I Want Her to See Only Me - Chapter 11

You’ll always be a pathetic fool.

How could he say such a thing about her sister?

Xia Yu didn’t resist Xia Xiuyin’s grip, which only grew tighter, but gently patted the back of her hand with her other hand, hoping to ease Xia Xiuyin’s pain.

Xia Xiuyin maintained her calm, even smiled, but her face was completely devoid of color, so fragile that a gentle touch would shatter her.

“Sister… Sister…” She placed Xia Xiuyin’s hand against her cheek.

Xia Xiuyin was nearing the limit of her ability to maintain this facade. She had spent great effort learning how to control her emotions, but Fang Duan understood her too well; every word out of his mouth struck true, cutting into her weaknesses without mercy.

The hand gripping hers felt warm and soft, like the smooth fragrance of a child’s skin. Soon, Xia Yu felt a wetness on the back of her hand.

Xia Yu was crying.

Xia Xiuyin paused slightly. Her broken thoughts cleared the fog in her mind, and she turned to look at the child beside her, whose teary eyes gazed at her with a shimmering light.

The child is still here, how could you?

Xia Xiuyin covered Xia Yu’s eyes with her hands, tears rolling down her fingers onto the child’s face. Xia Yu’s eyelashes brushed against her palms gently, like butterfly wings.

Lips curling up, she lifted her face and stared directly at Fang Duan. “Father, after all these years, do you not know who the most pitiful person is?”

She watched as the smile on Fang Duan’s face froze.

Xia Xiuyin pulled Xia Yu closer, then lowered her head and pressed a kiss to the child’s forehead. Xia Yu’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She refused to open her eyes; her sister told her not to.

“Do you really think I need a piece of paper to keep the person I want to keep?” Xia Xiuyin gently caressed Xia Yu’s back, the latter clinging to her as if she were a lifeline. “Even if Xia Yu and I share no blood bond, if I want her, do you really think a piece of paper can stop me?”

Xia Xiuyin’s questions became more relaxed with each sentence, until it was almost a whisper, yet Fang Duan could hear her clearly.

That first question seemed to have pricked his skin, pierced his flesh, and struck his bones, forcing him to back down. “An unhealthy love will only raise an unhealthy child,” Fang Duan said coldly with his back turned. “Just like you.”

The noise of shoes scraping against the floor was ear-piercing.

“Don’t let her hate you in the future.”

Xia Xiuyin froze. She subconsciously glanced at Xia Yu, who was still small, barely reaching her waist. Fang Duan’s dispute with her seemed to have frightened the child; Xia Yu buried her head in her mother’s abdomen, unmoving.

Xia Yu loved her and relied on her so much now, just like how Xia Xiuyin had loved Fang Duan in the past, out of a natural instinctive love a daughter has for her tall and handsome father.

One day, would she also dislike her?

“A’Yu, don’t be scared, he’s gone now.” Xia Xiuyin knelt before Xia Yu and gently pulled Xia Yu’s hands off her eyes. As expected, Xia Yu’s eyes were teary.

“Sister… I love you,” she blurted out hastily, as if to compete with Fang Duan and make Xia Xiuyin happy.

“I’ll take care of you when I grow up.” Xia Yu’s voice was still childish, a little shaky, as she promised solemnly with tears in her eyes and a burp escaping her lips.

Her eyes were red, but her expression was serious and sincere.

Xia Xiuyin swallowed back the words she had prepared and instead wiped the tears from the little girl’s face. “Okay, Sister will wait for you to grow up.”

Aunt Chen waited patiently off to the side, and after a long while, finally offered the ice pack in her hands to Xia Xiuyin.

Xia Xiuyin leaned down to pick up the child, who obediently wrapped her arms around Xia Xiuyin’s neck to ease the older woman’s effort.

Together, they walked back toward the window. Perhaps Xia Xiuyin said something to the child, because Xia Yu listened and knelt on the rug, her small hands resting on her knees. She lifted her fair little face, closed her eyes, and allowed Xia Xiuyin to place the ice pack on her reddened eyes.

Xia Xiuyin’s long hair draped down, making the lines of her face appear even more delicate and soft, in sharp contrast to her demeanor earlier.

Soon after, the sound of small giggles rang out.

Xia Yu and Xia Xiuyin were both easy to coax.

At dusk, a small commotion arose outside the gates. Two silhouettes stood at the guard station, engaged in some discussion with the security guards.

In the study, Xia Yu was reading a copy of the Xinhua Dictionary. She flipped through it quickly, matching unfamiliar characters with their pronunciations in her memory. “Sister…this…” She tried forming the word with her tongue, feeling that it sounded strange.

Xia Xiuyin, sitting beside her and reading an English book, leaned over when she saw Xia Yu frowning. “Juyu.”

