Chapter 261 It's Just a Formality

It was almost 11 p.m. when Xia Yu left Zhang Yuan's house. Xia Yu decided not to make the next stop. As she turned around the car and started to go back to the company, the front tire of her car blew.

This was a new community with no car repair shop close by. Depressed, Xia Yu drove the car next to a big tree on the roadside and didn't know what to do with the flat tire.

At that moment, Shen Yan called and asked her where she was.

Xia Yu kicked the tire twice and said, "I had a flat tire!"

"Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm in front of the Xin Rui community and there is no car repair shop nearby!" Xia Yu almost cried, expecting Shen Yan to save her from this situation.

"Then change it yourself! Your trunk should have a spare tire. What is the use of crying?" He said coldly. Xia Yu suspected that his personality schizophrenia had just reoccurred.

What the hell?! I am a delicate girl, and you ask me to change the tire myself?! Can you say something to comfort me at least? Xia Yu grievously held the phone and did not know what to say.

"There is a spare tire, a jack, and a wrench in your trunk. If you don't know how to change your tire, just do some researches online. You probably never changed a tire before, but you definitely saw this process before, right? You're on the way every day! You must learn these skills!" Shen Yan was almost scolding. He thought girls were so fussy that they couldn't even think of searching the Internet to solve the problem?

"OK!" Xia Yu hung up the phone with her teeth clenched while opening her trunk and looking for new tools she had never used before.

This morning, she was so moved by Shen Yan to the point of crying out loudly, but now he didn't care about her anymore! What kind of boyfriend was he? Jesus!

Stopped daydreaming! He was not qualified to be her boyfriend. Xia Yu would choose anyone except him‒she made a decision over a split second.

After over half an hour of hard labor, Xia Yu successfully changed her tire. Fortunately, Xia Yu found shade under a tree, without which she could be severely dehydrated. Now, she'd been exposed to the sun for only half an hour, but she looked quite muddy because of the mud and the sweat.

Being only half-alive, she returned to the company unkemptly. Fang Feifei asked, "Were you robbed?"

"Almost, can’t be worse." Xia Yu answered while pushing open her office door. It was fortunate that she had spare clothes in her office. Otherwise, she had to go home to change.

Xia Yu felt a bit more comfortable after a shower, in her changed clothes. Before she could properly sit down, Shen Yan called and asked her to come over.

Xia Yu saw Shen Yan was sitting on the sofa with all his high spirits, crossing his legs. She couldn't help getting angry at him when she thought of her earlier predicament compared with Shen Yan's current comfort. Xia Yu then rolled her eyes at him.

Shen Yan ignored her anger and walked over with a smile. He scanned her appearance, fondled her head, and asked, "You changed your tire? You changed it yourself?"

With her hands on her hips, Xia Yu yelled, "Yes, I changed it myself! A lady's hands can change not only the diapers, but also the tires!" She learned the last line from a film. She furiously took a grand stare at him.

"Normally, it takes only fifteen minutes to change a tire, and you take nearly an hour. What's the point to be proud of? I am almost starving to death while waiting for you!" Shen Yan raised his wrist and took a look at his watch. It was over 12 p.m.

Xia Yu was furious! How could he say that? Did he know how to cherish his girlfriend? She passed over a despicable look at Shen Yan, "No wonder you couldn't find a girlfriend! If men like you could have girlfriends, that'd be a miracle!"

The smile on Shen Yan's face froze. He frowned and stared at Xia Yu, "You're not my girlfriend?"

Who permitted him to speak like this? Xia Yu's fury carried on, "Do you know how to be a boyfriend? You are sitting comfortably on your sofa, crossing your legs while I am doing the hard labor to change my tires. Let's not talk about you not helping me, but you complain that I am too slow and that I disrupt your lunch schedule? Why do I deserve all these?"

Somehow, Xia Yu was losing her temper as she was speaking. She felt she'd been wronged.

Shen Yan grinned at Xia Yu for a while, "You’ve watched too many soap operas, haven't you? Do you catch the female version of Peter Pan syndrome, aka, the "Princess Syndrome"? You think your boyfriend is an omnipotent superman who can show up and solve all of your problems when you call his name three times?"

Such an unreasonable guy! Xia Yu was so angry that she couldn't spare a word.

Shen Yan did not intend to drop this topic, "This time your tires went flat in front of this community which is a rather safe place. I mean, what's the downside of learning changing tires yourself? Besides, I remember someone said, 'What's wrong with women' and ‘Don't you eat meals cooked by women if you are capable enough' yesterday?"

You cheap man! This was her boyfriend, her future husband, and her companion for the rest of her life?

Xia Yu was standing face-to-face with Shen Yan. She stared at him and spoke with clear articulation, "Get out of here!"

After saying this, Xia Yu realized that it was she who needed to get out because she was standing in Shen Yan's office.

As Xia Yu was walking away, her arm was pulled by someone, "Don't go. Let’s have lunch! You must be hungry."

Xia Yu turned around and realized that the table was full of dishes. There were three home-cooked dishes and one soup, all of which were Xia Yu's favorites.

He held her hand and pulled her onto a seat. He handed her a bowl of soup, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said you were too slow in changing your tire. I was just joking! Please, don't be angry at me! You know how to change tires. You're great!"

"Don't be fake!" Xia Yu softened a little when Shen Yan was showing consideration to her. She grinned a little while looking at the soup in front of her.

Shen Yan blew to cool a spoonful of soup before passing it to Xia Yu's mouth, "I heard this restaurant was famous for their soup. Give it a try?"

Xia Yu didn't drink the soup. She looked at him and said, "You think I'd forgive you over a bowl of soup. It'd be too easy, wouldn't it?"

