It started drizzling when the two arrived in front of the condo building. The wind also picked up, multiplying the chill factor to winter-like weather conditions.
Long Jinjing started shivering. Her teeth chattered until she became afraid that she might bite off her own tongue.
“Hurry,” Lu Zihao’s low voice urged her.
The sound felt like he spoke directly to her ear, even though she knew that wasn’t the case. There was an appropriate distance between the two of them, yet she could feel his presence so clearly. It made her shiver but for an entirely different reason from the cold weather.
She peered at the big man walking beside her out of the corner of her eye and immediately felt her face and neck heating up. Wow, that was embarrassing. Hopefully, he didn’t notice her blushing like an inexperienced teenage girl. Well, the good news was that she felt a little warmer now.
Pulling the collar of her coat higher up her neck, she walked faster ahead of him and prayed that her face didn’t look like a ripe tomato. The man’s sudden appearance in front of her at this time of the night caught her completely off guard that she honestly didn’t know how to properly interact with him.
Finally, they entered the condo building and the wonderful heat inside welcome them. Long Jinjing paused and faced Lu Zihao who was still carrying her bag of purchases from the convenience store. He looked unflappable as if the cold outside didn’t bother him at all.
His imposing appearance caught the attention of the other building residents who were passing by. She wasn’t surprised. The man was tall and big. She must look tiny standing beside him. His size alone was eye-catching enough, but the heavens decided to grant him a handsome face as well. Although his face was marred by a long, vicious scar, it didn’t diminish his handsomeness in the least. On the contrary, it actually made him more attractive.
Long Jinjing tore her eyes away from him and looked at the weather outside. The drizzle from a few moments ago had now turned into rain and it looked like it was even becoming heavier by the second.
‘The weather forecast is inaccurate again,’ she grumbled inside her mind.
At first, she planned on sending Lu Zihao on his way after they arrived at her condo building. Now, however, she would feel extremely guilty if she allowed him out in the cold rain. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
“Would you like to come up to my unit…for tea?” she offered. “You can stay for a bit and wait until the rain lets up before you leave.”
His unfathomable eyes stayed on her for a few, long seconds which caused her heart to pound inside her chest. She quickly looked away before she embarrassed herself in front of him.
“Alright,” he finally said.
She led him to the elevator and attempted to take her paper bag from him but he wouldn’t give it to her just yet. With him inside, the elevator felt smaller than usual. She did her best to appear calm on the outside, but on the inside, her heart raced like a galloping horse.
‘Mr. Lu is a guest. You know how to treat a guest. There’s no need to feel so nervous.’
Her home was a two-bedroom unit. It was nothing compared to her younger sister’s luxurious properties but the small place suited Long Jinjing just fine. She felt comfortable living here. It was cozy and reminded her of the small home she shared with her mother before she moved out and became independent.
Originally, she and Chen Fei planned on sharing a bigger unit together after graduating from university. However, their tastes greatly differed from each other despite being best friends. They couldn’t agree on what kind of unit they wanted. Chen Fei wanted a high-end, modern unit in the city centre while Long Jinjing preferred a more homely place in a relatively quiet area. In the end, they decided to get their own places instead according to their respective preferences.
She smiled at Lu Zihao. “Welcome. Please come in.”
“Nice place,” he commented after looking around while she helped him hang his coat.
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, she was serving both of them hot tea and some biscuits in the living room. She glanced at the window and looked worried.
“It looks like a storm,” she said. “The weather forecast said that the storm won’t be arriving in at least a couple of days. It’s wrong again.”
He sipped his tea. “A forecast is just a prediction, not a guarantee. That’s why we need to be prepared for anything unexpected so we’re never caught off guard.”
‘You popping up in front of me from out of nowhere at night certainly caught me off guard, alright. You’re more unexpected than the storm.’
She could only complain about his sudden, unexpected appearance in her heart. In response to what he said, she asked him, “Are you prepared for the storm?”
“No, but a mere storm doesn’t bother me. Why do I need to prepare for something so trivial?” He raised an eyebrow while swirling the tea in his cup. Then he draped a long arm over the back of her couch, looking like he owned her entire place.
‘A storm is something trivial?’
As expected, this man was arrogant. Not only did he not put the force of Mother Nature in his eyes but he also acted like her home belonged to him and she was just the help serving him tea and making him feel comfortable.
Long Jinjing couldn’t understand why her younger sister was so close to Lu Zihao and even treated him like he was the real sibling and not her. That alone poked at Long Jinjing. She was the real sibling, not him!
Although she wasn’t immune to the man’s attractiveness, she never considered Lu Zihao as an ideal man and a potential partner. For her, the ideal man was kind, gentle, loving, loyal and “safe”. Not someone arrogant, gorgeous, sinful and “dangerous” like Lu Zihao.
