Xia Yan crouched down to pick up the little yellow cat that was rolling on the ground, acting spoiled, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth. She had no immunity to these fluffy, adorable animals, and was instantly charmed by it, so she decisively adopted it.
Next, Xia Yan stepped straight into the life of a cat owner. After giving it a bath, she thought about taking it to get vaccinated, but realized it was already late and gave up on the idea. She then gave it a very cute name—Mengmeng.
Xia Yan held Mengmeng in her arms, her slender, fair fingers stroking its chin, feeling quite delighted.
"Ding-ding-ding..."
Hearing the doorbell ring, she set Mengmeng down on the sofa and got up to open the door. She saw Lu Zhengting holding Xiao Han with one hand and a supermarket bag in the other. The corner of her mouth twitched as she crossed her arms over her chest, smiling as she glanced at Lu Zhengting, then quickly shifting her gaze to Xiao Han, stepping aside to let them in.
On the doormat, the two of them were huddled together, whispering. Seeing this, Lu Zhengting cleared his throat a few times and walked in, only to find a little yellow cat staring at him with round, wide eyes, occasionally letting out a meow.
Feeling the shadow cast over her, Xia Yan lifted her head, hugged Mengmeng to her chest, and stood up. Xiao Han stood dazedly beside Xia Yan, head lowered, not daring to look at Lu Zhengting’s expression, because Lu Zhengting had a strong aversion to anything with fur.
Xia Yan had just learned this from Xiao Han. She genuinely liked the little cat, so she was very worried that Lu Zhengting would throw it out. Lu Zhengting’s gaze was fixed on the cat in Xia Yan’s arms, and he glanced at it with disdain, then averted his eyes and silently took a step back. "Throw it out."
Xia Yan bit her lip, her clear eyes staring straight at the expressionless man. Suddenly, she blinked, looking utterly pitiful. Seeing this, Mengmeng, nestled in Xia Yan’s arms, seemed to sense danger and quickly turned its head, its jade-like eyes fixed on Lu Zhengting, then rubbed its head against Xia Yan’s chest. At the sight, Lu Zhengting’s eyes turned green...
"Lu Zhengting, look how cute Mengmeng is. How could I bear to throw it out?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting narrowed his eyes. Before he could speak, he noticed Xia Yan pouting and muttering softly, "My new boyfriend isn’t doing his job at all..."
Lu Zhengting looked at Xia Yan with amusement, his deep voice still tinged with disdain as he said, "Stay away from me."
"Got it." Xia Yan cheerfully carried Mengmeng into the room. The cat’s sudden arrival had caught her off guard with no preparation, so she temporarily set up a little nest for it in her room for the night.
After settling Mengmeng, Xia Yan returned to the living room to find Xiao Han grinning at her. "Sister Yan, I’m so hungry."
Xia Yan glanced at Lu Zhengting, who was sitting expressionlessly, and nodded knowingly. She wondered if she was the cook for this big and little pair, as they always seemed to show up hungry, as if it had become a habit.
The things Lu Zhengting brought were no surprise to Xia Yan—all meat, but thankfully fresh. With swift, practiced movements, she worked skillfully. Xiao Han’s eyes sparkled as she drooled over the dishes on the table. Taking advantage of Xia Yan’s turn toward the kitchen, she quickly grabbed a bite with her little hand, munching away happily.
After the three of them finished dinner, Xia Yan cleaned up the kitchen, played with Xiao Han for a while, and then sent the pair off. Initially, Lu Zhengting had thought about staying over, but unfortunately, her place was too small. Since she and Xiao Han shared the bedroom, Lu Zhengting would have had to sleep in the living room.
At that moment, Xiao Han rubbed her eyes, drowsily leaning against the seat back, on the verge of sleep. Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, she jolted awake, grabbed her seatbelt with her little hand, and turned to stare at the serious-faced Lu Zhengting. Her childish voice slowly filled the car, "Dad, do you like Sister Yan?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xiao Han, who was asking him seriously. He neither nodded nor shook his head. Xiao Han giggled, her eyes curving into crescents, looking very cute. "I really like Sister Yan. I wish she could be my mom."
Lu Zhengting smiled and reached out to pat Xiao Han’s head, saying with a hint of amusement, "Okay."
******
Lately, work at the company had been piling up. Xia Yan followed Lu Zhengting around, attending meetings almost every day, as if that was all there was to do. Whenever she appeared in the conference room, she could always feel Ke Yaru’s icy gaze on her. And when she saw Ke Yaru speaking eloquently at the meetings, followed by Lu Zhengting’s approving expression, a sour feeling crept into her heart. Even though she hid her emotions—something a man might not understand—Ke Yaru, being a woman, saw it clearly, especially since most of her attention was fixed on Xia Yan.
