was smiling but it was a sad smile. However, with all the blood on her face, it looked more like a maniac smile.

    Honestly speaking, Ru wasn¡¯t surprised at all to see his reaction. She knew herself. She knew him as well. She knew what she looked like right now. It¡¯d be crazy if he actually wasn¡¯t scared. The smile was her way of reminding herself. The bet that her heart made with her rationality came to an end. The heart that was blind with love actually lost the bet.

    In the end, it was still her rationality that won. After all, the only person who would stand by her side was herself. Love truly was a luxury to someone like her. She had delusions about her love and about herself for long enough. It was time to face reality all over again.

    When that fleeting moment, their eyes met, Ru smiled even brightly and shook her head before turning back to get back to something she was most familiar with; killing.

    While she was distracted, that psychotic woman who was struggling beside her had actually managed to crawl up to Xiao Zhiren¡¯s side. The gun that Qin Qu had dropped was still lying in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s feet. Ling Qiaolian knew she couldn¡¯t get out of here but she didn¡¯t wish to go down alone. She wanted to kill Ru if it was thest thing she did.

    Just when she picked up the gun, Xiao Zhiren¡¯s eyes shifted to her. Seeing where she was aiming the gun, his heart shook violently. This fear of losing his little chili was worse than seeing her bloodshedding. There was no way he was willing to lose her.

    Without thinking, he jumped over and tried to snatch the gun.

    "Zhiren! Let it go! I have to kill her today!" Ling Qiaolian was ring with her bloodshot eyes at Xiao Zhiren hatefully.

    "No, I¡¯ll never let that happen!" Xiao Zhiren also struggled with all his might but somehow, the woman was able to get the upper hand, only because he was more severely injured than her, and due to everything that conspired, he was still feeling dizzy. His mind was still in disarray with only one vivid goal; to save Ru.

    "Zhiren!" Shouted Ling Qiaolian as the trigger was pulled and the aim was only one person; Ru.

 Chapter 300 Lingchi!

    <h4>Chapter 300 Lingchi!</h4>

    Xiao Zhiren was stunned to his ce with the gun in his hand that he had snatched from Ling Qiaolian¡¯s hands. He didn¡¯t even realize when the trigger was pulled in their own struggle. He felt his feet were stuck to the ground as he looked over to Ru¡¯s side with a horrified look.

    "Xiao Xue!!"

    Ru only heard the shout from behind her but had no clue what was going on. And when that name rang in her mind, it seemed to have transported her mind to a dream she had seen. Only now she knew that the dream was indeed just a twisted reflection of her future. In the dream, the man who stabbed her with a sword was Xiao Zhiren. And while she jumped off the cliff, someone had called out, ¡¯Xiao Xue¡¯ with the same tone. At that time, she had been wondering who was Xiao Xue. Now she could onlyugh at herself knowing that her full name was, Ximen XiaoXue.

    She only registered the world around her when the ng of metal against metal buzzed right behind her.

    Ru turned around to see her handsome little brother, Xia Haoran with his back towards her as he observed his sword¡¯s sleek body and nodded, "It didn¡¯t scar my lovely lotus."

    Ru¡¯s brows twitched when she heard the name he used to call his sword. She really wanted to smack his head but couldn¡¯t do so. One; she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hurt him. Two; he inherited his naming sense from her. So, technically she was the one to me here.

    "I told you to stay out of it," said Ru with a harsh tone. She clearly had advised him to not get involved in this fight yet he brought his little subordinates with him who were now dealing with those living corpses that Ru was wasting time on. But since he went against her words, she really wanted to teach him a lesson!

    Xia Haoran sounded quite casual as he tilted his head to nce at her saying, "I came to save my brother."

    Ru¡¯s brows knitted up as she looked down at the bullet that had been shot at her. It was lying quite a distance from her. When she looked up she saw the gun in Xiao Zhiren¡¯s hand who was trembling from head to toe in disbelief. He had really thought he would lose Ru but he didn¡¯t know where that ck robes youngster flown in from but with just one swish of his exquisite looking sword, he managed to disrupt the bullet¡¯s trajectory.

    But before he could heave a sigh of relief, he had noticed the way Ru¡¯s eyes narrowed in on the gun in his hands.

    "Hahaha!" Ling Qiaolianughed hysterically as she said, "Indeed, Xia Xue¡¯s daughter is so pitiful. Even she is not loved. How tragic that the one you loved dearly is now trying to kill you."

    When all fails, we try to grasp even the straws along with ourselves. That was exactly Ling Qiaolian¡¯s strategy. She had finally been scared of Ru. She always knew Ru was a danger that¡¯s why back then she gave up on trying to control her and settled on killing her instead. But she survived. And now, she was even worse than she was ten years ago. If back then Ling Qiaolian saw a devil in her, now she could actually see the grim reaper. Because everything that Ru touched was meant to wither under her touch.

