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“Are you sick or what? Doesn’t your mother call you that too?”
Chen Qingqing was wearing a pair of black leather shoes today, with heels two or three centimeters high and quite heavy. When she stomped down like that, Xu Ye almost felt tears of pain welling up.
Chen Qingqing turned around without looking at Xu Ye anymore. “My mother is my mother, and you are you. Without my permission, you’re not allowed to call me that.”
Xu Ye plopped down on the stone pillar at the edge of the sidewalk, unable to recover from the pain for a long time.
Seeing that Xu Ye remained silent, Chen Qingqing glanced back secretly. When she saw his face scrunch up in pain, she realized her stomp had indeed been a bit too hard.
“Can you… can you still walk?”
“No!”
“Can’t, then can’t. Why are you shouting?”
Just as Xu Ye was about to speak, an elderly man with a cane walked between them. He glanced at Xu Ye, then at Chen Qingqing, and earnestly advised, “Don’t argue, don’t argue. It’s common for young couples to quarrel. Don’t let it damage your feelings…”
The old man went on as if no one else was around, trying to mediate, completely unaware that Chen Qingqing’s face had already turned bright red.
Xu Ye deliberately kept silent.
Then Wang Ruxue pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Chen Qingqing quickly got in.
Xu Ye was about to get up and follow, but Wang Ruxue drove off right away.
“Hey, hey, hey, I haven’t gotten in yet.”
Wang Ruxue glanced through the rearview mirror at Chen Qingqing, whose face was flushed red. Then she saw Xu Ye hobbling along behind the car, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. She couldn’t help but ask, “Qingqing, are you really going to ignore him?”
“No!”
Wang Ruxue could only keep driving forward.
After the car disappeared into the distance, Xu Ye hobbled on, limping with a limp step. After walking a few minutes, he took out his phone, thinking about whether to send a message to the shop owner saying he’d be late today.
But after some thought, he decided not to.
He figured buying a hand-grabbed pancake from a street vendor ahead and then taking a taxi to the shop would still get him there on time.
Xu Ye put his phone back in his pocket. After walking another few dozen meters, he found a place to sit down again. He took off his shoes and pulled off his socks. Looking down, he finally noticed a small purple bruise under the toenail of his left big toe.
What Xu Ye didn’t notice was that the business van had turned around and come back, parking right by the roadside.
Chen Qingqing rolled down the window and stared at Xu Ye sitting by the side of the road, momentarily stunned.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret—regret for having stomped on Xu Ye’s foot in anger earlier.
She knew deep down that this whole incident was caused by her own sensitivity.
After thinking for two minutes in the car, Chen Qingqing got out and walked over to Xu Ye. Only then did she see the small patch of bruising on his foot where she had stepped.
Her guilt immediately deepened.
“I’m sorry~”
It was the first time Chen Qingqing had ever said those three words to anyone.
Xu Ye slowly looked up, and Chen Qingqing’s delicate face came into view. The anger that had filled Xu Ye just moments ago vanished, leaving him at a loss for words.
The two of them just stared at each other silently…
After a long moment, Xu Ye finally spoke, “Are you still going to treat me to Haidilao?”
Chen Qingqing was momentarily stunned. Slightly embarrassed, she turned to the side, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and nodded, “I will.”
Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Chen Qingqing’s profile looked as delicate as porcelain, her pink earlobe flushed a deep red.
Xu Ye put on his socks and shoes, then got into the car with Chen Qingqing.
Then the two of them went to the mall and had the most lavish Haidilao meal Xu Ye had ever eaten. To ease her guilt, Chen Qingqing generously let Xu Ye order a lot of dishes. Although Chen Qingqing sat right across from him, Xu Ye’s eating habits remained… wild as ever.
Chen Qingqing usually ate very little in the evenings, but during this meal at Haidilao, she spent most of the time watching Xu Ye eat. The longer she watched, the more she couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You eat like a pig.”
Xu Ye rolled his eyes, then lowered his head and kept eating.
After they were full, he patted his belly and let out a satisfied burp before saying, “I have to go to work now.”
“Does your foot need to go to the hospital?”
“No need. A good sleep will fix it. I’ve been stepped on a lot playing basketball before—just not as hard as you did.”
Chen Qingqing asked, “If I hadn’t come back to find you just now, would you have…?”
“No.”
Xu Ye knew Chen Qingqing was asking whether this incident would drive them apart. He took a tissue, shook his head, and smiled, “Heaven sent me down just to be friends with you.”
…
After sending Xu Ye back to the tavern, on the way home, Chen Qingqing kept replaying Xu Ye’s last words in her mind.
The first meeting by the lake.
The second chance encounter at the tavern.
The third coincidence at the bank.
Could it really all be just chance?
After Wang Ruxue drove Chen Qingqing home, she headed back alone. The security in this villa community was tight—delivery workers couldn’t even get in. So even though Chen Qingqing was alone at home, Jiang Meilin had no reason to worry. This was one of the reasons Chen Qingqing had spent a fortune buying a house here in the first place.
Chen Qingqing changed into a pair of white slippers and, after entering the living room, lay down on the sofa. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time before finally taking out her phone and opening WeChat.
She hesitated for a long time, then finally typed and sent a message to Xu Ye.
Chen Qingqing: “I’ve made up my mind.”
Xu Ye, who had just arrived at the shop, saw the message and quickly replied, “Decided what?”
Chen Qingqing picked up her phone, then put it down; picked it up again, then put it down. Finally, she mustered the courage to type a line and send it. Right after sending the message, she immediately flipped her phone face down on the sofa, too afraid to look at what she had just sent.
Chen Qingqing: “I’ve decided to be friends with you.”
Xu Ye: “Only now friends? Then what were we before?”
Chen Qingqing heard the message notification for a long time before slowly picking up her phone. Seeing Xu Ye’s reply through her fingers, she quickly typed back, “I don’t know.”
Xu Ye: “Am I your boyfriend?”
Chen Qingqing: “Yes.”
Xu Ye: “Then I’m your friend now, right?”
Chen Qingqing: “Yes…”
Xu Ye: “Then you can tell others I’m your boyfriend, and I’ll tell others you’re my girlfriend.”
Chen Qingqing: “No!”
Chen Qingqing: “No!”
Chen Qingqing: “Absolutely not!”
Xu Ye: “Why so worked up?”
Chen Qingqing: “Xu Ye, I’m telling you, you’re not allowed to do that!”
Xu Ye: “Got it.”
Chen Qingqing: “Even though we’re friends now, you’re not allowed to like me.”
Xu Ye: “No way!”