Ah Cai's eyes widened in shock, and a hot blush spread from her cheeks all the way down to her neck.
"Sir, h-how could you peek at me..."
She was too ashamed to say the rest.
Ji Chi flicked the ash from his cigarette, glancing sideways at Ah Cai with his peach-blossom eyes. "I've already smoked five or six cigarettes here."
In other words, he was here first.
Ah Cai was so embarrassed and indignant that she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
She bit her lower lip hard with her pearly white teeth. "D-did you see everything?"
Ji Chi frowned slightly. "Miss, I don't have X-ray vision."
It was pitch black all around, and she was squatting down. What could he possibly see?
Furthermore, he had his back to her and hadn't even looked at her once.
The burning heat on Ah Cai's face felt like it was scorching her skin. "T-then you must have heard the n-noises!"
Ji Chi exhaled a puff of smoke, a hint of wickedness appearing between his handsome brows. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have wanted to hear those rather unpleasant sounds either."
Ah Cai shrieked, "Ahhh—"
Just as she screamed, the man's free hand clamped over her mouth.
His fingertips carried a faint scent of tobacco. With her mouth covered, she let out a breath of hot air that brushed across his palm like a feather.
Soft and tingling.
Ji Chi immediately withdrew his hand, glaring at her with a warning look. "It's the middle of the night, stop screeching like a ghost."
Ah Cai was speechless.
It wasn't that she wanted to scream, it was just too embarrassing!
Moreover, this guy didn't save her any face at all.
Even if the sound wasn't very pleasant, he didn't have to say it out loud.
She was dying of embarrassment!
She just hoped she would never see this man again.
Ah Cai covered her flushed cheeks with both hands and ran away as if fleeing for her life.
But she didn't look where she was going, and before she got far, she took a nasty tumble.
"Ow, ow, ow, why am I so unlucky tonight? It hurts so much."
While crying out in pain, she quickly scrambled up and ran faster than a rabbit, terrified that he might chase after her.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at Ji Chi's handsome face.
Ever since his older brother was arrested and the Ji family fell into trouble, Ji Chi hadn't smiled for a very long time.
This little girl was quite interesting.
...
Ah Cai returned to her room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She didn't know how long it took before she finally drifted into a groggy sleep.
When she woke up again, it was already bright outside.
There was still no sign of the man in the room.
Ah Cai came out of the room to find the old grandmother standing outside, holding dozens of bills in her hand. "Miss, did you leave this money on the table?"
Ah Cai shook her head, but then quickly nodded.
If she guessed correctly, it was left by that man for the old woman's family!
He seemed aloof and fiercely unapproachable, but he actually had a kind heart!
"Grandma, thank you for taking us in last night. Please keep the money!"
Ah Cai also took out some medicine and left it for the old woman's family.
After the rainstorm, the sky cleared up.
Ah Cai walked to the side of the road and boarded a minibus back to the fishing village.
Along the way, she didn't see the man from yesterday again.
Thinking about the huge fool she made of herself in front of him last night, she felt it was best they never met again!
Upon returning to the fishing village, Ah Cai headed straight to the Hope Elementary School.
The school's library had been built, and a completion ceremony was being held.
Ah Cai spotted the man from yesterday at a glance.
He was wearing a dark blue windbreaker and sunglasses, standing next to the principal.
The man was devilishly handsome, tall with long legs, and possessed an outstanding aura, looking like a big star from the television.
Ah Cai hadn't expected him to be the kind-hearted person who donated the library.
"Ah Cai!"
Hearing Jiang Shuyin's voice, Ah Cai immediately turned around.
"Sister Ayin." Ah Cai stepped forward and held Jiang Shuyin's hand.
Jiang Shuyin glanced at Ji Chi and lowered her voice, "Ah Cai, the person who made you cry yesterday, it wasn't Ji Chi, was it?"
Ji Chi?
Was that gentleman's name Ji Chi?
"Sister Ayin knows him?"
