Zhao Jun's hearty chuckle was the sound that greeted Tang Lin as she finally managed to stabilize herself.
She immediately turned around to glare at him, but there was also a hint of fear in her eyes.
"W-what recording?" She was truly shaken up at the thought that he might really have made a video.
Which made her wonder all over again…
Did he really witness her transition to Tang Mei earlier in the day?
Tang Lin did her best to maintain a calm facade, keeping her emotions away from her face as much as possible.
Unfortunately, Zhao Jun could tell that he had her in a chokehold and did not keep teasing her.
"The butler has made arrangements for dinner, let's go downstairs so you can grab a bit."
Tang Lin observed him for three seconds.
Having realized that he was changing the topic, she held back from asking about what he meant any further.
She thought that she would just be dancing into the palm of his hand if she showed any more interest in the so-called recording.
"Okay. I'll join you as soon as I finish returning my assistant's call. She's probably worried."
After speaking, Tang Lin turned and headed towards the balcony.
Someone had set her phone to do-not-disturb while she was asleep, so she now had quite a number of missed calls.
Her assistant, Little Zhou gave her the highest number.
.
.
.
Zhao Jun stepped out of the room and gently closed the door behind him to give her some privacy.
By the time he got downstairs and reached the dining area, the servants had already laid out most of the meals.
"Young Master," the butler greeted with a deeply respectful bow and the other servants followed suit.
"Hmm, you may take a break for now," Zhao Jun responded and waved his hand.
"I'll let you know if we need anything else."
"Yes."
The butler bowed again and led the servants to leave the room.
Then unconsciously, Zhao Jun began to knock on the table in a rhythmic way.
It seemed he had been doing that a lot lately since arriving T City, especially after he met Tang Lin.
He had been trying to make sense of what his dreams back then really meant for the both of them.
Time and again, he had tried to figure out the practical implication and application of what their entanglement meant to no avail.
He always drew blanks every single time.
He would always end up thinking that perhaps there wasn't really much to interactions.
Maybe everything was a mere coincidence and he was making much ado over nothing.
Yet every single time he came to that conclusion, he could not shake off the nagging feeling that they were inextricably linked together.
There was always an overwhelming sense of urgency in his heart, drowning out the voice of doubts that often arose in his heart.
Like there was a cord of destiny, pulling him in a direction that he wanted nothing to do with.
Feeling the onset of frustration, he rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the first two buttons on his pristine white shirt.
Then he grabbed a glass, filled it up with water and chugged it down in one go.
When he placed the glass back on the table, he had the soft falls of footsteps coming down the stairs.
He lifted his head in time to see Tang Lin appear at the landing.
She was still wearing her outfit from earlier since he didn't happen to have any female outfits lying around.
At this moment, she looked calm and collected, her lips pressed together into a thin line.
She had clearly reverted to her former cold-beauty self, with not a single strand of hair out of place.
Zhao Jun thought that she was so many miles apart from the her that acted cute and asked him to blow on her wound.
He even found himself wondering which one of the personalities he liked better.
"Hah…" he laughed and shook his head.
Tang Lin, who had just taken her seat where a set of cutleries had been set opposite him, paused to look at him.
She found him strange and decided to pay him no mind, picking up her chopsticks to begin putting some food on her plate.
Zhao Jun used his fist to cover his mouth as he gave a fake cough before also picking his chopsticks.
"I didn't think that you would be willing to join me for a meal, Miss Tang," his voice sounded clear in the quiet room.
Tang Lin's chopsticks paused mid-air, then she went ahead to put the food in her mouth.
She seemed to take her time, drinking some wine, wiping her mouth before answering;
"Since I'm not sure how long it will take me to get back to my house and fix myself something to eat, I might as well just have the free food."
She paused, picked up a piece of pork belly and placed it in her mouth before she continued to speak.
"Besides, it's just a few bites of food. If you're so worried about me taking advantage of you, I can always treat you to a meal so we're even."
Tang Lin thought that it would be pretentious to a t like she wasn't hungry and opt to leave.
After all she hadn't eaten much in the morning, and it had been a full day already.