Chapter 49: Her best friend woke her up, was she moved?

Huo Tingxiao's sudden, almost childish "jealousy" and his subsequent somewhat embarrassing escape were like a depth charge dropped into Su Wan's heart. It did not stir up a storm, but a continuous, subtle and scorching ripple that made her uneasy and restless for several days.

She repeatedly recalled his awkward question in the auditorium, his contemptuous yet sour criticism in the car, and the suspicious blush on his ears... She chewed and magnified every detail in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that the absurd guess - that he was jealous - did not seem to be groundless.

This realization made her heart race, her cheeks flushed, and she was gripped by a mixture of disbelief, secret joy, and immense confusion. She tried to tell herself it was just an illusion, that he was in a bad mood or was just taking his anger out on her for some other reason, but the little voice inside her grew louder and more resolute.

She needed someone to talk to, someone to help her analyze this mess.

On the weekend, she finally found an opportunity and asked Assistant Chen to take her to a quiet cafe in the city on the pretext of "going out for shopping." Xia Xiaoran had been waiting there for a long time and waved to her eagerly when she saw her.

"Qingqing! Here!"

Su Wanqing walked over quickly and sat down opposite Xia Xiaoran. Looking at her best friend's energetic and carefree face, her nerves, which had been tense for the past few days, relaxed a little.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Huo? You sounded so mysterious on the phone. What happened?" Xia Xiaoran came closer, lowered her voice, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Did that ice-faced guy bully you again?" As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, looking like she was ready for a fight.

Su Wanqing was amused by her and shook her head: "No, he... didn't bully me."

"What's wrong? You look so excited... and conflicted?" Xia Xiaoran looked at her suspiciously.

Su Wanqing's cheeks felt slightly hot. She hesitated for a moment, picked up the coffee cup and took a sip, organizing her words. She described everything that had happened in the past few days, especially Huo Tingxiao's abnormal behavior in the auditorium, as objectively as possible and without too much subjective speculation.

"...Then he suddenly asked angrily if I knew the actor, and said his dancing was too flashy and unsightly...Finally, the car drove very fast and we didn't say a word the whole way." Su Wanqing finished speaking, her cheeks reddening even more. She lowered her head a little embarrassedly, "Xiao Ran, do you think...he's a little weird?"

After hearing this, Xia Xiaoran's eyes widened and her mouth opened into an "O" shape. She was stunned for several seconds, then slammed the table and excitedly shouted in a low voice: "Oh my god! Isn't this obvious?! Chief Huo is jealous! Naked jealous! So jealous that it's almost overflowing from the screen!"

Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously retorted, "No, no way? How could he be... jealous like this? Just because of a dancing actor? This is outrageous..."

"Of course not!!" Xia Xiaoran grabbed her hand excitedly. "Men don't need a reason to be jealous, okay?! Especially the stuffy type like him! He might not even realize it himself! But his actions can't lie! Look, he's usually indifferent and cold to you, but why does he get so angry when he sees you looking at another man (even if he's just an actor)? He even specifically finds fault with him? If this isn't jealousy, what is it?! This is the territorial consciousness and possessiveness of male creatures erupting!"

She analyzed it clearly, her eyes shining. "What does this mean? It means he's starting to care about you, Qingqing! Even though his method is extremely childish and awkward! But he definitely cares!"

"Do you care?" Su Wanqing's heart began to beat wildly uncontrollably. Xia Xiaoran's words were like a key that suddenly opened the door in her heart that she had never dared to touch easily.

"That's right!" Xia Xiaoran nodded vigorously. "Why else would he react so strongly? A man of his status and position has seen all sorts of situations. How could he lose his composure over an insignificant performance? Unless you touched a sensitive spot in him! And that sensitive spot is you!"

She leaned closer, her voice lower, her tone more excited. "When you consider all the times he'd stood up to family elders for you, fought rumors on your behalf, even taken you out on 'dates' (though it was awkward), and even smashed a cabinet because of a few words... Each and every one of these things may seem cold and hard, but think about it, which one wasn't protecting you? Which one of his emotions wasn't so volatile because it involved you?"

Xia Xiaoran counted on his fingers, and the more he spoke, the more it made sense. "I think this iceberg has probably started to melt! It's just that he hasn't noticed it yet, or he has discovered it but refuses to admit it! He's still holding on with his cold, soldier-like mentality!"

