Uncomfortable
Uncomfortable
He was often neutral, and he didn't show anything except cool detachment. He was changing, but it was just as hard to figure him out as before. There was no telling what he thought.
It was evening, so Wu Genji went to the casino to work a shift. It was one of her father's investments, but while he was out of the city, as usual, for work, she took over the business. It was better than working with her bastard father in a city where she didn't know anyone. He treated her more like a chess piece than a daughter.
But Wu Genji liked the lively and bustling atmosphere of people gambling, sipping cocktails, and the thrill of winning or accepting a loss. Most of the time, she had watched. She made sure not to stand out, but every guest knew who she was. It wasn't hard to remember a well-dressed blue-haired woman with amber eyes, as some people had told her. A lot of the regulars had said they missed her while she was recovering. Wu Genji lied and said she had gone on a vacation. A terrible vacation it had been, she thought. She almost died, survived, and she was brought back to proper health with the help of a broody yet painfully handsome man who didn't trust her intentions. However, he had a good reason not to. She confided in him about her nephew, but that was all she shared with him when she kept so much hidden.
Her mind jumped from monitoring the casino to thinking of Yuan Ning, and his perfect jaw, his cropped dark hair, his heated gaze from the night at the factory, which made her taken aback. After what he had experienced with his fiancée, she didn't think he would ever look at a woman that way again, let alone her. But it was brief, and it went as fast as it came, and it meant nothing to him but lust.
To keep her mind elsewhere, she circled the lobby, managing her staff, muttering commands, trying not to have Yuan Ning occupy her thoughts. But that fact that he last spoke to her bluntly instead of his usual unfazed-ness made her believe that she needed to find a way to keep their partnership balanced. After all, they were partners, and she needed to gain his trust.
One of her staff, a cocktail waitress, had approached her breathlessly. "Miss Wu, some extraordinary guests arrived this evening. Wealthy businessmen came here for some leisure and to partake in negotiations."
Wu Genji didn't ask how the waitress knew why they were there because she had assigned her to be her eyes and ears when her head was turned. Wu Genji was suitable for the underworld by gathering information that would be useful to them in some way, and she had little spies to help her.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"One of the private rooms," the cocktail waitress replied. She looked at Wu Genji grimly.
"What is it?" Wu Genji asked.
"Well. They are waiting to be served, and the other staff don't want to wait their table." She implied that she was included in the group as well.
Wu Genji furrowed her brows, crossing her arms. "Why ever not?"
"They're intimidating," the cocktail waitress said. "Not all of us are as brave as you. All I do is carry a tray, hardly being seen, overhearing conversations." She stepped closer. "And Mr. Yuan Ning is in their company." The woman shivered before she added, "I heard he killed his wife and child. Rumour is, he didn't have an accident. He ran away and disappeared. He comes from the Yuan family. They're frightening and rich. They could get away with anything."
Impatiently Wu Genji took the tray from the woman's hand and said, "I asked you to overhear information, facts. Not rumours or speculations. That is not the type of man he is," she told her.
The waitress was left stunned as Wu Genji walked away.
Wu Genji went to the bar, filling the glasses of drinks before she stalked toward the private room. She took a deep breath before entering. It was dim-lit, the room thick with cigar smoke and the smell of hard liquor and cologne wafted to her nose.
She understood why her staff members were afraid to come. There were many high-profile men in the room, all with money and power to conquer and destroy, but she was untouchable. She was their equal, and some of them knew that. They gave her appreciative glances; a whistle sounded from one end of the table. Some crude comments about her body were exchanged, but Wu Genji smiled, not because she wanted to please them, but because they were her best customers; she wanted to be polite despite their animalistic behaviour.
Her eyes glided over to Yuan Ning, who looked surprised to see her. He stared at her with aloofness and awareness before his eyes lowered, paying his attention back to playing cards.
She served drinks to the men, and one of them said, "Miss, why don't you join us?"
Wu Genji smiled sweetly, feeling uncomfortable. "Oh, I couldn't. I am working, so I'm rather occupied, but thank you."
