Chapter 25: The Awakening of Emotions

  Xia Fei's appearance was like a fleeting glance, if not for the evidence and witnesses, Zhang would have suspected that everything from last night to this morning was just a dream.

  What happened in between is just too dramatic anyway.

  After sending Xia Feihan back, I started making up for lost sleep. This sleep lasted for about four or five hours. At this time, Xia Feihan should still be on the plane?

  Eighteen hours later, he returned without stopping to rest. He was so tired after coming back this time, Zhan suddenly felt a little regretful, wondering if his attitude towards him was a bit bad?

  Pfft, pfft, pfft, this idea had just emerged when she was beaten down by her little hammer. She didn't treat him unfairly, it's he who treated her unfairly.

  Terrible! Extremely bad! Bad to the point of death!

  Yesterday, it should have been the same as before, playing and quarreling. Although she made a mistake by going to the men's restroom, at most she would be teased for a few sentences. But from what time on, did this situation start to get out of control?

  Ruffled hair, trying hard to recall... it seems like it was from the time I started grabbing the phone?

  Yeah, it seems like that's really what happened... She remembers that at the time she had already climbed onto his body, and he was still pulling himself to one side with a very painful expression; Later on, when he snatched the phone, it was indeed her own hand holding onto his that wouldn't let go... Even in the very end, the touching of the face, chest, and private parts, seemed like she was the one taking the initiative...

  Sweat, thinking about it this way, was yesterday's problem really on her own? Was Xia Feihan really using himself as an example to educate her, making her more aware of the difference between men and women?

  This... this... such a fact, I just can't accept it.

  It's so embarrassing... Why does she always lose face in front of Xia Fei?

  She is a clever and lovely person who is loved by everyone, and her wisdom and strategy are unmatched in the world. She is a radiant female warrior goddess with an invincible hand! Her glorious positive image of a female hero!

  He became a shameless and unscrupulous rascal...

  He's right, this thing really can't be said out loud, it's too embarrassing... I'd lose all face...

  "Get up! It's late!" Just as he was sighing, Jiang Xinyue suddenly pushed open the door and rushed in, flustered.

  Zhan Zhenzhen cried with a sad face, looking at the radiant Jiang Xinyue: "Little aunt, I'm not in the mood, can we not cook?"

  Jiang Xinyue scolded, "You're finally getting up! What's wrong with you? Did you sneak out at night like a stray cat? Who said I called you just to cook for me? Am I that shameless?"

  "You have!" Warmed up and inserted a sentence.

  "Dead girl!" Jiang Xinyue glared at Zhan Zhu Zhu, her face suddenly changing expression and turning slightly red: "Get up quickly! Just now that An... Chairman An called, he's coming over right away."

  "Wow? The spirit of the war has automatically recharged and recovered, sat up straight, and the sleepy eyes are also thoroughly awake: "Little aunt, you and he developed so quickly? Came to the door today?" This is too fast, right? Is it that middle-aged people are so direct?"

  "Get out, you're still far from my place! Hurry up!" Jiang Xinyue said while pulling someone, "Yesterday they sent me back and promised to return my car today. It's not as fast as you think!"

  "But at least it's good news, right?" Concerned about Little Aunt's happiness, War General naturally couldn't stay in bed either. He got up quickly and thought of the outside room: "Little Aunt, have you tidied up these two days?"

  Don't think that only single men's homes are unbearable, sometimes the homes of otaku girls multiplied by two can also be unbearable. Jiang Xinyue is dazed in front of the computer all day, and her only interest in household chores is cooking.

  "Ah!" Reminded by Zhan Yu, Jiang Xinyue suddenly froze, and when she received the call, she was so excited that she only picked up herself...

  Two women looked at each other.

  "Ah!" Two loud cries, two figures rushed out of the room at the same time.

  Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang as scheduled. Zhan Zhu Zhu threw the last slipper into her room and closed the door, making an OK gesture to Jiang Xinyue, who adjusted her clothes again, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

  "Miss Jiang, Ah Jie." Appearing at the door was indeed An Zhi Jie with a warm and gentle smile, yet carrying an air of unyielding confidence. Behind him followed An Ran, her face twisted in discomfort and reluctance.

