【The Xie family’s upbringing emphasized the rule of remaining silent while eating and resting.
But ever since Xie Yan passed away, the Xie family home had become far too empty and quiet. Moreover, they rarely had opportunities to spend time with their eldest son, Xie Jing. So today, for the first time, Father Xie and Mother Xie broke their usual custom and brought up the subject of blind dates at the dinner table.
“Yes, Xu Wen, the daughter of your Uncle Xu. You should know her. She’s just returned from abroad. Like you, she’s always had excellent grades since childhood. She’s also an accomplished cellist and has won several international awards.”
From Mother Xie’s tone, it was obvious that she had a favorable impression of Xu Wen.
“I’m on fairly good terms with your Aunt Xu. We’ll arrange a time for her to bring Xu Wen over for a visit,” Mother Xie said gently.
Hearing this, Xie Jing almost instinctively wanted to turn his head and look at Cheng Xin, curious about what expression she might be wearing.
But he ultimately restrained himself. Lowering his eyes slightly, he replied in his usual calm voice, “There’s no need. I have no plans to get married for the time being.”
Mother Xie frowned, her voice rising involuntarily.
“Xie Jing, you’re twenty-eight this year, not eighteen! You still have no plans to marry? When exactly do you intend to start thinking about it? Back when we arranged your engagement…”
Halfway through her sentence, Mother Xie realized she’d said something inappropriate.
She couldn’t help glancing at Cheng Xin.
Seeing that Cheng Xin was merely eating quietly with her head lowered, Mother Xie paused and continued in a more indirect manner.
“That was the reason you gave back then, too. You said you had no intention of getting married…”
Hearing this, Xie Jing clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning faintly white.
In truth, what Xie Jing had said back then had been far more arrogant and hurtful than his mother made it sound.
He’d told his parents that Cheng Xin wasn’t his ideal choice for a wife. Even if they married, they would inevitably end up divorcing sooner or later.
Rather than allowing their marriage to end miserably, it would be better not to begin at all.
“Xu Wen is different. She’s independent and determined. As soon as she returned to the country, she took over your Uncle Xu’s responsibilities and has handled everything with ease. She meets all your requirements for a partner.”
The more Mother Xie spoke, the more convinced she became that Xu Wen and Xie Jing were perfectly suited to each other.
“No matter what, you must at least meet her.”
“I’m finished eating.”
Xie Jing picked up his napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth before standing.
His chair made a faint scraping sound against the smooth floor.
Without looking at anyone else, he turned and headed straight upstairs.
Father Xie gently patted his wife’s arm as her breathing grew agitated.
Before long, the atmosphere settled into silence once again.
*
Ever since Xie Yan passed away, Cheng Xin had developed a small habit.
Every day, she would spend some time in his gaming room. Occasionally, she would even use Xie Yan’s top-of-the-line computer to play a few casual games.
When Xie Yan was still alive, he would always wrap his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head as he watched her clumsy movements on the screen.
He would laugh and tease her for being terrible at the game.
Then, once he’d successfully annoyed her, he would immediately lean closer to coax her, tease her affectionately, and kiss her.
That evening, Cheng Xin pushed open the door to the gaming room.
But what greeted her was the sight of the man who should have been handling work in his study, sitting in Xie Yan’s usual seat and playing a game with an expressionless face.
Contrary to Xie Jing’s cool, restrained, almost ascetic appearance, his gaming style was bloody and ruthless.
With just one glance, Cheng Xin felt that she shouldn’t disturb him.
She was about to turn around and quietly slip away when Xie Jing’s slightly hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind her.
“Did you know?”
Cheng Xin paused in her tracks and turned around in surprise.
She discovered that Xie Jing hadn’t stopped playing.
For a moment, she wasn’t even sure whether he was speaking to her.
“I was the one who taught Ah Yan how to play games. Later, he taught you,” Xie Jing said in a voice so indifferent that she couldn’t detect any emotion.
The surprise in Cheng Xin’s eyes deepened.
“Really? I thought you didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?”
At that moment, the game screen announced Xie Jing’s overwhelming victory.
He released the mouse, swiveled his chair around, and looked directly at Cheng Xin.
“Didn’t know how to play games? That all I ever do is work? I’m a person, not a machine.”
