Chapter 265

On Friday afternoon, Xia Xi finished her work ahead of time and went to the kindergarten to pick up the children.

On the way back, she said to the two children sitting in the back seat: "Mommy has to go on a short business trip to Beicheng tomorrow and will return the day after; would you two like to go to your grandmother's for the weekend, or come with Mommy to Beicheng for a visit?"

Zi Heng spoke first: "I want to accompany Mommy to Beicheng."

Xia Xi glanced at the rearview mirror and asked the other one: "What about Youyou?"

Youyou raised her little hand: "I want to go too!"

First, let's make it clear: Mommy has to finish her work before she can play with you. Taking advantage of the red light, Xia Xi picked up the phone from the armrest compartment and handed it back, saying, "Zi Heng, call Grandma and let her know."

Zi Heng caught the phone, found Su Jinru's number, and dialed.

After waiting a few seconds, Xia Yue's voice came from the other end: "Xi Xi, Mom is in the bathroom, her phone is lying on the living-room sofa, and seeing it was your call, I answered for her."

Zi Heng turned on the speakerphone and said into the phone, "Auntie, it's me."

"Zi Heng," Xia Yue laughed.

"Mommy said she'll take me and Youyou on a business trip to Beicheng tomorrow, and asked me to let you and Grandma know." Zi Heng spoke clearly, relaying Xia Xi's words.

"Your mommy still has work to keep her busy; would it be convenient for you two kids to go with her?" Xia Yue was a little worried, since Xia Xi's work setting generally couldn't accommodate having the children with her.

"Don't worry, Auntie, I'll take good care of myself and Youyou." Zi Heng assured her.

Xia Xi turned her face backward, afraid Xia Yue on the phone couldn't hear clearly, raised her voice, and said: "My assistant can accompany me and help look after them; Zhou Du is in Beicheng, so we could leave the two kids with him and I'll pick them up after I'm done. Or you and Mom could come over to play for two days—there's still time to book tickets."

Xia Yue: "Mom and I won't join the fun; you guys have a good time."

Youyou tilted her head and leaned in: "You and Grandma be good; I'll be back soon."

Xia Yue felt warm inside, her voice full of happiness: "Okay."

Xia Xi brought the two children home, but the house was empty—the nanny wasn't there and Xu Yanfeng hadn't returned yet. Xia Xi put her things down, turned on the TV, washed some fruit for the two kids, and placed it on the coffee table.

"There's still time; you two play for a while, I'm going to pack the suitcase."

Since it was a short trip, just one night away, there wasn't much to bring; one suitcase was enough for the three of them's clothing. Xia Xi quickly finished packing and pushed the suitcase into the corner.

After sitting down to rest a bit, Xia Xi received a call from the nanny.

"I'm really sorry, Miss Xia, something came up at my home today and I might not be able to come over; could you please let Mr. Xu know?"

Although they hadn't known each other long, Xia Xi had a good impression of this nanny; hearing the anxiety in her voice, she added, "Is there anything you need help with? It's fine if you can't come."

"My father-in-law had a car accident and fractured his femoral head; he needs surgery to replace it." The nanny said, "Thank you for your concern; for now we don't need help, we can manage at home."

After hanging up with the nanny, Xia Xi got up and walked to the refrigerator to check what ingredients were inside.

Fortunately, everything she needed was already there, so she didn't have to go to the supermarket.

After spending a few minutes thinking about what to have for dinner, Xia Xi selected the ingredients she needed from the fridge, rolled up her sleeves, and began rinsing the rice.

She didn't know what time Xu Yanfeng would be back.

Thinking of that, Xia Xi paused her rice-rinsing, grabbed a tissue to dry her hands, leaned her back against the edge of the sink, lowered her head to stare at her phone, hesitated for a long time, repeatedly opening Xu Yanfeng's WeChat avatar and then backing out.

After all, they lived together, so asking was perfectly normal.

Thinking this, Xia Xi lightly tapped the screen a few times and sent three characters: "What time are you coming back?"

When Xu Yanfeng received the message, he suspected he had misread it, or that Xia Xi had sent it to the wrong person. She had never proactively asked him when he would be home. She treated the house like a hotel, not caring who stayed there or when they returned.

There was also the possibility that someone had taken Xia Xi's phone and sent it.

It definitely wasn't Zi Heng—that little brat wouldn't care about when his own father gets home.

Xu Yanfeng: "Youyou, give the phone back to your mom."

Xia Xi: "?"

Sure enough, she must have taken the wrong medicine.

Xu Yanfeng: "Uncle will be back in about half an hour. Be good, go play by yourself."

