Xi Qian was stunned into silence upon hearing Li Xiran's observation. She couldn't believe that he'd gotten that impression just from seeing her from time to time. She didn't know whether she should be upset or impressed with him to be able to hit the mark so perfectly. Their encounters over the past weeks weren't that much and their conversations were nothing but short, so how did he come up with such a conclusion?
"Is that your impression of me, Mr. Li?" She said dryly, trying to recover.
Li Xiran shook his head and pulled his pants up to his knees, making sure that it wouldn't get wet. The black shoes he was holding earlier were now left on the drier part of the sand. He then glanced at Xi Qian, observing her reaction up close.
She scrunched her face, and somehow Li Xiran couldn't help but think that she looked cute like that. He felt an urge to pinch her cheek and tell him that whatever was bothering her, it would be alright soon, but he didn't. He made sure that there was sufficient distance between them.
Xi Qian watched him for a moment with a blank expression on her face before staring back at the vast sea in front of them. She couldn't blame Li Xiran for noticing her grievances, even though she had perfectly made sure to focus at work and not allow herself to be distracted by her personal issues.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't intend to make you feel bad." Li Xiran muttered next to her when he noticed that she had fallen silent again.
Everyone had their own struggles and inner demons. People needed to deal with them every single day and Xi Qian was no exception. Obviously, for someone like Xi Qian, she would need to face every day with her head held up high, pretending that she was fine.
Li Xiran tried not to feel offended by her silence. He supposed that if he wanted to understand Xi Qian better, he would need a lot of patience. He should be more accustomed to her fluctuating moods.
He initially thought that Xi Qian was always serious and unfeeling, but as he observed her during their lunch with Lu Qingfeng's family and Yan Xiuchen earlier, Li Xiran had seen a side of her he never knew existed.
Xi Qian could be warm and engaging, laughing along with Su Xiaofei as they conversed with each other, her smile could light the room brighter than the sun behind her. However, once she was alone and out of her loved ones' company, Xi Qian would immediately go back to looking distant, as if she was lost in a world where only she could be.
Xi Qian shook her head, but didn't bother to look at him this time.
"You don't have to apologize to me, Mr. Li. You are merely stating your observations. No harm done here."
"Still…"
"Really. It's fine." Xi Qian snapped with a seemingly annoyed tone as she turned her head to look at him.
When she realized who she was talking to, Xi Qian was taken aback and quickly lowered her gaze. She was ashamed that she had slipped in front of Li Xiran. This wasn't what she had in mind when she agreed to come with Su Xiaofei and Lu Qingfeng to this place. She was supposed to unwind, not to be upset with her employer.
"Sorry. It's just that there are so many things on my mind now, and the least I expect is for my employer to notice my distress. But don't worry, Mr. Li, I assure you it won't affect my performance at work."
Li Xiran frowned, disliking how Xi Qian was treating him like a stranger. Nothing more than her patient's family. He supposed that he had no right to be upset about it, and he was no different from his younger brother after all for offending Xi Qian with his careless words.
"Would it be better if you aren't our employee?" He blurted out, surprising not only Xi Qian, but also himself.
"W-what?" Xi Qian, stuttered. She couldn't understand why Li Xiran was here with her.
Catching the slight mistake he made, Li Xiran gulped and clenched his jaws. Since he couldn't take back what he had just said, might as well use it as an opportunity to explain what he meant.
"I said if I wasn't your patient's family, would you consider being friends with me?"
Xi Qian blinked at that. Was he serious?
Seeing his unwavering gaze, she realized then that Li Xiran wasn't trying to make fun of her. She considered her options. While it's true that she cared deeply for her patients, wanting nothing more than to see them return to full health, she had promised herself not to get attached with any of them.
Furthermore, she didn't want anyone to think that she was using it as an opportunity to climb higher in society. However, as she looked at Li Xiran, she couldn't help but be reminded that she didn't have many friends to begin with.
Others may assume that she had a lot of friends, given that she was surrounded with people, but actually, it was hard for her to feel connected to another person the way she did with Su Xiaofei.
"Don't you think it's inappropriate?" She couldn't help but question Li Xiran. She had always put a safe distance between her and others.
"What's being inappropriate, being friends with your boss? It's not like you are taking advantage of me." Li Xiran said in defense, his thick brows snapped into a dark scowl. It finally dawned on him why Xi Qian was acting like this towards him.
Xi Qian hummed and Li Xiran didn't probe any further. He had already said what he wanted to say anyway, and it was on Xi Qian now whether she would accept his friendship or not. He didn't want to pressure her into anything anyway.
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