Sitting on the carpet with your back to back.
Listen to the music and talk about the wishes
You want me to be gentler
I want you to put me in your heart
You said you wanted to send me a romantic dream.
Thank you for taking you to heaven.
Even if it takes a lifetime to finish
As long as I say you remember
The most romantic thing I can think of.
is to grow old with you.
The Most Romantic Thing - Cyndi Chaw (lyrics from echinesesong.com)
Rescued by the fire.
The very minute her boyfriend had opened the door, she realised how much Herman had loved her, by running for his life as more screams from people outside filled the air.
Was this the man she was thinking of spending the rest of her life with, to the extent that she was worrying whether she would have a good ending with?
Now she felt like vomiting. He had almost forced a kiss on her and maybe even would have raped her, she thought.
Still lying on her back, she tried to get up but she felt pain in her ankle. She must have twisted it or hurt herself in some way when she struggled to pull herself away from Herman.
She felt strong hands hoist her up from behind. Thinking Herman had came back and was going to continue her ordeal, she endeavoured to pull herself free from his grip.
Then the voice said, "I told you to be careful. Now, you almost became food for that jerk."
She recognised the voice. It was the man from the library!
She tried to get up, but the pain held her back, causing her to moan in pain. The man then casually lifted her up and held her in his arms. She gazed into the most beautiful and tempting eyes she had ever seen. Biting back her lower lip, she felt she was lost in heaven until she realised she had nothing on but her underwear.
The man calmly picked up her blanket and covered her with it before heading outside. If there had been anything the most embarrassing in her seven lifetimes, it would be this moment of being seen in nothing but her underwear by a complete stranger while being rescued from a fire.
"Wait, my laptop!" she shrieked. "I won't have anything left if it's gone." She was close to tears.
Gao Tian Yu had given in to his sister finally and accepted a set-up by his sister to meet her acquaintance, one of Zhi Xun's housemates. He was to meet her on the pretext of helping them with their internet issues. He hadn't expected to interrupt an intimate moment with his cries of 'fire', or that she would have a boyfriend. Perhaps she had no memories of him or drank Old Woman Meng's soup, he said to himself in an attempt to appease himself. The fire had not been within his control, and should her boyfriend blame anything or anyone for interrupting their moment, he should be blaming the fire instead of him.
How could he have forgotten about that? She definitely needed her laptop to blog. Thankfully she had it packed in its bag, he thought as he left the apartment with Zhi Xun and her bag. Outside, flames were spreading and the air was getting smoky as she started to cough and then, saw the faintest sight of someone's lips on hers, and then everything went black.
When she regained consciousness, she was lying in hospital in a patient's gown. She looked around her for any signs of the man who had saved her. A nurse had just finished writing notes on a clipboard. She did not hesitate to ask the nurse about the person who had brought her to the hospital, to which the nurse informed her that he was at the registration desk signing some papers for her admission.
After fifteen minutes or so, the man returned with a jug of water, and the nurse disappeared. Zhi Xun had so many questions to ask. But the man chose to ask first.
"So, I've understood from the registration desk that your name is Huo Zhi Xun."
"And you are the man from the.." she had wanted to say dream but quickly cut herself short - "..library."
"Yes, I am. Miss Huo, you seem to have a good memory." He seemed to be smiling, yet she felt a vibe of cold energy from him. Remembering the lips on hers briefly, she wondered how would she ask him about that. She couldn't possibly ask if he kissed her, or gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
She swallowed hard. "Did I pass out from the smoke of the fire?"
"I believe so." As if he knew what she had been thinking to ask, he added, "I tried to give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but you were still out cold, so I went with the ambulance that took you to the hospital."
"Thank you," she struggled to say. Herman had seen her bare back, and this stranger had seen most of her bare body, and had even 'kissed' her on the lips. Not only did she feel uncomfortable about being seen without clothes on, whereby nobody in this lifetime had seen her exposed in this manner, but she questioned herself if this meant she was obligated to marry either one of them, or at least have some kind of complicated relationship. At least, it had been this way in a few of her lifetimes, during those ancient times. (In ancient times, even seeing a girl's bare foot could mean that the man had to marry her to compensate her for her 'loss', as people had been conservative in those days)
"You need to remain in the hospital for observation for a few more days," the man said.
"I don't have money," Zhi Xun replied, without a further thought.
"It's all paid for."
"By whom? I don't have insurance either."
"By me."
"Who are you?" she asked. "Why are you so willing to help me? I'm just a strange young girl you don't know." She was trying to push him away, considering the situation that she already had a boyfriend, although he turned out to be a total jerk today. Also, she was being on the defensive, as they had yet to know each other.
"Then let's not be strangers," Tian Yu said with a cunning grin. "Let us know each other better, from now on." He closed the door to Zhi Xun's room, and continued, "After all, I've seen everything."
Zhi Xun turned red upon hearing his words, but then he continued, "Everything that happened during the fire. That guy was a real jerk and idiot."
She heaved a sigh of relief. She had thought that he was referring to her bareness when he rescued her from the fire. He had almost instantaneously covered her with a blanket. Hopefully, he had not seen or remembered any part of her bare body. But what was he after, by attempting to connect with her? She had absolutely nothing. She couldn't even afford a decent meal in the university cafeteria.
She asked, "Why do you want to be know me better? I'm just an average girl, with no job, no extra money, and all the remaining money from my allowance every month goes to my family. So, there's no benefit in it for you."
"Because I like you. After that day in the library." Tian Yu had learnt from his previous mistakes in his past lifetimes to never hide his feelings. This had made him exclusively shameless in comparison to his past lifetime as the winged archmage, Chen Ye.
She almost choked on her saliva upon hearing his answer. How could he have been so shameless while trying to flirt with her? "You already know I have a boyfriend," she said.
"You're not married yet. While you aren't, I have a chance. Plus, that little boy definitely doesn't suit you."
Little boy. Herman had only been younger than her by three months. "Do you mean that you think you suit me? You hardly know me." She was slowly getting her mind and energy back. Perhaps she had inhaled some smoke.
"Be with me. I will do my utmost to make you happy," he continued. He had to. He didn't want her to suffer like Aranya did, for keeping his love from her a secret. "We can start somewhere, take it a step at a time."
"Let me think about it," she answered. Her mind was in a turmoil as she thought about Xie Guchou's words to her, the winged man in her dreams, the first meeting with Tian Yu at the library, Herman trying to make love to her and finally how Tian Yu had professed her love. Who was the one destined with her, in this lifetime? She was tired of being reincarnated again, and having no ambition in this lifetime as she would just get reincarnated again and live life all over again.
He moved closer to her, till their lips were less than an inch apart from each other. "Remember me," he said, and kissed her on the lips. "You will be mine someday."
And then he was gone. Another question popped up in her head. What about that beauty who left with him after the library incident? Who was she to him?
Since meeting him, all she could think about in her head was him. Only him. She had felt so guilty that she had felt like she was cheating on Herman. Until he had almost forced himself on her, and she realised that she couldn't do it.
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