Chapter 15 – Showing Off Love is Breakfast and Coffee

Early the next day, Yan Xiuzhi came downstairs at exactly nine o’clock.

At this time, he was already dressed in a suit and ready to go out. But as soon as he came downstairs, his eyes were immediately drawn to the gorgeous roses in the living room.

The scent of coffee still lingered in the air.

“Ah, are you leaving?”

Zhou Ziyi came out of the room, still wearing pajamas, lazily saying, “I woke up intending to make you a simple breakfast or something, but your fridge was empty. I did find the coffee machine and coffee beans though, so I made hand-ground coffee. Would you like a cup?”

Yan Xiuzhi didn’t blame him for touching his things, just glanced at it, and then prepared to leave: “No, the driver is downstairs.”

“I knew you would say that, wait for me for ten seconds.” Zhou Ziyi quickly walked into the kitchen and then took out a small bag and a cup – the kind with a thermal sleeve. “Your coffee set came with this cup, I’ve already filled it up for you, take it. The lid is tightly closed, it won’t spill. I don’t know if you take your coffee with sugar or not, I didn’t add any, you can add it yourself.”

Yan Xiuzhi didn’t want to take it, but Zhou Ziyi stuffed it into his hands without a word: “Have a safe journey, President Yan.”

Then the young man turned and went back to his room, more decisive than Yan Xiuzhi. Yan Xiuzhi looked at his back, then looked at the coffee in his hand, and instinctively placed the set of things on the nearby cabinet.

But coffee, that really smells good; the taste of hand-ground coffee can easily fill a whole floor.

Yan Xiuzhi walked to the door, his hand already on the doorknob, but the scent of coffee lingered. He stood there silently for a few seconds, closed his eyes, and then turned back to grab the coffee.

He left.

On this morning, Li Fei was shocked to see her boss actually carrying a cup to work.

After thinking for a moment, she knocked on the door and poked her head in, asking, “President Yan, are we still ordering breakfast today?”

Yan Xiuzhi glanced at her as if he heard something ridiculous, “Yes.”

Li Fei silently sniffed the coffee scent in the air and looked at the cup on his desk, realizing that it was already opened.

Oh, it smells so good!

“Okay.” Li Fei couldn’t tell which brand the cup was from a distance, so she speculated about the origin of the coffee while responding, “Then everything will be as usual, but we won’t need the coffee, right?”

Yan Xiuzhi: “Hmm.”

Li Fei nodded and was about to close the door when suddenly she heard Yan Xiuzhi say from inside, “Wait.”

Li Fei stood back and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yan Xiuzhi glanced at the coffee on the table, remained silent for a second, and then said, “Find some sugar.”

Li Fei confirmed, “Sugar for the coffee?”

Yan Xiuzhi nodded, “Yes.”

“Alright.” Li Fei paused for a moment and gathered the courage to ask, “Mr. Yan, if I may, could you tell me where this coffee is from? It smells so good.”

Yan Xiuzhi remained silent.

Although the coffee machine and coffee beans were from his own home, in reality, The CEO didn’t remember these things at all.

The CEO could only say, “You can ask Zhou Ziyi.”

Li Fei: !!!

“Alright.” Li Fei maintained a calm demeanor on the surface but was shocked internally as she stepped back.

— There’s no way not to be shocked. From the sound of it, this coffee was made by Zhou Ziyi!

— President Yan had never brought breakfast to work before, but on the first day Zhou Ziyi moved in, he had someone bring coffee to work. Does this mean he’ll have someone to bring lunch in the future?!

— Is 30 million really that impressive?

Li Fei, feeling dizzy, sent the breakfast order to the driver and then stumbled into the pantry to find sugar for the coffee. Coincidentally, she ran into a few assistants who were also preparing coffee. The assistants noticed that she only took sugar and not anything else, so they curiously approached and asked, “Sister Fei, did Mr. Yan really bring coffee to work this morning?”

