"I thought it would be more strange if I was so direct since we do not have a close relationship. In all, I am sorry Miss Zhang. Now, let's take a little pinch of your blood."
Chuanli said with a half smile as he took her hand and stretched it out, before picking up the needle.
"Wait, I'm not ready yet! Give me a minute." Zhang Liling said hurriedly as she stopped him with her hand.
She placed her hand on top of his own, to stop him from moving further.
Chuanli smiled and encouraged her, without shifting his hand. It was her who was trying to relax, that finally took her hand away.
Without warning, He drove the needle into her vein to draw some blood.
Zhang Liling hissed in pain and looked away. She couldn't even get angry with him for not waiting till she was ready. In fact, she thought his method was right.
Taking her unaware for this kind of short-term torment, was the best.
"See, it didn't hurt." Chuanli said with a smile as he quickly handed her a cotton wool. He dabbed the spot he poked with the needle twice, before handing it to her.
"I need to store this before it starts to coagulate." He said standing to his feet.
Some minutes later after handling some things, he picked up his coat and his phone before leading the way to the elevator door. "Miss Zhang, I will drop you off at the villa."
Zhang Liling glanced at her arm to see that it has stopped bleeding, before throwing away the stained little piece of cotton wool into the waste basket.
Actually, she felt better that he was going to send her home. As for giving out a little blood, she didn't feel bad about it.
She wasn't repulsed.
The same elevator that brought them to the office, took them down.
On their way back to the villa, Chuanli made sure to keep the atmosphere between them lively, by engaging her in little conversations.
By the time they arrived, Mr. Fang was already back. It was rare to see him sitting in the living room cross-legged.
This was a first to Zhang Liling. Looking at him sitting so casually and watching the news, made him look like he was idle.
She is always seeing him when he was working in his study, working-out in the gym room, or eating in the dining room.
He was always busy the whole time she has seen him, so it was a little weird for her to see him relaxing.
She bowed slightly to him in greeting as soon as their gazes met, before running off to her bedroom.
"You are back so early..." This was more like a statement than a question from Chuanli.
"Mmm" Mr. Fang hummed with his gaze on the TV. His hands were folded and crossed his chest. It was very obvious that the news was important.
Chuanli saw that he was not paying attention and sat next to him for a bit, and that was the only way he could get the attention he wanted.
"Go to another couch." Mr. Fang said with a frown while staring at him.
Chuanli being stubborn, ignored him and went on to ask, "Are you not going to ask how today went?"
Mr. Fang shut his eyes and opened them again to say, "I don't have dinner for you." He said that despite knowing that it would infuriate him.
Chuanli was so mad as soon as he heard him and stood to his feet. "You are really mean!" Then he walked away.
'Finally...peace'
Before the dead of the night, rumours about Zhang Liling being picked up by a young playboy and was seen getting into a sports car, had already spread abroad.
There was a picture attached to the gossip.
Someone was truly out for her.
Zhang Liling did not see or hear about the news untill morning. She was woken up from sleep by Tungmei's call.
Tungmei was speaking so loudly in her ear, that she had to save her ear drums by putting her phone on hands-free mode before leaving it on her bed.
"... Can you even hear what I'm saying?!"
After speaking for a minute and not hearing any response from her, Tungmei was mad.
Zhang Liling rested her jaw on her fists while sitting on her bed, before replying in a sluggish tone, "You said there is a rumour going on about me in the class group. And that it has made waves into the school student news forum."
"Why are you so calm about it?" Tungmei's anger slowly dissipated while pacing up and down her room.
She didn't know how this friend of hers manages to stay calm when there is fire on the mountain.
"Will my worry stop the rumours? I don't have time to care about nonsense! Leave me alone, I still have 10 more minutes to sleep before I start to get ready for school." Zhang Liling said as she picked up her phone and turned off the hands-free mode.
Tungmei has calmed down a bit, and was no longer acting hysterical, so she placed the phone back on her ear.
"You have a point, but you should at least see the rumours that is going on about you before you can pretend that it doesn't matter! You father might come for you."
The last sentence was a warning kind of advice to her, before she ended the conversation.
Now, Zhang Liling's interest was piqued. She was starting to wonder what kind of rumours about her that was being spread, that might attract her father's attention.
Before she could go to her school's gossip site to see the news, Tungmei sent the link to her.
The latter thought that knowing how stubborn she was, she might not go to look at the news, hence she sent the link to her directly.
Zhang Liling clicked on the link to the gossip about her. Once the site the opened, there was a jaw-dropping moment for her.
The first thing she saw, was two different pictures of her and Chuanli.
The first one was taken when she was standing outside and talking with him sitting inside the car.
"Who took these photos?! Have these idiots got nothing better to do?!" Zhang Liling said out loud, furiously.
If this was a different kind of rumour about her, she wouldn't even bother. But this has something to do with Mr. Fang's personal doctor!
Now Mr. Fang and the people around him, will see her as a trouble finder. Her reputation which was not that good and was still under construction, just received a blow.
Another worry, was her father.
Would he ask her to come back to the house to live with them, or would he scold her?
No matter which one it was, Zhang Liling wished not to receive his calls or texts. What a huge headache!
Still, she wanted to know the fools who had nothing better to do, than to stalk her and upload pictures of her and someone else without her permission.
Their exams were in 2 weeks and a few days, were they not feeling the tension?
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com