Xiaoshi’s phone rang, a reminder flashing on the screen.
She was full of regret when she saw it. "I have to go ho now. I need to finish up on so work."
"I’ll drop you off." He offered as he picked up his car keys.
She was suddenly happy about having taken a cab this morning, she had no reason to reject the ride. She nodded and followed him to the parking lot.
When they arrived at her residential area, he opened the door for her.
She got down and unconsciously rubbed her fingers against the bracelet on her wrist. With a smile, she invited, "You must be tired after a whole day of work. Why don’t you stay for dinner?"
She clearly saw the astonishnt in his eyes and had the urge to take back her words. Did she just invite a man into her house? Those who didn’t know would think too much of it!
However, there was nothing wrong with a boyfriend going into his girlfriend’s house, was there?
She wanted to slap herself when she thought about it. He was rely a fake boyfriend. How could she think up such nonsense?
The man knew his place, he didn’t do anything aside from obediently sitting on the couch and finding sothing to talk about.
To alleviate the awkwardness, she went into the kitchen and started preparing to cook. She soon returned with an apron draped over her and tied her hair into a ssy bun as she asked, "What would you like to eat?"
"Anything is good. Do you need help?"
She wanted to say no and cook on her own, but she knew that she may indeed need help with everything she was going to cook. "Help prepare the ingredients."
"Okay."
They made their way back to the kitchen one after another. Luckily, she had an oversized apron so she gave it to him. At the ti, he had just picked up a knife and was washing a tomato at the sink, so he naturally raised his arms for her to help him put it on.
Perhaps he thought nothing of it but she was flustered, okay? She swallowed a gulp and held the apron in front of him. Just take it as helping Xiehan put on his coat.
Of course, the man before her couldn’t possibly pass off as her cousin no matter how hard she tried to imagine him that way. She couldn’t help but notice how masculine his body looked. He stood still as she tiptoed and pulled it over his neck, then circled him to tie it behind his waist. As if he had done nothing wrong, he resud washing the vegetables and went ahead to chop them.
To be exact, he had really done nothing wrong. It was her brain that was doing sothing wrong.
Trying to maintain her sanity, she found the tools she needed and started cooking.
"What do you like eating?" The man asked to break the silence.
"I don’t know... I’m not a picky eater either." She responded, rembering that there wasn’t anything she disliked eating since she was young. "Except carrots!" She quickly added.
"That makes two of us." He laughed at her funny reaction.
"You don’t like carrots either?" She was surprised by the coincidence.
"I didn’t. My mother liked to add them into practically every al she cooked and would ramble on about all their health benefits. Even so, I would pick them all off my plate."
She burst into laughter, imagining a little Xichen sneakily throwing away the carrots when his mother was not looking.
"What about now?" She asked curiously. "Does she still force you to eat them?"
"Not anymore." He shook his head, a sense of sadness suddenly clouded his eyes. "Sotis I wish she could."
Understanding his words, she was suddenly stumped. "She... I’m sorry."
He chuckled. Knowing that she had misunderstood him. "Oh no, she isn’t dead... Though my real mother is."
"You were adopted?" She asked curiously."
He shook his head. "Not exactly. My mother died having and my dad remarried. Because he married her within six months of my mum’s death, everyone was displeased with her.
My uncles and aunts kept comparing her to my mother and saying that she was not worthy of being with my father, and that she was rely a substitute. However, she didn’t take it out on . She loved as though I were her true son. I only found out that she was not really my mother when I was a teenager."
Xiaoshi blinked. She was not new to people treating other people’s children as their own but it was still a little surprising. "And then what happened?"
His own words filled his heart with bitterness. "It turns out, not only was she being emotionally harassed by being compared to my mother, my father had been constantly assaulting her too. She had been holding it in for my sake. As soon as I ca of age, she decided to leave."
The reality was more painful than she had thought. She gently patted his shoulder.
"It’s alright now. Sorry, I talked about such solemn things." He smiled.
"No, it’s alright. I don’t mind lending an ear." She smiled as she uncovered the casserole. "Also, you lent your ear before."
He smiled at her. "That was my job, and you have thanked enough for that. However,"
"However what?" She glanced up to et his complicated gaze.
"I won’t mind if you lent your embrace too." He grinned.
"Huh?" His words caught her by surprise. What was he trying to imply? When her mind finally wrapped around his words, she cleared her throat. "But you are no longer sad. You don’t need it."
"How can you say that? I am very sad, okay? Look how gloomy I am." He put on a dramatic sad face, then laughed the next instant.
"Who flashes that kind of smile when they are sad?" She rolled her eyes at him and slapped his shoulder using a mitten.
"Don’t you know that there are people who smile, laugh and appear cheerful just to mask the sadness within them?" He continued laughing, but she couldn’t refute his words anymore.
To get it done once and for all, she leaned onto him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He smiled dotingly and let down the things in his hands, wrapping his arms around her. Her scent perated through his nostrils, making his heart beat faster than usual. When she tried to pull away, he didn’t know what ca over him but he pulled her to himself to continue hugging her.
___
When Cedric left work, Cheng Yu t him in the parking lot as usual.
He hugged her and gently pecked her forehead. "Where do you plan to go now?"
"My place." She answered tiredly. "Though I have a feeling that woman might try to find again. Perhaps she knows where I live."
The woman she was talking about was doubtlessly her mother.
"Your mother is a psycho. She called my mum and told her to ask to stay away from her daughter." He laughed when he recalled what had happened when the two of them had left the park the last ti.
Cheng Yu frowned in disgust. "That bitch. What did your mum say?"
"Nothing." He grinned. "Because I snatched the phone and gave her a piece of my mind. Yu, how have you managed to live under the sa roof as soone so venomous?"
"You have no idea." She frowned when she thought about the kind of life her mother had made her live.
He pulled her back into his embrace as he fondly patted her head. "Don’t worry. You don’t have to live that way anymore. I will be here for you."
"Cedric, why are you so kind?" Her eyes stung slightly as she held his waist.
"Am I supposed to allow people to bully my girlfriend?" He raised his eyebrow. "Yu, although I don’t have much power for now, as long as I’m here, I will not let anyone put their finger on you." Even if it ans using his family influence, he would use it to protect his girlfriend.
"Thank you, Cedric." She rubbed his back and promised herself to be a strong woman and not burden him.
"Are you attending the graduation ceremony tomorrow?" He asked.
She pulled away instantly. "Shoot, I forgot all about it. Are you attending it?"
It was postponed due to so reasons and was being held the following day, so it had slipped her mind.
He nodded. "Yes I am. I even got everything ready. I even got us a matching outfit. You promised to go with ."
"Aw, I was planning to sleep the whole day." She felt bumd.
"But the graduation ceremony doesn’t take the whole day. Yu, please co with ." He looked like he would start acting like a baby if she insisted on saying no.
She didn’t want him to have to use the pitiful approach so she nodded. "Okay, I will accompany you. But after that, you have to let sleep."
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