Serena didn't react immediately. She pointed at her nose. "Cute?! Are you talking about me?!"
She acknowledged that she was somewhat attractive, and many people had complimented her on her looks throughout her life, but no one had ever called her cute, let alone him.
"Yeah! Who else is here besides you?!" Xavier smiled, his lips curling up.
Her heart, which had calmed down a little, once again started racing uncontrollably. Serena lowered her head. "Stop joking. I know what I look like. How could I possibly be cute?!"
"Well, you seem to have some misunderstanding about yourself!" Xavier insisted. "Just now, when you pouted like that, you looked like a little round pufferfish. So adorable!"
Serena frowned. "Hey, can you have some conscience? I was angry just now, and instead of comforting me, you're focusing on whether I'm cute or not?!"
Xavier grinned, revealing two rows of perfectly white teeth. "By the way, if I want to see you look that cute and playful often, do I need to make you angry every now and then?"
"You..."
Serena was so mad she turned her head away, deciding not to talk to him for now.
At that moment, the ringtone of a song suddenly played. "The one you can never get will always be restless; those who are favored have nothing to fear..." They both looked toward the pocket of Xavier's pants.
Through the thin silk, the phone's indicator light flashed, like fireflies on a summer night.
"Your phone's ringing..." Serena reminded him when she saw Xavier didn't seem to want to pick it up.
Xavier slightly raised his well-defined brows. "Mm, I heard it."
"Then why don't you answer it?"
"I don't want to answer it. I don't want anyone ruining the atmosphere while we're alone."
Serena pursed her lips. "You should answer it. What if it's something urgent?"
At that moment, the ringtone suddenly stopped. Xavier patted his pocket. "See? It's not that I didn't answer, it just stopped ringing on its own."
Serena rolled her eyes. This man could always find a reason for everything!
"I set that ringtone with this song. Have you heard it?"
"Yeah! I've heard it!" Serena nodded reflexively. "This song was really popular back then, but it's been a few years now. Probably not many people still listen to it. Aren't you always ahead of trends? Why would you use such an old song for your ringtone?"
Xavier's lips lifted slightly, and he sighed helplessly. "See, I told you, you never listen carefully when I talk. I told you last time-I'm a nostalgic person!"
"..." Serena's mind immediately recalled that night, when they discussed whether to lock the door or not in front of his room.
"Okay, okay, I got it! Mr. Blaze is sentimental and nostalgic! Is that better?!"
"No!" Xavier shook his head.
Worried he might take advantage of the situation, Serena smiled and said nothing.
The next moment, his voice became hoarse, as if he had sunk into a distant memory. "Serena, actually... I... set this song as my ringtone because of you."
"Me?! Why?"
She couldn't recall ever being interested in the singer, nor did she remember liking the song.
"Do you remember? Back in high school, I once recommended this song to you."
Serena blinked, thinking carefully. "Hmm... seems like... that happened. But..."
"I know!" Without waiting for her to explain, Xavier spoke first to save her from embarrassment. "At that time, you were so annoyed with me. When I recommended it to you, you agreed just to brush me off, but you probably never really listened to the song after that."
"..." Serena felt a rush of shame as he exposed her thoughts, and silently admitted it.
"The reason I had you listen to it back then was because I felt the lyrics reflected my emotions at the time."
Serena twisted her fingers, silently recalling the lyrics. But she was so unfamiliar with the song that she could only recall a few lines.
Every move she made was noticed by Xavier, and he pulled out his phone, opened his music library, and played the song for her.
The music flowed softly through the quiet space, like a gentle stream.
In a dream, chasing echoes I can't hold,
Tangled in the thread of fate-crimson and cold.
Is love too soft, too sharp to feel?
Said too often, it loses what's real...
The one just out of reach haunts the soul,
While the cherished walk fearless, effortlessly whole.
Just as the lyrics reached that final line, the music stopped.
Xavier let out a soft, ironic laugh, tugging at the corner of his lips. "Did you hear that? The one just out of reach haunts the soul, while the cherished walk fearless, effortlessly whole. That line... it's exactly how I felt. I was the one left behind-always reaching, always restless. Back then, all my thoughts, all my feelings... they were for you. But you didn't see me. You walked right past and fell into someone else's arms, like I was never even there."
Thinking of how foolish and stubborn he had been back then, Serena sighed heavily. "Can we not bring up these things that remind me of how stupid I was back then?"
The back of her hand touched something cold. She looked down to see a large hand, hooked with an IV drip, resting on her hand.
Serena looked up in confusion.
Xavier gently patted her hand. "I'm not saying all this to complain or anything. I just want you to understand, my feelings haven't changed. Serena, you'll never know how guilty I felt when I found out you weren't happy after marriage."
Her eyes were wet, as if tears were about to fall, but Serena quickly blinked them away and changed the subject. "Your hand is so cold!"
"Are you concerned about me?" His voice, slightly hoarse, carried a careful excitement and hope.
"I... I was just asking casually."
"You're still so stubborn..."
Suddenly, the song 'Dream' started playing again.
His phone was by the bed, and Serena saw that on the flashing screen was the name 'Karina Carter.'
Xavier glanced at it briefly and then ignored it.
Curious, she casually asked, "Who's Karina Carter? Why aren't you picking up her call?"
His gaze turned intense as he looked at her. "She's the only granddaughter of the Carter's chairman, the girl my dad introduced me to. We had dinner together today at the Restaurant. You want me to pick up her call?"
His gaze made Serena feel an inexplicable unease. She didn't like that feeling.
Pretending to casually rub her chest, she replied with a nonchalant tone, "Go ahead. If your dad's trying to help you find a wife, you'd better not disappoint him."
"Is that really what you think?"
Xavier raised an eyebrow, still smiling, but that smile looked off somehow...
***