Chapter Forty-Seven: Why Was Your Brother Hiding Under the Bed?

“Are you going with him?” Lin Qisheng always appeared so silently that Xu Nuo didn’t even need to look for him—she simply lifted her gaze to the window, and there he was.

“Hm?” she replied.

Though Lin Qisheng hid it well, it was still obvious that he was unsettled. “I told you, if there’s anything you haven’t finished yet, I can help you.”

“But I don’t need that,” Xu Nuo said. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?” Those words, spoken so lightly, left Lin Qisheng stunned for a good while. Xu Nuo’s tone was calm, simply stating a fact, with no trace of sarcasm or mockery. And that, precisely, struck right at Lin Qisheng’s secret sore spot.

It meant Xu Nuo did not care about him. If she did, there would have been some ripple of emotion. Even after he’d once, in his arrogance, nearly caused her death, Xu Nuo could still tolerate his repeated appearances and showed not a hint of displeasure.

There was no entanglement between them. She… didn’t need him.

The deep sense of guilt within Lin Qisheng had nowhere to go. What on earth should he do for Xu Nuo to truly hold him in her heart? Lin Qisheng was seized by an unprecedented panic.

He began to doubt himself. Could he really win Xu Nuo’s heart? He was shocked to find himself, too, afraid of failure.

A storm of emotions swirled inside him, and he sat on the windowsill like a large, drenched dog, ears drooping in dejection.

“What’s wrong, Lin Qisheng?” Xu Nuo asked, puzzled. He had been so spirited a moment ago—how had he suddenly sunk into gloom?

007, observing, could only sigh inwardly, [Host, don’t you understand their feelings? He’s sad because of what you said.]

“Which part of what I said?” asked Xu Nuo.

[All of it,] replied 007.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. Xu Nuo quickly warned Lin Qisheng, “Hide, quickly.”

“Where? Where should I—” Lin Qisheng was still bewildered, but as the footsteps drew nearer, Xu Nuo shoved him under the bed. “Don’t come out. Not a sound.”

It was a tight squeeze for Lin Qisheng, all six feet of him, curled up beneath the bed. “…All right.”

Knock, knock—

There was a rapping at the door.

Xu Nuo opened it to see someone in the familiar garb of a kitchen servant. “Night snack this early? Thank you.”

“Yes. Made your favorite—little wontons.”

A gentle, low male voice sounded in her ear. Xu Nuo froze for a moment, then looked up to see a familiar face.

“It’s been a while.” Gu Xingze leaned down slightly, a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

“Brother Gu…” Xu Nuo instinctively glanced around, nervous, but the corridor was empty. She hurriedly pulled Gu Xingze inside and locked the door.

Gu Xingze glanced around the room. “How have you been lately?”

“I’m fine.” Xu Nuo hadn’t expected Gu Xingze to appear so suddenly. She had no idea how to face this man whom she had already ‘completed’ as a target.

He asked, “Does that promise from before still count?”

Promise? Xu Nuo thought for a second—he was referring to her vow to reveal the truth to him before she left.

“Of course it counts. I’m not someone who makes promises lightly.” She hadn’t just planned to slip away after completing her mission with Sheng Ming; she had intended to come back to see him.

Gu Xingze didn’t press for the reason she was leaving. After the initial awkwardness, the atmosphere eased back into its former, natural warmth.

“Your cooking is as good as ever,” Xu Nuo said contentedly as she ate the wontons. “Are the supplies I left at the base still enough? I have more if you need them.”

“They’re enough. What about you? Are you used to living and eating here?”

“I’ll have to get used to it, whether I like it or not.” After leaving Gu Xingze, her meals had become dismal—just snacks and instant food to stave off cravings—until a few days ago, when a new chef appeared in the kitchen.

That chef must have been Gu Xingze. She hadn’t noticed his arrival, despite enjoying his dishes for days. A faint sense of guilt crept into her heart.

“Why did you come here?” Xu Nuo asked.

“To see you,” Gu Xingze replied after a pause. “And for that promise.”

After the midnight snack, Xu Nuo did as usual: pulled out her phone to play a few games or watch a show, whiling away the time without realizing how much had passed.

She suddenly had the odd feeling she’d forgotten something.

Just as she was trying to remember, the door lock twisted abruptly.

“Open the door.” Outside, Sheng Ming’s cold, imperious voice sounded.

“Someone’s coming!” Xu Nuo’s mind raced. As the door began to open, she instinctively shoved the person under the bed.

“You two…” Lin Qisheng awoke, bleary-eyed and confused, as he saw the pair by the bed.

“Don’t—don’t squeeze, there’s no room left.”

Lin Qisheng was forced to scoot further in, but with two grown men, both over six feet tall, it was a real struggle beneath the narrow bed.

Bang—

The door crashed open.

Sheng Ming’s eyes blazed with fury as he looked at Xu Nuo. “I thought I just heard a man’s voice.”

“What? Where?” Xu Nuo feigned ignorance.

“Still pretending? Both chairs are warm—you couldn’t have sat in them both. And the window—though you were more careful than last time and left no marks—you haven’t closed it yet. The leftover soup in this bowl of wontons is cold; usually, the servants would have taken it away long ago, yet it’s still here. And just now, when I was opening the door, you didn’t react at all. Normally, you’d have been yelling by now. What were you so busy with just now…”

At this moment Sheng Ming was sharp as Sherlock Holmes incarnate. “How do you explain all this?”

“Explain what?” Xu Nuo had no intention of answering any of it. “What’s with you suddenly breaking into my room, rattling on like this? Are you delusional or something?”

Sheng Ming’s expression darkened. He ordered coldly, “Search the place.”

Soon, a servant approached the bed. As they bent down to look, a head popped out.

“Ah!!” The servant jumped in fright.

“Whew—” Lin Qisheng brushed the dust from his clothes and straightened his rumpled shirt. “Sorry about that. Not the most polite way to make an entrance, I admit. Doesn’t suit my character at all.”

Sheng Ming frowned deeply. He wasn’t surprised by this outcome, but witnessing it firsthand still stoked his anger.

“Xu Nuo, how do you explain this?”

“Explain what?” Xu Nuo shrugged. “All right, since it’s come to this, I’ll just say it—he’s my brother.”

Sheng Ming was clearly skeptical. “Brother? What sort of brother needs to hide under the bed?”

“Ahem… Admittedly, his entrance was less than dignified, but he really is the brother I’ve been searching for.” Xu Nuo looked resigned. “Come on, call me sister.”

“Big sister,” Lin Qisheng said smoothly, and, very considerately, lit a small flame on his fingertip—a subtle display of his fire ability.

A fire-type ability user, and his appearance indeed matched Xu Nuo’s description. It was entirely possible that the man under the bed was her brother.

But the question remained. Suspicion still clouded Sheng Ming’s eyes. “Then why was your brother hiding under the bed?”