Bai Le felt the stiffness in his hand and couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Xi Yan replied calmly, turning off the light. "Let's go to sleep."
Bai Le narrowed his eyes slightly. The more this happened, the more suspicious it seemed, so he decided to get to the bottom of it.
What are you hiding from me?
Xi Yan pulled the blanket up to cover Bai Le, then patted him lightly.
"Go to sleep."
His coaxing tone, as if speaking to a child, annoyed Bai Le, so she glared at him in the darkness.
I'm not sleepy.
Xi Yan said, "Then I'm sleepy."
Bai Le paused for a moment, then heard a rustling sound beside him before falling silent.
He stared at Xi Yan's profile in the darkness for a long time, then accused him, "Then why did you tell me not to hide anything from you?"
He himself didn't realize that his tone was somewhat aggrieved. His words were indeed effective. Xi Yan slowly opened his eyes, then turned to look at him, his dark eyes filled with a sinister light.
After a long silence, he sighed almost imperceptibly, "I set up a scheme, and it involved you."
Bai Le was stunned for a moment.
Xi Yan looked at him, "But now I'm starting to regret it."
This was a scheme he had planned long ago, designed to severely damage Xi Defeng. Once he dealt with him, he would have no more worries and would be able to "recover" his legs.
Bai Le looked him straight in the eye. "Will it hurt me and my family?"
Xi Yan was taken aback. "It's not that serious." At most, it would have a slight impact on his company's interests, but he would try his best to minimize the impact and then make appropriate compensation. As for what happens to other companies involved, that's none of his business.
"That's good then." After saying that, Bai Le closed his eyes in relief.
Xi Yan frowned slightly as he watched him so easily skip over the topic.
Aren't you going to ask me what it is?
Bai Le opened his eyes again and looked at him. "I've asked what I wanted to know."
He roughly knew what Xi Yan wanted to do; his grudges with Xi Defeng were too complicated.
Xi Yan stared at him silently for a long time before finally managing a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"You're really not what I imagined."
"What did you imagine?" Bai Le became interested, recalling their first meeting, and his expression brightened. He started talking, praising, "You know, you're not what I imagined either. You're so much better now than before."
When they first met, he seemed even more terrifying and gloomy than in the original novel. But now, after spending so much time together, he's found that he's not so scary, nor so lifeless.
"Go to sleep." Xi Yan didn't continue the conversation with him, but closed her eyes.
Bai Le thought he was seeing things and exclaimed in surprise, "You laughed, didn't you? I saw it just now!"
The person next to him, of course, didn't answer him, not even lifting an eyelid.
Bai Le clicked his tongue, somewhat regretting that he hadn't recorded that scene. This was probably the first time he had seen Xi Yan smile so naturally.
It seems that no matter what experiences one has, a person is still a person; how could one be like a stone?
The surroundings were dark and quiet. Apart from that night, this was the first time Bai Le had slept in a bed with someone else, so he was extremely excited.
Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, he sat up slightly and turned on the desk lamp. The warm, orange light poured out, instantly dispelling the darkness.
"What are you doing?" Xi Yan noticed the light and opened her eyes.
Bai Le just remembered that Xi Yan seemed to be afraid of the dark. He knew some of his childhood experiences, including the time in the elevator, but he couldn't say it out loud, in case he hurt Xi Yan's pride.
So he replied, "It's nothing, I'm just afraid of the dark."
Xi Yan was taken aback.
Bai Le pulled the covers up, stretched, and yawned, saying, "It's time to sleep. I'm sleepy, you should go to sleep early too."
A complex emotion appeared on Xi Yan's face. His gaze fell on the desk lamp, staring at it for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought, before he slowly closed his eyes.
As the two fell asleep, silence returned, with only a small orange light shining down in the darkness, its faint glow dispelling the darkness.
When Bai Le woke up early the next morning, Xi Yan was no longer beside him. He saw that it was already past ten o'clock, so he hurriedly changed his clothes and got out of bed.
However, after getting dressed, he realized that he had been granted special permission not to go to the company. Today was Friday, the day he was supposed to meet with Wu Hua and the others.
He changed into a very loose coat, and looking at his slightly protruding belly in the mirror, Bai Le looked left and right, feeling fortunate that he wasn't the type to show his pregnancy so easily.
Otherwise, he would find it strange for her to meet her buddies while heavily pregnant, no matter how you look at it.
He grabbed his car keys and prepared to leave, but was stopped by Old Master Xi just before he was about to go.
"Have the driver take you."
Bai Le didn't refuse, because judging from the look in Old Master Xi's eyes, he felt that he wouldn't have a good outcome if he refused, and besides, he really couldn't drive right now.
He and Wu Hua had arranged to meet at a local upscale bar. When Bai Le heard this, he immediately protested because he couldn't drink alcohol.
Wu Hua was also somewhat embarrassed. "I didn't choose the location; they've already made a reservation. Besides, that bar isn't what you think. You'll see when you get there."
When Bai Le arrived, he couldn't help but think to himself, "Sure enough, a bar that's open during the day is clearly not doing anything productive."
Despite being called a bar, there was no deafening DJ music or flashing lights inside. The environment was elegant and quiet, with screens and green plants surrounding the sofas, creating a closed space.
Bai Le could tell at a glance that the sandalwood screen was expensive; the prices here must be staggering.