He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had a feeling that someone was watching him lately, and with a very malicious gaze at that.
However, he didn't find any other clues, so he didn't take it too seriously, assuming it was just his imagination.
So for the rest of the days, I continued to live a leisurely life in the villa, rarely leaving the house, and reading parenting books when I was bored.
He must not raise this child to be like Xi Yan.
Meanwhile, inside the Xi Family's old mansion, Old Master Qi coldly stared at Xi Defeng.
"You've caused such a huge mess, and you still have the nerve to show your face in front of me?"
"I'll handle it."
"How has the public opinion outside become? The stock price keeps falling. It's even affecting the foundation of our Xu Family's businesses. Second son, you've disappointed me greatly."
Xi Defeng could only listen to the reprimand in silence.
Old Master Xi continued, "Hurry up and deal with this. If you don't resolve this matter properly, see how I deal with you."
Xi Defeng looked up at Xi Yan with a complicated expression, then turned and left.
After he left, Old Master Xi turned to look at Xi Yan, who had been silent all along. He paused, then changed his tone and asked, "How have things been on your end lately?"
Xi Yan: "Nothing different from usual."
Old Master Xi frowned slightly. "In that case, go to Ai City. There's a bidding conference there. I'll have someone send the details to your secretary later. You must secure that project."
"Yes."
The two remained silent for a while. Finally, Old Master Xi spoke first, "How has he been lately?"
Although it wasn't explicitly stated who "he" referred to, both parties knew the answer.
Xi Yan said briefly, "Very good."
"How's the baby in your belly? Have you had a checkup?" Old Master Xi was getting annoyed thinking about how he had always been given the runaround when he asked this question before.
"The checkup showed it's a healthy boy."
Old Master Xi finally smiled broadly, "That puts my mind at ease. Your leg is healed, and you have a son now. This old man doesn't have to worry so much anymore."
Xi Yan hearing the implication in his words, Xi Yan's expression shifted slightly.
"You should rightfully take over as head of the family, and I won't have to stay here and be disliked."
Xi Yan frowned slightly upon hearing his last sentence, intending to speak, but was interrupted before she could utter a word.
"Alright, you don't need to explain anymore. Everyone knows what's going on. Anyway, as long as you juniors don't go too far, I'll turn a blind eye to your fighting and scrambling. I was like that back then."
"I didn't just say you're most like me offhand. Your personality is exactly like mine when I was young, and you're even more ruthless than me. Let's be frank today: is your father's death related to you?"
Xi Yan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I never intended for him to die."
When Xi Yan's father passed away, it was due to a sudden heart attack. Old Master Xi had always suspected that it was related to him, but he was not by his father's side at the time, as the two were thousands of miles apart.
Old Master Xi slowly closed his eyes. "Your words are enough."
After leaving the old house, Xi Yan sat in the back seat of the car, pinched his brow with his fingers, and looked a little tired. For some reason, he suddenly wanted to see that face.
Secretary Xing could tell from his expression that he was in a bad mood, and he pressed the accelerator very hard. Only that person could solve this problem now.
It was past 11 p. m. when Xi Yan got home. She stood outside and saw that the living room lights were off. She thought Bai Le was asleep, but when she went in and turned on the lights, she saw Bai Le curled up in a small ball on the sofa.
Xi Yan paused for a moment, then unconsciously slowed her pace and walked towards him. She looked down at Bai Le, who was obviously already asleep on the sofa, and frowned slightly after regaining her senses.
He pulled the blanket next to him and covered him with it. Unexpectedly, even though he moved very quietly, Bai Le still noticed the movement. He opened his eyes groggily and saw Xi Yan's face. Because he had just woken up, his tone was a little lazy, and he unconsciously dragged out the last syllable.
"You're back."
Xi Yan patted his head. "Were you waiting for me?"
Actually, it wasn't really waiting for him. He had just watched a horror movie and was too scared to sleep alone in his bedroom. He lay on the sofa intending to take a nap, but he unknowingly fell asleep. Then, Aunt Wu probably didn't notice him lying on the sofa from behind and assumed he had already gone back to his room to sleep, so she turned off the lights in the living room.
But of course, Bai Le wouldn't say such a jarring thing out loud, so he nodded in agreement.
"I accidentally fell asleep." This is true.
Xi Yan smiled slightly, seemingly in a very good mood. "Is that so?"
"Of course." Bai Le nodded affirmatively.
"Let's go back to our room; we'll catch a cold here at night."
With him around, Bai Le naturally became bolder, but he was still a little scared. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he turned on all the lights, not even sparing the bathroom light.
In addition, Xi Yan's room was designed with cool colors, and it would look gloomy if the warm lights were not turned on. As Bai Le looked at it, he was thinking about finding some time to change the style of the house.
"Do you want to take a shower?" Xi Yan glanced at the bathrobe prepared on the bed.
Bai Le nodded. How could he have forgotten about that? But now he didn't dare go in to shower, because the horror movie he had just watched had a bathroom scene.
Seeing that Bai Le was stiff and motionless, Xi Yan frowned slightly, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, it's okay. I don't think I smell bad at all; in fact, I smell quite nice. You can smell me if you don't believe me."
Xi Yan stared at him expressionlessly.
Seeing that this tactic wasn't working, Bai Le lay on the bed like a spoiled child, clinging to the sheets, looking like he was determined to fight to the death.
"Anyway, I don't want to take a shower today. If you don't like it, I'll just sleep on the sofa."