Chapter 13 I'm Just a Tool

• I sat in the lavishly decorated restaurant. Everyone who walked past our table were beautiful people dressed in equally beautiful clothes. I looked out of place in my long fur coat. The mere act of cutting up my steak had me perspiring profusely.
• Xiao Shi cut a portion of her steak, then paused and looked at me.
• “Xiao Sheng, do you feel warm?”
• “Not at all. I’m just feeling slightly unwell.”
• “Take your coat off if you feel warm. Is your coat very expensive?”
• “Of course not.”
• “Since Xiao Shi wants you to take off your coat, just take it off then. She’s just being thoughtful,” Xi Qingchuan said coolly.
• I wished I could stab him with my fork. The rest might not be aware of what was going on, but he knew exactly the dilemma I was in. How could I take my coat off?
• I twisted my face into a smile.
• “Excuse me, I need to visit the washroom.”
• I raced to the washroom, yanked my coat off and placed it next to the sink. His secretary’s coat was especially thick and warm. I nearly suffocated in all that heat.
• I left the coat out by the sink and entered one of the cubicles. When I came out to wash my hands, I discovered that it had gone missing.
• I searched high and low to no avail. I asked the cleaning lady in the washroom. She said she had no idea where my coat went.
• I stood before the mirror and stared at the look of fearful desperation in my reflection. How was I to leave the washroom now?
• His secretary’s low-cut top fitted my form tightly. With a slight straightening of my back, I could see the clear outline of my cleavage through the top. This would have looked fine—if I had worn a bra.
• Fortunately, I had brought my mobile phone along. Left with no choice, I called Xi Qingchuan.
• He answered my call, but his voice was hard over the phone.
• “Is the washroom so far away that you have to call me?”
• “Xi Qingchuan,” I whispered as I huddled in a corner, “bring your coat over. Someone’s snitched mine. I’m trapped in the washroom.”
• “You’re like a bag full of tricks.”
• “Why am I in such a situation now? It’s all because you tore my clothes.”
• My voice grew louder as I became more agitated. I got curious looks from other women who walked past me.
• I hid my face in my hands and curled into myself.
• “Xi Qingchuan, if you don’t turn up with some clothes for me now, I’ll tell Granny that you’ve been bullying me.”
• “What else can you do besides dragging Granny into the picture?”
• “You made me do this. I know you’re unhappy because I brought up the idea of a divorce earlier today, so now you’re having fun at my expense. Xi Qingchuan…” I stopped in mid-sentence as someone picked me up with one arm and pulled me out of the washroom. I fell into a warm embrace.
• I lifted my head. It was Xi Qingchuan.
• He wasn’t a complete jerk. He had begun making his way towards the washroom after picking up my call.
• His coat was folded over his arm. I made a desperate grab for it, but he gripped my wrist and stopped me.
• “You’re just going to take that without giving anything in return?”
• “What do you want?”
• Xi Qingchuan leaned his body away slightly. I peered over his back. Xiao Shi and Kang Zitai were embracing each other.
• Before I could react to the scene, Xi Qingchuan suddenly reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist.
• “They’re displaying their affection for each other so openly despite them not being married yet. What about you? What do you think you should be doing?”
• Did he mean that he wanted me to give him a hug as well?
• I was only asking to borrow his coat. Who knew I had to pay him back in hugs? Before I could stretch my arms out to do so, Xi Qingchuan had wrapped his arms around my waist, lowered his head towards mine, and kissed me.
• I knew he wasn’t genuinely interested in kissing me. I was just an accessory. He was doing it for Xiao Shi.
• This was meaningless. I was being used.
• I could see from the corner of my eye Xiao Shi watching me. There was some distance separating us, so I couldn’t see the expression on her face.
• She turned around and went back to our table.
• “She’s not watching us anymore. You can stop acting now,” I forced the words out between my clenched teeth.
• Xi Qingchuan released me, then pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his mouth. He flung his coat towards me.
• I pulled on his coat and followed him back to our table. I could feel the atmosphere at our table turn more awkward as I settled into my seat.
• I finally realized why Xi Qingchuan had brought me along. It was to even the odds, so that when Xiao Shi began her public displays of affection, he had his own partner to do the same with.
• I was headed for the hospital after lunch. Granny was going to be discharged today. I asked Xi Qingchuan if he was going to come along, but he had an important meeting to attend, so I was going to have to do it alone.
• Xiao Shi was standing next to us then.
• “Granny’s been hospitalized? I’ll drop in and see how she’s doing then!”
• Xi Qingchuan appeared indifferent. He pointed at my coat. I clutched at it and gave him a pitiful look. He threw me a card.
• “There’s a store nearby. Get yourself something to wear.”
• Xi Qingchuan left. Xiao Shi accompanied me shopping. We hadn’t been especially close since we had been young. I didn’t ask for her views when I shopped for clothes.
• From the look on her face, she didn’t seem to agree with what I had chosen though.
• It didn’t matter. My taste was definitely a lot better than the secretary’s.
• Xiao Shi leaned against the counter and fiddled with her mobile phone when I paid for my new clothes. Without any warning, she said suddenly, “I saw you and Xi Qingchuan kissing in front of the washroom.”
• I didn’t expect her to be so blunt. It surprised me.
• Xi Qingchuan and I were legally wedded. But her words unsettled me. It was as if I had been caught doing something wrong.
• I murmured inaudibly, hoping that she would let it pass. She was like a dog with a bone.
• “It seems that life with Xi Qingchuan is quite comfortable.”
• “It’s not what you think it’s like,” I muttered.
• “What’s it like then?”
• “You seem to still be extremely interested in Xi Qingchuan.”
• I hit the nail on the head. Xiao Shi froze momentarily, then smiled.
• “I just wanted to warn you. Xi Qingchuan isn’t the man he appears to be.”
• “What kind of man is he then?”
• She didn’t continue the conversation. She walked out of the store. I grabbed the card the cashier returned me and chased after her in a hurry.
• Xiao Shi drove her car over, and I hitched a ride to the hospital to take Granny home.
• The entrance to Granny’s ward was crowded with people. Both of my sisters-in-law were present. They had come to bring Granny home.
• They generally gave me the cold shoulder. But they greeted Xiao Shi warmly when they saw her.
• “Hi, it’s been quite a while since we last saw you, Miss Xiao. You’ve grown more beautiful.”
• “Miss Xiao, it’s been some time since you’ve visited us. Drop by some time. I love playing mahjong with you. You always discard tiles that let me win the game.”
• Xi Qingchuan’s mother was present as well. People always said that the wife and the mother-in-law always had a difficult relationship. My relationship with Xi Qingchuan’s mother wasn’t a particularly cordial one. Her relationship with Granny was worse. Granny treated her caretaker, Mrs. Liu, more warmly than she did her own daughter-in-law.
• Some semblance of a smile appeared on my mother-in-law’s face when she saw Xiao Shi. I had been staying at the Xi residence for quite some time. I had never seen her smile at me.
• I went inside as they greeted each other. Granny was sitting cross-legged on her bed, an unhappy look on her face.
• “What’s wrong, Granny?” I walked over and bent down. The look on the old lady’s face was as dark as thunder.
• “What’s with the noise and the crowd? Have I died? Are they all here for my funeral?”
• “Don’t say that,” I stomped my feet exasperatedly. “Granny, you can’t just say things like that. Quick, take it back.”
• “No way. Look at me. One foot in the grave. What should I be afraid of?”