Xia Yu knew for sure that she had upset Xu Baiyan.
He must think she’s ungrateful, right?
He wanted to teach her, but she chose to leave with someone else…
But actually, when Song Yu’an pulled her by the hand at noon, she had already wanted to refuse him.
It’s just that, since childhood, she’d always listened to Song Yu’an—saying “no” just didn’t come to her quickly.
So she missed the best moment, and as a result, Xu Baiyan got angry and stepped on the skateboard she’d left on the ground, injuring his precious ankle.
After leaving the hospital, He Jiasen sent Xu Baiyan home, and Xia Yu also returned to her own place.
As soon as she got home, she flopped onto the end of her bed, her mind filled with Xu Baiyan, feeling utterly dejected.
The doctor said his leg injury would take one or two weeks before he could move freely, let alone go surfing.
He should be helping Cheng Li teach classes now, right?
If he can’t teach, then he won’t get paid, will he?
Besides, he’s always been good to her—not only did he teach her skateboarding for free, but last time when she got drunk, he even made sure she got home safely…
All these things made Xia Yu more and more irritable and guilty the more she thought about it.
So, the next morning, she got up early.
After going out to buy some health supplements and fruit, she called kk.
Everyone already knew about what happened to Xu Baiyan yesterday, so Xia Yu asked kk where Xu Baiyan lived.
When she said she wanted to bring him some fruit, kk gladly gave her the address.
“He’s got a lot of quirks, doesn’t really like people coming to his house. Just leave it with Security, that’s enough to show you care.”
“Xia Yu, don’t blame yourself, okay? He can take a break from teaching for a while, it’s totally fine. Don’t worry about his salary.”
At first, Xia Yu thought kk was just comforting her—after all, who wouldn’t care about getting paid?
But twenty minutes later, when Xia Yu took a cab to the destination, she suddenly understood that sentence a little more.
She wasn’t very familiar with Hai Cheng, but she could still tell that the place Xu Baiyan lived in wasn’t cheap.
It was in Lanting Bay Villa District.
The taxi had just driven along a beautiful seaside road, lush with greenery, every plant perfectly trimmed.
The car stopped at the entrance of the community.
The pure white exterior, accented with dark lines, and an arched gate facing the distant sea—luxurious and grand.
The driver said that outside vehicles couldn’t enter, and Xia Yu remembered kk’s reminder, so she got out and went to the Security Office to ask if she could leave her things there.
The Security was strict, saying he needed the homeowner’s permission and called right away.
“Miss Xia, right? Mr. Xu says you can bring it in.”
After hanging up, Security said.
Bring it in?
Sister Kk had said before that he didn’t like people coming to his house.
But thinking about it, Xu Baiyan’s situation was inconvenient now.
It made sense for him to let her bring it to him.
Xia Yu nodded.
“Okay, I’ll take it in then.”
“Please get in the Shuttle Car, I’ll take you there.”
“Ah?”
Security didn’t give her any time to hesitate, opened the door, and led her to the Shuttle Car nearby.
Sitting there in a daze, Xia Yu was grateful she hadn’t insisted on carrying it herself.
The neighborhood was huge, each villa standing alone, spaced far enough apart that neighbors wouldn’t disturb each other.
If she’d walked, carrying all that stuff would have been exhausting.
“Miss Xia, we’re here.”
A few minutes later, the Shuttle Car stopped, and Security said politely.
Xia Yu thanked him, declined his help carrying the fruit, and walked to the door herself to ring the bell.
A deep chime sounded, and a few seconds later, the gate opened.
She poked her head in for a look, saw no one, and followed the stone path inside.
At the end of the path was a set of stairs, and only after climbing them did she reach the front door.
The door wasn’t locked.
Xia Yu gave it a gentle push and it opened a crack.
“Coach?” she called softly, but there was no response.
So she just walked in.
Right in front of her in the entryway were three surfboards, clean and unused—probably collector’s items.
Xia Yu couldn’t help but lean in for a closer look, then took off her shoes and set them aside.
She didn’t see any slippers, nor Xu Baiyan, and wasn’t sure if she should keep going.
Just as she was about to take out her phone to call Xu Baiyan, a voice came from inside: “The slippers are in the second cubby on your right.”
“…Okay!”
Xia Yu knew he was only giving instructions from afar because he couldn’t move easily, so she quickly set her things down and looked for the slippers.
All the slippers in the cubby were men’s, so Xia Yu picked a relatively small pair, changed into them, then picked up the fruit and supplements and walked inside.
The house is huge…
That was Xia Yu’s first thought after passing through the entryway.
The first thing she saw was a massive living room, open to the second floor, with three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows, a semi-circular sofa, a staircase stretching up to the second floor, and an entire wall lined with surfing equipment…
There weren’t many things, and the minimalist style—with its crisp lines and lots of empty space—made the house look even more spacious, but not at all careless. It was obvious the owner had put a lot of thought into the design.
