Operation-Seducing Linfeng (IV)

Xiong Zhi was singing her heart out. Her angelic voice was like whispers confessing her love. Her soft lovely voice echoed in the entire ground floor, halting passersby and others who were playing in various stalls. The onlookers were growing in number.

Xiong Zhi closed her eyes, which were filled with many emotions that Linfeng could not decipher. He watched her beautiful face, as strange feelings seemed to well up from his chest.

"Always and forever I know,

I can't let you go

I'm in love with you,

And now you know..."

Xiong Zhi opened her eyes again. In her eyes, the remnants of the past were gone, the emotions that she wanted to let out were gone... Her eyes now only portrayed her courage, boldness, and proclamation.

"I'm in love with you,

And now you know..."

The last line was soft and was almost like a whisper, raising the hair on people's skin. However, to Linfeng, it was an explosion. A volcanic eruption. 

Hot lava seemed to travel down to his every cell, veins, limbs, and straight to his heart. 

Every word of the song sung by Xiong Zhi was like an arrow to his heart. It hit him hard, but instead of pain, his heart felt full. So full that Linfeng felt stuffy and suffocated, he could not breathe properly. The pounding of his heart increasingly grew.

When Xiong Zhi sang and pointed her jade-like fingers to him earlier, staring at him like he was the only person in the world, like the words she was singing were exactly for him...

As if she was proclaiming her love to him... He forgot to breath. He just watched every move of her rosy lips as her angelic voice rang in his ears. Unbeknownst to him, his ears had already turned blood red.

Her eyes never left him. How could he move? How could he look away? Her tantalizing eyes pulled him in. Her every sway in the beat of the song was so lovely. 

Right at this moment, he could only see her and nothing else, standing blankly like a fool.

When the song was finished, the huge crowd clapped and cheered. Some even whistled. The thunderous sound jolted Linfeng awake. He did not even notice that they gathered such a crowd.

He forcefully calmed his heart and shook his head, as if shaking off vestiges of mist in his brain to clear his jumbled mind. He slowly walked towards Xiong Zhi. His heart was still not fully calm, but his face finally appeared composed with a polite smile on. Only, if one looked closely, his cheeks seemed rosier than usual, his eyes were brighter than usual, and his ear tips were definitely bleeding. 

He coughed and was about to praise Xiong Zhi's singing skill when one of the people shouted something and was immediately followed by the crowd. They chanted.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

When Linfeng heard this, his calm facade completely broken down. The heat that he tried really hard to suppress rushed out from his system. His face reddened visibly. He was like a cooked shrimp. 

He dared not make an eye contact with Xiong Zhi. He simply grabbed her hand and quickly walked away. The crowd who saw this cheered more. Some girls even squealed.

"Kyaahh! They're so cute! Why is the boy so shy? There's no need to be shy, you're even wearing couple shirts!" A girl yelled loudly after them. Linfeng's sharp ears caught onto it as he 'ran' out. This made him redder. He quickened his steps more, almost dragging Xiong Zhi.

A youngster's face inexperienced in romance was naturally still thin, thus, easily embarrassed.

Xiong Zhi was a little taken aback by his sudden action of running away. Why run away? Then she saw his red ears and flushed necks. 

She had never seen such a Linfeng. Since the past life, he had always been a calm, stable, and composed figure.

Add to the fact that she has zero romantic cells just yet.

So she asked, "Are you alright?" Worry was in her voice, followed by a series of gasping breaths.

Well, they were running fast, not for Linfeng whose legs were very long, but for Xiong Zhi, they were fast.

Linfeng stopped when he realized he was being impolite. He just wanted to be out of that place, out of the strange and embarrassing discomfort. He thought that by distancing himself with the rampaging crowd, he could breathe. 

However, hearing her voice made him redden again, just when he was starting to calm down. 

Argh!

He put his other hand holding the bags in front of his face. A gesture that he was wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, but the truth was, he was using it to cover to his face out of mortification. Because undoubtedly, his face was flushed again due to his stuffy chest and hyperventilating heart.

"Ah, no, it was... hot there... so crowded... need fresh air," he mumbled incoherently. His mind was not working properly just yet. 

So embarrassing! 

He never stuttered before, for he was trained since young to be sharp in any circumstances. But now... no, not just now, every time he was with the Young Miss ...His mind would shut down for a while.

He was confused. The girl's earlier actions were too ambiguous... His mind actually entertained ridiculous thoughts!

Liking him?

Impossible! 

Xiong Zhi stared at Linfeng. She could not see his expression so she did not know if she hit a love arrow to Linfeng's heart, like what Song Xuantin had said.

It became silent for a while. One was calming himself, thinking of reasons why he should not harbor these daring thoughts, guessing what these emotions he was feeling were and what this girl was feeling for him. 

He tried to persuade himself with logical reasons, such as she just wanted to sing for someone, she was bored, that there was no meaning in every gesture, just trying it out, that she probably just want to experience doing such things in her bucket list, etcetera... and at the same time, equating all his feelings to zero. 

No result. No profit. Nothing. He was feeling nothing for her. If there was any, it was the aide's feelings of loyalty and devotion to his master...

He kept reminding himself furiously, which eventually worked to soothe his panicking heart and complicated mind. 

Finally, after walking dazedly for a while, his logic and willpower made him regain his composure a bit.

On the other hand, Xiong Zhi was silently contemplating while walking beside Linfeng. 

How many percent did she affect Linfeng with her song today? 

Did he manage to catch onto what she wanted to tell him? 

Song Xuantin said not to confess her feelings directly, but in a roundabout manner, to not scare him away... This should be enough, right? 

Xiong Zhi looked at Linfeng, who, unbeknownst to her, was currently engaged in a war between emotions and reason, with reason winning the upper hand.

The ignorant girl thought positively.

'Never mind. Whether he caught it or not, I will just keep going. Even if I can't enter his heart 100% right now, it is alright, the road is still long. 2% or 5% is fine. Better to strike the iron while it is still hot.'

In fact, she was just thinking nonsense about the percentages. How could one possibly calculate feelings?

Besides, she was not even sure how a song could affect a man.

Alright, let's just push head on. On to next target!

"Linfeng, there's a food stall that I really want to try—"

Linfeng, who was clearheaded now and was more guarded, hardened his heart and turned towards Xiong Zhi. He has a polite smile on his face but his words cut Xiong Zhi off.

"Young Miss Xiong, I believe your friends are waiting for us already for some time. Perhaps we should return first and then we can all try the food you want to taste," he emphasized the way he addressed her. 

He was not a total idiot. He just did not dare engage in certain improper things.

She was his master, he was her aide.

Better to cut all the feelings that was sprouting between the two of them right now. He was not sure how strong exactly his Young Miss felt towards him, but he could come up with a conclusions and solutions. 

No matter what they were, it was better to stop now.

Xiong Zhi was startled by his interruption. Even though it was only a sentence, it was like sharp needles suddenly poking at her heart. It pricked her a little. 

She was disheartened for a bit, then she cheered herself up again.

Hmph. It was only tiny needles, a small object against her enormous will and steel heart. She could catch onto what Linfeng was intending to say. However, would she back down? 

Too bad, the war was only starting. She had still many plans and tactics to win him over.