Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

It was nearly midnight when the group returned to the hotel.

The entire building darkened, with a soft, dim light illuminating the corridors. It was very quiet, with only the soft sounds of doors opening and closing.

Wu Wei took a bath, his hair still wet, and then lay back on the bed.

Water droplets seeped into his pillow from his hair as he stared blankly at the dim yellow halo around the ceiling.

The amount of information that day was overwhelming: he killed a member of the Wang family and encountered a member of the Zhang family who recognized his bloodline.

The man's words before he left felt strange to him. What did he mean by "We're coming to see you"? How many people were coming?

Wu Wei was restless; with 999 not around, he didn't even have anyone to consult.

"Knock knock." A knocking sound rang out.

Wu Wei rolled off the bed to open the door.

Xie Yuchen stood at the door, her hair half-dry, looking like she had just taken a shower.

Wu Wei stepped aside to let him in. "Xiao Hua? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Xie Yuchen's gaze fell on Wu Wei, and she spoke very directly.

"I have something to ask you."

Wu Wei sat cross-legged on the bed and pointed to the chair next to him.

Xie Yuchen sat down and looked directly at Wu Wei.

"Why did you stop when that person grabbed me in the grave today?"

Wu Wei hadn't expected that this was the question he was going to ask.

He recalled for a moment and said matter-of-factly, "What's the big deal? You got arrested."

"Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?" Xie Yuchen pressed, her tone carrying a kind of bewilderment that Wu Wei couldn't quite understand.

"That person is very powerful. If you stop, and he tries to kill you, can you escape?"

"I'm not injured, am I?" Wu Wei said with a smile, his tone relaxed.

Xie Yuchen didn't laugh. Looking at the indifference in Wu Wei's eyes, he suddenly said, "These actions are foolish."

Wu Wei instinctively sensed that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, so he tilted his head and deliberately dragged out his question:

"Xiaohua, are you saying I'm stupid?"

Xie Yuchen didn't respond to his joke and continued to look at him seriously.

Those eyes held a heavy weight, causing Wu Wei's smile to slowly fade.

Wu Wei sighed, his tone becoming more serious:

"Didn't you also intervene when you saw someone attacking me?"

Xie Yuchen frowned slightly: "This is different."

"What's different?" Wu asked rhetorically.

"You saved me," Xie Yuchen said.

The words he spoke carried a weight that hadn't faded over the years.

Looking at his solemn expression, Wu Wei suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for his personality.

She softened her voice, a hint of helplessness mixed with gentleness: "So what? When you were protecting me, you were also saving me."

Xie Yuchen remained silent for a long time.

He remembered Wu Wei saying "I am willing to go to the Yellow Springs with Xiao Dangjia" when he saved him, remembered crying his heart out in Wu Wei's arms, and remembered Wu Wei telling him "Xiao Hua will also turn bad luck into good and live a peaceful life."

He consolidated his position in the Xie family and made himself stronger, partly to survive, and partly with the hope that one day he could stand in a higher position and repay this kindness.

But today, when that young man grabbed him by the throat, Wu Wei stopped and pulled him behind him again.

Just like back then.

But it's different.

As a child, Xie Yuchen regarded Wu Wei as a savior who had fallen from the sky, a symbol of "kindness" and "safety".

But Xie Yuchen is no longer the fearful child she once was.

He had seen too much of the unpredictability of people's hearts and knew that there was no such thing as kindness without a reason, and that behind every act of goodwill there might be hidden agendas.

Xie Yuchen murmured, "Why don't you repay this kindness? You know, if you just asked, the Xie family would agree to anything..."

Wu Wei was somewhat helpless when he asked him that question.

You can't exactly say that you have a natural affinity for them just because you know their stories, can you?

Wu Wei thought for a moment and came up with a plausible explanation: "It's probably because... I told you when you were little that you would turn bad luck into good and live a peaceful life."

Wu Weichong and Xie Yuchen smiled and said, "I'm paying for the blessing I made when I was a child."

Xie Yuchen felt as if something had gently bumped into her chest.

Those feelings of admiration and gratitude he had kept sealed away for many years, began to loosen at this moment.

What is revealed after loosening is not an empty sense of relief, but something softer and more real.

When Wu Wei was a child, a seed was planted in his heart. A handful of water splashed on him made the seed sprout.

The figure blocking his way was both similar to and distinct from his childhood self, and the overlapping memories allowed the seeds in his heart to blossom.

A flower that blooms for one person only.

Xie Yuchen stared intently at Wu Wei.

Wu Wei sat cross-legged on the bed, his hair still wet and messy, wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt, bathed in warm yellow light.

"Wu Wei," he suddenly called out.

Wu Wei looked up: "Hmm?"

"Do you treat everyone like this?" Xie Yuchen heard her own voice tighten slightly.

He knew it was inappropriate to ask that question.

But he couldn't help it.

Wu Wei scratched his head: "No, I don't think so."

Xie Yuchen recalled Wu Wei's unrestrained and radiant laughter on the raft.

At that time, he felt that Wu Wei was like the sun and also like the wind.

Looking back now, perhaps the sun and the wind didn't belong to one person, and he didn't know if he could keep him.

When he was a child, his master taught him to sing opera, and he said that the most common story in operas was that one person fell in love with another.

At that time, he didn't understand why such things were always portrayed in such an earth-shattering way in plays.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

For those who are moved by such a thing, it is an earth-shattering event.

Xie Yuchen couldn't help but stand up, take a step forward, bend down, stretch out her arms, and gently hug Wu Wei.

Wu Wei was a little uncomfortable with the sudden hug.

He wanted to step back, but felt Xie Yuchen's arm tighten a little, so he didn't move.

He raised his hand and patted Xie Yuchen's back twice to comfort him.

Then Wu Wei froze.

Something soft and warm brushed against his earlobe.

Extremely light, extremely short, carrying the temperature and humidity of breathing.

Wu Wei opened his eyes wide, unsure if it was just his imagination.

Xie Yuchen withdrew from the embrace, her gentle and calm eyes now seeming to be ignited by something.

He looked at Wu Wei, who was standing there in a daze, and slowly curved his lips into a smile that Wu Wei had never seen before.

A straightforward laugh, tinged with warmth and possessiveness.

Xie Yuchen spoke softly, each word clear: "Brother Wu Wei, please care about me a little more."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Wu Wei again, and there was something in that glance that Wu Wei still couldn't understand.

Then he turned around, walked calmly out of the room, and gently closed the door.

Wu Wei sat on the edge of the bed, frozen in the same position as when he was being embraced.

His hand was still patting his back, suspended in mid-air, his peach blossom eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

Wu Wei raised his hand and touched his earlobe. A faint warmth still lingered on that skin.

"no--"

Wu Wei opened his mouth, uttering a bewildered question to the air, "What was that just now...?"

No one answered him.

The room was so quiet that only the low hum of the air conditioner could be heard.

Wu Wei slowly leaned back on the bed and raised his arm to cover his eyes.

"...What the heck is that?"