Chapter 57: Into His Embrace

Qiao Yanli remained quiet and stoic when he saw that Xu Lingwei was tagging along. His face became even colder. Since he was a man that rarely smiled, it only made him more distant, displaying a loner kind of vibe.

“Yanli, there’s a brand new Chinese restaurant near the school. Shall we eat there?”

When Qiao Yanli was not exuding his charm to attract people, he became a cold, emotionless being. It made her feel intimidated, afraid even.

Qiao Yanli went to the car and pulled the door open.

“Get in the car first.”

Xia Yanxi could only nod and smile.

“Alright then. You pick, but I’m treating!”

Xia Yanxi and Xu Lingwei got into the car, after which Qiao Yanli hurried to the other side, clearly wanting to sit beside her.

When they were all in the car, Qiao Yanli hastily announced an address Xia Yanxi knew all too well. It was the place where she worked part-time as a pianist in the evenings. When she knew where they were headed to, she could not help but flinch. That restaurant was known to be extremely pricey, with the cheapest meal priced at tens of thousands of dollars. Could he be punishing her for whatever wrongdoing she did?

The car was silent. No one dared to even breathe out loud as the atmosphere was as cold as the frozen tundra. Xu Lingwei and Xia Yanxi could not even breath normally as they chose to be mindful of their behavior, fearing that anything they did would anger the man.

After the car had been parked, Xia Yanxi and Xu Lingwei held hands and followed Qiao Yanli to the elevator. It was full of people as it was lunch hour.

The elevator stopped on many floors, gradually being filled with more and more people. Xia Yanxi was forced to the back of the elevator to accommodate the others. She did not realize it but there was another middle-aged man standing behind her. Seeing as how beautiful she was, he extended his wrinkly old hands and brushed them against the back of her hands. Xia Yanxi was taken aback by the sudden contact. She turned to the man and saw a conceited look as the man crossed his arms, looking all proud as if he was not doing anything wrong. She thought that it might have been an accident, but a few seconds later, the man came in again, extending his boney fingers toward her lower back.

Before he could even get close enough to cope a feel, another hand came in and grabbed his wrist with a snake-like grip. With a quick twist, the older man groaned loudly.

Angry and outraged, the older man glared at the owner of the hand. However, when his eyes met with the stone-cold pair of eyes that was Qiao Yanli’s, he was frozen stiff. The older man was clearly a member of the higher society as he could recognize the branding of the man’s entire outfit. He quietened down, enduring the pain and immediately becoming mute.

Qiao Yanli only let the man go when he decided to behave like the old man he was. He then shimmied his way across the tightly packed elevator and stood proudly next to Xia Yanxi. He wrapped his arms around Xia Yanxi’s thin waist and pulled her close into his body. If anyone dared to come close, they would have to cross Qiao Yanli.

Even with high heels, the man was towering over her. Her soft nose landed on his white undershirt that had the top two buttons unbuttoned. She was basically plastered to the man. Even thought they were clothed, she could hear the man’s steady heartbeat.

With him holding her close, no one dared to touch her. Feeling extremely protected, she raised her head to meet the man’s line of sight. When he looked back at her, she could not help but to avert her gaze to his chin. His supple lips and chiseled jawline were inviting, and her heart started to beat slightly faster.

At that moment, as she could smell the man’s scent, all she wanted to do was to extend her own arms and wrap them around his body.

Ding.

The elevator had arrived at the destined floor, and only when all other the passengers had gotten off did he let the woman go. As he too got off the elevator, leaving the girl to herself, Xia Yanxi lifted her hands as if she could see the fleeting warmth from his embrace. Her face became red and slightly warmer. She fanned herself and mumbled, “Is it me, or it is hot in here?”

Xu Lingwei chuckled.

“It’s just you. Or rather…” she paused for a bit, leaning in closer and lifted her hands gesturing an air quote, “You are feeling hot!”

***

Bai Wenxuan took the next elevator up to the infamous French restaurant that was famed to serve food that would cost an arm and a leg. He had been following Xia Yanxi ever since she got into a black Bentley, all the way to the French restaurant.

Along the way, he received a call from Huo Shiyu, telling him that she needed to have a talk with him. Instead, he cut the conversation short and had her drive herself to the aforementioned restaurant.

“Didn’t you say that the man was a gigolo? I just saw the make of the car they got into. That’s a Bentley! A car that costs more than millions! The man was wearing nothing but bespoke clothing! Could he secretly be a billionaire that we know nothing about?”

Huo Shiyu responded in disbelief.

“Not possible. We know every other rich folk in this city! At best, he could be the infamous young master of Qiao Group. He rarely appears in public and attends very few events. He has been a recluse. He is from a family that is far more prestigious than ours. Why would he marry my sister?”