He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

"I still don't think it's appropriate, Ruoruo," Lin Wanxun said seriously.

"It's not safe for two girls to live outside. You should go back home."

"Hiss—" Xia Ruo gasped.

Zhou Siyan gently bit her earlobe with his teeth.

"No, no," she tried to say, but her voice was already trembling.

"That neighborhood has great security...and it's close to the company, which is very convenient."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Ruo Ruo," Lin Wanxun's voice deepened, "Why does your voice sound strange? Are you feeling unwell?"

She was not feeling unwell.

She was just being tortured to death.

This pervert did it on purpose.

He was deliberately teasing her like that.

Xia Ruo raised her hand and grabbed Zhou Siyan's hair, running her fingers through his thick strands, and said in a voice that was almost crying:

"Zhou Siyan, that's enough."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Wanxun heard Xia Ruo's response for a long time, and her voice became noticeably anxious:

"Ruoruo? Are you still there? I'll come pick you up right away and take you to the hospital."

Zhou Siyan's eyes suddenly darkened, and he leaned close to Xia Ruo's ear, his voice carrying a dangerous undertone that sent chills down one's spine:

"You dare let him come over and try."

Xia Ruo's heart suddenly clenched:

"No, it's nothing, Brother Wanxun... it's just that my throat is a little sore. I'll talk to you later, I have some work to do."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Siyan hung up the phone and casually placed it on the table.

He lowered his head and looked at the girl in his arms, whose eyes were red, lips were trembling slightly, and who looked like a little kitten that had been bullied badly.

He raised his hand, his fingertips gently wiping the corner of her moist eye: "Why are you crying?"

Xia Ruo's tears seemed to have been completely unleashed by his question.

"Zhou Siyan, you're bullying me..." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

She lowered her head, buried her face in her palms, her shoulders trembled slightly, and she began to sob softly.

Zhou Siyan felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly.

He lowered his head and pressed his lips against her wet cheek, gently tracing the tear tracks on her face.

"Ruoruo, I'm not happy that he cares about you."

He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him: "You belong to me alone. Only I can care about you."

Xia Ruo's tears flowed even more fiercely.

Zhou Siyan sighed, her voice finally softening: "Don't cry. I was wrong."

"You bit my ear..." Xia Ruo's voice was muffled, with the nasal tone that comes with crying.

Zhou Siyan's Adam's apple bobbed, his gaze sliding from her eyes to her lips, then away.

He tightened his arms around her, pulling her close and resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Ruoruo, I like you. I have a desire—I want to touch you."

"And... I've already been refraining from kissing you."

After a long silence, Xia Ruo finally spoke, "Let go of me, I need to go to work."

Zhou Siyan did not move immediately.

"Baby," he gently stroked the back of her neck with his thumb, his touch filled with an irresistible tenderness.

"You need to get used to me being around you, get used to my closeness."

He paused, then said, "Starting today."

-

the other side.

Lin Wanxun stared at the disconnected phone, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.

The screen had gone dark, but he was still holding the phone, her last hurried words echoing in his ears: "I'll talk to you later"—as if she was rushing to hang up, or as if she couldn't say more.

Why? Why must you keep yourself at arm's length...?

Lin Wanxun slowly put down her phone, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

"Ruo Ruo..." he murmured, as softly as a sigh.

He recalled the first time he met Xia Ruo.

He was ten years old that year, and it was his last summer vacation before he went abroad to study.

He passed by the laundry room in the backyard of the Lin family and saw a thin girl squatting on the steps, holding a dirty stray cat in her arms.

The cat's leg was injured and bleeding. She clumsily bandaged it with torn pieces of her school uniform, muttering softly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it won't hurt."

She lowered her head, revealing a section of her fair, smooth nape, with wispy hair hanging down beside her ears and her eyelashes fluttering.

That's Xia Ruo. The daughter of the nanny, Zhang Meihua.

He stood at the corner for a long time, watching until she finished bandaging herself, looked up, and stared at him intently with her peach blossom eyes. Then she suddenly frowned and walked towards him.

She took a few steps and her gaze fell on his knee—a patch of skin had been scraped and was bleeding, which he hadn't even noticed himself.

"You're Wanwan's brother, right?" She looked up at him. "I'm Xia Ruo. Brother, your leg is injured, doesn't it hurt?"

She pulled him to sit on the steps, took out the last Band-Aid from her school uniform pocket, tore off the wrapper, and carefully applied it to his bleeding knee.

"Brother, you should tell someone if you get hurt," she said, her eyes lowered as she carefully smoothed out the wrinkles in the band-aid.

"You're not a kitten; you have to speak up if you're in pain."

That summer, it seems, changed from that moment on.

Later, the cat recovered from its injuries and stayed in the Lin family's backyard. It gained weight, its fur became glossy and smooth, and it wouldn't be friendly to anyone—

Only when it sees Xia Ruo will it rub against her, roll over on its belly, and make purring noises.

Before Lin Wanxun went abroad, the last time she saw that cat was lying at Xia Ruo's feet, sunbathing.

She was looking down at her book, her fingers idly stroking the cat's chin. Sunlight fell on her eyelashes, making her look absolutely beautiful.

Lin Wanxun felt her heart tremble violently twice at that moment.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Later, while abroad, he heard from his friends that Xia Ruo had changed.

They said she was a gold digger, a swindler, and took advantage of Wanwan; they said her face was her only asset; they said she was no good at all.

Those words, like the wind, blew over from across the ocean, making his chest feel heavy.

He was somewhat disappointed. But more than that, he felt an indescribable...heartache.

He always felt that she wasn't like that—she shouldn't be like that.

How could that little girl who was squatting on the steps bandaging the cat become the kind of person others are talking about?

They met again at the Lin family home after returning to China.

She sat quietly on the sofa, holding a glass of juice in her hand. Her peach blossom eyes were slightly lowered, her eyelashes were thick, and her lips were a beautiful light pink that looked good even without lipstick.

She was wearing a white T-shirt, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she looked clean and tidy, without any scheming or aggression.

At that moment, he met the little girl from his memory.

He suddenly realized: no matter what she became, no matter what others said, the place in his heart would always belong to her.

Moreover, he gradually discovered that she didn't like to bother others at all.

Those rumors about her—that she was a gold digger, a swindler, or vain—seem utterly baseless in the face of her quiet aloofness and stubbornness.

He suddenly understood. Those rumors were Xia Ruo's way of protecting herself.

Lin Wanxun opened her eyes, and the light in them dimmed for a moment.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, can you help me find apartments near Dingxin Media?"

It seems to be company-provided accommodation for employees. Yes, let's check the name of the complex and its security situation.

He paused for a moment, then his knuckles slowly tightened.

"Check again to find out who owns the property in that apartment."

The person on the other end of the phone responded and then hung up.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on the photo frame on the corner of the table.

The photo in the frame shows a chubby orange cat dozing at the girl's feet.