Imperfect Desires

Although Xin Zimen's face looked indifferent, his back had stiffened. Su Feifei fixed her glasses, meticulously studying the changes in his expressions.

His finger tapped against the desk as he said, "At the beginning, it was undoubtedly her name but now it's different."

"How is it different? Or should I say, how is she different?"

Xin Zimen's eyes lowered as he replied, "She is a very dangerous person."

"Dangerous?" Su Feifei's brows knotted together. "She looks pretty innocuous to me."

"And that's exactly her biggest strength," said Xin Zimen knowingly. "She has the power to make you feel very happy and very sad at the very same time. That's a pretty terrifying ability."

Su Feifei didn't understand his meaning as she asked, "Are you serious? I honestly think she is too simple. Except for her charming smile and beautiful face, I don't see anything peculiar about her."

He shook his head at her saying, "She once tole Ying, 'Sometimes you gotta play the fool to fool the fool who thinks they are fooling you.'" Su Feifei's brows quirked up as he went on, "Don't let her fool you, although I can't blame you even if you fall for her act."

"Act?"

"That little lass is pretty good at fooling people. Even at such a young age, she is so good at veneer. She makes people think that she's wearing her emotions on her sleeves but in reality, she keeps everything so deeply concealed within her that you won't find a single flaw."

"She is intriguing, is that why you're so invested in this?"

Xin Zimen shook his head, "Not really. Whenever I meet her, she makes me want to protect that smile of hers. Somehow, it feels like she has to fight an internal battle to put that smile on. And I don't want her to lose that battle. I genuinely want to protect that smile of hers."

He stood up and leaned against a window before he lit up a cigarette.

"Brother-in-law, if you're so interested in her. Why are you scared of her?"

Xin Zimen took a puff before blowing out white smoke rings. "You think I'm scared of her?"

"You are. Earlier, you didn't even dare to touch her."

He sighed out, "I'm indeed scared. Since I genuinely want to protect her, I can't forget that I had never been able to protect the people I cared about. What if I get close to touch her and she vanished?" Su Feifei's eyes widened in shock. "Everyone I got close to eventually vanished."

Su Feifei wanted to pinch his arm but his muscles didn't allow her to harm him. It only felt like an ant was trying to sting. He looked at her with amusement. Since she couldn't do this, she ended up punching his arm saying, "You're really clung on that? After all those years?! I can't believe it!"

"You won't understand it, Feifei."

"Whenever it comes to this, you always say I won't understand. Why does everyone think I won't understand? I'm not that dopey! I'm a highly skilled and intelligent person or I wouldn't be a Director at this age. Don't doubt my intelligence all the time."

"Feifei, have you ever felt the fear of losing something?"

Su Feifei was stumped for words. She was blatantly arguing over a lost fight. Of course, she couldn't understand his feelings. It was beyond her. After all, she was still clueless about why her precious niece would waste so many years loving a single man? Wasn't that a waste of time and feelings? 

As if Xin Zimen had read her thoughts, he poked her head saying, "This is why you're still alone at this age."

Su Feifei was displeased as she argued back, "Brother-in-law, I'm not single because I'm witless. I'm single because I don't want to be in a relationship. It takes a lot of emotional energy that I can't bother to waste on understanding and compromising with another person. These kinds of emotions are unproductive and devastating at times."

"I don't know what else you learned from your Sister Ai but you definitely learned how to always talk back."

Su Feifei was proudly standing as she said, "Actually, what I learned from my Sister Ai is to never back down! Even if it's a lost fight, one can't give up until the very end!"

*Thump!*

Before Xin Zimen could say anything to her, they both heard a muffled thump and whipped their head around. 

"Ah! Aiyo! My back!" Xiu was lying on the Egyptian rug as she had fallen from the couch in her sleep. She was rubbing her back as she sat up and leaned against the side of the couch. Looking up, she squinted her eyes trying to figure out where she was.

Xin Zimen was the first one to run to her side as he asked in concern, "Are you alright?"

The smell of tobacco brought her senses back and Xiu frowned. Without even thinking, she snatched the cigarette from his hand and crushed it on the coffee table saying, "That's not good for health."

Xin Zimen rubbed his forehead, "Silly! I'm asking you whether you're okay or not?"

Xiu looked like she was about to cry as she said, "I just fell down. Do you think I'm okay?"

"Let's get you a doctor then," suggested Xin Zimen hurriedly and Xiu held his hand to stop him.

Laughing awkwardly, she said, "There is no need for that. Doctors are so busy saving lives, we shouldn't disturb them over such a minor thing. This rug is a life savor. I definitely didn't get hurt. But I think the poor rug got crushed under my weight."

Xin Zimen found her reaction quite adorable right now. She was just trying to avoid seeing a doctor and it was written all over her face. He helped her in getting up from the floor as Su Feifei walked closer to her saying, "Little girl, I'm honestly impressed. How can you be bold enough to stub Xin Zimen's cigarette? Aren't you scared of him at all?"

Xiu's face scrunched up, "What's there to be scared of? Ah-Xin has the most gentle eyes. Why would I be scared of him?"