As soon as Xiaohan saw Xia Yan appear, he rushed to hug her leg, tilted his little head up, and stared at her pitifully. Ignoring whether Secretary Zhou was present, he blurted out, "Sister Yan, why won't you agree to Daddy's marriage proposal? Don't you want to be Xiaohan's mom?"
The moment Xiaohan finished speaking, Secretary Zhou froze on the spot. Xia Yan's mouth twitched as she looked at Xiaohan's tearful expression, feeling an urge to crawl into a hole. She was still racking her brain for a way to soothe this little tyrant in front of her when the elevator doors suddenly chimed open. Ke Yaru stood inside with a dark face, and upon seeing the scene, her expression turned even uglier.
"Auntie, are you here to see Daddy?" Xiaohan still clung to Xia Yan's leg but looked up at Ke Yaru as he spoke.
Xia Yan could feel the sharpness in Ke Yaru's gaze toward her, but she couldn't stop Xiaohan's actions. Ke Yaru took a deep breath, walked over to Xiaohan, crouched down, and said in a gentle, slow voice, "Xiaohan, how about Auntie takes you to see Daddy?"
"No, I want to wait here for Sister Yan to tell me why she doesn't want to be my mom."
"Xiaohan, Auntie will take you to see Daddy now."
"No, I have to ask clearly. Auntie, you go see Daddy first; he's still in his office anyway." Xiaohan tilted his head, thought for a moment, then suddenly let go, stood up straight, took Xia Yan's hand, and said to her, "Sister Yan, let's go see Daddy too, and tell him you're willing to be Xiaohan's mom."
"Xiaohan, let go of Sister Yan's hand, okay?"
"Then you won't run away, right?" Xiaohan gripped Xia Yan's hand tightly, his tone and actions fully revealing his current state of mind. Looking at Xiaohan's innocent eyes, Xia Yan didn't know what to say. She reached out and patted his head, letting out a soft sigh.
"Sister Yan will go see Daddy with you and won't run away."
"Great, let's go, Auntie. Let's all go see Daddy together. Grandma is in Daddy's office too."
Xiaohan led Xia Yan straight toward Lu Zhengting's office. Left behind, Ke Yaru felt resentful, unable to believe that Xiaohan liked Xia Yan so much that he wanted her to be his mom. She had hinted to Xiaohan before about being his mom, but he always dodged the topic. Ke Yaru's expression turned grim as she glanced at Secretary Zhou, who was still standing there, and said coldly, "Why aren't you working?"
Lu Zhengting's office was unusually lively today, and it seemed everyone in the company knew it.
Jiang Mingxiu had brought her grandson Xiaohan to the company and heard many things about Xia Yan from the staff, deepening her prejudice against her. When Xiaohan led Xia Yan into the office, Jiang Mingxiu stared at her with a cold, disgusted look before quickly waving at Xiaohan. "Xiaohan, come here."
"Grandma, I want to stay by Sister Yan's side."
"Xiaohan, are you being disobedient?"
Hearing this, Xiaohan pouted and looked at Jiang Mingxiu with a hurt expression, his voice tinged with tears in an instant. "Grandma, why are you being so mean to Xiaohan?"
Xia Yan's maternal instincts kicked in at Xiaohan's pitiful look. She quickly crouched down to comfort him. In the office, only Lu Zhengting noticed the flicker of cunning in Xiaohan's eyes. Ke Yaru walked in with a smile.
Xiaohan pushed Xia Yan's hand away and blinked his watery eyes at Jiang Mingxiu. "Grandma, I want Sister Yan to be my mom."
"No!" Jiang Mingxiu refused without a second thought, her expression firm, which was like a reassurance to Ke Yaru.
"Grandma..."
"Xiaohan, this is adult business. You're too young to understand the pros and cons."
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting finally looked up at his mother and son, who were discussing his marriage in his office. He acted as if it had nothing to do with him, his gaze landing on Xia Yan, who looked a bit embarrassed. Seeing Xiaohan still holding her hand, he waved at Xiaohan. Xiaohan glanced at Jiang Mingxiu, then led Xia Yan over to Lu Zhengting, standing obediently in front of him.
"Daddy, don't you want Sister Yan to be your wife?" Xiaohan's words stirred up a storm.
Lu Zhengting patted Xiaohan's head seriously and said calmly, "Xiaohan, that depends on whether Sister Yan is willing."
Xia Yan was stunned, while Ke Yaru was shocked by Lu Zhengting's words.
