Chapter 332: Nobody said she got married

After a while of idle chat, Chen Songbai's phone received a message; he took his phone and told Xia Xi, 'Xuanxuan has arrived, I'll go pick her up.'

'Go ahead.' Xia Xi nodded, and Xu Yanfeng took the tea cup she had set down, not allowing her to drink again.

Another voice chimed in: 'The sister-in-law has arrived? Just send her the private room number; why run back and forth?'

'I'll still go get her.' Chen Songbai laughed and left the private room.

Miao Yijia rested her chin on her hand, turned her head to look at the doorway, and gave a barely perceptible twitch of the corner of her mouth; when she looked away, her gaze happened to meet Xia Xi's, her expression froze, she gave a slightly unnatural smile, and lowered her head to sip tea from her cup.

Xia Xi stared at Miao Yijia inquiringly for three or four seconds; she didn't think she was mistaken, and Miao Yijia had shown a fleeting look of contempt.

What was she contemptuous of?

Is there a problem with Chen Songbai personally going to pick up his own wife?

Xia Xi's heart sank, and she instinctively reached for the tea beside her, only to grasp at air before realizing Xu Yanfeng had taken her cup.

Seeing this, Xu Yanfeng replaced it with a cup of hot water for her. Xia Xi picked it up and took two sips.

Not long after, Chen Songbai entered holding Xia Xuan's hand. Seeing Xia Xi there, Xia Xuan was delighted, her face breaking into a smile: 'Sis, what a coincidence! Just now in the elevator, Songbai told me I'd definitely be happy to come, though I didn't know why then—I do now. How did you end up here?'

Xia Xi patted the chair beside her, gesturing for her to sit: 'We came out for a meal and happened to run into Chen Songbai.'

'Oh.' Xia Xuan sat beside her, scooting the chair closer.

Xia Xi's expression softened as she reached up to tidy Xia Xuan's hair. Xia Xuan wore a red-and-white plaid long dress, over which she had a beige knit cardigan; her smooth long hair was half-tied up, with part of it falling loose behind her, making her look obedient and tranquil, like a student still in school.

'I've always wanted an older sister since I was little, but I only have two brothers; seeing how well you get along with your sister-in-law makes me want one even more,' Miao Yijia said with an envious expression.

Xia Xuan chuckled: 'Having brothers is nice too.'

'That's true.' Miao Yijia glanced at Chen Songbai, patted his arm, and sighed, 'Come to think of it, my two brothers aren't as good to me as my cousin is. Cousin, you're the best.'

'Don't let your two brothers hear that, or they'll have objections.' Chen Songbai joked as he poured a cup of water for Xia Xuan and set it before her.

Xu Yanfeng summoned a waiter to order dishes; with many customers present, the service was slow, which freed up plenty of time for chatting. In the presence of outsiders, Xu Yanfeng spoke little, busily serving Xia Xi on his left and attending to Zi Heng, who sat in a child's chair on his right, during the meal.

Actually, Zi Heng could feed himself completely; Xia Xi had nurtured her two children's self-care abilities from an early age. For daily activities such as eating, bathing, and using the toilet, Zi Heng and Youyou learned earlier than most children. This was because Xu Yanfeng wanted to make up for his past absence of fatherly love, and thus doted on the children excessively.

Xia Xi, meanwhile, looked after her sister's tastes, serving her the dishes she liked.

Chen Songbai and Xia Xi each placed a piece of preserved plum spare rib into Xia Xuan's bowl; she glanced at one, then the other, finally covered her face and murmured softly, 'I'm so happy.'

'Silly girl.' Xia Xi chuckled, picked up the bowl, and ladled her some chicken soup.

Miao Yijia also laughed: 'That's why I say I envy having a sister—brothers wouldn't be this thoughtful.' She playfully poked Chen Songbai with the tip of her chopsticks, saying, 'Cousin, I'm throwing shade at you.'

Chen Songbai burst out laughing, switched to the public chopsticks, and gave her a piece of spare rib.

Miao Yijia slumped her shoulders, gazed up at the ceiling, and made a speechless expression: 'I don't like spare ribs; I prefer fish.'

Chen Songbai had no choice but to put the spare ribs in his own bowl, then used the tip of his chopsticks to pick out a piece of spotted grouper for her; only then did she smile satisfactorily and begin eating. To show her gratitude, she also served him a dish.

Having eaten their fill, Xia Xuan went to the washroom; Xia Xi wiped her mouth and offered to accompany her.

