The next day.
Jian and Nian at the moment - "..."
They investigated a bit about Ai and found that she would go to the public library everyday. But the problem was that they saw Jun as the assistant librarian just when they were about to step in.
Jian cursed. "The fuck! What is Jun doing here? Why is he working as the assistant librarian?"
Nian was just as speechless. "Wasn't he working for his publishing company with Yunru?"
Chen Yunru was their cousin. Their fathers, Liu Jinhai and Chen Jianyu were cousins themselves while their wives Liu Nana and Chen Serena were best friends and step sisters too with a complicated history behind it which didn't matter anymore.
"Yeah, it is Sky Publishing. So, why is he doing this job?"
"Hey, wait a minute. Jin met him a few days ago, but he didn't say anything about this!"
Jian frowned. "He said something about Jun not feeling a bit well, so maybe he didn't get to ask about it. But the question is what we will do now? We cannot approach her if that demon is over there."
The twins exchanged glances.
"Well, then a little bit of makeup is our only option."
"This is actually good. We will get to see if Jun is close to this woman and then report to Shui."
They laughed like two evil villains in a movie.
A while later, the twins stepped in and sat near Ai. Some high school and college girls who were doing their assignments gasped speechless with their entrance.
S-So handsome!
Gosh, who are these Godly beauties!
Ahh, I wanna sit near them.
They are just as handsome as the assistant librarian!
Jun stared at the two new entries for a moment and went back to his work.
Nian whispered, "Jun didn't recognize us."
"Heh. Nobody can recognize us when we disguise ourselves," Jian smirked.
"Ugh, but the women are staring at us."
He sighed. "It's not our fault if our beauty leaks through our disguise too."
They saw Ai quietly reading her book. Sometime later, she got up and Jian signaled his brother.
Nian casually got up and followed her. He approached her and coughed. Ai turned. She stared at him for a few moments.
The man was extremely handsome without a doubt. He had a good sense of fashion, and she figured he was rich as she saw him wearing an expensive watch. His shoes belonged to a popular brand too.
"Yes?"
"Can you please help me find where the classics section is?" He flashed a charming smile that would make any woman faint.
She nodded and pointed towards her right. "Over there."
"Thanks."
She promptly went back to her own work, and Nian went back to his seat.
"What happened?" Jian eagerly asked.
He squinted his eyes. "She acted normal. Not like these women squealing at us. She didn't even extend the conversation."
"She definitely figured that we are rich, right?"
"Of course. Even a blind man would figure it out. But she looked unfazed. Or pretended to be."
Hmm…
Then sometime later, a girl shyly approached Ai and coughed.
"Yes?" Ai looked up.
"I-If it's not too much trouble, can you switch seats with me?"
The twins's ears perked at their conversation.
Hah! She wants to sit near us, but would this woman let her?
Jian whispered, "She definitely won't allow her."
Ai nodded, picked her belongings and moved. She didn't even question the girl about the reason behind switching the seats.
The twins - "..."
"Thank you so much!" The girl beamed.
"Hey is she playing hard-to-get?" Jian wondered.
"We will know it soon enough."
Throughout the day, they didn't see Jun and Ai interacting much. It passed by without triggering any suspicion regarding Ai's possible ambiguous feelings for Jun.
"Ahh man it's so boring to be at the library for the whole day!"
Jian shrugged. "For Shui's sake, we have to do it. We would drive away all the pests around our brother!"
The first day ended, and the second day of their trial arrived. This time, Jian took the lead and approached her. Nian casually pushed Ai and made her stumble.
Jian quickly caught her in his arms and gently asked in a concerned voice, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Ai shook her head. "No. Thank you for the help," she sincerely thanked him.
He thought she would look a little bit shy and flustered, but it wasn't the case at all.
He waved his hand. "No probs. By the way," he brought his hand forward, "I am Jian."
Ai shook his hand. "Zhou Ai."
"That's a beautiful name. Ai means love. It indeed suits you."
She smiled. "Thank you."
"Oh by the way, he is my brother, Nian."
"You remember you helped me yesterday?" He grinned.
"Of course."
"Ah, it's so difficult. We are doing our post-graduation project, and it's so hard with these books."
Nian sighed. "This library makes me dizzy."
Ai listened to their chitter-chatter and interjected whenever required.
"If you need my help, I can organize some books for you."
They beamed. "You will? Thanks a ton! You are such a great help!"
Nian whispered, "Speaking about help, who is that assistant librarian? Doesn't he look too out of place?"
Ai blinked. "Why?"
"Well with that looks and aura, he definitely seems to be a rich guy, right?"
Ai thought back to how lavish his condo was and nodded.
"See? It looks so odd that a rich guy like him is working as an assistant."
"There is nothing odd about it. He likes books, and if this is his choice, then he has every right to do what he likes. Your hobby doesn't have any connection with your bank balance."
The twins widened their eyes and stared at her.
Jian probed. "Hmm, you are right. I can see the girls swooning over him like anything. Well, it's not a shocker."
"Indeed."
The twins found their chance.
"Soooo…" Nian leaned his palm on the shelf and teasingly smiled. "Are you interested in him?"
Ai replied. "He is not my type."
The twins choked hard.
Excuse me? N-Not your type? Jun? He is NOT your type?
"But I am interested in him."
"..."
What is this tug-of-war? He is not your type but you are interested in him?
The twins exchanged suspicious glances.
As we thought! This woman is not so simple.
