Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 308 - 2. This time choose me, or him? (2 more 2)

Shi Nian, frightened, quickly stepped on the brake, and the tires screeched loudly on the road surface before finally coming to a stop.

Just a hand’s length away from where Huangfu Huazhang stood in front of the car.

Shi Nian unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, her legs weak, and she leaned against the car door to barely stand.

"Sir, what are you doing?!"

Huangfu Huazhang was still wearing his black suit, smiling at Shi Nian: "I just wanted to test the braking distance of your ’new car’ for you."

Shi Nian took a deep breath: "It’s not funny at all, so please, sir, stop with these games, okay?"

Huangfu Huazhang stepped forward, towering over her, and looked into her eyes, nodding seriously like a big child: "Alright, I’ll listen to you."

Shi Nian’s heart softened, she gently closed her eyes, clutched the car door, and asked, "...Sir’s leg, running over like that, is it okay?"

"It’s okay."

He awkwardly smiled and also reached out to support himself against the car door.

"I saw you suddenly turn to leave from the window, but years of upbringing wouldn’t let me shout out from upstairs, so I just couldn’t care less about my leg and ran down. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know that my legs could still run so fast, so steadily. I thought I could never run like that again in my life."

He supported himself against the car door, seriously bowed his head to look at her: "Don’t go."

Shi Nian looked down at his leg, unable to help her sadness, and nodded seriously: "Sir, I actually owe you an apology. Last time at the ’Rainbow’, I was in a hurry to see if Wang Chuan was the real culprit, so I forgot to help you back to the car and just hailed a cab for myself. When the cab turned around the corner, I saw Xia Zuo come forward to assist you, and then I realized I was wrong."

Shi Nian lowered her head deeply: "My behavior last time must have disappointed you."

He chuckled softly, the laughter gentle and soothing, a contrast to his former arrogance: "I won’t deny that I did have a little tantrum that day. But you know, I’m a man, and the kind of man who must save face, so I’ve never allowed anyone to help me from childhood. I would rather fall, would rather awkwardly crawl up myself, than rely on others."

He lowered his eyes deeply to look at her: "Especially in front of you. I never want to face you with that handicapped posture, so your rush to leave was instead a relief for me."

As he said this, he lifted his gaze to look at Xia Zuo standing stiffly to one side.

"Don’t blame Xia Zuo. He’s been by my side all along, outsiders only see my aloof pride, but they don’t see the pain during my rehabilitation, yet that side of me always falls into his eyes. He’s a loyal servant, a dedicated bodyguard, and assistant. He protects me, assists me, and also feels for me. So sometimes, out of urgency to protect me, he might say harsh words or do excessive things... I apologize on his behalf."

He lowered his head and looked intently into her eyes: "Don’t be angry, okay?"

Shi Nian lowered her head, gently nodded: "Okay."

Huangfu Huazhang smiled happily, took Shi Nian by the wrist: "Come on, let’s go in."

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Shi Nian followed Huangfu Huazhang into that ostentatiously luxurious castle. No one noticed the car parked far on the roadside, where Tang Yan Yi was holding a long-focus lens, capturing the scene of the two.

In recent times, she had been tracking Huangfu Huazhang non-stop, finding out his address.

She hadn’t discovered anything unusual about him, but didn’t expect to catch him being so intimate with Shi Nian today.

.

Huangfu Huazhang didn’t lead Shi Nian into the living room but took her directly upstairs instead.

The second floor had his personal reception room. It wasn’t as big as the living room downstairs but was more private, more comfortable.

Xia Zuo personally served tea for the two, traditional Chinese tea, with no added sugar or milk, making Shi Nian feel comfortable drinking it.

He slowly sipped a mouthful of tea, then looked up at her: "You came in a hurry, you must be looking for me for something. Tell me, what’s been bothering you?"

Shi Nian put down the teacup, cupping both hands in her lap: "...I want to ask for your help to find someone. I’m worried that person is missing."

"Oh?" Huangfu Huazhang squinted at Shi Nian: "Who?"

"The reporter from ’Black Curtain’: Xiong Jie."

Huangfu Huazhang raised his eyebrows: "A colleague of yours. So anxious, what is it, your bosom friend?"

"No," Shi Nian said with an awkward smile: "On the contrary, she’s a competitor, a rival."

"Then why still try to find her? Isn’t it better if she disappeared?" He slightly raised his chin, his gaze subtly cloaked with an innate arrogance.

Shi Nian shook his head: "Perhaps in life, sometimes one needs to find their own existence’s value through their opponents. So when she suddenly disappeared, I might be the first to sense something’s wrong."

