Chapter 5

Leaving the police station, it was already past eleven o'clock. Ning An called a cab and insisted on personally sending the two young girls home. Xi Siyuan insisted on coming along.

Fearing that they would feel awkward, Ning An took the initiative, chatting with them in a disjointed, casual manner. After a bit of warming up, the two girls lost their stiffness.

One bold girl mustered up her courage to chat with Xi Siyuan in the front row: "Big brother, did you really take out insurance on your hands?"

She had certainly heard of celebrities taking out insurance on their faces, eyes, hands, or gorgeous legs. Since stars made a living off their image, getting insured was understandable, but would a rich second-generation heir really insure his hands, or some other body part?

Ning An was also curious and perked up her ears to listen. Xi Siyuan glanced at Ning An in the rearview mirror, his eyebrows arching slightly: "What do you guys think?" "Ah, how are we supposed to guess that?"

Ning An: "..." If they could guess correctly, why would they bother asking?

After dropping the two kids off at their residential compound, Ning An took out her phone to call a cab. At the top of the screen, it showed three missed calls and WeChat notifications. They had all been sent by Qin Wang while she was at the police station.

By this time, more than half an hour had passed since he said, "I'll go inside and say a word." And now, another hour had passed, and Qin Wang hadn't made another call or sent a single WeChat message.

Ning An stared blankly at the screen, and the grief that had been interrupted by a few drunkards came rushing back over her in a wave. In this exact moment, Ning An finally realized clearly that Qin Wang was no longer the boy in her memory who would protect her.

A dark shadow suddenly blocked the light. Reacting a beat too slowly, Ning An raised her head, only to remember that Xi Siyuan was still here.

Xi Siyuan was looking down at her without blinking. His tall figure stood against the light, making his facial expression hard to make out, and his deep, bottomless eyes seemed to be holding something back, only faintly revealing an indescribable pain.

Ning An blinked in confusion, wanting to take a closer look, but she couldn't see anything anymore. Xi Siyuan lowered his eyelids, glanced at her phone, and announced, "23 Jingshan Road." Ning An was utterly baffled: "What?" "My home address." "Why are you telling me your home address?" Xi Siyuan was shocked: "Aren't you going to drive me home?" Ning An was perplexed: "Why on earth would I take you home?" Xi Siyuan answered matter-of-factly: "I don't have any money." Ning An's eyes widened: "You don't have any money?" "Who brings cash and cards to a private gathering?" "Then how did you get here?" "My driver brought me." "But he's probably asleep; he didn't answer my call." Xi Siyuan showed her his call log. "You can pay with WeChat or Alipay." "That stuff's too much trouble, I don't use it." "Should I call a cab for you?" "I'm a precious, pampered little darling. Walking alone in the middle of the night isn't safe." "..."

Was he here just to pick a fight with her? Ning An endured it and offered a kind suggestion: "Why don't you go to KFC and wait until your driver wakes up to pick you up?" Looking deeply wounded, Xi Siyuan accused: "You can't just favor girls and leave guys to fend for themselves!" "..." Ning An was speechless.

He was in his late twenties, practically thirty, running a multinational corporation with hundreds of thousands of employees—how could he have the nerve to compare himself to high school girls and play the victim to an unemployed bum?

Still, he was Xi Siyuan of the Xi family. Even if they weren't close, planting a seed of goodwill was always better than making an enemy. Ning An gave him a long look and held out her hand: "Put your home address in."

The taxi that arrived was an old car. When the door opened, Xi Siyuan peeked inside and retreated a few steps in disgust: "Is this car even safe?" "You don't have to get in." "..." Pinching his nose, Xi Siyuan ducked his head and got into the car.

They reached the destination. The Mid-level Villa area had strict security, and Xi Siyuan refused to compromise, so the taxi could only stop at the entrance. He pushed the door open and stepped out. Seeing that Ning An didn't move, he paused: "Aren't you getting out?" "No, I'm going to make a U-turn and head right back." "I'm a precious, pampered little darling..." Without hesitation, Ning An pushed open her car door: "Let's go, Young Master, I'll walk you home."

