After Zhou Du left the bathroom, he sent a message to Xia Xi, telling her that he would ask Lu Mingji to take her home and that he would go back to the hotel directly. They could talk again when they had time.

Xia Xi expressed his understanding, saying that he had worked hard tonight and a good dinner had turned into a Hongmen Banquet.

Walking to the parking lot with Lu Mingji, he took the initiative to say, "I'll take you home." After the meal, he had a lot of questions, and he could take this opportunity to ask Xia Xi.

But given her personality, she might not answer all of them.

Xia Xi declined: "You drove here too, it's okay, I can go back by myself."

Lu Mingji smiled faintly and pointed at Youyou, who was yawning frequently and could barely keep her eyes open. "The child is so sleepy that she could fall asleep while standing. I'll drive so you can take care of her."

Xia Xi lowered her eyes, leaned leisurely on her legs, holding a small toy given by the restaurant in her arms, and kept rubbing her eyes. She was indeed sleepy.

"Don't rub your eyes. There are bacteria." She took Youyou's hand away, stroked her cheek, and then looked at Lu Mingji, "Thank you for your help."

"Why are you being so polite to me?"

Lu Mingji asked a designated driver to drive his car back, took Xia Xi's car keys, and opened the back door.

Xia Xi half-hugged Youyou as she got in, and Youyou immediately leaned over and burrowed into her arms to sleep. Ziheng climbed up from the other side, sat down obediently, and fastened his seatbelt without being reminded by an adult.

After they were all seated, Lu Mingji started the car and merged into the traffic flow.

The car was driving smoothly, and gradually, Ziheng felt a little sleepy, nodding his little head like a chick pecking at food.

Seeing this, Xia Xi adjusted her sitting position and moved closer to Ziheng. Then she patted her shoulder and whispered to him, "Lean on mom and sleep for a while. I'll call you when it's time."

Ziheng leaned against her obediently, closing his eyes. His long eyelashes drooped, casting a shadow on his fair face. His forehead was slightly sweaty, and the ends of his hair were wet, curling against his skin.

Xia Xi raised her hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, curled her lips, and looked gentle and peaceful.

There are fewer vehicles at night and there is not much noise. Even the occasional honking of horns seems distant.

The traffic light ahead turned red, and the car stopped steadily in front of the zebra crossing. Lu Mingji looked in the rearview mirror, cleared his throat, and asked, "Did you and Xu Yanfeng have an unhappy breakup back then?"

Xia Xi had originally lowered her eyes to look at the child, but upon hearing this, she lifted her eyelids and looked ahead. After about five seconds, she said, "It's my problem."

"Then you and Zhou Du..." Lu Mingji hesitated to speak.

Xia Xi knew what he was suspicious of. At the dinner table tonight, Xu Yanfeng's words were too imaginative. Anyone who heard them would imagine the love-hate relationship between the three of them.

"We're good friends, nothing more than that." Xia Xi spoke softly, her words clearly enunciated, fearing to disturb the child. "Lu Mingji, we're also very good friends. Perhaps, a more accurate description would be that we're both teacher and friend. You helped me a lot during those years abroad. You're responsible for 50% of my current situation. I'm very grateful to you and I trust you, so I can be honest with you about some things."

Lu Mingji had already guessed that Xu Yanfeng was the father of the child. Many things could not be concealed, so it was better to tell the truth.

She spoke so seriously that Lu Mingji laughed: "Are you trying to be a good person to me?"

Before he even expressed his feelings, she had already defined their relationship as "both teacher and friend," blocking his path forward and leaving him no hope at all. This was consistent with Xia Xi's usual style of doing things.

"You are a good person, so why do you need me to give you extra cards?" Xia Xi joked.

Lu Mingji tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, waiting for the red light countdown to pass before the car started. "Don't worry, I won't betray your trust. I'll keep your secret and won't tell anyone a word. But—" He changed the subject, giving her a warning, "Xu Yanfeng doesn't look that easy to fool. Every word he said today was full of hidden meanings. It's impossible to tell what he's thinking."

Xia Xi was also worried: "I know."

The car drove into the residential complex and slowly stopped. Both children were fast asleep. Xia Xi was about to wake Ziheng up when Lu Mingji unbuckled his seatbelt, turned his head, and whispered, "Stop yelling. Just carry him up."

Xia Xi hesitated for a few seconds, but Lu Mingji had already gotten out of the car, opened the door, and carried Ziheng out, winking at her. Xia Xi had no choice but to slowly move out, holding Youyou in her arms, lock the car, and get into the elevator with Lu Mingji.

When they arrived at the door, Xia Xi was unable to move, so Lu Mingji stepped forward, holding Ziheng with one hand and pressing the doorbell with the other.

Su Jinru was watching TV and eating fruit in the living room. When she heard the doorbell, she put down the toothpick in her hand, got up and went to open the door, muttering as she walked: "Didn't I bring the key?"

The door opened and Su Jinru was stunned.

How come it was Zhou Du when she went out, but a different man came back?

Su Jinru looked at the man in front of her. His appearance and demeanor were not inferior to Zhou Du, and he seemed even more calm.

Xia Xi was in a hurry to put the child down and had no time to introduce Lu Mingji to Su Jinru. She turned around and mouthed to Lu Mingji: Come in.

Lu Mingji nodded to Su Jinru as a greeting and followed Xia Xi to the children's room. Xia Xi raised her chin towards one of the beds, and Lu Mingji understood and bent down to place Ziheng on that bed.

Xia Xi also put Youyou down. He was so tired that he was sweating and his arms were sore.

The two kids looked small, but they were quite heavy. Xia Xi shook his arms, tiptoed out of the room and closed the door.

Lu Mingji met Su Jinru again in the living room and introduced himself: "Hello, Auntie, I'm Lu Mingji, a friend Xixi met abroad. I haven't met you before."

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