The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 53

The room fell silent again. Shen Jixue felt like a condemned man awaiting judgment, thinking he was doomed with no chance of pardon.

Chen Xian might hate him or drive him away. Whatever the outcome, he had no right to refuse.

Time ticked by, second by second. After maintaining the same position for a long time, Shen Jixue’s whole body was nearly numb. Chen Xian suddenly let out a long sigh, followed by the sound of fabric rustling.

“Xiao Shen, you should rest for a bit.”

Before Shen Jixue could react, Chen Xian stood up and left the room, running to the adjacent bedroom as if fleeing a disaster.

Hearing the door of the bedroom next door close, Shen Jixue collapsed onto the bed, feeling utterly drained. He didn’t understand what Chen Xian’s avoidance meant, but it certainly didn’t imply acceptance of his feelings.

He sat in a daze all night until the sounds of the morning market vendors came from outside, signaling the break of dawn.

During the night, it was possible to disguise one’s feelings, but as the night passed, Shen Jixue had no idea how to face Chen Xian.

He didn’t know how long it had been when he heard the sound of the bedroom door next door opening. Chen Xian walked out slowly, lingering at his door for a while but didn’t come in. Instead, he went into the bathroom, and after the bathroom door closed, Shen Jixue heard the faint sound of running water.

Chen Xian was avoiding him. Shen Jixue didn’t want this. He had imagined that Chen Xian might get angry or disgusted, but he couldn’t bear to be ignored.

After a while, the water stopped, and the bathroom door opened. After a brief silence, it seemed that Chen Xian was about to leave. Panicking, Shen Jixue got out of bed, not even bothering to put on his shoes. He stumbled, hitting a cabinet in his most familiar room, and stubbed his toe on the cabinet leg, but there was no time to cry out in pain.

“Chen Xian!”

Chen Xian was startled by the commotion and turned around to see Shen Jixue running out of the room in disarray. “You…”

If Shen Jixue wasn’t blind, he would have seen the weariness on Chen Xian’s face and guessed that Chen Xian hadn’t slept well all night. But he couldn’t see and couldn’t perceive Chen Xian’s expression. In his anxiety, he couldn’t accurately gauge Chen Xian’s emotions from his tone.

“You’re not going to talk to me anymore, are you? You want to avoid me just because I like you?”

Chen Xian, who had been confused all night, became even more flustered upon seeing Shen Jixue. “Xiao Shen, don’t be like this. You’re still young. You don’t even understand what liking someone means.”

“Do you understand then? You think what I feel isn’t liking? Was what you had with Jiang Ying before that?”

Chen Xian’s mouth gaped open, clearly not expecting Shen Jixue to ask that. His time with Jiang Ying was more about getting by than genuine affection. As long as they treated each other with respect, they considered their marriage happy. If he had to explain whether it was love or not, he truly couldn’t.

He felt inexplicably ashamed and didn’t want to be this passive in front of Shen Jixue, especially not about this matter.

“Xiao Shen, stop.”

Shen Jixue didn’t know why Chen Xian was angry. Was it because he mentioned Jiang Ying, or did Chen Xian feel he was disrespecting his previous marriage? Did Chen Xian still have feelings for Jiang Ying?

The thought of this possibility struck Shen Jixue like a bolt of lightning. He could accept that Chen Xian didn’t like him and understand that Chen Xian couldn’t accept his feelings. If Chen Xian had a better choice, he would reluctantly offer his blessings. But not Jiang Ying.

Before he could say more, Chen Xian opened the door and left. As the door closed, he seemed to hear Shen Jixue bumping into something again in his attempt to follow. Chen Xian paused but didn’t look back and quickened his pace into the hallway.

Just as he entered the hallway, Chen Xian almost collided with Wu Bie coming up the stairs. Wu Bie stepped back and, seeing it was Chen Xian, complained, “Watch where you’re going! Today you’re out early without me having to urge you.”

Chen Xian ignored Wu Bie’s teasing and headed downstairs first. Wu Bie glanced at Chen Xian’s wide-open door and then hurried after him.

“Wait for me. Have you had a change of heart today? No dawdling at home to cook for that Shen kid before heading out?”

The mere mention of Shen Jixue’s name made Chen Xian uncomfortable. He took a deep breath. “Can you stop talking?”

Something’s off with his tone, Wu Bie thought. Usually, Chen Xian would defend Shen Jixue even if Wu Bie said something slightly negative about him.

“Did you two have a fight?” Wu Bie pressed.

Chen Xian didn’t answer and kept descending the stairs. Wu Bie’s mind spun, and a frightening idea popped into his head.

“Is it like I said before? You, a grown man, didn’t suffer at his hands, did you?” Though phrased as a question, Wu Bie’s tone was firm.

Chen Xian stopped in his tracks, his face contorting in pain, eyes tightly shut.

“You?” Wu Bie was shocked. Chen Xian’s reaction was as good as a confirmation. “Didn’t I tell you? I warned you that Shen Jixue had ulterior motives. You believed him over me, and look what happened.”

“No, no!” Chen Xian was just tired of explaining. He didn’t want to make things worse with more explanations. He didn’t expect Wu Bie’s imagination to run so wild. If he didn’t clarify, Wu Bie would embellish things even further.

