Chapter 289: Do you like that person?

"Okay, I understand."

"Xia Xi saying she wasn't upset at all would be lying; after all, she had been rushing to finish the design drawings these past few days, investing a lot of time and energy. Suddenly being told not to do it would definitely leave her feeling a bit disappointed."

"But it's not especially hard to accept."

"Anything can happen at work; she's not a newcomer fresh out of school, she can handle this level of setback."

"\"Just follow Madam Li's wishes. \" Xia Xi tugged at the corner of her mouth, then comforted Tan Zhi Cheng: \"We can't really let such a big piece of fat slip away from Broad and Elegant, right? \""

"Tan Zhi Cheng let out a breath; he'd heard early on that Xia Xi was straightforward in her work, and now he truly felt it. With no burden on his mind, his speech flowed more smoothly: \"I won't disturb you then; I'll go let Engineer Gao know. \""

"Xia Xi nodded."

"After Tan Zhi Cheng left, Xia Xi sat in her chair for a while, taking out the documents from her bag one by one."

"Not having to work overtime is fine; her stomach has been uncomfortable anyway."

"She had Li Tai's contact information; she should ask what she did wrong to cause Li Tai to have objections and request a replacement without even seeing the design drawings."

"Forget it."

"They've already made a decision, showing they've thought it over; asking for reasons would only embarrass both sides and likely yield nothing else."

"Xia Xi walked out of the office with her bag, which felt noticeably lighter, and ran into Gao Ge head-on; her steps hesitated, as if Gao Ge had come especially to find her."

"Gao Ge had just heard from Tan Zhi Cheng that Li Tai wanted to assign her the private estate project, which surprised her. When Li Tai initially chose Xia Xi, she must have compared the styles of the company's lead designers; switching midway didn't make sense."

"\"Manager Tan came to see me, and then I learned Madam Li's intention—I…\""

"\"You don't need to say more; I already know. \" Xia Xi's lips curled slightly. \"The customer comes first. Since it's Madam Li's choice, you should handle it. Honestly, the Jingyu Yuan project alone keeps me busy enough; taking on Madam Li's private estate as well would be a stretch, especially since it's not purely residential. This works out well. \""

"Gao Ge seemed to be weighing it: \"You really don't mind? \""

"\"Isn't this pretty normal? \" Xia Xi patted her shoulder. \"Never mind, I have something to do, I'll go first. \""

"Gao Ge watched her retreating back, scratched her head, unable to decide, unsure whether to take on this hot potato."

"After a while, Tan Zhi Cheng came over to urge: \"Engineer Gao, what's your thoughts? Give me a definite answer. Madam Li's side is waiting for my reply. \" Thinking she might be out of consideration for Xia Xi, he advised: \"Xia Gong isn't as narrow-minded as you think; I just went to talk to her about this, and she even comforted me, saying we shouldn't let such a project go undone and hand it off to another company. \""

"After he said that, Gao Ge found it hard to refuse anymore: \"Fine, I agree. \""

"\"That's right. \""

"Tan Zhi Cheng smiled, pulled out his phone from his pocket, intending to call Li Tai."

"\"Wait a minute. \" Gao Ge still felt something odd about how things were unfolding: \"Wasn't Madam Li quite satisfied with Xia Xi? Did you ask her why she wanted to replace Xia Xi? \""

"\"How come I didn't ask? \" Tan Zhi Cheng spread his hands. \"They simply couldn't be bothered to explain further to me. \""

"He raised a hand to his mouth, lowered his voice, and complained: \"People like Madam Li, who look down on others from their nostrils, wouldn't see us as anything; they only want the estate decorated beautifully, and couldn't care less about anything else. \""

"Hearing that, Gao Ge felt a knot in her stomach, wondering if this Li Tai was a nitpicky client who would be tough to deal with."

"With the burden lifted, Xia Xi's mood started off a bit gloomy, but once she drove to the kindergarten gate and saw the children's smiling faces, she let go completely."

"Aside from her stomach still feeling a bit off."

"This morning, Youyou said she wanted to accompany Xia Yue; by the time Xia Xi arrived, Xia Yue had already picked up Youyou. Because Xia Xi had chatted with Gao Ge for a while, losing time, there weren't many kids left at the kindergarten."

"Xia Xi picked up Zi Heng and returned to Xu Yanfeng's home."

"Zhangyi had prepared dinner for two and then left."

