A Favour

"What's up?"

Cree alighted from the sportscar to face the positive-looking young woman. In just a matter of weeks, she had made quite an incredible transformation into an assertive and brilliant young woman. Though he already had the hunch that something good had happened to her, he still went ahead to appease himself by asking her the obvious question.

"Something good happened at work?" he grinned mischievously, as his charming eyes twinkled under the bright moonlight.

She nodded and smiled back. Finally, after so long, she was finally getting to leave this burdensome place.

"What brings you here?" she asked him coyly, elated that he had made the trip for her.

"I have something to ask you," he said with his arms tucked across his chest Cree style. She glanced towards the sportscar, and playfully said, "I see that you are asking me as Cree."

"Definitely. Would you be my date partner tonight?"

She laughed. "It's already eight, Cree. Isn't it late for us to start the night? Shops will be closed in a few hours."

"It's Friday night," he laughed. "The city doesn't sleep, and there's always places outside the malls for some extra entertainment."

In five minutes, he had her bundled carefully into his car and zoomed off for a secret escapade. Unfortunately, before departing the area, neither of the two noticed a dark figure camouflaged under the dark shadows of a Jeep, sneaking around suspiciously watching them.

Since it was nighttime, Cree didn't go with his usual shades but had his hair designed Cree style and wore a pair of tinted spectacles. Since Cree was usually full of surprises, she didn't know what to expect, and just went with the moment. But did she like Cree? She didn't know yet, and time would eventually give her a suitable answer. The physical attraction she possessed for Cree didn't equate to love and in her mind, there were more factors to liking or loving someone than just being stimulated by his charming presence.

For this date, he took her to a renowned Italian restaurant by the name of La Cozza Infuriata. According to netizens, the venue of his choosing had been known for their seafood dishes. He was aware that Qiao Ruo was not a picky person, but good food was her weakness. He intended to make her fall for him slowly, and the first step had been to touch her heart from her stomach.

Of course, he had to pick a topic to bring up to her, and it started with the reason he had used to make her his 'woman'.

"Spicy seafood medley pasta."

"Basil pesto sea bass with spaghetti."

They smiled courteously at the waiter, and once they were alone again, Qiao Ruo popped the question.

"Do you have a favour to ask from me?"

He looked at her seriously and said, "Yes, Xiaoruo. I need your help. My mother will be coming to visit me, and... and I need you..your act."

The act. "How soon?" she asked.

"In a number of weeks," he told her.

She shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"

Cree promptly ignored the passing elite women who were giggling excitedly like schoolgirls about having caught sight of Cree Ye in public, and he just gripped her hand tighter instead.

"You'll have to move into the mansion before she arrives. I have to tell you this, Xiaoruo, my mother has the habit of suddenly appearing unannounced."

"How soon? As I recall from what she said earlier, she will be here soon," Qiao Ruo stated calmly.

"As soon as possible, in the next few days. Well, basically you have at least a week before she arrives, but it's better that you be prepared. Otherwise, we won't know what she would grill you with about my preferences. She likes to test people."

She bit on her lower lip, and absorbed every detail Cree had provided her slowly. His mother seemed a tough cookie, and she had to be patient when dealing with people like her. But contemplating the fact that Cree wanted her to pose as her own self, it was evident that he wanted her to pass the message that he was in good hands and that it wouldn't be easy to get rid of her.

She wasn't that bothered about staying under the same roof as Cree, since she recalled seeing a few extra rooms at the mansion. But one thing bugged her: if she was Cree's alleged girlfriend, and they were staying in different rooms, wouldn't that arouse his mother's suspicion? Furthermore, being in the same room with Cree would just make her, uh, too excited for anything good.

"Are we going to shop for new clothes or something?" Qiao Ruo asked directly without beating about the bush. The waiter served them their meals and left nervously. It must have been Cree's first time here, she laughed to herself. Everyone seemed to be jittery seeing Cree.

"I have them all prepared at home."

"Ah, it slipped my mind that you are a fashion designer, after all."

"It's the work of Ye Qi," he argued.

"It's still you," she defended herself in a loud whisper. "What do you want me to prepare tonight, then?"

He chuckled icily at her. "You know, a number of surprises await you tonight."

"So, the extra entertainment you were talking about is at your home?" she almost gasped, but then smiled like a Cheshire cat. If he wanted to act cold and seductive, then she could, as well. It was time to give him a taste of his own medicine, now that she was no longer that desperate girl with no dignity that would do anything for the sake of obtaining an interview.

They finished dinner, and he drove back to his home in a jiffy.

The second she entered the mansion, she was aware that something about the mansion had differed from her last visit. Cree had renovated it and had given it a romantic touch. Little wonder that she had not heard from him much during this time. Did he do all this for her, or to make it seem more convincing to his mother? she wondered.

"My mother would have gone on setting up blind dates for me if we don't stop her," Cree stated precisely, appearing to know what was on her mind. Of course, that had not been completely the truth. Though his adoptive mother did arrange for him to go on blind dates, it was often political dates whom she had thought of him capable of. Every single time, he had found an excuse to turn down or not turn up for the dates that his mother had arranged for him. She was the most pleasant excuse that he would have this time around. As long she was around, there would be no way that he would permit his adoptive parents to control him.

"I see." She liked the pink candles he had decorated the table with, and he had even dimmed the lights in the hall to give it a dreamy and amorous effect. She breathed in the fragrant scent of the rose candles and sat down on the sofa to wait for Cree. Cree poured two glasses of red wine and returned.

Alcohol always had that effect of clouding her judgment, though she still owned some degree of tolerance to alcoholic beverages.

They finished two rounds of wine before Cree resumed talking again. By then, she was already feeling the heat of the alcohol inside her, and she tried to concentrate as much as she could on what he was trying to tell her, but it was just too difficult. She was drifting so far away from his topic, and all she could think of were how his eyes would glint with naughtiness when he kissed her, and how his lips had felt on her very own. The embrace had felt so natural, and she felt numb as he slowly removed her jacket and laid it on the armrest of his sofa. He continued with his own jacket, and she was unsure of what was about to happen next.

Given the state of her intoxication, she was unable to absorb entirely what was happening, as her mind was also whirring. He tasted the sweetness of the wine in her mouth, and wrapped himself tighter around her, continuing to kiss her more deeply and intensely.

After the steamy kiss in the car, she was shy about having another kiss with him, but she had no strength to push him away, which she could have definitely done if she was not drunk or exhausted. Instead, she felt invigorated by the warmth of his body on hers, and his strong kisses just piqued her to desire more from him. He had already hit her 'on' button, and she felt herself succumbing to her own physical needs.

Would he just find her an easy woman? She didn't want him to feel that she was about to surrender herself to him out of nowhere. Fortunately, he then broke the kiss and whispered in her ear, "Xiaoruo, you're such an interesting woman. Whoever marries you is so fortunate."

He scooped her in his arms and took her to the guest room before tucking her under a duvet blanket. She was drunk, and instead of taking advantage of her during such a vulnerable time, he decided to wait for the right time.

Perhaps that was what true love was like. When he had met her at the gym, he had wanted to be rude and mean to her in an attempt to make her submit to him, but everything had escalated rapidly from the moment she had ended up in his flat. He knew how unique and extraordinary she was, and he realized he had not wanted anyone like how he wanted her.

He kissed her goodnight on her forehead, and closed the door after her.

"Sweet dreams, Xiaoruo."