301 Can I Trust You?

Lei Xinyi stared at her watch for the third time getting irked by the tardy girl. She had messaged her about five minutes prior and still, there was no sign of the insolent lass. She sighed in irritation and slid her shades on her eyes.

She was regretting her decision to come here. An art gallery sure would have more action than this place! Besides, she really was curious as to her confused feelings about the girl, she was just too fond of her for no reason at all!

Wrapping her shawl tighter around herself, she tilted her hat. She opened her door when her Driver whisper shouted.

"Madam Lei, Please be seated!" Her hand froze and she shut her door at once.

Her eyes traced the perimeter to look for a sign of danger when her eyes caught Yu Youhan walking out of the building in all his brawny glory with his infamous poker stoic face. 

Her brows shot to her hairline about to shoot past them, she was astonished was an understatement and as if that wasn't enough Lu Xinyi came striding behind him with an attire screaming I-am-childish-and-just-got-off-bed.

And then the most obnoxious of things took place. The cold Ice Demon Yu Youhan turned to her, cupped her face, and gave her pecks on her cheeks and…smiled. He smiled! Yu Youhan the bastard KISSED and SMILED!

In the seven years, she had known she had never seen him smile! Damn it, she hadn't even seen an expression on his face! He almost looked human...

Her driver gasped too and she was simply too shocked to react. She had seen that man for years with a poker face that she almost believed he had Bell's Palsy on one side of his face and the other side was just his tasteless personality reflecting.

He was the most conceited, egotistical, officious, and stuck up person who had something crawl up his ass first in the morning 365 days a year. She really wanted to ask her driver to b*tch slap her so she was sure Li Yuan's mother didn't put something in her drink to make her batsh*t crazy!

But the Driver saw all this live circus too. She had reasons to assume that Lu Xinyi was just bluffing about Yu Youhan yesterday night but it looked freaking true!

Now she wanted to b*tch slap herself! The wicked things she could have made her do to that Ice King would but lost it all because of that Li Yuan who wouldn't stop sucking her face! Argghhh... How fun that could have been!

Lu Xinyi waved him Goodbye and he actually waved her back! What in the rabbit hole! 

After he left, Lu Xinyi looked around and spotted her car and ran excitedly to her car. Knocking on the tinted window she waited there with a goofy smile.

Lei Xinyi was about to open the door when her Driver placed the child lock in place. Her fierce eyes at once turned sharp and her hand stashed out her dagger...

The Driver craned his neck to her and stilled, almost at the end of wit's end looking at the dagger than the handler, "Madam Lei… I wanted to suggest that the woman seems an extra nuisance to associate with…"

"Opened the lock or I will cut you open!" She cut him off.

"Madam Lei, I…"

"Just open the door!"

"Yes, Madam!"

The Driver pursed his lips but obliged. She didn't need to be nice to anyone she didn't trust. They were all his loyal dogs and without a doubt, she knew as she was going to slid out of the seat, even her lip movement was going to be reported to him.

Stalkers weirdoes!

She opened the door and shut it behind her without regard to the disappointed Driver who had made a failed attempt at getting at their future Lady Boss good side. He was an SSS level enforcer and was restored to pick and drop service yet he wasn't given enough credit!

Lu Xinyi excitedly greeted her and held her hand taking her to her apartment.

The young woman was giving her a survey of the house and was rambling about how she had baked cookies for her but they were all eaten by Yu Youhan who had assumed it was for him. Bonkers! She had assumed he was cannibalistic and ate human flesh for breakfast!

She took her to her very detailed designed living room that was contrasted with red oak furniture with laminate Timber polished flooring, and then the big kitchen which had a joint dining area which was very thoughtfully made homely with a modern and traditional touch to it.

Then she took her to show her a small gym which looked untouched. She even a home mini theatre and a small library stocked with novels and historic books. Her studio or home office as she liked to call it, which was off-limit to even her assistant was the next thing in line.

Lu Xinyi saw the soft smile on her lips of appreciation at her designed home and art, and felt her heart swell. She didn't know why but she felt the constant need to be closer to her and an intense desperation to be liked and accepted by her. 

