Vesna stepped out of the café, the aroma of coffee lingering around her as she held the steaming cup in her hand. The city buzzed around her, a symphony of honking horns, screeching brakes, and the hurried chatter of pedestrians. Holding the steaming cup of coffee in one hand, she glanced at her watch.
Time to head to the office.
When she reached the crosswalk, waiting for the signal to change, her gaze drifted towards the man standing beside her.
He stood out like a statue among the flowing crowd, waiting for the traffic light to change. He was tall, easily six feet, with a face that could be described as both ruggedly handsome and utterly captivating. Dark hair, neatly combed back, framed sharp cheekbones, and a strong jawline. A tailored suit hugged his broad frame, the fabric a deep blue that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. Black sunglasses, perched on his nose, hid his eyes.
He was undeniably handsome, yet even the most beautiful things in the world had their flaws. This man was blind. In his hand, he held a leash attached to the collar of a German shepherd.
The dog, unlike its owner, wasn't a statue. Its gaze was fixed across the street, a low whine rumbling in its chest.
Ziyan was acutely aware of his dog's odd behavior, he was even more aware of the person standing next to him who had also noticed all of this but he pretended he was unaware. After all, he was a 'blind' man.
Vesna's eyes followed the dog's sight and landed on a middle-aged man in a rumpled suit. He puffed on his cigarette, his gaze fixed on the blind man beside her. Vesna would not call herself the best of the best if she had not realized the malice in that man's eyes. There was too much hatred in those brown orbs, too much darkness simmering beneath the surface. Vesna's instincts, honed over years in her line of work in the underworld, tingled with a familiar unease.
She observed the man, who was so far gone in his hatred that he failed to realize someone had noticed him.
The man dropped the spent butt to the ground, grinding it beneath his heel. He then took out something from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
A moment later, Vesna heard a low but shrill whistle, barely audible over the traffic.
Immediately, the dog stood up.
Vesna tilted her head slightly to look at the dog which was now attempting to cross the busy road. The blind man, unaware of what was happening, began to follow his dog's lead.
Vesna's body reacted before her mind could fully process the situation and her hand reached out. She grasped his wrist, the sudden contact startling him. With all her strength, she yanked him backward.
The force of her pull, combined with the man's momentum sent them both off balance. They stumbled backward and landed on the ground. Her coffee cup fell from her hand.
"Humph," Vesna gasped at the sudden weight pressing her down. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and she gasped, trying to catch her breath.
The crowd gasped around them, some even stopping to watch yet none tried to help.
Vesna's eyes flickered upward, widening slightly as she found his face mere inches from her own. His sunglasses had been knocked askew in the fall, revealing eyes of deep chocolate brown. They were strikingly beautiful, but unfocused—a hazy emptiness that confirmed his blindness.
Ziyan was acutely conscious of the woman beneath him. Disoriented by the sudden fall and the sharp glare of the sun, he could only make out a blurry figure below him.
A scent wafted up to him—lavender, but not the artificial kind found in perfumes. This was subtler, more natural, as if she'd spent countless hours among the flowers until their essence had seeped into her very being.
For a moment, they remained frozen, each hyper-aware of the other. Vesna blinked, suddenly snapping back to reality.
"Are you going to get up or what?" she asked, her tone cold and impatient.
Ziyan didn't respond verbally. Instead, he pushed himself off the ground. Vesna stood up quickly, brushing off her clothes with quick, irritated movements. A smear of blood on her palm caught her eye, but she ignored it. She looked at the man, who was turning in place as if he was searching for something.
"If you are looking for the dog, then I would hate to disappoint you but it's gone," Vesna said, her gaze flickered across the road where the dog was walking away, led by the very man who had blown the whistle earlier. The dog moved calmly beside him, as if this stranger was its rightful owner.
Realization dawned on Ziyan's face, quickly replaced by a look of annoyance. It was not because he lost the dog, it was because he lost the man. He had almost gotten his hand on that man but now the opportunity had slipped through his fingers. He just hoped his men had gotten their hands on him.
Ziyan took out his phone from his pocket, dialing a number on speed dial. The call connected almost instantly.
"You have two minutes to get here," Ziyan ordered, his voice clipped and authoritative. He ended the call abruptly, not waiting for a response.
Vesna raised an eyebrow at his brusque manner. It was clear this man was used to giving orders and having them obeyed without question. This was exactly the type of man she had grown to despise.
"What's your name?" Ziyan asked as he pocketed his phone.
"Why are you asking?" Vesna questioned.
"So I can check whether you being here was a pure coincidence or not," he retorted, his tone matter-of-fact.
He had to make sure she was not with the man, though he highly doubted it. That man wanted him dead, she just saved his life, not that he any kind of needed saving.
Vesna scoffed, disbelief and irritation coloring her response. Rather than gratitude for her impulsive act of kindness, she was met with suspicion. It confirmed her initial assessment of him - privileged, entitled, and apparently, paranoid.
She picked up her purse that had fallen on the ground, her gaze flickering towards her spilled coffee.
Great! Now she had to start her day without coffee.
"You didn't answer my question," Ziyan probed when he didn't get any reply From him.
"I'm just a random person who stopped you from getting flattened by the cars, that's all." With that said, she shouldered past him and crossed the road.
Ziyan stood there for a moment, the scent of lavender lingering in the air.
"Boss," Samuel walked up to Ziyan, a sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead when he noticed his appearance.
Ziyan, usually impeccably dressed, was now a mess. His suit was dusty, his sunglasses lay cracked on the pavement, and a smear of blood marred his knuckles.
"Did they get him?"
"The man disappeared before our men could get close to him," Samuel reported, his voice trembling slightly.
"One job, Samuel. I gave you one simple task," Ziyan said, his voice a low growl. He rummaged in his inner jacket pocket and pulled out another pair of sunglasses, "Apparently, even that was beyond your capabilities."
He slipped on the glasses, the world around him shifting into a semblance of focus. He could now see shapes and outlines, the bustling crosswalk a blurry tapestry of pedestrians and vehicles. It wasn't a perfect vision, far from it, but with hemeralopia¹, even this limited clarity was a godsend.
His gaze swept across the crowd, searching for the woman who had just walked away but could not find her. How could he when he did not even know what she looked like?
Gao Peng shifted uncomfortably in his position, "I... I apologize, Mr. Luo. I assured you-"
"Just get the car here," Ziyan snapped, cutting him off.
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[1] hemeralopia: also known as day blindness. It is a visual condition where a person has difficulty seeing in bright light. It makes it difficult to see clearly in bright light, but it doesn't completely eliminate sight. People with hemeralopia might experience blurry vision, needing to squint, or having trouble distinguishing details.