Chapter 55

Chapter 55

As soon as Zhou Yu left, Xie Qiyan looked at Xia Wanzhi, who had her head lowered as she made brown sugar ginger tea, and frowned slightly. “Where does it hurt?”

Xia Wanzhi stirred the undissolved brown sugar in her cup and answered weakly, “My stomach.”

She walked over and sat down on the sofa, then looked up at him. “Tell me what you want me to draw. I’ll take notes first, and once I’m feeling better, I’ll draw it for you.”

Xie Qiyan came over and sat beside her. “What I want drawn isn’t a dream.”

Xia Wanzhi froze for a moment. “A person? Then it’ll have to be another day. I’m not feeling well today…”

“There’s no rush.” Xie Qiyan reached out and naturally took the cup and spoon from her hand, helping her stir the last lump of brown sugar that hadn’t dissolved.

The moment their hands touched, Xia Wanzhi instinctively pulled back a little.

“Why drink brown sugar water if your stomach hurts?” It was the first time he’d seen this.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

“Is brown sugar a Chinese medicine?” When they were little, he’d seen Xia Yongqing chasing after her a few times to make her drink herbal medicine.

Xia Wanzhi choked and coughed.

What brand of hopelessly straight man was this?

She pressed her dry lips together and sighed softly. “President Xie, are you illiterate? Drinking brown sugar ginger tea during your period can ease abdominal pain. Learn something. It’ll come in handy with your girlfriend someday.”

After she said that, a long silence followed.

Xia Wanzhi didn’t feel awkward either. She took the spoon back from him, saw that the brown sugar had more or less dissolved, lifted the cup, tested the water temperature, and then sipped it slowly.

Xie Qiyan said nothing. He simply watched her drink the entire cup.

Perhaps it had been too hot, because after finishing it, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Have you sorted out the matter of going abroad?” Xie Qiyan brought it up deliberately.

Xia Wanzhi leaned back. Hearing that, she glanced sideways at him. “Pretty much.”

Xie Qiyan frowned subconsciously. “Pretty much?”

He still hadn’t agreed to be her boyfriend.

Xia Wanzhi forced out a smile. “I’ll go ask Jiang Baichuan to act with me.”

Xie Qiyan: “…”

“I’ll say I have a secret crush on him.” Xia Wanzhi’s expression relaxed as she continued, “I’ll say I only tried to get on your good side so I could get closer to him.”

Xie Qiyan: “…”

Xia Wanzhi concluded, “If I act a little more devoted, a little more deeply in love, Jiang Baichuan might not even need to show up. My parents will probably believe it.”

Back then, Ms. Ross had fallen in love at first sight with Comrade Old Xia and chased him all the way to Beicheng. Her grandparents, far away in the UK, had sent who knew how many people after her, but none of them had managed to catch her and bring her back.

So when it came to bravely pursuing love, Ms. Ross and Comrade Old Xia would definitely support her.

A few days ago, Old Xia had clearly had complaints about Xie Qiyan, but once he’d determined that she liked Xie Qiyan, he had still compromised and accepted it.

So who the other person was didn’t matter.

What mattered was who she liked.

“Jiang Baichuan?” Xie Qiyan’s brows nearly twisted together.

“Mm-hmm.” Xia Wanzhi smiled as she met his gaze.

“You really are…”

Xia Wanzhi: “Hm?”

“Fickle.” Xie Qiyan gave his assessment with a cold face. “Yesterday, you were saying it had to be me. Today, you’ve already switched to another man.”

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

When had she ever said it had to be him?

Xia Wanzhi was in too much pain to feel like arguing. She pressed her lips together and didn’t answer him.

After quite a while, Xie Qiyan suddenly stood up. “Instead of looking for Jiang Baichuan, you might as well look for me. With your personality, if you try to act out some tragic secret-crush drama with someone else, you’ll give yourself away in a few days.”

Xia Wanzhi’s eyes went wide.

“We’re family. No need to be polite.” After Xie Qiyan finished saying that, he left, leaving Xia Wanzhi half-reclining on the sofa as she tried to process his words.

But less than five minutes later, he came back.

Xia Wanzhi swallowed. “A real man can’t take back his word once it’s spoken. It’s too late to regret it now.”