As he spoke, Xie Jing stood up and slowly walked toward the doorway.
Just as the two were passing each other, Xie Jing unexpectedly asked, “Do you think I should go and meet Xu Wen?”
The sudden change of subject caught Cheng Xin completely off guard.
She froze for a moment before smiling gently.
“I know Xu Wen. She was a senior at my university, and we once worked together in the same department. She’s very capable, just like you, Big Brother. I actually think the two of you would make a pretty good match.”
Cheng Xin spoke with complete sincerity.
She genuinely believed that the two were well suited to each other.
Mother Xie had excellent judgment.
“Is that so?”
The corner of Xie Jing’s mouth twitched slightly.
Without looking back, he continued walking away.
The following evening, Xie Jing had barely entered the house after work when he spotted Mother Xie and Cheng Xin sitting with an elegantly dressed mother and daughter, chatting and laughing together.
His movements paused slightly.
Lowering his gaze, he continued changing his shoes in the entryway.
As he slowly approached, Xie Jing noticed that Cheng Xin was exactly as she’d claimed when it came to Xu Wen.
She showed not the slightest hint of resistance toward her. Instead, there was a particular warmth and familiarity between them.
Upon seeing Xie Jing, Mother Xie immediately called him over to greet their guests.
“Aunt Xu.”
Standing beside the sofa, Xie Jing politely greeted Mother Xu.
He then gave Xu Wen a slight nod in acknowledgment, while his gaze seemed to drift toward Cheng Xin almost imperceptibly.
He noticed that she’d probably just been laughing.
Her eyes were bright and glistening, as though stars had fallen into them.
Xie Jing pressed his lips together slightly.
With a distant, courteous expression, he said, “My apologies. There’s still something urgent at work that I need to handle. Please excuse me.”
After speaking, Xie Jing strode straight toward his study on the second floor.
The remaining women exchanged awkward glances.
Mother Xie was both embarrassed and angry, but she could only make excuses for her son.
“He’s always been like this. Once he gets busy, he forgets about everything else. No matter what I say, he never listens.”
Xu Wen raised an eyebrow slightly, her expression unchanged.
“I understand. After all, my career comes first for me too.”
Mother Xu, however, still looked rather displeased.
Clearly, Xie Jing’s behavior just now had left her with a poor first impression of him.
The group chatted for a little while longer before Mother Xu and Xu Wen made the excuse that they had other matters to attend to and rose to leave.
Seeing this, Mother Xie hurriedly asked Cheng Xin to go upstairs and call Xie Jing down so he could see Mother Xu and Xu Wen off.
When Cheng Xin went upstairs, she found the study door open.
Xie Jing was sitting behind his enormous desk, documents spread out before him.
However, his gaze was directed toward the window, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Cheng Xin tentatively knocked on the door.
Hearing the sound, Xie Jing looked up.
The moment he saw that it was her, the distracted look in his eyes quickly disappeared.
“What is it? Are Xu Wen and her mother leaving?” he asked.
Cheng Xin nodded.
“Mom asked you to come down and see Senior Xu off.”
“All right.”
Xie Jing stood and followed Cheng Xin downstairs.
That farewell ended up lasting an entire hour.
The following day, Xu Wen sent Mother Xie a message.
In essence, she said that she’d already spoken with President Xie and discovered that the two of them weren’t compatible.
She thanked Mother Xie for her kindness.
Upon reading the message, Mother Xie nearly laughed in exasperation.
In the end, she let out a long sigh and decided she simply wouldn’t bother with her troublesome eldest son anymore.
The days flowed by like water.
Before long, Xie Yan’s birthday arrived.
They’d agreed long ago that they would celebrate his birthday on a yacht this year.
Just the two of them.
They would embrace beneath the midnight sea breeze and gaze together at the sky filled with stars.
But now, only she remained.
That evening, Father Xie and Mother Xie seemed to be deliberately avoiding the sorrowful occasion.
They’d left early to attend a business banquet.
Xie Jing had been at the company all day, while Cheng Xin had simply given all the household staff the day off.
During the day, Cheng Xin had arranged to spend time outside with two close friends.
That evening, she ordered enough food to cover the entire coffee table.
