"Dad said a real man should be flexible and yield softly," Zhengzheng only vaguely remembered the words.
Huh? Fang Yue was slightly confused by the words she heard, wondering what it meant to be flexible and soft, and why Zhengzheng had to pretend to cry.
Shen Yin, however, realized what was going on. How pitiful she felt for him last night, blaming herself for a while. Little did she expect that it was all an act orchestrated by Xu Xiuhe, who, at his age, was teaching a little kid to fake cry. How shameless.
"Zhengzheng, did your dad say that a real man should be flexible and yield softly? Did he ask you to pretend to cry?" Shen Yin patiently asked.
After a moment of thinking, Zhengzheng nodded, "Yes."
Fang Yue finally understood, "But why did your dad ask you to pretend to cry?"
"Dad said..." Zhengzheng started, pointing at the sofa, "Dad said the sofa was uncomfortable."
As Zhengzheng was about to continue, Shen Yin quickly interjected, "Zhengzheng, have a shrimp." She placed a shrimp in Zhengzheng's small bowl.
Fang Yue sensed something was off with Shen Yin's behavior. Could it be that Shen Yin wanted Xu Xiuhe to sleep on the sofa? She gave Shen Yin an inquisitive look, trying to read her expression, but Shen Yin's acting was too good to reveal anything.
In reality, Shen Yin could hardly keep up the act anymore. Just yesterday afternoon, she had told Fang Yue that there was no conflict between her and Xu Xiuhe. Now, if Fang Yue found out that Shen Yin had wanted Xu Xiuhe to sleep on the sofa last night, she would nag about it all day.
For now, Zhengzheng was Shen Yin's little buddy, and she couldn't let him spill the beans.
"Yin, in a marriage, you need to be understanding and tolerant of each other. Be careful not to let ill-intentioned people take advantage of any misunderstandings," Fang Yue advised in a seasoned tone.
"I know, Mom," Shen Yin replied. There was no misunderstanding between her and Xu Xiuhe. As for those trying to take advantage, it seemed there was one.
Shen Yin was furious. Why did she believe Zhengzheng and Xu Xiuhe's lies last night? Those two big liars.
After the meal, Shen Yin sent Xu Xiuhe a message:
[Be careful what you say to Zhengzheng in the future. Don't teach him to lie.]
Xu Xiuhe had already pinned Shen Yin's chat and set up message notifications. He had even changed her nickname to "Wife".
The moment he saw Shen Yin's message, without even thinking about how he was exposed, he immediately called her back in a lowered voice, "Wife, I was wrong. I won't do it again. From now on, I'll obediently listen to you."
On the other end of the phone, Shen Yin was once again rendered speechless by Xu Xiuhe's unique way with words.
After a long pause, Shen Yin said, "Be serious, I mean it."
"I am being serious," Xu Xiuhe replied.
"Nevermind, I'm hanging up." Without any warning, Shen Yin abruptly ended the call.
On his end, Xu Xiuhe stared at the disconnected phone in a daze. That was fast. It was the first time someone had hung up on him in years. So this was what it felt like.
In the group chat with Chang Zhiyuan and Xue Jingrui, Chang Zhiyuan sent a message: [Are you guys free tonight? Let's meet up at 8 PM at Qingfeng Mingyue.]
Xu Xiuhe replied: [No, I need to go home and spend time with my wife and kid.] He had just made some progress and couldn't afford to slack off now. He had to strike while the iron was hot. Shen Yin would eventually develop feelings for him.
[Oh, showing off your hot and cozy family life, huh? Xue Jingrui and I will hang out then.] Chang Zhiyuan tagged Xue Jingrui.
[I'm not free either. My parents have arranged a blind date for me tonight,] Xue Jingrui replied.
[That was so sudden! Is marriage the next step then? Waaah, I'm the only single dog left.] Chang Zhiyuan sent a crying emoji after his message.
[Yeah, it's pretty fast. Who's the other party?] Xu Xiuhe asked.
[Qi Ji]
[What a strange name, like a miracle,] Chang Zhiyuan had never heard that name before.
[The youngest daughter of the Qi family from Yang City,] Xue Jingrui explained.
Chang Zhiyuan was intrigued, [Oh, so she's not from Rong City. Will you go to Yang City then?]
[No need. I heard she's already in Rong City. This is supposed to be a blind date, but it's pretty much settled. Just like you said, marriage might be the next step. We'll meet tonight,] Xue Jingrui said.
[Holy shit, that's so sudden! I'm the real clown now. Buddy, that's not cool. Once you get married, my mom will nag me about getting married every day,] Chang Zhiyuan was shocked.
[No way, I'm coming too tonight. I want to see what Xue Jingrui's future wife looks like,] Chang Zhiyuan sent another message.
[It's just a blind date, why do you need to butt in? Any progress with Shu Yi?]
[No progress yet, but I still want to see this 'miracle' girl. As long as she's better than Qi Yan, it means your good deeds from your past life are being rewarded,] Chang Zhiyuan had always disliked Qi Yan. Years ago, Xu Xiuhe had walked away, but now Xue Jingrui seemed to be falling into the same trap. Chang Zhiyuan couldn't understand what was so appealing about that woman that had Xue Jingrui so infatuated.
[Xiuhe, you really don't want to come and take a look?] The talkative Chang Zhiyuan asked again.
[No, you go ahead. I need to go home and watch my son's TV drama tonight,] Xu Xiuhe replied.
Oh right, Chang Zhiyuan suddenly remembered that Shu Yi's drama was airing tonight. He should show some support. No problem, he could both see the spectacle and watch the drama at the same time, he reassured himself.
Xu Xiuhe had been busy with work today and had some documents left unfinished. Since it was Friday, he figured he could work a bit longer today and take tomorrow off. Liu Assistant could handle any less important matters.
Liu Assistant was currently packing up Xu Xiuhe's things at Ziyu Courtyard. After receiving Xu Xiuhe's message, he felt the need to tell the CEO that he needed time to deal with personal matters. After all, he wasn't that young anymore. All these years, he had traded his time for money.
When Liu Assistant arrived at Qinghe Villa where Shen Yin was staying, she was shocked to see him, "Aren't you Xu Xiuhe's assistant? Why are you here?"
"Madam, the CEO said that wherever his wife is, that's his home," Liu Assistant felt he had brilliantly conveyed and even elaborated on Xu Xiuhe's intentions. If the CEO knew about his reply, he would definitely give him a raise.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yin wished she could find a hole to crawl into. It was now quitting time, and the five young ladies were downstairs, barely holding back their laughter.
Holding Zhengzheng, Shen Yin turned around, intending to escape, "Please take it upstairs."
Liu Assistant followed them up.
The five young ladies exchanged glances, with only Wang Nannan looking puzzled, unaware of the situation.
"Here, one bottle each. It's a gift from the boss," Li Huanhuan took out some eye creams from behind the counter.
"Wow, these are so expensive!" Chen Nuan exclaimed.
Seeing Wang Nannan's confused expression, Li Huanhuan smiled, "Don't be surprised. Our boss's husband is the CEO of Heyuan Group. They're a sweet couple every day. There's even a fan club for them on social media called 'Galaxy CP.' You should join and fangirl over them."
"That's right, they're so shippable. The real-life CP is right in front of us. Oh my, I'm indulging in some sugar today," Jiang Meiyan eagerly promoted.
Unable to contain herself, Li Huanhuan said, "Let me share some sugar. These eye creams were bought by the boss's husband. He bought 10 bottles. His spending power is just too strong."
