"Guess who." 

Her body went rigid involuntarily, hairs from the back of her neck tensed up in alarm as shivers crawled through her skin. She can hear Storm growling, wildly scratching the car in an attempt to force his large body out of the window and come to his mistress' rescue. 

​​

The hands weren't restricting her, they're merely lying loose over her eyes without pressure. 

Calmly, Lillie slipped the calloused palms off with one hand—the other was occupied with the gas pump. 

Gathering her composure with her back still against him, Lillie indifferently answered, "Mr. Wei, what a coincidence."

A deep chuckle of amusement shot up from his throat. Wei Fang was unaware of the consequences of his action.

It could've earned him a concussion or broken bones as Lillie would've bashed him with the gas pump. No one sneaks up to her like that and expects to walk off unscathed. 

He was lucky that she recognized his voice. Otherwise, Lillie gets to mutilate him. 

Or even if she recognized him, Lillie could've just pretended she didn't and continue to act out in 'self-defense'. 

So correction; he should feel lucky that she was feeling gracious today. 

Storm finally managed to get out of the car and was now standing in front of her in a protective stance. 

Wei Fang's quick reflexes allowed him to back away from the moment he caught him leaping out of the window. At an impressive speed, he dodged the wolf's gaping maw from mauling his neck.

He kept on backing away until he's at a considerably good distance. 

Failing to maim the audacious neanderthal that dared touch his mistress with his filthy hands, Storm assumed his position in front of her in preparation to counter any of the man's actions while he awaits his mistress' commands. 

Who is this weird human? The scent of death reeks from him that it made Storm's survival instincts shoot through the roof.

Lillie turned to face Wei Fang—making no move nor sound to signal Storm to stand down—to see him smiling brightly as if the abnormally large, vicious wolf growling at him wasn't the least bit worrying. 

"I'm here to buy cigarettes." He raised his hands in mock surrender, then jabbed his thumb in the direction of the convenience store a few meters behind him. 

"I recognized your car and I couldn't help myself." He laughed sheepishly before shifting his attention on Storm. "I think I alarmed your companion. Sorry about that, buddy. Good job protecting her, but I promise I'm not going to hurt Thea."

Lillie didn't bother to hide her displeasure. 

Not going to hurt her? Isn't that kind of a weird way to phrase it? 

Regardless, what completely bothers her was his almost non-existent presence. Only a few people can mask their presence entirely, and those people are highly dangerous. 

It was only when her peripheral vision saw the shadow of his hands looming over her head, and Storm's sudden aggression did Lillie finally noticed that someone was behind her. 

Storm was late to warn her of his approach. That indicates that he was deliberately evading Storm's range of senses. 

Her guard wasn't entirely lowered, but it also wasn't entirely heightened to its maximum either. 

Adding up to his case was his 'confession' about his other identity; a member of the infamous ravens of the Underworld; the Reapers. 

Unfortunately, she hasn't taken hold of solid proof to support his claims yet. But to mask his presence like that? He's a high-ranking one, that's for sure—something he subtly implied in their last dinner meeting. 

"Don't do that again. I could've seriously hurt you." She held the gas pumper up to his eye-level. 

If a normal person heard what she said, they would likely rip their hair off in frustration. 

Forget about the damn gas pumper, that wolf could've ended the man's life with a snap of his jaw! 

But unbeknown to them, Lillie was being serious. The gas pump turns into a deadly weapon as long as it's Lillie Bai who wields it. 

Like a light switch flipping, the bloodcurdlingly dark and heavy aura she's getting from Wei Fang suddenly snapped off.

"Ah, Lillie, I'm sorry. Did I upset you? It was an unconscious habit, believe me." He smiled, but then looked distant as he softly explained, "I remembered how I used to do that to you all the time back then. How it made you happy and excited."

"Must I remind you constantly of what we've talked about, Mr. Wei? Barely a week has passed and you're already violating our agreement." She stepped forward until she reaches Storm's side to soothe him. 

As expected, she knew he was too stubborn to keep his word. What does he even want from her?

"I'm not the same person you knew before."

Her former self will never come back. Not for him at least. 

"I can see that." Wei Fang nodded. "I'm sorry for my impertinence, I hope you forgive me."

Lillie didn't reply to his apology and just wordlessly returned the gas pump in its place. 

"You know, I'm about to make my way to the Empire," He started, putting his hands inside his pockets. "I'm sure you know this already, your company called me in earlier for a meeting with your father."

"Ah, yes, the profits." Lillie nodded. 

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Lillie." Wei Fang frowned to himself, thinking back on what happened earlier in the morning.

His father was not happy after the Empire told him what his son did. Thankfully, Alexander Bai was willing to return the profits they should've gained from the initial percentage of shares they're splitting. 

Wei Fang received an earful from his father. Or at least, he vaguely remembered being scolded, his father shouting his lungs out spewing curses at him that would make even a sailor blush.

On another note, the oddest thing was that he felt no shame nor guilt after that. 

"No harm done. Looking at the bright side, thanks to your miscalculation, we've gotten rid of some greedy rodents." They're getting a lot of those recently. Lillie should issue a general inspection again. A lot of people hoped to apply for a job in the Empire, this would give them a chance. 

"Honestly speaking, I don't know what came over me to do something like that, it just...felt like an impulse. I couldn't control it."