Xiaohan had been eagerly looking forward to eating Xia Yan's cooking. As soon as school let out, he hurriedly had the driver take him to Lu Group. Xia Yan was now Lu Zhengting's assistant, which gave her a bit more free time compared to when she was in the project department—overtime was rare. When Xiaohan came to the company this time, the first person he sought out wasn't Lu Zhengting, but Xia Yan. Seeing this, the company employees' gossip about Xia Yan only intensified.
Xia Yan looked at Xiaohan, who had suddenly appeared in her office, stunned. "Xiaohan, why are you here?"
"I came to find you."
Hearing this, Xia Yan didn't need to guess—she knew exactly what this little foodie was after. She paused, glanced at the time, and realized Lu Zhengting was still in a meeting. She couldn't just leave on her own, but the meeting had only just started, and she had no idea when it would end. She patted Xiaohan on the head and settled him in the lounge of Lu Zhengting's office before hurrying off to deliver some documents to the conference room.
As Xia Yan entered the conference room with the documents, she immediately felt a wave of icy tension. She placed the papers in front of each person, and when she passed Ye Yunchen, she distinctly felt his burning gaze. Holding her breath, she acted as if nothing was wrong and set the documents in front of someone else. But when she reached Ke Yaru, she accidentally knocked over a water glass on the table.
Her expression shifted slightly, and she caught a glimpse of Lu Zhengting's sharp gaze from the head of the table. Her heart skipped a beat as she cleaned up the mess, apologizing repeatedly. Facing Ke Yaru, she noticed a flash of malice in the woman's eyes and felt a strong urge to dump the remaining water on her.
Suddenly, someone stood up and shouted at Xia Yan, "No eyes? Can't you be more careful?"
Xia Yan kept her head down, maintaining her attitude of admitting fault and correcting it, silently tidying the table. But the person who had spoken abruptly fell silent. Xia Yan looked up slightly and caught Lu Zhengting's icy glare directed at the speaker.
After a pause, Lu Zhengting's deep voice rang out, "Manager Shen, do you have a problem with my assistant?"
The air in the room instantly grew frigid, sending chills down everyone's spines. Xia Yan was inwardly shocked. She paused in wiping the table, noticing Ke Yaru's dark stare fixed on her. She snapped back to reality and quickened her pace.
Manager Shen, now singled out, was completely thrown off by the unexpected turn of events. He shook his head frantically, not daring to speak.
Ke Yaru glanced at Xia Yan and smiled. "Mr. Lu, Manager Shen is probably stressed out over the acquisition. He might not have controlled his emotions well. I believe his words were unintentional." She paused, glancing at Lu Zhengting's grim expression, then added with a smile, "Besides, Assistant Xia didn't mean to knock over the glass. I'm sure someone as magnanimous as Assistant Xia won't hold Manager Shen's actions against him. Right, Assistant Xia?"
Xia Yan silently observed Ke Yaru, who was speaking nonsense with a straight face. She never considered herself a magnanimous person, but she knew that dragging this out would only harm her.
"Manager Ke is right..."
Before she could finish, she felt Lu Zhengting's ambiguous gaze on her. She frowned inwardly as he said, "You can leave now."
Xia Yan exited the conference room, while Ke Yaru, who had been watching her closely, burned with fury at how Lu Zhengting protected her. The meeting continued as usual, with everyone reporting on their recent work.
Back in her office, Xia Yan couldn't calm her racing heart. It had been racing ever since Lu Zhengting coldly questioned Manager Shen. The meeting didn't last long, and as soon as she finished her tasks, she went to the lounge to find Xiaohan. To her surprise, Lu Zhengting was there too, talking to him.
"Sister Yan..." Xiaohan called out excitedly when he saw her, running from Lu Zhengting's side to hug her leg.
Xia Yan crouched down, wrapped her arms around him, and gently tapped his nose with her finger. "Little glutton."
Xiaohan pouted, his clear, bright eyes fixed on her as if he might pounce. "Sister Yan, you promised to cook for me today."
"I remember. After work, we'll go to the supermarket. You can pick whatever you want, and I'll cook it all."
Lu Zhengting, feeling ignored, narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat with a slight cough. "It's time to clock out."
"Already?" Xia Yan checked the time—there was still half an hour left.
