Kidnapped

It was not until she was almost at the Manor.

Nan Xingyu headed toward the back gate, while the butler came hurrying down from the front gate.

Hearing the commotion, Nan Xingyu looked back.

She saw the butler holding an umbrella over someone as he said:

"My young master, the driver said he didn't see you. How did you end up coming back in the rain like this..."

The person said nothing, only walking forward with his head lowered. Water dripped from his black hair, sliding along his jaw and into his soaked school uniform.

It was Xi Jin.

That night.

Xi Jin came down with a high fever.

Nan Xingyu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she remembered how Xi Jin had passed through her field of vision, drenched from head to toe, his head lowered.

She had even seen his fingers trembling slightly.

In the latter half of the night.

Nan Xingyu sat up.

While the night was deep and quiet.

She went to his room of her own accord for the first time.

She gently pushed the door open. A wall lamp was on inside.

The light had been dimmed very low.

She carefully closed the door and tiptoed closer.

The person in bed had his eyes closed, a few muffled coughs rising from his chest.

Nan Xingyu quickened her steps and knelt beside his bed.

Xi Jin seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes slightly and turned his head to look at her.

It was the weakest she had ever seen him.

His usually cool, sharp eyes now seemed veiled, and even the breath he exhaled seemed especially fragile.

For some reason, her nose inexplicably stung.

"I... I'm sorry..."

The rest of Nan Xingyu's words caught in her throat.

She wanted to say, I'm sorry, Xi Jin. I shouldn't have kept my distance from you. I was just afraid someone would see...

Like a child who had done something wrong, she lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.

She did not know how much time passed.

She felt warmth drawing close.

Just as she raised her head, something soft brushed gently against her lips.

Carrying his breath.

It slipped into her nostrils.

Nan Xingyu's mind went blank.

Xi Jin's cool eyes were bathed in the soft light, impossibly gentle.

"I forgive you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu felt the spot he had kissed heat up instantly.

Flustered, she tried to flee, but the moment she stood, he caught her wrist and pulled her back down, drawing her into his dark eyes.

What they held was a seriousness she had never seen before.

"Nan Xingyu, I like you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's breath caught.

"Can we stay together forever?"

"...Okay."

With his eyes fixed on her, Nan Xingyu answered on instinct.

As she understood it, no matter what he said, she had to agree.

"Ring, ring—"

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

It brought her thoughts back to the present.

Jiang Yu walked over and said with a smile, "Xi Jin, I didn't expect you to know so much about jurisprudence."

"It's my girlfriend's book. I flipped through a few pages when I had nothing to do."

As Xi Jin spoke, he glanced at Nan Xingyu, seemingly without meaning to.

She pretended not to see and silently packed her bag.

Jiang Yu asked curiously, "Didn't you say your girlfriend goes to Peking University? Is she in the law department?"

Before Xi Jin could say anything, Lin Piaopiao slung her bag over her shoulder and cut in:

"Senior Brother Jiang, you treated us to a meal last time. We should treat you in return."

His question interrupted, Jiang Yu, who had not known how to ask Nan Xingyu out anyway, took the opportunity to continue on the new subject:

"There's no need to be so polite."

He looked at Xi Jin. "Why don't you invite your girlfriend along? We can all have a meal together."

Nan Xingyu, who was packing her bag.

Alarm bells went off in her head.

She pricked up her ears, listening for Xi Jin's response.

"Sure, I'll ask..."

Before he could finish, Nan Xingyu hurriedly interrupted their conversation.

"I don't have time!"

As soon as she said it, both men looked at her.

It felt as though she had given herself away.

Lin Piaopiao nudged her with an elbow. "You're free today. You don't have to go home, either."

"..."

I really thank Q.

Jiang Yu did not want to miss this chance to get closer to her.

"Nan Xingyu, if you're free tonight, come with us."

"No."

"Sure."

The two girls spoke in unison.

Lin Piaopiao hooked an arm through hers. "Oh, come on. You're free tonight, and we don't have an eight a.m. class tomorrow, so you don't have to get up early. Let's go out and have some fun tonight."

Nan Xingyu did not dare look at Xi Jin. She pushed at Lin Piaopiao's arm. "I'm really not going."

Lin Piaopiao simply wrapped both arms around her waist, holding her in place, and turned to Jiang Yu.

