CHAPTER 24

After freshening up, Xu Yi stepped out of his room and paused briefly in front of Wen Yang’s door. There was no sound from inside. He then turned and headed downstairs.

A CEO couldn’t skip work just because of a beauty. Besides, he wasn’t the kind of ruler who would tarnish his beloved’s reputation by indulging too much. No matter how reluctant he was to part with her, he still had to work hard and earn money to support his family. With this thought, a sense of responsibility weighed heavier in his heart.

Xu Yi lazily adjusted his tie as he descended the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed two dark figures. Squinting for a clearer look, he chuckled, “Good morning, Grandpa.”

It was understandable that elderly people had poor sleep quality.

Grandpa Lin was seated in the living room. He had been waiting for two hours before finally seeing someone come downstairs. Young people these days didn’t understand the benefits of going to bed early and waking up early. They were probably up late playing on their phones again.

“I heard you got yourself a girlfriend.” Grandpa Lin sipped his tea leisurely and said, “Yet you don’t bring her back for me to see? Hiding her away in a villa—what kind of behavior is that?”

“You’re at an age where you should worry less, Grandpa. Don’t tire yourself out,” Xu Yi replied.

“I’m not talking to you.” Grandpa Lin put down his teacup with a sharp thud against the table. “I’m waiting for you—”

“Grandpa, keep it down. You’re disturbing the peace.”

“You—!” His brows furrowed, but he lowered his voice. “Get lost, get lost.”

“Just don’t scare her,” Xu Yi reminded.

He didn’t actually think Wen Yang would be frightened, but he wanted to give his grandfather a heads-up—to watch his tone and choice of words.

Getting into his car, Xu Yi pulled out his phone and sent Wen Yang a message, letting her know that his grandfather was here. He told her that if she didn’t want to meet him, she could just say so, and he would send Grandpa Lin home.

But she was probably still asleep. The message went unread.

Wen Yang slept until noon.

She had easily adapted to the unfamiliar bed—so long as it was clean, it didn’t matter where she slept.

Not wanting to get up, she lay on her side, scrolling through her phone. There was a new message on WeChat. Clicking on it, she saw the text from Xu Yi.

His grandfather?

Checking the timestamp—sent at 7:30 AM.

Now it was… 12:45 PM.

She had no idea whether he had left or not, but she was certain that she didn’t feel like getting up.

Her left-side sleeping position had started giving her a headache, so she switched to her right. Still, she couldn’t stop mindlessly scrolling through her phone—bored but unable to resist the urge.

A sign of mental emptiness.

She finally put her phone down and went to the bathroom. The toothbrush and toiletries Xu Yi had placed there the night before felt surprisingly easy to use.

After freshening up, she went downstairs.

The child had slept with the housekeeper last night.

A baby not even a year old, at the stage of clinging to their mother—how could they not miss Xiao Yan?

Wen Yang stood at the bottom of the staircase, locking eyes with the elderly man seated on the sofa.

“Child, you must be hungry. Just wait a moment, I’ll head to the kitchen and cook something for you,” the housekeeper said.

The elderly man on the sofa gazed at Wen Yang with a face full of warmth and kindness. Originally, she had come down to check on the child, but now she was the one being observed.

“Young lady, how old are you?” Lin Huashan asked softly, growing more and more satisfied as he looked at her.

“Twenty-four.” Wen Yang sighed quietly.

The kind of elderly people Wen Yang found most exhausting were those who looked at her with the benevolence of a senior toward the younger generation. She didn’t want to act obedient, but in front of such kindness, she was forced into the role of the “good child.”

“You’re a year younger than Xu Yi.” The old man, who had just been doting on the little baby, now had his full attention on his future granddaughter-in-law. He asked, “How long have you two been together?”

“One day.”

“One day?!” Wen Yang’s answer almost gave the old man a heart attack. He couldn’t keep up with young people these days—dating for just one day and already bringing someone home?

Sensing his reaction, Wen Yang followed up, “But we’ve known each other for quite a long time.”

“Oh, I see.”