She caught Lu Zhengting's gaze on her and suddenly recalled what had happened in the meeting. She opened her mouth to speak but then thought better of it. He was the boss; what he said went.
"So, we're off work now?"
"Yes."
"Straight to the supermarket?" Xia Yan asked uncertainly.
Lu Zhengting glanced at her, letting out a faint "Mm" from his nose, calm and composed.
Xiaohan was the happiest, laughing joyfully as he took Xia Yan's hand with one hand and Lu Zhengting's with the other, his round eyes darting between them. Suddenly, he lifted his feet, leaving his small body dangling in the air.
Xia Yan stumbled unexpectedly, leaning toward Lu Zhengting. Predictably, she ended up in his arms, hearing Xiaohan's giggles. She snapped back to reality and quickly pulled away.
Seeing her retreat so fast, Lu Zhengting frowned and glanced at her. "Get ready to leave."
He took Xiaohan's hand and walked out of the lounge first. Xia Yan stood frozen, watching the two figures—one big, one small—disappear, a strange emotion stirring within her.
When Ke Yaru came to the office looking for Lu Zhengting, she saw Secretary Zhou leaving with her bag. She stared at her coldly. "Where's Mr. Lu?"
"He left half an hour ago."
"Half an hour ago?"
"Yes."
"What about Xia Yan? Did she leave too?" Ke Yaru asked casually, catching the change in Secretary Zhou's expression. She glanced toward Xia Yan's office—empty. Narrowing her eyes, she gestured for Secretary Zhou to stop and turned away.
******
Since they needed to go to the supermarket for ingredients, Lu Zhengting had the driver clock out early for convenience. Xia Yan sat in the passenger seat, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face. She had instinctively headed for the front seat when getting in, catching Lu Zhengting's teasing look. She hadn't understood what he was smiling about until now.
It was all because of that damn subconscious habit.
This supermarket was one Xia Yan frequented. She always found the produce fresh and the selection abundant. She pushed the cart while Xiaohan sat in the child seat. As they passed the snack aisle, he kept pointing at things he wanted, but each item had to pass Xia Yan's scrutiny before going into the cart.
Xiaohan wasn't entirely happy about it but still enjoyed the process. Eventually, he started pointing at everything, making Xia Yan frown. "Xiaohan, remember what you promised me last time?"
He pouted, recalling how, during their last trip to the amusement park, he had overeaten sweets and ended up with indigestion, ruining the fun. He had begged Xia Yan to take him again, and she agreed on the condition that he cut back on sweets.
Suddenly remembering this important detail, Xiaohan tugged at Xia Yan's hand, whining, "Sister Yan, you promised to take me to the amusement park again, but you never said when."
"Next time I have a day off, I'll take you, okay?" Xia Yan smiled gently, unable to resist pinching his chubby cheeks.
Lu Zhengting walked leisurely beside Xia Yan, listening to their exchange and observing how she interacted with Xiaohan. His lips curved into a faint smile, his gaze fixed on her with undisguised affection.
It was peak hours at the supermarket. As they reached the candy aisle, someone stepped on Xia Yan's foot, causing her to stumble backward. Just as she was about to bump into someone behind her, Lu Zhengting grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.
"Careful."
"...Okay."
His voice was unusually soft, like a cool breeze on a summer day—chill yet warm. Xia Yan blinked, realizing he hadn't let go of her hand. Amid the noisy crowd, her heart felt calm. She could clearly feel the warmth of his palm transferring to hers. She glanced down at their joined hands.
After passing the candy aisle, they reached the fruit and vegetable section, where Xiaohan gleefully picked items. Every vegetable he chose shared one trait: bright colors and good looks. Xia Yan looked at the overflowing cart and sweatdropped.
Seeing Xiaohan still tossing things in, Xia Yan couldn't take it anymore. She tried to pull her hand free from Lu Zhengting's, but he wouldn't let go. She turned to him, puzzled, and said coolly, "Let go."
"It's crowded here. Holding hands is safer."
Xia Yan rolled her eyes and struggled harder, gritting her teeth. "Lu Zhengting, let go."
Their tussle caught Xiaohan's attention. He grinned at their clasped hands before quickly turning back to pick more visually appealing items.
Xia Yan sighed in resignation, unaware that two people ahead were watching them.