"If You're Scared, You Can Hold On to My Shirt."

The weather in early May was bright and mild, with wisps of cloud floating across the clear blue sky.

Lu Xiaoxiao stood in her dressing room, choosing an outfit. Her wardrobe was full of beautiful dresses. Ms. Wen loved wearing dresses, so whenever she went shopping, she would buy a few pretty ones to bring home for her daughter.

She finally chose a cream-colored lace maxi dress with spaghetti straps and paired it with a light mint knitted cardigan. With her perfectly oval face and that outfit, she looked radiant, like an Irish bellflower, fresh and graceful.

Ms. Wen sat on the sofa watching TV. She looked up at her daughter, her eyes full of pride and tenderness. "Going out?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting a friend at Happy Valley." Lu Xiaoxiao slipped on her light blue leather shoes and turned to Ms. Wen on the sofa. "Mommy, I might not be back for lunch."

Ms. Wen pulled out her phone. "Do you have any pocket money left? If it's not enough, I'll transfer you another thousand."

"No need. I have enough."

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone vibrated.

Lu Xiaoxiao looked down and saw that Ms. Wen had transferred her a thousand yuan.

"When you go out, whether it's with a friend or a boyfriend, you should be generous when the occasion calls for it," Ms. Wen said gently.

Lu Xiaoxiao's eyes grew a little warm. She immediately went over to the sofa, bent down, and hugged her. "Mommy, you're the best."

"Your brother went abroad to study and started his own business, so he doesn't need pocket money anymore." Ms. Wen patted her daughter's slender back and smiled. "From now on, you can spend his share too."

"If my brother finds out, he'll definitely give me an earful when he comes back."

Lu Xiaoxiao straightened up and pouted.

"Your brother talks tough, but he has a soft heart." Ms. Wen took her hand and raised her chin. "He said on our last video call that he was coming back early this year."

Lu Xiaoxiao paused. "Why is he coming back early?"

Ms. Wen kneaded her fingers. "It's because you're dating. He's worried and wants to come back and see what kind of character that boy has. He's afraid you'll be mistreated later on."

"..."

By the time Lu Xiaoxiao walked out of the villa compound, her feelings were complicated.

After her tragic death in her last life, how heartbroken must her family have been? Especially Ms. Wen, who always doted on her like a child, no matter how old she was.

The thought made her heart ache.

Fortunately, she had been reborn, and there was still time for everything.

"Lu Xiaoxiao."

A man's casual, unrestrained voice came from not far away.

She looked up sharply and saw a black G-Class parked outside the villa compound's gates. Shao Enci had his hands in his pockets and was leaning sideways against the car door, his long legs stretched out casually, his posture lazy and detached.

The young man was wearing a white moonlight shirt today, its sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms, with a designer watch on his wrist. Bathed in the morning sun, he looked as though he were standing in the light itself, far too eye-catching.

It was only with that glance that Lu Xiaoxiao discovered Shao Enci's unique charm.

In her last life, she had been so absorbed in experiments that she had never noticed there was such an outstanding, handsome man right beside her.

"What are you doing here? Weren't we supposed to meet at the entrance to Happy Valley?" She walked up to him and looked up, puzzled.

Shao Enci was so tall, a full head taller than her, that standing and talking to him took some effort.

The young man lowered his head slightly and gave her outfit a brief, indifferent glance. The stirrings in his dark eyes were impossible to hide. Doing his utmost to suppress the feelings in his heart, he went around to the passenger side and opened the door for her like a gentleman. "My time is precious. Waiting for you would be too much of a waste," he said quietly.

"..."

Lu Xiaoxiao was at a loss for words. She pressed her lips into a straight line and bent down to get into the passenger seat.

The car was clean, with a faint scent of mint and pagoda tree blossoms, just like the scent on him. A cup of milk tea sat on the center console, droplets of condensation still clinging to it. It looked as though it had been bought only recently.

Shao Enci returned to the driver's seat and started the car. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he picked up one of the drinks with the other and handed it to her.

"You didn't poison it, did you?" Lu Xiaoxiao took the milk tea without hesitation, her tongue as sharp as ever. She lowered her head and took a sip. To her surprise, it was the iced blueberry oolong tea she liked.

Her eyes lit up slightly, and she wondered in surprise. Even Meng Yuan might not remember; when had he learned she liked drinking this?

"It's poisoned. In less than three minutes, the poison will take effect and kill you."

The corners of Shao Enci's lips lifted slightly as he deliberately teased her.

Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't be bothered to respond and slowly sipped her fruit tea.

If 037 hadn't confirmed to her that Shao Enci wasn't the culprit who had framed her, she might have thought he really had drugged the fruit tea.

After all, she was someone who had died once. It was better to stay on guard.

As they drove, a ray of sunlight slipped through the car window, casting patches of light and shadow over them both.

Lu Xiaoxiao held her fruit tea in one hand and gripped her seat belt with the other.

It was her first time riding in Shao Enci's car, and she was even in the passenger seat.

They had been at odds for several years, and honestly, she was still quite nervous, afraid he might hold a grudge and deliberately drive fast to scare her.

Shao Enci caught the girl's nervous expression out of the corner of his eye and guessed what she was thinking. His lips curved into a sexy arc, and he said with a half-smile, "Relax. I was runner-up in the WRC. My driving's rock steady."

Lu Xiaoxiao's starry eyes lit up. "You really competed in it?"

"Yeah, I did it for fun one summer in high school."

Lu Xiaoxiao seized the chance to tease him. "Who was the driver who beat you? I really want to thank him for finally making an MVP who always comes first take a tumble."

Shao Enci raised an eyebrow, his gaze on the road ahead. Unfazed, he said mildly, "Qiu Boye, a friend who studied in the United States."

Lu Xiaoxiao paused. Qiu Boye... That name sounded so familiar.

Wasn't he the one Meng Yuan had been betrothed to as a child?

Shao Enci glanced at the rather shocked-looking Lu Xiaoxiao out of the corner of his eye and curled his lips. "He's Meng Yuan's fiancé."

Lu Xiaoxiao leaned listlessly against the seatback and murmured, "It really is a small world."

Your buddy is my bestie's fiancé. What a coincidence.

Just then, 037's voice rang out in her head: [Task 9: Invite your mortal enemy to a haunted house during the May Day holiday. Countdown: 49 minutes and 59 seconds.]

Lu Xiaoxiao's fingers curled. She turned to look at Shao Enci's profile and tried to make her voice sound natural. "Let's go to the haunted house first when we get there."

Shao Enci turned and glanced at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Lu Xiaoxiao sounded utterly confident, though her heart had already begun to drum.

Shao Enci said nothing more, but while they were waiting at a red light, he turned to look at her again. "If you're scared, you can hold on to my shirt," he drawled.

Lu Xiaoxiao said nothing.

Happy Valley was on the outskirts of the city, about a forty-minute drive away.

The two chatted on and off along the way, talking about nothing in particular.

Lu Xiaoxiao leaned against the car window, sunlight falling on her profile and her long black hair streaming freely in the wind. She was so beautiful it was hard to look away.

The young man's gaze kept drifting toward her, though he didn't even realize it himself.