"Why would Miss Xia be there at this time?" Mobius steered the conversation back to Xia Qingtian.
"Jogging, morning exercise," Xia Qingtian said casually. "Who knew the first day I decided to get up early to exercise, I'd run into something like this..."
"Past 4 AM? Isn't that a bit too early?" Mobius found Xia Qingtian's words not very credible.
"It is a bit early," Xia Qingtian yawned. "Can I catch up on sleep?"
"Mm, sleep then." Mobius agreed and adjusted the car's air conditioning.
Xia Qingtian lowered her head, her eyes closed, but she wasn't sleepy at all.
Catching up on sleep was merely an excuse to evade further questioning.
She was completely awake now, the scene of Song Junhan being hit by the truck replaying in her mind.
*Beep—*
*The Chosen One System has been activated.*
*Congratulations, Host, on completing the hidden mission and achieving the initial Chosen One accomplishment – Avoiding Calamity.*
*The Chosen One Mall is now open, along with ten points. We hope the Host continues to strive and achieve more accomplishments, and level up!*
Xia Qingtian was somewhat surprised by her completion of the hidden mission.
Moreover, she could tell from the system's electronic voice that it was happier than she was; it seemed achieving accomplishments was beneficial for the system too.
As soon as the system's electronic voice concluded, a blue interface appeared in Xia Qingtian's mind.
The number in the top left corner was 10. The page layout below resembled a game character's equipment bar.
On the left, the items available for exchange were pitifully few, consisting only of some RMB and quick-acting medicine. On the right was a lucky spin, costing 5 points per spin, marked as [Not Yet Opened].
At the very bottom were Xia Qingtian's unredeemed rewards and pending tasks.
While Xia Qingtian was studying the Chosen One Mall, Mobius had already taken her to the entrance of the Xia family's residence.
The morning light was faint, and the sky was already showing signs of paling.
"Miss Xia." Mobius's voice was gentle and low. He didn't touch Xia Qingtian, only called out twice, "Miss Xia."
Already pretending to sleep, Xia Qingtian merely hummed and slowly opened her eyes, meeting a pair of dark pupils. She felt a pang of nervousness.
For some reason, she felt as though Mobius's gaze saw through everything, yet remained silent.
Mysterious and dangerous.
Without further questioning or probing, he politely reminded Xia Qingtian to drink some ginger soup to warm her body and to contact him anytime if she had nightmares.
Xia Qingtian thanked him before getting out of the car.
Watching Xia Qingtian's retreating figure, Mobius only turned the car around and headed towards the road after she had completely disappeared behind the door.
Once the car was running smoothly, Mobius contacted his driver. "How is it?"
"The police are still investigating," the driver replied. "The truck driver appears to have a criminal record and is currently on the run. Preliminary assessment points to fatigue driving and hit-and-run. The patient is in critical condition at the hospital but should be fine. The main issue is that the section of the road has no surveillance, so the specific details are still unknown."
"Okay, I understand." Mobius acknowledged and hung up the phone.
After a moment of thought, Mobius dialed another number from his phone contacts. "Help me investigate something."
"Gu Yuanjia, do you know what time it is?" a sleepy,娇嗔 male voice came from the other end of the phone. "Even a machine needs rest, let alone me, a person!"
"Triple the remuneration."
"Alright, you have my attention."
As long as the money was right, he could stop being human.
He was just a ruthless money-making machine.
On the other side, Xia Qingtian returned to the Xia residence. She passed through the living room and casually picked up a bright red apple from the fruit basket, bringing it to her nose to sniff.
The fruity fragrance was pleasing, making her mind even clearer.
"Why didn't I find the smell of apples so pleasant before?" she murmured, walking up the stairs.
At that moment, a pair of orange and white indoor slippers caught her eye. Following these slippers upwards, her gaze traveled past slender ankles, a light-colored tracksuit, and finally landed on a delicate face. Waving the apple in her hand, Xia Qingtian said, "Morning, going for a morning run?"
"Where did you go?" Xia Qingyu asked Xia Qingtian.
"Morning exercise." Xia Qingtian was about to sidestep Xia Qingyu, but she was stopped.
"You went out at 4 AM." Xia Qingyu raised her hand to block Xia Qingtian. "Morning exercise shouldn't be this early, should it?"
Xia Qingyu had had a nightmare. She woke up but couldn't recall what she had dreamt about and had lost her sleepiness.
She had intended to go out for a drink of water but saw Xia Qingtian leaving the house on the stairs.
Not knowing what she was up to and not wanting to get scolded for meddling, Xia Qingyu hid and waited for Xia Qingtian to leave before coming downstairs.
After getting a glass of water and returning to her bedroom, Xia Qingyu became increasingly restless.
She worried about Xia Qingtian on one hand, and on the other, felt she was being too meddlesome and deserved to be humiliated by Xia Qingtian every time.
After much deliberation, she decided to follow and check, and happened to run into the returning Xia Qingtian.
Acting like nothing had happened, smelling the apples and walking upstairs, she made Xia Qingyu's concern seem excessive and foolish.
"You saw?" Xia Qingtian took a step upstairs, her face close to Xia Qingyu's, their gazes level.
"So what if I saw? You... do you have anything to hide?" Xia Qingyu met Xia Qingtian's eyes and, for some reason, felt an inexplicable lack of confidence.
"Are you... preparing to look for me?" Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes slightly, cunning like a little fox.
Xia Qingyu opened her lips, wanting to deny it, but didn't know how.
She had never been good at lying.
"You were worried about me," Xia Qingtian concluded, her lips curling. She slipped the apple into Xia Qingyu's palm. "I'm going back to sleep, this is for you."
"Hey!" An apple was suddenly thrust into Xia Qingyu's hand. Before she could react, a hand gently ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." With that said, Xia Qingtian yawned lazily and walked straight back to her room.
"I! I wasn't worried about you!" Xia Qingyu retorted stubbornly at Xia Qingtian's retreating back.
Xia Qingtian, hearing this before closing the door, merely curved her lips and said nothing.
Before the system's review of past life truths, she had seen many things.
After her car accident and broken leg, Xia Qingyu had visited her while she slept, softly calling her: Sister.
That concerned gaze, the tears in her eyes, the carefulness with which she held her hand – it wasn't fake.
Her mind flashed with images, and Xia Qingtian seemed to meet Mobius's all-knowing eyes again. Her heart skipped a beat, and a sense of danger washed over her.
Combined with Mobius's actions when he dropped her home, Xia Qingtian increasingly felt...
This man was dangerously charming.