She's Too Sweet - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
As Su He rushed out, the rain had already begun to fall. Her heart felt as cold as the drizzling rain, and she buried herself in the downpour, unable to bear her own softness any longer.
The rain soaking her only added to the chill.
Images flashed through her mind—both good and bad, past and present. The pain of gaining and then losing was doubled. As she approached the bus stop, she dashed forward. But after just a couple of steps, someone pulled her back by the arm, and she found herself pushed against the bus stop sign.
When she looked up through her wet hair, she saw Xie Lou’s angry face staring back at her.
He gripped her chin.
Seeing the tears glistening in her eyes made Xie Lou’s throat tighten; his demeanor softened. He reached out and brushed aside the wet strands of hair from her forehead, his gaze deepening. “Are you trying to throw your life away?”
Su He was taken aback. Why was he here?
Feeling embarrassed, she struggled against him. “Let go of me.”
Her breath came heavily from running, and with the rain pouring down, the bus stop felt quiet and ethereal. Xie Lou was panting but didn’t respond to her words; naturally, he didn’t let go of her either.
He simply squinted at her intently.
Su He wasn’t crying, but the rain had made her eyes red and glistening.
Xie Lou’s gaze roamed over her face—inch by inch—while Su He continued to bite her lip in defiance. Her long eyelashes framed a face that looked both delicate and resolute, with a fierce glint in her eyes as she stared back at him.
To him, those eyes resembled water.
He watched for what felt like an eternity.
Su He struggled for just as long.
Finally, his gaze drifted downward to her white shirt, where it clung to her curves.
Following his line of sight, Su He glanced down too.
Two seconds later, she fought harder against him. “Get lost—”
She snapped at him angrily.
Xie Lou didn’t budge; instead, he coldly shifted his gaze away and shoved a small bag into her arms. “Hold this; I’ll take you home.”
With that, he dragged her toward the parking lot before she could protest.
Su He stumbled along behind him, clutching the bag tightly as she blurredly watched his broad back.
After a long moment, Su He exhaled deeply.
She regained some composure.
* * * * * * * * * *
When they reached the car, Xie Lou opened the door with one hand while using the other to guide her inside. But as he lifted her up, he noticed their fingers were intertwined.
In that downpour, their hands were tightly clasped together.
Su He realized it too.
She pulled away abruptly.
The parking lot was quiet; outside Yu Lou Pavilion was even quieter.
Xie Lou stared at their joined hands for a long time before finally releasing her grip.
After pulling her hand back, Su He rubbed it against her damp skirt.
Xie Lou lowered his gaze and glanced at her before saying softly, “Get in.”
Once inside the car, both seemed to settle down. The sound of rain drummed on the roof while warmth mixed with dampness filled the air inside.
Xie Lou casually grabbed a black towel from the back seat—still unopened—and tossed it to Su He.
Without hesitation, she took it and wiped her neck and face dry. Once finished, she turned to look at Xie Lou. He was half-turned away from her, his eyes lowered as he regarded her.
Su He blinked instinctively. “Do you… need a towel?”
Her rain-washed eyes sparkled like crystal under the dim light.
Xie Lou raised an eyebrow. “You can keep it.”
That was it.
He glanced at her one last time before gripping the steering wheel and starting the engine.
The black sedan rolled out of its parking spot and onto the road.
The rain showed no signs of letting up; if anything, it intensified. The road became hard to see as Xie Lou eased off the accelerator slightly.
Su He watched him drive in silence.
After a brief pause, she said, “Take me to East Huadong Old Town.”
Xie Lou rested one hand on the window frame lazily while propping his chin on it. At her words, he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. “East Huadong Old Town?”
Su He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Is that where your old house used to be?” he asked casually.
She nodded again.
Xie Lou smirked slightly. “That’s pretty close.”
The way he said “close” carried a deeper meaning than just distance.
Su He rolled her eyes internally while gripping the towel tightly in her hands.
He wore a black shirt that was now completely soaked through; his figure was well-defined beneath it with muscles subtly visible. Su He diverted her gaze outside at the rainy night when suddenly her phone rang from inside her bag.
