"Yeah, that's what I meant!" Jingwei nods enthusiastically. "And Father, caring for Xue Ning is as good as caring for my own life!"
His father's body twitches in irritation, as though he had gotten a nasty electric shock. Xue Ning turns to Jingwei, willing him to shut up, but of course, he doesn't.
"Do you know that Xue Ning saved my life?" Jingwei continues excitedly, not waiting for his father to reply. "She told me to hide in the cubicle and then kicked that woman's ass! And then saved me from the car that tried to kill us both!"
Xue Ning only nods awkwardly. She remembers that near fatal car accident very differently - how Sun Jingwei was so fucking stubborn he tried to shove her out of the way when she's supposed to be protecting him.
Her cheeks heat up when she remembers what happened after. God. Please let Sun Haowei be unable to read minds.
Meanwhile, Sun Haowei raises an incredulous eyebrow.
Apparently the daughter of his traitorous friends had some skills of her own - who would have thought? Perhaps, despite their claims of retiring from their sort of life, they actually imparted some of their skills to their daughter.
Initially, he wanted Jingwei to hire her for multiple reasons. She was meant to function as an innocent bystander, someone to ensure that Jingwei wouldn't put himself into dangerous situations without thinking twice.
Secondly, it was revenge. If something did happen to her, he would have felt a dark sense of satisfaction at delivering a painful blow to her parents.
Clearly that plan failed on both fronts. Not only did his son NOT stop his dangerous activities, he even roped her into them! He had received the video of his son's driving back when he was trying to escape the tailing car from the traffic police.
If he didn't have a pacemaker in his heart, it would have just given out right there and then!
Thankfully that video wasn't on social media - he didn't need his son's reckless driving public knowledge for everyone to rip apart. The last thing the Sun family needed was another scandal.
Meanwhile, the daughter of old, traitorous, beloved, friends was also in the car with him, and she didn't throw her resignation letter the moment they stopped. Clearly she had as little self-preservation as his youngest son! Peas in a rotten pod!
He wanted to give her parents a call to tell them what their precious daughter was doing, but then remembered that they have not spoken in nearly 30 years.
He gives her another, more considering look. She had her mother's eyes, but her father's mouth. It galled him that he could still remember their faces. He gnashed his teeth, furious at everyone, but mostly himself.
His plan for revenge was going reluctantly down the drain, the more time he spent looking at her and seeing traces of the friends he used to love. Instead of perverse satisfaction at seeing her injuries and bedraggled expression, all he felt was a strange heartache and the growing need to call her parents to pick her up.
If his friends had not left him for the far-flung corners of the country, perhaps they would have been raised close enough together for this to happen. He settles for glaring at her, because he wanted to glare at her parents and they weren't present.
Jingwei sees this and moves protectively in front of Xue Ning, protecting her from the weight of his father's strange glare. Several of the maids swoon internally at this display of manliness.
"That's not all that happened tonight!" Jingwei continues, aiming to distract his father from Xue Ning. "Ge nearly killed a man with his car!"
Mission successful. Sun Haowei turns his death glare to his oldest son, who looks like he's ready to strangle his younger brother.
"Since when were you such an impulsive driver?" His father demands, appalled. "Are you trying to drive me to an early grave? Do you want your inheritance so quickly?"
Everyone sucks in a huge breath. Inheritance had always been the elephant in the room, along with the Sun patriarch's poor health.
Tianwei sighs, shaking his head.
"Father, that's not the full story. Someone was trying to kill the two of them by running them over. These two managed to dodge the first attempt, but the car made a u-turn and was going to try again. I only did what I had to do," Tianwei explains patiently.
"I see," Haowei says, with a faint hint of pride at his son possibly committing hit-and-run. "So you ran over the would-be killer with your car?"
"I rammed straight into his car," Tianwei clarifies.
"Do you need a new car?" His father asks, clearly focusing on the important details in this conversation. Xue Ning doesn't know how a car replacement was more important than someone trying to kill them, but who knew with rich people.
"Yes, one that's the exact same model would be ideal." Tianwei nods. Xue Ning reminds herself that these people were rich enough that they could toss away cars that were barely dented for brand new ones. She had seen the state of Sun Tianwei's car - it was still fixable, and the Sun family certainly had resources for it.
"As for the car driver, he was sent to the hospital. We will be informed once he becomes available for questioning. The woman responsible was also sent to the police station. We also have a lead on the possible mastermind of the drugging, which we will investigate first thing tomorrow." Tianwei concludes.
"Good," Sun Haowei rubs his eyes. "Finally, some good news after all the mess that has happened."
"Mess?" Jingwei asks hesitantly. His father immediately turns to him and glares. Jingwei is a grown man, so he does not scuttle to hide behind Xue Ning's much smaller figure.
He would really like to though.
"Yes…your mess. Apparently, the both of you are SECRETLY MARRIED!" His father slams a hand on the coffee table, causing everyone to jump.