The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

"I heard you made a new friend, today," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to inquire impertinently while acting nonchalant about it.

Xiao Zhi-Yuan gave his brother who was busy in arranging the food on plates, a look. "Your minions are quite effective when it comes to reporting about me." His tone was quite ironic.

Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat awkwardly before placing the Salisbury Steak on the table. Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately stretched out his hand to take the steak when Xiao Zhi-Ren smacked his hand making him withdraw it back with a scowl. "Let me bring all the food, first!" Xiao Zhi-Ren spoke sternly before bringing the rest of his home-cooked dishes to the table.

Since he grew up alone, he developed a liking for cooking and he always experimented with different recipes. That’s why right now, there were Chicken Fajitas, Dumplings, and Chicken Noodle Soup served on the table. He took off the apron and sat beside Xiao Zhi-Yuan.

"Now, can we start?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked impatiently and seeing his brother nod, he instantly dug into the food with fervor.

Seeing Xiao Zhi-Yuan eating with such delight, Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled in satisfaction. It was quite bizarre but this was his whole world. His life! Just him and his younger brother.

"Won’t you tell me something about your new friend?" Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned as he cut his steak in pieces before taking a bite.

"Mmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan tilted his face a bit in a thoughtful manner. "What should I say about Oniisan?"

Xiao Zhi-Ren’s eyes widened. "Oniisan?" His voice was penetrating making Xiao Zhi-Yuan a bit uncomfortable. "I thought I was the only brother for you!" He really didn’t like this feeling of sharing his younger brother with another person.

"Big Bear! Now, you’re overreacting for no reason." Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied in a modulated tone. "And you know Oniisan as well. He’s the one who saved me the other night."

Realization dawned on Xiao Zhi-Ren’s face as he calmed down a bit. "Oh, he’s the one!"

"Yup! He’s the one." Xiao Zhi-Yuan’s face brightened up unusually making Xiao Zhi-Ren feel strange for some reason.

"What do you even know about him that you made him your ’Oniisan’?" Xiao Zhi-Ren air-quoted as he spoke with his unveiled jealousy.

"Nothing much. I just know that Oniisan is amazing. Just like you!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan spoke with an expression that was as bright as a button.

"You actually bothered to search about Knight Empire’s chairman but didn’t even look into the person whom you just befriended?" Xiao Zhi-Ren knew that his younger brother kept his friends to a minimum number because he was very cautious with people. It was like his younger brother couldn’t trust anyone in his life except for him.

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"Friendship is made with heart, not with the mind. It doesn’t need logic, it just needs a connection." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised to hear such mature thoughts coming from his 17 years old brother.

He smiled lopsidedly as he tousled Xiao Zhi-Yuan’s hair saying, "I’m glad that you’ve grown up." Xiao Zhi-Yuan swatted his brother’s hand away with an irritated look.

"You know I don’t like it," Xiao Zhi-Ren obviously knew that his brother hated it when someone messed with his hair but it never stopped him from messing with him.

As they ate the rest of the dinner in silence, Xiao Zhi-Yuan was in his own thoughts stealing glances at his brother’s face. ’Sorry, bro! But I can’t tell you the complete reason for this friendship. Although there is a connection that I can feel with Oniisan, there is something else as well.’

With these thoughts, his mind wandered off to the night in the club when he was hiding under the table. It was a pure coincidence that when the five people clad in black entered the club in all their glory, one of them dropped something on the floor. And when he leaned down to pick it up, Xiao Zhi-Yuan noticed a tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo was all too familiar to Xiao Zhi-Yuan, it was a ’black flame’; the symbol that was associated with Knight Empires.

After much contemplation, Xiao Zhi-Yuan came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence that the Black Mist squad had only five people and the people before him, were also only five in number. He figured that the green-eyed man was somehow related to Lord Alev Knight. Obviously, he didn’t think about the possibility of Ru actually being Lord Alev Knight since he was under the impression that a formidable person like Mr. Knight would definitely not come to a small bar to do the job himself.