Jiang Shuyin nodded, "I do."
Blushing, Ah Cai told Jiang Shuyin about the embarrassing incident that happened last night.
Hearing this, Jiang Shuyin couldn't help but chuckle.
Why did they seem a bit like a bickering couple?
"His temperament wasn't eccentric before. It's just because a major tragedy struck his family recently."
Ah Cai nodded thoughtfully. "I thought he was heartbroken and had been dumped by some woman!"
So it was a major family tragedy that dealt him a heavy blow. No wonder he looked so gloomy and cynical.
"By the way, Sister Ayin, when are you and Uncle planning to go back?"
"We're going back in a couple of days." She had already told the principal that as soon as the volunteer music teacher arrived, she and Lu Yan would leave.
However, plans could never keep up with changes. That evening, Jiang Shuyin received a call from Little Sweet Orange.
Little Sweet Orange was sobbing uncontrollably on the phone. "Boo hoo, Mommy, it's all my fault. When Daddy left, he told my brother and me not to go out alone. But I was craving sweets, and my brother didn't want me to cry, so he sneaked out to buy me food..."
"But my brother left in the afternoon and hasn't come back yet. I called Grandpa and Grandma, and they found out that he seems to have been taken away by bad guys."
Hearing Little Sweet Orange's words, Jiang Shuyin's heart leaped into her throat.
At the same time, Lu Yan, who had turned on his phone, also received a call from the bodyguard he had arranged.
The bodyguard stated that the group who kidnapped Little Yiyi used a diversionary tactic to lure him away. By the time he realized something was wrong, Little Yiyi had already been taken away by people in another car.
Lu Yan's face instantly darkened to the extreme.
Over the years, working undercover, he had indeed offended many people.
But he had never made his relationship with the twins public; his enemies shouldn't have known about the two children's existence.
Unless they found out by accident—
After all, Little Yiyi looked very much like him. Anyone familiar with him would immediately think of him upon seeing Little Yiyi.
After ending the call with the bodyguard, Lu Yan received another call from Qin Chuan.
"Captain Lu, you finally turned your phone on! Ji Shaoqin has broken out of prison!"
Lu Yan's eagle-like eyes narrowed sharply.
If he wasn't mistaken, Little Yiyi's disappearance must be related to Ji Shaoqin!
While Lu Yan was on the phone, Jiang Shuyin had already booked the earliest flight back to Country M.
She was anxious and panicked, terrified that something terrible might happen to Little Yiyi.
When Ji Chi learned that Ji Shaoqin had escaped from prison and Little Yiyi had been kidnapped, he offered to go to Country M together with Jiang Shuyin and Lu Yan.
...
Little Yiyi had been kidnapped and taken to a ship.
After Ji Shaoqin was arrested, his secret guards had quietly followed.
They had been secretly helping Ji Shaoqin escape from prison and observing Lu Yan's every move from the shadows.
Originally, they wanted to kidnap Lu Yan's daughter as well, but the little girl hadn't left the house, so they couldn't find a suitable opportunity.
Ji Shaoqin looked at Little Yiyi's small face, which closely resembled Lu Yan's, and a ruthless glint grew in his eyes. He threw a sharp dagger to his subordinate, Brother Scar. "Slash up Lu Yan's son's pretty little face, and then gouge out his eyes!"
It seemed this was the only way he could vent his anger!
After Ji Shaoqin walked out, Brother Scar picked up a dagger and crouched down in front of Little Yiyi.
Little Yiyi had just woken up from his unconscious state. Any other child would have been scared to tears at the sight of this.
However, Little Yiyi did not show the slightest hint of panic. He simply shot Brother Scar a look with his icy eyes.
Brother Scar was almost intimidated by the boy's gaze.
"Kid, you can only blame the fact that you are Lu Yan's son! Our boss hates looking at this face of yours, so now I am going to ruin it!"
Little Yiyi stared at Brother Scar for a few seconds. Suddenly, he did something that left Brother Scar completely shocked.
