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"It is very beautiful."
Xie Zhiyan's voice was very low, as if he were sighing softly: "It's just the two of us here, don't mention anyone else."
Ning Yuxuan subconsciously wanted to say something, but her lips moved and she brushed against the man's fingertips again.
She had no choice but to shut her mouth, silently step back a little, and remove her lips from the man's fingertips.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, but my heart was still beating abnormally fast.
"What are you doing?" Ning Yuxuan looked at Xie Zhiyan accusingly. "Didn't you bring it up first? You're trying to play the victim!"
Xie Zhiyan's eyes flickered slightly.
“I apologize,” he said gently.
Ning Yuxuan was rendered speechless by his sudden apology.
She muttered under her breath, "Could you please stop apologizing every time I'm about to lose my temper?"
Xie Zhiyan: "Why?"
Ning Yuxuan said seriously, "Because it's really uncomfortable to hold back your anger halfway through."
Xie Zhiyan: "Then you continue?"
Ning Yuxuan frowned: "Xie Zhiyan, you—"
She wanted to say, "Don't think I wouldn't dare."
A car drove by, its headlights illuminating half of Xie Zhiyan's face, outlining the man's superior facial features, high nose bridge, and slightly thin lips.
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
"never mind."
Ning Yuxuan uttered two words and turned to walk away.
Xie Zhiyan, with his long legs, caught up in two steps: "Xuanxuan?"
Ning Yuxuan ignored him.
A man's slightly amused voice came from beside me: "The little supermarket over there is still open, want to go over?"
Ning Yuxuan remained silent.
Xie Zhiyan added, "I remember when we were having dinner, you said you wanted to eat mung bean flavored ice cream."
Ning Yuxuan slowed her pace a little.
She did say she wanted to eat it, but there just happened to be none left in the fridge.
“Let’s go,” Xie Zhiyan said. “Let’s buy the ice cream you want, and some other flavors to take home.”
Ning Yuxuan's body finally responded honestly, and she stopped walking.
The small supermarket in the villa area usually closes around 10 o'clock, but you can see the lights are still on from a distance.
Ning Yuxuan slowly said, "I told my mom I'd go back after dropping you off. What if she gets worried if I don't come back for half a day?"
"Then send her a message?" Xie Zhiyan said, "But Aunt Ning already knows about our relationship."
Ning Yuxuan glanced at him: "So what?"
Xie Zhiyan said calmly, "I'm taking my boyfriend home, so it'll be a little slow. I think your aunt will understand."
Ning Yuxuan glanced at him but did not refute him.
Actually, when Ning Fei asked her to take Xie Zhiyan away earlier, she said "no rush," and Ning Yuxuan realized that her mother was implying that she could stay outside a little longer.
A smile flickered in Xie Zhiyan's eyes: "Have you decided what flavor to buy? I remember you said you liked vanilla and chocolate."
Ning Yuxuan bit her lip, strongly suspecting that the man was tempting her with sweets.
She hesitated for a second, then she understood—
No matter what, you can't wrong yourself.
"Let's go!" Ning Yuxuan said, "We'll talk about it when we get there!"
The small supermarket looks close, but it takes three or four minutes to walk there.
As the two walked side by side, Ning Yuxuan suddenly spoke up: "Xie Zhiyan."
The man's voice was deep: "Hmm?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Were you jealous just now?"
This time, Xie Zhiyan didn't reply.
Ning Yuxuan seemed to have caught the man red-handed, stopping in her tracks and staring at him: "Is that right?"
Xie Zhiyan looked at her intently: "If I said yes, would you never mention him again?"
Ning Yuxuan blinked, unwilling to give in to his wish so easily: "That depends on my mood, and besides..."
She scoffed, "I'm so popular, I've had so many relationships. Even if I don't mention that one, there are still two, three, four, five, six, or seven more."
Xie Zhiyan chuckled softly.
Ning Yuxuan squinted at him: "You don't believe me?"
Xie Zhiyan: "No."
The supermarket is right in front of us.
The supermarket was almost empty at this time. The cashier was sitting in front of the counter playing on her phone. She didn't even look up when she heard someone come in and continued playing short videos outside.
Ning Yuxuan took a shopping basket and went to the freezer to pick out items.
Ning Fei controls her sugar intake and doesn't eat ice cream, and Ning Shiyue doesn't really like sweets either. Usually, she's the only one eating ice cream at home.
Ning Yuxuan didn't want to buy too much, but she couldn't bear to part with any of the flavors.
