Chapter 220: She is destined to hurt him

Xia Xi picked up the canvas bag and went out, her coat removed and held in her other hand.

Xu Yanfeng offered to carry the canvas bag for her, but she moved her hand behind her back to avoid him, her expression natural, showing no hint of oddness: "It's not heavy, I'll carry it myself." She tossed her coat to him.

"How did you end up here?" Xu Yanfeng glanced at the bookstore; its interior design was distinctive, but this place is not close to Nan Da.

Before he arrived, Xia Xi had already prepared a reason, answering smoothly without arousing suspicion: "Doing homework at school was a bit irritating; changing environments improves my mood. This bookstore just opened, has a retro style, and gives me a feeling of returning to childhood."

Xu Yanfeng smiled, took her free hand, and led her to the parking spot: "Have you had lunch?"

Xia Xi shook her head.

Xu Yanfeng took her to get lunch, going to an Italian restaurant on the top floor of a building, with panoramic glass windows offering a broad view; looking down, the closely packed skyscrapers looked like tofu blocks. At night it should be beautiful, with lights in those high-rises scattered like stars fallen to earth.

At noon there were few people, only a few tables of customers; soft light music flowed through the hall, not noisy, instead having a relaxing effect.

Xia Xi sat down, placing the canvas bag on the empty chair beside her.

A waiter in a black suit with a bow tie brought the menu; Xu Yanfeng first handed it to Xia Xi, then took a sip of his own water.

Xia Xi's fingernails dug into the cardboard menu as she told herself to stay calm; although her mind was full of the script Xu Dongzhang had given her, every glance at Xu Yanfeng made her feel like she couldn't bear it, yet she also had to steady her emotions and not break down in front of him.

She flipped through the menu from start to finish without ordering a dish; Xu Yanfeng's brow twitched slightly, and he asked gently, "Don't you like anything?"

"No. I've never been here before, I'm not familiar, I don't know what's good." Xia Xi smiled calmly, pushed the menu to him, resting her chin on one hand, recalling their past interactions, and said in a spoiled tone, "You order for me; if it's not tasty, I'll beat you."

Xu Yanfeng's thin lips curled slightly; he readily took the menu, knowing her tastes inside out, and ordered everything she liked.

When the dishes were served one by one, Xia Xi tasted them, satisfiedly curling her lips: "All delicious. As expected, you know me." She ate a garlic shrimp with slices of toasted mantou, enjoying it greatly.

Xu Yanfeng watched her eat, his appetite rising; he twirled some pasta into his mouth, swallowed, and said, "What exactly is this 'hard to explain in a few words' matter of yours?"

Xia Xi paused, her chewing stopped, her eyes dimmed; she lowered her lashes to hide her feelings, then looked up at him with a flawless smile: "I'm just curious what birthday gift you'll give me." She spoke nonsense: "Last time you pulled some share transfer agreement on me, it scared me to death. I'm a bit worried you'll repeat the trick and give me another heavyweight gift, so I want to find out ahead of time to prepare myself. If it's unsuitable, I'll reject it!"

She was trying to act like her former self, who used to speak unreasonably yet confidently, often leaving him laughing and crying at once.

Xu Yanfeng had considered various possibilities, but never imagined the thing she wanted to say was this; he halted, fork in hand, stared into her eyes and asked, "Just this?"

Xia Xi met his gaze steadily: "Yeah, just this."

Xu Yanfeng indeed put on a laughing-and-crying expression: "What's this 'hard to explain in a few words' about?"

"You were in a meeting then, such a serious moment—could I say this and disturb you?" Xia Xi flicked her hair, raised the corner of her mouth, "Of course I needed to find an excuse to let you finish the meeting first. I'm so understanding."

Xu Yanfeng smiled and nodded, then nodded again. She really is understanding, not sarcastic.

Xia Xi lifted the sparkling wine and took a small sip: "Can you give me a hint?"

Their time together was limited; an invisible countdown hovered above her head, unseen by others, visible only to her, showing how many days remained before she and Xu Yanfeng would part. Barring accidents, she likely wouldn't even make it to her birthday before they had to separate.

