Capítulo 18: The Sweetness of a Strawberry Candy
"Where is she? Did she vanish somewhere?"
A confused Calix became frustrated as he was unable to locate where Leslie was. She was not in the bedroom, only her body was left there.
Calix had checked the library, his home office, the gymnasium and even the rooftop swimming pool yet, no traces of Leslie were even there.
He couldn't possibly shout her name loudly, fearing scaring Aunt Wendy and Uncle Raymond. They might think he had gone crazy.
Sigh... If only they could communicate through the phone, it would be easier to find her.
Calix slowed down his steps as he walked passing a balcony. Furrowing his brows, he threw his gaze over the vast lawn outside until it landed on the shimmering surface of the body of water.
"Maybe..."
Calix opened the French door. Standing at the balcony railing, he focused looking in the direction of the lake. The distance from the main building to there was not that huge.
"Is she there?"
Narrowing his eyes, Calix tried to spot Leslie. The man-made lake was quite large with trees planted surrounding it. It was his favorite place to unwind when his stress level was higher than usual.
"...?! Ha! There she is!"
After several minutes of looking, Calix finally found Leslie lying under one of the trees. The rustling leaves provided shade for her.
Calix quickly ran downstairs, catching the attention of Aunt Wendy who was arranging blooming flowers inside a vase. They were picked from the garden by Uncle Raymond. She loved decorating the mansion with freshly picked flowers.
"Mr. Calix, you haven't eaten yet?" asked Aunt Wendy, bringing up the meal Calix told her to prepare earlier. She put down the scissors on the table.
Calix rarely had lunch at home thus, Aunt Wendy prepared more special dishes for him despite the young man telling her to just double the usual ones she made.
Expensive and rare ingredients were delivered to the mansion thrice a week. Calix always encouraged the spouses to use the ingredients for themselves. But, Uncle Raymond and Aunt Wendy frequently opted for simple dishes.
"Oh! I will, haha," Calix patted his tummy, grinning widely at Aunt Wendy, "I just need to step outside for a moment. I'll surely eat your yummy food, Aunt Wendy."
In the next moment, Calix was already out of the door, charging toward the lake. The cool spring breeze blew passing his figure, tousling his short dark hair.
If it was up to Calix, he would call Leslie's name out loud. There was no one nearby. Uncle Raymond was busy in the front yard while Aunt Wendy was inside the mansion.
Still, he needed to be careful oh.
"Is she sleeping?" blurted Calix once he stepped under the tree. Shadows fell on his back, slightly obscuring his expression.
Putting both hands on his waist, Calix's eyes landed on the sleeping figure of Leslie. Her bangs were gently swayed by the wind. The black wings of her eyelashes slightly fluttered.
"How could a soul keep on sleeping ah?" mumbled Calix.
He was so curious to know if all souls acted like her that he verbalized his thoughts out loud.
But...
"I'm not sleeping. Don't badmouth me."
"...?!"
Calix unconsciously took a step back. His pupils widened at the sight of Leslie lifting her eyelids. Their eyes were fleetingly locked together before she averted her gaze from him.
"Y-you! When did you wake up?"
Leslie calmly replied to the flustered Calix, "I only closed my eyes for a bit. Not sleeping at all. Lying by the lake feels so nice."
Leslie slowly sat up, propping her hands on the ground. Tilting up her head, once again she looked at Calix, "What time is it? I forgot you said you'd return early."
Leslie didn't check the time when she wandered around the mansion earlier. She roughly guessed it was approaching the late afternoon.
"It's almost three-twenty. I've been looking for you everywhere."
"What?" Leslie was stunned, "When did you get home?"
"At three. Just an hour early from what I told you this morning."
Calix plopped himself down on the ground, sitting next to Leslie. He rummaged inside the pocket of his coat before showing something to her.
Leslie lightly raised her brows, "A strawberry candy?"
Lying in the middle of Calix's was a candy in a plastic wrapper with small and cute strawberry prints.
Did this man carry it around?
"En, take it," Calix answered mutedly, "You haven't eaten or drunk anything after I left, right? I mean, you couldn't."
Leslie blinked, she was caught in a momentary trance. A soft smile found its way to her lips.
Calix might randomly choose this one but, seeing the strawberry candy reminded Leslie of Calliope. Her precious little girl loved anything strawberry-flavored too much.
Be it the fruits, candies, desserts or drinks, Calliope loved them all.
Just like her father.
"Thank you."
Leslie's voice softened. Calix's unintentional gesture washed over her heart with tranquil happiness.
"En... you're welcome."
The candy exchanged hands. Leslie opened the wrapper while Calix took another out and also unwrapped it. He tossed the deep pink-colored candy into his mouth.
"It's sweet," murmured Leslie as the sweetness of the candy spread on her tastebuds.
"Yes," Calix hummed, saying nothing much. He threw his gaze across the lake.
Leslie giggled. She was glad that she could taste any food like usual. This allowed her heart to be comforted by the favorite flavor of her daughter.
The newly wedded spouses sat in silence, gently embraced by the refreshing spring air. The tips of the grass and leaves above danced with every passing breeze. In front of them, the lake's surface twinkled under the bright sunlight.
Not long after, Calix broke the silence. He propped his chin on the back of his hand while staring at the lake.
"Aunt Wendy has prepared lunch. You better have it before we go shopping. We'll depart at four-thirty. Is it enough time?"
"Shopping? What for?" Leslie immediately guessed, "Ah? Is it to get gifts? For my parents?"
Even though this marriage was purely out of interest, Calix might still want to honor the Li family with betrothal gifts.
