She engrossed herself with watching the clock as it ticked away. It was eight forty-five at night, and she had cleansed herself up and changed into a fresh tee and shorts. More than two hours had passed since Cree's bothersome request, and she had never felt as idle as she had been tonight ever in her life.
Finally, she gathered all the courage she could muster, to open the door with a slight creak, as silently as she could and stuck her head out through the small gap to observe what the Icy Devil was up to. At first, she had thought that he was probably waiting for her answer now, but she realized he was sitting in the living room, tapping his fingers repeatedly on his lap while intensely studying the screen of his notebook computer. She was taken by how focused he had been, while clad in striped pyjamas and wearing a dorky-looking pair of glasses.
She was thirsty, and wanted a drink. Since Cree had 'invited' her to stay, would it be alright for her to help herself to a cup of water? Considering how 'hospitable' this host was, she was unsure if she would be triggering his anger if she bothered him over a glass of water, and soundlessly hopped towards the kitchen. She carefully avoided passing through the living room, and entered the kitchen gracelessly.
Qiao Ruo was not a refined person to begin with, and she tended to be clumsy. Unfortunately, one wrong grab for the metal mug lying on top of the dish drainer resulted in a loud clattering sound when all the utensils lying around the mug decided to follow after the mug and flew towards her, causing her to fall backwards in shock and land squarely with her bottom on the hard tiled floor.
To her astonishment, Cree had put down his notebook calmly and headed towards her. She feared the worst was about to happen and quickly recited a silent prayer in her mind, with her eyes shut tight and both hands on opposite sides of her head. Please, Old Heaven, don't let him be mad. Please, please, please.
Instead of raging at her, she was flabbergasted when Cree actually warmly extended a hand to help her up. There was no sign of his usual coldness, and he was even smiling! Either it was that her prayers had been answered, or it had to be her lucky day. She was not religious, and she just prayed to 'Old Heaven', or rather, her definition of the sky, as how she perceived it to be.
"Are you alright?"
She was shaken, but she hastily took his hand and pulled herself up. "Yes, I am... I'm sorry about the mess..."
He chuckled, and said, "You could have asked when you needed a drink. This is my housekeeper's mug, and you just dropped all her utensils."
"I didn't know... they were all sticking together..." she stammered, looking apologetically at him.
"It's a magnetic mug. That's why her utensils stick to the mug. But to cut to the chase, you shouldn't be using her mug." He picked up the fallen items and placed them on the counter, before heading to a corner of the kitchen and pulling open a drawer. "This is where the mugs are. And-" he pointed to a few other drawers located nearby, "dishes and plates, after being dried, are placed here, and utensils there."
She quietly nodded to indicate her understanding, and he just smiled, and handed her a porcelain mug from the drawer, while taking another for himself. She noted that his mug had an adorable design on it, and her eyes were staring at the design addictively.
"A gift from my junior at school, who I've known since childhood." He stated frankly.
"What was her name?" she boldly asked.
"Violet."
There was a tinge of ardour when he spoke her name. Qiao Ruo concluded that this Violet must be someone important to Cree, and she refrained from asking further questions. Since Cree didn't elaborate further, she did not press him for further details.
He pointed towards the water dispenser, and gave her a brief explanation on how to operate the machine. He also, like a salesman, efficiently introduced the features of the machine and benefits of the alkaline water that the machine produced. She smiled and nodded politely, and then he continued, "Would you like to watch TV?"
She shrugged. "If you wish."
He flipped on the switch to his smart television, and selected the video streaming application. Being from the countryside where it was secluded and had poor facilities, and furthermore, her landlord had not included television for them as she and another poor girl had rented the place on a room-sharing basis, so she had never the chance to watch television at all.
A film called 'Catch Her if You Can' was playing, and she almost jumped at the excitement of the action scenes. Cree was amused, but he also went with her while watching, and applauded at certain scenes where he appeared to be enjoying. As they were halfway through the film, she suddenly asked him, "Cree, why are you so different tonight?"
"Just call me Ye Qi," he said, and shushed her. "Let's talk later, it seems something surprising is about to happen."
"Okay." As they continued with the film, she was stunned when he placed his arm on her shoulders and huddled against her lovingly, as if they were a real couple. Another hour passed, and just as the credits was announced, the lights began faltering, and everything turned pitch black in just a few seconds.
She hated the darkness with a passion, and every single time she was in a very dark place, she was extremely fearful and uncomfortable, so she held his hand tightly and bawled like a baby. She couldn't recall the actual reason, but the harsh reality was that it had been connected to an incident where she had been punished by her aunt by being locked in a dark room devoid of light, when she was a child. Though she forgot the nature of her punishment, she became more and more intolerant to the darkness as she grew older, and she had grown up to sleep with a night light by her bedside.
"Xiaoruo, don't fear. Don't fear," he repeated warmly, and pulled out his smartphone from his pocket, activating the torchlight function. She still didn't calm down, and frantically continued to cry, till he embraced her as hard as he could, and whispered soothingly in her ear. "Lights will be back soon."
He directed the light from his phone towards the ceiling, and she began to show signs of composure, so he released her and stared at her longingly.
He was the cold and cruel Cree earlier, and now he had taken the kind and sweet role of Ye Qi. In fact, he had decided to be Ye Qi tonight of his own accord, because they had started off when he was Ye Qi. It wasn't easy keeping up with both roles and identities, but Ye Qi, unlike Cree, was more humane. He might be the one who could bring happiness to Xiaoruo. Regardless, both sides of him wanted and desired her, but he didn't know what was on her mind, since she was so different from the others.
He uttered the pet name he had given to her, and caressed her hair tenderly and mollified her with the gentleness of his voice.
"Xiaoruo, I am here. I will protect you, and give you all the care I can."
She gazed at him, and their eyes locked on to each other. She appeared to look right through him, losing herself in the sentiment gushing from his very expressive eyes. While she found it extremely confounding to read Cree's emotions because he hid them too well, Ye Qi, like at the bar that night, had been chatty and open to her. Maybe both of them loved to explore wild and sudden kisses, but Ye Qi seemed more genuine during their conversations, while Cree was colder and distant. That was the obvious distinctness between the two of them.
This time, his lips were patient against hers, slowly and gradually making contact with hers, in contrast to how rushed and coarse Cree had kissed her, treating her like an object. She was reminded of how Ye Qi had suddenly kissed her in the bar, emotionally and surprisingly, but nevertheless the kisses had been sweet and sensual, before they succumbed to temptation for the first time. Again, Ye Qi was triggering this naughty and desirous side of her, but she wasn't ready for it to happen again. She remembered how it had hurt being her first time, and she wasn't prepared to go through the sharp pricking feeling again. Albeit that, she just wanted to indulge in the passion of more kisses, and leaned back on the sofa as she took in the depth of his kisses. He was so passionate, that she had been so sensitive and wanted more of this warm side of him!
And at that juncture, she really didn't want it all to end as a dream that she would wake up with him transforming back into Cree...
