Chapter 37

Su Jinru wiped her hands, watching them leave.

Zhou Du put on sneakers, his height was now 1.9 meters, his shoulders broad, giving a sense of security; he wore a fashionable yet simple denim jacket, white casual pants, his appearance well-proportioned, his short hair neatly trimmed. He held Youyou in one hand and pulled Zi Heng with the other, turning his head to speak to Xia Xi, a bright smile on his face.

This warm scene entered Su Jinru's eyes, her heart felt completely settled.

Isn't this a scene of a family of four getting along harmoniously? But Xi Xi said they didn't mean that, and she didn't know if the words were just placating her.

Su Jinru watched them enter the elevator, close the door, turned back and exchanged a glance with the elderly woman, sighing: "What a fine young man Zhou Du is—I like him more and more; you say, why can't those two be together? No, I'll still have to persuade Xi Xi later."

The elderly woman nodded in agreement: "I just chatted a bit with little Zhou, and I'm quite pleased with him."

With the elderly woman's support, Su Jinru became more resolute: "Right, this kind of childhood-bond is rare; if they miss it, I'd feel sorry for Xi Xi."

Unaware of the elders' plans, Xia Xi sat in the passenger seat, head down messaging Lu Mingji, while Zhou Du handled the driving.

Xia Xi: "I have a friend coming along, you don't mind, do you?"

Lu Mingji: "Is that your university classmate? What's her name again, Zhao Lei?"

Xia Xi doesn't have many friends in Nancheng; Lu Mingji knows only Zhao Lei, whom he met once at a class reunion.

Xia Xi: "No, she's my childhood friend."

Lu Mingji: "Male or female?"

Xia Xi startled, thinking, does gender matter? Still she answered truthfully: "Male."

Above the screen, the words "the other party is typing" flashed several times, but no message came back; Xia Xi wondered, waited a moment, and finally a white chat box appeared, Lu Mingji replied with a single "okay," indicating he understood.

Xia Xi stared at the conversation on the screen, frowning then squinting, likely influenced by Zhou Du's words, she actually began to suspect Lu Mingji might have feelings for her.

She locked the screen, threw a resentful glance at the man driving: "Don't talk nonsense at the dinner table later."

Zhou Du gave her a sideways glance, tone ambiguous: "Am I really that unreliable in your heart? You've hurt me deeply, Xia Xi—you know exactly how to stab someone in the heart."

Xia Xi, speechless, raised her hand to cover her eyes, not wanting to hear him speak, she could be angered to an early grave: "Just shut up."

What a handsome face, yet he insists on having a spiteful mouth.

Zhou Du gave a low cough, his expression turning serious: "Speaking of serious matters, you and that Lu Mingji..."

"No thought, no possibility, no chance." Xia Xi firmly denied his guess, adding a look of disdain: "And you say you're not my mother, but you're acting just like her when she pushes me to marry."

Zhou Du laughed in anger, and if he weren't driving he'd have flicked her forehead: "You don't know what's good for you—I'm just looking out for you."

Xia Xi turned her head to look out the window, not really wanting to discuss feelings with him: "Thanks, I'm not considering that right now; I just want to focus on my career and raise the two kids well."

Zhou Du glanced at the rearview mirror; the two kids sat in the back playing with his phone, unaware of the adults' conversation, he lowered his voice: "Hey, tell me the truth—are you still hung up on Xu Yanfeng?"

Xia Xi suddenly turned her head, gazing at him with a heavy look.

Zhou Du shuddered, realizing he'd stepped on a landmine, then laughed it off: "What should we eat? I'm starving—the airplane food is so bad I want to complain."

Lu Mingji had already arrived; the restaurant he chose had a nice atmosphere, with woven lampshades casting a warm yellow light that softly covered the tables. Besides the various pizza flavors the kids liked, Western dishes were also featured.

Hence the place was packed; when Lu Mingji arrived, the private rooms were all booked, so he got a six-person table and sat down to wait.

Tonight some big shot might be visiting; the restaurant manager, upon receiving the news, bustled about, sweat beading on his forehead, urgently directing staff to check everything, chaotic footsteps echoing one after another.

This had nothing to do with Lu Mingji; he occasionally glanced at the doorway to see if Xia Xi and the kids had arrived.

At the same time, he was also curious about the childhood friend Xia Xi had brought along.

After who knows how many times he lifted his head to look at the door, he happened to see Xia Xi's car parked in a nearby spot, the driver's door opened, and a tall, strapping man stepped out, a blur—he couldn't make out the face, only saw him open the rear door, bend over, and scoop up Youyou.

The little girl seemed to like him, giggling as she clung to his neck.

Zi Heng climbed out of the car himself; after Xia Xi got out, she went around to this side, took his little hand, and followed behind the man toward the restaurant.

