Chapter 238: Those Two Children Are Not Dragon and Phoenix Twins

Xu Yanfeng got up and walked to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine and a highball glass, poured half a glass, and sat at the bar.

While drinking, he went over all the details in his mind, trying to find any clue.

When Xu Yanfeng was on his third glass, a flash of light suddenly passed through his mind; his eyes fixed on some point in the air, and he slowly set down the highball glass.

The glass struck the marble tabletop, making a clear sound.

Xu Yanfeng felt he had grasped the key information—his grandmother's original words were "Zi Heng is your child," with no mention of that girl.

That girl seemed to be called Zhou Leyi, nickname Youyou.

Normally, if his grandmother wanted to tell him the truth, she should have said "Those two children are yours," rather than mentioning only one child.

Xu Yanfeng sorted it out, his emotions somewhat stirred, but he still needed confirmation. He immediately left the bar, picked up his phone from the sofa, and called his assistant.

Guan He was on standby: "General Manager Xu."

Xu Yanfeng said: "Go ask which child's hair was used for the original paternity test."

Late at night, the boss's assignment was too strange; Guan He was stunned for a moment, but his professionalism kept him from questioning, and he immediately replied: "All right, please wait, I'll go find out right away."

"Be quick." Xu Yanfeng stood facing the floor-to-ceiling window, one hand propped on the sofa back, his fingers tapping irregularly, showing he was quite anxious.

"I understand."

Guan He delayed not a second, immediately contacting the principal of the kindergarten where the two children were.

The hair used for the paternity test was plucked by the two children's teacher; the principal also did not know the exact situation, dared not feed the distinguished guest false information, so could only promise to ask first and get back to Guan He later.

Although Song Laoshi did not know why she was suddenly asked about this, her impression was deep, and she gave the principal an accurate answer: "Both times we pulled Zhou Leyi's hair. Is there a problem?"

The first time was when she was tying Zhou Leyi's hair and pulled out a few strands; the second time she had intended to pull Xia Ziheng's hair, so she played a game of eagle catching chicks with the kids, planning to casually tug a few strands during the game, but the boy's hair was too short, Xia Ziheng ran fast, she tried twice and failed, and in the end she still pulled Zhou Leyi's hair.

The principal conveyed the information to Guan He, who relayed it unchanged to Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng finally understood the misunderstanding he had been led into by Xia Xi. To cover it up, Xia Xi mentioned the two children in front of him, calling them "dragon and phoenix twins"; he never doubted her words, firmly believed the two children were dragon and phoenix twins, so when ordering the paternity test he told people to pluck any child's hair indiscriminately.

Coincidentally, both times they used Zhou Leyi's hair.

The two children are not dragon and phoenix twins; Zi Heng is his child, Youyou is not.

The two kids look about the same age, meaning Youyou could not have been born to Xia Xi.

Xu Yanfeng sat alone until deep into the night, still unable to digest the fact that he had a child. Although he had suspected this from the start, after suffering two blows in succession he had given up hope; now being told he really does have a child, his and Xia Xi's child.

Indeed, that child, like him, is allergic to beef.

There is a trail.

He does not know what to do, completely unsure whether he should go see that child; if he sees him, how should he speak, say I am your father? Xia Xi should never have mentioned "father" in front of the child; the child does not know of his existence and will not easily accept him; a sudden appearance might frighten the child.

The more Xu Yanfeng thought, the less he could stay seated; he suddenly rose, paced the room, his whole self unable to calm, in the silent space the sound of his slippers rubbing the floor rose and fell, from hurried to gentle, then from gentle to hurried.

Fortunately, no one lives downstairs, otherwise he would surely be complained about for disturbing the peace.

In the end Xu Yanfeng returned to the bar, drank half a bottle of red wine, still unable to calm down.

He felt as if a balloon were inside his body, constantly inflating, yet never bursting.

He felt terrible.

Xia Xi secretly gave birth to his child despite not liking him, having cheated, slept with Zhou Du; why would she bear this child? Years later, Xu Yanfeng recalled that scene, his heart still feeling a tearing pain.

That fresh, sharp, stabbing sensation seemed as if the incident had happened just yesterday.

Xu Yanfeng, as if possessed, searched on Baidu: "Will a woman who doesn't love you secretly bear your child?"

