Wesley said nothing more. After a moment of thought, Blair said seriously, "How about I stay at a hotel tonight? There's one not far from where you're living." It would be improper to stay at the Li family's villa. Especially given what happened between her and Wesley.
"No need for that. We have tons of space."
"But I hate bugging you…" 'I'm not Wesley's girlfriend. It's pretty embarrassing to stay with him, ' she thought.
"Don't think like that. My family loves you. They love having you around. Please. Stay," Wesley said earnestly. He could tell that his grandpa was more than thrilled because Blair was there. There was a spring in the old man's step and a light in his eyes. He wanted his grandpa to be happy. More importantly, he wanted to spend more time with her.
Rather than argue any further, Blair gave in. "All right then. Hey, where are we going?"
It was freezing outside, and Wesley knew that she was not used to the cold. He planned to take her to a mall. "Let's go shopping."
"Okay." Actually, as long as she was by his side, she was fine wherever Wesley wanted to go.
He stopped at a red light, looked out the window and said, "My alma mater."
"Huh?" Blair followed his gaze and saw a school—F City No. 1 Primary School.
The school gates were closed, and there was only one old guy on duty in the reception office. Wesley started the engine, so Blair looked away. "You haven't been there in a long time, huh?" she asked.
"Yeah. More than ten years." He hadn't been there since he had graduated from primary school.
"Which junior middle school did you go to?"
He chuckled. "No. 1 Junior Middle School. Just down the road a ways."
"What about senior middle school?"
"The same middle school. I skipped two grades, and when I was 15, I attended the University of National Defense in G City." After graduation, Wesley had a pretty nice rank in the army. Not high, but definitely higher than most recruits. That was why he was now much younger than his colleagues of the same rank.
"Did she go to the same schools?" Blair suddenly asked.
"Who?" Wesley was puzzled.
"That girl with short hair… I tried to video chat with you yesterday, but she answered." Her uniform looked similar to Wesley's, so Blair was guessing they had quite a bit in common.
Wesley answered, sounding as calm as ever, "That's Garnet. Garnet Jiang. We've known each other since we were kids. We went to school together. By the time she entered the University of National Defense, I was close to graduating."
'Garnet Jiang…' Somehow, Blair felt a little jealous. "And now? You're celebrating the New Year together? When's the engagement?"
Wesley furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"
'I knew it! I knew she was lying. Wesley couldn't care less about romance, ' Blair thought. 'The reason why he kissed me so many times is that I was flirting with him. Of course he was going to do something. But just because he let me make him come, doesn't mean he loves me. A hand job is not hand-fasting.'
"She said she was your fiancee. She also said there were a lot of girls that had a crush on you, and warned me to stay away. I figured that was how you felt, too. That was why I decided not to fly in today." Blair was calm on the surface; deep inside, she was super-nervous. She had long wanted to know who this girl was to him, but she hadn't had the chance until now.
On the drive over this morning, she had been too sleepy to talk to him. She slumped in her seat and just closed her eyes, listening to the rhythm of the engine. When she had finally woke up, they were already at his house.
Blair waited for Wesley to say something—anything. He kept silent, which frustrated and annoyed her. "Look, if she's your fiancee, I can get a hotel. It just wouldn't be a good thing, and I don't want to make her jealous. And I'll find a place and move out as soon as I get back home."
"She's not." Wesley knew Blair didn't mean what she said. She was just babbling, trying to get him to say something. "She's three months younger than me. She's like my sister."
Blair wasn't satisfied with his answer. "Sister again? I guess this is the same case as Megan. When is she going to become your lover?" she sneered.
Wesley cast a sidelong glance at her and simply said, "Watch your mouth."
Blair snorted and looked out the window. But when she finally calmed down, she felt a lot better. He had no feelings for Garnet Jiang.
Silence reigned inside the car. After a while, Blair got bored and tried to start a conversation. "Does she have a thing for you?"
"Don't know, don't care. I don't think of her that way."
Wesley's answer threw Blair for a loop. She wanted to make it difficult for him, but had no excuse.
"Do you have a lot of girls hoping to go out with you?" she asked. She wasn't sure if she should have asked that when she saw the look on his face.
Wesley pulled over and looked her in the eye. Blair's heart raced in her chest and she wondered what he was going to say. "We're here," he simply said.
Blair blinked her eyes innocently. "What?"
Wesley unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car.
Blair looked around, and saw they were in the parking garage of the shopping mall. Wesley opened the passenger door and unfastened her seat belt rudely. "Blair," he said.
"Huh?" He took her hand and helped her out of the car. The next second, he pressed her against the vehicle.
"I have no interest in romance. I don't know who's hot for me, and I don't want to know. Just ignore Garnet. I don't hate you, and I'll continue to take care of you. You don't need to move out, because nothing else is gonna happen. Just quit seducing me. It drives me up the wall and I don't know what to do."
His words were like a knife piercing Blair's heart. Despite the bitterness in her heart, she curled her lips and asked, "Then why are you taking me out?" 'Seriously? Why does he have to ruin my holiday like this?' she thought.
He let go of her and step backwards. "I don't want Mom and Grandpa to be unhappy."
"I see." She was still smiling, hiding her emotion deep inside.
She was already used to Wesley turning her down. It was not the first time he had done this.
'Fine. Since you fucked up my holiday, you can't have a good holiday either.
I have lots of ways to make you mad, ' she thought angrily.
Wesley felt something was not right judging from her expression. "Penny for your thoughts?" he pried.
"Mind your own business!" She adjusted her hat. "You can just wait here or look around. I'll go shopping myself. When I'm done, I'll come back here and we'll go back to your house. Sounds like your family will be upset if we don't."
Wesley sighed helplessly. "You don't know this city."
Blair rolled her eyes at him. "Okay. And?"
"I brought you here. I need to take care of you," he insisted.
"No need for that, Colonel Li. I'm not a little girl. And I have my phone. If I really get lost, I can use Google Maps." He cocked an eyebrow. Blair put her hands inside her pockets and walked towards the elevator.
Wesley followed after her. But she turned around and yelled, "Hey!"
"Hmm?"
"Don't follow me! Otherwise, I'll call the police and tell them I have a stalker!"
Wesley stood there, open-mouthed, silent.
Seeing his sullen face, Blair felt better. She turned around and kept walking.
