That punch was heavy.
The man staggered back a few steps, and his face swelled up instantly.
The man finally realized that this young man was not to be messed with.
He immediately turned around, pushed open the door of the private room, and shouted inside, "Someone's causing trouble here!"
Xu Mingxue was very anxious.
"What should we do?"
Xu Xiuwen saw this scene and laughed.
Then he grabbed the hand of the panicked Xu Mingxue beside him and said, "Are you silly? Run!"
With that, he pulled Xu Mingxue and ran away.
Xu Mingxue was pulled along, following Xu Xiuwen passively.
She thought Xu Xiuwen would pull her back into the private room, but instead, he dragged her outside the KTV.
The man saw them running and yelled, "Damn it, don't run! Damn!"
By the time the man's companions came out of the private room, Xu Xiuwen had already pulled Xu Mingxue to the end of the corridor.
Xu Xiuwen glanced behind him and saw seven or eight strong adult men coming out of the private room.
Without stopping, he kept running with Xu Mingxue until they were outside the KTV, and then continued running for a long time until they reached the street.
Xu Mingxue, out of breath, said, "I can't, I can't run anymore."
Only then did Xu Xiuwen stop.
Xu Mingxue nervously glanced behind them, "They didn't catch up, right?"
Xu Xiuwen laughed, "No, don't worry."
Xu Mingxue breathed a sigh of relief but then quickly said, "Thank you for helping me just now, but you shouldn't have fought him, it was so dangerous."
Xu Xiuwen said irritably, "Senior Mingxue, are you ungrateful? I was protecting you just now! Or did you want to stay and sing with them?"
Xu Mingxue quickly explained, "I'm not blaming you, I'm worried about you getting hurt."
Xu Xiuwen said, "Don't worry, I've got it under control. That guy, even if he wasn't drunk, he wouldn't be a match for me."
Xu Mingxue thought about the situation earlier and realized that Xu Xiuwen seemed to be right.
The man seemed to be getting beaten the whole time and couldn't even touch Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Mingxue's heart was still pounding.
The image of Xu Xiuwen grabbing the man's hand kept replaying in her mind.
Thinking about it made her blush.
Xu Mingxue hesitated for a moment and asked, "Xu Xiuwen, what do we do now?"
Xu Xiuwen didn't notice Xu Mingxue's expression and said, "We definitely can't go back now. How about you text Senior Jiang Yin and tell them we had to leave and won't be coming back, so they don't worry."
Xu Mingxue nodded, then took out her phone and did as she was told.
After sending the text, she put away her phone, looked up at Xu Xiuwen, and asked, "So where are we going now?"
Xu Xiuwen paused, then laughed, "Where? Nowhere, we each go home."
Xu Mingxue felt a pang of disappointment in her heart.
She didn't even know why she felt disappointed.
"Going back to school so soon?"
Xu Xiuwen said, "We can't go back to continue singing, so where else can we go? Besides, it's getting late."
Xu Mingxue quietly said, "Okay."
Xu Xiuwen said, "Let's go then, I'll walk you back to school."
Xu Mingxue nodded, "Okay."
Xu Xiuwen started walking towards the parking lot.
Xu Mingxue asked in surprise, "You're going the wrong way, the school is this way."
Xu Xiuwen said, "My car is this way, I'll drive you back."
Xu Mingxue was surprised, "You bought a car?"
Xu Xiuwen said, "Bought it during the winter break."
Xu Mingxue said, "Oh."
Following Xu Xiuwen to the car.
Seeing the BMW in front of her, Xu Mingxue asked, "This car isn't cheap, right?"
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "Bought it for 650,000 yuan, how is it?"
Xu Mingxue wasn't too surprised at hearing 650,000 yuan.
She instinctively looked down at the bracelet on her wrist and murmured, "No wonder you could afford this bracelet."
Xu Mingxue opened the passenger door and got in.
She sat down gracefully and closed the door smoothly.
As soon as she sat down, the enclosed space of the car filled with her faint, pleasant fragrance.
The scent was very noticeable, continuously wafting into Xu Xiuwen's nose.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but take a deep breath, the fragrance going straight to his brain.
He started the car, but his eyes involuntarily drifted to Xu Mingxue's legs.
She was wearing a skirt today, and as she sat down, a good portion of her legs were exposed.
Her fair calves had a very beautiful shape.
After getting in, Xu Mingxue said, "Thank you for coming to my birthday tonight, and also thank you for the gift."
Xu Xiuwen glanced at the bracelet on her wrist and said, "Stop saying thank you, Senior Mingxue. You helped me before, this is just what I should do."
Xu Mingxue said, "In that case, don't call me senior anymore, just call me Mingxue."
