Xie Jianyuan slowly raised the corners of his mouth, a hint of a smile in his eyes. This was the first time Xu Chun had seen Xie Jianyuan so happy since that incident.
"Good."
Xu Chun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said gently, "Alright, I'll inform them."
He paused, then added jokingly, "My place is a bit small, so please don't mind."
Xie Jianyuan's thin lips curved slightly. "How could that be?"
He lowered his eyelashes slightly and softened his tone, saying, "I'm very curious to know what it's like where Brother Chun grew up."
Xu Chun smiled a little shyly and said, "Actually, it's very ordinary."
His home was indeed very ordinary. The neighborhood had some history, but it wasn't noticeable from the outside due to years of maintenance. After making money as an artist, he originally wanted to buy a new house for his parents, but the two elderly people were unwilling to move. After all, they had lived in the house for decades and had developed feelings for both the house itself and the surrounding neighbors.
Xu Chun and Xie Jianyuan had free time on Friday, so they planned to go back that day.
Xu Chun put on her coat as she walked out of the house. At that moment, a torrential downpour had started outside, and thunder rumbled intermittently in the gray sky.
"It's raining, remember to bring an umbrella," Xu Chun reminded Xie Jianyuan, who was pouring cat food, as he peeked out.
"Hmm." Xie Jianyuan responded, glanced up at Xu Chun's thin coat, and frowned in disapproval.
"Brother Chun, it's a bit cold outside, wear something warmer."
Xu Chun smiled nonchalantly, "How cold can it get in summer?"
Xie Jianyuan sighed inwardly, still planning to bring an extra thicker coat later.
Xu Chun tilted her head slightly, her peripheral vision glancing at the shelf beside her. Her gaze sharpened slightly, and she looked momentarily stunned.
The spot where the photo of him and Jiang Xiuyan had been placed was now empty.
"Is there a photo missing here?" Xu Chun frowned slightly.
Xie Jianyuan looked up, casually stroking the cat's fur, and said in a low voice, "Oh, that one, it accidentally fell on the ground and broke, so I threw it away."
Xu Chun withdrew her gaze with some skepticism, vaguely knowing that Xie Jianyuan was probably feeling uneasy after learning about that matter.
However, this is understandable. After all, it's not pleasant for anyone to experience something like, "I treated you like a brother, but you treated me like a lover."
Xie Jianyuan's lips twitched slightly as he looked at Xu Chun's sympathetic expression.
What is he imagining now?
Chapter 42 The Cross-dressing Master
Xu Chun lived on the eighth floor of the apartment building. After taking the elevator up to her door, Xu Chun took out her key, opened the door, and turned to Xie Jianyuan, saying, "My dad should have gone to buy groceries. Only my mom should be home right now."
Xie Jianyuan gave a deep "hmm," his smile deepening, and followed Xu Chun inside.
The room that came into view was a cozy little living room. There were several cute dolls on the floral fabric sofa. Xie Jianyuan noticed that they were chibi versions of a character Xu Chun played in the drama. There were also enlarged magazine posters of Xu Chun on the wall.
Xu Chun coughed awkwardly and took a step to the left to block Xie Jianyuan's view. From Xie Jianyuan's perspective, he could see the blush behind the ear of the person with their back to him.
"Mom!" Xu Chun called out to her mother in the kitchen, sounding somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, "Didn't I tell you to put it away?"
His usually gentle and composed face showed an unusual expression of shame and anger, and a faint pink blush rose on his originally fair face, making him look extremely embarrassed.
"Oh, my son's back." Xu's mother, wearing a scarf and carrying a spatula, came out of the kitchen. She selectively ignored Xu Chun's words and looked at Xie Jianyuan behind him, greeting him warmly, "You must be Xie Jianyuan."
She walked over, wiping her hands on her apron, and extended her hand to Xie Jianyuan, saying, "Young man, you're even more handsome than on TV!"
Xu Chun was slightly taken aback, looking at the unavoidable oil stains on her mother's hands. Then, remembering Xie Jianyuan's obsession with cleanliness, she wanted to speak up to stop him, but saw Xie Jianyuan smiling as he reached out and shook hands with Xu's mother, saying without changing his expression, "Auntie looks very young too."
Xu's mother was amused by Xie Jianyuan's words, and her impression of the young man improved even more.
"You and Xu Chun can stay in the living room and watch TV. Xu Jin and his dad will probably be back from grocery shopping soon."
"Xu Jin is back too?" Xu Chun asked, somewhat surprised. "He didn't tell me."
"I was startled too," Xu's mother sighed. "She just said she wanted to go home without saying a word."
However, it's a good thing overall. Xu Jin has been much more well-behaved lately and has even started to contact his parents, which makes the elderly couple very happy.
Xu's mother went back into the kitchen to get busy. The heavy rain outside continued to fall, and raindrops washed down the window. Xu Chun went over and drew the curtains, then sat back down on the sofa.
"With such heavy rain, why haven't they come back yet?" Xu Chun looked somewhat worried.
Xie Jianyuan turned to look at him, a faint smile appearing in his dark, narrow eyes, and reassured him, "Don't worry, they should be here soon."
Xie Jianyuan was right after all. Just a few minutes after he finished speaking, Xu Jin and his father returned.
Each of them was carrying a large bag of groceries, and they were both soaking wet. They turned their faces away from each other in a huff, refusing to look at one another.
"Oh!" Mrs. Xu came out and was quite startled when she saw this scene. "What happened? Where's the umbrella?"
Xu Chun could tell from their expressions that they had probably argued again, so she sighed helplessly, "Go change into some clean clothes first."
After changing his clothes, Xu Jin looked at Xie Jianyuan sitting on the sofa, hesitated for a few seconds, and then obediently went up to greet him.
Xu Chun found it fascinating and felt that Xu Xie Jianyuan and Xu Jin were hiding something from her.