Faced with this sudden question, Xu Baoning panicked even more. Shifting his gaze away, he hurriedly helped Xu Baoan apply a scent-blocking patch while trembling as he defended himself. “It seems, it seems that when we were out hanging out today, an Alpha hit on us and bought a bottle of water for Brother Baoan.”
“That water must have been problematic,” he added, turning to glare angrily at Xu Yiwen, acting self-righteous despite having no solid ground. “Otherwise, the food made by your housekeeper must have been the issue.”
Xu Baoan chimed in from the side using a breathless whisper. “That bottle of water definitely had a problem, and that Alpha even tailed us all the way back, which is why we didn’t dare to go home.”
“Big Brother Xiao Wen, thank goodness you let us in. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even dare to imagine.”
Before he could finish, another wave of tears welled up in Xu Baoan’s eyes.
Xu Yiwen’s gaze, however, grew only sharper.
He didn’t harbor any resentment toward Xu Baoan for the cold shoulder he received back at the Xu family household; if anything, what he felt toward him was mostly envy.
When they first met a few days ago, he had merely thought Xu Baoan was rather shy and introverted.
Starting from this moment onward, though, he needed to look at Xu Baoan in a completely different light.
“Stop crying,” Xu Yiwen said, cutting off further questions with a detached reminder. “Pull yourself together and get your pheromones under control.”
Looking at Xu Baoan, who was aggrievedly covering his mouth, and Xu Baoning, who was muttering curses under his breath, he admitted to himself that he had entertained a wicked little thought.
If Xu Baoan or Xu Baoning had the means to lure He Xihuan outside and orchestrate some dramatic emotional scene, he would immediately take the initiative to divorce He Xihuan.
Xu Yiwen pressed a hand to his forehead, lowered his gaze, and shook his head, instantly discarding the malicious idea.
Ruining He Xihuan’s reputation would inevitably cast a shadow over the He family, and the He family members would be hurt by it.
While he could choose to turn a blind eye to He Xihuan, he couldn’t disregard the feelings of the He family.
For now, taking things slowly remained the best course of action.
Three light knocks sounded at the door. Xu Yiwen stood up to open it and briefed Doctor Cong Rui, who had just arrived, on Xu Baoan’s condition.
Following a thorough examination, Cong Rui signaled for Xu Yiwen to step outside the doorway to talk. “The inhibitor was administered very timely, and his condition has stabilized. My preliminary assessment is that he most likely ingested a stimulating catalytic drug, which threw his heat cycle into complete disorder.”
“If you want absolute confirmation, he will need to go to the hospital for a blood test.”
Cong Rui was the family doctor assigned to the young couple by the He family, and his medical expertise was completely trustworthy.
Even without a blood test, Cong Rui was fully capable of diagnosing such symptoms of a disrupted heat cycle.
His modest phrasing was already more than enough confirmation for Xu Yiwen.
“There is no need to go to the hospital.” Xu Yiwen knew that if they exposed this, the Xu family wouldn’t admit to it, and the He family would only worry needlessly. Unwilling to act rashly, he gave Cong Rui a subtle hint. “Doctor Cong, I recall that you have all the equipment needed to draw and test blood.”
Seeing Cong Rui nod thoughtfully, Xu Yiwen smiled faintly. “Then let Doctor Cong stay in that guest room on the third floor tonight. If the patient feels uncomfortable in the middle of the night, he’ll likely still need an injection to feel better.”
With those words, Cong Rui caught Xu Yiwen’s drift and smoothly replied, “Then I must trouble Mr. Xu to have Housekeeper Chang make a trip back to my home to fetch a few items. I’ll go ahead and feed the patient some medication first.”
“Alright, I’ll go inform Housekeeper Chang.” Xu Yiwen took a step forward, then turned back to look at Cong Rui. “If he has trouble falling asleep, adding a bit of medication to help him rest easy is fine too.”
“What about the other Omega in the room? He was affected by the pheromones as well and will need some calming medicine.”
To prevent any further drama from unfolding in the middle of the night, it was best for these two to simply sleep soundly through the night.
With that, Xu Yiwen walked toward the stairs while calling Housekeeper Chang.
Learning that Housekeeper Chang was currently standing right outside the master bedroom door, Xu Yiwen headed over there to arrange for Housekeeper Chang to retrieve the items for Cong Rui.
At the same time, he pushed open the master bedroom door to check on He Xihuan.
He Xihuan’s world was entirely free of storms and completely peaceful. He was sitting leisurely, wearing non-prescription decorative frames, and flipping through documents.
Xu Yiwen silently rolled his eyes.
