Chapter 88 She doesn't want to talk about it now, but she hasn't blocked it either...

Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to lie. She was indeed heartbroken, after all, Liu Kun had provided her with a lot of clues and had indeed proven with his actions that he was not a hopeless person.

But she knew that his question hid a greater expectation; he was hoping she would reciprocate his feelings, but unfortunately, she couldn't do that right now.

She's only eighteen. She'll meet all sorts of outstanding men in the future, and there will be endless possibilities. She'll pick the ones she finds pleasing and agreeable and give them a try. If they're compatible, she'll pursue a long-term relationship; if not, the next one will be even better.

Therefore, it's impossible for her to develop feelings for someone right now, even if this man endured two days of torture, even if he did it to protect her.

So she was frank and said, "If you died, I would definitely be sad, but I don't want to be in a relationship with you right now."

Liu Kun smiled, a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.

Taking advantage of the lingering pity she had for him, he quickly moved closer and rubbed his slightly flushed cheek against her palm.

Qiu Xiaoman did not refuse, because she had already made it very clear that she was too young, and even if he was very sincere, she would not consider it now.

As for the future, we'll see. If he changes, stops acting crazy, breaks free from the Liu family, and gains the ability to walk independently, then maybe we can give it a try.

So she didn't rule out any possibility.

Liu Kun clearly understood the gist of it; after a few rubs, he raised his head and stopped asking questions.

He's smart. He'd tried being persistent and clingy before, but that didn't work, so he decided to try being a sensible and understanding person.

His smile carried a hint of weariness. He changed the subject: "You saved me, but you also alerted them. I'm afraid you won't be able to find out about the Liu family's casino for the time being. They'll definitely be lying low. I'm really sorry to have delayed your chance to make a contribution."

"You're crazy. Making contributions is important, but your life isn't?" Qiu Xiaoman pinched his cheek again. She was glad that although her older brother was cruel, he hadn't ruined his face.

At this moment, his face showed more fatigue and illness, so the twisted and contorted look was less noticeable, and he looked much more pleasing to the eye than usual.

She couldn't help but pinch him a couple more times, warning, "Liu Kun, you're a smart man, don't test me anymore. I'm busy with my career now, not with feelings. If you're in a hurry to settle down, stay away from me, but if you come to me on your own, I won't take any responsibility."

Liu Kun smiled and said, "I understand! I'm not in a hurry."

"Don't expect me to give you priority consideration just because of your performance this time."

"Understood, future performance is even more important."

"You're crazy, why don't you talk back to me? Don't you like looking for a beating?"

"Grandma, the injuries I sustained these past two days will keep me in pain for quite a while. I don't want to get into any more fights lately."

"Okay, okay, I was confused. Don't look so pitiful. You're not my dog, so don't expect me to pamper you."

"Woof!"

Liu Kun gave a brilliant performance, demonstrating what it means to be shameless and invincible.

Qiu Xiaoman was amused by him. She got up from the chair, sat on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his head hard, like she was rubbing a dog.

Liu Kun was overjoyed and barked twice more, which made Qiu Xiaoman very happy and laugh heartily.

After she'd had her fill of silliness, she yawned and said earnestly, "Look how great you are now, cheerful and lively. Keep it up, and everyone around you will like you."

Does that include you?

"I told you, don't test me."

"Woof."

"Get lost, it's not working anymore."

Meow~

"Hahaha, are you crazy?!"

Liu Kun laughed and then imitated the sounds of cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, just like a kindergarten child.

Qiu Xiaoman looked at him as if he were an idiot, then suddenly asked curiously, "You just said that the Liu family's casino can't be found for the time being, do you mean... they'll move to a different location?"

"Hmm, a cunning rabbit has three burrows, but I doubt they'll go to the places I know. After this incident, the Liu family will completely exclude me, and Liu Yuandou will probably give up on me too—I mean, give up my interests in the Liu family. But because I'm close to you, he probably won't completely give up; he'll likely still hope I'll date you. So he won't kill me." Liu Kun frowned slightly, giving a brief analysis of the situation.

Qiu Xiaoman laughed: "It's okay, I have dogs, several unofficial dogs. Let them follow along, and things will get better."

Liu Kun wasn't surprised, but he was worried: "I'm temporarily unable to move around. You can ask Shen Tenglong to take you. If there's any progress, you must not act alone. The Liu family knows you've found the key issue, and apart from Liu Yuandou, they definitely want you dead."

Qiu Xiaoman understood and said seriously, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I need to learn to drive quickly so it will be more convenient."

Liu Kun immediately offered, "You can borrow my car."

Qiu Xiaoman bluntly stabbed him in the heart: "No, you don't have a car."

Liu Kun fell silent. Yes, he actually had nothing. Fortunately, he now had Xiao Qiu's affection, even if it could only be confined to the realm of friendship for the time being, and even if it might not develop into love in the future, at least this affection was precious enough to support him in leaving the Liu family and walking on his own.

He shakily raised his head, wanting to touch Qiu Xiaoman's cheek. Qiu Xiaoman didn't dodge. After he calmed down, she grabbed his hand and asked, "Have you thought it through? Do you still want to get entangled with the Liu family?"

