Harbor
Zhong Yunxi spent an extra day with her. That evening, Xue Meng called to say that the project manager there insisted on his presence and that he needed to go early the next day.
Bai Yi was still asleep when he left.
When he went downstairs for breakfast, he told Aunt Wu, "Please take good care of Xiaoyi when she takes her medicine. She skipped one dose yesterday. If she goes out, please prepare an extra set of clothes for her."
Aunt Wu agreed.
She was playing games in the morning when Meng Shuang called Bai Yi.
She seemed a little guilty when she answered the call.
"Teacher Bai, are you feeling better today? Are you at the hospital or at home? I'm going out on a field assignment today, so I'll stop by to see you."
Bai Yi: ...
She didn't know what lie Zhong Yunxi had told her, and dared not tell anyone.
"It's okay, I'm at home, no need to bother. I should be able to go to work tomorrow morning."
Meng Shuang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. President Lu said that Boss Zhong helped you ask for leave because you had a high fever and he took you to the hospital in the middle of the night the day before yesterday."
Bai Yi: ...
"It's not that serious," she said, her voice trembling with guilt.
Meng Shuang hesitated for a few seconds, then tentatively asked, "Was our meeting too tiring?"
"No, it's just that the temperature has dropped, and I have a bit of a headache."
Meng Shuang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "That's good. You can rest another day tomorrow, no need to rush to work."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Meng."
When she hung up the phone, she still felt uneasy. Tai She was dead, and now the whole company probably knew that she had been taken to the hospital in the middle of the night.
Zhong Yunxi had no idea how working people ask for leave.
She casually switched from the game to the chat app, sent Zhong Yunxi an angry emoji, and continued playing the game.
Zhong Yunxi called her via voice message when she was about to complete the game.
They were eliminated.
Bai Yi: ...
She answered the phone and complained to him, "You've ruined the whole game."
Zhong Yunxi had no choice but to say, "I saw you sent me a message."
Forget he's the boss, he can call anytime.
"I'm playing games, I'm not talking to you anymore."
"Xiao Yi, did you take your medicine today?" Zhong Yunxi asked hastily.
Aunt Wu specially made her coconut milk water chestnuts, saying that it would sweeten her mouth after taking the medicine. She knew that Zhong Yunxi must have told Aunt Wu about it, and she was embarrassed to make Aunt Wu feel awkward.
"I've had my drink, now you go to work." She was always the first to hang up on Zhong Yunxi.
Xue Meng watched as his boss stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room, taking a moment to smoke a cigarette before making a phone call.
Zhong Yunxi returned to the conference table and stubbed out his cigarette. The project was a bit troublesome, and he hadn't made any progress all morning. When he saw the emoji Bai Yi sent, he wanted to hear her voice.
Zhong Yunxi was away on a business trip, and Bai Yi didn't want to stay alone in Boyuntan, so she asked the driver to take her back to Qiwu Mountain Residence that night.
She forgot to call home before she got back. Bai Yeliang and Li Wan were both surprised to see her. Li Wan quickly stood up from the dining table and asked, "Has Xiaoyi eaten yet?"
She simply said, "I've already eaten, don't worry about me."
Li Wan, her stepmother, always acted like a nanny in front of her. Although she couldn't treat her like her own mother, it always made people wonder if the Bai family was mistreating her.
Perhaps her father married Li Wan simply because he wanted a virtuous woman in the family to take care of him and his daughter.
After the meal, Bai Yeliang asked, "Xiaoyi, how are you and Zhong Yunxi doing?"
Bai Yi took a small bite of a plum and said, "Mmm."
Bai Yeliang had recently heard some rumors at the company, the truth of which was unknown, concerning Zhong Yunxi. He didn't want to ask Bai Yi directly, but he had warned Zhong Yunxi before, though he didn't know if he had taken it seriously.
The arranged marriage between the two made him, as their father, constantly worried.
"That's good. Now that you're married, make the most of your life and be tolerant of each other." Bai Yeliang didn't say anything more.
Bai Yi didn't like hearing such words. He glanced at his father and said, "How do you write 'take responsibility'? There are too many people who take responsibility for Zhong Yunxi. They don't need me. He should take responsibility for me."
Bai Yeliang naturally knew his daughter's temperament, so he just smiled.
He felt that since Zhong Yunxi was capable of doing it, he should have the ability and means to resolve the problems between the two of them.
When Bai Yi heard the phone call, she thought it was Zhong Yunxi. When she saw that the caller ID showed Yu Shiyuan, she was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Yu Shiyuan to call her.
