Chapter 137: You’re Xiaoshu, aren’t you?

For some reason, the moment Jiang Yao felt that gaze upon her, all the blood in her body seemed to turn cold.

She shuddered instinctively, and the chopsticks in her hand clattered to the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Aunt Qin frowned and turned to look at her son. “Are you hungry? Would you like some late-night noodles?”

Chen Shu nodded.

“Wait here.”

Aunt Qin went into the kitchen again and busied herself preparing a midnight snack for Chen Shu.

Chen Shu strode over to Jiang Yao, bent down, and picked up the chopsticks for her. “Sister Jiang Yao, what’s wrong?”

He was so unfailingly polite that Jiang Yao began to wonder whether the Chen Shu standing before her was really the same person who had watched her from the top of the stairs moments ago.

She steadied herself and took the chopsticks from him. “Nothing.”

Chen Shu pulled over a chair and sat down beside her, propping his head on one hand as he gazed at her. “Sister Jiang Yao, I heard you’re getting engaged.”

“Who told you that?”

She had never wanted news of her engagement to become common knowledge, and she had never mentioned it to Aunt Qin.

Aunt Qin had never been particularly familiar with the internet.

Chen Shu was busy with his studies and rarely spent much time online. He should not have had the spare energy to pay attention to such things.

“Hmm…” Chen Shu drew out the final sound lazily. “Who could I have heard it from?”

As he spoke, an exceedingly strange smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

“What are you smiling about?” Jiang Yao felt a chill run through her at the sight of that smile.

She had seen a similar smile before. Where had it been?

“Yes, what am I smiling about?” Chen Shu said slowly, yet he continued to smile at Jiang Yao.

His gaze was almost as though he were admiring some object.

Uneasiness prickled through Jiang Yao. “Xiaoshu, you’re Xiaoshu, right?”

“The noodles are ready.”

Aunt Qin emerged from the kitchen with a bowl and set it before Chen Shu. “Eat while it’s hot.”

“Oh.”

Chen Shu immediately returned to normal. He picked up the bowl and began wolfing down the noodles.

“Slow down,” Aunt Qin reminded him from the side. “What were you two talking about just now?”

Chen Shu looked up and wiped the broth from the corner of his mouth. He once again looked like an innocent, slightly immature boy. “Nothing. Sister Jiang Yao was just asking how I’ve been.”

After finishing his noodles, Chen Shu went back to his room to do his homework.

Jiang Yao remained seated, motionless for quite some time.

“You’re not planning to leave?” Aunt Qin asked her. “Are you going to spend the night here?”

Jiang Yao pressed her lips together and glanced toward Chen Shu’s room. Lowering her voice as much as possible, she said, “Aunt Qin, have you noticed anything strange about Xiaoshu lately?”

“Strange?” Aunt Qin frowned and thought for a moment. “The strangest thing I’ve noticed is you.”

Jiang Yao leaned back in her chair.

That was true.

Everything was merely her own impression.

She could not even be sure whether it was all an illusion. After all, something was wrong with her mind now.

Chen Shu had not actually said or done anything outrageous.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just thought Xiaoshu might be under too much pressure from his studies lately. He has a lot of missed lessons to catch up on. Please keep an eye on him and make sure he gets some time to relax.”

“My son needs you to remind me?” Aunt Qin snapped.

Jiang Yao had long since grown accustomed to Aunt Qin’s attitude.

She gave Aunt Qin a slight nod and left Hope Snack Shop.

Standing outside the shop, she could not shake the feeling that the back of her neck was growing cold, as though someone were watching her.

Jiang Yao spun around.

There was no one there.

On the second floor, behind the lit window, the curtains stirred faintly.

It was Chen Shu’s room.

The days passed quickly, and before she knew it, the time for her engagement to Cheng Yanchi had arrived.

Although they had agreed to keep the engagement banquet as low-key as possible, quite a number of guests still came to offer their congratulations.

Cheng Yanchi’s father had made a special trip from the hospital. Even though he could only sit in a wheelchair, he insisted on attending his son’s engagement ceremony.

Jiang Yao wore light makeup that day, along with a fitted rose-gold gown that made her look fresh and elegant.

Standing beside Cheng Yanchi to welcome the congratulatory guests, the two of them looked perfectly matched.

Jiang Yao’s cheeks were nearly aching from smiling.

Maintaining her smile, she asked Cheng Yanchi, “Why do I always have to face these exhausting and troublesome occasions with you?”

Cheng Yanchi cleared his throat. “If you’re tired, go rest somewhere. I can handle them alone.”

“How could I do that?”

“It’s fine.”

The guests came over one after another, first exchanging pleasantries with the two of them, then going inside to offer Cheng Yanchi’s father their consolation, which inevitably brought his mother to tears.

Cheng Yanchi hated this sort of performance more than anything.

He could only roll his eyes.

“They came to offer congratulations, not attend a funeral. What are they carrying on like this for?”

His words were as cutting as ever.

Jiang Yao discreetly nudged him with her elbow.

When she looked up again, she saw He Yunqing approaching from a distance.

He wore a dark navy suit, his hair combed with meticulous precision, both hands tucked into his pockets as he strode toward Jiang Yao.

For one fleeting moment, it seemed as though he were the true protagonist of the day.

And yet everyone knew that he was not.

Because a woman stood beside him.

She was tall and slender, as graceful as an elegant white swan—Jin Nana.

Jin Nana had her arm linked through He Yunqing’s, and she was leaning toward his ear, whispering something to him.

After listening, He Yunqing smiled faintly and nodded.

When he raised his head again, his eyes met Jiang Yao’s.

Both of them stiffened. Neither spoke.

Instead, Jin Nana spoke first. “Jiang Yao, congratulations! Why did you suddenly run off from my house on New Year’s Day? I still haven’t asked what happened.”

Jiang Yao shook her head. “Nothing. Something came up that day.”

“Tsk.” Jin Nana clearly did not believe her. “Stop brushing me off with excuses like that. You know, after you left that day, my parents had a huge argument in the study. They wouldn’t even tell me what it was about. And in all these years, my parents have hardly ever quarreled, let alone fallen out with each other.”

Jiang Yao was surprised. “What about them now?”

“It’s fine now.” Jin Nana waved her hand. “The moment I act spoiled, my parents will listen to anything I say. But Jiang Yao, you really are something. You only had to visit my house once to make my parents fight. Don’t tell me my mother was right—that my father has designs on you?”

“Ahem!”

He Yunqing and Cheng Yanchi cleared their throats at the same time, signaling Jin Nana to stop.

What kind of occasion was this? Was it appropriate to say something like that here?

Jiang Yao felt awkward.

The old master of the Jin family truly did have designs on her—he wanted to acknowledge her as his goddaughter.

Jin Nana lifted her delicate chin disdainfully. “I think that’s utter nonsense. But Jiang Yao, I really don’t understand why my father treats you so well. If he hadn’t been genuinely unable to get away today, he would have come in person. Even so, he specifically told me to bring you a gift.”