The property of which restaurant X was built overlooked the city from a towering hill. The exterior was made of ivory bricks and since it was warming up, vines of wisteria were climbing the sides of the building.
Inside the restaurant, the colors of the walls were light, and the lighting was warm. The dim warm lighting displayed the intimacy of the couples dining inside. This restaurant was known to have a fusion of Italian and Asian cooking.
Xue Changmin arrived at the restaurant and made his way to the special table he reserved on the second floor with a magnificent view of the shimmering city lights. He glanced at his watch and the time read 6:45 pm. He had shown up about fifteen minutes early.
He ordered a chilled bottle of Masseto wine made from the best vineyards in Tuscan, Italy.
Xia Biming found herself lost in her work before she realized the time. 'Crap! I can't be late!' She packed her things and rushed out of the building as fast as she could.
His watch read 6:58 pm. He was starting to get antsy. 'Is she going to stand me up and avoid having this conversation?'
In the next minute her heard footsteps heading his way and looked up to see a panting Xia Biming coming up the stair behind the attendant.
Changmin stood up and greeted her before pulling her chair out and helping her sit.
Xia Biming thanked him and took off her black blazer. She was feeling warm and shed off the extra layer of clothing.
He sat back down in his own chair but couldn't help but to be left dazed in her glamour. Xia Biming spoke up first, "Xue Changmin, thank you for inviting me out. I'm sorry I was almost late. Time slipped past me."
"Oh don't worry about it. You should up precisely on time." He gave her a charming smile before filling their glasses with the merlot wine.
"What would you like to eat? This restaurant has Asian and Italian fusion dishes. I've never tried it before." Changmin brightened up the tense atmosphere.
"I haven't tried it before, either. Hmm… I think I'll have the roast duck Bolognese."
Chang then continued to order his own meal as well, he decided on braised ox tail in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce.
The converse was kept light as they chatted about work and business deals before the dinner was served. Halfway through, Changmin found the courage to break the ice.
"Xia Biming, I'm not sure what you think. But if you're willing, I'm okay with the elder's plans for us." He didn't know how else to bring this up without tipping himself over the iceberg.
"You're just okay with it? Does that mean you can't make up your own mind? Are you so willing to just follow what they say?" Xia Biming found his aloofness annoying and chugged half the wine in her glass.
Heeding the turning premonition, "No. I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to know what your thoughts are."
Biming continued to eat her meal while she studied Xue Changmin's behavior. 'Why is this guy acting so coy? What's he hiding?'
"Well, I really am not open to dating. I don't have plans to be in a relationship right now. I am trying to grow Jade Atelier into the number one brand in Asia as well as stepping foot into the European fashion scene." To be put bluntly, she didn't see any reason to hide her intentions.
"So does that mean you won't date in the near future either?"
She hadn't thought that far in advanced. "Well how far in the future are you talking about?"
Oh, maybe she's not as tough to crack as I thought. Maybe this the right time to talk about it. "Well, I was thinking a few months. It'll give you some time to plan out your work and finish your tasks at hand before we give it a shot. This also allows me to do the same. I'm a busy man as well."
"I'll have to think about it." As soon as she finished speaking, she dropped her eating utensil and both her hands shot up to her head. A raging migraine embedded itself to her brain. She tight closed her eyes and she tried to soothe the pain.
"Are you okay, Xia Biming? What's the matter?" Xue Changmin was beside her in a flash and ordered a server to bring some warm peppermint tea. "Biming, what's wrong?"
She weakly spoke up, "I'm okay, Changmin. My head just hurts. I've been getting bad migraines lately. But it'll pass."
She drank the warm tea and felt the tension in her temples start to ease up. She no longer had an appetite to finish the meal and neither did Xue Changmin.
"Let me take you home. You shouldn't drive in this state. It's not safe."
"But my car, it'll be inconvenient to come back to get."
"Don't worry about it, I'll have someone drive it to your place."
He put back on his stone gray premium suit jacket and helped Biming put her blazer back on as well before grabbing their belongings and placing them in her lap.
"Why are you putting…" Before she could finish asking, Xue Changmin had already lifted her up into his arms and made way for the stairs.
Instinctively, Biming threw are arms around his neck to steady herself. She watched his handsome side profile and couldn't look away. She could feel his toned strong arms wrapping around her and started to flush.
Xue Changmin kept walking towards his black Maybach and placed her in the passenger seat. Without saying a word, he buckled her into the seat before striding over to the driver's seat and buckled himself.
Since he already knew where she lived, he didn't need to ask, and they drove in silence.
In the elevator, Biming spoke first, "I'm sorry to have troubled you again. Thank you for sending me home."
"It's not a problem at all, I don't live far anyways."
Silence filled the elevator again.
"Biming… I hope you really think about it. But I won't push you. You can make your own decisions."
They walked to her door and locked eyes. Biming's heart started to beat faster as they stared into the galaxies of each other's eyes. Xue Changmin slowly leaned in closer to her and she took a step back. This continued until Biming's back was connected with the wall.
Feeling his face closing in on hers, she closed her eyes. Not sure what to expect, she felt his finger brush her eyelashes.
She opened her eyes to find herself staring into the endless charisma in his eyes, "You had an loose eyelash and I just brushed it away." He said before stepping away again.
"Have a good night Xia Biming, your car should already be in the parking garage downstairs." He didn't wait for her to respond and headed back to the elevator.