CHAPTER 398: 396

The elderly couple exchanged a glance, sensing a sense of familiarity about Si Yuhuan.

Patriarch Zhang suddenly remembered. "Isn’t this Si Yuhuan, the president of Haohan Group, often seen in the news? Director Si?"

"What? Xixi, you know him too?"

This was a big shot they were not supposed to have any connection with.

Patriarch Zhang looked puzzled.

Jian Xi started to feel anxious. "Si Yuhuan, let’s talk over there..."

Si Yuhuan evaded her hand as she tried to pull his. "What? Miss Jian doesn’t dare to tell Patriarch Zhang and Aunt Zhang about our relationship?"

He pulled Jian Xi close by the shoulder. "My wife."

SLAP!

Jian Xi, furious, shook his hand off. "Mind your words. It’s ex-wife."

Patriarch Zhang and Aunt Zhang’s faces turned ugly. There were other people around, and Jian Xi didn’t want to make a scene. She quickly apologized to them, "He’s a bit shameless and likes to cling. Just give me a moment to talk to him, and I’ll be right back."

Patriarch Zhang suddenly spoke up, "Jian Xi, may I talk to him first?" His tone was definitive, leaving no room for Jian Xi to refuse.

"Of course you may," Si Yuhuan scoffed disdainfully.

Previously, such people were ones he’d feel were a waste of even a second of his time.

Jian Xi couldn’t figure out what he was up to!

"Si Yuhuan, watch how you speak," she warned, grinding her teeth.

When Zhang Yaxuan arrived, Patriarch Zhang had already been led into a private room.

"I’ll go take a look."

He was stopped by Aunt Zhang. "With your father there, you don’t need to do this."

Jian Xi observed the interaction between mother and son.

It seemed Zhang Yaxuan had little say at home. He was probably spoiled since childhood, his artistic talent fostered while he remained unequipped to deal with the complexities of human relationships. Whenever a problem arose, it had likely always been his parents who stepped in to handle it.

She suddenly understood why he had chosen her to be his fake wife.

Jian Xi apologized, "I’m sorry, Aunt Zhang, for causing you concern."

Aunt Zhang’s smile was polite but slightly distant.

Zhang Yaxuan, with a grim face, said, "Mom, I was aware that Xixi was divorced."

"You knew?"

Aunt Zhang was somewhat traditional. "But..."

"There’s no ’but’ about it. Xixi and I share a great bond, and everything else is in the past. Besides, Xixi is already carrying our child!"

PFFT—

Jian Xi almost coughed up blood.

Zhang Yaxuan raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "Let’s handle it this way, just you watch."

True to form, Aunt Zhang’s attitude took a complete turnaround. "Xixi, you already have a baby?"

"Yes, and not just a baby; he has already been born. It’s a boy."

Jian Xi had barely finished speaking when the door to the private room opened, and Si Yuhuan came out.

Aunt Zhang rushed to her husband without a second thought. "Old Zhang, you have a grandson!"

Patriarch Zhang was ecstatic. "What are you saying? I’ve got a grandson already?"

At that moment, Si Yuhuan’s face looked worse than if he had eaten excrement.

Zhang Yaxuan looked at him provocatively.

Jian Xi tugged at him. "Zhang Yaxuan, it seems like we’re in for some trouble today," she explained hastily.

"Sorry, I had no idea..."

"Forget it; what’s done is done. The most important thing now is to keep Patriarch Zhang and Aunt Zhang happy. But you need to be careful around Si Yuhuan. He’s like a ticking bomb that could go off at any moment, so let’s not provoke him anymore."

"Si Yuhuan, I’d like to talk to you," Zhang Yaxuan said, mustering up his courage.

Si Yuhuan glanced at him coldly. "You think I have a lot of free time? One after another, you all want to ’talk’ to me?"

He was left with nowhere to hide his embarrassment.

Si Yuhuan was targeting Zhang Yaxuan again.

Jian Xi was speechless. "Come with me."

Patriarch Zhang still had questions he wanted to ask, like where the child was and how they were doing, but before he could open his mouth, he saw Jian Xi dragging Si Yuhuan away.

"Yaxuan, Jian Xi is a fine young woman, but are you really sure you can compete with Si Yuhuan?"

"Mom and Dad, the child is lost! We’re relying on him to help find the child now!"

"What? The child is lost?"

Aunt Zhang and Patriarch Zhang’s mood was like a roller coaster ride—one minute down, the next up. It was maddening.

They quickly took a Quick-acting Heart-saving Pill and listened to Zhang Yaxuan’s explanation.

Jian Xi dragged Si Yuhuan to the back garden and warned, hands on her hips, "Patriarch Zhang has cancer, don’t be too extreme! I’m just playing along with a charade, and I’ll make things clear to Zhang Yaxuan after a while. We’re not going to marry. I’ll take the child and stay far away from him! Are you satisfied now?"

"You’re giving me this attitude because of Zhang Yaxuan?" Si Yuhuan asked coldly.

Jian Xi held her forehead. "No, I’m trying to discuss the issue, and you’re focused on my attitude? Si Yuhuan, have you lost your mind?!"

Suddenly, someone came in through the entrance.

Probably a guest who had walked into the wrong place. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb."

Jian Xi had just subconsciously pulled Si Yuhuan behind her, and now she realized he was gripping her hand tightly, his palm slightly sweaty.

She shook him off. "Si Yuhuan, you’re cold and heartless, but I can’t be ungrateful."

"Oh? Do you and Zhang Yaxuan share such a deep bond?"

Jian Xi was somewhat speechless.

No matter what she said, it was wrong; he could find fault in anything, anywhere!

Now she wasn’t just afraid of him for his heartless scheming or his relentless methods; she was also afraid of his constant fault-finding and vengefulness.

"At least my bond with him is deeper than with you."

She couldn’t help but add, "At the very least, he wouldn’t hurt me."

Si Yuhuan was so angry he laughed. "You’d bear his child, yet he wasn’t there when you needed him, which resulted in our child getting lost! When the child was gone, he didn’t take on a father’s responsibility to find them. Instead, he let you humble yourself and come to me for help. Even now, with the child’s life hanging by a thread, have you heard a single word of concern from him? He doesn’t even know how to look after you during meals! I really don’t know, Jian Xi, when you went blind enough to fall for him!"

"The old you was even more heartless and unforgiving than he is, yet didn’t I love you with all I had?" Jian Xi retorted sarcastically.

Si Yuhuan furrowed his brows.

This issue wouldn’t just go away!

"Just this once, and not to be repeated. You’re not to see him alone."

Si Yuhuan’s tone softened slightly, and Jian Xi didn’t want things to become too tense. "I understand."

She impatiently took Aunt Zhang and Patriarch Zhang to admire the artworks everywhere.

Zhang Yaxuan found Si Yuhuan. "Thanks for earlier." He had thought Si Yuhuan would say something particularly upsetting to his dad, but he later found out that when Si Yuhuan heard from his mother that his father was ill, Si Yuhuan had stopped being aggressive and hadn’t even said anything too extreme.

"As a person, you’re not good to Jian Xi, but your character seems decent enough," Zhang Yaxuan gave an honest assessment.

Si Yuhuan showed no fondness for him. What kind of man was this, worthy of Jian Xi’s defense?

"Stay away from Jian Xi in the future, or else you know what I could do," he warned.

After saying that, he turned and walked away, leaving Zhang Yaxuan seething with frustration.