Chapter 83
At the place where the sea met the sky, everything had been washed into a warm shade of orange.
Carrying her sandals, Nan Xu walked barefoot along the beach. The waves brushed against her ankles again and again—a soft, cool touch she could handle.
Looking around, she suddenly crouched down and traced a crooked heart in the damp sand with her fingertip.
Just as she raised her phone to take a picture, a voice came from behind her.
“Who’s that for?”
Nan Xu turned around.
Xie Hejing stood with his hands in his pockets, a lazy smile playing on his lips. The hem of his white shirt fluttered wildly in the sea breeze, and his slightly messy hair only added to his relaxed, unruly charm.
“For me?” he asked again.
Nan Xu lowered her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting as she quietly snapped a photo of the heart. A little shy, she muttered, “You already know.”
“I’m just scared you might’ve drawn it for someone else,” Xie Hejing said, sounding almost reasonable. “Wouldn’t want to be assuming too much.”
He made it sound so considerate.
But if he really discovered she’d drawn it for anyone else, knowing his personality, he’d probably keep Nan Xu here drawing hearts for him all night.
Nan Xu knew this all too well.
He took out his phone, not even asking her to send the picture, and started taking photos wildly on his own.
He took photos of the heart from every possible angle. If Nan Xu didn’t know she had casually drawn it herself, she would’ve thought, judging from Xie Hejing’s posture, that he was photographing some kind of artistic masterpiece.
Unable to stand his relentless snapping, she finally interrupted him.
“Weren’t you helping Xiang Weishi and the others set up the grill? How are you back so quickly?”
At the mention of that, Xie Hejing seemed to remember why he had come over. He put away his phone.
“There are plenty of people. It’ll be done in no time.”
“Come on, let’s go eat.”
“Okay.” Nan Xu slipped on her sandals. “But I need to rinse my feet first. Go ahead and wait for me.”
“Heh…” Xie Hejing let out a short, cold laugh.
Nan Xu looked up, confused. “What are you laughing at?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me to go with you?”
Nan Xu: “…”
It wasn’t like rinsing her feet required someone to accompany her. But since he had said it that way, she understood what he meant—he just didn’t want to admit he wanted to follow her.
“Then… will you come with me?”
“…I guess.” Xie Hejing cleared his throat, pretending to reluctantly agree.
Nan Xu couldn’t help it, she burst into a giggle.
This proud, sulky version of Xie Hejing was surprisingly cute.
Xie Hejing paused for a second, then urged her, “What’s so funny? Hurry up.”
After saying that, he turned sideways and strode ahead first. Nan Xu followed behind, trying hard not to laugh.
There were plenty of people walking along the shore with their feet in the water, but luckily there were many rinse stations too, so she didn’t need to queue.
Xie Hejing crouched beside one of the hoses and motioned for her to come over.
“You’re going to wash my feet for me? I can just rinse them quickly myself.”
“Come here.”
Nan Xu obediently stepped forward and lifted her foot.
Xie Hejing turned on the faucet. The water streamed down, and he reached out to slip off her sandal, gently rubbing away the sand clinging to the sides of her foot.
Her feet were already pale, and once the sand washed off, they looked even more flawless. Holding her foot in his hand, Xie Hejing commented, “Pretty cute.”
Nan Xu’s face warmed. “What are you saying? Hurry up, there are people waiting behind us.”
Behind her stood a couple. The girl, clearly there to rinse her feet too, watched Xie Hejing’s movements and immediately turned to her boyfriend. “Look at her boyfriend. You better wash mine for me later.”
“You’re thinking too much. You need me to wash your feet? Don’t you have hands?” the guy replied dismissively.
Xie Hejing washed her feet carefully, but there wasn’t much sand, so it took only two or three minutes.
Nan Xu quickly stepped around him and slipped her sandals back on. As they walked away, they could still hear the girl complaining, “Can’t you be like her boyfriend for once?”
Hearing that, Xie Hejing raised his brows with a hint of amusement. “Did you hear that? I’ve officially become ‘someone else’s perfect boyfriend’.”
Nan Xu actually agreed with that, but she still replied, “Don’t get cocky. And you’re not someone else’s, you’re mine.”
Nan Xu rarely said anything that sounded possessive, and the moment the words left her mouth, Xie Hejing instantly brightened.
“Whose?” he asked again.
Nan Xu knew perfectly well that he’d heard her the first time; he just wanted to hear it again. She sped up, refusing to fall for it.
“If you don’t keep up, you can belong to whoever you want.”
The moment he heard that, Xie Hejing jogged forward and quickly caught up to her. He grabbed her wrist and made her stop.
“Heartless girl. I just washed your feet and now you’re pretending you don’t know me?”
“I…”
His words made Nan Xu suddenly feel a little embarrassed.
“If I really became someone else’s, you wouldn’t cry?” Xie Hejing frowned and stared at her intently.
It felt like if she dared to say even half a “no,” she’d be in trouble.
“I’d cry. I’d cry my eyes out every single day.” Nan Xu exaggerated her expression and deliberately said it in an overly dramatic tone.