Whether Xi Siyuan was cruel or not, she didn't know. One thing was for sure: this young master was terribly delicate.

Yet, once inside, Xi Siyuan refused to move another step. Exhausted, Ning An asked: "What is it now?" Xi Siyuan found a stone stool to sit on and called his butler: "Walking all the way up is too far. I'm tired." Speechless, Ning An asked: "Then why didn't you let the taxi drive you right to your front door?" "My home address isn't something just anyone is qualified to know." After hanging up, Xi Siyuan raised his gaze to look at her, his tone thoroughly irritating: "What if he goes around spreading rumors about our affair and you get mad at me again?"

*If you'd just stop making a fuss, I'd thank my lucky stars,* Ning An thought. Then the realization hit her, and her heart gave a violent tremor.

Ever since they left the police station, Xi Siyuan had been making a racket. When she tried to ignore him, he got unhappy and insisted she accompany his antics until he was satisfied. She had found him utterly annoying, yet she was forced to concentrate on dealing with him.

It had ended up filling her mind and heart entirely with him, making her forget the grief Qin Wang had caused her. Not to mention what she would have to face once she got home: Qin Wang and Tang Meng were embroiled in a scandal, and he was undoubtedly the one in the wrong. But if even a single bad rumor about her surfaced, her father would automatically assume it was her fault and force her to apologize to Qin Wang and beg for his forgiveness. Canceling this engagement would be completely out of the question.

Ning An silently looked at Xi Siyuan. Could it be that he had deliberately made a fuss just so she wouldn't have the mental energy to dwell on her worries?

"Beep..."

A Cullinan drove down from above and stopped right in front of Xi Siyuan. "Young Master." The butler got out of the car and handed over the keys with both hands.

Xi Siyuan twirled the car keys on his finger, resting one hand on the car door as he looked at her: "Let's go, I'll drive you back." Ning An stopped herself, biting back what she wanted to say: "...Aren't you a precious, pampered little darling anymore?" The corners of Xi Siyuan's lips curled into a smile: "I have a car now." Ning An: "..." Is the car your armor? Are you some kind of armor warrior? As expected, she really shouldn't hold any expectations for him.

***

Some thoughts, once they take root, cling like vines, tangling themselves tightly around the heart. The mere thought of asking her adoptive father to break off the engagement as soon as she got home made Ning An restless and anxious. The closer she got to home, the more suffocating the pressure became; she felt as though she could barely breathe.

The only silver lining was that she didn't have a job, so even if she got beaten, she wouldn't have to worry about how to face people with a bruised and swollen face.

The residential compound was right in front of them. Recovering her wits, Ning An mumbled, "Just leave the car outside." Glancing at her pale face, Xi Siyuan refused: "It's too dark. I'm taking you all the way back." Ning An retorted: "I'm not a precious, pampered little darling. I'm not afraid of the dark." Xi Siyuan: "..."

Seeing that he refused to budge, Ning An sighed tiredly: "I want to walk alone and clear my head." Xi Siyuan looked at her for a moment, but ultimately parked the car right at the main entrance of the compound. "Give me your phone." "What for?" "Text me when you get home safe. I don't want the police looking for me tomorrow." "We're already inside the compound, what could possibly happen?" "What if you have a criminal hiding in your house?" "..."

There were no criminals in her house, but the thought of soon having to face her father suddenly filled Ning An with a wave of dread. As if in a trance, she handed over her phone.

Taking it, Xi Siyuan first dialed his own private number to save it, then added her on WeChat. "I'll be calling and texting you. Don't you dare ignore me!" The playful, unserious look was gone from his face. His tone was firm, carrying the commanding air of someone used to being in charge. "Save my home address too. You are not allowed to delete it." "Goodbye!"

Ning An slammed the car door shut and walked away without looking back. Meeting him for the very first time and he demands she answer his calls and WeChats, forcing her to memorize his address—did he really think the world revolved around him and no one was allowed to defy him?

Even if he was the head of the Xi family, a living King of Hell that everyone feared, he couldn't possibly expect the whole world to play along with his eighth-grade syndrome!

Where was the justice in this?