Take My Breath Away

Greenwood was about to stand up to have a talk with Blair. Wesley stopped him and said, "Grandpa, please. I'll talk to her myself."

"All right. Do as you wish."

Wesley walked out of the house. Seeing Blair still squatted down on the vegetable patch, he quickly took off his coat and cap, and put them aside. He didn't want her to do all this strenuous work. Blair was picking up weeds and throwing them aside angrily, as if she were venting her anger on the plants. Wesley lifted the angry woman to her feet and pulled her out of the patch of farm land.

Ignoring her angry protest, he rolled up his sleeves and began weeding. Although he didn't have much experience in this kind of work, he was a soldier who had undergone all kinds of harsh training. It wasn't a big deal for him.

Blair left him there alone and after washing her hands, she asked her grandfather, "Grandpa, do we have enough firewood?"

"Uh, no. We need some more. I'll go get some," the old man said, getting up from his chair.

"Grandpa, please rest. I'll get it." Blair grabbed the long rope which her grandfather usually used to tie up the wood.

"Girl, stop. You are not strong enough to carry the wood back!" Marie tried to stop her granddaughter, but the girl rushed out before she could say anything else.

Wesley heard the conversation and walked over to her. "Grandma, don't worry. Leave it to me."

"O-okay... Thank you, Wesley."

He easily caught up to Blair and silently followed her to an empty land behind the house. A pile of firewood was stocked there for their daily use.

When she was about to reach out for the wood, he pulled her away and grabbed the rope from her hand. He bent down to gather a few pieces of firewood together, tied them up tightly with the rope, and threw them over his shoulder. He carried them back to the house with ease.

Blair's mouth hung open in amazement. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but chose to be silent.

Before the sun went down, Wesley had finished all the chores and farm work which Blair had planned to do—carrying the firewood to the courtyard, cutting them into pieces, weeding the vegetable patch, and drawing water from the well. And he did it all so efficiently, like he had years of experience doing it.

When night fell and the two elders were busy cooking in the kitchen, Blair took the chance to push the man out of the door. She urged in a low voice, "We don't have enough rooms here for guests. Leave now."

He tried to find an excuse to stay. "It's dark outside. And it's not safe to drive on the mountain roads."

"Then go to the town nearby. Check into a hotel."

"I can just make a bed on the floor of your room." He had no intentions of leaving without her.

Blair tried to speak as calmly as she could so that her grandparents wouldn't hear. "You're the respected Senior Colonel Li. You don't have to endure all this suffering for my sake. Please go back downtown and live in comfort. Okay?"

"No," he refused bluntly and walked past her into the courtyard.

"Stop!" Blair ran after him and blocked his way.

Wesley had a better idea. He raised his voice and yelled, "Grandpa, I'm leaving..."

"What?" Greenwood put down the kitchen knife and came out into the courtyard. He looked at the couple doubtfully.

Wesley repeated in a gloomy tone, "I'm leaving, Grandpa."

"Why? You haven't had dinner yet. And it's dark outside. How will you go back at this hour?"

Wesley stole a glance at the woman who was silently clenching her teeth. "There are not enough rooms here, are there? I can check into a hotel in the town and come back tomorrow morning." He feigned an innocent look.

The old man walked up to him, grabbed his arm and dragged him into the house. "Who told you that? There's no need. Aren't you married? The bed in Blair's room is big enough for two people. You can stay in her room." The old man suddenly turned around to look at Blair with a raised eyebrow. "Did you ask him to leave?"

Blair looked away to avoid her grandfather's gaze. She retorted, "Why are you keeping him here? I'm not going to share a bed with him."

Greenwood glared at his granddaughter. "I've been observing you two the whole afternoon. Wesley is such a good man. But you? You kept giving him the cold shoulder. What grave mistake did he do? He was too busy to call you after his return? Is that such a big deal? Do you have to make a mountain out of a molehill?" the old man scolded.

'What the hell?' Blair was shocked that her own grandfather would take the devil's side.

Wesley hastily explained, "No, Grandpa. It's not her fault. I made a mistake."

The old man snorted and said, "I know her. She's as weird as her father. You don't have to cover for her. Dinner will be ready soon. You must be tired from all the work you did the whole afternoon. Come in and rest." He glared at his granddaughter again. "Blair, get some snacks for Wesley. Now!"

Blair pursed her lips. Nonetheless, she nodded grudgingly.

They walked into the living room. Absentmindedly, Blair searched for some snacks in the drawers and then grinned mischievously. She took out a stick of deep-fried dough stick and handed it to him. "Eat."

Wesley looked at the dried dough stick. Without any hesitation, he grabbed it and took a bite. As he chewed, he commented, "It tastes good."

Blair's jaw dropped. The dried dough stick had been kept for over a week. She thought that he wouldn't eat such food.

Again, she realized that this man was not particular about food.

He could make do with anything he had, unlike other young men from wealthy families who only ate rare and exquisite food.

Besides, he didn't mind doing house chores and heavy work.

On the other hand, when he was around his upper-class peers, he blend in the wealthy without any difficulty. He even looked more dapper than the others.

She had seen him generously open bottles of luxury drinks at the Orchid Private Club, like the Armand de Brignac and the Louis XIII.

And he would smoke different brands of cigars, according to the circumstances he was in. He always adapted so easily.

With his handsome face, well-toned body, and excellent martial arts skills, provided that he was as romantic as Wayne Chen, the role he had played during his undercover job, Wesley could surely attract a ton of girls.

Blair didn't realize that she was staring at him the whole time. Wesley smiled. "Like what you see, ma'am?" Wesley's voice rang in her ears.

The dazed Blair nodded without a second thought. He was indeed a handsome man.

He pulled her into his arms and made her sit on his lap. With one hand behind her neck, he drew her in for a gentle kiss. "You're beautiful too."

Blushing, she tried to get away from his reach. "Let me go!" She threw a glance at the door of the living room, afraid that her grandparents would see them.

Wesley wrapped one of his arms around her waist. She was unable to move an inch. "Honey, did you miss me?" He had missed her a lot.

Blair struggled and warned in a hushed voice, "Wesley, let go of me. They are going to walk in on us. LET ME GO!"

Seeing the fury in her eyes, he slowly moved his arm away and freed her.

"Jerk!" As soon as she broke free, she ran out of the room without turning back.

Watching her receding figure, Wesley took another bite of the dried dough stick, grinning from ear to ear.

The two elders had prepared six dishes to welcome Wesley. The food looked so delicious that it made Blair's mouth water.

Her appetite was aroused, and she couldn't help but eat more than usual. She ate a big bowl of rice, along with the other dishes. She was so full that she touched her round belly and paced up and down to help with the digestion.

Thanks to their hospitality, Wesley ate more than usual too. He couldn't sit down either.

After dinner, Wesley said to the grandparents as he grabbed Blair's hand, "Grandpa, Grandma. We're going to take a walk in the village. We'll be back home after a while."

"Okay. Go east. There are some street lamps there at the entrance of the village. Don't go west. That path leads to the mountains," Blair's grandfather reminded them.

"Got it." With that, Wesley dragged Blair out of the house, giving her no time to say no.

The road was dark. Blair couldn't run away, so she had no choice but to follow him.