Xu Zixi was taken aback, a panic rising as if her secret had been exposed. "I... I'm fine."
"You sound exhausted, and your mood is off," Yan Yincheng frowned. "What did you do this morning? What happened?"
Could it be that woman named Pei or something was causing her trouble again? He regretted it. He shouldn't have withdrawn the bodyguards on surveillance. That woman, Yuan Xi, was really a handful. Although she knew some self - defense techniques, what if she ran into someone more powerful?
Xu Zixi had no idea that Third Master Yan had imagined so many things in an instant. She only felt surprised. She thought she had concealed her emotions well. Even the two kids and the two servants hadn't noticed.
"How did you know?" she asked blankly.
Yan Yincheng gave a cold snort. "I may be blind, but I'm not deaf. I'm several times more sensitive to sounds than ordinary people. When you're in a stable mood, your voice pitch is between 200 and 300 hertz. When you're happy, it's around 400 hertz, and when you're angry, it's around 500 hertz. Now it's below 200 hertz. Clearly, you're in a low mood."
His serious explanation made Xu Zixi can't help but laugh.
"What on earth happened?" Yan Yincheng asked.
Looking at the man in front of her, Xu Zixi suddenly had an urge to pour out her heart. But she also remembered that they had a rather unpleasant fight a couple of days ago, and it was she who told him to maintain the distance and propriety of neighbors.
She shook her head and whispered, "You won't understand."
The feeling of experiencing death and then being reborn in another world was something no one could understand.
Hearing the retreat in her voice, Yan Yincheng knew this was the best opportunity to close the gap between them. He deliberately softened his voice and said, "If you don't tell me, how do you know I won't understand? Yuan Xi, even if we're just neighbors, if you're willing, I can be your listener."
Maybe she could trust him a little?
Xu Zixi blinked, her nose tingling slightly. Finally, she said, "Okay."
Inside the fire escape, Xu Zixi and Yan Yincheng sat side by side with their backs to the light. The sunlight shone through the glass window on them, bringing continuous warmth.
"Have you ever faced death?" Xu Zixi said. "I have. It's an awful feeling. The fire was burning my body, and my soul seemed to be torn apart. Suffocation, pain, torture. Today, I remembered that feeling again."
Actually, she really liked cars and enjoyed the feeling of controlling speed. It allowed her to completely release all the pressure inside. So in her past life, she often went racing with her friends, both four - wheeled and two - wheeled. Her driving skills were among the best among her friends, and she always took good safety measures when racing. Who would have thought that she would end up dying because of this hobby? For Miss Xu, who once had the qualification of a professional racing driver, it was undoubtedly a huge blow.
Yan Yincheng remembered that according to the trajectory of the past life, she should have died long before the day he arrived in Haicheng. Maybe in this life, she also had the will to die that day, but finally the desire to survive overcame the desire for death, and that was how she survived.
But thinking that she tried to kill herself because of the news of Yan Zhen's engagement to the real daughter of the Yuan family, Third Master Yan felt uncomfortable. Suppressing the inexplicable sourness in his heart, Yan Yincheng said:
"I've also faced death. The taste of death is really unpleasant. At the moment of death, one's mind will automatically play back all the things that have happened in one's life, especially those irreparable regrets, mercilessly reminding you that although you seem to be very successful in this life, in fact, you've already lost the most precious thing, and you're a complete failure."
"I didn't expect you to have such an experience," Xu Zixi said in surprise. She suddenly felt a sense of sympathy and mutual understanding towards him.
"We all face countless hurdles in our lives. There's nothing that can't be overcome. Look at me," Yan Yincheng suddenly leaned towards her. His extremely handsome face was only a finger's distance away from hers. His empty but beautiful eyes "looked" at her, and she actually felt a trace of sadness in those eyes.
"I'm my father's third son. I have two older brothers above me, but they have no intention of inheriting the family business. So from the moment I was born, I was given high hopes by my father. But unfortunately, there was something wrong with my eyes since I was born. Although my father never said it, I knew he was disappointed. In order to get my father's approval, my mother always took me around to seek medical treatment, but no matter how many countries we went to or how many doctors we asked, we still couldn't find a cure.
The thing she said to me most often was, 'A Cheng, you have to make yourself useful, so that your father and the family won't abandon you.' Fortunately, God was kind to me and gave me a more sensitive perception than ordinary people. That's how I got my father's attention and everything I have now."
For a person like him, to achieve success, he had to work many times harder than normal people, and the pressure and pain he had to bear were also much more than normal people. His strange temper and self - righteousness were actually just a way for him to hide his deep - seated sensitivity and inferiority with sharp words.
"Yuan Xi, when God closes a door, he will surely open a window for you," Yan Yincheng said. "Forget the past, forget the shadows, and live every moment of the present well."
Third Master Yan's voice was originally deep and magnetic, but they used to be at odds with each other, so Xu Zixi didn't notice it. Now that he was speaking in a slower voice, Xu Zixi felt as if a feather was gently brushing against her earlobe, and an electric current was surging through her limbs. It was so numb that it reached the bottom of her heart.
Her ears unconsciously turned red. She turned her face away, not daring to look at his face anymore:
"I understand all the principles you've said. I'm not the kind of person who will wallow in negative emotions. Give me a little time, and I'm sure I can overcome it."
"Thank you for being willing to listen to me," Xu Zixi said. "I feel much better now."
Yan Yincheng said, "If you have any troubles in the future, you can also tell me. I'm older than you. It's no problem for me to comfort you."
"Okay," Xu Zixi laughed. Thinking that they were still at odds with each other yesterday, but now they could sit together and chat nicely, she couldn't help but sigh that the fate between people was really wonderful.
"Mr. Yan, the things I said to you at the zoo that day were a bit rude. I'm here to apologize. Actually, you're not that annoying. You're also very kind - hearted. When we didn't even know each other, you were willing to take me and the two kids to the hospital and even paid the medical bills for us. I know that you're actually a person with a cold exterior but a warm heart, and you're just mouth - hard but kind - hearted. You said those things because you were concerned about me and the two kids."
Was she complimenting him? She was actually complimenting him! Yan Yincheng couldn't believe it and thought he had misheard.
"Maybe we can change from neighbors to friends. How about we get to know each other anew? Hello, Mr. Yan. My name is Yuan Xi, but I should have been surnamed Xu. My nickname is Zixi, Zixi as in the character for midnight and the character for stream."
Xu Zixi took the initiative to hold his hand and shook it gently. Her almond eyes were bright, as cunning and lively as a cute little fox.
Her hand was warm and soft. Holding it in his palm, he was afraid of crushing it accidentally.
Yan Yincheng's lips moved. As both the Third Master of the Yan family and the biological father of the kids, he didn't dare to say much at this moment. He could only say, "Childish."
But Xu Zixi was in a great mood. She deliberately teased him, "Can I call you Brother Cheng from now on?"
Yan Yincheng paused, and the fair skin on his neck visibly turned pink.
"... Whatever you want!"
Xu Zixi pulled him up from the stairs and kindly escorted him back to his door before saying, "Brother Cheng, I'm going home. Bye."
"Zixi!" Yan Yincheng called out her nickname. After he came to his senses, he felt that this address was like it was coated with a layer of honey, with a sweet taste.
"I have a business dinner tonight. You don't need to prepare dinner for me."
Xu Zixi's eyes fell on the lunch box in his hand, and she felt inexplicably guilty. Suddenly, she snatched the lunch box from him and said,
"I just remembered that I accidentally put too much salt when cooking today. This can't be eaten. Wait a minute. I'll go and make a new one for you!"