220 Long time no see...

Jia Li turned into a statue as HE emerged from the car and uttered these words. Other cars had started to honk behind his, since they were nearly blocking the narrow road. Taking advantage of her immobility, he took her by the arm and pushed her inside the luxurious interiors of the car. Urging the driver to drive on, Tang sat back and took stock of Jia Li's expressions. She was sitting absolutely still, as if in a trance.

He grinned at her reaction and then, couldn't help himself and leaned in. As soon as his lips touched hers, she gasped and leaned back. Tempted to follow her, he resisted the urge and settled back into his side.

"Hi… long time no see," he said, softly.

Jia Li couldn't believe her eyes. Coming out of the office, she had been cursing him with a vengeance. And suddenly, he was right there, in front of her. She had initially thought that he was an illusion, conjured up by her mind. Her mind couldn't react, didn't believe… and before she knew it, she was in the car and his lips were millimetres away from hers.

"Wh-what are you doing here? How did you reach here...?" she was still struggling for coherency.

"Umm, let's see if I can answer those two questions properly. I am here because a friend needs my help. And I came here via a flight. Is there anything else that you would like to ask me," his voice held a teasing note.

He was enjoying her nonplussed, dazed look.

"Uh, where are we going?" she asked suddenly.

"I assume that you would be hungry after a long day at work, so we could go grab some dinner. If not, I am happy to drop you at your residence. As of now, the driver is simply driving around, awaiting your instructions," he said with a smile.

She stared at him.

"Aren't you being too accommodating? What am I missing? Why are you here, Tang?" she asked him, suspicion lacing her words.

"Wait a minute. You said your friend needed your help. Which friend?" she asked further, without giving him a chance to respond.

He laughed softly and extended his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You look lovely, albeit a little tired. Can you recommend a place where we can go, sit and relax for a while. I promise to let you interrogate me without any distraction or interruption there," he said gently.

Her ear was still tingling after his fingers had brushed it. He looked dapper in a pair of fitted, grey corduroy pants and a pale pink shirt. The customary tie was missing and the top buttons of the shirt were open to expose the prominent Adam's apple on his neck. A hint of crisp curling hair was visible just before the buttons hid the rest. The car was already inundated with his particular brand of cologne. All these facts registered dimly at the back of her mind.

She didn't say anything to him but rattled off an address to the driver. Tang sat back and didn't attempt to make any conversation with her. He looked relaxed and Jia Li resented him for it. She could feel heat creeping upon her face despite the air conditioner doing a fairly good job at keeping the car temperature pleasantly cold.

"How can he sit back and act as if this is a normal occurrence? Why is it that I am the only one palpitating? I don't even want to imagine what a fright I must be looking after that long, stressful day at work," she thought mournfully.

While one part of her tried to check herself surreptitiously for bad odour, the other part urged her to act as nonchalant as he was being. After all, two could play that game.

Tang saw the play of emotions on her transparent face with the corner of his eye. Suppressing his urge to laugh at her cuteness, he maintained a neutral façade. If she even got a whiff of his current thoughts, she would kill him!

"So where are we headed?" he asked her, striving to keep the environment normal.

"We have arrived," she replied and got off from the car.

She had brought him to the famous South Bank area of the river Thames which boasted of the London Eye and various open air eateries around it. A family from Italy had opened an authentic restaurant here and were hugely famous for their wood fire pizzas and hand rolled pastas.

Heading towards the place, Jia Li's heels got stuck on the way. His strong arm came swiftly around her waist and put a brake to her stumble, else she would have landed on the ground, face first. Helping her straighten up, he took her fingers and interwove his own with them. She tried to pull her hand out but he paid no heed and tightened his hold on it.

"Just until we reach the place," he said quietly, his hazel eyes burning with intensity.