Madam Xue cursed angrily, then flung her sleeve and stormed off.
After Madam Xue left, Xia Xunqian calmly stood up and also left the dining table on his own.
The meal ended unhappily for no clear reason.
Feng Jianjue’s gaze fell on Feng Lin as he spoke seriously, “Since you don’t like him anyway, how about giving him to me?”
Feng Lin’s expression twisted darkly. When he lifted his eyes, the sharp hostility was frightening. “Whether I like him or not, he’s not something you get to covet.”
At that moment, Feng Yu suddenly cut in from the side, “I think you both like him quite a bit.”
………………
While walking back, Xia Xunqian ran into Madam Xue in the courtyard.
It was unclear whether Madam Xue had been deliberately waiting for him.
A hot breeze blew under the eaves, and the large courtyard was deathly silent.
When Madam Xue saw Xia Xunqian approach, her face twisted as she immediately warned him, “Xia Xunqian, don’t think that just because Feng Lin is protecting you now, you can do whatever you want! I warn you, stay away from my son!”
Xia Xunqian curled his lips slightly in disdain. His indifferent eyes shifted, countless thoughts passing through his mind.
He didn’t answer Madam Xue at all and walked straight past her.
“I have no interest in your son. When he’s in the mood, I’m a treasured sweetheart; when he’s not, I’m worthless trash. I value my life—how would I dare provoke Second Master Feng?”
As they brushed past each other—
Xia Xunqian didn’t turn his head. He casually left behind that sentence and walked away.
Madam Xue glared viciously at Xia Xunqian’s back. “You’d better not dare!”
Xia Xunqian kept walking forward without stopping.
He headed toward Feng Lin’s main residence. When he passed the pomegranate tree by the east wing, he saw the housekeeper filing something.
The housekeeper smiled warmly when he saw Xia Xunqian. “Young master is here.”
He liked calling Xia Xunqian that. Xia Xunqian had corrected him many times, but the housekeeper never changed, so he stopped mentioning it.
“What are you doing, Uncle Liu?” Xia Xunqian asked curiously.
“Oh, right.” The housekeeper put away his knife and stood up. “Do you usually sleep restlessly?”
The question sounded strange, and Xia Xunqian was confused. “…What?”
Seeing this, the housekeeper frowned slightly. “This morning, Third Master came to me and said you don’t sleep well. I gave him a piece of peach wood. Did he give it to you?”
“Oh.” Xia Xunqian paused for a second, lips parting slightly. “Peach wood…”
He reached into his pocket and took out the cute little wooden knife. “Is it this one?”
The housekeeper’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Yes, yes, that’s it.”
“Third Master asked me for it. I heard it was for you, so I carved it nice and chubby. Third Master said it burned his hand to hold it and even scolded me, saying it wasn’t for coaxing a child, hahaha…”
“But when I carve peach wood for children, I always do it like this. It drives away bad energy and keeps one safe.”
“Put it under your pillow—it helps you sleep better.”
Xia Xunqian gently rubbed the peach wood in his hand, his expression subtly changing.
“Thank you,” Xia Xunqian said with a small nod.
“Having nightmares?” the housekeeper asked cheerfully, gossiping.
Xia Xunqian frowned slightly as he thought about it. It seemed like he had…
The last time he had a fever, he slept very restlessly.
Yesterday, while half-asleep, he also seemed to hear Feng Lin complaining that he wasn’t quiet.
“If you move again, I’ll throw you down.”
???
Feng Lin’s voice suddenly popped into his head. So that line wasn’t something he heard in a dream…
He really had been scolded…
“Sir… he…” Xia Xunqian trailed off, not knowing what to say.
“Third Master treats you very well,” the housekeeper said with a smile.
Xia Xunqian parted his lips and suddenly asked about Feng Lin’s private matter. “Sir Feng has a marriage arrangement, right?”
