Do You Still Want To Marry Me?

The car slowed down only when it was coming close to colliding with her knees. 

A few seconds before, Xia Yanxi was, like the phrase, a deer in the headlights. When she rushed to the middle of the parkway, the car was not showing any signs of stopping! She even had a glimpse of a future where she was buried underneath the car! 

She was hit by the car and thrown to the ground rather violently. Her palms and wrists were mildly scratched, and she was throbbing in pain. 

The person whom she wanted to see did not come out of the car. Instead, it was the other one, the one that was seductive through and through. 

"Oh my! It's you, the little girl!" 

Xia Yanxi groaned a little as she pushed herself to stand. 

She pointed toward the car, aiming her index finger in the direction of the driver seat. 

"I'm looking for him," she said before approaching the window of the driver's seat. Withholding any sense of shame, she knocked on the window. 

A few moments after, the window was rolled down, revealing a fair, adonis kind of look. Facial expressions seemed to be a foreign concept to him as there was none on his face. His eyes… Only his eyes depicted something. A gaze so deep that it was as if she were staring down a black hole. That made her heart skip a beat, which was promptly replaced by a fast-paced beating. 

The man, like that of an homme fatale, emanated strength. 

Qiao Yanli had a proper look at the trembling girl. Both her hands were clutching and twisting the hem of her dress. Her face, albeit still fair and flawless, had an obviously panicked and nervous expression. His eyebrows lifted slightly and he said, "Do you have a problem?" 

His voice, deep and husky, like aged wine, was mesmerizing and pleasant. 

Xia Yanxi's long, thick, feather-like brows twitched slightly. Usually, she was not the kind of person that would count her debts but… the man was the one who proposed to her first, and not to mention, the first man whose proposal she had rejected! 

She would be lying her arse off if she denied not being nervous! 

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and with a forceful boost of courage, she said, "Sir, do you still remember me?" 

It had been a week since that inevitable night and if she were, as he claimed, the first woman whom he had touched, there was no way he would forget her that easily. 

Qiao Yanli narrowed his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something from the depth of his memories. After a bit, he turned to Xia Yanxi and said, "Just a little." 

Chu Muzhi, sitting at the passenger seat, cracked a stifled laugh. That second brother of his knew how to play it hard to get. The girl was the only thing he would care to remember! He had not even need to ask, he knew that Qiao Yanli could never forget the touch of Xia Yanxi! 

Xia Yanxi arched an eyebrow as she paid attention to the man holding the steering wheel, keeping her eyes glued to his cold, dashingly poised, handsome face. She picked herself up once more and said, "Sir, you had claimed that you wanted to take responsibility then. I have to admit that I was then too rattled to think properly before I rejected your proposal. Now, after having calmed down and thought things through. You have taken my first time and me, being conservative, I believe you need to take responsibility now."

Qiao Yanli remained quiet. He took out a box of cigars, pulled one out, clamped it in between his supple lips, and lit it up. The boney fingers, hung outside the window, with the lit cigar dangling in between them. A white puff of smoke started to rise and there was a glint in his eyes, a glint that bespoke of trickery. 

"I remember saying then, if you don't want to accept my proposal, both of us would leave that hotel with a clean slate." 

Colors in her eyes faded away, and gloominess surfaced, when she heard his answer. 

She should have known. Who was she to beget someone else to marry her? 

Even though he was just an assistant, he had the looks and demeanor. Given the order, flocks of females would want to throw themselves into his embrace. 

Xia Yanxi would not want to bind the man down shamelessly. Even though he did take advantage of her intoxicated state, she could not really put the blame on him. She was, albeit not directly, partly responsible for her actions. Although not literally, she did pounce on him. The man merely played along, a small cog turned by the lever pulled by her. How could she expect the man to fall for her? 

She thought of what had happened to her the past few days, Xia Yanxi could not help but let despair sink in for a bit there. Not wanting to waste his time or further embarrass herself, she bit down on her lips, and after taking a whiff of the faint smell of cigar, she said, "My apologies then. I… I… Just ignore what I said… Think of it as me losing my mind." 

She took off immediately after.