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Chapter 4: You’re Not Planning to Run Away From Responsibility, Are You?

Jiang Province.

In the depths of a luxurious courtyard, inside a brightly lit living room, an elderly woman with graying hair sat upright on the sofa.

The massive crystal chandelier cast its cold, harsh light and mercilessly shone on the deep and shallow wrinkles of her face.

Every fold was filled with sorrow and anxiety.

In front of the elderly woman, a middle-aged butler in a dark suit bowed slightly.

His voice sounded low but clear: “Matriarch, we still didn’t find Miss Bing, but we roughly confirmed her location.”

After he finished speaking, he slowly straightened his back and waited quietly to the side.

His eyes stayed lowered, not daring to look directly at the elderly woman’s sorrowful face.

Hearing these words, a gleam of hope instantly flashed through the dim eyes of the elderly woman, like the sudden appearance of dawn in an otherwise desperate place.

She unconsciously clasped her hands tightly, her knuckles turning white.

At the same time, she silently prayed in her heart: “Bingbing, you must be safe, heaven please bless us…”

During this period, one blow after another exhausted her both physically and mentally.

Now, with her granddaughter missing without a trace, it felt like a sharp blade had pierced her heart.

The elderly woman took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Her voice was slightly hoarse but carried an unquestionable authority: “Increase the number of searchers.

No matter who, as long as they find Bingbing or provide valuable clues, immediately reward them with one million!”

“Yes, Matriarch!”

The butler accepted the order, nodded briskly in reply, then turned and hurried away to make further arrangements. His figure quickly vanished at the end of the corridor.

——————

Shen Qingxuan stared fixedly at Jiang Yubing, as if his gaze could see right through her.

The words from his mouth made no sense: “You’re not…”

Jiang Yubing felt uneasy under his stare.

“Huh?”

She tilted her small head, her big eyes wide open, obviously not understanding what Shen Qingxuan meant.

“Planning to steal my kidney, right.”

Suspicion covered Shen Qingxuan’s face as he filled in the rest.

At the same time, he leaned back slightly, as if this could put a bit more distance between himself and Jiang Yubing, granting him a little more sense of security.

“Pfft—”

Jiang Yubing clearly didn’t expect Shen Qingxuan’s train of thought to be so bizarre.

She couldn’t hold it in and started laughing.

Her clear laughter echoed far into the silent night.

After laughing, doubt crept into her heart again.

Did she really look that much like a bad person?

How could that be…

Thinking of that, she repeatedly shook her head, denying this ridiculous idea.

However, seeing Shen Qingxuan looking so tense and wary, Jiang Yubing’s eyes rolled thoughtfully.

Could it be that he got hurt by someone before?

Yes.

It must have been like that. Otherwise, how could he have such a strange idea?

Suddenly, Jiang Yubing remembered how she had mysteriously lost her first kiss.

She even thought of those short videos about scumbags who ghosted girls after sleeping with them.

Her anger flared up in an instant, and without hesitation, she shouted at Shen Qingxuan, “You’re not thinking of running away from responsibility, are you?”

After she yelled, she raised her chin a little, her cheeks flushed slightly with anger.

But her eyes were stubborn, and she stared hard at Shen Qingxuan as if searching his face for an answer.

One had to admit, little girls could let their imaginations run wild.

On top of that, the conversation between these two was running on completely different tracks.

When Jiang Yubing said this, Shen Qingxuan’s CPU almost overheated.

Did he need to take responsibility?

But he didn’t do anything—responsibility for what?

His gaze instinctively swept over Jiang Yubing, and when he noticed her mixed look of pity and scrutiny, he became even more lost.

All he could do was brace himself and ask, “What do you mean?”

Seeing him like this, Jiang Yubing grew even angrier.

Her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, and her voice got louder without her realizing: “You hugged me just now, and kissed me, even touched…”

By the end, her voice trailed off, and her head drooped lower and lower.

After a pause, she mumbled like a mosquito, “That was my first kiss.”

Shen Qingxuan felt thoroughly embarrassed, and he raised his hand to scratch his head.

His hair got rumpled, and his face turned red and pale by turns.

He secretly complained in his heart.

Wasn’t it an emergency at the time?

Besides, he tried to save her!

How could she just say something like that?

And his own first kiss was gone too!

He sneaked a glance at the angry Jiang Yubing, and suddenly thought of those novel plots where the heroine devoted herself to her savior.

Could that kind of thing really happen?

But not long ago, he still swore to “seal his heart in cement” and stay away from romance…

Shen Qingxuan glanced back and forth at Jiang Yubing.

He rubbed his chin and muttered, “If it’s her, I guess it’s not impossible…”

“What?”

Jiang Yubing had sharp ears and caught his muttering, then spotted his sneakily appraising gaze.

Suddenly, she felt her heart skip a beat, and the color drained from her face in fright.

A horrifying thought sped through Jiang Yubing’s mind: Was he about to lose control and turn into a beast?

Thinking of that, she waved her hands in a fluster, her voice trembling: “I was just joking with you, don’t take it seriously…”

Tch.

That was a disappointment— he really thought he could have a sweet romance from today on!

Turns out, the prettier the little girls were, the better they were at lying.

Shen Qingxuan hesitated, then cautiously asked, “Alright, then are you still going home?”

Jiang Yubing bit her lips, struggling to decide.

She glanced up at the pitch-black night sky, felt her body still weak, and exhaustion flooded over her like a tide.

She knew.

If she didn’t go home with Shen Qingxuan, she might have had to sleep on the street tonight.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Yubing still nodded softly:

“I’ll… I’ll go.”

“Let’s go.”

Shen Qingxuan tossed out those words, then headed towards home first.

“Hey!”

Seeing this, Jiang Yubing stamped her foot angrily and shouted at Shen Qingxuan’s back: “Can’t you wait for me!”

Her voice carried both grievance and a bit of playful scolding.

“Hurry up!”

——————

Beneath the apartment block.

Shen Qingxuan stopped and looked back at Jiang Yubing.

He hesitated for a moment, then handed her his phone and said at the same time, “Do you want to call your family, let them know you’re okay?”

He did not know what had happened to her, why she tried to throw her life away this late at night.

When he was a kid, if he got home a little late, he would be nagged by his mother for a long time.

He guessed her family must be frantic with worry by now.

Jiang Yubing let out a soft “mm,” took the phone from Shen Qingxuan.

Just thinking of her grandparents worrying about her made her feel guilty, and her eyes began to redden.

She took a deep breath, her fingers danced swiftly across the keypad, she entered a long string of numbers, then pressed the dial button, and put the phone to her ear, waiting for it to connect.

“The house is on the sixth floor, don’t forget.” Shen Qingxuan called out.

After Jiang Yubing nodded, he turned and entered the elevator, pressing the close button.

In this situation, Shen Qingxuan thought it was best to step away.

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