Just as Yu Wanwan was about to fall asleep, her phone rang again at an inopportune time.
The young girl’s first thought was of Xie Tingnan, and in the dim glow of the nightlight, she immediately pressed the answer button.
“Xie Tingnan, didn’t we already say goodnight?” Her voice was soft and sweet, dripping with a coquettish tone.
The man on the other end of the line felt his bones melt: “Damn, you’re really something. Yu Wanwan, how dare you not return to Nancheng to study?”
The questioning, greasy voice jolted Yu Wanwan awake, and she furrowed her brows tightly.
She wouldn’t hang up on Yu Huai directly.
That reckless troublemaker, who could stir up chaos at the drop of a hat, would keep calling nonstop if she hung up on him.
If she turned off her phone or blocked him, he might drive overnight to the capital just to cause a scene.
Of course, in Nancheng, he could act like a tyrant.
But in the capital, he was nothing. Weak and isolated, like a mere ant.
If someone like Xie Tingnan, a man of power, wanted to deal with him, he could crush him into the dust in an instant, turning him into a human meat pie.
She simply didn’t want to trouble Xie Tingnan, to dirty his hands by dealing with such a pest.
And then there was that contract—though Yu Wanwan hadn’t seen it, she could guess its contents.
Her adoptive parents must have hoped that Xie Tingnan, as a powerful figure, could offer some protection for that troublemaker.
She also didn’t want Xie Tingnan to know that in her past life, there had been such a disgusting man who constantly thought of ways to bully her.
So, suppressing her disgust, Yu Wanwan replied coldly, “What’s it to you? Where I study is none of your business.”
Yu Huai let out a contemptuous sneer: “So your wings have hardened. It seems you’ve pleased your sugar daddy well. Just listen to how shameless you sounded earlier…”
“Yu Huai,” Yu Wanwan interrupted him coldly, “I may be unworthy, but your family used my unworthiness to trade for your own wealth and status. How much cleaner are you?
I’ve already cut off my own path forward to repay the so-called kindness of your family’s upbringing. From now on, we’re even—no more debts between us. If you keep bothering me for no reason, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
“Damn it,” Yu Huai cursed under his breath, but his heart tightened suddenly.
That soft, easily bullied little girl had only been in the capital for a few days, yet she dared to talk back like this?
How dare she!
But… the lecherous man curled his lips.
Even a fearless troublemaker like him felt a certain wariness toward the man from the capital he had never met.
However, this wariness, born of never having met him, weakened slightly when he thought of Yu Wanwan’s increasingly enchanting and alluring appearance.
In the past, relying on his father’s strict vigilance and the occasional warnings from Lu Shixun, the son of Nancheng’s richest man, he had only dared to lust after Yu Wanwan, who was still a virgin, but never dared to lay a hand on her.
Now, that once-unattainable goddess had long become Xie Tingnan’s caged canary, and he couldn’t help but miss Yu Wanwan’s fair skin, beautiful face, and delicate, seductive demeanor.
He wanted to take her forcefully—after all, she was just a “socialite” plaything.
If Xie Tingnan could treat her like a pampered treasure, he, Yu Huai, could also conquer her fiercely.
As long as she was no longer a virgin, what difference did it make whether it was once or a hundred times? This was the twisted, self-righteous logic of that “heartless” scoundrel.
So, when he accidentally learned about Yu Wanwan’s transfer, he immediately flew into a rage.
Yu Wanwan returning to study at Nancheng Arts University had always been what he considered the perfect opportunity.
Accompanying Xie Tingnan in the north, accompanying Yu Huai in the south—the little girl would be showered with affection every day, living a life as blissful as a fairy’s.
“Yu Huai, this is the last time I’ll answer your call. From now on, we are strangers. If you show up in front of me again, I’ll call the police immediately.”
Yu Wanwan calmly hung up the phone.
Although she had tried her best to control her emotions, she couldn’t help trembling slightly with anger.
She knew Yu Huai’s ill intentions.
This man was like a malignant tumor. She had a feeling that one day, he would appear before her again.
…
Xie Tingnan did not sleep soundly.
He had drunk a lot, and even with his capacity for holding liquor, his stomach was protesting.
He took a casual sip of the hangover and stomach-soothing soup prepared by the aunt at Purple Bamboo Garden, then set it aside.
It didn’t compare to the Dragon Well Tea soup infused with premium honey and fresh lemon juice that suited his taste.
The discomfort in his stomach, deep and shallow like insect bites, was an indescribable unease.
Tossing and turning, he woke up completely to find the outside still dark—it was only a little past four.
Xie Tingnan got up, draped a bathrobe over himself, poured a glass of warm water, found the medicine kit in the room, and took out an exquisite porcelain bottle. He shook out a few light brown pills and swallowed them with water.
The pills were specially formulated by Professor Guan Shan for daily stomach care, using precious Chinese herbs such as wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain, white atractylodes, polygonatum, and Tianshan snow lotus in precise proportions.
Perhaps it was psychological, but he felt a bit better.
Yet he couldn’t fall back asleep, a restless urge stirring within him.
He had originally planned to go to Yi Garden in the morning, have breakfast together, and personally escort her to Peking University.
But now…
Xie Tingnan simply walked out in his bathrobe.
Not far away, Yin Ren approached and greeted softly, “Chairman Xie.”
Xie Tingnan curled his lips. “Couldn’t sleep either?”
Yin Ren, the steady middle-aged special assistant, smiled gently. “I brought you some medicine. You drank quite a bit yesterday, and I was worried your stomach might be upset.”
As he spoke, he handed over another type of nourishing pill that Xie Tingnan occasionally used.
In truth, after years of following him, Yin Ren understood this young master’s temperament well.
He was about eighty percent certain Xie Tingnan would wake up early.
“No need. Let’s go.”
Even with a cold expression, Xie Tingnan in his bathrobe still carried an air of unyielding pride.
A minute later, an understated Hongqi sedan slowly drove out of Purple Bamboo Garden.
After navigating through the alleyways and reaching the main road, it immediately began to “drift.”
…
Yu Wanwan, sleeping soundly in the guest bedroom, seemed to be dreaming.
She caught a faint whiff of “Southern Fragrance.”
The man often wore an agarwood bracelet on his left wrist, and now, the beads of the bracelet brushed against her skin. The delicate girl frowned in discomfort.
Her body was lifted horizontally, and a blurry, tall figure strode briskly out of the room.
Yu Wanwan was too sleepy to open her eyes, murmuring softly, “Xie Tingnan?”
“Hmm.” The man seemed to respond.
The girl frowned. “The bracelet is digging into me. It hurts.”
The man chuckled lightly. “If I hold you upright, it won’t just be the bracelet bothering you…”
“What are you talking about?” Yu Wanwan mumbled before slowly drifting back into deep sleep.
The tall man, still wearing the bathrobe from Purple Bamboo Garden, carried her to the master bedroom.
Xie Tingnan was extremely particular about beds.
For places he frequently traveled to on business, he would simply buy a property there.
For less frequented destinations, he would book a hotel suite long-term, effectively purchasing it by ensuring it was never offered to other guests again.
He first laid Yu Wanwan on her side on the bed, fetched a silk quilt, and discarded his bathrobe.
The little girl squirmed a few times, turned over, and mumbled, “It’s poking me, it hurts.”
Her hand reached out directly to grab it, wanting to pull it off and toss it aside…