Chapter 345: You don't trust your son's judgment?

After watching Ling Yan's apology video, Xia Xi remained dazed for a long time; her thoughts were the same as Zhao Lei's—was Ling Yan kidnapped? Otherwise, why would she willingly step forward to apologize?

She had dealt with Ling Yan several times, knowing she was someone whose arrogance was ingrained; to get her to apologize online, you'd likely need to hold a knife to her throat.

In an instant, Xia Xi recalled what Xu Yanfeng had said in the car—"You'll find out soon."

Was he referring to Ling Yan's apology?

Xu Yanfeng and Zi Heng walked over, father and son chatting and laughing.

Xia Xi sat dazed on the sofa, having forgotten to turn off her phone; the video looped, playing Ling Yan's apology. Xu Yanfeng heard it, glanced at her phone screen, his brow slightly raised—his actions were faster than he expected; he had thought persuading Ling Yan to apologize would take Lingxunzhang some more time.

"Time to eat, stop looking at your phone." Xu Yanfeng waved his hand in front of Xia Xi's eyes.

Xia Xi lifted her gaze to his face, asking for confirmation: "Was this your request?"

Xu Yanfeng didn't deny it, took her phone, locked the screen, and the looping sound finally stopped, leaving silence. He took her hand and led her to wash her hands, just as he did with Zi Heng.

Xia Xi's expression remained dazed; it turned out his attack on the Ling Clan truly aimed to force the instigator to apologize to her—or to do so in this widely known way.

Xu Yanfeng turned on the tap, hot water pouring down, and he placed her hand under it to rinse. Having washed her hands before—more than once—he was skilled: he squeezed out hand soap, lathered it, applied it to her hand, rinsed it clean, then dried her with a towel.

Zhangyi had already laid out the dishes on the table; Xu Yanfeng pulled out a chair, pressed Xia Xi's shoulder to seat her, then sat beside her, just picking up his chopsticks when his phone rang.

He didn't want to answer, but seeing the screen show "Zhong Nüshi," Xu Yanfeng said, "You two eat first," and took the phone aside to answer—his calls with his mother never avoided Xia Xi, but some matters couldn't be let Zi Heng hear.

With the online uproar so huge, even if Zhong Yinghong heard nothing of the outside world, those around her would inevitably discuss it; having learned the full story, she came to him for an explanation.

Xu Yanfeng slipped one hand into his pocket, lowered his brows, and explained calmly: "It's pretty much what you've heard—rumors about Xia Xi are all false, spread by that person from the Ling family."

Zhong Yinghong also watched Ling Yan's apology video; that girl said it was due to a personal grudge, and she immediately guessed—surely the girl knew Xu Yanfeng had a girlfriend and felt resentful.

She had practically watched Ling Yan grow up; if not for the facts before her eyes, she couldn't believe Ling Yan would do such a thing.

"Are you sure… it's all fake?" Zhong Yinghong stammered, "That photo…"

Seeing many say the photo didn't look fabricated, but too real, she didn't understand those matters and didn't want to believe netizens' talk; as a mother, she inevitably worried Xu Yanfeng would get lost in love and be deceived.

Xu Yanfeng understood his mother's mindset; he offered no further defense, only telling her: "You don't trust your son's judgment?"

Upon hearing that, Zhong Yinghong felt reassured, as if she'd taken a calming pill, and had no more questions.

Xu Yanfeng returned to the dining room; Zi Heng had already started eating, while Xia Xi waited for him, chopsticks untouched, and she softly asked: "Did Auntie hear about the online matter?"

"Mm." Xu Yanfeng sat down, lightly patted her back, and said, "It's already been clarified."

Xia Xi pressed her lips; hearing him speak so lightly, she feared the truth wasn't so simple—elders' views are hard to change, and it's difficult to explain clearly. Perhaps in his mother's mind, she had already been labeled a fickle woman.

Xia Xi sighed silently.

Xu Yanfeng served her a dish, his deep eyes locked onto hers: "You don't believe me?" He had said similar things to his mother; as long as she believed him, that was enough.

