Now that she knew the bad man had arrived, Shan Shan couldn’t sit still or rest easy she couldn’t even enjoy her meal properly.
She was certain this man intended to harm Yin Kairui, and seeing that her brother didn’t seem concerned at all only made her worry even more.
What made things worse was that earlier, she had tried to go out and find him herself, but Yin Kairui had stopped her. He wouldn’t let her run around outside, and he hadn’t taken her words about the bad man seriously either.
Shan Shan felt that grown-ups were being completely unreasonable; they never knew how to listen to what children had to say.
What if the bad man got away? Where would she even start looking for him then? And what if he secretly came looking for trouble and hurt her brother when she wasn’t watching?
Her worries weighed so heavily on her mind that she ended up eating one whole bowl less than usual.
Seeing her like this, Yin Kairui was confused. “If you think he smells bad, why do you still want to go near him?”
The last person she had said smelled bad was Zhuang Qinqin, and Shan Shan had wanted to stay at least eight hundred meters away from her. In fact, it was because of Zhuang Qinqin that Shan Shan and Director Luo had formed such a close bond.
Yet now, having met a second person she considered unpleasant and foul-smelling, she actually wanted to go closer to him?
Once Shan Shan had finished eating, Yin Kairui folded his arms across his chest and asked her, “You do know, don’t you, that the people you think smell bad are never good people?”
Shan Shan nodded, then shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean everyone I don’t think smells bad is a good person either!”
The truth was, right now she was only sensitive to matters that concerned her brother and their group of friends; her powers were still weak and limited.
Yin Kairui didn’t pay much attention to that part. Instead, he warned her seriously, “Regardless of who they are, if you think someone smells bad, you are not allowed to go near them or cause trouble with them. Just stay away and keep your distance, just like you did before.”
Shan Shan tilted her head and hesitated for a moment before saying firmly, “But I can’t do that.”
“And why not?” Yin Kairui asked, surprised by her reply.
She had always been so obedient and compliant up until now why was she starting to argue back?
Shan Shan let out a soft sigh. “Because all of these people are bad people who want to hurt Brother. I came here specifically to protect you, so I need to know exactly who these villains are!”
Though she was still small, her words were clear and well-reasoned, and her logic was far sharper and more coherent than that of most children her age.
But what she was saying made Yin Kairui feel increasingly uneasy. “What exactly do you mean by that? You seem to be convinced that something terrible is going to happen to me, and that there are people out there trying to hurt me.”
Now that he thought about it carefully, he realized that hints and traces of these ideas had been present in everything Shan Shan had said from the very beginning.
Shan Shan blinked her big round eyes innocently. “That’s exactly right! It’s precisely because someone wants to harm you that I came all this way to find you and keep you safe!”
She spoke with absolute confidence and certainty. Yin Kairui was just about to retort that she was still just a tiny little girl herself, when the words Qin Hangxuan had said came back to him clearly.
Qin Hangxuan had told him that his situation was extremely unusual and dangerous, and that if Shan Shan hadn’t appeared when she did, he might not have survived long enough to receive help.
If it weren’t for Shan Shan, Yin Kairui would never have been able to accept or believe in matters of metaphysics and spiritual arts in the first place he was, after all, a modern young man who had always placed his trust firmly in science and logic.
Even Qin Hangxuan was only willing to help him now because he recognized Shan Shan’s extraordinary spiritual gifts and was essentially doing her a favor by assisting her brother.
In short, everything that had gone right for him lately was entirely thanks to Shan Shan.
Realizing this, Yin Kairui changed his tone and asked, “Can you actually recognize who these people are when you see them?”
“I can smell them,” Shan Shan nodded confidently.
“Alright then,” Yin Kairui said. “You’ve finished eating now, haven’t you? If you have, I’ll take you out to wait by the entrance.”
Shan Shan’s eyes lit up instantly. “Thank you, Brother~”
She quickly slid down from her chair and walked toward the door, even turning back to call out to him happily, “Brother, hurry up! Let’s go out right now!”
True to his word, Yin Kairui took her outside and sat down with her on the sofa near the restaurant’s entrance.
