“There’s nothing to be shy about holding hands, and you did it in front of the Supreme Commander…, how…, at least restrain yourself a little.” Spending time with him could really train her mental tolerance capacity; Ye Jian glanced at their interlocked fingers, well now there’s no need to pull away. However, she still had to make things clear, “You already made me surprised with that; I’m not used to doing stuff like holding hands when elders are present.”
She wasn’t angry and was indeed not used to it.
Xia Jinyuan kissed the back of her hand, “Everything requires a process to get used to it, I’m only going to hold your hand, and I won’t do anything else, deal?” So thin-skinned, that needed to be improved.
“Are you sure?” Ye Jian didn’t believe him; she already had her share of him taking any advantage he could.
With his guilty conscience being prodded, Xia Jinyuan immediately changed the topic, “Come on; I’ll show you around. The old man’s right; in the future, if I’m not home, you could still return by yourself.”
Before leaving, Ye Jian suddenly heard something slamming down hard from upstairs; Xia Jinyuan raised his head and glanced upstairs… the sound didn’t come from the study. Instead, it seemed to come from the bedroom.
Being a little worried, Xia Jinyuan, whose brows furrowed together, spoke quietly: “Wait a while, I’m going to ask the security.”
With her heart tensed once more, Ye Jian quickly nodded her head and motioned him to hurry and take a look,… Uncle’s temper already flared up; something must’ve happened.
She assumed it was going to take a while, who would’ve known in less than three minutes, the man who had left had returned to the living room, oh dear, even him whose eyes usually carried a smile was now looking a little glum.
Ye Jian was also getting increasingly uneasy, but she also knew she wasn’t the reason.
Only after walking out did Ye Jian know why his expression looked a little glum; it turns out Supreme Commander Xia’s ex-wife, Ms. Xiao, had come over to the compound but was refused entry, at noon today, she went straight to the Xia family’s estate and disturbed Grandma’s peace and quiet.
“The amount of trouble she brings every time she comes back isn’t a joke; after disturbing everyone and spoiling their moods, she’ll clap her hands and take off and not bear any responsibility as per usual.” Xia Jinyuan finished coldly, then with a self-composed face, “Let’s not talk about her, come, I’ll show you where I used to go when I was little.”
“One was the playground, where I was punished the most; one was the Banyan forest, where a bunch of us used to play cop vs. robbers…”
He stopped mentioning Ms. Xiao, and Ye Jian wouldn’t ask about that in detail, listening to him speaking about his childhood events. She then laughed as she asked questions; very quickly, the man beside her had returned into the handsome, smiling, graceful prince.
The compound was mostly occupied by the highest leaders of the capital, and most of them were high-ranking generals in the military; Xia Jinyuan didn’t bring her too far and only walked around nearby.
Because it was Sunday, they had encountered quite a few acquaintances who knew Xia Jinyuan during their short walk; it was good that they weren’t holding hands and were chatting whilst walking, whenever they met an acquaintance, he introduced her as a junior from school who came to the capital for an internship, and didn’t directly introduce Ye Jian as his girlfriend.
Cadets of Military Academies have to abide by the rules, although he could act a little wantonly at home. Still, after reaching outside, Xia Jinyuan was very respectful of Ye Jian’s reputation and didn’t want her to be criticized yet again.
“I’m not free tonight, my junior from school has come to visit, so I’ll have to do my best as a local; we can go drinking; next time I have a vacation, I’ll definitely come to find you guys.” Xia Jinyuan smiled while politely declining their invitations; after chatting with them for a while, he brought Ye Jian back home.
The ones who invited him for a drink were his peers; though their relationship wasn’t as solid as with Han Zheng’s, they still got along quite well.
“They couldn’t be counted as the ones who had truly grown up in the courtyard, some of them come here in their teens with their parents, although we know each other, but I wouldn’t say our relationship is solid, you could call it a friendship between gentlemen.”
