Mr. Demon: Mesmerized By Sweet Maid

The Maple City was famous for its maple trees. Every November, the city would be clouded over with dark red leaves as if they had their own burning sky watching over them in bliss.

Lola, a sixteen-year-old girl, walked out of the bookstore with a stack of books in her arms. The autumn sun glared at her, its scorching heat enough to make anyone dizzy. She blocked the dazzling light with her hand and walked towards her bicycle not far away.

Her short hair grazed against her earlobes as she walked. A pair of black glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, covering half of her face. She wore a bright tee, denim shorts, and a pair of sneakers. Her causal outfit highlighted her youthfulness as she walked down the sidewalk. Due to the unbearable heat, she bought herself an ice cream at a nearby stall and then headed towards the bicycle parked beside.

Placing the books into the basket, Lola walked down the road in front of the Wei Yuan Group building. As she stared up at the towering structure, she found herself wishing to work there one day.

A black Bentley slowly drove towards the building, and its dark surface glinted under the light.

Before the car had stopped, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed out behind Lola. He didn't waste any time as he stopped in front of the Bentley and raised his hands. "Please help our company, Sir," he pleaded. "I beg you."

The young man in the backseat narrowed his eyes at the man blocking his way. His lips tightened. His soft hair clung to his forehead, framing his dark gaze perfectly. He wore a black silk shirt and a pair of trousers. Although he looked to be about sixteen or seventeen-years-old, an intimidating aura wafted around him.

"Sir, please help me." The middle-aged man staggered to the side the car. His large fists slammed against the car door helplessly, and his sweaty face smudged against the window. The young man wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Sir, what do you think?" the man sitting next to him asked.

An unknown emotion flickered in the young man's gaze. With a wave of his hand, he motioned the driver to open his side of the door.

Immediately, the driver got out of the car and followed his order. With a swift movement, he pulled the door open and eyed the blubbering man by the side of the car. "Sir, be careful," the driver said respectfully.

A slender figure exited the car. His expensive leather shoes looked out-of-place on the dirty pavements, but he didn't seem to care. Then, he stared at the groveling man with disdain. "Instead of begging me, you should just admit that you aren't capable of running this company. Even if I did help you, your employees will lose their jobs sooner or later with a boss like you."

"For the sake of all our past partnerships, please help me. I'm sure Mr. Wei will listen to you. I-If you won't help me, I'll jump off the building. Please, Sir!" The man's demeanor crumbled at the sight of the young man. He fell onto his knees and clasped his hands together. Tears shone in his eyes as he sobbed loudly.

Not only was the young man unaffected by the pitiful sight, but his face also hardened even more. "You can jump off the building for all I care," he snapped. "As long as I'm still underage, I won't be participating in the company's internal affairs. Go ask the CEO of the Wei Yuan Group for help if you're really that desperate."

"But Mr. Wei is your father. Maybe you can-" "Don't ever mention him in front of me,"

the young man suddenly roared. His face had darkened even more, and there was a scary glint in his eyes that sent a shiver down Lola's spine. The middle-aged man flinched.

This scene reminded Lola of the time her father had begged the foreman for his staff's salaries only to be harshly rejected. Having no other choice, her father had taken a large chunk of his own savings to pay them. When her grandmother had been taken to the hospital, they had no money left to support her bills, causing her death in the end.

The middle-aged man reminded her so much of her father that she subconsciously took two steps forward. "He already knelt on the ground to beg you. Can't you at least feel sorry for him?" The words slipped out of her lips before she could stop them.

The young man's head snapped up to look at her. He raised his eyebrows. "And who are you?" he questioned snidely.

"A nobody. All I'm trying to say is that you're being way too heartless. He already begged you. Why can't you just take some time off your day and help him?" she demanded. 'What the hell is his problem?'

"Turns out you're just a bystander," the young man snorted. With a roll of his eyes, he turned around, ready to walk past the middle-aged man and towards the doors of the Wei Yuan Group building.

"Sir..." Seeing that he was about to leave, the middle-aged man grabbed a hold of his leg, preventing him from walking any farther.

Caught off guard, the young man stumbled forward and bumped into Lola. His hands accidentally grazed against her chest.

She shrieked. "Shame on you!" Her voice was so loud that everyone craned their heads to take a look. Out of instinct, Lola slammed the entire ice-cream cone onto the young man's face. His face and black shirt were smudged with the cold dessert.

