Xia Yan returned with a bowl of plain congee about ten minutes later. The two people in the hospital room looked calm as usual. Seeing that her mother seemed slightly better than before, Xia Yan felt relieved and slowly fed her the congee.
Not long after, the doctor came in to check on her and suggested they go home first to let the patient rest more. Xia Yan waited until her mother lay down before leaving the room.
Lu Zhengting drove her back to school.
On the way, Xia Siyue called. "Xia Yan, Dad wants you to come home right now."
It was almost eleven o'clock. Xia Yan knew what this was about—it was about her not bringing Lu Zhengting to the banquet tonight. "It's too late. I just left Mom's place and need to head back to school."
Xia Siyue sneered. "Do you think avoiding tonight means you can avoid tomorrow?"
Holding her phone, Xia Yan recalled how her mother had urged her before she left to look after her younger sister more often. But this sister had never treated her like an older sibling. After a moment, she took a deep breath and said, "Mom suddenly passed out tonight. She just came out of emergency. Go see her tomorrow."
"What's wrong with Mom?" Xia Siyue's tone softened slightly.
"Go see her tomorrow," Xia Yan said, then hung up.
Just then, the car arrived at the school gate.
Xia Yan got out. "Thank you for today, Mr. Lu."
"Wait."
Xia Yan stopped.
Lu Zhengting didn't get out of the car. He sat inside for a few seconds, then looked at her through the window. "Remember your promise to Xiaohan."
Xia Yan: "..."
She had almost forgotten about that. To calm Xiaohan earlier, she seemed to have agreed to make him a cake again tomorrow.
Back in the dorm, her roommates were already asleep.
Over the next few days, Xia Yan couldn't resist Xiaohan's pleading eyes. Whenever she had no classes, she went to the villa to keep him company and make him cakes. Strangely, the Xia family hadn't contacted her at all, and even Xia Siyue was nowhere to be seen.
One weekend.
Xiaohan suddenly came to find her, saying his dad was away on a business trip and wanted her to play with him. Xia Yan had no choice but to take him for a stroll near the school, forgetting that she had promised to attend Lin Xujia's birthday party.
Lin Xuyang called a car and came to pick her up in person. He pointed at Xiaohan in shock. "Why is he here?"
Xia Yan felt helpless. "I have something to do today. How about I take you home first?"
Xiaohan blinked his eyes, looking reluctant. "I don't want to go home. I want to go with you." His mission today was to keep an eye on Yan Jie.
This was Lu Zhengting's son. If anything happened, Xia Yan didn't even want to think about it. She looked at Lin Xujia. "Maybe I won't go today."
"No, you have to come today," Lin Xuyang insisted firmly. He glanced at Xiaohan and gritted his teeth. "Fine, let's just bring him along."
Xiaohan lifted his chin smugly, with a hint of command in his tone. "Let's go."
The three of them got into the car.
Half an hour later, Xia Yan got out holding Xiaohan's hand. Seeing the destination, she felt a bit troubled. It was the famous entertainment district in Ancheng.
This place wasn't suitable for a child.
"Xiaojia, Xiaohan probably can't get in here."
"It's fine, I'll go say something." Lin Xujia promised confidently.
Xiaohan overheard and snorted disdainfully. "What's the big deal? Can't even get into a place like this? Isn't this your Lin family's party?"
Xia Yan rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Where did he learn such a domineering and arrogant tone? Lu Zhengting seemed pretty steady.
Lin Xujia walked over with a smile, said a few words to the doorman, and waved them over.
Xia Yan gripped Xiaohan's hand and warned, "Don't run off. You have to stay with me."
"Don't worry, they're all classmates from our school. It'll be fine." Lin Xujia led them up to the second floor.
"Who's that?" Xia Yan asked nervously, catching a glimpse of a figure passing by in the hallway.
Lin Xuyang looked around. "Who? No one there? Who did you see?"
When Xia Yan looked again, the figure was gone. She shook her head. "Never mind."
Entering the private room, the lights were bright, and there was no noisy chaos as she had imagined. Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on, everyone, let me introduce you. This is my best friend, Xia Yan." Lin Xuyang introduced her to the others.
In her years at university, because of her mother's illness, Xia Yan hadn't made many friends and rarely participated in school activities. So, among the twenty-plus people in the room, she recognized faces but couldn't put names to them. However, because of her striking looks and being a daughter of the Xia family, most people at school knew who she was.
After sitting down, a few male classmates came over to greet her, and some curiously asked about Xiaohan. Xia Yan just smiled and said he was a friend's child.
"Why are you here?" A sudden voice came from beside her—Xia Siyue's.
Xia Yan looked up and saw Xia Siyue standing by the sofa in the corner, staring at her with displeasure.
Xia Siyue glanced at the scene in front of her and curled her lips into a faint smile. "I thought you'd be out on a date with Mr. Lu."