Chapter 63 Why did you come back?

Yan Shumei didn't receive a call from Chen Yaoan that evening. At first, she didn't pay much attention, assuming that Chen Yaoan was working overtime at the store again and had probably forgotten.

Even before going to bed, Yan Shumei was still worried, so she called her. The call didn't go through, so she called several more times, but no one answered.

Yan Shumei then panicked, wondering if something had happened.

She was completely flustered and didn't know what to do. In her panic, she thought of Xu Jialan next door.

She got dressed, got out of bed, hung up her cane, and hurried to knock on the door next door.

Fortunately, Xu Jialan had a habit of staying up late and hadn't slept until almost midnight. She got out of bed to open the door and saw Yan Shumei looking anxious.

"What's wrong, Grandma?"

"Yao'an hasn't come back yet, and we can't get through to her on the phone. Could you go check on her?"

Xu Jialan panicked upon hearing this, "She didn't call back?"

"No, she doesn't answer my calls."

"I'll change my clothes and go right away. Grandma, you go back to sleep first."

"well."

Xu Jialan went inside to change her clothes, grabbed her car keys, and came out to find Yan Shumei still waiting at the door.

"Grandma, you go back first. I'll call you when I find her."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Xu Jialan hurriedly responded and ran to get the car.

He couldn't believe she would go somewhere else. Chen Yao'an's life had always been very simple, mostly going between two points: the shop and home. Occasionally she would go to Yinye Bar, but since Yinye was closed, she could only go to the shop.

Xu Jialan headed straight for Youye.

He went to check since the lights weren't on. The shop door was closed, but it was locked from the inside, and she was inside.

He knocked on the door. "Chen Yao'an, are you inside?"

After knocking for a long time without any response, Xu Jialan had to think of another way.

After circling around Youye, Xu Jialan saw Chen Yaoan sitting on the floor inside the studio through the window.

He knocked on the window, "Chen Yao'an, open the door for me."

Hearing the sound, Chen Yaoan turned her head to look, but remained seated.

"Chen Yao'an opened the door for me first. Grandma was worried and asked me to come find you."

Chen Yao'an took these words to heart, and after a long while she got up to open the door for him.

But after opening the door, he ignored him and went back to sit down.

Xu Jialan opened the door and followed behind her, watching her sit down on the floor again.

"The ground is cold."

Chen Yao'an remained unmoved, as if she hadn't seen him at all.

The studio was dark, but she had turned on a small desk lamp beside her, casting a warm, orange glow.

He glanced at the ground, where there was a bottle of red wine and a glass, the glass clearly containing wine.

He took a few steps forward, half-kneeled beside her, his knees only a few centimeters away from the hem of her skirt.

"Why did you drink?" His tone held no blame, only a deep, indulgent affection and concerned inquiry.

She could pretend not to care just now, but his casual word of concern shattered her feigned strength.

Chen Yao'an felt even more upset, as if something was stuck in her chest, with nowhere to vent it, but she could only turn her head and look at him.

In the darkness, her dark eyes seemed to be filled with countless scattered starlight, making him inexplicably uncomfortable.

"I'll take you back."

He reached under her shoulder with one hand and under her knees with the other, easily lifting her up.

Chen Yao'an instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Xu Jialan carried her outside.

The night outside was deep, and the once bustling streets were deserted, with only the cold moonlight shining through.

She looked up at his profile.

He used to always seem so nonchalant, but she rarely sees that now.

All she could think of was his earnest expression—his earnest efforts to salvage her clothes, his diligent help in building her house, and his dedication to picking wildflowers for her on the mountain…

Countless confusions flashed in her eyes.

Should she believe him or not?

As she pondered, her mind became increasingly muddled, so muddled that she was unable to think at all, as if she were trapped in a room and could not get out.

She tried to smash the walls and windows, but nothing worked. This made her increasingly frustrated, and tears of grievance welled up in her eyes.

Why should she be left to suffer alone?

Thinking of this, she opened her mouth and bit his exposed neck hard.

Caught off guard, Xu Jialan hugged him even tighter.

"Hiss~"

Chen Yao'an struggled to get out of his arms, turned around and walked forward, not wanting to go with him.

Ignoring her still-painful neck, Xu Jialan hurriedly locked Youye's door and chased after her, calling out, "Chen Yaoan, wait for me."

The more he said that, the faster she walked, until she started jogging.

She ran and cried, the cold wind blowing into her throat, her stomach churning. Finally, she stopped by the roadside and vomited up all the alcohol she had drunk.

She vomited until tears streamed down her face, like a river bursting its banks.

Xu Jialan finally caught up with her. Seeing her distressed appearance, he felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

To make her feel better, he raised his hand and patted her back.

Chen Yao'an raised her hand and slapped his hand away, her entire body radiating resistance. "Get away!"

He felt somewhat powerless.

I could only look around and find a convenience store to buy her some water.

With all the surrounding shops closed, his gaze fell on a vending machine not far away, and he went over to buy a bottle of water and a pack of tissues.

Chen Yao'an finally vomited everything out of her stomach. Her hair, soaked with sweat, clung to her cheeks, and she looked quite disheveled.

She eventually accepted the water and tissues he offered.

After tidying herself up, Chen Yaoan threw the water and tissues into the trash can and continued walking.

Xu Jialan followed her, "Where are you going?"

There was a hint of anger in his voice.

Chen Yao'an ignored him even more, so he chased after her and grabbed her.

She struggled to shake him off, shouting, "Let go!"

But he wouldn't let go, saying, "Tell me if you're feeling down."