“No, I’ll do things on my own.” Liu Kun’s gaze lingered on their hands, which were clasped together. He knew that it had nothing to do with romance, just friendship and encouragement. He also showed his sincerity, saying, “I will make you look at me in a new light. If I can’t do it, I’ll get out of here.”

Qiu Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "Nonsense, who told you to get lost? There's nothing wrong with an ordinary life. Nobody forces you to shine. Of course, if you can shine, that would be even better. I hope you calm down, think carefully about what you want and what you can do, and act only after you've thought it through. Don't take anything Liu Yuandou gave you. I'll find you a place to stay after you're discharged from the hospital."

Liu Kun hesitated for a moment: "That's not quite right..."

Qiu Xiaoman interrupted him directly: "Is it inappropriate? Afraid people will say you're a gigolo? Simple, give me an IOU for the rent and food expenses, and pay me back later with interest."

Liu Kun breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I know it's hard for me to find a job right after I graduated, and I was ostracized by the Liu family and offended Liu Taifu. So I should accept your help, but I don't want to take advantage of you. Please keep the IOU safe."

"Don't worry, I'm very stingy, I won't let you take advantage of me!" Qiu Xiaoman snorted, let go of his hand, and yawned. "Okay, I'm going to take a nap, I'm not going to talk nonsense with you anymore."

Liu Kun smiled as he looked at his hands, which still held the warmth of Officer Qiu's body heat.

He was content, tilting his head to watch her sleeping on her stomach, his eyes filled with joy and emotion.

That's good. Although she doesn't want to talk about it now, it hasn't killed his hopes. He will work hard and make her look at him in a new light!

Unfortunately, he couldn't sleep. The numbness wore off, and his body was covered in over thirty holes that burned with pain.

Although the wounds were stitched up and treated, the pain from the punctured flesh would torment him for a long time before it subsided.

He never wanted to get beaten again; the suffering he endured this time was more than he had ever experienced in his entire life.

He just watched Qiu Xiaoman silently, and couldn't help but reach out and touch her hair.

Qiu Xiaoman was half asleep, but she knew he was probably in too much pain to sleep, so she held his hand and comforted him: "I'm here. If it hurts, just groan a little. It's okay. I won't laugh at you."

Liu Kun didn't groan, but smiled as two lines of tears streamed down his face. It was all worth it to have her company and comfort.

The warmth spread continuously along the skin of his fingers throughout his body, and slowly, he actually felt less pain, and drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke up, it was already daylight. Qiu Xiaoman was gone, but there was a drawer full of steamed buns on the bedside table.

A burly man was sitting beside him, guarding him. Seeing that he was awake, he quickly explained, "I was sent by President Shen to protect you. Just call me Abiao. I was a soldier and I'm very skilled. Don't worry about recovering. If you need anything, just let me know. There's another brother at the door named Zhen. He'll run errands for you."

Liu Kun was a little confused. Shen Qinghuai disliked him so much, so why did he send someone to protect him?

Ah Biao quickly explained, "It was Miss's idea. She still has to go to the criminal investigation team to handle the case and doesn't have time to contact the bodyguards herself, so she asked President Shen to do it for her."

Miss? Officer Qiu? She really does have feelings for him.

Love can heal pain, even unrequited love. As long as the other person doesn't completely extinguish his hope, he can continue to feel moved by his own feelings.

He asked his bodyguard to help him brush his teeth, throw away the bottle he had urinated in the night before, and wash his hands before sitting up to eat breakfast.

Ah Biao's words whetted his appetite again, because Ah Biao said that the young lady had personally bought the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).

This thrilled him so much that he ate every last one of the steamer baskets of buns.

Ah Biao couldn't help but sigh, "President Shen also praised your strong will. You didn't give in even after being tortured for two days. President Shen also said that you should take good care of your injuries and that you don't need to worry about the medical expenses."

"Thank him for me." Liu Kun was carried in from the basement; his cell phone was long gone, so he could only ask A Biao to convey his gratitude.

Ah Biao handed him a mobile phone: "Here, this is from President Shen. It uses your old SIM card, but the phone is new."

"Did President Shen buy it?" Liu Kun was a little surprised.

Ah Biao laughed and said, "Yes, President Shen is a very generous person. He said that since you are the young lady's friend, it is only right for him to take care of you."

Liu Kun silently accepted the mobile phone, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't disturb Qiu Xiaoman's work. Instead, he called Shen Qinghuai: "President Shen, thank you. I'll give you an IOU. I'll have A Biao give it to you later."

"Okay, go ahead and make the call. Just write 'Xiaoman' as the creditor." Shen Qinghuai was busy, so he hung up the phone and went to a meeting.

With the Liu family in such a predicament, the stock price of the Liu family's real estate company plummeted. Shen Qinghuai was prepared to buy it at a low price, thinking that there was no time like not to take advantage of a bargain.

Now that he thinks about it, wow, his eldest daughter is really a lucky star. He needs to quickly calculate what percentage of the Liu family's shares he can acquire with his current funds.

By then, not only will we get back the money from that ship of coal, but we could probably get back ten ships' worth!

Oh my, my eldest daughter is the best, really the best! Shen Qinghuai was extremely excited. He called over the finance department staff, and after they finished calculating, wow!

He can take advantage of the situation and become a major shareholder of the Liu family!