“A huge, heartfelt THANK YOU to Zalina, Arie, Hui Yen, Alketa, Julie, Piotr, Catherine, Mandy, Lia, Kara, Jan Loise, Maria, Laura, Vesna, Aileene, Jenifer, Tatjana, Ivy, Justine, Felicity, Chloe, Arsenia, Zobayda, Ashley, Olena, and Dung Hanh for your incredible support! ?✨ Many of you have been here time and time again, and I can’t even put into words how much that means to me. Thanks a million for sticking around and being part of this journey—you’re the best! ???”

Chapter 61: This Night

After speaking, Meng Ying turned around and went upstairs. In this old-style apartment building, the ground floor was open, and the small space under the stairs could have been used as a storefront. However, it seemed no one had rented it, so the door was closed. The stairway light was also out, and Meng Ying instinctively shivered. Just then, she heard footsteps behind her.

Xu Dian’s voice came through: “The light’s not working?”

His voice was low, but the clarity of his pronunciation and the strength of his Chinese instantly calmed Meng Ying’s nerves. Her clenched fist loosened slightly.

She didn’t respond and continued up the stairs.

Listening to his footsteps following closely, the neighboring building suddenly erupted with loud German swearing, followed by a few banging noises. Meng Ying took a deep breath.

“Don’t be afraid, they’re just arguing,” Xu Dian’s deep voice sounded again from behind. He stared at her waist, shoulders, and hands, wanting to step forward but hesitating for a few seconds. In those few seconds, Meng Ying had already reached her door. Feeling much more at ease, she took out her keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

Before stepping inside, she glanced back at him.

Xu Dian was lighting a cigarette. When he noticed her looking, his slender fingers holding the cigarette instinctively lowered, hiding it behind his back. His eyes quietly met hers.

That almost reflexive action left him stunned for a few seconds.

Meng Ying, however, wasn’t focused on that. She pursed her lips and said, “You should go back.”

With that, she walked inside and closed the door. After placing her bag in the entryway, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She collapsed onto the sofa and ran her fingers through her hair.

She only spoke English, but the people here mostly spoke German, French, Italian, and so on. The men were also much burlier, which did make her feel somewhat uneasy.

Being in a foreign country always felt a bit unsafe.

As the dark door closed, Xu Dian stood outside for a while. Then he tugged at his collar, picked up the cigarette, and placed it between his lips. Before lighting it, he glanced at the cigarette under the faint light and raised an eyebrow. He then headed downstairs. Before leaving, he noticed the always-broken light and stood there for a moment. He took out his phone and made a call.

“Send someone over to fix the light. No one’s available? Then you come.”

On the other end of the line, Yan Xing cursed. “Boss Xu, we’re in Switzerland, not China!”

“Is there no one at the company?”

Yan Xing hesitated for a few seconds before grumbling, “I guess I’ll have to call the old hand. Damn it, I’ll have to go pick him up too.”

The Chinese employees of Xu Corporation in Geneva were all transferred from the headquarters, many of them versatile and skilled. About twenty minutes later, Yan Xing arrived in a car with a disheveled, bearded middle-aged man. As soon as he got out of the car, Yan Xing couldn’t help but glare at Xu Dian. The older man, carrying a toolbox, greeted Xu Dian and climbed the stairs, looking half-asleep. “These old-style apartments are always like this. Life here is slow, and everything takes time. This light has probably been broken for a while. Luckily, I have a new one with me. I can patch it up and get it working.”

“Thanks,” Xu Dian said, extinguishing his cigarette and leaning against the car door.

The older man even brought a ladder, which made the job easier. Yan Xing stood nearby, yawning repeatedly, looking half-asleep. A few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a message.

He glanced down, and his expression changed. He looked at Xu Dian.

“Boss Xu.”

Xu Dian raised an eyebrow and glanced at the message.

Then, he looked up toward the second floor.

There, the balcony window was open, and the dark curtains fluttered in the breeze. The lights were still on, clearly indicating that she wasn’t asleep yet. Xu Dian slipped his hands into his pockets and said to Yan Xing, “Got it.”

Yan Xing: “What are you planning to do?”

What’s the plan?

Xu Dian didn’t respond.

Soon, the older man finished the repair. The light came on instantly, perfectly responsive. He packed up his tools and came downstairs. Yan Xing tossed his cigarette butt aside, opened the car door, and got in. As the car started, he noticed Xu Dian wasn’t moving. After a few seconds, it dawned on him. Yan Xing leaned out and said to Xu Dian, “Goodnight, Boss Xu.”

“Goodnight,” Xu Dian replied, bending into the car to grab his cigarettes. He didn’t look up as he left, casually pulling open the glove compartment and glancing inside. A black gun lay quietly within. He closed it.

The car started, and Yan Xing drove off.

The older man in the back seat asked, “Boss Xu isn’t coming?”

“He’s staying behind.”

The older man: “Ah, who’s the beauty upstairs? She must be really special to have Boss Xu’s attention.”

Yan Xing chuckled.

After lying on the sofa for a while, Meng Ying got up to take a shower. She took her time, lingering in the bathroom for quite a while before coming out. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, her phone started ringing incessantly, piercing the quiet of the apartment. Meng Ying bent down to pick it up and answered. It was Zhu Min’er on the other end, her voice frantic and chaotic: “Meng Ying, remember to stay home tonight. Don’t go out, no matter what you hear. There’s been a shooting near us, and it’s really chaotic right now. I’m so scared…”

Zhu Min’er’s side was noisy, and her usually sharp voice was filled with panic.

