Ch45 - Inquiry

Editor: MinMin

After dinner with their parents, Bai Xi and Qi Xun spent several lovey-dovey days before Bai Xi went back to his parents’ house.

Bai Ruo was out so only Bai Xi’s father and mother were at home.

He had no other intentions why he came home other than to visit his parents. After changing into his bunny onesie pajamas, he became a couch potato and ate from the fruit platter. There were even bunny ears attached to his onesie.

Wu Mo lowered her head to sip her tea and gently scolded her son, “Look at yourself. Not a single tad of someone who is about to get married, not like an adult at all.”

Percy didn’t buy it, so he stuffed his mother with a grape, biting a piece of peach in his mouth, and said vaguely, “I don’t care about appearance whether I grow up or not. I work very seriously, okay? Besides, I’m the right person to get married.” I don’t think I have any objections.”

Bai Xi did not accept that statement. He stuffed a grape into his mother’s mouth while chewing a peach and said with food in his mouth, “Do not judge how mature I am by my appearance. I will have you know that I work very hard. Besides, my marriage partner has no problem with this.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

But a smile returned to her face as she thought about why she had not noticed this kind of characteristic in Qi Xun earlier.

.

At noon, Bai Ruo returned.

She wore a professional gray business outfit, loose French braid, not much makeup, and only a pair of pearl earrings, but she was extremely eye-catching.

But she walked to the living room, threw her bag, and lay down on the sofa. All the aura of a strong professional woman was gone, and she lay slumped together with Percy, like two little turtles that had just woken up from hibernation. .

But as she entered the living room, she tossed her bag and flopped on the sofa. Her professionally intimidating aura disappeared in an instant. She sprawled out on her back with Bai Xi, and they appeared like two little turtles who had just awakened from hibernation.

Bai Xi passed her his snack. “Want some?”

“Heck yes.”

The two sat on the sofa and peeled nuts together. He listened quietly to Bai Ruo berating the suppliers as dumb-asses.

Wu Mo was so annoyed by the foul language that she glared at her children who were not sitting properly on the sofa as if they were a pair of rascals. She frowned and could not bear the sight of them, so she simply walked away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Bai Ruo vented for ten minutes before she slowed down to take a breather. She picked up the container of juice on the table and poured herself a cup, drinking most of the container before she felt less stressed.

She pulled down the rabbit ear hood off of Bai Xi’s head and asked, “Why are you here today instead of tossing around on the bed with your fiance?”

Bai Xi clumsy peeled pecan and huffed, “I am not one of those clingy people. Aren’t you happy that I visited?”

She chuckled. “Yes, I very much hate seeing your face.”

He laughed with her as he handed her the peeled pecans.

After eating the two offerings, she stared at him silently.

She and Bai Xi are twins.

Maybe it was their twin telepathy, they have had a very good relationship since they were very young. Even after they enter their busy adult lives, it always brings them joy to have the chance to hang out.

Although Percy is the older brother, he was born one minute earlier than her. I don’t know if all the nutrients were absorbed by her. When she was a child, Percy had poor health and had to go to the hospital every now and then.

Although Bai Xi was the older of the two, it was only by a single minute. They did not know if she absorbed all the nutrition between them, but Bai Xi had poor health during his childhood and had to go to the hospital every few days.

During that time, she would lay beside the bed while holding Bai Xi’s hand as she watched his sleeping pale face.

She always felt that Bai Xi was more like a younger brother. Weaker, well-behaved, and gentle enough to not refuse any of her requests. However, in a blink of an eye, the little boy lying in the hospital bed had grown up, and so had she.

Her brother was about to get married to the person he loved.

YCJ IfqCJz IOAmLe mCJy ECfIRJtJz, “v EODLz yJFJt JPRJhm eOD mO qJm oNttfJz IO IOOy.”

dJ tJRLfJz COyJImLe, “v zfz yOm JPRJhm mCNm oeIJLA JfmCJt.”

lIT APQYTB, gUd AffJ ITi APQYQJN TcqiTAAQfJ BQAAQqLdTB LNLQJ.

uJJBQwV GE aIb ibJEaIb, taI YQwGSSN GtBIH EaI MkItEQJw taI aGH iIIw aJSHQwV iGvB, “xbJEaIb, GbI NJk tkbI NJk LGwE EJ hGbbN fQ Xkw?”

