A Wonderful Night to Celebrate

Fang Lingyi concluded that she despised Qiao Zeyan.

Teasing her, angering her, and after today, humiliating her - the list was endless.

She flicked the switch off the switch of the hair iron, setting it aside while observing herself in the mirror, wavy hair scrunched into a bun and arching brows Anqing had helped her define. But there was little to no color in her cheeks, so she pinched her face until hues of light pink appeared.

Half of her had been tempted to throw away the dress Qiao Zeyan had bought for her but after rummaging through the scarcity of clothes in her closet, she'd discovered that that dress was the only piece of clothing suitable for tonight's dinner party. As promised before, Qiao Zeyan had messaged her all the information needed, helping her prepare for what was to come, and she'd spend all afternoon memorizing the background information on all the Board leaders.

She stood from the stool in front of her cramped vanity table, making sure not to damage the dress in any way. Qiao Zeyan really did have good taste in fashion, purchasing for her the first design of this dress the fashion industry was offering. It hugged her figure nicely, showing off her slim waist, what curves she did possess, and allowing a hint of her cleavage to be on display. A long slit rose up on one side of the dress as well, her right leg peeking through whenever she moved.

She hadn't had time to complain to him about how much skin she was revealing or interrogate him on how he knew her size of clothing.

Just when she was about to add the finishing touches to her outfit, the ringing of the doorbell sounded throughout the apartment. Liu Anqing had left the house a few minutes ago to visit a student's house for tutoring, so Lingyi had to open the door herself, awkwardly finding her way to the entrance of the apartment.

"I'm coming!" she called out, just as the bell rang again.

She fumbled with the keys for a short minute before finally unlocking the door, exposing herself to the cool autumn ait, as well as the tall man standing in front of her, a dress shirt, waistcaot, and suit jacket fitted tightly around his torso. There was a wine red handkerchielf poking out from the pocket of his suit, matching the crimson of his tie. With his usual spiky disarray of black hair styled back and the wildness in his eyes more feral than ever, he smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

He drew from the inside of his suit a small rose burgundy in color. "Here," he said, passing it to her.

"What's this for?" she asked, simply staring at it.

With a breathy laugh, he took a step forward, reaching up to expertly twist the stem of the rose into her hair, pushing a tress of her brown hair behind her ear in the process. She wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly, but what sounded like "beautiful" escaped his lips when he pulled away, raking a gaze down her body.

"I didn't think the dress would really fit," he told her with a dazzled grin, eyes lingering far too long on a certain area Lingyi had tried her best to cover up. She cleared her throat, dragging his gaze back to her face.

"I can pull most things off," she said, patting him on the chest, "so I don't think you need to worry, President Qiao."

He chuckled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost," Fang Lingyi replied, scouring for her purser. It was hanging from a hook behind the door and when she grabbed it, the lid flipped open and its contents spilled to the floor.

What looked like an entire box of condomns suddenly littered the carpet.

Lingyi's face instantly went a fiery red.

Damn that useless roommate of hers.

When she eventually had the courage to look up at Qiao Zeyan, his face had gone mildly red as well, and he was definitely struggling not to laugh.

She quickly shoved the things she'd collected in her hands aside, swinging the purse over a shoulder.

"Let's go," she instructed, pushing past Qiao Zeyan, trying to shield her red face with her hair as she locked the door behind them.

Qiao Zeyan jabbed his thumb at her apartment. "You know, you might need those later on tonight," he teased, jogging to catch up with her.

"Those were my roommate's. I don't know how they got in my purse," she lied, her face still burning. Her heels clicked against the marble ground as she made her way toward the set of elevators, Qiao Zeyan hot on her trail.

A small, coarse laugh escaped Qiao Zeyan's throat while the elevator whirred, bringing them down, down, down. "I'd certainly like to meet your roommate one day. She seems like an organized person."

Lingyi was about to round the corner of the apartment building when her companion suddenly wound an arm around her waist, a jolt of electricity firing up her spine, the same warmth she had felt when he had held her when she was about to fall in the lounge room.

"We're going this way," he informed her, half-dragging her over to his car, which was parked immaculately along the side of the road. There was a driver in there already, and she recognized him.

He was the same man who'd driven her home the day Qiao Zeyan bought TO.

She didn't have time to register this before Qiao Zeyan entered the car, taking her with him. She was under the roof of his car again, the chauffeur closing the door after her.

"Jiang Quan, take us to Longting Villa," Qiao Zeyan ordered, crossing one long leg over the other.

He then looked sideways at her.

"Would you like help doing your seatbelt again, Miss Fang?" he asked, raising a brow.

Fang Lingyi forced herself to be calm, replying curtly, "No thank you, President Qiao. I can manage just fine on my own."

Ignoring Qiao Zeyan's unbearable smirk, she tugged at the seatbelt, though she was unable to secure it around herself in time. The car swerved violently to the side, knocking her straight into the man sitting to her right.

A pair of protective arms wrapped around her.

And all of a sudden, her face was so dangerously close to Qiao Zeyan's that if she wanted to, she could inch forward and kiss him.

They stayed like that for a moment, but as if finally understanding what was going on, Lingyi scooted away, turning her head to face out the window, silence descending upon everyone in the car.

"Be a little more careful next time, Jiang Quan," Qiao Zeyan scolded sternly, leaning back in his seat.

The chauffeur, in the rearview mirror, nodded his head at his boss, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yes, President Qiao."

"Are you okay?" Qiao Zeyan addressed her this time, his voice softer. She couldn't help but look at him and at the concern written on every line of his face.

How could such a cold man hold so much worry for such a plain person like her?

"I'm fine," she responded, sharing a weak smile.

A moment passed by, then: "Have you memorized the information I sent you?" Qiao Zeyan asked, breaking the quietness.

"Yes," she replied blandly.

Then for the rest of the journey, no one spoke again.