CH 45

The next morning, I woke up to the familiar music of a ringing cell phone..

An unfamiliar male voice sounded in my ear, “Elvis, you haven’t forgotten about the 9:00 meeting today, have you? It’s already 8:50 and you’re not at the office yet.”

“You are…?” In fact, my brain was still in a semi-comatose state.

The other party faltered for a moment, “Excuse me, please…. Mr. Xi Xichen….”

I jerked awake. I couldn’t believe I had picked up the wrong phone!

This is when a low chuckle came from behind me, and I turned around to see Xichen with one hand propped up under his jaw. Several strands of moist hair stuck to his temples and messy sheets covered his lower body as he looked at me with a faint smile. I didn’t know how long he had been awake.

I handed the phone over, and he took it with an air of self-assurance. With his voice sounding even more careless, he spoke, “This is Xi Xichen.”

The other side spoke causing him to  lightly raise the corners of his mouth before looking at me, “Is it strange to have a woman in my bed?”

A few more words were exchanged, before he hung up the phone and then pulled me close to him in a tight hug.

“Awake?”

He definitely did it on purpose.

He began to languidly caress my waist, and I panicked as I saw his eyes start to blaze.

“Aren’t you going to the office?”

“I’ll go in a little while.”

I closed my eyes as I succumbed to him, a moan escaping my lips as my resistence was declared ineffective.

“Anjie….”

When I finally opened my eyes, I was met with his handsome face, albeit now blotched an unseemly scarlet color

I didn’t think I looked much better than him.

My body seemed to be paralyzed with soreness and I eventually had to let him carry me into the bathroom to take a shower.

After that Xi Xichen took me to his company. I had originally wanted to find Piao Zheng but he said he would meet up with me later.

I thought it would be good to let Piao Zheng know about my current situation so he wouldn’t worry about me being alone.

We went straight from the elevator in the building’s underground garage to his office. Xichen drew out some picture books from the bookcase and gave them to me. As I looked through them, I discovered that they were all from painters that I admired. I had been worried about how I’d spend my time at his workplace, but he had apparently figured it all out.

I sat down on the sofa and was just about to get comfortable, when a lady knocked on the door, “Mr. Xi, Manager Nian is here.”

“Let him in.”

Xichen had just taken off his jacket and I couldn’t help notice how well the dark colored shirt complimented his lean and handsome features coupled with the jet black of his combed back hair.

“What’s your verdict? Is it perfect?” He turned sideways to face me, his smile rippling across his face.

I narrowed my eyes, looked down and flipped through a page of the book, embarrassed. This man, in a sense, was a bit of a dual personality.

“I heard there’s a ‘distinguished guest’ in the president’s office?” A man walked in with a smile, “Woe is me, Elvis, the female employees who adore you are crying.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Xichen walked behind his desk and sat down, “Is the meeting ready?”

“You were not here, so I could only preside over the overall situation.” The man turned and when he saw me, immediately walked over and extended his hand, “It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Nian Yi.”

I just nodded and didn’t offer up my own hand. The man didn’t seem to mind and joked, “I always thought Elvis was either gay or had a hidden disease. Miss, thank you for making me eliminate my unfriendly thoughts toward my boss and so on.”

“So I’m your boss?” Xichen picked up a pen, his slender fingers tapping on its black and gold frame.

“Truthfulness is my only flaw,” Nian Yi sighed. He seemed to suddenly think of something and asked me, “By the way, did you live in France?”

“Uh?” I was taken aback by the question, and nodded a beat too slow.

“I knew it!”

“I didn’t know you had the potential to be a journalist,” Xichen said, leaning back in his chair.

“Potential is something that has to be discovered by chance.”

Xichen smiled and said lightly, “Overseas affairs are a bit overwhelming for Fang Hua to manage alone, why don’t you go over and help her out?”

Nian Yi raised his hands in surrender.

At this time, the lady from before came in again and offered us each a cup of green tea. I thanked her and she smiled with me, “If there is anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

Xichen obviously hadn’t explained my “identity” to them, but they seemed to have already decided on who I was.

I listened to Xichen and Nian Yi talk about business for a while, until the latter said, “There doesn’t seem to be anything big today, huh? Ye Lin?”

My heart skipped a beat, but I forced it to calm down again. I looked up and saw that Nian Yi was reading a newspaper, “I’ve seen this guy twice, he’s quite crazy. He’s shot a perfume commercial this year and his popularity has increased a lot. He’s almost the chief model of Meishan, right? What kind of news needs to be put on a big page? Oh, it seems to be a self-exposed love affair.”

