Kris spent the entire meeting looking at Xia and studying her movements. That was not an understatement. If the vineyard owner Tang Xia was pretty in a dainty way, Lawyer Tang Xia is absolutely captivating. He had always known that Xia had an aura of elegance around her; always acting and moving around with such grace and poise but seeing her in a new profession made her even more graceful and poised.

 

Throughout the entire meeting, Xia didn’t show any sign of recognition towards him. She flipped through files of papers, asked him necessary questions in her quiet voice before typing into the laptop in front of her, then she would talk with her colleagues. Kris was allowed to go a long time ago but he stubbornly remained with the excuse that he wanted to know what was going on but the truth was that he wanted to see her a little more.

 

Unlike her usual self at home where she chooses to wear dresses of different colour, Lawyer Xia was wearing a pencil skirt with a white shirt with a fluttery collar. Instead of her hair cascading down her back, she tied it up into a sleek chignon with two strands of hair beside her forehead each, which nicely framed her face.

 

Xia would lean slightly to Zitao’s side to speak softly to him with a gentle smile before the two of them broke out into suppressed giggles while they both worked on Kris’ case, her slender fingers flew across the keyboard as her eyebrows slightly frowned while typing up her document, and she ate her lunch in the meeting room with Zitao (and of course Kris) while the rest went out for a lunch break. She would occasionally reached for Zitao’s shoulder (Kris is not jealous, not at all) and placed her arm on his shoulder before discussing something about Kris' case. He initially thought it was to make him jealous but later he realised that it was a part of nature for her. Who was Kris to judge. He knew nothing about the friendship between her and Zitao. She didn’t speak to him more than necessary nor he tried to speak to her. All he did was observe the two while pretending to read numerous papers on his case file. When Xia laughed at Zitao’s joke with a familiar twinkling voice of hers until her eyes closed, Kris died a little inside. He was not jealous of Zitao, not at all. He was extremely jealous of Zitao.

 

“Well, Mr.Wu,” Xia announced after many hours of reading through papers, a few cups of tea and an exchange of informal talks, “We are done for today. Good work. See you soon in the next meeting.” She left the meeting room steadily with Zitao.

 

Kris followed the two of them hastily. “Xia, wait!” he called out, making the two stop mid-way and looked back at him. Zitao looked confused as he looked at Xia and Kris again and again.

 

“Zitao, can you please be an angel and send this file to the Senior Attorney Zhang?” she smiled as she gave a big file to Zitao. The tall guy smiled and nodded before disappearing into the elevator. “Mr.Wu?” Xia spoke to him after a few minutes of silence, “I thought you wanted to speak to me?”

 

Kris hastily walked over to her side and pressed a button on the wall for the elevator, “Xia, I don’t understand anymore. Why? How?” His questions were incoherent and didn’t make any sense but he hoped she would get him, as usual.

 

 

Xia smiled before answering, “Kris, you are not the only person with secrets.” Her answer was short and meaningful.

 

“But, Xia,” he spoke again as they both stepped into the elevator, “why didn’t you-”

 

“If I had told you before,” Xia cut him off abruptly, “would it have been better? Would it have been better for you, who was trying to hide?”

 

“I…” Kris was speechless.

 

Xia smiled again, “Kris, I am sure you will understand how there are times we do not want our professions to shadow on us. At home, I am not Lawyer Tang. I am the vineyard owner Tang Xia.”

 

“I never knew you were working on my case.”

 

“Hey, you, Kris Wu. I’m working on that mess of your case. Would you have liked that if I had told you that as soon as I got back home one day after I have been assigned to your case?” Xia struck back at him. He shook his head. “I know what I do, Kris Wu. I want to be a good host when I'm at home and a good lawyer when I'm at work.”

 

The elevator door opened and both of them stepped out. A flash lit up the hall and they both looked at the direction to see a group of reporters outside the building trying to get his picture. The corners of her lips lifted up into a smile, “Take care, Kris Wu. You are in a very critical point of your case. Watch before you leap.” She stretched out her hand for a handshake before she walked away from him.

 

“Miss Lawyer,” one of the reporters shouted for her name as she walked outside the building. Other reporters flocked around her. Even though Kris remained in the building and there was a layer of glass between him and the scene, he could clearly hear the noise from outside. “Are you working with Kris Wu? What is the current status? Can you comment on us? Will he acknowledge the baby?”

