Seeing i mute and overwheld, he added, "You still don't speak up. Isn't it ti you started resisting bullies like ? Won't everyone just keep pushing you around if you don't stand up for yourself, i?" His voice carried a hint of disappointnt, followed by a sigh.
"Huh?" i snapped out of her daze, blinking in disbelief at his words.
How could soone insult her so many tis in one breath? "Y-You—!"
"Don't 'you' ," Wang Xiao interrupted, causing her frustration to boil over.
Thud!
The mont he released his support, she stumbled and fell, landing in the sand with a painful thud against her knees.
"Ow—!" A cry of pain escaped her lips as she winced, and Wang Xiao shook his head, watching her with mild exasperation.
"So careless..." Wang Xiao murmured, a hint of amusent in his tone. "I told you to stand up for yourself, but not like this."
He could have prevented her fall, but every move Wang Xiao made was deliberate, driven by motives unseen.
In truth, he knew much more than he let on—about the Holy Church, the attack in Frostgard, everything.
It wasn't ignorance that guided him, but strategy.
People like him, who feigned simplicity, often hid the sharpest minds, already mapping out the weaknesses and strengths of those around them long before showing their own hand.
Wang i lay crumpled on the sand, her delicate form trembling like a fallen blossom caught in a cold breeze.
She didn't even attempt to rise, her eyes tightly shut, as if by not seeing, she could sohow deny the reality before her.
Yet, in her heart, she knew—this was her brother.
The person sitting on the bench?
She had no idea who that was, but this one... this one was definitely him.
Her small hands clenched into fists, gathering the sand beneath her fingers as though grasping for sothing solid to hold onto.
Her face, usually pale and porcelain, flushed with a deep crimson, and tears—pure, unbidden—began to slip from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks like the first dew on morning petals.
Tip... Tip... Tip...
The sound of her quiet sobs reached Wang Xiao, startling him.
He knelt beside her, his touch surprisingly gentle as he helped her to her feet.
"Alright, alright... Don't make out to be a bully. I don't bully won," he chided softly, effortlessly raping hypocrisy with his words alone, making her blush and tremble in sha.
In truth, he had been prepared to tease her, to push her just enough to see her flustered.
There was sothing almost endearing in watching her struggle to find her footing.
But seeing her now, so fragile, her tears like pearls scattered on the sand, he felt an unexpected tinge of regret.
When Wang Xiao was in the mood to bully, he could be terrifying—so much so that his daughters often joked he might bully soone to death.
But tonight, Wang i's tears had spared her from that side of him.
Her innocence, had unknowingly disard him.
Her trembling form, the way she seed so small and lost, stirred sothing deep within him—an urge to protect rather than provoke.
He noticed the pearl bracelet around her slender wrist, the delicate beads cool against his fingers as he held her.
With a soft smile, he brushed away the last of her tears and steadied her on her feet. "Co," he said, guiding her away from the crowd, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. "Let's go sowhere quiet."
As they walked, her small, hesitant steps beside his, there was an unspoken understanding between them.
She looked up at him with wide, tear-stained eyes, a gaze that would lt the hardest of hearts.
Wang i was like a gentle stream—unguarded, easy to disturb, but with a quiet strength beneath the surface.
And in that mont, Wang Xiao knew—no matter how much he wanted to tease or bully her today, he should not break that delicate spirit.
_______
"i?"
Wang Xueying's voice quivered with surprise as she took a tentative sip of her first drink, the taste of alcohol still unfamiliar on her tongue.
Her eyes locked onto a distant figure on the beach—i, unmistakably, walking toward the lonely shore, a man's arm wrapped intimately around her waist.
Her heart thudded in her chest, a sudden wave of concern washing over her.
She quickly nudged her sister, Jiarong, who was engaged in animated conversation with a few other girls.
Annoyed at the interruption, Jiarong turned, her irritation evident. "What is it?"
"There—look at i!" Xueying urged, her voice laced with worry. Jiarong's gaze followed her sister's pointed finger, her eyes narrowing as she recognized the unfamiliar silhouette. "That's..."
Their eyes t, a silent understanding passing between them.
Without another word, they both spun on their heels and hurried toward their mother, their movents brisk and anxious.
"What is it now?" Xinyue Zhilan's tone mirrored her daughters' earlier irritation, her focus still on her conversation with Yue.
The atmosphere around them, once lively, now felt suddenly heavy.
"Mom, look over there," Jiarong said, her voice urgent as she pointed with a long, elegant finger, her transparent nail catching the light.
"What...?" Xinyue Zhilan squinted, her initial reaction one of dismissal. But as Xueying added, "That's i, Mom," her eyes widened in shock, realization dawning on her. "Who's the man?"
"We don't know," they both responded in unison, their voices tinged with growing anxiety.
The sight of their youngest sister with a stranger, in such an intimate manner, set their nerves on edge.
Xinyue Zhilan's expression darkened, a fierce maternal protectiveness flaring within her. 'How could this happen under my watch? I am so careless!'
Mary, sensing the rising tension, smoothly interjected. "Don't worry everyone," she said, her voice calm and reassuring. "Our resort is heavily secured. We've taken every asure to ensure safety—no accidents will happen." She kept her tone polite, but inwardly, she felt a sense of relief.
With Wang Xiao here, the potential threat posed by Xin ifang was no longer a concern.
But Zhilan was not so easily appeased. Her eyes remained fixed on the distant figures. "If it's so safe, then explain that," she snapped, her voice sharp with a mix of anger and fear as she pointed at i and the unknown man.
Mary's smile remained steady, her response asured. "Miss Zhilan, I assure you, you're assuming too much. The resort is secure, but if your daughter chooses to wander off with soone, there's little we can do to stop her. They are all adults now—children naturally grow beyond their parents' grasp." She paused, letting her words pierce their hearts.
"Rest assured, nothing will happen to her, but I'll send soone to check on them, just in case."
Despite her reassurances, Mary inwardly had no idea whether Wang i would return tonight at all.
After all, Wang Xiao's true nature was a mystery even to her.
The thought amused her, and she couldn't help but stifle a laugh, her mind wandering to the possibility of just how far things might go.
If he actually fucks his sister... well, that would be sothing to celebrate by bursting so firecrackers.
Xinyue Zhilan's hand tightened around her glass, her knuckles whitening as she processed Mary's words.
'They're all adults.'
The phrase echoed in her mind, hitting her like a cold wave.
'I'm just trying to protect them,' she thought, a storm of frustration brewing within her. 'Why does everyone see it as control?'
For a long mont, she said nothing, her thoughts filled with worry and resignation.
Then, with a deep breath, she forced herself to exhale, trying to regain her composure. "Leave it," she finally said, her voice firm, though tinged with a deep sadness. "She's an adult now and can make her own decisions."
Wang Xueying and Jiarong exchanged uncertain glances, the aning of their mother's words pressing heavily on them.
'Maybe Mother's right,' they thought, but the unease lingered.
i was an adult, true—but the implications of her actions were daunting.
'As long as she wasn't drugged or coerced...' But the thought brought little comfort. 'What can we even do?'
A somber atmosphere settled over the group, the feeling of helplessness sinking in their hearts.
For the first ti, they all felt the sting of powerlessness—realizing that so battles, must be fought alone.
'It seems the old saying is true,' Zhilan thought bitterly, 'the good girls are hard first by the bad boys.'
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