Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Never Waits for Anyone

Young Master Si didn’t mind. He started the car and drove through Cloud City’s main streets as if they belonged to him.

Even as traffic thickened, the sports car didn’t slow. It felt less like commuting and more like a game—accelerate, overtake, slip through the smallest opening, accelerate again.

He’d lost count of how many red lights he ran and how many cars he passed. By the time the car rolled to a smooth stop at the entrance of the Zhou Ji Hotel…

Only 10 minutes had passed since he’d picked up Qiao Qing Yan.

He turned to look at her.

Her cheeks were still faintly rosy, as if she’d just stepped out of a warm room. Not a strand of hair out of place. The hand holding her phone had never trembled.

A 45-minute drive cut down to 10—and she hadn’t screamed once. No panic. No flinch. Not even the smallest ripple in her expression.

Something flickered, deep and hidden, in his eyes.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The sound came again, sharp and impatient.

Qiao Qing Yan slipped her phone back into her bag and gestured toward the driver’s window with a calm tilt of her chin. “Looks like I don’t have the luck to go in with Young Master Si.”

He glanced outside. Two traffic officers stood by the car, faces stern.

Young Master Si sighed as if inconvenienced by weather. “I forgot this is Cloud City, not overseas.”

He pushed open the door. “I’ll go deal with it. Miss Qiao can wait in the car for me.”

Qiao Qing Yan smoothed her hair with one hand. “I’ve never had the habit of waiting for anyone.”

She met his gaze, the curve of her smile unreadable. “Young Master Si, do as you please.”

Then she straightened the qipao on her body—not a crease anywhere—stepped out, and walked toward the lobby at an unhurried pace.

“Hiss…”

“That beauty…”

“That figure is insane. I could watch her forever and never get tired…”

“It’s too far. She’s probably some young lady.”

The murmurs swelled the moment she stepped onto the red carpet. Even from behind, the way the plain qipao swayed with her stride stirred something restless in the crowd.

And if she turned her head—

They didn’t need to finish the thought.

“Sir,” one of the traffic officers said sharply, “do you know how dangerous it is to drive like that in the city? Please come with us.”

Young Master Si lifted his chin, arrogance sliding into place like a mask. “I’ll have my assistant handle it.”

“You just—”

“You’re the one driving, not someone else.” The younger officer’s voice rose. “We’re talking to you right now.”

“Oh.” Young Master Si smiled lazily. “Don’t worry. It’s just money, right? Enough for you to eat and drink well for a good few years.”

“You—”

“Gentlemen,” a hotel attendant cut in quickly, stepping between them with practiced politeness, “could you move to the side?”

Several luxury cars were already stuck behind them, engines idling, patience thinning.

Young Master Si shrugged. He tossed the keys toward a nearby member of the hotel staff. “Keys.”

In any other situation, the attendant would have taken them without hesitation and parked the car.

But with traffic police standing right there, his hand hovered, unsure.