Contractual Love: Mistaken for True - Chapter 42 - Xia Chen's Return

sfully qualified as an heir. After that, there was no news from him. Xu Xiaoyou had also tried calling, but there was always no service signal.

Xu Xiaoyou comforted herself daily, telling herself that Xia Chen was fine and would return. But as days turned into weeks, concern began to creep in. Mom Xia never mentioned Xia Chen when she visited, and Xu Xiaoyou knew that even without words, they both understood what was on each other’s minds.

One day, while Xu Xiaoyou was in a meeting, her phone suddenly rang with an unknown number. She instinctively pressed the hang-up button. Not long after, she received a text message.

“My flight is tomorrow. Xia Chen.” Upon seeing the text, Xu Xiaoyou didn’t care about the meeting anymore and rushed out to call back, leaving everyone in the room staring in confusion.

“Ah Xia.” The moment she picked up the phone, Xu Xiaoyou was so excited that she didn’t know what to say.

“Why did you hang up on me?” Xia Chen sounded upset; he had finally found a place with signal to call her, only to be hung up on.

“I didn’t know it was you.”

“What were you doing?” Xia Chen began to probe, suspecting there was a reason she hadn’t answered his calls.

“I was in a meeting,” Xu Xiaoyou replied. “I came out as soon as I got your message.”

“Foolish girl. I’m coming back tomorrow.”

“Okay…”

“Arriving at City S the next day.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“No, I don’t want you to be too tired,” Xia Chen refused.

“No, I’m going to pick you up. I want to see you as soon as possible to make sure I’m not dreaming,” Xu Xiaoyou insisted.

After hanging up, Xu Xiaoyou was grinning at her phone, completely oblivious to Wang Jie walking by. This made Wang Jie shake his head in disbelief. She had made a scene during the meeting and left without asking for permission, and now she was just standing there smiling at her phone-had she lost her mind?

“Ahem…” Wang Jie cleared his throat a few times and said, “Xu Xiaoyou, it’s time to wake up.”

Xu Xiaoyou snapped back to reality and realized she was still standing outside the meeting room, with Wang Jie right next to her. She quickly called out to him.

“Xu Xiaoyou, what were you thinking about?” Wang Jie asked.

“Nothing… nothing at all,” Xu Xiaoyou replied vaguely.

“Anyone can see you’re hiding something. Who are you trying to fool?” Wang Jie was not that easy to trick.

“Really, it’s nothing,” Xu Xiaoyou brushed off Wang Jie and returned to her desk, leaving him standing there puzzled. He didn’t understand why things felt different between them lately. They used to get along well, but now Xu Xiaoyou seemed distracted, and today she was unusually cheerful, especially with that silly smile she just had.

Jingjing had long been coaxed back by Shen Mobai. Although she often called Xu Xiaoyou to chat and would go shopping with her on weekends, Xu Xiaoyou knew that Jingjing still had Shen Mobai on her mind. After several rejections from Xu Xiaoyou when Jingjing invited her out later, it was clear they were on different paths.

“Mom, do you know? Xia Chen is coming back tomorrow,” Xu Xiaoyou excitedly called Mom Xia, eager to share her joy.

“I know, I already heard,” Mom Xia replied with a smile on the other end of the line. She had just received a call from Xia Chen, and as long as he was alive and well, everything was okay.

“Mom, I’m so happy, so happy…” Xu Xiaoyou was so excited she didn’t know what to say.

“So am I…”

Xu Xiaoyou arrived at the airport early that day. In her excitement, she forgot to ask Xia Chen what time he would arrive. He had taken a private jet there and was returning the same way, so there was no way for her to check the flight details. She had no choice but to come to the airport early and wait. Now it was September, and with the upcoming wedding anniversary approaching, time really flew.

Xu Xiaoyou had been waiting since around six in the morning, but by eight o’clock, there was still no sign of him. This was the only main exit from the airport, so she was sure she would see him if she stayed here.

At nine o’clock, the airport started to buzz; it seemed someone had just landed. Xu Xiaoyou overheard a few girls nearby talking about a famous celebrity returning home. She peeked over at the crowd, but it was too packed to see anything except heads.

From another exit, a group of men emerged, all dressed in black tracksuits. Xu Xiaoyou immediately spotted Xia Chen in the crowd. Even though they were all wearing sunglasses, she recognized his figure right away.

“Ah Xia!” Xu Xiaoyou ran towards the group of men in black and crashed right into the arms of the one at the front.

“Be careful,” Xia Chen laughed, holding Xu Xiaoyou tightly.

“I’m just so happy to see you!” Xu Xiaoyou looked up at Xia Chen in his embrace. “Ah Xia, you’ve lost so much weight.”

“Of course, Hawaii isn’t a place for people to hang around. It’s hot and sunny, and I had training every day. If I didn’t lose weight, that would be strange.”

“Ahem…” Someone in the crowd coughed.

Xu Xiaoyou turned to see where the sound came from and was shocked to find Chen Zihan, sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed by someone.

“Chen Zihan?” Xu Xiaoyou exclaimed. “What happened to you?”

“He? He fell from the building and that’s how he ended up like this,” Xia Chen teased. “At his age, he can still trip over himself while walking; how does he manage to fall going up the stairs?”

“What?” Chen Zihan shouted. “I fell because I had an asthma attack, okay? Don’t think of me as that weak!”

