On the way home, Xie Qingyi couldn’t help asking, “Jiang Lai… who else is in your family?”
Jiang Lai seemed to see right through her. She quietly scooted closer and said in a gentle voice, “Don’t be nervous. They’re all very nice people, so you don’t need to worry.”
Those words didn’t completely ease Xie Qingyi’s concerns. She merely tugged at the corners of her mouth and forced a smile.
But Xie Qingyi didn’t feel comfortable saying anything more, so she could only follow behind Jiang Lai, watching as Jiang Lai deftly picked up her small suitcase and walked briskly toward home. She was like a kite being pulled by its string, able only to follow along silently.
When they reached the front door, before Jiang Lai could even knock, the door opened from the inside.
Xie Qingyi peered through the doorway at the warm home within. Even though Jiang Lai had already walked inside, she still stood frozen at the entrance, unsure whether she should go in, or whether entering would ruin this cozy atmosphere.
Chi Yingyu first took the suitcase from Jiang Lai’s hands, then looked at Xie Qingyi standing at the door.
She had already heard the general story from Sister and Jiang Jiang, and knew that Xie Qingyi was someone pitiable.
Besides, every time Jiang Lai went to Sister’s place to cook, she used their kitchen. All things considered, Chi Yingyu didn’t feel it was right to show too much resistance.
Originally, she had been waiting with anticipation for Jiang Lai to return from her business trip, and had even arranged for Jiang Leyi to play alone in her room early on.
After all, that was how it usually was. Le Yi now had her own social circle and her own world. When it came to children, Chi Yingyu had always taken a hands-off approach — as long as Le Yi ate her meals on time, everything was fine.
This arrangement was great for them too, because it meant she could create a private world for just the two of them at any time, and properly pour out how much she had missed Jiang Lai these past few days.
What she hadn’t expected was an extra… third wheel.
Aside from a small grudge over losing their alone time, Chi Yingyu had no other ill feelings toward Xie Qingyi.
After all, she could be certain that her Jiang Jiang had no romantic feelings for her. Even if there was the tiniest bit of fondness, it was built purely on friendship. She would just treat her as a friend from now on.
Besides, the girl looked far too pitiful.
Chi Yingyu’s gaze swept over Xie Qingyi from head to toe. Her eyes were red, the tip of her nose was pink, and she was clutching a crumpled sandwich wrapper in her hand. She looked like a startled fawn, every inch of her radiating “unease.”
“You two must be hungry by now. Let me go reheat the food.”
With that excuse, Chi Yingyu slipped into the kitchen, leaving Jiang Lai to handle Xie Qingyi alone. After all, with her around, Xie Qingyi didn’t even dare to step through the doorway — which made her seem like some kind of wild beast, too intimidating.
“Sure!”
Jiang Lai responded simply, then turned back to the dazed Xie Qingyi. She took a pair of brand-new slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of her.
Xie Qingyi took the slippers, her hands trembling slightly, and said in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”
“Don’t be so formal. There’s nothing to be concerned about here. I’ll turn on the air conditioner in a bit. There’s a blanket on the sofa, so make sure you wrap yourself up. When I held your hand earlier, it was freezing.”
Xie Qingyi nodded and followed Jiang Lai to the sofa, sitting down. She perched on only the edge of the sofa, her back ramrod straight, as if attending some solemn occasion. She secretly observed this home.
The living room light was warm yellow. Half a plate of washed strawberries sat on the coffee table, and a gray blanket was draped over the sofa. Everywhere she looked, there was a “lived-in” warmth.
Just from looking at the decorations in the room, she could tell that Jiang Lai must live in a very happy home — completely different from her own “home” filled with cold, lifeless furniture.
When Jiang Lai came back from turning on the air conditioner and saw Xie Qingyi still sitting there in a daze, she simply draped the nearby blanket over her, then sat down beside her.
“Is your mood still bad?”
The moment the blanket wrapped around her, Xie Qingyi instinctively shrank back. Her fingertips clutched the fabric at the edge of the sofa, her knuckles turning white.
She looked up at Jiang Lai, her eyes still carrying lingering fear. She shook her head, then quickly nodded, her voice as light as if it were floating in the air.
“No… it’s not that my mood is bad. I’m just afraid… afraid that me staying here will disrupt your plans.”
After all, no matter where she looked in this room, there was no place for her. She was like an outsider sitting here.
Seeing how tense she was, about to curl herself into a ball, Jiang Lai couldn’t help but gently pat the back of her hand.
“What would you disrupt?”
Jiang Lai’s voice grew even softer.
“Ying Yu went to reheat the food because she was worried you’d be hungry. If she didn’t welcome you, she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”
“But…”
Xie Qingyi bit her lower lip. After hesitating for a long while, she finally voiced the concern in her heart.
“Where will I sleep tonight… It doesn’t seem like there are any empty rooms here.”
Besides Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu, who was currently reheating food in the kitchen, there was another room tightly shut. Though she couldn’t hear any sounds from inside, seeing the light on, there must be someone in there.
“Where can I sleep today? How about I just sleep on the sofa tonight…”
Jiang Lai looked at her — clearly the one who had been wronged, yet still worried about causing trouble for others — and her heart ached with tenderness.
She reached out and tucked the stray strands of hair by Xie Qingyi’s ear behind it, her movements as gentle as if afraid of hurting her.
“You don’t have to sleep on the sofa. If you want, you can sleep in my bed. As for me, I’ll sleep with Ying Yu… It’s fine.”
“Is it really fine?”
Xie Qingyi looked at the girl bustling in the kitchen. The thought that Jiang Lai was going to sleep with her made Xie Qingyi not know what she should think.
In her heart, Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue were a couple…
But what was this situation, then?
Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue were a couple — she had seen it clearly with her own eyes.
That meant Jiang Lai, like herself, liked girls.
Then what about that girl in the kitchen? Was she straight?
But regardless of whether she was straight, Jiang Lai and she didn’t seem suitable to sleep together! After all, Jiang Lai liked girls.
Yet looking at how unburdened Jiang Lai was when she said it, it was obvious that for their relationship, sleeping together for one night was perfectly normal.
At this moment, Xie Qingyi couldn’t even spare attention for her own sadness and nervousness.