Chapter 49

Gu Jing Yuan dug through the rubbish bin and let out a sigh of relief when he found the sweater. Without a care of how dirty it might be, he carefully held it in his arms as if it was a precious treasure.

Stupefied, the maid stared dazedly at the scene taking place, “Young… Young Master, let me wash it for you first.”

“No need.” He was not willing to let others touch it again in the event something else went wrong. 

Deciding to do it himself, for the first time in Gu Jing Yuan’s life, he clumsily washed the sweater. It did not even faze him that he got his front wet from the washing process. He meticulously scrubbed every bit and learned how to use the dryer before laying it out to air.

As the sunlight bounced off the pink wool, his brows relaxed with satisfaction.

His wrinkled fingers gently caressed the damaged corner of the sweater, endless distress brimming from his eyes.

What should he do now? It could no longer be worn.

**

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Tao Yi Xi softly giggled.

Gu Jing Yuan stopped in his tracks and asked in confusion, “What are you laughing about?”

Tao Yi Xi took out a small comb from her backpack and approached him.

“Lower your head.”

Gu Jing Yuan did not understand what she was trying to do but he still obediently did as she asked. He caught a faint whiff of the fragrance emanating from her as she gently combed through his hair. She combed through his hair quite meticulously, and he squinted his eyes in comfort. When she stopped, he had wanted her to keep continuing.

“Done.” She put away the comb.

Gu Jing Yuan touched his head, feeling the smooth and tidy strands of hair that still retained the sensation of her touch. He patted his head a couple more times and the slight irritation from waking up early dissipated completely, replaced with glee.

Nanny Yang saw the two of them coming down together and unconsciously furrowed her brows. She turned to Gu Jing Yuan with an affectionate smile, “Jing Yuan, you’re up. What do you feel like having for breakfast today?”

“Do we still have more of that pickled cabbage from last night?”

He had it once at Grandma’s place, it was paired with plain congee and it tasted very delicious. 

Nanny Yang’s smile froze for a second. “Young Master, eating too much of such things isn’t good for your health.” 

“Nanny Yang, I’ll just have a little bit for breakfast. Besides, my body isn’t that weak.” 

With his insistence, Nanny Yang had no choice but to instruct someone to dish it up.

“Oh yes, Nanny Yang, did the kitchen prepare some mandarin flower rolls this morning?”

“You wish to eat some flower rolls?” 

“Yes. And can you get them to sprinkle some sugar on top when it comes out of the steamer?”

Nanny Yang looked puzzled. Since when did Gu Jing Yuan’s taste change? She clearly remembered that he did not like pastries or sweet things. What was happening today?

Tao Yi Xi momentarily paused while drinking her congee.

When Nanny Yang served everything to the table, Gu Jing Yuan casually found an excuse to send her away.

He then gently pushed the steamed flower rolls towards her.

“Eat.”

Finishing her last sip of congee, she rejected, “Thank you Ge-ge, but I’m already full.”

“Have a couple more.” How could such a shallow bowl of congee fill one’s stomach? After he started studying in earnest, he came to realize that using his brain also required a lot of energy and he would get hungry quicker.

“I really don’t want it. Plus, I don’t like eating sweet things.” 

“But you ate a lot of flower rolls that day.”

He was referring to when they had it at Grandma’s place. Her lie was easily exposed.

“Have some,” Gu Jing Yuan personally handed a roll to her.

Tao Yi Xi held the steamed flower roll in her hand as her heart overflowed with mixed emotions.

With a bite, the sugar coating the top of the roll melted on her tongue, dissolving all other feelings.

**

It was still within the festive period as it was not even the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year yet. The library was relatively quiet compared to usual.

After returning the books, Tao Yi Xi borrowed a few more and learned from the librarian that one of the books she wanted had yet to be returned. 

After a moment of contemplation, she thanked the librarian and turned to leave.

She saw Gu Jing Yuan standing to one side, waiting for her. He was wholeheartedly carrying her worn-out backpack on his shoulder.

He asked, “The book you wanted isn’t here?”  

“En.”

“I’ll buy it for you.”

Tao Yi Xi shook her head, “I know where it is. Let’s go home first.”

“We’re heading back so early?” Gu Jing Yuan was rather reluctant.

The atmosphere at home was too stifling, and Nanny Yang kept hovering around, making it hard for him to get close to her.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

He wanted to spend more alone time with her.

His fingers brushed against the back of her hand, expressing his intentions clearly.

Although Tao Yi Xi’s fingers twitched, she did not push him away. Gu Jing Yuan took her silence as consent and quickly held her hand. Enclosing her cold hand with his warm one, a silly smile gradually appeared on his aloof and handsome face.

As they strolled through a street filled with food vendors, they overheard someone angrily yelling, “What is taking so long?! I’ve been waiting for more than ten minutes already! If I don’t receive my food soon, you’ll have to refund me ten times the amount I paid…” 

Complaining about slow service and requesting a refund was one thing, but demanding ten times the compensation was unreasonable, the person was basically a robber.

Tao Yi Xi took a glance and recognized the person behind the food cart.

Following her line of sight, Gu Jing Yuan’s once blissful expression sank.

Chen Ze had never felt so embarrassed.

