When Cheng Ziming and Lin Chu were together, they often visited the orphanage together, but Mo Jingxi was still very young then and could not remember it.
When he started to develop memories, Cheng Ziming had already gotten together with Lin Yuwen and was cheating on Lin Chu. That was when he had stopped visiting the orphanage.
Mo Jingxi had first met Cheng Ziming at the courthouse.
When Mo Jingxi recognized him, he was very angry. His little legs carried him as fast as he could while he called out "Chu Chu", He ran in front of Lin Chu and tried to use his little body to protect Lin Chu from being hurt by Cheng Ziming.
The other children came out and surrounded Lin Chu, they were using their little bodies to separate Lin Chu from Cheng Ziming.
They all looked at Cheng Ziming like a common enemy. The children might be small in size, but there were many of them. Cheng Ziming did not dare to do anything rash.
Supervisor Yang from the subdistrict office arrived at that moment to visit the old Princ.i.p.al and saw the commotion.
"What"s going on?" Supervisor Yang recognized Cheng Ziming. He was that b.a.s.t.a.r.d who had a good relations.h.i.+p with Lin Chu but ended up betraying her.
It was lucky that Lin Chu found herself a good man and was leading a good life. Cheng Ziming could not even be compared to the mud under Yan Beicheng"s feet.
"What are you doing bullying a woman and children on the street?" Supervisor Yang pushed up her sleeves and called him out fiercely.
Cheng Ziming did not want to get into more trouble with them, especially when he was singled out by the crowd. He quickly nodded at Lin Chu and made his escape hurriedly.
"Chu Chu, are you okay?! Did he bully you?" Mo Jingxi hugged Lin Chu"s leg and looked up at her.
Lin Chu shook her head and rubbed his head. She gave the other children a warm smile, "No, he didn"t. It was all thanks to all of you brave little men. I feel safe with every one of you protecting me."
Mo Jingxi blushed slightly at the praise. His cute little head could not help nodding at the words, "I"m very good at protecting others. I"ll protect everyone when there"s danger!"
"Great, I"ll have you to look after me," Lin Chu looked at Mo Jingxi"s cute little face. She loved looking at him. She could not help raising her hand and pressing her palms on his little cheeks. She gave it a few rubs and rubbed his face into a little piggy face.
Not long after, she followed Supervisor Yang and the children into the orphanage happily.
Lin Chu had brought over some fruits. While she was was.h.i.+ng the fruits in the kitchen, a WeChat notification came onto her phone.
Lin Chu wiped her hands and took out her phone. It was from Zuo Qiu.
Zuo Qiu, "Mrs. President, Mr. President went out for dinner with a client last night. He only drank a little alcohol. He especially ordered a bowl of soup from room service when he got back to the hotel room. He also ate breakfast this morning according to schedule."
Lin Chu instructed earlier that if he had to drink at night and did not eat much, he had to order some soup when he returned to the hotel. Even if it was a simple spicy and sour soup, it would still warm his gastric and help him clear his head from the alcohol.
Lin Chu did not want to disturb Yan Beicheng at work. Besides, if he did drink too much, they would not be able to chat properly on the phone anyway. It would also disrupt his rest, so she decided to keep in touch with Zuo Qiu instead and got him to give reminders to Yan Beicheng.
She did not expect Yan Beicheng to have the initiative to take care of himself.
When he was outstation, she could not do much. Even if Yan Beicheng did lie to her and said that he had done everything she had asked, she would not find out. Besides, she would always believe him.
But Yan Beicheng knew that she would be worried and wanted her to feel that her concern was appreciated. Even if he was outstation and inconvenient, he still tried his best to follow her instructions.
Lin Chu knew his effort and now felt warm and fuzzy over it.
As she prepared to reply Zuo Qiu, she suddenly received a message from him with a string of words she did not really understand, "Mrs. President, don"t worry.Mr.President"shealthisawesomelyfine."
Lin Chu, "…"
Zuo Qiu wanted to secretly send the message to Lin Chu. He did not expect a sudden chill behind his back, like something bad was gazing at him. It made his skin crawl.
Zuo Qiu stiffened and slowly turned back to see Yan Beicheng suddenly appearing behind him. He was straining his neck to look at Zuo Qiu"s phone screen.
As he saw Zuo Qiu turn back to look, Yan Beicheng raised an eyebrow, "Are you moonlighting?"
Zuo Qiu"s hands trembled and accidentally sent out his message without checking it.
"Mr… Mr. President!" Zuo Qiu immediately stood up and came close to giving him a bow.
