The story naturally followed the Mary Sue formula: not only did Xi Yan not get angry, he even helped her out of the predicament.
So Bai Le was not too worried about the situation. At the tense moment when everyone was holding their breath, he even took a bite of a skewer of grilled meat.
In the middle of the crowd, Ye Feifei was pale, biting her lower lip anxiously. But she still forced herself to calm down and straightened her back under everyone's gaze, neither servile nor overbearing.
Xi Yan glanced down at the soaked blanket, then looked up and fixed her with his lifeless black eyes.
"Who brought you in here?"
Ye Feifei turned a few shades paler, but forced herself to say, "I made the mistake, so I'll take responsibility for it myself. Don't make things difficult for anyone else."
At this sight, Bai Le's heart rose into his throat. Judging by Xi Yan's expression, this did not look anything like how a Mary Sue idol drama should unfold. Could this be going off course too?
After hearing her out, Xi Yan gave a faint, noncommittal twist of his lips. "You can't settle something like this with words alone."
With that, he turned his head slightly and said to the person behind him, "Throw her out."
Bai Le was utterly shocked. What was going on now? How was this completely different from what he remembered?
Xi Yan clearly did not want to waste any more words. He did not ask Ye Feifei to pay for the expensive clothes and blanket she had soiled. He simply flung aside the splashed blanket and brushed past her without looking at her.
When he reached the lawn where Bai Le was, Xi Yan's gaze landed precisely on him. He raised a hand slightly and gestured for the person pushing him to stop.
"President Bai, we meet again."
Before Bai Le could think about any of that, hearing Xi Yan call him President Bai told him that Xi Yan must have investigated him. For some reason, being addressed that way felt a little awkward.
Everyone followed Xi Yan's gaze and looked at him, their expressions somewhat surprised.
Suddenly the center of attention, Bai Le awkwardly rubbed his nose and mumbled, "What a coincidence."
Xi Yan smiled, his feelings impossible to read. "President Bai, have you forgotten what I said last time?"
What had he said? Never appear in front of him again?
Bai Le smiled bitterly to himself. This time was definitely an accident. How could he have known he would run into Xi Yan just by coming to a friend's birthday party?
"I didn't want to either. It really was a coincidence this time."
"Fourth Uncle, what's wrong? Do you know my Brother Bai?" Curiosity overcame Xiaozhouzi's fear, and he plucked up the courage to speak.
"I don't know him."
"I don't know him!"
The two answered in unison. Compared with Xi Yan's calm tone, Bai Le's unnatural rise in pitch sounded somewhat suspicious.
After Xi Yan left, Wu Hua nudged the dejected Bai Le.
"Lele, how do you know Fourth Master Xi? Let me warn you first, he's not someone you want to mess with. Stay out of his sight as much as you can. With your temper, you could easily offend him. You'd better stay far away from him."
How else could I know him? We met in bed.
Bai Le let out a heavy sigh.
"Don't worry, I value my life. I'll keep what you said in mind."
After the two important figures left, the atmosphere at the gathering became noticeably
more relaxed
than before.
"Lele, come on, keep playing."
"I'm done." Bai Le waved a hand. "I'm not in the mood. You guys go ahead."
His mind was a mess, and he kept watching Ye Feifei. He saw her stand in the cold wind for a while before a middle-aged man who looked like a supervisor scolded her, apparently telling her to leave.
Bai Le frowned, unsure what to do in this situation. As he wrestled with the question, he suddenly saw a group of women surround Ye Feifei. The one in front was the rich beauty who had been talking at their table earlier, and her expression made it clear she was up to no good.
Wait, doesn't that make her the female lead? The vicious
female supporting character
has shown up to make trouble. Everything is ready except for the final touch: we're just waiting for the male lead to step in and save her. But where is he?
Bai Le instinctively looked toward the villa and glimpsed a figure at a second-floor window, apparently looking this way. He looked closer and saw that it was indeed Xi Yan.
They were too far apart for Bai Le to make out his expression. After their eyes met, Bai Le, his survival instinct in full force, was the one to look away.
What happens next? Is he going to come down and help her?
While he was lost in thought, the clear sound of someone falling into water suddenly brought him back to reality.
At some point, Ye Feifei had been forced back to the edge of the swimming pool. Her foot slipped when she wasn't paying attention, and she fell into the water with a splash.
"Help..."
She kept coughing as she choked on water, struggling to stand up. But whether her feet kept slipping or for some other reason, she could not manage it.
The people around her remained unmoved as they watched her struggle helplessly in the pool. The tall girl even sneered, "It's not like anyone can drown in a swimming pool. What are you pretending for?"
Bai Le grew anxious. After waiting a long time without seeing Xi Yan do anything, he finally reached out and pulled Ye Feifei up.
Although he was afraid that doing the male lead's job might affect what happened later, a life was at stake, and he could not worry about that much.
"Fourth Uncle, what are you looking at?"
After organizing the files on his computer, Zhou Kun saw Xi Yan looking out the window after taking his medicine. He did not know what Xi Yan was looking at, and it was rare to see him so absorbed, so he could not help asking.
Xi Yan withdrew his gaze, his lips pressed into a straight line. "Nothing," he said unhurriedly.
Zhou Kun clearly did not believe him and went over to the window as well. The study had a huge floor-to-ceiling window, with the curtains drawn and tied back on either side, giving a clear view of everything outside.
"Someone from the Bai family? I remember he's close with Zhou Lü."
Xi Yan did not react.
Looking at the person by the pool, Zhou Kun belatedly remarked, "So it's a hero saving a beauty."
Xi Yan remained silent, his fingers tapping unconsciously against the armrest of his wheelchair, making a rhythmic sound.
Then he said in a low voice, "I'm also somewhat interested in that woman."
Zhou Kun did not notice the word "also" in what he said, focusing only on what came after it. His brow furrowed slightly, and he looked thoughtful.