Chapter 272: How did you end up here?

At five, Zhou Du ended the stream, crossed his hands and lifted them high above his head, stretched his stiff muscles from sitting too long, then picked up his phone on the table and glanced at it.

A few minutes earlier, Xia Xi had sent him a message saying she wasn't done yet and would come pick up the kids later.

Zhou Du typed a few characters in reply: "Mind your own business."

He tossed the phone aside and, with weary steps, walked over to look at the two children.

He had spent a month on and off trying to finish a Doraemon Lego set, but the two kids completed it in one afternoon, placing it in the center of the coffee table. He bent down, took a close look, and tapped the Doraemon's head: "You two are pretty good."

Youyou creak-creak munched on the crispy shrimp chips, pointing at Zi Heng: "My brother put it together; I'm supervising."

Zhou Du squeezed in between them and sat down, his arm around Zi Heng's neck pulling him into his embrace: "I still have several boxes of Lego in my warehouse; won't you put them all together for me?"

"Not today, I'm tired." Zi Heng answered seriously, "Let's talk about it next time."

Zhou Du laughed and pinched his cheek. At times this kid looked just like his biological father, especially when he pressed his lips and put on a serious face.

Zhou Du's assistant was working on the other side of the living room; having just finished, she closed her laptop, got up, walked over, and reported to Zhou Du: "Brother Du, you're on the hot search—several platforms have it."

Zhou Du paused and asked, "Nothing happened, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on it—it's not negative." The assistant said, "You clarified on the livestream that you'd become a dad, someone screen-recorded it and posted it; apparently it's pretty funny, so the heat has been climbing."

"As long as nothing happened." Zhou Du relaxed, leaning back into the sofa.

Assistant: "I don't have anything else to do now, so, brother, I'm heading back."

Zhou Du: "Stay safe on the way."

The assistant left, leaving only one adult and two kids in the house.

Zhou Du asked the two kids: "Are you hungry? If you are, I'll order something for you to eat."

Zi Heng remembered his mom saying she'd come pick them up around five; he glanced at his watch—it was already five-ten—and looked up at Zhou Du: "Dad, why hasn't Mom come yet?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you." Zhou Du crossed his long legs, pulled out the remote behind him and turned on the TV: "Your mom just messaged me; her thing isn't over yet, she'll come later."

Zi Heng sensibly said "Oh": "I'm not in a hurry."

Zhou Du asked again: "Hungry or not?"

Zi Heng shook his head, thought a moment, then patted Zhou Du's sleeve: "Let's wait for Mom to come and have dinner together."

"That works too."

Zhou Du picked a sci-fi movie suitable for both adults and kids and watched it with them.

The two kids watched with great interest; in a blink, over an hour passed, and the doorbell rang.

Youyou jumped up: "Mom's here!"

Zhou Du shuffled over in his slippers to open the door, leaning bonelessly against the doorframe.

Xia Xi stood outside the door, wearing a white shirt, vintage blue jeans, and a dark brown coat over them, holding a Birkin bag; she gave him a tired smile and explained her lateness: "I was supposed to arrive twenty minutes ago, but traffic held me up."

She had just finished speaking when the two little ones dashed out, shouting crisply, "Mom!"

The fatigue on Xia Xi's face vanished instantly; she squatted down and hugged them.

"Come in quickly." Zhou Du tilted his head, "No need to explain further—I've got nothing going on, I can take the kids for another two days if needed, let alone just an extra hour or two."

Xia Xi chuckled, entered, and changed into slippers.

Zhou Du poured a cup of warm water and handed it to her, then picked up his phone to check how long the takeout would take.

"I ordered a few dishes; they'll be here in ten-odd minutes—shall we eat before you leave?"

"Sure." Xia Xi wasn't polite, drank half the water, flopped onto the sofa like Ge You lying down, pinched her shoulders and exclaimed, "Ah, my shoulders are sore."

Zi Heng, without a word, knelt on the sofa and began massaging her shoulders.

Youyou, not to be outdone, squatted to pound her legs, asking sweetly as she did so, "Mom, are you comfortable?"

