Chapter 38 — I had previously forgotten to ask you, do you have any ex-girlfriends?

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Hearing Jian Yan’s words, He Xiu couldn’t help but laugh.

Although the two of them stood far away, they still couldn’t avoid some people coming over to chat. He Xiu was unable to escape for awhile, so Jian Yan stood to the side, eating the refreshments alone. She had heard that all the food at the engagement reception was catered by Yu Zhi; this food could be considered to be worth eating.

Today, He Xiu had brought her and arrived with great fanfare. Just now, he had introduced her to his family, which naturally caused others to take note. There were also people coming up to greet Jian Yan. Perhaps she would be the wife of the Eldest Master of the He Family the next time they met her?

Although Jian Yan was slightly surprised, she still politely responded and chatted with them. She hesitated the moment a man extended his hand to her in greeting, though.

The other party was merely greeting her politely, but what could she say to him? Say she had misandry, so she couldn’t shake hands with men? To her, this reasoning sounded completely preposterous. Because she was slow and hadn’t moved, the other party was already displaying a puzzled look. Jian Yan clearly realized that regardless of what she said now, she wouldn’t leave a good impression with the other party. Harshly quelling her heart, she smiled and grasped his hand.

Her movement was swift, the two of their hands merely touching lightly before separating. Yet still, a familiar feeling of disgust swept through her.

Her complexion paled, and she pursed her lips before forcing herself to reveal a smile to them. “Excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.”

After she said this, she very quickly walked to the doors. He Xiu glimpsed her leaving out of the corner of his eyes and smiled to the people in front of him before taking his leave. “Excuse me.”

He set down his wineglass and chased after Jian Yan. After Jian Yan left the ballroom, she headed straight to the outdoor balcony and took deep breaths, gasping.

The wintry night had a somewhat piercing cold wind, but after the chilly air poured into her body, she seemed to barely suppress the feeling of nausea that was on the verge of erupting within her heart.

“What happened to you?” He Xiu walked up from behind her, staring at her with a worried expression. Jian Yan sucked in a deep breath and then turned to smile at him. “It’s nothing.”

He Xiu knitted his brows. “Still saying it’s nothing? Do you know how unsightly your complexion is?”

Jian Yan said, “Just then I shook hands with a man. I originally believed I was lucky and that my misandry was already cured. It seems that it’s not. It’s only you that I do not oppose, that’s all.”

He Xiu grasped her right hand, her ice-cold fingers causing his brows to knit together a bit more. “Is this the hand?” He looked at her hand grasped in his and brought it to his lips, lightly breathing on it. “Is it a little bit better now?”

The temperature of He Xiu’s hand seemed to truly be seeping through her fingers and reaching her heart. Jian Yan nodded. “Mn. I apologize…” Although just now she had already tried her best, but with the way she had run off, it would be difficult to escape from what others would think about it.

“It doesn’t matter.” He Xiu lightly brushed aside her long hair, his voice as gentle as moonlight. “I also don’t want others to touch you anyway.”

Jian Yan finally laughed. “It really is very mysterious. Why do I not feel disgusted at all when you touch me?”

He Xiu quirked his lips and moved closer to her, softly asking, “Then what about this?” The same time his words fell, his lips also dropped onto Jian Yan’s in a kiss. This time, not only did he not let her lips go, he softly pried open her parted lips, slipping his tongue inside.

Although Jian Yan was startled, she didn’t resist. Just, when she realized that the only thing separating He Xiu’s hand from caressing her skin as his hands roamed all over her body was the dress, she wrinkled her brows and lightly pushed him away. “Wait a minute, this dress is several billion yuan. Don’t ruin this because of me.”

He Xiu pressed his hand against her forehead, chuckling lightly. “You’re concerned about the dress at a time like this?

“Of course I’m concerned. This is several millions of yuan.”

He Xiu asked her, “Is several millions of yuan important or am I important?”

“…You’re very childish.”

“If I’m childish, then I’ll be childish. Which do you say is more important?”

“…”

Before Jian Yan could reply to him, Xu Ying’s angry voice rang out from the side. “What are you two doing?”

He Xiu furrowed his eyebrows together as he turned his head to look at her with annoyance. “Do we need to report to Heiress Xu whenever we’re doing something?”

“You…” Xu Ying’s angry complexion changed. Practically fuming with rage between gritted teeth, she said, “This is next to the ballroom! You two doing things like this in a place like this, you truly have no sense of shame!”

He Xiu curved his lips into a cold smile as he helped Jian Yan straighten her dress. “What Heiress Xu says is right. Then, we will just return home first. We’ll be taking our leave.”

“He Xiu, you!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Xu Ying still wanted to lose her temper, but He Xiu straightforwardly led Jian Yan out of the building. After reaching the car, Jian Yan raised her dress and very carefully sat in the front passenger seat. He Xiu saw her fixate her gaze on him the entire time, so while he started the car, he asked her, “What do you want to say?”

Jian Yan’s beautiful eyes blinked rapidly before she asked, “That Xu Ying, does she like you?”

He Xiu drove the car out, laughing almost inaudibly. “No, she likes many things. I am simply the most insignificant.”

Jian Yan’s eyes flickered as she looked at He Xiu with a smile. “Oh, that’s right. I had previously forgotten to ask you, do you have any ex-girlfriends?”

He Xiu chuckled softly. “I don’t, you wouldn’t happen to be thinking that Xu Ying was my ex-girlfriend, right?”

