Both Xiao Zhi-Ren and Ji Caihong could only stare at her with their mouth agape.
"So, you named a blue snake as red just for the fun of it? I don't find it funny at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren questioned with disbelief clearly visible on his face.
Ru felt offended by his words as she glared at him saying, "It was funny, for me considering that I was young at that time."
"You really have the worst sense of humor, " Xiao Zhi-Ren couldn't help but comment making Ru narrow her eyes at him dangerously.
"Aigo[1]! As if our Mr. Xiao's sense of humor is off the charts..." She took a pause not wanting to banter with him again- at least not before the lady who just stopped crying- and added, "Well, technically I didn't name it red for fun." Ru rubbed her chin as she went on, "Red color is associated with Vermillion Bird[2] and it's also a symbol of joy and good fortune. And since my Xiao Hong came as my joy when I was five, so, I named it red. What's wrong with that?" Ru looked at Xiao Zhi-Ren as if daring him to argue or disagree.
But how could he do that? He didn't find anything wrong with her explanation except for the part that she was five years old when she kept a pet who was actually one of the world's deadliest snakes. He only had the urge to ask, 'How do you do this, Mr. Xie?' And as for what Ru do? Wasn't it obvious, she always left him more confused about herself.
What he didn't consider was the fact that under what circumstances a five-year-old was forced to make a snake her friend. He couldn't possibly imagine the solitude of her life where she could only talk to animals. If he could understand that solitude, he could have also understood the reason for her estranged behavior towards humans.
Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and said, "Whatever you heard, don't talk about it with Zhi-Yuan." Looking at him acting so humbly, Ru gave a lopsided smile thinking how can he change his demeanor for different people.
She had already observed his imposing personality when he was dealing with the business but when it came to his brother, he becomes the sweetest brother in the world. It was like having a split personality since whenever he was talking to even Ru, his aura would completely change into something indescribable.
"You don't even have to mention that, Mr. Xiao." Xiao Zhi-Ren was surprised as she continued, "This is your personal story and although I love stories, I don't like sharing them." She shrugged her shoulders and intentionally bumped into Xiao Zhi-Ren's shoulder while passing right by his side.
Xiao Zhi-Ren was staring at her back with a complicated look while Ji Caihong had an inquisitive feeling bursting inside her.
After taking a few steps, Ru halted in her step and whisked her body around elegantly. "Ah! Since you reminded of my favorite pet, let me help you a bit." She was accosting to Ji Caihong as she went on, "If you want to know your little brother, head to Central Imperial Library in the school district. He has a habit of spending two hours daily there after school."
"How do you know that?" Xiao Zhi-Ren felt alienated since he didn't even know about this himself. 'Since when did he knew about my brother's daily schedule?'
"Mr. Xiao, your little brother has only one passion in life..." She took an unnecessary pause to hype up their curiosity and said, "Books! He's a typical example of a nerd with the exception of not wearing glasses."
Now, when Ru shifted her gaze to look at Ji Caihong, she found her in a daze. But it wasn't her fault, it was the first time for Ji Caihong to see such peculiar emerald green eyes with such awe-striking features that she was astounded.
Ru snapped her fingers to break Ji Caihong's daydreaming and asked skeptically, "Are you good at studies?"
Ji Caihong was taken aback by that question and answered in a small voice, "I topped my University exam back in high school."
Ru raised her brow in surprise and gave a disdainful look to Xiao Zhi-Ren saying, "Are you sure she's your sister?"
Before Xiao Zhi-Ren could open his mouth to argue, Ji Caihong spoke up, "I doubt that sometimes as well. I can't even compete with Syaoran Ge-Ge who topped in the whole Imperial much less with Zhi-Ren Ge-Ge who praised in the whole state for his extraordinary records."
Ru's mouth opened wide and Xiao Zhi-Ren felt smug seeing her reaction. According to him, this reaction was because Ru was shocked to hear about his accomplishments but to his dismay, her words shattered his pride into pieces, "You have another brother? How many siblings do you have? And is it a family of geniuses or nerds? Why is each person trying to top up the previous one?"
Xiao Zhi-Ren really wanted to punch Ru now but he convinced himself to avoid violence. "Is this any of your concern?" He asked gritting his teeth.
"Not really," Ru shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Oh, I forgot to say," Ji Caihong walked up to her side and said, "You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen in my life."
"Tell me something I don't know," although Ru's words were a bit conceited, she wasn't trying to be. She had heard the same compliment way too many times in her life that it became a norm. But seeing the brightness in Ji Caihong's eyes, Ru smiled at her charmingly and said, "You're one of the most gorgeous young ladies I've ever met in my life."
Seeing Ji Caihong smiling bashfully at her compliment, Xiao Zhi-Ren pulled Ru from her jacket's collar yet again and warned, "Don't flirt with my sister. She's the only princess of our house and I don't want jerks like yourself to hang around her."
Ru first scowled when he pulled her collar but his words left her with only a strange feeling of warmth. Seeing him being so protective over a half-sister even when he hated his father was a very refreshing experience for her.
Ru raised her hands in defense and said, "I told you, I don't do flirting." Passing a beautiful smile to both of them, she turned to enter the elevator.
[1] "Aigo!": OMG in Korean but more in a negative sense
[2] "Vermillion Bird": One of the heavenly creatures in Chinese mythology