"Xia Yan, you don't need to ask."
"Why not ask? Do you know the reason?" Xia Yan stared fixedly at Ye Yunchen as she spoke.
But Ye Yunchen only shook his head. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked, "Xia Yan, without Lu Zhengting's permission, would HR have fired me?"
"No, he wouldn't do that. Brother Ye, could there be some misunderstanding here?"
As Ye Yunchen's words fell, Xia Yan pondered for a moment before uttering that sentence. It seemed to express her stance—she believed Lu Zhengting wouldn't do such a thing. A bitter smile crept onto Ye Yunchen's lips. What good was reluctance? He had lost his job and lost Xia Yan. What else did he have?
"Brother Ye..."
"Xia Yan, don't say anymore."
Ye Yunchen stood before Xia Yan, clutching his belongings. His deep brown eyes locked onto her, brimming with affection and obsession. "See me out of the company."
Hearing this, Xia Yan was momentarily stunned, unsure of what he meant. But seeing his haggard appearance, she found it hard to ask further. Frowning slightly, she nodded silently and followed him out of the office building. As they stood by the bustling street, he stared at her without a word. She touched her cheek in confusion. "Brother Ye, is there something on my face?"
Ye Yunchen's gaze was fixed on Xia Yan. Suddenly, he said, "You and Lu Zhengting are together."
It was a statement, not a question. Xia Yan wanted to shake her head in denial, but when she caught the dim light in Ye Yunchen's eyes, she silently nodded. Perhaps she shouldn't have hidden it from him. Only this way could she make him give up on her and notice the other scenery around him.
Her intentions were good, but she had never truly understood Ye Yunchen—or rather, she had never truly entered his heart.
Ye Yunchen maintained his gentlemanly demeanor, smiled as he bid Xia Yan farewell, and then turned to disappear into the crowd. Xia Yan stood frozen, watching his solitary figure, deeply worried. She suddenly ran forward but stopped in her tracks, deciding not to chase after him. After a moment's thought, she called Lin Xujia and gave her a rough account of what had happened.
When she looked up, Ye Yunchen was already gone from the crowd.
Xia Yan returned to the company absentmindedly, only to hear the office buzzing with gossip, which only soured her mood further. Passing by Secretary Zhou's office, she casually asked, "Secretary Zhou, is Mr. Lu in his office?"
"Is there something Assistant Xia needs from Mr. Lu? He's meeting with a client right now."
"Nothing, just asking." Xia Yan waved her hand and slowly made her way back to her office, mulling over Ye Yunchen's words. Deep down, she still believed Lu Zhengting wouldn't do such a thing, as she couldn't find a plausible reason for him to act that way.
Shaking her head, she decided to put the thought aside for now.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhengting was meeting with Ning Xi, who had come from the northern city. Ning Xi stared at him seriously, frowning deeply. "The mastermind behind the northern city incident is Yang Jinkuan."
"Him?"
Ning Xi nodded, then suddenly laughed. "I heard you once forced him to cut off a finger?"
Lu Zhengting didn't deny it. His well-defined fingers tapped lightly on the desk from time to time. In his view, losing a finger hadn't taught Yang Jinkuan a lesson. Ning Xi sat on the opposite sofa, his expression relaxed, shifting from concern to a gossipy grin. "Ting Ge, why don't you call out my famous sister-in-law for us to see?"
Ning Xi was three years younger than Lu Zhengting, so calling him "Ge" felt natural. Last time in the northern city, he vaguely remembered the second brother calling a woman to take care of him, but he was too busy to pay attention. Now that the matter was resolved, his task was complete, and he had plenty of time to enjoy Lu Zhengting's drama.
Lu Zhengting glanced at Ning Xi expressionlessly and said flatly, "I'm treating tonight. Mingzhai."
Hearing this, Ning Xi couldn't help but say, "Are the eldest and the others still in Jiangcheng? Call them over. What about the second brother? I called him yesterday, and he said he's filming in Jiangcheng. He has to come too. Most importantly, we need to invite our sister-in-law."
When it came to treating people to dinner, none of them held back.
Ning Xi winked, suddenly stood up from the sofa, straightened his pants, and adjusted his sleeves. "Ting Ge, keep working. Since I've got nothing to do, I'll go visit the second brother on set."
Lu Zhengting didn't even spare Ning Xi a glance, simply lowering his head to focus on work. Ning Xi, used to this, reminded him as he reached the door, "Watch out for Yang Jinkuan. You know he used to work for the Xu family."
After saying this, Ning Xi noticed Lu Zhengting still ignoring him, shrugged, nodded nonchalantly, and left the office. Heading toward the elevator, he happened to spot Xia Yan walking toward him with a stack of documents. A lightbulb went off in his head, and he strode over to block her path. "Do you remember me?"
