Chapter 241: I

When did this happen?

Xu Yanfeng was so surprised it took him a while to speak.

Guan He said, "Probably yesterday."

Xu Yanfeng remained silent.

He still remembered seeing the old lady the day before; she looked fine, clear-headed, articulate, only a bit weak—not like someone on their deathbed—so how could she have suddenly passed away?

His grandmother meant so much to Xia Xi; how devastated she must be.

No wonder she didn't go to the Xu Clan as agreed yesterday, sending an assistant instead; he deserved to die, thinking she was avoiding him.

Xu Yanfeng unconsciously knitted his brows, his mind filled with Xia Xi's sorrowful look, leaving him slightly breathless.

"General Manager Xu?" The line was still open; after waiting a long time without hearing Xu Yanfeng speak, Guan He didn't want to hang up outright and gently reminded him.

Xu Yanfeng eased the tension in his brow: "Go ask her assistant where the funeral is being held."

After ending his call with Xu Yanfeng, Guan He found Huang Shiyu's contact. The young woman knew nothing; she said she'd emailed and messaged Xia Xi with no reply, unaware of her grandmother's death, only knowing her grandmother had fallen and been hospitalized.

Guan He understood; Xia Xi hadn't told anyone else about this.

Huang Shiyu didn't know why he was looking for Xia Xi and instinctively assumed it was work-related: "Is there still a problem with the design plan?"

Guan He was enlightened by her words, adding a cautious note: "Yes, there's something that needs supplementing; I need to talk to Xia Gong himself—do you have any way to reach her?"

Huang Shiyu innocently believed him, earnestly saying, "Our General Manager Lu will surely be able to reach her."

Guan He seized the chance: "Then please trouble Assistant Huang to inquire—it's quite urgent."

Huang Shiyu: "……"

He really thought highly of her.

Although it was a bit difficult, Huang Shiyu still tried to email Lu Mingji.

Not knowing whether Lu Mingji was busy with work emails, he replied quickly; within less than ten minutes, Huang Shiyu received his reply: "Your Xia Gong's elder has passed away; she's returned to her hometown to handle the funeral and may be unreachable soon—let me know if anything comes up."

Huang Shiyu passed this information to Guan He, asking for his understanding—Xia Xi currently can't focus on work.

After informing Xu Yanfeng, Guan He sensibly looked up tickets from Nancheng to Qianlin.

Moments later, Guan He received Xu Yanfeng's order: "Help me book a ticket to Qianlin—as soon as possible."

Guan He had already booked the ticket, sent him a screenshot, and asked whether he needed accompaniment.

Xu Yanfeng said no, he would go alone.

Guan He dutifully messaged the person in charge of the Xu Clan's Qianlin subsidiary, asking them to arrange a driver for Xu Yanfeng's travels there, then cleared Xu Yanfeng's subsequent schedule.

As the year-end approached, affairs were actually quite numerous.

At dawn, the heavy fog had not yet lifted, visibility low.

Those who had come to pay their respects yesterday reappeared at the funeral home to see off Elder Jiangpeishan.

Xu Yanfeng eventually found the place; from afar he saw a crowd—those in mourning clothes and hats were the deceased's relatives, the rest were voluntary mourners. Su Jinru carried the old lady's urn ahead, while Xia Xi led two children behind her.

Behind Xia Xi was her sister Xia Xuan, with a man beside her supporting her arm.

Xu Yanfeng appeared abruptly, wearing a black overcoat, handsome features, as if he'd stepped out of the mist—so striking that many in the procession noticed him.

The veteran staff of Peishan Grand Hotel held a deep impression of Xu Yanfeng: first, his outstanding looks and demeanor made him unforgettable at first sight; second, when Xia Xi brought him inside, she'd introduce him to everyone: "This is our Peishan Grand Hotel's son-in-law!"

They didn't know what had happened between Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi, assuming they were still on good terms.

Someone stepped forward, tapped Xia Xi's arm, and reminded her.

Xia Xi's mourning hat was made from a long strip of white cloth bound at the back with hemp rope, the wide fabric shading her forehead; hearing the voice, she lifted her head, her sleepless‑reddened eyes blinking, as if she couldn't believe seeing Xu Yanfeng here.

Behind him lay the dawn mist, overly ethereal.

