Xia Rou was too familiar with him and could feel the pressure he was exuding on the other end of the phone line.

She started to feel uneasy and quickly made her way up to the third floor and knocked on the door of the study.

"Come in," he said. Perhaps due to the wooden door that separated them, his voice sounded dull.

Xia Rou pushed open the door and went in and saw Cao Yang sitting behind his desk. The leather chair was pushed away from the desk so that he could stretch out and have his legs folded, one over the other.

One of the b.u.t.tons on his uniforms was undone, revealing his adam's apple and clavicle. He leaned backwards and took a draw from his cigarette, staring coldly at her.

His gaze was condescending, as though he was interrogating her soundlessly.

Within these three years, it was the first time for Cao Yang to use this kind of expression when looking at her. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Big brother?" she asked softly, sitting down on the leather chair before the desk.

Both her knees were together and her hands rested gently on them. Her back was straight and her chin tucked in. Her eyes were large and dark, blinking noiselessly at him over and over.

She didn't have any arrogance or temper as other girls did. Looking as she did, she seemed to be just another cute, adorable girl.

Such a good… good girl.

As if! Translated by The Novelst

He had actually been tricked by this little thing!

Cao Yang gritted his teeth hatefully.

"Xia Rou…" Cao Yang said, holding his cigarette and casting a look from the side as he called her by her full name.

She began to sweat. She felt a huge pressure in her heart.

In the past, when big brother scolded her, he would maintain a strict face and furrow his brows. As for her, she would simply lower her head and remain mute as a fish.

In the past, big brother had never been like this before. Xia Rou didn't know how to face him. She answered with uncertainty, "Yes…"

If it wasn't that he was angry, he would laugh at her blank face.

He turned his head away and let out a puff of smoke.

Then, he turned back to say, "You've been with us for three years already and have graduated high school. Looking at you now, almost in university, I want to ask you… were you happy these last few years?"

"I still am," she answered without thinking.

There was no sign of hesitation; it seemed like this was the truth.

"Then do you think us brothers… have we treated you well?" he asked.

A hint of a smile could be seen in Xia Rou's eyes. "Of course."

"Then what about my father?" he paused before continuing, "You know, my father tends to command others… Sometimes his words are forceful and strict, so many people are afraid of him."

"Uncle has treated me well. I'm not afraid of him," she said, smiling.

Her expression was natural and her eyes were gentle. It was obvious that she wasn't acting.

Cao Yang's gaze wandered to her pink lips and there was a momentary hush in the room.

Xia Rou blinked and looked at him, puzzled.

Cao Yang switched the hand holding his cigarette and flicked the ash onto the ashtray. "The workers in our home, were they bad to you? If they are, just tell me. There's no need to keep them around; it's simple to just fire them."

"No…" Xia Rou was astounded, sweat beading on her head. "Everyone is very good to me. Big brother, why do you keep asking me such weird questions? H-Has something happened?"

Cao Yang stared at her.

His gaze made Xia Rou uneasy, and she became uncomfortable, beginning to fidget with her fingers.

It continued until her head started to sink before Cao Yang finally spoke.

He said slowly, "Then you… why do you want to leave the Cao Family?"

Xia Rou froze.

She braced herself and replied, "I… I don't…." She didn't dare raise her head. Even her voice was weak.

Cao Yang really wanted to roll his eyes. With just her little skill, she dared to still try and lie to him?

He didn't say anything, instead pulling open a drawer and taking out a piece of paper. With a pak, the paper landed in front of her.

Xia Rou looked at the form she submitted, her face going pale. She lowered her head and did not speak any longer.

Looking at her like this, Cao Yang felt a fire burning inside his heart.

"You renovated your apartment and filled in all your choices with foreign universities…" He gritted his teeth before continuing: "Xia Rou, tell me. What are you trying to do?"

Xia Rou bit her lip and remained silent.

Cao Yang also smoked wordlessly. The atmosphere of the room stretched into silence.

Xia Rou, in a trance, seemed to have returned to the past. Every time she was scolded by Cao Yang, the same atmosphere would settle around them. He would sit behind the desk and smoke and stare at her.

In his gaze, there was always that inscrutable look she could never see through…

And when she left the house, she would hear a faint sigh…

Cao Yang didn't imagine that she would be distracted in this sort of situation. .But he had always been calm and his self-restraint was solid. After he said a few fierce words, he had vented some of the anger inside, so he was once again calm.

He stood up and walked around the desk to lean against the table. He took another two puffs and only then said, "Xia Rou, you have lived with us for three years already and I believe… that I have treated you as a real little sister."

"No matter who – my father, Xiao Bin and them – everyone has looked to you as family. No one has ever taken you as an outsider before." He paused and began to speak more slowly. "That's why, you need to tell me… Really, why are you thinking of leaving?"

Xia Rou looked dejectedly at the black leather shoes in front of her and then up the long pants… She raised her head slowly and saw Cao Yang's face tilted downwards.

"Because…" She tried to keep calm and look for a logical explanation. "It's because I'm already an adult."

After she spoke, she latched on to that logic and her courage.

Yes, this time, what she was doing was right.

It was the right thing to do. Translated by The Novelst

Suddenly, she felt very strong in her heart.

It was different than the stubbornness of her past. This persistence was only possible because she had someone to protect.

Proofread by: Hannah