Xia Yan pushed the shopping cart through the aisles of various goods. As they passed the snack section, she noticed Xiao Han’s focused gaze lingering on the chocolate display. She stopped and looked at him. “These are all high in calories. I’ve already promised to make you a cake tonight, so no sweets allowed.”
“I know, I know. I’m just looking, not eating.” Xiao Han pouted, turning his head away to avoid the brightly colored snack packaging.
Lu Zhengting walked behind Xia Yan. The supermarket was bustling, with nearly everyone pushing a cart. Listening to the exchange between the two ahead, a faint smile tugged at his lips. His gaze locked onto Xia Yan as she pushed the cart into the produce section. Xiao Han walked beside her, holding her hand. She lowered her head, holding an eggplant in her other hand, staring at it for a long time, occasionally bringing it close to her nose to sniff. After much deliberation, she finally settled on one.
Xiao Han looked at the eggplant in her hand with disdain. “Sister Yan, why are you buying something so ugly?”
“Ugly?” Xia Yan said, a bit exasperated, staring at the row of eggplants. Her mood was complicated. If she judged things by Xiao Han’s standards, nothing here would pass muster—after all, potatoes, lotus roots, and cucumbers all looked equally ugly to him.
Xia Yan turned to glance at Lu Zhengting, who had been silently following behind, hoping for some support to counter Xiao Han. But Lu Zhengting sided with Xiao Han, agreeing that the eggplant was ugly.
Seeing this, she stubbornly chose the eggplant and tossed it into the cart. Eggplants are highly nutritious, but in these two’s eyes, nothing besides meat was both good-looking and edible. They were pure carnivores.
From then on, Xia Yan stopped asking for their opinions and picked out ingredients she deemed suitable on her own.
At checkout, after the cashier announced the total, Xia Yan instinctively reached into her bag for her wallet. But Lu Zhengting was faster, handing over his bank card to pay. The three of them left with their haul.
Xia Yan looked at the several large bags of items, a few black lines forming on her forehead. She didn’t remember grabbing this much, but seeing the bags in front of her was startling. Lu Zhengting carried bags in both hands. Xia Yan quietly stepped forward, trying to take some from him. She expected him to refuse her help, but instead, as soon as her hand reached out, he directly placed one set of bags into her palm.
Holding two moderately heavy bags, Xia Yan watched Lu Zhengting walking ahead and pouted. Where was the gentlemanly chivalry? Shouldn’t he have said this was no big deal?
Xiao Han followed Xia Yan, noticing her distraction. “Sister Yan, are you having trouble carrying that?”
“No, let’s hurry and catch up.”
Knowing Xiao Han was hungry, Xia Yan decided not to dwell on trivial matters. Fortunately, the bags weren’t too heavy, and she could manage the weight.
Lu Zhengting had parked the car in the underground lot outside the supermarket. She and Xiao Han waited at the entrance for him to drive it out.
When the understated yet luxurious Maybach pulled up in front of her, Xia Yan picked up the bags from the ground. After Xiao Han climbed into the back seat, she quietly got into the passenger seat. Dusk was settling, and the streetlights had already lit up, casting a warm yellow glow on the small patches of ground beneath them. Beside the lampposts stood trees with green leaves. The car sped past, stirring a breeze that rustled the leaves. The crescent moon hung high in the night sky, emitting a serene light.
The car was eerily quiet. Xia Yan turned to glance at Xiao Han in the back seat, only to find him already dozing off against the seat, his soft snores barely audible.
Seeing this, Xia Yan leaned forward slightly to lower the back seat’s air conditioning and adjusted the vent direction. Lu Zhengting, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, caught this in his peripheral vision. His brow furrowed slightly as he instinctively slowed down.
Xia Yan shifted her position, resting her elbow on the window, and yawned with half-closed eyes. She had to admit, keeping up with a child was exhausting, especially when participating in activities. For someone who wasn’t fond of exercise, the afternoon’s events had already exceeded the total amount of physical activity she’d done throughout college.
“Tired?”
His low voice carried a hint of seductive charm. Xia Yan half-opened her eyes and turned to glance at Lu Zhengting. “Mm, a little. Aren’t you tired?”
“Since you’re tired, don’t leave tonight. Report to Lu Corporation directly tomorrow.”
Xia Yan nodded lazily. It wasn’t until she realized what she’d agreed to that she mentally scolded herself. Why did she have to lose focus at a time like this?
Pausing, she suddenly sat up straight, ready to refuse Lu Zhengting seriously. But Xiao Han, who had been asleep, woke up just then. Hearing that Xia Yan was staying over, he got excited and looked at her eagerly. “Then Sister Yan can tell me another story tonight!”
