A soft body slipped in his arms. Xie Shuo tightened his grip with a slightly startled expression.
In the darkness, he was able to smell the light fragrance in her hair.
Night had fallen, but it made no difference in his dark vision. He was quiet for a moment before helping her lie down and pulling the comforter to cover her.
Outside the window, the moon was clear and bright.
—-
The next day, Ye An didn’t wake up until the sun hung high in the sky.
She wasn’t drunk anymore, but the headache remained. She hugged the comforter, sat up, and pressed her hand against her forehead.
The sun shined outside the room, and she looked up to see Xie Shuo on the balcony, his long, lean figure shrouded in radiance.
It was rare for him to go outside on his own initiative instead of constantly staying inside in low spirits.
As Ye An looked at his back facing her, she tried to recall last night’s events. She couldn’t remember most of them and only remembered that after showering, she had stuck to him unscrupulously, hugged his neck, and wouldn’t stop talking.
Sure enough, alcohol easily exposed one’s true nature.
When she was done nursing her headache, Ye An lifted the covers and walked toward the balcony. Her nightgown was white and thin, so under the sun, it was slightly transparent and displayed her curves.
Xie Shuo didn’t look back when he heard footsteps behind him, and it seemed like he was thinking about something.
Ye An stepped forward and looked into his eyes, saying uneasily, “If you want some sun, don’t face it directly. The doctor said that your eyes shouldn’t be exposed to bright lights.”
Xie Shuo turned to face her with an indifferent expression. “You’re sober now?”
Recalling what happened last night, Ye An’s expression froze. She said guiltily, “I thought that the wine wouldn’t be that strong. I didn’t expect to get so drunk.”
Xie Shuo’s expression was indifferent, but he didn’t look upset either. It could even be considered gentle.
In the rippling lake, there were already tourists in the distance.
After standing there for a while, he suddenly said, “You’re still not taking a shower; aren’t we going out today?”
Ye An returned to her senses and immediately turned around. “On it.”
As she walked to the bathroom, she looked back and thought: He… seemed to be in a good mood today?
What an unpredictable man.
After showering, Ye An went downstairs with Xie Shuo to eat breakfast, and then they went to visit the island’s other tourist attractions as previously planned.
Today, they were going to see a temple that was pretty far away from the inn. It was called Qianyue Temple and was said to be very auspicious.
The surroundings around the temple were quiet, so there were few tourists in the remote environment.
As soon as they stepped in, the cool air blew across their faces. Leaves fluttered down the branches from the aged trees in the courtyard.
Their visit to the temple wasn’t originally a part of Ye An’s plan, but after hearing someone mention it yesterday, she decided to come and pray for Xie Shuo’s eyes to heal as soon as possible.
When people were powerless, they would always pin their hopes on the heavens.
Xie Shuo was apathetic and clearly didn’t believe in these types of things. Ye An coaxed him in a low tone, “You have to be sincere for the prayers to work; just ask to be safe and sound.”
She took him to the main hall and helped him light his incense sticks before helping him kneel with her and pray together.
The fragrant smoke curled up and blurred their features.
This time, the two never came across Zhuang Yinian and Yan Fei.
When leaving the temple, Ye An dragged Xie Shuo to get a Chinese fortune divination stick. The one they picked said, “An ill tree’s future springs,” which predicted new upcoming power and fortune.
Ye An’s widened in joy, and she said as they walked out, “‘An ill tree’s future springs;’ that must mean that you’re definitely going to get better this time!”
Because of her optimism, Xie Shuo’s complexion also softened, and there was a trace of tenderness between his brows.
After leaving the temple, the two went to their next destination.
The fallen leaves swept under their feet with the wind.
—-
Their honeymoon wasn’t very long, so they returned home four days later.
Xie Baiyan had left for a business trip the day before they arrived, so the house became their own two-person home again.
It was four o’clock in the evening by the time they returned home. Ye An sat down on the sofa and sipped some water from a cup in her hands. But before she could catch her breath, she suddenly heard Xie Shuo say, “Call Zhong Fu for me, and let him come by tomorrow.”
He sat beside her with furrowed eyebrows and a grave expression.
Ye An had Zhong Fu’s number saved on her phone because Xie Shuo’s eyes made it inconvenient for him to make and answer calls, so she usually took care of them for him.
“Did something happen?” After making the call, Ye An couldn’t help but ask.
Xie Shuo frowned and waved his hand. “No.”
Since he didn’t want to talk about company affairs, she didn’t ask any more questions and only reminded him, “Tomorrow, a doctor will come give you acupuncture; don’t forget.”
