LIVING IT UP

Hu Lei was planning on calling her usual car service when Zhong Feng insisted on driving her home. She was not certain about her location, but she did not want to interfere with his weekend plans. However, he claimed that he was leaving the apartment anyway, so she graciously accepted the offer.

When they left the building, she could see that the high-end apartment was set somewhere in the city, but in a sparsely populated zone. The general environment was clean and quiet, and it was relatively close to the hub of Supreme City. In addition, the roads did not look like they experienced heavy traffic.

She looked at the neighbourhood in deep contemplation and a thought grew in her mind unbidden. Wouldn't it be nice to live in this convenient but beautiful residential zone?

She did not hate living in the old manor, but she felt that she should not still be living in the house as a grownup. The home was also quite inconvenient. The distance to the central board district was too long, and there was always traffic. She also did not have access to high speed internet which she believed was an essential.

Most importantly, the manor did not hold the best memories for her. She could not even bear to sleep in her old bedroom and had settled in a guestroom. The whispers of the past seemed louder when she was in that old room which should have held her fondest childhood moments.

She mulled on the issue, and she could not also help thinking that moving to an apartment would give her an opportunity to experience the Supreme life she wanted. She would start attending parties, making friends and generally, living it up.

Sure, she had been more of a shut-in more than a living-it-upper since she had been back. However, this could change with a move into the neighbourhood of the young and posh. Perhaps she would even stay up late without the excuse of staring at a screen

The only problem… She looked at the man driving.

"What do you want to say?" he asked without looking at her.

Damn, that peripheral vision…

Hu Lei felt this was good too. After all, she knew that once a thought grew in her mind, it would not stop. It was better to get it out as soon as possible.

"I am interested in getting an apartment in your neighbourhood. Would you be ok with that?" She paused.

He did not respond immediately, so she took that as a sign to continue.

"It's not like we would see each other or I would even get an apartment in your building. I just don't want you to feel like I'm stalking you or invading your personal space." Her voice became lower towards the end.

Zhong Feng smiled as she listened to the girl babble.

If he was the playboy type, he would probably say something like, 'You can stalk me anytime' or 'you have already invaded my heart'. However, the endlessly mature Zhong Feng was a practical person who did not have mental space for garbage. Or so Hu Lei thought.

"I would not mind living near you." He spoke while glancing sideways with that smile still on his face.

His voice sounded as neutral as always, but Hu Lei could not help blushing deeply. She felt that she was being flirted with in broad daylight by the evil emperor. That hint of wickedness in his eyes and the slight smile made Hu Lei, this inexperienced grownup, feel lightheaded and woozy. Her defences were too weak.

When she heard a light laugh, she realised that she had been teased to the point of losing her composure. Her mind was not functioning so she could not come up with a retort. Her only choice was to huff and pout while looking outside.

Then, she felt that her actions were a little too white lotus, and her mind broke down again. What was she turning into? Her face had never changed into a red shade except in adverse conditions. She sighed as she felt that her life had taken a strange turn.

"Do not think too much about it. I will have my realtor contact you after our busy week is over. He is quite reliable." He spoke after thinking for a moment.

"Are you sure that it is not too much trouble?" She asked.

She was honestly more used to taking matters into her own hands. She had long believed in the saying 'if you want anything done right, you must do it yourself'. However, this was the big boss and also her mother duck in Supreme City.

"It is nothing." His response was light.

Seeing his usual unchanging face, she felt that it would not hurt to accept the grace of an emperor when he was in a giving mood. After all, who knew when the dark side would return.