Chapter 273: That act wasn't her idea

Zhou Du stood there, wishing Xia Xi hadn't left yet, so he could let her face Xu Yanfeng's questioning herself.

Seeing Zhou Du silent, Xu Yanfeng pulled out his phone, opened the livestream recording Tang Yizhou had sent him in front of Zhou Du, and said, "You said it yourself—you shouldn't deny it."

Zhou Du listened to the voice coming from Xu Yanfeng's phone—it was what he had said that afternoon, which he certainly wouldn't forget. He had said he was a lifelong solo, and not to spread ridiculous rumors about him.

Zhou Du scratched his head—who would have thought a CEO like Xu Yanfeng, who handles countless affairs and makes hundreds of millions in minutes, would bother with such boring entertainment gossip?

Xu Yanfeng: "You're not going to say anything?"

Zhou Du remained silent, not knowing what to say.

Could it be that what he said during the livestream was false?

In any case, he couldn't reveal Xia Xi's secret; he had promised her he would always protect it.

Xu Yanfeng gave Zhou Du no chance to lie, then dropped a bombshell that caught him off guard: "Seven years ago, it was you who called Tang Yizhou, deliberately luring him out of the private room so you'd run into Xia Xi together. You know which day I'm talking about."

Zhou Du's scalp instantly went numb—after all these years, how could Xu Yanfeng know?

Because it was so sudden, Zhou Du didn't even have time to hide his expression; shock and disbelief were plainly written on his face. Now his scalp wasn't just numb—he felt like his head was about to split open!

"So that was fake, right?"

Xu Yanfeng is skilled at reading people; he wouldn't fail to see what Zhou Du's expression was hiding.

The air stood still for a while; the dazed Zhou Du, like a statue, finally moved a bit, crouching on the floor with his hands clasped over his head, neither crying nor laughing.

"Xia Xi, Xia Xi, I didn't say anything—Xu Yanfeng figured it out himself; it's not my fault!"

Xu Yanfeng had already guessed most of it; he relaxed, stared at Zhou Du, no longer finding him hateful, and his tone grew steadier: "Get up, and speak clearly."

Zhou Du slowly rose, feeling irritable and gloomy; he instinctively reached into his pants pocket, found nothing, turned slowly, picked up a cigarette box from the coffee table, tapped it in his palm, shook out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, lit it, and took a deep drag.

With his back to Xu Yanfeng, he spoke slowly: "Since you've figured it out, don't ask—I can't say."

Xu Yanfeng had crossed the city to find him, just to get to the bottom of things—how could he not ask: "Why can't you say?"

"If I can't say, I can't say. If you really want to know, go ask Xia Xi yourself. I made a promise with her—no matter what, I couldn't betray her wishes and tell you..."

Wait—he realized he'd said too much; Zhou Du quickly stopped himself, turned his head, and took a puff of smoke.

Isn't this making things difficult for him?

Xu Yanfeng frowned and murmured, "It really is Xia Xi's wish."

Zhou Du wanted to slap himself; he shouldn't have talked so much to Xu Yanfeng.

"Um, please excuse me, I'm going to the restroom." Zhou Du made up an excuse on the spot and hurried to the restroom to get away from Xu Yanfeng.

He closed the door, took the cigarette from his lips, extinguished it in the sink, splashed cold water on his face, then let out a long breath and called Xia Xi.

Xia Xi hadn't reached the hotel yet; traffic in Beicheng was worse than she imagined, still jammed into a long dragon even this late.

"Hello..."

Before Xia Xi could say more, Zhou Du blurted out in panic: "Help! Your man showed up at my house! Come deal with him yourself—I can't handle it! My head's about to explode!"

"What... what?" Xia Xi, stunned by his sudden outburst, paused and asked, bewildered, "What do you mean, my man?"

"You don't know your own man? Xu Yanfeng! He appeared outside my door like a ghost, silent and unseen—I opened the door and nearly had a heart attack. Don't you know my nerves are fragile?"

