Lu Zhengting's patience was wearing thin, and Xia Yan's stubbornness was about to crumble, but in the end, they couldn't outlast the crowd of onlookers lingering at the school gate. Xia Yan got into the car with a gloomy face, yet she deliberately kept a certain distance from Lu Zhengting. Her posture was extremely rigid, her handbag placed flat on her thighs, hands crossed over it, her gaze fixed on the fleeting scenery and buildings outside the window.
She simply refused to look at Lu Zhengting.
As the road leading away from Jiang University stretched farther, Xia Yan knew the final destination of this route: the Lu residence.
Lu Zhengting stared at Xia Yan's expressionless face, and a flicker of sympathy suddenly stirred in his heart. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, but she flinched abruptly, jerking her shoulder away and shifting to the side.
"Mr. Lu, if you have something to say, say it. Keep your hands to yourself."
"..." Lu Zhengting's face darkened. He had only meant to comfort her, and she was treating it as harassment?
The driver, sensing Lu Zhengting's gloomy mood, didn't dare breathe too loudly and instinctively sped up. He just wanted to get this bickering couple to their destination as quickly as possible.
The Lu residence.
Xia Yan sat in the car, refusing to get out no matter what. Lu Zhengting had no choice but to hoist her over his shoulder again and carry her inside. The vast villa was empty except for the two of them. Xia Yan angrily clenched her fists and pounded them against Lu Zhengting's back, kicking her legs wildly. Suddenly, she froze, her limbs ceasing their struggle.
How dare he! How could he!
Lu Zhengting slapped her on the backside, and when she finally quieted down, he set her down gently on the ground.
"You bastard!"
Lu Zhengting didn't deny it. He suddenly leaned in. "Why didn't you come to me back then?"
"Come to you?" The words slipped out of Xia Yan's mouth. She curled her lips into a faint smile. "What for?"
"Why didn't you come to me?" Lu Zhengting's anger flared at her nonchalant attitude. He leaned closer, but Xia Yan remained motionless, maintaining her original posture, staring at him expressionlessly. After a pause, his slender, well-defined fingers suddenly reached for her neck. "You didn't come to me because you had someone else with you?"
At that, Xia Yan frowned, tilted her head, and sneered, "Are you talking about my mother's matter, Mr. Lu? You're asking why I didn't come to you? But I can't think of a reason to. Why don't you give me one?"
In an instant, Lu Zhengting's expression shifted dramatically at her words. The tenderness in his eyes was now replaced by nothing but sharpness. His gaze was as sinister as a sharp blade, capable of taking a life in an instant. Xia Yan couldn't help but tremble slightly. His hand, still on her neck, slowly moved to her chin.
He had cared for a woman for the first time, lowered himself to show concern for a woman for the first time, only to be treated like this by this reckless woman. How could he not be furious?
"Say that again."
"I can say it as many times as you like. But I'm curious, Mr. Lu—can you really spare the attention to worry about another woman's affairs while you're with your girlfriend? Aren't you afraid she'll get jealous? Or is she generous enough to share a man with other women?"
"Xia Yan, do you even know what you're saying?" Lu Zhengting said coldly.
Xia Yan gave a faint, bitter laugh. "Of course I know what I'm saying." The moment she saw the news, she realized how foolish her call to Lu Zhengting had been. While he was vacationing abroad with his girlfriend, what was she doing? Oh, she was busy handling her mother's funeral. When she heard that icy voice on the phone, what was she doing? She was comforting herself.
She suddenly recalled the time Lu Zhengting had asked her about love and feelings. Back then, she had misread his intentions, mistakenly thinking he was speaking to her. The joy she felt then now seemed like something that could shatter at the slightest touch.
She seemed to understand her own feelings, yet she began to deliberately ignore that sensation.
The day after Xiao Lanzhi's memorial service, major newspapers suddenly broke the news that Lu Zhengting and his long-time secret girlfriend were in the United States, with photos as evidence, showing them following each other. The article described their sweetness, and the photos captured their happiness. It was in that moment that Xia Yan clearly understood her place and dismissed the flutter of feelings she once had for Lu Zhengting.
"Mr. Lu, I'm just an ordinary person. I can't play the love games you people do."
"Are you telling me you like me?" Lu Zhengting said calmly, his eyes fixed on her without blinking. After a pause, as if something occurred to him, he asked tentatively, "You called me."
Xia Yan's expression shifted slightly, and Lu Zhengting knew he was right. But he hadn't received any call from her, and there was no trace of her in his call logs. Could his phone have been tampered with?
