Chapter 359 - Short Line

"So… why are you here?" As they ate, Zoey probed out of curiosity and then continued to chew her food.

Matthew glanced up as his eyes fixated on her greasy lips, her stuffed cheeks, matched with her innocent-looking curious eyes. "I'm hungry." Short and precise, he answered as he picked up a tissue paper. Without further ado, he wiped her lips, which caught her off guard, causing her to stop herself from breathing for a second. Her back stiffened, letting him wipe her lips until he was finished.

Once he was done, Zoey coughed as she pounded her chest. This, of course, made Matthew furrow his brows as he gave her a bottle of water he brought with him. "Don't speak when your mouth is full." He worriedly advised while Zoey snatched the water and chugged it down.

When the food that was clogging her throat felt free, Zoey instantly glared daggers at the worried man across her. "It's not the food's fault, it's yours!" Zoey sassed, grinding her teeth with her eyes fiercely glazing over him.

Mathew blinked his eyes innocently, tilting his head to the side as if he was a hundred percent clueless of his sin. "No, don't give me that look! I'm too weak for that!" Zoey mouthed off in disdain.

Currently, Matthew was akin to a puppy with his invisible ears twitching charmingly; his usual russet eyes grew a little bigger as they gleamed. Definitely Zoey's weakness for cute things! She resolved that she must stop this curse as she was too weak to fight her perverted side and she might take advantage of him one day! 

Slowly, the corner of his lips angled down, a mix of a frown and a pout which made her gasp. "What did I do?" He asked, staring at her horrified front as if he was wronged unjustly.

"You're too cute!" Still bearing her very unladylike expression, Zoey exclaimed. "Mr. Xi, let's get this straight, alright? You're supposed to be the domineering, cold-hearted, and over-bearing CEO! Please act like it! I can't take this cuteness! Gosh!!" Zoey spouted in one go, in disbelief that this Matthew Xi whom she had married and loves was acting like a cute puppy! 

Even during their short married life, Matthew was just gentle and caring. He was cute in his own way, especially when he wanted more affection from her. However, never once had Matthew acted this way! If he did, Zoey wouldn't be this horrified seeing these expressions — but this was her first time witnessing such an act! How could she keep her heart still? 

Her heart was beating so fast, melting briskly at the sight of him. This is a curse! Matthew Xi being cute shouldn't exist in this world — it was just too much for her heart to handle such cuteness! It's a sin, indeed.

For a moment, Matthew stared at her flushed face, clearly showing that her words were a hundred percent real. How amusing that the woman, who emanated a sinister vibe earlier, was like a shy teenager now. If Matthew wasn't seeing this first hand, he wouldn't believe that she would act like this with a slight romantic advance.

Shortly after the silence, the side of his lips hooked up into a smirk. "Oh?" Slowly, he leaned his arms on the edge of the table, bending his head a little forward as his entire adorable facade changed into a sly one. "You're really interesting, Miss Zhou." His tone playful, causing her to freeze upon hearing his faint chuckle.

"I wonder if you usually blush when being teased or if your reaction varies depends on the person — I'm curious." Matthew slightly tilted his head, before his arms raised so his knuckles could support his temple.

"Are you toying with me?!" When Zoey snapped back from her shock seeing his facade unveil before her very eyes, she gasped in dismay. "How can you play an innocent maiden's heart so easily?!" She added in the same lofty tone, clenching her chest dramatically and then wiping the invisible tear on the corner of her eyes.

"Haha." He laughed, fixating his smiling eyes on her. "Innocent, indeed." He repeated, trying to sound convinced, but one could easily discern he wasn't convinced — not a tiny bit. 

"Gosh…" Zoey facepalmed in distress. "I didn't know you were this cheeky in this lifetime. How did he remain single for the next eight years? He can get any lady with his charm." While Zoey buried her face in her palms, she blurted out under her breath.

Although she blurted those words out to herself, they still reached his ears, which made his brows knit. "What are you talking about?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Ah?" Zoey snapped, raising her head. The second she realized she blurted things out accidentally, her eyes widened as she gasped for the nth time.

"What do you mean I'd be single for the next eight years? Are you still on the time-traveling subject?" Without further ado, Matthew threw his question along with her question back in the lift earlier this morning. His eyes never left her eyes, studying every movement, and witnessed how they shook in panic.

"Ha ha ha!" As awkward as it may seem, Zoey clapped her hands once as she looked around like a stupid fool. "No, actually, if you didn't know already, I've been doing fortune-telling as a hobby! Haha! Right, fortune-telling!" After cooking up such lame lie, Zoey returned her gaze back at him. A forced grin was plastered on her lips, its corners trembling while he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to study her.

"Fortune telling?" His brows slowly arched in suspicion.

"Yes!" She nodded profusely. "I can even read your palms for a cheap price!" Zoey moved her brows in an up and down motion. 'Please buy this excuse!' Yet, inside her mind, Zoey was frantically hoping for the sliver of hope that he would buy this lame excuse of hers.

"How much?" After a moment of silence, Matthew pursed his lip as he laid his palm forward.

