Chapter 23: with translation of chapter title

No!

Su Jinru realized something was wrong as soon as she finished saying that.

Xia Xi had emphasized more than once in front of her that she and Xu Yanfeng were long over, that they could never be together in this lifetime, and she had told her never to mention the children's father under any circumstances. How could she have told Xu Yanfeng about the children's origins? To do so would mean getting entangled with him endlessly.

After Su Jinru came to her senses, she panicked all over, wondering if she had misspoken.

"Mr. Xu, what I mean is…" Su Jinru scrambled to cover up, the more anxious she became the less coherent her words were: "You already know that Xi Xi has given birth to a child, don't you?"

Xu Yanfeng stared at her face without blinking, missing none of her flustered gaze and anxious expression; his heart beat faster and faster, and he felt he had already figured out the truth.

"You know perfectly well what I'm referring to." Xu Yanfeng, who navigated business dealings with ease and was accustomed to playing with people's hearts, saw that Su Jinru was no match for him, so he bluntly said, "The child is mine, right?"

"No, not." Su Jinru shook her head, her voice trembling a little.

Youyou saw her grandmother looking tense and immediately furrowed her little brows; this uncle was truly hateful—last time he bullied Mom at the hotel, and now he was bullying Grandma again. She puffed up her cheeks like a steamed bun and lunged at him to hit him.

"Don't you dare bully Grandma—get lost!"

The child's fist was as soft as cotton; hitting his leg felt no pain, only a sense that her heart had sunk a little. Xu Yanfeng looked at the little girl who bore some resemblance to Xia Xi and very much wanted to ruffle her hair.

Just as he reached out, the little girl got scared, thinking he was going to strike back; she shrank back, hiding behind her grandmother, clutching her hem, daring only to show half her head.

Ziheng, however, was unusually quiet, pursing his lips as he carefully observed the man.

As soon as Xia Xi entered the mall, she noticed them; from just a silhouette she recognized the tall man as Xu Yanfeng, and she immediately realized why he had come to see Su Jinru.

Xu Yanfeng surely knew he couldn't get anything out of her here, so he changed tactics and went after Su Jinru instead.

He was quick-witted; it was easy for him to trick the truth out of Su Jinru's mouth.

Her heart leapt into her throat; Xia Xi rushed forward to block Su Jinru and the children, her gorgeous face concealing anger: "Xu Yanfeng, what are you doing?"

Xu Yanfeng saw her protective stance and found it amusing, though his smile was cold.

What could he possibly do to them? He just wanted an answer.

Xia Xi didn't care what they had discussed before; she declared firmly, "This is the last time I'll tell you this: those dragon-and-phoenix twins are not your children, and you really have no reason to be obstinate."

Before Xu Yanfeng could speak, Xia Xi turned and took the two children's backpacks from Su Jinru's hands: "Let's go."

Xu Yanfeng stepped sideways to block her path, about to speak, but his eyes caught the writing on the backpacks, stinging him like a needle; he narrowed his eyes and his expression changed.

The two little backpacks were one pink and one blue, their names embroidered in bright yellow thread so they wouldn't be confused with other children's. The blue pack bore the name "Xia Ziheng", the pink pack "Zhou Leyi".

One surnamed Xia, the other Zhou.

The Zhou…

The first person Xu Yanfeng thought of was Zhou Du.

So these two children really are Xia Xi and Zhou Dusheng's—one taking the mother's surname, the other the father's—and they have nothing to do with him, Xu Yanfeng.

This realization was something Xu Yanfeng could not bear; he felt as if his face had been stepped on and pressed into the dirt. All his fantasies of the past few days were nothing but a joke.

Perhaps what Tang Yizhou said was right. While Xia Xi was talking with him, she had rolled into bed with another man—how could she possibly have borne his child?

It was he who was still living in the past, unaware that it was now six years later.

Six years—longer than the time they had originally been together—six years, enough for a person to undergo earth‑shaking changes.

