Chapter 298: I Want to Change Our Relationship

The noisy commotion lasted a long time; Xia Xi stared at Xu Yanfeng, almost impatient from waiting, she urgently wanted to know what he had said.

Beside them, a helpless-looking woman squatted to soothe the child, toys and snacks deployed, the wailing finally faded, the broadcast alert also cut off; although there was still the murmur of passersby, it was much quieter than before.

Xia Xi let out a breath, her tone tinged with helplessness: "Go ahead."

After the right moment passed, saying it then wouldn't have the same flavor; Xu Yanfeng pressed his lips and gave a light laugh.

"What are you laughing at? I asked you to repeat it." Xia Xi rubbed her ears, "I really didn't hear just now, it's so noisy, my ears are about to go deaf."

Xu Yanfeng offhandedly said: "Forgot."

Xia Xi: "……"

After looking at him for a few seconds, Xia Xi pointed at her own forehead and mocked him: "Is your memory really that short? You just say forgot and forget?"

"Look over there." Xu Yanfeng suddenly raised his hand, pointing behind her.

Xia Xi had no doubt, turning her head in the direction he pointed; flight information scrolled across the LED display, the crowd below like swimming fish. Possibly because the holiday had just ended, there were more travelers than usual.

Her gaze swept over most of the area, seeing nothing special; she didn't know what Xu Yanfeng wanted her to look at.

"What do you want me to look——" Xia Xi asked while turning her head back, but she hadn't expected Xu Yanfeng to be so close; her lips landed precisely on the corner of his mouth, the position spot-on.

The rest of the words couldn't be spoken, disappearing in her throat.

Xia Xi's breath halted for a second, she blinked, tilted her head back, and pulled away. She pressed her lips and whispered: "I didn't mean to." Clearly it was a normal speaking distance; who knew he would suddenly move in.

"I know." Xu Yanfeng's eyes slightly curved, he said slowly: "I did it on purpose."

"……"

Xu Yanfeng's palm had at some point wrapped around the back of her head, lightly gripping, he applied forward pressure, pushing her toward him.

Their separated lips met again, this time not at the corners but squarely on the center of the lips.

Xia Xi felt her scalp about to explode—this was at the airport, with so many people coming and going, now in the internet age, what if someone filmed it and posted it online…

Not daring to think further, Xia Xi reached out to push Xu Yanfeng away; fortunately he knew his bounds, the kiss didn't last long—just a second or two—before he pulled back.

Xia Xi glanced around guiltily; only a few people were staring at them, yet she still felt embarrassed.

"You should head back; today's a workday, don't you have to go to the office?" Xia Xi said urgently, not knowing where to put her hands, she shoved him again.

Her cheeks burned, her heart pounded thump-thump as if striking her chest; she felt a little shy about meeting Xu Yanfeng's eyes, always feeling he could see through her.

Xu Yanfeng took one of her hands, his fingertip pressing on the back of her hand: "I just remembered what I was going to say."

Xia Xi looked up at him: "Hmm?"

"I'll miss you." Xu Yanfeng locked eyes with her, saying domineeringly: "You have to miss me too."

Xia Xi stared at him, dazed.

Xu Yanfeng released her hand, and along with that warm heat it vanished, as if he'd pulled something from inside her body, stirring the deep-seated reluctance buried in her heart.

At this moment, Xia Xi clearly realized that no matter how many years passed, she would still be captivated and fall for Xu Yanfeng.

Liking him felt like fate.

There was no reasoning behind it, and she couldn't resist.

Xu Yanfeng glanced at his wristwatch; he indeed should leave. He slipped his hands into his pockets, gazed deeply at Xia Xi, and finally added: "When you get there, take good care of yourself, and come back early once you're done."

He inhaled slowly; although it was just a simple phrase, saying it required some effort: "I'm leaving."

It made it seem as if he were the one going abroad on business.

Xia Xi watched him go, disappearing into the crowd, like being swept away by a flood; she felt a sense of loss in her heart.

Finding a seat, Xia Xi pulled out her phone from her pocket, located Xu Yanfeng's WeChat, and typed a message in the chat box: "Wait for me to come back, let's make up."

Her finger hovered over the "send" button, not descending for a while.

Xia Xi felt this seemed not formal enough.

After thinking a while, she bit her lip, deleted the latter half of the sentence, and changed it to: "Let's have a good talk."

In Xia Xi's view, such important words should be spoken face to face.

After sending the message, Xia Xi pressed the lock screen key, held the phone against her chin, closed her eyes and waited; a few seconds later the phone stirred, she lowered her head to glance at it.

Xu Yanfeng: "What do you want to talk about?"

She didn't know; Xu Yanfeng was thrown into turmoil by her words, feeling she wanted to discuss something unpleasant.

The last time he ran into Zhong Yinghong, Xia Xi had been absent-minded all day; he was a bit jumpy, and any little change on her part would make him panic. He didn't ask for much—just to maintain the current calm.

Xia Xi: "I'll tell you when I get back."

Xu Yanfeng: "Give me a hint first, so I can prepare myself mentally."

Xia Xi: "……"

How to hint? If she revealed even a little, he would surely guess it.

Xia Xi simply stopped replying, opened her music app, plugged in earphones, and listened to music.

As the intro began, an image of Xu Yanfeng kissing her suddenly popped into her mind; she rubbed her lips with the back of her hand and exclaimed, "He really has tricks!" He'd been using this unexpected approach more often lately to lure her; she couldn't resist the temptation, and it wasn't her fault.

After boarding the plane, before turning it off, she still left a message for Xu Yanfeng.

Xia Xi: "Regarding our relationship, I want to make a change."

The message sent successfully; Xia Xi decisively turned off her phone, removed the eye mask to cover her eyes, and began to sleep deeply.

Landing at Gatwick Airport happened nearly thirteen hours later; Xia Xi had slept six or seven hours on the plane, she felt fairly good, with no fatigue from the long flight.

It was 2 p. m. local time; unlike the bright spring of Nancheng, London's sky was iron-gray, overcast, low pressure looming, as if drizzle could fall at any moment.

While waiting for her luggage to arrive, Xia Xi turned her phone on, noticed unread WeChat messages—Xu Yanfeng had sent her several; later, presumably guessing she had turned it off, he stopped sending more.

She didn't reply to the messages; first she contacted the hotel's driver, learned the car sent for her was waiting outside, and then she felt at ease.

After collecting her luggage, Xia Xi followed the crowd out, smoothly got into the business car heading to the hotel, and only then did she have the spare energy to check what Xu Yanfeng had sent her.

Xu Yanfeng: "?"

Xu Yanfeng: "What do you want to change?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Just a reminder, the agreed-upon hundred-day limit hasn't arrived yet. 【Image】"

Xu Yanfeng: "Did I somewhere provoke you?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Why aren't you replying to me?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Is your phone off?"

Xu Yanfeng: "When you get there, send me a message."

Xia Xi scanned through the messages Xu Yanfeng had sent her from top to bottom, opened that picture, inexplicably amused, and laughed out loud—the picture he had sent her was the hundred-day countdown she had posted in the living room.

Two months have passed, and the hundred-day limit is already halfway over.

What Xu Yanfeng hated most was this countdown calendar she made; each time she took a black marker and crossed off a day on it, he would drift past from behind her, his gaze cold, as if he wanted to stare a hole through that paper.

Xia Xi then went through the messages again, one by one, to let him know she was safe: "I've just gotten off the plane, heading to the hotel now."

In the country it was now past ten o'clock at night, not too late, and as soon as Xu Yanfeng received the message he called her.