Xue Teegan expected that when Yin Shou came over, they would go through a casual hook-up, a quick f.u.c.k before they parted ways.

That"s how it usually went for her. But, when he arrived, he was well-dressed from head-to-toe, his dark hair let down loosely, instead of half-tied. He kept his hands in his pocket, too.

Yin Shou then grabbed her hand, walking down the steps. Xue Teegan was wearing a casual dress, and in comparison to him, she felt underdressed. He was wearing a neatly pressed suit while she looked like a commoner even though she was a commoner.

Xue Teegan was considered to be middle-cla.s.s. Summer-Autumn was not a big company, and she wasn"t filthy rich; they earned enough to get by. But Yin Shou...he was a member of the High Society. Like Long Huojin, Yin Shou was wealthy, coming from a family of old-money, inheriting riches and estates from generations past. He owned an agency in real-estate.

Xue Teegan never dated wealthy men; she avoided them. Ever since what happened to her family, she wanted nothing to do with people who have positions in power. She was afraid that someone within the High Society had something to do with their parent"s downfall, but Yin Shou had nothing to do with it, that she knew. Yin Shou stayed by Long Huojin"s side when the others didn"t. It proved that his character wasn"t bad; perhaps there was nothing terrible about him.

Yes, he was frivolous and cynical, but she could say the same thing about herself.

Inside the car, she fastened her seatbelt, and they drove off.

"Where are we going?" she asked him on the way.

Yin Shou smiled. "You"ll see," he said.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a mansion painted black. The lights inside were dark. In fact, there were none. The windows were blocked off with planks of wood painted black.

"This is the hall of music," he said.

"What?" Xue Teegan asked. "I"ve never heard of it."

Yin Shou smirked. "There are different rooms, they"re as big as halls, but each room has a different theme. One of them is cla.s.sical; another is a dance hall, another more traditional, and there are more divided into different types. I understand you like music, so I wanted to bring you here."

Xue Teegan"s eyes widened. He then led her into the large house. Inside was a narrow empty hall with a receptionist waiting. The man had given him a key, but for what exactly?

Yin Shou then led her down the hall, holding her hand. There was a door that said, "Dance Hall," but she heard no music. When they went inside, the music had sounded, and it was crowded with people. Xue Teegan looked out in amazement.

When they walked further in, she realized that the walls were sound-proof and the people outside couldn"t hear them. But inside, it was as loud as a concert and people were dancing.

Yin Shou gestured them to go to the bar, and he ordered them drinks. She took it for encouragement. After the buzz kicked in, they both walked into the dance floor. The music was lively, amplifying the entire room and across people"s ears. She enjoyed it.

At first, they just listened, but eventually, Yin Shou had gone closer, holding her from behind. All he did was hold her, and she leaned her head back onto the crook of his neck, and he began to sway her with the rhythm.

The music felt hypnotic; his body felt warm behind her. She then found herself smiling, broadly. She turned around to meet his eyes, and he gazed at her intensely, though there was no l.u.s.t in the green-gold of his eyes, just warmth. It stunned her.

She then reached up to circle her arms around him, feeling the mood. He grasped her waist, and held it, as they swayed from side to side, slowly, despite the fast-pace of the music.

He leaned in to kiss her, and she responded to it. It was light and quick, losing themselves in a room full of people would not do well for either of them. "This place is so cool," she commented after parting. Yin Shou smiled.

After an hour, they both left the dance hall and explored other rooms, where bands played, or radio music boomed. Regardless, the walls were built to trap the music in and to drown the music out from the others.

At last, there was one more room that they had yet to visit. Yin Shou had taken out the key that the man had given him earlier, and opened the door.

From her guess, it was the Hall of Pianos.

There were different types of Upright, Electrical, and Grand Pianos of various brands and sizes. One piano caught her eye as it stood on a platform. "That"s a Grand Yamaha," he said.

"I know," she whispered, looking at it astonis.h.i.+ngly.

"Why is this room empty?" she asked.

Yin Shou walked in further with his hands in his pockets. He released a breath, "I asked them in advance to have the room cleared."

"Why?" she asked.

"I want to hear you play," he responded.

Xue Teegan gave him a cynical expression. She doesn"t play for anyone but her family. Xue Teegan used to perform in concerts when she was younger, but she grew out of it when she began to focus on school. She kept it up as a hobby, although.

Xue Teegan walked towards the Black Grand Piano; it was polished with a layer of s.h.i.+ne, untouched.

She sat on the cus.h.i.+oned piano bench and gasped as she slid her slender fingers over the keys. She tapped one of them, making a smooth sound that echoed across the room, but it didn"t go far as the walls swallowed it.

She began to tap her foot to find the tempo she was looking for. Placing both hands over the keyboard, she pressed the keys from memory. Of course, she would play a song that she was familiar with; sometimes, it was difficult without the music sheets.

The melody was initially low but sharp, and she picked it up once she loosened her nerves and drowned out Yin Shou"s piercing stare.

Xue Teegan"s hair had slipped from her shoulders, across her back, ending just above her waist.

Yin Shou"s eyes widened at how well she played. She wasn"t playing for him, she was playing for herself. Everything about it was emotional, something difficult she was trying to convey. What was it?

When they were younger, Xue Teegan was the one who lifted up spirits, and now she was devastated by something. Something inside was tearing her apart.

Tonight, he wanted to make love to her, after they went back, but now it suddenly felt wrong...

He felt that with her, he should wait, even though they both knew that between them wouldn"t go anywhere far. The dates they would have would be between two friends who only want to pa.s.s the fleeting time.

His heart skipped a beat.

Xue Teegan"s brows knitted in concentration as she plowed through the music.

He gulped not understanding why she affected him so much. This was Teegan, a friend he had known for years.

Yin Shou had courted many women, had f.u.c.ked most of them, but this...

Something in him felt compelled to be gentle with her, to be slow.

He approached her from behind when she began to slow down. He sat on the piano bench next to her when she took a full stop. She was panting lightly. "You did very well," he said in awe.

Xue Teegan"s lips curled. "Thank you," she said.

He then pressed on keys, and she asked, "Do you play?"

"No," he said before proceeding to hit some of them randomly, making an awful sound. She laughed, her spirits rose. Yin Shou"s breath caught.

Indeed. Yin Shou had been bewitched.