Shen Qingyan drove the car into the underground car park. The rain was pouring down in sheets that night, so obviously, she was not going back to her own home. She would stay in Su Li's apartment.
When they returned to the apartment, they ran into Xiao Luo, who was just coming out of his own unit.
"President Shen, Miss Su. Could I trouble you both with something?" Xiao Luo asked, looking a little anxious.
"You need us to help change the young lady's clothes?" Shen Qingyan probed.
Xiao Luo nodded. "Yes."
"Ha... You're quite the honest guy, aren't you? This is such a good opportunity for you to take advantage of her, and yet you're letting it pass."
There was a hint of approval in Shen Qingyan's gaze. She immediately shook her head. "I can't help you with this. Call an ambulance and have her sent to the hospital."
She was looking at it from Su Li's perspective. This was a love rival that had appeared out of the blue, and if she were Su Li, she would definitely be feeling terrible. It was already taking a tremendous amount of effort for her to not fly into a rage, let alone help the other girl.
Xiao Luo frowned. "It's just a mild cold. There's no need to send her to the hospital. She'll be fine once she takes some medicine for the fever."
Shen Qingyan was growing anxious on his behalf. "Why don't you understand, Xiao Luo? Does this seem like a problem that can be solved with flu medicine?" She couldn't help thinking to herself, his relationship with Li was finally progressing somewhere, and now something like this had to happen. Did he want their relationship to be doomed?
Su Li looked at him with her beautiful eyes. "Who is she?" she asked. She had been quiet the entire time until now.
Xiao Luo immediately blurted, "We're just friends!"
He and Gu Qianxue were obviously friends. Although men's very nature would urge him to think fondly of such an innocent girl, that was about as far as he would go. In his eyes, Gu Qianxue was no more than a little brat who needed guidance.
"Just friends?" Su Li questioned a second time.
"Yeah. We met in Jiangcheng." Xiao Luo replied.
Su Li sensed his candor and did not continue questioning him. There was a contemplative look in her eyes as she cast him a final glance, and then she walked into her apartment. At the same time, she glanced at Shen Qingyan and said, "Qingyan, please go to my room and get her a set of clean clothes from the closet."
"Yours?" Shen Qingyan asked, shocked. She thought, was she really going to be this magnanimous?
"Of course. She's more or less my size, so my clothes should fit her."
Su Li turned around and said, "Oh, right, get a few bath towels and washed clothes as well. There are new ones in the closet."
"Alright..."
Shen Qingyan heaved a sigh. If the person involved wants to pretend nothing was wrong, who was she, an outsider to get involved?
...
...
Drying Gu Qianxue's hair, feeding her flu medicine, and changing her into a set of clean clothes—Su Li did all of this. After doing all of that, she returned to her own apartment without another word. Naturally, Shen Qingyan would not stay in Xiao Luo's apartment, so she left with Su Li.
"Li, are you just going to remain this calm? The girl came all the way from Jiangcheng, so she's obviously thinking of him differently, even if he doesn't think of her that way. Now that they are both confined in the same space, they're just like dry wood and a raging fire. It's really dangerous that both of them are together," Shen Qingyan said to Su Li, who was sitting on the sofa opposite her, quietly reading a book. Shen Qingyan just could not stay calm.
"I trust him," Su Li said without lifting her head from the book. "If he really crosses the line, I'll dissolve our marriage and return him his freedom," she said.
Huh...?
Shen Qingyan was quite shocked by that response, but she responded with a laugh. "If you really think like this, then it puts my heart at ease, but I know for certain that you don't," she said, "Perhaps both of you shared a strange moment when you went to collect the certificate, but you can't fool me any longer. You've fallen in love with him."
Su Li froze when she heard those words, and her gaze got out of focus momentarily.
Seeing Su Li's reaction, Shen Qingyan brushed the matter off with a wave of her hand and said, "Forget it, I'll stop talking. Talking too much is only going to make me seem like a gossiper. I'm going to shower. I need to check my phone later to see if there are any documents the company needs me to sign."
After speaking, she headed up to the shower.
...
...
Xiao Luo placed a hot towel on Gu Qianxue's forehead. She had taken the flu medicine, and as she was trained in the martial arts, her body recovered after half an hour or so, and she awoke.
"Xiao Luo," she called out.
"You're awake."
"Mmm."
"Don't stand in the rain like that next time. You're a lady, and your body isn't made of steel," Xiao Luo chided her. His tone was not unlike that of a family elder.
"But, Mount Tianshan's much colder than this place, and I've never once fallen sick from the rain there," Gu Qianxue replied.
Xiao Luo said, "Then it seems that your body has grown weak from being in a bustling city for too long."
Gu Qianxue thought about it rather seriously for a beat, and replied, "Hmm, I guess that must be it."
"Drink up," Xiao Luo said, handing a cup of hot tea over to her.
