Chapter 51 Confession: "Okay, I like you."

On Monday of the second week of December, the entries for the first round of the semi-finals, from 50 to 32, were uploaded on time.

The store was closed that day, so Baiye was at home doing a thorough cleaning and didn't pay much attention to the online situation. The voting period lasted a week, so there was no point in checking it so early.

During that time, her mother called her.

"Xiao Ke, I heard that Xiao Teng is working at the company headquarters recently, as the deputy planner of some competition."

"Yeah, I participated in that competition too."

"Right?" Mom hesitated on the other end of the phone. "Did you and him have another fight?"

"Um."

“Sigh, don’t make a fuss. Look, your family isn’t pressuring you anymore. Don’t argue with him.” Mom sighed. “Since he’s in some leadership position and you’re participating in this competition, it won’t be good for you to fall out with him. In the future, you should try to get closer to him in your career development.”

"..."

Bai Yeke also sighed.

It's impossible for her to have any relationship with a scoundrel like Lü Feiteng.

Her mother always gave her advice based on her own experience and perspective. Often, this advice was not applicable and was outdated. However, her mother was worried about her, and this motivation made it impossible for Baiye to refuse.

"Yes, I know," Bai Yeke said, offering only a comforting remark to her mother.

"That's good." Mom seemed visibly relieved. "You've really grown up and become more sensible."

well.

It's not that Baiye has grown up and become sensible.

However, Baiye no longer chose to confront her directly about the same things. She gradually discovered that her mother was also easy to coax, saving her from unnecessary trouble.

After finishing the phone call, Baiye also finished the big cleaning. She had a quick lunch at the food court downstairs, then went back to her apartment to continue charging her phone and working.

Everything's done, and there's nothing left to do.

Bai Yeke stretched and yawned. She brought up Yi Sheng's chat box several times and browsed through Yi Sheng's Moments. The words and pictures were too familiar because she had seen them so many times. After putting down her phone, Bai Yeke stared out the window for a while.

When she came to her senses, she picked up her phone again and went out to walk towards the new house for the competition.

It's about a ten-minute walk. The wind is howling outside, and all the trees along the road seem to have withered, with only bare branches and trunks. Occasionally, birds have built nests on the tops of a few trees.

Bai Ye felt her face and ears were stinging from the wind. She had rushed out and forgotten to bring her hat and scarf.

-

Xiao Yang walked briskly through the Liurun building. Her work for the day was over, and she was mentally reviewing the past two days' work, repeatedly checking and scrutinizing the details. She held a tablet in her hand until she reached the door of Yi Sheng's office. She stopped, exhaled, and raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Come in." Yi Sheng sat down, a book open on the table. Her hand was on the corner of the book, but her expression was too indifferent, unlike when she was reading.

Is he spacing out again?

A guess popped into Xiao Yang's mind, but he quickly pressed the button and reported, "President Yi, we've investigated part of Sun Dayou's case."

"Hmm, tell me about it." Yi Sheng closed the book and put it aside.

“Judging from the current situation of his company, there are no major business dealings, but we found that his consumption has increased significantly, it’s no exaggeration to say that it has doubled.”

This is contradictory.

Consumption is usually proportional to income, but if the company remains the same as before, how can it support his consumption?

This at least indicates that he has a huge amount of income that is not publicly disclosed.

“We can’t easily investigate his private accounts through normal channels,” Xiao Yang asked in a low voice. “Or, do we need to use some special methods?”

"Not for now." Yi Sheng pondered. "What about his private affairs, his personal morality, and things like that?"

“We investigated, and he has a penchant for keeping mistresses.” Xiao Yang frowned. “What’s unusual is that for the past few years, he has basically kept one mistress, occasionally changing her, but the number has always remained at one. In the last few months, he has kept six mistresses.”

"......"

Xiao Yang glanced at Yi Sheng. Personally, she didn't want to report this to Yi Sheng, but it was work after all.

While others might not know about these kinds of incidents, she was aware of them. This was a major trigger point for Yi Sheng, as she detested men engaging in such sordid relationships.

Yi Sheng didn't react much, but his face looked much gloomy. Xiao Yang could only continue, "Then he had a son. It's said that having a son was a major worry for him. He used to keep mistresses and change mistresses in order to have an illegitimate child. This year, he finally got his wish."

"But one thing is also quite strange. We checked the mistresses he was keeping, and none of them seem to be pregnant in the past few months. I don't know if it's because they've maintained their figures, or if our investigation was inaccurate."

Yi Sheng nodded, and after a few seconds, said cryptically, "Go and ask the hospital we have a stake in about the number and characteristics of newborns in this city... and newborns nationwide, and see if there have been any recent changes."

"OK."

"Is there anything else?"

"Oh, right," Xiao Yang said thoughtfully, "this Sun Dayou seems to have feelings for Designer Bai. He even bought a gift and sent it to the store, but Designer Bai rejected it."

Yi Sheng snorted coldly upon hearing this.

Xiao Yang peeked out but couldn't see anything. "That's all."

Yi Sheng glanced at her, then looked at the book beside him, and finally seemed to give up on forcing himself to read absentmindedly. "If there's nothing else, you can go home now."

"Huh?" Xiao Yang, who has recently gotten used to working overtime, was a little surprised. "Okay!"

Yi Sheng got up, took a coat from the clothes rack, put it on, and left first.

-

It's been several days since I last saw Yi Sheng.

Ever since Bai Yeke let slip that day, an unspeakable awkwardness has filled the two of them, and they have tacitly avoided contacting each other.

As Bai Ye walked down the street against the cold wind, she knew that she was filled with unease. She felt like she had been busy all day but hadn't accomplished anything, leaving her with a sense of emptiness. She couldn't bear it any longer and ran to that empty room. All of this was caused by the torment of longing.

