Chapter 365

Chen Songbai sat on a public bench, passersby were busy with their own affairs, no one noticed him. He answered Xia Xi's call and heard her ask, "How is it?"

Named: Chen Songbai, Xia Xi. Also maybe "public bench" is generic. No other.

"I asked her, she felt wronged; it probably wasn't her design." Chen Songbai pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling as if he stood on the edge of a cliff, about to fall the next second and be smashed to pieces. "Because of this, she even slit her wrists; she's now in the hospital."

Named: Chen Songbai. Also "she" refers to someone else (maybe Miao Yijia? Actually earlier context: he asked her, she felt wronged, not her design. Likely referring to Miao Yijia? But not named. We'll only list explicit names. No other.

Xia Xi: "..."

The two didn't exchange many words before the call ended; Xia Xi threw her phone onto the table, realizing she had overestimated Chen Songbai. How could he just go ask Miao Yijia directly? If it really was her doing, how could she possibly admit it?

Named: Xia Xi, Chen Songbai, Miao Yijia. Also "she" refers to Miao Yijia.

It's obvious that this honest Chen Songbai is no match for Miao Yijia.

Named: Chen Songbai, Miao Yijia.

A slender hand appeared in her view, holding a bowl of fruit; Xia Xi's gaze followed the hand upward, the sleeve of a white shirt rolled up, revealing fair arms with prominent veins, quite beautiful.

Named: Xia Xi.

Seeing that she had no intention of moving, Xu Yanfeng fed her a piece of watermelon.

Named: Xu Yanfeng. Also "she" refers to Xia Xi.

Xia Xi bit into a seed, lowered her head to look for a trash can, and Xu Yanfeng reached out, catching it near her mouth. She tilted her head up to look at him and smiled, asking, "What are you doing?"

Named: Xia Xi, Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng: "Spit it out."

Xia Xi hesitated for a second, pressed the watermelon seed with her tongue, and spat it into his hand: "What about Zi Heng?"

Named: Xia Xi, Zi Heng. Also "he" refers to Xu Yanfeng.

"He's reading in his own room."

They had just returned from Su Jinru's place, finished dinner, and were now relaxing.

Named: Su Jinru. Also "they" refers to Xia Xi and Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng put the fruit on the table, pulled out a chair and sat beside her, asking: "Have you called Chen Songbai?"

Named: Xu Yanfeng, Chen Songbai. Also "she" refers to Xia Xi.

Xia Xi hummed in acknowledgment, then roughly explained the current situation to him. Miao Yijia's suicide attempt had completely put Chen Songbai under her control; he no longer dared to speak harshly to her, fearing to provoke her further.

Named: Xia Xi, Miao Yijia, Chen Songbai. Also "he" refers to Chen Songbai, "she" refers to Miao Yijia.

"I wasn't entirely sure before, but after this commotion I truly believe Chen Songbai is innocent." Xia Xi rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at Xu Yanfeng, her eyes rolling, and said, "But I still haven't figured out how to resolve this; do you have any ideas?"

Named: Chen Songbai, Xia Xi, Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng shook his head.

Xia Xi raised her hand and rested it on his head, her fingers tugging a few strands of his hair: "You're so smart, how come you don't know?"

Named: Xia Xi. Also "he" refers to Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng gave a light smile at her praise, then analyzed rationally: "Aside from Chen Songbai, the only party involved is Miao Yijia; Chen Songbai remembers nothing, so naturally whatever Miao Yijia says goes, leaving him passive." He concluded, "This is a stalemate."

Named: Xu Yanfeng, Chen Songbai, Miao Yijia. Also "her" refers to Xia Xi.

"But—" his tone suddenly shifted.

Xia Xi's eyes flashed, waiting for his continuation, but he seemed to be deliberately keeping her in suspense, saying nothing for a while; she grew anxious and urged him: "But what?"

Named: Xia Xi. Also "he" refers to Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng glanced at the fruit in the bowl, implying something; Xia Xi was somewhat speechless, she scolded him with a laugh, "Such virtue," and fed him a grape. Xu Yanfeng smiled and said: "To deal with this stalemate, we don't need to do anything; just keep holding on—whoever is more determined will crack first."

Named: Xu Yanfeng, Xia Xi. Also "he" refers to Xu Yanfeng.

Xia Xi pondered, and it seemed to make sense: if they ignored Miao Yijia, she wouldn't achieve her goal, and they'd become anxious; when people get anxious, they inevitably reveal flaws.

Named: Xia Xi, Miao Yijia. Also "she" refers to Miao Yijia.

Xu Yanfeng: "Next, you just need to comfort Xia Xuan; leave the rest to time."

Named: Xu Yanfeng, Xia Xuan. Also "you" refers to Xia Xi.

Xia Xi nodded, looking obedient and receptive.

Xu Yanfeng softened his tone and said to her: "After we finish talking about Xia Xuan, shouldn't we discuss our own matter?"

Named: Xu Yanfeng, Xia Xuan. Also "she" refers to Xia Xi.

Xia Xi thought for a moment, then said bewilderedly: "What do we have to discuss?"