It took an entire morning to finish the meeting. Xia Yan had to stay behind to organize the documents, while Lu Zhengting had other plans for lunch. She was the last to leave, and as soon as she stepped out of the conference room, she saw Ke Yaru leaning against the doorframe, smirking at her.
"Feeling upset?" Ke Yaru smiled faintly and said lightly.
"What makes you think I’m upset?" Xia Yan shot back without anger.
"Xia Yan, we’re both women. Do you think just because you hide it well, I won’t notice? I warned you before—someone like you doesn’t deserve a man like Zhengting."
"How strange. Someone like me? What kind of person am I? Whether I’m worthy or not isn’t for you to decide."
Ke Yaru smiled slightly, raised her delicate hand to smooth her hair, and stared at her sharply. "At work, what ability do you have to help Zhengting? In life, do you know him better than I do? In terms of time, I knew him long before you even showed up."
Xia Yan frowned, glanced at the smug Ke Yaru, and countered calmly, "So what? At least I’m with him now! But you? Your status hasn’t changed at all."
Xia Yan’s words struck Ke Yaru like a fatal blow. She glared at Xia Yan coldly, speaking slowly, "Countless women have appeared by Zhengting’s side. You’re just one of many. And to me, you’re not even worth being an enemy."
"Really?" Xia Yan caught the surprise and anger in Ke Yaru’s eyes and smiled, adding, "If I’m not even an enemy in your eyes, then why have you warned me so many times? Isn’t it because I’ve become a threat to you? Isn’t it because you already know that Lu Zhengting likes me?"
"Xia Yan, you..."
"Manager Ke, don’t get angry. Because when you get angry, it only confirms what I just said. After all, I feel the same way—you’re not even an enemy in my eyes."
With that, Xia Yan hugged her files, held her head high, and walked past Ke Yaru, leaving the conference room. Ke Yaru stood there, fuming with rage, glaring at the spot where Xia Yan had disappeared. She wanted to see how long Xia Yan could keep up her arrogance!
Ke Yaru stomped back to her office in her high heels, then called the HR manager in. She calmly looked at the hurried Manager Shen and pointed to the chair in front of her desk. "Manager Shen, have a seat."
"Manager Ke, is there something you need?"
"Of course there is." Ke Yaru smiled and pulled a file from her drawer. "Write a termination letter for him."
Manager Shen took the file, glanced at it, and looked surprised. "This person..."
"This was ordered by Mr. Lu. Handle it today."
Hearing it was Lu Zhengting’s order, Manager Shen had no objections and left Ke Yaru’s office with the task.
That afternoon, Xia Yan had just returned from meeting a client with Lu Zhengting. Finally having a moment of free time, she headed to the break room to get some coffee. But as soon as she arrived, she overheard their discussion and learned that Ye Yunchen had been suddenly fired. She grabbed the person speaking and asked in confusion, "Is what you’re saying true?"
"Of course it’s true. Our manager is about to leave." Coco glanced at Xia Yan, who looked skeptical, and smiled. "Xia Yan, do you think Ye Yunchen’s dismissal has something to do with you?"
"Coco, what nonsense are you talking about! Manager Ye’s dismissal was the company’s decision, not Xia Yan’s. Are you picking on her because you think she’s an easy target?"
Li Ru had come to the break room to find Xia Yan and happened to hear Coco causing trouble. Seeing Xia Yan spaced out, she couldn’t help but snap back at Coco. She came over to Xia Yan and nudged her with her elbow. "What are you thinking about?"
Xia Yan set down her cup, patted Li Ru’s shoulder, and said quickly, "Thanks for that. But I need to go find out what’s going on."
Before Li Ru could stop her, Xia Yan had already run off. Li Ru rolled her eyes, then glanced at Coco’s sneering face, feeling irritated. Why did she have to deal with this?
When Xia Yan reached Ye Yunchen’s office, she saw him packing up his things. She took a big step forward, panting, and reached out to stop him. "What’s going on?"
Ye Yunchen looked up briefly at Xia Yan, appearing somewhat dejected, but his gaze at her was still full of affection. He paused, opened his mouth, but then fell silent.
Seeing this, Xia Yan stared at him anxiously. She knew Ye Yunchen was an ambitious and idealistic man who needed to make a name for himself. She couldn’t understand why Lu Corporation had hired him at a high price only to fire him now.
When Ye Yunchen remained silent, Xia Yan didn’t hesitate. "I’ll go talk to Lu Zhengting. With your abilities, this shouldn’t be happening."
Hearing this, Ye Yunchen stopped moving. He looked up at Xia Yan. "Xia Yan, you’re with him now, aren’t you?"
"Brother Ye, this isn’t the time for that. I..."