Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 20

Green Plum, Green Plum (12)

Endure it

“Sister Jiaojiao!”

Xu Jiao had just opened her front door when she heard Su Xi’s enthusiastic voice. She looked up and saw Su Xi lying on her couch, holding a toothpick with a piece of fruit on it, perhaps apple or pear, and she waved it at her.

Within her line of sight, only a wrist adorned with a red bracelet was seen waving slightly.

Even without seeing the person, she knew who had come back.

Even the little pet she had been keeping indoors made soft, mewling sounds.

Xu Jiao responded with an “Mm,” and opened the shoe cabinet, pulling out a pair of new slippers and handing them to Shen Yelan. As she did so, the housemaid, who was preparing dinner, poked her head out and smiled at her:

“Xiao Xu, you’re back. Oh, and who is this…?”

Xu Jiao glanced aside and said to the maid, “My classmate. Auntie, could you please help me prepare the guest room? She’ll be staying here for a while.”

The maid nodded with a smile, “Alright.”

Xu Jiao then introduced to Shen Yelan, “This is Aunt Su, who was hired by my parents to take care of my daily meals.”

Shen Yelan nodded slightly and softly said, “Hello, Aunt Su.”

Aunt Su’s gaze was gentle, but she could immediately tell what kind of student Shen Yelan was. She was somewhat surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time she’d seen Xu Jiao bring classmates or friends home. Those kids were always the unruly type, leaving the place a mess every time, and she had to spend a long time cleaning up after them.

Recently, Xu Jiao had changed quite a bit. At least those rascals hadn’t come around in a while.

But…

This was the first time Aunt Su saw Xu Jiao with such an obvious “good student.”

She found it peculiar but kept it to herself, maintaining the basic principles of a worker by being very polite and not looking at the now self-conscious Shen Yelan, and continued preparing dinner seriously.

Hearing Shen Yelan’s voice, Su Xi, who had been lying on the couch enjoying a salted fish’s life with fruit, suddenly sat up, leaning over the back of the couch and staring at the entrance.

The next second, she pointed her toothpick at Shen Yelan incredulously and said to Xu Jiao:

“Sister Jiaojiao, why did you bring her back?”

Xu Jiao heard the discontent in her tone, looked over calmly, and answered seriously, “I’ve already rented the guest room to her. From now on, she’s my tenant.”

Su Xi pouted. She heard Xu Jiao’s hint to be polite and felt a bit aggrieved. After all, she was the one who had the best relationship with Xu Jiao. Where did this Shen character come from?

Don’t think she didn’t know. Many people in Class 1 wanted to secretly get close to Xu Jiao, to use their grades to impress the teachers while wanting someone to cover for them outside of school.

Hmph, as if things were that easy?

She muttered under her breath, “I could rent your guest room too…”

Xu Jiao walked over and knocked her on the head, asking coldly, “Finished your homework? You seem to have plenty of free time right now——”

“Perfect timing, I have some problems prepared for you. Do a bit before dinner to digest the fruit you just ate.”

Su Xi: “???”

She held her head and protested, “Why am I the only one who has to do problems?”

Xu Jiao raised an eyebrow, looking at her in surprise as if to say, do you really need to ask such a simple question?

Seeing that Su Xi wasn’t giving up, Xu Jiao sighed and gave the answer: “Because on the monthly exam ranking, she and I are at the top, while you can only be found by counting from the bottom.”

Su Xi: “…My soul as a poor student feels offended.”

She still wanted to resist and protest, but Xu Jiao didn’t give her a chance at all, dragging Su Xi to the desk. She then turned to Shen Yelan and said, “If you haven’t solved a problem before dinner, you won’t get to eat.”

Su Xi QAQ: “You clearly said before that you’d give me free time before dinner——”

Xu Jiao ignored her, went back to check on her puppy, routinely applied medicine to its wounds, and fed it some snacks, her gaze gentle as she enjoyed the little one nuzzling her palm.

……

Outside the room.

Su Xi looked at the problems Xu Jiao found for her with a pained expression, finding that she didn’t even understand the symbols in the questions, let alone the solutions.

She stared at the problems for a while, feeling they were strangers, and turned her head in frustration.

As soon as she turned, she saw Shen Yelan standing by the couch, looking a bit awkward and unsure of what to do.

Su Xi immediately found a target to vent her frustration: “What are you looking at? Don’t think I don’t know, you’re getting close to Sister Jiaojiao with ulterior motives! Hmph! Just wait, I’ll expose your fake mask!”

Shen Yelan: “…”

She averted her gaze, unable to deny Su Xi’s words.

Indeed, she approached Xu Jiao with ulterior motives.

However.

She couldn’t let Su Xi find out.

