YiJun's POV

The taste of Xian's lips was still lingering on mine; his scent was still clinging to my skin; the memory of the slender curve of his waist was still burning in my mind as I had opened the door and my home to the unwelcome strangers: Zhu Hua and his sister Zhu Qing. I had no choice.

Xian was upset, rightfully so, for I had technically gone back on my word. But what I had not expected was for him to talk back to me. I had lost my cool and left.

Did I regret how I had behaved? No, I hadn't. I was still Xian's guardian, and whatever our relationship behind closed doors, he was under my care and guidance. There were things he needed to do, expected to do.

And right now, I wanted him to show our guests, however unwelcome, respect. After all, they held the future of my friend's publishing house in their hands.

Having reprimanded Xian, I return to my guests. Zhu Hua was a strapping looking young man with a husky voice and keen, sharp eyes. His monolid eyes held a strange kind of magnetism I had rarely seen in humans, yet his smile was almost predatory. When he had looked at me, I had somehow felt uneasy, like the young human was sizing me up. Though he spoke politely, I felt like I was talking down to me.

I take a seat opposite Hua, hoping Xian will show up soon; I find Qing fidgeting with the hem of her skirt and Hua looking excitedly at my book collection.

"Xian will be right outside," I state, and the young girl visibly relaxes and gives me a forced smile. I nod and look at her elder brother; I enquire, "Would you like to take a closer look?" 

 "May I?" He asks, eyes gleaming, and I find myself nodding and inviting him to take a look at my private book collection.

He looks at them carefully and moves as if to take a closer look at one, but just before he can do so, he stops; he looks over my shoulder and smiles, "You must be Xian." His smile widens as he inspects Xian with interest. 

Rage fills me. A strong urge to hide Xian from this man's line of sight washes over me, and I move to block Xian from his view. "Yes, he is," I inform the young man and turn to Xian, who is smiling at Qing.

Both relief and irritation fill me at the same time. I watch Hua's smile drop and Qing's face brighten.

"Hi." Xian waves and walks closer to the young girl, who blinks coyly and pushes a nonexistent strand of hair behind her ear.

'She is flirting!' I realize a moment later. How could I not? I had found myself at the receiving end of this behavior several times. But there is nothing I can do about it. It's perfectly normal for young boys and girls to indulge in this kind of behavior.

Shameless!

"Would you like to see my room?" Xian questions, and I almost lose my mind.

What are you doing, Xian? 

Didn't you say you are not interested in her? 

"Xian?" I call, and he looks at me questioningly, "Come over and say hello to Mr. Zhu." I command and Xian sights. However, he does as told and walks over to him, "Hello, Mr. Zhu. I am Xian. Nice to meet you." He gives the man a curt nod.

"Please don't call me Mr. Zhu, that's my... "

"Jun, can I leave now?" He cuts Hua's words, and sounding condescending, adds, "You said nothing about keeping you company."

I am left speechless as Xian turns and grabbing Qing's wrist, he leaves the room. Xian had never behaved this way. I don't understand why he was acting so rude.

To say that I was feeling embarrassed would be an understatement. I was positively appalled. But there was nothing I could do. At least, not then. 

 I look at Zhu Hua: eyes narrowed and lips pursed. I can tell that this was probably the first time someone had been so disrespectful to him. I clear my throat, and his gaze shifts towards me. His face transforms in an instant. He smiles and shrugs, "Kids."

"I am sorry... " I start, but he shakes his head and brushes it off, "Qing is the same. So, how is he related to you?" He asks.

I contemplate how to answer him. I was sure Qing would have told him who Xian was, so I decide that there is no point in lying, "He is my charge."

"Since when have you raised him?"

 No one had ever asked me that. Then again, I hadn't let anyone except Xian's friends into our home. And they had never asked me about it.

"Xian has got nothing to do with the deal. Kindly leave him out of our discussion." I reply. I expect him to take offense and argue, but he doesn't.

He nods, "I respect you, YiJun. I am your biggest fan; I am sorry if my question offended you. You are right; I am not interested in Xian." He says sincerely and looks at the bookshelf again, "May I?"

I nod, and he pulls out a book. It's one of my favorites: Story of me. He skims through it and puts it back. He scans the bookshelf again and snorts. "How to deal with teenage rebellion?" He reads the title and smirks, "YiJun, I can tell that it didn't help." He adds, looking in the direction where Xian had disappeared with Qing.

"Well," I shrug, "trust me, it helped. You should have seen Xian before." I inform, and he chuckles, "I am not looking forward to fatherhood."

"You are very young. You have a long way to go." I express, and he nods. A sad look crosses his face, "I have a love-hate relationship with my father." He chuckles mirthlessly, "He hates me, but I want him to love me. I hope you had it better than me."

I feel like I can relate to this young man. He was logical and understanding. What's more, he didn't try to pry. "My father loved me once. But not anymore. I am dead to him." I reply sincerely.

