Since Ye Ye was not in any mood to eat neither was she so she helps her Ye Ye to his room diligently seeing him off to his study before heading towards her room. Zhou Hua Fan purses her lips when she made it to her bedroom door and took a look at Liang Zhong Zemin's door, it was not early anymore so Zong Zemin should have finished his own meal after they did. Glancing at the phone to check the time Hua Fan strolls down the hall to knock on his door. For a while, there was no answer, but being who she was Hua Fan's expression twisted into annoyance and she knocks a bit harder. With a wince, she took a glance at her red knuckles and furrows her brow lost in thought for a second.
The door swung open to reveal an irritated Zhong Zemin who towers over the girl with a scowl. "Only you would-" The scowl on his face fades away when he caught her dazed expression while she cradles her right hand before she could hide it. Hua Fan gave him a scoff of annoyance while placing her hands behind her back under his narrowing brows due to her suspicious behavior. "You should have answered the first time I knocked. How could you make me wait? I am a Zhou!"
Zhong Zemin seemed to pay no attention to her arrogance and knelt down with his hand out. His whole appearance was serious and concerned compared to the attitude he had earlier which was standoffish. He looks her in the eyes solemnly demanding "Don't hide them, give me your hand." Giving nothing away she refuses his request and rolls her eyes at him. "What hiding? Do you think I am afraid of you? I came here to check if you wasted the food or not."
"-You don't know but housekeeper Shuang personally oversees our meals and the maids told me he even thoughtfully paid attention to yours. You should be grateful for his kindness since he is one of Ye Ye's closest aides and not a person to trust easily." "If you hide your hands in such an obvious way added with that terrible acting of yours it's even more suspicious." He no longer bothers with manners and reaches around the girl to pull the hand she had been favoring out into the open. Hua Fan hisses when he grabs a particularly sore part of her fingers making the look in his eyes even graver.
As he handles her hand more gently Hua Fan looks at the head of hair of the person in front of her who was seriously focused on her wound and felt it was very similar to him of the future. The white walls and white floors, white curtains white bed covers white doctors' coats. An endless sea of white and nothing but the sound of crying and machines beeping around her. Not a single trace of color but the occasional visit from her uncle with flowers that would die as quickly as they came into that empty white room. That is until a single person whose name she at first could not remember walked in and took over her patient form while kicking out the one who originally looked after her.
It is unknown why he did this at first but she could still recall her last few days being in a room full of colors and beautiful blue roses filling up her room each day without fail. The white room and items were one by one replaced by beautiful vibrant colors that dazzled the eyes and were unlike any hospital room one would ever see. How beautiful those last few days were now that she thought back on them... Her eyes fill up with a strange mist as if she was reminiscing about the past. Zhong Zemin scolds the girl looking up fiercely while breaking the girl out of her bubble.
"How hard did you knock on the door? Wouldn't raising your voice a bit be better than hurting yourself?" Hua Fan huffs after returning to herself "It's only a scratch, not a death-threatening wound. Plus I am a lady, raising my voice would ruin the image I have given to the staff who serve us at home." He spoke dryly towards her claim, each word dripping with sarcasm. "Ah yes, such a graceful lady. I have never met a lady such as yourself who is short, malicious, and brazen enough to blackmail a person eleven years your senior." The girl scowls at him and swallowed the urge to snap at him. "My height has nothing to do with my capabilities." Zhong Zemin rose a brow in doubt but no longer made fun of her and stood up while waving a hand at her to follow.
Hua Fan irritably follows him and sat on his bed while he enters his bathroom to look for the medkit. After finding it he once more knelt down to treat her hand which she reluctantly gave him under his warning glances. "What is it that you really came here for?" He asks while carefully tending to her knuckles. "Just wanted to irritate you." When he gave her another glance the girl clicks her tongue with annoyance. "The house will be rather empty the next few days since Ye Ye has some serious business to attend to. So since school will be starting up again soon and Ye Ye does not feel comfortable with me leaving the house, I will be homeschooled starting next week as well. This means I will be alone while you attend college and Ye Ye is on business trips out of the city." Wrapping her fingers up carefully with a bandaid he adds a comment carelessly.
"And what does that have to do with me?" She purses her lips feeling rather upset with his feigning ignorance. Does he want her to say it out loud? "Since I am your benefactor I order you to stay behind as well." "I will happily refuse." Her face sours and Zhong Zemin did not hide his small smile as he continues to bandage her knuckles. "You are not allowed to." "Says who?" She grits her teeth while glowering at him wanting to smack that smile off his face. "Zhou Hua Fan!" Zhong Zemin laughs out loud finding this prickly girl cuter now that he had nothing to fear or lose she could use to her advantage. From the first session of tutoring, he figured out her attitude and personality quite easily.
Although she was truly a person who was easy to hate there was a somewhat pitiful and loveable side to her that is rare to see pop up occasionally given the right conditions. Though he detested her at first for her blackmailing ways and innocent act while tricking him into a deal, he also admired her fierceness given her circumstances. She could change her facial expressions at will and show off her creepy smile and intimidating aura quite similar to her grandfather in less than seconds. But she was not a person to go back on her word. He had a feeling she never was or will be.
As young as she is and no matter how twisted her morals are, when it came to specific people he quickly realized she would never harm a hair on their heads despite her aggressive words. And he also realized after today, he was one of those people. Hua Fan scowls at him angrily while he continued to grin at the girl with humor as a fondness grew in his eyes. "What are you laughing at?! Do you know who I am?!" "-Yes yes, you are the all-mighty terrifying Zhou heiress who could tear off my head and feed my body to dogs while I watch." Without thinking much of it his hand rose of its own accord to gently pat her head causing the ferocious girl's expression to quickly turn into one of bewilderment. Her eyes widen in her bafflement towards his bold actions as her brain came up with a blank for how to react. No one but her grandfather had treated her like this or dared to touch her without fear of the consequences. Even that frivolous Qiu Shen would do nothing more than take her hand once in a while just to tease her into anger.
Zhong Zemin finished teasing her while letting out another laugh "I will have to make a few arrangements with my professors and call in some favors from friends but it will be possible. Give me a few days and it will be arranged as you wish." Hua Fan was still unsure of what to do or how to react to him treating her so fondly. In fact, she was convinced he did not like her at all and even detested her to a certain degree. "...." Her hair was rather soft... Curiously, while the girl was still in a daze Zhong Zemin rubs her head again since she had yet to slap his hand away as he thought she would. Is this what having a cat feels like? ".....Don't touch my head!!!!!"