Rat, Rabbit, And Rabbit Transformed Into Humans And Married Their Natural Enemies. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Bai Zhi ultimately did not go up to greet them. He didn’t have the status or the standing. His business had no connection to Xie Yuzhan’s, so what would he even say if he went over?

He would just be looking for trouble.

It was truly unnecessary.

After the group left, an indescribable discomfort settled in his heart, like a wad of cotton stuck inside—itchy, silent, yet undeniably present.

It was hard to ignore.

On the drive back, Lu Qinghe watched his friend, who was listless and constantly spacing out, and knew that even though Bai Zhi didn’t say anything—or perhaps hadn’t even realized it—he was deeply bothered.

Lu Qinghe tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Hmm—when the two of them held their make-up wedding, he definitely needed to sit at the main table.

Given Xie Yuzhan’s temperament, that wedding was bound to happen sooner or later.

He pretended to exaggerate, speaking with an air of composure: “It’s not just me saying this, everyone can see it. How outstanding is CEO Xie? Elegant and noble, with that aura, that face, that physique, that capability—he has everything. If his mind hadn’t been focused on business all these years, he probably wouldn’t lack people rushing to pursue him.

“Of course, it might also be that CEO Xie is inherently too aloof; few people can truly enter his heart.

“But with so many people in the world, he’s bound to meet someone suitable eventually. For example, the person we saw today, I thought they looked quite well-matched.”

Bai Zhi glared at his friend. Well-matched, well-matched, why emphasize that!

He knew, of course, that Lu Qinghe was saying this on purpose.

But he couldn’t help but feel bothered. This feeling was too strange. It shouldn’t be like this. It was as if, as if he were jealous, and it was the kind that came out of nowhere.

Receiving Bai Zhi’s glare, Lu Qinghe chuckled. See, the facts were right in front of him. He couldn’t keep being stubborn, could he?

He continued, “To be honest, I think you and CEO Xie are the most compatible, a match made in heaven. You’re well-matched in every aspect. If you were willing, no one else, not even a celestial being descended from heaven, could compare to a single strand of your hair.

“Our Zhi Zhi’s excellence is no less than CEO Xie’s. He is worthy of you.

“If there’s something you want, don’t just think about it, just open your mouth and tell him. From an outsider’s perspective, he is incredibly indulgent toward you. If you ask for the stars, he won’t give you the moon.”

All that was needed was to pierce that veil of pretense and find a little more courage to take a brave step forward.

Bai Zhi felt complicated after hearing this.

He lowered his eyes gloomily, staring blankly at his fingers. Were he and Xie Yuzhan compatible? Before considering compatibility, he should be concerned about his own feelings. Did he truly like the other person?

Were his feelings for Xie Yuzhan the kind one has for a lover?

After a long while, he let out a deep sigh. Not only had he never dated, but he had only read a few literary works and watched some films. He had no experience in this area. Honestly, this question was beyond the scope of a rabbit’s knowledge.

He didn’t know how to solve it.

And he didn’t know how to learn. Or, was this question of love truly a mandatory life question? He didn’t think so. Living a happy, free life alone was also quite good.

Having his little sprouts accompany him was enough.

Just before getting out of the car when they arrived home, he slowly said, “I haven’t figured it out yet, but it’s probably impossible. Don’t talk nonsense, especially not in front of CEO Xie.”

Lu Qinghe tilted his head, the smile curving his lips holding a profound meaning. “Alright, I won’t talk nonsense. There’s no rush. Take your time to consider it. Matters of the heart are about things happening naturally. Just follow your heart.”

“…Mm.”

Lu Qinghe was in a good mood when he left. It looked like the little rabbit was about to awaken. When he hadn’t awakened, it didn’t seem like much, but once he did, it was like a withered tree meeting spring—everything instantly changed.

He had high hopes for Xie Yuzhan. Although the man was somewhat ruthless, people with such temperaments were the most loyal. Once they committed, it was for life.

Being decisive in matters of the heart wasn’t a bad thing.

Either cold-hearted and merciless, or loving to the point of needing no one else, until death do them part. That was the way it should be.

As for Bai Zhi, ever since seeing Xie Yuzhan at the restaurant, he had been somewhat distracted. But if he were asked what he was thinking, it felt like he hadn’t thought of anything at all. His heart was just messy and unsettled.

It was annoying.

During dinner with Xie Yuzhan, he didn’t initiate conversation, afraid he might blurt out something fatal without thinking. Words spoken were like water spilled—they couldn’t be taken back.

Xie Yuzhan noticed Bai Zhi’s unusual behavior. The other man was about to poke a small bowl of mashed potato salad into a honeycomb, yet hadn’t eaten a single bite. He looked wilted, like a small cabbage forgotten in the frost after winter harvest.

