Placing Zhu Mei on the bed, Xia Yu covered her with a quilt.
"Uh." The girl kicked off the quilt.
Xia Yu pulled the quilt back, only to have Zhu Mei push it away again.
Xia Yu then picked up Zhu Mei, wrapped her tightly in the quilt, and placed the quilt under her.
Zhu Mei struggled but could not break free from the quilt.
She slowly adapted to the feeling of being wrapped in the quilt and stopped fussing.
Satisfied with the completion of this task, Xia Yu nodded. He did not leave but looked at Zhu Mei's face.
Due to the alcohol, Zhu Mei's face was a bit red, and she seemed uncomfortable, frowning slightly and shaking her head.
Taking a photo of this moment with a caption of a drunken beauty, no one would object.
Touching his phone, Xia Yu gave up on the dangerous idea.
It would be better to photograph An Siyao back home, as she had become bolder lately, maybe he could capture something more exciting, like yoga practice.
Before exiting the room, Xia Yu glanced at Zhu Mei and noticed a necklace peeking out from her neckline.
Walking up to it, he picked up the necklace and examined it curiously.
A silver chain with a fingertip-sized glass bottle strung on it, containing an unknown greyish-white powder inside.
What was this?
After carefully studying it, Xia Yu was unable to identify it, so he put the necklace down and left the room.
As soon as he closed the door, Zhu Mei opened her eyes.
Grasping the necklace, she felt a little frightened.
During the time she kicked off the quilt, Zhu Mei had gradually regained her senses, and when Xia Yu wrapped her tightly in the quilt, she completely came to consciousness.
Feeling that Xia Yu was standing next to her, Zhu Mei dared not move, fearing that she would provoke him and be mistreated.
Through her half-open eyes, she saw Xia Yu reaching out for her, and she felt very scared.
As a result, Xia Yu's hand did not touch her body, but grabbed her necklace.
Touching the necklace, Xia Yu walked away.
Staring at the necklace, Zhu Mei was utterly perplexed.
Was her body less alluring than the necklace?
At her age, she didn't care much about this and brushed it off after a brief moment of confusion.
Lying in bed, Zhu Mei fell asleep.
The next morning, she was shaken awake.
Seeing her open her eyes, Xia Yu withdrew his hand and said, "Get up, I'll take you home."
Xia Yu had been planning to go home to sleep last night, but worried about leaving Zhu Mei alone in the hotel, he decided to stay. There was no game console in the hotel, so Xia Yu couldn't play games, and his mood was a bit off.
Zhu Mei sat up and was led out of the bedroom by Xia Yu to wash up in the bathroom.
When Zhu Mei finished getting ready, Xia Yu had already ordered breakfast to be delivered – buns and coffee.
Sitting at the table, Zhu Mei began to eat.
"What's inside your necklace?" Xia Yu asked curiously.
Zhu Mei hesitated for a moment before answering, "Ashes."
"I'm sorry." Xia Yu apologized, because he had brought up a painful topic.
"It's Xiong Xiong's ashes," Zhu Mei said, touching her necklace.
Was it mine?
Xia Yu couldn't help but take a closer look at the necklace.
"Aren't you curious?" Zhu Mei looked at Xia Yu. "It's not a person's ashes, but those of a brown bear."
"It's a bit strange." Xia Yu didn't know how to respond, so he followed Zhu Mei's words.
Ordinary people would be very curious when they saw someone carrying a brown bear's ashes, wondering what the underlying meaning was. However, Xia Yu, as the ashes' custodian, understood Zhu Mei's fondness for the brown bear and the sacrifices the bear had made for her.
He recalled that Zhu Mei often touched the necklace, was the young girl missing the brown bear? Xia Yu's mood became a bit heavy.
After Zhu Mei had breakfast, Xia Yu drove her down to the villa. Waving goodbye to Xia Yu, Zhu Mei wiped her face and opened the door to the villa.
Inside the living room, Zhu Meng Bing and Li Hua were worried about Zhu Mei's disappearance, but their tensions eased when they saw her return.
"Where have you been?" Zhu Meng Bing asked.
"Nightlife." Zhu Mei replied.
Zhu Meng Bing didn't understand the meaning of "nightlife." He didn't want to know what Zhu Mei did or where she went last night. It was just a polite inquiry.
"There are only three days left until our uncle comes to pick us up. Stop fooling around," Zhu Meng Bing complained. The uncle he referred to was the current king of District 14, and they had acknowledged each other as relatives.
"He's only picking you up," Zhu Mei corrected Zhu Meng Bing's words.
"Not just me, he specifically asked about you too," Zhu Meng Bing explained.
"What does he want with me?" Zhu Mei frowned.
Zhu Meng Bing coughed: "Although our two families have been separated for three hundred years, we still share the same bloodline of our ancestors."
Zhu Mei understood the meaning of Zhu Meng Bing's words. Blood marriage was a royal tradition.
"He already has a wife." Zhu Mei's face showed disgust.
"That's just an ordinary person, only fit to be a queen." Zhu Meng Bing said.
Zhu Mei didn't say anything more. She went upstairs and entered her bedroom.
Sitting at the desk, she picked up a pair of scissors and a notebook, clipping away. As paper scraps fell, her annoyance slowly dissipated.
Throwing the scissors on the table, Zhu Mei lay down on the bed.
She didn't know whether or not to follow Zhu Meng Bing. If she didn't, she would be left all alone.
Why should everyone leave? If it were the brown bear, it would never abandon me.
Picking up the necklace, Zhu Mei stared at the ashes in the glass bottle, lost in thought.
Her mind slowly emptied, and various thoughts began to emerge.
She remembered what happened at breakfast.
Why wasn't Xia Yu curious about the brown bear's ashes? Since he asked about the necklace, he should have asked about the brown bear too.
Zhu Mei carefully recalled her memories, capturing Xia Yu's slightly changed expression after learning that the ashes were those of the brown bear.
He clearly had a reaction, so why didn't he ask?
Zhu Mei became suspicious.
Descending the stairs, Zhu Mei found Li Hua, who was in charge of their affairs.
"Your Highness," Li Hua greeted Zhu Mei with a smile. "Maybe soon, we'll have to call you the queen."
Zhu Mei wasn't interested in that. She asked, "Have you worked out the relationship between Xia Yu and us yet?"
Li Hua shook her head: "No, he has never been to our district, and our king has never been to the first district either. We have no idea how they got to know each other."
Zhu Mei thought for a moment and murmured, "Maybe it's not that father."
Li Hua was greatly surprised upon hearing this, "Is it not that father? Is there another one?"
She dared not ask more about this royal secret, so she pretended not to hear anything.
Zhu Mei's expression gradually became joyful, "Before, you said that the one who saved you was a golden eagle as smart as a bear, right?"
"Yes, do you know who he is?" Zhu Mei asked curiously.
"Maybe." Zhu Mei turned around and hurriedly ran back upstairs.