QTMWSFC Chapter 20

After dinner, the two washed up and got ready for bed.

When Xia Qingmeng came out of the bathroom, she stood at the door and watched Xu Xinghe for a moment.

He was leaning casually and lazily against the headboard, talking on the phone. He was speaking a foreign language fluently. It sounded a bit like French.

Xia Qingmeng sometimes wondered what incredible luck she had to end up as this man’s girlfriend. She was an orphan from an unknown small county town, while he had been a golden child since birth. The two of them were as different as heaven and earth.

Occasionally, Xia Qingmeng would feel secretly happy, but more often reality would wake her up.

Maybe he was just playing around. When he got tired of it, he would break up with her. By then, she would be left with nothing. Her heart lost and her body given away.

After all, he treated her like an emperor flipping a concubine’s wooden plaque. He was always cold and aloof, only speaking a few more words to her during intimate moments. Their relationship just didn’t look normal no matter how you looked at it!

So Xia Qingmeng felt she was deluding herself. She had been trying hard to suppress her feelings. But whenever she thought about the possibility of them actually breaking up one day, she couldn’t help the pain in her heart.

Because she really liked Xu Xinghe!

She couldn’t say exactly what she liked about him, but she couldn’t stop herself from caring about his moods.

Xia Qingmeng lowered her head and smiled bitterly at herself.

She was really hopeless…

When Xu Xinghe finished his call, he saw Xia Qingmeng standing motionless at the door. He frowned slightly and patted the bed beside him. “Come here.”

Xia Qingmeng shuffled over and got into bed.

Xu Xinghe turned and pressed towards her. Xia Qingmeng instinctively closed her eyes.

“Mm, good. No relapse. Does your throat still hurt?” Xu Xinghe pressed her forehead, his deep voice sounding by her ear.

Xia Qingmeng shook her head. When she opened her eyes, she fell into his deep eyes. She was dazed for a moment.

“You don’t have to be so guarded. I’m not going to do anything to you tonight. I wouldn’t take advantage of a patient.” Xu Xinghe felt a little depressed.

Xia Qingmeng still seemed somewhat afraid of him. It was his own fault, his previous attitude and behavior were too harsh. Changing her impression of him wouldn’t be easy overnight.

“It’s not that I’m guarded…” Xia Qingmeng murmured.

She was just a bit unaccustomed and nervous.

She felt that Xu Xinghe had changed a little, as if he had become gentler. Was it because her illness had stirred his compassion?

If that were true, she wished she could stay sick forever so his gentleness might last a little longer.

“By the way, this dress arrived this morning. There’s a banquet tomorrow night. If you’re still not feeling well, we won’t go.” Xu Xinghe handed her a box from the bedside table.

He originally thought the project he had previously pushed aside would take two or three days to negotiate, but he didn’t expect to finish it in just one evening. So he still planned to take Xia Qingmeng to the banquet. It would have looked strange to not go without reason, but then she got sick.

“Is this banquet very important? Do you need to have a female companion?” Xia Qingmeng took the box and asked.

Xu Xinghe thought for a moment. “Actually, it’s not that important.”

Not going would mean missing out on certain plot points, but that wasn’t a big deal. They weren’t important people or events anyway. Right now, nothing was more important than Xia Qingmeng’s health.

“It’s okay. I feel much better. It was never that serious. I’ll attend tomorrow night.” Xia Qingmeng agreed anyway.

She wasn’t foolish. Banquets like this were essentially opportunities to make connections, and that was very important, even though Xu Xinghe himself was already a sufficiently powerful connection.

Xu Xinghe frowned slightly and touched her smooth and delicate face. “If you’re uncomfortable, don’t push yourself.”

Xia Qingmeng smiled. “I’m not pushing. I haven’t even taken any medicine.”

Her fever had come and gone quickly this time, as if she were dreaming. She was mostly recovered now. Xia Qingmeng knew her own body well.

Xu Xinghe nodded, understanding her thoughts. Then he pulled the blanket up around her and drew her into his arms. “Sleep.”

Xia Qingmeng lay in his arms. Her heart was beating so fast it was almost unbearable.

They had hugged plenty of times before, but those were only after they had been intimate, when she would collapse exhausted in his arms. He seemed to be venting, and she seemed to be completing a task. They were hugging, but their hearts were far, far apart.

But today was different. Nothing had happened, yet it felt so warm. Xia Qingmeng felt closer to him than ever before.

