Yan was taken aback; she didn’t expect Xiao Su to take off his coat and drape it over her shoulders. The coat, which still retained some warmth having just been taken off from his body, gave her an extra layer of warmth when it was draped over her.
After a few stunned moments, her awareness returned, and she instinctively glanced over at Han Qing. Han Qing stood there impassively, seeming oblivious about Xiao Su’s actions.
She couldn’t help feeling disappointed. However, it was Han Qing after all. So, she didn’t think too much of it. He might not be bothered, but that doesn’t mean she wanted to let things continue that way. Therefore, she flashed a grateful smile at Xiao Su. “Thank you, but I’m not cold.”
After saying that, she took off the coat and returned it to Xiao Su. Her intentions behind her actions were blatant. Having failed to hide her feelings when she glanced toward Han Qing, how could Xiao Su not understand what her actions were trying to portray? She returned the coat to him because she was afraid Han Qing would misunderstand the situation. It didn’t matter to her whether Han Qing actually cared or not; she was still unwilling to put on the coat.
Heh. All of a sudden, Xiao Su found the whole thing rather ridiculous. Just because you like someone, you’d neglect your own body? Will you continue with this farce even though the other party doesn’t even care enough to glance in your direction? Standing there with an indifferent look on his face, he didn’t take his coat back from her.
At first, she assumed that he would take the coat back from her. After all, the weather was quite cold; he would have felt the cold after taking off his jacket, so wouldn’t getting it back be a good thing? However, he never reached out his hand to take the coat off her. She felt that it was a little strange. “Hurry up and take it. I’m returning it to you. You should wear it yourself. Don’t catch a cold because of this.”
Yet, he refused to take it back. Yan was dumbstruck. “Xiao Su?”
Jason, who had followed everyone else out, stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Watching the scene unfolding before him with amusement, his eyes glinted mockingly. Now isn’t this fun? Although Xiao Su likes this girl, she has no interest in him. Jeez, just what day is it today? I can’t believe I get to witness so much drama! Tsk-tsk! Although he kept shaking his head in his heart, a faint smile inadvertently played across the corners of his mouth—he found this extremely entertaining.
Xiao Su refused to accept his coat back, but they couldn’t maintain a stalemate for long. Noticing Yan staring at him unblinkingly, he stiffly told her, “I gave you the coat, so it belongs to you now. If you don’t feel cold, then just throw it away.”
Yan was confused. What is going on? Didn’t he just drape this over my shoulders? He lent it to me, right? Why would I throw it away? What kind of insane reasoning is this? She was utterly dumbfounded, but he had already turned his head away, clearly indicating that he didn’t want to discuss it further. It seemed as if he didn’t want his coat back anymore.
“Are you crazy?” Even with Han Qing here, she couldn’t stop herself from muttering. It’s a perfectly good coat; why does he want me to throw it away? It’s not as if I’m poisonous or something.
Yeah, I’m crazy. Xiao Su agreed in his heart. He was crazy to do this in front of that guy. Under normal circumstances, if she didn’t want the coat, he probably would have taken it back immediately. However, in front of Han Qing, Xiao Su felt a need to compete with him.
Despite how much Yan liked him, the guy would not even bat an eye at her. What is so great about a man like that? Xiao Su did what he did just now for two reasons. Firstly, he did not want her to catch a cold again. Secondly, he wished he could make Han Qing understand something: Yan was a cute girl that many others were interested in. If he didn’t cherish her, or if he didn’t feel anything for her, then she would be snatched away soon. These were things that Xiao Su was trying to express, but he didn’t know whether Han Qing had understood his intentions.
However, Yan was not aware of his intentions. After accusing him of being crazy, she threw the coat at him. “This is yours! It hasn’t even been in my hands for more than a minute. Why are you asking me to throw it away? Let me tell you: if you don’t want this coat anymore, then throw it away for yourself. I won’t do something as dishonest as that.”
The coat was thrown back at him, but he ignored it. It fell to the icy floor with a thud. Shocked, Yan looked at him incredulously. “You really don’t want it anymore?”
Giving her an indifferent look, Xiao Su pursed his lips and walked over to the other side silently.
She was speechless. There’s something wrong with this guy, isn’t there? Not to mention he’s the kind that’s difficult to manage! After scathingly complaining about him in her heart, she snorted and decided to ignore him. He was the one who gave her his coat anyway; it wasn’t as if she snatched it off his hands. Take it or leave it; it’s up to you.
Their surroundings seemed to fall into a weird silence—the atmosphere here was even scarier than the one inside just now.
The helpers, who were called out by Jason to lend a hand, had felt that they were about to freeze from the frigid atmosphere inside, so they escaped outside. Unfortunately, after coming outside, they again came across another dramatic scene. These people sure know how to keep things interesting.
The crowd silently shifted their feet and slipped away. On the other hand, Jason had been watching it all in a leisurely manner with an amused smile on his lips.
Soon, Yan began to feel distressed about it all. No matter how she put it, Xiao Su had taken off his coat for her, yet she had refused it in front of everyone by saying she wasn’t cold and tried to return the coat to him. Then, he suddenly started sulking. Don’t tell me it’s because I had hurt his ego?
As she pondered it, she felt that it was quite possible. After all, with so many people around, perhaps he felt his masculinity had been attacked, and that was why… She turned her head to look back at the coat; after being thrown on the floor, it lay there pitifully. He had done it out of kindness, yet, not only did she not appreciate his gesture, she instead threw his coat onto the dirty floor. If this was something someone else had done, she would have told that person off for being ungrateful, so much so that that person would be covered in her spit by now.
Yan hurriedly stepped forward and picked the coat up. Then, she patted off the dust as best as she could. Walking up to Xiao Su, she hesitantly spoke up, “I’m sorry. I know you were worried about my health. I was too impulsive just now. The weather is quite cold, so you should put it back on. I’ve tried to remove the dust on it as best as I could. It was wrong of me to throw it onto the ground just now; I’ll clean it for you when we get back.”
Her voice had become much gentler while speaking to him. Even Xiao Su, whose heart had hardened, melted slightly at her words. At the end of the day, she was still the person he liked. Even though he had been furious just now, when she spoke so gently to him, no matter how furious he had been, the flames were instantly extinguished.
Xiao Su glanced at her, then mulled over it for a bit. “Forget it; I don’t blame you. If you’re not disgusted by the coat, then please put it on. I don’t have any other motives attached to this gesture. If you were to get sick again, Young Master Ye would have to find a doctor for you. Young Lady Ye would be worried about you too.”
