"We wanted to find you as soon as possible because we were afraid that you would stir trouble again," An Xiaoning said while hugging his arm, for fear that he would run away again.

"Why is he here too?"

"All because of you, duh."

Henry remained silent and continued walking toward Xiao Chenyang.

——

Fan Shixin finally heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that Henry had been found.

He rubbed his temples to soothe his headache. He had been feeling tense ever since Henry escaped.

After resting for a while, he called Xiao Huang over.

"Yes, Chief?"

"Bring He Yi to the guardroom. I'll be on my way."

"Alright."

Fan Shixin took a shower and got changed before leaving.

He Yi finally saw the light of day after being kept in the basement for so long.

He looked extremely haggard and disheveled, a far cry from his appearance when he was first nabbed.

Fan Shixin looked at him indifferently and said, "It's not that easy to lure my Young Madam into a trap. I can't believe you used to be Young Sir's classmate. Young Madam said she'll let you off this time. However, you're not to do it again. We won't be letting you off next time. You may leave now."

The bodyguards holding He Yi down immediately let go.

He Yi stood up straight without uttering another word, knowing that he was not in an advantageous position.

Xiao Huang asked, "Chief, how can we let him off? Didn't his accomplices all face a death sentence? He should at least be put behind bars for a few years."

"I'm just following Young Madam's orders. However, he wouldn't be sentenced to death, unlike those people. He wasn't involved in hatching the plan and was merely threatened into executing the plan. He just needs to be taught a lesson. The other seven, however, were spies from the Donggong family, and they've committed a serious crime in our nation. If He Yi was also sent by them, I believe Young Madam wouldn't have let him off."

"Chief, your hair is still damp. Did you take a shower?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

Stroking his chin, Xiao Huang said teasingly, "You took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Chief, are you going out on a date?"

"Why? Are you annoyed that I am? I can empathize with you. You're just green with envy because you've been single for ages," Fan Shixin said with a chuckle.

Xiao Huang lamented, "Chief, can you not rub salt into my wound?"

"Okay, I'm leaving now," Fan Shixin said after taking a look at the time.

He had been turning Wu Pingyang down and canceling dates with her throughout the period that Henry had been missing. He had given her the excuse of being too busy to go out.

Hence, he decided to make it up to her now that he suddenly had time.

He planned to go look her up now.

He decided not to call her because he wanted to buy her a gift.

Wu Pingyang was at the First People's Hospital in A City.

Fan Shixin bought her a box of red roses, thinking that most women loved flowers.

He headed to the second floor and walked toward the dental department.

Wu Pingyang was in the midst of putting on braces for a teenager and did not see him.

The other doctors were the one who saw him first. With a smile, one of them greeted him, "You must be Chief Fan, right?"

"Hello."

Upon hearing his voice, Wu Pingyang looked up to see that he was here. Beaming with joy, she hurriedly said, "I'll be done soon, take a seat first."

"Okay." Fan Shixin sat down and noticed that all the doctors and nurses were keeping their eyes glued onto him, making him feel a little uncomfortable.

It was Fan Shixin's first time visiting his girlfriend at work. She was wearing her white coat and a blue surgical mask, and she appeared to be fully focused on her work.

Her attentiveness made her appear much more charming.

Once she was done, she noticed that all her female colleagues were staring at her and Fan Shixin enviously, which was an ego boost for her. She removed her mask and coat and asked joyously, "Why are you here?"

"I've been really busy for the past few days, so I decided to come see you now that I have some time to spare. I bought these for you."

Wu Pingyang hurriedly took the gift box from him and peeked inside to see that it was full of roses. Happiness was written all over her face. "They're beautiful. Are you free this afternoon?"

"Yes, I should be."

"Alright, then. I have half a day's leave that I had reserved for you. My family would like to meet you," said Wu Pingyang. She put the lid back onto the gift box and held his arm. She continued, "Let's continue talking outside."

"Okay."

Once they were outside, Fan Shixin asked, "Did your family ask to meet me?"

"Yes, they wanted me to bring you home for a meal when you're free. I told them that you've been busy the past few days."

"We'll go to your place this afternoon and stay for dinner, then."

Wu Pingyang was extremely agitated after hearing that he had agreed to it. She was rather worried that he would turn her down at first, because she had already promised her grandfather to bring Fan Shixin home.

"Alright, I'll call my family now to inform them."

"Alright."

Wu Pingyang immediately informed her family of the good news.

After hanging up, she said to Fan Shixin excitedly, "We'll be going to my grandfather's place. Have you thought about what gifts to bring?"

"Not yet."

"My grandfather's favorite liquor is the famous one from B City. I forgot what it's called, but it's blue in color and extremely fragrant. It has an English name."

"Blue Ocean?"

"Yes, yes, that's the one. My grandfather has been craving for it really badly. If you gift him with that, he would definitely be over the moon."

"Um… a bottle of that liquor costs 200 thousand dollars. I think it's a discontinued series of liquor and people usually buy them as a collection piece. I'm pretty sure they cost more than 200 thousand dollars now. Can we get him another gift instead?" said Fan Shixin.

He was well aware that he ought to bring a gift when visiting his girlfriend's family for the first time. However, he thought it would be inappropriate to present them with such an expensive gift on the first meeting, for it would mislead them into thinking that he was a wealthy spendthrift who's generous with his money.

In fact, he was not a wealthy heir. Although he owned a car, an apartment, and had a monthly salary of 200 thousand dollars, his family background was nowhere comparable to those of Jin Qingyan, Long Tianze, and Ling Ciye.

His parents were working as servants in the Jin family mansion, and they did not have it easy.

Displeased to hear his words, Wu Pingyang groused, "So what if it costs 200 thousand dollars? That bottle of liquor can last my grandfather for a long time. What's wrong with being filial to him? Besides, you'll only need to buy it once. When we get married in the future, we'll be recouping the money spent by receiving the betrothal money given by the guests."

"There are lots of ways to show our filial piety. It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive gift. I'll see to buying the gift. You don't have to worry about it," said Fan Shixin.

After a moment of silence, Wu Pingyang asked, "What do you want to buy him, then?"

"I'll decide when afternoon comes."