Ming poured a cup of water and passed it to Lena. "Maybe I said that wrong. I just think we should try."
"I don't believe you. Now that you are skinny, handsome, and rich, you will bully me instead."
Ming raised his brow. "Is that the kind of man you think I am?" Ming was not going to lie... he did have that idea passed his mind at one point. "I would never treat a woman so low."
Lena drank all her water. "I don't understand a few things. Aren't you already engaged? And even so, what made you change your mind so quick?"
"Mike Zhao." Ming poured some water for him and took a drink. "After our engagement was annulled, the Zhao and Bai family made a pact. They arrange marriage states that the eldest son of the Zhao family will marry the eldest daughter of the Bai family."
"So... Since you are not the eldest anymore, Mike Zhao's bride is the young miss Bai?" Lena finished the thought for him.
"Correct." Ming took a bite of food and scoops a big prawn for Lena. "If you were to be mine, then my powers would match his."
"You want to marry me for power?" Lena did not like the sound of that at all. This was the same thing as last time Ming talked to her about being a fake girlfriend. But this time, it was not fake.
"No. That's just a small benefit. I would not just marry someone because it only benefits me. Marriage is not a game. I think you would be a really good wife. You are pretty, smart, and you know to behave yourself."
"I--" Lena was going to say that she was not a good wife... but she is! She had spent her entire years with Andy to be the perfect wife. She will be the perfect wife for anyone she marries!
"You're not the same as you were in the past. I am also not the same as I was in the past. Humans are bound to make mistakes. Only those who are strong enough can pick themselves up and become better."
"I won't marry you," Lena spoke firmly. "I won't marry a man I am not in love with."
Ming softly chuckled. "So... I just need to make you fall in love with me?"
Lena blushed from that comment. That was a direct line from a drama, he can't use that line on her! "It's not that easy to make me fall in love with you!" She declared.
"I know what kind of woman you are."
"How can you know what kind of woman I am? I don't even know what kind of woman I am."
"That's why it would be fun. I will show you what kind of woman you are." Ming stood up a bit from his seat and steal a piece of food from Lena's plate.
"Hey! That's mine."
"See. That worked. Are you falling in love with me yet? You're blushing..." He smiled at Lena's flushed face.
"I am not blushing. I am angry. Angry from your nonsense."
Ming laughed. "I won't tease you anymore. Finish your food, I will leave first." Ming stood up from his seat.
"Wait." Lena called out. "Why did you fall in love with Eva Wu?"
Ming turned around with a big grin. "Lena, are you jealous already? We have not started dating yet. It's okay, I am faithful to one woman only."
Lena put a hand on her forehead and looked down. This guy was giving her a headache. "I am not jealous. I am very curious." She looked back up to him.
"She makes me forget how ugly the world is. She makes me remember that there are still some good things in the world. She didn't need my money, nor my power. She accepted me regardless of my flaws. She was so delicate that you just want to protect every single hair on her. Her words make my day brighter.
But that is not her now. You can't always protect her. A parent will need to let go of their child someday. Eva was not made to be up here, she should have stayed in her perfect little world. Her white sheets are tainted with black and red. In her mind now, she competes with the rest of us for money, power, and love. Some people change for the good, others for the worse."
Lena stayed silent and listened to him. Everything Ming said about Eva was true. She was a sweet gentle girl who is now possessed by a demon. It is too late for her to turn back now. Such a pity.
Ming opened the door and walked out. He turned around to face Lena again. "And I am serious when I said I will make you fall in love with me. But I am not a desperate man. I'll give you a few weeks to think about it."
Ming closed the door and left. Lena looked at the door and then back at the table where all the delicious food was left for her to eat.
Lena sighed and walked to the sink. Her eating room has a fridge and a sink. She splashed water on her face and looked at her reflection from a small mirror on the side of the sink.
Her cheeks were slightly pink. Her heart warmed up not because of Ming but what he said. As a young woman who always dreamed about her perfect prince charming saying "I will make you fall in love with me," it was romantic in her mind. But somehow, she did not expect such a thing to happen in reality.
So it did catch her off guard. Lena placed a hand on her heart. She felt that it was beating normal.
Lena once squealed over falling for the second lead. Ming Zhao was the second lead of Eva's story. At one point in time, she did consider him but through all the bumps she had experienced, love has not crossed her mind until recently.
But why would she choose the second lead of someone else's story... wouldn't it be the second lead in her story? But if she choose her second lead then wouldn't that be the male lead?
Lena pounded her head on the sink. This second lead syndrome was confusing. She looked back at the mirror. To hell with it... she will know when she falls in love again.