Are you his woman?

The next day, at Yuelai Old Beijing Lamb Hotpot.

This was a restaurant Chen Xiao liked in high school but couldn't afford to eat at.

He and Xu Xiaolan sat opposite each other.

Chen Xiao chose the place.

He didn't consider Xu Xiaolan's preferences; he simply wanted to eat there himself.

Actually, the dog days of summer were the off-season for lamb hotpot; many people were afraid of getting overheated and didn't really want to eat it.

"This place tastes really good; I've missed it for a long time."

The beautiful girl, bright and clear, sat quietly. After Chen Xiao finished speaking, she replied, "Is, is that so? It's my first time here."

Chen Xiao picked up some lamb for her with his chopsticks. "Eat, eat, don't be shy. We're old classmates. We haven't seen each other in... two years, right?"

Xu Xiaolan nodded. In her heart, she felt a lot of guilt towards Chen Xiao.

This boy, who had once been heartbroken over her, had been hurt by her several times.

"Come, to our reunion," Chen Xiao said.

Xu Xiaolan picked up her beer glass, clinked it with his, and then downed it in one gulp.

There were only two tables in the restaurant: Chen Xiao's table, and the other table with Shan Mao and others.

The few of them were burly but unusually quiet.

Instead, Chen Xiao's table was livelier, and even the crisp sound of their glasses clinking could be heard from far away.

"Are you studying in the provincial capital?"

After graduating from high school, the two of them lost contact, and Chen Xiao wasn't sure which school she was at.

"Yes, at the Normal University..."

Chen Xiao ate while glancing up at her.

"That's good. Do you have any plans after graduation?"

"Gra, graduation?"

A hint of confusion flashed in Xu Xiaolan's bright, large eyes. She wasn't even sure if she could graduate, so she hadn't thought that far ahead at all.

"I haven't thought about it."

Chen Xiao smiled. "No rush, you still have two years anyway."

"Mm, yes," Xu Xiaolan softly responded.

Eating with Chen Xiao, she actually felt a touch of nervousness, something she had never experienced before.

Before, Chen Xiao was always the one taking care of her emotions, but at this moment, Xu Xiaolan felt more like a mere accompaniment.

"Why did you reject me back then and choose to be with that short guy, Wang Cangju?"

Chen Xiao asked very suddenly.

This was a question that had always been hidden in his heart, one he still had no answer to.

If it were in the past, Xu Xiaolan would never have answered this question.

But today, she hesitated for a moment, then finally opened her mouth and said, "I... owed him money."

Chen Xiao was stunned; he had considered all sorts of possibilities.

For example, that he had taken something precious from the girl, or had taken some threatening photos.

Or that the scumbag had some special quality that attracted Xu Xiaolan.

But he had never considered that it was because of money owed.

Chen Xiao put down his chopsticks and asked, "How much do you owe him?"

"Fi, fifty thousand..."

"That much?" Chen Xiao was a little surprised.

What was the concept of 50,000 cash in the early 2000s? It was very difficult for an average family to come up with that much.

Chen Xiao remembered that his monthly living expenses in high school were only 500.

Xu Xiaolan nodded silently. "Do you want to know why?"

Chen Xiao sat up straight, adopting a listening posture.

Xu Xiaolan seemed to gather a lot of courage before she finally spoke, "I wanted to go to school, but my family couldn't afford it."

Chen Xiao asked, "Are your... parents doing well?"

Xu Xiaolan nodded, but then shook her head again. "My mother isn't well, and she also has to take care of one younger brother and two younger sisters."

"What about your dad?"

After Chen Xiao asked, Xu Xiaolan didn't answer immediately. Two lines of tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes, flowed over her delicate chin, and traced down her fair neck.

"Uh..."

Xu Xiaolan wiped away her tears. "There's nothing that can't be said anymore. Anyway, this is just my fate."

"He's an alcoholic, a gambling addict, doesn't do proper work, and has no source of income."

Chen Xiao was astonished. He had thought Xu Xiaolan's family wasn't well-off, but he had assumed it was at most similar to his own family.

He hadn't expected... the suffering in the world truly had no bottom line.

For Xu Xiaolan to be able to speak about her family's predicament indeed required some courage.

Such a father had brought her scars that might never heal in her lifetime.

"I need money," Xu Xiaolan continued.

