Chapter 24: 23 Dun! Dun! The appearance of the protagonist-End
Isaac saw from a distance how the crowd drove Xie to the corner.
Their gazes were the mix of scorn and ridicule, the jeering lips that openly mocked the man in the center of attention, and their loud chatters that incessantly condemned him had rendered the man speechless.
Their taunting made Xie feel helpless.
Xie opened and closed his mouth, but his lips kept trembling in anxiousness. He couldn't say anything to defend himself. As if he had lost the right to speak, neither did he have the will to counter every harsh word thrown at him.
Xie's despondent back slowly submerged in the sea of people, and his head hung lower and lower.
Isaac frowned. His sharp eyebrows narrowed in with his face visibly displayed his displeasure.
How did such a simple accident escalate into a public condemnation?
Why didn't Xie Winchester say anything? He had done nothing to warrant their revile!
Were those people blinded? The wrong one was that woman! How could they blame Xie when the one who purposely bumped into Xie was that girl?
He was not in the scene, but he saw everything!
"Step aside." He said in a low and dangerous tone.
The person who blocked his path got startled by him and looked up.
Isaac's icy look that stared down at him resembled the predator look of a wild animal.
That person immediately stood aside. His knees shook terribly.
Furthermore, he seemed to perceive the dangerous glints swirled violently within that pair of crimson eyes. One second late, he might be no more than a piece of rag that got torn apart by this furious man.
It was not only that unfortunate onlooker, but everyone else soon followed suit. One by one scrambled in panic, parted away in the middle, clearing the path for Isaac to pass through.
Isaac steadily approached the man in the center of everything. His frosty expression softened ever slightly, and he leaned closer, asking Xie to lift his downcasted eyes.
Xie was reluctant to do so.
Isaac's ears perked up. Amid the noisy surrounding, filled with the murmurs of the bystanders, he caught Xie's sniffling. He realized that this person must be crying.
He leaned in. His warm breath grazed over Xie's ears, inexplicably turning the pale, white flesh to erupt into redness.
"Look at me, please?" He coaxed him again. "Let me see your face."
Xie, albeit unwilling, slowly lifted his head, and their eyes met.
Tears stained Xie's face and pooled up in the rim of his reddened eyes. His eyelashes fluttered, and a droplet of transparent liquid dropped into his cheek. Soon, a droplet became countless, and Xie, who appeared strong in a glance, had crumbled before his eyes and cried.
Isaac's finger came up and gently wiped the tears away.
There was a pang of sadness in his heart, seeing Xie get so shaken by the abrupt situation.
He regretted that he was slow in the uptake. He should step in sooner before Xie experiences the feeling of despair and hopelessness.
Isaac never wanted to see Xie cry.
His tears are precious, as priceless as his beaming smile from this morning. He would rather see him cry in happiness than cry in sorrow.
Xie looked miserable with his clothes crumpled and his hair in a disheveled state. The sight of him evoked pity.
Pitiful? He should be.
His poor Xie.
Dust marred his once clean face.
Isaac took in Xie's whole appearance, his gaze, though, focused on his wounded forearm. The long scratch was so red with beads of blood formed outside the torn flesh and inevitably trickled down his elbow before dirtying his outfit.
"What happens?" He asked in a gentle tone. No one could ever expect such gentleness coming from this man. He usually emitted a frosty aura despite being generous with his smile.
Xie's eyes lingered on his concerned expression before averting his gaze. He bit his lips.
"Nothing."
Multiple creases marred Isaac's forehead.
"Nothing?" He repeated, and there was an obvious question mark behind his word. "Are you sure?"
Xie dared to tell him a lie when he, himself, had witnessed the man's misfortune caused by some random woman.
Xie subconsciously hid his emotion rather than letting them out. Or, Xie is still unable to trust him. Why? He had shown him enough sincerity. If somebody else, they would have already fallen for him.
Xie awkwardly scratched his nape.
"There's nothing at all. Only...a slight misunderstanding."
Isaac frowned.
He knew it. Xie wouldn't bother to tell him the truth. He might have changed, but the deep-rooted personality embedded in his body would not entirely go away.
After all, old habit dies hard.
Whatever. Isaac still has many opportunities to change Xie's perspective on him. Over time, they will get closer. They will be much closer than Xie and his husband.
"Let's go. You should clean yourself first." Isaac put a coat on Xie's body and slowly steered him away from the crowd.
Xie glanced at the onlookers who were still staring at him. Their gazes were still very much intense. But the awful sensation from before had vanished. He slowly looked away, engrossed in his thought. Was it an illusion on his part?
Something dark and sinister slowly crept behind his back, causing a chilling shiver to run down his spine. They evoked the unpleasant memory of this body to surge up and turn his emotion haywire. It was suffocating and made him breathless. That horrible feeling scared him off.
The strangling atmosphere had cracked into his defense, affected his train of thought, and made him muddleheaded the entire time. He cannot differentiate whether that memory replayed before his eyes were his own or the original. Everything got jumbled up, even got himself confused.
