12 That Person He Wants to Protect

Xu Ai's face turned livid. 

Su Xuan's car had already driven off, and she didn't have his phone number; there was no way for her to call him and ask him to come back. 

She remembered his sly smile when she urged him to leave and smashed her handbag on her head. How stupid was she! She attended to one thing and lost another! She forgot to take her belongings!

How black-hearted is Su Xuan? He knew I was in a hurry and forgot about it, yet he didn't bother to remind me; he drove away on purpose, drove away without saying anything.

He is inhumane! Inhumane!

Xu Ai stomped her foot. Why the hell do people like Su Xuan exist on this planet? He is drop-dead gorgeous, but why is he so black-hearted, black-livered, and black-lunged?

"Huh? Ai-Ai? What are you doing there if you're not coming inside?" Autumn's voice came to her ear. 

Xu Ai drew in a deep breath and dropped her handbag from her head. She stared at Autumn grimly. "I ate too much for dinner. I'm trying to digest!"

Autumn caught a whiff of booze and stepped back. "Did you drink? How much did you drink? Why are you reeking of booze?"

Xu Ai held her handbag under her armpit and stuck out ten fingers. "This much."

"Ten bottles?" Autumn's eyes opened wide.

Xu Ai stepped forward and covered Autumn's eyes with her hands. "Ten half-cups."

Autumn coughed and beat away her hands. "Baijiu?"

"Mhm," Xu Ai said.

"Damn, I didn't know our Ai-Ai can drink so well! No wonder Lin Shen's company is excelling because of you." Autumn studied her carefully.

"Don't mention his name to me!" Xu Ai turned her head and pushed their door open to step inside. 

Autumn was stunned for a second and couldn't believe her ears. She followed Xu Ai into their dorm room. That was the first time Xu Ai reacted like that at the mentioning of Lin Shen's name.

Xu Ai threw away her handbag as she entered their dorm room. She fell head-down on her bed. 

The noise disturbed Violet, who was watching a movie with her headphones on and also disturbed Lil' Wen, who was reading a book. They lifted their heads and asked, "What's wrong, Ai-Ai?"

"She's hammered!" Autumn told them. 

"No wonder the smell of booze is so strong!" Violet put her headphones on once again. 

"Ai-Ai, are you feeling upset?" Lil' Wen asked. 

Xu Ai slouched over her desk and shook her head. She wasn't exactly upset. What she drank was no different from what she and Sun Pinting drank at the bar that day. Her heart was a little depressed. How was she going to get those clothes from Su Xuan's car! Should she just let them go?

"If you're upset, you can eat an apple. There are some on the desk," Lil' Wen said.

Xu Ai shook her head. "I'm not really upset."

"Then why did you drink so much? Were you at Lin Shen's company dinner?" Lil' Wen was a little confused. She had only seen Xu Ai get drunk once in the past three years, and that was because of Lin Shen's company dinner. It was said they had received a really major bidding project. Such a situation did not happen again, because Lin Shen didn't need her to attend dinner parties like that anymore. 

"No!" Xu Ai straightened her back.

Lil' Wen looked at her with inquisitive eyes.

Xu Ai didn't want to talk about Su Xuan. "I'm going to freshen up. I'm so tired." Then, she headed to the bathroom. 

"I smell something fishy!" Violet spoke all of a sudden.

Autumn nodded. 

Lil' Wen looked at those two with intrigued eyes. "Everything is fishy in your eyes."

Xu Ai splashed her face with cold water and applied some hydration lotion. Then, she went back to the room, climbed on her bed, and put herself to sleep. 

"Ai-Ai is such a good drinker!" Autumn said in awe as she saw how quickly Xu Ai fell asleep after she shut the curtains. 

"That's because you're a terrible drinker!" Violet teased her.

Autumn pursed her lips and then climbed onto her bed.

When Xu Ai woke up the following day, she called Sun Pinting while she was using the bathroom. 

The other party picked up the phone right away. Sun Pinting's happy-go-lightly voice came to her ear, "Hey, did Su Xuan bring you back to school yesterday?"

Xu Ai became angry right away when she heard her say this. "Now you're talking; it's all because of you!"

She was betrayed by her best friend!

Sun Pinting giggled, "It proves you two are meant to be! He just so happened to show up at that place and saved me all my troubles."

Xu Ai snorted but didn't forget to ask about Sun Pinting's 'grandmother, "How's your grandma? You sound quite happy, so does that mean everything is fine?"

