Mister Li, the Heart Bandit

Li Shaoling was regretting even as he took a seat.

He really shouldn’t have brought Ji Weixi here to be ogled at by so many men.

That did not sit well with him.

He really wanted to lock her in a room so that she wouldn’t leave for life, allowing him alone to enjoy her.

Meanwhile, Ji Weixi was looking at him with sparkling eyes.

“You told me that there’s a promotion of Alice’s work. Is that true?”

His Adam’s apple rolled a bit as he grunted an affirmative.

“Great!” Ji Weixi put her eyes together as she smiled in exceeding dazzle.

He could not peel his eyes off.

She was very much a goddess who descended upon the mortal realm.

Still, he would never have brought her to such a place if he did not know that she liked Alice the most.

That said, seeing that smile made this worth it.

“A-choo—”

Ji Weixi sneezed quietly then. She was having a sniffle and some mucus had dripped.

That was when the lights slowly darkened, and in seconds, multi-colored illuminated the scene.

But Ji Weixi sneezed again, tears welling on her eyes as her vision blurred.

That was when someone held her shoulder, with a warm palm pressing her head on a firm shoulder.

“Take a nap.”

“Wake me when Alice’s work is being presented.” Ji Weixi grunted nasally.

“Okay.”

As her eyelids grew heavier, she closed her eyes.

She was breathing evenly, and Li Shaoling looked down on her.

The lights illuminated her porcelain whiteness, throwing a faint shadow of her brows over her eyelids.

Her lips were slightly parted invitingly.

He kept her tightly wrapped in her arms, and suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze precisely finding a man sitting nearby and peeking at them.

Looking a little upset then, he turned and gently kissed Ji Weixi’s lips.

When he looked up again, his dispassionate face exuded the dominance of ownership.

The man promptly withdrew his gaze regretfully.

Suddenly, Li Shaoling found despite the fact that Ji Weixi was being coveted by the other men, she was his.

And they had even done the deed.

His lips curled slightly in a smile as his mood greatly improved.

***

Ji Weixi had never slept soundly in noisy, crowded places, and yet her nap this time around was especially nice.

She felt that Li Shaoling’s body was very warm, and she could not help shrinking into his embrace.

His eyes softened then, and he took off his jacket, putting it over her.

He touched her forehead.

It was not actually hot.

Then why was it so cold in the middle of summer?

After who-knows-how-long, Ji Weixi hazily heard the MC say, “Please put your hands together for the famous pianist…”

The pianist was named Su something—she did not catch the last part.

She woke up from her nap then, her eyes slowly opening as she sat upright, and her entire body was sore.

As Li Shaoling’s coat slipped off her narrow shoulders and a faint sweet scent lingered over her, Ji Weixi was left stunned for a moment and she could not help turning to look.

Li Shaoling’s eyes were closed; he looked asleep.

He looked so much more tender like that, resembling a boy-next-door without his usual temper.

Then, she heard the piano playing. She turned again, looking towards the source by reflex.

Beneath a cluster of warm lights at the center of the stage, a man dressed in a white shirt and a black tie was playing a black-and-white piano, seated with his back upright.

He had a melancholic face beneath his loose silver hair, and neither his eyes nor his brows could conceal his worries.

His cold, pale-white lips were puckered gently, making him look the part of a brooding prince.

His long, narrow fingers crisscrossed over the black and white keys masterfully. The tune poured like rain from the clouds between his fingers, unleashing music as melodious as the sounds of nature.

It was a calm, mild tune, but the man’s face placed a sad side to it.

He was infectious, and there was that lingering feeling that he was a man who chose a living as a pianist after the love of his life died.

When Ji Weixi looked at his face from the screen, her eyes promptly widened.

He was the man who almost crashed into her on Mo Bin’s funeral.

Him!

He’s a pianist?

Ji Weixi’s thoughts were unwittingly pulled towards him.

Then, the tune ended.

The hall was dead silent, and Ji Weixi actually felt that her eyes had became dewy.

The man stood up slowly and bowed with the air of a gentleman, and the hall erupted into a thunderous applause immediately.

Li Shaoling was jolted awake and frowned, considerably upset.

He then turned to find the woman beside him staring at the man without blinking.

His eyes narrowed and he forcefully pulled her towards him.

“Look at me.”

Startled, Ji Weixi quickly smiled. “You’re awake.”

He smiled coldly in return. “What? Was I bothering you checking out another man?”

“No, I’m merely appreciating the tune he played.” Ji Weixi nonchalantly replied. “Right, do you know his name?”

Li Shaoling’s gaze turned even colder. “Last name Boy, first name Pretty.”

Pretty boy.

Speechless, Ji Weixi retorted inwardly that the man was a pianist, not some pretty boy.

She then saw that everyone else had got on their feet and were heading outside.

“Eh? Why is everyone leaving?”

“It’s over, of course?”

Ji Weixi glared at him. “Weren’t you supposed to wake me up when they display Alice’s work?!”

LI Shaoling picked up his tailcoat and looked at her with his red eyes. “I fell asleep.”

He even declared that so boldly!

Li Shaoling then started walking, turning to find a couple paces later that she was still standing at the same spot.

“You’re not leaving?” He frowned.

She felt disappointed and angry, but she did not dare to vent, and so simply lifted her skirt and brushed past him.

However, he caught her waist. “Are you angry?”

Ji Weixi kept a long face and ignored him.

He was such a pig!

He promised to wake her up when it was Alice’s promotion. There’s no credibility to be had with this one. Love is lost!

“Being angry is not good for the health.” Li Shaoling caressed her hair as if grooming it.

She slapped his hand away indignantly and left alone.

‘This woman is so cute when she throws a tantrum,’ Li Shaoling thought then.

***

It was raining outside. As she stood at the main entrance, Ji Weixi shivered in cold, holding herself and her thin clothing.

Li Shaoling handed her his coat, but she quickly stuffed it back at him. “I’m not cold.”

“Say that again?” His eyes looked dangerous.

She turned away from him, pulling a long face.

She knew he would try to browbeat her with that frightening look.

He really must have thought that she was scared through the course of her life.

That said, she was annoyed at herself too.

She loved Alice the most and that was the reason she would come to this promotional, but she actually fell asleep.

From that perspective, didn’t she leave Li Shaoling aggrieved too?

Just as she was about to take his coat, she found that he had already turned and left, striding with a wide pace and very determinedly.

JI Weixi was a little troubled then. What was he doing? Was he going to drive his car here or going straight home?

Her mind turned into a mess at that very thought.

A dull thunder cracked overhead while lightning tore through the horizons. The rain splattered, splashing on her shoes.

She hid inside, both hands rubbing her arms, whereas chills crept over her back and she shuddered.

Thud!

The sound of a rhythmic set of footsteps approached, echoing in the corridor.

Ji Weixi turned towards it nonchalantly before her gaze locked on the person.

It was the pianist.

The dull weather especially matched his sickly white face, and he was holding a fist over his mouth to muffle his coughs.

“Cough—cough—”

It did not sound serious, but he would be left panting with each cough.

It seems that his body was quite weak, and even Ji Weixi’s beautiful brows wrinkled in distress.

Suddenly, the man paused and looked up, and their eyes met.