Therefore, he only kept the thought that Ru was somehow linked with Knight Empires and nothing else. Although he did all his research because of Ru, he didn’t befriend her for this purpose. As he had told his brother, this was a connection he couldn’t possibly explain in words.

’Fate had played,

And a connection was made.

It was a matter of the heart,

That the mind couldn’t pull apart.’

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ru was having a staring competition with Wu Dishi.

"You’re telling me to wear that," she pointed at the silver tailor-made suit in Wu Dishi’s hand with contempt. "Does this lord look like he’s gonna wear that thing?"

"Master, it’s just a suit." Wu Dishi managed to say under his master’s deadly eyes. He hated that look. And he also hated the fact that those green eyes were beyond beautiful and yet so... So wicked? He shook his head to avoid these thoughts afraid that the master before him might be able to read his mind after all, ’he’ was capable of doing anything.

"What color is it?" Ru asked keeping a poker-face.

Wu Dishi frowned at the question but still answered politely, "It’s in silver color." He was uncertain and why was that? Even he couldn’t tell himself.

"And have you ever seen this lord wear silver color?" Ru questioned as she reclined back in the leather single seat sofa and overlapped her long legs elegantly.

"Erm... No!" Wu Dishi answered while his mind was thinking, ’But then again, I haven’t seen you wear any other color then black and gray.’

"Go and kick the bucket![1] I’m not going anywhere in that silver suit. Bring it in black!" Her voice was still low since she didn’t have the habit of raising her voice in anger. If anything, her voice always became more pleasant when she was fuming with rage.

Tonight was a charity auction and Ru was going to attend that particular event for two reasons; one, she had a knack for charity and that too for hungry and orphan children. Perhaps, it became a part of her since she was aware of how it felt like to be hungry and alone. Her second reason was the highlight of the auction; a painting by the artist known as ’Casse Amoureux’.

Her family clan had a habit of collecting antique stuff and from what Ru saw in her years of growing up, the mere antique pieces were enough to shake the entire country. That’s where she developed a habit of collecting antique or unique stuff for herself.

This particular painting wasn’t antique, but it was surely unique. What made it unique was the fact that it was the last painting by the artist.

Wu Dishi efficiently arranged for a black suit in ten minutes and presented it to his master who only gave a single word in appreciation and that was, "Adequate!" Wu Dishi could only shake his head at the lack of words and that too of appreciation.

Wu Dishi was lost when Ru came out in that complete black suit. Even the shirt underneath was black. Wu Dishi already called his master a Greek god with exquisite facial contours but tonight, his master was exuding the aura of a fallen angel.

Ru’s tall figure in a black suit was not just fabulous or eloquent, it was dazzling with a sense of maturity exuding from her solemn face. The fact that Ru had mixed-breed features with her high cheekbones and golden brown skin mixed with those round deep-set eyes made her already very eye-catching for people. But today, the suit was adding another charm to her personality.

"Master, you forgot to wear the tie," Wu Dishi reminded her after getting over the fact that his master was beyond comparison.

Ru gave him a look that said, ’Have you lost your mind?’ "This lord is surely not going to wear that. You should be glad that I even bothered wearing this suit. Which by the way, is completely unnecessary."

"Master, I think you should wear the tie as well since you’ve already done so much like wearing a ’suit’," Wu Dishi had the urge to be sarcastic about it but he still managed to speak normally.

"Oi! I said I’m not wearing that tie at all. I’ve never understood the meaning behind it anyway. And wearing it around my neck would make me feel like a dog with a leash. And I’m certainly not a dog! It’d be an insult to the dog." Wu Dishi was stunned at his spot.

’Did he just made himself sound worse than a dog?’ Wu Dishi couldn’t believe what he heard.

As if answering his question, Ru said, "Dogs are loyal, friendly, and playful. Most importantly, they listen to humans. I have none of those good qualities. That’s why comparing a dog with myself would be an insult for the dogs."

Wu Dishi had nothing to say about this weird logic since he was the person who knew that no-one could be more loyal than his own master but he didn’t have the courage to speak up.

[1] "Kick the bucket": To die.