"Everything is fine. There was a bit of danger yesterday, but she made it through. Doctors said she should stay at the hospital for a few days, and they'll see how everything goes. There isn't anything major now." Sun Pinting shook her head.

"That's good!" Xu Ai thought, I'd want to visit her in the hospital this Saturday.

"Mhm," Sun Pinting said, then she started to gossip, "What happened yesterday after I left? When did Su Xuan bring you back to school? Did you two…"

Xu Ai hung up immediately.

She had the audacity to gossip when Xu Ai didn't want to get even with her?

Sun Pinting and Xu Ai had been friends ever since they were little. They were literally glued to each other since they were kids. Xu Ai knew everything about Sun Pinting, such as her friends and the people she knew. If she hadn't, then she would highly suspect her run-in with Su Xuan yesterday was a carefully schemed plot carried out by Sun Pinting. 

Even though the Sun Family and the Empyrean's Su Family had been good acquaintances, no doubt, Sun Pinting definitely didn't know Su Xuan that well. Sun Pinting, however, had always been bold and ballsy. Take how she left Xu Ai with Su Xuan yesterday; no one else had the guts to do that, but she did. 

Xu Ai's phone started ringing again. She lowered her head and saw Sun Pinting's caller ID again. She declined the call right away. 

She wants to gossip more? No way Jose!

After the first class in the morning, Violet dragged Autumn to find Xu Ai. Their eyes were glowing with curiosity as they stared at Xu Ai. "Did Su Xuan drive you back yesterday?"

Xu Ai was stunned. She stared back at them and thought How the heck do they know?

"You must be thinking, how the heck do we know, right?" Violet tapped Xu Ai's head with her fingers. "Dumb*ss, a picture was posted on our school's forum. A picture where you were stepping out of a really dope-*ss car. Who else would drive a car like that beside Su Xuan?"

Xu Ai felt like she was about to vomit blood. "What did you say? School's forum?"

Did someone post some photos again?

But she didn't see anyone around the dormitory building last night when she exited the car!

"What expression is that on your face? Don't tell us it wasn't you." Violet showed Xu Ai her phone and pointed at the photo. "Take a look yourself! The lighting was bad at night, but you and the car are clearly visible."

Xu Ai looked at the photo; it really was a picture of her stepping out of Su Xuan's car. From the angle that this photo was taken, it appeared whoever took the photo was at the building facing them. Thank God Su Xuan's face wasn't in the photo because he was inside the car and didn't step outside. Xu Ai felt relieved, but at the same time, she still wanted to cough up blood. 

"Look at the title!" Violet started gossiping again. "Luxury car and great beauty, tangoing in a night so misty. The golden boy of Empyrean finally reveals himself, the talented Ms. Xu finally sets her heart on his majesty. What a title! That's some skilled writing right here!"

Xu Ai almost threw up. She looked at Violet gloomily. "You're certain that's called skilled writing?"

"You and Su Xuan parted in reluctance, too bad whoever took the photo hadn't been closer. There is no way to see the handsome man in the misty night. It's a clever and appropriate title!" 

Violet said that with her chest puffed out, "Only the great talents from our literature club could come up with a fancy title like that."

That gave Xu Ai a headache. She pushed her and said, "It's class time; you should head back!"

Violet stood there and didn't budge. "You tell me, was the person in the car Su Xuan?"

Xu Ai realized how determined Violet was at getting an answer out of her. She nodded her head helplessly. "Yes!"

"So there is indeed something fishy!" Violet finally got an answer she was satisfied with, so she left with Autumn happily. 

Xu Ai sat on her seat and thought in frustration. She really couldn't hack her school's official forum again. But hacking the computer of whoever took the photo? Nah, maybe not this time!

The fanatic gossip and attention about her and Su Xuan were something she could never have imagined. From now on, she could only hope not to be associated with him in the slightest, or else, her future would be in complete darkness. That would kill her!

The next following two days, the arguments in the comment sections under that photo and that article grew more and more heated.

The official websites of other schools that Xu Ai had hacked were recovered by some computer experts they found elsewhere. But too bad they did not learn their lesson. They still reposted that article on the forums, as well as the previous article, and they were both on the most eye-catching section of their front pages.

Xu Ai pretended she saw nothing and heard nothing. She just carried on with her day and played by her own rules. She played ostrich with her head in the ground to avoid all reality. 

She ran into Lin Shen on Friday at noon in front of the cafeteria.

