144 For Being Here

This little act of care made Xiao Zhi Ren's heart bloom like a flower that had just been caressed by the warmth of the sun. The medicinal tea was really bitter but all he felt was sweetness.

But when she left his hand he really felt empty as if someone stole a piece of his heart. But his smile didn't fade away rather it got him a frown from Ru.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked pensively.

"It felt good." His ambiguous answer made her frown deeper.

"The medicine was not bitter?" She inquired to make sure.

Xiao Zhi Ren smiled at her adorable expression and shook his head saying, "I wasn't talking about the medicine. I meant your threat... The way you just rebuked me."

'That's a first. When did people start enjoying my threats?' Ru was rubbing the nape of her neck while she wondered. But she didn't understand his underlying meaning. He meant he enjoyed the gentleness and care that she was hiding behind those words.

"If you like it so much. I'll do it more often. I have the ultimate skill in the threatening department. I have a whole vocabulary filled with bitter words." She even cackled at the end of her words, obviously, she was proud of her skills. While Xiao Zhi Ren thought that she must be the only one who can think that threatening is a 'skill'.

Propping his elbow on the kitchen island while supporting his face on the heel of his hand, he said, "What about sweet words?"

"I like eating sweets but I can't digest sweet words," Ru answered while avoiding his eyes that seemed to be penetrating into her soul.

Before Xiao Zhi Ren could come up with a reply, she placed a plate full of osmanthus cake right before him. He was surprised but only because the cake was shaped as bunny heads. They looked so cute that he didn't have the heart to even eat that.

"Since you drank that bitter medicine... I'm reluctantly offering you my cake." Ru had a heartbroken look in her eyes. Her reluctance was quite palpable.

"This is for me?" He asked indecisively.

Seeing his huge grin, she felt something was wrong here but she couldn't tell what? "I made it for myself yesterday but I'm offering you some. After all, I'm a good host. Very hospitable"

Xiao Zhi Ren almost choked on the single bite that he had just taken when he heard about her being 'hospitable'. Who was she kidding here? Certainly, he was not that gullible to believe that she was this hospitable to every one of her guests.

But disregarding her words, he said, "Well, I'll just pretend like this was made just for me."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I meant this is really good." He tacitly chose to change his words for her sake.

That one comment was enough to put Ru back on her high horse as she grinned brightly and said, "Of course it's good. How can it not be? How is it possible that I touched something and it turned out bad? It can never happen!"

"There we go again..."

"What did you say?"

Seeing her fiery gaze, he smiled politely and said, "I was saying you are right. You are good at everything. But let me ask you, can't you drop this conceited act once in a while?"

Him calling her conceited couldn't make her angry. She didn't feel anything. "I'm afraid if I stopped being conceited, you might run for the hills screaming bloody murder." There was a playfulness in her tone but there was a concealed truth in her eyes.

"Why don't you try me?"

His words shocked her for a second before she laughed it off saying, "You're funny Zhi." She took a step back to make some distance between them but Xiao Zhi Ren suddenly shot up from his seat and held her elbow. With a twist and pull, she landed straight in his arms; against his chest.

"You!" Ru's eyes widened and she tried to pull away when he encircled his arms around her back, trapping her arms and held her in place.

"Shh... Just hear me out." His cello-like voice right beside her ear made her stop squirming. Taking the cue, he said, "Thank you!"

"For what?" He heard her muffled voice as her breath fanned his chest making his Adam's apple bob up and down prominently.

He took in her sweet yet soft scent and felt like drowning. He wanted to say for giving him a chance to be in her life. But if he did, he was afraid that the one who would be running for the hills would be she. "For everything. Especially, for being here." He felt these ambiguous words won't do any harm.