The man was wearing a mask, so his appearance wasn't visible.
"Who are you? How do you know Xavier?" Xavier asked sternly.
The man stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, didn't answer the question, but instead examined Xavier's face closely.
"You look just like him! Uncannily similar!"
"Cut the crap. Are you trying to scam someone right at their doorstep? Who the hell are you?!" Xavier was starting to lose his patience.
This guy had suddenly jumped in front of Serena's car. His intentions were still unclear.
And now he was even bringing up his name-clearly he not only knew Xavier but possibly Serena as well!
"You tell me first-what's your relationship with Xavier? Then I'll tell you who I am!"
Unexpectedly, the man wasn't intimidated at all and spoke righteously.
Xavier actually let out a laugh from being so annoyed. Curling his lips, he lazily said, "You itching for a beating? Should I help you loosen up a little today?"
"Heh heh!" The man suddenly chuckled a few times, then leaned in slowly. "I was wondering who you were. Thought maybe you were Xavier's secret lovechild or something!"
With that, he slowly pulled down his mask. "Young master Blaze, I've been looking all over for you these past few days!"
The moment he saw his face, Xavier froze. "Christan?! Why is it you?!"
Christan smiled, eyes squinting. "Couldn't find you, so naturally, I had to come for the person closest to you."
As he spoke, he glanced over Xavier's outfit with an expression full of mixed feelings.
"You're looking for me? Why?!" Xavier frowned.
"Why? Don't you know better than anyone?! Why else would you be hiding out lately, not daring to show your face?!"
"You're the one hiding!" Xavier shot back. "If it weren't for my dad locking me up and forbidding me to leave, I would've gone to find Serena ages ago!"
"Serena?!"
He turned toward the driver's seat. Even though he could only see Serena's upper body, his eyes involuntarily revealed a flash of admiration.
Ahem! Xavier quickly cleared his throat as a warning.
Christan composed himself, turned back, and said sarcastically, "Calling her Serena, huh? So affectionate. All you care about is finding her-what about Celia?!"
Xavier frowned. "What does your sister's mess have to do with me? She chose to make a scene on her own. What could I do about it?"
Christan's expression turned stern. "Xavier, Celia is my only sister. We're brothers- even if you don't like her, you should at least treat her like a younger sister and protect her!"
"I've got no problem protecting her!" Xavier patted his chest. "If protection is all you need, just say the word-pick however many bodyguards you want! But if you're after something more, I'm afraid that's not happening!"
"Heh!" Christan chuckled coldly and glanced at Serena. "All for her?!"
Xavier's expression darkened, his voice lowering. "Christan, I already told you on the phone-say whatever you want about me, I won't care. But when it comes to Serena, you better show some respect!"
"Fine! I won't talk about her. I'll just talk about my sister! She went on a show and publicly confessed her feelings for you. She's a proper lady-how do you plan to deal with that?!"
"What do you want me to do?"
"I'd hoped you'd accept her feelings. We've been friends for years-if our families got connected, wouldn't that be great?!"
Curling his lips into a devilish smile, Xavier tilted his head and took a deep breath. "Let me make this clear-this lifetime, aside from Serena Knowles, I won't want any other woman. That includes your sister, Celia!"
"No room for negotiation?!"
"None!"
Christan narrowed his eyes and glared. "Even if it means we're no longer brothers, you won't change your mind?!"
"Christan," Xavier's tone softened a bit, "You're someone I genuinely consider a friend. I don't want to lose that. But about your sister-I just can't do it! I don't love her. We're barely even acquaintances! Asking me to be with her-don't you think that's unfair?"
Christan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I'm leaving for now. We'll talk about this again another day."
With that, he turned and walked away, passing right by Serena.
The driver's side window had long since been rolled down.
As he passed, Christan looked at her and said softly, "Miss Knowles, a man like Xavier isn't someone you should mess with. Take my advice-protect yourself. Don't end up losing both your body and your heart, only to be left with nothing in the end."
After Christan left, Xavier immediately got back into the car.
He sat in the passenger seat and asked gloomily, "Why was he looking for you?! You two know each other?!"
Serena shook her head. "No. Yesterday was the first time I met him. He was in a Jeep that blocked my way."
Then, with a wry smile, she added, "I thought it was strange-a celebrity like that, why would he come find me? I don't even follow entertainment news. Now I see-he came because of you, didn't he?"
Xavier grabbed her hand, his voice full of guilt and concern. "It's all my fault!"
"Your fault? Why? Didn't you say you never led Celia on?"
"I didn't! But... what can I say? I'm just too outstanding. Can't hide my brilliance. At some point, that precious little Miss Ryder must've developed feelings for me! So yeah-still my fault!"
"..." Serena rolled her eyes. "You really never miss a chance to be full of yourself, do you?"
"Serena! I'm serious!" Xavier straightened up, his voice sincere. "I didn't expect he'd come after you just because he couldn't find me. I've dragged you into this mess."
"Alright, alright!"
His sudden seriousness actually threw Serena off a little.
"You help me look into what I asked. Once you do that, we're even."
"Don't worry! Helping you is my duty. Even if it doesn't settle things, I'll still give it my all."
"Good. Then later, you'd better give me every detail of what you've found."
He made a salute. "Yes, ma'am!"
Serena was instantly amused, shaking her head as she stepped on the gas.
Once the MINI Cooper pulled into a parking space in the underground garage, Serena didn't immediately get out.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white, betraying her nervousness and unease.
She was about to bring this man home with her.
Even though she knew he was probably just being flirtatious and wouldn't really do anything, her heart still couldn't help but race wildly...
***