Chapter 51: Unexpected Escort

Despite the unknown but palpable tension at the dinner table, Su Mian felt incredibly pleased.

To him, Xia’s arrival had inadvertently provided immense help.

Not only did it successfully separate Shen Zhixia and Xiao Moyuan, preventing his cold-faced rival from getting close, but it also serendipitously allowed him to sit beside Shen Zhixia.

Gazing at Shen Zhixia’s profile so close beside him, Su Mian’s heart swelled with delight.

Soon, exquisite dishes began arriving at the table.

Su Mian immediately switched into ‘attentive’ mode, picking up the serving chopsticks and continuously adding food to Shen Zhixia’s bowl, his face beaming with smiles.

“Zhixia, try this; it should be quite good. And this one, I recall you used to enjoy similar textures.”

Sitting opposite, Xiao Moyuan watched Su Mian’s practiced motions of serving food and the small mountain rapidly forming in Shen Zhixia’s bowl, his brows knitting together unconsciously.

‘This scene… damnably familiar. Not long ago, at the restaurant on the top floor of the Twin Towers, Su Mian had served him food in the exact same manner.’

A subtle sense of déjà vu intertwined with an inexpressible irritation within him.

“A’Mian, it’s alright, really, I can serve myself…”

Shen Zhixia felt a hint of awkwardness, especially in front of Xiao Moyuan. She wished to maintain some distance from Su Mian to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

She subtly glanced up to gauge Xiao Moyuan’s reaction, only to find him staring at Su Mian, his eyes as cold as ice, which made her heart tighten further.

To alleviate the delicate atmosphere, and also wishing to bridge the distance with Xiao Moyuan, Shen Zhixia also picked up the serving chopsticks.

She placed a tender piece of fish onto Xiao Moyuan’s plate, her voice as soft as she could make it: “Moyuan, you should eat more too. This steamed fish looks very delicious.”

Xia, who had taken in everything, subtly curved the corners of his lips, a playful glint flashing in his light blue pupils.

‘The relationships between these few at the table seemed even more intricate and interesting than he had anticipated.’

Without a change in expression, he also picked up the serving chopsticks, elegantly placing a perfectly braised piece of pork belly into Su Mian’s bowl.

His tone was gentle, filled with sincere gratitude: “Su Mian, I must thank you as well. Honestly, I’m truly fortunate to have met such a friendly roommate like you right after transferring to N University.”

Su Mian, still focused on serving Shen Zhixia, didn’t think much of it and responded politely: “Oh, it’s nothing, you’re too kind. I didn’t really do much to help.”

However, as his polite words fell, he distinctly felt the air pressure around Xiao Moyuan drop even further, as if the restaurant’s air conditioning had instantly turned to full chill.

Then, to the slightly bewildered gazes of both Su Mian and Shen Zhixia, Xiao Moyuan also picked up his chopsticks.

His movements were far from gentle, even carrying an undeniable force, as he picked up a glistening piece of sweet and sour pork ribs.

With a ‘thwack,’ he placed it into Su Mian’s already unspacious bowl, almost pushing out the braised pork.

He lifted his eyes, his gaze heavy as he looked at Su Mian, speaking with an icy tone, almost biting through his back teeth: “I should also ‘thank’ you, as Shen Zhixia’s ‘childhood friend,’ for ‘taking such thorough care’ of her.”

Su Mian stared at the sudden rib in his bowl, his brows furrowing tightly.

‘What kind of thanks was this? His tone was as hard as stone, his eyes as cold as knives.’

‘They weren’t even together yet, was this a declaration of sovereignty from a ‘rightful boyfriend’?’

‘Or an omnipresent warning to his ‘love rival’?’

‘Had this guy forgotten he had an online girlfriend named ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ again?’

‘His scummy nature was completely exposed!’

Shen Zhixia, however, felt a sweetness in her heart.

She automatically filtered out the harshness in Xiao Moyuan’s words, only catching ‘thank you’ and ‘care.’ She instinctively believed Xiao Moyuan considered her one of his own, which was why he was expressing ‘gratitude’ to Su Mian on her behalf.

Smiling, she quickly tried to smooth things over: “Moyuan, A’Mian… he’s actually always been a very good person.”

