Chapter 41: Admiration

With a creak, the door was pushed open, interrupting Lu Yan’s thoughts. He looked up to see An An carrying a small round basket filled with neatly cut slices of watermelon.

“Daddy, eat! Mommy says you can’t keep cut watermelon overnight.”

Lu Yan patted his son’s head, took the watermelon from his hands, set it on the table, and placed a trash bin underneath. Father and son sat side by side at the table, each enjoying a slice.

The old fan beside them rattled and groaned, but its noise did nothing to lessen their enthusiasm for the watermelon.

After they finished, Lu Yan quietly asked his son, “Why didn’t Mommy play her music today?”

He felt that today’s watermelon tasted a little more bland. Usually, after dinner, they would listen to a few songs—loud at first, but the singing would soon float gently and softly through the whole house.

An An put down his watermelon and furrowed his brow, looking uncannily mature. “Aunt Cheng is having some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Lu Yan had only caught fragments when he returned earlier.

“Mommy wouldn’t let me listen,” An An shook his head, then blinked his eyes. “But I think maybe Aunt Cheng’s boyfriend made her angry?”

Lu Yan paused mid-bite, surprised by his son’s insight. “How do you know?”

“That’s an easy one. What could possibly trouble Aunt Cheng? If it’s not about Mommy, it’s her boyfriend. But everything’s been going smoothly for Mommy, so it must be about the boyfriend.” With that, he went back to eating.

Lu Yan finally understood what was meant by introducing a boyfriend to Cheng Youqing through Xia Xiyue. But in his view, the odds of success seemed rather low.

After finishing the watermelon, he helped his son wash his hands. They showered and returned to the bedroom, climbing into bed together. Before sleep, Lu Yan reminded his son, “Remember to come and have lunch with Daddy tomorrow. I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay!”

The next day at lunch, as usual, Lu Yan clocked out right on time without needing Su Yang to call him. Passing by other offices, a colleague couldn’t help but ask, “Lu, is your wife bringing your child to have lunch with you again?”

“Yes.”

“Knew it! You’re unusually punctual these days.”

Su Yang followed close behind. When they reached the cafeteria window, they saw Lu Yan already queuing up, while Shen Qingyi sat at another table with An An, quietly waiting.

Chen Haixia hadn’t come today, and Shen Qingyi found it a little dull. Fortunately, father and son seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Lu Yan’s colleagues—noticeably more than yesterday—joined them as well.

A few of the technical guys sat nearby, eager to chit-chat but lacking the experience. They wanted to get to know Shen Qingyi but couldn’t find the right words.

Just as Shen Qingyi was nearly finished with her meal, someone finally spoke up: “Sister-in-law, we heard the clothes Lu wore on TV the other day were bought by you?”

Shen Qingyi looked up at the man opposite her, smiled politely, and said, “Yes.”

“How did they fit him so perfectly? Like they were tailored just for him. Do you know his measurements well?”

Shen Qingyi never doubted herself in this area. She smiled and accepted their praise, “I work in fashion design, so I’m sensitive to height, size, and color matching. For example, just by looking at you, I can tell roughly how tall and heavy you are, and what clothes suit you.”

“Really?” Even Lu Yan couldn’t help but look at her.

Shen Qingyi glanced at the man before her, smiling. “You’re about 178 to 179 centimeters, around 75 kilograms.”

The man was so shocked he almost dropped his chopsticks. After a moment, he exclaimed, “That’s… incredible! I’m exactly 178 and 75 kilograms.”

“Wow, really? Can you guess mine?” another colleague chimed in.

“You’re 180, 80 kilograms.” Shen Qingyi glanced at the other man, not even needing to add “about.”

Three or four more tried, and she didn’t miss once.

Everyone was amazed. Someone turned to Lu Yan and said, “That’s even more accurate than our experiments!”

Lu Yan looked at Shen Qingyi. She wore a calm expression, but there was a hint of pride in her eyes. He’d never seen her quite like this before—so lively, so charming.

“Sister-in-law, teach us—how do you develop that kind of skill?” If only they could figure out an experiment’s results at a glance, it would be a real time-saver.

Before Shen Qingyi could answer, An An piped up, leaning in with a mischievous grin. “You’ll never learn! Mommy says it’s a woman’s intuition—she was born with it!”

A chorus of laughter and admiration followed.

After finishing her meal, Shen Qingyi took away the lunchboxes in front of An An and Lu Yan and headed to the dishwashing area.

The group gathered around Lu Yan. “Lu, your wife is really impressive.”

Lu Yan’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile. He said nothing, but he didn’t deny it.

His wife, indeed, was gifted—innately talented. And it was the first time he realized she worked as a fashion designer.

When Shen Qingyi came back, she beckoned An An. “Time to go, An An! Let Daddy get back to work.”

An An hopped out of Lu Yan’s arms, fluttering to Shen Qingyi’s side like a little bird, grabbing her hand. She didn’t look back at Lu Yan, just shook her son’s hand and said, “Say goodbye to Daddy.”

An An’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Goodbye, Daddy!”

Once they were gone, Su Yang patted Lu Yan on the shoulder. “Can’t bear to see them leave?”

Lu Yan snapped out of his daze and stood up. “Not at all.”

“Sure, not at all.” Su Yang suddenly understood why, after just a few days of living together again, Lu Yan was already so protective of her in everything he said and did.

When Lu Yan returned to his office, he saw two people sitting inside. He recognized one as Wang Zhifang. The other was a woman in her forties, well-dressed, whom he had never seen before.

He strode forward, opened the office door, and took his seat. Wang Zhifang stood up immediately. “Lu Yan, Comrade Wang Xuemei is here to apologize to you in person.”

Lu Yan shot Wang Xuemei a cold glance. “Go on.”

“Engineer Lu, the Shen family isn’t worth your loyalty… They’re terrible people!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhifang’s face paled. “Didn’t you come here to apologize?”

“My apology is for Engineer Lu alone. It was my failure not to relay the information to you in time; I accept responsibility and am willing to face the consequences.” Wang Xuemei still hoped to save herself.

Lu Yan’s expression darkened. “So your actions were targeted at my wife?”

Liu Xuemei nodded. “Yes. She’s not a good woman—just like her father.”

At this, Lu Yan could no longer contain his anger. He got up and walked toward her. “You’ve already caused so much harm to both of us. Instead of remorse, you’re still trying to shift the blame. Is this your idea of an apology? Utterly shameless and laughable.”

His voice was icy, making Wang Xuemei shrink back. “Engineer Lu, it’s not like that. Don’t be fooled by that woman’s appearance. While you were away in Lincheng, she was in close contact with another man. I’m not like the others who jump to conclusions based on appearances—I have proof!”