Chapter 23: Chapter 23 : Hazy Memories

"What?" Xiulan asked and halted her steps. She looks at Hongqi and waited for him to speak again.

"I think it's about time that you transfer to one of my penthouses." Hongqi nonchalantly said. He removed his eyes away from Xiulan and relaxes his body on the sofa again and stares at the ceiling. Xiulan can't seem to read his body language.

"Why so sudden?" Xiulan doesn't understand why she has to transfer this early. As much as she wants to live by herself longer, there will be a time that she has to live with this pesky man. But she never thought that it would be too soon.

"After this day, nosy people will try to get more scoops about us. I'm sure we made a good impression while we're at the bar awhile ago." Honqgi said, still staring at the ceiling with a blank expression.

Xiulan got the gist. "So what happened earlier was like a PR work. With such PDA, people will start to be more curious" She mumbled to herself.

"Will you be living with me then?" Xiulan directly went to the most important question. After eight years of living alone, this will be the first time that she has to share a home with somebody else; especially with a man.

"Yes but not every day. My work is pretty hectic and I have to travel most of the time. I might be there twice a week." Hongqi said and closes his eyes. Hongqi was really sleepy but he must relay these words to Xiulan.

Xiulan sighed in relief. At least she only has to live with him twice a week.

"Okay. Is that all? You look really sleepy." Xiulan inquired. She also wants to sleep. It's past her bedtime and she has to travel back to S city.

"I am but I'm not finish yet." Hongqi said and he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Xiulan.

"Wha-… what is he up to know?" Xiulan sweated seeing that his eyes are glued to her again. She's really afraid to be with a drunken man. The combination of Hongqi and being drunk is a huge trouble. It automatically makes her nervous.

"Stay the night here. I won't do anything, I promise. I don't want you driving back to S city so late at night." He caringly said and got up from the sofa bed. He stretches his arms upwards and yawns helplessly.

His words have a tinge of worry but knowing him as Xing Hongqi, Xiulan has doubts.

"It's fine. I think I won't be able to sleep in here." Xiulan honestly said.

"Why not? Afraid that I will attack you?" He teasingly said and stared at Xiulan with so much seduction. Hongqi started removing his coat and tie in front of Xiulan without breaking the staring battle between them.

Xiulan gulped. "This is trouble." She panicked.

"Hehehe… of course not. Fine fine I'll stay. Where will I be sleeping?" Xiulan decided to play it cool. She must be calm so that this man won't notice how nervous she is right now.

"I have a guest room at the left side of the kitchen. Though my master bedroom's bed is big enough for us and it's more comfortable to sleep on." He ambiguously said and winked.

Xiulan coughed aggressively at his shamelessness. "I can't believe he has the energy to still flirt while he's so sleepy." Xiulan said to herself.

"Ahahaha… you really like to make jokes, my dear husband. I'll be going to the guest room now. Good night and take a good rest hmm~" Xiulan awkwardly laughs and quickly bid good night to escape his torturous flirting method. As she was out of Hongqi's sight, she dashed towards the guest room.

Xiulan immediately locked the door and sighed in relief. "I'm gonna die young because of that man. So frustrating." She angrily mumbled. She removes her denim jacket and sandals

to ready herself for bedtime. As she lays down on the bed, her body is tired but her mind is in full guard mode. This will be along night for her.

Hongqi can't help but smile at his nervous wife. His teases were only mild yet she's so nervous and awkward already. Other women would try to play fire when he starts to tease or flirt, but Xiulan would rather run away from him than play with fire.

He's now curious if this marriage will move to a more intimate state or it will remain stagnant.

His teasing smile slowly disappears and sad thoughts about his first love start to appear in his mind again.

Whenever he finds himself happy, the memories with his first love would always interfer.

"I can never marry someone who doesn't have a goal. I will be going to New York tomorrow to pursue my Hollywood acting career. If you want me to stay, accept your dad's proposition and be the CEO of your family's company. This is for your own good." The feisty woman on his mind said.

"She married that famous jeweler in New York. She must be really desperate for that money huh?" one of his friends commented.

"She's asking for your number. I can't believe her. Now she wants to come back just because you have a stable… more like a monstrous income now. What did you like about her anyway?" another one of Hongqi's friends said again.

"Give me her number." Hongqi nonchalantly said to his friend.

"Seriously? After all the things she has done?" His friend can't believe that he wants to get that wretched woman's number.

"Are you giving it or not?" Hongqi impatiently said.

"You're really an idiot when it comes to love." His friend mumbled but still gave the woman's number.

Hongqi never called or contacted the number. He was waiting for her to contact him first. But her call or even a message never reached him.

If ever he called her or even she contacted him, this might have changed his future and current life. If only he called first, he won't be this wicked man that everybody is afraid of.

Xiulan suddenly woke up from the continuous knock on the door. She wasn't able to sleep immediately last night and it was four in the morning when her mind starts to wander in dreamland.

