An unseen gale of cold air seemed to envelope the conference room. The men and women inside, all influential in their own rights, felt their backs drench with cold sweat while a man with a gentle, solemn smile looked around them one by one. He sat there in front of them like a lord overseeing his subjects.The man was of course the emperor of City Z, and the one and only smiling devil, Zi Jue. He was in the middle of Zi Corporation annual board meeting. And as of now, anyone looking at his smile would know that someone was about to meet their doom.
Zi Jue was just about to snap at the people stupidly gaping at him, when his phone suddenly rang a familiar tone. It was the tone set for his little hermit at home.
He raised his hand signalling them to keep silent.
[Zi Jue, are you busy?]
Yan Qing Shan"s sweet voice rang out in his ears. Though a hint of aloofness was still present, it was hugely different from the tone she had used on him in the past.
His dark, abyssal eyes shone with warmth and his smile transformed into a genuinely sweet one.
The people in the room were flabbergasted at the sight and an uproar started in the hearts and minds. The signal for silence thoroughly tortured their curious, gossiping mouths.
Who was this smiling devil talking to? Was he really even the devil? Where in the world did this angelic bishounen* in front of them materialize from? They seemed to be suffering from folie à deux*.
Zi Jue was unaware of the turmoil his employees were currently going through. His sole attention was now on the woman who suddenly called on her own volition. Zi Jue felt like a kid on christmas day.
"No, not really. Just sorting out something." He answered curtly, however there was a tinge of joy in his tone.
The people around him nearly vomited blood.
"Boss ah. You"re nearly killing us. How is that just sorting out. You"re blatantly lying." Was their collective cry.
[That"s good then. I have something to talk to you about. Make sure you go home early, "kay?]
Zi Jue"s brows furrowed. He wondered what Yan Qing Shan wanted to talk about. It seemed really important judging from the slight trace of uneasiness in her tone.
"En. I will."
[Good. Then I will wait for you here at home.]
Zi Jue smirked at her words. Yan Qing Shan did not seem to realize how much she sounded like a wife telling her husband that she"d be home waiting. It made him feel unexplicably giddy.
After ending the call, as if nothing had happened Zi Jue restored his previous demeanor and uncaringly commanded his subordinates to continue.
And thus the pitiful souls who were given a reprieve with that phone call, bitterly endured a few more hours of torture in that purgatory of a conference room. All the while fervently praying to all G.o.ds they could think of.
---
Yan Qing Shan had just finished cooking a full course meal. All of it was Zi Jue"s favorites. She was hoping this would be enough to coax the devil into allowing her to live in the university dorms and avoid unnecessary paranoia. She had spent quite the effort for this feast, the small cuts and burns are evidences.
Though she"d much rather stay in the comforts of Ying Yue Garden, staying in the dorms gave a considerable freedom for her to what she needs to. Especially since she would have to frequently meet up with those people. Yan Qing Shan feels that it"s not yet the right time for Zi Jue to know about her other ident.i.ty. Silly as it may seem, she didn"t want Zi Jue to see that side of her yet.
Yan Qing Shan was lounging about in the living room when she heard the familiar sound of Zi Jue"s Maybach. She promptly went to the door to greet him.
"Hi. Welcome home."
She said as Zi Jue"s figure entered the door. The was a faint smile on her lips as she met his dark eyes exuding a warmth ent.i.tled to hers alone.
"I"m home." He replied in his gentle, mellow voice. Yan Qing Shan was about to talk again when suddenly a familiar mint and chocolate scent attacked her nostrils. She just found herself in his embrace, petrified. Which he took as an opportunity, and landed a soft kiss on her forehead.