At the sound of Hu Ming’s voice, the girl finally snapped out of her daze.
She shot to her feet, her eyes sparkling with surprise!
“Hey, are you okay?”
“What could happen? It wasn’t that big a deal.”
Hu Ming waved dismissively, looking utterly unconcerned. But this only deepened Xia Xiaoxi’s guilt.
She bowed slightly to him and said,
“I really troubled you today. Thank you for not minding my carelessness!”
Xia Xiaoxi meant it sincerely.
Most people would’ve grown bored long ago if they had zero interest in something.
But this boy hadn’t looked down on her. Instead, he’d stayed kind all along.
Xia Xiaoxi wanted to pull out her phone to add his contact. Yet the thought of her phone being regularly checked made her uneasy.
*Should I add his private number?*
She was still conflicted. That phone held too many traces of her personal life.
If he ever used anything against her, she’d be in big trouble.
Though often careless, Xia Xiaoxi wasn’t stupid. She guarded her privacy fiercely.
Under the dim light, their shadows stretched long across the ground.
They stood so close their shadows nearly touched, separated by just a hair’s breadth.
Hu Ming stretched lazily. Watching her conflicted face, he guessed her thoughts.
He turned and walked step by step toward the stairs.
“Alright, it’s late. Head back and rest early.”
“Um…” Xia Xiaoxi reached out, wanting to ask his name.
But Hu Ming strode into the darkness without looking back.
“No need for names. Meeting like this is fate. If we’re truly destined to meet again, I’ll tell you then.”
Xia Xiaoxi watched his figure fade. Yet in just a few hours, she’d memorized his every detail.
Those hours were the most extraordinary experience of her life.
“Destined to meet again?”
She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
...
By the time he returned to his room, it was past 3 a.m.
Hu Ming shed his disguise and sprawled lazily on the bed.
He’d deliberately avoided taking Xia Xiaoxi’s contact.
Because he knew they’d meet again.
That’s why he’d used the word “fate.”
Xia Xiaoxi was obsessed with otaku culture. People like her valued fate in romance.
If they reunited someday, her view of him would transform completely.
This was Hu Ming’s planted seed—a tactic against Han Shuyi.
He placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes peacefully.
Weariness washed over him, pulling him into a dream.
In it, he saw a little boy.
Curled alone in a dark, damp corner, the boy stared blankly ahead.
Iron chains shackled his wrists and ankles. At his feet lay a bowl of swill-like food.
From a nearby hole, a rat scurried out cautiously and began eating.
The concrete room had no cracks, no windows.
Days and nights blurred. Those trapped inside couldn’t tell dawn from dusk.
It felt like waiting for death.
The boy’s head rested against the wall, accepting his fate.
Then a voice snapped his attention.
He lifted his head slowly—only to be met with a hard slap!
He covered his cheek, expression unchanged.
Beneath his tattered clothes lay countless scars.
A woman stood there, cold eyes fixed on him, red lips parted.
“With that dead look, are you already gone?”
Dressed head-to-toe in black, her long coat made her look fiercely elegant.
She placed a hand on her hip, pinching his cheek.
“Do you know how many struggle just to breathe? Yet you want to die? Are you insane?”
“None of your business.”
His voice was weak but unflinching, his gaze locked on hers.
She was stunningly beautiful, almost bewitching.
Instead of anger, she raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile spreading.
“Now it is my business. From today, you’re mine. I’ll teach you skills. You’ll work for me.”
“Get lost!”
“Hmph? That’s no way to address your master. Punishment time!”
She slapped his bottom twice, like a parent scolding a child.
The boy lunged to bite her arm, bracing for a death blow.
This place had many like that.
But the unexpected happened.
She let him bite, her expression calm.
They stared at each other, her bewitching smile unwavering.
“Consider this my gift. Others who hurt me are all dead.”
Crimson blood seeped from his teeth. He stared blankly, slowly releasing his bite.
She pressed a handkerchief to her wound.
“If you want something, fight for it yourself. The only thing you can trust is what you earn with your own hands!”
After wiping the blood, she tossed the stained cloth aside.
An ordinary handkerchief, now soaked red.
She cupped her chin, studying the boy.
“You look sharp. What’s your name?”
He stayed silent, then shook his head.
She sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“Right. Here, you’re just numbers. From now on, you’ll take my surname.”
She extended her hand, confident smile bright.
“I’m Hu Min. You’ll be Hu Ming!”
*What a strange woman.*
A weird feeling stirred in him, but he grasped her hand.
This was his only escape.
At his loneliest moment, Hu Min had opened a door.
And from that instant, he became Hu Ming.
...
Dawn broke. The sun rose over crimson-tinged mountains, light piercing cloud gaps.
A sliver of sunlight slipped through the curtain.
Slender hands pulled the fabric apart, flooding the room with light.
Hu Ming blinked awake to a familiar maid outfit before him.
“Young master, time to wake up.”
