“Xi’er, you came back at just the right time!”
Jiang Xiao got up from the sofa, picked up two pieces of paper, and walked excitedly toward Song Qiuyu.
“I bought two tickets to the Vienna Symphony Orchestra concert, the eight o’clock show tonight. Don’t you love the violin and classical music? Let’s go together!”
Song Qiuyu’s eyes went wide with shock, feeling as if her guilt quietly deepened once more.
She had absolutely no interest in violin or classical music.
The only reason her younger self ever said she liked them was probably just to create the image of a classy young lady!
This sort of thing.
No matter how you look at it, Jiang Xiao absolutely must never find out.
But more importantly, what she needed to do now was move out of this rental apartment as soon as possible. She couldn’t keep accompanying Jiang Xiao on outings anymore.
“Xi’er, you don’t seem excited at all. Is it that you don’t like it anymore?” Jiang Xiao tilted his head, his tone full of doubt.
“I have an exam tomorrow morning, and I need to review everything for it tonight, so I’d better not go to the concert.”
Song Qiuyu tried her best to keep a calm expression, but couldn’t help glancing away, not daring to look at Jiang Xiao’s face.
“And, our previous agreement ends in just half a day, so I have to start moving my things.” Jiang Xiao looked down at the tickets in his hand and didn’t say anything.
“Jiang Xiao, are you mad at me?”
Song Qiuyu tested the waters, asking quietly.
Jiang Xiao only stared at the tickets.
“I know you might be really angry, but even the most loving girlfriend has things she needs to do.”
Song Qiuyu swallowed nervously and took a step toward her bedroom.
“Anyway, I can’t go to the concert. I’m sorry.”
As she said this, she held her breath and forced herself to glance back. She saw Jiang Xiao still sitting on the sofa, looking thoughtful, gripping the two tickets tightly in his hand.
Just one glance, and Song Qiuyu’s heart pounded wildly. She quickly looked away.
She would never have dared refuse Jiang Xiao’s invitation in the past.
But after spending this time together, she’d finally gained the courage.
She believed that no matter how angry Jiang Xiao got, he wouldn’t do anything too extreme.
Just let her shamelessly take advantage of Jiang Xiao’s gentleness one last time!
With that thought, she pushed down her guilt, ignored the gaze behind her, and quickly walked into the bedroom, closing the door.
Jiang Xiao stared at the closed door, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Based on what he knew of her, she was probably going to wrestle with herself again, trapped between self-inflicted pressure and the urge to let go.
But at this moment, a little pressure might not be such a bad thing.
Song Qiuyu felt so stressed she was about to explode, rolling around on her bed over and over.
She was supposed to be here to make amends.
She’d even been a boy before, and shouldn’t have said those things—yet she’d blurted them out anyway! But what could she do?
She couldn’t shake the feeling that if she agreed to go with Jiang Xiao to the concert, their relationship could never go back to what it once was.
Song Qiuyu collapsed on the bed, squeezing her eyes shut in exhaustion.
Jiang Xiao was such a clever person, he should have figured out that she was a complicated person by now.
Why wouldn’t he give up!
Jiang Xiao had also seen how much Jiang Li hated Shen Xi.
As for the rest of the Jiang Family she hadn’t even met yet—how much worse would their attitudes be?
It was enough to give her a headache.
Feeling a mix of emotions, she got off the bed and began packing her things, then dragged her luggage out and opened the door.
But—
The moment she looked out, she immediately met Jiang Xiao’s gaze.
In that instant, she was terrified, unable to take even a single step forward, even knowing Jiang Xiao was a good person.
Even when facing a bad woman like her, he was still gentle.
She didn’t know why, but she was just terribly afraid.
It was as if she were prey before a hunter, with the moment of the hunt about to arrive.
That primal fear froze her in place.
“I know.”
“What?” What do you know now?
“These four days, you deliberately made sure all of us were busy.”
“You’re not going to deny it?”
“Busy, being busy is good!” Song Qiuyu nervously rubbed the back of her neck, then fidgeted with her fingers down by her side.
