Xiaomei immediately turned bright red as Bao and LiMei choked on their food. "ZhangWei, do you have no sense of shame!" Xiaomei said with her cheeks burning red. LiMei and Bao quickly excused themselves before rushing off.
ZhangWei smiled wider, "Of course not. Why should I?" Xiaomei tried to break free from his grip as she didn't know how she could face LiMei and Bao now. She glared at him as he continued to smile.
"So, are you going to give me a kiss," he teased, rubbing his finger on the back of her hand.
"You-" she tried to say as she yanked her hand free from his grasp but noticed his eyes were no longer pitch black but had a warm sensation in them. She felt relieved.
He saw how her eyes softened. He felt because of her, he was able to find a new light and happiness in his dark world. He leaned over and pinched one of her cheeks.
"Ah," Xiaomei's voice unconsciously came out, and soon she glared at him. "L-let go," she pouted, trying to break from his grasp once again.
"If only you give me a kiss," he smiled, leaning his face toward her. She wanted to argue with him but found it to be pointless to do. She slowly leaned forward and lightly pressed her lip against his cheek.
"Not the cheek, but the lips," he said, waiting again.
"You didn't specify, so that counts," she said, freeing her cheek.
"Alright," ZhangWei said, giving up, but then, his eyes gleamed. "I still need a goodbye kiss on the lips, or I am not going," Zhangwei said with a smirk on his face.
"ZhangWei, stop fussing," Xiaomei said, trying to reason with him. However, he didn't mind her words and leaned forward before tapping his lips for a kiss as he refused to compromise. Her face reddened again as her heart was pounding in her chest. She slowly looked around to make sure no one was around before leaning forward and touching her lip with his.
"There. Now hurry and go help them," she said with her cheeks turning red. He wanted to deepen their kiss, but he knew she wanted him to go help them, so he should get going.
"Alright," he said, getting up to leave. "See you later tonight. Behave," he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She touched her forehead and said, "Are you treating me like a dog?"
"Pft, of course not. Did you forget? You are my cat," he said with a smile.
"Y-you!" she angrily got up as he quickly vanished out the door. She sat back down and stared at the empty doorway before a frown appeared on her face. The end should be coming soon. Will she be leaving, or will she be staying? If she had a choice, would she stay or leave?
_____
ZhangWei entered the palace as he received some news from his men. He entered a room with everyone present.
"ZhangWei, we haven't seen you around. Where have you been?" Baozhai said.
"With Daiyu," ZhangWei answered casually.
"Oh, where is she?" Baozhai asked as everyone was looking behind him to see no one.
"I told her to stay behind," he said. Before anyone could ask any more questions, he added, "I came here today to report some news I just received. One of Zhou Haitao's men was spotted leaving a minister's residence by my men.
Everyone immediately stood up with their ears perked up. "Which one?" LiJie asked.