The dessert shop was already in chaos. Xia Yan's face was cold as she distanced herself from Ye Yunchen. She locked eyes with him and asked, "Did you really force Xiaojia to have an abortion? Was all of this really orchestrated by you behind the scenes? Ye Yunchen, don't lie to me—tell me the truth! I need to know the truth!"
"The truth? Not many people in this world are willing to hear the truth, and every word I've said to you has been the truth. But it seems you don't believe me."
"Of course I don't believe you, because ever since that night with Xiaojia, I've noticed you've changed."
Zhan Meng stood nearby, listening to their exchange and the bewildered reporters around her. She blinked. *This is off-topic, isn't it? What's going on now?* Spotning Ning Xi peeking in from the entrance, Zhan Meng turned and warned Li Ru, "Stay away from the crowd. I'm worried there might be accidental injuries later."
"Huh?"
"Ah, I can't explain it to you. Just wait here for me. I'll be right back." Zhan Meng pushed through the crowd to Ning Xi and slapped him on the shoulder. "Why are you only showing up now?"
"What's the situation now?"
"I don't know. Hey, why are you here alone? Where's Lu Zhengting? Didn't he come?"
Zhan Meng saw Ning Xi purse his lips and immediately raised her voice. "I'm asking you, where is he? Are you pursing your lips and staying silent to look cool? Lu Zhengting isn't actually suspecting Xia Yan, is he?"
"He'd suspect me before he ever suspects Xia Yan."
"Then where is he? Xia Yan is standing with that man named Ye Yunchen right now. If he doesn't show up, the leaked information about Xia Yan will be confirmed."
"Hold on, he'll be here soon."
Zhan Meng glanced at Ning Xi. "He doesn't even care about his own woman. Is Lu Zhengting just clueless or what?"
Ning Xi's mouth twitched. Hearing Zhan Meng say that, what could he say? When he came over, he only knew that Lu Zhengting had taken a call and rushed off, telling him to come here first. So who the hell knew?
Xia Yan looked at Ye Yunchen. In her heart, she had been waiting for Lu Zhengting to come and take her away, but she waited and waited, and he never showed. She silently glanced toward the entrance, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down. She stared intently at Ye Yunchen and said coldly, "Ye Yunchen, I can't go with you, because if I do, the charge of leaking Lu Corporation's secrets will stick to me. If you insist on taking me away, then that proves you want that charge to stick, doesn't it?"
"Xia Yan, are you waiting for Lu Zhengting? He won't show up here. No matter how long you wait, it's useless," Ye Yunchen said flatly. Then, gripping her shoulders, he added, "Xia Yan, my love for you is no less than Lu Zhengting's. In terms of ability, I'm not a bit inferior to him. Everything he has is just because he was born better off than me. Trust me, I can give you the future you want too."
"Brother Ye..."
"You say you can give her the future she wants?" Lu Zhengting's deep voice suddenly rang out in the crowd. His sharp gaze fixed on Ye Yunchen, and his icy tone seemed to lower the temperature in the room. Standing tall and imposing, he walked up to Xia Yan, took her hand firmly, and pulled her to his side.
"How did you end up here?"
"You say you can give Xia Yan the future she wants?"
Lu Zhengting repeated the words. Xia Yan's head rested against his jaw, and this time, his voice felt real. She secretly pinched herself, realizing it wasn't an illusion—Lu Zhengting had really come. She had been terrified he wouldn't, because she didn't know what she would have done otherwise.
The look in Xia Yan's eyes as she gazed at Lu Zhengting undoubtedly deeply stung Ye Yunchen. He narrowed his eyes and answered firmly, "Of course I can give her the future she wants."
"Delusional." Lu Zhengting curled his lips in a cold smirk. "In Xia Yan's future, I have to be there. Just on that point alone, you'll never manage it."
"Lu Zhengting, you..."
Lu Zhengting wrapped his arm around Xia Yan and turned to face the reporters. "The investigation into the leak of Lu Corporation's secrets is complete. Xia Yan, my girlfriend, has nothing to do with it. I'll explain the details at a press conference. As for those who leaked the information and framed Xia Yan, I'll pursue legal action. I believe many of you here will be receiving lawyer's letters in the next few days."
"So cool..." Li Ru sighed.
Zhan Meng walked over to Li Ru and heard her say that, rolling her eyes. "That's cool?"
"Yeah, isn't this a hero saving the damsel in distress?" Li Ru watched as Xia Yan was led out of the dessert shop by Lu Zhengting, with no one daring to stop them, and sighed again decisively. "Our CEO Lu has way more guts than some people. Xia Yan made a smart choice back then by not picking that other guy."
Hearing this, Zhan Meng thought for a moment. "Aren't they both about the same?"
