"Ugh!"
Xiao Ze felt himself suffocating and patted Ya Fei on the shoulder.
Ya Fei, having caught her breath, blushed and stood up straight.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Seeing Xiao Ze's expression of discomfort after nearly being smothered, Ya Fei couldn't help saying that.
Although it looked as if she was the one who'd been taken advantage of,
he was still the man who'd saved her life, and Ya Fei hadn't thought too much of it.
Besides, she was the one who'd thrown herself at him. Who could she blame?
So Ya Fei offered her sincere apologies.
"It's all right. It just happened so suddenly."
Xiao Ze had just waved a hand when another figure quietly landed beside him.
"Brother, we've seen enough of the show, and you've had your turn onstage. We should head back, shouldn't we?"
Xiao Xun'er's tone was hard to read.
When she'd seen Ya Fei wrap her arms around Xiao Ze, her fists had practically clenched themselves raw.
"The show?"
Ya Fei couldn't help but freeze. "Were you two watching from the sidelines the whole time?"
Seeing that Xiao Xun'er had let the cat out of the bag, Xiao Ze didn't mind.
He'd never intended to hide what he'd done.
"We were at Shengde Restaurant earlier, watching everything unfold from the second floor. We realized that guy wouldn't let things go."
After explaining, Xiao Ze tugged at Xiao Xun'er's little hand, leaned closer, and whispered to her.
"I didn't do that on purpose just now. She lunged at me. If I'd dodged, she would've hit the ground and probably ruined her face."
Xiao Xun'er gave a soft snort, but, mindful of Ya Fei's presence, she copied Xiao Ze and whispered back to him.
"Ahem, it was an emergency."
After hearing Xiao Ze's explanation, Ya Fei understood what they'd meant by watching the show.
Now, seeing the two teenagers whispering in front of her,
Ya Fei also figured out why the girl had suddenly called them out.
It was probably because she'd just gotten so close to the boy, which had upset her.
Were they childhood sweethearts, or...?
While she had the chance, Ya Fei took a closer look at Xiao Xun'er.
Unlike Xiao Ze, Xiao Xun'er hadn't pulled up her cloak, allowing Ya Fei to see her entire face.
From where Ya Fei stood, she could only see the lower half of her face: a delicate chin and perfect lips...
Ya Fei could imagine how flawless the rest of her face must be, and how a pair of sparkling, beautiful eyes might be hidden beneath the cloak.
She really was a perfect match for the handsome young man.
Ya Fei's thoughts flashed by. Then she bowed deeply, expressing her gratitude to the two of them.
"I see. Then please accept my thanks. Thank you both for coming to watch my show."
Now it was Xiao Xun'er's turn to freeze.
"You don't mind what we did?"
"If every time I faced danger in my life, I were lucky enough to meet people like you two—people who'd watch the show and still be willing to step in—how lucky I'd be!"
Ya Fei spoke sincerely.
Xiao Ze nodded.
Ya Fei hadn't taken offense at the fact that they'd watched from the sidelines. Instead, she cared more that they'd saved her life.
She knew how to tell what mattered from what didn't.
"All right. Now that this is settled and everything's been said, we won't keep you any longer."
Xiao Ze lowered the brim of his hood and spoke.
"Miss Ya Fei, please return to the Mittal Auction House as soon as possible, in case anything else happens to you."
"Would you two be willing to tell me your names? I'd like to visit and thank you properly."
Ya Fei hurriedly asked.
"No need to rush. We're both in Wutan City, so we'll have a chance to meet again. Besides, we've actually met once before, Miss Ya Fei."
Xiao Ze waved a hand and led Xiao Xun'er away. Before leaving, he remembered to add,
"By the way, Miss Ya Fei, you know what happened tonight. We only stepped in because we had no choice. Please don't reveal that we were there."
"Of course. I'm not the sort of person who repays kindness with betrayal!"
Ya Fei immediately promised. With her intelligence, she could tell that they didn't want their identities exposed.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have refused to tell her their names.
After all, as a member of the Mittel Family, Ya Fei had some influence, at least in Wutan City.
Ordinary people wouldn't pass up the chance to take advantage of that.
As for searching Wutan City based on Xiao Ze's looks, that would be like looking for a needle in the ocean.
After the two left, Ya Fei surveyed the grisly scene in the alley, tidied up a little, then hurried back to the main street.
Once she returned to the Mittal Auction House, she immediately sent her trusted subordinates to deal with the area.
The Aoba Clan, one of the three great clans of Wutan City?
She, Ya Fei, wasn't afraid of them!
Still, to avoid trouble—and to prevent the investigation from leading back to her two saviors—Ya Fei chose to cover up what had happened.
The next day, the Aoba Clan put out a bounty that caused a sensation throughout the city.
The clan leader's youngest son had been killed the previous night in a secluded alley, along with a Dou Zhe bodyguard. The scene had been left in complete disarray!
There were no clues to be found.
Or rather, the Aoba Clan leader had found a clue, but it pointed straight to Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mittal Auction House!
The Mittal Auction House wasn't someone they could afford to provoke.
Ya Fei flatly denied it. She said that after shaking Young Master Aoba's pursuit in the secluded alley the previous night, she'd gone straight back to the Mittal Auction House.
She knew nothing about anything Young Master Aoba had done afterward.
Ya Fei also seized the opportunity to demand compensation from the Aoba Clan leader: Young Master Aoba had tried to drug and defile her, and she wanted an explanation from the clan leader!
Ya Fei's account was indeed airtight.
After all, besides Xiao Ze and Xiao Xun'er, the only people who knew what had happened were Ya Fei's trusted subordinates.
Without evidence proving that Ya Fei had done it, the Aoba Clan leader had no grounds to accuse her.
In terms of influence, the Aoba Clan really couldn't compete with the Mittal Auction House.
There was no evidence against her, while many people could attest that his son had harassed Ya Fei, tried to drug her, and intended to defile her!
The Aoba Clan leader had stormed into the auction house in a rage, only to leave with his tail between his legs and prepare to pay compensation.
The whole affair left him sick with frustration. He was already grieving the loss of his son,
and now he had to pay out a sum of money because of his youngest son.
With every lead exhausted, the Aoba Clan eventually offered a bounty of one hundred thousand gold coins. The news swept through all of Wutan City.
A storm of manhunting erupted!
Quite a few opportunists tried to kill innocent people and claim the reward.
But the Aoba Clan leader saw through them in the blink of an eye, killed them, and hung their bodies at the gate as a warning to the rest!
In the end, the officials of the Jia Ma Empire stepped in and warned the Aoba Clan leader not to let things get out of hand.
As the administrators of Wutan City, they wanted to see order and stability.
If things got too chaotic, merchants would be scared away and stop doing business in Wutan City, which would hurt their own interests.
Besides, that fellow had been a troublemaker who threw his weight around and committed all manner of misdeeds. The officials were only too happy to see someone willing to deal with him.
In the end, the bounty scandal came to a close with a whimper.
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