CH 152

translator: xiin

At noon the next day, Song Xuanhe received a call from Xiao Yuanmu just as the lunch that was sent up by the hotel was being set out on the table.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw the caller ID, and then his eyes filled with happiness.

When he answered the phone, neither person on either side of the phone made a sound. If it weren’t for the shallow sounds of breathing, Song Xuanhe would think that Xiao Yuanmu’s hand had slipped and he’d called on his phone by accident.

After over ten seconds, Xiao Yuanmu spoke up, “Have you had lunch?”

“Yes.” Song Xuanhe looked at the dishes on the table and said, “From the restaurant near your company. We went to eat there last time.”

“What did you eat?”

“Seafood pasta and bacon and egg salad.” Song Xuanhe asked, “And you? What about you?”

“I’ll eat later.”

Xiao Yuanmu fell silent again after answering, leaving only the sound of shallow breathing in Song Xuanhe’s ear.

Song Xuanhe frowned briefly, and the smile on his face faded. He asked, “What’s the matter? Has something happened?”

“No.” Xiao Yuanmu replied in a low voice, his voice as clear as it always was.

Song Xuanhe looked down, falling silent for a few seconds before he asked, “Are you still busy?”

“Yes.” Xiao Yuanmu said, “I suddenly wanted to hear your voice.”

Song Xuanhe laughed, then stepped away from the table. He headed towards the living room and casually found a sofa to sit down on before saying, “Then why not make a video call?”

Xiao Yuanmu remained silent.

“What are you doing now? Meetings?” Song Xuanhe petted Da Huang and said, “If you’re not busy, let’s have a video call. I want to see you, too.”

Xiao Yuanmu paused for a moment, and his voice was lower when he replied, “I’m in a meeting.”

“So it’s inconvenient now?” The smile on Song Xuanhe’s face receded slightly as he asked this softly.

Xiao Yuanmu didn’t answer him. He only said, “Wait for me to come back.”

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Xiao Yuanmu agreed quietly, then did the same thing he used to do before with each of their calls, waiting silently for him to hang up first.

Song Xuanhe pursed his lips and hung up the phone.

[ Your mood values are fluctuating now. ] The system said, [ Is it because of the call? ]

[ It’s because of Xiao Yuanmu. ]

[ Why? I feel that you had a good conversation. No one was angry, and you were both amicable when you hung up the phone. ]

The corners of Song Xuanhe’s lips pulled down. He lay down on the sofa and said lightly, [ Isn’t it strange, being so amicable? ]

The system: [ I don’t understand. ]

[ It’s difficult for you to understand. ]

Song Xuanhe laughed briefly, but there was no happiness at the bottom of his eyes. Da Huang jumped up when it heard the sound, pushing its head on his stomach and whining for him to pet it. Song Xuanhe lifted his hand and petted its head. When he saw that its ears were dropping, he rubbed its ears and said, ‘Don’t worry, Xiao Yuanmu will be back in the evening.”

[ I’ve found that you get along quite well with this dog. ] The system said, [ Previously, you didn’t seem to like animals very much, and you didn’t like this dog very much, either. ]

[ Mm. ] Song Xuanhe replied lazily. He didn’t show any intention of explaining why he suddenly started liking having a dog again.

[ Your mood value has remained very low. ] The system didn’t understand why, [ Is it because your chat was too amicable? ]

Da Huang huffed, wanting attention just as the system was speaking, looking at Song Xuanhe with its big, dark eyes.

Song Xuanhe’s lips curved as he stroked its fur.

[ Why? ] The system was very confused, [ Is it because you think that Xiao Yuanmu is hiding something from you? ]

Song Xuanhe didn’t answer.

Previously, he’d only been suspicious. However, the phone call from Xiao Yuanmu just now had completely confirmed that Xiao Yuanmu must be hiding something from him.

Ever since Xiao Yuanmu learned how to make video calls, almost every call between him and Xiao Yuanmu had been video calls. The only two times they hadn’t been were yesterday, in the cafe, and today. If it was inconvenient for him to call because he was in a meeting, then there should never have been a convenient time for Xiao Yuanmu to call. Previously, he would go and find a place to have a video call with Song Xuanhe no matter what he’d been doing. However, today and yesterday, they’d only spoken over the phone.

Additionally, Xiao Yuanmu would always tell him the details of where he was going ahead of time whenever he went anywhere. He would never wait for him to ask, nor would he use a vague ‘household chemical company’ in place of a company name after Song Xuanhe had asked about it.

The most important thing was that Song Xuanhe could tell that Xiao Yuanmu was in a very mood from his voice, despite how it might seem no different from usual.

Song Xuanhe felt that Xiao Yuanmu’s strange behavior might be related to Xiao Lin, because the changes happened after Xiao Lin left.

When he thought of this, Xiao Lin suddenly remembered Xiao Lin’s meaningful gaze just before he left. At the time, he’d only felt that Xiao Lin was dissatisfied that he was together with Xiao Yuanmu, so he hadn’t cared much about it. Now, it seemed that there was more to it than that.

It was just that he would have to wait until Xiao Yuanmu came back before he could figure out what it was Xiao Yuanmu was hiding.

