Chapter 13 Is he really going to take her? ...

Xu Jialan walked over quietly and whispered in her ear.

She was completely unaware.

"What are you looking at?"

Chen Yao'an was startled by him, and after a moment she calmed down, she said, "Watching the sunset."

"You want to watch the sunset?"

Chen Yao settled down for a moment and nodded.

"Then let's go see."

Chen Yaoan blinked.

Is he really going to take her?

"Let's go, let's grab some dinner on the way."

Chen Yao'an didn't know where they were going, nor did she ask; she simply let herself follow Xu Jialan.

As the car drove towards the mountaintop, Chen Yao'an completely lost her sense of direction.

Since entering the mountains, the roadsides are lined with lush vegetation, and it's very quiet all around; you can't see a soul in sight.

Until the car reached the end of the road, the view suddenly opened up.

The road ends at the top of the mountain, where a white house has been built.

Chen Yao'an was surprised; she had no idea that such a place existed in Lin'an City.

Xu Jialan told her that it was a restaurant.

There are no obstructions around the mountaintop, offering a panoramic view of Linan City.

Xu Jialan had made a reservation before arriving, and upon entering, the two were led directly to a seat by the window.

This restaurant has large floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides, so you can see the scenery outside while sitting inside.

"You mean you can see the sunset from here?"

"certainly."

Dusk was fast approaching.

The rosy glow first spread across half the sky, and each cloud had a different hue, as if it had been dyed, reflecting each other.

The sun, bathed in a glow of rosy light, gradually sank in the west.

Throughout history, the fall of beautiful things has always been accompanied by grandeur.

The sun is different; its fall is only for a better rise tomorrow.

The surrounding guests gasped in amazement, and many raised their phones to capture this wonderful moment.

Chen Yao'an, however, propped himself up on his arm, watching intently.

In the past, when the summers were hot and humid, and there was no air conditioning, Chen Yuandong always liked to set up a table on the roof to eat dinner.

If they have dinner early, the family will eat while enjoying the sunset.

Chen Yuandong would always say, "The glow of the sunset makes our faces look so beautiful."

Xu Jialan across the way turned her gaze from the window to the opposite side.

The orange light from outside the window fell on her cheeks, giving her a soft glow and stripping away her cold, hard exterior.

After a long, gloomy day, I finally saw a slight smile on her lips.

Are you feeling better?

Chen Yaoan looked away, paused for a moment, and nodded.

"That's good."

Unfortunately, the sunset was short-lived; the sun quickly set, and the restaurant lights came on.

After dinner, Xu Jialan took Chen Yaoan home.

The car was still parked at the entrance of her alley. Chen Yao'an unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't rush to get out.

She turned to look at Xu Jialan and said, "Thank you."

Her tone was sincere and earnest, without a trace of impurity.

-

The next morning, Chen Yaoan went to the store and, while tidying up the front desk, saw several brand-new fashion magazines on it.

The item doesn't belong to her.

She recalled the people who had been to her shop yesterday. None of the customers brought magazines, so it must have been Xu Jialan who brought them.

She texted him, asking if he had brought the magazines.

Xu Jialan hadn't replied to the message for a long time, and Chen Yaoan guessed that he was still sleeping.

She didn't receive his message until almost noon.

Was it given to her?

Chen Yaoan stared at her phone for a few seconds.

Actually, she only buys a few magazines occasionally now; most of the ones on her shelf are from several years ago, and she bought most of them during her university years.

After all, buying too many fashion magazines is a considerable expense, not to mention that she doesn't have much energy to read them right now.

Chen Yaoan picked up the stack of magazines and flipped through them. Most of them were well-known fashion magazines in the industry, and they were all newly released issues. Some of them were even limited editions.

A slight smile played on her lips.

I replied to Xu Jialan's message.

Besides taking care of the shop's business, Chen Yao'an was most concerned about Zhou Yao's condition.

However, since that day, Zhou Yao has never experienced the same situation as that night again, and everything has returned to normal.

As a result, Chen Yao'an began to doubt what happened that night. Was it because the lighting was too dim that day, and she saw things wrong?

But no matter what, Zhou Yao's usual behavior put her at ease.

As for Xu Jialan, he started going to her shop frequently.

When there are customers, he stays for a while and then leaves; when there are no customers, he can sit in her shop for an hour.

When he wasn't busy, he would chat with her; when he was busy, he would stay quietly by her side.

The same thing happened again that afternoon, but this time it rained.

On rainy days, there are few people, and her shop was completely empty of customers.

Chen Yao'an stood at the front desk, looking at the rain outside and the pedestrians hurrying past her shop.

"It seems we won't be having any guests today."

She sighed softly; she had checked the weather forecast, and the rain was expected to continue until evening.

“Isn’t it better if there are no guests? We can take a break,” Xu Jialan said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yaoan turned her head and glared at him.

Xu Jialan laughed even harder.

"Never mind, I'll go pick up a package."

Chen Yaoan walked to the door, turned back to look at Xu Jialan, and asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

Xu Jialan stood up. "I'll go with you."

She did not refuse, but there was only one umbrella left in the store.

Xu Jialan held an umbrella in one hand and helped her close the shop door with the other.