“Don’t worry about the salary.”
Xia Yu finally understood what Sister Kk meant—Xu Baiyan wasn’t lacking money at all.
But whether he lacked money or not was one thing; the fact that she’d indirectly caused his injury was another…
“Coach.” Xia Yu stood in front of the sofa, looking at Xu Baiyan sitting there.
He was wearing pajamas today—a silver-white, long-sleeved, long-pants set, the fabric looking especially soft. One leg was propped up on the sofa, his ankle bandaged, and a pair of underarm crutches sat beside him.
If you didn’t look at his foot, he was the picture of a refined gentleman.
But looking at his foot, he seemed rather pitiful.
“I brought you some fruit and supplements.”
Xia Yu stepped forward and put the things on the coffee table, standing straight.
“Are you feeling any better today?”
Awkward.
Xu Baiyan leaned back, his tone direct: “No.”
“Oh, yeah, ankle injuries don’t heal easily.”
Xia Yu pressed her lips together, suddenly not knowing what to say, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Xu Baiyan didn’t say anything either, as if he were deliberately letting the awkwardness spread.
After a while, Xia Yu couldn’t take it anymore and forced herself to say, “Um, did you eat breakfast?”
“No. Did you bring any?”
Xia Yu froze for a moment.
She’d only asked if he’d had breakfast to make conversation. She’d brought fruit and supplements, not breakfast.
“I didn’t bring breakfast, but if you want to eat something, I can go buy it.”
She quickly added.
Xu Baiyan replied coldly, “There’s nowhere nearby to buy breakfast.”
Xia Yu rubbed her nose.
“Then what’s in the kitchen? Is it okay if I take a look?”
There was another long silence.
Just as Xia Yu thought he was going to say no and ask her to leave, Xu Baiyan nodded expressionlessly.
Xia Yu immediately let out a breath of relief.
“Then, which fruit do you want? I can cut some up for you too!”
Xu Baiyan glanced at the colorful fruit basket she brought.
“Anything is fine.”
“Okay! So, where’s the kitchen…?”
Xu Baiyan pointed to the right.
“Coach, just wait a moment!”
With her pale yellow figure struggling to carry the fruit into the kitchen, Xu Baiyan’s gaze followed her, and he gave a cold snort. But for some reason, after a night of gloom, his mood lifted a little.
Ding.
His phone chimed softly.
Xu Baiyan looked away and saw a message from He Jiasen: [Bro, what do you want to eat? I’ll bring you something later. [picture][picture]]
He Jiasen had sent photos of various foods from a breakfast shop.
Xu Baiyan: [No need]
He Jiasen: [Ordered delivery already?]
Xu Baiyan didn’t say yes or no, just replied: [Got food]
He Jiasen: [Oh… okay! Want something to drink? Coffee? Milk tea? Juice? I can bring it over.]
Xu Baiyan: [No, don’t come.]
There wasn’t much in Xu Baiyan’s fridge, but it was enough for breakfast.
After fiddling in the kitchen for a while, Xia Yu plated the food, set it on the dining table, and walked over to Xu Baiyan.
“You can come eat now.”
Xu Baiyan nodded coldly, reached for his crutches, stood up on one foot, and tucked them under his arms.
Cheng Li had brought the crutches over last night, and this morning was the first time Xu Baiyan had used them, so he wasn’t very familiar.
Xia Yu saw his furrowed brows and knew he wasn’t used to them, afraid he might fall and worsen his injury, so she hurried over to stand protectively by his side.
So, when Xu Baiyan glanced sideways, he saw her thick lashes like little fans, and her cheeks puffed up from pressing her lips together.
In the broad daylight, he could even see the fine fuzz on her face.
A fuzzy little peach?
Xu Baiyan was caught off guard and spaced out for a moment, then snapped back—he was still angry, he shouldn’t be thinking… Damn it, why did he find this a little cute?
“Want me to help you?”
Xia Yu asked, seeing that he hadn’t moved for a while.
Xu Baiyan kept his face stiff.
“Fine, I’m not used to these.”
“I could tell.”
The living room was so big that even getting to the dining room took some effort.
After Xu Baiyan sat down, he let out a breath.
When he looked at the food on the table, his eyebrows rose slightly.
“You made all this in such a short time?”
On the plate were two servings of grilled toast.
One was stacked with bacon, scrambled eggs, vegetables, and cheese; the other was spread with blueberry jam, neatly arranged with slices of fresh strawberries and blueberries.
The plating was beautiful, and she’d even made an extra yogurt fruit bowl.
Being praised like that, Xia Yu felt a little embarrassed.
“Actually, it’s really simple. I just used whatever you had in the fridge.”
