When Xie Huai woke up, he made several calls to the police station.

The money he had given to Hu Shurong on New Year’s Eve had stayed with Hu Shurong until his arrest when police took it as evidence. Xie Huai had kept the withdrawal receipt, and after evidence processing was complete, the police returned the funds.

Xie Huai repaid Xia Xia’s loan but showed no intention of returning the money to Qiao Bo.

When Xia Xia asked about this, he explained casually, “The money my father lost doing business with him back then was over a million. He’s not short on cash, and since the IOU states repayment within ten years, there’s no need to return it so early. This money has more value in my hands than his.”

Xia Xia didn’t understand. Xie Huai smiled, “Brother Huai needs to start a business to support you.”

“You don’t need to support me,” Xia Xia said softly. “I can earn money myself.”

“I know Sister Xia can do anything.”

Xie Huai’s eyes held deeper affection as he gazed at her with such focused devotion that nothing else seemed to exist when she was near.

“But I still want to.”

He took her hand – it was cold and soft, with a pale complexion that made one’s heart ache.

Xia Xia had recently caught the flu and was feeling weak and listless. Worried about infecting Xie Huai, she always wore a mask. Her face was small, with the blue mask covering most of it, leaving only her beautiful almond-shaped eyes visible.

“I’ve promised many times that I wouldn’t let you suffer with me, but I haven’t been able to fulfill that promise until now.”

“Those men are eyeing you – if I don’t work harder, what if you run off with them?” Xie Huai held her hand preciously in his palm, warming it gradually with his body heat. “Give me some more time, five years at most, and I’ll give you a home.”

Xia Xia blinked, her eyelashes dark and thick.

Xie Huai gazed at them without blinking, as if watching a black feather fan. He leaned closer and gently kissed her eyelids.

His lips were moist, the dampness transferring to Xia Xia, making her eyes grow moist as well.

After Xie Huai had his stitches removed and left the hospital, Madam Qiao’s condition also stabilized.

The home invasion and assault seemed to have little impact on her, or perhaps those effects were overshadowed by Hu Shurong’s death. She showed no post-traumatic stress symptoms. Instead, her mood was good as she cooperated with medical treatment. During free time, she chatted with Xia Xia, watching Xia Xia and Xie Huai bicker and play games by her bedside.

Sunlight streamed through the window, brushing past the leaves of potted plants on the windowsill, carrying the vibrant vitality of flourishing green.

The room was bright, walls snow-white, filled with warmth and hope.

Madam Qiao took the peeled apple Xia Xia handed her: “Look, aren’t we just like family?”

She asked playfully, “When are you planning to marry Xie Huai? Auntie can hardly wait.”

Xie Huai was leaning against the window playing with his phone. Hearing this, he glanced at Xia Xia beside him. She had been unusually quiet lately, perhaps due to her illness making her weak.

She froze at Madam Qiao’s words, then said softly, “Auntie, don’t tease me.”

Xie Huai pinched her cheek, naturally pulling her into his arms, teasing with a smile, “Is that question so hard to answer? Why are you blushing?”

After pinching her cheek, he grinned mischievously: “Not only is my mom getting impatient, I’m getting impatient too.”

Xia Xia’s cold showed no signs of improvement. Madam Qiao thought it was due to the hospital’s bacteria and told Xie Huai to take Xia Xia home first.

No one had returned home since the incident that day. The living room floor and sofa were covered in dried blood stains, a disturbing sight.

Xie Huai spent an entire day cleaning the house. He removed and discarded all the sofa covers, and thoroughly scrubbed the floor with disinfectant. After finishing everything, he collapsed on the sofa watching TV by evening.

Xia Xia was in the kitchen making chicken soup for Madam Qiao. The clay pot contained Chinese herbs bought from the pharmacy, simmering on low heat without oil all afternoon.

Xie Huai caught the aroma from the living room. His nose twitched as he followed it to the kitchen.

Xia Xia found the house heating too warm and rolled up her loungewear pants to her knees. A pale section of the calf was exposed to the air, eye-catching against the light red apron hanging down.

The range hood hummed softly.

Xie Huai leaned against the doorframe watching her quietly. Xia Xia had carelessly tied her hair in a ponytail, tucking loose strands behind her ears. His gaze traveled down from her soft hair, along her slender neck, smoothly curved spine, slim waist, and down to her fair, straight calves.

