Seeing Xia Sanghuan's expression, Leng Chuanjin thought she was still brooding over what had happened at the banquet tonight.
He opened his mouth and comforted her rather stiffly.
"Don't take it too much to heart."
"Mother and I have already given Wanqing a lesson."
Then he turned his head awkwardly.
"You're very beautiful, more beautiful than those women. So there's no need to feel inferior."
Although he wasn't looking at her, he spoke very seriously, and there wasn't a hint of joking in his tone.
The girl's face instantly turned bright red.
She stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say.
Actually, she wasn't really bothered about what had happened tonight. She could still bear this level of criticism.
The main reason she couldn't sleep was because of that bottle of poison.
But the man had obviously misunderstood, and since he had already said so much, it wasn't appropriate for her to explain.
The two stood there in silence for a while until Xia Sanghuan suggested they sit on the sofa for a while, which finally broke the awkward silence.
It was almost the middle of the night now, and the temperature was even lower than before.
The girl's nightgown was obviously a bit thin, and she shivered slightly from the cold.
She sat on the sofa, hugging her legs, trying to keep herself warm.
Leng Chuanjin beside her noticed her discomfort. He took off his coat and draped it over the girl.
She was stunned for a moment, and then was immediately enveloped by the warmth from the coat.
It was so warm.
Was this the body heat from another person?
The coat not only carried the man's body heat but also a faint fragrance.
She twitched her nose slightly and sniffed.
"Second brother, what perfume did you spray?
"It smells so nice."
She only meant to ask casually, but Leng Chuanjin seemed to take it very seriously.
"… It's the Bleu de Chanel.
"Mother chose it for me."
He looked at the girl's profile and made a mental note.
After this conversation, another bout of silence fell between them.
For some reason, the girl always felt that there wasn't much to talk about with her second brother.
Her life was just a two - point routine between home and the laboratory. Not to mention any interesting daily experiences, she hadn't even had a normal campus life.
As for her second brother, it was even more so.
He always talked very little. He would never say more than necessary if three sentences could sum up a matter.
If he didn't want to talk, it would be a luxury to get an extra punctuation mark out of his mouth.
The girl tried hard to come up with a topic to break the silence.
"You..."
Unexpectedly, they both spoke at the same time.
"You go first."
The man graciously yielded.
"How did you know about what happened tonight, second brother?"
"My mother told me.
"At first, she just told me to come back quickly. Her tone was very anxious.
"I thought something had happened to Jingzhan, so I rushed back immediately. As soon as I got to the hospital, she dragged me to disguise myself.
"Then she took me home."
At this point, he paused.
"I saw you at the door.
"Actually, I wanted to go over and take you away.
"But mother stopped me.
"You know what happened next."
When he saw the girl being excluded by those people outside the door, he was so angry that he almost lost his composure.
If it were him, he would have taken her away without hesitation.
But his mother didn't. She chose a more prudent way.
She came to save the day and even asked him to dance with the girl.
This not only instantly reversed the crowd's opinion but also gave them a clear hint.
Xia Sanghuan was under his protection.
Whoever gave her trouble would be going against him.
They might dare to continue bullying this little - known young miss of the Fu family, but they would never dare to provoke the current head of the Leng family.
Thinking of the waltz tonight, the girl let out a couple of dry laughs.
"Sorry, second brother.
"I dirtied your shoes."
In contrast to her uneasiness, the man seemed completely unconcerned.
"It's okay. I have a lot of shoes."
After Xia Sanghuan finished asking, it was Leng Chuanjin's turn.
He hesitated for a moment, as if making up his mind.
"When my mother asked you just now.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
She frowned, trying to recall what Mrs. Leng had asked her.
Seeing that she couldn't remember, he sighed.
"She asked if there were any boys who liked you."
"Oh—this matter."
The girl showed an expression of sudden realization.
"What's wrong?"
She knew exactly what he was asking but deliberately pretended to be stupid.
"No, it's nothing."
The man didn't have the nerve to continue asking, so this topic had to be dropped.
"Second brother, do you ever have times when you're troubled?"
To avoid another awkward silence and to prevent him from asking further, she quickly changed the topic.
"Of course I do."
Looking at her meaningful expression, he replied.
"What, has something happened recently?"
Could it be that there really is a boy chasing you?
This thought swirled in his mind but was swallowed back.
Although he was very concerned, he just couldn't bring himself to ask.
Moreover, he had no right to ask such a question.
Thinking of this, he felt a bit frustrated.
"So how do you deal with your troubles when you're troubled?"
Looking at her increasingly serious expression, he had no time to think about other things.
"So, what troubles do you have?
"Tell second brother about it."
His voice was soft and gentle.
"I feel like I can't do anything well recently. I've only just developed a prototype of the medicine to delay Jingzhan's illness, and I still can't find a way to completely eliminate the toxins in your body."
As she spoke, she buried her face in her knees.
She had always been a strong girl, and she had been able to achieve almost everything in her life.
But recently, for some unknown reason, she had been facing setbacks everywhere.
This made her very disappointed in herself, and even her little bit of pride had been shattered.
He looked at her and thought she was like a nightingale with wet wings in the forest, caught in the rain.
He raised his hand and stroked her head.
"You've already done a great job."
His voice was steady and reassuring.
"I've searched for so many top - notch professors and doctors, but none of them have been able to develop a drug to save Jingzhan.
"But you brought me this surprise not long after you came.
"You don't need to be too hasty about the toxins.
"Just take it one step at a time."
"And..."
Seeing that he stopped halfway, she asked curiously.
"And what?"
The man withdrew his hand.
"Nothing.
"It's very late now.
"It's time to go to sleep."