YABE - 50

Jiang Xu’s sudden appearance startled Wen Siyu.

After two or three seconds of processing, she scrambled to her feet.

Kneeling on the bay window, her forehead pressed against the glass pane, she held the phone to her ear and stared at him with wide eyes.

The man stood there, one hand holding his phone and the other gripping an ice cream cone. He tilted his head slightly toward her: “If you keep spacing out like this, it’s going to melt.”

Wen Siyu snapped back to reality, quickly jumped off the window seat, grabbed a coat from the chair, threw it over her shoulders, and dashed outside.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw him standing not too far away, watching her, arms already open.

The smile on Wen Siyu’s lips widened as she ran into his embrace.

Jiang Xu held the ice cream cone steady with one hand while wrapping the other arm tightly around her. “Hmm, seems like the little girl has grown taller.”

“Are you raising a daughter?” Wen Siyu lightly patted his back. “I stopped growing ages ago!”

Jiang Xu ruffled her hair, stepped back, and carefully examined her, nodding slowly. “It seems like you’ve gotten prettier.” He handed her the ice cream cone earnestly. “Here’s a reward for getting prettier.”

“Oh, so if I hadn’t gotten prettier, I wouldn’t have gotten anything to eat.” Wen Siyu accepted the cone, its tip already slightly melted. She extended her tongue to lick it but didn’t look up to tease him.

After a long silence without hearing any response from the man, Wen Siyu raised her head to find Jiang Xu gazing down at her with an unmistakable look in his eyes.

That dark, intense gaze felt strangely familiar.

She thought about it for a moment, blushed, and turned away.

Jiang Xu chuckled: “Why are you turning away?”

Wen Siyu licked her ice cream: “I’m afraid you’ll act indecent.”

“I wouldn’t dare act indecent right outside your front door.”

Wen Siyu thought about it and realized he had a point. Turning back around, she asked: “So why are you here?”

“To face the execution grounds.”

Wen Siyu burst out laughing: “Have you mentally prepared yourself?”

“Nope.” Casually, Jiang Xu snatched the ice cream cone she was happily eating and started eating it himself.

Wen Siyu, who hadn’t had enough, immediately objected, jumping up to snatch it back, only to be pinned down by the man with one hand. The girl puffed up her cheeks and glared at him indignantly: “How could you snatch my ice cream?!”

The man’s expression remained impassive: “I only let you have a couple licks to satisfy your cravings. If I let you eat more and you got a stomach ache, whose fault would that be?”

Wen Siyu replied matter-of-factly: “Yours.”

Jiang Xu lightly tapped her forehead, quickly finished the remaining ice cream, and handed her the empty cone.

Wen Siyu: “?”

“Even though there’s no more ice cream left, you can still pretend to enjoy the cone.”

“…”

Wen Siyu wanted to hit him.

The little girl’s big almond-shaped eyes glared at him weakly: “Teacher Jiang, don’t expect me to put in a good word for you in front of my dad with this kind of attitude.”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Jiang Xu feigned seriousness: “Then I won’t be able to enter your house. Since I can’t marry into your family, the only option is for you to marry into mine.”

“But I haven’t even graduated from university yet—I’m at my prime,” Wen Siyu lowered her voice. “You’re already halfway buried in dirt. Who would want to marry you?”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, this scarf really suits your coat—it looks great.” Wen Siyu grinned mischievously.

“Who’s halfway buried in dirt?”

“My brother.” Wen Siyu instantly cowered. “He’s already thirty—why hasn’t he found a girlfriend yet? I’m so worried about him.”

Jiang Xu hummed thoughtfully: “You don’t need to worry about him—he’s already found someone.”

Wen Siyu: “?”

“The last time I called him, a woman answered the phone.”

Jiang Xu recalled: “Her voice sounded nice.”

Wen Siyu grew even more puzzled: “Since when did you and my brother become so close?”

Jiang Xu smiled faintly: “Around the time he tried every method possible to kill me but discovered he couldn’t.”

“…Your words make me feel uneasy. Are you going to become my sister-in-law?”

Jiang Xu: “….”

“Teacher Jiang, your thoughts are becoming increasingly dangerous.”

“And whose thoughts do you think are truly dangerous?” Jiang Xu sighed lightly and flicked her forehead. “How does your little brain come up with so many dramatic ideas every day?”

Wen Siyu covered her forehead, staring at him in shock.

Jiang Xu: “?”

Wen Siyu continued to stare in disbelief: “You flicked my forehead—you’re abusing me!”

Jiang Xu: “…?”

With an expression of utter devastation, Wen Siyu lamented dramatically: “If you’re already flicking my forehead now, does that mean you’ll eventually pin me to the ground and beat me?”

Jiang Xu: “….”

“I could pin you to the ground right now, but the floor is a bit hard. Think about it—we should move to the bed instead.”

Wen Siyu: “…”

At this point, Wen Siyu realized that Jiang Xu had rapidly transformed from a pure-hearted old bachelor into a seasoned flirt who casually teased her.

Her mouth opened slightly, unable to say anything. Her face flushed faintly, and she looked at him with a complicated expression.

Unable to resist, Jiang Xu’s lips curved into a smirk. Deciding not to tease her further, he reached out and gently pinched her soft earlobe—it was a bit cold.

He then removed the scarf from his neck, holding one end, and draped it around her nape.

The fluffy scarf brushed against her sensitive skin, sending tiny shivers across her neck and traveling down to her chest.

Jiang Xu carefully wrapped the scarf around her neck, looping it once, twice, until it rested at her chest.

