Ye Yanxi left He's Financial Group and went straight back to her apartment in Qingyuwan. After washing up, she lay in bed reading. Before she knew it, she felt a wave of drowsiness. She checked the time and it was already eleven o'clock.
It was about the time she usually went to bed. Before going to sleep, she would always go downstairs to get a glass of water.
After closing the book, Ye Yanxi got up and went downstairs.
When she reached the first floor, she saw that the living room was filled with moonlight, so it was relatively bright. Therefore, she didn't turn on the light and instead walked familiarly towards the kitchen.
As she passed by the living room, she casually looked for her cup on the table. After groping around for a while, she finally found it.
She was wearing slippers when she came down, so every step she took made quite a loud echo in the large living room.
She walked all the way to the kitchen, which was also pitch - black. So she felt for the switch on the wall. After turning on the light, the room suddenly brightened up. Then she went to get some water. After drinking a glass, she felt much less thirsty, but she still poured another glass, planning to drink it if she got thirsty at night.
When she walked out of the kitchen, she turned off the light and walked towards the second floor based on her memory of the route.
But as she passed by the living room, she suddenly seemed to bump into something.
Strange, how could she bump into something?
She murmured and reached out to touch it. It was a stool.
She clearly remembered that the stools were always placed in the corner of the living room. Why did it suddenly end up in the aisle? She had just walked through here. Why didn't she bump into it then?
Could the stool have grown legs? Or did she move it here at some point and then forget?
So many things had happened recently. Her mind was always muddled and not very clear. Maybe... it was really her who moved it here.
But why would she put the stool in the middle of the path? It was so obstructive.
"Really, why is my memory always failing me recently?" Ye Yanxi muttered as she moved the stool behind the coffee table.
After putting it away, she then walked towards the second floor.
But just as she had taken a few steps, suddenly something fell behind her. It seemed to have fallen from the cabinet. Why would it fall for no reason?
She groped her way over and picked it up. It felt soft.
After thinking for a long time, she remembered that it was that doll. She had made it when Xiao Yu went to Italy. The clothes on the puppet were made by her, and Xiao Yu had even disliked how ugly it was.
Later, when Xiao Yu came back from Italy, he put his puppet and hers together on the cabinet. Every time she caught a glimpse of the two big - headed dolls, Xiao Yu would dislike them again, saying that they were ugly to a new level and simply unbearable to look at. It made her so angry that she wanted to throw the dolls away every time, but Xiao Yu wouldn't allow it and said they were his belongings.
Now, looking at the pair of dolls again, Ye Yanxi felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
She wondered how Xiao Yu was doing now.
She had no idea where he was being held. Even if she wanted to go and see him, she didn't know where to find him.
Every time something happened to him, he chose not to tell her. So she could only worry and be scared alone.
"Jerk, damn Xiao Yu!" Ye Yanxi squeezed the puppet tightly with her fingers, a wave of anger surging up. "Every time you disappear without a sound, leaving me scared and worried. You're just a bastard. I never want to see you again."
Ye Yanxi pounded the puppet dejectedly, using it as a substitute for Xiao Yu to vent her anger. Suddenly, she felt a familiar aura approaching from behind.
"Really?" A deep and pleasant voice sounded beside her, very close, with a hint of a smile in it. "You really never want to see me again?"
This voice...
It couldn't be. Wasn't he locked up? How could he be at home? But the voice was so real that it was hard to tell if it was a dream or reality.
But maybe it was just an auditory hallucination? Ye Yanxi squeezed the puppet tightly, still looking angry. "Don't think that just because you speak, I'll be afraid of you. You're just scaring me. Humph, if I see you again, I won't spare you!"
"You're really that heartless?" The voice came again.
This time, Xiao Yu's voice was really that close. It seemed as if she was already surrounded by his aura.
She stood there stiffly, not moving at all. Was it really Xiao Yu? Since he disappeared after getting injured last time, Ye Yanxi had been feeling insecure and always on edge.
But the voice was so close, almost right beside her. She stood there in shock, not daring to turn around. She was afraid of missing something, and also afraid that it was just a dream.
After a long while, Xiao Yu's smiling voice came again. "What? You really don't want to see me?"
Ye Yanxi felt a bitter feeling welling up in her heart. Her heart ached, and tears were about to well up in her eyes.
"Didn't you not want me to know anything? Since you didn't want me to know, why did you come back?" Ye Yanxi sniffed and complained aggrievedly.
