Chapter 11.011. Was this considered giving him some face? ...

He Yan thought Wen Xue would put everything back, but unexpectedly she left behind a plush toy.

Is this considered giving him some face?

Fortunately, the shopping cart wasn't too empty. This time, he quietly followed behind her and didn't throw anything in on his own initiative. Wen Xue wasn't sure what to buy in that room either. She wandered around aimlessly for almost half an hour and only bought a few more bowls and chopsticks, in addition to plush toys.

He Yan is not a patient person when it comes to trivial matters in life.

He really couldn't understand her behavior of touching this and looking at that, but not buying anything.

He quickly realized that if he let Wen Xue decide what to buy, they might only end up with a couple more cups by the time the mall closed, so he decisively said, "Let's go look at sofas."

"sofa?"

"right."

This time, he pushed the cart ahead, leading the way, and looked back to urge her on with his eyes.

Wen Xue had no choice but to obediently follow.

Considering the small size of the room, He Yan used his eyes as a ruler to measure it, raised his chin, and asked her in a low voice, "Which color do you like?"

A small, two-seater fabric sofa was placed opposite them, the perfect size.

They come in beige, dark gray, and pink.

He thought to himself that she must like pink.

Wen Xue examined it carefully, then pointed to the dark gray one, "This one."

It has nothing to do with personal preference, because she thinks none of the three colors are very attractive. But if she had to choose, she would choose the most dirt-resistant dark gray, so that when other employees move in after she leaves, the sofa will still look brand new, and they would be very happy.

He Yan paused slightly, then said, "Okay."

He pushed the shopping cart next to her, asked the staff about delivery, and when he came back to find her, she was elsewhere. Before he could even dial the number, he spotted her.

She was staring intently at a floor lamp.

She didn't even react when he walked up to her, so he had to ask, "Do you like it?"

The deep voice reached Wen Xue's ears. She turned her head and was momentarily dazed, as if she had returned to a year ago. At that time, she and He Heng were both on vacation. Everything in Xicheng was new and exciting. They didn't want to go home so early and went to several places to have fun. They also came to the home furnishing mall. She liked this floor lamp very much back then.

At that moment, He Heng put his arm around her shoulder and asked with a smile, "Do you like it?"

She nodded, but didn't let him buy it. First, there was no place to put it in the dormitory, and second, moving back to Haicheng would be too troublesome, plus she would spend too little time in her hometown, so she had to give up.

It wasn't that she didn't like it, but at that time, she thought they had a lifetime ahead of them, and that one day they would live in their own house and buy her favorite lamp.

"before……"

Amidst the comings and goings of people, Wen Xue spoke with some difficulty, "We really want to buy them, but we have nowhere to put them."

If the person standing next to her wasn't He Yan, but someone else, even her best friend, she wouldn't have said those words.

But she could easily bring up He Yan when she was with him.

Some words are easy to say, and it was only then that she realized that if you miss someone, you have to tell someone who misses them in return.

He Yan was silent for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice, "Now there's a place to put it."

Wen Xue was taken aback.

They don't need to wait for delivery; they can take the floor lamp home today after buying it.

After He Yan carried the cardboard box containing the lamp into the car and stuffed it into the back seat, the first thing he did upon returning to the driver's seat was to ask Wen Xue, "Did you bring your wallet?"

When she paid the bill, she took out a light blue wallet from her down jacket pocket.

"I brought it."

"Give it to me."

Wen Xue didn't understand what he meant, but she obediently took out her wallet and gave it to him.

He Yan then took out his wallet, pulled out all the cash inside, and stuffed it into the light blue wallet. In an instant, the originally delicate wallet was bulging and almost couldn't be fastened.

"I have money!" she exclaimed urgently, immediately turning to face him directly and stopping him.

"Let me know when you're done using it." He Yan handed the wallet back to her. In the dimly lit car, only the faint light from the center console illuminated his cold face. "Don't be like him. He always waits for me to ask before he says he's out of money."

Wen Xue's expression went blank for a few seconds.

After He Yan started the engine, she slowly gripped the thick wallet, her knuckles turning white from the force, and then put it back in her pocket after a moment.

…

Wen Xue didn't pay much attention to the outside world. Many of the lights in the corridor of the tenement building were on, but she didn't notice. He Yan, on the other hand, looked up and glanced at the light bulbs with satisfaction. He told her to walk in front, and he would walk behind, just in case she missed a step and he could catch her.

Upon reaching the third floor, He Yan listened intently for a while, but heard no mahjong sounds. With a cardboard box on his shoulder and a bag in his right hand, he continued to follow her steadily towards the edge.

Wen Xue, holding a plush toy in her arms, found the key and opened the door.

It wasn't too late yet, not even nine o'clock. He Yan took the scissors from her, opened the cardboard box, and squatted down to study the instructions while assembling the floor lamp. He was meticulous in his work, and his usually cold and hard face showed a more serious expression.

Wen Xue wanted to help but couldn't get involved.

She watched quietly for a while, then took out the newly bought cup from the bag, boiled some water, rinsed it with hot water again and again, smelled it, and found no strange smell. She then rummaged through the suitcase for a few sticks of marshmallow hot cocoa powder that she hadn't finished last winter, and after confirming that they weren't expired, she leaned over and asked him softly, "Do you drink hot cocoa?"