Then, lowering his head, his expression focused and earnest, he clumsily tied a knot. It wasn’t a pretty knot, but it was done.

Once finished, he looked up at her: “Alright, let’s go inside.”

The little girl stood frozen, staring at him blankly.

Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when a sudden force pulled him downward.

Wen Siyu grabbed his collar, pulling him down. Standing on her tiptoes, she tilted her head back and gently kissed him.

Her soft lips pressed against his, her small tongue brushing lightly against his lower lip before quickly retreating.

Jiang Xu straightened up, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her.

Wen Siyu smiled brightly: “Teacher Jiang looked so cute tying the scarf—it made me want to kiss you.”

“Wen Siyu.” He called her full name.

Wen Siyu instinctively shrank back, her neck retracting slightly.

Jiang Xu flicked out his tongue, licking his lower lip. It was sweet—tasting of the melted ice cream.

“You should’ve held back a little,” he said hoarsely. “I’ve been restraining myself ever since I saw you.”

Wen Siyu hopped and skipped her way back inside, glancing over her shoulder multiple times. Wen Jingyao was in the kitchen cooking noodles. He glanced at her briefly, his gaze sweeping over the scarf around her neck, before turning back to crack two eggs into the pot without a word.

Wen Siyu smiled sweetly at him, then calmly took off her shoes and entered the house, walking with deliberate composure. But as soon as she reached the corner where the kitchen couldn’t see her, she instantly switched gears, sprinting upstairs and dashing into her room. She peeked out the window—Jiang Xu was still there.

Kneeling on the bay window, she opened the window, rested her arms on the frame, and called him.

Jiang Xu picked up quickly, tilting his head to look up at her: “Are you cold?”

Wen Siyu shook her head: “No, Teacher Jiang’s scarf is so warm.”

She paused, then grinned mischievously: “It’s always been you looking down at me. Finally, I got to look down at you this time!”

“Hmm, you don’t need to look down—I’ll do it for you,” Jiang Xu replied wryly. “Now, hurry up and pull your head back inside. I’m leaving.”

“Oh,” Wen Siyu responded, but she didn’t move.

“I’m really leaving now.”

“Oh.”

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, neither moving.

Unable to hold back, Wen Siyu burst into laughter first: “How childish can you be?!”

Jiang Xu lowered his head slightly: “You close the window first, then I’ll leave.”

Obediently, Wen Siyu closed the window and sat back on the bay window. “Are you sure you’re not coming in today? What happened to facing the execution grounds?”

“Not today—I definitely wouldn’t wear this outfit when meeting national leaders,” Jiang Xu waved at her.

Wen Siyu watched his retreating figure: “Teacher Jiang, are you done filming?”

“Mm, I finished ahead of schedule.”

“So why are we so tragic, like star-crossed lovers who can only gaze at each other through the window?” Wen Siyu sighed deeply. “It must be because there’s a Bull Demon King between us!”

“And who exactly is the Bull Demon King?”

A familiar voice came from the doorway. Wen Siyu froze, not daring to turn around. Instantly, she laughed awkwardly into the phone: “—I have no idea who the Bull Demon King’s dad is! I only know he’s Nezha’s dad!”

With that, she abruptly hung up.

Jiang Xu: “….”

Wen Siyu tossed her phone aside and turned to greet Wen Jingyao with feigned cheerfulness: “Oh! Dad! What’s for dinner today?”

Wen Jingyao looked at her with disdain: “I thought you film directing students also had acting classes. With skills like that, how did you not fail?”

Wen Siyu: “….”

Leaning against the doorframe, Wen Jingyao snorted coldly: “Come down for dinner.”

“Yes!” Wen Siyu obediently ran toward the kitchen. Halfway there, she remembered she hadn’t taken off her coat or scarf. Looking down at the ugly knot tied around her neck, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Her laughter caught Wen Jingyao’s peripheral vision just right. The father looked at his daughter’s foolish grin with disdain: “What’s so funny? Can’t bear to untie it?”

Glancing at the poorly tied scarf, he added with even more disdain: “Are you going to untie it or not? If not, I’ll cut it for you.”

Wen Siyu hastily yanked the scarf off her neck, threw off her coat, and ran to the dining table.

Wen Siyuan had gone to Beijing on a business trip, leaving only father and daughter at home. The three-person portion of instant noodles was reduced to two. Wen Siyu poked at the egg in her bowl and cautiously asked: “Dad, do you think we could switch to Shin Ramyun for dinner from now on?”

Wen Jingyao ignored her. After a moment, he suddenly asked: “Does that guy Jiang Xu know how to cook?”

Wen Siyu’s hand twitched, causing the noodles she was trying to pick up with her chopsticks to slip back into the bowl.

Without thinking, she blurted: “Yes, yes! He’s great at it!”

Wen Jingyao nodded: “Alright. I’ll be leaving on Saturday. Have him come over for dinner Friday night.”

In her mind, Wen Siyu translated this as: Have him come over to cook dinner Friday night.

Then, with a heavy heart, she nodded.

Jiang Xu had just arrived home when he received a WeChat message from Wen Siyu.

He parked the car, turned off the engine, and picked up his phone to open their top-pinned conversation.

The girl had sent only one sentence:

[Teacher Jiang, my dad says to come over Friday night and cook dinner for him to taste.]

Jiang Xu: “….”

Known by many titles such as “Hell’s Chef,” “Kitchen Martyr,” “Microwave Assassin,” and “If you dare eat what I cook, I lose,” Teacher Jiang’s face turned deathly pale as he closed his eyes in despair.