Xia Yu originally thought Kong Hanyue would rush out in panic, ask him who was in the bathroom, and then he would start explaining. However, Kong Hanyue didn’t come running out.
Sitting in the living room, he could hear the conversation between the two in the bathroom.
“Little girl, how did you end up in my bathroom?” Kong Hanyue’s tone was flippant. If her gender were switched to male, it would be outright teasing.
Zhu Mei’s reply was too quiet for Xia Yu to hear. However, judging from Kong Hanyue’s subsequent remarks, the two had already established a friendly rapport.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave,” Kong Hanyue teased with a laugh.
Xia Yu took a sip of cola and tried not to imagine what Zhu Mei might look like at that moment.
After about ten seconds, Xue came up with a pair of slippers from downstairs, and only then did Kong Hanyue let Zhu Mei go, dragging Xue off to Liu Manman’s bedroom.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and a minute later, Zhu Mei came out.
Scanning the empty living room, Zhu Mei sat beside Xia Yu but kept a distance of about two seats away, indicating a mixture of some dependence and some aloofness.
Tossing her a bottle of cola, Xia Yu waited for the girls to emerge from Liu Manman’s bedroom.
Five minutes later, they finally finished discussing Liu Manman’s clothes and walked out together.
Xia Yu had thought Kong Hanyue would tell them about what she saw in the bathroom, but judging from their astonished expressions upon seeing Zhu Mei, Kong Hanyue had said nothing.
Looking at the drenched and quietly seated Zhu Mei, whose appearance was somewhat otherworldly, Liu Manman took a couple of steps back and leaned against a nearby wall.
Dark clouds gathered outside, dimming the sky. The living room lights were off, and Zhu Mei on the sofa seemed like a shadow.
With a trembling voice, she asked An Siyao and the others, “Can you see the person on the sofa?”
“???”
“Do you mean Xia Yu?” Kong Hanyue exchanged a glance with Xue, deciding to play a prank on Liu Manman.
“No, the one beside Xia Yu.” Liu Manman pointed in Zhu Mei’s direction.
“There’s no one beside me,” Xia Yu, finding the situation amusing, joined in the act.
An Siyao, still confused, looked from Liu Manman to Xia Yu, unsure what game they were playing.
Her reaction made Liu Manman mistakenly believe she couldn’t see Zhu Mei either, making her even more frightened.
In her mind, she recalled many ghost stories about haunted villas in the wilderness. Judging from the female ghost’s appearance, it was likely a case of love-related murder, filled with intense resentment.
“I’m not feeling well; I’ll go back to my room first,” she said, opening her bedroom door to escape.
“If you’re not feeling well, why go back to your room? Just sit on the sofa!” Kong Hanyue grabbed her and headed toward the sofa.
“Let me go! I don’t want to! No!” Liu Manman struggled.
Though An Siyao didn’t fully understand the situation, she realized that Kong Hanyue was bullying someone. She hid behind Hu Lianglu to avoid being targeted herself.
Hu Lianglu was about to intervene but abandoned the idea upon seeing An Siyao hiding behind her.
In the end, Kong Hanyue couldn’t keep up the act and burst into laughter, alerting Liu Manman to the prank.
“You scared me to death!” Liu Manman, feeling tricked, angrily chased and playfully hit Kong Hanyue.
“Hahahaha, how could there be a ghost? You’re just too timid,” Kong Hanyue said, patting Liu Manman’s shoulder.
At the same time, Xia Yu noticed that Zhu Mei had shifted her position slightly. Her back, previously suspended in midair, was now resting against the sofa backrest.
Zhu Mei had also been frightened. Suddenly, everyone in the room seemed unable to see her, which was quite terrifying. Just now, she had even questioned whether she was still in this world, wondering if she had died after falling while fleeing.
Thankfully, it was just a prank.
Relieved, Zhu Mei watched the playful interactions among the group, feeling a bit envious. In the past, when she lived in the mountains, she had lived a similar life.
“So, who is she?” Liu Manman approached from behind Zhu Mei, pinched her face, and reached out to touch her neck.
After confirming that Zhu Mei had a body temperature, a pulse, and a heartbeat, Liu Manman was completely reassured.
Curious about Zhu Mei’s background, she began to wonder. The villa was remote, and the sudden appearance of someone was strange.
And even more so, someone so beautiful.
“Do you remember what happened early this morning?” Xue began to explain.
Upon learning that Zhu Mei had been pursued by dark forces, the girls felt sympathy for her and had no objection to the girl hiding in the villa.
They were only fine with her hiding for now. Xia Yu’s plan, however, was to take Zhu Mei away.
He felt somewhat troubled about how to approach Yu Ningmeng to obtain a legal identity for Zhu Mei.
He also wondered whether the Yu family could manage to do so.
