She had a car from the Zhan family pick her up.

When she arrived home, normally, her family would come out to greet her when they heard the car engine.

However, today the place was eerily quiet—no one was around, not even her dog, Miao Miao.

“……” Had she lost her favor so quickly?

Ning Qiuxiu’s mind immediately pictured a dramatic scenario of the main wife being replaced by a mistress, turning herself into a crispy chicken leg.

She shook her head to get rid of those melodramatic thoughts and asked the driver to help with her luggage while she walked through the yard to the front door.

The Zhan family’s gate was equipped with an automatic recognition system.

When the owner arrived, the door lock would automatically open.

However, today, although the lock was open, the door was bolted from the inside.

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

What was going on?

She rang the doorbell, feeling a bit anxious yet reassuring herself that Zhang Qingyue wasn’t the type to act this way.

After a while, the door was opened from the inside. Ning Qiuxiu looked up and froze when she saw who was opening the door.

—It was Zhang Qingyue, and he was standing upright without any aids, smiling gracefully at her: “Welcome home, Mrs. Zhan.”

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Zhan Qingyue seemed to ask if she was surprised and pleased.

“!!!”

Ning Qiuxiu was momentarily stunned, but her body acted faster than her brain.

She rushed forward and hugged Zhan Qingyue.

Although Zhan Qingyue could walk now, his legs had been weakened for a long time, and he could only bear limited weight.

Ning Qiuxiu’s hug caused him to stagger back several steps, as if he were made of paper.

Fortunately, the shoe cabinet behind them caught them, preventing them from making contact with the floor.

“……” The situation became a bit awkward.

Ning Qiuxiu’s adrenaline surge from earlier had subsided due to the unexpected incident.

Embarrassed, she let go of the hug and said, “Sorry, sorry! I got too excited. Did you get hurt?”

“No,” Zhan Qingyue replied.

It was his first time being embraced by his wife, but his weakened condition made him unable to properly embrace her, which was a blow to his pride.

However, he maintained his composure and said, “If you want to hug, you can hug more. I don’t mind.”

“……” She didn’t!

She was just so excited to see Zhan Qingyue standing there so elegantly that she impulsively wanted to hug him.

She hadn’t expected him to be so frail.

As she felt frustrated, Zhan Qingyue moved and pulled her into his arms, saying, “Never mind, I’ll indulge you.”

“……”

This was the first real embrace between them.

Although Zhan Qingyue said he was fulfilling her wish, he was also satisfying his own longing.

It was the first time he could finally hold someone in his arms.

Ning Qiuxiu was still cold from the outside air, and through the thick clothing, he could feel the warmth and heartbeat of the person in his arms.

It felt wonderful.

Ning Qiuxiu was not used to such a sentimental scene.

Although her heart was racing a bit, she felt quite embarrassed and pushed herself out of his embrace, saying, “Stop being so sentimental! When can you leave?”

“……” Zhan Qingyue wished he could drill a hole in Ning Qiuxiu’s head to see what was inside.

Leaning against the shoe cabinet, he said, “Yesterday.”

Actually, Zhan Qingyue’s legs were not in serious trouble anymore.

Especially with the use of crutches, the doctor had suggested gradually weaning off them as his legs adjusted to his body weight.

However, Zhan Qingyue still struggled with this fear.

He felt uneasy without the crutches and distrusted his own legs.

The psychologist also expressed helplessness, saying it was something he had to overcome on his own.

The breakthrough came from an accident.

…

A few days ago, a small lamp cover in the living room fell off.

Zhan Qingyue’s father portrait was standing right under it at that moment.

Zhan Qingyue, seeing the cover fall, acted instinctively, getting out of his wheelchair to pull his father’s portrait away, preventing the cover from being damaged.

Everyone was startled but pleasantly surprised to see that Zhan Qingyue stood up!

….

“That was so scary. Are there plans to check the other lights?” Ning Qiuxiu asked, not noticing her focus had shifted.

Given the high-end look of the Zhan family’s ceiling, it was not surprising to have some lights with unexpected issues.

Ning Qiuxiu, feeling anxious, looked up and saw a large lamp directly above her head.

She couldn’t help but take a couple of steps back.

Ning Qiuxiu was a bit anxious about the situation, but Zhang Qingyue reassured her, “All potential risks have been eliminated.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ning Qiuxiu sighed with relief.

“Will you be able to walk properly in the future?” Ning Qiuxiu remembered the main point and eagerly said, “Show me how you walk!”

Zhang Qingyue walked a few steps for her.

His joints were still not as flexible as usual, and he needed more rehabilitation.

His walking resembled a robot that couldn’t bend its knees.

But this was a revolutionary improvement. Ning Qiuxiu felt proud and happy—finally, this man was able to stand up.

They walked back to the living room together.

The others, who had been “missing,” cheerfully emerged from various corners.

The dog, Miao Miao, rushed up excitedly.

It hadn’t seen Ning Qiuxiu for a while and was barking joyfully.

It seemed that Zhang Qingyue hadn’t lied; Miao Miao really missed her.

Ning Qiuxiu bent down to pat Miao Miao’s head.

