A beautiful summer night

To alleviate her puberty symptoms, Xia Wanzhi dragged Zhu Zi to stroll around the night market. When they got home at nine o'clock in the evening, she never expected to run into Xie Qiyan in the elevator.

Such coincidences are better left alone.

Xia Wanzhi stepped into the elevator, suppressing her unease.

"What a coincidence, Teacher Xia is back from her vacation?" Xie Qiyan stood behind her and spoke casually, his gaze slightly lowered as he lazily greeted her, staring at the shopping bags that were bulging in her left and right hands.

Xia Wanzhi stiffly forced a smile: "Yes, yes, what a coincidence."

Sensing a hint of gritted teeth, Xie Qiyan chuckled in exasperation.

It's also his fault; he's been teasing her way too much lately.

"Give it to me." Xie Qi reached out to take the things from her hands.

The object was quite heavy, and it made her fingers turn slightly white from the pressure.

Just as Xia Wanzhi was about to refuse, she saw him take it away with remarkable ease.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

This person just can't shake his habit of using his hands.

Upon arriving home, Xia Wanzhi went ahead to scan her fingerprint. As she approached, she noticed an extra box at the door. The box wasn't large and didn't have any shipping labels, but it had the number 2701 written on it with a marker.

"What's wrong?" Xie Qiyan stood behind her, noticing her puzzled expression, and immediately guessed that she didn't know who had delivered the box at the door.

Xia Wanzhi picked it up and weighed it in her hand: "I don't know who gave it to me."

"Hmm, I wonder which random guy gave it to me," Xie Qiyan said coolly, alluding to a certain ex-girlfriend surnamed Zhou.

The Zhou family is extremely snobbish. Once they learn that Xia Wanzhi is the little princess of the Becker family, they will definitely fawn over her.

The person secretly delivering the gifts anonymously could only be guessed to be someone from the Zhou family.

Xia Wanzhi glared at him, opened the door and went inside, intending to find a knife to open the box.

She needs to know what's inside to figure out who sent it, but she won't let anything unfamiliar into her house.

After Xie Qiyan carried the items inside, he placed half on the table and the other half in the refrigerator, according to their categories.

As Xia Wanzhi walked towards the door, she kept an eye on his movements. Suddenly remembering something, she turned back, took out a box of shrimp dumplings he had put in the refrigerator, and gave it to him: "Yours."

She had eaten with him several times, and it was obvious that Xie Qiyan loved shrimp dumplings. She saw them at the night market tonight and bought some on a whim.

"It's still warm, you can have it as a midnight snack later." Xia Wanzhi said awkwardly, then grabbed the knife and ran to the door.

Hmm, I'm a little nervous.

Xie Qiyan's lips gradually curved into a smile, and he raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose to hide his undisguised joy.

"Ah—" In an instant, a terrified scream and the sound of a box hitting the ground came from the doorway.

Upon hearing the sound, Xie Qiyan abruptly dropped what he was holding and quickly ran over.

"Ahhhhhh, Xie Qiyan—" Xia Wanzhi was so frightened that her face turned pale. After opening the package and seeing what was inside, she felt a chill run down her spine. She screamed instinctively and turned to go back into the house, only to bump her head into Xie Qiyan's hard chest.

"What's wrong……"

The familiar embrace and voice were right beside her. Before Xie Qiyan could even speak, Xia Wanzhi jumped onto him and clung to him, her scalp tingling. She cried and trembled, saying, "I was so scared... so... so scared..."

Her arms tightened around Xie Qiyan's waist, and her legs clamped tightly around his waist. Xia Wanzhi's mind went blank.

At the entrance, a blood-stained box was thrown out, and a terrifying doll covered in needles rolled out of the box, its two round eyes staring in their direction.

Xie Qiyan's expression darkened instantly upon seeing that, his eyes filled with a sinister chill and anger.

It seems like a storm is brewing.

