Mo Qingchen tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Yes, but it is easier if I had the desire to form meaningful human relationships, don't you think?"

  She could acknowledge that. "You do need some friends. And to loosen up. But why would it make your life easier?"

  Mo Qingchen put his glass down momentarily to take out his cell phone. He didn't answer her question until after he had opened his contact list.

  "It would certainly take some pressure off me to find a woman to settle down with. I have no desire to date and I am not capable of emotional commitment, nor do I want it from anyone else."

  "Join the club. I don't date either. I'm perfectly fine being alone. In fact, I prefer it. Too many men salivating over my money. I don't think well of your kind, Mo Qingchen." Very few men impressed her. She wanted little to do with them apart from business relations.

  "You'll be content alone for the rest of your life? That you don't need a partner to depend on emotionally?" He was leading her on. Trapping her into what he wanted.

  But Yun Qian Meng couldn't find it in herself to stop playing this game. She wanted to know. She was dying to know.

  "I don't need to depend on anyone. I'm no Cinderella, waiting around for my prince charming on a white horse. I can stand on my own two feet and I can rescue myself from the dragon guarding my tower."

  "Not a fan of fairytales?" He asked, taking a sip of his champagne.

  "Clearly written by pompous men," she groaned.

  "I like that you're not a damsel in distress. There are too many of those who use their gender to get out of situations." He frowned. How many of them had thrown themselves at him? How many gold diggers had he swatted away with his personality?

  "I earn more money than most men on the planet and can do everything better than them."

  "So, you don't date?"

  "Never really been on a date," she admitted.

  "And it doesn't bother you at all?" Because it didn't bother him in the least.

  "No. It is a conscious decision. I could date if I wanted, but I don't feel the desire to do so. I have never looked at love as something that I needed in my life. I can do without it."

  Not a romantic. How fascinating. Just like him. He grew to appreciate her more with every word she spoke.

  "I'm exactly the same. We both view our independence to be liberating and our views in life and business are similar." He had made his point.

  "Come to the point, Mo Qingchen." She was getting impatient.

  "I'm thirty-one years old. My mother reminds me at least once a week that I am no longer fit to play the part of the young and successful bachelor anymore. She insists that I settle down."

  Qian Meng's eyes grew wide. "What does age have to do with being eligible? Your mother needs a pair of glasses." Mo Qingchen was a catch no matter which angle one looked from.

  By this time, Mo Qingchen's glass was empty. She took it from him gingerly and went to go refill the glass. Instead, she just grabbed the bottle and took it back over to the bench with her.

  He took it from her and filled his own glass, pouring a little too much out.

  "Also, why does it matter if you settle down or not? Having a woman on your arm doesn't affect your success."

  Mo Qingchen looked at her critically. "You are na?ve if you think that way. It matters in some ways."

  "How so," she asked, curious.

  "Let's refer to your notion of marketability." He took a bigger sip. "Everyone in my social circle is older and married or of my age and married."

  Qian Meng flinched. Now she understood.

  "I only go to parties to make connections. It's all business for me. Everything I do in some way or another has to do with business."

  "And finding a woman to settle down with would make you more marketable. A convenience. No one would single you out in a party of couples, you would blend right in. And associations are mostly led by women in our circles."

  Mo Qingchen nodded, satisfied that she understood. "If I did settle down, it would make me more relatable. In our society, married men to be viewed as more significant in a friendly sense. A family-oriented man is approachable."

  Qian Meng stifled a laugh. "Yes, it has nothing to do with the lack of expression on your face or your reputation as a fire-breathing dragon in the industry."

  "Touche."

  "So date!" she insisted.

  "Well, it would have benefits in some ways. But like I said, I have no romantic desires. I have no patience to romance a woman if my heart is not inclined. How will I contribute emotionally to a relationship if I don't even care for it?"

  "Good point." No need to hurt a woman because of his business requirements. "You can never make it work if you don't really want it."

  "Exactly." He paused.

  "Do you think we will be alone forever?" she asked suddenly.

  "Most likely. I don't envision myself falling in love. I do believe it exists. I have seen people in love, I just don't think I am cut out for it. I'm far too selfish for love. I have no interest in sharing myself with anyone."

  "That sounds disheartening. And like me." Well, she was discovering a lot of things about Mo Qingchen today. And about herself.

  "That deserves a toast." He lifted his glass.

  "Indeed, it does."

  "To independence and emotional solitude," he said. She repeated enthusiastically.