  "Director An..." Jiang Xinyue's face turned red again, yesterday it was the lamp light, today in the daytime, this expression is a bit obvious: "Come in and sit down quickly."

  "Uncle An, Xiong An'an, you're here!" Zhan Zhu Zhu was still wearing her Pigu Piggy pajamas, no choice, time didn't permit.

  An Zhijie glanced at his son behind him, smiled and entered, with every gesture showing the ease of a mature man. In fact, sending the car was a small matter that he didn't need to come in person, but since last night when that little girl called Zhan Dandan left, An Ran had been visibly restless, which naturally couldn't escape his eyes.

  Because of An Ran's mother's passing, and because he had focused on work for so many years and neglected to accompany her, An Zhi Jie was very clear about An Ran's coldness towards him. He wasn't without thoughts of making amends or saving the situation, but An Ran had already grown up, grown to the point where she knew how to refuse. That face, distant and stubborn, was just like his own when he was young, and it made him feel at a loss for what to do.

  A dinner as warm and harmonious as yesterday's, with everyone chatting and laughing, hasn't happened in over a decade. He could clearly see that all these changes were because of one person - the girl named Zhan Yu Yu.

  The boy's heart is opening up, and it's probably like this. Although falling in love at this age seems a bit early, if having this girl by his side can make An Ran happy and fill the house with laughter again, he's willing to start acting like a father from now on.

  So he brought Anran with him.

  "Hey, Xiong An'an, since you're here, don't be polite!" Zhan Zhu Zhu saw that An Ran was carrying two bags and didn't hesitate, smiling as he took them over.

  Jiang Xinyue hinted with her eyes that Zhan Yaya couldn't be so careless, but Zhan Yaya had already dismantled it with a happy expression and naturally didn't notice.

  "Wow, mooncake! Just in time! I'm starving!" Waru picked up the ice cream mooncake and held it up to An Jia's father and son as a gesture of gratitude. He took a big bite, about one-third of it: "Ah, thank you Uncle An!"

  "I didn't intentionally buy it, I just happened to have it at home, so I brought it over. As long as you're not tired of eating mooncakes by Mid-Autumn Festival, that's fine." An Zhijie smiled, watching Xie Doudou eat with gusto without any pretenses. With his age and wisdom, he somewhat understood why An Ran was particularly fond of her. "And thank you again for letting us have a sumptuous Mid-Autumn dinner yesterday."

  It doesn't matter what they eat, more importantly, she made it possible for An Ran to successfully sit and dine with him.

  "Haha, the dishes were bought by Xiong Anan, and the place and utensils were also provided by your family. I just contributed a bit of labor," Zhan Dudu stuffed the mooncake into his mouth and made a gesture of showing off his arm muscles: "I have plenty of strength for this!"

  Jiang Xinyue brewed a good cup of tea and invited the two to sit down. In front of the person she had a crush on, she naturally also put in extra effort, completely unlike her usual dazed self. After all, this was home, where so many perfect protagonists had been brewing for so long; although her own personality might not be like that, pretending to be was no problem at all.

  "Huh, Xiong An'an, you're not feeling well today, why aren't you talking?" Zhan Zhu Zhu sat cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a big pillow, continuing to eat her second mooncake, and still chatting with An Ran.

  They let children speak like children, and adults can speak like adults.

  He awkwardly turned his head away, begging of you, he originally rarely spoke to her anyway. He didn't understand why his father came here, and even more so, he didn't understand why he himself came here. Sending a car was such a trivial matter, wasn't the company supposed to have professional drivers for that?

  "Xiong An'an? Have you lost your voice?" Zhan Zhan leaned in, lowering his voice to ask, a pair of big eyes staring at him with ill intentions.

  "You've lost your body!" An Ran blurted out in annoyance, her voice slightly louder and the content slightly more explosive, instantly attracting the attention of the two adults.

  His calm expression made things even more awkward.

  ...She almost lost her life yesterday...... The expression of the war is also a bit strange, and I think of Xia Fei Han, who came back inexplicably and messed up her life. She ate the mooncake in one bite, her cheeks bulging like two small balls, eating too fast, almost choking, covering her neck and stretching out her hand.

