Chapter 92 - 89: Take His Arm

Chapter 92: Chapter 89: Take His Arm

The girl, her face beet red, waved her hands. She was so nervous that even her voice trembled.

"I-I’m the one who should be sorry."

Xiao Ran swallowed, desperately trying to find a topic to end the awkwardness.

"Um, right, let’s go shopping this afternoon. My mom came all this way and hasn’t had a chance to go out and look around yet."

He was trying to get their conversation back to how it was before.

’After all, that was so unexpected,’ he thought. ’Even I’m not sure what to do now.’

Yan Xici kept her head down, her eyes filled with unease.

"Oh, oh, that’s... that’s kind of sudden."

"Yeah, she’s probably worried about my dad," Xiao Ran continued.

To be honest, he knew all about his parents’ relationship. People always say that children are the most important thing to their parents.

Xiao Ran felt that wasn’t true at all.

They were true loves, and he was just the accident.

Changing the subject was indeed a good way to deal with unexpected awkwardness.

Yan Xici’s anxious mind had already started thinking about Qiu Yuru’s departure.

After spending the last two days with her, she felt that Auntie was a truly wonderful person, especially after she had taught her so many little tips yesterday.

She hadn’t even had a chance to thank her yet. Now that she was leaving, Yan Xici was truly reluctant to see her go.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Uncle and Auntie’s relationship is so good it’s enviable."

She had heard it with her own ears last night.

’That kind of love,’ she thought, ’is perfect.’

The distance between home and school was short, so it wasn’t long before they arrived at their stop.

As the bus slowly came to a halt, the girl stood up, and the two of them made their way to the back.

Xiao Ran, afraid she would get wet, held the umbrella tightly, ready to open it the moment they stepped off.

The bus stop was very close to home; they could see their residential complex as soon as they got off.

Because of the sudden awkwardness from before, the girl was too embarrassed to link her arm with Xiao Ran’s again. She just kept her head down, inching her body slightly closer to him.

Xiao Ran played along, making sure not to step outside the umbrella’s cover. ...

The two of them walked along the sidewalk into the complex, continuing all the way to their front door.

Neither of them spoke again, each lost in their own thoughts.

It wasn’t until they reached their door that the girl reluctantly moved away from him.

Xiao Ran closed the umbrella and walked to the door, expertly keying in the password.

By now, Qiu Yuru had already finished cooking. It was a simple meal; since it was raining, she hadn’t gone out for groceries, just buying a block of tofu and some green vegetables at the complex entrance.

After eating, the three of them went to their respective rooms to rest.

A rainy summer day was as pleasant as a sunny winter day.

Especially after a meal, being able to take a nap in this kind of weather made one feel exceptionally blissful.

It wasn’t long after lying down that the girl drifted off into a deep sleep.

Because of the rain, she, who already had the habit of taking an afternoon nap, slept even more soundly, accidentally sleeping straight through till the afternoon.

Although Xiao Ran was also in his room to sleep, he hadn’t actually fallen asleep. His mind uncontrollably began to ponder his relationship with the girl.

From last night until now, he was especially certain that the feeling of wanting to be with her was growing stronger and stronger.

This also made Xiao Ran very anxious.

In his heart, he actually felt she deserved someone better than him.

But love was sometimes a very unreasonable thing. It didn’t care whether you were a good match or not.

It came when it wanted, controlled your emotions, and forced your reason and feelings into a constant battle.

At this moment, Xiao Ran finally had a bold idea. ’Why not give it a try?’

’If she likes me too.’

’If she really does like me too, then giving it a try isn’t out of the question.’

’After all, a girl this wonderful is hard to refuse.’

’But does she truly like me, or is it just the inevitable spark that comes from living together?’

He couldn’t say for sure.

He sighed. ’Forget it. I’ll just check the stats for my new book.’

’Work is so much simpler than love.’

With that thought, he logged into his author dashboard on his phone. Dozens of new comments greeted him, and he decisively clicked on them.

I’m Speechless: How do you have the nerve to write a book like this?

You’re Sick: The author is definitely messed up in the head.

No No No: The barrier to entry for writing books is getting lower and lower. Anyone with a warped worldview can become an author now.

Xiao Ran frowned.

He continued scrolling down.

To his surprise, out of more than a dozen comments, basically all of them were flaming him.

Except for the occasional positive review mixed in.

To be honest, comments could really mess with your head.

Some people’s words were truly harsh.

It wasn’t that Xiao Ran couldn’t take criticism. After being an author for so many years, what kind of trolls hadn’t he seen?

But this was the first time he’d experienced a group attack like this.

He even began to wonder if he’d chosen the wrong genre.

Or perhaps, there really was something wrong with his ideas.

Fortunately, his stats hadn’t fluctuated. Even though the comments were full of insults, many people were still reading. The only real measure of a book was its data.

...

After a long nap, the girl finally opened her eyes. She glanced at the clock and saw it was already four o’clock, so she scrambled out of bed.

’I slept for so long, how am I going to sleep tonight? I wonder if Brother Xiao Ran and Auntie are up yet.’

With that thought, the girl slipped on her slippers and left her room.

In fact, Qiu Yuru had been up for a while. But since both "kids" were sleeping, she just sat quietly on the sofa, looking at her phone, not making a sound.

Seeing the girl come out, she smiled at her and said, "Xici, what do you want to eat tonight?"

Yan Xici wasn’t hungry at all right now, but the thought that Auntie was leaving soon made her walk over and sit down obediently next to Qiu Yuru, her eyes filled with reluctance.

"Auntie, what would you like to eat?"

In her heart, Auntie was the guest, while she and Xiao Ran were the hosts. As a polite girl, it was only natural to accommodate the guest’s wishes.

Qiu Yuru smiled. "Me? I’ll eat anything. I’m not a picky eater."

Xiao Ran, who hadn’t been asleep anyway, heard them talking and came out of his room. Seeing the two of them—who looked like a mother and daughter-in-law—sitting on the sofa, he suggested seriously, "How about this? Why don’t we go out for hot pot?"

The girl actually really liked hot pot, but so much had been going on lately that she hadn’t had it in a long time.

’She’s probably craving it too.’

His mom was from the Sichuan-Chongqing region and loved hot pot even more, so it was definitely a great choice.

Hearing "hot pot," Qiu Yuru’s face also lit up with happiness. It was her favorite thing to eat.

The three of them agreed in an instant. They immediately got ready, left the complex, and walked toward Qiu Yuru’s Audi.

Qiu Yuru smilingly handed the car keys to her son. "Here, Mom’s going to enjoy the feeling of having a chauffeur today!"

With that, she opened the passenger door and got in.

Speaking of which, Qiu Yuru’s biggest dream when she was younger was that when her son grew up one day, he would give her a ride on his bicycle.

Unfortunately, by the time her son grew up, bicycles were no longer in vogue, and even she had her own car.

Xiao Ran, of course, knew what his mom was thinking. After all, she had gone on and on about it to him more than once.