    Since she was scared witless and had no way out. The only thing she wanted was to destroy Ru along with herself. If she couldn¡¯t kill her than she¡¯d resort to destroying her mentally. And that¡¯s exactly why she incited Ru¡¯s fury. She made it seem like Ru was unloved and even Xiao Zhiren didn¡¯t reciprocate her feelings. And instead was willing to kill her.

    Ling Qiaolian felt like if Ru would kill Xiao Zhiren, he¡¯d be her destruction on its own.

    "Doesn¡¯t she talk too much?" It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a statement from Xia Haoran. "And I really don¡¯t like the way she is talking to you."

    Ru smiled at her little brother and snatched a shuriken from his belt. When she aimed it towards Xiao Zhiren, he wanted to shake his head to let her know that she misunderstood. However, she didn¡¯t give him a chance as the shuriken left her hand and whooshed towards him. Xiao Zhiren instinctively closed his eyes but...

    Shuriken only grazed past his earlobe before hitting the bullseye.

    "AH!"

    Xiao Zhiren¡¯s body shook when he heard the shrilly scream and whipped his head around to look at Ling Qiaolian¡¯s whose shoulder was the real aim. When he turned to look back at Ru, he could clearly see a tinge of disappointment in her green eyes.

    "Are you okay?" Rong asked her when he came around looking at her up and down.

    "I¡¯m fine," she answered distractedly with her eyes still stuck on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s face. "But don¡¯t call me Xiao Xue again." Rong pressed his lips together before nodding his head.

    Then she patted Xia Haoran¡¯s shoulder and said, "If you don¡¯t like her voice, get rid of it."

    Xia Haoran faintly smiled, "dly."

    Rong looked at Ru with wide eyes as he questioned, "You¡¯re really gonna let Ranran do this bloody task?" Ru knew what he meant. She had raised Xia Haoran as a very pampered younger brother. She would never allow him to do anything dirty. If it was to get sullied, she was enough to do it alone.

    "Don¡¯t worry, big brother. He isn¡¯t the same Haoran anymore."

    Rong also knew that. When they left the n¡¯s premises, Xia Haoran was just a sweet and innocent boy. But after his two brothers left him alone, he had to grow up before he was meant to. He had to be mature to take the positions that Ru and Rong left behind.

    Turning to look at Zhang Han and Xiao Zhiyuan, she asked, "Are those two okay?"

    "They are fine," answered Rong. "The drug hadn¡¯t reached the heart. They both are safe now."

    Ru felt eased up to hear that. Then she looked towards her little brother who didn¡¯t even flinch before cutting that woman¡¯s venomous tongue.

    Xia Haoran dragged that woman to Ru¡¯s feet again. He lifted his sleeves to wipe her face carefully making Ru smile at his gestures. Oh, she thought wrong. This one was still her little brother, nothing really changed about him. Then he asked, "Ruru, what are you gonna do to her?"

    Ru patted his head before crouching down to look at Ling Qiaolian. Lifting her chin with her hand, she said, "What do you say? What would you like? Do you want me to chop you up and cook a hearty meal?" Ru shook her head on her own, "Nah! I might choke to death with such a slice of poisonous meat. It won¡¯t be fun."

    "Quit ying around already," urged Rong who was really impatient now.

    Even Xia Haoran nodded his head, "It¡¯s alreadyte. I got tired of waiting for you all that¡¯s why I came inside to look for you."

    Ru jutted her bottom lip out adorably cupping her face with her hands as sheined, "How unfair! No one is letting me even have fun now." Rolling her eyes, she pped her hands joyfully, "Ah-ha! I know what I¡¯m gonna do! This Young Master is sentencing you to Lingchi![1]"

    "No!"

    Ru¡¯s face darkened as she looked up at Xiao Zhiren who had abruptlye to stop her. Seriously, didn¡¯t he know she hated it when someone interrupted her fun?

    [1] ¡¯Lingchi¡¯: tranted variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE until it was banned in 1905.

 Chapter 301 Shall We?

    <h4>Chapter 301 Shall We?</h4>

    "He¡¯s got the grit."

    "Or maybe he¡¯s got a death wish."

    Xia Haoran looked at Rong as he continued, "Death wish? I don¡¯t think so. Ruru really loves him. I don¡¯t think she will hurt him."

    Rong observed Ru¡¯s expressions that were darkening because of how abruptly she was stopped. With a graceful simplicity, he said, "It¡¯s a battle between rationality and emotions. Have you ever seen your Ruru being ruled by her feelings?"

    Xia Haoran paused before he said in a casual tone, "That was back then. Ruru from back then and now are two very different people."

    "And she thinks you are mature now." Rong shook his head and rubbed Xia Haoran¡¯s head saying, "A leopard can¡¯t change its spots."

    Xia Haoran couldn¡¯tprehend the meaning behind Rong¡¯s words but he didn¡¯t need to either.

