Live With Me

"Young Lady, Mr. Shen is waiting for you downstairs." Yi'an, one of Lyca's beloved 'assistants' said. She continued combing Lyca's long hair. "For more than thirty minutes now. The other servants said that… he seemed irritated."

"Is he standing?' Lyca asked. It had been a week since her punishment started and this was the first time Shen Qui had come to see her, unannounced. It was nine in the morning. Who visits at that time like this without even telling her in advance? Lyca was still sleeping when he arrived. She needed time to prepare.

"Yes, Young Lady. He refused to sit."

"His fault." Lyca said. "Bun." She said. Getting ready with such long hair was so annoying. However, her mother loved her hair so much and she loved to braid it from time to time. Because of this Lyca decided not to cut her hair— at least not now. In this world, Lyca had grown attached to the two people who spoiled her too much. Her parents.

In her previous life, her parents were so focused on their own jobs that she had grown closer to her maternal family— the family who adopted her when she lost her mother and father. However, her parents in this world were really different than the ones she previously had.

They were caring and loving. They were rich and loved to buy her things. And most importantly, her parents… are both good cooks! How could such people exist in this world? Sometimes Lyca couldn't help but wonder if she was already in heaven. Of course, she knew that was very unlikely as she was a sinner. Surely, the sins she had committed was enough for her to rot in hell.

Sadly, her mother was not here to help her braid her thigh length hair. So she settled for a bun on top of her hair instead. At least it would be quicker that way. She glanced at Yi'an who was happily doing her hair into a messy bun that she liked the most. One word and Yi'an already understood her intention.

This is why she loved this smart servant the most. After a few more minutes, Lyca put on light makeup to compliment her pale yellow dress that emphasized her jade like pale skin. She especially made herself more beautiful when she knew that she would see the beautiful man Shen Qui.

After all, she couldn't let people think the man was even more beautiful than the owner of the house. Lyca chuckled at her own thoughts. "Leave." She uttered. Yi'an immediately complied. Seeing her servant gone, the smiling face that she had earlier disappeared. She then made sure that the dagger in her legs was perfectly hidden. She then opened her jewelry box and chose a set of necklace equipped with anti poison and a bracelet with her personalized twelve needles.

Lyca was not planning to lower her guard in front of a man who was hiding his true strength. After making sure that she looked pleasing enough, Lyca left her room and went to the back garden where Shen Qui was already waiting for almost an hour now. The back area of the mansion had a small garden and a swimming pool which Lyca loved. Of course, she doesn't swim— it would be too tiring. Instead, she asked her father to make an outdoor space where she could languidly lie and spend her afternoons while reading a book or sleeping.

The area was of course, covered from the heat of the sun. It is well equipped with LED lights that she wanted to have in case she wanted to eat her dinner in this space. Each piece of furnishings in this patio was requested by Lyca as they made her life easier while staying in this space.

"Miss Huang." Shen Qui immediately greeted her when he saw her. No smile nor anger could be seen in his eyes.

"Sit." She took a seat at the modular white sofa that she wanted as she could easily turn it into a small bed. "Eat with me." She eyed the three servants that were coming with plates and glasses in hand. "Breakfast." She was really hungry, ah.

Surprisingly Shen Qui took a seat without saying anything. "Thank you Miss Huang but I already finished my breakfast."

"Lyca." She corrected him. Polite people made her uncomfortable. She couldn't trust people who were overly polite or courteous. For some reason, she thought that they were scheming against her. Of course, this intuition was a part of her past life. Something that she couldn't just abandon.

"I am here to talk about the arrangement of the Director. He said I needed to train you. I would like to—"

"Live with me." Lyca immediately said.

"Excuse me?" A frown appeared in his stern face. Live with her? What is that supposed to mean?

"Live with me." Lyca said. She knew that he had heard her clearly the first time. However, Lyca was too lazy to expound her simple words. So she repeated her words instead. "Live with me."

"Miss Hu— Lyca… I don't understand. You want me to live with you? In this mansion?"

"Apartment." Lyca said. Once she started going to school, she was not going to stay in this mansion anymore. One was because it was part of the deal and second is because this was far from the school that they were going to attend. It is not very ideal at all.

"But— that—" Confused, Shen Qui didn't continue his words. He stared at the woman's beautiful face, wondering if she was serious. Why would she want him to live with her? He remembered how Li Xian started teasing him about being liked by Lyca. However, he never put it in his head.

Could it be that Lyca was one of those women who loves chasing men that didn't like them? The thought immediately made him tense. Was he supposed to accept this offer? "Lyca… I don't think this — this is proper. A man and a woman living in one space is just…"

Amused, Lyca smiled. How could she not understand his meaning? "Just what?"

....

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