 

Xia flashed an apologetic smile at the reporters, “I’m so sorry. There is absolutely no comment on this matter.” She politely dealed with the reporters before slipping into her car and drove off.

 

~~~

 

“KRIS WU: THE REASON BEHIND THE FAMOUS ACTOR’S UNACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE POOR BABY”

 

Kris was reading the tabloid paper on himself in the meeting room as he waited for the legal team to appear. Each and every single word in the article managed to piss him off. They talked about how he was using his ex-girlfriend for personal pleasure without having any intention to marry while he already has a family in the countryside. They also dared to write about how his woman from the countryside must be some clueless poor soul. In addition to that, they also placed a picture of him and Xia, with their backs to the camera - a shot they had taken while Xia pulled him back into the house.

 

“ARRRGHH” Kris yelled and threw away the paper on the floor. A figure suddenly appeared beside him and crouched down to pick up the paper the he threw away.

 

It was Xia. She picked up the paper and read the headlines. Her eyebrows rose slightly as her eyes scanned the article. “Amusing,” she commented after finishing the article. “Mr.Wu, may I suggest you that you do not lose your temper like this when we appear in court for negotiation because it will put us at disadvantage if you do so.”

 

“Hello, Xia,” Zitao strutted in with his latest Armani suit, pressed to perfection, and his hair coiffed with pomade. “What’s so amusing?” Xia handed him the paper that she finished reading. Zitao read the article and scoffed, “Must have been some clueless countryside girl, who’s stupid enough to believe that a popstar is going to love her forever.”

 

Kris saw Xia's face darkened and her body freezing up as she settled into her space at the desk but it was a very short while. “Zitao, I also live at countryside.”

 

Zitao hastily tried to save himself, “It’s her.”

 

Kris tried to hide his smile upon realizing that Zitao doesn’t know Xia as well as him. It was a childish thing to be happy about but he was absolutely in rejoice.

 

~~~

 

“Aunty Zhao! What are you doing here?” Kris greeted the woman he had not seen for several weeks in glee as she met at at the lobby hall before going up to the meeting room to meet his legal team. The said woman smiled immediately upon seeing him and greeted him with a tight hug.

 

“It’s always so good to see you, boy,” she beamed, “I’m here with Xia. I needed to run some errands in the city and Xia said she had to come in for a meeting and here I am.”

Kris beamed, completely overwhelmed with what he just saw and who he met. Then he remembered, “Aunty Zhao, are you free? Let’s go somewhere and catch up.” Aunty Zhao reminded him that he needed to attend a meeting with Xia, who was already waiting outside. Kris smiled, called up his manager to attend the meeting on behalf of him and hung up.

 

He took her to a cafe, wanting to ask her so many questions that he did not have the answer for. “Aunty Zhao, how and why is Xia a lawyer? I’m really confused.”

 

Aunty Zhao laughed, “You think you’re the only one with secrets,” she took a sip from the tea up in front of her. Kris thought how they both looked alike and had same way of responding to things. “Xia, she had always been a lawyer, that is her passion. She is very competitive, you know, and very meticulous.”

 

“Then why is she in the vineyard almost everyday? I don’t think I’ve seen her go anywhere and I’ve only seen her in proper suits for a few times while i was there.”

 

“Well,” Aunty Zhao sighed, “it is a long story.”

 

“I have the entire day.”

 

The old woman smiled, “Well, you probably already know about Xia’s mom and dad, don’t you?” Kris nodded. “Xia’s dad suffered a lot from the marriage. He never had the chance to go out in the public, holding his wife’s hands because her success depended on him. When Xia’s mom passed, he regretted it, a lot. That led him to want to live with the family as much as he could. So, Xia’s dad built his entire life in the countryside. He bought vineyards and made wine, because she liked it. He also brought up Xia by himself, with a little help from me, of course. I’m his close cousin.”

 

Aunty Zhao’s eyes panned from him to the cup, “Her dad brought her up fine. Xia is smart, exceptionally so. She’s also like her mother, very sharp and is quite charismatic. Naturally, she wanted to pursue a career in law because it’s something she was good at. That was when her father and Xia clashed. They had a row because her father wanted her to take over the vineyards since he spent a lifetime building it.” The old woman stopped speaking and heaved a sigh.

 

“And then?”

