Chapter 373 - Holy! Who Are You Again?!

"Hehe…" With the side of her lips twitching, Zoey lazily dragged herself up. "What do you mean disturbing us? Of course not, Mr. Landlord." Zoey massaged her palms against each other, like a cunning swindler, walking towards Matthew who was devoid of human emotion.

"By the way, what is Mr. Xi, the overlord doing here during working hours?" Since those pair of cold russet eyes were on her, Zoey tried to change the subject. His silence was too overwhelming, bugging her mind of what's going inside his head.

It was better if he was expressing himself by interrogating her or Ivan about what they were talking about. However, Matthew chose to give her the cold-treatment or answer her with silence. Hence, Zoey felt more nervous as she studied his unmoving front.

After a minute of silence, Matthew's lips slowly parted, followed by his icy voice. "Renovation." He answered, blinking once before shifting his gaze back to Ivan.

Suddenly, the moment Ivan and Matthew's eyes met, an invisible electricity clashed in the middle of the space from point to point. Although it wasn't visible to the naked eye, Zoey could sense the tension building up in this small office of hers. 

'He's not that petty, right? He'll hear my explanation, right?' Zoey wondered, pinching the bridge of her nose in distress.

"Are you having an affair with him?" Just as Zoey was considering what she should tell Matthew and not to, Zoey was bamboozled by his sudden question. 

"Huh??!" In utter disbelief, Zoey shot Matthew's side profile, a look of dismay. Why was he acting as if he caught her red-handed? For Pete's sake! They're not officially together and she's not cheating!

"No." Unfazed, Ivan answered without a change of his expression. "We're merely talking about human relationships." In a matter-of-fact tone, Ivan vaguely explained.

Although Ivan didn't want to disclose this subject to an outsider, Zoey seemed stressed out. Therefore, as a reliable little brother, Ivan thought he should help her out for a little. The reason he gave a vague answer to Matthew. That's all he could say -- no more no less.

"Yes! I'm counseling him about love!" As soon as Zoey's mind processed Ivan's answer, her eyes lit up as she faced Matthew. Her face brightened up, her eyes twinkling which caused Matthew to arch his right brow when he cast her a side eye.

"You see, I didn't tell you yet, but aside from fortune-telling, I also do love counselling!" While rubbing her hands together, Zoey explained bearing a wide grin on her lips. "As a CEO of my own company, I should be responsible for my employees' mental health and their hearts too!" She added, sounding proud at her role as the owner of her own company.

Momentarily, Matthew just stared at her indifferently. By the looks of it, he didn't buy even a tiny bit of her lies. His eyelashes fluttered slowly, his expression unchanging. Matthew's lips slowly gaped open, but then again, he closed them again, deciding to not speak a word in front of her nonsense.

Since he was unfazed by her explanation, Zoey immediately headed to Plan B. "Ughh! I didn't want to admit it…" She massaged her temple, sighing heavily. This, of course, piqued Matthew's interest as he turned his head to her direction, waiting for her explanation.

"I am, indeed, advicing Ivan about love because…" She sighed, shaking her head sideways. "No, it's not actually advising, but explaining how I feel towards a certain dummy." Zoey looked away, pouting adorably while her cheeks slightly blushed.

"Oh?" 

"What a dummy… whose timing is off." Through her pouty lips, Zoey complained in a meek voice as her arms crossed.

"Anyway, sis, I mean, Boss call me if you need something." As she watched Zoey pull out this petty trick, Ivan shook his eyes before he got blind by her respectable sister's cute act. Slowly, Ivan assisted himself up, his gaze fixated on Matthew who seemed enjoying visiting this small office frequently.

"You… nevermind." Just before Ivan could say his initial thoughts, he shook his head as he changed his mind the instant he thought of the words he wanted to say. With the way of his hand, Ivan shoved them inside his pocket as he made his exit.

Before he could leave the room, Ivan stopped near Matthew, turning to his side before he shook his head once again. Without a word, Ivan resumed in his tracks after a good ten seconds of exchanging stares with Matthew.

When Ivan left, only silence filled the air which felt awkward to her. Hence, Zoey decided to break the ice by clapping her hand lightly. "Why don't you take a seat, eh?" She gestured her hand, pointing at the couch where Ivan sat earlier.

Matthew just cast Zoey a side eye before he strode towards the small set of couches. However, instead of perching on the seat where Ivan sat, Matthew plopped on the long seat she was perched on. 

"Uh…" Zoey scratched her jaw lightly, sensing his silent revolt to her. 'This landlord is taking advantage of his power, eh?' Yet, in her mind, she could not help but diss him. Zoey then walked and headed to where Ivan sat.

However, just before she could rest her bum, she stopped when he spoke. "Not there. Here." He commanded, patting the little space beside him.

"Ah?" 

"Beside me." He bluntly explained, cocking his head to his side slightly. "My throat is dry, you won't hear me." He explained, yet, his expression and tone said otherwise.

'What a great liar! He could just say he's jealous or whatever.' As her expression switched to a poker face, Zoey rolled her eyes. He should be grateful she loves him, so she was abiding by his request which wouldn't happen in a million years if others requested the same thing.

Without further ado, Zoey dragged her feet and then collapsed onto the space beside him. "You know you're abusing the power of being the landlord." When she perched, Zoey scoffed while he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

For a second, Zoey stared at his dashing side profile. After a second, the corner of her lips curled into a playful smirk. "Aiya~!" As shameless as it may seem, Zoey caught him off guard as she laid her head on his lap.

Her foot exceeded over the other side of the couch, staring up at him who was startled as he gazed down. "Please abuse your powers, I don't mind." A sweet smile formed on the side of her lips, grinning from ear to ear as she fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly. 

'If acting shy is not working, then, I'll do the opposite!' Zoey affirmed internally, thinking this method would work for him to stop flirting with her.

"Really?" Upon absorbing her words, Matthew smirked as he leaned down to her surprise.

'What -- what…"

"Be careful of what you wish for, Miss tenant." When Matthew reached the point he couldn't lean down further, he advised calmly. His tone had a touch of playfulness, enjoying how reckless her words were.

'Holy! Who are you again?!' While Zoey was being scrutinized by this cunning man who was playing with her heart at will, her mind went hysterical as reverse psychology seemed useless as well!