    On the side, Ru stood up to face Xiao Zhiren as she repeated, "No? Are you really trying to stop me right now from killing her?"

    Ling Qiaolian tried to crawl up to Xiao Zhiren. Since her tongue was cut, she could only make iprehensible sounds but from her pathetic expressions and tears in her eyes, one could tell she was groveling for her petty life before him. As if he was her life savior.

    This scene ignited the fury within Ru vehemently.

    "I don¡¯t want you to kill her," Xiao Zhiren said after trying hard to suppress his fear.

    "Oh, really?" Ru threw away the sword that originally belonged to Ling Qiaolian carelessly on the other side of the hall as she stood before Xiao Zhiren with a solemn expression. "You do realize that she isn¡¯t just the viin in my life. She had done no better with you and your family. And you still wish to save her?"

    At this time, Xiao Zhiyuan had been quietly watching from sidelines moved up to his brother, and tugged at his sleeve saying, "Bro, that¡¯s not our mother. Don¡¯t get involved in this." All this while he didn¡¯t dare to look at Ru¡¯s face. As if he was really scared of her presence now.

    Keeping her voice level to a calming state, she said, "Listen to your brother. Step back."

    "I¡¯m not trying to save her," began Xiao Zhiren. "I just think that it should be handled legally. She is a criminal. I¡¯m sure..."

    "Save it!" Ru¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even let him finish. "You might be the saint, I¡¯ve always been the devil. If it¡¯s my revenge, why would I hand it over to someone else?"

    "Is it worth it to sully your hands with her blood?"

    "Yes!" was Ru¡¯s reply. She stretched her hand behind her as she said, "Haoran, give me your sword."

    Xia Haoran didn¡¯t even need to be said twice as he put it in her hand.

    "Not only my hands but even I¡¯m also drenched in people¡¯s blood from head to toe. My hands can¡¯t be sullied when even my soul is already tarnished. What a joke!"

    Taking a step towards Ling Qiaolian, she added, "There is no one who can stop me today."

    "Not even me?" asked Xiao Zhiren.

    Ru let out a burst of mockingughter. "You?" Shaking her head, she went on, "The reason why I¡¯m stuck in a predicament today is that I did the mistake of listening to my feelings instead of my rationality. Whenever it came to you, I always let my feelings rule me. Sorry, but today Young Master Ru is not even left with emotions."

    Ru dragged Ling Qiaolian from her hair towards the wall and used the shuriken to nail her hands against the wall. Shuriken went right into the hollow of her palms and stuck into the wooden door behind her.

    Using the sword to stroke Ling Qiaolian¡¯s body, she added, "Today, I¡¯ll slice your skin off with three thousand and six hundred cuts until only your skeleton is left. Don¡¯t worry, I will let you see the process until the very end. In fact, when I corrode your skeleton with my special acid, I¡¯ll even do my best to make you feel the pain till the very end!"

    Her words and mannerism only evoked fear in weak hearted people. Especially Xiao Zhiren and Xiao Zhiyuan who were left shaken. She didn¡¯t even flinch when she said it. And it didn¡¯t seem like she was kidding either. It was obvious that she nned on doing it with her own hands and she was nning on doing it exactly how she said it.

    "Chop! Chop!" Ru pped her hands urging, "Soft-hearted people can find their way out. Don¡¯t say this Young Master was heartless enough to not even warn you beforehand because this scene is gonna get unsightly. If you don¡¯t want nightmares for the rest of your lives, run for your dear lives!"

    "When did Ruru started talking so much nonsense? She used to never announce it like this before. She would quietly do it and vanish." Xia Haoran was wondering out loud which earned him a smack on his head from his Rong brother. "Why did you hit me?"

    "Can¡¯t you even understand that she is being thoughtful?" said Rong with aplicated gaze. "It¡¯s very obvious that Ru is worried about that youngster, Xiao Zhiyuan. She knows that today is gonna leave a big impression on him. It seems she really cares about him."

    Xia Haoran¡¯s brows creased up, "Xiao Zhiyuan? Why does she care about him?" He turned to Rong as heined, "I¡¯m telling you Rong brother, I¡¯m not sharing my brothers with anyone."

    Rong rolled his eyes at this big kid. Just exactly where did Ru get the idea that he was a grown-up now? He was still that whiny kid who never let his brothers y with others. Because he was scared others will steal his brothers from him. Slinging an arm around his neck, he said, "Rx! I don¡¯t think there is anyone who can take your ce in her life or in her heart. You¡¯re always our most favorite younger brother."

    "It better be like that," said Xia Haoran as his brows eased up slightly. However, he was still vigntly staring at Xiao Zhiyuan¡¯s trembling figure. He looked so weak and vulnerable. Clearly, all of this had done huge damage to his mental health. Poor him! His young soul is left scarred for life. Xia Haoran couldn¡¯t help pitying Xiao Zhiyuan not realizing that they were almost the same age.

    "Little brother!"

