Chapter 318

Xia Xi had already cursed ten thousand times in her heart, but she showed nothing on her face, speaking calmly: "If you have any ideas, please tell me; I'll note them down and add them to the design later."

Li Shiguang tilted his neck, thought for a moment, and said with a smile: "I really haven't decided yet; I only know I didn't like that previous style." He tugged at the loose sleeve of his shirt, revealing an expensive wristwatch, glanced at the time, and added: "How about this—let's find a quiet spot, sit down, have a drink, and I'll think it over slowly; I'll tell you once I've decided."

Xia Xi could even hear the sound of him fiddling with the abacus beads; Gao Ge's assessment was spot on—this man had no sense of boundaries, his gaze was frivolous, and his words were equally light-hearted.

Who knows how many times he's used this trick, developing such a thick skin; he can utter such remarks openly, without even bothering with the most basic pretense.

"How's the consideration going?" Li Shiguang leaned forward, making a move to take Xia Xi's hand, "When it comes to a beauty like Miss Xia, I've always been patient. If you haven't decided yet, I don't mind waiting a bit longer."

Xia Xi felt like vomiting; she raised her hand, and had it not been for the company's interests, she would have already slapped him across the face.

"Sorry, I don't have time to have a drink with Mr. Li." Xia Xi's expression turned a little cold, "Once this is over, I still need to see Madam Li to discuss some details."

She hadn't planned to see Madam Li today; she only brought her up to make Li Shiguang wary.

Li Shiguang raised an eyebrow, easily seeing through her excuse: "My wife probably doesn't have time to see you; she's at the hospital looking after my mother-in-law."

"Sister Xi."

Huang Shiyu's voice came from upstairs; moments later she descended the stairs, saw Li Shiguang, and her expression flickered slightly.

Li Shiguang hadn't expected anyone else, and a hint of displeasure crossed his face.

Taking the opportunity, Xia Xi went upstairs, leaving him behind, and met up with Huang Shiyu.

Huang Shiyu leaned slightly toward her and whispered, "Who is that person?"

Xia Xi: "Li Madam's husband—not a good person, just ignore him."

Huang Shiyu let out an uncertain 'ah,' not quite understanding where the evaluation 'not a good person' came from.

Soon, she understood.

That Mr. Li also came up to the second floor, hands behind his back, following them. Huang Shiyu thought he might offer some opinions, but the next second she heard him ask: "What does Miss Xia's husband do for a living?"

Huang Shiyu: "?"

This person is truly bewildering.

Xia Xi kept looking and taking notes, ignoring him.

"Someone as outstanding as Miss Xia really makes me curious about what kind of person your other half is." Li Shiguang failed to notice Xia Xi's coldness; his words carried a hint of regret, as if he had already decided she wasn't answering because her husband's job was ordinary and not worth mentioning.

Xia Xi still acted as if she hadn't heard, pointing to a spot and speaking softly to Huang Shiyu. Huang Shiyu listened carefully, nodded, and indicated she had remembered.

Seeing himself completely ignored, Li Shiguang felt uneasy, and shortly afterward he brought up a new topic: "Miss Xia, do you have any research on art? As designers, you must have your own aesthetic."

His intention was to show off his strengths, a usual tactic he used to attract women; who would have thought, Xia Xi glanced at him lightly and said, "Indeed, I like beautiful things." After a pause she added, "And people."

After listening for so long, Huang Shiyu also figured out Mr. Li's intent, feeling disgusted but unable to turn against him. At that moment, she and Xia Xi were of one mind, and she interjected: "No wonder your husband, Sister Xi, is so handsome—he's been the campus heartthrob of our Nan Da for several consecutive terms, unbeaten to this day; turns out you, Sister Xi, are a looks-oriented person!"

Xia Xi cooperated with a slight laugh.

Li Shiguang: "……"

His facial muscles twitched, Li Shiguang cleared his throat to save face: "A person's skin is ultimately just superficial; what matters most for a man is ability. If I were Miss Xia's husband, I certainly wouldn't let you toil so hard—look at you, wind, rain, sun exposure, how exhausting; someone like you should be lounging at home enjoying blessings."

Huang Shiyu's stomach churned, feeling like she might vomit her lunch; she had never seen someone so lacking in self-awareness.

This truly proved the saying "The world is vast, and nothing is strange."

