“Are you still in Zilang?” Yan Wei asked.
After some consideration, Xia Yu told her his address.
Seeing that it was just a bit farther away but still near the Zilang urban area, Yan Wei felt relieved.
She then asked Xia Yu if she could come over to play.
If it were just Yan Wei, Xia Yu would have felt the need to be cautious about being alone with her, but she was bringing Yan Li along.
Youxue was just hanging out behind Kong Hanyue, eating and drinking; she hadn’t had peers to play with back in the countryside. With Yan Li coming over, the girl would surely be very happy.
Moreover, Yan Wei had helped a few times, accompanying Youxue to film advertisements for the black cat and even taking care of the hamster.
Considering that he had already mentioned having a girlfriend before, Xia Yu felt it should be safe.
He asked Yan Wei to wait and then sought Kong Hanyue’s opinion, using the name of Youxue’s classmate.
Kong Hanyue readily agreed.
The next morning at nine o’clock, Yan Wei excitedly dragged her younger sister, bringing the cookies they had made the previous day, and boarded the subway.
After getting off, the two found the community Xia Yu had mentioned.
Looking at the rows of villas in the community, Yan Wei glanced down at the address Xia Yu had given.
“This is the place!” Yan Li excitedly pulled her sister along. “Youxue’s mother is a rich person; their house must be huge!”
A wealthy family?
A sense of unease flickered through Yan Wei’s mind. She had thought Xia Yu’s mother was just from an ordinary family.
Her own family was only ordinary in this city. If their family backgrounds were vastly different, marriage would be difficult.
A moment later, she noticed something important and narrowed her eyes at Yan Li: “You already knew where Youxue lived, didn’t you?”
Yan Li stiffened.
“You knew but still made me press the doorbell for ages yesterday!” Yan Wei was furious. If not for being in public, she would have given her sister a proper scolding.
“You didn’t ask!” Yan Li said fearfully.
After registering at the security booth, the two entered the community and found the house number Xia Yu had given.
Pressing the doorbell, the door was opened by Kong Hanyue.
“Auntie, hello,” the two greeted politely.
“My name is Yan Li; I’m Xue Xue’s classmate,” Yan Li said.
“I’m Yan Wei; I’m Xia Yu’s classmate,” Yan Wei said.
“Hmm?” Kong Hanyue looked at the two girls. She knew about Youxue’s classmate from what Xia Yu had mentioned the day before, but Xia Yu hadn’t mentioned another classmate of his.
Narrowing her eyes, Kong Hanyue examined Yan Wei, letting her gaze linger on her chest for a moment.
Although Yan Wei was wearing thick clothes, Kong Hanyue immediately noticed the girl’s unusualness.
This child must have trouble finding clothes that fit.
She let the two in to play with Youxue in the game room before seeking out Xia Yu.
“What’s the situation with your classmate?” she asked directly.
Still having a youthful heart, she immediately sensed that Yan Wei had ulterior motives.
Looking at her son, who was still in his room and showed no urgency to come and see, she realized he wasn’t very concerned about her.
“I already have someone I like,” Xia Yu said directly, not wanting Kong Hanyue to ask further.
“So she’s just a backup?” Kong Hanyue asked.
“You’re the backup!” Xia Yu retorted.
“What, you actually have such thoughts about me?” Seizing the opportunity, Kong Hanyue acted playfully. She hugged Xia Yu from behind, wearing a gossipy expression.
“I’m not interested in her, so it’s better to keep some distance,” Xia Yu explained.
“I think it’s fine. Marriage can’t always be based on interest. I didn’t have any interest in Ze Ze’s father at all,” Kong Hanyue continued.
Is it really okay to say such things to your child?
“By the way, where is Zhong Yunze?” Xia Yu tried to change the subject, but Kong Hanyue noticed.
“Don’t try to change the topic. According to my experience watching anime, the male lead ends up marrying the plain-looking childhood friend who’s always by his side!”
“You’re way too old to still be watching cartoons!”
“I’m forever eighteen!” Kong Hanyue angrily said, giving Xia Yu’s head a hard knock.
“Alright, compared to that, you should be more concerned about Zhong Yunze’s matter,” Xia Yu changed the topic again, but this time he still didn’t succeed.
