Chapter 24: Good friends

Lin Yiwei wiped her body with a towel soaked in water, cleaning off the dirt that had stuck to her when she had rolled into the flower bed earlier. She knew Xie Bo disapproved of her disheveled appearance. But she didn’t care, for her leg was bandaged and she couldn’t take a bath tonight. All she could do was clean herself up with a towel.

Although the Ramon Apartment was large, it seemed that the only bedroom suitable for sleeping was his master bedroom. The other rooms were functional rooms, either a gym or a game room, and there was even a beautiful rooftop infinity pool. The Ramon Apartment was his private space, and Xie Bo didn’t plan to entertain guests there, nor did he set up more bedrooms. Everything in the house was set up for his use only.

Lin Yiwei occupied his room, and she didn’t know where Xie Bo slept. This luxurious flat had hundreds of square meters, and there were many hidden doors and rooms along the walls. The rooms that Lin Yiwei could go to were all spaces where he allowed her to move. Some rooms were not open to the public.

There was a large floor-to-ceiling mirror in the master bedroom, which seemed to be newly installed. She hadn’t seen it the last time. This mirror was facing the large two-meter dark grey bed. A mirror facing the bed is considered bad Feng Shui. But Xie Bo had no taboos.

Lin Yiwei sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the mirror and at herself in the mirror. She had always understood her own beauty, but she was not proud of it. Without the protection of a home, beauty had brought her too much hardship. In middle school, a gang leader didn’t like her looks, which led to two years of school violence. As she grew up, she was harassed by her beastly foster father… Her foster mother not only didn’t protect her but even scolded her for being born cheap, not looking like anything good.

Lin Yiwei never learned how to use her beauty to benefit her life, but she experienced the hard lessons it brought. She never appreciated herself, and even… even hated her own appearance.

Lin Yiwei looked at the mirror and herself in the mirror. She knew that nine out of ten times, Xie Bo was watching her from behind the mirror. For some inexplicable reason, she thought of that night of extreme indulgence, like a dream, mixed with the intoxicating fragrance of wild lilies. A dream of a beautiful spring day that she had never had before and would never have again.

Her face was pretty enough, but she didn’t have enough sexual tension. She didn’t have a beautiful dress, didn’t know how to put on makeup, and her character was as stubborn as a rock. But that night, purely by instinct, she saw her own beauty in Xie Bo’s eyes. It made her not so disgusted with her own… beauty.

Sex is not about showing off to others, but about exploring and finding oneself in the admiring eyes of each other. In Xie Bo’s dark eyes, she felt sexy for the first time.

Lin Yiwei.

Looking at the mirror, and the possibilities behind it, she slowly removed the long white shirt she was wearing.

Although she didn’t have a beautiful dress, her lingerie matched in both color and style.

This was a modest habit Lin Yiwei had since she first wore a bra in her girlhood.

Today, she wore a dark pink bra, leaning toward light purple, adorned with delicate lace intricacies.

She liked her lingerie to have a bit more color, not just black and white, because her life was too monotonous. Hidden under conventional clothes, she wanted to have her own small rebellions.

Sometimes she felt that what she really needed wasn’t a moment of intense, supreme satisfaction, but just a slight deviation from her daily life.

Lin Yiwei looked into the mirror, gently touched herself, and her gaze was enticing.

…

Xie Bo sat on an armchair, swirling a glass of brandy in his hand, calmly admiring the girl behind the dark glass, sipping slowly.

Without a doubt, she knew he was watching her.

But far from minding, she was even willing to show more.

This was her true self, the one who, filled with a spirit of adventure that night, had taken him home and had her way with him.

He slightly curved his lips, his eyes dreamily fixed on the girl in the mirror, finishing his glass of brandy, letting his ego expand unbounded.

Yet, he did not touch.

He enjoyed this feeling of restraint.

The next morning, sunlight woke the girl from her vivid dreams.

Waking up to sunlight was the most delightful thing.

However, her previous room, a converted fully-enclosed storage space, never got any sunlight.

Lin Yiwei put on her slippers and noticed an extra pair of crutches in the room, likely prepared especially for her.

Although her leg wasn’t injured to the extent of needing crutches, she could barely walk with the support, but her ankle still throbbed painfully.

With the aid of the crutches, her right leg relieved from pressure, walking became much easier.

Lin Yiwei, leaning on the crutches, walked out of her room, looking for Xie Bo.

The room was empty and vast, and she wasn’t even sure if he was still at home.

Lin Yiwei approached the door and, following Xie Bo’s previous method, activated the AI housekeeper to request the door be opened.

However, the housekeeper’s cold voice denied her: “Sorry, your request requires higher authorization.”

Lin Yiwei negotiated with the AI for a long time, but it kept repeating the same line: no authorization, no opening the door.

So, Xie Bo had locked her inside the house.

What was he trying to do?

Lin Yiwei pulled out her phone and angrily called Xie Bo, demanding, “You actually locked the door? What are you doing? Let me out! Xie Bo, you can’t just lock me up like this, it’s illegal!”

