Chapter 6

Time rewound to the afternoon.
After the meeting, Xie Jinxing declined Q University’s invitation to dinner and headed straight to Jingchuan.
Though a trivial matter that could be resolved with a single call, since the old man personally called, Xie Jinxing naturally had to show concern, hence his visit to Jingchuan’s main campus.
The Xie family had been in Beijing for years, contributing to several top universities. At Jingchuan, they had donated multiple laboratories and a number of valuable instruments.
The university officials were trembling when they received Xie Jinxing’s call. The principal personally came to greet him.
The Xie family’s business empire spanned medical devices, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, AI, entertainment, and cinemas. Under Xie Jinxing’s name were media and film enterprises. Not only had Jingchuan benefited from the Xie family’s donations, but certain departments also relied on them to channel top talents. With such a benefactor, of course, they had to show deference.
However, the Xie heirs were generally low-profile and highly intelligent. Besides Lu Xingyu studying at Jingchuan’s computer science department, the others were graduates of top local or international universities. Rarely did any Xie offspring appear in public, and Xie Jinxing personally visiting was almost unheard of.
Upon hearing about Gu An’an’s situation, he immediately inquired.
Within ten minutes, the school gave Xie Jinxing a reply.
The principal summoned admissions staff and apologized in person, speaking sincerely and explaining that it had been a misunderstanding. Someone had misread the surveillance footage, mistakenly thinking that Gu An’an was a severely misbehaving student. Upon closer inspection, it was merely a case of mistaken identity. They had already reprimanded the admissions office, strictly warned certain leaders, and revoked Gu An’an’s expulsion.
Xie Jinxing didn’t care whether it was a misunderstanding or not, the problem was resolved, and the rest was the school’s responsibility.
“I hope your school exercises greater caution in handling similar matters in the future,” Xie Jinxing said. Though still young, a single look from him made the school leaders break into cold sweat.
The principal smiled nervously, assuring him that such mistakes would never happen again.
“Thank you for your efforts,” Xie Jinxing said.
A life-altering issue for Gu An’an was resolved with just a few words.
Yet he didn’t hurry to leave.
Since he was at Jingchuan, he wanted to see Gu An’an in person and soothe the frightened girl. Sitting in the car, he pressed the sunroof button and scrolled through documents on his phone. His fair, slender fingers gleamed in the dim interior.
After a while, the car door clicked open and Secretary Li returned.
“Mr. Xie, Miss Gu doesn’t live in the dorm; she rents a place nearby.” Li handed over a paper. Mentioning Gu An’an, he couldn’t help recalling the students’ expressions when she was discussed. He didn’t bring up her lack of integration at school. “This is her address.”
“She found out this morning that she had been expelled and thought it was Lu Shao’s doing. She cried, skipped class, and went looking for him. Lu Shao is busy organizing the school eSports team and is at a city gaming center with friends; Miss Gu is likely there too.”
Xie Jinxing glanced at it, casually folded the paper, and pocketed it.
“Boss?”
“Go to her apartment.”
Gu An’an’s apartment was not far from the campus, a five-minute walk.
No matter how love-struck a girl might be, a teenage girl is still a teenage girl. She couldn’t live with strangers and had to rent nearby to ensure she could reach school in time if she needed to confront Lu Xingyu.
The car started. Taking the tablet Secretary Li handed him, Xie Jinxing squeezed in some time to review the evening’s meeting materials.
The Maybach had just passed the school gate when it jerked forward abruptly and stopped. Xie Jinxing frowned and lowered the sun visor.
The driver’s face darkened. “Mr. Xie, we hit someone.”
It was class time; the area near the dorms was usually empty. They had deliberately taken a low-traffic route to avoid attention. Yet near the girls’ dorm, they still almost ran someone over.
Xie Jinxing’s expression darkened. The driver went to check, and shortly after, signaled to Secretary Li.
Li returned to the car half a minute later, expression a mix of helplessness and disbelief. The driver was perfectly skilled, a retired racer, yet Mr. Xie had twice nearly hit the same person in under two weeks. If one bought a lottery ticket, the odds wouldn’t come close to this.
Li clicked his tongue and explained, “Mr. Xie, I checked, Old Zhang braked in time. Actually, there was no collision. At the corner, sightlines were blocked. The girl suddenly dashed out, startling Old Zhang. She fell from fright.”
Xie Jinxing snapped the folder shut.
The fragile girl knelt on the ground. Her doe-like eyes were wet, tears falling like a string of pearls. She looked at Xie Jinxing as he slowly got out of the car, trembling and quivering. “Sir, could you please take me to the hospital? I...I have money, I’ll pay you two hundred. Please...to the city hospital...”
Xie Jinxing looked down at her. A strange feeling arose.
First, he was never a man given to sympathy. Cold, calculating, and always guided by the principle of equivalent exchange, he rarely helped others without reason.
Yet now, he patiently listened to a stranger’s tale of her mother’s illness.
Like every strong female protagonist in a CEO romance, Su Ruan came from a poor family with a mother in the late stages of uremia. She worked countless odd jobs to support her mother’s medical expenses.
Seeing her tear-streaked face, he inexplicably felt compassion and agreed to take her to the city hospital. Not only that, he covered her overdue medical fees. When he finally looked up, he was at the hospital’s fourth-floor emergency exit, seeing his panting nephew.
Lu Xingyu had apparently rushed over on his motorcycle, still wearing his helmet.
Unable to wait for the elevator, he had sprinted up the stairs, hair soaked with sweat, recklessly asking around for a girl named “Su Ruan.”
Xie Jinxing stood with his back to the window, suit jacket draped over his arm. One elbow rested lightly on the railing; his hand hung naturally. Long, slender fingers, neatly trimmed nails, a lit cigarette pinched between index and middle fingers, burning without being smoked.