After she had picked and chosen five different flavors of ice cream, she remembered that there was someone standing next to her.
Xie Zhiyan waited patiently by her side the whole time.
Ning Yuxuan pointed to the vanilla ice cream in the corner of the freezer: "Get it for me, the one in the yellow packaging."
She didn't want to crawl down to reach the one hidden in the innermost corner.
Xie Zhiyan did as she asked and took it for her.
The man had long limbs and carried it with great ease.
Xie Zhiyan: "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Ning Yuxuan glanced at him, scanned all the ice cream in the freezer, and thought to herself that it was a pity.
That one was the hardest to reach in the entire freezer.
There were six ice creams in the shopping basket, and Ning Yuxuan was holding a mung bean flavored one.
Ning Yuxuan examined them one by one and said with satisfaction, "I've made my choice."
"Oh, right," she remembered, "do you want some?"
Xie Zhiyan's brow twitched slightly, and then he took out a mung bean popsicle from the freezer that was exactly the same as the one in her hand.
Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
She asked casually, assuming Xie Zhiyan would definitely refuse: he didn't seem like the type of person who would like sweets.
Seeing the packaging bag in Xie Zhiyan's hand, Ning Yuxuan finally couldn't help but ask him, "Do you want to eat the same thing as me?"
Xie Zhiyan said leisurely, "I want to try the mung bean ice cream that you've been longing for, and see what it tastes like."
Ning Yuxuan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Xie Zhiyan: "What's wrong?"
Ning Yuxuan: "...Never mind, it's nothing."
She recalled that when she was in school, she and Tao You often went to the school store to buy popsicles.
But each time they would buy different flavors, so that they could easily exchange and try them.
It's the same when buying milk tea; we'll take turns tasting the other person's cup.
When Ning Yuxuan saw that Xie Zhiyan had the same popsicle as her, she instinctively wanted Xie Zhiyan to switch to another one so that they could share.
However, she quickly realized that she and Xie Zhiyan were not yet that close.
"Shall we go?" Ning Yuxuan pointed to the shopping basket. "Let's go check out."
Xie Zhiyan took the shopping basket and went to the cashier to pay.
The cashier put the ice cream into a plastic bag, which Xie Zhiyan took and gestured to Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan then unceremoniously let him take the bags while she tore open the packaging and walked out of the supermarket.
She took a bite, and it still tasted the same as she liked.
Xie Zhiyan also tore open the packaging and took a bite.
Ning Yuxuan turned to look at him: "How is it? Isn't it delicious?"
Xie Zhiyan hummed in agreement.
Ning Yuxuan was dissatisfied: "That's it?"
Xie Zhiyan smiled and said, "It's delicious."
Ning Yuxuan: "That's more like it."
The density of residents in the villa area is not high; only one car passes by occasionally.
The two of them, each holding an ice cream cone, walked along the tree-lined path.
In the quiet night, Ning Yuxuan could hear the soft, rustling sound of herself chewing ice cream.
Looking at the shadows of the two people under the streetlights, Ning Yuxuan suddenly had a strange feeling, as if she had returned to her college days.
Back then, she and Tao You would often walk like this on the tree-lined paths of the school.
My thoughts drifted away.
To be honest, if Ning Yuxuan thinks about it rationally, her college life doesn't really have anything particularly memorable.
Aside from having a few more suitors, she lived a very ordinary life, attending classes every day, completing her coursework, and occasionally going out with friends.
Moreover, she had already fallen in love with Gu Yunhao at that time, but because their schools were in different parts of the city, she could only visit Gu Yunhao's school once a week at most.
Those days of being controlled by "God" and infatuated with Gu Yunhao shouldn't be something she should miss.
But looking back now, Ning Yuxuan still feels that that time was wonderful.
For example, on nights when there are no early classes the next day, the four girls in the dormitory can chatter away until two or three in the morning.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Zhiyan's voice rang in her ears: "Xuanxuan?"
Ning Yuxuan snapped out of her daze: "Hmm?"
Xie Zhiyan's tone was somewhat helpless: "We're home."
Ning Yuxuan looked up in surprise and realized that they had unknowingly arrived at her front door.
Because she was almost completely distracted the whole way, she didn't eat much of the popsicle in her hand, and there was still more than half left.
Fortunately, the mung bean ice cream wasn't the kind that melts easily, and her hands remained dry.
Ning Yuxuan glanced at the man beside her.
While she was lost in thought, Xie Zhiyan quietly accompanied her all the way back without asking any questions.