Xu Baiyan replied with an “Oh” and looked up at her.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Kinda… I had some fruit.”
To make sure the fruit she bought for him was good, she’d tasted a bit of each kind.
“Go get another plate.”
“Huh?”
Xu Baiyan said lightly, “You made too much, I can’t finish it all. Eat the other half.”
“Ah… thank you.”
A minute later, Xia Yu sat across from him, with a plate of blueberry toast in front of her.
She had barely taken two bites when a phone rang—not hers, but Xu Baiyan’s.
She sneaked a glance at him and saw his brows furrow as he answered, “What is it?”
She couldn’t hear what the person on the other end said, but Xu Baiyan’s frown deepened.
“I’m not coming back, I’ve got something to do… Of course it’s important… I can’t go to River City either, I’m busy… No, you don’t need to come see me… We’ll talk later.”
The call ended after two minutes.
From the few words she caught, Xia Yu felt a little more guilty.
For example, when he said he wasn’t going back because he had something to do—wasn’t that “something” his injury?
“Coach.”
“Yeah.”
“Was that a call from your family?”
Xu Baiyan paused eating.
“Why?”
Xia Yu asked, “You’re not going back and you won’t let them come over. Are you worried they’ll see you’re hurt?”
Xu Baiyan: “I just don’t want them to bother me.”
Mouth says no, heart says yes.
Xia Yu thought he must be hiding the bad news from his family.
But not telling them he’s hurt and struggling alone at home—wasn’t that too pitiful?
“About yesterday… I’m sorry. I actually didn’t want to leave with Brother Yuan…”
Xu Baiyan: “Are you sure you’re not ditching training for a guy?”
“No, of course not! I’m really happy you’re willing to teach me, I’d never take that lightly.”
Xia Yu quickly put down her knife and fork to explain, “And Brother Yuan isn’t like that… It’s not because I like him, it’s just that it was about his mom.”
“Is that so.”
Xia Yu nodded firmly, then added in a small voice, “So, can you stop being mad at me?”
Xu Baiyan didn’t reply, but looked at her as she tilted her head, gazing at him hopefully.
He suddenly felt a little better inside.
“When you’re better, can you teach me skateboarding again?”
Xu Baiyan looked away with a stony face.
“We’ll see. This won’t heal that fast.”
“It’ll heal soon. The doctor said if you rest well, it’ll be fine in two weeks—maybe even one if you’re lucky!”
Xia Yu said earnestly.
“So don’t move around too much for now. How about this… As an apology, I’ll take care of your meals.”
Xu Baiyan’s fork paused.
“You’ll take care of it?”
“Yeah, delivery takes a long time here, right? You can just tell me what you want to eat in advance, and I’ll bring it over. Or… I can cook for you, I’m pretty good at it.”
Feeling guilty and hoping Xu Baiyan would keep teaching her to surf, Xia Yu quickly decided to help him with his meals.
That afternoon, when she got back to Summer for work, she was still thinking about where to buy fresh ingredients for dinner.
“Sister Kk, can I ask you something?”
Kk had just come in from outside.
“What is it?”
Xia Yu said, “Do you know if there’s a big market nearby?”
Kk: “A market? There’s one right at the intersection with Huaisen Road. It’s only a seven or eight minute bike ride. Why, are you going shopping?”
Xia Yu nodded.
“I want to buy some fresh bones to make bone broth. Coach is in this state now, I should do something…”
“Soup?”
kk knew Xia Yu’s personality, and it was normal for her to feel guilty and want to do these things.
But since it was Xu Baiyan, she thought it was unnecessary—he probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway.
“No need, you don’t even have a kitchen here. Even if you did, you’d have to carry the soup over, it’s a hassle.”
kk comforted her, “Don’t worry, he won’t hold it against you.”
“Yeah, Xia Yu, you don’t have to worry about him. Let him fend for himself.”
Cheng Li, who was wiping cups nearby, chimed in.
“It’s fine, I should do it.”
Xia Yu said.
“And I don’t need a kitchen here, I can just bring the ingredients and cook at Coach’s house.”
Kk was stunned.
“Huh? You’re cooking at his place?”
“Yeah.”
“Coach said so?”
“He said I can use the kitchen, everything’s there.”
Kk blinked and exchanged glances with Cheng Li.
Sure enough, they both saw the word “strange” in each other’s eyes.
Wasn’t He Jiasen supposed to bring him food every day?
Why was he suddenly being so picky, insisting on eating what the girl made?
No, the point was—he usually hated people coming to his place.
Why was he letting a girl come over now?
Xia Yu didn’t notice kk and Cheng Li’s expressions.
Knowing there was a market nearby, she took out her phone and messaged Xu Baiyan.
[Coach, I’ll be at your place around 5:30 this afternoon, ok?]
About two or three minutes later, she got a reply: [Password 0001, come in yourself]