"What uncle, what uncle? Food can be eaten casually, but the way you address me can't be random. I don't have a niece as old as you," Yan Xi's half-joking, half-refusing words shocked Yuan Yi into coming back to his senses. He glanced at Yan Xi in disdain, "I was just saying it casually, if you don't want to go, forget it."
He made it sound like he really wanted to go with her.
Is watching a movie something you can casually ask about? Yan Xi glanced at Yuan Yi from the corner of her eye. His dismissive look didn't seem to suggest anything else.
She turned her attention back to the promotional video on the big screen. The female lead of this movie was Zhao Feifei, the seductive goddess who had once been rumored to be involved with Yuan Yi.
"Oh," Yan Xi dragged out the word, "I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to watch a movie, turns out this is what it's about." Last time, he had told her that the tabloids were just spreading rumors. Today, seeing the movie starring that actress, he revealed his true intentions.
"What's going on?" Yuan Yi was puzzled by Yan Xi's knowing expression. He had just felt a little dizzy, and this woman's thoughts had already gone somewhere else.
"I misunderstood you, you're actually a man of integrity."
Even if you were interested in some female celebrity, you wouldn't pressure her with power and money. Instead, you silently support and care for her. In the circle of rich people, such men are rarer than giant pandas.
"I don't need anyone to say this, I know it very well myself," Yuan Yi crossed his arms and looked at Yan Xi with a sideways glance, "But since you're praising me like this, I'm a bit curious. Where did you discover this excellent quality of mine?"
He had already figured it out: this woman definitely had two faces. On the surface, she was all smiles, but he had no idea what she was really thinking.
Yan Xi suddenly felt that Yuan Yi seemed to be getting more and more difficult to deal with. She pointed at the big screen and said nothing more.
"Who is this?" Yuan Yi stared at the screen for a long time. "Who designed this costume? It doesn't look like ancient or modern attire. The female lead has been crying for so long, and she hasn't even put on any makeup. So, the male lead's death isn't as important as her makeup not being done?"
"Pfft!" Yan Xi couldn't help but laugh at Yuan Yi's words. "Art comes from life, but it's higher than life, you know?"
Yuan Yi wanted to mock some more, but when he saw the name of the movie, he swallowed his words. It turned out that this was the movie he had invested in. Seeing Yan Xi's smile, with her eyes curved up in amusement, that feeling of heart-pounding dizziness came back. He looked away awkwardly. "Forget it, this movie isn't that great. I'll take you home."
He even forgot to ask why Yan Xi called him an upright person.
Seeing that Yuan Yi really didn't seem to care about Zhao Feifei, Yan Xi realized she had guessed wrong earlier. She blamed herself for mindlessly reading gossip and jokes, making her thoughts muddled. Fortunately, Yuan Yi didn't continue asking. She sat quietly in the car and, under Yuan Yi's serious gaze, fastened her seatbelt. She felt that if she didn't, Yuan Yi wouldn't be able to tolerate it.
The car slowly drove along the road, and Yan Xi noticed that Yuan Yi seemed to glance at her several times. She raised her head and looked at him, "What are you looking at me for?"
"Nothing," Yuan Yi turned his face away. How would you know I'm looking at you if you don't look at me?
After a while, seeing that Yan Xi didn't ask anything further, Yuan Yi felt a bit uncomfortable. "I ran into Song Chao downstairs earlier. He seems to know you?"
"We met last time at an elder's gathering and talked for a bit," Yan Xi wasn't familiar with the business world, but she knew that with Yuan Yi and Song Chao's statuses, there must be competition between them in business. "Not really close."
Yuan Yi observed Yan Xi's expression carefully, and after a while, he spoke up, "I don't like talking behind people's backs, but Song Chao... I don't have a good impression of him." Years ago, he had seen Song Chao smash a bird into a pile of meat, and then turn around to be the picture of a polite, good student. Since then, he had always thought there was something obsessive about him.
Yan Xi believed that Yuan Yi wasn't the type to talk badly about others behind their backs, because when someone speaks ill of others, they usually say what the person has done, not just a vague, dry impression.
"Are you very familiar with him?" Yan Xi asked curiously.
"Our families have business dealings," Yuan Yi replied flatly. "We were classmates in middle school and high school." But they couldn't even be considered friends. Their personalities were different, the friends they made were different, and they didn't like each other much.
"You two were even high school classmates?" Yan Xi casually said, "I also went to high school in Di Capital for half a year. Which school did you attend? We might be alumni."
"Di Capital No. 1 High."
