If You Are a Dodder Flower Chapter 19 part2

The next day after dinner, Cao Yang called Xia Rou to his study.

It was Xia Rou's first time stepping into that room after her reincarnation. In the past, the last time she had seen Cao Yang before her death was also in this room.

The feeling that arose in her heart when she stepped into the room was too complex to describe.

Sitting at the leather chair in front of the desk, she naturally put both her hands on top of her knees and slightly lowered her head.

Within the ten years of her previous life, she had sat in this posture countless times while receiving a lecture from Cao Yang.

Cao Yang opened up his drawer, taking out a document file. When he lifted his head, he saw Xia Rou's expression and posture and was stunned.

"What's wrong?" He smiled and asked, "Why do you look so dejected?" It was as if she was getting scolded.

Xia Rou came back to her senses. She raised her head and chuckled, "I'm worried about tomorrow's exam."

She would be reporting to Nan Hua tomorrow to pick up her textbooks and take the placement test.

"Don't be afraid," Cao Yang comforted her. "The classes are rearranged each semester. Even if you don't do well this time, you can just do better the next time you take it."

He put the document file on the desk. "Today I'm going to explain to you your current financial situation."

"There were three properties under your mother's name, which are now transferred to you." He showed her certificates to the three properties.

Xia Rou replied with an "Oh," nodding her head.

Cao Yang took out a card and showed it to her. "The money in your mother's account has been transferred into this card for you. Do you know how much was in it?"

Xia Rou nodded. Translated by The Novelst

"Then good," Cao Yang continued. "It's only a hundred-something, not worth the trouble. I just bought you a long-term financial plan for three years, so just leave it like that for the moment."

Then he tucked the card away.

"In the future, rental money will be transferred directly to this card. I will keep this safe for you for now, and I'll give it back to you once you turn eighteen."

Xia Rou had no objections and continually nodded her head.

Cao Yang took out two cards and pushed them toward her: "This is a cash card; in the future I'll transfer pocket money to you every month. If you need cash, just take it from this card. This one is a credit card; if you need to buy something use this card. I can take care of the bill, you don't need to mind that."

He paused a while, adding, "If there's anything big you want to buy or you don't have enough money, just tell me. Okay?"

Considering that she was just a high school student, and added to the fact that she wasn't truly from the Cao Family, the credit limits to the cards he handed to her weren't very high.

Xia Rou still nodded her head.

She had a sharp, pointy chin, and she had been non-stop nodding her head ever since she sat down, just like a little chick pecking for rice.

Cao Yang found it somewhat funny.

He laughed out of nowhere.

"What's wrong?" She touched her face. Was there rice stuck on her face?

Cao Yang leaned back in his chair and lit up a cigarette. He said with humor, "Why are you so obedient?"

Xia Rou glared at him. "Is it bad to be obedient?"

What was wrong with being obedient?

Because she was so obedient, the way Cao Yang treated her was much closer than in the past.

In the past, she had a thorny exterior and a rebellious heart, which was why they drifted slowly apart in the end.

Ever since he had divorced, she noticed that there was a transparent wall that she couldn't pass between them. She didn't know why, but because she was afraid of him, she never took the initiative to contact him.

Obviously, their relationship became strained that year. The longest time they went without meeting was three months.

In the end, when she wanted to get engaged, she bit the bullet and called him. She could already hear the pressure in his voice through the phone, his voice sounding so deep that she was already regretting calling him. If she knew earlier, she would have just gotten engaged in secret.

However, she didn't dare to decide her own marriage without Cao Yang's approval. And without his agreement, she might not even be able to get engaged successfully. Cao Yang told her to go home and see him; although she was afraid of him, she still braced herself and returned.

She sat right in this study room as he passed over a file. Inside the file was the information of that colleague who had pursued her.

That was when she realized that the gap, the estrangement, it was all her misconception. Even if she moved out of the Cao Family and hadn't even given him a call in those three months, her big brother had always been protecting her.

It wasn't true that she wasn't touched, but because of his kindness toward her, she had a better reason to continue on in her willfulness.

He wanted her to get married to an ordinary white-collar worker, become a well-off middle class person. She… couldn't accept it.

Because of her disobedience, she had shot herself in the foot.

After her rebirth, she was once again sitting right in front of him.

Those rebellious thorns of hers seemed like a joke to her now.

She lived a short life, trying as hard as she could to prove that she was different than Cheng Wan, that she was much better than her mother. But funnily enough, Xia Rou realized that she couldn't even compare to Cheng Wan.

Actually, she didn't even have the right to look down on Cheng Wan.

At least Cheng Wan had managed to capture a man's heart.

Within those eight years, although she was just a lover with no title, she had basked in the love of Cao Xiong, living a happy life.

As for herself, she busied herself for her entire life. In the end, it was just flowers in a mirror and the moon's reflection on the water. She even ended up dead in her shoes.

She had looked down on Cheng Wan before, but when Xia Rou finally came to terms with the fact that she was in actuality mediocre and incompetent, she started to become envious of Cheng Wan.

Every time Cheng Wan faced Cao Xiong, she showed him obedience.

If that was the way to live a peaceful, happy life, then Xia Rou was willing to become an obedient lady in front of Cao Yang as well.

Yo, she had her hackles raised. Translated by The Novelst

Ever since she arrived to the Cao Family, she had been very obedient. It was so cute to Cao Yang to watch her flare up, her eyes glaring at him.

Cao Yang looked at her with a grin.

Xia Rou let out an annoyed, "hmmph," and pulled at her hair.

"It's longer now." Cao Yang smiled.

When she arrived, her hair was so short it only reached her cheeks and barely managed to cover her ears. After a month passed, her hair reached below her jaw, and her bangs nearly covered her eyes.

"Mn." Xia Rou blew her bangs up with a puff of air. "I'll cut it short before the semester starts."

"Just keep it," Cao Yang took a puff. "You're a little girl, why do you want to cut it so short?"

Cao Yang preferred women with long hair, Xia Rou knew.

His tastes were similar to his father's.

Cheng Wan had a head full of thick, full hair, well-kept, moisturized, and lustrous. It was often in wavy curls.

No matter whether Cheng Wan tied her hair into a bun or let it settle loosely on her shoulders, Cao Xiong would still smile while looking at her.

That was exactly the reason why Xia Rou insisted on cutting her hair short when Xia Rou entered adolescence.

The life of a young girl was ordinary, so her rebellion and confrontation could only be shown in these small ways.

She heard Cao Yang's words and hesitated: "I might not look nice if I keep my hair long."

Cao Yang said firmly, "It'll definitely look nice."

Since he said it like that, the last little conflict in Xia Rou's heart was extinguished.

"Mn…" She touched her fringe. "Then I'll just let it grow."

Proofread by: Hannah

Chapter end