20 Xia Shiyu in Despair (2/2)

She was a goddess in looks and figure. It was quite embarrassing, but Jiang Chen did masturbate to her before.

In his memory, her hair was always tied back professionally. Today, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail which brought Jiang Chen to a memory of his past. The newly graduated Xia Shiyu was nothing like the professional office lady.

”What are you looking at?” She noticed the invasive stare which made her quite scared. But her face still displayed the same guarded and emotionless look.

”No. Nothing,” Jiang Chen awkwardly replied.

After the wound was treated, their eyes crossed.

Time stopped for a moment.

Awkwardness ensued.

”It smells very nice here. Hahaha.” Jiang Chen rubbed his head to break the silence.

Xia Shiyu zoned out momentarily. Her cheek blushed as her emotionless face smiled slightly, but her eyes looked even colder.

”It’s the scent of lilacs. I probably got it when I worked.” With a frown on her face, she quickly cleaned up and headed back into her room.

[Heart pounding fast.] She held her pumping chest as she recollected her breathing. She disappointedly looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t know why she was acting weird.

[Heart pounding fast.] Jiang Chen also confusedly touched his chest. [There is no way I am interested in this girl.] He immediately rejected the idea and blamed the natural reaction of his hormones. Compared to an icy beauty, he preferred the energetic and lively Sun Jiao. Sun Jiao who occasionally went into her character as the queen of the wasteland while acting as a caring and heartwarming wife.

Xia Shiyu left her room moments later and interrupted Jiang Chen’s train of thoughts. She stood across from Jiang Chen, but there was no conversation between the two. Silence filled the room as the only noise was the ticking clock and their heartbeats.

”Thank you.” Xia Shiyu broke the silence first.

”No problem, I just happened to pass by.” He lied about the fact that he tried to find her today in the morning with hostile intentions but only left because he heard she left her position.

He didn’t expect this stubborn girl to thank him.

”You,” Xia Shiyu briefly paused as if she had something to say. She hesitated for a bit before finally asking what bothered her, ”Don’t you hate me?”

He was not surprised by the question. He also considered the question himself. [Do I still hate her?]

”I hated you.” In the end, the paragraphs he tried to articulate in his head only turned into three short words. Jiang Chen looked at Xia Shiyu with a perplexed look.

[Then why did you save me?]

She didn’t ask this question, but Jiang Chen read the unasked question in her eyes.

He hated her before. She fired him and almost made him homeless. He was not hesitant to curse her with the most malicious vows… However, that was all in the past. After he had released his anger, it was no longer an incident that bothered him. Life continued, and there was no reason to continue to despise her.

”No particular reason.” Jiang Chen sighed as he shook his head. ”To be frank, when I heard that you were fired, I was quite ecstatic for a moment. As you can see, the clothes I am wearing right now are purchased from that store. However, I realized that I am still too immature.”

”Immature?” She mumbled the word repetitively. She was dumbfounded by Jiang Chen’s words. Her icy, cold eyes began to lose its focus.

If Jiang Chen humiliated her or even hit her, it would make this feel easier. But the man she almost single-handedly pushed to despair didn’t do anything in retaliation. He gave her a helping hand in her most desperate time.

[Why…]

”Even if I retaliated, what would I get in return? To be honest, the feeling of revenge is great. But if I see a girl get pushed to the edge of life by a group of thugs without doing anything, the guilt will overwhelm me - especially since I know you. After all, we don’t have a hatred that runs for generations. It was only a job after all. Even if you gave me the job now, I will not take it.”

It was a job after all. Compared to what Jiang Chen lost, he certainly gained a lot more. If he weren't drunk, he would have never passed the alley. He would have missed the opportunity to acquire the interdimensional bracelet.

He never knew where life would take him the next.

”Before I fired you, I thought a lot about it.” With a perplexed look, she continued, ”Based on the facts, I know I am not a qualified manager.”

”You have all the abilities, but you don’t know the human heart” Jiang Chen smiled.

”Human heart? Do you mean psychology?”

”No no, it’s not something from the textbook. The human heart is a complicated matter. Even within a lifetime, it would be difficult to understand it all.”

They chatted as if they were close friends that hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Jiang Chen felt the calm he had been searching the entire day for.

Yes, it was incredible shopping, and eating a fancy meal, but he still felt hollow.

In this large metropolitan city, he didn’t even have a single friend he could talk with. Maybe that was what Jiang Chen was searching for that entire day. Everyone took separate path after graduation and moved on.

This tiny apartment brought him the calmness and serenity he had desperately searched for.

Maybe, this peacefulness was what life rewarded those who did good deeds.