Chapter 347: Can't Help Acting Spoiled

He returned to his residence already past twelve; a lamp was left on in the living room for illumination. Xu Yanfeng took off his shoes, and while walking toward the bedroom he removed his outer garment. Apart from the soft rustle of fabric, there was no other sound; his movements were very gentle.

When he pushed the door open, Xia Xi was still awake; in the dim light she sat on the bed looking at her phone, startled, she jerked her head up, her whole body relaxing: "You're back?"

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Xu Yanfeng casually tossed his coat aside, turned his face to one side, and prepared to take a shower.

Xia Xi said: "Waiting for you."

She dropped her phone, got off the bed, and lunged at Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng stepped back a few paces, for the first time dodging her eager embrace: "I'm sweaty; I'll go shower first."

"Just a moment."

Xia Xi sensed something was off, narrowed her eyes and called out to him, then turned and flipped the wall switch; the main light blazed on, bright and harsh, leaving nowhere to hide. A red slap mark stood out starkly on Xu Yanfeng's fair complexion.

Unable to avoid it, Xu Yanfeng simply faced her head-on.

They faced each other in silence.

Xia Xi furrowed her brows, her fingertips lightly touching his face: "Did your dad hit you?"

Xu Yanfeng grasped her slender wrist and tried to soothe her with a joke: "I didn't expect you to have clairvoyant abilities—did you ask me before I left whether my dad would hit me?"

Xia Xi couldn't smile; her heart ached, her voice low and muffled: "Didn't you say you'd never seen your dad hit anyone?"

"Indeed I haven't." Xu Yanfeng still smiled: "At the age of thirty, getting a beating feels rather novel."

It was clear Xu Guanshan was furious; Xia Xi asked: "Does it hurt?"

Xu Yanfeng acted indifferent, his fingertip pressing the furrow between her brows: "I'm a grown man; this bit of pain means nothing, negligible."

Xia Xi let him go shower, then sat on the edge of the bed, head down, thoughts wandering; in her distracted state she heard Xu Yanfeng call from the bathroom: "Honey, I forgot to get my pajamas."

He forgot his pajamas again.

This guy's memory is terrible—this has happened several times already.

Xia Xi had no time for random thoughts; she quickly found his pajamas and took them in.

She didn't even knock; their interaction was increasingly like that of an old married couple.

The shower water pattered like warm rain, steam filling the space. Xu Yanfeng's hair was completely wet, turning a deeper black, hanging limp, droplets clinging to his face, which lost its sharpness, his handsome features as fresh as a lemon glistening with dew on a branch, exuding a clean aura. Her gaze drifted downward unbidden…

"Here, your pajamas." Xia Xi forced herself to look away and placed the pajamas on the stool.

Turning to leave, she was grabbed by Xu Yanfeng, who pressed himself against her back.

Her nightgown got soaked, a crumpled heap tossed aside; he turned her over and over, making her shower again.

She finally realized that forgetting his pajamas was an excuse, a signal of invitation, and that she had previously thought Xu Yanfeng too upright, never suspecting otherwise.

Lying back on the bed, Xia Xi was too exhausted to move; he captured her lips again. At the height of her mental fog, she still thought of the injury on his face, and with the little strength left she pushed him away, her lips swollen and vivid parting: "No… wait a moment."

She propped herself up, got off the bed, rummaged through drawers and cabinets, found a tube of ointment, checked the date—it hadn't expired.

Kneeling on the blanket, she pulled Xu Yanfeng toward her, turning the side of his face that had been struck to face her.

"Do you still need ointment?" Xu Yanfeng, disheveled, lounged lazily against the headboard, looking as if he'd been ravaged—though in fact he was the one doing the ravaging—"It'll be fine in a couple days."

"Haven't you looked in a mirror?" Xia Xi squeezed out a pea-sized dab onto her hand and gently applied it to his face: "Your face is a sight; how can you go to the office like this?"

She lost focus, didn't control the pressure, and Xu Yanfeng winced, his brows knitting slightly with a soft "hiss."

Xia Xi paused her motion, eyes fixed on him: "Didn't you say it doesn't hurt?"

Her hand movements became noticeably lighter.

Xu Yanfeng: "It's not that I can't bear seeing you worry about me; I just couldn't help acting a little spoiled."

