I don’t know whether it was because they felt guilty about being caught gossiping or for some other reason, but Jiang You’s father and brother drank quite a lot with Xie Jin’an that evening.
In the end, one of them collapsed over the table, completely unconscious, while the other returned to his room and clung to Jiang You’s mother, mumbling incoherently about who knew what.
Jiang You’s mother was busy taking care of her father, so the mess outside could only be left for Jiang You to deal with.
Her older brother was already sprawled over the table, completely motionless. Xie Jin’an still had a cup in his hand, his handsome face flushed from alcohol. He looked dazed and absent-minded, staring at his own hand as if lost in thought.
“Brother, wake up!”
Jiang You glanced at him before turning her attention back to her brother. She pushed Jiang Heng, trying to wake him.
Her mother was busy right now. If she couldn’t get her brother to wake up, there was no way she could move someone as big as him by herself.
She called him for ages, but he didn’t move at all. She patted him again and again.
“Brother!”
After pushing him for a while, calling him for ages, and patting him repeatedly, Jiang Heng still showed no sign of waking up.
Jiang You had no choice. She turned her head and noticed that Xie Jin’an across from her was staring at her without blinking.
His handsome face was flushed from the alcohol, his expression hazy, and his eyes were tinged slightly red from drunkenness.
For some reason, looking at him like this made him seem so innocent and vulnerable that it gave her the urge to bully him.
The thought made Jiang You stiffen. She quickly looked away in embarrassment.
She lowered her head and gritted her teeth, then grabbed one of Jiang Heng’s arms and tried to pull him up.
Gritting her teeth, she summoned all the strength she had.
But the big man that was her brother only moved a tiny bit before dropping back into his seat. The momentum even made Jiang You stumble, nearly pulling her to the ground.
“Whew!”
She let out a soft cry and quickly released him, steadying herself.
She completely failed to notice that behind her, Xie Jin’an had hurriedly gotten up and reached out, intending to catch her.
When he saw that she had regained her balance, he lowered his eyes toward his wine cup, his mood visibly sinking.
He could feel it.
She really was avoiding him.
She clearly knew she couldn’t move Jiang Heng by herself, and Xie Jin’an was right there in front of her, yet she still didn’t want to say anything to him or ask him for help.
Thinking about this, he lowered his eyes and tugged at the corners of his lips with a faint smile, sighing inwardly.
Just as he was about to get up and voluntarily help carry Jiang Heng back to his room, someone poked his sleeve.
He abruptly raised his head.
Across from him, Jiang You was holding a pair of chopsticks, her face filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.
“Um… are you okay?”
Seeing how Xie Jin’an looked, he seemed to have drunk quite a lot as well. She was worried that he wasn’t in much better condition than her father and brother, which was why she hadn’t dared ask him for help earlier.
But now she had no other choice.
Her brother was over six feet tall, while her barely five-foot-three frame couldn’t even reach his shoulders. There was no way she could drag him back by herself.
She figured that if she asked Xie Jin’an to help and the two of them worked together, they should be able to get her brother back to his room.
Meeting her gaze, Xie Jin’an gently nodded, looking at her seriously like an obedient child.
Seeing this, Jiang You hesitated before speaking.
“So, um… could you help me drag my brother back to his room? I can’t move him by myself.”
“Okay.”
To her surprise, Xie Jin’an agreed immediately. His voice, slightly deepened by the alcohol, even seemed to carry a hint of amusement.
When Jiang You saw him stand up, his body swayed slightly. She was startled and was about to say something, but he had already reached out and pulled Jiang Heng to his feet.
The weight that had been completely immovable to her seemed effortless to him.
She hadn’t even managed to lend a hand before he had already taken Jiang Heng back inside.
“Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”
Seeing Xie Jin’an walk out of Jiang Heng’s room, she tugged at the hem of her clothes and gave him an awkward yet polite smile.
“Can we talk?”
He looked at her and walked toward her, stopping right in front of her. He lowered his head and suddenly spoke, the faint scent of alcohol drifting toward her.
“Huh?”
Talk? About what?
They weren’t even that close. What was there to talk about?
He doesn’t really think I dislike him, does he? I really don’t! How could I possibly dare dislike the male protagonist?
Jiang You followed Xie Jin’an somewhat dazedly to a corner of the courtyard, lowering her head as she tried to figure out how to explain herself.
“Did I do something inappropriate that upset you?”
Before she could come up with an answer, he spoke first.
There was a barely noticeable hint of nervousness in his voice, as though he were carefully testing the waters.
“No, no! Not at all!”
Jiang You hurriedly denied it three times in a row, shaking her head and waving her hands.
“Then why do you keep avoiding me?”
You avoid me while we’re working, and you avoid me after work too.
His eyes lowered, confusion showing in his expression. Because of the drunken flush on his face, he looked even more wounded.
Seeing him like this made Jiang You feel guilty.
She guiltily looked away.
“I’m not avoiding you. I’ve just been really busy lately, and I’ve been rushing home to rest, so I didn’t have time to greet you. Don’t misunderstand.”
She really had been avoiding him, but it wasn’t because she disliked him.
It was just that she couldn’t exactly explain that to him directly.
Though, this explanation seemed almost as good as no explanation at all.
“Really?”
Looking at her evasive eyes, Xie Jin’an suddenly bent down and moved extremely close to her, almost forehead to forehead.
His voice was as pleasant as ever, but his tone sounded both alluring and interrogating.
Jiang You was startled. She hurriedly took two steps back until her back hit the wall.
When she came to her senses, she immediately looked down at her clothes. Her brows furrowed as she glared at him.
“Stand farther away! Can’t you just talk properly?”
The walls of their courtyard were made of mud.
That sudden movement had dirtied her clothes!
And this was one of her favorite outfits. She had only just changed into it!
Xie Jin’an was stunned by her scolding.
He instinctively straightened up obediently, completely losing the slight air of “demanding an explanation” he had possessed just moments ago.
He even looked a little regretful.
Seeing him like this, Jiang You paused as well after calming down. She realized that her tone had probably been a little too harsh.
Her expression softened.
“I’m not avoiding you. Don’t misunderstand.”
“And I’m sorry about my tone just now. I just changed into these clothes.”
After saying that, Jiang You glanced at him, pressed her lips together, and turned around to return to her room.
With a bang, the door closed.
She lowered her head and looked at her now-dirty clothes, her face full of frustration.
Outside, Xie Jin’an stared at the closed door.
He raised a hand to his forehead, his expression filled with regret.