Chapter 268: You Didn't See the Note I Left?

Xu Yanfeng still couldn't believe Xia Xi just left like that, and he called her several more times.

The result was unchanged from before; that voice repeatedly reminded him that the other party had turned off their phone.

Xu Yanfeng pinched his brow, wandering helplessly around the room.

Could it be that Xia Xi took the two kids to Su Jinru's place for the weekend?

In an instant, he dismissed that guess again—was it really necessary to take a suitcase for a weekend trip?

The discomfort from Xu Yanfeng's drunkenness vanished at this moment, leaving only panic.

Regardless of whether Xia Xi had returned, he needed to confirm.

Xu Yanfeng didn't have Su Jinru or Xia Yue's numbers, so a few seconds later he called the driver.

Before the driver arrived, Xu Yanfeng changed clothes, put on a casual striped shirt, threw on a jacket, and headed to the elevator—only then realizing he'd forgotten to change his shoes, so he turned back.

The car drove smoothly and quickly down the road, a crack in the window letting in wind that already carried some spring warmth.

The roadside landscape trees were tall and dense, lush and vibrant, but Xu Yanfeng had no mind to admire them; his fingers pressed against his lower lip, his brow knotted in a tension that varied in depth.

The car stopped outside Lanting Bay Residential Area.

Xu Yanfeng knew which building and unit Su Jinru lived in, but barging in on a weekend wasn't appropriate, so he sat in the car, considering how to discreetly find out whether Xia Xi was there.

Perhaps heaven heard Xu Yanfeng's inner thoughts; his gaze unintentionally swept past the window, catching two familiar figures slowly walking out of the compound.

Wasn't that Su Jinru and Xia Yue?

Xia Yue held a shopping cart favored by elderly buyers in one hand and linked arms with Su Jinru in the other, chatting and laughing as they basked in the sunlight.

Seeing them like a savior, Xu Yanfeng sprang out of the car immediately.

His car was conspicuous, and he himself was even more so; Su Jinru noticed him the moment she stepped out of the gate, stopping in her tracks. Xia Yue halted as well, following her mother's gaze to the right, where she saw Xu Yanfeng and looked slightly surprised.

Xu Yanfeng stepped forward, nodding gently: "Have Xia Xi and the kids come over?"

Xia Yue asked doubtfully: "You don't know?"

Xu Yanfeng was even more puzzled than she was—what should he know?

"Xi Xi went on a business trip to Beicheng, taking the two kids along to play," Xia Yue said, unsure of his current relationship with Xia Xi, dragging her words: "She didn't tell you?"

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Xia Xi went on a business trip to Beicheng—she wasn't scared off by him, which is a relief.

People's bottom lines are lowered like this; as long as she didn't run away, what's an unannounced departure?

"I see." Xu Yanfeng silently exhaled, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"You……" Su Jinru started to speak, then stopped.

Xu Yanfeng didn't want elders to speculate wildly, so he volunteered: "I drank too much last night; Xia Xi didn't tell me about her business trip, I found her and the kids missing this morning, couldn't reach her by phone, and got a bit anxious."

Su Jinru understood, and no longer worried.

Xia Yue pulled out her phone from her bag, glanced at the time, and told Xu Yanfeng: "Xi Xi is still on the plane; it's normal you can't reach her."

Xu Yanfeng grunted an acknowledgment, then added more concern: "Where are you headed? I can give you a ride."

"No trouble." Xia Yue waved her hand, pointing ahead: "We're planning to go to the supermarket to stock up on vegetables; it's just two intersections away. The weather's nice, so we'll walk."

Xu Yanfeng bade farewell to the two, then got into the car.

The driver routinely asked where to go next.

Xu Yanfeng leaned back, his whole body relaxing—then the headache returned; not wanting to go to the office in that state, he said: "Let's go home."

The driver made a U-turn, heading back the way they'd come.

After arriving home, Xu Yanfeng drank half a cup of warm water, sat down for less than five minutes, and the phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and answered immediately: "Xia Xi!"