Hearing this, the housekeeper didn’t avoid the topic like Xia Xunqian expected. Instead, he answered calmly, “Yes. The young lady of the Gu Group and Third Master have a verbal marriage agreement.”
As he spoke, he looked at Xia Xunqian. “Someone like Third Master—no matter how many lovers he has, in the end he will still marry and have children.”
The housekeeper stepped closer to Xia Xunqian, his gaze growing heavy. “But no one can stop Third Master from keeping you. You’re a good child. As long as you don’t want too much, life will still be manageable.”
Listening to the housekeeper, Xia Xunqian curved his lips into a bitter smile.
In the housekeeper’s eyes, Feng Third Master could keep lovers, and even keep them long-term.
But not crossing the line was the red line Xia Xunqian himself was supposed to guard.
Xia Xunqian put away the peach wood in his hand. His eyes tightened with determination. The sky above was blocked by blue tiles, and even the wind that blew past felt scorching.
“Xunqian will not be a lover,” Xia Xunqian said.
The housekeeper sighed, seeming to understand what Xia Xunqian meant. “Third Master won’t go that far for you.”
“I know,” Xia Xunqian replied calmly.
What kind of place was the Feng family? Feng Lin’s elders and uncles all had their eyes on this fertile land. None of the four Feng siblings shared the same father and mother. Each of them cared only for their own benefit, knives hidden behind smiles. Feng Jianjue and his mother moved in secret everywhere. If Feng Lin did not marry and have children, the Feng family would sooner or later be completely carved up by them.
Feng Lin lived in the old residence only to keep an eye on those people with heavy schemes.
How could he possibly allow the Wanhe Group to be destroyed in his hands?
Xia Xunqian was not foolish. He understood. He understood everything.
After chatting a bit more with the housekeeper, Xia Xunqian went to Feng Lin’s main residence. He didn’t go inside, but stood at the door waiting for Feng Lin.
When Feng Lin came over, he happened to see Xia Xunqian standing there.
He had thought Xia Xunqian would be angry.
But now it didn’t seem like it.
“Sir…” Xia Xunqian called out to Feng Lin.
Feng Lin walked step by step toward the doorway.
He wasn’t good at comforting people.
Nor did he care to please anyone.
As for what had just happened, Xia Xunqian didn’t even have the right to be angry.
Even after climbing into his bed, he should have understood that clearly.
“Are you angry?” Feng Lin asked flatly.
Xia Xunqian shook his head. “No.”
Xia Xunqian hadn’t eaten a single bite from morning to noon, and he had been exhausted last night. Right now, he was barely holding on.
“Waiting for me?” A hint of surprise flashed in Feng Lin’s eyes.
“Yes.”
“Why were you waiting for me?”
Xia Xunqian looked straight at Feng Lin and suddenly lifted his head to kiss Feng Lin on the cheek. “Thank you, sir.”
Thank you?
Feng Lin didn’t quite understand.
He frowned slightly, then straightened up, thinking maybe he hadn’t hidden something well.
With the hand behind his back, Feng Lin handed Xia Xunqian a piece of pastry wrapped in oil paper.
Xia Xunqian’s pupils froze for a second. They clearly weren’t on the same wavelength.
Instinctively, Xia Xunqian took the oil paper. Inside was a piece of pastry—and a steamed crab.
Xia Xunqian: ?
Xia Xunqian: !!!
“This is for me?” Xia Xunqian asked, stunned.
Before Feng Lin could answer, Xia Xunqian leaned in again and kissed the corner of Feng Lin’s lips. “Chu.”
Feng Lin: ?
Feng Lin grabbed Xia Xunqian’s cheek. “One crab gets you two kisses?”
Xia Xunqian didn’t avoid his gaze at all. His fox-like eyes were alluring. “If sir gives it, it doesn’t have to stop there.”
He leaned close to Feng Lin’s ear, his words carrying intimacy and temptation. “Doing it… is fine too.”