The two walked side by side in the rain.

Although the spring rain was light, it still carried the chill of autumn.

There was a hand's width between them. Rain hit Chen Yao'an's shoulder, and Xu Jialan pulled her over.

"Why are you standing so far away? You're all getting soaked."

Chen Yaoan didn't pay attention, and the two continued walking forward, their clothes occasionally rubbing together.

After walking across the street, they reached the express delivery station. Chen Yao'an went in to pick up her package, while Xu Jialan waited for her outside.

About a minute later, Chen Yao'an came out and said, "Let's go back."

Not long after they left, Chen Yaoan felt uneasy, as if there were always eyes watching them.

She couldn't help but look back; behind them was only one pedestrian holding an umbrella.

She's probably overthinking it.

The two continued walking, but Chen Yao'an still felt something was wrong.

After walking a little further, Chen Yao quickly turned around, pretending nothing had happened.

Her movement was so sudden that she bumped right into a pair of eyes.

Those eyes were clearly unsuspecting of her. After a moment of surprise, she hurriedly lowered her head and covered her eyes with the umbrella.

Xu Jialan asked her, "What are you doing?"

"fine."

After taking a few more steps, Chen Yaoan couldn't help but stop.

"What's wrong?" Xu Jialan asked, puzzled.

Chen Yaoan pulled him back to his side, and then they saw Xi Xi following behind them.

"Your ex-girlfriend."

Xi Xi was clearly not expecting them to suddenly stop and turn around to look at her.

She tightened her grip on the umbrella, but she didn't flinch.

Upon seeing that it was her, a hint of impatience flashed across Xu Jialan's face.

Chen Yao'an decided to give them some alone time. "I'll go back first, you two can talk."

Xu Jialan grabbed her and made her stand still. She leaned her upper body slightly towards her and said softly, "Do me a favor. Also, she's not my ex-girlfriend."

"What kind of help?"

Also, not her ex-girlfriend?

Xi Xi walked over from the opposite side, her gaze fixed on them, her eyes flashing with a stubborn light.

She first looked at Xu Jialan, whose eyes were calm, even indifferent.

She then turned to Chen Yao'an, a knowing look in her eyes.

"You two are together?"

"No," Chen Yaoan replied.

“I’m the one pursuing her,” Xu Jialan replied.

Xi Xi's eyes instantly filled with tears. Was she out of hope?

Her voice was filled with grievance and resentment, "But why can't it be me?"

Or was it her?

She felt a lot of resentment. To Xu Jialan, they were all the same. Was it because she wasn't pretty enough?

She looked at Chen Yao'an, her eyes scrutinizing him.

“I advise you not to be presumptuous; it won’t do anyone any good,” Xu Jialan said.

Chen Yaoan felt that Xu Jialan was too cold-hearted; sometimes he was frighteningly indifferent to relationships.

But this may not necessarily be a bad thing for Xi Xi.

Ultimately, it's unclear whether Xi Xi finally came to terms with the truth, but she dropped her umbrella and ran away crying.

Chen Yao'an thought that she would never want to become someone like Xi Xi, who was so humble in matters of the heart.

"Let's go back," Xu Jialan said.

Chen Yao'an looked at him, "This is the favor you asked me to do?"

Xu Jialan's pupils were dark and deep. "Perhaps it's true."

She looked at him, and something suddenly flashed through her mind.

Thinking about how Xu Jialan had been visiting her shop so frequently these past few days, and about the latest magazines he had given her...

She dared not think further, and only said, "You will definitely suffer retribution in the future."

Xu Jialan laughed unrestrainedly, "Then let it come."

The two returned to the shop.

Chen Yao'an took out her key to open the door, but halfway through, she couldn't help turning back to look at Xu Jialan, "Xu Jialan..."

"Um?"

"You just now..."

She was interrupted halfway through her sentence by a sudden ringing of her cell phone.

"I'm going to take this call."

Chen Yaoan opened the door and entered the store, while Xu Jialan answered a phone call outside the door, holding an umbrella.

The call was from Liu Minggan.

He was Xu Qingbang's assistant, had been with him for quite some time, and had developed a relationship with Xu Jialan.

"Uncle Liu."

"Jialan, how have you been over there lately? Are you settling in well?"

"fine."

"That's good."

Liu Minggan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your mother's death anniversary is coming up soon, and I know you'll definitely come back."

Xu Jialan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"You haven't seen your dad in a long time either..." Liu Minggan asked tentatively, speaking cautiously.

"Did he send you to ask this?"

"No, I was just being nosy and asked you."

Xu Jialan gave a mocking smile, wondering if Liu Minggan was too stubborn, still naively trying to mediate the conflict between him and Xu Qingbang after all these years.

"I see."

He abruptly ended the call.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Jialan stood there and finished smoking a cigarette. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out with his toe.

He turned around and tapped on Yuu's glass.

Chen Yaoan raised her head and looked out the window.

Xu Jialan mouthed to her, "He left first," and then pointed to the umbrella in his hand.

For some reason, Xu Jialan seemed much more downcast than before.

Chen Yaoan nodded.

Then, Xu Jialan turned and left.