After finishing their meal, Zang Ling took Jiang Qiongyin and Zang Xiuming to the hospital. Since it was a workday, the hospital was crowded. Zang Ling told her parents to rest while she queued up. The wait was long, but fortunately, the final test results were normal.

Then, Zang Ling asked the doctor why her mother had fainted, and the answer was both amusing and exasperating.

Due to Jiang Qiongyin being a dancer, she had always maintained a very light diet to stay in shape. With an upcoming dance competition in the city, she had been even stricter with her diet. Over time, her body couldn’t keep up with the lack of nutrition.

Furious, Zang Ling dragged Jiang Qiongyin to get a full-body checkup, and for good measure, she took Zang Xiuming along as well.

Thankfully, all was well.

On the way home, neither of them dared to make a sound. Suddenly, Jiang Qiongyin pinched a bit of flesh on Zang Xiuming’s arm. He looked down at his delicate, petite wife, who was clinging to his arm.

“What is it, dear?”

Lowering her voice, she pointed at Zang Ling and said fiercely, “You go talk to her.”

Zang Xiuming hesitated. “…That’s not a good idea, is it?” If he went now, Lingling would definitely scold him.

“Are you going or not?”

Seeing the deadly serious look in his wife’s eyes, Zang Xiuming immediately straightened up and righteously declared, “Of course, I’ll go! How could I not? Zang Ling is getting more and more unruly. I’m her father! It’s not like she can scold me!”

If only his voice hadn’t wavered so much, it might have been more convincing.

Jiang Qiongyin didn’t expose his bluff. Instead, she patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Darling, you got this! I believe in you!”

Zang Xiuming took hesitant steps forward, turning back every few seconds. Every step was filled with reluctance, but no matter how far the journey, an endpoint would always arrive, especially when the distance was just one meter.

Realizing there was no way to escape, he swallowed hard, cautiously patted Zang Ling on the shoulder, and said in a trembling voice, “Lingling…”

Zang Ling didn’t respond.

Zang Xiuming immediately turned to Jiang Qiongyin, sending an SOS signal. She gave him a guilty smile and mouthed, “You got this, honey.”

Zang Xiuming didn’t understand what she said, but he knew his wife wasn’t going to save him. Left with no choice, he turned back and forced himself to continue.

“Lingling, we really didn’t mean to upset you. You’re hardly ever home, so your mom and I just made some simple food for ourselves. You know my cooking—low salt, low oil, nutritious and healthy! Don’t believe what the doctor said about malnutrition. We’re in great shape. We can run and jump just fine.”

“You not talking to us makes us really sad. Lingling, don’t be mad, okay?”

Seeing that Zang Ling still wasn’t responding, he wondered, since when did this trick stop working?

After a quick mental search for ideas, Zang Xiuming decided to fake anger. “Zang Ling, you think you’ve grown up now? Do you think no one can control you anymore? You won’t even listen to your own father?”

“Even if you don’t want to talk to me, at least say something to your mom. When she gave birth to you, it was really difficult, almost a dangerous labor! I was scared to death! After that, we decided to have only one child, our precious daughter. People say daughters are like little cotton-padded jackets, keeping their parents warm. You were so sweet as a child—you’d call me ‘Daddy’ and give me kisses…”

Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice choked with emotion.

Zang Ling was startled by the sudden loud voice in her ear. Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw her father standing beside her. She patted her chest to calm down. “Dad, what were you just saying? Why did you suddenly get so loud? And why are you crying all of a sudden?”

Zang Xiuming was silent for a moment. “You… didn’t hear anything I just said?” Was all that effort wasted?

Zang Ling looked a little guilty. “Sorry, I was thinking about work and got lost in thought. What were you saying?”

Zang Xiuming stared at her puzzled expression and decisively shook his head. “Nothing!”

“Really? Then why did you suddenly raise your voice?”

His gaze darted away. “My hearing isn’t as good these days. I like talking to myself. Can’t I?”