He was actually right.

Rather than taking a roundabout route and putting on some secret-crush act to fool people, it would be better to have Xie Qiyan cooperate with her and act out a scene directly.
After all, Old Xia had already decided she liked Xie Qiyan.

Though she really had no idea what was wrong with Old Xia’s eyes that he’d somehow seen her liking Xie Qiyan.

But as long as she could stay in Beicheng, she could figure out the rest later.

“Let’s go. Home.” Xie Qiyan looked down at her from above. His tone left no room for refusal, but there seemed to be a few more notes of concern in it than usual.

Xia Wanzhi had been planning to go home anyway. If someone was willing to be her driver, of course she was happy. She tidied up a bit, then sent Zhuzi a message saying she was taking the afternoon off.

Once she got into the car, Xia Wanzhi adjusted the seatback and leaned back to rest. Xie Qiyan casually picked up a blanket and draped it over her.

Xia Wanzhi instinctively pulled it closer around herself, staring at him in a slight daze.

The legendary Xie the King of Hell actually had such a considerate side.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Xie Qiyan asked when he saw her frown.

“It’s fine. I won’t die.” Xia Wanzhi blinked and looked away.

Xie Qiyan started the car, his tone faintly lighter. “That’s good. Otherwise, my future father-in-law would drag me off and bury me.”

Xia Wanzhi glared at him. She was already used to the fact that nothing good ever came out of that mouth of his, but she still couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and smacking his arm. “Shut up.”

A trace of amusement flashed through Xie Qiyan’s eyes. “Mm. Get some sleep.”

Xia Wanzhi said nothing. Secretly pressing down on her suddenly erratic heartbeat, she closed her eyes and dozed for a while.

“Were you serious?” When they were almost at Lanting Bieyuan, Xia Wanzhi suddenly turned sideways and asked him.

Xie Qiyan knew what she was asking. “Would I get a free meal for lying to you?”

Xia Wanzhi curled her lip. “You don’t look like the type to help me out of the goodness of your heart.”

“Then just assume I have ulterior motives.” Xie Qiyan turned on the signal and slowly drove through the gates of Lanting Bieyuan.

Xia Wanzhi blinked in a bit of panic. “I’m not selling my body.”

This conversation felt far too familiar.

Xie Qiyan laughed out loud.

Xia Wanzhi froze for a moment, staring almost blankly.

How could a man look like a male temptress when he smiled?

Xia Wanzhi swallowed and guiltily turned the other way to look out the window.

Beauty was a menace.

A true menace.

When the two of them went upstairs together, they happened to run into Xia Yongqing, who was about to bring Xia Wanzhi some food.

One was about to enter the elevator, while the other two were preparing to step out.

The two people inside the elevator were standing rather close together.

Xia Yongqing wore an expression that practically said, Caught you, didn’t I?

Xia Wanzhi forced out a smile. “Dad.”

“He even brought you back himself. Looks like you don’t need me to deliver food anymore.” Carrying the food container, Xia Yongqing turned around and headed back.

Back when he’d watched her get engaged to Zhou Yu, he hadn’t felt this awful.

Yet now, he suddenly felt as if his precious daughter no longer needed him once she had Xie Qiyan.

Xia Wanzhi had just been about to explain when she heard Xie Qiyan speak before she could.

“Wanzi isn’t feeling well. She came back to rest.”

Hearing the word Wanzi from his mouth for the first time, Xia Wanzhi reflexively glanced at him. Her expression was a little dazed. She subconsciously rubbed her fingertips together, feeling strangely unsettled inside.

The moment Xia Yongqing heard that, he immediately turned back. “Not feeling well? How could she suddenly be unwell? Where does it hurt?”

“She just had some brown sugar ginger tea,” Xie Qiyan said.

Xia Yongqing understood at once. He looked at Xie Qiyan and gave a cold snort. “I wasn’t asking you.”

Accepting that his precious daughter liked him was one thing. Having a problem with him was another.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

At first glance, this scene made her feel more and more like Comrade Old Xia was the grandfather.

And Xie Qiyan was like Comrade Old Xia.

Xia Wanzhi lowered her eyelashes, startled by her own thought.

Wouldn’t that make them father-in-law and son-in-law?