Xie Jinxing didn’t speak, but Lu Xingyu jumped. “Uncle, what are you doing here?!”
Xie Jinxing had no explanation, since leaving the hospital room, he had been pondering this same question. Such unrequested kindness was beyond his usual cognition.
“Where’s the Gu girl?” Xie Jinxing asked abruptly.
Lu Xingyu froze, dumbfounded.
“She’s not with you?”
Lu Xingyu wanted to say, Why would she be with me? But faced with his cold, formidable uncle, he had no room for casual answers. He pressed his lips together, swallowing his pride. “Uncle, do you need her? I can give you her number.”
Just as he prepared to send Gu An’an’s contact, he saw that that brat Zhou Jiayu had sent a picture.
Opening it, it was Gu An’an struggling in the water, with the caption: Haha, looks like she can’t swim.
Lu Xingyu’s jaw tightened instantly.
“What’s going on?” Xie Jinxing stubbed out his cigarette, tossing the butt into the trash.
...
After that, the uncle and nephew appeared at Gu An’an’s apartment.
Gu An’an wore Lu Xingyu’s jacket, a faint cool mint scent lingering on her. She reached to adjust it, but Lu Xingyu frowned and held her in place. “Wear it properly! What are you wearing? It looks terrible!”
“Even if it’s terrible, can it be worse than you? You with your fancy clothes and showing off every day!” Gu An’an was still mad about the afternoon incident, thinking of that idiot made her fume. One day, she vowed to beat him into the ground.
Clenching her fists, she snapped, “What are you doing here?”
Lu Xingyu wanted to say to see if you’re dead, but with Xie Jinxing behind her, he could only choke.
Lu Xingyu’s brain wasn’t the sharpest among supporting male leads in CEO romances.
Throwing off his hand, Gu An’an switched on the lights. Warm yellow light filled the room, highlighting the eerie portrait on the wall.
Xie Jinxing: “...”
Lu Xingyu followed his gaze to the photo. He, tall and long-armed, casually plucked it from the wall.
“Are you crazy? What is this? A posthumous photo?”
Gu An’an: “...”
Too lazy to argue, she turned off the Bluetooth speaker. Without the music, the atmosphere normalized.
Turning back, Xie Jinxing still stood silently at the door. His eyes briefly scanned the small, fragile girl before looking away.
Lu Xingyu, blocked by him, couldn’t rush in, cheeks puffed in frustration. She rolled her eyes; she hadn’t even lost her mind, what was he angry about?
Standing side by side, Xie Jinxing was half a head taller than Lu Xingyu.
Above their heads, slimes floated, Lu Xingyu’s had turned deep blue, now 40 points. Xie Jinxing’s remained cold gray, 10 points, unmoving.
Had something happened to increase Lu Xingyu’s favor? Had guilt finally struck him?
After watching Lu Xingyu for a few moments, Gu An’an hesitated. Though not entirely welcoming, she figured she should invite him in. Muttering under her breath, she crouched to grab two spare pairs of slippers from the shoe rack.
Lu Xingyu noticed the men’s slippers and frowned.
“What are these doing here? Gu An’an, what are you doing living alone?”
“What I do is none of your business,” she shot a wary glance at the gray 10, “Uncle, or, rather, Mr. Xie, what are you doing here?”
Xie Jinxing remained silent, his deep gaze fixed.
Even without a word, his dominating aura was overwhelming. Gu An’an cautiously glanced at the cheap plastic slippers, new and pungent, clearly unfit for someone like him.
“...If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to change shoes,” she mumbled.
Lu Xingyu, about to change, frowned again. Why did he have to, but his uncle didn’t?
Xie Jinxing, however, smiled faintly, eyes on her. “No need, I’ll leave soon. Gu An’an, since you grew up with Xingyu, if you don’t mind, call me Uncle from now on.”
Though he let her call him uncle, he still addressed her formally as Miss Gu.
Gu An’an nervously whispered, “Uncle?”
“Mm.” Xie Jinxing’s gaze rested above her neck, calmly telling her, “The school matter is resolved. Go back to class tomorrow without worry.”
Gu An’an’s eyes brightened. Her lethargy vanished instantly.
“The Xie Lakeside Resort project is complete, currently in trial operation over the Dragon Boat Festival. The resort is by the sea, equipped with certified diving and swimming instructors. If you like, you can bring friends and enjoy a few days there.”
He didn’t mention the incident in the water, casually dropping the note as if on a whim.
Gu An’an’s eyes sparkled, almost glowing.
Xie Jinxing smiled. “I’ll take my leave.”
“Uncle, take care~” Gu An’an covered her collar, smiling.
Xie Jinxing nodded and turned to leave.
After a few steps, he noticed Lu Xingyu still lingering at the door, giving him a look.
Lu Xingyu stood stiffly. Seeing the photo earlier, his heart had stopped briefly. He knew Zhou Jiayu had involved Gu An’an and that it concerned him, but he hadn’t expected such recklessness. Guilty yet confronted by Gu An’an’s scowl, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. He turned away, deflated.
Just as he was about to leave, Gu An’an called out, tossing the jacket into his arms: "Take it away."
Lu Xingyu's eyes widened.
Gu An’an went back to the house and slammed the door shut.
Back in the car, Xie Jinxing was talking on the phone with someone. Seeing Lu Xingyu coming up, he raised his hand and made a quiet gesture. After the car slowly drove out of the community, Xie Jinxing ended the call and turned his head to look at his nephew.
Seeing his face was ashen, he warned him meaningfully: "People can be reckless, but they can't be confused. Xingyu, you have to understand your own heart."
After leaving these words, he closed his eyes and rested without paying attention to his silly nephew.