Pitiable and miserable, with indignation and grievance radiating from every strand of his hair.

He messaged Lin Haiyan, who confirmed that nothing special had happened today. Bai Zhi had only gone out with Lu Qinghe and returned after lunch. If anything, he had been a bit off in the afternoon.

Well, it was still related to the young master of the Lu family.

He glanced at Bai Zhi, who was still wrestling with the mashed potatoes, and then messaged Lu Qinghe. The reply was quick, just two sentences: he said he saw Xie Yuzhan at the restaurant at noon and told Bai Zhi that Xie Yuzhan and his business partner looked very compatible.

Xie Yuzhan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He understood.

He put down his phone and looked at Bai Zhi, his emotions complex—a mix of heartache and happiness, an overall swirl of feelings. What was wrong with the little rabbit?

He was clearly jealous!

Rare, truly rare.

He suppressed his emotions slightly and spoke, “So silent today. Are you unhappy? Who upset our precious Zhi Zhi? Tell me, and I’ll help you teach them a lesson.”

Bai Zhi shot a look at Xie Yuzhan, unsure if he was annoyed at the other man for getting so close to someone else, or angry at himself for having these messy little thoughts.

He took a large, aggressive bite of mashed potatoes and huffed, “I’m just afraid you’ll say it but can’t do it.”

Xie Yuzhan’s lips curved slightly. “How will you know I can’t do it if you don’t tell me? Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Bai Zhi bit his spoon, and after chewing a couple of mouthfuls of vegetables, he said directly, “If I say my bad mood is related to you, what do you plan to do? How can you teach yourself a lesson?”

Xie Yuzhan readily replied, “If I’m the one who upset you, then it’s up to you to decide how to ‘teach me a lesson.’ You name it. I won’t argue. I will accept it and follow through.”

Bai Zhi pursed his lips, silently continuing to eat his meal.

Only after finishing the last bite of food did he put down his chopsticks, wipe his mouth and hands, and say with a tense expression, “I want milk tea, made by you personally. Tonight.”

Looking at the expressionless but increasingly endearing Bai Zhi, Xie Yuzhan nodded. “No problem. Besides milk tea?”

Bai Zhi stared at Xie Yuzhan for a full half-minute. Such a good attitude? So cooperative?

He decided to list things off on his fingers: “I also want a burger, fries, popcorn chicken, and chicken wings.”

Xie Yuzhan frowned slightly upon hearing this. All high-calorie items late at night. However, occasionally it was fine; it wasn’t like he ate this every day. Pacifying Bai Zhi was the higher priority right now, and homemade food was better.

He agreed, “I can do that. I’ll make it.”

Bai Zhi acknowledged this and stood up. “I went out today, so the live stream is tonight. I’ll go to the study first. See you later.”

“Alright, see you later.”

Bai Zhi left immediately, walking with an aggressive stride. It was fine when Xie Yuzhan didn’t ask, he could hold it in, but once the other man asked, well, he genuinely felt wronged! Wronged about what!

It was just a marriage alliance, a fake marriage, a plastic couple!

Why was he getting so emotionally invested!

Was he bored stiff? Did he have nothing to do since he didn’t need to hoard food? He had no sense of crisis!

Sure enough, once emotions were involved, they became like three thousand strands of trouble—impossible to cut or untangle, leaving his mind in a chaotic mess, unable to even understand his own feelings.

Strange, too strange.

Once the live stream started, he focused on his little sprouts and stopped overthinking. After streaming for over an hour, he heard a knock on the door and swiftly ended the broadcast.

Late-night snack!

Eat first, talk about everything else later.

When the food was laid out on the table, he scanned it and gave Xie Yuzhan a thumbs-up. CEO Xie had truly outdone himself.

In addition to what he ordered, there were two crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside Oreo mochi, a serving of smooth taro paste baked milk, and a purely vegetarian salad.

There was a variety of items, but the portions were small, so he wouldn’t be overly stuffed. It was very thoughtful.

While enjoying the snack, he spoke sourly, “CEO Xie—with your excellent conditions, there must have been many people pursuing you before we got married, right? Men and women, all types.”

Xie Yuzhan took a sip of black tea. Facing this tone, which sounded like someone who had eaten a truckload of sour plums, he genuinely couldn’t get angry.

He explicitly denied it. “It’s nowhere near as exaggerated as you say. Even if they wanted to approach me, they wouldn’t have the guts.”

Bai Zhi bit into a mochi, staring at the heart-shaped taro paste baked milk, and added, “Even if they don’t say anything to you, the number of people who secretly desire you must be huge. After all, our CEO Xie is outstanding in every way.

“There are always people willing to fly into the fire like moths.”

