Chapter 113

Shadow Rogue Chapter 113

It was almost midnight by the time they finally finished dinner . After bidding good night to Su Meimei, who had finished washing all the bowls and chopsticks, Chu Rui went to the bathroom to take a shower before going back to his room and logging into the game . It was a new day after twelve a . m . , which meant he had time to play games again .

Just as he was preparing to put on his game helmet, he was interrupted by his phone going off . It was Ms . Qin’s number!

“Hey, what’s up?” Chu Rui said . He was curious why she called him in the first place so late at night, but still decided to pick up .

“Rui, what’s wrong with Xiaofei?” Ms . Qin’s anxious voice startled Chu Rui . Chen Xiaofei? Had something happened to her? Was it the same two punks messing with Su Meimei?

“What happened?” Chu Rui said . His voice was heavy, filled with killing intent that he tried to hide . If Chen Xiaofei had encountered the same thing that Su Meimei had, he would kill anyone involved in it–slice them to pieces if needed .

“I don’t know . Since she came back from your place, she locked herself into the room . No matter how hard I knock she just won’t come out . Rui, have you been picking on her?” Ms . Qin said, her voice filled with concern .

“I wouldn’t dare! Just now Xiaofei dropped off some food for me and went directly back home . I wanted to escort her out, but she ran off herself . Actually, she looked off earlier when she was here as well . Could she be sick?” Chu Rui said with a frown .

“Sick? It doesn’t seem to be that…maybe she’s just tired . I don’t know why, but there was so much business today! It really worked us to the bone . I didn’t see you over today and was getting ready to call you and ask if anything was wrong . Who knew, Xiaofei told me not to . She cooked up a few dishes and dropped them off at your place all by herself!”

Qin Yue’s words stunned Chu Rui .

“Wait, Xiaofei cooked those dishes?” He asked . No wonder the taste seemed slightly different from usual . Who would guess that Xiaofei, who was such a shy, shrinking girl, would be an even better cook than her mother!

“Yes . I’ve never seen her put so much heart into it . ” said Ms . Qin with a deep sigh .

Chu Rui was silent . He was inexperienced when it came to emotions, but not a total idiot . From what Ms . Qin was telling him, he could begin to guess at why Chen Xiaofei was acting oddly .

Originally she had been so happy to see him, but after seeing Su Meimei, such a cute girl, her expression had changed completely . If he couldn’t even see that, his head was mushy enough that he should just go bump himself off on a chunk of tofu or something .

He wasn’t dumb, though . It was just that Chu Rui hadn’t let his thoughts stray in that direction at all . He had known Chen Xiaofei for less than half a month and only seen her each time he went out for dinner . How could it happen so quickly?

Then, of course, he failed to take into consideration that within such a short timespan he had saved the two of them twice already: punching out the mafia members they were so afraid of, and beating out the big boss they couldn’t even imagine offending .

Heroes are always respected, especially when they go out of their way to rescue girls . It was an old cliche, but it always managed to touch the heart . So many beauties since ancient times had fallen for this .

Chen Xiaofei…she was already so shy and averse to socializing…even if she wasn’t completely antisocial, she didn’t quite fit in with other girls either . For a girl like that, having a boy in her life, who showed up in the role of protector…even if her heart hadn’t been stolen away immediately, of course she would harbor warm feelings toward him .

After realizing the truth, Chu Rui could only sit there in dumb silence . For whatever reason, Ms . Qin didn’t talk either . The sound of her breathing on the other end was the only indication the call was still on .

“Rui, I know this kind of thing can’t be forced . But as a mother, I beg of you: if you don’t have that kind of intent, please don’t hurt Xiaofei . She’s suffered a lot at my side . Since she was little, she’s been helping me out without a break . No romance, not even many friends . I owe her too much . If it’s possible, I hope that you can help me, help her . ”

Ms . Qin’s voice seemed to tremble . From the choked up sound of her voice, Chu Rui could imagine what she must look like now: tearing up, covering her own mouth, forcing herself not to make any sound .

Chu Rui was silent . For a long time, he was silent .

“Ms . Qin, emotions are such a hard thing to predict . I can’t promise anything . But what I can promise is that I’ll treat Xiaofei like my own sister . If one day that sort of feeling really does come up in our relationship…you don’t have to say anything . I’ll try my best . ”

Chu Rui’s tone was heavy, as was his heart . He was an assassin . His profession had taught him how invaluable true feeling was . Society nowadays was filled with material pleasures and concerns, and people laughed more at the poor than at the immoral . Having such a genuine connection was priceless . To him, what could be more valuable?

But because he knew of its value, he also understood that he couldn’t make daring statements out of the good of his heart . Giving promises he couldn’t honor would not only hurt him, but even moreso others .

Chu Rui had mixed feelings about Chen Xiaofei . Beforehand he had viewed her as nothing more than a little sister, never considering the possibility of romance . But after this time, Ms . Qin had made things more than clear . Chu Rui might be cold when he was an assassin, but in life he was really just another person, a normal person–not the king of assassins who walked in darkness .

Everyone knew how powerful rumors could be . Men and women with nothing to do with one another could be misunderstood just from a single careless action, and end up breeding rumors . All people liked gossip, and it was more than common for conversation to turn dangerous .

Just from baseless rumors, some men and women might even experience emotional changes . After long enough of people claiming emotions where they didn’t exist, they might slowly start to look at the other with different eyes . Perhaps they might even consider that the other had feelings for them in the first place . Eventually some of those people could become couples, or even just develop crushes on each other .

Now that Ms . Qin had laid it out for him like this, Chu Rui had no choice but to consider the side of things his mind had avoided in the past . He couldn’t treat Chen Xiaofei so carelessly in the future anymore . Knowing how she felt toward him, how could he still maintain such a carefree demeanor? Turning his head, he looked at the sachet on the table . The carefully stitched “Rui” sent strange sensations through his whole body .

“If that’s your answer, I have no more concerns . Please take care of Xiaofei in the future . I’m going to check on her, so I’ll hang up now . You should sleep soon, it’s so late . ”

Now that she had Chu Rui’s promise, Ms . Qin did feel more at ease . If Chu Rui had said yes without hesitation, she would immediately have concluded that he was only toying with Xiaofei . But the fact that he could give her such a serious answer proved that he was treating the matter with concern, was treating Xiaofei with care .

Parents were all worried for their children . It was especially so for daughters, who could get their hearts broken by some careless roamer . If they began with delicate hearts, it could ruin their whole lives to be hurt like that .

Listening to the dial tone on the other end, Chu Rui didn’t budge . After a long while, he sighed . Putting his game helmet aside, he opened the window . As cool wind washed over him, his eyes filled with confusion that he had grown unfamiliar with as he raised them to the clean-cut moon in the sky…