CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 23 GENTLE XIA XUE

Xia Xue listened and pouted, looking at Xiao Lin as if he were a monster, and said, "What do you mean by eating freely until full? Hasn’t anyone given you enough to eat before?"

Xiao Lin chuckled, recalling the times during his missions when he might not eat or drink for a whole day and night, or when meals were timed, eating as much as possible in three minutes. Xia Xue had never experienced such a life, so naturally, she didn’t know what a pleasure it was to eat freely and enjoy such good food.

"Yeah, I was quite pitiful before, not getting three meals a day—when I was hungry, I would ask people on the street for something to eat!" Xiao Lin joked.

"Can you be any more amusing?" Xia Xue laughed out loud, "But boasting doesn’t cost tax, so keep boasting!" She could hear the joking tone in Xiao Lin’s voice.

From the first time Xia Xue met Xiao Lin and chatted with him, she knew that conversing with Xiao Lin was very easy and she was thoroughly enjoying it now. It seemed that moving out from home was the most correct decision she had made in years.

"If only I had a cup of tea now, then even if offered to be a deity, I wouldn’t take it!" Xiao Lin said with a cheeky smile to Xia Xue.

"You’re really getting on top of things now!" Xia Xue rolled her eyes at Xiao Lin, but still got up and said, "Alright, I happened to bring some from home. I usually prefer tea over coffee, so you can put in a bit more effort into cleaning up this mess on the table!" Xia Xue herself found it strange why she would do whatever Xiao Lin suggested without the slightest bit of reluctance.

"No problem!" Xiao Lin said contentedly, then got up to clean the dishes. Such a small task was not difficult for Xiao Lin.

Xia Xue returned to the room and took out two small bags of tea leaves. As she was about to brew the tea, she suddenly heard a clattering sound from the kitchen. With a helpless look towards the kitchen, where the door was open, she could see a floor covered with broken porcelain pieces. Smiling ruefully, she walked towards the kitchen and saw Xiao Lin standing there like a child who had done something wrong with his head lowered. Xia Xue, with a mixture of annoyance and amusement, said, "I don’t know how you’ve been living before; even washing dishes can create such a commotion. You should know these dishes aren’t ours, they’re Teacher Qi’s!" Her words sounded like a wife complaining about her husband’s lack of domestic skills, using "ours."

Xiao Lin awkwardly laughed twice, blushing slightly as he said, "Well... you know, once bitten, twice shy. I promise I’ll do better in the future!" He then fetched a broom and dustpan from the bathroom balcony to clean up the kitchen.

Seeing Xiao Lin’s embarrassment, Xia Xue couldn’t stand it and washed the remaining dishes herself, making Xiao Lin feel even more embarrassed, yet he also felt more admiration for Xia Xue. This girl had a pleasant personality, good temper, and was diligent with housework. Xiao Lin might not be great at household chores, but he was good at judging people. From Xia Xue’s attire and behavior, her family was definitely of some standing. However, Xia Xue, despite her background, lacked the typical spoiled attributes of rich girls, instead being approachable and sensible, which was rare and admirable.

"Eldest Young Master Xiao, I won’t dare ask you to do any housework in the future; you’ve completely conquered me!" Xia Xue said helplessly looking at Xiao Lin as he carefully swept the floor, fearing he might break the shards further. But in fact, Xiao Lin was thinking about how great Xia Xue was, making him somewhat absent-minded while cleaning.

"Don’t say that; at least I have the willingness to try!" Xiao Lin said a bit sheepishly, not daring to meet Xia Xue’s eyes.

"Remember, I’m just your roommate, not your housemaid!" Xia Xue said testily, and then left Xiao Lin in the kitchen to make tea in the living room.

Xiao Lin secretly smiled bitterly, wondering when he had become so easily distracted. It seemed that Xia Xue really had an irresistible charm that even he couldn’t fend off.

After cleaning up and putting it in the kitchen trash bin, Xiao Lin saw it was already full, so he packed it up. Otherwise, if Xia Xue saw it, who knows how she’d criticize him.

When he returned to the living room, Xia Xue was already lying on the sofa, with two cups of tea on the coffee table. The bag that held the tea leaves was still there. Xiao Lin looked at the bag and exclaimed, "This is really good tea!"

"Of course it is, it costs over ten thousand yuan per tael. I took a few bags from my dad’s collection!" Xia Xue said casually.

Xiao Lin teased her happily, "So you’re a rich girl, aren’t you afraid that a poor guy like me, who can’t even afford a hotel room, might kidnap you?" As Xia Xue’s personality suited Xiao Lin more and more, he started to feel a twinge of regret. If he had taken advantage of Xia Xue last night, he wondered what the situation would be like today. But on second thought, he was glad he hadn’t, because judging from Xia Xue’s attitude afterwards, she might have turned and left at the first sight of him today. Although Xiao Lin hadn’t known Xia Xue for long, he had somewhat understood this girl’s character.

When Xia Xue heard him bring up last night’s incident, she blushed slightly. It was one of the most embarrassing things she’d done in her life. Yet Xia Xue was not a typical girl; she could be gentle when needed and tough when the situation called for it. Hearing Xiao Lin talk about last night, she couldn’t resist teasing him, "Are you regretful?" She said while provocatively fanning her open collar, irresistibly enticing.

Xiao Lin had lost the boldness to flirt. If it weren’t for a bit of drink, he wouldn’t have thought about certain sad memories last night, and Xiao Lin, in his usual calmness, would have only joked about it. Xia Xue’s strong comeback left him unsure of how to respond.

"This tea is indeed excellent!" Xiao Lin said, avoiding eye contact with Xia Xue. The more he got to know her, the more he realized Xia Xue was a mesmerizing beauty whose every move could captivate a man’s soul. No wonder there was so much gossip behind her, especially since Xia Xue herself was often the cause of it.

"You’re like an old man, changing the subject so skillfully!" Xia Xue laughed, looking at Xiao Lin, feeling quite pleased with herself upon seeing him avoid her gaze.

At that moment, it happened to be time for the country’s main TV news broadcast. Xiao Lin inadvertently saw a segment in the news report about Jingliang Province’s HTC4 variant infectious virus.

Xiao Lin’s expression immediately turned serious. To ordinary people, it was just a brief mention in the news, but for those with a bit of insight, they knew that the news broadcast was far from simple and often carried significant implications.