“Then… Why were you crying?”

“I have overactive tear glands. Can’t help it.”

Zang Ling snickered. “Dad, since when did you have such weird habits? I never noticed before. Don’t you already have Mom to talk to everyday? This wouldn’t just be a random excuse to brush me off, would it? No way.”

Cold sweat began to form on Zang Xiuming’s forehead. He had to change the subject before his daughter thought about it too much.

In desperation, he called over his shoulder, “Honey, didn’t you have something to say to Lingling?”

Jiang Qiongyin almost blurted out, “No,” but then she remembered something. Quickly, she walked over to Zang Ling’s other side and asked tentatively, “Lingling, Mom does have something to discuss with you. Do you have time to go out for dinner tonight?”

Zang Ling studied her mother’s expectant expression for a moment before smiling. “No.”

“We’re eating at home.”

Nice try, Mom. I know exactly what you’re up to.

Then, Zang Ling announced, “Starting today, I’ll reduce my work hours as much as possible, or bring my work home. From now on, I’ll supervise both of you while you eat.”

Jiang Qiongyin and Zang Xiuming were thunderstruck. That meant… no more vegetarian dieting for her and no more fried chicken for him?!

Zang Xiuming forced out a stiff smile. “…That’s wonderful.”

Zang Ling nodded cheerfully. “I think so too. But Mom, why are you crying?”

“I… these are tears of joy! I’m just so happy.” Jiang Qiongyin wiped away her tears and smiled, but inside, she was wailing: Nooo, I don’t want to gain weight!

Zang Ling believed her and said apologetically, “The company doesn’t need me to monitor things constantly anymore, so I’ll definitely spend more time at home with you both.”

“No need!” Jiang Qiongyin and Zang Xiuming replied in unison.

Zang Ling was dumbfounded, “…”

Her gaze sharpened. “Why do I feel like you don’t want me home?”

Zang Xiuming gave an awkward laugh. Even as a middle-aged man, his handsome looks remained, but at this moment, his expression was unintentionally comical.

“Of course not! You’re our beloved daughter. We just don’t want to delay your work—that’s all.”

Jiang Qiongyin chimed in, “Yes, Lingling, you have to work during the day and take care of us at night. That’s too exhausting. We don’t want you to overwork yourself. I know you care a lot about Tianhai, so don’t let us hold back your career.”

“You’re more important than Tianhai.” The same person who had declared that her career was her most important partner just that morning had now changed her tune. “Mom, Dad, don’t try to talk me out of this. I’ve already decided.”

“Let’s go! I’m cooking tonight!” she declared enthusiastically.

Jiang Qiongyin shivered as a thought suddenly struck her. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes, and she cautiously said, “Lingling, you’ve already worked so hard today. Why bother cooking? Let your dad do it. He loves cooking.”

Zang Xiuming, who was mentioned, quickly glanced at her before catching on and saying, “Your mom’s right! I’m really interested in cooking. Just yesterday, I learned a few new dishes, and I was thinking about when you’d come home so I could make them for you. Now’s the perfect time to show off my skills!”

He added smugly, “No one else better try to steal my job.”

Cooking for me? Zang Ling knew her father well. Whenever he had something good, he always shared it with her mother first.

The real reason behind his words was obvious: they just didn’t want her to cook.

Zang Ling was puzzled. Was her cooking really that bad? Sure, there was that one time when all three of them had to run to the bathroom several times after her meal. But she had followed the cookbook exactly! It had even tasted fine to her!

Still, since her parents insisted…

“Alright then.”

As soon as she said it, she saw her parents immediately relax, their faces brightening with relief. Feeling a little deflated, she muttered, “Then… next time, I’ll cook.” She refused to believe she couldn’t make a normal meal!

Jiang Qiongyin and Zang Xiuming exchanged a knowing smile, secretly resolving to stop their daughter next time as well.

