Sort of ran away from home

The antique jar was nothing more than what it was -- old and empty. There was no secret note, no hidden markings, and no indication that it was what Ying Shen wanted her to find. She left the old house through the window where she went in.

The reality of the situation sunk in to her, and her mood pelted to the ground. The shred of hope she had desperately clung on to had been blown away by an empty jar. Her hands and lips trembled against the cold wind and rain, but her eyes felt hot, and soon enough, they were pricked by tears.

Ying Yue walked aimlessly outside the house until she was met with Xi Shenghui's figure. His lips were drawn to a thin line as he watched her with wary eyes.

She stopped and gazed at him with a blank expression on her face. She stood there motionlessly for a few seconds until a wan smile appeared on her lips. "Let's go back."

Even if she tried not to show what she was feeling, she couldn't hide the reddening tip of her nose and the way that her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Xi Shenghui could sense the obvious disappointment radiating off her.

He sighed. He may have talked to her bluntly earlier, but he didn't like seeing her this way either. Xi Shenghui stepped forward and put a hand on top of her head, rubbing her forehead with his thumb to ease the lines that were showing up. Neither of them said anything else for a while.

Eventually, Ying Yue tilted her head down as she recalled his words about her being a brat, and she began to get embarrassed with her behavior, which only ended up with nothing in her hands. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Droplets of rain stuck to her hair like dewdrops in the early morning grass, and her knees shook as a cold wind breezed through her.

Xi Shenghui wanted to reprimand her lightly, but seeing at how dejected she was, he decided against it and just sighed, removing his hand from her head and leading her to his car.

Ying Yue leaned her head on the window and just stared outside. The rain had become considerably weaker, giving her a better view of the place, and she felt like she was seeing Jifeng town for the first time. The old town was actually quite beautiful.

In a few minutes, they were already nearing the quaint café where she had her coffee earlier, and she craned her neck to see it.

The sight of the stranger earlier caught her eye. He was still standing outside the coffee shop, looking up at the sky, sheltered from the rain by the slight overhang by the door. He was holding up of coffee cup in one hand.

Ying Yue turned to Xi Shenghui. "Can you stop the car? I just need to thank him."

Xi Shenghui's eyebrows twitched in displeasure, but he stopped the car anyway.

She opened the car door and approached the stranger in a beige coat, who looked at her with an unreadable expression. He was actually quite tall, and he reminded her a lot of Fei Huangjin. In fact, their hands were a bit similar that she almost thought it was him earlier.

But while Fei Huangjin's eyes were dark and sharp, his was a light shade of caramel, and his facial features were softer, almost feminine even.

"I just came by to thank you for earlier. So, uh, thank you." She slightly lowered her head to a bow, and when she looked up at him again, a slow smile had spread across his face.

It made him seem younger and kind of boyish. "I thought you were getting kidnapped."

Ying Yue grimaced. "I actually just sort of ran away from home."

Xi Shenghui's car honked, signaling at her to hurry up. She turned to the direction of the car and raised a finger, telling him to give her a minute more.

She turned back to the man beside her, noticing for the first time that he had a bruise on his cheek and that his shoulder was tilted to one side with his arm hanging low. He looked like he was injured. Ying Yue frowned. "Did you get hurt earlier?"

He glanced at his arm and smiled at her kindly. "Probably just a shoulder subluxation. Nothing I haven't had before."

She nodded her head. A subluxation was better than having his shoulder joint dislocated. "Well, I have to go. Are you from around here? We could give you a lift and bring you to the hospital."

"That's not necessary. I have someone picking me up in a while."

"Okay," she scratched her chin awkwardly. She'd never had someone do what he did for her before, so she wasn't sure what the proper way to thank him was. "Uh, well, if we meet again, I'll just treat you to a meal, as my thanks."

The man's smile didn't fade. "Don't worry, we'll see each other again."

Ying Yue doubted it, but she nodded her head anyway and walked back to the car. It was half an hour later before she realized that she forgot to ask the man for his name.