"You mean over there..."
Xi Yan raised a hand to signal that he had said enough, cutting him off. "What's happening over there?"
"Things were quiet for a while, but recently they've started stirring again."
Xi Yan slowly closed his eyes and said wearily, "His appetite is a little too big, but that's just as well. It'll save me a lot of trouble."
Zhou Kun said, "But the last time I went to your family's main residence, I saw him telling the old master that it was time for you to settle down and start a family. He said he wanted to find you a suitable wife, and the old master agreed. He said he'd arrange a banquet so you could take your pick."
Xi Yan slowly opened his eyes and said coldly, "Looks like he's starting to suspect something. He wants to plant someone beside me under the pretext of marriage and see whether my legs are really crippled."
Who outside didn't know he was a cripple, incapable of fathering a legitimate heir? Whether his lameness was real or fake, this move could only benefit his second uncle.
If he really was crippled, all the better. The position of family head would never be hers.
If he was faking it, as soon as the person his uncle arranged had a child, the position of family head would skip over him and fall to that child.
As long as his uncle used the child's mother to control the young child, the entire Xi Family would be his for the taking.
And the reason his second uncle was going to such lengths was that he belonged to a collateral branch and had no legitimate claim. As long as anyone remained in the direct line, he would never have his chance to rise.
Zhou Kun added, "But your leg injury isn't real, so his scheme has come to nothing."
Xi Yan shook his head. "We can't let our guard down. They think I'm disabled and have no chance of becoming family head, so they've stopped watching me so closely. That's the only reason I've been able to build up my own forces over the years."
He had reached his current position one step at a time. His resolve and patience were beyond those of ordinary people.
Zhou Kun frowned. "Then what will you do after you've dealt with him, cousin-uncle? You'll definitely 'cure' your legs by then. Even at that point, you still won't want to get married and have children?"
Something seemed to occur to Xi Yan, and his expression darkened. "I hate children."
"What?"
"Children are all the same. You can never figure them out, and they lie as easily as they breathe."
Zhou Kun finally caught the key point. "...Lie?"
Lie about what?
Wait, everything had been fine just now. Why had he suddenly gotten angry?
Author's note: Fourth Master, just admit it. You keep thinking about him because you're lusting after his body [doge]
Poor Lele still has no idea what kind of parallel world he transmigrated into. After all, for a straight guy like him [strikethrough], a male-pregnancy story is practically a devil's work. Thanks to the little angels who sent me overlord tickets or irrigated me with nutrient solution between 2020-01-28 22:45:43 and 2020-01-30 00:22:59~
Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: Badamumu, 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated me with nutrient solution: Yueyueyue, 5 bottles;
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!
Chapter 4
Two days had passed since the pool party. Bai Le had dutifully begun clocking in at work and leaving on time. He was behaving so well that even his father had found it strange these past few days.
As far as Bai Le was concerned, everything about his life was perfect now, except for the girl on the sofa who was looking at him expectantly.
He sighed, pulled out a check, and readily signed his name.
"Thanks, bro!" But when Bai Yin saw the amount on the check, her smile instantly froze.
"What's wrong? Is a thousand too little? Want me to add another five hundred?"
Bai Yin shook the light slip of paper in her hand, black lines crossing her face. "Bro, then what was the point of writing a check?"
"Of course there was a point." Bai Le was displeased. "Writing a check makes me feel great."
Bai thought she must have lost her mind to come to her brother for money.
"Oh, right, bro, did you run into Ye Feifei a few days ago? I heard my classmates talking about it," Bai Yin suddenly remembered and asked.
"What about it?"
Bai Yin opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed the words when they reached her throat. Changing the subject, she said, "Nothing, I was just asking. Oh, right, did you also run into that Fourth Master Xi? What's he like? Is he handsome? Does he have a really weird temper?"
Bai Le rubbed his chin. "He's pretty good-looking, but his face is deathly pale. And he's not the little fresh meat type you like. How should I put it? His temper is a little strange and a little scary. I don't know who'll be unlucky enough to marry him someday."
By the end, his voice carried a note of sympathy. Spending a lifetime with Xi Yan would be miserable. One wrong move and it'd be snip.
Ever since coming to this world, he had become disillusioned with the male and female leads. Now he could understand how fans of the original books felt when they protested every new adaptation.
Leaving Ye Feifei aside, there was Xi Yan. Reading about someone so obsessive and cold-blooded on the page was pretty exciting, but only where the protagonist was concerned. For cannon fodder like him, who had offended Xi Yan, actually running into him was a real headache.
Ever since accidentally running into Xi Yan at the party, Bai Le hadn't slept soundly at night. He was afraid Xi Yan might think it over and then drive him into bankruptcy and send his whole family to prison, just like in the original story. So for the past few days, he had stopped and looked around even while walking, afraid he might run into him again.
Just when Bai Le thought life had returned to normal and he had relaxed a little, he received another WeChat message from Wu Hua, inviting him to hang out at a club.
"I'm not going."
Bai Le was firm. He hadn't forgotten that Wu Hua had invited him last time too, and he had ended up running into Xi Yan. Their circle in S City was neither particularly large nor particularly small. Even Little Zhou was related to Xi Yan, so how could he let his guard down?
"I just got a new Maybach, a limited edition. Want to come take it for a spin?"
Bai Le's heart stirred. He had to admit, Wu Hua really knew how to appeal to his tastes. What man wouldn't be tempted by a luxury car?
The location Wu Hua gave him was on South Road, by the city's first ring road. It would take more than half an hour to get there from the company, not counting traffic. So after Bai Le arrived, he had the driver park the car, then told him to head back first. He hurried toward the lobby, afraid he would be late.