The days before going abroad

"I don't like him," Nan Xingyu said.

"..."

Jiang Yuexi looked a little surprised.

She actually felt a sense of relief, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

"Yuexi, I'm sorry," Nan Xingyu said. "I didn't tell you at first because I'm leaving soon, and I didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble."

Jiang Yuexi's tone remained calm. "I understand. In your place, I might have done the same."

Nan Xingyu hadn't expected her to say that. She smiled. "Yuexi, I'm glad you're not angry."

Jiang Yuexi folded her arms. "I am angry that you kept it from me, but I'm not unreasonable, you know?"

She asked curiously, "Is Xi Jin really that controlling?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu chuckled and held her fingers a tiny distance apart. "A little bit."

"I think it's more than a little, but..."

Jiang Yuexi said, "Could he be so controlling because you haven't given him enough of a sense of security?"

"..."

The question caught Nan Xingyu off guard.

She didn't think she had ever considered it.

Did someone as domineering as Xi Jin need her to make him feel secure too?

"Never mind."

Jiang Yuexi added, "You don't even like him, so there's no point saying more."

She laid a hand on Nan Xingyu's shoulder. "Anyway, being hounded by someone you don't like must feel awful. I hope he'll gradually forget about you after you go abroad."

By the time Nan Xingyu returned to the hospital room, Xi Jin was already sitting inside.

Liu Meili hurriedly said, "Xiaoyu, what took you so long? You didn't even take your phone. Young Master Xi has been here for a while."

Nan Xingyu touched her head. "I chatted with a classmate a little longer."

She looked at Xi Jin. "Young... Young Master Xi, what brings you here?"

Xi Jin glanced at her expressionlessly, then looked at Liu Meili in the bed and explained why he had come.

"Auntie Liu, after you're discharged, the Xi Family will arrange to take you back to your hometown."

"I know," Liu Meili said. "Liu Qing called and told me. Sorry for all the trouble, and you even came here in person, Young Master Xi. I feel terrible about it."

Xi Jin's expression was aloof, but his manner was polite. "I was in the area on business, so I stopped by to see you."

With that, he stood up and looked at Nan Xingyu.

Liu Meili said, "Xiaoyu, hurry and see Young Master Xi out."

Nan Xingyu nodded.

Liu Meili added, "And Xiaoyu, don't stay at the hospital with me. There's a caregiver here. It's the holidays now, isn't it? Spend more time with your classmates. In a few days, you'll be going home."

Nan Xingyu said, "I know."

The two left the hospital and walked toward the parking lot.

Xi Jin didn't say a word, and something seemed off about his mood.

Nan Xingyu didn't dare ask, either.

When they reached the car, Xi Jin pulled open the front passenger door. "Get in."

"..."

Nan Xingyu thought, Wasn't I only supposed to see him out this far?

When Nan Xingyu didn't move, he gripped her shoulders and pushed her into the car.

The door slammed shut with a muffled bang.

After Xi Jin got in, the air around him was oppressive.

The feeling was familiar.

Nan Xingyu's expectations proved correct.

When they arrived at Guanlan Shengshi, the door had barely closed behind them before Xi Jin kissed her, leaving Nan Xingyu unable to fend him off.

Entwined, they made their way to the living room sofa.

Xi Jin pressed her down and leaned over her, enveloping her like a giant net as his dark eyes fixed on her beneath him.

"Nan Xingyu, I'm going to marry you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's lips tingled as she panted softly.

She didn't know what madness had seized him this time.

"Did you hear me?"

Xi Jin loosely encircled her neck with his hand. "After the New Year, I'm going to marry you. I've chosen the date: February 14."

That was the day he had first met her.

Like a blue butterfly, she had wandered in by chance, bringing color to his black-and-white world from that day on.

She had said, "Young Master Brother, you look so handsome holding a pistol."

The moment he turned to look at her...

All the beautiful words in the world were not enough to describe her.

She was like the little butterfly that had landed on his palm that year. One gentle flutter of her wings had shaken loose all the light in his world.

He never wanted that little butterfly to leave him again.

She had said he looked good holding a gun.

So he learned to shoot and won a championship for her to see.

