Xie Yu subconsciously took a step back but quickly put on an extremely aggrieved look.
"Shi Feng, I didn't come to look for Miss Xu on purpose. It's just that she's gone too far. She even used an anonymous account to expose that I meddled in your past marriage."
Xu Tingyu pinched the palm of her hand hard to calm herself down and held back the questions that were almost blurted out.
Qi Shifeng was here. She couldn't expose herself in front of him. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't be able to find out the truth in her whole life.
While she was calming her emotions, a hand landed on her waist. Then her wrist was tightly grasped and she was pulled into someone's arms.
The force was a bit strong, but not enough to cause pain.
However, Xu Tingyu was holding back her emotions and her ears were still buzzing. She immediately gasped and frowned, scolding, "Qi Shifeng, be gentle!"
Qi Shifeng loosened his grip but hugged her tightly before asking, "Are you okay?"
She unclenched her tightly curled fingers, hiding all her hatred, and put on that nonchalant look again.
"What could happen to me? You know that your little lover can't get the better of me. Otherwise, why did you used to stand up for her?"
She mocked him lightly and wriggled out of his arms.
She didn't want her abnormal emotions to be detected.
Qi Shifeng was a cautious and scheming man, different from Xie Yu in front of her.
Changing the topic to jealousy would prevent her abnormality from being discovered.
Qi Shifeng really wanted to defend himself. When had he ever stood up for Xie Yu in front of her?
But thinking carefully, he had indeed done some things in the past that were likely to be misunderstood.
It would seem like he was quibbling if he tried to explain it now that time had passed.
So he just stared at her profile. After making sure she was okay, he looked at Xie Yu.
"I said last time that you're not allowed to appear in front of her again."
The huge lobby was completely silent. Xie Yu looked at Qi Shifeng, a bit dazed.
Then, like a drowning person grabbing the only floating log, she reached out for him.
"I really didn't mean it. I... I was forced into a corner. You know that I don't have many jobs and I still have debts..."
Her voice got softer and softer, and her face turned from the angry red it had been before to a pale white.
"If my reputation gets any worse, I won't be able to get any jobs at all. Shi Feng, even if it's for my brother's sake, I..."
Her words were interrupted by Qi Shifeng before she could finish.
"That's enough. You're not supposed to use your brother's influence like this. Moreover, I've already been quite lenient towards you for his sake."
Qi Shifeng's tone was cold. The look in his eyes when he looked at Xie Yu was like looking at a stranger.
Normally, Xu Tingyu might have been curious again about what had happened between the two of them to make them fall out like this.
But she was in a bad mood today and didn't want to watch this old couple's drama of love and hatred in front of her.
So she said impatiently, "Alright, you can talk slowly. If you think it was me who did it, then call the police."
After saying that, she turned around and walked away. But after walking only a few steps, she felt something was strange. She couldn't help but look towards the corridor leading to the safety exit.
There was no one there.
The hotel staff had all avoided them when she and Xie Yu were arguing.
She shook her head, thinking she was being paranoid.
The most urgent thing was to go back and adjust the investigation direction to figure out how Xie Shu had died.
She got on the elevator thoughtfully and didn't look at Qi Shifeng even once during the whole process.
So she didn't notice that the man was calmly looking at her from behind, his lips tightly pursed, and his eyes dull and gray.
Just like the suddenly overcast sky outside.
When Xu Tingyu returned to her room, she was still very annoyed.
The two assistants heaved a sigh of relief when they saw her come back safely and quickly stepped forward to ask about the situation.
They had wanted to go down with her just now, but were stopped by Xu Tingyu.
She said this was her private "battle" and she needed to fight it alone, so as not to be misunderstood as bullying others with numbers.
Shu Shu and A Xing had been very worried upstairs for a long time, afraid that their boss would suffer.
"Don't worry. It's settled. It was just a verbal fight. Nothing new. You guys go back to sleep quickly. I'm also sleepy."
She didn't have the mood to be perfunctory, so she simply issued an "eviction order" to drive the two of them back to sleep.
Shu Shu and A Xing had no choice but to go back to their rooms, looking back at her every few steps, and constantly telling her to call them if there was anything.
Xu Tingyu didn't even hear what they were saying.
She only felt that her mind was in a complete mess and the more she tried to sort out her thoughts, the more confused she became.
Xie Shu was dead. Was it because of the rejection reaction?
She didn't know what kind of mood she should be in to face this news.
She locked herself in the room and curled up under the quilt. The tear that she had held back downstairs finally slid from the corner of her eye into the quilt.
Over the years, she had trained herself to be as tough as a steel wall, and no one could easily hurt her.
But her family was still the softest part of her heart.
Especially the name "Xu Jia" was like a thorn in her heart. Every time it was mentioned, it would pierce deeper into her heart.
She hated a lot of people. She wished she could tear all those who had harmed Xu Jia into pieces and torture them to death.
She hated that God was blind and the world was extremely unfair. Xu Jia was clearly just a student who knew nothing, so obedient and sensible.
Why did they have to harm him like this?
Hating and hating, she hated herself the most, hating her own weakness and stupidity for inviting the wolf into the house.
She buried her head deeper into the quilt and curled up into a ball.
When Qi Shifeng came in, he saw her wrapped up like a chrysalis.
Her whole body was wrapped in the quilt, only a bit of her hair was left outside.
She seemed very sad and insecure.
Qi Shifeng didn't know why, but there was a dull thud in his heart, as if he had been hit hard.
He took off his coat, walked over with heavy steps, and first called out, "Tingyu."
His voice was soft but clear enough so as not to scare her.
But there was no response from her. There was no movement under the quilt at all.
He frowned, not caring about anything else. He bent his long legs and knelt on the edge of the bed. He reached out and peeled back the quilt.
The person inside had messy hair, closed eyes tightly, and an undefended face. Obviously, she was asleep.
She had actually fallen asleep?
Qi Shifeng felt a bit frustrated.
He had rushed back from a long distance, worrying about her safety all the way and confirming with the hotel again and again.
But not only did she not even look at him, but she also left him downstairs with another woman.
And then she was sound asleep here.
He was annoyed. He licked his back teeth, brushed aside her messy but silky hair, and lowered his head. A kiss landed on her long black eyelashes.
Just once, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
The next second, Xu Tingyu suddenly opened her eyes, like a princess awakened by a prince's kiss.
But this princess wasn't going to be kind to the prince. Instead, she looked at him warily and blurted out a question.
"How did you get in?"