"Sir!"

"Sir, are you okay?" His driver and bodyguards were quick to respond to the accident. One of them quickly pulled out a clean cloth from one of his pockets and tried to wipe off the ice cream as best as he could.

The young man shoved his men behind him as one of his hands touched the side of his face. The sticky substance that coated his fingertips made his stomach crawl. He glared at Lola fiercely. Did she want to die? "How dare you!" he yelled.

'Oh shit!' Lola stiffened as her gaze shifted from the man to the crowd of people surrounding him. Given that all of them were on his side, she was definitely going to pay for this if she stayed for another second.

In a moment of desperation, she climbed on her bike and pedaled with all of her strength. Just as she was about to drive onto the main road, she turned and pulled up her middle-finger. "Only a fool would stay here," she snorted. "See you never!" Without another word, she was gone like the gust of a wind.

Lola rode the bicycle all the way out of the downtown. Soon enough, the tall buildings behind her were replaced with rows of villas on either side of the road. It was an area for the rich and famous. In fact, her bicycle was an eye-sore compared to all the Lamborghinis and Bentleys parked in the area.

Seeing that she was already near, the young girl pedaled with all her strength as she went to the backyard of one of the largest villas here.

With a squeak, the bicycle stopped right in front of the backdoor. She placed it against the corner and pushed the door open. There were rows of servants' rooms at the back of the house. She walked down the corridor and pushed one of the doors open. Lola tossed the stack of books onto the bed. "Bai," she sang. "I'm back."

In the narrow room, a young boy sat by the table. His rough hands were holding a book closely against his chest. Only the sight of him had refreshed her.

At the sound of her voice, he turned around and smiled. When he saw how sweaty she was, he quickly gave her a towel and poured her a glass of water. "Couldn't you take good care of yourself?" he lectured. "Look at you, all sweating like a pig. Drink some water."

Lola took the towel and wiped the sweat that beaded down her forehead. She grabbed the glass and drank it down hungrily like a dog who had been left out to battle the heat. "Bai, why didn't Aunt take a nap today?" She wiped the corners of her lips. "I didn't see her when I passed by her room."

"Young master came back today, so the entire household has been busy arranging the place for his return. She didn't have the time to get some rest." Disdain flashed across his face.

"The young master? You mean James Ling?" Lola blinked in surprise. Ever since she attended high school here last year, she decided to live in her aunt's place. Since she was a maid working for the Wei Family, Lola stayed here.

Bai Chi, her aunt's grandson, was Lola's cousin. He was just a year older than her and would soon be taking his college entrance examinations next year. Although they were cousins, he treated her as if she was his sister.

Lola only had been here for such a short time, but she knew of the infamous young master. She had always wondered why the son of the Wei Family would have 'Ling' as his surname. However, when she asked her aunt about it, she had only received a warning. "Don't ever mention that again in this household," her aunt had stated. "It's a taboo. If anyone hears you talking about this, you'll be punished."

"I heard that he has a bad temper. Is that true?" Lola asked cautiously.

Bai Chi's face darkened. He ruffled his short hair. "It's best that you avoid him in the future," he reminded. "Besides, it's not like he'll be coming to the servants' quarters."

"Okay." She nodded. Suddenly, a thought popped in her mind, and she quickly picked up the books that she had thrown onto the bed. "Bai, these are the manuals and exercises I bought today," she said. "Do you mind helping me check if they're enough?"

Bai Chi flipped through the books that ranged from politics to geography. If they had picked the same strand, she wouldn't have bought them in the first place. The notes he had left for her could only help her up to next year's examinations.

"I'll ask my classmate to draw up some points for you tomorrow."

"You're the best!" Lola smiled sweetly. "What would I do without you?"

"Aren't you such a suck-up?" He pinched her nose lovingly.

"Please, you know that I'll never suck up to anyone but you. By the way, I just came from the bookstore today, and I met this dreadful person." Lola proceeded to tell him what had happened.

All of a sudden, a rush of footsteps sounded, and the door was pushed open. A sixty-year-old woman came in and stared pointedly at the pair. "Come out quickly," she whispered. "The young master's back. We must all welcome him, so that he'd be familiar with your faces."