Lu Mingji slightly furrowed his brow, picked up the glass of plain water on the table and took a sip; he felt that the scene had a hint of something glaring.

Zhou Du had never met Lu Mingji; after entering and glancing around, he asked Xia Xi: "Your boss..."

Before he could finish, a tall figure flickered in his peripheral vision; he focused and saw a man stand up and take two steps forward— the man wore a suit, had a dignified appearance, his features somewhat plain, but his manner was rather gentle.

Some people can judge character just by face and aura. Zhou Du's first impression of Lu Mingji was okay; he thought him modest and refined. Still, to be a company boss, he surely had brains and tactics.

More observation was needed.

While Zhou Du sized up Lu Mingji, Lu Mingji also scrutinized him; having not seen his face clearly before, now he did, and he hadn't expected Xia Xi's childhood friend to be this type—trendy, edgy, like a Korean boy band member.

He instinctively felt this wasn't the type Xia Xi liked.

Just as he thought that, a table of girls nearby covered their mouths and exclaimed, looking as if they'd seen a real-life big star, so excited they could barely speak: "Is that Zhou... Zhou Du?"

Zhou Du turned toward the sound, tilted his head slightly and smiled: "It's me."

"Ahhhh, I got to see the real person!" The two girls sprang to their eyes sparkling with little stars, holding back excitement, they burst out a string of flattery: "You're even more handsome in person than in your videos! You're so tall, your skin is great—you could debut as an idol! May I… may I get your autograph?"

Zhou Du set Youyou down and signed his name on their phone cases.

The two girls, satisfied, hugged their own phone cases and sat back down, not disturbing him.

Xia Xi was unfazed by the scene, calm, while Lu Mingji felt quite surprised and asked her: "What's the background of this friend? Surely you're not really dating some big star?" He usually didn't follow showbiz much and didn't know many stars.

Zhou Du took the opportunity to extend a hand for a self-introduction: "I'm not a big star, just a small blogger, Zhou Du—search my name on Douyin and you should find me."

Xia Xi chuckled and called him out: "Don't be modest—you're a mega-influencer with millions of fans."

Zhou Du furrowed his brows: "Tsk, keep a low profile."

Lu Mingji shook his hand, briefly saying: "Lu Mingji, Xia Xi's senior."

"I've heard her mention you before—pleased to meet you."

Their hands parted and they each took a seat. Lu Mingji actually pulled out his phone and searched Zhou Du's name right then—over twenty million fans, each video getting hundreds of thousands of likes; an influencer of that stature surely earns a lot.

"Xia Xi is right, Mr. Zhou is too modest." Lu Mingji said.

"Just call me Zhou Du." Zhou Du glanced at his phone screen, waved a hand: "I just caught the internet wave, got lucky—nothing compared to a self-made big boss like you."

Lu Mingji shook his head with a light chuckle: "If we really compared, you alone probably earn as much as a mid-sized company; we bosses just say that for show."

The two men chatted pleasantly; Xia Xi, worried the kids would get hungry, called a waiter to order.

The adults ordered steak, pasta, salad and such, while the two kids got pizza, fried chicken, and fries they liked, filling the table.

Zhou Du picked up a white napkin and wrapped it around Zi Heng's neck to keep his clothes clean while eating: "Alright, let's dig in."

Zi Heng already had a few french fries sticking out of his mouth: "Thanks, godfather."

The child's voice was muffled; Lu Mingji didn't catch what he called Zhou Du, froze for a moment, and blurted out: "What does Zi Heng call you?"

Zhou Du gave a teasing look, put his arm around Zi Heng's shoulders, pulled the little one into his embrace, and said: "The kid calls me Dad!"

He wanted to see Lu Mingji's reaction when he found out he was the father of two children.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be; Lu Mingji quickly realized Zhou Du was teasing him. Based on Xia Xi's odd behavior at the last class reunion, Xu Yanfeng is the children's father, although Xia Xi never explicitly admitted it.

Suddenly a commotion came from the doorway; the curious children stretched their necks to look over there.

Xu Yanfeng was followed by several company executives coming to inspect the group's holdings. The Xu Clan Group's business spans widely, covering catering, entertainment, real estate, finance, and other sectors.

Youyou blinked, grabbed Xia Xi's arm, and whispered: "Mom, that uncle is the one who bullied you and Grandma—I recognize him."

Xia Xi glanced over, and all her blood rushed to her head; her breathing instantly became ragged.

The one reacting even more strongly than her was Zhou Du; the man who had been chatting away just moments ago now shrank like a mouse seeing a cat, tucked his neck, blocked his face with his elbow, eyes darting, wishing he could vanish into the ground: "Holy shit, how did I run into Xu… this…"

At this very moment, the three's inner thoughts were as follows—

Zhou Du: "We're screwed."

Xi Xi: "I left without checking the almanac."

Boss Lu: "Dazed, what the hell is going on?"

(End of chapter)