Dangerous Woman

"You still haven't gotten over your parents' death, huh?"

Wang Zhixin's parents were deceased.

"I worry about you, Zhixin, as a friend. It's good to throw yourself into your work, but you can't let yourself become a prisoner of the past."

"It's none of your concern what I do and don't do."

"Don't be that way. Anyone with eyes can see the amazing things you've achieved. I'm sure your parents are looking down at you from heaven with pride."

Wei Li has called himself a friend, but by the sound of it he was not very nice at all. He was pretending to be concerned for the man just so he could bring up things Wang Zhixin didn't want to talk about.

Jian Qingshan did not like the man. The man acts like a nice person at a glance, but that was just more evidence of what a bad person he really is.

Regardless, right now, she was just his date. She was in the process of swallowing the angry words rising up in her throat when—

"Anyways, you should just forget about it already. I mean, it's why you came back, isn't it? To make the announcement in China instead of in America at your main office. You're still stuck on what happened under the Golden Gate Bridge, aren't you?"

"…"

Under the Golden Gate Bridge? It must have been something to do with an event in Wang Zhixin's past.

Jian Qingshan was going to relay the message to her boss when she gets home, and they can start looking into it.

However, even as she is making her own cool, calculated plans, Wang Zhixin's expression was shifting.

The man usually is more like an expressionless statue than a person. She couldn't believe the face he was making right now.

"What's the matter, Zhixin? Did something I say remind you of a painful memory?"

Jian Qingshan now gets it. She understands what Wei Li was trying to do all along. The man wants to make a show of talking about Wang Zhixin's past in front of her, a third party.

Wei Li, the man knows Wang Zhixin can't snap at him for fear of making a scene at the party. He was taking full advantage. What a coward!

Jian Qingshan did not like the man's style, not one bit.

"You must really love the sound of your own voice."

"Nianzhen—"

She followed her instincts and let the man have it. A second later, she remembers what Wang Zhixin told her before the party.

"Treat the party guests just as we discussed last night. Naturally, Li Bai and the other executives will be there too."

"I got it. I'll pretend to be your girlfriend in front of Li Bai and the company, and to everyone else, I'll just be your date. I'll act accordingly."

"Don't cause any problems."

"I would never. I'll be nothing but polite to your guests."

"You better be. You can be surprisingly obstinate when you want to be."

Jian Qingshan was a little offended then, but Wang Zhixin was right. He was a really sharp man.

Thinking about it logically, she probably shouldn't have said that just now. But the die has already been cast.

Smiling, she gives Wei Li a look.

"You guys were having such an interesting conversation. I was starting to feel left out."

"Oh? So you were enjoying the topic too?"

"No, I'm more interested in you, if anything, Mr. Wei."

"Really? I'm honored—"

"But don't go getting the wrong idea."

Wei Li reaches out to Jian Qingshan but, she brushes his hand away and he reacts in surprise.

"You talk a little too much. You're like gossipy teenager."

"…"

"What's your secret to staying so young at heart?"

"Nianzhen…" Suddenly, Wang Zhixin's hand touches her as if he was asking her to stop.

"Ha-ha, just kidding! Sorry, don't mind me."

"Sure."

"Nianzhen, Wei Li is not the only one who talks a little too much."

"You're totally right. I'm so sorry. Did I say something to offend you? Zhixin?"

"Never mind."

Although the crisis has passed, the man's hand was still on her. Thinking about the physical contact, she looks at him and his blank façade begins to break down.

"You're a good talker. That's helpful sometimes. Thank you." That whisper, spoken just loudly enough for her and only her to hear, makes her eyes goes wide.

"Hey, Zhixin—"

-splash-

"Ugh."

A woman in a long gown stumbles, falling into Wei Li. Although he was able to withstand the impact, the glass of champagne in his hand isn't so lucky.

As luck would have it, his champagne ends up all over the front of Jian Qingshan's dress.

"I'm so sorry. Your dress."

Jian Qingshan didn't really care about the dress right now. It was the perfect chance for her to get out.

"I just hope there's somewhere I can change clothes."

"I'll help you. Wei Li, I've got to get going."

"Alright. It was nice to see you. And I really am sorry about your dress. Please let me reimburse you."

"Don't worry about it."

"If you change your mind and decide you'd like me to pay you back, give me a call anytime. I'd be more than happy to pick out a new dress for a woman like you. I hope to hear from you."

"I hate to break it to you. But I try not to date chatty men. They always want me to talk about my secrets, you know? Drives me nuts."

"…"

Jian Qingshan was joking, of course. Curling her lips into a bewitching smile, she takes Wang Zhixin's arm. Wei Li flashes her a pleased smile and walks off.

"Nianzhen—"

"I know, I know. I should've kept my mouth shut. I won't make any more unnecessary comments."

"No—"

"Hello there, you two."

It was Li Bai. Did he witness what just happened just now? Although Jian Qingshan was surprised, Li Bai seems calm and at ease as he regards her and Wang Zhixin.

"Should I get you another dress to change into?"

