Tangled Up In Blue

It was an especially warm night in Ye City.

Malcom Quan drove through the neighborhood, passing through all the other familiar trees and houses. Finally, he arrived at his apartment. Getting off the car, Malcom went up to the door and pressed his finger on the scanner. The door then opened with a slight beep and click. Much to his disappointment, he saw the bright hall was empty. "Poppi?" he called out.

There was no answer. 'Where did you go?'

After closing the door behind him, he put the documents in his hand on the sofa and went upstairs to the bedroom.

"Poppi?" he shouted once more. "Where are you?" When Malcom Quan had reached the bedroom, he saw that there were the clothes of a woman strewn across the bed, and heard the the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Splish, splash! Splish, splash!

Just then, he faintly heard the voice of a woman coming through the crack of the bathroom door. Shortly afterwards, the person inside had turned the water off. Malcolm Quan looked in the direction of the bathroom reflexively. The door was only opened by a couple of inches. Nevertheless, he could easily see the perfect, curvy figure inside.

"Damn it..." Malcolm Qiu cursed in a low voice as he loosened his tie. As his hand reached for the door knob, the door suddenly swung open. "Poppi Qiu..."

"La la la... Aah!" Poppi Qiu was humming to herself when she came out of the bathroom. A bath towel was wrapped around her body. When she saw that Malcom was there in the bathroom, she was surprised and jumped back, her melodious humming turning into a scream. Her hands instinctively went to her face to protect herself, thinking that the person in the bedroom was an intruder.

"Oh, shut up!" Malcolm Quan snapped, but soon after he felt guilty for startling Poppi and making her scream.

"M... Malcom?!" Hearing the familiar voice, Poppi Qiu opened her eyes with lingering fear. She blinked, unbelieving that it was indeed Malcom in front of her, and adjusted the towel on her body. "When...When did you get here? You scared me to nearly half to death... Can you tell me first when you're going to come over? I thought you were a serial killer or something!"

"Serial killer?" Malcolm Quan couldn't help but look at Poppi Qiu from the bottom up. Poppi Qui's legs were tall and slender, her skin smooth and fair. There was a beautiful pink flush on her delicate face, and her eyes were big and lovely.

Immediately, Malcom Quan withdrew his gaze. "You're too confident in yourself," he mumbled.

Poppi Qui asked, folding her arms over her chest and jutting out her hip. "Why did you even

this is my home," Malcolm

with a sly look in her eyes. "What are you doing home, honey?" she said, her voice suddenly

dubiously as he cast a sharp

couple, aren't we?" A triumphant smile

face expressionless. He turned around and walked to the door. "Go downstairs," he said, looking back at Poppi, "I have something

to do my skin care

tall figure disappeared at the corner of the

of her dresser. There, she gently applied moisturizer on her neck and arms, quietly

and saw Malcom sitting up straight on the couch, his thin lips pressed tightly into a fine line. The way the living room light shone on his angular face made him especially

me?" Poppi asked as she sat across from Malcom. The bright, luxurious chandelier illuminated the room with a golden light. It compliment the black, marble coffee table beautifully -- the warmth of the chandelier complimenting the coolness of the coffee table. But, the coldness of

forward, Malcom gingerly pushed the thick document on the table towards Poppi. "See if there

the words on the first page, she raised her eyebrows. "This is the prenuptial agreement. My lawyer isn't here though.

has

okay then." Poppi smiled lightly and flipped through two pages casually. "Huh.." she mumbled as she read over a page. "Will

as he tightly clasped his hands in

has changed into two years? I thought we had

extra year," Malcom explained with a

about to finish your acquisition plan? How can you be so sure that you will be able to make it

at Poppi, dismissing her doubtful tone. However, the more he looked at her face, the more he felt in awe. It seemed like it was such a long time since he had seen Poppi face to face like this. Malcom knew how beautiful Poppi was, but he couldn't help but feel stunned at the way her eye brightly twinkled and how her lips turned into a charming smile... 'That annoying smile!'

additional years on top of the three years before that? Don't you think it's a bit too long?" Poppi protested, as the sly smile that Malcom hated so much

Malcom said sternly, a hint of disgust flashing through his eyes. With a deep sigh, he continued, "And, you are allowed to go around on dates and get a boyfriend. As long as you hold up your part of the agreement and keep our marriage as secret as before. Is that

and pretended to be surprised, "That's great! You should have