Something Beautiful And Wicked

In the evening, Shi Yen was nose-deep in her work when she heard a knock on the door. She muttered a 'come in,' and Yuan Shun had stalked in, giving her the reports she requested. 

"Ah, thank you," she told him. 

So cold, Yuan Shun thought. His wife treats him professionally now more than ever, and it was if he was nothing more to her at all. 

"Where's your brother? I asked him to get these for me," she inquired. 

"I came in his stead. He asked to leave early." 

Shi Yen regarded him for a moment, and then she said, "All right. That's all I needed. You may go now." 

So cruel! He thought. 

…

Wu Genji had returned home after a long and dreadful day. She fumbled with the keys, opening the door wide. She was welcomed with an empty silence, grateful that she had some time to herself before Yuan Ning arrived. That overbearing bastard, she thought.

She went to wash up and change after leaving her phone to charge, and when she finished, a message from an acquaintance popped up on her synced laptop. 

She went to read it, and her acquaintance asked her to tag along with her for the night. Attached was an address toward a vibrant nightclub. Wu Genji was too much in a foul mood to go, but after the day she had, she needed to relieve herself. 

Wu Genji then tossed her towel aside, dressing into a sheer black dress. She exchanged the studs of her piercings for hoops. She then placed black eyeliner on her lower and upper lids. She tousled her parted hair over to one side, covering half her face. She then finished with perfume and black heels, and she headed over to the nightclub on her own.

Wu Genji called for a cab, which took her toward the address, and she was immediately let inside. 

A woman from her former university class welcomed her with wide, open arms. "Genji! You've made it!" Mingxia said as she wrapped her arms around her tightly. Wu Genji ignored the subtle pain on her torso as she chuckled subtly against her friend's shoulder. 

"Sorry," she replied. "I've been busy with work." And with the Underworld, her family drama, and the loathsome Yuan Ning, she thought. 

Her phone buzzed, and she checked to see a few missed calls flash on her screen from the devil himself. She then shut her phone off, ignoring him. 

"Genji. I want to introduce you to a few people," Mingxia said, ushering her towards a private booth. Wu Genji followed her, introducing herself to a woman and two men she's never seen before. 

They offered her drinks, and though hesitant, Wu Genji accepted it. She had been off her pain medication for a few days, and she figured it was about time to relieve herself from the hassle she's been through. 

Five drinks in, Wu Genji was on the dance floor, giving absolutely no f.u.c.ks about the world around her. Her face was flushed; her sheer dress clung onto her body. She allowed the music to drown out what had been on her mind, and the beams of light floated around her vision. In the middle of her dazed stupor, she stopped, feeling as if she was watching an illusion. 

From the other side, a handsome man stalked toward her, cutting in between the festive dancers and frisky guests. His expression was hard and displeased with her. The man paused in front of her, and he was dressed in a crisp, Italian-grey suit. 

His expression was aloof, edged with cruel stoicism and a hint of despair. He looked at her with his angular russet eyes on the verge of losing his patience, but all Wu Genji could think about was watching the sweep of his long dark lashes brushing against his cheek. And she had an overwhelming d.e.s.i.r.e to trace the elegant fairness of his fine-boned, handsome face. But he looked angry. Why was he mad at her?

He closed in on her, and her breath caught. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

He was annoyed. Why was this handsome man annoyed with her? They've never met before. 

He pulled her against him, and he checked her eyes carefully. "Have you been drugged?" he asked her. 

Drugged? She thought. No. No. She couldn't be. 

"I can't be drugged," she slurred slightly. 

Her friend stepped to her side, pushing the handsome man away. "Hey, step away from her!" She said. 

No, Wu Genji thought. She felt safer, somehow, when he was near. 

"Who are you?" The man asked Mingxia. 

"Her friend," she answered. "And she's with me." 

"Some responsible friend you are," he countered. "Why has she been drugged and left alone?"

"Relax," she replied. "I wanted her to lighten up. She looked so tense. Besides, she's having fun." 

Wu Genji felt like crying, but she forbade herself from doing so. She wouldn't cry in front of so many people. Not ever. 

The man clenched his fists. "I'm taking her home," he said. 

"Who the heck are you?" Mingxia asked. 

The man didn't seem to have a response. "That's none of your business, but she goes with me." 

Mingxia turned to face her. "Do you know this man?"

Wu Genji felt like she did, but her mind was too foggy to tell. "Yes," she answered. It was reckless of her to say, but she didn't trust Mingxia. Why would she do that to her? She wanted to get away. 

The man tucked her against him, helping her walk away from her acquaintance. When they left the club, she blinked and blinked, and was starting to get a better look at him. She then pushed him away. "Mr. Yuan?" she shouted. 

He scowled at her. "Oh, look. You're finally back to being yourself, Miss Wu," he said bitterly. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked. 

"You left your laptop on, and it directed me here." 

She crossed her arms, stumbling and wasted as they walked. "That doesn't explain why you're here?"

His left eye twitched. "Because I was afraid you'd do something reckless." 

"I don't need you controlling me!" She shouted. 

He paused, his eyes narrowing. "I came to join you, to supervise," he said. "But seeing as how you were drugged out of your mind, and unattended, I thought to take you home instead." 

"Drugged? I've been drugged?"

"Yes. I just said that. Are you all right?"

Her heart started beating quickly, and her c.h.e.s.t had gone shallow of breath. She was panicking. "No. No. I can't be," she said, losing her composure. 

Yuan Ning steadied her. "What's wrong?" 

"Just take me home," she said. 

"I've parked not far from here," he replied, guiding her toward the car. Inside, she tried to calm down. Yuan Ning took her to the apartment, and inside she ran to the bathroom, and she threw up from shaking nerves. 

After washing her mouth and flushing down her dinner, Wu Genji stepped out, and Yuan Ning was leaning against a wall. "I want to check your stitches," he told her.

Wu Genji nodded. She stepped inside her bedroom, and she pulled her sheer dress over her body, and he glanced away. She then pulled a pair of night shorts on. The stitches had already begun to dissolve, but she realized that she had put too much pressure on them. She accidentally ripped a few, and they bled. 

"I'm ready," she told him. 

Yuan Ning turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw the blood. His expression then softened as he left to get some water, bandages, and ointment. 

Wu Genji laid on her bed as she stared at the ceiling, and when Yuan Ning returned, he took his time cleaning and bandaging her up. He didn't ask why she had gone, what had been bothering her, and though he had no obligation, it made her feel more alone. 

"You need to be more careful," he finally said. "We should get you checked up. You are not supposed to be drinking while you're on pain medication."

"I stopped taking those," she told him. 

He narrowed his eyes, nearly scolding her with his gaze. "Why would you do that?"

She shrugged. "Because I didn't want to take them," she said, running a palm down her face. "And now I'm f.u.c.k.e.d." 

"How so?"

"I'm supposed to have a meeting with social services in the morning." 

Yuan Ning raised a brow, surprised that she was complying with his questions. "Who do you have to see?"

She then began to cry, and it took him back. "Did—did I say something wrong?" He asked. 

She looked at him with weeping, sorrowful eyes. Yuan Ning didn't know what to do. He reached out to push her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. At that, it seemed to have calmed her down, and she stopped crying altogether. Her eyes had also fought to stay open.