Chapter 9

He Chuyue felt Dai Wenchun’s scrutiny, and a chill ran down her spine. But she was in too deep, she could only stiffly hint at the other party, praying that Xiao Zhiyan, the taciturn fool, would pick up her cue.

“I just woke up, I’m shopping with my aunt now, what are you doing?”

Please please!!

If he can answer, I’ll give him any condition he wants!

He Chuyue held down the volume button, the white progress bar slowly moved up, up, until it reached the top.

Feeling the impatience beside her, He Chuyue’s explanation was about to come out, but the next second, a cold voice, accompanied by electricity, yet still clear, came from her palm.

“Playing chess.”

Finally.

He Chuyue breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could relax, she was tripped up by his stiff tone again.

“Baby.”

“Cough cough cough!”

He Chuyue’s face instantly turned red.

“So careless.”

Xiao Zhiyan heard another voice from the side of the phone, guessing it was He Chuyue’s aunt, and the heat in his ears, which had been caused by He Chuyue’s heated tone, subsided.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

He Chuyue waved her hand, then remembered that he couldn’t see her on the phone.

Before she could catch her breath, her phone was taken away by Dai Wenchun.

“Xiao, right? I’m NiuNiu’s aunt.”

There was a pause for a few seconds on the other end, “Hello, Auntie.”

Not servile, not arrogant!

He Chuyue secretly gave Xiao Zhiyan a thumbs up in her heart.

“Hello.” Dai Wenchun looked this way, and the latter immediately sat up straight obediently. But Dai Wenchun ignored her, lying with a straight face, “NiuNiu choked, she can’t speak, she asked me to tell you she’s fine.”

He Chuyue: ” “

Dai Wenchun sat back down opposite her, and with the background music of the coffee shop interfering, He Chuyue could no longer hear Xiao Zhiyan’s voice.

She didn’t know what he said, but the smile on Dai Wenchun’s lips deepened, even the look in her eyes towards He Chuyue was full of joy.

He Chuyue, on the other hand, was dumbfounded.

Xiao Zhiyan could make Dai Wenchun laugh in two sentences? She couldn’t believe it.

“NiuNiu is shy, she only told me about your relationship now. You went through a lot at the hospital last time. See if you have time, come over to our house for dinner sometime.”

“Aunt— “

“Tsk!”

Dai Wenchun dodged her hand, glared at her, but her tone to the other side was completely different, “Don’t ask her, why ask her, Auntie will decide for her, I’ll let you come to our house for dinner, okay?”

“Okay, then see you the day after tomorrow.”

He Chuyue took the phone back, the call had already ended.

“Aunt, don’t scare him.” He Chuyue wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

She almost got scared to death.

“Is he made of paper? How could he be scared by a phone call?” Dai Wenchun glared at her, “You’ve made arrangements with Xiao, he’s coming to our house for dinner on Tuesday, you’re not allowed to work overtime that day.”

“On Tuesday, I— “

Dai Wenchun glared again.

He Chuyue obediently said, “Got it.”

Going to the supermarket was just an excuse, but because of the sudden schedule on Tuesday, the aunt and niece really went shopping.

Along the way, no matter what Dai Wenchun saw, she would ask, “Does Xiao like to eat this? Buy some.” He Chuyue didn’t know what Xiao Zhiyan’s taste was, so she could only buy what she liked, and finally Dai Wenchun realized, glaring at her, “Isn’t this all what you like to eat?”

“Yeah.” Her heart sank again.

“I’m asking you about Xiao, why are you talking about yourself?”

He Chuyue put her arm around Dai Wenchun’s, confusing her, “It’s okay, aunt, he eats anything, you just buy what I like, he loves it.”

“How can that be? It’s your boyfriend’s first time coming to our house, we have to show some sincerity, right?” Dai Wenchun saw fresh sea bass and was delighted, “It’s so fresh, wait until Tuesday, I’ll let your uncle pick it out himself, he knows how to pick, this stuff has to be freshly killed to be fresh.”

Walking to the seafood section, the various fish tanks were illuminated by the lights, the water in the tanks rippled even more, the fish bodies churned, and even the shiny scales could be seen.

He Chuyue felt that all her senses were amplified, she was drawn to the slippery movements in the tank, her stomach churned.

She pulled the shopping cart and didn’t move forward, but the fishy smell had already reached her nose, giving her no chance to escape, it first entered her nostrils, messing up her breathing.

“Ugh— “

Hearing the sound, Dai Wenchun immediately ran over, “What’s wrong, you’re fine?”

He Chuyue squatted on the ground and dry-heaved, the dazzling light from the lamps made her even more uncomfortable. Reason told her that she couldn’t tell her aunt that she was pregnant, but her stomach didn’t give her a chance, she could only try harder to vomit everything out.

After a cup of warm water went down, He Chuyue met Dai Wenchun’s eyes, her whole body tightened.

“I really haven’t been eating properly lately, you see, I used to vomit a lot because of irregular eating habits, it’s an old problem.”

Tsk-ing again, Dai Wenchun’s tone was full of reproach, “Don’t you two eat together?”

Oh no.

He Chuyue forgot about that, afraid that Xiao Zhiyan would leave a bad impression, she quickly explained, “We eat together, we made a dinner date for tonight, he also asked me out a few days ago, but I was in the hospital with you.”

“Then it’s almost time now, is he coming to pick you up or are you going yourself?”