Yan Beicheng clicked his tongue and decided to ignore him. He turned away to give Lin Chu a call.
Lin Chu was watching the words that had no s.p.a.cing. It was taking her some time to decipher the words as everything was connected into one big sentence.
After reading a few words, a call came in.
Lin Chu looked to see that it was from Yan Beicheng.
Lin Chu suddenly felt a little guilty. She was in the middle of chatting with Zuo Qiu and Yan Beicheng suddenly called in. Did he find out that Zuo Qiu was acting as her double agent?
"h.e.l.lo?" Lin Chu said nervously, her voice reflected what she was feeling and was all over the place.
Yan Beicheng laughed silently at the sound of her voice. He could almost see her anxious demeanor through the phone, it was really funny.
Yan Beicheng"s heart straight towards B City. He wished fervently to be able to get there through the phone and appear right in front of Lin Chu. He wanted to see her nervous expression.
Yan Beicheng glanced at Zuo Qiu and walked away from him. He found a private corner and lowered his voice, "Did you arrange a spy by my side?"
Lin Chu was feeling uneasy about it. Now that Yan Beicheng had brought it up, she felt more anxious, "I"m worried you can"t manage to take care of yourself out there. I didn"t get someone to spy on you, you… I won"t do it next time."
Yan Beicheng"s heart tightened at Lin Chu"s fearful tone. There were many times when things would easily become a misunderstanding if one did not bring it up and talk about it.
He sighed and said gently, "I"m just joking around. Can"t you tell that I don"t blame you at all?"
She was so worried about Yan Beicheng misunderstanding her that she did not notice his tone at all. Now that he was emphasizing his words with an even gentler tone, it sounded so sweet. It was impossible to recognize a sweet tone like that unless one was deaf.
That was how Lin Chu knew that he was not angry. She started to act coquettish with him, "Yup, I can"t tell at all."
Yan Beicheng snorted with laughter, "I know you"re concerned over me, but why didn"t you ask me yourself? You didn"t need to ask Zuo Qiu. He doesn"t know every single thing about me."
"I didn"t want to disturb you or your work, or even disturb your rest. You"re so busy working out there and you need to meet clients. What if you were working or with a client when I call you? What if you were drinking and I"ve disturbed your meeting at the drinking table? What if you were tired, and I"ve disturbed your resting, or what if…" Lin Chu explained softly as her face burned with embarra.s.sment.
"My dear wife," Yan Beicheng interrupted her with his sure but gentle voice.
It has been a week since they collected their marriage license. They have not yet completely felt familiar with calling each other husband and wife. They have not called out "husband" or "wife" to each other as they had both felt the moniker to be mushy.
When Yan Beicheng suddenly blurted the words, Lin Chu"s heart started beating very fast at his elegant, smooth voice. Her face went red. It felt just like when she was younger and in school, a time when a fragile heart could not take the teasing of love. Her heart was beating like crazy.
"We"ve been together for quite a while and I"m now your husband. No matter if we were in a relations.h.i.+p and living together or if we are married now, you should never feel the need to act so carefully around me. It doesn"t matter to me that you got Zuo Qiu to watch over me because I know that you are concerned for me. What I"m sad about is your need to be so cautious around me. You"re so worried about disturbing me about this and that. We"re husband and wife, we should be able to talk to each other about everything and be able to do everything with each other. Lin Chu, I"m the person closest to you."
Yan Beicheng said the last sentence softly and warmly. It got Lin Chu right at the heart. A feeling of sweetness and aching welled inside her at the same time, even her eyes were starting to fill up with tears.
"You"ve always been so careful this way. When I told you I was working overtime, you would never call me. When I"m working, you would never come to me unless there was an emergency. If not for my gastric problem, you would never come over to have lunch with me. You"re always so careful not to disturb my work. To be honest, I really don"t mind you interrupting me."
As Lin Chu listened to Yan Beicheng"s warm, inviting voice, it felt like a gla.s.s of warm water spilling onto her skin slowly. It felt like such a comfort.
"I like it that you can come to me at any time without pressure. I like that you could be stubborn and carefree enough to give me a call anytime whenever you miss me or are worried about me, no matter how busy I am. Other men may complain about their wives being too clingy or controlling, but I"ve never even had that opportunity."
"I like to pick up your call when I"m in the middle of a meeting and walk out of it in front of a huge group of people. I like it when I can pick up your call and hear your voice when I"m tired out from work, even if it is only one or two minutes. I like it if I could pick up your phone while I"m entertaining clients and hear you telling me to drink less and come home early. I want to hear the warmth of your voice whenever I get dizzy from drinking too much or when I"m sleepy. I like that that I could pick up your call early in the morning to ask if I"ve had breakfast. I like it that you ask me if I"ve had some soup after drinking alcohol, and I"ll be good and tell you about how I"ve listened to you and did what you asked me to."
