Chapter 36

Xia Xi didn't hug him, walked over and slapped his arm: "You wouldn't have come specially to see me, would you? What business do you have in Nancheng?"

"Of course I'm not here to see you, don't get full of yourself." Zhou Du is very tall, taking off his shoes he's 1.88 meters, and with a backhand he easily slapped Xia Xi's head: "I'm here to see the kids, to check if my son and daughter have grown taller."

Hearing that, Youyou dropped her Barbie doll, lifted her butt and crawled up from the carpet, raising her little hand to the top of her head: "Godfather, look how tall I've grown."

Zhou Du immediately bent over, picked up the child, and kissed her cheek: "Really good. Listen to your mother, eat well, and try to grow as tall as your godfather by next year."

Youyou raised both hands and cheered: "Okay!"

Xia Xi chuckled: "Don't listen to your godfather's nonsense; if you really grew that tall next year you'd be a monster."

The coffee table was piled with gifts, about half of them from Zhou Du for the two kids—Transformers, toy cars, LEGO, Barbie dolls. Xia Xi also got a share; she was eating the fruit Su Jinru brought, tore open one bag and peeked inside—it was all high-end skincare and cosmetics.

"All these are mine?" Xia Xi raised her eyebrows, her eyes lighting up.

"Nice try." Zhou Du argued with her, "I brought these for Aunt and Grandma; you don't get any."

Su Jinru smiled on the side, eyes nearly closed: "Oh, I don't need these; the anti-aging skincare products Xia Xi bought for me I never use—I just slap on some Da Bao normally. Her grandmother doesn't need them either."

Zhou Du then gave an "uh-huh", striking a haughty pose as if bestowing a gift on Xia Xi: "Since Aunt and Grandma don't need them, you can use them—after all, they're PR samples from all the big brands."

Xia Xi: "Tch, Zhou Du, how old are you?"

She had a cantaloupe chunk in her mouth, carrying the bag back to the bedroom and putting it on the dressing table; turning around, she hadn't expected Su Jinru to follow her in and close the door. Xia Xi blinked: "Mom, what are you doing?"

Su Jinru walked up to her, took her hand, looked mysterious, and lowered her voice: "I actually forgot about Zhou Du. I know his parents well—they often patronized our family restaurant. You two grew up together, went to university in the same city, childhood sweethearts, we know each other's backgrounds. Seeing how harmoniously he gets along with Zi Heng and Youyou, I imagine he's been abroad frequently these past few years to visit you. You two…"

"Enough!" Xia Xi heard her mother getting more and more ambiguous, almost spelling it out; if she still didn't get her mother's idea, she'd be an idiot: "We don't have that kind of intention, stop messing with the mandarin duck chart."

Su Jinru couldn't be easily convinced, she pressed: "Is it that you don't have feelings for him, or that he doesn't have feelings for you?"

Without waiting for Xia Xi's answer, Su Jinru guessed it was the former, and said earnestly: "That last blind date was indeed unreliable, but Zhou Du is different—he's someone I've watched grow up, his looks, character, and family background are impeccable. Feelings can be cultivated; try getting along with him, and sparks might fly."

"Sparks? I'd be throwing lightning." Xia Xi flushed with resistance: "We have no feelings for each other. Mom, you can say that in front of me, but never mention it in front of Zhou Du—it'd be awfully awkward."

"I'm not stupid, Mom; don't I know what can be said?"

"Fine, you're the most reasonable. Let's go out first; hiding in here to talk is impolite."

Mother and daughter tugged their way out of the room, Su Jinru stared intently at Zhou Du playing with the two kids, loving it from every angle, and unwilling to give up, she tugged Xia Xi's sleeve: "You two really have no chance?"

Xia Xi: "……"

Grandma thought similarly to Su Jinru, seizing the chance to ask Zhou Du: "Little Zhou, where do you work?"

"I currently rent a place in Beicheng as a base for work. Back home I bought two houses—one I live in, the other for my parents as a retirement home."

Zhou Du answered openly and in detail, which pleased Grandma even more.

"How do my Zi Heng and Youyou come to call you godfather, and when did that happen?" Grandma asked, smiling.

Zhou Du said: "I previously flew to Londun for an event, thinking of Xia Xi being there, so I went to see her. As you know, we grew up together, our relationship is solid, so I had the two kids call me godfather."

"Oh oh." Grandma's mouth couldn't close.

