Chapter 22

The next day, Jiang Zhuochen bid farewell to Xu Cheng, explained the whole story to him, and calmly accepted the money amidst Xu Cheng's fluctuating attitude. He then walked towards Xu Xing, who was waiting in the car.

He opened the passenger door, got in, waved to Xu Cheng, and Xu Xing drove off without saying a word.

The cold air from the enclosed car sent a shiver down his spine. Jiang Zhuochen suppressed his cheerful expression and sat quietly in his seat, glancing at Xu Xing's face out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't have time to pay attention yesterday, but today he noticed Xu Xing was acting strangely. Although he's usually not very talkative, he was unusually sparing with words now, as if he wasn't happy, and it seemed to be because of him.

This conclusion left Jiang Zhuochen feeling completely innocent, utterly unaware of what he had done to upset the other person.

He tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, slowly following Xu Xing back to the villa. He scratched his palm, then cautiously peeked out and tentatively asked, "Are you angry?"

"No," Xu Xing replied. "Since you don't need my help, I'll go back to work now."

You can tell she's angry just by listening to that.

Jiang Zhuochen sat down on the living room sofa, turned his head to watch Xu Xing leave, and sighed deeply.

Why is this man so unpredictable?

Forget it, I'll just try to appease her.

The main task is still to find the remaining souls, and the female ghost's ambiguous words keep lingering in Jiang Zhuochen's mind, making it impossible for him to abandon her for the time being.

However, his skills in coaxing people were very clumsy. For the first fifteen years, he only listened to half of the village blind fortune teller's glib talk in order to fill his stomach. He was taken in by his master because of his age, and everyone gave way to him. Now, it would be really difficult for him to coax others.

After racking his brains all afternoon, he decided to ask someone for help.

Jiang Zhuochen pushed open the door of Ruyi Barbershop after a long absence. Zhao Li looked up and smiled with surprise.

"Why did you come here?"

Jiang Zhuochen leaned on the counter with both hands, her face beaming. "Sister, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Zhao Li handed him a glass of water, saying, "Tell me what you need, and I'll see if I can help."

“Exactly,” Jiang Zhuochen said, troubled, “Do you know how to comfort people? How do you make someone happy if you’ve upset them?”

"Oh~" Zhao Li gave him an "I get it" look, blinking gossipily. "Got a girlfriend?"

When Xu Xing wasn't smiling, he was always cold and aloof; even a single glance could send shards of ice flying. Jiang Zhuochen chuckled dryly. If anyone dared to say that to Xu Xing, he'd twist their head off.

"No," Jiang Zhuochen said vaguely, "but it's more or less the same."

His original intention was that Xu Xing was just as difficult to coax as his girlfriend, but Zhao Li clearly misunderstood.

She nodded vigorously, as if to say something, and then said, "I'm very good at this, I'll teach you."

"Thank you, sis! I'll treat you to dinner later!"

"polite."

He happily ate and drank his fill outside, then parted ways with everyone at the barbershop and walked to the intersection to wait for a taxi.

Suddenly, the smile on his face froze. He remembered that Xu Xing had always taken him back before, and he didn't have the address of the villa himself.

Jiang Zhuochen stood there for five minutes, then finally pulled out his phone with a pained expression and called Xu Xing. Thanks to his habit of charging his phone only once every three days, the battery had dropped to single digits and was about to go to sleep again.

The call was quickly connected, but the other end didn't say a word, and the atmosphere became so quiet it was unsettling.

"Xu Xing?"

A calm voice came from the other end: "What is it?"

Jiang Zhuochen looked down and kicked at the pebbles that had fallen by the flower bed. "I can't go back."

The somber, dejected melody pierced Xu Xing's ears, and his first thought was that the other person was like a pitiful, wet puppy being bullied, whimpering at him. He felt a moment of tenderness, but then, remembering what the other person had said, he became displeased again.

What does "can't go back" mean? Did she have a change of heart and call to say goodbye after leaving? He stood alone in the vast living room, even the warm lighting seemed glaring. Just as he was about to utter a sarcastic remark, the other person's next words rang out.

"I don't know the way back to your house."

Now it's not just a bullied puppy, it's a lost puppy.

Xu Xing choked on his breath, unsure of who he was angry at. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait, I'll come pick you up."

When he arrived at the intersection in front of Ruyi Barbershop, the other person was squatting by the flower bed, idly pulling weeds.

Pedestrians passed by from time to time, but the figure remained unaffected, arching and struggling against the weeds, unaware even as Xu Xing walked up behind him.

Jiang Zhuochen gripped a clump of weeds in his hand and pulled hard, uprooting them and throwing him backward with the force. Just as he thought it didn't matter if he fell because it wouldn't hurt, a leg unexpectedly blocked his back.

He was startled, put his hands on the ground, and looked up.

Xu Xing lowered his head, his eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness, his expression still indifferent.

Jiang Zhuochen unconsciously pressed his fingers harder against the ground, a sudden pang of sadness washing over him. He whispered, "You're here."

That aggrieved tone pierced Xu Xing's heart like a needle. Almost instinctively, he reached out and placed his hand on the other's neck, his warm fingertips gently pressing against it. His heart felt as if it had been pulled invisibly, and what spread was not a sharp pain, but a dull, heavy, and lingering ache.

