NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 28:
Chapter 28: Residence:
“You won’t be able to find him, even if you try.”
“For the next few days, you can stay here temporarily. He’s changed his phone number and said he won’t contact anyone. But he’ll come back here on his own.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t usually live here, so you’ll basically have the place to yourself.”
Jiang Huaiyue originally wanted to decline.
After all, staying under the same roof with a man she didn’t know well felt uncomfortable.
But when she heard that Lin Fan would return here directly, she hesitated. In the end, she didn’t insist on leaving.
This man had helped Lin Fan before. He could be considered Lin Fan’s friend.
He was handsome, respectful, and clearly knew how to keep boundaries.
Most importantly, he didn’t live here.
There really wasn’t any reason to refuse. She’d just wait for Lin Fan to come back so she could thank him personally.
“Alright then. Thank you for the trouble,” Jiang Huaiyue nodded politely.
Shen Wuxiao was delighted to see her agree.
His plan was going smoothly.
Today was just about breaking the ice, letting Jiang Huaiyue relax a little around him.
Starting tomorrow, he’d move forward.
First, he needed to contact Uncle Wu and his wife and have them wear masks to play the ‘bad guys.’
It was finally time to make use of his own ability—field stillness.
“Miss Jiang, you’re being too polite. Since you’re Brother Lin Fan’s comrade-in-arms, that makes you my friend too.”
“Brother Lin Fan and I hit it off right away. You could say we’re friends for life. Of course, the whole ‘life-and-death friendship’ thing is just a figure of speech.”
Shen Wuxiao smiled as he spoke.
Jiang Huaiyue, however, remained cautious.
But this ‘Young Master Sikong’ didn’t seem like a bad person.
His eyes were clear, without any hint of deceit.
And when he spoke to her, he always looked her straight in the eye—never glancing around inappropriately.
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but for now, she couldn’t find anything wrong with him.
They sat together, sipping tea and chatting.
What surprised Jiang Huaiyue was how extraordinary this man actually was.
He spoke well. If someone didn’t know him, they might mistake him for a frivolous playboy.
But he wasn’t. He was clearly very intelligent.
From their conversation, it was obvious he had deep knowledge in many fields.
He had unique opinions on nearly every topic.
The atmosphere was pleasant.
They went from strangers to casual acquaintances. Time passed quietly, and it soon grew dark.
“Miss Jiang, you’re new here and a comrade-in-arms of Brother Lin Fan.”
“Of course I’ll do my best to host you. It’s a shame Brother Lin Fan isn’t here—this must be inconvenient for you. Let’s keep it simple, I’ll have someone bring food over.”
“And I won’t offer you alcohol. Girls should always protect themselves—alcohol can lead to trouble.”
“When Brother Lin Fan returns, the three of us can sit down and have a proper drink and chat.”
Jiang Huaiyue couldn’t find a reason to say no.
He said everything so thoughtfully.
And she was starting to form a good impression of Shen Wuxiao.
If he had offered her wine, she might have refused.
But this was just dinner. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
She wasn’t overly concerned about whether he was pretending to be kind.
Her only goal was to wait for Lin Fan.
And as for protecting herself—she had that covered.
“Thank you for your kindness,” Jiang Huaiyue responded with grace.
“It’s no big deal. I’ll just have someone deliver the food. Honestly, my cooking skills are pretty terrible,” Shen Wuxiao said with a laugh.
About half an hour later, the food arrived, and it was a lavish spread.
Shen Wuxiao also went to get drinks.
Jiang Huaiyue sat at the dining table.
Just then, Shen Wuxiao’s phone—which was lying on the table—started ringing.
Jiang Huaiyue wanted to call out to him.
But when she glanced at the screen, it showed [Scam Call].
So she didn’t bother.
After the call ended automatically, the phone rang again a moment later.
Still marked [Scam Call].
It happened a few times in a row.
She couldn’t help but be a little speechless.
Are scammers nowadays really this persistent?
She didn’t know that phones these days could automatically mark calls.
What she also didn’t know was that, over in the demolished neighborhood, Lin Fan was the one trying to call Shen Wuxiao.
After a few attempts with no answer, he finally gave up.
He would never have guessed that Shen Wuxiao had deliberately labeled his number as a scam.
When Shen Wuxiao returned, he brought two bottles of coconut water.
“No more alcohol. Coconut water is better!” he said with a smile.
As he sat back down, he saw his phone on the table.
Jiang Huaiyue spoke up, “Your phone rang a few times, but they were all scam calls, so I didn’t call you over.”
Shen Wuxiao chuckled to himself.
That had been Lin Fan calling, but he’d marked it as a scam.
“Yeah, scammers are really persistent these days. Anyway, let’s eat. Just relax—make yourself at home.”
“Miss Jiang, there’s no need to be so reserved. We’re all friends here.”
Jiang Huaiyue gave a soft nod, keeping her usual calm expression.
That was just her nature.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t eat dinner with someone she just met.
But this time was different.
The man in front of her was Lin Fan’s friend and had helped him out.
He had also acted respectfully and maintained proper boundaries.
So she made an exception.
The dinner felt natural.
Shen Wuxiao only looked at her when speaking, and looked away the rest of the time.
He acted like a gentleman.
Most of what he talked about was related to military service.
He even expressed some regret about never joining the army.
After the meal, Shen Wuxiao didn’t linger.
He packed up and said,
“Miss Jiang, don’t worry about the cleanup. I’ll have someone take care of it tomorrow.”
“The guest rooms downstairs are clean, and the bedding is all new. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“My business card is on the coffee table. Feel free to call me if you need anything.”
Jiang Huaiyue gave him a warm smile. “Thank you for taking care of everything.”
He truly was polite.
He left the room for her, didn’t cross any boundaries, and even reminded her to make the bed herself to ensure her comfort.
“It’s nothing. Like I said, we’re friends!” Shen Wuxiao replied before heading out.
As he reached the door, he turned back and added, “Oh, and don’t go out at night. This is a bay area—there aren’t many people around, so it’s not very safe for a girl to wander alone.”
“I’ve locked all the other doors and windows. You’ll be fine.”
“Got it,” Jiang Huaiyue nodded again. “Be careful on the road.”
She genuinely appreciated how thoughtful he had been.
“Sure thing!” Shen Wuxiao smiled and left, showing no signs of reluctance.
Only when his car had driven off did Jiang Huaiyue look away.
She tidied up the table herself before heading to the guest room downstairs.
After everything was in place, she entered the bathroom.
…
On the other side, Shen Wuxiao had indeed left.
He wasn’t pretending.
He understood how guarded Jiang Huaiyue was.
If he made even one wrong move, she would definitely leave.
That’s why, to break through her walls, he had to first lower her defenses.
Acting like a gentleman was the easiest way to do that.
All he needed was for Jiang Huaiyue to form a good initial impression of him—
Then that impression could slowly be deepened and magnified over time.
At the moment, her reason for staying was simple: He had told her Lin Fan would come back to the villa directly.
Otherwise, with her personality, how could she get close to any man so easily?
After all, wasn’t she the female lead in Lin Fan’s plotline?
But none of that mattered.
The roujiamo was still heating up anyway.