The club was decorated in a style of understated luxury. There was even a place to have coffee in the lobby, and the ornamental pond beside it held quite a few rare and expensive fish. It was clearly a place where people discussed business deals.
Bai Le kept his head down as he messaged Wu Hua to say he would be there soon. When the elevator doors opened, he walked in without looking up.
Only after pressing the floor button did Bai Le notice someone else in the elevator. He turned to look, and his legs trembled in fright.
The man sat in a wheelchair, his face still deathly pale. His eyes were half-closed, and he looked as though he were resting them.
Bai Le caught the familiar scent of medicine and swallowed. Forcing himself to remain calm, he pressed the door-open button again, praying over and over that he hadn't been noticed.
Unfortunately, his wish went unanswered. A slightly chilly, raspy voice came from behind him.
"Stop."
Bai Le let out a startled "ah" and blinked in confusion. "You want me to stop? But don't you dislike seeing me?"
Xi Yan seemed unwilling to bring that up. Looking somewhat tired, he said, "Leave that aside for now. I have something to ask you."
Seeing no response from Bai Le, Xi Yan repeated, "Come here," his tone much colder and harder than before.
Seeing his gloomy expression, Bai Le was angry but dared not speak up. He kept telling himself that a real man knew when to yield and when to stand firm, so he would give way to him and show a little consideration for a "disabled" person.
"Where's that tall guy who pushes you around?" Bai Le suddenly noticed his absence as he walked over and couldn't resist asking.
Xi Yan hadn't expected him to ask a question first. He frowned, seemingly unwilling to answer. "He went to get the blanket I left behind."
Only then did Bai Le notice that there was no blanket over his knees. He said "oh" and thought Xi Yan didn't seem that difficult to get along with after all.
"What did you want to ask me?"
Xi Yan watched him without blinking, carefully studying his expression. His lips twitched. "Do you know that girl, Ye Feifei?"
He even knew her name! So he did care and had looked into her in private, yet he had still said they wouldn't end up together.
The way he had treated Ye Feifei that day might have been a game of playing hard to get. Look, he had even started asking Bai Le about her, probably because he had seen Bai Le help Ye Feifei that day.
But why would he ask Bai Le about it? If he wanted to know, he was perfectly capable of finding out himself.
Xi Yan had indeed investigated. He had been suspicious of the girl who appeared that day, and his investigation really had turned up a few clues.
Though he couldn't be certain, with his suspicious nature, there was no way he would overlook Bai Le, who had been in contact with her.
So he had someone look into him. Although nothing came of it, his doubts had not been entirely dispelled.
Thus he asked Bai Le in person. He naturally didn't expect to get any answers out of him; the most important thing was to observe his reaction.
Very few people could lie without Xi Yan noticing. Observing people's microexpressions and subtle movements was an innate talent of his.
"I don't know her."
A thought occurred to Bai Le, and he boldly added, "Are you a little interested in her? Don't worry, I don't like her, so I won't fight you for her. You two are a match made in heaven."
Xi Yan said coldly, "You talk too much."
Bai Le shut up sheepishly, thinking the man was truly unpredictable. He had just thought Xi Yan was easy enough to get along with, and now he was being proven wrong.
Thinking of what had happened before, Bai Le felt aggrieved too. He had inexplicably transmigrated into this world, only to land in that situation as soon as he arrived.
He was still angry about it.
That night, Xi Yan had worn him out until his voice went hoarse from shouting. Like some kind of pervert, he had wanted to hear Bai Le beg and had even wanted to see him cry.
He had gotten his pleasure, and they had shared a one-night stand, at least. Now he was pulling up his pants and pretending not to know him. Who was he trying to fool, acting like a gentleman?
Pah!
Bai Le reined in his anger and said, "Actually, you didn't lose out that night either. Why don't you open your heart and be a little more magnanimous? What do you think?"
Xi Yan actually smiled faintly at that, the curve of his lips rather unsettling.
Instead of answering the question, he said, "I watched the surveillance footage and found something interesting."
That casual remark stunned Bai Le. It took him quite a while to recover, and he let out a few hollow laughs as cold sweat poured down his forehead.
The footage showed him entering the frame with the female college student originally hired. Anyone with a brain could tell the whole
story
from beginning to end, let alone Xi Yan.
"No way... Why would the hotel show its surveillance footage to an outsider?"
"It's my hotel."
"...Oh."
Xi Yan's lips twitched, as though he were savoring the expression on Bai Le's face. Unhurriedly, he said, "You also know my leg injury is fake."
Fuck, of course I do. My waist still aches when I remember how full of energy he was that night.
"I really did forget," he insisted righteously, shaking his head.
Xi Yan watched him solemnly refuse to admit it, his expression unreadable.
Bai Le added, "I don't even know what happened that night. Even if I did remember, I'd forget every last bit of it, I swear." As he spoke, he raised his hand in a solemn oath.
Xi Yan's tone gave no indication of pleasure or anger. "What I said that night still stands. I don't intend to concern myself with why you set me up, and I won't take revenge on you as you feared." He paused there, and sure enough, Bai Le's expression showed immense relief.
The weight was finally lifted from Bai Le's heart. Now, however he looked at Xi Yan, he found him pleasing to the eye.
"I..."
Just as he was about to speak, the elevator suddenly shook. Then a faint click sounded, and everything around them plunged into darkness.
If it had been a power outage, the elevator's emergency lights would have come on, so it was probably a malfunction.
Bai Le wasn't flustered. He tried the emergency phone, but couldn't get through, probably because the signal in the elevator was poor. He could only press the emergency button and wait for someone to rescue them.
After doing all that, he heard movement beside him and couldn't help frowning. Only then did he notice that the breathing beside him was a little hurried.