Chapter 21 - Love Stories

Feng Xuan let her eyes roam around Qing Chen's spacious office. Three of the walls were made of glass and the one that was not was covered by a huge painting that looked like the gold parts of the acrylic were made with gold dust by the way it shimmered in the light.

"Have a seat," he told her and they sat down on the couch set.

"It's a nice office that you have." She took in the dark colors of the interior. It must look really nice during daytime. But it looked marvelous, because the walls offered an eye-level view of the other building's lower floors filled with lights.

"Thank you," he answered and unbuttoned his coat. "So, dinner?"

Feng Xuan started opening the containers of food and Qing Chen felt his stomach grumbled. He had forgotten that Li Zongying wheeled a food cart earlier that was meant to be his meal. But he was too busy to eat. "I hope you like Italian food."

Qing Chen smiled. "They are great."

Feng Xuan opened a box and the smell of melted cheese almost made Qing Chen's mouth water. He was that hungry. "These are glorious," she said. "They make this with four kinds of cheese and the crust is so thin and crispy."

Qing Chen got a slice for himself and took a huge bite. He loved cheese. He watched as Feng Xuan's long and slim fingers popped each container open. She got pasta and the pork had already been cut up to smaller pieces. She also got them a salad.

"So tell me about yourself," Feng Xuan told him.

"Hmm?"

"Isn't that what people ask when they're trying to get to know each other?"

"Right," he said. He remembered telling her they'd have dinner at least twice a week to progress their relationship. "This is not an interview, so why don't we just talk?"

"Okay," she said. "What are we going to talk about?"

"Usually people find something that they have in common and they start from there."

"Okay, so we're going to find something in common. Do you like movies?"

Qing Chen thought for a little while. "I don't think I have seen a new flick last year."

Feng Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"I'm terribly busy."

Feng Xuan nodded but smiled. "What about books?"

"If you count accounting books, then yes."

"You're an accountant?"

"Yes, a licensed one."

"Oh," Feng Xuan said. "That's amazing."

"It's a small thing," Qing Chen said.

Why was it that their parents thought they were a good match? She was thinking they hardly have anything in common. They survived until now because they were nice to each other.

Then Feng Xuan paused. She remembered something she had been curious about Qing Chen, something they have in common. But she was too afraid to ask.

"What is it?" asked Qing Chen before taking another bite.

"Nothing," she said.

"Clearly it's something. Tell me. Ask, I'll answer the best I can."

Feng Xuan swallowed. "It's rather personal."

Qing Chen's eyebrows furrowed a little and he prepared for the blow. "What is it?"

"I just want to ask what happened to your mom. You don't have to answer if you're not comfortable."

Qing Chen's heart ached for a second but he took a deep breath of relief. He thought it would be somehow related to the mafia. He was still not sure how he would answer Feng Xuan if the day would come that she would accidentally find out about it. "My mom died in an accident. There was a fire and she was stuck in our old house and by the time the firefighters put out the fire, she already died of smoke inhalation."

Feng Xuan's skin raised goosebumps. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. We were thankful her body didn't burn. And it happened a long time ago." Qing Chen offered her a kind smile. He missed his mother but he learned to live with the pain that he would never be able to hug her again. He almost didn't ask, but he remembered he wasn't supposed to know. "Do you mind me asking about your mom?"

"Oh," Feng Xuan chuckled. It was obvious enough that her eyes got sad. "Well, she died in a car accident. We were actually in the car together. But I was the only who survived. I don't really remember much of what happened. The only thing I remember was that, I was in the car with my mom and then the next thing I know I was already in the hospital and my mom was gone."

"I'm sure she's looking out for you," Qing Chen said.

"And I'm sure your mom is too."

They stared at each other for a second and Feng Xuan just had to look away because if she didn't, she would've cried in front of him and they were certainly not in that level yet. "That's one thing we have in common then, we both have dead mothers."

Qing Chen put down his finished container and rested against the couch. He was about to say something but Feng Xuan beat him to it.

"You're probably familiar with my family's standing. On my mother's side, I mean. How we are The Brides For Sale," she said. Qing Chen reluctantly nodded at her. "I want to know, if you would tell me, what is it that made you marry me? What did my father offer?"

Qing Chen smiled. "It was not your father who offered. It was mine." Of course, he really couldn't tell her the real reason why they were married. But they already had a backup plan for that. "Our parents had long been friends in their youth. I don't know if any promises were already made back then but this is a business matter as well. Nobody has the upper hand, they just decided to make projects together. Your father is a developer and my father wanted to be a part of building communities, maybe make another hotel or a smaller one. And nothing more would keep them working together no matter what happens than have their children married."

"Or they could've just married each other," Feng Xuan joked. Of course this was really a business matter. She should've known.

"If only our parents fathers weren't in love so much with our mothers, then maybe. That would be fun," Qing Chen said, keeping a private joke to himself. Would you imagine that? The formidable forces, Feng Lizao and Qing Zihao, married? He almost wanted to laugh.

"You said your parents were arranged. How did that happen? What's their story?" Feng Xuan asked, pulling her feet from the ground and under her thighs.

Qing Chen turned towards her, his eyes on the ceiling like imagining the situation before telling it. Then laughed. "It's a cliche."

"What happened?" Feng Xuan pressed.

"My mother was a waitress in a small pizza shop which my father frequented." Not only did Qing Chen's father frequented that place, the owner of the pizza shop was paying him to keep the trouble out of there. "Then since my mom was new she didn't know who she was talking to and bit back to my father when he said something snarky. My father, the weak man that he was to women, fell in love with her right then and there. He went to that pizza shop everyday and wore down the menu until he already had every food they have. My mother fell in love with him in middle of all that."