Ning Yuxuan looked down at the plastic bag Xie Zhiyan was holding.
Xie Zhiyan: "Go open the door, I'll help you take it inside."
Ning Yuxuan thought for a moment and said, "Okay."
She held an ice pop in one hand and opened the door with the other.
As soon as I pushed open the door, a voice came from inside: "You're back?"
Then came a series of footsteps. Ning Fei walked over and paused for a moment when she saw Xie Zhiyan behind Ning Yuxuan: "Zhiyan?"
Xie Zhiyan explained with a faint smile, "I went with Xuanxuan to buy some ice cream. It was inconvenient for her to carry it by herself, so I came along."
Ning Yuxuan was also surprised that Ning Fei hadn't gone back to her room to rest yet: "Mom, haven't you gone to wash up yet?"
Ning Fei glanced between her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, then shook her head slightly: "Not yet, we're just about to go."
Then she said to Xie Zhiyan, "Give it to me, I'll put it in the refrigerator."
Taking the plastic bag, Ning Fei gave her daughter a look: "Xuanxuan, then you take Zhiyan to the garage."
Ning Yuxuan: "...Oh."
Originally, when she came out of the supermarket, she planned to part ways with Xie Zhiyan in the garage and bring the ice cream back by herself.
Unexpectedly, I was distracted for a moment and ended up back with Xie Zhiyan.
Ning Fei took the ice cream the two of them had bought to the restaurant.
Ning Yuxuan, with an ice pop in her mouth, closed the door behind her.
“Now that’s great.” Ning Yuxuan complained softly to Xie Zhiyan, “My mother will probably really think that we are a couple deeply in love, and that we have to walk back and forth to see someone off, so reluctant to part.”
Xie Zhiyan said calmly, "Then Aunt Ning shouldn't suspect our relationship anymore."
Ning Yuxuan took a bite of ice cream and contradicted him: "That's not necessarily true. They might think we're being too pretentious and suspicious. After all, you're almost thirty and I'm almost twenty-five."
Xie Zhiyan's eyebrows twitched slightly: "What?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Staying together for half a day at the entrance of the building and refusing to leave is something only college student couples do."
Remembering how there used to be couples embracing each other at the dormitory entrance when she returned, she couldn't help but hiss.
“However…” Ning Yuxuan suddenly remembered Xie Zhiyan’s seemingly jealous reaction at the door earlier.
She suddenly regretted not looking more closely earlier and wanted to see the man's jealous expression again.
So they called him by his name: "Xie Zhiyan".
"Um?"
Ning Yuxuan deliberately tilted her head up to look at Xie Zhiyan: "Back in the day, I was also one of the many couples hugging and cuddling at the dormitory entrance."
Xie Zhiyan met her gaze calmly and said, "Is that so?"
Ning Yuxuan nodded without blushing or skipping a beat: "Yes, didn't I tell you that I've dated two, three, four, five... anyway, quite a few boyfriends!"
"Oh?" Xie Zhiyan said leisurely, "I'd like to hear the details."
Ning Yuxuan observed Xie Zhiyan's expression, trying to find a trace of jealousy in it.
But this time, the man's expression was unusually calm; his deep black eyes were as still as a deep well, showing no sign of emotion whatsoever.
Ning Yuxuan refused to admit defeat and decided to intensify her efforts.
"For example..." Ning Yuxuan made up a story while thinking, "My first boyfriend was from a different college than me, but whenever he didn't have classes, he would accompany me to audit classes in our college, and he never missed a class!"
At this point, Ning Yuxuan carefully observed Xie Zhiyan's expression under the streetlight.
He remained calm and composed.
Seeing that she had stopped talking, he even had the leisure to ask, "Don't you often skip your 8 a.m. class? What about your boyfriend then? Does he have to attend the class alone?"
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
How does this man know everything?
Ning Yuxuan cleared her throat: "When I said I never miss a class, I meant when I also go to class. He only audited the classes because of me. If I didn't go, he definitely wouldn't go either."
Xie Zhiyan gave a faint "Oh," seemingly lost in thought.
To avoid being exposed if she continued making up a story, Ning Yuxuan decided to change her "boyfriend" to tell the story.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Yuxuan spoke again: "There's another one who's also very good to me. He comes to my dorm every morning to bring me breakfast, rain or shine!"
Xie Zhiyan said casually, "You like sleeping in so much, do you even have time for breakfast?"
Ning Yuxuan was speechless for a second before retorting, "There's still time! Besides... besides, I can take it and eat it in the classroom!"
