Chapter 9 - The Clumsy One

Under the mystically lit wisteria tree, Wan Yi Jun remained bewitched as he gazed deep into her eyes. Her dark irises appeared like a blackhole that succumbed his entire consciousness, spreading an intoxicating caprice on his veins.

"What's your name?" Wan Yi Jun asked. His voice, so low and husky, as alluring as his manly countenance.

The sudden gush of cold wind shook the purple vines of wisteria and showered soft oval petals on them, like a reminder from the heavens.

"Stay away." She screamed inwardly and pulled herself, not to fall for his tricks.

Ignoring her pathetic condition, the girl propped up from the mushy puddle all by herself and pretended that she didn't hear his question.

However, Wan Yi Jun looked at her with a heavily pounding heart, unlike his usual tranquil self. He appeared as if he is on a desperate need for her answer.

A name, that is unique as the holder's personality and appearance - he yearns to hear it once again in this lifetime and for the last fifteen years, he has been searching for a girl who holds that name.

For a mere moment, a glint of melancholy flashed on her emotionless face, reflecting the chaos surging inn her stone cold heart that trembled at the very sight of him.

It was a simple question, yet she failed to answer when an unknown fear clouded her senses.

"Did he recognise her? No. It can't be." She recited in her mind and tightly clutched on to the hem of her dress.

No. She is dead for him...for everyone. Her entire existence is wiped clean, and she is no longer the same girl who was chased away from imperial.

"Ming Yue." She lied.

"Ming Yue," Wan Yi Jun chanted the name as she watched his curiosity fade away from his face. "Are you alright?"

When she heard his question, the corner of her mouth curled into a tiny sneer.

As expected, he doesn't remember her at all. Why did she even get anxious.

Ming Yue, a stranger- that would be her new identity.

Fine, let it remain like that.

She answered his question with a slight head wobble and as a vague effort to avoid his piercing gaze, she subconsciously raised hand to wipe her face with dirty hands.

"Don't" Wan Yi Jun abruptly grabbed her arm, and stopped her from smearing the dirt on her face.

Huh, she forgot the fact that her hands were indeed dirty.

"There is a tap somewhere in the garden, why don't you...get cleaned..I mean wash it away?" He stuttered as the initial daze vanished from his system, allowing him to think coherently.

"Sorry?" She arched her eyebrows at his odd selection of words.

"Huh? You are the one who fell down, why are you apologising to me?" He suppressed a tiny teeny laughter as he released her wrist from his hold.

"Lame!" She wished to say, but somehow ended up agreeing with Wan Yi Jun as he began to lead her to the warehouse.

"Please, come this way," He directed her through the path of overgrown and unruly plants that covered almost one fourth of the large garden.

It was evident that the plants lacked proper care and pruning as they grew wilder, creating an unique order that surprisingly turned out an aesthetic piece of scenic beauty.

Reserved or wild- everything have its own charms, it just depends upon the eyes of the viewer.

Even though Ming Yue wasn't a person who enjoys gardening, her steps halted when her eyes fell on the lotus pond in the middle of the garden.

The white and pink lotus flowers floated on the murky water like a symbol of purity and rebirth.

As she stood watching the lotus blooms, Wan Yi Jun went ahead to open the valves that connected to the water pump and the long garden hose.

However, even after rotating the rusty valves, only a gust of air came through the hose.

"Let me check it again." Wan Yi Jun said in a loud booming voice, aiming at Ming Yue who stood few metres away, lost in the thoughts

"Can you come over?" Wan Yi Jun called her when he struggled, nah failed to figure out which valve regulates the water flow. Though he grew up in this mansion as the young master, he wasn't sure about how things worked in Wisteria gardens without butlers and maids.

Hearing his call, Ming Yue turned towards Wan Yi Jun, and an immediate snicker hurled on her face.

"What a pity!!!" She twitched her mouth and ambled to his side, pitying the incompetence and clumsiness of certain someone.

"Shrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!"

All of a sudden, the water sprinklers that was buried on various spots of the garden, rose up and shot cold water all over the place, including Ming Yue who got startled by the sudden attack of the cold jet sprayers.

"Oh shit!!!" Wan Yi Jun loudly cursed as he realised his mistake and frantically turned almost every single valve next to the water pump. But instead of turning off, his actions increased the shooting power of the sprinklers, almost bathing the girl who had no option to runaway.

After what felt an eternity later, Wan Yi Jun somehow managed to cut off the water supply and rushed towards Ming Yue who looked like a soaked mess of water and dirt.

"I'm extremely sorry. I didn't know which was the right valve." He honestly apologized and even bowed before her to express the inconvenience caused by him.

Wan Yi Jun could swear upon the heavens, he has never felt so clumsier in his entire life.

However, hearing his apology, the girl appeared aloof and cool-headed, even though her red lips were trembling under the effect of chilling weather.

"It's alright." She reassured him and wiped the dirty water from her face, casually yet stylishly with the back of her palm.

Though the jet sprinklers did a nice job in washing off the dirt from her face, the mushy mud left dark stains on her dress.

"Why don't you go inside and clean it properly or maybe, take a bath?" Wan Yi Jun scratched his chin and suggested to Ming Yue who started squeezing off water from her clothes.

"No. I will just go home." She replied and wiped her face once again,

"Like this?" He asked in disbelief and unknowingly checked her out, top to bottom.

The lilac dress that she wore has completely got drenched in water and stuck to her slender figure who, accentuating every curve on her body.

For a moment, Wan Yi Jun was left dumbstruck by the enticing view before his eyes.

Whether it is because of the intoxicating effect left by the countless wisteria racemes or because of desperate tricks that his mind played or just pure animal instincts, he felt his heart tightening at the sight of the drenched beauty.

A sudden rage of fire ignited in his veins, evoking an emotion that he refused to acknowledge so far.