"Back early."
Lu Zhengting's reply was as routine as ever, concise and cold.
Xia Yan lowered her head and blurted out without thinking, "Don't you know you should knock before entering?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting glanced at Xia Yan, who was on high alert against him, with amusement. "Sorry, I didn't think it through this time."
Whether it was a lack of consideration or intentional, no one knew.
Xia Yan couldn't quite pinpoint her emotions at that moment. Her subconscious told her that although she hadn't interacted much with Lu Zhengting, she knew he wasn't a womanizer. But just dozing off for a moment and waking up to this scene—she found it hard to accept, one way or another.
She accepted Lu Zhengting's apology. A man like him wouldn't lack for women, so she could only chalk it up to bad luck. Indeed, her habit of not locking the door while sleeping was truly a problem.
Before leaving, Lu Zhengting placed a shirt in front of her. She stared at the white shirt for a long time, almost boring a hole into it. Carefully wrapping herself in the blanket, she shuffled to the side, hooked the shirt with her finger, hesitated for a long while, and then slowly put it on.
All night, she listened to the cicadas chirping outside the window, unable to fall asleep.
The next day, she woke up with a headache. Heaven knew what she had gone through last night; she still hadn't recovered. Xia Yan dawdled in her room, wondering whether she should act as if nothing had happened when she saw Lu Zhengting, or...
In reality, nothing had happened between them anyway.
Xiao Han's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. Startled, she quickly came out of the bathroom, patted her flushed cheeks, opened the door to see Xiao Han, and secretly glanced around to make sure Lu Zhengting wasn't there. She breathed a sigh of relief—he must be busy, probably off to the company early in the morning.
"Sister Yan, why is your face so red?" Xiao Han's childish voice sounded, as if reminding her of last night, making it even redder.
Xia Yan gave an awkward laugh, rubbed her nose, and chose to stay silent as she took Xiao Han's hand and headed downstairs.
"Sister Yan, you promised me yesterday that you'd make me a cake today. You can't back out."
At Xiao Han's reminder, her intention to keep her distance from Lu Zhengting vanished in less than a second. She replied with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "How about I make it at home and bring it over for you?"
Xiao Han frowned, thought it over, and agreed as long as there was cake.
As soon as she appeared in the living room, her gaze was drawn to Lu Zhengting, who was already fully dressed and sitting there. Xia Yan wanted to act nonchalant, but the sweat on her palms gave her away completely.
Xiao Han's puzzled voice rang out again in the spacious living room, "Sister Yan, why are your palms so sweaty?"
"..." She didn't even have time to cover Xiao Han's mouth.
Lu Zhengting sat upright, and upon hearing Xiao Han's voice, he slightly lifted his eyes to glance at Xia Yan, who kept her head down and dared not look at him. Surprisingly, he found himself in a good mood.
Xia Yan had no idea what was going through Lu Zhengting's mind, nor could she read this man who never showed his emotions. She even wondered if she was overreacting—maybe he hadn't given it a second thought, while she was the one dwelling on it, making things awkward.
She had class in the morning, and Xiao Han had school too. She was thinking of an excuse to leave on her own when Lu Zhengting suddenly turned to Xiao Han and said calmly, "I'll take you to school."
Hearing this, Xia Yan inexplicably felt that Lu Zhengting's words were more directed at her. She blurted out, "Mr. Lu, no need to trouble yourself. I can go to school on my own."
"Great, Dad! With you taking Sister Yan to school, I feel relieved." Xiao Han's words hit her like a thunderbolt, leaving Xia Yan's expression utterly horrified.
Lu Zhengting never allowed anyone to contradict him, and with Xia Yan, she didn't even get a chance to argue. He stood up abruptly, grabbed his coat from the side, and left the living room first.
A sleek black Maybach with smooth lines was parked at the villa's entrance, clearly expensive. She stood frozen by the car door, hesitating. Xiao Han had already squeezed into the back seat, and Lu Zhengting was in the driver's seat. She wanted to sit in the back, but as she reached for the door, a clear male voice rang out slowly.
"Sit in the front passenger seat." His low voice was as crisp as a gentle breeze, carrying a hint of penetration that reached her heart. Just hearing it made her heart flutter, sending a tingling sensation through her.
Xia Yan lowered her head, resigned, and slowly walked around the front of the car to sit in the passenger seat. If she dawdled any longer, she'd miss her first class. Sitting there, she felt at a loss for where to put her hands and feet.
Xiao Han's school wasn't far from the Lu residence—it was an elite private school. After watching Xiao Han enter the school, Xia Yan mentally rehearsed her words before speaking slowly, "Mr. Lu, you must be very busy, right? You can drop me off at that intersection up ahead. I can get to school on my own, really."
