Zong Yanxi followed Guan Jing’s line of sight and explained, “My friend was here.”
Guan Jing asked, “Male or female?”
Startled by his question, Zong Yanxi scratched her head but chose to answer truthfully, “Male.”
After that, Guan Jing ordered the two men to wait outside while he entered the room alone and continued probing, “Did he stay the night here?”
Zong Yanxi closed the door and told him the truth once again. “Yes.”
After hearing her answer, Guan Jing glanced at her with obvious surprise flashing across his eyes.
Zong Yanxi scratched her head helplessly when she realized that he was overthinking things.
“This friend of mine was the one who saved me back then. He was in a bad mood yesterday, so he came here for some drinks. In the end, he had one too many, and I felt uneasy letting him go home alone, so I let him crash here for the night.” Then, she pointed at the couch. There was a blanket strewn across it, looking like someone had slept on it.
Guan Jing, too, realized that he had been overthinking it. She was someone who had suffered emotionally. Hence, it wasn’t likely that she would act recklessly.
With that thought in mind, he sat down.
Zong Yanxi then queried, “Uncle Guan, have you eaten?”
Guan Jing nodded.
“I saw that you brought two men with you. Who are they?”
Just as the question left Zong Yanxi’s lips, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw Gu Xian’s caller ID flashing across the screen. When she saw that it was Gu Xian, her eyebrows were raised in surprise. Didn’t he just leave?
She swiped to answer the call.
“Yanxi, are you alright?”
Gu Xian’s anxious voice sounded the moment the call connected.
At the other end of the phone, Zong Yanxi was at a loss for words.
What’s with this guy? She thought to herself as confusion settled over her.
“Gu Xian, what’s wrong with you?”
“Oh. N-Nothing.” Gu Xian had already climbed the stairs up to this floor by then. He saw the two men standing guard outside the door and noticed that her voice sounded completely normal, nowhere near someone who was in trouble. Thus, he tentatively asked, “Do you want to come outside?”
Zong Yanxi fell silent once again.
“Didn’t I already tell you that I’m staying at the hotel to work?”
“Oh, I forgot. Are you alone in your room now?”
The moment he asked that question, Zong Yanxi began to sense something amiss. “Gu Xian, what are you trying to ask?”
“Nothing. I was just afraid that you’d be bored all alone in the room. Do you want me to take you to the movies?”
“It’s fine. I have some stuff to do, so I’m hanging up now…”
“Wait. Are you really alright?”
“I’m fine. I’m hanging up now.”
“Oh.”
Right after that, the familiar beeping sound came from the other end of the line. Gu Xian stood around the corner and stared at the door, not leaving just yet. He wanted to see whether the man who knocked on her door just now would come out of her room.
That way, he would be able to confirm if Zong Yanxi really knew him.
If she did, why didn’t she say so when I told her that I saw him last night?
Meanwhile, back in the room, Zong Yanxi had just put down her phone.
Guan Jing asked, “Was it that friend of yours who was in a bad mood?”
Zong Yanxi mumbled a “yes” with her head bowed.
After all, she knew about Gu Xian’s identity but was keeping it from both sides.
She was in a dilemma, unable to decide whether or not to tell Guan Jing.
Just then, Guan Jing abruptly said, “I’ve thought about what you said last time.”
In truth, he had asked Zong Jinghao for his take on it.
“I won’t intervene in the matters regarding Jiang Mohan. You can do whatever you want, but you must allow the two men outside to stay by your side at all times.”
Zong Yanxi knew that when Guan Jing said that he had thought about it; It actually meant that he had asked for her parents’ opinions.
She sighed inwardly. For the sake of my own dignity.
“Thank you, Uncle Guan,” Zong Yanxi said with a smile.
With that, Guan Jing steered them back to the topic. “Let the two men outside come in. The three of you should get well-acquainted with each other. Both of them are quite skilled. With them by your side, they can protect you and help you with anything. You can just order them to do whatever you find difficult for you to personally do.”
Zong Yanxi didn’t refuse because she knew that for Guan Jing to back off, she would have to allow those two men to remain. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t agree to let her exact revenge on Jiang Mohan by herself.
Thus, she stood up to open the door.
