Contractual Love: Mistaken for True - Chapter 45 - Our Home

After that night, Xia Chen never came home late again. He returned from work on time every day, and sometimes he even got back earlier than Xu Xiaoyou. One day, when Xu Xiaoyou returned home, she was shocked to find Xia Chen wearing an apron in the kitchen, cooking. It had been a long time since she saw him cooking for himself.

“What’s going on today? Why is our Mr. Xia cooking?” Xu Xiaoyou asked while sitting on the sofa.

Xia Chen walked out of the kitchen, came over to her, and playfully pinched her nose, asking with a smile, “What day is it today?”

Xu Xiaoyou pondered for a moment. What day could it be? She had been busy with overtime recently, and often forgot important things because of it. Xia Chen’s question made her wonder if she had really forgotten something significant. No, she couldn’t have forgotten anything important, especially since she had written everything down in her planner-there was nothing important scheduled for today.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Xia Chen knew she had forgotten. “Today marks the anniversary of us getting our marriage certificate. You forgot such an important day!”

Hearing this, Xu Xiaoyou remembered, and she was surprised how a whole year had passed without her realizing it. She slapped her forehead and said, “Time flies! I can’t believe we’ve been married for a year.”

“Yes, that’s why I made a special effort to finish work early today and cook for you,” Xia Chen said as he hugged Xu Xiaoyou.

“So, I’m really lucky then?” It was a rare occurrence to see Xia Chen in the kitchen; she could count on her fingers how many times he had cooked since they got married.

“Exactly, very lucky,” Xia Chen replied with a smile. “Alright, go wash your hands. Dinner is ready.”

At the dining table, Xia Chen asked Xu Xiaoyou if the contract was still around. While eating, she nodded, “It’s still in the bedroom, but I’m not sure exactly where. By the way, Ah Xia, do you still have yours?”

“Yes, it’s been locked in the safe all along.”

“In the safe?” Xu Xiaoyou was confused. Did a simple contract really need to be hidden so securely?

“It’s just to prevent anyone else from finding it,” Xia Chen chuckled. “Honestly, we should have torn it up already. We don’t need that contract anymore.”

“That’s true. I’ll go tear it up later; make sure you do the same,” Xu Xiaoyou said.

Xia Chen nodded, agreeing with her.

After dinner, Xia Chen took Xu Xiaoyou out the door. As they walked down a somewhat familiar road, Xu Xiaoyou wondered where he was taking her.

“Ah Xia, where are you taking me?” Xu Xiaoyou asked him.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” Xia Chen replied, wanting to give her a surprise.

The car stopped in front of a white villa, and Xia Chen got out first. Xu Xiaoyou stared at the house, memories of that night resurfacing-it was where Xia Chen had brought her to find Murong Qing. What was going on?

“What’s wrong?” Xia Chen asked as he walked around to open her door, noticing she was hesitant to get out.

“Why did you bring me here to find Murong Qing?” Xu Xiaoyou asked, her tone unhappy.

“Find Murong Qing?” Xia Chen was puzzled. What did Murong Qing have to do with this? “What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t this Murong Qing’s home?” Xu Xiaoyou stepped out of the car, looking at the dark villa. There were no lights on so late-was she even home? What were they doing here?

“Who told you this is her house?” Xia Chen chuckled, shaking his head. It was clearly his house. “Xu Xiaoyou, this is our home.”

“Stop lying to me. I know this is Murong Qing’s house. She’s not here right now, so why are we here?”

Xia Chen didn’t respond; he simply took her hand and walked towards the villa. How could she not believe him? Once she saw the interior design, she would understand.

“Ah Xia, what are you really up to?” Xu Xiaoyou felt a bit sad. Why did he bring her to find Murong Qing at a time like this?

“You’ll find out in a moment,” Xia Chen said with a smile.

When the door opened, the lights turned on, and Xu Xiaoyou was speechless at the sight of the furnishings inside. The design was identical to the one she had saved on her computer. She looked at Xia Chen in confusion.

“Do you like it?” Xia Chen asked.

Xu Xiaoyou didn’t know how to respond. Of course she liked it; it was her dream home.

Xia Chen hugged Xu Xiaoyou from behind and whispered in her ear, “A while ago, I stumbled upon your saved designs on your computer and realized this is what you liked. So I started looking for a suitable place to build this kind of house. Later, I thought, why live in an apartment when we could have our own villa? I bought this land, but then things got delayed because of Zihan. By the time I returned, the house was already built, but the interior hadn’t been decorated yet. That’s why I was so busy with it for a while and neglected you. I didn’t mean for you to misunderstand.”

“Really?” Xu Xiaoyou was skeptical. Murong Qing said it was her house.

“Absolutely.”

“But… why did Murong Qing say this was her home?” Xu Xiaoyou asked.

Xia Chen furrowed his brows. No wonder Xu Xiaoyou didn’t believe him; it turned out Murong Qing had told her that the house was hers.

“I saw her enter through this door that day, and I saw you two…” Xu Xiaoyou hesitated, unwilling to say what she had witnessed.