Xia Xi shook her head.

Seeing her reaction, Li Shiguang smiled and asked, "Is what I said wrong?"

Xia Xi deflected with a light touch: "No matter how capable a man is, if he doesn't learn to respect his wife, in my view, tsk tsk… he's not even as good as this plastic sheet on the ground."

She stepped over the plastic sheet with her foot, turned, and went downstairs.

Xia Xi sped up her tour of the entire private estate; when she left, the rain was falling harder than when she arrived, fine drops striking the ground densely. She didn't drive the car inside, leaving it parked outside the estate.

Huang Shiyu picked up the nearby umbrella and opened it, feeling it was a bit difficult to shield both of them, unlike when they first arrived when the rain had been light.

Li Shiguang came out of the house; having just been subtly mocked by Xia Xi, he had originally felt a bit displeased, but seeing the beauty's brows slightly furrowed, he instantly forgot that displeasure and warmly suggested, "How about I give you a ride?"

"Thank you, no trouble."

Xia Xi returned a light smile, took the umbrella from Huang Shiyu, put her arm around her shoulders, and walked down the steps; her shoe soles splashed tiny droplets on the wet ground, and the umbrella made a pattering sound.

After returning, Xia Xi asked Gao Ge for her design plan, then, based on the scenes she had seen that day stored in her mind, she marked out the already renovated parts, revising what needed revision and redesigning what needed redesign.

Initially, when Madam Li sought her out, she had designed a version that didn't match the existing style; forcibly adding it would have been too jarring, so she had to scrap it, which involved a considerable amount of work.

Over the next few days, Xia Xi was busy with Madam Li's project, to the point that she even forgot about the agreed hundred-day cohabitation period with Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng, on the other hand, remembered it clearly, but seeing that she had forgotten, he pretended to have forgotten as well and didn't bring it up in front of her.

If he ever mentioned it, she would surely follow what she had said before and move back in to live with Su Jinru.

Xu Yanfeng wished she would never remember this.

Xia Xi worked in the study; Xu Yanfeng consulted with Aunt Zhang, prepared a silver ear and red date soup, brought it over, lifted the lid, steam rose, and the air filled with a fragrant sweet aroma.

"Take a break?" Xu Yanfeng tapped her shoulder.

At his words, Xia Xi released her grip on the mouse, rubbed her temples a few times, pulled the white porcelain cup to her face, and sipped slowly with a porcelain spoon.

Xu Yanfeng leaned against the edge of the desk, arms loosely crossed, and said, "Tomorrow is Saturday; do you have any plans?"

Xia Xi, busy regardless of workdays or holidays, swallowed the sweet soup and said, "Overtime."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Xia Xi lifted her eyelids to look at his dark eyes, smiled slightly, and asked, "Do you have any plans?"

"Do you know what day tomorrow is?"

"What day?"

Xia Xi seriously examined the desk calendar; tomorrow is May 20th, which is neither his birthday nor hers, let alone Zi Heng's or Youyou's. Could it be some kind of anniversary?

Xia Xi was still pondering when Xu Yanfeng let out a soft chuckle, laughing at her lack of romantic sense: "Tomorrow is 520, Valentine's Day."

Xia Xi thought for a moment, not quite understanding: "Isn't Valentine's Day on February 14?"

Xu Yanfeng: "520 is also (Valentine's Day)."

Xia Xi knew that the homophone of 520 is "I love you," but back when they were in college, this holiday wasn't popular yet, and later they never had the chance to celebrate it. She stared at Xu Yanfeng for a while, couldn't help herself, and burst out laughing: "You still observe this kind of holiday?"

Xu Yanfeng lowered his eyes, saying matter-of-factly: "Any problem?"

"No problem, no problem." Xia Xi pressed her lips together, still couldn't help laughing, "I said you have a girlish heart, and I wasn't wrong. How did I not notice you have these romantic cells before? Aren't you always allergic to romance?"

Xu Yanfeng refused to accept her assessment: "When did I become allergic to romance?"

Looking at his demeanor, it seemed he was blaming Xia Xi for spreading rumors.

Xia Xi casually gave an example: "When we were in college, in the library, I folded a rose out of paper for you, and you asked what that lump was."

Xu Yanfeng recalled it, but he feigned ignorance: "It never happened."

Xia Xi: "……"