Her slender, fair fingers were perfect for fidgeting with. The more she fidgeted, the tighter she clenched them, as if she’d come to some sort of decision.
“Stay busy during Freshman Year, and it’ll be easier to join a large production crew in Sophomore Year.”
She said firmly, “I mean, yeah, I did have my own motives, but I was also thinking about everyone’s future.”
“There’s some truth to that. If we hadn’t filmed that promotional video, we probably would’ve spent all the time just goofing off.” Jiang Xiao picked up her thread.
“Yes, exactly!”
Song Qiuyu nodded furiously.
“But for this entire week, you’ve been completely focused on me.”
Jiang Xiao suddenly changed the topic.
“This is a date I’ve been looking forward to for six years.”
Six years…
Song Qiuyu felt a tightness in her chest.
That’s right, he’d waited six whole years.
There was no way one week could make up for that, especially when she’d been cutting corners on purpose.
Maybe… she could only make up for it by giving Jiang Xiao a little extra reward.
And these rewards had to be the things Jiang Xiao wanted most.
Luckily, she knew exactly what those things were.
“Xi’er.”
Jiang Xiao looked at her conflicted expression and spoke softly, “If I had to rate your acting this week, you probably wouldn’t pass…”
“I get it.”
Song Qiuyu furrowed her brow, blushed deeply, and looked Jiang Xiao in the eyes.
Jiang Xiao also frowned, as if he could guess what she was about to say, but wasn’t entirely sure.
“Ten minutes. You can touch however you want!”
Song Qiuyu’s eyes were determined, like a soldier marching off to war.
Jiang Xiao seemed stunned.
Seeing he didn’t look especially excited, Song Qiuyu pressed her lips tightly together and grew even more resolute: “Thirty minutes!”
At once, Jiang Xiao’s eyes widened, his lips parted.
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu pursed her lips even harder, casting all shame aside and leaving only resolve: “One hour. If that’s not enough, I can add more!”
As soon as she said this, Jiang Xiao thought for a moment, placed the two tickets on the table, and got up from the sofa.
“For real?”
“For real!”
“Okay! Let me go wash my hands!!”
“Wait!”
“Hmm?”
Song Qiuyu bit her lip and looked down at her packed luggage, then squatted to open it.
“I need to wash up too, I’m a little sweaty. You go wait in your room.”
With that, she puckered her lips in embarrassment, her pretty brows knitted tightly.
She turned her head to Jiang Xiao and said, “Go to your room right now. You’re not allowed to come out until I’m done showering!”
Since there was only cold water outside, she had to add, “Wait until I’m finished, then you can go wash your hands.”
Seeing Jiang Xiao nod without asking questions and obediently go into his room to wait, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at the clothes in her suitcase, fished out the white bra and the matching female underwear, and held her breath.
If the person she was facing weren’t Jiang Xiao, this might really be a free giveaway.
Phew, at least Jiang Xiao was probably just a pure, clueless guy with zero experience, the kind at the bottom of the male pyramid.
Even if she let him touch as much as he wanted, he probably wouldn’t go overboard.
But thinking about how she’d so confidently told the lingerie store clerk she was wearing this underwear just for herself and not for anyone else… She felt like the temperature in the room shot up by dozens of degrees.
Whew—
It’ll be fine—
She comforted herself like this, picked up her change of clothes, closed her luggage, her body a bit stiff as she walked in sync, and entered the bathroom, opening the door.
Hot water rushed down with a splash, pouring over the girl’s upturned face and freshly washed body.
The farce from a few days ago, when she and Jiang Xiao had slept in the same bed and her terrible sleeping habits caused a scene, floated up in her mind.
Her slender fingertips unconsciously pressed against her chest.
She gently pressed, but felt nothing.
Her eyelashes trembled as she lifted her eyelids, then tried rubbing again, but after a few attempts, she still didn’t feel that strange sensation from the other day.
Was it the roughness of the hand, the person, or… just the timing?
She stood dazed in the water for a while, then stopped thinking, quickly and thoroughly finishing her bath, and dried off her body.