Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Chen Mo walked in naturally.

He tossed his shoulder bag onto the bed near the window and surveyed the room. No wonder Lao Gou had complained about the price; the room was well-equipped and tidy, exuding a faint fragrance, with an excellent view.

"Hungry?" Xi Siyan asked as he entered behind Chen Mo.

Chen Mo turned from the window, "What about you?"

Xi Siyan placed the room key on the bedside table, turned on the air conditioner to adjust the temperature, and said, "I'm fine, it's up to you. If you're not hungry, we can wait until we're settled and then join the others for dinner. If you're hungry, we can order room service for a light meal."

It was already late.

Chen Mo didn't feel like going out, so he said, "Let's order room service. I'll do it. What do you want to eat?"

"Whatever suits your taste."

Chen Mo didn't hesitate, walked over to the phone, and ordered a few items.

During this time, Xi Siyan went to take a shower.

Chen Mo organized his bag, which contained only a few books and some papers.

When the phone on the opposite bed vibrated, Chen Mo glanced at the closed bathroom door but ignored it. The vibrations stopped, but resumed after less than two seconds. He hesitated before calling out.

"Xi Siyan."

No response, only the sound of water from the bathroom.

Chen Mo got up and walked over, picked up the phone, and saw the caller ID marked "President Jiang."

He knocked on the bathroom door and called again, "Xi Siyan."

"Me?" The water stopped inside.

Chen Mo: "Yes, your phone keeps ringing. Should I bring it to you?"

"Who's calling?"

Chen Mo thought it might be someone important, "President Jiang."

"My mom, answer it and tell her I'm busy."

Since it was an elder, Chen Mo felt uncomfortable answering it, "Can you open the door? I'll hand you the phone."

Xi Siyan's helpless laughter came through the glass door, "Chen Mo, I'm naked."

"I don't want to see," Chen Mo replied.

The frosted glass door faintly reflected a silhouette. After hearing some movements inside, the door clicked open slightly.

Only a third of the way.

Steam billowed out, and Chen Mo saw Xi Siyan pull a towel from a hook nearby, his forearm veins slightly visible, lines smooth. Soon, he said, "Alright, answer it."

Chen Mo tapped to answer the call, put it on speaker, and extended the phone into the bathroom.

Jiang Jing's voice echoed clearly in the spacious bathroom.

"What are you doing? You didn't answer your phone for so long."

Xi Siyan: "Taking a shower."

"Finished?"

"Not yet." Xi Siyan cut off the pleasantries, "Is there something you need?"

Jiang Jing, apparently a person who gets straight to the point, said, "The Yang family has been looking for your father several times recently, still about the Beichuan project. I rarely interfere with your father's business, but yesterday even your Aunt Yang came to me, asking if you've had any issues with Shule lately."

Xi Siyan's tone was casual, as if discussing the weather.

He spoke directly, "Not giving the Yang family any business favors, they're trying another angle. Can't you tell?"

"You always speak so bluntly."

Jiang Jing continued, "Adults have their own ways of handling things. You've known each other since childhood, are you really not talking anymore?"

By now, Xi Siyan had dressed.

He fully opened the bathroom door, took the phone from Chen Mo, and stepped out.

The doorbell rang, likely the room service. Xi Siyan gestured for Chen Mo to open the door and continued speaking, "We interacted because of our ancestors' relationship. Now, there's no need because he's crossing more and more lines. It's true that Great-Grandmother Yang almost died saving you, but that doesn't mean anything to him."

Jiang Jing was surprised by her son's lengthy explanation, "You're implying something."

Just then, Chen Mo was checking the menu with the server.

There was a complimentary dessert, and the server asked Chen Mo to taste it and give feedback.

Jiang Jing asked sharply, "What's that noise?"

"A classmate," Xi Siyan glanced at the door.

Seeing Chen Mo bent over, filling out the evaluation form, completely ignoring what he heard in the bathroom, Xi Siyan found it amusing. Looking at the door, he told Jiang Jing, "Next time someone asks about this, just say I get along well with the Yang family's son."

Jiang Jing: "That's nonsense. Not only did you kick him out of your cycling club, but I heard he left the experimental class partly because of you. When you were younger, I could tell you didn't like him following you, but you never went this far."

Xi Siyan: "It's not nonsense. The Yang family doesn't treat the one they found as a son, but they still use the title."

The person on the other end was about to say something else when Xi Siyan said goodnight and hung up.

Chen Mo turned around with the food in hand.

"Finished?"

Xi Siyan tossed his phone aside. "Yeah."

"How about eating?" Chen Mo lifted the items in his hand as a gesture.

There was no dining table in the room, only a coffee table.

Xi Siyan sat down on the sofa, ignoring his still wet hair, and while opening the food boxes, he asked Chen Mo, "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

"What should I ask?"

Chen Mo found it uncomfortable to bend over from the sofa to the coffee table, so he grabbed a cushion, threw it onto the carpet, and sat cross-legged.

Xi Siyan glanced at him and reminded, "The floor is cold."

