Xu Zhe had been questioned before and knew this was the young master of the Xia family. He instinctively feared the authoritative aura around Xia Xianning and, caught red-handed doing something wrong, was scared stiff like a quail, trembling as he looked at him, not daring to ask for his phone back.
However, he hadn’t sent this Weibo post yet, and typing on his own phone… no matter what, others couldn’t interfere, right?
Xia Xianning finished reading and didn’t seem particularly angry. He even slightly curved his mouth, saying casually, “Not bad writing.”
Xu Zhe didn’t dare to respond.
Xia Xianning casually took off his police cap and tossed it onto the nearby seat, making Xu Zhe tremble.
He stared fearfully at Xia Xianning, who seemed to have no intention of engaging with him. Instead, he loosened the top two buttons of his collar, revealing a glimpse of his sharp collarbone.
Xu Zhe looked at him, terrified, and finally stammered out: “X-Xia, Officer Xia, I-I should go…”
Xia Xianning said with a half-smile: “Xu Zhe, I’ll give you a piece of advice.”
Xu Zhe: “…Yes, yes, yes.”
Xia Xianning slapped his shoulder: “I’m not good at reasoning with people, I just have a bit of strength. From this moment on, if I see even the slightest mention of Luo Mingbai from you, I’ll beat you so badly you’ll never touch a phone again. Understood?”
Xu Zhe had always seen him as cold before, and this was the first time he’d seen this side of Xia Xianning. His shoulder hurt terribly, and he couldn’t speak, just nodding with a distorted expression.
Xu Zhe thought Xia Xianning wouldn’t let him off easily, but unexpectedly, he just sneered and let him go, throwing the phone into his lap and telling him to leave.
Xu Zhe ran without looking back.
He didn’t know that at the moment Xia Xianning returned his phone, Professor Xu’s verified account automatically posted a Weibo, pinned and undeletable. It comprehensively detailed the despicable things Xu Zhe had done over the years.
This Weibo post quickly caused an uproar, with many thinking Xu Zhe’s account was hacked or he had gone crazy. But further investigation revealed it was all true!
The online criticism was overwhelming, and soon Xu Zhe was arrested again by the police for “ideological reformation”.
When Luo Mingbai finally had time to go online, he discovered he and Xia Xianning had inexplicably become a couple.
Bewildered, he browsed through analysis posts featuring news report screenshots and photos from witnesses.
These mainly showed Xia Xianning carrying a child with him, naturally protecting him from behind, Luo Mingbai turning to smile at him, and the photo of Xia Xianning grabbing him in front of reporters.
The photo’s background was a night intertwined with firelight. Surrounded by cameras, the two were captured exceptionally clearly. Xia Xianning looked heroic yet showed a subtle worry, one hand gripping Luo Mingbai’s wrist, eyebrows slightly raised as if asking if he was okay. Luo Mingbai’s side profile was visible, showing a beautiful curved outline and a slightly upturned mouth.
These two high-attractiveness males transformed the accident scene into a melodramatic atmosphere, generating countless wild analyses about the ambiguous hand-grabbing, the caring and doting look in their eyes, and how their mutual gaze was “totally gay”…
If an emoji could express Luo Mingbai’s mood right now, it would definitely be a “stunned” face.
He never expected human imagination could be so rich that they could interpret his and Xia Xianning’s “affair” from such minimal evidence.
Especially those posts analyzing micro-expressions, with screenshots that were eye-searingly intense – his smile, Xia Xianning’s gesture of grabbing him, all blown up and shared.
Now Luo Mingbai’s mind was full of his own “glancing back and smiling” .gif, to the point that when he saw Xia Xianning’s face – one he’d been familiar with for years – he felt he couldn’t look directly at it for the first time.
He adjusted his thoughts and directly asked his junior martial brother who was also browsing the web: “Have you offended someone recently?
He’s not a fool. Even though their behavior was quite intimate at the time, it wasn’t enough to provoke such a big reaction.
Certainly, there are people who ship them, but there must be someone behind the scenes stirring up trouble.
Xia Xianning was more concise: “Sorry, my third uncle is about to remarry.”
Luo Mingbai: “…What are you apologizing for? The way you’re talking, it’s like I’m interested in becoming your third aunt.”
Xia Xianning said: “This time, the person he’s marrying brought a son who is already twenty-two, said to be my cousin… named Xia Zheng.”
Luo Mingbai suddenly realized.
Xia Xianning’s father, Xia Changsheng, was the eldest, and both he and his mother were diplomats who lived abroad year-round. The second son, Xia Changyue, was the master of the Yingmen sect. The third son, Xia Changwei, was the most eccentric, living a life of unbridled freedom.
The free-spirited Third Young Master Xia didn’t play the game of fighting for family property and power. He spent his days drinking, traveling, and chasing women, often disappearing like a divine dragon. His marriage was forced by his father, dragging him from bed and tying him up. After two years, both husband and wife couldn’t stand it and divorced by agreement, without even having a child.
After that, Xia Changwei completely let himself go. He had been married and divorced around seven or eight times. However, he played around but never touched what he shouldn’t, never crossing the line. Old Master Xia couldn’t control him, so he simply stopped trying, placing all his hopes on his eldest grandson.
Only they knew the messy accounts of their family. Outsiders who didn’t understand were still eager to marry into the Xia family, naively dreaming of getting a share of this first-class family.
If Xia Zheng was truly Xia Changwei’s flesh and blood, then his actions were undoubtedly a way to probe how stable Xia Xianning’s position as the “Crown Prince” was through a scandalous rumor. Unfortunately, his self-important confrontation was, in Xia Xianning and Luo Mingbai’s eyes, no more important than stepping in a puddle. Xia Xianning said: “I’ve already handled it, sorry.”
Luo Mingbai sat cross-legged on the bed, propping his chin and tilting his head to look at him: “Whether you handle it or not, it’s already been spread. The internal damage I’ve suffered is done. What’s the point of a verbal apology? You should provide some compensation that satisfies me.”
They could understand each other without saying things too explicitly. Luo Mingbai paused, and Xia Xianning hesitated, and then the following words were spoken simultaneously by both of them—
Luo Mingbai: “What exactly did you dream about?” Xia Xianning: “Actually, I dreamed about you.”
Luo Mingbai was slightly stunned, clearly feeling the tremor in Xia Xianning’s voice.
Xia Xianning said: “I… I dreamed, dreamed that you were stabbed to death by many villains while saving someone. I didn’t mean to hide it from you, I was just… afraid to say it. I always felt that saying it would be like cursing you.”
Xia Xianning’s sudden words left Luo Mingbai looking shocked and bewildered, like a small animal unexpectedly poked in the belly, completely at a loss.
Luo Yingbai was eager to understand the situation, quickly flipping through several photos. Wei Shou was a meticulous and cautious person, and Yang Zheng was even more timid. Presumably, the two of them would not easily approach an unfamiliar place. Until the last photo, the scene changed, showing a patch of muddy ground with something seemingly drawn on it.
