9.

Xie vowed to confront the slag husband tonight!

Why tonight?

It is because he knows from his memory Arthur's return schedule.

He, by any means, will not come back for lunch or dinner. He would be back at most during the midnight to sleep, treating his home as a hostel, and the following morning he would be gone before Xie could open his eyes.

Xie must seize this one chance to ask the man for a divorce, and as soon as possible. Any delay in his plan would result in something terrible. Who knows where the protagonist might lurk around, and she might already start her plan in torturing him! The sooner he leaves, the better.

Upon reaching his mansion, Xie's car got blocked by an oncoming car leaving the mansion's gate. The car's color was the same as Arthur's.

Was that his husband? He squinted his eyes, scanning the car's plate number.

Nope. Xie doesn't recognize that series of numbers. Who is that? A guest?

"Let that car leave first," Xie said to the driver. "Move our car from its path."

The driver nodded his head and moved aside, allowing the stranger's car to bypass his own.

From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the person sitting in the back seat.

A young man with eye-catching hair color was wearing a black, expensive suit.

The man coincidentally lifted his head and looked straight at him.

A flash of realization flashed inside that stranger's eyes. He ordered his subordinate to stop, and the car immediately stepped on the emergency brake.

Xie, unprepared for it, got startled, and his body crashed into the space between the back seat. He got stuck in the cramped space, in a humiliating position.

Xie groaned in pain.

"Madam!" Alaric anxiously turned behind. He wanted to help, but the cramped space limited his movement.

"I'm okay." He mumbled out his response.

Xie struggled to sit up. He crawled onto the seat with difficulty before tiredly slumping his body on the backrest.

That's hurt! Damn it. What's wrong with this person? I was kindheartedly allowed you to leave first, and you repay my kindness like this?!

He rubbed his sore left forearm. A bruise marred the milky white skin turned the flesh red and purplish. Luckily, there's no other injury.

Oh, my arm. It hurt like hell! He wanted to yell so that anyone knew about his injury.

A soft knock on the car's window made him look away from the tiny wound.

Xie rolled down the window with dissatisfaction vividly displayed on his face.

He glared at the man who was smiling sheepishly at him. The man bowed his head, saying sorry again and again.

"Forgive me, Your Highness." He said for the tenth time, clearly expressing his guilty conscience. "I...I had something to talk about with your husband, but he didn't seem to be inside. I need to meet him. It's urgent. But the housekeeper refuses to let me wait inside."

"I don't know when he will come back. You should make an appointment to meet him." Xie replied in a bland yet perfunctory tone.

His eyes seemed to express, "What are you waiting for, jerk? Scram!"

He never had any intention to help this stranger. Go away and let him be at peace.

The stranger awkwardly scratched his neck. It looked like he didn't expect Xie to reject him without considering for a second thought.

They were in a stagnant silence. The man refused to budge and kept standing beside his car, his obsidian eyes desperately searching Xie's eyes, sending SOS, pleading for amnesty from him.

His head hung lower, looking dejected.

He looked very pitiful, like a stray dog that got abandoned by its owner.

Xie averted his gaze from the man's face to his eye-catching hair color.

The medium-length crimson hair fluttered along with the wind, and under the sunlight, each strand is glowing with shiny luster.

His hair appeared soft and smooth, and Xie felt unbearable itchiness to stroke that stranger's head.

Xie exasperatedly sighed. He sent a distress signal at Alaric, questioning the identity of this person.

Who is this man? Does he know him? He sent him those two questions telepathically.

Alaric seemed to perceive it, and he whispered something inside Xie's ear.

"That person is Duke Elias Harrington. Master's partner in the business world. A minor shareholder in Master's company and more importantly, the owner of a well-known hotel chain, The Clemens Hotel."

"Oh..." So? What a minute. That name seemed familiar?

Clemens Hotel? What the fuck?!

Isn't this person the third capture target?!

-------

Arthur arrived an hour later. He was exhausted.

He always entered from the back door like a thief even though he was the owner of this mansion.

He's doing this is due to Xie, who will be waiting for him in the living room. Xie would always wait for him in silence, scowling at the thought of his husband, who would not return that night. Xie would leave him hundred of missed calls and fifty-something messages.

It was so damn annoying!

