At this point, Jiang Xiaobai began to feel annoyed. I’m f*cking unfortunate! After half an hour, the removalists were still nowhere to be seen. When Jiang Xiaobai angrily walked to the window to get some fresh air, a familiar car came into sight. Her face dropped. It’s Xiao Su’s car!
Jiang Xiaobai backed out and frantically looked around her. Why is he home so early? The removalists aren’t even here yet. What am I supposed to say to him later? Then, she decided to carry her most important belongings on her back and took the elevator to go up one level. The plan was for her to hide in the hallway there until Xiao Su went into the house. She would then take the elevator down to avoid running into Xiao Su.
After Xiao Su entered the house, he saw that things in the house had been packed up, but he could not find Jiang Xiaobai even though the things were still there. So, he looked around in different rooms, but to no avail. He stood there for a second and ran outside after realizing something. When he first arrived earlier, he saw that the elevator was going up, and that the lights of the hallway of one level above him were on. He did not suspect anything then, but now that he thought about it, he reckoned that Jiang Xiaobai must have gone there to hide.
As expected, he was right. After Xiao Su ran outside of his place, the elevator had already gone to level two. Startled, he turned around and headed to the stairs. He should have known that given how smart she was, the moment she saw him come home, she would definitely try her best to hide from him. At this point, he was unsure if he could find her. But soon enough, he reckoned that as long as Jiang Xiaobai had not found a ride, based on his speed, he should be able to catch her soon. The thought of this slightly calmed him down. Right now, he could only try his best to catch up to her.
When Jiang Xiaobai came out of the elevator and saw that the elevator did not go up, she let out a smile and thought that Xiao Su would not be able to figure out where she was. The plan was to let him wait in that empty place while she found her escape route. As she thought about this, she began to slow down.
Initially, she was planning on finding a ride as soon as she escaped, but she had way too many belongings with her, so she was unable to reach for her phone. Then, while she was by the roadside, she thought of putting all the stuff she was carrying down to call a ride, only to run into a big and tall figure standing in front of her. The sight of that figure shocked her senseless. How could this be? He’s supposed to be upstairs, no? How did he come down so quickly?
A few seconds later, Jiang Xiaobai attempted to walk past him, only to be stopped by him. She tried going another way, only for him to block her again. No matter which way she took, Xiao Su would stop her. In the end, Jiang Xiaobai became upset. She angrily stared at him and yelled, “Back off!”
Seeing this, Xiao Su felt helpless. “Why don’t we talk about this?”
Talk? She did not even have to think to know what he wanted to talk about. She had already thought it through and decided that there was no need for them to talk. So, she responded, “There’s nothing to talk about between us.”
Xiao Su frowned and stared at her. He did not respond nor move. Jiang Xiaobai decided to explain, “The removalists will be here soon. When they’re here, please tell them to move everything into the truck, and I’ll be in touch with them as to where to send them. As for Mrs. Xiao, you can tell her the truth. After all, I’m not her child, so there are things that might be difficult to hear from me.”
Hearing the arrangement that she made without asking for his opinions saddened Xiao Su; he felt like he was suffocating. However, he believed he had received her message: if she was hoping that he would do something about this situation, she would not have come back here to pack up her things, silently leave, and ignore his calls. All these indicated to him that she no longer wanted to be with him.
At this point, Xiao Su pursed his lips and inquired, “Are you sure this is the best conclusion you’d like to come to?”
Jiang Xiaobai froze. Frankly, she didn’t know if this was the desired conclusion. The fact was that Xiao Su did not like her, and she also did not like him, or rather, she did not know what her heart wanted. Seeing that she was silent, Xiao Su took two steps forward. “Give me the stuff, and we’ll talk back in there.”
Jiang Xiaobai lifted her head and stared at him.
“Or, if you want to talk here, I’m fine too.”
A few moments later, Jiang Xiaobai abruptly threw all her stuff to him. “Sure, if you insist. If you help me carry all of these, I’ll go up with you.”
Xiao Su did not resist when she passed her belongings to him. Instead, he took them willingly. The belongings that Jiang Xiaobai took much effort to carry seemed effortless to Xiao Su. Then, Jiang Xiaobai turned around and started walking with Xiao Su behind her. Soon enough, they got back home.
The first thing she did after entering the house was to sit on the couch like a queen. “We’re home. What did you want to talk about? Let’s talk now.” Jiang Xiaobai crossed her arms and stared at Xiao Su, thinking that she should not look weak and could never let him overpower her.
Xiao Su did not respond; instead, he quietly placed the belongings in his arms on the cabinet before walking up to Xiao Bai and sitting next to her.
“About last night—” The first thing he wanted to talk about was what happened last night. Jiang Xiaobai added right away, “Whatever happened last night was consensual. We’re both fine and happy, so there’s no need for you to say anything about that.”
That was how she finished his sentence. He was surprised by how upfront she was about it, and it took him a few seconds to process what she just said. Seeing the surprised look on his face, Jiang Xiaobai smiled. “What? Are you surprised to hear that? Let me tell you, Xiao Su; don’t play the back-in-the-days card that you, as a man, have to marry me just because we’ve slept with each other. I don’t buy any of that crap, and I certainly don’t need you to be responsible for me.” Then, she added, “I’m a modern woman, so I don’t think I’ve been taken advantage of. If you were about to talk about that, save it.”
Xiao Su was rendered speechless, as this was precisely what he wanted to talk to her about. It seemed like Jiang Xiaobai was on the same page.
Jiang Xiaobai knew that she was spot on when she saw the look on his face. She continued, looking disgusted, “Please tell me you weren’t really planning on telling me that you wanted to be responsible for me just because of what happened last night?”