Chapter 23: He loves you

Xie Bo searched the entire Bai Yin Club but didn’t spot Lin Yiwei anywhere.

Chi Xicheng rubbed his sore head, which he had bumped, mistakenly thinking Xie Bo was worried and looking for Ye Anning: “Damn, Xie Bo, just how many women do you have?!”

Xie Bo couldn’t be bothered to respond. His phone buzzed in his bag. He extinguished his cigarette on the thin collar of Chi Xicheng’s shirt, causing him to cry out in pain.

He stood by the corridor, answered the phone with a stern and sharp profile.

Chi Xicheng watched him with hatred.

The call was from the building manager at Ramon Apartments—

“Mr. Xie, hello, sorry to disturb you so late, but there’s something I need to report. A Ms. Lin is at the entrance of the apartment complex, claiming to be your friend…”

“Let her in, I’ll be right back.”

Xie Bo ended the call decisively and left the private room.

Chi Xicheng couldn’t swallow his pride.

Usually, the young nobles of Qinggang City bowed and scraped before him, showering him with praise and flattery, yet Xie Bo had provoked him time and again.

Even relying on the Xie family’s influence, he shouldn’t be so arrogant!

Chi Xicheng signaled Yun Hui with a glance, and several bodyguards approached, blocking Xie Bo’s path.

Xie Bo turned coldly, while Chi Xicheng, brushing off the ash from his collar, confronted him: “Xie Bo, who do you think I am, to be toyed with like this! You didn’t find who you were looking for with me, so how should we settle the score for the hit I took to my head?”

Xie Bo, eager to leave, didn’t want to waste words. He pulled out a check from his bag, scribbled a number on it, and flicked it onto Chi Xicheng’s face—

“For medical expenses.”

Without Chi Xicheng’s permission, Yun Hui still blocked the way. Xie Bo, too impatient to say more, walked up and kicked him, knocking him to the ground.

Watching Xie Bo’s retreating figure disappear down the corridor, Chi Xicheng felt deeply humiliated and tore the check into tiny pieces.

He completely lost his composure.

Seeing Yun Hui clutching his stomach and struggling to stand, Chi Xicheng delivered another fierce kick.

“Ouch!” Yun Hui rolled on the ground in pain. “Master Chi, I can’t take it anymore.”

Chi Xicheng’s face was cold with fury boiling in his dark eyes.

Someday, he swore, he would trample Xie Bo underfoot and make him beg.

…

A black and white modified supercar entered the gates of Ramon Apartments, its headlights sweeping over a girl sitting by a garden chair.

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

The car screeched to a halt in front of Lin Yiwei.

After getting out, he tossed the car keys to the building manager and strode toward Lin Yiwei—

“So you remember to find me now? Don’t you ever learn!” Xie Bo’s anger was nearly uncontrollable.

“Lin Yiwei, after the setbacks at Chi Xicheng’s, you still dare approach him?”

This man was usually calm and detached; few could evoke such concern from him, leading to such a barrage of questions.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Her black hair and eyes contrasted against her pale skin, her features clear and hauntingly beautiful, conveying a captivating mix of vulnerability and allure.

Xie Bo felt as though his heart was being twisted by her.

Her lips dry and cracked, she rasped, “I’m so thirsty. Do you have any water in the car?”

Xie Bo irritably went back to the car and tossed her a bottle of mineral water.

The bottle landed in the flowerbed, and Lin Yiwei struggled to her feet to grab it.

He had already drunk from it, leaving only half.

Lin Yiwei didn’t mind, tilting her head back and gulping down the remaining water, slightly easing her extreme thirst.

She had been running and jumping from buildings, exhausted as if in a Hollywood blockbuster.

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

Lin Yiwei looked up at the man before her, pleading, “Can I stay for the night? I have nowhere else to go.”

“My house isn’t a hotel; you can’t just come and go as you please.”

Xie Bo dismissively turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, seeing the young girl still sitting motionless by the garden chair, he muttered impatiently, “Well? Are you waiting for me to carry you?”

Lin Yiwei hurriedly used the chair to stand and limped after him, only to wince in pain after a few steps: “Ah, I can’t, Xie Bo, I think I sprained my ankle.”

Xie Bo was truly speechless, turned back irritably, and picked her up sideways.

His movements were far from gentle; Lin Yiwei had no choice but to cling to his neck, nestling against his neck.

Close at hand was his distinctly pronounced Adam’s apple.

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

He smelled of pine and dwarf lilyturf, a raw and cold scent, an invasive presence. Lin Yiwei found herself quite fond of it, deepening her breaths unconsciously.

