Chapter 13: You Are So Amazing!

Upon arriving at the Jiang residence, Julian naturally took Clara’s hand, and they walked inside side by side.

After the initial greetings, Clara found an opportunity to pull Uncle Lee aside and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Lee, how has Grandpa been these past few days?"

Uncle Lee answered honestly, "His condition is relatively stable, but he coughs frequently at night and doesn't sleep well. He hasn't had much energy during the day."

"What did the doctor say?" Clara pressed.

"Two days ago, your husband introduced a lung cancer specialist from the United States. Currently, the medical teams from both sides are coordinating to discuss a follow-up plan."

Clara looked up in surprise. "Julian?"

"Yes," Uncle Lee nodded. "I heard he personally reached out to someone to arrange it."

Clara gripped her teacup tightly, looking toward the figure in the living room from a distance.

He hadn't mentioned a single word of this to her.

"...How did he find out?"

"The Master told him personally."

Clara felt a mix of complicated emotions. "Uncle Lee, I'll leave Grandpa in your care. Please let me know immediately if anything happens."

"I will."

During lunch, Grandpa Jiang’s craving for alcohol kicked in, and he wanted to pull Julian into having a few drinks.

Clara couldn't think of a reason to refuse on the spot, so she anxiously nudged Julian’s thigh under the table.

Julian accurately caught her hand and bowed slightly toward Grandpa Jiang. "Grandpa, I’m afraid I’ll have to dampen your spirits today. My parents are anxious for a grandchild and instructed me to take good care of my health—no smoking or drinking."

Upon hearing this, Clara’s cheeks instantly turned bright red, and she wished she could bury her head under the table out of embarrassment.

Grandpa Jiang froze for a moment, then laughed and nodded. "Your parents are right. It’s good to prepare in advance; that’s the only way to have a healthy and smart child. Come, let’s eat. Have more vegetables."

Clara lowered her head to drink her soup, her ears burning red.

After lunch, Uncle Lee helped Grandpa Jiang to his afternoon nap.

In the vast living room, only Julian and Clara remained.

The silence in the air felt a bit subtle.

After sitting in silence for a while, Clara looked at the bright sun outside the window and asked, "Are you sleepy?"

Julian didn't have the habit of taking naps and was about to say "No," when he heard her add, "If you are, you can go to my room and rest for a bit."

The words Julian was about to say suddenly took a turn. "I am."

"Oh, then follow me." Clara led him to her room.

Her room was a suite, containing a living area, bedroom, study, walk-in closet, and bathroom. The decor was Rococo style, dominated by ivory white and gold, with accents of mint green and peony pink—lavish, exquisite, sweet, and gentle.

"Go ahead and sleep," Clara said, pointing to the princess-style bed with pink bedding in the center of the bedroom.

"You’re not sleeping?" Julian asked.

A grown man sleeping in this bed felt somewhat out of place...

Clara was actually a bit sleepy too, but during the day, in her own room, lying in the same bed as him—the idea felt far too excessive no matter how she thought about it.

"I’m a bit full and don't want to sleep yet." She avoided his gaze. "You sleep first."

Julian didn't insist. He took a few steps, then turned back. "Are there any pajamas I can wear?"

Clara made an internal call, and a servant soon brought up a set of men’s pajamas.

Julian changed and lay down, surveying her room: the pink bed curtains, the white piano in the living area, the fluffy cushions and pillows on the window seat, and the hand-drawn family portrait hanging on the wall.

He closed his eyes, but sleep didn't come easily. He couldn't help but imagine her in this room—the way her fingertips danced on the piano keys, her focused profile bent over drawing paper, or the way she would curl up on the sunlit window seat, her cheek rubbing against the soft pillows.

Those images were light and quiet, like warm water washing over his heart. The restless emotions of the day gradually eased, and his breathing slowly became even...

When he woke up again, the sunlight outside the window was already slanting westward.

The other side of the bed was neat and tidy, without the slightest trace of anyone having lain there.

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose, got out of bed, and followed the faint sound of keys being tapped to find Clara in the study next door. she was looking at the data on the monitor with a distressed expression.

Julian knocked on the door. She turned and gave him a small smile. "You’re awake. How did you sleep?"

"Very well." Julian approached. "What are you doing?"

"My finance graduation thesis." Clara frustratedly ran her hand through her hair. "I’m doing a regression analysis, but the results aren't significant. The p-value is greater than 0.05..."

Clara didn't actually like finance. She loved fashion design, but her grandfather said that since she would manage the Changyao Group in the future, she had to understand business management, so she took a second degree in finance.

But disliking it was disliking it; even though she put in a lot of effort, it was still an ordeal.

"Let me see." Julian stood by her side, leaning over to look at the screen. "Give me the mouse."

Clara moved her hand away. Julian’s large palm covered the mouse; from her sitting angle, it almost looked like he was holding her entire hand in his palm.

His long fingers rhythmically scrolled the wheel, and his hands tapped a string of code onto the keyboard as he explained carefully, "Look here. The VIF exceeds 10, which suggests a potential issue with multicollinearity. In other words, your X variables are highly correlated. Try merging X3 and X4 and then try again."

Clara looked up, her gaze falling on his focused profile.

"Did I make it clear?" He turned his head to look at her.

Clara hurriedly lowered her eyes, the edges of her ears turning a faint red. "Clear!"

After merging the variables according to his method, she reran the code, and the p-value indeed dropped below 0.05.

"It worked!" She turned to him, her eyes bright like the brilliant stars in the sky. "You are so amazing! You solved a problem in an instant that had been bothering me for days."

Julian instinctively raised his hand, gently patting her head and smoothing down a stray hair that had poked up.

Both of them froze at the same time, neither pulling their gaze away.

The air suddenly went silent—so silent they could hear each other’s breathing.

Clara’s heart hammered against her chest.

As Julian looked at her face, which was gradually turning red, his gaze also grew increasingly scorching.

His hand slid down slowly, his palm resting against her tender cheek while his thumb traced it back and forth.

Clara held her breath as his warm aura gradually drew closer—

In the next instant, there was a knock on the door. "Clary, Julian, the kitchen has prepared tea and snacks. The Master invites you downstairs for afternoon tea."

Clara abruptly turned her face away and stood up to retreat. Her movements were so rushed that she accidentally knocked a notebook off the edge of the desk.

She hurriedly bent down to pick it up, her voice trembling slightly. "Uncle Lee, we’ll be right there!"

Julian’s gaze fell on the open page of the notebook.

It was a hand-drawn sketch of a tall, upright young man, with a sentence in English written beside it.

He only saw the first two letters of the name clearly.

"ZJ."

Clara quickly shut the notebook and shoved it into a drawer.

"Let’s go." She hid her hands behind her back, trying to force a smile. "Let’s go have tea."

Julian watched her quietly. The heat that had been in his eyes just moments ago had completely vanished, leaving only a silent chill.

After dinner, the two drove back to Xiyuan.

There was a cool breeze tonight. Clara rolled down the car window, resting her arm on the ledge, watching the French plane trees on the roadside swaying in the night.

The wind blew gently, causing her long hair to scatter like ink silk. The magnolia-shaped streetlights were also gentle, tracing a faint golden edge along her bright face.

During a red light, Julian glanced sideways and saw such a heart-stirring image of beauty.

At the end of summer, the night was warm but not hot, the shadows of the trees danced, and the chirping of insects was long. She was looking at the wind, and he was looking at her.

"Wait." Clara suddenly pointed to the intersection ahead. "Can you stop for a moment?"