Xiao Yanzhi only glanced at the screen and saw the name "Sheng Jingxi" in the contact list. His eyes darkened slightly, and his finger hovered over the answer button for a while.
He had a rather malicious thought.
"Xiaolili, why haven't you replied to my messages? What are you so busy with?" Sheng Jingxi's voice was clear and his tone casual.
Xiao Yanzhi: "She's asleep."
Sheng Jingxi: "!!!"
The moment he heard a man's voice, Sheng Jingxi almost thought he had dialed the wrong number. He double - checked the contact name before picking up the receiver again in disbelief. "Dude, you really gave me a scare."
Xiao Yanzhi was taken aback. He found Sheng Jingxi's reaction quite unusual.
Wouldn't a normal man at this moment question why he was with Jiang Li at night and answering her phone?
Xiao Yanzhi was truly confused.
On the other end of the phone, Sheng Jingxi continued nonchalantly, "Alright then, let's have hot pot together tomorrow. Ask her to send me a list of what we need. I'll pick it up on my way. Your place is really out of the way."
There wasn't much for two men to talk about, especially the two of them.
Sheng Jingxi yawned, said a few more words casually, and then ended the call. He even told Xiao Yanzhi to go to bed early.
... He didn't seem to see Xiao Yanzhi as a romantic rival at all.
Was it because Sheng Jingxi didn't take him seriously, or had Jiang Li promised Sheng Jingxi that she wouldn't get back together with him?
Anyway, Xiao Yanzhi wasn't in a good mood.
He put the phone back on the table with a solemn expression.
"Whose call was it?"
Somehow, Jiang Li had appeared at the door. Her voice was soft and weak as she asked him.
Xiao Yanzhi turned around abruptly and saw her leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom. Her face was still pale.
"Your fever has gone down?"
Jiang Li blinked, raised her hand, and pressed the back of it against her forehead. She still felt a bit hot, but her mind was clearer than before. At least she could think attentively. "I'm a bit better, but I still feel warm."
Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes. Seeing that she was bare - footed, he walked over, took out the slippers from the room, and placed them beside her feet. "The floor is cold."
Jiang Li put on the shoes and sat down at the table.
Xiao Yanzhi fetched the cup of hot water he had prepared for her from the room and handed it to her.
Jiang Li held the still - warm cup with both hands and sipped the water slowly until it was all gone.
From then until now, Xiao Yanzhi had been taking care of her, and his care was so meticulous that there was nothing to fault.
He was wearing a black shirt. His coat had been taken off and hung on the hanger at the door. The cuffs of his shirt were slightly rolled up, and his soft hair fell on his forehead, making his eyes and eyebrows look gentler than usual.
He looked at her intently.
Jiang Li suddenly felt her forehead getting hot again.
She composed herself a bit before seriously asking him, "Why did you come back suddenly?"
Although she had fainted suddenly, Jiang Li still remembered that she had invited Xiao Yanzhi in for a while, but he had declined.
Xiao Yanzhi had just come up with an excuse to explain the phone call, but her sudden question caught him off guard.
Sure enough, a woman's thinking was illogical, and it was impossible to predict what she would say next.
His calm and logical thinking was interrupted, and he had to come up with another excuse on the spot. "I suddenly remembered that I had something to tell you."
Jiang Li pressed on aggressively, "What is it?"
"... " Xiao Yanzhi was having a hard time making up a story.
Jiang Li watched as the usually calm and self - composed Xiao Yanzhi was now in an awkward situation where he couldn't explain himself. She couldn't help but smile.
"I knew you were watching the surveillance."
Xiao Yanzhi was shocked. He looked up into her smiling eyes and instantly lost the desire to explain.
So she knew everything.
She knew about his improper behavior, his secretiveness, and his little malicious thoughts. She just hadn't exposed him.
His voice was a bit hoarse. "When did you find out?"
Jiang Li looked up, glanced at the unnoticeable surveillance camera next to the wall clock in the living room, and said with a smile, "I wasn't sure before, but I was certain in the car just now."
She had noticed it accidentally before, but she didn't know if Xiao Yanzhi was still secretly watching. However, the two sentences between Xiao Yanzhi and Xue An in the car were enough to reveal the secret.
Xiao Yanzhi understood.
He finally admitted defeat with a sigh. "I really should deduct his bonus this month."
Jiang Li couldn't help but laugh.
The atmosphere between them was relaxed, as if they were old friends catching up.
But their relationship was far more complicated than just being old friends.
It was getting late. Knowing that he couldn't stay the night, Xiao Yanzhi got up and walked to the coat rack in the entrance hall to get his coat. "I'm glad your fever has gone down. I'll go back now. See you tomorrow."
Jiang Li was stunned. "See you tomorrow?"
Xiao Yanzhi paused for a moment and said in a very straightforward and natural tone, "I just talked to Sheng Jingxi on the phone. He invited me to have hot pot with you guys tomorrow."
"You shouldn't... mind, right?" He asked casually. "If you do, then forget it."
His tone suddenly dropped, with a bit of a pitiful touch.
Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly agreed, "I don't mind. You can come over after you wake up tomorrow morning."
After all, they were friends now, and hot pot was more fun with more people. It was just a matter of adding one more pair of chopsticks.
Only then did Xiao Yanzhi smile. "Okay, see you tomorrow."
"... See you tomorrow."
She had just gained the upper hand, but in just a few words, it seemed like he was leading the conversation again.
Damn it.
Jiang Li was a bit annoyed, but she still followed him to the door, intending to see him off politely.
"Don't come out. It's still raining outside." Xiao Yanzhi turned around and ordered her. "Go to bed early tonight, and your fever will be completely gone tomorrow."
Jiang Li pulled up her collar. "I'll just stand at the door. It's okay."
She insisted on following, and Xiao Yanzhi could only watch her walk over helplessly. The two stood face to face.
She looked up at him, opened her mouth as if to say something, but finally said the two most common words, "Thank you."
Thank him for not being the straw that would make her fall, and thank him for arriving in time after she fainted from a fever tonight.
In short, there was so much she wanted to say, but all that came out was "thank you".
"I don't like to hear 'thank you'." Xiao Yanzhi looked down at her. "If you really want to thank me, you should show some sincerity."
His cold and refreshing breath gradually closed in on her, and a kiss was about to fall.
Jiang Li's breathing became uneven instantly. She quickly pushed him away and turned her face to the side. "I have a cold. I'm afraid I'll infect you."
Her words almost made Xiao Yanzhi laugh.
She didn't say it was inappropriate or unacceptable. Instead, she said she was "afraid of infecting him".
He didn't force her. Instead, he gently kissed her cheek.
"Since that's the case, then this is the sincerity I asked for."