Chapter 8 I Came to Escape My Bride
Chen Yao'an raised her hand to touch the cup. The water inside was scalding hot, and the glass cup was very hot to the touch, but she didn't feel it as she held the handle.
“I did it on purpose before, but not this time.”
She placed the cup on the table beside her.
Xu Jialan looked at her for a long time, and finally nodded, "I believe you."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a woman rushed in front of him.
He called out, "Xiao Qin, is that you?"
Chen Yao'an reacted quickly, reaching out to pull her back to prevent her from bumping into Xu Jialan, and explained, "Mom, he's not Xiao Qin."
Zhou Yao looked somewhat bewildered, muttering as she asked, "Why isn't he Xiao Qin?"
"Mom, it's really not like that," Chen Yao'an tried to convince her.
Xu Jialan was initially a little confused, but from their conversation and Zhou Yao's expression, he guessed something.
It took Chen Yaoan a lot of effort to coax Zhou Yao back to her room, and she didn't come out for quite a while.
She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, my mom... sometimes mistakes people for others."
Xu Jialan looked at her for a while, and finally only replied, "It's okay."
He didn't ask a single unnecessary question.
Chen Yao'an saw the curiosity in his eyes. She was grateful for his thoughtfulness because she didn't want to expose her family's terrible situation to a stranger.
Yan Shumei, who had been silent until now, suddenly interrupted and asked Xu Jialan, "Would you like to stay for dinner? We'd really appreciate it, even though we don't have anything fancy to offer you."
Chen Yao'an also looked at him, seemingly... not wanting her to stay for dinner.
"Okay," Xu Jialan said, looking at her and readily agreeing.
After a long while, Chen Yaoan finally said, "Then I'll go cook."
She had only taken a few steps when she seemed to remember something and turned back to ask Xu Jialan, "Didn't you say you had something to do at the hospital?"
“It’s nothing urgent, we can do it tomorrow,” Xu Jialan said without hesitation.
A pang of guilt rose in Chen Yao'an's heart; he was probably delayed because he was seeing them off. "I'll be quick."
Yan Shumei invited him to sit down and chatted with him for a few minutes.
Chen Yao'an was indeed quick; she prepared several dishes in a short time and brought them to the table in the courtyard.
The weather and temperature are perfect for eating in the yard right now.
Because Yan Shumei was admitted to the hospital today, Chen Yaoan didn't have time to go to the market, and the vegetables on the table were leftovers from yesterday's market visit.
Xu Jialan helped them a lot today, so these dishes look a bit hastily prepared.
Chen Yaoan looked at the meager dishes on the table and felt a little embarrassed. "I didn't have time to buy groceries today. I'll treat you another day."
“Okay.” Xu Jialan didn’t stand on ceremony with her at all.
The four people sat around the table, and Chen Yaoan ate while taking care of Zhou Yao.
Zhou Yao kept staring at Xu Jialan, seemingly still suspecting that Xu Jialan was Xiao Qin.
Chen Yao'an put food on her plate, saying, "Mom, eat quickly."
"I don't want to eat."
Zhou Yao was unusually restless today. Chen Yaoan said helplessly, "Mom, he's really not Xiao Qin. Can you eat first?"
Zhou Yao seemed to have taken it to heart, "Really not?"
"It's really not."
Yan Shumei sat to the side with a bad expression, glaring at Zhou Yao a few times, but since there were outsiders present, she held back and didn't lash out.
Zhou Yao glanced at Xu Jialan several more times.
Xu Jialan didn't feel uncomfortable with her being looked at. She smiled at her and introduced herself, "Auntie, my name is Xu Jialan."
Zhou Yao finally quieted down, lowered his head to eat, and muttered softly that he wasn't Xiao Qin.
Today, the Chen family's dinner table was unusually noisy. Zhou Yao kept dropping her chopsticks and knocking over her bowls, causing a ruckus several times.
Yan Shumei had a sullen face, and the wrinkles on her face seemed to have deepened.