Xichen frowned, “Since when are you also interested in gossip?”

“Mr. Xi, this is also our newspaper and our own artist,” Nian Yi went on as he read, “Such a bold display of love….Jian Anjie? Who’s Jian Anjie? Anyone in our circle of people?”

I suddenly remembered what Ye Lin had said the last time I’d seen him. This kind of thing was right up his alley.

I sighed quietly.

As soon as Nian Yi left, Xichen came over and took the picture book out of my hand, then hauled me into his lap.

I felt a little uncomfortable considering where we were, but he looked the picture of ease.

“Were you thinking about him just now?”

“Yeah.” I didn’t want to lie to him.

“What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about what else he could do. I don’t want him to be disappointed and feeling thwarted, but I can’t respond to his actions anymore.”

He was silent so I asked, “Do you care about this past of mine?”

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t care?” Xichen let out a soft sigh, “He had you for six years.”

“Is that a complaint?”

“I won’t deny it.” He kissed the back of my neck, “How are you going to make it up to me?”

“….”

In the end, he took me to a candlelight dinner.

It was a romantic, moody, western restaurant with only a few people around us. Xi Xichen and I sat at a table for two.

He had a smile on his face and his eyes were soft, “We’ve never been on a formal date in China before.Tthis is the first time.”

“Want to celebrate? With a glass of champagne?” I asked, with a smile on my face.

“No, you forgot, you can’t drink.”

I sighed, “Xi Xichen, you make me feel as if I’ve fallen into a trap that I can’t climb out of anymore.”

“Then, Miss Jian, I must tell you that I am also inside this trap and I do not want to get out.” At this moment, his eyes looked deeply affectionate.

I bowed my head, avoiding that gaze.

Xichen smiled, then called the waiter over. As i listened to him listing out several dishes, I looked at him incredulously.

“Exactly how well do you know me?”

“Miss Jian, I’ve had a crush on you for twelve years.” He looked up from the menu, his tone light, but direct and sincere.

The waitress left with a slight blush and I was speechless again. I turned my head to try and shake myself out of it when I spotted a  familiar figure. The other person also recognized me at the same time.

“Jian Anjie?!” Mo Jiazhen ran over, “Xiaodi told me you’ve returned to China, but I thought she was trying to fool me.”

The day before I’d run into Lin Xiaodi, and today I ran into Mo Jiazhen. I snuck a glance at Xichen and he rubbed his hand helplessly across his forehead.

It was at this moment that Jiazhen also noticed the person sitting across from me and immediately exclaimed, “Who is this?”

“Xi Xichen, my…. boyfriend,” I hesitated for only a split second.

Although Mo Jiazhen was surprised, he did not forget his manners and politely nodded at him, “Uh, hello.”

I’d never seen Jiazhen so reserved.

Xichen nodded slightly.

Jiazhen gave me a quick squeeze. “Anjie, you’ve done a good job of keeping this a secret. We thought you would end up with Ye….,” she faltered, realizing how inappropriate she was being, and quickly changed course, “Have you come to visit your family?”

I didn’t know what to say, so Xi Xichen helped me out, “She came back to see me, and will be leaving in two days.”

Mo Jiazhen asked curiously, “Are you guys in a long-distance relationship?”

Xichen said lightly, “For now.”

Xichen always gave people a sense of distance, and I could see that Jiazhen was feeling a little embarrassed, so I asked, “Jiazhen, why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m here to get some documents for our boss. He’s over there talking to someone. I actually almost forgot, thank God you reminded me. The boss is actually in a hurry, so I’ll need to go now. Anjie, let’s talk on the phone later. And if you stay in China for longer, let’s have a meal together.”

“Okay.”

It didn’t take long after she’d gone for Jiazhen to text me, “Your boyfriend is so handsome! Seriously, he’s more stylish than Ye Lin. What does he do? He looks super classy and cool.”

I laughed and shook my head, and Xichen asked, “What’s making you so happy?”

“Nothing.”

In the next instant, Xi Xichen stood up, grabbed my hand and pulled me down a corridor.

“What’s wrong?”

Ignoring me, he drew me along with him until we reached a secluded corner, hidden behind a screen. I was about to ask again when he suddenly pressed his lips heavily against mine.

When the kiss ended, I gasped out, “Can I ask why?”

“There’s no reason. I just keep thinking about it, so I have to do it. You can think of it as a dessert before dinner,” he whispered, his breath warm against my cheek.

As I recalled Jiazhen’s text, I sighed. This man in front of me really was different from anybody else I’d ever met.