Inextricable

After hanging up, Xu Xingxing paid money for the fish and went to buy some vegetables. 

There were mostly aunties selling vegetables in that area. As Xu Xingxing was a regular customer there, she knew which store had fresher and cheaper goods. 

This particular vegetable-seller was a chubby older sister in her forties, and she spoke in a very friendly manner with a northern accent.

“Came to buy vegetables?” The vegetable-seller also recognized her. She had just finished cutting the lettuce and came over to greet Xu Xingxing while wiping her hands.

“Well, yes.” Xu Xingxing smiled, held a plastic basket, and began to sort through the vegetables. She handed her selected vegetables to the vegetable-seller, who started chatting with her while weighing them.

“You haven’t come to buy groceries for a few days.” 

Xu Xingxing smiled and explained, “I’ve been busy with work recently, so haven’t had the time to cook.” 

The vegetable-seller gave her a deep look before shifting her sight to the weight on the electronic scale, and then asked casually, “Oh, then you both must be busy with work, right?”

Xu Xingxing was stunned at this, then realised that the vegetable-seller wasn’t talking about her.

Receiving no response from Xu Xingxing for a long time, the vegetable-seller raised her head, looked at her with a smile in her eyes, and asked, “Wasn’t it your husband who was hugging you in the seafood market last time?”     

Xu Xingxing: “…”

At that moment, a cold sweat fell on her entire body.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the vegetable-seller stuffed a handful of shallots and said with a smile, “You two are a perfect match, and you both look good. Look at your husband’s appearance, it’s especially gentle, so normally, he must treat you very well.”

“Oh.” After Xu Xingxing purchased the vegetables, she turned around and left without saying a word.

Xu Xingxing came back to her senses only after stepping into the sunlight outside the market. Thinking about what the eldest sister had said just now, she sighed and walked towards her house.

The vegetable-seller had misunderstood her relationship with Huai Jing. He had only been here once, which had caused the vegetable-seller to have such a misunderstanding. If he had come to her house and met a neighbour, it would be even more unclear.

So, in the future, it would be better to not let him come to her house, thereby averting any misunderstandings. After all, the relationship between the two was not that of a couple. After they separate in the future, if someone asks about it, it would also prevent embarrassment.

The entrance to her apartment building was located on a small high slope. Just as Xu Xingxing was about to go up, she noticed Huai Jing’s vehicle parked in front of the building.

The man was simply dressed in a light blue shirt and a pair of trousers, both well-cut to wrap his tall, slender body perfectly. He was leaning lazily against the car with his long legs crossed, and was looking down at his phone.

Seemingly becoming aware of her gaze, Huai Jing tilted his head and looked up. When he saw her, his lips broke out into a bright smile, and his eyes became softer. 

He put away his phone and started walking towards Xu Xingxing, reaching her side in a few steps.

On seeing him walk towards her, Xu Xingxing’s heartbeat accelerated, and she felt like she was glued to the ground. She was undoubtedly sure that Huai Jing was not as gentle as the vegetable-seller had described him. 

“I’ll get it for you.”

Huai Jing reached to hold all the things in Xu Xingxing’s hand.

As soon as their hands touched, Xu Xingxing shook off his hand, clenched the bags tightly, and said, “It doesn’t matter, I can carry it myself.”

“Give it to me.” Huai Jing insisted, took the bags from Xu Xingxing’s hand and smiled. “You have to empty your hands.” 

Xu Xingxing was stunned for a moment. “What?”

Huai Jing pressed his lower lip with the tip of his tongue. With a casual smile, he told her, “Go and open the car door.”

“No…” Xu Xingxing resisted.

“Hey, go…” Huai Jing pushed Xu Xingxing towards his car.

Xu Xingxing’s face was filled with curiosity as she went to Huai Jing’s car, and when she looked back, she found that he was looking at her with a gentle smile on his lips. She hesitated a moment before sighing and opening the door.

The moment she opened the car door, Xu Xingxing’s pupils contracted. On the back seat of the car was a bouquet of white roses, wrapped in newspaper-colored floral paper.

Xu Xingxing’s eyes widened slightly. This was the first time she had ever received flowers, and that too her favourite white rose.

As she bent over to get the bouquet from the car, the aroma of the flowers made Xu Xingxing feel like she was dreaming. Holding the bouquet in her hand, she looked back at Huai Jing, and the feeling gradually became real.

Actually, Huai Jing didn’t know the kind of flowers Xu Xingxing liked. He was driving by the flower shop when he thought that Xu Xingxing was suitable for white roses, so he bought a bunch.

He hadn’t expected it to be so suitable.

The woman stood in front of the wine red car holding a bouquet of white roses, a little surprise colouring her expression, but still looking very bright. However, the bouquet was too big, and she couldn’t hold on to it. She struggled to carry the bouquet into her arms, causing her shirt-cuffs to pull up and revealing two white wrists with bulging small bones.

