Xu Yan replied with certainty, “Of course it was whiter.”
Xiao Man silently averted her gaze.
Alright, so what if it was?
It was just a glare, after all.
It wouldn’t cause any real harm.
Xu Yan continued to support Xiao Man as they walked forward, but after a few seconds, he couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you have any thoughts about my confession?”
Xiao Man thought to herself, Well, I do have some.
I think you’re not making much sense, but I’m afraid you won’t like hearing that.
After a moment of silence, she said, “Alright, I understand.”
Xu Yan: “?”
Xu Yan: “And then?”
Xiao Man: “Do you need me to give you an immediate answer?”
Xu Yan replied, “It’s been so many days since you woke up. Haven’t you thought about it yet?”
Xiao Man: “But you didn’t confess to me on the first day I woke up either, did you?”
Xu Yan: “Then I’d really be a creep.”
Xiao Man thought to herself, Well, you’re not far off now.
She comforted him, “There are countless preferences in the world. One more won’t make a difference. Someone will accept you.”
Xu Yan laughed in frustration, “Do I look like I want to hear comfort from you?”
Xiao Man thought, You’ve figured it out so quickly, but I haven’t yet.
She looked at him sincerely and said, “If I agree to date you now, it might be because of your money. Don’t you care about that?”
Xu Yan said, “If it’s because of money, then you’ll be disappointed. My father’s business is inherited by my sister. All I get right now is the allowance she gives me.”
Xiao Man couldn’t help but laugh.
His “allowance” was probably nothing like what ordinary people considered an allowance.
She whispered, “A starved camel is still bigger than a horse.”
Xu Yan: “…… My family is doing just fine.”
He thought for a moment and said, “What are your concerns? Tell me, and we can work through them together.”
Xu Yan’s professional habit was that when he had a goal, he would break down the problem-list the difficulties and tackle them one by one.
He had no fear of challenges; in fact, he even enjoyed the process of solving problems.
Xiao Man followed Xu Yan’s train of thought.
Since she also had feelings for him, what was holding her back?
Age?
She was two or three years older than Xu Yan, but there were plenty of couples with age gaps, some even larger.
That wasn’t an issue at all.
Appearance?
He was handsome, and she was considered beautiful by conventional standards.
There was no mismatch there.
Family background?
There was indeed a huge gap, but if he, the one from the better side, didn’t care, why should she?
It was just a relationship, after all.
Public opinion?
She had already been through the experience of being treated like a dog and having her gender checked.
What others thought was far less important than her own happiness.
Xu Yan watched as Xiao Man’s brows furrowed, afraid that she would say she had no concerns but simply didn’t want to.
He wasn’t afraid of challenges, but it would be best if there were none.
After a moment, Xiao Man’s brows relaxed, and she raised an eyebrow at Xu Yan with a smile.
“No more concerns. Let’s give it a try!”
The first half of her sentence nearly broke Xu Yan’s composure, but the second half made his heart race.
Suddenly, he bent down, one arm around her waist and the other under her knees, lifting her in a princess carry.
Xiao Man was startled and instinctively grabbed onto Xu Yan’s collar.
Xu Yan: “……Loosen up a bit. You’re going to strangle me.”
Xiao Man complained, “Well, you scared me to death first!”
Xu Yan carried the hundred-pound living person with ease, chuckling softly, “I’m just too happy.”
When Xiao Man hadn’t agreed to be with him, there were certain things he couldn’t do.
But now that she had relented, as her boyfriend, it was his duty to help her when she was physically inconvenienced.
Xiao Man loosened her grip slightly, afraid she might lose her newly acquired boyfriend.
As she did, she naturally felt the shape of the chest muscles and the underlying strength through the thin fabric.
She had occasionally come across videos of male models on short video platforms, wondering what it would feel like to touch them.
She never imagined she would actually get the chance.
She adjusted her expression and the pressure of her hand to avoid letting Xu Yan notice her focus.
On his first day on the job, Xu Yan, eager to impress, first took Xiao Man home and then went out to buy groceries to cook for her.
Xiao Man found it quite novel, and the subtle discomfort of having someone else in her kitchen disappeared.
She asked him, “Are you just showing off, or do you really know how to cook?”
Xu Yan, while washing the vegetables, replied, “The taste is passable. I was forced to learn by my sister since I was young. She said to win a woman’s heart, you must first win her stomach.”
He glanced at Xiao Man, who seemed to have something on her mind, and guessed a few questions she might want to ask but hesitated to.
He continued on his own, “Apart from my family, I haven’t cooked for any other women. Also, my brother-in-law is a gold medal chef from Le Cordon Bleu.”
Xiao Man couldn’t help but marvel at how Xu Yan’s sister truly practiced what she preached.
But this was probably the confidence of a female heir-able to get whatever she wanted.
Moreover, she noticed that Xu Yan was applying his company management skills to their relationship adept at reading expressions and preventing misunderstandings before they arose, avoiding suspicions due to lack of communication.
Although Xiao Man hadn’t thought much of it initially, Xu Yan’s considerate explanations did ease her mind.
It seemed that she wasn’t particularly possessive in relationships.
Xiao Man didn’t just watch Xu Yan work; she took a small stool and sat down to help with the vegetables.
Xu Yan, while preparing, asked about her taste preferences.
