Xie Yuansheng"s normal cold aura melted the moment he saw Feng Xinying. They exited the venue together and waited for the car. He took the opportunity and asked her, "Since we haven"t eaten anything, how about dinner at the restaurant of the Black Ivy hotel? That place serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine."
Feng Xinying looked at him with interest. That was her favorite cuisine. But she answered him nonchalantly. "Okay…"
Xie Yuansheng smiled, as he knew that she loved it, and he entered the car after her. They reached the restaurant in fifteen minutes. They took the elevator to the restaurant of the hotel, which was located on the top floor.
Feng Xinying found it weird that there was no one else apart from them in the restaurant. She looked around to find at least one other customer, but other than the waiters, there was no one.
When they reached their table and sat down, all of a sudden, they were greeted by a deep-toned voice. "Hey Xie Yuansheng, you took your time!" he said, looking at Feng Xinying with interest.
Xie Yuansheng rolled his eyes at his older brother, Xie Shengjun, and said, "Older brother, I was expecting you to be here to receive me."
Xie Shengjun chuckled and said, "So this is the infamous Feng Xinying!"
Feng Xinying narrowed her eyes and replied, "And who are you?" She measured the man in front of her. He bore a slight resemblance with Xie Yuansheng and was very smartly dressed. His hair was neatly combed to the back, and he was wearing an Armani suit, complete with a Rolex watch. He looked das.h.i.+ng, if not as handsome as Xie Yuansheng.
Xie Yuansheng answered on his brother"s behalf. "This is Xie Shengjun, my older brother, now your brother-in-law."
Feng Xinying"s jaw dropped. Xie Yuansheng looked much older than his brother. "Well, I am five years older than my little brother. But then what can I say, I look younger!" Xie Shengjun laughed. He was free that evening and wanted to spend time with his younger brother.
When their parents died, their mother"s brother adopted Xie Shengjun whereas Xie Yuansheng was taken care of by their father"s sister. Since she was single, she couldn"t adopt him as her son; however, she acted as his guardian.
Xie Shengjun wasn"t as brilliant as his brother was, but somehow, he got embroiled in the underworld of the country. He was now a kingpin and ran a mafia of sorts. He was a feared man, and some said that he was a perfect marksman. Some even said that he had killed as many as ninety so far. But all of this meant that his life was always at stake. He had strong political connections and a huge network of shady businesses. He was hired by international governments to do their jobs, which he did at a very high price. For this reason, his family, including Xie Yuansheng, was often targeted.
Feng Xinying intrigued Xie Shengjun. She was more of his type than Xie Yuansheng"s. She looked bold and confident unlike the damsels he had been with all through his life. All this thinking made him sigh, as she was now married to his younger brother.
The dinner came, and they started eating. Over dinner, Xie Yuansheng said, "Join the office from tomorrow."
What? Not so soon! There were so many plans to prepare. So she said, "My friend Keira will be coming to China the day after, and I have to arrange for her accommodation. I will join from Monday."
How could Xie Yuansheng forget Keira? She had refused to come to Feng Xinying"s aid in his past life, leading to which Feng Xinying became mostly alone and aloof, as she didn"t have other friends to bank upon and became depressed often. But when he heard that she was coming to the country, he was genuinely surprised. He didn"t want to steal her happiness, so he said, "Okay. Do you want my help?"
"No, I can arrange everything myself," she replied, looking at kimchee on her plate.
"I can accompany you," exclaimed Xie Shengjun. "I am going to be free!"
Feng Xinying looked up at him, frowned and said, "No, thank you. I can manage." Then she went back to eating.
Xie Shengjun pointed to his brother"s hand and said, "How did you manage to injure your hand?"
Xie Yuansheng looked up at Feng Xinying, but she kept eating her dinner, pretending not to listen. Xie Yuansheng smiled at her and said, "I met with a small accident. Nothing to worry about."
Xie Shengjun knitted his eyebrows and said, "Are you taking medicines for that?"
"Yes, the doctor has prescribed antibiotics."
The dinner was over soon. Xie Shengjun told Xie Yuansheng to get some security around him, which Xie Yuansheng declined for the fiftieth time.
"Brother, I am very worried about you. You have been attacked in the past. If someone attacks you again, I won"t be able to forgive myself," said Xie Shengjun.
"I will be fine. Don"t worry so much."
"Well, that"s it then! I am sending five of my most experienced men for you," replied Xie Shengjun.
Xie Yuansheng opened his mouth to protest, but Xie Shengjun looked at him very seriously, as though this was the ultimate warning.
The dinner ended soon, and they left. When they reached downstairs, Feng Xinying couldn"t help noticing that the entire area had been cordoned off. There was no one except over twenty men in black suits. As soon as they saw Xie Shengjun, they ran to his side and surrounded him. She wondered why he needed so much security.
On their way back, Xie Yuansheng explained about his underworld connections. Feng Xinying did not flinch; rather, she became fascinated.