Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“What are you doing sneaking around my door in the middle of the night? Plotting something nefarious?” Xie Qiyan stood at the doorway, one hand in his pocket and the other leaning against the doorframe.

This man had a sharp tongue, but Xia Wanzhi was used to it. She curled her lip. “Get your mind out of the gutter. Stop whatever wicked thoughts you’re having. Who would bother plotting anything against you?”

Determined to defend her innocence, she insisted on explaining herself. “And where exactly was I sneaking around? Did you see it? With which eye? You’re slandering my reputation…”

“Changsheng saw you,” Xie Qiyan said, his expression unchanging.

“You woke him up.” Xie Qiyan’s imposing manner made it look like he was about to hold her accountable.

Xia Wanzhi stared at him, confused. “Who?”

Xie Qiyan didn’t say a word. He opened the door fully, revealing a Fat Orange cat. Its tail stood straight up like a flagpole as it looked up at Xia Wanzhi and let out a long, drawn-out “Meow.”

Cats have incredible hearing. The sound of footsteps pacing back and forth outside the door had caught its attention, so it had been crouching there the whole time.

Xie Qiyan had noticed and come over to observe for a while. Once he was certain of the noise, he opened the door.

As it turned out, there really was a Little Thief.

A Cowardly Thief, at that.

One who didn’t even dare to knock.

Xia Wanzhi’s eyebrows shot up. “You actually have a cat?”

To think the King of Hell had such a side to him in private.

“What do you want?” Xie Qiyan’s tone rose slightly; he wasn’t in a bad mood.

Xia Wanzhi couldn’t move an inch once she saw something fluffy. She crouched down to pet Changsheng’s head. Interacting with a pet seemed to bridge the distance between them, and Xia Wanzhi spoke up naturally, her tone light. “Have you eaten? My mom wants you to come over for dinner.”

It was a very mundane, domestic sentence.

But being called over for a meal was something Xie Qiyan hadn’t experienced since he was sent to the Xie Family at the age of five.

Only in a place with a family would someone call you for dinner.

Seeing that he remained silent, Xia Wanzhi tilted her small, palm-sized face up to look at him and grumbled, “Where are your manners? I’m asking you a question.”

Xie Qiyan lowered his gaze. “Let’s go.”

Xia Wanzhi rubbed Changsheng’s head one last time and stood up reluctantly.

She had suffered from low blood sugar since she was a child. Every time she stood up after crouching for too long, she would feel a wave of dizziness. Consequently, whenever she stood up, she would subconsciously reach out to something nearby for support if she wasn’t prepared.

For instance, right now, she grabbed Xie Qiyan’s arm to steady herself without a second thought.

Xie Qiyan’s breath hitched slightly.

He was wearing short sleeves, so what Xia Wanzhi touched was his bare skin.

The moment her cool fingertips met his skin, a faint itch stirred. Xie Qiyan could feel the temperature of her fingers, as well as how soft and delicate her skin was.

After Xia Wanzhi found her footing, she realized belatedly what she had just done.

This man’s arm was firm, with faint veins tracing across it.

It felt quite good.

Xia Wanzhi subconsciously rubbed her fingertips together.

“What are you looking at? You’re a grown man; don’t tell me you’re shy just because you got touched,” Xia Wanzhi said righteously.

Xie Qiyan pondered for a moment. “It’s not a matter of being shy.”

Xia Wanzhi: “???”

Xie Qiyan lazily lifted his eyes. “It’s a matter of me being harassed.”

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

Giving him a helpless roll of her eyes, Xia Wanzhi deflated. “What do you want, then?”

“Let me touch you back,” Xie Qiyan blurted out with a straight face.

Xia Wanzhi laughed out of sheer annoyance. This man really refused to suffer even the slightest loss.

“Fine, touch me! Go ahead!” Like a bristling cat, Xia Wanzhi thrust her arm in front of him with an aura that screamed, ‘You’re dead if you don’t do it.’

