Chapter 326: Can I Not Say?

Xia Xi held her phone in one hand, idly playing with the tassel on the curtain with the other, hearing Zhou Du say over the phone nonchalantly, "Why the rush to pay me back? I don't need the money."

"Big internet celebrity Zhou, I know you're not short on cash." Xia Xi laughed, "Even blood brothers settle accounts clearly; borrowed money has to be paid back sooner or later."

Zhou Du replied lazily, "Fine, I'll send you the card number later." He paused, then asked uneasily, "You haven't told Xu Yanfeng about this, have you?"

Xia Xi, tired from standing, sank into the nearby beanbag sofa, glanced sideways, and saw Xu Yanfeng who had entered at some point; she opened her mouth, but the words died in her throat, her temples throbbing.

Recalling her conversation with Zhou Du just now, she seemed not to have had a chance to say anything, gradually relaxed, and gave Xu Yanfeng a faint smile.

"Hello? Hello? Xia Xi, I'm talking to you—are you pretending to be dumb or just disconnected?" Zhou Du assumed she was the former, "You're playing dumb with me, right? Let me give you a piece of advice: you'd better let Xu Yanfeng know about this. You're not worried it'll affect their father‑son relationship…"

"I'll tell you later." Xia Xi said hurriedly, "Don't forget to send me the card number!"

She put the phone down, hung up, and rose from the sofa.

The silence seemed only two or three seconds, yet it felt terribly long; Xia Xi casually found a topic: "When did you come over?"

Xu Yanfeng curled his lips indifferently and smiled: "Do you mean when I arrived, or when I entered your room?"

Xia Xi sensed his tone was off, didn't know how to explain, her mind went into a tangle, and she thought she might as well tell him everything straight—after all, he already knew most of the facts, missing this last layer wouldn't matter.

Just then, Xu Yanfeng asked, "You borrowed money from Zhou Du—why didn't you come to me?"

Xia Xi: "……"

Her tangled emotions vanished in an instant; Xia Xi gasped, eyes wide—so Xu Yanfeng's gloom came from her not borrowing money from him?

She no longer held her heart in her throat, but curled the corners of her lips.

In contrast, Xu Yanfeng kept a stern face: "What are you laughing at? Answer properly."

"No." Xia Xi leaned into his embrace, arms wrapped around his waist, "That was borrowed a long time ago, before we reconciled."

Xu Yanfeng asked, "Why did you borrow money?"

The nerves Xia Xi had relaxed tensed again; she looked up at him, silently organizing her words.

Before she could figure out how to answer, Xu Yanfeng guessed, "Because you studied abroad earlier?"

From what she had just said on the phone, it seemed the borrowed sum was not small. She had mentioned before that the money for her overseas studies came from Zhou Du. They weren't that kind of relationship, so she certainly wouldn't take his money for free—she would have to repay it.

Xia Xi didn't want to deceive him: "No."

Xu Yanfeng wouldn't let up: "Then what was it for?"

Xia Xi pressed her lips, feeling torn, not wanting to lie nor to tell the truth, she looked at him and asked cautiously, "Can I not say?"

Xu Yanfeng fell silent, locked eyes with her, and after a few seconds, reluctantly nodded.

Xia Xi thanked his consideration, lifted the hands around his waist, hooked his neck and pulled him down, planting a kiss on his lips, and said with a smile, "Thank you."

Xu Yanfeng remained calm; he wasn't so easily brushed off—a single kiss wouldn't stop him from getting to the bottom of things, which was too cheap for her: "That doesn't count; if you want to thank me, show sincerity and do it properly."

As he spoke, his eyes were deep; one could tell he was thinking of something far from simple. Xia Xi swallowed, thinking she had never seen anyone more business‑savvy than him—no wonder the Xu Clan could grow and strengthen under his hand.

Xia Xi patted his shoulder, intending to pull away, but he hooked her waist and drew her back; she grew flustered, her body heating inside and out: "What are you doing? This is my house, dinner's about to start."

Xu Yanfeng laughed, tapping his forehead against hers: "Look how scared you are—what could I possibly do?" He wouldn't go that far here; he always cared about his image in front of her family.