ZaI SJJBIH GE aQh LQEa INIt QHIwEQvGS EJ aQt, GwH aQt bIYSIvEQJw LGt rIbYIvESN bIYSIvEIH Qw aIb rkrQSt.

ZaI vJwEQwkIH, “ZJhIEQhIt, z YIIS SQBI EaQt Qt G HbIGh. DJk GbI tkHHIwSN Qw G bISGEQJwtaQr, EaIw NJk GbI VIEEQwV hGbbQIH G YIL hJwEat SGEIb.”

Bai Xi did not reply to her question immediately.

He reached out and stroked her head, messing up her carefully braided hairstyle, only to withdraw his hand after getting smacked by her as he smiled brightly.

“Are you not happy that you will be sharing me with Qi Xun, having to compete with him?” He purposely teased his sister.

She snorted and huffed with a proud face, “Who cares about this? Qi Xun is not related to you by blood.”

The smile remained on Bai Xi’s face. He thought that if Qi Xun was here, he would offhandedly counter ‘Yes, but we are going to get a marriage license’.

That would lead to a fight with Bai Ruo.

He patted Bai Ruo’s hand and said, “I know you care about me, but don’t worry, your brother is too old to be impulsive about marriage. I love Qi Xun very much, so besides him, I No one will choose.”

He patted her hand. “I know you care very much about me, but please do not worry. Your brother is all grown up now and will not act impulsively on something like marriage. I love Qi Xun very much, and I will not choose anyone except him.”

She gave him a gloomy look and thought he was better off not saying it out loud. She was just worried that Bai Xi would be hell-bent on insisting on his decision. Because there was no way for her to be blind to see how much Bai Xi loves Qi Xun.

But as she looked at the other’s smiling face, she kept her words inside.

She just questioned in a low voice, “What about him? Does Qi Xun love you as much as you love him?”

Bai Xi was caught off guard by the question.

He turned his head to meet Bai Ruo’s eyes which were clear and bright, emitting a sharpness different from his own as if she could see through all the hidden secrets in people’s hearts.

For a moment, he even wondered if she knew something he did not, such as how he and Qi Xun got together.

But he did not break their eye contact. He smiled and breathed, “Of course, he loves me as well.”

He spoke frankly with a sunny smile like this was the only answer from the bottom of his heart.

Bai Ruo looked his way for a moment as if measuring the credibility of the answer.

A moment later, she seemed relieved. “That is good.”

She returned the flavor and stroked his hair, saying with a smile, “Brother, I wish you all the happiness.”

Bai Xi smiled at this blessing.

As they chatted about a few more things, Bai Xi suddenly recalled something. He was so immersed in his love that he forgot to ask about his sister’s emotional progress.

He cupped Gong Bairuo with his hand and said, “Don’t just talk about me. Didn’t you date someone during the Chinese New Year? Even on Valentine’s Day, you have been refusing to tell me who it is. Can you tell me now? In the future, I What is your brother-in-law like?”

He gestured towards his sister. “Don’t just talk about me. How about you? Didn’t you go on a date with someone on Valentine’s Day? You still have not told me who it was, could you tell me now? What is my future brother-in-law like?”

He examined Bai Ruo with brimming emotion, and his eyes became sharper.

She was stunned for a moment. Once the question sunk in, she shrugged and informed easily, “Ah, that. No need to ask, we already broke up.”

“Huh?” It was Bai Xi’s turn to be shocked. It was not long since the New Year too. “Why did you break up? How long was the relationship?”

He had not seen the person’s face yet. How could his brother-in-law go poof just like that?

“Our personality crashed, that is all.” She answered calmly, even though her expression stayed the same. “What is so strange about that?”

Bai Xi asked cautiously, “Do you not feel sad even just a little bit?”

She burst into laughter.

She found her brother being a little funny. “Brother, not everyone is as determined as you are. Being in a relationship with someone means keeping each other happy when we are together. If I do get fed up with one date, it is best to part without hard feelings. If I do get married one day, it would probably not be because the other person is very special, but because he appears at the right time when I am thinking of settling down and starting a family, nothing more, and nothing less.”

She patted Bai Xi’s back and offhandedly added, “Only a good child like you will have determination as a stubborn high school student who first learned what love is.”

