Ning Beichen didn't say much more, as he had no evidence and couldn't be sure if this woman was coming for him or her.
"What are you muttering about? By the way, did you come in to see me about something?"
Liu Yilin asked him.
"No, I came in to ask you what dishes you want for dinner tonight, so I can go to the supermarket and buy them."
Ning Beichen made up an excuse.
"No need to buy groceries today. My classmate is rarely visiting me, so of course, we have to go out and have a good meal to welcome her."
Liu Yilin said.
"Alright, boss, then... can I go out now?"
Ning Beichen had no reason to stay, so he tentatively asked.
"You can go."
Liu Yilin waved him off, showing no intention of keeping him.
Ning Beichen had to go out, but he didn't leave. Instead, he stood outside the door, ears pricked up, listening to the sounds inside.
This was because he was still uneasy about Liu Yilin's so-called "classmate."
Over the years, Ning Beichen had seen many strange things and people with special abilities.
Five years had passed, and anything was possible. If the woman inside was truly Liu Yilin's classmate, then it would be fine. But if not? What if she wasn't Liu Yilin's roommate from five years ago?
Then there would be big trouble!
It wasn't that Ning Beichen was overly suspicious. He wasn't Liu Yilin. He had encountered countless enemies, and he could sense whether someone was an enemy at a glance.
The woman inside exuded an aura of malevolence from head to toe, clearly not a good person. It reminded Ning Beichen of some witches he had dealt with before, so he suspected the woman inside was a witch.
However, he was unsure whether the woman inside was Liu Yilin's classmate or an enemy.
Ning Beichen eavesdropped at the door for a while. Then, as if struck by an idea, he took off a red string he wore on his wrist, put it in his pocket, and found an opportunity to get the classmate to leave so he could speak to Liu Yilin alone.
"Ning Beichen, I've noticed you've been acting strangely all day. What's wrong?"
Liu Yilin was very puzzled.
"Boss, I want to give you a gift."
Ning Beichen said awkwardly.
"Give me a gift?"
"Why?"
Liu Yilin's expression became even stranger. It wasn't her birthday, nor any other holiday.
Moreover, from what she knew of this guy, he was incapable of such generosity.
"I just thought I've never given my boss a gift before."
Ning Beichen said.
"Good, you have some conscience. Bring on the gift."
Liu Yilin, although unsure why this guy suddenly decided to give her a gift, was inwardly pleased, though she didn't show it.
Ning Beichen took the red string out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Seeing the simple red string, Liu Yilin's expression immediately darkened.
"Ning Beichen, this is your so-called gift?"
Although she wasn't someone who looked down on the poor, she wasn't so desperate that she would be given a shabby red string. Even the poorest person wouldn't do this. This wasn't just being perfunctory; it was outright mockery.
"This is your gift? Ning Beichen, are you playing with me?"
Liu Yilin asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes, boss. This red string is a good thing. Let me tie it on your wrist."
Ning Beichen, oblivious to Liu Yilin's expression, said excitedly.
"Tie it on your head!"
Liu Yilin threw the red string back at him and stomped away angrily.
"Boss, boss... put on the string!"
Ning Beichen called after her, but Liu Yilin paid him no mind, already furious.
Earlier, when this guy said he was giving her a gift, she had been so happy, feeling that he was finally coming around. But then he gave her a red string! How could she not be angry?
"Boss, boss, this is really a good thing, something you can't buy with money."
Ning Beichen kept calling, but the faster he called, the faster Liu Yilin walked away, feeling that her intelligence quotient of 230 had been insulted.
Ning Beichen didn't know why Liu Yilin was angry.
He stood there, holding the red string, muttering to himself.
"Forget it. You didn't want it, so don't blame me if your classmate harms you."
Ning Beichen helplessly re-tied the red string around his wrist.
This red string was no ordinary red string. It was an incredibly precious, even rare, magical cord that could grant immunity to most witchcraft and some evil arts when worn on the wrist.
If his master hadn't instructed him to protect Liu Yilin and ensure her safety, he wouldn't have been willing to give her this red string.
And now, Liu Yilin didn't appreciate it at all.
When it was time to get off work, Liu Yilin's face was still grim when she saw Ning Beichen. She deliberately spoke to her university classmate and ignored Ning Beichen, as if he were invisible, making Ning Beichen feel a bit awkward.
However, Ning Beichen's attention soon shifted from Liu Yilin to her university classmate, Cheng Chen, and he occasionally glanced down at the red string on his wrist.
If one had a magnifying glass at that moment, they would see that on the red string he wore, mysterious runes, finer than a needle's tip, were swirling around the string, emitting a mystical red light.
But this red light could only be seen by the wearer, not by others.
At this moment, Ning Beichen was 100% certain that this Cheng Chen was a witch.
However, he still couldn't determine if she was here to deal with Liu Yilin or himself.
After all, not everyone who could use witchcraft was necessarily an enemy. She might have learned witchcraft before she knew Liu Yilin. Therefore, Ning Beichen couldn't just decide to kill her because she was a witch and he didn't like her.
However, for safety's sake, Ning Beichen decided that when he drove, he would insist that Liu Yilin sit in the passenger seat, as it was closest to him, allowing him to intervene immediately if any danger arose.
Although Liu Yilin was annoyed that his gift lacked sincerity, she wasn't a capricious or unreasonable girl. She obediently sat in the passenger seat.
That evening, Liu Yilin was hosting a welcome dinner for Cheng Chen and had already booked the best restaurant in Haizhou New Town.
In fact, Ning Beichen had always opposed Liu Yilin coming to such places because the environment was too complex, making her protection more difficult.