    Xia Haoran was startled out of his thoughts when Ru called him.

    "Yes? Yes, I¡¯m here!"

    "Ask your junior brother to escort his uncles out of here."

    "Oh." Xia Haoran just had to look at Zhang Han who nodded in understanding before trying to drag both his uncles out of there.

    Ru looked at Xia Haoran and Rong before saying, "You both should leave as well."

    Then she looked at Ling Qiaolian¡¯s pale face as she smiled, "Now, shall we begin?"

 Chapter 302 Its Time For A Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 302 It¡°s Time For A Farewell</h4>

    There is a saying, ¡¯There is no more painful punishment than not to be punished.¡¯

    However, Ru had never followed these words.

    She had learned in life to give back tenfold of what she owes. And take back hundredfold of what others owe you!

    If one is willing tomit a sin, they should never forget the punishment that will find them in some way. Ru had always been the kind of person who would pass like thunder and move like the wind[1].[1]

    She was always the one to summon the wind and rain[2].[2] But even with that nature of hers, she never had to face the heavy rainstorm and strong gale[3].[3] Perhaps this was the reason why she seemed like a crane among a flock of chicken[4].[4]

    Truth be told, Ru felt nothing when she sliced up that woman with her own hands. In fact, it looked like she was really satisfied with what she did. True to her words, she exacted the punishment exactly like she wanted to. The gory scene was nauseating, the shrilly screams would make one¡¯s heart shake with fear until they slowly died down with the person. The blood dripped down like a continuous stream.

    Even the intestines were out of the body and were scattered around without care.

    In this bloody scene, Ru was leaning against the wall watching the skeleton of that inhumane creature corrode away. A cigarette was held between her lips and puffs of white smoke were making her face blurry. Her whole body was again soaked in fresh blood. One could only see her green eyes that still held a twinkle that was never overshadowed by anything.

    Even within this nauseating ce, the exotic beauty of her eyes was as striking as always. Her face was 80 percent in clouds and light winds[5] [5] and 20 percent self-satisfied. She looked so serene with that curl of her lips that one could see the reflection of her happiness in her eyes. It was really surprising how she was able to leisurely smoke with so many dead bodies lying around her.

    Finally, after she was done appreciating the art of work she had done, she stood up to leave. First, she went around the whole den as if looking for something. And when she finally found it, she carried it along to find the control room and hacked into the system.

    [Self Destruction mode is on! You have ten minutes to leave the premises.]

    When the system¡¯s mechanical voice rang around, she still didn¡¯t care. In fact, she stuck around to see the surveince screens and after she made sure that everyone had gone down the mountain, only then did she turned around with the ¡¯thing she carried¡¯ and ran out.

    *BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

    Continuous sts rang in the air and the ground shook. Instinctively everyone at the foot of the mountain craned their necks to look up because of the shockwaves.

    "Master!"

    Wu Dishi who was worried about Ru¡¯s safety was about to run over when Rong spoke up, "Your master is safe."

    Xia Haoran nodded his head along, "Don¡¯t worry! My brother just loves to blow things up. It has been a hobby. This much can¡¯t do anything to her."

    Xiao Zhiyuan who had been silently trembling as he sat on a boulder with Zhang Han holding his hand to support him, shivered even more. His eyes shed with something iprehensible.

    "My little bunny still seems very proud of me," Ru¡¯s amused voice could be heard from a distance.

    And as she walked out from behind the dense trees, Xia Haoran ran over to her. "Ruru!" He wanted to hug her but seeing that she was carrying a dead body, he couldn¡¯t do so. He looked at the young face of the girl whoid lifeless in her arms and asked, "Who is she?"

    Ruid down Lilith¡¯s body on the ground carefully as if afraid to wake her up from her sleep. Looking with a rare tenderness in her eyes, she answered, "She was your brother¡¯s redemption. Now, she is your brother¡¯s curse for life."

    Xia Haoran frowned at her words, not knowing what she meant. He looked at Rong who shook his head to stop him from asking any further. He could see that Ru was behaving differently when she looked at that lifeless girl.

    He might not really know who Lily was but he could see that she was someone important to Ru. And he wasn¡¯t wrong either. When Ru had decided to save Lilith back then, she truly thought she could bring a change. If only she was able to save that one life, it might free her from her heart¡¯s demons.

    But when she confirmed from Zhang Han that Lily was dead, she lost all sense. If she couldn¡¯t even save that one innocent girl, what right did she have to wear the facade of an angel?

    Xiao Zhiren had once called her a fallen angel. Now, she could only sneer at that reminder. A fallen angel is called a fallen angel because they are stripped of their purity and fall to disgrace. A fallen angel can only be the angel of darkness and death. At the end of the day, she was still representing darkness and death. What right did she have to pull someone else into her dark world?

