Xia Yu jumped down and immediately looked into the cave. What he saw was a woman with disheveled hair that covered her face, making it impossible to see her features clearly.
The woman took a step forward, attempting to resist, but Xia Yu pulled out his gun and stopped her.
Xia Yu advanced step by step and soon reached the woman, who slowly backed away until she hit the rock wall with nowhere else to go.
She tried to run sideways, but Xia Yu placed his hand on the rock wall, blocking her path. Helplessly, she could only watch as Xia Yu reached out toward her.
Xia Yu brushed the hair away from her face and saw the familiar, seductive face.
It was indeed Mei Mei.
How did she end up in District 26? Xia Yu wondered.
Regardless, seeing Zhu Mei, Xia Yu felt somewhat relieved. He had been a little worried about the girl, but now he could rest assured.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Xia Yu’s face.
However, while Xia Yu recognized Zhu Mei, Zhu Mei did not recognize Xia Yu without his brown bear vest.
Xia Yu’s smile made Zhu Mei somewhat fearful.
In a dark cave, a man had cornered a girl against the deepest wall with a lecherous grin—what could he possibly be intending?
Thinking of this, Zhu Mei gritted her teeth and kicked toward Xia Yu’s crotch.
This was the martial arts technique taught to her by Li Hua.
Xia Yu blocked the kick with his knee, and then Zhu Mei reached out to poke at his eyes.
Grabbing her arm again, Xia Yu sighed in exasperation. He had never noticed before how temperamental this girl could be.
In his mind, he had already shown a friendly smile, so Zhu Mei should have obeyed obediently.
“Let me go!” Zhu Mei continued to struggle. Xia Yu had no choice but to grab her other hand as well and pin her legs with his knee.
Still, Zhu Mei refused to calm down and headbutted Xia Yu.
Xia Yu had no choice but to act decisively, pressing his forehead against Zhu Mei’s and pinning her against the rock wall, completely immobilizing her.
In this position, their bodies were tightly pressed together. To avoid provoking Xia Yu, Zhu Mei stopped struggling.
Xia Yu looked at Zhu Mei’s face, just inches away.
Zhu Mei’s eyes, after briefly avoiding his gaze, became determined again, glaring fiercely at him. However, that fierceness wavered and turned to fear as soon as Xia Yu shifted slightly, revealing it to be mere bravado.
His gaze shifted from her eyes to her face, then to her lips.
Whether it was due to her recent struggle or something else, her face flushed red, and her lips looked particularly red and enticing, making her seem very kissable.
Xia Yu turned his gaze away, unwilling to keep looking at her.
This seductress, though still a girl in body, had a naturally beautiful face that needed no makeup to be stunning.
“You’re clearly no match for me. I’ll let you go, but you need to behave yourself, understand?” Xia Yu asked.
Zhu Mei did not answer, so Xia Yu took it as her agreement.
As he released the girl, Xia Yu couldn’t help feeling disappointed and even briefly entertained the thought of imprisoning her.
It was just a fleeting thought, much like how one might want to catch a cute little animal and keep it at home.
“What do you want to do?” Zhu Mei quickly moved away from Xia Yu, shrinking into another corner of the cave.
Seeing her tightly gripping her clothes, Xia Yu finally understood why she had been so agitated earlier.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you,” Xia Yu said, deliberately keeping some distance to ease the girl’s anxiety.
“You can stay hidden here. Although those people are too afraid to come in, they’re still searching for you outside,” Xia Yu said. He wasn’t sure whether the Gray Reef Company’s people were still outside, but he had no problem lying to calm Zhu Mei.
After finally meeting her, and seeing her in such a vulnerable state, how could he let her escape?
He had previously gone to great lengths to rescue her from the mountain, enduring more than a dozen gunshot wounds and even losing his brown bear body in the process. He couldn’t let her slip away so easily now.
A sea breeze blew in, and Zhu Mei sneezed.
She was wearing long-sleeved pajamas, but they were soaked—likely from jumping into the sea before finding this cave.
Xia Yu glanced at his own short sleeves and shorts. He wanted to go back and get her some dry clothes, but he was afraid that if he left, Zhu Mei would run away.
Unless he revealed that he was the brown bear.
This was a secret of his. Although he had developed a good relationship with Zhu Mei while in the brown bear’s body, Xia Yu couldn’t be sure that Zhu Mei would accept him the same way now.
Thinking this, Xia Yu took out his phone.