He flattened his lips and did not know how to feel about that.

Bai Ruo had been in many relationships but they were over before he knew any of them.

At least these were not anything bad, since he had never seen Bai Ruo feeling sad from a relationship.

He pondered a bit and concluded, “Then I will not ask. I do not have many requirements for my future brother-in-law anyway, just he treats you well and has good character. Your happiness is the most important.”

She raised an eyebrow and added, “And handsome.”

Bai Xi laughed. “Yes, let’s not forget about that. He must be handsome enough, more handsome than Qi Xun.”

Now she was satisfied.

Not long before lunch, the two continued to chat. Bai Ruo played a music channel in the background and would occasionally pay attention to it.

Although Bai Xi was still actively chatting with her, there was a small pebble hidden in his heart that kept digging into his soft flesh.

What Bai Ruo said was right.

He also knew his sister well. Every relationship always ended respectably, with enough sense of propriety. Bai Ruo and her exes could remain friends, as they found no fault in the downfall of their relationship.

He would of course, always stand in the favor of his sister unconditionally.

No matter who she ended up being with or married to, he would support her in any way possible.

But he was also a mess inside.

He could vaguely hear Qi Xun’s shadow in these words.

Five months ago, he woke up at Qi Xun’s house. The words out of his mouth were like a carbon copy of Bai Ruo’s.

Respectably, mild, no one was at fault.

But there was no warmth behind them.

.

Bai Xi stayed at his parents’ home for a day and a half. On Sunday afternoon, he went back to Qi Xun’s villa.

Qi Xun was still working so he played with Chubby on the carpet. Chubby had grown up by a lot. He was plump and healthy from head to paw as he rolled on the ground playing with his cat toys.

Bai Xi took a teaser to bait out Chubby’s paws. After playing for a bit, Chubby rubbed against his arm and meowed coquettishly.

He was over the moon from his fur baby’s adorableness as he pulled out his phone to snap a few pictures of Chubby before posting the photos in his Moments.

After a short time, there was a row of likes below. In addition to his friends, there was also Mr. Su, the film emperor. Although they added each other as friends, they don’t chat much, but the actor was fond of liking his posts.

Bai Xi chatted with Liang Song who commented on his post. Then he glanced at the time before calling Qi Xun, thinking if the other would be coming back for dinner.

But Qi Xun did not pick up his call.

He thought the other must be busy, so he sent a message after ten minutes.

After several minutes, Qi Xun returned the call.

Accepting the other’s call, Qi Xun spoke in a gentle voice, “My apologies, I did not notice your call.”

“Oh, it is fine,” Bai Xi said while holding Chubby down with one hand to stop it from causing trouble. “I was just wondering if you are coming home for dinner.”

After a short pause at the other end, Qi Xun replied, “I will be home late. Eat without me and do not wait for me.”

Bai Xi felt a little disappointed, for he wanted to see Qi Xun today.

He cuddled with Chubby and suggested, “Then why don’t I stop by your office? I can bring you dinner.”

He visited Qi Xun’s office before. He would entertain himself while Qi Xun worked, it was not like he was bothering the other man.

But today Qi Xun refused him.

“Not today,” Qi Xun turned down. “I am going to be busy and might not have time for you. Just have dinner with Chubby without me.”

Bai Xi could only make a dull “Okay”.

When he ended the call, he held Chubby in his arms and gazed out of the window at the dark sky.

At the end of the phone call just now, he seemed to hear someone talking at the end.

He scratched Chubby’s ears and then moved to its round chin, absent-minded.

A voice from this afternoon echoed in his head. Under the bright sunlight, Bai Rui asked him softly, ‘Does Qi Xun love you as much as you love him?’

He answered with a fake composure as if he had nothing to hide.

But only he knew that when he said those words, his heart was unsettled and weak. Because when Qi Xun proposed to him, there was no mention of loving him.

He put Chubby’s paw on his face and looked into its round eyes, asking, “Chubby, do you think I am overthinking it?”

Chubby meowed, looking very innocently back at him.

Why did he feel that Chubby was making fun of him?

He smiled and did not want to be brought down by his troubled thoughts. He held Chubby tightly and declared, “Fine, I will have dinner without him.”

The author has something to say:

Pine Nut Tea: There are no big twists and turns, do not panic!