It turns out Bai Yichen was referring to Kaizi. Earlier, Kaizi had given her a ride back, and this man happened to witness it but chose to remain silent until now. An Xin suddenly felt this man was quite cunning.

On second thought, —she and Kaizi were at most acquaintances, not even friends. After hesitating for a few seconds, she replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, just a friend.”

Bai Yichen responded with an indifferent “Oh!”

An Xin’s mind quickly raced: what if Bai Yichen asked how she had a male friend in the city? Should she truthfully explain that Kaizi was a work partner, or simply say he was a distant relative of Dongmei’s family to avoid suspicion?

To her surprise, Bai Yichen stood up and casually said, “Let’s go. It’s getting late; we should head back.”

An Xin was speechless.

Why wasn’t he continuing to ask? She’d already prepared her answers!

But the man seemed to have forgotten his earlier question altogether, heading for the door without looking back.

In a hurry, An Xin chased after him. Halfway out the door, she suddenly remembered something and called out to him, “Wait, Bai Yichen! I need to collect the bedding I left to dry in the courtyard this morning!”

Speaking quickly, An Xin dashed into the courtyard to retrieve her washed bedding. When she finally came outside, slightly out of breath, the man was already sitting in the driver’s seat, elegantly smoking a cigarette. His profile, half-hidden in the dim light, gave away none of his emotions.

Carrying her bags, An Xin climbed into the passenger seat and said, “Let’s go!”

The man remained silent, holding his cigarette in his left hand and starting the car with his right. They quickly left the bustling city behind.

By the time they returned to the geological exploration team’s quarters, it was nearly midnight. An Xin hurriedly set up her bedding, feeling a faint sense of home as she looked at the simple, plain sheets on the bed.

After heating some water and freshening up, she noticed that Bai Yichen had gone to the team’s shower room to clean up as well.

Half an hour later, both were finally lying on the bed, their day’s work behind them. Bai Yichen, as usual, slept on the inside. Yet An Xin felt a cold distance from him tonight, as if he was upset about something. This was just his personality sometimes, and she didn’t give it much thought.

Exhausted from a day of driving and errands, she quickly fell asleep.

The man next to her, however, turned quietly to face her. Gazing at her serene, sleeping face, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

He had to admit, despite being married to this woman for some time, he still couldn’t fully understand her.

Logically, someone like An Xin—a young, innocent girl—should wear her emotions on her face. But An Xin felt like a deep, unfathomable pool of water. The more he tried to explore, the thicker the fog surrounding her became.

From the man who dropped her off earlier, Bai Yichen had glimpsed a different An Xin: calm, sharp, decisive, and efficient. This was completely unlike the gentle, virtuous persona she displayed in front of him.

Which one was the real her?

This woman intrigued him more and more.

The next morning, perhaps due to the late-night exhaustion, An Xin overslept. When she opened her eyes, daylight already filled the room.

“Darn it, I overslept!” she thought, springing out of bed. Her hurried movements startled the person lying next to her. She froze, realizing Bai Yichen was still there.

She turned to see him sitting up slowly, his deep eyes fixed on her.

Embarrassed, she scratched her messy hair. “Hey, Bai Yichen, why are you still here?”

It was already broad daylight. Shouldn’t he have gone to work at the site by now?

Bai Yichen leisurely slipped on his shoes and gave her a cool glance before replying, “Isn’t your mother having surgery today?”

How could he go to work when his mother-in-law was undergoing surgery? That would be utterly unfilial. He’d rather take leave and be there to help. After all, without him, who would handle the heavy lifting when she came out of the operating room?

An Xin processed his words and connected the dots.

“So, you took the day off?”

It wasn’t until she asked that she realized something was off. How did Bai Yichen even know about her mother’s surgery? She had never mentioned it to him.

“Mm,” he replied simply, heading outside to wash up.

Still sitting on the bed, An Xin stared after him in confusion. A moment later, the man paused at the door and turned to remind her, “If you don’t get up soon, you’ll miss the surgery time.”

His words were like an alarm clock.

“Oh, right! I’ll get ready now!”

An Xin sprang into action, quickly freshening up and preparing breakfast. She made two bowls of noodles with cucumber and egg soup for them to eat before setting out.

Driving from Chahe Village to the provincial hospital took some time, but they arrived just as the doctor was making his rounds.

Once the doctor finished, An Xin followed him to the office to finalize the pre-surgery paperwork. When it came time to sign the forms, the doctor glanced at Bai Yichen and said, “Since you’re husband and wife, and the patient is your mother, both of you should sign here.”

An Xin looked up in surprise.

Before she could say anything, Bai Yichen stepped forward, took the pen from her hand, and politely thanked the doctor.

“Thank you for the reminder.”

His strong, elegant hand swiftly wrote his name: Bai Yichen.

The doctor, satisfied with the signed papers, handed them back and said, “You can go wait now. A nurse will inform you when it’s time to transfer the patient to the operating room.”

As they left the office, An Xin finally pieced things together.

Now she understood how Bai Yichen knew about her mother’s surgery. He must have gone to inquire about it himself.

How else would the doctor know they were married?

This man—his actions were meticulous and left no loose ends.