"Eh, weren’t you here just for fun?" Ya Xi looked at him curiously.
"Um, that was the plan originally, but after arriving here, I discovered the scenery is very beautiful, and my friend’s psychological consultation office also invited to join," he replied. "So I agreed."
Setting her family’s issues aside, Ya Xi was quite curious about Doug. "Do you often do this?"
Doug looked at her puzzled. "Do what?"
"Do you often stay in various places around the world?"
Doug nodded. "Yes, I love traveling. Sotis when I co across a beautiful city, I stay there for a while. And when I get tired of it, I move on to the next city."
"Which places have you been to?"
"There are many..." Doug shared his travel experiences with Ya Xi, all very interesting stories that made her laugh joyfully from ti to ti.
Seeing the smile on Ya Xi’s face, Doug’s eyes were also full of smiles.
"Doug, I’ve just realized compared to you, my life seems so dull," she said. "You probably don’t know, but when I was young, because of my poor health, my parents never let go out to play. Even when I grew up, they were still worried sothing might happen to . The only reason I could study abroad was that I got sick and missed the dostic exams, so I didn’t get accepted into a university."
Ya Xi felt rather embarrassed.
Doug smiled slightly. "Everyone has their own life, and your life isn’t necessarily bad. At least, you can always be with your parents and brother. No matter what happens, they will be by your side, caring for and loving you. That’s also very fortunate."
Ya Xi thought about it and agreed. "Doug, I’ve found you’re really good at conversation. Talking to you feels very comfortable. As we say in Z country, it’s like ’basking in the spring breeze.’"
"That’s part of my job. If I couldn’t talk to people well, scaring my clients away, then I’d starve, right?"
Ya Xi chuckled aloud.
"Ya Xi, I didn’t expect to run into you here. What a coincidence."
Hearing the familiar voice, Ya Xi turned around and saw it was Jiang Zhehan. "Oh, it’s you."
Jiang Zhehan was ecstatic to see Ya Xi; he had contacted her several tis, wanting to invite her out for als or movies, but Ya Xi had never agreed, and eventually, her phone beca unreachable.
Seeing Jiang Zhehan, Ya Xi felt a bit awkward since she had rejected him like that before. She wasn’t a difficult person to get along with, but she wasn’t comfortable interacting with the opposite sex. Even she didn’t know why, but whenever a man approached her, her heart would bristle.
"Ya Xi, have you been busy recently? I hardly see you."
Ya Xi gave a forced smile. "Yeah, very busy. My phone is often turned off."
Jiang Zhehan obviously knew it was an excuse, but since she had offered an explanation, it was like giving him a way out. A smart person would take the hint and not pursue the matter to avoid being annoying.
"Is this your friend?" Jiang Zhehan, seeing Doug, tentatively asked.
Ya Xi nodded. "Yeah, he’s my friend." She didn’t, however, intend to introduce them.
Jiang Zhehan’s eyes dimd; he could clearly sense Ya Xi’s aversion toward him. He smiled faintly. "Then I won’t disturb you and your friend. Ya Xi, we’ll get in touch another day."
Ya Xi responded with an okay.
Seeing her preoccupied, Doug curiously asked, "Ya Xi, what’s the matter?"
Ya Xi looked at Doug without saying a word, leaving Doug quite baffled. "Ya Xi?"
Ya Xi ca back to her senses and lowered her voice. "Doug, you’re a psychologist, right?"
Doug nodded, and Ya Xi continued, "So, can I co see you for a session soti? I think I might actually be sick."
Doug, amused, said, "Why do you think that?"
Ya Xi shook her head. "You’re not my doctor yet, so I can’t tell you. I’ll explain when I co to see you." Then she winked at Doug.
Doug, still amused, replied, "Sure, you can co to anyti you need. I’ll give you a discount."
Ya Xi laughed again.
Doug dropped Ya Xi off at the entrance to her building, and she said she needed to pick up so stuff from her dorm. "Doug, you can go ahead, I’ll get ho on my own after I grab my things.
"I’m free this afternoon, I might as well take you ho."
Ya Xi didn’t protest further with Doug. "Then Doug, give five minutes. I’ll be right back."
Doug grabbed her arm. "You have asthma, don’t rush. I’ll wait here for you."
"Yeah, I know." Even though she said that, Ya Xi ran off after getting out of the car, leaving Doug to smile helplessly.
Ya Xi had just reached the dormitory building when she saw a woman asking a female student, "Hello, do you know where the fashion design student Ya Xi lives?"
Upon hearing her na, Ya Xi stopped in her tracks and looked at the woman, a middle-aged lady who appeared to be in her thirties but looked ageless due to good maintenance.