Seeing the phone, Zhu Mei immediately stood up, watching Xia Yu warily.
“If I wanted to capture you, I could do it alone—no need to call for help,” Xia Yu explained. “I’m just asking someone to bring some clothes.”
Zhu Mei hesitated, then withdrew her foot and crouched back into the corner.
Xia Yu opened his phone’s contact list, thinking about who should bring the clothes.
Considering Zhu Mei’s size, An Siyao’s clothes would be the most suitable. Even if An Siyao discovered someone was hiding here, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Xia Yu could even ask An Siyao to drop off the clothes and leave without letting her see Zhu Mei.
However, An Siyao wasn’t very perceptive. If she carried clothes outside, she would surely be noticed by Kong Hanyue and the others, who would then follow.
Xia Yu hadn’t yet decided how to handle Zhu Mei and didn’t want too many people to find out.
Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman were too impulsive. Although they could keep secrets, they would definitely ask a lot of questions. Hu Lianglu had little to do with him, so none of them were the best choice.
That left only You Xue.
Whether it was about being discreet or keeping secrets, You Xue met all the requirements.
Dialing You Xue’s number, Xia Yu waited.
Five seconds later, the call connected.
“Hey? Where did you go, Brother?” You Xue asked with some concern. Xia Yu had been gone for quite a while.
“Is An Siyao with you?” Xia Yu asked first.
“No. Should I go get her?” You Xue asked.
“No need.” Xia Yu coughed and said to You Xue, “I have an important task for you. Don’t let anyone know, understand?”
Holding the phone, You Xue tilted her head, puzzled about what kind of secret mission her brother could have. Still, she agreed, “Okay.”
“Do you have any clothes that would fit An Siyao?” Xia Yu asked, glancing at Zhu Mei again. “Something a bit smaller is fine.”
“No.” You Xue was quite troubled by Xia Yu’s request. As a middle school student, how could she have clothes suitable for An Siyao, a high schooler?
Xia Yu had only asked as a test, not really expecting You Xue to have them. He considered asking her to get some from An Siyao, but if she got caught, it would be a problem.
“Go to An Siyao’s room and ‘borrow’ a set of long sleeves,” Xia Yu said.
“What?” You Xue was shocked. She quickly looked around to make sure Kong Hanyue and the others were still on the couch and hadn’t noticed her, then sighed in relief.
“You should do these creepy things yourself! Don’t drag your little sister into it!” You Xue said, embarrassed and annoyed.
“I just can’t talk to An Siyao about this right now. Otherwise, I could ask for her entire person, not just clothes,” Xia Yu clarified first, then explained, “I’m afraid you’ll be discovered if you ask An Siyao directly, so I want you to ‘borrow’ a set first. I’ll explain later.”
You Xue reluctantly agreed.
After agreeing to contact him again once it was done, You Xue hung up the phone, feeling a bit down.
Listening to her brother and stealing clothes from her future sister-in-law—what kind of plot was this?
Would a normal sister even do something like this?
You Xue didn’t know whether normal sisters would or wouldn’t, but right now, she had no choice but to do it.
So, it was time to start planning.
She turned her gaze toward the living room. Liu Manman and Kong Hanyue were playing a battle game, An Siyao was playing an intense melody on her xiao flute, and Hu Lianglu was sitting quietly beside An Siyao, watching her.
Everyone was occupied—this was the perfect moment to strike!
Quietly leaving the balcony, You Xue passed behind the sofa and turned into a nearby corner.
Now, she couldn’t be seen from the living room, and You Xue sighed in relief.
It was impossible for someone to pass through the living room without being noticed, but as long as no one suspected her, it would be fine.
Arriving at An Siyao’s bedroom door, You Xue pressed the doorknob. An Siyao hadn’t locked the door, so You Xue entered smoothly.
Scanning the room, You Xue felt a bit nervous. This was her first time doing something like this, even though she was usually a good girl. It was only because it was An Siyao—if it were someone else, she would never dare.
She tried to comfort her conscience: An Siyao was her brother’s official girlfriend and would definitely marry him in the future, meaning she would become You Xue’s sister-in-law. It was perfectly normal for a younger sister-in-law to take a dress from her sister-in-law’s room.
Nodding in agreement with her own reasoning, You Xue opened the wardrobe.
She directly chose a dress.
Folding it simply and tucking it into her clothes, You Xue smiled.
Incredible! She had completed the mission perfectly!