Before he could think of a suitable reason, the girls had already begun whispering with Zhu Mei.
Seeing that he wasn’t needed for the moment, Xia Yu returned to his bedroom.
Half an hour later, a maid came to call him for dinner. At the table, the girls discussed where Zhu Mei would stay.
There was an empty room downstairs, but seeing Zhu Mei’s alluring face, no one suggested she stay on the first floor with the servants.
Hu Lianglu, somewhat concerned about Zhu Mei, volunteered for Zhu Mei to stay with her.
In the afternoon, the excitement brought by Zhu Mei faded, and the group resumed their usual activities—some played games, while others watched movies.
Xia Yu gestured to Zhu Mei and called her to the balcony.
“If you’re willing, I can try to take you to the First District,” Xia Yu said directly.
“I can’t go there,” Zhu Mei shook her head.
“I know. You’re not from the 26th District,” Xia Yu waved his hand dismissively.
If Zhu Mei were an ordinary person from the 26th District, there would be no problem with the procedures to enter the First District. However, in reality, Zhu Mei was the princess of the 232nd District. Regardless of the fact that she came from a war-torn area, even the title of princess itself would not allow her to cross borders freely.
“You know?” Zhu Mei grew tense.
“I know everything about you. Don’t ask me how I know. Just answer me—would you go if there was an opportunity to live an ordinary life in the First District?” Xia Yu asked.
Zhu Mei fell into deep thought. She understood the underlying implication of Xia Yu’s words—this meant she would have to leave behind her captured sister and younger brother.
“Why do you care about me?” Zhu Mei began to suspect Xia Yu’s intentions, and her previous suspicions resurfaced.
“A friend asked me to take care of you,” Xia Yu replied. The friend he mentioned was Brown Bear.
“What friend?” Zhu Mei pressed.
“That’s something you don’t need to know,” Xia Yu couldn’t reveal Brown Bear’s identity.
“I don’t know what to do,” Zhu Mei shook her head, leaning painfully against the corner.
Xia Yu didn’t press further. He said, “You can take a day to think about it and tell me your decision tomorrow.”
With that, Xia Yu left Zhu Mei alone on the balcony and returned to his bedroom.
It wasn’t that he didn’t plan to help Zhu Mei rescue her younger brother and the others, but he felt that if Zhu Mei didn’t care about them, he wouldn’t go to the trouble. After all, this wasn’t his familiar First District, and rescuing people here would be very complicated, not to mention finding a suitable body would also be quite inconvenient.
Outside, the rain had already started to fall. Whether it would stop by tomorrow was unknown.
Approaching the window, Xia Yu watched the raindrops hitting the sand on the beach, creating small pits one after another, accompanied by a dense pattering sound, creating quite an artistic effect.
Taking out his handheld game console, he sat by the window and started playing games.
As evening approached, Kong Hanyue knocked on Xia Yu’s door.
Opening the door, Xia Yu saw her wearing a swimsuit.
“Swimming in the bathtub?” Xia Yu asked in confusion.
Kong Hanyue, who had been cheerful just a moment ago, frowned at Xia Yu’s words: “You’re the one swimming in the bathtub! We’re going outside to take some photos!”
She and Liu Manman had just seen an artistic photo of a beauty in the rain and were preparing to imitate it.
“You two have fun then,” Xia Yu declined Kong Hanyue’s unspoken invitation because he was in the middle of fighting a boss in his game and couldn’t save his progress.
“You should come too. This is a great opportunity for you to openly admire these beautiful girls!” Kong Hanyue pressed her hand against Xia Yu’s hand, preventing him from closing the door.
“I refuse,” Xia Yu tried to close the door forcefully. He had no interest in those swimsuits that only revealed their limbs and heads, not even showing their thighs.
“Then who will take the photos for us!” Kong Hanyue placed both hands on the door, but she couldn’t match Xia Yu’s strength, and the door slowly closed.
“You can ask Xue…” Xia Yu’s words were cut short as he noticed An Siyao emerging from the neighboring room.
Releasing his grip on the door, Xia Yu steadied Kong Hanyue, who had lost her balance due to his sudden stop. He said, “I’ll take care of it. An Siyao is going too, right?”
Seeing An Siyao behind him, Kong Hanyue understood the reason for Xia Yu’s change in attitude.
You agreed just because An Siyao is coming? I’m your mom!
“Hmph.”
Angrily glaring at Xia Yu, Kong Hanyue didn’t respond and returned to her room.
At this moment, Xia Yu’s attention was entirely on An Siyao, and he didn’t care about Kong Hanyue’s sullenness. He approached An Siyao, pretending to chat while actually admiring her.
After a while, Hu Lianglu and Liu Manman also came out, both wearing proper swimsuits.
