Chapter 23: He Loves You

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Xie Bo searched all around the Baiyin clubhouse but found no trace of Lin Yiwei. Chi Xicheng rubbed his sore head, which Xie Bo had accidentally bumped into, and, thinking Xie Bo was so worried because he was looking for Ye Anning, blurted out, "Damn it, Xie Bo, how many women do you actually have?"

Xie Bo ignored him. His phone vibrated inside his bag. He stubbed out his cigarette on the thin collar of Chi Xicheng’s shirt, causing him to yelp in pain.

Standing by the corridor, Xie Bo answered the call, his sharp profile cold and intense.

Chi Xicheng glared at him with resentment.

The call was from the building manager of the Ramon Apartments—

“Mr. Xie, sorry for the late disturbance. I have something to report. A Ms. Lin is downstairs at the apartment building, wanting to enter the complex. She says she’s your friend...”

“Let her in. I’m coming back immediately,” Xie Bo said decisively, ending the call and turning to leave the private room.

Chi Xicheng couldn’t hold back his anger.

Usually, as a prominent young master in Qinggang City, everyone bowed and flattered him, but Xie Bo repeatedly provoked him.

Even with the power of the Xie family backing him, Xie Bo couldn’t be this arrogant!

Chi Xicheng gave a signal to Yun Hui. Several bodyguards stepped forward to block Xie Bo’s path.

Xie Bo cast a cold glance behind him. Chi Xicheng brushed the cigarette ash off his collar, stepped up to him, and said, “Xie Bo, who do you think I am, letting you toy with me like this? If you didn’t find the person you’re looking for here, how do you plan to make up for the hit to my head? I want that noted!”

Xie Bo was eager to leave and didn’t want to waste words. He pulled a check from his bag, wrote an amount, and flicked it lightly at Chi Xicheng’s face—

“For medical expenses.”

Without Chi Xicheng’s permission, Yun Hui still blocked the way. Xie Bo said nothing more, strode forward, and kicked him to the ground.

Watching Xie Bo’s black figure disappear down the corridor, Chi Xicheng felt utterly humiliated and tore the check to shreds.

His temper completely unraveled.

Seeing Yun Hui clutching his stomach and struggling to sit up, Chi Xicheng kicked him again viciously.

“Ouch!” Yun Hui writhed in pain on the floor. “Master Chi, I’m done for.”

Chi Xicheng’s expression darkened, his eyes burning with fury.

One day soon, he vowed to trample Xie Bo beneath his feet, forcing him to kneel and beg.

...

A black-and-white modified supercar pulled into the gate of Ramon Apartments. The high beams swept across a girl sitting by the garden bench.

Under the moonlight, her skin was pale as paper, a thin scratch marked her cheek, the dried blood like a fine red thread hanging there.

The screech of sharp brakes filled the air as the supercar came to a stop right in front of Lin Yiwei.

He stepped out, tossed the keys to the building manager, and strode toward her with long, determined steps—

“So now you decide to come looking for me? Don’t you ever learn?” Xie Bo’s anger was barely contained. “Lin Yiwei, you got screwed over by Chi Xicheng and you still dare to show up in front of him?”

This man was usually calm and indifferent; no one had ever made him care so much to fire off such a rapid barrage of questions.

“Sorry,” she said softly.

Her black hair and dark eyes contrasted with her pale skin, her features clear and delicate, possessing a fragile yet captivating beauty.

Xie Bo felt as if she had a grip on his heart.

She pressed her cracked, dry lips together and hoarsely asked, “I’m so thirsty. Is there any water in the car?”

Xie Bo, annoyed, turned back to the car to fetch a bottle of mineral water and tossed it to her.

The bottle landed in the flower bed. Lin Yiwei struggled to support herself and reached out to grab it.

She saw it was half empty.

She didn’t care; she tilted her head back and gulped down the water, easing her overwhelming thirst.

She had just raced wildly and jumped from a building like a Hollywood stunt scene—exhausting beyond words.

The building manager drove Xie Bo’s car into the underground garage.

Lin Yiwei looked at the man standing before her, pitifully asking, “Can I stay just one night? I have nowhere else to go.”

“My place isn’t a hotel. If you want to come, come.”

Xie Bo indifferently turned to leave.

After a few steps, seeing the girl still sitting motionless by the garden bench, he muttered impatiently, “Come on! Are you waiting for me to carry you?”

Lin Yiwei quickly steadied herself by the chair and limped after him. After a few steps, the pain in her foot flared up. “Ah, I can’t. Xie Bo, I twisted my ankle.”

Xie Bo was speechless. Impatiently, he turned back and scooped her up in his arms.

