Chapter 207: Chapter 207: I Treat You to a Meal
Lixin Villa.
After finishing the call with Tang Yu Xiu, Gu Yan returned to the dining room. Xue Xianglan clicked her tongue and sighed, "You’re really becoming a woman in a honey pot now, even having someone on your mind during lunch."
"You can have that too," Gu Yan said, glancing at her.
Xue Xianglan paused for a moment, then said nonchalantly, "I don’t even know where that someone is yet. For now, I should enjoy being alone. While I don’t have anyone, you can bully me all you want."
"How could I bear to bully you? You’d definitely get back at me."
"Do I look like someone who holds grudges?" Xue Xianglan opened her eyes wide, looking innocent.
Gu Yan nodded, "I know you too well, no need to argue, especially with the way you’re looking now, it’s creeping me out."
The more innocent and harmless Xue Xianglan pretended to be, the more you should keep your distance; it’s a warning sign.
"Haha, no matter what, I wouldn’t lay a hand on you, right?"
"Who knows if you’ll suddenly lose your mind."
Xue Xianglan immediately pulled a long face, "Gu Yan, can we still have fun or not."
Gu Yan burst out laughing, "Just teasing you."
Xue Xianglan glared at her, "Have you become worse being with Young Master Tang?"
"Nonsense, I’m such a good person!"
Xue Xianglan raised an eyebrow and didn’t respond, saying something against her conscience wasn’t her style.
Gu Yan felt wronged.
After they finished eating, they stayed curled up on the sofa, watching TV and criticizing the cliché and vulgar plots.
And so the afternoon passed in boredom.
By around five o’clock, Gu Yan began glancing at the clock on the wall from time to time, muttering to herself, wondering if Xiang Linghao would show up or not.
If he didn’t come this time, she wouldn’t help out again next time.
Such a good opportunity, and he doesn’t appreciate it.
If a man is so hesitant, he’s not charming at all.
By six o’clock, Xue Xianglan also started checking the time and asked Gu Yan, "When does your Young Master Tang get off work?"
"Six thirty."
She nodded, "Then I’ll leave when he comes back."
Gu Yan hesitated and said, "How about having dinner before you go? It’s dark already; let Tang Yu Xiu drive you."
Xue Xianglan refused without a second thought, "No thanks, I don’t like being around Young Master Tang; he’s overly neat and way too boring."
Gu Yan was speechless. Young Master Tang, no matter where you go, you always end up being disliked; where did your charm come from according to the rumors?
Those people must be blind; they must have never interacted with him closely to think he’s like a high, noble flower, breathtakingly attractive.
What poor judgment.
Undoubtedly, Young Master Tang was destined to be disliked by others and by the woman he liked.
A man reaching this level, it’s truly rare.
Gu Yan stopped thinking about Tang Yu Xiu, turning to Xue Xianglan, "You’ve spent the whole day with me, just have a meal, would you?"
"Is my spending a day with you measured by a meal?"
Gu Yan shook her head repeatedly, "Definitely not!"
"Alright then, I came by my own will. I’ll just go home to eat, not to disturb you and Young Master Tang’s time together."
She felt that, knowing Tang Yu Xiu’s character, if she stayed longer, he might get upset and secretly complain about her insensitivity.
She wasn’t going to be that kind of person.
Moreover, witnessing the two of them together is a brutal blow for single people.
Gu Yan checked the time again, silently cursing Xiang Linghao for his insensitivity, but she couldn’t convince Xue Xianglan to stay longer.
So she simply stopped talking about it. If Xiang Linghao was going to show up, they wouldn’t reach the point of leaving; he’d definitely appear before Xue Xianglan went.
If he wasn’t coming, then her staying longer would be pointless.
"Alright, I won’t insist. I might be able to go back to work tomorrow, so you don’t have to waste time keeping me company."
"Going back to work so soon? Why doesn’t Young Master Tang give you a few more days off to rest well?"
"I wanted to go myself. I’ve only been working for a month and have taken leave several times; it’s quite embarrassing."
"Your boss is your man, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Go or don’t go as you please."
When Gu Yan heard "your man," she felt a bit shy and laughed, "Mainly because I’ll have an assessment soon, so I need to practice more."
"Don’t you have a piano at home?"
Gu Yan shook her head, "No."
Xue Xianglan got angry, "How can Tang Yu Xiu be your boyfriend! Knowing you like piano, wanting to practice, he doesn’t even buy you one to keep at home. He’s obviously wealthy and doesn’t know where to spend money, why is he so stingy!"
Gu Yan glanced at her guiltily, "Maybe he just hasn’t thought of it yet, and anyway, I’ve been working lately, practicing every day, the time’s just enough, I didn’t think about it either."
She wouldn’t tell Xue Xianglan that previously her relationship with Tang Yu Xiu wasn’t clean, and they wouldn’t have thought of buying a piano, and also they were in a cold war for quite a while.
If Xue Xianglan knew what happened before, she might go find Tang Yu Xiu for a fight!
