"...Are you okay?" Xia Shiyu bit her lip, unsure of what to say as she looked at Jiang Chen approaching. Finally, she managed to squeeze out these words.
"I'm fine, just a small injury." Jiang Chen shamelessly pointed to a small cut on his cheek. If he hadn't mentioned it, no one would have noticed.
"I... I'll help you treat it." Xia Shiyu lowered her head in guilt. She never owed anyone anything, but right now, she owed him so much.
"Here? Spit can kill bacteria." Jiang Chen blurted out without thinking, surprising even himself.
Huh? How did I become so shameless?
"...I have alcohol and bandages in my room." Xia Shiyu coldly responded to his teasing.
"Don't look at me like that. After all, I'm your new creditor." Jiang Chen grinned, waving the promissory note in his hand. "Look. But hey, I'm a nice guy, so no interest for you."
Is there anyone more narcissistic than this guy? Xia Shiyu rolled her eyes at his smugness. She was also puzzled—was this really the same timid man who couldn't even meet her gaze before? What exactly happened to him?
"I'll pay you back, with interest," Xia Shiyu said, looking up to meet his eyes, though her tone grew uncertain as she continued, "At the normal rate."
If it's at the rates of loan sharks, there's no way she could pay him back.
Jiang Chen shrugged, not saying a word. He knew Xia Shiyu's character well. Once she made up her mind, there was no changing it.
"By the way, Xia Shiyu..."
"Eh!" Hearing the shopkeeper call out, Xia Shiyu quickly turned around and responded.
"This is your half-month's salary... I'm sorry, but I really can't offend those people... Please, just leave. You don't have to come back to work tomorrow." The boss's face was filled with discomfort as he said the cold, unfeeling words, practically pleading with her.
She took the envelope with the money, nodding numbly, and looked at the flower shop that was closing. The shifty, suspicious glances of everyone she had worked with for the past half month... For some reason, she felt like crying.
How many times had this happened today? Xia Shiyu had never felt so fragile before.
"Fired?" Jiang Chen teased, watching with a strange satisfaction as her boss once again dismissed her.
Xia Shiyu ignored his teasing, merely glancing at him with a complex expression before turning and walking down the street toward home. Jiang Chen followed behind, remembering that she had promised to treat his wound.
Even though the wound had likely stopped bleeding by now, his curiosity about what her living situation was like still got the better of him. Besides, he was bored anyway.
He chuckled to himself, thinking how wicked he had become, almost as bad as that girl, Sun Jiao.
The stairs to the building were covered with dark green moss, and Jiang Chen couldn't help but frown in surprise. He didn't expect to find such an old place in Hai City. The cracks in the walls didn't look like they could be home to anyone.
When Xia Shiyu pulled out her keys and opened the rusty iron door, Jiang Chen could only smile wryly.
This girl really was strong. Most other women wouldn't be able to tolerate this, especially a pretty girl like her. If it were another woman, a little charm could probably solve her problems—fifty thousand or so wouldn't be much of an issue.
Such a beautiful face, ruined by that horrible temper. Tsk, tsk.
She had character, but so what?
A faint moldy smell lingered at the door, but once inside, the air seemed fresher. It was clear Xia Shiyu had used a lot of air freshener, a temporary fix that revealed her helplessness.
The apartment was tiny—smaller than Jiang Chen's own cheap rental. The living room and kitchen were practically one, and there was only a cramped bedroom. There was no TV, just an old wooden table that looked like it had seen better days. The chairs were ancient, perhaps even worth something as antiques. Forget about sofas or coffee tables.
There was no ceiling fan, and the walls were devoid of air conditioning. Instead, a fan was plugged into the corner. The most valuable appliance in the room was probably the stainless steel kettle—had she brought it from home when fleeing debt?
The laptop on the table was likely hers, but clearly, there was no Wi-Fi here. What use was a computer without the internet?
Jiang Chen noticed two pairs of women's shoes neatly placed by the door. It seemed odd that one woman only had two pairs of shoes. She must have fled in a hurry, barely having time to pack.
Though the place was humble, it was clean and well-maintained.
"Sorry, it's a bit shabby. Please, make yourself at home." Xia Shiyu said awkwardly. This was the first time she had ever brought a man into her home.
Even with her ex-boyfriend, she always made him stop at the door. Being alone with a man made her uncomfortable. Maybe it was her excessive self-protection that made her so isolated when she was down.
She turned and walked into the tiny bedroom.
Jiang Chen casually grabbed a chair and sat down, nearly toppling it over.
"Damn, the leg's crooked..." He cursed under his breath, swapping chairs.
Soon, Xia Shiyu emerged with a small bottle of alcohol and cotton swabs.
"Where?" she asked mechanically, her actions and expressions stiff.
"Here..." Jiang Chen chuckled bitterly. He had only planned to tease her, but she really had taken out the alcohol.
"I promised I'd help treat your wound," Xia Shiyu said, taking a deep breath as she moved closer to Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen felt a little awkward, unsure where to put his hands. He let her dab the cotton swab with alcohol on the small cut.
"Don't move," she said with a slight frown, giving him a sharp look.
"Okay..." Jiang Chen forced a laugh.
A sweet fragrance of gardenias filled the air as Xia Shiyu's flawless neck caught his eye. There was no necklace there now, though Jiang Chen faintly recalled that she used to wear one. With her body slightly leaning forward, her summer outfit revealed a hint of cleavage. While she was no match for Sun Jiao's curves, the slender waist combined with her soft features created a refreshing beauty.