Gu Qianxue reached out for the cup and took a sip, and then looked out the window. "It's raining really heavily," she exclaimed.
"It is, and it doesn't seem like the rain will stop any time soon. It's a good thing I returned tonight. Otherwise..."
Xiao Luo did not continue speaking. Had the foolish little girl actually stayed out there in the rain for an entire night, there was no way Gu Zhanguo would forgive him. Even that despicable Gu Qianlin would probably make her way over to Xiahai all the way from Jiangcheng just to give him grief.
"Xiao Luo, I'm hungry!" Gu Qianxue cried, lifting her head, staring up at him.
An image suddenly formed in his head. It was the memory of the little girl who had lost her way and when he found her sitting alone in front of a large building. At that time, she had said something similar to him.
"Hold on, let me make you something."
Xiao Luo stood up and decided to head over to Su Li's apartment. He had no kitchen utensils here and no food, so there was no way he could cook in his own apartment.
But at this moment, Gu Qianxue tugged at her clothes.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Luo said as he turned around and smiled.
Gu Qianxue looked miserable. "Don't leave me alone," she said.
Gu Qianxue did not tell Xiao Luo how much she had endured when she went against Gu Qianlin's wishes and headed to Xiahai all by herself, much less the fact that she had run into a lot of trouble. She had gotten her phone and purse stolen, and by the time she reached Crescent Bay, she had been so hungry she was on the verge of collapse. She did not have a single cent on her, and she did not know what she would have done if Xiao Luo had not appeared. This was the main reason she wanted to wait by the main gate despite the rain—she couldn't afford to miss him if when he returned.
"I'm just going to the apartment opposite to make something for you. I won't leave you." Xiao Luo gently pried her hand off his shirt.
And then he turned to leave.
He walked into Su Li's apartment and found her sitting on the sofa, quietly and elegantly reading a book. Xiao Luo walked over to her. "Thank you for earlier," he said.
"Mmm," Su Li responded. She seemed unaffected by the entire matter.
"Her name is Gu Qianxue, and she's a rather close friend of mine from Jiangcheng, but I can promise you—" Xiao Luo tailed off before finishing his sentence, but his message was evident. He did not know why he felt like this, suddenly worried that Su Li might misunderstand.
"You don't have to explain this to me. Don't forget, we're married, but only in name," Su Li cut him off.
She was intentionally riling him up in a desperate attempt to see him fly off the handle and make clear that their relationship was more than a contract. She even wanted to see him fiercely declare that she was his, and his alone.
.....
A contract?
So their relationship was nothing but a contract?
Xiao Luo laughed sardonically. It seems like he had been too invested in his role as a husband that he had forgotten this woman saw him as nothing more than a back-up plan. He was quickly reminded that their marriage would immediately come to an end when she met a suitable man.
"I know," he replied and then headed straight in the direction of the kitchen.
Su Li was understandably glum. She had really expected the man to show a little more emotional response—even rage would have put her more at ease. But his lack of emotion only made her think that he did not care about their marriage at all.
She heaved a sigh, then asked, "What are you doing here?"
"She's hungry, so I came over to make her something." Xiao Luo had already started busying himself in the kitchen.
Su Li put aside the unease in her heart. Her face devoid of expression, she said, "I'm hungry, too, so please make me something as well. Thanks!"
She immediately turned her attention back to the book after she spoke, as if she did not need Xiao Luo's response.
Xiao Luo shook his head, helpless. It was no trouble making an extra set, actually. Plus, he was using her kitchen and her ingredients, so making it for her was the right thing to do.
Her larder was packed with foodstuff; there was every sort of meat and vegetable one could think of, all thanks to the hard work that Aunt Lee had put in.
He made Gu Qianxue steak and a sunny-side up. For Su Li, he prepared some bananas, oatmeal, blueberries, kiwi. He had explicitly composed the meals according to their tastes. After all, the former loved meat, while the latter paid more attention to maintaining her figure. On top of that, the mix of fruits he had prepared for Su Li was also a combination he had frequently seen Aunt Lee prepare, so he had naturally memorized it as time passed.
"Why is mine a kiwi banana smoothie?" Su Li put down her book and looked at the supper in front of her eyes.
"Isn't this what you like?"
Xiao Luo raised a brow. "Would you like this steak instead? I don't remember you liking meat."
He actually knows what I like to eat!?
Su Li felt her heart jump, but she could not let her emotions show so blatantly. "Who said I liked this? I like taro paste," she said.
"Then I'm very sorry, but I guess you're going to have to make do with this."
Xiao Luo left after saying that. He did not want to keep Gu Qianxue waiting for too long.
She had been quite moved at first, but Xiao Luo's actions left her speechless, and she was so infuriated that she was no longer hungry.
