Chapter 419 - Crush

With his hands in his pants pocket, Cui Xukun stood beside the elevator in the parking as he waited for Cloe. When Cloe came downstairs, she found him quite easily. Just at her sight, he lifted his hand on instinct and smiled, "Hi!"

Cloe looked at his bright smile and felt like it was too bright for her eyes in the morning. Usually, her mornings began with seeing Raelle's expressionless face. Or she'd be faced with those polite and business smiles from her colleagues. Therefore, she wasn't really used to starting her day with such a sincere and genuine smile.

However, she didn't seem to dislike this smile of his. 

"Morning," she greeted him. "About earlier on the balcony..." 

"I didn't see anything," Cui Xukun blurted out without even thinking. As his sister said, girls often didn't like showing their bad sides to their boyfriends. At least, not when they had just started dating. Although he didn't think there was anything wrong with Cloe's bedhead, he still had to make himself clear.

Cloe's lips curled up ever so slightly in amusement as she asked, "Oh, really?"

Cui Xukun nodded his head like a chicken pecking on grains, "I didn't. Really! I have morning blindness."

"Huh?" 

Cui Xukun avoided his eyes as he stated, "People have night blindness but I have the peculiar morning blindness. I really didn't see anything on the balcony."

Cloe bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing out, "That's interesting." Just as Cui Xukun thought she was about to let this matter go, she added, "But then, how did you know where to send the breakfast?"

Cui Xukun scratched the back of his neck and cursed himself inwardly. "I just knew..." he said uncertainly.

Cloe gasped, "Are you a stalker?"

"No!" Cui Xukun hurriedly flailed his hands. "It's nothing like that. You don't really think that I bought the apartment beside yours because I was stalking you, right?"

"You didn't?"

"No, that's my sister's place," answered Cui Xukun, trying to prove his innocence. "I came early, that's why I was just waiting there."

Cloe laughed out loud as she stared at him, "I'm just teasing you." 

"Oh..." he responded.

"You get easily flustered," she commented and shook her head helplessly as she walked ahead. "Let's go now."

Cui Xukun nodded and strode ahead of her to direct her towards his car. He even went on to open the door for her before going over to sit. 

"Isn't your sister married?" Cloe suddenly questioned. "Or is this another sister?"

Cui Xukun fastened his seatbelt as he replied, "I only have one sister and she is indeed married."

"Then why is she living alone?" 

Cui Xukun had a helpless look on his face as he told her, "She loves her privacy. Her 'me time' is very important to her and during that 'me time' she doesn't like interacting with people. Usually, she lives alone when she is working on a case that's a bit tricky."

"Soren lets her go easily?" Noticing his gaze, she added, "Don't get me wrong. I meant that Soren seems to love her a lot and I didn't think he'd be okay with letting her live alone."

Cui Xukun laughed out, "You're right about that. My brother-in-law really loves her. But it's also true that he really spoils her as well. I don't remember the time when he had ever said no to her for anything. If she wants to be willful, he'll let her be. If she wants to beat him, he'll let her be. Even if she wants to commit a crime, he'll still stand by her side."

Cloe leaned back in her seat as she commented, "I didn't know Soren would make such a husband."

Cui Xukun smiled softly, "Do you know that my sister is older than me by 6 years?" Cloe tilted her head towards him as he continued, "Since our parents had been traveling for work, she seemed to have taken the responsibility of raising me. She was always the responsible one between the two of us." He suddenly chuckled as he went on, "But then she met brother-in-law who is 7 years younger than her. Strangely, in their relationship, he seems the responsible one."

Cloe had a thoughtful look on her face, "With you, she had responsibilities. But with Soren, she could allow herself to be free. When you love someone, you'd want to depend on that person. And since Soren is willing to accept all of her, that made her let loose for once."

Cui Xukun nodded his head in agreement, "I know. They have one of the most beautiful relationships I have come across." He took a pause and asked, "By the way, where are we going?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I just called you out, that doesn't mean I have a plan." For the first time in a long time, she was doing something without any plan whatsoever. "You can just drive around. Let's see where we end up today."

Cui Xukun found her words weird but he didn't question further. It was enough for him that they were together. Did it matter where they were going? He'd just take her for a long drive.

While he drove with a happy smile, Cloe perched her elbow on the window and supported her face on her fist as she continued to look at the side of his face with an intent gaze. It was such an intense gaze that Cui Xukun felt fidgety. Cloe found it really interesting how her gaze seemed to always have an effect on him.

She was trying to figure out why that was it? Why did he always get so flustered around her? Her belief was getting stronger with time. He really looked like he was going out with his crush and found it too unbelievable. Was it really like that? But how could that be? She didn't think they met before.

Was it first at love sight? She laughed at her own thoughts inwardly. It was really hard not to.. Even if she loved the romance genre, she had never really believed in 'love at first sight'.