Cemetery.
Lu Zhengting led the reluctant Xiao Han out of the car, his expression grim. Ke Yaru held a bouquet of lilies, standing by his side. "Zhengting, let's go in."
Since Xiao Han could remember, every year at this time, Lu Zhengting brought him here to pay respects to his uncle, who had passed away before Xiao Han was born. A cold wind swept through the cemetery, howling as if to accentuate the sorrow of the place. Lu Zhengting stood before Lu Jingchen's tombstone, staring intently at the photo of the man on it, letting out a faint sigh.
Xiao Han knew that Lu Zhengting's mood was always heavy when he came here each year, so he didn't dare act playful. He obediently placed the cake in front of the tombstone and bowed deeply. Next to Lu Jingchen's grave was another tombstone inscribed with the name Ke Qinglan. Ke Yaru looked at the smiling woman in the photo and couldn't help but sob.
Lu Zhengting stood before the tombstone while Xiao Han was taken back to the car by Ke Yaru. Half an hour later, he returned to the vehicle. Leaving the cemetery, Xiao Han sneaked a glance at Lu Zhengting, whose face was still somber, and asked cautiously, "Dad, can I go eat the cake now?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting nodded. Before he could speak, Ke Yaru quickly chimed in, "I don't have anything else to do anyway, so I'll come with you."
"Your injury?"
"It's fine. Xiao Han just wants to eat cake; it won't take much time. Besides, I feel almost fully recovered—it's not as serious as the doctor made it out to be."
"Alright, let's go eat cake."
Lu Zhengting frowned slightly but didn't refuse, driving directly to the cake shop where they had bought the cake earlier. This shop's cakes were famous in Jiangcheng, and it also sold other desserts and drinks. Xiao Han pulled Lu Zhengting's hand and chose a seat in the lounge area. When the waiter came over with a menu, Xiao Han was practically drooling.
Xiao Han only picked items that looked good based on the names and photos in the menu, not caring whether he could finish them. His reasoning was simple: their family had money.
Lu Zhengting noticed Xiao Han's finger still pointing at items for the waiter and cleared his throat. "Xiao Han, you're ordering too much."
"Dad, how is this too much? Think about it—I need to eat, you need to eat, Auntie needs to eat, and we'll also take some back for Sister Yan and Grandma. So overall, this might not even be enough."
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting's face darkened. Eating cake and coming up with so many excuses. "Don't let it happen again."
"Dad, you're the best!" With Lu Zhengting's approval, Xiao Han gleefully continued ordering.
Ke Yaru's gaze occasionally drifted to the expressionless man, catching the faint trace of indulgence at the corner of his mouth, her eyes filled with affection. She stared intently at Lu Zhengting, while he looked dotingly at Xiao Han.
After finishing the cake, Xiao Han patted his round belly, smiling contentedly.
******
Lu Zhengting hadn't shown up at the company all afternoon, leaving Xia Yan inexplicably distracted. Even Secretary Zhou noticed. She stood up from her chair and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the darkening sky outside. Clusters of gray clouds seemed to be rolling toward Jiangcheng, a heavy, oppressive sight. Xia Yan blinked, unsure where this sudden, inexplicable melancholy came from...
There was still an hour before work ended. Xia Yan glanced at her phone again—no calls or messages from Lu Zhengting. She crossed her arms over her chest, sighed, placed the phone on the desk, and headed to the break room. Since Ke Yaru had taken leave after her car accident, the office gossip had quieted down. Xia Yan stood on the break room balcony, pulling the window open a crack. The cold wind rushed in, jolting her awake.
"Wow, why is it so cold in here?"
Hearing the voice, Xia Yan hesitated before poking her head out from the balcony. She saw Li Ru holding a cup by the water dispenser, steam rising as hot water filled it. Smiling, she called out, "Li Ru."
Hearing her name, Li Ru turned and saw Xia Yan on the balcony. Her eyes lit up. She filled her cup with hot water and joined Xia Yan on the balcony, leaning against the railing like her. "What are you doing standing here alone? Enjoying the cold breeze?"
"Something like that."
"'Something like that'? No wonder I felt a chill when I walked in—you had the window open. What's wrong? Got something on your mind?"
Knowing Li Ru was pregnant, Xia Yan reached over and closed the window tightly. She sighed softly. "You know, it's probably just that time of the month for women."
