Chapter 42

Xu Yanfeng looked at the scenery outside the window, smiled slightly, and made no sound.

He turned around, walked two steps, pulled open the desk drawer, took out a pack of cigarettes, shook one out and held it between his lips, picked up the lighter, lit it, took a deep drag, and held the cigarette between two fingers.

The pent-up gloom in his chest was exhaled with that mouthful of smoke, dissipating into the air.

His intuition was fine; since reuniting, every time the child was mentioned, Xia Xi's reaction was overly intense, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the hair on the back of its neck rising, in a defensive stance, afraid he would discover something.

Even when she feigned composure a few times, he saw through it.

"Have you found out who gave him the money?" Xu Yanfeng sat in the chair behind the desk, his hand reaching over the ashtray, tapping the ash.

Guan He had been waiting for him to ask that question; without investigating clearly, how could he dare call and report to the boss: "The person who gave Du Bingchen money is a subordinate of Lingxunzhang, usually running errands for him."

Guan He also never expected someone to be so bold as to tamper with the paternity test that General Manager Xu had done.

Moreover, General Manager Xu's handling of this matter was already secret enough; besides him, this special assistant, no one else was let in on it, yet it still attracted attention, so he couldn't help suspecting someone was surveilling General Manager Xu around the clock.

He didn't understand what purpose that person had in doing this.

Xu Yanfeng pressed the unextinguished cigarette out in the ashtray, his thin lips opening and closing, repeating that name: "Lingxunzhang?"

Lingxunzhang is Ling Yan's paternal cousin; the two are the same age, their birthdays only a few months apart, they grew up together, close in feeling, and Lingxunzhang almost always accedes to any request from this sister of his.

Even thinking with your toes, you know Lingxunzhang wouldn't be interested in his private affairs, nor have reason to interfere; who did this is obvious.

Xu Yanfeng hung up, flipped through his contacts, found Ling Yan's number, and dialed.

The ringtone sounded for a few seconds, then the call was connected; before Xu Yanfeng could speak, Ling Yan's voice, hard to hide her joy, came through: "A-Feng, why are you calling me now? Anything up?"

Xu Yanfeng turned a metal lighter over in one hand, his expression cold and grave, yet his words revealed no emotion, light as wind and clouds: "Do you have time tonight? Let's meet."

Even though his attitude wasn't warm, Ling Yan felt as if struck by a great surprise, excited beyond control, pacing back and forth in the bedroom twice, the heat on her face gradually rising.

This was the first time Xu Yanfeng had actively invited her to a meal!

Ling Yan bit her lip, restrained her emotions, and said reservedly: "Yes."

Xu Yanfeng grunted, said nothing more, and ended the call.

At that moment, in the Ling family villa, Ling Yan clutched her phone tightly, two blushes rose on her cheeks, she flung herself onto the big bed, covered her face with both hands, and a low, pleased laugh leaked from between her fingers.

Has her suffering ended in reward? Surely Xu Yanfeng learned that Xia Xi's dragon-and-phoenix twins weren't his, had completely given up on her, and his parents were pressuring him to marry, so he turned his attention to her.

Regardless of the reason, he finally noticed her existence; that's a good thing.

She dared not ask for too much; as long as she could be with him, she would be content.

What will happen in the future no one can say; perhaps he will truly come to like her.

Ling Yan imagined a sweet, beautiful future with Xu Yanfeng in her mind, smiling until her cheeks ached, until her phone buzzed, pulling her thoughts back; she fumbled on the sheets, grabbed the phone, sat up, and glanced at it.

It was a message from her best friend, inviting her to dinner together that evening.

Ling Yan gazed at the screen, smiling foolishly, and typed a reply: "Sorry, Xu Yanfeng just invited me; you're late, next time please come earlier."

Her best friend teased her: "Yo yo yo, you got a man and forgot your friend, do you have the nerve to say that?"

Ling Yan: "Sorry, I'll treat you next time." After sending the message, Ling Yan got up to go to the wardrobe to pick clothes; yesterday she had liked several luxury brands' salespeople who came to her home delivering new clothes, she took each one in turn and held them up before the full-length mirror.

