บท 8: Heart-to-heart talk with the Devil (2)

'Me, missing Zi Jue? Sorry, Meili dear. I'm not at that stage yet.'

Yan Qing Shan kept mum on Meili's statement and gave her a small smile instead. The girl then excused herself after seeing that she had kept her silence, taking it as cue of wanting to be left alone. She already knew that Zi Jue would be arriving later than his schedule. In the past, he had also extended his trip for another three days. It was only that Yan Qing Shan was strangely being anxious at his arrival that she couldn't help but ask about it.

Qing Shan nibbled pensively at the pastry in her hand, pondering about how she'll face Zi Jue when he arrived. She wasn't sure what to feel about him. Yes, she was willing to give them a try and she fully understands his past actions, still there was a small part in her that was irrefutably filled with fear. This was the repercussions of the years of abuse she had suffered in his hands in her past life.

They say that women are creatures of complex emotions. Qing Shan always disagreed with this back then. She felt that such emotions muddled people. The her previously had a one-track emotion. It was all indifference. But now it dawned on her that emotions were not an inconvenience. In fact, they are what makes one human.

Qing Shan was startled to find out that for the first time she had felt how it is to be confused, to be fickle. In a span of more than a week of rebirth, she had tasted varying emotions at varying degrees. Frankly, it made her uncomfortable. But it also made her appreciate living more.

'I'll just roll with it, then. Maybe the things that I want to say to him will naturally flow out when we're face to face. Maybe all these confusion would clear out then.'

She decided. Qing Shan sipped from her tea relishing the heat, while her mind and hear looked forward to the coming days.

---

It was a beautiful afternoon. The midday sunshine had considerably toned down, paired with the soft breeze carrying the light fragrance of lavender, freesia, and orange blossoms. It made one relaxed. This was currently the exact scenery in the gazebo. What made it more perfect was the girl reclining on wicker chaise lounge, reading. Her slim form was languid, though her face was partly hidden by the book she was holding.

Zi Jue heart skipped a beat at this scene. He stood there staring, afraid of disturbing the peace. He feared that if he even take a step closer, he would end up ruining everything. There was that nagging dread that she will shirk away from him.

He had just arrived. Knowing that she now frequents the garden instead of her library, Zi Jue went dashing to the place. Only to stop at a corner where he was hidden but was able to see her clearly.

God knows how much he wanted to run and take her into his arms. He missed her desperately. But Zi Jue had no right wanting that now.

He sighed and looked at the box in his hands. He was supposed to go home earlier. But the present he had prepared for her was delayed and he had no choice but to wait for it. Zi Jue decided that he will just leave it in front of her room tonight.

The smiling devil, the emperor of City Z who feared nothing, in the face of his beloved lacked the courage he was famous for.

---

Yan Qing Shan was antsy the whole day. She knew Zi Jue will be arriving tonight and somehow the butterflies in her stomach couldn't keep their freaking calm. She felt like she was about to barf. Pretty much similar to a severe case of stage fright, except multiplied by a few thousands. After all, she was not about to make a speech instead she'd be confronting the devil himself.

She paced around her room waiting for him. Yan Qing Shan remembered in her previous life, when Zi Jue arrived, that night he knocked on her door and left a box in front of her room. She only noticed it in the morning. She never did open that box. Yan Qing Shan just threw it somewhere in her room.

But she won't be making that mistake again. She'll absolutely open the door and talk to him. The problem was she wasn't sure what time Zi Jue would go. In order to soothe her nerves, she went to the bathroom to take a hot shower first.

Qing Shan was in the middle of washing her hair when she heard three faint rasps on her door.

'It's him!'

'Aaaaaah! What do I do? I still have shampoo on my hair! I haven't even rinsed the shower gel off! But at this rate he'll leave!'

'Oh to hell with it!'

Qing Shan quickly turned off the shower and haphazardly wrapped herself in a towel. She dashed out and opened the bathroom door. However, the floor was wet and her body still lathered with shower gel.

Qing Shan found herself slipping on the marble tiles, a loud yelp escaping from her lips followed by a resounding thud.