She really was curious what he would give her.

Xu Yanfeng looked at the goblet in her hand, his brow slightly furrowed: "Can you drink alcohol?" This glass of sparkling wine was a compliment from the restaurant; he hadn't ordered it.

Xia Xi stared, not reacting—how could she not be able to drink alcohol?

Xu Yanfeng: "Aren't you sick with a cold?"

Only then did Xia Xi recall that the last time she saw him unwell, she had offhandedly lied, saying she still had a cold; she herself had forgotten about it. As the saying goes, one lie requires countless others to cover it up.

"It's already better." Xia Xi didn't touch the wine again, "Don't change the subject—quickly tell me, what's the birthday gift?"

Xu Yanfeng wanted to keep the surprise until her birthday, unwilling to reveal it early; he lowered his head, picked up a knife, cut a slice of tuna steak, and placed it on her plate: "Confidential."

Xia Xi pursed her lips.

Since he wouldn't tell her, she knew she couldn't get it out of him, and a hint of regret slipped into her tone: "Well then."

Xu Yanfeng lifted his gaze to her; she gripped her fork, lowered her head, and ate the tuna steak he had just cut for her, its surface drizzled with a thin layer of green sauce, the flavor somewhat unusual yet very delicious, the fish exterior lightly seared, the interior tender.

When she said it was delicious, he cut another piece for her, while the nearby waiter became mere decoration.

Xu Yanfeng still had things to do that afternoon and needed to return to the company; in the car he held Xia Xi and kissed her for a while, and when it was time to leave, his lips brushed hers as he whispered, "Shall I send you back to school now?"

"Can I go to your apartment?" Xia Xi sat on his lap, playing with his long fingers, her voice a little hoarse, "I want to go there for a nap; this afternoon I have nothing else, I'd like to sleep longer. Will you come back tonight?"

Xu Yanfeng rubbed her soft cheeks, still unable to contain his happiness: "What's not allowed about that? Giving you the access card and password means you can come anytime you want. I'll try to get back early tonight."

Xi Xi's heart felt sore, her eyes also stinging; afraid she couldn't keep up the act, she hurriedly climbed up, flipped over the armrest box, and steadied herself in the passenger seat: "We can't waste any more time—let's go."

Xu Yanfeng drove the car to the residential complex, watched Xia Xi enter, then turned the vehicle toward the Xu Clan headquarters.

Xia Xi opened the door and walked alone into the empty house.

Because of her, many changes have appeared here; hair ties she used are scattered everywhere, the carpet replaced with Mediterranean-blue she found online, printed with two rows of black English letters. She often sits on that carpet to read, while Xu Yanfeng doesn't like sitting on carpets—he sits on the sofa, and she leans on his legs, reading and inevitably teasing him. She also bought a lemon tree, planted in an oversized wicker pot; it hasn't borne lemons yet, and she doesn't know if the merchant deceived her. She dislikes the monotony of his tableware—all white—so she bought many vintage-style plates and bowls in various colors.

The changes in the bedroom are even greater: the four-piece set is in her favorite vanilla yellow, scattered with oddly shaped pillows—question-mark pillows, elephant pillows, big pear pillows, pumpkin pillows. She dislikes the leather bench at the foot of the bed for being cold, so she replaced it with cream-white sheepskin, plus a mushroom lamp she bought specially to add ambiance; when lit, the whole room feels bathed in dusk. When they are intimate, a pair of overlapping shadows is cast on the wall…

In the walk-in closet, her clothes outnumber his by twofold. In the bathroom, bottles and jars of toiletries fill the shelves.

She has left too many traces, having completely merged into his world—how to detach?

Objects can be thrown away, but how to erase the lingering memories? If only human memory had a delete button.

Xia Xi pressed her forehead against the wall, her heart filled with sorrow. She was thinking how to minimize the harm, but no matter what, she couldn't.

She is destined to hurt him.

If she had known this day would come, would she have provoked Xu Yanfeng in the first place? Xia Xi asks herself.

Probably not. She hopes he will forever remain on a pedestal, surrounded and admired in his world, and never lower himself to touch the dust.