Xia Qingyu was also startled by Tarik's actions. She was a bit stiff, instinctively wanting to push Tarik away, but feeling his whole body trembling, Xia Qingyu recalled her own past.
When she was young, Aunt Liu often had to work night shifts. She would huddle alone, enduring nights of thunder and lightning.
She often thought, if only someone had hugged her then, helped cover her ears, told her not to be afraid, and stayed with her through those times...
How wonderful would that have been?
Not pushing Tarik away, Xia Qingyu covered his ears with her hand and murmured softly beside him, "Don't be afraid, it'll be alright soon."
At the same time, Xi Fu stood at the front hall, her brow furrowed. The servant had said Tarik went to see off Miss Lei and didn't know if he had returned.
Tarik was most afraid of such thunderstorms.
Lightning, thunder, and torrential rain.
These were the main reasons that caused Tarik's parents and sister to die in a car accident.
What was supposed to be a family outing for four, ended with only Tarik surviving due to the severe weather.
He became an **[ominous figure]**.
Using **[ominous figure]** as an excuse, the relatives’ shirking of responsibility and abandonment became all the more natural.
Otherwise, Tarik wouldn't have been sent to that kind of place to depend on her.
"Tarik..." Xi Fu's brow was furrowed, her heart filled with worry. Just as the butler passed by, Xi Fu immediately asked, "Where is Tarik? How much longer until he's back?"
"Young master? Young master is back. He went to find Miss Qingyu," the butler replied.
"What?" Xi Fu was stunned and immediately ran upstairs. By the time she reached Xia Qingyu's room door, she saw Xia Qingyu embracing Tarik.
Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a knife multiple times, and her feet were nailed to the ground.
She couldn't take a single step forward.
The rain had come suddenly and left quickly.
The lightning and thunder lasted only about ten minutes before the rain gradually subsided.
Through the gaps in the dark clouds, a faint light began to filter down.
"I said..." Xia Qingyu felt her arm going numb, "Are you still scared now?"
Maintaining one position for so long was actually quite tiring.
Although she had wanted to change her posture during that time, Tarik held her so tightly that she couldn't move at all.
"..." The blush on Tarik's face spread all the way to his ears.
He was no longer afraid.
But in this situation, it was too awkward.
He didn't know how he would face Xia Qingyu after letting go.
He had clearly said he wasn't afraid of thunder.
"Hey!" Xia Qingyu couldn't stand it anymore, her arm was numb and sore.
"Why are you shouting so loudly?" Tarik's gaze shifted slightly. He first released his arms, then immediately pushed Xia Qingyu's arm away, "Your palms are sweaty, so dirty."
"..." Xia Qingyu squinted, looking at Tarik, her mouth twitching.
How could anyone be so excessive!
"Ahem, anyway..." Tarik's earlobes were burning, "I'll let you off this time."
"Let me off?" Xia Qingyu scoffed, "Should I thank you then?"
"You know then," Tarik snorted lightly.
"???" Xia Qingyu raised an eyebrow. Could this guy have any shame?
Meeting Xia Qingyu's gaze, Tarik inexplicably felt guilty. Then he felt that this wouldn't do. How could he let Xia Qingyu hold this over him and look down on him?
Thinking this, Tarik sized Xia Qingyu up from head to toe. Then, he suddenly stepped forward and, with his fingertips, plucked the pearl from Xia Qingyu's pocket.
"That's!" Xia Qingyu was stunned and thought, "This is bad." She wanted to snatch it back, but because her body was numb from before, she lost her balance and fell into Tarik's arms.
Tarik held the pearl high up, while his other arm naturally wrapped around Xia Qingyu's waist to prevent her from falling. He couldn't resist mocking, "You're quite good at throwing yourself into someone's arms, aren't you!"
"You!" Xia Qingyu's cheeks flushed, "Have some shame, will you? Give it back to me!"
"Anything that enters the estate must undergo strict inspection before it can be kept," Tarik said slyly, seeing Xia Qingyu's anxious look. "Once I've inspected it and there are no issues, I'll return it to you."
"This is my property!" Xia Qingyu frowned. Her sister gave it to her!
"This is something brought in by Lei Xirui. Only after checking and confirming it's fine can I rest easy," Tarik said, looking at Xia Qingyu. "Or... do you want me to search Lei Xirui directly tomorrow and see if she's carrying anything?"
"You!" Hearing Tarik say this, Xia Qingyu bit her lower lip unwillingly.
She didn't know if her sister would let Lei Xirui bring anything else. If Tarik really went to investigate Lei Xirui tomorrow, anything could happen.
She didn't want her sister to have any trouble.
"Once I've confirmed this thing is fine, I'll return it to you." Seeing Xia Qingyu falter, Tarik quickly closed his fist around the pearl.
With just one grip, Tarik knew this thing was hollow.
The weight was wrong.
"Then hurry up," Xia Qingyu turned away, crossing her arms in front of her chest, appearing impatient and indifferent. However, her peripheral vision kept falling on Tarik's hand holding the pearl high, betraying her thoughts.
"Xia Qingyu," Tarik put away the pearl and then leaned his face closer to Xia Qingyu, his eyes narrowed slightly. "You can consider this place your home, but you can't lack any sense of crisis."
"This is not my home at all!" Xia Qingyu didn't think this was her home. Her home was in Z country, in Z city. "A place where there are family members can be called a home. This is just a hollow shell that looks beautiful on the outside."
"Is... that so?" Tarik was slightly stunned by Xia Qingyu's words, then he chuckled softly, "At least, it's a place that can shield you from wind and rain."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Xia Qingyu frowned, looking at Tarik and asking impatiently.
"I want to say that here you can be cunning and sly, but... you must hide your fox tail well," Tarik said, looking at Xia Qingyu. "Otherwise, there might be dangers you can't imagine."
Xia Qingyu clenched her fists by her sides. She sneered and said mockingly, "Then you should worry about yourself! A thunderstorm made you reveal your true colors, didn't it?"
"What?" Tarik was startled.
Xia Qingyu raised her hands to cover her ears and stuck out her tongue at Tarik, "Na-na-na-na-na~"
"You!" Tarik's cheeks turned red, and he said angrily, "You little rascal!"
"This is my room! Either you walk out yourself, or I'll throw you out!" Xia Qingyu crossed her arms. "I'm not very patient, you'd better decide in three seconds."
"Hey! You!"
"Three!"
"Xia Qingyu, I was being nice..."
"Two!"
"I'm warning you! You!"
"One!"
What followed was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and a clean, crisp door closing.
"Damn it! He actually threw me out!" Tarik rubbed his aching shoulder, his brows furrowed, but then he suddenly seemed to remember something amusing and burst out laughing.
Around the corner, Xi Fu stood with her hands clenched tightly by her sides, her eyes filled with dark hatred.