Jian raised his brow. "What is interesting about him?"
"His eyes."
They tilted their heads.
Ai gazed towards once. "His eyes are beautiful, and they tell a story of their own. I would like to know what it is."
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At the same time outside Shui's University campus.
Shui's classes ended early today and as she walked out of the gates, she saw a car parked outside. She stiffened for a moment.
Is it Jun?
But to her surprise, it was Jin who waved at her.
Shui gave an enthusiastic smile and waved back. "Jin!"
"Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"Actually…I wanted to talk to you about something, so I wondered if you would be free for a cup of coffee."
"Of course, I will. Do you even need to ask?"
She took a step when she tripped on her foot. Jin widened his eyes. "Careful."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and caught her. Her cheek bumped on his chest. His breath stopped in his throat, feeling her softness pressed against him. Even if it was as light as a feather, he heard his heart drumming faster.
Shui, too, was a bit numb for a moment. His fingertips on her waist made her cheeks slightly heat up. The sound of his heartbeat was confusing her, making her wonder if it was his or her own.
There was a moment of awkwardness between them, and Jin quickly distanced himself from her.
Shui quickly diffused the tension. "Hey, what is this silence for? You saved me there haha! What? Did you get enamored by my beauty perhaps?" She smirked.
Jin's gaze was fixed at her, and he smiled. "Bro Jun definitely is."
Her gaze ever so slightly flickered.
Jin then chuckled and flicked on her forehead. "What are you thinking so hard for?"
"Nothing."
"Let's go?"
"Hm."
They went to a nearby coffee house. Placing their order, Jin asked, "I saw you running around the campus. What were you doing?"
"Ah that…" she scratched her chin, "Doing my setup for assignments," she stuck out her tongue.
Jin laughed. "Seriously?"
"Hey, don't laugh, okay? The topic this time is difficult. I just want to get it over with."
"Why don't you ask bro then?"
Shui slightly bit her lip. "Of course. I will ask his help if my setup doesn't work. Forget about college stuff. Tell me, what do you want to talk about?"
Jin took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Alright, so…Bro Jian told me that he told you about a woman bro Jun is meeting."
He was anxious about Shui's reaction.
"Oh yeah. The twins did tell me this. Though it's hard to believe, they are sure they saw her coming out of Jun's condo."
"Did you talk to him about it?"
That made Shui slightly uncomfortable. "Not really. I wanted to, but...I didn't get time," she lied.
After Jun broke up with Shui, she wasn't sure how to approach him.
Jin blinked. "Didn't get time? You know how bro Jun is always waiting for your call or message."
She clasped her hands together. Jin noticed her nervousness and felt something was off. "Shui, is there something wrong?"
"No…nothing-"
"I don't think so. Please tell me. I wanted to talk to you because I didn't want you to misunderstand bro. But now I am feeling as if you are hiding something from me."
Shui didn't know how to say it. "I…"
"Shui, you are making me worry. Did you two fight again-"
"No! It's not a fight. I don't know how to disclose this. I haven't told anyone about it, not even to Mom."
He frowned. "About?"
Shui took a deep breath. "Jun…broke up with me."
—
Back at the library, the twins started their second plan of action. It was making advances on Ai. Both of them.
Jian openly began to show interest in Ai as he sat next to her. He continued with casual conversation, giving verbal and physical hints that he was interested in her. But he didn't make himself look pushy at all.
It was the second day, and they had already broken the ice with her. Jian would be more frank and unapproachable while Nian would keep his distance, occasionally joining their talk.
Then they saw Jun leaving for a break, and they sighed in relief.
Finally…
Inside the small pantry in the corridor where patrons took a coffee break, Jian hesitatingly approached Ai. "Hey. Can I talk to you about something?"
"Yes."
"Okay…so…" he coughed. "This is a bit embarrassing. I know you will think I am too hasty, but I…I think I…like you."
Ai blinked.
"I know, I know! We just met yesterday. It's hard to believe my words. I don't know if you believe in love at first sight, but it happened to me. I…I just…Can you think about it? I am fine starting out as friends too! If I feel something about it, I act upon it. That's my nature. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"No. I am fine. It's shocking indeed," Ai wore a serious expression. "But-"
"Please think about it just once! Th-Thanks!" He already left.
Ai was stunned.
Strange…
Nian chuckled and gave his brother a high-five. "That was perfect."
Jian winked. "It's your turn tomorrow."
Ai felt awkward going back when Jian had just confessed to her. So instead, she decided to head out for a walk.
Walking down the path, her mind was unable to grasp the situation.
Did he really fall for me? She wondered.
It was puzzling yet at the same time, she didn't know much about love at first sight. So, she couldn't comment on or disregard it.
To her, feelings weren't to be taken lightly.
She paused as she recognized Jun standing at a distance. She walked towards him and greeted him. "Hello."
But Jun didn't respond. He was staring hard at something and when Ai followed his gaze, she saw a coffee house opposite the road.
Why is he looking over there?
Then she recognized someone from inside the coffee house.
Isn't he…Jun's brother? Jin, right? The one who came to the library that day.
She slightly craned her neck and saw a woman sitting opposite him. Her back was facing her.
Ai looked back at Jun. "It's your brother-"
She stiffened upon seeing the chill in Jun's brown eyes that suddenly cast his gaze with a terrifying darkness. His fingers were tightly curled into his fist as if he would punch someone at any moment.
What is happening?
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