Xia Xi blinked, wondering where that came from—she certainly didn't distrust him.

"I said it's already clear—I mean my mother didn't believe those online rumors; she knows you're being slandered and won't think badly of you." Xu Yanfeng said, "So stop overthinking and eat."

Having been scolded, Xia Xi became obedient, stuffing a bite of vegetables into her mouth: "Oh."

Zi Heng rolled his dark, glossy eyes, looking this way and that, not understanding what his parents were saying; he just buried his head in his rice.

After the meal, Xia Xi's phone rang again—it was Zhao Lei.

Zhao Lei: "Where are you? Did you watch the video?"

Xia Xi: "I watched it."

Zhao Lei: "She really had someone spread rumors, huh?"

Xia Xi: "Mm."

Zhao Lei: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, I really couldn't tell she was that kind of person—she's clearly a graceful, well-bred young lady."

The two chatted a few more words about the topic, then Xia Xi went back to watch Ling Yan's apology video; its heat had risen considerably, with thousands of comments below. As she scrolled, the insults she'd once hurled at Ling Yan flew back like boomerangs, all landing on Ling Yan.

"What grudge, what spite—ruining someone's reputation like this; as a fellow woman, don't you know how damaging the 'two-timing' rumor is to women?"

"If I were Xia Xi, I wouldn't accept your apology—I'd tell you to get lost as far as possible."

"Who is this? With such a handsome face, how can the heart be so vicious?"

"Damn, another time being fooled—Zhou Du was right earlier; why can't I remember? Next time, before I get the facts straight, I absolutely won't go on mic!"

"I knew things would turn around!"

"Has anyone told me who this woman actually is? I've searched for ages and still can't dig her up—it's unbelievable."

"No matter who it is, if you do wrong, you deserve to be punished!"

Xia Xi looked at these comments, her face showing no ripple, even finding them boring; she didn't keep scrolling and exited.

At the Xu residence, after Zhong Yinghong finished her call with Xu Yanfeng, she felt much more settled; just then the nanny came over saying dinner was ready, so she lifted her foot toward the study and lightly knocked on the door.

No one inside responded.

She supposed he was too focused to have heard, so Zhong Yinghong pushed the door open: "Old Xu, are you done? It's time to eat."

Xu Guanshan sat behind his desk, a pair of sharp eyes fixed on the computer screen, his complexion extremely grim; the hand resting on the table was clenched into a fist, veins standing out on the back of his hand.

"Old Xu?"

Zhong Yinghong approached, doubtful, followed his gaze to the computer, saw the content, and her expression froze.

The screen showed Xu Guanshan had opened several webpages—those related to Xia Xi, those related to Xu Yanfeng, those concerning the Ling Clan Group and Lingxunzhang, as well as those related to Ling Yan… Zhong Yinghong realized she couldn't keep it hidden, her heart uneasy.

"Old Xu, it's not what you think—Xia Xia is innocent. You should have seen Ling Yan's apology video, right? Ling Yan has always liked our family's Xiao Feng; you know that. She saw online that Xiao Feng was dating Xia Xia, felt unhappy, couldn't let it go, went down a rabbit hole, and had someone spread rumors."

"Miss Xia?" Xu Guanshan finally lifted his head, his gaze landing on his wife's face, probing her for a moment; she seemed not at all surprised that his son was entangled with a woman, "You've long known he's been involved with that Xia-surname girl, haven't you?"

Zhong Yinghong's expression was a little unnatural; she wasn't deliberately hiding it from her husband, nor was she worried he wouldn't accept it—she'd thought she could delay things a bit, but she never expected the matter to surface this way.

"Old Xu, please let me explain slowly……"

Zhong Yinghong began from the time she went to Xu Yanfeng's house and bumped into Xia Xi.

The more Xu Guanshan listened, the worse his complexion became; by the end his expression showed ferocity, frightening Zhong Yinghong into silence.

The sound cut off abruptly, and the study fell into a terrifying silence.

Xu Guanshan hammered his fingers on the desk: "You—right now, immediately—call that bastard and tell him to come over."