On one end, there was a customer loudly urging him to hurry up, while on the other side, there were customers placing orders for buns and soy milk. It left him extremely flustered.

Amidst all that chaos, the stove suddenly stopped working as well and he could not get the fire to restart. Despite it being in the heart of winter, he was perspiring with anxiety.

“Maybe the gas stove ran out of power.” A soft voice reached his ears, causing him to look up.

“It’s you.”

Tao Yi Xi approached his food cart and suggested, “Why not let me try?”

Chen Ze made way for her, and Tao Yi Xi asked for a lighter. After hearing the soft ‘tak tak tak’ sound from the rotating knob, she brought the lighter closer to the stove and lit it. Soon, a small flame was ignited, and with another twist of the knob, the fire blasted, restoring to its once vigorous flames.

“Thank you,” Chen Ze said in surprise.

“You’re welcome.”

Gu Jing Yuan stood silently to the side with his hands crossed, looking quite intimidating. The person who was complaining loudly just a moment ago fell silent.

After fixing the issue, Chen Ze quickly prepared a bowl of noodles for the man who complained the loudest. Upon receiving the food, the man glanced at Gu Jing Yuan before muttering under his breath, “What a waste of my time.”

More and more customers came, and the small food stall gradually became overcrowded.

“Give me a bowl of clear broth noodles.”

“Boss! I want a cup of soy milk and three meat buns.”

“Two steamed dumplings, and can I get a sugar-free soy milk too?”

Chen Ze was overwhelmed, it was evident that he was new to this. He handed out the buns and soy milk, but the noodles boiling in the pot were forgotten. As it was not stirred, it was on the verge of becoming one lumpy mush.

Meanwhile, a frequent patron was trying to chat with Chen Ze too, “Is Lady Boss not here today?”

“She’s been feeling under the weather recently and is currently resting at home.”

“Without your mother here, are you able to handle it all by yourself?”   

“I can manage,” Chen Ze smiled.

Tao Yi Xi recalled the worried expression on his face when he answered a call in a corner of the library that day. She turned to Gu Jing Yuan and said, “You should go back first, I’m going to help him.”

Gu Jing Yuan tightened his grip on her hand, giving her a superficial smile, “I never knew you could be so compassionate.”

“He helped me a lot previously. If it wasn’t for his study notes, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the progress of the competition class.”

He pursed his lips. He was fully aware that Chen Ze had done so much for her while he could do nothing. What right did he have to make her stay? 

He slowly let go of her hand and watched as she rolled up her sleeves and moved towards Chen Ze.

When Chen Ze saw the person who was approaching, he was taken aback. “Why did you come over?”

“I see that you need an extra pair of hands. I do know a little bit, you can leave the manning of the stove to me.” Tao Yi Xi told him as she picked up the long pair of chopsticks from the side and deftly stirred the noodles in boiling water. Then, she quickly scooped them up with a colander, added the prepared soup base into the bowl, and sprinkled some green onions. With that, a bowl of fragrant clear broth noodles was ready.

The customer received the bowl and teased, “Your little girlfriend is very skillful.”

Chen Ze blushed. No one knew if was it due to the heat or embarrassment as he hurriedly clarified, “No no, she’s my classmate.”

“Oh~ A classmate, huh…”

The customer’s words were filled with suggestive innuendo. This caused Gu Jing Yuan’s veins to bulge in anger.

Just as the customer was about to say something more, a tall and expressionless young man suddenly appeared between Chen Ze and Tao Yi Xi. His gloomy expression ruined the picture painted of the ‘perfect couple’.

He put his arm around Tao Yi Xi’s shoulder and pulled her to the side, creating some distance between her and Chen Ze.

Coldly, he said, “I’ll help too.”

“Are you sure you can manage?” Tao Yi Xi expressed her doubts, finding it hard to believe as she remembered his performance in Grandma’s kitchen the other day. 

Gu Jing Yuan pursed his lips. “You can teach me.”

Tao Yi Xi stared at him for a couple of seconds before lightly sighing, “alright.”

Although the atmosphere between them was slightly off, there was a level of intimacy that outsiders could not intrude upon.

Chen Ze froze for a moment as he watched them. He soon recovered his senses as he was called away by other customers.

After the breakfast rush was over, the flow of customers significantly decreased, giving the three of them some free time to finally take a break.

Chen Ze handed them two bottles of water. Tao Yi Xi accepted it with thanks but could not twist it open. Red marks were left on her fair fingers from the force she use to unscrew the bottle cap.

She rotated her wrist, intending to find some tissue to help her increase friction and grip on the cap.

Upon noticing this, Chen Ze wanted to pass the bottle that he already opened to her. However, Gu Jing Yuan, who was closer to her, directly took her water bottle and opened it with a swift twist.

“Thank you.” 

“Is the compassionate person trying to be polite to me?”

Tao Yi Xi looked at him, “Are you going to keep up with this attitude?”

“Hmph!” Gu Jing Yuan petulantly chose not to respond.

She still claimed not to have any feelings for Chen Ze, but immediately rushed to help him as soon as he was in trouble. On the other hand, when it came to tutoring him, it only continued because he has previously begged her to come back and teach him. 

He was jealous that Chen Ze could receive such special treatment from her that he, himself, never had.