Chapter 264

Xia Xi lay in bed, about to fall asleep, still couldn't figure out what evil fire Xu Yanfeng had sparked.

Rain outside kept falling, somewhat disturbing sleep; Xia Xi sat up, turned on the desk lamp, stared blankly at the empty room for a while, then suddenly remembered something she had forgotten to do.

She got out of bed, found a black marker, and left the room.

She crossed off today on the countdown calendar; ninety-eight days remained.

Having done that, she finally had nothing to worry about; Xia Xi lay back into the warm covers, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

She slept dreamlessly; the next morning, Xia Xi rose refreshed, washed up, and prepared to call Youyou and Zi Heng.

Walking out of the bedroom, Xia Xi heard voices from the dining area; the two kids were already up, sitting at the table waiting for breakfast.

"Mom, morning." Youyou saw Xia Xi first and waved her little hand.

"Morning." Xia Xi walked over.

A voice came from the kitchen: the nanny, sounding obviously troubled: "Sir, perhaps I should do it."

Xia Xi looked toward the kitchen; another voice was Xu Yanfeng's, calm and composed: "Please don't disturb me."

Zi Heng covered his mouth to muffle his voice and said, "That person is making breakfast."

"That person" refers to Xu Yanfeng.

Zi Heng couldn't bring himself to call him "Dad," and didn't want to call him "Uncle" like Youyou did.

Xia Xi's expression turned very odd; she asked Zi Heng, "Who are you saying is cooking?"

Zi Heng clicked his tongue, hesitated a second, then called him by name: "Xu Yanfeng."

Xia Xi's expression became even more exaggerated; Xu Yanfeng was a pampered young master who never touched water—how could he cook? When they were together, they either ordered takeout or ate out; she had never seen him in the kitchen.

"For our safety, I'll go check." Xia Xi stood up, moved her chair, and earnestly told the two kids, "Be good and stay as far from the kitchen as possible."

Just reaching the kitchen door, Xia Xi smelled a burnt odor; even the expensive range hood had failed.

She stepped closer, looked at the blackened lump in the frying pan, and said, "Is this… char-grilled frying pan?"

Xu Yanfeng was focused on cooking, didn't hear her footsteps; when she suddenly spoke, he jumped, his lips went straight, and he turned his head to glance at her.

The nanny smiled at Xia Xi, not considering saving Xu Yanfeng's face, and said the truth: "Sir had a sudden whim to make breakfast for the kids himself; he's frying eggs, and he's already ruined them…"

She glanced at the trash can beside her; who could count how many eggs he had ruined.

Following the nanny's gaze, Xia Xi looked down; the trash bin was full of blackened unidentified lumps—if not ruined eggs, who knows what weird stuff they are.

"Xu Yanfeng, the kids will be late for school." Xia Xi grabbed his sleeve, told him to "step down and make way," and added, "Moreover, wasting food is shameful. Please take a look at the trash—even a hen would want to jump off a building seeing this."

Hearing that for the first time, the nanny couldn't keep a straight face, burst out laughing, and her wrinkles quickly folded.

Noticing the sir's expression, the nanny lowered the corners of her mouth.

Xu Yanfeng put down the spatula, finally willing to leave the stove, and gave the spot back to the nanny.

The nanny scraped out the ruined eggs from the pan, began washing it, and started making breakfast.

With the kitchen explosion risk gone, Xia Xi secretly sighed in relief, went to the dining room, and said to the two kids eagerly waiting to be fed, "Hungry? Just wait a bit longer; the nanny is making it."

The Xu Clan suddenly proposed adding several contract clauses; Lu Mingji personally brought the seal and made a trip.

In the reception room, seeing Xu Yanfeng, Lu Mingji inexplicably felt as if he had fallen into a tiger's den. He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and got straight to the point: "What clauses does the Xu Clan want to add?"

Xu Yanfeng raised his eyebrows slightly; that was merely his excuse for seeing Lu Mingji.

"Speaking plainly, I hope Mr. Lu puts himself in the right place and stops coveting what he shouldn't." Xu Yanfeng had no fear of revealing his true purpose before him.

They had long seen through each other's little thoughts; there was really no need to beat around the bush.

Lu Mingji chuckled, his eyes crinkling. Officially, Xu Yanfeng is the Party A boss; as Party B, he ought to flatter and respect him, but privately they have no rapport. Since Xu Yanfeng is now speaking privately, Lu Mingji sees no need to fawn: "My position should be defined by Xia Xi; aside from her, nobody else seems qualified. May I ask, General Manager Xu, in what capacity are you making this request of me?"

