The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel“s Disguise

"Give me some vodka and gin. Brandy isn’t doing me any good."

Adrian heard Ru’s voice and frowned, finding it rather different than he was remembered. But then again, the person was a mystery for him even after eight years. If Ru can change her appearance so well, how couldn’t she change her voice?

Not being able to hold back himself, Adrian took a backward step and said, "Knight, are you really heartbroken or something?"

Ru passed him a deathly glare along with a low and threatening growl escaping from her throat involuntarily which really scared Adrian and made him run for his life. Literally.

Adrian might not know Ru very well but he knew one thing; she wasn’t fond of alcohol. So, if something really managed to make her drink like this then it really wasn’t a simple thing anymore.

He ascended the spiral staircase of the restaurant and walked up to the private room where Xiao Zhiren was waiting for him already. "Hey, chap! You really came." Adrian seemed surprised when he gave him a bro hug which Xiao Zhiren knew was an act of him being dramatic as always.

"Now, you’re hurting my feelings." Xiao Zhiren replied with a pained look as if Adrian’s little trust in him had really hurt some cords of his heart. They both chuckled along with each other before taking the seat opposite of each other. "Took you quite a while to get your royal ass here."

The moment Xiao Zhiren said ’royal ass’ Adrian’s mind wandered off to the most hateful person in his life who loves addressing him as ’royal arse’. Bloody! Why is he comparing his best friend with that hateful person? Perhaps because I just had the misfortune of seeing him downstairs. Adrian shook his head while Xiao Zhiren kept staring at him oddly.

"Earth to Adrian!" Xiao Zhiren waved his hand before Adrian’s face to wake him up from his daydreaming session. And when Adrian jolted awake, he added, "Where are you lost? I didn’t think my question was this difficult."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Sorry, Zoran! My mind just went to a bothersome, hateful guy I had the misfortune to encounter here."

Before Xiao Zhiren could question him, the waiter came to take their orders. Both Adrian and Xiao Zhiren choose a couple of dishes and a bottle of wine to go with it.

"What brought you to China?" Xiao Zhiren questioned forgetting all about Adrian’s earlier comment.

"Something... Personal." Adrian answered ambiguously.

"That’s very vague of you."

Adrian gave a small smile before his eyes wandered off towards the bar counter downstairs where Ru was seated. He seemed in deep thought even now.

"So, tell me something about my future sister-in-law. What is she like? Where is she from? Who is she? Etcetera. Etcetera." Adrian shifted the topic and saw the way Xiao Zhiren’s face suddenly blossomed like a flower which made Adrian’s curiosity to shoot up a notch.

Even though Adrian knew Xiao Zhiren all through college till now, there was still a lot about him that was unknown to Adrian. For instance, Xiao Zhiren’s resistance towards women. He was guarding his chastity like a monk. And at one point Adrian even teased him with, "Hey lad, are you gay or planning on becoming a monk?"

Obviously, he was beaten black and blue by Xiao Zhiren that night. But still, it confirmed one thing for Adrian that neither he was gay nor he was a monk. But then who he was waiting for?

With a content smile on his face, Xiao Zhiren swirled the red liquid in his sparkling glass and said, "How should I describe her? She’s beautiful. But then again calling her beautiful is not even justified. You can say she’s the kind of beauty that can delight one’s eyes and flutter one’s heart along with shaking one’s soul." Adrian arched his brow at him as he took a sip of the wine and listened to Xiao Zhiren. "She’s a wise woman. A wise and brilliant woman actually. That makes her an understanding person. She’s unreasonable but over very unresonable things."

"Beauty and brains? Lad, that’s a lethal combination." Adrian remarked with amusement and a bit amazement. Amused to know that someone actually made those words come out of Xiao Zhiren’s mouth and amazed to see how much love there was in Xiao Zhiren’s eyes and voice for her.

"Lethal combination? She’s quite lethal herself. My bombshell." Xiao Zhiren chuckled lightly thinking about the times he had been hit by Ru. Boy, the way she liked using her hands was deadly but then again it was better being under the knife of her physical assault than being at the other end of her verbal assault. "But do you know what’s her true beauty is?"

Adrian frowned a bit and stayed quiet waiting for him to continue since he knew Xiao Zhiren really wasn’t looking for an answer from him.

"Her true beauty lies in her beautiful eyes. Those eyes show the reflection of her pure heart and soul." ’Considering how dark her soul is, there is definitely no impurity there.’ He didn’t say the last words out. "But even after saying all of these, I can assure you that I can’t describe her. At least, not in words."

"Woah! You’re whipped!" Adrian said with a horrified look on his face. He was really intrigued to meet this girl who made his best friend look like a lovesick fool.

Xiao Zhiren heaved a long sigh at his words as he said, "I know I’m whipped. Abso-bloody-lutely whipped. But I can’t help it. The more I look at her the more I find her familiar. As if we share a connection. I can’t possibly tell you what I felt when I first saw her all those years ago."

"What did you feel?" Adrian asked straightening up in his seat.

"Heartache." Adrian’s eyes opened wide at his reply.

"Are you serious?" He questioned incredulously.

"I know you think I’m crazy but trust me that’s exactly what I felt. It was a strange pain that surged through my heart to all my body."

"Then why did you fall for her?"

"Because along with that mysterious pain came a gush of warmth and happiness. The moment I looked into her eyes, the familiarity of her gaze made my heart skip a beat involuntarily. And the way my heart skipped a beat made me think I found what I had been missing all this time."

Adrian emptied the content of his glass in one go. Xiao Zhiren’s strange words were making him dizzy even before he had some food in his system. It was already hard enough for him to understand Ru and now, his own best friend was speaking a mysterious language.

"You’re taking in riddles again. Just like him." Adrian pointed out a bit moodily.

"Him? Who?" Xiao Zhiren asked knitting his brows together.

"Alev Bloody Knight!" Adrian spat out bitterly.

"What reminded you of Mr. Knight?"

"He’s sitting downstairs. Drinking like a bloody boozer and it’s getting on my nerve. He’s really giving me a headache." Adrian looked pissed off for some reason and it made Xiao Zhiren laugh a little.

"Adrian, the way you’re talking is making me feel like you’re worried for Mr. Knight." Xiao Zhiren said in a knowing way making Adrian scrunch up his face in displeasure.

"Blimey! No bloody way!" Well, he didn’t sound too convincing to Xiao Zhiren or to himself. And as Xiao Zhiren gave him a pointed look, he deflated like a balloon before saying, "I’m not worried. It’s just... I have never really seen him this restless before. I always wanted to be the one to get on his nerve to shake his strong persona. But someone else managed to do it before me. As for whom? I have no clue."

"Someone managed to shake Lord Alev Knight? That’s a shocker!" Xiao Zhiren said with an honest surprise in his expressions. "But if he’s using booze to get over it. It could be the result of a lover’s quarrel."

"Lover’s quarrel? Hahaha!" Adrian burst out laughing at Xiao Zhiren’s implication. He clutched his stomach and couldn’t help laughing even more. "Who would dare to love that stone wall? Wait, if someone really did... Oh boy! That person really is misfortunate in this life."

"You know because of your own personal agenda. You make Alev Knight sound like a big bad wolf out to shred people in pieces before eating them alive."

"If someone one day really told me that he’s a big bad wolf, trust me, I won’t hesitate at all before believing that person." Xiao Zhiren shook his head at him while Adrian pointed at something downstairs through the glass window saying, "Look at that chap. He is the devil’s reincarnation himself. There is no doubt at all."

Surprisingly, Xiao Zhiren also went close to the window and looked at where he was pointing before his eyes widened in surprise or shock.