Xie Bo listened silently as the girl vented her irritation upon waking, and then lazily spoke—

“Now, go to the door and try pressing down on the handle.”

Half-doubtful, Lin Yiwei pressed down the door handle, and click, the door opened.

“…”

“Idiot,” he mocked softly.

“I… I thought it was controlled by the AI.”

“Thinking you’re not used to the smart system, I switched it to manual mode,” Xie Bo insulted again, “Are you a pig?”

“You’re the pig!” In the classroom, Li Du, who was attending the class unofficially, turned his head to look at Xie Bo.

No need to guess, everyone knew who he was talking to.

He had never seen him bicker so childishly with anyone before.

“Do the two of you together make it over ten years old?”

Xie Bo reached out and pushed his head, turning it back around.

Lin Yiwei then asked, “Where are you?”

“I’m in class, of course,” Xie Bo replied playfully. “I’m a good student who gets scholarships every year, I never miss a class, and all the professors like me.”

“You’re really outstanding,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Thank you, feel free to learn from me.”

“But isn’t today Saturday?”

“It’s a public lecture.”

“Oh.”

Xie Bo absentmindedly twirled his pen: “Yi Shiqi said your leg needs rest, don’t go out wandering, there are ingredients in the fridge, you can cook for yourself.”

“I don’t know how to cook.”

“Order takeout, the housekeeper will bring it up.”

“I have no money.”

“Then starve to death, I’ll come back to collect your corpse tonight.”

“…”

“I’m heading back to school now.”

“My advice is, you better stay home this weekend, and not show up at school, if you don’t want Chi Xicheng to find out that the little cutie who escaped from him that night was you.”

Lin Yiwei looked at the bandages wrapped around her foot and realized the severity of her situation. No, it wasn’t just Chi Xicheng that was the problem, but rather Chi Xiyu, who lived across from her dorm. She couldn’t explain the leg injury to Chi Xiyu without arousing suspicion. Her ankle was gradually swelling down; she could manage without crutches but still couldn’t walk normally. Xie Bo was right; she really should rest for a couple more days.

Living in a spacious, luxurious flat like Ramon Apartments was a top-level comfort experience that Lin Yiwei, who was used to living in rented flats and small apartments, had never had before. She sat on the soft sofa in the living room for a while, but curiosity got the better of her and she started exploring.

“Wei Wei: Xie Bo, can I use your oven to bake some cupcakes?”

“Thin: Feel free, but clean up after.”

“Wei Wei: Xie Bo, can I play your VR game?”

“Thin: Go ahead.”

“Wei Wei: What’s behind the hidden door? Can I visit?”

“Thin: Any room that’s not locked is fine.”

“Wei Wei: What about the locked rooms? Are you hiding gold bars? Can I steal them?”

“Thin: If you manage to steal them, they’re yours.”

“Wei Wei: Really? Then I’m going to make a key!”

“Thin: Find the key to my heart and not just gold bars, but I’m yours too.”

“Wei Wei: … I threw up for ten minutes, can you believe that?”

“Thin: Are you pregnant with my kid?”

“Wei Wei: Pregnant with your [pig head]”

“Thin: [pig head][pig head][pig head]”

“Wei Wei: Aren’t you supposed to be in class, a model student? Yet you reply to me instantly.”

“Thin: Then please stop disturbing me.”

“Wei Wei: Who is disturbing whom!”

Lin Yiwei put down her phone, annoyed by their exchange. However, scrolling through the chat history, she and Xie Bo really did have endless conversations. She wasn’t usually an outgoing person, apart from her brother, she’d never been so chatty with anyone else. Lin Yiwei attributed it to Xie Bo being annoying.

At lunchtime, the building’s housekeeper knocked on her door, saying that Mr. Xie had ordered a meal for her. Then, Lin Yiwei watched as several men dressed in white chef’s uniforms came in and prepared a lively Boston lobster on the large island counter in front of her. She suddenly remembered mentioning offhandedly one night in Lugang Town that she had never eaten Boston lobster.

Often, her conversations with Xie Bo were somewhat playful. Xie Bo actually took her seriously.

“Wei Wei: Oh my God! [Image][Image]”

“Thin: Have them make you a seafood sauce.”

“Wei Wei: Don’t be so nice to me, otherwise I’ll feel bad about scolding you.”

“Thin: Cheap bones.”

“Wei Wei: Who are you calling cheap bones?”

“Thin: You think I’d fall for that? [Smile]”

Throughout the morning, Li Du helplessly watched as Xie Bo alternated between reading a book and checking his phone, sometimes turning on his screen to keep it active even when no messages had come in, as if he was waiting for something.

It was almost too much. “Boss Xie, you really like her, huh?”

Xie Bo’s lips curled up involuntarily, then he spoke disdainfully, “Is that possible? She’s foolish and stubborn, doesn’t wear makeup, and her clothes are ugly. What’s there to like about her? I’d rather like a pig than her.”

No need to explain that much, it’s pretty obvious he’s trying to hide his feelings.

After lunch, Lin Yiwei received a call from Ye Anning—

“Weiwei, how are you now? Are you okay? I asked around, and Chi Xicheng still thinks the person who escaped from them was me. I heard you fell from the second floor yesterday, I was so worried! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just twisted my leg a bit. How about you?”