“You said you already have someone you like. Who is she?” Kong Hanyue didn’t think it would be Zhong Yunxin.
“You’ll know when I go to college,” Xia Yu said.
“Tell Mom!”
“Flattery won’t work!”
“Hmph,” seeing no hope of getting an answer, Kong Hanyue let go of Xia Yu and lay on the nearby bed. “Ze Ze is better. From childhood to now, I know all the people he’s liked: the neighbor Auntie Wang, nanny Auntie Zhao, cleaner Auntie Li…”
Hearing Kong Hanyue list a group of “aunties,” Xia Yu was somewhat surprised. Zhong Yunze had previously mentioned liking older women, and Xia Yu had thought he meant older sisters, but he hadn’t expected it to be the “auntie” level.
At the same time, he resolved not to tell Kong Hanyue about his private affairs, or else she would tell Zhong Yunze about his matters next.
“Why didn’t you see Zhong Yunze this morning?” Xia Yu changed the topic for the third time, and this time he finally succeeded.
“Ze Ze went to the company. He said he had already asked his father’s friend for help, and things will be resolved soon,” Kong Hanyue replied.
“What kind of problem is it?” Xia Yu asked again.
“It’s a relatively small contract that was lost, not a big deal. But in the past year, quite a few contracts have been lost, so Ze Ze said he needs to reorganize things.”
Losing contracts frequently? Could there be a competitor constantly undermining Zhong family’s company?
This was a common occurrence in business; one could only wish the Zhong family well.
“I’m leaving. You continue doing your private things in the room,” Kong Hanyue left the bedroom when the conversation ran dry.
Xia Yu read a novel for a while before his phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Pressing the answer button, Xia Yu heard the voice of Xia Dongyang.
“Cough, son, your dad got caught in a small hotel and needs a 5000-yuan bail to get out. Please transfer the money to account number 6217…”
Before he could finish, Xia Yu hung up and blacklisted the number.
Using the excuse of being caught in nightlife again—what were they trying to pull?
If it were about causing trouble while drunk, that might be plausible, but when had he ever dared to go to a small hotel to play around?
He put his phone down for a moment, and the ringtone sounded again.
This time, it was a call from Liu Ronglan.
“Grandma,” Xia Yu answered actively.
“Have you eaten?”
“I have.”
After asking a few irrelevant questions typical of elderly people, Liu Ronglan got to the point:
“Your sister Manman might come over these days. You should keep an eye on her when she arrives.”
Xia Manman was coming? Xia Yu was surprised.
“Why is Manman coming?” he asked.
“Cough, I can’t really tell you now. She might not necessarily come to you; you’ll know when the time comes,” Liu Ronglan’s voice carried some embarrassment.
After hanging up, Xia Yu pondered what business Xia Manman could have coming to see him.
Was it because of the recent district-wide musical instrument competition, where he came in second and she third?
After significantly improving his guzheng skills, was she coming to challenge him for his ranking?
Putting his phone down, Xia Yu no longer felt like continuing to read. He planned to go to An Siyao, but before that, he needed to meet Yan Wei first. Not showing up at all would be too impolite.
Opening the door, Xia Yu searched the villa and found four girls in the kitchen.
They were making pastries, and judging from Kong Hanyue and Youxue’s smiling faces, they were having a great time.
“Come make cakes too!” Kong Hanyue wanted to pull Xia Yu over, but he refused.
Unhappily, Kong Hanyue left two flour fingerprints on Xia Yu’s face and said, “If you don’t want to make cakes, that’s fine, but I’ve already made plans with Weiwei to go to the amusement park in a couple of days.”
“Okay,” Xia Yu agreed.
“Then go do your mysterious things!” Returning to the kitchen, Kong Hanyue continued causing mischief.
Back in his room, Xia Yu sighed, impressed by Yan Wei’s social skills.
In just a short while, Kong Hanyue was already affectionately calling her “Weiyu,” and the amusement park plan must have been Yan Wei’s idea, with Kong Hanyue helping to persuade him.
However, if he could make pastries, he could also easily build good relationships with the girls.
Lying on the bed, Xia Yu went to An Siyao.
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