Tang You really didn’t understand why she always ran into him at the absolute worst, most unlucky moments.
This was already the second time in a row.
Her body stiff as a board, she answered him: “Ah, it’s nothing.”
But inside her head she was screaming hysterically.
Aaaaaaaaah!!!
Why did it have to be him who saw her like this right now?!
Tang You felt so mortified she wanted to ram her head into the wall repeatedly.
She glanced around—there was literally nowhere to hide.
And Xiao Zexing’s gaze had already dropped to her pair of fair, luminous little feet.
Tang You wasn’t just slender overall; even her hands and feet were small and exquisitely delicate. Her five little toes were plump and cute, tinged with a healthy pink. Right now the soles were smudged with dirt and grit as she stood rigidly on the floor.
She carefully shuffled sideways two more steps.
Her foot just happened to land on a small pebble. The sharp sting in her sole made her suck in a cold breath.
Some people look good even when wrapped in a sackcloth—that saying was being proven right now. Even though Tang You currently had leaves tied around her waist in a ridiculous makeshift skirt, an awkward wrapped chest, and was standing barefoot on the ground, she still looked so lively and enchanting it was impossible to look away.
Xiao Zexing took off his suit jacket and personally draped it over her shoulders. He asked: “Who bullied you?”
Tang You froze.
She actually hadn’t heard that question in a very long time.
With Tang Xiao’s personality, unless he had something he wanted her to do, he never spoke to her gently. And although Old Master Xiao and Zhao Manlan doted on her, they wouldn’t extend their concern all the way to how she was treated in the Tang household.
Tang You said: “Tang Nan.”
Maybe she shouldn’t have blurted it out so carelessly, but right now Tang You was so caught off guard and warmed by this sudden bit of kindness that she just… said it.
The man was tall, and his suit jacket was correspondingly large. When Tang You put it on, it completely covered her hips. She had to struggle to poke her fingers out of the sleeves, suddenly feeling like a little kid who had secretly tried on adult clothes.
She murmured softly: “Thank you.”
No matter how wild “Xiao Weijing’s” private life might be, after these few days of contact, Tang You had come to realize that his character was actually pretty decent.
He was just occasionally a little wicked and loved teasing her verbally.
Xiao Zexing bent down slightly, looked at her dirt-smeared feet, and asked: “Can you still walk by yourself?”
Isn’t that obvious? Of course I can walk. If I couldn’t, were you going to carry—
Before she could finish the wild thought, the man’s expression remained calm and matter-of-fact: “I’ll carry you back.”
Tang You was stunned: “Huh?”
“No need, really, I can walk—”
Tang You kept refusing and took a step back. That same little pebble dug into her sole again, making her hiss in pain.
“What are you trying to prove? There’s still a stretch of stone path ahead—how are you going to get over it? Don’t want your feet anymore?” Without giving her a chance to argue, Xiao Zexing scooped her up in a princess carry. His brow furrowed slightly, but his voice softened considerably. “You should learn to accept other people’s kindness when it’s offered.”
The cedarwood scent on the man grew even stronger. Tang You’s feet left the ground; instinctively she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and didn’t dare say a single word.
He was… way too tall.
What if he suddenly let go? She’d fall!
The terror of possibly dropping at any second overpowered Tang You’s usual dislike of “Xiao Weijing.” She earnestly and calmly convinced herself: Don’t be scared. Just pretend he’s a really good-smelling piece of wood.
Even while carrying her, the man walked effortlessly. At first Tang You had worried he might not be able to hold her, but seeing how calm he remained, she quietly relaxed a little.
Since she could remember, no one had ever carried her like this.
They passed through the corridor and the small path; more people started appearing. Curious glances came their way. Tang You immediately turned her face and buried it against his chest.
She absolutely did not want anyone to see her looking this pathetic.
Xiao Zexing asked: “What’s the room number you booked?”
Tang You quietly told him the number.
He was tall with long strides. He went straight into the hotel and up the stairs.
Along the way, the waitstaff saw him carrying a girl wrapped in a man’s suit jacket. They started to greet him, but the moment their eyes met his, they immediately shut up, bowed respectfully, and didn’t dare look again.
Everyone was secretly wondering who exactly he was carrying.
