Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A lady sat opposite him, her eyes practically starstruck as she spoke.
It looked like the blind date was at least a success, on her end. The expression on her face showed that she was rather satisfied with the man.
Tang Qianmiao was not in a hurry to call out to him. Rather, she pulled out the chair at the table behind him and sat herself down. The service staff came to her and she ordered a cup of coffee.
She could hear the soft and gentle voice of the lady. “Outside of work, I like drawing and painting, but I’m not that talented although I’ve held a few exhibitions. I hear, Mr. Feng, that you’re a collector of artworks. Won’t you take a look at my paintings and tell me what you think?”
Her voice was girlish and sugary sweet. Tang Qianmiao could hear the desire and self-confidence in her words.
The desire for praise.
Following this, she heard the man’s one-worded response…
“Ugly.”
The lady fell silent for a moment. “Er… I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“If this is the standard of your works, then I’d suggest that you should forget the idea of an exhibition. Apart from it being an embarrassment, the only use it might have would be to provide content for after-dinner jokes.”
The man’s tone was cold and indifferent, making an obvious statement of his disinterest.
Opposite him, the lady was practically seething in anger. Gone was the demure, honey-like voice as she hissed at him. “Mr. Feng, how dare you! What do you mean by this? From the moment you sat down, you’ve not smiled once. You react dismissively to everything I say. That aside, painting is what I’m best at, but you insult my works with blatant disregard. Do you have any idea that this is my prize-winning work? Many people have asked to buy it but I am the one who refuses to sell!”
Tang Qianmiao then heard a dark chuckle, followed by the man’s drawl. “Winning a prize merely means that your opponent is weaker than you. And having a buyer only means that the person has bad taste.”
“You! You’re not interested in me at all, that’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it?!”
“Ah, that’s considerably smart of you to finally realize.”
Tang Qianmiao took a sip of the cup of coffee she was holding with the slightest hint of a smile playing on her lips.
The lady had fallen silent, obviously furious.
Just as Tang Qianmiao thought that she was either about to pick up her handbag to leave, or pick up the glass of water to throw at Feng Xian, she heard her say…
“Since this is the case, why did you stay around for so long?”
“I was waiting for someone.”
“Waiting for someone? Don’t you go looking for excuses. You’ve been sitting here for so long, so where’s the person you’ve been waiting for? Ha! I suggest that you stop defying your grandfather. We’re both at a marriageable age. Let’s just get engaged as arranged by our families. In Country G, apart from me, who else would be good enough for you?”
The iciness in the lady’s voice had now given way to a hint of hopefulness.
Obviously, she was still interested in the man.
However, unexpectedly, he replied, “The person I was waiting for is here.”
As soon as he had said this, Tang Qianmiao raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Ha, is that so? Where?” The lady clearly did not believe him.
Following this, Tang Qianmiao heard the sound of a chair being moved. The next moment, she found herself looking at the man standing before her.
The man was exceptional looking, especially his eyes. Although he looked distant and cold, he was extremely handsome. And even in that indifferent expression, there was a hint of the emotions underneath. Yes, he was undeniably attractive. The moment he stood up, all the women in the restaurant paid loving and more-than-polite attention to the man.
His careless gaze rested on Tang Qianmiao for a moment as he said, “Let’s go.”
“Wait!”
Even now the lady was not about to give up. She walked up to them and gave Tang Qianmiao an icy glance before asking Feng Xian, “Who is she? What’s her relationship with you?!”
The man looked away coldly and did not bother to answer. However, she stood squarely in the man’s path and continued to grill him persistently.
All the while, Tang Qianmiao maintained her silence, watching the unfolding drama.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her in the left side of her chest. It caused her to crease her brow in reflex.
She lifted her gaze and focused it on the man.
Perhaps it was time to verify her theory.
“Eh.”
The man turned around in response and looked at her expressionless lay. Her ruby lips curved upwards in a slight smile as she said, “I need your help.”
