Getting Along
Fu Peijia emerged from the library carrying a huge stack of documents; she really wished she had a few more hands. Phew! Once she finishes her thesis, she’ll be free—how wonderful!
Her cell phone rang at the worst possible moment. Peijia simply couldn’t summon a third hand to answer it, so she decided to let it ring. It wasn’t as if the sky was going to fall.
In the end, Fu Peijia gave in to the caller and set the documents down on the grass: “Hello?” Her tone wasn’t exactly friendly.
“Fu Peijia?” A deep, resonant voice came through. If Fu Peijia’s ears weren’t deceiving her, it had to be Qiao Jiaxuan, whom she’d run into last week.
“Um—what’s up?” Her tone had shifted to something closer to gentle.
“It’s Qiao Jiaxuan. Where are you?”
“At school!”
“It’s already noon. Let’s grab lunch! I’ll come pick you up!” Perhaps because he was so used to giving orders, his tone left no room for refusal.
Fu Peijia stared blankly at the phone, which had already hung up, and couldn’t help but admire Qiao Jiaxuan’s decisiveness. He seemed to assume she’d definitely agree. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d kept her company for half the day at that banquet, she wouldn’t have agreed!
Thankfully, Qiao Jiaxuan didn’t take her to one of those opulent places where she’d inevitably run into at least four or five acquaintances over the course of a single meal. After all, having to spend ages explaining things to her old man when she got home was exhausting enough. If she had that time, Fu Peijia would much rather be poring over her thesis materials or getting some sleep.
“What do you want to eat?” Qiao Jiaxuan asked her as he took off his suit jacket.
“Whatever!”
“Whatever? Excuse me, do you have that dish here?” ” Qiao Jiaxuan turned to ask the waiter with a serious expression.
Fu Peijia still played along and laughed, even though she knew full well he was just teasing her.
Qiao Jiaxuan turned back with a smile of his own, and Peijia couldn’t help but notice once again his beautiful set of teeth—white and gleaming, countless times more stunning than the teeth in toothpaste commercials on TV. Paired with his thin lips, they were incredibly sexy. A smile really suited him; it softened the overly shrewd and cold impression he gave off.
“Let’s order these, then! Does that sound okay?”
Peijia snapped back to reality and realized she’d been staring at him blankly; her face flushed slightly. “Sure!” Heaven only knew what he’d ordered—she hadn’t heard a single word he’d said.
Qiao Jiaxuan turned to her and said, “So, let’s go with these!” Then he added, “I didn’t know what to treat you to, so I brought you here. I think the food here tastes like home!”
“Tastes like home!” Fu Peijia looked up at him, puzzled.
Qiao Jiaxuan forced a melancholy smile: “I don’t have a family. My parents passed away when I was very young”
Peijia looked at his smile, and a sense of reluctance welled up inside her. She felt an urge to smooth out the furrow between his brows. But she still replied politely, “I’m sorry!——”
Qiao Jiaxuan instantly regained his usual composure and laughed, “It’s nothing. I’ve never mentioned this to anyone. But for some reason, when I see you, it feels like I can open up to you without holding back”
Pei Jia smiled at him, but inside, her heart felt as though a jar of sugar had been knocked over.
By then, the waiter had begun bringing out the dishes one after another—all very ordinary home-style dishes. Yet they were beautifully presented and smelled delicious, making one’s mouth water.
Qiao Jiaxuan used his chopsticks to scoop some food onto the plate in front of her: “Try some! See if you like it.”
Peijia looked down and took a small bite; the taste was decent. But no matter how much she ate, she couldn’t quite detect that home-cooked flavor.
“Not bad!”
“These dishes used to be my mom’s specialties. They were my dad’s favorites, too. Although they can’t quite replicate my mom’s cooking here, there’s still a tiny bit of that familiar flavor, so I really love coming here. It’s just like going back to my childhood”
Qiao Jiaxuan was staring at her intently with a strange look in his eyes—as if he weren’t looking at her at all, but rather seeing right through her, gazing into the distance, into the past, and into the future!
Pei Jia felt a bit flustered under his gaze: “ “Then eat up!”
Qiao Jiaxuan’s thin lips curved into a handsome smile, and he lowered his head to start eating.
********
Is this what a date is like? Pei Jia silently asked herself. Although she was back home, she was still lost in the atmosphere from just a moment ago. It wasn’t as if she’d never gone out alone with a guy before. But she knew Qiao Jiaxuan was special.
He wasn’t as immature as her classmates at school, yet he wasn’t wild either. He was older than her; she didn’t quite understand his world, and his past remained a mystery to her—yet everything about him made her want to know more.
Her phone rang again, and Qiao Jiaxuan’s name appeared on the screen.
“Peijia. Did you like that restaurant we went to earlier?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“I’m free tomorrow night. I’ll take you to try another one!”
Oh my gosh, he hung up again! Was he really that impulsive? Did he just assume she’d definitely want to go out? She, after all, was the heiress of the Fu family—if she wanted to, there’d be a line ten blocks long of people waiting to have dinner with her.
But a voice deep inside her kept saying, “Go, go, of course you should go!”
