Chapter 65 (The saying "He who takes a bribe is bound to be lenient" applies here.)

Xu Yan looked at her inquisitively, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Yao'an quickly shook her head, "It's nothing."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. She stood up to open it, and Xu Jialan stood outside. He asked her, "Shall I take you out to play?"

Xu Yan came; he came looking for you, but you weren't there.

Xu Jialan looked into the room. "Why are you here?"

He entered the room and sat down opposite Xu Yan.

"If I don't come soon, they'll probably forget about me. Why didn't you come to find me when you returned to Beijing? I only heard about it from someone else."

"I've been busy these past few days," he replied dismissively.

"What are you busy with?" Xu Yan asked curiously. "And why did you two come back together?"

He glanced at Chen Yao'an, then turned his gaze to Xu Jialan.

Chen Yaoan glanced at Xu Jialan but didn't say anything, leaving the question to him, since she didn't know how to answer it anyway.

Unexpectedly, Xu Jialan was direct: "What's it to you?"

Xu Yan: "..."

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then let's have dinner together tonight?"

"good."

Xu Yan was hosting again, but this time he didn't choose a high-end restaurant; instead, he chose a down-to-earth private kitchen.

The three of them ate and chatted, and time passed quickly.

After finishing their meal, Xu Yan said goodbye to them: "When are you going back?"

"In a couple of days."

"Then I won't see you off. Remember to contact me next time you're back in Beijing. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye." Chen Yao'an waved to him.

Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps forward, he turned back and said to Xu Jialan, "Oh right, I forgot to give you something."

"What?"

He swung his keys and said, "Come with me to the car."

So the two of them followed.

Xu Yan opened the trunk, took out a box, and handed it to Xu Jialan.

"This is?"

Xu Yanchong raised his chin at him.

Xu Jialan looked down and saw that the transparent box contained an architectural model. His expression immediately became complicated.

"You're willing to sell this? Isn't this your most treasured architectural model? Your mother bought it for you, and I redeemed it for you."

Chen Yaoan suddenly looked up at Xu Jialan, her heart pounding wildly.

He even sold the things his mother bought for him, just to buy her a house?

Xu Jialan hadn't expected Xu Yan to pull this stunt, and turned to look at Chen Yaoan.

Chen Yao'an's expression was complicated for a moment.

However, Xu Jialan was still very grateful to Xu Yan, patting him on the shoulder, "Thanks."

Without saying much, they both understood each other perfectly. "Then I'll be going."

Xu Yan drove away, and the two walked out together.

"I'll call a car." Xu Jialan took out her phone.

Chen Yao'an pressed his hand down, "Let's take a walk."

"Okay." Xu Jialan put away her phone.

The street outside the restaurant was deserted at night, with only cars passing by on the road. The two strolled slowly along the pedestrian walkway.

"Xu Jialan, did you go back to Beijing recently just to sell these things?" Chen Yaoan asked, looking at the box in her hand.

He agreed, "I'll stay in Dai County. These things are useless here, so I might as well sell them all to save space."

"You're even willing to sell the things your mother gave you? Just to buy me a house?"

“What’s wrong with that? These things don’t represent my mom. My mom is in my heart, not in these things.”

Chen Yaoan lowered her head, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. "What you did makes me feel very guilty."

He suddenly stopped, grabbed her, and they faced each other. He looked at her earnestly and said, "Chen Yao'an, you don't need to feel guilty, because I did all of this willingly. You don't need to think too much. You just need to think about whether you really like me and whether you are still willing to believe me this time."

Chen Yaoan lowered her head and spoke after a long while, "Xu Jialan, let's go for a drink, let's go to that quiet bar we went to before."

"……good."

The two went to the bar called Fox Tree again. They hadn't noticed it last time, but this time they did. Chen Yao'an thought it was a very strange name.

Just like last time, the two sat in the corner, but not in the same spot as before.

Having learned from her previous experience, and with the help of Shi Xinyu's usual science popularization, Chen Yaoan was prepared and ordered herself a blue margarita.

Why did you order this?

"Last time Shi Xinyu made me a bitter Margarita, and I wanted to try it to see if it was any different."

"Oh? Then I'll order one to try too."

