Chapter 219

The door of the tea room was shoved open hard, hit the door frame and bounced back a distance; Xia Xi held the door and peered inside, fortunately Xu Guanshan had not left.

Xu Guanshan was lifting a cup of steaming tea to his lips when he suddenly heard a loud bang; he was not startled, took a calm sip, and lifted his gaze to the doorway. The assistant stood at his side, holding a box of fresh tea, packing it into a paper bag. It was because Xu Dongzhang had casually remarked that the tea he had drunk today was good, so he had the attendant fetch a new box to take back and brew slowly for Xu Dongzhang.

The assistant saw Xia Xi return, slightly surprised, then looked at Xu Dongzhang with an expression of sudden realization, understanding why Xu Dongzhang was not in a hurry to leave, even though he had other matters to attend to this afternoon, yet he was leisurely drinking tea here.

Xu Dongzhang should have expected that Xia Xi would soon figure it out, after all he had praised her as a smart person, not a brainless fool who only knows love. Xu Dongzhang rarely praises anyone.

"Miss Xia." the assistant called out, preparing to withdraw.

Xu Guanshan raised his hand, indicating he need not avoid, so the assistant remained inside.

Xia Xi had come running back, her breathing ragged, not having calmed for a long time. As she entered the tea room, unlike the nervous apprehension she felt when she first came in, she now felt a resolute readiness to face death.

She pulled the door shut behind her, then stepped step by step to the desk. With each step she told herself inwardly that moving forward meant there was no turning back, and wondered whether she should turn around and leave now.

But thinking of how her sister had cautiously concealed the fact of her hospitalization over the phone, she found she could not turn back.

"Xu Dongzhang." Xia Xi, full of heartache and bitterness, her throat tight, still managed to utter those words clearly, leaving herself no room to retreat: "I promise you, I will leave him."

The eight words, as she spoke them, filled her eyes with a mist of tears; even after she had wiped them dry, fresh tears welled up at the corners.

Before, she had never realized how fragile she was, how prone to tears, unable to control them, her eyes becoming a broken faucet.

Xu Guanshan still wore his lofty, aloof demeanor, his expression unmoved, and asked her lightly, "Have you decided?"

Xia Xi turned her head to the side and neatly wiped away the tears about to spill onto her cheeks. She did not want to show such a side in front of Xu Guanshan, as if she were seeking sympathy. In fact, he would not feel sympathy for her; her tears would only be self-inflicted humiliation, which she did not want.

When she faced Xu Guanshan, she had already regained her composed, clear-eyed appearance and solemnly said, "I have decided." Looking at his eyes full of confidence, she spoke without a ripple, "Thank you for your help; I will remember your kindness."

Xu Guanshan did not take her words; whether her gratitude was sincere or sarcastic, he would not quibble. His goal had been achieved, and that was enough.

Xu Guanshan set down his teacup and handed over the envelope he had prepared long ago, as if he had long anticipated that she would accept his arrangement.

Xia Xi bent her back slightly and took it with both hands. The envelope was not thick, and she opened it in his presence.

Inside were three items: a check sufficient to settle her immediate troubles and free her from predicament; a recommendation letter from a prestigious overseas university, which she could easily enter with her grades; and a piece of paper…

Xia Xi unfolded it, saw the contents clearly, her pupils flickered, her fingertips trembled, and the paper she was holding shook along with them.

She stared in disbelief at the stern-faced middle-aged man, her voice trembling as she spoke, even though she could read the characters, she asked him, "What is this?"

Xu Guanshan stood unmoving, having no objection to telling her personally: "It is the script I arranged for you; you only need to act according to it, let Xu Yanfeng see it, and our deal will be considered complete."

He knew his son too well, knowing exactly what method would make him never turn back.

If he merely wanted Xia Xi to fade from Xu Yanfeng's sight, he would not so easily relinquish this relationship; having never experienced failure, he would only try every means to win her back, leading to an entangled mess. That is not the outcome Xu Guanshan wishes to see.

