Chapter 294: You and Afeng Are Dating

Xia Xi recovered from her shock and greeted sluggishly: "Ah... Auntie."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xia Xi secretly regretted it, wondering why she had stammered.

She had seen her share of big scenes; not to mention, she had gone alone twice to meet Xu Guanshan and had never been this nervous.

Zhong Yinghong was even more shocked; she lifted her slightly stiff cheeks and gave her a faint smile, her gaze sweeping over her face several times as doubts rose one after another in her mind.

Who is this girl?

How is she here at Xu Yanfeng's place?

Is she Xu Yanfeng's girlfriend?

How come I've never heard him mention having a girlfriend before?

Or rather, Zhangyi remained calm, greeting Zhong Yinghong: "Madam, don't stand at the door—come in and sit."

Zhong Yinghong let out an incredulous "ah," slinging her bag over her shoulder as she stepped inside.

Zhangyi bent down, fetched a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet for her, and took her bag with both hands, placing it properly.

"What would you like to drink?" Zhangyi asked.

Zhong Yinghong: "I am actually a bit thirsty; please make me a cup of tea."

Zhangyi nodded and replied, "Just a moment, I'll go make the tea right away."

"Let me do it." Xia Xi snatched the task from Zhangyi, picked up the tea canister, and walked to the side.

Zhangyi blinked, then hurried forward to stop her: "How can I let you work? You still need to rest..."

"I'm already fine." Xia Xi opened the lid of the tea canister, picked up the tea leaves with bamboo tweezers, and placed them in the cup.

Zhangyi sighed helplessly and had to go keep Zhong Yinghong company, so as not to neglect her.

Zhong Yinghong stared fixedly at Xia Xi's back and quietly asked Zhangyi, "Where is Xu Yanfeng?"

"He went out." Zhangyi had been guarding the soup in the kitchen and hadn't paid much attention to Xu Yanfeng's movements, "Looks like he went to buy something."

Zhong Yinghong slightly lifted her chin, pointing at Xia Xi: "Is that one Xu Yanfeng's girlfriend?"

Zhangyi was put on the spot, momentarily speechless.

To say Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi are lovers seems inaccurate, but to say they have no relationship is also wrong.

Zhong Yinghong found Zhangyi's attitude puzzling and said, somewhat displeased, "Are you keeping me in the dark too?"

"No, no." Zhangyi waved her hands, speaking frankly: "I'm not sure either. However, Mr. Xu really likes this young lady and treats her very well."

Xia Xi had brewed a cup of tea, brought it over, and placed it on the coffee table in front of Zhong Yinghong: "Please help yourself."

She didn't know how to deal with Xu Yanfeng's mother; her only knowledge came from a few remarks by Xu Guanshan, saying that Xu's wife was in poor health and couldn't tolerate stress. Moreover, Xu Yanfeng's relationship with his mother was very close.

"Don't stand, have a seat." Zhong Yinghong gestured to the spot beside her, adding, "I don't even know what to call you."

Xia Xi sat down, keeping a person's distance between them, and answered cautiously, "My surname is Xia."

With someone keeping Zhong Yinghong company, Zhangyi didn't stay; she got up and went to busy herself in the kitchen.

"Miss Xia." Zhong Yinghong lifted her teacup, took a small sip, her posture dignified and elegant, and asked, "Are you and Afeng dating?"

Zhangyi couldn't bring herself to ask, so she had to ask the person directly.

Even while brewing the tea, Xia Xi had thought Zhong Yinghong might ask about her relationship with Xu Yanfeng, but she still hadn't figured out how to explain it; she and Xu Yanfeng had only dated before, and currently... they weren't together.

She would be living in Xu Yanfeng's home, but only because of that absurd condition he had proposed.

She certainly couldn't bring up the contract with his elders.

"No." Xia Xi denied it.

"Huh?" Zhong Yinghong didn't quite believe her, staring at her for a long while.

Xia Xi felt her scalp tingle; she also knew this was hard to explain, after all she was currently wearing loungewear and appearing in Xu Yanfeng's private domain.

"It's like this." Xia Xi, feeling guilty, told a lie to the person before her: "I was hospitalized for illness a few days ago and haven't fully recovered; General Manager Xu, out of concern for his employees, therefore..."