Xia immediately seized the opportunity, smiling as he chimed in: “Yes, although Su Mian and I haven’t known each other long, I can deeply feel his kindness and thoughtfulness.”

As he spoke, as if to confirm his words, he naturally added a spoonful of shrimp to Su Mian’s bowl.

Before Su Mian could even say, “No need to be so polite, I can serve myself,” he saw Xiao Moyuan’s chopsticks move again.

This time it was a piece of tofu, landing precisely next to the shrimp, making his already small bowl even more packed.

Su Mian looked at his bowl, full without him having taken a single piece of food, his hand holding the chopsticks paused in mid-air, his mind slightly bewildered.

‘This situation… something felt wrong?’

But he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was off. It was just a very strange feeling.

Even Shen Zhixia, who was wholeheartedly biased towards Xiao Moyuan, now vaguely sensed something amiss.

Xiao Moyuan claimed he was thanking Su Mian on her behalf, yet he himself… had never served *her* any food, instead twice serving food to Su Mian?

The logic, no matter how she thought about it, seemed a little strange.

***

The meal concluded amidst this peculiar atmosphere.

After paying the bill, the group exited the restaurant.

With an impeccable, gentle smile, Xia naturally turned to Su Mian and invited: “Su Mian, it’s still early; shall we walk back to school together?”

Su Mian was about to nod in agreement when a low engine rumble interrupted his motion.

Xiao Moyuan had already precisely parked his black sedan in front of him. The window lowered, and without even glancing at Xia, he directly addressed Shen Zhixia: “Get in, I’ll take you back.”

He had correctly guessed Su Mian would get in the car.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhixia’s face immediately broke into a joyful smile.

‘Wonderful! She had finally gotten a chance to be alone with Xiao Moyuan!’

‘Perhaps… tonight, she could use the opportunity to invite him upstairs, open a bottle of red wine, and, while the atmosphere was just right, express her feelings again…’

She suppressed the elation in her heart, responding as demurely as possible: “Then I’ll trouble you, Moyuan.” With that, she prepared to open the front passenger door.

Su Mian’s heart, however, sank.

He clearly remembered that Shen Zhixia had rented an apartment off-campus for peace and quiet!

‘Letting Xiao Moyuan take her back? This would never do!’

‘What if Shen Zhixia invited Xiao Moyuan upstairs for ‘a cup of tea’? A lone man and woman, dry tinder and raging fire… Su Mian dared not think further!’

“Wait! Zhixia, I’ll take you too!”

Su Mian reacted with lightning speed. Before his words even finished, he had already darted forward, smoothly pulled open the car door, and once again settled firmly into the passenger seat, his movements so fluid it was as if he had practiced countless times.

Shen Zhixia’s hand, extended to pull the car door, froze in mid-air. The smile on her face instantly became somewhat strained, and she tried to subtly refuse:

“Su Mian… you, aren’t you going back to the school dorm with Xia? You don’t need to go out of your way to drop me off…”

Su Mian had long prepared an excuse, answering without batting an eyelid: “Oh, I’m not going back to the dorm just yet. After dropping you off, I plan to browse around nearby, buy a few things, and then head back on my own.”

“But…” Shen Zhixia still wanted to say something.

“Get in.” Xiao Moyuan spoke again from the driver’s seat, his tone carrying an undeniable authority, adding faintly, “No long-term parking in front of the restaurant.”

Shen Zhixia looked at Xiao Moyuan’s expressionless profile, then at Su Mian, who was already settled and clearly not planning to get out.

Ultimately, she could only sigh helplessly, grudgingly opening the back door and once again sitting in the spot she had hoped to escape tonight.

Xiao Moyuan wasted no time, quickly starting the car and merging into traffic.

The moment the car drove away, he looked through the rearview mirror, his icy, warning gaze, like a tangible arrow, precisely piercing Xia, who still stood rooted to the spot.

***

It wasn’t until the black sedan completely vanished around the street corner that the gentle, refined mask on Xia’s face instantly shattered and peeled away.

His complexion visibly darkened at an alarming speed. Deep within his light blue pupils, a terrifying crimson storm churned, and his entire face became twisted and frenzied with extreme anger and the humiliation of being provoked.

“Damn low-level creature… daring to look at me with such disdain…”

He practically squeezed the words through clenched teeth, his jaw grinding with a ‘clack-clack’ sound, as if chewing on something hard.

