Sweet Lies: Mesmerized By CEO's Love

"Hi, beauty!"

Maya Mo stretched out her bloated hand and immediately tightened her red scarf around her neck. With a trace of impatience on her face, she then stamped her feet before muttering to herself incredulously, 'It's so cold in winter. Crosby Liu, I must be truly loving you. Otherwise, how can I come out stupidly on such a cold day to find a veterinarian for your pet?'

As she continued dragging her body along the path, she vaguely heard a pleasant male voice calling behind her. Though somewhat feeling confused, she didn't care to stop. Because she clearly remembered what Crosby once advised her. And that was not to turn her head back whenever she heard someone calling her a beauty while walking on the road. In this way, she could absolutely avoid the possible embarrassment that someone might not actually be calling her "beauty".

However, when she lifted her gaze, she caught herself looking at two girls in front of her, who were wearing visibly thin clothes on such a cold day, turned around confidently. In the next instant, she was startled when she heard screams and gasps coming from these two girls.

"Oh, my God! He's so handsome!" one of the girls flattered the owner of the voice.

"Oh, Gosh! Is he calling me? Is it me?" asked the other girl, giggling. She seemed to have eye contact with the handsome man, so she stamped her feet excitedly.

Maya almost rolled her eyes in distaste. She didn't even bother to take a look at the man behind her. Besides, judging from the reaction of the girls, Maya could guess that these girls didn't know the handsome stranger behind them. She was generally not appreciative of those men who would accost beautiful women randomly on the street.

"Wait a minute, beauty!"

the unfamiliar man called again. And his voice sounded undeniably pleasing to the ear. This time, Maya found herself struggling hard not to throw a backward glance.

"Hi, beauty!"

"Oh, he isn't calling me!" Soon, Maya noticed that the two girls were utterly disappointed, and both were oddly staring at her. She felt uneasy as she thought, 'Is he calling me?'

The voice was getting closer and closer, and Maya's musing was interrupted. After pulling her thoughts, she finally stopped walking. The moment she turned around, a tall and handsome man appeared in her view. He was only a few centimeters away from her. At that particular moment, Maya's eyes lit up while her breath paused abruptly.

She was stunned for a while, and it was not like she had developed an instant crush on him. She had seen so many handsome men in her whole life, but this gentleman looked quite extraordinary that it would be hard for her to forget him. How to describe him then? He was unforgettable! The man looked downright perfect. His face was flawless, sparkling, and his skin was crystal-clear. His eyebrows were dignified, and his eyes were clear and elegant. He had a straight nose as well as a pair of slightly pink lips. As for his jawline, it was sharp and angular.

'Why did this man call me?' she pondered, racking her brain. She couldn't remember that she knew such a handsome man.

"Yes? What's up..." she managed to stammer.

"Beauty, why are you running around?"

As soon as his words fell, time seemed to stand still here for Maya.

Momentarily dumbfounded, she saw the tall man running past her. Then he caught that happy Samoyed dog under the tree. He squatted down and carefully tied a rope around the dog's neck.

"Damn it! He was calling that dog!" one of the girls roared.

And Maya felt like a basin of cold water was thrown to her, snapping her back to senses. She was so embarrassed that she also wanted to shout "fuck"! 'Crosby, your words were not right!

You didn't tell me that someone would name a dog "Beauty" so abnormally!' shouted Maya in her heart, cursing her best friend angrily.

On the other hand, Yusuf Song, who came out to see a veterinarian, was playing with his dog in his arms, with a faint smile on his cold, stern face, and without giving a damn to the people around him.

"Beauty, if you run around next time, I won't give you jerky anymore," he threatened while gently patting the Samoyed dog. It looked so fat and bloated that it needed to see a veterinarian.

The Samoyed dog called "beauty" licked its master's palm naughtily while responding like a baby, as if trying to please him. The dog seemed to say, 'No, don't refuse to give me jerky, arf-arf!'

Yusuf had only his pet in his eyes and still didn't notice that a girl was silently standing behind him. She was so ashamed that she desperately wanted to dig a hole in the ground to hide herself. He came out today, forgetting to put a dog leash on his pet. As a result, it ran away. He chased it all the way while calling it, but he didn't expect that he would cause such embarrassment.

It was the first encounter of 24-year-old Maya Mo and 29-year-old Yusuf Song. For Maya, it was such an embarrassing moment that she wanted to totally forget about it, but for Yusuf, it was such a hasty meeting that he couldn't recall it at all.

Half an hour later, Maya, who carried a deep resentment in her heart regarding her cringe-worthy encounter with the handsome man and the dog named "Beauty" a while ago, finally found the veterinary clinic after getting lost for several times.

