Early in the morning, Nan Xuan slowly opened her eyes. A thin layer of mist covered her fox-like eyes as she sat up groggily, scratched her messy bedhead, and stared blankly at the window.
The people in the room were still fast asleep. Nan Xuan glanced at the time.
Hmm… six o’clock.
But when she remembered what had happened the night before, she grinned silently.
Aiya, they were worried I would get drunk, so they wouldn’t even let me drink alcohol. They only let me have drinks instead~
Then she seemed to remember something. She lowered her head, opened the Bubble app on her phone, found a person whose profile picture was a little cat, opened the chat, and typed a few lines.
“Duoduo, bring my adorable Jingjing over to my house, okay~ The front door password is my initials and my mom’s birthday. I just finished building my new house, and the address is still the villa where I usually stay. Go to my house and wait for me first. Then we’ll celebrate tonight~”
“Oh right, bring your luggage too. Let’s stay together for a few more days~ I’ll be back in about two days.”
After sending the messages, her thoughts drifted back to her previous life.
Her childhood best friend, Xu Duoduo, had brought along her good sisters. They had always blindly followed their little team leader, doing whatever she told them to do. Even when everyone was struggling to find enough food and clothing in the apocalypse, they still laughed and joked around, showing no despair toward life at all.
But before long, even that last bit of happiness had disappeared…
Nan Xuan thought of that pair of scumbags again and curled her lips.
It’s fine. It’s almost time.
Her fox-like eyes became deep and unfathomable, like a bottomless pool. She quickly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, it was as though nothing had happened.
She got up with a smile, ran to the kitchen, made some breakfast, and prepared a cup of honey water. Then she quietly carried the water into the bedroom.
She placed it on the bedside table and turned around to leave.
The moment she left, the person on the bed opened his eyes, a trace of confusion in them.
“Hiss…”
Xiao Beiyu rubbed his temples and slowly sat up. Looking around the unfamiliar room, he was dazed for a moment before finally remembering what had happened the previous night.
Redness spread from his ears to his face and finally down to his neck. His heart began beating faster and faster. He instinctively raised a hand to cover his chest and took several deep breaths before finally calming himself down.
A faint tea fragrance drifted into his nose, carrying the subtle scent of a young girl.
He looked at the honey water on the bedside table, and a trace of warmth filled his heart.
He stood up and had just taken a step when his expression stiffened.
He had no other clothes left. He was only wearing his warm base layer.
His entire body froze on the spot.
With an expressionless face, he pretended as though nothing had happened and put on his clothes.
Only his bright red ears betrayed his true feelings.
“Oh, you’re awake! Your friends were all drunk yesterday. I knocked on their door, but they wouldn’t open it, so I could only let you sleep here. The honey water should help you feel better. I just finished making breakfast. Come eat~”
Nan Xuan smiled at the person walking out of the bedroom.
Another day of being completely captivated by how handsome Xiao Beiyu is. Wonderful.
“Thank you. I’m sorry about last night. I disturbed you.”
Xiao Beiyu’s face flushed awkwardly. Then he strode over to help her carry things.
Nan Xuan happily had breakfast with Xiao Beiyu.
Meanwhile, in the room across the hall…
“Miao, my head hurts.” qwq
“Your head hurts, and mine hurts too.”
Sun Miao rolled his eyes and continued lying on the bed, completely unwilling to move. He wondered why drinking alcohol not only made his head hurt, but somehow made his butt hurt too.
“Where’s the captain?”
The moment those words were spoken, the room fell completely silent.
Everyone looked at one another.
“Damn it! Didn’t someone knock on the door last night!?”
Sun Miao immediately jumped out of bed.
“Huh?!”
The group hurriedly put on their clothes. Sun Miao picked up his phone and was about to send a message to Xiao Beiyu when the mission phone suddenly rang with a text notification.
Everyone turned to look.
It was a message from their employer.
They opened it and couldn’t help looking confused.
The auction had been moved up?
It was starting tonight?
The group exchanged glances and continued searching everywhere for their captain.
Just as they opened the door, they saw Xiao Beiyu opening the door across the hall.
Their eyes met.
The former trembled nervously, while the latter’s gaze gradually turned colder.
“Eh? You’re all awake?”
Nan Xuan poked her little head out from behind Xiao Beiyu and looked at them with sparkling eyes.
“Ah, ah? Yes! Hehe, we just got up too.”
Sun Miao scratched his head awkwardly.
Xiao Beiyu gave them a subtle look.
The group immediately stood properly and smiled at Nan Xuan.
“Hello, miss. I’m Sun Miao~ I’m twenty-five this year.”
Sun Miao was a sunny-looking man who gave off the feeling of a little sun.
“Hello, I’m Min Ke. I’m twenty-six this year.”
As he spoke, he pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. His appearance carried a refined yet slightly sinister charm.
“Hello, I’m Chu Yun. I’m twenty-five this year.”
Chu Yun had a straightforward, masculine appearance. He looked just right in every aspect.
“Hello, I’m Gu Qing. I’m twenty-six.”