Meng Ying’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine. I’m at Zhao Yue’s place. Your apartment is too far away. Don’t come over. Just stay put by yourself.” Coming from a country where safety was taken for granted, encountering something like this was unsettling for anyone. Meng Ying listened carefully. Her surroundings were still quiet, just like before. She replied, “Okay, I won’t come over. You guys stay inside too.”

“Mm-hmm, maybe you should go to the teacher’s place?” Zhu Min’er thought for a moment and suggested.

“No, I’m not going out.” Although it wasn’t far, it would require crossing two streets. That short distance alone was enough to make her anxious. Plus, the area was too open. Meng Ying walked over and double-locked the door. She didn’t dare go out to the balcony anymore, so she closed the glass doors and drew the curtains. Then, she returned to sit on the sofa.

She didn’t hang up immediately but chatted with Zhu Min’er for a while longer. Occasionally, Zhao Yue chimed in, and Qiao Qi, who lived nearby, also called. Their side was clearly not quiet, with occasional noises in the background.

Meng Ying’s hair had mostly dried by now. She noticed a new text message on her phone.

**Xu Dian:** Goodnight, sleep early. Turn off the lights.

Meng Ying had already turned off the main lights. Only a small wall lamp was still on. She got up and turned that off too, leaving only a small lamp on the coffee table for some dim lighting. After thinking for a moment, she typed a reply.

**Meng Ying:** You left? I’m about to sleep.

**Xu Dian:** Okay.

Then, another message came through.

**Xu Dian:** Still not going to take me out of your WeChat blacklist?

Xu Dian’s account had been in her blacklist for a long time—over two years. She stared at the message for a while, recalling the scene on the stairs earlier that night. She opened WeChat.

There were messages from Hu Ye and Mi Xue.

**Hu Ye:** Are you asleep?

**Hu Ye:** I called, but you didn’t answer.

**Mi Xue:** Do you want to come over? We can come pick you up.

**Mi Xue:** Meng Ying, call me back when you see this.

**Mi Xue:** Zhu Min’er said you’re not coming over, so make sure to sleep early.

**Mi Xue:** It’s nothing too serious.

Since the two cars had been taken by their assistants, Hu Ye didn’t have a car available. If they were to pick Meng Ying up, they’d have to walk. Meng Ying quickly called Mi Xue back, saying she was about to sleep and that everything was fine. Mi Xue acknowledged it with a soft “Mm” and hung up.

After ending the call, Meng Ying finally went into her blacklist.

She pulled out the account with the **[Xu]** character as its profile picture.

After unblocking him, she didn’t inform Xu Dian. Instead, she lay down on the sofa, covering her forehead. Since the bedroom was further inside the apartment, she decided to spend the night on the sofa. If anything happened, she’d be able to hear it immediately. Switzerland was generally safe, but it seemed they had been unlucky enough to run into trouble. She yawned and, surrounded by the quiet of the apartment, slowly drifted off to sleep.

Her nerves were still somewhat tense, but she slept well through the night. When she woke up the next morning, sunlight was streaming in through the balcony, bright and warm. She blinked, feeling a sense of relief, as if she had survived a disaster. Had the night really passed without incident?

She quickly called Zhu Min’er.

Zhu Min’er’s voice came through the phone, groggy and muffled: “I just woke up. I barely slept until almost dawn. I’m so tired. Qiao Qi didn’t sleep well either. It sounded even louder over at his place.”

Meng Ying hummed in acknowledgment. She could hear Zhao Yue’s voice in the background too. After confirming they were okay, she called Qiao Qi, who had also called her last night. Qiao Qi sounded like he hadn’t slept much either. He responded briefly and then said, “Good thing it wasn’t near your place, or I’d have had to come over to keep you company.”

He was still being his usual cheeky self.

Meng Ying hung up without another word.

She paused for a moment, then took a few steps back, picked up her small bag from the coffee table, unlocked the door, and headed downstairs. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts, and her steps gradually quickened.

As she reached the ground floor, she saw the black car still parked there. Meng Ying walked over, bent down, and tapped on the window. After a brief pause, the window rolled down.

Xu Dian, buttoning his shirt collar and wearing glasses, looked over at her.

His jawline was sharp and cold.

She asked softly, “Did you stay here all night?”

Xu Dian placed his cigarette in the ashtray beside him. He hadn’t smoked much—this was only his second one. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Yeah.”

“What are you doing here?” Meng Ying asked, though she already knew the answer.

Xu Dian smirked, his peach-blossom eyes behind the glasses carrying a hint of mischief. “Preparing to go upstairs and find you at any moment.”

Meng Ying scoffed, “Yeah, right.”

Xu Dian chuckled, his smile deepening.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Meng Ying, standing close enough, saw a message from Yan Xing pop up.

**Yan Xing:** Are we having the morning meeting? The situation’s been resolved. The local police handled it pretty well.

Xu Dian’s slender fingers reached over, picked up the phone, and replied to Yan Xing. Then he pressed a button, unlocking the car doors. He looked back at Meng Ying. “Get in? I’ll take you to the city center.”

Meng Ying straightened up and glanced toward Hu Ye’s villa.

After a moment’s thought, she turned back to look at him. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, though the glasses masked it somewhat. Meng Ying pursed her lips and said, “You should go back and rest. I’ll take our teacher’s car.”

As she was about to straighten up, she added quickly, “Thank you.”

Xu Dian reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down. Meng Ying had no choice but to lean in again. The pendant on her V-neckline swayed, revealing a glimpse of her collarbone. Xu Dian’s gaze flickered over it, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. He looked into her eyes and said, “I don’t want your thanks. Did you take me out of your WeChat blacklist?”

“That’s what I want.”

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