"Just five thousand yuan!" Out of instinct, Zoey's eyes seemed to display money signs like in cartoons as her initial reaction upon charging a person.

As soon as she named her price, Matthew clenched his hand and drew it away a little. "One hundred." He haggled, causing a look of disdain from the latter.

"Oy, this is not a thrift shop! 3000!" She peered at him in ridiculing as she was confident that her readings were a hundred percent accurate. Why? Because she came from the future! Perks of knowing too much in the business industry and the economy's high and low.

Imagine if Zoey could snatch the ideas that would skyrocket in the market in the next eight years? She would be filthy rich! She would even surpass her previous life's net worth! However, Zoey has some conscience to not steal other's bright future.

"500." Still bearing his poker face, Matthew raised, but his price was lower than her offer, making her under eye twitch.

"2000!"

"1000 — take it or leave it." He shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Fine! Jeez!" In the end, Zoey still succumbed to his offer and conceded in defeat. "I'll just treat this as a friendly price — jeez!" She grumbled, snatching his palms closer to her while rolling her eyes. Matthew chuckled as he watched her read his palms unwillingly.

"Hmmm…" Zoey stared at the lines on his palms, understanding nothing. 'How can fortune-tellers read people's fate just by these lines??' She wondered internally, trying to restrain herself from revealing her cluelessness about these kinds of things so she wouldn't look suspicious as she already was.

'Man… his palms are so smooth. What can you expect from someone who never did any chores in his life?' Zoey used her index finger and rubbed it in a circular motion on his palm. Unlike her rough palms due to menial works in the past and everything she did before she started Z Image Group, Matthew's were more ladylike; not to mention, his slender fingers and clean nails that she'd die to have.

Zoey's time of 'reading' his fate had turned into a session of her admiring his hand as she unconsciously flipped it around to see his delicate veins protruding from beneath the back of his hand.

Meanwhile, as Zoey took her sweet time staring at his palm, the smile on his lips cemented for a long time. He didn't have any high hope for this reading if he was being honest. However, he was enjoying the time that she was focusing on his hand — admiring HIM. By the looks of it, Zoey had her hundred and ten percent attention on him. No penny could amount to this. 

That was the reason Matthew haggled. He didn't like the idea of buying her attention. Well, there's a price, but it was too little to even distract her. Unbeknownst to him, he had been staring at Zoey longer all along, chuckling faintly when she flipped his hand as he had never seen a fortune teller reading the back of the client's hand.

"So, you see this line?" When Zoey felt that it was the moment that she should start her reading, she pointed at the first line on his palm that was near his fingers. 

"Hmm,"

"This means you have a bright future. I mean, your company and your net worth will double in a year. Many doors of opportunity will open for you, but you have to think carefully before choosing which door to take because not every door will lead to great treasure; some will lead to nothing but wasted efforts." For some reason, Zoey's tone changed and sounded like an old witch sharing words of wisdom to him.

She only needed to be in a different setting, a crystal ball, dolls on the sides, candles, and a huge pot to stir her magic potions and Zoey could be a literal old witch in those children's books. Fortunately, she wasn't prepared or else, she would decorate her office for a halloween special.

"Really?" His brows arched, nodding his head slowly in understanding.

"Yes!" Zoey nodded, staring straight at him with eyes full of conviction. "This one in the middle, it's a little short. Meaning, although you have a bright future in your career -- in business, you'll lack women." Zoey coughed at her last remarks. She sounded like a con for telling him this as his face could attract bees and butterflies. It was hard to believe that he would lack women because Zoey was certain he doesn't lack that certain aspect.

Still, since the real problem was him, Zoey worded it that way so she wouldn't sound so certain about his attitude towards women. Just to be safe.

Matthew just gave her a shrug as a response as he didn't mind having lack of women. If anything, he actually hoped that some ladies would stop trying to climb his bed -- it's too annoying. Not just annoying, but also troublesome to threaten their families to not make the same mistake twice.

"This one line…" As Zoey traced the short line connected from the middle of the centerline, she paused. For some reason, she heard her subconscious mind whisper the word 'life' as she traced the short line.

Upon processing the unwelcomed message from her own mind, Zoey's forehead broke out in sweat as her grip on his hand trembled. "This line…" She tried to continue, but her voice cracked as she gulped.

"This line?" Confused, Matthew peeked at his palm, to the short line she was pointing at before his brows knitted. Since he couldn't understand anything about how to read other's destiny, Matthew obviously couldn't understand her reaction.

However, what he was certain was that Zoey was nervous. He pursed his lips, exhaling heavily before he clasped his hand close, holding her shaking hand. "That line tells how much time I need to make someone fall for me. Very less, it appears so." Matthew continued her sentence that she couldn't. Obviously, this was not from reading his palm, but from his confidence and humor.

"Ah?" Slowly, Zoey raised her confused gaze at him. As soon as she laid her eyes on him, a gentle smile from him blessed her eyes. She felt his hand squeezed her hand gently, calming it down from trembling.

"Don't fall for me before the ten dates expire, that's shorter than the line. It'll contradict your prediction.." Matthew winked as he delivered his words in a matter-of-fact tone.