The suit jacket covered her completely, revealing only a fluffy mass of black hair. No shoes, slender snow-white calves, small delicate feet covered in quite a bit of mud—yet somehow it didn’t look dirty at all. Instead it made her seem especially pitiful and lovable.
No one knew whose precious young miss this was.
After all, Xiao Zexing was famously abstinent and self-disciplined. While other young masters changed girlfriends as often as changing clothes, he had never once been linked to any scandal.
Xiao Zexing carried Tang You all the way to her room. The moment her feet touched the floor, Tang You’s normal thinking returned. She quickly calculated the timing and decided it was time to start causing trouble again.
She lifted her face, looking at him with starry-eyed admiration: “Mr. Xiao, besides my grandfather, you’re the—”
“I know what you’re about to say,” Xiao Zexing loosened his tie casually. “Stop trying to promote me up another generation.”
Tang You could only obediently shut her mouth.
This guy was so weird.
She was trying to flatter him and he wouldn’t even accept it.
After seeing Xiao Zexing off, Tang You had just finished showering and changing clothes—she was still buttoning up—when someone knocked on the door.
Limping slightly, she went over, cracked the door open a sliver, and asked warily: “What is it?”
The person outside spoke respectfully: “Sir asked me to bring you some medicine.”
Although no surname was mentioned, Tang You thought about it—it had to be “Xiao Weijing.”
She hadn’t expected this man to be so unexpectedly attentive.
She opened the door wider, smiled sweetly at the staff member to thank him, took the medicine, and casually set it aside.
She had only walked a short distance, but the sole of her foot was already red and swollen. Fragile skin had this drawback— even the tiniest scrape looked especially vicious.
But right now wasn’t the time. She needed to find Tang Nan first and have a proper “chat” about the issues between them.
When Xiao Weijing opened the door to the room, Xiao Zexing was sitting on the balcony reading a book.
He was half-reclining, a slender white porcelain vase with a long neck placed on the table in front of him. The roses inside were in full bloom.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Zexing lifted his eyes to glance at him, but kept most of his attention on the book in his hands.
The lamplight cast a soft, clean glow over his features.
Xiao Weijing offered him a cigarette. Xiao Zexing didn’t take it. “Smoke less.”
Xiao Weijing didn’t care at all. He stubbornly held it to Xiao Zexing’s lips, shielded it from the wind, and personally lit it for him.
Xiao Zexing set the book down. After seeing the expression on his face clearly, he took the cigarette and chuckled. “What’s wrong? You look so unhappy.”
Xiao Weijing’s face was full of frustration, his hand clenched into a fist. “I didn’t expect Tang You to come along too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Your fiancée shows up and you’re not happy? Not even going to say hello?”
“What’s there to say hello about?” Xiao Weijing’s mood was visibly sour, even a little repulsed. “With Grandfather’s personality, he’ll probably force my head down and make me marry her next year.”
Xiao Zexing’s half-lowered eyelids lifted. He smiled. “If you don’t like her, just tell Grandfather. Canceling the engagement is no big deal.”
Xiao Weijing accidentally inhaled the smoke straight into his lungs and started coughing violently. After a long while, he looked up at Xiao Zexing in disbelief. “I never thought I’d hear words like that come out of your mouth.”
“Surprised?”
“Not exactly…” Xiao Weijing thought for a long time before saying, “Last time you were still advising me to treat Tang You properly.”
Xiao Zexing gazed at the bright lights shining from a room upstairs in the distance. The light spilled across his face, making his features look even more like polished jade.
He closed the book. “After all, marriage isn’t a small matter.”
Xiao Weijing sighed, genuinely moved. “Second Uncle, right now you’re the only one in the family standing on my side. When the time comes for me to break off the engagement with Tang You, can you help me talk to Grandfather?”
Xiao Zexing smiled. “Of course.”
Tang Nan’s room was on the second floor. Tang You went downstairs quietly, first knocking lightly on Tang Nan’s door.
She had already checked carefully—conveniently, the second-floor surveillance was broken. The moment Tang Nan opened the door without any guard up, Tang You shoved her aside and forced her way into the room.
Tang Nan never expected her to be so aggressive. “What the fu—”
Tang You didn’t speak. She simply slapped her hard across the face. Tang Nan, stunned that Tang You actually dared to hit her, covered her cheek in shock and collapsed to the floor. “You hit me?”
