What was even more outrageous was that the man turned right around, went inside, and started rummaging through her things. He took all the fruit and food from Zhao Xiangjun's refrigerator and stuffed it into a bag, even telling the two kids, "Look, Daddy got you lots of snacks!"
Chen Xiao couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Zhao Xiangjun. 'Having a brother like that is a true misfortune.'
He glanced at the time. It was almost 10 PM. It wasn't very safe for a girl to be out alone, especially one as beautiful as Zhao Xiangjun.
He thought about how she saw him as some poor guy obsessed with saving face. She had fronted his property management fee, paid his phone bill, helped him with clothes, and even covered his breakfast. For such a kind girl—cold on the outside but warm on the inside—a feeling of tenderness welled up in Chen Xiao's heart.
Instead of going back to his apartment, he went downstairs to look for Zhao Xiangjun.
She hadn't gone far. She was walking slowly by herself through the residential complex toward the exit. Chen Xiao followed from a distance, not approaching to offer any words of comfort.
Chen Xiao accidentally stepped on a twig. Zhao Xiangjun whipped her head around in alarm, but when she saw it was him, her tense, raised shoulders slowly relaxed. She walked over to a nearby flowerbed, took out a tissue to wipe down a bench, and then sat down.
Since she had seen him, Chen Xiao walked over.
"Why do you like following people so much?" As the words left her mouth, she recalled their first meeting and realized he hadn't really been following her then, either; it had just been her misunderstanding.
"And why do you like misunderstanding me so much!" Chen Xiao replied with a smile, sitting down beside her.
She was a little unused to having a man so close, so she scooted to the side, angling her body away to put some distance between herself and Chen Xiao.
"Am I that scary?" Chen Xiao felt rather crushed.
"I'm not used to having people next to me!"
Chen Xiao realized once again that she was extremely insecure.
"Why did you follow me?" Zhao Xiangjun asked quietly.
"It's late. A beautiful girl like you out by herself... it's worrying!"
"You're just overflowing with sympathy! I'm not an idiot. Do you think I'd go somewhere unsafe?"
Chen Xiao looked at her and scoffed internally. 'She's one to talk about someone else overflowing with sympathy. She should take a look in the mirror!'
"No one intentionally goes somewhere unsafe, but whether a place is safe or not isn't always within your control!"
Zhao Xiangjun laughed self-deprecatingly. "I've made it this many years just fine. Nothing's ever happened!"
Chen Xiao didn't want to argue with her about it, so he changed the subject. "Those two kids back at your place... whose are they?"
"My brother's kids. They live in Happiness Garden, a resettlement community. On my days off, he usually drops them off for me to watch for the day."
Chen Xiao was surprised. "What kind of day off is that? Being a nanny at home sounds more tiring than your actual job!"
"If I watch them for the day, my parents can get a break..." Zhao Xiangjun said, as if it were obvious.
Chen Xiao gazed at her beautiful profile, which looked even more captivating under the dim streetlight. A warmth spread through his heart. He was a devil-may-care kind of guy, but for the first time, he found a girl so heart-wrenchingly endearing.
"Your parents must really dote on you."
Zhao Xiangjun smiled. "No matter how much they dote on me, it can't compare to how they dote on their son!"
"What era is this? People still think like that!"
Zhao Xiangjun replied, "You and I don't understand the older generation. But it's fine. I don't need anyone to dote on me; I can take care of myself!"
"I noticed you give your family money for living expenses every month?"
Zhao Xiangjun shot him a look. "I give them 5,000 yuan every month so my parents don't have to put up with any crap at his house!"
'Putting up with crap in their own son's house?' Chen Xiao found that hard to accept.
"Yeah. My dad works out of town, and my mom stays at their place to help watch the kids. She's not working, so she has no income!"
'So she helps him watch two kids and still gets looked down on for not earning money?' Chen Xiao thought about her brother's behavior, and it made perfect sense.
"So, living in a family like this, I often wonder what the point of a 'home' is. If this is what a home is, I think I'm better off alone!"
"That's your brother's family. Not all families are like that. Think about when you were a kid; I'm sure your parents weren't like this back then!"
Zhao Xiangjun gave a soft laugh. "When I was little, my parents would have three brawls a day. Sometimes there was so much blood it would flow from upstairs all the way down the stairs. Later, when my dad left to work out of town, my mom spent all day at the mahjong parlor and would just have me crouch under the table."
Chen Xiao's brows furrowed. He couldn't imagine how awful life in a family like that must have been.
"The year I turned ten, I got so sick I almost died. My mom was still at the mahjong parlor playing mahjong. If my grandma hadn't run a long way to find a doctor, I wouldn't even be here right now."
"So, do you hate them?"
"What's the point of hating them? They're my parents. Without them, I wouldn't exist. They're much better now, anyway. They don't fight anymore, and they go to the mahjong parlor less often!"
"Anyway, let's not talk about this. Chen Xiao, you're actually a pretty good guy, and you have a good head on your shoulders. You have to keep working hard, okay? Go earn that money! I'm still waiting for you to get your commission and pay me back my 2,000 yuan. I'm dead broke!"
"If you're dead broke, you deserve it. Who told you to be so generous when you're poor, always fronting money for people!"
Zhao Xiangjun pouted playfully. "Who wants to be generous when they're poor? Besides, aren't you even poorer? You earn less than my mom does! Hehe..."
Chen Xiao knew what joke she was making. She thought his monthly salary was 4,000, while her mom received 5,000 in living expenses! 'It's rare to see her laugh,' he thought. 'She looks so beautiful when she does.'
"Actually, I really do have money!"
Zhao Xiangjun gave him a look of disdain. "Can we please drop it? I know you have money. All twelve-eighty of it. Now, just put that fragile male ego of yours away!"
'Fine.' Chen Xiao couldn't be bothered to explain anymore. It was hopeless. So he just said, "Alright, then. When I get rich, I'll support you. That's how I'll properly repay you!"
Zhao Xiangjun just took it as a joke. "You probably want me to support *you* first, right? Stop selling me pipe dreams!"
Then she added quietly, "Chen Xiao, what if I found a sugar daddy to take care of me? Then I'd have the money to support you. How about that?"
Chen Xiao said, "You should check if your brain is making a gurgling sound."
Zhao Xiangjun looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's full of water!"
Hmph... Zhao Xiangjun puffed up her cheeks and said quietly, "For so many years, lots of people have tried to persuade me. I know if I just nodded, I wouldn't have to suffer like this anymore. But I can't. I just can't do it. I can't accept it!"
Chen Xiao said with a tender look, "How about me? Am I acceptable? Think you could bring yourself to accept me?"
Zhao Xiangjun laughed. "You should worry about supporting yourself first. And let me tell you, don't get any ideas about me. I'm earning money for a whole crowd of people to spend, and I don't even get to spend it on myself. If I had to add you to the list of mouths to feed, I might as well just go slit my throat!"
It was only then that Chen Xiao really noticed her clothes. She was so stunning that anything she wore looked good on her, but on closer inspection, he realized her clothes were very plain and unbranded. Unlike other girls, she wore no gold or silver jewelry. He also noticed her phone was a model from two years ago.