"Who?"
"Quick, stop him!"
A sudden commotion arose from outside. Yu He held her breath, only to hear the office door slam shut.
Yu He let out a sigh of relief. The surroundings were dim. She pinched the base of her thumb, using the pain to keep herself awake.
The footsteps outside grew fainter. After a while, silence fell; they had all left.
Yu He immediately turned on her phone's flashlight. She emerged from under the desk and went to the window behind the office desk, pulling aside the curtains. Outside were bushes of greenery sprouting tender leaves.
This was the backyard; no one was there.
She opened the window and climbed out. She looked up and left and right, not spotting any cameras, and breathed a sigh of relief.
She squeezed out of the bushes, brushed off the dust from her clothes, and walked out onto the grass, heading down the pebble-paved path. Suddenly, a figure appeared before her.
The person was wearing a slim-fitting champagne-colored suit, leaning languidly against a lamppost.
Looking up, beneath slightly curled short hair was a face of ambiguous gender. Her skin was pale white, her lips curved into a devilish smile, her peach blossom eyes slanted upwards, and a dark brown mole under her right eye made her look exceptionally alluring in the lamplight.
"What were you hiding in there for?"
The man's magnetic voice held a hint of mockery, as if he had been waiting for her here specifically.
Yu He's brows furrowed. It seemed he had deliberately lured the others away.
Unsure if the other person was friend or foe, she feigned ignorance and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Seeing her deliberately play dumb, the man's alluring peach blossom eyes appraised Yu He wantonly and he said,
"Your flexibility is quite good. That window frame is only thirty centimeters wide, and you could still climb out. You must practice often, but the last bit of crawling through the dog hole wasn't elegant. You could try a different position next time."
"..." Yu He's breath hitched, and she looked at him warily.
He had been watching her the entire time she was struggling to climb out the window?!
"So, what were you doing in there just now?" the man asked, staring into Yu He's eyes.
Since she had been caught, Yu He stopped pretending. Her tone was indifferent, "What business is it of yours?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Tsk, so cold? I kind of saved you just now, and this is how you treat your savior?"
Yu He thought to herself, I could have gotten out without you luring them away.
It would have just been more troublesome.
But ultimately, she owed him a favor. Moreover, she could hear the sounds of searching coming from the office building behind her. She feared making too much noise and attracting unnecessary trouble, so she softened her tone slightly and asked, "What do you want?"
Seeing this, the man, with great interest, volunteered his name. "My name is Li Sichen, what's yours?"
Li Sichen? The Li family, ranked first among the top ten affluent families in the capital?
The top ten affluent families below the four major families of the capital were all figures of high society. Unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to make enemies lightly.
"Yu He."
Li Sichen murmured her name twice in a low voice, then gave her a devilish smile. "I saved you, how do you plan to repay me?"
Yu He: "How do you want to be repaid?"
Li Sichen stepped forward and playfully raised the girl's delicate chin. "The ancients said: a life-saving debt should be repaid with oneself. I happen to quite like your appearance. Be my girlfriend."
"..."
What nonsense about ancient sayings.
Yu He slapped his hand away. "I refuse."
As if he had expected her answer, Li Sichen wasn't sad at all. He was even unreasonable.
"If you refuse, then you'll just have to tell me what you were doing in there just now."
He had asked three times what she was doing in there, indicating not just ordinary curiosity, but an absolute need to know.
"Buzz~" Her phone vibrated again. It was probably Qin Beiting.
She had been out for quite a while. Yu He didn't want to waste time with him, so she casually found an excuse, "I was looking for some information."
"What information?" Li Sichen pressed.
"What are you doing here?" Yu He countered instead of answering.
The staff of Xing Que all wore uniforms with the Yinglong emblem, which was Xing Que's symbol. But this man wore nothing of the sort.
Moreover, this was Xing Que's administrative building. Photographers were usually at the auction tower, not here.
"Isn't it obvious? I came to save you~"
"How can I be sure the suspicious person they're searching for isn't you?" Yu He looked at him.
Li Sichen: "..."
Seeing that she wasn't as easy to fool as he imagined, he changed his approach.
"Since you're so disobedient, I'll just have to hand you over to them."
As Li Sichen spoke, he grabbed Yu He's hand and dragged her towards the administrative building.
Yu He was startled and tried to break free, but found the man's strength to be terrifyingly great.
Suddenly, a stone flew swiftly towards them. Li Sichen reacted quickly and immediately let go of Yu He's hand.
The stone flew between them and struck a wooden chair with a "clatter," leaving a scratch mark.
The moment Li Sichen let go, Yu He inadvertently saw a jade thumb ring on his left thumb. She didn't get a clear look at the pattern.
She paused for a moment. She remembered the last time she saw the殿主 of Xing Que, he was also wearing a thumb ring...
"Catch him!"
Just then, a roar came from behind them.
Yu He turned her head and saw several men in Xing Que security uniforms rushing over. Behind them was Qin Beiting, walking with steady steps.
Yu He's eyelashes fluttered lightly. She stayed put obediently, waiting for them to approach, then she would react.
However, the security guards ran very fast, passing by her. Yu He only then realized that Li Sichen had disappeared at some point!
Perhaps seeing that Yu He was a girl, only one security guard stayed behind, pointing an electric baton at her, conducting a routine check.
"Which floor? What are you doing here? Show me your invitation card."
"Fourth floor. I came out to use the restroom and got lost." Yu He lowered her gaze and took out her invitation card from her pocket, handing it to him.
After the security guard verified the invitation card was real and handed it back, he turned to Qin Beiting, who was walking towards them, and asked, "Is she the person you're looking for?"
"Yes," Qin Beiting replied, his gaze falling on Yu He. "Are you alright?"
Yu He's eyes darted between Qin Beiting and the security guard. She shook her head, then walked to Qin Beiting's side like a scared young girl.
Qin Beiting looked at her cleverness and found it somewhat endearing.
"Don't wander around if you're not supposed to. Go back to the auction viewing area," the security guard warned before turning to chase after the others.
Seeing them leave, Yu He breathed a sigh of relief and looked up. "Brother Ting, why are you here?"
"I waited for you for a long time, and you didn't answer your phone. I was worried, so I came out to look," Qin Beiting glanced in the direction the security guard had gone. "Why were you with him?"
Yu He walked in the direction Qin Beiting had come from. "I came out of the restroom and got lost. I happened to hear some commotion over here, so I came to take a look, and then I met him. I was asking him for directions."
Qin Beiting kept pace with her. "Oh? Asking for directions while being pulled and dragged?"
Yu He: "..."
Seeing her delayed response, Qin Beiting suddenly stopped and looked at her. "Baby, is there something you're hiding from me?"