Having donned her coat, Tang Shu stood at the entrance for quite a while, surprisingly finding herself a tad reluctant to leave.
This had been her first stop upon arriving in an unfamiliar environment.
She once sat in this house, alert and on guard, observing her surroundings, digesting memories that did not belong to her, until she fully took over and turned this slice of life into a new and novel experience.
In just half a year, her life had changed dramatically.
Su Xiaochi was also standing by and, seeing her unmoving, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What’s the matter, can’t bear to leave?"
Though in that reluctance, reflection was predominant.
Su Xiaochi, having grown up an orphan and constantly without a stable home, found it hard to understand Tang Shu’s current sentiment.
"It’s just a change of living quarters, what’s there to be reluctant about? It’s not house is being sold. You can come back whenever you want."
Her words promptly pulled Tang Shu back from her hesitation, decisively severing that last thread of reluctance.
"You’re right, I can always come back later."
For the first time, she felt fortunate that Father Tang was the owner of the house rather than a tenant.
Their conversation was interrupted by a rhythmic set of footsteps, and Tang Shu turned to look, only to see Jing Yu, dressed in a black suit, approaching.
His gaze lingered on the suitcases for a moment, somewhat surprised.
"All packed up already?"
Tang Shu was even more surprised, "Yes, where’s Aunt Xia?"
Wasn’t it Ms. Xie, the lively lady, who had said she would pick her up and take her to the villa an hour ago? Why the sudden change?
"She’s waiting at the villa. I didn’t have anything on today, so I stopped by. Don’t worry, I’m a steadier driver than she is."
Thinking back on his mother’s beaming face, urging him to come over as soon as possible, Jing Yu couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Su Xiaochi, who had been leaning against the door, watched the two converse naturally, observing with interest.
Maybe her gaze was too brazen and direct, because it caught the attention of the pair the next moment.
Tang Shu explained, "This is Su Xiaochi, my... new assistant."
Jing Yu’s eyes rested on Su Xiaochi for a moment, his dark pupils flickered, and he nodded in greeting.
"Xiao Chi, this is Jing Yu, my friend."
Now Su Xiaochi’s gaze scrutinizing Jing Yu was much more forthright, and she didn’t care about the surprised looks from them both.
Under her scrutiny, Jing Yu’s composure remained unchanged, quickly shifting his focus back to Tang Shu.
"Is this everything, or is there anything else?"
"That’s it, just these."
Jing Yu rolled up the sleeves of his suit, revealing his finely-dressed arms, and bent down to lift the largest suitcase.
Tang Shu didn’t stand on ceremony with him, offering a word of thanks before picking up her suitcase to head downstairs.
After Jing Yu’s figure had vanished around the corner at the stairwell, Su Xiaochi, who was holding the last luggage case, smiled at her.
"Hey, your sweetheart?"
Tang Shu was taken aback.
"Isn’t he? Haven’t you two pierced through that window paper yet?"
Tang Shu found the comment utterly bewildering, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, we’re friends."
And business partners as well.
Su Xiaochi just smiled, her face carrying a teasing tone.
"Oh~~~ The kind of good friends that you think of first when moving houses?"
The details of the pair’s interaction had been clear to anyone watching, and while others might not have noticed, Su Xiaochi had seen everything.