Xiao Moyuan’s repeated obstruction of his approach to that enticing, scent-emitting prey had thoroughly enraged him.

“Just wait… I will definitely make you pay…” He murmured softly, his voice imbued with a bloody undertone.

***

Meanwhile, the car followed the address provided by Shen Zhixia, stopping beneath a tranquil apartment building.

“We’re here, you can get out.” Xiao Moyuan’s voice was devoid of warmth, a direct dismissal.

Shen Zhixia pursed her lips, her face etched with disappointment and helplessness.

Her carefully conceived plan for a romantic, private moment and confession had been thoroughly ruined by Su Mian, who had appeared out of nowhere.

She cast a resentful glance at Su Mian, who was utterly oblivious in the passenger seat, but ultimately said nothing, silently opening the car door and stepping out.

“Then… I’ll get out here too.” Su Mian, seeing Shen Zhixia safely arrived, prepared to follow her out.

However, just as his hand touched the door handle, he heard a soft ‘click’—the central lock was still engaged. Simultaneously, Xiao Moyuan’s undeniable voice rang out: “No need. Wherever you need to go, I’ll take you.”

Su Mian: “???”

‘What was going on?’

‘Shen Zhixia had already gotten out, why was he keeping him in the car?’

‘Could it be… he wanted to find a secluded place to settle scores for all the times he’d ruined his ‘good deeds’ today, or even beat him up?!’

A warning bell immediately rang in Su Mian’s heart, and a chill crept up from his feet.

He had indeed ensured that Xiao Moyuan hadn’t found a single opportunity to be alone with Shen Zhixia today…

“No, no need to be so polite…” Su Mian’s voice involuntarily trembled slightly as he tried to open the car door, “I… I can just take a taxi back myself, it’s very convenient…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Moyuan didn’t give him a chance to continue, not even glancing at him.

He stepped on the accelerator, and the car swiftly pulled away from the apartment building, leaving the stunned Shen Zhixia far behind.

Su Mian watched the streetscape rapidly receding outside the window, and Shen Zhixia’s increasingly small, bewildered face. He froze completely: “…”

The car drove for only a few minutes in the night, but Su Mian’s inner panic grew stronger.

He secretly peeked at the navigation map on his phone, discovering that the car was heading in the complete opposite direction from N University, even moving further towards a relatively remote area of N City.

He became even more certain of his dreadful suspicion—Xiao Moyuan was indeed planning to retaliate against him!

“Xiao… Xiao Moyuan,”

Su Mian took a deep breath, attempting to resolve the crisis through reason:

“We… we are in fair competition right now, aren’t we? I admit, you are indeed very outstanding, excellent in all aspects… But, I’ve liked Zhixia for so many years, I can’t just stand by and watch her and you… you know.”

He carefully chose his words, trying to appeal to the other party’s ’empathy’:

“Put yourself in my shoes, if I were in your position and saw someone pestering Zhixia like this, I would definitely do something, right? What I’ve done… is actually… quite normal, isn’t it?”

Seeing Xiao Moyuan still driving with an expressionless face, not even bothering to give him a glance, Su Mian’s voice grew softer and softer, with a clear hint of a whimper:

“And… and, this is a society governed by law… if there are any conflicts, we can resolve them in a civilized manner. You… you can’t just hit people randomly…”

He was truly terrified.

Because at this moment, Xiao Moyuan’s chiseled profile, in the flickering light outside the window, appeared exceptionally cold and hard, exuding a terrifying aura that was more unsettling than any previous confrontation.

Xiao Moyuan ignored his words, simply gripping the steering wheel, driving in silence the entire way.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed from the city’s dazzling lights to sparse buildings.

Finally, after nearly two hours of driving, the car steadily stopped in front of an extremely upscale and luxurious hotel in an unfamiliar district.

“Get out.”

Xiao Moyuan finally spoke, his voice still flat, but carrying an irresistible command.

Su Mian looked at the hotel logo, shining with neon in the night outside the car window, then at Xiao Moyuan beside him, unbuckling his seatbelt and preparing to get out.

His brain completely crashed, his face showing only immense bewilderment and disbelief.

“???”

‘Bringing him to such a distant hotel…’

‘This… what exactly did this mean?!’