Chapter 130 — I'll Have To Think About It

What was she supposed to say to this?

"Zimo, I —"

"Shhhh. Don't be in a haste to reject me. Think about it first. Let's leave the bad experiences in the past and start afresh."

Ordinarily, Xu Kexin would have nodded and agreed immediately. It would save her the hassle of explaining why they had to break up to her parents and his, as well as the pain of going on blind dates all over again.

But the past few months have taught her a lesson.

If she could not even tolerate holding hands, how would she survive a marriage? Or should she ask him if he was willing to make a no-skinship contract?

It sounded absurd even to her own ears.

So she said, "Listen to me Zimo, I sincerely don't think it can't work between us. The misunderstanding has been cleared, but it doesn't change the fact that we have underlying problems. It's better to go our separate ways."

"No Xinxin. No. Don't leave me. We can talk things out. I'll do anything, I promise. Just stay with me." Du Zimo was almost crying as he held her.

Xu Kexin sighed, freeing herself from his hold as quickly as she could manage. "It's not something talking can solve. If you had your memories, you would know that we have never kissed, made out or done anything else."

She paused and took a deep breath. "Let's just say there is something I'm still keeping from you, and that's the reason we can't work.

Du Zimo reached out to touch her knee but stopped at the last moment.

"What is it? Just tell me and we can work it out." Seeing her closed off look, he said, "Okay, you don't need to tell me. It's normal to have secrets. I-I do too. Let's move forward regardless."

"Let's say we continue and get married, then what? Do you think you can live like that forever? I might not even be able to give you children. Will it still be okay? Then what will your parents say?"

Du Zimo said without hesitation, "Yes it will be okay. I only need you, nothing else. If you don't mind, we can always adopt if needed, to keep our families quiet. Just having you next to me is enough."

Xu Kexin did not believe him at all. Wasn't it said that seeing without being able to touch was a form of torture?

Still she said, "I'll have to think about it, give me some time."

Du Zimo had to agree to this, "Alright, I'll wait for your decision Xinxin." It was better than a flat out "No", to him.

She was about to continue her work when she paused "By the way, when do you plan to go home? You're much better now, and Auntie and Uncle must be worried about you."

Du Zimo immediately made a crying face. The expression wasn't awkward at all on his handsome face, but it made Xu Kexin's head start to hurt.

"Xinxin, you don't want me anymore? I'll be good, I promise. Don't leave me. I'll do all the house work, I'll —"

Xu Kexin sighed for the tenth time that day. What kind of adult whines this often? "Alright fine, you can stay. But let's go and visit Auntie and Uncle soon, so that they can see you're getting better."

"I'll do whatever you say Xinxin." Du Zimo said, immediately breaking out into a smile.

She nodded and continued her work. She was tired of telling him not to call her that. Unconsciously, she had grown used to that nickname.

He turned to leave, then said, "I know you have work to do, so let me leave now. Should I make pasta for dinner?"

He had tried cooking a few times since his accident, but the results were so awful that Xu Kexin cringed at the memory. One time he burnt the pot because he forgot he was boiling eggs for ramen, then another time he forgot the beef in the pan until it became a black, charred mess.

Still, his stir fried pasta was at least edible. The last one he made wasn't bad at all. And it would definitely keep him busy for a while.

So she nodded.

"Perfect. It will be ready soon." He said, before leaving.

When he turned back again, Xu Kexin almost lost her cool, but he only said, "Would you be free tomorrow? If yes, would you like to go to an art exhibit with me?"

He had gotten two tickets to a famous artist's exhibition, as he knew she liked such events.

As expected, Xu Kexin's visage improved, "Sure. I'd like to go."

"Great."

*****

"Quick question Yichen, how's My Goddess doing?"

Han Yichen looked up from the textbook he was studying long enough to reply Li Yuchen's text with, " Fine."

The scholarship exam was in less than a week, so he was putting in extra effort studying.

"Come on, I need more details. Did she eat well today? Has she been happy? Is she in her study currently?"

"Call her."

"Yichen, this is serious, tell me."

Giving up, Han Yichen put down his pen for a moment. "Not really. Not very. Yes." He had sent the message already when he realized.

That made him pause and think. Why didn't his Mom finish her dinner? Why did it seem like her smiles were not genuine today? Why did she look a bit...sad?

He then dialed Li Yuchen's number. "Why did you ask?"

"Because my dad is the exact same way. He's sad. I wonder if something happened to them at work. And I don't know if it had been going on for a long time, but I only noticed it today."

Li Yuchen paused, then gasped dramatically, "Or did they quarrel?"

Han Yichen: "..."

Even if they did, would it be this tragic? But on a second thought, what if they really did? Influenced by Li Yuchen, he grew worried.

"Let's find out."

Li Yuchen felt excited. "Good idea. How do we go about that? Should we shadow them to the office? or put recording devices in their bags? Oh I know, let's secretly ask their secretary!"

Han Yichen did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Just ask them."

"Oh." Li Yuchen said, disappointed. That was so straightforward that it eliminated the air of mystery and took away his excitement. "Why didn't I think of that?"

He wondered if he was really reading too much of Detective Conan lately.

"So you ask My Goddess and I'll ask my dad?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. By the way, what have you been so busy with lately? You've not come visiting in a long while."

"Scholarship exam."

"Oh that's true, I forgot. Good luck. I heard it's a tough exam. How's it going?"

"It's okay, not so difficult. Programming?"

"Going great. I recently created a perfect cheat code for one of my favorite games, but it's now boring because I clear every level very easily. Where's the fun? This is one of the difficulties of being a genius."

Li Yuchen pretended to sigh and shake his head sadly.

Han Yichen was completely speechless!