The ringtone blared harshly. She pulled out the phone for a quick glance before stuffing it back into her bag; when it continued ringing, she tapped on it and turned it off completely.
Her expression turned icy as she clenched her jaw slightly.
As they paused at a red light for a moment, Xie Lou glanced over at her again.
The light reflected off of her profile as raindrops clung to her lashes; her lips were pressed tightly together as if holding back something profound.
His gaze swept past her small bag before moving away as he focused intently on the road ahead of them.
He didn’t ask any questions whatsoever.
And she didn’t feel inclined to say anything either.
* * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived in Old Town, the rain had lessened somewhat. It was difficult to find a place to park; Xie Lou chose a spot near a street vendor selling skewers and said, “There’s no umbrella in here; use the towel for cover—it’s not far from your house, right? Hmm?”
Su He glanced at him. “Not far. I’m sorry for getting your car wet, and thank you for bringing me back.”
She managed both an apology and gratitude in one breath.
Xie Lou smiled slightly and leaned back in his seat as if resting against the steering wheel. “No problem; I’ll just deduct cleaning costs from your paycheck.”
Su He replied with an exasperated sigh. “…Fine.”
Then she opened the car door and hurried into the diminishing rain before dashing up the stairs to her home.
Before long, Xie Lou’s black sedan drove away from its spot too.
* * * * * * * * * *
Once inside, Su He immediately felt cold. Rain during this season always brought a chill with it. She quickly stripped off her soaked clothes and headed for a shower.
Half an hour later, she emerged wrapped in a towel and sat on the couch drying her hair while using one hand to rummage through her damp bag and empty its contents onto the table.
Although the bag was waterproof, some water had seeped through the zipper anyway.
Her lipstick and phone were both dampened; Su He retrieved her phone and wiped it dry carefully.
As she did so, she paused momentarily when recalling how Xie Lou had run out without an umbrella to pull her back earlier.
Was that intentional?
Or merely coincidental?
Or perhaps just incidental?
Regardless of how it happened, he had gotten soaked—and completely so—seemingly because of her presence in that rainstorm.
After pondering for a while longer, she pressed the power button on her phone to turn it on again after having switched it off earlier due to annoyance at all those notifications flooding in from WeChat messages and missed calls from Wang Hui. The last message read: “I’m back in B City now; your sister has a fever. I’ll come visit you another day.”
Another message followed: “Don’t be mad; Mom only wants what’s best for you—she wants you to find a good family to marry into. I don’t want you living like I do now.”
If Su Yushu hadn’t gone bankrupt or fallen ill or passed away altogether, Wang Hui could have held things together better. But once he ran into trouble—she hastily found another man to marry who happened to be Su He’s first love too.
But not every man can provide Wang Hui with a comfortable life.
At least not Su He’s first love.
Su He had no intention of replying to Wang Hui’s messages.
Instead, she found Xie Lou’s number in contacts; after staring at it for quite some time, she finally dialed him up.
This would be only one of many firsts for calling him.
It connected quickly.
Xie Lou answered lazily with his low voice drifting through: “Hmm?”
Su He took a sip of hot water before quietly asking: “How… are you?”
“What do you mean?” His tone grew even more languid as if uninterested. “Are you concerned about me?”
Feeling awkwardness creep in again after hearing that question made Su He mumble an affirmative response.
On his end came a low chuckle—a sound that felt both teasing yet mocking—before he replied lazily: “I’m fine; just took a shower.”
Su He replied: “Then get some rest early tonight; drink some ginger tea before bed.”
“Why would I?” he scoffed lightly.
Su He: “……”
“It’s quite simple,” Su He stood up and walked over towards the window side while explaining: “Slice ginger into pieces; boil them with water until bubbling then add some brown sugar before pouring out—it’s ready for drinking…”
While saying this aloud, it made Su He think about sending him detailed instructions via WeChat afterward.
By the time she’d finished explaining everything thoroughly,
Silence fell on his end.
Surprised by this sudden quietness too,
Just as she prepared herself again for another attempt at conversation,
Xie Lou’s voice came through coldly from across their connection.
“Just sleep.”
Then he hung up abruptly.
Su He: “……?”