Chapter 184: She doesn't have a matching set of underwear

Xia Xi drove slowly, arriving home half an hour later; the car slowed to a stop, she unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed Xu Yanfeng's hand, turned her body toward him, and asked his opinion: "Do you want to come in with me?"

Going to her house is different from going to a restaurant; Xu Yanfeng thought for a moment, then before agreeing he wanted to clarify: "Who all is at your house?"

"My dad definitely isn't home; he runs his own factory and is often so busy you never see him, so probably only my sister is at home." Xia Xi shrugged, "She might not be there either—I left early this morning and don't know if she went to her art class."

She slipped her fingers between Xu Yanfeng's, a smile spreading across her lips: "You've already met my grandmother and mother—what are you afraid of meeting other people for?"

In her heart, Xu Yanfeng could do anything—how could he worry about meeting her parents?

Whether in front of Su Jinru or her grandmother, he always behaved politely and gracefully, with a composed demeanor worthy of full marks—there should be no reason for him to be concerned.

Xu Yanfeng intertwined his fingers with hers: "I'm not afraid; I feel it would be rude to show up empty-handed."

Running into her grandmother and mother at the restaurant was unexpected and could be excused as ignorance, but now she is voluntarily visiting his home—showing up without a gift would be inexcusable.

"What's the big deal?" Xia Xi said carelessly, patting his head with the hand he wasn't holding, lightly said, "Next time I'll formally bring a gift when I visit—no one will blame me."

As soon as she spoke, she couldn't help laughing, imagining the scene of him formally calling on her family—perhaps that would be when their relationship took the next step……

After locking the car, Xia Xi led Xu Yanfeng to the front door, inserted the key into the lock, turned it once, and the door opened.

The living room was spacious and bright, full of warmth; hearing the door open, Xia Yue came running out of the kitchen holding a bunch of celery, her eyes wide as she stared at the two in the entryway, while Xia Xi was bending over to pull a new pair of gray men's slippers from the shoe cabinet, tearing open the clear plastic bag and placing them beside his feet.

Xia Xi pushed herself up from her knees, her gaze meeting Xia Yue's surprised look: "Sis, you're home."

Xia Yue's in-laws lived not far away, so she often came over; thus Xia Xi wasn't surprised to see her at home, and after speaking calmly she asked, "Haven't you eaten yet?"

If I had known she'd brought back some packed dishes.

Xu Yanfeng was tall and handsome, his expression extremely calm; having repeatedly run into Xia Xi's family, he had become immune to it.

Xia Yue opened her mouth and said hesitantly, "I haven't eaten yet. Xiao Xuan is home alone, and I'm worried she'll order junk food—her body can't handle unhealthy stuff, so I came over to cook for her."

Xia Xi nodded; her sister really was thoughtful. Xia Xuan is well‑behaved and usually low‑maintenance, but being young she sometimes can't control her mouth, eats junk food, feels sick afterward, and has to go to the hospital for a check‑point—all for nothing.

"Xi Xi, this is…" Xia Yue's gaze lingered on Xu Yanfeng for a long time.

"Look at me, I forgot to introduce you." Xia Xi smiled, tapped her own forehead, then grabbed Xu Yanfeng's hand and said solemnly, "He's my boyfriend, Xu Yanfeng. I've mentioned him many times before—you should have seen his photo."

Xu Yanfeng nodded and greeted Xia Yue calmly.

Xia Yue naturally knew the young man before her was her sister's boyfriend! She also knew his name was Xu Yanfeng! She was just too shocked—how could he be at her house? Have they already reached the stage of meeting the parents this quickly?

She couldn't possibly have a boyfriend already, could she?

Xia Yue stood frozen, her thoughts like a runaway wild horse racing to the horizon.

Xia Xi frowned slightly, walked up to her sister, and nudged her arm: "You don't remember him, do you? No way."

"How… how could that be." Xia Yue forced her wandering thoughts back, "During the time you were chasing him, you'd give me updates every few days, and when we video‑chatted you even showed him to me—I remember him vividly!"

Xia Yue gradually regained her composure, adopting a motherly tone to entertain Xu Yanfeng: "Have a seat—would you like tea, plain water, or some juice? We've got everything in the fridge."

"You're busy, don't bother—once Xi Xi gets her stuff we'll leave." Xu Yanfeng said politely, "You haven't had lunch yet."

