Chapter 16.1

Jiang Rou sat down to eat her cake again, refusing to explain.

She felt that he had a very short memory.

What was the difference between what he said and telling her to leave?

Seeing Jiang Rou’s uncooperative attitude, Li Xiao’s forehead throbbed with anger. With a sour expression, he sat on the bed, staring motionlessly at her back, as if he intended to burn a hole through it with his gaze.

Jiang Rou seemed completely indifferent, leisurely eating her cake, showing no intention of acknowledging him.

After a while, it was Li Xiao who couldn’t hold back first. He pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, and said, “Alright, stop being angry. It’s just about the money. I don’t want it anymore. Let’s just do it your way, okay? Can we talk about it when we get home? ”

When Jiang Rou heard this, she paused, raised her head, and sighed deeply.

She felt that she couldn’t communicate with this person at all.

Was it just about money?

After not getting a response for a long time, Li Xiao abruptly stood up, his face darkening completely. His voice turned colder. “Jiang Rou, what exactly do you want? ”

Jiang Rou couldn’t eat anymore. She suddenly turned her head, her tone becoming sharp. “What’s with your attitude? ”

“……”

Li Xiao was momentarily taken aback by her cold expression and fiery eyes. He paused, feeling a strange itch in his heart, and the anger that had accumulated inside him somewhat dissipated.

For some reason, Jiang Rou’s assertive demeanor made it hard for him to be stern.

Li Xiao cleared his throat and sat back on the bed. After a while, he whispered unnaturally, speaking in a somewhat awkward and appeasing tone, “Alright, alright, I’m wrong, okay? From now on, I won’t take a single cent of the money. Even if it’s thrown at me, I won’t take it. Can we go home now? ”

Although he lowered his head, to Jiang Rou’s ears, his tone sounded insincere.

She held back her frustration but eventually couldn’t resist. Looking him straight in the eyes, she said, “Go home? That’s not my home. Didn’t you say I was clinging to you like a leech? I think you’re right. That’s why I’ve decided to leave you and end our relationship for good. Don’t worry; you won’t need to raise the child. I can afford to raise my child on my own.

As for whether you’re going to return the money, it’s none of my business. What you do is your business; I won’t interfere. So, I hope you won’t disturb my life.”

Li Xiao’s face had initially been a little softer, but after hearing her words—particularly when she said she wanted to leave him, that there would be no future relationship between them, and that she wouldn’t care about his affairs—his expression darkened. 

He felt tightness in his chest.

He didn’t like her saying these words and didn’t want to see her trying to distance herself from him.

However, Li Xiao wasn’t foolish. She had already said something similar on the road earlier, but he hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Now, reflecting on it, he started to realize something was off. It seemed he had come to some realization. With a puzzled look, he asked, “Wait, are you really this upset over that sentence? Is this why you ran away from home? ”

Jiang Rou remained silent, wondering if he was just thick-headed.

The miscommunication was the trigger, but his scolding was the last straw. Both were important.

She twisted her body and sat back down at the table.

She didn’t want to talk to him anymore. She was so angry that her intestines hurt.

Li Xiao tried to grab her hand. He didn’t like the way she didn’t talk.

However, he was pushed away by Jiang Rou again.

“Fuck!”

Li Xiao stood up and swore, pacing around the room to vent his frustration. Finally, he walked over to her side and explained, “I don’t even remember saying this. Is it really worth getting this angry? You said a lot to me this morning.”

He had no idea that such a sentence could make her so furious, leading her to leave home and sever ties with him, meeting him with nothing but a cold face.

If he had known it would come to this, he would never have said that sentence in the morning.

Jiang Rou was even more upset now. “What do you mean? You’re making it sound like I have a small temper. Think about it—are we even talking about the same thing? I asked you to return the money because what you did was wrong; to put it more seriously, it was illegal. Is it wrong for me to expect you to be an upright person? And you? What did you do? You scolded me and despised me in your heart. You even thought I was leeching off you and hurting you.”

Li Xiao felt a headache after hearing this. He looked at her and interrupted impatiently, “Alright, you’re making this worse and worse. When did I ever despise you? If I despised you, would I buy you gifts? Those gifts took me a long time to pick out, and that coat alone cost a hundred yuan—more than I could afford to buy for myself.”

“…” Do you need to pick out such ugly clothes?

Jiang Rou was still angry. She pursed her lips and said nothing.

At that moment, Li Xiao suddenly crouched down, bringing their eye levels even. He looked at her with his dark eyes, and, as he stared, he suddenly smiled.

His long eyebrows rose, and his eyes held a teasing smile.

Jiang Rou had calmed down a little after hearing him say that, but seeing him smile in such a casual manner made her displeased again.

She turned her head to the other side and didn’t look at him.

Li Xiao looked at her flushed, angry profile and chuckled softly.

He lowered his posture and coaxed her in a low voice: “It’s my fault. I won’t say such things again. Can you stop being angry? I was just frustrated and might have said something unpleasant without realizing it. I didn’t mean anything else, and it’s not worth getting yourself upset over.”

The first time had been unfamiliar, but by the second time, he had become more accustomed to it. This time, his tone when coaxing her was much more natural and flattering.

Jiang Rou remained silent.

Li Xiao touched his nose and said, “Will you come back with me? ”

Jiang Rou hesitated for two seconds and firmly replied, “No.”

Li Xiao noticed her softened attitude and nodded. “Alright, since we’ve already paid, we should stay until the end.”

He then asked, “Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat.”

Jiang Rou turned her head and shot him a glare. “Why are you so annoying? I’m going to take a nap.”

Li Xiao wasn’t angered by her rejection; in fact, he felt he was a sucker. Seeing Jiang Rou willing to talk, even with a bad attitude, made him quite happy.

He said, “Fine, take your nap. I’ll come back to see you in the afternoon.”

After saying that, he tried to reach out and touch her belly, but Jiang Rou pulled a long face and slapped his hand away.

He touched his nose, stood up, and walked towards the window.

Jiang Rou, upon seeing this, frowned and scolded, “It’s not like there’s no door.”

Li Xiao chuckled and turned around to walk towards the door.

When the sound of the door closing reached her ears, Jiang Rou turned around and glanced at it, her ears slightly red.

She also heard his laugh and suspected that he did it on purpose.

——