Promised To The Clouds

Prologue

"We are now descending onto Shanghai Pudong International Airport-"

The announcement from the booming speakers woke me from my slumber. Looking out the small window by my side, the horizons are slowly gaining light from the rising sun. It's very early in the morning. The sight of the cities did not have much effect on me; it was more like watching a painting or a movie. Nostalgia does not hit me at all.

My parents used to own a hotel back in the day, but the two died in a tragic fire incident at the very place they loved the most about ten years ago. Grandpa took me to his home, but I couldn't even utter a word for a long time. All I saw in my eyes was the blazing red fire that swallowed two of my closest kin and scorched my skin as I stood helplessly, and it took me all my courage to remind myself that it was beyond my control. And that they are gone. Forever.

In an effort to improve my mental health, Grandpa sent me overseas. To London, where the culture, the buildings, and even the language are vastly different. The years passed by, and yet things felt like a standstill to me. Losing touch with Grandpa was a natural option.

"You are still my granddaughter. You hold the 'Yi' family name."

I know. I know I am.

I am sorry, Grandpa, for not being able to come home.

"You know Grandpa will not force you into something you don't like. Meet him and talk to him. If you don't like him, come back to us. Nothing would be affected. I promise."

I feel no affection from him, or perhaps I am still void of emotions. I cannot say he did not treat me very well; he did pay for my tuition fees and let me live comfortably all these years without complaint. Even when I said I'd find a job in Britain and chose not to come home, he muttered an agreeing grunt and did not say a word of protest. Over the years, I have told him to stop wiring me money, but he insisted that it was his responsibility as head of the Yi Family and I, the sole heir of it all, should accept it.

Beyond his words, I detect the underlying meaning: If I don't choose this man, I will have to return to my paternal family, the Yi Family. The Yi Family consists of generations of hoteliers and has continued to strive with a number of branches across China; my late Dad was managing one of his own branches when the tragedy happened.

Grandpa never pressurised me with anything at all, and yet I have been feeling guilty for using the family money and yet giving nothing in return. He is also an ageing relative that I should have visited earlier.

Hence, when he called and told me about the arrangement for me to meet this man, I nonchalantly agreed.

There is a limit to running away, and I would still have to face this family one day.

-

Out of my scheduled days in Shanghai, I ended up having heavy hesitations about contacting Luo Yunxi. Grandpa has assured me that it would be my own choice, and I thought my mind would be clearer if I was already in the country and had the means to do it, yet I couldn't bring myself to do it.

On my second last day in this bustling city, I still didn't intend to contact him. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was fate. Certainly, I did not think of it as a backhand scheme by someone, but I incidentally met the man himself.

That day, I went to an amusement park, the one I went to with my parents when I was just a small child. I wanted to retrace the steps I took with my beloved parents before I left the country again. I was ushered into the cabin with three other strangers— a man whose face is covered with a mask and a cap and a loving couple. Since the couple was cosily hugging each other, I sat across them with the man, whose face I couldn't even see. There was a certain distance between us that that I ignored as the cabin slowly ascended.

I didn't think much of anything but the amazing view of the city from the height we were ascending.

I didn't even notice how the man beside me shifted closer until the couple across us started to gossip about us.

I didn't even notice when the man removed his cap and peeked at my phone.

"Yi Nuo-"

I almost dropped my phone when I heard his voice. As I turned towards him, his eyebrows slightly rose, and his eyes sparkled in recognition. Half of his face is covered, but there is nobody in Shanghai who would have known me other than Grandpa. When he removed his facemask, I saw the very face I had searched the web for.

The famous Luo Yunxi. Really is him.

His pale skin wasn't a weakness compared to his beautifully carved nose, pair of gentle brown eyes, and luscious-looking lips. He truly is a gorgeous person, as if he were drawn as a manhua character and puffed into life, and that left me in awe for more than a few moments.

"So you really are Yi Nuo."

The cabin shook slightly, and the girl in front of us gave out a low shriek as the movement stopped. The man beside me was so close to me that the impact made him impulsively catch me in his very arms, and our lips locked.

Out of shock, I didn't move.

I should have moved.

I could feel his smile as he tightened his arms around me, tilted his head, and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

Why didn't I move?

Why couldn't I move?

Why am I responding to this perverted attack?

I couldn't explain the buzzing in my ears or the clouding sensations in my head as his lips devoured mine in a gentle kiss.

Click.

I could certainly explain that sound. That was the clicking of the phone camera shutters, originating from the couple across us.

-

Luo Yunxi. 

Single-handedly, in one day, he turned us from strangers to a couple. And the man is smiling in satisfaction as he sits across me with his legs crossed, waiting for me to finish reading the web article about us.

Luo Yunxi Studio has issued a statement about the photo that has been circulating on the web: "Luo Yunxi has stated that the woman in the photo is his recently wedded wife."

"Why would you do that?" I asked him, biting my inner lips to try and hold back a cry.

"I waited, and you didn't come. So I came to you. It is a man's responsibility, after all." He stated it almost calmly, as if he were talking about the weather. "I know you are leaving tomorrow, so this is the only way I can tie you to me."

"You stated that we are married."

"Then marry me, Yi Nuo. I can take care of you for the rest of your life if you marry me. You are, after all, promised to me."

I looked into his eyes in disbelief. We have never met before, I am very sure of that. We have never even talked to each other. Never been in contact. We just met. We literally just met.

"I know this is wrong, but I have intentionally followed you there. Intentionally made the scandal, and that is all for one reason."

He rose up from his seat and dropped to his knees in front of me. ".. because I fell in love with you at first sight. So marry me, Yi Nuo."

--

I shouldn't have believed him. He acted so well from the gentle gaze of his eyes to the warm hand that held mine. I believed all of that. I even believed the sparkle in his eyes as I agreed to his proposal, and he pulled me into a warm embrace.

And that was how it all started.

The top actor I married out of impulse.

The pervert that I married out of impulse.

The liar I married out of impulse.

Luo Yunxi, you scammed me.