Chapter 93 Hook His Little Finger
The crowd was still booing.
"The little princess is so generous," the silver-haired man from before suddenly squeezed back into the booth, skillfully livening up the atmosphere, "but buying the waiter drinks is such a waste, he doesn't even understand romance."
He leaned forward, his collar revealing a large area of firm skin, and his fingertips grazing the rim of the cup in an ambiguous manner, "How about I drink it for him?"
The muscles in Xu Jiqing's arms tensed instantly.
The man raised the champagne glass to Su Xia's lips, and the rim of the glass pressed against her lower lip, sinking slightly.
A burst of whistles broke out around her, and the blue light on the center console swept over here, illuminating her ignorantly blinking eyelashes.
She obviously didn't realize what this game was, and she reflexively shrank back and looked in his direction.
There was a sound of shattering glass.
Before Xu Jiqing could react, he had already grabbed Su Xia's wrist, pulled it hard, and walked straight out.
He knocked over a three-tiered champagne tower.
The crowd was stunned. The cold wine soaked Xu Jiqing's shirt and dyed half of his body wet black.
He didn't look back, for fear that her face would show disappointment of "So you are this kind of person too". He just pushed through the crowd roughly, ignored the male public relations' insults and the manager's scolding behind him, and walked out through the long corridor.
It was a warm summer night outside.
They walked through the dark corridor, got off the empty elevator, and Xu Jiqing didn't let go of her hand until they stepped onto the small road on the river bank.
The boy's hands were big, his fingertips were rough and hot, and he held her very tightly.
Su Xia felt a little pain, but her heart couldn't stop beating.
"Xu Jiqing?"
She whispered his name, her breath carrying the sweet scent of peach sparkling wine.
Xu Jiqing said "hmm" but did not stop.
The night wind blew by the river, and all kinds of noises rang in his ears, unable to stop.
Su Xia actually let others feed her alcohol.
How could she? How dare she?
Does she know how many people's lipstick marks those people's hands have left on them?
Do you know what dirty stuff might be in that glass of wine?
Is she...
Have you become accustomed to this kind of occasion, and used to being surrounded by those flashy men and being courted by them?
His heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, and the sour jealousy made his throat bitter.
But why should he care about her?
Who is he? A miserable cripple who can't even save himself, a poor student with nothing.
Even if the waiter's commission was kept extremely low, the ten bottles of wine she opened could still give him several thousand to help him out of his immediate trouble.
It's fine if he's not grateful, but what right does he have to tell her what to do?
Maybe for a young lady like her, this kind of place is just another playground.
She smiled so innocently, so pure, as if she had no idea of the dirtiness and danger here. Or maybe she was so used to it that she didn't care at all.
The night wind blew into the collar of his shirt, calming Xu Jiqing down a bit.
They entered a small alley where the sycamore trees were lush with branches and leaves, and through the gaps was the night sky illuminated by street lights.
Su Xia's hand was still held by him obediently, slender but soft.
Xu Jiqing closed his eyes and felt like he was going crazy.
At the beginning, he just wanted to take her away from there, buy her a bottle of water and send her home. What is he doing now?
He wanted to let her go.
The girl pursed her lips, as if she had made a great decision, and leaned closer to him again. She turned her slender white wrist in his palm and held it carefully.
They were still holding hands, very similar to the time in the small county hospital, yet it seemed like something was different.
The girl's beautiful almond-shaped eyes were drooping, her eyelids flushed like spring cherry blossoms. She would steal a glance at him from time to time, feeling extremely shy. However, her hands were very bold, wrapping around him like little fish, delicately hooking his little finger.
Just holding hands made Xu Jiqing's muscles tense and ache.
It was his healthy, intact left hand.
But it was even more uncontrollable than my right hand, and was as stiff as a rock.
His back was sweating, he tried his best to suppress his emotions, his jaw was clenched, and his face was as cold as ice.
The extravagant hope that I had just suppressed resurfaced in my mind.
He heard himself say, "Do you often go to places like that?"
Su Xia was stunned for a moment, then shook her head violently. "Today is the first time! I won second prize in the cello competition two days ago, and the little sister from the Conservatory of Music insisted on asking me to come and celebrate..."
She bit her lower lip. "I didn't know I was coming here."
Xu Jiqing lowered his eyes and looked at her shadow being embraced by him.
"That silver-haired boy just now..."
"He was the one who came to haunt me. I'm so annoyed," Su Xia interrupted hastily, her cheeks flushed. "I just want to see you."
Her voice became increasingly quiet. "I know you won't accept the money if I give it to you directly, so..."
Su Xia looked up at him.
The boy had been silent for too long, his eyes lowered with an unclear expression.
She swallowed, afraid that her previous actions had made him uncomfortable. She pulled her sweaty hand back and clasped it in front of her. "I'll say a few more words to you and then I'll leave. Really."
The two stood under the tree, the light was soft and dim.
"You..." She blinked, her eyelashes so long that it made people feel soft.
Xu Jiqing waited there almost in despair.
No matter how long it takes to prepare for this moment, it will eventually come. He can probably guess what Su Xia wants to say. Is she trying to ask him why he has fallen into depravity and come to such a place to make quick money, or is she trying to persuade him to turn back from his wrong path out of a sense of justice?
It doesn't matter.
She ended up saying in a small voice, "You look so handsome in this dress."
Xu Jiqing stood there in a daze.
Su Xia stepped on the leaves a few times, with a pair of dimples and shy eyes, "This is the first time I see you wearing formal clothes."
"Has anyone else told you that formal suits and ties look great on you? You look so tall, with long legs and nice shoulders. They put so much effort into dressing up, but they're still not as eye-catching as you. This place doesn't deserve you at all."
Su Xia stood in front of him and took out a huge envelope from her bag. It was so big that it couldn't even be sealed. Inside it was a stack of cash that she had hurriedly put in before going out today.
It was the New Year's money Su Xiaojuan gave her last year.
She didn't bother to count the exact amount, but she had 30,000.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tiny lights, like stars that had been hidden for an entire summer.
"Xu Jiqing," she called him softly, "I'll advance you the tuition fees. Please don't go back to work, okay?"
Xu Jiqing's Adam's apple rolled.
Su Xia had been rejected by him once for the same reason, so this time she came prepared.
She seriously negotiated the price with him, "I won't pay you more. I'll pay you the same as you make as a sparring partner for junior high school students, but I can't pay you less because I'm not very good at math... I'm slow to react in class, and you might get mad at me and end up hurting yourself, which wouldn't be worth it."
"The tutoring class I attended is about to end, and this money was going to be spent anyway, so it doesn't count as extra care for you."
"I want to find a new teacher, but my starting point is too high. Who can be as good as you?"
The ends of her hair brushed against his elbow, itching like a gentle scratch from a feather.
Xu Jiqing suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
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