Sometimes, he purposely comes back late at night, and sometimes, he comes back after two days of spending his night at the hotel. He never adheres to his schedule, doing everything to his own accord.

Initially, he wanted to take another path to avoid having a chance encounter with his spouse, Xie. It's because he didn't have the mood to pay extra attention to the man.

But, upon entering the mansion, he accidentally caught another male voice coming from the living room. The first thought that emerged in his mind was whether Xie cheated on him or not.

An inexplicable feeling of jealousy surged up, and a trace of annoyance flashed inside his eyes.

So, he was deterred from his usual path and silently entered by the front door.

It was, by any means, that he was interested in eavesdropping on their conversation.

He was astounded. Yes. Bewilderment clouded his judgment, leading him to make this unreasonable decision. He's just curious.

Who dares to come in covertly while he worked and have a hearty chat with his wife? Someone, an unknown man, comes to his house and visits his spouse while he is away? Did that bastard eager to put a green hat over his head?

The thought seemed preposterous and precarious, yet he couldn't help but feel unsettled.

There's no way Xie would willingly bring another male into their house. It is impossible. Isn't it?

-----------

"Come on, Sir Elias. I already said that bastard, my workaholic 'husband' is too occupied by the work that he might stay up late in his company. You shouldn't waste your time waiting for him." Xie repeated this sentence several times already, yet the man didn't seem to catch his snarky tone. He had hinted implicitly and explicitly in his attempt to drive him out of the house.

Xie is not interested in knowing another capture target.

Knowing Isaac was his limit. And he didn't even want to have contact with the capture target one, a.k.a his slag husband.

Adding another one might lead him crazy, so the answer is no.

"Oh, come on. Let's have a good chat. Aren't you feeling bored, always alone inside this huge mansion without any friends? And I know. Not anyone could be your friend. But, I am willing to be your friend, Your Highness." Elias showed his perfect row of pearl white teeth. His smile is so dazzling, and the brightness could even blind him.

Xie squinted his eyes as he doubted this man's intention. He clearly has an ulterior motive.

"Who says I'm bored? I am a busy person. Had it not because of I need to entertain my guest, which is you, I already went off to somewhere right now."

Elias maintained a dazzling smile throughout the silly conversation that made Xie question Elias's ability to keep his emotion from leaking out and known to the others.

Someone put a smiling face to hide his sorrow. It's just like Elias.

He is the type of person who advocates smiling as a cover. He clearly didn't want to smile. Hence, why insist on keeping this pointless farce?

"You better stop smiling like an idiot." Xie bluntly said. "It's ugly and annoying."

"Pardon?" Elias was startled.

"Only idiot will get fooled by that smile of yours. Why bother to put on a fake smile when your heart is bleeding inside? You seemed to have any problem, Sir Elias. Which one? Your family? Your girlfriend? Or your work? Comes confide the worry inside your heart to this big brother. If I can help you solve your problem, you better go away soon after that. My house is not a transition hotel."

Elias's face turned grim. He felt alarmed upon realizing that Xie's words hinted at something he desperately hid.

"Who said I had a problem? I..."

Xie pinched his cheeks and pulled it. He snickered.

"Try to tell me a lie?"

"Oww! Oww! Oww!" Elias wanted to smack the naughty hands away. Before he could do that, though, Xie released his cheek. He furiously glared at the man, who smiled sheepishly at him. "That's hurt, damn it! Why did you do that?!"

"Of course. I'm just experimenting with something to verify whether you had a pain receptor or not."

"Huh?" Elias stared confusedly at him.

"Your hotel on the verge of bankruptcy? That's the reason you came here. You wanted to ask for Arthur's assistance. You were declared bankrupt by the bank, so there's no way they would lend you any money."

Elias stopped rubbing his bruised cheek. He was shocked upon hearing that Xie knew about the classified information he tried very hard to cover.

"How did you know about this?" He asked in a flat tone, but his lips trembled, showing that he was affected by the news of bankruptcy. His eyes looked soulless. He exhaled a deep sigh and felt the heavy burden shoved on his shoulders was a little too much for him to take care of alone.

"I had my own source." Xie lied through his teeth. Yeah, bullshit. It was because I had received the inside story of this otome game beforehand. "So, what kind of help you wish to ask, Sir Elias? Please, tell me."