The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

"I think I have some biscuits here," said Xiao Zhiren almost on instinct as if he was ready to serve her. Well, technically, he wanted to present her with the whole world but the only obstacle was that she was someone who could have the world all on her own.

Ru smiled at him before full on laughing at his face as she said, "Don’t bother, Mr. American with a dodgy definition of a biscuit." Xiao Zhiren gave her a stern look in response and she challenged him back with the same enthusiasm as she went on, "What? Can you argue? For you, biscuits are soft and flaky. I only eat crunchy biscuits."

Xiao Zhiren’s fighting spirit suddenly took over as he said, "Oh, right as if it’s not weird to eat beans on a toast. Like, who does that?"

Ru rolled her eyes at him and said, "Oi, mate! It’s delicious, economical and takes only five minutes to make." She took a pause before saying, "And you guys talk weird as well. When I first went to America, do you even know how much I felt embarrassed?"

"Embarrassed? And you? Why?" Even Xiao Zhiren was surprised and confused considering Ru’s personality and nature, how could one embarrass such a thick-skinned person.

Ru thought about whether to share that incident or not before finally speaking up, "I went to a supermarket and at the checkout counter, the lady said, ’Paper or plastic?’ I stared at her like I was looking at an alien. I placed my money and credit card on the counter and said, ’I have both, paper money and plastic one.’"

"Pfft!" Ru wasn’t even done yet and Xiao Zhiren had already lost his control over his laughter. "Love, she was asking whether you want a paper bag or plastic bag."

Ru gave him a hard stare and said, "I figured later on. But at that time, quite a few people had the same reaction as you. Trust me, it wasn’t fun at all considering I didn’t have the foggiest idea why everyone was laughing." When Xiao Zhiren didn’t stop laughing, she pulled out a cigarette from out of nowhere and pulled out her lighter saying, "I’ll just take a fag break. I’ll be right back in a jiffy."

Xiao Zhiren held her arm and stopped her before snatching the cigarette from her lips and said, "This is not good for you." He crushed the cigarette making Ru glare at him.

"Wind your neck in![1]" exclaimed Ru at him before pushing his hand off of her arm and adding, "That was the one cigarette I managed to steal and you even ruined that!"

"You even stole it?" asked Xiao Zhiren in disbelief and Ru coughed awkwardly.

"Borrowed it. I was gonna pay him back for that," she tried to explain before realizing that she didn’t have to state her innocence before him. Like when did Young Master Ru felt the need to actually explain something to someone? And why? She felt ridiculous at the idea and said, "You know what, I’m zonked![2] And I have no energy left to argue with you. Or perhaps, my brain cells don’t want to do this overwork for you. So..." she pushed her lighter in his hand and went on, "I’ll just go and find something to eat for myself."

Before Xiao Zhiren could even open his mouth to say anything, she had vanished. He shook his head seeing how impatient she was but the smile on his face stiffened when he looked at the lighter she left in his hand. His eyes had widened in shock before his brows knitted together in confusion.

As for Ru, she had stuck with her words and went straight to look for something to eat. She hadn’t eaten anything since the morning. When she finally sat down to eat, she saw Ji Syaoran and called him over asking, "How’s your mother?"

"She’s sleeping for now," he replied in a low voice as he carefully looked around.

"And your sister who is actually not your sister but you still have to pretend like she is for some bizarre reason?"

Hearing Ru’s words, Ji Syaoran pursed his lips. He really didn’t know whether to laugh or not. He tapped his fingers on the tabletop and said, "I think she’s doing well. Her fiance has joined the cruise. So, I’m sure she’s better now."

"She’s engaged?" asked Ru in surprise.

"Yup," replied Ji Syaoran as he watched her eating without any restraint. He noticed how she didn’t care about how she looked while eating and yet managed to look suave. No wonder his brother had fallen for such a unique piece. As he looked around, he pointed at the upper deck and said, "Oh, there she is. Ji Caihong with her fiance."

Ru licked the sauce from the side of her lips and looked in the direction he was pointing. Because of the sunlight, she didn’t manage to see the face of the man beside Ji Caihong but she did manage to catch the happiness on Ji Caihong’s face. It was obvious to see how much lovestruck that girl was.

"She must love him a lot if his presence made her this happy," remarked Ru while taking another bite of her burger.

"It really makes me wonder what love really is," mumbled Ji Syaoran softly.

However, Ru didn’t get to catch his words since her eyes were stuck on that man beside Ji Caihong. When he turned and his eyes met with Ru’s both of their eyes widened in surprise? Or shock? Whatever it was, they both were staring at each other in disbelief.

[1] "Wind your neck in": The classic way of telling someone that their opinion is not appreciated in the given scenario.

[2] "Zonked": Tired, Exhausted.