Chapter Eighteen: Overheated—A Nosebleed

Xin Gan never liked Cheng Jiu, and now her dislike for him had only grown. That evening, a rugged off-road vehicle stopped outside the inn—it was Cheng Jiu’s; he had come to see her.

Hearing the knock at her door, Xin Gan opened it and was momentarily stunned to see Cheng Jiu standing there. She asked coolly, “Is there something you need?”

Cheng Jiu’s gaze swept past her, landing on Song Li inside the room. “Did you find this child?”

Xin Gan corrected him, “Not found—encountered.”

“Where are his parents?”

“They died.”

Cheng Jiu fell silent for a moment before asking, “So how do you plan to handle this?”

How he came to know about this wasn’t difficult to guess—perhaps Jiang Tang had told him after she came by earlier and saw the child. She must have asked the innkeeper’s wife.

Xin Gan pondered for a while. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’ve already had someone look for his remaining relatives. Wait a few days, there should be news soon.”

Xin Gan pressed her lips together and blurted out, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After that, silence hung in the air. They hadn’t seen each other for several days, and Cheng Jiu’s harsh tone that day had truly angered her. Women hold grudges, and she remembered exactly what Cheng Jiu had said to her then. Now, she showed him only courtesy and coldness.

Cheng Jiu opened his mouth, then suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Don’t take what happened that day to heart.”

Xin Gan replied with a simple, “I haven’t.”

Cheng Jiu asked, “Are you still leaving?”

“What?” His question caught her off guard, and she didn’t react immediately.

His gaze settled on her face as he asked seriously, “You said you were going back to Yong City. Are you still leaving now?”

Why would she stay if not to leave? His question struck her as odd.

Cheng Jiu’s expression darkened. “Don’t go yet. If you leave now, my old man will definitely suspect something. Stay a few more days. When I finish dealing with things here, I’ll go back with you, and I’ll explain then.”

She remained silent, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Finally, Xin Gan spoke, “I have matters to attend to in Yong City; I can’t stay any longer. As for the person who should broach the subject, since I was the one who brought it up, it should be me.”

Cheng Jiu suddenly let out a laugh, a little roguish. “Are you so eager to get away from me? What am I—a savage beast?”

“Or is it that you still remember how I barked at you that day?”

Xin Gan looked at him. “I remember.”

Cheng Jiu stared at her, slowly exhaling, then almost imperceptibly licked his teeth. “I apologize. My tone was out of line that day.”

Xin Gan hadn’t expected an apology from him. His honesty left her momentarily speechless.

Cheng Jiu’s expression was open and direct. “The team isn’t a place where just anyone can come in. You showed up without telling me, so I snapped at you. I couldn’t control my tone—that was my fault.”

Xin Gan was lost in thought, when suddenly her nose felt hot. She instinctively touched it, and her fingertips came away wet. She glanced down—blood, a nosebleed.

Cheng Jiu immediately said, “Tilt your head up, don’t lower it.”

She obeyed, lifting her head.

Cheng Jiu’s face was serious. “Lie down.”

He half-supported, half-guided her back into the room and laid her on the bed. He went into the bathroom and returned with a damp towel, which he placed on her forehead. She was bewildered—how could she get a nosebleed now, and let him see it?

Song Li stood there, stunned and unsure what to do.

Cheng Jiu glanced at Song Li, then looked back at Xin Gan, his smile devoid of humor. “Too much internal heat?”