Chapter 51 is on the shelf.

On the day Lin Xiangyu left for New York, Xia Qingwan went to see him off at the airport.

I only found out that Qiao Yingxue was there when I arrived at the airport.

In the departure hall lounge, Qiao Yingxue froze on the spot as soon as she saw her.

She couldn't bring herself to do it, but she was genuinely stunned by what had happened before. Feeling uneasy, she didn't know what expression to adopt, and her expression became strange, sometimes fawning, sometimes stiff.

Just as things were at an impasse, Lin Xiangyu stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Since we've just run into each other, why don't you say hello?"

Qiao Yingxue gritted her teeth and forced a resentful smile.

Xia Qingwan didn't speak to her, but only said to Lin Xiangyu, "Remember to let us know you're safe when you land."

"Okay."

Lin Xiangyu smiled and said a few words to her, then noticed Qiao Yingxue standing aside with her arms crossed, looking detached. She said, "What's wrong? Didn't you come to see me off? Don't make yourself unhappy."

Qiao Yingxue snorted and tilted her chin up. "Yeah, who would dare to be unhappy? There's someone you can't afford to offend right here."

“Yingxue,” Lin Xiangyu said seriously, “is it necessary?”

Qiao Yingxue turned and left.

Lin Xiangyu ignored her and sat in the lounge talking with Xia Qingwan for a while.

It was almost time, and Xia Qingwan and Lin Xiangyu walked together toward the security checkpoint.

Standing on the outside of the bustling queue, Lin Xiangyu turned around and said with a smile, "Then I'll be going."

Xia Qingwan nodded.

They had said everything they needed to say, and the two looked at each other, smiling, but neither moved an inch.

Finally, Xia Qingwan stretched out his arms and hugged her, "Take good care of yourself and don't let yourself be wronged."

"Also, I know you've always been very tolerant of your friends and lovers, but sometimes you need to pay more attention to your own feelings."

Lin Xiangyu burst into tears.

Because of Xia Mingzhou and Sheng Junchi, her life took a sharp turn in her senior year.

She didn't like studying and had planned to start working after graduating from college. However, man proposes, God disposes. She left Xia Mingzhou and hurriedly decided to go to New York for graduate studies. Things came one after another, and before she knew it, she had reached this point.

At this moment, she was about to leave all her family and friends and go to a distant foreign country. The feeling of being in a precarious situation suddenly hit her, and all kinds of thoughts flooded her mind, and she was overwhelmed with emotions.

"I will."

Lin Xiangyu wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "Don't worry, just watch me dominate New York."

Xia Qingwan also smiled and nodded in agreement.

Lin Xiangyu looked back three times as she queued up to enter the security checkpoint.

It was not until she passed security and could no longer be seen through the glass that Xia Qingwan adjusted his expression and turned around to walk out.

-

Ye Peixiu noticed that Xia Qingwan had been in low spirits lately.

In his presence, he was no different from before, except that when he was writing alone in the study or reading in the tea room, he would inexplicably space out, staring blankly out the window for several minutes at a time.

When asked, she just smiled and said she was probably tired.

During summer vacation, there are no papers, competitions, or group assignments, so how can you be tired?

It was just an excuse for him.

That day, Ye Peixiu came back from get off work and called her while changing his shoes at the entrance, "Qingwan, I'm back."

There was no response.

Thinking she was in the study, he walked in, took off his suit jacket and threw it on the sofa. As he unbuttoned his cuffs, he vaguely saw a figure in the tea room behind the screen. He took a few steps back, leaned back and turned his head to look over the edge of the screen. In the tea room, Xia Qingwan was holding a cup of tea and staring blankly out the window.

Without disturbing anyone, he placed his cufflinks in the jewelry tray on the other side of the dresser before walking around the screen and coming in. "What's so beautiful?"

Xia Qingwan turned around, her eyes blank at first, "...You're back?" She turned to look at the clock. It was only eight o'clock. She added, "So early today."

She had completely forgotten that Ye Peixiu had told her in the afternoon that he had canceled a social engagement that evening and would be back early. Ye Peixiu didn't bring it up again at this point, he just smiled.

