Chapter 183: [183] Is he your boyfriend?
Across the table, Sun Rongfang was busy and hung up the phone.
Xie Wanying held her mobile phone, motionless for a moment.
“Here.” A navy-blue handkerchief was offered before her eyes once again.
Xie Wanying turned her head, and the deep concern in those dark, bright eyes gazed at her. Realizing she had lost her composure, she hurriedly rubbed her eyes. “Senior Brother—”
“If there’s anything, you can talk to me. I’m always here to listen,” said Cao Yong. “You don’t need to return the handkerchief. I will give you as many as you need.”
As he spoke, he stuffed the handkerchief into her palm and gripped her hand tight.
Feeling the coolness of her hand, if possible, he really wanted to hug her to warm her.
Xie Wanying’s vision was a blur, and all that filled her mind were the sounds of her dad yelling at her mom at home. She felt anger burning within her. If her dad dared to hit her mom because of her, she would never let it go.
Seeing her expression, Cao Yong could tell she was upset inside, and thinking back to her near tears earlier, his brow furrowed as never before.
The cold air made the dishes cool quickly. The waiter came over, saw they hadn’t eaten, and panickedly ran back to the kitchen exclaiming, “Make it again, make it again!”
Hearing this, Cao Yong came back to his senses and called out to the waiter, “No need, just reheat it. That will be fine.”
Later, the kitchen sent over another plate of sauced elbow as an additional dish for them.
As Xie Wanying ate her noodles, she remembered and said, “I need to buy a bowl of porridge for Li Xuan. Do they have any here?”
“I had them make porridge. You can take it with you when we leave,” Cao Yong said.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
“Why be so formal with me? Be formal with anyone, just not with me.”
Hearing a hint of complaint in Senior Cao’s words, Xie Wanying smiled slightly: every senior at Guoxie is a good person.
Seeing a smile finally on her face, Cao Yong relaxed a bit while continuing to wonder exactly what had happened.
After finishing their noodles, they picked up the packed porridge and the claypot rice for Huang Zhilei and returned to the hospital.
Wu Lixuan, who had perked up a lot after getting an injection and sleeping, was now more spirited, clearly noticing Xie Wanying and a handsome guy walking back in, she winked curiously: Who’s that? Your boyfriend?
“No, no, he’s my Senior Brother, his surname is Cao,” Xie Wanying shook her head at her friend. “You should have porridge tonight. It’s hard to swallow with inflamed tonsils.”
The porridge was a bit too hot, so Wu Lixuan took her spoon, blew on it, and waited for it to cool before eating.
“I’m going to take the claypot rice to Senior Brother Huang.” Taking the claypot rice, Xie Wanying said to the others.
Cao Yong nodded at her.
Xie Wanying, oblivious to anything amiss, hurried off to the on-duty room with the claypot rice.
Watching her rush away, Wu Lixuan looked up at the Senior Cao mentioned by her friend, sensing that this man had something he wanted to ask her.
Turning back, Cao Yong, with his hands in his coat pockets, asked, “Do you know what’s going on with her family?”
From her phone call earlier, he had heard her mention ‘mom,’ so she must have spoken with her parents.
He’s asking about her best friend’s family affairs? Wu Lixuan didn’t answer, having no intention of speaking about it.
What right did this man have to ask? Moreover, these were personal issues of her best friend’s family. How could she speak about them without Xie Wanying’s consent?
“I am her Senior Brother and her elder. I just want to show some concern; there’s no other ill-intent,” Cao Yong explained. “She seemed to be in a bad mood after talking on the phone with her family earlier.”
As if her mood could be good after such a call. It wasn’t just Xie Wanying who disliked dealing with family affairs; she felt the same way.