Chapter 10: Warm and Soft Jade

Song Xilan, fuming with anger, turned her head and was about to walk away. However, she didn’t notice that there was a raised stone slab on the ground, and her toe kicked it, causing her to stumble forward.

It didn’t matter if she fell, but the lychee wood-roasted goose she had painstakingly bought could not be ruined.

Song Xilan stretched out her hands, not even protecting herself. She preferred to fall to the ground rather than risk the enamel jar containing the roast goose from tipping over.

Jiang Chengxiao dashed forward in one swift motion, his long arm reaching out to catch her waist and pull her back, rescuing her just in time.

When he reached out, Jiang Chengxiao swore that there were no ulterior motives in his mind—he was purely trying to save her.

But as soon as his arm wrapped around her waist, one thought remained in his mind: warm, fragrant, soft jade.

No wonder the older soldiers in the army who had married wives often said that a woman’s body was different from a stiff, smelly man’s. Only when you’ve truly held a woman would you understand what it means to be fragrant and soft.

Song Xilan’s waist was much slimmer than Jiang Chengxiao had imagined. Despite the cold weather and heavy clothing, he could still feel the surprising curve of her waist through the fabric.

The female body truly is quite magical.

After regaining her balance, Song Xilan realized the roast goose was unharmed and sighed in relief. “Thank you!”

Suddenly, she noticed that he was still holding her waist and immediately grew anxious, stamping her foot. “Let go of me!”

Jiang Chengxiao smiled and released his grip. “Is the roast goose more important than a person?”

“Of course!” Song Xilan replied, almost matter-of-factly. “I told you, it’s really delicious.”

Then, she looked at him warily. “If you want to try it, you can take it yourself.”

Jiang Chengxiao extended his hands to show her. “I wasn’t trying to be a rogue. My hands are dirty.”

Sure enough, the palms of his hands were covered in black oil. “I ran into a kid on the road just now. His bicycle chain came off, and he was almost in tears, so I helped him fix it.”

It was perfect—he managed to not only clarify that he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her, but also subtly showed that he was a helpful, virtuous person.

Song Xilan felt a little embarrassed about her previous misunderstanding. “So… do you still want to try?”

“No need,” Jiang Chengxiao said. “I’ll come back to buy it next time. By the way, I think I’ve helped you twice already, right?”

“Yes, that’s right! Thank you so much!” Song Xilan felt a bit flustered. Usually, when someone helps with a small favor, you thank them, and they would say “no need to thank me,” but here, he was the one bringing it up. Was he expecting something in return?

Jiang Chengxiao replied, “Consider the first time as me repaying the favor for the dumplings you gave me last night.”

“Oh!” Song Xilan replied quickly.

Jiang Chengxiao was suddenly curious. “You recognized me?”

“No, no,” Song Xilan hurriedly said. If it weren’t for those words in her mind, she certainly wouldn’t have recognized him. Not only did his face look completely different, but his clothing was worlds apart.

Last night, he was wearing a dirty, tattered military coat, probably stained from rolling in the mud, which made it understandable that she had mistaken him for an old beggar.

But today, he looked quite dashing, wearing a crisp white shirt, black trousers with perfectly straight seams, shiny black leather shoes, and a stylish, elegant grey cashmere coat. It was clear that he wasn’t someone ordinary people could afford to dress like.

Just standing there, he exuded the aura of a cadet’s son or a movie star.

Upon hearing her words, Jiang Chengxiao seemed slightly disappointed. “I thought I left quite an impression on you.”

In truth, he had a rather deep impression of this girl.

Not long after he had gotten off the train, tired and hungry, he had squatted in a corner, feeling lost, not knowing where to go next.

Suddenly, a young girl, so beautiful she seemed unreal, descended from the sky. Her baby-fat face carried a touch of childish irritation, yet as she walked past him, she stopped. Her round, sparkling eyes seemed to hold the light of a thousand stars.

She gently handed him a box of dumplings, speaking in a sweet voice, “Here, have some.” In that moment, he almost thought he was dreaming, dreaming that he had encountered a little fairy from the Goddess of Mercy’s court.

The dumplings, now a little cold, were the best he had ever eaten in his life.

Song Xilan was starting to get confused. What was going on with this person?

If he was a bad guy, why did he always do good deeds?

If he was a good guy, then why did he speak in such a way that it sounded like he was flirting?

But, after all, he had indeed helped her twice, and she wasn’t the type to forget kindness. So, she mustered up the courage to ask, “What about the second time?”

“The second time, well, I’d like to make a request.”

Song Xilan lowered her head. “You… go ahead.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Eh?”

“My request is simply your name.”

“I’m Song Xilan.”

“Broccoli? Nice name.”

“No, no, it’s not broccoli. It’s ‘Xi’ as in the character for ‘hope,’ and ‘Lan’ as in the blue of the sky.”

“Hm, Song Xilan. Got it. And you?”

“What about me?”

“Aren’t you going to ask my name?”

Of course, she already knew his name. The people in her head had repeated “Jiang Chengxiao” so many times. What was worse was that some even referred to themselves as part of the “Song Jiang CP group.” Song Jiang—wasn’t that a character from Water Margin? And what did “CP” even mean? Why did it seem like everyone was trying to match them together?

Some even said, “I smell a scandal.” She was a well-raised girl, full of self-respect.

She grumbled in her mind but meekly asked, “So, what’s your name?”

“I’m Jiang Chengxiao. Song Xilan, nice to meet you.” Jiang Chengxiao said as he reached out his hand.

Song Xilan looked at his grimy hand and didn’t want to shake it.

Jiang Chengxiao noticed and calmly withdrew his hand. “Let’s save that for next time! Well, now that we’ve met, we’re friends, right?”

Who would want to be friends with a villain?

“Y-Yes.” Song Xilan answered reluctantly.

Jiang Chengxiao smiled, deciding not to tease her further. “You’d better hurry back; the roast goose will be cold and won’t taste as good.”

Song Xilan blushed and hurried off.

Jiang Chengxiao watched her retreating figure for a long time, until she disappeared from sight, then he stuffed his hands into his cashmere coat pockets and leisurely strolled.

He found a post office, went inside, and filled out a form to make a phone call.

The long-distance call was transferred several times and took quite a while to connect.

“Hello, Brother, I’ve decided to stay and work in G City. Can you let Father know?”