2 Chapter 2

Early in the morning Lan measured the man's temperature with the back of her hand and finally released a sigh of relief. At a close proximity the man's bronze skin looked inhumanly perfect, his Lucius dark eyelashes were beautiful and his wood scent calmed her. "he looks familiar, did I see him somewhere?" she thought. She nearly nodded off to sleep while sitting near the bed and using her arms as a cushion for her head, when she heard a soft groan. She sat up straight and looked at the young man in front of her. He frowned and his eyelashes fluttered, before he finally opened his eyes.

She expected to see his bright golden eyes, yet she was met with beautiful obsidian black eyes. She was surprised but she didn't think much of it, she tried talking to him instead.

"How do you feel?" she asked with a soft voice, trying not to startle him.

His head cleared and he turned his gaze toward her. At that moment time stopped for both of them and it felt as if only they existed in that world.

His eyes flashed subtly with a golden light and he memorised her every feature. Her soft smile as she looked at him and her unique floral scent were imprinted in his mind. Her heartbeat was a rithm he could listen to for a lifetime.

As he looked at her with his intense gaze she felt a humm in her whole being.

A warmth spread across her body and her heart fluttered. She averted her gaze, lifted her hand and checked her own temperature "Weird, do I have a fever too?" she shook her head and when she looked back at him she found that the man closed his eyes again.

She stared hard at him, trying to understand what happened, yet just after a few minutes she couldn't keep her eyes opened anymore.

Lan walked to the couch in front of the bed and as soon as she laid down she went to sleep, exhausted.

That day she woke up late and she stared at the empty bed in a daze as memories of last night flowed into her brain.

"Where did he go?" She thought and she looked around. She got up and stretched, wondering how she slept so well on that uncomfortable couch, she then noticed the blanket that covered her. She imagined the cold looking man making such a cute gesture and shook her head blushing a little.

There were more important things she needed to know at the moment. She walked around her apartment and looked for him feeling as if last night might have been just her imagination.

As she entered the living room she glanced at the balcony's opened door and paused her steps. The man gazing at the bustling city seemed to walk right out of a painting. The loud cars and the man's relaxed posture were contrasting yet they created a stunning sight. His shirt's rolled sleeves showed his forearms as he leaned against the railing.

He turned to look at her and she flashed him a dimpled smile. "Do you feel better?" She asked him as he entered the living room, he nodded and she felt relieved as he didn't look pale anymore.

"You suddenly fell unconscious and my phone died so I brought you back to my apartment, I hope you don't mind"

"Thank you" he said with an intoxicatingly deep voice.

Lan went back to change out of her pink pajama and into casual clothes and she walked into the kitchen, she looked around for something to eat and she prepared pancakes while conversing with him.

"I'm Ming Lan, what's your name?" she asked curiously, stretching out her hand for a handshake, despite his dangerous aura she felt like she could trust him. He looked at her delicate hand and shook it with his larger one

"Elijah Qing" he said with a deep voice, ignoring the electric shock that coursed through both of them as their hands made contact.

His hand lingered on hers as if relishing on the feeling and he fell silent.

The fragrant aroma of food brought her back to reality as her stomach grumbled, Lan smiled and finished preparing the pancakes.

They ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence.

Elijah, with his picky tastes, found himself devouring the delicious food she prepared.

"How can I pay you back for yesterday?" He suddenly asked with his appealing voice. She was shocked for a while and then laughed, looking at his confused expression that made him look a bit adorable she explained "you don't need to pay me back".

As she looked at his darkening face she gulped and she said a number randomly but when she looked at the frowning man she laughed awkwardly. "Is that too much?"

The man didn't know wether to laugh or cry as the woman scratched her head embarrassed. He suddenly caught her hand in his and led her downstairs, out of the apartment.

An expensive black car was parked in front of the little building as passerby's pointed at it and gossiped I'm hushed tones.

Probably seeind the two coming out of the apartment, the driver climbed out of the car and walked to open the door for them.

Lan was surprised an she looked at the man next to her.

She was stunned as she realised she was already in the car, Elijah sitting next to her.

"Wait where are we going?" She started getting anxious yet as soon as he held her hand she calmed down. She was distracted by the warm feeling his skin gave her, she didn't question why he would touch her hand and just quietly waited next to him. Elijah looked at her and a rare smile lit up his face, he liked the feeling of holding her little hand in his. It was at that moment that Lan looked at him and her heart thumped loudly at the smile that melted the coldness on the man's face for a second. Yet it soon disappeared, as if it was an illusion created by her mind.

After the silent journey to the most expensive part of the city the car stopped. Rows of elegant manors flanked both sides of the wide street and as Lan looked around her eyes met a modern architecture wich shadowed all the other buildings, she looked at the tall building with shining eyes. It looked imposing yet not flashy, it's stile reminded her of the man staring silently at her. He looked at her with a calm gaze and as her memory processed all the information about who lives in that famous villa, he watched as her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh god" she gasped.

She felt stupid for not recognizing the most popular man of H city, CEO Qing.

She just subconsciously thought she met someone with the same name as the exclusive man never appeared in the mundane life.

He was at the top of the industry, leading the largest corporation, and all the higher-ups were overjoyed if he graced them with his presence for even one second.

She straightened her clothes and stepped away from Elijah, remembering the rumours about how he hated close contact with people.

Seeing how she distanced herself, Elijah furrowed his eyebrows imperceptibly and beckoned her forward. She curiously walked toward the modern version of a castle, elijah following close behind her.

"I still don't think you need to pay me back Mr Qing" she said while looking around.

As he heard the formal way she called him he looked at her with his piercing eyes.

He hated the women that climbed into his bed for his fortune or for his looks, yet he wanted her to be even the littlest bit ambitious. But she clearly wasn't, the honest woman before him was something else.

Lan was fascinated by the sight before her and her mouth hung open, not caring for her image she ogled at the marvellous structure she was in. He chucked, drawing her attention back to him and she realised they were standing in front of a tall door.

He opened it and waited for her to enter before following her in.

As she looked at the study's interior she noticed a man with black rimmed glasses sitting on a comfortable sofa at the corner of the room as he flipped through a document in his hands.

He heard them enter and stood up.

"CEO Qing, miss Ming" he nodded at them and adjusted his glasses.

"I'm Chen Luo, Mr Qing's lawyer nice to meet you" he introduced himself simply as they all sat around the coffee table.

Lan smiled at him and looked at Elijah curiously and he cleared his throat.

"Why don't we get married?" he asked after a minute.