Chapter 257: with translation of chapter title

Xu Yanfeng's current residence is a half-hour drive from Zi Heng's kindergarten, assuming no traffic.

After driving into the parking lot, Xu Yanfeng found a new topic to chat with his son: "Don't you think our home is a bit far from the kindergarten? If you feel you didn't get enough sleep in the morning, we could move to another apartment."

Zi Heng ignored Xu Yanfeng again, clutching his small dark-blue backpack, and got out of the car from the other side.

The milk tea bought for him remained untouched on the table, the snacks in the bag uneaten. Xu Yanfeng sighed silently, pressed the elevator button, and turned to take Zi Heng's hand.

Zi Heng avoided him and stepped into the elevator first.

Xu Yanfeng's grasp came up empty, his fingers curling slightly; after entering the elevator, he pressed the floor button: "We live on the 26th floor, remember?"

Accustomed to being ignored, Xu Yanfeng didn't expect a reply, and slipped his hands into his pockets.

The elevator stopped at the 26th floor, and father and son exited one after another.

A spacious flat over two hundred square meters, with an extraordinarily open view; through the floor-to-ceiling glass, the building complex lay in orderly rows, bathed in golden sunset, like a fantastical anime scene.

Xu Yanfeng first led Zi Heng to recognize his room, pushing open a black frosted glass door; the space was large, decorated coolly, with a floating illuminated globe that kept rotating. Rows of acrylic display shelves held complete sets of Ultraman, Transformers, car models, and airplane models.

Even the floor lamp was shaped like a scepter from a sci-fi anime.

On the blue large bed, two guardrails were added, with small figurines from the current popular cartoon hanging on them.

"How is it?" Xu Yanfeng placed one hand on Zi Heng's head, bent down, and fixed his gaze on the child's small face, asking, "Do you like it?"

Zi Heng turned his head, freeing his head from Xu Yanfeng's palm, walked to the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down, placed his backpack on his lap, unzipped it, took out a book, opened it, and began reading.

Xu Yanfeng curiously leaned over, thinking the book was one handed out at school today, but discovered it was a thick English original edition. He skimmed a few lines; it was an adventure novel.

Having lived abroad for several years, Zi Heng found English easy; he quickly turned a page.

Xu Yanfeng raised his eyebrows; he too had liked such books when he was young.

This kid didn't inherit his looks, but his interests and hobbies are just like his when he was young, and his temperament… is somewhat similar. Xu Yanfeng refuses to admit he was a quiet kid as a child, so he only says the boy is "somewhat like him."

Feeling much more at ease, Xu Yanfeng's brows relaxed; he tapped the chair back and spoke to his son on his own: "I won't disturb your reading; call me if you need anything, and if you're hungry, have a snack to tide you over until Mom comes back and we start dinner."

Xu Yanfeng brought up the snacks and placed them on the sofa.

Having said that, he truly didn't bother Zi Heng anymore, turned and left, pulling the door shut but leaving a gap so he could promptly hear any movement inside.

Xu Yanfeng took off his coat, loosened his tie, sat on the lounge sofa with his arms spread to either side, head slightly tilted back, neck resting on the backrest, a picture of complete relaxation. He closed his eyes, imagining Xia Xi returning, the three of them living here together, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward.

He raised his hand to check his watch; Xia Xi should be off work, so he took out his phone and sent her a WeChat message: "Done with work?"

Xia Xi: "Working overtime."

Xu Yanfeng's eyelashes fluttered twice as he leaned in to look at those two characters.

She truly felt at ease leaving the child with him, and wasn't worried the child would struggle to adapt or cause trouble.

Xu Yanfeng eased the faint smile from his lips, tapped the screen with his fingertip, typed a line, paused, deleted it all, and replaced it with a few simple words: "How long?"

Xia Xi didn't give a definite answer: "Just a bit longer."

Xu Yanfeng took a deep breath; he wasn't angry—what was there to be angry about? Her promise to move over meant half the battle was won; if the other half could also be completed today, it would be like a fantasy drama.

Xu Yanfeng chatted casually with her: "Are you sure the son has no psychological issues? He hardly ever speaks; I suspect he might be a bit autistic."

Xia Xi: "If you were autistic, he couldn't possibly be autistic."