"That makes sense. For a second, I thought you'd had a fight with Mr. Lu." Li Ru rubbed her belly, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, remember when I ran into you and your friend during my prenatal checkup?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, Xia Yan, I thought your friend looked familiar back then, but I couldn't place where I'd seen her. I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong. But later, I finally remembered—I did see her before. It was in Manager Ke's car."
"Manager Ke's car? Li Ru, you must be mistaken. Xiao Jia and Manager Ke have nothing to do with each other."
"I'm absolutely sure I'm not wrong. I remember clearly—Yang Qi drove me that day, and his car was parked right next to Manager Ke's."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. Xia Yan, honestly, have I ever lied to you? I'm telling you this as a heads-up, because Manager Ke isn't as she appears on the surface..." Seeing Xia Yan lost in thought, Li Ru thought she didn't believe her and quickly added, "Forget it, forget I said anything. I was just rambling. I should get back."
Li Ru straightened up and glanced at the silent Xia Yan. "Xia Yan, are you coming back to the office with me, or staying a bit longer?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I said, do you want to head back to the office now, or stay here a while?"
"You go ahead. I'll stay a bit longer."
"Alright then. Xia Yan, I just suddenly remembered that and told you. Don't dwell on it too much."
"I understand."
After Li Ru left, the break room grew quiet again. Xia Yan pulled the window open a crack once more, letting the cold wind in. She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth but couldn't bring herself to close the window fully, staring intently at the darkening sky outside.
Xia Yan withdrew her gaze and returned to the office absentmindedly. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost time to leave. She picked up her phone, which she'd left on the desk, unlocked it, and saw a message from Xia Siyue. Her brow furrowed. She wanted to ignore it, but Xia Siyue's words hinted that she'd regret it if she didn't look. With a mocking curl of her lips, she exited WeChat. Her call log still showed no messages from Lu Zhengting.
She tossed the phone aside casually, leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and spun around, lost in thought...
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The phone suddenly rang. Xia Yan sat up abruptly, grabbed it, and saw it was Xia Siyue calling. Her expression returned to normal. She saw no reason to answer Xia Siyue's call, so she simply ignored it and switched the phone to vibrate.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
The vibration persisted. Reluctantly, Xia Yan picked up the phone, swiped the screen with her slender finger, and answered. "Xia Siyue, what do you want?"
"Of course I have something. Why else would I call you?"
"What is it?"
Xia Siyue's tinkling laughter came clearly through the receiver. After a pause, she stopped laughing and said slowly, "Xia Yan, I bet you didn't even look at the message I sent you."
"You should know I never read junk messages."
"Xia Yan, you... Hmph, do you really think you're that important to Lu Zhengting? Let me tell you, I happened to witness a particularly heartwarming scene today, and I even took a picture. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't share it with you."
"Xia Siyue, if you're just going to spout nonsense, I don't need to hear it."
"Hmph, Xia Yan, let's see how long you can keep up that attitude!"
"Longer than you, that's for sure." With that, Xia Yan hung up. Thinking about what Xia Siyue had said, she opened WeChat and hesitated over the chat window labeled Xia Siyue. Frowning, she pondered for a moment before tapping on it. What appeared was just a photo.
It was a picture set in a cake shop—one Xia Yan recognized, having taken Xiao Han there a few times. She zoomed in and saw Xiao Han sitting between Lu Zhengting and Ke Yaru, cream on his lips. Lu Zhengting's stern face held a faint hint of indulgence, while Ke Yaru's eyes were full of deep affection as she looked at him.
Xia Yan slammed her phone down on the desk with a sharp crack. Her emotions in turmoil, she sat in her chair, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back. Just as Xia Siyue had said, the scene was truly heartwarming. The images of Xiao Han and Ke Yaru overlapped in her mind, and she couldn't help but recall something she'd ignored before—Ke Yaru had once told her she was Xiao Han's mother.
She shook her head. Had Lu Zhengting been out of the office all afternoon just to spend time with Xiao Han and Ke Yaru? Could Ke Yaru really be Xiao Han's biological mother? Frustrated, Xia Yan grabbed at her hair, then lunged forward, resting her hands on the desk. She sat there stunned for a long moment, then stood up, only to sit back down again.
Just then, a knock came at the office door. Xia Yan took a deep breath and said, "Come in."
Secretary Zhou opened the door, saw Xia Yan's less-than-pleasant expression, glanced at the clock on the wall, and asked casually, "It's time to leave. Aren't you going?"
"I'll finish my work first. You go ahead." Xia Yan said nonchalantly.