She liked watching boys play basketball.

Even though he hated ball sports, he secretly practiced for a month just to perform a dunk for her alone.

She said she was a black hole in the kitchen and wanted to find a husband who could cook like her father someday.

He had always had clothes brought to him and meals put before him, yet he put on an apron and learned to cook for her.

Ever since he was little, he had striven to be first in everything he did.

He needed that halo to draw her attention.

He wanted her gaze to remain on him forever.

But now...

The look on her face when she said "I don't like him" kept replaying in his mind.

Her voice had been soft.

But it was like a knife, cutting into his heart again and again.

"Xi Jin, I..."

Before Nan Xingyu could finish, Xi Jin interrupted her. "I'm not asking for your opinion. I'm informing you."

He spoke each word deliberately. "February 14 is the day we'll register our marriage."

"..."

A faint sting rose in Nan Xingyu's nose.

February 14.

It was also the day she planned to go abroad.

A few days later.

Nan Xingyu accompanied Liu Meili back to their hometown.

She hadn't expected Xi Jin to arrange for the Xi Family's private plane.

Xi Jin said he had to go to Jiangzhou on business, so he traveled with them.

She didn't know whether anyone else believed him.

Nan Xingyu certainly didn't.

But it made the journey home more comfortable for her mother, so she couldn't say much.

After they landed, a car was waiting to pick them up.

Along the way, Liu Meili said "I'm sorry," "Sorry for the trouble," and "That's very thoughtful of you, Young Master Xi" more times than anyone could count.

Only when they finally reached home did she gradually begin to feel less awkward.

Liu Meili had never received such "first-class" treatment.

She was flattered and overwhelmed.

That evening, Nan Zhiping brought Liu Meili her meal and thought of the people who had come to the house that day.

"Your former employers are really good to you, going to all that trouble to bring you home."

Liu Meili felt she didn't deserve it. "I didn't expect the Xi Family to make such good arrangements either."

"That young man today was the Xi Family's young master?"

"Yes. He doesn't usually talk much. I didn't expect him to be a warmhearted child beneath that cold exterior."

"I have to say, the young master looks like a celebrity. He's much better-looking than the ones on TV, tall and handsome. You can tell he grew up with every advantage. Even his bearing is different from ordinary folks like us."

Nan Zhiping casually joked, "Standing next to our Xiaoyu, he'd make quite a match."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Liu Meili said, "Look at what kind of family we are. The young master only came along to see me home out of politeness. Don't go saying things like that in front of Xiaoyu."

Nan Zhiping recalled the Xi Jin he had seen that day. Though the young man had looked icy, there had always seemed to be something more in his eyes whenever he looked at their daughter.

He didn't know exactly what it was.

It was just a man's intuition.

"What are you saying? Is our Xiaoyu so lacking? She's been pretty and fresh-faced since she was little, with fair skin and good looks, and she has a good personality. She's also a top student at Peking University."

"I didn't say Xiaoyu was lacking, but it depends on who you're comparing her with. Never mind anything else—would an ordinary family have a private plane?"

"..."

Nan Zhiping wiped her mouth. "They're both just ways to get around."

Liu Meili shook her head. "All right, stop. He's the Xi Family's young master. The whole Kunda Group will be his someday. You've really got some nerve even thinking about it."

In the hotel suite.

Xi Jin held her beneath him, taking possession of every part of her without restraint. He nibbled at her neck, a satisfied smile curling at the corners of his lips.

"Baby, when are you going to tell your parents?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu's whole body was sticky, mingled with his.

Her previously hazy thoughts cleared a little at those words.

When Xi Jin received no answer, he kissed her lips urgently.

"When?"

Nan Xingyu turned her head away, and his kiss landed on her collarbone instead.

"Can we wait a little longer?"

"How much longer?"

"Have you forgotten? You haven't reached the legal age yet. You have to be twenty-two."

Xi Jin paused, then said, "We can register our marriage abroad."

Nan Xingyu's fingertips unconsciously kneaded his hair. "I don't want to."

Xi Jin's eyes grew a little colder.

He pushed his upper body up and stared into her eyes.

"Nan Xingyu, are you stalling for time?"