His grip was rough; Lin Yiwei bounced against him, clutching his neck and nestling against his collarbone.

Right before her eyes was his strikingly prominent Adam’s apple.

His Adam’s apple was slightly larger than most boys’, and in many ways, he was more developed than others.

He carried the scent of pine and freesia, crisp and cool—an invading presence. Lin Yiwei secretly liked the smell and deepened her breath subtly.

Xie Bo felt her inhaling him; the warm, moist breath brushed against his neck, softening his usually disdainful gaze somewhat.

“You don’t know what you’re growing up on, so skinny,” he remarked, weighing her in his arms.

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She was really light, like holding a cat.

“My childhood German shepherd pup is heavier than you,” he joked.

“…You think I don’t hear you insulting me!” Lin Yiwei glared at him.

Xie Bo carried her inside and dropped her onto the sofa. Lin Yiwei cried out, rubbing her leg and protesting loudly, “It hurts!”

“Tough it out.”

Xie Bo rummaged through a cabinet for the first-aid kit, kneeling on one knee beside the sofa to remove her shoes.

Her ankle was already bruised and swollen, a large lump protruding—looking rather alarming.

What he thought was a minor sprain was much worse.

Unable to treat the injury himself, he pulled out his phone to call a doctor—

“Ramon Apartments, come over now.”

On the line was a lively male voice: “No way, Master Bo, I just finished an experiment and was about to head back to the dorm to play video games. Unless it’s life or death, don’t bother me.”

“Cut the crap. You have fifteen minutes.”

“Then you reimburse my taxi fare and let me pick three game cartridges, deal?”

Xie Bo hung up. Lin Yiwei quickly asked, “Who did you call?”

“A friend from medical school.”

“Is he discreet?”

Xie Bo shot her a glance. She looked worried. “Chi Xiyu can’t know I’m involved tonight.”

“Such a coward, still trying to play the hero?”

Lin Yiwei said nothing.

“You say you want to be a bad girl but can’t fully commit. You end up with nothing and a stubborn pride,” Xie Bo sneered. “Someone like you who always holds back can’t get anything done.”

“Don’t lecture me. I... I can handle my own affairs.”

Xie Bo thought she was completely selfish until Ye Anning cried on the phone, saying she had sacrificed herself for her...

Xie Bo really couldn’t understand.

“What exactly do you want? Tell me, and I’ll help you.” He sat beside her, speaking in a negotiating tone, laying his cards on the table. “What seems difficult to you might only take me a finger to handle.”

For a moment, Lin Yiwei’s heart stirred.

If Xie Bo was willing to help, maybe tomorrow she could learn the truth about her brother’s disappearance.

But... it involved the Chi family, and the Chi and Xie families’ interests were intertwined.

Between her and those interests, Xie Bo would undoubtedly choose the latter.

“If you help me, what do you want?”

“I want you,” Xie Bo said bluntly. “I want you to be eager for me every night like that night.”

“No.”

“...”

Knowing full well this stubborn girl wouldn’t agree, he still tried.

As expected, he wasn’t too disappointed. He pinched her swollen right ankle. Lin Yiwei cried out and pushed his hand away, “It hurts! Xie Bo! It hurts!”

“You jumped from the second floor. Consider yourself lucky you only twisted your ankle and didn’t end up crippled.”

“The second floor isn’t actually that high.” Lin Yiwei gripped his sleeve tightly to keep him from touching her. “I know my limits. I’ve jumped from higher places before.”

“No wonder. Chi Xicheng can always dodge, but you’re the first to get caught.”

“Then I take that as a compliment.”

Xie Bo sneered, leaning against the sofa, watching her.

He wondered what kind of life she had before meeting him.

He knew his mother—the so-called red-light district dancer who gambled everything to seduce wealthy heirs—had lived a life of hardship and turmoil.

Xie Bo wasn’t a refined gentleman untouched by the world; his blood was tainted with the dust of the streets.

As they exchanged half-hearted banter, the doorbell rang. Xie Bo opened the door.

Yi Shiqi came in, grumbling in dissatisfaction—

“My young master, where did you hurt yourself this time? Fighting someone again?”

“Not me.” Xie Bo led him to the living room. “Some pig jumped from the second floor. Look at her leg.”

“I’m not a vet! That’s too much!”

As Yi Shiqi entered the living room, Lin Yiwei saw the “medical school friend.”

He had a crew cut, strong and sharp features, wearing a loose sweatshirt that revealed broad shoulders and a narrow waist like a double-door fridge.

He didn’t look like a medical student but more like an athlete.