It seemed that they didn’t plan to wear those full-body swimsuits all along; they had just chosen the more conservative option out of shyness on the first day.
Once everyone was ready, Xue called out Kong Hanyue and handed a swimsuit obtained from the maid to Zhu Mei.
Xia Yu had thought that Zhu Mei, who had previously insisted on climbing a cliff by herself rather than letting him help, would firmly refuse the swimsuit. However, Zhu Mei put it on.
This clearly abnormal behavior made Xia Yu speculate about Zhu Mei’s current thoughts.
They had only been outside for three minutes when the girls gave up on taking photos and returned to the villa.
In their imagination, the beautiful photos would be taken in a beautiful manner. However, the reality was quite different.
The rain was pouring so heavily that the woman in the artistic photo was only putting on a forced smile.
After each taking a shower, they had an ordinary dinner together and then watched a movie, marking the end of the evening’s activities.
Back in his bedroom, Xia Yu opened the window. Outside, the rain had weakened, and there was hope for clear skies tomorrow.
Taking out his phone, he dialed Yu Ningmeng’s number.
Although Zhu Mei hadn’t yet said whether she wanted to go or not, Xia Yu felt that, barring any unexpected developments, she probably did. This could be inferred from the fact that she didn’t immediately refuse. The girl also seemed eager to go to the peaceful and harmonious First District.
At most, he would help the girl rescue her younger brother, and then she would have no more concerns.
It would be better to call Yu Ningmeng early to inquire, allowing more reaction time if any changes occurred.
Yu Ningmeng answered the phone quickly.
“What do you want!” Yu Ningmeng’s voice was somewhat muffled. It was already deep night in the First District, and she was sleeping.
“There’s something I need to ask you,” Xia Yu organized his words.
“What is it? Did you fall for a beautiful girl in the 26th District and want to bring her back?” Yu Ningmeng casually guessed, picking up the glass of water on her nightstand to take a sip and relieve her drowsiness.
“More or less,” Xia Yu replied.
Yu Ningmeng’s hand trembled, spilling water onto the bed.
“What did you say! Say it again!” Yu Ningmeng’s drowsiness vanished in an instant. She gripped the phone tightly, extremely astonished.
Her first reaction was that Xia Yu was joking, but if that were the case, he should have answered “yes,” not “more or less.”
“There’s a girl from the 232nd District, and I want to take her to the First District. Maybe I’ll add a boy too,” Xia Yu said.
“The 232nd District? That war-torn area? Did you buy a girl from the 232nd District?” Yu Ningmeng put on her coat, sat upright, and decided to have a serious discussion with Xia Yu.
Although Yaoyao allows him, this isn’t an excuse for him to indulge. Even going as far as buying a lover before marriage, what would happen after marriage?
At the same time, she was also angry that Xia Yu didn’t appreciate the charm of mature women and only knew how to play with those young girls.
“No,” Xia Yu rubbed his forehead. He couldn’t understand how Yu Ningmeng had connected this to human trafficking.
He then gave the prepared explanation: “She’s the daughter of a friend of mine. She got into some trouble in Haiming City, and I want to send her directly to the First District.”
Before Brown Bear’s death, when Zhu Mei asked inquiringly, Xia Yu had jokingly said that he was the reincarnation of Zhu Mei’s father from her previous life. Zhu Mei actually called him “Dad” once, so calling her his daughter wasn’t an exaggeration.
“How old is she?” Yu Ningmeng asked. If she was over thirty or under fifteen, she would believe him.
“Looks like she just came of age,” Xia Yu wasn’t sure about Zhu Mei’s exact age either.
“Hmph,” Yu Ningmeng didn’t believe him at all. The idea that Xia Yu had a friend from the 232nd District was already quite far-fetched, and the notion that he met the friend’s daughter while traveling in the 26th District was even more absurd.
But it wasn’t impossible. She would believe it after seeing her.
“You can have her apply for entry, and I’ll help expedite the procedures,” Yu Ningmeng yawned, already preparing to hang up the phone.
“No,” Xia Yu replied.
“What do you mean ‘no’? No ID? So you really did get her from somewhere!” Yu Ningmeng raised her voice.
“Her identity is a bit special,” to prevent Yu Ningmeng from saying something irrelevant, he added, “Not some messy identity.”
“What is it then? Is it hard to get an entry permit for a special profession? Don’t worry, I…”
“She’s a princess,” Xia Yu interrupted Yu Ningmeng.
“What did you say?” Yu Ningmeng was taken aback.
“She’s a princess, the princess of the 232nd District. Her nickname is Meimei, and I haven’t asked her formal name yet.” After speaking, Xia Yu moved the phone a meter away, preparing himself.
The next moment, Yu Ningmeng’s voice roared through the phone: “You actually got a princess!”
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