"Only mother and son were in the dining room; Xia Xi felt it a bit quiet, not realizing before how lively two extra people could make it."

"She picked up her chopsticks to serve Zi Heng some vegetables: \"Eat more. \""

"Zi Heng stuffed his mouth full, his cheeks bulging: \"Mom, why aren't you eating? \""

"Xia Xi hadn't eaten lunch, so she was hungry, but looking at the dishes on the table, she had no appetite. Even though Zhangyi's cooking was excellent, and she had made all the dishes they loved."

"\"No appetite. \" Xia Xi pressed her left hand against her stomach, her voice soft."

"Her stomach couldn't just be described as uncomfortable; it was faintly aching. She didn't want Zi Heng to worry, so she kept it to herself, planning to take some medicine when she went back to her room later."

"Zi Heng looked at her and, assuming, said: \"Is it because you can't see that person that you have no appetite? \""

"Xia Xi: \"……\""

"Zi Heng still refuses to call Xu Yanfeng 'dad' to this day; whenever he mentions him, he uses 'that person' instead. If Xu Yanfeng is present, Zi Heng will refer to him as 'he'."

"\"What do you know? \" Xia Xi chuckled, but a sudden stab of pain shot through her stomach; she forced herself not to show it, patting Zi Heng's head: \"Don't talk nonsense. \""

"\"I understand. \" Zi Heng puffed out his cheeks: \"Do you like that person? \""

"Xia Xi didn't want to admit it, being rendered speechless by a six-year-old brat's question. Moreover, this brat was her own son; how could he not give her some face?"

"Seeing her like that, Zi Heng sighed, nodded, and said worriedly: \"I just knew it. \""

"\"……\""

"Xia Xi didn't want to discuss such complicated adult matters with him; she held onto the table and stood up: \"Eat your meal nicely, I'll go fetch something from my room and be right back to keep you company. \""

"Zi Heng gave an 'oh', bowed his head over his bowl, and started shoveling rice."

"Xia Xi went into her room, took down her bag from the coat rack, pulled out the ever-ready Pinaverium bromide tablets, dug out two, tossed them into her mouth, and swallowed them dry without water."

"In an instant, she felt a spasm-like pain in her gastrointestinal tract."

"Xia Xi sat on the sofa, curled up on her side, and a layer of sweat quickly appeared on her forehead."

"She pressed her hands together hard against the upper left of her abdomen, as if that might ease it a bit, but the effect wasn't really noticeable. She closed her eyes, silently praying for the medicine to work faster, even faster."

"She didn't want to feel this bad anymore."

"Not knowing how long she'd waited, Xia Xi wondered if she'd taken the wrong medicine; it had no effect at all, and the pain only got worse."

"It had always worked before."

"Xia Xi was in so much pain she couldn't stand; she felt as if she were trapped in the sofa, wishing she were dead."

"Zi Heng sat alone in the dining room, finished his meal, and turned his head several times, remembering his mother saying she'd come right back to keep him company, but so much time had passed and she still hadn't returned."

"Zi Heng grew a little worried, slipped down from his chair, and headed toward Xia Xi's room."

"\"Mom? \" Zi Heng didn't notice his mother's presence at first glance."

"\"Zi……zi……heng. \""

Xia Xi couldn't move, she weakly called out, then immediately let out a painful low groan. Zi Heng finally saw her, her body curled into a small ball in the angle between the sofa's back and armrest.

Zi Heng ran over, but because he was too panicked, he tripped on the edge of the plush carpet, fell down, quickly got up, went to the sofa and squatted down, seeing Xia Xi's face pale, sweating nonstop, he immediately realized: "Mom, is your stomach uncomfortable?"

Without waiting for Xia Xi to answer, Zi Heng turned and went to look for medicine.

Having experienced this several times abroad, Zi Heng knew Xia Xi usually kept medicine in the bedroom drawer or in the bag she carried. He didn't find any in the drawer, then pulled out a box from the bag, skillfully took out a pill, poured a cup of warm water and brought it over.

Xia Xi was in so much pain she couldn't speak clearly; when Zi Heng's small hand pinched the pill and brought it to her lips, she weakly shook her head.

"Mom, you'll be fine after taking the medicine." Zi Heng said anxiously.

Xia Xi's lips moved, uttering a few blurred words: "I've... I've already taken it."

Zi Heng stared, his eyes instantly reddening: Mom had already taken the medicine, why is she still in so much pain?

What should he do?