Gege, Will You Be My Bride?

three

༄｡°

For the first time that day, Shi Qingxuan finally managed to score some quality time with He Xuan (which was the entire purpose of the project in the first place!) Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had already finished their dinner, and now they had run off to god knows where, leaving her all alone with the man she had been pining after for months now. It was not like Shi Qingxuan was complaining.

He Xuan was still helping himself to his nth serving of pasta and Shi Qingxuan found herself refilling her wine cup over and over again.

"Y'know," already heavily drunk, she slurred over her words, "we make a good team, you and I."

He Xuan swallowed and looked at her emotionlessly.

"Right, but slow down on the drinking."

" 'M glad I partnered up with you," she leaned back on the chair, nuzzling her face against the soft cushions and making herself comfortable. He Xuan thought that she looked like a cat, a really cheerful and friendly cat. "It was fun. I don't really like your friend, but working with you was fun."

At her words, He Xuan's fork froze midair. He turned towards her, his gaze curious. Shi Qingxuan was absent mindedly twirling strands of her dark hair around her finger, the other hand clutched the wine glass that had her lipstick stains all over it. Her white blouse contrasted deliciously with her wine flushed cheeks and she looked absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes were lowered and her long lashes almost brushed against the underside of her eyes, casting shadows on her cheeks. He Xuan was filled with a sudden impulse to brush his thumb just below her quivering lashes and against the soft, delicate looking skin. Would her eyes flutter open, the blue hue of them twinkling with mischief? Would she reciprocate his touch with teasing ones of her own?

Startled by his own thoughts, he hastily hid his hands away beneath the table, his veins straining slightly against his clenched fists.

Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Shi Qingxuan yawned widely. A small pink tongue peeked out before tugging back in behind her teeth. Her wide eyes crinkled around the edges and teared up sleepily. He Xuan almost broke character and smiled at the adorable sight.

Okay, what the actual fuck?!

 He shuddered at the thought. He Xuan could not remember the last time he had smiled genuinely. And yet, he now found it increasingly difficult to maintain his trademark detached, straight face. This seemed to happen a lot in her presence. His usually aloof countenance always crumbled and softened ever so slightly in front of Shi Qingxuan and Shi Qingxuan alone.

As a general rule, his fellow classmates always avoided partnering up with him. Despite being quiet and studious, he was not your typical nerd who would meekly comply and personally complete everyone's part of the work. People knew better than to mess with him, the infamous Black Water. And no one had ever called him fun. If anything, Hua Cheng often said that fun died around him. That one still stung He Xuan a little.

Yet Shi Qingxuan, the sister of the man who had wronged him, always seemed to behave the exact opposite of everyone else. While the others would nervously avoid his eyes, she held his piercing gaze all the while beaming in that annoying (read: breathtaking) way of hers.

Not a day at the campus started without Shi Qingxuan's 'good morning, He Xuan! How are you today? ' or the occasional 'I read your paper on so-and-so, it was really good as usual! Well done He Xuan!'

While such overly familiar behaviour was unwelcome, He Xuan had to grudgingly admit that it was tolerable when Shi Qingxuan was the one doing it. Since when had she become so special ? The thought honestly scared him, so he acted cold and indifferent towards her, as he would have with anyone else. But in his defense, what else was he supposed to do? For one, he still did not know how to feel about her involvement in the incident with Shi Wudu. Second, he simply was not used to feeling seen or heard.