"Is he dead to you too, your father, I mean?" the young man enquires, and I shake my head, "No. We have our differences. I- " I begin to elaborate when sharp giggles drift over to me from Xian's room; my mood sours.

I reign in my thoughts and stomp on the feelings of despair that the joyous atmosphere in Xian's room was stirring in me. I plaster a smile on my face, and looking at the bookshelf, pull out a book I had read recently and enjoyed; I hand it to him, "I have heard that you can know a lot about someone by the kind of books they read."

The young man's eyes twinkle as he caresses the spine of the book and opens it, "Who said it?" He enquires, and before I can answer, he shakes his head, "I don't need to know. As long as you offer it, I will read it."

"Would you like something to drink?"

"No, I am afraid I might not be able to control my words and actions if you are any kinder." He replies, smirking, and promptly starts reading.

Having freed myself from entertaining him for a bit, I am about to pull out my tab and start working on the next draft when Hua holds my wrist, "Would you like to know what I am like?"

No. Not really.

"Do I need to?" I ask, and he shakes his head, "Bold of me to presume that you would. I am sorry. Please go ahead." With that, he lets go of my wrist and once again starts skimming through the book.

I busy myself; I try to drown out the sounds of laughter and giggles from my mind and try my best to concentrate on writing. But after a while, I can't take it anymore. I know how Xian sounds when he is happy. I had heard him laugh just like that when he was plastered to my front and offered to take care of my aura not too long ago.

"Mr. YiJun?" I hear Zhu Hua's voice and realize that I had stopped midsentence. "You seem distracted." He observes and puts the book aside. 

 "I apologize for barging in like this. It's just that I wanted to see you in your natural habitat." The young man smirks, and I can't help but feel irritated.

"No offense." Zhu Hua puts his hands up as if in surrender, and unexpectedly, he stepped closer, till I can feel his warm breath fanning the side of my face. "YiJun," He calls my name softly, almost seductively, and catches my eyes, "I find you fascinating. I want to meet you devoid of distractions. I want to have you all to myself." He adds, trailing his fingers over my forearms. And then, just as suddenly as he had approached me, he steps away and smiles. "In a professional capacity, of course." He continues, and the smile morphs into a secret smirk.

Shameless, just like his sister!

My mind clouds with anger and disgust, but my face shows nothing. Hua was not the first man to have come on to me like that. I have dealt with worse. "Of course. How about we meet at the publishing house?" I suggest, but he shakes his head, "No. Let's meet at my office."

That's when something comes to me. Something that had been bothering me since the time Hua had mentioned his father. "Mr.. "

"Hua, please call me Hua. As I was going to mention earlier, Mr. Zhu is my dad. All my friends call me Hua."

 I nod even though I don't agree with him and don't feel comfortable calling him by his given name because there is something that I want more: I want them to leave, but first, I need to know something else, "Hua, you said that you have a love-hate relationship with your father, then why did he agree to your demand to see me? Not only that, you have an office too. I am curious as to what made you think that your father doesn't love you?"

As soon as I finish, the smirk slips from his face, and anger replaces it. He turns away from me and replies, "My family dynamics are none of your business, Mr. YiJun, just like yours aren't mine." He tries to keep his tone calm, but the way he fists his fingers at his side betrays his feelings.

He was like me: a man who was let down by his father. 

"My apologies, Hua. You are right. When do you want to hold the meeting?" I enquire, moving on to my next mission: making him and his sister leave.

"How about tomorrow night? Let's say, at 8?" He suggests, and despite my apprehensions, I nod, "Alright. Anything else?" I ask, hinting that I wanted him gone.

"Mr. YiJun, I am hurt." He sighs dramatically and moves his hand over his heart, "And here I thought that we were friends now." He presses on; once again, he breaches my personal space; I stand my ground. I don't fear him. I am about to give him a piece of my mind when I hear Xian clear his throat, and in a voice seeped in sarcasm, he answers for me, "He doesn't like making friends. He is a stuck up old man who likes to shut himself in his library and write about angels and demons."

"Xian!" I exclaim.

Is that really what you think? How you feel? 

"Mr. Hua, he is anti-social. He is incapable of holding even one-sided conversations." He bites out, "With such good books to his name, you would think that he is an interesting man, but you would be wrong."

"Xian! Shut up and go to your room! You are grounded!" I growl and turn to our guests. Qing, who had entered with Xian, was frozen in shock while Hua was staring at Xian as if he was a newly discovered life form.

"That's all you can do! That's all you ever do!" Xian yells and stomps off, leaving me embarrassed and hurt, "I am sorry that you had to witness that. I will see you tomorrow."

"No need to apologize, Mr. YiJun. We will see ourselves out." Hua offers and drags Qing out.

As I close the door, I recall Xian's words; my heart shatters into tiny bits.

What did Qing do to him when they were alone? 

They had sounded happy; Xian had looked and sounded happy.

But didn't he say that he loved me? 

Didn't he say that I was his universe!? 

What changed?

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