The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel“s Disguise

Ru nudged Xiao Zhiren’s arm with her elbow saying, "Look over there..."

However, Xiao Zhiren didn’t bother shifting his gaze at all. He continued trying to sneak his hand inside her huge wings bucket but how could Ru let that happen. Even though her eyes were still on the person at the stage, she knew of Xiao Zhiren’s every move. And that’s why when his hand sneaked in to steal HER food, she swatted it away like an annoying fly.

"I’m asking you to look at the stage. Why are you trying to steal my food?" Ru chided him in a loud voice which seemed hushed in between the loud cheering crowd.

"I am looking." Xiao Zhiren replied feeling wronged.

"Idiot! Look at what’s important." She again tried to direct his attention toward the stage but he was being stubborn.

"I am looking at what’s important." His answered irked her.

She whipped her head to glare at him and found him looking straight back at her with a gentle smile. That... Stunned her for a second before she composed herself with a cough.

"I don’t like liars. How are you looking at what’s important? You have been just looking at me all this time." He didn’t look the slightest bit embarrassed.

"Aiyo!" Xiao Zhiren pinched her nose saying, "When you are the most important to me than how am I lying?"

Even Ru was stumped for words as his meaning cleared up in her mind. She was important to him than looking at her was also important. What logic! Shameless son of a bachelor!

Ru really didn’t know whether to praise him for twisting his words so well or beat the hell out of him for trying to play the word game with her. This level of sophistry was really unheard of. Even for someone like her who usually was genius at this herself.

Her temper suddenly flared up as she growled at him hatefully.

"I don’t want to play this game with you." She managed to grit out in anger and continued, "Look there... That guy in the cap and the mask looks like your brother."

Xiao Zhiren didn’t act stubborn again and looked towards the stage where the two teams were shaking hands now. He could see in the black and red uniform of ’Misfits’, the person she called his ’brother’. Sharp eyes! Really sharp eyes! He mused.

"Oh, really? Does he really look like my brother?" Xiao Zhiren was still acting clueless as if he knew nothing.

"Oi! Don’t try to play with me! I can recognize him very well." Ru was getting close to exploding. All this chattering around her was enough of a headache for her. And now, this Xiao Zhiren was also testing her again.

Xiao Zhiren propped his face on his fist as he looked at her and said in a sad tone, "Aye... It’s so sad that you can even recognize my brother in a mask but still can’t see my love for you."

Ru’s hands slowly curled into fists as her mouth twitched. "Xiao. Zhi. Ren." She enunciated each word with extreme pressure. "Look into my eyes and tell me, can you see my will to strangle you?"

Xiao Zhiren straightened up immediately as if he had received a royal decree which couldn’t be ignored or delayed for a second. He intently looked into her eyes feeling dazed and somehow, with his eyes boring into hers, Ru felt the ignited flame in her own eyes extinguishing like it never existed. Both of them didn’t look away as if lost in each other.

Even the match had already started but both didn’t know and neither did they care at all. The world around really felt silent.

And Ru felt like she was transported to a different era...

A beautiful white wisteria vine pathway and two pair of eyes gazing at each other with an unconditional and unconcealable love brimming in those pairs. The faces were hazy in her memory but she still managed to hear a pleasant voice asking, "Look into my eyes, can you tell how angry I am?"

"Nah!" This feminine voice struck a chord in Ru as it felt really familiar. "All I see is the world’s most beautiful pair of eyes."

"I don’t see it." Xiao Zhiren’s voice broke her daze as she blinked in confusion as what happened. What did she just see?

She darted her eyes around to find herself still in that noisy arena but that flash of memory? What was that? Was it something she forgot in those two years? But that beautiful place wasn’t like any other. It looked ethereal as if it didn’t even belong to this era.

Still, in her daze, she looked back at Xiao Zhiren and asked, "What do you see then?"

Xiao Zhiren lifted his hand to brush her hair away from her eyes and said, "I see the world’s most beautiful pair of eyes."

His words dumbfounded Ru. She sat frozen still in her seat not being able to comprehend this strange occurrence. How could the words in her hallucination and reality overlap? The only difference was the voices.

Ru felt like her mind was going crazy as she leaned back in her chair and didn’t even bother with the food that was calling out to her. She knew she was different from an early age and she even called herself crazy plenty of times but how could she explain this strange hallucination. Oddly, it reminded her of the dream she had last night.

What the hell is wrong with me?! Ru wanted to bellow but couldn’t do so.

Seeing her face changing shades so spontaneously, Xiao Zhiren thought that his words made her upset with him. Obviously, he couldn’t let that happen. So, he tried to strike up a conversation again.

"My little chili, you didn’t prove your words yet." Xiao Zhiren tugged at her jacket and as she finally looked at him, he continued, "I have two brothers, which one do you think is playing the match?"

Ru stayed quiet for so long that even Xiao Zhiren felt like giving up. Finally, she voiced out, "Zhi, do you really believe that I won’t throw you off to the stage from our seats?"

Although her words were aligned with her personality, her aura and voice didn’t match up. It bugged Xiao Zhiren seeing her in such a dispirited state.

"Just like you threw my poor brother out of your apartment?"

"He told you that?" Ru asked while lifting her brow.

"Don’t you know? Ji Syaoran is known as the blabbermouth of our family. He can’t keep his lips sealed. No matter what you do." Ru found a strange gentleness and love in Xiao Zhiren’s voice as he talked about his brother.

Ru had already recognized Ji Syaoran the moment he walked on the stage. Even though he looked a different person in that team uniform. But as Ru previously told him, there are plenty of ways to recognize a person. And Ru wasn’t one who depended on a face to recognize someone.

"This is why he said, his fingers are precious." Ru nodded her head as she remembered how Ji Syaoran hid his hand behind himself in fear that she might really break his hands.

"He had always been careful when it came to his hands. According to him, his fingers are priceless treasures." Xiao Zhiren shook his head as he quoted Ji Syaoran in amusement.

Recalling something, Ru slapped his arm, "Oi! Who are you calling a poor brother? That brother of yours called me a gay."

Xiao Zhiren stifled his laughter with utmost effort and said, "He called me gay as well. Also, gave me his blessings. How touching! But I’m not overreacting like you."

"Your business is your business. My business is obviously mine. And I did feel offended!" Ru snapped back at him while staring at the huge screen where she could see those animated figures embroiled in a battle.

To be honest, she could understand nothing. Not at all. Although she could see those figures fighting off, she felt no passion in her. Her face was like saying, ’I can do better than that in real life.’ She really wasn’t impressed with this match.

"This is boring." She remarked and noticed that a person beside her had been awfully silent all this while. When Ru looked at him, he looked dazed as if in deep thought. Ru waved her hand before his eyes, "Where are you lost?"

"I was wondering..." Xiao Zhiren spoke softly.

"What?" Ru urged him to speak.

Right at this moment, the announcer spoke with great enthusiasm, "As the last Mage of ’Immortals’ had fallen. It concludes ’Misfits’ to be the fourth time Champion of Legends."

Ru was trying to focus on the scene when she felt a warm breath on the side of her face again. She turned and found Xiao Zhiren inches away from her own face.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously.

"When will yours and mine... business will become ours?"