She could even feel when Yin Lin would be displeased like when she exited her car, without even looking at her expressions. With no knowledge of her heartstrings, she just knew that she could trust her with anything.

Tightening her hold on her hand she dragged her to her bedroom, so she could show her balcony garden! 

Lei Xinyi was piqued by her own sense of serenity. All her life she had been a trained paranoid but she was letting this look-a-like of her pull her everywhere.

She was too familiar with the girl but she was sure she had never met her before as she never forgot a face and especially she wouldn't have forgotten a face that was a mirror image of her own.

In her bedroom, she took a look at the cozy heaven and was impressed immensely. There was a hanging swing stocked up with white fur like her bed and floor rug. The bed was canopied with Santorini blue silk curtains with the false azure ceiling above filled with illuminating soft lights.

The floor below was laminated wooden floor like most of the condo with the exception of specific areas that were tiled. The diagonal wall was a rich azure with the other two adjacent walls in white with intricate silver filigree. The wall behind her bed was white with identical azure filigree.

In a corner, she had a big Vanity table and on one side there was a vast coffee table with a chaise sofa. She was still rambling about the place and dragging her to the Balcony when Lei Xinyi's eyes fell on the familiar photo frame on her on Lu Xinyi's nightstand.

She slid there in unhurried steps and reached for the picture, in the picture, Lu Xinyi was holding a rabbit and was sitting on the grass smiling at the camera with a megawatt smile that was jolting the whole picture to life.

The picture was too familiar, indeed too damn familiar! It was the same picture she had left a note behind for the Lu Girl before leaving when she was packing stuff!

Lu Xinyi saw her interest in the photo and started explaining the event in the photo, enthusiastically, "This is when I was eighteen, in our farmhouse. This, with me, is Mr. Oliver. The last time I went there he had three daughters and two sons. He was too popular with ladies before he settled with Madame Sydney. "

Lei Xinyi flipped the picture backward to look for the note but the back was plane she frowned and looked up at Lu Xinyi, "Where is the note?"

"The note? I fr…" She froze and her smile stripped off her face, "How do you know about the note that my doppelganger left for me behind the frame?!" She looked at her shocked and took a step backward as creepiness entered her spine.

Lei Xinyi made no efforts to reach or assure her, instead, repeated her question, "Where is the note?"

Shaken, Lu Xinyi blinked then pointed to the front wall with a little collage of photos and quotes.

There in the middle of all the cluster laid her messy handwritten letter, framed with glittery violet rhinestone.

'The Most Beautiful Of Wings Emerge, When One's Out Of His Cocoon!' 

She had said it about the girl she knew was capable of reaching enormous heights in her own constitution with just the way she was, but was too sheltered for the world to see how a beautiful mind was gone unappreciated for so long.

"I found it after my first week here when I had recently shifted. I was thinking of going back to the Family house because I felt like I was too… lonely. I had packed my duffle bag when I saw it." Lu Xinyi paused not trusting her words ahead but spoke anyway. "Then I found a reason to stay, I wanted to see the wings... the Note talked about."

Lei Xinyi listened as a smile kissed her lips without turning to face the girl. Unknowingly, she was too damn proud of her right now, and even more pleased that she was her strength in the days of despair.

Her heart rose with a question she needed an answer to, "Lu Xinyi," She scrunched her eyes and took a deep breath. It was inevitable but she was shielding her heart close from the heartbreak. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Without wasting even a beat she responded. And she wasn't lying, she really did trust her. She didn't really know why but she did. She just felt too close to her, like she loved her already. Not romantically but something equally competing.

Even the thought of not seeing her again was physical pain.

Lei Xinyi turned to her and held her eyes captive in hers, "But the better question is…" She took a pause and exhaled all that weighed her restrain, "Can I trust you?"

Lu Xinyi never felt weaker and with it stronger at the same moment. Without processing from her mind the words left her lips, "Yes."

Lei Xinyi smiled and threw off her shades and cap covering her face.