Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

Upon hearing her mention Lin Qingmian, Ji Xingye paused for a moment before gradually calming down, his voice hoarse: "She was bullied in China."

When she was eighteen, he witnessed her being beaten until her mouth was covered in blood by her parents for breaking her sister Lin Qingqing's trophy in a competition.

He held her hand tenderly and swore to her, "From now on, I will never allow the Lin family to bully you again."

He still vividly remembers the way Lin Qingmian hugged him with such excitement that day, and the warmth of her body.

Now, she has been beaten by her mother again in the country.

But he was thousands of miles away from her...

"It really was for her."

Sister Chen scratched her hair in frustration.

For the past two years, every time Ji Xingye went crazy or lost control, it was because of that woman.

If she hadn't stopped him, he would never have gotten to where he is today.

"Hoshino."

She breathed a sigh of relief, turned on the bedside lamp, and said calmly, "I know you have deep feelings for him, and I also know you are not short of money, nor is the Ji family behind you."

"This film is tailor-made for you, a major production to help you enter the domestic film and television industry. The production team has already submitted your application for domestic awards, so winning an award is a sure thing."

"If you quit now, how will you survive in this industry?"

"Don't forget why you went abroad to develop your career in the first place."

"You're just giving up and going back like that. You did protect her, but will there be a future for you two?"

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Ji Xingye looked at the inky night outside, his knuckles white as he gripped his phone: "But Mianmian, she..."

"You can hire a domestic security company to protect her."

Sister Chen earnestly advised, "The finishing touches here will take at most two weeks."

"She's already waited for you for two years, what's two more weeks?"

Ji Xingye narrowed his eyes and pressed his thin lips together.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Alright, it's getting late."

Sister Chen yawned: "Get some rest. We have to reshoot action scenes tomorrow, so you need to be well-rested."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

How could Ke Xingye possibly sleep?

He sat on the sofa and watched the video Ji Xingqing had sent him on his phone over and over again.

Every time he watched it, it felt like Zhang Yuzhu's slap had landed on his face.

He stared intently at the middle-aged woman in the video.

He remembered this grudge against the Lin family.

He put away his phone and found the largest security company in Rongcheng online, and ordered a top-tier 24/7 protection package for Lin Qingmian.

After explaining the strict requirements to the security company, it was already dawn.

He still couldn't sleep, so he simply found an account he hadn't logged into in a long time and logged in.

This was an account he registered on Lin Qingmian's school forum when he was still in China.

Back then, he would log in every day to see her daily posts on the forum.

She would complain about how difficult the courses were and how bad the food in the cafeteria was, but she would also take photos and share the location of stray cats on campus with other students, and raise money with them to get the cats spayed or neutered...

He would secretly follow every post she made, trying to guess her mood and cheer her up.

But after they broke up two years ago, he never had the courage to spy on her life again.

He blocked some news about her, afraid that he wouldn't be able to resist and impulsively run back to China to find her.

Now, he finally mustered up the courage to log into his account again, wanting to see what she was up to.

To his surprise, Lin Qingmian's account had not been updated for two years.

But the forum is full of news about her.

The image of Zhang Yuzhu slapping her was captured by many people from different angles and went viral on forums.

To his surprise, the most popular post was titled: "[Freshman slapped by mother]".

Ji Xingye frowned. A freshman?

He couldn't resist replying on the forum: "Shouldn't she be a junior?"

She was a freshman in college when she went abroad two years ago.

Soon, someone replied to him: "Two years ago, she took a leave of absence from school and only returned six months ago. Because she was afraid of falling behind, she repeated her first year, so she is still a first-year student."

Ji Xingye stared blankly at the reply.

Taking a leave of absence to repeat my first year of university...

Is it... because of him?

The image of him crying his eyes out when he broke up with her two years ago flashed before her eyes.

She grabbed his arm: "Ji Xingye, if you leave, I'll have nothing left. I won't be able to live."

He forced back his emotions and pulled her arm away: "Mianmian, you're so sunny and cheerful, you'll be fine even without me."

That day, as he turned to walk through the security checkpoint, he heard her heart-wrenching sobs behind him...

My eyes inexplicably started to sting.

He exited the forum, pulled out an encrypted photo album on his phone, and gently stroked the woman's radiant smile on the screen, his voice hoarse: "Mianmian, wait for me."

This time back in China, no matter what the Ji family says, no matter what conditions the Lin family proposes...

He was determined to marry her and protect her!

……

Fuzhou.

Lin Qingmian had just returned to her apartment when she received a call from Fang Shiyang.

"Honey, the topic you suggested has been approved by our big boss."

Fang Shiyang's voice was excited on the other end of the phone: "However, he asked to meet with you. Do you have time recently?"

Lin Qingmian remained silent for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Can I refuse?"

She chose to use the name "Miss Sleepless" to work as an anonymous designer online because she didn't want to reveal her real identity.

The design circle in Rongcheng is only so big, and her previous reputation was too bad, so she was afraid of running into acquaintances.

"I think you should still come and meet him."

Fang Shiyang knew her concerns, but still sincerely suggested, "Our big boss is quite mysterious, and you are the first designer he wants to meet. I think you shouldn't give up this opportunity."

"Don't worry, if you don't want to reveal your identity, you can wear a hat and mask, and I'll keep it a secret for you the whole time."

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief: "Then please help me make the arrangements. I'm available anytime."

"good!"

Fang Shiyang said excitedly, "I'll go and coordinate a time with the boss's secretary right away, and I'll let you know when it's finalized."

"By the way, you still need to finish the design draft as soon as possible. We can't just talk about design concepts without any substance."

"I know."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingmian took a deep breath, pulled out a drawing board and paintbrushes from under the coffee table, and began to rethink and redesign.

When she gets busy, she loses track of time.

By the time the draft was tidied up and put away, it was already dark.

She got up and went to the kitchen.

As she opened the refrigerator door, the words Ji Linzhou had spoken when he brought her home at noon inexplicably echoed in her ears—

"I'll be coming back to stay starting tonight."

After hesitating for a moment, she closed the refrigerator door, changed her clothes, and went out to buy groceries.