Chapter 247

Xia Xi panicked, her palm aching from the chain digging in; she had gripped it too tightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xia Xi still didn't look at him, thinking he was just spouting baseless accusations again, as he had done the previous few times without evidence.

As long as she didn't admit it, it would be fine; even if he sounded convincing, it wouldn't matter.

Comforting herself this way, Xia Xi gradually calmed down; she couldn't panic, couldn't lose her composure.

"Xia Xi, you dare not look at me." Xu Yanfeng pierced the matter with one sentence: "You're feeling guilty."

"What do I have to be afraid of looking at you?" To counter his assumption, Xia Xi met his gaze, calm and composed: "I remember telling you more than once that the children aren't yours. Why won't you believe me? How many times do I have to say it before you'll believe?"

Xia Xi took a breath, emphasizing each word: "Those boy-girl twins were born to me and someone else."

She acted so convincingly that, if Xu Yanfeng didn't know the inside story, he would have been fooled by her.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward; Xu Yanfeng was speechless, then laughed. He had previously fallen for her trap, thinking those two children were boy-girl twins, gone around in a big circle, and ended up with two useless paternity test reports.

Just thinking about it made him feel foolish, ridiculously so.

"Xia Xi, stop lying to me." Xu Yanfeng slipped one hand into his suit pocket, gazed into the distance, the sunlight outside blazing, and said slowly, "If I had no evidence, I wouldn't speak so absolutely."

In fact, he had no solid evidence; after his grandmother told him, he didn't even do another paternity test with Zi Heng. He firmly believed the child was his.

The emotions Xia Xi had finally steadied rippled again as she stared fixedly at his face. Xu Yanfeng turned his gaze back, locking eyes with her, and gave a slight smile: "I mean Zi Heng—Zi Heng is my child."

Not only were her emotions out of control, her heartbeat was irregular, making it hard for Xia Xi to keep a calm expression.

Xu Yanfeng actually knew—how could he know?

Even if he had learned some of her family's past changes in Qianlin, such a secret matter would not be known to outsiders besides her family and the people she trusted, Zhou Du and Liang Yuan.

Could it be… he secretly did a paternity test with Zi Heng and Youyou? Otherwise, where would he get the confidence to claim Zi Heng is his child while never mentioning Youyou?

Xia Xi was unprepared and didn't know how to respond.

Xu Yanfeng didn't want to press her too hard; he timely offered her an out, taking his hand from his pocket, glancing at his watch: "Now, would you like to go get lunch with me? There's a well-reviewed restaurant near the company."

Xia Xi had no appetite for food; she wanted to devour him instead. This inscrutable man, even when young, was impossible to read, and with age he became even more unfathomable.

"No, thank you." Xia Xi still refused.

She urgently needed to find a place to calm down.

Xia Xi strode out with her bag, her mind in turmoil; at the doorway her heel twisted, she staggered, but quickly grabbed the door handle and didn't fall.

"Be careful!"

A slightly urgent reminder came from behind; Xia Xi didn't turn back, pulled open the glass door, and strode out, taking even larger steps than before, as if a beast were chasing her.

Xu Yanfeng had just seen Xia Xi almost fall, rushed over to help her, but she was too far away; he hadn't reached her side yet when she steadied herself. She saw nothing.

After getting into the car, Xia Xi rolled down the passenger-side window all the way, frantically fanning her face with her hand, yet still felt stuffy.

Witnessing her actions, Huang Shiyu silently handed her a bottle of mineral water with the cap already unscrewed. It wasn't even out of the first lunar month; although the weather had warmed recently, it wasn't that hot. Not knowing what Xia Xi had discussed with General Manager Xu, she dared not ask further.

Xia Xi gripped the water bottle and drank half of it in one go.

What should she do? How should she handle it?

Things were already tangled; if Xu Yanfeng discovered the child was his, it would be even harder to draw clear boundaries. She still hoped that once the Jingyu Yuan project ended, she could return to her former peaceful life.

Now it seems all just wishful thinking.

Seeing Xia Xi staring blankly with her mouth against the bottle's rim, Huang Shiyu spoke up: "Sister Xi, are we heading back to the company next?"

