After much laughter and talking that evening, Shi Xingwu was dragged back to his room by Li Xiaozhong to rest.
Tomorrow's main players would be Shi Xingwu and Xia Qingyu, so he needed to ensure the young man got a good night's sleep and wasn't too excited to mess things up.
The next day, accompanied by Aunt Liu and Xia Qingtian, Xia Qingyu and the other two once again arrived at Vincent's private establishment.
They were to participate in a friendly match in the morning, and then, in the afternoon, they could attend the world competition. This way, neither event would be missed.
Upon arriving at the private establishment, they learned that Vincent and Master Shi had been drinking together all night, only retiring when dawn was breaking. Today's matches had been postponed to tomorrow. All of Master Shi's other disciples were resting at the hotel and had not come over. Since they had already arrived, they were welcome to explore the estate and have a simple lunch, or they could choose to head back immediately.
"Could they be any more unreliable?" Shi Xingwu couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead.
"You're the last person qualified to say that," Li Xiaozhong couldn't help but retort.
When it came to unreliability, Shi Xingwu and Master Shi were truly cut from the same cloth.
"It's normal for such things to happen when good friends get together," Aunt Liu said with her usual gentle smile. "Why don't we just take a brief look around and then head back? I'd also like to explore a bit with you all."
"Sure," Xia Qingtian said with a chuckle. "We'll see my sister's impressive performance tomorrow then."
Xia Qingyu offered a shy smile, and Shi Xingwu puffed out his chest, ready to act as a tour guide.
After a brief tour, they prepared to leave through the main gate.
Just then, some visitors arrived, an old man and a young man.
"Mr. Xiang, you've come at an inconvenient time. Mr. Vincent had too much to drink last night and hasn't woken up yet. The matches have been postponed until tomorrow," someone was explaining to the guests at the entrance.
"That's something he would do," Mr. Xiang said with a chuckle. "No matter, I'll pay my respects another day then."
Hearing this, Tarik, who was beside Mr. Xiang, let out a sigh of relief.
His adoptive father had suddenly announced that morning that he wanted to visit Mr. Vincent's place, and Tarik immediately suspected Xifu was behind it.
Although he intended to stop it, he could not and dared not disobey his adoptive father's orders.
So, he could only accompany his adoptive father.
He didn't know what Xifu had said to his adoptive father, but he hoped it wasn't anything strange that might draw his adoptive father's attention to Xia Qingyu.
Learning that the matches had been postponed today, Tarik, relieved that Xia Qingyu likely hadn't come, turned to his adoptive father and said, "Father, let me take you back."
"Alright," Mr. Xiang replied with a hint of regret. "It's rare for me to want to relax and meet some friends."
With that, Mr. Xiang turned to leave. However, his gaze caught sight of a group of people out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately stopped, looking over at them.
"Xia..." Tarik also froze upon seeing the group.
Speak of the devil!
Since the matches were postponed, why was Xia Qingyu still here!
This was truly...
Xia Qingtian, who was beside Xia Qingyu, also spotted Tarik and the Mr. Xiang with him.
If Tarik was a young master, then was this Mr. Xiang the person Gu Yaoyang had been looking for all along?
Xia Qingtian never expected to meet the person Gu Yaoyang had been searching for in such a manner, nor did she imagine that the leader of that mysterious organization would be such a... gentlemanly scholar.
His semi-white hair was tied back. His handsome face showed no signs of aging, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose gave him an air of scholarly refinement. A faint smile graced his face, and his shallow dimples made him appear gentle and approachable.
That Mr. Xiang seemed to be appraising them as well... no...
Following Mr. Xiang's gaze, Xia Qingtian looked to her side and saw Aunt Liu, her eyes wide and her expression somewhat grim.
"Aunt Liu?" Xia Qingtian felt a vague sense of unease. "You..."
"Let's go," Aunt Liu said immediately, regaining her composure. "Let's leave here and go back!"
"Mom?" Xia Qingyu also noticed Aunt Liu's odd behavior. She linked her arm through Aunt Liu's and looked at Mr. Xiang, her gaze shifting slightly.
This person looked so familiar.
Aunt Liu wanted to escape, but Mr. Xiang showed no intention of letting her slip away.
"Nuoran, it's been a long time." Mr. Xiang walked up to Aunt Liu, his voice a gentle, magnetic baritone as he spoke.
Upon hearing him utter the name Aunt Liu had once used, Xia Qingyu immediately became defensive, glaring at Mr. Xiang and not wanting him to come any closer.
"Is this... Qingyu?" Mr. Xiang looked at Xia Qingyu, his gaze flickering.
"Please stay away from us!" Xia Qingyu's tone was anything but polite.
She felt very uncomfortable around this Mr. Xiang; she didn't like him.
In fact... she was a little scared.
Hearing Xia Qingyu's words, Mr. Xiang paused slightly, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "Qingyu..."
"Mr. Xiang," Xia Qingtian, no matter how slow-witted, had realized something was amiss. She immediately moved to shield Xia Qingyu and Aunt Liu behind her, facing the man before them. "You're blocking our way."
Only then did Mr. Xiang shift his gaze to Xia Qingtian. After a few seconds, he smiled and said, "Yue Qiyan's daughter? I had the honor of working with her before. You look so much like your mother."
Hearing Mr. Xiang mention her mother, Xia Qingtian's gaze shifted, but her smile remained unchanged. "Thank you. However, my mother passed away many years ago, and I don't have many memories of her. If there's nothing else, please excuse us; we're very busy."
Hearing Xia Qingtian's words, Mr. Xiang finally stepped aside, casting a deep look at Xia Qingyu and Aunt Liu.
"Let's go," Xia Qingtian said, protecting Xia Qingyu and Aunt Liu as they left. Before getting into the car, Xia Qingtian exchanged a glance with Mr. Xiang. The latter nodded in a gentlemanly manner, and Xia Qingtian curved her lips into a smile.
Once they were in the car, Xia Qingtian's smile completely vanished.
Shi Xingwu and Li Xiaozhong also got into the car. Shi Xingwu had a head full of questions he wanted to ask, but even with his normally blunt nature, he knew it was best to remain silent at this moment.
Li Xiaozhong's gaze drifted through the car window towards Tarik, who stood beside Mr. Xiang. His expression was grave. "To bring someone so dangerous here, Nie Qingkong, do you really know what you're doing?"
Tarik was also quite surprised at this moment. He had never seen his adoptive father behave this way before.
"Father," Tarik approached Mr. Xiang and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, let's go back," Mr. Xiang said. "Let's go home. I want to rest today."
"Alright, Father." Tarik dared not ask further and could only accompany Mr. Xiang back home. They remained quiet for the entire journey.
Gazing at the scenery flashing by outside the car window, Mr. Xiang's thoughts seemed to be carried back to a long, long time ago.
"Stop it... please... just for our child..."
"I have no choice, Nuoran, don't force me..."
"What if I must force you?"
"I'm sorry..."