    She only looked up when she felt someone crouching down beside Lily¡¯s body. Her eyelids lifted slightly and her eyes fell on Zhang Han who was staring at Lily¡¯s face with longing, heartache, and devastation. She really didn¡¯t know what he was feeling right now but she could tell how his young heart and soul were being churned up with this incident.

    Standing up from the ground, she looked at Wu Dishi and ordered, "Let¡¯s go. We have a funeral to arrange."

    Wu Dishi once looked at Lily¡¯s body and then at his master before nodding his head. He turned around to give orders before he walked back to Ru to say, "Master, this st will catch the attention of..."

    Ru raised her hand to stop him. "Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll handle the consequences."

    Wu Dishi again nodded and started leading the teams back towards their rides to get out of this godforsaken ce. It was time to say farewell to this ce.

    It was time to say farewell to Lily.

    And it was time to say farewell to... Her eyes shifted around until they settled on Xiao Zhiren¡¯s figure who was now sitting beside his brother with a heavy look on his face. However, from the looks of it, she could tell he had a clear mind now.

    She looked thankfully at her brother knowing very well he must have helped to stabilize Xiao Zhiren¡¯s mental state.

    [1] ¡¯¡¯To pass like thunder and move like the wind¡¯: Idiom; meaning to be expeditious and efficient.

    [2] ¡¯Summon the wind and rain¡¯: stir up trouble

    [3] ¡¯Heavy rainstorm and strong gale¡¯: to find oneself in a difficult or dangerous situation

    [4] ¡¯Crane among a flock of chicken¡¯: stands out from the crowd

    [5] ¡¯in clouds and light winds¡¯: calm, tranquil, serene

    [1] Idiom; meaning to be expeditious and efficient.

    [2] stir up trouble

    [3] to find oneself in a difficult or dangerous situation

    [4] stands out from the crowd

    [5] calm, tranquil, serene

 Chapter 303 - A Place In Your Life

    <h4>Chapter 303 - A ce In Your Life</h4>

    <i><strong>Two dayster...</strong></i>

    The funeral for Lilith was in the morning but Ru had stood before her grave till noon without any intention to leave. The weather was very pleasant on this day. It wasn¡¯t exactly sunny but neither was it cloudy. Perhaps nature was just as confused as Ru¡¯s inner feelings.

    The only person who had been standing not far from her was Zhang Han. Donning a ck suit, his fairplexion looked rather pale and waxy along with his red puffy eyes. His eyes looked void as he lifted his head and spoke, "Do you think she deserved to die?"

    Ru¡¯s head tilted as she looked heavenwards, "She had already been dead from the day her right to live freely was taken from her. So what if she¡¯s buried now? She had long been dead inside." Her hands clenched tightly as shemented over the fact that if only she hadn¡¯t shown Lily a way to live again, maybe her death wouldn¡¯t have been this painful to her and the people around her.

    She turned around to leave but when her eyes fell on a weeping willow swaying gently in the air, she ended up walking to it. Taking her shoes off, she let her feet touch the green grass that was soft. She sat down under the shade and leaned against the tree as she closed her eyes.

    She hadn¡¯t seen Zhiren in thest two days and Zhiyuan would end up trembling in fear at her sight so she kept her distance from him. As for why she didn¡¯t see Zhiren was because she let both her brothers find a way to help him.

    Just as she was thinking about the times she hade across Zhiren in her life, she felt a weight on her legs. Her eyes flew open and she looked down to see Xiao Zhiren whose head was nowying in herp.

    "You..."

    Before she could say anything he spoke up, "Can you not push me away?" He looked into her eyes with a pained look as he went on, "Something tells me, this might be myst chance."

    Ru leaned her head against the tree and didn¡¯t reply. She couldn¡¯t think of a reply. If she said yes, she¡¯d be hurting him, and if she said no, she¡¯d be lying to him. Either way, the answer wasn¡¯t right. So, the silence was the only option she could think of.

    His eyes dimmed when she didn¡¯t give any response. He had expected it and yet it hurt. He exhaled a lot and heavy breath, "Do you hate me?"

    Ru smiled faintly to herself, "Hate is a strong feeling. I don¡¯t use it so carelessly. You already know that."

    "Then do you regret it?" He didn¡¯t dare look at her face. "I didn¡¯t even realize how your and my life had been intertwined all this while. If it wasn¡¯t for me, your life would have been a lot easier."

    "I strongly disagree with that," stated Ru calmly. "Maybe if I hadn¡¯te across you back then I¡¯d have gone back home after having my fair share of wandering around. But whatever conspired yesterday was something I owed to the woman who gave me birth. I owed it to my bloodline that died down unjustly merely for someone¡¯s obsession for power and jealousy." She looked at the branches swaying in an enchanting manner as she went on, "This young master is still the same. I still don¡¯t regret anything. Neither meeting you, nor even letting you make a way to my heart."

    "But I only have a ce in your heart, I don¡¯t have one in your life, right?" he sounded bitter as he inquired looking at her face. He wanted her to turn her face a little so he could see her eyes. He wanted to see every little expression of hers to engrave it in his memory. If he didn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t know how he was gonna survive.

