Chapter 34: More Half Truths

Raven could sense his reluctance to explore where he came from, but she had so many questions for him. How long had he been here, when did he arrive, why hadn't he left, could he leave?... too many to keep in and she wanted answers. She knew it might be too much for a first conversation, but she really didn't know if she had time.

She decided she would start slowly, and hopefully build up to more information.

"No." her answer short and concise.

"Well, you swear like a native…" he deadpanned.

That made her smile, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen. She looked absolutely radiant.

"Do you look like you?" she asked, and he could sense this was a loaded question. So she didn't look like herself in this world. He should've guessed from the way she explained she was inhabiting someone else's body, but he was in such a rush to keep her there, he didn't consider it.

Would she be offended if he said no, would she like him less if he said yes? he opted for the truth.

"Yes. I look exactly like I do in reality." He waited for her reaction worriedly, but she didn't seem to mind one way or another. He raised an eyebrow, his cocky attitude returning somewhat.

"You like what you see?" Raven didn't sense the provocation in his statement, and just took it at face value.

"Yes. You are tall, well-built and you have a handsome face. You look like an older version of my assistant. Probably couldn't be his dad, but maybe like an older brother." She concluded, very proud of herself. The light in his eyes dimmed. 'What?!' he couldn't believe his ears. Not just her honesty was disturbing, but the fact that someone looked like him, and was younger. Rage and jealousy surged through him burning his insides. He took a second to compose himself. No idea why he was having these reactions.

Sure he was attracted to her, a lot, but this wasn't her, so why should he care if she was interested in someone else. He grabbed hard on that thought and decided that was it, he was physically attracted to her, this was not her and that was that. It felt like a big fat lie, but he needed something to anchor him.

"I take it you don't look like you?" his tone now more aggressive. Raven didn't appreciate his tone and decided to not answer this question. Why would it matter if she did look like herself or not; if they somehow got back to the real world, the less connection they had, the better.

"No." she said simply, not providing more detail. A thought suddenly occurred to her "I know you like the look of Miss. Jisuanji here, and I think it's safe to say you've already done something about it. But please refrain from doing that whilst I'm here, it would be very awkward afterwards, when I'm gone."

His jaw dropped. Why did she think…'idiot!' he chided himself, she still thinks Liehen is my lover.

"Let's get something clear here Raven" his voice came out cold, almost menacing "there is nothing going on between me and my assistant and there never was. I might've said some things to provoke you earlier, but I'm no fool. I don't get involved with women in random fantasy or parallel worlds."

"None of my business what you do in your free time." Raven said genuinely unconcerned with his remark. Whatever he got up to, was of no real interest to her whatsoever. She wanted to study this world, she'd help him so she could stay here, but nothing else interested her about this man.

He got up and closed the distance between them in a couple of large steps. His long muscular legs showing through the thin trousers of his suit.

He was in her face now, looking straight into her eyes, with hunger. He bent his head down, their breaths entangling and with a soft, gravelly voice he whispered "I like my women willing and begging for more of me Raven…"

She swallowed, hard, never before had a man gotten so close to her and she allowed it. She felt a shiver down her spine and for a split second, she wondered what his words meant.

Raven had never been close to a man like that, she wasn't even sure she liked men to begin with. She was never really attracted to anyone. Li Naihe's touch didn't seem to repulse her like everyone else's, but this was not the real world, so she had no idea if her physical reactions would be the same or if they were Liehen's.

Raven didn't like how he made her feel, she was considering things that she never had before and it made her uncomfortable. She wanted to put distance between them but didn't want to back down. He was trying to intimidate her with his size and she was not having it.

"Well then, we won't have a problem." She replied in a cold menacing tone, leaving the threat of what might happen to him if he did try anything, hanging in the air.

Realising what he had done, he backed away, ruffling his hair and sighing loudly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I got offended that you would assume … that… about me."

Raven relaxed, seeing him a bit remorseful and decided there was no reason to have bad blood between them.

"I don't assume Mr. Li, I judge you based on your behaviour and your words. If at any point I feel threatened, you won't like the outcome." She gave him a few seconds for the words to sink in and followed "This is not a threat Mr. Li, it's a fact." And with that, she sidestepped him and sat back down on the couch, with her relaxed posture returning, like nothing ever happened.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it even more. He had a feeling he now looked like they had been doing something else in his office, not discussing theories of a potential fantasy world, when a soft knock came at the door.

"President Li" the voice behind the door said in a high-pitched mousy tone, almost like she was afraid of the reaction she would get back. "Your fiancée is waiting at the reception desk to see you." He went livid seeing the murderous intent in Raven's eyes. This was not good. If she got angry and caused a scene, she might disappear again.

"Miss Vaughn…" he tried to find words to maybe calm her down a bit "Raven…" hearing her name like that from him, made her turn around, keeping the same steely look on her face.

He was doomed. If looks could kill, he would've been dead a hundred times over.

"Raven, please don't misunderstand. I don't have a fiancée."

She let him fumble for a while looking for the right words, when she finally laughed. He was stunned. 'Was this funny to her?'.

"Relax Mr. Li, I don't care. If anything it makes life easier now that I know you won't cry if she ends up dead in a ditch somewhere."

Raven said that with a smile on her face. She was actually joking. Sure the woman was an annoyance, but it had nothing to do with her. As long as she didn't interfere with her plans to study this world, she wouldn't be bothered.

What Li Naihe heard and saw however, was completely different. She looked murderous, powerful and he absolutely believed she could kill Lianhua and dump her in a ditch somewhere. Not that he cared, but the woman was part of the story. His story, and he couldn't rock the boat.

He wanted to reassure her there was no other woman, just in case, by any stretch of the imagination Raven might like him, even a little bit. Instead, like a dumb teenager he ended up antagonising her. "Baby girl, you don't need to be jealous." He instantly regretted what came out of his mouth. It was so ridiculous he couldn't believe it. It was like his neanderthal brain just took over and he had no filter.

He was sure Raven wasn't jealous of that woman, she had no reason to, but it was like he was possessed. He just wanted a positive reaction towards him so badly, he ended up blurting out something as ridiculous as calling her baby girl and asking if she was jealous.