The clothes she thought looked good yesterday she now disliked entirely; she felt none of them were suitable for meeting Xu Yanfeng.

Ling Yan went to great trouble to put together an outfit: a white satin off-shoulder top, matched with a half-skirt in the same tone; her neck felt bare, so she found a long silver necklace, doubled it around her neck, the diamonds and pearls spliced together, very eye-catching.

After the outfit was set, she sat at the vanity to do her makeup, all her hair pulled up, revealing a perfect shoulder-neck line; the makeup aimed for a clear, natural look, the blush appearing as if it rose from her skin.

After all that grooming, nearly three hours had passed; Ling Yan took her bag and went downstairs.

In the living room, Ling's mother sat on the sofa flipping through a fashion magazine; she unintentionally lifted her eyes, and her gaze was caught by that bright figure; she raised her eyebrows and smiled, asking: "Dressed up so beautifully, where are you headed?"

Ling Yan held her bags in both hands before her, lowered her head slightly, looking a bit shy: "Xu Yanfeng invited me to dinner tonight."

"Really?" Ling's mother's eyes lit up, she closed the magazine and set it aside, rose and walked over to her: "Just now Aunt Zhong called me to chat; at noon Xu Yanfeng came home for a meal and was urged to marry by the two elders. You really ought to seize the chance; at dinner ask him about his wishes, settle it early, and then I and your father can relax."

Ling Yan pouted: "Rushing too much isn't good either."

"What era is this now? A woman taking the initiative isn't a problem." Ling's mother took her hand, "If you're embarrassed to ask directly, just sound him out; in short, you need to figure out Xu Yanfeng's attitude."

Ling Yan glanced at her wristwatch: "Oh, I won't tell you anymore; that restaurant is fairly far from our house, leaving later will make us late."

Ling's mother smiled and patted her waist: "Go on, go on."

Ling Yan got into the car driven by her family's chauffeur and headed to the appointment.

Unfortunately, she encountered a massive traffic jam on the road, at a standstill for about twenty minutes; Ling Yan grew anxious to the point of inability, checking her watch every minute, urging the driver to go faster, then faster still; she didn't want Xu Yanfeng to wait long.

After arriving at the restaurant, Ling Yan gave Xu Yanfeng's name and was led by the server to a private room outside.

Ling Yan's heart pounded; she pressed her hand to her chest, pushed open the door, and the sight before her left her dumbfounded.

Xu Yanfeng sat alone at the table; three or four dishes had already been set out, each showing signs of having been eaten, while Xu Yanfeng held a cup of plain water, sipping slowly, looking as if he had already finished his meal.

He had invited her to meet; wasn't that supposed to mean eating together?

How could he have eaten first? "Sorry, traffic jam on the road, I'm late." As she spoke, Ling Yan glanced at her watch again; although she had been delayed a long time on the road, once traffic cleared the driver sped up, and they were only four or five minutes off the agreed time.

Xu Yanfeng set the cup on the table, wiped his mouth clean, gave her a cold glance, not intending to beat around the bush, and got straight to the point: "Ling Yan, isn't your hand reaching too far?"

Ling Yan blinked: "What?"

"Are you still playing dumb?" Xu Yanfeng sneered, "I actually didn't know you had my movements down pat. Do I have to spell it out before you'll admit it? The paternity test report—you had someone swap it."

Ling Yan's face froze instantly; the last sliver of hopeful thinking was shattered.

He knew everything—knew she had people tailing him, knew she had interfered in the paternity test matter.

But she refused to accept the charge he had leveled against her.

Ling Yan stepped forward step by step, stood beside him, placed her hand on his sleeve, eyes brimming with wronged tears: "I admit I cared too much about you, wanted to know your every move, but I didn't touch that paternity test report; it's genuine! Xia Xi's children aren't yours!"

She shouted the last sentence, her voice already somewhat hoarse.

See you tomorrow~~(End of chapter)