Something Beautiful and Wicked

0Shi Ailin had spent her evenings sneaking in and out of Luo Wanting's house. She saw him after work, when they both weren't busy, as it was far more convenient than meeting during the day.     0

She was careful not to run into his family, mostly because she wouldn't be able to handle the confrontation of why she was there. She had met his parents before, but she was introduced as Luo Tian's girlfriend, and now she had been visiting his older brother in his suite, in secret. To those who didn't know Shi Ailin well enough, they would assume her intentions were sly and lecherous. After all, the Luo family was up to par with the Yuan's, and many rich daughters wanted the last two available Luo sons. But Shi Ailin didn't care; a Luo wasn't on her to-court list, not again.     

Shi Ailin and Luo Wanting spent some evenings discussing the possibilities of where her parents really had been that night. Other evenings, they had ordered take out, watching movies or having casual conversations. Shi Ailin didn't have many friends, and she figured that Luo Wanting never had much company around, so they formed an unlikely friendship together.     

One night, Luo Wanting told her to meet him at a bar, instead of the house. She wore something that was neither too modest nor too flashy. She wanted to blend in, not stand out.     

Shi Ailin entered the bar, wearing an olive-green dress, topping it with a tight black leather jacket. She could see Luo Wanting sitting on a bar stool, swirling a drink in his hand. He was wearing tight-fitted black pants with a grey dress shirt that outlined his powerful frame. His silver-kissed hair tousled over his eyes as he looked down at his drink.     

Shi Ailin approached him, her black heels clicking on the floorboards. Luo Wanting glanced at her, narrowly at first, until his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Shi Ailin reddened. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked shyly.     

He looked at her up and down once before composing himself. He swallowed as he looked away. "You look good," he said, downing the rest of his drink. Shi Ailin sat on the right stool next to him, the chair further away from the front entrance.       

"What are we doing here?" she questioned.     

Luo Wanting looked at her with his grey-green eyes before he scanned the entire bar. "Have a look."     

Shi Ailin turned her head slightly, surveying people. Guests were sitting in tables with groups. They all had stark tattoos on their necks, shoulders, and powerful muscled arms, including the women. Most of them were scorpions.     

Shi Ailin turned back around, her heart thumping from both fear and excitement.     

"Does anyone here know who you are?" she questioned, whispering low.     

He smiled against the rim of his glass. "Only you, princess."     

Shi Ailin flushed, but she willed herself not to show it. "That still doesn't explain why we're here."     

Luo Wanting then signalled the bartender, and a beautiful dark-haired woman appeared with the scorpion tatted on her neck, along with skulls and flowers on her slightly exposed chest.     

"Would you like a drink?" Luo Wanting asked her.     

Shi Ailin figured she could ask for water, but instead, she went for something else. "A lemon drop, please."     

The female bartender then prepared and served her drink. Shi Ailin took a sip, wincing at the taste of vodka. But she, nonetheless, finished it quickly, while Luo Wanting watched her.     

He then said, "We're here to meet someone that might have some information about your parents. He will be here soon."     

Shi Ailin gawked at him. Her heart leapt, mostly because they kept reaching dead ends, and they weren't getting any closer to solving it. And she was even more surprised by the lengths he was going for her. But she supposed it was payment for her services when he was mortally injured.     

Noticing her silence, Luo Wanting said, "I've meant to ask you something. You mentioned that you and your sister were oblivious to any of your father's work. Have you ever been suspicious?"     

Shi Ailin shook her head. "He was a busy man, so I assumed he stayed up late in his office. My mother stayed home most nights, but she would be called to him for assistance, which I assumed was about work, too."     

Luo Wanting nodded. "I felt the same way with my father. He kept it secret, of course, from his own sons until we turned of age. He passed the role down to me when I was sixteen."     

"Sixteen?" She questioned appalled.     

Luo Wanting chuckled slightly. "At least he waited a couple of years. He was fourteen when he inherited."     

"But you were a child," she countered.     

Luo Wanting shrugged. "Our society doesn't care about those standards. But if I were to have a child, then I wouldn't do that to him or her."     

Shi Ailin felt like reaching out. She felt like holding his hand. Luo Wanting was forced to grow up so fast, without the proper support of a friend or a family member that didn't force him to adapt to a cruel world.     

She slowly placed her hand on his, squeezing slightly. Shi Ailin was going to refrain herself from providing him with some comfort, but she couldn't help it. Luo Wanting was opening up to her, and she felt like the more she pushed him away, the more he would be distant, closed up.     

It surprised him. Luo Wanting flipped his palm, twining their fingers together, causing her to blush. She didn't want to—no, she couldn't like him.     

"I have another question," he asked.     

Breaking from her daze, she answered softly, "Go ahead."     

"What do you think of me? You told me to ask you again another time since the first."     

Shi Ailin looked at him. She had known him better since. She felt like she understood him more than she understood herself. She knew what his food preferences were, what his interests and goals are. She knew that he cares for people, but he does well to protect them by hiding it. She understood that he wasn't anything like his father, who shuts people out. Luo Wanting may have had a cruel upbringing, but he still craved for affection, for a connection with someone. He also brought her to the bar with him when he didn't have to. He wasn't trying to shield her or keep her locked away from knowing how the harsh world works as her father did for years.      

She took a deep breath. "I think you're warm and considerate, despite your icy appearance. I think you're perceptive and attentive and caring when you want to be." Her heart began race. "I think you're a good and honest person who sees the best in people."     

Luo Wanting's expression turned sincere. He leaned forward, and Shi Ailin found herself not pulling away, not resisting. "I'm your brother's ex-girlfriend," she reminded him.      

"You dated for two weeks," he said. "I hardly think that counts."      

Her lips curved into a smile. "I suppose that's true," she replied. "But I was still very hurt by it."      

"I would never hurt you," he responded earnestly.      

Shi Ailin believed him. His mouth hovered over hers when someone slipped to the stool on the left of him. Luo Wanting turned around immediately, alarmed and on guard.