The ride home didn’t happen.
Lin Xiaojue walked down the street holding an umbrella, the image of Murong Qiuyu’s retreating back still fresh in her mind.
‘I thought we could have talked a bit more tonight.’
The streetlights were dim and yellow. Lin Xiaojue stood under one of them and pulled out her mobile phone toward the light.
Beep, beep.
“Hello.”
A lazy voice came from the other end of the line; the person who answered was clearly just waking up.
“Come pick me up,” Lin Xiaojue said softly.
“Oh~ Does Xiaojue finally remember me? I thought Xiaojue had another lover named Su Yaqing~”
Su Yaqing teased in a strange, mocking tone, stretching out her words excessively.
Lin Xiaojue remained silent and held the phone a bit further away from her ear.
Less than 10 seconds later, an urgent voice came from the other side.
“Take it or leave it,” Lin Xiaojue said slowly.
She waited in place for a moment. Soon, a long, white Porsche tore through the curtain of rain, speeding over and splashing water everywhere.
The oncoming headlights were blinding, forcing Lin Xiaojue to squint as she climbed into the car.
“Xiaojue…” Su Yaqing’s complaining voice drifted over from the driver’s seat. Lin Xiaojue met her emerald eyes and offered a subtle smile.
“What’s wrong? Are you going to stop picking me up now?”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back tonight? I even went through the trouble of making your favorite pork chop rice.”
“That’s a different matter.”
“How is it a different matter?!”
“You cooking is one thing, and me doing what I want is another,” Lin Xiaojue said, shaking her phone with a smile.
“This kind of talk makes it sound like Xiaojue is a Slag Girl,” Su Yaqing’s tone suddenly turned cold.
Lin Xiaojue looked away with a guilty conscience. She caught Su Yaqing’s clinging, complicated gaze in the rearview mirror.
Yes.
Of.
Course.
Laughing awkwardly a few times, Lin Xiaojue turned her head to look out at the hazy, rainy night.
Vroom.
The car started with a roar, its headlights illuminating the falling rain. The vehicle drove all the way to the base of the Su Group building.
Lin Xiaojue got out, took the elevator back home, and opened the door to find Xia Yao lying on the sofa.
“Xiao Xia, what are you doing?”
Lin Xiaojue’s gaze was immediately drawn to the exposed, snowy-white legs on the couch.
Xia Yao had her two legs propped up on the top of the sofa with her upper body resting on the cushions. Such a casual posture was rare for her.
Lin Xiaojue remembered that for the past few days, Xia Yao had been sitting obediently on the sofa, sitting upright and springing up to greet them only when they returned.
Could it be that one’s habits could change so easily?
Lin Xiaojue tilted her head. Those two white calves suddenly trembled, and Xia Yao’s voice came out shaking.
“Ah, ah, predecessor! Wel… welcome home. There is delicious food ready in the kitchen, you can eat at any, any time, I was waiting for you too.”
Xia Yao stammered, and anyone could see that she was hiding something.
What exactly was she hiding?
Lin Xiaojue moved closer. In order not to startle her, she offered some comfort first.
“It’s okay, Su Yaqing and I came back together. Have you eaten, Xiao Xia? If not, why don’t we eat together in a bit?”
“Su?! Ah ha… Pre, predecessor, I don’t think I can get up right now. Er, no, I’ve already eaten. You should go eat by yourself…”
“Hmm?” Lin Xiaojue tilted her head in confusion.
At a time like this, shouldn’t Xia Yao be saying something like, “Do you need me to help you heat it up?”
Could she be sick?
No! How can she be sick!
Lin Xiaojue shook her head and rushed forward in two steps.
The loud footsteps made Xia Yao immediately pull back her legs, revealing her dark-haired head as she knelt on the sofa with her hands placed uneasily on her lap.
“Pre, predecessor, why did you suddenly rush over here?” Xia Yao looked shy. Her porcelain-white face flushed with a faint redness, and her breathing became heavy—perhaps from excessive exercise just a moment ago.
In Lin Xiaojue’s eyes, this was naturally proof of illness!
Fever, physical weakness—she had all the symptoms!
“No way!” Lin Xiaojue declared firmly.
“Eh! Eh!” Before Xia Yao could react, Lin Xiaojue bypassed the sofa and stood in front of her, pressing her small hand against Xia Yao’s forehead to check her temperature.
She felt a warm heat from her palm, and Lin Xiaojue couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
“Good, no fever. I guess I was just overthinking it.”
Then, Lin Xiaojue dropped her gaze, her tone rising sharply.
“But still! Xiao Xia, even if the house has heating, you can’t dress like this.”
She looked at Xia Yao’s bare, white knees, filled with indignation.
Xia Yao was wearing a sweater on her upper body, but other than that, she was almost completely exposed below.
Her movement when she got up just now was so violent; Lin Xiaojue really worried that Xia Yao might have caught a cold.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for people to catch a cold from sweating after exercising indoors.
Since Xia Yao’s movements had been so intense—perhaps she was doing sit-ups or something—Lin Xiaojue believed she definitely hadn’t planned it out well.
After all, the kettle nearby was spilled, and the floor was covered in water.
“Really now,” Lin Xiaojue pouted, feeling worried.
Regardless of Xia Yao’s strange expression, she immediately pushed her into the bedroom, closed the door, and picked up cleaning tools to start tidying up.
Click.
Su Yaqing walked in from outside and closed the door, a look of surprise immediately appearing in her eyes.
“Xiaojue… what are you doing?”
“Hmm?”
Lin Xiaojue tilted her head and said with some dissatisfaction:
“What else could I be doing? Cleaning. Xiao Xia was exercising here a moment ago, and somehow, she kicked the kettle over.”
“She even forgot to clean it up herself,” Lin Xiaojue added.
She then continued her work, burying herself in the task.
This piqued Su Yaqing’s curiosity.
She stepped forward to the side of the sofa, looked at the water stain on the ground, and a strange expression instantly crossed her face.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Xiaojue noticed and looked up to ask.
“Nothing. I just remembered that I haven’t cooked today’s dinner yet, and it requires a lot of ingredients.”
Su Yaqing waved her hand and glanced at the floor with a touch of ridicule.
Some things are better left unsaid once discovered.
Maintaining a certain level of mystery is what keeps people pursuing you endlessly.
Upholding this belief, Su Yaqing turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Lin Xiaojue shouted to stop her, and Su Yaqing trembled.
Was she unable to keep this secret for Xia Yao?
She suddenly thought of Xia Yao currently suffering in the bedroom. Although she didn’t know if she was truly suffering, from a normal person’s perspective, this situation must be her most agonizing moment.
If this had been discovered, Xia Yao would likely live in the shadows for the rest of her life.
It was also possible she might accept it all and carry this memory while interacting with Lin Xiaojue.
Neither option was good.
“Did you notice something just now?” Lin Xiaojue asked suspiciously.
“Are you keeping it from me?”
“No, that’s not it, Lord Tianyu. Your fans can come to the bottom of my building to protest, how could I hide anything from you?”
“Tell me! Was there or wasn’t there!”
Su Yaqing tried to find a topic to dodge the question, but Lin Xiaojue wasn’t buying it at all.
She walked directly in front of her and stared at her fiercely.
Sorry, Xia Yao.