    From the moment his memories restored, he was in a dilemma. He didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to feel. All his thoughts and feelings were just in turmoil. He was feeling at a loss since it felt like he had been living a fake life all these years with fake memories. If there was one thing, that he was certain about that would be, in every single piece of his memory, real or fake, he loved only one person; this green-eyeddy who loved running around as ad.

    But now... It seemed like he lost the right to even hold her back.

    "Remember I told you that we are two people withpletely different destinations?" Zhiren stayed quiet in reply as she went on, "As you said, our lives had really been intertwined all along but we merely met at the crossroads of life before turning towards our own destinations. Our paths could only cross, it was never meant to merge."

    "You said an angel and a demon can fall in love," his voice was turning hoarse as he was trying to hold back his tears.

    Ru¡¯s hand lingered above his head for a while before she finally stroked his hair gently. "Yes, the demons in me fell for you even though they were scared of the ring halo you had. But I never said a demon and an angel can be together. My darkness is too afraid to taint your halo."

    His heart clenched in his chest painfully, "Can¡¯t you give me another chance?"

    "Zhi, didn¡¯t I say I don¡¯t believe in second chances? There is only one life and yet you insisted on wasting it by loving someone like me. I warned you that my insanity is catastrophic, it¡¯d destroy you. Yet, you stubbornly kept saying you could take it. You could love all of me." She took a deep breath as she went on, "You should face the truth now, the light in your eyes won¡¯t be able to brighten up my darkness. It might just end up losing it¡¯s own identity." Her hand touched his face as she added, "I never questioned your love as you insisted. I was merely stating the truth all this while. I don¡¯t want my demons to devour you. It¡¯s not something I¡¯d be able to watch."

 Chapter 304 - Farewell, My First Love

    <h4>Chapter 304 - Farewell, My First Love</h4>

    "Are you saying that falling in love with you was a mistake?" Xiao Zhiren really wanted to know what his feelings were at this moment. He could hear each word of hers, he was even able to understand the meaning and reality behind her words but he was unwilling to ept that meaning or that reality.

    "We can never be the judge of someone¡¯s love or any feelings. But it¡¯s also true that you¡¯re at fault..." she took a moment as her hand ran through her short hair. "Your mistake was to underestimate my insanity, ruthlessness, and the chaos I bring with me."

    "But all I ever wanted was for you and me to be us," he was agitated as he abruptly sat up but in the process, his hands somehow touched her abdomen and when he pulled his hand back, it was sullied with blood. He forgot what he wanted to say as the reminder and burden of how he was the one who gave that wound to her came crashing down. His hand trembled as he choked, "I... I¡¯m really sorry! I didn¡¯t even..."

    Ru waved her hand offhandedly as she didn¡¯t even let himplete his sentence. She looked down at her ck shirt and shook her head. She definitely broke a stitch without realizing it. It was a good thing she was wearing ck all over.

    "Zhi," she called out to him but Zhiren didn¡¯t turn to look at her. "Zhiren, look at me." Zhiren turned his head away refusing to do so. Ru held his face in her hands as she turned his head around to look at his face. But he had turned his gaze down, not daring to look into her green eyes. Ru sighed out, "Do you now understand why I¡¯m taking a step back?" Zhiren¡¯s head hung low as she went on, "Whatever happened two days ago won¡¯t ever let you look at me the same way as before. This is just another stab wound for me but to someone like you... It¡¯s akin to a nightmare. Let¡¯s assume for a second that I can forget the way you looked at me but can you forget what you saw?"

    She patted the side of his face as she added, "You asked me whether I can be a normal person. I answered I can¡¯t. Because in my own view, I¡¯m pretty normal. It¡¯s the matter of perspective, what you think is normal might not be the same to me."

    "You and I have hurt each other in our own ways. We both let each other down. So, it¡¯s better to take a step back from each other. I¡¯ll give you the time you need, you give me the space I need."

    Zhiren lifted his eyes up and Ru noticed how tears had brimmed in his eyes but since he was trying to hold his tears back, his eyes were bloodshot.

    "Are you really gonna leave my hand all over again? Are you really able to swallow this pain?" he asked with painful eyes boring into her soul.

    "It¡¯s either the matter of; we can endure it or we don¡¯t want to endure it. There is no such thing as not being able to endure the pain." She chuckled surprising him as she added, "Besides, who said I¡¯m leaving your hand?" Zhiren¡¯s eyes sparkled but the next moment she dropped a bomb on his head, "Didn¡¯t I give you a blood oath? I¡¯ll forever be your sworn brother."

    Zhiren stared at her for a long while in silence. His shoulders hunched as he said, "Howe you¡¯re still able to joke with me?"

    She put on her shoes before standing up as she said, "That¡¯s because I hate tears. If this is really thest time I¡¯m seeing you, I definitely don¡¯t want to leave with sadness."