Three days had passed by since he left her and hurried to his company. Now that she saw him again, she suddenly felt the aura of a stranger emanating from him.

"Hey, you!" Xu Ai tried to keep her smile natural when she hollered at him. 

Lin Shen nodded, then he looked at her seriously. "Now that you have a new cell phone, shouldn't you return the old phone to me?"

Xu Ai froze briefly.

"Do you have it with you?" Lin Shen asked again.

Xu Ai's hand squished her crossbody bag unconsciously, then she shook her head. "I don't have it." 

"There's a wine party tomorrow night, we'll go together. You can give it to me then." Lin Shen turned around and left. 

That made Xu Ai confused for a little; she didn't understand him. "Hey, you…"

"Any issues with that? You have other things to do tomorrow night?" Lin Shen turned his head and asked. 

Xu Ai shook her head but then nodded. "I've made plans with Sun Pinting. We're going to visit her grandma…"

"You don't visit someone at night, do you?" Lin Shen stared at her.

Xu Ai scratched her head. "Of course not, I'd go in the daytime. But…" She looked at Lin Shen and asked tentatively, "If you were asked to be at a wine party, shouldn't you bring a female companion? Well, I'm not… Why don't you bring Cheng Yanyan?"

Lin Shen's face turned grim all of a sudden.

Xu Ai realized something was wrong. Lin Shen hated it when others tried to poke their noses into his personal life. She tried to explain herself. "I didn't mean that... I meant, I probably am not a good choice, after all…"

"Why wouldn't you be a good choice? You're a shareholder of my company." Lin Shen looked like he was trying to suppress some emotions. "Do you have any other affairs to attend?"

"No!" Xu Ai shook her head immediately.

"Then that's decided!" Lin Shen turned around and seemed like he didn't want to stay a second longer. "I'll text you with the time and place."

Xu Ai looked at his back as he left her and nodded, but she realized he couldn't see, so she said, "Sure."

When she returned to her dorm room, Violet and Autumn were planning their hiking trip tomorrow, and Lil' Wen was drinking water and quietly listening to their conversation. 

Xu Ai threw away her bag and sat on her bed in a daze.

After a while, Violet and Autumn put their conversation on pause to look at Xu Ai. "Ai-Ai, why are you so dazed? Are you thinking about Su Xuan?"

Xu Ai came out of the daze and rolled her eyes at them.

"You're not? Then what is it! You were dazed out for half an hour?" Violet's curiosity was very much inflated. 

Xu Ai sighed, "I didn't quite get something."

"Quick, tell us!" Autumn perked up. "Three brains are better than one; we can offer some pieces of advice."

Xu Ai looked at them and saw Lil' Wen looking in her direction too. She thought about it and opened her mouth hesitantly, "Lin Shen said there is a wine party tomorrow night and wants me to go with him."

The three girls were shocked. 

"Don't you guys think it's a little weird?" Xu Ai wondered. 

"Ah, what's weird? How long have you been working for Lin Shen's company? It's just a wine party! You're pretty, you have a great figure, and you're talented. You'd give him great pride," Violet blabbed. 

Xu Ai shook her head. "In the past, he always went to wine parties alone."

"He's going to graduate now, and after graduation, he will devote himself to his company. He will have to pay attention to social gatherings or business occasions or stuff like that. It's perfectly normal to bring a female guest." Violet looked at her like an idiot. "It's just a wine party, Ai-Ai. Why are you so troubled by that?"

"The thing is, why didn't he ask Cheng Yanyan to go with him!" Xu Ai didn't want to say that name, but she had to. "She also has good looks, a great figure, and the talent that you mentioned before."

"That's true!" Violet nodded. "But maybe Cheng Yanyan couldn't go because of her personal affairs, maybe Cheng Yanyan and Lin Shen aren't that close yet, maybe wine parties are mixed with good and bad people and he didn't want his woman to be adulterated, or maybe… Oh well, there must be a reason why he didn't ask her to go with him." 

Xu Ai's heart had sunk to an abyss.

He didn't want his woman to be adulterated?

She remembered when the Lin Corporation went bankrupt, and Lin Shen's mother fought with her life to save a small branch of the company. It drained all the energy out of her, which made her ill, and eventually, the illness turned into a chronic disease. After Lin Shen took over that small company, he persuaded his mother to retire in order to take good care of her health issues. He handled everything all by himself, and no matter what kind of hardship he encountered, he didn't let his mother work at all. 

If Lin Shen wanted to protect someone, with his personality, he would build a firewall around them, making sure nothing could ever get to them.