Xie Bo felt her sniffing, her warm, moist breath on his neck, and his disdainful gaze softened somewhat.

“Don’t know what you eat to be so skinny,” he commented as he weighed her.She was indeed very light, like holding a cat.

“My childhood friend’s female German Shepherd is heavier than you.”

“………” Lin Yiwei glared at him, “Don’t think I can’t tell you’re swearing!”

Xie Bo carried Lin Yiwei into the house, threw her onto the sofa, and as she cried out “ouch” and rubbed her legs, she protested loudly, “It hurts!”

“Endure it.”

Xie Bo rummaged through the cabinet for a first aid kit and knelt on one knee beside the sofa to take off her shoes.

Her ankle was already swollen and bulging significantly, looking somewhat disturbing.

He had thought it was just a minor sprain but hadn’t expected it to be so severe.

Unable to handle such an injury, he picked up his phone and called a doctor—

“Ramon Apartment, come now.”

On the phone, a lively male voice said, “You can’t be serious, Mr. Xie. I just finished an experiment and was about to head back to the dorm to play video games. Unless it’s a life-threatening emergency, don’t call me.”

“Cut the crap, you have fifteen minutes.”

“Then you’ll have to reimburse my taxi fare, and… let me pick three game cartridges.”

After hanging up, Lin Yiwei quickly asked, “Who did you call?”

“A friend from medical school.”

“Is he discreet?”

Xie Bo gave her a look, and seeing the worry in her eyes, she said, “Chi Xiyu must not know that I was involved in tonight’s incident.”

“Scaredy-cat, yet you try to be a good Samaritan?”

Lin Yiwei remained silent.

“Claiming you want to be a bad girl, yet you can’t fully commit to being bad, having nothing and yet possessing a strong sense of self-esteem,” Xie Bo mocked coldly, “With such hesitation, you’ll never accomplish anything.”

“Don’t lecture me, I… I know how to handle my own affairs.”

Xie Bo had thought she was a thoroughly selfish girl until Ye Anning tearfully told him over the phone that she had offered herself in exchange for her.

Xie Bo was truly baffled.

“What exactly do you want to do? Tell me, and I’ll help you,” he said, sitting next to her and speaking in a negotiating tone, “The things you find tough might just need a flick of my finger.”

For a moment, Lin Yiwei was tempted.

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

But… this involved the Chi family, and the Chi family’s interests were deeply intertwined with those of the Xie family.

Between interests and her, Xie Bo would inevitably choose the former.

“What do you want in return for helping me?”

“I want you,” Xie Bo stated bluntly, “I want you to be as enthusiastic with me every night as you were that night.”

“No.”

Knowing that this stubborn girl would not agree, Xie Bo still wanted to give it a try.

As expected, he was not too disappointed. He reached out to touch her swollen right ankle, and Lin Yiwei yelped and pushed his hand away,

“It hurts! Xie Bo, it hurts!”

“Jumping from the second floor and only spraining your foot, you’re lucky not to be crippled.”

“It’s not that high,” Lin Yiwei said, holding tightly onto his sleeve to keep his hands away, “I’ve jumped from higher places before.”

“No wonder you’re the first to escape Chi Xicheng’s grasp.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment then.”

Xie Bo sneered and leaned back on the sofa, watching her.

He didn’t know what her life had been like before they met.

But Xie Bo knew the life his mother, a red-light district dancer who had once gambled everything to seduce a wealthy young man, had lived a life of constant upheaval.

Xie Bo was not a detached prince aloof from worldly matters; his blood was imbued with the dust of the world.

While the two were bickering intermittently, the doorbell rang, and Xie Bo answered the door.

Yi Shiqi walked in, cursing and clearly displeased—

“My dear lord, what happened this time? Bumped into something, or got into a fight?”

“It wasn’t me,” he led him into the living room, “A pig jumped from the second floor, check her leg.”

“I’m not a vet! That’s too much!”

As the man entered the living room, Lin Yiwei got a look at this “friend from medical school.”

With a buzz cut and a sharp, rugged face, he wore a loose hoodie that clearly displayed his broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted physique, resembling more of an athlete than a medical student.

Yi Shiqi, seeing Lin Yiwei, widened his eyes in surprise.

Xie Bo had actually brought a girl to the Ramons Apartment!

Everyone knew this was his private residence, even Chi Xiyu wasn’t qualified to go up.

He disliked being disturbed. Besides Li Du and this functional “friend” of his, no one else had been up here, right?

