Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

She threw him a salty glare and turned to leave when she felt herself pulled back. Her wrist was in the grip of his fingers as her body bumped against his.

"You are running away again," his voice breathed in closer to her.

Her brow slightly twitched with the sensation of his voice tickling her cheek.

"Maintain your distance."

"But I want to be close to you."

"What kind of person wants to willingly ingest poison?"

Jin slightly arched his brow at that. "I don't think you have seen how poisonous I can get."

It occurred to Alix at that moment how strenuous it was to hide the scowl from creeping on her face.

"What kind of a poisonous man will you even be with two fluffy cats always perched upon your shoulders?"

She simply couldn't imagine Jin falling on her level of villainous and evil spirit. She could go as far as it took to achieve her goals but she couldn't see him the same way.

Okay yes, he did something idiotic of getting arrested just to meet me but that's it.

She jolted when Jin broke her daze by lightly lifting her chin up to make her face him.

"Good that you didn't try any foolishness by going out on a date with that so-called employee who has a thing for Asians or I could have stooped to any level to stop it. I can become as poisonous as it needs to kill the unnecessary bugs hovering around you."

There was an unmistakable streak of possessiveness in his eyes that even Alix, a villain herself at one point in time, sincerely thought that whatever lurked behind that gaze shouldn't be challenged. It made her remember Jinhai's warning to that man in the elevator of not testing that patience.

But Alix was Alix.

"I can do the pest control myself."

"I am the most effective poison in the market. 100% results. That's a guarantee."

"Can I return the product?"

"No."

She made a face.

"Will you let go of my hand now?"

"Have you thought about the contract?"

"The one which I already burned before coming here?" She sneered.

"I know you haven't."

"I have no use of such things which I know will be pointless. Besides, I didn't need your help either with the police case or with Alicia Faucher," she smirked.

Seeing her victorious smirk made a smile lift his lips. "I do have to give you the point for handling Alicia. Class and finesse."

Though she hated his guts, her nose elongated with pride at his compliments.

"Except for the part about flirting with the employee," his eyes narrowed.

She scoffed. "Who cares about your feelings?"

"But I wouldn't say the same thing about the case."

"I was thoroughly prepared."

"The only reason why Yijun didn't go deep into the investigation was because of my pressure. Otherwise it's not that impossible to get hold of that security guy you bribed."

"So you count that as your victory?"

"Why not?"

Alix raised her brow, amused.

Out of nowhere, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around the back of his neck. Jin stared at her unblinkingly, failing to grasp the situation unfolding before him. Either he was dreaming or he was really watching Alix initiate the physical intimacy between them.

Before he could speak, he felt her fingers playfully caressing and grazing against the back of his neck but with the kind of a sensual touch that made him almost hyperventilate. He shivered and trembled, feeling his mind going crazy.

Alix tiptoed to reach his level as she whispered. "You could still make that call to Soo Yijun and tell him to resume the investigation."

Seeing her lips at a distance that he could easily bridge with his, he swallowed a gulp.

She then lightly tugged his hair strands that made him wish he could collapse right then and there, especially with how her chest was pressing against his at that moment. He pulled his lips inward, trying very hard not to lose his composure.

Alix smiled, enjoying the show of reactions and heat flushing his face deep crimson.

"You could have done so when Soo Yijun questioned me. I know you can easily bring that bribed man forward and put me in jail but you won't do it because you love me. You cannot bear to see me locked up in some boring custody room because you don't have the heart to see me troubled and inconvenienced. That's why I could ignore your contract because you would help me nevertheless, never in exchange for me to do something. Which is also why…"

She tilted her head. "You gave me a blank but signed cheque. Who would be that stupid? If I wanted to, I could have put up the amount I needed and got out of my debt crisis. You should have left it unsigned to force me into signing your contract first for your money. But you didn't and I understood your intentions, which I used for my convenience. It's not my fault if love makes you too foolish to play the cards to your advantage. You played a losing game from the very beginning."

Alix withdrew herself from that intimate embrace and smiled. "It would take some time to earn that money back but once Alicia's statement is out, the financial condition will eventually bounce back. So Liu Jin. I won."

She smirked, satisfied, seeing him in his dazed state. But her expression changed as soon as she turned the other way to leave.

What a foolish man to get wrapped up in love like that.

Despite it being a double-edged sword, Jin chose to take that bet, knowing fully well that Alix would be able to manage it on her own. For a man who was so desperate to have her in his life, yet played a trick he knew he would lose left her conflicted.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms gently wrap around her waist that tugged her back until her back bumped his chest. A moment later, warmth hovered on her right cheek as he dipped his head with his face brushing against hers. His breath fluttered her hair strands in a gentle swing. His soft whisper made her breath stop.

"Yes, I played a losing game. And I would do it again in a heartbeat."