Ye Feifei looked up, her heart full of doubt and alarm.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her expression, Bai Le wondered what was wrong and was about to look too, when Ye Feifei suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
"Goodbye."
Bai Le couldn't make sense of her sudden move. Bewildered, he let her hold him, unsure even where to put his hands. At a loss, he said, "Why all of a sudden..."
Ye Feifei looked up at the person, her gaze growing colder and colder. As if she had finally confirmed something, she let go of Bai Le and smiled at him. So that's how it is.
She gave Bai Le a meaningful smile.
"You'd better stay away from that Fourth Master too. The waters of the Xi Family run too deep. It's not worth wading into them."
Bai Le was taken aback. How did she know about the Xi Family? He was about to ask when he saw that Ye Feifei had already left.
When he returned to the café on the second floor, Bai Le was still baffled. He didn't know what Ye Feifei had meant by the last thing she said.
As soon as Wu Hua saw him, he grinned and teased, "Not bad, Lele."
One look at Wu Hua's waggling eyebrows told Bai Le he had nothing decent on his mind. Bai Le rolled his eyes and said, "Get those dirty thoughts out of your head. We were discussing serious business."
After sitting down, he shook the snow off his clothes and hair.
The newspaper lay on the table, and Xi Yan was still looking out the window. Even though he knew Bai Le was back, he seemed unconcerned. Bai Le couldn't tell what he was looking at.
From where Bai Le sat, he could see Xi Yan's tightly pressed thin lips and the sharp line of his jaw.
Bai Le looked him over and finally frowned. "Are you angry?"
Hearing that, Wu Hua looked at Xi Yan too. His face was as icy as usual; Wu Hua had no idea how Bai Le could tell he was angry.
Xi Yan's dark eyes were calm and deep, but for some reason they were a little unnerving.
"Secretary Xing."
Secretary Xing immediately stepped forward and said apologetically to Bai Le and Wu Hua, "Sorry, we'll be leaving first. We'll pay your bill as well."
With that, he pushed Xi Yan away.
Bai Le and Wu Hua watched them leave, both utterly bewildered.
"How could you tell he was angry?"
Bai Le scratched his head. "I can't really say. It was just a feeling."
"Then why was he angry?"
"I don't know."
"..."
Saturday was the day of the Xi Family's banquet, and the Bai family was in a frenzy.
Chen Suqiu was directing people to hold Bai Yin still and put her in a formal dress, while Bai Huizhang was shouting at someone on the phone.
"You're being unreasonable! You're completely insane! Who's mistreated your son? He's the one who doesn't want to go!"
"Wu Xueying! Watch your mouth. If you keep cursing at me, I won't be polite!"
With that, Bai Huizhang hung up with a snap and slammed the phone onto the table in a rage. Turning around, he spotted Bai Le and took his anger out on him. "Get over here. I have something to tell you."
Bai Le immediately had a bad feeling. Shaking his head, he headed upstairs. "Let me make this clear first: I'm not going to the Xi Family's place."
Bai Huizhang flew into a rage. "That's not up to you! Your mother just threw a fit because I was taking Bai Yin and not you. If you really don't go, she'll come over and tear the house apart."
Seeing this, Bai Yin immediately changed her tune. "I'm only going if my brother goes. Otherwise, I'm not going."
Chen Suqiu was so angry that her chest hurt. "You child!"
Seeing that things were going badly, Bai Le hurriedly backed away a few steps. He was just about to turn and run when he heard Bai Huizhang's booming shout behind him.
"Grab him!"
Several dozen minutes later, Bai Le had been dressed and groomed and was escorted into the car, looking like he had nothing left to live for.
His phone kept vibrating with messages from the WeChat group. That bunch of drinking buddies seemed extremely excited.
"Fuck, I don't know why I'm nervous either. I don't even like men."
"We're about to meet the emperor. Noble Lady Wu, can you drive your new car? I want to see it too."
"The car's with Lele."
"Where's Consort Bai? Did he leave the group? Why's he gone quiet?"
"Why is his rank the highest? He's a consort."
"Because he's the beauty of the group."
"Then why not make him empress?"
"Because for a man, there can't be a principal wife."
Bai Le wasn't in the mood for their teasing. He glanced at the messages, then shut off his phone again in frustration. Tugging at his slightly tight tie, he looked at his reflection in the car window.
For some reason, he had been especially sleepy these past few days and looked listless too. Fortunately, he had just been dragged off to have his hair styled, making him look a little more mature and energetic than usual.
Ever since he had turned over a new leaf and become a workaholic, he had rarely had time to stay home. He didn't want to go out and have fun; he just wanted to rest and sleep at home. He hadn't expected even that little wish to go unfulfilled.
When they reached the entrance to the Xi Family's residence, they found countless luxury cars parked outside. Fortunately, there were large stretches of greenery nearby and no other residents, so the cars weren't blocking traffic.
After Bai Yin got out of the car with her mother, Chen Suqiu looked at the residence before them and exclaimed, "You could call this an estate, couldn't you?"
Bai Huizhang was displeased by her small-minded display and snapped, "Hurry up and follow."
The intricately wrought iron gates slowly opened. Since no outside vehicles were allowed in, no matter how expensive, the four of them had to walk inside while the driver waited outside.
Quite a few lavishly dressed guests had already gathered on the lawn outside the residence, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. Elaborate French dessert towers stood on the tables, while children brought by their parents played around the ivory-white fountain.
Bai Yin looked at the thin haute couture dresses worn by girls her own age and couldn't help shivering. Fortunately, she had insisted on wearing a thick shawl before leaving.
"This..." Bai Le felt the same way. Just looking at the young ladies forcing themselves to smile made him feel cold for them.
What is the Xi Family up to now? Are they deliberately leaving people out in the cold?