Opening the door and stepping out, You Xue carefully closed it again, preparing to go downstairs and ask Xia Yu for the next step.
Just as she turned around, her smile froze.
Hu Lianglu was standing in front of her, silently watching her.
“…”
“…”
This was a huge crisis!
You Xue’s brain raced, searching for an excuse. She absolutely couldn’t let Hu Lianglu find out that she had entered An Siyao’s room and stolen a dress!
Just as she was thinking, she felt a sudden emptiness in front of her stomach. The dress slipped out from under her clothes and fell to the ground.
Hu Lianglu’s gaze shifted to the dress.
The situation was even more awkward than before.
Two seconds later, Hu Lianglu finally spoke: “This is An Siyao’s dress.”
“No, I…” You Xue anxiously tried to explain, but Hu Lianglu interrupted her.
“I know.” Hu Lianglu picked up the dress and handed it back to You Xue.
You Xue took the dress, unable to react quickly.
What exactly did you know?
“This kind of dress is too noticeable. Small items like socks are much more discreet.” After saying this, Hu Lianglu turned and walked into her own room.
Only after she had closed the door did You Xue finally react.
I’m not that kind of person!
Why did you look at me like an accomplice just now! And what did you mean by “small items like socks”?
You Xue felt like she had discovered something shocking.
She sighed and decided to pretend she hadn’t heard anything.
Tucking the dress back into her clothes, You Xue carefully went downstairs. There was only a maid and two bodyguards there—no one else.
Taking out her phone, You Xue dialed Xia Yu’s number.
Xia Yu was currently locked in a gaze with Zhu Mei. Although Zhu Mei had calmed down slightly, she still watched Xia Yu with unease, startled by any movement he made.
The sudden ringing of the phone startled Zhu Mei a little.
Pressing the answer button, Xia Yu received You Xue’s report that the task was completed.
“Remember the cave we came to together last time? Bring the clothes, some bread, and water, and come here,” Xia Yu planned to first use food and clothes to calm Zhu Mei down and then find out what was going on with her.
“And underwear,” Zhu Mei suddenly said.
Xia Yu was taken aback. Thinking back, he realized the truth.
Zhu Mei’s voice wasn’t loud, but the cave was quiet, and You Xue on the other end of the phone clearly heard it. She was shocked and whispered to Xia Yu, “Underwear? What exactly are you doing, Brother!”
“Just bring it—you’ll understand when you see,” Xia Yu said, and to prevent You Xue from refusing, he immediately hung up the phone.
Putting the phone on the nearby table, You Xue leaned against the wall with her hand.
She looked at herself. If it needed to fit Liu Manman’s body type, hers wouldn’t work. An Siyao’s and her mother’s would be too big, and Hu Lianglu’s would be too small.
Could she only ask Liu Manman? How would she explain it?
Or should she steal again? What if she got caught again?
So creepy!
No choice—she had failed to refuse immediately. You Xue tried to think of a plan. Was there no one else besides Liu Manman? Maybe she could use some padding?
Suddenly, she remembered something and turned her gaze toward the maid.
The maid was startled by the intensity in You Xue’s eyes.
Ten minutes later, You Xue, holding the items, arrived at the top of the cave. She dialed Xia Yu’s number and heard the ringtone coming from directly below her.
Looking down the cliff, she saw Xia Yu.
First, she threw the bag containing the items down, then, encouraged by Xia Yu, she jumped down herself.
Xia Yu caught You Xue and gently placed her on the ground.
“What exactly…” You Xue asked halfway, then her mouth opened in shock.
She saw the damp girl crouched in the corner of the cave.
“You monster!” the girl accused Xia Yu.
Xia Yu: “???”
After Zhu Mei explained the situation, You Xue understood.
“That evil force was after her! How pitiful!” You Xue approached Zhu Mei and helped her up.
Taking the bag from Xia Yu and handing it to Zhu Mei, You Xue pushed Xia Yu out of the cave.
“Don’t peek!” You Xue warned Xia Yu.
“Would I do something like that?” Xia Yu reached out to tap her head.
“Na na na!” the girl dodged Xia Yu’s hand, made a face at him, and returned to the cave.
Xia Yu hadn’t planned to peek anyway—after all, he had seen it all before. But now that You Xue had specifically mentioned it, he couldn’t help feeling a bit curious.
He could only look at the sky to distract himself.
The sky had already started gathering dark clouds, and it looked like it would rain soon.
How should he handle Zhu Mei?
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