Xia Yan and Lu Zhengting returned to Dongshan Villa and went straight to their room. She quickly pulled out the medical kit from the cabinet, urgently stripping off his clothes. She had seen it clearly—that punch had landed squarely on his back.
Lu Zhengting watched Xia Yan’s anxious expression, a glint flickering in his eyes. Without a word, he let her move him as she pleased. His skin was somewhat pale, and under the lamplight, his bare torso appeared even whiter. Her slender fingers gently brushed across his back. "Why did only you and Ning Xi come? Where are the bodyguards?"
"They had other arrangements."
"What could be more important than your safety?" Xia Yan murmured as she rubbed the slightly swollen area on his back. She never expected Lu Zhengting to show up like this.
Lu Zhengting found her words gratifying, so he let go of the fact that she had lied to him about going to see Lin Xujia. As she applied the medicine, he caught a glimpse of her pained expression from the corner of his eye, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he remained silent.
"Does it hurt?" The moment the words left her mouth, Xia Yan felt she had asked a stupid question. Even if it hurt, Lu Zhengting would bear it without a sound, so it was pointless. His lack of response was exactly what she had anticipated.
"All done." Xia Yan moved aside, handed him his shirt, and began tidying up the medical kit. Noticing his gaze fixed on her, she guiltily looked away, busying herself with her task.
Ke Yaru had taken Xiaohan out of the villa right after work, and they had only just returned after dinner. Xiaohan, patting his round belly, spotted Lu Zhengting’s shoes in the shoe cabinet and immediately let go of Ke Yaru’s hand, dashing toward the room. Ke Yaru followed.
"Daddy..."
Xiaohan pushed open the door to find Lu Zhengting shirtless, with Xia Yan crouched on the floor cleaning up the medicine. He blinked, quickly ran up to Lu Zhengting, and asked in a soft, sticky voice, "Daddy, did someone hit you?"
"..." Hearing this, Xia Yan wanted to laugh but held it in when she caught Lu Zhengting’s glance. Still, Xiaohan’s question was hilarious.
Ke Yaru strolled in behind him, and the moment she appeared at the door, she saw Xia Yan standing beside Lu Zhengting. Her face darkened instantly before quickly returning to normal. Spotting the red, swollen area on Lu Zhengting’s back, she stepped forward without a second thought, subtly edging Xia Yan out of the way, and asked worriedly, "Zhengting, what happened to you?"
"Why are you here?" Lu Zhengting draped the shirt Xia Yan had handed him over his shoulders, covering the injury, and asked flatly.
Ke Yaru glanced at Xia Yan before replying, "I came to see Xiaohan."
Lu Zhengting nodded. Xiaohan, still puzzled about why his dad had been beaten, cautiously pulled Xia Yan into a corner and whispered, "Sister Yan, did Daddy really get beaten?"
"No." Xia Yan firmly denied it.
Xiaohan eyed her suspiciously and said, "My dad’s skills are amazing. Ordinary people can’t beat him."
Xia Yan smiled, not taking it seriously, assuming it was just Xiaohan’s admiration for Lu Zhengting. Feeling Lu Zhengting’s gaze on her, she took Xiaohan’s hand and returned to stand beside him, next to Ke Yaru. She found the arrangement awkward and thought about leaving.
Seeing this, Ke Yaru didn’t stay long. As she prepared to leave, she glanced at Xia Yan and casually said, "I drove here. Xia Yan, want to come with me? I can give you a ride."
Xia Yan silently looked at Lu Zhengting. Xiaohan, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up, "Sister Yan lives here now."
"She lives here?" Ke Yaru stared at Lu Zhengting in disbelief, her tone uncertain.
Lu Zhengting remained calm and composed. He lifted his eyes slightly to meet Ke Yaru’s gaze, hummed in confirmation, and then put on his shirt. At his affirmative response, Ke Yaru’s expression shifted dramatically. "Why?"
"No reason."
Xia Yan’s heart, which had been in her throat, settled the moment Lu Zhengting finished speaking. She stole a glance at the man, whose face was equally grim, and rubbed her nose with a sheepish smile, knowing that hiding their relationship had been unfair to him.
Ke Yaru watched them exchange glances right in front of her, seething with rage inside but forcing herself to stay composed. She managed a strained smile, almost talking to herself, "Since Xia Yan lives here now, I’ll be going."
"Mm."
Hearing his curt reply, she paused mid-turn, waiting for more words that never came. A bitter smile touched Ke Yaru’s lips, but inside she was furious. She cast a sidelong glance at Xia Yan, pressed her lips together, and left the villa.
