Chapter Nineteen: Haste

Chapter Nineteen: Haste

Before Yuan Lingling could see the person outside the yard, she could already tell it was a charming young girl with a sweet, gentle voice.

However, after racking her brain, she couldn’t place her.

The girl was here to see Shen Caisheng, so perhaps she didn’t know her.

Yuan Lingling let out an inward whistle, thinking that Shen Caisheng really had quite the way with women. She couldn’t help feeling a bit resentful.

If it were anyone else, Yuan Lingling wouldn’t have bothered opening the door, but hearing the girl’s voice, she couldn’t help but step out to see who it was.

After all, it was just a glance. At most, she could just send her away.

The snow in the yard had been swept clean by Shen Caisheng at some point, leaving only a bit near the edges, as if tracing a white line. She couldn’t figure out why he’d left it there.

The gate was still locked from the inside. Yuan Lingling could imagine how Shen Caisheng had taken Yuan Yuan out, then returned to lock the gate before climbing over the wall to leave.

She smiled and opened the door, but was taken aback when she saw who was outside.

It was indeed a little girl, but she looked like she’d just fled a refugee camp.

Her thin, patched cotton clothes were faded to a pale hue, her hair was disheveled, her skin rough, and her face was bruised and swollen.

Seeing her like this, Yuan Lingling couldn’t help but soften her voice and asked, “Do you need any help?”

Yuan Lingling didn’t want to think the worst, but given the girl’s appearance, she couldn’t imagine anything good.

This couldn’t have anything to do with Shen Caisheng, could it?

The girl was clutching a bundle, which she held tightly, and said, “I’m looking for Shen Caisheng. Does he live here?”

Yuan Lingling nodded. The girl didn’t seem like a bad person, and in such freezing weather, Yuan Lingling couldn’t let her stay outside in the wind. After a brief pause, she said, “He just went out. Come in and wait.”

Yuan Lingling was somewhat suspicious, and the girl seemed to be cautious of her too, hesitating to enter.

“What’s your name?” Yuan Lingling asked, not pushing her.

“I’m Yang Xiaoxi.”

“What did you say your name was?” Yuan Lingling, who had been standing lazily, instinctively pressed her for an answer.

Yang Xiaoxi gave her a strange look but quickly looked away when they met Yuan Lingling’s gaze. “Yang Xiaoxi. Do you know me?”

Yuan Lingling shook her head. “No, I must have misheard.”

She looked at the girl in front of her, realizing she was the heroine from the book. Recalling the book’s descriptions of her childhood, it matched what she was seeing now.

Seeing the heroine wasn’t a shock to Yuan Lingling. It would have been strange if she hadn’t appeared.

But just yesterday, Shen Caisheng had said he didn’t know her, and now she was here looking for him.

Although he wasn’t obligated to tell her the truth, repeatedly discovering his lies made Yuan Lingling feel uneasy. She thought it would be better to divorce him and leave sooner rather than later.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Yuan Lingling asked again. If she didn’t come in, Yuan Lingling wouldn’t waste her time on her.

This time, her tone was noticeably colder. Yang Xiaoxi hugged her bundle, glanced at her warily, and shook her head.

Yuan Lingling didn’t care and was about to go back inside when she heard Shen Caisheng’s voice from behind. “Why are you here?”

He was wearing a black cotton coat, looking tall and imposing, yet he carried a big load of groceries in his hand, including fish, meat, and vegetables that were rare for the season.

When his gaze fell on Yuan Lingling, he slightly furrowed his brows and said, "Come on in, don’t just stand there at the door."

Yuan Lingling was puzzled by his tone, wondering why he was giving her the cold shoulder when she hadn’t even gotten angry yet.

She turned and walked inside, her anger unmistakable to Shen Caisheng.

Shen Caisheng was a little taken aback. He was just worried about the cold outside, fearing her fever might spike again. Why did she have that expression? Did this person say something to her?

Thinking this, his face hardened when he looked at Yang Xiaoxi.

"Why did you come here? I gave you the address, didn’t I?"

Shen Caisheng hated mixing work with home life, especially now that Yuan Lingling wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t want anyone disturbing her.

"I... I found out about this place and came over," Yang Xiaoxi murmured timidly.

Seeing her standing at the door had already attracted quite a few onlookers. Shen Caisheng sighed in resignation, "Come in and we’ll talk."

Since she was already here, turning her away would make him seem suspicious.

With her here, he could at least put off going to the neighborhood committee for now.

Shen Caisheng thought, at least wait until Yuan Lingling’s health improves a bit.

However, Shen Caisheng had little patience for Yang Xiaoxi. She was nothing but a liar. He hadn’t expected her to actually show up, and so early at that.

Yuan Lingling went back to the main room herself, seeing the two still talking at the door, she scoffed to herself.

Shen Caisheng, what was he thinking? Hadn’t he gotten what she was asking that day? Or was he too straightforward to figure out the connection between Yang Xi and Yang Xiaoxi?

Still playing the bad guy?

Yuan Lingling took a fierce bite of her pancake, but it had lost its flavor.

However, she didn’t quite understand why Yang Xi used to be called Yang Xiaoxi, but name changes weren’t that uncommon.