Jian Yan admitted, “I don’t know. That’s why I asked you. Speaking of which, that washboard I gifted you last time, you haven’t thrown it away, right?”

This time, He Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “She truly isn’t my ex-girlfriend. She was already sweethearts with He Chen during senior high school.”

“Then junior high school?”

He Xiu pretended to look at her in astonishment. “You’re not even letting a junior high student off?”

“…What, primary school students now would also have puppy love.”

He Xiu chuckled and shook his head, saying, “I went to the He Family when I was seven years old. Because the relationship between the Xu and He Families were good, the children of the two families also frequently played together. Xu Ying and He Chen were of similar age, so at that time, they always liked to pester me. Back then, she was still an innocent and cute little girl. Even if the matter of my mother made me very cold and detached towards those around me, she would still run around and try to speak to me, giving me small snacks that she liked to eat many times.”

Jian Yan clicked her tongue twice. “See, not just primary school students; even before school, kids chase after boys.”

He Xiu helplessly laughed. “We were so young in those days; what did we know? She also just simply saw that I was handsome, so she wanted to get close to me.”

“…Your face is very thick.” But that Xu Ying’s eye for aesthetics was very accurate at such a young age.

He Xiu smiled and said, “If you say it like this, then there were many children that liked me when I was young.”

Jian Yan curled her lips and questioned closely, “What happened after? Since Xu Ying liked you so much, how come she ended up being He Chen’s girlfriend?”

He Xiu explained, “Maybe because they became aware that she was getting quite close to me, her family told her something.”

Jian Yan gradually stopped joking around. “Told her what?”

“For example…I am merely a bastard, and He Chen is the real inheritor of the He Family estate in the future.”

Jian Yan suddenly became furious in her heart. “She was so young, yet she already accounted for these things?”

He Xiu mockingly quirked his lips. “Although she didn’t understand anything, her parents understood. When she was entering primary school, she was deliberately enrolled to study in the same school as He Chen. At that time, I felt that it truly was very ridiculous.” Now, however, he was indifferent to this. Back then, he had long seen clearly the artificial and hypocritical nature of those around him.

In her heart, Jian Yan felt pained. She also didn’t know what she should do to comfort him. Why did she always ask about matters that caused him to feel deeply hurt?

After He Xiu said this, he once again turned his head to look at Jian Yan. “What about you? Are you not worried? In the future, I might not be able to receive a single yuan from the He Family, only able to sell my singing to make a living.”

Jian Yan said, “It doesn’t matter. I’m well-off. I guarantee that you’ll life in a big house and eat delicious food.”

He Xiu smiled. “Then I thank Teacher Tang Zhi in advance. In the future, I’m counting on you to support our family.”

“Mhmm. No problem; you only need to be responsible for serving me.”

The smile on He Xiu’s face changed slightly. “How do you wish for me to serve you? Is that kind of serving just a moment ago okay?”

“…Why are you so dirty.”

He Xiu once again burst into laughter. He looked at her and said, “Don’t worry. I definitely will not let you become that exhausted.” He felt that what Tang Zheng said was right. Why did he need to let He Chen and them off lightly?

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After driving Jian Yan home, he naturally didn’t continue what they did earlier. Jian Yan went upstairs to change clothes, and since he reckoned that she hadn’t eaten her fill that night, he went into her kitchen without permission to find ingredients.

When Jian Yan went downstairs, she looked at him with pleasant surprise. “Beginning to learn how to serve me so early?”

He Xiu winked ambiguously at her. “Yes, the things I know how to do are not limited to just these.” 1

Jian Yan’s face, for some inexplicable reason, began to burn. It was clearly her who wanted to tease him for a bit, yet in the end, she was embarrassed by his words.

Afraid that he really did intend to do something, Jian Yan pushed him out of her home once they finished eating. She didn’t even let him wash the dishes.

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When He Xiu returned home, He Jing Long was sitting alone in the drawing room. He didn’t know if the engagement reception was finished or not, but he didn’t ask. Just like in the past, he acted as if he hadn’t seen He Jing Long and walked over to the stairs.

“He Xiu.”

He Jing Long called for him to stop. He Xiu’s steps paused, and he turned around to look at him. “What’s the matter?”

He Jing Long asked, “Why did you leave first just a moment ago?”

“Jian Yan was feeling slightly unwell, so I drove her back home first.”

“Is she alright?”

“She’s alright.”

“Mn, that’s good then.” He Jing Long nodded, his expression somewhat absent-minded. “I don’t know why, but seeing her makes me remember your mother.”

When he spoke of ‘mother,’ He Xiu finally had had no patience left. He turned around and walked upstairs before He Jing Long once again called for him to stop. “I know you recently had a slight disagreement with your younger brother, but you can relax. I have already said long ago that Starlight General Merchandise was built for your mother. I will definitely set it aside for you.”

He Xiu turned his head around and coldly glared at him. “You think I value your family property? If it were not for my mom, I wouldn’t even be managing Starlight General Merchandise these past several years.”

He Jing Long’s voice sounded as if the blue sea turned into mulberry fields.2 “I know you hate me. I let down your mother…”

“What use are your apologetic words? She passed away a long time ago.” After He Xiu said this, he didn’t look back anymore as he walked upstairs.

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Author’s Note:

Tomorrow, I want to upload a long chapter! Sticking a flag here in advance!

Expressing thanks to sponsors

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Notes:

1. Moonclipse’s comment: //dies from all the innuendos ?

2. “The blue sea turned into mulberry fields” (idiom) = great changes, the transformations of the world ?