Xie Zhiyan's voice seemed to carry a hint of amusement: "Won't your boyfriend, who's accompanying you to class, notice?"
Ning Yuxuan: "He...he doesn't..."
After thinking for two seconds, Ning Yuxuan realized that she had been led into a trap by Xie Zhiyan.
Ning Yuxuan glared at Xie Zhiyan: "What do you mean, 'Won't we be found out?' I'm not dating two people at the same time!"
Xie Zhiyan chuckled softly, "Mm."
Ning Yuxuan: "What are you laughing at?"
Xie Zhiyan responded casually, "I just think it must be tough for you to date so many boyfriends during your four years of college."
Ning Yuxuan understood his implication and took a big bite of her ice cream: "Don't you believe me?"
Xie Zhiyan looked at her noncommittally.
Ning Yuxuan frowned: "Why don't you believe me? I'm so pretty, can't I have a few boyfriends?"
Although those were all made-up boyfriends, the specific details weren't entirely fabricated.
The boys who pursued her did indeed do similar things, such as accompanying her to class or buying her breakfast.
Of course, Tao You warned the male classmate who insisted on attending class with her, saying that if he continued, she would tell his counselor, so the male classmate didn't dare to come anymore.
As for the person who delivered breakfast, Ning Yuxuan really couldn't get up, and after ignoring him a few times, that person stopped delivering.
Ning Yuxuan raised her head defiantly and stared at Xie Zhiyan.
A gust of wind blew by, lifting her hair, and a few strands floated up and stuck to the popsicle.
Just as Ning Yuxuan was about to reach out to fiddle with it, Xie Zhiyan beat her to it.
The man raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen beside her cheek behind her ear.
His fingers brushed against her cheek unintentionally, making her feel a little ticklish.
Ning Yuxuan resisted the urge to move.
When Xie Zhiyan touched her lips earlier, she didn't react for a moment and lost her momentum.
This time, she refrained from dodging and met Xie Zhiyan's gaze with a calm expression.
At least on the surface, they appear calm.
As for whether his heartbeat is fast or not, he can't hear it anyway.
Xie Zhiyan suddenly spoke up: "It is very beautiful."
Ning Yuxuan was stunned.
The man's voice sounded a little hoarse, as if a feather had brushed past her ear.
She realized that Xie Zhiyan was responding to her statement, "I'm so pretty, can't I have more boyfriends?"
Ning Yuxuan's eyes flickered for a moment: "I know."
Xie Zhiyan smiled.
After a moment, he spoke, his voice deep and pleasant: "Xuanxuan, didn't you ask me before what Aunt Ning and I talked about for so long?"
Ning Yuxuan was a beat slow on the uptake, and it took her a second to realize what he was saying.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Didn't you already answer me?"
Xie Zhiyan said calmly, "Yes, Aunt Ning told me to be more accommodating and coax you more often."
Ning Yuxuan didn't understand why Xie Zhiyan suddenly brought this up, but she still said, "That's right, you should treat me better."
Xie Zhiyan: "Auntie also said that although you have had many suitors since you were young, you have only been in one relationship, and that person was not good to you. So you may not know how to get along with your boyfriend and may feel insecure. She told me to be more tolerant of you and not to argue with you."
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
Before she and her mother became estranged because of Gu Yunhao, she never hid anything from her mother. When she received her first love letter, she happily shared it with her mother.
Therefore, Ning Fei knew all about her "romantic history," knowing that she had never had a boy she liked when she was in middle school, and that she had never been interested in any of her suitors when she went to college.
So she had already been sold out by her own mother, and Xie Zhiyan saw through all the lies she had just made up.
After realizing this, Ning Yuxuan felt her cheeks burning.
She forced herself to say, "I might not tell my mom if I'm dating someone. There are a lot of things she doesn't know."
Xie Zhiyan: "Really?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Of course!"
Xie Zhiyan looked at her meaningfully: "I thought you were making up a story on purpose to make me jealous."
Ning Yuxuan bit her lip.
Even if she was exposed, she didn't want to admit it.
Ning Yuxuan countered, "Then were you jealous?"
Xie Zhiyan smiled faintly: "A little."
Ning Yuxuan snorted.
Nobody would believe him.
Judging from his expression just now, he was clearly completely unmoved, showing no sign of jealousy whatsoever.
If she had known that her mother had already told Xie Zhiyan everything about her romantic history, she wouldn't have bothered to make up so many "boyfriends".
Ning Yuxuan glanced at her watch.