She couldn't keep it going; it sounded utterly ridiculous.

Sure enough, Zhong Yinghong looked as if she'd heard a joke: "Concern? Employees?"

Xia Xi blushed with shame, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. She hadn't felt this helpless in years.

Zhong Yinghong was adept at reading people; seeing her somewhat embarrassed, she tactfully let it go and merely followed up on her comment with a trivial question: "Are you his employee?"

Xia Xi slowly exhaled: "A party B employee."

Zhong Yinghong drew out an "oh" with meaning, implying that they had met through work.

Zi Heng finished his homework, grabbed his workbook, ran up the steps, trotted over to Xia Xi, handed it to her for checking, and then, with a pair of dark, bright eyes, stared at Zhong Yinghong and said, "Mom, who is this auntie?"

Zhong Yinghong's hand trembled, spilling a few drops of tea; she widened her eyes, staring blankly at this child who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The child looked about five or six, with fair skin and a cute appearance.

Zhong Yinghong was startled.

"He calls you mom?" Zhong Yinghong looked incredulously at Xia Xi, pointing at Zi Heng and asking, "Is this your child?"

Xia Xi's heart skipped a beat; she hadn't expected to see Xu Yanfeng's mother so suddenly, felt a bit nervous, and forgot that Zi Heng was in the living room and should have been hidden.

Xu Yanfeng's family apparently had no knowledge of Zi Heng's existence.

Xia Xi's face turned pale; admitting it wasn't an option, nor was denying it. If she admitted it, and Xu Yanfeng's mother were thereby upset and something happened, she couldn't bear the responsibility. If she denied it, Zi Heng would be listening here, and since she hadn't discussed it with him beforehand, she wondered what he would think.

Before Xia Xi could come up with a perfect answer, Zi Heng tilted his head innocently and said, "Of course I'm Mom's child."

Xia Xi: "..."

Now she didn't have to worry about how to answer.

This scene really exceeded Zhong Yinghong's expectations; she had no objection to Xu Yanfeng dating or cohabiting—after all, they're both thirty, which is normal—but she never imagined Xu Yanfeng would like a woman with a child.

This...

Afraid of giving herself away, Xia Xi handed the workbook to Zi Heng, her voice barely concealing panic: "Zi Heng, Mom will check your homework later; go read for now."

"Okay."

Zi Heng held his homework book, politely nodded at Zhong Yinghong, not knowing how to address her, so he didn't, ran back to his original seat, and held the storybook to read.

The air stayed still for a few seconds; Zhong Yinghong gently set down her teacup, her expression a shade more unnatural than before: "When will Ah Feng be back?"

"Let me ask." Xia Xi, feeling as if sitting on pins and needles, used this as an excuse to grab her phone, temporarily leaving Zhong Yinghong's sight.

How could Xu Yanfeng not say his mother would come over?!

Forget it, he probably didn't know either.

His mother probably came on a whim to see her son, but ended up not seeing him and instead seeing this uninvited guest, likely startled enough to be speechless.

Being able to maintain a composed outward demeanor already shows she is a respectable person.

Xia Xi lowered her head to send a WeChat to Xu Yanfeng, had just typed two characters, her fingers trembled, and she accidentally sent it.

Xia Xi: "Your mom."

Xu Yanfeng was driving, heard the message notification, initially didn't want to bother, glanced at it casually, saw it was from Xia Xi, found a place to pull over, and picked up the phone from the glove compartment.

Xu Yanfeng: "?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Speak properly if you have something to say, don't insult people."

Xia Xi: "..."

Xia Xi added the characters she hadn't finished typing: "Here."

Xu Yanfeng didn't understand: "What's here?"

Xia Xi: "Your mom is at home."

Xu Yanfeng: "How could she come?"

Xia Xi's fingertip jabbed hard at the screen: "How would I know? Come back quickly!"

Xu Yanfeng glanced at the route on the navigation; half the journey to the pastry shop he was headed to remained, turning back now would probably be useless. He tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully and continued driving forward.

He knew Zhong Yinghong's temperament all too well; no matter what, she would never make things difficult for a girl who showed up at his private residence.