Azrael Li
He stood there, his familiar ethereal-green eyes as hard and impassive as polished glass. His expression was blank, revealing nothing
He was wearing black shirt tucked into dark slacks, paired with a black windbreaker.
His untamed dark hair, styled carelessly yet elegantly, fell over his forehead, brushing his lashes as they stirred gently in the breeze.
A large crowd of people moved past him, and their eyes snuck glances and lingered on the strikingly handsome man who stood by the streetlight so unbothered
His entire focus was solely on her.
Yang Lixue swallowed, suddenly conscious of how nervously her fingers shook as she pulled on the strings of her hoodie.
Her heart raced in excitement when she saw the man who had been occupying her dreams ever since that day, but to her dismay, she felt her excitement melting.
'You should stop staring at the man like he's a piece of meat, he might not even remember you or that day at the bus station. '
Yang Lixue scolds herself, forcing her eyes away from him to stare at her fingers instead.
She snuck another glance at him, but to her surprise, he moved.
Azrael Li crossed the road, his hands deep in his pocket as each step brought his tall form closer to the tiny girl.
A light rain began to drizzle, gentle droplets caressing her flushed cheeks. And as he drew closer, the muted gray sky seemed to darken further.
Then without warning, he was standing there, right in front of her, invading her space, the distance between them was so tiny that she could feel the cold air wafting from his body.
Yang Lixue's breath caught when he bent down, his cold hand skimming her lower back.
She was hyper aware of his movements and the cold touch of his hands. His smell — the pleasantly familiar woodsy, clean and intoxicating scent enveloped her, calming her nerves. He turned his head, his lips parting, and his deep voice, low but firm, spoke to her ear.
"Hello, Yang Lixue."
Her brain short-circuited. Sparks danced across her body at the sound of her name on his lips.
She felt weak in the knees, and in that moment, she was very grateful for his hands holding her up by her waist.
'But wait, why are his hands on my waist?!' She inhaled sharply
'It's fine Yang Lixue, calm down, he's probably using it as a leverage to lean down and speak in my ear, nothing more. Right?'
It didn't help that she was a little too happy about the hand placement.
She should have felt uncomfortable, or be ridden with anxiety, but instead, she leaned into him, oddly comfortable with their proximity and his presence.
It really didn't make sense, but it was as if she had no willpower to question her trust in this stranger, everything felt…natural.
Yang Lixue shook her head a little to get her thoughts back on track.
Her lips parted as if she was about to reply to his question but she fell silent.
Instead, she fumbled with her tablet, her fingers shaking a bit as she tapped away.
[ Hello, good evening Mr Li. It's nice seeing you again. Do you live around here? ]
Yang Lixue's cheeks flushed on realizing how straightforward her text seemed.
'How dumb do you sound Yang Lixue, are you indirectly asking him where he lives?'
She was about to clear the text and leave just the greeting when he gently peeled the phone away from her grasp.
Their hands grazed each other.
His fingers were big and cold against the warmth of her palm, his hands tapped the screen diligently, while the other hand was still resting in her waist firmly.
' Breathe Yang Lixue, Just Breathe.'
Her eyes watched his hand as he typed, the dark middle finger tattoo contrasted with the rest of his pale, long fingers.
It looked sinfully attractive.
Especially as he held the phone that was covered with a bright red pouch.
His gaze was unyielding, his stoic features revealing nothing, yet she couldn't help but be mesmerized by the subtle clench of his jaw, and the slight scrunch of his brow as he concentrated on what he typed.
He returned the phone to her.
[ First off, it's Azrael to you not Mr Li, and no, I don't stay in this area, I only came here for a meeting. You are the one moving right? ]
Her cheeks burned. 'How had he known about them moving?'
Yang Lixue threw him a glance and began typing tentatively.
[Yeah. How did you know someone was moving?]
This time, he moved closer, his mouth near her ear, whispering
"I heard people in the café mention that some students are moving out of the off-campus campus over her because there was a flooding situation. When I saw you here with the movers, I connected the dots."
His breath was warm, his words calm, his throat rolled up and down as he spoke and her cheeks brightened further at the hot scene. But above all, it was the hand still resting on her waist that had her mind spinning, his fingers gently rubbed circles on the clothed skin, making short circuits run up her spine. ' How on earth does he do that?'
She was certain she had never felt anything like that before. She bit her lower lip forcing herself to look up at him' Does he feel the sparks too?' She wondered.
''You good ?'' Azrael Li mouthed staring down at the quiet girl.
Yang Lixue only nodded, her cheeks now as red as her hair. She felt it must be a ridiculous sight.
Azrael Li's grip tightened for a moment on the side of her waist before he dropped it, it was as if he despised putting distance between their bodies.
Or maybe she was just reading too much into his actions.
Azrael Li's hands were now in his pockets, they were slightly clenched as he forced himself off to stop holding her, before he would make his girl feel uncomfortable, he had only used the excuse of leaning down to her height and speaking in her ear before, now he was standing upright, his eyes trained on her pretty face.