"That's a coincidence, me too," Yan Xi smiled at Yuan Yi. "Nine years ago, I attended No. 1 High for half a year. Back then, I wasn't focused on school, so I don't remember most of the classmates or their names, but I do remember the lush trees in the school. Oh, right, and the few non-mainstream punk kids with colorful hair."
Humans seem to have a strong memory for bright colors. She couldn't remember what most of her classmates looked like or their names, but she remembered a few boys with dyed hairâyellow, purple, green, red, every color imaginableâwalking through the school with a bit of a rebellious vibe. Most of the students would avoid them timidly.
When Yuan Yi heard the term "punk," his expression became a little uncomfortable for a moment.
"That year, something happened that made me feel quite guilty. One day, I wanted to leave the school during class hours, but without a parent's phone call or signature, the teacher wouldn't approve my leave. In the end, I had no choice but to try climbing over the wall. But I couldn't make it over, and I ran into a boy with red and green hair." At that time, she had found out that her parents were at the civil affairs bureau, preparing to handle their divorce procedures. She cried her eyes out and didn't care much about the delinquent students. "I didn't expect the school's patrol teacher to show up and claim that he had bullied me. I explained to the teacher, but they didn't believe me. Instead, they told me not to worry about retaliation and promised to handle it."
After saying this, Yan Xi realized that Yuan Yi was staring at her intensely, his eyes gleaming brightly.
"W-What's wrong?" Yan Xi's heart skipped a beat, feeling inexplicably guilty. "Do you know this student?"
"No," Yuan Yi said with a stiff face, his tone incredibly awkward, and the words were squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"If you knew him, it would be great. I still want to apologize to him," Yan Xi pursed her lips. "Although his taste in hairstyles was a bit strange, he was completely innocent for taking the blame for me."
She wondered whether that punk boy from back then had cut off his odd hair and started studying and working diligently or had turned into a small-time thug.
Yuanyi lowered his head, looking at his watch, which reflected the light coming into the car. "It's been so many years. He's probably forgotten by now. Besides, he was a bad student anyway. Being criticized by the teacher was nothing new for him."
"You can't say it like that," Yan Xi shook her head. "Just because someone looks like a bad student doesn't mean they deserve to be wronged. This is something I owe him."
"You women are so meticulous and think too much," Yuanyi chuckled lightly, glancing at Yan Xi. "Maybe he doesn't care about it at all anymore."
"Why does it have to be about gender?" Yan Xi raised an eyebrow. "Is it bad to be meticulous? We do things carefully and don't make mistakes. You men never praise us for that."
Watching her raise an eyebrow and glare at him, Yuan Yi felt like he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound was so loud he suspected Yan Xi might have heard it too.
He never would have thought that the girl who had cried until her face was beet red, her hair in disarray, looking pitiful like a stray cat, would turn out to be Yan Xi.
Back then, he had seen the girl sobbing uncontrollably, too weak to even walk but still trying to climb over a wall. He had originally intended to approach her out of kindness and ask what had happened. But before he knew it, the situation took a drastic turn, and he ended up being labeled as a senior student bullying a younger girl. He didn't care much about what the teacher said to criticize him. He vaguely remembered that the girl had been crying while trying to explain things for him. In the end, she was taken away by a female teacher, and he stayed behind to face the lecture.
What had he been thinking at the time?
Something likeâI'll never be kindhearted again!
"What's wrong with you?" Yan Xi noticed Yuan Yi clutching his chest. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"A bit of a stomachache," Yuan Yi said with a straight face. "It's an old issue. I'll be fine after resting for a night."
"Why are you clutching your chest if your stomach hurts?" Yan Xi pointed to her own stomach. "Your stomach is here."
"I got caught up listening to you talk about the past," Yuan Yi smoothly moved his hand down to his stomach.
Yan Xi: So now it's my fault?
When the car reached the entrance of the residential area, Yan Xi handed her access card to the driver. "Driver, could you drive inside for a moment, please?"
The driver glanced at Yuan Yi. Seeing that he had no objections, he took the card, got a temporary parking pass, and drove through the gate.
When the car stopped in front of Yan Xi's house, she turned to Yuan Yi and said, "Wait here for one minute; I'll be right back."
Yuan Yi watched her hop out of the car, her high heels clicking as she ran to the villa door. Her steps were surprisingly steady, not even swaying. It made him think once again of that moment when Yan Xi had secretly stepped on the hit-and-run driver's foot with her high heels.
In that instant, Yuan Yi couldn't help but feel a strange sense of awe toward Yan Xi.
Before long, Yan Xi returned, slightly out of breath. She shoved a thermos and two stomach pills into his hands. "If your stomach is acting up, stay away from spicy food. Even if you're craving it, resist. The water isn't too hot; it's just right for taking medicine."
