372 Always
At An Xiulan’s place, Lu Xun had come to meet his sweet sister. The boy had announced that he would be staying the night here and begged his sister to convince his parents.
“Fatty, why are you so troublesome?” Lu Xuan asked as he chewed on salted peanuts.
“Yanyan!” Lu Xun whined as he looked at An Qinyan.
“Lu Xuan! Be nice to your little brother, “An Qinyan said, sternly.
Lu Xuan rolled his eyes. His little brother was such an attention seeker. He wanted everyone’s attention on him. Wasn’t it the reason why Xiaobao and An Xiulan were a team? Those two were pods of the same pea.
“Xiaobao, your mama agreed to let you stay the night here but dad scolded me, “An Xiulan grumbled as she came to join them at the dining table.
“Jiejje, don’t lie. Dad can never scold you, “Xiaobao grumbled. “Scolding is only reserved for me and Gege.”
“Hey, don’t add me to your category, “Lu Xuan huffed.
“Gege, you have to agree that dad spoils her more because she studied law. If you studied law, you would have gotten the same treatment, “Xioabao answered his brother.
“Then, why don’t you study the same major in the future?” Lu Xuan sarcastically said.
“Gege, I am a cool kid. Why would I study boring people’s stuff? My Jiejie was forced to study law by dad. People who willingly study law are boring, “Xiaobao announced. “Just like my dad.”
Gu Yanxi, who was peacefully eating, broke into a fit of coughing. An Qinyan rubbed his back and offered him water. Lu Xuan ended up laughing at this scene.
“Uncle, your major was law, wasn’t it?” Lu Xuan asked as he was reminded of this fact. “You also fall im Xiaobao’s boring category.”
Gu Yanxi glared at Lu Xuan and Lu Xun. These two brats!
“You two! Stop ganging up on uncle, “An Xiulan intervened. “And Xiaobao, lawyers are not boring. People who bully all day and do not study are. If they are, then I must also be boring as I am also a lawyer.”
“Jiejie, why are you taking it personally?” Xiaobao pouted.
An Xiulan ruffled his hair. “You have grown up a lot, haven’t you? Look at you talking like mature people.”
“Gege taught me to talk like this, “Lu Xun innocently said.
“Hey, why are you pulling me under the bus?” Lu Xuan asked.
“What did I do?” The sneaky fox asked with innocent eyes.
pA(nD)A no ve1
“Mom, you don’t need to worry about that project. I have everything under my control, “Lu Xuan assured his mother.
“I don’t think so, “An Qinyan said with a sigh. “You expect me to take a step back and relax but how will I do it when I know my son is not serious about work?”
Lu Xuan fell silent as he didn’t know what to say. “I will try my best.”
An Xiulan looked at her stepfather who didn’t intervene in the conversation. She didn’t know what happened at the office but she could tell that her mother was dissatisfied with Lu Xuan’s performance in the office. She wondered what had happened there to cause her to behave like this at home.
The dinner ended. Lu Xun went with Lu Xuan to the room that he had in this house. He was a frequent visitor here and a room was prepared for him here.
An Xiulan saw her mother in the study on a phone call while Gu Yanxi was in the living room, reading a magazine. She came with two cups of hot chocolate and handed one to him.
“What’s wrong with mom?” An Xiulan whispered.
“Some problems with projects abroad, “Gu Yanxi said. “Don’t worry about her. She will be fine. It’s just that she is a little stressed. And you know your mom.”
An Xiulan nodded her head. “Lu Xuan got scolded. What did he do?”
Gu Yanxi sighed. “He was very friendly with a director’s daughter and now they aren’t close. The directors expressed their distaste for him openly. I think Yanyan is just angry at Xuan for his non serious behavior.”
“He recently got photographed with a woman too, “An Xiulan said. “It created a lot of hype on the internet. Many women came out claiming to be the lady in the pictures. No one knows the truth.”
Suddenly, An Xiulan chuckled, “My brother has a playboy image. He needed scolding to get a wake-up call.”
Gu Yanxi chuckled. “The men in our family are unlucky in love.”
“I don’t think so. Their love will come at the right time, “An Xiulan said, pondering for a moment.
“And what about you?” Gu Yanxi asked and took a sip of his hot chocolate drink.
“Me?” An Xiulan ended up smiling. “I don’t know. Maybe, mine is around the corner.”
“Don’t waste too much time as I did, “Gu Yanxi advised her. “When I was young and dumb, I let Yanyan go. If I was brave and smart at that time, I wouldn’t have had to wait so many years. So, from my experience, I am telling you that if something feels right, go ahead. Don’t think too much. The more you think, the more skeptical you will get.”
“Do not tell your heart otherwise. Chase what it wants and you will be happier in your life.”
Later that night, An Xiulan was in her room lying on the bed with all lights switched off. Her phone vibrated on the nightstand and she found Han Zixin calling her.
“Hey?” He said from the other side.
“Hey?” She whispered.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“I should ask you what you are doing, “An Xiulan asked him.
“Can’t I call you?” Han Zixin asked her.
“You can, “An Xiulan answered him. “Why are you calling?”
“Do I need a reason to call you?” Han Zixin asked.
“No?” She wasn’t sure what she should say.
Han Zixin paused for a moment and then he softly said, “I missed you. That’s why I called you.”
“But we met a few hours ago, “An Xiulan answered him
“I still miss you, “He insisted.
“Clingy.”
“You hate clingy?” He asked.
“No!” She laughed.
The simple conversation deepened and they were talking to each other till two in the morning about sweet nothing. An Xiulan woke up early in the morning with dark circles under her eyes and a smile on her lips.
“You need to take care of yourself, “An Qinyan told An Xiulan at the breakfast table. “Look at your eye bags. How can you work until this late? Should I talk to your dad? You are still new there. You can take this much stress.”
Lu Xuan gaped at his mother’s hypocrisy. He got scolded yesterday for not working enough and here her sister was getting completely different treatment than him. It seemed the rules were completely different for the twins.
“I will drop Xiaobao at his house, “Lu Xuan said, before leaving the breakfast table.
“Don’t be late to the office, “An Qinyan said from behind.
“She didn’t even ask me if I ate well, “Lu Xuan grumbled under his breath.
“It’s okay, Gege, “Xiaobao said, rubbing his brother’s hand. “I am used to this treatment. You will get used to it too. But since it’s Jiejie, I don’t mind if they love her more. You should not mind either. You are an older one. You should be magnanimous like me.”
Lu Xuan gave him a side eye and opened the car door.
“Can you tell my mom that I had a fever last night?” Lu Xun asked for a favor.
“You slept like a pig. When did you have a fever?” Lu Xuan asked.
“Can you just say it? I don’t want to go to school, “Xiaobao grumbled.
“I won’t lie to anyone, “Lu Xuan made himself clear.
“You are no fun, “Lu Xun crossed his arms over his chest and looked out of the window. “Jiejie is more fun!”
“You!!!” Lu Xuan had the urge to beat this little one.
On the other hand, An Xiulan was running out of the house, holding a meat bun in one hand and her phone in another. “Bye, mom! I am getting late.”
She stopped when she saw a young man standing outside her gate with his motorcycle and she gave him the widest smile possible.
“You are here for me?” An Xiulan asked him.
“Always, “Han Zixin smiled.