Chapter Twenty-Four: A Certain Matter

At 4 p.m., the convention center was still bustling with activity, with crowds moving between the various booths, as if it were a never-ending carnival.

Xia Yan grabbed Jiang You's wrist and pulled away.

"Jiang...Jiangyou!"

Seeing that Jiang You was about to leave, Song Yun became anxious and quickly jumped up from his seat, causing the chair to make a sharp sound on the tiles, like fingernails scratching on a blackboard.

Jiang You frowned and looked back. The boy's fair, porcelain-like face was covered in bruises, which did not detract from his good looks but instead added a touch of broken beauty.

His beautiful, bright brown eyes stared at her, pleading and aggrieved.

This lunatic's name is Song Yun, right? ...Seeing this for less than half a second, her wrist tightened, and when she turned around, she saw Xia Yan staring at her expressionlessly.

Jiang You looked away guiltily. After all, who could stand their romantic interest kissing someone else? Even the victim would feel uncomfortable.

Xia Yan's amber eyes, as clear as spring water, gazed at her face. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, his cold gaze softened, and he said softly, "Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat."

"I......"

Xia Yan didn't ask for her opinion; after speaking, he pulled her away without allowing any room for argument.

Cuiyunxuan, a private and elegant haven for the discerning palate.

Inside the private room, the exquisitely carved jade screen was particularly eye-catching. Its texture was warm and delicate, and its color was emerald green. The patterns of flowers, birds, fish and insects on it were so lifelike that they seemed to be about to burst out of the screen at any moment.

"Xia Yan..."

Xia Yan placed a piece of fish in her bowl, slowly put down his chopsticks, turned his head to gaze into her eyes, and asked in a voice so soft it was almost dripping with tenderness, "What's wrong?"

A faint smile played at the corners of her lips, exuding utmost gentleness.

"I..." Jiang You lowered his eyes, staring at the piece of fish in the bowl that the owner had cleaned up so thoroughly that there wasn't a single bone left. Instead of feeling at ease, he felt a chill run down his spine and a deep-seated fear.

Xia Yan was acting very strangely, as if he was suppressing something, like a storm brewing.

She ate the fish and forced a smile: "I'm full."

"Eat a little more," Xia Yan picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of meat, and put it in her bowl. Her voice was ghostly, as if whispering in her ear, "You'll be very tired tonight."

With a clatter, the chopsticks in his hand fell onto the table. Jiang You looked up in disbelief, meeting a pair of emotionless eyes.

The gentle mask had somehow disappeared, leaving only a very dangerous expression: "What's wrong?"

"Xia Yan..."

"You have a hickey on your neck, was it from Song Yun?"

Xia Yan lowered her eyes, reached into the collar of her sun-protective clothing, and felt her cool fingers touch her warm skin, causing the girl to shiver involuntarily.

Among the countless hickeys on her neck, he pinpointed with radar-like precision a hickey that had faded to the point of being invisible, a hickey that didn't belong to him.

"I'm so stupid. You don't have any close male friends, and the hickeys happened while you were back in your dorm. How could I not have made contact?"

Xia Yan seemed to be possessed, his fingertips roughly rubbing the hickeys that weren't his, muttering repeatedly, "So stupid, I actually gave him a second chance, I actually thought about helping him find his true love, I actually..."

"Um, Xia Yan, I'm full. I'm going back to my dorm first," Jiang You said, afraid of Xia Yan now, especially as the hand on her neck tightened. She leaned back timidly, dodging the hand, stood up, and ran towards the door.

"This is halfway up the mountain," a man's calm voice sounded from behind, tinged with malice. "If you want to take a taxi, you can only park at the foot of the mountain."

Cuiyunxuan is built halfway up the mountain. The chef team has been in charge of state banquets. The meals are cooked in large pots over firewood, and the vegetables are grown by themselves. The pigs, chickens, sheep, cattle and fish are free-range on the back mountain.

Freshly prepared and killed on the spot, this is the kind of all-natural food that powerful and influential people crave.

Money alone isn't enough to get in. Jiang You had no idea how luxurious and expensive the meal she had just eaten was; her hand was on the doorknob of the private room.

"It's getting dark," Xia Yan said cryptically, chuckling softly, "Do you want to walk back?"

With a creak, the chair moved backward, and the person on it stood up. The footsteps slowly approached from afar, each one a sharp, piercing sound that struck Jiang You's heart.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, she pursed her lips, and her hand hesitated to press the door handle.

Xia Yan stepped out from behind the screen. His beautiful peach blossom eyes saw the girl with her back to him, her body tense. His smile became even more gentle, and he embraced his prey from behind like a hunter.

Jiang You's body trembled. The man rested his chin on her shoulder, his lips close to her ear, and softly said, "Jiang, You."

The two words seemed to be ingrained in one's bones, lingering between the lips and teeth, to be savored carefully before being uttered tenderly.

His long, slender, fair right hand released her waist, ran down her arm, and reached her hand. With a little force, he pressed the doorknob down.

The ghostly voice sounded softly again:

“Honey, I’ll take you home.”

**

On the bus, Jiang You watched the scenery rushing past, his hands nervously twisting together.

She wasn't simply clueless; Xia Yan's hints—no, his explicit suggestion—were about to say that she was going to do something tonight.

To be honest, knowing that Xia Yan wasn't going to beat her up or kill her, but rather do something else, made her less uneasy and afraid.

Jiang You is not conservative. She doesn't care about things like being chaste before marriage. If possible, she doesn't want to get married at all.

She just felt things were moving too fast. Their relationship was still just ambiguous friendship on the surface, how did it develop to the point where they could sleep together?

Most importantly, her breasts weren't big enough, her legs weren't long enough, her butt wasn't perky enough, and she had some belly fat. The thought of exposing these shortcomings to Xia Yan made her feel extremely reluctant to refuse.

"Xia Yan, are we almost at school?"

"Your bag is still at home, go home first."

......