Speaking of this, Xie Yuzhan recalled that there were indeed some thoughtless individuals in the early years, but they paid the corresponding price. After making an example of them, the openly audacious ones became fewer.

He reassured him, “There were a few before, but there truly aren’t any now. Everyone knows I’m a man with a family, and that our relationship is very good.”

Bai Zhi pouted, still not touching the pudding, and added, “The ‘good relationship’ part is all an act.”

Xie Yuzhan chuckled lightly and asked, “Is all of it an act?”

Bai Zhi was speechless. He quickly glanced at Xie Yuzhan. CEO Xie was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, elegant, composed, and graceful. He looked good no matter how you viewed him—so good that Bai Zhi wanted to hide him away!

At this moment, only silence was deafening.

He decided to continue his fight with the late-night snack.

Facing Bai Zhi’s silence, Xie Yuzhan already had his answer. Resting his elbow on his knee and his head on his hand, he said, “Zhi Zhi, you probably don’t realize how endearing you are.

“Good looks are secondary. The key is your personality.

“A perfect degree of frankness—a little more would be offensive, a little less would be coy. This is rare, almost a talent of yours. Others can’t learn it, nor do they have your courage and confidence.

“And the vitality you possess is uncommon. Everyone around you gets infected by it, even if you don’t realize it yourself.”

At this point, his voice was tinged with amusement. He continued, “Just looking at you makes me feel that this world still holds infinite possibilities. Even if it was once a desolate ruin, a barren wasteland devoid of life, it can be rejuvenated.”

This was Bai Zhi’s uniqueness.

He healed those around him, was willing to embrace new beginnings, enjoyed the present, and loved life.

This didn’t require being shouted in excited slogans, nor did it need dramatic, rigorous prose to incite emotion. Anyone who spent time with Bai Zhi or watched his live streams could clearly feel it.

The flow of emotion was the most wonderful transmission between people.

When this emotion was positive and active, the flow became more frequent and joyful, eventually converging into an unshakeable, brilliantly shining ocean.

He saw this, and so did the netizens who contributed to the excellent data of the live stream. Rather than saying that plants had the power to heal hearts, it was more accurate to say that Bai Zhi himself materialized this power and skillfully conveyed it to everyone.

This was precious.

After hearing all this, Bai Zhi paused, his gaze still fixed on the tabletop.

Everything else was eaten, only the heart-shaped baked milk remained untouched.

After a long silence, he finally looked at Xie Yuzhan, steadily. His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke, “I do think I’m pretty good, but you’re describing me too favorably.”

“I wasn’t using hyperbole just now. You truly are that good.”

Bai Zhi opened his mouth, but no words came out. His usual eloquence had vanished somewhere.

After what felt like several minutes, he finally whispered, “I went out with Qinghe today, and I saw you during lunch. You were with a business partner, right? You were sitting so close, you looked like you had a good relationship, quite compatible.”

Xie Yuzhan subtly relaxed. He finally said it.

He got up and walked closer, sitting beside Bai Zhi. He took the hand resting on Bai Zhi’s lap, carefully unfurling the tightly clenched fingers, and explained, “We weren’t sitting very close. That was a normal social distance. This, now, is what you call sitting close.”

Bai Zhi looked at his hand being held, then at their legs pressed together, and admitted that the distance he saw at noon wasn’t… that close.

There was still half a meter between them.

He used his free hand to scoop up a spoonful of the baked milk. The sweet aroma of taro paste and milk spread across his taste buds. Finally, he tasted sweetness tonight.

Xie Yuzhan tightened his grip on Bai Zhi’s hand and continued, “As for compatibility, Zhi Zhi, you probably haven’t seen what we look like when we walk together.”

The spoon in Bai Zhi’s hand froze. His ears instantly burned.

He forcefully pulled his hand free, quickly ate the miniature baked milk in a few bites, and jumped to his feet. “I’m done eating. What happened today is over. Good night, I’m going back to sleep!”

With that, he immediately left the study. If he stayed any longer, he would be cooked!

Xie Yuzhan watched Bai Zhi’s hurried retreat but didn’t follow. The words had been said. Now, it was best to give the other man some space and time to untangle that messy ball of yarn.

The little rabbit might be slow, but slow didn’t mean stupid.

It was already so, so obvious.

Bai Zhi returned to his room, took a shower, and after collapsing onto the bed, he messaged Lu Qinghe, saying that Xie Yuzhan was very articulate, his cooking skills were excellent, and the late-night snack he made was delicious.

Lu Qinghe replied with an emoji of someone choking on candy, followed by a very brief sentence—

“So, do you like him?”

This wasn’t the first time Lu Qinghe had asked, but it was the first time Bai Zhi seriously considered the question. What exactly were his feelings for Xie Yuzhan?

Did he like the other person?

Had he truly fallen for his “natural enemy”?