Yu Shiyuan is back from southern Tibet and wants to see her. He's asking her out for dinner tomorrow.
She was too lazy to go out. "I have a cold and don't want to go out. Why don't you come over for tea this afternoon? I've already invited my senior brother to come too."
Yu Shiyuan had met her two senior brothers in Xiangcheng, but he didn't know which one was in Yuegang. He didn't ask any further questions and just agreed.
Just as Bai Yi hung up on Yu Shiyuan, Zhong Yunxi called.
She went upstairs, answered the phone with a smile, and asked him if he had eaten yet.
"Eating now."
He had a dinner party that night and had just finished drinking. He came out to get some fresh air and took this opportunity to call her. Otherwise, if he went back in, he didn't know how long it would take to get out, or whether he would still be sober when he did.
Why are you calling me during dinner?
Zhong Yunxi laughed and said, "I'll go inside to talk about something later, so I won't bring my phone. I'm afraid I won't see your messages. I'm saying goodnight in advance."
Bai Yi said "Oh". He remembered that he didn't have his phone with him that time and didn't reply to her goodnight.
"Then you should drink less alcohol and smoke less at night." She often used interjections when she was being affectionate with him, and it was at this time that Zhong Yunxi was most likely to lose his principles and give in to her in everything.
He stubbed out his cigarette and said in a low voice, "Everyone says that you only ask your husband to quit smoking and drinking when you're trying to conceive."
Bai Yi: ...
If he said it to his face, Bai Yi would definitely strangle him.
"However, since my wife has said so, I will quit even without a reason."
"Who cares? Do whatever you want." Bai Yi hung up the phone.
Bai Yi felt that Zhong Yunxi was a complete robber at heart.
He forbade her from mentioning divorce. Every time she did, he would either threaten or bribe her, either persuading her or forcing her to apologize. Thanks to him, she felt almost allergic to the words "two years" and "divorce."
He himself knew the marriage contract was only for two years, yet he had absolutely no sense of the contract's boundaries. He didn't care about those two years at all. What else could he be but a robber?
Bai Yi grew angrier the more she thought about it, but the person wasn't around, so she couldn't even reach them to vent her anger.
Zhong Yunxi sent her several more messages to coax her. He knew exactly how to gradually break down her defenses. She didn't want to read them and threw her phone far away.
The next morning, when she went downstairs, the living room was filled with a large pile of Kayla roses and swallowtails.
Bai Yeliang hadn't started work yet. Seeing her come downstairs, he asked, "Did Yunxi send this? Why did you buy so much?"
Bai Yi went to the restaurant and kicked away two bouquets of roses blocking her way: "He made me angry yesterday."
Bai Yeliang: ...
Let's do it.
He doesn't know who can cure his daughter.
While she was eating, she said to Li Wan, "Aunt Li, I have two friends coming over this afternoon. After lunch, you and Wang Ma can order some desserts and coffee from the community's central kitchen."
Li Wan nodded: "Okay."
Bai Yi asked again, "Has Jingjing come over recently? You and Dad feel lonely while I'm not here, so let her come over and keep you company. She's going to England soon."
Li Wan's tone was full of gratitude: "I've been here before, I even came last weekend."
In this family, Li Wan knew very well who was at the top of the food chain, and she never had the slightest thought of being rebellious.
Moreover, even though Bai Yi is now married to a man who is her father-in-law, Li Wan could tell that Bai Yeliang wasn't very comfortable around him.
After dinner, Wang Ma asked her if she wanted to buy more vases to put all the flowers in. She picked up a bunch and prepared to take it to the bedroom. "No need to buy any more. Just fill the vases in the house, and put the rest of the bunches in the living room. If they wither, just throw them away."
Wherever she lived, Zhong Yunxi would have the housekeeper send flowers there. Zhong Yunxi always knew how to handle her in these details.
Bai Yi also felt that he was a very classy bandit.
Yu Shiyuan arrived first in the afternoon; Bai Yi was still upstairs changing clothes. Li Wan invited him to sit down first, then went upstairs to call Bai Yi.
When Bai Yi came downstairs, Yu Shiyuan heard footsteps and got up from the sofa to look over.
She was still wearing a white French-style dress, made of satin, adorned with pearls and rhinestones at the neckline, cuffs, and hem. A green sandalwood woven belt cinched her waist, and her hair, presumably too lazy to style, was simply held in place with a hair clip.
