Li Nuxie almost succeeded in hiding her tears. But when the man pulled her towards him, enclosing her with his warmth, her tear ducts suddenly have their own lives, releasing all the pain she felt a while ago. Her shoulders shook as her tears fell nonstop.
On normal days, she doesn't cry except when she was watching movies like 'A Walk to Remember' and 'A Moment to Remember'.
She buried her face in his chest, not minding her eyeglass that created a barrier between her face and his chest. She inhaled his scent, the type that calmed her senses yet driving her mad. With what, she doesn't know. As the comments around them flooded her ears, she felt all her blood rushing towards her face.
Meanwhile, Xu Wei didn't know how he made Li Nuxie cry. She was crying so hard that her shoulders shook. His one arm encircled her upper body, drawing her closer to his chest. He was preoccupied of the reason why she cried that he didn't give a damn about her eyeglass that kept poking his chest.
He was staring at her head which only reached his chin. As if Li Nuxie sensed his stare, she looked up; her eyeglass was marred with moisture. Choosing between letting her go and the bag of groceries, he dumped the bag on his feet. He winced, almost shouting when it fell. He forgot that cans of milk were inside the bag.
Xu Wei promised that he will sue the shoemaker if his nails sustained damage from falling cans of milk.
His newly free hand removed Li Nuxie's eyeglass. She blinked, her eyelashes were still damp. He really liked her eyes that seemed to talk when it stared back at him. However, Xu Wei can count in his one hand the times Li Nuxie looked at his eyes. And usually, it involves blackmail on his side.
He leaned closer to her face. Li Nuxie's eyes went round before she closed them tightly. Xu Wei curled his lips before it landed on her forehead. He knew that he was behind the chaotic emotions she was currently experiencing.
"Sorry," he whispered.
Li Nuxie opened her eyes as soon as the word left his mouth. It seemed that she had courage for breakfast because she stared back at him. He was saying sorry because he doesn't like her? Well, there goes her first heartbreak.
Don't be so sad, Xiexie, the left side of her brain told her. There was still that annoying guy, Black Emperor.
But he was her first kiss, the right side argued.
Well, she can have her second kiss, third kiss, and so forth.
She forced a smile before grasping his arm with her free hand. "Don't be sorry. I know you don't like me," she shrugged. "Although you're my first kiss, I can still have a second kiss and so forth," she continued while nodding all along.
Xu Wei's jaw tightened when he realized what Li Nuxie was saying. He doesn't like her? He shook his head. It seemed that the future Young Madam of Xu Family has low EQ. He tightened his arm around her, leaning to her ear and whispered. "I will not give you the opportunity to kiss other men."
Li Nuxie's eyebrow arched. "Oh, yeah? I just did," she raised her chin.
Xu Wei chuckled before grabbing the shopping bag from her hand. "Let's not talk about nonsense. Where are you going? I'll bring you there."
He bent over and picked up the other shopping bag before glancing at her. "What? Do you want to get your tan here?"
Li Nuxie pressed her lips together before she took a step ahead of him. The people around them spoke in loud voices.
'She looks plain. Are you sure she's an actress?'
'Maybe, she is an extra? But the guy looks hot.'
She rolled her eyes as she continued walking. Whenever she goes, she always has to deal with gossips.
=0=
The Street Fund Org was a local NGO in Country P, catering to the needs of street children who wanted to study. Its main office was located in Nila but there were satellite offices in different communities it chose to cater.
The satellite office in the community was located beside the village hall. Li Nuxie pushed the gate open and went inside the open area. It used to be the kids' playground. However, since most of them were already in their early teens, they do not play now as much as they do in the past.
Knocking three times, she pushed the door slowly; her eyes squinted as she tried to see if there were people inside. The room was deserted. However, the air conditioner was turned on.
Li Nuxie wanted to smack her head. Although she told her cousin that she will call someone before she went here, she actually enjoyed buying groceries that she forgot about it.
All this time, Xu Wei was behind her. She stole a glance from him. Li Nuxie chewed on her lips, feeling guilty. His nicely defined jaw was now a mess. Sweat trickled through his forehead down to his cheeks and neck. No other words to describe but mess.
However, he still looked gorgeous and yummy. Stop it, she scolded herself. She opened her backpack and pulled a face towel. She stretched her hand towards him, offering it.
"What will I do with it?" Xu Wei asked, pretending to be ignorant on the use of a face towel.
Li Nuxie's lips formed a straight line. 'If you don't want to, then don't," she opened her bag, ready to put the face towel inside when Xu Wei stopped her.
"Will you please wipe my face? My hands were preoccupied," he raised his hands grasping two shopping bags midair.
Li Nuxie's eyes bored into his. His eyes were clear and he was right, his hands were preoccupied. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for him to sit on the cemented bench beside the wall.
Xu Wei was more than willing to oblige. As he made himself comfortable on the bench, Li Nuxie's hands went clammy. Man, it was just wiping his sweat. No biggie.
Staring back at the woman who seemed to be calling for backups from the Mount Olympus, Xu Wei cleared his throat. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling. If he will continue to look at Li Nuxie's face, he might roll on the pavement.
"I'm ready," he said as his heart hammered against his chest. He shook his head. This feeling was familiar. This was the exact feeling that he felt when he was thirteen years old, outside their family doctor's clinic. Excited yet scared.
Li Nuxie took a deep breath before bending over, the towel patted Xu Wei's face lightly. As usual, she looked anywhere but his eyes. The towel explored his face, forehead, going down to his neck.
As she bent over, her loose shirt fell lower, slightly revealing the chest area. Xu Wei gulped. He knew Li Nuxie's vital statistics. Her chest area was only 32. But he preferred small chest compared to big ones. That way, he can make sure she will tremble from his touch.
His eyes went to Li Nuxie's face. Since she wasn't looking at his eyes, it seemed that she wasn't aware he was drilling holes in her chest area already. He chuckled at the thought which made Li Nuxie cautious.
What is now, she asked inwardly.
"I just noticed that you're a girlfriend material," Xu Wei told her.
Li Nuxie rolled her eyes as she straightened her back. "I don't want to be a girlfriend material. That's short lived," she said.
Xu Wei raised an eyebrow. "Says who?"
"Just me," she shrugged. She crouched to pick the shopping bags; however, Xu Wei reached for her chin, cupping it with his hand. "If you become my girlfriend, I'll make sure that it is infinite," he said, securing her chin so that she was staring back at him.
"I don't want to be your girlfriend," she spat the words. I want to be your wife! She added silently.
"But I want you."
Li Nuxie opened her mouth to retort but a giggle behind her made her snapped into a daze. Oh no, did someone heard their conversation?
"Miss Nuxie, I didn't know you are coming with your boyfriend," a female voice said.
She turned around. Her legs went jelly when she saw the children behind her.
"Miss Nuxie, you have a hot boyfriend. Can you please tell us where can we get someone like him?" Someone from the crowd asked her.
Li Nuxie glanced at the man. His eyes were full of mirth. Oh no, her reputation just went down the drain.
Xu Wei cleared his throat before standing behind Li Nuxie. "Sorry, children. I am limited edition," he put his arm over Li Nuxie's shoulders. "Only this woman can afford me," he winked making the teenage girls screamed with gusto.
Li Nuxie's heart just died twice.