Chapter Two
Li Mu and Liang Xing landed back home.
An An in her bias opinion thought Liang Xing was a weirdo. To others Liang Xing was a martyr, someone parents wanted their kids to aspire to become when they grow up. Liang Xing was the youngest and only girl in the Liang’s family of triplets. Gu Yang and Liang Xing’s dad was the CEO of an influential company and also had underground connections (the Asian version equivalent to the Italian mafia). In An An’s eyes Liang Xing was a pampered brat with a princess complex. An An could deal with that if it stopped there. What made An An cla.s.sified Liang Xing as a weirdo was that Liang Xing chose to spend her days helping the poor and sick in foreign countries. How was an average girl like An An supposed to compete for the affections of Li Mu against someone whose life mission was to be canonized as a living saint? Another kick to An An’s ego was Liang Xing had the looks and demeanour of an angel in heels.
‘Liang Xing, you must be suffering from a goodie two-shoes ocd,’ An An muttered.
‘My sis doesn’t have a goodie two-shoes ocd. She knows what she wants to do with her life,’ Gu Yang whispered. He’d crept up behind An An whilst she was having unladylike spiteful thoughts. ‘She’s not like you. You look smart on the outside but in reality you’re simple minded. Your eyes can’t even hide your true thoughts.’
At the Liang family’s home the lights shone brightly in contrast to the night sky outside.
Gu Yang was wearing a grey suit and smiled deviously. An An sighed. ‘Gu Yang. Why is it whenever I’m around you, I feel the desire to curse?’
‘Care to elaborate?’ Gu Yang asked.
An An cursed explicitly starting with the f bomb.
Gu Yang smiled wider and leaned down next to An An’s ear. ‘You’re welcome to use my body to go through with your threats.’
‘Get lost,’ An An said and shoved Gu Yang away. But An An felt unbalanced from drinking too much and swayed after taking two steps. An An felt a strong arm gently steadied her around the shoulders to prevent her from falling. It was a familiar warm embrace that could only belong to Li Mu.
‘Bao Bao, be careful,’ Li mu said.
An An lifted her head and was greeted by Li Mu’s warm smile. But An An’s good mood was spoiled by Princess Liang Xing not far behind Li Mu, who was making her way toward them.
Gu Yang maintained a cool exterior. Only An An could interpret that it was Gu Yang’s way of mocking her innocent act as a damsel in distress.
Li Mu was the opposite of Gu Yang. Li Mu always treated An An sincerely. Li Mu was her shining prince in the whole wide world.
‘Hi second brother,’ Liang Xing said. Then Liang Xing smiled too sweetly at An An. ‘Hi An An! Long-time no see!’
An An hooked her arm around Li Mu’s arm and smiled too sweetly back at Liang Xing. Liang Xing pretended nothing happened. But Gu Yang gave An An an icy stare.
Li Mu and Liang Xing made small talk about endangered species and disadvantaged kids that bored An An to death. To An An it was like listening to accounting figures recited in her head. An An distracted herself by staring at Gu Yang’s wine gla.s.s. Gu Yang stared at An An’s self-pity expression and gulped his wine gla.s.s. Then an absurd thought popped into her head… why was Gu Yang acting like a jealous lover? An An shook that ridiculous notion away. It was impossible for a guy like Gu Yang to be secretly in love with someone like An An who was a tomboy that cursed like a sailor and always duped into entering bets and came out as a sore loser. Besides, Gu Yang was the second prince of the Liang family, a distinguished lawyer, too handsome for his own good and countless women flocked to him. An An felt uneasy thinking about women being intimate with Gu Yang.
An An tugged at Li Mu’s arm. ‘Li Mu, my head hurts.’
‘Ah,’ Li Mu uttered and held An An tight. ‘You’re feeling unwell?’
An An nodded and looked at Li Mu pitifully.
Li Mu sighed and pinched An An’s nose. ‘I’ll drive you home.’
Liang Xing smiled suspiciously. ‘Earlier I prepared two guest rooms upstairs. Why don’t both of you stay the night?’
Li Mu hesitated and An An swore Liang Xing’s firm tone implied if-you-persuade-him-to-reject-my-offer-don’t-expect-to-stay-alive intimidated An An. An An was about to risk being slayed by Liang Xing but Li Mu agreed to stay.
‘I’m worried An An will be car sick in her condition, it’s better if we stay,’ Li Mu said.
‘Li Mu!’ An An said and held Li Mu’s arm tightly. Li Mu looked at An An strangely and it fl.u.s.tered her. ‘Then… then you escort me upstairs! My legs are wobbly!’
Li Mu smiled and stroked An An’s head. ‘Ok.’
End of Chapter Two.