Chapter 24  : Give Me Your Hand

Ding! The elevator arrived.

Both of them entered together. On the way down, Ji Silin pushed his glasses up. There were no cracks in his kind expression. “Hypnosis does exist, but this has nothing to do with your condition because I do not see any hint that you’re under hypnosis.”

Xue Xi’s large eyes paused at a spot. She did not suspect his words, but if this was not hypnosis, what else could it be?

Amid her confusion, the elevator reached the first level.

Ji Silin smiled. “Do you have a phone now?”

She replied, “…Yes.”

The two of them stared at each other momentarily. Ji Silin then sighed helplessly. “When people ask you if you have a phone, it means that they are asking for your number. Give me your phone number. You can call me anytime if you need to in the future.”

Xue Xi came to this realization, then slowly took out her phone. After exchanging contacts with him, she then looked up. “Goodbye, Brother Silin.”

She turned around to go back up only after the doctor had disappeared from her sight.

When she entered, Song Wenman was speaking to Ye Li. “…This is how it should be! She will always reach for more after she is given a treat whenever you give in to her. Sigh, I should never have agreed to let you marry Xue Sheng back then…”

“Cough.”

The man, who had been sitting beside them awkwardly, made a small sound to signal his presence.

Song Wenman peered at him in dissatisfaction but did not speak any heavy-handed words. Instead, she waved Xue Xi over. “Come, I’ll bring you to see your grandpa.”

Xue Xi nodded.

She followed her maternal grandmother into the bedroom and spotted an old man, who had a head of white hair, sitting on the bamboo lounge chair with his eyes closed. He was basking in the sunlight.

When the two entered, the old man opened his eyes. He was first a little surprised at seeing Xue Xi, but he soon smiled. “Lili, aren’t you in university? Why are you back?”

Xue Xi was a little taken aback.

Her maternal grandmother sighed. “He has lost part of his memories and so all he remembers are things from 20 years ago.”

She then turned to the old man. “This is Xixi—Lili’s daughter.”

Old Man Ji was not mentally unsound, though. He even smiled and replied, “What use is there lying to me? How can Lili possibly have a daughter this big?”

He seemed to be a little sleepy as, right after saying this, he rested against the chair and fell asleep.

…

At noon, Ye Li and Song Wenman were cooking in the kitchen. Xue Xi wanted to help out but was chased out.

Her father had brought her maternal grandfather out for a stroll. Hence, having nothing to do, she was regretting not bringing any papers with her. She could even finish one set of questions during this time.

Bored, she paced around the bookshelf in the living room. By chance, she spotted a paper that had turned yellow. She picked it up out of curiosity and, after reading a few lines, she realized that they were actually all mathematical knowledge. She proceeded to read it intently.

A sudden voice interrupted her. “Are you interested in this? It’s yours, then.”

She looked up and spotted her father helping her maternal grandfather into the house.

She had unknowingly read this for one and a half hours.

Her eyes lit up. “…Okay.”

Old Man Ji seemed to be ravenous as he went toward the dining table. “So hungry, so hungry!”

They ate lunch together, and at 3 PM, they drove back home.

Along the way, Xue Xi suddenly felt a dull pain in her chest. She hurriedly sat up and recalled how she met Xiang Huai.

At this moment, Ye Li suddenly asked, “Xixi, what’s on your mind?”

She silently turned her head and answered honestly, “Boyfriend.”

Ye Li: “?”

What do I do when I feel as if I have suddenly been force-fed dog food?

Still, since the topic was brought up, she wanted to inquire a little more to understand the situation. “Xixi, what do you like about him?”

Xue Xi pondered this seriously for some time, then looked back at her mother.

The latter knew that she was slower in terms of response and hence asked hesitantly, “Is he handsome?”

Xiang Huai recalled Xiang Huai’s features, which, although frequently shrouded in darkness, were still beautiful. She nodded. “Mhm.”

Ye Li: “…”

Does my daughter like him for his face?

The driver, Xue Sheng, also coughed at this. “That… Xixi, do you still have enough money?”

Since the other party seemed to be aiming for his daughter’s money, he must have swindled quite a bit, right?

Just as he thought this, Xue Xi nodded. “Mhm. I still have 100,000 yuan.”

Xue Sheng: “…I gave you only 100,000 yuan, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then how much did you give your boyfriend?”

“Hm. Three hundred.”

“…”

The entire car went silent.

After a short pause, Ye Li questioned while still dumbstruck, “You give only three hundred a week?”

Is the upkeep of a toyboy this cheap?

By the time they returned home, Ye Li was still in a dumbfounded state. She wanted to ask for more details, but Xue Xi had already returned to her room and flipped open her Mathematical Olympiad questions…

She spent the whole of Sunday completing question after question, and it was finally Monday.

When the car stopped in front of Ye Lai Xiang provision shop, Xue Yao peered outside then proceeded to mock, “I was wondering why you always alight here every morning. So it’s to meet that toyboy!”

Ever since finding out that Xue Xi’s boyfriend was a mere “provision shop boss,” she seemed to have regained her sense of superiority. She raised his chin slightly. “Do you know? When Fan Han was in Junior Year, he had already obtained an undergraduate position in some top schools. But he rejected all of them because his aim is Huaxia University! Everyone who graduates from there will be elites in their field.”

After Ye Li’s previous disciplining, Xue Yao had become much more cautious and learned to make comparisons in a roundabout manner.

Alas, Xue Xi did not take her bait at all. She simply alighted and entered the provision shop.

As usual, Xiang Huai was seated behind the counter with a book in hand. He was lazily reading it, and when she entered, his dark brown eyes would flit over to her. He then put his book down and walked over to the dining table with practiced eased.

Everything was so natural and normal.

She could not put a finger to this feeling and, hence, did not harp much on it. As per usual, she ate breakfast with Canine Teeth and Xiang Huai.

After that, she sat there dazedly while clutching her chest.

Xiang Huai stood up and leaned over, his low voice rumbling by her side. “Why? You can’t bear to leave me?”

She stared at him silently, then shook her head, seemingly perplexed. “…My chest seems to be hurting a little.”

The man was slightly stunned at this. His lips then slowly parted into a helpless smile. His laughter was extremely attractive, as though there was something in it that hooked at her heartstrings.

He then said, “Little kid, give me your hand.”

In a trance, she extended her hand out and it was quickly held by the man.

She stiffened as her mind went blank.

The man’s hands were huge. They could totally encompass her hands. His palms felt like a ball of fire. The scorching temperature flowed in from his hand to her body, making her feel her cheeks heat up.

Just as she realized that she should be resisting him, the man asked, “Does it not hurt anymore?”

She was stunned.

She paused to feel it and replied, dumbstruck, “Yes. Why?”

Xiang Huai smiled. “Maybe simply meeting every day is not sufficient to be considered as being in love, so we need to hold hands.”

In Xue Xi’s mind, a question mark was slowly drawn out: “?”

She instinctively asked, “Then what if holding hands is also insufficient next time?”