They might not fare much better than those Brazilians.

"You're quite sensible."

Qing Ning snorted. It seemed that this golden-haired rat wasn't so clueless after all.

"Since you've admitted defeat, I don't need to repeat the punishment for the bet, do I?"

Qing Ning crossed her arms, her pretty face slightly raised, showing no intention of giving the other party any leeway.

Xia Che absolutely cannot go to New York; Qing Ning is adamant about this and there is absolutely no way to change her mind.

Putting aside the fact that if Xia Che went to New York, she would be separated from him by half a planet, just considering the person in New York... Qing Ning would absolutely never let Xia Che go.

Xiaoyu's unspoken feelings for Xia Che were neither noticed by the simpleton Xia Che nor the fool Balun, but Qing Ning was much smarter than the two of them; she noticed them.

"Xiaoyu is a very difficult opponent... but thankfully, blood ties are an insurmountable obstacle for her in this lifetime, and Xia Che's misunderstanding of her is so deep right now, and the two of them are so far apart, whether or not the misunderstanding is resolved... is not important, right?"

Qing Ning rolled her eyes, silently repenting for her thought, but the repentance only lasted for a moment before disappearing.

Anyway, all I remember is that Xia Yuxin exists.

In terms of their relationship, they had only played together a few times in their childhood and were not really good friends. This strange feeling was like a rootless duckweed, appearing quickly and disappearing just as quickly.

"Yes... the nearest flight is tomorrow afternoon. I will be leaving then. Please rest assured, I will keep my word."

Baron sighed deeply, somewhat frustrated.

But there was nothing I could do; the bet had already been made. I hadn't refused at the time, so I shouldn't have any complaints after losing.

The Russell family can afford to lose.

only……

Xia Yuxin must be very disappointed that she failed to bring Xia Che back this time.

Baron rubbed his face. He was an elegant young nobleman who was impeccable when he was not speaking, but now that he was worried, the way he frantically rubbed his face was surprisingly silly.

"Thanks."

Suddenly, just as Baron was worrying about how to explain things to Xia Yuxin when he got back, he felt someone pat his shoulder a few times. When he turned around, he saw Xia Che's smiling face.

For a moment, Baron was somewhat puzzled.

He didn't understand why Xia Che would suddenly thank him.

“We are not related, but you came all the way from New York for my safety. I appreciate your kindness. From now on... you are my friend, um... a very good friend.”

Xia Che let out a deep breath, a touch of emotion welling up in his eyes.

Although Barron traveled overseas but was unable to offer any real help, his motivation was indeed to ensure his safety. Regardless of who commissioned him, Barron's status as a nobleman of the Russell family, and the fact that he made such a trip, speaks volumes.

Xia Checheng accepted this favor.

This is also the person that Xia Che genuinely acknowledges after his soul transmigrated into this world.

In Xia Che's opinion, he was nothing special. After his soul transmigrated into the comic book world, his daily life was pretty miserable. He felt that his friendships were worthless. But faced with Baron's sincere feelings, Xia Che felt that the only thing he could offer was to repay him with the same sincerity.

“Xia Che…”

Barron was a little stunned. Before he came, he had heard that Chinese people tend to be introverted and gentle, but they rarely express their emotions, which is very different from Westerners.

But Xia Che expressed his feelings directly at this moment.

In that instant, the same emotion appeared in Baron's eyes. He didn't say anything more, and the sorrow in his heart seemed to disappear. He smiled, opened his arms, and hugged Xia Che.

It was a very heavy hug.

"New York will always welcome you. If you run into trouble, come to me."

Barron promised, enunciating each word clearly.

The Xia family's situation in New York is not good. As the eldest son of the Xia family, Xia Che is left alone in China, and his situation will probably only get worse.

If possible, Barron would love to help his new friend.

"I will."

Xia Che touched his nose and smiled gently.

"By the way, I've agreed to the engagement between you and my sister."

Xia Che thought for a moment, then said, "Although she is a little immature, she is a good person. If you two confirm the engagement, I will definitely be there on the day of the wedding."

As he spoke, a strange, unspoken tremor rose again in Xia Che's heart, throbbing as if he were about to give away something he valued most.

Xia Che suppressed his heart palpitations, his expression remaining completely unchanged.

He knew that this was the remnant consciousness of the original owner causing trouble again.

Xia Che disliked the original owner's cowardly behavior. Xia Yuxin had never respected him, yet the original owner still couldn't get over his sister. This distorted emotion made Xia Che subconsciously feel disgusted.

Could it be that the original owner of this body was actually a masochist?

Xia Che was confused.

I'm too lazy to figure it out.

"No...you might have misunderstood that. Sigh...I'll explain it to you later."

Baron mimicked Xia Che by touching his nose, a wry smile playing on his lips.

He does like Xia Yuxin, that's for sure.

But it's also true that the other person doesn't like him.

Baron wasn't one to stubbornly persist in his ways. Since Xia Yuxin didn't like him, he decided to give up.

And that's exactly what happened. Baron was really upset for a few days when he made the decision, but he got much better after that. Now he can take it in stride and has come to regard Xia Yuxin as a good friend.

Baron knew that the other person had no feelings for him, and he also had a guess about who Xia Yuxin really liked, but he didn't expose it.

After all, in aristocratic families, such a forbidden love between siblings is something that even in the more open West would avoid mentioning like the plague.

The reason why the engagement between the Russell family and the Xia family has not been canceled is that Barron wants to use this relationship to protect the Xia family and deter criminals in New York who want to harm the Xia family.

Once the Xia family has truly established itself in New York, Baron will publicly annul the engagement.

By then, Xia Yuxin will be a free person. Where she wants to go, what she wants to do, or who she wants to pursue... will be none of anyone else's business.

But before that, Baron will keep this secret for Xia Yuxin.

This forbidden, abnormal relationship...

Baron couldn't think of any way to solve it, so he left it to Xia Yuxin and Xia Che to worry about in the future.