Yu Zhiwan put down the photo album and looked at Xie Jingmo in confusion.
Then she saw him actually take a small notebook out of the drawer and write down a line:
[September 23, evening — Wanwan said I’m her type ＼(￣︶￣)／]
Yu Zhiwan: “???”
What was he doing?
Why did he actually write it down in a notebook?!
And what was that cute little emoticon supposed to mean?!
Yu Zhiwan stared at him with an incredibly complicated expression.
“You…”
Xie Jingmo casually twirled the pen between his fingers and raised his brows.
“What? Did I write something wrong?”
Yu Zhiwan: “…Not exactly.”
It was indeed something that had just happened.
But…
“You didn’t really need to write it down in a notebook, did you?”
“Oh.”
Xie Jingmo nodded humbly, as though taking her criticism seriously.
“My fault. I really shouldn’t have written it down like that.”
With that, he took out his phone, photographed the sentence, and immediately posted it on his Moments.
Yu Zhiwan: “???”
The man’s peach-blossom eyes curved slightly as he smiled lazily and teasingly.
“Thank you for reminding me, Madam. Writing things down with pen and paper isn’t fashionable anymore. People record things online now.”
Yu Zhiwan: “???”
Who reminded him?!
He was twisting her words around!
Meanwhile, the Moments post Xie Jingmo had just uploaded had already exploded with comments.
Xie Yunzhou: Hehehe~
Xie Yuntang: Hehehe~
Grandpa: Hehehe~
Grandma: Hehehe~
Xiao Yichen: Holy crap! @Qin An, get over here and look!
Qin An: My poor eyes… I’m blind…
Xiao Yichen: Bro, be honest! Did you put a knife to Yu Zhiwan’s neck and force her to say that? There’s no way she’d voluntarily compliment you!
Qin An: You idiot, stop trying to get yourself killed! Brother Xie is completely lovesick now. He can’t hear anything like that!
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Xie Jingmo stared at Xiao Yichen’s comment, narrowed his eyes, and calmly blocked him.
Xiao Yichen: “???”
Woof woof woof???
Yu Zhiwan was pestered by Xie Yuntang until she added her on WeChat.
Of course, she also added Xie Yunzhou, Old Master Xie, Madam Xie, and several other family members.
They even added her to the family group chat.
Yu Zhiwan had initially been a little nervous.
But the moment she entered the group, everyone warmly welcomed her and greeted her enthusiastically. Even the older members sent her red envelopes.
Xie Jingmo was especially noticeable.
Whenever Yu Zhiwan replied to one of the elders, he would casually send a message right after hers, almost as if he were standing behind her and protecting her, ready to support her at any moment.
The little bit of nervousness in Yu Zhiwan’s heart disappeared almost instantly.
It was getting late, so Yu Zhiwan and Xie Jingmo prepared to leave.
Old Master Xie and Madam Xie were reluctant to let her go. They held her hand and repeatedly reminded her to visit often.
Of course, their precious grandson had to come too.
Otherwise, who would drive Yu Zhiwan around?
Xie Jingmo: “?”
Driver?
Yu Zhiwan almost laughed but managed to hold it in.
She listened carefully to everything his grandparents told her and nodded obediently.
On the way back to Lanxi Garden, Xie Jingmo was once again driving.
Yu Zhiwan sat in the passenger seat, her eyes subtly drawn toward the thin notebook on the back seat.
When she opened the first page, she immediately saw his powerful handwriting:
[September 23, evening — Wanwan said I’m her type ＼(￣︶￣)／]
He had actually brought his little notebook back to Lanxi Garden!
Yu Zhiwan’s lips twitched.
She never would have imagined that Xie Jingmo could do something so childish.
He’s really Xie Three-Year-Old.
Remembering that he’d taken a picture and posted it on his Moments earlier, Yu Zhiwan decided to take a look.
She opened WeChat.
Xie Jingmo was at the top of her contacts, so she clicked directly on his profile and entered his Moments.
The next second, her eyelid twitched violently.
What was that on his Moments cover?!
What was that glaring red thing?!
Yu Zhiwan immediately looked up at the man in the driver’s seat, utterly baffled.
“What’s your Moments cover?”
Xie Jingmo glanced at her, looking as though he’d been waiting for her to notice.
Instead of answering, he said,
“This is the first time you’ve looked at my Moments, isn’t it?”
Yu Zhiwan: “That’s not the point! The point is, why did you set the cover of your marriage certificate as your Moments cover? Isn’t that weird?”
It was already dark outside.
The colorful neon lights along the road reflected across the man’s handsome, sharply defined face, making him look even more captivating.
His pale, slender fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel.
His voice was lazy, with a slight upward lilt at the end.
“That’s weird?”
“I was actually thinking of hanging our marriage certificate around my neck starting tomorrow~”
Yu Zhiwan: “???”