Then she curled up alone on the sofa and watched the vlogs she and Xie Yan had filmed together, projected onto the large screen.
The two of them were always laughing in the videos.
They laughed while running wildly along the beach during their honeymoon on an island overseas.
They laughed while fishing on a yacht. When Cheng Xin couldn’t catch anything, Xie Yan had held her hands around the fishing rod to help her reel in her first fish, just to make her happy.
They laughed when they visited an amusement park together, with Cheng Xin sitting on a carousel and repeatedly waving toward the camera.
They were still laughing…
It was almost as though they’d used up an entire lifetime’s worth of laughter back then.
Cheng Xin picked up the bottle of red wine and continued pouring it into her wineglass.
Being drunk actually feels pretty nice.
Leaning back against the sofa, Cheng Xin stared at the crystal chandelier above her, which seemed to be spinning endlessly.
Her eyes slowly, ever so slowly, closed.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Then the sound of a fingerprint being verified came from the entryway.
Xie Jing entered the living room.
What greeted him was the sight of Cheng Xin curled up on the sofa, apparently dead drunk.
And on the projection screen, beneath a magnificent display of dazzling fireworks, his younger brother and Cheng Xin were making promises of everlasting love.
“This lifetime, the next lifetime, and forever—I’ll only ever love you!”
Cheng Xin suddenly threw herself into Xie Yan’s arms.
The man wrapped his arms tightly around her and spun her around several times before finally stopping.
Their eyes met.
Xie Yan slowly lifted Cheng Xin’s chin.
Just as their lips were about to meet, someone casually switched off the projector.
The living room, which had been filled with lively sounds moments earlier, instantly fell into an indescribable silence.
Xie Jing sat down beside Cheng Xin.
His gaze settled directly on her face, so intense that it almost seemed tangible.
At that moment, Xie Jing noticed a trace of red wine staining the corner of Cheng Xin’s mouth.
The stillness of the night seemed to encourage the feelings he’d been suppressing for so long.
The pad of his finger touched the corner of her lips.
The soft, delicate sensation made Xie Jing press down a little harder, almost beyond his control.
His fingertip slowly moved from the corner of Cheng Xin’s mouth onto her lips.
The sensation, so similar to a kiss, made Xie Jing crave more with an intensity he could no longer suppress.
Before long, Cheng Xin’s lips had turned red from the repeated caresses of his fingers.
And Xie Jing’s heartbeat grew increasingly uncontrollable.
In the end, he couldn’t restrain himself any longer.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of Cheng Xin’s mouth.
The instant their lips touched, all of Xie Jing’s rationality crumbled as though swept away by an unstoppable force.
Just as he’d carefully traced Cheng Xin’s lips with his fingers, he now began painstakingly covering her with the marks of his affection…
Until he saw the two small, exquisitely tattooed letters clearly visible near Cheng Xin’s collarbone. xy.
Xie Yan.
Xie Jing’s movements abruptly stopped.
The dark emotions surging in his eyes instantly froze into ice.
The man struggled to suppress his ragged breathing.
Then he closed his eyes and slowly straightened up.
He didn’t know how long he stood there staring at Cheng Xin.
Eventually, he bent down again and carefully lifted her slender figure from the sofa, carrying her in his arms as he slowly headed upstairs.
Arriving at the room Cheng Xin currently occupied on the second floor, Xie Jing gently placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her.
The bedside lamp cast a dim glow.
Xie Jing silently gazed at Cheng Xin’s sleeping face.
He raised his hand and brushed her cheek with an exceptionally gentle touch before standing and walking toward the door.
He closed it silently behind him.
But the moment he turned around, Xie Jing’s entire body stiffened.
Standing in the shadows of the corridor was none other than his mother.
Meanwhile, inside the bedroom…
Cheng Xin, who was supposed to be so drunk that she was completely unconscious, suddenly opened her eyes.
In the darkness, her gaze was perfectly clear, without the slightest trace of intoxication.
The tears that had long been gathering in her eyes slipped from their corners the instant she opened them, sliding down until they disappeared into her hair.
She had awakened the very moment someone switched off the projector.】
*
Author’s Note: Things are starting to spiral out of control~~
None of these little bedtime dramas will be particularly long. They’re purely opportunities for our young couple to indulge in a little role-playing~ Haha~