The bland hospital food she had been eating didn’t give Xu Yan much to go on in terms of her likes and dislikes.
Although they were now boyfriend and girlfriend, they actually knew very little about each other’s daily lives and needed to communicate more to gradually become familiar with each other.
Xiao Man suddenly smiled, meeting Xu Yan’s puzzled gaze, and didn’t hide her thoughts, “It seems like we’re taking the ‘marry first, love later’ route.”
They got together first, and then started to understand each other.
Xu Yan also smiled, having finished the preparations and now having a better understanding of Xiao Man’s tastes, of course, he also shared his own preferences.
When it was time to stir-fry, Xu Yan didn’t need Xiao Man’s help, so he asked her to leave.
Xiao Man didn’t stand on ceremony and went to the living room to peel grapes for herself.
The grapes were brought by Xu Yan, and they were very sweet.
Xiao Man thought for a moment, put on disposable gloves, peeled and seeded the washed grapes, filling a plate.
She placed a fork on the plate for easy eating without getting her hands dirty.
She set this plate aside and continued peeling grapes for herself.
After eating for a while, Xiao Man took out her phone to browse videos.
Although she had just woken up, she had been following Han Shuangshuang and Chen Yao for work reasons, constantly watching videos, so she wasn’t outdated.
In fact, she had to pretend to be outdated in front of them.
The sound of the range hood in the kitchen stopped, and Xu Yan came out carrying two dishes.
Xiao Man was aware of her unstable physical condition and didn’t offer to help.
After Xu Yan brought out all four dishes, she waved at him, saying, “Let’s have some fruit before dinner-seedless grapes!”
Xu Yan noticed the prepared grapes and casually thought that the grapes he had bought seemed to have seeds.
He picked up a fork, speared one, and popped it into his mouth.
As soon as he tasted it, he realized the grape flesh had been peeled, and it dawned on him that this was how they were “seedless.”
He smiled slightly, not wanting to waste Xiao Man’s effort, and finished the small plate of grapes before joining her at the dining table.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Before Xiao Man could move, Xu Yan stood up first.
Xiao Man hesitated.
The only person who would come at this time was Han Shuangshuang.
If Xu Yan opened the door… well, Han Shuangshuang probably could have guessed it anyway.
She didn’t want to make a big deal about their relationship, but she wasn’t afraid of being discovered either.
The door opened, and sure enough, Han Shuangshuang was standing outside.
Seeing Xu Yan answer the door, she was momentarily stunned before asking, “Is… is Sister Man here?”
Xu Yan replied indifferently, “Yes, what is it?”
Han Shuangshuang lifted the takeout box in her hand and stammered, “I thought Sister Man might not be feeling well, so I brought some food to eat with her.”
Xu Yan nodded, “Thank you, but we’ve just finished making dinner. You can go back and eat with your boyfriend.”
Han Shuangshuang: “…..”
She felt something was off.
Why did it seem like Xu Yan was acting like the master of the house?
How could he make decisions for Sister Man?
And why was he even at Sister Man’s place?
It was one thing when she was in the hospital, but now that she was better, could it be that he really had a crush on her?
They didn’t even know each other before Sister Man fell into a coma.
Han Shuangshuang thought back to the phone call when Sister Man first woke up and wondered if Xu Yan was still trying to repay her kindness.
But this way of repaying seemed a bit old-fashioned.
Han Shuangshuang said, “I… I just wanted to see Sister Man, is that okay?”
She didn’t notice Xu Yan’s body suddenly stiffen.
Because Xiao Bai, the dog, had somehow walked over and sat down right at Xu Yan’s feet.
Xu Yan: “…”
He had been so focused on making a statement that he forgot Han Shuangshuang always brought Xiao Bai with her to and from work!
At that moment, a slender arm reached over and rested on Xu Yan’s arm.
It was Xiao Man, who had walked over herself.
Xiao Man first bent down to pat Xiao Bai’s head, then said to the surprised Han Shuangshuang, “Thank you, Shuangshuang. Today’s the first time I’m having a meal Xu Yan made for me, so I won’t keep you.”
Han Shuangshuang quickly replied, “Oh, okay!”
After a pause, she couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Man, you… you two…”
Xiao Man said, “We’re having an affair.”
Han Shuangshuang was shocked.
Xiao Man burst out laughing. Teasing Han Shuangshuang was quite fun.
She wondered how Lin Ci managed to resist teasing her all the time.
She said, “Just kidding. We’re both single, and we just got together today.”
She had no reservations about saying it.
After all, Xu Yan was no longer the CEO of their company, so it wasn’t an office romance.
With both parties present, people wouldn’t gossip as much.
Han Shuangshuang forced a laugh.
She had noticed Xu Yan’s feelings back at the hospital, but she hadn’t expected Sister Man to accept him so quickly…
She quickly said, “Oh, I see!”
“Then I won’t disturb you anymore, I’m heading back!”
Because of Xiao Man’s joke, she hadn’t noticed that Xu Yan had been silent for a long time.
She tugged slightly on Xiao Bai’s leash and quickly walked away with him.
Xiao Man waved at Han Shuangshuang, then slowly closed the door, giving Xu Yan some time to recover.
Even though it was her first time being in a relationship, she was truly a considerate girlfriend, always mindful of her boyfriend’s pride!