They haven"t put a t.i.tle on their relations.h.i.+p, yet.

Long Huojin thought it was best to court her the usual way. He would take her on dates and take slow steps until he is able to ask her to be his girlfriend.

He would not rush Xue Guangli into things she was not ready for. He would wait.

But yet, whenever the two of them were alone, Xue Guangli would steal a kiss from him. He never felt strength until those moments; it took an immense amount of self-control not to ask her to go further.

It appears that Xue Guangli did not know just how much power she had over him.

Long Huojin was working on his pile of work when his secretary came in.

"Mr. Long," he said.

"Yes?" Long Huojin responded without glancing up from his work.

"Your father is here."

Long Huojin glanced up from his doc.u.ments and gave his secretary a slow nod, "let him in."

Within the next moment, Long Yuntian walked in.

What Long Huojin disliked about him was how much they looked like. Long Huojin was like a mirror of Long Yuntian. Long Yuntian appeared as if he didn"t age much; he was tall, broad-shouldered, with black hair not yet lined with silver, and pale-blue eyes that stared out coldly.

Long Huojin straightened; he kept his expression cold and unwavering, unafraid.

"What can I do for you, father?" Long Huojin said darkly.

"I came to overlook some small matters. I discussed with the board in regards to your position," Long Yuntian said with a cruel smile.

Long Huojin"s expression darkened. "You met with the board about me? Last time I recalled, I am the CEO of this company."

Long Yuntian kept his smile, subtle but wicked. "There"s nothing to worry about my son. We discussed more personal matters."

"Personal?" asked Long Huojin.

"Yes," Long Yuntian began. "You need to get married. It strengthens the company when you promote a familial atmosphere."

Long Huojin scoffed. "Is it because people are close to finding out how you are? A father who hits his son, and abuses his wife."

Long Yuntian clicked his tongue. "Son, I thought I taught you better than to let feelings cloud your judgement. In the business world, people are cruel and to rise to the top; you must be the worst."

Long Huojin set his jaw. "What do you suggest? An arranged marriage? You knew how that worked last time."

"You convinced Song Ren to leave the engagement," Long Yuntian snapped.

"Song Ren was in love with another man. And the two of us are friends; we never wanted the engagement to happen in the first place," he said.

"She was the perfect woman for this union, and yet you didn"t bed her or convince her to stay," his father said.

"Are you talking about force?" Long Huojin began. "No. She never wanted me, and I never wanted her. I say it turned out well."

Long Yuntian clenched his teeth. "Find another match."

"I"m already courting someone," Long Huojin snapped.

It piqued the interest of his father. "Oh? And who is this woman?" he asked.

"Xue Guangli," Long Huojin said straightforwardly.

Long Yuntian was silent for a moment. But then he began to laugh abruptly, and nearly out of control.

Long Huojin felt uneasy.

"You can"t seriously marry the girl," he said.

"And why not?" Long Huojin said. "Xue Gao is practically a brother to you. Why not unite our two families?" he suggested.

Long Yuntian, for once, looked at him with sympathy. Perhaps it was because he was remembering an old friend.

"Xue Gao was a fool. He wasn"t careful and looked at what costed him," he responded. "Now his three daughters are practically beggars, killer"s daughters," he said.

Long Huojin clenched his fists together. "Don"t insult them!" his voice rose. "The three of them managed to do well without anyone else"s help! I don"t remember you volunteering to see them well. They suffered a tragedy and yet you don"t care."

"Enough," his father warned with an eery calmness. "Xue Guangli is a reacher. She attempted to force w.a.n.g Weimin into marriage before he found out that she was using him for money. Now, he is engaged to Zi Yingtai, the heiress. The w.a.n.g"s will be coming after you once the marriage has pa.s.sed."

Long Huojin wavered. He ran a palm over his face. "Is that what they"re saying about her. You know nothing about Xue Guangli"s true intentions. She"s only ever wanted to succeed with her own hard work and earned money," he spat.

His father chuckled darkly. "It"s sly women like Xue Guangli that will try to seduce men into taking all their money," he said.

His father wasn"t given a chance to react as Long Huojin rose and swung at him, knocking Long Yuntian off from his chair. Long Huojin then walked around his desk, kneeling and punching him.

Long Yuntian began to laugh as Long Huojin held him by the collar. "I wonder...," his father said. "I wonder if it only took one good f.u.c.k for her to convince you to court her," he yelled.

Long Huojin swung again. "You piece of s.h.i.+t!" he said until his father was bleeding through his teeth.

"Long Huojin!" Xue Guangli cried, causing him to still. His secretary followed in and pulled Long Huojin back from his father.

Xue Guangli reached out for him, grasping his split fingers and placing them in her palms. Long Huojin"s secretary helped his father up and escorted him out of the room.

Xue Guangli followed them out, hurting Long Huojin. But instead, she stopped at the threshold, closing the door shut and locking it.

She then approached him swiftly, cupping his face in her hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked him, her voice quivering.

Long Huojin studied her face; she was worried for him. And at that, warm tears slipped from his eyes. He lowered his guard; he tore down his walls in front of her. Xue Guangli"s eyes widened, and then she embraced him hard and tight.

They both stood still in the middle of the room. Long Huojin wasn"t sure for how long.

It was already late evening, and the cubicles from outside were dark and silent.

Long Huojin laid on Xue Guangli"s thighs on the floor as she caressed his head by running her fingers through his hair, consoling him.

She felt a great deal of pain in her life, and she knew that Long Huojin did, too.

Long Huojin was silent the entire time, not peeping a word. Xue Guangli only waited as he stared out into s.p.a.ce blankly.

Xue Guangli leaned down and pecked his cheek. Long Huojin stirred, facing her. He looked at her with a subtle smile, a smile of relief.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Xue Guangli glanced away. "I wanted to see you, so I came here." She flushed.

Long Huojin reached up to caress her cheek, turning her to face him. "I"m sorry," he said.

Xue Guangli gave him a sad, small smile. She shook her head. "I"m sure your father deserved it," she began. "But what happened?" she asked.

Long Huojin released a breath. He then went into the details of their conversation.

"When I was younger, my father taught me to be mean and cruel. But I didn"t want to. And my defiance led to abuse, so I did what he asked. But instead I became wicked and merciless."

Xue Guangli paid attention to every word.

"You may have been an a.s.s," she began. "But you weren"t evil."

Long Huojin chuckled, gazing up at with her appreciation. Xue Guangli laughed too.

"So your father doesn"t approve of us together?" she asked.

Long Huojin shook his head.

Xue Guangli thought for a moment. And Long Huojin half-expected her to break up with him on the spot, even though they haven"t put a label on it, but instead, she said with a smile, "So we keep it a secret."

Her smile then began to die, "Unless you don"t want me...which is understandable because, I, for one, won"t be able to—"

She was going to say: "Won"t be able to give you anything because I am nothing."

But her words were cut off with a kiss.

He then broke off to say, "Secret. For now."

Long Huojin took her face again with both his palms, and he kissed her deeply. She felt herself get lost slowly into it. He had all his emotions written on the taste of his mouth. He was slow, nipping and biting, kissing until both their lips were swollen.

Xue Guangli parted from him to see his eyes, which filled with affection. She then sat on his lap; her hair slipped from her shoulders as she pinned him into the carpeted floor, and she kissed him dizily until they were out of breath.