Fanatical About You, My One And Only

In the pouring rain, Emily Xu burst into tears as she held Justin Xu, her badly injured father. Though weak, he was able to caress her cheek as he whispered, "Emily...find Ryan Ji from the D Group. He will help you..."

As soon as those words escaped his lips, however, his hand dropped and his head fell to the side. "Dad! Dad! Please wake up! Dad!" she cried, heartbroken.

Emily Xu woke up with a start. She felt her heart pounding against her chest and her forehead was covered with cold sweat.

After having awful nightmares for a few days, she finally made an appointment with Ryan Ji from the D Group that afternoon.

His assistant John Chen walked towards the waiting Emily Xu. The door to the CEO's office was wide open, and so she could see inside. In the chair sat a man with a woman on his lap. The two were kissing passionately without a care in the world. Frowning, Emily Xu turned her head as if she hadn't seen anything. Doubts about Ryan Ji's character began pestering her mind.

John Chen headed to the door, cleared his throat and knocked.

Emily Xu heard a sweet, womanly voice saying, "Ouch, Ryan! Why are you so bad? You made me want you so much, but then you drive me away. I don't want to leave just yet.

I'll wait for your call, Ryan."

A few moments later, Emily saw the woman exit the office. "Miss Xu, you may come in," said John Xu.

Emily Xu walked to the door. As she passed the woman, she realized that she recognized her. She was Jesse Tian, a famous model. Though Jesse Tian was busy tidying up her extremely wrinkled dress, she still had time to throw Emily Xu a nasty glare.

Emily Xu felt that something was off. Ryan Ji knew she was coming yet he still made out with Jesse Tian with his office door wide open. Even weirder was the fact that now that she was inside the office and John Chen had gone out, he closed the door behind them.

"Miss Xu, what can I do for you?"

Ryan Ji asked as he looked at her intently. His eyes were the intimidating kind: bright, beautiful, deep, and dangerous.

"I want to know if you know my father, Justin Xu."

Ryan Ji took out a cigarette from a drawer, put it between his fingers, and sank into his chair. "Miss Xu, you only have five minutes. If you have something to say, just say it. But let me tell you this: If you came here to ask me about what happened to your father, I can't help you. You're talking to the wrong person."

This surprised her. She never expected him to shut her down this fast!

"My father specifically mentioned your name before he died."

"Oh, really?"

He then took out a lighter. Before he lit his cigarette, he asked whether or not Emily Xu minded him smoking. When she shook her head, he lit the cigarette and drew on it. As he puffed the smoke out, he said, "Miss Xu, you can ask your boyfriend about this. It's William Xu, right? Why do you hesitate to ask for his help?"

This damn man was really good at rubbing salt on people's wounds. William Xu was on a business trip to the United States. It'd already been half a month since her father had passed away, but she still hadn't heard from him. At first, she thought that he had something urgent to deal with and so he couldn't come back. But now that it had been so long, she couldn't help but feel that William Xu was just deliberately avoiding her.

Now that she was no longer the daughter of S Group's CEO—she was nothing, basically—William Xu's actions seemed incredibly suspicious.

"My father asked me to look for you, Mr. Ji. Not anyone else."

She was firm on getting what she wanted out of him.

"I've just given you my answer. You may leave now," he said, looking at her indifferently.

"But you have told me nothing. My father has never been a person to ask other people for help. But before he died, he told me to come to you and ask for help. He trusted you that much. He might have helped you before. I don't think you're a bad man, Mr. Ji. You won't refuse to help me, will you? So tell me: what do you know?"

"Even if your father did help me, he's dead. Besides, I don't owe him anything. As to why your father asked you to come to me, I find it curious as well."

Emily Xu felt the hope she was dearly holding on to inside her heart slowly fading away. Her hands began trembling as she realized she didn't know what to do if Ryan Ji wouldn't help her.

After a while, he said, "I'm a businessman. I never do things that are unprofitable. If you want me to help you, I need you to do something for me."

Her eyes widened. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, her voice beginning to shake.

He stared at her, making her very uncomfortable.

"Forget it. I don't think you'll agree to it. Find your boyfriend and ask him to help you. He's also more capable than I am."

She once again fell into silence. Although she already knew that this man was playing a psychological warfare, she still willingly jumped into his trap.

"I would like to know what you want me to do."

Ryan Ji once again puffed out another cloud of smoke. His handsome face remained calm. "My condition is simple: marry me."

Emily Xu was shocked. Out of all the things he could ask of her, this was the last thing on her mind. With clenched fists, she bellowed, "Are you crazy? What the hell do you think of me? And don't you have enough woman around you?"

The idea was out of this world for her. First, she was sure that she didn't have any connection with Ryan Ji prior to this meeting. Second, wasn't he just intimate with Jesse Tian a while ago?

What a jerk he was!

"Yes, I have enough woman around me. But I need a wife," he calmly explained, still looking her in the eye.

He was serious. "Impossible. You don't think I'd really do that, right?" she asked in a panic.

He shrugged and said, "You asked me to tell you what I want from you. It's clear that you won't do it, so there's no need for us to continue talking."

He stretched out his long arms to get to the phone. After pressing one button, he said, "John, Miss Xu here is already on her way out."

Walking out of the D Group building, Emily felt lost, confused, and defeated. 'Why would Dad ask me to come to such a man? Ryan is not a good person!' Days before she was to meet with Ryan Ji, she looked him up on the Internet to get acquainted with him. Apparently, in the business world, he was known for his effective yet ruthless practices. It was said that any company targeted by him would be doomed, like a person being bit by a viper. The D Group was the only company in Q City that could compete with J Group.

An unfruitful day drained Emily Xu of all her energy. She returned to the Wisteria Garden to rest, but even before she entered, she heard Lily shouting, "Mr. Xu, you can't do this. How can you do this?"

Emily Xu walked into the house. There, she saw Joseph Xu coming down from the second floor with a painting. Emily took a closer look at what was happening and found out Joseph Xu was not holding some famous painting, but the wedding photo of her parents hanging in her father's room.

She was unable to restrain her fury. "Uncle Joseph, what are you doing?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Emily, you came back just in time!" Joseph Xu cheerily replied. "My brother left in a hurry. I am your only family now. I'm worried about you living here alone, so we will live here to accompany you. The Wisteria Garden is close to the S Group building and there are many rooms. Your aunt and I will live here for some time."

Emily Xu was now trembling in anger. "Uncle Joseph, my father had just died. Can't you wait for a little bit before occupy his property? Aren't you disgusted with what you're doing? Aren't you afraid of the karma that would follow you just because of your ugly greed?"

Joseph Xu's friendly facade dropped at once and his face became grim. Slowly, he took two steps towards Emily Xu and said, "Watch your words, young lady. Your father is dead. I have taken the care of the leadership at S Group alone and now, I'm taking the initiative to take care of you. Why can't you just appreciate it?"

"Dad, she's beyond saving. Don't try and reason with her . I think she is tired of living a good life. Since she doesn't want us to be so good to her, why should we treat her so well? Just drive her out. If we do, I sure she'll come knocking on our door and begging us to take her in in less than two days."

It was Amy Xu speaking, Emily Xu's cousin.

Lily couldn't bear what she was hearing. Defiantly, she stepped forward and said, "Mr. Xu, your brother had left the Wisteria Garden to Miss Xu. I was present when the lawyer came and he signed the documents."

Joseph Xu glared at Lily and asked, "Who do you think you are? This is family matters! You are just a mere servant. Get out of here right now!"

"I don't think Lily is the one who should get of here," interrupted Emily Xu as she held Lily's hands.