Xia Xi stared blankly, crumpling the corner of that paper into a wrinkled mess, she could barely breathe, unable to speak: "Must… must we… use this method?"

To let Xu Yanfeng personally see her entwined with another… how could she be so cruel! How could Xu Dongzhang be so cruel to his own son!

Xia Xi resisted strongly, her face firm as she assured him: "I can avoid seeing him forever!"

Xu Guanshan did not look at her expression, lowered his eyes slightly, poured out a little tea from the bottom of the cup: "Little girl, money isn't that easy to earn."

A buzz filled Xia Xi's mind; she was actually convinced by his few short words, accepting his point. Yes, he had given her such a large sum of money and even sent her abroad for further study; it was certainly not something she could obtain by merely patting her butt and walking away—some price must inevitably be paid.

She could bear the cost, no matter how heavy, but why must she hurt Xu Yanfeng?

He is so good.

How could she hurt him?

At that time, Xia Xi did not know that the script Xu Dongzhang had arranged for her was the shadow from Xu Yanfeng's childhood; he despised betrayal and deceit most, and when he agreed to be with her, his sole demand was, "Can you remain forever loyal to me?"

One need not like him so much, but must be loyal to him.

Unfortunately, Xia Xi knew nothing of it.

When Xu Yanfeng called, Xia Xi had just stepped out of the tea house. The sunlight was somewhat glaring; she narrowed her eyes, her eye sockets felt sore and swollen, she raised a hand to shield her forehead, only then realizing she was still holding the envelope. The thin envelope felt extraordinarily heavy in her hand, almost too much to hold.

Xia Xi answered the phone; Xu Yanfeng rarely showed a tone akin to complaint: "You said you'd call me later—how long has it been? Have you forgotten?"

He was truly adorable; even amid her heavy mood, she could laugh at his voice, but as she laughed, a sour ache welled up in her eyes: "Sorry, I had too much homework and forgot while doing it."

"What do you want to tell me?" Xu Yanfeng asked.

"Huh?"

Xu Yanfeng seemed to have been rendered speechless by her, letting out a voiceless chuckle: "Isn't it that you were the one who first messaged me, said you had something to tell me, then only gave a brief, unclear explanation, and told me to contact you after I finished my work?"

Xia Xi recalled it all—those were the words she had told him before meeting Xu Dongzhang—but now it was too late, and there was no need to speak again.

After half a day without hearing her voice, Xu Yanfeng grew a little anxious: "Are you at school? Let's talk in person."

"I… I…" Xia Xi glanced around in panic, her mind racing like a short circuit, unable to find a perfect excuse to cover up, so she first confessed: "I am not at school."

Xu Yanfeng stared for a moment, then said: "Where are you? I'll come see you."

Xia Xi deflected: "Aren't you busy handling work at the company? Do you have time?"

"It's lunch break now; no matter how busy I am, I still need to eat and rest."

Xia Xi, anxious, paced on the spot, then suddenly spotted a bookstore not far away; her eyes lit up, and she calmly said: "I'm doing homework at a bookstore off campus; I'll send you the address."

Xia Xi hurried into the bookstore, found a seat, sat down to wait for Xu Yanfeng, and suddenly realized her hands were empty—nothing like someone who had come out to do homework.

She hastily rose and went to the merchandise area, bought a canvas bag from the bookstore, picked out a few books, slipped the envelope Xu Dongzhang had given her into one of them, and packed it into the bag.

Next door there was a convenience store; Xia Xi bought a bottle of iced water and placed it on her eyelids to help reduce the swelling.

When Xu Yanfeng appeared outside the bookstore's glass window, Xia Xi sat at the table by the window; the tabletop was clean, holding only a sky-blue canvas bag and a bottle of mineral water from which she had taken a few sips.

She also saw him, and through the clear window glass she waved at him, her smile bright and radiant, her eyes seeming to hold the blossoms of spring.