Seeing her turn away, Su Xi felt more confident in her guess. When Xu Jiao came out of her room, she immediately shared her discovery, “Sister Jiaojiao, I’ve confirmed it for you. She has ulterior motives, don’t be fooled by her.”

Xu Jiao: “…”

For some reason, she felt that in Su Xi’s eyes, she now resembled a foolish emperor who refused to heed advice and insisted on spending every night with a wicked concubine.

Shen Yelan, knowing that Xu Jiao was not as brainless as the rumors suggested, still instinctively looked over.

She saw Xu Jiao walk up to Su Xi in two steps, press her head down hard towards the problems, and ask, “Finished the problems? So much nonsense?”

Shen Yelan watched their interaction from the side, a bit of envy showing in her eyes.

To avoid being noticed by Xu Jiao, she looked around and offered, “I… I’ll go help in the kitchen.”

Xu Jiao gave her a puzzled look, “Why go to the kitchen? Leave professional work to the professionals—oh right, let me show you your room. If you want to make any changes, let Aunt Su know later.”

……

The guest room had light blue curtains with lace trim, neatly coordinated cartoon bed sheets, a tall bookshelf, and a clean desk…

Standing at the doorway, Shen Yelan didn’t dare to step inside.

It wasn’t that she had never seen such a room before, but she couldn’t imagine herself staying in a place like this.

Xu Jiao said to her, “This desk is the one I used to use. You can make do with it. The bed sheets should have been changed yesterday, though Xiao Xi didn’t choose this room to sleep in.”

Her home had a four-bedroom, two-living-room layout. The master bedroom was always reserved for her parents. Besides her own room, there were two other rooms used as guest rooms, located opposite each other.

“You can have a look around here first. Come out when it’s time to eat. Oh, did you bring a change of clothes?” Xu Jiao was exceptionally considerate in taking care of people, speaking more than usual, which gradually eased Shen Yelan’s tension.

Hearing Xu Jiao’s question, Shen Yelan realized that she had left in such a hurry to escape her family that she had brought nothing with her.

She hadn’t even started to enjoy her new life and she already felt indebted to Xu Jiao.

Seeing her reaction, Xu Jiao thought for a moment, “I think I have a freshly washed, unworn set. Wait here, I’ll find it for you. As for undergarments…”

Shen Yelan quickly interjected, “I’ll go out and get some later.” Although her uncle and aunt never gave her pocket money, she found ways to do some odd jobs to save a bit of money, only using it when absolutely necessary.

Seeing that she had a plan, Xu Jiao nodded and said no more.

From outside came Su Xi’s voice, sounding as if she were liberated, “Dinner’s ready! Sister Jiaojiao!”

Xu Jiao tilted her head and walked out of the room. Su Xi had a cola chicken wing in her mouth and, looking up, gave a silly and ingratiating smile when she saw her.

Xu Jiao frowned, pointing to the problems she had left for Su Xi earlier.

Su Xi’s face fell, and she dejectedly returned to her seat, attempting to solve even one problem.

Five minutes later—

The aroma from the dining table wafted over.

Having finished the chicken wing, Su Xi pleaded in a drawn-out tone, “Sister Jiaojiao, tell me the answer to just one problem, please, I’m so hungry.”

Xu Jiao was unmoved. She knew there was a problem Su Xi had seen before and had solved, but she didn’t remind this spoiled girl.

Seeing Xu Jiao’s heart of stone, Su Xi’s eyes darted to Shen Yelan, who had just come out of the other room.

She prided herself on being able to adapt, puffed her cheeks, and said, “Hey.”

Shen Yelan turned her head.

Su Xi cleared her throat and, in a voice she thought was humble, said, “Could you… help me with a problem?”

Shen Yelan initially had no intention of helping, but thinking that Su Xi was the closest person to Xu Jiao, she walked over.

Xu Jiao raised her head.

Shen Yelan could be accommodating, but with Su Xi’s personality, she would suffer in the future.

Xu Jiao frowned, her pretty face showing a bit of contemplation. After a while, she stopped them, “Forget it, come and eat.”

Shen Yelan, who had just reached Su Xi, “…”

Su Xi cheered, ran to the table in a few steps, pulled out a chair, and grinned, “I knew Sister Jiaojiao cares about me the most!”

Feeling that wasn’t enough, she leaned towards Xu Jiao, puckered her lips, and cupped Xu Jiao’s face, aiming for her lips without hesitation.

At the last moment, Xu Jiao turned slightly, letting Su Xi kiss her cheek instead.

But Su Xi was already beaming with joy, even casting a faintly provocative glance at Shen Yelan—

Shen Yelan watched the scene unfold, even forgetting to breathe.

Only the sharp pain of her nails digging into her palm reminded her:

Endure.

Just endure a bit longer, don’t get discovered so soon.