Seeing the way Xie Hejing visibly relaxed and looked completely satisfied, Nan Xu felt even more certain about one thing:
Xie Hejing loved it when she claimed him, relied on him, clung to him, and longed for him.
Those tiny expressions of affection were like an addictive liquor—just a drop from her was enough to send his heartbeat off rhythm, and he savored every second of it.
Nan Xu decided to test her theory one more time. She stepped closer, her voice soft and teasing. “If I can’t see you, I’ll be really sad. So you’re not allowed to become someone else’s.”
Then she focused entirely on Xie Hejing’s expression—and sure enough, she caught the way he was desperately trying to suppress his smile, only for it to keep escaping anyway.
Seeing she had guessed right, Nan Xu lowered her gaze slightly. Just as Xie Hejing was about to laugh out loud, she suddenly added, “But hey… if it really came to that, I’d just find someone else. They say the best way to forget an old relationship is to start a new one.”
Xie Hejing’s smile vanished instantly.
“You dare. I wouldn’t let you be with anyone else, not even if I died.”
And he certainly wasn’t going to give her any chance to “cry her eyes out.”
Nan Xu sighed helplessly. “Alright then, you tell me. Who do you belong to?”
“Yours,” Xie Hejing replied through gritted teeth.
Nan Xu was getting better and better at handling him… but truth be told, he kind of enjoyed it.
Nan Xu nodded hard. “Right. So this person who belongs to me…” She paused thoughtfully. “Sir, can we go eat the barbecue now?”
He was standing right in front of her like a wall. As long as he didn’t move, she wasn’t getting anywhere.
Not far away, under the warm glow of the lights, several wooden tables had been pushed together. Their friends’ laughter mixed with the sizzling sound of the grill.
They had rented a van, fully stocked with equipment, so the tables were covered not only with skewers but also snacks and drinks.
“You two are finally here!” Wen Qi pushed a plate of freshly grilled food toward them. “Here, try this. It’s so good.”
Skewers of glistening squid lay on the plate, their charred brown surface coated in an amber-colored sauce, just looking at them was enough to make anyone hungry.
“Okay.” Nan Xu took a bite.
The sauce burst across her tongue instantly, followed by a wave of heat. Paired with the chewiness of the squid, it was incredibly satisfying.
Xie Hejing casually alternated between sips of beer and bites of barbecue, occasionally exchanging a few words with Wei Qingxuan.
Nan Xu, Wen Qi, and An Nian gathered together nearby, chatting and laughing nonstop.
Only one person remained silent—
—Xiang Weishi.
He was slumped in a plastic chair, holding what was probably his… fourth? fifth? bottle of beer. The bottle in his hand had just reached the bottom again.
“If you drink any more, you’re going to get drunk.” Xie Hejing pushed over a fresh plate of grilled squid, the cumin aroma mixing sharply with the heavy smell of alcohol.
Xiang Weishi only shook his head. His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed the last bit of beer.
“Can’t eat. I think I’m a little…”
He paused for a moment, then used that thin layer of drunken courage to say what was really on his mind: “I miss her.”
“You miss her that much?” Xie Hejing tilted his head toward the pile of empty bottles at Xiang Weishi’s feet. “Miss her enough to drown yourself in beer?”
They often drank together. Xiang Weishi was able to hold his liquor, but even when called out by Xie Hejing to drink, he maintained moderation and usually didn’t get drunk.
But tonight, he looked like he had come with the sole intention of getting wasted.
Xiang Weishi didn’t answer him. Instead, he asked back, “When Nan Xu went abroad, didn’t you miss her? Didn’t you drink?”
“If Nan Xu were still overseas right now, you’d be drinking even harder than I am.”
Back then, Xie Hejing had been asking Xiang Weishi out for drinks all the time. He hadn’t understood why at first, but once Nan Xu returned to the country, everything became clear.
When Xie Hejing missed Nan Xu too much, the only thing he could rely on was alcohol to numb himself.
So Xie Hejing shut his mouth. In this matter, he had no right to lecture anyone.
Wei Qingxuan had just finished peeling fruit for Wen Qi. Hearing their conversation, he said calmly, “If you like her, then keep chasing.”
Xiang Weishi took a swig of his drink and said, “If Wen Qi told you she hated you and wanted you to stay far away from her, could you handle that?”
Wei Qingxuan fell silent.
Seeing the two of them go quiet one after another, Xiang Weishi let out a heavy sigh. “She already hates me. Just let it go. No need to annoy her anymore.”
No one could help him with this. Not even he could help himself.
How did he end up falling for someone who disliked him? Even coming out to relax, he still couldn’t forget her. Xiang Weishi shook his head with a bitter smile and kept drinking.
The two beside him didn’t try to stop him. With them there, nothing was going to happen anyway, and if drinking made Xiang Weishi feel a little better, then so be it.
The three of them sat in silence, while the laughter from the other side drifted over from time to time. Xie Hejing sipped his drink slowly, his gaze fixed on Nan Xu.
After Xiang Weishi’s reminder earlier, he couldn’t help wondering—what if Nan Xu had never come back?
