Subduing the criminal

The two men suddenly began to fight back!

One was swiftly subdued and pinned to the ground!

The other actually broke free in the confusion. Instead of running toward Xavier, he turned in a blind panic and charged toward Xiao Yan and the others!

As he ran, he reached inside his clothes, toward the back of his waist!

Xiao Yan was extremely sensitive to that movement. Instinct told her the guy was about to draw a gun!

Her most instinctive reaction was to turn and shove Jiang Miao and the other two away.

"Ah!!" The three of them stumbled back several steps and fell to the ground!

Then Xiao Yan turned back, her gaze turning cold, and charged straight at the man drawing his gun!

"Xiao Yan!" Xavier saw her, and his normally indifferent, serious expression flashed with panic!

He swiftly drew his pistol from the holster at his waist, hidden beneath his cashmere sweater!

He aimed at the criminal about to clash with Xiao Yan and flicked off the safety!

But Xiao Yan had already beaten him to it.

Just as the criminal tried to take her hostage, pointing the gun in his right hand at her and reaching to grab her with his left!

Xiao Yan used the momentum of her run to leap nimbly into the air.

Both hands seized the criminal's right wrist with precision, while her legs hooked over his shoulders!

She twisted his wrist to disarm him, clamped her legs around his neck in a scissor hold, then twisted her core in midair and flipped sideways with all her strength!

The criminal felt the world spin twice before his entire body tipped over and hit the ground with a thud!

Xiao Yan landed easily and chambered a round with a click.

Then she dropped to one knee and seized the criminal's hair hard with her left hand.

The muzzle in her right hand pressed against his forehead. "Don't. Move!"

The whole world fell silent for five seconds.

Among the shoppers in the mall who had yet to figure out what was happening, enthusiastic applause and cheers suddenly erupted!

"Isn't that... that family's eldest daughter? I've seen her trending loads of times! Why can't I remember all of a sudden..."

"Holy crap! How is this girl so good at fighting?!"

"What's going on? Are they filming a movie?"

"Who cares what they're doing? That was badass!"

Xavier came to Xiao Yan's side and opened his mouth, only to realize even his breathing was trembling.

He furrowed his brows.

Someone who never used excessive force on missions actually raised his foot and kicked the already helpless criminal in the head!

That single kick knocked the man unconscious.

Firearms were extremely dangerous to ordinary civilians.

Xavier immediately put his own gun away.

He rested one hand gently on Xiao Yan's shoulder and held the other out before her, palm up. "Stay calm, Xiao Yan. Don't pull the trigger. Hand the gun to me slowly."

He was afraid Xiao Yan might have a stress reaction, and even more afraid she might unconsciously do something dangerous.

Xiao Yan blinked. "Oh."

She obediently did as Xavier said, taking her finger off the trigger, though she still wanted to show off a little skill.

Working one-handed, she released the pistol's magazine.

Clatter... The magazine hit the floor.

Xiao Yan held out the pistol and placed it in Xavier's hand.

The other city SWAT officers all took out their credentials.

After showing them to the surrounding shoppers, they announced, "SWAT operation! Everyone not involved, please step back!"

Bai Yang called out even louder, "Where's security? Come over here and help keep order!"

A female SWAT officer went to help Jiang Miao and the others up.

Jiang Miao hurried over and grabbed Xiao Yan's arm.

After pulling her to her feet, Jiang Miao felt Xiao Yan all over in lingering fear. "Xiao Yan, you're not hurt, are you? Are you okay? Are you okay? You can't get injured! Otherwise, your mom will definitely come to my house demanding answers, and my mom will slap me to death!"

"I'm fine." Xiao Yan smiled helplessly. "Perfectly fine. I'm not hurt anywhere."

Bai Yang heard that. Xiao Yan?

That name sounded so familiar.

Then he walked over beside Xavier and looked Xiao Yan up and down. "Ah!"

He pointed at Xiao Yan's face. "It really is Young Lady Xiao!"

Then he slapped Xavier on the back. "Your wife! What a coincidence!"

The slap sent Xavier stumbling a step toward Xiao Yan, his chest almost colliding with her.

He spread his arms slightly, making a gentle movement to shield Xiao Yan from being bumped into, though to anyone else, it looked like a hug.

Xiao Yan also thought Xavier wanted to hug her.

At such close range, she caught the fresh scent on Xavier and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"..." Xavier froze for only a second before going along with it and tightening that protective gesture.

Once they were in each other's arms, Xavier sighed. "You gave me a bit of a scare."

Xiao Yan silently closed her eyes, grateful that the original owner of this body had learned so many skills.

Leaning against Xavier's shoulder, she said softly, "Don't be scared. I really am fine."

Jiang Miao, Tang Qi, and Xing Xiaowan, the three well-bred young ladies, excitedly clutched each other's hands, bouncing beside them with stars in their eyes.

The ship is sailing! The ship is sailing!

Bai Yang gave his colleagues a knowing look. See? Newlyweds really are different. So sweet!

"The instant I realized it was you..." Xavier let out a long breath.

He couldn't finish the rest.

At the time, he had only one thought: he had misjudged the route, and it was simply the greatest mistake of his life.

He didn't want Xiao Yan to get hurt and hated that he couldn't teleport.

He should have flashed over at once and stood in front of Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan patted Xavier's back repeatedly. "I know how to fight, I understand firearms, and I have other self-defense skills too. I'm pretty amazing, you know."

Bai Yang chuckled. "We could tell! Wow, that scissor hold! Such a little body unleashed so much power. You're way better than several of the new recruits on our team!"

"But protecting civilians is our responsibility." Xavier turned and shot Bai Yang a displeased glance. "Letting civilians face danger is a failure of our duty. Bai Yang, the guy on the ground escaped from you. You're writing the report and self-criticism for this operation."

Bai Yang's grinning face instantly darkened. "Uh... do I have to write it? Can't we just fudge it? I really don't want the captain to..."

Xavier frowned.

"Fine, okay. I'll write it." Bai Yang shook his head miserably. "Anyone who didn't know better would think you were my senior. You're so strict!"

With that, the fugitive Xavier had been working overtime that weekend to catch had already been captured.

He left the remaining work to Bai Yang and the others, which meant he could get off work.

Some passersby had already recognized Xiao Yan and were discussing how the Xiao Family's eldest daughter was showing off her love for her newlywed husband in public.

Xavier shifted his hold and took Xiao Yan's hand. "I'm free now. What were you planning to do? I can join you... and your friends."

Jiang Miao and the others had already thought of their next fun destination.

"Board games! Board games!" she called to Xiao Yan. "There's a board game café downstairs. Let's go play!"

They arrived in a comfortably furnished, cozy private room at the board game café.

Xavier's expression was still somewhat serious.

When he sat down on the sofa, he stayed right beside Xiao Yan, betraying his emotions.

Once the three girls opposite them sat down, they picked up a tablet and animatedly ordered snacks and drinks.

Xavier cleared his throat. "Would you... like a doughnut to settle your nerves?"

He was still thinking about doughnuts. Xiao Yan chuckled. "There are doughnuts at home, specially prepared for you. We can eat them when we get back. Let's have something else now."

"Oh." Xavier's expression relaxed a little. "Let's have some hot cocoa. Both of us."

"Okay, okay!" Jiang Miao immediately tapped the tablet screen. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Jiang Miao, and these two are Tang Qi and Xing Xiaowan. The three of us are really close to your little wife~ We were there the night of her husband-selection banquet too, but we didn't get a chance to say hello."

"Hello." Xavier nodded politely at the three of them, looking well-behaved. "I'm Xavier. I'm Xiao Yan's... um."

He was too shy to say it.