“Xia Zhi, my dear, could you please come and talk some sense into Yu Huan…”
The voice on the phone belonged to a mutual friend of Pei Yuhuan and Xia Zhi.
According to the friend, Pei Yuhuan was drowning his sorrows over a breakup at a nightclub, drinking himself to the brink of a stomach perforation or something along those lines.
“…He’s already bought drinks for the entire venue three rounds in a row, blowing through several million in one go. Please come and take him away…”
Xia Zhi remained unmoved.
Given Pei Yuhuan’s status, with several assistants and drivers at his side, there was no need for her to worry.
Besides, money was never an issue for him.
“Don’t call me again. We’ve already broken up.”
If she went, it would only give Pei Yuhuan false hope.
A breakup should be clean and final.
Xia Zhi had thought that simply ignoring him would be enough, but just before midnight, she received a call from Mrs. Pei.
Mrs. Pei called to criticize Xia Zhi’s handling of the relationship and urged her to go to the nightclub to persuade Pei Yuhuan to come home.
Xia Zhi felt uneasy, but as an elder and someone who had received much kindness from the Pei family over the years…
“Understood, Auntie. I’ll go talk to him.”
…
Nightclubs were chaotic and noisy places.
It was almost midnight, the peak of the smoky, rowdy atmosphere.
The car stopped outside a nightclub called Tang Palace in Lan Kwai Fong, but Xia Zhi refused to go inside.
Before long, a group of wealthy second-generation heirs emerged, supporting a stumbling Pei Yuhuan.
Spotting Xia Zhi, Pei Yuhuan staggered toward her.
“Rere~ My dear Rere~”
“You still love me, don’t you? You still care about me, right?”
Xia Zhi took two steps back, avoiding physical contact with him.
He didn’t seem as drunk as the phone call had made him out to be, nor did he appear to be in a state serious enough to involve his elders.
Xia Zhi was a little angry, but in front of Pei Yuhuan’s many friends, she was willing to spare him some dignity.
So, she gently urged,
“Yu Huan, let’s talk in the car.”
Pei Yuhuan adored Xia Zhi’s obedient, sensible, and gentle nature—she would never embarrass him in public.
He immediately called for his driver to bring the car around and got in with Xia Zhi.
After the car had driven a couple of blocks, the glaring, multicolored lights outside the window finally faded.
Xia Zhi turned to face Pei Yuhuan, her tone serious and resigned.
“Yu Huan, we’ve already broken up. Don’t trick me into coming out like this again… I won’t come out anymore.”
Without waiting for his response, she asked the driver to pull over, opened the door, and stepped out.
“Xia Zhi!”
Pei Yuhuan chased after her.
Standing by the roadside, the young master Pei broke down in anger.
“Didn’t I do all this just to keep you?”
“The whole world knows how much I, Pei Yuhuan, love you. You just dumped me like that—do you have no feelings at all?”
“All these years, haven’t I treated you well? I’ve pampered and cherished you every day, never daring to lay a hand on you! As a wealthy second-generation heir, I’ve lived more chastely than a damn monk! Isn’t that enough to prove my love?”
“Over such a trivial matter, do you have to be so heartless?”
Pei Yuhuan had never raised his voice at her like this before, and Xia Zhi was a little frightened.
“Yu Huan, maybe I didn’t handle the breakup well… Let’s talk again once you’ve calmed down.”
She walked to a nearby intersection and took out her phone to call a driver.
But before she could dial, Pei Yuhuan suddenly rushed over.
He snatched the phone from her hand and hurled it forcefully into the middle of the road.
“You’re not allowed to leave!”
Pei Yuhuan was truly drunk, unable to control his emotions.
He grabbed Xia Zhi’s wrist, pulling her into the alley behind him and slamming her against the wall.
Xia Zhi glared at him,
“Pei Yuhuan! You’re hurting me!”
But Pei Yuhuan wasn’t listening at all,
“Xia Zhi, don’t I hurt too?”
“Just thinking about it… once news of our breakup spreads, tomorrow there’ll be countless men lining up to chase you… I can’t stand it!”
“Rere, you’re mine! I haven’t even touched you! I won’t allow other men around you, I won’t let other men touch you!”
The man grew more agitated as he spoke, an unusual glint flickering in his eyes.
Gazing at Xia Zhi’s beautiful face and delicate demeanor, the strangeness in Pei Yuhuan’s eyes twisted into something else entirely.
He took a step forward, using his left hand to pin both of Xia Zhi’s hands against the rough wall above her head.
