My Gorgeous Neighbor Is Cooking Every Day - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The departure of Xiao Jiang left both Xia Xingye and Jiang Yingyue with a sense of reluctance.

Now, in each other’s presence, they no longer concealed their emotions.

The two guarded Xiao Jiang for a day before accepting the reality of its departure.

Xia Xingye clung to Jiang Yingyue even more tightly than before, and Jiang Yingyue allowed her to.

At night, Xia Xingye’s hands restlessly explored, but Jiang Yingyue sat up, pulled the blanket, and wrapped her up completely.

Lying down, she said matter-of-factly: “You have class tomorrow.”

“So what if I have class tomorrow? I’m a college student.” She meant something more with that statement.

Jiang Yingyue glanced at her, withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes, and said: “Yes, you are a college student.”

She only repeated the phrase. Xia Xingye waited for her to continue, but after a long wait, nothing followed.

She twisted and turned in dissatisfaction, saying: “I’m already a college student, not a child. If I have class tomorrow, I have class. I can manage my time and won’t delay my studies.”

Jiang Yingyue was quiet, eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

Xia Xingye felt frustrated but couldn’t say anything, wanting to call Jiang Yingyue, but not wanting to disturb her sleep.

All her thoughts finally culminated in a long sigh of helplessness. She moved closer to Jiang Yingyue, snuggling against her, and only then closed her eyes in peace.

When she woke up the next morning, Jiang Yingyue had already prepared breakfast, her face looking radiant, indicating she had slept genuinely well last night.

Xia Xingye yawned, gnawing on her breakfast, her gaze fixed on Jiang Yingyue.

The intense gaze was almost substantial, drawing heat toward Jiang Yingyue.

Jiang Yingyue asked helplessly: “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Xia Xingye said, her tone carrying a hint of accusation.

Despite this, Jiang Yingyue pretended not to notice.

Seeing Xia Xingye eating slowly, she even urged her: “Hurry up, you’ll be late for your 8 a.m. class.”

“You know about the 8 a.m. class?” Xia Xingye widened her eyes in surprise.

Jiang Yingyue hadn’t attended university, so she shouldn’t know the term ‘8 a.m. class’.

Her eyes lit up, and she asked expectantly: “Sister, did you research university because of me?”

For the old Jiang Yingyue, she really wouldn’t have known when university classes started, but her last job involved university matters, so she had learned a little.

She knew exactly what Xia Xingye wanted to hear now. She lied against her conscience: “Yes, I researched university because of you.”

If it made Xia Xingye happy, telling a lie occasionally was fine.

Jiang Yingyue, who always believed lying was irresponsible to both oneself and others, convinced herself to lie in just two seconds.

Xia Xingye, who was already feeling down about last night, immediately tossed all her worries away upon hearing this, happily clearing the remnants of their meal.

Before leaving, she hugged Jiang Yingyue tightly: “I’m off to class. Wait for me to come back tonight.”

She had classes all day today. Xia Xingye was glad she didn’t have night classes, so she could still come back to have dinner with Jiang Yingyue.

If possible, she even wanted to come back during lunchtime, but her return would worry Jiang Yingyue, who might even bring lunch to school for her.

Xia Xingye felt wonderful about Jiang Yingyue’s kindness.

But if the condition for her kindness was that Jiang Yingyue had to work hard, Xia Xingye would rather Jiang Yingyue not be so kind to her.

All day in class, Xia Xingye’s mind was preoccupied with various thoughts.

She had now established a relationship with Jiang Yingyue and could no longer be as willful as before.

But she still needed to give Jiang Yingyue a sense of ceremony, as well as a sense of ceremony for herself.

The moment school ended, she rushed to the flower shop.

She didn’t know much about flowers, so she told the owner her intention and let him arrange the bouquet.

The owner finished arranging a bouquet and handed it to her.

Xia Xingye didn’t know the flowers and didn’t know their names.

Before leaving, she saw a strange-looking flower, which reminded her of Xiao Jiang. She asked the owner without thinking: “Please wrap this one for me too.”

The owner wrapped the flower for Xia Xingye and asked with a smile: “Do you have a date?”

Xia Xingye nodded proudly: “Yes, I have a date.”

The owner was a little surprised, saying: “It’s rare to see a girl buying flowers.”

“Shouldn’t it be? Aren’t there many girls who like flowers?”

“I spoke carelessly,” the owner didn’t argue, smiling. “It used to be rare. When my mom ran the shop, business wasn’t that good. Business has been much better in recent years. Many girls buy flowers for themselves. But aren’t you buying them for your lover?”

Xia Xingye didn’t hide anything: “Yes, I’m buying flowers for my lover. My lover is a girl.”

“I wish you happiness,” the owner said with a smile, offering a blessing.

The owner’s ordinary treatment made Xia Xingye even happier.

Holding the flowers, Xia Xingye saw strawberries being sold on the way and bought some on a whim.

Jiang Yingyue didn’t have any particular preferences, eating almost anything.

Xia Xingye had no doubt that before meeting her, Jiang Yingyue ate just to fill her stomach, not to enjoy the food.

Now that she was here, she hoped Jiang Yingyue could enjoy all the beautiful things in the world, including delicious food.

If Jiang Yingyue didn’t know what she liked, Xia Xingye would buy her things to try little by little until she found out what Jiang Yingyue enjoyed.

Today was Friday, and there were many people heading home. Even taking the bus, there was a high chance of getting stuck in traffic.

There was a shared bicycle nearby. Xia Xingye hesitated for a moment, then scanned a shared bicycle.