Her face turned slightly red, and her voice softened, "Don't think too much, my family and friends call me that."
Xu Xiuwen naturally didn't think too much.
He nodded, "Alright, I'll call you Mingxue from now on."
The car drove down the road.
Soon, they arrived at the female dormitory building of Jiaotong University.
Xu Xiuwen parked the car.
Xu Mingxue didn't get out immediately.
Xu Xiuwen didn't urge her to get out either.
He remembered the worry that had been hidden in her expression all night and curiously asked, "Is something bothering you?"
"Huh?" Xu Mingxue's mouth opened slightly in surprise as she looked at Xu Xiuwen.
Then she lowered her head and softly said, "Yes."
Xu Xiuwen said, "Maybe you can talk to me about it. Maybe I can help you."
Xu Mingxue didn't speak.
She was silent for a long time before finally saying, "My dad wants me to study abroad next semester."
Xu Xiuwen said, "Studying abroad is great. Returning students are in high demand now."
After saying this, he noticed that Xu Mingxue didn't look happy.
He thought for a moment and asked, "You don't want to go abroad?"
Xu Mingxue nodded, "My whole life has been planned by my parents. Whatever they want me to do, I have to do. Now they want me to go abroad, but I don't want to. I have friends here, and I don't want to go to a foreign country."
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and said, "If you don't want to go abroad, you should tell them. Let your parents know you don't want to go and persuade them not to force you."
Xu Mingxue hesitated, "I'm afraid if I tell them, they'll get angry."
Xu Xiuwen laughed, "You're adorably silly. How will your parents know what you're thinking if you don't tell them? If you don't want to live your life according to your parents' plans, you have to speak up. Communicate with them and make your case. I believe you can convince them."
Xu Mingxue was silent for a moment.
Then she suddenly looked up at Xu Xiuwen, "You're right, I should tell them what I think. Thank you, Xu Xiuwen."
Xu Xiuwen waved his hand, "It's nothing to thank me for."
Xu Mingxue nodded, then said, "Xu Xiuwen, thank you for coming to my birthday. This has been the happiest birthday I've ever had."
Xu Xiuwen smiled faintly.
The atmosphere in the car grew quiet.
Xu Mingxue said, "I should go back now."
Xu Xiuwen replied, "Alright, take care. I won't get out to see you off."
Xu Mingxue said, "No need to see me off."
With that, she prepared to open the door and get out.
"Mingxue! Wait a moment."
Xu Xiuwen suddenly called out to her.
Xu Mingxue stopped and looked over in surprise.
Xu Xiuwen suddenly unfastened his seatbelt and leaned over.
Xu Mingxue didn't know what Xu Xiuwen was going to do, and as she watched him get closer, her heart started pounding.
What was he going to do? She couldn't help but think of the scenes she had seen on TV and in movies.
At times like this, the male lead usually kissed the female lead.
Was he going to?
Xu Mingxue's face turned bright red, and her heart raced uncontrollably.
She didn't know whether she should dodge or refuse.
She hesitated.
In the end, she chose to stay still and quietly sit there.
Xu Xiuwen slowly got closer.
He suddenly reached out his hand towards Xu Mingxue's cheek.
Xu Mingxue stayed still, her eyes fixed on Xu Xiuwen's hand.
But Xu Xiuwen didn't touch her cheek and then hold her face to kiss her as she imagined.
Instead, he reached out and picked off a willow catkin from her shoulder.
He removed the catkin and smiled, saying, "Alright, it's gone."
Seeing the catkin in his hand, Xu Mingxue realized she had misunderstood.
Thinking about how she hadn't moved just now, as if she had given him permission to kiss her, she felt deeply embarrassed.
Not daring to stay any longer, she hurriedly opened the car door and left in a fluster, saying, "I'm leaving."
Then she quickly got out of the car.
Xu Xiuwen watched her hurried back and laughed.
Xu Mingxue's figure disappeared through the dormitory building's entrance.
Xu Xiuwen started the car and drove back to Jiangning Garden.
Just after getting out of the elevator and turning a corner, he saw a girl at his door.
The girl was squatting at the door, her head tilted and gently leaning against it.
Xu Xiuwen only saw her profile, but he immediately recognized who she was.
"Youran?" Xu Xiuwen called out, "What are you doing here?"
It was already close to 10 PM.
At this time, Xiao Youran wasn't in her dorm but was waiting outside his home.
It was obvious who she was waiting for.
Xu Xiuwen's feelings became complicated.
Upon hearing his voice, Xiao Youran turned her head.
Seeing that it was Xu Xiuwen, she couldn't hide the joy in her eyes.
She immediately tried to get up.
