Xu Yanwan looked out to the clouds ever so lightly, whilst on the inside, her heart was almost broken.
She didn’t want to know these things. She did manage to stay away before, but now that the situation had presented itself, she felt as if a generous amount of salt was rubbed on to her bleeding wound.
“Miss Xu, you don’t look too good. Are you okay?” asked Su Jiu, bringing Xu Yanwan back to their conversation.
Xu Yanwan came back to her senses, her pale lips curved into a smile. As if trying to evade the question, she responded differently by saying, “All this food brings me back to a time when I used to be home, when times were much more…”
With that, she paused for a moment as she lowered her eyes without speaking any further.
Su Jiu on the other hand was rather puzzled to see Xu Yanwan’s reaction.
Was she reading her wrongly?
Was the change in Xu Yanwan’s emotion solely because of her reminiscing her family’s past and nothing else?
Su Jiu, however, was not that easily deceived. She might fail to test out Xu Yanwan now, but there would be ample more opportunities to do so in the future.
Why would these have crossed her mind? Whatever it was, it was somehow linked to the fact that she too used to share the same feelings for Han Qing, which was why she knew all too well how another would feel.
Su Jiu could read her like a book judging from her eyes, her interactions and her mannerisms.
However, based on the observations she gathered from Xu Yanwan, it left Su Jiu rather perplexed. Nevertheless, this would be a stone she would not leave unturned.
Yan spent the rest of dinnertime with the two of them. Subsequently, when Su Jiu offered to give her a ride back, Yan politely declined as she headed out by herself, reminding the both of them that she would return again tomorrow with some food if she was free.
Xu Yanwan sat by the window looking outside at the brightly lit houses. Even after a warm meal, her heart felt cold.
That girl…
She was really kind, compassionate, and enthusiastic. He really made a wise choice in choosing her as his mate.
Sure enough, as she thought, he wouldn’t just be with some commoner. There surely had to be something special about the person.
Although it had only been a day since Xu Yanwan had known Yan, Xu Yanwan could see from their interaction that this girl had turned out to be someone with seriousness, persistence, and who possessed a pure kind heart.
These things were indeed very precious and valuable.
Many had a good bout of kindness in them, though they just did not care to act on it.
But as for her, she willingly brought food for them without worrying about the outcome, and that too with such a humble approach.
Xu Yanwan signed in her heart and lowered her gaze.
If Yan had a bad personality, then she might still have reasons to resent her openly and fight for the love of Han Qing.
But technically, now that Yan had saved her, Xu Yanwan was indebted to her.
And the favors kept accumulating with each bout of meal brought over by Yan.
What else could she do?
Xu Yanwan fell into a deep uncertainty once again, and her brain started to hurt. She stretched out her hand as she covered her forehead with her palm when her breathing became a little unstable.
What was she going to do?
Xiao Su was losing his marbles with Jiang Xiaobai’s reckless decisions.
Not only had she brought her belongings over to Xiao Su’s house, she had taken the liberty to stay there. Sometimes, she even slept on the sofa covered in a quilt, simply claiming to be tired.
When Xiao Su got up one morning, he was shocked to find a tuft on the sofa as he thought that the house was robbed. After a closer look only did he realize that it was just Jiang Xiaobai there falling fast asleep.
With a frown upon his face, he walked over to wake her up. Jiang Xiaobai sat up with two dark eye circles staring at him and asked, “What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I should be the one asking you this question. Why haven’t you gone home?”
“Oh yes, about this… I was working too late last night, so I thought that I’d just spend the night here. I guess it’s enough for me now; I am very tired and I need to go back to sleep.”
At that, Jiang Xiaobai rolled over and was out like a light.
She was too exhausted.
If it were any other man, she wouldn’t dare to be so relieved, but this was Xiao Su, a man who was already attached with someone else. Even if she were to strip off all of her clothes and stood in front of him, he would not be smitten by her. She had nothing to worry about.
Besides, his sofa was big and comfortable. She’d be fine here.
Completely at ease with Xiao Su, Jiang Xiaobai closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.
However, Xiao Su’s expression looked a little unpleasant.
How could she be so unmannered as if she didn’t think of herself as a woman at all? Even if he had no interest in her whatsoever, he was still a man after all.
Although I wouldn’t do anything to her, she should at least be mindful of her reputation, right?
“Jiang Xiaobai,” Xiao Su called out her name. However, she just lay there without a response. Feeling helpless, he called out for her again.
“Jiang Xiaobai!”
Sleeping like a log, Jiang Xiaobai did not respond initially. A moment passed before she noticed that Xiao Su was still standing by her side and had not left. Glancing at him with squinty eyes, she then sat up with a rather crossed face.
“I mean like… what do you want? You might not be sleepy or tired in such early hours of the morning, but I am. If there is something you’d like to tell me, can’t it wait till lunch time?”
Xiao Su was a person who liked to tackle things then and there, and not someone who would procrastinate till another time.
“Firstly, you have to get up.”
Jiang Xiaobai stayed quiet for a long time, but she soon realized that he probably wouldn’t leave unless they settled this once and for all. She reluctantly sat up, scratching her head.
“Okay, I’m already up. If you have anything to say, hurry up and tell me now. After this, I’ll be able to catch up some sleep once again.” She was so exhausted that it felt as though her head was about to crack.
Though Jiang Xiaobai was at a sitting position, her eyes stayed shut, without caring less for how she looked.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Su felt that it was already a great achievement to get her up this far, so he left her as she was. He then eyed a suitable spot on the sofa as he sat down and said, “You can’t sleep here anymore from now onward.”
“Huh?” Jiang Xiaobai’s body swayed unsteadily ever so gently as she lazily asked at the same time, “Then where shall I sleep after this then? Shall I go and sleep in your room?”
Xiao Su was baffled upon hearing Jiang Xiaobai’s words. At the same time, judging from her drowsy expression, he thought, Maybe she doesn’t even know what she is talking about. How could there be someone like this?
Looking at her swaying body, Xiao Su was downright helpless, completely at a loss at what to do next. He thereafter stretched out his long arms and held her shoulders to stabilize her. “Stop swaying. Now, listen to me.”
“Hmm… yes, go ahead.” Jiang Xiaobai was no longer moving from side to side, but she unexpectedly fell into his arms, subconsciously grasping the hem of his clothes with both hands. Leaning into his chest and closing her eyes, she drifted back to sleep.
Xia Su was speechless.
He was only initially stretching out his arms to help her. It was she who…
“Can we talk?”
Although Jiang Xiaobai did not answer him, Xiao Su knew that this obviously couldn’t be done.