"I want to continue going to school. I don't want my younger brother and sisters to be like me, always feeling inferior because of having such a father. I want to lead them out of this family."

"Chen Xiao, don't blame me. You're good in every way, and I know Wang Cangju isn't a good person, but I had no choice but to accept his deal."

As she spoke, tears welled up uncontrollably again.

Chen Xiao handed her a tissue.

It was indeed tragic, but he didn't feel much empathy.

In fact... he always maintained an outsider's perspective when examining the issue.

If he hadn't driven a Mercedes-Benz, would Xu Xiaolan still be like this now? The answer was hard to say.

However, there was one thing Chen Xiao was very satisfied with, and that was her phrase, "I need money."

Needing money was good.

In high school, he didn't even have a thousand yuan, so he naturally couldn't buy what he wanted, but now...

The white moonlight, once suspended high in the air, had now landed, no longer so unattainable.

Chen Xiao wasn't particularly noble. Reborn, he definitely had to make up for the regrets of his previous life.

It just so happened that he was often away, and his family needed someone to take care of his parents and solve the problem of being pressured to marry after graduation.

A complete plan slowly formed in Chen Xiao's mind.

"Don't talk about these things, hurry and eat, it'll get cold soon."

Xu Xiaolan stared blankly at the bubbling hotpot.

"Cold, cold?"

Just then, a figure pushed the door open and walked in.

Xu Xiaolan turned her head, and her eyes immediately filled with terror.

"Wang, Wang Cangju..."

Chen Xiao followed her gaze and indeed saw an old acquaintance.

Wang Cangju's pale face, visible through the window, was now shifting between anger and gloom.

It was strange; this brat's entire body, only his face was pale, while other parts of his skin were darker. Who knew how he grew like that.

The reason he was called an old acquaintance was because the two of them had had their fair share of physical altercations.

Wang Cangju was furious. He had been drinking with a girl, but a friend called to say he saw Chen Xiao and Xu Xiaolan. He hadn't believed it at first, but seeing them here, it was indeed true.

Shan Mao and the others had already noticed the situation and immediately prepared to stand up and intercept, but Chen Xiao stopped them with a look.

"Chen Xiao! It's you again, are you haunting me or what?"

Chen Xiao smiled. "What about me?"

"Motherfucker, Xu Xiaolan is my woman! Are you fucking endless?"

Chen Xiao turned his head and asked, "Xiaolan, are you his woman?"

Xu Xiaolan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"See, she's not," Chen Xiao said.

Wang Cangju's chest heaved violently. He might have been drinking somewhere, reeking of alcohol, his face flushed red as he shouted loudly:

"She's not, is she? Pay back the money!"

"Motherfucker, for so many years, I could barely even hold your hand, and then you turn around and go on a date with this son of a bitch? Are you trying to act so pure, you bitch?"

Xu Xiaolan lowered her head, tears dripping down.

"I will fulfill the agreement. I said I would marry you after graduating from university."

"Damn it! Anyway, you're going to be fucked by me sooner or later, so why are you playing coy?" Wang Cangju cursed.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao finally more or less understood the whole story between the two of them.

He then stood up and said to Xu Xiaolan, "I'll take you back."

Wang Cangju, seeing himself ignored, turned around and angrily said, "Chen Xiao, haven't you had enough beatings?"

Chen Xiao smiled. "What, after a few years, you think you're hot stuff again?"

Wang Cangju pointed at Chen Xiao's nose and cursed, "You little bastard, before you had Jia Fan and them protecting you. I'll see who protects you today!"

After speaking, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Hello? Brother Xu, rally the troops!"

Chen Xiao watched his performance calmly, no longer in a hurry.

Only Xu Xiaolan kept giving him meaningful glances and whispered urgently, "Hurry and go! He started doing small loans in the county after high school, and everyone he knows is a hooligan. It's not like back in school."

Wang Cangju became even more furious upon hearing this. He picked up the first beer glass on the table and directly splashed it on Xu Xiaolan's face.

"Damn you, you bitch! You really haven't given up on this bastard!"

With that, he raised his hand to hit her. Chen Xiao frowned, grabbed his wrist, and kicked him in the ribs.

Wang Cangju was already a bit drunk and was directly kicked to the ground by Chen Xiao.

He struggled for a long time but couldn't get up, yet his arrogance remained. "Alright, you wait. I'll make sure you don't leave Lan County today!"