Xie Dingyuan’s gaze fell on the two overlapping hands, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Ling Qingzhou quickly composed himself and calmly withdrew his hand.
Jiang Fuyue followed suit and righted the overturned cup. “Can we go now?”
“Mm.” Xie Dingyuan stepped forward. “The doctor prescribed some ointment to promote blood circulation and reduce bruising. Apply it twice a day, don’t forget.”
After he finished, he turned smoothly toward Ling Qingzhou and Yi Hansheng and greeted them, “Uncle Ling, Uncle Yi.”
This, naturally, was because of Jiang Fuyue’s generation.
Ling Qingzhou: “?”
Yi Hansheng: “…” Absolutely ridiculous!
Their eyes met—electric sparks flying.
Until Jiang Fuyue spoke—
“You two head back first.”
Ling Qingzhou: “I’ll take you.”
Xie Dingyuan: “No need. I drove here. Plus, we live in the same neighborhood—it’s on the way.”
Ling Qingzhou frowned.
Yi Hansheng’s fox-like eyes swept back and forth between the two, expression subtle.
In the end, Ling Qingzhou was the first to concede. “Alright, we’ll head out first. Talk later.”
“Mm.” Jiang Fuyue nodded.
Talk later…
Xie Dingyuan’s mouth tightened into a sharp line.
Once the two men had left, he silently stepped forward and scooped her up into a bridal carry, pulling her into his arms.
Jiang Fuyue was caught off guard and reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck. “…What are you doing?”
“Discharging you.”
“I can walk. No need to carry me.”
“The doctor said the less you walk, the faster you heal.”
Jiang Fuyue corrected, “Less walking doesn’t mean no walking.”
Xie Dingyuan looked even more serious than she did. “But I don’t want you to walk.”
So carrying her is best.
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
They took the elevator down to the first floor. As the doors opened, Xie Dingyuan carried her confidently through the payment hall and all the way to the underground garage, placed her in the car, and even fastened her seatbelt meticulously.
Naturally, they attracted a lot of attention.
Jiang Fuyue was surprised at how calm he seemed. “Aren’t you afraid people might recognize you?”
“So what if they do?”
She blinked. “A renowned Professor Xie parading around with a woman in his arms—isn’t that a PR disaster?”
He slid into the driver’s seat, glanced at her, and suddenly chuckled.
“Which law says I can’t carry a woman in public?”
“…” Fair. There wasn’t one.
“As for reputation—I don’t need anyone’s judgment. What I want to do and what I choose to do have nothing to do with others.”
Jiang Fuyue raised her brows. “I thought you were the model citizen…” The image of perfection in the public eye.
Like a template.
Xie Dingyuan shook his head. “Too exhausting.”
“But haven’t you already reached that position?”
“Nope. That’s flawed logic.”
“?”
Xie Dingyuan said, “I believe the correct logic is: you reach that position because of what you did, not that you have to do certain things just because you’re in that position.”
Jiang Fuyue stared at him.
“What’s that look?” He found it amusing and laughed softly.
“I get it now,” she said. “You’re not a model.”
Xie Dingyuan raised a brow. “Then what am I?”
“An island.”
No matter the raging waves or shifting tides, he remains—unmoved, unbending, standing proud.
…
Xie Dingyuan carrying Jiang Fuyue naturally drew attention—some of it from Ling Qingzhou and Yi Hansheng.
“D*mn, he went straight in, huh?”
Ling Qingzhou said nothing.
Yi Hansheng’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “From the way she didn’t resist at all, do you think our lady might actually like Xie Dingyuan…”
“That’s enough! You talk too much!”
Ling Qingzhou snapped, then strode away.
Yi Hansheng rubbed his chin. “Tsk. Hit a nerve?”
Still… how did they run into Xie Dingyuan if they left first?
Weird.
…
In the car, Jiang Fuyue looked out the window, enjoying the retreating scenery.
Suddenly—
“When you went to get the car, why didn’t you just take the elevator straight to B1?”
Why walk through the payment hall?
Xie Dingyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “…I didn’t think about it.”
Jiang Fuyue responded with an “oh,” not suspecting anything.
