Lu Xi glared at Xie Heng angrily, leaned in, curled her fingers, and gave him a firm knock on the head.
“Hiss—why are you hitting me?” Xie Heng clutched his blue-dyed hair.
Lu Xi let out a cold snort. “Hitting you is already being nice. I’m mad now. From this moment on, you’re not allowed to talk to me.”
Xie Heng : ?
What… what did he even say?
This was completely baffling.
When the car pulled up at home, Lu Xi didn’t wait for the driver to open the door. She got out on her own, swinging her small bag as she walked off decisively, not sparing him a single glance.
The driver glanced at Xie Heng through the rearview mirror.
The Young Master was slumped in the back seat, looking a little dejected and bewildered. That usually handsome face now appeared rather pitiful.
He huffed, gripping his phone in his hand, but didn’t get out of the car.
“Young Master? We’re here.” The driver had to remind him.
Xie Heng clicked his tongue impatiently. “I know.”
The driver had nothing to say to that. He could only wait with Xie Heng. After all, the heater was on in the car. He couldn’t turn it off, nor could he leave the Young Master alone inside.
A few minutes later, he heard a frustrated voice from the back seat.
“Actually… do you know why she’s mad?”
The driver stroked his chin and gave a hearty chuckle. The young master had finally asked the right person. He was a married man, after all. He could definitely offer some advice.
He said, “First of all, you must’ve done something to upset her.”
Xie Heng : “I didn’t.”
The driver thought, If it wasn’t you, then was it me? But he held back and continued, “Then you must’ve said something wrong.”
Xie Heng frowned.
He had argued with her a little, but surely that wasn’t enough to make her this mad, right?
Seeing his troubled expression, the driver went on, “Or, maybe you didn’t do anything, but your tone, your attitude, or even your facial expression annoyed her.”
Xie Heng : ???
For real? People could get mad over something like that?
The driver spoke from experience. Looking at the clueless young man, he advised earnestly, “Listen, just don’t overthink it. Apologize, ask for forgiveness, and it’ll all be fine.”
Xie Heng touched the spot where she had knocked him earlier.
It still hurt.
The first time she had ever hit him, she hadn’t used nearly as much force. Wasn’t she worried she’d damage his brain and make him dumber?
He scoffed, straightened his back, and said proudly, “No way. I have principles. Apologizing for nothing would be humiliating.”
The driver had nothing to say to that. He simply gave him a thumbs-up.
“Young Master is truly strong-willed.”
Let’s see how long that lasts.
Xie Heng decided not to go home yet. It would just be awkward anyway. Instead, he figured he might as well go find someone to play basketball with, so he headed straight to Xu Jiaming’s house.
Lately, since they lived nearby, Xie Heng had been hanging out with Xu Jiaming more often. It wasn’t like before, when his go-to basketball buddy was Song Siyang.
Even Song Siyang had complained, saying Xie Heng had ditched him for a new friend.
Whenever Song Siyang got all whiny like that, Xie Heng would just raise a fist in warning. It wasn’t about favoring anyone. It was just that Xu Jiaming lived closer and had been tutoring him recently, so naturally, they hung out more.
Thinking of Song Siyang only made Xie Heng more frustrated.
Why was it so easy to get along with guys? Even if you started off on bad terms, a few rounds of gaming together could make you friends. Even if there was a conflict, talking it out—or worst case, throwing a few punches—would settle things.
Why were girls so hard to understand?
Why were they so hard to appease?
He had already backed down first.
At Xu Jiaming’s house, aside from the servants, there was only Xu Jiaming himself, and he was usually buried in his books, making the place feel especially quiet.
Xie Heng was a regular visitor, so the servants quickly brought him his favorite drinks and snacks.
“I have to finish this practice test. No basketball today. Go find Lao Song,” Xu Jiaming said without even looking up.
Xie Heng paused for a second, then remembered, Xu Jiaming had mentioned a few days ago that he was preparing for some physics competition and would be busy.
He wasn’t so unreasonable as to drag a hardworking student away to play ball, so he just ruffled his hair and nodded.
“Alright, hit us up when you’re free.”
Just as he was about to leave for Song Siyang’s place, his gaze swept over Xu Jiaming’s focused side profile.
A sudden idea struck him.
Xu Jiaming was a top student, well-read and knowledgeable. Maybe he could offer some real insights.
Not like that driver, who just spouted vague nonsense without any real logic.
Xu Jiaming, still staring at his test paper, noticed Xie Heng lingering. He finally lifted his eyes and gave him a questioning look. “Something else?”
*Ahem—* Xie Heng walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Not much, just wondering… you know a lot, don’t you?”
“Depends on the subject,” Xu Jiaming replied cautiously.
Xie Heng’s eyes lit up, his face full of curiosity. “Do you understand women?”
