Chapter 320: She was the one who seduced me

In the blink of an eye, Li Tai stood before her, her furious face looming several times larger in Xia Xi's eyes, truly somewhat terrifying, as if she wanted to eat people.

Eating people is impossible, but hitting people is highly possible; Xia Xi saw Li Tai raise her hand, and as the slap fell, she grabbed her wrist and calmly asked, "Li Tai, what are you doing?"

Li Tai's chest heaved, her breath intense: "Answer me, what were you just doing?! Miss Xia, it's because I was magnanimous and let it slide that I let you off easy at Broad and Elegant, yet you not only fail to be grateful, you come here to seduce my husband!"

"Seduce... what?" Xia Xi looked stunned, then after a moment shook her head with a wry smile.

Li Tai shook off Xia Xi's hand, her outstretched finger almost poking her nose: "What do you mean?"

"Mrs. Li, you are a client of Broad and Elegant; I've always been polite to you, but that doesn't give you the right to sling mud at me." Xia Xi glanced sideways at the silent Li Shiguang, unsparing: "Is your husband some delicacy? Do I need to seduce him?"

"You..."

Li Tai's fingertip trembled, she uttered "you" over and over, so angry she couldn't speak.

She couldn't speak, but Xia Xi still had something to say: "Last time I came, your husband verbally offended me; today, taking advantage of my inattention, he started getting handsy again—I even wanted to report him for sexual harassment."

Li Shiguang's face paled, he glanced at his wife's ashen face, and rebuked Xia Xi: "Don't spout bloody nonsense!"

"Honey, don't listen to her nonsense." Li Shiguang stepped sideways to stand beside his wife, opposing Xia Xi together: "You're not wrong—it's she who seduced me. This Miss Xia, relying on her youth and beauty, God knows how many times she's done this, becoming so practiced; fortunately I have principles and wasn't bewitched by her."

Such audacity to turn the tables—Xia Xi was full of admiration.

Looking at Li Tai again, she indeed believed her husband's nonsense, eyes blazing with anger, shooting straight at her: "Miss Xia, do you have anything else to say? My estate no longer needs your decoration; furthermore, tomorrow I'll go to your company to lodge a complaint!"

Upon hearing that, Xia Xi's first reaction wasn't anger but amusement; she smiled, eyes crinkling.

Li Tai took her expression as contempt, growing more furious: "I almost forgot—you're a partner at the company; my complaint won't get you fired. But don't get cocky—at least you'll let your coworkers know what kind of person you are, waiting for everyone to condemn you!"

Li Shiguang hid behind his wife, acting as an invisible person.

Xia Xi could bear it no longer, deciding to tear off this nauseating whitewash: "Mrs. Li, isn't it that whenever a woman lingers around Mr. Li, he tells you it's those women who seduced him?"

The raging Li Tai suddenly went still, as if someone had hit pause.

A flash of annoyance crossed Li Shiguang's eyes; his invisible act couldn't hold, and he stepped forward to speak: "Miss Xia, how are you speaking?"

"Have I said something wrong?" Xia Xi still smiled, picking apart his pretense bit by bit: "Those women—when you haven't succeeded with them, you take the opportunity to boast of upholding your principles, of not betraying marriage; when you do succeed and your wife finds out, you slap on the labels 'she seduced me' or 'just a fling' to whitewash it."

Xia Xi stared at Li Tai, also tearing apart her facade: "Mrs. Li, you've lived with your husband for so long—do you really not know his nature? No, you know better than anyone; you're merely deceiving yourself, conveniently pinning your husband's infidelity on those women so you can tell yourself your marriage is still perfect, at least in appearance. But having deceived yourself so often, you can't even tell the difference anymore, and when similar situations arise, you habitually blame the woman."

Under the bright May sun, Li Tai felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her, shivering all over: "You, you—what nonsense are you spouting?"

Xia Xi looked at her quietly, her eyes holding sympathy.

Li Tai lunged forward, shoved her, her face somewhat twisted, firmly convinced of what she'd seen with her own eyes: "You seduced my husband, you still won't admit it, you're still making excuses here—I've never met someone so shameless!"

Xia Xi staggered back a step, steadying herself against a marble column; the sympathy in her eyes vanished, and she saw the person before her as a joke, beyond help.

"Honey, don't be angry, let her say what she wants." Li Shiguang embraced his trembling wife, lightly patting her while softly coaxing: "She's just upset that I'm not interested in her, turned spiteful, and is smearing me in every way she can; if you truly get angry, it's not worth it."

Xia Xi felt powerless, as if her fists couldn't reach his face: "Mr. Li, before you say that, do yourself a favor and look in the mirror—my husband is taller, better‑looking, and richer than you; am I trying to seduce you? What would I gain, to spend the rest of my life disgusted to death?"

As a somewhat famous painter, Li Shiguang is usually fawned over wherever he goes; to be humiliated like this is as if his face were thrown on the ground and trampled—he instantly flew into a rage.

Xia Xi focused, readying herself to strike; even if Li Shiguang truly threw a punch, she wouldn't be afraid.

Suddenly, a tall figure appeared before her, completely shielding Li Shiguang; Xia Xi stared, a familiar, crisp scent flooding her nostrils, the sense of safety instantly calming her agitation. Her heart pounded as she gazed at the broad back within reach, the black suit fabric so familiar—it was the one he'd worn that morning.

She hadn't even sent that message yet—how did he get here so fast?

Xu Yanfeng slipped one hand behind her, hooked his finger, Xia Xi lowered her gaze, gave a faint smile, placed her hand in his palm, and he closed his fingers, gripping her hand tightly.

Her whole heart felt more settled.

Xu Yanfeng's small gesture toward Xia Xi carried a hint of tenderness, but his expression was the opposite—cold: "Sir, were you just about to strike someone?"

He had arrived late, unaware of what had happened; approaching from afar, he noticed only that this man had clenched his fists, face full of anger.

Facing a man much taller than himself, Li Shiguang's expression shifted slightly, he narrowed his eyes: "Who are you? How did you barge into my estate?"

Xu Yanfeng found the word 'barge' grating, he lifted Xia Xi's hand: "I'm here to pick up my wife after work." He said it as a matter of course, then turned back to the point: "I've answered your question; now what's mine?"

Li Shiguang had already gone dumbfounded at seeing their clasped hands, his mind echoing Xia Xi's earlier words—"My husband is taller, better‑looking, and richer than you"—and when confronted with the reality, he couldn't utter a word, his eye twitching a few times.

Xia Xi released Xu Yanfeng's hand, linked her arm through his: "This is pretty much over; let's go."

She didn't want to waste more time; working overtime on a big weekend was bad enough, and to be humiliatingly targeted by this couple for no reason made her mood worse than ever—she didn't want to stay another moment.

Xu Yanfeng patted the back of her hand, gave her a reassuring smile: "Wait a moment." He turned to face the other two, the smile vanishing from his face without a trace: "You're both about to come to blows—this can't be let go."

"You don't even know what this is about," Xia Xi muttered.

"No matter what it is, you're not wrong," Xu Yanfeng said, asking nothing, simply believing her.

Xia Xi's heart beat even faster than before; after a few seconds to steady herself, she summed it up for him: "I was just standing here sending you a message when Mr. Li suddenly appeared, touched my face with his hand, Li Tai saw it, and Mr. Li then turned the tables, claiming I'd seduced him."