Immediately, without hesitation, she reached for the man’s wrists and gave a tug so that she was drawn into his embrace.
Sliding her arms around his waist, she leaned her face against his shoulder. He was not wearing any cologne but there was a unique scent on him, reminiscent of a mix of peppermint and milk.
Among all the fragrances that Tang Qianmiao had ever smelled, there was nothing that so completely relaxed her body more than this particular scent. Gradually, that sharp pain in her chest faded as her breathing returned to normal.
It felt as though she was surrounded by a wave of warmth from the man’s toned body.
When she opened her eyes, all she saw was the downtrodden back view of the departing lady.
“Are you done?” She heard the man’s icy tone.
In response, Tang Qianmiao only released him calmly, without a hint of embarrassment that such a situation would normally cause. “I’m just helping you to reject her, don’t overthink it.”
With that, she headed towards the exit as she spoke.
For the first time, there was a trace of emotion apart from the usual indifference on the man’s aloof face. Following behind her, the man looked slightly gloomy.
Don’t overthink it? Ha.
The two of them got into the backseat of the car, one after another, each taking one end of the seat and leaving a huge gap between them.
Tang Qianmiao was still thinking about the reaction of her body. In all honesty, she was rather stunned by it. This was the first time in all her 18 years that she had encountered such an amazing situation.
She typed out and sent a message to Qian Ru: I’ve verified it. It’s not a coincidence.
[Qian Ru: It needs to be verified two more times. If the pain goes away even if he’s not around, then it means it has nothing to do with him.]
[Tang: The two conditions are different. It’s slow and takes at least three minutes if left to go away by itself. However, if he’s around, it goes away immediately.]
[Qian Ru: Just verify it two more times, no harm in doing that.]
[Tang: We’ll see.]
After the exchange, she started playing a game on her phone to kill time in the car. On the other end of the seat, Feng Xian completely ignored her and busied himself on his laptop. Now and then, he took a phone call.
The atmosphere in the car was rather cold, and the assistant was trying to think of something to say to break the ice.
Hence after Feng Xian had made a call, he immediately remarked, “Young Master, I received news that Eldest Young Master has assembled his team and is preparing to start the development of new products. We have to hurry.”
“What’s the rush.” Feng Xian was not flustered at all.
“Young Master, actually I think that this Bai Mi is only a rumor. If there was indeed such a talented fragrance designer, how would it be possible that he has never made an appearance all this time? I’ve only ever heard of talents who go unrecognized, but not those who purposely go into hiding.”
In recent times, Old Master Feng had been looking to hand his business over to the next generation. He had made clear his wish that whomever among his grandchildren could develop the best-selling fragrance nationally for the next season would inherit Weiss.
The Eldest Young Master acted very quickly and had already assembled a team to develop the new product. His own Young Master, however, was taking his time and was even trying to hunt down a talented fragrance designer who existed only as a rumor.
“Just keep driving,” Feng Xian ordered icily.
Pursing his lips, the assistant could only fall silent.
As the two of them were speaking, Tang Qianmiao didn’t even look up. In that time, she had managed to slay a small boss, however, at the assistant’s mention of Bai Mi, her fingers froze.
A flash of interest lit up her eyes. Then in the next moment, her attention returned to the video game.
At this point, Feng Xian shut the lid of his computer and got the assistant to hand him a bottle of water. The assistant silently sighed in relief as he handed the bottle to the man. It seemed he was a rather fine gentleman who knew how to take care of the girl, making sure she had water.
That was good, because now the atmosphere seemed friendlier. He threw a glance behind and saw Feng Xian unscrewing the bottle cap before he smiled.
See? His Young Master wasn’t a cold person at all. He even removed the bottle cap for her.
The next moment though, he saw through the rearview mirror that his Young Master started drinking from the bottle himself. He elegantly took in a mouthful of water without his lips even touching the bottle mouth.
The assistant was crushed.
Alright, so he got ahead of himself.
At this point…
“You want some?”
