Loving Asia's Multi-Talented Queen: The Path to Stardom 108 520

"Ahh, it feels so nice to be pampered like this, Li- jie," Zhen Nian sighed happily as they lay on the massage bed, "Hmmm, please put a little pressure on my shoulders."

"Yes, ma'am," the massage therapist answered.

"Li- jie, isn't it better if you invited that 'certain someone' instead of me?" Zhen Nian teased as she winked at Xu Jia Li.

"It would be better… if you experienced the steam room," Xu Jia Li chuckled, "It's best before having a massage, you know."

"Arghh! Li- jie, stop reminding me. I'm really pissed off."

Xu Jia Li laughed at the sulking Zhen Nian, "What really happened?"

"Well, Li-jie… at first, there was traffic. The skyway was really congested. After finally being able to get passed the traffic, I drove my way down to the intersection when suddenly, a car cut me before it stopped in front of my car," Zhen Nian's face suddenly paled as she remembered the incident,

"Ahhh! Li-jie, I was really scared. I thought I was going to crash through it. I'm just glad that I wasn't driving fast."

"That's sounds terrifying. I'm really glad you're okay."

"Well, nothing bad happened to me. Thank heaven! My car doesn't have any scratch or dent. The driver was drunk and slept on his car! What's really pissing me off was that he was four cars behind me before it happened. I was just curious why he did that. If he was drunk driving, he could just drive fast straight, and not specifically cut me and then stopped. It was like he purposely blocked my path."

"Why would he block your path? Do you know him?"

"Nope. That's why I'm curious," Zhen Nian frowned.

"Have you talked to him?"

"No, Li- jie. I didn't have the chance."

"Well, that's really strange…"

Xu Jia Li pursed her lips as she thought of what Zhen Nian said. It was true that someone so drunk could sleep while driving. Sometimes, even crashing or bumping on other's car but it was really odd, weird even, to cut someone and then sleep afterwards. What made it even more atypical was that Zhen Nian didn't know that man. The point that he was four cars behind was even more suspicious.

'Why would that man do that?'

Xu Jia Li stared absentmindedly at Zhen Nian. It was clear that it was not a simple coincidence. However, she shrugged the thought out of her mind when she realized that there was no reason for someone to do that just to stop Zhen Nian from going to a spa. It just didn't make sense.

Disregarding what happened, the two of them enjoyed themselves before they separately went home. Xu Jia Li didn't even mention her brief and 'meaningful' encounter with Ye Lingling and Bao Jinghua.

She clenched her fists when she remembered Ye Lingling, "Pft! How many masks does she wear? If I didn't know her, I'll be fooled into thinking that she's a decent and righteous woman…"

Xu Jia Li's eyes suddenly sharpened, with gritted teeth she exclaimed, "I promise to remove that mask and reveal what's underneath that innocence and kind face. I will never forgive you for ruining my mother's life. An eye for an eye!"

****

Harvest Condominium

It was already 8 in the evening when Xu Jia Li arrived in her apartment. Her heart fluttered when she saw the strikingly handsome man standing on the threshold of her apartment.

She stopped for a while, enjoying the beautiful scenery in front of her before she rushed towards him, "Mr. Arrogant Si!"

****

Si Weimin flashed a warm smile when he heard Xu Jia Li's melodious voice. He waited for her after he finished talking to Ru Tengfei. He still had no news about what happened last night.

Ru Tengfei was one of his trusted men. He was a member of the famous underground hacker group, Legion of Doom. This group was the number one rival of Chaos Manipulator, the number one hacking group in Europe.

He met him when he was in Europe, 6 years ago. Ru Tengfei was sent by Legion of Doom to get the coveted black box which contained the control over the largest corporations and bank companies in the world.

Ru Tengfei was kidnapped by Chaos Manipulator when Si Weimin and his bodyguards ambushed them.

Since the black box could harm Si Corporation, Si Weimin had his men investigate the two hacking groups. In the process of getting the black box, he saved Ru Tengfei. If not for him, Ru Tengfei might have been killed. This made the man swore his loyalty to him.

Legion of Doom feuded with another hacker group called Masters of Deception, and their battle royale to decimate one another became known as The Great Hacker War. It was one of the biggest cyber warfare at that time.

However, since the leader of Masters of Deception vanished, the group suddenly became inactive. Soon, they were dominated by Legion of Doom.

Ru Tengfei called Si Weimin earlier. He informed him that someone good hacked the cctv cameras inside and outside Royal Night. He also said that he couldn't recover the footages since it was breached.

Si Weimin was disappointed from what he heard. There was also no news about Thomas' whereabouts in New Zealand. There was no way for them to look in the airport's log since Thomas always used private plane.

He became a bit anxious from that. He couldn't help but be worried. That's why he immediately asked Xu Jia Li where she was. He just couldn't trust her safety to anyone. Not until he was sure that Thomas was really alright. Even the cup link last night was still a mystery to him.

"Have you been waiting for long?"

Si Weimin shook his head as he let Xu Jia Li typed her password. However, he saw her stopped as she looked at him.

"My password is…" Xu Jia Li suddenly gestured with her hand.

"Palm?… Peace?…Fist?…" Si Weimin was definitely baffled.

"5-2-0 -1-3-1-4…" Xu Jia Li laughed heartily.

Si Weimin was lost for words. He was surprised to know Xu Jia Li's password. At first, he was really confused. But when he looked into those numbers, he finally understood.

Since 520 was a subtle way of saying 'I love you', people would sometimes use their hands to show the gesture, palm – scissor – fist.

And the numbers 1314 meant one life, one world or for the rest of my life, or forever. So putting these numbers together was the quickest way to declare undying love. 'I love you for the rest of my life.'

Si Weimin didn't know how to react. He stood there as he looked intently at Xu Jia Li. He didn't know if she just confessed her feelings to him. He liked to believe that she did but he didn't want to assume things even if they were already a couple.

"Next time, you don't have to wait outside."

"I thought for a while that you confessed your feelings to me," he teased.

"What if I did, Mr. Arrogant Si?" Xu Jia Li smiled as she raised her brow, directly challenging him.

Seeing her beautiful and angelic face smiling at him, he held her chin as he said, "I like it just fine, Ms. Vicious- Tongue Xu."

Then, he slowly kissed her on the lips…

When he felt Xu Jia Li's arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss. He couldn't control the longing brewing inside him. He kissed her lovingly as if her lips were the only thing that could make him feel alive.

****

A/N: Chinese people don't usually say I love you in public unlike other nationalities. They like to show it through actions so it's really unique to show it through hand gestures. Don't you agree? (:

Chapter end