Bai Tang laughed, composing herself in an instant with remarkable calm. "Didn't I offend Feng Zi? So I hired a bodyguard!"
"But you just told me he's your best friend!"
Sheng Qi stared at her coolly, his gaze tinged with a hint of scrutiny, as if trying to see right through her.
In the back seat, Bai Wu listened to this exchange, his eyes also fixed on Bai Tang, though a deep amusement flickered in them.
Bai Tang spoke calmly: "He's both a bodyguard and my best friend—those two things don't conflict!"
"Is that so?" Sheng Qi's gaze bore into her, deep and probing.
Bai Tang nodded: "Yeah, we're the kind who regret not meeting sooner. He's been abroad all this time, just came back recently with nothing to do, so I asked him to be my bodyguard!"
"Is that so?"
Sheng Qi stared at her, his tone unchanged even for those two words.
"If you don't believe her, why ask so much?" Bai Wu shot back coldly.
Sheng Qi's brow furrowed slightly, his gaze suddenly landing on him, carrying an indescribable chill.
Bai Wu met his eyes without flinching.
Their gazes locked, and the air seemed to crackle with a subtle, deadly tension.
Bai Tang: "..."
"It's green!" Bai Tang reminded him with a smile. "Beautiful, drive!"
Sheng Qi coldly withdrew his gaze, then turned to glare at Bai Tang, his voice dripping with menace: "Don't call me beautiful!"
Bai Tang: "...Mr. Sheng, please drive!"
Sheng Qi snorted, stomping hard on the accelerator as if venting some pent-up frustration.
Bai Tang's mouth twitched; Bai Wu sat like a mountain, unmoved.
The car finally stopped at Bai Tang's place.
Bai Wu got out swiftly and opened the passenger door for Bai Tang, almost carefully guiding her out.
Sheng Qi watched this scene, finding it particularly grating.
Bai Tang stood up, her gaze landing on Sheng Qi, and flashed a brilliant smile: "Beaut... Mr. Sheng, drive safe! I'll miss you, you know!"
Sheng Qi shot her a dark look, then quickly averted his eyes and drove off.
Bai Tang: "..."
She hadn't called him "beautiful," had she?
He'd gone along with it, and he still gave her the cold shoulder?
Watching the car disappear, Bai Tang finally looked away.
"Come on, let's go in. I'll show you my temporary new digs!" Bai Tang said with a smile.
Bai Wu nodded respectfully, a faint smile on his face, and followed Bai Tang into the villa.
Stepping inside, Bai Wu scanned the living room. Though it couldn't compare to the Bai family estate, it was still a decent place.
Seeing the pained expression on Bai Wu's face, Bai Tang couldn't help but laugh: "This place is great. Bai Chengfeng is basically the richest man in Lingshan City, after all. Compared to that hellhole I was in before, this is way better."
The girl's nonchalant tone did nothing to ease Bai Wu's furrowed brow; instead, it tightened further.
Bai Wu slowly moved closer to Bai Tang, raised his hand, and gently placed it on her head, softly tousling her hair.
Ten years. The girl who once knew nothing of the world seemed unchanged, yet so much had shifted.
That same carefree smile was still there, but now it carried a light he couldn't quite decipher.
For her, the word "growth" had come at too great a cost.
Bai Wu's voice was tinged with concern: "Miss, have you been okay all these years?"
Bai Tang looked up at the man before her, her smile radiant: "Xiao Wu, don't look at your miss like I'm some poor little thing. These ten years have been fine."
Fine?
Ten years, and she summed it up in two words.
Fine... that meant anything but.