——

The next day, Zang Ling stepped into the elevator, looking noticeably fatigued. The dark circles under her eyes stood out against her pale face. After handling work matters yesterday, she had spent two extra hours watching cooking videos, only going to bed at 2 a.m. And with work starting at 8 a.m., she had woken up at 7. That meant she had only gotten four hours of sleep.

She swore she would never stay up late again. She was getting older. Her body just couldn’t handle it. Lack of sleep drained her energy completely.

And the worst part? There was a meeting at 9:30. Just thinking about it made her exhausted.

When she reached her office, she sighed at the stack of documents on her desk. It was never-ending. As she buried herself in work, a deep, magnetic voice suddenly came from outside the door.

“Chairman Zang, are you inside?”

Zang Ling’s ears twitched. That voice… was nice to listen to. She controlled her expression and replied coolly, “Come in.”

A moment later, a stranger gently pushed open the door and walked inside.

“Chaiman Zang, Manager Yan asked me to bring you these documents.”

Zang Ling lowered her head and hummed in acknowledgment, but when she noticed the man hadn’t left, she looked up and asked, “Do you have any—”

Her words trailed off.

The moment she saw him, it was as if her whole world lit up. Flowers seemed to bloom around her.

She had actually stared at this man for a full ten seconds!

She had never looked at a man for more than three seconds before.

Her heart pounded wildly. Would this be… my ideal type?!

“Chairman Zang?”

Zang Ling, still staring into his beautiful eyes, couldn’t help but lift his chin slightly. Looking down at him, she commanded, “Handsome, tell me your name.”

The man hesitated. “Chairman, you should get down from your chair first. It’s dangerous.”

Zang Ling cleared her throat, pretending she hadn’t heard that. With a serious expression, she repeated, “Your name!”

The man blinked in surprise, then smiled and handed her a small note. After giving her a slight nod in courtesy, he turned and left without looking back.

Zang Ling: ?

She raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

It was just a pity he had left too quickly. She hadn’t been able to ask for his name yet.

But… he must have been hinting at something.

Otherwise, why else would he smile at her?

Zang Ling grinned from ear to ear, rushing to the break room, where she flopped onto the couch and hugged a pillow, rolling around excitedly.

Finally! Love has found me!

After a while, feeling delighted, she glanced down at the note in her hand.

It read:

“Number 188. There are still 187 people waiting ahead of you.”

Zang Ling fell silent.

Then, she slowly lifted her gaze in the direction where the new secretary had left. Her eyes burned with fiery determination.

Playing hard to get, are we?

Congratulations handsome. You’ve successfully caught my attention.

Alright… I’ve decided, I choose you!

Zang Ling was someone who acted quickly. Without hesitation, she picked up the phone and called Yan Feng.

“Who was the guy you just sent up with the documents?” she asked.

Yan Feng hesitated for a second before replying, “Are you talking about Yan Wenshu?”

Yan Wenshu? Even his name sounded nice! As expected from someone I’ve chosen! Zang Ling thought cheerfully.

She forced herself to sound indifferent. “Oh, I haven’t seen him before. Is he new?”

“Yes. Yan Wenshu is the new secretary. Why? Did he…” Yan Feng lowered his voice. “Did he offend you? Do you need me to find someone else?”

Zang Ling replied, “No, I was just asking.”

Yan Feng suddenly had a bad feeling. Thinking back to the new hire’s outstanding looks and impressive résumé, he grew uneasy. He had been at this company for years, but is someone about to swoop in and steal his place?

He had initially felt safe letting Yan Wenshu deliver documents because, in the past, any secretary who was too attractive never lasted beyond their first day.

But now, the new guy hadn’t been sent to HR, and Chairman Zang was calling just to ask for his name?

Yan Feng regretted his decision thinking that maybe he had made a mistake…

Meanwhile, Zang Ling hung up, smiling to herself. She tapped her fingers rhythmically against the desk.

The meeting was about to begin.

But she could hardly wait.