Meanwhile, Xi Qian's days had been nothing but long and uneventful. She spent most of her time making sure her patient was following the doctor's orders and taking his medications on time, while working hard to revise everything she needed to cover for her studies.
When she returned to the Li Estate that night, she hadn't expected to see Li Xingtian out on the porch, mulling about something. He stopped and turned to look at her when he heard her footsteps. He gave her a curt nod and gestured for Xi Qian to join him.
"Must be nice to go out and have fun once in a while." He commented, pouring her a cup of the tea he was steeping before Xi Qian arrived.
"You haven't gone out for a while. You should also take a break." Xi Qian replied, after giving him a quick thanks.
"I know I should, but I can't afford to slow down right now, not when my brother needs help." Li Xingtian sighed, but Xi Qian could see that he was under stress these days, just like his older brother.
Ever since her small talk with Li Xiran that day at the beach, she never had another conversation with him. Xi Qian had tried her best to avoid him and was doing a great job at it.
"You should also tell that to my brother. I haven't seen him take a break since he got back. Not here, not at the company." Li Xingtian eyed her as he took a sip from his cup. "Did you two have an argument? You are avoiding him."
Surprised by that, Xi Qian was thankful she wasn't drinking the tea as she might have spat it out. Instead, she merely raised a slender brow at the younger Li brother.
"I am? Since when did you care about your brother anyway?"
Li Xingtian laughed at that. He really couldn't blame Xi Qian for questioning him like this.
"I don't. I'm just curious as to why he's been unusually cranky these past few weeks and then I noticed that you are rarely around whenever he's home. So I figured it must be related to you."
Xi Qian shook her head and averted her gaze, choosing to look at the blooming garden that Li Xingtian's mother diligently tended. She would be lying if she said she didn't find Li Xiran attractive, but she would rather not have anything to do with him. She also didn't believe Li Xingtian's claim that Li Xiran was on edge because of her.
"We have nothing to do with each other."
"Uh-huh, I sure do believe you, Miss Xi." Li Xingtian said with a teasing smile.
"I'm not forcing you to believe me." She shrugged.
Xi Qian ignored his teasing and excused herself. She went to her room and closed the door behind her with a soft sigh. Now that Chairman Lu was doing better and was recovering well, she could ask to terminate her contract at any time.
It would save her from a lot of stress and worries if she ended her contract early. The payment she received from the Li family was enough to support her for a few months once she entered med school.
However, would it be the best course of action to take from this point?
Xi Qian shook her head and shed her coat, putting it on the rack and decided to resume her studies. She wouldn't have gone out today if she hadn't received a call from Su Xiaofei, asking her to join the rest of their friends who were meeting up that afternoon.
She spent another hour catching up with her studies until her body clock reminded her that it was time to retire for the night. She stood up and took a quick shower, dressed in her pajamas.
Taking a glance at the clock on her nightstand, Xi Qian thought that most people would be asleep by this time. She went down the stairs and straight to the kitchen to refill her water bottle, but she didn't expect that there would be another person awake at this time of the night.
Xi Qian stayed rooted in her place and hardened her hold on her water bottle as she looked at Li Xiran.
Li Xiran, who wasn't expecting to see her at this time either, was rendered speechless. They hadn't talked to each other since their meeting at the beach resort. He assumed that with Xi Qian's avoidance, it was a clear answer to his question and he respected that.
"Good evening." He heard Xi Qian, who kept a poker face as she strode to the fridge to refill her drink, greeted.
"Good evening."
Li Xiran followed her with his gaze and said nothing. What else could he say if she had already made her decision. She wouldn't be his friend and would rather keep him at arm's length. That was already enough to tell him.
Xi Qian pretended like she wasn't bothered by his gaze, but there was no need to make small talk with him now.
"I heard from my father that you asked for early termination of your contract. Is that really needed to avoid me, Miss Xi?"
Xi Qian turned around and looked at him impassively. She wasn't sure how Li Xiran came to that conclusion.
"It's true that I'm considering terminating my contract early, but my decision has nothing to do with you." She made it clear to him.
"Is that so?" Li Xiran frowned. "I guess I'm overthinking. I'm sorry."
He turned around and was about to leave when Xi Qian called after him.
"What made you think I'm leaving because of you?" She couldn't help but ask.
Did Li Xingtian's words earlier hold some truth to it?
Li Xiran looked at her over his shoulders and chuckled.
"Actually, I don't want to be your friend."
Xi Qian sharpened her gaze at that. Thankfully, she didn't lower her guard with him. She was really tempted to give him a piece of her mind.
"I want to really pursue you, but I can't think of a way how."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l