"It was an unfortunate accident.
During the customary dance, the Crown Prince accidentally stepped on the First Princess gown causing it to rip. To save her from shame, the Crown Prince helped the First Princess leave the ballroom without anybody noticing the tear in her dress. He had saved her once again but this time he was the reason behind the unfortunate incident.
This was one such turning point in their life whose importance they will realize in future. At that point both of them did not know that certain things began changing from this point on."
****************
Lu Zhi had just wanted to move away from Zhang Yi Chen as fast as she could but the rip in the fabric of her gown caused by Yi Chen stepping on the train of her outfit made Lu Zhi stop dead in her tracks. The outfit that she wore had a mid-thigh slit but the rip in the fabric had her skin of her upper thigh visible. A gasp of shock left her mouth but before she could think of a way to save herself from the shame of wardrobe malfunction, Lu Zhi felt someone cover her up with a huge blazer and pull her away.
The moment Yi Chen realized what had happened, he immediately took off his blazer and put it around Lu Zhi's shoulder. Lu Zhi noticed that the blazer went upto her mid-thigh, covering the rip. It was because Yi Chen was about 6 feet and 2 inches (1.9m) tall in comparison to 5 feet and 4 inches (1.67m) of Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi breathed in relief and continued walking over to where Yi Chen was leading her to. Soon enough she found herself in the elevator riding over to the 50th floor of the hotel. She looked up at Yi Chen with question in her eyes and was promptly given the answer that she was looking for.
"This is another of my friend's hotels and he has a penthouse on the 50th floor to which I have the key as well. It's private so there won't be anybody else to take pictures of us." explained Yi Chen.
Lu Zhi nodded gently, "Thank you." she said.
Yi Chen's ears turned pink as he spoke, "Ummm, you don't have to thank me as I am the one who put you in this situation. I should have been careful."
"So you are back to being normal now?" asked Lu Zhi.
"Huh?"
Lu Zhi buttoned up the blazer and said, "You were mean to me earlier this morning and implied that I did all those things deliberately and wanted to spread more rumors about us. And now you are back to being the gentleman I met that night and at the Café."
The sharp claws of guilt dig deeper in his heart again but before Yi Chen could say anything, they heart the *ding* sound of the elevator followed by the announcement in the computer generated voice that they had reached the 50th floor.
"You can call someone to bring the necessary things for you. I will let the staff know so that they will allow your people to ride the private elevator." told Yi Chen as he guided Lu Zhi to the guest bedroom.
"Thanks." smiled Lu Zhi.
"I'll be there in the living room till someone comes for you. So if you need anything please let me know." stated Yi Chen.
Lu Zhi who was about to call her assistant, looked up at Yi Chen and agreed, "Okay, I will."
Yi Chen began to walk out of the room as Lu Zhi called her assistant but he stopped and turned back to face her, "I am sorry." he apologized, "For putting the blame on you. I was just annoyed over those stupid articles and I vented out my anger on you. It was wrong of me to do that. Sorry."
The smile on Lu Zhi's face widened on hearing Yi Chen apologize. Perhaps her father was right about him. "I am sorry, too. I shouldn't have talked to you like that, but -"
"But?"
"You kind of deserved it for being a jerk." her words made Yi Chen chuckle and the earlier anger between them seems to have dissipated.
Yi Chen left Lu Zhi in the guest room with a smile on his face. After apologizing to Lu Zhi he was able to get rid of the burden of hurting someone. Even though his earlier plan seemed to have failed but Yi Chen felt lighter than before. Maybe he doesn't need to push her away, maybe once the rumors are dealt with they will eventually lose all contact. He hoped it was the case.
****************30 minutes later****************
It was about half an hour later that a Lu Zhi's assistant arrived along with a team of stylists. Yi Chen stayed there waiting for Lu Zhi while her stylists worked magic on her. About another 30 minutes later, Lu Zhi stepped out of the guest room and took Yi Chen's breath away.
