Chapter 3

"Gimme one more!" Slurred a young man at the blonde barista and trew his head back gulping his nth shot.

Two women with short dresses sat on both his sides, ogling at the handsome man and trying to flirt with him.

Lan was sitting at the bar's counter wearing men's clothes as she scowled.

"Go away! " Lan roared irritably, her unfocused phoenix eyes and slightly flushed face attracted the gazes of both men and women.

The barista chuckled as he passed her another drink, noticing the pitiful state she was in.

"City H's bad boy Rey is in trouble again?" He said with a foreigner's accent.

Lan scoffed in reply.

"It's even worse, I've been proposed to"

Adam raised his brows in surprise

"Someone had the guts to propose to you?"

She sighed as she recalled what had happened a few days before.

— "why don't we get married?"

Dumbfounded Lan stared at the man as if he grew two heads and something exploded in her mind.

"Wh..what?" She stuttered, thinking she heard him wrong.

"Marry me" he said clearly and she confirmed the man before her lost his head.

"Did the fall from yesterday make him lose his mind?" She thought and his face darkened at her horrified expression.

"That's my compensation. This way you can enjoy all the riches you want as I would only give you the best if you stay by my side. Who would refuse such a proposal."

That was the longest sentence he spoke, yet as her mind registered his arrogant words she was speechless. He wasn't wrong though.

As she sat there in a daze Luo Chen passed her a folder and she opened it.

The terms in the contract were all in her favour and as her gaze skimmed across the formal words would have lured any girl, yet she still found the situation surreal. "Doesn't he know I could be a spy sent to destroy his company? Wait... How does he know I love painting?" her face darkened as she realised the man had investigated her background.

She looked at the silent man and contemplated for a while, choosing her words carefully.

"Mr Qing, I really appreciate that you are so serious in repaying me but don't you think this kind of compensation is... too enormous? I also I don't want to get married..." she whispered the last part.

Luo Chen's eyes widened a fraction in surprise, yet he composed himself quickly

He couldn't help eavesdropping the conversation between the two.

"Am I dreaming?" He thought. Boss Qing suddenly called him that morning and told him to prepare a marriage contract.

Elijah Qing had never fancied any woman and he thought the cold man would never pursue anyone in this lifetime, yet here he was, proposing to an ordinary girl. As beautiful as she was, there were plenty of rich young misses who would die for a second with him.

Even more surprisingly the girl before him humbly refused his boss's proposal. The day before he would have never thought such a situation would have been possible.

"So even boss could face rejection some day" Yet when he glanced at the man's direction he realised something.

"I can't take this woman lightly from now on, she will most likely be the future mrs. Qing"

He buried his face in the documents before him and busied himself with work.

"Probably no one would have refused to marry him" she thought scratching her head as she observed Luo Chen's reaction.

They would have certainly hit the jackpot, isn't marrying a rich and handsome young man every girl's dream?

Although the man was like a god descended on earth she wasn't that ambitious. She treasured her freedom and wanted to enjoy life and later on she wanted to settle for something simple. Plus there was that issue...

She stood up and smiled at them "I will bid the two gentlemen here farewell as I have matters to attend to, have a good day".

After that she walked to the door with fast steps.

As she reached it and turned the doorknob a hand reached from behind her and closed the door.

She gasped, surprised by how he suddenly appeared behind her, she was sure he was still sitting on the farthest corner of the sofa from the door.

She turned to look up at him and was flustered at how close he really was, not knowing how to react she stood rooted to the spot, his wood scent filled her nostrils and she inhaled deeply.

Lan was trapped against the door yet she wasn't scared, she held his gaze and as he leaned forward his breath fanned her face.

He lifted a hand and caught a strand of her hair between his large fingers and looked at her eyes, chuckling at how she tensed up and how her heart started to beat faster.

All the experience she had with guys was useless against Elijah, she realised.

"Do think about it, also this is your new phone, I'll wait for your answer" he reached for her hand and gave her a box.

"I..." She started to say but his face lingered near hers as she held her breath, he looked down at her lips and smirked as if he heard her heart flutter.

He then stepped back, thinking that he had teased her enough. He chuckled watching as she turned around and walked briskly out of the study.—

Lan blushed in embarrassment as she thought of how she had acted like a little girl in front mr. Qing.

She had forgotten about the phone in her hand and rushed outside. She insisted on not catching a ride home from Elijah's driver and she hailed a cab, trying to calm her erratic heart.

For a whole week Elijah flooded her small apartment with expensive gifts making it impossible to just forget him.

Her neighbours started gossiping about what was happening but she just scrunched her eybrows and ignored them as usual.

There was even a time in the past when they had called the police because of a misunderstanding.

She cursed the man under her breath as she tried forgetting his obsidian black eyes and his sinful lips.

"Oh my god! Did you see how cool he is? He just closed another deal. I watched the video on YouTube for like a thousand times!! If only I could see him in real life" a young woman gossiped with her friends.

"Mr. Qing is so handsome! I want to marry him and bear his babies!"

"As if you would be that lucky!" Her friend berated her.

"I'm satisfied with looking at him from far away"

Lan's face darkened as she stared at them when one of them looked her way she flustered at seeing a handsome guy glaring at them.

seeing him walk out of the bar they started whispering among themselves again.

"Who's that guy? He looks young but he's really handsome too"

"But why was he glaring at us?"

Lan walked into night with her hands in her pockets as the cold wind hit her face.

She muttered angrily kicking a pebble with her black boots and she turned her new phone on.

She wobbled as she walked along the street and clumsily called the number he saved on her phone.

at the third ring he answered her.

"You finally called" she was surprised by how his voice sounded so good even on the phone but she shook her head, remembering why she had called him.

"You... You arrogant rich man, get out of my life!" She shouted

"..."

"Are you drunk?" He guessed after a few seconds of silence.

"How did you know? Oh... No I'm not so stop sending gifts and take back this phone, it's too expensive, I am not gonna marry anyone in this lifetime".

She said in a slurred speech.

"Where are you?" He demanded, ignoring what she said.

"Why should I tell you? And did you hear what I said? Even tho you're a beauty you're not my type"

The line fell silent again "Hello? Hello? Mr.Qing?"

"Stay there, I'll come get you" said the man and she heard ruffling noise.

His stern tone made it impossible for Lan to refuse and her initial rage calmed down as she listened to his deep voice.

"Oh... un" she obediently nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see her.

She put the phone back in her pocket and looked up at the night sky. She plopped her butt on the sidewalk of the dimly lit street and hummed a tune.