14 – Going to the hotel?
Just as the slap was about to land.
Xu Ni’s expression turned cold as she snatched the umbrella back from her uncle’s hand. “I didn’t do it. Don’t slander me.”
Her uncle glared. “What kind of attitude is that? Isn’t the family just looking out for you? You’re so rebellious and hard to discipline—sooner or later, it’ll ruin you!”
Xu You Yi intervened. “Uncle, she didn’t mean it. Let her explain properly.”
As she spoke, she walked over to Xu Mu and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Mom, don’t be angry either. It’s not good for your health.” She looked at Xu Ni, her eyes soft and persuasive. “Hurry up and explain. Once you say it, everything will be fine.”
Xu Ni frowned.
She hadn’t expected Xu You Yi to be this kind of person.
As a director.
From her internship to now, she had seen all kinds of people in the industry. How could she not recognize that Xu You Yi was subtly pouring fuel on the fire?
She was the Xu family’s biological daughter. Was there a need to put on an act?
An actress, perhaps?
“It’s just an umbrella, and yet you’re implying I’m involved with some older man. Most people wouldn’t even think of that possibility, right? Isn’t that so, sister?” Xu Ni looked at Xu You Yi, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
Xu You Yi’s eyes flickered. “Maybe it’s just that they care too much and overreacted. I—”
“Who knows you? What kind of care is that?”
“Xu Ni!”
Xu Mu shouted angrily. “Stick to the matter at hand! Why are you picking on You You?”
This daughter had never given her peace of mind since she was young!
And now, she still refused to admit her mistake!
Xu Ni felt a pang of sorrow in her heart and let out a light scoff. “Did I say a single word when I came in? Who’s picking on whom? Who was it that started hurling accusations and suspicions at me the moment I stepped in? What, am I not allowed to defend myself?”
Xu Mu was stunned. “You…”
The Xu matriarch rapped her cane heavily. “You troublemaker, daring to talk back to your elders!”
Her uncle was about to say something else.
Xu Ni went straight upstairs.
She returned to her room, where a large black suitcase stood beside the wardrobe. She had packed it a couple of days ago, planning to move out soon. She hadn’t expected it to happen this early. She should have left this cage long ago. After being exploited for so many years under the guise of being “adopted,” subjected to their psychological manipulation, and used to pave the way for their biological daughter, what was she still hesitating for?
Watching Xu Ni drag her suitcase downstairs.
Xu You Yi rushed forward in alarm to stop her. “Ni Ni, don’t be stubborn with Mom and Dad! It was my fault for speaking out of turn. If you want to blame anyone, blame—”
Xu Ni looked up, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear. “Stop pretending, you bitch.”
Xu You Yi’s face changed.
Xu Fu waved his hand dismissively. “Let her go! How well can she survive without the Xu family? She’ll just come crawling back in disgrace!”
Her uncle sneered. “We should’ve been more careful when choosing among those children back then. We brought back such an ungrateful wretch…”
Xu Ni felt sick hearing such remarks.
The Xu family had raised her.
But she had never had it easy growing up. Xu Mu was always preoccupied with her biological daughter. Whenever she treated Xu Ni well, she felt guilty toward her own daughter, leading to unpredictable mood swings. As a child, Xu Ni was often hit. In middle school, Xu Mu left her at school and ignored everything else. The Xu matriarch mistreated her, even refusing to pay her tuition. As she grew older, she took on odd jobs herself and accidentally ended up as an extra on a film set. Through trial and error, she decided to pursue this career.
Even if they had left her in the orphanage, it would have been better than living with the Xu family.
Leaving the Xu household.
It was still raining.
Xu Ni held the umbrella as she walked into the courtyard and spotted her uncle’s newly bought car parked to the side.
She stopped.
Letting go of her suitcase.
She walked toward the flower bed, picked up a large stone, and without hesitation smashed it against the car—shattering the glass, denting the door, and breaking the steering wheel.
Throughout the entire process, Xu Ni didn’t even blink.
When she was done, she tossed the stone aside, dusted off her hands, and continued walking away under her umbrella.
Because it was raining.
No one inside had heard a thing.
If even one person had come out to see her off, they wouldn’t have been unaware of what happened.
Once outside the Xu family home.
Xu Ni stood by the roadside, ready to hail a taxi.
As she looked up.
She noticed the black Rolls-Royce not far away, still parked in the same spot.
Facing the entrance of the Xu family home.
And he—the car window half-lowered, his wrist bone sharp and distinct as it rested on the window frame, smoke drifting lazily—leaned back casually in his seat. His gaze was faint, shrouded in darkness, and the look he gave her seemed as though it could swallow her whole.
Xu Ni: “…”
—Did he see?
Did he see her ferociously smashing the car?
She didn’t want to live anymore.
Really.
Why did she always have to repeatedly die of embarrassment in front of him!
Heavens, what the hell!
Furious, Xu Ni stubbornly dragged her luggage in the opposite direction.
Her mind kept replaying her posture while smashing the car. She had been wearing a short skirt, and her movements had been rather unrestrained—could it have looked ungraceful? What if her skirt had flipped up… If only she hadn’t worn those underwear with the bald duck pattern.
The rain grew heavier.
But Xu Ni’s high heels clicked loudly against the pavement.
Gradually, the sound of a car engine followed from behind.
It kept pace leisurely beside her, carrying an indescribable sense of nonchalance.
Xu Ni stopped.
Turning on her heel, she simply stared at him.
The car window rolled down completely, revealing his hand splattered with raindrops, his silver wristwatch reflecting a cold gleam. Only his expression remained unmoved, as if bearing the compassion of a Buddha yet tinged with a distant aloofness. He tilted his head slightly, glancing at her with an air of supreme nobility.
Xu Ni immediately felt she must look utterly disheveled.
She took a deep breath. “I rarely lose my composure like this. You know how it is—when people are pushed to the edge…”
“Heading to a hotel?”
The man interrupted her explanation with a light, casual tone.
Xu Ni was taken aback. “Yes.”
Fu Guidu withdrew his gaze, opened the car door, and stepped out.
Xu Ni immediately raised her umbrella over his head. He took the luggage from her hand and placed it in the trunk.
Throughout the process, he didn’t ask any unnecessary questions.
Xu Ni got back into the car.
They were both adults, understanding what should and shouldn’t be said.
The entire ride passed in silence.
She needed to process her emotions.
Upon arriving at the hotel.
It was a relatively upscale hotel—not cheap, but she had some savings and wasn’t exactly strapped for cash.
She realized that Fu Guidu was a man shrouded in mystery, difficult to understand, yet undeniably gentlemanly. His appearance was unparalleled, his family background impeccable, and he was considerate and attentive. To any girl, he would be an irresistible attraction.
After checking into a small suite.
Xu Ni pursed her lips.
Seeing that he didn’t seem inclined to go upstairs.
She suddenly spoke up. “Could you walk me up?”
Fu Guidu turned to look at her, his long lashes slightly lowered. That gaze alone made Xu Ni’s face flush with heat, but she stood her ground and asked again, “Is that okay?”
Inside the elevator.
They stood side by side.
Xu Ni felt her heart pounding so hard it might leap out of her chest.
His pleasant scent was overwhelmingly invasive, and she felt momentarily dazed, as if intoxicated. After all, coming to a hotel with a man—this was the first time in her twenty-three years of life!
Until she swiped the card and opened the door.
Xu Ni pushed the suitcase through the door. The man stood at the entrance, his height blocking the faint light from the corridor overhead. She looked up, her eyes catching the light as she calmly, almost recklessly, invited him: “Would you like to come in?”