She was gentle and obedient, quiet and well-behaved, like a young wife making dinner for her late-returning husband. Xie Huai watched entranced, feeling this scene was already the most beautiful future he could imagine.

The evening sunlight wasn’t harsh, its rays entering through the window casting a golden glow around her.

It was the most heartwarming scene, yet Xie Huai’s mind was filled with a single unspeakable thought.

Xia Xia was fair-skinned, and light red colors like the apron suited her perfectly. She stood on tiptoe reaching for the thermos in the wall cabinet, palm braced against the counter, body leaning forward, creating beautiful curves at her waist and hips. It could arouse all of a man’s protective instincts, as well as all predatory desires.

Xie Huai’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes burned.

Xia Xia poured the chicken soup into the thermos, turned around to find Xie Huai standing behind her, and was startled.

“What are you doing?” The girl almost spilled the soup, her tone carrying slight reproach, “How can you sneak up on someone like that?”

Xie Huai looked away, saying awkwardly, “Are you finished?”

Even though he wasn’t some innocent young man anymore, the deepest thoughts in his heart at that moment still couldn’t be openly expressed.

– Wanting to tease her without restraint, wanting to pin her down and freely express his feelings, wanting to see her skin flush red as she cried in his arms.

That scene unfolded in his mind.

Though his expression remained normal, he couldn’t help feeling parched.

Xie Huai was sleeping soundly when Madam Qiao woke him.

The hospital ward needed overnight company. For a whole week, Xie Huai came to stay the entire night, buying breakfast for Madam Qiao in the morning before heading home.

Still not fully awake, Xie Huai crawled up from his bedding on the floor and went to use the bathroom.

Madam Qiao’s eyes were bright in the night: “I just had a dream.”

Xie Huai was exhausted, rubbing his eyes and yawning, “What dream?”

“I dreamed Xia Xia broke up with you, crying her eyes out.” Madam Qiao said, “I feel uneasy, somehow anxious.”

Xie Huai smiled, “What are you thinking?”

Madam Qiao looked at the clock: “It’s almost dawn anyway, don’t stay with me anymore, go home and check on things.”

The dream had fully woken Xie Huai. He put on his coat and was stopped by Madam Qiao at the door.

Madam Qiao looked at him: “I feel Xia Xia hasn’t been happy lately. Don’t come these next few days, spend more time with her when you can.”

At four in the morning, the street lights were still on.

Xie Huai walked alone on the city’s brightly lit streets. The flower beds along the road still held piles of snow from previous days’ clearing. Despite the recent warm weather and wind blowing a layer of black dust onto the surface, it stubbornly refused to melt.

Bored, Xie Huai used his toe to hook out a dirty patch of snow, kicking it from one end of the small street to the other. By the end of the road, the large piece had scattered into many small pieces.

Madam Qiao said Xia Xia was unhappy – of course, Xie Huai knew, he had noticed even before Madam Qiao did.

But Xia Xia wasn’t the type of girl who liked to act spoiled or throw tantrums. She had her thoughts, and if she was dissatisfied with Xie Huai she would say it directly. If she kept it to herself, it meant she didn’t want him to know, and even asking wouldn’t help. Xie Huai thought Xia Xia’s bad mood might be due to being sick, or maybe she wasn’t adapting well to life in Zhang City.

It couldn’t possibly be that she was angry with him.

Xia Xia had no reason to be angry with him unless she was upset that he hadn’t protected himself well and ended up in the hospital.

Besides that point, he couldn’t think of any other possibilities.

Xie Huai stood under a street light, boredly watching the sky. The morning star twinkled faintly in the distant heavens.

Occasional three-wheelers buzzed past, leaving trails of diesel exhaust – market vendors driving to wholesale markets for supplies.

The morning breeze was fresh but cold. Xie Huai zipped up his jacket and walked quickly to the porridge shop at the end of the small street.

This was Zhang City’s most famous porridge shop, with long queues every morning and all food sold out by nine.

During his school days, Xie Huai loved their chicken shreds with preserved vegetable porridge. The family’s housekeeper often had to get up very early to queue and buy porridge for him.

