Chapter 171: A Man and Woman Alone

After sending off Ernst, Xia Fei only felt his whole body lighten. After all, it was not easy to have rejected a tempting offer, not to mention that it involved Avril and the entirety of Starlink Corporation. The offer was indubitably a priceless transaction—something that anyone would go crazy over.

Phantom was shaking his head like a rattle. “You’re mad. Absolutely insane. Why would you reject such a wonderful offer?”

Xia Fei lit a cigarette and calmly replied, “Avril isn’t an object or good; she should not be used as part of a transaction. Imagine you are Ernst; would you have given the company forged by the countless generations before to a complete stranger you’ve only met once?”

Phantom’s forehead creased as he mulled over this for some time. “Though Ernst said that he’s trying to save his family, the method that he used to resolve it is somewhat too far-fetched when one carefully thinks about it. Begging for mercy isn’t the only way to save Barty’s life; as one of the elite families in the Alliance, Ernst ought to have other methods at hand, so there’s no reason for him to put his entire family’s life and fortune all on you.”

“Something strange is afoot, so I rejected it because I can’t make sense of it,” Xia Fei answered. “Rejection was the safest way to handle that situation just then.”

Phantom seemed to have understood a little but was still unable to make sense of other things. Actually, he was not the only one; Xia Fei himself could not fathom the true intentions of Ernst, and he had only made his decision based on his intuition.

“Then, that other method that you mentioned, which can save the Jian family’s prestige, what is it exactly?” Phantom changed the topic.

“Killing Barty.”

“Kill him?”

“That’s right. Only Barty’s death can reduce the impact of this entire situation to the smallest. Since matters have already gotten to this point, even if I choose to keep mum about it, there’s no guarantee that the Ling brothers will honor the same gag order. You yourself know how much they hate Barty, and besides, everything is being reported to the Adjudicator Union, so sooner or later, everyone involved in the Bliss Club will be removed, roots and all.

“If Barty dies, this matter will become his individual action, and it won’t affect the family. Think about it; if Barty appears in the court, facing down the wrath of the countless civilians, just how severe will it be for the Jian family?”

XIa Fei got up and headed to the door, while Phantom shook his head repeatedly. “That is indeed the case. All things are put to rest when someone dies. That’s the only way for the Jians to lose the least. It’s just that, for Ernst to let you kill his flesh and blood, people will find it hard to wrap their heads around. He’s really quite ruthless.”

Xia Fei smiled. “He looked very despondent when he walked away as if he’s aged even more at that instant. I could tell that it’s not that he doesn’t care about Barty; he was merely making a decision for the sake of his family. Not anybody could abandon their child at such a critical juncture.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for Avril’s sake, I wouldn’t even bother to kill Barty. Slaying someone like him will only dirty my hands.”

There was only Pang Hai standing in the empty corridor. Avril and Ernst both left for the dining hall, and the bodyguards went with them.

“The old Patriarch and the young mistress are waiting for you in the dining hall,” Pang Hai said.

Xia Fei slightly nodded to show acknowledgment. He did not have a good or bad impression of Pang Hai. The reason why he protected Barty was out of love, and no matter how badly Barty acted, Pang Hai would still protect him, and such loyalty was worthy of admiration. Besides, Pang Hai was about to retire, so Xia Fei decided to let this fiercely loyal old coot off and not continue having a dispute with him anymore.

“Congratulations. The old Patriarch holds you in high esteem,” Pang Hai whispered.

“Why is that so?” Xia Fei was slightly surprised. His son was about to die in his hands, yet Ernst actually held him in high regard? Could he have taken the wrong medication?

Pang Hai chuckled reluctantly. “I’ve told you; you and the Jian family live in two absolutely different worlds; if you decided to let Barty off in exchange for wealth earlier, I dare assure you that you wouldn’t ever be able to take a step in the Jian household again, but it’s precisely you rejecting his offer, even voicing your willingness to kill Barty, that caused the old patriarch to view you in a different light.”

Xia Fei frowned. “Because I want to kill his son, he now holds me in high regard, instead?”

“I know you don’t understand, but remember this well: The Jian family could stand tall for so many years because they would always make the right choice at the critical moment.”

Pang Hai’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Xia Fei. “This is the norm in high society. You’ll get used to it over time.”

…

The dinner was uneventful. Ernst was heavy-hearted, only saying a few words tonight. Xia Fei, meanwhile, was mulling over what Pang Hai had told him, about how the top families in the Alliance would deal with matters differently from the common folk, willing to sacrifice their flesh and blood for the preservation of their family’s prestige. This was something that not many in this world could do.

Poor Avril was unaware of all these. One moment she was attempting to humor her grandfather, the next she was feeling sad over Xia Fei, becoming full of dejectedness the whole night.

Once this depressing dinner affair concluded, Ernst and Pang Hai bid everyone farewell, saying that they were retiring to their seclusion spots. Before leaving, Ernst glanced at Xia Fei profoundly as if wanting to explain something to the latter, but he ultimately kept quiet.

After sending Ernst off, Xia Fei and Avril went back to the floor they were staying, though Xia Fei did not return to his room and, instead, followed Avril back to hers, lightly pushing the door open.

“I’ll be staying here tonight,” Xia Fei softly stated.

“If you’re staying here, where should I sleep?” Avril was puzzled.

“You’ll stay here as well.”

