Chapter 18  

For the Broom Star to be named as such, it must be because of its lethality and destructive power, especially for her. The existence of Zhen Lang is like a time bomb and her promise is like a rope that binds the bomb to her body. She cannot do anything except to pray it does not explode.

Zhen Lang brushed past her table and slowly sat down at a table not too far away. His expression did not show any changes or showed any signs of having seen her.

Her back straightened slightly, her senses were all knotted up and her movements were affected by him.

It was just like that time when she stood in the center of the competition arena, facing her opponent who was fully concentrating on her but her alertness at this moment is far better than that year.

A cup of coffee, a book, he is relaxed and at ease.

A table, two people, her mind is in a mess.

"In fact, the matchmaking agency had mentioned to me about the questions that you asked me just now." The man opposite her smiled politely. "They said that it was your specific request and made sure there will be no problem before they set us up for a meeting."

"Ah?" Jia Shao was a bit distracted. "Um......!"

No, she must not focus her attention on that person. This time she must be serious on this blind-date.

"Girls who dare to ask this kind of questions directly are brave and I appreciate this cool style, so I requested for a meeting." The man had a good voice and his pronunciation* was very good. Listening to him gives her a comfortable feeling. "But I have never gone on a blind-date before, so I have a little misgiving. That is why I came to take a look first and if it is an unsuitable match, I will not make an appearance. I want to apologize to you on this aspect."

(Pronunciation here refers to the man's spoken Mandarin. The Chinese people speak in a variety of dialects and when they speak in Mandarin, sometimes their pronunciation tends to lean more towards the dialect they often speak in.)

Zhen Lang was all the time reading his book and there was no reaction from him. This is what Jia Shao had observed after being distracted by him numerous times.

"Oh, it doesn't matter." She tried hard to rein in her attention that was drifting and took a sip from the cup of coffee in front of her.

The man looked at the untouched packet of sugar on the table.

"Does Miss Jia like to drink bitter coffee?"

"Yes."

As she answered, she could vaguely see the person holding a cup of coffee in his hand gave out a light laugh.

"Not a lot of girls like such bitter coffee. Miss Jia is really different." The words of compliment were said in a soothing tone and the comment seemed to carry a different meaning.

Different, my foot! It was just that she was jinxed by someone so she does not like sweet things!

Her gaze swept fiercely across towards the culprit.

Zhen Lang sat still like a mountain, elegantly reading his book as if oblivious to everything. He raised a hand to gently massage the spot at the end of the tail end of his eyebrow.

He was laughing! He was even eavesdropping on them!!

With her understanding of him, she was very clear to the meaning of his actions.

Her face stiffened. Angrily, she shifted her gaze away from him and vowed not to look at him again......not to look......not to look.......

She raised her hand to prop up her chin and moved her arm sideways to block the view, hiding the figure that would always appear in front of her.

"Miss Jia, according to the information given by the matchmaking agency, they said you have never been in love, is that right?"

She nodded. "Something like that."

In elementary and junior high school, she concentrated on preparing for entry into the national team and in high school and university she concentrated on finding ways to get the better of Zhen Lang. The following three years, Fang Qing Kui roped her in to set up their photo studio business. Don't even mention about falling in love, not even a cockroach approached her.

"A lackluster simple life of 25 years." She joked self-deprecatingly.

"Who said so?" Something flickered in the man's eyes. "Little Dragon Girl* was left alone for 16 years to wait for the arrival of Yang Guo*."

(Little Dragon Girl and Yang Guo are the leads in the famous novel 'The Condor Heroes' a wuxia novel. The beautiful female lead is highly skilled in martial arts and is also the Head of the Ancient Tomb Sect. She stayed inside the tomb without coming out for 16 years before she met Yang Guo who ventured into the tomb. A summary of the story can be found in Wikipedia.)

Little Dragon Girl?! She?

If she can be compared with Little Dragon Girl, even if she falls and dies instantly, she will die without regrets.

*Pu!* A suspicious sound of water being spurted out, followed by severe coughing floated over.

Jia Shao's attention was once again drawn to the waves of coughing sounds. This time she need not look at him and she could imagine the devious smile on his face.

Little Dragon Girl!........she really wanted to squeeze the mouth of the man opposite her and make him swallow back the words he said just now.

"Is Miss Jia also waiting for Yang Guo?"

Sneaking a glance over, Jia Shao could hear a light laugh from him and she felt stifled.

Has he not laughed enough? He had already laughed for a full minute!

"No, I'm waiting for Yin Zhi Ping*."

(Yin Zhi Ping is an evil character in 'The Condor Heroes' who is unfaithful, unfilial, unwise and a sinful man.)

*Pu!* The same place, the same person and the same thing happened again.

She could not control herself and looked daggers at him.

There was no more laughter from him but his shoulders were shaking suspiciously.

After much difficulty, the shaking gradually stopped and Zhen Lang gave a cough. He calmly picked up the cup of coffee in front of him and took a sip.

Finally, Jia Shao withdrew her attention and the man opposite her gave her a strange look which made her very embarrassed and she said. "Actually, I don't mean that......"

"I understand, I understand........."

"I really don't mean that........"

"I understand, I understand........."

This time, they had run out of conversation material. Jia Shao wanted to talk but was afraid that she would say some upsetting words, so she simply kept quiet.

The two people looked at each other with forced smiles.

At this moment, a crisp ringtone of a cell phone sounded and Zhen Lang pulled out his phone to put it next to his ear. Just two words spoken in a low voice successfully attracted Jia Shao's attention. "Jia Ma?"

Her mother?