 

“Then, Xia left the house because she just couldn’t talk her father into it. She left the house to enter a law firm in the city, the one that she’s now working at. She’s smart so she climbed up the rank. She became an associate at the young age. However, her father and herself don’t speak to each other again.”

 

 

“Then...how is Xia working here at the vineyard?”

 

“Her father became gravely ill. He wanted to see her because he wanted to apologize to her that he had been so strict to her. Xia didn’t make it to see her father before his last breath. She blamed herself, for being someone so stubborn and so obsessed with career to a point that she ignored her own father.”

 

Kris’ heart dropped. He didn’t realize that the girl actually lived such a life, “Aunty Zhao, I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s okay. So, Xia told the law firm that she wanted to quit but they wanted her to be on board so they kept her there and she works remotely on the cases she is assigned to," Aunty Zhao laughed, "She's also very expensive to hire. Not everyone can hire her. Other than that, she works full time at the vineyard. She says it helps her relax and brings her closer to her deceased father.”

 

“Ah,” Kris exclaimed, not knowing what to do now that he knew almost everything about Xia. He felt like he had invaded into someone’s life without permission from that person.

 

“Do you know why Xia pursued specialisation on celebrities?”

 

Kris shook his head.

 

“She wanted to get closer to the world her mother lived. She didn't remember any since she was such a young baby so I think she wanted to know how her mother lived her life. Xia's parents both suffered because of her mother’s status and she works hard when it comes to celebrities and make sure that they don’t get affected in terms of popularity if the celebrity is not at fault.”

 

Kris smiled weakly as he imagined the girl frowning at a pile of papers in the meeting room.

 

~~~

 

“What does the other party want?” Xia asked his manager.

 

“Money. Lots and lots of money,” his manager answered shortly.

 

Xia heaved a sigh and walked to and fro in front of a white board. She had scribbled a lot on things on the board, dates, people places. Kris was actually annoyed and pissed off at the fact that the case had been taking that long.

 

 

“You know, Miss Tang,” he called. He had adopted to call Xia as Miss Tang to create a distance between professional. Xia looked at him, with a slight frown. “Money is okay. We can just give her the money.”

 

Kris could swore that he saw Xia rolling her eyes for the first time ever in his life, “If it was to happen like that, Mister Wu,” she spoke sternly, “why would I even be here? You should have just sent your representatives to her and throw them with money. This is the reputation that we’re speaking about here. Do you know how you are currently dominating weekly sales in tabloids?”

 

“No.”

 

Xia gave him an annoyed look and pushed a pile of tabloids towards him, “Well, if they want a boost in sale for the week, all they have to do is to put your name and create something absurd and people will bite on it.”

 

Kris sighed. After his stint as a peaceful gardener, that was all he could think about - living a happy and peaceful life.

 

“We need something to prove to the judge that you are not the father, and personally I can’t wait until the baby is out for a paternity test because the flame is gone and the industry is so competitive that there are so many actors who will happily try to overtake you.”

 

“But that’s not the problem, is it?” Kris asked. Xia sounded so serious and corporate that it scared him a little. Sometimes, Lawyer Xia can be so different from the Vineyard girl.

 

“It is not your problem but your company’s problem,” she sighed exasperatedly, as if she couldn’t talk him into things. “All I need is a lead. Something to crush her story and prove that it is false.”

 

Zitao’s arm reached out and grabbed her arm. “Xia, stop worrying so much. It’ll work out. Calm down. We’ll find a lead.”

 

“Well, I know that she had another boyfriend while she was dating me.” Xia turned her head so suddenly that Kris thought it might step. She motioned at him to continue. “I have a feeling that the child is his. Not mine. I know that I always practiced,” Kris felt his face getting hotter and he also saw Xia reddening a little. “Safe,” he coughed, “methods to avoid mishaps.”

 

Xia put her head in between her palm as she stared at the wood pattern in front of her eyes. “Zitao, can you still get in touch with that private detective that you told me about?”

 

“Yeah,” Zitao smiled fondly at her. Kris tried really hard to ignore the eyes he looks at Xia.

 

“Can you please put in a call for me? I don’t think it’ll be fair if we play cleanly. We need to play dirty,” she grinned, her face akin to that of a Cheshire cat that Kris was a little scared.

 

He could swear that Lawyer Xia is just so different from the Vineyard girl.

 

~~~

[Author's monologue:] I got a bit too excited over the influx of comments that I had to finish up this chapter quickly.