After Xia Yan finished with her resume, she would go to the Lu residence to keep Xiao Han company whenever she had no classes. Everyone knew Xiao Han had a sweet tooth, and at his request, she had been making cakes for a whole week straight. But Xiao Han had absolutely no restraint when it came to sweets—he ate whenever he wanted, consequences be damned.
Xia Yan arrived at the Lu residence as promised and happened to see Xiao Han stepping out of another car with a gentlemanly air, his expression cold. But the moment he spotted her, a smile instantly lit up his face as he sprinted toward her.
"Sister Yan, I missed you so much."
"Xiao Han, if I remember correctly, we just saw each other yesterday."
"Isn't it 'a day apart feels like three years'?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan pinched his cheek. "Who taught you that?"
"I figured it out myself." Xiao Han lifted his chin, looking at Xia Yan with a proud, smug expression. Did he really need someone to teach him something so simple?
Xia Yan curled her lips and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, our Xiao Han is the smartest. These little things are child's play for you, no teaching needed."
Xiao Han nodded in satisfaction, took her hand, and headed straight for the kitchen. "Sister Yan, I want cake today too."
"No," Xia Yan said firmly. Xiao Han had been eating cake every day for a week. If this kept up, his teeth would rot. She frowned deeply. "No cake today, but you can have something else."
"No, I want cake!" Xiao Han angrily yanked his hand away, standing stiff and straight with a cold face, his starry eyes fixed intently on Xia Yan.
"No!" Xia Yan's temper flared too—she was someone who meant what she said. Her calm but resolute tone made Xiao Han so furious he stomped his feet on the spot.
"I want it!"
"I'm not making it!"
"..." A war was about to break out in the kitchen. The servants who had been busy there, sensing the tension, quietly slipped out and hid to the side. When the young master threw a tantrum, even Master Lu had no way to handle him.
Xiao Han paced frantically around the kitchen, and in a fit of rage, grabbed the nearest thing and hurled it to the ground without a second thought. A series of crashes echoed from the kitchen. A servant standing not far from Xia Yan cautiously edged closer and whispered in her ear.
"Miss Xia, don't go near him right now. Once the young master vents his anger, it'll be over."
"Is this how you always handle things?" Xia Yan glanced at the servant, her tone flat.
The servant sighed at the displeasure in Xia Yan's voice. "We don't want to either, but when the young master loses his temper, even Master Lu can't do anything. What can we servants do?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan frowned and walked over to Xiao Han just as he picked up a glass bowl to smash it. But her reaction wasn't fast enough—the bowl hit the floor with a sharp crack, shattering into pieces. Xia Yan glared at Xiao Han in anger, then, as if remembering something, suddenly crouched down and began picking up the shards one by one. Distracted, she cut her finger on a sharp piece, leaving a long gash.
"Sister Yan, your hand is bleeding!" Xiao Han's eyes went wide with alarm. Spotting a man who had just appeared at the kitchen door, he rushed over. "Dad, come quick! Sister Yan's hand is bleeding a lot!"
Xia Yan felt an unusual gaze fixed on her. She paused in her motion to cover the wound, slowly lifting her head to look at Lu Zhengting, saying nothing for a long moment.
Lu Zhengting released Xiao Han's grip on his clothes, strode over to Xia Yan, and crouched down. His eyes locked onto her injured finger—the cut was deep, and bright red blood kept seeping out. The injured party didn't seem bothered, but the father and son present stared at her with grim or poker-faced expressions. Xiao Han, in particular, looked at her with guilt and worry.
"I'm fine, don't look at me like that."
Lu Zhengting bent down, reached out, and scooped her up in his arms.
"Lu Zhengting, what are you doing? Put me down!" Xia Yan hadn't expected him to pick her up in front of everyone. She had been so careful to keep her distance from him, to avoid any entanglement, but everything was going against her plans, veering off course.
She struggled to get down, but Lu Zhengting set her on the sofa. A servant had already placed a first-aid kit in front of them. Xiao Han followed closely, but the moment he saw Xia Yan's bleeding finger, he squeezed his eyes shut. She couldn't help but laugh at that.
Her laugh lasted less than half a second before she let out a soft yelp of pain.
Lu Zhengting's sudden actions left her no time to think. Awkwardly holding gauze and Yunnan Baiyao止血 powder in one hand, he sprinkled it on the wound and wrapped the gauze around and around.
"Still feel pain?" Lu Zhengting looked at her coldly, his tone unusually stern.
Xia Yan pouted. Of course she felt pain! And she noticed Lu Zhengting deliberately pressing on her wound—she wasn't blind!
Seeing her finger wrapped up like a dumpling, she felt like crying but had no tears.
