Chapter 55 Don't you have even the slightest bit of... feeling for me?

On the way, Gao Hou observed Chen Yao'an's expression.

She remained calm after getting on the bus, and nothing seemed amiss.

Are you alright?

Chen Yaoan turned to him and smiled, "I'm fine."

"Did something happen between you and Xu Jialan?" he asked tentatively, since the two of them were fine before they went to Jingbei.

Chen Yao'an repeated the same statement: "It's really nothing."

Gao Hou was half-convinced, but didn't dare to ask any more questions. "That's good then."

After dropping the person off at home, Gao Hou didn't rush to leave. Instead, he got out of the car with Chen Yao'an.

She looked at him.

"I'll go visit Aunt Zhou and Grandma while I'm at it."

She nodded, not wanting to refuse.

The two returned to the Chen family home together and chatted in the living room for a while. Chen Yao'an got up to cook, and Gao Hou followed suit.

She thought he was leaving, but instead she heard him say something.

"My parents aren't home today, can I have a meal at your place?"

Chen Yao'an paused for a moment, then slowly blinked.

Yan Shumei, who was sitting next to her, spoke first, "Why don't you stay and eat? You'll be alone when you go back anyway, so it'll save you the trouble."

Gao Hou happily agreed, "Okay."

He looked at Chen Yao'an and said, "I'll go help you."

Chen Yaoan could only nod, "Okay."

The two went into the kitchen together.

"I'm not very good at cooking, let me prepare the ingredients for you."

"Okay." Chen Yao'an handed him the vegetables she was going to cook today. "These are all. Please pick and wash them for me."

"Okay." Gao Yuan reached out and took it.

Gao Hou is busy with work and doesn't usually do these kinds of chores. He's okay at washing vegetables, but he's a bit rusty at other things.

As Chen Yao'an was flipping through the vegetables, she casually instructed him, "Could you help me slice some ginger? The ginger is in that basket over there."

“Okay.” Gao Hou picked out a piece of ginger, walked to the cutting board, peeled it, sliced ​​it, and then shredded it.

But clearly, Gao Hou didn't know how to slice ginger into thin strips. He was clumsy, as if he had never touched a kitchen knife before, and the ginger strips he cut were simply unsightly.

Gao Hou himself felt a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm not good at cooking. I can't even cut ginger properly."

Chen Yaoan smiled, not taking it seriously at all, and took the kitchen knife from his hand, "I'll do it."

Gao Hourang stepped aside and hurriedly assured him, "Don't worry, I will learn to cook."

"Huh?" Chen Yao'an looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"What I mean is, I want to help you with these things."

Chen Yao'an paused in her chopping, remaining silent for a long time before finally saying, "I don't need anyone to help me with these things; I've gotten used to it over the years."

"I'm sorry, I should have come earlier," Gao Hou said softly.

Chen Yao'an didn't hear clearly, "What did you say?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you're free this weekend. I happen to have one day off this weekend."

Chen Yaoan quickly understood what he meant, "I run my own shop, so I don't have weekends. I have to watch the shop every day, especially on weekends."

“That’s true.” Gao Hou didn’t want to give up. “When are you free? Evenings are fine too. I’d like to invite you to a movie.”

"Gao Hou, I really don't have time." Chen Yao'an's refusal was obvious.

Gao Hou felt somewhat frustrated.

"I see."

The next morning, on her way to work, Chen Yao'an was still worried that Xu Jialan might still be clinging to her. What if he was still waiting for her at the entrance of Youye this morning?

When they were almost at Youye, Chen Yaoan cautiously parked his bike at the entrance of the alley from yesterday and didn't ride any further.

Then look towards the entrance of the gate and the surrounding area.

It was still early, and the area in front of the gate was deserted, without a single person in sight, and Xu Jialan was nowhere to be seen either.

Chen Yaoan breathed a sigh of relief; it was best that he stopped bothering her.

After a peaceful day, when Chen Yaoan returned home in the evening, she felt as if the sky had fallen.

As soon as she entered the door, she saw Xu Jialan sitting in her living room, drinking tea.

Chen Yao'an stood frozen at the door for a few seconds before demanding, "What are you doing here?"

Yan Shumei was somewhat displeased because of her harsh tone, "How dare you speak to me like that?"

Xu Jialan put down her teacup and said matter-of-factly, "I just came back from Beijing, so I should come and see Aunt Zhou and Grandma."

"You're very thoughtful," Yan Shumei said.

Chen Yao'an's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and she stared intently at him.

Xu Jialan was also staring at her.

The atmosphere between the two was tense and hostile.

Yan Shumei was also puzzled. Why did these two children seem so strange after returning from Beijing? She interrupted their staring contest, "Jialan, why don't you stay for dinner tonight? Thank you for taking care of them in Beijing."

Xu Jialan smiled at Yan Shumei and said, "Okay, Grandma."

Chen Yao'an was naturally extremely unwilling, "Grandma, I didn't buy any groceries."

Xu Jialan immediately stood up and said, "I'll go with you to buy it."

"No need." Chen Yaoan turned and left.

Xu Jialan followed.

Chen Yaoan went into the kitchen, and Xu Jialan followed closely behind, but she turned around and closed the door.

Xu Jialan was blocked outside the door. The two stared at each other for a moment, her eyes were frighteningly cold.

Coldness, wanting nothing to do with him.

He felt a tightness in his chest and had no choice but to give up. He turned around, went into the yard, and lit a cigarette for himself, but the smoke was so spicy that it made him feel uncomfortable.

