Xia Yu: Longing

This implication was not easy to accept, so Xia Yu could only pretend he did not hear it.

"How is your sister here?" Xia Yu asked while poking the baby's face.

"Because my mom is here," Xu Youxiang replied.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu's expression became stiff.

He had not met Xu Youxiang's mother in person, and couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"Don't worry, she went to a relative's house," Xu Youxiang added.

Xia Yu stepped forward and pinched Xu Youxiang's face, "Is it fun to scare me?"

"It's you who has a guilty conscience!" Xu Youxiang snorted.

Letting go of Xu Youxiang's face, Xia Yu held her sister in his arms and observed her.

Babies all looked pretty similar; there was no noticeable difference.

How nice it would be if she grew up to look like little Xu Youxiang, dressing her in cute little skirts and having her call him brother.

"What is the good thing you were going to show me?" Xia Yu asked Xu Youxiang, "Is it your sister?"

"What do you want to do?" Xu Youxiang looked at Xia Yu warily, "She's my sister!"

"What kind of pervert do you think I am?" Xia Yu could not imagine how Xu Youxiang's thoughts could be so erratic.

"Didn't you just think about playing house with her when she grows up?" Xu Youxiang had a clear understanding of Xia Yu's otaku's mentality.

"..." Xia Yu changed the subject, "So what is it that you wanted to show me?"

"Let's not talk about that, what about the pharmaceutical research?" Xu Youxiang asked.

She was referring to the deal Xia Yu made with Yu Ningmeng to create a treatment for ALS, in exchange for Zhu Mei's entry permit.

"It's just a trade," Xia Yu replied.

"Trading another country's princess?" Xu Youxiang snatched her sister from Xia Yu's arms, not wanting her to be near him.

"I'm not trading the princess; I don't even know where she is now." Xia Yu came to Xu Youxiang's side and pushed her to sit down next to the couch.

"What do you plan to do with that princess?" Xu Youxiang continued asking.

"Just leave her outside; I have no interest in princesses," Xia Yu said, holding Xu Youxiang's hand.

"How is that possible? Princess roles in the second dimension are very popular," Xu Youxiang struggled a little but finally let Xia Yu hold her hand.

Xia Yu rubbed his forehead, wondering why both An Siyao and Xu Youxiang cared so much about the princess's identity?

The identity of a princess was indeed tempting, but a deposed princess had no substance.

"You wear a crown, hold a scepter, and dress up in a gorgeous little skirt, and you'd be more of a princess than her," Xia Yu said.

He picked up his sister, placed her in the nearby cradle, and then held Xu Youxiang in his arms.

Although Xu Youxiang heard Xia Yu's response, she did not reply. This topic was something she had forcibly brought up, as she didn't really care about it.

At the moment, she was very worried, thinking about the incident she had overheard among the maids - An Tianfeng disagreed with An Siyao's marriage, and An Siyao angrily ran away from home.

The relationship between An Siyao and Xia Yu had reached the point of discussing marriage, what about her?

Xia Yu was also worried, not knowing how to start the conversation or what to say.

It couldn't be as simple as opening his arms, saying "You are both my wings," and then having a happy ending, right?

The two fell silent.

The quiet was broken only when Xu Youxiang's younger sister started crying.

Following Xu Youxiang's instructions, Xia Yu came to the kitchen, made the baby formula, and poured it into a baby bottle.

He cooled the milk for a while and tested its temperature on the back of his hand before putting the nipple in the baby's mouth.

The crying finally stopped.

Holding Xu Youxiang's sister, Xia Yu felt a bit bolder and said to Xu Youxiang, "I want to talk about the future."

Xu Youxiang lowered her head and replied, "I know, I won't bother you again."

"It's not about breaking up, it's about the future," Xia Yu said.

"Are you going to break up with An Siyao, or do you want me to be your lover?" Xu Youxiang asked, looking up.

Her gaze was sharp, making Xia Yu feel guilty for a moment.

"I want to know your thoughts," Xia Yu said. From the moment he got involved in the body-swap game, he has never experienced such embarrassment.

"Of course, my thoughts are about you and..." Xu Youxiang started but stopped midway.

Xia Yu didn't know how to answer.

"You go, come find me again in a few days," Xu Youxiang ordered him to leave.

Xia Yu put the baby down and walked out of the room.

His mood lightened slightly, but he became more anxious, wondering what kind of choice Xu Youxiang would make.

Seems like the storylines where women fight to become one's main partner are not very realistic.

