Yuan Yiyun... Xie Bingxia silently repeated the name several times in her heart. How could she have forgotten this girl? Back then, she had resorted to all sorts of tricks to insert herself into the relationship between Xie Bingxia and Gu Bei. She was definitely a scheming bitch full of affectation!
Ridiculously enough, Yuan Yiyun had actually managed to get the title of Gu Bei's fiancée thanks to her father's status.
Xie Bingxia twirled the stem of a daisy between her delicate fingers, lost in thought. Not far away, Xiaomei was shouting excitedly, "Miss Xie! Miss Xie! Look, it's flying!"
Gu Bei had rarely slept in, all because of that broken little white rabbit! Under his dark circles, there was a rising temper that he couldn't vent. As he slowly came downstairs from the second floor, he saw Xie Bingxia and Xiaomei having a great time in the courtyard, flying a kite hand in hand.
Xie Bingxia was a bit shorter than Xiaomei. Holding a daisy in one hand and the kite string in the other, she was full of playfulness. "Quick, let me hold it... Hey, what's going on? It's stuck in the tree!"
Before she could run a few steps, the kite suddenly fell and got stuck on the branch of an old tree in the courtyard. Her little face instantly showed great disappointment. Seeing this, Xiaomei immediately stepped forward to comfort her. "It's okay. I'll get you a new one, Miss."
Xie Bingxia gave Xiaomei a sweet smile and replied, "Okay!"
Looking at Xie Bingxia's innocent smile and thinking of the broken little white rabbit from yesterday, Gu Bei felt a surge of anger rush to his head. He strode out in his indoor slippers. "Rule Three: Without permission, you are not allowed to speak loudly, so as not to disturb Boss Gu's work and rest."
His sharp eyes swept towards Xie Bingxia. Xiaomei shivered and wisely stepped aside.
"You've violated the rules so soon," Gu Bei's face was as gloomy as a three - day - unwashed sock. "Are you eager to experience the punishment?"
Xiaomei quickly leaned over and whispered in Xie Bingxia's ear, "I forgot to tell you yesterday. If you violate the rules once, you'll have to do menial work for a month. If you violate them more than three times, you'll be sent back." Then she quickly stepped back.
"I'm your younger sister, Brother Gu," Xie Bingxia wasn't intimidated by his imposing manner. Instead, she seemed to be in the right. "How can you lock me up like a prisoner with all these rules?"
Gu Bei's mouth twitched. He had indeed once said that he liked Xie Bingxia's eyes, but he hadn't expected this little girl to be so good at using her seemingly smart and cute eyes to respond to his dominance and then use her little tricks.
"I just..." Xie Bingxia lowered her head slightly and said in a soft, innocent voice, "I just never played with this when I was a kid. I'm just really curious. You know, in the orphanage in America..." She left the sentence hanging.
Sure enough, Gu Bei's heart felt as if it had been scratched by a kitten's paw, a strange mixture of pain and itch. The anger that had been stuck in his chest was unconsciously extinguished.
"Don't let it happen again!" Gu Bei threw out a sentence and called the butler to prepare breakfast.
As the butler approached, Gu Bei asked softly, "Has she eaten?"
"Not yet. She started pestering Xiaomei to fly a kite as soon as she got up this morning."
"Then prepare some for her too." After a pause, he added, "Send it to her room. Don't let her eat in the dining room."
The butler took the order and left. Gu Bei sat down at the dining table and began to reply to the company's internal emails on his iPad. After replying to a few emails, he rubbed his temples with his fingers. Then he saw Xie Bingxia standing beside him, holding a fork and about to reach for the ham sandwich on his plate.
"You..." Gu Bei was completely stunned. He stared at Xie Bingxia, and then the fork moved an inch closer.
"..."
"..." The fork moved another inch forward.
"Take it." Gu Bei pushed the plate towards Xie Bingxia and got up to change his seat. Xie Bingxia unceremoniously sat in Gu Bei's chair, speared the sandwich, and started eating. Her two little legs were swinging back and forth, showing her happiness.
The butler and Xiaomei beside them were stunned. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly, let alone bring over the newly brewed coffee.
Xie Bingxia was chewing happily with her cheeks puffed out. Then she took out a cartoon Band - Aid and held it in front of Gu Bei. Gu Bei didn't want to pay any attention to her gobbling appearance. He originally wanted to use the iPad to block her face, but she kept moving left and right. This little girl was persistent and tried all sorts of tricky angles to force the Band - Aid on him. She was almost shoving it right in Gu Bei's face.
Gu Bei suddenly stood up. "What are you doing?"
Xie Bingxia put down the fork and grabbed Gu Bei's left hand instead. "Brother Gu's finger is broken..."
Gu Bei followed Xie Bingxia's gaze and saw that his left hand was scratched to different degrees. There were fresh wounds of various depths on his slender fingers.
This was the "result" of staying up late last night trying to glue the little white rabbit sculpture back together.
"You haven't disinfected it, have you? Even though it's a small wound, you can't be careless." Xie Bingxia held Gu Bei's hand and carefully put on the cartoon Band - Aid. Finally, she lifted her cute face and gave Gu Bei a shallow smile.
Gu Bei was struck like lightning. He didn't move for a long time and stared directly at Xie Bingxia, imprinting her smile in his eyes, breaking it into pieces, and then savoring it.
Something felt off. Gu Bei's thoughts were a bit hazy, and it seemed as if time had returned to the past.
"How did you hurt your hand?" Xia Jingwei's tone was reproachful, but she gently lifted Gu Bei's hand.
Gu Bei glanced at the edge of his palm and said indifferently, "It's just a scratch. It's nothing."
"Who said that?" Xia Jingwei was dissatisfied. "You can't be careless even with a small wound!"
Gu Bei's eyes were as gentle as water. He watched Xia Jingwei put on the Band - Aid for him and playfully kissed the Band - Aid.
"The energy of love will make it better soon."
Her kiss was so light, but it was like a red - hot iron brand that was deeply engraved on his heart.
Gu Bei's breathing quickened. His whole heart was hit by a sudden surge of strange emotions, and it hurt painfully. He suddenly tore off the cartoon Band - Aid on his finger forcefully, not caring that the wound opened up and oozed blood.
He directly threw the crumpled Band - Aid in Xie Bingxia's face and gasped, "Who asked you to meddle in other people's business?"
"Get out! Don't touch me!"
How many times had Gu Bei told her to get out? Did he really not have even a shred of room for her in his eyes? Xie Bingxia gave a bitter smile.
When Gu Bei got angry, the whole family would tremble. Everyone held their breath, shivering and not daring to say a word. But Xie Bingxia stood there calmly.
"Do you... not know how to treat people gently?" Xie Bingxia's long, crow - wing - like eyelashes fluttered a few times. "Since the moment we met, you've never called my name. The most you've said to me is 'get out'."
Oh no! Xiaomei held her breath. Was Miss Xie crazy? Didn't she see that the young master was so angry that he was shaking?
Gu Bei narrowed his eyes, filled with anger. "Yes, you're right! I don't know how to treat people gently, especially you!"
"Get back to your room and don't come out!"
Bang! The sound of Gu Bei slamming the door was ten times louder than usual. It took a long time for everyone to let out a sigh of relief.
Xiaomei walked forward timidly, pulled Xie Bingxia, and comforted her. "Miss, don't be angry with the young master. He has his own difficulties."
"The young master is just a little animal that licks its own wounds alone after being hurt," Xiaomei said with a sad expression.
"Licks its own wounds?" Xie Bingxia looked at Xiaomei with a confused look in her eyes.