Chapter 8: Little Girl, Be Careful!

Tang Wan was rendered speechless, her thoughts turning over and over. She figured this man had likely witnessed her every move since he had appeared here without a sound, yet from start to finish, he had chosen to say nothing. Now, he was even chatting idly with her in a calm, unruffled manner. Tang Wan was gambling that this mysterious man wouldn't risk a direct confrontation with her.

With that thought, her confidence bolstered somewhat. She lowered her gaze and spoke coldly, "I don't care what you want, as long as you pose no threat to me."

Seemingly surprised by her words, Rong Yubai paused for a moment, then blinked at Tang Wan. The corners of his lips slowly curled into an alluring smile, his warm, pleasant voice sounding as if it were right by her ear: "As expected, you and I are cut from the same cloth."

With that, he crooked a finger at Tang Wan. His devastatingly handsome face gleamed with a bewitching light. He murmured two words: "Come here."

Tang Wan frowned instinctively and retreated decisively, answering prettily but firmly: "No."

"Is that so?" Rong Yubai seemed to have anticipated her answer. He pointed unhurriedly toward the lotus pond ahead. The Crown Prince's entourage and Tang Motian were currently ordering servants to search along the edges. "Do you believe that if I shout right now, they'll all look over? Then, with me as a witness pointing you out, those two sisters of yours hiding in the lotus pond probably won't let you off easy."

"..."

This bastard!

Tang Wan glared up at him in fury. Rong Yubai laughed with wicked charm, crooking his finger at her again: "Come here, hmm?"

Tang Wan looked up. This guy was sitting on the roof for no discernible reason; his arrival had been so sudden she had no memory of him whatsoever. That was fine, but if he wanted her to come over, how was she supposed to get there? If she brazenly climbed onto the roof, did he take the people across the way for blind? She would be exposed before he even had a chance to report her.

Just as she was thinking this, a flash blurred her vision, and her waist tightened. By the time she came to her senses, the man had already leapt down and brought her up onto the roof. She was now sitting squarely in his lap.

"You—"

Tang Wan instinctively raised her hand to strike him, but her wrist was deftly caught. With a slight exertion of force, she crashed into his embrace with a thud. No matter how composed she usually was, she was startled into a soft gasp by the sudden movement.

"Who's there?"

Tang Motian and the Crown Prince's party, who were searching along the lotus pond, were already puzzled. Hearing the sound now, they instantly turned their gazes straight in this direction. Tang Wan instinctively froze, at a loss for what to do. The man holding her, however, remained perfectly calm. He curved his lips in a shallow smile, shrugged off his moon-white outer robe, and wrapped it around her. Then, he casually pressed her little head into his chest. His deep, pleasant voice murmured almost inaudibly by her ear: "Hush. Don't move. If you don't want your father and the Crown Prince to find you, just cooperate with me, alright?"

Tang Wan viciously bit down on his chest. Rong Yubai's body shuddered, a wave of numbness he had never felt before coursing through him. Even a certain part of him, which had always remained calm, showed signs of stirring. He took a deep breath and warned through gritted teeth: "Little girl, don't push your luck, or I'll eat you whole."

Tang Wan wasn't really a naive child; she naturally understood the implication. She went quiet instantly, merely cursing him tens of thousands of times in her heart.

Rong Yubai let out a breath of relief and only then looked down at the roof below. Tang Motian, the Crown Prince, and quite a few high-ranking clan leaders of the Tang family stood below, all staring up at him in shock, seemingly unable to comprehend the scene before them. Tang Motian glanced at the girl held in Rong Yubai's arms—her face obscured—and frowned. He stammered: "Your Highness, the Jin Wang... Y-you... this is..."