“… Are you alright?” As she stared at Jiang Chen, who approached her, she bit her lips and ran out of words to say.
“Not exactly okay, a minor injury.” Jiang Chen had the audacity to point at the small cut on his cheek. If he didn’t point it out, it would have gone unnoticed.
“I, I’ll treat it for you.” Xia Shiyu lowered her head, full of guilt. She had never owed favors to anyone, but now she owed this person so much.
“Here? Saliva can disinfect it.” Jiang Chen joked carelessly. It even surprised himself a little.
[Hmm? When did I get so flirty?]
“… I have bandage and alcohol at my place.” Xia Shiyu coldly answered Jiang Chen’s mockery
“Don’t look at me like that. At least I am your new creditor.” Jiang Chen waved the agreement between his fingers. “Look. Though since I am a nice person, I won’t charge you any interest.”
[Is there anyone more narcissistic than him?] Xia Shiyu stared at the smiling Jiang Chen with a look of defeat. She was confused. This was the same guy that was afraid to make eye contact with her?
“I’ll repay you, including interest.” Xia Shiyu expressed her gratitude with certainty in her voice. And then more hesitantly, she said “With normal interest rate.” She wasn’t confident in repaying the high interest on her debt.
Jiang Chen shrugged as he knew this girl too well. She would not back down from her goal.
“Xia Shiyu.”
“Yeah?” Xia Shiyu turned her head after the store owner called.
“This is your salary for half of the month. I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do about the thugs. Also, you don’t have to come to work tomorrow,” the store owner said laboriously as he finally said the disheartening statement in an almost pleading tone.
After she had taken the envelope of money, she nodded her head emotionlessly. She gazed at the flower shop that was about to close. Evading and doubtful looks surrounded her as people looked away when she tried to make eye contact. She didn’t know why she wanted to cry.
She couldn’t remember the number of times she almost broke down, but this was the first time in her life that she felt so fragile.
“Fired?” Jiang Chen said mockingly. He felt so joyful seeing his manager got fired again.
She didn’t answer Jiang Chen’s mockery. She bit her lips, full of emotions. She turned around and headed home as Jiang Chen followed. Xia Shiyu did say that she was going to help him with the wound.
By now, the wound had already scarred up, but Jiang Chen was curious about where his ex-boss lived. He had nothing better to do anyways.
Jiang Chen chuckled to himself as he thought that he was a terrible person. Almost as mischievous as Sun Jiao.
Jiang Chen stepped onto the moldy stairs, and a frown appeared on his face. He was surprised that Wanghai City even had a building this old. The crack- filled walls indicated that this place was not pleasant.
Xia Shiyu pulled out her keys and opened the rusted door. A bitter smile emerged on Jiang Chen’s face. [This girl is almost too resilient and independent. Any other girls would not be able to handle these living conditions. Especially with her charming looks, if she wanted her problems solved, a lot of people would be willing to pay 500,000 for her.]
But her attractiveness was completely undermined by her terrible attitude.
There was a hint of a moldy odor when Jiang Chen first entered the room, but the scented air freshener quickly filled his nostrils. It was clear that Xia Shiyu used it in an attempt to solve the problem.
The room was tiny and cluttered with furniture. It was even smaller than Jiang Chen’s cheap apartment. There was no TV in the living room. Only an old wooden desk with even older chairs. Maybe they would be worth something if she sold them as artifacts.
There was no air conditioning in sight either, only a fan placed in the corner of the room. The most expensive electronic was the stainless steel kettle which she had most likely brought with her when she fled from her home.
A laptop was on the table, but there was no wifi here. What would be the use of it?
He noticed that two pairs of shoes were placed neatly in front of the door. There was no way she only owned two pairs of shoes. She must have been in a rush when she escaped. Although the condition of the apartment was not the best, it did look like she spent a considerable amount of time cleaning the place.
“Sorry, it’s pretty crappy here. Sit,” Xia Shiyu awkwardly said. It was her first time bringing a not-so-familiar man to her place. Even for her ex, she always asked him to stop in front of her door. The idea of spending time alone with the opposite gender made her extremely uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because of her overprotective mindset that she was friendless, especially at this time, when she needed someone the most. She walked into the tiny bedroom.
Jiang Chen pulled out a chair and sat down on it. However, to his surprise, it almost made him fall. [F*ck, the chair is missing a piece of its leg.]
Soon, Xia Shiyu walked out with rubbing alcohol and q-tips.
“Where?” Her tone was mechanical. She examined the wound as she tried to place her hand awkwardly.
“Here. Are you going to…?” Jiang Chen forced a smile. He only wanted to mock the ex-manager, but she did bring out the rubbing alcohol.
“I said I would treat it for you.” Xia Shiyu took in a deep breath as she advanced toward his face.
Jiang Chen felt uncomfortable as well. His hands wiggled back and forth not knowing where to place them.
“Don’t move.” Xia Shiyu frowned slightly and gave the restless Jiang Chen a hard stare.
