CHAPTER 3: Warmth

When Gui greeted the early morning, the flashbacks from yesterday was still fresh in her mind but no matter what happens, the past is the past and it should stay there. So to put everything behind her, she needs to regain that confidence and face him instead of sleeping it off like yesterday. If she continue to shut herself away, her 6 months together with him will turn into her life-long nightmare.

So without any hesitation, she walked out of the room to find him in the a room that read—WU YING JIE.

“WHAT THE HEECK!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY–”

While Gui was busy pounding on the door, she forgot to listen carefully to the sound of the water running. So forgetting to check what he was doing in her room, she found herself taken back when he opened the door to reveal his nice-toned abs that Gui thought could be seen on T.V.

“AHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHERE’S YOUR SHIRT?!” Gui screamed as she turned around to shut her eyelids tight. “I DIDN’T SEE ANTHING!”

“You were in my room.”

“YEAH, I FELL SLEEP! WHERE’S YOUR SUITCASE? Y-YOUR SUITCASE THAT HAS ALL YOUR CLOTHES IN! FIND YOUR SUITCASE AND PUT A SHIRT ON!”

Gui felt him walk past her and after a moment of silence, he called out. “You can open your eyes now.”

And she did. She opened them only to find him opening his suitcase and in an instant, everything in the suitcase could be seen, including his undergarments. “LIAR! YOU ARE SUCH A LIAR!” Gui continue to scream as she turn around and close her eyes once again.

While she did, Aaron observed her from head to toe. Aaron has excellent memory so when he sees something or reads something, it will stay in his mind.

As he stare at her from head to toe, he remembered the over-sized sweater that she wore in the picture he searched online. To his surprise, the over-sized sweater is now replaced with a cute spring dress, the dorky glasses that was in every picture is gone and her hair is left down so either the web is misleading or this girl is playing him.

 And he did not like being played.

“Either way, this is my room and that room across from me is yours. See the names on the door? That’s your room and this is mine.”

Gui saw the sign that had her name on it.

“I see you got dressed up, that’s good. Anyways, we have company coming over since our parents told them to hold a house-warming party here. But no matter how I see it, it’s a waste of time.” Aaron exclaimed as he ran his hands through his pile of clothes.

“I did not get ‘dressed up,’ I forgot some things back home that I forgot to pack so I will be expecting my next bag soon.”

Gui glanced over to him, taking this moment to observe him from head to toe. Now that they were both looking at each other in broad daylight, he was handsome. But handsome men comes with package and with everything that happened with Li Quan, she does not want to repeat the past so she will have to be careful not to follow her footsteps.

She was ready to leave the room for him to unpack but for a split second, her actions were replaced by his sudden actions when he grabbed her wrist, turn her around to face him. Using his free hand, he lift her chin up so that their eyes could meet.

“W–W–WHAT A–ARE Y–YOU–”

“Are you playing with me right now? Who are you?”

Aaron had been curious all along. Why was her picture so much different from reality? He can understand if she changed her wardrobe but with the pictures the internet gave him, it was completely opposite of what she looks like. Is this really the person he is engaged to?

“W–Wu Y–Ying Jie. I am Wu Ying J–Jie.”

“Then explain to me, how come your different from your pictures?”

“Pictures? What picture?”

“I did my research before coming here. The pictures on the web show me a dorky nerdy girl while this girl in front of me is... the complete opposite. So which is it? Are you really the same person or are you here acting as a replacement for her? I know I am good-looking and all but there is no need to go to extreme and replace her, all you have to do is say so. Are you here for the money? Being rich has its advantages so tell me, what are you getting out of this?”

Gui wanted to push him away but his strength was stronger than hers. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I have been played before and if you are here to play me, then I suggest we get a head start right now.”

Gui’s eyes widen as her back hit the soft bed and Aaron threw the shirt off his body. “Is this what you’re after?” Gui was about to slap him but a thought hit her, why is she hitting him? Did he do something wrong? Truth is, he did nothing wrong. Well, at least not yet.

In the end, there was no reason to hit him or do anything to him that could set them further apart. Their families were close so she can’t break that fine line. Even if their son is a heart breaker, there is nothing she could do to fix that.

 If it’s one thing Gui could do best, it was her ability to hold her emotions in and re-adjust herself to any given situation, like this for an example.

“I am Wu Ying Jie, my father is banker while my mother is a fashion designer for Vi. If you want me to get scared and run off, good luck with that. I am here to stay for 6 months and that is what I need to do. Once the 6 months are up, we are both free to go.”

Gui place her hand on top of his chest, where his heart lies. “I don’t like arrange marriages and I do not like being with a stranger but whatever, we are going to be together for 6 months. The least I could do is understand that person but you are making it hard for me to understand you when you jump into conclusions like that. So during the 6 months, we can choose to be friends or we can be strangers. We do not have to get along but we have to respect each other.”

For once in Aaron’s life, no one has talked that way to him. He has been through a couple of arrange meetings with girls who are from influential families but he was never the one who has ever interests in any of them. His parents would always arrange a meeting for him to meet the girls and he always got out of all of them, except for one.

Nonetheless, there was something about this girl that was beginning to intrigue him. She wasn’t pretty nor was she gorgeous enough to be a model but she was cute. And above all else, she doesn’t want to enter in an relationship with him and that is exactly what he wanted. He did not want a girl, why have one when you can have more than one? One is an odd number and it isn’t his style to have only one girl.

To keep it simple, he does not want or need a relationship.

However, if wants a one-night stand with him, he could change it from a want to a need. But the only problem was that she was from an influential family and being the daughter from a influential family was a big, fat NO in his book.

Girls from well-known families have package and they are hard to please.

She did not want to go through this arrange marriage and he agrees. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be friends with each other, if they can be friends for the 6 months, then they will have nothing to worry about.

“We can be friends during the 6 months, I don’t mind.” Aaron exclaimed as he felt her hands slip off his chest.

“I know guys like you anyways so I guarantee I won’t fall for you.” And that’s when their eyes met.

“My mom told me to stay away from guys like you and I didn’t listen to her. I wanted to prove her wrong by going against her words but in the end, I was the one who got hurt. I learned a valuable lesson.” Gui paused for a moment as they stare at each other. “ It wasn’t till recently that I have learned my lesson so please do not do anything that can change my decision. My dad and grandpa are two strong-minded men in the family so the least I can do is obey them and go through this ridiculous arrange meeting for 6 months. I don’t know about you but I know where I stand. When these 6 months are over, this whole fiasco will be just another unsuccessful arrange marriage about two people who don’t suit one another. We are too different for each other to be called a couple don’t you think?”

A hesitation, a silent pause, a moment in time was all it took for them to let their situation sink in. She wanted confirmation while he wanted distance.

Both of them didn’t want this arrange marriage to go further than it already ha