"It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it. I just want to give you a heads-up: it’s in your best interest not to get into trouble. I don’t want to end up arresting someone like you one day."
An Ji slightly curved the corners of his mouth, his eyes calm and undisturbed, "You take your police duties seriously."
"When I chose this profession, I naturally committed to doing it wholeheartedly. If something I said earlier offended you, don’t take it to heart—I just don’t want to see An Ruo upset or heartbroken one day."
"So you care about my sister quite a bit, huh?"
"Of course, I love her—she’s the only woman I’ve ever loved."
"You say you love her and expect me to believe you? Let me tell you, unless I see it with my own eyes, I won’t believe a word you say."
Mo Hua didn’t get angry; instead, he smiled.
"You’re very protective of your sister; that’s good."
An Ji was noncommittal and didn’t speak further.
She was his sister, his only family; of course, he would protect her.
An Ruo quickly returned with the stomach medicine. After Mo Hua took it, he said he had things to do and had to leave.
A few hours after he left, there was another knock on the door.
Looking through the peephole, she saw Tang Yuchen’s face.
His hand pressed the doorbell from time to time, his stern features all too familiar, painfully so.
An Ruo didn’t want to open the door, but he kept pressing.
An Ji asked who it was, and she said lightly, "Tang Yuchen."
"What is he here for?" An Ji asked coldly, moving forward and telling her, "Sis, you go to your room. I’ll talk to him."
"It’s okay; I’m not that scared of him." She couldn’t let the two of them face off alone. What if they got into a fight?
An Ruo opened the door, and Tang Yuchen’s gaze first landed on her face, then shifted to An Ji behind her. Seeing him, Yuchen slightly raised an eyebrow, showing no great surprise.
"I heard you were back and came specifically to see. You really did return."
An Ji crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, saying indifferently, "You’re behind on the news; I’ve been back for a while."
Tang Yuchen’s lips curled into a faint smile, saying nothing.
An Ruo said coldly to him, "You’re not welcome here. Don’t come back in the future."
As she moved to close the door, the man put his hand out to stop it and said with a smile, "You’re that unwelcoming? I’ve brought some wine, wondering if An Ji might be interested in having a few drinks with me?"
"He’s not interested!" An Ruo pushed harder on the door.
All of a sudden, An Ji said to her, "Sis, let him in. I actually have something to say to him."
"It’s fine; are we afraid of him?"
It wasn’t that she was afraid of him; she just didn’t want to see him.
"Alright." An Ruo let go and turned to walk into the living room. Tang Yuchen hurried in and closed the door behind him.
An Ji took out two glasses, and Tang Yuchen opened the wine bottle, filling both glasses. They sat facing each other, with An Ruo sitting beside An Ji.
Tang Yuchen glanced at her uneasy expression, his eyes moving away nonchalantly, and asked An Ji as if it were nothing, "Did you graduate?"
"What do you think?" An Ji picked up his glass and swirled it lightly.
The man nodded, "Right, you wouldn’t have been able to leave if you hadn’t graduated."
"Tang Yuchen, now that I’m out, do you remember what I told you before?" An Ji asked him.
Tang Yuchen’s lips twitched into a smile, "Of course, I remember. You said that in ten years, you’d beat me. Only seven years have passed, and you’re not even twenty yet. I don’t think you have the capacity to defeat me."
An Ji smiled too, his expression equally elegant and charming, yet cold.