Chapter 38: You Have To Come Back

“Are you awake?” The door opened, and Lang Ningyi came in.

Guan Xi came to her senses, “Hmm, I’m awake. What time is it?”

Lang Ningyi sat by her bed, “It’s already one in the afternoon. You slept quite a while.”

“Oh…”

“By the way, Xi Xi, you probably don’t know yet, but it seems like everyone knows about your situation overnight.”

Guan Xi paused, only to hear Lang Ningyi continue, “Your dad seems quite eager to let everyone know. It spread last night. But well, it’s good this way. This is the truth, and everyone should know. Otherwise, Wei Zihan and the others would keep mocking you about the adoption thing.”

Guan Xi looked at Lang Ningyi in surprise. Her first thought upon hearing this news wasn’t about people knowing the truth and not mocking her about adoption anymore. Instead, it was—did Jiang Suizhou also know last night? She wasn’t adopted; she had intricate blood ties with the Guan family now.

A chill ran through Guan Xi’s heart. Jiang Suizhou had eyes everywhere; if others knew about this, he would surely know too. As someone driven by interests, did he analyze this matter last night as usual? For example, since she was of Guan family blood, the elders of the Guan family wouldn’t let her go easily.

Otherwise… why would he suddenly say those words that sounded like a hallucination to her?

“Xi Xi, Xi Xi?!” Lang Ningyi waved her hand in front of her, “What are you thinking about?”

Guan Xi instinctively tightened the blanket around her. She shook her head and, after a moment, said, “Ningyi, I have nowhere to go now. You have to take me in.”

“Well, don’t worry. Your sister is here; I’ll definitely take care of you. But you need to be frugal. If I have to support you at the scale Jiang Suizhou does, I can’t afford it.”

“Can we not talk about him? We’ve already broken up,” Guan Xi’s mind was blocked by this news early in the morning, completely unsettled.

“Oh! Sure!” Lang Ningyi, sensing Guan Xi’s lack of enthusiasm, guessed that their conversation last night didn’t go well. She hooked her arm around Guan Xi’s shoulder and comforted her, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Men, you know, they’re everywhere. Although, Jiang Suizhou’s face is excessively handsome, legs excessively long, and money excessively abundant. But, my dear Xi Xi, you’re beautiful as a flower and intellectually exceptional. What kind of man do you need? Jiang Suizhou is just one in a bunch!”

“Being beautiful and intellectually exceptional is a given,” Guan Xi was slightly confused, “but Jiang Suizhou is just one in a bunch… seriously?”

Lang Ningyi chuckled dryly, feeling a bit guilty, “Well, he does have quite a lot… seriously. Anyway, uh, hurry up and take a shower. You slept with the smell of alcohol all over you yesterday, it’s unbearable.”

Guan Xi belatedly sniffed her clothes and made a disgusted expression.

Lang Ningyi stood up and headed towards the door, “Come on, I ordered takeout, and Wei Xiuyang brought a lot of food too.”

“He came too?” Guan Xi asked.

Lang Ningyi replied, “He’s well-informed. He arrived half an hour ago.”

“Oh.”

Lang Ningyi added, “You can wear my clothes; I’ve already put them inside for you.”

…

After freshening up, Guan Xi came out of the room and saw Wei Xiuyang sitting at the dining table. She casually greeted him and took a seat. Wei Xiuyang looked at her, noticing that she hadn’t put on any makeup and, coupled with the hangover from yesterday, her complexion was a bit pale.

“What are you looking at?” Guan Xi asked.

Wei Xiuyang opened his mouth as if to speak, but his eyes were filled with helplessness and restraint. In the end, he could only turn it into a still and calm pond. He hadn’t expected that, just when he hadn’t figured out how to deal with the matter of Guan Xi being adopted, the news of “she’s also the daughter of her uncle” hit him hard again.

In the end, their relationship seemed to have returned to square one for him.

“Are you okay? You don’t look well,” Wei Xiuyang still expressed concern.

“I’m fine, just had too much to drink yesterday,” Guan Xi replied calmly.

Wei Xiuyang asked, “What are you planning to do now?”