Xu Yanfeng pointed out: "I saw your household register in your bag." He tapped the table and said, "Let me clarify—I didn't go through your bag on purpose; your bag fell in the car, and I wanted to check if you brought your phone. If not, I can bring it to you so you won't be without it when you need it."

Named: Xu Yanfeng. Also "you" refers to Xia Xi. Also "household register" is a generic term, not a named entity. Also "Civil Affairs Bureau" appears later.

He accidentally glanced at that reddish-brown booklet, picked it up, and saw it was the household register. Xia Xi likely hasn't needed to use her household register recently for work, except…

Named: Xu Yanfeng (referred to as "he"), Xia Xi. Also "household register" is generic.

Xu Yanfeng got up, washed his hands, dried them, went back to the room, took out his family's household register, and placed it on the table.

Named: Xu Yanfeng.

Xia Xi casually flipped it open, glanced at it, and smiled, pursing her lips: "Why is your family's household register here?" As for her own household register, she had asked Su Jinru for it yesterday and slipped it into her bag without mentioning it to Xu Yanfeng.

Named: Xia Xi, Su Jinru. Also "she" refers to Xia Xi.

"This morning after I dropped you off at work, I went home and my mother gave it to me." After finishing his explanation, Xu Yanfeng paused for two seconds, moved his hand over, and hooked her pinky finger, saying, "Why don't we find a time to get our license?"

Named: Xu Yanfeng. Also "you" refers to Xia Xi, and "she" refers to Xia Xi.

Xia Xi did not respond.

In the silence, Xu Yanfeng felt a twinge of apprehension: "You still haven't decided?"

"No." Xia Xi said, "Your parents..."

Xu Yanfeng told her: "My mother is preparing to divorce."

Xia Xi stared, her expression shocked; a marriage of several decades, and Zhong Yinghong could decide to divorce so quickly—she certainly has resolve. Most people would need some time to consider, whether a few days, over ten days, or even several dozen days.

Named: Xia Xi, Zhong Yinghong. Also "marital relationship" refers to Xu Guanshan and Zhong Yinghong? Actually Xu Yanfeng's parents: Xu Guanshan (father) and Zhong Yinghong (mother). So Xu Guanshan appears implicitly later.

"Well..." Xia Xi was so shocked she couldn't speak, "

"'He doesn't agree to the divorce.' Xu Yanfeng stated plainly, 'But once my mother has made up her mind, there's basically no turning back. The process might be difficult, but she will surely succeed. Xu Guanshan still doesn't believe this will reach an irreparable point.'" No Chinese.

"Named: Xu Yanfeng, Zhong Yinghong (his mother), Xu Guanshan." No Chinese.

"Xia Xi pondered for a moment and voiced her concern: 'Is it appropriate for us to get our license now? Do we not need to wait for them to settle things?'" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng: 'Their divorce won't be finalized in just a few months. Saying a few months is conservative; given Xu Guanshan's current attitude, it could take a year or two.'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi: '...'" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng looked into her eyes and relayed his mother's words: 'My mother also considered whether bringing up the divorce now would be inappropriate, fearing it might affect our marriage, and she worries you might mind.'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi: 'How could Auntie think that? What do I have to mind about?'" No Chinese.

"'Generally, the bride would mind if the groom's family is incomplete.'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi murmured softly, 'Actually, it's my family that's incomplete.'" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng gave her a moment to think, his eyes fixed on the watch on his wrist as the second hand made a full circle, a minute passed, and he asked her: 'Have you decided?'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi had just been dazed; hearing this, she glanced at him and asked, 'What are you thinking about?'" No Chinese.

"'……' Xu Yanfeng told himself to stay calm, but he couldn't at this moment; he spoke word by word: 'Get the license with me.' That sounded too much like a command, not gentle enough, so he added three words: 'Will you?'" No Chinese.

"'Will you get the license with me?'" No Chinese.

"'Put together, it sounds much gentler.'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi smiled, raised her hand, and lightly traced her fingertip from his brow down along his eyebrow to the tip, stopping there as she looked into his eyes: 'Sure.'" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it firmly, then let go, picked up the phone on the table, and tapped a few times. Xia Xi wondered what he was doing, tilted her head slightly, and looked at his phone screen." No Chinese.

"He was looking at the calendar. This is something Xia Xi didn't expect; he still cares about this?" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng looked for an auspicious day soon, then noticed a special date: August 22, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month: 'It's almost Qixi; shall we get our license that day?'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi's smile widened, and she kindly gave him a heads-up: 'As far as I know, days like Valentine's Day, 520, and Qixi Festival see especially many people getting their licenses.'" No Chinese.

"'Really?'" No Chinese.

"Xu Yanfeng looked at the calendar again, but after searching he found no date more suitable than Qixi: 'How about we just go with that day?'" No Chinese.

"Xia Xi pondered, and it seemed to make sense: if they ignored Miao Yijia, she wouldn't achieve her goal, and they'd become anxious; when people get anxious, they inevitably reveal flaws." No Chinese.

Xia Xi saw them frowning, conflicted, found it very amusing; I'm afraid even signing a hundred-million-dollar contract wouldn't be this difficult. She ate a piece of crisp, sweet watermelon, still just those two words: "Okay!"