"Only his mother was spared the disaster because she did not live with him."
"But those who remain may suffer even more."
Chu Yi remained silent for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Finally, Qiao Anchen raised his hand, glanced at his watch, and spoke.
“My leave is almost up, I need to get back to work, you…” He hesitated, but only managed to say one sentence.
Go home early.
Over the course of several days, the house seemed unchanged. Qiao Anchen always loved cleanliness, and it was even cleaner than when she wasn't there. The table was no longer littered with snack bags, tissues, empty drink bottles, and other miscellaneous items.
Chu Yi found her pen in the corner of the cabinet. After taking it, she walked around the room again with mixed feelings.
She was thinking about what she might have forgotten to take, so she wouldn't have to come back again, but when she saw the pile of dirty clothes that hadn't been washed for days on the balcony, her mind went completely blank.
It seems like he hasn't been doing well these past few days.
Chu Yi recalled Qiao Anchen's haggard face just now and inexplicably felt an urge to forgive him.
—It was just a momentary impulse.
When Chu Yi thought of his previous actions, her heart hardened uncontrollably. Without looking back, she took her pen and left, even locking the door for him before leaving.
The next few days passed peacefully. Qiao Anchen would still text or call her from time to time, each time only a few words. Chu Yi would reply to him indifferently and always end the conversation quickly.
On Friday, she went out and bought some fruit. When she got to her doorstep, she saw a familiar person standing there.
Qiao Anchen lowered his head, staring at his feet, his profile quiet, and it was unclear how long he had been waiting.
Author's Note: Yesterday I saw someone asking how to get extra chapters... If I said I'd add extra chapters if my next pre-order novel gets 1,000 favorites, would you guys kill me...?
P.S. I really put a lot of effort into writing each chapter. Haven't you noticed that I get more than ten Jinjiang coins every day? And every chapter is so long?
25. Chapter 25
Chu Yi walked over with the bag, passing Qiao Anchen. She could feel his gaze on her, but she ignored him and opened the door directly.
Just before I was about to go in, sure enough, I heard his voice behind me.
"The first day of the year..."
"Is something the matter?" she asked without turning around, her eyes lowered.
Qiao Anchen paused, then spoke again, his voice like that of a primary school student reporting to a teacher. "I...I'm taking the day off tomorrow."
"Oh." Chu Yi's reaction was indifferent.
Qiao Anchen fell silent again. Chu Yi waited a few seconds, then went inside to close the door.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and wedged into the gap, preventing her from closing it. Qiao Anchen's face appeared behind her, with a hint of caution.
Are you going back?
"No." Chu Yi answered without hesitation. A hint of disappointment flashed in Qiao Anchen's eyes, but he still said, "Then, can we have dinner together tonight..."
He showed off what he was carrying, saying somewhat ingratiatingly, "I bought groceries."
Chu Yi was silent for a while, but finally opened the door and stepped aside to let him in. This was the second time Qiao Anchen had come to her house. Unlike the last time, he stood in the entrance hall with a little restraint.
Chu Yi opened the shoe cabinet and found him a pair of old slippers that Chu Tian used to wear.
"Have you been doing well living alone these past few days?" Qiao Anchen changed his shoes, straightened up, looked at her, pursed his lips, and asked. Chu Yi answered calmly.
"Pretty much, except one person is missing at night," she added after saying that.
"Everything else is exactly the same."
"..." Even if Qiao Anchen was slow to understand, he could still hear the subtext in her words, and he stood there without saying a word.
Chu Yi walked towards the kitchen, and Qiao Anchen consciously followed behind her silently. He put the bag he was carrying on the counter and rolled up his sleeves to start cooking.
Chu Yi helped take out the ingredients such as chili peppers and vegetables. When Qiao Anchen saw this, he immediately said, "You go and rest, I can do it."
"Two people can go faster," Chu Yi said without much expression. "I'm hungry."
Qiao Anchen didn't say anything, but his hands moved much faster. The two of them squeezed into the small kitchen and busied themselves with their respective tasks.
In truth, they didn't cook together very often, but each time, Chu Yi would take on the role of helper, washing and chopping vegetables, while Qiao Anchen would be the chef, requiring some skill in knife work.
Chu Yi likes to eat fish, so Qiao Anchen bought a very fresh one and asked the owner to clean it and bring it over. He cleaned it, made incisions on the cutting board, and then marinated it with seasonings.
Inside the shopping bag was a small bag of red chili peppers, the small kind, very spicy, a piece of chicken breast, and some peanuts.
By the time I'm in the first month, I can probably guess what's on today's menu.
The two worked quickly and soon prepared all the side dishes. Qiao Anchen lit the oil and started stir-frying the spicy chicken cubes.
The dried red chili peppers had a pungent smell; as soon as they were added, a strong, acrid odor filled the kitchen. Qiao Anchen couldn't help but turn his head and sneeze, his eyes turning red.
On the first day of the lunar month, I turned the range hood to its highest setting.
When the dish was served, Qiao Anchen looked like he had just experienced a disaster, constantly wiping his nose with tissues. Seeing this, Chu Yi poured him a glass of water.
"Don't cook this dish again next time, it's too spicy."
