I Like You

Wang Xiaoman looked so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

Ronan also felt that things might be serious, but he remained relatively calm as he asked:

"What exactly happened?"

Wang Xiaoman took a deep breath, composed herself, and quickly explained everything.

"...Anyway, after that night, something felt off about Wei Wei."

"She wasn't like this before. I could tell that she was very unhappy. During that week in Bo Ning District, I stayed with her and tried every possible method. Although she wore herself out and looked like she was having a great time, I don't know why, but I always felt something was wrong with her."

"After school started, she skipped classes for three days straight. It took me a long time to find her, but she was just sitting blankly in the dorm."

"Yesterday, I took her out for a walk, and she seemed like she had made some kind of decision. I thought her mood had improved, but when I went to ask her to dinner today, I found out that Wei Wei had actually sent Miss Lingzi away and gone alone to take part in an underground racing competition! She even told me not to interfere... I really didn't know what else to do."

"I could only come to you."

Wang Xiaoman's face was flushed red. Though she spoke haltingly, Ronan finally understood the full story this time.

What kind of madness was that little girl up to now?

A pampered young heiress was suddenly entering a racing competition? Wasn't that playing with her life?

Normally, given Ronan's personality, since his previous attempts to find Wei Wei and clear up the misunderstanding had all failed, he would have simply stopped caring.

But she was Earl Will's daughter.

Ronan still remembered that, on the eve of his departure for Azure Ring Island, Earl Will had asked Chen Du to pass along a message, hoping Ronan could keep an eye on Wei Wei—now it seemed the Earl knew his willful daughter rather well.

Ronan frowned.

He did not want to get involved. But Wang Xiaoman's helpless gaze softened his heart somewhat.

If he did not go, Wang Xiaoman would definitely go alone today. Was this clumsy little girl really suited for a place like that?

"I'll consider it returning a bit of the Earl's favor."

That was what Ronan told himself. After all, as an escaped prisoner from Crescent Prison, he was wanted by the entire Empire. Earl Will had taken him in despite taking an incredibly terrifying risk. For that reason alone, Ronan could not simply leave Wei Wei alone.

If it came down to it, he would just tie Wei Wei up and take her back to Yi Lin Manor for the Earl to handle himself.

Girls really were the biggest hassle.

"Let's go. You know where the underground racing takes place, right?"

Having made up his mind, Ronan decisively went back to his room to change into something suitable for going out, then left the dorm with Wang Xiaoman. "Do you have a car?"

Wang Xiaoman said timidly, "I do."

"As long as we can make it in time." Ronan remained calm.

Wang Xiaoman's face turned red. "I have a driver's license."

Ronan nodded. "Mm."

Wang Xiaoman was nearly crying. "I have a driver's license... but I've never driven before. Wei Wei's situation can't be known by anyone else, so I didn't tell the driver."

Ronan was rendered speechless.

"It's fine. I'll drive." He casually took Wang Xiaoman's keys, and the two quickly arrived at the campus parking lot.

"Y-you have a driver's license?" Wang Xiaoman finally realized after getting into the car.

"No."

Ronan was perfectly composed.

"..."

Wang Xiaoman silently fastened her seat belt, looking a little nervous. "Will this really be okay?"

Ronan floored the accelerator.

"As long as you don't get carsick."

On the northern highway of Azure Ring Island, broad aerial roads had been built around the mountains. It was originally one of Azure Ring Island's most famous tourist attractions, where visitors could see the renowned "Azure Sea Sunrise."

But whenever night fell, it often became a gathering spot for street racers.

The northern highway was sparsely populated, and the people gathered here were usually powerful aristocratic children, so the security bureau could not be bothered to intervene. The unspoken rule was that anything went as long as nobody died.

The top of Northern Azure Mountain was especially lively tonight.

More than twenty luxury sedans were parked haphazardly along the lawns on either side. Six sports cars of different models roared excitedly under the mechanics' tuning.

"Whoa! One Dark Leader, two Arbitrators, one Rampaging Rhino, plus the Rose Sword and Lin Corporation's newly released Blizzard!"

"Tonight's race is bound to be incredible!"

Under the host's hype, the atmosphere had already been ignited to the extreme. A crowd cheered around the starting point where the six sports cars were lined up. Though it was early October, several bold girls wore bikinis beneath thin windbreakers, occasionally screaming as they lifted them to reveal flashes of skin.

"Tonight's midnight carnival is unlike any other. You all know what I mean!"

The host was short, but an excellent speaker. He pointed toward the rose-red sports car.

"Let's welcome Miss Wei Wei of Yi Lin Manor with our warmest applause!"

Everyone stood and applauded!

Only the young man beside the Blizzard wore a look of disdain.

These people called themselves aristocrats, but they were really just descendants of low-ranking nobles. Put together, they still did not carry as much weight as Lin Chenluo alone.

Even so, while Lin Chenluo's Lin Corporation had developed rapidly in recent years, it was still not qualified to enter the aristocratic heartland of the Emerald Star Region—Bo Ning District.

Yi Lin Manor, on the other hand, was the ruler of Bo Ning District!

Therefore, Wei Wei's arrival was guaranteed to draw everyone's attention. Not only did every man present stare at her without blinking, even the girls looked curious and eager to approach her for conversation.

These people were all veterans of high-society circles. Though young, they were not lacking in shrewdness. Forming a connection with Yi Lin Manor naturally came with countless benefits.

Still, hearing that Wei Wei would race personally did surprise them somewhat.

