Chapter 2 - Freezing Cold

"Hah?" Sera fought the urge to burst into a puddle of laughter at this man. She shook her head. "Mr. Lan, the only reason why I haven't called the police yet is that I am actually in a good mood earlier. Today is my birthday and I don't know why you are using that scam me. But if you— "

"Miss Zhang, this is really not a scam. Please believe me. My boss would have come here to talk to you, but he was truly busy. He is currently out of the country for some conference." Lan Xing said as helplessness flashed in his eyes. Flocks of women from various families wanted to marry the boss, but Mr. Quinn still chose this woman! Someone who just got out of college, a young hacker who is starting her own cafe. Moreover, this was a woman that was shunned by her own family because of a crime she committed when she was younger! How could Mr. Quinn choose someone like this?

"So there will be flowers in my apartment?" she asked.

"Yes! Yes!" Lan Xing nodded profusely. He had been working under Mr. Quinn for more than five years now, and he never once heard someone say no to his requests. "The colors and arrangement were something that the boss chose himself. Even the gift! He chose it for you." This was something that even Lan Xing never understood. How could the boss just offer marriage to some random woman?

"Hmmm." Sera nodded. "Alright, I will surely review the contract. Can you leave me alone now?" she beamed before she opened the message that she just received from her phone. Seeing that it was her father's number, Sera frowned. She quickly opened the message and realized that the little excitement that she had was for nothing. It was actually a reminder for her sister's engagement party.

"I will leave, but please call me once you already made your decision. Here… I will give you another card." Lan Xing let out a sigh of relief when he saw her expression turned serious. He knew that this woman was thinking he was trying to scam him, but aside from his words, he couldn't really use any other methods to convince the woman. After all, the boss just said he wanted to marry her then went back to his own business of not let anyone seeing him.

Lan Xing let out another sigh before giving the woman a bow and leaving the cafe. Lan Xing immediately called Mr. Quinn on his way to the car that was waiting for him."Boss, I already talked to Miss Zhang. She said she will call me once she decided to marry you," he said.

"Hmmm. Keep me updated." A deep voice answered before the line was cut off. Lan Xing could only stare at his phone for a few seconds before going inside the car.

Meanwhile, Sera immediately called her best friend after Lan Xing left.

"Hey, Cross… are you on break?" Sera smiled as she thought of her serious and goofy best friend. Cross Qin had been living with her for the past four years now.

"Hmmm." She doesn't need to see him know that he was nodding while still staring at his computer.

"Hey, Cross, working in the financial industry is a really stressful job. You can't even spend some time on my birthday or my birthday, you should totally consider quitting the job and find something less stressful." Sera smiled as she thought of the man's pale appearance and thick eyeglasses. "You work too much and earn too little."

"Are you celebrating your own birthday in the cafe?" he asked, ignoring her mumblings. "Do you want me to order something for dinner?"

"No! No need. I have something tonight."

"You do?"

"Cross today is my twenty-third birthday. Of course, I have something!"

"You don't have friends."

"Hey! That is such a rude thing to say!" Sera pouted before laughing. "I do have you."

Silence followed her words. Sera didn't have to see him know he was once again looking at his computer with his lips pursed into a thin line. "Aish… alright, alright. I will call you tonight. I know you are busy. Take your dinner on time, Cross Qin, and stop doing overtime, it will make you ugly."

He heard a low chuckle on the other line before she ended the call. Sera couldn't help but smile. How long has it been since Cross helped her on that night? Even though he doesn't know any martial arts and got beaten up in the end, the man didn't hesitate to help her when she needed someone.

Just the thought of their friendship was enough to make her day. After a few minutes, Sera finished her coffee and cake before she put the folder that Lan Xing gave her earlier, planning to throw it away later.

Sera dragged her suitcase out of the cafe and immediately called a taxi to one of the hotels with a hot spring and spa. Tonight, Sera was planning to enjoy the night alone. She was planning to have some Spa, and pamper herself before going to a bar and end the night after a few glasses of her Vodka Martini.

With this in mind, Sera opened her phone and sent some text messages to Cross telling him what she was about to do tonight, hoping to get the man to accompany her. After all, Cross is a certified workaholic who doesn't take holidays and would prefer to face his computer and the stock market all day than talk to other people.

Then she immediately turned her phone off as she stared at the traffic before her. She already graduated, and to be honest, she doesn't have many plans yet. Unlike Cross, who always had his eyes on money and calculations, Sera was different. She took mathematics to train her mind. She then doubled her major to computer science so she could learn how to hack. Then she took martial arts courses to defend herself. She trained in gun and knife handling so no one would try to bully her and live. Everything that she did since that night was for herself and for herself alone.

The thought of that night made her gaze icy, freezing. The smile on her face vanished and was replaced with nothing but coldness.