Just so-so

Ying Yue looked up and glared at him before she took a bite out of the fish.

The flavors of the dish melted in her mouth and she couldn't help but be surprised. Where did Fei Huangjin learn to cook like this? She took another bite and true enough, she couldn't find fault in it.

"How's the salmon?"

Ying Yue snuck a peek at Fei Huangjin and saw that he hadn't eaten yet. She straightened her back and raised a chin in defiance. "Just so-so." It was a lie of course. She had a habit of tasting salmon from every restaurant she'd ever been and to say that nothing came close to Huangjin's cooking was not an exaggeration.

He raised his eyebrows and picked up his fork to take out a piece of the pork ribs. "I'll have to improve my cooking then."

Ying Yue loved to eat. And it wasn't long before she had quickly taken her fill of the other dishes, too. When she finished the last piece of pork, she could already feel her stomach bloating and she sat back in satisfaction with a small smile on her lips.

With the way she sat, her pink button-down shirt tightened at the waist and the small bump of her stomach was highlighted, making Fei Huangjin amused. Silly girl, he thought. She claimed that the food was so-so and yet she had eaten more than he did tonight. She was a little glutton, after all.

"Should we take a walk?" He suggested.

Her mood had drastically improved after the meal, and although she still refused to talk to him kindly, she allowed Fei Huangjin to take her hand as he led her outdoors.

They walked slowly along the driveway towards the street beyond his house and the cool wind ruffled her hair. They were strolling casually at an unusually comfortable silence. Ying Yue suddenly became vaguely aware of the warmth of Fei Huangjin's hand. His hand was rough -- rougher than hers, and yet strangely, she found comfort and safety in it.

Ever since she was in Juyan, she had never simply taken herself out for a walk. She had always been too busy going off on missions and when she did have time, it was unsafe to just stroll around by herself. However, things were strangely different these days.

The yellow light of the streetlamps over them cast a strange glow on their faces, and Ying Yue could faintly see the shadow of his long eyelashes fanning across his cheeks. Fei Huangjin certainly had looks that was envied across the country. She almost envied him, too.

The man glanced down at her and she hurriedly looked away.

He smirked. Even if she wasn't talking to him, the curve of her nose and the way she pursed her lips to hide the fact that she was staring up at him a moment ago, made her a little captivating. "I apologize again for what happened earlier."

"…"

She didn't reply, but she didn't let go of his hand either. It was said that when a door is left open, one must rush in. Fei Huangjin took her silent actions as an opportunity to make amends. "Believe me when I say I've wanted to kiss you for a long time."

"We've only been dating for a few days," she remarked sarcastically.

"And I have been attracted to you for much longer than that. Haven't you ever noticed that I reject every proposal on my desk that has anything to do with someone from those companies daring to make a move on you?"

She turned to him with doubtful eyes. "If you mean that proposal from Sung Industries, it would be stupid not to reject them considering their financial discrepancies."

He ignored her commentary. "Three weeks ago, the marketing team gave me a strategic proposal for the upcoming project in B city. One of the men in that team gave you flowers that morning. I rejected their proposal -- even if it was a good one -- and made them work overtime for three straight days."

"Yeah, right." She gave him a disbelieving look. Although one of the marketing team's personnel did give her flowers at that time, she also knew that their proposal had minor flaws that needed to be ironed out. Also, it wouldn't be beyond Fei Huangjin to make them work overtime for finding a couple of flaws. He was always like that.

She failed to take into account how Fei Huangjin knew about the flowers, though.