Inwardly sighing a great relief, she carefully pushed the glass door open. The wind blowing behind her was freezing her butt off that she couldn't help raising her hands wrapped in cotton gloves and giving them a blow. Her nose was red because of the cold, but her eyes were black and clear. She didn't feel warm until she closed the door.

December in T City was unusually colder than ever. It was considered to be the coldest winter during the past thirty years. As she tried warming her hands up, she let her eyes roam around for a while. She found that many pets in the cages jumped up and down in eagerness, and they were mostly rabbits, cats, and mice. Since she was not fond of them, she quickly shuffled forward.

"Are you Dr. Chen?" Maya tentatively asked when she saw a tall figure in front of her, wearing a white coat. She figured that he must be the doctor of this private pet clinic.

She eyed the doctor up and down discreetly and thought in admiration, 'The doctor has got straight and long legs, and from behind, he looks quite thin. But he is very tall. I think he's taller than 1.85 meters.'

The man turned his head, revealing his face at last. But this was the same face that Maya had been struggling to forget since earlier. His eyes were clear, showing his indifference, and surprisingly they did not waver even for a bit. And with an expressionless demeanor, he pointed behind her blankly without uttering a word.

The corners of Maya's mouth twitched suddenly. Thinking of the mortifying blunder she made not long ago, she stood there rather stiffly, letting her gaze fall at the Samoyed named "Beauty" awkwardly.

In an uncomfortable silence, she vigilantly watched how the man bent down slightly and comforted the dog, which was lying on the operating table. She shifted her attention to the dog. It was a big white dog. To be exact, it was a big white fat dog. The corners of her mouth twitched again.

In all honesty, the moment she gazed at the handsome man, she was not only surprised. But heeding the indifferent and alienated look on his face, she was also relieved. At least, it was good that he didn't remember that embarrassing scene, or else she would die out of shame in no time. Turning around, Maya eventually noticed a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white coat. She quickly understood and gently prompted, "Are you Dr. Chen?"

Yusuf just inadvertently glanced at her back, still without any expression.

Dr. Chen gave her a gentle smile naturally before asking, "Where is the patient?"

Maya carefully took out a box from her bag. As she slowly opened it, her beautiful black eyes were full of worry, then she confided, "My turtle hasn't moved for many days. I fed it and gave it water, but it just didn't move..."

Yes, a tortoise was lying in the box, with its head shrunk. It was the pet that her best friend Crosby had entrusted her to take good care of before the latter going abroad. At first, Maya found it really ridiculous because never had she maintained a pet. And since it was a tortoise, she merely thought that it would not die even without showering it with care. Unexpectedly, this little thing hid its head into the shell a few days ago. And what was worse, it hadn't made any movement since then, making her feel somewhat distressed.

In her desperation, she had no choice but to come out to look for a doctor on such a cold day. She didn't dare to neglect Crosby's precious tortoise because they were actually living under the same roof.

Dr. Chen listened to her description thoroughly while taking a closer look at the tortoise in the box. Finally, he could not help laughing and said in a casual tone, "Miss, is it your first time to keep a tortoise? It is okay. The weather is too cold, so currently, it is hibernating."

Maya's eyes widened in an instant as her delicate face flushed, feeling like there was a fire burning on her face. Thinking that there was still the presence of a handsome man in the clinic, all the more she felt humiliated to the extent that her face became even redder. It was all her fault. She was too anxious to think about it. Why didn't she think of that? She shrugged, mentally scolding herself.

But what made her more ashamed was that she had unbelievably lost face twice in front of this man right on the same day!

When Maya was feeling embarrassed, Dr. Chen noticed Yusuf picked up the Samoyed and was about to leave, so he immediately said, "Mr. Song, are you leaving? Your dog is fine now. Remember not to feed it too much raw and cold meat these days and try to give it hot food. Well, if possible, don't feed it too much. It's getting fatter."

Hearing the doctor's words, Maya peered at the man curiously, reflecting that this man was oddly indifferent. As she was thinking, the man frowned and seemed to be a little disconcerted. "Okay."

His voice was pleasant to hear, but it sounded a little cold.

Maya watched the strange man taking the plump, snow-white Samoyed away. Not long after, the dog turned around and suddenly barked at her, as if laughing at her.

The man appeared to have sensed something, so he turned his head and followed the dog's sight, and soon ended up catching her gazing at them. The man shortly averted his eyes calmly. With a smile, he bent down, patted the dog's head, and continued sauntering away.

Maya was rendered speechless. Uh-oh! She seemed to have experienced disgrace twice in front of this stranger. She could only squeeze an awkward grimace into her face as she grumpily asked herself, 'What did you do?'

