Chapter 28
Leave my daughter
"I'm back!"
Xu carried the cake in one hand and pushed the door open with the other.
The living room lights were still on. Looking through the entryway, Jiang Fengyi was sitting on the sofa in her pajamas, yawning.
Xu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he ran to her in three steps.
"Are you sleepy?" She placed the cake box on the coffee table in front of Jiang Fengyi. "Why don't you go back to your room and sleep first?"
Jiang Fengyi's gaze fell on the familiar cake box, clearly remembering the cake Xu Que brought back after getting out of the car on the day they got their marriage certificate.
"Didn't you say you brought me a cake?"
Jiang Fengyi leaned forward on the sofa and reached out to unpack the package.
"I'm really hungry, I'll eat first and then go to sleep."
Following her rule of not eating after 8 PM, Jiang Fengyi cut herself a piece of cake. Before she could put down the cake knife, she looked at Xu Que.
"Would you like to have something to eat with me?"
The words "accompany me" were spoken very softly, hidden in the first few syllables, just like Jiang Fengyi's expectation, hidden deep in her heart.
Xu remembered that she was still wearing her outer clothes, and immediately stopped herself from sitting down.
"I'm going to change into my pajamas first." After saying that, she rushed back to her room as quickly as possible.
Jiang Fengyi, left alone in the living room, began to feel uneasy and anxious.
Was she too embarrassed to refuse directly, so she made up an excuse to leave?
Lost in thought,
Xu Que's door opened again, and the culprit that had been occupying Jiang Fengyi's thoughts ran to the sofa and sat down next to her.
He said he wanted to eat cake, but after sitting down, he didn't move and kept staring at Jiang Fengyi.
Feeling uncomfortable under Xu Que's intense gaze, Jiang Fengyi offered, "Shall I cut you a piece?"
"I'd like to try this one you have."
The cunning Xu had already prepared an excuse for herself, even though it was full of holes.
"The piece you have has strawberries on it, so it looks sweeter."
Jiang Fengyi didn't intend to expose her, so she didn't mention that there were other strawberries embedded in the cake. Instead, she handed the cake she had taken a bite of to the other person.
"for you."
Xu took a sip from Jiang Fengyi's fork.
"Mmm, it's really delicious!"
While eating cake, she chatted with Jiang Fengyi: "What did you eat tonight? Was it good?"
"Let me tell you, I went to a factory in the suburbs today. It's really remote there. I had to wait a long time for a taxi driver to accept my fare."
......
Most of the time, Xu was the one talking incessantly, while Jiang Fengyi listened quietly, and the two were exceptionally harmonious.
Xu Que seemed to have endless things to say to Jiang Fengyi, while Jiang Fengyi seemed to have inexhaustible patience with Xu Que.
They're a match made in heaven.
As Xu was recounting his experiences at the prosthetics factory, Jiang Fengyi abruptly asked, "Didn't you eat dinner tonight?"
Xu, who had been talking non-stop, suddenly stopped: "How did you know?"
Jiang Fengyi pointed to the cake in front of her and said, "Even if you like it, you can't eat this much at once."
She almost finished off a four-inch cake.
"Sorry, I promised to bring you cake, but I ate it all."
Jiang Fengyi asked Xu to put down the cake and pulled her into the kitchen.
"Cake can't be a staple food. Auntie made a lot of dumplings last time, so I'll cook some for you to tide you over." She opened the refrigerator door, and the pure white light shone on her face, giving it a soft glow.
The water in the pot was bubbling and boiling, and Xu Que's heart was pounding.
Although Jiang Fengyi couldn't cook, boiling dumplings was very simple and didn't require any cooking skills; all she had to do was wait for the water to boil and then put the dumplings in.
She watched the water in the pot start to bubble before pouring the dumplings in.
The dumplings, fresh from the refrigerator, quickly sank to the bottom. Jiang Fengyi awkwardly stirred them with a ladle, occasionally leaning closer to the pot to check if they were cooked.
Xu leaned against the side, watching Jiang Fengyi's beautiful face appear and disappear in the rising white steam, and was deeply moved.
As the range hood roared to life, she asked herself a question in a low voice.
"Jiang Fengyi, you've been so good to me, have you ever thought that I might be reluctant to leave when the agreement expires?"
Steaming hot dumplings are ready!
Xu sat at the dining table, opened her mouth and took a bite. The warm current flowed down her esophagus into her stomach, bringing comfort to her as she returned home late at night.
Jiang Fengyi sat beside her, her hand supporting her cheek as she tilted her head and watched her eat.
Is it cooked?
Xu Que couldn't even wait to swallow the food in her mouth: "It's cooked! It's especially delicious!" She looked at Xu Que with bright eyes, "Your dumpling-cooking skills are top-notch!"
Jiang Fengyi's eyebrows curved into a smile, her eyes radiating joy. She quickly looked away and said softly, "If you like it, eat more while it's hot."
Xu took a sip of soup and exclaimed, "Home-cooked food is still the best!"
When Xu lowered his head and focused on eating dumplings, Jiang Fengyi's gaze, which had been elsewhere, fell back on him.
The prolonged staring caused Jiang Fengyi to temporarily lose her composure, and she followed her instincts and asked, "So, are you coming back for dinner tomorrow?"
"Auntie said that tomorrow's meal will be plentiful, and it would be a waste if I couldn't finish it all by myself."
Xu had originally planned to visit the next prosthetic limb manufacturing workshop the next day to learn about the situation, but upon hearing this, he immediately changed his plans.