“Two third tones together; the first one can be pronounced as a rising tone.”

“Juyu.”

Xia Yu stared at Xia Xiuyin’s lips, thin and slightly parted, revealing a few pearly teeth. Occasionally, she caught glimpses of white between the thin lips.

She attempted to mimic her sister’s mouth, clumsily pursing her own.

“Ju…yu…”

“Okay, not bad.” Xia Xiuyin patted her head.

Soon after, a light knock sounded on the door. “Miss…”

“Come in.”

Aunt Chen looked troubled. “There’s a visitor here. You…should go see who it is.”

For an invited guest to arrive at this hour, and to warrant such a reaction from Aunt Chen…

Xia Xiuyin tucked the bookmark into her book. “A’Yu, your sister will go greet the visitor. Wait for me here, okay?”

Xia Yu looked up at her with a nod. “Mm!”

The Xia clan was a large, influential family with businesses in every industry, managed by Old Master Xia’s direct descendants at the core, and his indirect relations assisting them.

From the second floor, Xia Xiuyin spotted Xia Man, who belonged to a less prominent branch of their family. He was honest but mediocre, neither contributing much to the clan nor bringing it disgrace.

Xia Man, half his hair already gray, sat on the living room sofa with his wife, both holding cups of tea prepared by Aunt Chen in their hands.

“Good day, Cousin,” Xia Xiuyin called, suppressing all her conjectures about Xia Man’s presence.

The fortuitous Xia Man seemed startled by her voice; the water in his cup swayed and spilled onto the back of his hand.

Xia Man stood up, hesitating slightly before saying, “Little Sister.”

His wife stood close beside him, looking at Xia Yu with reverence.

Xia Xiuyin’s mother, Xia Zhen, was the youngest daughter of Old Master Xia, a true pearl in his palm, a princess sheltered from the world.

Years ago, Xia Zhen had clashed with her father over the illiterate Fang Duan, yet even when Old Master Xia had finally yielded, their relationship had suffered an irremovable rift. Heartbroken, the old master never again took interest in his daughter’s situation.

When Xia Zhen died last year, Old Master Xia had personally rushed her to the emergency room, but it was too late.

Although Xia Xiuyin’s position within the family left her vulnerable, she held enough bargaining chips to make everyone willingly obey her orders.

“Has my cousin eaten yet? Aunt Chen is an excellent cook,” Xia Xiuyin said in a soft and gentle voice, not at all unwelcoming.

Xia Man clearly hadn’t expected Xia Zhen, the arrogant and domineering woman of rumor, to have such a warm and refined daughter. “Thank you, Little Sister, but I’m here for another matter…”

Xia Xiuyin gestured for him and his wife to sit, and Aunt Chen poured fresh tea for them both.

“Take your time; I’m listening.” Xia Xiuyin signaled for Xia Man to sip his tea.

Xia Xiuyin’s demeanor was not domineering, but Xia Man felt pressure with every one of her movements.

A few simple words, a few easy gestures, and the air of a superior being forced Xia Man and his wife to stay alert.

“Mr. Fang… With your introduction and help, I was able to go through the adoption procedures…” Xia Man recalled the little girl in the photo; she was so small and pitiful. “She’s a pretty little girl, and her parents are no longer around.”

“Fifteen years ago, Jiazhen and I… we had a daughter.” Xia Man’s expression was both wistful and mournful. “We wanted a girl, and we promised to raise her well, to take good care of her. Ah… before going through the procedures, Jiazhen and I both got physical checkups. We’re very healthy…”

“She’s called Xia Yu; her name means ‘autumn’… we want to bring her home.”

Xia Man’s wife couldn’t help but look toward the second floor, where Xia Xiuyin had appeared earlier. Perhaps the little girl they spoke of was up there.

Xia Xiuyin’s finger traced the bottom of the cup, her features slightly shadowed.

“Little Sister… can you let the child down?” Xia Man had initially assumed Xia Xiuyin had just found the child and asked Fang Duan to help find a family for her, but Xia Xiuyin’s current disposition seemed to hint at some hidden truth behind this act.

He felt slightly panicked.

Xia Xiuyin gently placed the glass cup onto the tea table. The sound of the cup touching the surface seemed to reverberate in the heavy air.

Xia Man didn’t know how to deal with the unresponsive Xia Xiuyin, but he could sense that the emotionless girl was trying to suppress her feelings, despite her usual calm demeanor.

“This is the newly registered household…” Xia Xiuyin began, “I should’ve taken it over earlier, but I spent some time with Jiazhen preparing a room for her.”

While Xia Man waited anxiously, Xia Xiuyin reached out to receive the plastic-bound booklet.

Relationship to head of household: Father and daughter

Her fingertips landed on the line, pausing slightly.