On this sunny afternoon, where people walk by leisurely, the wind brushes over gently. Sounds of laughter echoes across the street.
At a water fountain located at the center between XXX's district building and a busy shopping district. People sat around, some enjoying the breeze, some savoring their lunch.
"Hey, hey look over there." A businesswoman nudged her friend. "See that guy over there? He's been standing there for over 10 minutes."
Her friend looked to where the finger pointed to. "Wow! What an attractive person. Do you think he's waiting for someone?"
"Probably. Hey should we try to get his phone number?"
"Do you think we have a chance, he looks a little hard to approach."
Just like the two women secretly conversing, the surrounding passerby are also having similar thoughts. Their attention is captivated by the young man standing under the warm sun. How he causally combed his hair back with his fingers or how he nervously glanced at his watch every few seconds.
Drool almost formed into a puddle as single ladies locked on to him, waiting for a chance to pounce.
Suddenly, a normal but charming woman came running up to the man. Normal, because her face isn't the seductive kind nor the cute and pretty type. She has the kind of face that can blend into the crowd. But what is different about her are those eyes she has. Her clear eyes seem to be able to see through people's souls, piercing through the hearts of many male onlookers in the crowd.
"See." a person nearby said. "I told you he is waiting for someone."
Just as people imagine this encounter to be as sweet as those drama scenes where the female lead rushes into the male lead's arm, "Pa!"
The sound of flesh against skin resounded across the area. Anyone who witnessed this scene became dumbfounded. What happened? The charming woman slapped the handsome man?!
_____________
The young woman arrived in front of her target, glancing quickly to see which direction gives the best lighting, she turned a little to her right. Allowing the sun to shine on her skin, giving it a healthy glow.
Raising her hand, she gave the man in front of her a slap to the face. The loud noise from the slap attracted the attention of curious onlookers. Noticing some of them taking out their phones to record, she quickly chanted a spell, causing their face to become unrecognizable in the footage.
Pausing a moment to build up the tension, the young woman slowly let out a breath. The next second, she looked up with tears welling in her eyes. "Xie Luochen, how can you do this to me!"
Tears threaten to spill down Chu Nuan's eyes, as she throws herself into Xe Luochen's embrace. She moved her face closer to his as she whispers, "can't you show a little more emotion? If you don't act well, Xu Qian Qian might not appear."
Xie Luochen's lips twitched for a second before squeezing out a few words, "I don't know what to do."
She sighed a little after hearing his reply. Truthfully, she wasn't expecting much from his acting skills. Their plan was to have two people act as lovers having a quarrel outside the building. The commotion should capture Xu Qian Qian's attention, pulling her away from the dolls and giving Hong Wen and Lei Lin an opportunity to operate.
The capturing part of the operation shouldn't be too difficult as Lei Lin and Hong Wen both have had dealing with ghosts before. But the difficult part of the plan is actually acting out this scene.
As to how we continue this act….Chu Nuan peeked at Xie Luochen's side profile. His lips are pressed together in confusion. Brows furrowed together as his mind replayed the tips Chu Nuan gave him before the operation started. She sighed silently to herself, forget it. He can't act, but she can, there's enough skill to act for two people.
Thinking so, Chu Nuan pushed against Xie Luochen's chest, freeing herself from his embrace while saying, "you beast! How can you play with my heart like this!"
Hearing such explosive news from a woman on the verge of crying, onlookers whisper in groups. "Yo? What is this, a scum man playing with a woman's heart?"
"That man looks so handsome, who would've thought that he's such a beast."
"So what if he's got an attractive face. It's not worth anything if his personality isn't up to par."
Getting the reaction she wanted from the crowd, Chu Nuan covered her face with her hands while sobbing loudly.
Xie Luochen stood there with a frozen face while taking in the crowd's reaction. Although he knows this is only an act, he can't help but feel the reality of the surrounding situation . The pointing fingers and criticizing stares. But most importantly, the tears of the woman in front of him. Watching those droplets of water drop to the ground, for a split second, this situation seems familiar to him. A crying Chu Nuan and a statue- like him standing in front of her, not knowing what to do.
At this moment, Xie Luochen couldn't differentiate reality from the images in his head. His eyes became unfocused, feeling the need to say something, he opened his mouth slightly. "I…."
But before his sentence could even form, Chu Nuan, afraid that he would say something that will ruin the play, quickly cut his sentence off. "I know you think I'm bad at cooking. Even though you secretly throw everything into the trash, I still cook more for you each day."
Xie Luochen, "You…"
"You always like to drink milk tea from a specific store. So I always wake up two hours early to wait in line for you! Even though, you always complain about it being cold the moment I gave it to you."
Xie Luochen," No, that's not….."
"You don't have to explain!" Chu Nuan shouted loudly. "I know. You have someone else in mind don't you! That's why you are so cold to me." Saying so, Chu Nuan crouched down on the ground, curling in up with her head buried in her arms. "Wuwuwuwu, I can't accept this. I gave up so much for you."
While pretending to cry, Chu Nuan's sight flitted past the building's window. Her lips lifted slightly as a spot of red entered her vision. It's almost time, she thought.
Overwhelmed by Chu Nuan's performance, Xie Luochen took a step back. Giving Chu Nuan an opportunity for her superb finale.
Eyes glinted sharply as she lunged toward Xie Luochen's thigh. Holding onto it tightly she took a deep breath before shouting out the top of her lungs, "even if it's not for me, think of the unborn child in my stomach!"
The atmosphere froze for a moment before it exploded with gossip.
"My god! So she has a baby inside. No wonder she wouldn't let go."
"What has this world come to, look at him, he even has the guts to act all innocent!"
"When I was as young as that man over there, I treated my woman with love and care."
Xie Luochen looked blankly down on Chu Nuan, mouth hanging open. This woman, he thought. Does she not have shame?!
Feeling his gaze on her, Chu Nuan removed her cheek away from his thigh. Looking up to meet his sight, she whispered cheekily, "it's time to wrap things up."
Xie Luochen. "???"
"Don't worry, just follow my lead."
Saying so, she stood up abruptly. Chu Nuan's weeping face changed into an icy expression. Her sight swept past every audience member watching the show, sending them shivers.
She reached into her bag to pull out a large red apple, taking a bite off its flesh, she smiled charmingly as strength increased in her fingers. The next second, a perfectly round apple was crushed into pieces, turning into apple juice. Not even a blender can do such a fine job.
"Shows over," Chu Nuan smiled brightly while turning to the stunned Xie Luochen. "Let's go."
Nodding his head fiercely, he followed behind Chu Nuan as she entered the building, leaving behind an astonished crowd.
"H, hey….you saw that? Bare hands…...with an apple?"
"I take my words back from before, now matter how you look at it, that's a henpecked husband. See how he followed without an ounce of hesitation? That's the conditioned reflex of a trained comrade, my wife trained me the same way years ago."
"Ay, young people these days."