Xu Yanfeng threw down his phone and pressed his brow. As she said, he really felt like he was about to become autistic.

Xia Xi didn't deceive Xu Yanfeng either; her "just a bit longer" meant exactly that. After chatting a few sentences with Xu Yanfeng, she continued with her work, twenty minutes passed, and she shut down the computer.

She first went to the printer, took out a freshly printed stack of paper, bound it into a folder, and stuffed it into her tote bag.

She ran into Lu Mingji at the elevator.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye: "Why are you working so late?"

"Late?" the elevator arrived, and as Xia Xi stepped in she glanced at her watch, "Not really, just a little later than the usual quitting time. In our line of work, overtime isn't exactly rare, is it? Look at your surprise—you've been a boss so long you've forgotten what a regular work schedule is like."

Lu Mingji felt criticized, rubbed his nose, and stood beside her.

As the elevator descended, a slight dizziness came over him; Lu Mingji glanced at her a few times, wanting to ask how her talk with Xu Yanfeng had gone, but not knowing how to broach the topic, and by the time the elevator reached the basement level, he still hadn't spoken.

Their cars were parked close together, with just one parking space between them, and that car had already been driven away.

"Bye." Xia Xi waved her hand, the car lights came on, and she ducked into the driver's seat.

Lu Mingji somehow noticed the suitcase and tote bag placed in her back seat, stared for a moment, walked over, and knocked on the window.

Xia Xi had just started the engine, heard the movement beside her, lowered the window, tilted her head slightly to look at him, and asked, "Anything else?"

Lu Mingji placed one hand on the car roof, bent forward, and pointed his chin backward: "Are you moving house?"

She was renting her place, so moving wouldn't be strange, but she had only moved in last August, less than a year ago. Lu Mingji suddenly had a bad premonition, hoping he was overthinking.

Xia Xi looked toward the back seat; it turned out Lu Mingji had seen the suitcase.

In the morning, after dropping the two kids off at school, with Xia Yue also in the car, three extra-large suitcases and a tote bag were piled in the trunk, the space insufficient and the tote bag got squeezed out of shape. After seeing the kids and Xia Yue off, she arrived at the company and moved one of the suitcases and the tote bag to the back seat.

"About right," Xia Xi said.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lu Mingji tried indirectly: "I recall you initially signed a one-year lease?"

Xia Xi looked at him and spoke frankly: "I agreed to Xu Yanfeng's request; today I'm moving in with him."

That day in the office, she called Xu Yanfeng, with Lu Mingji standing nearby; he caught bits and pieces of their conversation, so it's no surprise he knows about it.

"You…" Lu Mingji couldn't find words, and paused for a good while.

"I've thought it all through." Xia Xi continued, "I originally owed him, so paying him back sooner is better; from now on we'll just talk about work, and I won't distract myself with other matters."

Things aren't as simple as she imagined; Lu Mingji suppressed his inner shock, steadied himself, and advised her: "Even if you don't plan to sue him, you shouldn't give in so easily. What if he later goes back on his word and pushes for more?"

What he said wasn't without reason; Xia Xi fell silent, then said, "I understand him; he's not the type to cling obstinately."

On the contrary, Xu Yanfeng is quite clear-headed and rational.

She believes his current actions stem merely from a longing for the child and an obsession with what happened back then.

When they split, he indeed suffered serious harm; if he cannot let go, it will remain etched in his heart forever, becoming a scar. Perhaps once he has vented enough anger, he won't be so fixated.

"Nothing more to say, I'm leaving." Xia Xi rolled up the window.

Lu Mingji stepped back a few paces, letting her go.

He didn't immediately turn to get into the car behind him; he stood there for a long time, watching Xia Xi's car drive away until it vanished from sight, then he lowered his gaze, his brow unconsciously knitting.

Xia Xi said she understood Xu Yanfeng—he wasn't the type to cling desperately. No, she didn't understand; a man who truly wants a woman, what does it matter if he goes against his principles?

Lu Mingji felt anxious inside; his mind was like a barren wasteland, in disarray, yet one thought was clear—he couldn't just sit and wait for disaster.

At least for now, Xia Xi is still single; if he lets go now, then he truly would have no chance whatsoever.

He needs to figure out how to pursue her.