It’s true that Xue Xianglan is fierce and fearless, but fighting with a man is very dangerous, and Tang Yu Xiu is not someone to mess with; anyone daring to approach him might be thrown away before they even make a move.
Just thinking about the scene scares me.
Xue Xianglan looked at her with frustration, "You’ve really outdone yourself, always speaking up for him."
She almost reached out to poke her on the forehead!
Gu Yan smiled at her apologetically. At this moment, the doorbell rang, and Gu Yan immediately jumped off the sofa to answer it, feeling relieved. The doorbell rang just in time.
Xue Xianglan was helpless.
Gu Yan opened the door, and standing outside was none other than the Xiang Linghao she had been complaining about not arriving yet.
"Doctor Xiang, you finally came!" Gu Yan lowered her voice after the initial surprise.
Xiang Linghao smiled sheepishly, "Hopefully, I’m not too late."
After figuring things out, he wandered around his room for a long time and accidentally fell asleep. When he woke up and realized he’d overslept, he rushed over immediately.
Gu Yan stepped aside to let him come in and change his shoes, "It’s okay, just barely."
Xiang Linghao was both happy and a bit nervous inside. After changing his shoes, he followed Gu Yan into the room.
Xue Xianglan leaned against the sofa, holding a pillow and randomly pressing the remote, not finding any suitable channel. Just as she was about to give up, she looked up to see Gu Yan leading Xiang Linghao inside.
Her expression froze momentarily as she looked at Gu Yan, her eyes questioning what was going on.
Gu Yan replied, "Doctor Xiang comes over every day to check how the injuries on my face are healing."
"Oh," Xue Xianglan responded flatly, turning her gaze back to the TV.
Xiang Linghao noticed her lukewarm attitude, felt a bit downhearted, but still mustered the courage to tell himself it was nothing. After all these years, her reaction was just right.
"Doctor Xiang, how’s my injury looking?" Gu Yan broke the silence and asked Xiang Linghao.
Xiang Linghao walked over and examined her face closely, "It’s healing well, that medicine worked quite effectively."
"Yeah, I think so too. Thanks to the good medicine you personally prepared, Doctor Xiang."
"No need to be so formal."
"Can I go out tomorrow then?"
"Judging by the current recovery rate, the nighttime recovery and deswelling are better than during the day, so there shouldn’t be any very obvious red and swollen marks tomorrow. But you can go out if you don’t mind others’ looks."
"Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. Anyway, I’m not going anywhere special, a mask should be able to cover it."
"You can, but don’t wear it too long. Your facial skin needs to breathe all the time to recover quickly."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor Xiang."
"I didn’t do much."
While Gu Yan and Xiang Linghao were talking, Xue Xianglan couldn’t ignore his voice even if she wanted to, so she simply spoke up, "It’s getting late, I’m leaving first. Yanyan, take care of yourself, call me if you need anything."
Xue Xianglan picked up her bag and, without looking at Xiang Linghao, spoke to Gu Yan and headed for the door.
Gu Yan and Xiang Linghao exchanged a glance, quickly got up, and followed Xue Xianglan to the door.
Xiang Linghao hurriedly picked up his medical box, trailing behind.
"Xiang Lan, drive safely, be careful."
"Don’t worry."
"Call me when you’re home, let me know so I can relax."
"Okay."
Xue Xianglan changed her shoes and went out. Xiang Linghao followed right after, "So Gu Yan, since there isn’t much issue with your face injury, I’ll leave as well. Since Young Master Tang isn’t back, it’s not appropriate for me to stay here. Call me anytime if you feel uncomfortable, don’t hesitate."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor Xiang!"
"It’s nothing, I’ll be going now, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Gu Yan waved to them both, then closed the door before they reached their cars.
Some things are better left unsaid with others around, so she wisely gave them a chance to talk earlier.
Xiang Linghao noticed Gu Yan closing the door, knowing she was creating an opportunity for him. He tightly gripped the medical box handle.
After Gu Yan shut the door, Xue Xianglan walked straight to her car, opened the door intending to get in, but was suddenly stopped by a hand.
Xue Xianglan looked up in confusion, Xiang Linghao’s tall figure looming over her. In front of him, no matter how strong she tried to appear, she still seemed petite.
"Is something wrong?" she asked flatly.
Xiang Linghao was nervous, his palms sweating, trying to keep his voice as clear and normal as possible.
"Are you free? I’d like to take you out for dinner."
Xue Xianglan raised an eyebrow. That simple?
"Haven’t you invited a girl out for dinner all these years?"
Xue Xianglan’s sudden question threw Xiang Linghao off a bit. "What do you mean?"
Xue Xianglan shrugged, her head slightly tilted, "Nothing."
From that reaction, it seemed he really hadn’t dated anyone before.
Realizing this, Xue Xianglan felt quite satisfied inside.
Separated for seven years, the fact that he hadn’t strayed was impressive.
Even knowing that during their time apart, whatever he might have done wasn’t her concern, she still felt he should belong to her.
"Move aside for a moment," she said.
Xiang Linghao panicked. Was she refusing?