Song Xuanhe didn’t think about it anymore. After having a simple lunch and resting for a while, he received a phone call from Feng Tong telling him that news was already spreading about him, and reminding him that he had to arrive on time at Master McPhail’s tea party.

The system said, [ Will you be able to get home before Xiao Yuanmu comes back in the evening? ]

“I don’t know.”

Song Xuanhe straightened up his clothing, then asked, “Why should I get home before he comes home?”

[ He’s always done that in the past. I thought that you would do the same. ]

Song Xuanhe was stunned for a moment, then suddenly recalled that before, Xiao Yuanmu would always come home before he did every time he went out, no matter whether or not Xiao Yuanmu himself had gone out or not.

Xiao Yuanmu would never talk about the things he’d done, but he’d indeed done very many meticulous things. If he didn’t pay any special attention to it, it would be difficult for him to notice how Xiao Yuanmu treated him different from others. However, once he noticed it, Song Xuanhe could only lament again over how gentle and careful Xiao Yuanmu was.

“I will.”

Before going out, Song Xuanhe set an alarm clock on his mobile phone and said, “Remember to remind me if I lose track of time.”

Song Xuanhe received a call from Zhou Nan just before he arrived in front of Master McPhail’s building.

During this time, Zhou Nan had been busy with his relationship and hadn’t contacted Song Xuanhe in a while. The only time they’d been in touch was when Song Xuanhe reached out to him. However, the call had been very unpleasant because Zhou Nan kept interrupting Song Xuanhe almost before he started speaking, and it had been so bad that Song Xuanhe hadn’t felt guilty about using Zhou Nan as a cover yesterday. Hearing from him so suddenly now left Song Xuanhe in a bit of a trance.

“What? Do men who are in a relationship still have time to call their friends?”

“I’m willing to spare a little free time out of my busy schedule for my dear friends.” Zhou Nan smiled and said, “So, my dear friend, do you have time to talk to me now?”

Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows and was just about to say no when Zhou Nan continued on, “I think you do, so I won’t waste time and get straight to the point.”

“I’m very busy.” Song Xuanhe was expressionless, “Speak quickly.”

“It’s like this…” Zhou Nan said, “I heard from Yu Yan that the Xiao Family was set to do their semi-annual physical examinations some time ago. Due to the situation with the Xiao Family patriarch and Xiao Baicong’s legs, the time was pushed back by a few days. It just took place over these two days, but for some unknown reason, Xiao Yuanmu basically refused to do the physical examination. I don’t know what kind of problem came up, but Yu Yan said that he discovered that Xiao Yuanmu’s stomach doesn’t seem to be in a very good state. So, I wanted to remind you. If there’s time, have him go and get it checked out. You can go to a private hospital even if you don’t get it done with the Xiao Family.”

Song Xuanhe replied, “His stomach really isn’t very healthy. I’ll remind him.”

“Do you know about this?” Zhou Nan asked.

“He had this problem even before he came to America.” Song Xuanhe said, “It’s not a big problem, don’t worry.”

“If that’s the case, I’m relieved.” Zhou Nan breathed a sigh of relief. “Yu Yan looked particularly serious when he told me about it earlier, and I thought Xiao Yuanmu might be suffering from a serious. That’s why I was so cautious telling you about it just now. It’s all because that fellow always looks so serious whenever he talks about things. I wonder if all doctors are like that.”

“Since things are fine, I’m going to hang up. I still have to make lunch for Yu Yan. He’s been a little picky about food recently, and dishes where I really f*cking want to vomit when I look at the taste from the recipe, he eats with so much relish.”

Song Xuanhe chuckled lightly when he heard the smugness in Zhou Nan’s voice. He was just preparing to speak when he saw Feng Tong come over with a middle-aged woman dressed in simple, yet fashionable clothing. When she saw him, she even smiled and waved briefly.

“Say, do you think Yu Yan’s tastes are strange? Seriously, even my mother won’t eat the things I make, but he just likes eating them and insists that I cook. It’s made it so that now, at noon…”

Feng Tong came to greet Song Xuanhe, and after finding out that he was on a call, he paused for a moment, then said, “Finish what you’re doing first. We’ll talk later.”

Song Xuanhe looked at the woman beside him, nodded, and said, “Wait a second, I’ll be done right away.”

“I’m busy, I’ll hang up first.” Song Xuanhe said to Zhou Nan.

“Wait! Are you going to that Master Mc-something’s tea party now?” Zhou Nan asked.

“What about it?”

“Xue Mian quit the entertainment industry and is preparing to inherit his family’s jewelry business. This time, he’s cooperating with that master, and you might run into him when you go today. Also, I heard that Bai Mo took advantage of the Zhang Family’s fame to take in the man who tried to fight with you over the cufflinks on the cruise ship last time. That person is nothing, but Xue Mian seems to be out to get you. Be careful.”

Song Xuanhe sneered, then said carelessly, “Enough, I’ve got things to do. I’ll hang up first.”

After hanging up the phone, Feng Tong introduced Song Xuanhe to his teacher. When that was done, the three of them headed in together.

They ran into Master McPhail as soon as they went through the door. Xue Mian happened to be standing next to Master McPhail, and a complex expression showed on his face when he saw Song Xuanhe, but there was none of the hostility from before. He stretched out his hand and said, “Long time no see, Mr. Song.”