Ye Yunchen used Coco to get in touch with the project department manager. At the same time, to sabotage her own relationship with Lu Zhengting, she turned the situation to her advantage when Xia Yan came to find her and discovered Lin Xujia secretly taking photos. She pinned the blame for betraying Lu Corporation on Xia Yan.
Xia Yan gazed out the window at the gray sky. It really was hard to see a clear blue sky in winter. She crossed her arms over her chest, and suddenly memories of her university days surfaced in her mind. Back then, her relationships with others had always been poor, and only Lin Xujia had stayed by her side.
When Lu Zhengting entered and saw Xia Yan's silhouette, he paused for a moment, then strode over and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about what happened a month ago. I wonder how Lin Xujia is doing?" Xia Yan said softly.
"Lin Xujia?"
"Forget it, let's not talk about these annoying things. Why did you come to my office?" Xia Yan turned around, wrapped her arms around Lu Zhengting's neck, and asked in a sweet, cooing voice.
Ever since Xia Yan moved into Secretary Zhou's office, Lu Zhengting had secretly arranged for the two offices to be connected and a lounge built. Every time he came to see her, he almost never used the main door, instead coming straight through the lounge. At first, Xia Yan wasn't used to it, but after telling him several times and realizing he wasn't listening, she stopped and eventually got accustomed to it.
"I wanted to ask what you'd like for dinner," Lu Zhengting said, lowering his head to whisper in her ear. His warm breath brushed faintly against Xia Yan's neck, making her instinctively shrink back.
"Can you talk normally? This is really uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable? Where? Hmm?"
The trailing "hmm" in Lu Zhengting's voice seemed to carry a hint of a tremor. Xia Yan knew what he was implying, and her face flushed. "What are you thinking?"
"Thinking about what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything."
Lu Zhengting stared at Xia Yan with a mischievous grin for so long that it gave her a headache. She pouted. "Xiaohan is still at home. Let's eat there."
"Fine, you're the boss."
"So considerate today?" Xia Yan cupped Lu Zhengting's face and smiled.
After work, Xia Yan rode with Lu Zhengting back to the apartment. Xiaohan had been living with Xia Yan in the apartment ever since she moved out of the villa. Lu Zhengting had wanted to stay there too, but since the apartment only had one bedroom, he couldn't exactly sleep on the couch.
This meant that every night, Xia Yan had to put in a lot of effort to get Lu Zhengting to leave.
Back at the apartment, Xiaohan heard the door open and immediately jumped off the couch, dashing to the entrance to hug Xia Yan. But when he caught sight of his dad, he instantly became very well-behaved.
Xia Yan patted Xiaohan's head. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm hungry. Sister Yan, I want your cake."
Xia Yan loved that Xiaohan had a sweet tooth, so she strictly controlled his sugar intake. Remembering that he hadn't had any sweets in a few days, she agreed to make him a cake later. Lu Zhengting took off his jacket and sat on the couch like a lord. Xiaohan, thrilled at the promise of cake, was happy even seeing his dad's cold face.
Xia Yan went to the kitchen, tied on a cartoon apron, and pondered what dishes to make.
Lu Zhengting sat on the side couch, his long fingers casually resting on the armrest. His eyes were half-closed, barely hiding his exhaustion. Still, his gaze followed the slender figure in the kitchen. He silently thought to himself how such a delicate frame could handle him.
Xiaohan grabbed the remote and switched to a channel. The show was about zoos, and at that moment, it was explaining how animals mate. Xiaohan watched with great interest. Lu Zhengting heard the sounds from the TV, his expression shifting slightly. He glanced at Xiaohan, reached out, took the remote from the coffee table, and switched directly to a children's channel.
"Don't look at me, I'm just a sheep..."
The cheerful song played. Xiaohan gave Lu Zhengting a dumbfounded look—he'd already seen this.
"Dad, I want to watch the other one."
"What's so good about that?"
"It's great! It expands my knowledge. I can learn how animals mate."
"Cough... No. Watch this." Lu Zhengting made the final call, leaving no room for argument.
"Fascist!" Xiaohan glared at Lu Zhengting angrily, hugging himself and turning away with a huff, refusing to look at his dad's stern face. After a moment, he jumped off the couch, ran to Xia Yan, squeezed out a few tears, and looked at her pitifully. "Sister Yan, Dad's a fascist. He won't let me watch TV."
"How could that be?" Xia Yan had flour on her hands, so she had to crouch down to meet Xiaohan's eyes.
"It's true. Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf—I've seen it so many times, I don't want to watch it anymore."
Xia Yan helplessly looked up and called out to Lu Zhengting, "Lu Zhengting, how old are you? Why are you still watching this cartoon? Don't make Xiaohan cry, okay?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting's face darkened. When Xia Yan had calmed Xiaohan down and sent him over, she turned away. He suddenly grabbed Xiaohan and said in a low, threatening voice, "So you know how to tattle now?"