"I invited you here mainly to open a tofu shop," Shen Caisheng said as he led Yang Xiaoxi into the main room.

A tofu shop?

If Yuan Lingling remembered correctly, the book’s heroine struck gold by starting a tofu shop. Now her identity was beyond doubt.

In the book, the female lead made a name for herself in the ’80s by using the "Tofu Beauty" as a gimmick, and then rose with the changing times.

So, the person who initially supported her in selling tofu was Shen Caisheng?

How did they end up at odds? Was it really love gone sour?

From what she could see now, Yuan Lingling didn’t really think Shen Caisheng was such a bad person. Could it be that this icy, aloof guy was secretly a softie?

"Why don’t you whip some up for us to taste?" Shen Caisheng said, feeling Yuan Lingling’s gaze occasionally falling on him. Although he found it a bit strange, he also felt somewhat pleased, and inexplicably added, "If the tofu you make satisfies me and my wife, we can talk about the next steps."

Yuan Lingling raised an eyebrow at his words. Had it slipped his mind that they were on the brink of divorce?

Originally, Yuan Lingling had a bit of... not reluctance, but a hesitation to easily change the relatively comfortable status quo.

But the appearance of the original female protagonist strengthened her resolve to leave.

"Not right now, you gotta soak the beans first to make tofu," Yang Xiaoxi said, seemingly unaware of any tension between them, lost in her own thoughts, looking very docile.

Shen Caisheng said, "You can soak the beans later. Leave your things in this room for now, and I’ll find you a place to stay later."

Just like those old-time playboys with their side chicks, Yuan Lingling thought to herself.

She couldn’t help but glance at Yang Xiaoxi, noticing her several times looking at the food in her hand.

"Have you had breakfast?" she asked, "Want some? There’s still some in the pot."

Shen Caisheng brought her in but didn’t even bother to make her feel welcome. How’s he gonna win over the female lead like that?

And if he ticks off the female lead, he’s gonna end up with nothing.

This thought made Yuan Lingling feel a surge of annoyance, "Go get her some food already, what are you waiting for?"

Maybe feeling she’d pushed the other’s buttons enough, or perhaps deep down feeling she was about to leave this place, Yuan Lingling wasn’t so polite anymore.

"No, no," Yang Xiaoxi seemed to pick up on the weird vibe, her face turned a bit red as she waved her hand to decline.

Shen Caisheng, caught off guard by the scolding, was confused. He noticed Yuan Lingling had been acting off all day, but he had no idea why.

He finally got what Lao You meant.

Women, sometimes they just blow up for no reason, and since you don’t understand, just go along with it and everything will be fine.

Shen Caisheng hadn’t believed him before—a man who couldn’t even find a wife teaching him?

But now he felt there might be some truth to it.

So he brushed off Yang Xiaoxi’s politeness, got up, and went to the kitchen.

But he wasn’t Lao You, after all. If he upset someone, he wanted to know exactly why, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

Once he left, Yuan Lingling’s face turned even colder, clearly signaling she wanted to be left alone. Yang Xiaoxi, picking up on the mood, sat quietly without a word.

Yuan Lingling lost her appetite and put the half-eaten pancake back in the bowl, not drinking the porridge.

Shen Caisheng came back quickly and handed the porridge and pancake to Yang Xiaoxi, with some pickles on the porridge.

Yuan Lingling frowned, why didn’t she get any?

"Come here, I need to talk to you."

Shen Caisheng glanced at the leftover food in front of her, his lips tightening.

Yuan Lingling didn’t notice this small gesture, her stomach was so upset that she couldn’t eat anything more.

The two went into the room, as if they were going to say something unfavorable about Yang Xiaoxi, even Shen Caisheng had this suspicion.

He had already decided to send Yang Xiaoxi away, certainly not letting her disturb Yuan Lingling here, mainly because he was afraid Yang Xiaoxi might be dangerous.

However, Yuan Lingling didn’t mention her at all, instead asking, "So... when are we going to the neighborhood office?"

Shen Caisheng: "...Are you in a hurry?"

Yuan Lingling was speechless, was she in a hurry? Clearly, it was him, who had brought someone into the house.

It’s good to hurry up, then we won’t have to deal with this mess later.

But she couldn't say it outright, so she said, "Anyway, we have to go. Dragging it out doesn’t make sense, but..."

Yuan Lingling scratched her head and said, "But I might need to stay here for a few more days. I'll move out by the end of the month. Is that okay?"

Seeing her cautious demeanor, Shen Caisheng felt a knot in his stomach.

"Okay, where do you plan to move to?" If she had nowhere to go, staying a few more days wouldn't be a big deal.

Yuan Lingling originally wanted to tell him directly that she planned to go south, but suddenly remembering the plot in the book, she thought it would be bad if he assumed she still had any connection with Xie Guanglian, and things would just go back to following the plot.

"I plan to leave Beijing." To avoid seeming dismissive, Yuan Lingling added a couple more sentences, "You know what my family is like. I don’t want them to keep taking advantage of me."

"Leave Beijing? Then..."

What about Xie Guangan, though?

Seeing Yuan Lingling's puzzled look, Shen Caisheng hesitated and changed what he was about to say.

"Are you going alone?" he asked.