Chapter 3 Xavier Is Doing Charity Work
‘Hey, Mr. Sanchez, you’re here to film a show, not to do charity work. Why are you so involved?’ The production team thought to themselves. But since it was their car that scared Yasmine off the road, they decided to keep quiet.
Xavier was all business. He carried Yasmine and rushed back to the car, shaking one of her shoes off in the chaos.
Dazed, Yasmine lifted her head, only to see the sharp lines of Xavier’s jaw. He pressed his lips together, making him look pretty intimidating. Still, Yasmine managed to say, “My grandpa hasn’t had any water to drink…”
Except for Yasmine, Xavier didn’t care about anyone else at all. With a snarky reply, he said, “Doesn’t he have hands and legs? Why do you need to take care of him?”
Yasmine blinked. “But he doesn’t have feet.”
Xavier fell silent, rubbing his face in frustration. He looked toward her—her expression wasn’t one of sadness or pain. Instead, her eyes were clear and innocent, with a touch of stubbornness.
‘Damn, now she looks more pitiful!’ Xavier thought. He rolled down the car window and shouted to the crew outside, “Her grandpa doesn’t have feet. Someone get him some water.”
The crew members were taken aback. ‘Huh? Is this really charity work now? Isn’t he just a troublemaker?’
The online viewers were just as shocked.
[Yasmine is really struggling, stuck in a rundown house taking care of a grandpa who can’t help. Where are her other family members?]
[Seriously, do you guys really believe this? Isn’t this obviously scripted?]
Inside the car, Xavier set Yasmine down and bent over to fasten her seatbelt. Suddenly, a hot tear fell onto the back of his hand. It caught him off guard, and he quickly looked at Yasmine, thinking she might be having an emotional moment.
Yasmine looked up with tear-filled eyes, trembling as she whispered, “I lost a shoe… My shoe…”
She felt really sad, caring more about the shoe than her grandpa’s disability, which, maybe have blended into the past over time, while losing her shoe was a sharp pain she was experiencing right now.
[Wow, if this really is scripted, I have to say, they did a great job writing it…]
Xavier took a deep breath and said, “It’s just a shoe. No worries. I’ll get you a new one.”
Yasmine nodded through her tears.
Lexcrity was indeed very poor. The crew had no choice but to take Yasmine to Andrew’s house for a hot bath.
It was a small, two-story concrete house. As the walls weren’t tiled, it looked pretty ordinary. But compared to Yasmine’s home, this place felt downright luxurious.
When Andrew heard that Xavier had finally arrived, he hurried out. “Hey, you made it! The bed is already…” He stopped abruptly, noticing Yasmine in Xavier’s arms.
“Yasmine! What are you doing?” he shouted. If it hadn’t been for the cameras, he would have unleashed a flood of curses.
[Wow, Andrew’s family is really wealthy, huh?]
[Anyone see it? There’s a bunch of crew members there, and the cameras are already set up.]
[I get it. This is Jessica’s house.]
“Enough chatter. Xavier found this little girl on the road and felt sorry for her. He’s letting her clean up,” said one of the crew members as he pushed Andrew aside, taking charge of the situation.
Xavier led Yasmine through the door and up the stairs like he owned the place. To win him over, Andrew had given him the master bedroom, which had its own bathroom. Xavier pushed Yasmine inside, saying, “Go ahead and wash up.”
Yasmine stood in the bathroom, looking small and vulnerable. She turned around, confused, and clumsily fumbled for the shower controls, accidentally spraying herself in the face.
Xavier stood outside, hearing the water turn on and off. Then, the door opened, revealing Yasmine’s damp hair. “I… I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered.
Xavier sighed, realizing she probably hadn’t seen a showerhead before. He grabbed the doorknob and paused, asking, “Are you still in your clothes?”
Yasmine nodded. Finally, Xavier stepped in and, with unusual patience, began showing her how to use the shower. By the time Yasmine finished, half an hour had gone by.
Andrew was pushed by the crew to find some clothes for Yasmine. He grabbed a bundle of clothes from Jessica’s and climbed the stairs.
He knocked on the door gently, his voice dripping with flattery. “Xavier, it’s Andrew. I’m here to bring Yasmine some clothes.”
The door swung open, but Xavier waved him off, saying, “No need.” He stepped aside and added, “She’s already dressed.”
Just then, Yasmine came out of the bathroom in an oversized hoodie that looked more like a dress on her, revealing her tiny ankles. The sleeves hung down past her hands, so she lifted them up, looking lost yet incredibly cute.
‘Xavier gave her his clothes?’ Andrew’s eyes widened in shock, struggling to find the words. ‘Yasmine—damn it, Yasmine!’
The camera finally caught Yasmine, and the comments online went wild.
[Wow, is that an ACRONYM hoodie? No way! That costs over three thousand bucks! Why is she wearing it?]
[Xavier, are you giving her all your clothes? Even your jacket?]
[I’m suddenly not jealous of Jessica now.]
“Come here. Let me dry your hair,” Xavier said, reaching out to Yasmine.
Yasmine still had a bit of a cold. Her nose was stuffy, and she responded in a nasal voice, “It’ll dry on its own.”
Xavier frowned, annoyed. “Dry on its own? You’re going to end up sicker. Come on… I guess you’ve never seen a blow dryer before, right?”
“I’ll dry it,” he sighed, realizing he couldn’t let anyone else do this.
Yasmine glanced up nervously at Andrew before stepping closer to Xavier.
Xavier placed a hand on her shoulder and grabbed a cheap-looking hair dryer from the shelf. He grimaced but switched it on, directing the warm air at Yasmine’s head.
Yasmine stood there, dazed by Xavier’s big hand running through her hair, the warm air soothing her. It felt so nice—she had never been this comfortable before.
As he dried her hair, Xavier said, “Did something chew on your hair? The ends are all uneven.”
Yasmine replied, “My teacher cut it.”
Xavier rolled his eyes. “What awful skills!”
After he finished, Xavier carefully rolled up her long sleeves and pulled the hood over her head. “Now you can go out without getting cold…”
He trailed off, noticing the hoodie was way too big for her—it practically swallowed her whole head, leaving just a glimpse of her pale chin. He couldn’t help but curl his fingers. ‘Damn, she’s too cute.’
Shortly after, a crew member brought over some cold medicine. Yasmine didn’t flinch at the bitter taste; she downed the whole packet in one go, wiped her mouth, and said, “I should head home now.”
For some reason, Xavier felt a bit disappointed but said, “Alright, who’s taking her home?”
The crew let out a collective sigh of relief—finally, Xavier was ready to record properly.
“Wait a minute, your shoe… you’re missing one.” Xavier suddenly remembered.
Yasmine had already cried for her shoes, and now she seemed strong and composed. “It’s okay,” she said.
Xavier’d already given her so much. Maybe her shoe was still out there waiting for her. If not, it didn’t matter—she could always go dig through the trash to find some.
“How about letting her wear Jessica’s shoes?” Andrew chimed in hurriedly. He wanted to get Yasmine out of the picture quickly and score points with Xavier.
Xavier, however, wasn’t impressed. “Why would she want hand-me-downs? What if she gets athlete’s foot?”
Andrew fell silent, and so did the viewers. [I can’t even argue with that.]