  He choked again, standard maximum throat... An Ran very consciously handed over his own teacup and gulped down half a cup.

  An Zhijie and Jiang Xinyue exchanged a sideways glance.

  "Slow down... " Jiang Xinyue's face turned red with sweat. This girl, even if she hadn't eaten lunch, didn't have to show such a starving expression.

  "Are the mooncakes delicious? My uncle has many kinds at home, I'll ask An Ran to bring some to school tomorrow. You left so early yesterday that you didn't even get a chance to eat any." An Zhi Jie couldn't help but smile, but what caught his attention more was how naturally An Ran pushed the cup away.

  "It was a special case yesterday," said Zhan Dandan with unclear articulation.

  Anran subconsciously opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, looked at the two adults, and then stopped.

  "Hey, Uncle An, can I ask you for a favor?" Suddenly, Zhan Zhuang thought of something. Since this little aunt and Uncle An's relationship has been established, it needs to be consolidated and deepened, right? Can't just rely on her being the middleman all the time, after all, she's a poor high school student.

  "You said Uncle can help, I'll definitely try my best." An Zhijie took a glance at An Ran and agreed in one breath.

  "Hey, isn't my little aunt at home? Lately, she's been writing a business novel. You say she doesn't pay attention to things outside her window, how can she write good content? So I was thinking of learning from her properly. Originally, I wanted to watch TV dramas and learn from books, but self-study is not that easy, it's better to have a famous teacher guide us! Uncle, you're a successful entrepreneur, you've fought countless battles in the business world, can't you spare some time to teach our little aunt a few tricks?"

  Jiang Xinyue was originally staring blankly ahead, and when Zhanzhan spoke up, she subconsciously reacted: "I don't... uh, why bother Ah Dong..." The second half of the sentence finally came to her senses and changed her tone.

  "Uh..." An Zhijie hesitated for a moment.

  "Uncle An, would this work for you? You must be very busy with a million things to take care of, so why not let my aunt go and be your free secretary first? She can do some simple tasks like serving tea and water, no need to teach her intentionally, she can learn from your daily words and deeds, whatever she learns is fine."

  The boss's mind changed quickly, and the attitude of forcing a sale remained unchanged, at least in An Ran's eyes.

  Jiang Xinyue's big eyes, shining like still water, also looked at An Zhijie with anticipation.

  An Zhijie smiled wryly. He had never encountered such a situation before either. If it weren't for An Ran... Looking at An Ran, he suddenly discovered that this kid actually seemed to be taking pleasure in his misfortune?

  "It's all right."

  "Oh yeah!" Warmed by An Zhi Jie's prompt agreement, he was so delighted that he bounced up on the sofa and accidentally knocked against An Ran who was just lifting his teacup. The remaining half cup of water instantly poured onto An Ran's face and then flowed down along his white shirt.

  What a tragedy! The celebratory pose was frozen in mid-air, and An Ran's expression changed to one of shock and sadness. He looked guilty. After a moment of stunned silence, he hastily grabbed a handful of tissues from the table and rushed over, grabbing An Ran's collar: "Ah, Xiong An'an, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

  She didn't mean to, but every time she unintentionally caused trouble, it was enough for him to bear. He looked down at the little head that had leaned in close to him, feeling a bit too close and trying to pull away, but his collar got caught, making him look quite awkward: "Let go! I can do it myself!"

  Zhan Zhan originally wanted to show his sincerity, but somehow, he suddenly remembered Xia Fei Han's words.

  "I'm not a eunuch, do you understand physiological reactions? I can still talk to you here, try replacing me with another man? Swap your bear Anan over? You dare to rub against him like that! I guarantee you won't even know how you die! Haven't you learned about the distinction between men and women? Even if you're a female gangster or a male seductress, even if your body is very masculine, there's still some small difference, okay? Please grow up and pay attention to boundaries and distances with men in the future, don't rely on your martial arts skills to act like a rascal everywhere!"

  She suddenly sat down with a thud, her whole body covered in cold sweat - had she just almost committed the problem that Xia Fei Han mentioned again?

