Kidnapped by a Dragon Billionaire - Chapter 97

Thorin Loong took a bite of the squid from the fork that Zi Mei was offering to him out of courtesy. She had insisted that he would like it. The moment the squishy sauce-covered morsel entered his mouth, he wanted to spit it out. The texture itself was grossing him out but the flavours was not as bad as he had thought. He forced himself to chew it and then swallowed it.

“There, it’s not so bad right?” Zi Mei was looking at him expectantly. She had noticed his slight grimace when he was chewing the squid but Thorin still ate it instead of spitting it out. She had half expected him to spit it out in disgust.

“It’s okay,” Thorin said noncommittally. He pushed his plate aside. “I…uh…am not hungry at all, like I said, I don’t need to eat…so you go ahead,” he added. He tried to keep a neutral expression.

Zi Mei grinned at him. “Are you sure? This is nice too,” she speared a cockle and brandished it in front of him. “Sure you don’t want to try this too?”

Thorin tried to stop himself from grimacing in disgust at the shrivelled piece of seafood and shook his head. “No thanks, you go ahead and enjoy yourself,” he said. He sat back and crossed his leg regally, placing his hands on his knee, his long elegant fingers linked.

Zi Mei regarded him for a moment. He looked like a model striking a pose on a metal stool by the roadside with the smoke from the boiling water billowing around him. In fact, it looked like a perfect pose for a poster to advertise the food stall. It would make a nice painting too, she thought. Thorin Loong raised an eyebrow when he noticed at her looking at him with a slight frown on her brow.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked. “Did I get something on my face? One of the sauces dripped on my shirt?” he looked down at his still-pristine white shirt and then he touched his smooth face.

Zi Mei grinned at his self conscious reaction. He is definitely Mr King of Vain.

“I am wondering something,” she asked him as she chewed on her fifth serving of skewered seafood.

“What is it?” he asked politely.

“What’s your specialty as a dragon?” she asked. “Are you like the Chief Vainest of all the Vainpots? Maybe the Vain Dragon King?” she teased and then giggled, snorting and almost choked on her food.

Thorin Loong frowned at her. “Right, you think you are so funny, haha,” he responded dryly.

“I mean, you are so vain about your looks…your attire…I have literally never met a man as vain as you,” Zi Mei pointed out.

Thorin Loong sat up taller and smoothed his lapel. “What is so wrong about making sure I am well dressed and always looking my best?” he asked. “I don’t ever want to look dirty, messy and unpresentable,” he shuddered delicately.

Zi Mei rolled her eyes. She can’t believe she won the lottery in getting the most vain boyfriend on earth. Possibly even in dragon world too.

“Right, you just sit there and pose for The Most Vain and Well-dressed Man magazine while I enjoy my messy meal…uh…messily,” she told him.

She is sweating from the heat of the steam coming up from the boiling pot and specks of the sauces are dotting her top. Zi Mei doesn’t care. She swept her hair back in a messy ponytail and tie it with a scrunchie. Thorin Loong sat patiently and waited for her to eat. After she was done, he paid for her meal with a hundred-dollar bill and told the hawker to keep the change.

“Shall we go?” he asked her, getting up quickly as if he couldn’t wait to get away. Zi Mei nodded and got up. It was a satisfying meal, one she thoroughly enjoyed although Thorin was behaving like a crusty rich man who has never eaten at a roadside stall before. She will surely help him get used to this because this will not be the last time she drags him to such a place for a quick convenient and delicious meal.

They walked down the street and Thorin Loong took her hand, squeezing it gently. “Where do you want to go next?” he asked her.

Zi Mei couldn’t help smiling at the nice warm feel of his large hand enclosing hers. This is something she definitely can get used to. She checked her watch. It is getting late, almost 11pm. They’ve been together for almost the whole day since she got back from college but time seem to flew by.

“It is quite late actually, maybe time for me to get back home and….oh my gawwwwwdddddddddd!!!” Zi Mei dropped Thorin’s hand and exclaimed. She slapped her forehead.

“What happened?? What is it? Are you getting a stomachache? I knew it, the food was unsanitary!” Thorin Loong exclaimed, looking at her in concern.

“No, no, no, I forgot I have a project due tomorrow and it is 11pm!! I am so DEAD!” Zi Mei said. She turned to him. “Can we go back right now? I can say good bye to sleep tonight, I need to hand it in tomorrow, oh fuck me,” she said.

She has an art project due tomorrow. She was supposed to have started work on it a few days ago but due to the string of incidents, it totally slipped her mind. Thorin was relieved that she was not exactly sick or in pain. He chuckled in amusement. He took out his phone and called for his driver.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get us back real fast,” he said.

Sure enough, the car arrived within minutes and they arrived back at her house in record time. Zi Mei alighted from the car, turned to wave at Thorin with a rushed “Thank you Drags” and then rushed to her door.

Thorin Loong came out and stood behind her as she unlocked her door and then followed her inside to her surprise. She turned to look at him.

“I have to rush my project now, I think you should go home now, don’t you, like, have work or something tomorrow?” she asked him.

Thorin Loong shrugged casually. He turned to lock her door for her.

“Don’t mind me, you go ahead,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “You are not going to stay the night here right?” she asked him.

“I will try to help you in any way I can,” he said.

“Uhmmmm…I doubt that you can help…it’s an art project and the class earlier this evening has established that you suck at art,” she pointed out.

Thorin smiled at her. “I don’t mean help you with your project…that will be cheating, I meant with other things, like maybe get you water, massage your shoulders, massage your feet, keep you company, you know, the stuffs that boyfriends do,”

Zi Mei’s heart fluttered at his words. His offer is so sweet and she didn’t have the heart to turn him away. She went to him and hugged him.

“Thank you, you are so sweet,” she told him. She reached up to kiss his cheek but he turned and caught her lips with his. The kiss turned into a deep passionate kiss as Thorin drew her close to him. After a long moment, Zi Mei had to forcibly tear herself away from him.

“You are distracting me,” she murmured, panting from the hot, passionate kiss. Thorin released her and held up his hands, palms up.

“I apologise, I will not do that again,” he said. He turned and head towards her living room, turning on the air conditioner and the lights for her.

Zi Mei went over to her study table and turned on her laptop. She will need to access her project instructions to make sure she get the details right. Thorin had taken a seat on her sofa and was thumbing through a magazine she had left on the coffee table. It was an art and design magazine.

Zi Mei read her project requirements. It looked like she had to create and draw a character design in various poses including in 2D and 3D in full colour. Zi Mei groaned. Creating a character design will take hours not to mention drawing it, fleshing it out and colouring it in 2D and 3D. She really can forget about sleeping tonight.

She took out her drawing paper and art supplies and set to work. A few hours later, fully engrossed in her drawing, she had totally forgotten about Thorin’s presence. She gave a start when Thorin came over and gave her a glass of warm water. She looked up at him gratefully and take a sip of the water.

“Here, take a short breather,” he told her. He rubbed her shoulders and gently massaged it. “You are all tensed up, you didn’t even stop for a break in the past 4 hours,” he added. Zi Mei massaged her tired eyes and stretched her hands. Thorin’s gentle hands on her tensed and knotted shoulders actually felt good. She leaned against his warmth as he worked on the knots in her shoulders. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his massage.

“Thank you Drags,” she murmured, subconsciously using the old nickname she had given him.. Thorin Loong paused for a second at the word but continued massaging her without saying anything.