TENSION

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Liu Yang feels unsettled with the way Wan Li is looking at her when they got back to the car.

"Like, seriously??"

She shrugs. "What??" she is totally oblivious of what he is saying.

"You, my dear sister, is totally heartless. And clueless! The man was obviously giving you signals but you totally, TOTALLY, ignored him! How could you? You're so unbelievable," Wan Li said while shaking his head, his attention on the road.

"And what of it? He's just handsome, that's it," Liu Yang nonchalantly answered.

"Bah! Just handsome? He's not just handsome, he is SUPER handsome! It's like he was sent from above. He is heaven's gift."

Liu Yang giggles at his choice of words. Why is he keen on emphasizing words today?

"You're exaggerating," she rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "Just because he is handsome, that does not mean we have to be at his disposal. Come on, character is still much more important than just a pretty face. And what if he was not giving me signals and is just working honestly?"

Draping his hand on the steering wheel, Wan Li thought about what she said. He narrows his eyes at her, as if asking her if she is really making the right decision. "You have a point but still…my guts tell me it's the other way around."

"Whatever, here," she gave him the books they bought a while ago.

"Just put it in the back," he answered. "So, are you just going to let that handsome man go? It's such a shame, Yang. Should go back and ask for his number? I know he is your type."

"Shut it, already," Liu Yang glared at him. "He is handsome, and it stops there. And what do you mean my type? You mean your type."

Wan Li grimaces at her before turning back his attention on the road. "Fine~"

Liu Yang shifts her body on the car seat, turning her head to the window. To be honest, she could not deny the man looks handsome and can make every woman's heart flutter, and of course, she is not an exception to that. But he looks like a total player.

The likes of him only want one thing from a woman – sex. It's a lame excuse for someone her age but, it sounds logical. It's not that she does not want to have sex, she just wants to have some deeper connection with someone aside from physical intimacy.

Is it the thing they call 'love'?

Maybe that's it.

Arggh! Whatever!

Liu Yang silently laughed to herself while looking outside, she feels like a teenager once again. But somehow, she wished that she could see him again. Maybe, just maybe, they will 'click' and could start something.

The car stops in front of Liu Yang's apartment building.

"Yangyang," Wan Li calls her name before she even pushes the door open.

"Oh?" she looks back at him. "Forgot something?"

"Just, make sure to cry it all out tonight," he said while smiling.

"What?" Liu Yang laughs while frowning but she knows what he meant and how serious he is. "Whatever," she said and punches his arm lightly, "Just go already. Bye!" and sees herself out of the car.

She waves at him as Wan Li turns the engine on.

Peering out to her, he yells, "I want to see some puffy eyes tomorrow."

Liu Yang makes face and raises the 'evil finger', earning a hearty laugh from him.

As his car is nowhere in sight, Liu Yang drags her exhausted body inside the building.

After a long day, she still could not escape the cruel reality – that is her own mind.

----

Guan enters the private room with a big smile but it immediately fades when he saw the man sitting on the black leather couch.

"What is he doing here?" he asks Su Bin, his cousin.

Guan's abrupt interruption made the two men glance up to him as he stands in between them, glaring down at Zheng Li An as he does.

"You sure hold your grudges well," the man replied before Su Bin could, leaning his back against the chair, and meeting his eyes as if challenging him. "I own the place; can't I be here and greet my little brothers?"

"I know it's your place," Guan gruffly answered and gives Su Bin a meaningful glance.

"W-what? Brother Zheng said he is here to apologize even though it was not his fault you got arrested. We were just as surprised as you are, that the police arrived unannounced. Up until now, we still don't give them the tip – both the police and the media." He said even if Guan did not say anything about the incident that happened two weeks ago. "Here, just drink," Su Bin pours him a drink to appease his anger. He sure knows his way.

Guan accepts the glass and drinks from it even though he is frustrated looking at Zheng Li An's face. Actually, he was not really angry at Zheng Li An because of the incident, it was more likely because he left him fending for himself at the police station.

"You were not the only one who got reprimanded. So, stop frowning and drink up," Zheng Li An said, pouring Guan's glass with whiskey. "And, I'm still looking as to who really did it. you may not know this but, for years that I've been racing in City X, it was the first time the police got involved."

"Yeah," Su Bin agreed on the side, "and they only managed to capture Guan out of all the people out there. Isn't that weird at all?"

"Do you already know why you're dragged back to the country?" Zheng Li An asked out of the blue while observing Guan's reaction.

"I wasn't dragged back." Guan clarified. "Why are you asking?" he coolly looks at Zheng Li An.

The latter frowns at his answer. "Who else knew you were coming back?"

"Just…" Guan paused for a moment, hesitating what to say. "Just my…family."

Zheng Li An ignores his discomfort to the word 'family'. "Something does feels strange. And it might have something to do with your company affairs." In deep thought, he swirls his drink, looking at it intently. "But why are they targeting you instead of you brother?"

"I never meddle in my father's company affairs. Never have been, thus, your conclusion may be wrong."

Su Bin watches as the two are in deep thoughts.

"The thing is," he interrupts, "Brother Zheng might be right. There was a rumor circling around the company for some time now."

Guan and Zheng Li An's eyes are now glued at Su Bin.

"What is it?" Guan asked.

Su Bin hesitated and stared at his cousin with somber eyes.

"That Uncle's health is deteriorating badly and he is in a critical condition."

He said to himself that he would not interfere and participate with the company. He swore on that in front of his father twelve years ago.

But he could not help it. after all, this concerns his father's health.