They laughed. "You own the place, don't you? I'm sure you answer to no one, and therefore, you wouldn't be missed."
Persistent, she thought. "I suppose an hour will not harm anyone. That's all I can offer."
Some chairs shifted, accommodating her a space to sit between players.
Without looking up, Yuan Ning said with a commanding tone, "If any of you touch the lady, so much as a brush, you'll be answering to me." He then put the cards down, knowing they'd have to start the game again.
Wu Genji stiffened, not because his voice was sharp and cutthroat, but because she was surprised.
The men went rigid. It seemed that the twisted rumours spread, and Yuan Ning was most likely painted as a cold-hearted and ruthless man who committed uxoricide in their eyes. Some parts of her heart twisted and ached. She didn't know much about him, but she had seen him in the coldest and most painful depths, and he was rather gentle to people he cared about. But she'd be a fool not to admit that they were right about his cruel and unforgiving side. When she first met him, he was a sullen and grieving man, and she had thought that Shi Ma was crazy for recruiting him as the Emperor, but he proved himself to be strong and capable during their missions.
Now, he sat at the other end of the table, not paying attention to her. The guests gave her space, and she relaxed, able to play with them on a few rounds. She had some wins and losses, and she felt the thrill of competition. She was up against good players, the best she'd seen in a while.
Wu Genji ended up staying with them for the night, and she had called for cars to pick up her wealthy guests. Yuan Ning had stuck around until he was the last to leave.
Before he left, Wu Genji stopped him.
He paused, turning his head sharply, his mouth downturned in the shape of a frown.
"Em, thank you," she told him with great effort. She rarely thanked anyone for anything.
His expression softened only a tiny fraction. "You didn't want to be there, why?" he asked.
Her lips parted slightly. "I…"
"Tell me," he said. "How often are you assaulted?"
"Not often," she said. "I avoid it, save for the occasional gropes and cops people steal."
Yuan Ning palmed his face. "And you don't shame them for it?"
She shook her head. "I understand that as a woman, I shouldn't smile and let it go. I should defend myself. But you don't understand. I lose customers should I bring any attention to it. Powerful men don't want to be controlled, regulated."
His jaw tightened at her turmoil. In some ways, he understood, and in other ways, he didn't. People shouldn't cop feels and make others uncomfortable. When he had seen her enter the room, he saw her instinctively shift when someone came too close to her personal space. She only smiled when they made comments, and she looked as if she had the urge to run.
The Wu Genji he knew wouldn't run. She'd break their fingers if she'd been wearing her mask. But because she was Wu Genji, a woman with no husband or father to watch over, people took advantage.
Some part of him knew that she might have been raised to be a people pleaser, regardless of her feelings.
"No one will touch you," Yuan Ning said deeply. "Not without your permission. I will make sure of it."
Wu Genji's breath caught so hard she nearly stumbled. He was close, but not nearly as close as she may have wanted. "People will make assumptions about us. If you talk about me, in that way, people will think we're more than what we are."
His brows furrowed. "I don't care what people think."
It warmed and irritated her. "But I care," she replied. "I don't need anyone to protect me. I don't need rumours about us possibly sleeping with each other to float around."
He grinned, cruel, beautiful and wide. He stepped closer. "Since when did you care about reputation?" he asked.
Her heart pounded fiercely, her blood roiled. "I—I don't."
"Then," he whispered, bending to her ear. "Let people think what they want."
Her ear burned where his breath caressed. He took a step back, glancing around the casino. "I knew you worked somewhere…" he tried to find the word. "Lively. But I didn't expect this place."
She gave out a slanted grin. "Well, you never asked, so I never told."
He smiled back. "I came today for some work negotiations," he said, stalking a few steps ahead. "I will come again."
"Please don't," she said.
"Goodnight, Miss Wu," he said, striding away.
Wu Genji exhaled a breath. Damn. She really lowered her guard with him that evening, but he grew gentler than when he spoke to her earlier that day.