“Damn right I hit you.”
Tang You sneered, straddled her, yanked a thin skirt off the nearby sofa, and roughly stuffed it into Tang Nan’s mouth.
Tang Nan struggled desperately, trying to scream. Tang You precisely grabbed both her wrists, tied them with a silk scarf, and knotted it tightly around the leg of a chair.
All Tang Nan could do was muffle desperate “mmph mmph” sounds, glaring at her in fury, but unable to make any real noise.
Tang You looked down at her from above. With her free hand she gripped Tang Nan’s jaw hard, forcing her to meet her eyes. “You took my clothes and made me walk back like that. I can’t swallow this humiliation.”
As she spoke, she delivered another heavy slap to Tang Nan’s left cheek. Seeing her cry harder, she mercilessly followed up with one to the right cheek.
“These three slaps from big sister today: first, to punish you for scaring Ah Mai in front of me last time and framing me; second, because you tried to steal what’s mine—Qixing was left to me by my mother, and you don’t get to touch a single piece; third, to teach you a lesson for the stupid shit you pulled today.” Tang You asked coldly, “Do you understand human speech? If you do, nod.”
Tang Nan was crying so hard her face was a mess of tears and snot, but she managed a difficult nod.
“I don’t use your low-class, dirty tricks,” Tang You patted her cheek mockingly, “not because I can tolerate you, but because I have dignity. Got that?”
Tang Nan struggled wildly; red marks from the silk scarf already appeared on her wrists. Tang You only glanced at them before looking away again, pinching her chin and forcing her to look up.
“Don’t even think about running to Dad to complain,” Tang You’s hand slid down her cheek in warning. “This morning you were out shopping with Young Master Chen, and this afternoon you went to open a room with Director Zhao. You really get around, don’t you, Tang Nan?”
Tang Nan was so terrified by her words that she couldn’t speak.
She didn’t dare move anymore either. Tears just kept falling plop plop plop.
“You’d better remember this clearly,” Tang You pinched hard once more and narrowed her eyes. “Next time you dare provoke me, it won’t just be a few slaps.”
Terror filled Tang Nan’s eyes completely.
Tang You released the hands pinning her down. Tang Nan still stayed in the same position, lying flat on her back on the floor, tears of genuine fear brimming at the corners of her eyes.
She was scared shitless.
Tang You untied the silk scarf from her wrists.
She wasn’t afraid Tang Nan would go tattle to Tang Xiao. Right now she held leverage over her. Tang Nan usually relied on Tang Xiao’s favoritism to secretly trip her up, but in reality she was a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
What Tang Xiao doted on was only the obedient, compliant daughter who followed every arrangement. Once he found out how debauched Tang Nan’s private life really was, punishment would be inevitable. And those “boyfriends” she had cuckolded? They definitely wouldn’t let it go quietly.
Tang You was focused on breaking off the engagement right now, so she was just using this to threaten her—make her behave, stop jumping around.
She stood up, let out a breath, and turned around—only to freeze.
The suite Tang Nan was staying in had an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling glass windows. And for some idiotic reason, Tang Nan hadn’t drawn the curtains.
After barging in, Tang You had been entirely focused on the fight and hadn’t noticed.
On the open-air balcony across the way, Xiao Zexing was seated in a round chair, calmly and leisurely watching the entire farce.
He was still wearing the same shirt he had worn when he carried her back to her room earlier. He hadn’t even loosened his tie.
…So the entire scene of her just now—riding on top of Tang Nan and beating her—had been completely and clearly seen by him?
Under Tang You’s shocked gaze, Xiao Zexing set down the cigarette in his hand. Amid the curling smoke, his features looked lazily indolent. He smiled and mouthed three words.
From so far away, Tang You couldn’t hear them clearly, but she strained to read his lips—
He was saying:
Little wildcat.
Author’s Note: Ahhh, isn’t this too wickedly fun? Watching Second Uncle tease Youyou gets me so excited =V=.
Tiny Little Mini Side Story:
Xiao Weijing, still completely in the dark: “Second Uncle is really great! Second Uncle is the only one who supports me breaking off the engagement! Second Uncle is so understanding!”