During this time, Xia Yan lived with Lu Zhengting at the East Mountain Villa, commuting together almost every day. Rumors had long spread in the company that she was the future老板娘, but she was always busy with work and never took those rumors seriously even when she heard them.
At noon during break, Lu Zhengting was usually not in the office, so Xia Yan mostly spent time with Li Ru. The two of them almost had their own little secret base. Xia Yan had agreed to have lunch with Li Ru, and when it was time to clock out, she went to Li Ru's office to find her.
Li Ru caught sight of Xia Yan's figure, tidying up the messy items on her desk while glancing up. "I'll be ready in a moment, just wait."
"Okay, sure."
There were only a few people left in the office, so Xia Yan casually picked a seat to wait for Li Ru. She looked around the familiar and亲切 surroundings out of boredom. Remembering how when she first joined the company, Ke Yaru had treated her like a thorn in her side and constantly made things difficult for her, now that she had been transferred to be Lu Zhengting's assistant, though they had less contact, it seemed she was still a thorn in Ke Yaru's eye—as long as she was breathing, it made Ke Yaru uncomfortable.
Thinking about this, Xia Yan frowned. When did she gain the ability to hurt people from a distance?
"Xia Yan, I'm done. Let's go. What do you want to eat?" Li Ru picked up her bag, slung it over her wrist, and smoothed the hair on her forehead with one hand, smiling at her. She paused as if remembering something and added, "Last time, my dear and I went to that beef place, and it seemed pretty good. How about we go there?"
Xia Yan rolled her eyes. As Li Ru approached, she reached out and linked arms with her, saying leisurely, "Are you sure you're not just missing your dear and taking me along to relive the memory?"
"Hey, Xia Yan, how do you know me so well?" Li Ru turned her head and grinned at Xia Yan, answering without any pretense. Her face was so full of sweetness that she seemed to want the whole world to share in her joy and happiness.
"With that expression on your face, I can't help but think that way. Anyway, you're the boss, so you decide." Xia Yan generally wasn't picky about food, but in reality, she was very particular. For example, if she tried something and found it particularly unpleasant, she wouldn't force herself to take another bite. This trait was almost subconscious for her, and Li Ru only found out about it by chance.
Along the way, Xia Yan acted entirely as a listener, hearing Li Ru share her happiness. Just as Xia Yan was genuinely happy for her, Li Ru suddenly changed the subject. "Xia Yan, not to criticize you, but since you're already with Boss Lu, why don't you make your relationship public?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan furrowed her brows slightly and pursed her lips. "I'm with him purely because I like him, as a person. This is my private matter, so why should I make a big deal out of it and announce it everywhere? That would make it seem like I'm showing off."
Li Ru reached out and poked Xia Yan's temple with her finger, frustrated. "I really don't know what you're thinking. Don't tell me it's Boss Lu who wants to keep it a secret?"
As this thought surfaced, Li Ru nodded to herself, feeling that her idea was very close to reality.
Seeing this, Xia Yan's mouth twitched. She raised her hand and slapped Li Ru's finger away from her forehead, unable to help denying Li Ru's fantasy. "Li Ru, I have to clarify this. It was my choice to keep it a secret. He's just respecting me. I can't let him take the blame for this..."
"Oh my god, what are you thinking? Keeping such a catch hidden away? If it were me, I'd have shown him off long ago."
"..." Xia Yan looked at Li Ru with a mix of laughter and tears, as if she was used to hearing such things from her. Show him off? That phrase inexplicably made her imagine Lu Zhengting as a pet, and the scene involuntarily popped into her mind. Xia Yan shuddered. Too scary! Even if Lu Zhengting were a pet, he'd be like a Tibetan Mastiff—wild, untamed, and naturally capable of causing harm.
The restaurant was Li Ru's recommendation, so Xia Yan spent the whole time being a foodie. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Ru rolled her eyes, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and brought the topic back to why Xia Yan wanted to keep the relationship a secret.
Hearing this, Xia Yan paused in wiping her mouth. Seeing Li Ru's persistence, her brows seemed to knit into a frown. "It's not the right time to go public yet."
"Come on, as if I don't know what you're thinking."
"Then tell me, what am I thinking?" Xia Yan raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly, amused as she looked at Li Ru.
"You're thinking about Manager Ke."
Seeing the subtle change in Xia Yan's expression, Li Ru knew she had hit the mark, so she looked at Xia Yan smugly. "Women's intuition is very accurate. But you should still be careful with Manager Ke. I heard that a multinational company once tried to poach her with a high salary, but she refused. Word has it—just hearsay—that Manager Ke turned it down because of Boss Lu."