She was so afraid that Hongqi will suddenly get inside her room and attack her but it was only her nervous mind that was tricking her. She was so stressed sleeping in the same house already, what if they have to share the same bed soon? This will really kill her young.

Xiulan searched for her phone to look at the time and it was only eight in the morning. She only got four hours of sleep. This will give her a huge headache.

The annoying knocks continued again so Xiulan decided to open the door to shoo away whoever is disturbing her sleep.

As she opens the door, she was ready to shout at the person who kept on knocking but she was surprised that it was an old lady with a very friendly smile on her face.

"Good morning, Mrs. Xing. Breakfast is ready and Mr. Xing asked me to fetch you for breakfast." The sweet old lady said. "Here are some towels and clothes. Once you're ready, please come to the dining area." The old lady handed her some toiletries and new clothes.

"Uh… thank you." Xiulan was slightly dumbfounded. She thought where the hell did Hongqi get an old lady to serve them? She was sure that Hongqi rarely uses this penthouse. "Was it an on-call service? So fast." Xiulan was both confused and amaze how fast Hongqi gets people to work for him.

Once the old lady left, Xiulan quickly took a shower and tidy up. While looking at her reflection, she can't help but praise Hongqi's fashion sense. He sure knows what kind of colors complements her skin and what looks good on her.

She's wearing an emerald lace short qipao that hugs her curves. It made her pale skin more vibrant and smooth to look at. She added a bit of crimson lip tint on her lips to avoid looking like a zombie. After all she only had four hours of sleep.

She quickly gathered her things and went to the dining room. The smell of butter and bacon immediately envelops her nose. This causes her stomach to create a wild hungry sound. Good thing it was only her in dining entrance.

Hongqi was pompously sitting in the main chair while reading a "China Daily" newspaper.

"Good morning." Xiulan greeted and sat at the chair next to Hongqi. She looked at the old lady servant and gave her a warm smile.

Hongqi slightly puts down the news paper and blankly glanced at Xiulan. "Morning. Go on and eat." He blandly greeted and returns his attention to the newspaper.

"Oh? He doesn't seem energetic unlike last night." Xiulan quietly asked herself while she looks at the dishes in front of her. It's mostly English cuisine and a random fried rice in the corner. Seeing the nicely burnt bacon made her drool.

The old lady servant helped her get some dishes that were too far away from her seat. Now that she got the dishes that she wanted to eat, she silently eats in her seat not minding Hongqi who was contemptuously staring at her while she happily eats the greasy food.

Hongqi signaled the old lady to leave the room.

"How can she eat bacon first? There are tons of veggie dishes yet she directly hunted for the oily ones." Hongqi mumbled to himself while he looks at the glutton Xiulan.

"From now on you will have to eat base on the nutritionist's recommendation. I don't want to see you eating oily food." Hongqi coldly dictated. He finally puts down the newspaper and sips his coffee.

Xiulan looks at Hongqi and raises her right eyebrow at him. "What the hell is with his mood? Now he wants to interfere with the food I eat." Xiulan silently complained.

"I also assigned a personal stylist for you. She will come to the penthouse every morning to dress you up. I will also assign a gym instructor for you to remove that extra fat in your body. It's cute but it's not Mrs. Xing's style." He informed and as usual his cold face didn't help Xiulan's already annoyed mood.

"Ah, you haven't told me which penthouse you wanted. Which is it by the way? I have a guess that the penthouse in district Y will be your pick. You haven't seen the inside of that penthouse yet right? Let's visit after breakfast. " Hongqi continued dictating things that Xiulan doesn't want to hear.

"Stylist? Nutrionist? Gym instructor? What is she a celebrity?" Xiulan disdainfully glared at Hongqi but the man was so nonchalant. He knew that Xiulan will be mad for making decisions without her consent but he's the leader of their pair. She must follow him regardless of whatever his plans were.

Xiulan was mum and silent all throughout Hongqi's litany. But deep inside she wants to stab him with a butter knife.

Hongqi was waiting for Xiulan to talk but she remains silent. He was about to drink his coffee again when Xiulan finally opened her mouth and said something.

"At least give me a separate room to sleep at." Xiulan shortly said and there was an obvious anger in her eyes.

Hongqi slightly felt sorry for her but he's selfish. "Of course. But it will be adjacent with the master bed room. If you have to exit your room, you have to use the master bed room's door. For PR's sake." Hongqi explained and half smiled at her.

That smile infuriated Xiulan more. It's like saying 'Just deal with it'. She's so mad at him!

"At this rate, I'm like a prisoner" Xiulan gritted her teeth.

Xiulan also gave a fake smile and sarcastically said "Is that so? How considerate."

Xiulan thought how come she ended up like a prisoner in this man's life? Did she miscalculate or she's was just an idiot in agreeing easily in this marriage. Is there a rewind button to fix this?