Xu Yanfeng gave her a quick kiss, then let go, pulling a thin leather wallet from his inner suit pocket—it held only his ID and a few cards, no cash—and drew out a black card for her.

"No next time." Xu Yanfeng tapped the card against her nose, "If you need money, you can only come to me."

Xia Xi watched his actions, torn between laughter and exasperation: "My salary is plenty, I don't need——" As she spoke, the man narrowed his eyes, looking displeased; she quickly stopped and amended, "Okay, okay."

She took the card, flicked it with her finger, and said, "I'll use this card to buy a bag later—does that satisfy you?"

Xu Yanfeng nodded: "Barely satisfied."

Xia Xi chuckled, sat back down on the sofa, and Xu Yanfeng squeezed in beside her.

After a while, Xia Xi received the card number Zhou Du sent over and transferred the money to him.

Zhou Du replied on WeChat: "Received."

While she was handling the transfer, Xu Yanfeng stayed by her side the whole time, one hand gripping her waist, and remarked, "Zhou Du treats you well enough."

hearing him mention Zhou Du again, Xia Xi glanced at him sideways: "I smell something sour." Then she lowered her head, found an emoji, and sent it back to Zhou Du.

"Your nose is off." Xu Yanfeng pinched her nose, "You told me last time he has no feelings for you—I believe you."

"Really?" Xia Xi murmured in agreement, shoved her phone into the sofa seam, scooted onto Xu Yanfeng's leg, blinked a few times, fixed her gaze on his lips, and as she leaned in said, "Let me taste to see if there's any sourness…"

Xu Yanfeng's hand on her lower back tightened suddenly; the next second she lunged forward and kissed him, indeed savoring it carefully.

"Dinner's ready!"

Xia Xuan came running in slippers, slap‑slap, slapped into the room, saw the two kissing, froze, panicked, turned away, covered her eyes, and fled scuff‑scuff‑scuff, almost bumping into Xia Yue.

Xia Xi sprang up from Xu Yanfeng's leg, unsteady on her feet, almost twisted her ankle, but Xu Yanfeng caught her.

Xu Yanfeng's breath was still uneven; he looked at her with a half‑smile, having just thought he'd stay principled and not do anything damaging to his image in front of her family—only to be contradicted in an instant.

Xia Xi glared at him: "It's all your fault."

Xu Yanfeng pointed at himself: "Me?" Could he have misremembered—wasn't it her who initiated the kiss?

Xia Xi declared firmly: "You're the one who's improper, you tempted me first."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Fine, he's improper.

However, seeing her willful, unreasonable side, he thought she was somewhat like her college self.

Xia Xuan slipped into the kitchen, composed herself a bit, helped serve dishes, and heard Xia Yue ask her: "Have you called Xi Xi and Xu Yanfeng? They're in the room."

"Don't mention it." Xia Xuan felt terribly regretful.

Xia Yue: "What's wrong?"

Xia Xuan: "Nothing, nothing, let's eat—I'm starving."

Xia Xuan's husband Chen Songbai also came over after work; the family bustled, gathered around the dinner table, and ate.

Xia Xi picked out a piece of fish, carefully removed the bones, and placed it in Xu Yanfeng's bowl.

Xu Yanfeng froze for a moment, glanced sideways at her; she remained composed, took a sip of old duck soup. He smiled and ate the tender fish piece.

After she finished eating, Xia Xi peeled another shrimp for him. Xu Yanfeng finally couldn't hold back, tilting his head slightly and asking her softly: "What's wrong?" Suddenly being so attentive, he felt a bit unaccustomed.

Xia Xi: "I'll be nicer to you."

Although Xu Yanfeng felt warm inside, he still had some doubts.

Seeing him still staring at her, Xia Xi smiled helplessly: "Eat, stop staring at me."

On the way home, Xia Xi finally explained the reason: "I mentioned this morning that you were cooking at home, and my mother seems to have misunderstood, thinking I'm not good enough for you. Of course, it might also be that I'm overthinking; she didn't say it outright, she's just urging me to marry you soon, even for the sake of a child, we need to decide early."

Xu Yanfeng lifted his eyelids, a smile spreading in his eyes: "Since your mother-in-law said that, you ought to follow through."

Xia Xi: "Okay."