Chapter 179 - My Conscience Is Pure

"Tastes good." 

Zoey blinked her eyes many times, hearing her brain cells short circuit. "Uh..." Staring back at his gentle yet still intimidating front, she gulped and tiptoed; returning the kiss for a second. 

Her sudden action took Matthew Xi by surprise as it happened within a second. "I said you have many things to learn... don't make me look like a liar." Zoey put up her strong front, never backing down because he initiated the kiss. 

Despite his sudden gentleness making her heart skip a beat, she wouldn't succumb and act like a little miss. After all, she's the mighty Zoey! She wouldn't run away, she would make him do that. 

"Mhm..." Nodding his head, Matthew Xi hummed a tune as he leaned down slowly. Alas, knowing what he was about to do, Zoey stopped him by covering his lips. 

"No more!" Almost panicking, Zoey exclaimed which made him frown. "Jeez..." She sighed, shaking her head as she averted her attention to the dish she was making. 

As Zoey continued to salvage the disaster, she could sense his gaze that never left her figure. "Am I that pretty? Why do you keep staring at me?" She asked, not withdrawing her gaze away from the pot. 

"I'm wondering whether we're going to eat ocean water tonight." Crossing his arms, Matthew Xi shrugged his shoulders as he acted normal as usual. 

After their brief smooch, Matthew Xi had to watch Zoey pour half of the salt in the pot. Not that he needed further distraction from moments ago as what she was doing was distracting enough. 

"Shoot!" Realizing what she had been doing, Zoey hastily picked up another spoon to check the food's taste. 

However, due to her mindless action, she neglected the fact that it was hot. Hence, just as she tasted it, she nearly tossed the spoon as it burned her tongue. "Ahh!"

"Tsk!" Witnessing how everything happened within a short span of seconds, Matthew Xi immediately walked towards her. 

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to face him. "Careful. Did it hurt?" Worry plastered across his face, he scrutinized her lips without any malicious intent. 

Pursing her lips into a thin line, Zoey shook her head profusely. "It's — It's fine." said Zoey, stuttering as this was the very first time she saw how worried he was. 

"Let's order food." Shifting his gaze up, Matthew Xi stated. "Do charity work if you feel bad about throwing a little food." He suggested... rather, commanded. 

"But, it's not bad..." Looking away, Zoey stubbornly lied through her gritted teeth as she looked away. 

Clicking his tongue, Matthew Xi picked up the spoon and scooped a small portion of the soup. After blowing it, Matthew Xi was immediately attacked by the dehydrating saltiness from that small sip. 

"Indeed, it's not — it's way worse." Shaking his head, Matthew Xi turned off the stove as he dragged her out of the kitchen. 

*****

"This is your fault." Crossing her arms, Zoey grumbled as she sulked on the corner of the couch. "If you didn't do what you did, we would have been enjoying my cooking!" Pushing all the blame to him, Zoey scoffed in ridicule while Matthew Xi languidly perched across her while placing utensils for the food they ordered. 

Opening his mouth to reply to her, Matthew Xi changed his mind midway as he closed his lips and placed her plate in front of her. 

"Eat." He said, opening the lids of the food containers. 

"Jeez... acting as if he didn't take advantage of me." Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Zoey snatched the plate as she rolled her eyes. 

What irked her was the fact that he was acting nonchalant. She messed up the food because he kept on staring at her and made her curious about what he had in mind. Yet, Matthew Xi was rather laid back — completely opposite of her behavior. 

Glancing at Zoey who was on the verge of throwing a tantrum, Matthew Xi sat right up. "I didn't take advantage of you. I wanted to taste the dish while inflicting less trauma from directly putting it in my mouth." 

"Wa — wow...!" Almost rendered speechless, Zoey scoffed as she peered at his unchanging figure from head to toe. 

"In other words, my conscience is pure. It was you who misunderstood it." He lied one after another, obviously giving justification for his actions as he couldn't speak the truth. 

After all, Zoey might run away the instant he loses control. It has been challenging for him to stay under the same roof and sharing the same bed with her. 

God knows that these past two nights, Matthew Xi barely had any decent sleep. He just couldn't believe that the woman he liked was sleeping next to him. Yet, Zoey would always sleep peacefully — even snore, sometimes. 

"Wa — wow...! Double wow!" Almost choking on her own saliva, Zoey's under eye twitched because in the end, he was accusing her instead. 

Shamelessness to the highest level! A natural con, indeed!

"Don't worry. I'll pretend it didn't happen." Ignoring her dismayed reaction, Matthew Xi shrugged his shoulders magnanimously. 

"Oh my god..." In utter disbelief of how Matthew Xi was really playing his character well, Zoey was completely rendered speechless. 

*****

Inside a dimly lit room, a man sat behind the desk with his hand entwined while staring at the photograph on his desk. In the photograph above all other photographs, Matthew Xi's side profile from earlier was displayed in it. 

"Boss, we've confirmed that it's indeed Xi Matthew of Xi Corporation." From the corner of the room, a man in a suit crept out of the shadow as he bowed his head towards the man behind the desk. 

"Xi Matthew, that elusive man..." The man sitting on the swivel chair smirked, sending cold chills down one's spine. 

Pulling a small dagger from where it was resting on the corner of the desk, the man pinned it on Matthew Xi's forehead. "He'll have his time." He muttered, letting out a brief chuckle before he leaned backward against the chair. 

As he did, the ray of moonlight that passed through the floor to length transparent revealed his pair of hazel eyes.