Yan Xiuchen tugged his tie irritably as he looked at his reflection with a grim expression on his face. His dark hair was slicked down into a neat part and his glasses seated on the bridge of his nose, barely hiding the horrendous scars on the right side of his face.
There were only three days left before Xiao Rufeng would leave his estate, and they would go back to how they were prior to this arrangement - strangers to each other.
"Are you ready, Mr. Yan? The car is ready and waiting for you."
The said woman arrived at his office and looked at him bemusedly. He gave her a dismissive look, daring her to utter another word.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm merely the assistant who had no choice but to agree to your business associates' requests. You really need to meet them this time." Xiao Rufeng said in defense.
Yan Xiuchen could only huff in annoyance. He would rather be here and not waste any time away from her, but he also knew that he couldn't simply dismiss his business associates' request for a meeting.
"Come on, you haven't left the estate since I came here, right? Don't let others think I'm keeping you here all to myself." She grinned at him, which only made the scarred man groan inwardly.
"I suppose so." He wasn't looking forward to meeting other people at this moment. If he was meeting his brothers, then surely it would be a different matter.
Xiao Rufeng didn't say anything, her eyes staring at him. It wasn't a secret why Yan Xiuchen had kept his interaction with other people to a bare minimum. His face surely got a lot of attention, which made him feel uncomfortable and unwanted.
"Would you mind if we try something new?" She suddenly blurted out, getting Yan Xiuchen's attention at once.
"What is it?"
Xiao Rufeng hesitated for a moment. She knew that she was always treading on ice whenever she was looking at his face. Wasn't it obvious that he was trying his best not to intimidate her with his look?
"Do you mind if I put some makeup on you?" She blurted out. "Oh, I don't mean to offend you. I'm just thinking that maybe if we could put makeup over your scars, it would make you feel more confident meeting others."
Yan Xiuchen stared silently at her. He had never entertained such ideas before. He was so used to being alone, being stared at by others with pity and repulsion that he didn't bother to change anything on his face to make him more likeable.
"You can do that?" He asked, not daring to raise his hopes so he wouldn't get disappointed if she couldn't.
Xiao Rufeng's smile that bloomed afterwards was almost blinding for Yan XIuchen, forcing him to avert his gaze away from her.
"Uhm… yes, the Concealer is a great product to use if you need to cover any scars. Its high pigmentation covers any discoloration and matches it to your natural skin tone. I have a couple of some we could try to see if we can make it work." She replied with eagerness in her eyes.
"Well, what are you waiting for? We don't have much time to waste, Miss Xiao."
His mouth twitched and for a moment, Xiao Rufeng thought he was smiling at her.
Xiao Rufeng hurriedly sprinted out of his office towards her assigned room. She cursed inwardly when she remembered that she was staying on the other side of the mansion and it would take her over ten minutes to be able to return to Yan Xiuchen.
She ran as fast as she could and reached her room in under five minutes. Once she threw the door open, she rummaged through her bag and took out her makeup kit. She then hurriedly went back to Yan Xiuchen's office as fast as she could.
When she came back, she found Yan Xiuchen seated behind his desk, reviewing documents in one hand. He gave her a curious look when she came towards him with a knowing smile.
"Now, Mr. Yan, will you allow me to work on it?" Her eyes showed some excitement and mischief that seemed novel to Yan Xiuchen. It made him wonder if he was going to regret agreeing with her.
He sighed and placed down the documents on his desk and gestured to allow her to start working. Xiao Rufeng placed her makeup bag on his desk and started pulling out the cosmetics she might need.
Yan Xiuchen froze when she suddenly leaned close to him, invading his private space. The brush in her hand slowly worked over his scars and he looked at her serious face up close. He realized that she had this expression on her face whenever she was deciding on something.
As she worked on his face, Yan Xiuchen remained silent and allowed the woman of his dreams to do whatever she liked. He might regret this later, but he thought that this was a better way to delay his meeting with his colleagues.
It was the first time that a person, aside from his butler, was willing to get this close to him and he didn't know what to feel about it. He wanted to ask her not to leave in three days, but there was no reason for her to stay longer than she needed.
After all, she only came here to repay the favor she owed him, nothing else. He would always be alone. No matter how much he hoped, Xiao Rufeng's presence only reminded him that he was unlovable and that no one would ever see past his face.
Xiao Rufeng seemed pleased with what she was doing, as she didn't even realize that the man in front of her was enthralled by her beauty.
"Now, that looks better." She suddenly lifted her gaze and froze still when she noticed how close they were to each other.
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