143 Not your friend anymore?

Wei shut the boot and came towards her door, "because I want you to take a look at the place where you may be residing in the future. If there is anything that you don't like, it's better that you let me know in advance so that I can prepare better."

Her face went red as the implications of his words hit her. Dressed in a pair of distress jeans, boots and a white cardigan, her hair was open but tucked under a woollen cap, matching her sweater.

"What has gotten into you? Stop joking all the time. I get…" she was saying this while standing with her back against the car door.

Unexpectedly, Wei leaned into her, crowding her.

"You get what? Nervous, unsure, embarrassed? Well, get used to it. This is not even an iota of what you are going to be subjected to, going forward. You can try to run away but I promise you, you won't get too far," he whispered in her ears.

She could smell his aftershave. He was dressed similarly as her, except a tweed blazer had replaced the cardigan in his case. His inky black eyes bore into hers, daring them to break the eye contact. Jia Li didn't know that she had stopped breathing till he stepped back and the breath whooshed out of her.

"What just happened?" she thought to herself.

She got inside the car, extremely conscious of his presence next to hers. When had the easy going Wang Wei been replaced by this intensely wicked stranger, who was reviving long forgotten tingling sensations in her heart. Though Jia Li had been in a long term relationship in the past and a marriage, she had never really been subjected to much wooing or flirtation.

With Tang, falling in love had been such a gradual and natural process, that there wasn't any need for these romantic preludes. As far as Fu was concerned, he had gone from being a dependable friend to a consolation husband within a very short span. Flirting games had been far from her mind at that time. So this was really the first time that she was exposed to someone's blatant overtures and she had no clue how to handle them.

"Have all problems of China been resolved yet?" he asked her.

"Huh?" she gave him a blank look.

"You seemed so fiercely engrossed in your own thoughts, that I assumed the matters must be grave and that too of the national level," he gently mocked her, knowing fully well what she must have been thinking about.

She poked him hard on his shoulder, only to grimace in pain the next minute.

"God, Jia Li! Why can't you be careful? If you are overcome by the need to touch me, I shall stop the car and you can do so at your leisure. But can you please be careful of that wound? Unless, you want me to take a detour and take you to the hospital first," he teased her mercilessly.

She decided not to react to the increasing level of his ribbing. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she looked straight ahead.

"I would advise you not to do that. You are only tempting me further to rescue those lips from that oppression. And that mole of yours…it can even drive a Saint crazy," his voice had suddenly turned deeper, huskier.

Jia Li's face was burning now.

"If you don't stop this now, forget staying at your house, I won't even speak with you. Why are you behaving like this? Am I not your friend anymore?" she asked in confused anger.

They were still on the outskirts of Moganshan and hadn't hit the highway yet. Wei pulled the car on the side and turned to look at her.

"No, you aren't my friend. You are the woman that I am madly in love with. You are the person with whom I want to spend the rest of my life. You are the one who has…" she reached out and put her hand on his mouth, unable to take his words anymore.

He covered her palm with his own and lowered it from his mouth. Holding onto it, he put the gear back into drive mode. She tried to tug her hand out but he didn't let go. She glanced at him but he was looking straight ahead. The car seemed to be thrumming with a strange sort of vibration. Jia Li didn't know how to react to it. Her heart was thumping uncomfortably, as if it had forgotten which way to pump the blood!

After a few minutes of silence, Wei started a discussion on the new language centres which they were to open up in the future. His tone was back to its usual friendly octave. But her fingers still stayed in the warm yet firm cage of his hand. She felt off balance. She tried pulling her fingers out of his grasp yet again, only to be told quietly that her wound would get a strain with her actions.