"Hurm, yes, we should get some gifts too."
Calix's response perplexed Leslie. It seemed as if it was not what he was referring to. Getting gifts was more like an afterthought.
Under Leslie's bewildered gaze, Calix answered. Yet, his reply heightened her confusion.
"Shopping for your outfits ah. The gifts can come later."
"What? My outfits?"
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Capítulo 19: Was He Trying to Flaunt His Wealth Like the Male Lead?
Leslie pretended not to notice how piercing Calix's gaze on her was, fully understanding his action might cause her indigestion. With quite a difficulty, she swallowed a bite of her food.
Frowning, Leslie stared back at Calix, "Why are you looking at me like that? Still thinking why does a soul like me need to eat?"
Calix narrowed his eyes as he listened to her questions. Leaning his chin on the back of his hand, he didn't move his gaze away from Leslie.
"Why did you reject my offer? Don't you wanna go shopping? If you don't want clothes, we can get something else."
"Huh?"
Leslie unconsciously enlarged her eyes, disbelief flickering in them. Without holding back, she threw some questions as a response to Calix's silly inquiries.
"Why couldn't I reject your offer? First thing first, do you think I need to go shopping for clothes or anything? I'm not smelly even if I don't shower."
Their conversation that happened at the lake before reoccurred inside Calix's home office. The young man decided to let Leslie have lunch there instead of in the kitchen.
The home office provided them with better privacy. This was one of Calix's precautions not having people think he was crazy for talking to the air.
Leslie couldn't believe that Calix was still thinking of her refusal. She eyed him with various question marks popping into her mind.
Did this young CEO's pride get hurt because of the rejection despite having plausible reasons?
Was he trying to flaunt his wealth like how the male lead Xander did to the female lead Violet?
He should save it for his real wife later!
Calix pursed his lips. Pushing his body backward, he leaned on the chair's backrest while crossing his arms over his chest, assuming a relaxed position.
"I'm not talking about your smell," said Calix after a moment of silence, referring to Leslie's last question, "It's just... if you want new clothes, I'll buy them for you. You can wear them, right? Like this dress on you?"
Leslie looked down at the pink dress worn over her body. It was not the same white one as yesterday's.
"Well... I can change clothes," replied Leslie quietly.
Before exploring the mansion, Leslie randomly checked the walk-in wardrobe. She found several of Charlene's outfits there including other items. Aunt Wendy had carefully arranged them in the right places.
Despite not needing a shower or bath, Leslie still stepped into the washroom. She only had a quick shower, afraid of alerting anyone.
If Aunt Wendy or Uncle Raymond checked the washroom, they would only see the shower tap raining water without any occupant.
Even in this otherwordly state, Leslie could feel the coolness of the water falling on her body. The sense of normalcy made her joyful.
Exhaling a sigh, Leslie softened her voice as she tried to reason with Calix again.
"Calix, why do you want to buy anything for me? You don't need to do that. I'm happy enough that you're willing to tolerate my weird existence right now."
Calix instantly furrowed his brows. His slightly grim expression told Leslie that he was annoyed with something. Most probably by what she was saying.
"Don't say that I'm tolerating you. I just wonder if going shopping will make you happy."
Leslie blinked. Still enveloped in confusion, she asked him back, "Do you want to make me happy now?"
What was this man thinking?
Shrugging, Calix tried to speak nonchalantly yet, his sunken expression gave his true feelings away.
"You can only talk to me so, won't you be lonely? I can take you to other places if you're bored. I'm trying to be a good accomplice to you. Well... since I'm also using you for my own benefits, take it as compensation."
Leslie quickly clammed her mouth shut. She almost burst out laughing right after she understood Calix's reason.
How could he come up with something like that?
Shaking her head in helplessness, Leslie's lips curved into a smile. She watched how Calix's upset countenance morphed into something else, a bashful expression.
Never once did Leslie expect the CEO Xu who played tricks to ward off his potential suitors could be this considerate. It felt so unbecoming of someone of a higher standing like him.
Yet, he was also the same man who was concerned about her having meals and rest despite his ranting complaints.
In less than forty-eight hours since the first time they met, Leslie's impression of Calix kept getting better.
Putting down the chopsticks, Leslie tried to give the most earnest smile she could to Calix. His eyes were still on hers.
"For now, I desire nothing aside from the favor I wanna ask you."
Calix dropped his arms. He leisurely fiddled with the lowest button of his burgundy vest. Lifting up an eyebrow, he inquired, "Seems like you're gonna ask for something big. When will you tell me?"
Calix was genuinely intrigued by this so-called favor Leslie wished to get from him. He still remembered the flicker of desperation she quickly hid from her face yesterday, during the time she first brought it up.
Leslie tensed up, inadvertently straightening up her posture. The little movement caught Calix's eyes.
"Tonight. I'll tell you tonight," Leslie smiled had a hint of sadness, "I also... don't want to waste time."
The longer she kept delaying in finding Calliope, the day of them reuniting would also be pushed back. Leslie sincerely didn't want that.
Mimo kept telling her that Calliope was safe and sound yet, her motherly heart wished to hug her little daughter as soon as she could.
"Okay. I'll wait for it tonight."
Calix nodded, showing no signs of pressuring her. With a slight tilt of his chin, he pointed at the food.
"Eat more. We'll stop somewhere. As you said, I should bring gifts for my parents-in-law."
"...yes, thank you."
With no more questions being raised, Leslie quietly finished her meal. She didn't want to waste Aunt Wendy's delicious homecooked meal.
Calix had stopped looking at Leslie. He was playing with his phone, seemingly preoccupied with something.
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