He felt a tightness in his throat, and the words that were about to come out vanished. His lips parted slightly, and what escaped was an extremely soft sigh that he himself hadn't expected.

"Yes, I'm here." His voice lowered, as if afraid of disturbing something, each word wrapped in a layer of softness and warmth like cotton wool.

Jiang Zhuochen met Xu Xing's focused and calm gaze, which reflected only his image. The fingers that were pressing hard on the ground suddenly loosened, and the fingertips curled up helplessly, leaving a few shallow indentations with muddy marks.

He seemed to be burned by Xu Xing's gaze, lowered his eyes to avoid it, got up, patted his pants, and stammered, "Come on, let's go back now that we're here."

He completely forgot that the other person was angry. Instead of trying to appease them, he immediately got into the car after finishing his sentence.

Back at the villa, he turned to face the man who was a few steps behind him, who again wore an inscrutable expression.

Did he just misread it?

"Are you going to work tomorrow?" Jiang Zhuochen asked, mustering his courage.

"Um."

"So, are you going to work the day after tomorrow?"

"Um."

Two very crisp and clear short sounds startled Jiang Zhuochen, causing him to shut his mouth tightly.

Xu Xing glanced at him but didn't say anything. His irritation had already disappeared when he met Jiang Zhuochen. Now he was just disgusted with himself for letting his emotions follow the other person's lead, so he was just pretending to be cold-faced.

"Then you should go to sleep early. I'm going back to my room." Jiang Zhuochen hesitated for a long time before finally ending the conversation.

Without waiting for a reply, he turned around immediately after speaking and walked back to his room in two quick steps.

Feeling depressed, Jiang Zhuochen slept until dawn, but still went to the amusement park as Zhao Li had instructed. He bought two tickets at the window and sat down on a bench by the roadside, pondering how to give them away.

Across the street was a lively scene filled with laughter and chatter. A roller coaster sped past, hugging the wall, screams and cheers exploding in his ears. His gaze followed the roller coaster to its highest point, only to be stolen by the Ferris wheel. What's so fun about that? It just slowly goes around in circles and then comes down. It's not as thrilling as the roller coaster speeding along the track in front of him.

Jiang Zhuochen's thoughts gradually drifted off course. Even though the sun was directly overhead, he still hadn't come to a conclusion. Instead, he started fanning himself because he couldn't stand the sweltering heat outside.

Suddenly, a chill ran down the back of his neck, and Jiang Zhuochen jumped up, startled. He hissed in displeasure, about to see who was so audacious.

The milk tea right in front of him made him pause, and then the living Xu Xing appeared in his field of vision. Jiang Zhuochen stood there blankly.

How did you know I was here?

Xu Xing used the same trick again, pressing the milk tea against Jiang Zhuochen's cheek. The sudden temperature difference brought the other to his senses. Then, he shoved the milk tea into Jiang's hand and tilted his head back slightly. "Don't misunderstand, I just came to inspect the place. I happened to see you here alone, so I came over."

"Oh." Jiang Zhuochen took the milk tea and peeked behind Xu Xing. Sure enough, several people in formal attire walked away. "You came here to work, huh? Well, you get back to work."

Xu Xing laughed. What kind of wood was this? Its hardness was comparable to that of steel.

The two stood in silence for a while. Jiang Zhuochen looked up in confusion, his eyes clearly asking, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Xu Xing sighed silently, his gaze sliding over the two tickets clutched tightly in the other person's hand, and asked knowingly, "What are those?"

Jiang Zhuochen unfolded the ticket for him and said, "These are the amusement park tickets. I just bought them."

Just two and a half hours ago. Xu Xing glanced at it and asked, "Why did you buy two tickets?"

"I wanted to come with you." Jiang Zhuochen stuffed the tickets into his hand, inserted a straw, and took a sip of milk tea. "Some people say that beautiful places can help people relax, so I wanted to bring you here."

Zhao Li told him that it would be best to pretend to be scared and cling to the person, making it easier for them to soften their heart.

Jiang Zhuochen added, "I've never been to this place before."

The straightforward words soothed the turmoil in Xu Xing's heart: "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to come with me?"

"You have to go to work," Jiang Zhuochen said. "Your phone will be on silent when you're working, so I won't be able to reach you."

"No."

"Um?"

“Those are rare exceptions,” Xu Xing said. His deep voice, with its almost imperceptible slowness, made his words seem exceptionally genuine. “I usually don’t mute when I’m working, so you can contact me if you need anything.”

"oh…"

Jiang Zhuochen was even more confused. How could someone speak as if they were no longer angry, but their expression showed that they were still angry? How could they be so hypocritical?

"Then I'll contact you now, are you free?"

The steam from the milk tea cup condensed into water droplets that slid down his forearm, causing a slight itch. Jiang Zhuochen didn't care; he waited earnestly for an answer.

Xu Xing's gaze was fixed on the water droplet, his eyes dimming almost imperceptibly for a moment. "You want me to have time?"

"I did think about it." Jiang Zhuochen nodded seriously, regardless of his purpose, "If you make someone angry, you have to coax them."

A note from the author:

Don't misunderstand!