Supporting Xia Wanzhi with one hand, Xie Qiyan closed the door and carried her back to the living room sofa. At the same time, he made a tense call to Yu Fei: "Ten minutes. Come over with Huo Yang and take care of the things at the door."

There are not many times when Yu Fei and Huo Yang are used together on the same matter.

Yu Fei guessed the importance of the matter and dared not delay for a moment.

Xie Qiyan didn't say anything more. When the people came over and saw what was at the door, they knew what to do.

Startled, Xia Wanzhi buried her face in Xie Qiyan's shoulder and neck to calm herself down, her tears soaking his clothes and the skin on his neck.

Xia Wanzhi is not a public figure, and given the strict access control at Lanting Villa, no one would have expected to encounter something like this.

Xie Qiyan tried to put her on the sofa, but Xia Wanzhi held on tightly, her body trembling slightly. She choked out her plea, "I'm scared, please don't go..."

Xie Qiyan felt as if he had been shot in the heart, and his breathing became disordered due to the pain: "I won't go, don't be afraid, I won't go."

Standing there like he was holding a child, Xie Qiyan gently patted Xia Wanzhi's back, and as he patted her, he unconsciously swayed his body from side to side.

Like coaxing a child.

Xie Qiyan didn't say a word, waiting for Xia Wanzhi to slowly come back to her senses and recover.

After hearing no more sobbing, Xie Qiyan carried the person towards the kitchen, washed a cup with one hand, and filled half a cup with warm water from the water dispenser.

"Teacher Xia, come down and have some water to calm your nerves, okay?" Xie Qiyan tilted his head and rubbed his forehead against her ear.

Xia Wanzhi suddenly tightened her arms around him again.

This time, I was electrocuted.

Xia Wanzhi, who had calmed down, was completely heartbroken. Her head was buried in Xie Qiyan's shoulder and neck, and she had no idea how to lift her head up.

What inhuman things has she done?

They've lost face so badly they're practically throwing it into the Pacific Ocean.

"Teacher Xia, be good." Xie Qiyan's deep voice still rang in my ears.

"Teacher Xia? Little Maruko? Can you please say something?" Xie Qiyan continued to coax.

Xia Wanzhi let out a muffled sound: "Stop talking."

Knowing that she had come to her senses, Xie Qiyan breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but chuckle: "Be good."

Xia Wanzhi obediently raised her head, her eyes red from crying, looking pitiful, with wet teardrops still clinging to her eyelashes.

Sniffing, Xia Wanzhi's eyes immediately turned awkwardly to the point of not knowing where to look when she saw the patch of clothing on Xie Qiyan's left shoulder that she had ravaged.

"I will find out tonight who it is. No matter who it is, he won't get away." Xie Qiyan held her with one arm and used the other to wipe her wet eyes. He was clearly suppressing his anger and apologized to Xia Wanzhi in a gentle tone, "I'm sorry."

Xia Wanzhi wanted to cry again, and subconsciously buried herself in his arms: "Why are you apologizing? I was the one who wanted to open the box."

“How could the princess open the box herself? As a knight, I neglected my duty and should be punished,” Xie Qiyan said, still trying to coax her.

Knowing that he was just joking to coax her, Xia Wanzhi's ears burned, and she muttered, "My hands are dirty, take me to wash them."

Xie Qiyan turned and walked to the kitchen. Xia Wanzhi finally let go of him and got off, squeezing a handful of hand soap and rubbing her hands vigorously.

Her hands weren't dirty, but the thought of opening the box made her feel physically nauseous.

Xie Qiyan went to get the water he had filled, and seeing her washing her hands in a fit of anger, he immediately reached out and blocked the faucet to stop her.

His hands were wide, and one hand covered the back of her hand. He then gently guided her movements until the foam was rinsed off. He turned off the tap and brought the water to her lips: "Princess, drink some water."

Xia Wanzhi blinked her bright red eyes and stared straight at him, then took the cup and gulped down the half-cup of water.

Suddenly, I had the illusion of returning to my childhood.