Yuan Yi looked at the overly feminine thermos in his hand. He felt like Yan Xi's breath had brushed his face, making his cheeks heat up. His mind grew hazy, as though he'd had a drink. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Yan Xi waved at him. "Go home early and get some rest. See you."
Holding the two pills, it took him more than ten minutes to shake off the dazed feeling. He put the medicine in his mouth, unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and took a sip.
The water was neither too hot nor too coldâjust right.
Realizing this might be a thermos Yan Xi had used, his heart began to race, his head spinning. He even felt a ringing in his ears.
There must be something wrong with my body.
There's a saying that you shouldn't lie casually, in case it comes true.
In the middle of the night, Yuan Yi was jolted awake by stomach pain. In the end, he had to call the family doctor to ease his discomfort.
"Mr. Yuan," the doctor said, looking at Yuan Yi's pale face with some helplessness, "your stomach problems are chronic. You need to watch your dietâavoid spicy, heavily seasoned foods. Otherwise, you'll suffer again next time."
"Sorry to trouble you so late," Yuan Bo, Yuan Yi's elder brother, wanted to reprimand him but held back, knowing the origins of Yuan Yi's condition. After sending the doctor off, Yuan Bo turned to Yuan Yi and said, "Yuan Xiao'er, you're an adult now. If you don't care about your body, no one else can do it for you."
"When I was younger, was there anyone who took careful care of me?" Yuan Yi rubbed his temples, lowering his voice. "This time was an accident. It's already late; go get some rest."
"You..." Yuan Bo's tone softened. "Don't go to the office tomorrow. Stay home and rest for the day."
"I got it." Yuan Yi yawned. "Don't worry."
Yuan Bo stood up from the sofa and saw Yuan Yi had already closed his eyes. With a helpless sigh, he walked out of the room.
At seven in the morning, the Yuan family's front door opened. Yuan Bo, who was reading the newspaper on the sofa, looked up at his parents, who had just returned from traveling for two or three months. He glanced upstairs and said, "Mom, Dad, you're back."
Xu Ya, holding her husband's arm, looked as graceful and elegant as a magnolia flower. Despite her age, she retained her charm. "Come take a look at the photos your dad and I took during our trip."
"Mom, keep your voice down. Second Brother didn't sleep well last night. Let him rest a bit longer today."
"What's wrong with him?" Xu Ya, pulling her husband Yuan Yasen to sit on the sofa, glanced upstairs worriedly. "Is he feeling unwell?"
"His stomach acted up. We had to call a doctor over in the middle of the night," Yuan Bo said, glancing at the front door where the bodyguards were carrying things into the house. Soon, the living room was cluttered with various items.
"He's been eating carelessly outside again, hasn't he?" Yuan Yasen frowned. He turned to Xu Ya and said, "I'll take you upstairs to rest first. You didn't sleep well on the plane last night."
"Alright," Yuan Bo replied calmly. "Do you want me to prepare breakfast?"
"Not now. I want to check on Xiao Er first," Xu Ya said worriedly.
"He's an adult now," Yuan Yasen said with some concern. "Are you going to ignore your own health?"
Watching his mother get angry and his father coax her as they walked upstairs hand-in-hand, Yuan Bo shook his newspaper and continued reading.
"Young Master, should we prepare breakfast for Mr. and Mrs. Yuan?" Aunt Li asked softly.
Rustle! Yuan Bo flipped a page of the newspaper.
"No need."
"Yan Yan, where's the thermos cup I left in the cupboard?" Song Hai poked his head out of the kitchen. "Did you take it to the TV station?"
The thermos was leftover company swag from a holiday giveaway. Song Hai thought it was wasteful to throw it away, so he brought it home.
"I gave it to a friend last night. His stomach wasn't feeling well, so I filled it with water for him," Yan Xi said, walking to the kitchen door. "Why?"
"Nothing, just asking." Song Hai kept the kitchen spotless, so he noticed immediately if something was missing or added. He handed Yan Xi her breakfast. "Eat this first."
"Oh," Yan Xi accepted the plate. The bread was toasted golden brown, the eggs smelled fragrant, and the fruit was neatly sliced. "Smells great."
"If you think it's good, finish it. Look at your legsâthin as chicken necks." Song Hai was immune to his daughter's usual flattery. "I could pick you up with one finger."
Yan Xi sidled up to him. "Dad, give it a try."
Song Hai snorted. "Stop messing around. Sit down and eat."
"Okay."
Dishonest adultsâwhen their lies are exposed, they get flustered and angry. Tsk.