A cigarette? When Jason heard the word, he laughed unexpectedly. “Hey, is it okay for you to be such a pushover? That woman just ran off with another man. Let me tell you; if you are a man, you should be chasing after them right now. Don’t sweat the small stuff; you have to step forward and grasp the opportunity.”
Grasp the opportunity? Hearing those words, Xiao Su was amused, but there was a bitterness in his heart. The bitterness spread across his entire chest to the point he couldn’t even force out a smile. “Do you have a cigarette?” he asked again.
Jason kept quiet. After a while, he reached his hand into the pockets of his jacket and searched around for a bit before he drew out a pack of cigarettes for Xiao Su.
Xiao Su took the pack, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth. However, Jason didn’t help him light it even after a long time had passed.
Xiao Su scowled at him, but he smiled innocently. “Why are you looking at me like that? When your Young Master Ye came looking for me, he was in such a rush that I forgot to bring my lighter. Can you blame me for that?”
“Why bother bringing the f*cking cigarettes if you don’t have a lighter?” Xiao Su snapped.
“D*mn, why are you using such foul language? Try speaking like this in front of that woman if you dare,” Jason said.
“F*ck off!” He threw the pack of cigarettes back at Jason. Not only was he unable to relieve his frustration, he got even more irritable instead because he couldn’t get what he wanted. On the other hand, Jason was the total opposite as he smilingly took back the cigarettes and placed them away. “It’s useless for you to get mad at me. I’m not your love rival, nor am I your enemy. I helped you out as a friend. On the other hand, not only did you not thank me, but you even blamed me.”
Xiao Su didn’t say a word, pinching his lips tightly in a line. At that moment, Jason suddenly leaned over and carefully scrutinized him. He furrowed his brows, then noticed that Jason’s gaze was fixed on the scar on his face. Then, his expression immediately changed and became unnatural.
“What?” He frigidly threw out the question. Then, he turned his face away, hiding away his horrifying scar in the shadows.
In truth, the scar wasn’t important to him. That was if… this was in the past, or if he hadn’t fallen for another person. This scar wouldn’t even have counted as a wound for him in the past. But what about now?
When he turned his head away, Jason seemed to recognize the thoughts in his heart immediately, and so he sneered, “Was I wrong before? I can’t believe you don’t even dare to let me look at your scar. I’ll say, you can’t be afraid of confessing to the girl all because of this scar, can you?”
“That’s not it. No,” Xiao Su denied it immediately.
Jason narrowed his eyes, his eyes moving back and forth quickly. After a moment, he laughed. “Don’t you know that a double negative turns into a positive?”
Xiao Su glared at him, saying nothing. He then opened the door and got out of the car, leaving the keys behind for Jason.
“What’s wrong? Are you mad because I hit the nail on the head?” Seeing Xiao Su refusing to answer, Jason reached out his hand and grabbed the hem of Xiao Su’s shirt, saying, “Hey, what’s wrong with a little bit of injury on a man’s body? It’s the peaceful era right now, but if it was in the warring era of the past, what man wouldn’t have a scar or two on his body? If every man was as fussy as you, then they wouldn’t marry a wife anymore.”
Xiao Su was silent for a moment. “Jason, you sure have a lot to say today. This matter has nothing to do with you, so stop poking your nose into it.”
“If you weren’t like a brother to me and someone who was being troubled by love, do you think I care? Alright, alright, it’s only today that I have the time to give you some advice anyway. Soon, you’ll be going back to China. By then, I wouldn’t have the chance to nag you even if I wanted to. Just think of me being a little busybody today. However, I was serious when I said all that to you. You are welcome to come to me for advice again.” Jason released his grip on Xiao Su’s clothes, then held the steering wheel with both hands. “Oh well, I’m leaving. We’ll meet again when we get the chance.”
The car quickly disappeared into the underground parking lot. Xiao Su turned his head and stared at the space where the car that just left had been parked for a while. Then, he closed his eyes tiredly. He wished he could be brave, but… Yan’s affection for Han Qing was deeply rooted. If he confessed to her right now, wouldn’t it just trouble her?
After Jason left, he silently walked in the direction of the elevator. As he passed by the trash can, he threw the unlit cigarette in his hand into it. When he returned, he had to press the doorbell since he had no keys. The person who opened the door was Yan. She seemed stunned to see him, then came back to her senses. “Xiao Su? Did you just get back? Didn’t you come up with us just now?”
Her words, said in an innocent surprise, instantly threw him directly into the deepest depths of hell. That’s it? Would I, who doesn’t have a shred of existence in her eyes whatsoever, really stand a chance with her?
His heart was hurting, and he couldn’t force a decent expression on his face at the moment anyway. So, he simply nodded his head indifferently and gave a non-committal grunt in response.
For some reason, Yan felt that his mood seemed rather low. However, she quickly noticed what she had just said to him, and explained herself in a flustered manner, “I’m so sorry! I just didn’t notice that you hadn’t returned with us; I just—”
“It’s fine.” He glanced at her as he coldly cut across her words. “All your attention was fixed on Mr. Han; not noticing me is quite normal.”
Standing there in stunned silence, she slowly digested the words Xiao Su said to her. Without waiting for her to fully comprehend what he said to her, he took off his shoes and went inside. She stood alone, mulling over it for a long while before she understood. Xiao Su… seemed angry.
‘All your attention was fixed on Mr. Han; not noticing me is quite normal.’ This sentence sounded weird—like it carried a bitterness to it. Why does it feel like he was jealous?
Jealous? Shocked, she subconsciously pulled at her hair. It was impossible for Xiao Su to feel jealous; she had questioned him about it before, but he said he had no feelings for her. His kindness toward her was simply in return for her putting in some good words for him. So, why was he so angry? Am I simply overthinking it? Scratching her head over it, she went back inside.
Han Qing was the only person on the sofa, flipping through some documents. Han Muzi and Ye Moxuan had returned to their rooms after coming back.
When Xiao Su saw Han Qing, he pursed his lips and his expression immediately became distant. He wanted to return to his room but abruptly realized that he had no room belonging to him here. Feeling exasperated, he could only choose a spot to sit down.
It was silent in the living room. When Yan came back in and saw only Han Qing and Xiao Su hanging around, she quickly slipped into her room to hide.
The awkward atmosphere lasted for a long time. Only when lunchtime had almost rolled around did Yan walk into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Xiao Su, who had been ignored to the point he seemed invisible, thought of something when he saw her walking into the kitchen. That girl just doesn’t seem to get it; she had just recovered from an illness, so why is she entering the kitchen again?
He wanted to get up and persuade her otherwise, but Han Qing, who was sitting opposite him, was acting as if nothing had happened and showed no reaction. He couldn’t help knitting his brows tightly together; he wanted to say something but realized it was not his place. In the end, he could only keep quiet.