After thinking for a moment, Grandpa Lin realized that nowadays, young people often got married in a flash and divorced just as quickly. He wasn’t an old-fashioned, rigid man. If two people clicked, they should be together; if not, they could part ways. Looking at the properly mannered young woman before him, he figured that even if Xu Yi had secretly obtained a marriage certificate and brought her home, he wouldn’t strongly oppose it. With that thought, he quickly came to terms with the situation.

“So, when are you two planning to get married? How about tomorrow?” He had already prepared himself mentally.

Wen Yang struggled to keep up with his logic. Just moments ago, he was shocked that they had only been dating for a day, and now he was already talking about marriage?

“We’re focusing on our careers. There’s no rush to get married.”

“Are you worried that after marriage, I won’t let you work? Don’t be. I’m not that kind of old-fashioned man. Women can hold up half the sky. Even after you get married, you can still be your own boss. We won’t interfere with your decisions.”

Wen Yang nodded, pretending to listen attentively. “I understand.”

“Then let’s discuss the wedding plans when Xu Yi returns. Both of you should be present and give me a definite answer.”

“Sure, sure,” Wen Yang nodded again.

“So how long have you actually known Xu Yi? How did he pursue you?” Grandpa Lin finally remembered to ask about his grandson’s love life.

Wen Yang wanted to escape. This conversation was never-ending. Dealing with elderly people like this was definitely not her forte. “We’ve known each other for seven years. We felt we were compatible, so we got together.”

“Really?” The old man frowned, finding it hard to believe that his grandson would do something like that.

Wen Yang noticed his skeptical expression and decided she needed a distraction. Her eyes landed on the baby in the stroller, who was sucking on his fingers.

“Grandpa Xu Yi, I’ll take the child—”

Before she could finish, Grandpa Lin’s eyes widened in disapproval.

“Just call me Grandpa. No need to be so formal.”

Wen Yang hesitated for half a second. “Grandpa.”

“Ah, that sounds much better.”

“I’ll take the child upstairs and video call Xiao Yan.”

“Good, good.” Grandpa Lin had heard about Xiao Yan’s husband’s situation. “Go ahead, let the child see his mother.”

Wen Yang quickly scooped up the baby, her arms stiff and awkward, and hurried upstairs without looking back.

Watching her leave, Grandpa Lin muttered, “Xiao Yan? This young lady knows Xiao Yan too?”

—

Inside the bedroom, now free from Grandpa Lin’s interrogation about major life events, Wen Yang placed the baby in the middle of the large bed. She lay down beside him, gently tugging at his sleeve to pull his tiny hand out. “Do you want to see your mom?”

The baby remained silent.

“What’s your name?” Wen Yang tried to recall. “Xiao…006, what’s his name?”

System: Xiao Yusheng.

“Xiao Yusheng.” Wen Yang looked at him for a moment, then sat up, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his hands clean.

On her way to the bathroom, she turned back several times. After washing her hands quickly, she returned to find him attempting to put his fingers back in his mouth. “If you keep sucking your fingers, your mom won’t come back.”

“Waah! Waah!” The chubby baby kicked his legs, his tiny arms flailing as he tried to grab his feet.

After just three minutes with the baby, Wen Yang already felt bored. She pulled out her phone and sent Xu Yi a message.

Wen Yang: Hire a nanny to take care of the child.

Ding! Xu Yi responded instantly.

Xu Yi: I’ve already asked my assistant to handle it. The nanny should arrive this afternoon.

Before she could exit the chat, another message popped up.

Xu Yi: Have you eaten?

Not waiting for her reply—

Xu Yi: I’ll come pick you up. Let’s go to a restaurant together.

Xu Yi: If you don’t feel like eating, we can watch a movie instead.

Xu Yi: How about an amusement park?

—

In the office, Xu Yi sat in his chair, struggling to decide on a date location. He got up, walked to the window, and looked down at the cityscape—the high and low-rise buildings, the ant-like flow of traffic.

At this moment, he wasn’t the high-powered CEO overlooking vast business empires. He was just a lovestruck eighteen-year-old boy.

