Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Xia Wanzhi slowly shuffled over to the bathroom door and watched Xie Qiyan inspect the showerhead.

He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, revealing half of a strong forearm. Pale blue veins stood out faintly beneath his skin.

Xia Wanzhi had touched it once before. It had felt very nice.

The showerhead was leaking, but he did not bother repairing it. With a few quick twists, he removed it, then walked over to the cabinet under the sink and found a spare showerhead to replace it with.

Xia Wanzhi froze for a moment, then walked in and crouched down slightly to rummage through the cabinet.

Aside from the spare showerhead, the cabinet also contained backup toiletries and a full set of repair tools.

Before this, she had never known these things were hidden here.

This was the first time she had ever opened the cabinet beneath this sink.

Xia Wanzhi could not quite make sense of it.

How did Xie Qiyan know the cabinet contained exactly what he needed?

“Done.” After replacing the showerhead, Xie Qiyan tested the water. Once he confirmed there was no issue, he put the showerhead back in place. When he turned around and saw Xia Wanzhi’s expression-half bewildered, half incredulous-he slowly realized what he had just done on instinct.

It had been a little too natural.

“It’s just changing a showerhead. No need to worship me that much.” Xie Qiyan showed no trace of guilt even after a long pause. He washed his hands, dried them, and lifted Xia Wanzhi, who was still half-crouched, back to her feet.

Xia Wanzhi snapped back to herself and smacked his hand away. “How did you know I had a spare showerhead at home?”

“Isn’t that common sense?” Xie Qiyan said with perfect confidence.

Xia Wanzhi choked. “Com… common sense?”

The young lady who had never even bought her own daily necessities indeed possessed very little common sense about daily life.

Without the slightest change in expression, Xie Qiyan nodded. “What else would it be?”

Xia Wanzhi believed him at once. “Oh. Thank you for lowering yourself to change my showerhead, President Xie.”

“You’re welcome. It was no trouble.” Xie Qiyan walked past her and out of the bathroom, then very naturally entered the kitchen and checked every spot that might possibly leak.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

Why did this man act like he was entering his own home?

“Let’s go. Time to get your things.” Finding no issues, Xie Qiyan came out of the kitchen and stood beside Xia Wanzhi, casually patting the top of her head on the way.

Xia Wanzhi covered her head, her face full of resentment. “…”

So rude. Always putting his hands on people.

“I didn’t leave anything at your place.” That was what she said, but Xia Wanzhi still followed him.

Changsheng was crouched by the door waiting. Xia Wanzhi’s eyes lit up. Before Xie Qiyan could even take his hand off the doorknob, she bent down, slipped under his arm, and scooped Changsheng straight into her arms.

Changsheng was an old cat and very calm. Whenever Xie Qiyan went on business trips, Xia Wanzhi was the one who fed him. Perhaps because he had grown familiar with her, Changsheng rubbed his head against Xia Wanzhi’s chest without even glancing at Xie Qiyan.

Xie Qiyan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had raised him for fourteen years and had never seen Xia Changsheng rub against anyone’s chest before.

Little lecher.

Xie Qiyan hissed inwardly again.

But he clearly didn’t even have his balls anymore.

While Xie Qiyan was distracted, Xia Wanzhi had already carried Changsheng into the cat room. With natural, practiced ease, she poured fresh cat food into his bowl, then cleaned the litter box.

Xie Qiyan never used an automatic litter box or an automatic feeder for Changsheng.

He did not find it troublesome. On the contrary, he preferred doing everything himself.

“Anyone who didn’t know better would think Changsheng had changed owners.” Xie Qiyan leaned against the cat room doorway with his arms crossed, watching her.

The person and the cat looked exceptionally harmonious together.

Changsheng himself was crouched by Xia Wanzhi’s feet, still rubbing against her with all his might.

Xia Wanzhi arched a brow slightly and ignored Xie Qiyan’s strange tone. She jogged out to wash her hands, then jogged back in, wanting to pick up Changsheng.

Before she could even crouch down, Xie Qiyan grabbed her arm.

“Dry your hands,” Xie Qiyan ordered.

Xia Wanzhi held out both hands for his inspection. “They’re dry.”
“The back of your hand.” Xie Qiyan turned her hand over.