Xie Shuo closed his eyes and responded with a low, “En.”
At ten o’clock the next morning, Zhong Fu came alone without Xie Yuran this time.
Ye An helped Xie Shuo sit down in the study before turning to leave, not wanting to disturb their business discussions.
When she went back to the bedroom, she saw their “little daughter” penguin in the corner, and she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks and walk over.
As soon as she touched its head, an aggrieved Mengyin complained, “Master, you haven’t come to see me in a long time…”
Ye An lovingly pet its small head and wings, soothing it. “I went on a honeymoon with your dad.”
The little penguin immediately responded with an excited, “Wow!”
Ye An chuckled and pressed its feed button to feed it. After playing with it for a while, she turned around and walked to the sofa.
After going out and walking around for the past few days, her legs were a bit sore. Ye An picked up her phone and adjusted her position so that she laid down comfortably on the sofa with her long fair legs stretched out.
There were dozens of unread messages on her phone, all from the work studio group chat.
Ye An opened them, and it turned out that the studio planned to hold an event in cooperation with two other well-known voice acting teams in the industry. They were discussing related matters, but Xiang Quan didn’t ask her if she wanted to participate. It seemed like he really did give up on her.
Ye An wanted to laugh, but as she stared at the chat activity, she suddenly remembered her Weibo account she had abandoned for so long that weeds were going to sprout. She picked a few pretty pictures of the scenery taken at Qianyue Mountain and posted them.
In the next few minutes, comments flooded in and begged for more pictures of her. Many of them said, “Ah! Miss, you’re finally back from the dead.”
—
The autumn weather was cool and crisp, and wispy white clouds lazed in the blue skies. The speckled sunlight fell on the bookshelves.
Xie Shuo asked, “I asked you and Yuran to handle the Ju family cooperation case last time. Besides you two, who else was involved in the matter?”
Zhong Fu was somewhat confused as he answered, “Vice Director Zhang.”
Xie Shuo looked down and fiddled with his fingers as if he was thinking about something.
Zhong Fu had worked for Xie Shuo for a long time and understood his thoughts immediately. He asked, “Does President Xie suspect…Vice Deputy Director Zhang?”
Xie Shuo didn’t reply. Only after a while did he say, “Keep an eye on him, but don’t let him know.”
Zhong Fu acknowledged him, but after recalling something, he asked, “Do you want President Xie Yuran to know as well?”
Xie Shuo went quiet with an unreadable expression before saying five words, “No need for the time being.”
Half an hour later, Zhong Fu left.
Ye An dragged her sore legs to the study and sat down beside Xie Shuo. Seeing his elbow resting on the sofa and his exhausted expression, she asked softly, “Does your head hurt again? Do you want me to massage your temples?”
Xie put his arm down and turned to face her.
Ye An covered his hand and squeezed it as she said gently, “I haven’t massaged your head for a long time, and you have to have acupuncture done later this afternoon.”
There was no objection from Xie Shuo. Rather, Ye An watched as his expression eased. She touched his shoulders to try to make him lie down.
Xie Shuo, probably really tired, actually laid down on his back and put his head in her lap before closing his eyes.
This Eldest Young Master was very cooperative today. Ye An looked down, placed her fingertips at his temples, and massaged them gently.
The sun was shining, and the room was quiet.
In the afternoon, Professor Cen sent a specialized doctor over to perform acupuncture on Xie Shuo.
As usual, Ye An watched nervously on the side.
After the acupuncture was done, the doctor did a basic check-up on Xie Shuo. Before leaving, he said to Ye An, “His current state is much better than before; just continue to do what you have been doing. Take him out for walks and let him be more positive. This will be good for recovery.”
Ye An wasn’t sure if this advice was just to comfort her, so she nodded.
She returned to the bedroom and fed Xie Shuo the medicine, looked at him, and said warmly, “Go to bed and sleep for a while. I’ll wake you up at dinner.”
Xie Shuo got up, and Ye An helped him over to the bed. After he laid down, she covered him with a comforter.
She didn’t leave immediately and sat by the bed looking at him. Remembering what the doctor said gave her a headache.
Getting him to go out more was easier said than done. If it weren’t for the trouble caused on Grandfather Ye’s birthday, he probably wouldn’t even have agreed to go to Qianyue Mountain.
It was indeed difficult when considering the task at hand, but Ye An didn’t intend to give up. After resting for three days at home, she began her antics again and tried to convince Xie Shuo to go shopping with her.
Sure enough, she only received Xie Shuo’s indifference.
