Chapter 198: Want to come stay at my apartment tonight?

Xu Yanfeng had already braced himself, so when Xu Guanshan lashed out at him with a torrent of criticism, he remained very composed.

"How important is today's meeting? Do I need to lecture you face to face? Look at your attitude—distracted, restless, you've just grown older in years, and you're becoming more and more undisciplined!"

Incensed, Xu Guanshan grabbed the documents on his desk and threw them at him.

Snowflake-like sheets of paper swept across Xu Yanfeng's face, fluttered down to the floor and scattered. He didn't even blink, like a wooden puppet, waiting for his father to vent his anger.

The secretary, unaware of the situation, came knocking with a stack of documents needing approval, only to hear the chairman shout furiously, "Get out!" The secretary was so startled his hair stood on end, and he hurried away without lingering a second.

Xu Guanshan rarely loses his temper like this; he is strict with Xu Yanfeng, yet also has a father's tolerance—though only a trace. If he gave too much leniency, he feared Xu Yanfeng wouldn't be careful enough and would forget the responsibilities he must bear as heir.

Xu Guanshan leaned on the wide gray stone slab desk with one hand, the creases between his brows only deepening, his voice booming like a bell: "Tell me, what urgent matter keeps making you zone out in the meeting?"

Xu Yanfeng offered no explanation; while checking and replying to messages, he heard every word of the meeting. Multitasking might be hard for others, but for him it was effortless.

But he wasn't good at explaining things to his father, and never did, letting him misunderstand.

Xu Yanfeng said in a calm tone, "It's a school matter."

Xu Guanshan's face darkened further, and he snorted coldly, "As far as I know, you've finished finance and law, and you're a senior in the architecture college this year—what could possibly be going on? Stop trying to fool me."

Some fathers don't even know what school their child attends, what major they study, or what year they're in—but in this regard, Xu Guanshan deserves praise; he knows Xu Yanfeng's academic situation inside out.

Xu Yanfeng remained silent, and father and son parted ways unhappily once again.

Leaving the office, Xu Yanfeng slipped his finger into his tie knot, loosened it slightly, exhaled a heavy breath, and dialed Xia Xi's phone.

In class, Xia Xi's phone suddenly vibrated; she jumped, quickly hit reject, switched to WeChat, and messaged him: "I'm in class, baby."

Only then did Xu Yanfeng notice the time—she had a long architecture practice class this morning, and it wasn't over yet.

So all he could do was wait for her to finish class and call him back.

"Hello, I just got out of class." Xi Xi hadn't even left the classroom when the professor stepped down from the podium; she immediately called Xu Yanfeng back, rose to her feet, the wooden chair behind her sprang up automatically, one hand tidied the textbooks on her desk, packed them into her bag, slung the bag over her shoulder, and with the other hand holding her phone, she walked and said, "You didn't have a meeting this morning, did you?"

"It's already over." Xu Yanfeng paused, then got to the point: "The post on the bulletin board..."

He hadn't even finished when Xia Xi exclaimed in surprise, "You saw it too?!"

Chen Mian told me.

You handle your own affairs, don't interfere—they're coming after me, I'll deal with it myself. Xia Xi spoke with a ready-to-fight spirit, "Someone's rushing to add color to my dull campus life; I'll just treat it as fun."

Xu Yanfeng's soothing words he'd been preparing were useless; he shook his head and chuckled—he'd never seen anyone more optimistic than Xia Xi. Others would have burst into tears eight hundred times over such a matter, then panicked and helpless. She, however, was like playing some challenge game, her fighting spirit ignited.

After they hung up, Xu Yanfeng didn't fully follow her advice, paying it no mind; he pondered a moment, then called the head of the Student Union's secretariat—the homestay he'd booked, and he had the owner's contact there.

Homestays usually have surveillance installed, but he wasn't sure if it would capture the covert photographer; he called the homestay owner and straightaway stated his request.

