Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 58: May I?

"At first, I didn’t think too much about it." Su Xieren took another sip of his coffee again before continuing, "Everyone has different coping mechanisms. Just like how you can’t survive a day without sugar, da-ge, I assume that Xinya’s aversion to touch was only due to her introverted temperament. I gave her my honest opinion, taught her simple exercises that would improve her blood flow and prescribed some vitamins, and she became better after two months. Even then, she still came back."

***

Su Xieren was surprised when he found Zhao Xinya in front of his office again. He recalled telling her that if she continued with the daily exercise and healthy diet, then there was no need to return anymore because the pain would eventually disappear with time. Yet here she was... giving some food to him?

"Just treat it as my... gratitude," she murmured in a small voice and held up the lunch box with trembling hands.

Even after interacting with her for months, Zhao Xinya still preferred to hang her head low and avoid his line of sight. Her body language told him that she was still wary of him, albeit it was not as bad as it was at the beginning. Nonetheless, she looked like she was ready to bolt out at a moment’s notice. So what was she doing this for? He could not figure it out.

"Thank you, I appreciate your sentiment." Su Xieren responded with a placid look. "But there’s no need for this. You paid for my service, so it’s only right for me to help you solve your problems. Your symptoms have recovered very well and so, there’s no need for you to come here anymore. I will not see you off, Miss Zhao."

After that, Su Xieren closed the door right on her face.

At that time, he thought that it would really be the last time he saw Zhao Xinya. But who could have guessed that the woman was very stubborn and would drop by again once in a while?

Su Xieren was not narcissistic enough to assume that Zhao Xinya was interested in him, not with her fidgety and unnerved demeanor that looked as if she could not wait to get as far away from him as possible. It’s more like... she had something to say yet she had no idea how to bring the topic up and could only continue with this meaningless gesture.

After this incident continued for a few more weeks, Su Xieren finally lost his patience and directly got to the point, "Speak, what are you sending all this food for? You know that I hate it when a patient lies about their physical condition. Is your neck and back areas hurting again?"

Zhao Xinya seemed taken aback by Su Xieren’s bluntness. It took her a few seconds to squeeze out a reply. "N–No, you’re very skillful and professional. My back pain has mostly gone away now."

Su Xieren raised a brow as if asking, ’So what are you here for?’

Through the curtain of Zhao Xinya’s long hair, he caught a glimpse of a smile on the corner of her lips. It was so faint that Su Xieren thought he was imagining it. He was stunned. It was the first time he had seen Zhao Xinya smile, and unexpectedly... it softened her features and made her look a tad brighter. For the very first time, Su Xieren realized that this introverted patient of his looked quite beautiful when she smiled. It was such a pity that she always kept it firmly to herself.

"I’m just wondering..." Zhao Xinya’s voice brought him out of his wandering thoughts. "Mr. Su, have you ever considered being a therapist?"

The corner of Su Xieren’s lips twitched. This sentence sounded awfully familiar. A certain patient surnamed He, who always rambled to him, also liked to ask this question once in a while.

Zhao Xinya’s fists tightened by her side. Then as if steeling herself to do something she would never attempt, she suddenly raised her head and looked him right in the eye, catching him utterly off guard. "Mr. Su, you should already know that... I am weird."

Well, thank you for telling me, I didn’t know until you said it, Su Xieren thought wryly.

However, he could discern that Zhao Xinya had exerted a lot of willpower to open herself up like this and hence, he did not say anything and merely waited for her to continue. This reaction of his seemed to have offered Zhao Xinya a great deal of relief. Her shoulders sagged lightly as if a burden had been taken off them, and she shot Su Xieren another smile, brighter this time.

Her voice was soft and full of hope as she proposed, "I have never met someone who could make me feel so at ease like you, so... may I become your friend, Mr. Su?"

***

Su Xieren could not help the bitter smile on his lips as he recalled the past. "All she ever wanted was a friend to talk to, a friend who could listen to her, accompany her, and cherish her. Just for that, she stalked me for weeks and shoved me a lot of food. At that time, I thought, ’this woman is so awkward, it’s like she has never had a friend or something’. It’s not until I got to know her better that I found out that she has always been alone. And honestly... I don’t know why she chose me of all people."

"Xieren..." He Juan was distressed when he saw the Beta’s dejected appearance. He saw that Su Xieren’s cup was already empty and raised his hand to order another cup for him whereas he only asked for a glass of warm water.

Only then did he turn to Su Xieren again, "Didi... If, as you have said, Miss Zhao saw you in the exact way as I do, then note that for me, you are one of the gentlest and kindest people I have ever known." He emphasized each word seriously as though wanting to instill it into the other person’s heart. "So don’t say that you don’t know what she saw in you. You are an indispensable part of my life."

"Of course." Su Xieren snorted in response. "I have expended a lot of effort to get you back to your feet. What would you have done without me?"

He Juan could not contain his laughter at that. Good, Su Xieren should always be sassy like this. It was better than him being in daze and shrouded in a forlorn air that prevented people from approaching.

Even though Su Xieren’s expression hardly changed, He Juan could see that his nerves had uncoiled, giving him an air of poise and ease. Su Xieren was not a talkative person to begin with, that’s why He Juan was surprised that he had talked a lot this time. He must have been enduring this matter by himself for so long...

"So..." He Juan asked tentatively. "What happened after that?"

"After that... we became friends," Su Xieren shrugged. "The kind where we would chat on and off about our day. I would accompany her if she needed to talk face-to-face with her clients and she would tag along if I went out on weekends. We didn’t talk much and simply enjoyed each other’s presence."

He Juan blinked. This description... why did it sound so much like an old married couple?

"You’re thinking that we’re just like an old married couple, don’t you?" Su Xieren asked without looking up, earning him an awkward cough from He Juan.

"Actually, that’s also what I said to her." Su Xieren showed a faint smile. "I told her when we were taking a walk after dinner, ’don’t you think that we’re similar to an old couple like this? Why don’t we date each other instead?’ and then she said yes. So we started dating from then on. It should be... two years ago?"

Once again, He Juan was rendered speechless at how casual Su Xieren was. He was a hopeless romantic. For him, asking someone out was equivalent to a candle light dinner, a night full of stars and a bouquet of red roses. As for Su Xieren’s careless attitude, He Juan really could not comprehend it.

Well, everything had its plus and minus. Su Xieren was already smart, good-looking, rich and resourceful. If he was romantic too, then he would become the most perfect man in the world. That’s why God was fair, He did not share a romantic cell with Su Xieren and gave him this adorable flaw instead. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I thought I was fairly good at reading people, but..." at this point, Su Xieren suddenly covered his eyes and let out a self-mockery laugh. "...I didn’t expect that she would be hiding so many secrets from me."

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