Chapter 312: The Benefit of Not Having to Struggle for Twenty Years

Returning to Su Jinru's house, she was indeed asked about the cause of Xia Yue's injury.

Xia Yue stammered and couldn't speak, so Xia Xi spoke for her: "That bastard Zhou Hongsheng came looking for my sister."

Upon hearing that, Su Jinru's heart pounded, she frowned: "What does he want?" Hearing his name made her nauseous.

"What else could someone like him want when he shows up at the door?" Xia Xi said. "Money, of course. He won't agree to divorce my sister unless the money is right."

Su Jinru, a person extremely gentle in dealing with others, couldn't help but curse a few times. After cursing, she worried about Xia Yue again, her brows knotted: "What should we do?"

Xia Xi poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xu Yanfeng: "Xu Yanfeng said he would handle it."

Su Jinru knew about Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi's reconciliation; hearing this, her gaze shifted to Xu Yanfeng. She knew his abilities—if he stepped in, he could surely settle Zhou Hongsheng. That's why she felt indebted.

"Do we have to give him money?" Su Jinru's initial thought matched Xia Xi's—she assumed Xu Yanfeng would use money to settle it, and she didn't quite agree: "That would be too cheap for Zhou Hongsheng."

Xia Xi: "He said he wouldn't give that beast any money, and I don't know what he plans to do instead."

Xu Yanfeng took a sip of tea and assured Su Jinru: "Rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter properly."

Concerning her own daughter, Su Jinru couldn't fully relax; her brow remained furrowed, she sighed heavily, looking at Xia Yue with heartache.

Back when Zhou Hongsheng appeared so polite, who could have imagined his nature was so vicious?

Indeed, the saying "people's hearts are hidden behind their bellies" is true—Xia Chenggang is the same; everyone sees him as an honest, silent, loyal, reliable man, but in reality he's a scumbag.

"You haven't seen my mother worried until her eyebrows are tied in knots." Xia Xi sat beside Xu Yanfeng, nudging his arm: "Tell me how you plan to solve this, so I can put my mother at ease."

Xu Yanfeng hesitated a bit: "I have a rough direction; implementing it might take time."

After sitting idly for a while, Xu Yanfeng took Xia Xi to say their goodbyes. Before leaving, Xia Xi reminded Xia Yue to rest well at home, not to go to the restaurant for now, to avoid Zhou Hongsheng causing trouble again.

Xia Yue gave a bitter smile, fearing that even if she didn't ask for leave, the restaurant would fire her. All her coworkers had seen what happened today, and they would surely tell the boss soon.

When the two were alone, Xia Xi dropped the obedient act she put on in front of Su Jinru, crossed her arms, and threatened Xu Yanfeng: "Are you going to speak or not? Still playing hard to get with me?"

The car headed toward the kindergarten; it was almost pickup time, so they went to get the child.

Xu Yanfeng leaned back in his seat, looking completely nonchalant: "What are you going to do if I don't tell you?"

Xia Xi sized him up—she really couldn't do anything to him.

Xu Yanfeng looked at her, raised an eyebrow and gave a light smile.

Xia Xi grew annoyed, turned sideways, and wrapped her arm around his neck: "Speak or not?"

Xu Yanfeng laughed helplessly, patted the forearm she had around his neck, and whispered: "The driver is still here."

Xia Xi cared most about face; she glanced at the driver, let go, and sat properly.

Xu Yanfeng straightened the tie she had messed up, then said: "If there's a greater interest placed before Zhou Hongsheng, the precondition must be that he becomes single again—would he not eagerly propose divorce?"

Xia Xi pondered for a moment, still not quite clear: "What kind of interest?"

Xu Yanfeng flicked her forehead lightly, leaned close, and whispered: "The benefit of not having to struggle for twenty years."

Xia Xi suddenly understood: "You mean find someone..."