Yi Shiqi was surprised to see Lin Yiwei.

Xie Bo actually brought a girl back to Ramon Apartments!

Everyone knew this was his private residence; not even Chi Xiyu was allowed upstairs.

He disliked interruptions. Besides Li Du and this functional “friend,” no one else had been upstairs.

“Damn, you’re Master Bo’s girlfriend, right?”

He plopped down on the sofa, chatting with Lin Yiwei as if they’d known each other forever. “Haha, only a girlfriend would come to Ramon Apartments. I’m Yi Shiqi, also Xie Bo’s friend and his personal doctor. He hates the smell of hospital disinfectant and gags every time, so shamelessly, he insists on being friends with me. It’s annoying, but at least there’s no consultation fee.”

Lin Yiwei could tell Yi Shiqi was the typical outgoing extrovert, talking endlessly without caring if others could keep up.

Such people were straightforward; Lin Yiwei found herself liking him a little.

“Does he owe you medical fees?”

“Of course. Count how many times he’s hurt himself messing with cars. I’m always the one patching him up. So, pretty lady, are you really his girlfriend?”

“I’m not.”

“He loves you. He definitely does! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought me here.” Yi Shiqi’s grin stretched wide. “I’m his secret doctor; not many people know about this. Using me to entertain you means he loves you!”

Lin Yiwei raised an eyebrow. “Entertain?”

Who described her that way?

Xie Bo impatiently said, “Yi Shiqi, enough nonsense.”

“Look at him! Bossing me around for free and not letting me speak. That’s harsh!” Yi Shiqi sized Lin Yiwei up. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Do you get menstrual cramps? I’m great at gynecology...”

Xie Bo pressed his head. “Look at her leg.”

Only then did Yi Shiqi notice the girl’s severely swollen ankle.

“Oh my God, it’s so swollen. What kind of extreme stunt were you doing with Xie Bo?”

Lin Yiwei explained, “No stunt. Just a fall. Xie Bo and I aren’t like that...”

Seeing her seriously explain to this fool, Xie Bo felt even more speechless. “Don’t tell him too much.”

“Alright, alright. No need to explain to me. I’m just a tool.” Despite Yi Shiqi’s loud personality, he was meticulous and thorough. He took out herbal medicine to promote blood circulation and reduce bruising, along with an ice pack, to alleviate Lin Yiwei’s swelling and pain. He then wrapped her ankle with gauze, advising her to rest and avoid movement for the next two days.

“He’s still a virgin, can you believe it?”

While Xie Bo was in the kitchen putting the ice pack away, Yi Shiqi leaned close to Lin Yiwei’s ear and whispered, “He and I go for his annual physicals together. The urology checkup section always reads ‘none’ for his sex life.”

Lin Yiwei: “...”

She really didn’t want to know.

Xie Bo disliked Yi Shiqi’s noisy presence at home. After finishing the bandaging, he promptly sent him out.

“Hey, your face! You have a bruise on your face too!” Yi Shiqi wanted to chat more with the pretty lady.

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“What about the game cartridges...”

“I’ll bring them tomorrow.” Saying that, he firmly pushed Yi Shiqi out the door.

Finally, it was quiet.

Lin Yiwei looked at Xie Bo and burst out laughing.

Seeing her smile was rare. Xie Bo’s mood eased a little; at least she wasn’t in pain anymore.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Never guessed you had friends like that.”

“Tool friends.”

“He seems happy to be one. That’s your charm.”

“Cut it out. I’m just tolerating him.”

Xie Bo saw through Lin Yiwei’s awkward and forced attempts to please and wasn’t fooled.

Lin Yiwei pouted, giving up on trying, and touched her tightly bandaged ankle. After being supported, the pain had indeed lessened.

Seeing her ignore him, Xie Bo was annoyed. He plucked a thin, delicate feather from a decoration and sat beside her—

“Now you can’t run around.”

“What are you planning?” Lin Yiwei watched him warily.

“This,” Xie Bo said, grabbing her hands and tying them behind her back.

The girl’s heart jumped; she thought he was going to be rough and struggled hard.

Unexpectedly, he only took the feather and tickled her foot.

“Ah!” she screamed, wanting to move but afraid to touch the other foot.

“Xie Bo! Are you a child? So childish!”

Confident she wouldn’t move because of her injury, Xie Bo held her left ankle and tickled her sole with the feather.

“Yi Yi, how many times have I saved you? Count them.”

She lay on the sofa, giggling uncontrollably, both tickled and uncomfortable.

“Xie Bo, stop! Ah! I’m sorry! Don’t tickle me anymore.”

The man grinned mischievously, “Louder then.”