Chapter 6: I Can Help You

“Mr. Su, I’m just having a meal here. I don’t suppose I’m interfering with you, am I?” Mo Ran held a half-filled glass of water in his left hand and a sandwich in his right, just about to eat when the door connecting the kitchen to the back garden suddenly swung open. Four pairs of eyes fixed upon him in unison, prompting him to speak.

“I told you, these three guests are here for you, didn’t I? Why did you leave so quickly?” Su Qingcheng spoke in a low tone.

“For me? I barely know anyone in Shanghai—who would come looking for me?” Mo Ran smiled as he replied. Before he even finished speaking, he took two quick bites of his sandwich. “Besides, wasn’t it you who said that whenever guests come, I should immediately hide out in the back garden?” At this, Su Qingcheng’s face flushed hotly, making it hard for her to look at Xiao Xiao and her mother.

At that moment, Xiao Xiao, who had remained silent, finally spoke.

“Big brother, do you remember me?” Looking at Mo Ran’s features, Xiao Xiao’s mind instantly conjured up the scene from that day. She matched the memory to the face before her—one glance was all it took for her to recognize her savior.

“I don’t recognize you.” To her surprise, Mo Ran glanced at her and shook his head. He had no recollection whatsoever of this extraordinarily beautiful girl and replied directly. Xiao Xiao felt a bit helpless—how could someone not remember such beauty?

“Mrs. Xiao, Miss Xiao, perhaps you’ve mistaken him for someone else. My husband doesn’t possess the skills to save people,” Su Qingcheng said awkwardly, clearly unaccustomed to calling him “husband”; the word sounded hesitant and stilted.

“I am Xiao Xiao, the owner of the electric car that exploded a few days ago. You saved me.” Xiao Xiao spoke with heartfelt gratitude. She hadn’t expected her savior to be so handsome—such striking features, and his eyes held a melancholy that fascinated her.

“Oh, right.” Hearing her words, Mo Ran’s memory stirred; the girl he had saved did look like this.

“Do you remember now?” Xiao Xiao immediately asked when Mo Ran nodded.

“There’s a faint impression,” Mo Ran replied. “Were you taken away by the hospital’s ambulance afterwards?” He vaguely recalled several ambulances arriving, taking all the injured away.

“Yes, yes, young man. If not for you, this silly girl wouldn’t be safe and sound. She just got discharged today and rushed here to thank you,” Xiao Xiao’s mother interjected, smoothing over the moment.

“No need to be so formal, Mrs. Xiao. Miss Xiao is blessed by fortune,” Mo Ran waved his hand, modest. He had no ulterior motive when saving people, and didn’t wish to say much more.

“Do you have time tonight? Let me treat you to dinner as thanks for saving my life.” Xiao Xiao, adept in social situations, had already noticed the hardships of Mo Ran’s daily life and wanted to help him, though unsure how. She could only use dinner as a pretext.

“I’d rather not, Mrs. Xiao, Miss Xiao. I’ll make do with what I have,” Mo Ran thought for a moment and declined.

Beside him, Su Qingcheng, experiencing being overlooked for the first time, felt a wave of relief—Mo Ran still respected her.

“But you can’t possibly eat your fill with that. Come on, big brother, let me treat you to a feast,” Xiao Xiao persisted, coming over to Mo Ran’s side.

“That’s right, young man, let’s go,” Mrs. Xiao chimed in.

Thus, unable to refuse their enthusiastic invitation, Mo Ran found himself seated in their car. Little did he know, from the moment he saved Xiao Xiao, his fate had been irrevocably altered.

Standing at the villa’s entrance, Su Qingcheng watched the taillights recede into the distance, lost in thought. For reasons unknown, the sense of emptiness within her grew ever stronger, as if something profoundly important was slipping away.

Meanwhile, the secretary drove straight ahead, and Mo Ran, stunned, watched as the car entered the heart of the city’s power—the government compound.

“Mrs. Xiao, Miss Xiao, you live here?” Mo Ran asked, gazing at the three-story villa and the car with the city’s number one license plate parked at the entrance. His words faltered; everything before him was overwhelming. Anyone with a bit of knowledge knew that seeing a number one plate anywhere meant something extraordinary—one was practically local royalty.

“My surname is Xiao. Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Xiao Xiao teased, amused by his nervousness.

Hearing this, Mo Ran suddenly realized—the city’s party secretary was also named Xiao. My goodness.

“Alright, Xiao Xiao, don’t frighten young Mo,” Mrs. Xiao said, exasperated but not surprised by his reaction.

“Hehe, just joking,” Xiao Xiao smiled, signaling Mo Ran to relax. She simply wanted to show her gratitude with a meal.

As they entered the house, Mo Ran immediately saw a middle-aged man in official attire, wearing black-rimmed reading glasses and reviewing a document. With that single glance, Mo Ran knew he was encountering a true heavyweight; the aura, the authority—far surpassed even the likes of Su Dashan, a tycoon of a hundred-billion conglomerate.

“Dad, Mo Ran is here,” Xiao Xiao called as she entered a step behind.

“Hmm? Alright.” Xiao Weiguo, hearing her, set aside his thoughts, removed his glasses, and fixed Mo Ran with eyes that had seen the breadth of human experience.

“Secretary Xiao, hello.” For the first time facing the city’s most powerful figure, Mo Ran was extremely nervous, feeling as if under an X-ray, exposed from head to toe.

“Mo, you’ve suffered quite a bit these past three years in the Su family, haven’t you?” In the next moment, Xiao Weiguo withdrew his gaze and aura, becoming an ordinary middle-aged man with a gentle smile.

“Dad, you investigated him?” Xiao Xiao frowned. This was her savior, and being investigated by her father made her uncomfortable.

“Is an investigation necessary?” Xiao Weiguo glanced at Xiao Xiao. “Look at him—the husband of the CEO of Su’s hundred-billion conglomerate. Does it look like he’s had an easy three years?”

Mo Ran nodded in awe. Such insight—no wonder the number one license plate belonged to him; truly a dragon among men.

After dinner, Xiao Weiguo instructed his driver to take Mo Ran home in the number one car. Watching the scenery fly past outside the window, Mo Ran felt everything was surreal. Even more unreal was Xiao Xiao, who, taking advantage of her parents’ distraction, slipped him a note.

On it was a number, and a single line: I can help you.