"No," Xia Yan denied it outright. Since he had never known, there was no need for him to know now.
"Actually, I was on a business trip to the U.S. those days. I didn't get your call," Lu Zhengting said earnestly, staring at Xia Yan. As the words left his mouth, he paused, surprised at himself for explaining. He didn't know why he felt the need to justify himself to her, only that it was what he most wanted to say. Seeing her furrowed brows and her lack of full belief, he felt a headache coming on. When the news about him meeting a girlfriend in the U.S. broke, he had been busy with a project. The so-called woman in the rumor was actually his mother, so he had let it slide.
He never bothered with rumors about himself, except for the one involving Xia Yan, which he had intervened in.
Xia Yan neither nodded nor shook her head, her face blank. "Oh, I see."
She wouldn't ask, so whatever Lu Zhengting said was fine.
The two stood in the living room, facing off for a long time. Her stubborn, nitpicking nature gave him a headache.
"What about Xiaohan?" Xia Yan deliberately changed the subject. The villa was eerily quiet today, making her uneasy.
"The school organized a summer camp. Xiaohan went along."
Xia Yan let out an "oh." "Then I don't need to come here for a while."
With Xiaohan gone, she had no reason to be here. That was fine by her.
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting frowned. This girl was determined to dig her heels in on this matter. His plan to slowly win her over seemed to be failing.
Seeing Xia Yan's resistance, Lu Zhengting suddenly fixed his gaze on her, his eyes deep and his expression serious. He said softly, "Come into my arms."
Xia Yan stood frozen, staring at him in confusion, unable to guess what he was up to. She instinctively stepped back two paces, cold and guarded. "No."
Without a second thought, Lu Zhengting took a big step forward, ignoring whatever was on her mind, and pulled her into his embrace. His warm, solid hand rested on her head, gently stroking it. Feeling her resistance, he said firmly, "Don't move."
"Lu Zhengting, what are you doing now? My hardest times are over. I'm not sad anymore. You don't need to comfort me, and I don't need your comfort! Do you understand!" Xia Yan buried her face in his chest, speaking indignantly.
"Mm," Lu Zhengting felt the warm dampness seeping through his shirt at his chest. Hearing her words, he knew she was just putting up a tough front.
Xia Yan stifled her sobs. She couldn't deny that Lu Zhengting was acting strangely today, unusually gentle. As she cried, she wiped her tears and snot all over his white shirt. She didn't know why she was crying. She thought she had moved past it, that she wouldn't be sad anymore. But one gesture from Lu Zhengting was enough to make her feel the grief all over again.
"Satisfied?" Lu Zhengting's deep voice rumbled softly above her head. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist. He usually found many feminine habits repulsive, but since it was Xia Yan doing this, he suddenly felt he could accept it.
Xia Yan sniffled, lifted her head, and looked at him with red, swollen eyes. "You did that on purpose!"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting didn't immediately react. Then she added, "I know what you're thinking. You want to find out what my father left me, don't you?"
At her words, Lu Zhengting felt that everything he had just said and done was wasted. In her mind, he had already been pegged as someone approaching her with ulterior motives.
His silence only reinforced her belief. She pulled away from his embrace, sniffled, and the two faced each other in silence.
Xia Yan's stomach growled loudly, breaking the awkward tension. She gave him a sheepish smile and walked to the kitchen. The fridge was always stocked. She grabbed some ingredients and whipped up a simple meal.
After she finished, Xia Yan went to the living room to call Lu Zhengting for dinner, only to find him seemingly asleep on the sofa. She tiptoed over, looking down at him from his brows to his neck. The exhaustion on his face was unmistakable. Xia Yan sighed inwardly. She had managed to stay calm in front of Ye Yunchen, but she couldn't do the same with him.
Regardless of whether things were as Lu Zhengting had said, Xia Yan understood that there was always a chasm between them—or perhaps it was her own cowardice. As she had once said, there were plenty of women who loved Lu Zhengting; she didn't need to join them.
So, naturally, she wouldn't love him.
She stood there watching him for a long time. He looked much more approachable asleep than awake, without the scheming and cunning, without the inscrutability. She had never been able to read his mind, just as she always felt like she was being led around by the nose.
After a moment's thought, Xia Yan decided not to wake him. Spotting a thin blanket nearby, she picked it up and draped it over him. It seemed she would have to eat alone. Just then, Lu Zhengting's phone, resting on the coffee table, suddenly lit up.