Chapter 350: He had bought it seven years ago

When they arrived at the Xu residence, it was before ten o'clock; the timing was neither early nor late, just right.

As soon as the car stopped, someone came forward to open the door and greeted them with a bow.

Xu Yanfeng nodded slightly, opened the trunk, gave a brief instruction, and the butler hauled out a large pile of assorted items. Xu Yanfeng had prepared gifts in advance, and Xia Xi had personally picked out some for his mother; together they amounted to quite a lot.

The butler could barely hold everything with both hands.

Xu Yanfeng took Xia Xi's hand; despite the heat, her fingertips were slightly cool while her palm was warm. He gave it a gentle squeeze, leaned close to her ear, and asked in a soft voice, "Are you nervous?"

Xia Xi glanced at him and said nothing.

A smile touched Xu Yanfeng's brow, his voice as light as before: "Put your heart at ease; Madam Zhong inquired about your tastes and preferences a few days ago, calling me an average of three times each day for fear of missing anything."

"I heard the car stop—why haven't you come in yet?"

The sound of the door opening was accompanied by a bright male voice.

After entering the compound, the surroundings were so quiet not even cicadas could be heard; suddenly a disturbance arose, Xia Xi looked up and saw a face somewhat resembling Xu Yanfeng's—his elder brother, Xu Junmo, whom she had met before.

Xia Xi pressed her lips together, nodded slightly at him, and said, "Hello."

"Hello," Xu Junmo replied with a smile, turning his head toward the house to report to Madam Zhong, "She's here, isn't she?"

Xu Junmo stepped aside to make room for them to enter, then whispered to Xu Yanfeng, "Mom's been up since dawn busying herself; she personally adjusted the vase positions several times."

It's understandable that Madam Zhong places such importance on this—after all, the eldest son isn't married, the second son has always been detached and chaste, and now she's finally brought a young woman home with marriage in mind; of course she can't take it lightly.

Upon hearing Xu Junmo's call, Madam Zhong hurriedly washed her hands and came over.

A pair of fresh slippers had been readied on the shoe cabinet; Xu Yanfeng fetched them for Xia Xi, who slipped them on, stood up, and saw Madam Zhong wearing a purple dress, her hair half‑up, looking radiant with a gentle smile—very easy to get along with.

Their previous encounter had been both unexpected and rushed; Xia Xi had been utterly unprepared, out of sorts the whole time, naturally unable to converse properly, but this time facing her, her frame of mind was completely different.

"Auntie, hello."

"Hey, come in and have a seat," Madam Zhong said with a warm smile.

The butler followed them in, set things down, and then withdrew.

Madam Zhong glanced over, startled: "Why did you bring so many gifts?"

Xu Yanfeng: "I don't know either; it's all her doing—she'd hidden them away for days and only took them out today."

Madam Zhong took Xia Xi's hand and led her to the sofa, patting the back of her hand: "Treat this as your own home; next time you come, you're not to bring so many gifts. If you're not busy with work, you and A-Feng should come over for meals often."

Her tone was much like Su Jinru's, sincere and not merely polite. Her hand was soft, like water. Having experienced genuine familial affection, Xia Xi could naturally tell the difference.

"All right," Xia Xi agreed, and it was heartfelt.

Madam Zhong's smile grew deeper.

Several kinds of fruit, peeled and cut into pieces, lay on the coffee table with a few small forks—very convenient. Madam Zhong urged Xia Xi to eat and chatted about everyday topics, not mentioning the online rumors at all.

From the moment she arrived until now, Xia Xi had not seen Xu Guanshan, leaving her continually uneasy.

Until Madam Zhong also noticed that Xu Guanshan hadn't shown up, she called out to Xu Yanfeng, "A-Feng, go see what your father's busy with in the study." After speaking, she smiled and explained to Xia Xi, "He probably doesn't know you've come."

Xia Xi chuckled, but her chest tightened; the watermelon she had just swallowed seemed to lodge in her throat, neither going down nor coming back up.

Since their last argument, Xu Yanfeng hadn't seen Xu Guanshan again; he stopped outside the study, took a breath, and knocked on the door.

Xu Guanshan's voice was low: "Come in."

Xu Yanfeng pushed the door open and peered inside; Xu Guanshan wasn't busy with work, and in fact he had little to handle—most company affairs were managed by Xu Yanfeng, with only major decisions requiring Xu Guanshan's input.

Xu Guanshan was practicing calligraphy, brush in hand, writing with great focus; even when Xu Yanfeng entered, he didn't lift his head.

"My girlfriend's come over," Xu Yanfeng said without emotion, "Mother asked me to call you."