Xu Jiaming : “…”
Before Xie Heng opened his mouth, Xu Jiaming had never expected this kind of question.
He shook his head regretfully and said, “If I understood, I wouldn’t be here doing these exercises right now. I’d be out holding hands with my girlfriend, don’t you think?”
Damn, that actually makes a lot of sense!
Xie Heng frowned. Xu Jiaming doesn’t understand either? Then Song Siyang definitely wouldn’t. He’s heard plenty of girls call Song Siyang an idiot right to Song Siyang’s face, and the guy just laughed it off. Clearly, Song Siyang’s luck with girls wasn’t great.
Maybe Xie Heng should just post the question online?
Seeing Xie Heng’s troubled expression, Xu Jiaming cleared his throat and said bluntly, “Still, no matter how clueless I am, I definitely understand more than you. Go ahead and tell me, maybe I can help.”
“Fine.”
Xie Heng vaguely felt like Xu Jiaming was throwing shade at him, but he didn’t have time to care, solving the problem was more important.
Of course, he couldn’t tell the whole truth. That would be way too embarrassing.
So he carefully worded it : “Here’s the thing, I have this friend, and he…”
Xu Jiaming cut him off coolly, “This friend is you.”
Xie Heng’s face changed. He shot him a glare. “It’s not me! I said it’s my friend! You don’t even know him!”
“…Fine, go on.” Xu Jiaming held back a laugh.
Xie Heng summed it up simply, “My friend went shopping with his Mom today. On the way, a man confessed to her, saying he’s had a crush on her for over ten years. My friend dragged his Mom away, and then she got mad and even hit me—uh, I mean, him.”
Xu Jiaming was slightly taken aback.
He lowered his gaze, thinking for a while, before asking nonchalantly, “What about the man? Is he impressive?”
Xie Heng sighed. “He’s good-looking, rich, younger than my friend’s Dad, a strong competition.”
Xu Jiaming frowned slightly. “So your friend dragged his Mom away because he was afraid of losing her to another man?”
“Pretty much.” Xie Heng said. “But that’s not the point. The point is, she’s mad now and ignoring him. How does he make it up to her?”
Xu Jiaming didn’t have much experience in this area. Growing up, he had always been Yang Yihan’s pride, never making trouble for her, never making her angry.
But if he tried to put himself in her shoes…
The boy lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Don’t focus on making it up to her just yet. First, figure out what you did wrong.”
Xie Heng wasn’t as self-assured as before. He mumbled, a little unconvinced, “I didn’t do anything wrong…”
Xu Jiaming cut him off. “You did.”
Ignoring Xie Heng’s wide-eyed reaction, Xu Jiaming continued, “I imagine she’s a beautiful, outstanding woman. Given that, besides your friend’s Dad, there are bound to be many other men who admire her. That’s normal. Even after marriage, she has the right to listen to someone’s confession.”
Xie Heng opened his mouth, but he couldn’t argue against that.
Thinking back, Ye Sisheng had only confessed, nothing inappropriate. His Mom had only listened.
It was him who had jumped out, all panicked, like a dog backed into a corner.
Xu Jiaming glanced at him and continued, “If your friend was afraid his Mom would be ‘taken away,’ then instead of dragging her off, he should be encouraging his Dad to improve himself and find ways to make her happy. What he did was disrespectful.”
Xie Heng was left speechless.
He clenched his fingers slightly, his eyes unfocused as he tried to process Xu Jiaming’s words.
Xu Jiaming, having said his piece, simply went back to working on his exercises, leaving Xie Heng to figure things out on his own.
“…Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
Before long, Xie Heng got up and left Xu Jiaming’s house. But instead of heading straight home, he wandered around the villa district, lost in thought.
Xu Jiaming’s words kept echoing in his head.
Had he really been in the wrong?
It was past eight when he got a call from the butler, finally prompting him to head home.
He thought she’d either be in the study or her bedroom by now. But to his surprise, she was in the living room, practicing guitar.
Xie Heng lowered his head, feeling awkward, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“Young Master is back! Hurry, bring out the soup, Madam saved some especially for you. Freshest star grouper,” the butler said before turning to Lu Xi. “Madam, you only had a bowl of fish soup for dinner. Should I have the kitchen prepare some late-night snacks?”
Lu Xi shook her head. “No need, I’m not hungry.”
Xie Heng glanced up, his handsome face tense. He pressed his lips together uncomfortably.
Was she so mad she didn’t even feel like eating?
But even though she was angry, she still remembered to save him some fish soup. Star grouper fish soup was his favorite.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over him.
He was such an idiot…
“Um… don’t go to sleep yet! I’ll go get you some fried chicken, I’ll be right back!” Xie Heng suddenly raised his voice, then bolted out the door like the wind.
Through the floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Xi watched his bright blue hair disappear into the night.
Silly boy…
Sigh. He was so frustrating, yet so endearing.