Chapter 35 - Xiao, Is That You?

Chapter 35 - Xiao, Is That You?

There was a word limit for every message, so she had to split her message up.
"Xiao, this is my house number, 051x8501xxx."
"Xiao, work hard. Don't miss me too much. Also, stop looking at your pager."
"Xiao, you're out there protecting our country, and I'm right here thinking of you."
"Xiao, I miss you. Mwah!"
As soon as she hung up, she looked around just to make sure that she was alone in the room. It would be embarrassing if her parents found out about what she had just said. The operator from the paging center must be having a hard time transmitting her honeyed words into codes.
What a blessing it would be to have a cellphone in this day and age.
She then made another call to the Ye family, which was soon picked up by Chen Ya, the housekeeper's daughter.
Chen Ya used to tease her a lot. She always made Ye Qiao feel that even a housekeeper's daughter was more like family than her, just to make her feel that all her joy of being in the Ye family was a mockery.
"Hi, Qiao Qiao. Grandpa Ye is not at home now. He's out for a walk."
That was just a lame excuse. Knowing her grandfather, he would not be going anywhere at this hour. Also, knowing Chen Ya, she definitely would not tell her grandfather that Ye Qiao called in order to deliberately create conflicts.
"Who told you that I was out?" A voice could be heard from the other end of the telephone.
Ye Qiao could not help but chuckle. How perfectly in sync they were. She already knew that her grandfather would be up from his afternoon nap around this hour. Also, she could imagine how dreadful Chen Ya must be looking right now as she stood abashed at her grandfather's rebuke.
"Grandpa Ye, I thought you were out." Chen Ya simply made an excuse.
With just a glare, Chen Ya went helter-skelter out of the living room.
Her grandfather's expression softened as soon as he picked up the call. He saw with his own eyes all the changes that Ye Qiao had made, big and small, and was filled with heartfelt delight. She deserved to be affectionately loved. After all, the Ye family was still indebted to her for all the time that they had lost during her childhood.
Ye Qiao briefly told her grandfather about her foster family, which was the same as what Xiao Dong had just reported to him. He heaved a sigh of despair, for Qin Lan had truly never intended to help the Qiao family.
"Qiao Qiao, if you need anything at all, get Xiao Dong to help you!" Her grandfather told her so.
…
It was already ten o'clock at night, and it was almost bedtime. Ye Qiao already had her teeth brushed and was getting her mosquito net ready for a good night's sleep when the telephone on the desk suddenly rang. It had just been installed, so not many people knew the number. In fact, not many families were fortunate enough to own a telephone at home. With just a ring, she already knew who the caller was.
She was almost certain that it was him on the line. Eagerly, she ran to the desk and picked it up.
"Hello?"
The only reaction was dead silence.
Ye Qiao was absolutely sure now that it was him.
"Hello, Xiao, are you there? Say something, will you? Are you shy?" Ye Qiao could not hide the smile on her face as her heart leaped excitedly. She had the maturity of a 38-year-old woman, but when she was with him, she behaved like an 18-year-old teenager at the dawn of love.
Her heart burst into bloom as memories of him ravishing a kiss that night was still so vividly intense that she could almost feel the warmth of his lips on hers.
At the other end of the line was a very tranquil office. There was a telephone on the desk, but the receiver was not where it should be. The telephone wire dangled by the side of the desk where a man sat with a cigarette in his hand.
His heart had been fluttering ever since he heard her voice, so much so that he had to take a few puffs of his cigarette just to calm his wildly beating heart.
"Xiao, I'll hang up if you don't want to talk."
"! dare you!" He hoarsely said in a domineering manner.
"You know I won't," Ye Qiao quickly admitted. Frankly, she would never hang up on him.
"What are you doing in your hometown? Did the Ye family give you a hard time?" He originally planned to call her back at the main courtyard since he had not heard from her. The next best thing that he could do was to wait for more news, which he gladly received this afternoon.
"What a good girl," he thought.