"Sister Yan, Dad's bullying me."
"Lu Zhengting, how old are you!"
"Xiaohan..." Lu Zhengting's face turned cold as he glared at him.
Xiaohan's lips quivered, and he raised his voice, "Sister Yan, I want a hug."
Hearing Xiaohan ask Xia Yan for a hug, Lu Zhengting's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. He stared at Xiaohan's small frame, his dark gaze making Xiaohan shiver involuntarily. Xiaohan whispered to Lu Zhengting, "Dad, I'm your own son."
Lu Zhengting nodded, not denying it, and pulled Xiaohan in front of him. "Dad will hug you."
Xia Yan had just washed her hands and was about to pick up Xiaohan when she saw this scene. She felt an indescribable sense of dissonance.
She thought the TV incident was over and they could settle down, but dinner brought more chaos that left Xia Yan speechless. After finally finishing the meal, Xiaohan went to play with building blocks. Xia Yan raised an eyebrow at Lu Zhengting, hinting that he should wash the dishes.
Lu Zhengting glanced at her and directly indicated that was impossible.
Xia Yan frowned, blinked her eyes pitifully, and said in a coaxing tone, "Lu Zhengting, please wash the dishes, okay?"
In an instant, Lu Zhengting got goosebumps. He shot Xia Yan a look, rolled up his sleeves, and washed the dishes!
******
Zhan Meng stood on the couch, looking down at Ning Xi. "Why are you stopping me?"
"You can't mess around with this."
"Ning Xi, are you crazy? How am I messing around? I'm just standing up for my friend! Are you not giving me the USB drive? Don't think I have no other way."
"Zhan Meng!"
"What! I'm not deaf, why are you shouting! Wait, Ning Xi, are you planning to keep it for yourself, is that why you won't let me expose it? If that's the case, just say so. I can give you a backup."
Ning Xi felt his head spinning. His phone rang in his pocket. He glanced at Zhan Meng, worried that if he looked away for a second, she'd do something reckless. Sure enough, when she saw him turn to answer the call, she immediately grabbed the laptop from the coffee table, dashed into the room, and locked the door.
Nice try! Did she think anyone could stop her from doing what she wanted?
She sat with the laptop, opened a website men particularly liked, and with a sly grin, uploaded the video she'd copied from Mu Chengfeng's computer last time. Watching her handiwork, she was very satisfied. Xia Siyue, that woman, needed to be taught a lesson. Not only was she eyeing Ning Xi, but she'd also schemed against Xia Yan. Even though Zhan Meng hadn't known Xia Yan long, she couldn't stand Xia Siyue's smug attitude.
Watching the view count climb rapidly, Zhan Meng couldn't stop grinning. This was a site she'd carefully collected.
The person calling Ning Xi was Ning Nan and Xu Su, who had been missing for a while. Ning Nan, with his lover by his side, was living so comfortably that Ning Xi was jealous. Since coming to Jiang City, Ning Xi's life had been miserable—cleaning up Zhan Meng's messes while helping Lu Zhengting investigate things.
Listening to Ning Xi's complaints, Ning Nan laughed in an infuriating way. "You really think I don't know Grandpa sent you to Jiang City? Third Brother, don't try to fool me. If anyone's tired, it's the youngest. He hasn't complained once."
"The youngest hasn't complained? He's so annoying now I don't even want to answer his calls."
"Third Brother, I heard you've got a beauty by your side? Who is she?" Ning Nan held the phone, lounging on Xu Su's lap with his legs crossed, gossiping eagerly.
"Speaking of that, it's all your fault! If you hadn't asked me to get those documents, would she have latched onto me?"
"Are you talking about that reporter who called to expose me and Xu Su? You haven't dealt with her yet?" Ning Nan's grin turned sly as he spoke. Xu Su saw his expression and knew Ning Xi had definitely been set up by him.
"That woman can't be described as ordinary. She's a fighter among women, or maybe a holy warrior." Ning Xi ruthlessly badmouthed Zhan Meng. Then he changed the subject. "Where are you guys now?"
"We're in Jiang City."
"You're in Jiang City? When did you get back?"
"The day before yesterday, or maybe the day before that. Ah, my memory's bad, I forgot." Ning Nan pretended to think seriously, then suddenly looked up at Xu Su and asked, "Xu Su, when did we get back?"
"Half a month ago."
Xu Su never lied, so when Ning Xi heard his voice over the phone, he felt like smashing his phone. He turned to look at the couch, but Zhan Meng was gone. Glancing at the coffee table, the laptop was missing too.
That woman!
Ning Xi hung up the phone with a slap, tossed it aside, and stormed to the room, pounding on the door. He pressed his ear to the door and faintly heard sounds of a man and woman moaning inside. He froze instantly. What was going on in that woman's head!