They were always the first to discipline Xu Jin when he made a mistake. It was common for them to scold or order him around. However, they were always very careful with Xu Chun and the others, and maintained a lenient attitude. But Xu Chun was very sensible and rarely made mistakes. Her grades were also excellent.
The only problem is that this child is very sensitive. It was only after Xu Jin was born that they finally opened up to him, but he reverted to his old ways after the birth of his child. He was very respectful to them and extremely careful in everything he did. They never saw him bring friends home.
Once Mrs. Xu started talking, she sighed and continued, "The first time I saw Xu Chun, he was only a few years old. His little face was so white and soft. He was hiding behind the staff member, and it took a lot of effort to coax him out."
"Mom." Xu Chun called out to her somewhat embarrassedly as the past was brought up.
"I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore." Mrs. Xu quickly stopped talking and urged everyone to continue eating, "Eat, eat."
After dinner, it was already dark outside, and the downpour showed no signs of stopping. Seeing this, Xu's mother couldn't help but say, "Why don't you stay here tonight?"
She said, "Xu Jin, let the guests stay in the room; you can sleep on the sofa."
Xu Jin was furious, his face flushed red as he retorted, "Why should I?"
Xu's mother snorted coldly, "Just because you haven't called home for months."
Seeing that another argument was about to break out, Xu Chun sighed and advised, "Forget it, Little Xie and I will sleep in my room."
"Won't it be a bit crowded?"
Xie Jianyuan smiled at her, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "No, that won't happen."
"Then I'll go find you a clean bed sheet," said Mrs. Xu before leaving.
Xu Chun stood there for a while, wanting to speak, but his father, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, called out to him.
"Coming," Xu Chun replied and walked over.
Now only Xu Jin and Xie Jianyuan remained. Xu Jin glanced at him, coughed, and was about to say something when he saw Xie Jianyuan give him a lukewarm smile.
"Do you have a backup of the disc from earlier?"
"What?"
"Oh, and send me that picture of your brother wearing a skirt too."
"..."
Is it possible?
"... able."
Chapter 43 Sleeping Together
Although Xu Chun wasn't used to sleeping with others, she ended up sleeping in the same bed with Xie Jianyuan a few times by chance. At first, she was indeed a little uncomfortable, but seeing Xie Jianyuan's calm expression, she didn't want to be awkward anymore. Once she got used to it, she felt it wasn't a big deal.
"Brother Chun, do you need the lights turned off?"
Xu Chun dutifully pulled the blanket up to his chin, yawned, and said, "Turn it off."
Upon Xie Jianyuan, Xie Jianyuan bowed slightly and turned off the desk lamp, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Xu Chun closed her eyes, feeling so quiet that she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
A rustling sound came from the side, the sound of fabric rubbing together. Xu Chun was slightly taken aback. Was Xie Jianyuan taking off his clothes? For some reason, this realization made his face feel hot.
"Brother Chun."
Xie Jianyuan called Xu Chun again, his voice inexplicably low and hoarse, as if he were suppressing something.
"... Um."
Xu Chun buried almost her entire head in the blanket and gave a muffled response.
"I can't sleep," Xie Jianyuan said in a deep voice, his dark eyes fixed on the back of his head, a fleeting smile flashing in his eyes.
Xu Chun froze for a moment, then said slowly, "Just close your eyes."
"But I don't want to close my eyes." Xie Jianyuan's gaze fell on the red mole on Xu Chun's white neck, and his eyes darkened.
Xu Chun remained silent for a moment, then sighed and turned around, meeting Xie Jianyuan's bright black eyes. After pursing her lips, she asked, "So what do you want?"
Xie Jianyuan said with a smile, "I want to talk to you."
"Say what?"
"Things from your childhood."
Xu Chun sighed, "How could I possibly remember things from when I was little?" He looked up at Xie Jianyuan again, and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, let me think."
Xu Chun has indeed forgotten most of what happened when he was a child. He only remembers being extremely insecure as a child, constantly afraid that his parents would abandon him, so he was always very careful in everything he did. He was the well-behaved and sensible child that the neighbors and teachers described.
But deep down, he also longed to play with his peers, but he didn't dare, because that wouldn't be the obedient child his parents liked.
Every time Xu Jin and his playmates came home covered in dirt, past the time allowed by his parents, his mother would scold him, adding, "Look at your brother, can't he be a little more sensible and give me a break?"
Then he realized that he had to be sensible and not annoy the adults.
Xu Chun blinked and looked at Xie Jianyuan, saying, "Don't let my current description of Xu Jin as a little kid fool you; I was no different from him when I was a child."
Xie Jianyuan smiled and said, "Didn't your aunt say you were very sensible?"
"It's different." Xu Chun shook her head.
He paused, then continued, "Actually, I used to overthink things back then. I always felt that no one would like me, so I had to work extra hard to please people."
Xie Jianyuan's eyes flickered, the smile on his lips faded, and he looked at him without saying a word.
Xu Chun said, "Back then, because of my special circumstances, even if I made mistakes occasionally, my parents wouldn't treat me the way they treated Xu Jin. You could say they were very careful with me."
Actually, I really hope they can scold me.
Xu Chun forced a smile and said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Do you think I'm just asking for trouble?"
Xie Jianyuan looked at him with deep eyes, his gaze seemingly filled with shattered starlight, and gazed at him tenderly without saying a word.
Xu Chun yawned again, turned over listlessly, and said, "That was all many years ago. Now I know, of course, that my parents treated me and Xu Jin the same way, they just expressed it differently."