First Time (2)

"Wow" he chuckled, "you're impressive" He may have been laughing, but if he hadn't been as agile, having the knife almost kiss his throat, he would have been dead.

They stood weighing the risks, her blade to his neck, his gun to her stomach, She could've easily taken his life, but staying alive seemed more appealing.

"Hello Mr Li", She said dropping her hand and taking a step back, her eyes locked with his. Her voice was dull and gave no emotions away, but it was completely different for Li Hao

"How about joining me" He asked walking and casually leaning against his desk 

"I'm afraid I'm not in the position to consider your offer Mr Li "

"Oh, and why is that?", he said dogging another dagger,

"I'm still in no position to disclose that to you ", Her voice was dry as she continuously threw small poison-coated daggers at him,

He dogged each one asking questions but her answers remained repetitive allowing him no progress with his requests

There wasn't a single ounce of bloodlust in her eyes, no murderous aura and no malicious intent, her eyes looked more uninterested instead, like she would rather be doing anything else.

He gently grabbed her shoulders lowering his voice as he whispered into her ear, "You're being forced to do this, you've been threatened right, but with what ?"

She stared straight past him in mild shock for a while, until struggling out of his grip,

Straightening up he said, "The Crimson Lilly uh, you're not exactly living up to your name," his tone now held a hint of mockery and he stared at her provocatively,

"Speaking of names, what's yours"

Her mask was pulled down instantly not giving her any time to react, she stood there, not an expression on her face, staring him dead in the eyes,

"Wow" he chuckled, "my very own planning manager, I must say, I'm surprised "

"You don't exactly look it" She didn't bother denying anything, it wouldn't change anything anyway,

In response, he let out a smile that didn't reach his eyes, one she was very familiar with on account of her boss. "Oh, but I am, they're threatening you with your brother. You owe them, am I right ?"

His voice carried confidence, it didn't sound like a question at all,

She didn't reply, but the slight twitch of her index finger didn't escape his eyes and that was all the confirmation he needed.

"What if I say I could help you?"

Her breath caught in her chest, what was he talking about, help her, how could he when he didn't even know the beginning of her problems

"You'll be able to escape the people threatening you, all you need to do is marry me"

Liling stared at him, her confusion evident on her face, she inwardly questioned her ears reliability and mental health, was she starting to hear things?

 With a sigh he began, "You're not hearing things, and I'm not joking either, I'll take care of everything you owe them, all you have to do is .."

"No", she didn't let him finish and from the tone of her voice, he could tell she was dead serious.

Her expression was back to normal and so were her thoughts, her ears were fine, it was him who had a problem, who on Earth would ask the person sent out to kill them to become their wife? no one, that was who, well no one except this man, it was clear he was not okay,

"Well, I can't say I was expecting a yes on the spot", a resigned smile was plastered on his face as he spoke, "I'll wait for you to think it over, you can get back to me later",

he got out a pen and scribbled a series of numbers on her wrist, "I want a response in three days, in the meantime, I'll do my part and forget I was ever attacked, so goodbye"

He walked out of the study leaving Liling staring at the string of numbers on the inside of her wrist, even though he had done it quite fast, his handwriting was very readable and neat. She said nothing and didn't look back as she pulled her mask back up and left the same way she came in.

For the first time, she hadn't completed her job, but contrary to how she had always imagined it felt, she felt somewhat - free.