“No?” Wu Bie was even more puzzled. “Then what’s the matter?”

“Don’t ask. Aren’t we supposed to meet Zhang ge? Let’s go.” Chen Xian cut him off.

The wind rattled the iron door. Shen Jixue didn’t know how he made it to the sofa or how long he had been sitting there.

He only felt the morning hallway was quiet. By noon, it gradually became lively again. After lunch, the building quieted down once more. There were all sorts of sounds outside the window, and occasionally someone would pass by the door. From their footsteps, he could tell it wasn’t Chen Xian.

The iron door creaked, and it seemed someone was standing at the door. Shen Jixue snapped back to reality as a somewhat familiar female voice called out.

“Chen Xian, are you home?”

Shen Jixue’s heart sank as if being dragged down. Speak of the devil, it was Jiang Ying’s voice.

Jiang Ying didn’t enter but stood at the door, holding the slightly rusty iron door, craning her neck to look inside. After scanning around and not seeing Chen Xian, her gaze finally settled on Shen Jixue sitting on the sofa.

“Are you still living here?” Jiang Ying’s tone was filled with surprise, sounding as if she were still the mistress of this house.

Shen Jixue supported himself on the armrest of the sofa and stood up. He tried hard to calm himself down, slowly walking towards the door. “Do you need something?”

“Do you know who I am?” Jiang Ying scrutinized Shen Jixue from head to toe. “Your memory seems good. I’m looking for Chen Xian.”

Facing Jiang Ying’s unexpected visit, Shen Jixue felt uncertain. He hadn’t found an opportunity to talk to Chen Xian about this matter, and now with Chen Xian… He didn’t want any conflict. He was really afraid that things would get messy if Chen Xian and Jiang Ying tangled. Right now, he just wanted to get Jiang Ying to leave.

“He doesn’t live here.”

Jiang Ying looked at Shen Jixue suspiciously. “He doesn’t live here? Aunt Wang didn’t say he moved.”

“You didn’t tell him when you moved either.”

Jiang Ying’s face stiffened. She hadn’t expected Shen Jixue to be so eloquent, nor did she expect an outsider to intervene in her and Chen Xian’s affairs.

Realizing she still needed to find out Chen Xian’s whereabouts from Shen Jixue, she pinched her nose and tried to maintain a pleasant expression. “Then where is he? Do you know his current address?”

“I don’t know. Please leave.” Shen Jixue made a move to close the door, but Jiang Ying blocked it with her body and reached out to pull the iron door.

Startled by Jiang Ying’s sharp voice, Shen Jixue’s blood raced through his veins, and his whole body tensed up. He froze in place.

“I’m here to find Chen Xian, my ex-husband. Why are you kicking me out? What business is it of yours?”

Shen Jixue, although physically imposing, couldn’t see and Jiang Ying had no fear of him whatsoever. She was even getting confrontational.

“Get out of my way.” she pushed Shen Jixue aside and barged in. “I’m waiting here today until Chen Xian comes back.”

Shen Jixue stumbled backward, his shoulder hitting the iron gate with a loud bang, just as Chen Xian and Wu Bie, who were coming upstairs, saw the scene.

“Xiao Shen!” Chen Xian was still hesitating in the hallway on how to face Shen Jixue. Unexpectedly, before entering the house, he saw this scene first. He hurried over and helped Shen Jixue steady himself, but felt a tug on his hand as if Shen Jixue were pushing him away.

“Leave, Chen Xian.” Shen Jixue didn’t want Chen Xian to meet Jiang Ying. He had no choice but to make Chen Xian leave.

Chen Xian insisted on checking Shen Jixue’s shoulder. Sitting in the living room, Jiang Ying also heard Chen Xian’s voice and hurriedly stood up, as if afraid Chen Xian would run away.

“Chen Xian!”

Chen Xian looked blankly at Jiang Ying, puzzled. “Why are you here?”

Wu Bie silently glanced at Shen Jixue, then shifted his gaze to Jiang Ying. So, what this guy said was true—Jiang Ying had really shamelessly come knocking.

Shen Jixue wasn’t to be underestimated, and Jiang Ying wasn’t exactly a good person either. Wu Bie was annoyed—where did Chen Xian get these troublesome relationships?

“I want to talk to you.” Jiang Ying gestured with her eyes to Chen Xian. With so many people around, she needed a private space to talk to him.

This situation was tricky. Leaving Chen Xian alone would likely lead to trouble with Jiang Ying. Wu Bie was pondering how to intervene when Shen Jixue grabbed Chen Xian’s hand.

“If she wants to talk, she can talk here.”

Shen Jixue’s hand was cold. Chen Xian tried to pull away, but Shen Jixue held tight. Chen Xian couldn’t muster the courage to refuse.

Wu Bie rubbed his nose. He was quite annoyed with Shen Jixue, yet also impressed. Shen Jixue knew exactly how to play on Chen Xian’s soft spot, even more so than Jiang Ying.

With no other choice, Chen Xian compromised and turned to Jiang Ying. “If you have something to say, say it here.”