Supremely Talented Tyrant

Chapter 2157 - 2358: With You by My Side, I'm Not Afraid Anymore!!!

"You're just too careless. You don't even remember to close the doors and windows before going to sleep at night. Those few kittens happened to see that the window wasn't shut, slipped in along the way, then started messing around in your house. They accidentally knocked over a few boxes and a couple of glass bottles and made some noise," Hao Jian said calmly.He paused, then continued, "Then you heard that noise, and it just so happened you were home alone. You got scared and thought a thief had broken in. Don't worry, I've checked—there's no sign of anyone entering the apartment. All the mess was made by those kittens. Now they've run off scared as soon as they saw a person. It's fine."

"As long as you remember to close the doors and windows properly before you go to sleep, this kind of thing won't happen next time." As he spoke, Hao Jian also shot Zhang Danlin a reassuring look that said it's okay.

Zhang Danlin still looked a bit dazed. After all, she'd gotten such a big fright, and for a girl to still be able to stay this calm was already not easy. Listening to Hao Jian's analysis, she finally started to understand a little.

She realized she'd been too suspicious and jumpy. A few kittens coming into the house and making a racket had actually scared her into thinking a thief had broken in. At the same time, she'd been too careless—living alone and yet not even remembering to close the windows before sleeping. That was how those cats had taken advantage of the chance to climb in.

She suddenly became aware of how reckless she'd been, without the slightest sense of precaution. Fortunately, it was only a few kittens that came in tonight. If it had really been a thief and Hao Jian hadn't managed to get here in time, something bad might have already happened. Just thinking about it left her shaken.

She looked at Hao Jian and said, "Thank you, Hao Jian. If you hadn't rushed over, I really wouldn't have known what to do. I was just too scared, totally at a loss. I never thought forgetting to close the window and a few kittens could scare me this badly. I'm sorry, and thank you for the trouble."

Hao Jian smiled, walked over, and patted her head to comfort her. "This is totally normal. You're a girl living here all by yourself, of course you'd be scared. And besides, how is this trouble? It's just a small effort. As long as you're okay, that's what matters most. If something really happened to you, I'd feel guilty."

Hearing him say that, the look on Zhang Danlin's face once again filled with gratitude. Hao Jian, however, reminded her, "You can't be this careless in the future. Since you're living alone, you have to learn to take good care of yourself. Remember to close the doors and windows every night before bed. Take precautions before anything happens, otherwise even if I can rush over, it might still be too late. I can't be by your side every second, and you're here alone."

Zhang Danlin looked up at Hao Jian. It felt like no one had said these kinds of things to her in a long time. Her parents were the same. When she was little, they'd say a few more words, but now that she was in high school, they didn't even bother to give her reminders when they went out. At most, they'd leave some pocket money on the coffee table each time they left, and that was it. They rarely talked. For most of the year, her parents were away. Even when they did come back, they spent most of their time outside entertaining clients.

Sometimes, adults put most of their energy into doing business so they can give their kids a better life, but she felt that aside from this, her parents had never given her any warmth. She was an only child, no older brothers or sisters, no younger siblings, but the love her parents gave her didn't seem like much; if anything, it felt lacking. She'd even doubted whether she was really their biological child.

But that doubt could only ever remain just a doubt, with no answer.

"Thank you, Hao Jian!" she said again. But this time, her voice was full of warmth; it showed in her eyes and her expression. Hao Jian had given her warmth, so she repaid him with warmth.

The whole thing had just been a farce. When he first got the call, Hao Jian had been scared out of his wits, but now that everything was resolved and Zhang Danlin's emotions had calmed down, he finally let out a breath and smiled, withdrawing his hand from her head.

"Um… it's getting late. Since it's all settled now, I'll head back and get some rest. We still have class tomorrow," Hao Jian said, giving himself an excuse to leave.

Who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Danlin grabbed him and said, "No, I'm scared. Stay with me a little longer, okay? Otherwise, once you leave I'll be too scared to sleep by myself."

That… Hearing this, Hao Jian's brows furrowed at once. It had been like this last time too. He'd only managed to leave after soothing her and waiting for her to fall asleep. This time, he'd thought that since it was just a farce and not an actual break-in, and the problem was solved, he should leave as soon as possible. He hadn't expected that the moment he mentioned leaving, she'd say that.

