Xiao Rufeng decided to accompany Yan Xiuchen that day. Although it was Sunday, the man still had commitments he needed to fulfill. After his hour-long video conference, Yan Xiuchen invited her to go out for a walk, although he specifically implied that it was more like her accompanying him to work.
Before going out, he asked her for a favor to put some concealer over his scars because he intended to do a secret inspection at a townhouse he recently acquired that was located in a high end, executive village. She gladly accepted his request and immediately started working on his face.
"Are you sure you'd rather go with me than see your sister's trial?" He asked as Xiao Rufeng focused her attention on his face. She looked so serious as she applied makeup on his face.
"What for? The media will be providing us with the details of the trial anyway." She shrugged. "I only intend to see how it will end once the jury delivers their verdict."
Although she knew that Xiao Yunyao wouldn't spend the rest of her life behind bars, she knew Yan Xiuchen would drag her younger sister's name to the mud, ruining her reputation. It was Yan Xiuchen's way of punishing her and Xiao Rufeng wasn't interested in convincing him to change his mind.
Once they were dressed in their disguises, with her sporting short brown hair and bluish green contact lenses, the two first drove to visit a shopping mall that Yan Xiuchen owned. Xiao Rufeng had been to this place before, but as a celebrity promoting her endorsements and projects, not as a casual shopper.
This big city was filled with skyscrapers, and the buildings nearly blocked her sight from seeing the sky. However, the shopping mall that the Yan family owned stopped at four stories. Despite that, the place was larger in terms of floor area compared to the nearby establishments.
Various people walked around them. Some were dressed in casual business suits, while others were in jeans and plain shirts. Xiao Rufeng was glad that she came with Yan Xiuchen today, because it had been a while since she went out without worrying of being swarmed by people and fans.
"Do you want to look around first?" Yan Xiuchen asked, allowing her to hook her arm with his.
She beamed him a wide smile, which made Yan Xiuchen hold his breath.
"You don't mind? Would you show me around?"
He shrugged as he led her inside the shopping mall, only releasing her for a moment to get past the security at the entrance. As soon as she was done, Xiao Rufeng held his arm and smiled like an excited child that was promised her favorite doll.
"I'm just worried that your feet will hurt later." Yan Xiuchen replied.
"Ah. I know what you mean, love. That's why I chose to wear these flat comfy sneakers. I just want to understand how you run your business empire. Maybe I could learn a thing or two and use it in an appropriate role."
Yan Xiuchen glanced at their twined arms then to her smiling face, his face unreadable. However, when it comes to Xiao Rufeng, did he really have the heart to deny her of her request?
"Alright. Just make sure not to garner unwanted attention from others. I'd rather you enjoy your day off than attract other unsavory rumors about us."
Xiao Rufeng hummed in agreement. Privacy while being in public wasn't something a celebrity like her could enjoy. She also understood that Yan Xiuchen was merely concerned about her reputation and not because he didn't want to be seen with her.
Yan Xiuchen opened the door of a fashion boutique and allowed her to step inside first. Xiao Rufeng blinked as she read the name of the shop. Since when did Butterfly Chrysalis open a branch here? She was sure that this shop wasn't here the last time she visited the place. She gaped at how massive the place was and how pretty the displayed dresses were. She went to the first stall of dresses, marveling at a red dress that caught her attention.
It was something that she once saw Tang Liyan wear during the premiere night of the film she and Bai Qingyue starred in. Butterfly Chrysalis was a partner of Bluemedia and it only made sense why someone like Tang Liyan would be able to get her hands on such an expensive dress as this.
"I never thought that Butterfly Chrysalis would open a branch here." She told Yan Xiuchen.
The man shrugged and buried his hands in the pockets of his long coat. While his sunglasses and makeup were able to reduce the appearance of the scars on his face, the scars on his hand were still recognizable.
"Mr. Si used to have a branch in XN Mall, but because of some problems he encountered with his lease, Su Xiaofei gave me a call and asked if there's an open space they could rent at a prime spot."
"I didn't know you and Feifei are on friendly terms now." Xiao Rufeng laughed, amusement apparent in her eyes.
"She's Lu Qingfeng's wife and your manager. Of course I would try to be on speaking terms with her. However, I do admit that she made me feel uncomfortable."
"How so?" Xiao Rufeng asked as she continued to browse the selection in the boutique. "I know Feifei could be intimidating and strict sometimes, but she's really a good person."
"I have no doubt of that, love. It's just that when I look at her, I feel like I'm speaking to a strict older sister I never had."
Yan Xiuchen didn't mention that Xiao Rufeng was also one of the reasons for that. His woman might not have noticed it yet, but Su Xiaofei liked being in control not only when it comes to her business, but also with her talents' private life. Although he had to admit that it was one of the traits he admired in her.
Yan Xiuchen bought her three dresses from Butterfly Chrysalis, much to her delight. When lunchtime came, they went to a popular restaurant and asked for a private booth. As soon as they followed the waitress who was leading them to their private booth, Xiao Rufeng spotted Mo Yuchen having lunch with Huang Jingjing, who was rumored to be his fiancée after breaking his engagement with Su Xiaofei.
Xiao Rufeng heard things about him from Xi Qian and Shen Jiao, but she didn't have an ounce of interest to know more about Mo Yuchen. However, from the way Mo Yuchen looked at his rumored fiancée, Xiao Rufeng surmised that the two didn't get along too.
"Who are you looking at?" She heard Yan Xiuchen ask, but before she was able to answer her, he followed his gaze and spotted Mo Yuchen a couple of meters away from them.
"I see."
"I only recognized him. I swear I'm not interested in him." She said and she immediately regretted blurting out those words. Xiao Rufeng was worried that Yan Xiuchen would misunderstand her.
"I believe you." He responded nonchalantly before leaning closer to whisper in her ear. "As long as you continue to scream my name when I'm inside you."
Xiao Rufeng felt her cheeks getting warmer. Heck, when did he learn to flirt like this? They hadn't seen each other for a few weeks and now he had an arsenal that could leave her speechless.
"Yan Xiuchen!" She hissed at him, wanting to slap away the smug look on his face as he looked at her.
Once they were inside the private booth, she chose to ignore him and looked outside instead. She wanted to cover her face right then and there. Thankfully, they were in disguise today, so people wouldn't easily recognize her.
"Did I go overboard? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry." Yan Xiuchen said when he realized that she wasn't going to talk to him or acknowledge him anytime soon.
Xiao Rufeng was taken aback by his sudden apology and mentally berated herself. It wasn't like he offended her, because she knew that he was merely trying to assure her that he didn't perceive Mo Yuchen as a rival.
"No. Don't apologize. I'm just… I'm just not used to it." She blushed under his gaze. "We're good."
"Then why are you looking at CEO Mo? You know him?"
"Not really." She hummed, enjoying the smoothie the waitress served earlier. "I heard things about him from Xi Qian though. I'm just curious if he's really a bad person like Xi Qian painted him to be."
"And you wanted to see whether it is true or not?"
Suddenly, her phone beeped, indicating new messages from the chat group she had with the other girls. One particular message caught her attention - It was from Shen Jiao.
"Little Superstar, your name is on the headlines again."
Xiao Rufeng knew then that she was somehow involved in another scandal.
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