Chapter 24: I Don't Want Him to Become My Dad

The man on the phone said: "Black long curly hair, very fair skin, appearance—I don't know how to describe it, anyway she's quite beautiful, strikingly beautiful. Tall, with a great figure."

Every trait matches Xia Xi.

Indeed, it's her.

Like a stone sinking into the sea, her tumultuous mood strangely calmed at this moment; Ling Yan closed her eyes and said, word by word: "Keep watching Xu Yanfeng for me, and report any developments immediately."

The man readily agreed: "No problem."

Before hanging up, Ling Yan felt uneasy and especially warned: "Xu Yanfeng is very vigilant; make sure you don't let him notice you're tailing him."

Given Xu Yanfeng's temperament, if he found out she had people watching him, he would surely despise her. She must be careful.

The man on the phone assured her earnestly: "Miss Ling, rest assured, we're professionals."

After hanging up, Ling Yan lost the mood to go downstairs for a meal; she leaned against the wall, tilted her head back, and smiled silently, smiling until a sour feeling welled up in her eyes.

Heaven really likes to toy with people.

Xia Xi never came home early or late, but she happened to return at this moment. If Xia Xi hadn't shown up, even if Xu Yanfeng didn't like her, under family pressure he would still marry her, and over time she was confident she would eventually win his heart.

What if the worst outcome occurs—Xia Xi's child is Xu Yanfeng's? What should she do? Xu Yanfeng has always been special to Xia Xi; even if she betrayed and hurt him, seeing her again would still ensnare him like a spell. If Xia Xi had borne him two children after leaving him back then, the children would be a bond, dooming them to lifelong entanglement.

What would she do then? * After returning home, Xia Xi cooked together with Su Jinru in the kitchen; the two children had already eaten and were playing puzzles in the living room.

Grandma caught a slight cold from the afternoon air conditioning and lay in her room; after the meal was ready, Xia Xi took it to Grandma's room, watched her finish eating, helped her pick out the several medicines she needed to take, put them in a small plastic box, and reminded her to take them in half an hour.

That's how it is when you're old— a little inattention brings headaches and fever.

After Xia Xi finished her meal, she urged Zi Heng and Youyou to take a bath. The two little ones can now bathe themselves, but being young they often don't get clean enough, so Xia Xi helps them wash up every few days.

She first washed Youyou, put her on the small bed, then went to wash Zi Heng.

Unlike Youyou, who must have a bunch of flashy toys in the tub to play with while washing, chattering nonstop, Zi Heng earnestly lathers shampoo and rubs it on his head, while Xia Xi scrubs his back.

He's ticklish, shrinking his neck and giggling.

Xia Xi asked him: "Are you adjusting to the new kindergarten? How's it going with the other kids?"

Zi Heng styled his hair into spiky points and spoke confidently: "Nothing I'm not used to; the kids in class all like me. But when break time comes, they crowd around my desk, chattering noisily, which is a bit annoying."

Xia Xi puffed out a laugh and poked his forehead: "Small in size, big in attitude."

"Mom." Zi Heng played with the foam in the tub, his long lashes drooping, a thoughtful look that seemed too mature for his age.

"Hmm?"

Xia Xi got up, turned on the showerhead, adjusted the water temperature, lifted Zi Heng out of the tub, and rinsed the foam from his hair and body.

"What's wrong? Do you need something, Mom?" Xia Xi pulled off a large towel and dried his body.

Zi Heng grabbed a corner of the towel, wiped the water droplets from his eyelids, opened his eyes, licked his lips, and said somewhat hesitantly: "I said you shouldn't get angry."

Xia Xi blinked, then laughed: "When have I ever been angry with you?"

Zi Heng tilted his head, recalling: Mom really never got angry at him; on the contrary, he occasionally threw a tantrum, but Mom never blamed him, instead gently soothing him and reasoning with him.

"That uncle I met at the mall today—is he my dad?" Zi Heng asked cautiously, then glanced at Mom's face, worried she might be upset.

Xia Xi's hand paused while drying his hair; the towel wrapped his head, revealing only a small, pale, tender face, eyes clear with probing and unease. Unlike adults who hide their feelings, a child's thoughts are plain to see.

When Zi Heng was newborn, he looked a lot like Xu Yanfeng; as he grew older and his features matured, the resemblance faded.

He first grasped the idea of "dad" at over three years old, after playing at a neighbor's house and coming home, he earnestly asked her: other kids have dads—where is mine?

Xia Xi didn't lie to him, saying he had no dad or that his dad was far away and would return when he grew up. Instead, she squatted to his eye level and patiently explained that something had happened, she and his dad had separated and weren't together, so only Mom looked after him and Youyou.

Until now, Zi Heng has never brought up "dad" again.

