The night was like water, all was quiet.
A man silently appeared behind Wen Zhi, covered her mouth and nose when she least expected it, and forcefully dragged her along a lengthy path.
Midway, Wen Zhi attempted to save herself, but the man's grip was too strong, leaving her no room to struggle.
Tears brimming in her eyes, Wen Zhi's heart was filled with fear.
She regretted focusing all her attention on the two voices while eavesdropping earlier, thus ignoring whether there were others around. Even if she hadn't heard much, what if those people thought she heard something she shouldn't have...
What to do next...
Wen Zhi quickly calmed down and considered any possible outcome that might unfold.
Two minutes later.
Wen Zhi was brought to a secluded pavilion.
The man let go, Wen Zhi gasped for fresh air, taking deep breaths, but her body, weakened by fright, uncontrollably collapsed.
With a 'thud,' her knees struck the steps, and a pained whimper escaped her lips.
The man hurriedly helped Wen Zhi up the steps, but as soon as he let go, she collapsed again.
The stone ground was cold, Wen Zhi shivered with pain, her glasses falling off, but she could no longer care about them.
Enduring her pain, she attempted to rise, but then a pair of deep brown leather shoes appeared before her.
Wen Zhi held her breath, her body tensing up.
The owner of the deep brown leather shoes stood before her for a moment, then crouched down and picked up Wen Zhi's glasses that had accidentally fallen to the side when she had collapsed. Among her tension, Wen Zhi noticed the man's hands in her peripheral vision—distinct knuckles, slender, with a pinky ring on the little finger.
They looked somewhat familiar...
But she couldn't remember where she had seen them.
While Wen Zhi was tense, the man extended another hand to lift her chin, forcing her to look up, catching his deep and obscure gaze unprepared.
It was him!
"Are you seeking your own death?" the man asked, each word icy cold.
Wen Zhi's teeth chattering, she called out, "Mr. Shang..."
Seeing that it was Shang Hexing, the fear in Wen Zhi's eyes only intensified.
Shang Hexing, too, saw the fear in Wen Zhi's eyes, remained silent for a moment, then used the tips of his fingers to delicately part her thick bangs, revealing her incredibly beautiful face.
It was a captivating beauty.
Emotions flickered in Shang Hexing's eyes, and the hand gripping her chin unconsciously tightened.
"It hurts..." she frowned, appearing very frightened.
Hearing her cry of pain, Shang Hexing loosened his grip slightly, then restored her heavy bangs and put her glasses back on her, returning her to her previous ordinary appearance.
After doing these things, he helped her up.
Wen Zhi gritted her teeth against the searing pain on her knee, her face crinkled like a bitter melon.
Shang Hexing asked her, "Where did you fall?"
Covered by her long pants, her scraped knee was not visible to others. Not wanting to make a scene, she endured the searing pain and said, "He was too rough, and I was startled, but I didn't fall anywhere."
Shang Hexing looked toward Chen Jinhai at his side.
Chen Jinhai felt a pang of fear and awkwardly said, "I thought Miss Wen was steady before I let go."
Shang Hexing's gaze hardened with a chilly intensity.
Quick to catch on, Chen Jinhai immediately said to Wen Zhi, "Mr. Shang saw you eavesdropping and ordered me to bring you here. I was afraid that speaking to you suddenly might frighten you and cause a bigger commotion, so I used this stupid method. Please forgive my rudeness, Miss Wen."
Fearing to scare her, he used this 'abduction' as a stupid method...
Wen Zhi gave a bitter smile. Clearly, this stupid method was more frightening.
Wait a second,
Wen Zhi suddenly turned her head to look at Shang Hexing beside her, "Is Mr. Shang trying to help me?"
Shang Hexing looked down at her, his tone indifferent, "What do you think?"
She thought...
She thought she was going to die tonight. Ouch...her knee hurt so much, a thin layer of mist formed in her eyes.
"Wen Zhi," Shang Hexing called her name.
Wen Zhi looked up blankly.
Shang Hexing enunciated every word, "Before you moved into the Shang family, didn't your father tell you to never be too curious here?"
His speech was calm, but Wen Zhi heard a hint of anger in his tone.
The first thing he said to her echoed in her mind—Are you courting death?
So close...
Wen Zhi felt suffocated in her chest, "My father never told me these things."
Shang Hexing glared at her stubborn face, "Then remember every word I've just said."
Wen Zhi understood what Shang Hexing meant. The situation just now had been truly dangerous. If he hadn't seen her and had Chen Jinhai take her away, by the time she brushed aside the palm leaves and Chong Wanyin discovered her, she would no longer have been able to stay in the Shang family.
After a moment of silence, Wen Zhi's stubbornness subsided, "I won't be curious anymore."
Shang Hexing didn't intend to scare her. Seeing that she was not in a good state, his voice softened a bit involuntarily, reminding her, "Go back the way you came."
Wen Zhi shook her head, "I can't go back the way I came."
Shang Hexing, "Lost your way?"
So accurate!
Did she look like someone who would easily get lost?
Wen Zhi smiled with a mix of embarrassment and politeness, "It's not that I got lost, I just found a shorter way back."
Shang Hexing saw right through her, "Then you accidentally stumbled upon something again, causing a disturbance. By tomorrow, you'll find different people frequently appearing outside your door, taking turns to watch you."
Wen Zhi, "..."
She couldn't refute a single word.
She turned, her face wrinkled with a frown, intending to sit on the stone bench to calm her emotions, but Shang Hexing pulled her back. Perhaps because he didn't control his strength, or she wasn't on guard, she unexpectedly collided into his embrace.
Her face was almost pressed against his clothing, the texture of a satin shirt, and the faint scent of cold fir lingered at her nose, unexpectedly pleasant.
Wen Zhi was dazed for a moment until his steady voice reached her ear, "Let me help you."
"No..." necessary!
Before she could finish her rejection, Shang Hexing had already taken her by the shoulders and led her to sit down on the stone bench.
Chen Jinhai stood by, dumbstruck.
The fact that Mr. Shang had left late today was unusual in itself. He then out of character intervened in someone else's business earlier, and now he was taking such personal care of Miss Wen.
Having been with Mr. Shang for so long, Chen Jinhai had never seen Mr. Shang care so much for a woman before today.
He felt like he was experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime blooming of a millennium iron tree...
"Go and call Bei Sheng over," Shang Hexing instructed.
"Yes," Chen Jinhai's figure quickly vanished into the night.
Now only Wen Zhi and Shang Hexing were left in the pavilion.
The silence was deep, with no one else moving around.
Wen Zhi raised her head to look at Shang Hexing's cool back, wanting to say something to break the tension, but after staring at his back for a long while, she didn't quite dare to speak up. After struggling internally for a few seconds, she gave up and decided to wait until he left to say anything.
A gurgling sound came from Wen Zhi's stomach.
Wen Zhi quickly covered it, and when she looked up, Shang Hexing was staring at her.
"Haven't had dinner?" he asked her.
Her face flushed with embarrassment, "No, I haven't."
Shang Hexing, "So, you came out looking for food so late?"
He guessed right.
But being guessed so accurately by him made Wen Zhi feel embarrassed, so she intentionally diverted the topic by asking him, "Mr. Shang, why aren't you resting so late at night?"
Shang Hexing's gaze fixed on her, "Because I intervened in an unnecessary matter."