Inextricable

Xu Xingxing saw that the bowl contained ginger soup when Huai Jing brought it over. 

“Did you buy this?” she asked.

Huai Jing didn’t respond, instead, he sat on the bed and handed the bowl to Xu Xingxing.

The ginger soup smelled spicier the closer she got to it. The white porcelain bowl contained water with dark brown sugar and a few slices of ginger floating on top. Although traditional Chinese medicine looked like ginger soup in colour, the actual ginger soup tasted sweeter and had a nicer aroma.

Xu Xingxing took a sip of it, and the sweetness of the sugar coupled with the pungent spicy ginger taste felt as if fire had just galloped straight down her throat to reach her abdomen, where it warmed her whole body and made her feel much more comfortable.

“Is it sweet?” Huai Jing asked, seeing her drink the soup slowly slowly.

“It’s sweet,” Xu Xingxing stated while nodding.

It was so sweet that you couldn’t taste the spiciness of ginger after that first gulp.

Huai Jing snorted and questioned while tapping his finger on Xu Xingxing’s forehead, ” Which shop do you know that sells ginger soup with so much sugar?”

Xu Xingxing: “…” 

‘So, he made this himself!’

Xu Xingxing felt weirded-out at this. She recalled Huangfu Yiduo’s remark on how Du Yizhe would prepare ginger soup for her whenever she had dysmenorrhea. Making ginger soup was something that seemed to only be done between couples.

Xu Xingxing’s heart skipped a beat.

Although receiving attention feels wonderful, she found it too much at this time.

And from now on, every time she has her period, she would remember this moment, even if there was no Huai Jing there anymore.

After taking a bath, Huai Jing changed into his pyjamas and lay down next to Xu Xingxing. This was the first time they were going to sleep in the same bed without doing it.  As soon as the light was turned off, Huai Jing turned his back to Xu Xingxing.

Xu Xingxing was grateful for all he had done for her today.  She called his name but he didn’t respond, though she still knew that he was not asleep yet.

She gently nudged him on the back with a finger and murmured, “Thank you.”

Still, the man remained silent.

As Xu Xingxing pursed her lips and prepared to keep poking, the man challenged, “Do you really want to fight in bed and in blood?”

Xu Xingxing: “…” 

………………………….

When Xu Xingxing woke up the following morning, she was alone. Her stomach pain was completely gone after a night of sleep, but she still felt a little exhausted. She then lifted the quilt and took the brand of sanitary napkins she frequently used from the nightstand, pausing as soon as she noticed the two packets of fruit candies at the bottom of the shopping bag.

""

Huai Jing didn’t like to eat sweets, so they must be for her.

Thinking of the ginger soup from last night caused Xu Xingxing’s heart to flutter. Huai Jing had treated her the way Du Yizhe treated Huang Yidou.

Xu Xingxing was slightly startled, and her face gradually turned red. She grinned helplessly and said to herself, “What are you thinking?

By the time she had cleaned herself, Huai Jing called.

“Good morning. Are you not at home?” Xu Xingxing asked after looking at the call, coming to understand the situation.

The sound of files being flipped through could be heard on the other end of the phone as the man said, “Well, there was something to deal with in the company. Does your stomach still hurt?”

Sometimes Huai Jing could be very busy on weekends as well.

“The pain is gone,” Xu Xingxing answered.

“Then get started on your piano practice. Practise the musical notes I recently taught you.”

“Hm…okay…”

“I’ll be home soon and I’ll bring you breakfast,” Huai Jing finally said again.

Holding the phone, Xu Xingxing’s eyes moved, and the warm sun outside made her a little lazy.

“Okay,” Xu Xingxing agreed with a smile.

Xu Xingxing headed downstairs after dressing. A document in German was placed next to the piano. Huai Jing must have used the piano to relax his mind after becoming mentally fatigued from reading.

She sat on the piano bench and started to practise. As she had been practising playing the piano for some time now, she was able to play some simple piano pieces.

Using her phone, Xu Xingxing found the sheet music for “Two Tigers,” and then slowly started playing it. Although she stumbled on the notes quite a bit, the sound did seem to come out smooth.

[TL Notes: “Two Tigers” is a popular Mandarin nursery rhyme called “Liang Zhi Lao Hu”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr_hxykC_zQ]

Xu Xingxing was quite satisfied. Just when she finished playing that piano piece, she heard the sound of someone entering the password to enter the house, so she rose from the piano bench, wanting to peer through the peephole, thinking that Huai Jing had returned.

She stood up just as the door began to open. However, instead of Huai Jing, the person who entered was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. ” Oh~ The password has not been changed”,the girl remarked as she entered.

Xu Xingxing became alarmed when she realised the girl was so familiar with this place. That is when the girl looked up and noticed Xu Xingxing. The two of them exchanged startled glances with each other.

The teenage girl was dressed in black tights, a white sweater with a half-high collar, a short pink fur-collared jacket, and Dr. Martens boots. She was tall, perhaps standing at a height of over 1.7 metres, and her long, slim legs were straight—she could certainly be a model.

Her facial features and temperament tended towards a glamorous appearance, and while she possessed a cool, attractive attitude, her face still carried traces of baby fat.

The first to speak was the girl. “Are you my brother’s subordinate?” She asked after taking a quick look at the papers next to Xu Xingxing.

The girl’s voice was clear and lovely, and it seemed that she was a cheerful and straightforward person.

When Xu Xingxing came back to her senses after this sudden intrusion, she realised that this girl must be Huai Wan, Huai Jing’s younger sister. 

Her heart tightened at this question, she glanced at the sheaf of documents next to her, took hold of it, and said, “Yes, I’m here to deliver a document. President Huai isn’t here yet, so he let me wait for him.”

‘Oh… I’m such an idiot. Now she will definitely ask how I came in.’ As soon as Xu Xingxing finished lying, she rethought her stupid response.

“Oh, so that’s it.” Huai Wan didn’t intend to ask more.

Xu Xingxing: “…”

The document in Xu Xingxing’s hand caught Huai Wan’s attention, and she could tell right away that it was written in German. “Are you an interpreter?” she inquired.

“Hm? Hmm…” Xu Xingxing nodded.

“Great!” Suddenly grinning, Huai Wan moved in front of Xu Xingxing.

Huai Wan appeared to be extremely delighted to learn that Xu Xingxing was a translator.

“Then you can teach me German,” she asked while grinning and taking Xu Xingxing’s hand. “I’ll be in China for Christmas. You will teach me German during this time.”

Xu Xingxing: “…”

The young girl dragged Xu Xingxing out of the house before she could say anything, while declaring, “You come to the mansion with me. Anyway, at noon today, my brother will come there for lunch. When he comes, you can just hand him the paperwork.”

When Xu Xingxing heard that she was going to the mansion, she hurriedly refused, “No… I’m sorry, but I still need to ask Mr. Huai for instructions…”

“Is my brother your boss?” Huai Wan questioned her after letting go of her hand, having noticed Xu Xingxing’s discomfort.

“Yes,” Xu Xingxing replied with pursed lips and a nod.

Huai Wan snorted and said, “If you won’t come to the mansion with me, I’ll ask my brother to deduct your salary.”

Xu Xingxing: “…”

‘These two people have the same way of digging pits for others, no wonder they are siblings.