"What? How could you go see him alone?" Shen Xi asked in surprise after hearing Xie Yifei recount the phone call.
Xie Yifei replied with a smile, "He contacted me first. I took the opportunity to ask him about Zheng Jinghe."
"Did he give you any trouble?" Shen Xi thought of Zheng Tong's anxious gaze at the banquet that day and couldn't help but worry.
"No. He just explained that breaking up with me wasn't his intention, and he had to do it under his mother's coercion, and so on." Xie Yifei chuckled lightly on the other end, her tone nonchalant.
Shen Xi's intuition told her that things weren't that simple. She glanced at Qin Siye, who was driving, and whispered, covering her mouth, "He's not trying to get back together with you, is he?"
"How could that be? Even if he had that idea, I would never agree. What's past is past, and it can't be mended like before."
Xie Yifei's tone was calm. She suddenly remembered Shen Xi's quiet voice earlier and asked curiously,
"Aren't you in the car? Why are you speaking so softly? Is someone next to you?"
Hearing this, Shen Xi glanced at Qin Siye again. Meeting his probing gaze, she quickly looked away and replied untruthfully, "No."
"Alright. Then I'll send you Zheng Jinghe's address later. You and Jian Fan can discuss what to do. If you need me to go with you, I can take time off."
"No need. You focus on your work. I can handle it."
After hanging up, Qin Siye immediately turned his head to look at her, his tone sour, "Who were you talking to? So mysterious. Could it be your Brother Kai Cheng?"
"Ah? No." Shen Xi's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know why he would think of Song Kai Cheng.
Suddenly, she felt as if she had lost her personal freedom with him in the car.
Every word and action was under his "surveillance." She regretted agreeing to let him drive her to and from work.
Qin Siye didn't believe her. "Then why did you cover your mouth? Were you afraid I'd hear?"
"No, I wasn't. You're overthinking it." Shen Xi didn't want to admit it. To prove she wasn't lying, she turned her phone to show him her call history. "It's Xie Yifei. Look carefully."
Qin Siye glanced at it closely. It was indeed Xie Yifei. His mood instantly brightened. "If you were talking to her, why were you being so secretive? And it seemed like you were afraid she'd know I was here."
She had only glanced at him twice, and she was already being so careful with her words, and he noticed it all?
Shen Xi replied calmly, "I didn't want her to misunderstand anything."
Hearing this, Qin Siye's eyes deepened, the corners of his lips curved slightly, and he looked at her with interest. "Misunderstand? What misunderstanding? Did she already figure out that I'm pursuing you?"
"Mr. Qin, please be serious. Don't use the word 'pursue.' I've never agreed." Shen Xi glared at him, reminding him very seriously.
She had thought about it for a long time last night. Although she had developed feelings for him after spending the day together yesterday, she had decided to nip this feeling in the bud and absolutely not take another step forward.
"Why?" Qin Siye looked at her, heartbroken.
He thought her attitude had changed after yesterday, but he hadn't expected his feelings to be one-sided.
"There's no 'why.' I've already said everything I needed to say. You said you wanted to take responsibility for me being bitten by a dog, and I agreed to your plan. You said Aunt Li was sick and wanted to have breakfast at our house, and I agreed."
Shen Xi looked ahead, paused slightly, and continued with a serious expression,
"As for matters between us, there's no need to develop them further. Yesterday's interactions should be treated as a dream."
Upon hearing this, Qin Siye suddenly braked, pulling the car over to the side of the road, and stared at her blankly for a long time.
What was wrong with her? Everything had gone so smoothly yesterday, and he had felt a change in her. Why was she so cold again today?
Qin Siye's heart ached as if it were being gouged by a knife. He even wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
He refused to believe that she had no feelings for him at all.
But on second thought, if he were truly that forceful with her, she would definitely retaliate even more strongly. Not only might she slap him, but she might even run away from him in anger.
From the way she looked at him now, it was not difficult to see that she might indeed do something like that.
Qin Siye said nothing, his throat bobbed, and he started the car again, driving forward.