"W-why would she take Ai's drafts with her?"
Her mind immediately thought of a scenario where Sun Bai might leak the drafts to Lu Bohai, but she refused to believe it. But thinking back on their conversation in the restaurant where he was furiously demanding something from her, it could be very well related to story drafts as well.
"No, no! Miss. Sun would never do this!"
But what if she struck some kind of a deal with Lu Bohai? Her frequent meetings with him always looked suspicious to me…
"Noooo! Miss. Sun always behaved so mature and independent. I don't want her to be a bad person! What would be her motive in taking Ai's drafts to him anyway? They cannot seriously be thinking of some author in Shi Publishing plagiarizing Ai's story, right?"
Nian touched his chin. "We will only know that when we catch her handing the drafts over to Lu Bohai. Of course, we will have our evidence at that time."
Her shoulders slumped. Ever since she came to Sky, Xing Bi held deep respect for Sun Bai. From the bottom of her heart, she didn't wish for her to be involved in any wrongdoing. She wanted to believe that Lu Bohai was the villain and Sun Bai was helpless before him.
But she couldn't be sure anymore. Also, Xing Bi was very protective of Ai and her work so if it involved her, Xing Bi wouldn't be so forgiving.
"Fine. The only way we can learn the truth is if we see for ourselves what she plans to do with Ai's drafts…"
She took her phone and letting out a sigh, she opened her chat with Hou Lin. Nian's expression twisted, and he snatched her phone away.
"Hey! Give me my phone back!"
"Why are you texting that man again?"
"To give him the update."
He snorted. "No need. Why do you want to keep him in the loop when I am here with you?"
"Because he has been helping me. How can I suddenly abandon him?"
He pouted. "You abandon me all the time though."
She gave a dry expression. "Because you do nothing but fool around! He is my colleague anyway. I work with him everyday. What's the problem?"
"Hmph. I don't like him."
"Because he is definitely eyeing you."
"He literally said he is not interested in me."
"A man's heart holds many secrets."
Nian gave an ultimatum. "If you text him back, I will kiss you and this time on the lips."
"You are shameless!" Her face reddened, remembering his kiss on her neck.
"All the men in the Liu family are shameless. I am following the tradition."
She relented. "Fine! I won't message him anything. Now give me my phone and leave my house!"
Before my heart cannot take it anymore…
Nian handed her phone back and got up. Adjusting his coat, he smiled back. "If you miss me, I am just a call away~"
Xing Bi politely declined. "No, thanks. This time, I will make sure to keep all the doors tightly shut and locked."
He clicked his tongue. He then noticed something on the floor. "What's that?"
Xing Bi turned her head to look when Nian bent and sneaked a kiss on her lips. He kept it pressed fiercely for one long moment and pulled back. "You said not I am not allowed to eat dinner here but you didn't say anything about my dessert."
She blankly stared at him, unable to process what just happened.
Nian rubbed the corner of his lower lip where a light stain of her lipstick got smudged on to his thumb. "I always thought that nothing could be as sweet as cakes, but you proved me wrong. Your lips are the sweetest delicacy in the whole world. Good night, my dear."
The door shut and silence reigned as Nian left.
Xing Bi was left in a stupor for a long, long time. She touched her lips where Nian's lips were just had touched hers a few moments ago. She fell on the couch sideways, completely turning crimson.
What, what, what? He kissed me? He kissed me?
The questions played in her mind like a broken recorder.
Ahhhhhh!!! That brat kissed me!!!! That sneaky brat!
He stole my first kiss! Shameless!
After that, Xing Bi lost count of how many times she called Nian shameless in her mind with her blushes completely betraying her heart.
Zixin stared at the cherry blossom in his palm which had withered up from the time Guiying first gave him in the hospital. He caressed it between his fingers, his eyelashes faintly trembling. Alone in his room, numerous thoughts swirled in his mind.
With an unreadable expression, he picked his phone but seemed hesitant. Eventually, he dialed the number and brought the phone near his ear.
"Hello?" A voice responded.
He silently breathed in upon hearing it. "Hi."
'She' asked from the other side, "Chen Zixin. Why the late call?"
He quietly listened to her question. He knew he was talking to the 'other' person inside Guiying. Now that he was aware about her split personality, it felt even clearer to see the difference. The tone, the impression of how the two Guiyings behaved had a stark contrast.
He tried to smile, his eyes gradually turning moist. "H-How…how are you?"
'She' asked back after a short pause, "...What's with this strange question?"
Zixin had many things to say. Many things to ask. Many things to express to her.
I know about your childhood now. I know about your relationship with Cai Lingyun now. I know why you were born. I know how much you have suffered. The rightful source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Where should I begin…
"Chen Zixin?" 'She' called out, feeling the strange stretch of silence between them.
"For what? I don't remember doing any goodwill for you."
"Not for me. It's for…" he held back a choke as his tears fell, "protecting somebody very important to me. I cannot express my gratitude in words. Guiying…You did your very best. I am so, so proud of you. I called to say that from now on, you don't have to suffer anymore.
You won't have to fight your battles all alone any longer. I, Chen Zixin, will always be there to protect you."