Hot cocoa?

He Yan had heard of it, but had never tasted it, and didn't know exactly what it was, so he casually said, "Okay."

Wenxue tore open the packaging, poured hot water over it, and a sweet, cloying aroma immediately wafted out.

She held the cup in her hands to warm it, intending to give it to him when it wasn't so hot anymore.

He Yan was very handy and quickly assembled the floor lamp. He then turned to her and asked, "Where should I put it?"

Wen Xue looked around the room and pointed uncertainly, "How about we put it there?"

The sofa will arrive tomorrow; it seems better to place the floor lamp next to it.

“Okay.” He Yan placed the lamp where she pointed, where there was a power outlet. After turning it on, he was about to test it when he changed his mind. Like coaxing a child, he waved to her and said encouragingly, “Give it a try.”

A subtle emotion swept through Wen Xue's heart.

That feeling was familiar in the past, but it felt strange in the last six months, but she knew it was called anticipation.

She nodded, handed him the cup, her palms still hot and slightly sweaty. She wiped the hem of his coat, found the switch for the floor lamp, and asked him, "Is this it?"

He Yan smiled, but his smile quickly faded.

A cloyingly sweet warmth lingered in his nostrils, refusing to dissipate. He lowered his eyes, noticing a few still-wet marshmallows floating on the dark brown surface. "..."

With a click—

He raised his eyes.

Wen Xue gripped the switch and pressed it hard.

The soft light shone on her white down jacket, her smooth hair, and her clear, bright eyes.

She stared intently at the lamp, her eyes filled with a long-lost, genuine joy.

She finally brought it back.

…

After installing the light, He Yan didn't stay in her room for long. He returned the empty cup to her and hurriedly went downstairs to his room.

Wu Yuejiang lived on the same floor as him. He came back with a drunken look on his face. He saw that the door to his room was open and walked in unsteadily. "I drank a bottle of baijiu and a bottle of red wine with Manager Zhang. He finally relented and said he would apply to the higher-ups to relax our loan conditions."

"Have you discussed the quota?" He Yan replied, his words slightly slurred.

He was bending over in front of the sink, brushing his teeth.

Wu Yuejiang, beaming, held up a number and asked, "How about that?"

He Yan tilted his head back to rinse his mouth, revealing his Adam's apple. After spitting out the water, he said, "It's alright."

Wu Yuejiang rubbed his face, beaming with joy: "Finally, I can have a good New Year."

Their line of work can be lucrative; if they find the right path, they can earn quite a bit. But the pressure comes one after another. After all, they owe bank loans, and every day when they wake up, they think about those interest payments. Even if they die tomorrow, they have to get up today and keep working.

He Yan hummed in agreement and squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

Wu Yuejiang was very excited at this moment and wanted to find someone to talk to. She kept repeating the same things over and over. Suddenly, she looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Why are you scrolling through it again?"

He Yan didn't say anything. Why did he swipe it twice? Because his mouth was full of a bittersweet taste.

He was overwhelmed by the heat of that hot cocoa.

But in front of her, he could only swallow, mouthful by mouthful, his throat trembling, yet he remained expressionless.

-

At 5:30 in the morning, Wen Xue stood by the window, staring blankly outside. Remembering that she had to go to work at 9:00, she found the notes she had taken yesterday in her bag and reviewed them again. Perhaps this was just human nature; she had been daydreaming in class almost willfully, and her exam results were probably mediocre. But during her time at He Yan's company, she had to be extremely vigilant, afraid of making even the slightest mistake that might cause him trouble or unnecessary losses.

At seven o'clock, she quietly went out with her bag. Everyone else was still asleep, and the apartment building was quiet. It was foggy outside. She wrapped her scarf around her neck, put on her gloves, and went downstairs. She had seen the breakfast stall on the bus yesterday.

She walked from one end to the other, then back again, until she sat down at a stall. When the owner brought her a steaming bowl of wontons, her first instinct wasn't to grab a disposable spoon, but to take out her phone and carefully craft a message: "Brother, you don't need to buy me breakfast today. I'm already out."

This was the only solution she could think of.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and just as she was about to put her phone back, her palm went numb.

It was his reply: "What did you eat?"

She replied: 【Wonton.】

Just as I was about to tap send, I politely added, "Would you like me to bring you breakfast?"

He Yan: [Okay, I'll have soy milk and fried dough sticks.]

She froze, and the next second, he sent another message: "[A bowl of soy milk, two fried dough sticks]"

She looked around and saw a vendor frying dough sticks before replying, "Okay."

After Wen Xue finished her bowl of wontons with great concentration, she took her wallet and went to buy him the soy milk and fried dough sticks he wanted. The food was quite heavy in her hand. She quickened her pace and returned to the tenement building. When she arrived at the far end of the second floor, she knocked on the door. He Yan was shaving in front of the mirror.

He put down his razor, casually grabbed a towel to wipe his face, and opened the door with a refreshing scent even stronger than mint.

Wen Xue wisely avoided looking inside, her gaze lowered to the ground as she handed over the breakfast she had bought: "Eat it while it's hot."

He Yan agreed, took it, and seeing her turn to leave, called out to her, "Wen Xue."

She stopped and turned around.

He casually picked up the car keys from the cabinet and handed them to her, saying, "It's cold outside. Go to the car and wait for me. I'll take you to work."