Upon hearing this, Xia Minghui's expression shifted. He seemed surprised that Lu Zhengting's son would appear here, but beyond the surprise, there was more panic.
Xiao Han suddenly appeared, rubbing his eyes, and Xia Yan was still processing it. She saw Xiao Han pouting as he ran over to them, standing aggressively in front of Xia Minghui, raising his voice in anger, "You're a bad guy. Why are you speaking ill of Dad in front of Sister Yan? You're not a good person. Get out, leave, don't sit here."
"Xiao Han." Xia Yan called his name, seeing his agitation, she reached out and hugged him, soothing him gently, "Xiao Han, he's Sister Yan's father, he's not a bad person."
"He is a bad person. He badmouths Dad behind his back in front of you. Sister Yan, don't believe him. He's lying to you."
"Xiao Han. You can't say that."
"Sister Yan, Xiao Han is telling the truth. Dad isn't a bad person; he is."
With that, Xiao Han broke free from Xia Yan's embrace, stood before Xia Minghui, grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him toward the door, straining as he said, "Get out, you're a bad person. Don't show up here. Out."
Xia Minghui glanced at Xiao Han, then cast a meaningful look at Xia Yan. Before Xiao Han could drive him out, he abruptly stood up from the sofa. "Yan Yan, since Mr. Lu's son is here, I won't say more. But think about what I just told you, understand? Before it's too late to fix things."
Xia Yan neither nodded nor shook her head. She watched Xia Minghui sigh softly and silently leave the apartment. Her pale face was almost frightening. Xiao Han took her hand and led her back to the sofa. He sat close, staring intently at her, and spoke cautiously, "Sister Yan, do you believe what that bad guy said?"
"No."
"Sister Yan, adults shouldn't lie. Your expression gave you away. Sister Yan, you have to trust Xiao Han. Xiao Han would never hurt you."
Hearing this, Xia Yan's heavy mood lightened considerably because of Xiao Han's words. It seemed everyone now wanted the keepsakes she had. Pausing, she lowered her eyes to look at Xiao Han's pitiful expression and couldn't help but ruffle his hair.
"Little one, are you feeling wronged? Weren't you supposed to be at Grandma's place?"
"I didn't want to stay with Grandma. Xiao Han likes being at Sister Yan's place, so I had the bodyguard bring me here."
"Did you tell Grandma you were coming?"
"No, Grandma went out with Auntie. Only Chen Ma and the servants were home. It was so boring."
Xia Yan played with Xiao Han for a while until she got a call from Lu Zhengting, telling him she was back home. Since it was New Year's Eve tomorrow, she planned to buy some necessities before the supermarket closed. Lu Zhengting had no objections. He left the office directly to pick them up from the apartment and head to the supermarket.
******
Ke Yaru and Jiang Xiuming only found out when they returned to Dongshan Villa that Xiao Han had secretly had the bodyguard take him back to the apartment. Jiang Mingxiu was so furious she smashed the teacup on the coffee table, shards scattering across the floor. The servants standing nearby were too terrified by her angry expression to move, frozen in place.
"This Xia Yan is more troublesome than I thought! Not only has Zhengting fallen for her tricks, but now even Xiao Han is opposing me."
Ke Yaru stood quietly beside Jiang Mingxiu and spoke softly, "Maybe it's because Xiao Han has lacked maternal love since birth, so he sees Xia Yan as his mother."
Hearing this, Jiang Mingxiu frowned. "Xiao Han has never experienced a day of maternal love since he was born. Zhengting's personality is even colder than his older brother's. What you said isn't impossible. But in that regard, your position should make you more familiar to Xiao Han."
Ke Yaru said nothing, remaining silent for a long time. "Xiao Han has never seemed close to me since he was little."
"Your heart has been entirely focused on Zhengting. It seems you've neglected Xiao Han over the years."
What Jiang Mingxiu said was indeed true for Ke Yaru. All these years, her thoughts had revolved around Lu Zhengting. Between company matters and the women at the office eyeing him covetously, she had to not only keep those scheming women away from Lu Zhengting but also prevent them from getting close to Xiao Han. Indirectly, she had indeed neglected Xiao Han in that regard.
"You know Zhengting values Xiao Han. Put more effort into him."
"I understand, Auntie."
"Mm. Chen Ma, have someone clean this up." Jiang Mingxiu ordered Chen Ma, then glanced at Ke Yaru. "Don't call me for dinner."
"Auntie?"
"I'm too angry to eat."