Huangfu Huazhang reached out to pick up his teacup, his demeanor was even more leisurely and relaxed. Crossing his long legs, he took a sip of tea and said, "Missing person... I remember the police station has a special team for such cases, so you should report it."

Shi Nian held back a quiet sigh and shook his head: "Not advisable to report it. Firstly, I’m not her relative, secondly, I’m not her colleague, so I don’t even have the qualification to report it. Furthermore, it’s still unclear how long exactly she’s been missing. If it’s less than 48 hours, the police also can’t handle it."

Huangfu Huazhang looked down lightly, tapping his long fingers gently on the rim of the cup: "Have you confirmed with her colleagues? Maybe she just went on a business trip or for an interview."

Shi Nian nodded: "Confirmed, and they also had the same statement. They said Xiong Jie indeed has often gone out for interviews and was absent from the office for days. So they didn’t report it... but I just feel something’s wrong."

Her eyes were filled with concern as she looked over: "Sir, I’m just worried something happened to her."

Huangfu Huazhang sat up straight, looking elegantly down at the bone china teacup in his hand: "Since you say so, I believe you must have your reasons. At least let me know why you think this way."

"Because of that last article." Shi Nian briefly recounted the story of Xiong Jie’s last article, which hinted at her relationship with Tang Yanqing, thereby drawing the attention of Tang Mingyi’s campaign team.

Huangfu Huazhang’s face remained unchanged, not even raising his eyes to look at Shi Nian, still gazing at the teacup in his hand. Sunlight streamed in through the large window, falling on the white, translucent bone china and refracting a clear light, reflected on his face.

The way he looked down added a few more degrees of charming beauty.

"Even if you’re unrelated to her, even if the disappearance hasn’t reached 48 hours, you can still report it. Even if the missing person team doesn’t take it, you still have Yanqing." He said and finally looked up: "Didn’t you just visit the police station that day and meet Yanqing? Then why come to me?"

.

Shi Nian took a deep breath: "You also said these cases are handled by the missing person team; he is from the major crimes unit and doesn’t directly handle these types of cases. Unless it’s confirmed that a serial killer or a psycho-kidnapper took Xiong Jie, it wouldn’t be his responsibility."

"That’s not the reason," he chuckled lightly, "Nian, you need to let me understand your heart so I can weigh how to help you."

Shi Nian stood up briskly, "In that case, I’ll not disturb you, sir. Have a good rest, I’ll take my leave."

"Sit down." He fixated on her, a soft yet irresistible command.

Shi Nian paused, but she clutched her handbag, showing an unwillingness to compromise.

Holding the teacup with elegance, his left hand supported the saucer, while his right thumb and index finger pinched the slender, elegantly shaped handle. Man and teacup merged into one; such a man, even in selecting a tea set, completely matched his temperament and aesthetic, without the slightest discord.

Knowing Shi Nian was silently observing him, he didn’t bother to lift his gaze but gently lowered his eyelids and spoke slowly: "The reason you came to me instead of reporting to the police or informing Yanqing is that you’re worried Xiong Jie’s disappearance is related to Yanqing’s father’s campaign team. You also said her last article offended Tang Mingyi’s campaign team. Simply put, the article hinted at you, Xiang Yuan, and Yanqing, but ultimately it doesn’t matter, after all, you and Xiang Yuan have already divorced; however, the article will have real and serious implications for Tang Mingyi’s campaign."

Shi Nian was taken aback.

Huangfu Huazhang finally slowly lifted his eyes: "Nian, you’re very worried that it was Tang Mingyi or his team who took Xiong Jie, aren’t you?"

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Tang Yan Yi returned to the police station and entered Guan Liang’s computer room. She imported the taken photos into the computer and checked them together on Guan Liang’s nine display screens.

Tang Yanqing, Jia Tianzi, and Guan Liang happened to be walking in and encountered this overwhelming influx of images.

Tang Yanqing squinted his eyes.

The photos contained close-ups and long shots, most were fine, but it was the few frames where Huangfu Huazhang stood with arms outstretched in front of the car; and where he and Ten Years were standing by the car door, both holding the car door, yet he only lowered his head to gaze into Shi Nian’s eyes, that made Tang Yanqing’s eyes flicker repeatedly.

Eventually, his gaze froze on the picture of Huangfu Huazhang holding Shi Nian’s hand, leading her back to the castle...

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Thank you to the following friends:

photos; flz2014

photos: xclovegg

photos: Mu Xi 1990, vanish00000

photo: gyj187, Bellaba,

15007275749d’s red envelope