Huai Jing quietly observed her for a while, then smiled and walked to her side, gathered all the flowers together and stuffed them into her arms. He then closed the car door and said, “Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

“Thank you.” Xu Xingxing looked up at him and said with a faint smile.

This was Huai Jing’s first visit to Xu Xingxing’s house. It was an ordinary apartment. It appeared to be small in size, but the interior decor gave off a very warm feeling.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw the box of cat litter next to him. Its surroundings were clean and tidy, and it was empty inside. As Huai Jing glanced sideways to locate Mimi, Xu Xingxing noticed it and explained, “Mimi was not well, so I took it to the veterinary hospital.”     

Huai Jing smiled and asked, “Are you bringing it back tonight?”

Xu Xingxing asked casually, “What are you asking this for?”

“Oh…Because… adults do certain things at night, and it’s better for children not to watch them,” replied Huai Jing while smirking at her.

Xu Xingxing: “…”

Her ears turned red, and she hurriedly took something out of the bag and turned to go to the kitchen.

Xu Xingxing often cooked on weekdays, so she was able to prepare four dishes and one soup, all of which were placed on the table in less than an hour. She brought out the rice and arranged the chopsticks neatly.

The table was not big, so the two of them sat on one side. Xu Xingxing proceeded to hand a bowl of soup to Huai Jing.

Just after making the meal, she was sweating and her face was a little red. She said in a light voice, “I don’t know what your taste is like. Just made it the way I usually do.” 

He looked down at the food in front of him. It was indeed a home-cooked dish, with a layer of oil less than that in the Chinese food in high-end restaurants, but just by looking at it, he could sense its unique taste.

Huai Jing said, “It’s good, it makes me feel as if I’m eating at home this way.” As soon as these words were uttered, both of them froze for a while.

Xu Xingxing looked up at him, wanting to say something, but held back. She held a pair of chopsticks and told Huai Jing, “Let’s eat.”

The meal was mediocre. Normally, Huai Jing was not a silent person, but he didn’t talk much at the dining table today. This must be part of his upbringing, and Xu Xingxing appreciated it.

The two of them dined quietly, but they weren’t embarrassed, simply because each of them knew the person sitting across the table quite well.

After eating, Huai Jing didn’t intend to leave, so Xu Xingxing ignored him, cleaned the table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

While Xu Xingxing was washing the dishes, she was thinking of how to get Huai Jing to leave her house tonight.

‘He can’t stay here. No… he just can’t.’

“Do you usually read such books?”

This question came out a little abruptly, distracting Xu Xingxing. She soon returned to her senses, turned off the faucet and left the kitchen. Outside, she discovered Huai Jing seated on the sofa with his elbows just barely resting on the cushion. He was going through the book, “Detailed Explanation of Jade,” and he raised his eyes to meet Xu Xingxing’s confused eyes.

“Do you want this senior to recommend a few books to you?” He asked with twinkling eyes.

Huai Jing was in the gem business and could speak German very fluently. Xu Xingxing really recognized him when he called himself ‘senior’. It was rare for someone to guide her, so Xu Xingxing naturally agreed. She wiped her hands, took out a notebook and a pen from the small coffee table in front of the sofa, squatted in front of the sofa, and looked up at Huai Jing.

Seeing her serious appearance, Huai Jing could not help but smile as he suggested books, “‘Ancient Jade Map Examination’, ‘Ancient Jade Map’…”

Xu Xingxing wrote down the names in a list.

Xu Xingxing had bent her head while writing, allowing Huai Jing to cast his gaze on her earlobe and the soft area behind her ear. His heart started to itch at that sight, for he had already nibbled there and was familiar with the flavour.

“Hahaha…You’re like a primary school student.” As Huai Jing said that, he glanced at Xu Xingxing’s neat and tidy letters, penned down stroke by stroke.

He smiled and added, “You write beautifully.”

Xu Xingxing’s face gradually heated with these words. She looked up at him, gave him a warm look, saying nothing.

Huai Jing lowered his eyes to meet her gaze, then stretched out his fingers to pinch her chin, and leaned over to kiss her.

At first, his kiss was very light, but in a short while, it turned into a violent storm. Xu Xingxing’s body suddenly lightened, and she found herself pulled up and hugged by the man, only to be pressed under him the next moment. She gasped sharply, looking into the man’s eyes.

As passion and desire floated in the air, Huai Jing’s husky voice sounded out in Xu Xingxing’s ear, “Darling, can I stay here tonight?”

The man’s lips fell on her again, moist and soft, grasping the tip of her tongue, penetrating her heart, and flowing down her chin to her neck.

“O-ok…”