Someone answered: Of course not, what are you thinking?

Xu Yanfeng felt a bit confused, a bit pleased, then thought again that people say Baidu's content can't be trusted; a minor ailment searched there turns up cancer.

How ridiculous that he almost believed it just now.

Late into the night, most people in the city were asleep, Xu Yanfeng remained clear‑headed; though he is normally the type who can hide his feelings, now he cannot conceal them and longs to share. He narrowed his eyes, found Fu Li's number, and dialed.

Fu Li's voice was clear, not sounding like she had just been woken: "Why are you calling me so late?"

"Still not asleep?"

"No. The staff are unreliable, the project hit a snag, I'll probably have to pull an all‑night." Fu Li gave a wry smile, "You haven't slept either."

"I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"I have a son."

"……"

Fu Li was already sober; hearing this, she became even more sober, unsure what to reply; she detected the drunkenness in Xu Yanfeng's voice and guessed he was eight or nine times out of ten just spouting drunken talk.

"No joke, I really have a son, five years old, no, about six years old. He is called Xia Ziheng, my and Xia Xi's child." Xu Yanfeng spoke in detail, afraid she would not believe him, "My earlier guess was right—Xia Xi's child is mine."

Fu Li still did not know what to say, fell silent for a while, then sighed: "As long as you're happy."

Xu Yanfeng called the next person.

Luojinnan was also awake, but not working; he was abroad, the time zones differed, it was daytime there, he was drifting on a cruise ship at sea, the signal was still okay. At that moment he sat on the deck blowing in the wind, hearing Xu Yanfeng say he had a son, he doubted the signal: "Wait, say that again, maybe the signal cut out in the middle and dropped the content."

Xu Yanfeng repeated without annoyance: "Luojinnan, I have a six‑year‑old son, I've become a father, it's Xia Xi who gave birth to him."

Luojinnan: "……"

The signal was fine; the problem was Xu Yanfeng.

"Buddy, I understand you still have feelings for Xia Xi, but you really don't need to act like this." Luojinnan used to stand with Xu Yanfeng, supporting him to follow his heart, but now he might be a bit obsessed.

Xu Yanfeng felt helpless—no one believed him.

He couldn't be bothered to say more, hung up.

Finally he called Tang Yizhou, whom he disliked; Tang Yizhou was indulging in the gentle countryside, the phone picked up to a woman's coquettish voice: "Who is it, it's this late……do you still have other younger sisters?"

Xu Yanfeng said nothing, just hung up.

After a while, Tang Yizhou called him back; the woman beside him was sent away, he leaned against the bedhead, lit a cigarette to refresh himself. He thought Xu Yanfeng calling so late must be something important.

Xu Yanfeng decided to set aside past grudges and share his joy with him: "I have a son, Xia Xi gave birth to him."

Tang Yizhou froze, his words as blunt and unpleasant as ever: "Are you drunk or just woke up confused, or did water get into your brain, or were you kicked by a donkey? I've told you how many times—Xia Xi's child isn't yours. Don't tell me you've decided the child is yours without even doing a paternity test."

Xu Yanfeng explained: "I did take the test, but the report is wrong; the child is mine."

Explaining only made things worse; Tang Yizhou felt his vision go dark—Xu Er actually thinks the report is wrong, is he sick???

Tang Yizhou took a sharp drag; the smoke rolled straight into his throat before he could react, he turned his head and coughed a few times, his lungs almost coughed out.

"Last time I learned my lesson and decided not to meddle in your love life—do whatever you want." Tang Yizhou sighed, "But… you're going too far. Xu Er, do you still remember being called the 'high mountain flower' in school? Look at yourself now—how you've fallen, there's not a trace of that lofty bearing. You're just a dog! Xia Xi's dog!"

Xu Yanfeng: "I advise you to watch your words."

Tang Yizhou didn't hear clearly: "Nephritis? What nephritis? My kidneys are fine."

Talking at cross-purposes, Xu Yanfeng had no patience to talk and ended the call.

Although no one believed him, after Xu Yanfeng poured out his feelings to them, his pent-up emotion seemed to ease considerably, and the incessantly inflating balloon inside his body deflated.

Xu Yanfeng pulled up Xia Xi's WeChat, wondering whether he should confront her or pretend ignorance and figure things out later.