Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Ding... The phone rang.

Sitting on the bench, Du Wei looked at the answer button on the screen, his complexion somewhat strange.

He had just sent a text message, and not two minutes later, Alex's call came through.

But he had not figured out how to lie.

Hmm... He was a bit conflicted.

So, he said, "Good morning, Alex."

"Hehe? Good morning? Mr. Du Wei, the first thing you say to me is a greeting? Shouldn't you be telling me where you've gone these past two days?"

"Uh... Just left New York, took a spin, traveled hundreds of kilometers, that sort of thing, nothing else."

"Heh? You think I'd believe that? So where are you now? At your place?"

"No, I'm in the Orlando Area."

Du Wei replied weakly, his voice revealing deep exhaustion.

Lately, he had hardly slept at all, his mind constantly under high stress, and he was close to his limit.

Hearing this, Alex on the other end of the line spoke with a complex tone, "Tell me, are you in trouble? How can I help you?"

Du Wei said with a furrowed brow, "Not really."

Alex spoke coldly, "Is that so? Mr. Du Wei, do you underestimate a woman's intuition that much? Stay right there, I'm coming to get you right away."

Du Wei refused, "There's no need, it would take at least an hour for you to come and get me and go back, but if I take a taxi, half an hour would be enough."

"I don't want to talk right now, just wait there quietly, I'm on my way to get you."

After finishing her words, Alex hung up on Du Wei's call.

Du Wei's eyes held a complex expression. He wasn't clueless about women; he simply didn't want to get too involved.

Feelings are a complicated thing—love, familial affection, friendship.

Complicated interpersonal relationships, combined with Du Wei's current situation, instinctively made him resist these things.

Yet he found himself unable to refuse Alex.

She was a very caring girl, and he owed her quite a bit...

The incident with the Antique Clock didn't count, after all, he actually saved Alex, but the Patek Philippe watch she later gave him worth hundreds of thousands, and the investigative information she helped with were of great assistance to him.

Du Wei shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a flower shop up ahead.

"She told me last Friday that today was her birthday; perhaps I should buy some flowers for her?"

...

Twenty minutes later.

An Aston Martin ONE-77 roared to a stop at the intersection, drawing the gaze of passersby.

Then, the car door opened.

Alex, dressed in a beige long dress and wearing sunglasses, got out of the car.

As soon as she exited, she saw Du Wei sitting on a bench not far away, holding a bouquet of flowers, and turning sideways toward her.

She sighed with a touch of helplessness. Although Du Wei didn't mention any trouble over the phone, she could clearly hear that weary and feeble sense of exhaustion.

"What a jerk..."

She composed herself and slowly made her way over.

At that moment, Du Wei also heard the footsteps drawing closer. When he turned and saw Alex approaching, he immediately stood up.

"How did you get here so fast?"

Du Wei was a bit surprised, as he had just bought the flowers and thought he would have to wait at least half an hour, yet Alex arrived much quicker than expected.

"Because I've been overtaking all the way here, dear Mr. Du Wei."

Alex, growing more irritated the more she thought about it, said through gritted teeth, "You don't think I would do the same as you, send a message and then disappear without saying a word, do you?"

Du Wei said awkwardly, "But I really don't have any problems, do I?"

Alex let out a cold snort, staring at him quietly and incessantly.

His normally calm and deep eyes were full of bloodshot veins, as if from a lack of proper rest, his face was haggard and pale, and his clothes carried the sour smell of being drenched by rain.

That's it, he's still carrying a backpack...

"fuck," Alex couldn't help but curse, "Don't tell me you went out to some wilderness to play survival games! You look like you've been rained on all night, didn't you?"

Du Wei was even more embarrassed, "Uh... pretty much as you've guessed, I did get caught in the rain all night, so I'm planning to go home to take a shower and change clothes."

With that, he handed the bouquet of flowers he had bought to Alex.

"By the way, this is the gift I prepared for you."

Alex glanced downward, hmm... ninety-nine tulips in the bouquet, a nice sentiment, but why tulips?

Avery took the bouquet and couldn't help but laugh, "Tulips are for friends, you should have given me roses, you know, roses?"

"Forget it, tulips are fine, better than nothing."

Although her words sounded disdainful, her eyes were filled with joy.

For anyone else, no matter how many gifts they gave, she would find them uninteresting, but coming from Du Wei, everything seemed perfect.

When a woman falls in love, she looks at everything through rose-colored glasses.

Alex already had an outstanding aura, and with her mood suddenly improving, her delicate features seemed even more radiant and charming.

She looked at Du Wei with a burning gaze and gently embraced him under his astonished eyes.

"Dear Mr. Du Wei, more than receiving gifts, I hope you can be safe. Don't do this again next time, okay?"

"Okay..." Find adventures on empire

It was the first time Du Wei had been embraced by someone of the opposite sex, and he instinctively felt uncomfortable, his actions becoming awkward.

Alex's move was bold, but she had never been in a relationship before, it was only a brief hug before she released him and stepped back.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she said, "I know you Easterners are more reserved, but that's okay, I can wait for you. However, I hope it won't be too long."

"Also, you should know that only children like confessions, adults need seduction, so baby, you could be less conservative."

Hearing that, Du Wei suddenly smiled and nodded in agreement.

Human warmth seemed to return to him, seeming less aloof and more lifelike.

...

In the afternoon.

Outside Alex's home.

Du Wei was dressed in a brand-new black custom-tailored suit, walking shoulder to shoulder with Alex toward the community's exit.

He had planned to go back to the clinic first to shower and change, but Alex told him she had already had a suit tailored for him.

Hmm...

Tailoring a suit requires height, shoulder width, and many other measurements.

Even though Alex was very wealthy, it would still take a long time to prepare.

And the reason was simple, because she had never seen Du Wei wear the Patek Philippe watch she gave him, she thought he might not like it, so she sent a suit instead...

The watch didn't quite fit Du Wei's style, but the suit made him look even more dashing.

It was his own birthday, yet he was the one preparing a gift for someone else, Du Wei had never experienced this before.

Although, it had been a very long time since he last attended someone else's birthday.

When they reached the entrance of the community.

Alex tilted her head and flashed a tempting smile, "Even though this birthday was terrible, I was so angry with your text that I didn't go out to prepare a cake, but overall, it's not too bad."

With a tone of apology, Du Wei said, "I'm very sorry, it definitely won't happen again."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Next time? Next birthday is a year from now. I should be really angry, but after seeing you, I can't bring myself to be mad."

As she spoke, she frowned and said, "By the way, if you ever find yourself in trouble, please make sure to tell me. Some things we can face together."

Du Wei took her words to heart, but still replied, "Okay, I definitely will."

Alex nodded, satisfied, and was about to drive Du Wei away when his phone suddenly rang.

"Who is calling you?"

Alex asked, puzzled.

Du Wei took out his phone, looked at it, and with a strange expression said, "It's Officer Tom, he probably has some important matter to discuss with me."