Subconsciously, she wanted to rush over to grab his phone but her ass only moved a bit when she suppressed her impulse. She continued to maintain a calm smile and quietly perked up her hearing.

"She is not answering her phone?" Zhen Lang's voice was not loud but it was very clear as she had concentrated on listening to him.

He glanced nonchalantly at her and Jia Shao quickly reached out to touch her small bag. Her face suddenly sank.

She had forgotten to bring her cell phone again.

Reading the expression on her face, Zhen Lang answered naturally. "She forgot to bring her cell phone."

It is not known whether it is because Zhen Lang's cell phone is extremely good or the voice of the person on the other end of the line is really extraordinary, she could hear the loud sounds from the phone. The nerves on Jia Shao's forehead jumped and she felt her head aching.

Before her mother left, she had vehemently told Jia Shao not to participate in any meaningless blind-dates. She had just nodded without really taking it to heart and now.......

"Where did she go?" Zhen Lang's gaze swept over to her and he paused.

Jia Shao's hand which was under the table waved quickly and she involuntarily moved her body feeling anxious.

If her mother knew that she was disobeying her on the sly, it was afraid that her mother would come back to look for her carrying a kitchen knife to deal with her. Now, everything depended on Zhen Lang.........

Half blocking her face, she gave Zhen Lang a pleading expression and her actions seemed totally ambiguous.

A light flashed across Zhen Lang's eyes and he raised his eyebrows. The tacit understanding in silent communication could only be understood by the two of them.

~ What are the benefits of helping you tell a lie?

~ Can be counted as I owe you a favor.

~ You will do all the housework?

~ I will do it!

~ You will not drop the bowls and destroy the things?

~ Guarantee nothing will happen!

Zhen Lang nodded slightly and very naturally he replied. "We are eating outside. She went to the restroom, so she did not answer your call. When she comes back, I will get her to return your call."

In a few words, Zhen Lang had solved the problem. He quickly ended the call and Jia Shao looked at him, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

He actually did not betray her!

This fact did not make Jia Shao feel any relief instead it had made her even more nervous and restless.

"Miss Jia." The man who had been ignored for a long time finally succeeded in drawing back her attention. Holding a business card in his hand, he placed it in front of her. "It is already noon. If you don't mind, can we have lunch together?"

"Um......" The person whose soul was drifting away answered involuntarily. When she finally came back to her senses, it was already too late to decline. She could only focus her attention on the man's face.

He looked handsome, elegant, with a straight nose and his smile showed his confidence and ease but his eyes held some rakish traits.

She looked at the business card in her hand.

Xia Yuan Xi........Occupation: Lawyer.

Just a few simple words and below was a string of phone numbers. Jia Shao seemed to understand.

It is a step towards furthering their relationship......as friends between a man and a woman...... She felt proud and arrogantly raised her head in front of Zhen Lang.

On Jia Shao's face, there was a fluttering smile revealing she was looking forward to this relationship.

Please forgive this child's naughty thoughts. If something that has been looked forward to for too long, it will also cause brain cramps.

There was another series of rings from a cell phone which burst Jia Shao's little dream bubble. She glared at the source of the disturbance.

Zhen Lang looked calm to her but when he looked at the number in his cell phone, he involuntarily shot her a glance again. "Jia Ma, what is the matter? Have you forgotten to tell me something?"

Jia Shao rolled her eyes helplessly. Dear great mother, why are you continuously taking my life?

"Is Jia Shao with you?" Jia Mama asked on the phone. "Did she come out of the restroom yet? Tell her to answer the phone."

Zhen Lang who was in a good mood said in a polite voice. "Not yet. If you have anything to say to her, you can tell me. I will let her know later."

Quietly, he pressed on the loudspeaker button.

A series of sounds like frying beans could be heard from the phone. Jia Mama said without a pause. "Tell that dreadful girl that summer is here. Don't run around outside so much. Stay home more to clean the house, wash the dishes, wipe the floor and clean the toilet. Anyway, her energy is boundless, let her do it."

Jia Shao's face changed from red to white and secretly gritted her teeth.

Is this person still considered her own mother?

"A girl who doesn't know how to do housework will not be able to get married. You are not to pamper her. Remember, if you go out to buy rice, take her along so she can help you to carry the things. You can take a rest."

Jia Shao's hand was clenched under the table and tried hard to control herself as the corner of her mouth started to twitch.

"And also, tell her to wash her underwear and panties. It is better if you will let her wash yours as well......."

"Damn!" Someone finally could not stand it any longer and jumped up to rush over to Zhen Lang. She grabbed the phone and said. "Why don't you tell me to give him his bath, help him with his food, his drinks, and his daily routine needs? Have you said enough?"

Jia Mama's speech was finally interrupted and some other noises drifted over. "So you are really having dinner with Ah Lang. Then you must remind him to take more nourishing foods and pay more attention to his body. You must not bully him and you must do the housework. Help him to wash his clothes, pants, socks........"

"You are nagging!" Jia Shao said loudly. "I know! I will also help him to wash his feet and wash his ass! Will that be enough?"

Jia Mama was offended. "Dreadful girl, you said your old lady is nagging? I........."

A beep sounded indicating power outage and the voice of Jia Mama disappeared completely. Jia Shao threw the cell phone back into Zhen Lang's hands. "No more power."

He took the phone and then his eyes flickered. He gestured for her to turn around.

When she turned around, she saw her blind-date looking back at her with a blank look. His strange gaze shifted between her and Zhen Lang, shifting.......

What had she just said? On God, let a thunderbolt strike her this instant!!!

Jia Shao suddenly caught hold of Zhen Lang's arm and pulled him up. "He.......He is my brother........my brother......."