What was he doing here?

Why did he look so suspicious?

As she was pondering this question, Xie Yuran hailed a taxi and opened the door to get in.

Because she had read too many drama scripts, a terrible thought flashed through her mind. He wasn’t the one who planned Xie Shuo’s accident, right?

After Xie Shuo’s accident, he was the one who would take charge of the Xie family. In other words, he was the biggest beneficiary and had every motivation to do it.

Ye An was shocked by her own revelation. After a few seconds, she quickly walked onto the side of the road and stopped a car.

The door slammed shut.

“Sir, please follow the car in front.”

The driver looked at her through the rearview mirror weirdly, seeming suspicious of her intentions.

In a moment of desperation, Ye An randomly blurted, “The one in front is my best friend’s boyfriend. I think he’s cheating on her, so I want to go check.”

Hearing her explanation, the driver finally started to drive.

Ten minutes later, Xie Yuran got out of the car in front of a coffee shop and hurriedly entered through the glass door.

Ye An exited the car, and by the time she walked into the cafe, Xie Yuran had disappeared, as if she had imagined everything.

She looked around but couldn’t find anyone, so she turned around to leave.

    —

On the way back, Ye An carefully sorted out the two major events that happened in the Xie family in the past year.

One was Xie Shuo’s car accident, and the other was his mother dying at sea.

According to Ye An’s knowledge, the mother-in-law that she had never met died in January. This was just after Xie Baiyan had officially stepped down and made Xie Shuo as the chairman of the board. He retired, and not long after, Xie Shuo and his mother were involved in the accidents. 

There was one matter that Ye An couldn’t figure out. Xie Baiyan and his wife didn’t have any rumors of a disharmonious relationship or any illegitimate children. Assuming that their husband-wife relationship was all right, there should be no reason for the wife to go on a vacation alone. Why didn’t Xie Baiyan, her husband, accompany her on the trip?

Were there more secrets within the rich and powerful? Or was their harmonious relationship just an illusion?

But no matter what, Xie Baiyan wouldn’t be so brainless to partner with an outsider to cheat his own son, right?

Ye An pondered the question for a while and still couldn’t think it through. She tossed a candied chestnut in her mouth to suppress her shock and began to recall Xie Shuo’s car accident.

Xie Shuo’s car accident happened in May last year. He had just gotten off the plane and was hit by a drunk driver on the way back to the Xie manor. Unfortunately, the driver was more seriously injured and died shortly after being admitted to the hospital, which made it troublesome to pursue the one accountable.

Due to Xie Shuo’s personality, only those close to him knew the whole situation. If there were any secrets veiled in the accident, then Xie Yuran did seem suspicious.

    ——

After returning home, Ye An walked to the bedroom with her chestnuts and came across Xie Shu exiting the bathroom.

She greeted him casually and asked in a brisk tone, “I bought some caramelized chestnuts; they’re pretty good. Do you want to try some?”

Xie Shuo felt like she resembled a child at times. She was curious about everything and was easily satisfied by snacks.

He didn’t reply and kept walking forward.

Ye An didn’t pay it any heed. She put the bag on a cabinet and walked to the bedside.

A pastel apricot dress laid on the bed. She tried it on before leaving but didn’t put it away because she had been  in a hurry.

She picked the dress up, intending to change in the closet. However, after glancing at the cold, unfeeling man in the room, she started to change directly by the bed. 

He couldn’t see anyway, so there was nothing to hide.

Ye An took her shirt and pants off and quickly changed her clothes. Xie Shuo listened to the rustling noises and “looked” at her. He suddenly frowned and asked, “What are you doing?”

Ye An was surprised at his concern. She put her clothes away and answered frankly, “Changing clothes!”

Xie Shuo: “…”

After putting her clothes away, she went to the bathroom to wash her hands. She picked her chestnuts up and sat down beside him.

“You really don’t want to try it?” She deliberately shook the paper bag in front of his nose, “It’s really good.”

Xie Shuo’s expression was still cold after smelling the sweet fragrance.

Ye An took a chestnut out of the bag, peeled the shell, and put it near his mouth. “Try it; I bought it while I was out.”