…
She rested at home for a few days, applying the ointment on schedule, and soon bounced back to full energy.
It was midwinter, getting colder by the day.
At the end of January, Linhuai saw its first snowfall in a decade.
Though it only snowed for one day and melted upon touching the ground, on high tree branches, the snow remained—untouched, pristine.
Little Brother Jiang had never seen snow before. The moment he saw it, he was ecstatic, dragging Wu Qian outside for a livestream.
Wu Qian, shivering in just an overcoat, could only sigh. Faced with the sparkling eyes of the excited boy, how could he say no?
So Wu Qian followed Little Brother Jiang through the snow with a tripod in one hand and a light in the other.
That evening, with both Jiang Da and Han Yunru at home, the couple decided to make dumplings.
Jiang Da handled the filling; Han Yunru did the wrapping.
Each dumpling came out round and adorable, lined up neatly on stainless steel trays, tray after tray—easily several hundred in total.
Jiang Fuyue was shocked: “This many?”
“Little Wu and the crew are all here. Plus Chenxing. Gotta have enough. And if there’s any left, we can freeze them for breakfast.”
Dinner was lively and warm. Plates of steaming dumplings covered the table.
Outside, the wind howled. Inside, it felt like spring.
Wu Qian alone ate nearly 50 dumplings. Han Yunru served him four times and refilled the dipping sauce twice.
“Worthy of your cooking—Brother Jiang and Sister Han! I can’t stop!”
Han Yunru: “Eat slowly. We can cook more. The pot’s still warm. You guys too—” she turned to the young staff.
“Thank you, Auntie Han!”
“These are amazing!”
“Um… can I have another plate?”
“The sauce with it is incredible!”
Wu Qian leaned back, patting his round belly. “I finally lost the weight I gained from testing recipes, and now it’s all coming back.”
Still, his chopsticks didn’t stop.
Little Brother Jiang wasn’t talking much—because he was too busy chewing.
Empty plates piled up in front of him, sweat on his forehead, mouth greasy, cheeks red.
Two mirrorless cameras captured the whole gluttonous performance. Once edited and uploaded tomorrow, it was sure to get tons of likes and cheerful comments.
Eating and making money—best of both worlds!
Foodies rule the world. That’s a fact!
Jiang Fuyue: “…I’m done.”
“Sis, you ate so little.”
“Well, compared to you, I definitely lost.”
His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Mom, are there any dumplings left?”
“Sure, over a hundred. Why?”
“I’ll cook some, uh… to give to someone.”
Han Yunru didn’t ask. She got up and went to the kitchen. “I’ll do it. Go get the container.”
“No need for a box.” Jiang Fuyue ran to the living room and quickly came back with a thermal jar. “Use this.”
“Huh? Where did this come from? But yeah, better—keeps them warm. Just don’t leave them in too long or they’ll get soggy.”
Han Yunru boiled twenty and asked, “Is that enough?”
Jiang Fuyue wasn’t sure of someone’s appetite, but remembering Wu Qian and the others’ eating frenzy, she said, “Add ten more.”
“Okay.” Han Yunru nodded. She was already guessing this was for a boy.
But which one?
Zhong? Or Yi?
The dumplings were packed with sauce on the side.
“Thanks, Mom!” Jiang Fuyue wrapped a scarf around herself and headed out.
“Be careful, stay safe—”
“Got it!”
The cold wind was like knives, cutting through to the bone.
Although it was the same neighborhood, the villas were far apart.
She’d only walked a short distance when a patrolling security cart came by. She hitched a ride and was dropped at the villa gate.
The second floor lights were on—someone was home.
She rang the doorbell. After a while, the door opened from inside.
The man looked surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Jiang Fuyue had half her face buried in her scarf. In response, she held up the thermal jar and gave it a gentle shake. “Returning something.”
“It’s freezing. Come in first.” He took her hand and led her inside.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t react in time to pull away and just let herself be led.
Xie Dingyuan took the jar from her, placed it on the shoe cabinet.
Then paused, picked it up again and weighed it—it was clearly full.
“You brought this for me?” His eyes lit up instantly, lips curving into a smile.
—
As always, Xie “Dog” plays the long game—subtle, sneaky, silently scheming!
