Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Qin Xian called me that often, but such an intimate endearment was usually reserved for moments when passion ran high.

This was the first time I’d heard him call me that outside the bedroom.

“No.”

Feeling a little awkward, I casually shoved the bag whose leather I’d picked through into the personal shopper’s hands. A flicker of irritation rose in my heart as well.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?”

Qin Xian changed the subject so abruptly that I froze for two seconds before answering.

“Sweet-and-sour fish, I guess.”

He gave a quiet hum on the other end, then said hoarsely, “Come home early.”

With that, he hung up.

I tossed my phone aside, and the personal shopper apologized awkwardly.

“Ma’am, you know how precious bags are to people in our line of work, whether we’re buying or selling them. I just couldn’t stop myself when I saw you doing that…”

I waved him off. I couldn’t blame him. I really had damaged the bag by picking at it.

Although Qin Xian had told me to come home early, I didn’t take it seriously.

After all, I used to pester him every day, telling him how much I loved and missed him. They were just empty pleasantries adults exchanged without thinking.

So by the time I returned home with another armful of purchases, the housekeeper was the first to hurry out and greet me.

The moment I stepped out of the car, Aunt Liu anxiously tugged at my arm.

“Madam, Sir has been waiting for you for an hour and a half. Why are you only getting back now?”

I arched a brow, unable to figure out what had gotten into Qin Xian. Didn’t he normally come home at ten thirty?

Too lazy to dwell on it, I walked inside and saw Qin Xian seated at the dining table.

His eyes were lowered as he silently stared at the food in a daze. In the center of the table sat a plate of sweet-and-sour fish.

“I’ve already eaten. You can eat by yourself.”

I had long since forgotten our conversation that afternoon. Beaming, I picked up my bags and headed toward the walk-in closet, only for Qin Xian’s low, hoarse voice to suddenly sound behind me.

“You said… you wanted sweet-and-sour fish.”

I turned around in surprise.

“Oh… sorry, I forgot. How about I try some?”

I walked over and casually took a bite, then halfheartedly gave the housekeeper standing nearby a thumbs-up.

“Aunt Liu’s cooking just keeps getting better.”

The housekeeper looked like she wanted to say something but held back. I casually set down my chopsticks and was about to leave when someone caught my wrist.

“Will you stay and eat with me?”

Qin Xian was acting a little strange today, especially his eyes. Those eyes, usually so cold and sharp, now seemed to hold a shattered sort of humiliation.

What a typical CEO. He even needed someone to keep him company while he ate. I sat down to wait for him to finish.

Qin Xian ate in silence, every movement carrying his particular air of aristocratic elegance.

I grew bored after watching him for a while, so I pulled out my phone and crossed my legs as I played with it.

In the past, I always liked putting food into Qin Xian’s bowl during meals, chattering endlessly about how much I’d missed him that day. I wouldn’t be satisfied until the housekeeper chimed in from the side, saying, “Sir and Madam are so deeply in love.”

Now the dining room was utterly silent, broken only by the constant buzz of new messages arriving on my phone.

They were from the young personal shopper.

It looked like he’d made a tidy profit off me over the past couple of days. In one go, he sent me more than a dozen new bags.

One of them hadn’t even been released yet. The corners of my lips curled up, and I couldn’t resist opening the photo and zooming in, my mood instantly lifting.

“Cough, cough…”

Qin Xian seemed to have choked on his food.

“Slow down.”