"Just for a bit, it's fine."

And with that, the previous topic was dropped.

Chen Mo actually knew a bit about the longstanding relationship between the Xi and Yang families, thanks to the old connections among their elders. However, from Xi Siyan's conversation just now, he saw more clearly that this relationship came with probing and considerations of mutual benefits.

In his previous life, he hadn't seen it so clearly because even though he later held a high position in the company, he had never dealt with any business related to the Xi family.

Of course, this excludes the project he completed right before his death.

Back then, news of Xi Siyan's return to the country was everywhere.

Although Chen Mo's team also worked tirelessly for over half a month to compete, honestly, he didn't have much confidence they would win.

But at this moment, Chen Mo did have one question he was curious about. He asked, "If you become the boss in the future and I'm not doing well after graduation, would you be willing to give me a backdoor entry into your company for an internship?"

"You're welcome to come," Xi Siyan said.

Chen Mo put a piece of green vegetable leaf in his mouth and gave him a speechless look. "I won't go."

"Why?" Xi Siyan asked calmly.

Chen Mo: "You're too casual, which means your company isn't that great either."

Xi Siyan: "..."

The two finished their dinner quickly.

Lao Gou and the others also returned from the restaurant outside.

Since it was late, they came in one by one, greeted everyone, agreed on where to go the next day, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

Chen Mo took a shower and lay on the bed playing with his phone.

Xi Siyan, possibly due to his OCD, despite the room looking very clean, kept tidying up here and there.

Chen Mo put down his phone and said to the person tying up the garbage bag, "If the manager of this resort knew that his secret young boss was here and was criticizing the hygiene like a quality inspector, they'd probably be too anxious to sleep."

Xi Siyan placed the garbage outside the door.

He closed the door and finally got into bed, replying, "I don't like eating in the room; it always feels like the smell doesn't dissipate."

Chen Mo was puzzled. "How do you manage in your dorm then?"

After all, Qi Lin and the others often ate instant noodles and stinky tofu in the dorm.

Xi Siyan looked over. "That's because of limited options."

Chen Mo gave up and threw his phone aside, lying down to sleep.

Otherwise, if they continued talking, he felt the other might start seeing him as bacteria and wish to sweep him out of the room.

The night on the mountain was very quiet.

This season attracted many visitors, and from the window of their room, they could see the lights of the ski resort on the distant mountain top.

But at midnight, everything was silent.

Chen Mo couldn't remember what time he fell asleep.

He had a dream.

In the dream, he was also in high school, not sure if it was his second or third year.

It was winter.

He always struggled with the damp cold of Sui City. The classroom had no air conditioning, and after sitting all day, his legs would sometimes hurt so much that getting up was difficult.

Another day after school, it was raining outside.

Most people had left the classroom, with only a few stragglers still packing up their bags.

Chen Mo thought he needed to sit a bit longer, but his phone buzzed with a message from the family driver, urging him to hurry home because Yang Shule was eager to leave and had plans with friends.

Voices echoed in the hallway.

"Old Xi, aren't you leaving yet?"

Someone replied, "Go ahead. I need to stop by Lao Xiang's office."

"Alright, then we'll be off."

"Bye."

"See you tomorrow."

Chen Mo was very annoyed.

He turned off his phone, not wanting to deal with it.

He sat there without moving.

Until a shadow appeared beside the table, and Chen Mo heard someone ask, "Not leaving?"

Chen Mo turned his head, looking over with an expressionless face.

The other person seemed to ignore his attitude entirely, their gaze casually sweeping downward, "Leg hurting?"

"No." Chen Mo stood up with his backpack, his knee throbbing painfully, but he only paused for a moment before walking out as if nothing had happened.

Only after he walked out did he start thinking.

Who was that person just now?

Oh, it was Xi Siyan, Yang Shule's childhood friend.

In the dream, Chen Mo felt strange.

A voice in his heart said, Aren't I quite familiar with him? What is this about?

He planned to turn back, but when he looked around, he found the classroom empty; there was no one familiar there.

It was at this moment that Chen Mo woke up.

He opened his eyes, feeling dazed for a few seconds before remembering where he was.

Coming to his senses, he felt something was off.

The room was lit by a dim bedside lamp, and there was someone sitting on his bed.

"Wake up?" Xi Siyan asked.

Chen Mo propped himself up on his elbow, only to realize his knee was resting on Xi Siyan's leg. He held a towel, pressing it against Chen Mo's knee, the steady warmth providing much-needed relief from the soreness.

"What's going on?" Chen Mo asked, confused.

Xi Siyan glanced at him in the dim light and said, "In the middle of the night, I noticed you tossing and turning, hugging your legs. I guessed you weren't used to being here yet. Old Pang mentioned that heat therapy helps blood circulation and can alleviate your condition."

Chen Mo remained in that position.

He was stunned.

He moved back a bit, dryly saying, "Thanks. Actually, you didn't have to; the acupuncture already helped a lot."

Xi Siyan's palm pressed against the back of Chen Mo's knee, holding it in place.

He said, "Don't move around."