Xu Yanfeng: "We are currently living together."

Lu Mingji: "So what? You're just using your status and power to force her to choose between custody of the kids and living with you; any mother would pick the latter."

Xu Yanfeng's pupils trembled; he was no longer calm.

Xia Xi actually told Lu Mingji even that.

Lu Mingji gained a slight edge, his smile deepening, and he said leisurely, "I think the one who isn't positioning himself correctly is you, General Manager Xu. Have you never heard the saying—'a qualified ex-boyfriend should be as good as dead'?"

The atmosphere grew overly silent; Xu Yanfeng's gaze turned gloomy: "You don't know our past; you have no right to comment."

"I have no standing," Lu Mingji said calmly. "I speak for Xia Xi as a friend; those years abroad were hard on her, and I don't want her hurt again. You know in your heart that if you don't pressure her and give her freedom to choose, she won't choose to stay entangled with you."

I speak for Xia Xi as a friend…

Xu Yanfeng's point lies here.

After a moment's pause, Xu Yanfeng curled his lip and lightly rebutted: "How do you know what I bring her will be harm? You also said you're just her friend, not a worm in her stomach—how could you know what she thinks? Back then… she pursued me; now I'm merely repaying a debt. Our affairs need no outside meddling."

The coffee he had just swallowed felt like a steamed bun; Lu Mingji felt thoroughly choked.

He set down his coffee cup, rose, straightened his cuffs, and said, "I see no problem with the contract; General Manager Xu, if you have nothing else, I'll take my leave. Goodbye." He tugged at the corner of his mouth, casually adding, "Your company's coffee is not bad."

Specifically meant to choke people to death.

After Lu Mingji left, Xu Yanfeng exited the reception room and returned to his office.

Having figured out Lu Mingji's relationship with Xia Xi, Xu Yanfeng felt briefly pleased for a few seconds, then instantly his mind was occupied by a new worry.

Watching the dates on the calendar being crossed off one by one, Xia Xi had in total hardly ever faced him with a calm expression.

Xu Yanfeng interlaced his fingers, propped his chin, pondered for a long time with no clue. He picked up his phone, messaged a few old friends, briefly outlined his current predicament, and asked them for ideas.

Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang—an age-old truth.

The several old friends all fell silent in unison.

Xu Yanfeng pressed: "Are you all busy?"

Luojinnan: "Xu Er, how did your brain come up with using '100 days of cohabitation' to bind Xia Xi?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Wasn't it the tutorial you gave me?"

Luojinnan: "When did I give you a tutorial? I don't even know about it."

Xu Yanfeng: "Contractual Marriage of the Rich and Powerful: Forced Pampering for 100 Days."

That name seemed a little familiar; Luojinnan racked his brain for a long time before recalling it was one of the novels he had snatched from his niece, and together with a few others, he tossed them over to Xu Yanfeng.

Luojinnan: "……"

Luojinnan: "You're really talented, using a novel as a textbook. But since you're referencing the novel, why didn't you continue developing according to its plot?"

Talking about this, Xu Yanfeng really wanted to complain, because the plot in the book was extremely melodramatic; after the male and female leads made a contract, all kinds of body‑ and heart‑wrenching scenes ensued.

No longer useful as a reference.

Luojinnan: "You need to find a novel about mending a broken mirror to study."

Tang Yizhou: "Xu Er, don't listen to Luojinnan's nonsense; he's unreliable. When it comes to chasing women, you should ask me."

Luojinnan: "That's actually true. The girlfriends Zhouzi has dated, holding hands could loop around Nancheng several times."

Tang Yizhou: "Get lost, get lost, get lost."

Tang Yizhou: "Xu Er, let's talk privately."

Tang Yizhou didn't send any more messages in the group, and privately messaged Xu Yanfeng: "Brother, have you heard this saying? A man with three parts drunk will act until you tear up."

Xu Yanfeng: "So what?"

Tang Yizhou: "Even if Xia Xi is stubborn, she's still a woman, and women have moments of soft‑heartedness; besides, you two have been together, and your relationship was passionate. Have a drink, use the liquid courage to say all the things you normally can't bring yourself to say—after all, once you're sober you can pretend to have blacked out, and it won't hurt a man's dignity."