    Xiao Zhiren also stood up and pulled her in a hug saying, "Every time we parted ways, I lived with the hope that I¡¯d see you again. What am I supposed to do this time?"

    Ru patted his back gently as she said, "This time you should ept the reality instead of chasing the illusions. And the truth is, some people can only have a ce in our hearts, not in our lives." She let herself divulge in the warmth of his body before she pulled away and kept a distance of an arm¡¯s length. "Thank you foring into my life! Love had never been my goal. It never was, it never will be. I never even thought I¡¯d look for love but then you came to my life and made me experience the feeling of it. I don¡¯t even mind the pain it brought because that means, I learned something."

    "You certainly are an eloquent person. Even at this moment, you have all the right words." Zhiren didn¡¯t know what else to say. As she said, he might really never be able to look at her without the reminder of that day. And he¡¯d never be able to live without feeling the guilt of almost killing her. If her body wasn¡¯t poison resistant, he knew very well that she¡¯d not be alive right now and that thought was a lot scarier.

    Ru extended her hand towards him, "Have a nice life, Xiao Zhiren."

    Zhiren took her hand as he said, "You once told me I should hold my life tightly, you might snatch it from me. I never thought you¡¯d be so true to your words." Because I called you my life and you¡¯re really taking it away from me. The worst part is, I have no right to stop you. He took a deep breath before adding, "Thank you for showing me the real darkness. They say darkness can¡¯t destroy light; it defines it. Your darkness truly made me see the beauty that I never even found standing in the light."

    Ru¡¯s lips curved up in a lopsided grin as she said, "Let¡¯s not forget that my darkness is leaving a lot of horrors in your life as well." She pulled her hand back and smiled widely as him. "It¡¯s ironic but you made my demons really dream of halos. However, demons can only be scorched by halos, mine did as well."

    She turned around to leave. Zhiren¡¯s eyes were stuck to her figure. He would never call this the end. Never! If anything this was just another chapter of separation. Even if this chapter didn¡¯t end in this lifetime, he¡¯d wait for it in the next life. He wasn¡¯t willing to believe that his love was not only a sad one or painful one but also an iplete one.

    Ru stopped at a distance and looked back at him as she said, "Zhiren, take care of your brother. This is the first time I¡¯m not able to keep a promise. I said I¡¯d never let Yuan fall. It¡¯s a y of destiny that I ended up being the one who ruined his worldview and destroyed his innocence. I¡¯m really sorry for that." She even bowed her head in a deep bow to show her sincerity.

    Zhiren was speechless as she stood straight and again turned back to leave. This time she raised her hand over head to wave back at him as she shouted, "Farewell, My First Love!"

    Maybe that was thest straw for him because the moment she said it, she seemed far out of his reach and it hurt so badly that his tears finally fell down. Farewell, it was but how he felt it was like the world hade to standstill. Farewell; it was just a word and yet it was enough to destroy his world.

 Chapter 305 - A Neverending Tale

    <h4>Chapter 305 - A Neverending Tale</h4>

    Tearful, sad, and heart wrenching, that¡¯s how a goodbye feels like but it gets worse when you have to put a smile on your face to hide the fact that along with that goodbye, you¡¯re leaving a part of yourself behind.

    It was exactly as Ru once said, love wasn¡¯t actually scary. It was the feeling of loss that love invoked that was the scariest part. However, every beginninges with an end and every end opens the door of the new beginning.

    As soon as Ru was away from Xiao Zhiren¡¯s sight, she clutched her shirt tightly. The ache in her chest was so intense that she wasn¡¯t able to feign nonchnce. She had to ept that she lost herself to Xiao Zhiren and now, she was left empty. And this feeling of emptiness was beginning to slowly crawl up within her.

    "Ge!" Xia Haoran ran over to her side and held her arm. He noticed the sweat on her face. "Ge, is it hurting?" She tilted her face to look at him as she shook her head. "Where is it hurting?" Ru ruffled his hair.

    "Didn¡¯t I say it¡¯s not hurting?"

    "As if I will ever believe you again in my life," retorted Xia Haoran.

    Ru pulled his ear, "You brat! Dare say that again! How dare you question me?"

    "Says the one who forgot me for ten years," grumbled Xia Haoran.

    Ru chuckled at him grumbling like that and squished his face saying, "Aiyo, my rice cake is still as adorable as always. If you keep being this cute, I¡¯ll soon forgive you for losing your chubby cheeks."

    From a distance, Rong had been noticing these two for a while before he stepped closer, and seeing the forced smile on Ru¡¯s face, he said, "You don¡¯t have to do it, you know."

    Ru looked up at her elder brother and questioned, "What are you talking about?"

    Rong ced his hand on her head as he looked into her eyes, "You clearly love him and it¡¯s obvious how much he loves you, and yet you¡¯re choosing to walk away?"