With his right hand, he gripped her chin, forcing her to tilt her head back, and kissed her without a hint of tenderness.
When had Xia Zhi ever been treated like this?
She was so frightened her face turned deathly pale, tears falling like a broken string of pearls.
Yet her strength was too feeble to resist the drunken man.
Xia Zhi looked pleadingly toward Pei Yuhuan’s driver not far away.
But the driver immediately turned his back, ignoring her.
…
Just at her most helpless and aggrieved moment, a man suddenly rushed out from a nearby convenience store.
The man moved with exceptional agility, covering the distance in a few quick strides, seizing Pei Yuhuan by the neck and forcing him to release Xia Zhi.
Then, he punched Pei Yuhuan in the face.
It was Xie Ning.
The two men were similar in height and build.
But how could Pei Yuhuan, a pampered rich second-generation heir, possibly be a match for Xie Ning, who had toughened himself through hardship at the bottom?
Xie Ning fought with practiced ease, subduing Pei Yuhuan and pinning him to the ground in just a few moves.
Hearing the commotion, Pei Yuhuan’s driver and bodyguard immediately rushed over.
Xia Zhi hurried forward, grabbing Xie Ning’s hand,
“That’s enough, Xie Ning.”
The man froze as if struck by a pressure point, abruptly halting all movement.
He stood up with a dark expression, still unsatisfied, and kicked the prone Pei Yuhuan one more time.
Pei Yuhuan’s driver and bodyguard were both professional fighters.
The two burly men stepped forward, ready to attack, but were stopped by Xia Zhi’s glare, not daring to act rashly.
The young mistress’s face was still streaked with tears, her eyes red, her voice trembling with sobs,
“Take him away!”
Everyone present felt a mix of complicated emotions.
Tonight, Pei Yuhuan’s drunken rampage meant they would all suffer the consequences.
Not to mention how the Xia family would handle it—if the eldest young master, Pei Yuexuan, found out, their jobs might be on the line…
No one dared to speak up. They helped Pei Yuhuan up and drove away in disgrace.
After everyone had left, Xia Zhi was still crying at the mouth of the alley.
The delicate young mistress, wearing a dress that was neither yellow nor pink and teetering on seven- or eight-centimeter stiletto heels, wept pitifully, her face drenched in tears, looking utterly wronged.
Xie Ning stood two meters away, rubbing his nose, at a loss for what to do.
He glanced at her face, then immediately looked away.
His gaze settled on the hem of Xia Zhi’s dress, silently waiting for her to finish crying.
He couldn’t tell what fabric the dress was made of, but even in the dim light of the alley, it shimmered with a flowing glow—clearly something of great value…
By the time Xie Ning’s mind had run through all sorts of random thoughts, the young mistress still hadn’t calmed down.
Not only had Xia Zhi not stopped crying, but her body had even begun to tremble.
Xie Ning lowered his head, rubbing his temples, and finally spoke up,
“Um… maybe take a break before you keep crying?”
The thought crossed her mind: That man didn’t seem to have kissed her just now, so why was she crying like this…
But the next second, the truth was revealed.
“Xie Ning…”
Xia Zhi looked at the man before her, her voice trembling.
She pointed at her high heels. “So dirty… Wuwuwu…”
Huh?
Xie Ning blinked, confused.
Following Xia Zhi’s hand, he lowered his head to look at the ground, where there was a shallow puddle of water.
The young lady hadn’t noticed and had stepped right into it.
This was an old district, and the road surface was uneven. After rain, puddles were a common occurrence.
“And the wall…”
Xia Zhi continued her complaint to Xie Ning. “It’s covered in small ads, so dirty… Wuwuwu…”
Xie Ning glanced at the wall behind her.
It was the entrance to an alley—having small ads posted there was normal.
Just now, Xia Zhi had been pressed against the wall by Pei Yuhuan, her back coming into close contact with those small ads…
Such a normal, common thing, yet the young lady felt as if the sky had fallen.
Standing in the puddle, she didn’t dare move.
It wasn’t because of what had just happened. Xie Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
“So you were crying… because of this…”
Xia Zhi pouted and nodded, two large teardrops falling into the puddle below.
Softly, she asked him,
“Xie Ning, what should I do…”
Xie Ning’s deep, dark eyes lingered on Xia Zhi’s face, revealing no emotion.
Three seconds later, he suddenly tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
“Ha~”
The gloomy, indifferent man actually laughed out loud.
Xie Ning looked back at Xia Zhi, a trace of a smile still lingering on his face, giving him a touch of warmth.
“…Should I carry you?”