"From the amount of people in this household, I'll doubt if he would know that someone's missing." Bai Chi didn't want to see the young master. All he ever wanted was to continue with his reading.

"Nonsense! Everyone should come out and greet him. Plus, if you leave a good impression, you could work at the Wei Yuan Group after graduation. You know how difficult their recruitment process is," the old woman snapped, refusing to take no for an answer.

He could only sigh helplessly in response. Unlike what others might think, he had no interests in working under the Wei Yuan Group. Instead, he wanted to start up his own business after graduation with hopes that he would be able to prove himself.

However, every time he talked about his goals with his grandmother, she would only shake her head and lecture him about all the opportunities he was giving up. All his words were futile against her.

Compared to Bai's frustrations, Lola was the complete opposite. In the past two years, she had never come across the owner of the villa. It was said that the villa was specifically entrusted to the young master, and that Mr. and Mrs. Wei didn't live here. She couldn't believe that they would buy such a big villa for just one man. For her, it was a waste of money.

They exited the servants' quarters and huddled around the entrance of the villa. A red carpet was propped by the door that led up to the center of the villa. Lola and Bai stood beside the old lady.

A black Bentley roared from a distance. The glossy texture shone under the sunlight as it stopped by the gate of the villa.

One of the servants opened the door of the car and held up a hand to protect the young master's head. The moment his face appeared in her line of sight, she stiffened.

'Isn't he the guy I met earlier?' Lola's mind was in haywire. She remembered that the middle-aged man had said that Mr. Wei was the young boy's father. That meant he was the owner of this villa, James Ling. Finally, she put together the pieces of the puzzle. Her mouth went dry.

Knowing his temper, she bowed her head and prayed to the gods that he wouldn't see her.

Suddenly, just as she had bowed her head, a mosquito buzzed in front of her before falling onto her snow white arm. A jolt of pain ran threw her skin, and she gritted her teeth. 'Damn it!' Lola raised her hand and swatted the insect.

The crisp sound echoed around the hall. Everyone turned to look at Lola's direction as if the young teen had just grown two heads, but she didn't seem to mind. All that she could think of was the escaping mosquito.

At the sound, James Ling stopped and turned to look at the servants. Finally, his eyes fell on Lola, taking in her casual outfit. Wasn't she the girl who slammed his face with ice cream?

A vindictive smile slithered into his lips. He didn't expect to meet her here after she had run away from him. It seemed that she was the child of a servant. Now, she had nowhere else to run. He slowly walked towards her.

A pair of shiny leather shoes appeared beside her. "Nobody," he mused, calling her attention.

But Lola couldn't care less as to what was happening. All she cared about was getting rid of that damned mosquito. The insect flew back and forth, as if trying to provoke her.

The servants trained their gaze to what was happening, unsure of what to do. Her aunt, who was standing next to Lola, looked like she was about to faint.

"It really is you." James Ling's eyes flashed. He took a stepped forward and raised his middle finger for her to see.

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed across the field as Lola's hand landed on his cheek.

Everyone froze. How could she have slapped the young master? Silence had befallen them, and no one dared to speak.

"Lola, what are you doing?" Bai was the first to react. He stared cautiously at the young master's furious expression. From what he had heard of his temper, he knew that she was going to be in big trouble.

Hearing his words, she finally came to her senses. Seeing that her hand was still on the young master's face, she froze. 'Crap! Crap! Crap!' she thought.

Immediately, Lola turned her hand around and showed to him the mosquito's corpse. The blood stained the center of her palm, but she didn't seem to care. An awkward smile entered her lips. "The mosquito was going to bite you," she stuttered out sheepishly. "So...so I killed it."

The servants' jaws dropped.

"Young master!" After regaining his composure, Mr. Loyal stepped forward to ease the situation but James had held up a hand to stop him. He was going to solve this problem by himself. Besides, she was just a measly little girl.

"You dared to slap me?" he said coldly. Except for the slap on his face when he was five-years-old, no one dared to slap him. This girl was definitely asking for it!

He raised his hand and was about to slap her.

"No!"

"No!"

Lola and Bai shouted at the same time. In an instant, the young teen squatted down and folded her hands above her head. "Boys can't hit girls," she announced firmly, not daring to look up at him.

Bai quickly stood between them and held up his hand, trying to shield his cousin from James's wrath. "Young master, Lola didn't mean to do that. Please forgive her."