She had a feeling that Yi Sheng had feelings for her.

But she was afraid to contact Yi Sheng, afraid that a real rift would form between them after that incident, so she dared not confirm.

Therefore, the only way she could release her suppressed longing was in this way; that place was her connection with Yi Sheng.

That place would remind her of the first time she met Yi Sheng.

Bai Yeke walked with her head down, and when she came out of the elevator and opened the door, she was surprised to see someone already standing on the balcony.

A very familiar figure.

She had longed for this woman day and night, and had tried her best to suppress it, but this woman unexpectedly stood in front of her.

"Miss Yi." Yi Sheng had already turned around and saw her. Their eyes met, and Bai Ye didn't have time to back away or run away. She could only greet her, but as soon as she spoke, she realized that her throat was tight and dry, which was caused by nervousness.

"Hmm." Yi Sheng replied with a normal expression. "Why did you come here?"

“I…” Bai Ye couldn’t give a reason. She thought for a few seconds and said, “It’s my entry for the competition. The plumbing and electrical work has already started. I figured the plumbers would have gone home by now, so I came to check on things.”

“Yes.” Yi Sheng nodded. “When I arrived, it was just as my master was getting off work.”

So... how long have you been here?

Bai Ye pursed her lips and moved closer. The premonition in her heart grew stronger, pounding against her heart and her reason. "And Miss Yi, why did you come here?"

The two looked at each other, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, about an arm's length apart, as if they were deliberately trying to get closer, yet also as if they were restraining themselves from distancing themselves.

After about half a minute of silence, Yi Sheng replied, "Because I want to see someone, but I can't."

"What?"

“Xiao Yang said that it’s very obvious when a girl likes someone. If she likes someone, she will want to get close to them. If she doesn’t like someone, she will want to avoid them.” Yi Sheng spoke very softly, as if talking to herself, or as if whispering in the ear of an intimate person, gentle and lost. “I know that person is avoiding me, so I can’t force her to do something against her will.”

Yi Sheng's words were ambiguous, circuitous, and packed with information.

Baiye took a while to digest, experiencing a mix of surprise, joy, and worry...

What Yi Sheng means is that she likes that person and wants to get closer to him, but that person is avoiding her, so she can only come here.

Bai Ye couldn't be sure if his interpretation was correct.

Is the person Yi Sheng is referring to her?

She was hiding.

It's unclear whether they're hiding from themselves or from Yi Sheng.

But none of that matters anymore, and there's no need to figure it out, because at this moment she realizes that Yi Sheng is more important to her than anything else.

So Bai Ye stopped dodging. She took a step forward, and was only a fist's distance from Yi Sheng. She looked up at Yi Sheng slightly. Her heart was trembling, and her voice was trembling as well, as if they were trembling at the same frequency, but she didn't care. "Miss Yi."

"Um?"

"Do you want your best friend to kiss you?" Bai Ye felt her voice was trembling and almost incoherent, but she still looked directly at Yi Sheng.

Yi Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then frowned slightly. "Not a best friend."

Not best friends? Who cares what they are?

Bai Yeke couldn't distinguish between reason and logic at the moment, so whatever Yi Sheng said was fine with her, it didn't matter.

She asked again, "Then, shall we kiss?"

Bai Ye could feel the heat rising from her face, but she chose to ignore it for now. Having come this far, she couldn't back down now, and there was no going back anyway.

"No." Yi Sheng looked at her, his eyes filled with a complex mix of disappointment and anxiety. "I said no..."

How can you be close friends if you're not best friends?

Yi Sheng was no longer willing to deceive herself like this, nor was she willing to let Bai Yeke deliberately misinterpret her feelings. She had been Bai Yeke's friend and best friend for too long, so long that she couldn't stand it anymore.

Just as Yi Sheng uttered the word "no," Bai Ye turned around and walked straight out the door.

I was rejected.

Bai Yeke's mind went blank, and her whole being went blank. She was unable to cope with the situation that was about to unfold. She was not good at socializing to begin with, and it was impossible for her to politely smile and smooth things over.

So she ran away, let her run away no matter what.

The only thing she could do to be polite and rational was not actually run. In fact, she couldn't run at all; tension permeated her limbs, making it difficult to exert excessive force.

"Wait!" Yi Sheng watched as she turned around and took a few steps. Something flashed through her mind at lightning speed, and she almost suddenly realized what Bai Yeke had said.

She caught up with him and hugged Bai Yeke from behind. Almost at the same moment, she lowered her head and placed a very light kiss on Bai Yeke's neck.

The sky had completely darkened, and the surrounding concrete walls reflected even less light. Only the faint light from the corridor outside, which had been illuminated by Yi Sheng's shout, seeped in.

Bai Ye had been outside in the cold wind and was almost numb from the cold, but the warm and moist breath from that kiss sent a jolt of electricity through her blood and skin.

And this kiss signifies that everything has been laid bare, and the dust has settled.

Bai Yeke's muscles, which had been aching from tension, finally relaxed. Her legs almost gave way and she could no longer stand. She leaned against Yi Sheng's chest, not knowing whether she was angry or aggrieved, and said, "Can't you just confess directly?"

That made her so anxious.

Her petulant complaint, delivered in a childish tone, unconsciously tinged with tears.

The corridor lights had been turned off again, and it was incredibly dark all around. Even though the two were standing close together, they could only make out each other's general outlines.

"I've never experienced anything like this before..." Little did I know it would cause such a misunderstanding.

Halfway through her sentence, Yi Sheng sighed and gave up trying to explain. She turned Bai Yeke around, half-hugging her, so they were facing each other. She hugged Bai Yeke tighter and spoke to her ear patiently and gently, "Okay, I like you."

It's like they're always there to grant your request.