Chapter 55

"You mean Zhou Hongsheng?" Xia Xi thought for two seconds, shook her head, "I've been back in the country for over a month; he never came to look for me."

Zhou Hongsheng is Xia Yue's legal husband, and also the person who personally sent her to prison.

For a couple to come to this point is like a joke.

When Xia Yue got into trouble, Xia Xi had already gone to the UK; after receiving Su Jinru's call, she rushed back to Qianlin, and the matter was already settled. Zhou Hongsheng had connections, hired a fierce lawyer, and got Xia Yue a heavy sentence; the line between manslaughter and intentional killing is inherently hard to define.

The sisters hastily met in prison; Xia Xi wanted to find another lawyer to file an appeal, but Xia Yue urged her not to bother, saying it was useless—the person was already dead, the knife was hers, and no matter how the case is retried, there won't be much change.

Her only request was for Xia Xi to take Youyou and raise her.

Everyone says children need early education; if Youyou followed Zhou Hongsheng, it's questionable whether she could survive, and even if she did, she wouldn't have a good life—likely she'd be ruined.

At that time, Youyou was too young to remember; Xia Yue tearfully begged Xia Xi not to tell Youyou about her origins, so she could have a healthy, happy upbringing, just as her name implies.

Whether the nickname "Youyou" or the formal name "Leyi," both are Xia Yue's greatest blessing as a mother for her child—she only wishes her to be carefree and happy; nothing else matters.

In the future, when she gets out of prison, if the child acknowledges her, she remains the child's birth mother; if not, the child will be registered under Xia Xi's name, and she will provide money and effort to raise the child.

She knows this is terribly unfair to Xia Xi, but she has no other choice.

Everything is for the child.

Six years have passed, and Xia Yue still thinks of that man with hatred gnawing at her teeth; she gave a wry smile: "Exactly, Zhou Hongsheng would love not to have Youyou as his daughter—having someone else raise his kid would be a relief for him, so why would he come looking for you?" She wiped her face, slightly lifted her neck, and added a self-mocking smile to her lips: "The thing I regret most in my life is marrying Zhou Hongsheng; the campus-to-wedding romance sounded beautiful, but inside it had already rotted. Second, I regret mistakenly killing Wang Yuanzhen, which left me unable to raise my child personally or reunite with my family."

After a pause, she looked at Xia Xi and said earnestly, "Xi Xi, when choosing a man you must keep your eyes open—people's hearts are hidden behind their bellies; no matter how good a man seems to you, once you cut open his belly, his interior may harbor ill intentions. I am a bloody example."

Just as Xia Xi was about to speak, Xia Yue shifted the conversation: "How did things turn out between you and that Xu… Xu Yanfeng?"

"We have no relation anymore."

Xia Xi pressed her lips together and gave a light smile.

Xia Yue gazed at that barely perceptible smile on Xia Xi's lips, her expression momentarily dazed; she couldn't recall when she last saw Xia Xi laugh wholeheartedly, only remembering that during college Xia Xi had truly been carefree.

Back then, Xia Xi had a weekly video call with her family; the first time she heard Xu Yanfeng's name from her lips was when she was eating in the cafeteria, secretly tilting her phone screen to one side. At a table three or four meters away sat a male student in a white shirt; though his front face was unseen, his profile was already handsome enough. Xia Xi pointed at him, her face full of pride: "See? That's the guy I'm chasing, Xu Yanfeng—a big shot in our Architecture Department, rumored to have also studied law and finance; tsk tsk, sounds like high IQ, a perfect match for me! Well, he's a bit hard to pursue; right now I'm still at the stage of blushing and pressing my cold butt against him."

She laughed so hard on the other end of the phone she couldn't sit up.

Xia Xi chattered nonstop: "If we're going to suffer a loss, let it happen during our freshman and sophomore years at the old campus; if we'd moved to the new campus earlier, maybe I'd have snagged him in my first year—so why wait until now?"

She encouraged Xia Xi: "With my sister's charm, capturing him is just a matter of time!"

Xia Xi smiled at the camera, rubbing thumb and forefinger together: "Pursuing a guy also takes money, dear sister—won't you chip in a bit?"

She then transferred twenty thousand to her sister; Xia Xi sent back a bunch of kiss emojis. Afterwards, every few days Xia Xi reported her progress in chasing the male god to her, and eventually she really did catch him.

……

The sisters were chatting enthusiastically when a prison guard came over to remind them that visiting time was up and asked family members to leave.

The smile faded from Xia Xi's face; she stood up, gazed deeply at Xia Yue about to be taken away by the guard, and hurriedly said, "Sis, I forgot to tell you—happy birthday. When you get out, we'll celebrate properly as a family. Take care of yourself; I, Grandma, Mom, and Youyou are all waiting for you."

Xia Yue nodded heavily with red eyes.

Xia Xi retrieved her bag from storage, and before leaving she left some money in the mailroom so Xia Yue could buy things there.

Leaving the prison, the sunset painted half the sky red; not far away, a blue taxi was parked at the curb, and through the window she could see the driver waving at her. She exhaled, and her body felt light.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Xia Xi said as she got into the car, "Could you please take me to the high-speed rail station?"

The driver smiled, showing understanding, started the car, and drove the prison far behind. Xia Xi leaned against the window looking back, imagining in her mind the scene of returning here in a few months to pick up Xia Yue.

By then, Xia Xuan should have recovered, and perhaps she'll come along as well.