Since it happened a few days ago, the footage is still retained, making it not too hard to retrieve; the homestay owner agreed to pull the recordings, but he warned beforehand that there was no guarantee they'd capture anything.

Xu Yanfeng thanked the owner, then got to work on the task at hand, hoping to finish quickly so he could go find Xia Xi.

At dinner that evening, Xia Xi didn't mention what she planned to do; she acted as if the issue didn't exist, eating and drinking as usual, ordering a bottle of white wine, savoring the delicious clams, taking a sip of the refreshing wine, her eyebrows lifting with delight.

She said, "You're driving, so you can't drink—I won't pour you any."

Before Xu Yanfeng could speak, she changed her mind: "Maybe just a little, then we'll get a designated driver later."

She picked up the wine bottle and poured him half a glass, then raised her own stemmed glass, lifted her eyebrows slightly, and signaled him with her eyes.

Xu Yanfeng gave a faint smile, lifted his glass and clinked it lightly against hers—glass chimed crisply—he took a sip, didn't mention the mood-killer, and said, "Want to come stay at my apartment tonight?"

Xia Xi coughed slightly, instinctively touched her chin—fortunately no wine spilled. She looked across at Xu Yanfeng; her big eyes reflected the crystal light, fine and soft, like sunlight on a lake, ripples shimmering.

Was that what she had in mind?

Her cheeks flushed slightly; it probably wasn't shyness but the alcohol, and she was almost unable to resist the temptation—just before she would have agreed, her mind cleared: "Not today, I have something to do."

Saying that, she even felt a pang of regret—Xu Yanfeng had voluntarily asked her to stay over, and she turned him down!

Wait, he won't misunderstand again, will he? Xia Xi hastily raised her hand to declare, "It's not that I get something and then don't cherish it—I really do have something to do."

If it were Xu Yanfeng who got choked by the alcohol, he would have just tossed off a casual joke, but she took it to heart and now keeps bringing it up at the drop of a hat.

After dinner, the designated driver took the low-key Mercedes-Benz, drove Xia Xi back to school, then took Xu Yanfeng to his apartment.

Xia Xi entered the dormitory reeking of sweet wine; her roommates wore grave expressions, all in a state of readiness, gathered around the computer. Wang Qiuyu waved: "Xi Xi, come over quickly—my classmate helped you look it up."

Hearing that, Xia Xi's spirits lifted; she didn't even change her shoes, dropped her bag and ran over, leaning on Wang Qiuyu's back with both hands on her shoulders, head cocked to look at the screen.

This IP address……something's off.

"Hiss." Xia Xi frowned, muttering, "I recall that this year's freshmen all live in the newly built dormitory blocks on the south side gate, right?"

"Exactly." Wang Qiuyu turned to look at her, "Why did you suddenly bring this up—are the two related?"

Xia Xi simply explained, "I suspect someone, but the IP address doesn't match."

Could it not be Cheng Man Yi?

She's a freshman, and indeed it's not this address.

Xia Xi planted her hands on her hips, stood straight, bit her lip, and told Wang Qiuyu, "Send me the address, I'll ask again. Also, thank your classmate for me—I'll treat them to a meal another day."

Wang Qiuyu: "It's nothing, no need for formalities."

The next day, Friday, two major classes in the morning, none in the afternoon. Normally, finishing morning classes would usher in a lovely weekend, but this Saturday they have makeup lessons—in other words, a compensatory day off.

Consequently, when the morning classes ended, nobody's mood was particularly high, and they swarmed en masse to the cafeteria to eat.

Xia Xi queued for a while at the set-meal counter, snagged her favorite sweet-and-sour pork ribs and braised beltfish, left the line in good spirits, and spotted a familiar face amid the bustling cafeteria.

Without thinking, Xia Xi strode straight over with big steps, the corner of her mouth hooking, and she gently patted that person's shoulder.

When she turned around, Xia Xi immediately changed her expression, pursed her lips, put on a cold face, and overturned the plate in her hand onto the other person; the dish had sauce, which splashed onto that person's face and hair.