Xia Xi stared unblinking at the words on the screen, as if she understood what he was babbling about—he thought the person who messaged him was Youyou? How could he have such an idea?

It wasn't that she'd taken the wrong medicine; it was more like some wire had gotten crossed.

Xia Xi didn't correct him; let him think whatever he wanted. She asked him when he'd be back just to figure out how many people to cook for.

Guan He went to the CEO's office to remind Xu Yanfeng that there was an engagement that evening.

Xu Yanfeng was about to leave when he heard this; his expression froze—he had completely forgotten about it.

It's no big deal; the evening engagement is optional. After thinking, Xu Yanfeng said, "Go tell Deputy General Manager Zhang that I'd like him to go in my place."

Guan He understood; with a fiancée and children, General Manager Xu was eager to get home each day: "All right, I'll go see Deputy General Manager Zhang right away."

Xu Yanfeng sat in the car, eyes lowered on his phone, the WeChat chat interface on the screen, his gaze fixed on that question mark; after a moment's thought, he felt it didn't sound like a child's chat style, but rather like something Xia Xi would say.

Could it be… that Xia Xi really sent it to him?

Combining the preceding context, he had mentioned Youyou, and the other party expressed confusion, which could only mean the message wasn't sent by Youyou.

He's really dense, not even noticing that.

Xu Yanfeng's lips curled slightly, a smile spilling out and reaching his eyes.

He clenched his fist, lightly coughed against his lips, and told the driver, "Please drive a bit faster."

The driver thought he had some urgent matter to get home for, grunted an acknowledgment, and slightly increased the speed.

Although they'd agreed on half an hour, it was just over twenty minutes when Xu Yanfeng pushed open the front door; the sound of a cartoon accompanied by the two children's chatter reached his ears, and a cheerful atmosphere washed over him.

"Uncle!" Youyou raised the little fork in her hand, a piece of cantaloupe speared on it, and greeted Xu Yanfeng, "You're back."

The little girl wore her hair in twin ponytails, her eyes curved like crescent moons, revealing two neat rows of teeth. Meanwhile, beside her, Zi Heng stared straight ahead, as if he hadn't noticed that someone else had entered the house.

Xu Yanfeng nodded, smiling gently, and asked, "Where's Mommy?"

Youyou's cheeks puffed out as she mumbled indistinctly, "In the kitchen, cooking."

Xu Yanfeng blinked in surprise—why was Xia Xi cooking, and where had the nanny gone?

Could Xia Xi actually cook?

Xu Yanfeng walked toward the kitchen, where Xia Xi wore a loose, light-purple sweater, off-white knit pants, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, her forearms slender and fair, head bowed, thick eyelashes casting small shadows on her face, her long hair loosely tied low at the nape with a few strands falling onto her cheeks and neck.

Xia Xi was peeling shrimp when she heard familiar footsteps approaching from afar. She glanced sideways, lifted her arm, and brushed the few strands of hair drifting by her cheek to one side.

Xu Yanfeng's Adam's apple twitched as he glanced at the ingredients on the counter: "Where's Zhangyi?"

"Her father-in-law got into a car accident and is having surgery in the hospital, so she can't come over," Xia Xi said. "I gave her a few days off."

Xu Yanfeng: "Can you cook?"

In his memory, Xia Xi was just as clueless about cooking as he was. She had even joked that, as the second young lady of the prestigious Peishan Grand Hotel, not being able to cook was somewhat embarrassing.

Xia Xi: "Don't worry, I won't blow up the kitchen or poison you."

Reminded by her, Xu Yanfeng recalled his own black history of ruining a batch of fried eggs, and he felt a pang of embarrassment.

Xu Yanfeng left the kitchen, then returned shortly after, wearing only a shirt with his suit jacket and tie undone, rolling up his sleeves as he walked: "Let me give you a hand."

"No." Xia Xi refused bluntly, "Go out, don't make a mess for me."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

She refused, so Xu Yanfeng took matters into his own hands, grabbed her wrist, pushed her aside, and took over peeling the shrimp.

Seeing that he was peeling the shrimp properly, she let him continue, lit the stove, heated the oil, and began cooking.

Xu Yanfeng had still been worried, but seeing her stir-fry and add seasoning with ease, he finally believed she really could cook—it wasn't just talk.

Suddenly, Lu Mingji's words echoed in her mind—those few years abroad had not been easy for her.

"When we were together, how come I never heard you mention any plans to go abroad?" Xu Yanfeng tossed a peeled shrimp into a glass bowl and said calmly, "At Grandma's funeral, I heard Aunt Lin mention that after your family ran into trouble, Xia Yue went out to borrow money."

The implication was that her expenses for studying abroad were not small—where did the money come from?