Chapter 22 - Yes

"My darling is jealous?" Even before Matthew Xi could respond, Zoey gasped as she repeated her words sounding certain.

Matthew Xi stared at her expectant pair of eyes as she began poking his chest.

"Are you? Are you?" Zoey continuously poked his chest lightly as she stared at his russet eyes. "Hmm?" She hummed, inciting for an answer.

"Jealous?" Slowly, Matthew Xi furrowed his brows as he kept examining her expectant front. "Yes." After a beat, he added which caused her eyes to widen in disbelief.

Zoey expected a cold, heartless "NO!". However, Matthew Xi truly disappointed her by admitting he was jealous!

"You look ugly." After her surprised reaction, Matthew Xi witness her beautiful smile gradually changed into an dismayed frown. Hence, he spoke his mind, causing her frown to turn uglier.

"Darling, how can you fall for my charms that soon?" Seemingly on a brink of having an emotional breakdown, Zoey covered her lips by her palm as she peered at him from head to toe.

Matthew Xi's displeasure about earlier was slowly forgotten by her dramatic reaction. Why was her reaction so strange?

Zoey had been bewitching him with all her might. Yet, why does she look so disappointed knowing she was making an impact on him?

'Really, really strange.' He thought internally. He wanted to read Zoey's train of thoughts, predict what she was up to, and what she wanted.

Sometimes, he thought he somehow understood her. However, whenever he seemed to understand her, Zoey would prove him wrong.

"Because I like you." Matthew Xi's expression didn't change as he 'confessed' his feelings for her.

Even a blind and deaf could tell how insincere his confession was. Yet, Zoey's frown had a 180 degree change in an instant.

"No, you don't." She said, stretching her lips into a bright grin.

Matthew Xi narrowed his eyes, studying her for a second. He opened his mouth, about to say something, but, he closed them again before words could slip from his lips.

The words 'jealous' and "I like you" were alien words for him. But, based from the books he had read before, Matthew Xi assumed that he's jealous — for the first time in history — and likes her too.

Therefore, he purposely confessed; he even tried putting some effort to sound sincere but to no avail. Matthew Xi could not fix his natural inexpressive tone.

In spite of that, she looked surprisingly glad about the insincerity. What's her problem?

Zoey was pursuing him to like her yet, she would be disappointed if she was successful? Having this questions floating in his mind, Matthew Xi slightly tilted his head to the side.

"Are you a masochist?" Suddenly, Matthew Xi asked out of curiosity.

"Huh?" Blinking her eyes multiple times, Zoey tucked her hair behind her ear as if she didn't hear him correctly because of it. "Darling, did you ask me if I'm cute?" Asking for confirmation, Zoey repeated the question 'she heard'.

"No, I said..." Just as Matthew Xi could repeat his question, he squinted his eyes as his words trailed off.

He suddenly thought if Zoey purposely asked a different question, as an indirect way of asking him to repeat his question. This sudden thought sort of gave him a dot hint of what kind of woman standing before him.

"Nevermind. Are you sure you're canceling your meeting?" Shrugging his shoulders, Matthew Xi diverted the subject.

"Yes, you're leaving anyway. So, there's no point — plus, there's a hoodlum strolling around. I don't want another battle of lawsuits." Zoey heavily sighed as she pouted, attempting to look all cute and bubbly.

Alas, with a natural seductive facial features, Zoey appeared as if she's asking for something else.

"You," Pointing his finger at her, Matthew Xi was dismayed at her failed attempt. "I'll only assist you this once because I don't want to ruin your plans." He reminded, giving clearance of his intention.

How could she cancel this important meeting because of a certain person? Wasn't she a businesswoman? She should know the clear line of work ethics.

Matthew Xi had been strict with his schedule. He was never late in his appointments and meeting. Not to mention, cancel an important business meeting because of 'petty' reasons.

"Really~?" Bearing a twinkling eyes, Zoey looked up to him as if he was some kind of an angel in disguise.

Although the meeting today wasn't that important — and the 'this is an important meeting' excuse she gave earlier to him was an exaggeration — Zoey still felt that her time was wasted because of that guy.

Therefore, she would truly appreciate Matthew Xi if he could accompany her a little longer. They could forget about finding matching clothes for their first date as business matters comes first.

"Let's go. We still have ten minutes." Checking the time on his wrist watch, Matthew Xi reminded.

Meanwhile, his wristwatch caught Zoey's attention because she recognized the brand. Yet, Zoey didn't probe about it as the two of them needed to arrive at the mall's office for her meeting.

Still, before the two of them turned back to the direction where they came from earlier, Zoey shamelessly snaked her arm around his muscular arm.

Obviously, Matthew Xi was startled a bit before he turned to her. Who would have thought that her next words were even more alarming?

"Darling, I think I love you now," she said while smiling from ear to ear.