"Xu Yanfeng came looking for you?" Xia Xi finally sifted through his rambling to get the key point, her eyes blinking rapidly as she said anxiously, "You didn't say anything, right?"

Zhou Du leaned against the tiled wall, tilted his head slightly, sighed, then explained the situation to Xia Xi so she wouldn't be unprepared: "Xu Yanfeng already knows that the incident between us at the hotel back then was fake." Worried she might misunderstand, he hurried to clear himself: "It wasn't me who said it, and I don't know how he found out that I was the one who called Tang Yizhou that day. Get your story straight—I think we can't keep this covered up."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

After hanging up with Zhou Du, Xia Xi told the driver to turn around and head back the way they came.

Zhou Du took a deep breath, opened the restroom door, and steeled himself to face Xu Yanfeng again.

Xu Yanfeng settled onto a sofa, completely at ease, as if he were in his own home.

Zhou Du gave a light cough, then, as the host, offered: "Would you like some water?"

"No thanks." Xu Yanfeng answered lightly, then immediately threw out another question: "Was it you who paid for Xia Xi's overseas studies?"

Zhou Du blinked, almost blurting out: "What? I paid? Wasn't it your father who paid?"

The words were on his tongue when he suddenly realized he couldn't say them, so Zhou Du slowly nodded, his expression blank: "Ah, what's up?"

"Nothing, just asking." Xu Yanfeng pinched a corner of his phone, tapped his palm lightly, and in the blink of an eye tossed another question: "Was it you who settled the trouble her family had back then?"

Zhou Du: "……"

Xia Xi, why aren't you here yet!

Xu Yanfeng didn't drink water, but Zhou Du gulped down a big glass, belched, and tried to appear casual: "Well, not really—someone else helped too."

"Who?"

"Just relatives and friends." Zhou Du held his last line of defense, rubbed his nose, and made up an excuse: "The Xia family has run a restaurant for years, so they have some savings. I've said what I can; asking about what I shouldn't say won't help—aren't you leaving yet?"

Xu Yanfeng is too sly; if he kept questioning, Zhou Du feared he'd slip up, so he had to order him out.

Xu Yanfeng leaned back leisurely in his chair, showing no intention of leaving despite the host's words, and said expressionlessly: "You didn't tip off Xia Xi, did you? I'm here waiting for her."

Zhou Du's face stiffened instantly—does Xu Yanfeng know even that?

Could it be that Xu Yanfeng was eavesdropping at the door while Zhou Du called Xia Xi in the restroom? After imagining that scene, Zhou Du shook his head, feeling it didn't match Xu Yanfeng's character.

This guy is a devil; Zhou Du doesn't want to say another word to him.

"You helped Xia Xi put on that act for me, which ended up splitting us apart. You don't seem to have that kind of feeling for her either, and I don't believe she's stopped caring about me, so that performance probably wasn't her own idea either. Am I right?"

Based on Zhou Du's few words and his reactions, Xu Yanfeng could only infer this much.

Zhou Du: "……"

Who will come to his rescue? How should he answer?

After a moment of silence, Zhou Du rubbed his eyes, on the verge of tears: "Please, I'm begging you—stop asking. You said you'd wait for Xia Xi, so wait until she comes and ask her. I don't know anything; I'm just going along with her act."

Xu Yanfeng's brows knit: "Indeed, that's the case."

Zhou Du: "?"

"Damn, I really didn't say anything."

When the doorbell rang, Zhou Du felt like he was escaping the sea of suffering; he staggered over to open the door.

The moment he saw Xia Xi, it was as if he saw a savior; Zhou Du was so excited tears were about to come out.

"You finally came!" Zhou Du grabbed Xia Xi and pulled her inside, "No need to change shoes."

Zhou Du took a child's hand with one hand, fled to the bedroom, and left the living-room battlefield to the two parties involved.