“What did you see us doing?” Xia Chen asked, puzzled. Xu Xiaoyou had acted strangely that day, and now she was acting odd again. Had she really seen something? But they hadn’t done anything at all!

“You were kissing…” Xu Xiaoyou managed to say, struggling to get the words out. She couldn’t believe it-Murong Qing had kissed him, and Xia Chen hadn’t pushed her away.

“Kissing?” Xia Chen was baffled. What was she talking about? When they entered that day, Murong Qing had mentioned that his face was dirty and wiped it for him. Was it possible Xu Xiaoyou had misunderstood that as a kiss?

“You silly girl.” Xia Chen turned Xu Xiaoyou to face him and said, “We didn’t do anything that day. She came to ask me about the decoration of the house. I was even wondering why she was here. It seems she intentionally led you to misunderstand, and you fell for it!”

Xu Xiaoyou looked at Xia Chen in disbelief. So that was how it was-she really had misjudged him. They truly hadn’t done anything. “Then… do you still love her?” Xu Xiaoyou asked quietly.

“I don’t love her anymore; I stopped loving her a long time ago. Ever since that silly girl appeared in my life, my heart has been completely filled with her and has no room for anyone else.” Xia Chen smiled at her. “So, how about you? Do you love me?”

Xu Xiaoyou blushed and pushed Xia Chen away, running off to explore the rooms. She needed to escape him; she refused to admit that she had already fallen in love with him.

“Xu Xiaoyou, are you going to answer me or not?” Xia Chen caught up to her and hugged her, nibbling on her ear as he asked.

“I’m not going to answer!” Xu Xiaoyou dodged Xia Chen’s advances.

“Not saying, huh? Just wait and see how I’ll deal with you!” Xia Chen said mockingly.

Xu Xiaoyou begged for mercy, knowing she could never handle his playful tactics.

“Then say you love me, and I’ll let you go.” Xia Chen insisted on hearing those words from her today.

“I love you, I love you, I adore you!” Xu Xiaoyou rolled her eyes. Why was this man so stubborn?

Finally, Xia Chen let her go and asked, “Can you guess where the stairs are behind which door?”

Xu Xiaoyou looked around. Aside from the living room, dining room, and kitchen, there were doors everywhere. She remembered from her designs that the stairs were behind the second door on the left. She wondered if it was the same in reality.

“Is it the second door on the left?” Xu Xiaoyou asked Xia Chen.

“Correct.” Xia Chen led Xu Xiaoyou to that door and pushed it open, revealing the staircase in front of them.

“How could you like a house like this?” Xia Chen thought back to the first time he saw that design and could hardly believe it-a two-story house without any apparent stairs? He had originally been confused about how to get upstairs, but when he saw the floor plan, he realized the stairs were hidden within a room. It was indeed a unique design…

“Don’t you think this house is unique? It has a mysterious vibe to it as well,” Xu Xiaoyou said as she stepped onto the staircase, wondering if the upstairs matched her imagination.

But what lay before her… Xu Xiaoyou turned and looked at Xia Chen in confusion. “Why isn’t the upstairs decorated?” It was a complete mess, still in its raw state without any renovations.

“Because it’s waiting for you to design it yourself.” Xia Chen had thought about it-if they decorated the upstairs himself, it would just become another one of his designs. This was a gift for Xu Xiaoyou, and it was only right that she should be the one to decide how it looked.

“I design it?” Xu Xiaoyou gasped. “I’m not a designer; I don’t know anything about this!”

“Don’t worry, you’ve got me to help you,” Xia Chen said as he pulled Xu Xiaoyou back downstairs. “Once everything is ready here, we can move in. I’ve calculated it- it should take about two or three months, just in time for the New Year. Then we can have our wedding party here next year. What do you think?”

“So you’ve thought this all through?” Xu Xiaoyou looked at Xia Chen with admiration. How could he be so capable? He managed Tianchen while also dealing with Moding’s affairs, and he was even able to get this house ready in a short time. She scolded herself for doubting him and thought about how foolish she had been, getting caught up in Murong Qing’s tricks.

“Dear, let’s have our parents come stay with us after a while,” Xia Chen suggested. His intentions were more than just a kind gesture; Papa Xu was an old friend of Mom Xia’s. He hoped they could meet, although Papa Xu had once mentioned not to tell Mom Xia. Every time he saw her drinking tea alone, it stirred his desire to share this news with her. But he feared it might create complications. Now that they were getting married next year, it was the right time for the two families to meet.

“Really? You truly want them to live with us?” Xu Xiaoyou asked. She had always wanted her parents to move in, but they were unwilling, always saying they didn’t want to relocate. Now that Xia Chen had brought it up, she thought if she encouraged them from the side, it might actually work.

“Of course! With them looking after you, I can feel more at ease when I go on business trips.”

Xia Chen leaned in to kiss her, and Xu Xiaoyou slowly responded. When it came to this aspect, she naturally felt inferior to Xia Chen. Her response filled him with joy. Those rare moments when she took the initiative were immensely satisfying for him.