"Have you two eaten?" Xia Yue asked.

"We ate at the restaurant." Xia Xi answered.

"What do you need to get?" Xia Yue fired off one question after another, "Where are you guys going to play?"

Xia Xi stopped answering; the corners of her pressed‑lips tightened with embarrassment, her gaze began to wander, avoiding eye contact with Xia Yue.

Such a demeanor was truly rare; Xia Yue stared, her curiosity intensifying as she laughed and pressed, "What, you can't say?" She thought her question was perfectly normal, not invading privacy.

Xia Xi suppressed her voice, gave a low cough, and made a "secret" mouth shape at her.

She pushed Xu Yanfeng's back with both hands, settling him on the sofa, then before leaving she touched his face like she was instructing a child, coaxing, "I'm going upstairs to get something—you wait a bit."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Xia Xi slipped her slippers on and pattered up the stairs, her cheeks gradually warming; she felt it and pressed her phone case to her face to cool down, to little effect—probably because she was running too fast.

Xia Yue glanced at Xia Xi's hurried back, squinted and pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out what she was up to—she was always quirky. Xia Yue shook her head, laughed, and went to brew tea for Xu Yanfeng.

A cup of Green Snail Spring tea was set on the coffee table; Xu Yanfeng slightly bowed to pick it up and thanked Xia Yue.

Xia Yue is gentle and refined in speech and deed; this time she didn't go to the kitchen to busy herself, but stayed in the living room chatting with Xu Yanfeng.

Perhaps it was Xu Yanfeng's overwhelming aura that made Xia Yue, despite being the host in her own home, feel a bit restrained, afraid of saying something wrong and stepping on his boundaries, so she steered the conversation toward Xia Xi: "Xi Xi is used to being willful at home; the family spoils her even though she isn't the youngest. If she falls short somewhere, you should bear with her."

"No." When Xia Xi was mentioned, Xu Yanfeng's brows and eyes softened, the initial polite stiffness fading from his tone: "She's fine."

Thinking Xia Yue might not believe him, he emphasized: "She's good in every way. Between us, it's she who accommodates me more. She always tolerates me without limit; it's I who ought to worry about not doing enough."

Xia Yue lost control of her expression, staring in disbelief; Xia Xi's fiery temperament is such that saying she'd explode at the slightest provocation is an understatement—she always puts her own feelings first, never swallowing her anger or sacrificing herself, and besides her family, she would never indulge anyone without limit.

But when Xia Xi was pursuing Xu Yanfeng, she often complained to Xia Yue that putting a warm face to a cold backside was really hard; even before they were together she could endure his cold stare, and once they were together she only cherished him more.

Thinking about it that way, it actually makes sense.

In the upstairs Instagram‑style bedroom, Xia Xi tossed the neat closet into utter chaos.

She couldn't find a matching set of nice underwear.

She'd forgotten where she'd seen it, but wearing a matching set of underwear is supposedly better.

She hadn't closed the door; Xia Xuan, hungry, came out to forage, passed by her room, heard the rustle of rummaging through boxes, and poked her head in: "Sis, when did you get back?"

Xia Xi had no time for her, standing with hands on hips at the bedside, one hand covering her forehead as she pondered how to solve the present "dilemma".

She hadn't planned to tell Xia Yue, but now not saying anything was impossible. If she bought underwear from an outside shop, she'd still have to wash it before wearing—how could she keep it from Xu Yanfeng?

Xia Xi made up her mind, snatched the phone she'd tossed on the bed, and sent a message to Xia Yue.

Downstairs in the living room, Xia Yue's phone buzzed in the pocket of her apron.

Xia Xi: "Sis, come up for a moment."

Xia Yue frowned: "Now?"

Xia Xi: "Mm‑hmm."

Xia Yue lifted her head, waved her phone at Xu Yanfeng to explain her excuse: "Xi Xi needs me for something—I'm going up to see her. You…"

"It's fine, go ahead." Xu Yanfeng took over.

Xia Yue felt reassured leaving, head full of doubts as she went upstairs to find Xia Xi.

Entering the room, she was met with Xia Xi's wry smile: "Sis, do you have a matching set of underwear? Lend it to me to wear."

Xia Yue suspected she had misheard: "...... What?"