Riding a shared bicycle was compact. Even in traffic, as long as it wasn’t completely jammed, she could get through.

She put the strawberries in the front basket, holding the flowers with one hand and the bicycle handlebar with the other.

There was no traffic, and Xia Xingye rode quickly, wishing she could fly home immediately. But for safety reasons, and knowing that Jiang Yingyue would be sad if she got hurt, she controlled her speed, staying within a safe limit.

Hustling and bustling, she reached the complex and headed straight for Jiang Yingyue’s door.

She took out her key, hesitated for a moment, put the key back in her pocket, and knocked on the door. Her hands held the flowers, and a box of packaged strawberries hung from her elbow. She wanted to give Jiang Yingyue a surprise.

She waited for a while, but the door didn’t open. Xia Xingye paused, clearing her throat: “Sister, I’m home.”

Still no sound from inside.

Xia Xingye frowned. Usually, Jiang Yingyue would come to open the door when she heard her voice, even if she had her key.

But now Jiang Yingyue wasn’t coming, making her feel inexplicably uneasy.

She called out again: “Sister, I left my key at school. Can you open the door?”

Xia Xingye counted the time in her heart. After counting sixty seconds without a response, she grew anxious, pulled out her key, and opened the door directly.

The clean and tidy house was a mess. There were signs of a struggle on the floor.

The bouquet in her hands fell to the ground, and the strawberries in the box she held dropped as her hand lowered, the soft strawberries oozing some red juice.

Xia Xingye rushed into the house.

There was no one in the bedroom, bathroom, or balcony.

The traces were most noticeable in the center of the living room. Someone had clearly fought here, and there was cinnabar on the sofa.

Xia Xingye instinctively searched for Xiao Jiang.

The potted plant was on the balcony. Xia Xingye picked up Xiao Jiang and asked: “Where is Sister?”

Only after asking did she remember that Xiao Jiang couldn’t answer her question now.

She called out unwillingly: “Xiao Jiang, wake up, help me one last time.”

Xiao Jiang had the closest relationship with Jiang Yingyue. If she asked Xiao Jiang where Jiang Yingyue went, Xiao Jiang would definitely know.

But all that awaited her was a long silence.

Her heart was beating unusually fast.

Xia Xingye’s hand trembled as she took out her phone and dialed Jiang Yingyue’s number, but she heard a cold, mechanical voice: “The number you dialed is currently turned off.”

She dropped the phone and ran out, vaguely hearing a small, familiar voice coming from the balcony.

She stumbled back. Xiao Jiang’s weak voice came from the potted plant.

A pulsating pain radiated from her temples, accompanied by a dull, lingering ache in the back of her head.

Jiang Yingyue struggled to open her eyes. In front of her was dirt. Her cheek was scraped and smarted with pain.

She moved slightly. Her hands and feet were tied. She strained her shoulders several times to sit up.

She was confined in a cave-like place, with no natural light visible from outside. She didn’t know how deep the cave was, and in front of her was an iron railing.

Jiang Yingyue frowned.

She had heard a knock at the door at home. Only Xia Xingye would come to see her, so she opened the door without hesitation.

But when she opened the door, a stick swung at her. She barely dodged, and the person at the door kicked her, the impact sending her stumbling to the ground.

Then three people rushed in. They held sticks, and one held a long knife, slowly closing in on her.

Jiang Yingyue frowned: “Who are you?”

The other party clearly had no intention of answering, immediately swinging a stick at her.

Jiang Yingyue was prepared. After dodging, she quickly grabbed the person’s wrist and squeezed hard, causing the person to drop the stick in pain. She snatched the stick and swung it at the person across from her.

After one person fell, a long knife immediately swung at her.

Jiang Yingyue raised the stick, which was sliced off. She sidestepped, her sleeve was half cut off, and her arm stung with pain.

She didn’t have time to worry about her injuries.

The person with the long knife asked: “Are you coming with us willingly, or do you want us to beat you up first and then come with us honestly?”

Jiang Yingyue frowned, looking at them.

Seeing her remain silent, the long knife swung at her leg again. Jiang Yingyue dodged. The person she had struck earlier got back up, and another person with an iron rod also swung at her.

One person was no match for three.

Jiang Yingyue grabbed cinnabar from her embrace and scattered it.

“Ah!”

The cinnabar bought her a moment. She ran toward the door but heard the person behind her say: “You have a friend who attends university.”

Jiang Yingyue paused. In that brief moment of hesitation, she was hit hard in the back of the head.

A dull pain made her vision instantly black out, and she lost consciousness.

“You’re awake?”

Jiang Yingyue looked up. The person who had come was the one with the long knife earlier, seemingly the leader of the three.

Jiang Yingyue looked at him coldly.

The long knife curled his lips into a smile: “Don’t you have anything to ask?”

Jiang Yingyue didn’t speak.

The long knife didn’t care whether she spoke or not, saying carelessly: “Don’t worry about your friend’s safety. No one in this world will remember your existence.”

His words failed to provoke any reaction, which annoyed him. He said fiercely: “No one will remember you, not even your best friend will remember your existence.”

“Who are you?”

Jiang Yingyue asked calmly. She didn’t believe Xia Xingye would forget her. Even if everyone else forgot her, Xia Xingye wouldn’t.

As long as they didn’t harm Xia Xingye, she had nothing to fear.

But she had to solve the current problem quickly. Xia Xingye would worry if she couldn’t find her.

The long knife looked at her for a while, then said indifferently: “What’s the use of asking so many questions? No one is coming. You can’t escape.”

“And like I said, no one will remember you.”