Before the words “going myself” could reach her lips, Dai Wenchun had already made a decision for He Chuyue, “Let him come to pick you up, it’s almost time, call him?”

He Chuyue felt like she had dug a hole and buried herself in it.

Fake it till you make it.

She took out her phone, stopped at Xiao Zhiyan’s phone page, didn’t dial, and asked Dai Wenchun, “Then I’ll let him take you home first, and then we’ll go eat.”

Dai Wenchun didn’t answer, a few seconds passed between the aunt and niece, then the aunt shook her head, “It’s not good to trouble him the first time, it’s not a big deal, I’ll wait to see you at home on Tuesday night.”

He Chuyue was overjoyed, but she didn’t dare to show it, she forced down the corners of her lips that were about to curl up and asked, “Then should I call you a taxi now?”

“I’ll call it myself, I’ll watch you get in the car before I leave.”

Dai Wenchun really deserved to be a head teacher who had been in charge of classes for years, her sharp gaze and forceful attitude made He Chuyue’s back sweat.

She had never lied in her life, she didn’t know how to lie to Dai Wenchun one after another because of Xiao Zhiyan, He Chuyue felt inexplicably suffocated. This feeling continued until she got in Xiao Zhiyan’s car.

“Seatbelt.”

He Chuyue met Xiao Zhiyan’s eyes and came back to her senses.

“Sorry.”

The sound of the buckle clicking was particularly abrupt in the silence. The person in the driver’s seat didn’t move his gaze, He Chuyue finally broke free from her thoughts and explained the phone call.

“Sorry to interrupt your dinner time, I threw up in front of my aunt. I was afraid of being exposed, so I just made up stories, and then I said we had a dinner date, and then I” she stopped, just asking, “Did I interrupt your dinner?”

Twenty minutes ago, Xiao Zhiyan was sitting at the dinner table with his family, raising their glasses to celebrate their parents’ wedding anniversary, and to see them off for their trip the day after tomorrow.

The melodious symphony notes ran through every corner of the house, Xiao Zhiyan counted the beats, the phone in his hand vibrated at this time, with the name he had seen twice today on it.

His parents were dancing in the living room, Xiao Zhiyan left the table, answered the phone, returned, informed them that he was leaving, and disappeared, all under the watchful eyes of his brother and sister-in-law.

So, He Chuyue’s call did not interrupt his dinner.

Xiao Zhiyan’s white, bony fingers tapped on the steering wheel, making a barely audible sound in the small space.

The streetlights flashed past the front of the car, his fingertips stopped, Xiao Zhiyan’s clear voice broke the silence.

“No, you didn’t.”

He Chuyue, who had moved her gaze away, moved it back.

“Thank you.”

It took her a few seconds to realize he was talking about morning sickness, He Chuyue frowned slightly, thinking that Xiao Zhiyan’s brain circuit was really unique, then she thought that he was indeed a bit wooden.

But sincere.

He Chuyue didn’t appreciate his kindness, she didn’t care about the apology that she mouthed. Anyway, she kept the child for her own selfish reasons, and she didn’t expect Xiao Zhiyan to understand her much.

“Can you drop me off a little further down the road? My aunt should be watching us.”

Xiao Zhiyan didn’t answer her question, “Did you have dinner?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Where to?”

He Chuyue’s question was written all over her eyes, Xiao Zhiyan started the car.

“To have dinner.” He stepped on the gas pedal, “You said so.”

On the way, He Chuyue took the opportunity to apologize to Xiao Zhiyan for the sudden raid today and the decision she made without his consent, and also expressed her gratitude for his cooperation. But no matter what she said, Xiao Zhiyan was indifferent, he responded at first, but then he fell silent.

He Chuyue was unsure, she didn’t know if he was angry, and she wasn’t sure how angry he was, so she fell silent, quickly formulating a plan of action in her mind.

At this time, the car stopped by the side of the road, interrupting her thoughts.

She heard the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric beside her ear, subconsciously looking over, she fell into those pupils, which were lightened by the streetlights, without any defense, and was stunned.

Night.

The university town snack street, she sat in the passenger seat of the man she had only met four times, listening to the uneven noise outside the window, feeling the silence inside the car, the sense of separation that came from her heart made her gaze on Xiao Zhiyan’s face tighten.

If she could make the intangible tangible, He Chuyue’s gaze flickered, falling on the shadows under his glasses.

There would probably be a pit there.

“No need to apologize.”

The silent man pulled her back into the deep pool again.

He Chuyue’s throat moved, as if she really had difficulty breathing, she became the drowning person.

“You don’t need to apologize to me for anything.”

“There’s no deadline.”

Extreme honesty became a powerful hand, pulling the drowning person ashore.

Drowning people have hallucinations, but He Chuyue didn’t.

She truly felt Xiao Zhiyan’s direct respect.

A strange feeling began to spread.

She rarely had her emotions stirred by someone, nor was she affected by their words, but Xiao Zhiyan had done it.

Her heart had been swaying with the name Xiao Zhiyan all day today.

Xiao Zhiyan, unaware, paused for a moment, as if he was choosing his words, his crossed hands separated and clasped again. When he spoke again, it was with utmost seriousness.

“In this relationship, I should be the one apologizing to you.”

“But it’s not just an apology.”

“I sent you the information, but you didn’t reply. I want to know what you think.”