Xia Yan listened expressionlessly to Li Ru's words. In her eyes, Ke Yaru had always been a formidable rival. Because of this, whenever she faced Ke Yaru, she never let herself show any sign of weakness.
Xia Yan sat in her seat, lost in thought, while Li Ru was on the phone with her dear. Feeling a bit bored, Xia Yan's phone buzzed. She picked it up casually—it was a WeChat message from her college class monitor organizing a graduation party for tomorrow evening.
The request was, of course, for everyone to actively participate, since after graduation, everyone would go their separate ways, and they might not meet again for years. Xia Yan wasn't particularly close to her classmates, so she hesitated about whether to go. Just as she was about to exit the app, she saw a message from Lin Xujia.
"Xia Yan, are you going tomorrow night?"
"Not really."
"Come on. Who knows when we'll have another chance to meet after this party?"
Xia Yan frowned, thought for a moment, and replied, "Alright then, I'll contact you tomorrow night."
"Okay, I heard you can bring a plus-one. Are you bringing your Boss Lu?"
"He's been busy lately, so I won't bring him."
After sending this message, Xia Yan put her phone in her bag. She picked up her cup and took a small sip—it was slightly chilled lemon water, a bit sour and bitter, with a hint of astringency. Bring Lu Zhengting to a college graduation party?
Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't far from the company, just a short walk away. Xia Yan hadn't eaten much, but Li Ru was a bit stuffed. Jiangcheng had now entered autumn, past early autumn but not yet deep autumn. The weather was cool, without a trace of heat, and the air carried a faint, fresh scent.
At this time of day, there were few people on the street. Xia Yan was intently listening to Li Ru talk when her gaze inadvertently drifted and she spotted Ke Yaru and Lu Zhengting about fifty meters diagonally ahead.
Seeing that Xia Yan's attention wasn't on her, Li Ru couldn't help waving a hand in front of her face. "What are you thinking? Did you hear what I just said?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I said, don't you like Xi Xi? I heard he might come to Jiangcheng to film soon."
"Really? Xi Xi is coming to Jiangcheng?" The mention of Xi Xi's name made Xia Yan's mind wander. When she looked back at the spot, they were gone. She frowned, withdrew her gaze, and focused on Xi Xi.
"Of course it's true. Word is he's collaborating with Ning Nan."
"Ning Nan?" Hearing Ning Nan's name suddenly, Xia Yan thought she had misheard. Seeing Li Ru's dreamy expression, she was speechless.
The two slowly returned to the company. Xia Yan absentmindedly went back to her office. Once she had free time, the image of Lu Zhengting and Ke Yaru together at noon kept popping into her mind. If she were an outsider, she might even think they looked good together...
Xia Yan couldn't sit still. She took out her phone and hesitated before finding Lu Zhengting's number. After much deliberation, she finally dialed. The buzzing sound in the receiver made her slightly dazed. She couldn't just ask who he was with, could she? That would expose her intentions.
The call connected, and Lu Zhengting's deep voice came through. "What's up?"
Xia Yan first got goosebumps, then snapped back to reality. "Where are you right now?"
"At the airport." As Lu Zhengting said these two words, he seemed to sense Xia Yan's hesitation on the other end. Then, as if thinking of something, he added, "Picking someone up."
Hearing this, Xia Yan paused, then asked casually, "Who?"
"My mom."
"..."
When she heard it was his mother, Xia Yan was so stunned she didn't know what to say. Her hand holding the phone trembled slightly. She opened her mouth and whispered, "Why did you bring her along?"
The airport waiting hall was a bit noisy. Lu Zhengting had chosen a relatively quiet spot and vaguely heard Xia Yan's words. He found it both amusing and exasperating. His mother's visit was a surprise attack; he only found out a minute before she boarded the plane. As for why Ke Yaru had come along, that was also his mother's request.
Hearing the slightly indignant tone in Xia Yan's voice, the corner of his mouth lifted. He unconsciously softened his voice, a hint of affection in his low, gentle tone. "Jealous? Should I send a driver to pick you up now?"
"..." Lu Zhengting's words hit Xia Yan like a hammer, startling her immensely. Was this leading to meeting the parents?
Before Lu Zhengting could say anything else, Xia Yan quickly finished speaking and hung up. She wasn't mentally prepared to meet Lu Zhengting's mother yet.
Seeing Xia Yan hang up, a fond smile spread across Lu Zhengting's face. Catching Ke Yaru's probing gaze from the corner of his eye, he frowned slightly, put his phone in his pocket, and strode back to his seat.