Chapter 236 Avoiding Decades of Detours

Fortunately, Qin Ce wasn't that abnormal, nor did he have any strange quirks.

He put Qiao Xing down, noticed she wasn't wearing shoes, took a towel and placed it on the floor, then went outside.

Qiao Xing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the bathroom door close, and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

Qin Ce tidied up the house outside, and Qiao Xing came out just as he finished washing up.

She can only walk on one leg now, so she can only hop when she walks.

Qin Ce turned his head and saw her hopping out on one foot while holding onto the wall. His lips twitched.

He still went over and carried Qiao Xing back to bed.

Qiao Xing felt a little embarrassed. She looked at Qin Ce and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Huh? You..."

Qin Ce glanced at her feet. "I'm afraid I'll step on your feet. You should go to sleep first."

As he spoke, he grabbed the blanket and covered her with it, saying, "I'm going to take a shower."

Qiao Xing sighed, lifted her hands and feet and lay down under the covers. She had been sleeping all day and couldn't fall asleep now.

She took out her phone and scrolled aimlessly, and came across Fang Ya's news again. These days, these bloggers will promote themselves and try to get traffic as soon as there is the slightest bit of news.

Especially stories like Fang Ya's, where a rich young lady is sold to the mountains to be someone else's wife—the mere mention of "rich young lady" becomes a viral sensation.

After those bloggers reposted and posted about it, making the topic popular, someone leaked Fang Ya's photos and information.

Now the whole internet knows that Fang Ya was sold to the mountains.

Although Qiao Xing had a grudge against Fang Ya, seeing such news still made Qiao Xing feel very uncomfortable. What if this person was someone else instead of Fang Ya?

After such a shameful incident was exposed, how can they ever hold their heads high again?

Qiao Xing scrolled through the videos and continued scrolling down, but it seemed like she was being targeted by big data; nine out of ten videos were recommending Fang Ya to her.

Furious, Qiao Xing threw her phone aside, grabbed the blanket, covered herself up, and prepared to go to sleep.

When Qin Ce came in, he saw her looking angry. He sat down on the bed and pulled the blanket off her head. "What's wrong? Does your foot hurt?"

Qiao Xing paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No, I was just annoyed by Fang Ya's videos. It's okay, I'm going to sleep now. Are you really not coming up to sleep?"

Qin Ce stared at her for a while.

He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Go to sleep."

As he stood up to leave, Qiao Xing grabbed his arm, but whether it was because she was too strong or something else, his brows furrowed suddenly, and a look of pain appeared between his brows.

But he only returned to normal in an instant, and Qiao Xing noticed this brief reaction.

Seeing this, Qiao Xing quickly got out of bed, grabbed his wrist, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

No, don't overthink it.

Qiao Xing didn't believe him. She had clearly seen it just now, so when Qin Ce wasn't paying attention, she suddenly lifted up the sleeve of his bathrobe.

The next second, Qiao Xing was stunned.

He had a large bruise on his arm, the kind that's about the size of a broad bean, and then it all merged together.

If nothing unexpected happens, this was probably done by pinching, right?

In a flash, Qiao Xing recalled that when the doctor was setting her bones at the hospital, she was holding this very hand.

Qin Ce lowered his sleeve to cover the bruises on his arm; to him, it was just a minor injury.

But a look of guilt rose in Qiao Xing's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect my grip to be so strong."

Qiao Xing was in so much pain that her movements were all subconscious reactions. She never expected that she could pinch Qin Ce like that.

Qin Ce raised his hand and touched her cheek. "I bumped into it by accident. It's nothing to do with you. It's just a small injury."

"Really?" Qiao Xing was still skeptical.

Qin Ce nodded slightly: "Really, okay, stop overthinking and go to sleep early."

Qiao Xing blinked. "Are you really not coming up?"

Qin Ce stared at her clear black and white eyes, her disheveled hair, and her loose collar; his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"No, I'm going to take a shower."

Qiao Xing was stunned again. Had he remembered it wrong?

Didn't he already wash it?

Before Qiao Xing could react, he had already left and closed the bedroom door.

He really did go out to take a shower...

Moreover, Qiao Xing fell asleep during the bath, and he didn't come in all night.

When I woke up the next day, there was no one in the bedroom.

Qiao Xing dragged her injured foot into the living room, where Qin Ce had already prepared breakfast.

He wiped his hands with a tissue and said, "I'll go downstairs and bring Lin Xi up. You eat first."

Qiao Xing hasn't been to work these past few days, so Wang Qin has been dropping Lin Xi off here every morning and leaving her there. Qin Ce goes down to pick her up every morning.

Lin Xi and Qiao Xing are no longer so estranged. When she has difficulty moving around, she will help Qiao Xing by serving tea, pouring water, and fetching things.

But with Qin Ce... it's still the same as always.

Every time Qin Ce came to pick her up, she would keep a distance of almost 800 meters from him. It wasn't just Qin Ce; it was the same when Qin Yi came before.

Lin Xi's aversion to men is not just ordinary.

After he brought Lin Xi up, Lin Xi quickly ran to Qiao Xing's side without even glancing at Qin Ce.

Qiao Xing and Qin Ce exchanged a helpless glance.

Qin Ce didn't react. He walked over and sat down opposite Qiao Xing, and started eating his breakfast by himself.

Qiao Xing pulled Lin Xi to sit down next to him, "Come and eat with us."

Lin Xi sat obediently beside her, and Qiao Xing gave her eggs, milk, and a sandwich and put them in her bowl.

"Shouldn't we call them Auntie and the others?" Qiao Xing asked.

"No need, they want to sleep until they naturally wake up."

Qiao Xing twitched the corners of her mouth. They would sleep until they naturally woke up, which was usually around ten o'clock, and then it would be time for lunch.

Qin Ce ate a couple of bites and then went out.

Only Qiao Xing and Lin Xi remained in the room.

Although Lin Xi carries a schoolbag every day, she doesn't like studying at all. She spends most of her time watching TV with Qiao Xing.

Qiao Xing sat on the sofa and chatted with her.

"Xiao Xi, what do you want to do?"

Lin Xi looked at her in confusion, not understanding what Qiao Xing meant.

Qiao Xing patiently explained to her, "What do you most want to do? For example, your dream, or something you want to do in the future."

Lin Xi stared at her, thought for a long time, and then uttered a single word: "Play".

"..."

This unexpected answer left Qiao Xing momentarily at a loss for words, wondering how to encourage Lin Xi, who, despite her young age, possessed such great ambition.

My hobby since childhood has been playing, which saved me from taking decades of detours.

Qiao Xing tried again: "What game?"

"have no idea."

Qiao Xing's lips twitched again. "Since you want to play, then set a goal, like playing games, or playing on the computer, or playing with toys or something..."

Lin Xi thought for a moment and said, "Games."

Qiao Xing clicked his tongue, "You want to play games?"

Lin Xi nodded.

Qiao Xing suddenly remembered that Xue Ling had played that game before, and Qiao Xing had secretly downloaded it herself afterward. She took out her phone and handed it to Lin Xi, "Try playing this."