Su Wanqing's heart surged with emotion, her cheeks flushed. Her secret suspicions were confirmed so confidently by her bestie, leaving her both delighted and flustered. "But...but there's such a huge gap between us...and we were that kind of relationship from the beginning...how could he possibly..."

"Oh! There's no need to reason with things like love!" Xia Xiaoran interrupted her, looking disappointed. "Maybe he just fell for your tricks. Think about it, you're beautiful, have a good personality, are neither humble nor overbearing, and you can tolerate his bad temper, keep his house in perfect order, and even team up with him at critical moments... If I were a man, I'd be tempted too!"

As she spoke, she suddenly put away her joking expression and looked at Su Wanqing seriously: "Qingqing, don't underestimate yourself. You are very good, really. You are more than enough for him, Huo Tingxiao! He is just beginning to realize your good qualities, and his reaction is a little clumsy, but it is definitely a good thing! The key is you-" She paused, staring sharply into Su Wanqing's eyes, "What about you towards him? You care so much about his reaction that you come to ask me if he is jealous... Are you moved yourself?"

"boom--!"

Xia Xiaoran's extremely straightforward question was like a thunderclap that struck Su Wanqing directly, making her freeze instantly, her cheeks flushed red, and her heart seemed to be tightly grasped by something, and then suddenly released, beating so wildly that she almost suffocated.

Is she...moved?

To Huo Tingxiao?

That cold, overbearing, bad-tempered man with a heavy past in his heart, who would protect her in a clumsy way at the critical moment and might even lose control and become jealous because of her?

She had never dared to think deeply about this question, and had deliberately avoided it. Now that her bestie had exposed it so bluntly, she realized that the answer seemed to have already been quietly written in her heart.

When did it start?

Was it from the first time he clumsily bandaged her wound?

Did it start when he twirled her around so forcefully at the dance?

Did it start with his unexpected defense of her and affirmation of her identity?

Did it start from the time he watched over her while she was getting a fever, and awkwardly fed her medicine?

Did it start when he revealed a hint of pain under the starry sky?

Did it start from the moment he made that heavy promise?

Or did it start from... when he lost control and smashed the cabinet because of her angry words, with his bloody hands dripping onto the floor?

Or, did it start recently when he became jealous because she looked at other men a few more times?

Every little detail, every moment that she had deliberately ignored or interpreted as responsibility and indifference, was now connected together, weaving into a dense and hot web, quietly entangling her heart, getting tighter and tighter.

Yes.

Her heart was moved.

This realization struck her chest clearly and violently, bringing waves of bittersweet throbbing. She could no longer deceive herself.

She would care about his gaze, her heart would beat faster when he was close to her, she would feel distressed for his pain, she would be secretly happy about his clumsy defense, and she would be confused by his possible "care"...

If this isn't heart-throb, then what is?

Su Wanqing slowly raised her head, her cheeks flushed, but her eyes were filled with a hint of confusion and shyness. She looked at Xia Xiaoran and nodded gently, her voice as thin as a mosquito, but very clear: "...Hmm."

Her heart was moved.

Xia Xiaoran finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her like this, and clapped her hands with a smile: "That's right! Just admit it! I thought you were going to be stubborn to the end!"

She took a big sip of coffee and regained her serious expression. "Now that you're attracted to him, you need some strategy! When dealing with a cold and reserved type like Chief Huo, you can't be too proactive or you'll scare him off. But you can't be passive all the time, or he might never understand anything! You have to..."

Xia Xiaoran began to enthusiastically impart her "secrets to flirting with men". Su Wanqing listened with a blushing face, but her mind was a little wandering.

Falling in love is just the beginning.

The road ahead is still long and uncertain. His heart is filled with too much heavy past and unspeakable pain. His personality is cold and awkward. There are too many obstacles and gaps between them.

Can this newly budding feeling of love withstand the wind, frost, rain and snow of the future? Can it wait until the day when the ice completely melts and spring comes and flowers bloom?

She doesn't know.

But at least at this moment, she has made up her mind and is no longer as confused and passive as before.

She looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and gently clenched the coffee cup in her hand. The throbbing in her heart because of him was like a bud breaking through the soil, with a hint of timidity but incomparably firm strength.

After being enlightened by her best friend, her true feelings gradually became clear.

This marriage that started out cold seemed to have finally... welcomed the first ray of warm light that truly belonged to her.