Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Tonight, Xia Wanzhi left after dancing only one dance with the adopted grandson of the York Family.

Xia Yongqing and Ms. Ross both had complicated expressions when they saw Xie Qiyan again. Although they had no idea what had just happened, it was obvious that their precious daughter had been angered by Xie Qiyan.

When the ball ended, Xie Qiyan did not leave.

Not until Old Richard sent someone to say he wanted to see him.

“Father.” Xia Yongqing did not agree with Old Richard’s decision. Leaving aside the fact that he had already had issues with Xie Qiyan before, just the way Xie Qiyan had made Xia Wanzhi angry earlier was enough for Xia Yongqing to refuse to give him a chance to come in.

They had agreed to stand on the same front, yet in the end, he was fighting alone again.

Richard glanced at him and said, “Your daughter likes him very much. Couldn’t you tell?”

Xia Yongqing: “…”

He could tell. But he still had issues with Xie Qiyan.

Especially after learning that the two of them had only been messing around last time, his impression of Xie Qiyan had been dragged right back to square one.

Utter nonsense.

In her room, Xia Wanzhi pummeled her pillow in a furious burst to vent her anger. Ms. Ross stayed with her, and when she finally stopped, Ms. Ross could not help laughing. “What are you so angry about?”

Xia Wanzhi felt wronged. “He’s hiding a lot of things from me.”

“Didn’t you already know he was hiding a lot of things from you?” Rose chuckled softly and pulled her over to straighten the princess crown on her head.

Xia Wanzhi froze. The knot of anger gathered in her chest suddenly dispersed.

In truth, she was not especially angry. She just felt a little hurt.

“Xie Qiyan is a very complicated person, including his experiences and his past. It is precisely because he is too complicated that your father can’t bear to let you fall into this whirlpool.” Ms. Ross stroked her dazed cheek and said gently, “Mom has asked you before whether you are prepared to face his past and future with him. You still need to think carefully about that question.”

“He didn’t have an easy time when he was young.” Ms. Ross sighed softly. “The fact that he doesn’t tell you may also be because he’s worried you aren’t ready. You have to understand, those are his scars. Tearing open scars hurts.”

Just hearing that made Xia Wanzhi’s heart tighten.

It felt as if ants were gnawing at it, painful and constricting.

“You’re angry because he never talks about his past.”

“But Xiao Wanzi, have you ever told him that you want to understand his past?”

“Pick yourself up. The Little Princess of our Becker Family has never been afraid to take the initiative.”

It was as if Xia Wanzhi had been enlightened.

All that little petulance was washed away in an instant. She gratefully kissed Ms. Ross on the cheek, then impatiently lifted her skirt, opened the door, and rushed out.

She was not wearing shoes. She gathered the pale ice-blue gauze of her skirt into a bundle in her hands so she could run down the stairs more easily.

But when she reached the ballroom, she found that Xie Qiyan had already left.

Ms. Ross chased after her, panting, but simply could not catch up. Standing on the stairs, she called out, “When did you train for sprints? Slow down… your Brother Xie is with your grandfather.”

Xia Wanzhi heard her and inwardly complained about why this house had to be so huge.

She could not even find her way.

She had made Xie Qiyan wait too long. The more anxious she felt, the faster she ran.

Everywhere she passed, she stirred up a gust of Gardenia-scented wind.

The servants at home all stared at this Little Princess in shock. Though they did not understand, they did not dare ask any questions.

“Xie Qiyan-” When Xia Wanzhi arrived at the reception room where Old Richard received guests, she slammed on the brakes and was met with the tense scene of a three-on-one tribunal.

Xie Qiyan sat alone on one side with his back to the door, while Richard, Qiao Shu, and Xia Yongqing sat across from him.

The instant he heard Xia Wanzhi’s voice, Xie Qiyan stood and turned to look back.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Xia Wanzhi.

