"Are you at Zhengting's house? Tell me!" Ke Yaru suddenly stood up, slamming her palm on the desk in fury.
"No." Xia Yan remained calm, replying evenly.
"No? Xia Yan, I really underestimated you. He never lets women stay overnight at his place, yet you managed to!" Ke Yaru glared at Xia Yan fiercely. That morning, she'd received word that Lu Zhengting wouldn't be at the company today. She'd planned to swing by the Lu residence, but she never expected to see Xia Yan walking out of it. Sitting in her car at the time, she was so furious she felt like her lungs might burst. She'd known Lu Zhengting for years and never dared to ask to stay overnight at his place—what right did she have?
Xia Yan furrowed her brows slightly. "Manager Ke, I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"No idea?" Ke Yaru snorted coldly, pulling out her phone to show a photo. "Are you trying to tell me this isn't you in the picture? Or are you saying I'm blind?"
"...Manager Ke, this is work hours. The questions you're asking are personal matters, and I do have the right to refuse to answer. If you insist on being this aggressive, there's nothing I can do about it!"
"Xia Yan, Xia Yan, you!" Ke Yaru had never been so thoroughly dismissed. Her glare at Xia Yan was like a tiger ready to devour its prey. Furious at Xia Yan's composure, she suddenly swept everything off the desk with a crash.
"Manager Ke..."
"Shut up, Xia Yan. I'm warning you—stay away from Lu Zhengting."
At this, Xia Yan fell silent for a few seconds, neither nodding nor shaking her head.
"Do you hear me? Stop scheming about Xiaohan. Xia Yan, don't say I didn't warn you. Men like Zhengting playing around is perfectly normal. And besides, have you never wondered who Xiaohan's mother is?" Seeing Xia Yan's expression shift slightly, Ke Yaru took a breath, raised a hand to smooth her hair, and added casually, "Haven't you noticed how much Xiaohan looks like me?"
"..." Xia Yan was momentarily stunned. Xiaohan's face flashed through her mind, and Ke Yaru's words hit her like a sledgehammer. She stared at Ke Yaru—there was indeed some resemblance between them.
A thought suddenly surfaced in Xia Yan's mind, terrifying to the point she dared not believe it.
"I've said my piece. Xia Yan, I know about your relationship with the Xia family, and I know you're desperate to break free from them. If you keep clinging to Zhengting so cluelessly, don't blame me for being harsh." Ke Yaru felt like she'd won a victory with Xia Yan's current attitude. She didn't believe Xia Yan wouldn't care that she might be Xiaohan's mother.
The usually sharp-tongued woman seemed to lose her voice. Xia Yan glanced at Ke Yaru, who was looking down at her, and a faint smile curled at the corner of her lips. "Manager Ke, if there's nothing else, I'll head out first."
Seeing this, Ke Yaru stared at Xia Yan's retreating back in disbelief. Had Xia Yan not been affected? From a woman's perspective, she could clearly sense that Xia Yan's feelings for Lu Zhengting were far from superficial.
Sitting in her office, she looked out at the blazing sun. The scorching light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She squinted, phone in hand, pondered for a moment, then found a number and dialed.
As soon as Xia Yan returned, Li Ru leaned in and whispered, "What's up? Did she give you a hard time again?"
"No."
Li Ru propped her chin on her hand, eyeing Xia Yan thoughtfully. "Tch, Xia Yan, something's off. You've been acting weird since you came back from her office. But honestly, I can't figure it out. Manager Ke gives all the women in the company a hard time, but she doesn't target them—except you. She seems especially focused on your every move."
"I don't know why either."
"How strange. Oh, right, someone sent you flowers earlier—you haven't seen them yet, have you?" Li Ru winked and grinned.
At that, Xia Yan turned her head and noticed a bouquet of roses on her desk. She pulled out the note tucked among the flowers. The signature was from Brother Ye. Her heart skipped a beat. Seeing Li Ru's nosy expression, she quickly stuffed the note into her drawer.
"Work."
"Don't rush—tell me who sent them!"
"A friend."
"Boyfriend?" Li Ru covered her mouth with a laugh.
Xia Yan shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the topic with Li Ru. As luck would have it, Lu Zhengting, who rarely made rounds to inspect work, happened to walk by just then and overheard the comment.
Lu Zhengting cast a faint, ambiguous smile at Xia Yan, passing by without a word. Ke Yaru rushed down only after finding out. She approached Lu Zhengting, her cold gaze sweeping over Xia Yan. "Mr. Lu."
Xia Yan and Li Ru quickly stood up, chorusing, "Mr. Lu."
Lu Zhengting nodded solemnly, strolling around the area casually. His eyes landed on the bouquet of roses on Xia Yan's desk. Narrowing his gaze, he said in a low voice, "Who put those flowers here?"
"Mr. Lu, it was—"
"Don't you know the company prohibits office romances?"
