His reminiscence of the time when he was young and frivolous only brought about melancholy. If he had known that his fate was destined to be bumpy, Qi Lei might not have chosen to live the lifestyle he had back then. Alas, many things were beyond his control, and what was done was done. The past was the past, and he could not change anything about it. However, he might be able to do something about the future.
“Mu Yuchen always told me that in the past. If only I had met him sooner, maybe it wouldn’t have been as difficult as it was for each of us. Or maybe we wouldn’t have wasted so much time back then…”Xi Xiaye said softly before she paused suddenly. She then turned towards him, shooting him a faint glance, and continued, “I also think that if both of us had met each other earlier, it actually would’ve been much better. I was the same as you back then. I often felt lonely, especially during my time abroad.”
“Was I as lucky as you were? I think I was unfortunate.” The corners of Qi Lei’s lips twitched, and he gave her a wry smile.
Xi Xiaye smiled in agreement when she heard him, “How come? But luck is reserved for people who are optimistic and courageous. As for your luck, it’s probably just not here yet. You’re only 30 years old, and that’s young. I just about ran into Mr. Mu when he was at your age.”
“He should already be more than 30 years old back then. Do you want some?” As Qi Lei spoke, he took the meal box on the side out and started eating it.
He was extremely hungry as he had only eaten the porridge that Yang Sheng had delivered in the morning and had not eaten anything since then.
Xi Xiaye shook her head. “Nah, you can have it yourself. I’m not hungry. Get some rest later. The nurses are watching him, and I’ll be here for a while, so it’ll be fine.”
“Ha, I won’t be courteous when it comes to you,” Qi Lei said before starting to indulge in the soup.
Xi Xiaye looked at him and smiled. She then got up without saying a word to avoid disturbing him and walked towards the glass window in front of her. Through the window, she glanced at Qi Qiming who was lying in the room and then took a glimpse at Qi Lei who was eating his dinner.
Qi Lei was satisfied and stopped after finishing most of the food and downing a large cup of scented tea. Upon seeing Xi Xiaye still standing and guarding by the window, he could not withstand the fatigue in the end. He lay down on a cushioned bench beside him, closed his eyes, and fell asleep in a few blinks.
When Xi Xiaye looked back, she found that he had already fallen asleep.
It was the early spring season, so the night was still rather cold, especially since the window on the side was not completely closed. Qi Lei’s clothes were quite thin, so he curled up slightly while sleeping. Xi Xiaye wanted to wake him up and get him to sleep in the nurses’ room, but she could not bear to do so after seeing his appearance, so she winked at the bodyguard on the side.
One of the bodyguards turned away and left with large strides while the other walked to the window and closed it.
After a while, the bodyguard who left returned with a thick and soft blanket in his hand. The chauffeur had brought it down from the car.
The bodyguard handed the blanket to Xi Xiaye, and she covered Qi Lei with it gently and sat next to him. She then stretched her arm towards the bodyguards who quickly handed over several documents to her.
“Missus, it’s already so late. Do you want to go home first? There are nurses and guards here, so it’ll be fine,” one of the bodyguards lowered his voice and said cautiously.
Xi Xiaye raised her gaze slowly from the documents and took a glance at Qi Lei, who had fallen asleep next to her. She then sighed softly, “No hurry. We’ll leave later. Just let him sleep a little longer. Call Master to see when he will come back, and ask him to come to the hospital to pick me up later.” After giving the order, she lowered her head again and continued to review her documents.
“Yes, Missus!” the bodyguard in black responded, then turned away and left.
The aisle became quiet once again. Occasionally, all that was heard was the rustling wind outside and the sound of paper flipping over from time to time. The light was naturally bright, but the shadows on the ground were very faint and almost invisible.
It was unclear how long had passed after Xi Xiaye had gone through several different documents, and the brilliant lights from the outside seemed to have dimmed slightly. Xi Xiaye was still busy while Qi Lei just turned over on his side and continued sleeping.
Yang Sheng saw the exact same scene when he came over. It was so quiet and peaceful that he did not wish to disrupt it. However, at that moment, some people just could not do as he wished.
Yang Sheng wanted to lighten his steps and walk over slowly, but unexpectedly, a series of footsteps came from behind him suddenly, echoing clearly in the empty walkway as they were deliberately heavy. He looked back immediately. Qi Feng, Morrison, and his men caught his eye!
The sound of these footsteps interrupted Xi Xiaye’s thought too, so she then raised her head and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
It was Qi Feng’s unfathomable and gloomy eyes that met her sight, and she frowned immediately.
Why did he come at this time?
Thinking about it, her pretty eyes could not help but project a hint of distress. She then gazed at Qi Lei who was still sleeping.
“It’s been a long time, Ms. Xiaye!” a deep, hoarse voice slashed through the air of the aisle. Qi Feng smiled and gave Qi Lei, who was on the side, a sidelong glance before his gaze then locked on Xi Xiaye’s face.
Xi Xiaye did not want to have too much contact with this person. Plus, she might not be able to take this man on. It was not wise to go head-to-head with him, but she could avoid it, so she nodded and then gave Yang Sheng, who was standing behind Qi Feng, a meaningful gaze.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Sheng then walked towards Qi Lei and nudged him gently. “Master Qi, wake up!”
Although Qi Lei slept deeply, he was actually a light sleeper. He had noticed it when Qi Feng first arrived, but he really did not want to meet that guy.
He opened his eyes, sat up straight, and glared at Qi Feng with a poker face. Then, he glanced at Xi Xiaye. His voice was gentle as he said, “It’s already rather late. You should go home first.”
Xi Xiaye looked back and forth between the brothers several times. After giving it some thought, she then said, “Okay, Ah Da, both of you stay here and keep watch. Inform me if there is anything.”
The two bodyguards thought about it, then nodded discreetly.
Xi Xiaye then tidied up her documents and left alone.
Naturally, Qi Lei gave her a pregnant glance as she walked past him. He then caught up with her in a few strides.
“I’ll send you off.”