Chapter 210: Is There a Chance?

The next two days passed peacefully for Su Zhaozhao.

Neither Xu Jiaming nor Xu Jiaxin came to visit.

She spent her mornings going to the market with Li Chunhong to buy groceries, taking the opportunity to sample street food.

Jiang City had a ton of delicious food, especially at the morning market. Stall after stall, there was nothing but food.

Su Zhaozhao especially loved the soft, sticky, and sweet snacks, like glutinous rice balls, rice cakes, and sweet osmanthus lotus root.

Then, on the evening of the second day, Xu Jiaxin and Xu Jiaming came over.

As usual, Xu Jiaming arrived laden with gifts. Seeing his hands so full, Li Chunhong immediately frowned. "Oh my, why are you always so formal with us?"

The gifts looked expensive, and while they knew Xu Jiaming’s family was wealthy, he shouldn’t be squandering money like this.

"It’s just a small token of our appreciation. My parents taught us it’s rude to arrive at someone’s home empty-handed," Xu Jiaming said to Li Chunhong with a smile, as magnanimous and proper as ever.

Su Zhaozhao was suddenly reminded of the gifts Xu Jiaming had brought the other day. He had given a set to Li Chunhong and Xu Yingmin, and another to her.

But her gift was still tossed in a corner of her room, untouched.

She had no interest in anything from Xu Jiaming and was even tempted to ask Li Chunhong to get rid of it for her.

Li Chunhong, however, was clearly charmed by Xu Jiaming’s generous, proper, and courteous demeanor. She immediately turned to Su Zhaozhao. "Zhaozhao, go pour some tea for Jia Ming. Oh, and you and Jiaxin, please, just sit and relax for a while!"

Hearing Li Chunhong’s words, Xu Jiaming couldn’t help but smile.

"Of course. Thank you, Grandma."

He took a seat on a nearby chair, and Su Zhaozhao poured tea for both him and Xu Jiaxin.

It was a light, delicate green tea, mild enough to be enjoyed in the evening without any worry of insomnia.

’But Su Zhaozhao was tempted to secretly add something with a bit more caffeine to the tea.’

’That way, Xu Jiaming wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight!’

Su Zhaozhao poured a cup of tea and was about to place it on the table in front of Xu Jiaming, but he suddenly reached out to take it from her.

The teacup wasn’t very large, and as he reached for it, his hand brushed against Su Zhaozhao’s fingers.

Su Zhaozhao felt a jolt, as if from an electric shock, and her immediate instinct was to pull her hand away.

As a result, the water sloshed out of the cup. The hot liquid splashed onto Su Zhaozhao’s fingers, and the sharp, stinging pain made her wince.

Xu Jiaming was startled, too. He had only wanted to use this as an excuse to touch Su Zhaozhao.

This feeling of being unable to do anything was torture, especially with her standing right in front of him, a constant, irresistible temptation.

But she was married. He couldn’t do anything inappropriate.

He didn’t want Su Zhaozhao to hate him.

He thought his move just now would seem natural.

He never expected that he would end up scalding her.

"Are you all right?" Xu Jiaming set the cup down and stood up, reaching to check Su Zhaozhao’s hand.

Su Zhaozhao pulled away from his touch. "I’m fine," she said. "Just don’t startle me like that again."

With that, she turned and went back to her room to treat her hand.

’Thankfully, there was burn ointment in her space she could use.’

’Was it because her skin had become too delicate?’

’Even a minor scald like this was so painful for her.’

’It seemed she needed to be more moderate with the spiritual spring water in the future. Having skin as smooth as a baby’s was nice, but it also meant that even the smallest injury was incredibly painful.’

Xu Jiaxin had been watching them the whole time. She saw Su Zhaozhao bringing tea to Xu Jiaming, only for him to startle her.

Watching Su Zhaozhao retreat to her room to treat the burn, she couldn’t stop herself from confronting Xu Jiaming. "Brother, you’re going too far. Zhaozhao doesn’t like you at all, and you’re always scaring her. Do you think this is fun?"

Xu Jiaming turned to look at Xu Jiaxin, and his cold gaze made her tremble uncontrollably.

She was genuinely frightened by that look. In public, he always maintained the image of a gentle, mild-mannered, and courteous gentleman.

The way he looked now was truly terrifying.

"It’s not fun. But what am I supposed to do? Am I not even allowed this tiny bit of contact? Why does Xie Huaizheng get to have so much?"

’Just because Zhaozhao thought he was her fiancé, sought him out, and married him, he gets to have her completely?’

’But Zhaozhao’s fiancé isn’t Xie Huaizheng at all!’

’He’d had someone investigate, and the results had just come in.’

’The truth of it was, frankly, unbelievable.’

’Su Zhaozhao’s actual fiancé was someone whose name sounded remarkably similar to Xie Huaizheng’s. What’s more, the two men were about the same age, both from Beijing, and both stationed in the Northwest Military Region.’

’So, that must be why she found the wrong person, right?’

At this thought, Xu Jiaming couldn’t help but smile.

’She married the wrong person. That meant he had a chance, didn’t it?’

’He had to find an opportunity to tell Su Zhaozhao. If she divorced Xie Huaizheng, his chances would be excellent.’

’That Xie Huaizhen’s family had fallen on hard times and was relying entirely on him to stay afloat.’

’Zhaozhao would surely suffer if she were with him.’

’Besides, he doubted a man like that would even like Zhaozhao.’

’So, he still had a very good chance.’

Soon, Su Zhaozhao came out. Xu Jiaming’s gaze immediately fell to her hand. The faint red mark on her fair fingers, blooming like a flower, was so obvious it was jarring to the eye.

Xu Jiaming pressed his thin lips together and downed the rest of the tea in his cup.

’This was all his fault.’

’But the memory of his fingers brushing against hers... even though it was just a light touch, he could still savor the sensation... ’

After dinner, Xu Jiaxin helped Su Zhaozhao with the dishes, just like last time.

In the end, it was still Su Zhaozhao who tidied up the rest of the kitchen.

’She felt like she was getting much more efficient with her chores.’

She wiped the stove clean, rinsed the cloth, and draped it over the windowsill by the kitchen to dry.

Just as she came out of the kitchen, Xu Jiaming called out to her. "Zhaozhao, there’s something I want to talk to you about."

Su Zhaozhao eyed him warily. "What is it?"

Her wary gaze made him feel a little hurt. ’He hadn’t done anything to actually hurt her, had he?’

’Could simply liking her have already made her resent him so much?’

He glanced around. No one else was watching them, though Xu Jiaxin was staring from a distance.

’But an idiot like Xu Jiaxin couldn’t do anything to him even if she knew.’

He then asked Su Zhaozhao, "Zhaozhao, you said before that you married Xie Huaizheng because he was your betrothed from a childhood engagement. Is that right?"

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "That’s right. Why?"