Mu San watched Qiao Xia's excited departure, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

By 3 p.m., the shop was empty. Perhaps because he had drunk too much, Mu San's face was flushed. He subconsciously rubbed his index finger, and could vaguely feel the lingering warmth on it.

Qiao Xia skipped out of the store, secretly deciding to come back again that night. She would never give up until she saw the handsome guy.

Qiao Xia wasn't a big drinker, and the two sips she took at the restaurant made her feel a little dizzy. She wanted to find a place to rest, so she went home.

Before they even entered, they heard a familiar hoarse voice from inside, "What you see now is my house. This floor alone has hundreds of rooms."

Qiao Xia rubbed her head, thinking she had just drunk too much.

"You actually followed me?" JoJo pointed at her and yelled indignantly, "Who gave you permission to come to my house? Get out!"

"Your home?" Qiao Xia looked up to make sure she hadn't gone to the wrong place. "You mean this is your home?"

JoJo was completely unfazed. "I'm a member of the Qiao family. This is the famous Qiao Palace, so of course it's my home."

Qiao Xia looked around and, noticing the extra decorations in the house, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Aunt Wu, Aunt Wu—"

A woman dressed in jeweled finery, wearing a face mask, came out of the house and immediately began to scold her: "My young lady, have you been out fooling around again? What kind of behavior is this, a young lady like you spending all your time indulging in pleasure?"

Before Qiao Xia was born, Aunt Wu worked at Qiao Palace. Over the years, Qiao Xia regarded her as an elder. In the past, when she heard these words, she only thought it was a generation gap between the two generations and did not think much about it. But today, she found these words to be very grating.

Qiao Xia shook her head, shaking off the unease in her mind. She pointed at JoJo and asked, "Who is he? Why is he here?"

Wu Ma noticed the displeasure in her tone and quickly removed her face mask. "This is my nephew from my maternal family. He came to City A to work hard. He has no other relatives or friends, and he doesn't even have a place to live. As his aunt, I have to take care of him."

Qiao Xia sneered and sat down on the sofa. "Your way of taking care of him is to bring him to live in my house. Did you get my parents' permission? And why did he say in the live stream that this was his home? Did you tell him those things about the Mu family?"

Qiao Xia's words left Wu Ma speechless. She knew she was in the wrong but didn't want to back down, so she just muttered excuses to try and get away with it.

"I'm only saying this because your family rarely comes back. Don't you ever think about how scared I am, an old woman, am, guarding this house all by myself?"

"Letting him do live streams to earn some money is considered a good deed for you. Anyway, your family is rich and doesn't care about such a small thing. His live streams and videos won't cause you any loss. Why make such a big deal out of it?"

As she continued, Aunt Wu actually felt wronged. "Including the old man, I've served three generations of your family. He never cared if I broke an antique flowerpot, but as soon as he leaves, I bring my nephew here to stay for a couple of days, and you, the younger generation, point your finger at me and scold me..."

Aunt Wu began to sob softly, and JoJo chimed in, "Yes, my aunt has worked for your family for so many years. Even if she hasn't done anything outstanding, she has certainly put in a lot of hard work. What's wrong with letting me stay for a few days?"

Qiao Xia was stunned by their shamelessness. She had just drunk some alcohol and didn't want to argue with them at this moment. "My grandfather has employed you for so many years without paying you? Enough said, you are fired from now on."

Aunt Wu shook her head repeatedly, "I've worked for your family for so many years, you can't treat me like this. I'm going to call Mr. Qiao."

Qiao Xia didn't want to argue with her anymore. Just then, the phone rang, and her aunt's voice came through, choked with sobs, "Xia Xia, I'm sorry for what I did to you before. I apologize. Please let Ling Ling go and give her back to me, okay?"

Qiao Xia sobered up considerably. "Calm down, tell me slowly, what happened to Tang Ling?"

"Lingling insisted on becoming a music teacher at your school, and I couldn't persuade her otherwise. She used to call me every night to let me know she was safe, but now it's been three days and she won't answer my calls. Tell your aunt the truth, have you hidden her away?"

"It's okay if she doesn't want to see me. Just give me a word. I just want to know that she's safe and sound."

Qiao Xia realized that Tang Ling might really be in trouble. She staggered to her feet, put on her clothes, and walked out, not forgetting to warn Wu Ma and the other woman, "I hope that when I come back tonight, you won't be here anymore."

Before Wu Ma could say anything more, Qiao Xia interrupted, "Call whoever you want, but if I come back and see you still here, I'll sue you for trespassing."

Qiao Xia recalled that the last time she saw Tang Ling was at the police station in City A. She called a designated driver and asked Zhao Yuncheng to help her find her.

However, due to rush hour, the car was stuck on the road and couldn't move an inch for a long time.

All around were the incessant honking of horns. Sitting in the car, Qiao Xia's mood became increasingly anxious, and this feeling quickly spread to the driver.

"Turning right ahead will take you past the courthouse. It's a slightly roundabout route, but not many people pass by at this time of day."

Qiao Xia nodded, but knew that being impatient could cause problems, so she reassured her, "Take it slow, there's no need to rush."

After turning right, the traffic indeed thinned out. The driver stepped on the gas, his tone tinged with pride: "I've been driving for over twenty years, I know every road in City A like the back of my hand..."

"Bang--"

"careful--"

Qiao Xia only had time to say this one sentence before everything went black.

After an unknown amount of time, Qiao Xia groggily opened her eyes, hearing the "drip" of liquid hitting the ground and smelling the gasoline.

She was lying on the seat, her hands and feet crushed under the deformed car, unable to move. Through the window, she saw many feet, and amidst the noisy chatter around her, she finally realized what had just happened.

A gunshot rang out.

A gunshot just rang out in front of the courthouse. The driver, distracted by conversation, shifted the steering wheel slightly, and a large truck coming from the opposite direction, perhaps for the same reason, collided with her car in an instant.

With the help of passersby, the car window was opened from the outside, and the driver was the first to be rescued. Countless hands rushed out to pull her out.

Qiao Xia was pulled out of the car by the enthusiastic crowd. Only a sliver of the setting sun remained on the horizon. She was surrounded by strangers, their faces filled with tension and worry.

She lay on the stretcher, her eyelids growing heavy, and in a daze, she heard the sound of an ambulance.

Before she fell into a deep sleep, she saw a familiar figure through the gaps in the crowd. His hands were cuffed with silver bracelets, and he walked forward with his head held high, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.