"Mm, really comfortable." Xia Xi praised, "The pressure is just right."

Zhou Du watched the scene and chuckled: "I say, Xia Xi, you're really something."

"What's up?" Xia Xi raised her eyebrows, "If you're capable, go have one yourself."

Zhou Du grit his teeth: "Thanks, but I'm not capable."

After some chatting and laughing, the takeout arrived; Zhou Du dragged his feet to get it.

He had ordered seven or eight dishes, each portion modest; to make it look nicer, he deliberately took a few plates from the kitchen, poured the takeout food onto them, and arranged them neatly.

"Time to eat."

Zhou Du called out; Xia Xi in the living room shifted her body, rose lazily, took the two kids to the bathroom to wash their hands, then headed to the dining area.

"You don't always eat takeout, do you?" Xia Xi, munching on tender fish slices, made small talk, "Why not hire a nanny to cook at home? It'd be healthier than takeout."

"No wonder you're a mom—so talkative."

"Screw you."

The meal passed in idle chatter, and Xia Xi helped wash the dishes.

After sitting down to rest a while, seeing it was nearly eight, Xia Xi rose to say goodbye: "I told the two kids we'd go to the amusement park tomorrow; I need to get back to the hotel to rest."

Zhou Du didn't try to stop them, seeing them off to the building's entrance.

Xia Xi shook her phone: "You go upstairs; the car I called will be at the community gate in three minutes."

"Send me a message when you get there."

Zhou Du waved his hand, hands in his pockets, walking back; his phone suddenly rang—it was the assistant calling. He didn't rush into the elevator, but answered in the lobby.

The assistant told him about a brand collaboration promotion and asked for his opinion.

After chatting a few minutes, Zhou Du took the elevator upstairs, returned home, and had just settled onto the sofa when the doorbell rang. He thought Xia Xi had left something at his place, so he didn't check the video doorbell and opened the door directly.

"What did she leave——"

Before he could finish the word "west," Zhou Du was stunned as if seeing a ghost, his pupils widening sharply.

Who could tell him why he was seeing Xu Yanfeng outside his own door?

This must be a ghost!

Zhou Du took a step back and closed the door.

The door was only ten centimeters from shutting when a hand braced against it and shoved it open from outside.

Xu Yanfeng rushed over as soon as he got off the plane; although he was anxious inside, he remained calm on the surface.

Compared to him, Zhou Du's panicked face looked somewhat comical: "You, you how did you find your way here?"

Xu Yanfeng did not answer that boring question.

Zhou Du's address was easy to obtain; there was no need to specially send someone to investigate—just using the Xu Clan's name to propose the MCN collaboration that had signed with Zhou Du behind the scenes, and incidentally mentioning a desire to meet Zhou Du in person, the other party sent over the address.

"What are you panicking about?" Xu Yanfeng's hand still pressed against the door, veins standing out on the back of his hand to prevent Zhou Du from taking advantage of his inattention to shut the door, "Won't you invite me in?"

"Who, who's panicking?" Zhou Du, scared out of his wits, nevertheless feigned strength, sticking out his neck and shouting loudly.

Xu Yanfeng walked straight in; the two were about the same height, but their dispositions were completely different. Zhou Du was habitually lax, usually lacking proper form, and now, stimulated by Xu Yanfeng's sudden assault, feeling guilty and flustered, his presence seemed to shrink noticeably.

"I came to see you for no other reason; I just want to verify something." Xu Yanfeng turned to face him, setting aside the aura he usually kept before outsiders, and asked calmly, "Are you and Xia Xi really together?"

Xu Yanfeng thought he would never in his life meet Zhou Du alone and mention the two words "Xia Xi" in front of him, yet he still came, still brought it up, showing that sometimes the limits one sets for oneself are meant to be broken.

If his guess was wrong and there really was something between Zhou Du and Xia Xi, he also wouldn't know what he would do.

At most it would just be dying again.

Anyway, he had already died once, so there was nothing he couldn't bear.