"So, how is it going between you and Miss Xiao?" Song Yiran asked Yan Xiuchen, effectively taking the older man's attention.
Yan Xiuchen shot him a pointed glare, but Song Yiran didn't seem like he was afraid of it.
"Fine." Yan Xiuchen conceded, knowing that Song Yiran wouldn't let him off the hook so easily, unless he talked.
"She's still living with you, then?" Song Yiran persisted in questioning him.
The scarred man could only sigh and run a hand over his face. He was pretty sure that his face was burning with embarrassment. Damn Song Yiran and his big mouth. Did he really need to ask such a question at this time?
All of his brothers were now looking at him, waiting for his answer. Now, the enjoyment he had got tonight had peaked at the door, ready to leave him behind in his own misery.
"She is, but she's in Qiying City at the moment and will return soon."
"Ah, Chen-ge is really into her, huh?" Ning Xuan nudged Zhu Baichuan who only laughed at his reaction. "It seems that we'll get another sister-in-law soon." He added.
Yan Xiuchen huffed and looked away, aware that his face was betraying him at that moment.
Marriage?
Yan Xiuchen had never considered that. Heck, he hadn't given it a thought for a long time, since he had fully resigned to his fate - that he would be alone forever and that no woman would willingly love him and stay by his side - until Xiao Rufeng came along.
When Xiao Rufeng asked him if he could accompany her to meet the rest of his family, the thought of marriage crossed his mind. He wondered if Xiao Rufeng was looking for a long term relationship with him, but he dared not get his hopes up.
'She's afraid that Xiao Yunyao will hurt her if she comes alone.' He tried to reason out.
He thought that neither he nor Xiao Rufeng were ready for marriage, and he wouldn't be that selfish as to ask her to abandon her career and be a housewife instead. He'd seen the passion in her eyes as she talked about the roles she wanted to play in the future and how excited she was to play challenging roles that not many actors would dare to accept.
"Don't be silly." Song Yiran hummed as he swirled the bourbon in his glass. "Xiao Rufeng is an actress and although Chen-ge could give her anything she wants, I bet she's as prideful as Su Xiaofei who won't allow a man to splurge money on her."
"How do you know about that?" Yan Xiuchen asked in surprise.
Was he really that predictable to his brothers? Even Lu Qingfeng, who was closest to him amongst his brothers, never questioned him about Xiao Rufeng.
Indeed, he had tried giving Xiao Rufeng expensive gifts throughout the past weeks, but he would always find the same thing on his desk in the morning with a "Thank You" note from her.
"You did try to give her something!" Song Yiran burst into a round of laughter.
"Of course he did." Zhu Baichuan commented. "It's normal for him to try to leave a good impression on Miss Xiao."
Li Xiran remained silent. He wasn't really good at interacting with women, so he couldn't comment about Yan Xiuchen's relationship with Xiao Rufeng. Even he was having a hard time chasing after Xi Qian who had been avoiding him like a plague for weeks.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ning Xuan commented. "It means that Xiao Rufeng isn't staying with Chen-ge because of his money, but because she really likes him as he is. It's rare to find a woman who wouldn't scale your value based on what you could offer to her."
The rest of them fell silent at that. Given their current status, it was indeed hard for them to find a partner who would be truthful to them and could look past what they are and accept them for who they are.
"That's true. I hope things will get better for you and Miss Xiao then." Zhu Baichuan said.
The scarred man only nodded. He was glad when their conversation shifted to business talks, much to his relief. He didn't know how long he would be able to take it if Song Yiran continued with his probing about his current relationship with Xiao Rufeng.
Thinking about her made Yan Xiuchen miss her more. She had gone to Qiying City a week ago, and what was supposed to be a three-day trip was extended to a week. Waiting for her return had put him on edge these days, and he'd been staring into nothing, hoping that time would go faster.
Yan Xiuchen had prided himself as a person with a lot of patience, but waiting for her return had made him more anxious than what his work could ever make him. Days and nights felt longer without her by his side and while he knew that he hadn't given her a clear answer to her recent request, he was already looking forward to what awaits them in the future.
'Perhaps I should give her my answer once she's back.'
He glanced at the time on his watch. The flowers should have been delivered to her suite by now, and he hoped that she would love them.
"Ah, hell. He's smiling again." Song Yiran groaned, the alcohol was starting to affect his mind. "I probably should start getting used to seeing Chen-ge smiling more from now on."
Yan Xiuchen grunted, wondering why Song Yiran couldn't leave him alone.
"Stop complaining. You just haven't found the right woman for you, despite being flocked by women." He glared at him.
"Sorry, Chen-ge, but I have no interest whatsoever in being tied down by marriage."
Song Yiran then leaned close to Yan Xiuchen and slid a small box into the latter's coat pocket.
"I bet you won't stay a <anno data-annotation-id="323ce171-97a2-a7e6-ad08-b6eeede1fe15">cherry boy</anno> for too long. This might come in handy." He said with a wink.
<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="323ce171-97a2-a7e6-ad08-b6eeede1fe15">slang. A term originating from Japan that is slang for a male who has no experience in sexual intercourse and activities.</li></ol></annotations>",
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only