Xu Guanshan had no other reaction.

Having delivered the message, Xu Yanfeng didn't linger in the study; as he left, he pulled the door to.

After a while, Xu Guanshan still hadn't appeared; Madam Zhong felt faintly displeased—it was he who had insisted on meeting Xu Yanfeng's girlfriend, yet now that the person was in the house, he refused to come out, which was hardly proper.

"Xi Xi, stay seated; I'll go see what's going on," Madam Zhong said, rising and heading toward the study.

Xu Junmo sensed a subtle tension, nudged his brother's arm, and asked, "I heard you got beaten up?"

Xu Yanfeng ignored him, sat in the spot Madam Zhong had just vacated, and jerked his chin at Xia Xi: "Give me a piece of watermelon."

Xia Xi speared a seedless watermelon chunk with her little fork and offered it to him; he didn't reach out, lowered his head slightly, bit into it, chewed, and the juice burst in his mouth. He chuckled and said, "It's pretty sweet."

Xu Junmo: "……"

He had it coming.

A flash of blinding light flickered past; Xu Junmo glanced over, noticed the diamond ring on Xia Xi's hand, found it somewhat familiar, and thought, "Isn't this the one Xu Yanfeng bought abroad years ago?"

Xu Junmo raised an eyebrow: "Hey, Xia Xi, that pink diamond ring on your hand—was it given to you by the second Xu?"

"Yes," Xia Xi replied, glancing down at the ring; she usually didn't wear it because it was inconvenient, but she remembered to put it on before leaving today, and said with a smile, "He gave it to me when he proposed."

"Huh?" Xu Junmo pondered, shifted his gaze to Xu Yanfeng's face, coughed, and laughed, "What's wrong with you?"

Xu Yanfeng didn't know what he meant: "What?"

Xu Junmo pointed at the ring on Xia Xi's hand, paused for two seconds, and exclaimed, "Using one gift twice? Are you that stingy in a relationship? If I recall correctly, you said this ring was supposed to be a birthday present—how did it become an engagement ring?"

Immediately, he considered a possibility and asked Xia Xi, "Could it be that he proposed to you on your birthday?"

Xia Xi: "No, that's not the case."

"Tsk." Xu Junmo's eyes held disdain, "Really stingy."

Xia Xi didn't share Xu Junmo's judgment; she was merely curious and poked Xu Yanfeng's thigh, asking, "What's this birthday gift your brother's talking about?"

Xu Yanfeng glared at the troublemaker, blaming him for meddling.

Feeling contrary, Xu Junmo went on provocatively: "Sister‑in‑law, want to know? I'll tell you. This ring he……"

With nothing at hand, Xu Yanfeng grabbed a cushion and threw it at him; Xu Junmo caught it steadily, the remark was cut off for a second, then continued: "He bought it seven years ago; I even asked him if he was preparing to propose to you, and he said it was just a birthday gift. But it's still being used for a proposal."

"Seven years ago…" Xia Xi murmured, repeating his words.

On the day Xu Yanfeng proposed to her, she had asked him when he'd prepared the ring; he gave no definite answer, only vaguely saying it had been ready for a long time.

As it turned out, it really had been prepared long ago.

It's been seven years.

Suddenly, she again remembered the year she broke up with Xu Yanfeng; he had prepared a share transfer agreement for her as a birthday gift, but she found out in advance, she was terrified, and no matter what she wouldn't accept it. Later he prepared another gift for her. No matter how she asked, he never told her. Later, before her birthday even arrived, they had already broken up, so naturally they never got to know.

Doubts that had lingered for many years finally received an answer today.

Xu Junmo: "Want to know how much this ring costs?"

His words pulled Xia Xi back from the past; her eyes focused: "Huh? How much?"

"Xu Junmo, that's enough." Xu Yanfeng didn't even call him "brother."

Xu Junmo was about to speak when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xu Guanshan approaching; his expression changed instantly, he sat up straight and proper, his whole demeanor becoming much more disciplined, all traces of his laxness vanished.

Xia Xi stood up and looked at the imposing middle-aged man, who wore casual clothes—a white polo shirt and dark gray trousers—his steps steady, his silent presence exuding great pressure.

Xu Yanfeng whispered to Xia Xi, introducing him: "This is my dad."

Xia Xi of course knew. Xu Yanfeng thought this was her first meeting with Xu Guanshan, but in fact they had met before. Yet she acted as if it were her first time seeing him, smiling lightly and saying: "Chairman."

Xu Yanfeng's eyelids twitched slightly as he glanced at the person beside him; she calls him mother's aunt, yet calls his father Chairman? This form of address... is indescribably strange.