She was surprised—why did Zi Heng think Xu Yanfeng was his dad? Could it be some mystical father‑son intuition? Xia Xi fell silent as she dressed him in pajamas and blow‑dried his hair, meanwhile organizing her thoughts on how to explain things clearly to Zi Heng.

She sat on a low stool, held Zi Heng close, and first voiced her puzzlement: "Zi Heng, why do you think that uncle you met at the mall is your dad?" "Isn't he?" Zi Heng lowered his head, "I saw him in Mom's phone photo album."

Xia Xi: "Ah?"

She had considered various possibilities, but never imagined the answer would be this.

"When did you see it?"

"Last month, I was playing a game on your phone; while waiting for it to download, I glanced at the album." Zi Heng explained frankly, "You have an encrypted album; I tried the password—your birthday—and it's full of pictures of that uncle."

Xia Xi: "……"

Are kids these days too smart? Unlike her clueless childhood, when she didn't understand anything.

Xia Xi pursed her lips, pinched his soft cheeks, and decided to give him a lesson on "privacy": "Encrypted means only you can view it; others can't—that's privacy. Whether it's my stuff or someone else's, without permission you mustn't crack the password—that's disrespectful. We need to learn to respect others' privacy, got it?"

Zi Heng nodded obediently: "Oh."

"My dear son, you're so good." Xia Xi kissed him; her voice naturally turns sweet when speaking to her children, "Let's go sleep, we have school tomorrow."

She picked up the child, left the bathroom, glanced at the bed where Youyou lay asleep on her belly, still clutching her little rabbit plush toy.

Xia Xi placed Zi Heng on another small bed, tucked in the blankets, turned off the light, and left a mushroom‑shaped night‑lamp on.

Just as she was about to leave, Zi Heng's small hand grabbed hers.

Zi Heng spoke softly, afraid of waking his sleeping sister: "Mom, you still haven't told me—is that uncle really my dad?"

Xia Xi sighed inwardly—little kids are hard to fool. She sat on the bedside, pondered for a long time, then answered evasively: "If Mom says no, would you believe it?"

Zi Heng pulled the blanket up to cover half his face, revealing his big eyes rolling about: "I get it."

Xia Xi: "???"

"You know what?"

Zi Heng said firmly: "He's my dad, right?"

Xia Xi's expression froze for three seconds—she felt somewhat hopeless, not wanting to deceive the child nor let him know the truth, but lacking the skill to communicate effectively, she still ended up being found out by him.

"Then I ask you: if Mom doesn't want you to have any contact with Dad, would you blame her?"

"No way." Zi Heng pulled the blanket off his face, patted it with his small hand, and said frankly: "I don't want him to be my dad at all—I don't like him."

Xia Xi was bewildered: "Why?"

Zi Heng pressed his lips, wearing a cool expression: "No reason, I just don't like him. Mom, if you ever look for a stepdad for me, consider Uncle Lu. A godfather would work too!"

Uncle Lu refers to Lu Mingji; they often have meals together abroad, he has a gentle temperament, and the two kids like him a lot. As for the godfather, of course it's Zhou Du. He is a fashion and beauty blogger who occasionally flies abroad for business trips, has met the two kids a few times, and each time brings a lot of gifts, unwittingly winning their hearts.

Xia Xi: "……"

*The next day, at 4 p. m., Tang Yizhou was discussing matters with someone at a coffee shop near the Xu Clan Group; after finishing, on a whim he turned aside to visit Xu Yanfeng.

The receptionist recognized him, the Young Master of the Tang Family and a good friend of General Manager Xu, so without bothering to ask if he had an appointment, she nodded in greeting and let him through directly.

Tang Yizhou's peach-blossom eyes curved into a smile as he casually complimented, "I was wondering why the whole lobby feels brighter—turns out Xiao Wei has gotten prettier again."

The receptionist Xiao Wei lowered her head slightly, a bashful smile touching her lips: "Young Master Tang just likes to tease."

Tang Yizhou waved his hand, slipped one hand into his pocket, sauntered into the elevator, headed straight for the CEO's office, gave a symbolic knock on the door, walked in, and when he finally saw clearly the person behind the desk, he was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped: "Holy shit, Xu Er, what happened to your face? You're disfigured."

Xu Yanfeng replied coldly, "How did you get here?"

"Just passing by, came to see you." Tang Yizhou leaned on the desk with both hands, speaking and laughing, "You wouldn't be thinking of breaking up, would you? Not hanging yourself from that Xia Xi tree, and last night you went out and found a woman to lose your virginity with, huh?"

Xu Er, out! Xu Er, out!

He hadn't even made a move when his son judged him out, Xu Er was really pitiful _(: з」∠)_ (End of chapter).