A term of address, tender as water.
Ling Yan’s gaze fell upon Bai Yuejie’s slightly pale face, the corners of his lips curling into a faint smile.
And Uncle Liu, his smile subtly restrained, turned his head to face Bai Yuejie directly.
Bai Yuejie paused, feeling slightly uneasy under Uncle Liu’s gaze.
She knew this wasn’t good for him.
But she really wanted to see him, very much so.
Besides, he had said it himself, hadn’t he? It was because of Grandma Shi’s concern that he had come.
Moreover, he had come to apologize for the excessive words he had said last time in Shi Wuzhou.
He wasn’t there to chastise her.
Bai Yuejie avoided Uncle Liu’s gaze, saying shyly, "Why are you here?"
Her eyes skimming past Uncle Liu and settling on Ling Yan.
Ling Yan’s expression was unusually serene as he stood and stepped forward, asking in a soft voice, "Are you feeling better?"
His tone was gently tender, sending Bai Yuejie’s heart racing as she looked up, nodded, and replied, "Much better."
"That’s good," Ling Yan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Let’s have a talk, just the two of us."
Bai Yuejie instinctively thought of their last ’private talk,’ which hadn’t been very pleasant.
She turned to look at Uncle Liu, who was smiling at her. "Didn’t you say you were tired and wanted to rest? Why are you up?"
"Um..." Bai Yuejie felt awkward, looking down and rubbing her hands, "I...I fell asleep and sort of dreamt that Brother Ling Yan was coming to our house, so I thought I’d come out and see."
Saying this, Bai Yuejie smiled sweetly at Ling Yan, "I didn’t expect you to actually come."
"I came to see you," Ling Yan’s lips curved.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Let’s talk privately," Ling Yan said softly, "Is that okay?"
His voice was so gentle that Bai Yuejie capitulated at once, her face flushing as she nodded.
Taking Ling Yan into her room, Bai Yuejie entered and said, "Please, have a seat, Brother Ling Yan. What did you want to talk about?"
"Last time, I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you," Ling Yan looked somewhat remorseful, "Knowing you were unwell, I still spoke too harshly to you. I was in a bad mood that day..."
"It’s alright," Bai Yuejie quickly interjected, "I’ve long forgotten about that day’s incident," she said with a smile, "Do you want something to drink? I can ask the servant to pour for you."
"No need, please, take a seat," Ling Yan took out the papers he had been holding, "I came mainly to ask you about Shi Mei’s physical examination."
Bai Yuejie’s heart skipped a beat.
Ling Yan took out Shi Mei’s medical report and asked, "Did you take Shi Mei for a physical exam last time?"
Bai Yuejie’s cheeks, previously flushed, turned slightly pale. "Yes... Yes, I took her to be examined. The doctor at that hospital is very skilled, and I wanted him to see if there was any chance for Shi Mei to recover."
"What were the results?" Ling Yan asked.
Relieved by the question, Bai Yuejie shook her head, "Even though that doctor is skilled, his conclusions were the same as the other doctors—it’s indeed tough to treat Shi Mei’s condition."
"I see," Ling Yan nodded and then produced another document, "Do you recognize this person?"
Bai Yuejie glanced at it and asked, "Who is that?"
"He’s called Liu Gao, a programmer. He was arrested by the police a few days ago. Do you know why?"
I’m nearly at 40,000 words, I really want to publish...