"So the Xis' weren't hostile towards you? That's odd.", Zhi Xi furrowed his brows when the girl told him about her visit to the Xi Family Mansion, "I mean, as far as I know, Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou would've definitely tried to stir up some trouble."

"I didn't really have the chance to meet them.", the girl said, nonchalantly.

"Oh. So there were just his parents.", the man started boiling the water in a kettle, "They are fine. Not cunning at all."

"Yeah. I figured that."

"So tell me more about that Huang Biu. Do you think she will make a move on Yuan?", the man asked.

"Do you think I should ignore her? I mean I do trust Yuan. I know he wouldn't hurt me, intentionally at least. But still, should I be cautious of her?", the girl asked back.

"I think you should keep an eye on her. She is one of the Huangs. Trust me, with her skills and her potentials, she can cage any man's heart. Or his mind.

"Although I expect Yuan to be smarter than that, I would still suggest that you observe her. Silently. From a safe distance.", the man stated.

"I understand.", Rong Xinghe agreed, "But what did you say about her skills?"

"Well, she is an amazing businesswoman. Real Estate, Business administration, Accounting, Human Resource Management. She has her quirks in all of those. She was trained along with her elder brother, who is believed to be inheriting the position of the President soon. Next month, probably. They say that the guy is ten times smarter than his sister."

"How can Yuan not be attracted to someone as talented as her?", Rong Xinghe was beyond shocked, her eyes wide-open, "Just wow. She has been an admirer of him ever since they were students. What more, they've had so many opportunities to walk into each other. It's hard to believe he never considered dating her."

"What kind of a girlfriend are you, Kiddo?!", Zhi Xi scoffed, pinching the girl's nose, "Shipping your man with some other woman. Useless!"

"Hey!", the girl cried out, "It's a genuine doubt. Come on, it isn't like she isn't hot."

"If Xi Yuan chooses 'hot' over you, he might as well stop calling me his mentor. You are more than hot. You are beautiful. And smart, and brave. Men would kill to be with a woman like you. And if that brat can't see that, he is just a stupid moron."

"Woah. Never knew you thought so highly of me.", the girl grinned, "Love you!"

"Love you too, Kid.", the man grinned back, passing her a cup and a plate, "Here. Your Triple Mocha. And the grilled sandwich."

_________________

9:00 p.m., Lu Family Mansion ;

"How was your day today?", Xi Yuan called again, after winding up his work, "Ying told me that you visited my parents today. How did it--"

"Right. Like you care!", the girl rolled her eyes. It was time for some 'leg-pulling', baby, the girl chuckled internally.

The man was obviously not expecting something like that, "What happened?"

"Nothing much. Just ran into your lover today.", the girl glared at the man, infuriated, "You still love her, don't you?"

"What?!", Xi Yuan frowned, "Whom did you meet today? Emma ?"

"Wow ! So there is an Emma too?!", the girl crossed her arms and raised her brows.

"No! She is more of like an acquaintance. I was just trying to figure, who has access to my family residence.", the man shook his head, "You tell me. Who wronged you today?"

"Huang Biu."

"Oh."

"What 'oh' ?!", the girl was enraged. What kind of reaction was that? Wasn't he supposed to be, well, more reactive? Nervous? Surprised?

"I got to know about all the smiles exchanged at the conference in Shanghai. And about all the 'handing over' of wine glasses during Mr. Charles' engagement. How could you do this to me, Yuan? She even said that she was more than sure about your feelings for her. That's betrayal, you know?", the girl acted downheartedly, as if she was in despair.

The man sighed, "Okay. Listen to me. I smiled at her during that conference because she had just received an award, and she was constantly looking at me. I had to show some courtesy there. Not to mention, I genuinely appreciated her talent.

"About the incident at Mr. Charles' engagement, I had handed her the glass just casually. I had to attend to the Mayor of the state, who had just walked in. I didn't even bother to check who had taken the glass from me then."

"So... what about your feelings for her?"

"She must have misunderstood those gestures, I am assuming.", the man shrugged, "Now, could you stop putting on that act of yours? Please?

"As much as I'd like to play along with you, I still hate it when we fight. Even if it is fake."

"You knew about it?", the girl was amused.

"Of course. You have the habit of playing with your hair, whenever you pull off something like that. I know you, Sweetheart.", the man smiled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Right. Mr. Xi is not someone you fool.", the girl smiled wryly, her eyes fixed to the ground.

Xi Yuan could tell she was upset. She looked upset. Dull. "What is it, Xinghe? Look at me."

The girl looked at him. Definitely upset, he confirmed.

"Tell me."

"I was just wondering that do I even have the right to question you like that? I mean, I have had someone else. Before you. In my life. While you never even dated anyone. I am your first. Your first kiss. Your first love. Everything firsts. You've never given me a single reason to feel insecure.

"Instead, it should be you. Questioning me. About my past. About him. Zhou Che. I've always been the 'messed up' one in our relationship. The one with history.", she could feel her palms covering with sweat.

Xi Yuan remained silent for sometime before he spoke up finally, "Isn't being 'messed up' beautiful too? I fell for that very 'messed up' you, you know? I've loved that girl."