The Day Continues

Her snarky response was logical but still defeated the point. By her behaviour he could tell she did not know who he was so how was she going to collect her favour? By walking around the city looking for a man that matched him? The mask she wore was a preventative measure, he could understand that much. Even without his name he believed that his persona looked dangerous enough, obviously not enough to deter her comments or disdain, but worth protecting her face over. From the part of her face he could see none of the features looked familiar or remarkable enough to remember. It was only her eyes that confirmed that this woman was someone he had never met before. For such a fierce look and demeanour it would have stood out, especially within the upper class society.

Despite knowing her actual reasoning he felt like toying with her further. "You seem like you have a lot to hide. What, scared of me? Or scared of what your face looks like?" There was a portion of his brain that told him that she wouldn't be ugly. Her eyes were big and expressive, skin was soft and well taken care of, and hair was healthy. All those factors made him confident that she was on the prettier side but with the mask everything was up for debate. Even if he did not want to notice those features it was all part of his observation. It was second nature for him to try and remember and categorize individuals into his brain. Just in case he were to meet them again or people tried to work against him he could have a vague understanding of their personalities. It seemed meaningless to others but it was a skill that kept him alive.

"Oh my I'm so scared, I'm practically shakinggg. I have nothing to hide, I'm just protecting myself. What if you use this chance to destroy my family or send your goons after me? I'm not saying that you will but a frail little lady like me can't take any chances you know."

'Literally what part of you is a frail little lady...' She had mentioned it multiple times in their conversation on how frail she supposedly was. However, he was sure that she had a gangster type personality with only a bit of vulnerability. If she was so frail, would she use it as an argument piece with the intention of baiting the other? The previous sliver of sympathy he had for her had completely disappeared with her words. Obviously she was fine if she was capable of speaking like this. Her point was entirely wrong, he did after all have the power to destroy her family or at least cripple them a bit. Yet, he was also not so free that he would go after her for this conversation.

"...Its enough that I remember your face or give me your name for convenience." Hearing this portion of her comment made him immediately break into laughter. Everything she said was outrageous and he had stopped getting shocked by whatever it was. He even began to expect those comments but he could not help the amusement he felt at this one. Ever since he was a child he had been recognized by everyone, it was hard to move without someone having eyes on him. For this type of upbringing it was rare that someone did not know how he was. Especially within the upper class community and in this city. At one point in his life he had even wished that he could interact without people knowing who he was. As soon as they found out they became overly cautious and calculating, trying too hard to please him. Now, when he actually encountered someone like that it was more hilarious than endearing.

"Ah, I cannot remember the last time someone asked for my name. I can't tell if you are joking or not but I have wasted enough time on this. Li Qiang, remember it." He maintained his eye contact for an extended pause seeing that she indeed heard him before leaving. If he wanted he could add more comments maybe aggravate her one more time before ending it. Yet, the vibrating sensation coming from his pocket was more than enough reminder that he had somewhere to be. The time he had wanted to save on the blind date had been spent on the mysterious woman in front of him. While he driving over he had already set up an inspection of the mall and a meeting with the general manager. Just by process of elimination he could tell that his phone ringing was because of this. The conversation only lasted ten minutes but that was twice as much as what he had given that Yao woman.

Pulling out his phone he saw that he had two missed calls, one from the general manager and one from his grandmother. It was not surprising that his grandmother had phoned so quickly after the blind date. The timestamp of the call was approximately five minutes ago so she had already been informed of the cafe mishap. It was a bit bigger of a scene than he had expected but it was not outside of his expectations. He was sure that his grandmother was calling to complain about his lack of attention towards the date versus his actual behaviour towards the other party. Just based on the cctv records she screamed ill decorum and everything against what she would want in a granddaughter-in-law. He wondered if the woman had actually dared to complain to his grandmother but assumed her intelligence was not so low.

Ignoring his grandmother for now he redialed the manager.

"I'll be there in five minutes, apologies for the delay. Meeting room 3?"

"Of course Mr. Qin, absolutely no problem. Just wanted to check in but we have prepared for you in meeting room 3."

"Alright, I'm almost there." With that he hung up and made his way into the elevator.