Chapter 325

Xia Yue stopped, silently watching his smug, petty face, with no reaction.

Zhou Hongsheng sized her up from head to toe; she had a low ponytail, wore plain clothes, no makeup, average complexion. Thinking of the fair and beautiful Chen Zhiwei, he shook his head, his disdain for Xia Yue evident.

Xia Yue walked down the steps without looking back; Zhou Hongsheng chased after her, shouting, "Xia Yue, why the rush? I haven't finished speaking."

Seeing this, Xia Xi and Xia Xuan, who had been waiting not far away, stepped forward and glared at Zhou Hongsheng together.

"What are you doing?" Zhou Hongsheng, if he had a tail, would have it sticking straight up: "A day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness; we're divorced but haven't gotten the certificate—can't I say a few words to her?"

"Zhou Hongsheng, do you have any shame?" Xia Xi gave him a nasty look, "Still talking about a hundred days of kindness—my sister's been unlucky for eight lifetimes being with you."

Zhou Hongsheng pointed at her ferociously, about to unleash a tirade, but thinking of something, he forcibly held back: "I won't argue with you. Xia Xi, you're capable, found a backer, the whole family rides on your coattails, but don't get too cocky—maybe one day you'll be discarded, and then we'll see how smug you are."

"Zhou Hongsheng! Shut up!" Xia Yue glared at him; she could tolerate his mockery of her, but she would not allow him to insult her family: "My sister excels in everything, she can get by on her own just as well as anyone, whereas you—"

Xia Xi pulled her back, reminding her not to slip up, since the divorce certificate hadn't been issued yet; if Zhou Hongsheng changed his mind this month and withdrew the divorce application, it would be disastrous.

Xia Yue understood Xia Xi's hint and bit her lip, saying nothing further.

"Only know what?" Zhou Hongsheng smirked, "All you can do is spout these harmless words; besides, what use are you? Where do you get the nerve to criticize me? No matter what, I'm doing better than you—you're a woman who's killed someone and done time, tsk tsk."

"Zhou Hongsheng, don't go too far. If it weren't for your lack of responsibility as a man, letting your mother bully your wife and kids, we wouldn't be in this situation." Xia Xi stepped in front of Xia Yue, coldly staring at him, "My sister has risen from adversity and will only keep improving; as for you, on rainy days remember to stay hidden—best not show up at all."

Watch out for lightning.

"You!" Zhou Hongsheng's face twisted with anger.

"I don't see what there is to be proud of..." Xia Xuan disliked him but didn't dare retort directly, muttering under her breath.

Zhou Hongsheng happened to hear that sentence; in an instant, all his anger vanished, and he lifted his chin smugly, as if arguing with them was a waste of time. He tilted his head slightly, locking eyes with Xia Yue behind Xia Xi, and gave a carefree laugh: "Xia Yue, I just told you my future is limitless—did you think I was bragging? Don't worry, I'll tell you: a wealthy young lady has been pursuing me for a long time, and I only recently agreed to her. From now on we'll both be living in Nancheng; we might run into each other again, so don't claim you know me, and I don't want any involvement with you. Understand?"

Xia Xuan showed contempt: "Which rich young lady would be blind enough to fall for you."

Zhou Hongsheng raised his hand: "Keep talking and I'll slap you—believe it or not?"

Xia Xuan flinched and stepped back.

Zhou Hongsheng gave a nasty laugh, merely trying to scare her—look at her timidity, she's like a mouse.

Xia Xi found his slick, oily demeanor disgusting: "Zhou Hongsheng, get lost, hurry up—no one wants to see you." Not to mention Xia Yue; even she had been fooled by his former appearance.

Zhou Hongsheng slipped his hands into his pockets, felt the cigarette pack, took it out, shook a cigarette loose and bit it, lit it with a lighter, squinting his eyes as he said: "Is this road yours? If you don't like it, you can walk yourself—I'm not seeing you off."

Just then, the car Xia Xi had called arrived; after checking the license plate, they got in.

After the three left, Zhou Hongsheng took the cigarette from his mouth, spat on the ground, and cursed: "What a thing—latching onto a rich guy and thinking you're something special."

Thinking of himself, Zhou Hongsheng felt as if he were scolding himself; he lightly tapped his mouth, pulled out his phone, and called Chen Zhiwei.

