Chapter 79 - XiXi has a Girlfriend....

"What do you think?"

Zhuang Wei squinted his eyes as he tried to read her expression. Half of her face was covered by a mask so he only had her forehead, eyes, and body language to go off of. He usually felt like he had a good handle on judging people accurately but the lady in front of him was perplexing. On first look there was an intelligent witty woman of common origin. However, from the way she held herself it seemed that she was of higher class upbringing. It was just a gut feeling he had that made him believe there was more to the eye. Adding on, there was no way for him to believe that his best friend would like a woman who was normal. If he wanted a casual down-to-earth lady there were many in their circle or in the country that he could reach out to but he always steered clear of them. Considering their lives and how dangerous it was, a normal woman would only cause them trouble.

He had always known that his friend worked hard not to implicate more people after what had happened to his family. Even now, without doing much he could walk out of the office building and have an assassin waiting to take his life. For someone who had no guarantee on their own life, how could he protect another's? Hence, Xi Long made it rule to keep those relations far from his life. If Xi Long had chosen a normal woman, then he would try to stop him from getting too involved. The second someone realizes that they had a weakness then it would be used over them. So it shocked him that out of the blue a woman would appear and have such 'close' relations with him. To think someone could ensnare him to the point of childishness then she must be quite powerful.

From her acting he could already tell she was used to high stakes scenarios and was well-versed in character switching. This is why he knew that 'Valentina' was another character, 'I bet Xi Long doesn't even know her name either.' He didn't feel insulted that she had not given her real name, it was understandable. He had not done anything to earn her trust and they always had to be cautious. Even if she was XiXi's girlfriend, until he really knew her he would not give his alternate names as well. In this office he was known aa Zhuang Wei or Director Wei. Outside of the office, he has many names that he used on the streets. Giving away one name could easily blow his entire cover and provide information to their enemies. Though it was slightly interesting that she chose Valentina as her name. 'I wonder if she thought of it on the spot or if she had it as an option previously.'

However, even more than that he was interested on how she looked beyond the mask. Her eyes were crafty and were a dark brown. She had jade skin with a healthy tan and raven black hair. On a physical basis she looked fit so he had a feeling that she would be quite pretty but he couldn't tell for sure. Half of her face could change the entire perspective. Even though he would think that a woman that has ensnared Xi Long would be gorgeous by any standards. He wondered how long before he could see her full face....being extremely curious was a part of him.

Flashing a smile back at her, he responded to her comment. "I think...nothing haha. Maybe you are foreign born but I'd like to think a beauty like you is from around here." When he finished his comment he felt a slight sting against his forehead. Rubbing the spot he glared at Xi Long who had flicked him harshly against the forehead. "What was that for?!"

"Cause I felt like it."

"Cause you felt like it?! You're such a child! You see...Valentina, what kind of man this is?!"

Ying Yue laughed as she was brought back into their argument. It seemed that when they were together they would only act like children. Just a second ago she was speaking to an intelligent man who had tried to "test" her but he was now a 10 year old whining over a flick. She could tell that he didn't believe her name but appreciated that he took it in stride. There was no obligation to give a name at all but she had given one to be polite. He understood her cautiousness and followed along, which was a preferrable situation.

"Haha yes I see, I'm not surprised however. He has always been....childish I would say." As she ended her sentence she could see him give her a quick glare from the corner of her eyes. Holding her fingers lightly over her mask she held in her smile. Even if he could not see her mask, the twitches in her face were give aways.

"See you recognize it! What do you say you date me instead?"

"Ahh sorry you're not my type...."

Clutching his chest in fake pain, he held a heartbroken expression as he looked at her. "Oh my lady, you have wounded me so...! So cruel!"

"Good job, break it some more." Xi Long interrupted his monologue with a teasing smile and his own comments.

"How could you be so cruel to me!!! Just cause you found a lover your forget about ME?! Your best friend?! Your HONEY??!!!"

"Yes."

Stumbling, Zhuang Wei's eyes watered with crocodile tears as he pretended to look shocked from Xi Long's response. "My heart!!! Broken twice within two minutes!! I cannot....go...on....so much betrayal. How do I recover from this?!"

"Are you done?" Xi Long watched his act with a bemused expression and held back his laughter. He could always depend on Zhuang Wei to be the most dramatic person in the room. He loved films from the older days and ending up adopting the "flamboyant" style of acting in his regular life. He could act more seriously but maintained a more obvious fake version in front of his friends.

"You always were a party pooper XiXi."