Xie Qiyan: “…”

Having her parents back certainly gave her a backbone. All that arrogant and willful energy of hers had returned in full force.
Xie Qiyan watched her with leisurely interest.

This version of Xia Wanzhi was perhaps the real Xia Wanzhi now that she was grown up.

Since she had practically delivered herself to him, Xie Qiyan wasn’t about to refuse. He lazily propped two fingers under Xia Wanzhi’s wrist to weigh it. “So thin.”

Xia Wanzhi pursed her lips and turned to open her front door. As she walked inside, she retorted to his comment, “It’s called being ‘bony,’ okay? Plenty of people strive to be slim.”

“You like bones? Then you’d be quite suited for grave robbing.” Xie Qiyan walked slowly beside her. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with the White Bone Demon, but I think you’re quite similar to her.”

Xia Wanzhi glared at him fiercely. “Just shut up.”

He was getting more and more out of line.

Xie Qiyan’s expression relaxed, his mood inexplicably pleasant.

When the Xia Family went bankrupt, only Old Master Xie had been willing to help. After hearing from Xia Wanzhi that the Xie Family had been taking extra care of her lately, Ms. Ross was very warm toward Xie Qiyan.

“I remember you were sent abroad when you were in your teens. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown up to be so handsome I didn’t even recognize you,” Ms. Ross chatted away, keeping him engaged.

She was of mixed Chinese and British descent. Although she had grown up in the UK, she was extremely passionate about Chinese culture. Aside from occasionally butchering an idiom, she spoke Chinese more fluently than anyone.

Xie Qiyan had interacted with them a few times as a child because of Xia Wanzhi.

Among all the elders, they were the only ones who didn’t care about his status as an illegitimate son.

“Yes, I was twelve. I just came back three months ago,” Xie Qiyan replied politely, his usual punchable attitude completely gone.

The conversation followed with pleasantries, with the elderly couple repeatedly thanking him for taking such good care of her.

Xia Wanzhi drank two bowls of soup, listening happily. She occasionally pursed her lips but didn’t join the conversation, afraid that the moment she spoke, Ms. Ross would turn her fire on her.

She only had a brief moment of peace before her fears came true. Ms. Ross’s next topic was: “It was truly eight lifetimes of bad luck to get stuck with that bastard Zhou Yu. He was so attentive to our Xiao Wanzi back then. Twenty years as childhood sweethearts and nothing to show for it. He really wasted my Wanzi’s youth. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I never would’ve agreed to the engagement. It’s made my Wanzi so pitiful-jiji.”

Old Xia corrected her from the side, “It’s ‘pitiful-xixi.'”

Xia Wanzhi’s lips twitched. “…”

“Early detection, early treatment.” Xie Qiyan put down his chopsticks, glancing at Xia Wanzhi as he spoke.

Xia Wanzhi huffed. “Are you saying I’m sick?”

“Would someone healthy have a crush on him?” Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow.

Xia Wanzhi was so choked up she couldn’t say a word. She grabbed a chicken leg and took a vicious bite.

Ms. Ross smiled. “I really didn’t expect you two to get along so well now that you’re grown. It was quite something when you were little; this girl would always bristle the moment she ran into you.”

Xia Wanzhi coughed softly. “Who says we’re getting along?”

There were many things Xia Wanzhi hadn’t told them-for instance, that Xie Qiyan was now her client, or the hurt she had endured at the hands of the Zhou Family.

Old Xia hadn’t said much throughout the meal. Hearing this, his brow furrowed, and he shot Xie Qiyan a look that seemed to carry a hint of hostility.

Xie Qiyan noticed it instantly but remained composed.

Perhaps in the past, Xia Yongqing held no prejudice against him. But now, the events within the Xie Family and the things Xie Qiyan had done were enough to make anyone tremble with fear.

From a father’s perspective, he wouldn’t want his daughter getting too close to a man like him.