Midway through the drinking session, Chen Yaoan suddenly remembered something, "Do you remember the last time I came here with you for drinks?"

"Of course I remember."

"Do you know that the last time I brought you here for drinks was to test you?"

Xu Jialan pondered for a moment before replying, "I vaguely sensed something."

"Then why didn't you react at all?"

Speaking of which, Xu Jialan gave a bitter smile, "Back then, I knew I liked you, but for a while I didn't know how to continue the relationship with you."

“It’s true that I like you, but it’s also true that I have no intention of getting married. With the examples of my mother and Xu Qingbang, I feel that all marriages are unreliable. Rather than tormenting each other after marriage, it’s better not to get married.”

"That's what I thought back then, but I don't think that way anymore."

"So what do you think now?" Although she had already guessed it, Chen Yao'an still felt a little uncomfortable when she heard him say it.

He laughed, looking completely content. "Right now, all I know is that if I like a girl, I'll do everything I can to marry her. I don't care about the future."

Chen Yao'an blushed immediately, whether from the wine or from his words, it was unclear.

She couldn't quite describe her feelings, but she felt lightheaded and the wine in her hand tasted delicious, which made her lose control a little.

Finally, she asked Xu Jialan directly, "Xu Jialan, why do I feel a little dizzy?"

Xu Jialan snatched the cup from her hand, stopping her from drinking anymore, "Chen Yaoan, you've had too much to drink."

"Really?" Her cheeks flushed.

Seeing that she was really drunk, Xu Jialan put down her glass, went around to her side, and helped her up. "Let's go back."

Xu Jialan half-carried her out of the fox tree. He wanted to call a car, but Chen Yaoan wouldn't let him.

"I don't want to go back."

He doted on her and went along with her wishes. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I want to walk back with you." She leaned against him, somewhat dependent on him.

Now, Xu Jialan felt that she was being somewhat unreasonable. It turned out that drunk people were so difficult to please. "Do you know how far it is from here to our hotel?"

She suddenly stood on the steps by the roadside, looked him straight in the eye, her eyes hazy with intoxication, and asked him, "How far?"

"It would take about two hours to walk there."

"Oh, that's quite far. I can't walk back." She seemed a little disappointed.

Her emotions came on suddenly, and Xu Jialan said with some emotion, "I remember when I first met you, you didn't drink at all. Who did you learn that from now?"

Chen Yao'an pointed a finger at him, "With you."

"With me?" He found it amusing. "When did I teach you to drink?"

Chen Yao'an thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know."

He never taught her to drink, but almost every time she drank afterward it was because of him, so it was definitely related to him.

It's not that liking someone means you'll pick up their habits.

She suddenly fell silent, her bright eyes fixed on him, and her tone became serious, "Xu Jialan, do you really like me? Do you want to be with me?"

He said almost without hesitation, "Of course, it's not just liking, it's really liking."

He took a step forward, getting closer to her, his voice softening.

She suddenly raised her hands and placed them on his shoulders, leaning her body towards him.

He reached out and supported her waist to prevent her from falling, and then he heard her say, "Xu Jialan, let's be together."

Xu Jialan suddenly froze, then burst into a mixture of surprise and joy, her voice trembling slightly, "Really? You've thought it through?"

He was afraid she was drunk and talking nonsense.

"Of course it's true. I've already taken two houses from you. I'm bound to feel obligated to accept gifts."

Xu Jialan was very dissatisfied with her answer, "Is this why you agreed to be with me?"

"Chen Yao'an, I'm not giving you the house to bribe you, nor to make you agree to be with me out of guilt. I just want to give you a sense of security. Do you understand?"

"So what do you want to hear?" Actually, what she said just now was just a joke.

"I want you to answer according to your heart, whether you like it or not."

There are some things Chen Yao'an wouldn't normally say, but today the alcohol emboldened her, and she wanted to take this opportunity to say them.

"Xu Jialan, I want to be with you because I like you."

His eyelashes trembled violently, then he excitedly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.

Chen Yao'an fell off the steps and snuggled into his arms.

His chest was firm, and she felt safe against it, so she wrapped her arms around his waist in return.

At this moment, under the influence of alcohol, she finally had the courage to bet with him that she was the exception, the perfect outcome.