In the middle of the night, wearing glasses just to put on a show for who?
“Your dad just messaged me asking how the review of the documents is going and whether we can invest this time,” He Xihuan pushed the frames up the bridge of his nose with two fingers, his hawk-like gaze locking onto Xu Yiwen. “What documents? Also, am I supposed to be dead to the world right now, or should I wake up and reply to his message?”
“Xu Yiwen, give me an answer, and I’ll copy it word for word.”
Xu Yiwen clenched his fists tightly.
Xu Xiangchuan messaging him at this hour clearly showed he was losing his patience and wanted to use the investment as a probe to see if Xu Baoan had succeeded.
“Don’t reply. Xu Baoning has a phone; he’ll answer him.”
Having given his reply, Xu Yiwen didn’t take another step inside the room.
A face mask covered the lower half of Xu Yiwen’s face, making the visible pair of eyes look even more aloof and clear.
Lifting his gaze through the lens frames, He Xihuan met Xu Yiwen’s eyes without any obstruction.
Whenever Xu Yiwen wore a mask, his eyes tended to take on a gentle and radiant quality, something He Xihuan had witnessed more than once back in their university days.
The sharpness in He Xihuan’s eyes gradually smoothed out, turning somewhat softer as well. “What about the documents then? Why haven’t I received them?”
He Xihuan’s gaze carried a chilling intensity that Xu Yiwen found terribly unaccustomed to. Pressing a hand against the bridge of his nose where the mask sat, Xu Yiwen averted his gaze and said, “They’re with me. I won’t trouble you with this; I’ll handle it myself.”
“Alright.”
The moment that single word left his lips, the air hung frozen for a few seconds. Xu Yiwen flashed a hint of wariness and confusion, while He Xihuan looked somewhat startled by the sound of his own voice.
How could a single word like “Alright” end up sounding so tender, brimming with absolute trust?
“You rest first. I’ll go check on their condition in the guest room.” Xu Yiwen turned around stiffly, taking long, hurried strides away.
Had He Xihuan taken the wrong medication tonight as well?
Xu Yiwen steadied his thoughts, choosing to chalk it up to a temporary auditory glitch on his part.
Returning to the guest room, he found that Xu Baoan had already fallen asleep, and Xu Baoning had also been pacified by Cong Rui’s professional expertise into taking his medicine before yawning and heading back to his own room.
After exchanging updates with Cong Rui, Xu Yiwen went back to his own guest room to sleep.
On one hand, staying there allowed him to keep an eye on Xu Baoan and Xu Baoning; on the other hand, it kept him safely away from He Xihuan.
Aside from hearing the door to the next room open once and receiving a text message on his phone, Xu Yiwen enjoyed an undisturbed night of sleep.
Waking up early the following morning, he printed out the electronic test results he had received along with the divorce agreement he had prepared beforehand. After packing his things briefly, he prepared to head out.
Since it was Sunday, he had no classes, meetings, or social engagements scheduled; this was the day he intended to invite He Xihuan out to talk things through.
Carrying the file folder containing the documents, Xu Yiwen walked toward the master bedroom.
Before he even reached the doorway, he saw a sharply suited He Xihuan pushing the door open from the inside.
He Xihuan was adjusting his tie with both hands, the same decorative frames from the previous night resting lazily across his ears.
“He Xihuan,” Xu Yiwen quickened his pace slightly. “Are you going out today?”
He Xihuan raised his eyes to glance at Xu Yiwen, continued knotting his tie, and replied coldly, “Mn.”
Up close, Xu Yiwen could clearly make out the dark circles under He Xihuan’s eyes.
Had he stayed up all night engrossed in paperwork?
Whether He Xihuan lost sleep or not was his own business, and Xu Yiwen didn’t care to pry.
Clearing his throat, Xu Yiwen adopted a serious tone. “About what we mentioned last night, spare a few minutes and let’s talk.”
“What we mentioned last night?” He Xihuan’s eyes narrowed as he recalled that when Xu Yiwen had grabbed his ear the night before, he had indeed mentioned having something to inform him about.
He was practically dying to hear what kind of matter warranted Xu Yiwen formally notifying him.
“Let’s go downstairs to talk.” He Xihuan finished adjusting his tie and took a few steps forward.
“No,” Xu Yiwen replied at an unhurried pace, following right behind him. “Those two might wake up at any moment. Let’s go outside to talk.”
He Xihuan frowned slightly.
What on earth could this be that required avoiding them?
Stopping in his tracks, he turned to sweep a glance over Xu Yiwen and noticed the file folder clutched in Xu Yiwen’s hand.
The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly as he made a rough guess.