As if by some kind of telepathy, Nan Xu happened to turn around right then.
Catching Xie Hejing’s unreadable gaze, she looked a little puzzled, but still gave him a sweet smile and mouthed, “What’s wrong?”
Xie Hejing shook his head with a small smile.
There were no “what ifs.”
He and Nan Xu were destined to be together.
Nan Xu and the others only came back after chatting to their hearts’ content.
Nan Xu was humming a tune, but she hadn’t forgotten the look in Xie Hejing’s eyes earlier. There had been something like sadness in them.
She asked again, “What were you thinking just now?”
“I was thinking… thank goodness you came back.”
To Nan Xu, the words sounded a bit strange. She didn’t know why Xie Hejing suddenly thought of something like that.
“Ge, why did you drink so much?” An Nian’s brows were practically knitted together. It really looked like her cousin had come here to mend a broken heart this time.
Then she turned and spotted several empty bottles on the floor. She yelped, “Oh my god, are you trying to die?”
Nan Xu looked over and slowly understood why Xie Hejing had been thinking that way earlier.
Maybe the scene had triggered something in him?
Wen Qi immediately took charge. “Wei Qingxuan, take the bottle out of his hand. He can’t drink anymore. How did he manage to drink this much in such a short time? He’s crazy.”
Seeing how Xiang Weishi was already so drunk he could barely sit straight, Wen Qi exhaled. “Looks like he’s really serious this time.”
Nan Xu turned to Xie Hejing as well. “Help Xiang Weishi into the car. We’ll clean up here.”
“Mm.” Xie Hejing set down his bottle.
They returned to the hotel, and after Xie Hejing and Wei Qingxuan got Xiang Weishi settled, they each went back to their own rooms.
Nan Xu was sitting by the bed doing her skincare when she heard Xie Hejing come in. She stood up and asked, “How’s Xiang Weishi?”
“He’s asleep.” Xie Hejing took off his jacket. Smelling the alcohol on it, he frowned and moved it farther away from Nan Xu’s coat.
He had originally wanted to hug her, but the smell on him was unbearable.
“I’m going to shower first. Rest for a bit. When I come out, I want to hold you.”
Why did he need to announce a hug ahead of time tonight?
Nan Xu tilted her head. “You can hug me now, you know. Or I can hug you.”
She walked toward him.
“I smell like alcohol,” Xie Hejing said.
Hearing that, Nan Xu stopped in her tracks. She had just taken a shower, she wasn’t about to let it go to waste. “Then I’ll hug you after you come out.”
Xie Hejing showered for half an hour. By the time he came out, Nan Xu was already getting sleepy.
They had walked a lot today and visited several places. Lying on the bed, Nan Xu’s eyelids kept drooping on their own.
But remembering that she was supposed to hug Xie Hejing, she forced herself to stay awake, fixing all her attention on her phone.
When Xie Hejing realized she was fighting off sleep just for that, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If you’re sleepy, just sleep. I can hug you.”
“No. I said I’d hug you, so I’m hugging you.”
Xie Hejing didn’t drag it out and went straight to the point. “Alright, come here then.”
He lay down beside her so she could reach out and pull him close.
Nan Xu placed her hand on his waist and naturally burrowed into his arms, pressing her face firmly against his chest.
“You smell really nice right now,” Nan Xu said with a curved smile. “I like it a lot.”
“You like it… and then?” Xie Hejing lowered his eyes to look at her.
“What do you mean ‘and then’? I like it, that’s all.” Nan Xu took a soft breath.
Since he had just showered, Xie Hejing carried a light lemon scent that covered most of his usual cedar aroma.
But the mix of the two created something uniquely his.
Xie Hejing’s voice sounded a little disappointed. “I thought you might actually do something to me. After all, it’s rare for you to say you like me today.”
Nan Xu realized what he was hinting at and lightly slapped his chest.
“You’re overthinking.”
“And how do you still have so much energy? We walked so much today, and you don’t look tired at all.”
“You even have the strength to think nonsense.”
“Maybe it’s because…”
Xie Hejing trailed off, deliberately leaving her hanging.
Nan Xu got anxious. “Because what? Can’t you just finish your sentence?”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Xie Hejing continued to tease with a smile.
Nan Xu gave up. “Forget it. I’m going to sleep.”
Seeing how exhausted she really was, Xie Hejing stopped teasing.
“Because the person I like is right here beside me. So I have energy for everything.”
“Nan Xu,” Xie Hejing called softly.
Nan Xu already had her eyes closed, drifting in and out of sleep, but she still answered, “Mm?”
“Say you like me again.”
“Like you,” Nan Xu murmured, lips barely moving, “I’ve always liked you.”
Xie Hejing’s eyes lifted slightly. Something came to his mind, but he didn’t say it right away.
He patted her back gently, coaxing her to sleep.
About ten minutes passed before he finally worked up the courage to say one more sentence.
“I think I like you too much… that I don’t just want a home with you. I also want to…”
All he heard beside his ear was Nan Xu’s steady breathing.
Xie Hejing’s lashes fluttered lightly, and he swallowed the rest of his words again.