One Condition

Tristan and Zhen Zhen began exploring the mountain searching for her parents. As they spent more time together, Tristan had discovered something.

'This girl is not dumb nor stupid. She is not also crazy nor bipolar. She is just a pure and innocent woman who is like a child, ignorant of the outside world beyond this mountain. She is like a Blank Slate or Tabula Rasa that still needs to be filled with knowledge and experiences in order to understand how everything works in this world.'

These were the thoughts running in Tristan's mind as of this moment. He felt like this girl had been trapped here for a very long time and she had not yet stepped out of this mountain ever.

"Hey, Zhen- Zhen… you know what? You have a unique name." Tristan said randomly.

They continued walking around the mountain.

"That's the name given to me by my father. He called me that because he said that I am precious to them. But I have not known yours. Do you have a name too?" Zhen Zhen asked him.

Upon hearing that, Tristan tapped his forehead. He halted on his steps and turned to face her. She almost bumped into him since she was following him behind. Fortunately, Zhen Zhen was fast to react as she also stopped on her track.

"Shucks! We've been talking for a while now but I forgot to introduce myself to you. By the way, I am Tristan….Tristan Davis."

He extended his arm in front of her, offering her a handshake. But Zhen Zhen was just looking at his hand, not knowing what she should do about it.

Seeing her blank reaction, Tristan tapped his forehead once again.

'Dang! I forgot… this girl has no idea about this kind of gesture and formalities. Tsk tsk tsk.'

He shook his head and sighed deeply before grabbing her right hand.

"You should accept my hand and shake it like this. We do this here whenever we introduce ourselves to others." Tristan patiently explained to her.

Zhen Zhen put on her radiant charming smile as she glanced at their entangled hands shaking each other.

"Tristan…" She softly mumbled, repeating his name.

Tristan was starstruck the moment he saw her dazzling bewitching smile once again and hearing her soft voice calling his name.

'F*ck Damnit! She is drop-dead gorgeous!'

He felt like his heart just stopped beating.

"Tell me… tell me more. What else should I do?" Zhen Zhen said eagerly, looking at him with her innocent clear blue eyes.

That's the end of Tristan's self-control. He could no longer fight the temptation before him. This woman was breathtakingly beautiful and alluring in her own innocent way.

"We also do this here…" Tristan said in a low voice which was almost a whisper.

Then he slowly lowered his head and his lips touched hers. He kissed her!

'Her lips… so warm and soft. They taste like honey...very sweet.' Tristan thought to himself.

He was brushing her lips in a very gentle way. He could sense that she had no idea what was happening as she just remained still, not responding but at the same time not rejecting his kiss.

Tristan was right. This act was unknown to Zhen Zhen. She just stood there frozen, feeling his warm lips. She blinked her eyes several times, feeling curious about this unfamiliar feeling brought by Tristan.

For a moment she surrendered to him and savored the moment. Her arms reflexively moved, clinging to him as her heart stepped up the pace.

With so much difficulty, Tristan still managed to muster his remaining self-control as he broke the kiss. When he gazed at her face, he saw the cutest reaction of a girl he had ever seen in his life after being kissed by him.

She wore a wide-eyed innocent look as she glanced at him, her reddened face filled with confusion and curiosity.

Tristan couldn't help letting out soft chuckles when he saw her running her tongue over her lower lip, licking and biting it as she pouted. So pure yet very sensual and seductive.

"I like it. Can you teach me more?"

Tristan's husky laugh bubbled up and echoed in the mountain.

'D@mn! She's so cute and adorable! Haha!'

Tristan gently pinched her cheeks and said "Alright… I will teach you more but not now. Let's find your parents first."

He tugged her hand as they continued walking.

"Where do you live?" He asked her another random question.

"Here." Zhen Zhen promptly replied.

Tristan stopped on his track once again.

"What do you mean here? You mean in this town?" He probed.

"Here. In this mountain."

Tristan:"..."

He was rendered speechless once again by Zhen Zhen's very honest and weird answer.

"My parents and I are living in a cave... in a mountain." She elaborated to make things clear for him.

'Sh!t! I guess I am right. She had been trapped in this mountain all her life, which explains her very strange behavior. They are living far away from civilization. What are her parents trying to do? Hiding their beautiful daughter in the world?! But why?'

Tristan's interest was piqued by this beautiful strange maiden. He was now curious about her. He wanted to know her more.

'No. She should not stay here any longer. I must see her parents and persuade them! She doesn't deserve to be kept here forever.'

With that thought in mind, Tristan faced Zhen Zhen. He held both her shoulders and stared at her intently.

"Zhen Zhen… do you want to learn more from me? Do you want me to teach you a lot of things?" He asked her seriously.

She smiled and nodded her head frantically as a response.

"Yes, Tristan! Teach me more!" She said, her eyes filled with excitement.

"I want to learn from you. You're so kind to me. You are not like those people who wanted to hurt me." Zhen Zhen added as she remembered how those guardian warriors tried to hurt her and her family.

"But there's one condition…" Tristan paused.

Zhen Zhen nodded at him with anticipation. She waited for him to continue.

"Are you willing to be my wife… Zhen Zhen?"