Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep doing my best!
Chapter 19
On the tree-lined avenue, a light drizzle fell through the gaps in the leaves. The windshield wipers swept back and forth, and the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat quiet.
The streets here were very quiet, with hardly a car horn to be heard, probably because an upscale villa district was right next door.
After Secretary Xing hung up the phone, he looked troubled. He hesitated, then said, "Fourth Master, I'm terribly sorry... I..."
Xi Yan had clearly heard every word of the call. He interrupted him in a calm voice. "Ten minutes."
"Yes!"
Overjoyed, Secretary Xing readily agreed, opened the car door, and headed straight for the pharmacy.
His wife had asked him to buy medicine for their daughter. Fortunately, Fourth Master had agreed.
At that moment, Bai Le also spotted the pharmacy and told his driver to stop. He opened his umbrella, covered his face with his scarf, and ran toward the shop.
Xi Yan sat in the car with his eyes closed, resting, and did not notice the figure passing by his window.
After slipping into the pharmacy, Bai Le closed his umbrella and shivered from the cold. The air conditioning was off, and the shop was as cold as an icebox.
There weren't many people inside. Only two or three customers were choosing medicines from the shelves, while the clerk watched TV, nodding off.
Bai Le pulled his scarf higher, trying to cover his entire face. Then he deliberately gave a dry cough, glanced furtively around, and lowered his voice.
"Do you have that... the thing that can check for preg... preg... pregnancy?"
He stammered his way through the question with difficulty. When the clerk looked up and saw his face, he was startled.
The man was bundled up from head to toe, and his movements were obviously furtive. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was there to rob the place.
"You scared me to death. A pregnancy test, right? I'll get one for you."
"Shh!"
The clerk's undisguised volume made Bai Le break out in a sweat. He hurriedly told him to keep his voice down.
"Wait a moment."
The clerk paid it no mind and bent down to rummage around inside the counter. As he searched, he remembered to ask, "For a man or a woman?"
Bai Le's face instantly turned red, and his voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz. "A... a man."
His voice was somewhat muffled because his mouth was covered by the scarf.
The clerk put down the pink box in his hand and continued searching.
As the clerk rummaged around, Bai Le grew increasingly uneasy and began looking around. No one else knew what he was there to do, but he still felt inexplicably guilty, terrified someone would recognize him.
"Here."
The clerk brought out a long blue box. Bai Le was just about to reach for it when he suddenly heard a familiar male voice behind him. He froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
"Can you ring this up, please? Hurry, I'm in a rush."
Secretary Xing kept looking at his watch as he placed the medicine on the counter, frantic with worry.
He also noticed that the person beside him had gone rigid all over. Wondering what he was afraid of, he turned to look, then couldn't help freezing in surprise.
The person before him had his face wrapped up tightly, as though he were afraid someone would recognize him.
"President Bai?"
Secretary Xing called out tentatively.
Bai Le stiffened all over, then snatched the item from the clerk's hand at lightning speed. He feigned a cough and said, "Ahem, what a coincidence. How did you recognize me?"
Secretary Xing said, "You haven't changed your clothes."
Bai Le was at a loss for words. He had only been guarding against acquaintances, since Wu Hua and his gang of disreputable friends all lived nearby. He hadn't expected to run into someone he had just met that day, so he hadn't changed his clothes.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. Didn't you all go back?" he asked, forcing a smile.
"My wife asked me to buy medicine for my daughter," Secretary Xing replied.
Bai Le coughed a few more times. "I don't know what's been going on these past few days. My throat's been bothering me, so I came to buy some cold medicine, haha."
The clerk was puzzled, but he was professional enough not to expose him on the spot.
"But I saw 'pregnancy test' written on it..."
Secretary Xing looked puzzled. Though it had happened quickly, he had still seen the writing on the box. He had only caught a few conspicuous words, but they had clearly said "pregnancy test."
Bai Le's expression stiffened. Then he said awkwardly, "Secretary Xing, could I trouble you with something?"
"What is it?"
"Could you not tell anyone that you saw me here today?"
Secretary Xing was full of suspicion, but then he thought that a rich young master like him was a womanizer who loved fooling around. Perhaps he had gone too far and couldn't clean up the mess, had gotten some other woman pregnant, and was embarrassed about it.
He also thought of Fourth Master's special attitude toward Bai Le and felt indignant on Fourth Master's behalf. He had no idea what Fourth Master saw in such a useless rich kid.
"I promise, but I have to go. I'm in a hurry."
With those thoughts in mind, his tone was a little stiff. After paying, he picked up the bag and left the shop.
Secretary Xing opened the car door and sat down in the driver's seat, still a little out of breath from jogging. He checked the time. Right on the dot.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Xi Yan was still resting with his eyes closed. He couldn't help letting out a long breath of relief.
He put the bag away and hesitated for a moment. In the end, he said nothing about what had just happened and slowly drove away.
Only after Bai Le had made sure Xi Yan's car had driven off did he dare come out. He had been careless just now; in his haste, he hadn't noticed Xi Yan's car parked there.
Fortunately, Secretary Xing was considerate enough.
After getting home, Bai Le rushed straight to the bathroom like a gust of wind. He opened the box and started taking the test.
There was a knock on the door. Bai Yin shouted at the top of their lungs, "Bro, I have diarrhea! Hurry up!"
Bai Le said in a panic, "Use the one downstairs."
Bai Yin muttered a few words but obediently left. Only when Bai Le could no longer hear anything outside did he breathe a sigh of relief.