Xia Qingwan answered his original question again, saying, "It's the beginning of autumn, and it feels like the flowers outside are about to fall."

The shadow of the Podocarpus macrophyllus falls on the white wall. At dusk, the air is cool and refreshing, and the leaves rustle softly, hinting at an impending rain.

Ye Peixiu sat down across from her across the coffee table.

She seemed to perk up a bit and said, "I'll make you some tea."

While she was making tea, Ye Peixiu lit a cigarette and kept watching her from across the table.

This was the third time in the past few days that he had caught her quietly lost in thought.

After making some tea, she excitedly asked him how his day was.

Ye Peixiu didn't answer immediately, but just stared at her, "...What's wrong with you lately?"

"Are you tired?"

She used the same excuse she had already used twice.

"Dishonest".

Xia Qingwan didn't buy his accusation, leaning forward slightly. "What? Can't I feel tired?"

"You slept until eleven this morning and ate two meals. What could have tired you out?"

"You are so domineering. Don't you think I can't feel tired if something makes me tired?"

He has a whole repertoire of clever phrases.

Ye Peixiu laughed. He always enjoyed her "quibbling" like this. "...Then tell me, why are you tired?"

"Thinking about the amount of homework I'll have when school starts, I feel tired all of a sudden."

Even after she said that, Ye Peixiu still looked at her quietly, his eyes clearly saying, "You're not being honest."

She tilted her head, her eyes righteous and frank, meaning: What can you do to me?

"come over."

She shook her head.

After waiting a few seconds, she still refused. Ye Peixiu stood up, stubbed out his cigarette, and reached out to her across the coffee table, "Go for a walk."

Xia Qingwan looked up at him, and after a moment she placed her hand in his palm. With his help, she stood up, and the two of them walked down the couch hand in hand, passed the floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, and went to the front yard.

It was an ordinary summer night.

It was a blues hour, and it was about to rain. The air was a little stuffy, and the fish in the pond kept flapping their wings, splashing bursts of water. He and she both thought of the same thing and turned to look at each other.

His eyes held an undisguised depth of meaning.

The two exchanged a glance, then tacitly looked away.

A short while later, Xia Qingwan vaguely sensed that he seemed to be laughing. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed, she took a half step forward and turned her head to question him, but he took the opportunity to put his arm around her shoulder and pull her into his embrace.

In late summer and early autumn, in the elegant Su-style courtyard, the slender bamboos and the thin Taihu stones complement each other, and the fragrance of plants and trees is thick. She and he walked along the path, playing and laughing. Wherever they passed, the ground was covered with fallen petals, which was a sign of early autumn.

The main house and the west building are connected by a winding corridor. Xia Qingwan leaned over the latticed window of the corridor and looked out into the backyard.

In the backyard, a thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, and the serene shadows of green bamboo fell on the white wall, swaying gently in the breeze. The scene was absolutely beautiful. "How can I get there?" Xia Qingwan asked.

"The back door of the study."

"I'm going to take pictures."

She recently started taking photography classes, bought a camera, and whenever she gets tired of reading, she'll fiddle with it for a bit and take a few pictures in a very serious manner.

Ye Peixiu led her to the study, where a terrace was accessible through the back door. He sat down in a chair, lit a cigarette, and watched her explore the different angles with great interest.

Ye Peixiu said, "My angle is great, come and take a picture."

She did as she was told and walked over to try it next to him. She was not satisfied and walked away.

"You just walked such a long way, aren't you tired? Come and rest for a while."

She said, "I need to take some good photos because I have an assignment due this week."

"Someone who makes themselves homework even when they don't have any," Ye Peixiu said with a laugh, "would still find the start of school tiring?"

Unexpectedly, he would come back and bring up this matter at this time. Xia Qingwan paused and complained half-seriously, "Ye Peixiu, you are really hard to get rid of."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

Ye Peixiu laughed, "You've got quite the nerve."

"I know you're amazing, and no one dares to dismiss you," Xia Qingwan said deliberately, "but can't I do the same?"