Startled, Xia Yan leaned back, looked up at the unfamiliar man, and searched her memory before saying quietly, "Sorry, I don't remember."
Ning Xi blinked and smiled. "No worries. We'll meet again soon."
Xia Yan stared at the smiling man, puzzled. His fair skin seemed even better than a woman's—thick brows, big eyes, faint brown pupils, a high nose bridge, and thin, sexy lips. When he smiled, faint dimples appeared. Dressed in light-colored clothes, tall and fit, he looked sunny and clean, like a character from a manga. Catching the teasing in his eyes, Xia Yan remained expressionless as she watched him. Finally, Ning Xi ended the conversation and slowly walked past her.
Xia Yan found it all strange but didn't dwell on it. She carried the documents to Lu Zhengting's office as usual. It wasn't until she saw Ning Xi again that evening that she realized they had met before.
Xia Yan had been to Mingzhai once before, under Lu Zhengting's coercion. But this time was different—she came as his girlfriend. When she walked in on his arm as the final guest, feeling everyone's teasing gazes, her face flushed red. Little Han, who had been holding her hand, let go and ran to Xu Xiao, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh heartily.
Xu Xiao's smiling eyes fixed on Xia Yan, sending a chill down her spine.
After they sat down, Ning Xi didn't wait for Lu Zhengting to introduce everyone. He extended his hand and smiled at Xia Yan. "Little sister-in-law, I told you we'd meet again."
Xia Yan shook his hand with a smile, searching her memory for him.
Ning Nan, sitting next to Ning Xi, saw Xia Yan's furrowed brow and knew she hadn't recognized Ning Xi. He recalled how, when he first met Xia Yan, even in the dim light of the private room, she hadn't remembered his name. The feeling was indescribable—he was such a famous star...
"Ning Xi. I'm Ning Xi, the third in the family." Ning Xi introduced himself. Seeing Xia Yan nod in understanding, he asked, puzzled, "Little sister-in-law, what's with that expression?"
Xia Yan pursed her lips and said lightly, "I'm wondering if Ning Bei is the fourth."
Xu Xiao couldn't help but laugh. "Of course. The Ning family has four sons: Dong, Nan, Xi, Bei. Only the youngest is missing now."
Ning Xi glanced at Xu Xiao, then at the eldest, Ning Dong, and fell silent.
Xia Yan looked around the table, sensing something off. It seemed like Xu Su was missing...
Her gaze landed on Ning Nan. Lu Zhengting, sitting beside her, noticed and casually asked Ning Nan, "Where's Xu Su?"
"How should I know? I've been busy with schedules and filming."
As Ning Nan spoke, Xu Xiao put down her chopsticks and stared at him. "Nan Nan, are you and Su Su fighting again?"
Ning Nan frowned and replied calmly, "Sister-in-law, saying that makes it sound like Xu Su and I have something going on."
"Don't you?" Xu Xiao spread her hands, turned to Ning Dong, and asked calmly.
Any question Xu Xiao asked Ning Dong would only have one answer: whatever his wife said was right. Ning Dong naturally followed up, saying to Ning Nan, "Of course you do."
Xia Yan, who had been quietly observing, burst out laughing at this, especially when she saw Ning Nan holding his head in pain, looking like he wanted to get up and leave. Ning Nan didn't dare to retort to Xu Xiao, but could he not retort to Xia Yan? He glared at her, only to feel Lu Zhengting's sharp gaze in return. He couldn't help but feel sorry for himself—why had he come here instead of working? Ning Dong was practically selling out his brother!
Xu Su did show up, just a little late. Xia Yan looked at the table full of handsome men and beautiful women and couldn't help but marvel at the Ning family's genes. Any one of the three present was either a hunk, a flower boy, or a seductive charmer. Xia Yan smacked her lips unconsciously, an innocent gesture that took on a different meaning in Lu Zhengting's eyes.
After dinner, Lu Zhengting drove Xia Yan back to her apartment. Little Han, having had too much fun, was dozing off in the back seat. Xia Yan couldn't stop laughing, recalling how Ning Nan and Ning Xi had chatted together during the meal, like a pair of comedians.
Lu Zhengting kept his focused gaze on the road, but his peripheral vision caught Xia Yan still chuckling. The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a graceful arc, his eyes brimming with deep affection.
As the car entered the garage, Xia Yan glanced at the seemingly asleep Little Han and decided not to have Lu Zhengting escort her upstairs. But when she unlocked the door and saw the mess inside, she was so startled she stepped back outside.