He didn’t sound like he was joking.
He actually seemed serious.
Wear their marriage certificate around his neck…
The image was too ridiculous for her to imagine.
Yu Zhiwan immediately stopped him.
“No, no, no. That’s unnecessary! That would really be too strange!”
“Anyway, having it as your Moments cover isn’t that bad. Just leave it like that. It’s actually pretty good!”
The man’s peach-blossom eyes curved.
“Since Madam says it’s good, I’ll obey and leave it as my Moments cover.”
Yu Zhiwan: “…?”
Why did she feel like she’d just been tricked?
Lu Xun once described a similar kind of tactic: if you want to open a window in a house, people may refuse. But if you say you want to tear down the entire roof, they’ll compromise and let you open the window instead.
Wasn’t that exactly what Xie Jingmo had just done?
He set their marriage certificate as his Moments cover.
She thought it was strange.
Then he said he wanted to hang it around his neck.
So she backed down and decided that having it as his cover wasn’t so bad after all.
No wonder he’s such a powerful businessman.
He’s cunning. Way too cunning.
Yu Zhiwan gave him a resentful look, like she was staring at a big villain.
The man smiled.
His peach-blossom eyes were gentle and affectionate.
“You were so nervous before we went to the old residence. Are you still nervous now?”
Yu Zhiwan paused, then shook her head.
“Not anymore. Grandpa and Grandma were really nice to me. Yuntang and Yunzhou welcomed me too.”
The family and affection she had always longed for…
She had unexpectedly found them in the Xie family.
And it wasn’t fake kindness.
They genuinely cared about her.
At the intersection ahead, Xie Jingmo turned left.
“Then shall we come here more often?”
Yu Zhiwan nodded.
“Sure.”
Xie Jingmo chuckled.
“What if Grandpa and Grandma ask you to stay overnight?”
“That’s fine too.”
He glanced at her, his gaze deepening.
“What if they want to see you every day and ask you to live at the old residence? It’s quite far from your school, so commuting would be inconvenient. Would you still agree?”
Yu Zhiwan thought for a moment.
“Actually, that would be okay too. I can deal with the inconvenience of going to school.”
As expected, Xie Jingmo frowned slightly.
His deep, magnetic voice became more serious.
“Wanwan, you have the right to say no.”
“If something makes you uncomfortable, forces you to compromise, or is something you simply don’t want to do, you can say no directly.”
The moment he said those words, something inside Yu Zhiwan seemed to be pulled hard.
Her slender fingers unconsciously tightened around the seat belt.
She turned toward him, her eyelashes trembling intensely.
“…I just feel that Grandpa and Grandma are so good to me. And Yuntang and Yunzhou are good to me too.”
“I want to cherish them and repay their kindness…”
Xie Jingmo found a place by the roadside and pulled the car over.
He leaned toward her and gently stroked her head.
His dark, affectionate eyes remained fixed on her.
“Wanwan, you don’t need to work hard to repay anything.”
“They like you because you’re you.”
“It’s not because you’re obedient or well-behaved.”
“They like you for who you are.”
“And they won’t stop loving you just because you say no.”
Yu Zhiwan’s heart suddenly began beating hard.
Her eyes burned with emotion.
Back in the Yu family…
When Yu Xiangxiang became ill and took a leave from school, Yu Xiuqi and Yu Shaoze didn’t care about her wishes. They told her that because she was the older sister, taking care of her younger sister was her responsibility.
When she was filling out her university applications after the college entrance examination, Yu Changde ignored what she wanted and forcibly changed her choices, telling her that she had to give way to Yu Xiangxiang and couldn’t attend a better university than her.
Tao Shuqin had also ignored her wishes and forced her to date Gu Chengfeng…
In the Yu family, she had never been allowed to say no.
Even when she didn’t want to do something, she had to do it.
And now, Xie Jingmo was telling her that she didn’t need to force herself.
She didn’t need to wrong herself.
She had the right to say no.
And even if she said no, his grandparents wouldn’t stop loving her.
“Wanwan.”
Xie Jingmo quietly looked at her face, his long, clean fingers gently brushing through her soft hair.
“My family likes you because you’re worthy of being loved simply for being yourself.”
“They’ll continue treating you well.”
“So will I.”
His girl had endured too many hardships and setbacks in both her adoptive family and the Yu family.
Sometimes, people who had grown up deprived of love would instinctively try to repay even the smallest bit of warmth they received, even if it meant sacrificing themselves.
Xie Jingmo wanted her to get used to being loved.
He wanted her to get used to refusing things she didn’t want to do.
He didn’t want her to force herself.
He didn’t want her to suppress her feelings.
He only wanted to indulge her, spoil her, and slowly teach her to be a little spoiled—to understand, little by little, that she deserved to be cherished.