Her body and face were goddess-level. Embarrassingly, Jiang Chen had once fantasized about her wearing stockings... cough, cough.
Her black hair was tied in a neat ponytail, giving her a campus-like, youthful vibe. Was this the same woman who used to look so poised and professional?
"What are you staring at?" Xia Shiyu noticed Jiang Chen's gaze, her expression turning cold again.
"Nothing, nothing," Jiang Chen awkwardly scratched his nose.
The wound was treated, but their gazes met. Time seemed to stand still.
So awkward...
"Wow, it smells so good. Ha, haha..." Jiang Chen nervously laughed, breaking the silence.
Xia Shiyu blinked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. Her cold demeanor softened for a moment before quickly hardening again.
"...It's the scent of gardenias. I must have gotten some pollen at work." She quickly sniffed her sleeve, speaking rapidly before rushing back to the bedroom, gathering the alcohol and cotton swabs in haste.
Her heart raced... Xia Shiyu stood by the bedside, breathing heavily, her expression a mix of confusion and frustration as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't understand why she was so out of character.
Her heart raced... Jiang Chen touched his chest in surprise.
Could it be... I'm into this girl? But he quickly dismissed the thought, chalking it up to natural hormonal reactions.
He preferred women like Sun Jiao—lively, big-chested, a mix of confidence and vulnerability. Of course, it would be better if she wasn't so domineering... cough, cough.
Soon, Xia Shiyu came out of the bedroom and sat across from Jiang Chen. The silence between them was palpable, only broken by the ticking of the clock and the sound of their racing heartbeats.
"Thank you..." Xia Shiyu was the first to break the silence.
"Don't mention it, I was just passing by..." Jiang Chen lied, though the truth was that he had come with less-than-innocent intentions. It was only after hearing that she had been let go that he lost all interest and walked away aimlessly.
Still, he had never imagined this stubborn woman would actually thank him.
"You," Xia Shiyu hesitated, biting her lower lip as she struggled to voice the question weighing on her mind. After a brief pause, she finally asked, "Aren't you angry with me?"
Jiang Chen wasn't surprised by the question; he had asked himself the same thing: Am I still angry with her?
"I was," he said, the words short and simple, his gaze lingering on Xia Shiyu with mixed emotions.
But why save me?
The question went unspoken, but Jiang Chen could see it clearly in her eyes—an unvoiced inquiry that seemed to hang in the air between them.
He had every reason to hate her. She was the one who had fired him, nearly driving him to the streets, almost making him unable to afford a meal. He had cursed her with the most venomous words, hurled the worst insults her way... but all of that was in the past.
Yes, once the anger had been vented, it ceased to matter. Life moved on, and Jiang Chen was doing just fine now, so the reasons to harbor any resentment simply no longer existed.
"I don't have much of a reason," Jiang Chen sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, when I first heard you were fired, I felt a bit of schadenfreude. You probably noticed that this outfit I'm wearing came from that store. But... I suddenly realized how childish I was."
"Childish...?" Xia Shiyu softly repeated the word, clearly confused by what Jiang Chen meant. The coldness in her eyes was now replaced by a look of uncertainty.
If Jiang Chen had humiliated her, even physically struck her, she might have felt better about it. But this man, the one who she had almost driven to ruin, had done nothing—nothing but help her when she needed it the most.
Why?
"Even if I had exacted revenge on you, what would I have gained?" Jiang Chen shook his head. "Truth be told, the thrill of revenge is fleeting. But if I stood by and watched a beautiful woman be coerced into paying her debts with her body, and I had the power to stop it yet chose to do nothing but watch with glee... the guilt afterward would likely outweigh the pleasure. Besides, we don't have any deep, irreconcilable grudge between us. It was just a job... and honestly, even if they gave me that job back, I probably wouldn't want it anymore."
It was just a job. Compared to what he had gained, losing it no longer seemed significant. If not for losing his job and turning to alcohol, he would never have drunkenly stumbled upon that alley, never would have found the quantum leap ring that would bring him endless fortune...
Sometimes, losing something was the gateway to unexpected blessings.
Fate, it seemed, had a strange way of working.
"...After I fired you, I thought about it a lot," Xia Shiyu said, her expression complex as she gazed at Jiang Chen. "Maybe, as the reality proved, I'm just not cut out for management."
"Your abilities are undeniable, but you don't understand people." Jiang Chen smiled.
"People? You mean psychology?" she asked.
"No, no, not the kind of thing you'd find in a textbook... People's hearts—those are things you can't truly understand, not even with a lifetime of effort."
They sat at the table, chatting like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. There were no drinks, no pleasant scenery, but here, in this moment, Jiang Chen felt a rare sense of peace he hadn't experienced all day.
Yes, spending money was fun, and eating fine meals was enjoyable... but there was still a sense of loneliness.
In this vast, overwhelming city, there wasn't a single friend with whom he could have a heart-to-heart conversation. His roommates had all scattered after graduation. The class beauty he once secretly admired had returned to her hometown to get married. Even his former tutor had moved on to handle a new batch of students. Everyone had gone their separate ways, like cogs in a machine.
This simple, humble room seemed to offer the kind of tranquility and contentment he hadn't found anywhere else.
Perhaps this was fate's reward for kindness?