Pulled by Zhu Mei, Xia Yu unconsciously drove to Yulang’s residence.
He parked the car and looked at Zhu Mei beside him.
Zhu Mei gazed at the tall building outside the window. “Is this the place? Which floor are they on?”
Xia Yu didn’t answer her question but asked instead, “What do you want to do?”
Initially, he had thought Zhu Mei was just an ordinary girl obsessed with bears, but now, she seemed somewhat different.
When she casually mentioned wanting to meet An Siyao and Xu Youxiang, Xia Yu felt a bit uneasy.
Zhu Mei reached out and patted Xia Yu’s belly. She had developed this habit because she found it pleasant to touch a brown bear’s belly.
Brushing her hand away, Xia Yu thought for a moment and said, “Not today. I’ll talk to them first and bring them to meet you tomorrow.”
He felt it might be inappropriate to return home after being away all night, suddenly bringing along a strange girl.
“Okay,” Zhu Mei agreed without objection.
“Then should I drive you back?” Xia Yu asked.
“I don’t want to go back.” Thinking about leaving her Li Hua behind, Zhu Mei’s mood dropped.
“Take you to a hotel?” Xia Yu suggested.
“Mm.”
After turning the car around, Xia Yu took Zhu Mei back to the hotel and booked her a room.
Inside the room, Xia Yu asked, “Do you have money on you?”
“I brought my bank card.” Zhu Mei pulled out her bank card.
Relieved, Xia Yu returned to Yulang’s residence.
Opening the door, the first person he met was the maid, who helped him take off his coat and informed him that An Siyao was in the study upstairs while Xu Youxiang was in the bedroom.
Xia Yu went to the study first and saw An Siyao arranging flowers. She was placing flower branches into water and trimming them with scissors, her expression focused and serious.
If An Siyao had been wearing ancient-style clothing, Xia Yu would have happily joined her. Unfortunately, she was wearing ordinary modern attire. There was also a maid present, and giving the impression of being licentious over a simple flower-arranging scene wasn’t good, especially if she reported it to Yulang.
Abandoning the idea of joining An Siyao, Xia Yu went downstairs to Xu Youxiang’s bedroom.
Xu Youxiang was lying in bed playing a handheld game.
“Let me join you,” Xia Yu said, grabbing the game console and linking up with Xu Youxiang to play an adventure game together.
After defeating a boss, Xu Youxiang looked at Xia Yu and asked, “I saw you drive downstairs through the window, then you left again. What happened?”
“A friend was planning to come over, but I felt it was inappropriate to bring her here, so I sent her away,” Xia Yu replied.
“Who was it?” Xu Youxiang became alert.
“Zhu Mei,” Xia Yu answered.
“That princess? You still want to play with a princess?” Xu Youxiang stopped playing and put the console down.
“You were curious why I was with that princess, right? Actually, it’s like this…” Xia Yu explained everything to Xu Youxiang.
Xu Youxiang sighed. “Even after turning into a brown bear, you still can’t stop chasing after pretty girls?”
“Be serious,” Xia Yu genuinely didn’t have that intention.
“Pervert! Sex maniac!” Xu Youxiang changed her wording.
“???”
Xia Yu pinned Xu Youxiang beneath him and started tickling her.
“Stop! Let go!” Xu Youxiang laughed and struggled.
After playing for a while, they both lay down to rest.
Xu Youxiang asked again, “So, does that woman know your identity?”
“Mm,” Xia Yu replied.
“She threatened you, saying she’d expose you if you didn’t explore the meaning of life with her?” Xu Youxiang turned to look at Xia Yu.
“…Can you stop projecting your thoughts onto others?” Xia Yu reached out and tapped Xu Youxiang’s head.
“I didn’t think like that at all!” Xu Youxiang denied it, but her blushing cheeks betrayed her.
Not pursuing the matter further, Xia Yu looked into Xu Youxiang’s eyes, which were now a beautiful turquoise blue.
He reached out and played with her eyelashes.
Brushing his hand away, Xu Youxiang asked, “What are you planning to do? Keep her as your mistress?”
“Why do you always think in terms of romance?” Xia Yu frowned. “She treats brown bears as pets and family. Now that she knows I’m a brown bear, she sees me as her pet and family. There’s no question of mistresses or anything like that.”
“Hmph, you know nothing about women. Some otakus even want to have sex with their cats, let alone you, who’s actually a human,” Xu Youxiang scoffed. “I’m sure that woman is probably thinking about nothing but rubbing against your body.”
Xia Yu admitted he didn’t know much about women and had no confidence to refute Xu Youxiang’s words.
Could it be that Zhu Mei really thought like that?
“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll handle it perfectly,” Xu Youxiang said, reaching out to touch Xia Yu’s pants.
She took out Xia Yu’s phone from his pants pocket, found Zhu Mei’s number, and saved it.
Pushing Xia Yu away, she said, “You go. I’ll talk to her.”
Trusting Xu Youxiang with the matter, Xia Yu returned to his bedroom confidently.
Since Xu Youxiang, who had extensive experience and deep understanding of women, claimed she could handle it well, he didn’t need to worry anymore.
He turned on the computer and started playing games.
When he felt hungry at noon, Xia Yu left his bedroom. The dining table already had dishes being served, and he stole a few bites before heading to Xu Youxiang’s room to check on her.
Opening the door, Xia Yu saw Xu Youxiang holding her phone, her eyes slightly red and her head drooping.
Had she failed? Had she been bullied by Zhu Mei instead?
Worried, Xia Yu approached Xu Youxiang, ready to comfort her, but Xu Youxiang grabbed his hand first.
“All the things between you and Mei Mei, why didn’t you tell me?” Xu Youxiang’s voice was low and nasal, signs of sadness and crying.
“We don’t have anything else going on,” Xia Yu was puzzled.
“You’re still lying to me,” Xu Youxiang hit Xia Yu’s shoulder. “You saved her when she was surrounded by terrorists, you saved her when she was surrounded by three tigers, and when she was so upset about her parents that she wanted to commit suicide by drowning, it was you who encouraged her.”
“Huh?” Xia Yu could understand the parts about terrorists and three tigers, but what was this about trying to commit suicide over her parents?
“She sees you as family. You should spend more time with her,” Xu Youxiang told Xia Yu.
“What about the part about wanting to rub against me?” Xia Yu asked.
“I was wrong about that. She told me a lot, and I feel like there’s no problem,” Xu Youxiang replied.
After leaving Xu Youxiang’s room, Xia Yu remained puzzled.
Suddenly, he thought of Zhu Mei’s speech bonus. Was it really that effective?
If Zhu Mei used it on Li Hua, wouldn’t it be easy to keep Li Hua around?
Perhaps she just didn’t want to pretend with Li Hua.
Putting the matter aside, Xia Yu went to call An Siyao, and the three of them sat at the dining table to eat.
In the afternoon, Xia Yu explained the situation to An Siyao. Confirming that Zhu Mei wouldn’t be coming to stay, An Siyao showed no reaction and didn’t seem to care.
Relieved, Xia Yu opened the door to An Siyao’s bedroom and saw Zhu Mei standing there.
He closed the door again and opened it once more—Zhu Mei was still there.
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