To convince Lu Zhengting, Xia Yan repeated "really" several times, her expression as serious as it could get.
The main reason she didn't want Lu Zhengting to take her to school was her fear of being seen by people from school and sparking rumors. That would not only annoy her but likely bother Lu Zhengting as well.
After all, rumors were like a scholar meeting a soldier—impossible to sort out.
Lu Zhengting's hand on the steering wheel paused slightly, as if considering her words, but then he sped up at the spot she pointed to, zooming past with a whoosh.
"I'm not busy."
Xia Yan was still reeling from the sudden acceleration. When she heard Lu Zhengting's words, her expression turned as sour as if she'd eaten a lemon, leaving her speechless.
The atmosphere in the car was a bit strange. Lu Zhengting kept his eyes fixed ahead, and as they neared the school, Xia Yan thought about what had happened yesterday and sighed inwardly. "Thank you for yesterday."
She knew Lu Zhengting must have known what happened.
Lu Zhengting turned his head slightly, glancing at Xia Yan from the corner of his eye, pursed his lips, and said seriously, "If you're going to thank me, how about something more practical?"
"Practical?" Xia Yan instinctively tightened her seatbelt, her face alternating between pale and red. His words made her heart race.
"Yeah."
"What do you want me to do?"
As soon as Xia Yan finished speaking, the car came to a smooth stop at the school gate. Lu Zhengting noticed her small gesture and found it amusing. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he suddenly turned and leaned toward her. "What do you think?"
"I don't know." Xia Yan's very serious answer thoroughly amused Lu Zhengting. She could even see a hint of laughter in his eyes. She froze for a moment, silently telling herself, Don't be fooled by his looks—it's all an illusion.
A low chuckle reached her ears. Lu Zhengting straightened up and said calmly, "Just spend more time with Xiao Han when you don't have class. He really likes you."
Xia Yan wanted to yell at him—why did he have to create such a tense atmosphere just to say this? It made her so nervous she could barely breathe!
As she hesitated, Lu Zhengting added, "As for Yang Jinkuan, don't worry. I'll handle it."
That Yang Jinkuan had some nerve. As far as the outside world was concerned, Xia Yan was his woman, yet Yang Jinkuan dared to make a move on her, especially when he wasn't around. At the thought, his demeanor instantly turned sharp.
Xia Yan didn't notice the change in Lu Zhengting. She was thinking that Xia Siyue would surely try to hand her over to Yang Jinkuan again. If Lu Zhengting could protect her, even with all of Xia Siyue's schemes, Yang Jinkuan wouldn't dare touch her.
But that would only make her relationship with Lu Zhengting harder to explain.
Lu Zhengting didn't seem anxious at all, nor did he worry that Xia Yan might refuse. It was as if he had a way to make her agree even if she said no.
"Alright, I agree."
It was just spending time with Xiao Han. Lu Zhengting was a busy man, so they probably wouldn't see each other much. With that thought, Xia Yan agreed readily. As she got out of the car, Lu Zhengting suddenly called out, "Do you have my number?"
Did she or didn't she? She wasn't sure herself.
Seeing this, Lu Zhengting ordered, "Give me your phone."
Xia Yan hesitated. What did he need her number for?
"Give it to me." Lu Zhengting commanded again.
At his words, Xia Yan quickly fished her phone out of her bag and handed it to him obediently.
"Call me if anything comes up."
When the phone was back in her hands, Xia Yan stared at the three bold characters on the screen, feeling a heavy weight of pressure. Meeting his serious gaze, she nodded silently.
Surely nothing would require Lu Zhengting's involvement.
A Maybach parked at the school gate was bound to attract attention. Taking advantage of the sparse crowd, Xia Yan quickly got out and jogged into the school without looking back. If she had, she would have seen Lu Zhengting's amused smile.
After driving away from the school, Lu Zhengting headed straight to the company.
Xia Yan ran as fast as she could to the classroom, where the old witch's voice was already echoing. They called her the old witch because this professor was particularly tough to deal with—no matter what excuse you had, she could shoot it down.
Xia Yan slipped in through the back door without being noticed by the old witch and let out a sigh of relief.
Lin Xujia had been keeping an eye on Xia Yan and spotted her as soon as she sneaked in. After class, she walked over to Xia Yan and pointed at the empty seat beside her. "Xia Yan, move over one seat."
Having not slept all night, Xia Yan was now fighting off drowsiness, exhausted. She scooted over and yawned. "Xiao Jia, the old witch didn't notice I was missing today, did she?"
"No, I answered for you. But Xia Yan, where did you go last night?" Lin Xujia leaned in with a gossipy look, lowering her voice. She paused, then whispered in Xia Yan's ear, "You didn't go back to the Xia family either, did you?"