  It's really hard to control, her concept of gender is only proper in front of Xia Zhi Gege - oh no, now there's also Xia Fei Han, and in front of others, she has never had any distinction between men and women.

  Is it true what Xia Fei Han said? Does she want to try it on An Ran?

  The evil little eyes swept over An Ran. An Gongzi's shirt was wet and stuck to his chest, revealing a solid chest muscle - forget it, don't think about such unreliable things, in case Xia Fei Han finds out, I'm afraid he'll be skinned alive.

  Why is she so afraid of Xia Feihan now?

  "Oh no, An Ran, sorry about that. Quick, go to the bathroom and grab some towels to wipe up, or use a hair dryer if you have to." Jiang Xinyue was a bit flustered, and while she came over to help, she also shot a glare at Zhan Doudou, who was still standing there in a daze. This girl had caused trouble, but why wasn't she reacting at all?

  "It's okay, Auntie, I'll go myself." An Ran still treated his aunt with courtesy, after all, she was a kind and brave young lady.

  He got up and left, still studying the young man's tall and sturdy physique. An Ran looked at him, who was slightly more robust than Xia Feihan. Xia Feihan appeared somewhat slender and feminine on the surface, but if he didn't take off his clothes, it would be hard to believe that he had such a great body under those clothes.

  Suddenly, a certain man's bright image popped into her mind, and she felt a slight tingling sensation in her nose. She quickly stopped her endless daydreaming. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw An Ran push open the door to the room...

  "Xiong An'an!" Zhan Peng shouted loudly, his hand pushing off the back of the sofa, and with a beautiful leap, his body flew out, but even at the speed of a 100-meter dash, he couldn't catch up to An Ran opening the door.

  A warthog suddenly rushed onto An Ran's back, and also knocked the unprepared An Ran into it. A certain unknown object on the ground tripped An Ran's foot, and An Ran fell down with a thud under the impact from both front and back - with one still stuck to his back.

  "Peas!"

  "Alright?"

  Two adults stood up at the same time. An Zhi Jie didn't understand the situation, but Jiang Xin Yue did - what An Ran opened was not the bathroom door, but the door to the war room.

  The room of the war-torn house temporarily accommodated items that originally belonged to the entire living room...

  Jiang Xinyue wanted to cover her face.

  "It's okay, it's okay! You guys chat!" Zhan Zhu Zhu didn't have time to get up and kicked her legs wildly on top of Xiong An'an, first propping the door shut. What was important now wasn't Xiong An'an, but rather An Zhi Jie - she couldn't let him see her and Xiao Yi, that's just how life was.

  Not diligent and thrifty at all, what a virtuous and gentle wife!

  "War!" An Ran pulled out something from under her face - wasn't this the T-shirt that War had worn yesterday? She looked up and scanned the entire room, her face turning black - this was even worse than a boys' dorm!

  "Hey, don't get me wrong, it's not usually like this," Waruwaru pulled and threw the clothes in his hand, as if he could destroy the evidence and make everything seem non-existent: "You guys came too suddenly, I didn't have time to tidy up the house, so I sacrificed my small room a bit to create a comfortable environment for you. How's that? Are you moved by my spirit of sacrificing myself for the greater good?"

  She looked at her with a smile on her face, and was truly speechless. How could she always find such a bright and justifiable reason for herself in any situation?

  Where is your integrity? Where has your integrity gone?

  Normally, shouldn't she be feeling very embarrassed? But instead, she actually asked him if he was moved by her?

  What a joke! An Ran couldn't help but glare at Zhan Zhu Zhu, he couldn't let her continue to act recklessly and lead him by the nose, he absolutely couldn't compromise with this shameless person again!

  Her big eyes sparkled as she smiled, waiting for his response.

  But in an instant, he was defeated again before he could even gather his strength.

  Because of their current posture, because of the spring scenery in his eyes.

  Digression

  Fan: Ah, ah, little brother just taught you, and you forgot again?

  Xiaoxiao: It's all your fault, you irresponsible author. If you keep writing like this, you'll ruin my reputation!

  Fan points hand finger...