“I went straight home last night. I told my dad about it, and he was furious. He ordered me not to contact Xie Bo… or anyone from the Chi family again.”

“So you…”

“Of course, I’ll listen to my dad. Last night’s incident scared me so much I couldn’t sleep all night. I really… I don’t want to get involved with them anymore. I tried to get a boyfriend but ended up risking myself, it’s just not worth it.”

Ye Anning is genuinely naive, like a piece of white paper untouched by dye.

She has loving parents and a nurturing environment where she never steps wrong.

Lin Yiwei can only feel envious.

“It’s good you think that way.”

“By the way, where are you now? I want to see you to make sure you’re okay.”

Knowing it was she who had called Xie Bo, and understanding there was no point in hiding it, Lin Yiwei simply said, “I’m at Ramon Apartments.”

On the other end of the phone, Ye Anning hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, “Can we meet? I really want to talk to you about this.”

“That should be okay, but I can’t walk far.””Then I’ll come to your building!”

At the coffee shop below Ramon Apartments, Ye Anning met Lin Yiwei.

She was wearing Xie Bo’s grey oversized hoodie and long pants.Xie Bo’s clothes were clearly too large for her, especially since she was petite, giving her a ruggedly cool look.

Ye Anning, seeing the crutch beside her, felt overwhelmed with guilt.

If it weren’t for her timely appearance last night, if she hadn’t swapped clothes with her to distract everyone and help her escape.

The thought of what might have happened was too frightening to consider.

“I heard you jumped from an upper floor, did you hurt your leg? Is it serious? How are you now?”

“It’s just a twisted ankle, nothing serious.”

“Last night… why did you help me? Aren’t you a friend of Chi Xiyu?” Her eyes were red.

“Actually, I wasn’t really helping you,” Lin Yiwei didn’t want her to feel too guilty; she always disliked accepting people’s gratitude—it made her uncomfortable—”it was my own demons.”

“I really don’t understand you.”

“That’s okay, I’m not important.”

“What’s going on with you and Xie Bo then? Why did he bring you back to Ramon Apartments?”

Lin Yiwei heard that Ye Anning’s tone was no longer accusatory, just purely curious, seeking an answer.

She remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself.

“With all that’s happened with Chi Xiyu, you still won’t tell me the truth?” Ye Anning looked at her earnestly, “I know you’re not the person I thought you were. If you were, you wouldn’t have risked your life to save me.”

“Do you really need to know the truth?” Lin Yiwei picked up her teacup, moistening her dry lips, “Let’s pretend last night never happened, go ahead with cutting ties, and we’ll have no dealings in the future. As for Xie Bo, chase him if you want, or leave it if you don’t. It has nothing to do with me…”

“Weiwei, you might think I’m naive, but I trust my judgment of character. I wanted to be your friend not because you had any ulterior motives to get close to me or to please me, but because I believe you are a good girl worth befriending, someone with a lot of beauty inside her.”

“I’m not…” Lin Yiwei’s hand suddenly tightened, “Ye Anning, I’m not.”

Ye Anning grabbed her hand, “Weiwei, tell me the truth, I can help you, just give me a little trust.”

Trust…After all these years, except for Lin Xie, she hadn’t trusted anyone.

Trust is such a luxury.

“Yiyi, you need to look to the distance.” Lin Xie’s gentle voice echoed in her ears again.

He wanted her to believe that there were still beautiful scenes in the world, to prevent her from getting stuck in the mire and confining herself.

She looked up, her eyes meeting those of the earnest girl with furrowed brows.

“Do you really want to help me?”

“You saved my life yesterday, please, what could be more important than that?”

Finally, Lin Yiwei decided to take a chance this time because she needed Ye Anning’s help.

Fighting alone was just too hard.

She told Ye Anning everything without reservation, including how she had carefully planned to get close to Chi Xiyu and investigate her brother’s whereabouts.

As long as Ye Anning was willing to help, the current dilemma would be resolved swiftly.

After listening to Lin Yiwei’s story, especially about the truth concerning Lin Xie, Ye Anning fell into deep thought.

Lin Yiwei watched her nervously.If she lost this bet, she would lose everything.

As time ticked by, Ye Anning’s brows relaxed and tightened, tightened and relaxed, as if she was struggling with something.

Lin Yiwei felt like a traveler walking on the edge of a cliff, feeling the howling wind by her ears, her heart pounding.

After a moment, Ye Anning said, “I didn’t expect things to be so complicated. I’m a bit scared and don’t really want to stir up trouble. But they bullied me yesterday too, and I’m not someone to be trifled with. Lin Yiwei, I will help you investigate your brother’s case to the end.”

Her grip eased suddenly.

“Thank you…” Lin Yiwei took another sip of tea, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.”There’s no need to be so formal between good friends.””Good friends…””You, being such an awkward girl, probably never had a real good friend before, right? Funny, neither have I.” Ye Anning reached out and grasped her slightly sweaty hand—”I think we’ll get along just fine.”