He was clearly both afraid and disgusted, and whenever he saw him, he wanted nothing more than to hide in his shell like a quail. Yet for some reason, he insisted on forcing himself to be friendly toward him. Every time he saw him act so insincerely, he found it highly amusing.
But now, for some reason, seeing him like this again left him with nothing but inexplicable irritation.
"How did you know my birthday?"
"..." The only reason he remembered his birthday was that it fell on the same date as his own, just in a different month, so it had left a strong impression on him when he read the book.
"What book were you talking about?"
Bai Le had already thought of a plan.
"Didn't I used to like you? Of course I did a little digging and found out your birthday. The book was an astrology book. It said what birthday gifts Leos like. You're not going to be angry, are you?"
Xi Yan showed no expression, and Bai Le couldn't tell whether he believed him.
Xi Yan said mildly, "Did the book say what gifts I like?"
Of course he didn't know.
Bai Le had made all of it up on the spot. Never mind Xi Yan, he didn't even know what gifts Leos liked. Generalizing about people based on their zodiac signs was nonsense, and as far as he was concerned, astrology wasn't accurate at all. Take Xi Yan, for example: his personality had practically nothing in common with a Leo's.
But with no other choice, Bai Le thought quickly. "It's a secret. You'll find out in a bit." He would buy as much time as he could. Either way, he couldn't go wrong.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Saito lifted the curtain and walked in.
"Sorry for the wait. I've taken care of my business."
Seeing him was like seeing a savior, and Bai Le breathed a sigh of relief.
Before Saito had even entered, Xi Yan had already returned to his previous position, leaning back slightly against the pool wall.
"There's a festival nearby tonight. I thought you two might be interested, so I wanted to ask if you'd like to have a look around."
An idea occurred to Bai Le. Since it was a festival, there had to be places selling things. If he bought Xi Yan something, wouldn't that solve the problem?
"I'm going."
The festival was indeed lively. Red lanterns hung everywhere, and crowds filled the streets as far as the eye could see.
Like the locals, Bai Le and Xi Yan both wore yukata. Bai Le's was navy blue, with snow-white cloud patterns embroidered on the sleeves, while Xi Yan's was plain black, without any decoration. Saito had prepared them all for them.
Saito also played the gracious host, taking them around and explaining things to them from time to time.
Bai Le ate a candied apple as he watched the people wearing strangely shaped masks □□ with curiosity.
"What are those things they're wearing on their faces?"
"Masks," Saito explained. "They ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune."
So Bai Le bought one to play with too, wearing it loosely and crookedly on his head.
After walking for a while, he looked at Xi Yan, who was a step ahead of him, and quickened his pace to catch up. He said in a low voice, "Why don't you just stop using the wheelchair? Nobody here knows you anyway. You don't need to worry about Mr. Saito, either. He lives in Japan, and there's no conflict of interest between you."
"You can go," Xi Yan suddenly said to the secretary pushing him.
Bai Le thought Xi Yan had taken his words to heart, but before he could feel happy, he heard him say to him,
"You push me."
"..."
With no other choice, Bai Le resigned himself to pushing the wheelchair. The crowd was packed tight, and before he knew it, Saito was nowhere in sight. Only then did Bai Le realize they had lost him.
He wasn't worried, though. They had their phones, so he wasn't afraid they wouldn't be able to find him.
Many couples were walking together at the summer festival, wearing wooden clogs and Japanese yukata. It looked like a good place for a date.
Only Bai Le and Xi Yan stood out: an expressionless man sat in a wheelchair, while the person pushing him looked utterly unwilling.
Noticing the curious glances around them, Bai Le grew even angrier.
Couldn't this man get up and walk? He was a grown man and still had someone push him around. Even ancient emperors weren't treated this well.
But his attention was soon drawn to a nearby stall.
"How do you play this?"
The stall owner rattled off a long explanation in Japanese, leaving Bai Le completely confused. He resorted to communicating with the man through gestures and only then barely managed to figure it out.
Bai Le took the □□ the owner handed him, aimed at the target, narrowed his eyes slightly, and gently pulled the trigger.
The black target fell with a clatter.
Even the owner let out a cry of surprise. Bai Le raised an eyebrow smugly and winked at Xi Yan.
"Pretty cool, huh? I've practiced."
He missed a few shots afterward, but he still did quite well. The owner gave him a small, exquisite keychain decorated with the iconic Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms.
"Fourth Master, this is for you."
With a grand gesture, Bai Le shoved it into Xi Yan's hand, feeling very generous.
Xi Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, and the corners of his mouth twitched as though he wanted to laugh.
"Want to give it a try?" Bai Le was provoked by his glaring smile and thought he was mocking him.
Xi Yan was silent for a moment, then actually took the gun and raised it toward the target, narrowing his right eye slightly. With a bang, the black target immediately fell.
Before Bai Le could react, Xi Yan had already fired the next few shots in rapid succession. He didn't waste a single bullet; every shot hit its mark.
The prize the owner gave him was also different from Bai Le's: a gigantic Doraemon.
Xi Yan glanced at the enormous blue figure with disgust and didn't reach out to take it. Seeing the owner's embarrassment, Bai Le hurriedly accepted it instead.
"Let's go."
Bai Le had no choice but to tuck the blue figure under one arm and push him onward with his other hand.
As they walked, Bai Le continued looking around listlessly. Suddenly, something to the side caught his eye, and an idea struck him. He seemed to know what Xi Yan liked.
"Goldfish scooping. Want to play?" Bai Le explained as he handed coins to the owner.