The atmosphere in the office grew increasingly awkward. The evening sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting light on Ke Yaru. Finding it a bit glaring, she silently moved aside. Standing there like an outsider, she took in Xia Yan's shy expression and Lu Zhengting's doting look. Ke Yaru blinked and remained silent for a long time.
"Cough, cough..." Jiang Mingxiu coughed to break the spell. She stood up angrily, pulled Xiaohan to her side, and shot a cold, distant look at Xia Yan. She said firmly to Lu Zhengting, "Xia Yan will never set foot in the Lu family. I'm putting that out there. Zhengting, you figure it out yourself. Yaru, let's go."
"Mom, are you threatening me?"
"You're my son; how could I threaten you? I'm doing this for your own good. Do you want to be like your brother and go against me?"
Hearing Jiang Mingxiu's words, Lu Zhengting fell silent. Jiang Mingxiu took Xiaohan and forcibly led him away. Before leaving, Ke Yaru glanced back at Xia Yan, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
******
At the Lin family home, Lin Xujia had locked herself in her room for an entire day. After tidying up, she came out to find Lin Youran standing in the hallway in a nightgown, hair disheveled, head lowered, eyes wide, staring at her intently. Lin Xujia, used to Lin Youran's antics, wasn't startled. As she passed by Lin Youran, she smirked, fixing her hair, and said coldly, "Lin Youran, stay quiet lately. If you dare pull any tricks behind my back, you and your mother can pack up and leave immediately."
"Lin Xujia, what are you going to do to Youran?"
"What can I do to her? In her current state, she's not worth my effort. I'm just warning you to behave yourselves for now."
"Lin Xujia, don't get too cocky. Once Old Lin wakes up..."
"Stepmother, I suggest you face reality. Do you think my father will wake up? Don't forget, everything you eat, use, and live in depends on me."
"You—" "Enough, I'm going out."
Lin Youran stared at Lin Xujia, her eyes seeming unfocused, like a doll devoid of independent thought. She tilted her head, looked at her mother holding her, and moved her lips but said nothing. Since Lin Xujia had set her up to be violated by Yang Jinkuan, Lin Youran's mental state had been unstable. Lin Xujia knew this but had no intention of paying for her treatment.
Lin Xujia drove to the building where Ye Yunchen worked. She knew he wouldn't answer her calls or agree to see her, so she came up with this waiting strategy. After waiting nearly an hour, she saw Ye Yunchen driving out of the underground garage. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly started the engine and followed him.
The screech of tires against the road rang out as Lin Xujia sped up and made a sharp turn, blocking Ye Yunchen's path. After turning off the engine, she got out, walked to his car, and knocked on his window. "Ye Yunchen, get out. I have something to ask you."
Ye Yunchen rolled down the window halfway and looked at her coldly. "What's so important that you had to do this?"
"Would I have seen you otherwise? Ye Yunchen, either you get out, or let me in!"
"No need. If you have something to ask, ask like this."
Lin Xujia took a deep breath, her face pale. "Was last night your doing?"
"Last night?"
"Ye Yunchen, why did you do this to me?"
"Lin Xujia, don't you think you brought it on yourself?" Ye Yunchen said coldly.
"Brought it on myself? You say I brought it on myself? Ye Yunchen, how can you say that?"
"Last night was a warning. Stop pestering me, or I can't guarantee it won't happen again. You won't always be this lucky." Ye Yunchen stared straight ahead, expressionless. He didn't seem surprised that Lin Xujia had figured out his involvement. In fact, he was quite calm. When Xia Yan got involved, he knew Lu Zhengting wouldn't stand by, and he fully believed Lu Zhengting would investigate him. So admitting it or not made no difference to him.
Lin Xujia couldn't believe these words came from Ye Yunchen. She had always thought that even if she couldn't compare to Xia Yan in his heart, she still held a small place. Only today did she realize that even that small place had never belonged to her. Biting her lip, under Ye Yunchen's impatient gaze, she said coldly, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone about us..."
"Lin Xujia, do you really think Xia Yan doesn't know about you and me?"
"You—"
"Lin Xujia, do you know why I'll never like you? Not just because you're not Xia Yan, but because of your self-righteous little tricks."
Hearing this, Lin Xujia froze. Ye Yunchen sneered at her, then drove off, leaving her behind. Lin Xujia stared at the spot where he disappeared. The glow of the sunset faded, like Ye Yunchen. Perhaps on a clear day, the sunset would appear again in the sky, but Ye Yunchen would never come back.
It seemed their paths in life were only now beginning to diverge.