As he stepped out of the elevator and exited the apartment building, Xia Yu called Yu Ningmeng, asking her to keep a close eye on Xu Youxiang.

"Did you break up with Xu Youxiang?" Yu Ningmeng asked carefully.

"No, I just mentioned something about the future," Xia Yu replied.

"Do you have a solution?" Yu Ningmeng asked again.

"No," Xia Yu admitted that he had not found one.

"Then why mention it? The problems that lie in the future are clear to Siyao and Youxiang. By not saying anything, they can still pretend not to know. By mentioning, you're making it impossible for them to pretend!" Yu Ningmeng shared her own point of view.

She continued, "If there's no solution, then don't mention it at all. Everyone knows the situation; enjoy the present. Just let it drag on, and if it really comes to it, just use the child as a threat."

"..." Xia Yu glanced at his phone screen, making sure he was indeed talking to Yu Ningmeng.

"Young man, you're still too inexperienced," Yu Ningmeng said. "Come back, the Chairman is waiting for you to have dinner."

Taking a taxi, Xia Yu arrived at the Yu residence.

Yu Liang's place was not a villa, but a high-end duplex residential apartment, with a price even higher than an average villa.

After dinner, Xia Yu stood on the balcony, overlooking the vast sea. Behind him, there was also an outdoor swimming pool.

Yu Liang didn't attend dinner as he wasn't feeling well recently and had specially prepared meals instead.

After enjoying the sea breeze for five more minutes, Xia Yu saw the door to the study open.

Yu Liang was holding a bottle of alcohol and gestured to Xia Yu.

Entering the living room, Xia Yu sat opposite Yu Liang.

"Want a drink?" Yu Liang asked.

"No," Xia Yu replied.

"Not drinking is fine." Yu Liang poured himself a drink and rang for the maid to bring Xia Yu a bottle of juice and a plate of peanuts.

Xia Yu mimicked Yu Liang's actions, pouring the juice into a cup.

"Come, cheers." Yu Liang raised his cup.

The two clinked their cups together.

Putting down his cup, Yu Liang began the conversation.

"Still a virgin?" Yu Liang asked.

Xia Yu's hand holding the cup trembled. He didn't expect Yu Liang's first question to be so explosive.

"It seems so." Yu Liang nodded, then asked, "Trying to have both?"

Xia Yu wasn't sure how to answer this question. As he was thinking, Yu Liang had already moved on to the next one.

This time, he asked something seemingly unrelated: "Do you know what Ning Meng is to Yao Yao?"

"I don't know." Xia Yu had once heard An Siyao mention that Yu Ningmeng was a distant relative, but he didn't know the exact relationship.

"She's her aunt." Yu Liang answered.

Xia Yu nodded to show his understanding, wondering what was going on with the aunt. An Siyao always called Yu Ningmeng "Aunt Ning." How could he not know?

He took a sip of the juice to hide his confusion.

At this point, Yu Liang added, "She's her closest aunt."

Xia Yu choked a little, staring at Yu Liang in surprise.

Aunt referred to the sisters of one's mother, which included both cousins and direct sisters. The closest relationship was with the mother's own sister.

So, Yu Ningmeng was Yu Liang's illegitimate daughter?

Xia Yu felt somewhat stimulated.

"Yao Yao and Ning Meng don't know about this. Keep a tight lip." Yu Liang glanced at Xia Yu.

"I understand." Xia Yu felt closer to Yu Liang sitting in front of him.

"Such things are common, illegitimate children, there are quite a few. Some people solve it during the embryonic stage, and some couldn't bear to." Yu Liang continued.

Xia Yu listened carefully.

"I'm not telling you this so you can mess around. I want to tell you that things aren't as serious as you think." Yu Liang slowly said, "I personally don't oppose you having one or two close friends. I'm different from An Tianfeng."

Understanding the situation, Xia Yu placed Yu Liang into the close camp and asked, "Then Grandpa, what do you think I should do now?"

"You solve it yourself. Although I don't oppose it, I can't help you either." Yu Liang's position was firm. He picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one go.

Xia Yu picked up the wine bottle and refilled it for him.

After drinking, Yu Liang sighed, "How is the relationship between Yao Yao and Xu Youxiang?"

Xia Yu pondered for a moment and answered, "I'm not sure."

"Let me put it this way: you can only marry Yao Yao," Yu Liang stood up and left the living room.