She smiled and asked, "When did you get back?"
Yu Shiyuan noticed the valuable blue diamond around her neck. "It's been a week."
Li Wan served pastries and coffee. She drank a black tea latte and pushed the hazelnut latte with its delicate latte art to him.
Yu Shiyuan knew about her arranged marriage in Yuegang and was eager to know how she was doing after returning to Yuegang. He picked up his coffee, but before he could drink it, the blue diamond necklace around Bai Yi's neck made him uneasy. He asked her first, "What about you? Why did you go back to Yuegang? How long have you been back? Are you alright?"
She didn't know how to tell Yu Shiyuan about what had happened recently, even though it had turned out alright.
"It's mainly about work. There's no other way. Since I'm back, I'll get married." Her tone was completely calm.
But when Yu Shiyuan heard the word "marriage," he put down the coffee he was holding, afraid that his hand would shake and spill it if he held it for too long.
"With Zhou Qi?" He was afraid she would marry Zhou Qi, since she had been hiding for so long.
"No." Bai Yi took a sip of coffee.
Yu Shiyuan didn't know whether he felt relieved upon hearing the result.
Bai Yi glanced at him and picked up a cookie: "You don't know him."
"Do you like it? Is it good to you?"
Bai Yi laughed: "Do men ask such questions? I thought you guys would ask if your marriage partner is good-looking first?"
Seeing that her mood wasn't affected when she mentioned that person, Yu Shiyuan followed up by asking, "Is he handsome?"
"Yes, he's handsome in a edgy, sharp way." This was the first time she had described Zhong Yunxi's handsomeness to someone.
The doorbell rang, and Wang Ma hurried to open the door.
Bai Yi glanced at the doorway: "Senior brother is here."
Yu Shiyuan and Lu Xin have worked together before; although they are not close friends, they are work partners.
As soon as Lu Xin entered, he hung his coat on the hanger, took the towel handed to him by Wang Ma to dry his hands, and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Yu Shiyuan answered him first: "I heard you know Xiaoyi's husband?"
Lu Xin laughed: "I regret the connection that was brought together by a twist of fate."
Yu Shiyuan: "What, are you not good enough for Xiaoyi?"
"It's hard to say whether they are a good match or not. It depends on what Xiaoyi thinks. Zhong Yunxi is undoubtedly handsome and has a high social standing, but he's a bit hard to judge as a person."
Bai Yi interrupted them, "Stop talking about him."
As soon as Lu Xin entered the room, he saw Kayla roses everywhere in the living room and joked, "Zhong Yunxi's superficial skills are impeccable. If my junior sister were a little more materialistic and just wanted to be a rich woman, there would be no more suitable husband than Zhong Yunxi. Being an ATM wouldn't be bad either, right, junior sister?"
"Why are you men so gossipy? I'm secretly married to him, so don't gossip." Bai Yi felt that Lu Xin probably wouldn't dare to complain about Zhong Yunxi to his face, but he was unrestrained in front of her.
"I'm here to analyze Zhong Yunxi's usage instructions for you."
Bai Yi: ...
Yu Shiyuan: ...
Lu Xin is a chatterbox; he reveals his true colors within just three sentences.
From just these few words, Yu Shiyuan roughly knew that the person Bai Yi married was probably much better than Zhou Qi.
Yu Shiyuan didn't know the full picture of Lu Xin's social circle, but from their limited interactions, he could tell that while Lu Xin's family wasn't exactly a high-ranking official's family, it was certainly a scholarly one. The people around Lu Xin, whom he introduced to his junior sister, were all quite presentable in terms of appearance, character, and status.
"So Xiaoyi will be staying in Yuegang from now on, right? Does Professor Wu have a laboratory here?" Yu Shiyuan asked about her plans.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yi's face instantly turned thoughtful. "The support team for Runhe New Drug will need at least one or two years. The future is still uncertain."
Yu Shiyuan smiled and said, "You're already married, why aren't you sure?"
She couldn't possibly tell anyone about her two-year engagement with Zhong Yunxi, so she just mentioned it casually: "We'll see, we'll take it one step at a time. Marriage isn't a big deal."
Yu Shiyuan has known Bai Yi for almost ten years. From her words and micro-expressions, Yu Shiyuan can catch a glimpse of her psychology.
He felt that, when it came to her marriage and husband, Bai Yi didn't seem to have the conviction to spend her whole life with him, at least not now. But she also had some conflicting feelings towards him, a strong sense of unease and a desire to avoid him.
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