Xia Xia was still sleeping, so Xie Huai simply sat at the shop entrance to wait.

Just past five, his phone died after playing with it, and the owner finally opened up yawning, though not yet ready for business.

Several employees were busy in the kitchen.

The owner came out and handed him a cup of hot water: “Here so early?”

Xie Huai made an affirmative sound, smiling: “Buying breakfast for my wife.”

Just past six, people gradually appeared in front of the shop, and soon the queue stretched dozens of meters.

Xie Huai stood at the front of the crowd, and after opening at six-thirty, bought two steaming bowls of porridge and left.

When he got home Xia Xia was still asleep. Winter days were short, with dawn not breaking until seven.

She wore a black spaghetti strap nightgown curled up in the blankets. After tossing and turning all night, the straps had slipped down her arms, the neckline disheveled, exposing beautiful collarbones and snow-white skin.

Xie Huai had spent over two hours in the cold wind, and his hair became damp with condensation as soon as he entered the warm room.

He went to the bathroom to dry his hair with a towel, put the porridge on the radiator to keep warm, changed into pajamas, and slipped under the covers to hold Xia Xia.

Even after changing clothes he still carried a chill, and Xia Xia woke instantly, eyes opening to a slit: “You’re back so early?”

The heavy curtains blocked the light, the room still dim and dark. She reached under her pillow for her phone to check the time, but was restrained in his arms along with her reaching hand.

Xia Xia made a soft sound, unable to overcome his strength, and simply stopped moving.

“Mom says you’ve been unhappy lately,” Xie Huai pinched her neck. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not unhappy.” Xia Xia’s eyes flashed with hesitation, and then her voice softened coquettishly, “I’m so sleepy, let me sleep a bit more-“

Xie Huai released his grip. Xia Xia pillowed her head on his arm, burying her face in his chest.

Like a kitten seeking warmth, she constantly nuzzled against him while deeply asleep, desperately burrowing into his embrace.

Xie Huai couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d held her to sleep like this. Since returning to Zhang City, events have come one after another without respite. The last time he held her like this was in their warm little home in Nan City.

The girl’s breath was soft and warm, falling gently on his thin pajama top.

At that moment, indescribable emotions rippled through Xie Huai’s heart. Afraid of waking her, he dared not move, maintaining this position until dawn.

Xia Xia slept deeply, but Xie Huai didn’t close his eyes once. He gazed at the girl in his arms, from her hair to her cheeks, unwilling to miss even the smallest detail. He lowered his head, his lips trailing from her forehead down to her chin, kissing gently inch by inch.

Xia Xia slept until nine, the curtains blocking the light so thoroughly that the room remained dark, making it hard to tell the time.

She made a soft sound wanting to turn over, but was held by an arm. Her sleepy mind took several turns before remembering that Xie Huai had come back around six today.

“Brother Huai,” she called in a soft, cotton-like voice, “I’m hungry.”

Xie Huai’s black eyes stared at her, and after a long while he spoke: “I’m hungry too.”

He pressed his body forward slightly, that hard, burning sensation impossible to ignore.

His finger gently brushed across Xia Xia’s jelly-soft lips, exploring between them, his freshly trimmed nail tapping against her white teeth.

Xia Xia instinctively opened her mouth.

Xie Huai pushed inside, his fingertip touching her soft tongue. Still not fully awake, Xia Xia instinctively curled around his finger and sucked.

– Wet, slick.

Her expression was confused and innocent, enough to arouse all of a man’s predatory and possessive desires.

Xie Huai’s mind instantly exploded, among the flying ash and debris was a single urgent, eager thought.

He rolled over on top of her.

Even in her dullness, Xia Xia realized what he wanted to do. Today’s Xie Huai was different from many other times – she couldn’t explain it, only felt that his gaze seemed to want to tear her apart and swallow her whole.

“Brother Huai,” she pressed against his shoulders with little confidence, “My cold isn’t better yet…”

– A cold is contagious.

Xia Xia thought, surely Xie Huai wouldn’t risk getting sick just to do it now?

Xie Huai’s deep dark eyes were bottomless. He slowly lowered himself to bite and lick her earlobe, his voice low and hoarse:

“You have a cold? Let me give you a shot.”