James's hand was raised up in the air for a long time. Being well-educated, he had been taught over and over again to never lay a hand on a woman. Not only was it detrimental to a man's dignity, but it would also definitely make him lose face amongst his peers. Without another word, he withdrew his hand and headed into the villa as if nothing had happened.

All of the servants stared at Lola in disbelief. A mix of surprise and pity flashed in their eyes. Although no one could say it, everyone knew that this would not end well.

Lola had been squatting on the ground this whole time that she didn't notice that James had left. She slowly peeked in between her fingertips. When she saw that the man was gone, he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he also knew how to feel sorry for someone.

"Is he the guy you met back in the bookstore?" Bai whispered. He had guessed from the young master's reaction that they must have met before this occurrence.

She nodded, looking remorseful. Not only did she smash the ice cream onto his face, she had also slapped him. It seemed that the fates wanted to punish her for all her wrongdoings.

"Lola, what happened back there?" her aunt asked worriedly.

"Lola, young master is calling for you," Mr. Loyal called out with a poker face.

"I'll explain everything once I get back," she whispered to her aunt. Without another word, she followed the butler back into the villa.

Although Lola had only been to the hall a few times, she was familiar with the place. However, this was the first time, she roamed the halls because she was in trouble. Bowing her head, she obediently followed Mr. Loyal to the living room.

James sat on the sofa. His long legs were crossed. One of the servant brought him a bucket of ice cubes to lessen the redness on his face, but he refused. Although the slap wasn't painful, it still made him furious. Who would dare do such a thing to her own boss?

"Young master, Lola has arrived." With a bow, Mr. Loyal left the two of them to themselves.

The room fell into awkward silence. James could only glare at the girl before him, and she found herself shuffling uncomfortably under his gaze.

One minute, two minutes... More than ten minutes had passed, and he still hadn't said a word. Lola couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to say. She glanced up to look at him only to duck her head once more. Why did he have to look so intimidating?

Licking her dry lips, she stammered out, "Um...young master. It was just a misunderstanding. I didn't mean to hit you. You know how dangerous mosquitos are. If you accidently get bitten by one of them, you could have meningitis."

"So should I thank you for slapping me?" James sneered. His fingers twirled around the glass he was holding as he tried to formulate the perfect revenge.

"Well, you're welcome." Lola plastered an embarrassed smile on her face. Her hands shook as she prayed in her heart that the young master wasn't as terrible as people said he was.

"Mr. Loyal," he called, and the butler neared them. "I heard that Mrs. Chi isn't in good health lately. Maybe it's time we let her go."

"Yes, young master. Mrs. Chi hasn't been the healthiest these past few days." It didn't really matter whether the old woman was as hardworking as a horse. Whatever James said was law, and that was final.

"No, please. Don't let her go. My aunt's in perfectly good shape, plus Bai and I could help her around for free. It will not put a dent on your paycheck," Lola said anxiously. Bai was about to take the college entrance examination, and her aunt's salary was just enough to pay the tuition expenses. If she were fired... Lola shook her head expressively. No. They couldn't lose this job.

"Then, what happened just now..." James trailed off.

Understanding what he meant, she bowed her head without any hesitation. "It's all my fault. Please forgive my ignorance," she coaxed.

"Still no sincerity." He took a sip from his coffee.

Lola subtly gritted her teeth. She had already apologized to him. What else did he want? Did he want her to kneel down?

"Punish me then, young master. I'm willing to do anything as long as my Aunt isn't fired."

Seeing that Lola wasn't willing to give up just yet, a small smile slithered its way into his lips. He liked a challenge. It seemed that his stay here had gotten a hundred times more interesting.

James slowly stood up and walked towards her. His fingers grazed against her cheek, and he lifted her face. At first glance, she looked like a tomboy, but upon closer inspection, he could feel how delicate and smooth her skin was.

"Anything?" he whispered. His warm breath blew on her face, and she flushed instantly.

Lola could see James's face more clearly. There was no doubt that he was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. But even then, tension crawled in her heart.

'Is he going to kiss me?' She pushed the thought away almost immediately. What was she thinking? Even if he was, she wouldn't dare agree to such an act. Immediately, she stretched out her hands to block herself from James's nearing face in panic. "Don't mess around!" she snapped. "I won't be selling myself."