"About right." Xu Yanfeng tilted his head to look at her, calmly said: "This kind of thing can't be rushed; if Zhou Hongsheng is cautious, it will take some time before he takes the bait."

"I know him better than you—he's not exactly a wise man; when faced with money, he has no principles." Xia Xi said. "Just watch: as long as the bait is tempting enough, he'll bite faster than anyone, and he'll even fear someone else snatching it away."

The next day was a day off; Xia Xi picked up Youyou, and since she had free time, she baked bread for the two kids.

Xu Yanfeng received a call, got up, and went to the window to answer.

Xia Xi wore thick cotton gloves, held a baking tray, and the freshly baked bread gave off a milky fragrance; the whole house smelled like that, as if she had wandered into a bakery.

Zhangyi had just been given a piece of bread by Xia Xi; after tasting it, she praised endlessly: "I didn't expect you, Xia Xi, to have such skill."

Xia Xi laughed and said: "I just followed the book's tutorial; I've done it many times abroad, initially I failed often, but later I got the hang of it."

She took off the gloves, told the two kids playing with toys: "Go wash your hands, then come eat bread."

Xia Xi picked up a piece, walked over to Xu Yanfeng; as she approached, she faintly heard him say: "Already arranged the people? Hmm, good, I know."

Noticing someone approaching, Xu Yanfeng turned his head; Xia Xi tore off a small piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth. His eyes softened, he smiled slightly, chewed and swallowed, then continued talking to the person on the phone: "That person is Zhou Hongsheng; I've had my assistant send you his photo, and also the places he often frequents."

Xia Xi took a bite of bread, hearing that, she lifted her eyes and stared at him blankly.

Xu Yanfeng grabbed her wrist, using her hand, bit into the spot she had just bitten, paused a few seconds, then spoke again: "Report any developments to me promptly."

Seeing him hang up, Xia Xi immediately asked: "Have you already found the 'bait'?"

Xu Yanfeng put his phone aside, snatched the remaining bread from her hand, his tone languid: "No need to specially look for it; there are professionals who do this." He finished the last bite of bread, glanced at her: "It's actually quite tasty."

Xia Xi: "Shall I get you another one?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Sure."

Zhou Hongsheng lives in a dilapidated old apartment, sharing it with four others—a mixed crowd of all kinds, and he still has to pay 2,300 in rent each month.

In Qianlin he once had a decent job, but later he followed a friend into stock trading, poured all his money in, heard nothing back, and came to Nancheng to find work. Wages here are higher than in Qianlin, and the cost of living is also higher.

Life has nothing to look forward to.

That day, when he went to a restaurant with coworkers for a meal, if it weren't for bumping into Xia Yue working there as a server, he would have almost forgotten he still had a wife—he doesn't even know when Xia Yue got out of prison.

Today Zhou Hongsheng went to that restaurant again, heard that Xia Yue had resigned, he left, spat on the ground, cursed his bad luck, and went into a nearby bar, diving right in.

After drinking a few cheap beers at the bar, a commotion suddenly rose at the door; Zhou Hongsheng propped his head, swiveled on the high stool, and joined the crowd watching the spectacle.

There wasn't much to see—just a beautiful woman entering, wearing a black dress, a thin silver chain around her neck holding a green jade pendant the size of a bottle of menthol oil. Her hair draped over her shoulders, her face pretty, but she didn't look like a girl in her early twenties; she should be in her thirties, stepping in on thin high heels—three letters for the brand—and her bag was made of rare leather, clearly she wasn't short of money.

The beauty sat at the bar, pointed at the bartender showing off his skills, slurred drunkenly: "Give me a glass, a bottle of your best liquor. I just couldn't get enough at the bar next door."

Zhou Hongsheng sat beside her, catching a whiff of alcohol mixed with a light perfume.

The beauty noticed someone checking her out, turned her head, frowned, and slapped Zhou Hongsheng across the face: "Scumbag! You still have the nerve to show up in front of me? Cheating deserves death!"