Chapter 8

“Fine.”

Jin He stepped forward and firmly grasped Xia Mi La’s wrist.

Xia Mi La turned her head, saw him, and flashed him a radiant smile: “A He, you’re here,” she tilted her head, “You’re a bit late, I’ve been waiting for you for quite a while.”

Jin He lowered his voice: “Come with me, I have something to say to you.”

Xia Mi La seemed completely unaware of his mood, still asking him as she followed him to an adjacent lounge: “Why are you alone? Didn’t Acan come with you?”

Jin He couldn’t care less about whether Jin Can had come or where he was.

“Is your phone just for decoration?” he questioned Xia Mi La, “Don’t you know how to answer calls? I went to your house to pick you up.”

“I…” Xia Mi La looked around for her phone and apologized to him, “Sorry, my phone is in my bag, I didn’t have it with me. Today… I didn’t know you would come pick me up, and you didn’t make arrangements with me in advance.”

“Do we need to make arrangements?” Jin He retorted.

Since their engagement, for occasions like this, the two of them had always attended together.

At first, Jin He was forced by his family, but after a few times, he gradually got used to it.

Just like his feelings toward Xia Mi La. He wouldn’t say he particularly liked her, but he certainly didn’t dislike her either. It was just habit – he had grown accustomed to having such a fiancée by his side.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing for him – Xia Mi La came from a noble background and had a personality that wasn’t annoying.

“But…” Xia Mi La lowered her head, “You didn’t accompany me to choose the formal dress this time.”

“Ah, the formal dress.” This made Jin He even angrier, “I told you to wear blue, what are you wearing now? Are you deliberately trying to make me angry?”

“No.” Xia Mi La said pitifully, “I had already chosen my formal dress when your message came through.”

“Couldn’t you change to another one?”

“But I really like this dress…”

Jin He: “…”

He suddenly didn’t know what to say.

It seemed he couldn’t even properly vent his anger.

Jewelry, dresses, handbags – it was completely normal for a young girl to like these things.

Although Xia Mi La had never shown this side of herself before, she was after all just a young girl.

“Sorry.” Xia Mi La apologized in her soft, gentle voice.

“Sorry?” Jin He still had plenty of complaints, but his tone had softened considerably compared to before, “Hey, is this how you treat me now? Starting from Busan, have you done even one thing that satisfied me?”

Xia Mi La hung her head without speaking, then after a moment, sniffled softly.

Jin He reached out to lift her chin.

Her palm-sized face rested in his hand, and he saw her red-rimmed eyes.

“Hey, alright alright.” He felt somewhat helpless, “I didn’t scold you, nor did I hit you…”

He released her and took a step back: “Not accompanying you to choose the formal dress was my fault, okay!”

“I…” Xia Mi La lifted her arm to show him, “I got injured, but you didn’t even ask.”

“I saw it.” Jin He’s gaze fell on the bandage on her arm, “But I was really angry at the time… So how did you get injured? Are you feeling better now?”

Xia Mi La nodded gently: “Better now.”

Jin He had lost his temper – he couldn’t even properly argue with her. But he still felt very frustrated inside.

He sighed and said to Xia Mi La, “I’ll go out first. Stay here for a while before coming out… If Mom sees you like this, she’ll scold me again.”

“I understand,” Xia Mi La replied obediently.

After Jin He left the lounge, Xia Mi La sat down on the sofa.

Just as well she was growing tired of socializing outside anyway.

But she had only been sitting for a short while when someone else came looking for her.

“Hey, Xia Mi La.” Bai You Na’s tone was rude as she strode over, yanking Xia Mi La up from the sofa and viciously pinching the spot wrapped in gauze. “What’s so serious about this injury? Why did you have to dress it up so conspicuously on a day like today, just to show off?!”

“Sister!” Xia Mi La gasped in pain, staring at her in alarm. “What are you doing?!”

Bai You Na was furious.

Xia Mi La was wearing a formal dress but had such obvious bandages wrapped around her, making it seem like everyone knew she had gotten hurt because of Bai You Na. Because of that, even the ladies and her usual friends were giving her strange looks today.

Some had even spoken harshly, telling her mother to discipline her daughter properly and warning her not to waste her energy coveting things she shouldn’t.

Damn it, Xia Mi La’s injury was clearly an accident Bai You Na hadn’t meant for it to happen!

Lately, Xia Mi La had become so irritating! Seeing the dress she was wearing only made Bai You Na angrier.

That night, even her mother’s pillow talk had failed!

When her mother brought up the formal dress again, her father simply said she hadn’t been acting sensibly lately and told her to learn from Xia Mi La.

Learn? From Xia Mi La? Damn it…

Right now, she just wanted to tear her apart rip off that pitiful face of hers that looked so delicate every time she frowned, and tear off that formal dress so she couldn’t show off at the banquet anymore!

Blinded by rage, Bai You Na didn’t even consider the consequences of her actions and reached straight for Xia Mi La’s bustier dress.

Xia Mi La raised her hands in disbelief, shielding her chest. “Sister, have you lost your mind?”