Earlier he hadn't noticed much about what she was wearing and how she looked for he was ridden with guilty conscience but now that he didn't have any burden weighing upon his heart, he could finally and truly appreciate the beauty in front of him.
Lu Zhi had chose to wear a gown in the similar coloration as her previous one, lavender and blue, so as to avoid redoing her make-up and hair. The gown that she wearing now was made out of a chrome fabric that changed colors from lavender to blue and something in between depending on the angle of lighting. This gown had a thigh high slit but no train.
It was a one shoulder gown whose bust area was covered in crystals arranged in an ombre affect. On the shoulder side of the gown there were strings of crystals and pearls arranged over the sheer and flowy fabric that draped over her arm.
She was wearing a crystal and pearl choker necklace and small pearl studs. But what had him gulping was the piece of thigh jewelry that she was wearing. Chains of pearls and crystals wrapped were wrapped around her thigh, falling just above her knee. All that paired with high heels made her look like a bold and beautiful fairy from a fantasy land.
Lu Zhi's eyes were at Yi Chen while her stylists gushed at how stunning she looked. She knew that but seeing Yi Chen looking at her like that had Lu Zhi blushing like a tomato. She clearly didn't need a blush to color her cheeks pink.
Lu Zhi's assistant and the stylists left first carrying the gown and jewelry that she had worn earlier.
"How do I look?" asked Lu Zhi breaking the silence between them and bringing Yi Chen out of his thoughts.
The man ducked his head and turned around to hide the blush creeping up his neck, "Shall we?" he asked while extending his arm for her to hook with his.
Lu Zhi took his arm and together they walked out of the penthouse together.
****************
This time around Ming Ze didn't follow Lu Ying everywhere. He didn't want her to think that he was a pervert and a stalker again after making her believe that he wasn't. But still he kept an eye on her every moment. It was because of his connection with her. His father had told him that among all the other effects of the bond between him and his destined partner, he will always feel the urge to make sure that Lu Ying was just within his reach.
This side effect will bother him for at-least the first few years and Ming Ze couldn't help but comment that this special gift in their family was like the mating bond that he had read about in werewolf romance stories.
Ming Ze let out a deep sigh as he ran his finger over the rim of his glass of scotch. He was beginning to understand why his sister, father, and grandfather behaved like lovesick teenagers whenever their better halves were away from them.
As he looked back at Lu Ying he found her staring intently in a particular direction. Following her gaze, his own eyes landed on the couple entering (or re-entering) the hall.
"And then he says that he doesn't even like her." chuckled Ming Ze as he watched his best friend walk along with his not-fiancée all the while looking at her as if she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
Ming Ze went to where Lu Ying was standing watching Lu Zhi and Yi Chen chat happily, "They do look good together, don't they?"
"Hhhmm." hummed Lu Ying while smiling but quickly snapped out of it, "Eh, what?" she said while blinking her big and bright eyes at him.
Clearing his throat, Ming Ze commented, "I know they just met, what, like 3 days ago?! But look at them now." he pointed in the direction where Lu Zhi and Yi Chen were and continued, "When they are like this, don't you think that they have a connection between them?"
"Well, that is true, but -" Lu Ying wanted to deny the connection that Ming Ze was talking about.
"I am not saying that they are in love with each other or something. No, they are not there yet. Even so they have this spark between them which if nurtured properly with time and effort could be so much more. What do you think?" asked Ming Ze.
Lu Ying looked at her sister and she agreed that she had never seen her look that radiant with anybody else. For sure she had been in a relationship before but this was something different. "I agree."
"My friend's a good man. I don't know what will happen between these two considering that they have a press release planned to end the rumors about their relationship. But seeing him happy like that, I want to push him towards her. You know, be the wing man who helps his friend woo the girl he likes." Ming Ze admitted.
His statement caused Lu Ying to frown, "But why are you telling me this?"
"Because I plan on wooing you." Ming Ze held her hand in his and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, "Get ready to be swept off your feet, princess."
Ming Ze quickly turned around and walked away leaving a wide eyed Lu Ying behind.