"Senior Brother Jiang, let's hurry and go. I promise I'll take care of her."

"..."

Nan Xingyu wanted to cry but had no tears.

Sooner or later, Lin Piaopiao would get her killed.

Jiang Yu looked at Xi Jin again. "What about your girlfriend? What did she say?"

Xi Jin leaned back in his chair, as if joking. "Maybe she's been kidnapped."

The four of them arrived at a Western restaurant.

Jiang Yu pulled out a chair and gestured for Nan Xingyu to sit there.

She quickly looked away, pretending not to see, and went around him to sit opposite.

"..."

Jiang Yu's gaze faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered and invited Lin Piaopiao to sit down too.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Jiang."

Lin Piaopiao had come with a mission. She hurriedly continued, "Senior Brother Jiang, why don't you sit opposite? I want to get closer to the great Xi Jin."

That would satisfy Jiang Yu and grant her own wish as a little fan.

Jiang Yu looked at Nan Xingyu, embarrassed.

Just as he was about to move.

Xi Jin pulled out a chair first and sat down beside Nan Xingyu.

"..."

Jiang Yu and Lin Piaopiao froze for two seconds.

What was going on?

Xi Jin acted as though he had not noticed. He unhurriedly opened the menu, completely ignoring the gazes directed at him from across the table.

If Jiang Yu had not known Xi Jin had a girlfriend, he would have thought Xi Jin was interested in Nan Xingyu.

Jiang Yu knew Xi Jin did as he pleased, so he paid it no mind and could only sit down beside Lin Piaopiao.

Nan Xingyu felt like she was suffocating.

Xi Jin ordered from the server, then closed the menu and smiled politely.

"Two of everything I just ordered."

The server acknowledged him.

Jiang Yu looked up from his menu at the person directly opposite him. "Since when could you eat so much?"

Xi Jin said, "One portion is for me, and the other..."

"I asked Xi Jin to order for me just now."

Nan Xingyu cut in just in time. "I don't know how to order Western food."

Jiang Yu looked suspiciously at the other person.

Since they had sat down, he did not seem to have seen the two of them speak.

When had she "asked" him?

Nan Xingyu was just thinking of an excuse to smooth things over.

Suddenly, she felt a hand slip under her skirt.

The hand was slightly cool as it slowly traveled up her inner thigh, its fingertips gently caressing her skin, making her body tense instantly.

She hurriedly covered her legs with the tablecloth.

Her eyes fixed on the people opposite her, terrified they would notice something amiss.

She tried to push the hand away without showing it.

But Xi Jin's hand only tightened its grip.

His fingertips even brushed against a sensitive spot.

Nan Xingyu's scalp tingled.

Xi Jin sat lazily, his face relaxed, but his hand continued moving upward beneath the table.

Nan Xingyu could not stop him.

She shot to her feet.

The two people opposite looked over in unison.

Her face red, Nan Xingyu said, "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Xi Jin followed her departure from the corner of his eye, a faint smile curling his lips.

He brushed the fingertips that had just touched her against his own lips.

He casually picked up his phone. "Brother Jiang, I'm going to make a call."

Jiang Yu assumed he was calling his girlfriend. "Invite your girlfriend over. I really want to see who she is."

Xi Jin slipped his hands into his pockets and smiled inscrutably. "I'll try."

With that, he headed toward the restrooms.

Nan Xingyu stood in front of the restroom mirror for quite a while.

She cursed someone ten thousand times in her heart.

Hiding there was no solution.

She waited for the blush on her face to fade, then pushed open the door and walked out.

She saw Xi Jin strolling slowly toward her.

Nan Xingyu shrank back and instinctively wanted to run. Spotting a door, she pushed it open and ducked inside.

She hoped he had not seen her.

Inside the fire escape.

The motion-sensor light came on.

A few seconds later, it went out again, leaving only the green glow of the emergency exit sign.

With her back against the door, she heard no movement outside. She turned around and pulled the door open a crack.

The moment she peeked out, she met a pair of icy eyes.

There was an eerie smile in that gaze, like a lurking beast locked onto its prey, bearing down on her and allowing no escape.

Her breath caught.

She instinctively tried to shut the door, but it was already too late.

A hand with prominent knuckles reached in and braced against the door.

It pushed the door open, little by little.