"You can," Ye Peixiu looked at her quietly, "but I hope you don't."

"What if I insist?"

"I'd be hurt."

She hadn't expected him to be so frank, to be so open about his vulnerability.

I thought that for a man like him, the more carefree he looked, the more likely he would have to swallow his anger.

A powerful man who could call the shots outside was being so open and vulnerable with her at home. Xia Qingwan was overwhelmed. She took two more photos symbolically, then walked back and sat on his lap, saying softly, "...I don't have any worries, but I feel a little melancholy watching Sister Xiang Yu leave Shangjing."

"...Thinking back to your graduation?"

He made a reasonable deduction and continued the conversation.

In fact, it wasn't all about her studies, but more about their future together. Just like what Lin Xiangyu had said to her the night before they left, when he was drunk, "Men like them, we're lucky if we play with them." It was also like Sheng Junchi, who clearly couldn't let go, but even under the influence of alcohol, he still spoke in a carefree manner.

It was all out of necessity.

But since Ye Peixiu speculated so, Xia Qingwan walked down the stairs, lowered his eyes and nodded.

"Isn't it too early? You're only a junior when school starts."

"In the first semester of my junior year, I have to prepare for my postgraduate study," Xia Qingwan raised her head. "It's not as easy as you think."

Ye Peixiu smiled, raised his hand and rubbed her cheek with the back of his fingertips, saying lovingly, "You are really too hardworking."

“There are many smart people, how can I not work hard?” she said. “My future, my future home, I have to earn it myself.”

With such fierce competition, she has to fight her way out and carve out her own niche, which means she has to use all her skills.

Ye Peixiu looked at her quietly without saying a word.

My mind was in turmoil.

After a moment, he smiled slightly and whispered, "It sounds too hard. I can't bear it. I'll give Ye Yuan to you. Come back when you're tired. Okay?"

Xia Qingwan thought he was joking and said, "What use is 'Ye Garden' to me? It's not called 'Xia Garden'."

“Hmm,” Ye Peixiu still smiled, “it seems we need to change its name.”

Judging from his tone, he seemed very serious, as if he really wanted to change her name and give it to her.

Xia Qingwan was stunned for a moment, not sure if he was joking or not, so she shook her head slightly and said with a smile, "I didn't say I wanted it."

Ye Peixiu's eyes darkened slightly, "...Hmm?"

His single-word question confused her even more, so she suppressed her smile and said again, "I don't want it."

These three words were meant to express one's meaning clearly, but when spoken, they carried with them the meaning of drawing a line between the two. Ordinary explanatory words also carried a chilling sword-like aura, killing people without being seen.

She immediately realized this and stopped talking.

But this sudden stop only made the marks more obvious, and the atmosphere immediately became quiet.

A cool, early autumn breeze swept by, carrying a faint, damp, earthy scent in the air; rain was imminent.

There's an ambiguous, hazy, yet bittersweet feeling, like a sour lemon forgotten in a kitchen drawer under the dim light of dusk.

Xia Qingwan, trying to lighten the mood, said half-jokingly, "Don't try to fool me. This place can't be given away; it can only be used, not transferred. Do you think I don't know that?"

Ye Peixiu chuckled ambiguously, "Not only that. The day the Ye family falls from power, the right to use it will also be taken away."

She had already given him a way out, but instead of taking the opportunity, he said something even more serious.

She knew he was angry. He had the temper of a playboy. If he was unhappy, it would be useless to say a few nice words. He wanted to embarrass everyone.

Normally, she's quite good at coaxing people, saying sweet things to him in a soft voice. But in this situation, it's about her "want" and "don't want," about her dignity. She has her own pride and is unwilling to say anything incoherent or against her true feelings just to ease the atmosphere.

With her mind racing, Xia Qingwan could only remain silent and stare at him.

As for Ye Peixiu, he was so much older than her, and he was usually the one who coaxed her. But this time the situation was different. When he said he would give Ye Garden to her, it was a test. After Sheng Junchi and Lin Xiangyu broke up and Lin Xiangyu went to New York, her emotions were not right. He was very anxious and was always afraid that she was thinking of herself because of Lin Xiangyu.