"I’m Ya Xi, were you looking for ?" Ya Xi spoke up, using Chinese.
The woman turned her head, saw Ya Xi, and was clearly surprised, "Ya Xi, I’ve finally seen you. I’ve missed you so much." As she spoke, she reached out to embrace Ya Xi, but Ya Xi took a step back, her eyes warily watching her.
The woman’s movent faltered, and she looked at Ya Xi with embarrassnt, "Ya Xi, don’t you recognize ?"
Ya Xi was montarily taken aback, noticing the hurt in the woman’s eyes, which seed to make her feel guilty. She gave a dry laugh and said, "Excuse , have we t before?"
Seeing that Ya Xi truly did not recognize her, the woman appeared sowhat distressed and lowered her hand, "I’m Qin Yan, a friend of your father’s."
Qin Yan? Ya Xi chewed on the na in her mouth, as it seed familiar, but she could not for the life of her rember. She felt a bit embarrassed, "Um, I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t seem to recall ever eting you."
Qin Yan smiled gently and kindly, "It’s okay; we didn’t et that often before, and it’s been such a long ti since then. It’s normal you don’t rember . I heard from your father that you were studying here, and since I had business in the area, I thought I’d co see you."
"Are you and my father close?"
Qin Yan nodded, "Yes, your father and I have been friends for over twenty years, but I don’t usually stay in Nancheng, so it’s normal that you don’t know ."
Qin Yan had a sore throat for the past few days, so her voice was a bit hoarse, which is why Ya Xi did not recognize that this was the sa woman whose voice she had heard on the phone and had dreamt about for several days.
"So, you must know my mother as well?" Ya Xi ventured to ask.
Qin Yan nodded again, "Yes, I’m quite familiar with your mother, too. Ya Xi, it’s been so long since I last saw you, may I give you a hug?"
Ya Xi’s expression shifted slightly, and her feet instinctively took a step backward before she realized she might have overreacted, leading to an awkward mont.
Qin Yan smiled faintly and naturally withdrew her hand, "Then, may I invite you to dinner? I need to leave early tomorrow morning, and who knows when we’ll see each other again."
"I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve already made plans with a friend to go to an event, and he’s waiting for at the entrance."
Qin Yan looked disappointed, "That’s a real sha. We will have to schedule another ti. Could I at least have your contact information? That should be fine, right?"
Having already declined twice, Ya Xi felt it would be rude to refuse a third ti and gave her phone number to Qin Yan. She then left without even returning to her dorm.
Upon seeing Ya Xi returning empty-handed and carrying nothing, Doug looked puzzled and asked her, "Didn’t you say you were going to get sothing?"
Ya Xi touched her head, "I seem to have rembered wrong; the item isn’t in the dorm. I probably left it at ho."
"Then I’ll drive you ho first, and we can take a proper look for it later."
On the way, Ya Xi was very quiet. Doug glanced at her and, seeing her frown, said warmly, "Is it sothing very important?"
Ya Xi was startled, "What?"
"The thing you’re looking for, is it that important to you? You seem so upset about not finding it."
"It’s not about that." Ya Xi hesitated before speaking, "Doug, do you think it’s normal to et soone who says they’ve seen you many tis and even knows you well, but you have absolutely no mory of them?"
Doug’s expression changed subtly, and he casually asked, "Who did you et?"
"A strange middle-aged woman who claims to be my father’s friend. She said she missed a lot when she saw , but I have no idea who she is." Doug had no clue who the person Ya Xi was referring to could be.
"Do you know her na? Maybe you could ask your father about her when you get back."
"She said her na was Qin Yan."
Doug ntally noted the na and then looked at Ya Xi, "If you don’t know her, perhaps she’s just a distant friend. You don’t need to overthink it."
Ya Xi thought that made sense.
After dropping Ya Xi off at ho, Doug called Eden. The call did not go through, so he dialed Shen Qinglan directly instead.
"You’re saying Qin Yan went to see Ya Xi?"
"Yes, I haven’t seen her myself; Ya Xi told ," Doug relayed.
"What does Qin Yan want with Ya Xi?" Shen Qinglan inquired, as Yan Anbang and Zhao Jiaqing were divorced, and Zhao Jiaqing now lived abroad with Ya Xi. Even if Qin Yan wanted to rekindle sothing with Yan Anbang, Ya Xi was no longer an obstacle for them.
"I’m not sure."
"Thanks anyway, Doug," Shen Qinglan said.
After hanging up with Doug, Shen Qinglan frowned, still pondering over Qin Yan’s motives for appearing before Ya Xi. Qin Yan was soone Shen Qinglan felt she couldn’t see through from their very first eting.
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