Chapter 119: I Want to Set Up A-Xi and Mei-Jiejie
According to the plan, Jiang Xue intended to take Xiao Luo to the mall after hot pot, or buy some coffee or milk tea and watch a movie.
But before they even finished eating, she received a delivery notification from the courier, followed by a message from Sister Cheng: 【The package has arrived. I’ve placed it in the study upstairs. Do you want to open it when you get back?】
【Yu Xue: Yes, yes, yes! I’ll open it myself. Thank you, Sister Cheng!】
【Yu Xue: [Happy New Year! Please accept this red envelope!]】
She hadn’t expected the guqin to arrive early. This was wonderful news!
Compared to going to the mall, Jiang Xue couldn’t wait to teleport home with Xiao Luo and proceed with her other plan.
Xie Xitong and Jiang Mei both knew about her secretly buying a new guqin. Seeing her become distracted after receiving the message, Xie Xitong said directly, “If you have something to do, you and Xiao Luo can go back first. I still want to watch the new movie with Mei-jiejie.”
A slow-paced art film had recently been released. It was directed by a renowned director, and its themes and narrative were worth studying. Even if she hadn’t come for hot pot, Jiang Mei would have made time to watch it.
Jiang Mei glanced at Xie Xitong, then at Cang Ling, feeling that the young woman probably wanted to spend more time with Princess Zhemei, so she said to Jiang Xue, “Remember to send me a screenshot of the taxi fare for reimbursement.”
“Yay!!” Jiang Xue excitedly started packing the fruit platter—the complimentary fruit platter at this hot pot restaurant was quite good.
Only Xiao Luohan was kept in the dark, but she didn’t have any plans anyway, just going wherever Jiang Xue went.
Now, with Cang Ling’s “motion sickness amulet,” Jiang Xue felt more confident about traveling and could even focus more on her beloved.
After all, before, whenever they traveled by car, she would either sleep or look out the window to distract herself, not even daring to talk too much, afraid of getting carsick and losing her composure.
Sensing her gaze, Xiao Luohan thought she wanted to hold hands, so she proactively reached out, her thumb gently brushing against Jiang Xue’s palm.
“Is there really something urgent?” she asked, worried.
“It’s not really urgent,” Jiang Xue said, thinking for a moment, then deciding to give her a hint. “It’s just that a small surprise I prepared for you arrived early, so I want to go back and show you as soon as possible.”
A small surprise?
Xiao Luohan felt that every “small surprise” Jiang Xue mentioned was actually a grand gesture. From the ancient world to this world, the gifts Jiang Xue gave her were always carefully prepared, and even a simple sticker contained her overflowing sincerity.
Because of this, after arriving home, she followed Jiang Xue upstairs, watched her open the large package, and when she saw the simple and unassuming guqin, her first reaction wasn’t to thank her, but to hold it and carefully examine it, looking for the true “surprise.”
Jiang Xue, on the other hand, was a little flustered.
According to her plan, after opening the package, she should have first given Xiao Luo a mysterious hint…
But she quickly recovered—
Xiao Luo, having discovered the “cuddling cats” pattern on the back of the guqin, immediately leaned in and nuzzled against her, even giving her a light peck on her sensitive earlobe.
Jiang Xue ducked her head, their eyes met for a few seconds, and then they both burst into laughter.
The old guqin was “retired,” and the new one was solemnly placed by Xiao Luohan on her usual practice table, adorned with the tassels she had made during her free time.
This way, no matter where she took the guqin, she could feel Jiang Xue’s presence.
“I forgot to ask, how did you find the surprise so quickly?” Jiang Xue was still curious about this. “I hadn’t even given you a hint!”
“Did your plan fail?” Xiao Luohan countered playfully.
“In terms of the process, yes…” Jiang Xue whispered, then changed the subject. “But I’m also happy that you’re so perceptive. It means our ‘minds are in sync’!”
Actually, she was happy with Xiao Luo no matter what.
The clueless Xiao Luo had her own endearing qualities, and the perceptive Xiao Luo could immediately understand her intentions. Not to mention, her Xiao Luo had subtly “evolved” from clueless to perceptive, giving her immense satisfaction.
Relieved by Jiang Xue’s affirmation, Xiao Luohan continued giving her small rewards, but she was still making plans in her mind.
Should she try a more roundabout approach next time?
She hoped that every response she gave would be a pleasant surprise for Jiang Xue.
A little after 6:00 PM, Jiang Xue, who was preparing to have dinner with her mothers, received a message from Jiang Mei: 【We ate out, don’t wait for me.】
Jiang Xue replied with an “Okay,” then, just as she was about to put down her phone, asked tentatively: 【Are you going to stay out and play for a while longer?】
【Sword: No, we’ll be back after dinner.】
Unsurprisingly closing the chat window, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: Her older sister was still the same old sister!
She even felt that if it weren’t for wanting to let Elder Sister Red Fox and Cang Ling have some time together, before the college entrance exam, her older sister would probably refuse any activities that might involve being alone with A-Xi.
After all, in her older sister’s eyes, the gap between students and working adults was still too large. Not being on the same wavelength was one thing, but what she herself could tolerate and let go of, the young and straightforward A-Xi might not be able to.
