The Crippled Boss Loves Me

723 Encounter

At that moment, there was a slight movement from upstairs. Qiao Xi held a glass of water and opened the door with a hesitant expression. She had only come out to take a look. After dinner, Ji Yan had been reading some documents in the living room. Even if he did not say anything, she could guess that he was waiting for Mrs. Ji to return.

Qiao Xi could not fall asleep that night. She could not help but prick up her ears to listen to the movements outside the door, but she did not hear the sound of Ji Yan returning to his room. It was already two o’clock at night. She was just worried that Ji Yan would catch a cold sleeping in the living room, so she came out to show her concern. It should be fine, right? She didn’t have any other thoughts, so she didn’t need to feel guilty. Qiao Xi tried to convince herself over and over again. She subconsciously picked up her glass of water to cover up for herself, but before she could go downstairs, she saw Ji Yan and Shen Hanxing eating noodles in the dining room.

“Mrs. Ji, you’re back?” Qiao Xi’s face turned pale, and she subconsciously grabbed the glass of water in her hand. She forced a smile and said, “”It’s late. Did you just come back?”

“Yes, I just came back.” Shen Hanxing’s eyes were smiling as she replied, “I’m hungry, so Mr. Ji cooked me some noodles. Do you want to get some water?” This didn’t seem to be the first time she had seen Qiao Xi go downstairs in the middle of the night to get some water. Was she always thirsty at night? Or was it because she slept too late? The thought flashed through her mind, but Shen Hanxing did not take it to heart. Instead, she reminded her with concern, “Girls should rest early. Staying up late is bad for the body and skin. You’ll only be full of energy after you’ve had enough sleep.”

Over the past two days, Qiao Xi had already joined Starry Foundation and had started learning from scratch. Shen Hanxing was afraid that she would be under too much pressure, so she gave her a vague reminder. Qiao Xi stood there in a daze, unable to believe what she had just heard. What did Mrs. Ji just say? Who had cooked the noodles? President Ji? To Qiao Xi’s limited knowledge, none of the men she had seen before were willing to cook for a woman. In her hometown, a man who cooked would be laughed at as a sign of weakness and incompetence. When she came to S City and lived with Wang Wentao, all the poor and incompetent men she saw were also lying in bed and acting like Masters when they came home. They would never enter the kitchen. It seemed that the kitchen was naturally labeled as a woman’s job. Qiao Xi also subconsciously agreed that cooking and cleaning were women’s jobs, but… Ji Yan was the most perfect and capable man she had ever seen in her life. He was handsome, noble, young, and extremely capable. He was an unreachable God. How could such a man be in the kitchen? He should be working hard outside, not serving a woman in the kitchen.

With this blow to her preconceived mindset, Qiao Xi’s face turned as white as a sheet. She seemed to have heard Shen Hanxing’s question, but it seemed like she was too far away to hear it clearly.

“Qiao Xi, why aren’t you saying anything?” Shen Hanxing furrowed her brows and raised her voice slightly, asking with concern, “Why do you look so pale? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“No, not at all.” Qiao Xi subconsciously shook her head, her knuckles turning white. She lowered her head and looked at the patterns on her slippers. She said dryly, “Maybe I got scared and woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t sleep well, so I’m not that energetic.” She raised her head and forced a pale smile.

Shen Hanxing did not doubt Qiao Xi’s words. So she had a nightmare? Thinking about the past that Qiao Xi had revealed to her and the crazy things that Wang Wentao had done, understanding flashed across Shen Hanxing’s eyes. After all, Qiao Xi was a young lady in her early twenties and had grown up in a rural small village. Although her parents valued boys over girls, their house was still a shelter. Unlike her, Shen Hanxing knew that she could only rely on herself from a young age. She had been through too much, so she did not take many things to heart. To Qiao Xi, who was almost sold off by her boyfriend, and then later to have a group of fierce-looking people come to her door, it was already very difficult for her to have calmed down so quickly. It was no wonder then that she always had nightmares and would come down to drink water in the middle of the night.

“What’s past is past. You have to look forward.” Shen Hanxing softened her tone and looked at Qiao Xi. “Since you’re awake, do you want to eat a bowl of noodles? Mr. Ji cooked a lot and there’s still some left in the pot. It’ll be a waste if we don’t eat it.” Nothing could comfort a person more than good food. Since Qiao Xi had been woken up by a nightmare, she might as well eat some warm food. Perhaps she would feel better.