“Does Shu Yuqing know?” Xu Xiaoyou inquired. It had been a while since she last contacted her, and they hadn’t seen Shu Yuqing waiting for them when they got back. She wondered if Shu Yuqing wasn’t in City S or if something else was going on.

“She knows, but…” Chen Zihan glanced around. “There are too many people here; she wouldn’t show up anyway.” He secretly hoped that Shu Yuqing would come to greet him like Xu Xiaoyou did, but her position wouldn’t allow her to do so.

“Alright, let’s talk somewhere else,” Xia Chen said, pulling Xu Xiaoyou along as they moved away from the crowd.

They hadn’t gone far when a group of fans blocked their path. Xia Chen and Xu Xiaoyou planned to take a different route.

“Ah Xia…” A familiar voice called out from behind them.

Xia Chen didn’t turn to look, but Xu Xiaoyou looked back, scanning the crowd for the source of the voice, though she saw no familiar face.

“Ah Xia…” The voice came again, and a figure stepped forward from the crowd. Xu Xiaoyou was stunned-there was someone in the world who looked so much like her!

Xia Chen merely responded with a “mm,” leaving it at that. But Xu Xiaoyou couldn’t help her curiosity and asked, “Excuse me, miss, but we look so similar!”

The woman didn’t pay Xu Xiaoyou much attention; her eyes were fixed solely on Xia Chen. Xu Xiaoyou noticed this, while Xia Chen’s sunglasses concealed his true expression.

“Murong Qing, when did you get back?” Finally, it was Chen Zihan who broke the silence among them.

She was Murong Qing, the international supermodel. Xu Xiaoyou was internally exclaiming at how she bore such a striking resemblance to an international icon.

“I’ve returned to develop my career,” Murong Qing said, still focused on Xia Chen.

Xia Chen didn’t say anything. He hadn’t anticipated Murong Qing returning to develop her career; years ago, she had been all about going abroad, so why return now?

“Which agency are you signing with?” Chen Zihan asked with interest. The most promising entertainment company in City S was Tianchen, and he guessed that Murong Qing’s sudden return was definitely connected to Xia Chen.

“I was planning to sign with Tianchen, but it seems the main people there aren’t in the country, so nothing’s confirmed yet.” Murong Qing was straightforward; she wanted Xia Chen to know that she was back for him.

“Tianchen won’t sign you,” Xia Chen finally spoke up.

Murong Qing was taken aback; she didn’t expect Xia Chen to reject her so quickly without any consideration.

“Why?” Murong Qing asked, confusion in her voice. “Am I not good enough?”

“Not at all,” Xia Chen replied. “A small company like Tianchen can’t accommodate someone as significant as you.” With that, Xia Chen stopped talking to Murong Qing and pulled Xu Xiaoyou away with him. Chen Zihan was also pushed along by others, and as he passed by Murong Qing, he quietly said, “Ah Xia is no longer the same Ah Xia he used to be; we’ve all changed. Don’t waste your efforts.”

“He’s mine; no one can take him away from me,” Murong Qing responded confidently.

Chen Zihan merely smiled and instructed the people around him to keep moving.

In the car, Xia Chen maintained a blank expression while Xu Xiaoyou sat beside him. She really wanted to ask him why he didn’t sign Murong Qing; after all, she was an international supermodel. How could he just turn her down?

“Ah Xia…” Xu Xiaoyou finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Why didn’t you accept Murong Qing? She’s an international supermodel!”

Xia Chen turned to look at Xu Xiaoyou and asked, “Do you want me to sign her that badly?”

“Yes, yes! Xu Xiaoyou, do you really want Xia Chen to sign Murong Qing?” Chen Zihan chimed in.

“Of course! She’s so famous that having her signed would bring a lot of opportunities to Tianchen.” Xu Xiaoyou’s assessment was spot on; if Murong Qing were promoting Tianchen, the company’s international reputation would surely grow.

“But if you knew what she wanted to do at Tianchen, you probably wouldn’t be so eager for me to sign her,” Chen Zihan shook his head. Xu Xiaoyou was completely unaware-if she knew, who knows what would happen.

“What does she want to do?” Xu Xiaoyou asked curiously.

“Can you both be quiet? If you have something to discuss, save it for later. Right now, just let me rest,” Xia Chen finally spoke up. Xu Xiaoyou immediately closed her mouth and sat quietly beside him.

Chen Zihan also settled down, texting Shu Yuqing.

Xia Chen leaned his eyes against the seat back, thinking about Murong Qing’s return. What did she want? She seemed so assured that she would sign with Tianchen. If it were in the past, perhaps he would have actually gone for it, but now… he didn’t want that. He didn’t want Xu Xiaoyou to discover anything, especially about their past; he wanted to be the one to tell her.

That night, the two of them were entwined in each other, as if trying to make up for the emptiness of the past six months, their moans and gasps intertwining.

“Ah Xia… slower…” Xu Xiaoyou said breathlessly. It had been half a year since she had been with anyone, and Xia Chen’s passionate intensity was overwhelming for her.

“Xiaoyou… Xiaoyou…” Xia Chen called out her name, pushing deeper.

“Ah… slower… I can’t take it…” Xu Xiaoyou gasped intermittently, “Hmm…”

Under the impact from Xia Chen, Xu Xiaoyou lost consciousness. Seeing her faint, Xia Chen hurriedly finished and held her, falling asleep shortly afterward.