Xia Xi, however, felt a headache, pressing her forehead; she wondered whether Zhou Du truly didn't understand Grandma's implication or was pretending not to, yet they ended up chatting about it.

To prevent the topic from drifting further, Xia Xi quickly interjected: "Zhou Du, you must have work in Nancheng, right? What are your plans for tonight?"

Zhou Du was helping Youyou put a pretty dress on her Barbie; hearing that, he blinked his clear black-and-white eyes at her: "Huh? After all the trouble to come here, you're not even going to treat me? How stingy."

Su Jinru gave Xia Xi a fake glare, then turned to Zhou Du and instantly put on a smile—her face-changing speed impressed Xia Xi. "Don't listen to Xia Xi; she's just joking with you!" Su Jinru said enthusiastically, "I'm going to cook now; don't go anywhere tonight, stay and eat at home, try my cooking."

Su Jinru didn't waste a second; after speaking she rushed to the kitchen, flung open the fridge, pulled out all the ingredients and laid them on the counter, rolled up her sleeves, ready to show off her skills.

Grandma got up to help her, and told Xia Xi to entertain Zhou Du well.

Xia Xi's eye twitched; she looked at Zhou Du, tilted her head slightly, and asked with her eyes: "You really came?"

Zhou Du pretended not to notice her hint, lowered his head and asked Youyou: "Shall we change this little princess into a pink dress, okay?"

Youyou was especially enthusiastic, clapping her hands: "Good!"

Her phone suddenly chimed; Xia Xi pulled it out and saw a restaurant location sent by Lu Mingji—then she remembered she had a dinner date with Lu Mingji tonight! She had come back to pick up the kids…

Xia Xi covered her forehead with one hand, glanced at the busy Su Jinru and Grandma in the kitchen, then at Zhou Du acting as if it were his own home, and finally decided to come clean: "Um, I just remembered I have an appointment tonight."

Zhou Du raised his eyes at her, cheekbones lifting, one eye squinting; though he didn't speak, his expression said: "No way, making such a lame excuse—how much do you not want to eat with me?" "I'm not." Xia Xi, utterly unable to explain, simply showed him her phone screen: "I wasn't joking; I really have an appointment. I came back, saw you here, and just forgot."

On the screen, besides the restaurant location, Lu Mingji had sent two more messages.

Lu Mingji: "I checked the reviews; this place is the best."

Lu Mingji: "When are you coming over?"

Zhou Du's gaze locked on the name in the note; he pondered, muttering: "Lu, Ming, Ji—why does this name sound so familiar?"

Xia Xi explained: "He's my boss; I mentioned him to you before, right?"

Zhou Du nodded; indeed he had heard her mention Lu Mingji, her senior from University of London: "Is he pursuing you?"

Xia Xi blinked rapidly, stunned by his words: "No, where did you get that conclusion? How can you just spout nonsense?"

"If he's not chasing you, then why is he giving up his Friday leisure to ask you to dinner?" Zhou Du stretched out his long legs, hands clasped behind his head, leaning back on the sofa, speaking leisurely: "Don't be nervous; I'm not your mom, I won't push for marriage. You say you've gone years without a man, and finally you have one—I have to vet him for you."

Xia Xi rolled her eyes: "You're not a man?"

"Tsk, how you speak—don't bite the hand that feeds you, ungrateful." Zhou Du lowered his hands, stood up, straightened his chest, adjusted his clothes: "Come on, let's go meet this boss Lu."

Xia Xi's expression went blank, she drawled: "……You're not messed up, are you?"

"If you won't let me see, do you have something to hide?" Zhou Du feigned great astonishment, turning toward the kitchen: "Then I'll go have a word with Aunt."

"Fine, fine, go ahead and see if you want to."

Xia Xi really lost to him; she went to the kitchen to tell Su Jinru and Grandma, "No need to prepare too many dishes," and she and Zhou Du took the kids out to eat.

Su Jinru stared for two seconds, then broke into a smile, agreeing: "That's good; you two youngsters can have a chat, and I and your grandma won't tag along as a third wheel. Watch yourselves on the road; coming back late is fine."

Xia Xi, unable to explain, waved her hand and slipped away.

If she had precognition and could foresee meeting Xu Yanfeng at dinner, even a hundred reasons wouldn't make her leave tonight.

Next episode preview——

Zhou Du, Lu Mingji, and Xu Yanfeng will meet.

Xi Xi: "Such a huge shura field—does nobody care if I live or die?"

(End of chapter)