Ten: Game

Fengjiu found herself rooted to the spot as she was being devoured by the handsomest man alive. Gradually, security guards swarmed the scene and drove out the invading paparazzi, demanding to call the police if they persisted in trespassing the office grounds. As soon as the coast was clear, she pushed him aside and moved herself to a corner, infuriated by how he had taken advantage of her.

She demanded an explanation while staring daggers at the cold god, who was instead being humoured by her vexed face. 

"I just came here through the portal, to get kissed by you?" she said crossly. The god maintained his broad smile, and strode over to Fengjiu without a further word. In a flash, he had his body pushed against that of the little fox. "I'm just getting back at you for what happened back at the Nine Heavens," he teased. "Who was it who took a bite from my lips back at Taichen Palace?"

Fengjiu's cheeks turned a bright red at his words, recalling the two incidents where she had accidentally ended up with her lips on his in the Nine Heavens. "That's different, both times were an accident!"

"So was this time, I accidentally put my lips on yours," the stubborn god mouthed. "So what are you going to do about it, demand compensation?" he inched closer to her, and she felt a shiver going down her spine. Then he moved his mouth near hers, and her heart thumped rapidly. But nothing happened after that, as he drew himself away from her with a mischievous grin as she was left panting. What had she got herself into by agreeing to act as Dijun's girlfriend? But either way, she had already agreed to help. There was no way she could walk herself out of it now. She didn't want to be seen as a person who didn't stick to her promises.

"Fine, fine," she uttered fervently, "can you at least tell me what is on the plan before carrying it out? At least, I'll have some idea on what is going to happen, and I can be mentally prepared for the task."

He was still smiling when he said, "okay."

Fengjiu came to understand that since returning to the immortal realm, three months and five days had passed. For this reason, instead of CEO Dong Hua, he had taken on the identity of the next heir of the Jiuchongtian Group, Dong Yang. Since she could not use her former identity due to the time lapse which would make it suspicious to the mortals on why she hadn't aged, he had invented a new identity for her, which he called Jiu'er. The name on her identification documents would be Bai Jiu'er as he was not very creative with names. She shrugged. "You're the boss then." 

What she didn't fathom was how he was possibly the most powerful being in the entire universe, and yet, he didn't care to use his powers in the pretext that they would end up backfiring. "It won't kill you," she had snapped at him, and he responded, "Why don't you try?"

"No thank you," she sneered at him. "I still want to live."

He laughed at her. "What makes you think I don't?"

"Childish," she said with a snide look on her face. "I'll just go back to my corner and read my book." She retrieved the guidebook Si Ming had written for her and started compelling herself to read. Hopefully, the task would be over soon.

She had just read a few paragraphs when she doubled over laughing. "Almost killed..Si Ming and Chong Lin with his cooking.. and yet favourite food is...tangcuyu." Instantaneously, the expression on Donghua's face transformed to that of displeasure. "What are you saying?" he hissed at her. 

"Would you like to have some tangcuyu?" she teased innocently. "With a bit of sugar, a bit of chilli?" He strode over to her and took the book from her, grumbling about Si Ming's choice of words as he returned to sit on his ergonomic chair. "What, in this book he wrote me as good in everything but love and cooking?" He looked extremely displeased, that Fengjiu thought he was going to tear up the book. She lunged forward to snatch back her book, jumping on Donghua without further consideration and causing the spine of the ergo chair to split in half from their combined weight, and ended with them crashing on the floor in a messy heap.

"OUCHHHH!" she groaned in pain, while Donghua could not be even more amused. 

"Just how long are you going to be lying there with your arms around me in that manner?" he asked, and Fengjiu quickly retracted her hands, which were wound around his neck in her attempt to break her fall. "I suppose there won't be an explanation necessary for why the chair is broken," he told her with a wink. Horror consumed her mind, considering the gossip that would be spreading around the office the next day. 

"Never mind, we're adults," he mocked her, with an icy smile. "Nothing wrong with a couple having fun with each other behind closed doors. Why would they want to intervene-"

"You're such a pervert," she cut him off and turned her head to ignore him. "I'll just go have my nap now then."

"Client meeting later," he told her. "Are you game?"