Among the aristocracy, apart from the craziest people—car-obsessed lunatics like Lin Chenluo—most people who played underground racing merely provided the cars and hired skilled drivers to compete.

A precious daughter did not sit beneath a crumbling wall; that was roughly what it meant.

Wei Wei racing personally inevitably made people uneasy. Yet the mood of the race had already been whipped into an incomparably feverish state, and the few rational people present had no way to stop it.

Besides, Wei Wei looked extremely determined.

"If you lose, that Rose Sword you just bought will be mine."

Lin Chenluo gave a dry laugh. "Sister Wei Wei, racing isn't really suitable for women."

The moment he said that, several of his lackeys began whistling wildly.

Wei Wei leaned against the Rose Sword supercar and said coldly, "Stop talking nonsense. If we're starting, then start already."

"Okay. We're all ready."

Seeing the mechanics signal that everything was normal, Lin Chenluo shouted at the host:

"Jones! We can start!"

Jones raised his loudspeaker, just about to speak, when a bright light suddenly appeared at the other end of the sparsely populated northern highway.

"Fuck... who's so clueless?"

"Yeah! Looking to get killed in the middle of the night?"

"Good thing the race hasn't started yet... What the hell was Crow doing with the blockade?"

The crowd cursed angrily. The car looked rather small, but its high beams were blindingly bright, making their eyes hurt!

"This road is closed! This road is closed!"

Holding up his loudspeaker, Jones called out, "Please pull over to the side of the road! Please pull over to the side of the road!"

"A racing competition is about to begin here!"

Yet no matter how Jones warned it, the car acted as though it had not heard him, leisurely driving closer at an unhurried pace.

Everyone was furious. Some were preparing to go over and intimidate the driver.

But at that moment, Wei Wei's expression changed slightly.

She recognized that car.

As the lights drew closer, everyone could see that it was a very feminine sedan—a Mini Dragon.

Though the car was not cheap, compared to the six supercars, it was utterly insignificant.

The Mini Dragon slowly came to a stop, blocking the road.

Everyone immediately began cursing. Someone was about to step forward to threaten the driver.

But then the Mini Dragon's door opened, and a handsome young man stepped out.

His gaze swept over the entire scene before finally settling on the Rose Sword.

"Come with me."

Ronan's voice was not loud, yet it strangely drowned out everyone's chatter and reached Wei Wei's ears.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She looked stubbornly at Ronan. "Why?!"

Ronan strode forward, ignoring everyone else and staring only at Wei Wei. "It isn't safe."

"Oh, I was wondering who would drive such a sissy car. So it's Young Master Ronan!"

Lin Chenluo's eyes lit up as he suddenly mocked, "Miss Wei Wei is joining the race. Does she need your permission too?"

The looks everyone gave Ronan were likewise filled with contempt and disdain.

Although they had heard that he was from Yi Lin Manor too, he was most likely just a target Earl Will had put forward. How could he compare to a genuine young heiress like Wei Wei?

Most of these noble descendants attended various academies on Azure Ring Island and moved in the same circle as Lin Chenluo. They had long heard of Ronan's glorious deed of Guaranteed Admission, so naturally they considered him beneath their company.

Aristocrats represented the elite! They had their own pride. Only a handful of shameless aristocrats would use a method like Guaranteed Admission. Most aristocrats still relied on their own genuine ability to get in.

Without question, in their eyes, Ronan was simply the disgrace of aristocratic society.

Now, at the height of their excitement, he actually wanted to stop the race. There was no way anyone would agree!

Others fanned the flames. "Miss Wei Wei? I heard Ronan is your cousin? Looks like if you want to race, you need your cousin's approval first?"

Ronan frowned and lightly clenched his fist.

Wei Wei, standing before him, was unusually not provoked or angered. She merely looked at Ronan and asked through gritted teeth:

"What are you doing here?"

Ronan answered evenly, "I told you. I'm taking you away."

"Why do you care about me?" Wei Wei asked.

"You're the Earl's daughter," Ronan replied.

"So... you still like Su Xiao, then?" Wei Wei's eyes were filled with disappointment.

Ronan fell silent for a while.

He was surprised by what logical connection there was between those two statements, and he did not understand why Wei Wei would say that.

But Ronan was an honest man.

"No. She's my friend. I think she's a nice person."

Wei Wei bit her lip until it bled, then suddenly threw her arms around Ronan and shouted almost hysterically:

"So you don't like Su Xiao?"

"So when you heard about me from Xiaoman, you rushed over right away. You still care about me."

"So... I still have a chance, right?"

Ronan was completely bewildered. It was the first time in his life that a girl had taken the initiative to hug him, and he was terribly unaccustomed to it. "Calm down first. I don't really understand what you're doing..."

"What else could I be doing?!" The little witch hugged Ronan tightly, closed her eyes, and shouted:

"I like you!"

The next second, those words echoed across the entire mountaintop.

Pfft!

Lin Chenluo, who had just been about to take a sip of water and watch the good show of Yi Lin Manor's internal conflict, choked at the sight. He coughed violently, looking up as he coughed with an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

What the hell, the plot couldn't take such a wild turn, could it?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Ronan, meanwhile, was utterly stunned. Only one sentence remained in his mind:

"I like you!"

Across two lifetimes, she was the most forthright and direct girl he had ever encountered.

And this was the first—and only—time someone had confessed to him first.

A four-thousand-word chapter. Honestly, during the public period, most authors only update four thousand words a day. This book is expected to go premium in July, and there is still more than a month of free content left. Coconut has already been very generous, so stop accusing me of delaying updates. I get hurt easily. Good morning, and please give your usual recommendations.