Li Ru was in a good mood and couldn't be bothered to argue with Zhan Meng, who didn't get romance. In her eyes, CEO Lu was definitely cooler.
Ning Xi patted Zhan Meng on the shoulder. "Let's go."
"Who said you could pat my shoulder? Don't you know men and women shouldn't touch?"
Seeing this, Li Ru winked and whispered, "Is he your boyfriend? He's pretty handsome too."
"You think he's handsome? Are you blind? Guys like him are a dime a dozen on any street."
"Zhan Meng." Li Ru stroked her chin, sizing her up. "I think it's not me who's blind—it's you. A guy like him, if he worked at our company, those desperate women would have torn him apart. And you're talking like that."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. Why don't you let him work at Lu Corporation for a month? Then you'll really get what I mean."
"Hold on, he's not my boyfriend."
Li Ru rolled her eyes. "Talking to you is exhausting. It's too draining on my brain cells."
With that, Li Ru walked ahead, leaving them behind. As she passed Ning Xi, she couldn't help but glance at him again. Yep, this guy was clearly a hot commodity.
It was the first time Zhan Meng had heard someone else's opinion of Ning Xi. Honestly, in her eyes, Ning Xi wasn't her dream guy at all. Her dream guy was the kind of adorably clueless type, and Ning Xi was anything but that—sometimes he was even annoyingly chatty. Who would want to be with him? It would be like living the life of Sun Wukong every day. Just thinking about it felt like torture to Zhan Meng. But then again, Ning Xi cooked well, was a pro at housework, and raised cats like a champ...
Ning Xi had no idea what Zhan Meng was thinking. He assumed she was still caught up in what had just happened, so he nudged her with his elbow. "Are we going or not?"
Another downside for Ning Xi: he was rough.
"How can you be so rough with a girl? Don't you know how to be gentle?"
Hearing this, Ning Xi dug at his ear, thinking he'd misheard. "Are you telling me you're a girl?"
"Am I not a girl? My features are so obvious—are you blind?"
"A girl would act like you? If you're calling me rough, take a look at yourself. What about you screams 'girl'?"
"Ning Xi! You're blind!"
"My vision's fine. There's no such thing as blindness here. But you—I heard your conversation earlier. You said you could find a better guy than me on any street corner?"
"Ning Xi, you're not just rough—you're also a snoop."
"I don't have that kind of free time. Why don't you blame yourselves for talking so loud and bothering me?"
"I've never met a man as petty as you. Thumbs down!"
"Right back at you. I've never met a woman as sloppy as you."
Zhan Meng was furious. *Calling me sloppy, huh?* She smirked, and while Ning Xi wasn't paying attention, she suddenly jerked her head up and drove it into his groin.
Ning Xi hopped in place from the pain, clutching his crotch. Watching Zhan Meng walk out of the dessert shop without looking back, he caught the stares of those around him and roared, "Never seen this before?"
That woman must have aimed that kick to make sure he'd never have kids!
******
Xia Yan followed Lu Zhengting into the car. Now that the crowd was gone and it was just the two of them, she felt a surge of emotion and didn't know what to say. After a pause, as if remembering something, she quietly spoke, "I thought you weren't coming."
"How could I not come when you're here?" Lu Zhengting's deep eyes fixed on Xia Yan as he reached out to stroke her cheek, speaking softly.
Hearing this, Xia Yan suddenly looked up but accidentally bumped into Lu Zhengting's chin. Her forehead instantly reddened, and Lu Zhengting's brow furrowed. "Lu Zhengting, are you okay? Does it hurt?" Xia Yan quickly reached out to touch his chin.
Seeing this, Lu Zhengting let out a low laugh and grabbed her hand. "You're so clumsy. What would you do without me in the future?"
Xia Yan blushed and pouted, "I'm not clumsy. And fess up—why are you so good with sweet talk today? Did you do something wrong?"
"Something wrong?" Lu Zhengting pretended to think. When Xia Yan lowered her head, he lifted her chin and said, "There is one thing."
As soon as he said it, Xia Yan immediately looked resistant. "If you really did something to betray me, then don't tell me. I don't want to know."
"That wrong thing is—I'm sorry I was late."
Xia Yan covered her ears, not hearing clearly. Seeing Lu Zhengting's gentle smile, she warily lowered her hands. "You... what did you say?"
In response, Lu Zhengting patiently repeated himself, "I'm sorry I was late."
"Bastard!" Xia Yan punched his chest with her fist. "You knew you were late, so why did you have to say it? Are you trying to make me cry on purpose?"
In Xia Yan's mind, the scenes from earlier replayed. Only when Lu Zhengting appeared, only with his soft words, did she feel like her tears had a reason to fall.