The dog, happy and wagging its tail, was very endearing when it wasn’t being troublesome.

Ning Qiuxiu petted it a few more times and then crouched down to give it a hug.

Miao Miao, the silly dog, had grown bolder with less discipline from Zhang Qingyue, and it licked Ning Qiuxiu’s face with its wet tongue as a sign of its enthusiasm, leaving her face covered in slobber.

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

Zhang Qingyue: “……”

Ning Qiuxiu was covered in Miao Miao’s slobber.

She pulled on its ears and said, “You’re slobbering all over my face! Aren’t you afraid of being poisoned by the makeup? Silly dog!”

Miao Miao was thrilled to have Ning Qiuxiu’s attention.

It wagged its tail excitedly, making a “thump-thump” sound against the floor, and whined happily, showing affection to Ning Qiuxiu.

Zhang Qingyue handed Ning Qiuxiu a tissue to wipe her face, and she said, “I’m going to wash my face and change clothes.”

“Go ahead,” Zhang Qingyue replied.

Miao Miao, seeing Ning Qiuxiu leaving, followed her eagerly, rubbing against her feet to show its affection.

It only stopped when Zhang Qingyue called, “Miao Miao, come here.”

Miao Miao hesitated between its “mom” and “dad” but eventually went to Zhang Qingyue, settling obediently at his feet.

Zhang Qingyue sat on the sofa.

Since he couldn’t stand for long, his legs were still weak and painful after prolonged use.

Miao Miao dared not nuzzle him like it did with Ning Qiuxiu.

Instead, it sat in front of him, looking up with an expression that screamed “I’m a good dog.”

Ignoring Miao Miao, Zhang Qingyue told the housekeeper, “Get a pack of the imported beef jerky that Miao Miao loves.”

Miao Miao was sensitive to certain words—like the vet, outings, and imported beef jerky, which made it drool excessively.

The housekeeper returned with a pack of jerky.

Seeing it, Miao Miao’s eyes locked onto the treat.

As Zhang Qingyue opened the package, the sound made Miao Miao’s tail wag even more enthusiastically, its excitement making it want to bark “Daddy” in joy.

Ning Qiuxiu went to her room to remove her makeup, wash her face, apply skincare products, and change into comfortable clothes.

As she was about to go downstairs, she heard her phone ringing.

She checked and saw it was Ye Qin from the face mask company she had contacted earlier.

Ning Qiuxiu answered, “Hello, Manager Ye.”

“Miss Ning, I hope I’m not interrupting your work or rest.”

Ning Qiuxiu sat on the edge of the bed and replied, “No, it’s fine.”

“Miss Ning,” Ye Qin got straight to the point, “The beauty water you provided has no issues. We’ve discussed the commission, but our big boss says if you can’t provide the formula, we can’t proceed with the collaboration.”

Again with the formula issue. Ning Qiuxiu said, “I don’t understand why your company is so fixated on this.

Everything I provided can be tested, and there are no toxic or unknown substances. You’ve tested it yourself and found no side effects. What’s the problem?”

“Here’s the thing, Miss Ning,” Ye Qin explained, “If our mask becomes popular, competitors will analyze our formula. If they find a bug in it, they might take action. Wouldn’t you, as a competitor, do something if you discovered such a flaw?”

Ning Qiuxiu understood—there was always a catch, and they needed an explanation to satisfy both their customers and competitors.

However, she truly couldn’t provide the formula.

“Miss Ning, we’re looking forward to working with you, but regarding the formula… please think it over. If you decide to share it, call me, and we’ll discuss the next steps.”

After hanging up, Ning Qiuxiu felt frustrated.

Her initial idea was to mix the talisman water with their mask for miraculous effects, but market dynamics and constraints were more complex than she anticipated.

She had bragged to Zhang Qingyue about making a fortune, and now he would probably tease her.

And if she couldn’t produce the mask, what was she going to do with the beauty talisman?

Ning Qiuxiu rubbed her forehead and went downstairs, finding Zhang Qingyue on the phone with Miao Miao sitting at his feet, looking pitiful.

Miao Miao had several beef jerky strips on its mouth, drooling everywhere, but it couldn’t eat them and had to stay still, or the jerky would fall.

“……” Zhan Qingyue’s ability to train even a Siberian Husky like this was truly remarkable.

He could easily make a career as a dog trainer—what a waste of talent if he didn’t.

Zhan Qingyue seemed to be quite extraordinary.

In gaming, his skills were so impressive that even the most arrogant player, the number one hammer in the world, called him “Daddy.”

In business, he revived a struggling Ning family enterprise, took over Zhan Qingyuan’s responsibilities smoothly, and managed to keep the company stable, even preventing any external bloodsuckers from taking advantage.

Rumor had it that he had temporarily sealed off the news, so outside the Zhan family company, no one knew about the change in ownership.

And in confrontations, Ning Qiuxiu thought Zhan Qingyue’s communication skills were refined to perfection.

He could infuriate someone without using any foul language; even calling someone an idiot was done in a civilized manner: “genetically inferior.”

Ahem.