The group behind Lu Zhengting exchanged awkward looks. Since when did the company have that rule? None of them knew about it.
Xia Yan was taken aback. She had a question she wanted to ask, but Lu Zhengting shot her a disdainful glance and left their floor with a cold expression.
Li Ru wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. "I've worked here for almost three years, and today's the first time I've seen Mr. Lu come down for an inspection. It's also the first time I've seen him this close. He's... really captivating."
Hearing this, Xia Yan snapped back to reality and tapped the desk. "Watch it—you have a boyfriend. I think he's just like any other man. He's got everything a man has, nothing special."
"Xia Yan, that shows you haven't been around many men. There are plenty of men in the world, but very few like Mr. Lu."
Xia Yan pursed her lips, glancing incredulously at Li Ru, who seemed to be falling under Lu Zhengting's spell.
"By the way, Xia Yan, who do you think Mr. Lu was talking about with that 'no office romances' rule?"
"How should I know? I'm not a mind reader."
"True. You've probably only seen him for the first time too."
"Yeah, first time."
Xia Yan went along with Li Ru's words. She didn't want to keep talking about Lu Zhengting. Glancing down, she tidied up and continued organizing documents.
Meanwhile, Ke Yaru followed behind Lu Zhengting. She found it increasingly hard to read his thoughts lately. For instance, why had he suddenly decided to inspect work?
Back in his office, Lu Zhengting loosened his cuffs and glanced at Ke Yaru, who seemed hesitant to speak. "What do you want to say?"
"Zhengting, haven't you noticed you're too concerned about Xia Yan?"
"That's not work-related."
"So you won't answer me, right?" Ke Yaru stared fixedly at Lu Zhengting, then added, "Mr. Lu, I'll head out now."
Lu Zhengting's expression was unreadable as he glanced at her. Just as she reached the door, he said flatly, "Remember your place."
At this, Ke Yaru froze on the spot. After a long silence, she resisted the urge to turn around, lifted her chin, and walked straight out of his office back to her own. Anyone who entered her office would find themselves cut short under her furious glare.
After Ke Yaru left, Lu Zhengting remained in the same position, sitting in his chair with his hands crossed over his stomach. The expensive watch on his wrist glinted under the scorching sun. The sudden ring of the phone on his desk broke his reverie.
Picking up the phone, he glanced at the caller ID and frowned. "Something up?"
"Xiao Ting, aren't you being a bit too harsh?"
"Hmm. He got off easy."
"With this brutality of yours, does Xia Yan know?" Xu Xiao rolled her eyes as she held the phone. She remembered how adorable Xiao Ting was as a kid—how had his temperament changed so drastically as an adult? It was like night and day.
Ning Dong stared intently at Xu Xiao, watching her hang up in a huff. He quickly sat beside her and soothed, "Xiao Xiao, mind the prenatal education, the prenatal education..."
"Sister-in-law, what did Lu Zhengting do to make you so mad?" Ning Nan asked lazily, munching on an apple. Seeing his brother dote on his wife, he couldn't help but shrug—what a henpecked husband!
"That brat. I handed over a good person to him, and he forced Yang Jinkuan to cut off one of his own fingers," Xu Xiao fumed. Yang Jinkuan had come from the underworld, once following the Xu family. When the Xu family went legit, he followed suit. Word had it that Yang Jinkuan was a favorite of Old Master Xu back in the day.
Ning Nan, unaware of the details, shrugged dismissively. "I thought it was something big."
"Watch your mouth when talking to your sister-in-law!" Ning Dong, seeing Xu Xiao upset, took it out on Ning Nan with a shout. Ning Nan froze, still biting into his apple.
"..."
Xu Xiao thought for a moment. "I remember my father talking about him when I was little. Yang Jinkuan knows when to bend and when to stand tall—a total smiling tiger. On the surface, he seems fine, but he's ruthless inside. Today, Xiao Ting cut off his finger. He won't let that pain go easily."
"Sister-in-law, Lu Zhengting's no pushover either."
"Hmm." Xu Xiao furrowed her brow and nodded.
Ning Nan finished his apple and looked at his brother. "I need to go pick up Xu Su from the airport."
"Little brother's coming back today? Why didn't he tell me?"
"Sister-in-law, I'm off."
"Ning Nan, how do you know!" Xu Xiao shouted, but got no response. The anger made Ning Dong beside her feel like his heart was on a roller coaster.
"Xiao Xiao, prenatal education, prenatal education. I'll deal with them when they get back."
"Fine, deal with them one by one. They're way out of line." Xu Xiao pouted, wrapped her arms around Ning Dong's neck, and leaned her head against his chest, her expression a mix of contentment and irritation.
After leaving the house, Ning Nan called Lu Zhengting, did what Xu Xiao had asked him to do yesterday, and then drove off to the airport to pick up Xu Su. It had been half a month, and the thought of seeing Xu Su soon got him excited.