Lin Chu"s eyes turned even more teary as her waterworks got stronger.
Lin Chu closed her eyes and gave them a pinch with her fingers. Her tears flowed out from them. She quickly wiped them off. She wanted to sniffle but did not dare to, in case Yan Beicheng could hear it.
"My dear wife, as long you need me, it"s never a nuisance at all," Yan Beicheng said softly.
His rich, deep voice flowed from the other end to this, it was a warm voice.
Lin Chu moved the phone away slightly before sniffling. She went to close the kitchen"s door before leaning against the fridge to say quietly, "I"ve missed you. You"ve only been gone two days and I"m already missing you."
He wished fervently to be able to fly back immediately to B City upon hearing her words.
"I"m going home tomorrow, but I"ll probably reach around midnight. You don"t need to wait up for me," Yan Beicheng said.
Lin Chu replied with a "yes" but as for the decision to wait up for Yan Beicheng or not, it was really up to her.
Yan Beicheng knew her well enough to recognize the patronizing tone in her voice. He could not do anything much about it, but he was still secretly happy that she was willing to wait up for him. It would be daylight when he got home, and she would be there welcoming him home.
He chatted with Lin Chu for a while more when Zuo Qiu finally had no choice but to stick his head in to give Yan Beicheng a reminder. It was only then that Yan Beicheng finally hung up. But before doing so, he reminded her again, "Come to me directly when you need something. Stop getting Zuo Qiu to act as a double agent. He"s not that great with his job and keeps leaving clues everywhere. It"s too funny to see him sneaking around."
Zuo Qiu, "…"
"Mr. President, I"m still here. At the very least, wait until I"m gone before you say those words. These words are really crumbling my self-confidence!"
Lin Chu was rushed off by the old Princ.i.p.al in the late afternoon to get home early. She was worried about Lin Chu driving on the road at night.
She walked out to the first floor to wait for the elevator after parking the car in the garage.
When the elevator opened, there was already someone inside. Lin Chu moved to the side to let the other person out.
She initially did not notice who was it inside. After moving to the side and raising her head, she was stunned to see that it was Lu Zhenghang.
There was a man in a white s.h.i.+rt and black suit next to Lu Zhenghang. He was holding a briefcase and looked like a property agent.
Lu Zhenghang saw Lin Chu and the side of his lips curved upwards. He smiled as he greeted her, "Miss Lin, what a coincidence."
Lin Chu nodded coldly and replied, "Mr. Lu."
Lu Zhenghang gave a laugh. She did not know what he was laughing about and felt inexplicable about this behavior.
Lin Chu did not want to say anything more to him and gave a patronizing nod. She attempted to bypa.s.s him and get into the elevator.
But Lu Zhenghang called out to her again, "Miss Lin, oh wait, no, I should call you Mrs. Yan. You"d be happier with that, won"t you?"
"Mr. Lu, what exactly do you want?" Lin Chu asked coldly.
"Nothing. I just wanted to call you Mrs. Yan a few more times while you"re still Mrs. Yan. It"ll cheer you up," said Lu Zhenghang.
There was something strange about this conversation. Lin Chu frowned in her heart but did not show it on her face.
Since meeting Lu Zhenghang for the first time on Tuesday night, she knew that Lu Zhenghang harbored ill-will. Even if Yan Beicheng did not say anything about it, she knew to stay away from Lu Zhenghang. Besides, Jiang Changdai"s connection with the Lu family had her suspecting that Lu Zhenghang was aware of the relations.h.i.+p between Jiang Changdai and Lu Zhengting.
Lu Weining might be kept in the dark, but he knew.
Lin Chu"s instincts told her that Lu Zhenghang had bad intentions from the very beginning.
That was why Lin Chu told herself to be careful and not to let slip anything in front of Lu Zhenghang.
"Isn"t Yan Beicheng with you?" Lu Zhenghang asked again, as if he did not say anything strange before this.
Lin Chu was really glad that Aunt Zhuang was at home keeping her company.
"Mr. Lu, if you have something you"d like to talk about with Beicheng, you can give his a.s.sistant a call and make an appointment. I think I"ll take my leave first," Lin Chu replied coldly.
She walked into the elevator.