Shortly after disembarking, Xia Xi dragged a suitcase while Huang Shiyu helped her hold the two kids; they hadn't yet left the airport, with people coming and going around them.

Hearing Xu Yanfeng call her name solemnly, Xia Xi's steps hesitated, somewhat bewildered: "What's wrong?"

She had just turned on her phone and saw several missed-call alerts, all from Xu Yanfeng; she hurried to call him back. Given his urgency, she couldn't help suspecting the house was on fire.

Having witnessed Xu Yanfeng's egg-frying scene, a burning house wouldn't seem all that surprising.

Xu Yanfeng's tone grew somewhat intense: "Why didn't you tell me last night that you're going on a business trip to Beicheng today?"

He was settling scores with her after the fact.

Recalling this morning's bewilderment, panic, helplessness, anxiety, the fatigue of going back and forth, and the occasional headaches, he just wanted to give her a stern lecture.

We need to set three rules with her; from now on we can't keep playing disappearing acts—it's too taxing on one's mindset.

Xia Xi fell silent for a moment, her gaze shifting to Huang Shiyu and the two kids, her voice lowering: "You were drunk last night."

Xu Yanfeng: "Then why didn't you say so at mealtime?"

"Forgot." Xia Xi's tone was light and breezy.

"Xia Xi, could you at least consider my feelings? You disappeared early this morning with the two kids, and I worried something might have happened to you."

Xia Xi's fingernails scraped the suitcase handle, her lips pressed into a straight line, and the surrounding din drowned out her heartbeat.

Not hearing her voice, Xu Yanfeng suspected his tone had been too harsh; he eased his emotions and explained calmly: "Even if you treat home like a hotel, we at least live together now—even as roommates, shouldn't a normal person give a heads-up before going away?"

After Xu Yanfeng finished, Xia Xi suddenly interjected: "Didn't you see the note I left?"

"What note?"

"Kitchen, on the rice cooker."

As soon as Xia Xi answered the phone, he questioned her about not telling him last minute about the business trip; she had indeed forgotten to inform him, but before leaving this morning she had written a note.

Xu Yanfeng got up and walked toward the kitchen.

On the countertop, the white rice cooker was running, the words "keep warm" lit up, and a pale yellow sticky note bearing Xia Xi's familiar handwriting was stuck on it.

【Going on a business trip to Beicheng, I took the kids. Remember to drink porridge.】

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

From waking up until now, he hadn't entered the kitchen, so naturally he hadn't seen that note.

Xia Xi seemed to have realized something, and she let out a strange, odd‑toned "Oh": "Sorry, I forgot—someone rarely comes into the kitchen." After teasing, she spotted Zhou Du waving at her from across the crowd, and said into the phone, "I'm hanging up."

The call ended just then, but Xu Yanfeng still held the phone to his ear, standing frozen in place.

After a few seconds, Xu Yanfeng put down the phone, pressed the button on the rice cooker, and a blanket of white steam carrying fragrance rushed toward him—inside really was a pot of porridge, cooked soft and sticky.

The nanny was still on vacation, so there was no need to wonder who made this pot of porridge.

Xu Yanfeng held the note between two fingers, staring at it for a long while, the corners of his mouth gradually lifting.

Xia Xi had to catch a flight early in the morning, yet she still remembered he had drunk alcohol the night before, and that eating some porridge would make him feel better. Before he even put the porridge in his mouth, he felt his stomach warm up and his headache disappear.

She was looking out for him.

He had held and kissed her the night before, and she hadn't demanded any reckoning from him.

Xu Yanfeng lifted his phone and took a top‑down photo of the pot of porridge; the rising steam blurred the lens, and the picture came out too blurry to see.

He wiped the lens clean with his shirt hem, one hand fanning away the incessant steam while he kept shooting.

After taking several shots, he finally got one that was somewhat clear, and Xu Yanfeng posted it to his Moments.

He privately messaged Xia Xi, deliberately asking, "Did you make this porridge for me?"

After just a few seconds, Xia Xi replied, "Otherwise I'd have made it for the dog."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"