Is Cheng Yanyan the person he wants to protect other than his mother?

"Ai-Ai, now that you have Su Xuan, don't tell me you're still into Lin Shen?" Autumn stared at Xu Ai. 

Xu Ai's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything.

"If I had a boyfriend like Su Xuan, then I wouldn't look at any other man on this planet. Take a good look at yourself, why are you so damned stubborn!" Violet pointed at Xu Ai. "What's so good about Lin Shen? He never talks, he has a gloomy personality, and there's only one expression on his face."

"You used to say men like him don't attract women, so being his girlfriend would be 120 percent secure. You said he didn't talk much because he had the world in his heart, you said he has a gloomy personality because still waters run deep, and you said he only has one personality because he is a cool ice king. How come you've changed everything now?" Xu Ai stared at Violet. 

Violet was at a loss of words. She coughed and said, "Didn't Su Xuan come around?" She paused, not thinking that it was shameful to betray her ideas. "Besides, you've been chasing after him for so long, and he has always been indifferent. Maybe he really isn't your cup of tea. There are quite a number of guys who like you. If he's not into you, then you can find a better one! Ain't nothin' wrong with that!"

Xu Ai was silent. 

"Su Xuan is an amazing guy! I'm telling you, Ai-Ai, don't miss out on this cup of tea! If you miss him, you might never find someone like him again," Violet said.

"How do you know Su Xuan is an amazing guy?" Xu Ai had to counter her argument.

Violet's eyes opened wide. "Ai-Ai, you think Su Xuan isn't good enough for you?"

"Yeah, you think Su Xuan isn't amazing? How is he not amazing!" Autumn was a little pissed too.

"How is he an amazing guy?" Xu Ai remembered the amount of baijiu that filled her stomach and how bitter she felt. 

"Handsome, rich, and intelligent!" Violet said.

"Good family background, very talented, and most importantly, gorgeous!" Autumn said.

Xu Ai rolled her eyes. Even though he is good looking, does it help him pay bills or something? He is so black-hearted; that is enough to counter 100 of his positive and charming features.

"Oh well, some people don't know how blessed they are!" Violet exclaimed. 

"I wish I were you!" Autumn felt a little lost. "How come I never run into Su Xuan? If he ever falls for me, then I will cling to his legs and never let go." 

"You two sure have high goals for yourselves! Forget about hiking; camp under the Empyrean Corporation building, and I guarantee you will see him." Xu Ai burst out laughing.

"That's right!" Violet was a little moved. She looked at Autumn. "Let's camp under there!"

"Are you stupid? He's into Ai-Ai. Are you planning on stealing her man?" Autumn gave Violet a harsh look.

"Forget about it then! We're sisters from another mister. Stealing your man will harm our friendship, and it's unladylike." A defeated Violet fell to her bed like a sack of potatoes.

Xu Ai didn't know what to say. She got up to organize her stuff.

"Ai-Ai, where are you going?" Lil' Wen realized Xu Ai may be leaving somewhere.

"I'm going home. I have to find a cocktail dress for tomorrow's wine party. I don't have any with me right here." Xu Ai gathered her belongings quickly.

"Now that Lin Shen has a girlfriend, he still hasn't let go of you. He sure is getting the most use out of you," Violet said as she pursed her lips, "I heard Cheng Yanyan hung out with Lin Shen every day for the past few days. Autumn and I saw them together at different places three or four times. Ai-Ai, if he says anything to you at tomorrow's wine party, don't believe him. Maybe he realized there's nothing special about Cheng Yanyan and is regretting it now!"

Xu Ai frowned. 

"Exactly. Men don't know how to treasure their women when their women are around them, but once someone tries to take them, that's when they finally realize what they've been missing out on and shouldn't let go. Perhaps Scholar Lin falls under this category," Autumn added. 

"You two change your minds as frequently as you change clothes! Do you recall who used to encourage me every day and said nobody was better than Lin Shen? And now you're taking the other side and talking crap behind his back? I'm done with you guys. I'm leaving." Xu Ai took her bag and headed out. 

"Different times call for different measures!" Violet coughed and asked, "You don't have any classes this afternoon?"

"Nope!" Xu Ai waved and then left the dorm room.

Her phone rang as she went down the stairs. It was a stranger's cell phone number, but the number was local. She hesitated before picking it up. 

A pleasant-sounding male baritone came to her ear as soon as she picked it up. "This is Su Xuan."