She was panting, her hair slightly mussed from running. The crown Ms. Ross had straightened for her was now crooked again, her princess dress was bunched messily in her hands, and beneath a pair of slender, straight calves were her bare feet.
Richard and Xia Yongqing both wore stern expressions. Even Ms. Qiao Shu, who was usually gentle, had no smile on her face. Xia Wanzhi had no idea whether they were making things difficult for Xie Qiyan, nor did she know what they had just been talking about.

But the moment she burst in and saw Xie Qiyan sitting there all pitiful, as if he had been seized and subjected to brutal interrogation, fighting this battle alone and silently bearing it all, regret and heartache swept through every inch of Xia Wanzhi’s body.

She shouldn’t have thrown a tantrum, acted spoiled, and run off, leaving Xie Qiyan behind.

She really had gotten too used to being doted on these past two months. It clearly hadn’t been that big of a deal, yet she didn’t understand why she had to make a fuss over it.

In the end, the one who felt awful was still herself.

“Oh my Jade Emperor, baby, you run so…” Ms. Ross hurried after her, panting. “So… fast.”

The air remained frozen.

Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan stared at each other from across the room.

After a brief moment, Xie Qiyan walked toward her, and Xia Wanzhi, eyes reddening, ran toward him as well.

She thought she would fall into his firm embrace. Instead, the scene took a sudden turn. Xie Qiyan grabbed her arms with both hands, lifted her up, and set her down on the table beside them.

Xia Wanzhi was stunned.

Xie Qiyan reprimanded her in a low voice, “Haven’t I told you to wear shoes when you get out of bed?”

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

The two grown men sitting on the sofa behind them: “…”

Had the world turned upside down?

“Why were you running?” Xie Qiyan straightened the princess crown on her head, hooked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and felt even more distressed when he heard how hard she was breathing. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Xia Wanzhi’s breathing gradually calmed. She looked past him and glared at Xia Yongqing. Without the slightest attempt to be subtle, she asked, “Did they bully you?”

Full of righteous conviction, and taking advantage of the perfect height she was at, she wrapped both hands around Xie Qiyan’s head and pressed him into her arms, declaring her claim to the two men behind him. “Xie Qiyan is my boyfriend. I’d like to see who dares bully him.”

After saying that, she muttered under her breath, “If anyone’s going to bully him, it can only be me.”

Xie Qiyan let out a very soft laugh.

So this was what it felt like to be protected by his girlfriend.

It felt damn good.

“Ahem.” Ms. Qiao Shu couldn’t hold it in anymore and smiled as she nudged Old Richard beside her.

Only then did Richard recover from his surprise. He sighed and said, “What kind of heinous monster are you taking your grandfather for? Do you think just anyone can bully someone from the York Family? Besides, he is your proper boyfriend.”

Xia Yongqing couldn’t bear to look. While sighing inwardly that a grown daughter truly couldn’t be kept at home, he added to Old Richard’s words, “Your boyfriend was reporting on the progress of your relationship. Your grandfather, grandmother, and I were asking about his parents, and we had just reached the important part when you came charging in and interrupted us.”

Hearing that they had been talking about his parents, Ms. Ross walked over and sat down beside Xia Yongqing.

Gossip was a woman’s natural talent.

Xia Wanzhi froze awkwardly. “…”

After two dazed seconds, she released Xie Qiyan’s head. “Is that so?”

He had snuck into the ball and then single-handedly won over all the elders in her family.

Was Xie Qiyan really that impressive?

Xie Qiyan rubbed the tip of her nose with his finger. “Mm. Dad, Grandfather, and Grandmother didn’t make things difficult for me.”

Even if they had made things difficult at first, it would only have been what he deserved.

This was a path he had to walk.

Xia Wanzhi pressed her lips together. Thinking of how foolish she had looked just now, she kicked his thigh with her bare foot in mortified anger.

Where no one else could see, she glared fiercely at Xie Qiyan.

Well, well. He was already calling her father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother so naturally.

No wonder he had been so calm and composed ever since they boarded the plane. So he hadn’t just planned this in advance; he’d had a trump card up his sleeve too.

Xia Wanzhi’s breathing slowed.

In her heart, she praised herself for finding such an incredible boyfriend.