QTMWSFC Chapter 23

In the middle of the banquet, Xu Xinghe openly took Xia Qingmeng around, and the rumors about the stand-in thing quietly fell apart on their own.

But while the stand-in thing was over, a conspiracy theory suddenly started bubbling up in the crowd.

Who exactly had spread the stand-in rumor became a mystery. Many people had no trouble guessing the other protagonist of the stand-in story—Yin Xinya. As a result, many people began looking at Yin Xinya with complicated expressions.

Who would have thought that a girl who seemed as innocent as a little white flower could actually be so scheming?

Xu Xinghe couldn’t care less about what others thought of Yin Xinya. Before the banquet even ended, he found an excuse and slipped out early with Xia Qingmeng.

Sitting in the car, Xia Qingmeng felt Xu Xinghe’s large hand intertwined with her own, with fingers locked together. It felt like a dream.

Neither of them said much. The car was silent, but the atmosphere was no longer as awkward and cold as before.

The one who felt this change more deeply was the driver. Before, it was so tense he could barely sit still, but in the past two days, it had become as pleasant as a spring breeze!

Xia Qingmeng leaned against the car window and watched the night view of the city speeding past. The surroundings looked familiar at first, but as the car drove farther and farther, the scenery started to seem off.

This wasn’t the way to her place!

Realizing this, Xia Qingmeng turned to Xu Xinghe and asked, “Where are we going?”

Xu Xinghe: “My place.”

Xia Qingmeng’s eyes widened. “Your place? Why so sudden? What about my things?”

She had only been to Xu Xinghe’s house once so far. She could guess with her toes that he wouldn’t have her daily necessities ready. What would she wear then? What would she use? Was her luggage just herself?

Xia Qingmeng was puzzled the whole way until she saw the neat stack of boxes piled up in Xu Xinghe’s living room. Then all her questions were answered.

This moving efficiency was second to none.

Having money really made things easy.

“Actually, I thought that apartment was fine to live in,” Xia Qingmeng muttered as she looked at the boxes all over the floor, but she obediently started opening them right away.

She had to organize everything quickly, otherwise the boxes would be too much of an eyesore in the living room.

Xu Xinghe took a carving knife from a drawer and helped her open the boxes. “I’ve been thinking carefully. With the variety show filming starting soon, it’s better if we live together. Living apart would make them criticize us easily.”

Xia Qingmeng thought what he said made sense.

Xu Xinghe continued, “Besides, the security at your apartment is too poor. It is too easy for sasaeng fans to break in.”

Xia Qingmeng tilted her head and thought for a moment. “But a lot of celebrities live in that apartment. I think it’s pretty good…”

Xu Xinghe stared at her. “Do you trust me, or do you trust yourself?”

Xia Qingmeng gave a sheepish laugh. “I guess I trust you.”

Xu Xinghe cleared out most of the walk-in closets in the house for her. Xia Qingmeng didn’t have many other things, but she really did have a lot of clothes. Of course, that might have something to do with her job as an actress.

After they finished organizing, Xu Xinghe went into the kitchen and cooked some food himself.

Xia Qingmeng originally wanted to take the initiative, but in the end she only managed to make a diet meal.

Xu Xinghe flicked her forehead. “If I’m not around and you’re cooking for yourself, I’m afraid you will probably starve to death sooner or later.”

“How can it be that exaggerated!” Xia Qingmeng touched her forehead. “I haven’t starved to death all these years…”

She admitted that her cooking wasn’t as good as his, but starving to death or anything like that was really an exaggeration! At least she cooked everything through. It was edible! But she still secretly decided to put improving her cooking skills on her to-do list.

Having confirmed her participation in the show, Xia Qingmeng replied to the email that very night.

After dinner, Xia Qingmeng did some exercise to help with digestion, while Xu Xinghe handled a few work matters. Then the two washed up and went to bed.

Lying next to Xu Xinghe, Xia Qingmeng couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Before, her cold had come on suddenly, so Xu Xinghe didn’t touch her. But now she was all better, so…

Xia Qingmeng unconsciously gripped the corner of the blanket.

Even though their relationship had eased a lot, deep down, she still felt some resistance.

She felt that these things should be built on a foundation of enough love, and clearly, what she and Xu Xinghe had wasn’t enough yet.

Xu Xinghe turned to his side, leaning close to Xia Qingmeng, and asked in a low voice by her ear, “Is your body feeling okay?”

Of course, his words had an ulterior motive. Xia Qingmeng could hear the implication beneath his words.

Xu Xinghe reached out and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. His touch was a bit cool. She felt nervous.

He originally wanted to act like a gentleman, but that wouldn’t fit the persona of the original owner. If he suddenly stopped touching Xia Qingmeng at all, it would be too strange and might arouse suspicion. It was better to take things step by step.

