The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

She held that same pendant in her hands with a complicated look and rotated the pigeon blood ruby. That red thread was still tied to the real chain of the pendant. Because she didn’t want to lose it, she had spent half an hour trying to weave the thread through the chain to make it seem like a part of the pendant.

She looked at the closed door of the balcony and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The man inside seemed to have been etched in her life for far too long. She had given him this pendant as a promise to pay off her debt of life and yet unknowingly, he had been keeping their promise of a lifetime for both of them as well.

The real meaning of that red thread was told to her when she was 14. Her father had said that it was token of her engagement to that boy who had been sending her letters. But Ru vividly remembered her own reaction, "What? No way! It is hard enough to accept that I’m a girl. I don’t want to keep this relation at all."

Her father’s answer was, "That is up to you entirely. No one is forcing you anyway."

Ru had only calmed down after his reassurance. If it was not forced then she was alright with anything. After all, she was really not good at saying no to her father for anything.

Ru got up from the floor and slid open the door of the room to see Xiao Zhiren buttoning up his shirt. He looked at her curiously but didn’t question anything.

She looked at the open bottle of champagne and asked, "Why did you open that so early in the morning?"

"You were acting so weird that I had to find something for my frantic mind," he replied plainly. Xiao Zhiren frowned when he didn’t hear her reply. He looked up at her and found her eyes stuck on his wrist for some reason while he was wearing his tie. "What are you looking at?"

Ru walked up to him and held his wrist in her hand, Xiao Zhiren was taken aback as he eyes her cautiously. When did she begin to have this active skinship? And why was it making his stupid heart flutter again?

Her thumb rubbed on the red string on his wrist and she asked, "Why do you wear this?"

Xiao Zhiren pursed his lips as he was stumped for words. He didn’t know how to bring up that fiancee at all whom he had no clue about. "Apparently, it’s a promise I gave to someone."

"Do you remember the person?" she asked.

Xiao Zhiren shook his head in negation, "I can’t recall that part of my memory."

"Then why don’t you take this off?" she asked again.

Xiao Zhiren looked at her hand touching that red thread and said, "I wanted to but..." he looked into her eyes and went on, "I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I feel like my heart will stop beating if I took it off."

"I recently found the use for a tie," she said changing the topic but not shifting her eyes away from him. Not even cowering away from his searing gaze or affectionate touch.

"I wonder what it..." he replied but his words were cut off abruptly. Ru had held his tie and pulled him down to catch his lips with her own. This was Xiao Zhiren’s second time to be at the surprising end. He wouldn’t say that he didn’t like it. Of course, he liked it. He loved it.

But he wasn’t used to what he felt during that kiss. More than a kiss, he felt like Ru was talking to him through this kiss. As if, she was pouring all her words out through this kiss. And he was so overwhelmed that he felt like crying. What? Crying? He wanted to scream at himself. But he couldn’t deny it. The intensity of her kiss was really too much for him.

When she pulled away from him, he was still dazed. "What was this for?"

Ru took his hand in her own and looking at their joined hands, she said, "It was to thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

Ru brought his hand up and kissed it softly as she said, "For keeping our promise for both of us."

"Huh?" He was dumbfounded but when he saw her dazzling toothy grin, he was dumbstruck. "Aiyo, my poor heart is being assaulted by that beautiful smile."

"Should I stop smiling then?" she questioned with a sly grin.

He pulled her in his arms and said, "Definitely not. Assualt this heart as much as you want. It’s all yours anyway."

Ru chuckled, "You and your cheeky ways. Never get tired of it eh? Or do you not run out of words to say?"

"How can I run out of my collection of words?" He retorted. Brushing the tip of his nose against hers, he spoke in a husky voice, "Do you know why ocean never runs out of waves?"

"Why?" She asked with a constant smile plastered on her face. She knew she was gonna cringe at his reply as always. But why did she still want to hear those words? Why? Was she really going crazy? Or...

"Because waves are the ocean’s way of showing its love for the shore. How can it ever run out of its love? Just like that, I can’t run out of words as long as my heart is beating for you."

Ru buried her face in the crook of his neck and laughed out. See, he really made one cringe with those words. But now she was understanding why she wanted to hear it. She wasn’t going crazy.

She was already crazy in love with him.