After squatting for so long, her legs were numb.
As she stood up, her legs gave way, and she fell straight towards the ground.
"Ah!" Xiao Youran cried out in surprise.
Xu Xiuwen reacted quickly.
He rushed forward in a few steps and caught her hand before she fell.
Seeing that she hadn't fallen, Xu Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief.
After steadying herself, Xiao Youran kept holding Xu Xiuwen's hand.
Xu Xiuwen asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Youran, with a pitiful expression, said, "Xiao Xu, my legs are numb."
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh.
He comforted her, "Just stand for a while, I'll support you."
Xiao Youran nodded, looking very obedient.
In less than a minute, Xiao Youran's legs were no longer numb, but she still didn't let go and instead wrapped her arm around Xu Xiuwen's.
Xu Xiuwen didn't push her away and took out his keys to unlock the door.
They entered the house.
Xu Xiuwen changed into his slippers.
Xiao Youran also put on slippers and followed Xu Xiuwen into the living room.
Xu Xiuwen went to the kitchen and poured a cup of warm water for both Xiao Youran and himself.
He came back to the living room, handed one cup to Xiao Youran, and asked, "Why did you come here?"
Xiao Youran took the cup and politely said, "Thank you."
Then she said, "Because I missed you."
Xu Xiuwen chuckled silently.
They had only parted that morning; it hadn't even been a full day.
Xu Xiuwen didn't say anything. He walked to the sofa, sat down, took a couple of sips of water, and then said, "I have a girlfriend. Why would you miss me?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Youran felt a pang of frustration.
She asked, "Can you not mention Cheng Lu? Can't we avoid bringing her up between us?"
Xu Xiuwen looked at Xiao Youran.
Xiao Youran met his gaze without a hint of avoidance.
Xu Xiuwen sighed, "Alright, I'll try."
Hearing this, Xiao Youran's face instantly lit up with joy.
Her smiling face was more beautiful than a flower.
After she had taken a sip of water, Xu Xiuwen said, "It's getting late. You should head back to your dorm."
Xiao Youran shook her head, "I don't want to go back."
Xu Xiuwen laughed, "If you don't go back, are you planning to stay here overnight?"
Xiao Youran nodded, "Yes, I want to stay over."
Xu Xiuwen laughed again, "Don't be silly. Listen to me, finish your water and go back. I'll take you."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Youran immediately put down her cup.
She looked into Xu Xiuwen's eyes, very seriously and earnestly, and said, "I didn't plan on going back tonight when I came out."
Xu Xiuwen said, "But you can't stay over."
Xiao Youran retorted, "If Cheng Lu can stay over, why can't I?"
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself: You're the one who told me not to mention Cheng Lu, and now you're bringing her up.
He said helplessly, "Cheng Lu is my girlfriend. Isn't it normal for her to stay over? Even if I agree for you to stay, Cheng Lu wouldn't agree. And if someone found out, what would they think? There would be misunderstandings."
Xiao Youran asked, "This is your home. What right does Cheng Lu have to disagree? And I'm not saying I want to do anything by staying over, so why would there be misunderstandings?"
Xu Xiuwen was about to speak.
Xiao Youran continued, "We've grown up together. Even if we can't be a couple, can't we be friends? If we're friends, why can't I stay over? Cheng Lu is overstepping her bounds."
Xu Xiuwen was rendered speechless by her argument.
He said helplessly, "Fine, if you want to stay, stay. I won't stop you."
He then took out his phone.
Xiao Youran asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Xu Xiuwen explained, "I'm sending Cheng Lu a message to tell her you're staying over."
Xiao Youran asked, "If you don't tell her, she won't know. Why do you have to tell her?"
Xu Xiuwen stopped typing and looked at Xiao Youran, explaining, "If you don't go back to your dorm, anyone with half a brain will know you came to see me. If I don't tell her, it'll be like trying to explain away a mud stain on my pants."
After hearing this, Xiao Youran thought it over and found it reasonable, so she didn't stop him.
Xu Xiuwen had just sent the message when Cheng Lu replied within a minute.
Her message was simple: "I know. Don't do anything inappropriate. If I find out you did something to betray me, you're dead."
Seeing Cheng Lu's seemingly calm but warning message, Xu Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Cheng Lu wasn't angry and didn't oppose Xiao Youran staying over.
While Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu were texting, Xiao Youran suddenly got up and walked towards the master bedroom.
She walked to the door, pushed it open, and went in.
Seeing the double pillows on the bed, she felt a bit bitter.
She walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and saw it filled with women's clothes.
Xiao Youran's mood became even more bitter.
She silently encouraged herself: "It's okay, as long as I try hard, everything will eventually return to its rightful place."