Chapter 30 I'm hungry

On Sunday morning, Ye Peixiu drove Xia Qingwan to school.

There is a comparative literature lecture today, taught by Professor You of Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

He studied comparative literature in the Chinese Department of Peking University as an undergraduate, so this move is more like a way of giving back to his alma mater after completing his studies, which is different from his other lectures in China.

In the passenger seat, Xia Qingwan opened her backpack and busied herself flipping through documents.

She was a student volunteer in the reception group, responsible for communicating with Professor You's assistant about specific matters before and after the lecture.

While waiting at a red light, Ye Peixiu turned his head to look at her.

Seeing her serious expression, I asked, "Is it quite troublesome?"

“I heard that Professor You is very particular and only drinks hand-drip coffee made from a certain brand and a certain type of bean,” Xia Qingwan said. “We have already sent student volunteers to the Wudaokou branch to buy it.”

Ye Peixiu didn't say anything else, he just reached out and patted her head.

In fact, she knew every word in the document by heart, and had gone through the entire process in her mind countless times. Her feigned busyness was simply out of shyness.

When she got up in the morning, washed up, and walked into the living room, she made eye contact with Ye Peixiu, who was reading a book on the sofa, and blushed bright red.

She didn't even know when Ye Peixiu left the guest room last night.

Ye Peixiu really managed to lull her to sleep. He leaned against the headboard and gently patted her shoulder and back. She lay on him and drifted off to sleep.

That night, she slept better than ever before.

Seeing the two of them like that in the living room, Ye Peixiu laughed and said, "Why are you still wearing pajamas?"

He took her to the guest bedroom and opened the closet, revealing a whole row of women's clothing. Long skirts and trench coats, in black, white, gray, and blue-purple tones, were minimalist and cool, the style she wore every day.

There is no need to ask, he must have prepared it in advance these days.

She changed her clothes, had a simple breakfast, and walked to the entrance with Ye Peixiu, one after the other.

She was already pretending to be calm at that time.

She changed her shoes and said, "Let's go."

Then Ye Peixiu laughed and said, "Are you planning to not look up at me all day?"

She had to look up.

Ye Peixiu carried her to the entryway cabinet, cupped her face, and kissed her deeply.

Perhaps for this reason, her heart is still pounding and hasn't settled down yet.

It's strange, she was so "arrogant" last night, but now that it's broad daylight, her courage has vanished, and she seems ethereal.

As the car pulled up outside the auditorium, Xia Qingwan packed her schoolbag, and Ye Peixiu said, "Remember to eat a good lunch."

"Well," she said, "I'm leaving now."

Ye Peixiu, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the back of her seat, leaned over and said, "Give me a kiss."

She composed herself slightly and turned her face away.

At very close range, Ye Peixiu first kissed the tip of her nose, then moved down and gently kissed her lips.

In a whisper, "Be good, miss me."

After getting off the car and putting the bag on her shoulder, Xia Qingwan patted her face. The cool autumn breeze blowing in her face made her feel the heat on her cheeks even more.

-

Unexpectedly, Professor You was very approachable and spoke with a smile on his face.

Seeing Xia Qingwan talking to his assistant, he smiled and said, "Classmate, what year are you in?"

"Sophomore year."

"Oh," Professor You thought for a moment, "You haven't chosen a major yet?"

"Not yet, we'll choose a specific training direction in our junior year."

Professor You nodded and asked, "Have you made up your mind yet? Which major should you choose?"

“Ancient literature.”

"Well, the competition in this field is very fierce."

Xia Qingwan smiled and said, "Yes."

After the lecture, Xia Qingwan led the way, guiding Professor You and his assistant back to the lounge.

In the lounge, the comparative literature teachers from the Chinese and English departments of Kyoto University were already waiting.

A lively exchange of pleasantries ensued.

After saying they were going to eat, Professor You turned around to look at Xia Qingwan and asked, "Are you guys going together?"

Xia Qingwan shook her head and said with a smile, "We won't go. Professor, enjoy your meal."

The group made way for each other and left the lounge in a grand procession.

At this moment, a classmate whispered to Xia Qingwan, "I heard that Professor You has a lot of scandals at Columbia University."

Xia Qingwan smiled but remained silent.

-

It was already five o'clock when Xia Qingwan finished her work in the afternoon. After packing up her things, she saw a message on her phone that Ye Peixiu had sent her an hour ago:

"When are you done? I'll pick you up for dinner."

Xia Qingwan typed:

"I'll just go home. Grandma Xi said she's going to make a big dinner tonight and asked me to go back."

After a moment, Ye Peixiu replied:

"good."

Xia Qingwan took a taxi back to the compound.

When I got home, Aunt Xiaoxuan was already plating the food.

Although Grandma Xi's leg injury has healed, Xia Qingwan has been busy with his studies recently and has rarely been home. Both elderly people need care, so it was natural for their caregiver, Aunt Xiaoxuan, to stay and help at home, doing some daily nursing work.

Grandma Xi said, "Things haven't been peaceful at home lately, so let's all have a good meal to boost morale."

During the meal, Aunt Xiaoxuan told a lot of jokes.

Finally, while clearing away the dishes, Grandma Xi remembered and said, "Oh right, Mr. Ye came by today."

Xia Qingwan was caught off guard, "...What is he doing here?"

“Oh, it’s all because of the fall I had before,” Grandma Xi said. “He sent Wang Jingzi to call me and said that there are many elderly people in our family, so we need to make some age-friendly modifications in various places.”

“Especially places like bathrooms and kitchens.”

"Today, Mr. Ye brought Wang Jingzi and a designer to my home to inspect the property and take measurements."