Li Fei glanced at them, “How did you know?”

“Well, everyone saw it, and we were all amazed, you know?” the assistants exclaimed. “But speaking of which, the moments Mr. Yan shared on his social media last night were even more shocking. I don’t have Mr. Yan on WeChat, but I saw screenshots from others. Is this his usual style on social media?”

“Are you guys gossiping again?” Li Fei said. “Go back to work, stop gossiping about the boss.”

“Hey, being a doting husband isn’t a bad image, it’s nothing,” the assistants said with a cheeky smile. “Sister Fei, when will the CEO’s office pool together to buy a wedding gift for Mr. Yan? Remember to inform us in advance.”

“That’s right. But I still don’t know what Mr. Yan’s wife looks like, and I don’t know when Mr. Yan will bring his wife to attend events. Can he bring family members to the annual meeting? Maybe there’s something going on then…”

Initially, Li Fei thought that their marriage was just a contractual arrangement, and Mr. Yan wouldn’t bring anyone. But when she thought back to the coffee this morning, Li Fei began to feel uncertain.

If he could bring coffee on the first day, who knows when he might bring someone… right?

On the other side, Yan Xiuzhi was scrolling through his social media feed and noticed that Zhou Ziyi had just posted an update.

The text is very simple: [Someone forgot to take something.]

At first glance, the accompanying picture is also very simple, with a white wall and a cabinet with a small paper bag on top without any markings.

Others may not understand, but Yan Xiuzhi knows – this is the bag that Zhou Ziyi gave him in the morning to hold sugar!

He forgot to take it when he went back to get coffee!

Yan Xiuzhi stared at the phone screen, squinted his eyes, subconsciously took another sip of coffee, and was once again repelled by the bitter taste.

-Tsk.

*
The day after the engagement banquet, President Yan worked overtime until 9 o’clock before returning home.

As soon as he entered the door, he heard a lot of noise in the living room. Looking over, he saw that the TV was playing a movie, making a loud noise. Zhou Ziyi was sitting on the sofa, and a head popped up from behind the sofa.

Hearing the noise at the door, Zhou Ziyi immediately turned his head and leaned on the back of the sofa, looking at Yan Xiuzhi: “Oh my, President Yan, you finally came home!”

Yan Xiuzhi was a little confused: Why so excited?

Zhou Ziyi knelt on the sofa, resting her chin on her hands: “Dear Boss Yan, have you remembered what you forgot?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiuzhi instinctively looked at the cabinet where he had put the sugar in the morning, but now it was empty.

Zhou Ziyi immediately knew what he was thinking and chuckled, “It’s not about the sugar! Well, you did forget the sugar, but there’s something more important!”

As she spoke, Zhou Ziyi also felt that the movie was too loud, so he turned it off.

The living room instantly became quiet.

“You forgot that there’s still a living person in your house, Yan Xiuzhi!” Zhou Ziyi put down the remote control, walked around the sofa, and approached Yan Xiuzhi. “You didn’t even give me a key, how am I supposed to go out?”

Yan Xiuzhi was taken aback.

He was so used to being alone that he didn’t even think about this.

“I was actually thinking of sneaking back home directly, but I remembered that I haven’t checked your study and bedroom yet. I won’t be able to explain myself tomorrow if I don’t, so I had to squat here. But the security level in this place is too high, even delivery people aren’t allowed in the community.” Zhou Ziyi stood in front of him, “If it wasn’t for your housekeeper coming at noon, I would have starved to death in your house, you know?”

Yan Xiuzhi didn’t know how to evaluate this situation.

It sounded a bit absurd, but it wasn’t impossible.

He remained silent for two seconds and then asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Bro, you didn’t reply to any of the messages I sent you last night. What’s the point of me looking for you?” Zhou Ziyi raised an eyebrow and then spread out his hands. “The key.”

