As Qin Yuxing and Han Xiqian walked towards Xiaoxiao, they saw someone standing next to her from afar.
He quickened his pace, and by the time he reached Xiaoxiao, the person had already left.
"Brother Xingxing, what are you looking at?" Xiaoxiao blocked his view and said, "My braid came undone when I climbed the wall. Can you help me re-braid it?"
"Okay." Qin Yuxing loosened her hair, gently combed it with his fingers, and skillfully braided it while asking, "Who were you talking to?"
Xiaoxiao, with her back to him, replied, "I don't know him. He asked me for directions. But I don't know how to get to the place he mentioned. He must have asked someone else."
Qin Yuxing found it a bit strange. The area outside the campus wall was quite secluded. Why would someone be asking for directions here?
"Qin Yuxing, I didn't expect you to know how to braid a girl's hair," Han Xiqian said, surprised by his skillful movements.
Qin Yuxing quickly finished braiding Xiaoxiao's hair and replied, "I have two younger sisters at home. I used to braid their hair when I took care of them."
Xiaoxiao smiled happily, "Brother Xingxing used to comb my hair often too."
Han Xiqian wished she could be his sister too and said, "Let's go."
Qin Yuxing naturally took Xiaoxiao's hand and started walking, cautioning her, "Don't talk to strangers often. What if that person wasn't asking for directions and was a bad person? You need to know how to protect yourself when you're out."
"I know," Xiaoxiao squeezed his hand. "Brother Xingxing, walk faster. I'm so bored staying in the dorm every day. I want to go to the mall."
Seeing that she hadn't changed much from when she was little, Qin Yuxing felt happy that she was still a child at heart.
Han Xiqian followed behind them and noticed that Qin Yuxing's eyes were only on Xiaoxiao. He only smiled warmly when he looked at Xiaoxiao, and her presence felt like a third wheel.
She had originally thought that the two of them would take Xiaoxiao, their sister, shopping. But with Xiaoxiao there, Qin Yuxing wouldn't even glance at her.
They went to the supermarket first. At the entrance, Xiaoxiao said she wanted matcha-flavored ice cream.
Qin Yuxing immediately bought two matcha ice creams, gave one to Xiaoxiao first, and then gave one to Han Xiqian.
But he hadn't asked her what flavor she liked. She preferred strawberry.
He had mainly bought it for Xiaoxiao, and giving one to her was just an afterthought.
She took a bite of the ice cream in front of Qin Yuxing, and when they weren't paying attention, she threw it into the trash can.
"Brother Xingxing, Sister Xiqian is so wasteful. She threw the ice cream in the trash," Xiaoxiao said quickly, noticing it.
Han Xiqian looked at Qin Yuxing awkwardly, trying to explain, "I..."
"Xiaoxiao, don't make a fuss. Han Xiqian probably doesn't like ice cream," Qin Yuxing said to Han Xiqian, "It's okay, just throw it away. You accompany Xiaoxiao to pick out some daily necessities. I'll wait for you in the lounge area."
Han Xiqian saw that Qin Yuxing didn't seem to blame her, so she replied, "Okay." However, she was puzzled. Xiaoxiao had clearly been talking to Qin Yuxing just now, so how did she see her throw away the ice cream?
She suddenly felt that this sister Xiaoxiao wasn't as innocent as she appeared. Was Xiaoxiao being nice to her on the surface but targeting her behind her back?
Her excellent elder sister used such tactics often when she was at home.
Han Xiqian took Xiaoxiao to the section selling women's products. She pretended not to notice anything and helped her choose some intimate apparel.
"Sister Xiqian, why don't you pick out a few sets too? Brother Xingxing said he would pay for everything, so consider it returning the clothes you lent me."
Han Xiqian saw that Xiaoxiao was very opinionated about her choices and didn't need her advice.
She said, "No need. Consider the intimate apparel I lent you as a gift. I have plenty, and I can't wear them all myself."
Xiaoxiao said "Oh" and stopped talking to her. She picked out a few sets herself and put them in the shopping cart. Without calling Han Xiqian, she pushed the cart to the lounge area where Qin Yuxing was sitting.
"Brother Xingxing, I've finished picking. Let's go buy other things."
Qin Yuxing saw that she was alone and asked, "Where's Han Xiqian?"
"Sister Xiqian said she wanted to look around by herself and didn't want to disturb us siblings," Xiaoxiao said, handing the shopping cart to Qin Yuxing to push. She then linked her arm through his and walked towards other areas to pick things.
Han Xiqian only lowered her head for a moment. When she looked up again, Xiaoxiao was nowhere to be seen.
She remembered Qin Yuxing saying he would wait in the lounge area. When she went to the lounge area, she couldn't see Qin Yuxing either.
Did they deliberately leave her behind?
Han Xiqian felt wronged and sad. If Qin Yuxing disliked her so much, why did he ask her to go shopping with them?
He was too inconsiderate!
...
In his office, Tianyi finally received a call from the person protecting Little Xingxing abroad.
"Mr. Qin, that little girl has been staying at school this week. She came out of school today, but the young master has been accompanying her shopping. They bought quite a few things and returned to school."
Hearing the report, Tianyi said coldly, "So, there hasn't been an opportunity yet?"
The other party quickly affirmed, "We've investigated the girl who's with the young master and Xiaoxiao. Her name is Han Xiqian. She's the third daughter of Bin City tycoon Han Minghao. Her background is perfectly fine. She should be a classmate and close friend of the young master."
"The reason Xiaoxiao has been able to stay at school for so long without being discovered is because Han Xiqian is helping," Tianyi said with a frown. "It seems the three of them are quite in sync. Is Little Xingxing planning to have Xiaoxiao stay at school long-term?"
The other party recalled something they had just discovered and said, "Mr. Qin, we unintentionally discovered today that Xiaoxiao also knows a man outside of school, and there seems to be some kind of transaction between them."
Tianyi asked sharply, "Have you found out who this person is?"
"Not yet, we're still investigating."
"Find out this person's background and origins as soon as possible," Tianyi thought that since Xiaoxiao had no identification and was penniless when she found Qin Yuxing's school, it was likely related to this person.
"Yes." The other party hung up.
Tianyi felt that if all else failed, he could capture this person and hand him over to Alva. This would also prove that Xiaoxiao's departure had nothing to do with An Jing and Little Xingxing.
As long as this point could be proven, Alva wouldn't trouble An Jing and Little Xingxing, and he wouldn't have to worry.
As for whether Alva would send people to Xiaoxiao's school to take her away, it wasn't a big deal. What he needed to ensure was the safety of An Jing and Little Xingxing.
...
Qin Yuxing and the other two spent the whole day shopping and had dinner at the mall before returning to school together.
When Xiaoxiao parted ways with Qin Yuxing, she was still reluctant, feeling that the day had passed too quickly and she hadn't spent enough time with Brother Xingxing.
Qin Yuxing rubbed her head and said, "Not long from now, I'll take you away from here. If you can settle down outside, you can do whatever you want freely."
Xiaoxiao looked up at him and suddenly said, "Brother Xingxing, I don't want to live alone outside. I want to study at this school too."