After she was gone, Xia Yan felt uneasy, her eyes betraying a hint of anxiety as she looked at Lu Zhengting. Seeing Xiaohan still sitting on the bed watching them, she ignored Lu Zhengting’s gaze and took Xiaohan’s hand. "Xiaohan, let me take you to your room, okay?"
Xiaohan had a ton of questions but, pulled along by Xia Yan and catching his dad’s ambiguous look, he had to let it go.
Xia Yan lingered in Xiaohan’s room for ages without leaving. Even Xiaohan noticed something was off. He tugged at her hand, his childish voice soft in her ear, "Sister Yan, what’s going on between you and Dad?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan touched her cheek. Was she that obvious?
As if reading her mind, Xiaohan yawned and mumbled, "You’ve read this story a few times already..."
Following Xiaohan’s pointing finger, Xia Yan snapped back to reality and quickly flipped a page. "The little rabbit saw its old friends..."
"Sister Yan, just stop. Go find my dad. Couples need to resolve their conflicts..."
"Who said—"
"Ah, I’m so sleepy." Xiaohan yawned again, burrowed under the covers, leaving only his head out, and glanced drowsily at Xia Yan.
Xia Yan found it both amusing and exasperating. Were kids these days maturing this early?
Seeing Xiaohan close his eyes, clutching the blanket, Xia Yan smiled, turned off the light, and tiptoed out. She paused in the hallway, then shuffled slowly back to her room. By then, Lu Zhengting had changed into a black silk pajama set and was standing by the window with his hands behind his back.
The bright light cast a lonely shadow over him. Xia Yan stood by the door, looking away, recalling what Xia Minghui had said and the day’s events. The scales in her heart had already tipped. She walked up behind Lu Zhengting, gently wrapped her arms around him from behind, and pressed her cheek against his back.
Closing her eyes, Xia Yan found the room too quiet, unsettlingly so. After a long hesitation and silence, she finally spoke slowly, "This afternoon, I didn’t go see Xiaojia. I went to see Xia Minghui."
"..."
"He showed me a file about my father’s death over a decade ago. I read it."
At this, Lu Zhengting stood still, waiting for her to continue.
"Did you already know I wasn’t going to see Xiaojia?" Xia Yan asked hesitantly. When she was held up by Yang Jinkuan’s men, she had seen Lu Zhengting’s bodyguards rushing over, but they were too far away to reach her in time.
"Ah Ting, I’m sorry."
Lu Zhengting frowned slightly, his brow softening. He reached out and held her hand, letting out a soft sigh. "Xia Yan, do you trust me?"
Xia Yan didn’t answer immediately. After a pause, she opened her eyes. "Ah Ting, I saw the contents. Over a decade ago, my father knew your older brother. I only just found out you had one. The only thing I’m sure of now is that my father didn’t die in an accident."
Lu Zhengting’s brow furrowed. "My brother passed away a few years ago. It was also ruled an accident."
Xia Yan froze. He turned and pulled her into his arms, his slightly rough fingers brushing over her palms and the backs of her hands, his chin resting on her head. His voice was low and melancholic, as if lost in memory. "I’ve been investigating this in secret, until I found out that your father’s case and my brother’s are exactly the same."
"Exactly the same?"
"Yes. Tracing it back, this likely involves events from over a decade ago."
Xia Yan wanted to ask more, but it was clear Lu Zhengting didn’t want to dwell on the topic, so she fell silent. Noticing he wasn’t shutting her out as completely as before, she found some comfort in that.
******
Ke Yaru sped all the way back to her place from Dongshan Villa. Staring at the empty, silent room, she thought of Xia Yan with Lu Zhengting at that very moment, having moved into the villa before her. Furious, she threw everything within reach to the floor.
The living room was a mess. Her phone, tossed somewhere unknown, suddenly rang. She took a deep breath, irritably searching for it, but when she found it and saw the caller ID, she paused. A cold smile curled her lips as she answered.
"Yaru, when will you bring Xiaohan to see us again?"
"Auntie, it might not be possible for a while. I heard..."
"What is it? Just say it."
"Auntie, it seems Zhengting has a girlfriend."
Jiang Mingxiu was taken aback. "Zhengting has a girlfriend? What’s her background?"
"Her name is Xia Yan. She’s Zhengting’s assistant."
"Xia Yan?" Jiang Mingxiu murmured the name, feeling she had heard it somewhere but couldn’t recall. After hanging up with Ke Yaru, she nudged Lu Weiyuan, who was reading the newspaper beside her. "Zhengting has a girlfriend."
"Zhengting’s not young anymore. Having a girlfriend is normal. Why make such a fuss?"
"No, I have to go see what this so-called girlfriend of Zhengting’s is like."
Lu Weiyuan put down his paper and shot Jiang Mingxiu a look. "I think you’re just meddling for nothing."