At first light the next morning, a trace of the night's chill still lingered in the air. Xiao Xiao was already sitting in the dining room, having breakfast.
When he had nearly finished eating, he looked up and saw several women hurrying over.
Their faces were tinged with panic.
When they saw him, their panic gave way to relief.
He even vaguely heard their quiet sighs as they let out a breath.
"Mr. Xiao Xiao."
The man with black-rimmed glasses stopped beside Xiao Xiao and smiled politely. "So you were here."
"We just—"
"We just went to knock on your door, but no one answered."
The short-haired woman cut in. A trace of the worry she'd felt while searching everywhere for someone still lingered on her face, and her tone held a hint of reproach. "We were all so startled. We thought you'd left without a word."
"Lingling!"
The man with black-rimmed glasses interrupted before the short-haired woman could continue. "Mr. Xiao Xiao didn't want to disturb us while we were resting."
Then he turned to Xiao Xiao. "Still, Mr. Xiao Xiao, you're up really early."
There weren't many young people these days who didn't like to sleep in.
Xiao Xiao smiled. "I woke up, so I got up."
"Mr. Xiao Xiao."
Gu Xiaozhao, who had finally calmed down from her excitement, spoke up. Like Xia Suwen, she called him "sir," feeling it better conveyed her gratitude toward the young man.
He had saved her life.
When the poison had flared up yesterday, she had truly thought she was about to suffocate to death in agony.
No matter how desperately she struggled or how much she begged,
the light in her eyes had grown dimmer and dimmer.
But she had been saved.
She bent at the waist in a