Xia Qingmeng took a soft breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and then let out a tiny “Mm,” barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

She knew in her heart that she couldn’t avoid it. Given Xu Xinghe’s decisive nature, he would definitely make her ‘pay up’ sooner or later.

Sure enough.

The next second, Xia Qingmeng felt a heavy weight press down on her, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Are you afraid of me?” Xu Xinghe stared at her tightly shut eyes and asked, though his tone was quite certain.

Xia Qingmeng pressed her lips together, not knowing how to answer.

Afraid and not afraid?

That probably best summed up how she felt inside.

Because she liked him, she wasn’t afraid. But because he always treated her so roughly, she was scared.

Xu Xinghe’s mind kept flashing back to the original owner’s messy memories.

He really hadn’t been gentle with Xia Qingmeng. It was understandable that she was afraid of him.

But now, he was the original owner, and the original owner was him. They were inseparable. In other words, it was the devil he had created and now had to solve it on his own.

Xu Xinghe turned over and let go of Xia Qingmeng. He reached his long arm towards the bedside table and pulled open the drawer. He tried to grab an ‘umbrella,’¹cover, protection, c*ndom but it was empty. His expression immediately darkened.

The original owner really was a bastard and a scumbag. Not only did he mistreat Xia Qingmeng, but sometimes he deliberately didn’t take precautions. It was a classic case of caring only about his own pleasure without taking responsibility.

All in all, he had been with Xia Qingmeng for over half a year. She still hadn’t gotten pregnant. That meant she had been careful about contraception.

Xu Xinghe suddenly remembered seeing a strange strip of pills in the medicine kit before. It had no packaging and even the foil was torn. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now it was clearly suspicious. So he turned over and found the medicine kit.

Xia Qingmeng watched nervously as he pulled out the pills from her luggage.

Xu Xinghe’s expression was serious. “What is this? Birth control pills?”

Xia Qingmeng’s face instantly went pale.

Xu Xinghe looked angry. Was he mad at her for taking birth control pills? But how could she not take them?

Their relationship was complicated to begin with. Although they were now officially a couple, they still weren’t married.

But sometimes he didn’t take precautions. What if she got pregnant? Would the baby stay or not? What would happen to her career? And wouldn’t the child be completely innocent? The truth was, the two of them were nowhere near ready to be qualified parents!

Xia Qingmeng had a lot to say, but when the words reached her lips, she hesitated, unsure which point to start with.

“Don’t take these anymore.” Xu Xinghe put the pills back where they were, frowning slightly and feeling guilty.

Long-term use of these pills would do nothing but harm her body. In the original plot, she even had an accidental miscarriage. He wondered if this was connected.

Xu Xinghe felt a dull ache in his chest and silently cursed the original owner, even though he and the original owner were now the same person.

Xia Qingmeng’s expression grew even worse. She twisted her fingers together and asked him, “Why? Do you want…”

“Taking too many of these is bad for your health. I’ll be careful from now on,” Xu Xinghe explained to her seriously.

Xia Qingmeng blinked instinctively and looked at him intently in the darkness.

What did Xu Xinghe mean by that? Was this his way of taking responsibility for her? Then why did he act like that before? Could it be that her illness finally awakened his conscience? Xia Qingmeng felt like she couldn’t understand him anymore.

“So tonight… are we still…” Xia Qingmeng gripped the blanket tightly and looked at him with wide eyes.

“We’re not doing anything.” Xu Xinghe pulled her into his arms, saying it in a ‘fierce’ tone.

At a time like this, she was still thinking about that?

Xia Qingmeng felt an indescribable wonderful sensation.

She could be sure now. Xu Xinghe clearly cared about her more than before. Although she didn’t know what triggered the change in him, Xia Qingmeng guessed it might be because of her illness.

For the first time, Xia Qingmeng felt a bit grateful for that minor illness. It actually made him realize his past mistakes.

“Actually, I don’t take them that often…” Xia Qingmeng muttered softly.

Xu Xinghe pulled her even tighter against his chest.

He was such a scumbag, and she was still defending him!

“I’m sorry. I was terrible before. It won’t happen again.” Xu Xinghe’s voice sounded low and heavy by Xia Qingmeng’s ear. It carried a hint of guilt but also a firm promise. “I’ll change. Let’s have a good life together from now on.”

Buried in his chest, Xia Qingmeng’s eyes gradually grew moist. She answered him in a muffled voice: “Mm.”

He really had been so awful before, always making things hard for her and not really caring about how she felt! What did he take her for? Was she even his girlfriend?

Xia Qingmeng wanted to say a lot of reproachful things in her heart, but in the end, she said nothing. It was already good that he had realized it on his own. Before when he hadn’t realized anything, no amount of talking would have made a difference.