Su Zhe looked like a high school student, but Ye Qing had heard Xi Quan mention Su Zhe's age before, and if he went to university, he should have graduated this year.
Because of uncertainty, and because Su Zhe was in poor health, Ye Qing didn't know whether he would continue attending school or not, so she didn't know how to talk to Su Zhe.
The two remained awkwardly silent for a long time. Ye Qing decided to start with the most ordinary and down-to-earth opening line: "Have you eaten yet? Xi Quan went to buy groceries and will be back to cook in a bit. If you haven't eaten, let's eat together later. It's just a simple home-cooked meal."
Ye Qing herself didn't pay attention to what she said, but to others, it sounded just like something the mistress of the house would say.
Su Zhe felt embarrassed after hearing this. "I thought you..." He wanted to say that he thought Ye Qing had left, but then he thought that Xi Quan had done so much for Ye Qing, so how could he let Ye Qing leave? He changed the words he was about to say and said, "I have eaten. I came to see my brother about something. Since he is not here, I will leave first. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
"He'll be back soon, please wait a bit. You're making me feel bad, we're our guests, how can you leave like this?" Ye Qing realized that using dinner as a starting point had caused some misunderstanding.
Upon hearing this, Su Zhe assumed Ye Qing was leaving and became even more anxious: "Don't say that. My brother has finally waited for you to come back. If you leave with the child because of me, I will have even less face to see my brother."
Ye Qing didn't respond. She clearly didn't take Su Zhe's words about Xi Quan finally bringing her back seriously. However, since she wasn't very familiar with Su Zhe, she wouldn't argue with him. She just mechanically curved her lips to indicate that she had heard him.
Although Su Zhe also didn't know Ye Qing well, he could tell from Ye Qing's formulaic smile that Ye Qing didn't seem to take his words seriously.
If it were anyone else, Su Zhe probably wouldn't have explained, but since it concerned Xi Quan, Su Zhe was afraid that Ye Qing might misunderstand something, so he anxiously said to Ye Qing, "It's true, my brother has been looking forward to your return every day. He always says that he was able to survive because of you..."
Because Ye Qing was not familiar with Su Zhe at all and had nothing to talk about, and to avoid the awkwardness of the two staring at each other, Ye Qing smiled and watched the two children playing. Of course, she was also listening to what Su Zhe was saying, but she was actually a little absent-minded.
But after hearing Su Zhe's words, Ye Qing suddenly dropped the building blocks she was holding. She looked at Su Zhe in surprise: "What do you mean by 'he survived back then'..."
“He is…” Su Zhe knew that Xi Quan didn’t want Ye Qing to know, and he had never been in a relationship before, so he wasn’t sure what to do in such a situation. He instinctively felt that Ye Qing should know, but he was also afraid that Xi Quan would find out and be unhappy.
So he hesitated a bit. While he was hesitating, Xi Quan also came back from grocery shopping, carrying large and small bags. He was obviously a little surprised to see Su Zhe there as well.
Su Zhe quickly went to meet him, took the things from Xi Quan's hands, and winked at Xi Quan with his back to Ye Qing.
Xi Quan understood, and after putting the things in the kitchen, he gestured for Su Zhe to go outside and talk.
But the half-finished sentence Su Zhe had just spoken had already piqued Ye Qing's curiosity, making her want to know more.
Although so many years have passed, Ye Qing still has feelings for Xi Quan. And for a normal person, even if the feelings are gone, there would still be a lot of resentment in their heart, and they would wonder why they haven't been in contact at all for so many years.
If Xi Quan were a scumbag, that would be one thing, but he isn't. Although Ye Qing had suspected more than once that something might have happened to Xi Quan, no one mentioned it, so Ye Qing didn't think much of it. Now that someone has finally brought it up, Ye Qing naturally wants to know.
After noticing the exchange of glances between Xi Quan and Su Zhe, Ye Qing said, "Su Zhe, stay for dinner later."
"He only said two sentences, and then he left." Xi Quan heard Ye Qing call out to Su Zhe, and turned to respond to Ye Qing on Su Zhe's behalf.
The more this happened, the more Ye Qing felt there was something going on. She became more and more curious and looked at Xi Quan, who was not backing down at all, and said, "When I came here to find Ranran and Xinxin before, Su Zhe was playing with the two children. To thank him, I treated him to a meal. Is that too much to ask?"
It wasn't excessive, but seeing Su Zhe's nervous appearance, Xi Quan also felt that something was amiss. However, considering Ye Qing's unyielding attitude, Xi Quan really didn't dare to confront Ye Qing head-on before they had reconciled. So, he tacitly agreed to let Su Zhe stay for dinner.
But before that, he went upstairs with Su Zhe to talk.
Ye Qing didn't plan to listen. She was waiting to get the answer from Su Zhe himself, because she could tell that he would easily tell her if she asked him, so there was no need to eavesdrop.
The two came downstairs quickly, acting as if nothing had happened. Su Zhe was playing with the two children, while Xi Quan went to the kitchen to find Ye Qing: "Do you need any help?"
Ye Qing glanced at Xi Quan: "Wash the potatoes."
Being able to stay with Ye Qing, washing potatoes was nothing. Xi Quan started cooking without saying a word. Since he was making beef stew with potatoes for the child, the potatoes didn't need to be shredded, just cut into chunks, so it wasn't too difficult.
However, even though it's not difficult, it's still challenging for Xi Quan, who doesn't cook much.
While busy with her own tasks, Ye Qing would occasionally glance at Xi Quan. Seeing him intently chopping potatoes, Ye Qing asked, "Why haven't you contacted me all these years? Is there some hardship you've been facing? Or have you encountered some trouble?"
"It's nothing serious..." Xi Quan answered subconsciously, but after saying half of it, he belatedly realized what Ye Qing was asking. Xi Quan suddenly stopped what he was doing, stared at Ye Qing for a while, and asked, "Now that you know what happened these past few years, can it ease the tension between us?"
"If you truly have your reasons, then I won't feel so resentful and angry, or perhaps I will..."
"Maybe she'll forgive me because I might be living a miserable life? Or maybe she'll be moved and get back together with me?" Xi Quan interrupted Ye Qing and asked.
Ye Qing shook her head: "Probably not. We've already had so many years of gaps in our relationship, it's better to part ways amicably."
Upon hearing this, Xi Quan put down the knife with a thud. "I don't know how to make it either. You can make it yourself."
After saying that, Xi Quan left the kitchen.
Xi Quan had actually considered telling Ye Qing everything, hoping that Ye Qing might be moved and feel sorry for him, and then reconcile with him. However, Xi Quan didn't want Ye Qing to reconcile with him because of being moved or feeling sorry for him. But Ye Qing said that she wouldn't be moved or feel sorry for him and still wanted to separate from Xi Quan, which made Xi Quan angry again.
He never considered divorce. No matter how difficult it was, even if it meant pursuing Ye Qing all over again, Xi Quan would do it. He hoped that he was with Ye Qing because of feelings, simply because he liked Ye Qing and Ye Qing liked him.
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