Chapter 5 Not The Perfect Match

Rachel Ruan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the man come closer to her. The young man was about 180 centimeters tall. He was quite handsome. More importantly, he was not like the man she had met in the temple yesterday.

Rachel felt at ease. She had been worrying too much.

It would be fine as long as he was not the same man she met yesterday. Nobody else would know what she had promised that man.

"Is that Hiram?" Fannie Ruan asked as she saw a young man come in through the door.

Joanna Fang smiled, waved her hand to the man and said, "Carl, please go to the study room and ask your cousin if he had finished his meeting already. Tell him not to keep the guests waiting here."

Carl nodded and went away quickly. Joanna turned around to look at Fannie and Rachel. She smiled at them and said, "His name is Carl Fang. He is Hiram's younger cousin, our distant relative. He is currently helping Hiram with his work."

Rachel held her breath for a moment. Her heart sank after she heard what Joanna said.

She got so nervous and her heart beat rapidly. 'Oh! please, no!'

Soon enough, she heard footsteps that sounded from the outside.

Rachel slowly shifted her attention to the doorway again. Suddenly, a man appeared. His eyebrows were perfectly shaped. His deep, bright eyes were sparkling like a starry sky. His character radiated a strong and cold aura that was easily recognized even from afar. Though, he dressed differently this time, Rachel knew that he was exactly the man she didn't want to meet again.

All of Rachel's hope vanished into thin air. She was so unfortunate!

"Fannie, meet Hiram." Joanna said as she introduced Hiram Rong to Fannie and Rachel. Joanna then said to Hiram, "This is Auntie Fannie... And this is Rachel."

Hiram was wearing a casual, creamy-colored shirt. Fannie could hardly keep her eyes away from his noticeable handsome face. Carl was already a handsome man in Fannie's eyes, but Hiram, standing in front of her was just...amazing!

'He is absolutely far more handsome than Carl, ' she thought.

Fannie almost strained her brain just to find any word that could describe his appearance. Yet, she felt that no word could ever do it. His magnificence was beyond description. He even maybe the only man that had all the charms perfectly given to him. He was strong, handsome and elegant. Although he was arrogant at the same time.

"Nice to meet you, Auntie Fannie! I am Hiram Rong, " Hiram said politely. He wasn't surprised by how Fannie looked at him. Her eyes that were filled with admiration exactly looked like the eyes of all the women who were able to meet him, no matter how young or old. He was absolutely used to it.

"Nice to meet you, too. You are certainly Joanna's son. You are remarkably handsome!" Fannie straightforwardly said. She praised him sincerely from the bottom of her heart.

Fannie dragged Rachel that was behind her and said, "Rachel, come. Come and see Hiram!"

However, Rachel refused to do so and kept her head down. She felt very embarrassed.

She was really ashamed.

Fannie got angry when Rachel didn't move an inch. She pinched her arm and whispered, "Rachel, come here quickly. Do you want me to teach you a lesson?"

Rachel bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. She encouraged herself to forget all the things that happened in the temple yesterday. She soon stepped forward, clenched her teeth and reached out her hand to Hiram.

"Hello, I am Rachel. Nice... to meet you!" She blinked her big eyes and greeted him politely.

Hiram squinted his eyes, smirked, and said, "I am Hiram Rong."

He offered his hand to her and shook hers. His big hand entirely wrapped her comparable tiny hand. He could feel the sweat in her hand.

Rachel was intensely nervous.

Of course! She should be nervous. Hiram wouldn't let her break her promise to him.

"Rachel? Have we met before?" Hiram reminded Rachel. He squinted his eyes and tried to threaten her. He held her hand even tighter.

"Oh! Have we? I don't remember meeting you anywhere. I think you have mistaken me with someone that looks like me." Rachel lied and looked guilty. She wanted to get her hand back, but Hiram held it forcefully.

Fannie and Joanna looked at each other in confusion. They both shook their heads.