Sure enough, beads of water were running across it.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

Watching her puff out her cheeks, clearly unconvinced yet obediently trudging back to the kitchen to grab a tissue and dry her hands, Xie Qiyan found it inexplicably funny.

Changsheng followed Xie Qiyan into the living room, then leaped onto the exquisite, antique-style gift boxes sitting on the coffee table.

Xia Wanzhi’s gaze followed Changsheng, and it was impossible not to notice the boxes.

Only then did she suddenly realize what Xie Qiyan had meant earlier when he told her to come over and take her things.

These were gifts he had brought back for her from his business trip to Nancheng.

Two square boxes.

Two gifts.

Even Xie Tan had only gotten one.

Xia Wanzhi looked slightly awkward. “They’re… both mine?”

“Mm.” Xie Qiyan’s posture was lazy and relaxed. The sleeves he had rolled up while fixing the showerhead still hadn’t been let down, and if one looked closely, a few droplets of water could still be seen clinging to them.

He told her not to leave her hands wet, but wasn’t he the same?

As if possessed, Xia Wanzhi reached out, pulled out a tissue, and leaned in to wipe them off.

Xie Qiyan lowered his lashes and looked at her, his fingers curling slightly.

After Xia Wanzhi finished, she looked up and crashed straight into his deep eyes. Stumbling over her words, she said, “There was something dirty.”

Xie Qiyan played along, turning his arm slightly. “Are you sure you weren’t taking advantage of me?”

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

“There really was!” Ever since she was little, Xia Wanzhi had always wanted to get the upper hand over him. Even if she had to bluff, she would bluff her way through it.

So she used both hands to pull his sleeve even higher.

As the sleeve was tugged up, a rather vicious-looking scar on his upper arm was laid bare before Xia Wanzhi’s eyes.

Xia Wanzhi froze.

There really was something.

Xie Qiyan had never expected her to be bold enough to lift his clothes.

His eyes darkened. Calmly, as if nothing had happened, he reached out and pulled his shirt sleeve back down.

If this were any other time, he would definitely have teased her in that infuriating way of his, asking if she was trying to molest him. But now, a trace of sinister gloom was hidden in his pitch-black eyes.

This was his ugly past. It should not have been shown to her.

He had never exposed his scars in front of anyone.

Not the ones on his body, and not the ones in his heart.

“Did it scare you?” Xie Qiyan snapped his fingers by her ear, forcibly pulling her back to her senses.

Xia Wanzhi’s gaze burned as she stared at him. After looking at him for a while, she suddenly tugged his sleeve up again.

Xie Qiyan: “…”

Could it be that she really was trying to molest him?

The shirt could only be pulled up to just above his upper arm, but Xie Qiyan’s scar seemed to extend even farther upward. Xia Wanzhi used a little strength, but she truly couldn’t pull it any higher, so she could only press her palm against the fabric and feel along it.

Xie Qiyan’s breath hitched.

“Xia Wanzhi, if you want to touch me, just say so.” Xie Qiyan’s voice dipped slightly.

Xia Wanzhi’s lips moved. “I do.”

Xie Qiyan: “…”

That actually left him at a loss.

“Can you unbutton your shirt and let me see?” Xia Wanzhi was a little anxious, and it was obvious this wasn’t concern.

Their relationship hadn’t reached that point yet.

Xie Qiyan narrowed his eyes, thinking she seemed more like she was trying to confirm something.

Asking a man to unbutton his shirt right in front of her was really…

Outrageously bold.

That was what he thought, but after hesitating for a moment, Xie Qiyan still raised his hand and undid one button.

He moved too slowly, hovering between undoing it and not. Xia Wanzhi grew impatient watching him. She simply leaned in and, in a few quick motions, undid three more.

His trained chest was completely exposed.

Xie Qiyan unconsciously softened his breathing. “…”

A little too forceful there.

But Xia Wanzhi’s entire focus was on the scar on his left arm.

The sleeve was tugged downward, and Xie Qiyan’s entire shoulder was exposed to the air.

Xia Wanzhi’s expression stiffened as she clearly saw the scar that stretched from his shoulder down to his arm.