Xie Yizhao put on the long coat she had picked for him. His already tall and slim figure looked even more elegant and composed, with the golden silk edging reflecting a cold light, making his narrow eyes appear even deeper and bottomless.
He really gave off the air of a gentleman but a villain, his aura calm yet powerful.
No, the villain from the drama would probably be reduced to just helping him with his shoes if they stood in front of him.
As for the kiss they accidentally shared, Lu Xi didn’t overthink it.
What was there to be conflicted about?
They were married, after all. They used to kiss often, and ignoring the time and space factors, for her, the last time she kissed Xie Yizhao was just over a month ago, which wasn’t that long ago. She didn’t have any psychological barriers.
But the kiss just now was a little different. At first, he was obviously a bit unfamiliar with it. It was Lu Xi who guided him, and only then did he slowly fall into rhythm.
Lu Xi had a rough idea of his situation over the years.
It seemed that he had really been entirely focused on his work and hadn’t been involved in any romantic matters.
For her, even though she had disappeared for these years, it was understandable for Xie Yizhao to be with someone else, to fall in love, or have some sort of ambiguous relationship. She understood, but she couldn’t accept it.
How should she put it… it was similar to being obsessed with cleanliness. Even though her marriage to Xie Yichao wasn’t based on love, she couldn’t accept that after her, he’d had any sort of relationship with someone else, and then come back to be intimate with her.
Maybe this was selfish, but she just insisted on this.
Now, her heart was half at ease.
Only half, because these were just her speculations. To be sure, she’d have to ask Xie Yizhao directly.
Lu Xi didn’t like leaving doubts for the future. There was a saying that a long night brings many dreams, and you should strike while the iron is hot.
So, during dinner, Lu Xi casually asked, “Xie Yizhao, have you had other women over the years?”
She asked this question directly and without hesitation while he was cutting a piece of cod fillet, leaving him no time to think.
Xie Yichao was surprised for just a moment, but without needing to think, he answered, “No.”
Lu Xi pursed her lips and nodded, not asking further or confirming again.
That was enough. She wasn’t an expert in relationships, and her love life wasn’t abundant, but in her understanding, whether a relationship could last came down to whether both people were willing to talk and trust each other, and she trusted her instincts.
Xie Yizhao seemed to know what she was thinking, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”
“No.” Lu Xi shook her head, her clear eyes soft with a gentle glow.
But not long after, she remembered something else.
It was actually a rather serious question.
Earlier, when they kissed, she hadn’t resisted and had even been a bit proactive. That was because she was attracted to Xie Yizhao and enjoyed the moment, but it didn’t mean she wanted to rush things. Although… things that were meant to happen had already happened. She couldn’t deny that, especially since they already had a child.
But she didn’t want to rush. First, it felt a bit forced.
Secondly, there was a bit of her selfish thinking…
From the very beginning, their relationship had progressed quickly. No dating, just straight into marriage.
This time, she wanted to take things slower, follow a normal process, and didn’t want them to just turn into an old married couple too quickly.
She had thought it through and waited until they were in the car after leaving the restaurant. Only then did Lu Xi lightly touch Xie Yizhao’s hand, tilt her head toward him, and say, “I was thinking, let’s take things slow, let it happen naturally, okay?”
After a pause, she added, “You know what I mean.”
They were both adults, and married ones at that, so some things didn’t need to be explicitly stated. They understood each other perfectly.
Xie Yizhao lowered his eyelids, a hint of laughter on his lips.
He hadn’t expected that question.
He hadn’t planned to rush either. Was she thinking he was a man in a hurry?
Xie Yizhao took Lu Xi’s hand and held it in his, fingers interlaced. His long, narrow eyes lowered as his gaze fell on her, his voice soft. “What about this? Does this count as rushing things?”
Lu Xi felt the warmth of his large, gentle palm, and she couldn’t help but bite her lip, glancing at him. “…It’s fine.”
Xie Yichao smiled. “Mm, then I’ll take my time.”
“…”
Lu Xi was at a loss for words.
Alright, the word ‘groping’ is actually quite normal, but the atmosphere right now is too ambiguous. Plus, with Xie Yizhao wearing his scholarly delinquent glasses, she couldn’t help but sense something off about it.
Maybe it’s because she’s not pure-minded…
Xie Yizhao noticed Lu Xi suddenly fall silent and her slightly flushed side profile. He cleared his throat and asked softly, “It’s only 7:30, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
Lu Xi took out her phone, opened a movie ticket app, found a well-reviewed suspense movie, showed it to Xie Yizhao, and since he had no objections, she bought two tickets to watch the movie.
The film was two and a half hours long.
By the time they got home, it was already 11 o’clock.
As they walked in, Lu Xi was still discussing the plot with Xie Yizhao. They were from two different types of audiences. Lu Xi was intuitive, relying on first impressions. When she saw the killer’s eyes the moment they appeared on screen, she immediately knew something was off. Xie Yizhao, on the other hand, was logical, analyzing clues and deducing the identity of the killer at the end.
Lu Xi said, “No need to analyze. Just look at him sitting alone on the sofa late at night, it’s obvious he’s not a good guy.”
Xie Yizhao had no words in response.
But Lu Xi’s comment, he tactfully didn’t argue. Instead, he cleverly shifted the direction, “Anyway, this movie was quite good.”
Just as Lu Xi was about to agree, when they entered the living room, she suddenly saw someone sitting on the sofa.
She almost jumped in fright.
The living room lights were off, and the only light came from the hallway and upstairs corridor, casting a dim glow. She could vaguely see a figure sitting there, so Lu Xi instinctively threw her handbag at them, thinking to hit them.
The person raised an arm and caught it steadily.
