Jiayi discreetly let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the incoming phone call; otherwise, she really wouldn’t know how to speak to Brother Yixiao.

Nie Yixiao put on his Bluetooth: "Who’s this?"

A sweet and familiar female voice came from the phone: "Hi, Brother Yixiao."

This Qiao Yongyong, getting more and more exaggerated lately. Even her way of addressing has changed.

Aside from a protector and the protected, are they that close?

Nie Yixiao sounded somewhat impatient: "What is it, Miss Qiao?"

"How come you haven’t arrived at Disheng yet~~ I’m so bored."

"Miss Qiao, I have some matters to attend to tonight and have applied for leave. A colleague from the security service will go to Disheng to protect you."

"What! You must be kidding!" Qiao Yongyong sounded extremely disappointed, "The other guards are just boring!"

"Miss Qiao, I’m actually quite bored myself."

Qiao Yongyong was taken aback and grasped for words: "You’re taking leave because of something? You aren’t sick, are you? Feeling unwell anywhere? Should I come over and check on you?"

Nie Yixiao chuckled: "I’m not sick; I just have some matters to handle."

"If you’re not sick then why take a leave? You’re single, you have no family, and even no friends; what important matter could you possibly have?" Qiao Yongyong pouted, then suddenly got nervous: "You aren’t going on a date, are you? Do you have a girlfriend now? No way!"

Nie Yixiao frowned, his voice shutting her out: "What I do on my leave is none of your business."

From his response, Qiao Yongyong was convinced he must be going on a date: "It’s not my business now, but who knows about later~"

"What do you mean by that." Nie Yixiao’s face turned cold.

"Although you haven’t agreed to be my boyfriend now, what if one day you do? Can’t I inquire in advance about who my future boyfriend is dating?"

What kind of bandit logic is this?! Nie Yixiao, infuriated, laughed instead: "Miss Qiao, have you always been this confident with men?"

Qiao Yongyong’s voice took on a coquettish and teasing tone: "No, I’ve been seriously frustrated by you. How about you agree and let me regain my confidence~?"

Nie Yixiao, seeing her increasingly outrageous talk, coldly said: "Alright, it’s my private time now, I’m hanging up."

"Hmph, so hasty... Could it be that your date for tonight is right beside you?"

"Miss Qiao, please know your limits."

As if she hadn’t heard his warning, Qiao Yongyong lowered her voice, her breathy tone full of seduction through the phone: "Tch, is she prettier than me? Does she have bigger breasts than me? Is her butt firmer than mine... "

"Miss Qiao!" This woman is really too much.

Thinking about Nie Yixiao spending the evening with another woman made Qiao Yongyong feel uneasy inside, she kept causing trouble, purposefully sharpening her voice, loudly: "... that day you pinned me against the wall... pressing against me, I felt you were somewhat responsive... you can’t deny it!"

Hmph! She did it on purpose so his date could hear!

Just to ruin his date!

To prevent him from being affectionate with another woman!

Before Qiao Yongyong finished speaking, Nie Yixiao angrily hung up the phone and yanked off his Bluetooth earpiece.

"Was it Miss Qiao?" Jiayi heard very clearly.

"Mhm." Nie Yixiao restrained his emotions.

Jiayi probed: "It seems like Qiao Yongyong has a thing for you..."

Nie Yixiao interrupted: "What man isn’t around this kind of wealthy young lady? She’s just toying."

Jiayi said nothing more.

Due to Qiao Yongyong’s call, Nie Yixiao didn’t probe any further into Jiayi’s distractedness just now.

But somehow, his mood might have been rattled by Qiao Yongyong, unable to calm down for a long while.

Responsive to her?! Ridiculous! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

@

Several minutes later, the SUV stopped in front of the hotel.

Nie Yixiao looked at Jiayi: "Jiayi, you go in first."

Jiayi thought he was going to park the car: "Okay, sure."

She followed the servant towards the inside of the restaurant, halfway through, the servant stopped and pointed forward: "Miss Chu, just follow this corridor, and you’ll reach it."

At the end of the corridor stood a golden-yellow pear wood door, tightly closed.

Jiayi didn’t think much of it, assuming it was the private room Brother Yixiao had booked, and she continued walking forward alone.

Before reaching the end, she heard footsteps catching up from behind.

Thinking the servant had come back, she turned around only to see Lawyer Yang coming towards her with a serious look.

"Miss Chu."

She was both annoyed and amused: "I thought you were just following the car, not that you’d also come in to supervise me, right?"

"Miss Chu, sorry, I didn’t want to follow so closely either. But Mr. Nie invited you here today with a clear intent, and I must warn you to keep your distance from him," said Lawyer Yang.

"With intent? Can Brother Yixiao really eat me alive?" Jiayi mocked.

Did that man think all men in the world are impure like him?

"It’s probably not far from that," Lawyer Yang said straightforwardly, clearing his throat twice: "Anyway, I’m just here to remind you. You should know what to do. If you violate the terms of the agreement, tomorrow I will follow Boss’s orders and apply to the court to reclaim the custody of the young master!"

Jiayi clenched her fists in anger, did not speak, and left Lawyer Yang behind, continuing straight ahead.

With a bang, she pushed open the door with some anger towards that man.

But the scene in front of her made her pause in astonishment.

It was not a dining hall.

Instead, it was the semi-outdoor swimming pool behind the restaurant.

The pool was filled with large, resplendent roses, all finest varieties from Bulgaria.

Above the semi-outdoor pool was a glass dome, allowing one to see the city’s sky.

The sky had darkened, and no lights were lit around, yet there was flickering brightness.

It was like the floating lamps in the air.

Soft green glows, like fireflies.

Those lights were...

Raising her head to follow the lights, indeed, they were a multitude of fireflies, all within thin and transparent nets, gently fluttering their wings, illuminating the whole pool like a dream.

For a moment, it was impossible to count them all, like a fairyland.

Fireflies appear in summer and usually in the suburbs.

In a crowded big city like Yunling, at this time, it’s impossible to find them, much less gather this many fireflies...

Her heart thumped wildly, and for a moment, she even thought she had returned to the small town of her childhood.

The servant by the poolside approached and said:

"Miss Chu, these fireflies were transported here from the outskirts of S Country by Mr. Nie in advance."

It was indeed arranged by Brother Yixiao.

Footsteps sounded, she turned her face.

Nie Yixiao’s eyes focused with a clarity brighter than the ripples of water.

"Brother Yixiao..." she murmured, realizing that tonight he probably wanted more than just dinner with her.

Nie Yixiao slowly walked over, a red satin box hanging in mid-air between his slender fingers.

Upon opening, a shining diamond ring appeared in Jiayi’s sight.

"I bought this diamond ring right after our trip to S Country. It has waited until today to see the light of day again. It wants to be your master, has been longing for years, I wonder if you are willing."