When Xia Yu came to Lin Ting Bay again in the evening, she was much more familiar with the way.
The security guards had probably been instructed by Xu Baiyan as well. When they saw her, they even greeted her and enthusiastically helped her take the bags of ingredients, putting them onto the shuttle bus.
The evening breeze was gentle, carrying the unique heat of Hai Cheng.
But as soon as she stepped into Xu Baiyan’s home, she was immediately hit by a wave of cool air.
The air conditioning in his house was really strong.
“Coach, Coach?”
Xia Yu called out twice, but no one answered. She took out her phone and sent him a message, letting him know she had arrived.
After that, she put down her phone and went straight to the kitchen to start making dinner.
She washed the vegetables, cut them, and began cooking.
Xia Yu remembered some of his preferences from eating together before—he liked things spicy, but didn’t care for garlic or green onions.
So she added more chili peppers and was careful with the other seasonings.
About an hour later, three dishes were ready.
The fourth, Bone Soup, was still simmering in the pot. Xia Yu planned to serve it once Xu Baiyan was seated, so it wouldn’t get cold.
But he seemed… to have never appeared at all.
Xia Yu walked to the living room and picked up her phone, only to find he hadn’t replied to her message either. So she simply called him.
No one answered.
What was going on?
Xia Yu suddenly grew a little anxious. He knew she would come at this time to cook for him, so he definitely wouldn’t be out.
If he was at home, why wasn’t there any response?
Could something have happened?
Xia Yu immediately glanced around the rest of the first floor—no one. He must be upstairs.
She stood at the foot of the stairs, hesitating. Wandering around someone else’s private space was definitely wrong, but he was a patient—what if he’d fallen somewhere?
Thinking of this, Xia Yu didn’t care anymore and headed upstairs.
It was her first time here, and she wasn’t familiar with the place at all, so she had to check room by room.
The first two rooms—one was a study, the other a guest room without bedding. It wasn’t until the third room that Xia Yu confirmed this was Xu Baiyan’s master bedroom, where he slept.
The bedside lamp inside was on, and there was a faint, pleasant scent—probably from the aroma diffuser on the side.
After calling out “Coach” again, Xia Yu walked a few steps further in.
She saw the tightly closed curtains and, in the center of the room, a slightly messy big bed.
The bedding was off-white, the comforter half-flipped back as if someone had just gotten up.
At the foot of the bed were some pajamas, likely tossed there after changing.
On the other side of the bed, there was a projector screen on the wall, and in front of it was a huge beanbag chair. Some game controllers were scattered on the floor.
It was very much a guy’s room, with a strong sense of privacy.
Xia Yu felt extremely intrusive standing there.
So she didn’t dare look around too much.
Confirming he wasn’t in the room, she was about to leave when, turning her head, she suddenly noticed the bathroom door was closed.
Could he have fallen in the bathroom?
Her heart immediately clenched.
Xia Yu hurried to the door and knocked.
“Is anyone in there?”
No response. Either he’d fainted or he wasn’t inside.
Xia Yu decided to open the door and check.
She covered her eyes with one hand, just in case she saw something she shouldn’t, and reached out with the other to press the door handle.
“Hmm?”
Just then, a force not her own pulled the door inward.
Xia Yu’s eyes widened in surprise.
Before she could react, a rush of steam burst out from the crack, hitting her face.
It was fresh and cool, mixed with a faint citrus scent.
She was familiar with this scent—Xu Baiyan always carried it.
“Are you peeking?”
A voice came from above her head.
Xia Yu looked up in horror and saw Xu Baiyan standing right behind the door.
He seemed to have just finished showering, his hair damp and steaming, and… he wasn’t wearing a shirt!
“ABOJ!”
She instinctively pushed the door.
The person behind the door was bumped, his body instantly tilting backward.
In that split second, Xia Yu remembered he was injured!
She hurried to grab him!
But she didn’t manage to catch him—she herself was pulled in by the force of his fall!
Bang! Bang!
Two sounds rang out almost at the same time.
One was the bathroom door slamming into the wall.
The other was a dull thud as she and Xu Baiyan fell to the floor together!
The world spun; time seemed to freeze.
Xia Yu stared stiffly at the person lying beneath her, her breath stopping.
Her palm rested on his chest, which felt especially warm, her fingertips sensing its firmness and resilience.
“You… are you okay?!”
Realizing what had happened, Xia Yu immediately sat up.
Only then did she discover that one of her legs was kneeling between his, while the other was at his side.
She was practically straddling one of Xu Baiyan’s thighs.
She was wearing shorts, and so was he.
Their sensitive, private areas were pressed together with nothing in between.
She could feel the solid muscle of his leg and the heat from his freshly showered skin.
“Not only are you peeking, now you’re trying to take advantage of me.”
Xu Baiyan’s voice was a little hoarse, laced with steam.
He stared straight at her, his gaze cutting through the mist and landing on her face, making the atmosphere inexplicably intimate.
Xia Yu swallowed hard, her heart pounding.
“No, it’s not… I thought you’d fallen in the bathroom, so I came to check. I wasn’t trying to peek.”
Xu Baiyan pushed himself up with a hand behind him and sat up. He’d wanted to tease her when he saw her panicked face, but once he was upright, their positions brought them even closer.
Her flustered eyes were hard to ignore, and the soft, smooth skin of her leg against his…
Xu Baiyan’s brow twitched, and whatever he wanted to say suddenly got stuck.
“How’s your ankle?”
Xia Yu’s heart was trembling under his gaze, her hands shaking, but she didn’t forget the most important thing. She hurriedly got off his leg and turned to check his ankle.