"Hmm..." Qiao Anchen responded with a heavy nasal tone, while wiping his eyes.
"Why don't you take a rest?" Chu Yi said.
"It's nothing." He threw the tissue into the trash can and turned back to the kitchen.
"Two more dishes will be ready soon."
Qiao Anchen's fish was fried perfectly, but Chu Yi had basically given up on this dish because no matter how much oil she added, the fish always ended up in pieces.
But Qiao Anchen was different; he went in completely and came out completely.
Perhaps it's true that you can't be too obligated to someone who feeds you, because after Chu Yi went to get rice twice, her expression gradually softened, and she didn't find Qiao Anchen across from her so annoying anymore.
After she finished eating, she cleaned up the dishes, and Qiao Anchen helped her. One of them washed the dishes, and the other wiped them down. The kitchen was cleaned up quickly.
After that, there was silence. Chu Yi watched as Qiao Anchen wiped his hands clean and came out, then asked directly, "When are you planning to go back?"
He paused, his gaze wandering involuntarily. After a moment, it settled on the bag of fruit that Chu Yi had placed on the table, and he unconsciously licked his lips.
"I haven't eaten fruit in a long time."
"?"
"Can I try some of your strawberries?" Qiao Anchen pointed to the half of the strawberry box sticking out of the bag and asked in a pretentious manner.
Chuyi: "..."
She took a few deep breaths, then picked up the bag, took it to the kitchen to wash it, and finally placed the plate of strawberries in front of him, patiently waiting for the right moment.
"Eat."
Qiao Anchen picked up a strawberry, then secretly glanced at her before lowering his eyes and slowly biting into the large strawberry in his hand.
Chu Yi sat politely opposite him and patiently waited for him to finish eating.
"What are you planning to do later?" Qiao Anchen suddenly asked while eating, and Chu Yi answered in a serious tone.
"Watching TV series, playing on my phone, and resting."
“Oh…” Qiao Anchen’s eyes flickered, and he said, “I don’t have anything to do later.”
"..." Chu Yi pretended not to understand his crazy hints and stared intently at the table, as if there was a peerless flower on it.
Seeing that Chu Yi didn't respond, Qiao Anchen looked away with some disappointment and slowed down his movements a little.
Chu Yi couldn't help but urge him, "Could you eat it a little faster?" after seeing him eat a single strawberry for almost three minutes.
"What?"
"You can almost count every single seed on that strawberry!"
Caught off guard by her bluntness, Qiao Anchen's face flushed uncontrollably. He quickly finished the strawberry he had been holding for so long.
After swallowing the last bite, he obediently looked at Chu Yi.
"I'm done eating."
"Let's go then, I'll see you downstairs." Chu Yi stood up immediately after saying that. Qiao Anchen looked up at her, his eyes filled with unspoken words. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his eyes and replied.
“Okay…” He immediately remembered something else.
"You don't need to see me off, I can walk by myself."
"That's fine too." Chu Yi opened the door for him and stood aside to wait. Qiao Anchen slowly walked out, feeling like a pitiful man who had been kicked out of the house and had nowhere to go.
For the next two days, Qiao Anchen arrived at her house on time. He didn't do anything, just quietly brought a bag of groceries, cooked her a meal, and after she finished eating, he would find a weak excuse to stay a little longer before reluctantly leaving.
Chu Yi pretended not to notice his hesitation, always keeping a calm expression and ignoring him. Qiao Anchen was rebuffed several times, but he didn't show any other emotions. He just silently endured all her behavior like a bullied good-natured person.
Chu Yi also didn't know how he could portray the wrongdoer as an honest person who swallowed his anger and seemed to have suffered all kinds of difficulties.
It's as if she's the one who's being unreasonable and has done something wrong!
Another week passed, and Chu Yi had gone from feeling uncomfortable at first to feeling extremely peaceful. Apart from the occasional loneliness and anxiety, her overall condition was quite good.
The tutoring center said that the man from last time hasn't come to class for a long time. Ever since that incident with Chu Yi, he probably found it meaningless and stopped coming.
After waiting for a while and confirming that he really never showed up again, Chu Yi started going to class every day again.
Weibo has also started updating.
Life is busy yet fulfilling.
Qiao Anchen now calls her every night before going to bed. They don't talk much, just report on what happened that day.
At first, the conversations were always very brief, ending after only a few words. Later, Chu Yi's attitude improved a lot. It was probably because his anger had subsided over time, leaving only a slight sense of resentment, but he was no longer so cold and indifferent to her.
Even at roughly the same time every night, I would feel a little restless and unconsciously wait for him to call.
It's a bit late today, and Chu Yi kept tossing and turning in bed, as if he could only fall asleep peacefully if he heard his voice.
She felt incredibly pathetic for acting this way, and angrily threw her phone far away, staring at the ceiling in a huff. After a while, worried that she wouldn't be able to answer his call later, she silently got up and picked the phone back from under the covers.
Chu Yi kept going back and forth like this, her mind playing out little dramas. She lay stiffly on the bed, imagining whether something had happened to Qiao Anchen that prevented him from calling her today.
Did he get into a car accident on his way home?
Or did you accidentally slip and fall into a hole while walking?