Yesterday, he was hesitant about staying over, but today he straightforwardly asked for the key. Zhou Ziyi can adjust himself very quickly.

“…I’ll find it for you,” Yan Xiuzhi replied. “Also, the housekeeper can cook for you, no need to order takeout.”

“I know, I talked to Aunt Wang today, and I added her on WeChat. She already prepared dinner at home,” Zhou Ziyi said. “I knew you wouldn’t come back for dinner today, so I ate by myself.”

Yan Xiuzhi halted his steps towards the upstairs. “Did you ask about my schedule?”

Zhou Ziyi confessed, “I just asked sister Fei if you would come back for dinner. She said you’ve already eaten.”

“… “ Yan Xiuzhi couldn’t find any loopholes, so he could only say, “Don’t inquire about my work.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “Then I’ll just message you directly and ask if you’re coming back for dinner tonight?”

Yan Xiuzhi replied, “Don’t bother about me.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “I don’t even care if you come back for dinner. But when Aunt Wang asked me how many people I should cook for, how should I answer?”

Yan Xiuzhi remained silent.

Zhou Ziyi continued, “You just need to reply with Yes or No! Simple enough, right?”

Yan Xiuzhi finally relented, “Fine, I will.”

Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Ziyi pursued further, “So, does that mean the ban on my messages is lifted? Can President Yan reply to my questions now?”

Zhou Ziyi seemed to be very skilled for taking advantage of the situation.

Yan Xiuzhi had actually read those messages, but he replied, “What questions?”

Zhou Ziyi smiled and said, “One is whether you want to specially keep the engagement ring. The other is, can you show me your study and bedroom later? I want to see the situation.”

Yan Xiuzhi said, “Just the furniture in the study and master bedroom doesn’t need to be changed.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “Well, I can only say, it depends on what Aunt Chu thinks. She said she wants to change it, and I can’t firmly refuse, right?”

Yan Xiuzhi had to set a limit, “Not too bright, not too fancy, not too many colors. It should be solid wood and have no strong smell.”

“’Two yes, three no,’ got it!” Zhou Ziyi said, “And the engagement ring…?”

“Bring it over, we’ll lock it together,” Yan Xiuzhi replied, then headed upstairs. Zhou Ziyi pondered his words for a second and asked from under the stairs, “Are we going to visit now?”

Looking down at him from above, Yan Xiuzhi replied, “Otherwise, when do you want to make an appointment?”

“No, what I mean is, would you like some late-night snacks?” Zhou Ziyi said, “I made a topping of minced meat with tomatoes using the ingredients left by Aunt Wang. We still have some vegetables at home. Shall I cook you some late-night snacks?”

Yan Xiuzhi replied, “No, thank you.”

“Alright, you’re really disciplined,” Zhou Ziyi smiled, “Then could you come down fifteen minutes earlier tomorrow morning? I’ll make breakfast for you. Would you like noodles or a sandwich?”

Yan Xiuzhi continued to refuse, “You don’t need to do these things for me.”

“Mr. Yan, it’s just the two of us at home, but there are others outside,” Zhou Ziyi leaned against the stair railing, “Aunt Chu even messaged me in the morning asking what you forgot to bring when you left.”

“Zhou Ziyi,” Yan Xiuzhi stared at him, his voice deep, “Don’t play tricks.”

“Mr. Yan, you are my benefactor, and you have investigated my situation thoroughly. What can I do?” Zhou Ziyi shrugged, “I’ve already received so much money from you, making breakfast is nothing. If you don’t mind, I can even make you a bento. After all, showing affection is just these routines.”

Yan Xiuzhi asked, “Is this how you treated your previous employers?”

Zhou Ziyi blinked, “I didn’t stay overnight at their homes.”

Yan Xiuzhi: “…”

Zhou Ziyi asked again, “So, sandwich or noodles?”

Yan Xiuzhi and he locked eyes for a few seconds.

“…Whatever.”