Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

She squinted her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

You Jiaoyang sat on the floor with her, making sure she was asleep. Thinking of the steak he hadn’t had a chance to cook, he instinctively tried to pull his hand away from Yin Su’s palm.

But as soon as he pulled his fingers out a little, Yin Su gripped them tightly.

"Brother Wang Yue, don’t go." Yin Su muttered in her sleep, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

You Jiaoyang’s expression froze slightly.

He gazed at Yin Su’s beautiful and enchanting face, gently tracing it with his fingers. After a moment, he carefully withdrew his fingers and went barefoot to the kitchen to cook.

The Xu Family Courtyard was filled with laughter that night. Zhang Zhiyi, being a translator, was very sociable. By the end of the meal, she had bonded with Cheng Yue and Ye Mingluo.

After eating and drinking, Zhang Zhiyi was a bit drunk. Xu Xingguang was worried about her going back alone, so she called Xiahou Shang and asked him to send someone reliable to pick up Zhang Zhiyi.

As it happened, Xiahou Shang had just arrived at the airport and was on the airport expressway, only a thirty-minute drive from Cangshan Town. "Let her rest at your place for a while, I’ll come to pick her up myself."

"Okay."

As promised, Xiahou Shang arrived at the Xu Family Courtyard thirty-five minutes later.

Zhang Zhiyi was somewhat drunk, in a state of being unable to sleep but not entirely awake. When Xiahou Shang took her away, she behaved quite obediently without making a fuss or being sick.

After sending off Zhang Zhiyi, Xu Xingguang urged Ye Mingluo and the others to stay over at Huo Wen’an’s house next door, leaving Huo Wen’an himself behind.

After Ye Mingluo and the others left, Sister Linlin asked Xu Xingguang to go upstairs to rest.

"Miss Xu, you go rest, Song Chi and I will clean up the dishes." Glancing at Huo Wen’an quietly sitting on the sofa, Sister Linlin whispered to Xu Xingguang, "Where will Mr. Huo sleep tonight?"

Huo Wen’an also perked up his ears.

"He’s sleeping with me," Xu Xingguang said.

Hearing this, Huo Wen’an smiled, and gossip lit up Sister Linlin’s eyes.

Back in the room, Xu Xingguang asked Huo Wen’an if he needed to rest for a while. "We can go at two in the morning, that’s when the elderly at the nursing home are asleep."

"Alright."

Noticing that Huo Wen’an seemed to have something on his mind, Xu Xingguang asked him, "What are you thinking about?"

Huo Wen’an turned to her, holding and gently squeezing one of Xu Xingguang’s hands, hesitantly saying, "It seems Zhang Zhiyi deceived you."

Xu Xingguang was stunned for a moment.

"What do you mean by that?"

Huo Wen’an pointed to a thin jacket hanging on the coat rack, "Open my pocket, there’s something inside."

Xu Xingguang got up and searched his pocket, pulling out a round, plump green oval leaf. "This is..." Xu Xingguang immediately recognized it, "A morning glory leaf."

Nodding slightly, Huo Wen’an said, "In this town, only Yin Su’s house grows morning glories. But Zhang Zhiyi said she went to the head of the town this afternoon."

"Xingguang, your senior sister is hiding something from us."

Xu Xingguang felt a bit confused inside.

Logically, Senior Sister shouldn’t know Yin Su, so why did she go to Yin Su’s house for no reason?

And...

"This leaf is lush green, not easy to fall off." Xu Xingguang twirled the leaf, saying, "Clearly, someone deliberately placed the leaf on her to catch our attention."

Xu Xingguang and Huo Wen’an exchanged a look, both reaching the same conclusion.

"It’s You Jiaoyang."

You Jiaoyang is hinting at them, trying to make them suspicious of Zhang Zhiyi.

Suddenly realizing that her senior sister, whom she cared about like family, harbored an unspeakable secret, Xu Xingguang felt a bit uneasy inside.

"Huo Wen’an." Xu Xingguang crushed the leaf, saying, "After living for so many years, I am acutely aware of one truth." She turned her head to meet Huo Wen’an’s gaze, saying, "Anyone could be an enemy hiding by your side."

Hearing this, Huo Wen’an felt reassured.

He said, "I was worried you wouldn’t believe me, considering she’s your senior sister."

Shaking her head, Xu Xingguang said, "Beneath the surface, who knows what the true face of the other person is like?" Thinking of something, Xu Xingguang suddenly picked up her phone and sent a voice message to Xiahou Huai Gui.

Huo Wen heard Xu Xingguang say to Xiahou Huai Gui: [Young Master, have you returned to Yujiang City? I heard the old madam’s health isn’t great. I happen to be in Yujiang City and would like to visit her.]

Xiahou Huai Gui quickly replied, saying: [I’m still in Chuancheng, visiting a retired veteran friend of my mother’s. I’ll return to the city tomorrow morning. How long will you be staying in Yujiang City this time?]

Xu Xingguang: [Then let’s visit the old gentleman the day after tomorrow.]

After turning off her phone, Xu Xingguang’s expression immediately turned grim and determined. "Xiahou Huai Gui hasn’t returned to Yujiang City, and he doesn’t interact with Senior Sister, so how did she know I went to Old Madam Ying’s birthday banquet? Who could have told her?"

Huo Wen’an said, "She knows Huo Xin." This information likely came from Yin Su.

Closing her eyes, Xu Xingguang chuckled self-deprecatingly, saying, "Huo Wen’an, Zhang Zhiyi is not to be trusted."