Only after they left did Ning Yizhan remove his hand from Qiu Hu's mouth and nose. Qiu Hu was finally free. "Who were they?"

Ning Yizhan seemed to be deep in thought, his expression slightly darkening. "If I'm not mistaken, those are people from the Lin family of Mucheng."

Qiu Hu was somewhat puzzled. "The Lin family of Mucheng? Why would they want to see Qiu Bing? They couldn't possibly be interested in the Qiu family, could they? The Qiu family is worthless now." Given the current value of the Qiu family, it's not worth the Lin family's attention.

"I don't know. I'm afraid the target isn't the Qiu family. They might have some other purpose. Don't worry, I'll have someone investigate." Ning Yizhan patted Qiu Hu's head.

"good".

Ning Yizhan observed the surrounding environment and found another corner at the back. He pulled Qiu Hu and walked inside. Qiu Hu was pushed against the wall, and Ning Yizhan leaned down and pressed himself against her.

Qiu Hu realized the atmosphere was a bit off and spoke up to stop him, "What are you doing now?"

"Don't you think this environment and atmosphere is perfect for flirting?" Qiu Hu looked up at him, and he lowered his head to gently press his lips against her jelly-like lips, without moving.

Ning Yizhan couldn't resist any longer. He held the back of her head and began kissing her more deeply, sucking on her lower lip. His warm breath sprayed on her face, and she blushed. Their breaths intertwined until Qiu Hu couldn't breathe. Only then did Ning Yizhan release her, his eyes filled with desire. "Wasn't it sweet?"

"No, it smells like beef."

"...", there's no need to be so direct and clear.

"Want more?"

Qiu Hu did not answer, but lowered his eyes. Ning Yizhan understood, and continued to lower his head to kiss Qiu Hu's other lip, which was not yet swollen.

Only after the two had kissed to their satisfaction did Qiu Hu pull Ning Yizhan away. By the time they came out, night had already fallen.

Back in the car, Ning Yizhan asked excitedly, "Was it fun?"

Qiu Hu's delicate face flushed red, and she dared not look him in the eye, staring straight ahead. "Can you not be so direct with your words!"

"Likewise, you may not be direct in your words, but you are quite direct in your actions."

A straightforward kind of love, who understands it!

The car was dark. Ning Yizhan sat in the driver's seat, looking at her with a smile in his eyes, relying on the dim streetlights. "Actually, I'm a little reluctant to leave."

Qiu Hu was a little taken aback; her lips still felt a little burning. "That's enough!"

"Alright then!" Ning Yizhan was still a little reluctant, but he still tried to persuade himself, "How about a hug? I just want a hug, nothing else."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Tell me why. Drive me back," Qiu Hu ordered.

He took her back to Golden Bay, looking at her with resentful eyes, "Why won't you stay with me?"

She thought about it for a moment, and felt that she was fine on her own, "because I don't want to be in a relationship?"

“You said you don’t want to be in a relationship, not that you don’t like me, so does that mean you like me?” Ning Yizhan interpreted her words in a different way. “I want to hear the truth.”

"I have no idea."

See, she said she didn't know, not that she didn't like it.

But Ning Yizhan didn't intend to ask any further. "It's alright. Okay, you can go back now."

Qiu Hu was surprised that she was being allowed to go back so easily. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay."

Ning Yizhan gently pinched her chin. "Go back and get some rest. Goodnight."

After speaking, Ning Yizhan watched her open the car door and leave, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Miss, we have a long future ahead of us." With that, Ning Yizhan drove towards Wang Jingyuan's residence, which wasn't far away.

Once Ning Yizhan found out who the man was with Qiu Bing, he told Qiu Hu that he wanted to talk to her in person.

Meanwhile, Qiu Hu received a message from someone named HY. After thinking for a while, he realized who this person was and it turned out to be Ning Yizhan.

She added Ning Yizhan as a friend two years ago, when she first went to the Ning family to pay New Year's respects with Grandpa Qiu.

Ning Yizhan wasn't in the living room at the time. It wasn't until the very end that he asked Lianzhi, "Auntie, is Brother Ning here?"

"I'm here. Are you looking for him?"

"Yes, Auntie, I have a New Year's gift for him."

Lianzhi gave her directions, "Then go up there. No one can wake him up now. He's in the last room on the left on the third floor."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie."

After saying that, she went up to the third floor and knocked on the door of the last room on the left side of the third floor.

Ning Yizhan thought the servant had brought him food, and said, "Come in."

Qiu Hu heard a lazy, magnetic voice coming from inside the room. She turned the doorknob, pushed open the door, and went in. The room was dimly lit, and all the curtains were drawn. She looked inside and saw a young man in his early twenties wearing a gray bathrobe, half-lying on the sofa. His hair was messy, his expression was indifferent, and his once charming peach blossom eyes had become dull and lifeless.

Sure enough, just as she had heard, locking herself in her room, drawing the curtains, and questioning her existence was indeed her fault, and she felt extremely guilty about it.

Thinking it over, she said, "Ning Yizhan, I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Ning Yizhan suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice. He turned around and saw Qiu Hu standing nervously at the door. He was pleasantly surprised to see her there. "Why are you here?"

"I came here with my grandfather to pay New Year's respects and also to apologize to you."

"No need, it's unnecessary. So much time has passed, you can go now!"

Qiu Hu became even more uneasy, and said in a tense voice, "Don't be so depressed. Your family will be sad if you do this. It's all my fault. I'm the one who hurt you."

Ning Yizhan listened to her words and assumed she had misunderstood, but he didn't explain. In fact, he had been playing games all night and that's why he was like this. He had drawn the curtains because the light was too strong. Instead, his tone was indifferent, "I understand. You can leave now."

Qiu Hu still felt somewhat guilty, so he took a step forward and said, "This is my New Year's gift to you, and it can also be considered an apology gift. I hope you will accept it."

"Give it to me and open it." He wanted to see what the gift was.

Qiu Hu walked over, placed the gift on the coffee table, and opened it.

Ning Yizhan was still half-lying on the sofa. He could see her if he looked down. She had her hair in a bun, and her pretty face was lightly made up. She was dressed in a wine-red outfit, a style that elders would like. On the contrary, he didn't like it so much and wanted to take off the hair accessory that was tied in her bun.

The gift was a fountain pen. Qiu Hu picked it up and placed it in front of him. "Here you are. I hope you like it."

Ning Yizhan picked it up, glanced at it a few times, and said, "It looks pretty good, I'll take it."

Qiu Hu was overjoyed. Great! But then he heard him say, "Leave your contact information. If there are any problems with the pen, I'll contact you."

Ning Yizhan handed her his phone, and that's how they got each other's contact information.

Unfortunately, neither of them got to use it, but now they do.

HY: We found out about the man at Wangyue Tower. We'll talk about it that day.

Lake: Okay, I'll come find you this afternoon.