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18 · Pretending
◎HY-098◎

After the wedding, Lu Zhengguo gave Lu Shiyin a few days off to let her rest properly.

Lu Shiyin wasn’t someone who liked to sleep in, but the wedding had truly exhausted her. As soon as she got home, she fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up until noon the next day.

It was Cheng Jinghe who woke her up. Her eyes weren’t even fully open yet as she shuffled to the door with messy bed hair.

This was the first time Cheng Jinghe had seen Lu Shiyin in such a disheveled state. He couldn’t help but curve his lips into a small smile and said softly, “Time to eat.”

Lu Shiyin nodded and replied, “Okay, I’ll wash up and come.” Then she closed the door and flopped right back onto the bed.

Cheng Jinghe sat in the dining room waiting for her, but after a long while, she still hadn’t come out.

Aunt Zhang asked, “Sir, should I go call madam?”

Cheng Jinghe recalled how she looked just now and figured she probably wasn’t fully awake yet. He shook his head, “Let her sleep. She must’ve really been tired yesterday.”

Aunt Zhang agreed and didn’t press further.

She woke again around 2 p.m. Her first thought was: weddings are absolutely exhausting, not for the faint-hearted. The second was: she never wanted to get married again in this life.

After washing up and stepping out, she saw Cheng Jinghe adjusting a robot in the living room. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she said, “I overslept, sorry. You’ve already eaten, right?”

Cheng Jinghe looked up, stood from the carpet, and asked, “Are you hungry?”

She nodded while clutching her stomach.

He smiled and said, “I’ll go heat up the food.”

“Don’t,” Lu Shiyin stopped him, “no need to bother, I’ll just order delivery.”

“It’s no trouble. Heating it is faster than delivery.”

Lu Shiyin let him have his way. She caught a glimpse of the now shiny, new robot dog on the floor and asked, “Is that the same dog from before?”

Cheng Jinghe nodded. She immediately took a quick step back and joked, “I’m scared it might go crazy.”

“Not today. It’s gone through several versions. This one is very stable now,” he said, picking up the robot dog and tossing it into a side guest room. “Besides, it’s not even turned on.”

She relaxed and gave him a smile.

As the food was served, she ate voraciously. Cheng Jinghe sat casually beside her, amused as he watched her eat.

Lu Shiyin smiled and said, “I was starving. Barely ate anything yesterday.”

He replied, “I know. It was a tough day for you.”

She added, “It was too exhausting. I never want to have another wedding again.”

Cheng Jinghe nodded, “Same here.”

That afternoon, Cheng Jinghe asked for her help in calibrating the robot.

“Me? Won’t I break it?” Lu Shiyin wasn’t confident — she knew nothing about machinery.

“Just need to record your face. It’ll be used to monitor the house later.”

“What can it do?”

Cheng Jinghe scratched the back of his head and said, “Functions are still in development. The idea is to create a home-use robot — a kind of helper that can control appliances, send emergency alerts, etc. Its appearance will be pet-like — like cats or dogs — to increase its cuteness and appeal to people who want pets but don’t have the time or energy to raise one.”

Lu Shiyin laughed a little at that.

Seeing his puzzled expression, she explained, “That move you just did with your hand, you used to do it when you were little. You always scratched the back of your head when you were thinking.”

“You remember?”

She nodded, “Yeah. You always did that when you were deep in thought. But you don’t do it much anymore — this is the first time I’ve seen it in ages.”

He chuckled, “Yeah.”

After recording her face and voice, Lu Shiyin happened to see on his phone that the robot dog’s model was labeled “HY-098” and asked what the code meant.

Cheng Jinghe looked at her and replied, “H is from my name, He; Y is the name of our company’s other partner. 98 means this is the 98th version.”

She nodded and didn’t ask further, then played with the robot for a bit.

Later that afternoon, the Cheng family elders called, saying that a fresh batch of hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake had arrived, and that a chef had been invited to prepare them — asking if they’d come over for dinner.

Cheng Jinghe asked her opinion first. Lu Shiyin, sitting nearby, heard everything and gave a clear nod: she definitely wanted to eat.

Cheng Jinghe smiled as he told Grandma, “Yinyin says she wants to eat. We’ll be over in a bit.”

Wen Min then teased, “Hope we’re not interrupting you young people doing ‘serious business’?”

Out of nowhere, Lu Shiyin leaned closer and said, “Not at all, Grandma. We’ll be right over.”

After hanging up, she realized what Wen Min meant by “serious business” and glanced at Cheng Jinghe, who was holding back laughter.

Lu Shiyin lightly punched his back, “Cheng Jinghe! What are you laughing at!”

He waved it off innocently, still smiling.

—

At the Cheng family home that night, Lu Shiyin sat quietly, eating as Cheng Jinghe peeled crab meat for her.

Cheng Shu looked around and noticed: all the men at the table were busy peeling crab and feeding their wives — it looked like some kind of family tradition. She joked, “Anyone watching would think the crabs in our family are only meant for women to eat.”

Lu Shiyin glanced around — Cheng Yiliang was peeling for Wen Min, Cheng Tuo for Xiang Wan, and Cheng Jinghe for her. She suddenly felt embarrassed.

