Chapter 468 - 466: Lin Xi’s Unease
"Young Mistress, has Young Master Xue not answered your call?"
In the villa, all the lights were on. To say it was brightly lit would be an understatement.
Lin Xi sat in the glass conservatory, her gaze fixed on the villa’s entrance.
She hoped that in the next second, she would see Xue Yang appear at the door, smiling at her. Then he would say, "Xiao Xi, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting."
But she waited for a long time, and there was still no sign of him. Not even a phone call.
Saying she wasn’t disappointed would be a lie. Although he had warned her that he would be busy lately and that she shouldn’t wait up for him, she couldn’t help but feel anxious now that she truly couldn’t reach him.
"No..."
This was the first time she had called so many times without Xue Yang picking up or calling her back.
Hearing Lin Xi’s words, Auntie Shen grew a little worried herself.
"Young Mistress, why don’t you ask the person who is often with Young Master Xue?"
"You mean Cui Hao?"
"That’s him."
Of all the people around Xue Yang, Auntie Shen only knew Cui Hao.
Without a second thought, Lin Xi immediately called him.
"Cui Hao, is Xue Yang at the company?"
Receiving a call from Lin Xi, Cui Hao almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It wasn’t until he heard her voice that it registered: the Lady Boss had actually called him. Or rather, she was calling to check up on the boss.
"Yes, the boss has been at the company all day. Is something the matter?" Cui Hao asked, a little curious.
"No... I was just asking. Is he... very busy?"
"He’s quite busy. Since coming back, he’s had to manage the new energy projects, the charging pile initiative, and also handle matters for the gaming company. I don’t think he’s even had time to eat."
Hearing this, Lin Xi sighed in relief, but her heart ached for Xue Yang. It was already eight o’clock, and he hadn’t eaten yet. He must be starving.
"I see. Thank you."
"You’re welcome."
After hanging up, Cui Hao glanced at Xue Yang’s office. Even through the closed door, he could see it was brightly lit inside.
Weird. Based on the boss’s personality, he shouldn’t be so busy that he wouldn’t even answer his fiancée’s call, forcing her to call me instead. Is there a problem?
Cui Hao suddenly remembered the issue he’d wanted to discuss with him.
Could it be that he’s still taking it to heart?
Cui Hao reached the door but stopped. He turned around and headed to Yu Kexin’s office instead.
"I think there might be a problem between the boss and his fiancée."
Yu Kexin responded nonchalantly, "They’re about to get engaged. What problem could they possibly have?"
"Guess what? His fiancée just called me."
"What?" Yu Kexin shot up, looking at Cui Hao in surprise.
"Right? You think it’s incredible, too. She didn’t call the boss; she called me. Isn’t that a clear sign something’s wrong?" Cui Hao analyzed methodically.
"Looking at it that way, it really does seem like there’s a problem."
"So, should we help them?"
"And how do you suggest we do that?"
"Well..." Cui Hao was suddenly at a loss. He was single himself, and his love life was a complete mess. How was he supposed to know how to help?
"This is all your fault," Yu Kexin was on the verge of tears. "You just had to bring up the matter of him marrying into her family. He’s such a proud person. Of course he’d be upset hearing something like that. If they break up over this, you’ll be the main culprit."
"I didn’t know things would turn out this way, okay? I was just really worried at the time, that’s all... Ugh, it’s useless talking about this now. Figuring out how to talk to the boss is what’s important. If you want to punish me, you can wait until they’ve made up. It won’t be too late to settle the score then."
Cui Hao felt Yu Kexin had a point. "I’ll go find him."
With that, he left her office and went to Xue Yang’s, where he knocked gently on the door.
"Come in."
Xue Yang’s low voice came from inside.
Cui Hao pushed the door open and entered. When Xue Yang saw it was him, he stared as if Cui Hao were a monster.
"Hey, can you stop looking at me with that disgusting expression? My sexual orientation is perfectly normal."
"Are you out of your mind?"
"It was just a knock on the door. What’s the big deal?"
"Do you even believe that yourself?"
Cui Hao faltered. To be honest, he didn’t. He almost never knocked on Xue Yang’s door; he just walked right in. Knocking was extremely rare, unless... he had messed up. And messed up badly.
"Don’t worry about the details. Are you done with work? How about... we go grab a drink?"
"Sounds good."
Hearing Xue Yang’s reply, Cui Hao nearly stumbled.
"Hold on, bro, are you sure *you’re* not the one who’s lost it?" The sun must have risen from the west for Xue Yang to agree to go out for a drink with him.
"So, are we going or not?"
"Going! Of course, we’re going! Let’s go, right now!"
Xue Yang shut down his computer, grabbed his phone, and left the office with Cui Hao.
「Xiangshan Villa.」
At nine o’clock, Si Wen got home from work.
Seeing the villa’s main gate being pushed open, Lin Xi’s eyes immediately lit up. She was about to get up to greet him, but when she saw it was Si Wen, the light in her eyes died instantly.
"Wow, even if it’s not your husband, your reaction doesn’t have to be *that* obvious, does it?"
Lin Xi was completely listless and didn’t even have the energy to retort to Si Wen’s teasing.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Xue Yang hasn’t replied to my messages or answered my calls. It’s been over an hour, and he still hasn’t called back."
Si Wen’s mouth twitched. "Girl, I think you have too much time on your hands. It’s only been an hour. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he’d been ignoring you for a year."
"Si Wen, I’m not in the mood for jokes."
Si Wen sat down beside her. "Xiao Xi, have you ever considered that this isn’t healthy? You contact Xue Yang so frequently, and the moment he doesn’t reply, you get this anxious."
"But he always used to reply, no matter how busy he was. Even if he missed my call, he’d call back right away. How can you expect me not to overthink things?" Lin Xi was on the verge of tears.
MEOW.
Just then, Xiao Bai heard Si Wen’s return. The cat immediately trotted out of the house, expertly climbed into her lap, found a comfortable spot to lie down, and closed its eyes, waiting to be petted.
Si Wen skillfully stroked its soft fur. "You know, if you’re this worried, why don’t you just go to his studio and find him?"
"Go find him? What if... what if he thinks I’m too clingy?"
"You’re afraid of this and that, but if you don’t talk things through, real problems will eventually arise. Xiao Xi, in a relationship, the most dangerous thing is when one person goes ’mute.’ So many relationships are irreversibly damaged by a lack of timely communication. You don’t want you and Xue Yang to end up like that, do you?"