Some questions flickered in and out of his mind.
Who was him?
And who was Xie Winchester?
What was the nature of their relationship? What is the correlation between the two of them? Were they merely strangers? Or something else was connecting them?
At some point in their distant memories, there was a link linking them together. And due to that entanglement, it made everything messy.
"Xie?" Isaac's voice snapped him out from his thought.
Xie looked up at him. Isaac gave him a comforting smile that seemed to clear his gloomy mood.
"Let's go?"
"Okay-"
"Wait a minute!" Someone cut him off. It was the furious protagonist. She looked at Xie as if she wanted to swallow him whole. Her finger rudely pointed at Xie before adding, "He pushed me and harmed me! He should apologize first and compensate me!"
Isaac circled his arm on Xie's waist and pushed him forward, intended to leave this place. He glanced at the protagonist but said nothing. It was just that his eyes gleamed with dangerous glints.
He wished to slap this woman to vent his dissatisfaction. She dared to touch his person. He will take this matter into his hand and settle it later once and for all.
Seeing the second capture target ignoring her, Leyla was furious. Her pride was wounded.
She was the protagonist of this story! Not that slut in his embrace! How could their roles get reversed?!
She opened her mouth, wanted to tell the crowd the truth about this world when suddenly, an alarm blared out inside her mind.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! The host tries to breach the confidentiality contract. A warning got issued by the system for the host. There will be a punishment!]
Leyla got confused. She couldn't comprehend the meaning behind the system's word when suddenly, an excruciating pain assaulted her body as she got electrocuted by electric static.
She screamed in agony and collapsed.
The crowd turned chaotic. The young woman spasmed on the ground and kept screaming in anguish.
"Call the ambulance!"
"What's wrong with her? Her condition terrified me!"
"Did she have a concussion?"
At this moment, Isaac had pulled Xie from the crowded area.
He didn't have even the slightest interest in that random woman. His focus was only on Xie.
--------
Alaric burst into tears when he saw Xie's haggard and terrible state.
He hastily took out a first aid kit from his bag and dragged his madam into the public toilet. While still in tears, Alaric endlessly made a fuss about his injury.
He cleaned the wound, poured antiseptic on it, and bandaged his forearm.
Isaac gave him another change of clothes which Xie gladly took with an embarrassed face. He thanked him in a shy voice.
Isaac, seeing his shyness, inevitably let out a grin. Too cute.
"Let's eat. Ric found a good restaurant."
"But, the unfinished matter from before..." Xie's voice trailed out. He nervously fiddled with his fingers. "Aren't you going to ask me something?"
Isaac shook his head.
"Later, okay? Let's fill our stomach first." He ruffled Xie's head and felt the silkiness of his hair which smoothly flowed under his fingers.
"Okay."
---------
Mini Theater. (Part 1)
The East Province. (Decided to change district to province)
Arthur: (Stared blankly at his phone)
Secretary: (Noticed his employer's strange behavior) You had been staring at your phone since morning. Whose call have you been expecting, Mr. president?
Arthur: (Answered in a sullen tone) Who else? My wife.
Secretary: (Gave him a puzzled look) Huh? He never called you before. For what reason would he call you now? Unless the end of the world is around the corner, Prince Xie would never willingly call you to ask for your health.
Arthur: ...(He didn't know why, but he felt his secretary mocked him right now) Should I call him, then?
Secretary: (Blunt) I advised you not.
Arthur: Why?
Secretary: He would be shocked if he received a call from you.
Arthur: Why would he? Isn't it normal for a husband and wife to call each other?
Secretary: It's common for an ordinary couple. But abnormal for the two of you. I bet he would think the worse situation could ever happen to him if he did receive a call from you.
Arthur: ....(Displeased) You...did you have enmity with me? Why would you try to dampen my mood? Right now, your boss is trying to fix his relationship with his wife. Shouldn't you support me?
Secretary: (Rolled his eyes. His voice was malicious) I'm not on your side, Mr. President. I'm on Prince Xie's side. If you think you can mend this toxic marriage by a mere apology, then you're wrong. It's better for you to let him go than chain him down by your side.
Arthur: (Angry) I would never divorce him!
Secretary: You probably should. If you're doing this because you felt guilty, you should stop before the situation goes out of control. Don't mutually self-destruct. Prince Xie deserved someone better than you.
Arthur: (Furious) Who?!
Secretary: (Evil smile) For an example. Me.
Arthur: .....?!!!!! (Stared at his secretary in disbelief)
End of part 1.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
nia_94
nia_94 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Xie sat on a swivel chair, one leg propped on another one. Gestured his hand toward the readers and smiled awkwardly.
"Do help this poor author. Please support her other books. Feel free to check them out."
Shyly lifted a handmade banner, the list of names of his golden finger's books.
1)High in pursuit
2)High in pursuit: Another story
3)Behind the veil: Vengeful spirit
Thanks for reading!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone