No?!

"You could build it slowly but there is no woman who would not fall for my brother's charm," he tried to persuade her.

She sighed. She never suspected that he wanted her to become his sister-in-law. "I like someone else," she replied him firmly.

He laughed and she could almost see him pointing at her with his hand over his stomach. If anyone was enjoying this, it was him. "That cannot be. You are too busy to fall in love."

"Shouldn't that make you know that I do not want to marry into your family?" she asked him as it was slowly becoming less funny as she remembered someone's smile.

"I know you do not want to marry but I can also assure you that my family will persuade you to do so," he promised her confidently.

She has seen his mother and his mother is very persuasive and with this crazy plan the woman came up with, she was sure that the woman was crafty as well her determined.

For anyone asking, she was scared of the woman's crazy ideas.

"I have to sleep please," she begged him as she tiredly massaged her temple.

"Good night."

That night, Mr. Shen had to apologize to someone else who found out his secret.

******

She had to cover the dark circles around her eyes with makeup and thought she succeeded but the kin eyes of her fellow workers noticed.

She was asked questions like, "Did you finally get yourself a boyfriend?" "Were you out clubbing last night?", "I heard intelligent people like you read always, were you reading last night?" among many others.

She smiled and gave them negative answers. She was surprised by their sharp eyesight.

She saw some of her clients and those she was given by her boss. She waited in his office where she was to meet Mr. Lu Tian.

She ended up waiting for half an hour.

*******

"So, you lied to me?" Lu Tian asked one of his most trusted friends with a deep line between his brows.

"I am sorry. I believed my mother's lie at first but I thought there was no need for me to tell you."

"I figured it out today. You have lost my trust," Lu Tian told his friend monotonously.

Mr. Shen swallowed as he knew the weight of his friend's words and he was sure the young man was not lying to him.

He has always known Lu Tian as someone who does not take deceit for granted. It was not surprising as someone of his position had to be very careful when dealing with people.

He had crushed a friendship of more than a decade with a single deception that was caused by his parent.

He had no reason to beg or plea as he knew that he might still be friends with Lu Tian but Lu Tian will never trust him again.

"I am sorry. I hope you continue your therapy," Mr. Shen tried to persuade his friend.

"I am not going to do that," Lu Tian replied without hesitation. He hung up when he remembered the warmness and softness of the woman's touch.

He leaned against the backrest of his chair and massaged his forehead. He would never have met that woman and been so nice to her if he knew his friend was lying.

His body was sacred. No woman was allowed to touch his body for any reason. He swallowed and he could not control the anger that surged through his veins.

His fist hit the table and he stood up huffing and puffing. He remembered how he had felt comfortable and had spoken to her.

He combed his fingers through his black hair and groaned. "You almost feel into a trap," he warned himself aloud. "They are all deceptive," he murmured.

That scene flashed before his eyes and he froze as though he was still the six-year-old boy standing on the first step of the stairway. He was so scared that evening that he could not scream.

'Women are all the same, just like her. you saw what she did His father's words rang in his mind as he realized that he had almost made a mistake that would have cost his life.

"Keep all the women away from me." There was a knock on the door and he was grateful as it pulled him out of that pit.

He did not invite the person knocking in as he pulled open his drawer and removed a pill case. He swallowed a white pill before drinking from the bottle of water on his table.

He took a deep breath. When he was sure that the heat on his face had disappeared and his face was not red, he invited the person in.

"You would be late for your appointment with the therapist," his secretary reminded him for the second. The first time was just a few seconds before his friend called.

He was ready until he heard what his friend had to say.

"I will not go today," he told Su Jie who reacted immediately with widened eyes and parted lips. "You do not have any appointment."

"Set one, right away," he ordered and turned his swivel chair to face the ceiling-to-floor window.

Su Jie froze as he could not reply to his boss.

"We do not have time to waste," his boss was tasked with reminding him.

He swallowed and pointed his finger. "Your hand . . ."

"Leave," his boss ordered coldly and he escaped immediately.

Lu Tian loosened his tie and stood up. He stretched his hand towards a part of the wall before rubbing his finger on the finger on his index finger.

The painting of a desert on the wall moved aside and the wall opened into a secret room. He walked into the room and closed the door.

The office returned to its original state but its owner was nowhere to be found.

*****

Lin Jing looked at the car that had been tailing her through the interior rear mirror and sighed. She was not interested in an unplanned show and she decided to lose him on the road.

As she drove into the underground parking lot of her apartment building, she looked at the mirror again and the black tinted her was nowhere to be found.

She parked and picked up her phone. "Did you ask someone to tail me?" she whispered in displeasure as she typed down on the screen of her smartphone.

"No?!" she groaned when she saw the reply that entered almost immediately.