Shaking her head, Maya went directly to the supermarket, thinking that she could not go empty-handed back to her place. Since she came here all the way, she should buy more things to calm herself down after recently making a fool of herself. After picking all the grocery items that she presumed enough for a week, Maya still grabbed some snacks, candies, and tampons. And while her gaze fell at the bunch of old ladies who were busy and excited buying different things for the upcoming Spring Festival celebration, she carefully placed a fish tank in her cart. She decided to give the tortoise a new nest.

Carrying big and small bags, she now felt comfortable and so much at ease. In the past, her family was poor, but even if she didn't have much money at that time, she liked to go shopping occasionally. Nothing could lift her moods other than shopping. It was like an antidote for her. Now that her work was considerably on the right track, and she had enough money to support herself, she enjoyed this kind of strange pleasure she got out of shopping. Besides, she had already kissed goodbye to her fears of being short in money to cover the purchases she unwittingly made in excess.

When she got back to her place, it was still so cold that it numbed her. As soon as she alighted from the taxi, she felt the cold wind rustling her face like a knife. This year, to ensure that she wouldn't have to go out again during the Spring Festival, she had paid enough water and electricity fee so she could turn the air conditioner on every day.

Her parents had asked her when she would go home for the Spring Festival, but she didn't want to go back this year. Maybe she felt like an outsider whenever she went back home, or perhaps she was not used to dealing with her relatives. Her parents knew how stubborn she was. Even if they persuaded her to come, Maya would still decline. They had only successfully convinced her to go home on the first few days of the Spring Festival.

"Little girl, you're back!" A man in the neighborhood recognized her and greeted her with a smile.

For two years, she had lived here. But she would never go out unless it was deemed necessary. So having someone remembering her was way out of her expectations. Oddly, she was a little stunned and could only let out a stiff smile. "Yes."

As soon as she said that, she entered the elevator right away and went home directly.

Maya was a homebody. She was 24 years old and was a professional script writer. She came from a small town in S City, but after she graduated from university, she had stayed in T City. Although she was a script writer now, she had been an unknown internet writer for a span of four years. Only last year did she get the script writing job. But that was not sufficient enough for her to survive in T City, which happened to be a first-tier city. Fortunately, she had a wealthy friend who never got tired of helping her out.

And it was Crosby Liu, who she first met in high school as her deskmate. Crosby was notorious for having a cold temper, but when Maya got familiar with her, she found that Crosby was not only beautiful but clever and funny as well. She was fond of painting and games. On the flip side, Maya was timid and shy in front of strangers. Only when she became familiar with others would she talk in an unexpected but funny way. The friendship between the two almost resembled a science fiction film, which was very inexplicable. Both of the girls never shared the same hobbies at all. Well, if there was one thing they had in common, that was being a homebody.

Well, now let's go back to Maya.

The house was quite big, with two bedrooms and one living room. Maya loved staying at home, doing nothing but writing scripts every day. But she certainly kept the house clean in her spare time.

That evening, she opted to make a simple steak for herself. By the way, other than her daily routine of writing scripts and watching TV dramas, this professional screenwriter also studied food and cooking. Shortly after her graduation, Maya had almost learned all Chinese and foreign cuisine by heart.

Her confidence extended dramatically to her assumption that even if Crosby got married in the future, she would certainly come to visit her from time to time because of her impeccable culinary skills.

A while later, after sending the latest chapter of the script to the chief editor, Maya finally went to bed and soon doze off.

In the middle of the night, a sudden burst of noise outside jolted her awake.

Ironically, with such good sound insulation, she could still hear the earth-shattering barks of dog outside her room. Then the doorbell rang, making her heart skip a beat.

"Who is it? It's late at night..." Maya whispered as she smoothed her hair and tentatively inched her way to the door in her slippers. In a daze, she tried to peek at the door peephole and was startled.

'Why is he here?' she frantically asked herself, apparently confused. Surprisingly, it was none other than the owner of the Samoyed dog she met during the day!

Maya cautiously took out the electric baton from the shoe cabinet in silence and discreetly hid it behind her. She purposely cleared her throat and asked the tall and handsome man in front of the door, "Well, what can I do for you?"

It appeared that the man failed to recognize her voice. Instead, he only pointed at a pile of things behind him and the two men from the furniture company before he replied, "I'm new here. Can I trouble you to take care of my dog? I will take it back after I clean up the house."

For a moment, Maya found herself speechless again. She reluctantly shifted her attention at the fat dog and then cast a glimpse at the man again, who stared at her innocently and looked almost pleading. The man seemed to be afraid that she would refuse, so he quickly explained, "My dog can't bear the dust. I'll finish cleaning soon!"

Quite frankly, Maya didn't know how to answer.

It was her first-ever encounter with such a delicate dog. It was called Beauty, and it could not bear the dust.

'But... Ah, what? He's new here? Does that mean he is a neighbor?' she mused.