*After getting off the high-speed rail, Xia Xi just received a voice message from Su Jinru asking how long until she gets home.

Xia Xi found her car in the parking lot, got in, and replied with a voice message: "Just got off the high-speed rail; you go ahead and eat, no need to wait for me."

The road was clear, and she arrived home smoothly; as soon as Xia Xi opened the door she smelled the aroma of food. Su Jinru came out of the kitchen holding a plate of stir-fried meat with venison mushroom, her eyes lighting up: "You're back."

"Mm." Youyou slid off the chair, rushed over and hugged Xia Xi's thigh, tilting her head back to complain: "Mom, you're finally back; I've been waiting for you so long my stomach's deflated from hunger."

Su Jinru laughed: "I don't know who it was, but they gnawed two drumsticks."

Youyou raised a finger: "It's one drumstick! Another little brother said that's the wing tip, not a drumstick—Grandma, you're lying to the kid."

"You little glutton," Su Jinru said, looking at Xia Xi, "You must be tired from rushing around all afternoon—go wash your hands and come eat."

Xia Xi put down her bag and went to wash her hands in the kitchen: "Didn't you say not to wait for me? I've been sitting in the car a while and don't have much appetite."

"Neither I nor your grandma are in a hurry to eat; the two kids were hungry, so I let them have something early." Su Jinru lifted the white sand pot from the gas stove: "I've boiled a clear chicken soup; if you have no appetite for anything else, just drink some soup."

"Let me do it." Xia Xi took the sand pot from her hand, carried it out, and asked, "How's Xuanxuan?"

"Tonight Chen Songbai is staying in the hospital to keep watch, with a nursing aide helping, so there's no problem." Su Jinru said, "Chen Songbai has visibly lost a lot of weight these days; frankly his mother is indeed unpleasant, but he himself is still pretty decent, and during this busy period I haven't seen him put on a black face."

Xia Xi snorted coldly, having a big opinion of Chen Songbai: "He still dares to put on a black face—I could beat him to death."

Su Jinru: "……"

All the dishes were on the table, the family sat around eating; Grandma didn't avoid the two kids and asked Xia Xi, "How is Xiaoyue doing in there?" Before Xia Xi could answer, Grandma sighed, "This old body of mine can't go see her; I'm afraid the next time I return to Qianlin will be after I've ascended to heaven, with my ashes brought back."

Xia Xi pulled a face: "Grandma, what are you saying? Quick, pah pah pah."

Grandma smiled, her wrinkles folding into several layers. She is seventy-eight this year; the family has suffered successive misfortunes, she had a serious illness, and her constitution is no longer what it used to be. These past years she hasn't said much, but she's felt uneasy inside.

Su Jinru is the same.

Xia Xi said, "Elder sister is doing fine; don't worry too much—you'll be able to see her in a few months."

Grandma sipped her soup, then suddenly fell silent, afraid she might never get to see Xiaoyue again. These days she's been dreaming repeatedly of a deceased old man from many years ago, not knowing if he's coming to fetch her.

"After Xiaoyue gets out, you should tell her that the most important thing is to first divorce that surnamed Zhou man. Let go of the past before embracing a new life. She's still young, her days ahead are long—no matter how big the obstacle, she'll eventually get over it."

Xia Xi didn't understand: "Why don't you wait until she's out and tell her yourself?"

Grandma slowly shook her head, offering no explanation.

Youyou's eyes rolled back and forth as she looked among the adults, puckering her little mouth to ask: "Who is Xiaoyue? Who is the elder sister? What are you talking about?"

Xia Xi stared for a moment, looking at Youyou's clueless eyes, gave her a chopstickful of the green vegetable she doesn't like—picky eating won't do—and then answered her question: "Xiaoyue is your grandma's eldest daughter, my sister."

Also your mother.

In the end Xia Xi didn't utter that last sentence; better to hold off for now, the moment isn't right to say it.

Youyou frowned, trying to pick the vegetables out of her bowl; Xia Xi narrowed her eyes, drew out an "hng" sound as a warning, and Youyou immediately shoved the greens into her mouth, chewing them down with a grimace like swallowing medicine.

"Mom's sister? I've never seen her before?" Zi Heng asked.

Xia Xi: "She did something wrong, was punished by the police uncle with confinement, and after she reflects properly, she can meet us."

Youyou, quick to speak, interjected: "Oh, I get it—just like when I didn't do my homework and hid the notebook, Mom found out and made me stand facing the wall to reflect, same punishment."

Xia Xi laughed and cried: "Well... you can understand it that way."

*After a busy week, Monday came again. Xia Xi finished the renderings, sent a WeChat to Xu Yanfeng, and while editing the text she repeatedly weighed her words—she couldn't be too mechanical, lest he say she was 'pretending not to be familiar,' nor too enthusiastic, which would make it seem she was overly familiar with him; it was really a dilemma.

It was harder than the love letters she used to write when chasing him.

Xia Xi: "The renderings are out; I need you to review them. Would you rather come to Broad and Elegant, or should I go find you?"

To let the client see the villa renovation effects more directly, it's best to project them onto a screen and accompany them with the designer's own explanation.

Xu Yanfeng replied instantly: "12:30 p. m., come to Prosperous Courtyard Hotel, room 3302."

Xia Xi: "?"

No, why are we still getting a room at the hotel?

Xu Er has burned incense and bathed, waiting for Xi Xi to arrive_(: з」∠)_(End of chapter)