"Hey, are you still here with me?"
Xiong Jingfei snapped back to reality. Looking to the left and right, everything returned back to the way it was. She was wearing her pink dress, and the Yang Zheyan in the ancient robe was back into wearing his white dress shirt.
What was that all about? She clenched her fist. This time it was different from her usual dreams or visions. She finally saw the face of this person named Yang Zheyan in her dream. It was the same face as her fiance... Yang Zheyan had on the same fake smile like the one she saw in her dream.
What does this mean? Why is she finally starting to remember the faces of those who appear in her dream? They were always wiped from her memory the moment she opened her eyes. Besides having these things showing up in her dream. They were starting to show up even while she was conscious.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Yang Zheyan asked, picking up each of the food and putting it in her bowl. "Eat."
He waited for her to do the same thing back, but she didn't. Instead, she ate what he put in her bowl and was deep in thought. Did she even hear him?
Right then, his phone was going off again. Who was it that was calling him this time? He glanced at his phone. A part of him told him to ignore it, but if he did. This person was never going to stop calling him.
This time, he excused himself and stepped outside the private room to answer the call. Pressing the answer button, "Hey, mom. What's the matter?"
"Does there have to be a problem to call my own son?" Song Liqin sounded irritated, but she could never be with her only son.
Yang Zheyan leaned his back against the wall, "Yes, most of the time."
Song Liqin was holding herself back from losing it, "Are you still at the meet up?"
Yang Zheyan narrowed his eyes. Why was his mom asking when she was the person who set up the time and place? He replied, "Yes."
"Good! Could you bring her to meet me?"
Although Song Liqin tried hiding the anger in her voice. Yang Zheyan picked up on it. After all, his mom was the person who was against this marriage the most. Why would she suddenly be asking so kindly to meet Xiong Jingfei?
"Mom-"
"I will be waiting at the main house."
Yang Zheyan was cut off and hung up on without getting a chance to object. He knew he shouldn't have picked up the phone call. Especially on a day like today. What was his mom up to this time? For the past years, she tried breaking up the marriage agreement because she found someone more suitable for him.
He opened the door back to the private room. Sitting back down, he noticed that Xiong Jingfei barely touched any of the food. Tsk, she was too skinny and needed to eat more.
Yang Zheyan continued to put more food into her bowl, urging her to keep eating. He will wait for her to finish before whisking her away.
"Done?" Yang Zheyan asked when she put down her chopsticks. Standing up, "Great, are you ready to test the real thing?"
What real thing? Xiong Jingfei was confused at what Yang Zheyan was trying to say.
Not explaining a word to her, he took her by the hand to leave the private room. She immediately pulled her hand back but was held in place by Yang Zheyan.
"You don't want to be the person who breaks your own contract, right?"
He's right... Xiong Jingfei rolled her eyes on the inside. Even if he was trying to make her fl.u.s.tered, she wasn't going to let him win. Instead of the usual holding hands. She pulled herself closer to Yang Zheyan and wrapped her arms around his.
She raised an eyebrow at him just like in the vision when Ai agreed to Yang Zheyan's deal. In public, they will show off their "love" to others.
Yang Zheyan grinned at her forwardness. She was adapting fast to the situation. Maybe, she will be able to deal with that woman. The one, his mom, wanted him to marry all along.
Walking outside the private room, arms in arms. Some of them, which were mostly women, stopped eating and stared at them. They began whispering to each other, especially the table with four women sitting together.
"Isn't that the Yang's heir, Yang Zheyan?"
"Who is that woman beside him?"
Xiong Jingfei was already preparing herself for the stares, but she didn't think they'll get this much eyes on them. Walking past the four women's table, she glanced over at them, and they scowled at her.
"Look at her arrogant face! Just because she has Yang Zheyan backing her!"
This time, it was Yang Zheyan, who made it obvious that he was looking at them. All four of them immediately piped down and couldn't lift up their head. Their whispering lips were sealed with that one look of his. They were only able to lift up their heads once Yang Zheyan and Xiong Jingfei were gone.
"I thought Yang Zheyan was supposed to be a gentleman..."
"Well, I thought his smile was supposed to make your knees go weak..."
"It does!" One of them spoke up, "I only seen it once, but I would love to see it again!"
Out of the four of them, one of them was very quiet and on her phone. The nearest one sitting by her glanced over, "What are you doing?"
A malicious grinned appeared on the phone woman's face, "Informing a certain someone that her man is being taken."
****
Xiong Jingfei's eyes stuck onto the long road ahead of them. Yang Zheyan drove them into a forest with a long paved pathway. On both sides were nothing but trees and trees. After driving what felt like forever, they finally arrived at a tall white metal gate.
Two bulky security guards walked up to Yang Zheyan's car. Yang Zheyan rolled down his window and upon seeing the owner of the vehicle. They immediately bowed, "Young master, welcome back!"
"Open the gate!" One of the security guards shouted, signaling the other one to open it.
Xiong Jingfei tried to keep her mouth from dropping. She couldn't help staring out the window.
Yang Zheyan pulled up an enormous mansion! In front of it was a water fountain that can be a pool too. On all sides of the house, it was decorated with flowers and trimmed bushes. There were even some workers still tending to the flower gardens.
She wondered how many people does it take to maintain such a vast flower garden?
Yang Zheyan got out and went around to the other side to open her door. Except, Xiong Jingfei was holding onto her seat belt, not planning to get out. Why did he bring her here?
He wasn't going to give up on getting her out of his car. Leaning in, he seductively whispered, "Come on now, darling~. Don't you want to test how compatible we can be?"
In one click, he unbuckled her and pulled her out effortlessly. She glared at him, but he ignored her and smoothed out her scrunching eyebrows. Tracing his index finger down her face and stopped at her chin.
He gently lifted up her chin and chuckled, "The show is only starting, darling~. A word of warning, walls have ears and doors have eyes."
Her annoyed face was instantly replaced with joy like she was enjoying his every touch. She wrapped her arms around his, just like at the restaurant. The only difference was that her body was much closer to his and the arm linked in his held on tighter.
Yang Zheyan grinned. She was nervous, but she was doing a remarkable job of concealing it. Oddly, the arms that clung around his felt natural and not forced. Like it belonged there all along. He felt it when they left the restaurant. Not wanting their walk and arms linked together to end.
Xiong Jingfei didn't realize her fingers were clenching Yang Zheyan's shirt. He didn't have to tell her where he took her. Just the way the security guards greeted him, and how he was walking like he was the owner of the place. She was sure this was what he was talking about, the "real thing."
When they got to the tall wooden doors, someone opened the door for them, "Welcome back home, young master and Miss Xiong."
"Shouldn't it be, Miss? Miss Xiong makes her sound so distant and not my wife." Yang Zheyan corrected the servant with a hint of warning.
"Yes, young master. I apologize, Miss!" The servant promptly acknowledged her mistake. Bending her head low, "M-mistress had been waiting for your arrival in the main room."
Yang Zheyan nodded, taking the lead to where the main room is. Upon arriving, just like he was expecting. It wasn't just going to be his mother who was waiting for them.
It was the entire family of the Yang family.