Ever since Wen Wu had moved away from him, Qin Yu had been watching her every move closely.
When he noticed those men lingering near her, his brows darkened, and he strode toward them with a menacing presence.
Even though they all froze in place, Qin Yu still felt an overwhelming sense of violence and unease.
It was as if a treasure, rare and precious, had been discovered by someone else—someone dared to compete for it.
Qin Yu didn’t approach Wen Wu to speak.
Instead, he followed behind her at a steady, unhurried pace.
He didn’t dare go forward.
He didn’t know what to say.
So he silently kept watch, like the dragon protecting the princess in a fairy tale.
Su Ruan already knew who the host of this banquet was from her previous life.
However, the host hadn’t really mattered to her back then; the protagonist had left because of a heart condition.
This time, it had nothing to do with her.
Just as she was carrying her tray of drinks to the other side,
A tall, imposing figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
Seeing the man’s cold, distant gaze, Su Ruan’s mind uncontrollably recalled the forced confinement from her previous life.
His eyes had been scarlet and strange, his obsession pathological.
Her face instantly went pale.
No.
Absolutely no.
She could not let Qin Yu discover her.
She would never go back to living in darkness and oppression!
Qin Yu’s sudden appearance completely threw Su Ruan off balance.
To avoid his gaze, she panicked and tried to flee.
But then she realized that the man was actually walking toward her.
In that instant, she wanted to scream in terror and tell him to stop.
But that wouldn’t help—and would just make everyone think she was crazy.
Watching his long, strong legs steadily approaching, Su Ruan lowered her head and ran blindly.
“Bang!”
“Ugh!”
In the next instant, she collided with someone head-on.
The wine on her tray spilled over both of them.
Before she could even see who it was, she was pushed heavily to the ground.
In a daze, she saw the man from her previous life—the one obsessed and paranoid over her—staring at her now with a murderous gaze.
A sudden, intense fear rose in Su Ruan’s heart.
She felt that the next second, this man could kill her without mercy.
But that was impossible.
After all, in her previous life, she knew exactly how deeply Qin Yu had adored her.
Even if she cursed him daily, he had remained unwaveringly by her side like a loyal dog.
“How does a servant walk like this?”
“Are you blind?!”
Hearing the scolding from the young ladies nearby, Su Ruan scrambled up in panic.
She lowered her voice and kept her head down, apologizing continuously.
“Are you serious? Apologizing so half-heartedly?”
“You won’t even lift your head?”
Su Ruan didn’t want Qin Yu to see her face.
So no matter what they said, she refused to look up.
Even when the supervisor was called over, she still didn’t lift her head.
“Miss Wen, I’m so sorry.”
“I truly apologize.”
“She’s usually careless with her work, but I didn’t expect her to act this way at such an important event. I’m terribly sorry for bumping into you.”
The supervisor bowed repeatedly, his voice full of fear, apologizing to Wen Wu.
Seeing the glaring red wine stains on the girl, he even felt murderous toward Su Ruan—but clearly, now was not the time.
“It’s alright,” Wen Wu said softly.“I’ll just change my clothes.”
Hearing that gentle, flowing voice, Su Ruan couldn’t help but lift her head to look at Wen Wu.
Her expression twisted into something strange.
Was the Wen family’s eldest daughter really this beautiful?
And why was Qin Yu looking at her with concern, holding her close?
Wasn’t he supposed to be watching her?
Qin Yu never expected someone could be so blind as to bump into Wen Wu.
He saw the servant carrying a tray collide with her.
The girl staggered back defenselessly.
In that instant, Qin Yu’s heart leapt.
He rushed toward Wen Wu.
Just as she was about to fall, he caught her tightly in his arms.
Seeing her wide, startled eyes, Qin Yu’s chest ached briefly.
Her delicate, fragrant body pressed against him, filling his embrace.
His gaze burned with murderous intent.
The commotion quickly alerted Wen Wu’s parents outside the hall.
Hearing that their precious daughter had been doused in red wine and nearly fallen, they rushed out in panic.
“Wu Wu!”
“Wu Wu, are you alright?!”
“Mom was so scared!”
Tears formed in their eyes as they examined her carefully.
Seeing that her face was still flushed and healthy, they finally relaxed slightly.
Even though Wen Wu was steady now, Qin Yu did not release her.
Wen Wu made no move to push him away, leaning naturally into his broad embrace.
Noticing this, Qin Yu’s pupils constricted.
He tightened his hold around her slender waist.
“Wu Wu, are you hurt anywhere?”
Seeing her father anxious, the girl reassured them softly,“Dad, don’t worry. I’m fine.”“Thanks to President Qin catching me.”“It’s just my clothes that are dirty. I’ll change.”
Hearing her try to soothe them even in this situation, Wen Cheng felt even more heartbroken for his daughter.
Only then did he notice his daughter was still in Qin Yu’s arms.
Though displeased, he dared not protest—after all, if not for Qin Yu, she might have fallen.
Looking at the culprit, Wen Cheng’s gaze burned with silent anger.
“How does a person like this even get into a banquet?”
“Is this the level of training your staff received?”
“Mr. Wen, we’re so sorry, truly.”
“She’s a part-time server, only trained for a few days. Please forgive her carelessness.”
The supervisor kowtowed repeatedly, apologizing.
Seeing Su Ruan still standing there dumbly, he shoved her sharply.
“What are you standing there for?! Apologize to Miss Wen and Mr. Wen at once!”
Snapped out of her trance, Su Ruan faced the accusing eyes around her.
She felt utterly wronged.
It wasn’t intentional.
It was all because of Qin Yu.
She had only acted this way to avoid him.
Besides, Miss Wen was fine, wasn’t she? And shouldn’t she have watched where she was walking?
Though Su Ruan felt wronged, she gritted her teeth and apologized to Wen Wu.
Wen Cheng, however, had no intention of forgiving her.
His main concern was ensuring his daughter could change into clean clothes quickly.
He snorted coldly and reached for his beloved daughter in Qin Yu’s arms—only for Qin Yu to effortlessly evade him.
Then, with Wen Cheng frozen in shock, Qin Yu suddenly carried Wen Wu horizontally in his arms.