At the dinner table, Xu Jialan had little appetite and put down her chopsticks after a few bites.

Seeing this, Yan Shumei asked him, "Why are you eating so little? Is it not to your liking?"

"No." Xu Jialan glanced at Chen Yaoan subconsciously, but didn't even give him a second glance. "It's just that my stomach suddenly feels a little uncomfortable."

"Oh, then remember to take your medicine."

Xu Jialan agreed.

After dinner, Xu Jialan lingered at the Chen family's house, refusing to leave. Chen Yao'an gradually lost patience with him and directly asked, "Can you leave now?"

Xu Jialan glanced at the time; it was indeed getting late. He didn't want to leave, though. He hadn't said more than a few words to her all night, and perhaps she didn't want to talk to him either.

"If you see me off, I'll leave."

Chen Yao'an glared at him for a long time, and the two were deadlocked. In the end, she gave in and said, "Okay, I'll take you."

Xu Jialan nodded before walking out.

Chen Yaoan escorted him all the way to the street where he parked his car.

"Alright, you can go now."

Xu Jialan stood still, his gaze lingering on her.

Chen Yaoan turned to leave, but Xu Jialan grabbed her arm.

She reflexively turned around and shook off his hand, saying irritably, "Xu Jialan, what exactly do you want?"

"I don't want to do anything," he said in a low voice.

"Then don't come looking for me again. Thank you for helping my family a lot before, but please stay away from me from now on. Our relationship ends here!"

After saying that, she didn't look back and even jogged home.

Xu Jialan remained standing there, a feeling of weakness washing over her.

But he didn't want it to end.

It was summer, but he felt the evening breeze was bone-chillingly cold, so cold that his stomach started to ache.

He sat down on someone's stone steps, lit a cigarette to relieve the pain, but the nicotine didn't work very well.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but his stomach pain didn't subside. He looked towards the alley leading to the Chen family's house, but it was dark and deserted.

He curled up, his stomach pain preventing him from driving, but he eventually made a phone call to Zhang Ting.

Half an hour later, Zhang Ting arrived and saw Xu Jialan sitting crookedly on the stone steps, his hair disheveled by the wind.

Zhang Ting was startled; his current appearance was completely unlike the confident and spirited man he had been before.

Xu Jialan leaned back in the car seat, looking quite uncomfortable.

Should I take you to the hospital?

"No need," Xu Jialan said in a hoarse voice.

Zhang Ting could only send him home.

Halfway there, Zhang Ting couldn't help but ask, "What happened between you and Chen Yao'an?"

Xu Jialan stared out the window with his eyes half-open, looking listless. He guessed that he wasn't feeling unwell, but probably because of Chen Yaoan.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing's wrong, why are you acting like this?"

Xu Jialan finally turned to look at him, "Can't I be like this because my stomach hurts?"

"Sure, of course." However, he figured his stomach pain was most likely caused by Chen Yao'an.

—

Chen Yaoan never expected that Xu Jialan would spend the whole day with her.

From morning to afternoon, his car was parked outside her shop, and he stood there, neither going in nor leaving, as if he were waiting for a rabbit to run into his trap.

Chen Yaoan looked up at the window again.

He was leaning against the car, head down, intently smoking.

Seemingly sensing her gaze, he suddenly looked up at her. She hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to be busy with her work.

Finally, it was time to leave work, but Chen Yaoan found herself in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward.

The moment she steps out of that door, it's like handing meat to his mouth.

However, this kind of dragging on is not a solution.

After much deliberation, Chen Yaoan decided to pack her things and close the door, hoping to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Chen Yaoan quickly and efficiently checked everything that needed to be inspected in the store, then closed and locked the door in one smooth motion.

After she finished, she turned and left, in the opposite direction from him.

As expected, Xu Jialan caught up with him.

"Chen Yao'an." He followed behind her.

Chen Yaoan quickened his pace.

Xu Jialan simply threw away her cigarette, ran up to her, and stopped her, saying, "I have something to tell you."

Chen Yao'an kept her head down, her gaze fixed only on his toes. When she moved to the side, his toes followed her.

After a few rounds, Chen Yao'an finally lost her patience, lifted her foot and stepped on his toes, "Don't follow me!"

Chen Yao'an didn't hold back at all, and Xu Jialan gasped in pain, bending over in agony.

She took the opportunity to walk around him and move forward with decisive steps.

I walked a meter away and heard his voice behind me.

"Chen Yao'an, don't you like me even a little bit?" His voice was hoarse.

Chen Yaoan stopped abruptly, suddenly annoyed. She turned back quickly and walked to face him. "Let me tell you, Xu Jialan, I don't like you at all, not even a little bit!"

Her voice was firm and unwavering.

"I don't believe it."

"Xu Jialan, I don't like you, I even hate you!"

Xu Jialan choked up; he still couldn't believe it, even though he had clearly felt her affection for him before.

Chen Yao'an turned to leave, but Xu Jialan grabbed her, holding on tightly this time, as if afraid she would run away. "Let's make things clear."

“I’ve already made myself very clear, let go of me now.” Chen Yao’an struggled.

Xu Jialan knew she would run away, but she wouldn't let go, pulling her into her arms.

His strong and familiar scent enveloped her, and she panicked a little. She reached out and tried desperately to push him away, but when she found that she couldn't move him, she opened her mouth and bit his shoulder.

Xu Jialan was in pain, but she still wouldn't let go.

She struggled, but all her efforts were in vain.

Finally, having run out of options, she said, "If you keep doing this, I'll call the police and report you for harassment!"

"Okay, you report it." He said indifferently.