Guan Xi calmly ate her food, “I’m fine where I am now.”

“Everyone is very worried about you. Your phone was off, and today your grandfather’s calls came to me. He knows that we are usually close, so he asked me to advise you. Grandpa said no matter what, they are your support…”

Guan Xi’s hand with the chopsticks paused, not responding, just silently eating.

At this moment, Lang Ningyi also came over, “Alright, stop talking to her about these things. I said a lot yesterday, and she can figure it out herself, right, Xi Xi?”

Guan Xi replied, “Can’t figure it out. Anyway, I’m staying at your place now.”

Lang Ningyi laughed, “You’ve attached yourself to me.”

“Yes.”

“Ningyi, if it’s inconvenient for you, she can stay at my place,” Wei Xiuyang intervened, seeing Guan Xi glance at him. He added, “Oh, I can let you stay; I’ll go home. My place has more amenities, and there’s an aunt who can cook for you. Here, no one is taking care of you.”

Lang Ningyi interjected, “Hey, how can you speak like that? It makes it sound like my place is so basic.”

Wei Xiuyang replied, “I’m just saying my place is more convenient.”

“Alright, stop arguing. I’ll stay here,” Guan Xi said, “I don’t want to stay at your place. If your family finds out, they’ll definitely bother me.”

Wei Xiuyang was taken aback.

Lang Ningyi said, “Exactly, Xi Xi, rest assured. I can take care of you well, just a bit less extravagant than Jiang Suizhou.”

As soon as the words were out, Guan Xi glared at her.

Lang Ningyi immediately became nervous, “Sorry for mentioning it again… but Xi Xi, I still have to say, he said he would come over today.”

Guan Xi paused, picked at her food, thinking unhappily: Why come over… to analyze the situation with her again?

“Ex?” Wei Xiuyang exclaimed in shock. “Jiang Suizhou.”

Lang Ningyi nodded, “Yes, they broke up.”

Wei Xiuyang immediately looked at Guan Xi, “He broke up with you, so he finally—”

Guan Xi immediately slapped him, “Can you talk properly? Can you? I initiated the breakup!”

Wei Xiuyang, even if he got slapped, was happy this time, “So you finally came to terms with it.”

Ding dong—

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.

All three of them looked towards the direction of the door. Lang Ningyi awkwardly put down her chopsticks and looked at Guan Xi, “Is it Jiang Suizhou? Should I open the door?”

Seeing that Guan Xi had no expression, Lang Ningyi picked up her chopsticks again, “Hmm, let’s not open it for him.”

The doorbell continued to ring.

Lang Ningyi nervously said, “If we don’t open it, he should leave after a while, right?”

Guan Xi glanced at Lang Ningyi, “Would you be angry if your door was broken?”

Lang Ningyi: “…”

Guan Xi continued, “If you don’t open it, he might send someone to unlock it.”

Lang Ningyi: “…”

Guan Xi calmly wiped her mouth with a tissue. She knew Jiang Suizhou too well. Could they really stop him by not opening the door? Dream on. When he really wanted to do something, don’t argue with him about reasoning, because he would have even more seamless reasoning to counter your arguments.

Guan Xi stood up, “I’ll go take a look.”

Wei Xiuyang: “Guan Xi—”

Guan Xi: “You guys go ahead and eat.”

Walking from the dining room to the entrance, and seeing the person standing outside through the peephole, Guan Xi, who originally thought her heart could stay calm, skipped a beat.

She took two deep breaths, reassuring herself that she was okay, before opening the door. Standing in the crack of the door, her gaze alert, Guan Xi looked at Jiang Suizhou, who had his eyes lowered. She didn’t have much color today on her complexion, wearing a casual long dress, looking like a rag doll.

Jiang Suizhou furrowed his brows, reaching out and holding her wrist, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

Guan Xi immediately tried to pull back, “Of course not… I mean, what’s it to you? Let go, let go.”

Jiang Suizhou didn’t pay attention to her at all. In fact, he directly pulled her out from behind the door. His strength was truly strong, and she almost fell onto him. It was only when she stabilized her stance a few centimeters away from his chest that she stopped!