"Nothing more important than my beauty nap," she said crossly, placing a sleeping mask over her eyes. "Everything else can wait."

"Guess what's for lunch?" he asked, and she jolted up instantaneously. He made a superb description of the delicacies served at Nanyang Shang, a renowned restaurant in the vicinity where they would be meeting their clients shortly after lunch. "Sumptuous, indeed."

"Why do I have to go if I'm just girlfriend status?" she asked. 

"Who else better to assist me with business other than you, my love?" he mouthed coldly. 

"That sounded too cold," she remarked. "You have to put on a better job if you want to convince others."

"Then teach me," he batted his eyelids at her.

"Bribe me," she retorted. "Otherwise, I'm not helping you."

......................

Donghua watched solemnly as Fengjiu tucked into a large serving of shaved snow ice.

"Heavenly," she cried out in utter delight. Donghua had a displeased look on his face. "I told you, these foods.."

"..Aren't healthy and will make you fat," Fengjiu chimed. "You said it so many times, that I can recite it from the top of my head."

"Hey, I'm serious. Remember the time-"

"Yes, at the Sky Gym. You were running me ragged. So this is to compensate for my ordeal back in the Sky Kingdom."



He looked dissatisfied. Oh really, Fengjiu thought. Was this person in front of her really the Emperor of the Universe? For weeks he had been putting up childish airs. How was he going to learn from her properly how to act like a person in love?

"I'm done. You can go ahead and pay now," she smiled sweetly. "Dear."

Without a further word, Donghua headed towards the cashier and paid the hefty bill of $50.20 for five desserts, two iced milk teas, an ice cream and a waffle. Fortunately, they wouldn't gain a pound on mortal food, but if she was dining in that manner in the immortal realm, she would probably be exercising like crazy at the gym.

As the cashier swiped his credit card, he saw a dark figure pass by, and sensed demonic air. Target!

He grabbed his card and quickly dragged Fengjiu with him to give chase. They stopped and hid in a corner just as the dark figure also stopped and conversed with another person some metres away in a dark alley.

"Can you hear them?" Fengjiu asked. Donghua nodded. He could hear the softest of noises even from a distance, being one of the most powerful gods in the universe. They watched as the figure and his companion approach, while they were huddled in a corner. It was a dead end, and they would probably be discovered if they weren't careful. What excuse could they say that they were doing?

The figure was strangely familiar. She didn't take long to recall him to be the same person who had almost rammed her with his vehicle, and the person next to him was no other than... their client, Lai Qing.

Donghua was still listening intently to their insidious plan, while whispering every bit of their conversation to Fengjiu. "The demon's going to lure more people in, and suck their souls.... Lai Qing is a businessman, he wants more business in return for the trade with the demon... They have a pact..."

The footsteps grew louder, and Donghua made no move to run, so at that point Fengjiu knew she had to do something before they blew their cover and their game ended prematurely. Apparently, the Dijun was a huge risk-taker, and would dive headlong into danger without considering the possible consequences of being found out. And Fengjiu just knew what she could do to save their game.

Donghua was taken aback when Fengjiu started kissing him wildly, with her chest pushed against him while his back was on the wall. She had seen couples do it that way, both in real life and in dramas, and she attempted to mimic them to the best of her knowledge and ability. Carefully, Donghua placed his hands on her waist and joined her in her game, with the question on his mind of what she was trying to do. He heard her let out a sensual moan, and for the first time, he felt a sensation that was foreign to him. Her hips were pressing against him, in proximity with his crotch. And so, he tried to return her kisses with even more intense ones. Was his body responding to her sensual moans? In his hundreds of years of age, he had never felt more tempted in his life. The heat from her body was definitely melting his icy heart. What was going to happen to him?

"Ugh, just our luck to run into a couple having fun," the demon said in an annoyed voice, and in a flash, he and the mortal man were gone, with a cloud of black demonic air remaining where they had been standing. Fengjiu heaved a sigh of relief. They were safe! The demon was gone.

As Donghua pulled away speedily from Fengjiu in his confusion, he recalled the look in her eyes. He knew it as he saw it. If she was trying to fake it for her game, she had really won. That look meant one thing. Sensuality. Desire. Whatever it was called in the mortal world.

But what the cold god didn't know, was that his life, from that point, was about to change...