Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

"Eh? It taste a little weird!" Tasting the dinner she cooked herself, Zoey's face distorted. Not that it tasted terrible, just weird. 

It has been a while when she last prepared something for herself. After all, Zoey survived eating foods that whatever she could order. Hence, cooking after a while felt tiring and confusing. 

"I knew it. I should have ordered something instead." She murmured, dissatisfied on the outcome of her rusted cooking skills. 

It was too late, though. Matthew Xi was already at the kitchen, watching her criticize her own skills and cooking. 

"Is it edible?" Leaning his side on the jamb of the entrance, the corner of his lips curled up. 

His sudden peaceful interruption still caused Zoey to jolt, nearly dropping the spoon in her hand. "Browny!" She called, turning to face the expensive-looking man not far away. 

"Browny?" Earlier, Matthew Xi ignored her when she called him that cursed nickname.

She never called him by his name, so that option was not even to consider. Therefore, if he was to choose, he preferred her calling him Darling instead of Browny. It just didn't sound decent. 

"Hehe. Why? You like Darling more?" As soon as there's an opening, Zoey would grab the opportunity to tease him. 

Matthew Xi answered with his poker face, not a bit pleased at her instant teasing. He should have been used to it by now, but he wasn't!

"Meh. That endearment is overused." Since she received nothing but his poker face, Zoey explained nonchalantly. 

'Overused?' When Matthew Xi heard that particular word, his brows twitched. Did that mean she called all her exes darling? 'Zoey Zhou...' Displeased at the discovery, Matthew Xi tightened his jaw. 

"Browny sounds better~" Zoey smiled, giggling at the nickname she gave him the first time. 

"I'm not a pet." Blunt and toneless, Matthew Xi uttered. He didn't free his time just to hear her call him Browny, didn't he? 

"Ha? It's not a nickname for a pet!" Lying through her teeth, Zoey exclaimed. Even a child would know that 'Browny' was a typical dog's name. Does he look like a dog?!

"You can call me Pinky, if you like!" As if negotiating for him to let it go, Zoey proposed. 

"No,"

"How about Blacky? Violet? Orange girl? Cat girl? Chun Li?" Zoey threw a series of suggestions, and each time he answered with a firm "No!" Although his brows kept on twitching each suggestion she spouted. 

She never stopped, suggesting more like: pretty girl, purple dinosaur, angry birds, tom, jerry, twinkle twinkle little star, and the list goes on. 

"Can we just call each other by our first name?" Massaging his temples, Matthew Xi suggested in distress. 

He wouldn't mind using honorifics. It would be less awkward for him to call her Miss Zhou. However, for the sake of his name's freedom, he would go extra length to call her by her first name if that would change her mind of calling him Browny. 

"Say it, then." Zoey grinned, pleased at his suggestion.

"Say what?"

"My name, obviously." In a matter-of-fact tone, Zoey cupped her cheek as she fluttered her eyelashes. "You never call me by my first name." She added. 

It was true, though. Matthew Xi never called her Zoey or Z. He would rather call her Miss Zhou, which sounded so distant, or nothing at all. Hence, by annoying him a little, she finally got where she wanted this conversation to go. 

"The food," Staring at her expectant visage, Matthew Xi glanced at the kitchen counter where the dish she prepared lay. 

Somehow, he felt like this conversation headed to where she wanted it to. Hence, it was another defeat for Matthew Xi. 

How cunning could she be? Despite that, he didn't feel betrayed. Rather, it amused him. 

Truly, Zoey was not any ordinary damsel. She was akin to a fairytale's cunning villain character. A character that was likable and not at the same time. 

"It will go cold if you don't call me Z-O-E-Y." Guessing that he was diverting the subject, Zoey wouldn't let him off. 

For a second, Matthew Xi said nothing. He stared at her twinkling eyes while calming his mind. "Congrats on the settlement." Shortly, he congratulated, and then put out one of his trump card — leaving!

"Eh??" Seeing that he turned his back against her, walking slowly out of the kitchen, Zoey's eyes widened. "Wait!" She called out. 

Upon hearing that, the corner of his lips tilted up. He won this round; he thought internally. 

"Why are you leaving? I'm just teasing you." Pouting, Zoey gave up on her initial plan. There were other ways to break him and make him do as she please. It was just a matter of time... no need to rush things. 

"You win, okay? Let's eat." Letting out a heavy sigh, Zoey conceded as she proposed to eat. 

Matthew Xi, as usual, said nothing else as he turned to face her and nodded his head. The two then took up a seat on the square dining table, perching opposite each other. 

Matthew Xi gazed down on the food on his plate. The presentation was not bad, though not good enough to excite his appetite. Especially those black cubes that seemed to be the dessert: Brownies. Still, it didn't look poisonous either. Thus, it was no harm if he eats this, right?

"Hehe. It's been awhile since I cooked something myself so..." Seeing him silently stare at the food, as if contemplating if she put poison in it or not, Zoey explained. 

"But hey, I put my heart into it!" She added, bearing a smile on her lips. 

"Thank you for the food." Glancing at her smiling face, Matthew Xi didn't have the heart to retort. After all, she prepared this herself so it would be ungrateful of him to question her. 

Just as Matthew Xi shoved a little piece of dish inside his mouth, Zoey grinned as she spoke. "I closed a multi-million deal earlier with the Sun's." 

Matthew Xi nearly choked by that little piece, not just by the weird taste but also because of what she said.. For some reason, his instincts told him that it was somehow related to the Xi and the Sun Corporation's project.