Xu Yanfeng's gaze upon her face was deep and gentle; at a moment like this, nothing else needed to be said. He said, "I've come to see off my grandmother."

Xia Xi naturally couldn't turn him away; she loosened her grip on the two children's hands, stepped to the rear, and took a white flower from the basket Liang Yuan was carrying, handing it to Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng held the flower like everyone else, standing beside Xia Xi.

An elder versed in funeral rites stopped Xu Yanfeng; he stood still, turned slightly, and the old man tied a strand of white thread into the buttonhole of his coat—treating him as Xia Xi's husband.

Xu Yanfeng didn't grasp local funeral customs; he only saw that Xia Xi's clothing also bore a white thread, as did Xia Xuan and the man beside her, while others had none—apparently only the deceased's immediate family needed this.

Xia Xi noticed but couldn't be bothered to correct it.

The cemetery was perpetually cold and solemn, especially in winter. Everyone placed their flowers before the old lady's tombstone, then departed from the other side.

Since Xu Yanfeng appeared, Zhou Du turned his face away, avoiding his gaze; lest Xu Yanfeng see him, he pulled a pair of sunglasses from his down jacket's inner pocket and put them on.

Liang Yuan beside him looked at him as if he were crazy, lowering his voice: "What sunglasses on an overcast day? Even if you're trying to look cool, you should suit the occasion."

Zhou Du slipped his hands into his pockets, not speaking truthfully, giving a perfunctory reply: "Grandma passed peacefully, which also counts as a happy funeral—I'm doing this so she'll remember my handsome side."

Liang Yuan: "Truly ill."

Zhou Du's mother came over; Liang Yuan became more polite, greeting her: "Auntie, hello."

Zhou Du's mother nodded, squinting at the family before the tombstone, and sighed deeply: "The Xia family suffered such a huge upheaval back then; just getting through it was no small feat. Speaking of it, it's all because of that scoundrel husband of Su Jinru, dragging the whole family down…"

"Mom!" Zhou Du turned his head only then to notice Xu Yanfeng standing just a meter away, not knowing when he'd arrived—like a ghost, silent and soundless, terrifying him; he hastily grabbed his mother's hand to stop her from continuing, "Don't say more."

He didn't know whether Xu Yanfeng had heard his mother's words, or how much.

Xu Yanfeng looked over at him; even through the sunglasses, Zhou Du could feel the pressure, a soul‑penetrating scrutiny that made his skin crawl—he shuddered.

Zhou Du's mother, unaware of his reservations, shook her head and sighed again: "It's not something to say; it's all in the past—bringing it up only weighs on the heart."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Du, eager to change the subject, said, "Let me help you to the side—we shouldn't be blocking the path here."

After the grandmother's funeral, Xia Xi set up several tables at the hotel to thank those who had come to mourn.

Xu Yanfeng didn't go in, but hadn't gone far either—he stayed in a car beside the fountain island at the hotel entrance.

The driver assigned to him was from the Xu Clan's Qianlin subsidiary; it was his first time dealing with headquarters' top boss, and he dared not utter a sound.

Xu Yanfeng took off his overcoat, loosely bundled it, and tossed it onto the nearby seat; the white thread still lingered in the coat's buttonhole. He'd been sleepless all night, feeling a bit weary, he rolled down the window halfway, pulled out a cigarette case, drew a stick and held it to his lips, patted all his pockets—no lighter in sight, probably dropped somewhere along the way.

The driver, noticing this, turned around and handed him a lighter from behind—the one he usually used, a two‑dollar red plastic lighter.

Wind whistled outside the car window; Xu Yanfeng cupped his hands, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and the words of the middle-aged woman beside Zhou Du popped into his mind: "Back then the Xia family suffered such a huge upheaval; to have pulled through is no easy feat."

This was his second time ever coming to Qianlin; since breaking up with Xia Xi, he didn't want to touch anything related to her. The apartment she once lived in, the villa she once visited, her hometown……

He sat in the car for a long time; the cold wind pouring in drove away the warm air from the air conditioner, chill enveloping his whole body, Xu Yanfeng's finger joints turned red from the cold, he stared at the hotel's main entrance as people who had finished eating came out one after another.

Spotting a familiar face in the crowd, Xu Yanfeng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, pushed open the car door, got out, and walked straight toward that person with a clear goal.