1 Year Of Beginning

The dinner was scheduled a few days after they sent the invitation. Feng Mian spent her days finishing her painting and continued with the next one. There was no work from the company and she hadn't gotten more commissions even though Zhang Liang had already helped her to set up the page properly. She also spent her time in the dining room to learn the etiquette, which Butler Lou taught her strictly.

The two of them barely had any time to talk with one another. Zhang Liang was so busy with his work to the point that Feng Mian even wondered whether he slept or not. She did wake up when his alarm rang, but then slept again because she was still so sleepy.

Ring! Ring!

"Uhm," Feng Mian muttered as she stirred in her sleep.

"Sleep again," Zhang Liang's hoarse voice interrupted her train of thoughts. He had turned off the alarm and looked at the woman before him. He stretched out his hand and petted her head carefully.

"Brother Liang?"

"The dinner is tonight. I'll finish work early and then we'll go together."

Feng Mian's brain was still in the process of waking up. She only heard the word dinner and went together.

"En."

Zhang Liang chuckled when he saw Feng Mian drifted back to sleep. His eyes landed on the pillow that separated the two of them. He could only stretch his hand to reach her for now. Other things could wait until he was certain of himself.

Feng Mian continued to sleep for a few more hours. She woke up when it was nine and then prepared herself. Of course, her day was spent painting as usual.

After the fishes yesterday, Feng Mian began to draw her life after her brother left her. This time, the one she drew was a bee, who was flying to the flower after exiting its nest. She had never drawn bees before, so she searched for references and tried to make it lifelike.

However, she changed the shade on the eyes. The eyes were darker, showing tiredness from the constant work.

Around the bees were several other insects such as cricket, butterfly, and many others. They were all playing around on the field happily, without paying much attention to the lonely and busy bee at the very middle.

"Your skill has improved."

"Brother Liang?" Feng Mian swore to herself that she would have jumped if only she was not worried about hitting her painting's material. Looking to the back, she noticed Zhang Liang leaned on the wall behind him. He was staring straight to Feng Mian with his dark eyes and curled lips.

"It's already evening. If you don't prepare soon, you're going to be late."

"Ah! I'll go take a bath!" Feng Mian put the brush and hurried out of the room. Since Zhang Liang was here, she passed the key to him, giving him instruction to lock the door.

"Please lock the door for me."

Zhang Liang played with the key and looked at the painting Feng Mian had started to make. She had just begun to color the field, but he could already see what she wanted to convey. After reading through the research about her, he knew how her life was. Since she told Butler Lou that she wanted to draw her life, he could guess that this must be her life after her brother left.

His eyes locked onto the bee in the very middle. "A very busy bee when other insects are happily playing around, huh?"

He lifted his finger and touched the canvas paper where the bee was. She hadn't colored it yet, so it was merely a pencil sketch. His touch was so gentle and slow as if he was worried that even a slight tough might destroy the paper.

"In a way, we're indeed very similar."

Zhang Liang turned his body away and walked to the door. He locked it per Feng Mian's instruction and left the key on the table in the bedroom. Afterwards, he proceeded to take out his laptop and reviewed the doc.u.ments Secretary He had sent to him for the meetings.

"I'm finished. You can take a bath now," Feng Mian said, interrupting Zhang Liang.

Lifting his head, Zhang Liang could see that Feng Mian was only wearing a bathrobe. She would change her clothes in the other room since she always did that. However, this sight made Zhang Liang's throat dry. He felt that he truly needed to drink, a lot at that.

"Sure."

Feng Mian took her clothes and changed while Zhang Liang had gone to the bathroom to take a bath. He truly wondered whether he would be able to restrain his d.e.s.i.r.e if this continued.

'Wait and see first…'

Zhang Xue lectured him for several days through the phone. He was forced to multitask because his brother wouldn't let him off if he didn't listen. Attraction can occur when he shows interest in other people. However, he shouldn't immediately act because if it was just a short term interest, the end result wouldn't be pretty.

However, it didn't mean that he needed to ponder all day long like a philosopher. He just needed to make sure that his attraction didn't only occur because of a whim, but rather genuine feelings that he would want to last until the end of his life.

Of course, Zhang Liang often ended up cutting off the call. He knew that Zhang Xue was lectured that way by their father before, so his brother wanted to take revenge on him by letting him listen to the lecture.

Zhang Liang wouldn't let him do as he wished.

"Oh, you look pretty today, Madam," Butler Lou praised when he saw Feng Mian walking out of the room. She was wearing a long white dress with her hair tied up neatly. Since she was incapable of anything fancy, she just tied half and the other half was let loose. There was also a beautiful flower hairpin that she used at the back of her head.

As for her makeup, she went for something simple and hid the black circle under her eyes.

"Thank you, Butler Lou."

"Has Master finished his bath?"

"I think no?" Feng Mian looked to the room in confusion. Now that Butler Lou mentioned it, Zhang Liang took a much longer time in the bathroom today. Usually, he would be very quick.

Butler Lou was even more confused. He knew that the twins served in the military for a period of time thanks to Zhang Yi meddling. Because of that, they have long gotten used to preparing themselves in the shortest time possible. At times, he even wondered how those two managed to maintain their habit even after they were out.

"I'm done."

Zhang Liang walked out of the room. He had dressed in a neat shirt while he dried his hair. As for his suit, it was hanging on the closet before him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you," Feng Mian apologized.

"It's fine."

He came out when she was walking towards the door then wore his clothes as fast as possible. As for why he waited for so long, it was simply because he forgot to take his clothes with him when he took a bath. He couldn't change inside, so he had to wait until Feng Mian moved from her place as he didn't wish to scare her.

"Let's go."

"Ok."

Mr. Yu was already ready. He took the two of them to the location of the dining place with a limousine. Feng Mian was nervous when she saw the glamorous women around them. With just a glance, she was sure that each of them came from important and rich families.

She was completely incomparable to them.

"Be at ease," Zhang Liang said and grabbed Feng Mian's hand. He c.a.r.e.s.sed it lightly. "Just be yourself and be confident. You're Madam Zhang."

"En."

Feng Mian waited until the car stopped and Zhang Liang came out. When the guests saw Zhang Liang, their eyes lit up. Many people here knew who he was, so they were not surprised. However, some still didn't know that they would be partnered with Zhang Liang in the project.

A hand appeared before her and Feng Mian didn't hesitate to take it. She had become familiar with Zhang Liang's hand because he often offered to hold her when she got out. Even if she can get out without his help, she still accepted it out of politeness.

"Don't mind them."

Zhang Liang's words made Feng Mian noticed that there were many people who looked at her in surprise and curiosity. In the party before, Zhang Liang had brought her, but he didn't let her stay too long in the center of attention. She didn't even participate in the dinner.

Many still didn't know how she looked like at all.

"En."

Feng Mian only replied curtly. She was nervous, yet she still managed to pay attention to her steps. As they entered the hall, she was surprised by the magnificence of it. It seemed that they had certainly picked an expensive place to be their dinner's location.

"Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, please come over here."