Stunned, the assistant pricked his ears. That was his Young Master’s voice, no mistake! The Feng family’s “Stone-faced King” found within himself a hint of concern over someone else?
Was he hearing things?
Tang Qianmiao was not as expressive but still, she was taken by surprise. As she looked at the bottle that the man was holding out towards her, her gaze shifted onto the man. All the while, she pondered the strange situation in her head.
If she was not mistaken, this was around the third time he had ever spoken to her since she moved into the Feng residence.
An apathetic person like him asking her if she wanted a drink?
Looking up slightly, she stared into the man’s dark eyes for a few seconds. Then she reached out to take the bottle from him.
“Thanks.”
She tilted her head back and took a mouthful of water. As the crystal clear liquid entered her mouth, a drop of it splashed onto her chin and slid its way down, following the beautiful contours of her neckline and stopping upon her exquisite collarbone.
It was only a sip of water but she took it stylishly like she was taking a sip of wine.
Just as she had wanted to put the bottle cap back on, Feng Xian reached out and took the bottle from her. Then, he screwed the cap back on. Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated, taking her gaze away from the man.
[Big White: Do you have any books suitable for an intermediate-level fragrance designer? I’d like to borrow them.]
[Tang: I’ll send them over tomorrow.]
[Big White: OK! That’s my most charming little Junior Sister O(n_n)O]
Tang Qianmiao looked at the time and then spoke. “Please stop at the junction up ahead.”
“What? Aren’t you going back to the Feng residence?” The assistant was shocked.
Feng Xian shot the girl a look as well.
By now, she had already unbuckled her seatbelt. “I have a private matter to attend to and will be home later.”
“But… Old Master said that Young Master was to take you home himself…”
“Stop the car,” the man instructed.
The assistant had no choice but to obey and looked on wistfully as Tang Qianmiao got off the vehicle.
“Young Master, is Old Master going to blame you for being incapable if he sees that you’ve returned without Miss Tang?”
Feng Xian replied calmly, “I picked up the girl. It’s her choice whether she wishes to come home. Turn the car around, I’ll go back to the office.”
The assistant shrugged and replied, “Okay.”
“Wait.”
The assistant turned around, waiting for his instruction.
“Drink some water too,” the man instructed.
Stunned, he looked into the mirror and saw that his own lips were chapped. It was only then that the realization dawned upon him!
His Young Master had obsessive-compulsive disorder. Whenever he saw something that was an eyesore, he’d find ways to correct it.
Among these, he hated the sight of chapped lips. So he would usually carry around a tube of lip balm to avoid dry and chapped lips that annoyed his boss so much.
And it seemed… Tang Qianmiao had rather dry lips too?
Did that mean Young Master only did what he did to make himself feel better?
Damn… The assistant was thoroughly disappointed. But in hindsight, that was what Young Master was like. It was just too unreal to have him suddenly caring for a woman.
In the backseat, Feng Xian’s cell phone had gone off again.
“Grandpa.”
“Rascal! What happened at the blind date? Why did you make the girl cry?”
“Your health is important. Old folks like you shouldn’t be getting this worked up. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Ptui! Even if I were to die, it would be from you causing me grief! Tell me, how many girls have you sent home crying this month?!”
“People who don’t really love me won’t understand me. And if they break down in tears, it’s only because they don’t understand what I’m saying,” the man spoke unhurriedly.
“Bah! Stop that nonsense philosophy! The girl said you had a girlfriend. What’s all that about? Who’s the girl and where have you been hiding her?”
Feng Xian switched the cell phone to his other hand and continued, “She’s talking about Tang Qianmiao.”
“Wha… what?! You scoundrel! Miao Miao is only in her third year of high school! What are you thinking? Are you trying to be a sugar daddy? Huh? Huh?”
Feng Xian chuckled at that thought. “Well, if I do have a girlfriend, would it mean that you’d stop arranging these blind dates for me?”
“What do you think? Of course!” The Old Master erupted furiously.
“Alright then, just take it that I’m a sugar daddy.”