“You damn…” Bai You Na spat out a stream of curses.

Just then, a male voice sounded in the room.

“Hey,” he asked impatiently, “who are you?”

Bai You Na turned toward the voice and was startled to see a face strikingly similar to Jin He’s.

A moment ago, she had clearly seen Jin He leave before she came in.

Thinking it over, she realized the person in front of her wasn’t Jin He, but his twin brother, Jin Can.

The two looked very much alike, but their temperaments were completely different.

Jin He carried an air of arrogant superiority, while Jin Can exuded an icy, unapproachable coldness.

As his chilly gaze swept over her, Bai You Na immediately sobered up and regained her composure.

Have I gone mad? Bai You Na thought, flustered. She glanced at Xia Mi La, then at Jin Can, before turning and rushing out the door.

Xia Mi La watched the door slam shut, then turned to look at Jin Can behind the sofa.

He had stood up and was slowly stepping out from behind it.

Xia Mi La didn’t know how long he had been there, but she was certain he had overheard her conversations with both Bai You Na and Jin He.

“What were you doing back there?” she asked.

“Sleeping,” Jin Can replied.

He was tired of socializing outside.

Primarily, everyone looked at him as if he were some kind of exotic creature.

Fortunately, his father and mother were extremely doting on him, and the family currently had no demands of him, allowing him to do as he pleased.

“Sleep?” Xia Mi La looked at him and laughed, “You’ve had your hair styled today how can you just sleep carelessly like that?”

She beckoned him over, “Come here.”

Jin Can walked up to her.

He was different today compared to that day.

Xia Mi La still remembered how he looked when they first met.

That day, he wore a simple black T-shirt and jeans. Both the T-shirt and jeans had been washed so many times they were old and slightly faded.

Today, he was wearing a high-end, custom-tailored handmade suit that fit his frame perfectly. The suit jacket, which he had used as a blanket, was now casually draped over his wrist. His Armani shirt was wrinkled from him lying down carelessly, and so was his hair.

His hair was slightly long. That day, it had hung loosely and casually, but today, it was styled with hair wax, his bangs swept back to reveal his smooth forehead, making him look sharp and exuding an even stronger aura.

“Your hair is all messed up,” Xia Mi La raised her hand, wanting to fix it for him, but found it a bit challenging. “You’re too tall bend your head down.”

Jin Can lowered his head.

That was much better.

Xia Mi La had no tools on hand, so she could only gently twist small sections of his hair, using the residual hair gel to give the flattened parts more volume.

Jin Can kept his head lowered, his eyes fixed on her, noticing the lingering moisture in her clear, bright eyes.

It was hard to tell whether those tears were from grievance directed at her fiancé or from panic in front of her sister.

Difficult to guess, because at this moment, her expression was gentle and calm, with no trace of the earlier emotions.

This scene was somewhat reminiscent of their first meeting.

But that day, she had only walked up to him and removed a petal from his shoulder, whereas today, she stayed by his side longer.

Her hair was styled into soft curls that cascaded down her back, and she wore an expensive formal dress. A faint, elusive rose fragrance emanated from her, enveloping him as well.

That day, he thought she was an angel in disguise. And today? An angel in distress?

“You’re not quite what I imagined,” he said.

“What?” Xia Mi La was still focused on fixing his hair.

“You,” Jin Can replied, “I didn’t expect someone of your background to have moments of being helpless and bullied.”

“Hmm,” Xia Mi La wasn’t angered by his words; instead, she smiled faintly, “Well, life inevitably has its helpless moments.”

Jin Can didn’t respond, just kept staring into her eyes.

Sensing his gaze, Xia Mi La met his eyes.

“What’s with that look?” she asked with a laugh, “Do you want to protect me?”

Jin Can was silent for two seconds, then said, “Yes.”

“Huh?”

“Protect you.”

“Oh?” Xia Mi La chuckled, her hand trembling slightly as she steadied herself by lightly resting it on his shoulder.

“Is it because you want to repay me?” she asked.

“Mm.”

Xia Mi La laughed again for a while.

“What a cute kid,” she said, raising her hand again to fix his hair. “I don’t need protection. But you,” she added softly, “you’re new here. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always ask me.”

Jin Can didn’t reply.

“All done.” Xia Mi La had already fixed his hair for him.

She looked left and right, fairly satisfied.

Jin Can didn’t care much about these things. He looked at her arm: “How did that happen?”

“It’s nothing serious, don’t worry.” Xia Mi La reached out her hand toward him, “Give me your phone.”

Jin Can’s gaze remained fixed on the bandage on her arm, but he still obediently fished out his phone and handed it to her. Then he watched as she quickly saved a string of numbers.

“This is my phone number. You can call me directly if anything comes up.” She handed the phone back, “Alright, let’s head back now.”

Jin Can slipped on his suit jacket and followed her out.

He glanced at her retreating back, then looked down at his phone again.

Above the string of numbers she had just saved, the contact name she left was just two characters – Sister-in-law.

Jin Can: “…”

Author’s note:

———————-

Jin Can: So that’s how you want to play, huh?