    Ru¡¯s eyes lowered as she replied, "Love and pain are only two sides of the same story. Oftentimes, we let love rule our senses but we can¡¯t forget, it¡¯s always the pain that brings us back to reality. Love and pain might be the two sides of the same story but they can never be in harmony. Pain has the tendency to destroy us as much as love does. Eventually, the pain will overwhelm the feelings of love until we be numb to it." She looked up at her brothers and tried to smile as she added, "When love bes painful one, it¡¯s better to let it go. No matter how much you want to hold it back. You¡¯ll be only hurting yourself and your partner."

    She looked towards the sky as she went on, "Right now, we both have be the reminder of pain to each other. Whether of past or present. So, if we have filled each other¡¯s past and present with pain, how can we say we¡¯ll be able to be each other¡¯s happiness in the future?

    "It¡¯s easy to say that just love is enough but it¡¯s a fact that love is never enough. Eventually, we have to face the harsh reality of life that is not as sweet as love seems to be."

    Both people around her pulled her in their arms and hugged her tightly.

    "Why are you both hugging me?" Ru was trying to get out of their grasp but to no avail as they both were familiar with her tactics way too well.

    "We want to," they both answered.

    Ru sighed and let them hug her. Maybe she needed that hug right now from these two people. She needed a reminder that there were people who really loved her. Her chest was feeling stuffed up and her eyes felt slightly wet that shocked her beyond words. She was definitely gonna im that her eyes were sweating, there was no way she¡¯d say she had tears in her eyes. That was the pride, she¡¯d like to keep holding on to right now. She needed that!

    When they both pulled away, Xia Haoran said, "Ge, don¡¯t forget. You still have us."

    "I know," replied Ru before adding, "Let¡¯s go home. I¡¯m tired now. I just want to go back and hug my papa. I miss him a lot."

    Xia Haoran chuckled, "Before that, you¡¯ll have to pass through grandfather."

    Ru exhaled a long breath, "At this point, I¡¯ll dly kneel in the ancestor hall for even a month. I don¡¯t care anymore! I just want to go back to where I came from."

    She knew she lost herself but she also knew that she took something from Xiao Zhiren. And it wasn¡¯t just that red thread on his wrist that she sneakily cut off, it was also a piece of him that she¡¯d have to take everywhere with her from now on. It¡¯d be a reminder. A reminder of her first love.

    Xiao Zhiren...

    This name would stick to her for the rest of her life. Either as her pain or her first feeling of love. He was someone who would always have a tender ce in her heart. He was also someone that left a bruise of longing within her.

    She didn¡¯t know whether their story ended here or was just left unfinished. Whatever it was, she was certain they didn¡¯t belong to each other. Not anymore. It was always meant to be a sad fate, they both must have momentarily forgotten that.

    It was time for Xiao Zhiren to go back to his rightful ce. It was time for him to be the eldest son of the Ji Family rightfully. He had lost his identity for too long, it was time for him to get it back. And Ru knew it was gonna be another battle for Xiao Zhiren to forget about everything he did to his own father and his mother whose memory was stuck at the moment she lost him.

    He had too many responsibilities, including the job to find his younger brother¡¯s lost innocence.

    As for her... She had an even bigger responsibility. As thest born of the Ximen n, she¡¯d never let that name be forgotten. It was something she owed to her bloodline. It was the debt of bloodline, she couldn¡¯t coil away from.

    ....

    With a cigarette held between her lips, she looked over at the creek surrounded with lush green trees. Just right across from this ce existed the valley where she grew up known as Shadowwick. When she first came out, she didn¡¯t know it¡¯d take this long toe back here.

    The cigarette was snatched from her mouth as Xia Haoran scowled, "Ge, that¡¯s unhealthy!"

    Ru rolled her eyes up as she replied, "Little brother, this is thest time. Once I crossed over, my grandfather is gonna break my legs. Let me have it onest time."

    Seeing how Xia Haoran threw it away, she was feeling at a loss. What a waste! Slowly, she rummaged out her favorite lighter and after a moment of ying with it, she stretched her arm and threw it into the water saying, "Somethings are better left out of this sacred ce." She took a deep breath as she added softly to herself, "Some feelings are better left out of this ce as well."

    They say the most romantic kind of love is the unfinished kind. It not only set your heart on an eternal fire, but it also leaves a mark on your soul that can¡¯t be removed. There was so much that happened between them and yet, it concluded to a story waiting to be written all over again.

    "Are you ready?" asked Rong with his hand around her shoulder.

    "As ready as I can be," she replied. "It¡¯s about time we return to our roots."

    As her brothers walked ahead, Ru looked back onest time as she said, "You and me. It¡¯s a bleak possibility but it¡¯s a neverending tale. Because I know I¡¯ll be haunted by your love in the still of the night." Her lips curved up into a lopsided grin as she put her hands into the pockets and whistled roguishly while following her brother towards the ce she called home.

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