Taking advantage of everyone laughing at Cheng Shu’s comment, she whispered to Cheng Jinghe, “Don’t peel for me anymore. It’s not very appropriate.”

Cheng Jinghe raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”

She didn’t want to say it too plainly — the real reason being they weren’t a real couple. She just said, “Just… don’t. I’ll do it myself.”

“What if I don’t listen?”

Lu Shiyin paused mid-bite, stared at him, then muttered, “Then I guess I can’t stop you. Do what you want.”

Then she turned away from him, annoyed.

Cheng Jinghe leaned in and said, “Tell me the reason. If you do, I won’t do it.”

Lu Shiyin answered seriously, “It’s not appropriate. They’re all elders.”

“I don’t get it. What do elders have to do with it? My grandpa and dad are the eldest here, and they’re all peeling for their wives. Why can’t I peel for you?”

She didn’t know how to explain — if she were to be more direct, she’d have to say, “They’re real couples, we’re not.”

But she didn’t say that. She just lowered her head and kept eating.

Not knowing what was going on in her mind, Cheng Jinghe stopped peeling for her and began eating himself.

Noticing the situation, Cheng Tuo nudged him, “You’re the only one eating now. Not peeling for Yinyin?”

Cheng Jinghe calmly responded, “She told me not to.”

Wen Min asked Lu Shiyin if Cheng Jinghe had upset her. Lu Shiyin was furious — now he’d thrown all the blame on her, and she had no idea what to say.

Cheng Jinghe added, “She’s just worried I’ll hurt my hands.”

Lu Shiyin slowly turned to glare at him. If looks could kill, Cheng Jinghe would be dead right now.

The others clearly didn’t buy it. Left with no choice, Lu Shiyin nodded and said, “Yes, I’m afraid he’ll cut his hands.”

Cheng Yiliang laughed, “What’s there to be afraid of? He should be doing it! Come on, get peeling!” he instructed Cheng Jinghe.

Under orders, Cheng Jinghe resumed peeling, barely holding back his laughter.

After dinner, Lu Shiyin dragged Cheng Jinghe aside: “Can you stop spouting nonsense in front of everyone? You’re making me look bad.”

Cheng Jinghe looked at her calmly, “If I didn’t, how else were we supposed to get through that scene?”

Lu Shiyin was at a loss for words.

“Or do you have a better excuse?” he asked, hands in his pockets.

She raised her fist as if to hit him, but just then Xiang Wan came over, saw them goofing off in the corner, smiled, and called them over to eat some fruit.

Lu Shiyin quickly dropped her fist, greeted her, “Mom,” and followed Cheng Jinghe into the living room with her head down.

Before they even sat down, they overheard a discussion about honeymoon destinations. Just then, Cheng Jingzhi walked in.

Seeing them, she loudly asked, “Cheng Jinghe, where are you and Yinyin going for your honeymoon?”

Lu Shiyin froze. Cheng Jinghe clearly hadn’t expected that either.

He knew full well Lu Shiyin wouldn’t go on a honeymoon. The question was awkward.

But Cheng Jingzhi seemed to deliberately make things difficult: “Oh? Don’t tell me you didn’t plan one? Tsk tsk…”

Wen Min thought a domestic trip would be fine — older folks always worried after watching too many news stories about traffic accidents.

Cheng Shu thought a honeymoon should be somewhere romantic, or else what’s the point?

Everyone chimed in, but the couple themselves said nothing.

After a moment, Wen Min turned to Lu Shiyin, “Yinyin, where would you like to go?”

Lu Shiyin froze. She had no idea. Just then, Cheng Jinghe took her hand and said, “We’re not going on a honeymoon — every day together is like a honeymoon.”

His palm was warm, and it gently wrapped around her cool fingers. She didn’t dare move at all.

Xiang Wan rolled her eyes at her son, “So cheap with your words. All talk.”

Lu Shiyin didn’t know what to say. Their current project was still underway — her plan was to return to work after this short break, but she didn’t want to disappoint the elders.

Cheng Jinghe gently released her hand and said, “I’m not just talking. Yinyin and I are really tied up with work right now.”

Wen Min wasn’t convinced: “Your company can’t run without the two of you?”

She turned her attention back to Lu Shiyin, asking her opinion.

Lu Shiyin lowered her gaze and thought for a second. “Right now, it’s a bit hard to take time off.”

Wen Min said, “You young folks are too focused on work. Isn’t there a word for it now? Involution, right? You two should take a proper break for a week — stop dragging others into your overworking!”

Cheng Jingzhi laughed, “Wow, Grandma, you even know that term? So trendy!”

With the conversation going this far, and Cheng Jinghe still trying to reject it, Lu Shiyin thought carefully — maybe it wasn’t impossible to squeeze in some time. Lu Zhengguo would probably be willing to approve it.

“How about somewhere warm nearby — a tropical island? The weather’s getting cold, and it’s convenient to travel there. Not far, and easy to return. Most places could be reached the same day. What do you think?”

She looked at Cheng Jinghe for his input.

He smiled and replied, “I don’t mind. Wherever Yinyin chooses, I’ll go.”