"Huh, a kiwi banana smoothie? Who made this, was it Xiao Luo?" Shen Qingyan said. She had just come down after taking a shower and had already changed into Su Li's pajamas. The moment she saw the supper on the table, her eyes started gleaming.
"What makes you think I wasn't the one who made it?" Su Li asked sharply.
Shen Qingyan laughed. "Li, you're pretty much an idiot when it comes to cooking. You sure you're not joking with me?" she said.
Su Li wasn't in the mood for conversation. She bit her ruby red lips and went back to reading her book again.
"Are you drinking it? I'll drink it if you don't." Shen Qingyan was a little peckish.
"You have it. I don't want it." Su Li glared at her.
Shen Qingyan did not stand on ceremony. She scooped up a spoonful. "Wow, this is pretty good. Xiao Luo's not too bad a cook; this is better than the stuff your nanny makes. It seems like I have him in the wrong place. He shouldn't be in sales; he should be in the kitchen in the company cafeteria," she gushed.
"You're using my man as a mess cook? Are you looking to get whooped?"
Su Li picked up the cushion on the sofa and hurled it towards Shen Qingyan.
...
...
Xiao Luo remembered that Gu Qingxue loved eating meat, but he had forgotten that her appetite was much bigger than the average girl.
So after a serving of steak, he returned to Su Li's apartment. There was mutton, pork, and chicken—he braised a serving of each. Xiao Luo felt somewhat awkward when he saw how Su Li and Shen Qingyan were looking at him, so he explained to them that he was hungry.
"Is that enough?" Xiao Luo asked Gu Qianxue, eyeing the empty plates beside her that had stacked up quite a bit.
"Mm-hmm."
Gu Qianxue took a piece of tissue paper, dabbing away the grease around her lips.
Xiao Luo heaved a sigh of relief. He cleared his throat lightly and asked, "You said that you were doing alright in Jiangcheng, so why did you suddenly come over to Xiahai? It's a dangerous world out there. At least you have your sister to look out for you back in Jiangcheng. I don't think it's a smart move for you to head out here to Xiahai."
"I can look out for myself," Gu Qianxue said, "besides, you can look out for me too."
"It's not like you don't know I'm nothing more than a maniacal murderer whose hands are stained with blood."
Gu Qingxue shook her head. "No, you're not."
"Is that so?"
Xiao Luo was relieved. He knew that, if word about what he had done in Jiangcheng were to get out, there would only be one response from society, and that would be a crusade against him. They would eliminate such an evil murderer like him.
In all honesty, he did not really care about what other people thought about him. Everything was alright as long as his conscience was clear.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "So why did you come looking for me?"
"I..."
At this moment, Gu Qianxue could not give him a straight answer. There was no particular reason why she was looking for Xiao Luo, only that she had missed him.
Xiao Luo saw through Gu Qianxue, and it was easy to know what she was thinking. She hid nothing—any and every emotion she felt was clearly written on her face. She was not like Su Li, who he could not understand at all.
"If the skies clear up tomorrow, I'll bring you around the famous landmarks of Xiahai."
"Okay, I'd like that." That made Gu Qianxue happy, and she smiled a little.
"Oh right, how many days off did you request from the central police station?" Xiao Luo asked.
Gu Qianxue shook her head. "I didn't."
"You didn't? So, you snuck out, then?" Xiao Luo sucked in a breath.
"Yeah," Gu Qianxue replied, nodding like a little girl who had just made a mistake.
Xiao Luo hurriedly handed his phone over to her. "Call your sister right now and tell her you're in Xiahai. Otherwise, she'll tear through the whole of Jiangcheng."
He obviously did not care whether Gu Qianlin was worried or not. He was more afraid that Gu Qianxue might be investigated as a missing person case. Should that happen, wouldn't there be a likelihood he'd be suspected of being a criminal who had abducted a naïve girl who did not know better?
"Okay."
Gu Qianxue thought about it for a while, and then took the phone and dialed Gu Qianlin's number.
After a few beats, Xiao Luo could hear Gu Qianlin's hysterical voice screaming through his phone. She was most likely reprimanding Gu Qianxue for leaving without a word and making them worry.
"Xiao Luo, my sister wants to talk to you." After the ferocious dressing-down from Gu Qianlin, Gu Qianxue silently handed the phone to Xiao Luo.
Xiao Luo knew better than to avoid Gu Qianlin, so he plucked his courage and took the phone.
"Officer Gu, what can I help you with?"
"Xiao Luo, I don't care what kind of potion you've drugged my sister with to make her so head-over-heels for you, but you're absolutely forbidden from taking advantage of her or bullying her. Otherwise, I'll make you pay—to hell with my status as a police officer!" Gu Qianlin screamed. She was very protective over her younger sister, and she wouldn't be able to accept it if a murderous demon like Xiao Luo ruined her younger sister's virtues. She would surely go insane.