After a thousand thoughts in his mind, he finally said, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm offering you a step, but you're not going to take it?"

Xia Qingwan said.

"Get out, get out now," Ye Peixiu said, then pretended to be puzzled. "But why are you bothering me to condescend to give me a way out?"

"I said something wrong, I'm afraid you'll be unhappy."

"You yourself know that what you said was unpleasant?"

Xia Qingwan felt that she was being led astray by him, that there was a linguistic trap ahead, so she cautiously remained silent.

Ye Peixiu smiled faintly, "Not long ago I said you wouldn't ask me for anything, and now you've gone even further. When I offer you something, you keep saying you don't want it."

She felt the atmosphere lighten again, so she laughed and said, "I don't want your things, okay? You're such a strange person."

Unexpectedly, after she said that, Ye Peixiu suddenly stared at her intently and said, "What I fear most is that you don't want anything."

Xia Qingwan calmed herself down and said softly, "Then you're wrong. I've told you before, I'm greedy, I want everything."

Ye Peixiu sneered, "Send me away?"

"Seriously."

“Alright, then I’ll give you a task,” he stubbed out his cigarette, “…There’s an auction next month, you’ll come with me to take a look, and you have to pick out a few things.”

She had never been to an auction before, so she became interested and asked curiously, "What kind of auction?"

"You'll like it, calligraphy, paintings, and porcelain."

Ye Peixiu patted her waist, signaling her to get up.

"When was it made? From the Ming or Qing dynasty? What if I break something so precious after buying it?"

She followed him into the living room.

He answered her questions one by one, and then said, "If you break it, you'll have to pay me back."

"What a blatant rip-off! Ye Peixiu, how could you be such a villain?"

Unconsciously, she followed him into the master bedroom bathroom.

Didn't you say I was a good person when we first met?

Ye Peixiu tugged at his shirt collar while staring at her.

Xia Qingwan realized he needed to take a shower, so he turned around and started to leave without stopping, but Ye Peixiu grabbed him from behind and pulled him into the shower room.

His shirt was only unbuttoned at the top three buttons before it was soaked through by the shower, revealing the outlines of his chest and back muscles.

As he kissed her, he whispered in her ear, "Do you know what you looked like that day? Soaked to the bone, standing stubbornly in the alley, arguing with me." The usually aloof woman, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice trembling, still stubbornly refused him, calling him Mr. Ye repeatedly, "...came to my house, took a shower, wore my shirt, dangled her legs in front of me, and innocently said I was a good person..."

Xia Qingwan thought hard before realizing what he was talking about.

Xia Changping made things difficult for her, so he took her home to shower and change clothes.

After realizing what was happening, I found it incredible. "...But that day at your house, you didn't even look at me. I thought you were a gentleman, so I didn't think much of it..."

Even when he handed her the shirt, he was very measured and turned half sideways, looking away. She was relieved at that moment.

If you didn't have something to hide, why would you deliberately avoid watching it?

"Then why do you make it sound like I seduced you?"

"No. It's my fault," he muttered, almost wanting to laugh at the memory. "It was because you trusted me so much that you put me on the hook. I'm a vulgar person, but I pretended to be refined and elegant, trying to match my few remaining sentiments with yours and follow your lead."

He never imagined in his life that the first kiss he would give to the person he wanted would be on the forehead. He restrained himself, trying not to go too far.

"You make it sound like you're the one who's been wronged and compromised."

She spoke softly and coquettishly.

Ye Peixiu smiled, "This is the most wonderful experience in my life. I couldn't even dream of something this good." He kissed her earlobe, "Thank you for insisting on being yourself and showing me your precious side that doesn't follow the crowd."

Looking back, it is really commendable. It is rare for a little girl like her to just be herself without caring whether the other party can accept her "elegance".

"Then I should thank you for being a vulgar person?"

These words made Ye Peixiu laugh non-stop, his chest shaking, causing her to tremble as well.

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Author's note: Here's the first chapter.