As the elevator door was about to close, Lu Zhenghang suddenly reached out and blocked the doors from closing with his hands, "What"s the rush? I"m not done yet. Miss Lin, why the antagonism against me?"
"I don"t know you well, Mr. Lu. We aren"t at a level where there"s antagonism between us. Mr. Lu, please do not stop me from going home," Lin Chu said coldly.
"You don"t like me because of Yan Beicheng, I guess. Is it because Miss Jiang treats me better than him? Or is it because she and my father…"
Lin Chu had not expected Lu Zhenghang to talk about private matters so openly in front of strangers.
He might not care about it, but Lin Chu did not want Yan Beicheng to be embarra.s.sed. The Yan family never wanted to hang their dirty linen out for the public to see, Lu Zhenghang had no right to publicize it this way!
Lin Chu interrupted him sternly, "Mr. Lu! What does this have to do with you? No person in the world would be confident that every single person they meet would like them. And that includes you. Including today, you and I have only met twice. You"re nothing but a stranger to me. What"s there to talk about liking you or not? Judging by the way you speak and act, I can tell that you"re frivolous and wanton. What right do you have to demand everyone to like you? Please let go of me!"
Lu Zhenghang gave a casual laugh. It sounded to Lin Chu like fingernails scratching across a gla.s.s board. The screech was enough for one"s hair to stand on their neck. It felt so uncomfortable.
Lin Chu did not expect for him to really let go.
When the elevator doors slowly closed, Lin Chu heard him said quietly, right before the doors shut, "Mrs. Yan. We don"t know how many more chances there are for people to continue calling you Mrs. Yan."
He sounded really sarcastic, but his voice was unclear, Lin Chu was not sure if she had heard wrong.
She felt uneasy about it.
Lin Chu"s face was still dark when Aunt Zhuang opened the door.
"Lin Chu, what happened? Did something happen to the orphanage?" Aunt Zhuang asked in surprise.
Lin Chu shook her head, "Nope. It"s just that I b.u.mped into someone I didn"t really like."
Aunt Zhuang was surprised, "In our building? That shouldn"t happen!"
The neighbors here seldom see each other and liked to keep to themselves. Even if they did not know each other, they would still acknowledge and greet each other when they met. As they were an informed and educated group, it was not easy for harmony to be disrupted here.
Aunt Zhuang"s words reminded Lin Chu about something. She did not ask why Lu Zhenghang had turned up here.
The man next to Lu Zhenghang just now looked like a property agent. Was he planning on moving in here?
"Aunt Zhuang, have you heard about anyone planning to sell or rent their house out in this building?" Lin Chu asked.
Aunt Zhuang clapped her hands once together, "Now that you mentioned it, I remember chatting with Aunt Yue on the seventh floor. She told me that the resident on the ninth floor was selling their house. Someone came by to look at it on Wednesday and decided to buy it on the spot. I heard that the contract was already signed and they have completed the procedure today."
Lin Chu frowned at the news.
Aunt Zhuang was a smart person. When she saw Lin Chu"s reaction, she immediately asked, "Was that the new neighbor you b.u.mped into just now?"
Lin Chu gave Aunt Zhuang a glance. Aunt Zhuang did not know about the scandal with the Lu family. If Lu Zhenghang really did move here, Aunt Zhuang would be an easy target for information as she loved chatting with people.
Lin Chu quickly reminded her, "That"s him. He"s annoying. He treats Beicheng as an enemy. If he really moved here, I don"t know what his intentions are, but it would be nothing good."
Aunt Zhuang was shocked. She had never been in a cutthroat situation since she started working. Now that she was working for Yan Beicheng, she had an even better working life and environment.
Yan Beicheng was not demanding and was always outstation. When Yan Beicheng was not around, Aunt Zhuang did not have much to do. When Yan Beicheng was at home, all she had to do was clean up and cooked his meals. She had a lot of free time and was always looking for someone to chat with.
Now that Lin Chu was telling her about this imminent enemy, she immediately said, "I"ll definitely stay away from him! I"ll wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow I"ll go find out exactly who is the person that will move in."
Lin Chu smiled and nodded. She made no attempt to stop Aunt Zhuang and went to the bedroom to change her clothes.
As she calmed down, she thought back on Lu Zhenghang"s words. It made her feel very uneasy.
No matter what, she decided to give Yan Beicheng a warning. It was dinner time and when Lin Chu made the call, Yan Beicheng was having a simple meal of burgers with the employees of Yan Hui"s branch while in a meeting.
They ordered from the Western restaurant downstairs and got every person a burger, fries, salad, soup, and a cup of coffee.