THREE HOURS AGO
Police Station
Cheng Xiaoyu just had the worst day of her life. Not only did she accumulate demerits for speeding, she also got remanded at the police station as she had forgotten to bring her identification documents.
She blamed Lin Xiao for the entire problem since he was the one chasing after her. As a result, they both ended up in the police station.
Merely minutes ago, she was paying for her meal when Lin Xiao and Guan Ziming passed by her at the cashier. It was after she left when she realised Lin Xiao's trendy BMW following behind her Mini Cooper. Just her luck!
She couldn't decide on whether to be excited or to be upset. This was not happening at the right time! While she knew Lin Xiao was the person both she and Yiren needed for information on the whereabouts of Feng Yintian, his sudden appearance in her life confused her greatly.
What business did he have with her at all? Why the sudden interest in her, when they weren't acquainted?
In her panic, she had dialled her best friend's number without contemplating the actuality that the area was near a police station and there were traffic police frequenting the area.
Xiaoyu had even sped her car, resulting in a violation of the traffic rules. But using a phone while driving was illegal and this subjected her to a fine. The fine wasn't a hefty amount to her but she hated the embarrassment of being retained at the station. And with Lin Xiao, who she deemed the troublemaker!
She stared daggers at Lin Xiao, demanding with her eyes, 'Why did you land me into this? Why did you chase me?'
Lin Xiao didn't answer. At the police station, they were expected to remain quiet. Neither could Lin Xiao read what she was thinking in her mind. He was calm, possibly because it was a small issue in the mind of a CEO like him.
But without her ID, Xiaoyu couldn't prove who she was. She had to get someone to get her ID which she had left at home. But try as she might, nobody answered her phone calls. Her brother was likely not at home, because his phone remained unanswered after dozens of rings. She couldn't get Yiren to help either, because she hadn't told Yiren where she was living temporarily while undergoing her internship in Yiren's city. She had meant for it all to be a big surprise for Yiren over the weekend.
She hid her face in her palm and wished it would all end.
"Miss, do you need any help?" Lin Xiao finally opened his mouth after a long wait. Xiaoyu didn't know how to respond to him without losing her temper. But this was not the time, she reminded him. She took a deep breath and calmed down.
Maybe she was messing up by blaming him earlier. After all, what was done was done. She couldn't reverse her demerits after all. And she did need his help to help Yiren, who she saw as her sister.
"What help can you do? I can't get hold of my brother and he's the only one living with me," she tried to contain her frustration.
"I'll stay here with you, then," Lin Xiao offered. She swallowed hard, trying her best not to get irritated. What help could he do by remaining in the station with her? If not that they needed him, she would have flared up at him earlier. She had to put down her pride for now.
"I'm sorry for pointing fingers at you earlier," She put on her best smile. "But Mister, waiting here will not help anything."
"I'm at fault for following you. It's just that… you look like someone I used to know," Lin Xiao smiled charmingly. His voice was already giving her butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't everyday that a young CEO with dashing looks was around her. Her suitors often made her uncomfortable. She wasn't proud, but none of them presented her the feeling that she now had with Lin Xiao.
Without asking, he placed his arms on her shoulder. "Miss… I still haven't got your name."
"My surname is Cheng," she said meekly with a shiver. Suddenly, he was in such proximity with her that made her nervous.
"Lin Xiao."
"Tsk, tsk," a hint from the police officer watching them caused Lin Xiao to retreat.
"Miss Cheng…"
"You can call me Xiaoyu," she said without thinking. Darn, why had she given him her name so easily?
"Miss Xiaoyu, I can look for your brother if you are willing to trust me."
Trust? How could she even trust someone that had landed her in this predicament? Plus, they had just met.
But everytime he smiled, it was giving her goosebumps. She brushed aside her thoughts and focused on a mental image of Yiren. Yiren was indeed pitiful. She could do it for the sake of her best friend.
"I'll trust you this one time," she mumbled, but Lin Xiao must have heard her clearly, because he retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and opened the notes app installed.
"Your brother's name and his usual hangouts. I'll go over to him immediately."
"But he has about fifteen casual hangout locations," Xiaoyu objected. "Are you able to go to each one of them?"
"Trust me, I can do magic," he winked charismatically at Xiaoyu. "You just need to do this one thing."
"And what's that?"
"Trust me."
She desperately wanted to roll her eyes at him, but reminded herself of her goal.
"Okay. My brother's name is Cheng Xiaoyan." She then told Lin Xiao of all the places her brother would often frequent: the popular bars downtown, the snooker houses and the pier. Being the heir of the Cheng family, Xiaoyan was a free bird and didn't care about the strict rules set by their traditional parents.
"I'll go now. Remember, trust me," Lin Xiao whispered in Xiaoyu's ear before striding confidently out of the station. Her heart was beating so rapidly she was unsure what to believe in the moment.
This man… was he that confident that he could find that rolling stone that gathered no moss, all over the gigantic city?
Lin Xiao's words reverberated in Xiaoyu's ears. "Trust…me."
It was not like she had a choice now, did she?