"Let's find somewhere to eat first, then head back after." Xia Xi took the bottle cap from her hand and screwed it on, unable for a moment to think of a good solution, she sullenly raked her fingers through her hair.

Huang Shiyu started the car, seeing her face full of worry, not knowing whether it was due to personal or work matters, after a moment's thought she still asked: "Is there still a problem with the design plan?"

Xia Xi: "No."

That meant it was a personal matter; Huang Shiyu tactfully dropped the subject, didn't ask further, and drove Xia Xi to a highly praised restaurant. Eating something tasty would improve her mood, she had personally found it effective.

In the Xu Clan CEO's office, as Guan He entered, Xu Yanfeng was flipping through a thumb-thick document; upon approaching, he realized it wasn't a document but a book.

Guan He asked: "Shall I order your usual lunch for you?"

He hadn't seen when Xia Xi left, but her departure meant she wasn't having lunch with General Manager Xu, so he needed to order Xu's meal, unsure if Xu had other plans, thus he came over to ask.

"Mm." Xu Yanfeng replied without looking up.

The book's spine rested against the desk edge, revealing half the cover; Guan He was first drawn by the cover's garish colors, then startled by the flowery title: 《Contract Marriage of the Rich and Powerful: Forced Pampering for 100 Days》.

What, what the heck is this?

Has General Manager Xu been driven stupid by this stimulus??

He thought that even if General Manager Xu were reading a book, it would be something like *The Secrets of Capital*, *Ways of Thinking in Economics*, or *Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management*—not this… indescribable kind of book.

The boss's affairs are none of the assistant's concern; Guan He pretended not to notice, gave a light cough: "If there's nothing, I'll head out first."

"Wait." Xu Yanfeng spread the book open on the desk and finally lifted his gaze.

Guan He halted, eyes lowered, in a posture of awaiting orders.

Xu Yanfeng tapped the desk: "After lunch break, have the GC from the Legal Department come see me."

Guan He remembered it; as he left the office he was still thinking about the book Xu Yanfeng had been looking at—the title was too long, he forgot it in an instant, only recalling it was something about a "contract marriage." Connecting that to Xu Yanfeng's afternoon meeting with the General Manager of Legal, he boldly guessed he was drafting some kind of contract.

The world really is a giant makeshift troupe; life imitates fiction. Guan He shook his head.

He decided that, from now on, no matter what shocking thing the boss did, he would meet it with an ordinary mindset.

Xia Xi spent the whole afternoon in a daze; although work matters were urgent, she just couldn't settle her mind, and it was the same after she got home from work.

The two kids were still on winter break; school wouldn't resume until after the Lantern Festival. Dinner was made by Xia Yue, whose cooking was decent; she had stewed soup to nourish Xia Xi's body. Seeing her zone out several times, Xia Yue rubbed her head and asked, "Are you just too tired from work?"

"No." Xia Xi really couldn't fathom how Xu Yanfeng knew Zi Heng's background; she asked her sister, "Have you ever seen Xu Yanfeng?"

Xia Yue blinked: "Xu Yanfeng? How would I have met him?"

After arriving in Nancheng, she hadn't seen anyone; having spent over five years in prison, she still wasn't used to the outside world, feeling her language abilities had regressed a lot—she couldn't talk to people, only relaxing a bit when facing family.

Xia Xi secretly thought, then it wasn't Xia Yue who told Xu Yanfeng, nor could it be Su Jinru, whom she had emphasized this to many times before. Xia Xuan stayed home painting year-round and wouldn't come into contact with Xu Yanfeng. As for Zhou Du and Liang Yuan, the former would rather live on a different planet from Xu Yanfeng, and the latter keeps his mouth tighter than a clam shell—it wouldn't be them.

After ruling them all out, Xia Xi found no answer.

Xia Xi didn't know that Xu Yanfeng had seen her before her grandmother passed away, so she naturally didn't think of the grandmother; she still leaned toward her initial guess—that Xu Yanfeng had done a paternity test without her knowing.

If that's really the case, even if she let the secret out, there's no way to smooth things over.

If it was a family member who let it slip, she could still cook up an excuse.

Xia Xi worriedly clutched her head; since Xu Yanfeng had already laid things out clearly with her, he surely had another move waiting for her, and she had not a clue, only able to fall into a passive situation.

Or… should we pack up and run away now?