He dialed twice in a row, no answer. Zhou Hongsheng grew a bit irritated, tossed the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and stamped it out, then pressed hard on the screen and called Chen Zhiwei again.

Finally the call went through; Zhou Hongsheng relaxed his knotted brows and softened his voice: "Xiao Wei, what are you doing?"

Chen Zhiwei sounded as if she had just woken up, her voice lazy: "I'm sleeping."

Zhou Hongsheng thought, being a wealthy young lady who doesn't have to worry about livelihood is wonderful—she sleeps until high noon. Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud: "It's already midday; aren't you getting up to eat?"

Chen Zhiwei: "Anything up?"

Sensing a hint of coolness in her tone, Zhou Hongsheng paused, then spoke even more gently: "I'm heading back to Nancheng this afternoon; let me accompany you shopping."

"Oh, sorry, I'm not in the country." Chen Zhiwei, now somewhat clearer, her voice much clearer than before and just as sweet, said: "I have a friend getting married in New Zealand; I'm here to attend the wedding and do some touring. Because of the time difference, staying in touch might not be so convenient."

Upon hearing that, Zhou Hongsheng's disappointment showed on his face—though the person on the other end couldn't see it.

He had finally coaxed this young lady into being his girlfriend with great effort, their feelings not yet solidified when she jetted off abroad. The young lady loves to play around; what if she meets a guy more to her liking and forgets him?

He's already divorced!

Moreover, the young lady likes him only because he resembles her ex-boyfriend; in the end, he's just a stand-in.

The day they confirmed their relationship, Chen Zhiwei had drunk a bit, cradled his face, her eyes hazy, and said: "If you were my boyfriend, that would be great—I like your looks, you're kind and thoughtful; it's a shame we didn't meet earlier, otherwise I wouldn't have had my heart torn apart by that cheating scumbag."

He said, it's not too late to meet now, then took her hand and lightly pressed a kiss to the back of her hand…

Recalling that scene, Zhou Hongsheng's heart settled a bit; no matter what, Chen Zhiwei is now quite infatuated with him.

Zhou Hongsheng: "I miss you—what should I do?"

Chen Zhiwei smiled and said: "I originally wanted you to come with me, so I could introduce you to my friends, but considering you still have work, I dropped the idea."

Compared to accompanying the young lady for leisure, work is nothing; moreover, her friends are either rich or noble, and making connections in high society would only benefit him, with no downsides. Once he completely wins the young lady's heart, he won't have to worry about finding a better job. Zhou Hongsheng immediately made up his mind: "I'll fly over to be with you right now!"

"……"

After a long silence, Chen Zhiwei gave a dry laugh, thought quickly, and found an excellent excuse to refuse him: "I'm afraid there's no time—do you have a visa?"

That one sentence dashed the idea that had just popped into Zhou Hongsheng's head; he deflated: "No."

Having settled that matter, Xia Xi felt somewhat relieved; on the high-speed train back to Nancheng, she called Xu Yanfeng, inviting him to dinner at her place that evening, adding: "My mother's home."

Xu Yanfeng doesn't work overtime at night; once he finishes his tasks, he's free.

The two kids had already been picked up by Su Jinru and were playing in the living room. Xu Yanfeng handed over the gifts he'd brought to Su Jinru, who beamed and kept saying: "You're too kind—don't bring anything next time."

Xu Yanfeng smiled and agreed, glanced around, but didn't see Xia Xi.

Xia Yue brought over a cup of tea she'd brewed; seeing he seemed to be looking for someone, she smiled and pointed to the room where Xia Xi used to sleep: "Looks like she's on the phone in there—I don't know if she's finished."

"I'll go check." Xu Yanfeng took the teacup with both hands, set it temporarily on the coffee table, and headed toward Xia Xi's room.

Xia Yue glanced at his back, her eyes full of smiles; she could tell they were really close, like glue and varnish.

The door wasn't shut, leaving a palm-wide gap; Xu Yanfeng pushed it open and walked in.

Xia Xi stood by the window, her back to the door, unaware anyone had entered: "Send me the card number—I got a dividend today, and the fund has cleared; together it's exactly enough to repay the money I borrowed from you last time."

Xu Yanfeng paused mid-step, unsure what he felt. Who had Xia Xi borrowed money from? When had that happened?