These days he was trying his best to keep some distance from her. Her feelings for him were already obvious, and he couldn't delay a young girl like that. If she hadn't called tonight about a possible intruder and he hadn't thought of the fact that she lived alone, with the situation so urgent, he wouldn't have come over at all.

But now that everything was resolved, of course he wanted to leave. Yet as soon as he heard what she said, his frown deepened; he realized the mood had shifted and that he might not be able to get away so easily.

His brows knitted tightly. Seeing this, Zhang Danlin seemed to understand what he was thinking and said, "If you leave, I'll be scared. Just stay with me a while longer. Or you could sleep here tonight—that's fine too. I've got plenty of guest rooms, I can set one up for you. You sleep alone at home anyway. At worst you just sleep here, and we can go to school together tomorrow."

Hearing that, Hao Jian's frown became even deeper. Seriously? Sleep here? And then go to school together tomorrow? He might as well be killed. Liang Xiaohan had already given him strict orders tonight; if he didn't get back early and she found out, he might not live to see Friday. And if he actually spent the night here and went to school with Zhang Danlin tomorrow… that wouldn't just be a matter of his life being in danger.

He could practically picture Liang Xiaohan's first reaction: grab a weapon and come looking for trouble.

The thought made Hao Jian frown even more. He didn't know what to say. If he refused Zhang Danlin, it would seem too heartless. She'd just gotten such a fright; if he walked out on her now, she'd be even more terrified alone at home. But if he agreed, he'd be dead meat.

He was torn and couldn't give an answer right away, momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, Zhang Danlin looked at him very seriously and suddenly said, "Oh, I remembered—you go to school with Liang Xiaohan every morning. Do you two plan that every day? You want to go with her, so you're rejecting me."

Hao Jian's brow furrowed even more. What was this even about? Going to school together was something they'd "planned"? He almost found it funny—girls' imaginations were really something else. But then he thought, fortunately she'd only gone as far as this. If she'd jumped straight to thinking that he and Liang Xiaohan were living together, that would be a disaster.

Looked like from now on he and Liang Xiaohan would have to stagger their arrivals at the classroom—one go in first, one later. They couldn't walk in together anymore, or it would definitely make people suspicious. That's what Hao Jian was thinking.

He explained, "There's nothing like that. Don't let your imagination run wild. And stop comparing yourself to her all the time. There's nothing worth comparing."

Who would have thought that as soon as she heard this, Zhang Danlin exploded. "You just think there's no comparison between me and her, right? That she's good in every way and I can't measure up to her at all!"

Now it wasn't just his brows; even Hao Jian's heart tightened. He'd only said that so she'd stop comparing herself to others, because it wasn't good for her. He never imagined she'd twist it this way. If he'd known she'd overthink it like this, he wouldn't have said it.

He was dumbfounded. "Hey, that's not what I meant!" he said.

Zhang Danlin just stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears, looking like she was about to cry. At this point, Hao Jian was completely at a loss. He thought, if he walked out now, she really might keep going down this line of thought. And if she couldn't get over it and did something stupid after he left, he'd be branded a sinner for the ages. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't leave.

With no better choice, he said, "Okay, I'll stay with you for a while."

He'd said he'd stay "for a while," not that he'd sleep here. His plan was to wait until Zhang Danlin calmed down or fell asleep, then sneak out and head home. It sounded like a perfect plan.

Sure enough, once Zhang Danlin heard this, she stopped pressing the issue. A smile appeared on her face and she sat down.

Seeing that, Hao Jian said, "What are you sitting for? Go to sleep. Once you fall asleep, you won't be scared."

He was waiting for her to fall asleep so he could slip away. If she didn't sleep, how was he supposed to leave? He was starting to get anxious.

But Zhang Danlin shook her head. "I'm not sleeping. I can't fall asleep. With you here, I'm not scared anymore, so it doesn't matter whether I sleep or not."

Oh, come on!

Hao Jian felt like his head was about to explode. If she refused to sleep, how was he supposed to sneak out?

He said, "You should sleep. We still have class tomorrow. If you don't sleep, you won't have any energy. How are you going to pay attention in class?"

But Zhang Danlin still looked like she was having none of it. Instead, she smiled and said, "I'm hungry!"