"That won't be necessary. We're going back to the room."

"In that case, take my handkerchief, Miss Wu. Use it to dry yourself off. It's better than nothing."

"Thank you."

Jian Qingshan felt a weird vibe from the man. He was actually being nice for once. But she brushes the thought away as Wei Li was the bigger issue right now. She's got to look into the Golden Gate Bridge incident the man mentioned.

Although a part of her mind is focused on practical professional matters. Whenever she recalls that creepy smile, she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose in disgust.

-

Jian Qingshan and Wang Zhixin walks into a room on the top floor of the building where the party is being held. She flops down onto the Italian sofa, and the man takes a seat besides her.

"You've got a real talent for getting champagne spilled all over your dresses."

"Ha-ha, are you talking about the night we first met?"

That night, a drunk man somehow managed to both spilled champagne on her and cut her leg.

"Believe it or not, I don't actually enjoy getting into champagne fights." Joking, she smiles at him, and he looks back at her quietly.

"Y-you still haven't asked me anything."

"Of course not. You put it in the contract yourself. We're not supposed to meddle with each other's lives."

"You're right."

"Still though, your friend was just lovely. I mean making public announcement about events in people's past? He was a real sweetheart."

"He must be feeling bitter. Because WGTC's Amber product development is going so smoothly."

She didn't work in the tech industry, but she can imagine the hurt to be outdone by competitors. Still, that hardly justifies bring up the death of someone's parents. The death of Wang Zhixin's parents.

Although her job as a spy to deceive people, she actually came from a very normal family. Protocol prohibits her from telling her family the truth, so they believe she got a job at a big company in the city.

They were so happy for her. Happier than she was for herself. She was lucky to have the family she does now.

It was hard not being able to tell her family the truth, but her family was still a big source of support for her. Plus, she still has Huo Qubing, her boss.

Back in university, when she was an exchange student, she nearly found herself in a really bad situation, but Huo Qubin saved her.

Her goal for herself was to be half the agent he is, and that means her days were both busy and fulfilling. She works as hard as she can because she had family and Huo Qubing.

But… the man in front of her doesn't have anyone anymore.

"So, even you let your emotions show sometimes. You're always wearing the opaque, unreadable smile, but I can tell how you feel right now. You pity me."

"N-no, you've got it wrong. And I have no interest in assigning a name to every single emotion I feel."

"I see."

"You don't approve? I remember you saying you hated sentimental emotional women." When she said that, the man's eyes widen ever so slightly.

After a quiet, thoughtful pause, his finger playfully touches her cheek.

"I was right to make you my partner."

"…"

"I don't think it's a bad thing when you let your emotions show." His low, slightly raspy voice rustles her stray hairs.

The next thing she knows, he was in point blank range, and his fingers were laced through hers.

What was she supposed to do? He was giving her those eyes again. She always ends up paralyzed when he gives her that look.

"What about you?"

"Oh?"

Wang Zhixin wastes no time pushing her down onto the sofa, pressing his lower body against hers. With her hands pinned on the sofa, she was like a butterfly under glass.

"How do you feel about becoming my partner?" Eyes like dry ice shoots through her. He softly runs a hand through her hair.

This was a test. She was just being tested, was what she believed.

"Well, I agree. I also feel like partnering up with you was the right choice."

"You mean that?"

"You don't believe me?"

"I can't read you."

"Ha-ha, you're the last person who should be telling me that. If you can't read me, you'll just have to guess. I am your 'girlfriend,' after all." She says, placing a hand on her chest and his as well.

Her flirtatious gesture brings a faint smile to the man's face.

"You've corrupted me to the point where I genuinely feel like I don't mind playing games with you."

"Then we're in the same boat. After dealing with someone as difficult and cold as you, every other human on earth seems like child's play."

"You're one to talk. I've never known such a dangerous woman."

It was very unlike Wang Zhixin to look at her that way and speaks to her in that tone. His choice of words hits her hard.

A dangerous woman, he was right. She has deceived for a mission. Especially him.

How ironic. If Wei Li hadn't said those things about the death of his parents, the man himself would be asking her those questions and trying to get closer to her now.

Jian Qingshan did not appreciate Wei Li's tone, so she had gotten an attitude with him, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to thoroughly look into every piece of information she gained tonight. It was her job.

"Since when do dangerous women make faces like that? I've never seen you look this way before. I want to see more."

He gently angles her chin upwards, and her own heart defies her, skipping a beat against her will.

A dull noise snaps her back to her senses. When she reflexively moves to her his hand off her, her watch hits the glass table.

It wasn't in her nature to act that way under her alias. For a brief moment, her eyes subtly swim back and forth, and he looks away from her.

"Your watch stopped."

The man was right. Her watch stopped at exactly midnight.

"I-I'm heading home for the night. Call me again when you need me to show up for work." And so, as if forcing stopped time to start moving again, she leaves the room.

Jian Qingshan has repeatedly repeats the word 'no' again and again, but no matter how many times she tells herself, her heart didn't stop racing.