They were very surprised at how fast these young people established their relationship. At first, they thought that it might take time for their children to develop their feelings for each other. On contrary, Hiram and Rachel already held their hands very tight on their first acquaintance.

"Mom, there is still some time before we have our lunch. This is Rachel's first visit to our house. I think I should walk her around." Hiram said in a gentle and calm voice.

His gentleness gave Rachel a shiver down to her spine and immediately shook her head. 'No! Please. Don't agree with him. Please!, ' Rachel begged miserably in her mind.

However, her mother, Fannie Ruan, would never let her say "no".

She happily agreed and said, "How good of you! Okay, Hiram. You can go now."

Compared to Fannie's quick confirmation, Joanna felt surprised at Hiram's suggestion. She had never seen Hiram having so much interest in a woman, not even in Lydia, who had grown up with him.

However, Joanna thought it would be a good start for them. They would get married in the future anyway.

And so, she also agreed. "Sure. Please go. You are right. This is Rachel's first visit to our house. Hiram, take her and walk her around. I will just ask Carl to tell you if the lunch is ready."

No one noticed Rachel's pale face.

The huge garden of Rong family's house was surrounded by giant trees. Those trees had been there for over a century. The path snaked its way through the garden where Hiram walked with Rachel following behind him.

"Hiram! Let go of me! My hand hurts. Do you want to peel off my skin?" Rachel yelled.

Hiram loosened his hand suddenly. Rachel vigorously swung her hand and blew it. Her hand turned red; she was so hurt.

"Why are you dressing like that? Are you trying to seduce me?" Hiram confronted Rachel as he looked at her from head to toe. His eyes glimmered with contempt. Rachel was wearing a tight, yellow cheongsam dress. She looked like a tender woman with her simple and delicate face, but she actually had very strong and compelling personality.

Rachel felt awkward and pulled her dress down a little. That was her mother's dress, and she was taller than her mother. That was the reason why the dress slit up to her thigh and made her more appealing.

Rachel moved her eyes and looked at the the well-trimmed Bonsai trees beside the pathway. Then she furiously proclaimed, "I said I would never join your family, even if you beg me. I am just... here for a visit."

"As long as you remember what you said, everything will be fine, " Hiram replied. He stood in front of her and stopped her from looking anywhere. Then he continued to say, "From now on, I am your supervisor to make sure you keep your promise. I must remind you again, those are not the only words you said yesterday."

Rachel didn't have any choice but to look at his deep and attractive eyes. She lightly blinked her eyes and pretended to be innocent. "I am a woman. I have a terrible memory. I can easily forget my words. Are you really serious?", she said meekly.

Hiram grinned and held her chin up. "Little girl, don't pretend to be innocent. You are not good enough."

Not giving her a chance to speak, Hiram continued and warned her, "Remember, keep your promise. Don't agree with the marriage! Or else... I'm afraid you won't be able to take the consequences!"

Rachel bit her lower lip and fiercely thought, 'This man is threatening me again!'.

"What did you mean consequences? Did you mean that you have a chance to be violent?", Rachel asked. She couldn't figure out what bad consequences she wouldn't be able to take. She thought Hiram meant he would beat a woman.

Hiram burst into laughter after he heard her words. His laugh revealed his straight, white teeth. His smile crept at his handsome face which lightened him and lessened his cold aura. He looked a little bit kinder now. Nonetheless, he still threatened Rachel with a cold voice, "Something more terrible than violence! I don't want you to see my enraged face. You won't be able to take it."

"Are you kidding me? Are you trying to scare me?" Rachel came back to her senses after seeing Hiram's attractive smile. She wondered whether he was taking her as a little girl that could be fooled easily.

The smile on Hiram's face immediately disappeared. He wore his evil-like face again and looked at Rachel. He admitted that Rachel was a bit interesting and he couldn't resist laughing sometimes.

However, she wasn't the perfect match for him. An ignorant and innocent woman like her wouldn't be able to play the role as his wife.

"If you think I'm joking, just give me a try and see what will happen.

But you have to suffer the consequences all alone!", Hiram warned her again.