"I'll come back to eat tomorrow!"
The next day
Xu disappeared as soon as it was time to leave work. She went to the flower shop alone to pick up the bouquet she had ordered.
Amidst the lush, dark green foliage, pure white epiphyllum flowers dot the landscape. Layer upon layer of petals unfold and bloom with passion and openness, sprinkled with tiny water droplets.
As Xu Que made the movement of holding the bouquet, the water droplets hanging on the bouquet shimmered with a cold, fragmented light under the lamplight.
The cake she promised to bring to Jiang Fengyi yesterday actually ended up in her own stomach. These flowers were to express her apology. After leaving the flower shop, she went to the cake shop again.
When I came out, I had a box of the same cake as yesterday.
Xu held flowers in one hand and a cake in the other. The thought of having dinner with Jiang Fengyi filled her with uncontrollable joy, which was evident in her eyes.
*
Jiang Xuan checked the time carefully and made sure to arrive at Jiang Fengyi's house just as she was getting off work and returning home. However, since she didn't have a key, she could only wait at the door.
Instead of Jiang Fengyi, she was greeted by a beaming Xu Que.
She demanded sharply, "What are you doing here again!"
Xu, who had just stepped out of the elevator, was startled by the sudden noise and almost dropped the cake in her hand.
"You scared me to death!" Xu took a step back and said matter-of-factly, "Isn't it normal for me to show up at my girlfriend's house?"
"You...you're living together?"
Xu Quexin said, "We not only live together, but we also got our marriage certificate." Respecting her elders, she saw Jiang Xuan's forehead veins bulging with anger and sensibly kept quiet.
"Is there something you need?"
Jiang Xuan glanced at Xu Que a few times, her eyes clearly showing her disapproval. But if she gave him the shares, Jiang Fengyi, who was already difficult to manage, would be even less likely to listen to her.
She simply closed her eyes and pretended not to see it.
Rufei, it's not that Aunt Jiang doesn't want to help you, it's just that this matter isn't so easy to handle.
"When will Jiang Fengyi be back?" she instructed Xu Que. "Open the door first, and we'll go inside and wait."
Xu placed the things in her hands on the shelf in the transition area and crossed her arms over her chest: "Auntie, I think it's fine for us to stand here and wait."
Jiang Xuan felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow it. Birds of a feather flock together; Jiang Fengyi's partner was just as detestable as she was.
She took a deep breath: "Let's talk."
"Let's talk about you, about Jiang Fengyi."
Jiang Xuan found a coffee shop, sat down, and expertly ordered an Americano.
The waiter next to him turned to look at Xu Que.
Xu, who was sitting opposite her, shook her head and told the waiter with a smile, "I don't need it, I'll be leaving in a bit."
She met Jiang Xuan's gaze and said, "Jiang Fengyi will be back soon. Just say what you want to say to me." She didn't voice the unspoken thought, "Don't keep me from getting home for dinner."
Jiang Xuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed intently on Xu Que.
"I really can't see what Jiang Fengyi likes about you?" she said to herself. "Your face? But Rufei is just as good-looking as you."
Xu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Aunt Jiang..."
"Um?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you are very self-centered, and that you don't care at all what the other person asks or says, and only care about expressing your own thoughts?"
"So what?" Jiang Xuan said dismissively. "What others say or ask is not as important as myself. Why should I waste my limited energy on this?"
"It's exhausting communicating with you."
Xu thought for a moment, since she had already offended them, she wasn't afraid to offend them even more severely: "Stubborn and self-centered. Don't you have any friends who tell the truth, only sycophants around you?"
Out of consideration for the fact that the other party was Jiang Fengyi's mother, she kindly advised, "Those who flatter and fawn over you will discard you like trash the day after you are no longer of use to them."
"Shut up!"
Jiang Xuan felt the world quiet down a bit, and she could hear the throbbing in her temples.
He slammed the coffee cup down with a loud thud, and the brown liquid inside splashed outwards from the rim, leaving brown spots.
Is this how your family raised you?
"He has absolutely no manners."
Xu shrugged helplessly: "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, I'm an orphan, I have no family."
"You, you..."
Jiang Xuan was speechless for the first time, pointing at Xu Que and stammering "You...you..." for a long time, unable to think of a rebuttal.
She ordered another coffee and a lemonade for Xu.
She tried her best to suppress her anger and avoid looking at Xu Que's face, lest the anger she had managed to suppress reignite.
"Tell me, what will it take for you to leave Jiang Fengyi?"
Xu's eyes lit up; he never expected that a scene from a TV series would happen to him.
"What?" she asked curiously, "You're going to give me five million to leave your daughter?"
Jiang Xuan rolled her eyes at her: "Have you been watching too many short dramas? You're just throwing around five million?"
Xu, however, discussed the matter with her in a pragmatic manner: "The short drama will be even more exaggerated; it should start with 500 million."
"Don't try to change the subject!" Jiang Xuan steered the conversation back on track. "Just name your terms if you're willing to leave my daughter."
Xu Que leaned back, took a small sip of the lemonade in front of him, and held up five fingers to Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan across from him sneered, "I thought the relationship between you two was so solid."
She glanced at Xu Que disdainfully: "Five million is not out of the question, as long as you promise me that you will never appear in front of Jiang Fengyi again."
"Five hundred million!"
Xu's voice was clear and firm, his tone unwavering.
"I will never leave her."
The next second,
She fainted.
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