Guan Xi squinted, looked up at him, and glared, “Why did you come over today? Didn’t we agree on everything yesterday?”

“When did we agree?” Jiang Suizhou looked down at her, “I told you my answer yesterday, and you fell asleep before reacting.”

“Your answer? So, you didn’t want to break up, right? Why not? You knew last night that I wasn’t adopted, didn’t you?” 

“I found out last night.”

Guan Xi’s blood surged, and for a moment, her heart hurt. She angrily said, “So, you think it’s even more inappropriate to break up with me now that you know I’m not adopted, right? That’s why you said that yesterday!”

Jiang Suizhou was momentarily stunned, “I didn’t know before seeing you. Zhou Hao told me afterward.”

“What?” 

The timing was indeed peculiar. Jiang Suizhou understood Guan Xi’s implication and said with a headache, “I did find out afterward, so when I said I didn’t want to break up, there weren’t many other considerations. It was just based on the fact that I didn’t want to.”

Guan Xi stared at him for a couple of seconds, then murmured, “Do you think I can believe that?”

Jiang Suizhou lifted his head slightly, seeming to ponder. They both understood the initial connection between them, so yesterday, when he said those words, she might doubt that he truly understood, as he himself was momentarily perplexed at that time.

However—

“I mean it,” he said.

Guan Xi scoffed, “So, last night, you knew nothing except that I was leaving the Guan family, and yet you didn’t want to break up. What are you after?”

Jiang Suizhou remained silent, looking at her for a while. What was he after?

“I’m after you.”

“…?”

“I’m also after your heart,” Jiang Suizhou sighed lightly. “Isn’t that enough, Guan Xi?”

Guan Xi’s pupils instantly dilated. It was as if his words had hooked her thoughts, drifting to the top floor, to the edge of the rooftop. The brisk wind blew, swaying precariously, creating a sense of panic and excitement, a bizarre feeling. They locked eyes, and for a moment, she was speechless.

Jiang Suizhou gave off an aloof yet captivating vibe. His unique temperament, cool and detached, made people want to explore, but also hesitant to fully immerse themselves. He was terrifyingly calm, capable of analyzing complex situations with ease. His decisions were decisive, and his actions were sharp, employing the cutthroat tactics of the business world effortlessly. She had always understood him, so deep down, there was an underlying fear.

In the past, she didn’t care, but she didn’t know when it had changed. Now, she was somewhat afraid that he would apply those cunning schemes and analyses on her.

“Are you crazy?”

They were very close, almost close enough for him to touch her lips with just a slight movement downward. As she spoke, the two breaths entangled sticky and coiled.

Jiang Suizhou’s emotions were unraveling, each word carrying immense pressure, “Is what I said that unbelievable?”

Guan Xi turned her head away, struggling to break free from his embrace.

Unbelievable? Yes, just a few days ago, he said, “Your current position and the interests involved are closely related to me.” The perfect world’s Jiang Suizhou, why would he suddenly abandon perfection?

Seeing her silence, Jiang Suizhou lifted his head slightly, a cold glint in his eyes, “If you can’t trust it, and you insist on breaking up to cool down, that’s fine. But come to live at my place, don’t keep drinking with Lang Ningyi here like a lost soul.”

Huh?

Guan Xi abruptly turned to look at him, finding it absurd, “Break up and live at your place? I haven’t lost my mind.”

Jiang Suizhou remained unfazed, “Master bedroom is yours, I’ll sleep in the guest room.”

Was that the main point?!

Guan Xi’s mind became a mess under Jiang Suizhou’s pressure, “I’m not going! I want some space now, I’ll stay here to sort out these messy things!”

Jiang Suizhou thought for a moment but didn’t stop her. He knew she must be in chaos now, and he could naturally provide her with space.

“Then drink a little less,” he suggested.

“… I’m not an alcoholic. I don’t drink every day.”

“Okay, then I’ll let you sort things out and think clearly.”

Jiang Suizhou stood still, saying, “But when you’ve figured it out, you have to come back.”

…

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