With that, Jiang Mingxiu turned and went to her room. Ke Yaru stood dumbfounded in the living room as the servants cleaned up the glass shards, their sounds like jingling bells. She squinted, turned, and walked to the sofa, her gaze sweeping over everything in the villa. This was the place she had dreamed of living in, but now that she was actually here, she didn't feel happy. Since Xia Yan moved back to the apartment, she hadn't even seen Lu Zhengting.
A place without Lu Zhengting was not her dream home.
She closed her eyes wearily. After a moment, the living room returned to its previous silence. She suddenly opened her eyes. Whether it was Xiao Han or Lu Zhengting, she wouldn't let Xia Yan take them from her.
Ke Yaru got up and went to her room. Standing on the balcony, she instinctively pulled her shawl tighter, holding her phone. After hesitating for a long time, she finally dialed the number she thought she would never call again. Not long after hanging up, her phone rang again. It was Ye Yunchen.
Ye Yunchen was a man of deep schemes, ruthless in his actions. She had heard about what he did to Lin Xujia, so to her, unless necessary, there would be no cooperation between them. The phone rang for a long time before she answered.
Ye Yunchen seemed to have guessed Ke Yaru's current thoughts. As soon as the call connected, he chuckled. His low, hoarse laughter traveled through the phone to Ke Yaru's ears. He slightly pursed his lips, his gaze fixed on the rainy world outside the floor-to-ceiling window. The rain washed away the city's restlessness, bringing tranquility.
"What do you want from me?"
"Of course, I have something to discuss."
Ke Yaru frowned. "What is it?"
"I'm sure it'll be something you're very interested in."
In this world, only two things could truly interest Ke Yaru: anything related to Lu Zhengting or Xia Yan. Simplified, it was everything connected to Lu Zhengting that piqued her interest.
This year was destined not to be peaceful. The rain seemed timely yet suspicious. The calm before the storm probably described this situation.
******
At the supermarket, it was packed. Xia Yan pushed the shopping cart. Xiao Han was small enough to sit in it without issue, especially since the cart had two levels, with the bottom one designed for children. The aisles were so crowded that even in winter, you didn't need the heater to feel warm—why? Because the sheer number of people generated heat.
Lu Zhengting took the cart from Xia Yan, not forgetting to hold her hand.
"Hold on, or we'll get separated."
"Lu Zhengting, would we really get lost in a supermarket?"
"Yes."
Seeing Lu Zhengting say this with such a straight face, she wanted to laugh but held back. After a pause, her actions proved more sincere than her words. Without needing him to pull, she tightly gripped his hand. When his gaze turned to her, she pouted and blinked at him.
"Flirting with me?"
"Who's flirting? I got something in my eye."
"That's a wink."
"I told you, something's in my eye!" As Xia Yan spoke, she noticed Lu Zhengting's expression was infuriating. Then her peripheral vision caught Xiao Han throwing anything he could grab into the cart without a care. She quickly changed the subject. "Xiao Han, why are you grabbing all this?"
Frozen dumplings, frozen tangyuan—almost all frozen items...
Xia Yan laughed helplessly at Xiao Han's still-busy hands. "Xiao Han, we don't need these. Sister Yan will take you to buy something tasty."
Xiao Han nodded with a grin. Seeing this, Xia Yan secretly glanced at Lu Zhengting. Noticing he looked the same as before, she wondered if her blink had been normal, ordinary, and natural enough.
She stopped thinking about it. No matter what she did in front of Lu Zhengting, the only word that came out of his mouth was "flirting." The only difference was whether she was doing it intentionally or unintentionally.
Xia Yan and Xiao Han had a great time, while Lu Zhengting acted like a hands-off boss, not involved in any shopping decisions, only paying at the end.
Coming out of the supermarket, Xia Yan felt completely exhausted.
Sitting in the car, she slumped like a limp ragdoll. No matter what Lu Zhengting said, she responded with "Mm," "Ah," or "Oh."
With the New Year approaching, the streets of Jiangcheng were decorated with countless colorful lights. Whether on trees or lampposts, every evening, the city's neon lights suddenly lit up, adorning the urban landscape. Xia Yan half-closed her eyes, watching the bustling commercial streets flash by, a wave of emotion washing over her.
This time last year, she didn't have Lu Zhengting by her side, but she had Xiao Lanzhi. Every New Year's Eve, Lin Xujia would drag her to the church to watch the city's grand fireworks display. But in just one year, things had changed so much. She rested her chin on her hands and sighed.
Xiao Han, munching on the snacks they'd bought, leaned over to Lu Zhengting and said in a soft voice, "Dad, will we spend New Year's at Sister Yan's place tomorrow?"
"Mm."
"Yay! Tomorrow we'll celebrate New Year at Sister Yan's!"
Hearing this, Xia Yan's brow furrowed instantly. She perked up and asked, "You're not going home for New Year's?"