At the dinner table, Xiang Xueyuan and Tarik were already seated. Upon seeing Xia Qingyu, they greeted her, "Good morning."
"Good morning," Xia Qingyu replied with a nod before sitting down in the chair pulled out by a maid. As soon as she was seated, cutlery, pastries, and drinks were neatly arranged at her side.
"My work is very busy today. I'll be leaving shortly and will try to return as early as possible this afternoon," Xiang Xueyuan said to Xia Qingyu like an ordinary father. "Tarik and Xifu will accompany you."
"Are they accompanying me, or monitoring me?" Xia Qingyu tucked her napkin in and said, "Don't worry, I won't run away at this time. I'm aware of your methods, and even if I wanted to run, I couldn't."
"Heh heh," Xiang Xueyuan chuckled, showing no displeasure at Xia Qingyu's words. "It's my method to have you stay. Making you willing to stay is my real skill."
"Then you might not have much skill," Xia Qingyu said, a smirk playing on her lips. "I will never be willing to stay in this lifetime!"
Tarik secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Xia Qingyu. Seeing the father and daughter's eyes meet, Xiang Xueyuan's expression was no longer as relaxed. Tarik immediately picked up the exquisite silver pot containing fresh milk and asked, "Qingyu, would you like milk and sugar in your coffee?"
"No sugar," Xia Qingyu withdrew her gaze and said. "Double milk."
"Alright." Tarik stood up and, holding the silver pot, added double milk to Xia Qingyu's coffee cup, and then added double milk to Xiang Xueyuan's coffee as well.
Xiang Xueyuan's expression also softened considerably.
Although father and daughter hadn't seen much of each other over the years, their preferences for coffee were surprisingly consistent.
Double milk, no sugar.
"Do you have any plans for today?" Tarik asked Xia Qingyu. "Is there anything you'd like to do? Xifu and I can accompany you."
"I want to be alone," Xia Qingyu answered directly. "It would be a great help if you didn't bother me."
"There will be someone delivering flowers today. If you like flowers, you can pick some to put in your room then," Tarik replied with a slight smile, ignoring the distant tone in Xia Qingyu's words. "If you're afraid of being bored, I can also..."
"Wow~ you guys are so lively," Xifu yawned as she walked down from upstairs, smiling sweetly. "I overslept again, I'm so sorry."
The next second, Xifu couldn't smile anymore. How dare Xia Qingyu sit in her seat?
That was her seat!
Suppressing her displeasure, Xifu smoothly sat in an empty seat. Now was not the time for her to throw a tantrum and be willful.
Men didn't like women who were always throwing tantrums.
"Good morning, Sister Qingyu," Xifu smiled heartily at Xia Qingyu, even casually playing with her blonde hair in a cute and charming pose. "Tarik, drink your coffee for me, I'm too lazy to make it."
Saying that, she directly took the coffee cup from in front of Tarik. After taking a sip, Xifu narrowed her eyes and smiled, "I knew it. Tarik's coffee has the perfect ratio of milk and sugar."
After saying this, Xifu held up the coffee cup in her hand and looked at Xia Qingyu as if presenting a treasure. "Qingyu, do you want to try it? It's delicious?"
"I don't like touching things that others have touched; they're dirty," Xia Qingyu's gaze fell on the rim of the coffee cup in Xifu's hand. The two lip prints were perfectly overlapped, forming a striking and ambiguous pattern.
"Haha, Qingyu is joking again," Xifu chuckled. "We're all siblings, not outsiders."
After saying this, she deliberately glanced at Xiang Xueyuan and Tarik from the corner of her eye.
She was waiting for Xia Qingyu to say something distant and hurtful.
"As long as you're happy," Xia Qingyu refused to fulfill Xifu's wish and stood up, saying, "I've finished eating."
Just then, the flower delivery person arrived. The fresh bouquets, wrapped in brown paper, still carried the morning dew and were exotically beautiful.
Xifu didn't want Xia Qingyu to leave smoothly at this moment, so she immediately said, "Qingyu, go pick some of your favorite flowers to take up with you."
Xia Qingyu hesitated for a moment, looked at the flowers, and then walked over to start picking them.
She wasn't particularly drawn to flowers, but Aunt Liu liked them very much, and she often saw Aunt Liu trimming branches in the Xia family's living room.
Xia Qingyu's gaze swept over the bouquets, she picked out some flowers that Aunt Liu usually liked, and began unpacking and trimming them in the hall.
The butler thoughtfully brought an apron, gloves, pruning shears, and various vases for the fresh flowers. Xia Qingyu caressed the dewdrops on the leaves and petals with her fingertips, examining them carefully, before beginning to trim the branches.
Seeing this, Xifu rolled her eyes inwardly and said with a forced laugh to Xiang Xueyuan and Tarik, "I truly envy Sister Qingyu's patience. I can't do this kind of delicate work. I..."
Before she could finish, Xifu noticed that Xiang Xueyuan and Tarik's attention was solely focused on Xia Qingyu.
Xiang Xueyuan's gaze was gentle, as if he was looking at Xia Qingyu, and as if he was looking at someone else through Xia Qingyu.
He remembered when he and Liu Nuoran had eloped, their financial situation wasn't very good. Although they weren't struggling to make ends meet, they couldn't afford nice housing. Back then, Liu Nuoran would buy flowers, meticulously trim the branches, and decorate their home beautifully and warmly.
Even though his projects weren't going well at the time, as long as he returned home and opened the door, that faint, elegant fragrance could help him shed all his fatigue and forget his worries.
Now he had everything and could arrange for the most exquisite flowers to be delivered regularly. But alas... that faint, elegant fragrance, he could no longer find it.
Now, looking at Xia Qingyu trimming flowers not far away, he seemed to smell that faint, elegant fragrance again. The memories, already veiled by a layer of dust, were being recolored.
It was so beautiful.
Tarik gazed at Xia Qingyu's profile, his lips unconsciously curving upwards gently.
To see her before sleeping, to see her after waking up.
To see her while dining, and to see her in leisure time.
She was within reach, bathed in sunlight, surrounded by flowers.
He had dreamed of this scene.
A sense of dread surfaced in her heart. Xifu's expression turned grim. She squeezed the cup tighter, and a terrifying red mark immediately appeared on her fair, tender hand.
"Dad, shouldn't you be leaving?" Xifu suddenly spoke, interrupting Xiang Xueyuan's thoughts. "Isn't your work very busy today? Is it really okay not to leave at this time?"
Xiang Xueyuan finally came back to his senses, raised his wrist to check the time, and said with a dry laugh, "Indeed it is."
Xiang Xueyuan stood up. Tarik also came back to his senses and stood up, saying, "Father, I'll escort you out."
"No need. You just stay and keep her company."