From where they were sitting, they were only one or two meters away from the doorway close enough that Shan Shan’s powerful sense of smell would be able to pick up any familiar scents. At the same time, anyone who was clearly disguised, anyone who was female, or any man whose height didn’t match what they had seen earlier could all be ruled out immediately.
Meanwhile, Yin Kairui was doing his best to search through his own memories, trying to recall any familiar details or features. He had already felt that the man looked familiar earlier, and now that he was thinking more carefully, he might be able to identify him without relying entirely on Shan Shan’s nose.
But things were clearly not going to be that simple. Shan Shan and Yin Kairui waited for more than half an hour, yet the person they were looking for never appeared.
Eventually, even Yin Kairui began to have doubts. “Do you think he might have already left?”
Shan Shan ate quickly, but she also ate a lot, so their meal had still taken quite some time. It was entirely possible that the man had left while they were still eating.
With that in mind, Yin Kairui said to her, “Let’s go back and rest for now. Since we’ve already run into him once here, we’re bound to meet him again sooner or later. Just tell me whenever you spot him next time.”
“Alright then,” Shan Shan replied. She also had a feeling deep down that she wouldn’t be able to find him today.
She sighed softly, jumped down from the sofa, and held out her hand. “Let’s go back then.”
Yin Kairui felt slightly awkward as he placed his fingers in her small hand, letting her take hold of him. Shan Shan squeezed his fingers happily, feeling completely content. She set off toward their hotel, her short little legs moving as fast as they could, while Yin Kairui walked lazily beside her, his steps automatically slowing down to match her pace without him even realizing it.
About ten minutes after they left, a man finally walked out of the restaurant.
He was tall and lean, wearing a peaked cap and a face mask to hide his features. If Shan Shan and Yin Kairui had still been there, they would have recognized him instantly Shan Shan by his scent, and Yin Kairui by his appearance.
The man also headed toward the hotel area, but he didn’t go to the same one where Yin Kairui and Shan Shan were staying. Instead, he walked to another hotel nearby.
Having encountered the bad man that day, Shan Shan was unusually energetic and alert. She spent almost all her time simply watching Yin Kairui closely.
At first, this had made Yin Kairui feel uneasy and self-conscious, but by now he had grown completely used to it and was able to go about his business calmly and normally.
There was no filming scheduled for the afternoon, so they had their dinner in the hotel restaurant. Normally, Shan Shan would start feeling sleepy promptly by eight o’clock every evening. But that night, after washing up and getting ready just after seven thirty, she simply sat on the sofa holding a cushion and stared at him without moving.
Yin Kairui looked at her helplessly. “You’ve been watching me all afternoon, and you’re still watching me now?”
Shan Shan smiled sweetly, her eyes curved like crescent moons. “Because Brother is so good-looking!”
Those simple words instantly melted away any frustration or tiredness Yin Kairui felt, and his expression softened completely.
Standing nearby, Xiao Liu could only watch on in silence.
This exact same conversation had taken place dozens of times throughout the afternoon. For some reason, Shan Shan had suddenly decided that everyone needed to know just how handsome her brother was. And the strange thing was, Yin Kairui absolutely loved hearing it. No matter how annoyed or impatient he got with her constant staring, all it took was for Shan Shan to say one time how good-looking he was, and he would happily put up with her for another half hour.
“Shan Shan, are you getting sleepy yet? Shall I take you to bed?” Xiao Liu asked when the clock struck nine.
He wasn’t worried that Shan Shan was disturbing Yin Kairui he was simply concerned about the little girl herself. She hadn’t said she was tired, but she had already yawned more times than he could count.
Shan Shan shook her head firmly. “No thank you. I want to stay with Brother.”
Xiao Liu was confused by her behavior. He turned to Yin Kairui and asked, “Brother Yin… do you think Shan Shan might have been frightened by something today? Do you think she’s too scared to sleep alone tonight?”
Yin Kairui, who had finished playing his game and was now reading through his script, frowned slightly and looked up at Shan Shan. “Are you scared?”
He certainly hadn’t noticed her acting frightened or anxious at all.
But Shan Shan nodded her head with absolute certainty. “Yes! I am scared!”
Yin Kairui fell silent, completely lost for words.