Chapter 145: The Awkward Pair

Su Bai turned his head to look at Tong Xiaoya.

"Answer it. She’s called twice already; if you don’t pick up, she’s going to get worried."

Helpless, Su Bai had no choice but to answer. He couldn't help but sigh; the call couldn't have come at a worse time. Usually, she never called him at all.

"Hello? Xiaomi, what's wrong?"

"Su Bai, are you okay? I sent you WeChat messages and you didn't reply, and just now you hung up on me. I thought something had happened to you—are you in some kind of danger?"

Hearing the slight tremor of tears in Yang Xiaomi’s voice, Su Bai realized she must have been extremely worried. He opened his WeChat and saw, sure enough, seven or eight unread messages. He had a habit of keeping his WeChat notifications on silent, so he truly hadn't heard them. Hearing her voice, a wave of warmth moved through him.

"I’m sorry, Xiaomi. My WeChat was on silent; I didn't hear it. You don't need to worry about me. What could possibly happen to me?"

Su Bai looked up at Tong Xiaoya, who was gazing at him with a pitiful expression. He gave a helpless shrug.

"Su Bai, promise me you won't hang up on me again, no matter what happens? If you're busy, just tell me. Say something before you hang up—I'm not unreasonable! When you didn't reply and then hung up on me just now, I was truly terrified."

As Su Bai listened to Yang Xiaomi—sounding as if she were speaking to him and pouring out her heart at the same time—both he and Tong Xiaoya fell into a sudden silence. Tong Xiaoya glanced at Su Bai with a look of surprise. She had assumed that Su Bai and Yang Xiaomi were just close colleagues, and that even their kissing scenes were just for show. She hadn't expected that Yang Xiaomi had actually developed feelings for him.

Yang Xiaomi was not one to show such vulnerability easily. Su Bai might not know her well, but as her best friend of many years, Tong Xiaoya knew that Xiaomi would never act this way unless she had truly fallen for someone.

"I'm fine, Xiaomi, I really am. You know that all that talk in the media is just rumors."

Yang Xiaomi shook her head on the other end of the line. "No, I'm not afraid of that. I’m afraid of the Zhao family. I’m afraid you’re in danger!"

Hearing her say she was afraid for his safety, Su Bai fell silent, deeply shaken. It was true—even he hadn't known that Elder Han had stepped in to resolve the issue with the Zhao family, and Yang Xiaomi certainly wouldn't have known either. She had witnessed the conflict between him and Zhao Hongbing firsthand and knew how much the Zhao family hated him. She had even been with him during the assassination attempt. Her fear for his life was genuine; she was on the verge of tears simply because she was terrified for his safety.

And him? Su Bai felt a pang of irony. He had almost been entangled with one beauty, only to have another beauty worrying herself sick over him. For a moment, he felt like a total jerk.

"It's okay, Xiaomi. I forgot to tell you—Elder Han stepped in to handle the Zhao family. I only found out yesterday when Han Hanxue came to see me. I just arrived in Yanjing; I wanted to go thank Elder Han in person."

"Elder Han stepped in?" Yang Xiaomi asked, surprised. "Have you seen him yet? You can't go to see Elder Han empty-handed. Last time we went empty-handed because we didn't know he would be there, but it wouldn't be appropriate this time. I happen to have a small gift at home, and I'm in Yanjing too. Why don't you come by and pick it up? Oh, wait—you just got to Yanjing, right? Tell me where you are, and I'll come pick you up."

Hearing her words, Su Bai felt a lump in his throat. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. He looked at Tong Xiaoya and saw that she was stunned as well. The two of them remained silent on the call for a long time.

"Su Bai? Are you still there?"

"Ah? Yes, yes... I'm here, Xiaomi. Actually, I'm staying at Xiao Ke's place. I won't be able to come over tonight. I just... hearing you say that earlier, I was really moved."

Yang Xiaomi’s voice seemed to brighten instantly. "Oh, really? Well, as long as you're with Xiao Ke, I'm relieved. Go talk to her, then. I'll hang up. Remember to come find me to get the gift tomorrow when you head over to Elder Han's."

After she hung up, Su Bai and Tong Xiaoya looked at each other. Both of them wore expressions of awkwardness, neither knowing quite what to say.

"It seems Xiaomi really cares about you," Tong Xiaoya remarked.

"Ah? Does it? I was quite touched, myself." Su Bai didn't know how to respond.

"Xiaomi is a very kind girl. Don't let her down," Tong Xiaoya said before leaving the room.

*Don't let her down?* He didn't even have anything going on with Yang Xiaomi! What was that supposed to mean? Su Bai was momentarily bewildered. Looking around Tong Xiaoya’s bedroom, he felt that staying here was perhaps not the most appropriate thing to do.

Downstairs, Tong Xiaoya sat on the sofa, hugging her knees and staring into space, her eyes hollow and her expression dazed. When she saw Su Bai coming down from the second floor, she gestured for him to sit down.

"Xiao Ya, should I head out?"

"Oh? To Xiaomi’s?"

"No... no. Actually, there's nothing between me and Xiaomi. We're just ordinary friends."

Tong Xiaoya made a sound of acknowledgment, and a flash of surprise could clearly be seen in her eyes. "If you aren't going to Xiaomi's, you can stay here tonight and leave early tomorrow morning."

Su Bai offered an awkward smile. "Maybe it's better if I don't..."

Tong Xiaoya smiled. "Even if we don't do anything, you can just sleep here! It's so late now. If you leave and don't go to Xiaomi's or your sister's, where would you go? Are you going to go find a hotel?"

Su Bai didn't know how to answer. He didn't really know where to go, but he felt that staying here was improper.

"Alright, don't overthink it. You sleep on the first floor, I'll sleep on the second. We'll stay out of each other's way!" She stretched and yawned. "Ah, I'm sleepy. I'm going up to bed. You can get yourself settled."

The moment she closed her bedroom door, Tong Xiaoya slumped against it, pressing her hands to her chest. Her heart was racing. She covered her burning face with her hands. Downstairs, Su Bai pushed open the door to the guest room on the first floor and sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.