“What should we do after the movie?”

“Would she like the amusement park?”

“Or maybe we could watch a few movies back-to-back and hold hands inside the theater?”

“A bookstore? She used to love studying. She’d finish a whole stack of practice tests in a day.”

“Shopping? Swipe the card?”

He sent all his date ideas to Wen Yang in one go.

Meanwhile, Wen Yang’s phone kept pinging with notifications—ding, ding, ding.

She waited for him to finish his brainstorming session. Once the messages stopped, she would check.

Xiao Yusheng, drawn to the notification sounds, reached out to grab the phone, flipping over energetically. Seeing this, Wen Yang adjusted his position so he wouldn’t roll off the bed.

She finally replied to Xu Yi.

Wen Yang: Don’t slack off during work hours.

Seeing this cold and unsympathetic response, Xu Yi completely forgot his earlier thoughts about being an indulgent “emperor” for his beauty. He was glad he had cleared all his work in the morning and rescheduled his afternoon meetings for the next day.

He returned to the villa, thinking, If I can’t convince her, I’ll just carry her out.

—

Housekeeper: “Sir.”

Grandpa Lin: “Why are you back so early?”

Xiao Yusheng: “Waah, waah!”

Wen Yang didn’t even look up, focused on eating.

Xu Yi changed his shoes and walked in. “You haven’t eaten yet?”

“We were waiting for Miss Wen,” the housekeeper replied, tactfully avoiding the fact that Wen Yang had overslept.

“No need to wait. We’re eating out.” Xu Yi sat beside Wen Yang, poked her back, and whispered, “Save some room for me.”

Wen Yang looked up, about to tell him to stop messing around, but caught sight of the housekeeper’s amused expression. She didn’t even have to look to know that Grandpa Lin probably had the same expression.

She wiped her mouth, turned to Xu Yi, and said, “Let’s go.”

Xu Yi finally got his wish of taking his girlfriend out and even earned the reward of holding hands. Today’s unusual behavior was definitely related to his grandfather.

“How was your day? Are you happy here?”

“Just so-so.”

The only thing that made her happy yesterday had faded after a night’s sleep. Adjusting her mindset wasn’t something that could be done in a day—she needed to work through it herself.

They got into the car, not the flashy Ferrari from yesterday but a more understated and steady-looking one.

Xu Yi asked, “Are you troubled? Did I cause it?”

“It’s not about you. It’s my own issue.”

“You can talk to me about it.” Xu Yi winked at her.

As he drove out of the villa complex, he said, “I might be able to solve your troubles.”

“Some troubles are secrets that can’t be shared with anyone.”

Not even Wen Yang was an exception, but Xu Yi could be.

“If I guess it, then it doesn’t count as you telling me.” Xu Yi was brimming with confidence.

“You won’t be able to guess.”

Only someone like the housekeeper in the villa could think of it and not be surprised.

Wen Yang gazed at the wide road ahead. This place wasn’t much different from reality. The only reason she struggled to accept it was that she couldn’t separate it from the city where she grew up and the impressions left by her past.

She had no emotional attachment to the city or its people—just a matter of habit.

“You’re so sure I won’t guess it?” Xu Yi kept his eyes on the road.

Wen Yang didn’t want to go in circles with him. “Guess if you want.”

“Wen Yang, you’re always so indifferent, leaving others restless and unable to figure you out.”

She turned to look at his profile—his straight nose, lips, and sharp jawline forming a perfect line. The transition from the bridge of his nose to the tip was like a deliberate stroke in a comic drawing. His curled eyelashes lifted slightly, and his lips were defined. His strong jawline gave him an intense bone structure.

“Xu Yi, you look pretty good,” she said, turning her face away just as he glanced at her. “Just an observation, so it shouldn’t be too frustrating for you.”

Xu Yi was silent for a moment. His lips curled into a smile—whether it was amusement or helplessness was unclear. “Hearing you give compliments is rare. Last time, you called me cool.”

Wen Yang had already forgotten what she had said before, but she didn’t deny it this time. Instead, she added, “Cool and handsome.”