Supreme Heir Son-in-law

When Xu Ke returned to the inn, it was already very late, but the dim yellow lights of the small inn remained on, and Alice was sitting at the front desk, eagerly watching the door.
When she saw Xu Ke’s figure outside the door, Alice’s eyes lit up, and like a moth to a flame, she ran out from behind the front desk, lifting her skirt and dashing towards Xu Ke, like a butterfly flying into a flower patch.
Just as Xu Ke thought Alice would crash into him, she stopped in time, standing half a step away, her cheeks slightly red as she looked at him, giving an elegant curtsey, making her appear like a young lady from a noble family.
"Good evening, sir. You’ve come back quite late today. I don’t know if you’ve had dinner; I left some food and pastries for you in the kitchen. Do you need any?" Alice asked politely.
"I’ve already had dinner tonight, so I don’t need anything for now. Thank you for your concern," Xu Ke replied with a smile.
The atmosphere between the two fell into silence once more. Alice was shy and didn’t know what to say, while Xu Ke simply didn’t know what to say to her, as, in his view, their relationship was just slightly more familiar than strangers.
"The wind is a bit strong outside, let’s hurry back in, be careful not to catch a cold," Alice said, and as if to prove her words, a gust of wind blew just then.
Indeed, in such a slightly chilly night, the wind made Xu Ke feel a bit cold.
Xu Ke nodded at Alice and obediently followed her into the inn. As soon as they entered and were under the bright lights, Alice immediately noticed Xu Ke’s arm wrapped in bandages.
"Oh my god, what happened? How did you get hurt on a simple trip out? Did those people come to get revenge?" Alice asked worriedly, looking at Xu Ke.
Her eyes showed worry and distress as she looked and thought of the bullies, her eyes carried only hate and anger.
"No, it’s someone else. I just got into a fight and accidentally got scratched. It looks serious, but it’s actually nothing, just a minor scrape with little blood," Xu Ke said, glancing at his bandaged arm.
But before Xu Ke could finish, Alice’s eyes were already red, "How can it be nothing? If it was really nothing, why is it bandaged so seriously? Don’t try to comfort me; I know it all."
Xu Ke noticed Alice casually wiping the corner of her eye, suspecting she had been crying, which made him feel a bit uneasy. Honestly, he’d rather fight ten people than comfort a crying woman; women crying is just too troublesome.
But before Xu Ke could even start comforting, Alice just rubbed her eyes and looked at Xu Ke with watery eyes, saying nonchalantly, "Did you think I was crying? I wasn’t. An eyelash just got in my eye, and I rubbed it out, so it’s fine now."
Alice’s cautious demeanor made Xu Ke feel bad inside.
"You don’t have to be like this," Xu Ke said dryly.
"What are you talking about?" Alice chuckled softly, "I’m really fine. The one who should be concerned is you. You should go and rest; I won’t disturb you. Oh, by the way, let me know what you want to eat tomorrow. If I can make it, I’ll cook for you. If not, I’ll buy it for you. Since you’re injured, you need to take good care of yourself," Alice said considerately and gently.
In this foreign land, Xu Ke felt a long-lost warmth and care, unconsciously smiling at Alice, successfully making her, who was just talking non-stop, close her mouth and look dumbfounded, like a foolish little girl, or rather a little girl with flushed cheeks as if she had a fever.
When Alice came to her senses, she wished she could bury her embarrassing self from just now into the ground.
Alice lowered her head, embarrassed to look at Xu Ke, her ostrich-like attitude successfully amused Xu Ke.
"Don’t laugh at me. When you laugh, it makes me feel even more embarrassed," Alice said, covering her face with her hands, her voice muffled.
"There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, you’re quite adorable, like a silly little girl," Xu Ke said, unconsciously reaching out to ruffle her hair.
Xu Ke’s subconscious reaction made both of them freeze, one not believing what just happened, the other not believing what they just experienced, looking into each other’s eyes in silence once more.
"It’s getting late, I’m a bit tired, so I’ll head up and rest first. Good night," Xu Ke was the first to break the silence, awkwardly touching his nose before fleeing in haste.
Alice stood there, watching Xu Ke leave, and then carefully placed her hand where his had been on her head, gently rubbing it.
Though the feeling was different from just now, it didn’t stop Alice from feeling happy. She smiled with narrowed eyes, and if it weren’t for the fear of disturbing the guests’ rest at night, she would have jumped and screamed out loud.
Alice spun around in excitement where she stood, then rushed to her room, flopping onto the bed, wrapping herself in the covers, wriggling like a worm, and giggling to herself.
Meanwhile, Xu Ke returned to his room, exhaled a couple of times, and suppressed the earlier palpitations.
"I just think of her as a sister, that’s all," Xu Ke muttered to himself.
Perhaps it was a case of psychological suggestion, but after he reminded himself of this, Xu Ke’s emotions did indeed calm down.
Xu Ke did a simple wash-up before falling asleep, while Alice on the same floor remained excited all night. When morning came, she sported two huge dark circles on her face, scaring the innkeeper and his wife.
"My dear, what happened? Did you not sleep all night? Did you have a nightmare or encounter something difficult? If anything’s wrong, you must tell mom; don’t keep it to yourself, understand?" The innkeeper’s wife asked cautiously, watching Alice with concern.
She feared that Alice was upset without telling her, so her eyes were filled with worry.
Alice knew her parents misunderstood and couldn’t help but smile shyly.
"You’re overthinking it. I didn’t encounter anything bad; in fact, I had such a wonderful day yesterday that I couldn’t sleep from happiness," Alice said, chuckling to herself as she spoke.