Chapter 181: A Birthday Surprise (4)   Li Qingcang reached out and pulled Ye Tianxin into his embrace. “You silly,” he said softly. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were upset?”

Li Qingcang held Ye Tianxin in his arms. Ye Tianxin could smell Li Qingcang’s perfume. He smelled like fresh pines.

The scent enveloped Ye Tianxin. She did not want to let go. She did not know what she should do next.

“I...I did not want you to worry about me, but now that I’ve seen you...”

Li Qingcang stretched out his hand to pat Ye Tianxin’s soft hair.

“Silly girl. Tell me if anything happens to you in the future. I am your elder brother. I will protect you and not let anything hurt you,” Li Qingcang promised.

Ye Tianxin smiled sweetly. Despite the happiness she felt, she had worries that would not disappear.

Deep down inside, she wanted to stay like this, in his embrace, for as long as possible.

She wanted to last...forever.

However, she was afraid.

She was afraid that if she were to fall in love with Li Qingcang, she would never be able to swim to shore again. She might drown.

“Elder Brother Li, it’s okay. I hit her back, too!”

Ye Tianxin reenacted how she slapped Wu Cailan. She was proud that she fought back.

“Actually, I don’t understand. What Di Shanshi running away from home has to do with me? It’s not like I encouraged him to leave...”

Li Qingcang sat upright and put a hand on the steering wheel. His tone was serious as he spoke inside the car.

“Perhaps it’s because Di Shanshi likes you...”

“Even if he likes me, she should have not blamed me. I didn’t do anything. And why did she hit me?”

Ye Tianxin realized that she was not angry anymore.

She thought that getting angry at someone like Wu Cailan was a waste of energy.

However, when she was with Li Qingcang, she could not help but complain about that woman.

“Yes, she was wrong to hit you, but don’t hit people again in the future.”

There was a hint of coldness in Li Qingcang’s eyes. He thought that if he arranged for Guan Chenxi to stay by Ye Tianxin’s side, he could at least guarantee Ye Tianxin’s safety.

It seemed that his plan was too simple.

“I was just too angry. She had hit me in front of so many people. I was...I was humiliated.”

Ye Tianxin looked extremely adorable when she was angry.

The corners of Li Qingcang’s mouth twitched as he clarified, “What I meant was that if anything happens in the future, you don’t have to do it yourself. Tianxin, your hand would hurt if you hit her. Use your brain to settle these matters in the future.”

Ye Tianxin thought that Li Qingcang made sense.

Those who truly had brains would not use such simple and crude methods to solve their problems.

However, she was also aware that she was not strong enough.

She could only do something like that when she was strong enough.

“Alright, I will do as you say, Elder Brother Li.”

Li Qingcang looked at the time on the dashboard. It was almost two in the morning. “It’s really late. I must get you home.”

Ye Tianxin agreed and hurried out of the car to pick her cooked eggs. Then, she packed up the things she had brought and got some water from the river to put out the fire.

The weather was very humid. If she did not put out the fire and the wind blew harder than usual, a fire might break out.

“Get in!”

Li Qingcang called Ye Tianxin from the car. Ye Tianxin got in quickly. She then asked Li Qingcang, “Elder Brother Li, when will we meet again?”