“Heh, you two finally know how to come back?”
Lu Xi : ?
That voice… was it Xie Heng, that brat?
Sure enough, the next second, Xie Yizhao turned on the living room lights, and sitting on the sofa was indeed Xie Heng, with his distinctive blue hair.
Lu Xi patted her chest, glaring at him angrily, “Why are you sitting here, scaring people late at night?”
Especially after she’d just been saying how suspicious it was for someone to sit alone on the sofa at night, and this brat had to show up right then.
Who does that? What kind of person behaves so creepily?
He was truly an ungrateful son!
Xie Heng sulked, arms crossed, leaning on the sofa, motionless. His eyes half-closed as he said, “I was waiting for you two to come back, especially you.”
‘You’ referred to Lu Xi.
She froze for a moment, “What’s wrong with me?”
Xie Heng snorted, turning his face away, “Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you.”
Lu Xi gave him a look. Fine, if he didn’t want to talk, she waved her hand, “Well then, good night, go to bed early.”
“…”
The boy couldn’t hold back anymore. He suddenly stood up, his voice full of anger and grievance, “You told me to come back early to try on clothes, but you two are out here having fun watching a movie? Really?”
He was fuming, his eyes glaring at Lu Xi.
Lu Xi : Damn! I had completely forgotten about it…
Xie Yizhao ignored his son’s tantrum. He glanced at Lu Xi and gently asked, “What clothes did you want him to try on?”
Lu Xi : “The school uniform I designed.”
The man nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Xie Heng, frowning slightly, and said in a deep voice, “You stay up late playing games every night, but you’re throwing a tantrum at your Mom? Try it tomorrow. Go back to your room now.”
Xie Heng was stunned.
He wasn’t happy and was about to argue back, but suddenly his gaze froze when he saw Xie Yizhao wearing glasses.
Wait… when did his Dad start wearing glasses?
No, not just the glasses. His dad’s outfit today, though the same clothes, clearly had been chosen by Lu Xi.
And the look in his Dad’s eyes, the aura, he was giving off an inexplicable sense of confidence, almost as if he was walking with the wind, and he was sitting too close to Lu Xi.
Something was off.
There was something fishy about this.
He had just complained a little, and his Dad rushed to defend his wife. Hmph, why was this old man showing off his affection?
In the end, it was Lu Xi who coaxed Xie Heng. She let go of Xie Yizhao’s hand, and took Xie Heng’s hand to lead him upstairs to sleep. She promised him they would try the clothes again tomorrow, and she’d add an extra thousand to his reward.
Only then did Xie Heng grudgingly calm down.
To show her sincerity, Lu Xi walked him to his room door and personally said good night to the brat.
“By the way, did you ask my Dad to wear those glasses?” Xie Heng suddenly asked.
Lu Xi : “Yeah, do they look good?”
Xie Heng coldly sneered and gave a serious comment : “Looks like he’s not a good person.”
It was just a simple date between a couple, and they changed up their look. What was the big deal? They went to eat and watch a movie, didn’t take him along, but he really didn’t care.
Following behind as they went upstairs, Xie Yizhao just happened to overhear the sentence : “……”
He suddenly felt that a little bit of discipline was necessary, especially for this impudent child who spoke without restraint.
Xie Heng wasn’t afraid, though. He knew that with Ms. Lu around, his dad would definitely not lose his temper, no matter what.
Before Lu Xi turned around, he called out to her : “Also, the investigation is 80% complete. By tomorrow… no, the day after, we’ll definitely catch the person.”
Lu Xi looked at his confident expression and didn’t think he was lying.
She asked, “Who is it?”
The boy showed a smug smile, wiping away the previous gloom, and raised one finger, shaking it mysteriously: “I won’t spoil it for you. You’ll know when the time comes.”
Lu Xi couldn’t resist reaching up to touch the blue tuft of hair on his forehead.
For such a big kid, he was still childish. His mood changed quickly. He could be upset one moment, and all puffed up the next. It was a bit endearing, but also really irritating at times.
But he was mostly angry at his Dad tonight, so she couldn’t do anything about it.
To her surprise, the next day, a guest came to the house. It was the parent of the child who had stolen something.
And even more ironically, that person was an old acquaintance of hers.
Wang Qianru, her college classmate.
Come to think of it, Wang Qianru and she had once been good friends. They had a period of time when their relationship was quite close. Although they weren’t from the same department, they still got along well.
Wang Qianru was from the fashion design department, and at that time, whenever Lu Xi had a design draft she was satisfied with, she’d show it to Wang Qianru. Wang Qianru, who was still a student at that time, couldn’t give much advice, but she just wanted to share it. She wasn’t planning to be a designer at the time anyway.
After graduation, they gradually lost contact.
Lu Xi didn’t expect that after more than ten years, they would meet again under such circumstances.
Wang Qianru first took out the item and apologized, saying that her child had only wanted to look at it in his hand and accidentally brought it home. She was very regretful and as soon as she found out, she brought it back to Lu Xi.
Before Lu Xi could respond, Wang Qianru suddenly changed the topic: “By the way, I knew the former Madam of the Xie family. Sigh, she didn’t have a good fate, she passed away from an accident a long time ago.”
Seeing that Lu Xi didn’t respond, Wang Qianru’s eyes flickered suddenly, and she said : “But that person… well, forget it, it’s not good to speak ill of the deceased…”
Lu Xi frowned slightly, staring at Wang Qianru for a moment. Wang Qianru became a bit flustered under her gaze. Only then did Lu Xi smile, instruct the servants to bring tea, and asked with fake curiosity, “What happened to her? Tell me about it.”
Not everyone gets the chance to hear someone speak badly about them to their face!