Hearing this, Xia Yan frowned. The memory of Xiao Lan’s question at the hospital today came to mind: What exactly was going on between her and Lu Zhengting? She had firmly stated they were just friends, but before leaving the hospital, Xiao Lan had said that someone like Lu Zhengting was unattainable.
Xiao Lan’s words echoed faintly in her ears. She shook her head, her mood complicated. With a man like Lu Zhengting, her self-awareness had always been intact.
Back at the Lu residence, Lu Zhengting took all the ingredients into the kitchen. Seeing Xia Yan trailing behind absentmindedly, he frowned. Xia Yan instinctively grabbed the apron hanging behind the door and tied it around her waist. As she turned toward the stove, she didn’t notice him still standing there. Distracted, her forehead bumped straight into his shoulder.
It hurt a little, and she felt dizzy...
Xia Yan swayed slightly, and Lu Zhengting quickly reached out to grab her arm. “What are you thinking about?”
“Why are you still here?” Xia Yan rubbed her forehead, looking up at him with a soft exclamation.
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Oh, do you want to help? I wouldn’t mind...”
Lu Zhengting listened to her words. She sure had nerve. As he stared at her, she deftly grabbed another apron from behind the door and handed it to him. “If you want to help, put this on.”
Lu Zhengting recoiled in disgust, pushing the apron away. His brows knitted together as he silently glanced at her, then crossed his arms, his expression blank as he walked past her and left the kitchen under her watchful gaze.
Tch... Men who disdain the kitchen aren’t good men, Xia Yan muttered to herself. Even if he wanted to help, she’d rather not—he’d probably just get in the way.
Shaking off her thoughts, Xia Yan surveyed the mess of ingredients on the counter. She perked up, pulled the hair tie off her wrist, and casually tied her loose hair into a ponytail before starting to organize and prepare the ingredients.
Cold eggplant salad, braised beef, tomato and egg soup... and most importantly, the strawberry cake Xiao Han craved.
This strawberry cake was Xiao Han’s favorite flavor. When she first tried making it, she just wanted to give him a change of taste—eating the same thing every day was too boring.
While Xia Yan cooked in the kitchen, Lu Zhengting had already showered and changed into casual home clothes. His light-colored loungewear clung to him, his hair still half-damp with glistening droplets. He lazily walked to the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. The bright kitchen light illuminated Xia Yan as she held a spatula in one hand, stir-frying beef in the pan, while the other hand gripped the pan handle to toss the ingredients.
A fragrant aroma filled the air. She raised her hand, lightly dipping her fingertip into the sauce in the pan. The flavor was just right.
Lu Zhengting’s gaze was fixed on Xia Yan. When he saw her action, he frowned in surprise and instinctively took a step forward. But then she suddenly turned around, and their eyes met directly.
Startled, Xia Yan’s fingers uncontrollably touched the plate of freshly cooked food. The steam from the plate left her fingers slightly red. Realizing this, she quickly set the plate down on the counter and ran her reddened fingers under cold water for a while.
Turning off the tap, she finally said slowly, “Why don’t you make any noise when you walk?”
Lu Zhengting remained silent, leaving her with a blank expression as he turned and walked away.
How strange.
Xia Yan picked up the plate and headed to the dining room. Xiao Han was already sitting upright in his chair, waiting to eat. She glanced at him. “Did you wash your hands?”
“Yes, I’m starving.” Xiao Han picked up his chopsticks and bowl. Under Xia Yan’s expectant gaze, he went straight for the beef, completely ignoring the vegetables beside it, just like last time.
After Lu Zhengting sat down, the situation didn’t improve—it got worse.
In the end, Xia Yan watched the beef disappear while the vegetables remained untouched, her heart sinking. Xiao Han’s picky eating habit was truly ingrained.
Xia Yan couldn’t leave that night. After dinner, Xiao Han clung to her, following her everywhere. When he finally hugged her arm and begged, she had no choice but to pinch his cheek helplessly.
“Little devil, this trick works every time. You only use it on me, don’t you?”
“Sister Yan, why wouldn’t I use a trick that works?” Xiao Han winked at her, looking smug.
Seeing this, Xia Yan began to reflect inwardly. Why was she completely powerless against Xiao Han’s pleading?
When Lu Zhengting was home, he usually spent most of his time in the study handling work. As usual, Xia Yan lay on the bed and told Xiao Han a story. Once he fell asleep, she turned off the light and left.