Avril could only feel a bout of dizziness come over her, and that pretty face of hers blushed furiously like a ripe apple. She would never have guessed that Xia Fei would be so bold as to request to stay in the same room as her. For a single man and a woman to share a room together, even a fool would have trouble not imagining what might happen.

Girls would of course mature before boys, and though Avril was uninitiated in the ways of the world, she still had a vague understanding about what happened between men and women.

‘Could he be thinking about…’ Avril was becoming more and more embarrassed the more she thought about it. Lowering her head and taking small delicate steps into the room, her heart thumped madly in her chest. She had no idea why she was feeling slightly afraid yet also vaguely expectant.

Xia Fei smiled at the dumbfounded Pang Xing, who was standing by the entrance, before turning to close the door behind him.

Pang Xing only came to a start after the automatic locks activated.

“Bastard!”

“Brute!”

“Beast!”

The bodyguards, who were guarding outside, could no longer suppress the rage that they were feeling inside, and each of them cursed Xia Fei furiously. All of them were convinced that their beautiful lady Avril would most definitely be taken by the man.

In the hearts of all these bodyguards, Avril was like an attainable saint—someone whom they could only admire from afar, yet that ugly Xia Fei had actually run in and staked his claim on the delicate beauty, causing all of them to feel extremely imbalanced deep down.

This was especially true given Xia Fei’s attitude just then, generously inviting himself into Avril’s room as if it was only natural for her to sleep with him. As such, the rage that these bodyguards were feeling toward Xia Fei soared to greater heights more than ever.

Closing the door, Xia Fei then moved to close the thick curtains, too, plunging the entire room into gloomy darkness. A man and woman alone in such a setting made it all the more impossible for people not to conjure some wild thoughts. Lying openly on the bed, Xia Fei stared at the ceiling above as if he was contemplating something. Avril stood at the side of the door, uncertain on what she should do, wishing that she could just find some hole to dive into. ‘What is he doing, lying in my bed? Is he perhaps waiting for me?’

After hesitating for a good while, Avril spoke in a small voice. “I’m going to take a shower first.”

“Okay,” Xia Fei answered with ease.

Changing out to a pair of slippers, Avril hurried and hid herself in the bathroom, taking a peek at Xia Fei before she closed the door. All she saw was Xia Fei lying calmly on the bed, all meditative. Avril’s heart was now trembling in a mixture of excitement and fear. “Xia Fei looks so calm and composed; perhaps he already has experience.”

She hid behind the door as she nervously clutched her burning cheeks. “This is so embarrassing; just what am I thinking about?”

She took a hot shower with her heart at sixes and sevens. Avril stood in front of the mirror and brushed her blonde hair over and over again, carefully wiping each and every water droplet off her skin, staring blankly into the mirror after she was done.

“Is today the day? How detestable. I haven’t even gotten myself ready for it yet.

“It wouldn’t be bad doing it with Xia Fei, would it?

“What should I say after I step out?”

The heart of the young maiden was like the weather in June: unpredictable. Avril was momentarily anxious, momentarily expectant. Even she had no idea just what exactly was the reason for this.

“Are you okay?” Xia Fei asked, knocking at the bathroom door.

“Don’t come in!” Avril nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing Xia Fei suddenly knock like that, blurting that out in her nervousness.

“Oh, it’s fine as long as you are okay.”

Avril clutched her chest. All that courage she had managed to gather all but disappeared following Xia Fei’s unexpected interruption.

Avril took a very long time to calm herself down again. She opened the door and very mortifyingly made her way to the bed. She lowered her head and sat down, her two, fair hands rubbing the corners of her pajamas, her face now a dazzling peach color.

Xia Fei leaped from the bed and walked toward Avril.

‘Here he comes.’ Avril’s heart began to thump hard, her head lowering even more than usual, her state of mind in complete chaos.

The moment Xia Fei’s hand touched her hair, Avril suddenly reached out to hug his waist, her voice trembling slightly. “You need to be gentle.”

Her head was blank, completely clueless why she had said something like that.

Xia Fei was slightly startled. “You go to sleep first. I’m going to take a shower, too.”

Avril anxiously let Xia Fei go and quickly crawled back under the covers, wrapping herself tightly from head to toe.

In no time, the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom. Xia Fei’s shower was much faster than Avril’s, taking no more than two minutes before his footsteps could be heard in the room once more.

‘He’s coming now,’ Avril nervously thought to herself as she shrank deeper under the covers.

A minute passed, and not a move was made.

Three minutes went by, and Xia Fei had still not torn off Avril’s bedcover.

Ten minutes later, Avril finally could no longer hold back and poked her head out, curiously looking around.

All she saw was Xia Fei lying down on the carpet, his clothes bundled up under his head to form a makeshift pillow, his two eyes closed, already fast asleep.

Avril felt very disappointed, coldly snorting as she pouted. She dove back under her covers and muttered softly to herself, “Curse Xia Fei, this big meanie! I knew he was just teasing me.”

It was unknown just how much longer before Avril finally fell asleep out of tiredness. She had clearly done nothing today, yet she had never felt more tired than before.

In the wee hours of the morning, Xia Fei abruptly opened his two eyes, breaking out from his dream. Without making a sound, he climbed up to his feet and hid behind the curtains while looking out into the night sky. All he saw was a weak light some distance away, flickering like fireflies, as if transmitting some signal.