Xue Guangli felt the pressure of Fas.h.i.+on Week. She wasn"t the only designer invited to compete; there were twelve in total.
She had been drawing and drawing, and throwing them into the trash, and re-drawing again.
She felt utterly hopeless as the ideas did not flow properly through her head.
Xue Guangli swivelled around the chair in her office filled with loose materials on the tables and counters. She heard someone come in through the backdoor.
She saw Long Huojin enter through wearing a black mask, covering half of his face. He wore a hat, and the only thing you could see of him was his summer-blue eyes and dark strands pressed against his face.
"Are you stressing again?" he asked her.
Xue Guangli sighed deeply, nodding.
He came from behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, rubbing it. He leaned over, pus.h.i.+ng his mask down to kiss her on the cheek.
Just seeing Long Huojin gave Xue Guangli some relief. She hadn"t been able to see him much. When she visited w.a.n.g Weimin, she would go straight home, in case she was followed. Then in the morning, she would go to work, and from work, she would go to some restaurant or spot with crowded people and find Long Huojin within the narrow gaps.
Xue Guangli tilted her back to face him with a smile. He cupped her face, giving her an upside-down peck on the lips. It was slow, turning into something wolfish. Long Huojin nipped and bit until her lips began to swell.
Xue Guangli broke off the kiss feeling bashful by it. She then turned to face him, "I sense you missed me," she said.
"Very much so," Long Huojin responded without feeling embarra.s.sed. "Are you ready?" he asked.
Xue Guangli nodded.
She rose from her seat, wearing a white mini-blazer dress that ended at her knees; it looked simple yet elegant and professional. Xue Guangli twirled around to capture Long Huojin"s appreciation, which worked well as his eyes darkened with a working appet.i.te.
Xue Guangli smiled. She took his hand, but Long Huojin took an identical mask from his pocket first and pa.s.sed it to her. She took it, placing it over her face. She then put on a long coat over her dress to cover herself.
Long Huojin took her hand in his, and they both walked out, heading towards his car.
He took her to a local museum, one that she hadn"t been to in years. Xue Guangli recognized the art pieces hung on the walls; some were re-varnished while others held a tinge of yellow in the backgrounds. There were portraits, artifacts, statues and relics behind gla.s.s walls that dated back as early as the Qin dynasty, though it seemed to be nearly falling apart.
Though Xue Guangli had seen most of these things before, it still excited her every time she saw them.
Afterward, Long Huojin took her around the area for an afternoon stroll. They walked pa.s.s markets and stands and sellers; people announced what they were selling for a reasonable price. Xue Guangli locked arms with Long Huojin as they emerged deep into the city, where lights began to turn on as the sky darkened and traffic started to die.
They turned a corner on a street where they found a beautiful, ornate building. From outside, Xue Guangli could see the articulate architecture of the inside walls and ceilings.
It was a marriage registration office.
Xue Guangli stared at it. Long Huojin placed his mask underneath his chin and said, "You will be under my household registry," he said, sure of himself.
Xue Guangli faced him, placing down her mask, too, smiling. The wind picked up, billowing her hair like a waving flag. "If I left you right now, would you chase me?" she asked.
Long Huojin"s eyes darkened. "Mhm. I can"t let you go, not when I have you now," he said.
Xue Guangli"s smug smile held. She reached up to kiss him, brus.h.i.+ng his lips with a light peck. When she broke the kiss, she stared into his eyes. Xue Guangli used to consider his eyes as ice-cold, deep and unthawed like the arctic, but now it was warm and flowy like the ocean.
"I love you," she said openly, a breath of a whisper.
Long Huojin"s eyes widened, but then it narrowed, with his focus on her, full of need and want. "I love you, too," he responded genuinely.
A loud noise echoed through the room. "We haven"t made any progression!" w.a.n.g Weimin yelled in frustration after slamming the table with his palm. His eyes shot up to Xue Guangli with a disapproving, condemning look. His eyes were wary with restlessness but cruel with malicious intent.
He was obsessed with getting back at Long Huojin, but Xue Guangli had plotted to make him work in circles.
She also searched for anything that could relate to her mother"s case. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Xue Guangli narrowed her eyes carefully. "Patience," she said. "There is no way to penetrate Long Huojin"s fortress right away. He"s smart and careful."
w.a.n.g Weimin seemed to have calmed, but inside hid some inner, resentful rage.
He then turned to Zi Yingtai, "Get us some coffee," he said. She then retreated, vanis.h.i.+ng from the room.
Xue Guangli pretended to search for something against Long Huojin that seemed out of the ordinary. But instead, she was waiting for an opportunity for him to leave him alone so that she can gaze and search around the house rooms.
Slowly, she had been searching without making it seem as if she wasn"t rummaging through things or misplacing anything that shouldn"t be mismatched. She looked for blindspots, remembering where as there were cameras around the house, not many though.
Xue Guangli kept searching. She looked at Long Group"s audits, and inquiries, which was "stolen" illegally but Long Huojin had given it to her willingly. She gave it up to w.a.n.g Weimin saying that she saved those records before "breaking up" with Long Huojin.
From beside her, w.a.n.g Weimin appeared suddenly. He hovered over, trying to peer at her work.
"Are there any signs of fraud or illicit activity?" he asked.
Xue Guangli shook her head. "It"s clean," she said.
w.a.n.g Weimin inched closer. "You"ve been distant with me," he remarked.
Xue Guangli peeked a glance at him. "Zi Ying is in the other room. She"s always here." She used a tone that almost seemed as if Zi Yingtai was a bother, but on the contrary, she was grateful that she was never left alone with him for long periods.
"Even if she wasn"t around, what could we do?" he asked her low and hoa.r.s.e.
His words made her skin crawl, but not like the sensual gooseb.u.mps Long Huojin gives her. w.a.n.g Weimin made her skin crawl in the way that she wanted to jump out of it and run away.
"Nothing," she said. "Because you"re still with her, whether she"s in the room or not, and I can"t do that to another woman," she said.
w.a.n.g Weimin raised a brow. "You two aren"t friends," he said.
Xue Guangli steadied her gaze, unwavering. "She used to be, and I can"t help but feel as if we could be again."
w.a.n.g Weimin scoffed. "Zi Yingtai is a gold digger. She only wanted the highest bidder, and since Long Huojin didn"t want her, she took up what I gave."
Xue Guangli narrowed her eyes. She didn"t believe him. Some part of her told her that Zi Yingtai didn"t want him, but it wasn"t safe to say anything. They weren"t friends. So how could she trust her?
"Did you take her to spite me?" Xue Guangli asked him.
w.a.n.g Weimin"s lips curled. "Just as you took Long Huojin to spite me," he responded. Xue Guangli felt like cringing.
She didn"t take Long Huojin to spite w.a.n.g Weimin. Some part of her snapped years ago, and she only felt a tinge of pain when she ended her relations.h.i.+p with w.a.n.g Weimin, and afterward Long Huojin stepped in by her side. Long Huojin didn"t mend anything of her; he didn"t persist or pressure her into anything. He waited and watched her grow.
Within the last six months, Long Huojin had watched as she broke off a relations.h.i.+p. She then focused on the growth of her small company as it was falling, badly. Ever since then, she persisted, despite everything.
Zi Yingtai returned with a tray of cups of coffee and bread and biscuits. w.a.n.g Weimin pulled away from Xue Guangli quickly.
Only for a little longer, Xue Guangli thought, and then she can finally uncover something, and hopefully that something would unravel the truth.