By the next evening, Peijia was feeling a bit distracted; no matter how much she browsed, she just couldn’t decide on an outfit. Black made her look too mature, white seemed too plain, and pink was too childish—she’d gone through every item in the dressing room but still couldn’t find anything she liked. No wonder people always say, “A woman’s closet is always missing that one special piece!” Fu Peijia was starting to feel a bit regretful now. Her father usually gave her plenty of gold credit cards and never set any spending limits, but she didn’t have a particular passion for shopping for clothes. So, following the principle that “enough is enough,” she never went on big shopping sprees. Besides, her father would occasionally order evening gowns for her from Europe. So she’d never had to worry about clothes before.
Seeing that the time was ticking away second by second, she couldn’t be too picky anymore. She picked out a purple chiffon dress that looked relatively decent for the moment and paired it with a pair of purple sandals.
She had barely finished getting dressed when Sister Wang was already knocking on the door: “Miss, Mr. Qiao has arrived. He says he has a dinner date with you! I’ve asked him to wait in the sitting room.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll be right down!” Peijia frantically dabbed some moisturizing toner on her face, applied a bit of moisturizer, and then dabbed some lip gloss on her lips. Then she ran downstairs.
Qiao Jiaxuan hadn’t been sitting idly either; he was quietly taking in the Fu family villa. It wasn’t as opulent as he’d imagined; every item and piece of decor was just right, giving it a real homey feel. Yes, exactly—the feeling of home.
The sound of footsteps—thump, thump, thump—came from the stairs. He instinctively looked up and saw Peijia, dressed in purple, coming down the stairs. His eyes lit up. Her long, raven-black hair cascaded down her back, dancing gently with each step, making her look utterly endearing. The first time he’d seen her at the banquet, she’d worn her hair slightly curled to match her evening gown. But when he’d seen her at the school gate that day, she’d had it tied back in a ponytail.
“You look really beautiful today!”
“Really? Thank you” Peijia smiled sweetly, her cheeks flushing slightly.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to a special place”
It turned out that the restaurant Qiao Jiaxuan had brought her to was perched on a mountaintop. Though the decor wasn’t opulent, it was incredibly romantic. The glass roof allowed them to gaze up at the night sky, filled with stars twinkling overhead.
There were no lights in the private room—only candles, casting a soft glow that echoed the stars above. If a couple were to dine here, it would surely be the height of romance.
A couple? She suddenly looked up at Qiao Jiaxuan and saw him gazing at her with a gentle expression.
Peijia felt a bit self-conscious and lowered her head.
“Do you like the atmosphere here?”
“Um… it’s not bad!”
“Peijia, come on, look at me!”
Peijia looked up, puzzled, only to find herself lost in a pair of eyes brimming with affection: “Peijia, will you be my girlfriend?”
Peijia’s heart raced like a frightened fawn, and she didn’t know what to do.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and the waiter brought in their steaks.
Neither of them spoke as they watched the waiter set the steaks down and then step back out.
Qiao Jiaxuan remained silent as well. He moved Peijia’s steak closer to her, cut it into bite-sized pieces with his own utensils, and then pushed it toward her.
Peijia remained silent, but her heart was pounding wildly. Even her hand holding the fork couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
Qiao Jiaxuan didn’t bring up the issue again until they had finished their meal.
Sitting in his sports car, Peijia stared out the window, lost in thought. Since he hadn’t mentioned it again, had he given up? Or was it—
Peijia pulled herself together and realized this wasn’t the road to her house: “This isn’t the way to my place.”
Qiao Jiaxuan turned his head and smiled: “We’re going to my place. I need to grab something”
Peijia nodded.
The car drove into an upscale residential neighborhood and stopped in front of a villa.
“Come on, get in and sit for a bit. I’ve got something to take care of; it might take half an hour. I’ll drive you back later.”
Peijia followed him inside. The decor was elegant and tasteful—clearly the work of a renowned designer. Yet the atmosphere felt incredibly monotonous, as if something were missing.
That’s it! It lacked the feeling of home! It was as if, the moment its owner walked out with just a carry-on bag, the place could instantly become a model home.
No wonder he’d taken her out for home-style cooking—to experience that sense of home.
Although she’d lost her mother, her father had always taken on the role of both parents and looked after her very well. To protect her from any hardship, he’d never remarried. Though their home wasn’t much bigger than this place, it was always filled with laughter and joy.
She let out a soft sigh and walked out onto the balcony. Waves of floral fragrance drifted in from the courtyard, and unidentified insects chirped and chattered incessantly. It only served to make the house feel even more desolate.
She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there in a daze when she suddenly felt a pair of warm, large hands wrap around her slender waist. As she turned, she found herself in his embrace: “What’s wrong? Why are you standing here spacing out?”
Peijia felt enveloped by his intense masculine presence; her whole body grew hot, so she struggled to break free from him.
Qiao Jiaxuan held her even tighter: “Be good, don’t squirm.” He simply held her silently.
After a long moment, he loosened his grip slightly, cupped her chin, and looked deep into her eyes: “Peijia, be my girlfriend” His voice was deep, carrying a captivating power.
Peijia said nothing, simply gazing at him quietly. But she saw his face drawing closer and closer, growing larger and larger before her eyes, until his lips touched hers!