“Okay.” Jiang Chen forced a smile again.
It was a delightful fragrance. The lilac aroma twirled around Jiang Chen’s nose. Her flawless neck was decorated with jewelry. Jiang Chen remembered there was a necklace when they worked together. When she leaned forward, the light summer shirt flashed a glimpse of her beautiful cleavage. It was probably only a B, which was nothing compared to Sun Jiao’s. But with her serene figure, she seemed like a delightful breeze in the summer day.
She was a goddess in looks and figure. It was quite embarrassing, but Jiang Chen did masturbate to her before.
In his memory, her hair was always tied back professionally. Today, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail which brought Jiang Chen to a memory of his past. The newly graduated Xia Shiyu was nothing like the professional office lady.
“What are you looking at?” She noticed the invasive stare which made her quite scared. But her face still displayed the same guarded and emotionless look.
“No. Nothing,” Jiang Chen awkwardly replied.
After the wound was treated, their eyes crossed.
Time stopped for a moment.
Awkwardness ensued.
“It smells very nice here. Hahaha.” Jiang Chen rubbed his head to break the silence.
Xia Shiyu zoned out momentarily. Her cheek blushed as her emotionless face smiled slightly, but her eyes looked even colder.
“It’s the scent of lilacs. I probably got it when I worked.” With a frown on her face, she quickly cleaned up and headed back into her room.
[Heart pounding fast.] She held her pumping chest as she recollected her breathing. She disappointedly looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t know why she was acting weird.
[Heart pounding fast.] Jiang Chen also confusedly touched his chest. [There is no way I am interested in this girl.] He immediately rejected the idea and blamed the natural reaction of his hormones. Compared to an icy beauty, he preferred the energetic and lively Sun Jiao. Sun Jiao who occasionally went into her character as the queen of the wasteland while acting as a caring and heartwarming wife.
Xia Shiyu left her room moments later and interrupted Jiang Chen’s train of thoughts. She stood across from Jiang Chen, but there was no conversation between the two. Silence filled the room as the only noise was the ticking clock and their heartbeats.
“Thank you.” Xia Shiyu broke the silence first.
“No problem, I just happened to pass by.” He lied about the fact that he tried to find her today in the morning with hostile intentions but only left because he heard she left her position.
He didn’t expect this stubborn girl to thank him.
“You,” Xia Shiyu briefly paused as if she had something to say. She hesitated for a bit before finally asking what bothered her, “Don’t you hate me?”
He was not surprised by the question. He also considered the question himself. [Do I still hate her?]
“I hated you.” In the end, the paragraphs he tried to articulate in his head only turned into three short words. Jiang Chen looked at Xia Shiyu with a perplexed look.
[Then why did you save me?]
She didn’t ask this question, but Jiang Chen read the unasked question in her eyes.
He hated her before. She fired him and almost made him homeless. He was not hesitant to curse her with the most malicious vows… However, that was all in the past. After he had released his anger, it was no longer an incident that bothered him. Life continued, and there was no reason to continue to despise her.
“No particular reason.” Jiang Chen sighed as he shook his head. “To be frank, when I heard that you were fired, I was quite ecstatic for a moment. As you can see, the clothes I am wearing right now are purchased from that store. However, I realized that I am still too immature.”
“Immature?” She mumbled the word repetitively. She was dumbfounded by Jiang Chen’s words. Her icy, cold eyes began to lose its focus.
If Jiang Chen humiliated her or even hit her, it would make this feel easier. But the man she almost single-handedly pushed to despair didn’t do anything in retaliation. He gave her a helping hand in her most desperate time.
[Why…]
“Even if I retaliated, what would I get in return? To be honest, the feeling of revenge is great. But if I see a girl get pushed to the edge of life by a group of thugs without doing anything, the guilt will overwhelm me – especially since I know you. After all, we don’t have a hatred that runs for generations. It was only a job after all. Even if you gave me the job now, I will not take it.”
It was a job after all. Compared to what Jiang Chen lost, he certainly gained a lot more. If he weren’t drunk, he would have never passed the alley. He would have missed the opportunity to acquire the interdimensional bracelet.
He never knew where life would take him the next.
“Before I fired you, I thought a lot about it.” With a perplexed look, she continued, “Based on the facts, I know I am not a qualified manager.”
“You have all the abilities, but you don’t know the human heart” Jiang Chen smiled.
“Human heart? Do you mean psychology?”
“No no, it’s not something from the textbook. The human heart is a complicated matter. Even within a lifetime, it would be difficult to understand it all.”
They chatted as if they were close friends that hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Jiang Chen felt the calm he had been searching the entire day for.
Yes, it was incredible shopping, and eating a fancy meal, but he still felt hollow.
In this large metropolitan city, he didn’t even have a single friend he could talk with. Maybe that was what Jiang Chen was searching for that entire day. Everyone took separate path after graduation and moved on.
This tiny apartment brought him the calmness and serenity he had desperately searched for.
Maybe, this peacefulness was what life rewarded those who did good deeds.