Lu Zhengting paused, then called Xiao Han over. "Why did you throw a tantrum all of a sudden?"
"I wanted cake." Xiao Han hung his head, speaking in a tiny voice, not daring to look at Xia Yan.
Seeing this, Xia Yan gently tugged at Lu Zhengting's clothes, waved Xiao Han over, and called him to her. She lifted her injured hand, then switched to the other one to ruffle his hair.
"Xiao Han, if you promise Sister Yan you won't eat cake today, I'll make you a different flavor next time," Xia Yan said softly, her gentle tone a stark contrast to Lu Zhengting's crisp, stern voice. Xiao Han's attitude visibly softened.
He blinked and pouted at Xia Yan. "Fine, but next time I want to eat as much as I want."
With that, Xiao Han, still full of grievance, leaned into Xia Yan and hugged her, mumbling in her ear, "Dad just yelled at me!"
Kids were really just kids. Xia Yan stole a glance at the expressionless man out of the corner of her eye. No matter what he did, he made her heart race. When he had suddenly held her in his arms earlier, she felt like her heart wasn't her own anymore.
Lu Zhengting watched Xia Yan whisper something in Xiao Han's ear. Xiao Han then grinned slyly at Lu Zhengting, climbed onto the sofa, and pressed his mouth to Xia Yan's ear, talking and laughing.
Lu Zhengting hadn't expected Xiao Han to recover his mood so quickly. In the past, with his temper, he would have turned the house upside down before calming down—never this easy to deal with!
To comfort Xiao Han's wounded little heart, Xia Yan decided to cook dinner herself to cheer up the little treasure. Remembering his picky eating habits from last time, she searched her mind for kid-friendly dishes.
When she got up and headed back to the kitchen, Lu Zhengting was momentarily stunned. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to cook."
"Cook?" Lu Zhengting's eyes swept over her finger, wrapped like a dumpling by his own hand, clearly doubting her ability.
"Don't underestimate me." Xia Yan raised her uninjured hand. Even hurt, she could still whip up a meal.
She entered the kitchen, tied on an apron, and grabbed the utensils. The servant standing nearby, stunned, only snapped out of it when she finished the last dish.
Taking off the apron, Xia Yan accepted the towel the servant handed her and wiped the sweat from her forehead. As she raised her hand, she caught a whiff of the kitchen grease on her clothes and grimaced. She could cook, but she hated the smell of oil smoke.
The two waiting outside had already taken their seats at the dining table without needing an invitation, sitting up straight. Xia Yan was frustrated by Xiao Han's habit of only eating meat. The meat was devoured clean, while the green vegetables beside it remained untouched.
"Ahem..." Xia Yan cleared her throat, glancing up at Lu Zhengting, who was eating with a straight face.
"Drink some water." Lu Zhengting placed his own glass in front of Xia Yan without even looking up.
"I'm not thirsty." Xia Yan stabbed her chopsticks into her bowl, slanting her gaze at Lu Zhengting. She noticed his chopsticks also avoided any green vegetables.
She remembered what Xiao Han had said last time—she'd forgotten that Xiao Han's eating habits were almost a carbon copy of Lu Zhengting's.
Same aversion to vegetables, only eyes for meat.
"Xiao Han, you're still growing. You can't just eat meat, you know?" Xia Yan picked up a piece of vegetable with her chopsticks, but before she could put it in his bowl, he grabbed his bowl and dodged away.
"Xiao Han?!"
"I've never eaten that nasty stuff, and I'm still growing fine."
Xia Yan's face darkened. She glanced at Lu Zhengting, as if to say, "If you eat it, Xiao Han will too."
Lu Zhengting looked at the vegetable in Xia Yan's hand with disgust, took a few reluctant bites, then put down his chopsticks and stared sternly at Xiao Han. "Eat your vegetables."
"No! Dad, you never eat them either, so why should I?"
"Xiao Han, if Dad eats them too, will you?" Xia Yan seized the opportunity, quickly speaking up and subtly winking at Lu Zhengting.
"I never eat them."
"..." Playing a one-woman show was exhausting!
All evening, Xia Yan tried to persuade Xiao Han to eat some vegetables, but no matter what she said, he was adamant—no meant no. Threats and bribes were useless, and she had Lu Zhengting sitting right beside her, undermining her efforts.
After dinner, Xia Yan played with Xiao Han for a while before leaving the Lu residence.
As usual, Lu Zhengting drove her back to school. Xia Yan had gotten into the habit of heading straight for the passenger seat, which Lu Zhengting appreciated.
The car's air conditioning was blasting cold air right at her. She rubbed her arms, lifted her head, and gazed out the window at the city nightscape flashing by—passing streets, red and green lights, and the laughing crowds in the sleepless city.