Xia Xi didn't know what was wrong with him; his stern visage seemed to crack open, revealing a hint of fragility, like a wounded beast trapped, making her heart ache. She kept telling herself not to soften, not to turn back—the damage was already done; did she really have to hurt him again? Move forward, and it will eventually pass.

Xia Xi drew a quiet breath, widened her steps, and walked around him.

Su Jinru glanced at Xu Yanfeng, said nothing, took one child's hand in each of hers, and followed Xia Xi out.

After getting into the car, Su Jinru thought it over and still couldn't help bringing up Xu Yanfeng: "I see little Xu's demeanor; it seems he still has feelings for you, Xi Xi, you…"

"Mom." Xia Xi's voice tinged with weariness, she glanced at the two children in the rearview mirror.

They were already five years old—not that they didn't understand anything, especially Ziheng, who was more precocious than the average child.

Su Jinru caught her hint and didn't go on.

Xia Xi let out a breath, pulled her gaze back from the rearview mirror, faced forward, and gently started the car. She didn't notice that Ziheng in the back seat rolled his eyes, looking thoughtful.

*That evening, Ling Yan was at home having dinner with her parents; the restaurant lights were bright, shining on the exquisite dishes on the table. With just the three of them present, they chatted without reservation, inevitably bringing up Xu Yanfeng.

"The last time we dined with the Xu family, we couldn't settle the engagement smoothly. Have you talked to Xu Yanfeng since then? What exactly is on his mind? Is he still unwilling to set a date?" Ling's mother sighed, worried.

Ling's father also said, "Xu Yanfeng is a one‑in‑a‑million man; you must seize the opportunity."

Ling Yan lowered her head, clenched her fists around the chopsticks, and dared not meet her parents' eyes.

Ling's mother sensed something was off, knitting her brows: "Why aren't you speaking? Did Xu Yanfeng say something to you? Does he not want to marry you? You've been together for how many years—if he dares to abandon you, I'll be the first to settle the score with him!"

"Mom——" Ling Yan lifted her head, her face full of resentful unhappiness, "I and he——"

She couldn't get the words out, afraid her parents would show disappointment, and even more afraid that once she said it, she and Xu Yanfeng would truly have nothing to do with each other.

Ling Yan let out a breath, choosing her words gently: "I and he are not what you imagine."

Ling's mother was utterly confused by her: "What do you mean by that?"

Ling Yan's phone rang; she glanced at the caller ID, her heart skipped a beat, she hastily picked up the phone, left a quick note "I have some work matters to attend to", and pushed her chair back to leave.

She avoided the servants in the living room and ran up to the second floor to take the call.

"Hello?" Even though she was in a private space, Ling Yan still lowered her voice as if she were guilty.

"Miss Ling, we've been tailing Mr. Xu today; he spent the whole day at the Xu Clan Group headquarters, and in the evening he made a trip to Yucai Kindergarten."

Ling Yan blinked, interjecting: "Yucai Kindergarten? What is he doing at a kindergarten?"

The person on the other end continued: "Mr. Xu didn't go in; his car was parked opposite the kindergarten. Later, he followed behind a woman and two children to the mall, went up to talk with that woman for a while—we didn't dare get too close, so we don't know what they said. Afterwards, another woman appeared, and Mr. Xu's mood seemed not great; after leaving the mall he went to Four Seasons Star Sea, where he still is."

These people were found by her cousin; she had sent them to surveil Xu Yanfeng.

At the classmates' gathering the night before last, when Xu Yanfeng was talking to the man named Lu Mingji, he mentioned that Xia Xi had two children; his expression and tone were so odd, as if those children were his. She grew suspicious and felt she had to take precautions.

She had struggled to get to where she is today, and she would absolutely not allow anyone to ruin it.

No one at all!

"What does that woman look like?" Ling Yan's hand gripping the phone trembled as she asked; at that moment she already had the answer in her heart, but she still wanted to confirm it once more.

Half an hour after the second watch~(End of chapter)