Xia Yu recalled Yu Liang's words, realizing he clearly meant for Xu Youxiang to be a secret lover.

He rubbed his head and gave up thinking.

Xu Youxiang had already been informed. Now it was time to talk to An Siyao.

It was mainly about their two's matters.

Coming downstairs, Xia Yu asked the maid and learned that An Siyao was playing the piano in the piano room.

He opened the door to the piano room and saw An Siyao, her fingers dancing between the black and white keys.

She played the Serene Princess, a piece that Xia Yu had previously given her.

Coming to An Siyao's side, Xia Yu extended one hand, replacing one of An Siyao's hands, and the two of them played this love-filled piece together.

"I'm fine with anything," An Siyao raised her head and touched Xia Yu's cheek.

She had already guessed what Xia Yu wanted to do.

Xia Yu's words reached his mouth, but he swallowed them back. What Yu Ningmeng said was right, whether it was Xu Youxiang or An Siyao, they both knew clearly, it was just that neither of them had spoken up.

Xia Yu didn't speak, he sat down on the stool with his back against An Siyao's.

His left hand, which was hovering above the piano keys, began to move again, and a soothing melody flowed out.

After playing just two notes, An Siyao understood what the piece was, and she moved her right fingers to join in the melody.

It was The Blind Girl by the Bonfire, a piece that Xia Yu had played on stage in place of the feverish An Siyao during the middle school music competition a year ago.

As soon as the piece was finished, An Siyao's fingers did not stop, and she began to play the next one.

It was a Gouda practice piece, the first piece Xia Yu had learned from An Siyao.

During the performance, An Siyao's expression gradually brightened, and after finishing the piece, her face was full of laughter.

Raising her head, she took the initiative to find Xia Yu's lips.

An Siyao looked into Xia Yu's eyes and said to him, "Actually, I've always been a little afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Xia Yu leaned his forehead against An Siyao's forehead.

"Nothing," An Siyao's gaze flickered for a moment, but she did not answer.

Xia Yu didn't press further, and he caressed An Siyao's face.

The two stayed together in the piano room late into the night, finally parting to their respective bedrooms when Yu Ningmeng found them.

Lying in bed, Xia Yu was still thinking about what had just happened.

An Siyao had become more and more assertive.

Now that she would actively seek kisses, would it be long before she pursued him relentlessly?

He thought of Xu Youxiang, and the ripples in his heart suddenly vanished.

In the column, Xia Yu chose the Golden Eagle.

Standing up from the eagle's nest, Xia Yu spread his wings and soared in the vast sky.

Roads, people, cars, buildings, everything seemed so small; he kept ascending, climbing higher and higher, even the mountains became small.

But at a certain height, he could not go any higher.

Although he had the exchange game, he was still an ordinary person, bound by rules and customs, unable to do whatever he wanted.

Xia Yu descended rapidly, and roads, cars, buildings, and people in his field of vision returned to their real size.

Lying in the nest at the edge of the cliff, Xia Yu thought of something - star shards.

What exactly were they? What kind of power did they possess? Could they have any effect?

At six o'clock in the morning, returning to his own body, Xia Yu got up and got out of bed.

He began to think about Wen Ziying's mission, initially intending to let things take their course, but now he felt that intervening and speeding up the mission process would be better.

Today, he only had to confirm the development of an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drug with Yu Ningmeng, which took him an hour. After a brief review of everything, Xia Yu returned to his room and entered Wen Ziying's column.

Wen Ziying was watching a comedy.

"This is for research," Wen Ziying told Xia Yu.

Xia Yu moved the mouse and checked the browsing history, finding that Wen Ziying had been reading all morning.

Well, it didn't really matter; watching one movie with her wouldn't take up too much time.

Xia Yu accompanied Wen Ziying in watching the movie.

Twenty minutes later, Wen Ziying started to feel uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Wen Ziying asked, "Isn't this movie funny? Why aren't you laughing at all?"

"…I have a high humor threshold," Xia Yu replied, not really paying attention to the movie.

"Forget it, just turn it off. If you're not laughing, I feel like an idiot," Wen Ziying said, her enthusiasm waning.

Xia Yu couldn't have been happier to oblige, and he closed the laptop.

"What do you want to do? Just say it," Wen Ziying could see that Xia Yu's mind was elsewhere.

"Have you ever thought about not writing novels anymore?" Xia Yu asked directly.

"If I don't write novels, will you support me?" Wen Ziying countered.

"I can," Xia Yu answered.