Finally, unable to resist, he suggested, "Why don't you take her somewhere else to eat?"
Chen Yaoan glanced at her indifferently.
Yan Shumei remained silent, after all, she was the pillar of this family.
The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became tense.
Zhou Yao also keenly noticed that, like a child who had done something wrong, she kept her head down.
Chen Yaoan glanced at Xu Jialan a few times, feeling apologetic. After all, Xu Jialan had helped her family a lot today, and they had invited her to stay for dinner, but she couldn't eat in peace.
"You eat slowly, I'll take my mom inside."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Jialan's chopsticks fell to the ground with a "clatter".
Everyone at the table looked at him.
"Sorry, I often make that mistake too," he said casually, as if he really did.
Chen Yao'an picked up his chopsticks first and handed him a new pair.
Xu Jialan took it, "Thank you, please continue eating."
The group of people started eating again.
Zhou Yao shook off her earlier gloom and looked up at him with a smile.
This unpleasantness was thus let bygones be bygones.
After finishing his meal, Xu Jialan didn't stay long and quickly said goodbye. Chen Yaoan saw him off.
The two walked down the alley. "Thank you for today. I'll treat you to dinner another day."
Xu Jialan smiled but didn't say anything.
After getting into the car, Xu Jialan didn't rush to leave. He rolled down the window, looked at Chen Yaoan, and suddenly said, "You just said you wanted to thank me. I've thought of a good idea."
Chen Yaoan bent down to look at Xu Jialan inside the car, "What method?"
"Why don't you offer yourself to me?"
Chen Yao'an's face froze instantly, and for a moment she didn't know what expression to use to respond to his words.
Under the bright moon and sparse stars, Xu Jialan watched as Chen Yaoan's expression changed again and again, but she couldn't utter a single word.
He finally couldn't help but lean back in his chair and laugh out loud, as if he were having a great time.
"Don't worry, I'm not that shameless. I was just kidding."
Chen Yao'an's expression finally returned to normal.
"I'm leaving."
Xu Jialan quickly started the car and drove off.
The smile on her face hadn't faded yet.
Only after watching the car drive away did Chen Yaoan snap out of Xu Jialan's joke.
As the taillights gradually disappeared, she belatedly tugged at the corners of her mouth.
When Chen Yaoan got home, she realized that she hadn't yet paid Xu Jialan for Yan Shumei's medical expenses.
She picked up her phone, opened his WeChat, and sent him a red envelope.
After waiting for a while, there was no movement from the other side. Chen Yaoan guessed that he was still driving and didn't have time to check his phone, so he stopped paying attention.
The next afternoon, Chen Yaoan received a message on her phone notifying her that her WeChat red envelope had been returned.
She checked Xu Jialan's WeChat and found that he had indeed not accepted the red envelope she sent him; it had been returned by the platform.
Chen Yao'an frowned. Did he not see it or was he deliberately refusing to accept it?
Without much hesitation, Chen Yaoan made a WeChat call to him.
The call was answered quickly, and Xu Jialan's slightly lazy and husky voice came through, "Hello?"
The noise from his end was a bit loud, and Chen Yao'an guessed he was hanging out in some entertainment venue again.
Chen Yao'an went straight to the point, "Why didn't you accept the red envelope I sent you?"
"What?" Xu Jialan didn't hear clearly. "Wait a minute."
Chen Yao'an guessed that he wanted to find a quiet place to talk to her, so she didn't say anything more.
After a brief commotion on Xu Jialan's end, things quieted down, and then he said, "What did you just say? I didn't hear you."
Why didn't you accept the red envelope I sent you?
It took Xu Jialan a while to realize that he had indeed seen the red envelope Chen Yaoan sent him last night, but he only glanced at it before tossing his phone aside.
"Are you being too formal?"
What kind of talk is that? Why are they being so formal?
