"I thought this was a date," Long Bolin said.

Xue Liena stared at him blankly, almost as if she couldn"t register his words. Was this real?

She stared at him, dazed, and he stood in front of her waiting for a reply. When he realized she wasn"t going to say anything, he reached up to twirl a strand of hair, gazing down at her. Xue Liena was still dazed, but after a few moments, her face turned scarlet. She couldn"t handle any of this; it was all new to her.

While Long Huojin was dark and reserved throughout his school career, Long Bolin was a leader, a good student, and cla.s.s president of their cla.s.s. He was an exemplary student, as was Long Huojin, but his older brother kept it a secret.

Xue Liena recalled all the girls stealing glances at Long Bolin because where he walked knocked the breath from those around them. She accepted the fact that nothing would happen between them.

But now...

"Yes; this is a date," she managed to say without a flush.

"Good," said Long Bolin. He then grabbed her hand again. "Let"s run through the maze since it"s nearly dark. We wouldn"t want to get lost."

Xue Liena tightened her grasp on his warm hand. He then led her through the maze again, this time, running to beat the night.

The next day, Long Bolin invited Xue Liena to visit him at work.

She visited Long Group a few times in the past when her father took her before. But she wouldn"t visit the company recently since the buildings were full of offices and departments that she shouldn"t be allowed in. Nonetheless, Long Bolin welcomed her there when she arrived.

He worked at the automotive department. He was in a lab wearing casual clothing when he escorted her in. The room had tables full of wires, materials, and blueprints scattered across the table.

"Sorry, it"s a bit messy," he said as they walked into the room. The view stunned Xue Liena.

"I think the point is to be messy," she responded, astonished.

Xue Liena walked around the room curiously. She gazed at the projects he had been working on.

"What is this?" she asked, pointing at a steering wheel that had black wires connected to it, but not to any vehicle.

"Ah," Long Bolin began. "It"s a project my brother, and I have been working on together. I worked on the mechanics, while he worked on a measuring system that connects the wires to brain activity. Now, it"s only a prototype, but the system interprets any antic.i.p.ated movement for driving. It will help to be autonomous on the road, and it"s inclusive to those who can"t drive due to some physical immobility."

Xue Liena"s eyes widened.

"Here, sit down, and I"ll show you," he continued to say.

Xue Liena sat down in the car. Long Bolin connected a device that almost looked like a crown, hugged tightly on her head. "Without turning the steering wheel, think of a movement," he said from behind her.

Xue Liena thought to turn left, and the steering wheel turned left for her. A breath of near disbelief escaped her mouth. She kept thinking about movements, and it obeyed her.

She smiled. "This is so cool," she said.

Long Bolin smiled, "I know it seems far-fetched, but every day I am closer to it. My brother specializes in computers, but he has strengths that benefit my projects, and vice versa when I help him. Our projects are all collaborative, and I have a bigger team, but I dismissed them today."

"Why?" Xue Liena asked. She would have liked to meet some of his colleagues.

Long Bolin smiled. "I would like to show you these things alone."

Xue Liena gritted her teeth, biting down a flush. Even though Long Bolin was a quiet man, he was also a really good flirt, and she didn"t know how to take it. How is this man so smooth?

Long Bolin showed her some of his other projects before he took her out to lunch.

As they were leaving, they stumbled upon Xue Guangli and Long Huojin. Both of them look at them bewildered and slightly shocked.

Xue Guangli grabbed her hand and took her aside for a moment while Long Bolin spoke to his older brother about something.

"Ena," her sister called her. "Are you and him...?"

Xue Liena shook her head, "I don"t know." She then stole a glance at Long Bolin before looking at Xue Guangli. "But I do like him," she whispered.

A flash of surprise crossed her sister"s eyes. It was the same look Xue Teegan gave her. "I can date, too, you know," Xue Liena said.

Xue Guangli smirked. "I"m sorry. It"s hard for me to get used to that fact that you"re an adult." Xue Liena pursed her lips. Everyone treats her like the baby in the family, but she wasn"t that much younger than them.

"Well," Xue Guangli began, "Have fun, then."

Xue Guangli then called Long Huojin"s name, and he followed her towards his office, as it appeared.

Long Bolin then grasped her hand, and they walked out for lunch.

Xue Guangli nudged Long Huojin as they walked down the hall, towards his office. He seemed calm, but inside Xue Guangli was beaming.

In his office, Xue Guangli said, "I didn"t know my sister liked your brother. What the h.e.l.l."

Long Huojin smiled knowingly.

Xue Guangli pouted. "It"s the curse of the Long"s!" she accused.

Long Huojin let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.

Xue Guangli sat on one of his couches lazily; she began to look through some information regarding the w.a.n.g"s and what stood out to her was an article about w.a.n.g Weimin"s father who had gone to jail and many people pulled out of the company. If it weren"t for w.a.n.g Weimin trying to hold everything together, w.a.n.g Worldwide could have been out of business.

"Long Huojin, why did you go after the w.a.n.g"s three years ago?" she asked.