Chapter 5 - The Perfect Man

Was that the same car which had been down at her building earlier today?

Very few people drove Aston Martin in A City, so she couldn’t have got it wrong. But her sight had been too busy lingering upon the trucks and the hoists to pay attention to the car’s number. It was 12345, as she noticed it now.

So that man was here for dinner too. He might be Anan’s friend.

Shangguan Ning put on the coat, grabbed her handbag and walked into Victorian.

It was dinner time and many people were already seated at various tables in the restaurant. She glanced around but failed to find the man that she had run into that morning.

Anan had been waiting for Shangguan Ning since ages. As soon as she entered the door, Anan rushed up to her directly. Anan’s sudden enthusiasm made Shangguan Ning uncomfortable. She started to suspect that her phrase “for a sell” in yesterday’s conversation might not have been a slip of tongue after all.

“My brother has just arrived. He is waiting at the elegant room named Romantic. Hurry up! Oh, he doesn’t know that I’m the owner of this restaurant, so be careful not to spill anything about it in the conversation, ok? Hey, I named the elegant room well, didn’t I?”

She had changed too many topics within too short a time. Shangguan Ning couldn’t help but laugh out.

She teased her and said, “Ordinary people give ordinary names.”

Anan put her hands on the hips and threw her a glare. She looked as if being on the edge of losing her temper. Startled, Shangguan Ning sprinted up to the second floor.

Zhao Anan gave out a relief seeing Shangguan Ning going upstairs, but inside her heart, she did feel a bit guilty.

Unfortunately, this was the only way out. She had spent all of her savings on this western restaurant. Her monthly allowance was only 100,000 yuan whilst her monthly salary, as a teacher was way too little. She had no other option but to come up with such a terrible idea. Her mother had told her once that if she could introduce a reliable girlfriend to her brother, she would receive double times of her current monthly allowance.

That was too huge a temptation to reject, so she was forced to sacrifice her best friend.

However, if this beauty could really conquer her brother, everyone in the family, be it young or old would queue up to thank her for that. Her brother was already 32 years old and showed no sign of finding a girlfriend. That had driven everyone in the family crazy!

Besides, the brother was excellent and good-looking. The beauty not only lost nothing, but also gained much at the same time.

It was a win-win situation. Oh man, she was truly amazed by her own cleverness.

Shangguan Ning walked up to the second floor and arrived at the elegant room named Romantic. She pushed the door open.

On the red wine colored chair of European classical style, there was a man in a grey suit. He was on the phone, but looked up as he heard the sound of door opening.

He had a cold look and his thin lips were slightly compressed. His eyes were sharp and distant. The man’s entire persona seemed to emit a freezing distant air.

Yet none of these was able to cover his radiance. He had a pair of deep brown coloured eyes, a long bridged nose, two lips with perfect silhouettes and a well sculpted face. He was handsome, beyond words could describe. Even the popular male TV stars would pale standing next to him.

His suit was apparently tailor-made, so fitted that his incredible body figure was perfectly outlined. The suit itself looked like it was made out of fine material and seemed to have received excellent workmanship, reflecting a royal air. He looked respectable and elegant.

He possessed a mysteriously elegant charisma despite the coldness, one that was able to draw people inside without efforts.

Shangguan Ning was slightly stunned.

Truly, Zhao Anan hadn’t exaggerated. Her brother was indeed “the man that could conquer any female animals aged from eight to eighty”.

But Shangguan Ning was able to bring herself back to Earth quickly.

She was immune to handsome men.

Xie Zhuojun was a genuinely good-looking man. He used to be the “hot topic for discussion” on campus too. That was why Shangguan Rouxue had spared no efforts to grab him away from her.

She was watching him as he was surveying her at the same time.

Jing Yichen came to this blind date, only because his sister had threatened him.

This woman ought to be Shangguan Ning, the “beauty” his sister had spoken about.

Dressed in a milky white dress, Shangguan Ning wore long, black hair and no makeup. She looked elegant and fresh and had a pair of really expressive eyes. She seemed to possess an air of a learned woman, one that somehow made people comfortable. She must be an extremely well-behaved girl. He gauged it all at the first glance itself.

Most importantly, she didn’t smell of any perfume, but emitted a scent so light and fragrant.

Jing Yichen’s eyes showed a bit of surprise. Good, it wouldn’t be a bad date today.

He hung up the phone and stood up like a gentleman. He greeted her politely, “Nice to meet you, Ms. Shangguan.”

Distant as the tone sounded, the voice was low and melodious enough to be comparable with the most heart striking movement in the whole world.

For some reason, Shangguan Ning’s heart skipped a beat, but that feeling vanished instantly.

She didn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, she smiled slightly, out of politeness and replied, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhao.”

Jing Yichen was slightly startled, but soon he realized that Shangguan Ning might not be aware that Anan and he were cousins. She must have assumed that he was her real brother.

“Sit down, please,” he replied in a gentle tone, without explaining anything.

People might feel that Jing Yichen was cold and distant, yet Shangguan Ning didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, she somehow felt free in this situation.

She hung her coat and handbag onto the hanger and came to the luxurious chair to sit. Then, she began to drink the warm lemon water.

One after another emails arrived at Jing Yichen’s cell phone. He glanced at them and realized that all of these were errands which he had to handle the next day. So he clicked and read them one by one.

Someone knocked the door and the waitress came in. She quit instantly after the two had ordered.

In the elegant room, there were candles arranged by Anan that were burning quietly and a cluster of white orchids gave out the usual sense of coolness.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Shangguan Ning looked out of the window. Her mind was gradually drifting away.

She had a terrible, messy past. But now everything was heading towards a proper direction. From this day on, she was going to live a better life and stay away from the people and matters that brought her agony.

“Watch out!”

The low, nice voice pulled her back from the reverie and what followed was a moment of fierce pain on her hand.

She had somehow touched the candle and wax dropped upon the back of her tender hand, causing a red swollen patch there.

She could not help but give out a cry, trying to withdraw her hand in the panic.

Yet another hand was faster. It had already gotten hold of her hand, placed a white silk handkerchief upon it and started to peel away the wax drops from there.

His hands were broad and warm, with clear knuckles and slim, long fingers. They looked very nice. They seemed to possess a kind of beauty that showcased the special power of men.

Shangguan Ning was not quite used to such intimate contact. It was the first time for her hands to be held by such a man, in such a way.

She was about to pull back her hand when Jing Yichen said in a low voice, “Don’t move. It is getting redder. We need to put some ice on it.”

As he spoke, he wrapped some ice cubes from the red wine ice bucket into his handkerchief and gently put the entire thing upon the back of her hand. His touch was impersonal and his attention was fully focussed on her hand.

Shangguan Ning looked up and stole a glance at the handsome face. It still looked cold and distant, yet what she felt was warmth.

She was trying hard to press down the bizarre feeling inside her heart and calm herself down. Luckily, the pain on the hand and the feeling of coolness helped to distract her enormously.

Ten minutes later, Jing Yichen moved away the ice cubes.

Although the spot on the back of her hand was still red, the pain had been reduced largely.

Shangguan Ning thanked him sincerely, “Thank you.”

Jing Yichen nodded slightly, “No worries. Just be careful next time.”

It was just a few words that he said, but Shangguan Ning sensed some changes in them. He seemed to be colder than he had been a while ago .