Darker Side of The Moon (Angel Devourers #1) WangXian FF

44

Jiang Yanli actually knew Lan Xichen by accident.
 
That day when she was having a breakdown after her mother's unusually harsh scolding. She told her that she seemed to have done nothing since she was born, except disappointing her mother. She was not pretty, she was not smart, she had no exceptional skills, she was ordinary at best and the worst of it all was, she could not catch any rich guy's eyes. At least the ones whom her mother set her eyes onto.

Her mother was so obsessed with their family's reputation and bloodline and she wanted to climb up higher into the society, she forgot about her children's feelings. That was exactly why her brother ran away from home and worked as an ordinary detective without anyone's help and cut all communications with their mother. He just wanted to live in peace and quiet without their mother's meddling in his private affairs. And so did she.

She walked slowly and quietly into the rooftop of their apartment building with a heavy heart and every intention of killing herself and be done with it, since her mother deemed she was useless anyway. So, what's the point in keeping on living in her fucked up family?
Jiang Yanli considered her decisions some more, but finally she decided to put her last will and testament under a rock she found and she started to climb onto the ledge of the tall building when the voice from behind her spoke softly, surprising her.

"You got light?"

She jumped in surprise at the soft voice, but she couldn't see the person in the darkness.

"You got light?" He repeated his question and Jiang Yanli, ever the nurturer, unconsciously reached for her pocket to get the lighter she always took everywhere if her brother ever needed it, or any of her friends. It was a gift from her brother when he was accepted into the police academy and she treasured it more than any other expensive gifts her mother gave her. 

It was actually a selfish gift from her brother since he seemed to have lost every lighter he ever had, thus, he gave it to his sister for safekeeping. He even had it engraved with her name. Jiang Yanli herself didn't smoke because it would screw with her tastebud and she was aspiring to be a pastry chef.

She lit the stranger's cigarette and sat beside him.

"Are you a kidnapper or a murderer?" She suddenly asked the man, whom she could not identify from all the darkness. But she did not feel scared at all. In fact, she felt comfortable with the smell of smoke, which had the same brand as her brother, and the faint sandalwood.

The man chuckled.

"What if I am?"

"Well, then please make it quick."

Never in a million year Lan Xichen meet a woman like Jiang Yanli. Yes, he knew who she was, since she was standing in the light which made some kind of halo around her face.

But for her to not be afraid of the suspected killer, not that he was ever one, was a very… eye opening.

"Uhm, I'm not a killer unfortunately. But you may talk to me if you have something in your mind. I was told to be a good listener."

"Well, mister, I actually prefer if you were a killer so you could just kill me and be done with it. Now I have to think of an alternative way to die since you screwed up my plan."

Lan Xichen was stunned.

What exactly happened to her to make her lose all hope and decided to end her own life?

"Uhm…" he didn't know how to respond to her words.

"Relax, I'm just kidding." She giggled. "I was thinking of killing myself you know, I had prepared my will too. But then again, after I think it through, this is all just temporary. These too shall pass. If I really want to be a pastry chef, I have to work hard for it instead of whining that my mother doesn't love me, that's why I become a wreck. That was no excuse at all. I will work hard to earn money to go to Le Cordon Bleu." She then grabbed Lan Xichen's hand. "Wish me luck, Mister." She then happily tore her will and walked back to the door. Then she turned back to him and smiled. "By the way, my name is Jiang Yanli, please remember to find me when I become a famous chef one day!"

 
Lan Xichen couldn't help but liked her ever since their first meeting. 

Although he was a busy man, he often stopped at the rooftop in case she went there again. And about two days later, they met again. This time it was in daylight.
Lan Xichen was smoking his one-cigarette-per-day quota as usual; although lately he had been breaking the rules like a bad boy he thought he was when he was twelve, just because he could; when Jiang Yanli came through the rooftop door.

Lan Xichen could hear her surprise gasp, and knew right away that she recognized him as Lan Xichen. Well, he had been featured in many magazines as one of the most eligible bachelors, so he wouldn't be surprised if Jiang Yanli recognized him.

"Uhm, excuse me, Master Lan," she tried to hide her nervousness, but Lan Xichen could still hear it in her trembling voice, "do you happen to see a lighter here? I was here a few days ago and lent it to someone. And I think I forgot to take it back. It was not expensive, but it's precious to me."

"You mean this one?" Lan Xichen showed her the lighter he took from her the other night. It was a gold plated lighter with her name engraved in calligraphy.
Jiang Yanli gasped. 

"Yes, yes it is… thank you so much, Master Lan." She moved closer to take the lighter back but Lan Xichen pocketed it.

"Why, Jiang Yanli, you seem more afraid of me than the so-called killer you met in the dark?" He was kinda pissed with her treatment of his real self. He preferred the mocking tone and the teasing lilt of her voice when she did not know who he was.

Jiang Yanli seemed surprised to hear his words.
"You… you mean that… it was you? That night, two days ago?" She was stuttering and Lan Xichen thought it was cute.

"How else do I have your lighter then?" He played with her lighter, turning it on and off, with a smirk on his face.

"Well, I don't really know what's going on, but I appreciate that you kept my lighter and that you listened to my nonsense ramblings." She was blushing, but she kept her distance. She didn't want to be seen as a gold digger by using this chance to get close to Lan Xichen. He was way out of her league anyway with his rumored escapades with numerous beautiful, supermodel-like girlfriends, while she was only a plain jane with a cunning and sadist mother who would do anything to climb the hierarchy in high society. And Lan Xichen was the obvious answer to it. 

She didn't want that.

True, her heart went aflutter when she saw how handsome Lan Xichen is, but that didn't mean that she wanted to have him. She knew her limitations and this was it. She preferred to find someone with a more plain, down-to-earth look, but with a good heart and loved her just the way she is, not getting involved in the race to bag one of the Lan's brothers like her friend, Jin Su. She knew how obsessed Jin Su was with the younger Lan and it was eating her slowly from the inside, poisoned her with envy and jealousy and anger. Jiang Yanli wanted to stay away from those political marriages. She just wanted to live a quiet, ordinary life doing something that she loved.

That intrigued Lan Xichen more.

He never had any girl that did not scurry over when he wagged his finger to beckon them.

This was the first that any girl tried to avoid him like a plaque and he felt challenged.
 
And that was the second of their many future encounters that led to her being invited to Lan Xichen's parents' wedding anniversary.