Xie Shuo was indifferent for a second more before finally opening his mouth.

“How is it; isn’t it good? It’s just a bit cold now, but it was really good fresh out of the oven.”

Ye An smiled and peeled another one for herself.

Outside the windows, the sun shone diagonally in. The sky blazed orange, staining the mountains and vegetation with a layer of splendor.

Ye An remembered the incident with Xie Yuran from earlier and struggled to ask, “Can I ask… how is your relationship with your cousin?”

Xie Shuo turned to face her with a deep gaze. He asked, “Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

“Nothing really, I was just curious.”

Ye An wanted to tell him about what happened with Xie Yuran today but was afraid that he would feel that she was attempting to sow discord. After all, Xie Yuran was a little brother that grew up with him, and she was the outsider.

“I heard that he lived with your family since he was very young. You two are close, right?” Ye An was deliberate with her word choice.

However, in the next second, Xie Shuo asked her directly, “What are you thinking?”

Ye An panicked and played dumb. “What? Nothing…”

Xie Shuo’s expression seemed to say, “I’m blind, not stupid.” He said, “I’ve already investigated the car accident, and it had nothing to do with him. If you’re suspicious of him, at least find some evidence first.”

“…” Ye An didn’t think that he would be able to guess her suspicions that easily and almost choked. However, if he wasn’t so intelligent, he also wouldn’t be where he was now.

With the Xie family being so big, Xie Baiyan wouldn’t have handed the position to a foolish son.

“Why are you worried?” Xie Shuo asked.

Ye An muttered, “I was just worried for you… In any case, we’re still husband and wife.”

Xie Shuo was silent for a moment before he turned to leave. He said lightly, “You don’t need to worry about these things.”

Who’s worried; nobody cares!

Ye An was annoyed by his attitude and stuffed a chestnut into his mouth to relieve her anger.

Xie Shuo frowned, caught off guard.

Ye An raised her chin. “These are the last two. If you don’t try it now, there will be no more.”

    “……”

Xie Shuo couldn’t do anything since it was already in his mouth, so he could only chew it sullenly.

Ye An watched until he was done chewing. She stuffed the last one in his mouth when he was caught off guard once again.

Soon after, she fled to the sofa, ignoring how ugly his expression was. “There’s no more! The last one was for you!”

Xie Shuo “stared” at her with a dark expression. He could only endure it, unable to get angry.

In the end, he still ate the last chestnut. 

He wasn’t happy, but Ye An was. She made a triumphant face at him, reveling in his annoyance. After being married for so long, Ye An understood his character. Even though he was pretty temperamental, he was from a well-cultivated family and had morals. He wouldn’t do anything to her, no matter how mad he was. 

Ye An leaned into the sofa and took her phone out, crossing her legs on the seat.

She originally wanted to look up any information regarding Xie Yuran, but before she could find anything, she soon became distracted by the gossip in the entertainment industry.

With her focused, the room became particularly silent.

Because of his cold, Xie Shuo wasn’t able to sleep well for the past few days. His head was a bit woozy, so he rested his eyes for a bit. 

When he woke up, there was silence all around him. He “looked” to the side but didn’t find anything. He listened carefully, but there were no sounds.

He was unsure if Ye An was still there and was unwilling to call out to her. After wrestling with his pride, he reached out to feel the area around him.

Ye An was entirely focused on eating melons and killing time, not at all noticing Xie Shuo’s movements. 

She laid carelessly on the sofa, and her dress pulled up to the base of legs, revealing her fair thighs.

As a result, Xie Shuo came across her thigh, accidentally fondling her leg.

He struck something smooth and soft.

Xie Shuo froze.

Ye An also froze.

She looked up, and without reacting, she asked, “Why are you touching my leg?”

Xie Shuo: “…”

The atmosphere stagnated.

Xie Shuo retracted his hand and turned to leave, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Ye An: ???

It was you that groped my leg, right? Why are you leaving so confidently?

Author’s note: Xiao Ye: Last time it was my chest, this time it was my leg. Where are you going to touch next time? [smile.jpg]

Xiao Xie: cold_face.jpg

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