…

The next afternoon, Xu Xinghe took Xia Qingmeng to get styled and changed into the dress.

The dress was custom-made and was a close-fitting strapless style. The water-blue fabric swayed gracefully when she walked, looking absolutely beautiful. The only downside was that it was a bit cold to wear.

But when the dress was ordered, no one expected the late autumn and winter to be this chilly. Today’s temperature dropped largely.

Xu Xinghe had come prepared. He picked out a white wool shawl for her. It was simple and elegant in style, harmonious in color, and offering some warmth.

Still, the shawl alone was like a drop in the bucket. Xia Qingmeng continued to shiver from the cold, but her professional composure as an actress kept her from showing it.

Xu Xinghe saw through her act immediately. Knowing that such light clothing would do little against the cold, he took off his coat and handed it to her. “Put this on for the ride. You’ll be warm once we’re inside.”

It was perfectly normal for a girlfriend to wear her boyfriend’s clothes.

Xia Qingmeng didn’t pretend to refuse. She really was cold, so she put on Xu Xinghe’s coat.

His coat was very long and still carried his body heat, making her feel instantly warmer, like stepping into another world. From time to time, she caught a whiff of the clean scent on the fabric.

Xu Xinghe didn’t smoke or wear cologne. The smell on his clothes was generally just detergent, which was gentle and soft. To Xia Qingmeng, it seemed cleaner and more pleasant than anyone else’s.

She secretly stole a glance at him. His back was straight, his posture impeccable. Dressed in that crisp suit, he was devastatingly handsome. Of course, she had also seen him without clothes. It was no exaggeration to say that he was one of the excellent men in the world.

This was her first time attending a banquet with him and one of the few times she had seen him dressed so formally up close. He looked so handsome that she couldn’t help stealing multiple glances.

The banquet was being held at a hotel under the Yin family’s banner, a very famous venue in the capital where many important events took place. And this was just Yin Xinya’s homecoming banquet. The fact that it was such a high-standard event showed how much the Yin family valued this little daughter.

Of course, the hotel belonged to the Yin family to begin with. They could use their own property whenever they wanted.

The guests that evening were mostly influential figures. Xia Qingmeng didn’t want to hold Xu Xinghe back, so she returned his coat to him shortly after getting out of the car, having only worn it for a moment.

Xu Xinghe was unwilling to let her freeze especially since she had just recovered. He quickly led her inside.

The hall was already bustling. Many people noticed Xu Xinghe’s arrival and turned eager gazes toward him. There were men and women, young and old. They all had their own motives, yet shared the same goal: to curry favor.

Xia Qingmeng held Xu Xinghe’s arm, staying close to his side with poise and grace.

As an actress, her looks were top-notch and unique. With fine clothes enhancing her appearance, she was radiant and unforgettable.

But despite her calm expression, Xia Qingmeng was nervous inside.

The events she had attended before were all small and insignificant, nothing compared to this banquet. She was afraid that she would unintentionally do something inappropriate and make Xu Xinghe lose face.

Sensing the stiffness in her arm, Xu Xinghe gently patted her hand to reassure her. Then he ignored the stares of others and took her to get some food.

He handed her a slice of chocolate cake. “Sometimes, if you don’t want to talk to others, using food as a cover works well.”

Xia Qingmeng’s heart warmed, and she quickly calmed down. She smiled sweetly at him and took the cake. “Thank you.”

Xu Xinghe met her eyes, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.

After a small bite, Xia Qingmeng found the sweetness just right and absolutely delicious. She blurted out happily, “What a coincidence. You happened to pick the chocolate flavor, my favorite.”

Xu Xinghe gave her a deep look and said, “Not a coincidence. I picked this flavor on purpose.”

Xia Qingmeng looked up at him blankly, then quickly lowered her head to eat her cake.

Did he mean… he was actively caring about her?

Xu Xinghe made no effort to hide the fact that he was watching her. His direct gaze made Xia Qingmeng’s face grow redder and redder.

Xia Qingmeng had no choice but to eat the entire slice of chocolate cake under his gaze. She said shyly, “Stop staring at me…”

Xu Xinghe reached out and wiped a small smudge of chocolate from the corner of her lips, then licked his finger.

Xia Qingmeng was so shocked that she didn’t know where to look.

She was thinking that her relationship with Xu Xinghe seemed to have suddenly developed from one extreme to the other…