Before she could speak, Xu Jialan added, "It's not much money. It would make me seem stingy to accept such a small amount."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
They are not the same thing at all.
“It’s your business if you have money, but I will definitely pay back the medical expenses you paid for my grandmother.” Although they are not rich, they cannot spend other people’s money for no reason.
"I'll send it to you later. You must accept it this time, or I'll give it to you personally."
Xu Jialan on the other end of the phone suddenly chuckled, and then his slightly teasing voice came through, "Like I said last night, I think it's more practical for you to repay me with your body."
Hearing this again, Chen Yao'an was much calmer than the night before, but since she wasn't one to joke around, she earnestly advised her, "Can you please stop making jokes like that?"
"Okay, I won't take the money. You didn't say you were going to treat me to a meal."
"We still need to collect the money..."
"Let's eat first."
Chen Yao'an compromised, "Then when do you have time?"
"I'm available anytime."
He may not have much else, but he has plenty of time; otherwise, he wouldn't be so bored as to ask a girl to treat him to a meal.
"Then let's do it tomorrow night."
"good."
-
The two arranged to meet at a Korean-style barbecue restaurant and went there for barbecue that evening.
Chen Yaoan chose the restaurant. She asked Xu Jialan what he wanted to eat, and he said she would choose. So she chose this barbecue restaurant, which was quite famous in the area.
As it was getting dark near the end of the workday, the lights in the shop were turned on.
Chen Yao'an was unpacking her new clothes. She had ordered some new styles a while ago, and they had just arrived today.
She was engrossed in tidying up when the bell hanging at the shop entrance suddenly rang. Thinking it was a customer, she said before even looking up, "Sorry, we're already closed..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Xu Jialan standing at the door. He was dressed in black and exuded a subtle sense of oppression.
Why did you come here?
The two agreed to meet directly at the barbecue restaurant.
Xu Jialan gestured for her to look at the sky outside, "It's going to rain soon, it won't be convenient for you to go by yourself."
Chen Yaoan looked out the window. The dark clouds in the sky pressed down heavily, making the whole world feel oppressive, as if brewing a heavy rain.
No wonder she felt it got dark unusually early today; she was so busy tidying up her clothes that she didn't notice the weather outside at all.
"Thank you for your help. I'll be done in a minute."
As she spoke, she quickened her pace.
"No rush, take your time."
Chen Yao'an quickly finished tidying up the clothes in her hands, then picked up her bag and walked towards him, "Let's go, I'll take care of the rest tomorrow."
"good."
She closed and locked the shop door, and got into the car with Xu Jialan.
Dai County is not big, and the car arrived at the barbecue restaurant in a short time.
The two quickly sat down and ordered their food.
The restaurant was very efficient; the waiters quickly served them their food and lit the fire. Chen Yaoan picked up the tongs, ready to take on the task of grilling the meat that night.
Her hand, which had just reached out to grab the clip, was intercepted halfway, and Xu Jialan took the clip first.
"I'll do it. How can a woman do the grilling?"
He smiled, speaking naturally and without pretense, making one feel that this was the refinement that emanated from his very being, no wonder so many women were attracted to him.
There was a few seconds of silence. Chen Yao'an tried to make conversation, "Mr. Xu, you're not from around here?"
Xu Jialan glanced at her but didn't answer her question immediately. "We're pretty familiar with each other now, why be so polite? Just call me Xu Jialan."
He paused for a moment, then said, "I'm from northern Beijing."
Chen Yao'an was taken aback; she hadn't heard the name "Beijing" in a long time.
Xu Jialan noticed the change in her expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
She snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about my time at university in Beijing."
"So you went to university in northern Beijing. That must be fate."
Chen Yao'an did not deny it. Since returning here, Jingbei seemed to have been cut off from her life, and suddenly mentioning it made her feel somewhat distant.
"Then how did you end up here? Nobody in our small town would even know about us."
Xu Jialan smiled, making no attempt to hide it, "I came here to escape an arranged marriage."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
