Shang Yu glanced at Li Qiao, who was still drinking water. The girl's expression was calm, her gaze lowered, exuding a hint of rebellious pride without even trying.
The corners of his thin lips curved slightly as he lowered his head to straighten his shirt sleeves. "It's not that serious. Since I promised you, I'll keep my word no matter how busy I am."
Li Qiao suddenly met his gaze, her deer-like eyes shimmering with light.
Soon, Shang Yu asked, "Have you practiced suturing wounds before?"
Li Qiao held the bottle of mineral water in her hand and smiled modestly. "Mm, sort of."
Clearly, she was holding something back.
Shang Yu studied her for a moment, his expression meaningful, then offered a sincere compliment: "Your technique's pretty good."
Li Qiao's eyes flickered. All of a sudden, she remembered hearing that the Shang family in Parma had a long-standing heritage in traditional Chinese medicine.
If Shang Lu was a renowned physician, then Shang Yu must be…
Before she could ask more, Shang Yu uncrossed his long legs and slowly stood up. "Come on, let's eat."
…
At 2 p.m., Li Qiao and Shang Yu were on their way back to Nanyang by car, while her Mercedes was left to the security team to drive back.
Halfway through the trip, a fine rain began to fall outside the window.
The convoy's speed noticeably slowed down.
The rain grew denser, tapping steadily against the window, waking Li Qiao from her nap.
She opened her drowsy eyes, rolled her shoulders, and frowned slightly as she looked at the rain-streaked glass.
Something felt… off.
Li Qiao sat up straight, and just as she turned her head, she met Shang Yu's gaze.
The man curled his lips, his laid-back posture as nonchalant as ever. "You're awake?"
Li Qiao pressed her lips together, narrowed her eyes slightly, and replied in a raspy voice, "What's going on outside?"
At that moment, Wang Yue in the front seat turned his head to look out the window, then let out a cold snort. "Boss, it's the same bunch from last night. These bastards really don't know when to quit!"
The car didn't speed up or slow down. Despite the raindrops blurring the windows, it was still possible to make out several heavy-duty off-road vehicles closing in on either side of their convoy, apparently trying to force them to stop.
Shang Yu rubbed his brow and casually muttered, "Take care of it."
Wang Yue sneered and immediately picked up the intercom to issue orders to the rear team.
Li Qiao's calm gaze scanned the scene outside the window. Then she asked out of the blue, "Who are these people?"
Wang Yue turned around, glancing at her composed expression, and deliberately tried to scare her. "A bunch of desperate lunatics. You scared?"
Li Qiao gave a soft "oh," nodded without any emotion, and said, "Yeah, pretty scared."
"???" Why didn't she look scared at all?
Li Qiao ignored Wang Yue and glanced outside. Then she turned to Shang Yu and asked, "They're after Lord Yan?"
The man scoffed and lazily pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, biting it between his lips while looking straight at her with amusement. "Mm, probably want to get rid of me."
Upon hearing that, Li Qiao chuckled knowingly and bluntly said, "They're really overestimating themselves."
"Oh?" Shang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, his dark eyes glinting with hidden amusement. "And why do you say that?"
Even in such a dangerous situation, the man was still chatting casually with Li Qiao in the backseat, as if those four off-road vehicles outside didn't exist at all.
Li Qiao cleared her throat, leaned against the center armrest, and tilted her chin toward the window. "Modified off-road vehicles—they look tough, but aside from speed, their bodies are pretty fragile. One crash and they'll fall apart."
She then turned to look at Shang Yu, grinning slyly. "People who drive those kinds of cars aren't qualified to take you down."
She may be young, but damn—what a bold mouth!