Are you married?

Fei Huangjin's face was the very definition of uncomposed as he stood outside the building lobby waiting for his chauffer.

His lips were twisted into an unconventional pout and his eyebrows were drawn together. There were tension lines on his forehead and his hair was a little messed up from repeatedly running his hand through it while he was at the elevator on the way down.

In a short while, Mr. Yang had arrived to pick him up, and he got inside fluidly, bringing along with him an air of coldness and aloofness. "Drive me home," he barked.

"Yes, sir." Mr. Yang nodded from the driver's seat, sending furtive glances at his boss through the rearview mirror. A shiver shook through him. He felt that the atmosphere inside the car had dropped several degrees lower since CEO Fei got in, and he hesitantly reached out to turn up the heater. Did the boss and Secretary Ying perhaps have another fight?

"Mr. Yang, are you married?"

The car swerved a little as a startled Mr. Yang heard the question thrown at him. He blinked twice before glancing back at Fei Huangjin. "Why, yes, sir -- yes, I'm married."

"Hmm." Fei Huangjin looked out the window with a disconcerting glare. "What do you do… when your wife is mad at you? No, let me rephrase the question: what do you do when you don't exactly want to compromise but you want your wife to forgive you? Not that I'm in that situation. I'm just… asking for a friend," he added.

The question made Mr. Yang puzzled. He doubted that his boss was really asking him 'for a friend,' but then again, it wasn't good to be on the man's bad side. He'd been his chauffer for years, and he'd seen Fei Huangjin being cruel and ruthless. "Well, sir…" He drummed a finger on the steering wheel as he thought about how to answer the question carefully. "I usually take my wife out at her favorite restaurant. Food usually perks her up."

Take her out at her favorite restaurant… Fei Huangjin ran another hand through his hair frustratingly. He'd already asked her out for a breakfast date and she turned him down flat. More than that, he even embarrassed himself by not knowing what her favorite food was. How in the world would he know her favorite restaurant?

"Is that all?" He drawled, unconvinced.

Mr. Yang's hands shook slightly at the tone of Fei Huangjin's voice. He didn't seem too happy to hear his answer. "I also do the house chores for her, sir. And sometimes buy her flowers."

"Flowers…" He mumbled under his breath. There was a grim look on his face as he thought about it. Fei Huangjin had never personally given flowers to anyone. Frankly, he felt like giving a bunch of things that die in a few days was a waste of money and resources. When he had to send flowers for missing his mom's birthday last year, he made Ying Yue order it and have it delivered. He'd never even seen the damn thing.

Up front, Mr. Yang turned the car to the gate of Majestic Gardens where Fei Huangjin lived, and released a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

***

A woman in a bright red off-shoulder summer dress drifted into the pier with a small suitcase in tow. She had large sunglasses covering her eyes and her lips were painted with a bold red color to match her dress. The blue-collar workers all over the pier who were busy moving containers and maintaining the ships at the dock stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Even the bunch of men in suits who just came out from inspecting some containers turned to look her up and down.

The young lady's porcelain-like skin was glistening under the sun, making her look delicate. The red of her dress contrasted with the fairness of her skin, and her dark hair was billowing along to the breeze. She looked like a fully-bloomed hibiscus flower that had drifted along with the wind, carried to such an unlikely place as the pier.

If anyone who knew her saw her, they would never recognize her as Ying Yue.