Not to mention, A-Xi currently had the most important college entrance exam to face. Even though the Xie family’s background would ensure A-Xi wouldn’t have no options, an offer from a top university was the best way for her to confidently enter her older sister’s circle.
A-Xi’s pursuit was a long and arduous journey!
But after thinking about it, Jiang Xue felt that perhaps it was precisely because she couldn’t succeed that A-Xi enjoyed the process. This seemed to be another form of “a promising future.”
Considering that they had just had a rich and flavorful hot pot for lunch, Sister Cheng prepared light dishes and soup.
Ms. Wei smiled as she served them soup and drinks, while Ms. Jiang, as always, was quiet but generous with her money. Even with another child now, she didn’t hesitate to give out large red envelopes.
Xiao Luohan had become completely accustomed to accepting money from the Jiang family, but she carefully recorded every income and expense in the newly downloaded accounting app on her phone, also keeping a backup in her notes app, but the records were locked.
As for her future income, she would record it separately.
It wasn’t that she resisted “integrating” into this family. On the contrary, precisely because she liked Jiang Xue and her family so much, she wanted to know how much they had done for her, and she wanted to remember every bit of kindness, no matter how small.
It was already past 7:00 PM when Jiang Mei returned.
But she wasn’t alone. A small tail followed behind her.
“Why is Cang Ling here?” Jiang Xue asked in surprise, opening the door for her.
“She said she wanted to visit before you two start your final round of busywork,” Jiang Mei explained. “Take her to your room, I have to organize some materials.”
Xiao Luohan, however, felt that Cang Ling probably had something to discuss, and “visiting” was just an excuse.
As she expected, after the three entered the study and closed the door, Cang Ling waved her hand, throwing out a talisman that blocked all sound.
“I’ve encountered a problem,” Cang Ling said, playing with the ends of her hair, her brow slightly furrowed. “I feel like I can only ask you two ‘outsiders’ for help.”
Jiang Xue: …
“Outsiders,” huh?
She seemed to have realized what Cang Ling was about to ask, but still nodded, planning to listen attentively first.
“I want to set up A-Xi and Mei-jiejie,” Cang Ling said directly, having come here for help. “I like seeing them together.”
“Then what about you and Xiao Jiejie?” Jiang Xue felt that this needed to be clarified, also taking the opportunity to enlighten Cang Ling. “If the matchmaking is successful, wouldn’t it also be beneficial for you and Xiao Jiejie to spend more time together?”
Cang Ling hadn’t expected this question. She pondered, then nodded decisively. “Yes, if they can be together often, I can also see Your Highness more.”
According to their previous speculation, for the next five to ten years, Xiao Linghan would probably have to coexist with Jiang Mei, sharing the same body.
After all, her being able to appear in this world was already a miracle. If it weren’t for Cang Ling, she would have been “bound” to Jiang Mei for life.
“We also want to see that happen, but there’s one thing you need to remember—you can’t force a melon to be sweet,” Xiao Luohan reminded her calmly. “Since you want to set them up, how much information do you have?”
“They clearly have a good relationship, and they’ve known each other since childhood. A-Xi even grew up under Mei-jiejie’s care, so why aren’t they together? Why did Mei-jiejie reject A-Xi’s advances and pursuit? Have you found the answers to these questions?”
Jiang Xue’s intention was to enlighten Cang Ling, but Xiao Luohan wanted to use this opportunity to let Cang Ling understand what “normal” truly meant.
A “deity” who overlooked the world and the fate of nations had descended to the mortal realm. If she also yearned for the mortal world, then as her friends, they had to guide her, otherwise, Cang Ling might act recklessly and cause trouble.
Cang Ling seemed stunned by the question. After listening, she just blinked her beautiful eyes at Xiao Luohan, not saying a word.
Both Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan waited patiently. After about three minutes, she finally spoke: “I think… it’s Mei-jiejie’s problem.”
“Can you be more specific?” Xiao Luohan gestured to Jiang Xue, indicating that she shouldn’t interrupt or correct for now, but let Cang Ling finish her reasoning.
“Mei-jiejie has been stalling and not giving a clear answer!” Cang Ling said with even more certainty. “If she didn’t want to date A-Xi, why not just reject her directly? Since she didn’t refuse, of course A-Xi would keep trying!”
Jiang Xue instinctively blurted out, “That’s because…”
“I know it’s because of the college entrance exam, but isn’t that just an excuse?” Cang Ling interrupted. “Mei-jiejie doesn’t understand A-Xi at all! She doesn’t know if A-Xi would be affected by rejection, just because everyone treats the college entrance exam as a life-or-death situation, the biggest hurdle in early life, so she follows the crowd, keeps stalling—because stalling means there’s still hope, which might even become motivation for studying, while a clear rejection leaves nothing!”
This reasoning seemed sound at first glance, and both Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan were stunned, then they both realized the huge gap between the perspectives of a “working adult” and a “student.”
And Cang Ling was like an A-Xi who had never been tempered by the world, with a perceptive eye and heart. Weren’t her current words and actions also A-Xi’s inner thoughts?
A-Xi actually knew everything, but she was still patiently waiting, waiting for the moment when the college entrance exam truly ended, two months later.