"So, you really don't plan to forgive me and don't want to see me again?" Xiao Yu stared at her back, with an indescribable look in his eyes.
"Yes!" Ye Yanxi tightened her grip on the puppet in her hand. Her body trembled slightly from the force. After a long while, she said word by word, "I don't want to see you now. You're the person I hate the most."
"Well, since you don't want to see me, then I'll leave. Whenever you want to see me, just call me and I'll come back." Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and said in a deliberately deep tone.
After saying that, he really turned around and left simply and neatly.
He's leaving just like that?
Ye Yanxi had her back to him. She felt a sharp pain in her heart again. Immediately, she regretted it and shouted, "Stop. If you dare to take a single step out, don't ever come back again."
Sure enough, Xiao Yu obediently stopped in his tracks and smiled playfully. "You don't want to see me, but you don't want me to leave either. So what exactly do you want?"
"You're so obedient now. I told you to go and you just go? I've been calling everyone these days asking where you are. But your phone was turned off, and when did you ever tell me anything?" Ye Yanxi was so angry that her whole body trembled.
"So, you still blame me for not telling you about this?"
"What does it matter if you tell me or not? Do I care? Do I, Ye Yanxi, have the right to care? Every time you decide to hide something from me, what right do I have to blame you?" Ye Yanxi actually cared deeply in her heart, but she would never admit it and still wanted to be tough.
After she finished speaking, Xiao Yu's hands gently touched her shoulders.
"Don't be angry. It was my fault this time. There won't be a next time. I promise!" Xiao Yu coaxed her softly. "Don't be angry, okay?"
Ye Yanxi wasn't really angry. She was just venting her dissatisfaction. She had had enough of being scared and worried these days.
So her tone had been so sharp just now. But when Xiao Yu coaxed her softly, her resentment vanished into thin air, leaving only her attachment to Xiao Yu.
At this moment, Xiao Yu easily turned her body around to face him. Ye Yanxi actually didn't want to turn around because she was tough and cared about her pride, but this time she didn't resist much.
"Still angry?" Xiao Yu looked at her wide - open eyes with amusement. Her eye sockets were still a little red.
In the pitch - black living room, the moonlight shone in, but Xiao Yu's face was still not very clear. But just being in Xiao Yu's unique aura, she felt at ease and secure.
"If I were to be angry all the time, I'm afraid I'd be angry to death by you." Now that Xiao Yu was really standing in front of her, Ye Yanxi couldn't help but throw herself into his arms. Her arms tightly wrapped around his waist, and she nestled in his chest like a little woman. "I'm not angry anymore. I was just worried that something might happen to you. It's good that you're back safely."
Xiao Yu's eyes were deep. He lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead. "I made you worry."
"You have to tell me everything from now on. As long as I know you're okay, that's enough. You can't just leave without a sound like this all the time. You always hide things from me and make me worried. If you do this again next time, I'll really be angry." Ye Yanxi buried her head in his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. Her voice was a bit muffled and full of uneasiness.
Hearing this, Xiao Yu tightened his arms. It was all because of him that she was so insecure. "Okay."
Hearing him promise with his own mouth, Ye Yanxi inexplicably let out a sigh of relief. "By the way..."
Now that the big stone in her heart had finally fallen, Ye Yanxi suddenly remembered an important thing.
"Are you back now because everything is okay, or..."
Smuggling arms was no small matter. It was a crime that would lead to a prison sentence. How could he be released just like that?
"Don't worry!" Xiao Yu put his arm around her slender waist and let her lean against him completely. "Everything has been resolved."
"Really?"
Remembering that he had just promised her that he would no longer hide anything from her, Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and then said, "Well, there are still some other insignificant things. Once they're resolved, everything will be fine."
"Did you manage to find the person who framed you when you got out?" Ye Yanxi felt a bit uneasy and asked carefully.
"Sort of."
This answer made Ye Yanxi's heart skip a beat. She felt even more uncertain.
"Who is the person who framed you?"
Xiao Yu was so shrewd that he knew Ye Yanxi's worries. So he explained casually, "That person has been hiding and didn't show up. We just caught him tonight, so..."
If that was the case, then it wasn't He Zhenhua?
Ye Yanxi let out a sigh of relief in her heart, but her mood at the moment was indescribable. She didn't know if she was relieved that it wasn't He Zhenhua or for some other reason.
Suddenly, she seemed to smell a strange odor. Ye Yanxi sniffed uncertainly. This smell... seemed to be coming from Xiao Yu.