“Damn, you must be Xie Bo’s girlfriend!”

He excitedly sat down next to her on the sofa, chatting up Lin Yiwei as if they were old friends, “Hahaha, you must be his girlfriend to come to Ramon Apartment. I’m Yi Shiqi, also a friend of Xie Bo’s and his personal doctor. He hates the smell of disinfectant in hospitals; it makes him gag, so shamelessly, he insisted on becoming friends with me. It’s annoying, being friends means no consultation fees.”

Lin Yiwei could tell that Yi Shiqi was a typical extroverted type, talking non-stop without caring whether others could endure his chatter.

She found his straightforwardness somewhat endearing.

“Does he still owe you for medical fees?”

“Absolutely, think about how many times he’s been injured playing with cars, and every time it was me who bandaged him up! So, tell me, are you his girlfriend or not?”

“I’m not.”

“He must love you, he definitely loves you! Hahaha! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had me come over.” Yi Shiqi’s smile split wide, “I’m his secret doctor, not many people know about it. If he’s using me to look after you, he absolutely loves you!”

Lin Yiwei’s eyebrows twitched, “Look after me?”

Is that how one describes it?

Xie Bo, losing patience, said, “Yi Shiqi, you talk too much.”

“Look at him! Taking advantage of people for free and doesn’t even let them talk, that’s just too much!” Yi Shiqi looked over at Lin Yiwei, “Miss, where do you feel uncomfortable? Do you suffer from menstrual pain? I am a master of gynecology…”

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

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

“Damn, it’s so swollen, were you and Xie Bo playing some extreme game?”

“It’s not an extreme game, I just fell and hurt myself, Xie Bo and I aren’t like that…” Lin Yiwei explained.

Seeing her seriously explaining to this fool, Xie Bo was even more speechless, “You don’t need to tell him too much.”

“Fine, fine, you don’t need to explain to me, I’m just a tool.”

Despite Yi Shiqi’s carefree personality, he was meticulous and thorough in his work. He took some medicine to activate blood circulation and reduce bruising from the medicine box, paired it with an ice pack, treated Lin Yiwei’s swelling and pain, then wrapped her ankle with a bandage, advising her to stay still and rest for the next few days.

“Can you believe he’s still a virgin?”

While Xie Bo was in the kitchen getting the ice pack, Yi Shiqi whispered closely to Lin Yiwei’s ear, “I go with him to his annual physicals, including the urology exams, and this guy always fills ‘none’ for his sexual activity.”

Lin Yiwei: “…”

She did not want to know these details!

Xie Bo truly disliked Yi Shiqi’s noisy presence at home, and after the bandaging, he hurried him out.

“Hey, there’s still a wound on her face!” He wanted to chat more with the lovely lady!

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“And the game cartridge…”

“I’ll bring it tomorrow.” After saying this, he unceremoniously pushed Yi Shiqi out of the door.

Finally, it quieted down.

Lin Yiwei looked at Xie Bo and let out a laugh.

It was rare to see her smile, and Xie Bo’s mood relaxed a bit, at least she wasn’t in pain anymore.

“Laughing at nothing.”

“I didn’t expect you to have such a friend.”

“A tool of a friend.”

“Well, he seems quite willing to be one, which must be due to your personal charm.”

“Stop it, you’re only sweet-talking because I took you in.”

Xie Bo saw through Lin Yiwei’s clumsy and deliberate flattery, unimpressed.

Lin Yiwei pouted, too tired to keep trying. She touched her tightly wrapped ankle, and indeed, it hurt less now.

Xie Bo, seeing that she was ignoring him, felt annoyed again. He casually plucked a feather thin as a cicada’s wing from a decorative item and sat down beside her—

“Now, you can’t hop around.”

“What are you thinking?” Lin Yiwei looked at him defensively.”Just this.” Xie Bo took her hand, binding both hands behind her back.The young girl was startled, thinking he was about to force her, and struggled hard.Unexpectedly, all he did was pick up a feather and started tickling her foot.”Ah!” She cried out in surprise, wanting to move but afraid to touch her other foot.”Xie Bo! Are you a child? So childish!”Xie Bo took advantage of her inability to move because of her leg injury, holding her left ankle and tickling the sole of her foot with the feather. “Yiyi, how many times have I saved you? Count them?”She lay on the sofa, giggling uncontrollably, tickled and uncomfortable, “Xie Bo, stop! Ah! I’m sorry, please stop.”The man wickedly smiled, “Scream a little louder.”