Ru was 14 when her father had brought her to a female store outside of their Shadowwick State. He had said, "Ru, you can choose any dress that you like. As long as we stay out of the clan, you can dress up as a girl."
She had scowled back then and replied, "Father, I don’t like these clothes. I’m fine with what I’m wearing."
"But little Ru, don’t you also want to look pretty like other girls?" His father’s gaze was affectionate yet there was a hint of guilt and hurt in his eyes.
Ru had held his calloused hands with her small ones and said, "Father, am I not pretty as I am?"
Looking at her big green eyes, he was stunned for a moment before he gently rubbed her hair saying, "My little Ru is the prettiest. No matter what she wears."
Ru had smiled brightly at his words. "If Father thinks I’m the prettiest than there is no doubt that young master Ru is the prettiest."
Even now, Ru remembered that incident very well. She knew her father wanted her to know that he had his reasons for raising her like a boy. But nonetheless he loved her just the same.
Although she never probed for the reason behind her disguise, she knew deep within that truth might ruin her beliefs. Or more so, it might ruin her identity. She wasn’t willing to give up on both. Neither her beliefs nor her identity as the young master Ru. So, she chose the best way out. To stay quiet like she wasn’t curious at all.
Like, she didn’t catch on to the abnormalities or lies that didn’t add up. Ignorance is bliss. She truly followed that rule. As long as she stayed ignorant, her life and she... Both will stay as they were.
Today, however, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was flabbergasted. Those simple washed up ripped jeans hugged her legs in an appropriate manner. That simple white half-sleeved t-shirt made her bosom prominent- which according to her were non-existent. And those long locks gave a different edge to her sharp features.
But... Somehow Ru didn’t feel like herself.
People might call her gorgeous beauty at this point but she felt weird inside. It was just like Xiao Zhiren had mentioned, she wasn’t comfortable in her own skin. She had grown comfortable in her disguise for so long that her own self felt foreign to her.
Making her feel comfortable in her own skin and gender was also a task that Xiao Zhiren had to work on along with evoking her feelings for him. Haiz! How tiring this work was!
"Put this on," on reflex, she caught whatever was thrown her way and looked at the denim jacket in her hand.
"How did you buy so much in such a short time?" Ru asked without even looking at him while wearing the jacket.
"Are you forgetting that our apartment building is close to the shopping complex?"
Ru had a look of enlightment as she nodded in understanding. The shopping complex was her own and yet she was reminded of it by someone else. She really was a masterpiece!
Ru wore a pair of white converse and followed him out the door. Seeing her walk with long strides, Xiao Zhiren shook his head at her. "Hey! Walk like a girl."
"Huh? There is a walk for girls?" See! As I said, she’s a clueless genius! Xiao Zhiren mused to himself.
"Take smaller steps. And put your hands out of your pockets. Also, put on a smile and lose the gruffness in your voice." Ru was frowning at his lecture but still followed his words. After all, he seemed to know what he was doing unlike her who had no idea what she was doing wrong.
On their ride, Ru had asked the umpteenth time, "Where are we going?" And he always chose to answer with, "It’s a surprise."
It took them thirty minutes to reach their destination and as Ru looked at the Arena before her, she asked again, "What are we going here?"
"We are here to watch a match." He answered and alighted from the car to open the door for her.
"I can do that myself." She growled at him before climbing down the car.
She was going to walk inside when he held her hand and before she could free herself, he whispered, "Stop moving. If we’ll act like partners, people will be less suspicious."
"Do you even believe in your own excuse?" Ru retorted.
"I do." Xiao Zhiren answered with a guilt-free face.
"Aren’t you getting cheekier?" She lifted her brow at him without a hint of a smile on her face.
"Learned it all from you." He replied leaning close to her.
"Blame it all on me."
"Why not?" He again fanned the side of her face with his breath.
"Anything to invade my personal space, right?"
"Anything." Xiao Zhiren’s smile made Ru’s lips twitch but she stifled her smile. She wasn’t planning on giving him satisfaction.
Hand-in-hand, both walked towards the entrance where a man greeted them with a courteous bow. "Eldest young master, the tickets you asked for." He respectfully passed the two front row seats tickets to Xiao Zhiren while trying to recognize Ru.
Seeing his line of sight, Xiao Zhiren pulled Ru behind him rather possessively or maybe protectively? Ru wasn’t really paying attention since her train of thoughts was wondering about what match they were going to see.
"Thank you for these, Secretary Mo," Xiao Zhiren smiled at the man and strutted away along with Ru.
Loud cheering voices could be heard from far away but only when Ru entered the Arena did she realize what match she was here for.
Xiao Zhiren guided her to the seats and saw her pouting adorably. "What’s wrong?" he asked.
"You said we’ll be watching a match." She reminded him.
"Yes. And we are here for the match." He replied back.
"This is not a match. This is a video game competition."
Her words had just been spoken when the pretty host started the competition.
"Hello and welcome to the 6th Grand Legends Championship. I’m your host, Xiao Rou."
"Little chili, this is eSports Championship. Isn’t it also a match?" Xiao Zhiren found reasoning with her very difficult. "Don’t you like games?"
"I do. But I love games which involve me playing with people’s mind or emotions. And in sports, I’d always choose outdoor ones." Ru replied grumpily.
"As you all know, today we’re gathered here for the finals between ’Immortals’ and ’Misfits’. Both the teams are said to have strong gameplay. ’Misfits’ had been the Legends Champion for the past three years. Let’s see if they can keep their title this year as well." The host’s voice couldn’t bring out any burning passion in Ru. Instead, she was yawning in her own bored state.
But it took a moment for her eyes to sparkle again as a big bucket of wings appeared before her. She looked at Xiao Zhiren who gave her a knowing look and she snatched it like someone was after her.
That small act was enough to make Xiao Zhiren feel like she was indeed normal. At least her emotions weren’t misplaced when it came to food.
"How did you get this?" She asked while munching on her chicken wings.
"I have my ways." Xiao Zhiren’s reply reminded her of herself. Great! Why didn’t someone mention that this answer was irksome? Because she really felt like smacking his head.
’Others must have wanted to smack you as well when you used the same words.’ Her conscious again reminded her but this time, Ru chose to nod along.
Following that she focused her eyes on the stage and asked, "You don’t seem interested in this championship. Then why are you here?"
"Take a guess?"
"You’re here to support someone?"
"Mhmm..." He was pleased as he hummed along. It felt good seeing that she was getting familiar with him.
Ru nodded at his reply. It seemed more believable that he was here for someone rather than enjoying the game. He didn’t look like someone who would waste his time watching these matches. If he had wasted his time like this he wouldn’t be the CEO of SnapVise Technologies.
"So, who are we here to support?" She again asked with a bit of grease around her lips.
Xiao Zhiren naturally wiped her mouth with a napkin and Ru didn’t seem to notice as well. Her eyes were still trained on the stage. This small gesture was really a very normal act and it really didn’t feel awkward between them. And just as Xiao Zhiren realized it, he felt genuinely happy. It seemed like he managed to really crumble of distance last night.
"Now, let’s welcome both the teams," with a loud cheering crowd two teams walked onto the stage in all their glory.
Ru felt her mind getting dizzy from the loud noises around her. ’Kids these days. Urgh!’
Xiao Zhiren saw her hand stopping mid-air as her eyes narrowed. She was staring intently at something or rather someone. There was a bit of confusion or surprise in her gaze. Whichever it was it made her forget all about her food.
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