We went to the supermarket, bought ice cream, and chatted for ages about this and that, until it was almost 10 o'clock.
Ning Fei is very sensitive to sound, and going back too late will disturb her rest.
Seeing her movements, Xie Zhiyan said, "It's getting late, I'm going back now. I'll come pick you up again on Friday to see my mother."
Ning Yuxuan nodded: "Mm."
Although they said goodbye, neither of them moved.
Xie Zhiyan looked at her, something seemed to be surging in his eyes.
For a fleeting second, Ning Yuxuan felt that he seemed to want to hug her, or perhaps he wanted to do more of the things couples do.
Just like the men and women she used to encounter downstairs in the girls' dormitory.
In the end, Xie Zhiyan simply moved closer and gently brushed aside the strands of hair that had been ruffled by the wind.
A kiss landed on her forehead, just like before.
This time, however, the man's lips lingered on her skin longer.
There was enough time before she could easily dodge it, even if her reaction was slow.
Ning Yuxuan did not dodge, but gently closed her eyes.
"Good night," Xie Zhiyan said in a deep voice.
...
When she got home, Ning Yuxuan changed her shoes very quietly at the door, afraid of disturbing Ning Fei.
Even if Ning Fei wasn't asleep by now, she should already be in bed.
However, as Ning Yuxuan tiptoed upstairs, her mother's bedroom door suddenly opened.
Ning Fei, wearing her pajamas, looked at her daughter teasingly: "So you've finally decided to come back?"
Ning Yuxuan was startled: "Mom!"
Ning Fei couldn't stop smiling as she pointed to the wall clock: "You've been outside for a full half hour."
Ning Yuxuan explained, "That's because we went to the supermarket. I spent a long time choosing ice cream, and the trip there and back also took time—"
Ning Fei laughed: "Alright, alright, Mom isn't blaming you. On the contrary, seeing you like this makes Mom very happy."
Seeing her daughter happy made her happy too.
Ning Yuxuan tugged at Ning Fei's arm: "Mom, you still have to talk! When you were chatting with Xie Zhiyan in the living room earlier, you practically sold out your daughter!"
Ning Fei asked with a smile, "Why did Mom sell you?"
Ning Yuxuan complained, "Why did you have to tell him that I've only been in one relationship? I just told Xie Zhiyan that I've had many boyfriends, and he found out right away."
Ning Fei found it both funny and annoying: "When other people are dating, they try to downplay their exes, why are you deliberately exaggerating?"
Ning Yuxuan spoke eloquently: "I want him to realize how charming I am, so that he will cherish me!"
Ning Fei smiled and shook her head: "Silly girl. Okay, then Mom won't talk to Zhiyan about you anymore, okay?"
Ning Yuxuan wasn't really blaming Ning Fei; she was just complaining to her mother in a spoiled manner.
She nodded: "Okay. Mom, you should go and get some rest, it's so late."
After saying goodnight to Ning Fei, Ning Yuxuan returned to her room.
After taking a shower and lying in bed, Ning Yuxuan unconsciously recalled the look Xie Zhiyan had given her that night.
She inexplicably felt that the way the man looked at her at the end was as if he were looking at a fragile object.
Even that kiss on the forehead was a little too gentle, to the point that it seemed somewhat cautious.
Was he afraid she would get angry?
Ning Yuxuan reflected on how their relationship had developed to this point, trying to find the reason.
As she thought about it, she suddenly realized that she had almost no secrets left from him:
From the number of boyfriends she's had to her favorite ice cream flavor.
He knew her inside and out, but she knew nothing about him.
Ning Yuxuan originally thought she didn't care, that their marriage was just a contractual marriage of convenience, and that he had been with several women but none of them had anything to do with her.
But now, Ning Yuxuan felt very unconvinced.
The clock had already struck eleven, but Ning Yuxuan still couldn't resist taking out her phone and finding Xie Zhiyan's profile picture.
Ning Yuxuan: [You still haven't told me how many girlfriends you've had?]
Ning Yuxuan pressed the send button on impulse and immediately regretted it.
She should ask him something another time; asking him this so late makes it seem like she cares about him a lot.
Thinking of this, Ning Yuxuan long-pressed the message and clicked "recall".
Xie Zhiyan is so busy, he would definitely rest as soon as he gets home, and wouldn't be glued to his phone.
Thinking this, Ning Yuxuan locked her phone.
The next second the phone rang, and a voice call popped up.
Ning Yuxuan was so startled that she almost jumped out of bed.
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