Luckily, his ankle was still bandaged and looked fine.
“Does it hurt? Did you twist it?”
Xu Baiyan’s gaze lingered on her fair leg for two seconds before quickly shifting away.
“It’s fine, not hurt.”
Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I’m leaving!”
She had just gotten up when she suddenly remembered something and turned back.
“Wait… can you get up by yourself? Should I help you?”
Xu Baiyan looked up at her. “At least you’ve got some conscience.”
Xia Yu moved over to his side, but since he wasn’t wearing a shirt, she didn’t know where to put her hands.
“What, shy now?”
Xia Yu was already uncomfortable enough. Being teased like that, she was about to melt. “I didn’t mean to…”
Xu Baiyan let out a low laugh and put his arm on her shoulder, using her to help himself up.
This position worked well—Xia Yu didn’t have to touch him directly and could just act as a crutch, helping him out of the bathroom.
“Second drawer.”
“Oh…”
Xia Yu walked ahead a bit while Xu Baiyan hopped over on one foot. After she opened the drawer, he took out a clean T-shirt.
Since he needed to get dressed, Xia Yu stepped back a bit. When she lowered her gaze, his waist was right in her line of sight.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, and defined muscles. But it wasn’t the exaggerated kind—lean muscle, so when he put on clothes, he still looked slim… it was just the right kind of beauty.
“Did you finish cooking before coming up?”
Xia Yu froze for a moment and looked away in a panic.
“Yeah, I saw you never showed up, so I thought you might’ve fallen somewhere… Why didn’t you answer my call?”
“I left my phone outside while I was showering.”
“How can you shower like that? That’s so careless.”
“Relax, I was sitting by the tub, didn’t get my foot wet.”
Xia Yu pressed her lips together.
“Alright… but before you showered, when I first arrived, I messaged you that I was here, and you didn’t reply.”
This sentence carried a hint of complaint.
Xu Baiyan turned to look at her.
When she’d arrived, he was sleeping.
Later, when he woke up, he saw her message, but knowing she was already in the kitchen, he didn’t reply and just went to shower.
Now, seeing her frowning, he rarely realized he’d done something wrong.
“I saw it after I woke up. Sorry, I’ll reply promptly next time.”
Xia Yu was a little surprised. She didn’t expect Xu Baiyan to apologize so straightforwardly, which made it hard for her to keep complaining.
She mumbled, “Just remember to let others know when you’re not feeling well. Otherwise, people will worry.”
Xu Baiyan glanced at her.
“Okay, got it.”
After changing, Xu Baiyan leaned on his crutch and slowly made his way downstairs, with Xia Yu following right beside him all the way to the dining table.
Once he sat down, Xia Yu ladled out a portion of Bone Soup for him.
Looking at the hearty three dishes and one soup in front of him, Xu Baiyan was a bit surprised after a couple bites.
“You’re pretty good at cooking.”
Xia Yu said, “It’s alright. My grandma taught me when I was in elementary school, so I used to cook a lot back then.”
“Elementary school?” Xu Baiyan frowned.
“Letting a little kid cook? Didn’t your family have any adults?”
Xia Yu said, “When I was little, I lived with my grandparents. My parents… were busy.”
Xu Baiyan couldn’t really understand—why would a little girl need to cook at such a young age?
But this was her family’s business, and from her expression, she didn’t seem to want to say more. So he didn’t ask and just said, “You don’t need to cook next time.”
“Huh?”
Xia Yu was startled.
“Is it not to your taste?”
“No, it’s just that cooking is troublesome. I don’t have to eat home-cooked food. But remember, just because you don’t have to cook doesn’t mean you’re off the hook—you still have to come.”
Xu Baiyan glanced at her and added, “You can just bring me takeout from a restaurant outside.”
Xia Yu nodded.
“I’ll cook when I have time, and bring takeout when I don’t. Mainly, I just thought with your ankle like this, some homemade Bone Soup would be better…”
Hmm, how thoughtful.
Xu Baiyan’s lips curled up slightly.
“Why are you standing? Where are your chopsticks?”
“Am I eating with you?”
Xu Baiyan said, “There’s so much food. Wouldn’t it be a waste if you didn’t?”
Xia Yu replied, “True… I’ll go get them.”
“Mm.”
The two sat face-to-face and quietly started eating.
Halfway through the meal, Xu Baiyan’s phone suddenly vibrated for quite a while.
He glanced at it indifferently and saw messages from the group chat.
[How’s your ankle, Yan-ge? Want us to come visit you?]
[Yeah yeah, let’s go as a team! He’s injured now, can’t kick us out, can’t stop us from coming to his place.]
[So tragic… can’t even surf, how did you manage to sprain your ankle on a land board?]
[So pitiful! Fallen from the altar!]
[Yan-ge, is there no one at your place? Want us to bring you dinner tonight?]
[Alright, let’s go take care of the lonely old man together.]
A bunch of friends were joking around in the group.
Xu Baiyan couldn’t be bothered at first, until Cheng Li suddenly chimed in: [He’s not alone at home.]
[Who else is there?]
[A caretaker, right? Who else could Yan-ge have at home?]
[Sounds pretty bleak.]
[What do you want to eat, bro? I’ll go buy it for you. Don’t be shy, just teach me a couple tricks when you’re better (the free kind).]
[Me too! My turn tomorrow! I want to learn too! (the free kind)]
[+1]
[+1]
Xu Baiyan let out a cold laugh, picked up his phone, and snapped a photo of the dining table to send to the group.
[My disciple’s already here. You think it’s your turn?]
[?]
[???]