Shen Yan smiled and put the spoon back to the bowl. Just like magic, he pulled a bouquet under the table and reached for Xia Yu's shoulder, "Plus this. Would it work?"

"You!" Xia Yu looked at the flowers in his hand and was somewhat stunned. How could it be? He was supposed to be busy persuading those middle-level cadres who handed over resignation letters or be busy at work in the company. How did he find the time to buy flowers?

Xia Yu was slow to realize that she regarded Shen Yan as her boyfriend when they quarreled earlier.

Xia Yu felt ashamed over the fact that she didn't even agree to be Shen Yan's girlfriend. He'd be laughing at her face in the future, saying that she played hard to get, or she was unreasonable.

Shen Yan seemingly knew what Xia Yu was thinking. He pulled her over and made her face him, "Don't go back on your word! I’ve taken your word as you’ve agreed to be my girlfriend and I’ve recorded it! If you dare to go back on your word..."

"What?" Xia Yu stared at him and didn't like what she heard.

"OK, that means I didn't do enough. I'll keep courting you!" Xia Yu wished she could bite Shen Yan given his serious look.

"Well, let's eat! The dishes will be cold soon! Come on. Open your mouth, ah!" He took a spoonful of rice and handed it to Xia Yu's mouth.

The dignified Young Master Yan was feeding Xia Yu now. Xia Yu's fury started to disappear. Plus, she was already hungry as she spent so much energy on changing that tire, so she ate a lot eventually.

After the meal, Xia Yu took the initiative to clean up the tableware. At this time, her cell phone rang, and it was Zhou Yan.

"Hey, Xia Yu, are you available now? Xie Gendi is throwing a tantrum again. If you have time, come and see her."

"What happened?" Xia Yu already told her that she couldn't go to see her every day. If she needed something, she could just call Xia Yu. It was hard to comprehend why Xie Gendi found Zhou Yan again.

"This is a long story. The nurse said that she only listened to you. Please just come over." Zhou Yan hesitated but decided not to say anything to Xia Yu on the phone.

Xia Yu looked at Shen Yan, "If there is nothing else in the company, I need to leave and take care of other middle-level cadres."

Shen Yan said, "You were out there the entire morning, any progress?"

"No!" Xia Yu shook her head.

"Don't take it too seriously. It's just a formality. If they're too far, just make a phone call." Shen Yan didn't want Xia Yu to work too hard. For those who'd decided to leave the company, a few words would not help at all.

"OK. I'll act accordingly". Shen Yan's words made sense. By resigning altogether, they were trying to blackmail Shen Yan. If Xia Yu was too eager, it could backfire eventually.

"Go. Don't worry about the company. Everything is still under control." Shen Yan seemed very confident.

He had the mood to buy flowers, which meant that he already had a countermeasure. Thus, Xia Yu was not so worried, "I am leaving."

"Your flowers." Shen Yan handed the flowers to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu laughed, "Are you letting me meet Zhou Yan with all these flowers?"

It was not so proper. What if Zhou Yan thought Xia Yu was expressing her affection to him? It would cause even more trouble if he agreed. Shen Yan laughed while pointing at Xia Yu's office, "I'll put it there."

Xia Yu left the office without a word.

When she arrived at the hospital, Xia Yu called Zhou Yan. He told Xia Yu that he was in grandpa's office.

Xia Yu went to Professor Zhou's office and knocked on the door. Neither Zhou Yan nor the Professor looked so well.

"What's wrong?" Xia Yu first greeted Professor Zhou before asking Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan signed, "Bai Hong made a huge scene here in the hospital. She said Jiang Yayan not only lied to Shen Yan but also had a relationship with Zhang Peng. She said some mean words against Jiang Yayan, such as ‘she had affairs with many men'. Xie Gendi couldn't stand it and happened to see me on my way to grandpa's office. She dragged me over and started to yell that we men were terrible and that men caused Jiang Yayan's predicament."

Professor Zhou stared at his grandson, "If you did nothing wrong, why did she doubt you?"

Xia Yu remembered the day when Xie Gendi met Zhou Yan for the first time. Xie was questioning Zhou from the beginning to the end, and the questioning caused Zhou great discomfort.

As Professor Zhou was scolding Zhou Yan, Xia Yu explained, "Professor, you probably can't blame Zhou Yan for this. Xie Gendi has always been suspicious of everything. Also, Bai Hong couldn't reconcile with the fact that Zhang Peng broke up with her, so it's reasonable that she said those things with a temper. I'll explain to her shortly."

"Grandpa, I have nothing to do with her. She's been a patient suffering from insomnia in my clinic for two years. Many nurses know it." Zhou Yan explained patiently to grandpa.

"Huh! This is what you get by not having a girlfriend or getting married! If you listened to me and did one of those two things, you'd never be suspected!" Professor Zhou didn't acknowledge Zhou Yan's explanation.

"Grandpa, it's not something I can act on my own!" Zhou Yan realized his grandpa was unreasonable on this topic.

So that was the pain point for this pair of grandfather and grandson. Xia Yu could do nothing to solve this particular pain point, so she stood up with a smile, "I'll take my leave now. I'll go see Auntie Xie and explain the situation to her."

"Ok, go ahead." Professor Zhou saw Xia Yu off with a smile, "Miss Xia, there are not many kind girls like you nowadays. You are not Xie Gendi's relative, yet you still take care of her."

"Xia Yu is indeed very caring. A patient in my clinic has a deep misunderstanding about her. Yet she still helps her without a second thought." Seeing grandpa changed the topic, Zhou Yan was thrilled and immediately followed suit.