Chen Yao'an tried her best but couldn't break free from him. Finally, she lost all her strength and means and couldn't help but cry out. She pounded on him with both hands, as if she wanted to vent all her dissatisfaction on him.

"Xu Jialan, you bastard!"

Why did you come back?

Large tears fell from her eyes, and Xu Jialan felt as if her throat was blocked, making it difficult for her to make a sound.

"Because I want to come back to you, I want to be with you."

Chen Yao'an finally ran out of strength, stopped what she was doing, and looked up at him.

“But you said you didn’t want to be with me at all,” she vented.

Xu Jialan couldn't recall saying anything for a moment. "When did I say that?"

Chen Yao'an couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

See, this is his true nature.

“When we were in Beijing, you told Xu Yan that you didn’t want to get married or be with me at all,” she reminded him word by word. “You just wanted to maintain an ambiguous relationship with me, without taking responsibility. You would pamper me when you were happy and leave me alone when you were not.”

"This is exactly what you wanted!"

Xu Jialan stood there stunned for a long time before saying, "You heard everything, so you left without saying a word?"

Chen Yao'an wiped away her tears. "So what if it is?"

"Let me explain," he said urgently, stepping forward.

"What's there to explain? Are you going to say that's not what you said?"

Chen Yaoan found his attempt to explain his behavior absurd.

"No, I just wanted to say that you are different from others. I really like you. I didn't see my own heart clearly before. I was a jerk for saying those things."

He suddenly became serious, a stark contrast to his previous carefree attitude, which was quite deceptive.

"Chen Yao'an, I like you, I love you, so I want to be with you forever, then get married, and even grow old together."

Chen Yao'an kept looking into his eyes. His gaze was so sincere that it confused her for a moment, and made her waver.

"How can I trust you? I won't trust you."

She spoke to him, and she spoke to herself.

"I'll make you believe me. Let's put the past behind us, okay? Let's start over from today." He took her hand.

"Xu Jialan, you're no good at all." She shook him off. "I can't trust you."

How could he expect her to trust him?

As Xu Jialan watched her retreating figure, he realized that in his more than twenty years of life, he had never felt such regret.

After taking Chen Yao'an home, Yan Shumei was still awake and waiting at home.

Chen Yao'an explained that she was busy working at the store and forgot the time and didn't check her phone. She told her to go to bed early and went to the bedroom first.

Outside the door, Yan Shumei called out to Xu Jialan, asking directly, "Are you pursuing our Yao'an?"

Xu Jialan didn't intend to hide it, "Yes, Grandma."

"If you stay with Yao'an in the future, do you still plan to go back to Beijing? Or will you stay here?"

Xu Jialan did not answer for a moment; he had indeed not considered this question before.

After a long pause, he said, "For now, I'll probably stay here."

Yan Shumei snorted, "Do you think you can stay here forever?"

After saying that, she walked away, leaning on her cane.

After returning home, Xu Jialan barely slept all night, thinking about how to make Chen Yaoan believe him and the question Yan Shumei had asked him.

He thought about it for two days and finally decided to go back to northern Beijing.

Two days later, he returned from northern Beijing.

Without time to rest, Xu Jialan went to Youye, and as soon as she entered, she grabbed Chen Yaoan and pulled her out without saying a word.

Before Chen Yaoan could react, he dragged her to another place.

Xu Feng Mansion, show flat.

The saleswoman at the sales office led them on a tour of the model apartments.

"This apartment has good ventilation from north to south, with five bedrooms, two living rooms, and three bathrooms."

"Is this the largest apartment type in our community?" Xu Jialan asked.

"Yes, it's the largest in our neighborhood, and it has the best view. Are you satisfied, sir?"

Xu Jialan did not answer, but gestured for her to ask Chen Yaoan for his opinion.

The saleswoman understood immediately and turned to Chen Yao'an, "Ms. Chen, are you satisfied with this apartment layout?"

"It's fine." Chen Yao'an was puzzled. She looked around and didn't find anything she was dissatisfied with, but why ask for her opinion?

"Then let's sign this one."

The saleswoman immediately beamed with joy, "Okay, when can we sign the contract?"

"Sign now."

The salesperson rarely encountered such a straightforward buyer. "Okay, I'll go prepare the contract now. Please wait a moment."

She led them to the waiting area, served them two cups of coffee, and then ran off to prepare the contract.

Chen Yao'an asked him, "Why did you buy a house here?"

"It's nothing, I just remembered and bought it."

"Then why did you drag me here?"

"I'd like to ask for your opinion: did you bring your ID card?"

ID card?

"I should have brought it." She always kept her ID card in her bag. "What's wrong?"

"It's fine as long as you brought it."

Chen Yao'an glanced at him inexplicably, wondering what was wrong with him, but he wouldn't tell her.

Twenty minutes later, the saleswoman came over with the contract and placed it in front of the two of them. "Let me tell you about the things to note first."

"good."

The salesperson finished speaking quickly, afraid that this big client would slip away, and said, "Then let's sign the contract."

Xu Jialan pushed the contract in front of Chen Yaoan, "Sign it."

She signed it?

He's gone mad.

Why should I sign your contract?

"Because the house was bought for you."

Chen Yaoan jumped up and shouted, "Xu Jialan, are you crazy?!"

She turned and left.

Xu Jialan stopped her and pressed her back into her seat, saying, "You have to sign this today, whether you like it or not."

...

That evening, Chen Yao'an stared at the house purchase contract on the table, still somewhat dazed.

The contract was indeed signed at Xu Jialan's request, and she inexplicably acquired a house, which was in a high-end residential area in Dai County.

He paid for it, in full, but the house belongs to her.

Chen Yao'an took a deep breath, her mind a complete mess, impossible to untangle.