Grandma Xi laughed and said, "Your Grandma Liang was joking, saying that Mr. Ye is more devoted to our family than to her."

Xia Qingwan smiled, lowered her eyes and stroked her water glass, without replying.

Xia Huiqing looked out the window without saying a word.

She's been looking worried lately and speaks less than usual.

Xia Qingwan and Grandma Xi both knew perfectly well that the old lady was worried about Xia Changping.

Xia Mingzhou was a restless person; he moved out of the old house after only a few days and returned to his own place.

Xia Huiqing's visit to Mr. Ye was indeed useful. Recently, things have been peaceful at Xia Mingzhou's place; he goes to work as usual every day, and I haven't heard of anything happening.

But there is no reward without merit. Even out of consideration for the favor, I can only ask Mr. Ye for this kind of help once.

If anything happens in the future, it will be difficult to speak up.

After dinner, Xia Qingwan accompanied her grandmother to read for a while in the side hall, and then went upstairs to her room around 7 o'clock.

As soon as she opened the door, before even turning on the main light, she sensed something unusual about the room.

The window was open, and outside was the dim night. The white gauze curtains swayed in the breeze. On her desk by the window, there was a slender-necked jade vase in sky blue, with a bunch of palace lantern lilies inside.

Slender green leaves, beneath which hang small, bright yellow flowers resembling palace lanterns.

The sparse green leaves do not appear crowded, but rather give a feeling of comfort and ease. The bright yellow flowers are a rich splash of color in the field of vision, vigorous and unrestrained.

Standing at the bedroom door and looking out, the scene in front of the window seemed like an oil painting, with a sense of tranquility and eternity.

It was a paradise he gave her.

Xia Qingwan held the door handle and stood at the door for a long time.

He actually used such a valuable antique to arrange flowers for her.

Mr. Ye, who is generous and holds a high position.

She took a shower and read some documents at her desk.

I always catch a glimpse of those bright yellow lights out of the corner of my eye, like lanterns in the thick fog.

We should definitely thank him.

Xia Qingwan closed the book and directly dialed Ye Peixiu's number.

After the call connected, she immediately said, "Thank you for the vase."

Ye Peixiu said, "You're welcome."

He was upright and smiling slightly.

"What are you doing?"

She asked.

"Waiting for your call."

He asked, "Did you think of me today?"

It's more than just "thinking".

He lingered in her mind all day long, unable to be shaken off.

There are so many things to think about, the way he smoked on the low couch in the tea room, the kiss on the bed last night, the kiss at the entrance this morning.

Her heart was completely obsessed with another person. The feeling was very similar to the space drifting she had experienced in the planetarium. It was vast and magnificent, floating in the air and feeling lost, but there was also a strange sense of trembling security.

She didn't say anything.

Ye Peixiu said softly, "I miss you so much."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Qingwan sat in front of the desk for a long time.

So far, in the nearly 20 years of her life, she has actually been looking for a stable home. Losing her parents prematurely has made her subconsciously uneasy and always have a sense of helplessness of drifting.

Therefore, in her host family, she learned to be sensible and discerning, and learned to read people's expressions and be cautious and self-disciplined at an early age; when she returned to the capital, she was very considerate and gentle to her grandmother and Grandma Xi.

Besides being obedient, he is also more strong-willed.

However, as Xia Changping said, the Xia family old house is not her home either.

With such a turbulent and unstable heart, she went around in circles and finally found a sense of security in Ye Peixiu.

She even felt a sense of destiny, that Mr. Ye was a gift from God.

In Earth Online, the official server gave her a time-limited SSR card.

-

The following week, Ye Peixiu went on a business trip to Africa.

Xia Qingwan was busy with her studies and stayed in the library until closing time every day. She hardly met Shi Xiaoyu and Lin Xiangyu anymore, and instead saw her classmates in the project group the most.

Despite being busy all day, I didn't find it unbearable; I just kept counting down the days until Ye Peixiu returned to the country.

She herself hadn't expected that after just a short separation, she would miss him so much.

She gave herself many reasons: after all, it was her first time dating, and the other person was someone like Mr. Ye, so it was normal for her to fall for him.

It rained on Friday night.

The autumn rain is drizzling and the air is cold.

Ye Peixiu sent her a message asking what time she planned to leave the library.

She said, "About nine."

A little after nine o'clock, Xia Qingwan packed up his bag and left the library.

She went downstairs and out of the revolving door, and was about to open an umbrella when she looked up, only to see Ye Peixiu standing next to the Maybach with an umbrella. He was wearing a gun-gray shirt and a thin long coat. He was holding the umbrella and looking at her with a smile.

In the night, it resembled the hazy, distant green mountains.

She paused for a moment, then ran down the steps in the rain and buried herself in his arms.

Ye Peixiu reached out and caught her.

She hugged his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest.

Ye Peixiu touched her head, and his heart was like thunder, with an indescribable pain surging.

She said in a muffled voice, "...I'm hungry."

"Take you to dinner."

After getting in the car, Ye Peixiu pulled her onto his lap and kissed her carefully.

He pulled at her tie while kissing her and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt. After a long while, he finally said in a hoarse voice, "I missed you so much."

Xia Qingwan stared at him without saying a word.

He laughed, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She shook her head, her gaze fixed firmly on his face.

A breathtakingly handsome face, without any trace of fatigue from the journey, only a noble and handsome look.

Ye Peixiu held her lower back with one hand and lowered his head to kiss her again.

A slow kiss, the tenderness after a short separation, and waves of tremors rolling over.

Finally, he brushed his nose against hers and asked, "Come to my place tonight?"

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The author has something to say: It’s coming ah ah ah ah