Gu Qing had the appearance of a handsome man straight out of an ancient Chinese painting, with a relatively slender build.
“Hello~ I’m Yan Yi. I’m the youngest. I’m only twenty-two.”
Yan Yi had the air of the boy next door and was currently scratching his head shyly.
“Hehe, hello, everyone! My name is Nan Xuan. Nan as in southeast, northwest, and Xuan with the grass radical. I’m younger than all of you. I’m exactly twenty.”
Nan Xuan’s smile grew even wider.
They had accepted her!
After all, although everyone had seemed drunk last night, they had actually retained some awareness~
“Hmm. Xiao Beiyu, twenty-seven.”
Xiao Beiyu looked at the young girl in front of him, his gaze slightly darkening.
“Hehe, sorry, miss. Everyone had a little too much fun last night.”
Sun Miao scratched his head and gave Nan Xuan an embarrassed smile.
Nan Xuan smiled and shook her head, saying it was fine. Then she told everyone that they could play together again when they had time.
After saying goodbye, she returned to her room.
She lay on the bed, where Xiao Beiyu had slept. The man’s clean, refreshing scent still lingered there.
She began thinking about the auction.
Xiao Beiyu returned to his room.
The temperature inside seemed to drop to freezing point.
The five men stood in a neat row with their heads lowered.
Xiao Beiyu sat on the sofa and raised an eyebrow as he looked at the message on the mission phone.
He remained silent for a long time before raising his head.
“Min Ke, have you found out the truth about the auction these past few days?”
“Captain, most of the items at this auction are antiques. But I’ve heard that the final item is actually a person, not an object.”
“A person?”
Xiao Beiyu raised his head and pursed his thin lips.
“The auction will be held at ten tonight. We’ll pack our things today and go in early to figure out the arrangements inside.”
“Gu Qing and Sun Miao will act as bodyguards today. Min Ke, stay here and try to hack into the auction’s system before the final item appears. Yan Yi will come with me and act as our diplomat.”
“We’re going to make a big move tonight. Chu Yun, finish the procedures for leaving tonight and stay behind to protect Min Ke. Once we get what we came for, we’ll leave this city immediately.”
“Stay in contact at all times. Everyone must bring their communicators. Even if we get separated, stay alert and never lose contact.”
After Xiao Beiyu finished giving his orders, he leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes to rest.
“Yes, Captain!”
The men answered in unison and began packing their things.
“Beiyu-ge, what about Nan Xuan? Should we say goodbye to her?”
Sun Miao quickly ran over to Xiao Beiyu with a questioning expression.
After all, they could be considered acquaintances now. They had also forced her to take care of him for an entire night. Not saying goodbye seemed a little inappropriate.
Xiao Beiyu glanced sideways at him.
“No need. We’ll see her tonight.”
Sun Miao immediately understood.
He turned around and continued packing his things.
Xiao Beiyu raised his head and looked out at the sea view through the window.
The uneasiness in his heart had been amplified to its fullest.
He frowned and rubbed his brow.
——— Cute Divider ~ ———
“Message’s here! Read it if you want, listen if you don’t~”
Nan Xuan’s notification sound vibrated wildly, waking her from her nap.
The sleepy girl picked up her phone.
Sure enough, her best friend had come through. In such a short time, her messages were already piling up.
She skimmed through them.
The general meaning was that there was no problem. They could arrive tonight, and the three of them would wait at home for her to return.
Nan Xuan put down her phone with a smile.
Thinking back, everyone had been children from the same orphanage. She was the only one who had been adopted midway.
Unfortunately, the good times hadn’t lasted long.
Her adoptive parents had been killed because of a family power struggle, leaving only her behind.
Fortunately, her adoptive parents had transferred their assets to her at a very young age and had trained her as their successor.
As a result, Nan Xuan dropped out of school at sixteen and began managing the company. Whenever she didn’t know something, she learned while doing it. With her natural talent, she had become a little rich girl at a very young age.
As for the sisters from the orphanage, she had never abandoned them either.
She directly brought them out and taught them how to survive.
By now, the four sisters could each occupy their own little corner of the world.
Their relationship had not grown distant over the years. Instead, they had become even closer.
“Boss, boss! Latest news! The auction has been moved up!!”
Xiao Xuanzi suddenly spoke.
“What? Why was it moved up?”
Nan Xuan was clearly stunned.
She immediately got up, packed her things, went to the front desk, and completed the application to move out tonight.
Then she returned to her room and stored everything in her space.
“Xiao Xuanzi, tonight I’ll take you to enjoy an auction. We can broaden our horizons together.”
Nan Xuan had set the time and planned to lie down and sleep properly.
She had something big to do tonight.
She needed to conserve her energy~
“Yay! I’ve never seen an auction before. In the past, it was always auctions between systems. They were so boring!”
Xiao Xuanzi happily ran around inside the space.
Nan Xuan smiled slightly and closed her eyes.
She began wondering what Xiao Beiyu would look like tonight.
Aiya…
This won’t do.
She’s getting lovesick again.