Xia Xi: "……"

After applying the ointment, Xia Xi fanned his face with her hand: "It might sting a bit at first; bear with it—this medicine works well, the swelling will be gone by morning."

She screwed the cap back on the ointment, went to the bathroom to wash her hands clean, then got into bed.

Xu Yanfeng slipped his arm around her neck, pulled her close, his lips lingering on the skin behind her ear and neck, his breath hot and urgent: "Shall we continue?"

A ticklish sensation crept up her neck; Xia Xi tilted her head to dodge, wondering where he got all this energy, and she covered his mouth with her hand: "Behave, don't smear the ointment from your face onto my neck."

Although she was tired, she couldn't fall asleep easily; she pulled Xu Yanfeng into a chat: "What did you and your dad say?"

Xu Yanfeng closed his eyes, calming the surge in his body: "I don't remember."

"Who are you kidding? You just forgot that quickly?"

Xu Yanfeng struggled to quiet his restless mind and told her: "He didn't say much; he was furious, spending most of the time cursing me. Do you want me to repeat those insults to you?"

"... No need." Xia Xi knew she shouldn't laugh, but his tone was truly amusing: "Anything else?"

"The remaining half was me explaining to him—rest assured, I don't have his explosive temper; I'm quite calm."

"How did you explain it then?"

"I said you're my wife, the mother of my child, we are one; hitting your face is hitting mine—I couldn't tolerate it. If there's a next time, it won't be just this mild."

Xia Xi suddenly sprang from his embrace, eyes wide, utterly awake: "Your dad must be fuming!"

"I thought so too." Xu Yanfeng pulled her into his arms and held her: "Actually, he stayed silent for a long while, then told me to bring you home—he wants to meet you."

Xia Xi jolted with excitement, bounced out of his arms, sat upright: "Your dad wants to see me?"

"Exactly." Xu Yanfeng smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, gave a light laugh to soothe her: "Don't be nervous; of course it's not just you—I'll be with you."

Xia Xi's mind went blank; she couldn't speak.

This state lasted only a few seconds; her eyelids twitched faintly: "Okay."

Previously Xu Yanfeng's mother had wanted to invite her to dinner at home, and she could still put it off, but this time Xu Guanshan wants to see her—it's different. Sooner or later she must face it; now that the matter is known all over the internet, dragging her feet and refusing to meet would indeed be inappropriate.

Xu Yanfeng was quite surprised, his brow lifting slightly: "I thought you'd refuse." He paused, then added: "Refusing is fine; I'll talk to my dad about it."

"Sooner or later we have to meet." Xia Xi figured it out, jabbed his Adam's apple: "Besides, you said you'd accompany me, right?"

Xu Yanfeng: "Mm."

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Xia Xi thought.

She merely felt a lack of confidence about seeing him because she had broken her earlier promise to Xu Guanshan, not because she feared him. As for Xu Yanfeng's mother, there's even less need to worry; from Xu Yanfeng's description she had already pieced together an image of a kind mother completely unlike the one Xu Guanshan described.

Elsewhere, in the Xu household, by the middle of the night, Zhong Yinghong was still worried and couldn't sleep; she felt her husband's reaction was somehow odd, but couldn't quite say why.

She glanced at Xu Guanshan lying beside her, picked up her phone, tiptoed out, and called her eldest son overseas.

It was daytime where Xu Junmo was; he was out fishing with a few friends at sea, wearing a loose shirt and trousers, barefoot, while an iron bucket beside him held a few fish flopping in the water.

Hearing the ring, he set down his fishing rod, stepped aside to answer, and his long pant leg got trodden underfoot.

"Mom? If I'm not mistaken, it's past 1 a. m. back home—why aren't you asleep yet?"

Zhong Yinghong said anxiously: "There's been a storm at home lately; if you're not busy, you should come back for a visit."

Xu Junmo immediately became concerned: "What's going on?" He had never seen his dignified, gentle mother so worried before.

Zhong Yinghong told him the whole story.

After a moment of silence, Xu Junmo chuckled and sighed: "That's something my brother could pull off. He's been groomed by our father as the heir, disciplined strictly; it's already remarkable that he only went mad at thirty. Let him be—as long as he doesn't punch a hole in the sky, anything goes."

Zhong Yinghong: "……"

Joking aside, Xu Junmo was still very filial; he had no objection to his mother's suggestion: "You should go to sleep now. I'll book a return flight right away."