Although there was a washroom inside the private room, Xia Xi pulled her sister to the public one outside. She didn't dare say she was good at reading people, but she always felt that Chen Songbai's cousin wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

'How often do you interact with Miao Yijia?' Being close sisters, Xia Xi didn't beat around the bush and asked bluntly, 'She hasn't bullied you, has she?'

Xia Xuan blinked, not understanding why Xia Xi would ask that, but she answered honestly: 'No, we've only had a meal together once before; this is the second time. She just graduated from college, came to Nancheng to look for work, and Songbai, who works as a manager at the company, arranged a position for her and even helped her find housing.'

'That's good.' Xia Xi said, 'Remember, if you're ever bullied, tell me.'

'I know.' Xia Xuan hugged her, moved, and asked, 'But why do you think she's bullying me?'

'I can't put my finger on it, but she seems not to like you very much.'

Xia Xuan shrugged, taking it in stride: 'Whether she likes me or not doesn't matter; she's just a relative, and we don't see each other often.'

In the private room, Xu Yanfeng had already paid the bill and was chatting with Chen Songbai about some management topics. Miao Yijia couldn't follow, covered her mouth in a yawn, her eyes glistening with tears, she leaned her head against Chen Songbai's shoulder and half-closed her eyes, dozing off.

Xu Yanfeng glanced at her without changing his expression, said nothing, and poured himself tea.

The moment the private room door was pushed open, Miao Yijia straightened her neck, rubbed the back of her neck, and gave Chen Songbai an embarrassed smile: 'Eating too much makes you sleepy.'

'Let's call it a day for now; we'll get together again if the chance arises.' Xu Yanfeng said politely, rose, picked up Xia Xi's bag, and patted Zi Heng, who was playing a game on his phone, reminding him it was time to leave.

The two groups went their separate ways in the underground parking lot.

Xu Yanfeng kept an eye on the rearview mirror as he drove out, and asked Xia Xi on the side, 'Is your brother-in-law's cousin a blood relative?'

'... Huh? A cousin is a cousin—what do you mean by whether she's a close relative or not?' Xia Xi tilted her head to stare at him; he wasn't the type to meddle, so if he was asking, there must be a reason—'What are you getting at?'

Xu Yanfeng smiled silently, shook his head, perhaps thinking he'd overthought it.

In another car, Miao Yijia was also very curious about Xia Xuan's sister and brother-in-law. Because she felt carsick, she sat in the front passenger seat, the side window half-open, wind blowing in, dispelling her drowsiness, and chattered nonstop: 'Did your sister and brother-in-law get married early? Their kids are already so big. What do they do for a living? They look quite rich. Especially that brother-in-law—he seems so imposing; he must be an executive at some company.'

The history between Xia Xi and Xu Yanfeng is rather complicated; Chen Songbai knows little of it and isn't sure whether it can be spoken of openly, so he passed the question to his wife: 'Don't ask me—go ask your sister-in-law.'

He glanced at Xia Xuan in the rearview mirror and gave her a pleading smile.

Miao Yijia immediately turned around, her hands gripping the seatback, putting on an innocent look: 'Sister-in-law, tell us.'

Xia Xuan gave Chen Songbai a resentful look through the rearview mirror, then would use her as a shield. Chen Songbai's smile deepened; he withdrew his gaze and focused on driving.

'Sister-in-law, I'm really curious.' Miao Yijia cooed in a pinched voice, 'Will you tell me?'

Xia Xuan couldn't take it anymore; goosebumps rose on both her arms. She couldn't tell Miao Yijia everything, so she simply said: 'They've been together since college. My sister co‑founded an interior design firm, and my brother‑in‑law is the CEO of the Xu Clan Group.'

'The Xu Clan Group?!' Miao Yijia's eyes widened, her voice rising, 'The CEO?!'

There couldn't be many Xu Clan Groups in Nancheng, so she naturally guessed right away.

Xia Xuan pressed her lips and hummed in agreement; she didn't find the reaction strange, since anyone hearing Xu Yanfeng's identity would be startled.

Miao Yijia patted her rapidly rising and falling chest, then after a pause said, 'Earlier I heard your aunt talk about your family, and she seemed to say your second sister had a child out of wedlock—I hadn't heard she was married.'

Chen Songbai's face darkened abruptly; he coughed once to warn her not to speak nonsense.

Xia Xuan pulled a long face and didn't answer her.

Chen Songbai said, 'Jiājia, don't listen to my mother's nonsense. People their age, when they chat and get excited, tend to exaggerate dramatically—I'm sure you realize that.'

Miao Yijia gave an embarrassed smile, apologized to Xia Xuan: 'Sorry, sister-in-law, I just blurted it out—I didn't mean anything else; don't hold it against me—I might have misheard, or maybe my aunt didn't get it right.'