Feng Xuan smiled. "Yeah, that's a cliche. But there's something beautiful in it, isn't there? Like, you know it's going to end happily so you stay tuned for the happy ever after."

"Yeah," Qing Chen agreed. "It was a nice story. What's the story of your parents?"

"Ugh, my father didn't want to get married! He was already forty when he married my mother who was only twenty-one at that time."

"Really?!"

"Yes," Feng Xuan answered and laughed. "A friend told my dad that he should have heirs but he kind of promised himself that he would not have children. My father's company was rising and he already had a number of employees and colleagues. At one party, you have to give a drink to a person as a way to engage them in a conversation. My father was just there in one corner and my mother walked up to him and gave him a drink."

Qing Chen's smile got wider. In the short span of knowing Feng Lizhao he really seemed like the person who would stand out like a sore thumb at parties.

"They talked about buildings and interiors. It somehow woke the romantic in my dad's body and he courted her for a little while. 'Bought' her as some people saw it and then they got married."

Qing Chen looked at the sofa cushion and a naughty smile appeared on his face."How would you tell our future kids about the night we met?"

Feng Xuan's mouth made an O. "How dare you," she laughed, remembering the night. "I can't believe you brought that up. And smoothly, by the way."

Qing Chen chuckled. "You looked so cute trying to run away from me in those heels. As if we weren't headed in the same place."

"I was so nervous!" she exclaimed. "What were the odds that we would be in the same elevator just then, right that moment?"

"True," he answered. "You were so red. I thought you would go redder than your dress."

"I was so embarrassed," she laughed again. She didn't know what to do in that situation so she ran. "You were so—" then she stopped herself, couldn't believe she was about to say it.

"I was so what?" Qing Chen asked.

His stare was getting deeper as he probed with his eyes for the continuation. Then, Feng Xuan was in that elevator again when she immediately pocketed her phone but the metal doors showed their reflection and he was looking right at her. She could feel her heart's pace picking up, like getting ready for a long jump.

"You were so..." she trailed, then realized she shouldn't be sheepish because they were friends. If she would be shy it would mean she meant it in some other way. So she finished it, light-heartedly to not shake their balance. "You were so handsome."

Qing Chen's eyebrows shot upwards in amus.e.m.e.nt. "I was so handsome?"

"Yeah, you were," she answered.

Qing Chen laid back again on the couch. "Thank you. A lot of people do not think so."

"Well, there's something wrong with their eyes."

Qing Chen looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "You are really beautiful too."

Feng Xuan played along and flipped her hair. "Of course I am. That's why I'm your wife."

Qing Chen chuckled and he remembered. He bolted up right and went to his desk, pulling out a drawer with a lock.

"What is that?" Feng Xuan asked, her interest peaking as Qing Chen got closer to her. He switched the light to something more subtle. Qing Chen sat down again and she inched closer. It was something small that it could fit in his hands.

"I had been waiting to give this to you since we got married," he said almost shyly and it made Feng Xuan smile. "I'm not supposed to give it until Friday but getting to know you the past few days made me excited to show it to you already. I hope you like it."

Then he opened his palms and a pink velvet box was inside. IT WAS A RING BOX. "Oh my God," Feng Xuan whispered. "W-why is there another ring?"

"It's the engagement ring."

"Oh!" she forgot about the engagement being a pre-requisite in getting married. Her hands moved but she couldn't bring herself to touch it, she was shaking on the inside like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to open her presents. "Are you sure?"

"I am definitely sure. Do you want me to open it for you?"

Feng Xuan nodded and kept her eyes on the small box as Qing Chen slowly opened it.

The first thing she noticed was that it reflected the light and it seemed to wink at her. Then she gasped, "Qing Chen, this is beautiful."

"It's yours," Qing Chen said handing it to her. Feng Xuan did not seem to notice because her eyes were trained so much on the ring that when he lifted his arm on the backrest, she was almost under it. Qing Chen could feel the warmth coming from her back and neck. It felt so nice.

"Oh my," Feng Xuan's voice was barely audible. "This is pink diamond, right? Is it real?"

"They told me it was," Qing Chen answered. "Do you like it?"

"Yes," she answered, smiling. It was so beautiful she felt like she could cry. The diamond was emerald in cut and smaller diamonds crowned each side and a small part of the band. She stared deeper in the huge diamond and got lost in the spectrum inside. "Oh, Qing Chen, this is divine. I don't think I can wear it."

"You have to. It's a matching pair with your wedding ring."

"What?"

Qing Chen reached for the ring and Feng Xuan turned to face him. "May I?" he asked and she placed her hand on his.

Feng Xuan's hand was cold and was immediately wrapped in the warmth of Qing Chen's. He slowly slipped the ring until it was above her other one. It was true, it was a matching set. The small diamonds on her wedding ring complimented the huge pink diamond in the middle.

Feng Xuan fought the urge but did not win, she gave Qing Chen a quick hug. "Thank you!"

And in that small second, Qing Chen felt something. He wanted to touch her, her bare shoulders and caress her arms and hold on to her waist. He even wanted to press a light kiss on her lips. But instead, when Feng Xuan released him he looked away for a few seconds and lightly slapped his knee. He knew if he took another look at her he would've done what he was thinking.

He took a deep breath and said, "Should we go home now?"

Feng Xuan smiled up at him. "Yes. Home."